MAVIP

4 hours ago, Ine said:

To avoid misunderstanding leave your tip for the roommaid on your pillow on the bed. That way they will understand it is not money you forgot but it is the tip.

Thanks Ine, That's exactly how we do it everywhere. Lenny

12 hours ago, dbaudit said:

Two years ago we did a Panama Canal transit on the Amsterdam (West to East).  One of the highlights of the cruise was a specialty dinner in the Pinnacle based on the menu from Le Cirque restaurant in New York City.  This year we're doing another transit, this time East to West, on the Rotterdam. I can't find any reference to this dinner and am curious if this is offerred on the Rotterdam.

 

Thanks

On the m.s. Rotterdam the Pinnacle Grill offers not only Sel de Mer but also one every cruise part "Librije" dinners. Librije is a  3***Michelin restaurant in Zwolle, The Netherlands. The owner, Jonnie Boer, is member of the Culinary Team of HAL.  Suggestion: Book it when you sail the Rotterdam somewhere in or near the european waters.

12 hours ago, Turtles06 said:

 

The flower auction sounds amazing, thanks for this tip.  So if we are staying in central Amsterdam, what's the best way to get there (we won't have a car)?  The web site mentions "Bus 357."  Does it run that early in the morning; if so, how often, where would we get it, and how long should it take?  Would we be better with a taxi or Uber?  (The web site says they are located near the airport.)

 

Thanks for any help and advice!

As I do not know when and where you will be staying in Holland: see www.9292.nl for the right connections/public transport.  choose for the English language.  I attached an example.

If you would like to use public transport in Holland, try to buy a special card (and upload for example with € 10 or more) as soon as you arrive at the airport. Public transport is quite dense in Holland.

24 minutes ago, MAVIP said:

Royalfloraholland dot com    Weekdays from 07.00 o'clock in the morning.   But what a pity for Wayfarers because they are in Amsterdam May 3rd 2020 and that's a Sunday .  

Wayfairers of course. Obviously "edit" is not possible.

7 minutes ago, PelicanLvr said:

One last suggestion:  Try to see the Aalsmer Flower auction and market.  Really worth the early morning trip.  Flowers about to go all over the world!  

Royalfloraholland dot com    Weekdays from 07.00 o'clock in the morning.   But what a pity for Wayfarers because they are in Amsterdam May 3rd 2020 and that's a Sunday .  

16 minutes ago, GrJ Berkshire said:

In the past year I (a Brit ) have not tipped for any service, in restaurants a service charge is added to the bill, no where else expects it: except if you have an American accent as your reputation as stupid tippers precedes you !!

I'm so sorry, I have just a dutch accent and sometimes I am a not so stupid tipper. For example in the cases that I know that people in certain professions are not paid as they should. 

On 3/2/2019 at 2:43 PM, cbowls30 said:

Hi

we arein Zeebrugge on royal Carribean end of May. We’re looking st booking transfer from portto Bruges and have see ‘cruise express’ which looks good, they run bus shuttle for 20 Euro return. I’ve read various co flirting reviews some saying when you book online you then get to port and have to get in a huge line to exchange online voucher for a ticket, but we are not sure if this is applicable to this service or another we have found sold via viator? Can anyone tell us how the cruise express works, we don’t really want to get off the ship and get in a huge line with thousands of other passengers but the cruise ship excursion is twice the price and only 4 hours where the cruise express goes back and forth all day.

 

We used their vouchers summer 2018.  The port of Zeebrugge offers shuttles from the ships to the entrance of the port. A short walk brings you to the bus of Cruise express. Try to leave your ship soonest after arrival. We did not have to wait in line at all. In my opinion (I checked a lot of possibilities) there is no cheaper and faster connection to Bruges. 

We stayed in Citizen M, Mercure, and Ibis and I can recommend them all, depending upon your wishes and the availability of a room. Citizen M is an easy walk to the departure halls.

If you are in transfer, Mercure is the right hotel because it is behind customs/police. Very comfortable if you donot wish to leave the airport. However, If you leave the airport with your lugage and come back later, you will have to leave your luggage in de luggage cellar and collect it next day before your flight. 

6 hours ago, TiogaCruiser said:

Thanks.

Does the Nederlands produce any wines? We love many of the South Americans but were wanting to try something more local to Nederlands or Norway. (Isn’t Norway a tad cold for grapes?)

