Blackduck59

@cbr663 I actually have been screeched in with an official ceremony and certificate. That being said it was done on Vancouver Island at a place called HMCS Quadra on the wet coast. The officiant for that was from Cornerbrook (he passed a couple years ago) as it turns out the officiant at this one knew him and he also served in HMCS Quadra some years ago. So it all knitted in an interesting way for me. Now I have 2 certificates and Lynn has hers too.

I'm not sure you can describe a harsh shot of rum as a "nice drop" I'm afraid screech is best served mixed; Ron Zacappa it's not. Was it a fun time? Definitely.

We are in the Lido Bar by the pool. I think the Pusser's Pain Killer could definitely become a habit.

@OlsSalt I agree but I'm afraid the food part is not cutting it either in attentive service or food taste and quality. I hope others on this cruise are making better choices. I cans say our room stewards have been top notch and the laundry service is the best money we ever spent.

We had lunch at Dive In, the screech in ran fairly long so dive in was about the only option. Lynn didn't like the fries and I'm not fussy for them either. We thought the burgers were good, the best ever? They were good. I tried one of the hot dogs and enjoyed it We had dinner in the Lido tonight again the food was good but not memorable. Lynn is beginning to get discouraged with the food, we have been on the ship for 5 days now and the only meals remotely memorable have been in Pinnacle Grill. The MDR has consistently had slow sometimes incompetent service which has lead to confusion about Lynn's pre ordered meals. So far this is steering us away from booking our down under cruise with HAL. Whether that will change I don't know. 🤔

So back to the ship there is a definite mix of styles to be found. The main dining room has a definite Art Deco vibe. The Crow's Nest has a mid century modern feel. Other parts of the ship are styled in a way that was popular when she was built. I am quite sure the bathroom has been updated recently. Overall the style is dated but so are most of the passengers, including us. 😉

So we walked off the ship with every intention of taking the shuttle to town and saw the line. We spotted a cab so Lynn went over to talk to the driver. It was $90.00 CDN for 1 hour, perfect he took us to the Newfoundland Bullet first then we stopped at another spot where one of the excursion busses was stopped. We took our photo op and carried on to the ski hill where another excursion bus was, then to the Captain Cook look out where another bus was. We could take pictures at our leisure and were quite comfortable in the Honda CRV, we had a brief stop at the Emporium and then drop off at City Hall. We asked a helpful person at the information tent about a Screech In and we were in luck, there was one laid on at the Legion. I was in. When Lynn saw that quite a few were taking the plunge she decided to do it too. So we are now both honourary Newfoundlanders; and we have the certificates to prove it.

I found a "screech in" now I can make it official.

No we are in open dining and have said we would share. We have happened to share 3 of the same table mates on 3 nights and there have been some different ones as well on 2 nights. I think it is a bit of a catch 22, the conversation at a large table makes dinner more pleasant but the larger table makes for a slow dinner. Lynn has always been an early to bed person so dinner running late has a domino effect on our evening. It looks like we may have to reevaluate dinner if we really want to attend the early show 🤔

Hey everybody, I see a lot of you are having a look at my thread on the HAL board. Thanks for your interest and support, I really appreciate it. So far we are enjoying the cruise but perhaps haven't done the best job of exploring the ports. Halifax was very much affected by the weather and by the time we walked to my main objective (HMCS Sackville) we were already wet and a little miserable. The ship tour was interesting to me and I think a little for Lynn but she doesn't get the "Navy" thing. We expected to find a bunch of food vendors right close by but they were all closed (apparently fair weather bluenosers) the only one open was Cows ice cream, it was very good. After visiting Sackville we toured the Maritime Museum, bought some souvenirs and trudged back to the shipby then it was really pouring. Once we got back to the ship all we wanted to do is get the wet gear off and put our feet up. Today was a sea day and it was a little rocky overnight and in the morning. Lynn was a little uncomfortable but I think the sea bands and her gingin chews are helping. Just a short note to say hi and hope everyone is healthy and safe. Cheers, Lyle

If only it was beef in an herbed cream sauce, alas it was not.

