hummingbird_206

We had lunch today in the main dining room.  Usually I'm not a fan of the MDR lunch as the hot food always seems to arrive cold.  However today the appetizers (Potstickers) and Main (Seafood Jambalaya) were nice and hot and tasty!  The Strawberry shortcake was short on strawberries and long on whipped cream, but still pretty good.

We walked the Promenade outside for 2 miles this morning.  I'm glad we got some time in because it now appears the Promenade is closed due to the wind and rough seas.  We did see a few Laysan Albatross zooming around.  According to the weather on the room TV, the winds are 29.5 mph.

Went to afternoon tea at 3 p.m. today in the MDR.  First time we've been and thought it was very well done.  Afternoon Tea will be offered every sea day.  Today's was 'Victorian Tea'.  Not sure what the different themes will be, but looking forward to finding out.

Wrong thread

We tendered in this morning and the weather was great (for Dutch Harbor!)  No rain, no wind, and comfortable temperatures.  We saw river otters and sea otters in the marina.  Also saw the "Northwestern" crab boat of Deadliest Catch fame.

We got 2 new birds to add to our life list, Rock Sandpipers and Horned Puffins. Lots of Bald Eagles and Black-legged kittiwakes are around. We walked about a mile from the marina to a gift shop and I picked up a Horned Puffin magnet.  We didn't try the shuttle vans but talked to some who did and it seemed they were happy with the service.

Tendered back to the ship about 1 p.m. and the fog rolled in.  I'm so glad we made this port stop.  I can't imagine I will ever be back here, so very happy to have had the chance to visit and enjoyed the good weather while it lasted. 

Crosspost from roll call thread

ATTN Birders

As of noon today, we've seen several birds from the Promenade Deck including Laysan albatross, Black-footed Albatross, Flesh-footed Shearwater and Puffins (not sure if Horned or Tufted).

7 hours ago, waiting2retire said:

If memory serves (and it frequently no longer does) on nights there is a “special menu” like gala nights, theme nights, there is no additional CO offering. 
 

I don't think we've had any such special nights yet on this cruise. There have been CO offerings every night so far, they just don't always show up on the electronic versions of the menus for whatever reason.

20 hours ago, tigervixxxen said:

I’ve noticed on the dinner menus posted sometimes there’s a Club Orange special and sometimes there isn’t. Are they not avilable every day on a long itinerary?

There has been a Club Orange special on our MDR menu every evening.  I have no idea why the item doesn't always show up on the electronic version of the menu in the Navigator app.

I love live threads!  Thanks for starting this one.

Who/where did you check with about your table assignment?  

Sounds like you didn't get impacted by the Port of Seattle SeaTac internet hacking snafu, so that's good.  It probably contributed to the mess you noted at the airport.

Have a wonderful trip!

Is there any advantage or discount for pre-paying gratuities?  We did not get them included during booking nor with our HIA pkg, so just wondering at this point whether to pre-pay?

What's Rudi's?

11 minutes ago, Steerpike58 said:

Reading through dozens of pages now - sorry if this has already been asked/answered. We have the HIA package, which includes specialty beverages like espressos and lattes (as I understand it).  So can I order a latte as room service without extra charge?  I plan to head to the buffet for breakfast as I only want toast, but I can't function without a latte and I don't want to have to head to the coffee shop in the morning just for that. 

 

Also, how predictable is room service - eg, can I specify 7:00am and expect something around that time? Will my beverage arrive moderately 'fresh' (not cold)? 

Beverages covered by the HIA package are not free from room service.

57 minutes ago, retird said:

You said Patrick was fabulous, but then you list the negative things you experienced.  Did i misunderstand your post?

I think the negatives were for people other than Patrick...at least that's how I read the post.

5 minutes ago, Djptcp said:

Our favorite Neptune Suite perk is taking the evening dinner menu with our selections to our Neptune Lounge concierge to have her order dinner to be delivered to our suite. If we aren't eating in a specialty restaurant we prefer to have dinner in our suite. The dinners are delivered and picked up when we are through eating. Pure luxury for us.

That sounds awesome!  Do you get a hard copy of the menu from somewhere, if so, where?

16 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

As of last November it hadn't changed. Not everyone has a smart phone or uses the app so a change like this would be Kaos and not work.

Thanks.  As I said in my post, the change hadn't happened as of earlier this year.  I'm looking for more recent info though.

