LIVE Thanksgiving Review Nieuw Statendam Rome -> FLL My First Transatlantic Nov 26 - Dec 10 🦃

[ger_77]

11 hours ago, Haljo1935 said:

https://www.thehollandshops.net/holidaygiftguide/Holland_America_Holiday_Gift_Guide.html#Holland_America_Holiday_Gift_Guide

Any idea what the Stuhrling Rialto Chronograph watch is priced at on the ship?  I've seen it on an on-line site, but . . .

[0106]

2 hours ago, Haljo1935 said:

Maybe we can make "The Deep Blue" at 11am;

I have seen the Deep Blue on several cruises.  I wish they would develop some new presentations.  Did you have a guest speaker?  If so, how were their lectures?

[LAFFNVEGAS]

37 minutes ago, ger_77 said:

Any idea what the Stuhrling Rialto Chronograph watch is priced at on the ship?  I've seen it on an on-line site, but . . .

Ger, you know I had to google to see if I could find out what pricing was for that watch lol. I found a website ashford.com selling the watch pictured for US$85.99 stating 98% off stating List price $3625.00 US 😲Several other websites list it pretty low, bet the shops on HAL are stating the cost of about $925.00 with list price of $3625.00  Editing that I just found it at Macys for $63.75 😂

 

[trk_koa]

6 hours ago, dobiemom said:

Thanks @Haljo1935 for posting these Dailys.
All: I see that Tamarind had a special Rijsttafel dinner (Dec 3). Did anyone have this?

We did it. We enjoyed it very much. The service and food were very good. 
 

[Haljo1935]

5 hours ago, js1357 said:

I just saw recent daily programs for the Rotterdam that did not include outdoor movies either.  I sent an email to HAL asking why the outdoor screens were not being used as advertised.  All I got was a link to the advertisement for outdoor movies on their website.  I responded by saying that at least on 2 of the 3 Pinnacle ships, the daily programs didn't show movies being shown.  I could understand one screen being inoperable, but 2 out of 3??...

They showed movies on it Alicante 28th and Malaga 29th both at 3pm.

Other days it wasn't off - it projects pictures/images, so it works. I bought gelato on the 28th when it was showing a movie, so I know that one for sure was playing. It's disappointing for it to not be used; it's a nice feature and with the dome retractable, weather doesn't impact it. During the tree lighting, the ceremony was not even shown on it (gold screen to the left of the tree).

[POA1]

There was an article in one of the AV magazines a while back. Modern movie soundtracks don't lend themselves to large, open venues. The sound gets all muddled. Apparently old movies and sports work best.

[Haljo1935]

@js1357 on the Rome r/t just before drydock, 2 football games were shown on it Oct 29 (embarkation day) - we didn't notice the 3pm Cowboys game (we would have gone) & DH didn't want to go to the Seattle game.

I remember him saying the same for KC & TB games on Nov 5th Bari.

There are plenty of old movies (whatever date range that is) that could be shown, if that's the requirement. "Home Alone" is being shown on the World Stage, so I guess older than that?🤔 I think the movies on the 28th & 29th were more recent than "Home Alone" but did not verify.

Such a waste - 6 showings in a months time - ugh.

Edited December 6, 2023 by Haljo1935
Typo

[Haljo1935]

6 hours ago, 0106 said:

I have seen the Deep Blue on several cruises.  I wish they would develop some new presentations.  Did you have a guest speaker?  If so, how were their lectures?

I have not seen any listed nor heard any during announcements. The only thing I've seen are the presentations by Dr Valerie Mock. They aren't listed as "guest speaker" or otherwise noted to indicate they're live, and I haven't been to any, so I don't know if they're live talks or recorded. There have been a few interesting topics; they've conflicted with other activities for us.

[cruisemom42]

1 hour ago, Haljo1935 said:

The only thing I've seen are the presentations by Dr Valerie Mock. They aren't listed as "guest speaker" or otherwise noted to indicate they're live, and I haven't been to any, so I don't know if they're live talks or recorded. There have been a few interesting topics; they've conflicted with other activities for us.

They are live lectures; Dr. Mock is indeed a guest lecturer. She has done a talk on every sea day at 2:00 pm relevant to the cruise (e.g., discovery of the New World, ancient trade routes, etc.)

 

[Haljo1935]

Good morning, Sea Day! Sunrise over the Atlantic east of Bermuda as seen from my balcony.

 

Edited December 6, 2023 by Haljo1935
Remove pic

[Haljo1935]

2 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

They are live lectures; Dr. Mock is indeed a guest lecturer. She has done a talk on every sea day at 2:00 pm relevant to the cruise (e.g., discovery of the New World, ancient trade routes, etc.)

 

There have been some interesting topics. Now that I know they're live, I will make opening a hole in my schedule a priority. Thank you!

[Haljo1935]

Who's hungry? Want to play "name that dish?" I considered posting by category, but decided to go with a full meal instead. This is last night's late seating MDR dinner.

Starters

Mains

Desserts

And a bonus video - this one should be easy to name 🤭

 

[Haljo1935]

Yesterday's Mariner brunch

(invite said brunch, menu was more of a lunch) - apologies for not cropping the pictures 

[Haljo1935]

Striped HAL beach towels are $27.50. They're really absorbent. We use ours in our deck 💺 💺 Cabin steward will give you a new one if you'd like to purchase.

[js1357]

7 hours ago, POA1 said:

There was an article in one of the AV magazines a while back. Modern movie soundtracks don't lend themselves to large, open venues. The sound gets all muddled. Apparently old movies and sports work best.

In this day and age, they should be providing ear buds!  I can understand (and have experienced) sound muddling on Princess, but on the Pinnacle class ships, it shouldn't be an issue.  I just got off a TA on the Celebrity Constellation, where they added the outdoor movie venue as an afterthought, and sound was not a problem.  As a recent widow, I find the outdoor movie to be a nice evening option.

[BetsyS.]

js1357 - I'm sorry for your loss.

[BetsyS.]

Haljo1935 - Thanks for all your updates and pictures!  The food looks delicious. I like your waiter! 

[Haljo1935]

1 hour ago, BetsyS. said:

Haljo1935 - Thanks for all your updates and pictures!  The food looks delicious. I like your waiter! 

He's great!

[Haljo1935]

Yesterday, saw Chef helping set up a Christmas display and wondered why.

Then today I saw same display mostly finished being tweaked by a couple non F&B crew. It all made sense - there are real baked goods in the display!

 

Apologies for the picture quality - I did no editing or cropping. I'm including the "big picture" as well as some close ups.

This is on 2 across from the perfume store. I will try to get a short video of some of the moving parts 😏

 

[BetsyS.]

Thanks for the pictures! Very festive! HAL does a great job!  The crew worked many hours on this!

[hrhdhd]

Can't wait to see that village on Sunday!! Thanks for the preview.

[quilty964]

Thanks for sharing the festive ship decor!  Those gingerbread houses are amazing!  

[St Pete Cruiser]

7 hours ago, Haljo1935 said:

Yesterday's Mariner brunch

(invite said brunch, menu was more of a lunch) - apologies for not cropping the pictures 

We had the same menu in October on the Rotterdam TA. We thought it was really good and a nice improvement from the pre covid menu.

[Haljo1935]

11 minutes ago, quilty964 said:

Thanks for sharing the festive ship decor!  Those gingerbread houses are amazing!  

Yes, they really are.

[Haljo1935]

1 hour ago, hrhdhd said:

Can't wait to see that village on Sunday!! Thanks for the preview.

There's a tiny surprise inside the church🤭