idiebabe

Bon Voyage, Father! Have a great Cruise!

I agree that it’s not a good idea!

Our last NS Cruise on November 5th had no Medallion Ceremony. This was our 3rd time on NS since the Restart with same Captain (Noel O'Driscoll) and the other two Sailings we did have the Medallion Ceremony and everyone had an opportunity to get a Pic with him and Hotel Director. I thought no one must have been getting a Medal on this Cruise! It seems many onboard were new to HAL and many young people and even those not so young were not your "typical" HAL Cruiser. Lots of tatoos, flesh hanging out of bathing suit tops and bottoms! 😲 All our other Sailings since the Restart (Rotterdam, Zandaam, Eurodam, NA) had the Medallion Ceremony. Most of them limited the invites to the Mariners with the highest number of days (20 - 30 ppl) but on NA for the PC Transit held it in the BB King Lounge and probably had about 70 people there.

We do the Main Seating (8 pm) and have had very good Service except for Alaska on Eurodam last May. The Ship had 2000 passengers onboard and they were short-staffed. My Daughter went on Eurodam again a few months later and had excellent Service. We don't do Open Seating but hear more complaints about slow service coming from the Open Dining than Fixed Dining. There have been improvements since they first started Sailing after the Restart with Beverage Service. We've had the HIA on several of our Cruises and they will do double Pours if you ask them. It makes it easier on them and no waiting for us for a 2nd Vino.

We spent fourteen days on Zaandam in August/September. We loved the Entertainment! In Ocean Bar we had a Pianist who played earlier in the Evening starting at 4 pm. Sometimes she played alone and sometimes she had a Singer with her. Later in the Evening there was the Ocean Bar Band that had a different Singer (or two) and, yes, people were dancing. They were very good and sang updated songs. The Piano Bar on Zaandam does not have Billboard. We had Clara V in the Piano Bar and she was great! It was so nice not having the same sets of songs that Billboard seems to play on all the Ships. They did have the "Off the Charts" Show and that was performed with Clara V and the Piano Player from the Ocean Bar Band since no Billboard Duo. I would not hesitate to book Zaandam again! She was always one of our favorites and still is a favorite!

We did. They sent someone within 1/2 hour who walked through, cleaned off three tables but never wiped them. He didn’t clear off the glasses and cups left on some of the other Tables even though it was obvious they didn’t belong to the people sitting at those Tables. It was the first day we let them know on the Let Us Know App. It never improved! This was on Lido Aft. A few times in Dutch Cafe the tables clearly hadn’t been wiped. It was pretty bad and Yikes is right!

We went five Cruises before we got Covid and it was the Eurodam. I believe we caught it either in Atlanta Airport (4 hour layover) or in the Taxi to the Port. Three out of eight of us got it and all had different symptoms. The only symptom we all had in common was the fatigue. We all tested during the Cruise (at home test) and tested Negative. Didn't test positive until we arrived home. We're all going to get it and it's just a matter of when and not a matter of if no matter how careful we are! We just got off the NS and we got off the NA on the 25th. Lots of folks coughing on both Ships. We had 2500 Onboard the NS last week. The one thing they were very lax with on the NS was wiping the Tables even in the Dutch Cafe and especially on Lido (both inside and out). I saw people blow their nose, put their dirty tissue on the table and when they left their glasses were cleared but the Table was never wiped. We had to flag someone down to clear the Tables which they did but they never wiped them. We ended up getting wet paper towels from the Hand Sinks in Lido and cleaning the Table ourselves. With Flu Season, etc. they need to step up their game in this area!

Yes, we did and had an awesome time! Great Cruise! We've just completed our 9th Cruise post-Covid and also loved them all! We may have been on the same sailings on some of the other Ships! 😃

We had Ladderball on the Nieuw Amsterdam last month. Fun game!

