OlsSalt

LOL. It just happened to be 8 people in a two person"adult" cabana, 6 of which happened to be children who were allowed to free range the common area. Plus, food orders for 8 people in a 2 person cabana did impact the service level for all other cabana guests at this end of the Retreat. No point reading into this something that was not there. Carry on. Shall I repeat this again for clarity: we knew there would be a lot of children on board - we have done holiday cruises in the past. They add a festive element to holiday cruises. But because of this known fact, we decided to rent a Retreat Cabana, so by choice and at a cost premium, we could also have a quiet retreat adults space to use during that exact same holiday cruise. Is this what you call "focusing on children as miscreants"? It was the parents who ignored the rules, and somehow got priority treatment over the other Cabana guests who also were not happy with this unexpected 8 person family use of the adult-only cabana space. It was HAL's choice to give priority to the "miscreant" family. It wa our choice to walk away and not bother with further escalation. Close to being done with this, but I do ask others to address the issues put into play here and not take these personal side line diversions of their own making.

You materially err. Cabana staff admitted it was a breach of expectations, but asked us to deal with it. Where do you really want to go with this discussion, since you keep introducing new and non-factual elements?

You inadvertently hit on the key issue why we chose to let our own negative Retreat Cabana experience go, take our lumps and learn from this experience ........ in line .............not wanting to waste another moment .....standing in line.... to escalate the issue. The front desk lines on this cruise were daunting, and that was just to get Navigator working. Hassles at the Retreat Cabana vs hassles trying to get resolution. Not our idea of a "vacation". So we punted. Bottom line: when HAL offers a "reserved space" for an additional premium surcharge, keep mutual expectations clear and honored. Or else, immediately offer a refund.

iceman, the issue is HAL not enforcing their own promised regulations, to the detriment of materially and specifically affected passengers. That was the only point of contention. Should anyone be able to access Club Orange? Should anyone access the Neptune Lounge? Put my ow Cabana incident in that same category. Not good policy for HAL to be arbitrarily selective in some reserved space cases, and abide by promised regulations in others.

No, you did not read this particular issue. Material complaint: cabanas were restricted to two adults per unit or four adults per family unit according to their own promotional material and pricing. It was known there would be many children on board during the Holidays. This made the choice of the expected adults-only premium charge Retreat Cabanas a very valued option when in fact it was known there would be many children on board. I could be pool side with noisy kids for free on that cruise. So in this case, the cost of a the private adults only Retreat Cabana was good money down the drain. I contend this is a material complaint. Thanks for trying.

Tips are intended to show appreciation; not cause extra work for the unwitting recipient. Though, legal tender is legal tender.

How do we passengers deal with it, when HAL management choses to ignore a material complaint, or paper it over with CYA platitudes? We had to finally walk away from our paid-for Retreat Cabana. Our initial request to cancel and get a refund was not honored when we saw what we would be up against: allowing 6 kids plus two adults in a two-person Retreat cabana space. We were told we had to adapt; not the offending Retreat Cabana passengers. Why was that? A management decision curiosity. A sixth sense instinct - who will give them the least trouble - us or them? They obviously chose to offend us; not the clear Retreat Space offenders. The real question is how much further stress do others inflict on themselves while on board, trying to get this type of negative experience resolved? We choose to finally walk away from it. And now only complain about it here. Yes, I do think HAL should have immediately refunded our money with no further escalation required on our part. We folded. Just as their instincts assumed we would. So I am mad at myself, as much as HAL over this. I could have escalated this, but chose not to. When do others simply walk away and how many layers have others had to plow through while on board to finally get a satisfactory resolution?

How do other passengers deal with this "tyranny by the minority" of disrespectful" parents?

When holiday cruise passengers sign up knowing there will be far more families and children on board, but also pay extra for reserved, promised quiet, adults only, Retreat Cabana space to avoid this known holiday cruise impact, the best thing HAL management can say is ...... it is your fault ....you knew there would be more children on board at this time?

HAL has a special niche and a very high rate of repeat passengers so this low-key ambiance does work for a lot of paying HAL customers. We don't find it "depressing" at all. Just the opposite - quiet, non-frantic, peaceful, relaxing with full attention to where we are going. Anything else is just extra, not necessary. Good thing you got warned ahead of time. Keeping in mind most of us "quiet cruisers" gravitate to the smaller, older ships with the longer itineraries. Shorter cruises on the newer and larger ships reach out to a much wider range of passenger interests.

For the record: Same cruise - Konigsdam Christmas Cruise ........... parents are expected to assume responsibility for their children and ensure they are respectful of their fellow travelers....... Irresponsible parents brought in six active young children to the Retreat Cabana area, which ruined that pre-paid Retreat space for many of us nearby. There was no onboard resolution of this matter. No expectations were set or honored by onboard staff Just the opposite. They told us we had to accommodate them; not the other way around. This also created an unacceptable work load for the Retreat Stewards, resulting in very limited service for the other fully paid Retreat guests.

We also enjoyed visiting the full size replicas of Magellan's and Darwin's ships in Punta Arenas, Chile if you are staying in town. Sobering to see what passed for "cruise travel" in those days, that opened up the world to what we enjoy today.

You will find it dull. Trade-off between great HAL itineraries and appeal to more self-contained cruisers, and the higher on board distractions available on other cruise lines. HAL does serve a more unique niche in the cruise world - more for destinations oriented travelers on their smaller ships, but reaching out to more onboard entertainments on their larger newer ships.

