Crusin'Cousins

There are only 2 specialty restaurants on the Rotterdam. The Pinnacle Grill and the Canaletto.

Prices are the same no matter whether you pre-book or book once on the ship.

The Pinnacle Grill on the Rotterdam is inside the ship -- no windows facing out to the outside. There are 3 windows that face into the hallway. It is smaller than Pinnacle Grills on the Vista, Signature or Pinnacle class ships. The Pinnacle Grill is where Sel de Mer will be held. If you are on a longer cruise, you may also have a special dinner by Chef Rudi or the wine cellar master.

Not certain if she will get America's Test Kitchen.

Just to confirm.... if purchased in advance, the Signature Dining Package is $44, if purchased under the Indulgences.

Are you saying that we would get the same pricing if we wait to purchase the Signature Dining Package once we are on board? We are considering the possibility of using OBC for the purchase, thus the question.

If different pricing, can we purchase now and then be reimbursed with our OBC once on board?

This is our first time on HAL, so just want to ensure we know what to expect.

Thank you.

That's my experience as well. You can buy the "dine around package" but you don't get to select your dining time or day. it's not worth it to me (even without my * discount). I like to go on specific nights.

 

One thing I will point out -Pinnacle Grill lunch is a lovely experience and only $10. A bargain IMO. Especially on a sea day.

 

You can't book it in advance but once on board.... grab it :)[/quote

 

 

Pinnacle lunch is lovely but theyarre not open for lunch, every day. That is handy for 'newbies to HAL to keep in mind.

 

We will be sailing on the Rotterdam next month... our first cruise with HAL. We have noticed the "Signature Dining Package" available for purchase in advance... offering dinners at both Pinnacle Grill and Canaletto for a reduced price of $44. Two questions... 1) are we free to select our dates/times once on the ship, and 2) if we purchase the package in advance, can we be reimbursed with our OBC, for the purchase price, once we are on the ship? (If not, is the package available for purchase once onboard, assuming that the 25% discount offering may not be available?)

 

Thanks for your input...

 

Happy cruising to all!

Thank you... Happy cruising!

For the third time in 3 weeks I have been offered the opportunity to purchase an upgrade on the 12/3 sailing on the Rotterdam. Is this an indication that Holland is having problems selling out this ship? I have been following the post regarding post-dry dock and I certainly hope the water issues have been resolved. (Fingers crossed)

 

We got an offer from the Casino back in June, making this trip a no brainer. Prices were for Guarantee stateroom. I have no problem waiting for my assignment. Every time I have booked a guarantee we have been upgraded, and with exception of once, we have been given great rooms and have been happy.

 

Do you think by ignoring the upgrade offers we are somehow telling Holland we are really not interested in upgrading? I will be fine if they don't, but upgrades are always nice. We are booked n an interior (MM) and all upgrade offers are for porthole/obstructed OV and lanais. Nothing for a better interior stateroom.

Will you let us know if you received your cabin assignment yet? Must have by now, right? Did you make out pretty well as you were hoping?

Have a wonderful cruise!

Thank you.

We are new to HAL... Taking our first cruise on HAL in January.

As part of the Cyber Sale, we got a couple of $25. beverage cards. Will someone let us know how they work? We don't drink alcohol, but would like to use them if we can. We are interested to learn what we should expect.

Thank you.

Does the Chocolate Parade happen on a few different occasions or only once per cruise? We will be on a 14-day and are curious as to what we should expect.

Thanks!

Most of the new perks are being automatically added to my portfolio for every cruise. The Shorex discount, while has been reported to automatically calculate for those pre-booked online, remains a "manual" exercise once onboard. I booked two excursions after boarding (cruise booked after new Platinum perks instituted) and the full price was charged to my account. I did go to the Shore Excursion desk and requested the Platinum Plus discount. They asked to see my cruise card to verify my status. Discount was granted no problem.

 

My issue is NCL well knows my status but chooses not to program our onboard profiles so the discount is automatic. The Shorex staff said the literature clearly states that passengers must show their card to request the discount. That should not be necessary.

How did the Shorex discount show up on your account? Is it applied as a credit card refund or a refundable/non-refundable on board credit? We agree... it really should be automatic!

We have one that we booked in advance and now thinking that may not have been the best choice. We only rarely book through NCL, so this may even more solidify that decision going forward!

Happy cruising everyone!

I haven't been yet, but from my understanding, the escape room is free but you do need reservations in advance. As of the last few sailings I believe that the escape room was offered on day 2 around noon and day 7 in the morning, around 10. I think you make reservations at the box office.

Thank you... much appreciated!

A savings of roughly $350. in taxes and fees for us on our upcoming January Dawn cruise. Thank you NCL!!! :-)

Curious to understand if there is a cost associated with the Escape Room? Reservations need in advance? Are they opened daily? Sounds like a fun activity!

Great review Judith...

What a wonderful cruise. We so much enjoyed our excursions and time spent with you and Eileen as well as the others from our roll call. Great memories were created from those couple of weeks.

