PSR

7 minutes ago, Harters said:

Always been delivered to the cabin in the evening, along with Currents.

Thank you; we will ask for them next time.

On 9/20/2024 at 6:06 PM, Jim_Iain said:

Another feature that Celebrity cut years ago is the daily news summary.   Geared to nationality 

 

 

Where/how do you get this paper? We've been on 3 Oceania cruises and have never seen these.

23 hours ago, MaxThrusters said:

Yeah, I didn't mean to imply it was.

No problem...just wanted to clarify. Would be nice if they did have a Mariner discount on the singles!!!

21 hours ago, MaxThrusters said:

After doing a few sailings with the wine packages as they were at the time (7 years+ ago!) we decided that for our next cruise we would just book whatever package on board that had wines we like (and get the mariner discount) or if we didn't like what was on offer just go by the bottle. This is because the wines on offer for the packages in advance were almost never actually available on the ship! From what I read others saying, that has not changed.

Isn’t the Mariner discount only for the packages but not single bottles?

9 hours ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

 

The stall shower in our corner aft Neptune on K'dam was a joke (SB). Smaller than a standard US phone booth! it barely held DH's shower chair. And no shower over the tub. But the second time I was in a Neptune, it was along the side (SA), not aft. The stall shower was a normal size and just fine. Still no shower over the tub, but I didn't care about that. First pic below is the corner aft SB, second is the SA.

 

 

Interesting to know. I thought they were all like the small one. I know (well,I haven't been in all of them) the stall shower on the Nieuw Amsterdam Neptune is small in all the cabins, BUT the tub has a shower head, so we always use that. Thanks for the information! 

On 6/26/2024 at 6:41 PM, cccole said:

Did you get your Neptune suite?  Hope so.  Cherie

Actually not, because it's on the Koningsdam and as far as I can tell, the tub in the Neptune suite does not have a shower and the walk-in showers on HAL ships with tubs are too small. We'll survive...😊

13 hours ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

 

I don't think there are any Neptunes for only two people. Blocking couples from Neptunes is ridiculous. If you're looking seriously, not just browsing, call HAL to see if you can get that Neptune.

Was just browsing...booked another cruise on HAL.🙂

A few weeks ago I was looking at a cruise (can't remember where to or what HAL ship, or even year). We like Neptunes, but none appeared to be available. As I looked at other cabins for availability, suddenly, a Neptune pic appeared. I clicked on the pic and got...nothing. Went back to the other pix and again the Neptune appeared....after doing this several times I got a statement: "this cabin not available for passenger number". I was looking for 2 persons; maybe this is an example of the new change? Not sure why it took 3-4 attempts to get the NA reason.

1 minute ago, clo said:

Wouldn't you have to go there and see what's what?

Yes, but we like to eat later and prefer not to eat at a buffet. We would check the menu when it opens and order later.

59 minutes ago, Nachosdelux said:

If it is in your budget, you may want to consider a Penthouse Suite on Oceania.

 

you can order room service from any of the specialty restaurants (even from multiple restaurants the same meal)

 

 

Can you order room service in the PH from the Terrace Grill?

Does anyone know if the upgraded Riviera Concierge cabins that do not have the new enlarged shower (still the bathtub and small walk-in shower) have a showerhead in the bathtub? A video I saw of an upgraded cabin with a tub only seemed to just have a small handheld "wand" in the tub rather than a full showerhead. Would be hard to use just use the wand for a shower... Thanks for any info.

20 hours ago, Khlela said:

it can be glitchy but you should be able to see your menus on the navigator app if your ship is on the same itinerary now. Whatever menu in the app is the same menu that is currently on that ship. Sometimes when you click on it the menu won’t appear. That’s a technically glitch and you may be able to try again then or later and have success. 

I forgot about that, but it wasn't working for me starting about 1 week before our cruise on May 5th. Haven't tried since; hopefully it will be working for others.

7 hours ago, Shmoo here said:

I'm hoping this is true on our upcoming cruise.  I didn't want to make HIA reservations before I see what's on the menus in the MDR.

On our HAL cruise last week, you couldn’t see the next day’s dinner menu until late on the night before; there probably would be no next day availability by then. REOVA’s suggestion is good.

7 hours ago, crystalspin said:

I allow that landing and walking on Mendenhall would be a prime experience, but if you are talking about a tour to the visitor center and a walk to the view point or trek to the waterfall, it is pretty disappointing even in OK weather. This is what you could see in 2016:

People for scale:

 

If you are not hiring the helicopter, the day in Juneau is better spent on a whale watch! In my not humble opinion.

In this picture it looks like the glacier had an earlier flooding incident. This happens occasially when melting water builds up behind the glacier front and suddenly breaks through the ice and floods the lake below. It happened right before one of our visits and the trail to the waterfall (behind the person on the right) was closed. Normally you can walk all the way to the waterfall; it is about 1 mile to the falls. Worth it if the trail is open.

