wdw1972

It's true. The contract between Lincoln Center & HAL ended a year or so ago. On the smallest ships, doing the longer & Grand voyages there will likely be some classical music but not under the Lincoln Stage name. HAL at one point had said LCS would become a traveling entertainment group - doing a shows a couple evenings in the World Stage, moving from ship to ship, but later clarified only on the longer voyages (not 7-12 day sailings. After this change, HAL did bring a small musical group onto most ships to perform in the Ocean Bar, and they've been well received. It's not classical music, but it's also not rock or blues like Rolling Stone Rock Room or BB Kings. There's been talk of them bringing back some classical music fleetwide, but it wouldn't be under the Lincoln Center name and I'm not sure that "talk" came from HAL vs musings and wishful thinking on the part of passengers 😉 Sue/WDW1972

Wow - that's insane! I was on HAL last month and they charge $24.95. When I walked to Paradise Point I saw the price for tickets is $24.95. I assume HAL got a small discount for the "group" excursion and that was their profit. I believe Royal docks at Crown Bay, which i supposed to be a $6 or so taxi ride away from town. Maybe $8 to Paradise Point, so there's a LOT of extra money that appears to be pure profit to the cruise line if clueless passengers book that one! Sue/WDW1972

Exciting - can't wait to follow along with your blog again! Sue/WDW1972

There's nothing special about the main dining room any night - including dressy nights. It's been over a decade since I ate dinner there, and I have no plans to change that. We tend to use our have it all credits to book Pinnacle & Tamarind (we tend to book 10+ night cruises) on the dressy nights simply because those nights fill up first. It's relatively easy to add more specialty dining once onboard - with embarkation day the easiest night to get since so many people are either worn out from traveling or want to meet their tablemates & serving team in the MDR right off the bat. Also, if the ship is in port well into the evening, that night will be pretty easy to book once onboard. Sue/WDW1972

Thank you for continuing to share your blog - it's always very well done! I'm not sure I could make the sacrifices necessary to cruise for so long (at one time), but kudos to you for making it work! I've got a few more years until retirement, and then I'll definitely find time for more and longer cruises. Sue/WDW1972

That's interesting - there should have been. Deck 2, midship, old Queens Lounge location. What was there if not BB Kings? Sue/WDW1972

Nieuw Amsterdam and Eurodam still have BB Kings (in the same location as before). The four Vista class ships lost BB Kings and got Rolling Stone Lounge. Rolling Stone Rock Room is only on the three Pinnacle class ships, which also have a separate BB Kings venue. Sue/WDW1972

Much less - it's only $19 plus the 18% gratuity. Sue/WDW1972

I'll do the same, from my late November 2023 Retreat (family cabana - for 2 of us) on Eurodam. Reader's Digest version - most of this is not new or "enhanced", other than a handful of the missing items 😉 Includes following daily services: 1 bottle still water or 1 bottle sparkling water (San Pellegrino) - we had 2 big Aqua Panna (sp?) glass bottles of still water. Most days we never bothered to have one opened. I took one to my stateroom the first day (replenishing as needed) and kept it in the fridge to pour cold water into my insulated metal water bottle I drank from in the Retreat and my travel buddy preferred the orange or cucumber infused water in the dispensers Cut fruit plate - offered every day, accepted once in a while. Fruit basket present every day. Guacamole & chips - never saw or heard of this Coconut passion fruit parfait - ditto - never saw or heard Dive-In & NY Deli Pizza Menu Available - this has always been the case Complimentary two glasses of sparkling wine - first day a steward said it was supposed to be one glass per guest and grudgingly poured a second. After that we generally had a refill each day and saw the same happening elsewhere (so it wasn't due to being 2 people in a 4-person cabana) Breakfast - Continental offering - our experience was the full Lido breakfast (not room service, not continental). Whenever I ordered breakfast it was generally eggs benedict, and of course with a mimosa. Mid-morning Snack - Virgin pina colada smoothie & chocolate cookies - never heard of this Lunch - Seafood boil, Nami signature maki roll, California roll, spicy tuna roll, salmon nigiri - ewwwww. Thankfully, no! Ordered lunch from Lido, Dive In or NY Pizza Afternoon Service - Watermelon & pineapple skewers, Ice cream selection - I think someone mentioned ice cream once, but wasn't interested. No watermelon or pineapple skewers - we had frozen grapes and some chocolate covered strawberries Cold hand towels - yes, every day once or twice (morning/afternoon) Pool towel setup - this one was weird. For the first time they did not have the bin loaded up with extra towels. They had a rolled up one on each chaise lounge inside the cabanas, but the cabanas in the common area just had a cushion. It wasn't a big deal because the stewards learned right off the bat to set up an outside chaise lounge with the big Retreat towel and give me a roll-up towel when I'd arrive each morning. Normally they've been self-serve from those bins on all my past cruises. As always, HAL excels at being inconsistent. Sue/WDW1972

