TheDaringLibrarian

We were on the Jan 29 Oosterdam cruise in a Neptune suite. The docking station and coffee maker were on the desk. The coffeemaker is Mo Coffee, whoever they are.

Well, they're not Keurig (more's the pity- I'm addicted to my REVV K-Cups)

MoCoffee was Developed by the Inventor of Nespresso. They have 5 different coffees available including what you mentioned. Their Cremoso pods sound intriguing. I like that their pods are environmentally friendly.

For more information, you can Tweet them directly at @Mocoffee

Google it, as mentioned in my previous post, and it should come clear when you review the actual websites.

Ah-ha! Thank you!!... and here I am a Google certified teacher & didn't think of that! Shame on me! You & CC peeps rock!

OH, no!!!! Look at the new floor plans of the Signature Suites! Do NOT like the fact the desk is closed off from "the view."

I agree! Though it's not so much the desk placement, I don't like as blocking more of the view. The whole thing that makes a Suite, sweet is MORE WINDOWS! More light! More Views! More World. Ok, I'll stop with the !'s

I personally like being able to see the view from the bed but why add a bigger bookcase to house glassware that could have been done on an interior wall and give us more windows? I would have liked 2 LARGE floor to ceiling windows. My 2¢l

I was thinking of this trip for this year but was worried about the whole terrorist thing (I know, I'm a chicken-shiitake mushroom!) and airfares are sorta high, so I'm taking the Seattle-Seattle Alaska cruise instead.

Has anyone taken this Voyage before? Is it a lot like Alaska? What are the expected highlights - some of the ports were unknown to me.

Thanks!

~Gwyneth

[wishing she knew what the fishy site was that must not be mentioned]

It wasn't terribly private on tge Oosterdam. You could be seen by many cabins. One thing that was odd is that you had to fill it up and drain it yourself for each use. When I think of a hot tub that's not usually what I picture.

That's weird! But I guess keeping a full cleaned hygienic hot tub going all the time would be too much? Too difficult?

Or I guess I gotta think about it this way - Would you really get into water you weren't sure was clean?

I'd still want the PS! Even solo! lols

I'm a loyal lover of Neptunes (I'll be in an aft-wrap in 11 days on the Oo'dam). To me it boils down to $3200 for an extra bathroom, a dining room table, a hot tub on your veranda, and bragging rights that you've stayed in a PS.

I'm splurging an extra approx $2700 to get a Neptune Suite for an upcoming Alaskan cruise - but for an outdoor private hot tub? I'd think it would be VERY tempting to splurge an extra couple grand! I'm hoping the Neptune Suite is worth the splurge - it's my first suite! (Don't judge me! lol ;))

Outdoor hot tub, champagne, & glacier viewing! Sounds grand, no?

I very much appreciate your posting this and I believe you have done so accurately, I also believe that this is a very carefully crafted example of corporate doublespeak.

 

If the rep wasn't actually reading from a script then I seriously doubt that he/she has ever spent any time onboard a ship as an employee and certainly never as a waiter, cabin steward or other position that relies on tips as part of their income.

Thank you!

You know, I posted it because I was so surprised by it (it was also opposite of what I knew and have done previously) and it seemed a wee bit fishy to me & I knew I could rely on the experts on CC to suss it out!

The money & pocket situation was a bit laughable. [grins wryly] Cheers dears! :)

I spoke to a HAL representative the other day about a different matter, having to do with tipping on top of the SBP & she said that HAL discourages Pax to tip staff in cash because of several reasons:

• cash could fall out of their pockets & they could lose money whilst going about their work

• they don't always have time to go down to their cabin to stash the cash

• not having a lot of cash discourages petty theft among staff

• it's difficult for some staff to get off the boat at ports & exchange the cash for the currency of their home country

She recommended that if a Pax want to tip on TOP of the other tips (which I do like to do here & there for outstanding service) that it's best to get the HAL employee # and go to guest services where you can add the $ into their shipboard account.

According to her, this is good for staff because they can instantly wire transfer money home automatically without any delays or problems.

I would NEVER take off the automatic tips - all cruise line staff work very hard months at a time away from friends and family and deserve their tips! (IMHO)

This was all news to me! :cool:

Solo cruising Neptune Suite style July 23 on the HAL Westerdam RT Seattle to Alaska! (the ! after Alaska! is compulsory, just as it is with Science! - Thomas Dolby)

Haven't decided if I'm gonna "Greta Garbo" much of this cruise for max relax but wouldn't mind meeting up for drinks or specialty dining. Ex. PG or Le Cirque. Cheers!

I answered this briefly yesterday, but since I have cellular data today, I'll expand.

 

The portion size was one full ounce, plenty for two to share. (We could easily eat more, but 1/2 oz each was sufficient.) The quality of caviar was very good and the freshness was very good as well. It was Osetra. For reference, we get a fair amount of caviar from Browne Trading in Portland, Maine when we are at our summer home in Maine. This caviar was just as good as what we get there. We may have it again later in the cruise.

 

All in all, I would recommend it. Just make sure that you let them know you expect the full caviar setup. DW wasn't wild about the blinis. She prefers the ones our friend makes. Of course our friend is a classically trained pastry chef who has been on Chopped, Best Thing I Ever Ate, and the Travel Channel's "Food Paradise." so the comparison might be a little unfair.

I know I'm coming "late to the party" or should I say research (though I suspect the study at the Cheer Institute is perpetual), but I think $45 as a supplement for a full ounce of Royal Russian Osetra Caviar is a steal!

I love Malossol, which translates to "little salt" in Russian - (my Cold War era High School Russian finally pays off!) for the fresh delicate flavor and sells on Amazon for $139 an Oz and at Browne Trading for $225.00 per 30g.

But forgetting the Crème fraîche? Savages! [grins] If you don't finish it, how tacky would it be to take it back to the cabin for later al fresco egging? :)

Cheers!

~Gwyneth

(who is studiously working her way through the whole report - it's a super fun read!)

We arrange with the Neptune Lounge to have chicken wings and skewered shrimp with Asian dipping sauce delivered each dat at 3:30 PM. A few chicken wings are saved in our minibar for late night snack.

That's pretty cool - how much extra did that cost?

Or was it considered room service?

Also, can you ask that your mini bar be emptied out so you can put in your own bottles of water, wine, etc.?

Thanks everyone! Splurging on a Neptune Suite solo cruising to Alaska this summer on the Westerdam! W00t! :)