Hope you are both feeling better. Sounds like so many caught whatever bug it was that was going around. We were fortunate enough to have avoided it. Thank goodness!

Your whale pictures in Cabo are amazing. Even those we took in PV don't come close to matching those that you shared here. Great pictures!

Hope our paths cross again some time...

Tim

We asked this question earlier on a different thread, but didn't receive a response... this question may be more appropriate to this thread... maybe?

We enjoyed Jewel's main dining room menus earlier this year. Very tasty!

Is anyone aware of when the NEW menus will be available? We will on the Jewel again next January, and thinking it would be nice to be able to compare the differences between the two sets of menus, especially since it seems that people are saying the new ones are even better.

Thanks!

We enjoyed Jewel's main dining room menus earlier this year. Very tasty!

Is anyone aware when the new menus will be available? We will on the Jewel again next January, and thinking it would be nice to be able to compare the differences ourselves, especially since it seems that people are saying the new ones are even better.

Thanks!

Thank you for taking the time to respond. I appreciate the input.

I suppose only time will tell for certain.

Happy Cruisin' everyone!

No impact of demand. Why is this concerning????

The virus! That's what I consider to be concerning.

Sounds like sort of a mixed bag maybe...

Thus far, it doesn't seem that the Zika virus has had much of an impact on cruise pricing in the Caribbean... Is that a fairly common assumption?

If things continue to deteriorate and the virus becomes more widespread and moves more quickly, would one anticipate prices to decline? I'm think so, but curious to hear what others may be thinking...

Rather concerning!

We had an aft balcony on deck 8 of the Epic a couple years ago. No problems at all, as others had mentioned.

We were interested in asking for a couple loungers when we arrived, but surprised to find that there were already two set out on the balcony. There was plenty of room and very enjoyable...

A fun ship with lots of great activity. Have fun!

We occasionally do the guaranty cabin selection too... Never been too disappointed at all.

I've researched before, and again today, and can't seem to find an answer... but, since it seems that some with good knowledge/opinions are posting to this thread, thought I would throw this question out there and see if any one knows or has any understanding.

If the cabin category price goes either up or down by several hundred dollars from the amount originally paid for the guarantee, does that seem to have any impact the cabin assignment? In other words, if the price right before sailing went down several hundred dollars, would NCL be more inclined to assign a better cabin? Conversely, if the price went up significantly, would NCL be inclined to minimize the likelihood of a significant upgrade? Just curious if anyone has experience relative to that situation... Thank you.

Happy cruising everyone!

Nope, not for vacations.

If I bought insurance for every vacation I take, I would be broke, and wouldn't be able to take anymore vacations.

I am a rebel, not buying trip insurance.

But I am sure you can get hundreds of folks who bot it who thought it paid off.

Just go ahead, have a claim, see what hoops you get put through to use it. All the exclusions written up by their clever attorneys, to invalidate claims.

I don't buy the extended warranties at the stores either, for my new toaster, T.V., etc. That's another rip off.

To each their own, make your own decision.

:eek:

Agree... well stated! We consider ourselves to be "self-insured"!

Thanks for sharing! Very interesting!

If my wife and I are both platinum do we get 2 meals for 2 at Le Bistro?

 

 

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Yes you do... enjoy!:)

Thank you CruiserBruce and BillB48! You two are certainly a wealth of information! If any additional questions arise, I know where to go for quick answers.

Thank you!

We've done both and like the FLL - LA best ... seems to get to the locks and Bridge of Americas at more convenient times.

Pardon me if I should know this, but we have just recently begun researching information for an upcoming canal transit cruise... Your statement brings up an interesting question.

Are there designated times of the day for transits traveling eastbound vs. westbound? In other words, do all transits in one direction always transit between specific frames and those going the opposite direction always transit during different time frames? If so, are those schedules published in advance?

Just curious to understand how that part of the operation is carried out.

Thank you.

We did a full transit on the Jewel in February. The lecturer got on before dawn and spoke almost all day long taking a break as we traveled across the lake. He was very good. Also, starting a couple days before we arrived they started playing a movie about the canal.

 

 

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Thank you Wavesprite... good to hear! We will probably stick with NCL, as we have generally always had great experiences with them.

We still have a bit of time before we need to decide for certain.

Thanks again!

Happy cruising...

Thank you for the quick responses BillB48, WeBeCruisers? and Turtles06. We appreciate your advice, input and suggestions.

It sounds like if we stick with NCL, the lectures are not available, but we will still get the narrator as we transit the canal. I suppose that the narrator experience is the most important and that the lecturers are just an added benefit if we select one of the different lines that still offer the lectures.

We are not ready to "just ship" at this point, as we really like sailing with NCL... just a little disappointed that we might not be getting the full experience. We'll do a bit more research and evaluation and try to come to a firm conclusion before too long.

Thanks for inviting us to search and/or join a roll call. We plan to do so once we have determined which cruise line we decide will be the best match for our interests. Thanks again!