Florida_gal_50

If I got a free offer I’d be happy to pay whatever the cost of the air was.

Possibly but I’m hoping those people were in by then. I’m with you on getting some place before it opens. Let’s say the mdr opens for lunch at noon, I will go at 12:30. Usually there isn’t a line up. The pinnacle ships seem to be really bad though. I do like to go to the lido shortly after it opens because I don’t want to deal with more people than I need to. I remember one day in November at that time it was a sea of humanity. I’m going to do my best to avoid 7 day cruises or 7 day b2b because they are nuts. I’ve done those for the longest time because I’m still working. Going on a longer cruise was like hearing angels sing. So different. People do act as if they are starving.

I went to club orange on the first night of the thanksgiving cruise at 5:45. The dining room opens at 5 or 5:15. There was a line down a good majority of the ship so they weren’t lining up before it opens. Club orange was very full too. I got the last table. I’m a little shocked at how full this cruise is given that kids are still in school. Would love to hear the capability numbers.

You should definitely go on the koningsdam at thanksgiving. It was exactly that way in November for the thanksgiving cruise.

People don’t realize how loud their voice is. When I’ve had cabins on that deck on old ships I’d be wanting to sleep and people would be outside talking for hours. For sure this is something to remember. It amazes me how people just ignore the signs on the chairs. Clearly that’s for others, not them 😛.

That chocolate tart is my favorite at Canaletto. I never think to much about getting room service for lunch but I did it on my recent cruise thanks to you mentioning it. It was a nice break from the lido which I don’t enjoy.

From the posts here Alaska sounds totally unappealing. I’ve been a few times but I would rather go any place but there. I’m in the cold 10 months of the year. Not paying to do that. I’ve had excellent meals in Canaletto but I never do pasta. I generally have the tomato seafood soup to start and the osso bucco or the veggie risotto. Both are excellent. The chocolate tart for dessert is delicious.

Thank you! Do you by chance remember which station that was at? Is it homestead? I “think” that is where the entrees usually are.

Thank you. I’m wondering more for shorter cruises. I will never get on a cruise that long and I would expect it to be different than let’s say a couple week cruise. I sure hope it’s better anyway on longer cruises but the menus I did look at for the world cruise didn’t seem like anything to write home about.

I’m usually in my jammies watching a movie 😛 at night. I can’t seem to get out of my work mode early wake up no matter what.

I’m having enough problems keeping my luggage under 50 as it is never mind putting bottles of wine it😛. This is what I like about a drink package, no leftovers.

It’s not working on my iPad. actually it did work. It just went to my downloads instead of opening

I was in club orange and while it helped some there was still some longer waits. It’s a huge difference sailing in a Neptune suite. I was lucky enough to secure a upsell just before my recent cruise. It’s something I’ve rarely done. I’m usually in a regular old balcony. Just not having to deal with the front desk was worth the price. Those that sail in Neptune suites all the time just don’t realize what a different experience it can be.

There is something wrong with the koningsdam. 3 of my last cruises were on that ship and the last one put me over the edge. I had no desire to do another cruise with hal and I’ve had over 500 days with my butt n a bed. That ship has been at capacity or over from everything I’ve heard since last November. They should be used to it by now. I booked my last cruise about 7 weeks before I left (not on the koningsdam) after exhausting my options on other cruise lines. It was night and day difference. They don’t seem to really care on the koningsdam.

Same. It’s hugely important for me to have a balcony more on the hot weather than cold but still. My very favorite time of the day is about 5:30 or 6 am when most of the ship is still asleep and just listening to the waves and the quiet. I spend most of my time outside because I live most of my structured life indoors.

@Crew Newsi wonder if I could ask another favor. If possible could you go up to the lido tonight and see if there is a station you can go to get freshly grilled meat? I say there is no such thing as a “fresh grill” but some say there is. I’ve never seen anything like it, nor have I seen it on the lido menu. If you don’t have time I completely understand. Thanks.

Yes I think that known but it doesn’t sweeten the pot to know that. On the old ships for me to go it has to be either cheap or a great itinerary and fits into my miniature window of time when I can be gone. I’m not interested in paying super high prices for a balcony on a ship with no amenities I’m interested in.

The food is just not that good at dinner to my taste. It for sure the worst specialty restaurant. I haven't found lunch to be that great lately. It used to be much better.

I've cruised with hal for almost 40 years but more so in the last 30 years. I can't remember when you served yourself on the buffet and I like that. The behavior on some guest makes me happy that a lot of things can't be touched. I've never seen the buffet open on both sides. I go to the unopened side to sit because I don't want to sit cheek to jowl with people. I walk 10K steps or more a day, what's a few hundred more? Have you made any comments through the navigator app? Who knows if they will be addressed but at least someone is seeing them. As long as I I remember crew has been working 11-12 hours. In my mind they aren't super-efficient sometimes. I remember one time there was some broken glass was under a table. Common sense would tell you to get a broom and dustpan to clean it up. The guy came back several times to look at it like he thought it might clean itself up. On the 4th or 5th go around he finally brought the broom and dustpan. I was just amazed that this was such a difficult situation for him.

To me that seems to be something that would be straight forward. Fill up the shelves. Its not like they are telling them to search the ship for them. I guess I expect too much. That said I pretty much never eat a dessert with sugar at lunch. I do sometimes have no sugar added ice cream. Several months back they had plexiglass around some desserts by the NSA ice cream. It was me and another lady in line. She was pawing at the plexiglass as if her life depended on that dessert. It would have been maybe 30 seconds that she had to wait. I also saw most people getting full pates of cookies so at that rate I imagine you'd go through things quickly. I always see lots of "supervisors" walking through the lido. You'd think they would see that.

It seems to me they did prorate it but this was pre pandemic so all bets are off. I actually gifted mine to the person that was serving mimosas in club orange. Wrote a note to say that and gave it to her so everything was cool.

I found it frustrating not to be able to get drinks from other bars. For instance I liked the yuzu margarita that was the specialty in the pinnacle. They weren’t interested in getting me for it in Canaletto. I could understand if it was a drink from Princess. It’s hard to get consistency as well. They used to make the best Bloody Caesars, now mediocre. Some come with olives, some not, some come with a salted rim. I tell them exactly how I want it and it comes whatever way they feel like making it. It takes so long to get a drink I don’t want to turn it back and they don’t seem to understand. Many didn’t seem to understand the difference between a Caesar and a Mary. This was MY experience. Not saying it’s everyone’s experience or how it’s listed in the hal how to manual.

Thanks so much. I wonder why hal has so many problems with understanding it’s own program.

I wonder why the beverage manager struggled so much with knowing the rules. It’s happened on other ships as well. Looks like you should give him a call and point him to where it’s clearly listed😛😉. Hal doesn’t seem to know it’s own rules.

Try an overcapacity Thanksgiving cruise. That's what it was like last November.