scottishgolfwidow

As far as I remember:-

Hot Stone - £15.95

Kora La - £16.95

Mistrals - £19.95

 

Didn't see the special 3 meal price advertised this time but it may have been available on request.

Thank you

Campo lady did you notice how much the speciality restaurants were? I noticed on another thread you could book all three at a special price but assume that can only be done on board ?

This spring we had an Alaska cruise on Holland America from Vancouver. Despite the ships being registered in the Netherlands and having mainly Dutch officers, it is indeed an American line. On this voyage, though, about a third of the passengers were British, almost a third from Australia, with mainly Americans and Canadians making up the balance.

 

Getting a decent cup of tea, not surprisingly, was almost impossible. Having expected this, we brought our own Tetley tea. But getting suitably hot, let alone boiling, water can be a problem. Tea-pots were in short supply but occasionally we and some British passengers managed to persuade the stewards to find one or two.

 

One doesn't go on an Alaska cruise for the entertainment, which is just as well - at least from my point of view. Our last 10 cruises/crossings have been on Cunard and they have spoiled us by catering to all tastes. HAL's entertainment is fine for those with a fondness for painfully over-amplified pop-type music or blues. The only entertainment we enjoyed was a violin/piano duet. Other than one talk from a ranger in Glacier Bay, the only lectures/talks were about shopping.

 

Food is subjective, of course, but having "compared notes" with other passengers our opinion is by no means unusual. We do not eat in cafeterias at sea, so all our meals were taken in the main dining room except one excellent dinner in the extra-charge Pinnacle Grill. Breakfast was very good, lunch very poor, afternoon tea was a joke and dinner fairly good. We eventually gave up on lunch so this was the first time we did not gain weight on a ship.

 

There were two formal nights in the one-week cruise. Those of us in dinner jackets were much in the minority, but most men wore a suit and tie and a few wore military mess dress. Despite the definition of formal, some men wore neither a jacket or tie and two young chaps were admitted to dinner wearing T-shirts and baseball caps. Since our cruise, formal nights have been reclassified as gala nights. In theory, the minimum standard for men on gala nights is a collared shirt and trousers. Baseball caps, I assume, are optional.

 

We did, however, enjoy the cruise and we would cruise with HAL again - but only on a short cruise in an area of outstanding scenery, never on a long voyage. (P&O and Cunard haven't done Alaska cruises in decades.) HAL does some things very well and the staff, despite some inefficiencies, are uniformly charming.

Completely agree with everything you said we DID enjoy the cruise, the day we were in the glacier which is a national park they brought on a ranger who gave very informative talks on board and made it much more interesting, and the staff were wonderful customer service fantastic on the second night in our letter box instead of the New York Times news sheet we had one entitled British news tailored right down to Scottish sports results which was a nice touch but I agree the entertainment was pretty awful we spent every evening in the piano bar with a fantastic singer/ pianist from Canada just the three of us until the last night when the bar was crowded and he played his last song which he knew was one of our favourites for his "Scottish Friends" who had supported him all week. Every night when we went back to the cabin just about every other cabin had room service trays outside so they obviously preferred to eat in the cabin rather than come out to play. The cabins by the way are very comfortable and we got our one and only visit from the upgrade fairy for this trip.

The formal night was quite well observed on our cruise but again after dinner few people around I did speak to one lady on one of the tenders who said the Alaskan itinerary for them was mainly to buy diamonds as they are considerably cheaper than in the US I can vouch for that. Watches are also much cheaper and they have a shopping advisor on board who gave numerous talks on diamonds,furs and watches with advice on where to buy them .I asked him a question about something I had bought but when he found out it wasn't bought from one of the shops on his list he refused to answer and it was a very simple question.

Finally the food wasn't what we expected other than the very expensive a la carte restaurant which was excellent the main dining room was average and the buffet restaurant where we were served rather than self service had paltry portions We ate most nights in the Italian restaurant in a closed off part of the buffet which I suppose you would compare to the Beach House on P&O around $5 dollars a head

I know this sounds a negative review but the itinerary in Alaska is indeed what is important and the scenery is spectacular making the trip worth it , we did a Norwegian Fjords cruise with P & O which is also beautiful and which we enjoyed more but everyone has different expectations and priorities for a cruise so I have just given MY honest opinion and no we probably wouldn't cruise with HAL again.

Finally we sailed from Seattle which is a beautiful city well worth a visit although we only had a couple of days either side of the cruise we loved it.

We've just returned from our first ever cruise and enjoyed Oceana on a Med flycruise. Now we think we might go further afield to Alaska as well as taking another P&O cruise next autumn.

We know there are people on this board who cruise on other lines as well as P&O and wonder what the main differences are that we'll come across on cruise lines that go to Alaska.

We didn't bother much with the entertainment on our cruise and spent a lot of time on our balcony on sea days enjoying the view. We explored independently on port days. We also enjoyed being able to bring a local bottle of wine on board to have on our balcony...we know some things will be different in Alaska!

Any comments or advice most welcome from you experienced cruisers.

We did an Alaskan cruise in 2009 with Holland America from Seattle good cruise but we were the only Brits on board, apart from one family from Sweden all the other passengers were American and the cruise was very much geared to them so quite different from p&o If I remember they did allow wine to be brought in but no spirits

Not sure what is in a Sidecar but I think it will cost you if any of the ingredients are not within the drink package.

 

Sent from my SM-T330 using Tapatalk

I think it's brandy and triple sec brandy is on the ai list but couldn't see triple sec

Even with a supplement don't know if Cointreau would do :confused:

I am soooooo sad I can't see sidecars on the menu :( Oh well I will just have to sample them all until I find another one I like.

