Thoughts on our recent Panama Canal trip on NA

[angelbearmom]

I've now been home a week and thought I'd share a few things from our trip.

 

My mom, a friend and I were in what is termed a triple deluxe ocean view verandah cabin, It's the 1st level of verandah cabins. It was tiny. All of us had been on smaller HAL ships with way more room. We managed but it was very hard to get around in the cabin.

 

Previously on CC it had been stated that all newer HAL ships had usb charging ports around the lamps. We had none. We did find one behind the tv on our last day. The cabin only had 2 outlets; both had the international and US outlets.The 2 of us in the twin beds needed cpap machines. Fortunately I'd brought an extension cord which worked. It just barely reached our machines but stuck out in between my bed and the hide a bed so that my mom frequently tripped over it at night.

 

Overall everything related to food was great. We especially enjoyed the Pinnacle and had 3 meals there. In the Canaletto as there were 3 of us we were told I think to order for 3 rather than 2. That gave us way too much food. I can't remember how many of the different plates we were told to order but ordering for 2 would have been better.

 

One complaint was that some items ran out a week before the end of the cruise. Apparently a new person had come aboard at some point but it came down to them not realizing how much was needed for a 21 day cruise rather than 14 days. The most frustrating was with the wine package my mom had prepurchased before the cruise. It had 1 specific wine that she really wanted and couldn't get any other way. One week before the end of the cruise she went to order a new bottle and was told there weren't any more. 4 other red wines on that package were also not available. They also ran out of the souvenir cordial glasses that came with the after dinner drinks. But on the last day at the deck sale there were complete boxes of them. We had a lovely wine steward most nights and she found me one of the ones I'd wanted so I did end up with only 2 duplicates. And, for my mom, they ran out of skim milk 2 or 3 days before the end of the cruise.

 

Chocolate parade was good. Not well organized. Definitely come prepared with a plate or napkins for if you don't want to eat all of the wonderful chocolate goodies at 10 pm. We had 2 of the parades and when we came prepared with a plate at the 2nd we got lots of teasing. But, we had unmelted and unsquished chocolates to enjoy back in the cabin. On the NA the chocolate parade was on deck 2. Everyone started to gather near the glass steps at the Atrium. It started with a cart of trays with chocolate goodies on them along with crew. Then they started to bring the trays around starting near the elevators and then down the hall towards the Pinnacle. The problem was that they all started from the same end and by the time they'd gotten very far their trays were empty. There was always more but as they kept coming out the same area some had a hard time getting anything. But, if you really want the chocolate stand near the elevator up to the beginning of the stairs ready with a plate. .

 

More on food: the asian foods in the Lido Market tended to be quite spicy but most of the dishes in the main dining room that you'd think of as spicy weren't that bad. The menu changed with our locations so during our Mexican ports there were more mexican style dishes, same with the Caribbean period. The waiters when asked told us that they try to keep the dishes in the mdr not very spicy. I loved the variety of food. I think I had shrimp daily sometimes in multiple courses of one meal. The Lido was by far the nicest place for breakfast. Lunch was ok. There were a lot of choices. I just didn't like most of them. But my travel companions always were happy with what they got. I didn't like the hamburgers at Dive In but loved the pizza. We didn't quite get to try all of them. But we loved what we got. Tribeca I think was quite spicy.

 

We had hoped to spend a lot of time listening to the Adagio strings-only 2 players as mentioned for another ship. But that part of the ship was freezing. Just walking by it on the way to the dining room we could feel it.

 

As I've mentioned previously we had the one emergency while in Huatulco. In my opinion the captain and crew did a wonderful job both on shore and on the ship. They made sure everyone was well informed of what was going on. There was another issue at the port in Costa Rica which wasn't handled as well with people on excursions returning very late. We had canceled our excursion for that day and it sounded like it was good that we had as the people on that excursion got back around 10 pm.