Why would I like it has nothing to do with supporting the Line? Ridiculous comment! 🙄 Whether I think it's right or not that they have these Upcharge items will not change the fact that they are doing it. The new options, IMO, are better because it gives people a reasonably priced choice of a dinner they may enjoy without going to a Specialty Restaurant especially since the Menu does keep declining! Maybe it's you who needs to have them add on to your Cruise Fare thousands more so you can go to Pinnacle for Dinner again since they implemented the $7 charge for the 2nd App! Maybe they'll take it off just for you! 🤣 We don't like the $7 charge and told them that but we're not going to act childish about it and stop going to Pinnacle when we enjoy it. @Hlitner In all my Years cruising HAL I've never been charged for a cup of Tea in the DR or any Specialty Restaurant. I know that was a big issue all over Social Media with Carnival Cruise Lines. Are you confusing HAL with Carnival? Also, I don't think comparing Seabourn to HAL is Apples to Apples when it comes to pricing. Correct me if I'm wrong!

Ship Capacity is definitely getting back to normal! I like the new “Upcharge” items and pricing on the DR Menu. IMO, a definite improvement.

Just thought I’d share since I wasn’t on CC weeks ago! I was Cruising! 😀.

We just Debarked the Nieuw Statendam and had 2500 Onboard. The week before had 2300 and we were told this week’s is up at 2500. Last week they implemented a $7 charge for an additional Appetizer in Pinnacle. In other words if you want Crab Cakes and a Salad there will be a $7 charge. Pinnacle is now a 3-Course Meal only consisting of one App, one Entree and one Dessert.

The Captain announced it at the Noon talk. We were in Lido at the time and everyone we could see were applauding. If someone didn’t like it, we didn’t hear it. Those we spoke to in Elevators, etc. all were happy about the decision. The Crew were so excited, too!

We spent two weeks on Zaandam at the end of August/September. Absolutely loved being back on her. We have also sailed (pre-Covid) Zuiderdam many times (another favorite). However, Zaandam wins out for us! It was great having a Pianist in Ocean Bar for a Pre-Dinner drink plus having a Band with a Singer for later Entertainment. The Piano Bar has not been converted over to Billboard and the Piano Player was very good and enjoyable. Comedy Shows were back on the Main Stage compared to being in BB King, etc.

We were on Nieuw Amsterdam when the Captain made the annoucement that the Crew no longer needed to wear Masks. Everyone applauded and for a couple of days it was wonderful seeing their smiling faces. Unfortunately, it didn't last long and the Mask were once again Mandatory for the Crew due to so many coughing and sneezing Passengers and some sick Crew. I imagine it will be an up and down thing for awhile especially with the Winter months ahead!

We’re sailing on the 8th and getting the same message on the Boarding Pass. I printed out the Boarding Passes and will bring them. Everything else seems to be working with the App. 🤞

Congrats! 😀 My Daughter and Family cruised with us for the first time on Eurodam for a 7 Night Alaska the end of May. She just received two Offers. One was a free Inside with great variety of Cruises for 2023 including Europe and the other was a free Oceanview for 2022 and some early 2023 Cruises. She received her Offers via email.

We're all set and Ready to Sail! At first (today) I didn't have the spot in Verifly to add the ArriveCan info by my Husband did and then it showed up. Just had to add the ArriveCan Receipt #. I had to resubmit my Husband's Test Results a few times before he got the "green light"!

Thanks, John, for your wonderful Review and very much enjoyed (as always) following along. We'll be Boarding her next Saturday for two weeks and looking forward to being back on Zaandam! Again, Happy Anniversary to you both! 🥂

There is a Roll Call for that date and September 3rd. Both are very quiet!

We also received the email and are both very sorry that Seth will no longer be with Holland. He was a true asset to the Company as Brand Ambassador and a genuinely nice man! He will be missed by many of us that had the pleasure of playing Trivia with him all during the Pause, watching his Special Videos and also having met and Sailed with him! Very sad news! 😢

Enjoyed your Review and will be doing a Sail with Seth early September. We also took Covid home with us when we were on Eurodam at the end of May. Hope your symptoms are mild and feel better!

We didn't receive one on Eurodam on 5/27 Sailing. Also, never received the Journey's Booklet at the end of the Cruise nor the "Mariner" Drink Card. All our other Cruises since the Restart received all the above items.

Same for us on the reminder Notice of "30% off on over 600 Sailings". Fingers crossed a new one comes out soon! 🤞