RuthC

There was on my cruise in August.

I have my ice bucket filled at both morning and evening cabin service. By the time I need cold, icy water (and lots of it) for morning and evening meds, the ice has melted enough to provide more than enough water to wash down about 10 pills. The water from the bathroom sink is also fine to drink. Add a few ice cubes and you get a nice cold glass of water. Remember: the ice that chills all those drinks on board is made from the same water that comes from the tap, or is served in the dining venues.

They are all what you refer to as 'big sales pitches'. Now, that doesn't mean some can't be good for you, if one is something of interest to you, or could be beneficial to you. For example, I went to one about acupuncture on a cruise and decided to try it. It helped me a LOT! I continued with it after I got home, until I could have surgery to relieve my pain. So, that presentation was worth it for me. If there is some gemstone you are interested in, or just like to see pretty jewelry, and have the time, sure---go to one of the jewelry talks. You don't have to buy, and the pressure isn't as great as it is when you try to take a stroll through the store.

Since you are traveling a long distance to get to Amsterdam, I would take the longest trip possible. At minimum, I would take the 14 days and do a back to back, or Collector's Cruise if offered that way. If you really only want to do one of them, then flip a coin. Both are great itineraries. I'm partial to Alesund and Bergen, but also love Oslo and Stavenger.

I've been all over Norway, and the rest of the north country, many times in various months. The weather can be as variable as possible. I have worn sundresses some days, and sweatshirts with a jacket over the next. One just cannot predict. The rain can be cold; the sun can be hot. Best to pack for both, and have plenty of layers to choose from. You can always sit by the Lido pool, as the roof can be opened/closed as needed. You may (or may not) need to bundle up around the aft pool, but the views can be worth it.

On the Zaandam (and her sister, the Volendam). There are cabins directly under the Lower Promenade Deck. People in those cabins may be sleeping, or napping, or just trying to relax quietly, and the running overhead definitely disturbs any of those activities. If the 'no running' rule isn't for noise as well as safety, it should be.

I disembarked the Nieuw Statendam when you did. My survey arrived early that same afternoon.

Yes, you need a smart phone to use Verifly. If you don't have one, bring the paperwork verifications of everything Verifly would normally contain.

Your first meal after boarding was a lunch. The people boarding on your last day would like the same courtesy. Last call to leave the ship normally happens sometime between 9:30 and 10:00 AM, which leaves little time for the ship to register a zero count, and the cabins thoroughly cleaned, before the next passengers are boarded.

If you send items out to be washed, they are also pressed. If you need pressing only, then you need to pay extra for the pressing package, but then you don't need the laundry package.

Women's formal wear, at least, doesn't have to be at all heavy. It can weigh less than the sweater and slacks mentioned above. Chiffon is light as a feather, and cancels out the extra weight a man's formal wear might add to what he has to bring to wear instead anyway. Now, the jewels a woman needs just MIGHT add a significant amount of weight, but those will be in her carry-on. 😉

Exactly. It's the 'proof' that has to be no more than 6 months old. The 'shares' don't have to be that old at all.

Thank you for letting us know. I'm sorry to know Dolly (what a gal!) won't be sailing the high seas anymore, and hosting guests at her dinner table. The thought that she is now well again, able to get around easily, and can kick up her heels is comforting, though. I can see her now, having a great time as she sails through eternity. Rest in peace, Dolly. You were one of a kind.

Piano Bars are long gone from HAL ships, sadly. The R-class ships (Volendam and Zaandam) still have The Mix---I believe, which has a piano player; not exactly a piano bar, but fairly close. The larger ships have Billboard Onboard. Billboard has two piano players, and a very limited playlist. It's not interactive the way the old Piano Bars were, nor the extensive repertoire that the best of the former piano bar players had. I haven't seen a decent combo group in the Ocean Bar after dinner in years; sometimes there is something there at cocktail time, but they end very early. The larger ships also have a classical group in Lincoln Center, which is not unlike the music you may remember from Explorers Lounge; they don't play as late at night, though. Some ships have either Rolling Stone Rock Room, which is (duh) rock & roll, or BB King's Blues band.

Oh, take the 11-day cruise. Great itinerary. Ending in Copenhagen is nice, as is Arhus. If you're going all that way anyway, might as well spend the money and go for a little longer. The only thing I don't like about going to/coming back from Copenhagen is that I can't get a non-stop flight. Otherwise, excellent place to begin/end a cruise.

Distilled water is perfectly safe to drink, as it is the purest water you can get. It is ever purer than purified water, which has had some minerals returned to it after purifying. When ships were steamships, distilled was the water used for the propulsion systems. The only problem with drinking distilled water is that it doesn't have any taste, which good drinking water has.

As a multi-time veteran of this cabin, on all four R-class ships, I just answered your question on the other thread you started. In a nutshell, you are welcome to the cabin as long as I don't want to be on the ship at the same time.

I have been in that cabin---many times---on all of the R-class ships. It is my favorite cabin on that class of ship! It is more than a 'little' larger than the other inside cabins---it's huge! The only problems I found with the cabin, and they are minor, is that the bathroom opens directly into the cabin, so at night the light shines in; and there is no curtain blocking off the living area, so anyone in the cabin can be seen by someone walking by in the passageway if the door is opened unexpectedly. I found it quite quiet, and very convenient, with the mid-ship staircase and elevator banks right there. Easy walk to the food venues, and a short walk home from the entertainment venues at night. Being at mid-ship and low, it is about the smoothest ride you will get in rough seas.

There are three types of accessible cabins, and ambulatory is the least accessible of them all. It is designed for disabled people who are mobile, but have other difficulties. They could have visual or hearing impairments, and there are accommodations to the cabin to meet those needs. There is nothing wrong with this cabin for a non-handicapped person, so long as a disabled person doesn't need it. Apparently no one did, so it was assigned. You booked a guarantee, which means HAL can assign any available cabin in your category or higher.

To me, 'Gala' indicates that long gowns are appropriate, as is cocktail wear, while 'dressy' implies something less dressed up. I would think of 'dressy' as something you used to see worn in church in the days when people dressed nicely for church, or a fine restaurant. It's too bad terms can't be defined so people would have a clue what is meant, not just on HAL, but everywhere.

You still can. If it would please you to look nice and a little bit dressed up, then by all means, do it. I know I will dressed up most nights on my upcoming cruise. Should I get comments that I am a little too dressed up, it won't be the first time.

The outside cabins can be. Not the insides, however.

That was Rotterdam 2003; I was on that cruise. The waves breached the watertight doors on Upper Promenade, then cascaded down the stairs in front of the stage in the main theatre. The entire carpet in the theatre was flooded. In the dining room people were toppled over in their chairs. It was 38 consecutive hours of 45' seas. What a ride! It was during that cruise I heard about the Pacific crossing I thought was the previous year. But I could be wrong as to which ship it was. I remember Perry Grant telling me he was grabbing his lifevest and ready to head to the lifeboats at any moment. Thanks for confirming it was 2002 that was the year of the dangerous Pacific crossing.

I have always come off HAL ships craving a decent grilled cheese sandwich, since they were always merely toasted, without buttering the bread on the outside before putting on the griddle. I sure hope on the Nieuw Statendam the sandwich truly is grilled. Hope you enjoy your cruise!

But is it a real 'grilled' ham & cheese, or a toasted ham & cheese sandwich? Big difference between the two. When they were made in the Lido, they were called 'grilled' cheese, but were 'toasted'.