richwmn

April 26th, 2024 – Portland, Maine It looks to be a very nice day in Portland today. We are docked and about ready to have Guests leave the ship. It appears that there is plenty to do in the area of the dock. I already went over yesterday morning, we didn’t clear for Guests to leave the ship until about 2:30 and we had a late sail away. Boston is a very nice place to visit, and I have done it several times in the past. Yesterday I just completed some errands. No show in the World Stage last night. The Volendam Repertory Company was scheduled but it was announced that there was some kind of trouble and a movie would be shown instead. Today’s activities and menus – Portland, Maine

April 25th, 2024 – Boston, MA Well, we are not actually in Boston yet, that is still over five hours off, although from the map it doesn’t look like we are that far away. We are headed Northwest at 10 knots. The temperature is currently 39°F / 4°C under clear skies. The humidity is 54% and the winds are a little over 17 mph. I already talked about my excursion yesterday. So we will pick up with the return to the ship. The tender ride in both directions was smooth, and upon returning to the ship lunch was being served in the Lido. All aboard was 1pm, but we didn’t get underway until around 2pm. Trivia at 1pm and 4pm was good. I had a Pinnacle Grill dinner scheduled with @catlet and met the others at the Crows Nest for a pre-dinner drink at 5. We made it on time to the Pinnacle Grill and had a good dinner and company. @kazu, Jacqui and Debbie had dinner scheduled at the same time and were seated next to us so we had a chance to talk to them as well. The meal went well, everything was cooked properly and was very tasty. We left Pinnacle Grill and went to the World Stage where comedian Alan Yenser was again the entertainment. In truth, I wasn’t impressed with his first show, and since this is a different ‘cruise’, the show last night was an exact repeat of that show. To be honest, most of his audience hadn’t seen the show before so it was new to them and he got about the same response as last time. I did leave the show a bit early and called it a night. All in all it was a nice day in Newport and on the ship. Here are today’s activities and menus –

I just looked since I bought some yesterday and found this note: " Through April 25th, various gift card brands will be unavailable as we perform system maintenance. We apologize the inconvenience and appreciate your patience while we work to improve AARP Rewards. "

April 24th, 2024 – Newport, RI It has been an interesting morning. But first, lets see about yesterday. It was a good day at sea yesterday. For what it is worth, the current trivia host is not, in my opinion, as good as we had on the Grand. The questions are fine, and we have done well. It just isn’t as much fun for me. Add to that, he doesn’t finish the 7pm trivia in time to make the 7:30 show as happened on the Grand. Last night the World Stage show was ‘The Volendam Repertory Company’ in ‘Guitar Rock’, a show that keeps moving and is very good. This was the third time I have seen the show, and it was still good. We will have three more shows by this troupe before they leave in Quebec City. After a good night’s sleep and a good breakfast I reported to the World Stage to join a HAL excursion for Newport. We were to report at 8:00am and tender together for a start time of 8:45 at the pier. We received our stickers, orange 21, and shortly after 8am we were called to go to the tender area. The tour organizer had the busses parked very close to the tender dock, and we took off right on time. Our guide was very knowledgeable about the area and his commentary was very good. We saw many majestic houses from the bus, until we arrived at one named ‘The Elms’. Here we were allowed to exit the bus and tour the house and grounds for about an hour. This house is very nice and the staff has done a great job of staging it for the visitors. After we left the house, it was back to the tenders and back on the ship around noon. It was a very pleasant day in Newport.

April 24th, 2024 – Newport, RI A quick note before leaving on an excursion – “The Mansions of Newport” Today’s activities and menus

April 23, 2024 – at sea, destination Newport, RI Good morning from a rocky Volendam. The ride North so far has been rougher than I remember from my previous relocation trips from Fort Lauderdale to Montreal. Or my memories could be thru rose colored glasses. Volendam is currently headed North and a bit East and we are currently near the North Carolina Virgina boarder. We are due into Newport tomorrow at 7 am for a short stay. The temperature is currently 55°F / 13°C under broken clouds. The winds are just under 29 mph and the humidity is 55%. For the most part of the day yesterday the ship had quite a bit of motion. We did have a full slate of activities and everything was well attended. Trivia was well attended and the questions were difficult. At 11am the Captain held the first of two Mariner receptions and I had a chance to talk to Jacqui and Debbie, along with Jim and Catherine. The reception had good attendence and everyone got a drink or two. After the Mariner reception we had lunch. After the 1 pm trivia session I headed to the Cruise Critic Meet and Greet. The event was well attended and HAL provided the usual water, tea, and cookies. We all introduced ourselves and several announcements were made. We then had some time to meet the other CC members. It is always nice to talk to the people we have chatted with on line for a while. Last night the World Stage show was scheduled to be the Singers and Dancers. Due to the ship’s motion that show was delayed until tonight and Elliott Finkel took the stage for his second show instead. He always does a good show and I’m sure he did last night as well, but I felt like a movie night so I stayed in. If the sea state co-operates we will have the Singers and Dancers tonight. Today’s activities and menus –

Yes, it seems to have taken care of things, thanks for checking back.

anything worth doing is worth overdoing!

