MaryBethV

Wow - a $1200 deposit! Is that non-refundable? I wonder if it is because of Thanksgiving/Holiday time. There are indeed cutbacks everywhere I'm sure - though we didn't feel that much on HAL (it could be because we are new to HAL). However, we did see the nickel and diming, particularly with the large amount of *common* drinks that were anywhere from 50 cents to a few dollars above the drink package cap of $11. It didn't feel very "have it all" at times.

I'm so sorry to hear that! ☹️ It shows you can be on the same cruise and have different experiences. Fortunately, the only night we felt the service in the MDR was a little "off" was embarkation night - other than that it was very good. We would love to try Canaletto and Rudi's next time - I'm glad you had great experiences in the specialty restaurants!

Hi friends! Who wants to go to One Happy Island with us today? ☀️🌴😍 Wednesday | February 21, 2024 | Oranjestad, Aruba The alarm clock went off at 6:30 am which allowed us to view our first sunrise of the cruise! The Daily - Port Info - We had ordered room service breakfast again via the door-hanger menu the night before to make getting ready for our excursion easier. Note: the staff that delivered our food on this cruise never paused for a tip. Even with having ours ready - we had to be quick to catch them before they were out the door again. So if tipping is your thing - be quick about it and they are grateful! If it's not, you won't be pressured to do so. How cute is the little creamer container?! I wanted to keep it. 😎 (I didn't) The creamer container said to savor the journey - so we did. 😊 Sipping coffee on the balcony while watching a spectacular sunrise is one of my favorite things in this entire world. Thank you, God, for such a beautiful morning! It was time for our Aruba Town & Countryside HAL excursion. We chose this one a few weeks before our cruise because it was rated "easy" and looked interesting. Unfortunately, MIL was not up to going, so it was DH & I + FIL for this little adventure. MrC and MrsC went on a different excursion - more on that later. Johann was our bus driver/tour guide and he was wonderful - he gave us a ton of information while we drove from location to location. He is originally from the Netherlands and came to Aruba 25 years ago. The bus was clean and well-air-conditioned. However, if you are 6'4" like DH, this is the leg room to prepare yourself for... We learned that Oranjestad means orange city since orange is the Dutch royal color. Johann informed us that our first stop was "Right around the corner, 20 minutes. Okie-dokie!" A few photos through the window... this is Wilhelmina Park, named after Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands. The beautiful coastline. "The lake on the right is where we ice-skate in the winter." 🤣 Casibari Rock Formation - this is the second-largest rock formation on the island, and you could climb up it (through the rocks). If you want to keep this excursion "easy" I'd recommend that you don't climb up and down. It is not easy on the back or knees! It was fun though - we were the first bus there (which Johann was excited about). There were restrooms available at this stop and a vendor selling water bottles for $1. Up top the surface is very uneven and you need to be steady on your feet. Great views though! I spy the Rotterdam! (on the left) Hooiberg Mountain - which translates to Haystack Mountain. Johann said it is the 3rd highest point in Aruba and it is fun to hike up to the top. Imagine having giant boulders in the middle of your neighborhood. Heading down the other side - Looking back up - On to the next location! "Just around the corner! 20 minutes. Okie-dokie!" 😄 We passed the largest rock formation on the left side of the bus - so I handed my phone to my FIL and he got a very nice photo for me. Johann says that anywhere you add a little water, up springs cactus! And the locals have found that they can make an interesting (intimidating!) and economical fence. We made it to the North side of the island - The *baby* Natural Bridge - The original natural bridge was very large and spanned the entire inlet. Sadly, it collapsed in 2005. We were here to see the smaller natural bridge that remains. Johann warned us not to walk past the posted warning signs & onto the bridge - as you would not want to be on top of one IF it were to unexpectedly collapse. He even said, "Some people seem to have forgotten how to read...but please don't walk on it!" However, some people don't think rules and warnings apply to them. ☹️ Looking at where the original bridge used to be - You can get a photo without people in it if you are patient, zoom in, and crop accordingly. 😉 There is a gift & snack shop as well as restrooms at this location. 3rd location coming up! "Just around the corner! 20 minutes. Okie-dokie!" Alto Vista Chapel - ❤️ Miss our dogs! There were refreshments and souveniers available for purchase near the chapel. We headed to our last location... and you guessed it - it was... "Just around the corner! 20 minutes. Okie-dokie!" California Lighthouse - named after the shipwrecked S.S. California off its shores. There is an Italian restaurant near the lighthouse. Johann said it was a very good restaurant and a great place to watch the sunset (you just need to make a reservation weeks in advance). These flowering cacti in the midst of some of the scariest-looking thorns I've ever seen caught our eye. Beautiful! I wish I had taken a photo of all the buses for you - there were SO many by the lighthouse. Johann reminded us of our bus number for good reason! And finally on our way back to the ship - Rewind... MrC and MrsC went on a different HAL excursion this morning. They were a little more adventurous and visited a beach, some fascinating caves - and the same Casibari Rock Formation that we did. Here are a few photos from their excursion. How cute are they?!!! ❤️ Next up: Back on the ship for lunch, more of this beautiful Happy Island, and a super fun evening!

