CoffeHound

I know that the bottled Carnival water on the Pride that sails from Baltimore MD. is purified and it is bottled by Niagara. I wish there was a spring water option. Many people say water is water, no it is not. ;-)

I am a little sad that there isn't another choice. Princess used to have spring water for their package and then the last time we were on Grand it was purified no name. It did not taste good to me.

I have to agree that for me water is not all the same and there are certain brands that I just don't like! Hopefully the tap water on the ship will taste ok to me sometimes it does, sometimes not so much!

I really wish carnival would offer a choice since you can't bring any with you.

Thanks everyone.

Can anyone tell me what brand(s) of bottled water is available on the Splendor? Is it the carnival purified water only or is there a brand name as well?

Thanks!

We are going on our very first carnival cruise at the end of January, and I am really excited to try a new cruise line.

I have tried the veggie burger on the Grand and other ships at the Trident bar, and all times I have tried I have tossed. Not sure but I think they start out with mashed potatoes and then add some corn and other veggies. May be very healthy, and I eat very healthy, but they were just mushy and never did crisp up. I love black bean burgers but these not so much. I will try in room service on our next trip, did not know they were provided, but will check and see what they are like.

I don't know if it is only a Grand thing, but I totally agree with this. My sister and I have been vegetarian for many years and eaten a lot of different veggie burgers and I would describe the ones on the Grand as mushy potato cakes. Not the worst I've had, but the ones we had didn't inspire us to order them again.

For me, I don't need a veggie burger to try to replicate beef. I want something that tastes good and has some texture. A hard sear on the outside always helps, and would really help the mashed potato cakes masquerading as veggie burgers on the Grand!

We did mention it on our post cruise survey, and I honestly think that's all we can do.

Did you have a chance to try the tandoor place? If so was it good and how were the lines?

We will be on the Splendor in January and we are looking forward to it!

Thanks!

Can you tell us what cabin you were in? Depending on how the banging noise part of this story ends, I may want to avoid that cabin.

Thanks!

Wow, that is , truly based. Which ship? how long ago?

 

In all the years and a great many HAL cruises with HAl, I have never seen a towel or cab in steward servi ce cart . HAl does not use them and maybe that was juts another 'anomalay on a one day cruise ?

It was Osterdam a couple of years back. There was nothing normal about that cruise. You can't pick a cabin on the one day cruises so guarantee only and the passenger services desk was about 50 people deep all afternoon complaining about the cabin they had been assigned and trying to get upgraded to a suite for free. We had been assigned a cabin right by there so we had occasion to walk by several times. Not the way I would spend my 1 day cruise but to each his own.

My sister and I have been on a few short cruises including a one day on HAL and a one day on Princess. We took both because they were between Vancouver and Seattle and either at the beginning of or end of another longer cruise. It is cheaper for us to fly to/from Seattle than Vancouver and I'm not too fond of the bus trip between the two cities so it was worth it to me.

However, I will say that in the case of the one day cruise on HAL we boarded at the very end of what had been sold as a very long cruise through the Panama Canal and us "Short timers" were filling the cabins of those who got off in Vancouver instead of staying on for Seattle or LA disembarkation. We both noticed a very large difference in service on that cruise.

We felt essentially invisible to the staff. It was obvious that the staff was serving all of the people who had been on the ship for the past three weeks, and ignoring the new passengers unless there was no one else to serve. We sat at explorers lounge trying to get drinks for over 30 minutes but none of the waiters could "see" us until another couple who had been onboard for the whole cruise sat with us. In less than a minute we magically had a waiter at the table, and in the couple of minutes it took him to get back with the drinks we had 3 other waiters ask us if we needed anything.

We had the same experience with the cabin steward who never came to greet us. We tracked him down not once but twice to say there were no towels in the cabin. He promised both times he would bring some, but we finally just had to go get some ourselves from a random cart we found in the hallway after dinner because we never did get turn down or towels from him.

We may have just gotten a bad steward, but I really go the feeling that the staff didn't care about pleasing us because we were only worth 1 day of tips so they just decided to ignore the small percentage of passengers that just got on and concentrate on the people who had been on longer.

I get the economics of the situation, and really, I can't blame them because in their position I wouldn't want to give bad service on the last day to someone who could remove three weeks worth of tips, but after the great service we have had in the past, it was a little disappointing.

I think I would still do a 1 day again if it meant skipping the bus, but now I know that it really isn't going to be the same experience as 1 day out of a longer cruise.

I use a lanyard now when I am on the ship. It has saved me countless trips to guest services to get a new card after I forgot (Again!) not to put it in the same pocket as my cell phone. Also, I find it faster/easier for getting drinks since otherwise I seem to always be searching around for which pocket I put it in.

I will preface this by saying that both my sister and I are vegetarian so that you know that does influence our opinion. That being said, we have eaten tasting menus at several high end omnivore restaurants such as French Laundry, Fleur de Lis, Charlie Trotter, Commis etc. so we know that high end can be done well and we do not mind paying (sometimes through the nose!) for a "dining experience".

