CSI: NA Reloaded (Nieuw Amsterdam 11/30 to 12/14/14)

[Camlaura]

Here's the updated bar list with beer, liquor, cordials, wines by the glass, and other drinkables. Please be aware that this is a booklet that was taken apart and scanned. It's printed on both sides, so what you see here in the PDF will be a bit out of order compared to the paper book you would hold in your hands. I ran OCR on it so you should be able to copy & paste from the PDF into your favorite word processing or text application.

 

http://www.evernote.com/l/AFjfjoMv8_JHkbYYbtoRGyWwQbib0_LzvTU/

 

Some important notes for people who have been asking: 1) There is a cider, Strongbow. It would be eligible for the Signature Beverage Package. 2) There are a couple of extra wines on the list that are SBP eligible. These were not there in March, but they were probably there two weeks ago when we cruised. I just don't pay a lot of attention to the wines by the glass because we're more of a wines by the bottle people.

 

Each bar has its own list of signature cocktails as well. I love you all, but there's no way I'm scanning all those. However, there's a good chance that Roger (Crew News) loves you more and he may scan them.

 

 

Looks like there is no longer a Prosecco by the glass...I wonder how the 5.50 French sparkling is?

 

Thanks for posting POA1!

Edited December 9, 2014 by Camlaura
Added

[POA1]

Looks like there is no longer a Prosecco by the glass...I wonder how the 5.50 French sparkling is?

 

Thanks for posting POA1!

 

There's still a Prosecco; it's just not on the list I scanned. The $5.50 sparkling from France is about what you would expect at that price point.

[POA1]

Recently when we were on the Westerdam Guinness was in bottles, same as other ships we've been on.

 

All the Guinness I've seen has been in bottles.

Edited December 9, 2014 by POA1

[POA1]

Thanks...

 

Three of my last four cruises had Guinness Foreign Extra in bottles but one trip was that "draft" in a can. Seems more likely to have Foreign Extra if the ship has recently been to Europe...

 

I've not seen any Guinness "special" beer, but in all fairness, I've not looked for it.

[POA1]

It is interesting that us non-US citizens need to bring copy of their ESTA as you do not actually need to have paper copy of ESTA to enter US in the first place. It is enough to do complete the ESTA electronically before your travel. Can somenone check that paper print out of your ESTA is really needed?

Furthermore what is enough? Print screen of your ESTA? Or something else? I am a bit worried now and want to make sure I will have the right proof of my ESTA with me on my cruise.

 

Eulalia - Please accept my apologies for taking so long to get an answer for you.

 

I went down to the Front Office and told them that I have a neighbor from Finland who had a question about the ESTA. (Our neighbor in our condominium is from Finland, so this is kind of true.) Here is the Front Office's answer:

 

"The electronically filed ESTA should be fine, but if there is a computer problem or other issue, Holland America recommends that the traveler bring a printed copy."

 

Hope that helps! (The Institute of Cheer is looking for high customer service scores from Finland. ;) )

 

If you have any other questions, please let me know.

[Eulalia]

Thanks a million POA1!

 

I am sure you will be rewarded generously by the real Santa (real Santa lives in Finland near arctic circle) this year for all the good works you have done to us fellow cruisers.

 

Looking forward rest of your cruise review as I will be on board of Nieuw Amsterdam on 25 January.

 

And after reporting that you can get Strongbow cider on board has really ensured me I should get us beverage cards! I wonder whether I should call HAL that two thristy Finns will be onboard from 25 January :D so they should make sure they will not run out of Strongbow!

Edited December 9, 2014 by Eulalia

[Krazy Kruizers]

Here's the updated bar list with beer, liquor, cordials, wines by the glass, and other drinkables. Please be aware that this is a booklet that was taken apart and scanned. It's printed on both sides, so what you see here in the PDF will be a bit out of order compared to the paper book you would hold in your hands. I ran OCR on it so you should be able to copy & paste from the PDF into your favorite word processing or text application.

 

http://www.evernote.com/l/AFjfjoMv8_JHkbYYbtoRGyWwQbib0_LzvTU/

 

Some important notes for people who have been asking: 1) There is a cider, Strongbow. It would be eligible for the Signature Beverage Package. 2) There are a couple of extra wines on the list that are SBP eligible. These were not there in March, but they were probably there two weeks ago when we cruised. I just don't pay a lot of attention to the wines by the glass because we're more of a wines by the bottle people.

 

Each bar has its own list of signature cocktails as well. I love you all, but there's no way I'm scanning all those. However, there's a good chance that Roger (Crew News) loves you more and he may scan them.

 

 

That is the same bar menu that I took pictures of on our recent cruise.

I was going to take pictures of the other bar menus -- never did. Too much work.

