RuthC

There's at least three of us. It's all right, and I will eat there if my friends want to go. But when traveling alone, I can avoid the Tamarind happily.

Looks so pretty. From here, anyway.

I think the poster meant 'If you pick up the ship in a foreign port, the PVSA doesn't count.' The post wasn't clear on that.

I don't remember seeing any public areas with a TV on the Nieuw Statendam. Your cabin does have a TV with a station for special events, which is where you will find any football games the ship is carrying. IIRC, there are ESPN stations, so the games they normally carry will also be broadcast.

Marvelous! It is impossible to open the door and come into the cabin when using a scooter, if one is all alone. Getting out may be possible, depending on the cabin. Since HAL stopped having cabins with the magnets to hold the door open I have had to get a door stop from the steward. When returning to the cabin I have to stop outside, get off the scooter to open the door, then place the doorstop to hold the door, return to the scooter and drive in, park, then walk back to the door and pick up the doorstop. When you can't walk easily, and get out of breath in a few steps, that takes a lot out of body. Retroactively installing automatic openers at least in accessible cabins would be tremendous.

It isn't. Nor is it fair to compare HAL to the increased cost areas of a 'ship within a ship'.

It might depend on which class of ships, as the older the class, the larger the cabin. Configuration of the cabin matters, too. The space after the doorway can be too narrow, and for too great a distance, to allow the scooter to pass. I have been in inside cabins with a lot more available floor space than the Neptune suite on the same ship. I easily fit my scooter in my cabin, while I had to find a place to park it when I went to a party in a Neptune. That was a Vista ship. It can also depend on the size of the scooter. Standard size rentals are larger than some of the more lightweight scooters purchased for travel.

I believe the Pinnacle Suite has a microwave oven in which you can heat water for tea.

I, too, have been on the Nieuw Statendam, and found a card slot by the door. It's the slot for turning the lights on/off, but it will take folded cash without keeping the lights on all night.

I don't know much about your heart problems, as I understand you related them in the Daily thread, which I don't read. However, I want to tell you I'm impressed at your determination to get better, and the progress you have made with your walks. Small increments are still improvements. Keep up the good work.

Ah, yes, they can. Took me years of sailing HAL to discover there are things that don't appear on the menu, but are available every night. This was long before the 'always available' selections made an appearance, too. My question had been if I don't know to ask for the item, how will I ever get it. But I learned, and I just might be pleasantly surprised.

Depending on your cabin, you can probably find a place to put it without folding it. Just lock the wheels when not in use. Then, if it is in the way, unlock, move it, and return it to the place later. Rollators are easy to deal with in a cabin; it's scooters that are tough in non-accessible cabins. If there's an end table next to the sofa, then it can fit in the aisle there. Or fit it in the aisle next to the bed, then leave it at the foot of the bed when you retire for the night. The stewards will work around it when they clean your room.

I've been using wheelchair assistance to board and disembark for several years now. Here's what I have learned to do: Be sure to confirm with the Front Desk that they have you listed as needing wheelchair assistance to disembark. You should get a letter with your disembarkation packet letting you know where the assembly area is, and what time to be there. When you get to the assembly area, be sure to check in. Bring your patience! There are a limited number of wheelchairs, and pushers to get people off the ship, and the distance they have to cover can take a long time---the process can be very slow. Getting space in an elevator can be a challenge, too.

Glad you made it aboard, seemingly without incident.

I ordered an arrangement for my cabin on the Nieuw Statendam in August. I was very pleased with the arrangement in terms of color, size, freshness, and how well they lasted. I had them on the low table by the TV, where they were out of the way, but easily seen from everywhere in the room. Such a nice way to treat myself!

They have in the past. Whether or not they will this time, or what the offer will be, is anyone's guess at this point.

I highly recommend you call (don't use the website, other than to get the phone number) Insure My Trip and speak to a representative about your insurance needs. Not everyone needs or wants the same policy, depending on their insurance that may cover them, where they are going and for how long, their medical condition, and what they want insured on any given trip. The representative will discuss your options, deductibles, coverage for pre-existing conditions, all the various options. Then the rep will offer options from from different companies and you can choose what you want. Everything is covered completely, and your questions will be answered in understandable English. I do it this way for every cruise, and am very satisfied.

That may depend on where your excursion is supposed to meet. Sometimes an excursion meets ashore, and it is your responsibility to be on a tender in time to arrive before the excursion is scheduled to leave. Those are usually excursions leaving later in the morning, or in the afternoon. It gives people an opportunity to go ashore on their own without needing to return to the ship just to meet and head ashore again.

You pick them up in a designated area on the ship, usually a lounge, when you are ready to go ashore. Then you sit in the lounge and wait until your tender number is called. Later in the morning, when the crowds have thinned, it becomes open tender, and you just head down to the tender dock and board.

Have you ever seen/heard The Jersey Tenors? Or The Aussie Boys? Both are excellent. As a matter of fact, I enjoyed both groups more than Cantare, and I liked Cantare very much. I'd be thrilled to have any of them on a cruise I was taking.

However, there are three prices, and one does not show on the website. You have to contact HAL or your TA to get that price; it's called the Advantage Fare. Have It All and Advantage are both refundable, while the third (lowest, called Best Price) fare is not.

That's not a Piano Bar, though. It's a performance. Totally different atmosphere.

Me, too! I had two fantastic dinners and one fantastic lunch on the Nieuw Statendam in August. Food and service could not have been better. Personally, I think it may have had something to do with who was in charge on that cruise. She was in charge on another cruise on a different ship, and the restaurant ran to perfection there, too.

Semi-serious question: Since I travel solo, yet have to pay as two people, does that mean I get the room of two seats on a lifeboat, should I ever have to board one? Just curious, but since I have paid for two seats, I think it a valid point.

I've never known Holland America to have a coffee card, but they have (or did, last time I looked into it)a beverage card. That's a dollar for dollar card, but convenient. It can be used for all beverages.