earljr

Thanks for the information.

The lanai cabins sound smaller than the regular ocean view cabins on the same deck.

They are :(

I do not recall seeing a roulette table on a HAL ship?? Am I wrong?

DaveOKC

Rotterdam

Only on the P'Dam for 31 but the performances were very good and room full. Maasdam had a packed room most nights as well

One can only wonder why the difference.

However I fear it is only a matter of time until the total demise of this event.

Similar to what we were told on the Rotterdam -- the port guide position is being

eliminated. We shall see in Oct. when we board the Maasdam what else is gone.

Perhaps Copper can confirm this??

Our 56 days on the Rotterdam convinced us that the pleasure

of classical music is now totally kaput.

Although there were anywhere from 6 to maybe 18 folks in the

venue the event was well worth missing.

Try one of the Cunard cruises for unbelievable quality --

No appetizers on our 2013 cruises on Noordam or Veendam

Nuts were also in short supply (not talking about passengers:))

On 'formal wear' night, (and any other night), I always dress smart casual, wearing a (short sleeve) collared shirt & a pair of dark slacks! Following the completion of my dinner in the Lido, I walk anywhere about the ship in any public venue, including 'The Showroom at Sea'! Do not let anyone here on the HAL CCB or onboard any HAL ship tell you that you cannot be seen in any public venue during the evening on 'formal wear' night! ;)

Old guy (me) wonders what a "collared shirt" means.

Dress shirt, polo shirt, anything with a collar?????

Five three night cruises do not come close to paying for 150 cruise days. The system is not fair. They should go back to counting days only. Now there are so many Elites that it is messing up the system. Preferred tendering has become a mess and on the royal, the laundry situation was unacceptable.

Spot on-- as they say:)

This is true, BUT, you can ask for one when you book, and, I have never been charged for one.:)

 

john

On our recent Noordam and Veendam cruises the Refrig was $2.00 per day and could only be secured by going to the front desk and paying (put on cruise account) prior to delivery.

Although DW ordered on the web site there was no record of the order on either ship.

I like that on HAL, hot hors d 'oeuvres are served in the lounges for pre-dinner drinks.

 

.

I believe this is a thing of the past

No hot hors d' on our recent Veendam cruise but

lots of peanuts :D

(some stale, some not

Could the annual report profit results just released by Carnival Corp have

been the catalyst for cost cutting??

I found that the ice in the tiny ice bucket was always melted by morning.

And I also like to take my Nexium with ice water in the morning.

So now I keep the ice bucket in the refrigerator.

Works good if your cabin has a refrigerator:)

Thanks for the suggestion. However, meeting my fellow roll call members is more important than meeting officers or having free booze. While nice to be able to say I've met them, it doesn't make my cruise any better or worse as they will undoubtedly, and very promptly, forget who the heck I am. There are some who like to schmooze with the officers. I'm not one of them as I'm not looking for attention or any special favors. It's the roll call members who have made my cruises more enjoyable and memorable, and with whom I look forward to cruising with again.

all of the above ---me too:)

Hi all

Info ---

http://classactionlitigation.com/ComplaintCruiseArtAuction.pdf

Hi all

On Oct.31 I received a letter from Christine Ferris, Senior Advisor to the President of HAL

This letter was in response to the latest of 3 letters sent to HAL regarding the new wine

policy. I made only one request -- Please allow one bottle of wine per port visited per person.

The response from HAL was to thank me for my interest in the new wine policy and to advise that my communications had been forwarded to the SR.. V.P. of Marine Hotel Operations.

She also hoped that DW and I had a wonderful 41 days on our just completed cruise on the Veendam.

So now I await a communication from the V.P. -- or not:(

Hi all

We were also on this cruise having boarded in Fll. I agree with most of the OP's comments

but have my opinions/comments to add---- (see COMMENTS below)

Veendam Circle Hawaii 11/16-12/3/13

 

 

We spent the next five days crossing the Pacific. We had arranged early dining with friends we met on the Asia Grand Voyage in 2010. Food in the MDR was generally good to excellent. Service was good although somehow our table for four seemed to always be last to finish in our area. Our friends used the wine package and enjoyed their choices.

 

COMMENT: We do not use the dining room and have our meals in the Lido or specialty

venues. We did however hear many, many complaints about quality and service in the dining rooms. In addition we were not totally satisfied with the Pinnacle Grill, especially since one must consider the sur charge. The Lido food was not great all the time but

mostly comparable with restaurants at home

 

 

 

We had lunch in the Pinnacle one day. Only five tables were in use. They had several special dinners set up including a seven course Indian dinner near the end of the cruise. We attended that for $25 each and our four star discount was applied.

 

COMMENT:

We also attended and found it to be lacking and the one 5 course we attended was a

waste.

 

Next we spent five days in Hawaii with a different port each day. Terrific weather, never rained. In Honolulu the Aloha Tower shopping center is a shell of its former self. Many empty stores, only one restaurant left. The complex has been purchased by University of the Pacific. The upper floor is all empty and they had planned to make it into a dormitory. But it is not zoned for residential and no change in zoning has been forthcoming. It is a sad complex to be next to a major cruise terminal.

