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Live Nieuw Amsterdam Inaugural 2016 Cruise to Alaska

Crew News

By Crew News,
in Holland America Line

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frankc98376

frankc98376

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I'm with you on that Frank. I do also like the Brigantine but Anthony's is part of San Diego's history for the past many years. By the way, how the heck are you guys doing? We will be on the May 7th sailing. Again, I will be in a different suite than my DH. Sure do hope to sail with you and Loren again.

 

Diane

 

We are good! Will be on Westerdam on Oct 18 for 11 night to Mexico.

 

Hope all on NA are having a great time heading north- can be a bit bumpy as we all know :).

 

If anyone gets to PG curious to see if our favorite server Clifford made it to NA. He was on Westerdam in Sept and thought his next contract would be NA.

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legalslave

legalslave

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Frank, I have tried twice to quote your remarks on your last post and reply. Both times I completely lost my connect to CC. So I am trying a regular reply. We will be eating dinner at least once in the Pinnacle Grill, along with several breakfasts. I will be happy to see if your favorite waiter , Clifford is there. Will he know your names? I can say you were the two guys who always sat in the round booth if that helps.

 

Glad you and Loren are doing great! Please say hi to him for me.

 

Diane

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legalslave

legalslave

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Roger (Crew News) if they are going to serve the melting chocolate ball on Le Cirque night in the Pinnacle Grill when we are on the cruise, would you reserve a spot for just me at your table? That is only if they are going to serve the melting chocolate ball. I'll be seeing you and Joanie at other times during the cruise.

 

Diane

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frankc98376

frankc98376

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Frank, I have tried twice to quote your remarks on your last post and reply. Both times I completely lost my connect to CC. So I am trying a regular reply. We will be eating dinner at least once in the Pinnacle Grill, along with several breakfasts. I will be happy to see if your favorite waiter , Clifford is there. Will he know your names? I can say you were the two guys who always sat in the round booth if that helps.

 

Glad you and Loren are doing great! Please say hi to him for me.

 

Diane

 

Thanks Diane! Please send me you email (mine is below). Lost all of my addresses in a computer crash

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Roger (Crew News) if they are going to serve the melting chocolate ball on Le Cirque night in the Pinnacle Grill when we are on the cruise, would you reserve a spot for just me at your table? That is only if they are going to serve the melting chocolate ball. I'll be seeing you and Joanie at other times during the cruise.

 

Diane

 

I haven't made much progress so far but it will not be Le Cirque night. If possible, I will make you a reservation for the night it will happen.

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Embarkation Day started at 1:00 AM when my permanent dental bridge decided to become dislodged after many years. I discovered that no dentist office opens until 8:00 and our reserved taxi scheduled to arrive at 10:45 AM. My search for a dentist that would accept walk-ins was successful and I took a taxi the two miles to her office. Standing outside the dental office at 9:45 AM with a charge of only $59 to my credit card, I started to dial the number for a taxi when I noticed the hotel shuttle loading vending machine snacks from a local grocery store. I hitched a free ride back to the hotel and saved a $12 taxi fare.

 

Our taxi failed to materialize so our hotel shuttle backup plan departed for the terminal at 11:35. Joanie was met at the terminal entrance by a Nieuw Amsterdam waiter with a wheelchair. Check-in was swift and we were boarded at noon.

 

The MDR was open to all passengers and the menu appeared to be same from most of my previous cruises when it was a Mariner lunch. Even with few customers the service was not very quick.

 

Muster was ONLY for those new passengers but was extended until those failing to attend could be filtered from those wandering the ship. Sail-away was very chilly with 59-degree temps and 30+ mph wins.

In spite of the very rough seas, I managed to eat in the Tamarind and noticed that the vibrations on previous cruise were no longer detectable.

 

My brief appearance at the very raucous Suites Reception in the Neptune Lounge brought the good news that unlimited internet was for the duration of my 19 days aboard.

 

Observations:

 

The huge interactive TVs are great. Four news channels (no CNN) and the covers of the Specialty Restaurant menus (no contents) are shown. Lots of movies are available to include the new Star Wars movie. The minibar temp was 40 degrees in the back and 46 degrees in the door as measured on the respective metal soda cans. The A/C was pushing out 59-degree air before I adjusted it. The hallway carpeting would be very attractive to hop-scotch lovers with its two parallel circles followed by a single circle for the duration of the hallway. The placement of the coffee maker on the desk took away my left elbow rest while using my laptop as well as space for a charging station for my electronic items. The former location of the TV is now covered with a raised plate with railings to hold the items formerly found on the bar. This leaves a mere five inches of space for my mouse. The Bose sound system and coffeepot removes two of the three electrical outlets on the desk for passenger use unless you bring a multi-outlet adapter. The internet connection disconnects about every five minutes of use for some reason.

 

The changes to the Lido Restaurant are new signs, no custom sandwiches, and no self-service salad line. Dinnerware is no longer rolled but now folded in new patterned napkins. All else appears to be the same. One of my pet peeves still exists with many diners reading a book at a table after finishing their meal while fellow passengers with filled plates search for open tables. The personal pizza station on the aft Lido Deck surprised Joanie with their variety and willingness to fulfill any custom order. Great pizza!!

Extension cords of any type in checked luggage are being confiscated and held until the last cruise day. The same items in carry-on bags are not.

 

The rough seas continue to keep passengers in their cabins except for meal time and makes getting my sea legs a little tougher than usual.

 

Our first sea day later.

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SherriM

SherriM

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Thank you, Crew News. SO sorry to hear of your dental hiccup. Glad that you were able to get it tended to before boarding.