 

Ports:

Huatulco; that was the first port we experienced really agressive sales/tour operators. They were really quite obnoxious. That was at the shopping area near the dock. The one a little farther away-across a parking lot was much better although the sales people at each stand were quite agressive too. Just not as bad as out in the main area. Their agressiveness made passengers not trust when we were told to go to a hotel while waiting for the ship to be ready for us. We all thought they were just sales people trying to get us into their shops and businesses. Finally someone from HAL got our attention and assured us that we were being told the truth.

 

Nicaragua;Not much shopping in the little market just outside the pier area-very industrial area.

 

The best shopping port (my main purpose in getting off the ship) was at Puerto Quetzal (Quatemala). It was larger, shaded and very full of nice shops. It was in a circle though so I did get lost. But I got lovely things there.

 

Going through the canal was amazing. We'd been shown a couple of videos about the making of the canal which helped us understand the process. The bow end was open by 6 am on several decks. We all moved around different areas both inside and out to watch what was going on. By the time the ship went into the last set of locks in the afternoon those in my cabin and I just sat and watched on the tv. It was better than fighting for a spot to stand. It showed everything from the bow camera.

 

Over all the trip was wonderful.

[easyboy]

Glad you had a wonderful cruise. Thanks for sharing your experience.

 

 

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[canadianbear]

Thank you for your detailed thoughts about your cruise. I know I would find the cabin you had for the 3 of you tight. (But I'm also claustrophobic).

 

Nice to hear you enjoyed several meals in the Pinnacle.

 

Sorry to hear about some of the "bumps" you encountered with running out of items & wine your mom liked.

 

Hope you all came back with nice memories traveling together.

 

 

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[kftw]

Thank you for for your detailed review.

[ski ww]

Thanks for posting your review. Sorry to hear they ran out of some things, hard to believe.

Allan

[erewhon]

Thank you for reviewing your cruise.

Yes, cruising the Panama Canal is a great experience.

[blizzardboy]

Previously on CC it had been stated that all newer HAL ships had usb charging ports around the lamps. We had none. We did find one behind the tv on our last day. The cabin only had 2 outlets; both had the international and US outlets.The 2 of us in the twin beds needed cpap machines. Fortunately I'd brought an extension cord which worked. It just barely reached our machines but stuck out in between my bed and the hide a bed so that my mom frequently tripped over it at night.

The Nieuw Amsterdam goes to the shipyard next month for the upgrades you're referencing. HAL's refurbishment schedule has been discussed on this forum repeatedly, but you must have missed it. We'll be sailing on her in a couple of weeks. We were on her sister the Eurodam in January, after she had her refurb, so this voyage will be a short trip back in time

For future reference, if extension cords are needed for medical devices, just ask your steward. Typically, HAL only wants their own approved cords to be used.

[Keith1010]

Glad you had a wonderful cruise and I enjoyed your trip report.

Keith

[puppycanducruise]

Thank you for taking the time to post your comments.

Glad you enjoyed the cruise.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thank you for taking the time to write your review.

We have been on several long cruises when they ran out of many food and wine items way before the end of the cruise.

Glad you enjoyed your cruise. We have done the full transit quite a few times and never get tired of it.

Didn't you try the Tamarind?

[kazu]

Thanks for the review.

 

It's not uncommon for them to run out of a wine in the wine package. Hard to know what everyone wants ;)

 

Usually when that happens, our wine steward has offered a substitute - a wine that is similar that is not in the wine package. It's actually usually a better vintage IMO than in the package ;)

 

It sounds like that offer was not made to you?

[DaveOKC]

Thanks for the review.

 

We were on the first 5 days of the cruise and disembarked in San Diego. We REALLY liked the ship and it is now our favorite HAL one! We dined at the Tamarind the first night and found it to be excellent.

 

We were in a Signature Suite and found it to be very comfortable and plenty large for 2. I understand your size issue with 3 in an ocean view, as the larger HAL ships definitely all have smaller sized cabins in all categories (even the Neptunes) than do the older, smaller HAL ones.

 

We thought the condition of the ship was excellent and could not understand why it is undergoing a dry dock at this time.

[Roz]

Angelbear, thank you for your balanced review. I'm glad overall you had a good cruise, despite a few glitches that could have been prevented by HAL (running out of items).

 

Dave, NA was my favorite HAL ship until I sailed Eurodam.