[POA1]

 

On this Day in History - December 9th - The YMCA is founded in Montreal, Quebec, Canada in 1851. 127 years later, the organization finally gets a catchy, disco party-anthem theme song.

 

We're in Grand Turk and the weather is grand as well.

 

Last night was formal night in the MDR and we enjoyed an excellent meal. I'll scan the menu, which was a new "Captain's Gala" format, later today. In the meantime, here are your dinner photos at the link below.

 

 

https://www.evernote.com/shard/s88/sh/3f133b00-2783-45ab-88be-f72e6cbf8d66/468ebc4570b325d9e70e5710cd313a7b

 

 

 

Poohby Joe knows that the ladies love Champagne, roses, and chocolates in the budoir.

 

I'll post some more notes later, after we grab breakfast.

Edited December 9, 2014 by POA1

[cruz chic]

Love the pic of poohby Joe. Interesting about the dinner. We did not see lobster tails at all the second week. I guess they were saving them for the big shots:D.

[pamelabrown53]

 

On this Day in History - December 9th - The YMCA is founded in Montreal, Quebec, Canada in 1851. 127 years later, the organization finally gets a catchy, disco party-anthem theme song.

 

We're in Grand Turk and the weather is grand as well.

 

Last night was formal night in the MDR and we enjoyed an excellent meal. I'll scan the menu, which was a new "Captain's Gala" format, later today. In the meantime, here are your dinner photos at the link below.

 

 

https://www.evernote.com/shard/s88/sh/3f133b00-2783-45ab-88be-f72e6cbf8d66/468ebc4570b325d9e70e5710cd313a7b

 

 

 

Poohby Joe knows that the ladies love Champagne, roses, and chocolates in the budoir.

 

I'll post some more notes later, after we grab breakfast.

Poohby Joe is looking so debonair and James Bondish...the Sean Connery James Bond!:D

[POA1]

Prior to dinner last night, we spent some time in the Explorer's Lounge, listening to Adagio. They were playing some up tempo classical music, Mozart's "Eine Kleine Nachtmuzik" and the like. They're quite good. If classical music is your speed, then they're worth a visit. Henry, the bartender did a nice job.

 

After dinner, DFIL went to the Piano Bar, his new regular spot. Huskerchick and I went up to the Crow's Nest. I need to issue a correction: The Crow's Nest is only closed from 5-9 certain evenings for the group, not every night.

 

We went to the last BB King show of the evening, and headed out to the deck to sit and chat. The band was excellent as usual. Our bar server, Oscar was great, too. Rumor has it that I am going to hear Green Onions tonight.

 

More on formal night dinner to follow...

[POA1]

Here's the dinner menu from last night. It was a standalone, four panel fold out square menu, instead of the usual. I don't know if this is new or just for this cruise. We noticed that the menu jackets are really, really beat up, so we'll keep our eyes peeled for any changes to the menu format.

 

http://www.evernote.com/l/AFjEOgJ-lmZNS64jWGrBhi5SHRQpZ1ACImk/

 

You'll note that there are no "everyday items" on the menu. We didn't ask if they were available or not.

 

If you want to see what we had to eat, consult the Evernote link in the page above. Here's the quick version though: DW had escargot and salad. Her father and I had the shrimp cocktail and the Caribbean fish chowder. It was an excellent chowder with good flavors. Huskerchick and I had the surf and turf. She had an extra lobster tail. The lobster was good for previously frozen product. (We lived in Maine for years and we're much happier with lobster that was in the ocean only a few hours before it hit the plate. DW's filet was a touch overcooked, medium instead of mid-rare. The beef was good, but mine wasn't perfectly butchered and had a bit of sinew down the middle. (Hey Cruz Chic! Is that better in terms of criticism? ;) )

 

Desserts were good, even the chocolate souffle, which was surprising given the volumes. (Huskerchick's souffle had fallen a bit though.) DFIL liked his cherries jubilee sundae so much he practically licked the plate clean.

 

Our wines were a bottle of Belle Glos Pinot Noir and a bottle of Champagne.

[nanlaur]

Thank-you POA1 for your ride-along on the NA! We'll be doing the same itinerary on the same ship in Feb. and are enjoying very much the vicarious preview.

 

We have our little guys (Murphy (mouse) and Jake (bluejay)) along with us when we cruise and they are also responsible for guarding the wine. Though I'm not sure they are entirely trustworthy guarding an already-poured glass ;)

[POA1]

From our observation post at the Explorer's Lounge, we were able to see the open seating crowd. The were a little less dressy than the upstairs people at fixed seating, but everyone looked nice. This cruise is a little less dressy for men, but more for women. Plenty of long gowns compared to previous weeks.

