QuattroRomeo

I have tried so many brands of sunscreen for the face that I end up not using more than once- an expensive venture! Lotion, spray, powder, mineral, non-mineral, tinted, non-tinted, lightweight, the works. In warm and hot weather, my face gets so hot and sweaty with sunscreen on. It feels like the film of lotion chokes off the skin and it cannot breathe. Like I have saran wrap on my face. I get so uncomfortable that I have to wash it off. The rest of me is fine, just the face! Has anyone had this problem and solved it somehow? Do I need a layer of something under the sunscreen or would that just make it worse? I have taken to just wearing hats but I don't think that is enough protection. This is the only thing I don't like about Caribbean cruises!!

I don't know if things have changed for all ships or occasions, but we did get this little darling on Rotterdam in December with eyes and nose intact!!

Thank you, that's a good idea! Now maybe I have to get more than one..!

Just wondering if anyone that has seen this book, thinks it has good instructions and enough variety? I have never run across it while aboard the ship, but see that it is available for pre-purchase. I'm thinking of it as a gift for a young niece who enjoys crafts.

Shhhh.... They might hear you...😉

I don't know for sure, but it seems to me that I read somewhere in one of those threads about gratuities that it goes to the waiter pool.

Boorish behaviour for sure. As oakridger said, there is already a tip included. And waving money in the air? To me that is so condescending. A discreetly handled extra tip at the end of the cruise is the way to go, if you feel you were well- served.

Yes and yes! By that I mean you will get a paper daily program in your cabin the night before. They will also be available for the taking at the Guest Services counter.

It was open on our past 2 Glacier Bay visits. Photos are of the daily programs, where on the back page it lists the hours of the dining venues. Both cruises were on Koningsdam, so a nice view.

Since you asked about the food costs, pretty much everything is no charge. There are sandwiches, pea soup, fries, and occasionally smoked salmon. For dessert- apple pie, bossche bol (large cream puff), cookies, pound cake, mini pancakes and a few other treats. No charge for any of these. A couple of packaged items do have a charge but are clearly marked, such as licorice candies and stroopwafel. The coffees, pop, beer and liquor do have a charge but if you have a drink package the drinks here are included.

Yes it is press only; however, I don't have any prices for individual items for pressing (if you don't get the package). But the package is $56 per stateroom for 14 days, so can't see non-package pressing prices being worse than the laundry ones.

If you use the laundry service, your item(s) will be pressed. I have never bought just a pressing service, but imagine there is a price sheet for it; your cabin steward can help. Failing that, I would just write "press only" on your laundry request sheet. Depending on the length of your cruise, I would imagine that you need to get laundry done and self-service is not an option on HAL. The package is a reasonable thing to get and as others have said, the laundry service is very good. Photos below of laundry request form and (on our upcoming Noordam 14 day booking), the pre-purchase page. As it reads on the form, if you send it before 9 am you get it back the next day. Sometimes we have had even quicker turnaround.

Rotterdam library in December:

It was Ukraine in December.

During our cruise this past December, the shows on the World Stage were at 7:30 and 9:30.

We did 2 B2Bs in 2023, Rotterdam, Ft Lauderdale. You will receive an envelope during the first leg outlining the procedure, and it will also contain in-transit cards. On the first cruise, we got off the ship and took a taxi to do some shopping. When we returned, we entered the cruise terminal by the door with the sign reading In-Transit guests. Very easy access to the ship from there- just show the little in-transit card. On the second cruise, we didn't leave the ship. You will be required to assemble in the Main Stage theatre with the other B2B guests. You have to wait for everyone to be off the ship. Then they take you to the terminal, show your passport, then board again. This will be before the new passengers get on. Everyone is escorted along the way, so no worries about where to go. We did not have to change cabins either trip, so everything just stayed in our cabin. If you do have a cabin change, I believe others have said that your suitcases are left in the cabin and your steward will move them to the new one.

We did just the gold panning part in 2022. It is about a 20 minute drive to Gold Creek; ours was in a mini-bus. The driver parks in a dirt/gravel area and you have a short walk down to the creek. Just dirt, grass, gravel. Nothing major to walk through. The actual panning is creek-side and will be muddy.

Oh, like the Feedback Button. ..ok just kidding...

Depending on your tour, there should be opportunity to buy larimar; there is amber and larimar in lots of shops at other Dominican ports. You might check out the ship's shops, as they usually have some too and you could check their prices and quality to compare later! There is a local artisan market at the Grand Turk terminal shops area that might have something else made locally, since you like that. I got some homemade scented bath salts there but there were other things.

Early start for us this morning. Meeting up for our shore excursion at 8:15. We did a small group cooking class with chef Helmi Smuelders. It was a HA Food and Wine magazine tour and it was excellent. Our group of 12 cooked about 7 different dishes and then enjoyed them at a relaxing lunch. Well worth the time and money. We came home with new ideas and new recipes. What an absolutely wonderful-looking spread! What kind of cake was it?

Effydam- love it! You are right though, there are tons of "promotions" in the daily program; they actually make up about half of it! Not only jewellery but spa stuff, cariloha, del sol, various watch brands, and on and on. None of these sales pitches qualify as "events". Mind you, some of the actual activities shouldn't qualify either..! I guess that if it helps to keep the cruise prices down that's good, but we do need something else to do besides shopping.