Panama Canal on the Ruby Princess 2023 Christmas cruise-photo/ video journal by Bimmer09

[Fairgarth]

My dear Sir, thank you for this latest GSJ which I stumbled across by accident.  I have enjoyed every page.  I'm sure you will enjoy HAL.  We were on Koningsdam in June and had a good time.  Just a couple of comments.  Your photos remind me that the Princess ships have that gorgeous, expansive, welcoming atrium.  The atrium on Koningsdam was tiny, pathetic and miserable and might as well not have been there.  

 

I play trumpet and that thing is loud.  When I go to a night club in a confined space on Koningsdam and see a trumpet player with a mic clipped to the bell, I'm outta there t-de-s.  Dear God, really?  Is that necessary?

[Bimmer09]

1 hour ago, Fairgarth said:

My dear Sir, thank you for this latest GSJ which I stumbled across by accident.  I have enjoyed every page.  I'm sure you will enjoy HAL.  We were on Koningsdam in June and had a good time.  Just a couple of comments.  Your photos remind me that the Princess ships have that gorgeous, expansive, welcoming atrium.  The atrium on Koningsdam was tiny, pathetic and miserable and might as well not have been there.  

 

I play trumpet and that thing is loud.  When I go to a night club in a confined space on Koningsdam and see a trumpet player with a mic clipped to the bell, I'm outta there t-de-s.  Dear God, really?  Is that necessary?

Thanks for reading-I'm glad you stumbled upon the GSJ and enjoyed it, even though Covid got in my way.

 

I'm familiar with the Pinnacle class hole in the floor/atrium from videos.

The Princess Piazza (Atrium) is impressive but totally ruined by any bands that play dance music in there. The floor is marble which sucks for dancing (no slide) and amplifies sound. The bands that play there on a tiny marble floor hang a mic over the drums and a drummer playing a bossa-nova sounds like John Bonham testing his Ludwig drums for metal fatigue on "When the Levee Breaks" by Led Zeppelin. I had a glass of wine in Vines but had to move due to the din. Same in the International Cafe. The volume chosen is more than is needed for the venue. 

In the 700 seat Princess Theater it makes sense to mic everything so the sound can be controlled via the mixer and there's 700 people and 700 padded seats to dull the sonic attack currently reserved for bossa novas in the Piazza.

Hope you stumble into my Rotterdam GSJ in January 2025!

Norris

[perfect match]

Norris and Carol, thank you for another fantastic GSJ! I enjoyed every last bit of it - well, except for the part where you both got Covid again! 
 

Barry and I sailed on Koningsdam but that was before Covid shut everything down. We very much enjoyed our 10 day Southern Caribbean sailing in our aft balcony room. Besides the great aft view, the thing I most enjoyed about our balcony room was something I never thought I’d have reason to say - the shower! We will most likely sail on HAL again at some point. 
 

While I have no idea as to what may have changed since cruising restarted, based on what I know about your and Carol’s cruising style from reading so many of your GSJ’s I think you will find your Rotterdam cruise to your liking. 

[Knickearth]

On 1/13/2024 at 10:25 AM, dmwnc1959 said:

Lovely review as always and great pictures! Are the Panama Canal Certificates standard issue for everyone aboard when doing a transit on Princess Cruises? 

Funny, we have done four Panama Canal crossings and never received a certificate.  I do have one for crossing the international dateline and my son and husband had a picture taken crossing the equator, but not on princess.

[dmwnc1959]

7 hours ago, Knickearth said:

Funny, we have done four Panama Canal crossings and never received a certificate.  I do have one for crossing the international dateline and my son and husband had a picture taken crossing the equator, but not on princess.

Just to clarify, the four PC transits were done on Princess Cruises? Or a different cruise line? Sorry for the confusion. 😁

[Bimmer09]

13 hours ago, perfect match said:

Norris and Carol, thank you for another fantastic GSJ! I enjoyed every last bit of it - well, except for the part where you both got Covid again! 
 

Barry and I sailed on Koningsdam but that was before Covid shut everything down. We very much enjoyed our 10 day Southern Caribbean sailing in our aft balcony room. Besides the great aft view, the thing I most enjoyed about our balcony room was something I never thought I’d have reason to say - the shower! We will most likely sail on HAL again at some point. 
 

