LindaJ+

Fantastic!

4 hours ago, leaveitallbehind said:

You just need to coordinate at time for all in your group to show up at the MDR lobby. That may take a few extra minutes early to make sure all arrive on time.  When you check in, the maître d will have someone show you to your table.  It really doesn't require any extra time.

Well, that's not happening.  There's probably 100 people in this group.  Hopefully someone in charge of running the gathering will have this sorted out.

Or does your table # show up on your key card?

Also - I'm assuming with a fixed dining time (as part of a group)  that we will have the same table every night ... so the first night we should allow extra time for the staff to show everyone to their tables, but after that we can just walk in directly to our place. 

We are in 12178

Never been on a ship as large as this.  We will be on the 12th deck.  How long should I allow to get from our cabin to the main dining room for a 5:00 set dining time?

Do you have to book a tour to visit Quebec City's Citadel?  I'm not too clear on the website information.

I'm confused about where the ship docks (Holland America Zaandam).  Is it right at the actual town?

The Musee du Fjord looks interesting ... but it looks like it's a ways away.  I suppose the only way to get there is to sign up for an excursion.

Anyone have any recommendations on excursions, tours or self-guided walking?

Sailed on her around Scandinavia in May.   Beautiful ship. 

13 hours ago, Gail & Marty sailing away said:

Which ship will you be on??

Oosterdam

The other cruises we've been on we went with a group and our TA got us a set seating time at a group of tables.   This time we're on our own.  Do we need reservations for the MDR each night?   Can we make them on the app?  Or do we just line up at a time we choose?   Any tips or advice? 

We qualified for 3-star on our last cruise.   I can't remember how we got our 2-star pins.

I was waitlisted for a HAL excursion in Chile on our upcoming South America cruise.  I received an email that I had been notified that space had opened up and I had failed to respond within 72 hours to confirm going on the tour.  I went through all my email, including my trashed mail, and found no such notification.  They automatically removed me from the waitlist.

It doesn't really matter because in the meantime I had found a local tour that sounded more interesting anyway ... but there seems to be a flaw in HAL's system somewhere.  Anyone else have the same experience?

test

Santiago ... around the horn ... to Buenos Aires ... or vice-versa?  With or without an Antarctica sail-by?

I had not even thought about reporting it to the shore excursions desk ... might have been a good idea

On 5/16/2022 at 4:01 PM, jeh10641 said:

Is the Pig and Pancake to which you refer the one in Seaside? If so, it is one our favorite places on the Oregon Coast.

 

Jim

I go to the one in Lincoln City

On our wonderful Rotterdam cruise there was one person on our Stockholm excursion who was obviously not capable of negotiating the terrain.  The excursion descriptions are pretty specific ... mentioning cobblestone streets, inclines, numbers of steps you might need to climb and how much walking is involved.   There was quite a bit of walking on our tour.  This person could barely move even with a cane.  When we got to a slight incline on a cobblestone street she started screaming ... and I mean SCREAMING ... that she was going to fall.   This went on at every stop.   People tried to help her but then she would scream at them.   Our tour guide tried to accommodate her as best he could without inconveniencing everyone else in the group but it was a constant problem.   I heard later that she did the same thing on other tours and by the end of the cruise she had a reputation on the ship.  

I think people who are mobility challenged should not sign up for walking tours! 

I've only looked at a few - Santiago to Buenos Aires and reverse - but it seems like there are a lot of sea days and not many port calls with a chance to see some of the countries.   What do you think of these itineraries? 

I've heard we have something less than half.   (Rotterdam - Scandinavia)  But I bet many canceled because ports in and near Russia were eliminated from the itinerary. 

The website says buy a timed ticket online to avoid the line.   Will there be a line this time of year?   I am doing my self-designed walking tour (tomorrow) so don't know exactly when I might get there.   Does the ticket include the Treasury?  Is it like Tower of London?  - you should make a beeline to the Treasury first thing? 

Ours are first Monday, first Saturday (sea day) and 2nd Friday. 

At least not filled with buckwheat flavor like the ones at our local Pig 'n' Pancake.  And smothered in a sticky sweet strawberry sauce to keep you guessing.   Darn!  I'd been looking forward all week to have enough time to do breakfast in the MDR and order these. 

Also the burgers in the Dive-In some posters have been raving about are very ordinary ... with tasteless frozen fries.  I guess I'm just used to fresh food from our local joint. 

The lobster last night was mushy with minimal flavor.  Not worth the $20 upcharge.

We did not have to have a test to return to the ship Sunday.  [Rotterdam May 1 and May 8.] We spent the day in Amsterdam. 

I count 5 3-prong American and 2 3-prong European outlets in our stateroom plus 3 USB ports.