oakridger

Good one Scott!! So......when are you and Drew going on your next Crystal Cruise? I know a few people who would love to know! We have been waiting sooo loong since the last great videos!!! 😉 ~Nancy

I just did a mock booking for a Konningsdam Mexico cruise. After selecting number of guests as one then under "Choose Your Cabin Type" select the Oceanview cabin category. You will next see the types of Oceanview cabins, such as Ocean View, Spa Ocean View, Family Ocean View and Single. Click on Single! Be sure to compare to a regular Ocean View for one. In this case the difference was only $90 to get a larger OV room for one person.

It looks like the three Pinnacle Class ships (Konningsdam, Nieuw Statendam and Rotterdam) have some solo cabins called OO Oceanview Category on deck one forward. Check post #10 on this thread which has information about them. The thread might answer some of your questions. Good Luck! ~Nancy

@backroads_71 Hello and welcome to Cruise Critic! It will help you get more specific answers to questions if you provide more details. In this case, which ship are you asking about? HAL has several classes and layouts of ships. ~Nancy

You definitely get 50% off in Tamarind. Someone else can tell us about Nami Sushi please. It's not mentioned specifically on the chart below for benefits. Mariner Society | Holland America ~Nancy

@elklemi Your hometown caught my attention! I'm originally from there hence my Cruise Critic name. I'm taking my first Windstar cruise in February 2025 on Star Breeze so I have a long time to wait. Boo. Have a great cruise to the Panama Canal! ~Nancy

Hello @lonsdajk. This is the regular forum for Windstar. You want to start your Roll Call over on the Roll Call Forum for Windsurf. The link is below. Have a great cruise! Wind Surf Cruise Roll Calls - Cruise Critic Message Board Forums ~Nancy

@Tahitianbigkahuna I'll be on my first Windstar trips in February 2025 on Star Breeze. Is that when you will be there? I love your pictures and have been reading your posts for years so it would be fun to meet you in person! It's a long time to wait but I'll manage somehow by living vicariously through everyone else's reports. 😎 ~Nancy

@philbob84 I booked it online. I booked in about February of 2023 for my trip in June 2024. Yes, it was much earlier than I needed to but I have a lot of logistics on this extended trip plus I was just excited to start planning! 🙂 Online I was automatically assigned a forward portside cabin in my category, but I wanted a midship starboard instead. I called the main office in Norway during their business hours and they switched me to my cabin of choice. They sent a new confirmation email with the new cabin number right away. It was all very easy! I chose my cabin based on its midship location in case of rough seas. I chose starboard because the ship docks on port side only and I didn't want to risk being woken up in the middle of the night during port stops. I did not want to be under the prep area of the galley either in case of carts rolling or other galley noise in the early morning hours. I have read reviews since then that people were not bothered by docking noise in their port side cabins. Good luck! ~Nancy

@Brewgirl1 Thanks for following up on the outcome! It's always nice to hear what happened and adds info for everyone else that might have the same issues. Have a great cruise! ~Nancy

Konningsdam has both BB Kings and Rolling Stones Lounge (and Billboard Onboard if you count them as a "singing group"). The Pinnacle class ships have all three of those music venues. ~Nancy

No Broadway type shows. The main theater is really nice but seems to currently be underutilized. Depending on the length of cruise and itinerary it varies. They offer the Step One Dance Company dance programs, occasional guest performances of piano or singing. Occasional classical music quartet is being introduced on some sailings. There may be a comedian on the main stage. There are a few presentations of different subjects by the Cruise Director such as talks about the working of the ship, local history, HAL history or other topics. Again, look for "Live From" threads from this year to get more details. There are three good ones posted below to get you started. Search function worked well this time! ~Nancy

Oh dear! Why no more cruising? There are many options for four family members to cruise at many different price points and cabin configurations! I feel sad if you really want to cruise again and we have put you off the idea somehow. 😞 Let us know your concerns and with the collective experience of folks here on CC maybe we can offer you some alternatives to fit your needs. 🙂 ~Nancy

I booked online with Havila and also spoke to two different people in their main office in Norway to get my cabin assigned to the one I preferred. I asked the staff about travel agents they work with here in the USA and he told me they do work with several agents, but the agencies are vetted by Havila before having a booking relationship. Apparently not any agent can book them unless they have this preapproval with Havila. I'm so excited for this trip after my 2020 Norway cancellation! Tussen takk to everyone who is posting about their experiences. 🙂 ~Nancy

@Stickman1990 Terry, someone posted a picture of the mushroom soup in a bread bowl on the Crystal Society FB page tonight. ~Nancy

I've heard of those park passport books. Now I wish I had one a long time ago because it would have a lot of stamps that I most likely will not visit again. Bad planning! ~Nancy

@Hobar There is a current trip report from @CruiserBruce on Zaandam. He expressly stated that you definitely could upgrade your HIA beverage package to Elite onboard. "Upgrading HIA SBP is allowed. Saw signs for it, but didn't do it."

Now that is good service! I love having flowers in my cabin and the ones I have received on HAL from my TA have all been very pretty! ~Nancy

I thought they ask for your cruise card for the excursions.

Another option could be, if you don't want two balcony cabins next to each other would be one veranda cabin with one inside across the hall. Example would be VC5163 and K5161. Good luck! I hope you are able to figure out the best way to have your family cruise.

The Vista Suites in the Pinnacle Class ships (Konningsdam, Nieuw Statendam and Rotterdam) are a bit larger than the "Vista Suites" on the Zaandam and Volendam. On those two Rotterdam Class ships the Vista Suite is about the size of a regular Veranda on the other ships. As others say, too small for 4 adults comfortably! ~Nancy

Many people on CC report that they could add it. Call again and hopefully you will get someone who knows what they are talking about. Untrained phone staff is really getting annoying!! ~Nancy

No. The credits are linked to the passenger's name. ~Nancy

The Murphy Bed in those Signature suites looks like a twin to me. Here is a picture: (from Halfacts.com) Kindly contributed by Cruise Critic member ‘Canadianbear’. Photos taken in December 2017.