While I have no idea as to what may have changed since cruising restarted, based on what I know about your and Carol’s cruising style from reading so many of your GSJ’s I think you will find your Rotterdam cruise to your liking. 

Thank you Nancy!

I've watched so many HAL vlogs-people rating the experience that I feel comfortable with my choice.

I've had Carol watch some key videos and she is keen to try HAL. The Neptune Suite was her idea as she loved the big balcony on the Ruby but the Neptune balcony is ridiculously huge- the biggest we will have had. She gets good use of the balcony in the Caribbean. The bathrooms are impressive.

We both love the art on the Rotterdam. Entertainment-i.e no song and dance shows will be the challenge.

We expect to love the ship, especially the Crows Nest. The food looks great but of course could take a nose dive between now and December. "The proof of the pudding"...

Thanks for following along yet again Nancy!

"See you" next January 1.

Norris

[shiner6]

Love reading your blog every day! Thank you for your thoughtful posts.

 

I wonder if you might answer some questions for me? I have a trip on the Ruby coming up next month and I have searched the forums, however, cannot find definitive answers.

 

1. Do you remember how far in advance you received your boarding time?

2. Was the butter served in the MDR real butter or a substitute? (I know this question may sound trivial to some, but it is important to me). 

3. I have been unsuccessful in upgrading my cabin (sold out cruise), so am considering alternatives for viewing. Is the Sanctuary worth trying to "run" for a spot as soon as I embark, like other threads have implied?

 

Thanks in advance for your assistance. Greatly appreciated.

Gail

 

[Knickearth]

10 hours ago, dmwnc1959 said:

Just to clarify, the four PC transits were done on Princess Cruises? Or a different cruise line? Sorry for the confusion. 😁

Since 2006 we only have been on Princess.  All 4 were Princess - 2 thru old locks and 2 thru new ones.

[Bimmer09]

3 hours ago, shiner6 said:

Love reading your blog every day! Thank you for your thoughtful posts.

 

I wonder if you might answer some questions for me? I have a trip on the Ruby coming up next month and I have searched the forums, however, cannot find definitive answers.

 

1. Do you remember how far in advance you received your boarding time?

2. Was the butter served in the MDR real butter or a substitute? (I know this question may sound trivial to some, but it is important to me). 

3. I have been unsuccessful in upgrading my cabin (sold out cruise), so am considering alternatives for viewing. Is the Sanctuary worth trying to "run" for a spot as soon as I embark, like other threads have implied?

 

Thanks in advance for your assistance. Greatly appreciated.

Gail

 

Gail, thanks for the compliments!

I can't remember how far out we were notified but as we get priority boarding (suite plus elite) we would have gone earlier and got away with it. We boarded around 11 a.m and there was no wait time once we were correctly in the Green Lane.

I believe the butter was not real butter. It was white and spread very easily even though in a cold metal dish. A substitute. We eat Irish Kerrygold butter at home, yellow in color. Very buttery taste unlike on Princess in the MDR.

I don't think it is worth booking the Sanctuary just to gain some viewing height. If you are going to the Panama canal there are better places such as deck 8 bow, on top of the bridge and deck 15 all the way forward. If you want to use the Sanctuary all week for relaxing and being served then going there as soon as you board is a good idea. You get to choose where you want to lay for the week. It is windy when at sea doing 19 knots but the service is stellar.

 

Hope this helps.

Norris

[deladane]

Hi Norris, 

I just stumbled upon your review!  Clearly, I am very late to the party and have lots of catching up to do!!  I've been busy writing up my own review in the Carnival forum from our New Years Eve cruise!  I look forward to catching up on all of your posts 😃

[Bimmer09]

3 hours ago, deladane said:

Hi Norris, 

I just stumbled upon your review!  Clearly, I am very late to the party and have lots of catching up to do!!  I've been busy writing up my own review in the Carnival forum from our New Years Eve cruise!  I look forward to catching up on all of your posts 😃

Dana! I was just thinking about you yesterday,  and wondering if you have been cruising these past few years and wondering what the odds would be of ever seeing a Deladane review again. So many cruise lines, so many  boards. I read a lot of them but seldom Carnival. Yet you found me on  a rare Princess cruise-just 2 in the past 6 years and no more booked at this time but I imagine that will change.

You joined the Panorama the day I got off the Ruby. 

I've followed the link to your review and am following.

Congratulations to you and Jason on starting a family with  a handsome lad called Ian. He's started cruising early!