I found recent specialty dining pricing info (which increased fall of 2023) here. Some HAL ships include all the specialty dining venues, and some do not - so it depends on what ship your cruise will be on. First of all, if you only eat in the MDR, in our opinion, you won't be disappointed. The meals and service we had there were very good. While not all dishes were memorable - I can say that I also don't remember anyone in our party ever getting a dish they didn't like (and that has never happened on a cruise before!). Of course, it is nice to eat elsewhere occasionally for a quieter, more intimate experience. Tamarind: highly recommended! We booked our reservation online a few weeks before our cruise at $35pp + 18% gratuity. ($82.60 in total) Nami Sushi: highly recommended! No cover charge - just a la carte pricing which you can view on the menu I posted on the Feb 19/Curacao post. Instead of making reservations, we opted to inquire at the Tamarind host stand if there was availability for Nami Sushi. On both nights they were able to accommodate us. Pinnacle Grill: highly recommended! We dined here twice (once for lunch, once for dinner - both coming up in this trip report). Lunch was $19pp + 18% gratuity ($44.84 in total). Dinner - we used the dining credit that came with our Have-It-All package. We did not dine at Canaletto or Rudi's Sel De Mer, but perhaps others can chime in regarding those for you! Unfortunately, I can't help you regarding how HAL compares to Celebrity as we have only previously cruised with Princess (most recently) and Norwegian. I hope that helps! Thanks for following along!

Thank you! & Thanks for following along.

I asked DH and he said that it wasn't spicy at all - it was more like a delicious, flavorful roast.

Maybe they didn't want people to get too comfy in there. 🤣

We felt movement on this ship more than in the past likely because of our room location (aft and higher up) - but agree that even day 2 was mild. I actually prefer some movement and sightlines to the water because I like to feel like we are on a ship. 😊

