Ready2go11

We are deck 7 towards the back. Very quiet.

That’s it! For some reason we did not think until today to pick one up to try and now too late. Maybe next time. thanks for the info

sad Dive in Dog with too much mustard and relish Mystery fruit- does anyone know what this is? The promise of a special bourbon, that wasn't Ship Officers Adorable pool penguins

Friday April 6th Took an UBER from FLL to the port. Took longer than usual since our driver was waiting for us at departures upstairs rather than coming to the rideshare island on the arrivals level. That has never happened before. We could see in the app he was very near us but could not figure out where he was until he asked what level we were on. Eventually he circled around and picked us up. It was around 10:45 when we arrived at the port and although there were others arriving it was not super busy. We dropped off luggage and breezed through the priority line and upstairs where we only had to wait about 10 minutes before boarding. They told you to sit anywhere so we chose a row near the back. They announced they were boarding by row and were amused by several people getting up and moving to a row closer to the front so they could get on sooner. It moved quickly and after boarding on deck 2 mid-ship they funneled everyone to Lido as the rooms were not open available yet. The last four cruises have been on Pinnacle class ships, so the smaller Lido was an adjustment. Still plenty of choices available but I did miss NY Pizza. We opted for Dive In and salads. I have been looking forward to a Dive In dog since the last cruise in January on the NS. I do not as a rule like hot dogs but something about the juicy hot dog and frizzled onions does it for me. First disappointment though, the hot dogs were regulation size (not oversized Nathan’s they have always been) and were very chewy. They were out of a number of things at the bar and we realized moving from a longer cruise around South America to this longer TA required a significant restocking and we later found out a significant change in crew. I think much of the first day rockiness I will describe was due to these factors. We did not leave port until after 7:30pm, and the Captain stated this was because of significant fueling and restocking necessary. From our balcony we watched the crane, backhoes and other equipment loading literally tons of boxes, bags, cases of food, wine, other beverages and supplies like carpet and steward carts. Since we had lunch before our rooms were ready and we could pick up our key cards, we were able to order drinks at the bar by just giving our room number. The Mai Tai and Bahama Mama we had were fresh made and cool and delicious. Perfect drinks on a sunny Florida day with temps in the upper 70s and very low humidity. One of my first stops was to the Ocean Bar when it opened so I could see if they still had the Holland America Buffalo Trace special bourbon. It was featured on the bar menu and the waitress indicated yes, they had that. Very excited and tried it on the rocks. It was good but did not taste any different, and you know why? Turns out it was regular old Buffalo trace. We found out by going to the Ocean Bar itself and asking to see the bottle so I could take a photo. The bartender said they ran out of that awhile ago. Note to HAL if you are going to have a special blend, order more than one barrel and make sure on board bar staff know what it is. Maybe also take it off the menu. I apologize but I did not take a photo of the first night dining room menu but am sharing the daily program. Incidentally, the menu statement and choices on Friday and based on Saturdays preview, referencing South America and the Caribbean so we have not changed over to Europe yet even though that is where the ship is headed. We opted for late fixed dining at 7:30pm, something we had not done since that was the only choice. I usually prefer not to eat larger meals that late but think we will be staying up later than normal since we will be losing time and it will seem earlier to us. We found the Oosterdam is in good shape although older and smaller. The décor is darker than the newer ships and we decided after walking around it seemed like a “club” atmosphere with a lot of wood paneling. Still it was easy to get around and clean. Our last time on the Oosterdam was in 2017 when 9 of our family took an Alaskan cruise and my parents renewed their wedding vowels to celebrate their 50th anniversary. The library was well stocked and we found fresh flowers are all around. As noted, there were many hiccups on this first day. I received the wrong starter and wrong wine at dinner. The waiter was hurried noting everyone came in and sat down at once, which I though was how fixed dining worked???? He did not write anything down, leading to the issues, I think. However my shrimp cocktail starter was tasty, although with the grapefruit and orange segments that came with it, I got a sectioned lemon mixed in. I did not notice the lighter color and chewed it before I realized what it was. That was a sour surprise! Our mains of jerk pork tenderloin and baked hake were tasty and well presented. Dessert was peach crisp (little peach and a lot of crisp that was under baked) and a hot fudge sundae. I like their hot chocolate sauce but was missing my wafer cookie : ). After some casino time where I made a donation despite them not having the piggy bank machines I have loved on other ships. Surprised it was 10:30pm and I was still very awake despite getting up at 3:50am we headed back to the room and I was gently rocked to sleep by the motion of the ocean. Side note: when we first boarded the Internet was out, with an error comment noting it was being worked on. The TV stateroom once we got to our rooms did not have the safety video playing yet either. That was fixed fairly quickly though and we were able to watch our safety video before checking in at the Muster Station. After the video finished, we checked out the movie selection, pleased it has new pictures and older favorites. We saved many to the watch list after going through more than a hundred movies and started watching one before dinner. These details are important because after dinner and some casino time, we got back to our cabin to a nasty gram stating we had either not watched the safety video or checked in at our muster station. That led to much indignation and two comments to the let us know chat on the Navigator app. The next morning my sister received a note apologizing stating someone would follow up with her. My chat comment was focused on the fact that they reset our safety video so we had to watch it again, and it wiped out all the saved movies on the watchlist.