Alphen already replied your question about dutch wines. Here is some information on Norwegian production: https://www.wine-searcher.com/regions-norway     I did not drink any of the Norwegian, nor the Dutch wines. What I do understand is that in the Netherlands we have a few very good wines. 

12 hours ago, VMax1700 said:

No, no, no!

Unless you are extremely messy or vomit all over the room do not even think about it. 

My DH and I are not messy at all, but we leave a little extra in hotel rooms everywhere and even in The Netherlands. Of course only if the hotelroom is impeccable and of course it is up to you to handle otherwise. 

We were on the Maasdam in February/March. The staterooms have one so called European outlet (230V) and one USA outlet (110V). Our cabin steward brought us (we did not even ask for it) an adapter for multiple devices. No need to carry one yourself. 

On 4/8/2019 at 2:49 AM, Copper10-8 said:

 

Hi Big John; that would be Capt. Pieter Bant and HD Bert van Mackelenbergh, the competitive Eco- Challenge runner

Will they be still on board the m.s. Rotterdam in September and October? and who will be the CD? Thank you!!

2 hours ago, TiogaCruiser said:

 We also are leaving from Amsterdam. We are interested in bringing some Local wines onboard. Any suggestions?

We mostly like “grapey” reds like Syrah, Malbec and have enjoyed a few whites like Riesling. (Not s. Blanc, Chardonnay, zinfindel, which have a “feline” taste to me😣)

Norton 2015, Malbec Barrel Select, Mendoza, Argentinië Malbec       Red

Vlees moet er op het bord. Barbecue, hamburgers stoofschotel. Vlezig rood natuurlijk. Maar om dat te compenseren wel weer een hele hoop rood rijp fruit en aaibare tannines.   

 Albert Heijn € 7,99      8 points (out of 10)

Grans-Fassian 2016, Riesling trocken ‘Schiefer’, Mosel, Duitsland       Wit

Van Gerhard Grans, bekend en geliefd om zijn ‘stalige’ duurzame Riesling. Won al eerder zowel the Riesling Trophy en voor zijn oeuvre de ‘overall’ wittewijnprijs tijdens de International Wine Challenge in Londen. Dit is Riesling op wijnspeciaalzaakniveau. Lekker druivig, stuivend droog.                       Albert Heijn € 9,99    9- points (out of 10)  

As the dutch Hamersma Wine Guide  is published this week, I hope the wines will still be available in August.  Ans I hope you have an app to translate the qualifications in dutch......Enjoy the trip anyway.    

Lenny

5 hours ago, surgie said:

 

 

 

4 hours ago, surgie said:

We …….We would like to take beyond our 2-wine bottle limit onboard and pay the $18 corkage fee per bottle in order to get the varieties we like (specifically good Cabs) rather than take our chances with the ship's wine packages (not interested in bev packages). 

 

Albert Heijn sells for example a "Cab" as you call it which is highly praised by a wellknown dutch wine expert (see the 9 in the lower right corner....) I am very sorry that I am not able to translate the description of the tasting:  

Marques de Casa Concha 2016, Cabernet Sauvignon, Maipo Valley, Chili

Grote wijn van Concha y Toro. Cassis en braam, er is ruimte voor pruim, milde zuren en gesoigneerde specerij. Wederom uitstekend en erg veel wijn voor dit geld. 

€ 14,99………………………….9

 

 

On 3/18/2019 at 10:06 PM, sansterre said:

We would like to find a guide with a car or van to take 2-4 of us to Kinderdijk and perhaps show us a few other highlights as we go to and from the cruise port of 

Rotterdam.  Must be personable and speak English well.  

https://www.waterbus.nl/en/about-the-waterbus       and https://www.waterbus.nl/specials/werelderfgoed-kinderdijk-entree-vervoer (I could not find it in english, but it states that a return ticket Rotterdam-Kinderdijk including entrance location of the windmills costs € 16,50 per person).  On your return you could visit he town of Rotterdam where your cruise ships is docked right near the center. See f.e. this website https://www.gilderotterdam.nl/toon.php?pag=foreigners    Those guides are volunteers and very knowledgable about their hometown. € 7,= per person.   Or https://www.cityrotterdam.com/en/attractions/sightseeing-tours-rotterdam/walking-tours/  

Far away from home we ourselves had very good days out with Tours by Locals. For Rotterdam and Kinderdijk see: https://www.toursbylocals.com/find_tour&area=341&start=Apr 27, 2019&end=Apr 30, 2019  (I filled out at random dates). A 4 hours trip to Kinderdijk in a car, few things included, will cost you about $ 300. This page shows many possibilities with transportation to and from the cruise terminal in a private car with the guide. A combination with a visit of the towns of Delft and The Hague will take the whole day shows a good program too. 