I think they might be changing MDR menus for the new areas they are now sailing to, such as Mexico/Caribbean to Alaska. They do change to more local influenced menus, so maybe the whole menu thing will be fixed when the menus are confirmed. Hope so!!

12 minutes ago, cruisn71 said:

They are doing a special 'corner' in the lido at lunch on sea days.  They had American on the 1st sea day.   They call this one Heritage.  I am expecting French, Italian, German, Japanese, Chinese and more based on previous cruises.  It is being held in the port side Sweetspot across from Rise 

Thank you. Is this only on the Koningsdam and other ships of its type? Haven't been on one of those yet; also not familiar with "Rise" either...sounds like the baked item area.

What is this "Heritage Corner"? Is it something new? I am not familiar with this in the Lido, although we rarely go to the Lido for lunch. The items sound interesting and different. Is it where the "Sweet Spot" is in the lido? I am not familiar with that either, but it sounds like a dessert location; guess I sound like a newbie, but I have been on HAL many times, so I am kind of embarrassed to not have seen it before. Thanks for any info! 

We were on a Triple Denali a few years ago and ate all our meals at Karsten's. The food was good and plentiful and we never approached the amounts the dining plan costs. The last question on the flyer above states that the plan is probably not cost effective if you prefer lighter meals.

The PG breakfast starts and lasts 30 min later on sea days, I believe.

9 hours ago, chengkp75 said:

 

Totally agree.  The photos give me a vital clue into the incident.  The first picture shows an "expanded" flex joint (which is a corrugated, flexible section of piping that allows for movement between the two sections of machinery) in what looks like a steam heat exchanger.  This flex joint most likely was full of water, and this blew out when steam was introduced.  There was no fire, but the space filled with hot steam.

 

As you say, Walker makes veiled accusations about the watertight door not operating.  This makes perfect sense to me.  The hydraulic watertight doors operate with no rubber sealing to make the watertight seal, it relies on hydraulic force to jam the door into a wedge shaped frame.  And, the hydraulics are strong enough to "un-jam" the door when it needs to be opened.  However, if the door is heated by the steam filling the space, it expands in the wedge frame, increasing the pressure required to open the door, likely above what could be provided by the hydraulic pump.

 

Mr. Walker also states that the workers were not equipped with EEBD, but that is not a common industry practice for nearly all work done in engine rooms, and EEBD's are most common on tankers, but also they are only a few scattered at locations around the engine room, not typically carried by workers to their worksite.

 

He also makes it sound as if HAL is guilty of something for not releasing results of internal investigations, but he doesn't say whether US companies of whatever type have to release this information, or whether that information comes from law enforcement sources, as the Flag State and class investigations equate to.

 

Just more fuel for my disdain for Walker. 

I'm just catching up and cannot find the comment you are referring to; was it removed by the monitors? And who is "Walker"?

5 hours ago, jenp123 said:

Just a heads up on the Nieuw Amsterdam.  It has a dedicated morimoto restaurant that takes up half of Tamarind and because they are sharing the same kitchen, they significantly reduced the Tamarind menu to make it easier for the kitchen to keep up.  I ended up not eating at Tamarind because all of my favorites were not available on this ship.  Not saying they aren't good options on the menu, just a lot less than the other ships.

Thank you for this information. I was afraid of this shrinking of the menu when I saw the shorter one printed awhile ago, but everyone on the NA before now said the menu was the older one. Now we may have to cancel at least one of our rezes since some of my favorites are also missing....😒

12 hours ago, ottahand7 said:

We are eating there again tonight and I booked two more for 5 star benefits before we disembark on 2/24. 

 

Beef, crispy duck, Nami Sushi extra, shrimp tempura, fried soft shell crab from Nami extra charge, dessert, two more crispy duck and shrimp tempura.  All very yummy! 

I see my favorite dessert!! Thank you for showing me that the menu is intact!! Also, the duck looks delicious...have never tried it; might have to in May. 

On 2/6/2024 at 6:27 PM, oakridger said:

 

On the January 2024 menu listed on Roger Jett's website in post #5 the Barramundi and Yuzu Cheesecake are still listed. Is there a more recent version than that?

 

 

 

 

~Nancy

Good to hear; when I look at the Navigator Tamarind menu I only see the shortened list. I haven't looked at the HAL website menu recently. Thought they would be the same.

Has anyone noticed that the menu is not as large as before? Last year I had the fish (burrimundi-spelling?) entree and it appears to be gone now. Also my favorite dessert: a sweet "cheesecake" item...forgot the name.🤔

1 hour ago, WVU_Neal said:

I just checked and the complete link is below.

 

Mariner 3 stars get 25% of packages and bottles.

Mariner 4-5 get 50%

 

https://www.hollandamerica.com/en/us/plan-a-cruise/get-ready-for-your-cruise/mariner-society

I think you missed the “excluding” parenthesis.