On our last cruise n the Ruby we ate at both the Salty Dog and Share. While we felt the food was good at Share we were disappointed that they really didn't have an alternative to the charcuterie and were not willing to offer an additional side or anything so we did feel like we got "shorted". We were also disappointed in the selection of wines by the glass and the fact that none of the staff seemed to be able to help with food & wine pairing. We did enjoy it, but I do not think we would go back to share because I did not think it was a good value for the money.

We might go back to the Salty Dog because we felt the food was just as good and the price and drink selection was better.

The other option that we have used successfully in the past (albeit in hotel rooms where the remotes also often lack the input button) is to unplug the HDMI cable that is already there and then just plug our HDMI cable into that port thus using the input the TV is set to. Then when we are done, unplug our cable and replug the hotels cable.

It has been about a year since we did this one but we usually do at least 1 California coastal a year since now we can sail Princess out of San Francisco. I just wanted to say that the last time we were in Santa Barbara we did a Pedicab wine tour. Really, really fun! We got to visit 4 or 5 wine tasting rooms that were more spread out from the downtown corridor since we weren't walking and they were way less crowded. Worth a try if you are looking for something a little different.

Is there anywhere to get a bloody mary or mimosa with Breakfast? I was also wondering if the Explorations cafe has a full bar or just the liquors that they use to make the "adult" coffees?

Do you realize that this would only improve if Princess took that laundry benefit away from some people. I guess it would not get worse.

This is exactly what I was thinking... as in be careful what you wish for in the sense that it doesn't help in the short term to create higher levels unless you take away the most valued perks from the Elites and only give them to the new higher and smaller tier. If you increase the number of days or cruise credits or whatever to make each tier, but grandfather in everyone who already has it, it is going to take awhile before the number of Elites who stop cruising outpaces the number of cruisers becoming Elite in any meaningful way.

I've just been trying to fax my docs, too, and neither of the numbers were working. My PCC said the number to use is the 206-281-0627 one. The other day there was a thread with a different number, and we've been trying both. We'll try again today. Failing that, we'll call the World Cruise Reservations number and see what they are up to. :DHave to get it done before the AGM!

When I called the other day, I was told the correct number is 206-270-6080. I was also told they are having problems with the fax and if I had time, they suggested I mail in my request. I wasn't too fond of that idea so just kept trying and got the fax to go yesterday. I already have confirmation of my OBC so keep trying and good luck!

I did myself a favor a couple years back and abolished alll my cc debt after being behind for years and closed them all out. What a weight off my shoulders. But I may consider opening one for this and immediately paying it off. Thank you!

I'm curious as to how you are going to handle your on board account? I am not an experienced Carnival cruiser, but thought I read you needed a credit card even if you set up a cash account? I also seem to recall a couple of problems with holds being placed on someones checking account when they used a debit card to secure their on board account?

I may be mixing up my cruise lines. Can someone with more carnival experience comment?

I am sorry to create another PVSA / Jones Act thread, but I am confused after reading some earlier threads on the Princess forum.

 

I am booked on the Eurodam April 24-28 sailing, San Diego to Vancouver. Today, I tried to add on a B2B, staying on the Eurodam for the April 28-29 sailing from Vancouver to Seattle. I received a very quick automated email from HAL (forwarded by TA) that this was in violation of the PVSA.

 

OK, so I did some research here on CC, and saw several references that if you changed ships, there is no violation. I see that the Oosterdam is making that same 1 day sailing on April 28. So, I called HAL to inquire, and was told that even changing ships is a violation of the PVSA.

 

Did I speak with an uninformed HAL agent, or will changing ships still not get around the violation?

When we booked the Eurodam April 24-28th I received an e-mail from HAL with an "Important update attached". The attachment was titled "Passenger Vessel Services Act" and confirmed our booking and then stated:

PASSENGER VESSEL SERVICE ACT:

Thank you for booking an upcoming cruise with Holland America Line. Please be advised that due to the Passenger Vessel Services Act, this sailing cannot be combined with ms Eurodam - 04/28/2017:

04/28/2017 to 04/29/2017 from Vancouver, B.C., CA to Seattle, Washington, US

If you have any questions regarding this message, please contact our

Reservations team

So we just decided to spend the night in Vancouver and we are taking the Oosterdam down to Seattle on the 29th. When I booked that, I received a similar message stating that that 1 day could not be combined with the Oosterdam's prior sailing up from San Diego.

I have no idea where the rep came up with the whole two night rule or whatever because we have done a similar itinerary in the past with Princess taking one ship up to Vancouver, spending a night and taking another one back down to a different US port.

We really like Vancouver so just consider it part of the vacation and really the one night in Vancouver won't cost us that much more than the difference in airfare between flying home from there as opposed to Seattle.

So, I guess my point is, we'll see you on the Eurodam, and you should consider spending a day in Vancouver and sailing down to Seattle with us on the Oosetrdam:D

You might want to look into the two wine packages HAL offers - Navigator and Admiral. These come in 3-5-7 bottle packages and you can select from any wine on the list. I like the Navigator package for whites, but Admiral for reds (no you cannot mix the two packages but I wanted to give you an idea what to expect). Naturally, the Admiral package is a bit more expensive.