Norris

 

[Deck Chair Queen]

The lagging Carol here. I’ve been super busy at work lately and working at half my mental capacity (which my dear business partner of thirty years says still puts me ahead of most!). I wanted to thank you all for following along and for your kind wishes when we were ill. This is not a scientific survey but man there seems to be a lot of Covid on cruises. My friend and her ninety something aunt recently caught it in the first few weeks of a world cruise on Regent! Wouldn't that stink? Now that the CDC no longer requires cruise ships to report Covid outbreaks, we are all taking risks we can’t even quantify or asses. We will continue to cruise, of course, and to be as careful as we can. We just love the sea; that’s all I can say. And it’s lovely to be with all you like-minded folks on another GSJ voyage! Love from Mimi and Rodolfo, too. They are glad we will be home until August. Warmest regards,  Carol

[maraena]

Good afternoon, Sir Norris! I've followed just about all your reviews and enjoyed your outlook on your travels. We've been trying to determine if a partial or full transit of the PC is in our future. Probably a partial since we're not too sure about the smaller ships (i.e., Zaandam, Coral Princess, etc.) that typically do the canal during the winter. Thanks for this write-up to help with our decision making. We enjoyed our recent 10 day aboard the Caribbean Princess so may have to look to the Emerald for a partial.

 

We have cruised HAL multiple times and enjoy the line a lot. I do think their food is slightly more to our taste than Princess though I will say that Princess excels with seafood and pasta. HAL is great with beef and lamb. Based on our Feb 2023 cruise, their foray into Mexican-type foods has also been successful to our palates. We enjoyed their tacos at lunch (ordered 2 apps to make up a main), the chile rellenos at dinner, and their chimichurri steak. I hope they continue to delve into the use of spice. Due to the nature of cooking for large swaths of people, I suspect most cruise lines veer to the side of bland so as to not offend sensitive taste buds or bellies. 

 

A few HAL tips for you based on our experiences:

• The retreat cabanas may be worth investigating. They significantly raised their prices quite recently so it may not be the value it once was. We love the cabanas and often book the lowest level stateroom in anticipation of having one. We pretty much spent all day up there, only going to the MDR for tacos once we discovered those. You both book differently so it may not be a priority.

 

• Since you have a big balcony, consider ordering in room service for dinner one night. You can order off the MDR menus. There's no charge for this, to my knowledge, and your room steward will provide you with menus upon request though I think you can also find them on the app.

 

• The evening buffet mirrors the MDR menu. Want to have all you can eat lamb chops? Go hit the buffet. Need more chile rellenos? They've got it. Husband got into the habit of 'pre-gaming' the main dining room by hitting the buffet early once we got him trained to HAL's dining hours.

 

• Be really mindful of the buffet hours. HAL runs some really short (to us) buffet hours. It's probably our primary quibble cruising with them as we tend to eat late. If it's 8:02PM, you better get in line for pizza because the buffet is closed. You won't even find a cookie. The same issue can apply when you return mid afternoon from an excursion. HAL is really the only line we've found this on. The first thing my husband asked when I started looking at Princess was: What's their buffet hours? It really annoyed him. We started hoarding cookies, cheese, and other snacks in our room because he was afraid he wouldn't find anything when he wanted it. Dutch Cafe alleviates this some but doesn't have the variety that International Cafe has.

 

• We've never been big on the big theater productions. It works out for us since HAL doesn't do many of them. I've seen a lot of folks complaining about the entertainment on HAL being limited to BB Kings, Rolling Stone, and Billboard. Pre-covid, we loved wandering between BB Kings and Rolling Stone and didn't find the crowds overwhelming. (Ah, sweet summer child!) Now that BB Kings is gone, it's going to be down to Rolling Stone and Billboard. Our last cruise, BB Kings and Rolling stone areas were absolutely packed (SRO and spilling into the nearby hallways making them nearly impassable) and we weren't comfortable with crowds so didn't stick around. We definitely liked the smaller, more intimate sets on Princess at the Wheelhouse and Crooners. Hopefully HAL works this issue out soon.

