POA1

De Librije is a 3 Michelin starred restaurant in Zwolle, the Netherlands. We come down pretty squarely with Vict0riann - and her obviously refined palate. We tried it and liked it, but not enough to repeat it. If it's offered, and you haven't tried it, I'd be inclined to book it for the experience. On the other hand, we would have done Le Cirque repeatedly. (In fact, we did.) While the experience wasn't exactly like Le Cirque in NYC, it was a reasonable representation.

I know they used to have series A & B menus on the 7 day Caribbean sailings. That way, people doing Collectors Edition or B2B didn't have repeated menus. Hopefully the Eastern Caribbean rates the menu mit das Schnitzel.

It's never too late to start the, "Can I take a jar of red cabbage on board?" Don't forget to ask if it has to go in your carryon luggage. 😉

Agree on the technical aspects of the Vienna Schnitzel, but I'm pretty sure that the HAL version was pork. Delicious regardless. It's not a sophisticated dish, but I have a hard time looking at the other menu items when schnitzel shows up. We've been places that had spätzle for hundreds of people. Of course those places were Oktoberfests and had the requisite German ladies in the kitchen cranking it out.

I've been watching as people post MDR menus. Maybe I missed it, but I don't recall seeing the schnitzel lately. It's pork that's been pounded, breaded and fried, so it's not a dish with expensive, exotic ingredients. (True, it's not usually served with spätzle in the MDR, but I'm pretty sure you need a gaggle of German grandmothers to make the little noodles in large quantities.) However, even though it's spätzless,it's still a favorite at our table. Is it still on the MDR menu, or should I start seeking grief counseling now?

Thank you for the report!

Pretty sure that the one you add after the fact is the regular non-gratuity one. At least that's how it reads for our upcoming sailing in December.

No, I was just looking for a username that was short & easy to type. Of course, it couldn't have been in use already. If I recall correctly, I rec'd an email from the building that we had a package. The subjects are along the line of "Message from POA1: You have an Amazon delivery." Or UPS, FedEx or USPS. And I thought, "Let's see if POA1 is available." Kinda boring, but that's how it came about.

As long as you pay in full by final payment date, you can pay however you want. You would just make your payments in the amount you desire on the HAL site. You can also call in to pay, but that assumes you like both smaller payments and waiting on hold. 😄

No, the "banner" John mentioned is my wife's, but it's a blanket. Years ago, he tasked me which condo was ours and her Nebraska blanket was the most visible thing I had available. We do have some little flags that the port gave out to everyone in the area when ships started sailing again. They don't approach banner sized, but they're bigger than the toothpick flag I found on Ebay.

You got me thinking - never a good idea - about trying to find a Holland America flag to wave as the ships went by. EBay had one for $7.99. It comes with a wooden pole and everything. Pricewise, that's doable. However, it might be hard to see from the ships.

That's a strange thread to remove... (Here goes this one!) We don't see the banner from our side, so I'm not sure which building it's on. The first building you pass as you start to exit the port in the Shanahan River channel is Sky Harbor. That's where the webcam "lives." Tucked behind Sky Harbor is Everglades House. It's sort of a quarter circle shape, Someone there used to fly an NCL flag, but I haven't seen it in years. The two buildings at the end of the beach are Point of Americas. Our condo faces south, so we wouldn't see any banners on the water side. I'll ask at the pool or beach next time I'm down. I'm sure there's a nosy neighbor who'd know.

Great start to your report! Thank you for all the details.

What was missing?

I'm 95% sure that Ships Inventory handhes CO. If you look at the PDF, that's who you call.

And there is no wait list for CO.

No. Just booked an excursion.

Like many of you, I enjoy the occasional snail. Our local fishmonger stocks them. Would I base my vacation choice on the daily availability of snails, mollusks, bivalves and edible worms? Probably not. I think it's cool that Celebrity is "all escargot, all the time." I'll admit that it's not really my thing, but how cool must it be to open the Celebrity app and have it say, *You've got snails! " Talk about special!

Thank you for doing this. It's probably one of the most difficult tasks of which I can think.

I'm pretty sure that the Northern Lights has been replaced on most of the Vista class ships. You are correct that it's still on the Noordam deck plan. On the other Vistas it was replaced by the Gallery bar. Same space, but remodeled and reconfigured. The Gallery Bar is less dancing, more drinking & lounging. I like the Gallery Bar better - as would anyone who's seen me dance.

I was feeling kind of "ranty" today. I had a tire blow on the I-595 off ramp by FLL yesterday. So... I'm a huge fan of the run flat MB tires, up until you have to replace them.

The Department of Telling Me When I Am Wrong has issued a correction. It was 2005 on the Ryndam Mexican Riviera. The department feels safe in stating that it was a Mrs. Furst and that she was revealed to be Ms. Ryndam. I sincerely apologize for outing her, but if she's not shuffled off this mortal coil, I owe her some berries.

I absolutely LOVE your post. It gives me hope for humanity. Whilst we must suffer fools, we can do so lightheartedly.

I'm glad I'm not alone in my expectations about the meet ups. The officers and staff are pretty easily identified and generally approachable. It's the CC people I want to meet. You're all very nice and it's great to finally put a face to a CC user ID. That being said, I'd never try to use any kind of social setting for "the airing of the grievances." On the other hand, when people like to complain in public, it's a particular source of merriment for me and my friends. There was a Neptune Suite guest who raised such a fuss about the insufficient # of blueberries in the morning muffins in the Neptune lounge that the Hotel Director & chef would be there inspecting them each morning to ensure that the fruit to muffin ratio was acceptable. This was on the Oosterdam in 2004 and I can guar-an-dam-tee you that we all still know her name. So... Please don't be a jerk to the good people working on the ship. However, if you simply must... Please do it in front of me. You're not just being a d-bag, you're making memories!

We did De Librje as a Pinnacle Grill pop up a few years ago. We liked it, but it was our least favorite by a pretty wide margin. Le Cirque took first place and the Chef Rudi's pop up would be in second place. I don't regret trying it, but we wouldn't repeat it.