Calling this the lazy waltz (although my dancing ability is akin to Elaine on Seinfeld) to recap this 14 day journey to Spain onboard the Oosterdam as I can’t promise to post every day consistently, especially as we get to Spain and have port days EVERYDAY for almost a week. But I will do my best to keep up. Unfortunately we will not be continuing on to Italy and Greece with the ship after Barcelona. The extra days in Barcelona and to get home to the East Coast are stretching how long I can be away from the office on top of the 14 night cruise. As background, this is my second TA after a Rotterdam trip last October. My sister and I chose this cruise because it was going to Spain where we had never been before, and because we LOVED the slow life of continuous at sea days of a TA. We are a little apprehensive about losing hours at the beginning and have many sea days in a row for the last week of the trip. We liked the west bound trip because we lost hours all at once (flying to Amsterdam) and then gradually got them back as we reached Florida and had the last week of the trip to recover after busy consecutive port days; thinking that was a more relaxing way to end the cruise. However, since you can’t do a westbound in April, this was our first choice of sailing. My sister frequently travels with me as her husband does not have sufficient vacation to do these longer trips and we share a similar travel style and interests. I am HAL loyal but will share the good and disappointing, recognizing that the disappointing are first world problems and through my personal filter. Nothing can be perfect and although it may sound like complaining at times, it is a travel recap of what we experienced. No matter the inconveniences, there is nothing better than being on a HAL cruise. I will apologize in advance for any typos and the length of reports. I know when I am looking forward to a trip, I want to soak up everything about the experience I may soon be having so I am erring on the side of detail. In any case I will endeavor to share my thoughts and experiences of on board life, ports, etc. Since there was a healthy CC roll call, I welcome others on board to chime in on any thoughts they have as well. We started this journey by doing the unthinkable and traveling to Florida on the day the cruise was departing. Decided the risk was worth it since I am not a great fan of the Ft. Lauderdale hotels near the airport or Port Everglades and since it was April, past snow weather (at least for Baltimore) and we had a 6:20am flight, there would still be time for delays or alternate flights if ours had an issue. Not only did everything go as planned, but I had the middle seat next to me empty on the nearly full flight! A good start.

On our Rotterdam TA last fall, they did an art scavenger hunt. Gave us 20 clues and we had to race around the ship and take pictures of the artwork referenced by the clue. It was timed. We only got 19 in the time limit, and another couple finished with all 20 more than 5 minutes before time was called. Now I know how they win- i bet they had the cheat sheet guide. they received an actual prize for winning and although i have gotten over the loss (mostly because we beat that couple at another game later) I was jealous at the time.

After you board, just ask your room steward to open the divider between the cabins. Never had a problem with the request. It only opens about half way but allows access between balconies and when you are standing or sitting closer to the edge you will easily be able to chat.

Have you tried the pizza? Oosterdam does not have the dedicated NY Pizza so am curious if the Lido version is any good. Thanks,

do you get your photo on the high achievers wall if you finish it all?

Is the institute accepting donations to allow you, Michelle and Poohby to stay on the ship longer? These reports have quickly become the comedy highlight of my day. yes, I am aware I may need to get out more. 🤪

I tried Aloo Masala first time last year in CO on Rotterdam and was hooked. It is a lot of food but delicious! incidentally I also tried the congee and Pan Asian breakfasts on the menu in my bid to expand my horizons. I will not be ordering those again. My horizons at breakfast time are exactly where they need to be!