Tuesday | February 20, 2024 | Curacao-Sea Day-Aruba Good morning! I woke up to the gentle rocking of the ship and knew we had left Curacao. Today we would slowly make our way to Aruba. We were supposed to dock in Aruba at 5:00 pm, but due to port congestion, we wouldn't be able to dock until 9:00 pm. It wasn't a big deal for us as we didn't have plans, but MrC and MrsC had a sunset excursion for that evening that was canceled. ☹️ Our captain did, however, move our departure the next day from the original 5:00 pm to 9:00 pm to make up the time, which was really nice. We had planned on getting up in time for breakfast in the MDR (8:00 - 9:30 am), but we didn't quite make it. So, we headed to the Lido Market just before 10:00 am instead. It was PACKED - I think everyone on the ship had also slept in. Even though there was a half-hour left and SO many people getting breakfast, they were already shutting down stations. We grabbed some hot food (I love that they will fry eggs to order for you!) and ended up sitting by the mid-ship pool since there were no tables available in the buffet area. I was happy to see they had a coffee station set up where Dive In is located so I wouldn't have to brave the buffet again. 😂 However, there wasn't any cream left, and try as I might I am not the black-coffee type. No worries - there are always options on a ship like this! We headed to the Explorations Cafe for some real coffee. I had a cappuccino and DH had a Caramel Latte. Mmm! Let's talk LAUNDRY! 🙂 Back in our room for a bit, our clean laundry had arrived. We purchased the unlimited laundry service for the week and it was worth every penny! They had a 2-day turnaround, though occasionally it was more like a day and a half. The only downside was that you didn't get a new laundry bag & list to itemize until your laundry was returned, so we had to ask our steward to get one for us a couple of times. They did a fabulous job! Small items came in a basket, folded and wrapped in tissue paper. Shirts/dress pants/dresses came on hangers. Elevator bank art - makes me smile! DH was resting his back (Curacao was a lot) so I went to the buffet and brought back a plate of food for us to share. Our room is right next to the aft elevators on deck 7 - so the Lido Market is an easy 2 flights up! Sushi (blurry), Orzo vegetable salad, pulled pork slider, and fish & chips. All good. After some reading time on our balcony, we went to the aft pool for a swim. It is a nice, deep pool and the full-stair entry makes getting in and out easy. Waiters come around to take drink orders, which is so nice! I was so happy to not have to go to the bar that I let our waiter up-sell me to a Patron margarita. While I wouldn't order it again because of the upcharge... it was still a lovely day for a refreshing pool-side beverage. Cheers! I'm pretty sure we were sailing in circles because the sun would keep changing directions. Laying on the loungers, we joked that we felt like we were on a rotisserie. Nice! Didn't even have to move for an even tan. 😂 The wake looks different when you are just doing lazy donuts in the Caribbean. Time for dinner - we were joined by FIL, MIL, MrC, and MrsC tonight! I loved the dinners where we all shared a table... such great memories. Arugula & Pumpkin Salad - Chicken & Chorizo Soup - there was some confusion about this. FIL thought he was going to get a Chicken broth soup... this was more of a chili with sausage. I had it as well and I don't know where they were hiding the chicken... but it was very tasty! Seared Black Pepper Duck Breast - DH liked it & I give him bonus points for ordering it! Classic Caesar Salad - I put my anchovies on the salad before snapping this photo. Turkey Roast and Cranberry - MIL enjoyed it. Farfalle Boscaiola - I think MrsC had this dish. Looked yummy! Jerk Lamb Shank - this was the show-stopper of all the dinner plates! The lamb shank was huge. DH said it was incredibly tender and just all-around delicious. Broiled Salmon with Herb Mustard Glaze - Rustic Home-Made Lasagna - FIL sure looks happy! 😃 Caribbean Sea Fresh Lane Snapper Curry - First of all - look at that beautiful presentation! 😍 I thought it was a very nice dish, though I would have liked a little more sauce and a more pronounced curry flavor. I think the rice/bean mixture is the same as was in the Fire Engine brunch dish I had a few days ago. Almond Fruit Cake - Apparently mine spent less time in the oven than DH's and the inside had more of an almond paste consistency - but it still tasted yummy (just like my MIL's almond bars!). Almond Fruit Cake (DH's more fully baked version - also delicious!) Strawberry Pavlova - After dinner, we attended the dance show, Musicology, in the World Stage theater. While we met ladies in the elevator afterward who clearly loved it, I'm sorry to say we didn't share their opinions. The choreography wasn't fluid and most of the dancers seemed new and/or inexperienced. Maybe we are just spoiled where we live - but our local High School showcases better dance numbers in their musicals and revue shows. 😑 I'm not saying we hated every number, but it was not what we were expecting (having experienced dance shows on Princess and Norwegian). After the show, we popped into the library to check it out. What a beautiful library! If I was on a longer cruise this place would be a favorite of mine. Walking through the Rolling Stone Rock Room on our way aft... The instrumentals seemed on point if you enjoy loud retro-style rock. However, I've honestly never heard such off-key vocals. 😬 I'm hoping they were just having an off night. (Don't throw things - just giving my opinion! 😘) *Photos taken during the daytime We grabbed a few cans of water at the Ocean bar and headed to our balcony to watch our arrival into Aruba. This stairway looks like the flag of The Netherlands to me. 😊 I spy Aruba! We picked up the pilot around 8:40 pm... ... and docked around 9:45 pm. Celebrity Equinox - ships are so beautiful all lit up at night! HAL Nieuw Amsterdam - We pulled in and docked bum to bum with the Nieuw Amsterdam with what seemed like only a couple of feet to spare. Nice job Captain - impressive! All aboard announcement at 10:04 pm for those with more energy than me! 🤣 Next up: Aruba - fun excursions and stunning beaches!

@POA1 - Looking forward to your research results! I recommend asking Reema at the Half Moon Bar when she isn't busy. She can make anything. @Caribbean Chris Now that is some expertise you have! 🙂

Curacao continued... What a fun day so far! While washing up and changing for the evening I noticed we had a new soap dispenser. 🙂 Not having eaten since breakfast - we were quite hungry! We decided to head to Nami Sushi for an early "snack" and then have a late dinner in the MDR. Tamarind wasn't busy and we were seated in the restaurant area instead of at the sushi bar. Sunset 😍 Crispy Lobster Tempura Signature Roll - YUM YUM YUM! It is absolutely incredible to have this quality of sushi on a ship! (I have to say, Nami puts the sushi bar on Princess to shame!) Fried Soft Shell Crab Signature Roll - also very good, but comes in second place to the lobster roll. We wandered the ship, grabbed drinks at the Half Moon Bar, and (since there was no room at the HMB) took them with us to the Ocean Bar lounge area next door. This is the home of the lonely un-played grand piano. Time for a late dinner! The MDR wasn't as full and we had incredible service from Rokhman. It was Culinary Council night. Great menu! Coconut Crusted Shrimp - DH loved this and said it was memorable! Sushi Roll Trio - In the interest of research 😉 I had to order this. It was good, but not close to Nami-Sushi-GOOD. Crab Cake - served HOT, this was very good. Baked Rigatoni with Italian Sausage - DH made me try a bite. Perfectly al dente pasta with a rich sauce that tasted like it simmered on the stove all afternoon. Vegetable Tempura Udon - We ordered this to share. It was a flavorful, light dish. Roasted Spice-Crusted Prime Rib with Wild Mushrooms - I'm not usually a prime rib fan, but this was amazing. Perfectly medium-rare and the horseradish/mustard mousse was SO tasty. Even the little hash brown was great! Ricotta Raspberry Tart - Good, but I feel like they could work on the presentation of their desserts - especially on a Culinary Council night. Chocolate Puff Pastry Craqueline - This was great! Mmm - the filling! 😋 The ice cream that came with both of the desserts was very good ice cream - even if a bit melted. We were originally scheduled to leave Curacao late in the evening, but that was changed to a 6:00 am departure the next morning. It didn't matter to us as we didn't go out in the evening, but I know some did and I heard the floating bridge is lit up at night. Tomorrow is mostly a Sea Day as we sail in circles between Curacao and Aruba. 😎

