RuthC

I agree. Restaurant and lounge service was poor, at best. I have great difficulty, and pain, walking (and did when I sailed Oceania). When returning to the ship, I scraped my hand, tore the skin off, and was bleeding profusely. I headed straight to the Front Desk, which was on the same deck as the gangway, to ask for a bandage. This has been a frequent request on HAL, who has always helped, so was the first thing I thought to do. They refused to help, trying to send me to the Medical Office, on another deck, to get the bandage. As I said, walking wasn't easy, and I didn't want to be dripping blood while panicking on a long, painful, walk. I did finally get them to help, but they should have done it willingly! Needless to say, though, I am not a fan of the 'service' on board Oceania.

Are you saying the price increased more than the additional cost of Club Orange? Very strange. I have not read of this happening before, and believe there is a mistake somewhere. Have your TA get to the bottom of this. It's how they earn their commission.

You can.

Define 'long'. I wouldn't have tried to walk it even when I could walk well. Other people wouldn't have trouble doing the distance. I don't remember whether or not there were taxies when I left the ship.

If you have written confirmation of your onboard credits (I always receive a copy of this), and for your Club Orange purchase, why do you need to see it on the website? I always have a written copy of everything that's included in my booking, whether from the booking itself, or an add-on that I have purchased. That includes on-board credits, HIA inclusions, shore excursions I have purchased, specialty dinners, spa/salon purchases, and have never felt the need to see if they are listed on the website. It's the paperwork that matters, and is what is accepted as confirmation if something were ever to go wrong.

I don't remember that, but I believe it happened. I did know one person who turned down the offer to join the group. Also, quite a few years ago.

I haven't seen what I would call 'late' dining in a long time, and certainly not 'late' entertainment. Late dinner used to be at 8:15, now it is at 7:30. The late show was at 10:00, which gave a comfortable amount of time to come in from the day, shower and change for dinner, have some cocktail time, dine, and then see the show. The proper order to the end of the day! After the show there was still plenty of entertainment around the ship, including music and dancing in the Ocean Bar until 1:00 AM, and the Piano Bar closing as late as 2:00 AM (dropped to 1:00 AM shortly after I started closing that bar). Crow's Nest had music until at least 11:00, and then switched to disco for a couple of hours. I'm convinced HAL wants us all snuggled in our beds so the officers and crew can call it a night.

Which defeats the purpose of choosing late dining. If you need to get to the show for 6:00 PM, then you still need to end your afternoon early, and come in to shower and dress for dinner. Then you are finished with dinner sometime around 9:00-ish, but much of the entertainment offered closes down not much later. It's as if HAL WANTS people to go to bed early so they can close down.

Those of us who have been around HAL a while have met, or heard of, at least one passenger who is in the President's Club. I wonder how many people have the required number of nights aboard to qualify for this exclusive club, but never were invited to join? Anyone ever hear of that circumstance? I did once know one person who declined an invitation to join, but never heard of one who wasn't even asked.

In general, Oceania's dress code is not very dressy, however, people do tend to dress up to the code. They dress a lot better on a 'casual' scale than so many HAL passengers do.

All of this is normal. You are sailing in uncharted waters here, and it will take a while to get through this. Be kind to yourself, and take all the time you need before you start moving on.

Cabin sizes on the Veendam and Volendam are the same in comparable categories. Identical. There are 'insides' and 'large' insides; the large insides are, well, larger! The large insides are normally 186 sq. ft., while the outsides on the Main and Dolphin Decks on the Volendam are 196 sq. ft. There are a few insides, not handicap accessible, that are larger still, but that isn't pertinent to your inquiry. On the Lower Promenade Deck, yes, the outside cabins are smaller than the insides across the passageway. I've been in many inside cabins on many cruises, and a few outside cabins on all eight S- and R-class ships. I could unpack in any of them blindfolded! (ok, maybe a slight exaggeration)

More likely is that there were one (or two---in any case, a small number of) cabins left, and a lot of guarantees to be placed. If so, then selling that one (or two) cabins would have the ship filled, and close off the cabins, as your PCC noted. The Standby bookings are in case someone has to forego the cruise at the last minute. It happens.

Oh, Bruno, I am so sorry to read this news. He was so fortunate to have you, even to his last. I hope you can take comfort in knowing you did your best for him. May you both rest peacefully until you see each other again.

He's a keeper!

Your cabin is on the port side. At least on the Nieuw Statendam, the smoking area is on starboard. I don't see how smoke could both cross over the entire Sea View area, AND drop down one deck to your balcony.

I was picturing the Pinnacle ships when I posted that, as that was the class of the last ship I was on. Of course, you're right---on other classes, musicians don't have to break for an entire set so as not to conflict with another group. However, all else you posted about the procedure in the Westerdam Billboard Onboard still keeps it from being a piano bar, which is certainly my preference. Even if HAL would reintroduce Piano Bars on the remaining R-class ships, that would work for me. And it would leave a choice for HAL patrons.

I was always especially fond of 'Encore', as the music and the costumes were both gorgeous! I only got to see it twice, but could have seen it more times, had it been offered. I used to love 'Copacabana', but that was around a while, and I know others got kind of sick of it. I didn't, but then I only saw it 2-3 times.

I remember Glenn Michael from a stint he did as the musician in the Piano Lounge (it was a lounge on that ship, as opposed to a Piano Bar). He was really, really good in that role. Over the years I have found the requests that some of the musicians have are less spontaneous than formerly, when there were real Piano Bars, and being limited to (usually) the end of the evening, a lot less fun. Then, of course, the musician has to know the songs requested! The people Seattle is hiring these days do not tend to have extensive repertoires.

That's good to hear. However, I am willing to bet that the revamped Billboard Onboard is still doing only sets, with breaks the length of sets in Rolling Stone Rock Room, and that those sets are mainly comprised of songs approved by Seattle. That's still not a Piano Bar. I would love for HAL to return to those intimate rooms of yore, where the musician took his cues from the passengers who were there all night, every night.

A step in the right direction! The former production shows were so much better than the One Step Dance Company that replaced them. Now, if HAL can only return classical music and bring back Piano Bars! That would be wonderful.

I wouldn't plan on it at all. First, the 7:00 AM time is more likely arrival time. The ship still needs to be cleared. The self-disembarking passengers usually leave around 7:30 +/- 15 minutes. Second, the ride up to Anchorage is at least an hour, depending on traffic. If there's an accident, add in a LOT of time. Third, you would need to check in at the tour company, which will also take a little time. I would either stay over an extra day, or plan on doing something else.

Right place at the right time?

A 7-night cruise should have 2 'dressy' nights. You can order as many dishes as you want. But please, if you order them, eat them (unless they are not fit to eat).

Quick correction on your typo (if you don't mind): The current Rotterdam is Rotterdam VII. (I know my Rotterdam's going back to Rotterdam V)