cbr663

Cbr663 - off topic but may I ask what brand of grinder you use? I would value your opinion/experience in this. DH suffers from gout from time to time so we are careful about what we eat - minimal beef, lamb, turkey (chicken's OK), seafood so being able to make our own pork sausage etc would be great. TIA

 

I have the Kitchenaid Professional 600 series mixer with the meat grinder attachment. It does a wonderful job. I tend to use the larger grind as I prefer a larger grind. We buy our pork from a local farmer.

 

Once the mixture is made, I use a large cookie scoop (smaller than an ice-cream scoop) and shape round patties. I quickly freeze them and then store them in plastic bags in the freezer. The sausage thaws quite quickly in the morning.

This seems to be a real issue on the ships. It has happened to DH several times. Luckily, I didn't get it. One time, his turned into pneumonia.

 

Makes me wonder whether we should be trying to boost our immune systems a couple of weeks before we go on our cruises. I think it starts at the airports (thousands of folks under one roof, all waiting to get somewhere), then you have the planes, airports again, hotels, hundreds again at the piers for embarkation. Shuttles full of strangers squeezed into buses trying to get to the ships and then again on excursions and trying to get home again at the end of the cruises.

 

It's a miracle that you don't get sick :-)

Having previously worked as a scratch baker and a cook in a restaurant, we are a little spoiled. We don't eat along the lines of fine dining at home, but I do tend to make as much as possible from scratch. We never have a salad dressing from a bottle, for instance, and I even grind my own pork and make our breakfast sausage. And yes, I make our desserts and breads from scratch. Home made croissants are the best.

 

But, we are not foodies. We like good food that is not over ladened with salt and preservatives. On our recent NA cruise, we did not find the food at all salty and we really enjoyed that. Our biggest food turn offs tend to be overly processed food with lots of additives.

 

You will find a huge selection of food on your cruise, and don't let the fact that you find something less than pleasing ruin your whole cruise. It's only food. Try something else and don't make a big deal out of it.

 

P.S. A lot of folks find the coffee strong. We did also. Just add extra hot water to it and it will be fine. We found the lemonade a little weak at time, and I just added a few of the lemon slices to it to boost it. Just remember that you are not the only guest on the ship and HAL has to feed thousands, and not just you, so take the initiative and make your cruise the best that it can be.

 

We loved the fried chicken in the lido on embarkation day, and the roasted onion bread was delicious. PG was great, but our best was the Tamarind. The absolute best for us though is breakfast on our balcony. We love it and look forward to it always. Nothing else beats it for us. We are always so grateful for it, and I remember looking at my DW during our breakfast when we were at HMC and saying, "Life doesn't get much better than this". It was truly a wonderful experience and we can't wait to have it again soon.

Just wondering what Suite perks you had to "request". Neptune lounge access and concierge service for your every need are automatic and part of the suite package. Free laundry - just leave your laundry bag for your steward and there is no charge. No special arrangements needed and one of the best perks. Suite social events are by invitation. I'm just confused as to what you didn't get that comes with a Neptune Suite and had to request. Sorry you didn't enjoy it.

 

We had to request a clean suite. The suite was absolutely filthy with huge stains on the chairs and multiple stains on the bed skirt. After they cleaned it, they asked me to come and look at it and it still wasn't clean. They had to clean it again. Even after the second time I saw visible stains on the bed skirt, but let it go.

 

Laundry sent out for pressing was returned stained. That required a visit from the laundry supervisor who decided to challenge me that the clothes were sent stained. This made for a very uncomfortable exchange for my wife and I. This was brand new clothing that was sent to just have the wrinkles from packing removed.

 

We did not receive the corsages and boutonnieres for formal night. We addressed this with the folks at the Neptune Lounge and they were delivered the next day. An entire day too late.

 

We did not have the fresh bath salts. We did not receive any priority for embarkation and disembarkation at any time. We didn't receive any priority dining requests and the requested hors d' oeuvres could have just as easily been ordered from room service.

 

A requested birthday cake for a private celebration did not show. Clothing from previous cruisers was found in the suite.

