RuthC

10 minutes ago, Gunther1 said:

I don’t mind quiet  music…..as long as I have the option of not hearing it.  As far as I know, there is no public space on any damn ship where that option exists :(. It’s everywhere.

I detest coming up to the Lido for breakfast, not a drop of coffee yet in me, and listening to that awful 'music' coming out of the speakers. 
Can't they let me regain consciousness in peace??? 

I realize the crew likes to hear the music, and it is great for their morale, but the passengers should come first. 

25 minutes ago, The-Inside-Cabin said:

My next cruise is the 28 day Alaska on the Westerdam.  June 7th.

Me, too! 

1 hour ago, dopey1200 said:

Were you ever bothered by sounds from the stairs or elevators? 

Never. But then I sleep like the dead. 

The bed's headboard is against the cross passageway. The desk and a closet are on the stair side of the cabin. The bathroom and the other closets are against the crew passageway. 
On the Rotterdam there was even an extra outlet on the long passageway wall! But the other three R-class ships didn't have that feature. 

54 minutes ago, dopey1200 said:

My cabin is one deck directly above 1877, so I'm excited to have a slightly bigger cabin. I kind of thought those lengthwise cabins were a little larger, but my cruise consultant would not admit to that. I'd rather have a slightly bigger cabin than a remodeled bathroom!

Then you must be in cabin 2619---my favorite cabin on all the R-class ships ever in the fleet. Stayed in them many, many times. 
Yes, it is larger than the other insides by a decent amount. The distance between the couch and the desk is large enough for dancing. 

Personally, I wouldn't care if the bathroom had been remodeled or not, so long as all the features in it work. That cabin always had a large enough shower, a vanity much larger than the outside and higher classes of cabins, with a longer shelf for storage. 

5 hours ago, dchip said:

It’s hard to play music that will appeal to everyone. 

Impossible, actually, so HAL shouldn't even try. Let those of us who want peace & quiet have that, while those who want music use earbuds. 
Other than my cabin, the only place I have been able to find the sounds of silence is sitting on a deck chair on the promenade. The Pinnacle class ships doesn't even offer that. 😒

14 minutes ago, Blackduck59 said:

I think there would have been a very big problem if the Victoria port call was missed, being that it is required for the PVSA.

Not on this cruise, as the PVSA didn't apply. The cruise originated in Japan, not the US. Even if it had originated in the US, at a different port than the disembarkation port, the ship/passengers would have met the 'distant foreign port' rule by stopping in Japan. 

Welcome back to dry land that won't get sea splashed overnight! Have a safe flight home. 

Thank you both so much for letting us ride along with you. Your adventures are fun to join in on, as you get a lot out of your travels. 
I'm looking forward to reading all about your next cruise! 

19 minutes ago, wdw1972 said:

Since most people travel with a laptop, tablet or other device (or all 3) there's really no need for a computer lab any longer.

'Most' isn't all. There are passengers who still 'need' access to a computer on a ship. I have never been on a ship that didn't have at least some, including a Pinnacle class ship. 

I haven't been on the Noordam in quite a few years, but I understand the library was never removed from this ship. The computers used to be in the library. 
On the other Vista ships, last I knew, there were some computers on Deck one, across the atrium from the Front Desk. 

8 hours ago, terrydtx said:

On the Noordam in July 2019 we had one of those small TVs sitting on the desk in our Signature Suite.

Entirely different class of ships. Also an entirely different class of cabins. 
Not at all the same. 

16 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

I agree, but much better than the 19" TVs on a desk or shelf pre covid.

The Volendam inside and outside cabins never had the TVs on the desk. They were always on the shelf above the desk, leaving plenty of useable space below. 
The great thing about leaving them there is that they can still be seen from the couch, unlike the cabins where the couch is below the TV, which is opposite the bed! 

11 minutes ago, DETECTIVE MAR said:

What is featured on the map next to the elevators? Looking at room 3364. I'm thinking perhaps it is the stairs and wondering if it would be noisy.

I've been in 2619, one deck down and starboard, instead of port side, many times on all the R-class ships. It, too, backs up to the staircase. 
Never heard any noise coming from it, or from the elevator access area. 

It isn't paying for the cruise that gets you nights aboard credited. It's actually being aboard. 

If you pay for the cruise and don't sail, but don't get any money back, either, you do not get credits toward Mariner status (ask me how I know). 
So, if you sail, but don't pay out of your own pocket, it's only fair that you do get the Mariner credits. 

Besides, if someone gifts you a cruise, and you do sail, you get the credits! It isn't who pays that matters, it's that HAL is paid. 
When a passenger gets a 'free' cruise for having gambled, HAL gets paid by the Casino Division, so granting Mariner credits is justified. 

9 minutes ago, oaktreerb said:

This year we plan to take the Hubbard Glacier excursion direct from the ship.

