Navybikermom

I stopped eating the steaks at the Pinnacle before Covid even. They just weren’t all that spectacular so I tried the other dishes. The Jidori chicken was good, as was the vegetarian tomato and eggplant dish. Next time I’ll try the pork chop. The lamb chops are great, so that’s what I get when I’m not in the mood for the other items. I don’t usually get a side because the main entree fills me up. The one time I tried the baked Alaska it was disgusting. 😣

Yes you can bring wine aboard in port. I’ve done that many times and didn’t always have to pay corkage. Usually I buy a bottle when on a tour or in a random shop near the pier, so I don’t have a favorite place in those two ports.

I believe I’ve seen others mention that Surf is only available with some of the Have It All packages. I have it with my next cruise, which is the “lower” HIA (Surf WiFi, Signature bev pkg, no crew appreciation…). I’ll be upgrading to Premium WiFi as soon as I’m onboard.

There was a long thread where we discussed issues texting between iPhone and Android users but I can’t find it now, so I’m going to mention it here. Apple has finally updated their operating system and with iOS 18 you can now text over WiFi to Android users! For the techies out there, it uses RCS instead of SMS/MMS. I tested it by texting my daughter and was able to see the status that says it was delivered and then read, which it never did before. I live in an area where there is little to no cell coverage and I normally can’t text her Android phone (keeps failing). I feel so connected now! So now, you can easily text between Apple and Android phones on the ship’s WiFi! 🥳

I tell them I only have carry-on luggage (which I do) so I can’t buy anything. That shuts them up quickly. Eventually they might get smart and start trying to push smaller sizes.

I inquired about a solo cabin on the Rotterdam and it was more expensive than a standard interior. I saved $1000 by choosing the interior, which I later upgraded to an ocean view for $200. I had a solo cabin on the Prinsendam and that was a lovely room with a larger-than-twin bed. At that time the price wasn’t more than a standard.

We had a noon flight, so you should be ok. I thought that security in Schiphol moved along pretty well, considering the large crowds, although we only had carryon bags, so it might be different if you have to check a bag.

We took the HAL bus from the Rotterdam terminal to the airport. We barely made our flight due to a long line of people waiting to board the buses, plus the crowded parking lot made it impossible for our bus to even get out until some vehicles were removed. I’ll be taking a taxi next time if I have an early flight.

Harvey is my all-time favorite, and one of the few that are made correctly on a BHB. 😁 Although sometimes I have to tell them how to make it…

I was under the area between BBKing and Billboard and had no issues. I have good hearing and only noticed a bit of music occasionally. Certainly not during the late night/early morning hours.

I spent most of my life in Michigan and I always ate grits with milk, sugar, and chocolate syrup (think CoCo Wheats). I mentioned that to my Tennessee neighbors and they cried “blasphemy” 😂

I was given some by accident on the Rotterdam. Gag! Apparently they had been given a whole shipment of it, but never bothered to tell the passengers. 😡

It’s near a food hall that has some really nice restaurants in it, but I didn’t see any shops of other sorts on that section of the pier.

I ate at a Rijstaffel dinner on the Rotterdam. It was fantastic!

There’s a small coffee shop across from the terminal, but it is not open as early as US ones. Seems like it didn’t open until 9am. You could get a pastry or something else (they had delicious yogurt parfaits) the day before and put it in your hotel room fridge. The breakfast at NHow was pricey but amazing!

I stayed there before my cruise in May. I liked it, especially the huge windows, but the coffee maker in the room was an unfamiliar model and I had a heck of a time figuring it out! The breakfast is not complimentary, but is huge. Several stations to pick out your choices. Great coffee too. Very short walk to the terminal. I took the train from Schiphol and then a tram that drops you off across the street.

When I was on a 14-day British Isles cruise on the Rotterdam in May, we had comedians, classical musicians, song & dance shows. Entertainment was quite varied and good.

My husband got very seasick on the only cruise he went on. He slept on the sofa, which put him at a right angle to the bed. He felt better with that direction of motion.

The shore excursion people had drinks for sale when we gathered in the world stage to get our excursion stickers. They had those nice metal water cans that had the screw tops. I bought one and used it for several days.

That explains why we got Lindt truffles on dressy night on the Rotterdam last month! They were milk chocolate ones, so I gave them to my travel partner. If they had been dark, I might have not been so generous… 😉

I still fold my skivvies and bras the Navy way! 😁

Technically, yes. However, others have reported that they weren’t charged corkage so it seems to be intermittently enforced.

I traveled recently to/from Amsterdam and I had Global Entry, while my travel partner did not. I did LOTS of waiting for her since I went through each US security location very quickly, especially JFK where there was no line for me. We almost missed our flight in JFK due to the regular security lines being so long. Global Entry includes TSA PreCheck, which is nice. No need to apply for both.

After reading all this, I consider myself very fortunate that I don’t care where my cabin is located and I’ve never sailed a long enough itinerary to need a big checked bag (always have carryon). I found earplugs that stay in my ears, and meclizine works wonders for motion sickness.

It will be available in IOS 18, which is due out in September, but only for newer iPhones. Older ones will still need a cellular connection to text to non-iPhones (using the built-in Messages app). I have that problem where I live. Insufficient cell signal most of the time so I have to use FB Messenger to send messages to my daughter who has an android phone.