 

• Eat at Tamarind. Then maybe eat there again. We really enjoy it every time we go. The dessert fruit bowl is excellent. Most go for the Mango Cloud or other items, but I'm telling you that the mix of fruits (e.g., pomegranate arils, passionfruit, kiwi) they have in that dessert is just so good. They will spice up their curry, too, upon request. We haven't eaten at Pinnacle Grill as I have yet to see a steak house beat my husband in preparation technique. No need to face another round of disappointment. We ate at Canaletto once when it first opened and weren't impressed but the menu has changed and the reviews are quite good. It may be a try on our next trip but Tamarind will always be number one in our hearts.

 

• From my understanding (given I've never had it), Club Orange uses the same menu as the MDR with one additional changing main dish each night. You can probably skip testing out the MDR one night unless you'd like a lesson in aggravation with HAL's implementation of Anytime dining. We avoid it and stick to set dining. HAL, much like Princess, uses the "we'll seat you anytime we feel like it" implementation philosophy. It's a gong show. I wish Princess would have one set dining room. We'd be more likely to choose them over HAL on similar itineraries if they did, all other things equal.

Good grief, I'm long-winded! I hope you have a great trip on Rotterdam. We haven't been on her but did sail on Nieuw Statendam pre-Covid. I'm sure you've been all over Roger Jett's site with menus/activities and HalFacts for various pictures so I won't belabor those.

 

Oh, and next time you're in FLL, you might check out Greek Islands Taverna down near Fort Lauderdale by the Sea. They don't take reservations and have some serious lines if you wait until typical dining hours, but they have incredible lamb chops and grilled octopus. I see folks eating other things and they look good, too, but I know what I'm ordering anytime I go and it's going to be horiatiki and lamb chops. Funny thing is, I don't typically like lamb (I find it overwhelmingly gamey) but I love theirs. It's a very casual, family-owned place with limited ambiance but excellent food. 

 

 

[Bimmer09]

3 hours ago, maraena said:

A few HAL tips for you based on our experiences:

• The retreat cabanas may be worth investigating. They significantly raised their prices quite recently so it may not be the value it once was. We love the cabanas and often book the lowest level stateroom in anticipation of having one. We pretty much spent all day up there, only going to the MDR for tacos once we discovered those. You both book differently so it may not be a priority.

Firstly -thanks for taking the time to be so helpful regarding the HAL experience!

I would certainly have booked a retreat cabana when I was thinking aft verandah or vista suite but once Carol said "let's go aft wrap Neptune" I dropped cabana. We have a great big balcony for private relaxing and can order in if we need snacks etc without having neighbors on both sides. Carol loves her peace and quiet =nap to the sound of the wake. A breakfast or dinner from Room Service is definitely on the cards, preferably in port or at anchor in HMC.

We are giving Princess a break due to the food going downhill. Giving Celebrity E Class a break as they are pricing themselves into luxury brand prices. We have two HAL booked and if they are a disappointment that might go down to one booking and out.

 

We dropped The Sanctuary on Princess @$30each a day as we weren't getting the value from it- I seldom stayed more than an hour there due to the wind. Service was stellar but I never really needed anything. Even Carol got tired of the wind as the ship sailed into it at 20 knots.

 

Now you say BBKings has gone or is going? That will leave a big empty room and a bad taste in my mouth. It's not just one guy playing the spoons is it? A musical saw? An organ grinder with a monkey?

We're used to big entertainment on Princess and X otherwise it might be dinner then bed. 

 

I'm counting on the Crow's Nest and Grand Dutch cafe to blow us away. The Neptune, the food and service, the ship art and possibly a more relaxing vibe than we are used to (except on Azamara)

 

I've noted your recommendation for the Greek Islands-we both love Greek food.

 

I'll just end my response here but may return with more comments.

Norris

[maraena]

1 hour ago, Bimmer09 said:

Firstly -thanks for taking the time to be so helpful regarding the HAL experience!

I would certainly have booked a retreat cabana when I was thinking aft verandah or vista suite but once Carol said "let's go aft wrap Neptune" I dropped cabana. We have a great big balcony for private relaxing and can order in if we need snacks etc without having neighbors on both sides. Carol loves her peace and quiet =nap to the sound of the wake. A breakfast or dinner from Room Service is definitely on the cards, preferably in port or at anchor in HMC.

We are giving Princess a break due to the food going downhill. Giving Celebrity E Class a break as they are pricing themselves into luxury brand prices. We have two HAL booked and if they are a disappointment that might go down to one booking and out.

 

We dropped The Sanctuary on Princess @$30each a day as we weren't getting the value from it- I seldom stayed more than an hour there due to the wind. Service was stellar but I never really needed anything. Even Carol got tired of the wind as the ship sailed into it at 20 knots.