 

As I stated, for us, very little value for the cost.

The easiest thing that you can do when travelling is taking some wipes with you and quickly wiping down common surface areas. The Clorox Healthcare Bleach Germicidal Wipes apparently kill norovirus. It would take seconds, for instance, to wipe the tray on a plane. A couple of minutes to wipe down a cruise stateroom. You really only need to work on areas that you touch - the door handles and up and down the end of the doors, the counter tops, the telephone, the remote controls, the bathroom. It really wouldn't take too long and it would make for a safer trip.

Knock on wood, we've stayed noro-free...and the Ryndam had it on board when we were on her last winter. But I picked up a cold on the Nieuw Amsterdam (or on the plane more than likely) and it took a long time to shake. Hit me on the TA portion of the cruise.

 

Guess it can happen anywhere once we leave the house.

 

My wife and I also picked up a cold on the NA. She got it on Day 3 and I started on Day 6. My wife ended up on antibiotics when we got home - I managed to get by with over the counter cold medications.

I'm not saying the issues will be magically resolved just because you are in a Neptune or PH suite. I'm pretty sure they would be resolved quicker than someone in an inside cabin.

 

No, that wasn't our experience at all when were in a Neptune Suite. Concierge were of little use to us.

Love the Tamarind, it is worth the small up charge. PG is very good, and still a bargain at $29. We don't eat in the MDR for dinner, only at the speciality restaurants, the small extra charge won't really make a dent on a 7 day cruise.

 

+1. We don't like the MDR at all - we would rather the Lido anytime over the MDR. I would select room service over the MDR. Ate the the PG twice and Tamarind once on our last cruise. They are both musts for us from now on. We enjoyed them both so much that we have decided we will do the Captain's Table (I believe that is what it is called) on our next cruise.

How long is your cruise?

 

You can check out all the perks of a Neptune Suite online. We did it 2 cruises ago and will never do it again. The Suites are larger and it was nice having the larger bathroom and balcony. The balcony especially as we were in the Caribbean. Most of the additional perks though you have to request and for us, did not amount to great value.

 

We just got back from the Western Caribbean on the NA and had a wonderful time. We had a VC suite this time and both DW and I agree that we had twice the fun with the VC suite at half the cost than that of the Neptune Suite.

A Canadian television show tested airplanes and found the worst offenders were the food trays. They interviewed folks who work on planes and they were not surprised. You apparently have a higher chance of finding fecal matter on the food trays than in the washrooms. The most common culprit are parents siting children on them, changing babies and placing dirty diapers on them.

 

Always wipe down these trays with alcohol wipes.

Sorry, but I can't imagine any scenario where a crew member would choose a lesser level of service. They really do depend upon those tips and it would be financial suicide to intentionally put them in jeopardy. Only once, in over 200 cruise days, have I had a crew member tell me he couldn't fill my request. I'm convinced he was new and didn't know any better - as the matter was quickly remedied by someone else.

 

As for the minibar - that is serviced by the Beverage Department, not by the Cabin Steward. In fact, I doubt the Cabin Stewards are even permitted to open that door unless specifically asked to do so. A quick call to the front desk, and a request for daily refilling, would have solved the problem. Yes, this may have been automatic at some point - but just think about the time wasted in checking minibars that are never even used. I believe it's much more efficient to service only those that are actually in need.

 

I think it's sometimes easy to blame the Cabin Steward for a deficiency, when he actually has no input on his job description. At least not in any immediate sense.

 

It just makes no sense, IMO, for HAL to bring in a policy to discourage passengers from enjoying beverages in their stateroom. I also noted in a passenger review of the ship a week before our sailing, the passenger stated that their cabin was on the side opposite ours and their ice bucket was filled every day.

 

I also believe that the hallmark of outstanding service is to not have to ask for anything. I should not have to ask to have the mini bar restocked anymore than I should have to ask to have the bed made or the washroom cleaned or for a waiter to remove my plate when I am finished eating.

