The thrifty cruisers Canada/New England review 4/29-5/6

[CGinMTL]

For more info on the dog statues. Google  The English Pug and the French Poodle
The Two Snobs

[cgolf1]

12 minutes ago, CGinMTL said:

You have beautiful pics of Montreal ( forgot the native orange cone ;)).

 

Where is the fairyland . Have never seen that before 

That building is on Saint-François-Xavier street. 

[cgolf1]

Sail out pictures. Yes I love to take lots of pictures lol.

 

 

[cgolf1]

Exploring the Ship, Daily Planner, and the MDR Menu from Day 1

 

It was really exciting to finally be on the ship and to explore some. Really like the design of the ship and surprised it has 3 sets of elevators. Deck 5 was a bit weird to navigate, but we got used to it. We rarely walked past the pinnacle grill on deck 4 during the trip.

 

Funny thing is we thought the sports deck would be a lot of fun with the shuffle board and the pickle ball. Obviously with the cold weather and the high winds we didn't make it back out there much at all.

 

The library area was huge which was nice and the Hudson room looked like a nice place to play cards. Night 1 we played cards in the library. We didn't watch the Origin Story about the 150 years of Holland America. 

 

For supper I did the Crab Seafood cocktail and the New York Strip. The appetizer was enjoyable and the steak had good flavor, but had a couple of tough spots. My wife did the cod slider and really enjoyed it and Spiced Roasted Chicken which she also liked. Overall an enjoyable meal.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 8, 2023 by cgolf1

[cgolf1]

Day 2 Quebec City

 

Since the weather was overcast with the threat of rain, I left the DSLR onboard and we walked around a bit and took a ride on the Funicular to see the Le Chateau Frontenac. The Chateau was just amazing looking and not sure that there are words that can really describe it. I understand why we don't make buildings like this anymore, but wow we should. That could go for most of the buildings that we have seen so far. We also walked along the Governors Promenade for a while too, which had lots of steps.

 

This will be the last post of the night:)

Edited May 8, 2023 by cgolf1

[oakridger]

I am reminded that I would like to go to Montreal again after viewing these pictures!  I went as a kid and was so excited to hear the people speaking French since I was learning it in school....that's all I remember!

 

~Nancy

[rodndonna]

I am Canadian so allowed to say - "what a bizarre custom??" 

 

Edit: mentioned to my husband and he is thinking it comes from rules for ferry operations which I think makes sense. Odd for a cruise ship though., I guess one rule for anything the floats to keep it simple.

 

 

Edited May 8, 2023 by rodndonna
more info

[cgolf1]

The Room

 

Wow how did I forget about this. The room was very nice. Lots of storage, honestly way more than we can use, and the bathroom was a decent size too. The only annoying or nice thing was the lights underneath the drawers by the bed and by the bathroom that light up by motion. Nice at night for getting to the bathroom, but bad in that they lit up by my CPAP tubing so that I needed bunch it up on the nightstand which isn't ideal. The power strip in the room was a nice touch.

[cgolf1]

Complaint number 1 - DI Water cost. First they do a gallon, which is always too much, a half gallon for a would be better. I even used it as water to take my medicine morning and night and didn't even use 1/2 of the gallon. Then the cost, just under 6 bucks is kind of crazy, especially when this is the first time we had to use it. I get up charging drinks because that is something people choose to purchase, the DI water, we CPAP users don't have a choice. IMO that should be offered near cost with a small amount of profit added. Knowing it is around a 1$ here, they have a huge markup on it.

 

We did note that we needed it on our initial reservation, but likely missed that there was a specific spot to purchase it pre cruise. We thought what we did would have got us the water with the charge when we got to the room. Lesson learned.

Edited May 8, 2023 by cgolf1

[Cruise Suzy]

39 minutes ago, cgolf1 said:

We did note that we needed it on our initial reservation, but likely missed that there was a specific spot to purchase it pre cruise. We thought what we did would have got us the water with the charge when we got to the room. Lesson learned.