 

Now you say BBKings has gone or is going? That will leave a big empty room and a bad taste in my mouth. It's not just one guy playing the spoons is it? A musical saw? An organ grinder with a monkey?

We're used to big entertainment on Princess and X otherwise it might be dinner then bed. 

 

I'm counting on the Crow's Nest and Grand Dutch cafe to blow us away. The Neptune, the food and service, the ship art and possibly a more relaxing vibe than we are used to (except on Azamara)

 

I've noted your recommendation for the Greek Islands-we both love Greek food.

 

I'll just end my response here but may return with more comments.

Norris

I think the food on HAL is a step above Princess. We haven't cruised Celebrity since 2017 or so but I would've put HAL ahead on some things and Celebrity ahead on others. Again, I think HAL's strengths are beef and lamb but some of that may be our midwest-bred preference to order beef. Definitely much thicker cuts of beef than we had on Princess. If I were doing Club Orange, I'd probably always order the Club Orange special item as our shared plate with my choice of entree since that's just how we roll. I hear the Club Orange extra meals are quite good. The breakfast menu is far more varied on HAL and even the buffet does all eggs to order including eggs benedict.

 

I believe the contract with BBKings was ended but I don't know what that means for the blues portion of the shows. On Nieuw Amsterdam, they changed the signage from BBKings to Rolling Stone so I'd guess that the rock band is playing there now and Billboard is totally for the piano. I also understand they've starting bringing back classical groups in the main theater but the Lincoln Center contract is over. I suspect things are in flux still but the daily programs for next fall should give a good idea of how things will settle out. I will say that the Rolling Stones groups are typically very good and play a range of music from the 60s-early 90s though most of the songs seemed like late 70s to 80s to me.

 

The Crow's Nest area is very nice from our times on HAL. We would wander in there to grab coffee at the Explorations Cafe that's up at the bar area there on our way to our cabanas. (That was often at the start of the cruise before the cabana boys had figured out when we would arrive and had coffees in our cabana ready for us.) There's always a lot of folks there. Some reading, some sleeping, some playing cards, some gazing out the bow. Dutch Cafe isn't too bad but it isn't Al Bacio. Coffee seemed better than Princess at Dutch Cafe/Explorations, but I couldn't get a freshly brewed iced tea like I could at Al Bacio. That's ok, though, because with some hot water and ice, I can make my own! 😁

 

I don't want to turn you away from HAL. We really do like them and enjoy our time on ship. We just have to remember their quirks and adjust appropriately. I do think their service is excellent and, most of the time, quite polished. I also like the size of their ships and the general relaxing feel I get when I'm aboard. And, unlike Celebrity, they haven't priced themselves out of my budget. If I'm going to pay Celebrity prices, then I'm going on Oceania for what's touted as the best food. But, for us, the itinerary is first and then we start working the pricing angles particularly since we now have lots of time and many Caribbean cruises under our belt necessitating more creativity in our vacation planning to stave off boredom.

 

So, oddly enough, our next cruise is a port-intensive southern Mediterranean on NCL. Haven't been on them since 2013 or so and I'd wager it'll be eye-opening. They are the only line we've sailed that actually does Anytime Dining well. If the food is too bad, we've got a new port everyday to sustain ourselves. We're not terribly picky eaters so I'm sure we'll find something to eat. From our experience, most of the ocean lines are more alike than different any more. And river cruising is a whole other beast that we also enjoy with high expectations for food and tempered expectations for entertainment. 

 

Happy to answer any other questions and thank you to you both for doing these great reviews/GSJs.

[Bimmer09]

13 hours ago, maraena said:

I don't want to turn you away from HAL. We really do like them and enjoy our time on ship. We just have to remember their quirks and adjust appropriately. I do think their service is excellent and, most of the time, quite polished. I also like the size of their ships and the general relaxing feel I get when I'm aboard. And, unlike Celebrity, they haven't priced themselves out of my budget. If I'm going to pay Celebrity prices, then I'm going on Oceania for what's touted as the best food. But, for us, the itinerary is first and then we start working the pricing angles particularly since we now have lots of time and many Caribbean cruises under our belt necessitating more creativity in our vacation planning to stave off boredom.

maraena our final payment isn't due until mid September so I have many months of reading the HAL board and if things are going downhill drastically I can cancel. It's up to HAL to live up to the good press they have gotten on CC and from the Vloggers. We are paying Regent money but it is a Christmas cruise and we are planning to pamper ourselves. The Neptune price for the Arctic N.S cruise is much less but we are not booking Neptune for that as it will be a coldish cruise, even though it is in mid June 2025. Less balcony time than in the Caribbean.