12 hours ago, Wayfairers said:

Thank you Lenny - exactly the information I needed.  We are in Amsterdam May 3 8a-5p.  (Finally able to look at the itinerary again)

The 3rd of May on the m.s. Magellan? In that case: please look into the ships itinerary again, because Amsterdam Cruise Terminal indicates that the ship will leave at 14.30.   https://www.ptamsterdam.nl/en/cruises-portal   And, by the way, Keukenhof is "touristy" , but in my opinion absolutely worthwhile. 

4 hours ago, Wayfairers said:

Thanks everyone - good info.   We are there around May 3 or 4...I don’t have my itinerary with me right now.  I will check out the gardens. Keukemhof sounded a little touristy to me but I somehow missed that it is gardens..sounds better now.  I’ll look into a tour there or preferably going on our own. I saw their website has directions from Amsterdam Centraal.  

If you have enough time you can easily do it on your own. For example buy a Keukenhof ticket including a return bus ride https://keukenhof.nl/en/buy-tickets   for € 30 per person and see the routing from Amsterdam here:  https://keukenhof.nl/en/publictransport/   Scroll down that page too and check the connections from Amsterdam Passenger Terminal. I would prefer the connection by Metro (nr 52 I believe) and then the bus nr 852 Keukenhof Express. It takes about an hour. The buses arrive and leave at a few minutes from the entrance of Keukenhof. If you have only one day with your cruiseship in Amsterdam: Keukenhof opens at 08.00 o'clock. From the PTA cruise terminal you walk in 15 minutes to the metro station in front of Central Railway station.  And: the 3 of 4th of May will be perfect. It is a really worthwhile if you like colours, flowers, trees, gardens. I think you do not need a guide at all; just after the entrance you will see at 2 points baskets full of little maps of the park (and please note: they have lockers at the entrance; can be handy if you have to carry any luggage).  Enjoy. Lenny

58 minutes ago, caripoo said:

As in alot of Europe....tipping is not necessary, but for outstanding service, they do appreciate it. look for a service charge in a restaurant, then if you want round up the bill with extra change. Do tip bellpersons 1 euro a bag, we do tip our driver and tour guide, they just do not expect the large tips we Americans leave here in the states.  ENJOY!!

Maybe I can add a suggestion to leave a tip for the person that cleans your hotelroom. In restaurants tips are included in the published price. I fully agree with caripoo: for excellent service an extra will be appreciated. In general I pay with CC and hand a tip in cash. In France it is a kind of a habit to leave a tip on the table. It is not in the Netherlands. Sometimes you will see a little box near the cash register.  I hope you will enjoy your stay in the Netherlands. 

I am sure the e-visa system is only good to arriving by AIR.

 

Despite what the cruise lines charge, getting the visa on the ship is still the easiest way of dealing with visas issues if visiting Vietnam and Cambodia by ship.

I fully agree. HAL/the Volendam will take care of everything. I checked the pricing (The Netherlands) before we left with the Volendam last February and the decision was an easy one.

I had previously read that you can get your visa for Vietnam on the ship (HAL). But I found out today that there is a caveat. We are doing an overnight tour that starts in Cambodia and ends in Vietnam. We will be coming into Vietnam by plane. In that situation, you cannot get the Vietnam visa on the ship but you must get it on your own in advance. If you are coming into Vietnam via the ship then you can do it onboard.

 

Hope this info helps.

 

Helen

Maybe this helps too: The Vietnamese Embassies issue also authorization letters and on showing them on arrival at the airport (two, Hanoi and HoChiMinh) are specifically mentioned) the visa will be issued. Those letters are not valid upon arrival by ship! You pay (on arrival) US$ 50 for a multiply entry visum. I cannot find the fee for issuing the letter of approval (issued by the authorities in Hanoi).

Lenny