Ours weren't good either! We were wondering if the pineapple mix/juice was bad or if they made it wrong. We didn't order them again. We first had a Painkiller in St. Thomas and we even make them at home occasionally. Made well, they are delicious!

Monday | February 19, 2024 | Willemstad, Curacao We were scheduled to dock at noon, so we spent the morning on our balcony enjoying the view as we sailed the length of the island. There was just land, then this cluster of homes that filled an entire hill, then just land again. Clouds came and went. I love how these look almost b&w. Looking through two hills into a valley, I saw this beautiful church. It could only be seen for a minute and then the angle changed and it was gone. (apologies for the low-quality photo - zooming that far with an iPhone isn't recommended 😂) Each cruise, I try to remember to take photos of what you see from our balcony and now was as good a time as any. So here is what you see if you are in room 7144. looking forward - looking down - Looking aft - Not wanting to tear ourselves away from the gorgeous view, I called room service for breakfast. We could tell we were getting close when we saw the pilot boat approaching. It was very choppy, so the captain turned us a bit to give the pilot calmer waters. Bags are packed - let's go! 😃 We met all our peeps and walked to Smart Wheels car rental. A few weeks in advance of our trip, we rented a large SUV for the day. I'd say it was about a 5-minute walk down our pier and to the white tents by the other pier. Thankfully we had the wheelchair for my MIL. Smart Wheels is the green building (near the white tents). This was our planned route for the day. (1) A very special Dutch grocery store (2) Shete Boka National Park (3) Cas Abao Beach Outside the grocery store, we saw this beautiful hummingbird. So WHY did we go to a grocery store you may be wondering... well, our very long Dutch last name is also the name of the store! Distant relatives of my FIL immigrated from the Netherlands to Curacao and established this store in 1931. So, this is us standing under the store's name. I'm sure the locals wondered why the crazy tourists were taking photos outside of their supermarket. 😂 Dutch candies... Dutch cookies... We call these windmill cookies - they are a crisp molasses/ginger cookie. YUM On with the road trip! In researching where to go in Curacao, we came across videos of this park and we were so excited to see it in person. FYI - the entrance fee is $15.00 US dollars PER PERSON. We were caught a little off guard by that, but it turned out to be worth every penny. (also...If you want to use the outhouse, that's extra 😆) The "you are here" is where all the buses park and those people have to walk. If you are in a car, you can drive on the (brown line) dirt roads. The most scenic spots are on the far right and the far left, so it is adventageious to have a car. We went to Boka Pistol on the far right first. I wish I could post a video for you! The waves come and crash against the rocky shore all along the coast, but in this spot, they rush into a narrow inlet and "explode". There are benches you can sit on to take in the view, as well as a platform you can walk out on to view it from a different angle. When we looked closely we realized we were walking on tiny little shells! Cute little guy hiding in the rock... Next, we headed to Boka Wandomi (Natural Bridge) on the far left side of the map. There were stone steps to get down into the inlet. This is one of those places that just takes your breath away. MrC took this photo of us (DH, me, and MrsC) and then he went up the stairs on the other side to go see the natural bridge. He got some incredible photos! This one is going to get framed I think! And trek back to the car where MIL and FIL were waiting patiently for us. Some of us weren't up to going to our last stop (the beach), so we headed back to the cruise port & dropped off FIL, MIL, MrC, and MrsC. DH and I headed to the floating bridge area. What a beautiful place! The bridge was open to let a Coast Guard ship through. Driving though town... I had to get out at one point and take a few photos of the buildings. I sat on the rocks while DH returned our SUV. He thought it was just an extra $20 + fuel for them to fill up the tank for you. However, it was $20 PER GALLON... so they gave him directions to a nearby gas station and he went and filled it up himself. Panoramic shot of the two ships. There was a line at both gangways to get back on the ship, but it went rather quickly. 🙂 This is already so long, so I'll save the evening for another post. Next up: our new favorite thing - Nami Sushi "snack"!

