bichonsx2

On 7/31/2019 at 9:19 PM, smj said:

We are considering the eurodam for a Seattle to Seattle. Victoria the the last port on the evening before returning to Seattle. Is it possible to disembark in Victoria?

We were on the Konigsdam this past June and requested to disembark when we arrived in Naples (the day before the end of the cruise.  We made the request of HAL and they sent us a letter of approval.  All went smoothly!

On 8/23/2019 at 6:53 AM, terrydtx said:

We were on the Noordam in July and I have to agree she needs a lot of work with worn out carpet and furniture everywhere. Our SS cabin still had the small 24" TV on the desk and it was worthless. The furniture on our balcony was in terrible shape and the cushions were stained and torn. We were told the dry docking was going to upgrade all cabins to the 42" interactive TV's and new furniture. The crows nest is going to get the HAL Explorers Lounge upgrade which I disagree with as it us one of my favorite public places on HAL ships. She will get the same upgrades that the Westerdam got last year.

 

Other than the needs of dry docking we enjoyed our Noordam cruise, service was 100% fantastic and up to HAL standards. You will not be disappointed  on your Noordam cruise.

thank you for your encouraging reply!!

23 hours ago, RocketMan275 said:

You have to have a trip booked to get to  flight ease with Holland. 

You access flight ease from Manage My Bookings.

Open Travel Planning.

Then pre and post travel.

Then open flights.

 

If you don't have a cruise booked, use this trick.  Holland and Princess use the same engine.  The flights and prices are the same.

Pretend you're booking a cruise on princess that has the same beginning and ending as the one you want to see on Holland.  Once you open the cruise on princess, there is a button Flight Quotes.  Then you do a fake flight booking to see what's available and the price.  It's much easier than it sounds.

I realized it right after I had hit send!  lol  all is good.  We are booked and looking so forward to this cruise! 

Thanks

21 hours ago, Hlitner said:

We have used Flightease which often has terrific prices on Business/First Class International prices.  However, we do not let "HAL to make reservations."  Once your disembarkation date is within the 330 day airline booking window, we simply access Flightease through our online HAL account (usable even if we book through a cruise agency), check out various air options and pricing and make a decision whether to book on Flightease.  That is an automated process (handled by the same company that does both Princess and Seabourn).  No need to talk to any HAL employee (who have limited knowledge regarding airlines).  Using the Flightease online software allows us to look at multiple airports, flights, and airlines.  When booked on the Flightease site you will immediately get an airline booking/locator number and can usually double check the reservation on an airline's own site.  A nice benefit of using Flightease are the Flex fares which are not actually ticketed until 45 days prior to the cruise.  Up until that time you can cancel or modify the reservation with no penalty or other cost.

 

Hank

how do you get to Flightease?

1 hour ago, sailingdutchy said:

 

Sorry I have no idea if there are any special updates for the Noordam . There will be a lot of painting going on , lots of new carpet installed and possibly some of the venues changed around to accommodate entertainment that is in vogue . A lot can be achieved in a couple of weeks with most of the crew still on board ship plus al of the contractors .

I never put much value in big negative stories , some people are always negative and should stay at home . We have had some 30 cruises and sure there are small issues here or there but some people like to exaggerate to get at a company they do not like .

 

Where there is sea water there will be rust , it does not matter how often they paint .

Have a great cruise on the Noordam ! 

Tony 

Hey Tony thanks so much for your update. It made me feel better!  We always enjoy!!!

On 8/1/2019 at 12:10 PM, sailingdutchy said:

 

 

Thank you very much for the latest updates . With 4 cruises in my near future this can be important . I noticed that  where or what the Westerdam is doing from Jan 4 until Jan 16 2020 is still a mystery . I guess I will find out what's up when I get on board on the 16th ! 

Can you possibly tell me what will be done to the Noordam?  Do they update the cabins?  I have read many reviews which are actually rather negative about the ship and the cabins.  Rust in the bathrooms, on balconies, etc.  Anything you could tell us would be greatly appreciated.  We were on the Noordam about 8 years ago and we loved her. 

We will be on the Noordam 12/7/19 cruise from Sydney to N.Z.  I have been reading very negative reviews about the Noordam...saying she is very dingy and service is horrible.  We were told that the Noordam is due for a 2-week drydock refit in September.  Does anyone know what they can do to update the ship in just 2 weeks?