 

I do not remember the exact prices, but I am sure you can find it on the HAL website or here on Cruise Critic using the SEARCH feature. Since you normally get 4-5 glasses per bottle, it is a bit less expensive than wine by the glass (except for the house wines of course). You do not have to finish the bottle at dinner - the wine steward will save it for you and open another whenever you want (in fact, you can have 2 or 3 bottles open at a time).

 

I know that this is your first HAL cruise, but if someone else in your group is a frequent HAL guest (3-5 Stars), there are discounts on these wine packages available (25-50% off).

Thanks Dave,

This is a first cruise on HAL for both of us, and it is just us, so we'll have to pay full price, but since it is a 4 day cruise we probably will be able to go through a few bottles.

Does anyone know if they will bring a bottle up to our retreat cabana? I know we can order individual drinks up there but it would be great if we could get a bottle.

It's usually around $6.25. Here's the whole wine by the glass list from last month.

 

https://www.evernote.com/shard/s88/sh/cee2cf73-8510-4812-a432-73df0c57d791/a2623dc291a487316832b45d292edbf0

And thank you again! My sister and me are about to go on our first HA cruise and I have really been wondering how much to budget for wine. This really helps because now I know what I am interested in trying!

I just got off the Grand. I like the new carpet in the hallways on the cabin floors but I miss the orange and green feature strips in the old carpet. It made it easy to quickly tell if you're on port side or starboard.

Not a big deal though.

OMG! Say it isn't so! I depend on those stripes since I have vision problems and a horrible sense of direction. You wouldn't think I could constantly forget which way to turn when coming off the elevators, but alas it is true.

However, I have asked quite a few people about it on our cruises, and they either didn't notice or didn't care, so maybe I am in just the directionaly challenged minority and will have to deal with it since I am sure it is cheaper/easier to only have one carpet pattern.

Thank you both! We really want to try one, so I don't want to miss the opportunity because I am standing in the wrong line:)

Hi Everyone,

We have just booked our very first Holland America cruise on the Eurodam and are really excited to see what she has to offer.

I called ship services to ask about booking a retreat cabana, but they said since this is a short cruise (4 days) we have to book once on board. The rep said we should go to the front desk to do this, but I just wanted to make sure that is right? On Princess you go up to the sanctuary to do the booking and it is very popular so if you aren't in the right place at the right time, you miss out!

Has anyone ever booked once on board? Is it the front desk or the retreat?

Thanks!

I'm so disappointed by this news. I always tout the greatness of cruising to friends and such and now this.

 

Can someone more nautically inclined the I explain the benefits gained by bypassing the filters and discharging these substances overboard. Less weight? Better fuel economy? Cost savings? Do the engineers see a bonus if they can run the ship more efficiently? And is any item that great to warrant illegal measures and lying? Please tell, me cause I'm dumbfounded.

 

Plus, my stock took hit. Grrrr.

I am also curious what the advantage to this was? I am also wondering what the original purpose of the "magic pipe" was? Was it supposed to be for emergencies only i.e. bypass the filters and quickly discharge contaminated water to avoid a larger disaster? Or was it part of the design before use of the filters was required? Or was it being used in a manner never intended sort of "off label use" as it were? The fact that it was removed with apparently no ill effects to the running of the ship makes me wonder.

Depends on the embarkation port. Some are strict others not so much.

From our experience.........

When boarding (embarkation port) there are no Ship security at the initial check.

Pier security will probably not take it or let you take it on.

They could care less what you want to do and will most likely dispose of it.

There instructions are wine only and NO ALCOHOL.

 

If its a port stop then thats a different story.

 

 

OP you may trying to put it in your luggage and write a note on the bottle letting them know your intentions.

It is very true that it varies by embarkation port, and probably by cruise for that matter. When we embarked on the Ruby in September in Vancouver there was a NCL ship going out at the same time.

They were running one security line for both ships and everyone was being told that all liquids including bottled water had to be dumped because they were not allowed past security and on board. I was super glad that we were not carrying anything on because there were a couple of very upset Princess pax trying to explain that the rules were not the same for NCL and Princess and it seemed like the port security did not care.

Yep, I'm with Pablo222 - drink said whiskey and make some new friends while you're at it!

In the past month I never saw even one person use a glass to fill their water bottles or coffee mugs. So much for their suggested rules.

Unfortunately, we also saw more than a few violations of this on the Grand. Unless it was poured from a pitcher or carafe and thus did not touch our cups we always filled a clean glass and then poured into our reusable cups from there.

The incident that disturbed me the most was someone filling their thermos with soup using the ladle and touching it all over the rim yet still managing to spill soup back into the pot. No more soup for me the rest of the cruise......

My mom and I had no problem getting drip coffee or lattes in our reusable mugs. I was really happy to use mine because it kept the coffee hot a lot longer than the paper cups and I liked the bonus of keeping a few disposable cups out of the waste stream.

On this cruise we tried the Bounty with dawn (dish soap) built in and they worked really well for washing our mugs between coffee in the morning and water the rest of the day (or tea or whatever). I'm not sure I'll find much use for them at home so one roll is going to last me a long time!