luxurysailer

Thanks for your help.  Anytime dining on HAL apparently works much as it did on Princess.

I still can't believe there's nothing on the HAL website about how anytime dining is done, especially as it is apparently somewhat

different on different ships.  You'd think one could log in and somewhere under "already booked" there would be a discussion

of how anytime dining will be handled on your ship.  Maybe I just overlooked it, so I'll go look again.

We've sailed multiple times with HAL and have always had traditional dining.  However, on our upcoming September cruise we have anytime dining.  I can find nothing on the HAL website about anytime dining.  Can someone please refer me to a post on anytime dining on HAL, particularly on New Statendam if one is available.  

I just want to see how it works.  We've only done anytime dining once, on Princess, and were able to eat at the same time every night but without a specific table assigned.  Will HAL let us do it this way?

Thanks for your help,

luxurysailer 

Thanks to all for your replies.  I never thought about asking shore excursion personnel on the ship for their advice concerning

degree of difficulty of an excursion.  I've never previously dealt with the possibility of an excursion being too strenuous for either DW or me.  I'll also look for any reviews of the excursions we're considering to see if the reviewer remarked on the degree of difficulty.  

Just a word of advice to anyone considering taking the wildlife viewing excursion in the Falklands.  The one we went on was very strenuous, and we were glad when it was over.  Perhaps the worst part was frequently having to walk in what looked like deep ruts left by 4-wheel vehicles.  These were only about 6-8 inches wide and about 18 inches deep, requiring that in order to take the next step you had to place your moving foot directly in front of the planted foot.  This really increased the degree of difficulty.

Luxurysailer

Two years ago we and friends went on a wildlife viewing excursion in the Falkland Islands which was classified as strenuous.  We found it to be very difficult and vowed to take the activity level classifications seriously on future shore excursions.  

We're cruising from Amsterdam to Rome in September, and I note that the vast majority of shore excursions in Portugal and Spain are classified as moderately difficult.  Since we're both in our late 70s and have knee issues, this concerns me about booking excursions classified as moderately difficult.  However, when I note that the excursion to the Vatican Museum and St. Peter's Basilica is classified as moderately strenuous, I begin to suspect that degree of activity is being over classified. We've been to the Vatican Museum and St. Peter's, and we'd classify both of these as easy.

So, what I need to know is whether or not we should be overly concerned about going on shore excursions classified as moderately difficult.  Both of us are active, climb stairs regularly, and have no difficulty walking distances of a mile or so. Your opinions will be appreciated.

Thanks,

Luxurysailer

We're considering a cruise in September 2019 on Statendam.  I notice on the deck plans that there is a large grayed out and unlabeled area on deck 3 port side extending from near the stern forward to almost the area under the atrium on deck 4.  I'm concerned this may be the galley or perhaps some other noisy area that might be heard in the staterooms above it on deck 4. I would appreciate any information that anyone can give concerning this.

Thanks,

Luxurysailer

There were no areas on Zaandam specifically designated piano bar or sports bar. Instead, there was one large area on the upper promenade deck located between the midship elevators/stairs and the atrium. This area was designated The Mix and with separate areas serving as the piano bar and sports bar. There was no dance floor in The Mix.

HAL has made and continues to make many changes which, in my opinion, are not improvements; but I suppose they're making changes based upon what their market research tells them future cruise customers will want.

One other thing I noted on this cruise is that the dress code was absolutely ignored by a very high percentage of passengers.

Ruth, you said in a post that I initiated concerning dancing on the Zaandam 'round the Horn cruises that you didn't know if it had a piano bar or a piano lounge. I confess that I don't know the difference, but will call this venue a piano bar and tell you what I observed.

The piano bar was located on deck 5 adjacent to the sports bar. The performer, Lee Struck, presented entertainment every evening with various name that tune/performer type themes. This was a very popular venue, which made it necessary to arrive early in order to get a seat for the performance. I hope this information is helpful to you.

Best: the cold fruit soups. I have ordered these for dessert.

Worst: some kind of fake blue cheese salad dressing

This will be our second rounding of the Horn. On our "maiden rounding" the seas were about as flat as in a bathtub. That was HAL's first cruise of the season that year, i.e. in the spring as opposed to the beginning of autumn for our upcoming cruise. I have no idea how much time of year affects winds/seas down there, but I just checked the weather in our ports of call: at 1:30PM local time the winds at Punta Arenas were 33 mph and at Ushuaia were 45 mph. If this is a harbinger of what we'll experience, the rounding this year may well be considerably more exciting than previously. We've experienced some pretty bad storms including the tail end of a hurricane off the Canadian maritimes and four days in the Tasman Sea while it threw a hissy fit. Hopefully we'll not have any of that kind of excitement again.

Your encyclopedic knowledge on all matters HAL never ceases to amaze me, Ruth. I hope I can remember to let you know about your piano lounge/bar question when we return. Once again thanks for your help.

