RuthC

Women's formal wear, at least, doesn't have to be at all heavy. It can weigh less than the sweater and slacks mentioned above. Chiffon is light as a feather, and cancels out the extra weight a man's formal wear might add to what he has to bring to wear instead anyway. Now, the jewels a woman needs just MIGHT add a significant amount of weight, but those will be in her carry-on. 😉

Exactly. It's the 'proof' that has to be no more than 6 months old. The 'shares' don't have to be that old at all.

Thank you for letting us know. I'm sorry to know Dolly (what a gal!) won't be sailing the high seas anymore, and hosting guests at her dinner table. The thought that she is now well again, able to get around easily, and can kick up her heels is comforting, though. I can see her now, having a great time as she sails through eternity. Rest in peace, Dolly. You were one of a kind.

Piano Bars are long gone from HAL ships, sadly. The R-class ships (Volendam and Zaandam) still have The Mix---I believe, which has a piano player; not exactly a piano bar, but fairly close. The larger ships have Billboard Onboard. Billboard has two piano players, and a very limited playlist. It's not interactive the way the old Piano Bars were, nor the extensive repertoire that the best of the former piano bar players had. I haven't seen a decent combo group in the Ocean Bar after dinner in years; sometimes there is something there at cocktail time, but they end very early. The larger ships also have a classical group in Lincoln Center, which is not unlike the music you may remember from Explorers Lounge; they don't play as late at night, though. Some ships have either Rolling Stone Rock Room, which is (duh) rock & roll, or BB King's Blues band.

Oh, take the 11-day cruise. Great itinerary. Ending in Copenhagen is nice, as is Arhus. If you're going all that way anyway, might as well spend the money and go for a little longer. The only thing I don't like about going to/coming back from Copenhagen is that I can't get a non-stop flight. Otherwise, excellent place to begin/end a cruise.

Distilled water is perfectly safe to drink, as it is the purest water you can get. It is ever purer than purified water, which has had some minerals returned to it after purifying. When ships were steamships, distilled was the water used for the propulsion systems. The only problem with drinking distilled water is that it doesn't have any taste, which good drinking water has.

As a multi-time veteran of this cabin, on all four R-class ships, I just answered your question on the other thread you started. In a nutshell, you are welcome to the cabin as long as I don't want to be on the ship at the same time.

I have been in that cabin---many times---on all of the R-class ships. It is my favorite cabin on that class of ship! It is more than a 'little' larger than the other inside cabins---it's huge! The only problems I found with the cabin, and they are minor, is that the bathroom opens directly into the cabin, so at night the light shines in; and there is no curtain blocking off the living area, so anyone in the cabin can be seen by someone walking by in the passageway if the door is opened unexpectedly. I found it quite quiet, and very convenient, with the mid-ship staircase and elevator banks right there. Easy walk to the food venues, and a short walk home from the entertainment venues at night. Being at mid-ship and low, it is about the smoothest ride you will get in rough seas.

There are three types of accessible cabins, and ambulatory is the least accessible of them all. It is designed for disabled people who are mobile, but have other difficulties. They could have visual or hearing impairments, and there are accommodations to the cabin to meet those needs. There is nothing wrong with this cabin for a non-handicapped person, so long as a disabled person doesn't need it. Apparently no one did, so it was assigned. You booked a guarantee, which means HAL can assign any available cabin in your category or higher.

To me, 'Gala' indicates that long gowns are appropriate, as is cocktail wear, while 'dressy' implies something less dressed up. I would think of 'dressy' as something you used to see worn in church in the days when people dressed nicely for church, or a fine restaurant. It's too bad terms can't be defined so people would have a clue what is meant, not just on HAL, but everywhere.

You still can. If it would please you to look nice and a little bit dressed up, then by all means, do it. I know I will dressed up most nights on my upcoming cruise. Should I get comments that I am a little too dressed up, it won't be the first time.

The outside cabins can be. Not the insides, however.

That was Rotterdam 2003; I was on that cruise. The waves breached the watertight doors on Upper Promenade, then cascaded down the stairs in front of the stage in the main theatre. The entire carpet in the theatre was flooded. In the dining room people were toppled over in their chairs. It was 38 consecutive hours of 45' seas. What a ride! It was during that cruise I heard about the Pacific crossing I thought was the previous year. But I could be wrong as to which ship it was. I remember Perry Grant telling me he was grabbing his lifevest and ready to head to the lifeboats at any moment. Thanks for confirming it was 2002 that was the year of the dangerous Pacific crossing.

I have always come off HAL ships craving a decent grilled cheese sandwich, since they were always merely toasted, without buttering the bread on the outside before putting on the griddle. I sure hope on the Nieuw Statendam the sandwich truly is grilled. Hope you enjoy your cruise!

But is it a real 'grilled' ham & cheese, or a toasted ham & cheese sandwich? Big difference between the two. When they were made in the Lido, they were called 'grilled' cheese, but were 'toasted'.

I've done the Voyage of the Vikings three times, and the Viking Passage once. I think that makes me a 'veteran', if not of all the ports, then the weather in the area. One thing I don't see on your list is summer clothes. Boston, ports in Canada, the French ports (yes, you will also be in France on this cruise when you stop in St. Pierre), can be quite warm; tee shirts with slacks should suffice. I have also worn summer clothes in Iceland, but not as often. I would have a jacket, with gloves. One pair or two of winter weight slacks, and one summer weight slacks, a sweat shirt or two, a couple of tee shirts. Something waterproof to cover the whole shebang would come in very handy. I don't walk/hike, so have no idea what you would need for that activity. Layering is a key here. Be able to add to the warm weather clothes so you can reach a comfortable state in the cooler ports.

Rotterdam 2002?

You might be better off getting a correct answer to your question on the Roll Call for your cruise. That would be the place where others on this very unusual shore excursion would most likely know the answer.

Not yet. However, I have researched it for when the time comes.

Those look like a set passed down in my family! Even the case matches. Haven't thought of them in years, as I have some from my husband's family. My mother's father was in a Canadian regiment in the Boer War, and he got them from that outfitting. I think they passed to my brother when my mother died. I had the rifle, and my sister (for her husband) got the guns. Thanks for the memory.

I'm happy this all worked out for you. HAL will help facilitate committing the ashes off the stern of the ship. They will slow the ship down, and provide a certificate pinpointing where the ashes were dropped.

I won't say I 'cruise to watch TV', but there are times I am in the cabin alone, and needed sounds for company. I do like to have the TV on when I'm getting dressed in the morning, changing for dinner, and falling asleep. Since I was a little girl coming home from school to an empty house I have needed to have some 'noise' on when I am alone. Since HAL doesn't offer any decent radio stations anymore, the TV serves the purpose.

I've been all over the north country more times than I can count. If you want to list out the itinerary choices I can give my opinion. Adding in some of your interests would make it a bit easier to answer with you in mind.

I think of it as an after-tax dividend. Sounds even bigger that way! I've been fortunate enough to have a few years of $750 in 'after tax' dividends from HAL. The stock owes me nothing.

OP, if the only hold-up is getting checked in, do take the suggestion to see if your TA can do it. Or, if you can do it for your SIL, then go ahead. Then, let her be a no-show. That way there is no single supplement to pay, her port charges will be refunded to her method of payment, and you can sail off with your mom's own boarding pass. There is no 'upside' to notifying HAL of the death if you can get the boarding pass some other way.