Where are the "huge Interactive TV's"? And what is a Suites Reception?

We're behind you a few months, taking the NA in Sept to AK from Vancouver. Neptune Suite 7033 will be our home away from home!

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legalslave

legalslave

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Thanks Roger for the updates. Sounds like the new additions take up a lot of space and I know how much you need that space! The rough seas are the reason Mike won't do another Pacific Coastal to Vancouver or Seattle.

 

If you are able to get a night in the Pinnacle that they will make the chocolate ball, save a seat for me please. Just me as I don't know when it will be and what the others in our group may have planned.

 

Can't wait to find out what is on the MDR Menu Juneau night!

 

Diane

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Thank you, Crew News. SO sorry to hear of your dental hiccup. Glad that you were able to get it tended to before boarding.

Where are the "huge Interactive TV's"? And what is a Suites Reception?

We're behind you a few months, taking the NA in Sept to AK from Vancouver. Neptune Suite 7033 will be our home away from home!

 

The TVs in our suite is mounted on the wall over the couch which makes it hard to see while seated at the desk BUT if you can deal with reversed letters, it can be watched in the mirrors over the headboard wall.

 

There is usually a reception for Neptune Suite guests an Embarkation night that used to be attended by most of the ship;s officers and hosted by the Captain. That is no more and it is hosted by the two Neptune Lounge Concierges.

 

I may not be successful but I will try to get pictures of your stateroom while they are being prepared for the new passengers in Vancouver.

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Hey Crew News you have quite a bit of people followin your reviews, you must be the Pied Piper, now we got to ease on down the Yellowbrick Road, or in this case, "North to Alaska!!":)

 

Somebody has to be on the first cruise of the season and to not leave a road map for those who follow would be against my nature. As I say repeatedly, "You don't know what you don't know" so I want to make all future HAL cruisers a bit wiser as to what is available.

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dobiemom

dobiemom

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Confiscating extension cords from "checked luggage?" How can they discern that?

They xray your luggage.

 

Last year on the Noordam. I was waiting for my last piece of luggage to be delivered to the room. I went to Guest Services a couple times and they kept saying luggage was still being delivered. I had a feeling it went to the "naughty room."

 

I finally received my luggage. There was a tag on it that said "Power Strip."

 

I think if they wanted to confiscate it, they would have had me come down to the "naughty room" to open my luggage.

 

Same thing happened to Crew News.

 

BTW you are allowed to use a power strip so long as it does not have a surge protector. But the only way to check is if they (HAL) look at it.

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This report will be for the first two sea days so that I can catch up with my promised “live” reporting.

 

The seas remained rough and my functionality was a bit diminished. As I type this, the sea is calm and the winds calm.

 

Our Meet & Greet was well attended and attracted some RCAF visitors from their Repositioning Cruise.

 

My first visit to the MDR let me see some of the changes since our last November cruise. Wine Stewards carry tablets to perform all of their transactions to include swiping room cards. Tablets for the waiters has been delayed due to seriously overloading the ships network but they are coming. My meal took 80 minutes with the biggest delay being my request for only a single scoop of strawberry sherbet. I watched my entrée being placed in the warming box at the same time my salad was placed on my table. There are new triangular salad plates and new rectangular entrée plates. The décor is much brighter now.

 

The Lido Market Place is much brighter as well and with new signs. I am still trying to figure out why the Entrée serving line menus are placed at the end of the line instead of the beginning. The custom salads are quite nice and perfectly dressed. One of the major changes was the replacement of the Entrée steam table with induction heating and shallow skillets for all of the offerings. The dining utensils are now folded in patterned napkins instead of the traditional rolled napkins. Beverages are now delivered by the same crew that clean the tables thus table cleaning is delayed. Breakfast parfaits now have blueberries instead of the former strawberries. My pet peeve, of passengers finishing their meals and then reading a book while their fellow passengers with hot food search for a table, is alive and well.

 

My refrigerator magnet will not stick to the stateroom walls but a stronger one might so I will try to track down a ship maintenance worker to find out for sure. The placement of the new coffee pot remains an irritant to using the desk.

 

The carpeting on Deck 7 must have been designed by a hop scotch lover with two parallel circles followed by a single circle down the length of the hallway.

 

Joanie heard her name being called while she was delivering the M&G invitations. When she turned toward the voice, our Room Steward from Zuiderdam Panama Canal cruise was running down the hallway. Agun war the best Room Steward we have had on HAL and prompted our praising him in our meeting with the Hotel Manager. We are still searching for other crew member friends aboard. I will see Clifford in the PG this week.

 

Last night Joanies’s rented oxygen concentrator started to malfunction and Housekeeping had a replacement in our room within 10 minutes. With the Chief Housekeeper present, we had a chance to praise our Room Steward to the big guy.

 

The Neptune Lounge Concierges are friendly and very efficient fulfilling all of my requests for menus.

 

Despite three days of rough seas, I am still committed to next years Pacific Coastal cruise for the chance to get settled in before the hectic Alaska itinerary.

 

More later.

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dobiemom

dobiemom

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Roger (Crew News) if they are going to serve the melting chocolate ball on Le Cirque night in the Pinnacle Grill when we are on the cruise, would you reserve a spot for just me at your table? That is only if they are going to serve the melting chocolate ball. I'll be seeing you and Joanie at other times during the cruise.

 

Diane

 

I haven't made much progress so far but it will not be Le Cirque night. If possible, I will make you a reservation for the night it will happen.

I LOVED the chocolate ball and the chocolate purse. I'm so jealous! :D

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