I've done that one, and this year I plan to do it again! It was that good the first time. Sunny day, got much closer to Hubbard than the ship did. Lots of calving, and you felt the movement of the sea in the much smaller catamaran. 

Loved it. 

48 minutes ago, LJanet said:

Has anyone done Tracy Arm inlet excursion?  I’ve read many were disappointed due to limited seating.  We are traveling with elderly parents in their 80s and I don’t think standing out in the rain or not is feasible.  

When I took this tour there was plenty of seating available. Many passengers moved around, from indoors to outdoors, one side to the other, so seats were always opening up. 

We transferred from the ship to the catamaran via a secure ramp at the entrance to Tracy Arm, then transferred back to the ship when the catamaran got to Juneau to join up. 

The day was cloudy, but the perspective of the glacier was so very different than from the deck of the ship (I had been up Tracy Arm on the ship several times in the past) that I was glad I had taken the tour. As a matter of fact, taking this tour was the sole reason I booked this cruise! 

There is plenty of room in the warm, inside cabin of the catamaran for your elderly parents to be comfortable. 

14 hours ago, LAX said:

We picked early dining when the booking was made. Is it possible to request a certain location within the MDR (ie: near windows)?

 

LAX

 

Yes, but do remember, it is a request, and there are no guarantees. About 10-7 days before your cruise, have your TA put in the request for what you are looking for---size of table, where in the dining room, round/rectangular, etc.
If possible, you will be accommodated. 

44 minutes ago, wdw1972 said:

Not to worry Ruth - the information presented was not really accurate.  The mini stroopwaffles will be on Dutch night. There's been nothing to indicate any change to the chocolates on dressy nights.

Whew! Thank you so much. 

I'm still asking for 2 chocolates per night of the cruise. I sail solo, but have to pay for two people, so I should get two chocolates. I don't care if they only distribute them on dressy night, but when I leave that ship, I better be wheeled off with 2 chocolates per night. 

It's late dining. Many ships now have it at 7:30. Getting earlier and earlier! 

54 minutes ago, 81Zoomie said:

Are these devices on all of the ships?

 

I haven't seen them on every ship, but they are fun to use.
I agree with the others who posted how much better these are than the sanitizing machines, too. These actually wash your hands, which sanitizer doesn't. Your hands feel a lot cleaner with them. 

11 minutes ago, crystalspin said:

When we travelled with family, the Zaandam and Volendam were fine; usually able to find one another. But it was just the two of us on the full K'dam over NYE 22-23 (also our anniversary), and we were our own company. 

Of course not everyone is traveling with family, or a spouse. So those who are with those they know already may have an entirely different point of view. 

4 hours ago, Duane S. said:

wife and I are considering a 14 day Alaska cruise next May, thought I would ask current cruisers if they felt like 14 days would be too many?

Not on this cruise, but my first cruise to Alaska was 14 days. Since then I have taken many, many 7-day cruises there, three more 14-day cruises, a 21-day cruise, and am booked on a 28-day cruise there is summer. 

Draw your own conclusion as to whether or not I think a 14-day cruise is too much going to Alaska! 

What you will find on a 14-day cruise there is that you also get more out of the way ports, not just the usual ones, that are always overflowing with tourists. You get to see more of the 'real' Alaska, more the way it used to be. 

I have also done land tours in Alaska, and agree with Alberta Quilter that they are long days, but if you have the energy, are well worth it. 

16 hours ago, evalbert said:

... and using Stoopwaffels instead of chocolate.

What????? No chocolates!!!!!  

Grumble, grumble, grumble, grumble, grumble, grumble. 

Are you sure? Why do they think I take their cruises! It's the chocolates!!! 

I have seen them on the longer cruises, but don't know if they appear on shorter ones. 

15 hours ago, crystalspin said:

The Pinnacle Class including the K'dam, are not "new monsters". We did a 16-day B2B and promptly booked (and subsequently re-booked) a 35-day on the Koningsdam. She has the perfect selection of venues so that rarely does anyplace seem crowded.

Happy for you that you like the Pinnacle class of HAL ships. Others of us find them too large to get around, far too large to meet the same people often, no feeling of intimacy. 
I much prefer the smaller R-class ships remaining in the fleet, and am glad I had the opportunity to cruise so much while smaller ships like that were readily available. 

39 minutes ago, lakelivin2 said:

I'm new to HAL and to CO...do the daily gratuities cover the dining staff in the Club Orange dining room? Thank you.

Yes. On the three ships that have a separate dining room for Club Orange, that room is merely an alternative to the main dining room. 

2 hours ago, tgetz said:

I do understand but just wondering if they had fresher fresh fish sometimes in the specially restaurants now

I had what was offered as 'fresh' Arctic Char in Rudi's, on the Nieuw Statendam once. It was delicious! The ship was heading to Greenland and Iceland, via Canadian Maritimes, from Boston. I didn't see any fishing rods off the stern, but the fish sure tasted 'fresh'.