Thanks to RuthC and sherifa for your replies. And both with great news! My wife and our lady friends will definitely be packing their dancing shoes.

I hope HAL hasn't discontinued your beloved piano bar, Ruth. I saw no area designated as such.

We're sailing on the Zaandam around the Horn, embarking 20 March. In reviewing the deck plans today I was unable to find the Queen's Lounge, eliminating that dance floor, nor could I find one in the Crow's Nest. The only dance floor I could find was the tiny one in the Ocean Bar.

Is there any dancing on the Zaandam, and what musical group is providing the music? I've heard that the B.B. King combo plays in the Ocean Bar. Do they play any dance music?

We'll be on Zaandam for the 14 day South American Passage cruise departing Buenos Aires on 22 March. I have a couple of questions about the formal (gala) nights on this itinerary that I'd appreciate some help with:

1) How many formal nights are there?

2) On which days do they occur when sailing in this direction, Buenos Aires to ValParaiso?

3) A guesstimate of the percentage of men wearing a tux

We've had difficulty on some HAL cruises getting the combo to play dance music in the Ocean Bar, even when there were 10-12 couples there wanting to dance. A word with the cruise director brought about the desired change.

We try to keep our group of 3 couples in staterooms very near one another, and one member of the group is very prone to motion sickness. He really likes the midship cabins on main deck, especially when rough seas are very likely to be encountered as on this cruise.

Thanks for the replies. We've never been in D category on main deck, but have been in both J (inside) and C (ocean view) on main deck and found both to be very comfortable insofar as size is concerned.

My decision rests upon whether the convenience of a cabin on lower promenade is adequately offset by the smaller size of the D midship staterooms on lower promenade as opposed to the J and C staterooms on main deck.

It has been quite a few years since we were last booked in one of these staterooms on the Amsterdam. The HAL website says that they may have as little as 140 sq ft; however, it seems to me that our stateroom on the Amsterdam was of good size, probably approaching the upper stated size of 319 sq ft.

Has anyone ever encountered a D category stateroom on deck 3 on Zaandam that was exceedingly small? If so, would you please tell me what that stateroom number was if you have it available.

Thanks

We've been away from HAL and Cruise Critic for a while, but coming back home to both. We'll be on the Koningsdam cruise from Amsterdam to Rome in September, and I'm wondering how men are dressing on gala nights. Are tuxedos still commonly worn, or if I bring my tux will I be overdressed and stick out like a sore thumb?

The price you've been offered is a very good one, so I'd go for it. However, I'd urge you to be cautious about the location. We were in D518 in August 2015 on the British Isles cruise. Although the lifeboats were one deck below, we got a very early and loud wakeup on the sea days when they lowered the lifeboat one deck below. Some of the pulleys/etc were located outside our mini suite and and we got an earful during the lowering.

We did ask repeatedly, and they didn't respond. But I agree entirely with your comment.

In our case, requests to the band produced no significant change in what music was played. However, it was the bringing of the problem to the attention of the cruise director and his observing twenty or more passengers wanting to dance that got us the music we desired.

On an Alaska cruise on the Amsterdam about three years ago there were ten or twelve couples in the Ocean Bar every evening wanting to dance. The floor would quickly fill up when dance music was played. The only way we could get any dance music was to request specific songs. As soon as the piece was played the band would go right back to playing what they preferred. We put up with this for about two or three nights and then complained to the cruise director, after which we got plenty of dance music for the remainder of the cruise.

We're paying customers, folks, and do not have to put up with an uncooperative band. They're there for our pleasure, not theirs. A big problem on the above cruise was that they had a stack of sheet music that must have been nearly a foot thick, and it would take a long time to find the requested song. That is, if it was in the stack.

All the intercontinental flights we've been on allow two suitcases per passenger in economy class. My wife and I take a total of three suitcases. We always take my tux and two formal outfits for her and never exceed baggage weight limits. Furthermore, we always have plenty of clothes for all occasions. As noted previously, if you own a tux, it takes up no more space than a suit.

Consequently, I think those using baggage limits as an excuse for not carrying a tux on intercontinental flights are really groping for an excuse.

It's truly sad that some people age but never grow up, continuing to think the world revolves around them.

If your itinerary includes many ports where tendering is necessary, you might be careful about a mini-suite in midship area. We were in D518 on the Ruby last August and were suddenly awaked very early on at least two occasions due to life boats being lowered for tendering. I don't recall whether or not mini suites are available on higher decks, but if they are I'd advise trying to get higher than Dolphin deck.

Judging from the dress that many grown men wear to the MDR on formal nights, I cannot imagine a child neatly dressed and wearing a sport coat being turned away. However, my DIL used to buy tuxes on one of the online auction websites (can't remember the name of it) where people list things they want to sell. She'd usually buy a nice kid's tux for $20 or thereabouts which is probably less than the price of a cheap jacket at a retail store. My grandsons always looked so spiffy and really proud to be dressed in their tuxes.