 

Don't get me wrong - this wasn't a big deal for us and we did not allow it to affect our enjoyment of our cruise in anyway. We will be back on the NA again as we had a wonderful cruise.

That would have absolutely zero effect upon those who make the cutback decisions. It would be a clear case of shooting the messenger.

 

I agree that there are some cutbacks that are beyond the control of the crew, but there are some that I believe that have been brought in by the crew themselves. I have spoken with DW about this thread and she reminded me that the only time anyone came to check our minibar on our recent cruise was on the morning we were disembarking. There were several times that we opened the refrigerator to get a soft drink only to discover that it had not been restocked. It wasn't restocked during the entire cruise. This is an income generating service provided by HAL, so it makes no sense for it not to be restocked each day. This is lost income and I don't believe that HAL would bring in a policy to only check the fridges on disembarkation anymore than I believe that they would bring in a policy to not supply ice in a room in a tropical climate. These are decisions made by the cabin steward.

We have allergies to a lot of products so we always bring our own. We grabbed a bar of soap from the Hilton that we stayed in pre-cruise and it was wonderful. No problems with that for hand washing.

 

I mentioned to my wife that I was surprised that HAL doesn't bring in a scent free policy on its ships. She then reminded me of the fragrance store on board.

 

I know folks who can not cruise due to having allergies to scented products. I even know of one guy who cannot be around products like Purel and other hand sanitizers - he literally passes out as soon as he comes into contact with the stuff.

I hear about this restaurant a lot, but only hear about the sushi. I'm not a fan of sushi, what else do they serve?

 

I had a wasabi crusted tenderloin that was divine. I don't like sushi either and had no problem finding things that I liked.

Definitely Tamarind. It is quiet and very intimate. The seats are really comfortable and the tables are not packed too close to each other (or at least they weren't on the NA). We dislike the noise and the busy hustle and bustle of the MDR.

There have been comments on this forum of room stewards filling soap dispensers with water instead of soap in order to save time. We were told to request ice as they were no longer supplying it in the rooms. And it is clear from other comments that different levels of service exist across different ships. I guess the question for me is how much of the service that we receive is impacted by decisions made by HAL and how much by decisions made by crew on the ship?

Thanks for the review.

 

Are you a wine drinker? If so, what options are offered for $7 or less? We are booked on the NA with the Signature Beverage Package.

 

Thank You.

 

 

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Sorry, we are not wine drinkers. We are not drinkers at all so I cannot comment on the price of any alcohol on the ship. We had a couple of cans of Coke that were $1.95 each. We were surprised to see one guest with 2 cases of it at embarkation - now I know why.

If you feel that HAL continues to cut back on service, has anyone responded by reducing their daily hotel charge in response? After all, tipping is for exemplary service which many folks are apparently not receiving? I just wonder would this send a message to HAL?

This is truly the first time I hear about poor experience on the Edam.

 

You can read our review of the Eurodam here: http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=96447

Several incidents? Like what?

 

We had asked the front desk to be reimbursed for snorkelling equipment rentals at HMC due to the fact that we were ordered back to the ship. They said that they would look into it and leave a message on our voice mail. The refund was issued but no message was left on the voice mail.

 

We also discovered that when we turned on the light to our balcony that it tripped the power to our stateroom. Luckily, we discovered it while our cabin steward was there and he turned the power back on to our cabin. He said that he would have it looked at but he didn't let us know whether it was fixed or not.

 

We also had a crack appear in the inside panel of our window and we quickly notified the front desk of it and was told that they would send someone to have a look at it. The crack got larger as the cruise progressed and we left the ship not knowing whether anyone checked it out. I would have expected that someone would have contacted us to let us know how they were planning to handle it and whether we needed to be concerned about the window breaking. But, no one did.

We just finished the Western Caribbean on the Nieuw Amsterdam on Dec 8th and feel that it was the very best cruise ever with HAL. The NA has now become our ship of choice.

 

Embarkation went smoothly, however there was a delay in getting aboard. We arrived at the cruise terminal a little after 11:00 am only to discover that embarkation would not begin until noon. And yes, there were lots of folks waiting with groups being called to board the ship.