[POA1]

A little bonus food pix for you from Sunday as we left Fort Lauderdale. I already wrote about the meal, but here are the photos.

 

https://www.evernote.com/shard/s88/l/AFjKO47Noe5MKYdCbshdL4MLr-YthrZZ5pMA

/

[sail7seas]

Poohby Joe is looking so debonair and James Bondish...the Sean Connery James Bond!:D

 

Fine work by the Institute of Cheer.

You truly are someone who knows how to enjoy himself !!!

So appreciate you sharing your good cheer with us. It's a grey, pouring rainy day here and your happy reports are just perfect. :)

 

Edited December 9, 2014 by sail7seas

[65 Gator]

A little bonus food pix for you from Sunday as we left Fort Lauderdale. I already wrote about the meal, but here are the photos.

 

 

Just what I wanted... Thanks so much.

[Krazy Kruizers]

 

On this Day in History - December 9th - The YMCA is founded in Montreal, Quebec, Canada in 1851. 127 years later, the organization finally gets a catchy, disco party-anthem theme song.

 

We're in Grand Turk and the weather is grand as well.

 

Last night was formal night in the MDR and we enjoyed an excellent meal. I'll scan the menu, which was a new "Captain's Gala" format, later today. In the meantime, here are your dinner photos at the link below.

 

 

https://www.evernote.com/shard/s88/sh/3f133b00-2783-45ab-88be-f72e6cbf8d66/468ebc4570b325d9e70e5710cd313a7b

 

 

 

Poohby Joe knows that the ladies love Champagne, roses, and chocolates in the budoir.

 

I'll post some more notes later, after we grab breakfast.

 

 

Love it.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Here's the dinner menu from last night. It was a standalone, four panel fold out square menu, instead of the usual. I don't know if this is new or just for this cruise. We noticed that the menu jackets are really, really beat up, so we'll keep our eyes peeled for any changes to the menu format.

 

http://www.evernote.com/l/AFjEOgJ-lmZNS64jWGrBhi5SHRQpZ1ACImk/

 

You'll note that there are no "everyday items" on the menu. We didn't ask if they were available or not.

 

If you want to see what we had to eat, consult the Evernote link in the page above. Here's the quick version though: DW had escargot and salad. Her father and I had the shrimp cocktail and the Caribbean fish chowder. It was an excellent chowder with good flavors. Huskerchick and I had the surf and turf. She had an extra lobster tail. The lobster was good for previously frozen product. (We lived in Maine for years and we're much happier with lobster that was in the ocean only a few hours before it hit the plate. DW's filet was a touch overcooked, medium instead of mid-rare. The beef was good, but mine wasn't perfectly butchered and had a bit of sinew down the middle. (Hey Cruz Chic! Is that better in terms of criticism? ;) )

 

Desserts were good, even the chocolate souffle, which was surprising given the volumes. (Huskerchick's souffle had fallen a bit though.) DFIL liked his cherries jubilee sundae so much he practically licked the plate clean.

 

Our wines were a bottle of Belle Glos Pinot Noir and a bottle of Champagne.

 

 

 

That is certainly a different format from the new menu format we got on the Noordam.

[Krazy Kruizers]

A little bonus food pix for you from Sunday as we left Fort Lauderdale. I already wrote about the meal, but here are the photos.

 

https://www.evernote.com/shard/s88/l/AFjKO47Noe5MKYdCbshdL4MLr-YthrZZ5pMA

/

 

 

 

Yummy

Were your rolls hard? No matter what bread or rolls we chose, they were hard as bullets. I made mention of this on our e-mail survey.

[IndyDenise]

Thank you for paginating the menu. We appreciate everything you do for us .. But most of all I appreciate your sense of humor.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[innlady1]

Enjoying going along on your cruise! Love your menus and the food photos...makes me hungry looking at them.

 

Interesting about the "Available Every Day" offerings. I often opt for the salmon if there's nothing that appeals to me on the menu.

[POA1]

Fine work by the Institute of Cheer.

You truly are someone who knows how to enjoy himself !!!

So appreciate you sharing your good cheer with us. It's a grey, pouring rainy day here and your happy reports are just perfect. :)

 

 

Thanks! We were in touch with a friend in Maine who said that she was fighting to get her windshield wipers unstuck from the ice in Portland where she works. We sent her a photo of Huskerchick with an inflatable "beach Santa Claus" from Grang Turk.

 

Not sure if it cheered her up. :)

[POA1]

Yummy

 

Were your rolls hard? No matter what bread or rolls we chose, they were hard as bullets. I made mention of this on our e-mail survey.

 

The round, crusty rolls are hard on the outside, but soft on the inside.

[cruz chic]

 

Not sure if it cheered her up. :)

 

Yeah, my guess is not:D:p.