djhsolara

Does anyone have pics to share of the changes make on NA during her recent drydock?

We sailed on her in October and are looking forward to sailing on her again at the end of February. Just wanting to see pics before we get there.

Thank you!!

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It used to be $60 per day, but I don’t know if that is still accurate.

Realize that the hold may remain on his debit card for several days after the cruise even after the bill is paid.

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So this is a DIFFERENT K-dam Neptune question, re: the bathrooms. In the photos showing the tub and shower, the tub appears to only have the retractable washline above the tub, no rod or curtain. And more to the point--no sprayer at all in the tub area?

I just found this photo. You can see the hand-held sprayer.

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So this is a DIFFERENT K-dam Neptune question, re: the bathrooms. In the photos showing the tub and shower, the tub appears to only have the retractable washline above the tub, no rod or curtain. And more to the point--no sprayer at all in the tub area?

You are correct. There is no curtain with the tub. There is a hand-held sprayer, but I’m assuming that’s to rinse with as you’re sitting in the tub.

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As on other ships????

 

 

 

There are still DVD players in Neptune Suites on several of the ships. Now, I don't know if they will be upgraded or not, but most of the smaller ships still have the DVD players, I believe.

 

 

 

The Vistas and Signatures were/are being updated.

 

 

 

I strongly suspect there will be DVD players on the P'dam next year, but we shall soon see. We're completely ok with on demand movies if there is a good selection (we have a lot of sea days ;) ).

What I was implying was there are no DVD players on Koningsdam as there are on the other ships.

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It was sarcasm.

 

 

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[emoji2]

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Some uppity gays have just ZERO respect for proper “cruising!”

I don’t really know what this comment even means.

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I like it because it's out of the fray of other activity. quiet and relaxing. The bubble pool and water jets feel great. the package includes access to the steam saunas and thermal suite, which includes ceramic heated chaise-like chairs. Also the locker rooms and showers are well appointed. sometimes I will shower down there instead of the room if the spouse is in there. they're open later hours (not sure how late) so it's nice to relax at the end of the day. to me, it's worth it and I buy it every cruise.

 

Bruce

Agreed. We go throughout the day, but we usually also go every night to wind down.

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I was hoping for some photos too.

We were on her in October and will be again in February. Looking forward to seeing the changes.

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Koningsdam and Nieuw Amsterdam in 2017.

Nieuw Amsterdam is our favorite HAL ship.

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I’d be interested to see if we would be considered unfriendly when we cruise. We pretty much keep to ourselves. We are not about socializing with others. We will acknowledge a hello and we will say hello, but we have no desire to strike up conversation just for the sake of it.

Not that everyone else doesn’t, but we work very hard and deal with people every day at work. When we get away, it is our time. We do what we want when we want. We go about our day, go to the spa, sit in our cabana and relax. That’s what it’s all about for us. If that makes us unfriendly, then I guess it does.

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Last January we docked in Havensight on Koningsdam. It was our first time there and honestly we much preferred Crown Bay (although Crown Bay had been our only experience in St Thomas up until then).

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When we were on Koningsdam in January, we had pre-purchased the CAC as part of the dine around package (or whatever it is called). Once we boarded, it was offered to all suite guests as a complimentary dinner the first evening (obviously meaning that it wasn’t selling well if they gave it free to all suite guests). This totally wrecked our package and dinner reservations, but we quickly worked through it.

I know we’re in the minority, but we did not enjoy the dinner. Too much show and not enough explanation for us. The cooking was sloppy and strange. We considered the food to be mediocre and service to be nil. We had a hard time getting water refilled.

Everyone has different opinions and experiences...just thought I’d share.

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We have inquired a few times, but they are too far out and do not offer shuttle to the port (unless something has changed), so that kept us from booking.

That being said, I believe it is fairly close to Sawgrass Mills, which is a win for us.

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We have always been a fan of formal night...we always wore our tuxes, etc. Now that it is Gala Night, we really don’t find it necessary.

There is absolutely nothing special in the MDR on Gala Night now. The crew were dressed in their normal uniforms. No chair covers. No “fancy” menu. We dressed better than we did any other night, but I didn’t feel the need. If they really aren’t doing anything special, why should I put forth extra effort?

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Umm, I think that is old news.

 

 

 

Lunch in the Tamarind has been discontinued for some time now. Only dinner is offered - surcharge - and well worth it IMO.

 

 

 

I wasn't thrilled with the lunch when it was offered but absolutely loved the dinner.

I have to agree that the lunch was not nearly as great as dinner. Tamarind is our favorite specialty restaurant.

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We’ve been there with with two Vistas or a Vista and Signature. I remember the beach being fairly crowded further down than normal. I don’t, however, remember the Island BBQ.

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How far is Princess Cays from HMC? One time we were at HMC we swore we could see a Princess ship “parked” off in the distance.

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I could be wrong, but I thought I’ve been told that a Carnival ship and HAL ship never go to HMC at the same time because of all of the pricing differences of the island amenities.

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On our last sailing, we did not go to the Mariner Brunch and called the front desk for our tiles. They were delivered to our room within about 10 minutes.

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Why oh why do some people refer to Holland America or Holland America Line or even HAL as 'Holland'.

 

Holland (Netherlands) is a country in Europe.

For the same reason the people refer to Carnival Cruise Line as Carnival or the same reason that people refer to Walt Disney World as Disney. People say what they want.

We always say Holland America, or on here HAL, but that is our choice.

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That would really depend on which size machine it is. I've started seeing counter top sized machines that don't have anywhere the selection of the full sized ones. Does anyone know if they are the full size, like a refrigerator, or counter tops on the ship?

They are full-sized.

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Where is this soda fountain located, in lido? I drink almost no soda but this thread has me curious as I'VEnot heard of HAL selling soda anywhere but at the bars.

It is a Coke Freestyle machine like you might find in some fast-food restaurants. You can get your base soda then it has about 5-10 different flavors that can be added to the base, basically creating your own personal soda.

There are two machines beside one another by the Lido bar.

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Isn't having to carry your glass with you onboard for the freestyle option a pain in the neck? That's what stopped me from using that option.

We’re used to it from other cruise lines. You only need to carry it when you want to use it. Really no different than going to the bar and getting a soda and carrying it with you, except you just have to carry it with you from your stateroom...and you don’t need to carry it to dinner. They will also put a Freestyle sticker on your card that will allow you to get glasses of soda at dinner.

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When we first got onboard K-dam, they had the outer door to these saunas shut until we asked about them. I’m wondering if it is their “tactic” to try to sell more Thermal Suite packages.

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