dawei

As Jim wrote, you can, but it gets quite narrow around the MDR. I recall taking a photo of a crew member rolling a bucket with a mop in hand in that area, and there was absolutely no extra deck room on either side of him.

David

Absolutely. We've been using Walgreens tests for 4 cruises since November.

David

On 3/10/2022 at 8:39 AM, Mtn2Sea said:

Most likely, your ship will be at Terminal 26, 21 or 19.  These terminals all use the mid-port parking garage.  Since this is your first cruise, I recommend you use this garage.  It’ll cost you a little bit more money for the week than off site parking, but it’s a more straightforward process.

Just to add a little more info to this good description, these three terminals used by Holland 

America (26, 21 and 19) are right next to the multilevel Midport Parking Garage, creating a very short walk between this garage and any of these terminals.

P.S. We were recently on the Rotterdam for our first time on one of HALs Pinnacle Class, and we thought it's quite a lovely ship. My wife and daughter will be getting off the Rotterdam the same day your cruise begins.

David

Tupper, what I have successfully done re: Rx  meds is to speak with my pharmacist and request a pre-cruise supply extension for the upcoming trip. This has worked easily. Just contact your pharmacist with advanced notice so he/she can get the needed authorization from insurance and make sure he/she has enough meds in stock for you.

David

I'd have to agree with all the positive comments above. If they work with one's budget and time, longer cruises are the way to go in my book. We also like transatlantics. Our first as well as our first long one was 54 days in 2018. Hoping RT transatlantics will return to HAL. 

South America--- we did our first early 2020 right before the pandemic hit and enjoyed it so much we're signed for the same one next Jan. (74 nights S.A. and Antarctica; hope it happens--our guess is it's about a 50/50 chance due to the world health situation).

David

Dave,  thanks for posting your onboard experience (and that of others) trying unsuccessfully to use WIFI calling/texting. Good to know.

David 

Come to think about it, I'm sure the answer to my question is no, since connecting to the internet requires having an internet pkg with HAL in addition to connecting with the ship's wireless network.

Brian--Assuming a phone does support WIFI calling/txting, does this mean that you have access to no charge texting onboard even without an internet pkg with HAL?

Another thought is that because your package includes ship's WIFI (if you mean a WIFI package), that means you can access the internet while at sea to send/receive e-mails, browse the internet and, if your included package is HAL's top level, also conduct video chats with folks back home.

I see that ATT, like my own cellphone carrier T-Mobile, also offers free texting from a large number of international locations including most of the Caribbean.

Suggest you Google something like "AT&T offer free international texting?" Then you can verify that your cell plan is one of those for which ATT offers free intl. texting.

To prepare for a cruise, I look up each country on the T-Mobile cruising webpages and make a list of countries where free texting is offered and take it with me.

When we dock at one of those ports, I turn off Airplane mode on my phone and get a welcome text from TMO indicating that I have free texting from that county.

Meanwhile, WIFI on the ship or in a port is for internet browsing and/or e-mailing, not for texting.

Does this help any?

David

Paulinda, the Dutch Cafe does serve Dutch Pea Soup, nice and thick and with thin slices of ham. Really good.

We enjoyed lunch in the cafe three times during a 7-day Rotterdam cruise last month. To go with the soup, Sandwich Beenham (crusty corn roll with thin-sliced and not too salty ham plus a honey mustard sauce). She got a Dutch Kroket (croquette), which we remember years ago being sold in Holland in vending machines where they magically kept their coating crispy.  A Dutch crewmember who served us in the cafe told us they're still sold in vending machines in Holland where they keep their crispy coating because they're sold that fast and machines are kept refilled. 

The pie-like goody on the plate at left in GTVCruisers photo is a Dutch apple cake (some call it a pie) with a thick, latticed crust. This Dutch version of apple pie makes a substantial dessert.

David

It's been a learning experience for me too. When you are close to your cruise date, the app will also display your boarding pass with its barcode that can been scanned by the check-in agent in the cruise terminal.

David

MAVIP--By any chance, do you know what kind of refurbishing is going to done to the Volendam? We were on her for the S. America Grand in 2020 and have booked her again for next Jan. Hopefully, that will take place.

David

Unlike Kirk's more extensive cruise experience, our 2018 Grand Med/Africa was our first as well as our first cruise longer than 14 days. So, that combination made it all so special. A personal highlight came when the capt. decided sea conditions were too rough near Monte Carlo for tendering, and he and Seattle changed the itinerary at the last minute, heading us east to Genoa, Italy instead. 

As far as the Grand S. America, that was another surprise. Near the start of that cruise in March, 2020, we met a couple onboard doing the cruise for about the third time, and I didn't know why. Someone here on CC described the S.A. ports as low key, (I agree) but quite interesting. In our case so much so that we've booked it again for next Jan. in hopes it will happen. Guess that means we're up for a second bite of that particular apple, but same goes for another TA Med.

David

We were on a cruise like that. It was 54 days starting in March, 2018 on the Prinsendam about three months before she was sold. It was RT from FLL to the Western Med and N. Africa and was a great trip.

