JennysUncle

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How exactly did you get to this page on the Navigator ? I do not find it. I do have some future cruises booked, but not to Alaska. I have version 4.13.0 on my Android phone (go into Settings/Apps to check this). Clicking the Experiences button at the bottom, then Dining & Drinks, there is a Bars section with no mention of HIA. On the Home page, under Featured Offers there is a HIA choice that opens to a long page that eventually says it includes the Signature package, and further down defines that as being for drinks under $11 with no mention of offsetting the cost of those costing more. It seems that HAL is generating different Navigator pages depending on what cruises are coming up, and setting up an experiment on a few cruises to see what effect this different policy has on revenue. They might net more by encouraging people to spend $7 for an $18 wine than $0 for one at $11. Anyone who is seeing this probably ought to take a screen shot and print it to take along, in case they need to go to the Front Desk to get charges adjusted.

I asked about this when on the Nieuw Statendam. The front desk located the PDF version of a booklet with a picture, title, and artist name for every piece of art. They had printed copies (a poor ink-jet version) tucked away, and after some consultation found a way to email a file to my phone.

We were on the Nieuw Statendam transatlantic this past April. The Surf Package internet was fine for email and the occasional Google search and website browsing. I would not count on it for streaming, even on the Premium package - the satellite links simply don't have enough bandwidth.

From the chart, it looks like the Rock Room is the purpose-built venue on the Pinnacle class ships, whereas on the Vista ships they are playing in what originally was the Queen's Lounge. The cooking demonstrations were there in the afternoon, and in the evening, sometimes games, maybe the HAL-Cats.

On the Nieuw Statendam in April, Rolling Stones only had 5 musicians, the lead guitar did most of the singing.

Coffee is an individual taste; what some people like, others don't. On past trips we have thought that the coffee in the big pots in the Lido has been just OK. I have seen the brewers being loaded from bags of Beukenhorst, which is a reputable commercial brand from the Netherlands. On our recent cruise on the Nieuw Statendam we thought the Lido coffee was much better, and I found out the 'secret'. The brewers were being loaded with half Beukenhorst, and half Mondrian Espresso (which is a Beukenhorst brand). https://www.beukenhorst.com/

This is the first "head to head" comparison that I've seen. I recall some postings that the knee problem had been alleviated on the Nieuw Statendam. The change seems to be that the mounting wall has been moved to take the diagonal across what had been a corner, thus putting the toilet at more of a slant to the shower wall. On the NS and the Rotterdam the knees are now more towards the swinging door, so keeping it open is a greater help than on the Koningsdam.

The Koningsdam, Nieuw Statendam, and Rotterdam have walk-in showers with glass doors. There have been complaints that the glass panels are too close to the toilet for the knees of taller people. Here are two ways to address that. The towel trick keeps the door from closing, but the door can swing back and hit the bumper on the wall - which can be annoying if the ship is rolling. A better solution is to tie it open. Doing that with a velcro strip (needs to be at least 12") is convenient since it can be snapped on and off. Keeping the door open has a secondary benefit - it lets the shower stall dry out faster.

Several people have asked about nightlights. Here is my solution on the Nieuw Statendam. I suspect the outlets under the shelves above the counter in the bathroom are the same on the Koningsdam and Rotterdam.

There are several dozen pharmacies in Venice that do Covid rapid antigen testing ("tampons" in Italian). This is the website with official information, use Google Translate and the "participating pharmacies" link for the current list. https://www.comune.venezia.it/en/node/38582

We are just back from Venice. We took a water taxi from the train station to a landing near our apartment. The taxis are regulated and (supposedly) have meters, and we expected the cost to be about 65-70 euros. Our driver at the landing quoted a flat 70 euros, which we agreed. We paid by credit card - every vendor in Italy now seems to have cellular-connected portable charge terminals. It does seem that taxis arranged through a booking service charge close to double this, paying the middle-men and taking tourist profit, so understand what rate is agreed. The metered rate covers up to five people, with another five for not much surcharge, so if you can share a ride it's cheaper. The vaporetto is now 7.50 euro per trip. BTW, almost all charge terminals in Italy now accept tap-cards, which is easier and faster than sliding the card in and waiting for the chip to be read. BTW2, hardly anyone was wearing masks in the street, but most put them on in shops, and everyone diligently did on public transport and official places (e.g. museums). BTW3, there are a couple dozen pharmacies around Venice that do rapid-antigen Covid tests for travelers, e.g. those needing one a day ahead to return to the US. Any pharmacy should be able to point you to the nearest one that tests. The fee seems to be standardized at 15 euros.

Also starboard side on deck 4. All three sections running from the aft elevators, halfway to the midship elevators. These areas also used for precautionary quarantine of new crew.