 

We found our veranda suite easily. Having been on the Eurodam before the NA felt familiar. Our suite was clean and ready for us. We had lots of room for our belongings and stowed our 2 big suitcases under the bed.

 

The food on the NA was excellent. The fried chicken in the lido on embarkation day was the best. We tried the Pinnacle Grill twice and the Tamarind once. The Tamarind has become our favourite dining venue. The Wasibi Crusted Tenderloin was excellent and with the intimate surroundings and outstanding service - it couldn't be beat.

 

Breakfast on the veranda is a must and we had it 3 times. It was wonderful. On time and always with a friendly smile. The dessert bonanza has been done away with.

 

We ate at the MDR once - the mariner's luncheon. Let me state for the record that we do not enjoy the MDR, and the mariner's luncheon was no different. We have always found the MDR experience to be orchestrated and noisy. For the luncheon, I tried to step up to the raised portion for a seat and was rudely blocked by a server. I had to ask him to step aside to let me sit and he did so, but very reluctantly. Within 3 minutes the raised platform tables were all filled so I don't know what the big issue was?

 

We have discovered that in addition to the noise at the MDR, for us, the MDR is the only section of the ship that feels crowded.

 

We enjoyed the Garage Band show and the comedian (whose name escapes me at the moment). The culinary shows are always a favourite, and walking away from the chocolate show with a box of hand made chocolates was a great treat.

 

This was a make it or break it cruise for us. Our last cruise with HAL was horrible and we decided to give HAL one more try and we are glad that we did. It is clear that HAL delivers a different level of service and experiences on each ship, so finding a ship that meets your expectations is a good thing. So far we have been really impressed with the Veenedam and now the NA. Pass on the Eurodam. During this cruise we met other cruisers who also echoed very poor experiences with the Eurodam.

 

It was also interesting that during our taxi ride to the terminal, our cab driver told us that we will have a great time on the NA and that the ship is known for its great service.

 

If I were asked to provide feedback on areas needing improvement, I would have to say that the crew needs to pay more attention to following up. We had several instances where crew told us that they would follow up but didn't. We didn't allow these instances to damper our spirits though.

 

We are now looking for our next cruise with HAL.

Just off the NA and there were several cut backs that we noticed - you have to ask for ice now for your room and we didn't receive any menus at all in our state rooms. I would have thought that instead of printing them that HAL would have broadcasted them on the television, but that didn't happen. We would have to go to the dining room each day to see what was being served.

 

We didn't receive a lot of soap and creams for our room either, but this isn't an issue for us as we both have skin allergies and cannot use anything that is provided on the ships.

 

The dessert extravaganza was gone, but like others have said, we didn't miss it. The quality had deteriorated so much over the past several years.

 

I am not surprised with the comments concerning the Neptune Lounge. We had previously sailed in a Neptune suite and feel that the premium was over charged for such low value. This previous cruise on the NA we went back to a verandah stateroom and had twice the experience at half the cost.

We ate twice in the Pinnacle during our recent cruise (Dec 1-8th) on the NA and thoroughly enjoyed it. I would advise against the cheesecake though - it is too sweet to be really enjoyed.

That was something we thought was amiss on our recent visit to the Pinnacle. We ordered Caesar salad and it was supposed to be made tableside but was not. It was made somewhere else and delivered to our table. We were a little puzzled :confused: over this. Has this happened to anyone else.....or was it just us?? Maybe they have started to not make salads tableside anymore? We were just on the Eurodam Nov 17 week.

 

We were just on the NA Dec 1 - 8th and the Caesar salad was indeed made table side in the Pinnacle.

I agree that the entertainment needs to improve. I also think that a new coffee supplier would be a big improvement. We found the quality of the food on our last cruise lacking. Pastries were dry and flavourless, the MDR was uneventful (the baked alaska was not good), the midnight desert was un-inspiring (enough with the different flavoured sponge cakes and mousse), and the attention to small details missing throughout the entire cruise.

We are hoping that our cruise in a few days will be better.