julia

Actually, with your cruise being so close, you might want to scrap the CO idea entirely.... odds are it's already sold out.

5 hours ago, Skorpora said:

 I would think that USD are not appropriate since the crew would have to exchange it because they are nowhere near the USA. Can someone advise me on this please? 

It does not matter (at all) where the ship is sailing.... the crew is NOT exchanging in that location. USD, or whatever currency you are willing to give, is always gratefully accepted.

10 minutes ago, cruiser man 60 said:

What’s a knitting group ? I note we have one aboard when we sail, is this 00s of old Ladies knitting scarves😂

Srsly??  Such an ignorant comment to make.

First and foremost, have your 92 year old mother join the Cruise Critic roll call for that sailing so she can meet and make plans with others.

It's a safe bet that any cabin located on deck eight can/will have noise from above... either the forward Lido pool area, the entire Lido area, or aft Seaview pool.  We took a (nominal) paid upgrade to a mid-ship suite on Noordam, and I was woken by Lido noise very early each morning. No deck eight for us!

Remembering those who gave all...

Can you EVEN imagine how many times a minibar is emptied and restocked with the same cans that have been rolling around for months?!  😲

***PAY ATTENTION HAL***

It's very simple, more economical, AND more time effective, to have your website (insert deep sigh here) have a CHOICE of: "would you like your minibar stocked, check yes or no?"  Mine is a hard no (but I understand if others enjoy it!) 

MAKE IT AN OPTION!

Cruises are based on PER NIGHT. Accounts are closed at midnight (prior to disembarkation), and final statements are available to check (via kiosk or Navigator app).  Any "fee refreshment" on disembark morning will be charged to the credit card on file.

Ocean Bar makes them.  I had several on the Koningsdam, all very good. $5 over the SBP (at that time) but well worth it.

9 hours ago, luv2cruisenz said:

 

 

I do wonder if they have any kind of user experience testing on their website to identify when things are not clear. 

End user testing on the website??

Hahahahaaaaaa, gasp, hahahahahahaaaaaaa.  😅😲😅  Whew, thanks for the laugh!

Getting around the vicinity of London is fairly easy.  We enjoyed several nights in Kensington at the Park Hotel (4*) and found it lovely and walkable.

@afdds

One thing is for certain... when calling HAL reps, they are frequently misinformed.  It's very sad. It's very frustrating. Do NOT fret... this will get cleared up and you WILL dine in the actual restaurant. 

12 minutes ago, hamnabsma said:

Interesting: I checked my Pinnacle Grill dinner reservations for my July 2024 Alaska Inside Passage cruise on the Zaandam and it also says "Location: Delivered to Dining Room."

 

Does anyone have a Pinnacle Grill reservation that says "Location: Pinnacle Grill"? 

I've made dozens of Pinnacle Grill reservations in the past 20 years, and NEVER had to check the location.  Pinnacle Grill (lunch or dinner) is ALWAYS in the Pinnacle Grill restaurant.  Pinnacle Grill also serves breakfast to the highest suite and President Club guests.  This makes no sense, and again, I'm sorry that the OP is dealing with this silly #%$@!.  Shame on HAL!

Never, ever, EVER heard of this before and so sorry that you are dealing with this.  Your dinner in PG is NOT "free" (your words), it's simply "included" in what you paid in the Have It All. Call again, keep on it... they will eventually get it right.

There's a REASON that there were many "spa" cabins available... 😲

Where in Scotland?  Were you on a cruise?

Great info here, thx so much.

We will be doing the opposite direction, (arriving Rotterdam on the Rotterdam) and heading to Schipol.  How close/far is the port to the train?

54 minutes ago, DianneMarie said:

It seems to me that only two people can play, or possibly four? What were they thinking when they decided this would be good entertainment for 2000 plus passengers?

They were thinking of their sports minded, active passengers who enjoy playing this fast growing sport!  I've not heard a single complaint about lack of court time.

Frankly, I would not book a Vista at any price... I do NOT prefer the bed near the balcony, with the sitting area enclosed from the ocean view. No. Nope. Not for me.

6 hours ago, ChinaShrek said:

Since when is wine ordered with the food? Is that customary or a unwritten rule? At every restaurant I go out to, the server take drink orders first and then comes back to take food orders. In fact, I expect to have drinks in my hand before I have selected any food item. The longer I wait for a drink, the more the survey scores will suffer!

Aaaaannnnd there you have it. No further explanation needed.

3 hours ago, Cruise_buyer said:

We are currently sailing on NieuwStatendam. Our waiter in MDR appears to have 7 tables. This smacks of overworked and understaffed workforce. Have been on over 50 cruises in the past and not seen such slow, spotty service. Couldn't even get our drinks ordered for 20 mins after being seated. Received them another 20 mins aftrwd. Saw our poor waiter hurrying from table to front to table repeatedly. We reported the poor service to mngr or maitre D who only could apologize and offer wine. We each have a drink pkg, but why have to wait another 20 mins ? If this is HA's new business model, I will go back to Celebrity or Princess.

I agree that waiting 20 minutes to place a drink order is too long, but I fail to see why you mentioned having the drink package... that is irrelevant. All MDR's will have peak times and service will be slower.  Therefore, we arrive with a fresh drink IN HAND from the Pinnacle Bar, which is lovely while perusing the menu.  Wine is ordered WITH food choices, and we stay ahead of wine requests so we're not dining "empty glassed".  Staff appreciates us.

We found the Koningsdam to be loud and crowded last year on a 35 night So Pac cruise.  Tried the MDR for dinner, but quickly tired of the long lines. The canned music was ridiculously everywhere (even in the Crow's Nest), you could NOT find a quiet space. Madonna at 6:30 am in the Lido was soooo annoying! I discussed this with guest services (as did many others), and was told it was "a corporate directive" (what bs is that?) Just off a week on Noordam... lovely, quiet music, with quiet spaces (I guess they didn't get the memo). 😅

11 minutes ago, jimgev said:

 

I need to register my personal dismay in that HAL seems to be retreating from this dedication to live music venues. I hope that this is not going to be an ongoing trend.

Not sure what you are referring to, but HAL is not "retreating from live music"...  there are multiple options to enjoy nightly. While BB Kings is not on the smaller ships, the Rolling Stone Lounge, dueling pianos, and main stage are.  We had an excellent vocal quartet in the main stage on Noordam last week; the two piano players in Billboard were great; Ocean bar had a lovely trio, and RSL band rocked the house. No shortage of music!!

Sitting at YVR as I type...  SkyTrain could NOT be easier.  Ends at Waterfront Station, Pan Pacific is simply minutes away. Tons of places nearby to eat & drink.  Tons.

23 minutes ago, Khlela said:

This likely would be super helpful if people actually followed the instructions and port staff enforced it. However, we all know people will still arrive whenever they want and it sounds like it’s not being enforced. Alas, this likely will have very minimal impact.

 

I’m also curious, given four and five star, NS, PS and also OC all get priority. That has be a good chunk of the ship right? Is there priority within the priority does anyone know? Like the stars, NS and PS board before CO? I know those with mobility issues are priority as well. I don’t care really as long as I’m on the ship eventually. But it just makes me wonder how much of a “priority” it actually is at this point. 

There is NO priority when everyone has priority! 😅🫢

It's still a cluster... arrive later, skip the crowds and chaos!