cabinluvn

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g188590-d230114-Reviews-Mercure_Hotel_Amsterdam_City-Amsterdam_North_Holland_Province.html?m=19905

We stayed here pre cruise a couple years ago. They have a shuttle to and from the airport. They are a short walk from the bus line that takes you to city center. You can buy a bus pass at the airport before you catch the hotel shuttle. Breakfast is included. Rooms are roomy and clean. Staff very friendly and helpful. Would stay here again. Very reasonable

Will you be giving envelopes to each person that serves you in the Lido?  People in the laundry, if you use the laundry?  Each server around the pool decks that bring you drinks, clear the tables?  Your daily gratitudes go to behind the scene people as well as the people who give you good service. Opting out just penalizes everyone, really

We have sailed from there before and stayed at the Best Western Bayside. It is walking distance to the pier, to the old battleships, the Gaslight district and much more. We are ending our next cruise in January there and will stay there again. Great breakfast buffet that is included. Airport shuttle and shuttle to and from the pier. Very nice hotel

If that is the same as luggage direct, it was very easy and made the trip home stress free. We live in the cold north and it was winter, so connections got too close for the luggage to make it to our home airport, but that wasn’t their fault. I would do it again in a heartbeat!  

I always wear something to cover my arms and shoulders when I am on the ship. I think the ships are kept cooler to keep germs away. Even on the Lido deck around the pool I can get chilled. I have a lightweight shawl for evenings and wear 3/4 length sleeves or a light sweater over a blouse during the day. But that is just me. I seem to always run on the cold side


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Bahamas 

I can’t remember what time our flight left, but it took us a good 3 hours from the time we entered the airport until we got to our gate. All the lines were never ending. We both got pulled out for extra screening(had our camera in our carry on and they didn’t like that). At the gate, my husband was pulled aside again and they gave him and his carry on a severe once over, wiping everything, including the inserts of his shoes, with a drug tracking wipe or whatever those wipes look for...If it was me, I would be nervous about cutting it that close. If you are taking the ship’s shuttle, it doesn’t leave until the bus is full. There are just too many variables that could delay you getting to the airport and on the plane in time


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We had binoculars in our SS in January on the Veendam. They were not good. Very, very old and not kept up. Don’t think they had ever been cleaned. Will bring our own for our upcoming cruise through the Panama Canal


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We will be on the Rotterdam for the Panama Canal next January and will become 4 star mariners during the cruise. We have never been met with a glass of bubbly when we boarded...and we have done vista suites as well as Neptunes. When exactly did they offer you this glass of bubbly????


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This last January we stayed at Pier 66. The towers were not open, as stated above. Room was nice, a bit overpriced. What was nice was that there was wonderful restaurants within the resort area. We took Lyft from the airport and to the cruiser port. Cheaper than a taxi. Even at the high rate(we booked when it got pretty cheap), I would book again. They had a concierge that would book you Everglades tours and shuttles to the cruise port. Very, very nice staff


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Last time it wasn’t added to my offers, I called and they said there was nothing they could do. Another time, it was on my card, but not my husband’s card. Again, they said there was nothing they could do

You might find the mint/ginger/fruit cart unmanned on the lower level with Open Seating, but manned on the upper/Fixed level.  We haven't seen/heard chimes since we were on the Prinsendam 6 years ago. (The P'dam has only one level MDR.)

We were on the Veendam in January and the mints, ginger and dates were all out by the dining room exit. Sometimes there was someone there to serve you, most times it was help yourself


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We just used it on each of our cards. Every little bit helps. Last cruise, it was offered twice before final payment and we were able to use it each time


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We are also sailing on a cruise to Cuba in January. I assume the visa is good for anywhere in Cuba, no matter how many stops the ship makes

1 hour ago, Krazy Kruizers said:

I guess that since we no longer eat in the main dining room for dinner, we are well taken care of.  Same table each evening.

 

Yes, there is a decline in the food -- everywhere on the ship.  Service has declined for some people as HAL has cut back on the number of people who dine in the Pinnacle and Tamarind.

 

We noticed a couple of years ago that the majority of the people no longer dress up for the specialty restaurants.  T-shirts, hats, etc., are all acceptable.  

 

When we were on the Eurodam 3 years ago, there were so many freebie dinners it was unbelievable.  Explore4, Dine Around, Fun times (or something like that) as well those of us who are 5 stars getting free dinners.

I enjoy reading your posts, however, this script has me scrolling past them. I cannot read them without eye strain. Sorry

7 hours ago, welovetocruise1234 said:

I would not be willing to pay $50 per day x 2.  I am only a 3 star and was considering staying loyal to HAL and working my way to 4/5 star but if this program continues, then there is no incentive for me to do so.

I am going to start taking a much closer look at Celebrity and Princess for my summer Europe trip.

I totally agree. Just discussed this with DH and we both agreed that there is really no reason to stay loyal to HAL if the perks that you work hard to get by cruising can be purchased. Plus some people will walk around flashing their “orange” cards with an air of superiority. Sad to see HAL bringing obvious classes to the cruiseline. We sail a 21 day in January, but will most likely look around for other lines after that. Very, very sad. Don’t know who keeps making these horrible decisions. Hope Seattle reads these threads and reconsiders doing this fleet wide

Not sure I understand. Are you saying you NEVER wear anything but shorts?  I find that difficult to believe unless you live in a tropical climate and never go anywhere where you dress up even slightly. I would think you have some clothes in your closet that you could wear besides shorts

Thanks so much....learning my way around this site. Don’t like it as much as Tapatalk, but it will do vs not being up to date on news that is relevant to booking, sailing, etc

Thanks for the suggestions. I did add a desktop site and it is a bit better. Still cannot find the posts I have replied to. Miss not having those show up and see them with one click. As one who dislikes change, it will take a while, but I will eventually fall in step with what is before me and let go of what was...such is life

I emailed Tapatalk and they are in contact with Cruise Critic. They said CC is slow to respond and so suggested Tapatalk users contact CC themselves and request a connection. CC is making it difficult to contact them directly. I have the paid version of Tapatalk and will miss using it if it does not connect with CC. And like others here, I rarely come back and access the board. Much too cumbersome. If anyone knows of an app similar to Tapatalk that does the same thing, I hope they share it so we can all use it

I follow Cruise Critic on Tapatalk. The app is easier to use than opening my browser, loading the Cruise Critic website, login and find my forum. I contacted Tapatalk and they suggested I contact the forum and request it. I know I am not the only one that uses Tapatalk, so I would appreciate the ability to access Cruise Critic again via that app  Otherwise, I will just say goodbye to Cruise Critic and get my information elsewhere. I tried to post on one of your stickies that was looking for comments and the comments had been closed with no comments posted. It appears you really do not want comments on how bad this forum has become. 

The link to the Veendam is broken. No audio

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What was so neat about it was that there is artwork hidden in nooks and crannies that you would never see unless someone told you it was there. I bet we spent 2 hours on the art tours we took. It is beyond me why a cruise line would spend so much money on art and then not have a way passengers can see and learn about it

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A few years ago I tried to find the in iTunes, but could not

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