Niagarawine

I’m on the 11/26 sailing on the Eurodam. Had paid for an SY guarantee; got my cabin assignment last night for a SS cabin, deck 6/midship. I’m very pleased and can’t wait!

 

Hope your assignment comes quick!

Yep happy happy as 6063 , also booked guarantee sy

Sailing on Maasdam 11/27 and still no cabin assignment for me.

This cruise is already sold out.

This is my first time ever booking a GUAR and the wait is killing me!!!!

Same for me only on Eurodam. I have never waited so long for a guarantee, hope it bodes well

Have you tried the sugar free deserts?

I love schnitzel. We are booked for the Tamarind and I have heard the raisin buns are excellent. It all,sounds delicious

I love schnitzel and we are booked for the Tamarind, will have to be on bread and water before I go on board. I heard the raisin bun is excellent . :)

What is your favourite food on Hal?

The band typically operates off a set list that they've rehearsed and the music has to be licensed. Off the top of my head, I am pretty sure we have heard:

 

I Thank You, Soothe Me, Soul Man, Wrap It Up, Hold On - I'm Coming, and Gimme Some Loving from the Sam & Dave catalog. (Clearly, we spent a bit of time catching the BB King shows.)

 

I've only ever made one request, "Green Onions," but they did play it. Our band was from the Memphis BB King club and that's one of their bumper songs.

 

If you want something specific, try to find some of the band members after the show and buy them some drinks. It works exactly like it would in the real world. (Except that there are fewer people buying drinks for the band, and the band is pretty easy to spot in the crowd on a HAL ship.)

I will buy drinks for the band and you sound like so much fun, I hope to sail,with you and husker chick one day, your reviews are unreal

Well I can't wait!:D

That's too bad. I don't know why they equate good music with noise, all seem to have amps that really are too loud. We live 2 blocks from a football stadium in Canada and since they built the new stadium and sound system it is awful. Our home shakes when the announcer is talking .

hi I am very excited about this venue on Eurodam. Do they take requests? Thinking Sam and Dave and Stax Volt revue , as per my age lol

I can't imagine any "tours" or "excursions" on St. Thomas or St. John right now, other than maybe some snorkeling/sailing ones. I can only imagine what some would say when they have to drive through areas still devastated to reach a beach. I wouldn't be too comfortable in the water or on any beach right now - think of all the contamination from the storm surge, from trash swept back into the water... That will take more than a few trucks re-grading a beach to make it appear safe to a tourist.

 

If forced to stop at these affected ports because a ship can tender in and the tourist board worked hard to get the few blocks around the port prettied up, I think I would still just stay onboard. Unless I had an overwhelming urge to hit up Diamonds International or get drunk at the nearest open tourist bar (for humor-impaired, this was a joke. I'd never be caught in either of those places)

I have been reading about the beaches and I would not be comfortable in the water either. I would also just go and shop and return to ship, as long as pax are aware of the condition of the water I guess this stop is okay, would rather go,to,Antigua

The Silhouette is an outstanding ship and my personal favourite.:D

Thanks for all the beer tips. :D

I've done 3 on Celebrity and decided to switch to Hal because in my opinion the food is better, I liked the mass being offered and wanted to try BB Kings. I also thought the ships are classier. When I was on NA I

Ike's the service better, the fresh flowers and I thought the drinks were better.

Thank you, good to know, looking forward to my cruise so much!:p

my husband only drinks beer. I noticed that the room service price for a bucket was 38 tom40 dollars but in the bar the bucket is 26 dollars. Could I buy the beer there and take it to our cabin?

Yes they were outside the Windjammer everyday of our last cruise. Never had them interrupt my meal in the Windjammer or MDR. However, at the Schooner Lounge was another story. It was a constant interruption. Yes, I was there a lot. But when we find bartenders we like, we tend to stay with them.

I was on a Celebrity transatlantic a few years ago and they were relentless about specialty dining. They would approach us everywhere , bars, restaurants , watching the view , on Constellation going to Rome. We really got fed up with it. But I have never had a problem since then but Celebrity was told to back off and I think they listened, just turned me off and I was thinking of booking a dinner in the Italian specialty restaurant but because of their tactics did not do so, husband was furious at them.

I think it's despicable that cruise lines still call on ports that have been devastated by hurricanes. Yes, the ship may legally be able to dock, but what will you see on the island ? Miles of totally destroyed shops, homes, stores. Yes, these islands desperately need tourist dollars, but at what price on the people trying to rebuild while thousands of tourists are riding around in air conditioned buses, gawking at their misery in the sweltering heat with little or no food, water or power for air conditioning. Give these people a break and let them recover. The food and water used (and mostly wasted) by tourists are desperately needed by many people on that island, but the tourists will pay much more for it, so that's where it goes.

Agreed

That's very concerning.

Based on this....ALL cruise lines should cancel ALL sailings out of the eastern/southern US this week and send ALL ships to PR/islands to bring folks back to the US. Not just RC and not just AD....all cruise lines and all ships capable of reaching islands within 3 days!

This

Great to see them doing this for the people affected by the disaster. I will be sailing on this line for my next cruise. God bless them

If it terminates there and you can book cruiseline transfers to the airport and have an immed flight out, it could work.....overnight there and getting your own transport for flights might be more complicated

 

Overall, it appears, they are rushing back to ports that are not ready to be vacation places . Scenery and natural beauty have taken huge hits.......fewer tours, less options for restaurants, shopping, etc No assurances of comfort and no credit back for visiting damaged ports.

 

Rebuiding structures, boardwalks, repairing roads will take many months in most of the heavily damaged ports....

This how I feel. I am not sailing on this line this time but my cruise goes to,St. croix, San Juan and somewhere else . Just my thoughts also

I just found out we are going there so I went online for news and found that there are four hour curfews, looting, anger at Mapp, and widespread damage. No electricity and doesn't sound like they are ready to me. I would love to,donate to,them.

Did the reviews focus on the ports/itinerary, or the ship/service/food? Makes a real difference. The ship itself, and the service and food move when the ship repositions from Alaska to Caribbean. The ports, atmosphere in the ports, and focus of the cruise will be entirely different.

Alaska tends to be port intensive, with lots to see and do. The feeling can be that you may not pass this way again, and people tend to try to take it all in.

The Caribbean is relaxed, beaches, some culture. Very different vibe.

Hi I guess there was a lot about itinerary and food, I have been on Niew Amsterdam and I thought the food was the best on all,of our cruises, including Celebrity,

hi I was perusing current reviews and noticed reviews for Alaska seem better than the Caribbean ones. I am booked on Eastern Caribbean , your thoughts?

hi silly question but my husband loves these. Would they be available on this ship?