cruisegirl

1 hour ago, 12cruise2 said:

We are on the NA and have been for four weeks.  We took a shore ex in San Juan on 11/23.  We had to go into the dock building and wait in line for the shore ex, then we were escorted out the door and into a waiting 25 or so passenger van that was fairly close to the door, before the street, for the shore ex. I don't recall a long walk to get into the building; certainly not like the Dominican Republic.  And in Dom. Republic, there are pedicab vehicles that one can take from the ship to the entrance of the area where shore ex. meet.   However, there are several berths in San Juan, so I can't speak to what might be the circumstances for your cruise.  It may depend on which berth you are in, as at any one time, I think one can have 4 large ships in port. 

We took one of the pedicabs but between my bad knee and terrible balance it  took several men to get me on and off. I am sure it was comical to anyone watching. I will hope for a close berth and a van that is easy to get on and off. Which excursion were you on? I have forgotten the name of ours but it goes to the rain forest. Thanks for your response. 

1 hour ago, 12cruise2 said:

We are on the NA and have been for four weeks.  We took a shore ex in San Juan on 11/23.  We had to go into the dock building and wait in line for the shore ex, then we were escorted out the door and into a waiting 25 or so passenger van that was fairly close to the door, before the street, for the shore ex. I don't recall a long walk to get into the building; certainly not like the Dominican Republic.  And in Dom. Republic, there are pedicab vehicles that one can take from the ship to the entrance of the area where shore ex. meet.   However, there are several berths in San Juan, so I can't speak to what might be the circumstances for your cruise.  It may depend on which berth you are in, as at any one time, I think one can have 4 large ships in port. 

We to

2 hours ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

It is a bit of a hike.  As I recall you need to get off the ship and you go through a building with a few stores and out to the street.  I would say it's a good couple of city blocks.  It has been a couple years since I've been there but I think my memory is pretty correct.

Thanks. I am going to hope things have changed and it is less of a distance. I booked this cruise partly to go to Puerto Rico so would hate to miss it. 

We are on Nieuw Amsterdam now and will be next week. Our only excursion right now for next week is Puerto Rico. Can someone give me an idea of how far it might be from where we dock to meet up with the excursions. I use a walker and had a hard time of it in the Dominican Republic yesterday getting from the ship to the excursion. I want to be sure I don’t have a repeat of it in P.R.  Thanks. 

I can’t answer your question but what is terrible about it?  Just curious. 

Thanks. Hope it is $20. 

On 11/7/2021 at 8:16 PM, Crew News said:

No.  Purchase with your first bag of laundry by checking the "Unlimited" block on the laundry list.  Note that with the exception of underwear, handkerchiefs, and socks, everything comes back pressed and on hangers (only time my pajamas ever see a hanger).

 

 

How much is the laundry bag price vs the unlimited laundry? 

Loved watching the sail away. The Love Boat toots almost brought tears to my eyes. Hope to hear those toots again in less than two weeks when we will be a part of the sail away on the NA. 

10 hours ago, Cruiz'nBaers said:

We were on the Nieuw Amsterdam for the October 23 7 day Western Caribbean cruise.  We were very disappointed in the Main Stage offerings, I think entertainment on longer cruises is better, not so much for 7 day cruises.  The first evening was a lecture by the cruise director on the Holland America Line history, followed by dance shows, BBC Earth movie with live music and a comedian.  We enjoyed the comedian.  HAL entertainment has declined greatly since we began cruising with them in 2003.  We did enjoy the BB King shows and a second comedian who performed in the BB King lounge.  Many other lines have much better entertainment than HAL.  Just my opinion.

That is particularly disappointing since I read that the Rotterdam had good shows. Seven day or not they should have things worth going to.  Probably since we are on two b2b 7 day cruises we will get a repeat for the second part of the cruise. 

Can someone whose is currently on the Nieuw Amsterdam give me an idea of what entertainment is available in the ship’s Mainstage?  What did you like or dislike about it?  Thanks.  

1 hour ago, Cajuntraveler said:

I boarded n. Amsterdam out of port Everglades today with 2 bottles of wine in my carry on. I expected to pay $20 for each bottle. X-ray tech did not comment on the wine. She had me open one carry on to confirm I didn’t have an extension cord. The bottle of wine was on top and she ignored it. It seems the new policy isn’t being enforced at some ports.

Since I will be going out of Port Everglades in December I will hope I have the same luck. 

On 10/21/2021 at 5:11 AM, hisfirstm8 said:

The cost would be about $1000 total.

 

For $1000 ($500 each) I would definitely grab it if you can afford to do that. 

I don’t want to carry wine on board. Can I order a bottle to consume in my room once board? Do we have to pay the corkage fee in that case 

Very interesting. Thanks for posting it. 

On 10/2/2021 at 6:31 PM, Btimmer said:

We're on board after the fastest  embarkation ever! Less than 30 minutes!

 

We depart at 5pm which is 30 minutes from now and we'll be enjoying dinner in the Tamarind.

