Daisygirl06

We will! Should be great weather for whale watching! Have seen many whales on our way in this morning.

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We’re on the Eurodam.. 65 degrees with a light breeze. Downtown is in sight.

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We have been on both the NA and the Koningsdam. We have been sailing on HAL since our early 30’s and are still quite young for HAL demographics mid 40’s/50. Having said that, we are passionate about the line and love it’s classic and uncrowded feel.

We were on the Koningsdam in her inaugural 6 months for 3 weeks to Uk/Iceland/Norway. It was planned for a year and I counted down the days and watched every detail about the new ship build. We couldn’t wait to be on the newest ship. The ship was beautiful but something wasn’t right. It took us a week to figure out that we were not relaxing as usual because it was just too crowded! It left us stressed. We couldn’t get away from people. Elevators, lounges, shops, lido, pool.... always people everywhere! They were setting up folding tables around the pool so people would have a place to eat. Again, I loved the ports but would have had a much better time on a Signature class ship (NA or Eurodam).

We have been on the NA several times and love that ship. We have hardly ever waited for an elevator or felt crowded by passengers on that class of ship. We can always find a quiet corner of the ship to relax.

You mentioned that you loved the intimate feel of the Volendam. If the space ratio is important to you, you might want to consider the NA over the NS. To us it was a big deal! For others, maybe not.

You can look up websites where they list the passenger space ratio for all cruise ships. The NA is 34 while the NS will be only 31 like it’s sister the Koningsdam. The Volendam is 36. The higher the number, the more “space” it has when fully booked.

I hope you have a great time and I want to offer a different perspective than others may have. The crowdedness of a ship is very important for our enjoyment. We thought all HAL ships would feel spacious. (We learned that wasn’t true the hard way after our Koningsdam trip). For us, the drop in passenger:space ratio between the Signature and Pinnacle classes was too much. We will not be choosing the Kdam or NS in the future.

Again, I hope your delayed honeymoon is fabulous and you enjoy every minute of it. Best wishes!

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We stayed in that very suite and loved it!! It was close to elevator and stairs. It was not noisy. Best of all, you only have one “verandah neighbor “! We would choose that cabin again over one closer to the Neptune Lounge. Remember in that class ship there is only a forward and aft staircase/elevator (no midship ones). It was VERY convenient! Here is a picture of the outside of the ship...

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Got through security Pre-tsa really quick. Actually the regular line was even shorter. Pretty empty line. But arrived in Delta terminal and there is literally so seats. Crazy crowded. I travel for work a bit and i have never seen the delta terminal so packed. Can you say "germ city"!

 

 

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We'll meet you in a few days [emoji4] We're sitting in the Indianapolis airport ready to fly through JFK to CPH! We're very excited as well and can't wait to get there at 11 am tomorrow morning.

There's no better feeling than being at the airport ready to fly to our embarkation city. [emoji4]

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We got some Krone out of an ATM in our first stop (Oslo), and it came in handy occasionally, mostly for convenience. I did have a situation where a taxi driver's wireless credit card reader kept failing to connect, and I was glad to have cash in that situation. We ended up with a bunch left over, which we used for tips.

 

Most places in tourist areas will also accept Euros, but not at a good exchange rate. And they give back change in Krone.

Thanks so much for your reply. Also thanks to JJPacer.

Now only 2 days more of work and then we fly "across the pond" on Thursday. :)

Thanks to all posters in the past few months about the Koningsdam! It really has helped us live vicariously until it was our time!!

We are getting on the 21 day cruise leaving next Sunday. Just a quick question about local currency... Did you find that you needed any local currency in Norway for smaller items, shops, or bathrooms?

Thanks for your thoughts about your cruise. We are doing the same itinerary the last 7 days.

I make another daily reader. We board in a month and are giddy with anticipation! Your blog makes the time pass more quickly. [emoji4]

Thanks for taking the time to do this!

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It looks phenomenal! We've been to Alaska 4 times. Guess we'll have to make a 5th trip now to see all that this place has to offer. Congratulations on being one of the first people to enjoy it. The celebration coin is very nice!

Lisa-

Thank you for all the time you are spending to update us!

Can you confirm if they will be honoring the Mariner discount for the Grand Dutch Cafe and Gelato?

Cindy

I too want to add my congratulations to everyone going on this first voyage! I don't post often but I love to read the HAL blogs. We are scheduled on the Kdam in August and I am giddy with anticipation! I will be racing home from work daily so that I can catch up on this blog. :)

I too would love to hear more about Sel de Mer and the food offerings in the Grand Dutch Cafe.