I did a trip report on our 2020 Sky Princess cruise (link in my signature) if you need to do some pre-cruise research - the Enchanted will be very similar to the Sky. We've been watching videos on the Sun Princess. It looks like such an interesting ship & half the fun for me is having a new ship to explore, so that might be in our future!

Sunday | February 18, 2024 | Sea Day #2 Ship time moved ahead one hour during the night. We had rounded Haiti and were headed towards Curacao. Since this Sea Day fell on a Sunday, there was a special brunch menu and extended hours in the MDR. The way the menu was laid out with First, Second, and Dessert - we were thinking the dishes under "First" would be appetizer-size. We were wrong. 😂 Just an FYI Banana French Toast - It is hard to tell from the photo, but there are two large slices of banana bread. DH thought it was very good, but he only ate half of it because we had also ordered from the "Second" portion of the menu. Jamaican Banana Pancakes with Toasted Pecans - I thought this was yummy! Note: the pancakes are regular pancakes with bananas as a topping along with the nuts and cream sauce. Again, not the best photo because this is a stack of 3 pancakes! I also only ate half of my "First" dish. (When clearing our plates we apologized for leaving so much food and our server said that we could order just one pancake or just one french toast slice. Good to know - next time we will ask how many come with each dish and order less!) Classic Egg Benedict - DH really enjoyed it, though I did notice that the yolks were not runny. Bahamian Fire Engine and Egg Skillet - With a name like that how could I not order it?! 😂 This was full of flavor and I was so happy that I ordered this. The tomato/potato/corn beef hash on top was SO good. The rice and black beans under the eggs (see second photo) made it pure breakfast comfort food! With a name like "Fire Engine" it may scare some people off, but I would rank it as a 3 or 4 on a scale of 1 (mild) to 10 (spicy). My FIL also ordered this when they went to breakfast and he liked it as well. Later, MrC and I met for coffee at the Dutch Cafe. The case was well-stocked, so I took some photos for all of you. FIL bought this coffee & Delft Blue mug set. Great souvenier! I can't believe I never got around to trying this Dutch Apple Pie - it looked delectable! The ship was really moving and my view through the windows at the Dutch Cafe was making me a bit woozy... so MrC and I walked around for a while and then I headed back to join DH in our room. I may have made a quick stop at the pool-side bar for some Painkillers. 😉 After some balcony time and a perfect little vacation nap, we dressed for dinner. "Funny" story - whilst attempting to dress in the tiny bathroom I must have flailed around a bit too ungracefully and my arm whacked the soap dispenser by the sink and sent it flying. Liquid soap EVERYWHERE. Floor, walls, cabinetry, glass shower door... what a mess. I cleaned it all up and left an apology note for our steward letting him know that a few of the towels were doused in liquid hand soap. 😬 After all that, we headed to the Half Moon Bar which quickly became our favorite place! Reema and Lyn are SO sweet and fun to chat with - and they take such pride in crafting amazing drinks. It is a small bar in a quiet corner near the Club Orange dining room on Deck 2. Do not miss it! If you are on the ship and reading this - please stop by and tell Reema & Lyn that Mary Beth misses them and would ❤️ the recipe for the 3 Mile Honey Bee.🙂😘 I tried making one last night at home and it wasn't nearly as good. Speaking of which... 3 Mile Honey Bee Cherry Smoked Old Fashioned for DH - We met FIL and MIL for dinner in the MDR. Inca was our server and took such good care of us! Classic Caesar Salad - DH requested anchovies this time! Chicken and Tabbouleh Salad - I liked it. The chicken was hot and the salad was cold. The hummus on the right side was perfect and the pomegranate seeds added little bursts of flavor. Barlotti Bean and Pasta Soup - another delicious soup NY Strip Loin with Fries - DH ordered his medium rare and it came medium/medium-well. It was a very thin cut of steak (probably why it was a bit overcooked when it came out), but seasoned well. FIL also enjoyed his steak. The fries came out a few minutes after their steaks, so I forgot to snap a photo. They were worth the wait - hot, fresh fries are the best! Parmesan Crusted Chicken Breast - MIL said it was delicious and juicy. Chili Prawns with Garlic Butter - very tasty. I'm not a fan of having to take the tails off of shrimp in a dish with sauce... but I know they leave them on for presentation. The black rice was yummy and the the broccoli was crisp-tender. Two thumbs up. Red Velvet Cake - MIL loved it! Chocolate and Whiskey Torte - rich and decadent. This is the dish where we started joking about the rationing of raspberries - it was a thing the entire cruise! One-quarter of a raspberry? Really? 😂 Ice Cream & Hot Fudge Sundae with Nuts - always good. DH and I went to the Island Magic show (steel drum band) in the World Stage theater. What an INCREDIBLY talented group of musicians! Their love for what they do shined through and their energy was impressive. My only wish was that they would have included some softer pieces in between the very loud songs to give our ears a break (especially with it being advertised as a classical concert). I left having loved their performance... but with a headache. We were fairly close to the stage and stuck in the middle of a long row. We 100% recommend attending their shows... but if you are not hard of hearing and are sensitive to sustained-loud music, you may want to choose seats on an end towards the back just in case you need to slip out. We went to the Dutch Cafe just before 8:30, but there was no food in the case and only the bar was open. It seems that other than room service, the only place to get food (unless I'm missing something) between 8:00ish and 10:30 pm is at the NY Pizza on Deck 10 where they serve "movie snacks". Red 2 was playing by the pool and we caught the end - Helen Mirren is my fav! We were watching the movie right next to NY Pizza - but we weren't even sure it was open. There were a couple of things in the case, but everything else was covered up/closed down. I ordered fries and DH ordered a soft pretzel. Fries - sad to report these were pulled out from under a heat lamp and were not good. At all. 😭 (I can't help but compare this to our last cruise on Princess where we ordered fries late one night by the pool and they were cooked to order and tasted amazing.) And apparently, a soft pretzel is actually a pretzel bun? So strange. Since none of the above hit the spot - we thought (for research purposes and photos for you, of course 😉) that we would check out the late-night (10:30 -11:30 pm) buffet. We grabbed a seat a little before 10 and waited. (I always have a ton of photos to go through whenever I have a spare minute!) The ham & cheese croissants were SO yummy. DH went back for more! I tried the arancini ball (OK), chicken wings (very good), and a spicy little beef-filled pastry (best thing on the plate!). Aft pool deck at night - beautiful! Time for sleep! Tomorrow is Curacao and we are going on a DIY adventure...

