HELENPSL

We always do Any Time Dining and it works perfectly. Sometimes we do specialty dining. Sometimes we eat in the Lido. When we go to the dining room I always tell them the same thing - happy to sit with other people at a table for 6. A table for 10 is out of the question and sometimes a table for 8 means that dinner will take that much longer. We've met many lovely people at dinner over the years doing it this way. Helen

The service has always been great on our cruises but I have never seen service like the guys in the Seaview bar area on this cruise. They never said no to any requests. AND…they always did it with a smile. They were simply fantastic! Helen

My partner and I went to Singapore in 2017. He uses a controlled substance given to him by the VA. You can print the form off the website for the health department in Singapore. I filled in as much as I could and then wrote a cover letter explaining why he was taking the drug. He took it to his doctor at the VA who filled in the missing info, put my letter on his letterhead and signed everything. I scanned and emailed it to Singapore and had approval in 48 hours. It was a pain getting it done but easy to get the approval. We got to customs and nobody asked to see anything but I didn’t want to take that chance. Helen

Thanks to all for the good wishes. It’s also my first time on the Oosterdam so I’m really excited. And I promise we will all take good care of Jacqui! Helen

Usually the only things you cannot get in the lido are the escargot and the onion soup. We were on the NS two weeks ago for 14 days. We ate in the dining room twice at a table for two which is very unusual for us. We were out in less than an hour since we wanted to make the early show. We found the food in the lido to be very good. They had prime rib several nights. Helen

We have done many HAL trips and 3 Princess cruises . We found the food and service much better on HAL and the entertainment better on Princess. But with all the new entertainment venues on the HAL Pinnacle ships entertainment is pretty even. I’ve never done Celebrity since they usually price out higher than HAL on Caribbean cruises. If we want to do a longer cruise we think HAL has the best itineraries for a mass market line. Helen

Thank you all for your good wishes. This is one of two cruises cancelled multiple times because of COVID. So excited to finally go on this cruise! Helen

You have chosen my favorite cabin. We stopped doing veranda when we realized how little time we spent out there. Now we do midship ocean view either 1119 or 1117. It’s near the elevator so it’s convenient but there’s no noise. You will love it. Helen

On most ships it’s buy 3, get one free. Helen

We are getting ready for our October trip from Quebec City, Canada to Fort Lauderdale on the Nieuw Statendam. We are bringing the ship back for Caribbean season. This will be our 5th cruise on her and it's a beautiful ship. As others have mentioned, several music venues, great food and the service is amazing. HAL got rid of the big production shows several years ago but if you see that they're doing the BBC show take your kids. They will love it...and so will you. Enjoy...enjoy...enjoy!! Helen

Smooth sailing to you and Martha. Have a fabulous time! Helen

We always call ship services (1-800-541-1576) and tell them we need a long extension cord to go across the room for a C-pap. Sometimes it's already in the cabin when we get there. We then get the cabin steward to run it across the floor, under the bed to the outlet. At that point, they tape the cord to the carpet so I don't kill myself. Hope this helps. Helen

We will be on a transatlantic leaving Barcelona on Nov. 5. According to this we still have to get the test before boarding since it's a trans-ocean cruise. Bummer! Helen

The $100 credit is a Military credit. I believe the $250 is on 14+ day cruises and for owning 100 shares of Carnival stock. Helen

I'm a little confused. On the ArriveCan information under covid requirements it states that if you are fully vaccinated you do not need a test. They may randomly select you to take one but it is not necessary as long as you have proof of vacccination. Hope this is correct. Helen

Two things you won’t find in the Lido…escargot and onion soup. Helen

Went to the pharmacy at my grocery store and asked for the free tests. Had to give them my Medicare card, they filled out a form and gave me 8 tests. No problem! Helen

Now that you booked it come over to the roll call. You will be shocked by the amount of activity. Hope to see you there. Helen

If you decide to book come over to the roll call. We have an amazing and very active group. Helen

Hey Jacqui - when you have a minute can you add the following? Thanks my friend! Nieuw Statendam - 07 Jan.- 23 - 7 Day Eastern Caribbean HELENPSL (and Angelo)

We cruised this past March and anytime dining was available. We are also booked for anytime dining for our Oct. and November cruises. Chech with your travel agent or PCC. They should be able to reserve it for you. Helen

As mentioned above you may do better with anytime dining. You just go to the dining room whenever it's convenient for you and they will seat you either with other people, which is what we do, or at a table for two if it's available. Sometimes if we're tired after an excursion we'll just go to the Lido. All the choices are yours with anytime dining. Helen

Did a one week cruise on a cruiseline beginning with "P" and it made me nuts. Almost impossible to find a quiet spot on the ship. Constant music and movies by the pool. And it was LOUD!! I'm so ready to be back on HAL! Helen

Thanks for all the info regarding the ship. We will be on with you in November for our first transatlantic. I’m a little nervous about 7 days at sea but at least the casino will be open. Big trouble! Helen

Just back from my 3rd cruise on Princess and probably the last one. It was a casino offer and too good to turn down since we only live a little over an hour from the port. There were some good points from the cruise: 1. Service was excellent. Although our cabin steward was always wearing a mask you could tell that he always had a smile on his face. The cabin was always spotless and he was there twice a day. 2. We met some wonderful people on the cruise and one in particular that is now a friend. 3. We had made reservations in the DR for 6:20PM every night and never had to wait more than 5 minutes. If we arrived early it was never a problem. The down side for us: 4. The food in the dining room was always cold. After a while you just get tired sending it back. 5. MY BIGGEST COMPLAINT - HAL has spoiled us for having food plated by the staff in the lido. We like to eat breakfast in the lido (same exact thing every day) but this was a free for all. There were people taking bread, picking it up, looking at it, deciding they wanted something else and putting it back. Much of the food was pre-cooked and put under heat lamps like the eggs benedict. We are used to the food being cooked fresh right in front of us even if we had a wait an extra couple of minutes. 6. I was very disappointed in the entertainment. Princess's entertainment was always considerably better that HAL's. They had the same comedian for 3 nights, a magician for 1 night and a production show for 1 night which was fabulous. I expected more. It may not be fair to do comparisons between lines but it is impossible to avoid it. For now we have 3 HAL cruises booked of which 2 of them have been delayed for 2 years. I do think though that everyone has to cruise a line for themselves to make their own comparisons. Helen