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1 hour ago, Milwaukee Eight said:

On our bucket list, Alaska. 
 

M8

It is such a beautiful place! You won’t regret it. I can’t wait to go back.

17 minutes ago, John&LaLa said:

 

It's a feature added during last major update a couple years ago.

And I still messed up, this time I added photos the wrong cruise line to the album. Do you know how to remove them or move them to the correct album?

1 hour ago, John&LaLa said:

 

You can add these via the gallery function.

Thosevare the pictures youvsee on the side of a screen or at the bottom of a cell phone.

 

I just added it for you

Thank you! I has been awhile since I have be on here to post that I don't recall on the features.

Photo of Radiance Of The Seas in Juneau Alaska on August 14, 2018 as seen from Mount Roberts Tramway docked next to Holland America Line ms Amsterdam.

Note: I am missing cruising so much, as I am sure many of you are as well, that I am going through past cruise photos and memories.

Just a few years late, but for anyone that might have been on the Norwegian Bliss to Alaska on August 11, 2018 here are a few photos of the ship leaving Waterford Park in Seattle.

Note: I am missing cruising so much as I am sure many others are as well that I am reviewing all of my previous cruise photos and memories. It is a great way to cruise when you can't actually cruise. ;)

A good place to look is http://www.rogerjett-photography.com/. He has 2019 MDR menus from an Alaska Sailing. 

Also, this thread 

A few more food pictures from my last cruise on the ms Amsterdam:

Dining Room - Dinner Entree

Dining Room - Dessert

Lido Market - Beecher’s Mac N Cheese

Lido Market - Dinner Options

Lido Market - Dinner Options

Dining Room - Soup at Dinner

Dining Room - Salad at Dinner

Dining Room - Dinner Entree

Dining Room - Dessert

Dining Room - Dessert

Dining Room - Appetizer (We recall this being very good)

Dining Room - Dinner Entree

Dining Room - Dinner Entree

Dining Room - Dessert

Dining Room - Dessert

Dining Room - Gala Night

7 hours ago, tere247 said:

More pictures, please😊

Absolutely! I will post some more pictures later tonight or tomorrow.

1 hour ago, Cruise Suzy said:

 

Our gnocchi looked nothing like this on the K'dam in February. Only 5 gnocchi and 4 pieces of beef. When asked if we enjoyed our meal, we mentioned the ratio. We thought it was very good - just not enough gnocchi.

It is always interesting to see or hear how the same food item is prepared differently from ship to ship and even from day to day on the same ship. 

On 8/19/2019 at 1:29 PM, farjar said:

“Does the lunch menu change daily? NCL now only has one MDR lunch menu for the entire cruise.“

Yes, the MDR and the Lido Market lunch menus changes daily.

The MDR breakfast menu is the same each day with the possibility of specials or menu items prepared a little differently from day to day. When possible, have breakfast in the MDR.  We enjoyed the low key, less hectic atmosphere versus the Lido Market. We also did breakfast in our cabin on days we needed to up early for port excursions. 

Here are some pictures from our MDR breakfasts:

Amazing views

Delicious pasteries

Healthy fruit plate 

Ham and cheese Skillet minus the poached eggs

Buttermilk pancake stack with sausage and ham

The Lido Market, at lunch time only, at least on my last cruise, served an amazing bread called a fantail roll flavored with rosemary and red chili flake, but not spicy. Once I discovered these by the salad bar if I recall correctly, I easily had 2-3 per day even if I didn’t eat in the Lido Market. Such an indulgence! I even requested the recipe, but sadly I have yet to make them. 

Let me know if you have any questions or would like to see additional Holland America Line food pictures.

While I would prefer to pay the previous price of $10, I will still dine at the Pinnacle Grill for lunch. I have not had the experience of breakfast; however, I would continue to avoid dinner at the Pinnacle Grill. 

Here is a a link to my review of the Pinnacle Grill’s Lunch while aboard the ms Amsterdam last August. Looking back on my review, paying the now price of $30 for two people (not considering Mariner discounts) to experience that burger, chocolate brownie, and coffee again...I will happily do so. 

My husband and I ate at Canaletto last August on the ms Amsterdam. The menu has changed since last August, but here is a sample of what we had. 

First we shared bread with oil and balsamic and the chef sent out a bruschetta sampler, if we recall correctly it was pumpkin and tomato. 

We ordered the lasagna bolognese and the potato gnocchi (no longer on the current menu).

The lasagna was okay, but we would consider ordering other items if we were to dine in Canaletto again. See our recommendations towards the end of the post. 

I would not recommend the potato gnocchi so I am happy to see it is no longer offered at Canaletto. 

For dessert, we had a trio of gelato and Tiramisú.

The gelato was enjoyable, the Tiramisú was not. 