Wow - a whole 10 minutes apart! 😁 If we hadn't been with my MIL (who had wheelchair assistance), I'm sure we would have been waiting in the large holding area downstairs for a good while longer. They originally split us up and DH and I had a boarding group 8 card... but then another person, thankfully, had us join my MIL/FIL to board with them.

We also mentioned her in the survey as well as through the Navigator app. 🙂 How fun that you had her as your server for the Morimoto dinner! I would love to know what you thought of the dinner.

I will email you and we'll have to meet up. It is crazy how fast a 9-day cruise went!

I used to make scrapbooks - 20 years ago or so when our kids were little. It was a fun hobby!

There was not any pre-dinner music that we found and we missed that. Coming from Princess where there was a string quartet (that played during the day and before dinner), and other music (a pianist, a guitar/vocalist, etc) that played in various venues before and after dinner throughout the ship... we really noticed the lack of anything similar on HAL. The only live music during our Rotterdam cruise was in the music walk area or in the theater (ALL very high volume) in the evening after 7pm (if I remember correctly). There was a grand piano in the Ocean Bar area on deck 2 that sat unplayed all week which was sad. They did have ballroom dancing in the BBKing area during the day at least once (maybe more) during the day. I know my MIL and FIL went to that - so I will ask them about it and get back with you.

We love Sutton's Bay - we drive through there when we visit family in Northport.