1 hour ago, RedmondCruiser said:

I booked back in June for a 35 day cruise from Seattle to Lima and back to San Diego.  A Signature Beverage Package was included.  The rules were then 15 drinks per day with a maximum of $11 per drink (I don't know who could consume that much alcohol)  I was told that the surcharge of 15% was not included.  Just did a booking change and now the confirmation states that the maximum is $9 per drink and that will include the 15% surcharge.  Can they change the rules and amounts in mid stream ?   My wife does not drink and I don't drink that much but looking at the web site it still lists $11 per drink.  Can anyone unravel this for me  

my husband and I don't drink that much either.  We bought wine at the duty free shops at some of our ports and kept the wine in our room.  HAL seems to be nickel and diming everything nowadays.  The price for the Beverage Package is just too expensive.

Mom33 - We were also relieved! ha ha

AIA - ken - we also enjoyed meeting you both. We'll be curious to see what your next cruise will be. Hope you got your luggage back. What a pain.

JCarlisle - we took good care of D207 for you! I know you will enjoy.

Elainemh - We enjoyed meeting you and your daughter at the sailaway as well. Too bad we didn't bump into each other during the rest of the cruise. Hope your trip home was smooth and uneventful!

Bluesea321 - Thankfully...no power outages! Wishing you the same.

We were so very excited to begin our Royal Princess cruise after so many months of chatting with our roll call friends. And were not disappointed! For sure, the weather cooperated until the last sea day.

We took a cab from the airport because we had to stop at Total Wine on the way to pick up our wine. Unfortunately, the traffic was horrendous and so backed up right at the pier. We did have to wait about 45 minutes in line to check in...but once we were inside and saw the piazza, we just let the other things roll off our backs. We met our roll call members at Sailaway at Outriggers. Really a fun time. After chatting with each other for so many months and to finally meet in person.

Our cabin was lovely (D207) we had a deluxe balcony. Very nicely appointed, we didn't find the balcony too terribly small, the toilet paper location is certainly not a spoiler. We didn't watch the TV too much, but it served its purpose. It took a little while to figure out, but worked fine. Our cabin steward, Jun, was efficient and always cheerful. We appreciated his attention. We were very happy campers!

We didn't love the food in the Symphony. We had any time dining, the service was for the most part good...the food just wasn't terrific. There were only 3 or 4 entree choices each evening, and not always so appealing. We did end up going to Crown Grille and Sabatini's on both formal nights. We decided to not bring formal clothing this trip, and it worked out FINE!!! We really enjoyed not "schlepping" all of the extra clothing. Our meal in Crown Grille was superb. I had a double order of the lamb chops and they melted in your mouth. My DH had a gorgeous steak that he loved! Our meal in Sabatini's was also very good...but I would have to give the prize to Crown Grille. we even did Alfredos one nite for dinner..very good .but I would have to say that it's really more appropriate for lunch.

We did enjoy HC every morning for breakfast. Loved the chocolate croissants. OMG...so good. The eggs benedict were my least favorite (they were almost always overcooked). We had been spoiled by our cruise on Holland. They had an eggs benedict station with about 15 choices of eggs benedict - made to order as you waited. But for the most part, Horizon Court is really nice...very CLEAN and the servers are always pleasant and efficient.

We enjoyed the entertainment. David Cats was the illusionist and he was fantastic. Really enjoyed his show. We also enjoyed Steven White...a very very funny comedian. The Beatlemaniacs were awesome! We saw them in the theater and they also performed in the piazza on Friday nite and that place was rocking!!

The chair situation at the pool was problematic. But we went up to deck 17 and were usually able to find chairs. Loved the pizza out there and also Swirls ice cream. There was always something going on and the service was indeed attentive.

We enjoyed our day at Princess Cays...a gorgeous day...the tender ride was a bit bumpy but everyone made the most of it...laughing and raising their arms with every big bump. Rather funny. The barbeque is adequate...not great...not terrible.

St. Thomas was lovely as usual. The weather was beautiful. We went out to Magen's Bay for a few hours. We saw two dolphins frolicking in the water. Everyone was very busy with their cameras trying to capture them. Then into town to pick up a few things and had lunch at Coconuts in one of the cute little alleys. Just love St. Thomas!

St. Maarten was really beautiful. We worked out a deal with a taxi driver who first took us out to Airport Beach. We watched a few planes come in (really fun) and then he drove us through Simpson Bay area and took us to Dawn Beach. It was a beautiful beach with a lovely outdoor place for lunch. We stayed for a few hours and he came back to pick us up.

We spent a few hours in the casino most nights...just watching and playing the penny slots. On Sat. afternoon, we had our slot pull with our roll call members. It was really fun and we all came out with $10 more than going in.