 

COMMENT: Truly a shame Hopefully someone will save the complex

 

Overall ship in good condition. No problems with A/C, plumbing, elevators. Day of the week mats present in elevators, hand towels in public restrooms. Retreat on Lido Deck stern with several hot tubs and a peculiar wall is hideous and seemed to be rarely used.

 

COMMENT: There were several problems with the A/c on the main deck (our deck)

these problems were present from FLL. where we boarded. Our cabin was worked on several times and we were aware of at least 7 others having problems. There were 2 cabins relocated due to plumbing problems and there were at least 2 elevators that did not work or were out of service on several occasions..

 

The CD Alex went on the PA three times a day to tell us what we already knew from the daily schedule which was very annoying. The schedule no longer has biographical info on the key people which I missed.

 

 

COMMENT: I agree

 

The FCC couldn't get anything right, she had to redo one trip three times. In the process she cancelled the trip we are now on so I got an email planning to refund the shore excursion we had already taken. Maybe they will refund the entire fare. That would be great!

 

COMMENT: We booked, cancelled and rebooked 2 cruises without any problems.

 

Live music at the Lido pool, either HAL Cats or guitarist, was so loud that conversation was impossible. It even overwhelmed us in the Lido every time the door opened.

 

COMMENT: I agree. In addition the canned music was very loud and took several calls to the front desk to get turned down.

 

The few things that I criticize were minor. The trip was terrific. Disembarkation was smooth. We had wheelchair transport all the way to the rickshaw which we took to the Amtrak station.

 

COMMENT: We also enjoyed our 41 days and cruise with a mind set that requires out with the bad and in with the good:)

 

 

Vicki in sunny Redondo Beach, CA

May not change their minds but you will get a lovely letter from the "Office of the President" (likely from Christine Ferris).

This will let you know that Holland America is 140 years old , has five star dining, award winning entertainment, impeccable ships, and is one of the highest rated cruise lines.

They will assure you that your letter has been forwarded to senior management for review.

It's really a lovely form letter that it seems everyone that writes HAL gets. There are the obligatory "insert here" areas to make it personal.

Yes I know that I sound snarky and sarcastic; probably because I have received a few of these letters recently while trying to resolve a major issue.

I received the same type of reply and I have sent another snail mail back.

I agreed that they have the right to limit wine brought aboard but my plea was

to allow us to bring wine aboard in all ports of call with the same embarkation rule

Tasting wine from foreign ports is a major part of our cruise experience and I reminded

them that we have 98 days booked in 2014.

Is there a trend in process?

Did it start with the elimination of the discount on drink cards?

What will be next?

Have you actually sent this to HAL? Putting it on here is not enough on its own. Who knows what HAL gets to see from Cruise Critic. Now if you posted the same on their Facebook page they do see that.

 

Mumsy.

I did send it to HAL via snail mail ( a longer version)

I have no idea how to use facdbook

Dear HAL

Please reconsider and allow us to bring a bottle of wine on board in foreign ports

We have 98 days booked in 2014 on the Rotterdam and Maasdam and tons of

foreign ports to visit.

Buying a couple bottles of local wines are a very big part of our cruise experience.

Could you please allow us the same freedom to bring wine onboard as your new rule allows

in the embarkation port???

Dear HAL

Please reconsider and allow us to bring a bottle of wine on board in foreign ports

We have 98 days booked in 2014 on the Rotterdam and Maasdam and tons of

foreign ports to visit.

Buying a couple bottles of local wines are a very big part of our cruise experience.

Could you please allow us the same freedom to bring wine onboard as your new rule allows

in the embarkation port???

Just wondering-----

Why can DW bring wine onboard and I cant bring an equal amount of beer?

I don't drink wine so it is a problem only for my wife who enjoys a favorite wine that HAL does not offer,. Our next cruise is 41 days and hopefully she will be able to purchase her favorite or local wines to taste without any hassle from HAL. This is what we have done for many years and will continue to do this.

We have purchased over $500 in drink cards for this cruise and may end up purchasing even more as we like to treat our friends at cocktail hour and other occasions.

I think it appropriate for HAL to stop the abuse of bringing a case etc on board but I would have to reconsider sailing on HAL if my wife could not bring more than 750 bottle of local wines on board.

I feel the same way for local beer, If I am not allowed to bring 3-6 cans/bottles of local beer onboard I am going to be quite in a tizzy and as they say

will probably get my knickers in a twist

Thank you for the "live"

Earl

here is a link to our roll call

come and visit.

Earl

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1438863

Andy, I would ask to talk to the Casino hostess or the Casino manager if they charged me 3% for chips at the tables while I was gambling. Good luck, I hope you find out the actual rules. Maybe I just got lucky.

Never bought chips at the tables but have on many occasions

used my card to buy chips at the cage and never been charged

the 3%.

If they were to charge me the % when I am sitting playing at

the tables I would have a bloody fit:mad:

We board the Emerald in a couple weeks and I also will

make an attempt to find out what is going on.