I hope you have a fabulous time!! Once you finally get there I hope it goes by slowly so you can treasure each and every moment!

All the best...

Cindy

We just got off the Veendam in March and stayed in 002. It was the best neptune we have stayed in given the location. It is right next to the stairs and elevators. It was easy to navigate around the ship. We loved having only one balcony next to us.

No way you could not have a wonderful time with Clifford- he is our favorite PG server! Since you were in PG every night did you keep your same table?

 

We always check in with the Manager after we board and try to get one of our favorite tables (or servers).

Yes! We got the same table and Clifford every night. He also served us breakfast daily since we were in a suite. Raj the manager was very accommodating and he was delightful as well. We had met him on a previous cruise.

As we think back over the last 12 HAL cruises so many of the PG servers stand out to us. We bonded with Clifford and hope to see him on our next cruise in November.

I would like to offer a different opinion. We have eaten in the Pinnacle well over 75 times. I just got off the Westerdam yesterday. We ate in the PG every night. We think that the food is great as well as the service. I find that most Americans (and I am one) do not appreciate the art of fine dining. The meal/experience is not meant to resemble a Texas Roadhouse/Outback or any other typical American steakhouse.

It seems that there has been a lot of Pinnacle bashing on these boards. I am not saying that they haven't had an "off" night. We have had an occasional meal that was not up to their normal standard. 98% of the time their service and food was spot on. The entire experience is meant to take in upwards of 2 hours. They plan their schedule according to this.

I realize that this experience may not be for everyone. I just want to offer a different perspective. We get to know the Pinnacle stewards and managers on every ship. They work very hard to give guests exceptionable service. We find that if you are having a problem with your meal, they try to make it right immediately. If your service was not to your liking they offer you another night on them. They bend over backwards to be accommodating and give guests a great experience. Having said this there will always be those guests who nothing is ever right for them. We witnessed it last week with one couple who made an entire scene and disrupted the entire restaurant.

I do not wish to be negative on this board so I will not elaborate about the difficult passengers. I do want to remind people that they are on vacation, enjoying gracious service, beautiful surroundings and scenery, and having someone serve you 24 hours a day. Relax and be kind to the staff! You will go farther with a smile and gracious attitude than with a short and snippy one. Be thankful you are able to afford the luxury of the cruising experience and don't be entitled! OK... I'll get off my soapbox now ;)

I just want to encourage people to try the PG. Maybe you'll fall in love with it like we have! We finally feel at home on HAL when we are relaxing and dining in the PG. it is our happiest place on the ship.

BTW, we had Clifford and Wisnu and they made dining fun!!

Just off the Westerdam yesterday. We had no invitation to anything upon embarkation, we even asked at check in. They said they were not having embarkation lunch this cruise.

 

 

 

We did receive an invitation to the Mariners brunch and attended. It was well attended as the dining room was packed. That was the only thing we were invited to and there was nothing given out as we had read there would be.

The mariners reception on embarkation day was listed in the daily program. At check in they told us that the main dining room was open to all.

Just got off the Westerdam today. The Vista dining room was open to all guests for lunch on embarkation day. I think this made it less complicated and everyone was welcome. I'm guessing the reception was scheduled as a little something special for the Mariners. I'm not sure how many attended this, but I thought it was a nice gesture for those that were interested. We opted to settle into our room instead.

They are delicious and like McDonalds frappes on their McCafe menu. It is a frozen ice chocolate or carmel coffee drink with whipped cream. [emoji39]

Loving your blog!! We are getting on the Westy when you are getting off [emoji4] It is an inspiration to get through these last few days of work. The prepacking has already begun. Laundry completed today...

Only a few more days until we hear the beloved 3 chimes welcoming us aboard (bong, bong, bong)...

I'm in my 40s and usually wear a black ankle length dress. I've never felt out of place. We were on a cruise that left out of Rotterdam last Fall. It was the dressiest cruise we had been on! Most of the passengers were Dutch and they are SNAPPY dressers. They were dressed smart casual during the day! We were glad we had brought some dressier clothes so we didn't feel out of place. ;)

This is just an FYI for all who might be sailing from the Netherlands.

Waiting for ours on the same sailing, what cabin category were you? Wondering if it is done by category.

We were SC guarantee... Got an SA :). I'm sure yours will be along soon.

Yes got ours today (Saturday)

May 9 on westerdam... Just got my assignment today :)