Looking at the current menu, the Sunday special of chicken parmigiana sounds appetizing as does the Tuesday special of beef short rib brasato barolo.

Under large plates, we would be happy to try the pollo al mattone con salmoriglio (olive oil, lemon, garlic, and oregano sauce) and the tagliatelle di manzo all’ amarone (Italian dry red wine reduction sauce).

For dessert, we would try the torta caprese al limone, the gelato, the tatella al cioccolate di nocciole e nutella, and possibly the affogato. 

Have a wonderful cruise and enjoy your time at Canaletto. 

I loved the fantail rolls in the ms Amsterdam’s Lido Marketplace that were served on my last cruise. So good, in fact, I had two each day. It was an over indulgence, I’ll admit-but dang they were good!

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The view from the Tamarind was nice, and it stayed fairly light until 10:15pm.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Tamarind Bar closes early, and I wanted to check out what was going on downstairs. I stopped and checked in on BB Kings and the Dueling Pianos, but it wasn't really the atmosphere I wanted.

 

 

 

Then I found the Gallery Bar and I was in love. Can anyone tell me what this reminds them of?

 

 

 

 

 

 

I walked in and felt like I was in the Gryffindor Common Room! I actually texted DD that I had found the Gryffindor Common Room, and later I brought DS down here to see it as well.

 

 

 

If you have no idea what I am talking about, you haven't read or seen Harry Potter. To make a really long (7 long books or 8 long movies) short, the kids are in a sort of boarding school and sorted into "Houses" and there are lots of portraits on the wall all over the place. I suppose they aren't necessarily in the Common Room, but they are all outside the Common Room.

 

 

 

Also, in Harry Potter, the people in the portraits move around as though they are alive. So having TVs mixed in with the portraits made it feel even more Harry Potter-ish.

 

 

 

So this became my favorite place at night. I could still hear the music from both bars, plus the music on the speakers in the Gallery Bar, but it all sort of blended together into background noise so I could read. There were sports on the TVs, which I ignored because I am 0% interested in sports.

 

 

 

This bar also had my favorite drink, though I had to customize it a bit. This, my friends, is the Strawberries and Bubbles. It is supposed to have champagne, strawberries, and vodka. I had them leave out the vodka and it was divine. The counselors in Club HAL recommended it, and I thanked them profusely.

 

 

 

That drink looks very refreshing. I had the Rossini, Prosecco and Strawberry Puree, in the Canaletto and very much enjoyed it. I will have to try this combo on the next cruise.

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We were the first ones onboard! Amazing experience! HAL knows how to do the suite experience!! Better than NCL Haven and Princess!

The staff have been AMAZING!!

 

 

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Have a fantastic voyage! I would never leave that room lol!

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We just returned from our Alaskan Cruise which stopped in Ketchikan, Juneau, and Skagway. By far the favorite excursion of my 12 and 14 year old was the Bering Sea Fisherman (Deadliest Catch) crab fishing tour. The fishermen were AMAZING. These are not tour guides, they are guys who have been fishing for decades, sharing their love for their craft with you. We stopped at an eagle breeding area where they tossed fish overboard and eagles swooped down and picked them up. We saw and held box crabs, snow crabs, and we saw Rockfish and Alaskan King Crabs and a "surprise guest" who had been put in time out for eating crabs (don't want to ruin the surprise).

 

A few photos from our experience:

 

 

 

 

 

This has to be one of our favorite excursions too! Looks like you had a fabulous time!

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Aug. 1 (Cont.)

 

 

 

There was a bar with bartender at the front of the upper level, and we could order snacks as well. Those who wished to do so could sign up for lunch in the restaurant below. The train ran two different tabs, one upstairs and one down. Before arriving Anchorage, staff circulated and took credit card payments for the running tabs (no cash accepted).

 

 

 

Here is the menu from upstairs, and a photo of seating in the restaurant. The menu in the restaurant was more extensive, with things like soup, salads, hamburgers and Cuban sandwiches on offer. We both went downstairs for lunch.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We arrived at the Anchorage train station in the afternoon, and transferred to buses for the short ride to the Westmark Hotel. After we had boarded the bus, HAL emloyees passed out packets with our room keys and itinerary sheet and other info, just as happened at Denali. Since we were staying on after the D2C officially ended, our itinerary was blank, with no airport transfer or excursions.

 

 

 

 

 

We were dropped at the hotel, and we went up to our room and found our bags waiting for us, both the one from Denali, and the one we had last seen on Westerdam. All in all, we were impressed with how well HAL had arranged and carried out all of the logistics of getting us off Westerdam, onto buses, lunch, hotel and tour in Denali, bus, train, bus, etc. and get our bags to the right place at the right time. I know HAL has been in Alaska for 70 years or so and one would think they know what they are doing, but still it was impressive to experience how easy it all was for us passengers.

