bluesplayer

We cruised to Alaska in September 4 cruise. The MDR was open for lunch from 12-1. Enjoying your report and photos!

Having the same issue. Worked fine for our Alaska cruise.. now cannot get a verification.

I agree! I do not like it either. Makes you feel obligated to tip again after being charged a tip. I did express those feelings to the hotel manager onboard the Westerdam Sept 4 cruise.

I did send the hotel manager a note about it. There’s a box by guest services. He did respond. Hope other cruisers supply feedback. I feel if you want to leave an extra tip you can leave cash (which I did do). Not fair the cabin stewards cannot leave a form for extra tips as well. I like the 20% idea…

and read this forum...

The Pinnacle menu on the Westerdam did say (in small print) there would be a $7.00 additional charge for each appetizer. We each ordered 1 appetizer and shared the bacon. We were not charged. Thinking they may want to curb the folks that order multiples and take one bite.

I did not ask these questions to the staff. Perhaps @celticGreen81can query? Currently on the Westerdam.

According to the staff.. this was a new process that went into effect sometime in August and only on the Westerdam. @Florida_gal_50 was correct calling the ship the Testerdam. The crew confirmed they were trying this out and only on the Westerdam.

I had no idea the bar staff did not receive any of the hotel service charges paid. Thank you for clearing that up. I tip them regardless and pay my hotel service charges. Wonder if this will start going fleet wide? It is easier to just add a tip on..

Was just off the Westerdam sailing roundtrip from Seattle to Alaska. Now when you order a beverage, you sign a receipt.. not new. What is new is there is an additional tip line on the receipt. One cruiser was very vocally opposed to that, saying "I already tipped". I found it interesting that if the wait staff was provided an opportunity to sign for additional tips the cabin stewards were not. I did ask the bartender.. does this tip go directly to you? or is this added to a pool. His response was it goes directly to him. Maybe soon there will be a slip of paper on your made bed requesting additional tips? I always do pay my required tips and tip extra.. not the issue. It does seem slighted for the wait staff and not fair for the cabin stewards. Still not over the scaled down room service menu. This change happened long ago I understand. All in all this was a great cruise!!! The service and food were excellent. The ship was fairly full and the staff was working quite hard!! Our stewards had 39 rooms!!!

Really enjoying your thread. Thank you for all your time posting!!

Looking forward to following along on the NS in October.. Quebec City to Ft. Lauderdale

If you use a TA ask them to email you an updated invoice.

I agree.. it’s the bartender.. that makes it special. I loved going to see Jerry in the Crows nest on the Eurodam. Hope he is still around

I understand what you are saying is a whole platter of Kroket is a bad thing? 😠 OK, only a couple; then a side of split pea soup and a couple of Speculaas!! HA split pea soup is my favorite dish.

I did see the information below. So, is the $4,000.00 the amount of points you have? or the cost of the cruise? Is it possible to use these points to pay for a cruise? Still confused. Thank you What's the best redemption value among eligible transactions? Holland America Line cruise transactions with a value of $4,001 or more offer the best redemption value. For example, 200,000 points may be redeemed for a $5,000 statement credit toward an eligible Holland America Line purchase. Holland America Line purchase amount ($50 or greater) within last 180 days = Redemption points value $50 to $499.99 = 1% $500-$1,499.99 = 1.25% $1,500-$2,000.99 = 1.50% $2,001-$4,000.99 = 2% $4,001+ = 2.50%

You are correct, no meters yet I thought we had to pay more?

Not many options to choose from these days. Many of the spa choices are for couples. My husband is not a spa person. There used to be many more choices to redeem your points. What is everyone using the points for?

If you take an Uber to the port have your port location written down in French. Our Uber driver took us to a working pier, no cruise ships there. Of course the meter was running. Thankfully I had the address of the port on paper.. another few dollars to get to the correct location.

Sorry, After reading the entire thread; the difference between Bitterballen and Kroket.. the shape! When visiting the NL, yes, obvious from USA they sold us those round treats advertised as Kroket!! We certainly did not get the long version. Next time we will demand Kroket.. not those paltry Bitterballen balls. Thank you for the explanation. Tot Ziens..

What is the difference between bitterballen and Kroket? Enjoyed Kroket in the NL yet never saw bitterballen.

Thank you for all your time and efforts posting. Glad you had a fantastic cruise. Have a safe trip home. 🛳️ Hope to travel this route one day..

How far is the Bicycle thief from the cruise port? We are cruising this October from Quebec City to Ft. Lauderdale and Halifax is one of the stops. The lobster roll.. yummy! All the yarn looks lovely!!!

I have enjoyed your posts tremendously!! Thank you so much for taking the time to post so we who are on land can live vicariously (and also order the imaginary meals). This itinerary was fantastic. So glad you are having a fantastic trip!!

Sorry to hear about Lincoln Center. Every cruise I have been on the musicians in LC were top notch. This was pre Covid. Many were Russian, which I doubt this is the case now.