I have just finished watching Cantare, it was a truly enjoyable show. I liked the set list and the group sings well together. World Stage is a comfortable theater with a mixture of seating options. Unfortunately Lynn missed the show because dinner went long and she was too tired to wait for the evening show. We have certainly enjoyed our table mates at dinner but we are beginning to wonder if we should go for a smaller group.

So I haven't really talked at all about Zaandam. She is a nice size, seems to ride the sea well (although she was rocking a bit overnight and this morning) the overall impression is good. There are a couple of seemingly too dark passage ways, most notably outside of Pinnacle Grill. There is lots of imitation wood paneling accented with real wood trim. Overall it has a classic look. I think that there was a refresh done on our state room recently because our bathroom has large format tiles on the deck and large flat panels on the bulkheads. There is still a tub and shower curtain however. I'm looking at my watch and I have to get to the show. More later.

Thanks for the info when we shared tables it was 5, 7 and 6 diners. Because I said I wouldn't "compare" I won't mention other experiences elsewhere.

I have to assume it was fresh Mic, it was at an adjacent table.

We show up at around 1700 hrs. It opens at 1700 hrs. Dinner has been taking about 1.5 hrs. Tonight they delivered all the deserts except Lynn's the server "forgot" her. It came about 10 minutes later. As I said I would make my observations good bad or indifferent, so far the service in the MDR has been between poor and hopeless. I hope for improvement soon. The MDR food has been good but not remarkable, even with the loose interpretations of well known dishes.

I did that even with the upcharge. I wouldn't order it again even if it was part of the regular Pinnacle Grill lunch menu.

I stand corrected, my beef stroganoff has paprika, it adds a nice colour. Try it you'll like it (smoked paprika is even better) 😉

Well it's beginning to be a common theme of painfully slow service in the MDR, good thing we have good conversation or it would be very aggravating. Lynn missed a presentation she wanted to attend because of the long service. Now we have to go to the later presentation of both that an Cantare unfortunately she may not last through Cantare. I don't mind leisurely dinner but it shouldn't take more than an hour.

Let the debate begin. I'm firmly in the don't order lobster roll from Pinnacle Grill camp.

Indeed there are but I think you will find most have beef, mushrooms, onions paprika and sour cream. When something is missing most of those things, it's something else.

So we just finished our Pinnacle Lunch. We both started with the prawn bruschetta (Lynn had hers altered to delete the crustini and tomatoes) she got 4 prawn, mine were served as described on the menu I hot 3 prawns. I decided to try the lobster roll complete with an $8.00 surcharge it was definitely underwhelming and not worth the tariff. I did however also try the seafood chiapino, it was really very tasty, there was quite a spicy vibe to it, I heard several comments about the spiciness. Lynn chose the burger and those who sang it's praises were correct, she enjoyed it and she let me have a try. It was good. Lynn had the orange sorbet. I chose the fresh fruit with zaballon (did I spell that right?)

Yes I'm aware of that. I did do 2 mains on the second night. Dinner service has been a little slow so ordering another dish would slow things down even more. The meal served was okay just not "Stroganoff" that I was expecting.

You have a bit of a point, the drift came from talk if lobster, I'm sorry it was confusing for you. My threads do tend to wander.

They came around the other day, we declined. It is a $35.00 tariff. I'm sure others may have ordered it but we haven't had dinner in the Lido so far. We have had some excellent table mates at dinner these last 2 nights, choosing to share a table has been good for us. I think the meals have been good in the MDR unfortunately a couple of times I have thought "I should have ordered that" when looking at some of the other main dishes served around me. I think part of it is what I may think a dish should be as opposed to what is served. The idea of "Stroganoff" to me is a beef and mushroom base in a beefy sauce with paprika and sour cream, all served on buttered broad noodles. What was served as stroganoff last night didn't resemble that. I was prepared for the "braised short ribs" part so I expected the meat to be different than my thoughts as far the meat part goes. I didn't expect to find something served on a bed of linguini with no hint of paprika, sauce or sour cream. While it was okay, it was not "Stroganoff"