We took our first cruise with Princess in 2011 without knowing much about them. After 5 years I wanted to try X, after 3 more years Azamara. They have all proved to be good choices but cutting corners/raising prices/reducing perks is currently the order of the day. 

 

I would never sail a huge NCL ship with waterparks and go-karts but they have some nice older (normal) ships like the Pearl and the Dawn. I do watch the big ship vlogs and the food always gets high marks. I like the Waterfront idea. Which ship are you sailing the Med on?

The capacity of the Pinnacle class is like a sweet spot-2600. They look like ships and not floating theme parks.

 

I have already been sold on Tamarind from watching drool-worthy videos from Vloggers I trust.I can now add you to that list! I'll be there at least once. Pinnacle Grill- we live in Chicago so have many great steak houses but I don't expect cuts of that quality on  a ship for a fraction of the cost, so temper my expectations. I do hear great feedback on their pork chops and lamb chops. As a completist in my GSJs/reviews/rambles I will have to dine in Canaletto. I don't know if Rudy's will be around as he is covering Princess now to rescue their food shortcomings. They had a higher standard before Covid.

 

We are not super-fond of the Caribbean islands but they are where you go in a Chicago winter.

We've done Alaska 3 times (will do a 4th) the Med 3 times (will do more as we have yet to see Turkey and Greece) Iceland, Norway-so hitting some cooler climes is something we enjoy, places with some history besides piracy. The rest have all been Caribbean- hair braiding, dolphins, trash, Diamonds International, poverty, sting rays, nice beaches, more trash, Tanzanite, sunshine, inhospitable no-go areas. We like St John's island as it's more quiet than St Thomas. 

 

I appreciate all your HAL intel. 

Thank you!

Norris, cruise researcher

 

 

[maraena]

1 hour ago, Bimmer09 said:

I would never sail a huge NCL ship with waterparks and go-karts but they have some nice older (normal) ships like the Pearl and the Dawn. I do watch the big ship vlogs and the food always gets high marks. I like the Waterfront idea. Which ship are you sailing the Med on?

The capacity of the Pinnacle class is like a sweet spot-2600. They look like ships and not floating theme parks.

 

Ha! You had a great, likely inadvertent guess. It's the Dawn. From what I can tell, we're on the first sailing post dry dock so that'll be interesting. I haven't been much of a reviewer but maybe I'll rethink that. I don't believe Dawn has the waterfront and, with absolutely no sea days, we're likely to use it as a floating hotel with maybe a couple of half days for some downtime. Prior to switching into HAL and Celebrity, we had sailed the Spirit (love that ship), the Star out of NOLA, and the Sky (big nope-on-a-rope) but it's been well over a decade since we've been on NCL so it's a testing phase.

 

We're bracketing the cruise with an additional 10 days split between Rome, Barcelona, and Madrid so the cruise is just part of the trip. Typically, in a new port city, I build on at the front end when we're excited and fresh since we're often ready to get home to our dogs (and in spring/summer, my vegetable garden) at the end. This will be the first time that I'm adding to both ends so we'll see how that works.  We also get to try out business class on a couple of new, to us, airlines on the way there and back. I'm a bit of a reward point hound so we're leveraging those for a more comfortable trip.

 

Hopefully it works for my husband and my clingy male dog since I'm hoping to build a long stay bookending a Danube river cruise in a couple of years.

 

1 hour ago, Bimmer09 said:

I have already been sold on Tamarind from watching drool-worthy videos from Vloggers I trust.I can now add you to that list! I'll be there at least once. Pinnacle Grill- we live in Chicago so have many great steak houses but I don't expect cuts of that quality on  a ship for a fraction of the cost, so temper my expectations. I do hear great feedback on their pork chops and lamb chops. As a completist in my GSJs/reviews/rambles I will have to dine in Canaletto. I don't know if Rudy's will be around as he is covering Princess now to rescue their food shortcomings. They had a higher standard before Covid.