I've seen a couple others on CC express the same wish that HAL would again offer RT TA cruises like they used to have every couple of years, but those days appear to be gone.

David

John, I read your Polar Code response from HAL on Roll Call. Not too surprising at this stage. 

Our 2020 S.A./Antarctica cruise was quite fortunate, beyond the good weather. We got back to Port Everglades March 20, as I recall, just as the pandemic was reaching full speed. Matter of fact, our last 2 ports, (Devils Island, Fr. Guiana and Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) were skipped. Meanwhile, I was unaware of anyone getting sick on the Volendam. That was the same timeframe when the Zaandam, coming up the Pacific side of S. A., had lots of problems and a couple deaths as well as trouble getting an OK to go through the Panama Canal, as I recall.

Of course, it's a total unknown if HAL's or other cruise lines' early 2023 S.A./Antarctica cruises will happen, thinking about Hlitner (Hank's) recent posting on HAL's CC in which he mentions Oceania cancelling their 2022 S.A. due to port closings and stiff restrictions at other ports in Chile, Argentina and Brazil.

All I can think of at this stage is to remain booked and patient.

David

Another vote for crew members and itineraries.

David

Jim--My first time on a Pinnacle class ship occurred last week. The Rotterdam is a beautiful ship! What I noticed in her library was the absence of history, biography and reference sections. And the non-fiction cubby was so small, I thought it was a joke.

By displaying multiple copies of the same but limited titles, I felt someone other than me was trying to select my reading choices.

Unlike you, I have no background in the book business. These are just my impressions.

Examples of good shipboard libraries on HAL, in my view,  is the library on the Volendam and on the former Prinsendam.

David

Jim9310, From what I've been reading about the Polar Code, I'm certain the Volendam, like all the other "large" cruise ships, does not meet the Code.

We were on her 2020 S. America/Antarctica Grand Voyage and had great weather in the Falklands and for those four days on the Peninsula where we got down to about 65 degrees S. (the Lemaire Channel). 

Holland America's published map for that cruise showing an itinerary route reaching down along the Peninsula, unlike the map for the 2023 cruise (S.A./Antarctica). 

I've been trying to figure out if the 2023 map shows the ship sailing down to the S. Orkney Islands or only as far south as S. Georgia, but can't really tell. Looks like S. Orkneys are just below the 60 degrees latitude line, while S. Georgia is well north of 60 degrees S.

However, I've been reading about S. Georgia here on CC and elsewhere, and it sounds quite interesting.

Bottom line for us is that the entire voyage in 2020 was so good with so much not yet seen/experienced that we've booked it again for 2023. Funny, but near the start of that previous cruise I ran into a fellow PAX who had done the trip a couple times previously. At that early stage, I didn't know why, but now I do.

David

David

OlsSalt provided what I would call a most accurate and well-balanced response to the OP's question.

We were also on the Volendam's 2020 S. America/Antarctic Grand Voyage. Matter of fact, we've booked it again for Jan. 2023 on Volendam.

As OlsSalt suggested, 74 days is a large commitment. So, comparing your expectations/desires to what is available on a ship/cruise/ itinerary before booking is an excellent idea.

David

I'd agree with idiebabe about the Rotterdam, (our first time on a Pinnacle class). It's a beautiful ship! Plus, we found the MDR menus definitely superior to those offered on the NA last Nov. without repetitions. That, along with the Dutch Cafe as well as the several other dining venues.

The crew? As wonderful as usual on a HAL ship.

David

Ashley-- We are just off the Rotterdam's 7 night Caribbean that arrived at Port Everglades yesterday, Jan. 23rd. The ship was less than half full (under 1,000 pax). Don't know if this was due to HAL keeping it reduced capacity or due to fewer folks booking it. Possibly a combination of the two reasons. 

There was no onboard testing of all pax, nor testing back at Ft. Lauderdale. Pre-cruise check in with HAL did require showing them proof of negative tests done no more than two days prior to the cruise.

David

Using my very rusty Danish, I read that Flodhest is asking how to get the required travel testing in Hawaii before flying back home to Denmark.

They will be sailing on HAL from Canada to Hawaii and then flying home from there.

My guess is that Flodhest (Hippopotamus in English) may understand a reply in English from CC members in Hawaii.

David

Don, just as Cruise Suzy reported, my DW and I also got the ID Now test at a local Walgreens before our mid-Nov. cruise. No problem with HAL accepting it. We're going to do it again tomorrow for a Jan. 16 th week on Rotterdam. I've learned that Walgreens opens appointments online up to 7 days ahead. So, I get on their site about 6 am 8 days ahead of cruise to grab the earliest appointments. In Nov., our results arrived via e-mail about 5 hours later.

David

CaribbeanChris-- Your memory is good.

I just found the Kungsholm on a UK site where she was described as a virtual sister of Gripsholm. It certainly looks that way when comparing photos. The Kungsholm was built four years before the Gripsholm.

David