510picker

There was a ceremony on the Nieuw Statendam in April of this year. We received an invitation to the ceremony as we were to receive our 100 day medallion. We didn't go and they were delivered to our room. 

We are booked on a southern Caribbean cruise in November that goes to HMC, Aruba and Curaçao. I’ve gotten a couple of emails from HAL regarding Visa Notifications. The email never indicates the places we are visiting require visas, only that some countries require them and it is our responsibility to obtain them. 
 

We’ve been to these same places in the past and I believe I’ve gotten these same emails, but I also want to make sure I’m not missing something or something has changed. I will definitely be in the doghouse if we are denied boarding due to lack of proposer documentation. 

You can pick them as you want them. If you only drink wine at dinner, pick the bottle you want from the menu, give them you room card which shows you’ve bought a package, and that is bottle number one. Want a bottle to enjoy on your deck? Go to any bar and pick the bottle you want and that’s bottle number two.
 

So, it’s not like at the beginning of the cruise you have to pick them all out and take them to your room. Does that answer your question?

3 hours ago, ArizonatoFlorida said:

I’m interested to know how you position your phone or IPAD if you don’t have a tripod?

Buy this table top tripod for $18. It sure made taking our tests much easier. 
 

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07K7MSV25/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

As many others have already said, markup of alcohol in land based restaurants is high, so you can expect markup on cruise ships to be even higher. With the policy changes to bringing wine onboard, it makes sense for us to buy onboard. As long as it is wet, I will likely drink it 🙂

I just looked through the list and never saw a martini listed, but under “Bar Menu - All Bars” there is a list of several vodkas and none are over $11, so I’m betting martinis are included in the Signature Beverage Package. 

Below is a link to a fairly comprehensive drink list. 
 

https://rogerjett-photography.com/specialty-2/hal-regular-and-specialty-restaurants/hal-beverage-menus/

We had cabin 7057 on the Nieuw Amsterdam. Here is a photo I took where you can see the elevator. It didn’t bother me at all. I never saw anyone looking at me sitting on my Verandah. 
 

This is the view from 4146. 
 

Curious if anyone that requested travel funds be converted to LUV vouchers has actually received them yet. I called on June 19th and made the request and was told at that time it would take 10 - 14 days to receive them. I called after 19 days and was told it was taking longer than usual due to the amount of requests. I received an email over the weekend saying it may take up to 45 days to receive them. Curious about others are experiencing the same thing.

Accessible cabins are assigned if it has not been booked by someone needing it. Which cabin have you been assigned because as fa as I know, there are no accessible "Family Rooms".

The cabana attendants have always been happy to get us a bottle from our package to enjoy in our cabana. They always bring a nice cheese plate to go with it too!

33 minutes ago, DaveOKC said:

In my experience, the FREE cabin offers do not qualify, but cruises booked with  casino discount rate (like 20% off) do.  Recently I submitted two requests at the same time and the discounted rate one was accepted while the free cabin one was rejected.

 

This has been my experience too.

The shareholder credit is still there. Just be aware that if you get casino offers, the shareholder credit can't be used. There are different levels of casino offers too and some do qualify for the shareholder credit. Just something to be aware of.

For those of you wanting a night light, I bring these battery powered motion lights with us. I stick one on the nightstand drawer face next to the bed. When I swing my feet off the bed, the motion turns the light on. I pull it off before we leave and it works well. 
 

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07PB9Z1ZZ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

8 minutes ago, richwmn said:

You might consider contributing the cabin photos to HalFacts so that they might benefit more people.

 

I sent them photos before and they never used them, so I never bothered again. I use cruisedeckplans.com when researching ship and cabin information.

Just now, vicnsue said:

Thank you, that never occurred to us. 

Like I said, cabin stewards are always happy to move the carts. A bigger problem is when other passengers leaves scooters in the hallway. Cabin stewards are typically easy to find. Other passengers sometimes aren't. They aren't supposed to leave them in the hallway, but it happens all of the time.

1 hour ago, vicnsue said:

We are interested in Cabin 6002 and have a few questions for anyone that has stayed in this or similar cabins.

My wife requires a wheelchair accessible room and we have not been successful in finding pictures or videos to help answer our questions. So your help would be appreciated.

 

Was there a lot of cabin movement during high seas?

Being at the front of the ship, you will feel movement much more than if you were midship.

Is the front wall of the cabin slanted and if so does it make it difficult to move around the cabin?

I don't have an answer for this question.
Were the ramps going into the bathroom and balcony adequate?

There is no ramp into the bathroom. The ramp to the balcony is quite steep and the swing-open door is very heavy. Balcony access has been greatly improved on Pinnacle Class ships.

Did you feel like the bathroom room was large enough to accommodate a wheelchair?

Yes, I have always had plenty of room to maneuver my wheelchair around in the bathrooms.  
Overall was there enough room in the cabin and balcony for everyone?

Having not been in the cabin, I can't answer this specific question.

While I have not stayed in this exact cabin, I am a full-time wheelchair user and have stayed in many accessible cabins on various HAL ships. I have attempted to answer your specific questions above.

My overall answer is to not book this cabin if other options are available and you have someone in a wheelchair. The cabin is at the extreme forward end of the ship. It can be a long push across the carpet to get to the elevators. You also may run into cabin steward carts in the hallway that prevent you from getting around. They are always happy to move them, but it is an issue.

My biggest issue with this cabin is access to the balcony. The ramps on both sides of the balcony door are very steep. The door is very heavy and is a swing-open door which adds to the frustration. The new Pinnacle Class ships have addressed both of these issue by adding a slide-open door with ramps that are much more use friendly.

Hope this helps. I do have photos from all of our cruises that have cabin photos if you are interested in seeing them.

36 minutes ago, Wakepatrol said:

The sooner I board the ship 

The sooner my vacation starts 😀

This! The cruise line considers this Day 1, so I want to maximize it. 

We are on the next sailing. I was initially disappointed when it was changed from 11 days to 9 days, but after hearing the reports of Covid outbreaks I'm happy the ship will be cleared of passengers and hope a deep cleaning takes place while the repairs are being made.

Thank you for your wonderful posts of your journey. I've followed them from Day 1. Reading them each day has provided valuable information and made me look forward to our cruise even more!

4 hours ago, Crazy For Cats said:

Good Afternoon,  this morning we watched the excursion show.  Booked the aviary Cartagena and a tour in Colon that will let us see the new locks.  It is a very breezy day today.

Also had lunch at the Dive In and are getting ready for our wine tasting. 

Which wine tasting did you do? Was it worth the cost?

When the Nieuw Statendam returns to Port Everglades on April 6th, it is going to be docked for two days for azipod repairs. I'm curious to know how in-transit passengers will be handled. I assume they will stay on the ship while it;s docked for repair. Have you heard any information about this and how many in-transit passengers there will be?

Enjoy your cruise! We will be boarding April 8th and are very much looking forward to it!

I am 50 years old and am in a wheelchair from a spinal cord injury at age 23. My wife and I often stay onboard during port days and honestly, those are some of the best times on the ship! Go and enjoy it while you can!

I am a full-time wheelchair user and have been to HMC many times. The island tenders are accessible with a steep ramp that goes to each level and a ramp on the front that folds down to allow on/off access to the island. The tram that goes around the island also has a ramp for wheelchair access.

With that being said, I am in a lightweight wheelchair that is much easier to move than a scooter. Some of those scooters are very heavy, but the amazing staff always do an excellent job assisting.

Thank you for your posts throughout your trip. My wife and I will be boarding April 8th.