SoCal Cruiser78

24 minutes ago, Copper10-8 said:

..."I was turned away from the main dining room on gala night for wearing swim trunks, thongs and a L.A. Dodger baseball hat turned backwards"...

Definitely not me. I wear my Padres hat on gala nights :).

On 1/30/2019 at 3:52 PM, Copper10-8 said:

To begin with, a couple of days prior to the "new" cruise commencing, the GRM sends a list...to the various Dept. heads to give them a heads up as to who's coming on board. That list includes a synopsis of those folks' last cruise rating comments, especially things that, according to those pax, were not up to par...

Is this list just of VIP comments? I'm definitely not on it then :). If not, I'm trying to recall what comments I may have written regarding past HAL cruises. Knowing myself pretty well by now, they probably had something to do with service levels declining over the years on HAL (as with other mainstream lines). Does this mean I might be 'flagged' for special treatment on a future cruise, or avoided by staff as I might expect too much by today's standards ? Actually, I tend to just go with the flow unless something or someone is way out of line.

...They don't care if you win or lose...it's what you're willing to gamble!

Exactly! They know the odds are in their favor, and that sooner or later they will come out ahead.

Deleted.

You can see by the number of people attending afternoon movies that it's not a big hit and I can only take so much sun by the pools so it gives me a chance to relax.

Lying in bed to watch a movie on a small screen just isn't the same.

That's one thing we like about the afternoon movies--they generally aren't as crowded as other venues on the ship!

...Very few people listening to the classical musicians in the atrium? OK, lets no longer have classical music on the ship.

 

Very few people on the jogging track? No need to have one if 90% of the passengers do not use it...

I have no doubt that will be at least a part of how they will use this technology. They wouldn't be investing $$$$ in it if there weren't a profit motive for Princess. They will determine underutilized and/or undermonetized areas and make them more profitable.

...there are obviously so many who don't want or trust the new system. Time will tell...

I think the problem is that Princess announced the "next big thing" without giving enough in the way of hard facts. So people read between the lines and jump to conclusions. But Princess has really brought it on themselves, to some degree.

No matter how long or short our cruise is, we have to eat at N-and-Out.

In-N-Out for us also! Then to a favorite Chinese or Mexican restaurant for the meal after that.

I've sailed in B215 on the Golden and was concerned it was too far forward, but I had no issues at all with excessive ship movement. She handled the seas well. I'd take the Caribe balcony upgrade in a heartbeat!

On our previous requests we have asked for a two CHAIR table. These are usually up against the panelling or the transparent room dividers...

Great idea! We usually just request a two-top and hope for the best.

That should not be a problem since breakfast and lunch in a dining room is always Anytime.

I'm not clear on whether or not CC uses their separate MDR area for breakfast and lunch also, or do they mix with the other passengers in the regular dining areas for those meals? If so, do they have to wait if there is a line, or do they have walk-in privileges as at dinner?

...I thought I heard or read in one of the promos that you can now order spa services and such from any staff member...so now will stewards not only have limited time to turn our cabins they will now be stopped in the hallways to book spa treatments...same for waiters...they would be able to do this as well. So will that hold up service in dining rooms as people ask their waiters to do things that normally were not done before...

Or will staff now be pressured (or given quotas) to push services outside their areas? In other words, will waiters now be required to offer you a spa menu as well as a dinner menu and ask to take your "order"? Time will tell...

There you go! I have several drug allergies. I'll be sure to enter them if possible...

Having worked in health care for many years, I would still recommend wearing a medical alert bracelet or anklet with allergies listed. That way if the medallion system is down or otherwise inaccessible in an emergency you'd still be okay. Medical staff should be trained to look for medical alert bracelets.

A little bit of info teased out. The photographers should be getting equipment to read the medallions and tie photos to them (facial rec will still also be used).

 

Rumor only: As part of this they will move to an all digital preview format for photos, no more or limited prints. This may not happen same time as initial rollout.

Just off the Koningsdam and the captain said that the Nieuw Statendam will have a library and that the Koningsdam will be refigured with a library as well. Hope that info is correct. Bob

Did he say what will be eliminated to add the library to the K-dam? I hope they don't combine it with an internet lounge or cafe and call it a library.

...we put half of each of our items in each suitcase so that if one suitcase doesn't make it we still have at least half a wardrobe which is better than no wardrobe at all!!

I know a number of people who travel together that do this! Just remember to pack enough in each case to get by with (ie: not all underwear in one case, and all shirts in the other).

..."Nieuw Amsterdam" made sense: It was a real place, and at the time it was named such was held by the Dutch. "Nieuw" Statendam doesn't...

I agree!

I recall that on a stairwell of the most recent Ryndam (built 1994), there was a painting of the Ryndam II from 1951. So I guess enough time elapsed that they decided not to go with Ryndam III for the '94 ship.

I'm not a big fan of adding Nieuw in front of former ship names for newbuilds. It seems cumbersome to me. I would just reuse the names again. But then I'm not in charge at HAL :).

...I can't see them holding a table for every individual. They've probably got an excellent handle on how many CC diners will be eating at any time and allot just what's needed with probably some expansion room at the very side should it be needed.

Does anyone know if they give "head of the line" status to CC diners in ATD if the CC section fills up? Or is the CC section always large enough? I'm thinking along the lines of what happens if a large group (family reunion or whatever) of CC passengers decide to descend on the CC dining area at once? I've seen groups of 50 or more travel together and take over buffet areas, etc.

...Why would you want to fight your way through buffets with people behaving like they have never seen food before when you can eat in the dining room with fantastic staff, sensible portions and really, really good food.

There are times we don't want to dress up on formal nights (rapidly disappearing), or want to eat fairly quickly to get good seats for a show. Service can be slow in the MDR these days, especially if dining at a large table. But, in general, we would much rather eat in the MDR for the reasons you mention!

No major mistakes on my first cruise, as I was fortunate to have friends and family who were seasoned cruisers to give me advice (this was before CC). I did overspend a bit on drinks and shore excursions, though, as I thought at the time it might be my one and only cruise so I splurged :rolleyes:.

Adios last two "S" class; Maasdam and Veendam

:(. I've sailed on the Ryndam, Maasdam and Veendam. And anchored next to the Statendam once off Cabo, but never sailed on her. Really nice ships, not too big or too small. They'll be missed.

Things I have not gotten over yet:

 

o Loss of welcome cookies in your cabin on embarkation day

o Loss of fresh made crepes during the Champagne Waterfall activity

o Loss of sesame seeds on breadsticks in the dining room

o Loss of Godiva chocolate piece on top of the Love Boat Dream dessert

o Loss of chocolate covered strawberries as a choice for elites on formal evenings

I had forgotten about some of those! Other lines have cut back, too. HAL used to have white-gloved attendants greet you at the gangway on embarkation, take your carry-on luggage and escort you personally to your cabin. They also had crew talent shows, theme dinners (everyone wearing Dutch hats one night), a real baked Alaska waiter parade and midnight chocolate buffets. All gone now.

...I agree that much of the info that one will enter into the medallion system in advance is already info we enter when booking, etc. That's one of the reasons I don't understand the panic which, I am guessing, is also what you are saying. It's no big deal.

I think many are assuming that the medallions will function like tracking devices (OnStar, etc.) in many cars. It now appears they are not this sophisticated. Of course with cameras everywhere, and facial recognition getting better and cheaper, this info will soon (if not already) be recorded even if you leave your medallion in the cabin.

...How could they take a signature dish and eliminate one of the key elements that makes it "Signature"??

I suppose they figure the newbies won't miss it, and us old-timers will get over it, like everything else that has been cut back over the years.