Cruise4food

This explains the anomaly that I see in dates for my July 2020 cruises Canada New England. Due date was changed but penalty dates are before the new final payment date. i.e. 50% forfeiture is a few days before you have to pay anything above the initial deposit. Confusing!!

18 minutes ago, Petronillus said:

P.S. Is it true that the Rotterdam and the Oosterdam will both be retired at the same time, to be replaced by the new ms Roosterdam?

And the first voyage will be chartered by KFC Corporation. 😂🤔

On 4/10/2020 at 2:20 PM, CATandSQUID said:

Have the cabins on the Rotterdam been upgraded?  TV on wall vice the desk.

Thanks!

Look for On-Demand TV in the ship amenities table. Some of the R-Class ships are upgraded but not all.  https://www.hollandamerica.com/content/dam/hal/inventory-assets/ships/pdf-files/HAL_Ships_at_a_Glance_Chart.pdf
 

Relax. I was admiring, not complaining. 😄

34 minutes ago, ShipWalker said:

 

Is that a 4 valve miraphone tuba I see? (You don't have to say anything)

Talk about the most unusual thread-drift that I have seen. 😄👌 Anyway, I am also a Juneau Harbour webcam aficionado. Even if they spell it “Harbor”. 
 

Just wanted to say that I am still an active member of this "secret" cult. My next cruises are booked as:

• July 2020 Amsterdam 7055 for a B2B Montreal-Boston-Montreal, and
• Dec 2020 Volendam 7086 for Half Panama (my exact room for Alaska a few years back).

14 hours ago, fatcat04 said:

Here is the one we were given for dh's Cpap on NA last year.

I had an identical power bar in my Massdam cabin powering the refrigerator via an extension cord. I hope they do not swap them all out just because of that old HAL logo, which still depicts the ship Half Moon. 😀😉

9 hours ago, Btimmer said:

We elected to walk into town and shop and enjoy a nice lunch off the ship.

Just want to ask about how easy (or difficult) the walk is through Port Everglades to the shops and restaurants. When riding the shuttle bus, the area seems to not be pedestrian friendly. I presume you went basically northward to the business row?

1 hour ago, Floridastorm said:

wondering what ships cannot make it under the last bridge during high water levels.

In recent years, even the smaller Veendam could not fit during May and early June.

5 hours ago, kazu said:

 

Just to add another confirmation.  CruiserBruce is correct.  Your PCC is wrong.

In Boston and FLL, I have done the B2B. They should issue a special badge that allows you to proceed through the terminal same as a crew member. Different area on the side, but they still have X-ray and screening. 

On 1/29/2020 at 12:10 AM, Sean87 said:

I've cleared my history and cache and went back in but that hasn't brought the Canadian prices back.  Is there something I should click on the main page?

This happened to me a couple years ago through home airport settings. I legitimately wanted FlightEase to show me prices to fly Boston to Seattle, then Seattle to Montreal. My “home airport” after that was Boston and all pricing was in USD. The on-board FCC finally discovered this setting problem on a later cruise and fixed it.

49 minutes ago, BJzink said:

The first item that caught my eye was the inclusion of single occupancy cabins!  Whoopie!.  But, I quickly was deflated when I checked with my cruise company - they are almost as expensive as an ocean view double with the single supplement.

When Koningsdam launched I checked some mock bookings and found consistently that the single rooms were more expensive than category I or J Interior rooms. I consider location very important and will take windowless or obstructed if I am close to Crow's nest or Lido deck. Anyway, that is my priority. The unobstructed window view does have many proponents. 

My experience in a Lanai on Maasdam is same as Trolleygirl. They are great places for departing a port.

2 hours ago, kazu said:

The S & R ships (of which the Veendam is one) do not have the newer TV’s

I confirm the older TVs with DVD library on the S and R class.  One interesting piece of info is that Amsterdam (and only Amsterdam) is quoted to have “On Demand TV” as of May 2020. I will sail her in July 2020. Source is the table of ship amenities (PDF file) on HAL site. Sorry do not have the link handy. 