That's the spirit just keep going through the menu til you find one that suits that's my motto and it usually works:cool:

the formal dress code only applies in the main dining room on formal night, its not strictly enforced, many do wear dinner suits/full highland dress etc but many also wear collar & tie and some wear chinos & open neck shirt (its down to personal preference... whatever you enjoy) the only rule is no vests/shorts/sandals in the main dining room (on any night)

 

in the speciality restaurants smart casual is perfectly acceptable even on formal night (again some will dress up and some dont)

 

enjoy those martinis (they are strong);)

I'll just grin and bear it:D

Thank you so much Geomagot that was very thoughtful, I will be ok Cuba Libra and French Martini being my fave tipples so I am sorted.

Can I ask another question I did post it somewhere but can't remember where and I can't see an answer anywhere so I will ask again.

Is the formal dress code strictly followed? If we book one of the speciality restaurants for that night would we be turned away from the venue if we didn't follow the dress code as hubby is not sure about a dinner suit in the Carribean.

[/url]

 

Yeeeehaaaa it's appeared when I opened the forum this time thank you so much geomagot for all your trouble very kind indeed

Glad I previewed this message before posting predictive text had turned you into geomagnetic :eek:

Geomagot........thanks.....greatly appreciated.

Can you see the pages? I can't see anything

is it just me but i can't see anything just a blank box three times :confused:

Sorry, too fuzzy I think. Couldn't work out how to attach the file so did screenshots from my tablet. Will try tomorrow on the laptop.

 

Sent from my SM-T330 using Tapatalk

Thank you

Sorry didn't notice 2012:confused:

Ha ha would be nice if it was the same maybe if I don't see a newer one I can just pretend :eek:

What is diff between drinks package anc all incl

Sorry if its obv I am new to cruisig:

Drinks packages available on some other lines can mean a set amount of bottles of wine or beer all inclusive should mean all drinks usually with a few exceptions e.g champagne, malt whisky or vintage brandies. Does anyone have an up to date copy of a bar menu as the one here seems to be from 2012 which was the last time we had it on Thomsons and I have been told there are a few more restrictions now however as with Mackem 1999 I'll be happy with (proper) Bacardi and (proper) coke

Hi, the pay extra resturants are open on the formal evening. We always book into one for the formal evening. I will say they are still popular even on the Formal night therefore we always make a point of reserving as soon as we board the ship.

Can you use the pay restaurants on Dream in formal night if not wearing formal outfit hubby doesn't fancy a dinner suit the Carribean

Thanks, Never booked in advance we book on arrival if you do a b t b change over day is very quiet and usually on offer😁

Sadly seven nights only but not too long til we will be able to do more than one fourteen nighters a year :cool:

After sailing into Malaga on 5th November she is going to Gibraltar for a few weeks refurbishment.

Thanks for that spic and span for me getting on in January :)

As Mike says the Hot Stone is great fun but it can get a bit messy fortunately they provide you with a bib.

I think minstrels are sweets:rolleyes: it should be Mistrals which is another good eatery as is Kora La.

Enjoy, we will from tomorrow on:p

Have a great cruise, looking forward to your review. Do you know if you can book the restaurants in advance ?. Also does anyone know where the Dream is in November not showing up on any of the registry lists

Hi

 

I know that the onboard photographer is keen to take photographs and then sell printed copies but does anyone know if on Ventura it is possible to buy a digital copy of the photo rather than buying a printed version? Many theme parks both in the UK and USA offer this.

 

I remember that Islands of Adventure in Florida offered us a special offer of purchasing a memory stick and then being able to download official photos for a vastly reduced fee. This meant we could get them printed at home for cheaper and of course had a digital version for use online.

 

Thanks

Yes on Ventura last year you could buy a disc but I don't think it was particularly cheap and I don't know if there was a minimum amount of pics you had to pay for Not long til your big day now :)

Are there any restrictions to what you can order with the coffee card? I know it says Primo coffees on the description on the P and O web page but I'm not sure what that means, does anyone know if this includes iced lattes ? I have never bought one before but if it includes the speciality coffees I might consider it

Just discovered Primo is the size not the range I obviously don't frequent Costa :rolleyes:

Are there any restrictions to what you can order with the coffee card? I know it says Primo coffees on the description on the P and O web page but I'm not sure what that means, does anyone know if this includes iced lattes ? I have never bought one before but if it includes the speciality coffees I might consider it

Hi scottishgolfwidow yes it was last dated one day ago sorry not very tec minded don't know how to post link 😕

Thanks for that I see it further down the list I'll check that out see what I'll be getting for my money :cool:

It on this site under drinks package menu😀

By this site do you mean the Thomson forum ?

Does anyone have a copy of the drinks menu for the Dream or know where to look at one online the only one I can see is from2013. Thanks

Do not panic. It is YOUR holiday! You have worked hard for it, You have saved hard for it!.

I am 4 weeks away from my second cruise and I will have many a drink on my balcony, watching the sea, watching the land then I will get dressed and have breakfast!! :D:D

Seriously now.....have a lovely time and do exactly what pleases you. We all want different experiences from our cruises, and we can have that.....thats what makes the cruising holiday wonderful.

Have a great time!! :)

And after breakfast Jasperado our balcony awaits and the adjoining one (I did say there were four of us) and between us we have four bottles of champers provided by pando so we are off to a good start although we thought we would keep them for the first formal night but that might already be sorted :D that's what balconies are for chilling out