 

There's been some posts on the HAL boards recently about an Indonesian dinner that takes place in Tamarind. From what I can gather, it's often on a night that will show no reservations available for booking and the menu looks quite interesting. It seems like it's getting high marks from diners as well so you may want to look out for it. Based on the menu and reviews, it seems like you get all of the items so go hungry!

[Bimmer09]

On 1/30/2024 at 1:08 PM, maraena said:

Ha! You had a great, likely inadvertent guess. It's the Dawn. From what I can tell, we're on the first sailing post dry dock so that'll be interesting. I haven't been much of a reviewer but maybe I'll rethink that. I don't believe Dawn has the waterfront and, with absolutely no sea days, we're likely to use it as a floating hotel with maybe a couple of half days for some downtime. Prior to switching into HAL and Celebrity, we had sailed the Spirit (love that ship), the Star out of NOLA, and the Sky (big nope-on-a-rope) but it's been well over a decade since we've been on NCL so it's a testing phase.

Wow-the Sky doesn't get much love!

I've just watched a video from the Dawn by two of my favorite blogging people on a British Isles cruise.

I've just watched embarkation day but will follow the rest as I was born in the UK.

 

It's a good looking ship and they like the food on day one. Off to a good start. The Dawn is pre-waterfront which didn't come along until the mega ships had room for it. Filmed 2023.

 

10 extra days to see Rome Barcelona and Madrid ? Nice! I love Rome and Barcelona. Madrid I've only driven through at night but these are all  wonderful cities to indulge your love of food and wine. When is your trip? We've had 3 visits to Rome-all because of cruising and twice to Barcelona, where we live to eat tapas outdoors. Beautiful city. We stay on Passeig de Gracia between two Gaudi houses. We are back there in October 2025 for our Celebrity cruise.

 

Which river cruise line are you likely to use for your Danube cruise? We love Vienna and driving up the Danube as far as Melk. Stunning part of the world. I am drawn to AMA or Avalon cruises.

 

Indonesian cruisine is very prevalent in Amsterdam-where they bring at least a dozen bowls of delicacies to the table to share. We'd try it in Tamarind. If there is Indian food anywhere on the ship we'll be there-our favorite cuisine. 

 

Thanks for your comments and info. It all helps. I like to get on a ship with a list of things to not miss and things to not get too excited about. You've really helped!

Cheers!

Norris

 

 

 

[Trish Traveler]

Thanks Norris for the wonderful review.  Thanks for taking the time to edit and post as you weren't feeling well.  Hope you and Carol are feeling better now.

We are looking forward to getting back on the Rotterdam for a partial Panama Canal transit in a few weeks.  Loved your photos!

[maraena]

On 1/31/2024 at 8:46 PM, Bimmer09 said:

Wow-the Sky doesn't get much love!

I've just watched a video from the Dawn by two of my favorite blogging people on a British Isles cruise.

I've just watched embarkation day but will follow the rest as I was born in the UK.

 

It's a good looking ship and they like the food on day one. Off to a good start. The Dawn is pre-waterfront which didn't come along until the mega ships had room for it. Filmed 2023.

 

10 extra days to see Rome Barcelona and Madrid ? Nice! I love Rome and Barcelona. Madrid I've only driven through at night but these are all  wonderful cities to indulge your love of food and wine. When is your trip? We've had 3 visits to Rome-all because of cruising and twice to Barcelona, where we live to eat tapas outdoors. Beautiful city. We stay on Passeig de Gracia between two Gaudi houses. We are back there in October 2025 for our Celebrity cruise.

 

Which river cruise line are you likely to use for your Danube cruise? We love Vienna and driving up the Danube as far as Melk. Stunning part of the world. I am drawn to AMA or Avalon cruises.

 

Indonesian cruisine is very prevalent in Amsterdam-where they bring at least a dozen bowls of delicacies to the table to share. We'd try it in Tamarind. If there is Indian food anywhere on the ship we'll be there-our favorite cuisine. 

 

Thanks for your comments and info. It all helps. I like to get on a ship with a list of things to not miss and things to not get too excited about. You've really helped!

Cheers!

Norris

 

 

 

Thanks for the v-log suggestion. Our trip is in late April into mid-May. Hopefully we'll miss much of the pollen season here though I suspect it'll be early again with all this warm weather.

