nooligans

9 hours ago, Haljo1935 said:

@nooligans I thought the same thing - your picture looks like the serving utensils are on the "public" side of the serving line. Are the servers on that side? The same side as the passengers?

Yes, the servers were on the same side. There is a line of passengers (in front and behind me), and the servers move from cake to cake to plate whichever cake you would like to try.

1 hour ago, JeLy_Beanz said:

They let you cut the cake and serve yourself? We just got off the NS in Feb. and they cut the cake when you asked for a slice.

Yes on the NS and Eurodam they sliced it and served you 😀

I was on the Eurodam last month, and am currently on the Nieuw Statendam. On both ships there is an event called “Cake Me Away” in the Lido on the last sea day. There are about 15 different kinds of cakes offered. You line up and can take slices from any cake. Here’s a photo from the Eurodam.

16 hours ago, albingirl said:

Rather demeaning don't you think?

“Demeaning” seems like a strong word for a light-hearted joke about a corporation’s IT service. Who exactly has been demeaned?

My memory was slightly off with respect to food charges on the Apex. Here’s some photos of the up-charges in the casual restaurants. 

13 hours ago, helen haywood said:

Are you referring to Cafe al Bacio?  All the food in the cases there is free.

I am currently on the Apex. The food at the Cafe al Bacio is free, but right across the corridor there is a bakery that charges for each piece of pastry (croissants, cookies, etc.). There is also a sports pub that charges for food (for instance, $9 for french fries).

1 hour ago, Stratheden said:

Geez!  So all of this huge thread has been about 1 cocktail a day. 

Well, 2 cocktails a day for a couple, for cruises that can last 14 or more days - this adds up if you aren’t on the HIA package. And it’s also about HAL being uniform in their policies.

FWIW, the Happy Hour on the Nieuw Statendam is now at 4pm, and is 50 percent off each drink. So sometimes passengers’ input has an effect on policy! 

1 minute ago, The-Inside-Cabin said:

I heard they were wanting hard copy boarding passes.    Was that your experience?

Yes. Employees came down the line and printed hard copies for those who didn’t have one

1 minute ago, The-Inside-Cabin said:

I heard they were wanting hard copy boarding passes.    Was that your experience?

Yes. Employees came down the line and printed hard copies for those who didn’t have one

4 minutes ago, The-Inside-Cabin said:

We may wait till 2:30.   Are you in line? 

Yes- the line stays constant at about 1,000 feet. Slowly moving 

3 minutes ago, The-Inside-Cabin said:

We are staying in hotel till 2 pm.  Then walking over 

Good idea - very long line outside!

This is how it looks on my iPad. The “sold out”  option is circled in green. It shows up after I picked a destination and a ship.

It looks like most of the Zuiderdam cruises are sold out. That’s why they don’t appear in the search results. Are you looking at the HAL website?  You can click on the “Sold Out” icon to check on this.

On the NS they are using both the old and the new tags - very confusing!

2 hours ago, Dunmore2 said:

I’m impressed with how many selections there are, especially with the appetizers. Were you required to order a day ahead?

Yes, I was asked to order the day ahead. They may be able to accommodate a same-day request, but I am not sure.

Here is a photo of the vegetarian menu from the NS from last month. I ordered my items the day before. The soups and appetizers were excellent - even my meat-eating husband ordered them. The entrees were a mixed bag, but of course this can vary ship to ship (and on one’s personal preference).

Thank you for your detailed review - I was also on your cruise and agree with your comments. We experienced the same issues in the MDR on nights 1 and 2. We had been on several of the previous NS cruises, and know that the number of crew members stayed the same, even though your cruise had about 50 percent more passengers. Many of the crew who disembarked on the 27th told us that HAL had asked them to stay on, but they were being overloaded with work and just wanted to go home.

The food and wine service was not much better in the specialty restaurants. I try to have sympathy for HAL due to supply chain issues and crew shortages, but they really should wait to increase passenger numbers until they can fix their current issues.

I’ve been on the Eurodam, Rotterdam and NS all since December. They all have had the raffle on embarkation day - same format as always. 🙂

You will only get a confirmation email from HAL, usually the Cabana name or number included. It won’t show up in your account online.

I usually make sure I have a copy of the email when I board, but I’ve never had to show it. 

Cabanas are the best! Have fun.

We are currently on the NS - yesterday afternoon the captain announced that as of 3/1,  masks are recommended, but are required only in the casino, the World Stage, and the medical center.  

I haven’t been out this morning, but last evening most people were still wearing masks.

I’m currently on the NS - there are some free classes (such as Morning Stretch and Total Body Conditioning - 1/2 hour classes), and some that cost $20 for a 1 hour class, such as Yoga, Pilates, TRX and Boot Camp. Personal training is $100 per hour. And as Mary299 mentioned you can purchase a pass for all classes offered on the cruise - I believe that costs $100.

The fitness center is never very crowded and everyone can spread out when the use the treadmills and ellipticals.

13 hours ago, idiebabe said:

You only mentioned in your other Post the Group in BB King who were not wearing Masks.  If passengers are sitting down and having a drink, it is my understanding that they don’t have to wear a Mask. This was the case on both my Rotterdam and NS Cruises.   Were there passengers walking around Indoors not wearing them?  I was on NS early December and thought the Crew was very good reminding anyone not wearing a Mask or not wearing it properly to do so.  
 

Just curious how lax has it become?  

Yes passengers are allowed to remove masks while drinking but they are maskless on the dance floor and while walking around. Enforcement was great last week on the Rotterdam but is very lax on NS. 

2 minutes ago, BellKat said:

I will speak to our friend who works for Holland corporate about this. He’s adamant about people wearing masks.I’m sure he will speak to the appropriate people. Thanks for the heads up.

Thank you so much! I was on the Rotterdam last week- compliance worked well and conditions improved enough that the crew could get off the ship. It would be wonderful  see that on NS as well. 

6 hours ago, BellKat said:

We are on Nieuw Statendam right now. We missed Half Moon Cay yesterday due to winds. The staff was amazing about jumping in & revising the days activities within 2 hours. The captain came on at 8:00 am with the announcement that we would not be stopping. Everything (except a group of very rude people in BB King - no masks, would not shut up so we could hear the ban d) has been excellent. We are with a group called Sail with Seth (He’s their brand ambassador and a friend) so we are getting a few extras but even without that we can’t say enough good things about the ship and the crew. We had dinner at Rudi’s last night and it was amazing. They are getting very few patrons & we don’t understand why. I guess some of that is that there are less than 750 people on board. Which we are loving. Today we are in Grand Turks and so far the weather is lovely. Getting off soon to explore & do a tour. 

Sorry to hijack this thread but we are also on the NS. PLEASE let guest services know how you feel about the maskless. We speak to them every day but nothing seems to change. 

Thank you for this thread! We are also on the NS and are enjoying it as much as you.
 

We were on the Rotterdam last week and saw much better mask compliance there. We visit the NS guest services every day asking for better enforcement of the mask policy, but so far it’s not any better. The irony is that the Rotterdam crew are allowed off the ship, but not the NS crew- you’d think the staff and officers would be eager to get Covid under control!