There was a bit of excitement this morning after breakfast. We were on our way down to our cabin to check out and our elevator stopped at deck 11. The doors opened and there we saw several police, several ship security personnel, a german shepard and a passenger with his hands handcuffed behind his back. We guessed he was late 20's, early 30's? He was dressed in flip flops, lounge pants and tee shirt. We were all asked to exit the elevator so they could escort this passenger out. We (including the other people with us in the elevator) tried to figure out what was going on and concluded (obviously a guess) that perhaps they discovered drugs in his suitcase or something like that? It was a very creepy experience.

Our disembarkation was as smoothly as possible. We got our bags right away, had a wait of maybe 15 minutes to go through customs and arrived at the airport at 8:30 am, well ahead of our 11:45 am flight back to Philadelphia.

We gave this cruise a 9 out of 10. We truly relaxed which was our main goal. We loved the ship...she is quite beautiful. And the service was really very good. We would travel on the Royal again but definitely to a different itinerary.

Ken - I enjoyed reading your very thorough and succinct report of our April 6-13 cruise. I really feel terrible about your luggage mishap today. I guess it was too good to be true to have everything run so smoothly! We arrived home finally at 5:30 tonight (outside Phila). What a long day but what wonderful memories. It was fun getting to know everyone via roll call and then to actually meet in person at the sailaway and the slot pull. It was such fun!! Stay well.

I just checked with Princess again. We may bring 4 bottles of wine...the two bottles of wine for our cabin are free. The 2 bottles of wine for the dining room each have a $15 corkage fee. We may not bring anything larger than 750 ml. That's what I thought they said last night...but I had to confirm it.

Pam...I spoke to Princess last night. They told me we could bring 4 bottles on board...and we would have to pay corkage for the 3rd and 4th bottle OR ANYTHING THAT GOES TO THE RESTAURANT. I said to the guy "are you sure?"...it won't be confiscated? He said absolutely sure! Now I'm getting concerned. Please advise

Wow....am I glad I asked. And thanks, Pam, for the photo! You've all been so helpful.

Can anyone tell me the size of the hair dryers on the Royal ...Can they accommodate a diffuser (for curly hair) attachment? I really don't want to bring my own.:p

We lost our power for 3 days last week in the ice storm in PA, so I too went through withdrawal!!! We actually played board games by flashlight! Had a big storm again today and was nervous that the power would go out again...but so far we're good! April 6.....come on...hurry up!

Thank you so much for that splendid review and gorgeous pictures! Your way of describing everything was just as though we were having a back and forth chat. Loved it. Secret Harbor is on our list. We've already done the ferry over to St. John and Trunk Bay. So this time in St. Thomas we just want to plop ourselves on a beach.

We've decided not to take formal clothes this time. Just that decision alone made us relax even more!! We will go to one of the specialty restaurants on formal nights. Crab Shack sounds wonderful.

Where in the Northeast are you? We're expecting the snow/ice storm tonight into tomorrow and we absolutely cannot wait to get out of here for a week. We prefer 10 day cruises, but with my job, I'm not allowed to take more than 5 consecutive business days off. That stinks...but it is what it is.

Post more pictures if you can. They are so enjoyable!

loving your review. Can't wait to continue.

funinthesun86....thanks for GREAT review! So sorry you had to come home to this snowstorm. Where in PA are you? We're in Montgomery County and are right now getting 2 " of snow an hour. SOOOOO sick of this. Can't wait til our cruise on the Royal on April 6th!!!

Does anyone have any recommendations of medications to bring along just to have in case of a norovirus outbreak on your/our next cruise?? IS there anything that would be beneficial to have?

Lynne, I believe reservations can only be made once onboard. We want to do the same thing. We're going to book reservations for formal nights. We are not bringing any formal wear. Dressy casual is accepted.

Shelley

I've been reading posts about coffee cards. I feel really naieve not understanding the purpose as we've never purchased them before on any of our cruises. I believe I read that brewed coffee is not served in the MDR?? What the heck is it that you're drinking? Maybe I don't really want to know...lol. Thanks for any input.

We're on the 4/6/14 Royal cruise. :cool:

We did the Red Hook ferry to St. John a few years ago. We took a taxi to Red Hook...then the ferry over to St. John. Lots of taxis available where you enter St. John. Beautiful scenic ride to Trunk Bay. They have a little lunch place at the beach, picnic tables...absolutely breathtaking beach. I don't remember the cost but it is much less expensive than any excursion.

Dave, Barry and I have been mesmerized by your beautifully written review and exquisite pictures of your B2B on the Royal. We, as others, were initially concerned about the ship ...but now, not at all...thanks to you. We are going on this cruise to have fun and a great, relaxing vacation. We booked a deluxe balcony on Dolphin fore.

Wishing you a wonderful new year filled with abundant blessings and good health.