 

Roz

[HELENPSL]

I've now been home a week and thought I'd share a few things from our trip.

 

 

 

My mom, a friend and I were in what is termed a triple deluxe ocean view verandah cabin, It's the 1st level of verandah cabins. It was tiny. All of us had been on smaller HAL ships with way more room. We managed but it was very hard to get around in the cabin.

 

 

 

Previously on CC it had been stated that all newer HAL ships had usb charging ports around the lamps. We had none. We did find one behind the tv on our last day. The cabin only had 2 outlets; both had the international and US outlets.The 2 of us in the twin beds needed cpap machines. Fortunately I'd brought an extension cord which worked. It just barely reached our machines but stuck out in between my bed and the hide a bed so that my mom frequently tripped over it at night.

 

 

 

Overall everything related to food was great. We especially enjoyed the Pinnacle and had 3 meals there. In the Canaletto as there were 3 of us we were told I think to order for 3 rather than 2. That gave us way too much food. I can't remember how many of the different plates we were told to order but ordering for 2 would have been better.

 

 

 

One complaint was that some items ran out a week before the end of the cruise. Apparently a new person had come aboard at some point but it came down to them not realizing how much was needed for a 21 day cruise rather than 14 days. The most frustrating was with the wine package my mom had prepurchased before the cruise. It had 1 specific wine that she really wanted and couldn't get any other way. One week before the end of the cruise she went to order a new bottle and was told there weren't any more. 4 other red wines on that package were also not available. They also ran out of the souvenir cordial glasses that came with the after dinner drinks. But on the last day at the deck sale there were complete boxes of them. We had a lovely wine steward most nights and she found me one of the ones I'd wanted so I did end up with only 2 duplicates. And, for my mom, they ran out of skim milk 2 or 3 days before the end of the cruise.

 

 

 

Chocolate parade was good. Not well organized. Definitely come prepared with a plate or napkins for if you don't want to eat all of the wonderful chocolate goodies at 10 pm. We had 2 of the parades and when we came prepared with a plate at the 2nd we got lots of teasing. But, we had unmelted and unsquished chocolates to enjoy back in the cabin. On the NA the chocolate parade was on deck 2. Everyone started to gather near the glass steps at the Atrium. It started with a cart of trays with chocolate goodies on them along with crew. Then they started to bring the trays around starting near the elevators and then down the hall towards the Pinnacle. The problem was that they all started from the same end and by the time they'd gotten very far their trays were empty. There was always more but as they kept coming out the same area some had a hard time getting anything. But, if you really want the chocolate stand near the elevator up to the beginning of the stairs ready with a plate. .

 

 

 

More on food: the asian foods in the Lido Market tended to be quite spicy but most of the dishes in the main dining room that you'd think of as spicy weren't that bad. The menu changed with our locations so during our Mexican ports there were more mexican style dishes, same with the Caribbean period. The waiters when asked told us that they try to keep the dishes in the mdr not very spicy. I loved the variety of food. I think I had shrimp daily sometimes in multiple courses of one meal. The Lido was by far the nicest place for breakfast. Lunch was ok. There were a lot of choices. I just didn't like most of them. But my travel companions always were happy with what they got. I didn't like the hamburgers at Dive In but loved the pizza. We didn't quite get to try all of them. But we loved what we got. Tribeca I think was quite spicy.

 

 

 

We had hoped to spend a lot of time listening to the Adagio strings-only 2 players as mentioned for another ship. But that part of the ship was freezing. Just walking by it on the way to the dining room we could feel it.

 

 

 

As I've mentioned previously we had the one emergency while in Huatulco. In my opinion the captain and crew did a wonderful job both on shore and on the ship. They made sure everyone was well informed of what was going on. There was another issue at the port in Costa Rica which wasn't handled as well with people on excursions returning very late. We had canceled our excursion for that day and it sounded like it was good that we had as the people on that excursion got back around 10 pm.