 

Our previous river cruise was with Avalon and we enjoyed it. Not too over the top but good quality food and decent wine. Things were just starting back up so entertainment was pretty negligible - you still had to wear masks in a lot of places for reference. We'd definitely take Avalon again but I doubt you could go wrong on a river cruise. The ships are pretty much all the same due to size limitations and the fact that most are on lease. The key differences are alcohol inclusions beyond lunch and dinner and maybe a specialty restaurant on the upper end lines. You spend so much time off the ship on provided tours that we'd likely not pay a premium for those inclusions. Timing is a huge issue on the Danube, from what I understand, as river levels can greatly impact whether you take a river cruise or a bus tour.

 

I think I mostly saw Indian food up at the lido buffet and I believe there were dishes there daily. At one point, I believe you were able to request an Indian meal/menu in the MDR but I'm not sure if that's still a possibility. You might ask the maitre'd at Club Orange when you board since you'll have a suite. 

 

I think POA, one of the big picture reviewers, is taking a Rotterdam cruise in March and will probably do a live review. It might even be the same itinerary as you're planning for December. I'd keep an eye on that review as he always does a fantastic job and will check things out for folks if there are questions.

[Bimmer09]

14 hours ago, maraena said:

I think POA, one of the big picture reviewers, is taking a Rotterdam cruise in March and will probably do a live review. It might even be the same itinerary as you're planning for December. I'd keep an eye on that review as he always does a fantastic job and will check things out for folks if there are questions.

I read the HAL board daily and will certainly keep an eye out for POA.

I have a link for you I found this morning. It's possible all the ports would have their own webcams.

https://www.feratel.com/en/webcams/germany/passau.html

Passau on the Danube. 

notamermaid is one of the CC members who keeps tabs on water levels for river cruising enthusiasts.

 

The vloggers I mentioned in the video also did a river cruise with AMA and no mask wearing involved. Worth a look. Plenty of entertainment although much of it DJ, lots of booze and dancing like dervishes.

Great looking food.  AMA has the biggest ship on the Danube (only the Danube)

 

 

The Ama balconies lone would sway me. Video is about 5 years old.

 

Norris

 

 

[Bimmer09]

On 1/31/2024 at 10:42 PM, Trish Traveler said:

Thanks Norris for the wonderful review.  Thanks for taking the time to edit and post as you weren't feeling well.  Hope you and Carol are feeling better now.

We are looking forward to getting back on the Rotterdam for a partial Panama Canal transit in a few weeks.  Loved your photos!

Trish, thanks for the kind words! Will you be reporting from the Rotterdam?

Carol has been better for a couple of weeks. I still have a cold/cough but improving. Thanks for asking!

Norris

[MJSailors]

Norris Just a simple thank you for documenting your latest cruise adventure here on CC.

Your reviews and photos have become a post Christmas treat.

Wishing you and Carol good health and good fortune until your posting of your next travel adventure. 
Take good care-

MJ🙋🏼‍♀️(I have not turned blond or gray as this emoji suggests. I can’t find the brunette one on my new I Pad! )

[Trish Traveler]

On 2/2/2024 at 4:41 PM, Bimmer09 said:

Trish, thanks for the kind words! Will you be reporting from the Rotterdam?

Carol has been better for a couple of weeks. I still have a cold/cough but improving. Thanks for asking!

Norris

I should be doing a cruise review after the cruise, as usual. I don't ever report live from the ship.  Hope you're feeling better soon.  

[Bimmer09]

1 hour ago, Trish Traveler said:

I should be doing a cruise review after the cruise, as usual. I don't ever report live from the ship.  Hope you're feeling better soon.  

Trish I will look forward to your review.

I'm not one for writing "live" reviews.

I like to enjoy the cruise, and focus on doing so when I am onboard.  I can talk about it later which is always within a couple of days after I get off.

The photos I take are mainly on a DSLR camera and I shoot in RAW which are big unedited files 30mb and above so they need work that cameras otherwise take care of when shooting JPEG (3 mb) so part of my day is spent relaxing while I work on my photos.  That allows me to start each review with an Itinerary of photos which a live can't do. 

I avoid having to go to see if Ernesto is still serving in Vines or if Luigi is going to still be the Maitre 'd in 3 weeks on someone else's behalf. What does it matter? You'll find out when you are on the ship yourself.

 

Carol is fully recovered. According to her searching the Mayo Clinic website I have Long Covid so am still not feeling well. Life goes on.

Thanks for your good wishes!

 

Norris