And the hydrotherapy pool is a great idea I will look into as well. thanks!

Since the pinnacle suite is booked for my cruise 😟 perhaps I just need to find out who has it and make new friends! Actually, a friend suggested yesterday getting those packs that you snap that heat up as a temporary solution for the trip. I ordered some today.

Since you mentioned this series, which never having met you seems to fit your trademark brand of humor, i felt compelled to ask if you ever considered being a novelist. Being from Ft. Lauderdale, you could have the inside track on reviving one of my all time favorite characters from yesteryear, Arch McNally. Are you familiar? I would presume you are also a fan of the zany mysteries (in many series) of Janet Evanovich.

Thanks for the pics. Now I just have to wait two weeks to try it (while eating plenty of other tasty food)!

@Vict0riann thank you so much for posting the menu. Interesting that there is no pasta course but each dish sounds delicious! We love going to tasting dinners and book EatWith experiences when in larger European cities (had a great meal last year in Amsterdam and have one booked in Barcelona at the end of the upcoming cruise). I highly recommend these types of pre and post cruise “excursions” when you spend some extra days before flying home. It’s a great way to meet locals and experience local cuisine. This Cellar Master dinner will take us to Italy even though sadly we get off the ship before it travels there. i appreciate the picture of the chef and host too and will be sure to give your regards if we are lucky enough to have Cesare. And if you have photos of each course handy, would love to see them.

I injured my arm, and as part of my physical therapy I’ve been using a heating pad after doing my exercises. I checked the FAQs list of prohibited items, and I do not see that this specifically would not allowed to be brought on board. anyone have any experience with this?

I have had vastly different experiences at the pinnacle for both lunch and dinner on the same cruise, let alone among various ships. One would be great and the next would be meh. I think service and food quality is affected by how busy they are. Some nights they are so slammed they just can’t keep up and that has to be due to the extra HIA reservations and what seems like less staff. I have noticed that side dishes and appetizer portions are smaller, but I gave them the benefit of the doubt that they did not want to waste food. They used to serve them family style to share, and now they are just individual portions. If you know you want a healthy portion of a specific dish, just ask your waiter when ordering for extra.

I found a sample menu for the Pinnacle Cellar Master pop-up but I could not find one for an Italian Cellar Master dinner (held in Canaletto) that is post pandemic. Has anyone been to the Italian dinner or have a menu to share that is post 2020? There is one scheduled for the upcoming Oosterdam TA and I would love a preview. thanks!

We have been fortunate enough to dine in Club Orange on a few occasions across all three of the pinnacle class ships. We have not tipped CO staff each time, as the service has not always been stellar. Last fall on the Rotterdam TA cruise, the staff was outstanding, and we gave each person we got to know well an envelope on the last day with some money and a thank you note. Each person slipped the envelope into their pocket. If the tips are shared, so be it, but that person knew we appreciated their service. We also mentioned each one in the Navigator app feedback during the cruise (and they mentioned they received notice of that) and in the post cruise survey. The Rotterdam CO team are phenomenal, led by manager Edgar, and part of the reason we booked another CO experience on the Rotterdam. We wanted them to know how much we appreciated them.

Brilliant! Thanks for the definitive response.

I believe the current pricing setup is no charge for extra appetizers (a change from last year when they were charging for extra appetizers) but there is an extra charge for entrées. For example, Canaletto is $10 each extra entree per the menu. I am not seeing Pinnacle extra entree charge on the sample menu on Navigator but I think it is $15. As noted above there are also some “special” entrees that are a surcharge above the price you pay to dine in the speciality venue. All extra charges in a speciality restaurant will also incur an 18% gratuity.

They are usually added to book approximately six months before the cruise, which is where you stand now. Therefore, I think it should be any day. On my Oct cruise that I have been monitoring, although the restaurants now show in the list when I click on dining, I get a 404 error when i click on an individual venue, so they are not yet ready to book. However, they didn’t even show at all earlier this week so hopefully they will be available soon. Keep checking your booking each day is my advice.

HAL provides a variety of food; however I like granola bars or other snacks for post-trip airplane rides or for excursions where food or snacks are not included and I want a non-perishable option I can carry with me.

I have put snacks like granola bars, nuts, candy in my checked bags to bring on board and have never had an issue. I think your luggage would be held longer if you had fresh fruits or vegetables that are not supposed to be brought on board.