 

 

 

Ports:

 

Huatulco; that was the first port we experienced really agressive sales/tour operators. They were really quite obnoxious. That was at the shopping area near the dock. The one a little farther away-across a parking lot was much better although the sales people at each stand were quite agressive too. Just not as bad as out in the main area. Their agressiveness made passengers not trust when we were told to go to a hotel while waiting for the ship to be ready for us. We all thought they were just sales people trying to get us into their shops and businesses. Finally someone from HAL got our attention and assured us that we were being told the truth.

 

 

 

Nicaragua;Not much shopping in the little market just outside the pier area-very industrial area.

 

 

 

The best shopping port (my main purpose in getting off the ship) was at Puerto Quetzal (Quatemala). It was larger, shaded and very full of nice shops. It was in a circle though so I did get lost. But I got lovely things there.

 

 

 

Going through the canal was amazing. We'd been shown a couple of videos about the making of the canal which helped us understand the process. The bow end was open by 6 am on several decks. We all moved around different areas both inside and out to watch what was going on. By the time the ship went into the last set of locks in the afternoon those in my cabin and I just sat and watched on the tv. It was better than fighting for a spot to stand. It showed everything from the bow camera.

 

 

 

Over all the trip was wonderful.

 

 

 

For future reference...we also use cpap machines, one on each nightstand. Several weeks before the cruise I call guest services and tell them we need an extra long extension cord. They usually bring an orange cord like you use outside, hook up everything and then tape the cord down with duct tape so we don’t kill ourselves. We also bring two regular extension cords.

Helen

 

 

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[McFisch]

Thank you for your post. We will be taking this exact ship but from Fort Lauderdale to San Diego in April of 2018. Celebrating our 30th Wedding Anniversary.

[blizzardboy]

We thought the condition of the ship was excellent and could not understand why it is undergoing a dry dock at this time.

She hasn't had the suite/stateroom upgrades to my knowledge. Has the Music Walk conversion happened yet?

[DaveOKC]

She hasn't had the suite/stateroom upgrades to my knowledge. Has the Music Walk conversion happened yet?

 

Not sure what they are going to do to the stateroom, but ours had the flat screen TV on the wall and the new programming option on it. Plus the bathroom looked fresh and fairly new. The cabin's furniture was in great shape also.

[Old As Dirt Mom]

She hasn't had the suite/stateroom upgrades to my knowledge. Has the Music Walk conversion happened yet?

 

Not sure what they are going to do to the stateroom, but ours had the flat screen TV on the wall and the new programming option on it. Plus the bathroom looked fresh and fairly new. The cabin's furniture was in great shape also.

 

Perhaps she's being dry docked to install the new EXC (Explorations Central) in the Crow's Nest?

[sail7seas]

Perhaps she's being dry docked to install the new EXC (Explorations Central) in the Crow's Nest?

 

Some times the dry docks are not simply cosmetic but on a regbular schedule need mechaanical repairs, maintenance. Maybe it is time for engine work? or HVAC work that cannot be done with the ship in service?

[DaveOKC]

My wife said that someone on board told her that the NA was going on a long cruise soon and had to get a dry dock in first (for some reason).

[angelbearmom]

We were told that the only things that will be done during the dry dock are on the entertainment areas of the ship-decks 2 and/or 3. Nothing will be done on the staterooms or the restaurants from what we were told in a talk by the captain. I think it's the music walk that will be added. I didn't like that the Explorers Cafe was way up next to the crows nest lounge. We were in mid ship so to go up there meant walking awhile and then different elevators. I was too lazy to figure it out a lot of the time. We did try the Tamarind and loved it too. Especially the servers. They were great. We got to know a few more of the servers and their personal lives this time which was nice. Problem with the Tamarind for us was that there were limited options for a couple of us in our group.

[jogr]

It seems like the things you are complaining about are so small, should be expected, (cabin size, LOL) and not even worthy of complaint. Skim milk? Part of the ship was chilly? Really? I gotta say, life's too short to sweat the small stuff.

[Lady Chew]

Perhaps she's being dry docked to install the new EXC (Explorations Central) in the Crow's Nest?

 

We were on the same cruise, and were told by the Hotel Director & EXC lady (Jennifer? from Australia) that this was being done in the dry dock ....