terrydtx

Only if the Maitre'd enforces the no shorts when people enter the MDR, on the Koningsdam last November I saw shorts in the MDR every night including dressy nights.

I have the same issue when I do a mock booking on our Aug 20th cruise from Boston on the Volendam. HAL has a history of IT issues with their website.

Looks like the chefs know how to "sear" tuna steaks, something HAL and Celebrity has problems with.

Was it better than the horrible BBQ served on Half Moon Cay by HAL?

Dive In is the included hot dogs, Hamburgers and tacos on the pool deck similar to Mast Grill on Celebrity.

You can go to guest services or the shore excursions desk once onboard to do this. We have done it for specialty restaurants booked prior to boarding.

Not strong at all, I have to get my coffee from the Lido specialty coffee. Some days the Lido coffee is almost like dishwater in strength. I always have a drinks package so I get the specialty coffee for free.

Not sure as I have never had to rent one. You could always get a 3 way plug just in case.

On the K'Dam last November I heard nothing but complaints from passengers who dined there about slow service and food quality. It was enough for us to cancel our reservation later in the cruise.

Last November on the Koningsdam which was 100% sold out we had to wait about 20 minutes a couple of nights around 6-6:30pm, but the wait was worth it for the much-improved dining experience and nightly chef specials. We saw lines to get into the MDR at the same times that were down the halls waiting to get seated. They do not take reservations but the hostess does a good job of turning tables. On the K'Dam the Club Orange is very small with only 19 tables.

I upgraded my HIA surf to Premium last November on the Koningsdam which worked great for Wi-Fi calls and streaming. We have the Premium early booking HIA package on our August Volendam cruise, is the premium wi-fi going to something less now that HAL has added a third streaming tier of internet?

We have used HAL FE for years with zero problems. It is so easy to go online and book flights, seats and class all in one place. No phone calls are needed as it can all be done online in your HAL account. Always been able to make changes without fees if prices drop or I find better connections up to final payment. I have canceled and rebooked flights many times to save money. Best advantage is being able to book multiple airlines, we are flying to Boston in August for our Volendam cruise on United and returning from Quebec city on American. We booked on FE and we are in first class seats. 3 days after we booked online, our flights were even ticketed by HAL, but I can still make any changes. My best testament to FE is in 2021 were had to Covid quarantine for 4 days post cruise in Venice and we missed our flights home in BC. FE worked with us by canceling our booked flights and then rebooking us in BC 4 days later at no extra charge to us, this is something no US airline would do if we booked directly.

The scallops looked much bigger than what we had on our Celebrity cruise last month, the scallops served as an entree were 3 small ones about the size of a quarter. I had to order a double order to get enough. We will be on the Volendam in August for our Canada/NE cruise and I hope we get better scallops. Your beef Wellinton looked good.

Wow, the food looks so much better than what I have seen on HAL and Celebrity recently, how do they compare in taste and quality so far?

Hello Lisa, I am following your cruise as Windstar is a cruise line on our radar for the future. Read your issues in MIA and we had similar issues in 2022 trying to get to St Thomas, that is one of the worst airport we have had to connect through, seemed like we had to walk miles between gates. I hope you and Tom have a great week.

@VMax1700 The Volendam had a very extensive refurbishing during her 2022 drydocking. Do you know why she has another one in October so soon after the last one? Is there a problem that needs addressing on her, we are on her in August? TIA

Vista Suites also have a mini fridge on Volendam, we are in one in August.

We had them in the Lido at lunch on the K'Dam last November, not impressed mostly veggie and cooked fish very limited raw fish sushi there. I do not consider a California Roll with all vegies to be sushi. I believe it was in the distant lands Asian section of the Lido.

Yes the scanners will find them and you will get an invite to the naughty room on embarkation day.

Yes you can rent a mini fridge on the Volendam for a small daily fee. The Vista suites and up all have mini fridges on the Volendam. We are booked on the Aug 20th Boston to Montreal Volendam cruise in a Vista Suite.

Jim, on the Edge last month we also got the fresh squeezed OJ with our Retreat Room service menu for breakfast. I know it was fresh because my wife complained about the amount of pulp in it, I prefer the pulp in my fresh OJ. We have an orange tree in our back yard and every fall we have fresh squeezed OJ every morning.😁

We were on the Edge in a SS last month in Australia and Glenfiddich was available in the Retreat Lounge with no upcharge. For other whiskeys like Macallan, not in the PDP, I was told they not available in the Lounge when I asked for them. Most afternoons I had the Glenfiddich instead of Macallan as my before diner drink. I think the lounge managers decided to just say that something was not available rather than charge an upcharge.

On the Edge last month, we were able to buy bottled water that was available for sale as we left the ship with our drink package.

We didn't have that available on the Edge last month, but they did have the Fever Tree Light (less sugar) available in most bars. The Fever Tree Light is what we use at home and really like it.

On the Edge in January, while onboard we canceled a restaurant reservation that we paid and booked with a CC before the cruise. The cost was refunded to our shipboard OBC account but with a notation it would was a refundable OBC if not used. We did not use the credit and the day after the cruise ended it was refunded back to our CC. This was a first for us.