Looking for things that aren't listed by HAL that people have discovered staying in a Neptune Suite. 

For example, I've read on here that you can ask the Neptune concierge to exchange the sparkling wine you get the first day for a different bottle of wine.  Is this correct?  What are the other wine options?

Anything else that will help us noobs get the most out of a Neptune suite that you've learned from experience?

HAL Excursions question

We were on a cruise earlier this year and for all of our HAL excursions we went to the World Stage, stood in line to check in, received a numbered sticker, and waited for our number to be called to head off of the ship.

A friend recalls that he read somewhere (doesn't remember where) that this process has changed, that we don't check in at the World Stage, and now notifications to head off the ship are given via the Navigator app.  Is this the process now?

25 minutes ago, kirkc said:

Why would you need a hot tub on Half Moon Cay?

We were there in Feb and I got very chilled after snorkeling and the sun went behind some clouds.  I would have loved to have had a hot tub to hop into to warm up!

3 hours ago, Mosaic said:

The internet on the Zaandam is excellent.  Except for in the cabins! The walls and especially the doors are made of heavier metal than most of the HAL ships. In did extensive testing on the Z. IF you open the door the signal strength is much better---not that you want to do that. I was able to stream video in the room and the balcony with an external Wi-Fi antenna...

Could you post more details on the external antenna you used (a link if you have one would be appreciated)?

6 minutes ago, cccole said:

Thank you, I understand the "category" situation.  It does not appear that there are SZ  or SY suites on the Noordam.  That is why I was asking if there was another cabin category on the Noordam that could be upgraded with CO to a signature suite.  Thank you, I don't think it's confusing, I just wanted to know if there was cabin on the Noordam that could be upgraded to a signature suite with CO. Cherie

According to deck plans for Noordam on the HAL website, there are SY and SZ on deck 8.  SS are on deck 6

https://www.hollandamerica.com/content/dam/hal/inventory-assets/ships/at-a-glance/hal-all-deck-plans.pdf

12 minutes ago, cccole said:

Thank you I understand the PG breakfast, but I was asking if their is a category that could be booked and then add CO to upgrade to a signature suite.  They are not booked yet.  I don't know if there is a category that can be upgraded to a signature suite on the Noordam with CO.  THank you, Cherie 

It is confusing, but as @Crew Newssays you can only upgrade within the category you book.  You can book an SZ Signature Suite and use CO to upgrade to an SY or SS Signature Suite.  If you book a Verandah of any category you cannot upgrade to Signature using CO.

41 minutes ago, Kay S said:

You can ask to change.  If speed is the first consideration, I would opt for the buffet.

We like both the Lido and MDR.  Speed is not the main thing but when it is we go to the Lido.  I'm just asking for help getting out of the MDR in under an hour.

4 minutes ago, kazu said:

IMO if. You do fixed dining with a table for 2, it can go much faster.

 

your waiters know and no repeating.

 

DD D H and I were often done within an hour or slightly over and it was a rare night we were in a rush.  The wine was ready for us and usually one appetizer suffered with a few exceptions.  Some nights one dessert and two forks and other nights none.

 

no guarantees but I do think fixed can speed things up as your wishes are known.

Fixed dining wasn't an option for us. We were assigned Open Seating.

1 minute ago, ScottishMaid said:

If things are slow we often have left and gone up to the lido for dessert and coffee. You can see the desserts there and usually there are no lines at the dessert area. We just have to laugh at the MDR descriptions and then there is one blueberry or a squiggle of the strawberry juice etc.

1. I have definitely been underwhelmed by the desserts.  

3 minutes ago, Cruising-along said:

There was a couple on the GANZ who seemed to be in and out in about 30 minutes or less every night (set dining).  We found out that they didn't order appetizers or dessert.  Not for me, but it worked for them.

I can definitely do without the dessert most nights.  Thanks for the tip!

1 minute ago, ScottishMaid said:

Ask for a table for two. Read the menu ahead on the Navigator app and decide ahead what you will have. When waiters appear and ask if you want a drink etc. say you are ready to order. We figured out the last two at our table for 5 as we had a restless 7 year old with us. It helps to have a fixed table with the same waiters each night. 

Ordering the meal when they are there for the drink order is a good tip, thanks.  We do usually order a glass of wine and that probably does slow things down.  My BF does get restless, too, probably like your 7 yo!