ipoder

I have been hearing a lot about Black Friday Sales. Does anyone know if  HAL will be offering specials on Black Friday. Last year I got a great deal without even knowing it was Black Friday time.

We had good luck last summer at the

Pinnacle Grill by asking what other options we had off menu. The wine steward suggested the house Chardonnay and it wasn't bad. We got a primitivo from canneletto served in dining room. Everyone was very cooperative.

Has anyone noticed the deck plan changes for the NS? Culinary Arts is gone, replaced by America's Test Kitchen. Does that mean that it will no longer be a restaurant? Also, the Queen's Lounge is now identified as Lincoln Center and BB King has moved to another area. Maybe deck plans can't be relied upon at this stage but I found the changes interesting since Culinary Arts had difficulty getting off the ground and the spot on Koningsdam for Lincoln Center was so crowded and popular.

We are on the Norse legends Konigsdam out of Amsterdam on July 2 and received an email advisory from HAL to arrive at the terminal at 1:30. Apparently HAL is trying to have passengers arrive at specific times to ease congestion.

We board June 25 but haven't had any directive from HAL re boarding time. Was it an email you received?

Any chance you could describe the embarkation process in more detail?

 

This is our first time leaving from Passenger Terminal Amsterdam.

 

Thanks in advance!

Me Too! I am wondering what time to arrive at the terminal.

Anyone have current information on best time to arrive at the Amsterdam terminal for a Norwegian Fijord cruise on Koningsdam? Thanks

Thanks for the info since we will be on the 6/25 fijord cruise on K. Can you tell me when the second gala night is? The second sea day is the last night so I wonder if it will be a gala night.

My bank ATM card has a chip and I have a PIN number to withdraw from ATM machines here at home. Will that work for transit ticket machines in Europe? Is it a good choice?

we are signed up to go on Holland America's 3 hr. kayaking excursion in Flam and I hope someone can help with my questions.

1. Do you board the kayaks in the water? That would mean we need water shoes.

2. Does the kayak company provide slickers if it is raining?

3. Why do they want you to wear your bathing suits?

Hope someone who has done the ship excursion with any of the main cruise lines can answer these. Thanks for any info since I don't want to pack water shoes and slickers if we don't need to.

i have been told that part of the specialty restaurant fee covers tip for the servers since they don't share in the main server pool. Is this correct and no tip is needed at Pinnacle, Tamarind, etc.? Thanks for any info.

If you have time, walk through town down Kirkegata to the end of town. It's about a 20 minute walk. There you can go hiking in Baneheia Forrest a large recreational area with walking paths in a green wilderness. Check it out on Google maps.

He was a tall Indonesian (I think) it spoke good English. He was definitely the best waiter we ever had.

Lora

Two years ago on the Westerdam we had such a great waiter named Rianto. He was so helpful to make sure my daughter who has dietary restrictions was able to enjoy each meal. He would review the next night's menu with her and help her build a dinner that fit her requirements. He was a HAL shining star; hope he is still working on HAL ships.

should we expect high seas and bad weather in late June? We are on the Koningsdam and wonder how it will take the seas between Amsterdam and Flam. THanks

The second season of Koningsdam's cruises out of Amsterdam for seven days in the fijords of Norway is almost here. We are going June 25th and wonder what to expect on the sea days in the North Sea as we sail from Amsterdam to Flam. Rough seas, cold, wind, or fair with normal seas? I've seen questions about seasickness on the North Sea crossing and though I know one can't predict the weather, I wonder if the Koningsdam has handled the seas well?

Thanks so much for the input. It seems the menu has been reduced to two sections, small plates and mains, yet the wording at the top remains the same! It looks like like pastas now appear in the mains section. How was your meal?

Thanks again,

Lora

the menu on the HAL website is different than the menu on the Roger Jett site. How do we know which is the current one?

Lora

Once we are seated at a table in Tamarind can we receive a bar menu to order from? It doesn't look like there is anywhere to sit except the few bar stools, not like Tamarind on the other ships.

Thanks in advance,

Lora

Thank you so much for all the information! We want to buy bus and trolley passes. I saw they were available at a 7-11behind city hall. Is this the closest place to the Askerhuskai pier to buy bus passes? If so, could you tell me what street it is on? Hanks.

Lora

Thanks for taking the time to help us first time visitors to Oslo. I have a question about the Munch Museum. I understand a new one is being built near the pier, but it probably will not be completed by June 2017. What is the best public transportation to take from the pier to the current Munch Museum?

Thanks

Has anyone done the HAL excursion "Cruising the Archipelago" out of Kristiansand, Norway. There is very little info about it online and no reviews on the HAL site.

Would really appreciate any observations.

Thanks, Ipoder

I understand America's Test Kitchen demos and hands on classes have begun on the Westerdam, and maybe others by this time. Haven't heard anything about them and am really curious how different they are from the usual culinary demos. And does anyone know if Koningsdam will be adding ÀTK?

From what I understand ATK has been on the Westerdam for a while but there don't seem to be any comments on it. Anyone attended demos or hands on classes?

Read a post about lido hours being shorter on Koningsdam because of alternate places to eat. Got me wondering, are New York Pizza, Dive In, and Dutch Cafe open for lunch on embarkation day??

Hope there are some CCers out there who can help me. When reservations open up for specialty restaurants on this cruise next Spring, I want to make a few but don't want to miss gala nights in the dining room. This cruise (going to Flam, Stavanger, Kristiansand, and Oslo) has only two sea days, the first and last. I imagine the first sea day will be a gala dinner but the second one has to be one of the port days. Can someone please help me with the schedule they had on their cruise this summer?

Also, is the BBC world show put on only one night? Anyone remember which night?

Thanks for any help!