Happy almost-weekend! OK, let's see if I can get a full day in one post. 😉 Saturday | February 17, 2024 | Sea Day #1 Daily - We ordered room service breakfast the night before via the door hanger menu. I put service for two and then checked what we wanted. Soooo, we got double of everything. Oops! Kudos to how they keep things warm with a heavy (hot) plate under the hot food plates. It really works! I don't think we ever had a hot dish that was cold. The Vegetable frittata with spinach, red pepper flakes, and goat cheese was very good! The pastries were a bit soggy from being wrapped up in a cloth napkin. Fruit plate - Vanilla yogurt - We enjoyed breakfast on our balcony. It was a gorgeous blue water/blue sky day! After breakfast, DH, FIL, and I headed to the Dutch Cafe to meet Barb @bgomes and her husband, Bob. We were both in the CC roll call for this cruise and it was so fun to meet up in person. Bob is another Dutchie 😊 and it was so much fun to listen to Bob and FIL reminisce about immigrating from the Netherlands. Barb - thank you for arranging this! Two cool fellow CC friends! (photo posted with permission) The Dutch Cafe is a lovely area to sit and chat. Their food offerings were more like ordering from a restaurant (you could wait a while), but we usually just stopped in for coffee or when in search of a quiet place to sit. DH and I did a little shopping (I was looking for a Christmas ornament) in the shops. And then we headed outside on Deck 3 for a lap around the Promenade Deck. We loved that the Rotterdam has a *full* promenade! After some chill balcony time, we headed to the Lido Market (buffet) for some lunch. It was crazy busy and we had to do a lap or two to find a seat. We found the buffet food selections to be the best we've seen on any ship thus far. There were multiple carved meat options, sushi (better if you get it early), a great salad bar, and a custom stir-fry station. Lunch with a view! Sushi Tempura Roll - Indian Chicken Korma, veggies, steamed rice - And DH's fish & chips, which he said was probably the best fried fish he has ever had! Bahama Mama - We spent the afternoon on our balcony. I read more on this cruise than I ever have. I always bring a book or two and never seem to get more than a few chapters in. Don't get me wrong... I still need to finish my book and I've been home for four days 😂, but hey, it's a good thing I brought it with me and didn't borrow it from the library! If you are someone who borrows books from the library - I'm curious, do you take longer cruises or do you just read all day long? 🙂 Time to get ready for dinner - date night with DH tonight. We made reservations for Tamarind in advance of our cruise and I was looking forward to it! Elevator selfie - (it was dressy night) Our reservation was for 6:00 pm - around the time the sun would set. We went a little early and sat in the Tamarind Bar for a pre-dinner cocktail. God put on quite the show and I ran outside twice to try to capture the spectacular sky! Shiso Sour - fruity and refreshing The Wasabi Cocktail - DH thought I was crazy for ordering this, but I enjoyed it - nice flavor with only a hint of Wasabi. DH snuck a behind the scenes photo... 😁 ...and running back outside Just WOW! 😍 Time for dinner! Amy was our server and she was the absolute BEST. She was knowledgeable of the menu, and just an all-around joy. We both agreed that she was our favorite server of the week. In a sea of amazing staff on this ship that is saying something! Menu- Shrimp crackers with dips: The red one on the left is a very spicy salsa, the green one resembles a moderately spicy chimichurri, and the right one is a mild sweet-n-sour style sauce. Starters! We ordered a few to share. Jewels of the Sea - the broth had an incredible depth of flavor and the shrimp wontons were delicious. Shrimp Tempura - the batter was light and crispy and it was served piping hot. Not the most memorable dish, but very well done. Lobster & Shrimp Potstickers - very good and beautifully presented. Thai Citrus Scallops - this was my favorite starter. The sweetness of the scallops + the spicy heat of the Thai sauce + the fresh lime squeezed over the crunchy vegetables... Mmm! My mouth is watering as I type this! Wasabi & Soy Crusted Beef Tenderloin - while he did scrape off most of the wasabi crust, DH did say that he enjoyed it. His tenderloin was a perfect medium rare and seasoned well. Maybe it was because we have super-pale middle-of-winter-Michigan skin... but we chuckled when Amy, while explaining the menu, said "Don't worry about the spice, we can make it not spicy". 😂 However, I like spicy... so I ordered the Panang Red Curry Coconut Chicken entree "medium to very spicy". Later on when I had eaten every morsel of this incredibly delicious dish - Amy passed by, looked and my plate, looked back at me, and said "I'm so proud of you!" 🤣 Love her. Side: Sake Braised Oyster & Shitake Mushrooms - so yummy. I need to re-create these at home! Side: Dungeness Crab Fried Rice - it was hard to detect the crab flavor in it, but it was still very good. And dessert. I generally have low expectations for desserts at Asian restaurants, however, we were both happily surprised here. Both of our selections were a lovely finish to an amazing meal - creatively presented and tasty! Yuzu Cheesecake - Mango Posset - the mango sorbet on top of the small coconut cake was ::chef's kiss:: Cafe Americano - Since it was still early, we went back to our room to change into more comfortable attire (aka: ditch the heels!) and headed to Billboard on Board to give it another try. We were there for a song or two and then MrC and MrsC joined us just as it was switching over to the Rock Room Band. It was most definitely too loud (even sitting across the way) - so we headed to the Dutch Cafe area to chat. We debated going to the dance show (Humanity) but were having such a good time catching up that we ordered cans of water 😜 from the DC bar and hung out until we were yawning more than we were talking. Goodnight! HEY - PSST! It's 2:00 am and I can't sleep! Don't be like me and remember to ask for DeCaf Coffee after dinner. 😜 (Unless you are like DH who can drink the same coffee and fall asleep the minute his head hits the pillow. 🙄)

On the Norwegian Escape and the Norwegian Getaway - the forward areas were the thermal spa (which is beautiful, but an extra $) and dedicated to the Haven suite area. However on one of Norwegian's newer ships (after the Escape) - The Norwegian Bliss - there was a gorgeous two story atrium area available to all passengers. I think that one was made for Alaska and I can see why! On the Regal Princess and the Sky Princess, the forward viewing area was their Sanctuary area which is similar to The Retreat on HAL - though larger and more "designed". I'm not sure about their newer ships.

