glutenhab

43 minutes ago, Crew News said:

Another vote for aft-facing staterooms and their ideal photo opportunities.

 

Since the thrusters are directly below, vibration in aft staterooms is felt when the ship is nudging sideways into/from a pier.  It is my experience that this vibration happens for several minutes and not during hours when passengers are sleeping.  I am always on my balcony watching the delicate maneuvers so the noise does not bother me.

 

The sound of the wake makes the most soothing sleeping atmosphere possible.

From my experience, vibration, sometimes fairly heavy, is a common occurrence in the MDR. This would be my main concern with these rooms.

Wake noise would also worry me. I like quiet.

6 hours ago, 0106 said:

I love aft cabins.  I have never been bothered by the noise.   They pick up the pool lounge chairs before you go to bed and set them back up in the morning.  It is not like being under the Lido Restaurant with carts rolling early in the morning and late at night.  

Aft in the main dining room & sometimes even on deck 9 there will be a very noticeable vibration at times. Do you feel this in aft cabins? Also, how about noise from the ship wake, which is very noticeable on deck 3?

How is the noise level from these? 
Concerned about noise from the wake/rudders/vibration etc. 

Often get this in the main dining room, which is also aft but on decks 2 & 3.

10 hours ago, Petersonfcu said:

Not sure what  your point is.  If you spend nothing in the casino .   .  .  you should not expect to get subsequent casino offers.

My point is that even though we are very close to being 4 Star Mariners we have never received any offers (neither free/upgrades/upsells), just as I stated. I said nothing about expecting to receive casino offers. Just wondering why so many are getting offers while we aren’t. If it’s because they gamble, then that would be the answer. But some say they don’t gamble and get offers. Just trying to figure out why. 
 

Seems even newbies to HAL & non-gamblers are being offered things we are not, despite our first cruise with HAL being 12 years ago.

Cruising right now for 51 nights & will be 4-Star afterwords and have NEVER received anything like this. Nor have we ever been offered an upgrade or even an upsell. Have booked directly & through travel agents and spend $0.00 in the casino. What gives here?

Don’t think anybody actually answered your one simple question;

On sea days, can we order meals (breakfast/lunch/dinner) from their respective menus for delivery to our cabin (room service)?

Yes or No?

21 minutes ago, pghflyer said:

How are folks getting upgrade offers (ex. phone, email)? I am new to HAL and have used the cruise line emails for bidding from NCL/RCL but how does it work here? We booked through an agent and have a balcony for Australia on Noordam........just wondering if I need to whitelist something other than hollandamerica.com in my junk mail ha ha

We will be 4 star after our next cruise in October & have NEVER received an offer for an upgrade, paid or otherwise. We have booked multiple different ways over the years (trough HAL, on-line travel agents etc.). What’s up with that?

Seems like I’ve really opened a “can of W..ater” here.

56 minutes ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

You can’t bring it on anymore.

Yes you can, but can it be carbonated? That is the simple question I am asking.

Also effective June 2021, no non-alcoholic beverages will be permitted on the day of embarkation EXCEPT water in cans or cartons (absolutely no plastic bottles) at a limit of six liters per stateroom (i.e. 12 cans or cartons 500 ml or less) or 6 cans or cartons 1 liter or less).Oct 28, 2021

31 minutes ago, VMax1700 said:

Water allowance?  Are you referring to the drinks in a beverage package?

 

No. Was referring to the amount of water allowed to be brought aboard on embarkation.

Does water allowance on boarding include carbonated (Perrier/Bubly etc.)?

59 minutes ago, DaveOKC said:

Move one down to be safe - why have to worry about it if you can move, easy decision.

Looks like not many VA’s available but left this with my travel agent.

14 hours ago, rkacruiser said:

I would not book nor accept a stateroom in that location.  

Some Neptune suites have this location as well. When I booked it looked like an ideal location, VA on deck 6 directly mid-ship. Having second thoughts now though. Any other opinions on this cabin? We are on Westerdam in 6 weeks time for 51 days so don’t want the wrong room. Would one cabin down have this same problem?

12 hours ago, The-Inside-Cabin said:

Here is an earlier post of my with a photo and short video that shows what can been seen 

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2796134-cabin-6082-zuiderdam-question/?do=findComment&comment=62793477

Excellent info. Thanks for taking the time to post.

Really do not like this but not life or death I guess.

Do you think HAL would offer a different cabin if I asked?

We are booked in a VA that is midship (a room on one side, elevator/open area on the other).