Ex-Pat column explains current ways to access and pay for Dutch public transportation systems: (Lo-tech me says, I think I will just walk.) https://www.expatica.com/nl/living/transportation/guide-to-public-transport-in-the-netherlands-100594/

Not my comment. This information belongs to someone else. My advice remains: check what forms of payment you can use ahead of time for transit to Rotterdam.

This was a few years before "covid" on our Voyage of the Vikings turnaround stop. Euros will be fine. Coins, not bills. We finally had to go buy something in a little store at the port to get some EU coins in change to use the surface trams instead of the underground, to get to the train station. We had to totally give up on the underground at the port. The Dutch public transit website was the source of the bad news about using Dutch Bank credit cards only, at that time, re-confirmed here by a local poster. Good to check this out up front. Hope it has changed. Our first trip by train from AMS to Rotterdam was the first time we encountered needing a chip and pin card, which at the time (long ago) we did not have either. Couldn't understand why our credit card did not work- until a very nice local helped us out. Oh, we backwards Americans, had never heard of a chip and pin card at the time. Now many things are controlled by the newer tap cards. But from what banks?

We did the same thing - a few days in Amsterdam, and took the train to Rotterdam on departure day - very easy if you don't have too much luggage to handle. Various ways to get to the port after arriving in Rotterdam - there is public transit from the Rotterdam train station, as well as a taxi -great to share the costs with any other cruise passengers who are looking for the same connection. Our biggest hang up once when leaving the ship in Rotterdam for a few days traveling around Holland, was not having the right change for the metro and on a Sunday morning, no way to get it nor did it take our credit cards - needed a Dutch bank only. a the time. But you can get that worked out while you are in Amsterdam ahead of time.

Good workaround for some of the daily service items e no longer get. I do like my daily fresh orange. DH brings them back from the Lido when he goes up for early coffee. Best mid-afternoon snack for us, if we can no longer get them from the staff. DH now packs his handy little plastic orange peel hook.

No mints on your pillow, just the occasional chocolate on "gala" nights on your pillow. And maybe cute towel animal. Not long ago, they had a brightly uniformed young man who handed out traditional seafaring treats on the way out of the dining room - but alas, a tradition no more: mints, candied ginger, dates or figs. You can get as many wire hangers as you like- ask your steward, if you don't like the thicker wooden or padded ones which do take up a lot of closet space. You can ask for a small bar of soap - they often have them, or buy single bar of soap -various brands including Dove Soap, in the onboard ship's store - usually located where they also sell duty free liquor- along with other traveller needs. Or follow the crew in port to the special mariners shops, where they buy their own snacks and toiletries. I always pack small soap dish since I like bar soap too - there is no real place for wet soap in the sink area. Crew members are available when you board to greet, and perhaps arrange to escort you to a cabin. You will find the crews on these ships to be warm and welcoming, in a very professional and sincere way, and will help you if they can. Odd number cabins on one side, even numbers on the other. Front of the ship - the smaller numbers -get higher numbers s you move towards the back - which may be standard on all ships. Best rule is "food" is in the back and "entertainment" is in the front of the ship, with the pool and buffet and fast food options more in the middle. The smaller ships are pretty easy to navigate on your own - layouts are posted by each of the three sets of elevators - mid- fore- aft. So just go down a hallway until you reach and elevator bank and work from there. The older the HAL ship, the more traditional it will feel, some still retained they wonderful libraries and reading rooms.

Tried the Dutch Cafe several times, trying the highly recommended items made here -- meh. Don't see what the fuss is about - it was okay, but after a few tries we never went back. Nice to have this lower decks midship location open for food and it is a good attempt to be different. But the food itself never drew us back. We actually like the quality and variety of the Lido Buffet. And we always book a cabin, that gives us quick access to the Lido, so that remains our go-to spot for casual pick up food. We will change the scene and continue to use our Mariner's free specialty restaurant bonus meals, but MDR and Lido Buffet are hard to beat ....esp. for the price. (free)

Konigsdam - Holiday cruise - 2022-2023 1. Canaletto*** 2. Sushi Bar - fresh and well priced 3. Tamarind - for lovely ambiance only, not the food - disappointing 4. Pinnacle - low points all around- service and food 5. Sel de Mer - perfectly awful from start to finish, one and done, newer again Gelato Bar at Lido Pool area -small surcharge - excellent

Once did a talk for Toastmasters called "Around the World in 80 Words". During my own far ranging travels, I always tried to get to know about 80 words for each country I traveled in. Critical words like simply knowing the words for the mens and ladies restrooms, and numbers for money, prices, addresses and time schedules. Exit and Entrance signs that needed to be read. And of course, yes, no, hello, thank you, it is beautiful and it is very nice. Just "murmuring words" in passing, never enough to carry on a conversation. Of course today, there is a lot of digital translation available and thee growing use of universal symbols and the still global ubiquity of ESL for the travel standard. But it was fun trying to get inside a new language when a visitor in another country.

Our tiles top our nightstands, and go perfectly with our blue and white country bedroom decor. They are precious little reminders for us - first thing we see in the morning, and the last thing at night. Good times 🎊 (No, they are not a HAL alter! But they could be! )

Kitchen tip: I recently got the Breville brand "stick blender" with the additional attachments - chopping and whisking. It is a very nicely designed, versatile and easy to clean kitchen addition. It is corded, but this gives it additional power - to easily handle something like this bisque.

Heated pools to what temperatures? My own pool comfort benchmark these days is 84 degrees. Thnx.