Oh, absolutely 😂 - though I'm pretty sure Jonah didn't have it this good. 😉

Embarkation day cont... We finally met up with MrC and MrsC in the Crow's Nest! It was SO good to see these two. Hugs all around!!! After chatting a bit we made plans to meet back up by the aft pool for Sail Away. A quick stop in our room - our beds were together! Gin and Jay were ninjas. 😎 The main pool was pretty packed with every possible lounger/couch/chair occupied. I do love that the roof can close for wind or weather, if needed. The entertainment director had the Sail Away Celebration going in full swing! MrC even joined the line dancing... sadly, I did not inherit his dancing abilities. 😂 The Enchanted Princess left just ahead of us. After we started moving I headed back to our room to join DH, FIL & MIL for Sail Away from our balconies. This is our 3rd cruise out of Fort Lauderdale and it never gets old. So beautiful! And my favorite blue water, blue sky view! 😍 Time for dinner! Tom and Eka were our servers. Dinner in the MDR on the first night is always a little crazy, and I thought they did a good job with a whole new batch of guests. A few minor things were missed... but after the first night everyone seemed to find their groove and things were very smooth for all our meals in the MDR. It was all six of us for dinner - so there are a lot of photos for you! DH ordered the Dutch 150 cocktail. It came with about an inch and a half in the bottom of a champagne flute... and was quite strong. Just gin and lemon. (we didn't realize until ordering it another day that they forgot to top it off with the sparkling wine - oops! 😂) Starters... MIL and I had the Chicken, Ham, Parmesan Croquette. It came very hot and I enjoyed it. MIL liked it but said that it wasn't a traditional Dutch Croquette (she had one later in the week from the Dutch Cafe that was the way she remembered it). DH and MrC had the Caesar Salad. The menu description mentions anchovies, but we found that you had to ask for them if you wanted them. FIL and MrsC both had the French Onion Soup - they both enjoyed it, though it was *this* close to being a bit too salty. We were sitting by a window and were treated to the first of many beautiful sunsets! Main Entrees - MIL, MrC, and MrsC all had the Grilled Salmon with Capers and Dill. They all loved it. I had the Port to Table South Florida Grilled Fresh Blue Cobia. It was seasoned well and I really enjoyed it. DH had the Rustic Homemade Lasagna. The lasagna itself is a bit dry, but the marinara under it helped with that. FIL had the Garlic-Herb Roasted Chicken and said it was tasty! On to dessert and coffee! One thing I do not love (that is different than our previous cruise experiences) is that the servers want you to order dessert at the beginning along with your drink, starter, and main entree selections. Not only is it hard to know what you will want after a meal... I think it also leads to things being forgotten. Like our coffee this time around. We had finished our desserts and didn't wait around for the forgotten coffee since we wanted to get to the 8:00 show. I chalked it up to 1st night hiccups... but I still don't like ordering everything at once. FIL, DH, and MrC all had the Lemon Torte, which was pretty good. MrsC had the Chocolate Fudge Brownie Cheesecake and really enjoyed it. To me it looked more like a traditional cheesecake texture than the one DH had at lunch. I opted for the cheese plate. I don't have a big sweet tooth and this was perfect. I'm surprised I didn't order it another time on the cruise. Too many choices, too few days! 😁 After dinner, we (minus my MIL - who wasn't up to it) went to Origin Story in the World Stage theater. Our cruise director, Karlijn, was amazing. She did a brilliant job of bringing the story of Holland America Line to life! It is not to be missed! Note: I did read before our cruise that you should be at the World Stage shows EARLY to get a seat. In this case, it was not needed. The theater didn't start to fill up until about 15 minutes before the show, and even when it started it wasn't full. Thankfully my MIL was able to go to an encore performance later in the week. After all, HER history with the Rotterdam is one of the main reasons for booking this cruise. When she was 12, her family immigrated from the Netherlands to Canada. They made the trip on the Rotterdam V and went through Ellis Island. She has incredibly detailed memories of their crossing and I knew that Origin Story would be emotional for her in a good way. Rotterdam V painting and model: I don't know if DH and I were running on Embarkation Day adrenaline or what - but we headed to the music walk area for a cocktail. The pianist was very talented and an excellent vocalist as well. However, it was very LOUD and had a party/interactive vibe. Which is fine... but we missed a piano bar where you can just sit back, listen, AND hold a conversation. We headed back to our room around 10:30 and were both hungry. I know, I know... but hey - it's vacation! Room service to the rescue! Roast Beef Panini - The flavor was good and I liked that it wasn't a large sandwich. DH's club sandwich. I told you the Club Sandwich was going to be a thing... 😊 That's a wrap for embarkation day! I think we packed it FULL of fun memories!