I can speak to the Eurodam with a spa veranda. The Bose sound system was indeed only Bluetooth and it was easy enough to connect both an iPhone and an iPad. I also had some music on a USB thumb drive, but that did not work. On the battery operated Bose speaker, the USB port is actually an input used to charge the battery. Expect your Neptune to have a similar unit.

3 hours ago, brainyblonde said:

We haven't sailed the Veendam in a while.  We love the Lincoln Center experience on the larger ships, the venue and the musicians.   

 

Any information on the Veendam players for summer 2020 would be greatly appreciated.

Veendam and Maasdam have the Adagio classical music players performing in the Explorer's Lounge. Same idea as Lincoln Center, but the players seem to be organized directly by HAL. This recent thread about Veendam included a discussion about Adagio Players and one post has a link to a good Youtube Veendam video. Hope that helps.   https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2689851-should-i-book-the-veendam/

Note that assignments during May and early June are often moved to T-3 in the cargo terminal. High water levels during spring melt reduce the clearance at the last bridge. 

Year 2020 Cruise ship berth assignments are now published for Montreal cruise port. You can check out your ship assignment and walk, or not.  https://www.port-montreal.com/en/cruise-vessels-schedule.html

14 hours ago, RuthC said:

The best I have managed is two pillow chocolates

Exactly, they can take all that extra fare from we/us solos, but they better not cut back on the chocolates. Those are expensive morsels on the pillow.  😁

On 12/7/2019 at 3:18 PM, sevenseasnomad said:

Very cute.  I'm sure the baristas love it.

Now on the Zuiderdam, the Barista recognized Grace and Ivan in my pic above. She actually replaced Grace at the end of her contract on the Maasdam (when I took the photo). 

2 hours ago, Roz said:

 

Agree.  The Lido for a leisurely, quiet cup of coffee before 7 am is great.

Your words in a picture. On approach to Bergen, Norway a couple years back. 

On 12/6/2019 at 2:23 PM, Crew News said:

In the new Crows Nest combined configuration, bartenders only serve specialty coffee on those few occasions when the Baristas are on breaks.  Similar to Hotel Directors HAL has only a small number of Baristas to cover the entire fleet.  I make it a point to chat with them even though I do not drink coffee to share their stories with the other baristas I encounter on other HAL ships.  The baristas know each other quite well and are always happy to hear on what ships their comrades are serving.

A custom watchface helps to break the ice with the Barista when I board the ship. My WatchMaker face!  Gracie_Ivan . Photo is from the Maasdam. As you said, the baristas all know each other and love to keep tabs through the passenger stories.
http://dk2dv4ezy246u.cloudfront.net/share/HyXjQtY6H.watch
Works on Wear OS and Tizen watches. Developed on a Fossil.

52 minutes ago, catl331 said:

Cabins forward of mid-ship next to the turtle-shell lifeboats (4055>4092) are less obstructed than those aft of center (4093>4130)  that are next to the taller tender lifeboats. Many pictures here: http://halfacts.com/signature-class/

Good news for my 4055 booking.

13 minutes ago, igraf said:

there will be a strong "orange" presence due to the color of the lifeboats!  🙂 (not really a problem)

Have one booked on Zuiderdam. I hope the orange doesn’t mess up my retinas, like that episode of Seinfeld. 😱😀😃

56 minutes ago, RuthC said:

I leave my bag on the bed before I head to dinner, and generally have it back the next afternoon, or at turn down that next evening. I have had it back sooner, and a couple of times it has taken the full 2 days they advise. 
Plan on the longer time period, and be pleased when it takes less! 

You just posted what I was about to send. I settled with loading my laundry bag so they pick it up with the evening cleaning in the room. Depending upon where you are in the hallway, your morning clean might be always after 10 am. And the returns are same mixture as your experience.