 

Available under Beverages to pre-book at $2.95 per gallon.

[cgolf1]

6 minutes ago, Cruise Suzy said:

 

Available under Beverages to pre-book at $2.95 per gallon.

 

In the future we will know now. Too bad they don't kick out an email when you note that on the reservation to order it pre cruise. We had so little time to get ready for a new line that it was like cramming for a test in college:) 

 

Too bad you couldn't just carry a gallon or half gallon on with you.

[Cruise Suzy]

16 minutes ago, cgolf1 said:

Too bad you couldn't just carry a gallon or half gallon on with you.

 

From the Shipboard Life section of FAQs: (Also in Know Before You Go)

Purified or distilled water in factory-sealed containers (including plastic containers) for use in conjunction with medical device(s) are allowed in checked luggage and must be packed with the device(s). 

 

Edited May 8, 2023 by Cruise Suzy

[Kate45]

I am thoroughly enjoying your review and pics. We are doing 10 nite Montreal to Boston with 3 prts in Newfoundland September 3rd. I noticed on your pic of menu for 1st nite, there isn't any "always available" options. We haven't cruised since before covid but on our previous cruises (15 with various lines), there was always a couple of options available every nite if nothing appealed to us....like salmon, roast chicken, and a Caesar salad. Is this still the case? 

[BetsyS.]

Kate45- Last August on Niew Statendam you could order things that were not on menu in MDR.  That includes what you mentioned and also creme brulee and fruit crisp. In

my experience, if you asked you got it.

[cgolf1]

6 minutes ago, Kate45 said:

I am thoroughly enjoying your review and pics. We are doing 10 nite Montreal to Boston with 3 prts in Newfoundland September 3rd. I noticed on your pic of menu for 1st nite, there isn't any "always available" options. We haven't cruised since before covid but on our previous cruises (15 with various lines), there was always a couple of options available every nite if nothing appealed to us....like salmon, roast chicken, and a Caesar salad. Is this still the case? 

 

We found that odd as well. My wife is a very picky eater, but has been branching out as time goes on. We never saw any always available options, but perhaps if you ask they are still available. We always watch the plates delivered to nearby tables and I thought one night someone had salmon when it wasn't on the main menu.

[Homala]

I am enjoying your review very much!  My DH and I will be on the Zaandam in a few weeks, so I’m reading everything twice and just love your photos!
 

Your photos of the bathroom show a tube-style hair dryer hanging from the wall. Is that the only dryer in the room?  There was a “normal” hair dryer in the drawer on our past cruises, but if all they have is that wall unit, then I will need to pack my own dryer. Was hoping to avoid the added weight. Thanks in advance!

[cgolf1]

2 minutes ago, Homala said:

I am enjoying your review very much!  My DH and I will be on the Zaandam in a few weeks, so I’m reading everything twice and just love your photos!
 

Your photos of the bathroom show a tube-style hair dryer hanging from the wall. Is that the only dryer in the room?  There was a “normal” hair dryer in the drawer on our past cruises, but if all they have is that wall unit, then I will need to pack my own dryer. Was hoping to avoid the added weight. Thanks in advance!

 

There was a hair dryer in the top drawer, but we didn't use it, so no idea how effective it was. Hopefully someone else has used it and can comment.

[Homala]

Thank you!  Yeah, I don’t think the one in the drawer is the best, but it beats those tube things coming from high up on the wall. 
 

I was also surprised to see the power strip, but that would be great if they provide those now without a special request. Thanks again!

[Kate45]

I should write all my questions down and just ask once, but I'm thinking of more at every post. Can't thank you enough for all your posts so far and looking forward to the upcoming ones. You mentioned others joined you on the cruise. Were you able to find a taxi large enough for you all and your luggage. I was told that might be difficult. We are also a group of 4 adults. Is the $50 taxi fare a flat rate? 

