Aruba

To be fair I don't think you can call the Konsingdam a "behemoth". Certainly the largest ship thus far within HAL but when I think behemoth Oasis of the Seas comes to mind. Not my cup of tea but must be for some :rolleyes:

I didn't mean behemoth relative to RCCL; I meant behemoth relative to HAL but your point is valid and I should have used a different word.

Speaking only for myself, I LOVED it! I ate at PG almost every night on my last cruise (30 days) and had the lemon brûlée tart a dozen times at least. It is more a pie than a tart -- very tasty, sweet but not too sweet. :)

By 8:30pm all was found and unpacked and new cabin organized. Phone rang ... voice says "the guests have vacated your original room - you may move now." You can probably guess DH's reply.

I don't know whether I would have laughed or cried...or screamed. Probably all 3! :eek:

I think the OP was being ironic -- as evidenced by the smiley face. :)

Trying to figure out if I should just stop checking my account and assume I will know when I get on the ship. We leave on Dec. 22.

Once, the evening before sail-away. :eek:

Interesting how Oceania, through its new owner NCL, is taking an opposite approach to HAL: adding a small (684 passenger) ship to their fleet rather than selling 2 somewhat-small ships (Ryndam and Statendam) and building a behemoth.

You emailed Guest Relations about a hair appointment? :confused:

That's something that can be arranged on-line by accessing your reservation. Maybe there's something more to the story, but I don't think Guest Relations would consider an email about a hair appointment to be high on their priority list.

JMO

I think that's wonderful news -- takes away some of the fears people had expressed about NCL possibly wanting to do away with the R-ships.

HAL considers it an upgrade (and prices it as an upgrade) because the room location is more mid-ship rather than forward or aft. You are less likely to feel the "motion of the ocean" in a mid-ship stateroom.

Dave, you don't need to write anything on the laundry form to indicate that it should be free because of your Mariner status. I never have, anyway. I'm a 4-star Mariner and have never been charged for laundry, even inadvertently. Maybe it's part of their procedure to look up a passenger's Mariner status before charging their stateroom account.

If I remember correctly; 6006 has no balcony. It is a larger room with an ocenview. Forward cabins can be rocky and noisy.

I believe you're thinking of cabins 6004 and 6005 which are larger-than-usual oceanview rooms. 6006 has a verandah...but I can't remember if it was partially obstructed or not.

You really should post this under the roll-call for your cruise.

Look below under "Forum Jump" for help.

When it was Sondheim night I arrived eager to hear some favorite songs. Not a one was played. :( More amazing to me was that I didn't know any of the ones Jamm did play! :eek: I know a lot of songs, so the for the ones he played to be totally new to me, they had to be obscure.

 

He's good, no doubt, but I would like to hear more variety than he presents.

I'm a "Sond-head" and thought I knew every tune Sondheim has ever written...but Jamm stumped me on a few also. :)

He's full of energy. He tends to bring in some of the show cast and has them perform, changing the atmosphere entirely.

When he does do Broadway, he likes to pick one composer to highlight, but picks the more obscure songs.

Jamsheed Master aka "Jamm" is on Statendam now. I just got off the ship Sunday. He packed the house every night.

As Ruth said, he often picks one composer or singer to highlight for a 1.5 hour set, such as Stephen Sondheim, Barbra, ABBA, Cole Porter, Rogers & Hammerstein, The Beatles, etc.

Nice to see you posting here again! Betting you have a HAL cruise booked???

I do! :D I leave Friday on Statendam for a 30-day Hawaii/Tahiti cruise, then have the 14-day Alaska cruise, the same itinerary you just took, to look forward to in 2015.

Hi Ruth,

Are the rewards different between the 5-star Mariner program and the other Medallion (?) program you mentioned? I'm no where near 500 actual sea days...but I'm close to reaching 500 Mariner days and 5* status. :)

MS Rotterdam would look like a life boat if she were next to Oasis!

Going on the Eurodam in Nov ;)

Email me when you have time would like to catch up with you

Lyn

ENJOY!! Be sure to try Tamarind...and my favorite lounge at sea, Silk Den, mid-ship just outside Tamarind. The first few days of any cruise it is almost deserted, as if people only discover it mid-way through the voyage.

I'll see if I have your email Lyn. Bon Voyage!

Isn't the Pacific Princess another small ship?

Does anyone know if she will be sold?

Princess used to own 3 of the original 8 "R-ships" from the defunct Renaissance Cruise Line: Ocean Princess (formerly Tahitian Princess), Pacific Princess, and Royal Princess. Oceania still has 3 and Azamara has 2.

Ocean, Pacific, and Royal (the "old" Royal) Princess was all identical except that Royal Princess carried more passengers because the regular verandah staterooms on her Deck 8 were never converted to larger mini-suites.

I don't know if Pacific Princess will, like Royal and Ocean, be sold...but that seems to be a sign of the times. Personally I prefer the smaller ships so have to enjoy them while they're still here! :)

Lyn! What are you doing on the Holland board? I thought I clicked "Oceania" by mistake. LOL

Hope all is well -- Happy Autumn! :)

Come on the 2016 crossing too Lyn...I'll be on it.:)

She will be dry docked in Cadiz, Spain

Do you know if this is for routine maintenance or for structural improvements?

I noticed that there are now 7 whites and 7 reds to choose from on the Admiral Package -- previously there were only 6 choices each on the Admiral package.

I like that they've added a zin, a malbec, and a riesling to their selections.

Now I've got to look up the ones I'm not familiar with and see what scores they've received. :)

Some of us go both ways. ;)

Tuesday, Sept. 2, Kodiak (cont.)

We took the ship’s tour, and although our guide was knowledgeable, he spent a lot of time answering questions instead of hiking. It probably would have been better just to catch a cab, get a map and go on our own – it would have been less talk/more walk.

Were the trails well marked? I mean, good enough that someone could walk here independently rather than pay $$$ for a HAL guided tour? Thanks -- really enjoying your posts. :)