 

 

 

 

 

More later,

 

Dave

We are enjoying your review. We did the D5L trip a few years (land then cruise on the ms Noordam) and loved our train trip from Denali to Anchorage. We missed out on trying the cinnamon roll on the train menu, so we had one the next day on the train from Anchorage to Seward. As we recall it was very tasty. :)

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OP, thanks for the informative review. You’ve convinced me to PG lunch on our next cruise.

I hope you enjoy it as much as we did. I want to try the tandoori chicken the next time, and have another burger, and brownie, and COFFEE, oh that coffee was good! :)

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Sailing on the Konningsdam and we are planning for some speciality dining. Can you have breakfast and/or lunch in the Pinnacle Grill? If so what is the additional charge for this?

I reviewed the lunch offered at the Pinnacle Grill recently; we ate there just last week for lunch. Search for the thread “ms Amsterdam Pinnacle Grill Lunch”.

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It always nerve wracking to fly on the day of sailing, but I am looking at some reasonable fares to SFO and realizing that I can save about $500 on a hotel pre-cruise if I fly in the same day as cruise departure. I would rather spend that money on excursions.

 

 

 

Has anyone had experience with same day flying with Flight Ease ? I wonder if anyone has had a flight cancelled by the airline on the day of departure had to rebook same day? Did HAL get you the to ship on time?

 

 

 

What has been your experience with day of cruise departure flight?

My in-laws used flight ease to fly from SLC -> PDX -> ANC and then took a bus to Seward the day of their 7-day cruise from Seward to Vancouver; everything worked out for them. It was September and if I recall there were no delays.

My husband and I flew SLC -> SEA, non-stop, the morning of our cruise one May and had no problems.

Then my husband and I flew SLC -> SAN, a relatively quick flight as long as there are not plane delays due to weather and then planes needing to be de-iced, which happened to us in April of last year. I was so nervous from the moment the first delay was announced, even in the short taxi ride to the pier that seemed to take forever, until our feet were firmly planted on the deck of the Nieuw Amsterdam. If I recall correctly, we only had less then an hour to spare before muster drill and less than two hours to sail away, which was much too close for comfort.

We flew in the day before our most recent cruise departed and everything went smoothly and not a worry one.

We now plan at least one day before any cruise for travel to the port mainly for piece of mind.

We stayed at a nice SFO hotel near the airport post cruise in 2015 for less than $200 a night and we would either walk to the nearest BART station or take the hotel shuttle to the airport BART station to go downtown. Something like that might reduce your pre-cruise hotel expense.

Good luck with your travel plans! Planning trips is one of my favorite things to do. :)

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Do they have PG lunch every day or is it only sea days?

On the ms Amsterdam August 12-19 cruise, the PG lunch was offered on three days: first sea day, scenic cruising of Hubbard Glacier, and the day we ported in Victoria at 6:00 PM.

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Thanks for the great photos and descriptions. Lovely to see!

 

 

 

Next time, you might give the pavlova a try. Having had the "trifle" (which was not the chocolate one you had), I'd say the pavlova is 1000 times better!

 

 

 

Glad you enjoyed your lunch!!

Mission accepted. ;)

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We also discovered the Pinnacle Grill lunch on our last HAL cruise and definitely plan to do this on our next cruise in December. Actually we are not that fond of Pinnacle for dinner but just love it for lunch and with extra 25% Mariner discount will consider it a deal. Will just do salad in Lido for dinner am sure. Definitely won't do MDR. Looking forward to our Koningsdam cruise as it offers so many new specialty dining venues for us. Thanks for posting all the great pics. MMMMM looks so good.

 

Jane

I avoided the Pinnacle Grill for lunch because on my first cruise in 2010 I had dinner in the Pinnacle Grill and it wasn’t up to par. Kicking myself for not trying that lunch special sooner. I guess I will just have to book another cruise and yes, on the Koningsdam to boot. ;)

This is what I had for dinner after lunch in the PG. I didn’t eat much of the steak as I recall.

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Thank you very much for the information and pictures of the Pinnacle Grill lunch. We have never tried it, thinking it was way too much to eat, but as someone suggested in an earlier thread today, if you have the lunch, you can probably skip the MDR dinner that night and have something lighter from room service.

 

After seeing the menu and pictures, that might be a good idea!:D

 

P.S. Forgot to ask, what are the lunch dining hours?

Our lunch reservation was for 12:30. I looked for the next sea day and I could make one online for 12:15, I wish I had!

We had a light breakfast (in-room dining) and then a light dinner in the Lido on the day we ate in the Pinnacle Grill for lunch. If I remember correctly it was the first gala night too, but the Menu didn’t appeal to us. The Lido was pretty empty so it worked out quite well. :)

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Our recommendation is try it all & then decide for your selves:p

This is great advice! I should book another cruise ASAP. Lol. :)

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