Can we be seen on our balcony from the outside glass elevator?

3 hours ago, Crew News said:

Here is the Room Service call-in menu for the Nieuw Amsterdam (Signature and Pinnacle Class ships) with what is available.  Note that only a few items have a charge.  Room Service Menu

 

The Room Service Breakfast card that you hang on your door  handle before retiring is a different menu.  Here is the Breakfast card for staterooms that are not Neptune/Pinnacle Suites:  Room Service Breakfast Card

Am familiar with the “Room Service” menu. Also know that there are charges for certain items. My question was, can we order outside of these items (ie: Main Dining Room Menu) at mealtimes. Or, can I order a coffee & dessert at say 2:30 pm, for example.

Can we order from the main dining room menus for room delivery & if so, is this limited to certain times? Any charge for these deliveries?

On 7/20/2022 at 10:20 AM, DaveOKC said:

Lots of things already mentioned that I agree with, but need to add one - the ability to order dinner from the MDR menu to be sent to your cabin.  This really came in handy on one cruise when my Mom was not able to attend dinner but REALLY wanted the prime rib entrée.  We were able to dine on the balcony and enjoy the sailing from Vancouver while she got her favorite meal.

Is this always available? Was there a charge?

On 7/13/2022 at 1:25 PM, tuolumne couple said:

got it. We have sailed the Noordam, and from what we recall, as on several ships of this class, the free sauna on the Noordam is off to the side of the entrance to the greenhouse spa, before the beauty shop. That space is free, and I hope you enjoy it. You can go from the pool to the sauna quite easily from that location. If you can possibly afford it, we do recommend the greenhouse spa. I am not sure how long your voyage it, but it is worth it in my opinion. 

Didn’t know this & we will be 4Star after our cruise in Oct/22. Is there one on Westerdam & if so, where is it?

On 7/14/2022 at 10:01 AM, Caribbean Chris said:

You don’t have to call. Reserve an open seating table for the Main Dining Room using the same online process as if you were reserving a specialty restaurant. Go all the way through check-out, which will show zero due. You’ll get an email confirmation.

 

I did this for an upcoming Christmas cruise after I could not get my preferred fixed Early Seating. No specialty restaurants were available for Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, but I noticed I could book the MDR for any night. And so I reserved the whole cruise that way.

 

 

Could you please show EXACTLY how to do this step-by-step (what page to start/what to click on etc exactly)?

Trying but the only options I see are the specialty restaurants and selecting any of those does not lead to the main dining room.

On 7/14/2022 at 10:26 AM, dog said:

I may be too early as it just shows menus for dining.

2 hours ago, DaveOKC said:

Who/how do you book your cruise with.  Some large agencies do not pass along upsell offers to their clients.

 

Have booked trough both HAL & larger agencies. Have always selected the option of being contacted for upgrades/upswells.

Always book longer itineraries (24-60 days). Sometimes these are b2b’s so I assumed they did not want to take up a better cabin for 2 or more cruises as the reason we were NEVER offered anything. Is that possible?

Will be a 4 Star Mariner after our Oct/22 cruise & have NEVER been offered an upsell or gotten an upgrade. WHAT’S UP WITH THAT?

Have cruised many lines & have most our days with HAL. Just did our first Princess cruise (26 days on Enchanted Apr 9 to May 4). Our thoughts;

Princess:

- Larger ships

- Good itineraries but less stops

- Noisy, crowded (but lovely looking) atrium area

- Music (often overlapping) always playing in all areas, both inside & out

- Outdoor movies (loud) playing day & night 

- NO quiet areas to be found anywhere

- Smaller cabins by category

- Small showers

- No couch in balconies

- No curtain between bed & sitting area for separation in balconies

- No roof closure for pool

- No front viewing inside area (like Crow’s Nest on HAL)

- Quiet A/C in room (unable to hear)

HAL;

- Smaller ships

- Great itineraries with many stops

- Quiet areas both inside & out

- Larger cabins by category

- Bathtubs in balconies

- Small couch & curtain for separation in balconies

- Roof closure for pool area

- Enrichment talks 

- Crow’s Nest with large inside forward viewing area, usually quiet

- Updated Explorers Lounge in Crow’s Next

- Loud A/C in room always running

For the most part I think service, food quality & entertainment are fairly comparable. 

On 6/7/2022 at 11:16 PM, erewhon said:

@glutenhab The Taieri Gorge train has been de-commissioned due to lack of tourists,   there has been no date  set for the restart.

😭Unfortunate. Loved this last time we did it. Thanks for the info though.