[cgolf1]

Day 2 Activities and Supper

 

One thing I do want to comment on is the lack of detail on the daily program. They list the activities and even highlight some. Unfortunately they don't provide any background information on any of these activities. Maybe we are spoiled by other lines that do this, but it does help us to make decisions about what activities we want to do each day.

 

The activities for the day were walking around the city and once we were back onboard we played some cards, relaxed, and caught the dance sho In Tandem on the world stage. This show surprised us in that we all enjoyed it quite a lot.

 

We did try to go out for the Pickelball basic instructions, but it was so windy at that point that we headed in for Happy Hour, which you will notice was 50% off house brands and cocktails from 4-5 in the crows nest and ocean bar. This happened nights 2-7 and was great. For the 4 of us, 4 brandy old fashioneds came to just under 25$ total each night. We weren't going to drink more than 2 drinks each this cruise but couldn't pass this up lol.

 

Supper for me was the shrimp cocktail and the rack of lamb, and I really enjoyed it. My wife did the crab and artichoke dip, said the crab wasn't noticeable so she loved it, the cheese ravioli which she also enjoyed.

 

Added a couple of sail out pictures too. We went to bed relatively early because we usually are up and getting ready at roughly 6 each day.

 

We also fell into a routine pretty early in the cruise too.

 

Edited May 8, 2023 by cgolf1

[cgolf1]

6 minutes ago, Kate45 said:

I should write all my questions down and just ask once, but I'm thinking of more at every post. Can't thank you enough for all your posts so far and looking forward to the upcoming ones. You mentioned others joined you on the cruise. Were you able to find a taxi large enough for you all and your luggage. I was told that might be difficult. We are also a group of 4 adults. Is the $50 taxi fare a flat rate? 

 

When we got out of the terminal, they had Taxi vans, so space was not an issue. It appeared to be a flat rate to get down by the port, but not sure if that was based on the number of people or not. If there are say 2 people and a car worked, it may be cheaper. We were in get us to the hotel mode and the number stated seemed reasonable so we went for it. 

[Sea42]

5 minutes ago, cgolf1 said:

For the 4 of us, 4 brandy old fashioneds came to just under 25$ total each night.

Wisconsin people by any chance? It may as well be our state cocktail! LOL

[cgolf1]

56 minutes ago, Sea42 said:

Wisconsin people by any chance? It may as well be our state cocktail! LOL

Yup we are. That and the supper clubs we go to that imo make some of the fancier steak houses look bad and overpriced. 

[CGinMTL]

1 hour ago, cgolf1 said:

 

When we got out of the terminal, they had Taxi vans, so space was not an issue. It appeared to be a flat rate to get down by the port, but not sure if that was based on the number of people or not. If there are say 2 people and a car worked, it may be cheaper. We were in get us to the hotel mode and the number stated seemed reasonable so we went for it. 

The cab is flat fee , indépendant of number of people or bags 

Uber is not 

And there are a lot of detours and construction in Montreal 

Something to think about when making your decisions 

[Dismomx5]

On a recent experience on "another" cruiseline - we were "any time" dining. On the second night, the maitre D asked if we had a preference for seating - did we want the same servers ..etc? Being our usual attempt to be as easy as possible we said - "not really - we're OK - anywhere is fine with us". She then said "well - you were with "John" last night - would you like to be seating in his area again?"  We said yes, and were then seated with the same servers every night thereafter (different tables) in a similar manner. I had no idea cruises track who served us and not sure HAL does.

 

All this to say...maybe it is something that could be suggested to HAL. Not sure logisticaly if that would be easier or harder for them overall (harder to arrange seating but easier for servers to serve folks they know a bit) 

You can ask the hostess to seat you with a server that you've had and enjoyed. We did that last year on the Rotterdam. One server just seemed to 'get' us, and so we sat in their section all the time.