There's no Grand Dutch Cafe on Oosterdam. Sue/WDW1972

Nope - I've never had CO (never felt the need for it). We'll have it in May 2025, but only because it comes with the aft neptune suite I booked for that cruise. Typically I'm sailing solo and don't do neptunes when solo. Sue/WDW1972

Yes - looks like the special entree is duck breast with cherries. I do not have CO on my upcoming cruise. Sue/WDW1972

Wow - thanks! That did the trick! I see Rudi's, Club Orange, and the Lido dinner menu is different than it was before I logged out/in. Sue/WDW1972

Are you sure? My last cruise was Eurodam late November, next cruise Rotterdam early March. On the app when I check for the various dining, Rudi's does not appear (it's on Rotterdam, not on Eurodam). When I checked the Lido dinner menu on Rotterdam's first night it just said "good evening" - not "steak dinner". So, I'm thinking I'm still getting information from my previous ship vs upcoming ship. My itinerary shows correctly though. Sue/WDW1972

I usually travel with two cruise friends and we get 3 staterooms. None of us are interested in sharing a bedroom & bathroom with someone else - life's too short to put up with that! Sue/WDW1972

Finally in sight - backing up! Sue/WDW1972

Bon Voyage! Sue/WDW1972

Yes - and cool dry or even hang dry. Sue/WDW1972

At one time that was how it worked, but not for at least a couple/few years now. Same with Nami Sushi - used to get my mariner discount there, but no longer. Sue/WDW1972

Wish they'd cleaned the camera lens after the storm! But, once she's further in the channel it should be better. Sue/WDW1972

Same here. My guess is they haven't started it at all - HAL consistently has old/outdated menus linked to their website and app, and Lisa's picture seems to be a shot of the menu on the TV in the stateroom. Certainly wouldn't surprise me for that to be old/outdated. The Rudi's menus online make no mention of the upcharge for the Dover Sole, and there was something else on there that jumped out at me as being "old" - not current. It seems to be a HAL problem all around! Sue/WDW1972

Probably the reason is the weather - it's been more windy than usual, and severe weather is on the way this weekend. Sue/WDW1972

I saw on Facebook this morning that Nieuw Amsterdam has been pushed back to Monday (12/18). Guests were notified via email, and the reason given was stormy weather. The usual OBC, FCC was mentioned and the itinerary was cut to Nassau & Key West according to a person posting. Sue/WDW1972

I was on the Eurodam during this time and the cakes in a jar appeared there - not necessarily every day (if I recall correctly) and only 1 per day. They were listed on the Lido lunch menu. They were pretty big too - definitely a larger portion than the individual plated desserts on the Lido, but I had a quart size ziplock bag and put it in my fridge to finish later. This is the red velvet cake in a jar. Sue/WDW1972

Ah, too bad. We were more fortunate. We lost Bonaire, which wouldn't have been my first pick to lose, but we have an overnight in Curacao. We're doing a cocktails excursion one night and will enjoy drinks/food at Iguana Cafe for sunset on the other night. An earlier sailing lost Bonaire and got an overnight in Aruba - poor substitute in my opinion. I'm surprised they gave you a sea day with such a short distance to travel, unless they're cutting the engines and using the oars. Sue/WDW1972