Gibbie42

I honestly don't remember how late they were, feels like an hour or so? There was just a lot of waiting for them to come aboard. We still managed to get on our shore excursion at the expected time.

I was similar last year. When we docked at Invergordon *everyone* onboard had to clear immigration whether you were going ashore or not. They called groups, and you went and got inline. And yes there were only two officers. They also arrived late. Once you cleared you got a sticker on your cruise card and then you were allowed off. So you didn't have to wait for everyone to clear but you couldn't get off until you did. But the next day in Edinburgh we were fine and didn't have to clear again.

It will stay Smart Casual until you're actually underway, then they'll add in Dressy Nights.

We did a back to back last year (which we bought as one 10 night cruise) with a turn around in Amsterdam and there wasn't anything special we needed to do. Disembarking passengers disembarked at whatever time they needed to and we took a leisurely stroll off the ship when we were ready. (I think we even got room service breakfast that morning!). We had to show our passports to an agent when we got off the ship and that was it. We just headed off into Amsterdam. The biggest problem we had was not being able to fight through the traffic to get to the tram station across the street and wound up walking up to the one line one stop because it was easier to manage than trying to cut through busses and taxis. When we were done we just got back on the ship. I don't remember if there was a special line or not.

MINE TOO! I had the privilege of dining in his first restaurant, Morimoto, in Philadelphia, not long after it opened. He was actually in the kitchen that night and our server brought him to our table and we got to speak to him and have our pictures taken with him. I was star struck. It was an unbelievable meal. I'm going on the Nieuw Statendam in June and they're having a Morimoto pop up two nights of our sailing and I booked it just as soon as it appeared on the app. I cannot wait.

I'm going to piggy back on this older thread and ask about getting from the Skarfabakki-312 cruise terminal into the city. We're on the the Nieuw Statendam from 7am to 7pm and I'm struggling to find the best transport. I'm not adverse to spending on cabs but I'm seeing reports of hours long waits at the terminal for cabs, plus it's a turn around day for HAL. There will be people both disembarking and embarking for their cruise so there will be a lot of people for HAL alone and there are two other ships in that day. The city bus options seem to be "walk half an hour and grab a bus. I'm not coming up with a free option from the port but I do see a HOHO bus that seems to pickup nearby. Does anyone have any other information?

My cruise isn't even on the list! Nieuw Statendam 14-Day Norwegian Fjords & Islands Of Iceland & Scotland June 1 - 15 2024.

If you order something over 11.00 you simply pay the difference between that and the cost. Honestly, I was on the Rotterdam for 10 nights in April and hardly ever went over 11.00 and that was mostly wine. I wouldn't worry about it.

No, it's still two pianists. They play Billboard hits from the 60's, 70's and 80's and the last set of the evening is an all request set. it's most definitely sing along. My husband and I were there every night when we were on Rotterdam in April. The pair they had that sailing were fantastic. They do hire the performers separately though and their contracts can be fairly short so it does depend on who you get. But like I said, our duo was fantastic.

I drank Patron Palomas all night from Billboard on Board. The acid from the grapefruit juice was perfect for cutting through the rich meal we'd just had at the MDR.

Couldn't possibly be because there were 10 or so people in line and they were running their tails off to keep it from being 20 or 30 could it?

Because I don't want to get up, get showered and dressed and go out for a cup of coffee! I understand that you can't have small appliances in your cabin but lord I would have loved a small coffee maker. But no matter, room service was free and I could enjoy my coffee and breakfast with a view. Though I underestimated how cold it would be on the open water in the North Sea in April and didn't enjoy it on the verandah.

The airport for Rotterdam is Schipol which serves Amsterdam. It's about halfway between Rotterdam and Amsterdam. You can fly there and stay in Amsterdam or Rotterdam. I booked a hotel in Amsterdam for two nights prior to departure through Holland America for my cruise out of Rotterdam. They provided transfers from Schipol to the hotel in Amsterdam and then from Amsterdam to Rotterdam in time for boarding. It's really not that far between the two cities.

We arrived in Schipol on the 17tb and it took us two hours to get through passport control. It was chaos. But our bags were cheerily going around on the conveyor when we finally got out!

Well, that explains why my cruise consultant couldn't get us hotel reservations at Hotel New York for our pre cruise stay! 😄