 

I need to figure out the picture rotation issue.

You are so excited you are “head over heels.”  

4 hours ago, SSKJ572 said:

I just made reservations today for The Pinnacle for our Jan 2nd cruise. I checked off “complimentary” as we do receive one free specialty restaurant, but now there’s a pending charge on my card. I’ll call them tomorrow. 

Please post what you find out as the same thing happened to me. 

Thanks  for all the help. I used the web site and everyone was right. The possibility to book was there. However even though it seemed to recognize we had “complimentary dinners” the amounts showed up to the tune of over $130 dollars with a request for a credit card. I chickened out at that point. Should I have gone ahead and booked them?  Maybe I should call HAL first. Have any of you run into this?  
 

 I know I saw a thread on this yesterday but I can’t find it. We sail 12/4/21 on the Nieuw Amsterdam.  I cannot find a way to make advance reservations for any of the specialty through HAL’s  app. What am I doing wrong? We have made our final payment. Is it too early or am I missing where to do this. When I click on one of the restaurants all I get is the menus. I can book shore excursions and spa treatments but not dining. Your answers and  help will be most appreciated.  Thanks. 

13 hours ago, Taters said:

It did.  I booked my 11/28 spa pass, logged out and back in and booked my 12/5 spa pass.  The only reason I logged out and back in is because the HAL site seems to have trouble bouncing from one reservation to another.

Guess I will get brave and try it. Your answer helps. 

23 hours ago, Taters said:

@cruisegirl, today I looked into the couples pass for both of my 7 night Koningsdam cruises again and the price is now $219 per week!  I went ahead and bought them.  YAY!  $219 per week beats the heck out of $299!  It is a significant savings for us.

 

And an FYI - Last week I went ahead and called HAL and asked if they could extend a 14 night price for my B2B cruises and they said NO.  So today I was extremely happy to see this price reduction and jumped right on it! 

 

Cheers!

That is actually the price that has been showing for me all along. Once you made the reservation for the first seven days did it allow you to make a reservation for the second 7 days?

Looking forward to hearing reports of this sailing. 

54 minutes ago, bluesplayer said:

Happy Sailing!!  Glad you enjoyed Seattle..   Is anyone doing door decorations on the ship?  (I know there are lots of anti door decoration feelings, not starting a debate)  just curious.  Happy Cruising!!

I read somewhere on here that HAL is no longer allowing them and will take them off. 

18 hours ago, Boytjie said:

With the wifi seemingly iffy on the ship, who knows how "live" it might be.

 

We left a hot and humid New York City Tuesday morning. JFK's jetBlue terminal was very busy but thanks to TSA Pre ✅ we were through the security checkpoint in no time. We boarded around 9 am for a 9:30 departure, and then we waited and waited . For catering services to deliver the drinks and snacks for the flight - and more importantly the ice (according to our friend John in Seattle that worked for a few airlines on the ground). We departed an hour late. Surprisingly, nobody acted up and the flight was uneventful, except for the woman next to us that talked for three hours non-stop to her new friend across the aisle. She eventually fell asleep.

 

We had great views of Mt. Rainier and Mt. St. Helens (I believe) in the distance.

 

We arrived at SeaTac about 30 minutes late and the rental car pickup as quick. We were able to check in and get to our room at the Mediterranean Inn in the Queen Ann District and unpacked before our friend John picked us up for a drive around tour of parts of the city. We ended up at Duke's Seafood on Union Lake for drinks and early snacks/dinner and then John dropped us off at the hotel.

 

We ended up watching the sunset from the hotel's roof deck and it was a lovely (early) end of a long day for the New Yorkers.

 

Tomorrow we will get our covid tests in Bellevue with some sightseeing there and also along the waterfront.

 

Hot weather will be with us the next few days: 85F on Wednesday, 94F on Thursday, 99F on Friday 😮 and 91F on Saturday.

 

For the Seattle locals: any suggestions for what to do on  those hot days? Head out of the city (Mt. Rainier, Bainbridge Island and further west?)

 

Now I need to get to bed; Richard is fast asleep.

 

 

 

 

 

That looks like a delightful hotel. 

4 hours ago, PG13 said:

OOP! Never mind found my answer ater reading on.SO I followed you directions and it worked well. But, it says that price for 15 minutes and I have to book the time. How the heck do you use the pool and bed in that time. Or is that like a gate way time you can enter?? Its been a long time since I went on HA, but previously I wondered in any time and stayed as long as I wish, especially the pool. If you could clarify I'd appreciate it we leave in 13 days. Thank you ahead of time, Pat

That is basically the question I have been asking. I hope you get an answer as that will help me 

10 hours ago, Charlies Aunt said:

I have purchased the spa pass for our up coming cruise but now that masks are mandatory inside I cant see how the spa can safely operate. I certainly have no wish to wear a mask whilst in there. I await the answer to this with interest.

 

Was it for a specific time slot?