RuthC

San Diego is notorious for enforcing check-in times.

I have had to do as OP posts, but not always. Not even usually. How you get wheelchair assistance can vary greatly, depending on what port you are embarking at, and sometimes how a given port is doing it that day. I have been met with a wheelchair at the van or HAL transfer bus dropping me off, had to walk just inside to make the request, and a wheelchair has taken me from there. I have had to go part way with a port employee wheeling me, then left in a waiting area for a ship steward to board me on the ship. There is no consistency, including US embarkations vs. foreign, and even differences in US embarkations (which are usually more difficult).

Arriving as a solo in open seating, and wishing to dine with others, makes it very easy. There are several large tables, and those are always being filled with others (not necessarily solos) who want to dine with other passengers. If you wish to dine alone, there may be a wait. In that case they will want to seat you at a smaller table, and if all the tables for two are occupied, you may wait. On those nights when you want to be alone it may be preferable to have a reservation.

It makes no difference to me how the table steward records what I order for dinner, and sends that message to the galley. What does matter is that he gets the order right, and what is served to me is precisely what I asked for.

You could not make the 'chance' by going to see the maître 'd the day before, or even early the day that you would be dining in the dining room, and asking to see the menu and making a selection as if you HAD been in the dining room the evening before? I have found that if you do not ask, you do not get. Should be simple enough to go a little out of your way to ensure a pleasurable meal. I know the dining room staff go out of their way toward that purpose.

Exactly. They are two different things, serving two different purposes.

Well said.

The hydro pool is supposed to be warm---not hot. It is supposed to be about body temperature. It's a great place where people with heart conditions take a soak with those lovely bubbles. They aren't supposed to get in the hot tubs.

No 'perhaps' about it; HAL has definitely gone downhill at dinners since my O cruise. I've had several HAL cruises since that one, including one since the covid shutdown. I also read all the review and 'live from' threads that show dinner menus, and wonder what on earth I would want for dinner too many times. But for me, O was a 'one & done' experience. I am glad others find it to their taste, however.

You will find exceptions to the 'rule', but for the most part, this is true. As the class of ship gets newer, the size of cabins in the same categories gets smaller. This is true for all categories, as far as I have ever seen. I did not see the interiors of a lot of categories on the Pinnacle class.

Based on my experience on O, I would say the staff on HAL far exceeds that on Oceania. Entertainment was lacking; far behind what HAL offered at the time I sailed O. Food in most of the dining rooms was meh. Jacques was excellent, and the private, extra charge restaurant was fabulous. Service there was perfect, but for $250 for up to 10 people it should be.

No, but I respect your right not to elaborate. btw---my mother's father was a Mountie, and I have always had a great deal of respect for them.

Why not? HAL has reused ship names any number of times over the decades. The current Rotterdam is the 7th in that line. There have been several named Statendam, as well as the strangely named 'Nieuw Statendam. Also several Volendams, a couple of Prinsendams, and ... . Well, you get the idea. There is no rule that a ship's name can't be reused.

I've never seen shore excursion prices on HAL drop. I have seen additional departures of excursions offered, but if you want to take the train in Skagway, then I would book it now. Especially so if you want the luxury car. If you want to see the Lumberjack Show, you can do that on your own. It's not far from the docks (assuming no mobility difficulties), and tickets can be purchased there. I don't know if they can be purchased in advance on-line.

If your vision of the future of cruising is what comes to pass, I will be happy to be too old to cruise. It sounds awful.

The one TO the ship used to be included; I don't know if it still is, as I haven't done HAL air in a long time. IIRC, transfers FROM the ship to the airport also were included, but I am not certain that was the case.

I would stick my nose in the Hotel Manager's office, let him know the what, when, and where, and ask him to go (or delegate) someone to go check on it right away. I would even offer to show him myself, just to be sure he caught the right party.

I know they are. On my last cruise I liked to clear out my mail daily, trashing the junk mail, and reading what I enjoy before trashing. Anyway, some of the things I do enjoy have news clips in them. I could open the mail, read the text, but could not get anything when I tried to access a clip or two.

Then maybe HAL should go back to having a Piano Bar---at least on the ships that used to have one. Getting rid of Billboard Onboard not only wouldn't cost them anything, it would save them the cost of one musician!

Try finding some pasta of some sort that's a similar shape and size (I used the household spaghetti, but something closer to ciggy size would have been better). You will get to hold it, and roll it between your fingers, as you would a cigarette. If you need to, you can even gnaw on it! Truly, it helped. (no, don't cook the pasta.)

I am certain that HAL shares info with Carnival Corporation, who shares within the Carnival 'family' of lines. However, I am not aware if they share beyond that. I have gotten mail from other cruise lines, but sometimes I am able to tell by the way they have mangled my name that they didn't get it from HAL.

Just curious: at any point in that 'rant' (as you call it) did you make any references to 'legal action', talking to a lawyer, or anything at all that could be construed as potential litigation? Something like that would shut down any communication from shipboard staff.

I once saw a man in the Lido who I wish had been wearing a robe. He came in from the Sea View Pool wearing a Speedo---and nothing else. His gut was about the size of Octomom just before she gave birth. He walked the full length of the Lido, giving me an appetite curbing view the entire time.

Sounds hopeful. I hope the new standards are met.

Not quite. Zaandam is the sister ship to the Volendam. Both are R-class ships, as were the Rotterdam VI, and the Amsterdam. Maasdam was an S-class ship, along with the Statendam, Ryndam, and Veendam.