crunchii

If my luggage doesn't arrive in time and I don't have appropriate clothing, I would go to Lido or order room service. But that's just me, and I don't expect everyone to do the same.

I just hope that most people would be dressed nicely so that the dining room can still give the fine dining atmosphere. Just a few people in shorts and T-shirts wouldn't bother me, but if that's what the majority of people wear, I would be disappointed. I was hoping for (and thought I paid for) upscale dining. Not dinner at Denny's.

And I chose HAL because I thought HAL would be slightly more traditional and elegant than other mass market cruise lines. If I wanted casual, I would've booked Carnival. But maybe I expected too much.

What does clothing preferences have to do with dining choices?

Sorry, I just thought, if you liked casual clothing, you'd prefer casual dining too. My bad for assuming.

I googled "lacy shorts" and what I saw reminded me of the pantaloons women used to wear under hoops and petticoats. But what do I know. I don't follow the latest fashion :D

If you like casual clothing, why do you even want to eat in MDR? Wouldn't Lido be more to your liking?

Yes, thank you, Jacqui, for all the work you do for Future Cruise List and Bon Voyages!

I had my name added to the Future Cruise List about a year ago. I used to scroll down quite a bit to find my name. By habit, I still scroll way down, then remember that my name is closer to the top now and have to scroll back up :)

And I'll be finally getting my von voyage soon! Can't wait!

I'm considering ordering Volcano Cake at Pinnacle Grill next month too, but not too sure about Grand Marnier, because I don't drink alcohol (don't like the taste). Can you order the cake without the liqueur? Or is it baked into it?

Wish Westerdam had Tamarind!

Thank you for your review, TAD2005! Good hear about the unlimited Internet plans. I hope they'll still be available when I board!

LOL about Piano Man. I like that song, but not sure if I want to hear it every night :')

Doesn't really say unlimited.

Enhanced plan is 24.99 day. $159.99 for 13 days-email and favorite sites-no Skype.

Premiere plan includes above plus skype. 29.99 day. 209.99 -13 days.

Thank you for answering my question!

Thank you for your live reports, 1ANGELCAT! We'll be on Westerdam next January, so I'm following your reports with great interest.

One question for you. Does Westerdam still have unlimited Internet plans?

It is indeed a full transit. Sorry if I wasn't clear.

On a full transit, it takes so long, that you will have AMPLE opportunity to see everything. There is no one thing that is more of a "must see" than another.

Thank you for your tip, cb at sea! Good to know that I'll have ample opportunity to see everything :)

At 7am the observation deck was 10 rows deep and the helo deck was completely filled.

Yikes! That doesn't sound good... But we do want to be at the bow when we enter the canal, so I guess we'll have put up with the crowd. :(

Thank you for the warning :)

Great info!! Thank you BillB for posting and Turtles06 for sharing!

Thank you again for your advice!

Thank you all for your advice! We'll definitely get up early and get out on the bow. How early should we get there? Is 4 am early enough? (According to the itinerary, we enter the canal at 5 am.)

Everyone keeps saying we need to move around the ship during the canal transit. Sounds good. We'll definitely do that. But are there any can't-miss sights, and which part of the ship are they best viewed from?

We don't want to "move" to a wrong spot at the wrong time and miss those interesting sights...

Note: We're doing eastbound (from San Diego to Fort Lauderdale) on HAL Westerdam.

Same machine as the pic for us on the Westerdam & Rotterdam.

 

I think it was called something like mccaffe.

According to my PCC, the machine is MoCoffee Ventura XS200.

Have a safe and wonderful cruise, Jacqui! I'll be following along your live thread!

Thank you all for the advice! So it sounds like the tables along the railings are fine. I'll request one of those and hope I'll get it!

Many people mentioned that they always request specific tables in the MDR. I'd like to do that too, but this being my first HAL cruise, I don't know which ones to request! (And yes, I understand we may not get what we request.)

We'll be sailing on Westerdam and have "Confirmed Early, Request Table for 2." Looking at the seating chart posted on the site that shows all the HAL facts, which do you think are the best 2-top tables in Vista Class MDR? I'm thinking #79, 77, or 73. What do you think of those tables?

I don't think I want #37, 41, 47, or 51. They look like a big table separated into two seating with two empty seats in between. Is that what they are?

Thank you in advance for your advice!

https://www.limousinebus.co.jp/en/bus_services/narita/ycat.html

Another option would be the limousine bus from NRT to YCAT (Yokohama City Air Terminal), then 12 minute (according to Google map) taxi ride from there.

Could you add me to the list too? We'll be aboard Westerdam exactly a year from now! Woohoo!!

Westerdam - 20-Jan-18 - 15 day Panama Canal

crunchii

This will be our second cruise (first on HAL), and we'll be celebrating our 30th anniversary onboard!

Could this be it? (Sorry, it's in Japanese.)

http://www.bs-tbs.co.jp/cruise/onair/

The cabin chart on HAL site only shows some of the available cabins. If you know the exact cabin you want, you can enter the cabin number in "Enter stateroom number" box on the Stateroom Type page. If the room is still available, you'll be able to book it, even if it doesn't appear available on the cabin chart.

Well, my TA has asked Holland America the question about booking an inside cabin for sleeping, and the answer was what we expected....2 cabins in one name is not possible!

Bummer! I guess my MIL will have to eat her breakfast alone in Lido! :eek:

(Just kidding:D We won't do that to her!)

Thank you so much for finding this out, CruisinNana!

If I contact the cruise line through my TA, I will let you know what they say. Maybe someone else out there is as crazy as I and may benefit from the answer!

I'm very much interested in what your TA says, because I've wondered about this exact scenario for my mother-in-law.

I'd like her to have her own place to sleep, while spending the rest of her day in our suite and enjoying the suite perks like Pinnacle breakfast and Neptune Lounge with us.

So, yes, please do let us know if you talk to your TA. Thank you!

We'll be on Westerdam (and PV is one our stops) next year, so I read your report with great interest!

By the way, tsuru means crane (bird) in Japanese.