April 22nd, 2024 – at sea, destination Newport, RI Back in the sea day routine. Early breakfast and a nice relaxing day. This morning we are proceeding North along the US coast, currently off Savannah, GA. Our bearing is North and we are moving at 16 knots. On the Sea View Pool deck it was sprinkling a little while ago, but not bad. The tv weather is showing broken clouds and a temperature of 72°F / 22°C with a humidity of 74% and winds at 12 mph. Yesterday was turn around day in Fort Lauderdale. It appeared that most of the ‘In Transit’ Guests took the option to stay on the ship and there were about 50 or so people in the Wajang Theater. Once all the disembarking Guests left the ship, and several had to be reminded as always, we proceeded to the terminal for our immigration scanning. That went smoothly, but again we had to wait for one Guest to show up so the ship could have a zero Guest count and we could return to the ship. He did finally show up and once he did we returned to the ship. It was again very nice to be on the ship for a little while with almost no other Guests. A little after 11am the new Guests started arriving with their hand luggage. The cabins were ready about 11:30 and the ship settled down a bit. The Lido restaurant was open about the time the new Guests boarded the ship. Sail Away was originally scheduled for 3pm but was closer to 4pm. Just prior I was able to meet @kazu Jacqui and we manned the rail for Sail Away together. It was nice finally meeting her after working together on various CC projects over the years. I also got to see some other friends that I knew would be boarding. Last night on the World Stage was a presentation of ‘Origin Story’, which I watched several cruises ago. While it is a nice presentation, I didn’t feel the need to watch it again. Everyone seemed to be in a good mood again, so the night went well. Today is full of activities, including some special ones not on the Daily sheet. There is a Captain’s Reception for 4* and above at 11am, and a Wine Tasting at 2pm. Here are the general activities and menus –

I just ran into this problem (among others) on Volendam this morning. I did your fix just now and will see if the problem persists.

@POA1 You got where I sat for most of the afternoon, but Jacqui came and got me as they had a space a bit forward. PTV got us from left, someone Jacqui met, Debbie, Jacqui, me

Seaview pool port side

Seaview pool port side now

In Transit Guests are back aboard, pretty quick process today -- about 60 Guests involved

April 21st, 2024 – Fort Lauderdale, Florida – Turnaround Day! In a short time Volendam will zero down Guests and a new cruise will begin. I have had a good time so far and expect it to continue. Half my trivia team is continuing on, so we will be recruiting three new players. It is currently 72°F / 22°C with 83% humidity and no wind according to the ship. Local forecast says 76°F and increasing to 85°F at 1pm. It is 7:31, and Daniel is already calling for self-assist passengers to start leaving the ship. At 9:15 the returning Guests who are not leaving the ship are to report to the Wajang Theater to do the immigration thing. When we are finished with that, we will return to the empty ship and the new Guests will start boarding shortly after. Last night was a normal final cruise night. Lots of goodbyes, and changing of information. One of the people I said goodbye to was a trivia partner for the last 109 days. He is also a Fort Lauderdale resident, so he has a short journey home. The other trivia partners that are leaving were for the last 15 days and are flying back to their home in San Diego. We won the last general trivia at 1pm, and just missed the final themed trivia, ‘Languages’, at 3pm. I have had a good run so far at trivia on this cruise. After trivia the final bingo was at $2,700 or so. I bought a ticket for the free cruise lottery, then decided to play bingo – not a normal thing for me. The bingo package was for four games and a scratch off ticket. The scratch off ticket got me a $5 free play chip in the casino, the bingo got me zilch. The bingo package was $39, so I spent $59 on ‘gambling’ last night. On the World Stage last night we had comedian Adam Yenser. Talking at trivia, no one could remember seeing him before. He was listed as being a comedian and Emmy Award winner, and a former writer for Ellen DeGeneres. His comedy was uneven and didn’t say too much about Ellen. It could be that he never got in his groove, but all he got were a few polite laughs. I need to wrap this up because the internet is going away shortly for an upgrade of sorts. Today’s activities --

I'll have to either mail you snacks and drinks or catch you next time, I'm not leaving the ship!

April 20th, 2024 – Half Moon Cay, Bahamas This is the last stop on the Canal Transit Cruise. I heard this morning that around 65 Guests are continuing on to Montreal, and I believe that cruise is sold out as well. That mean that around 1,350 Guests checking in tomorrow morning. Another good day to stay on the ship. So for weather today, we have clear skies and a temperature of 73°F / 23°C. The humidity is 71% and winds at 10.4 mph. Looks like a beautiful day for the beach at Half Moon Cay. Yesterday we had a lot going on. We started out with the final time change of the cruise. Some of the highlights begin with the presentation “A City on the Sea”, which is a look at the construction and operation of a ship. The ship shown under construction is Rotterdam VII. Trivia was challenging, and we did well with both sessions. The World Stage presentation was “Classique” by the Volendam Singers and Dancers. The troupe was in very good form last night and the show was really good. This was a repeat from the Grand Voyage, and might have been performed a little better this time. We arrived on time this morning, anchors being dropped around 6am, and tenders available starting around 7. It looks to be a great day at Half Moon Cay, and also aboard Volendam. Today’s activities and menus –

Sunrise over Half Moon Cay

I haven't been keeping up with the progress of Noordam, probably should have been transferred a day or two ago. It's been done now.

Just a note, it would help if the ship is full and there is a wait list. Years ago I was traveling as a solo with two couples. One of the other cabins had someone that couldn't go, so I called and we were able to get me moved into the other cabin, thus freeing up a cabin for the wait list.

April 19th, 2024 – at sea, destination Half Moon Cay, Bahamas Today is our last sea day for this segment. We should arrive at Half Moon Cay tomorrow morning for a nice beach day before heading to Fort Lauderdale to exchange Guests. We are currently headed in a northerly direction at 14 knots and are between Cuba and the Dominican Republic. Under clear skies, the temperature is currently 79°F / 26°C, the humidity is 69% and the winds are at 20mph. The ship is experiencing a little bit of motion this morning. So yesterday was a sea day and went well. I had a few things to do in the morning. We had a meeting yesterday to present medallions, and there were quite a few to present. Our Captain, Rens Van Eerten, and our Hotel Manager, Florin Dragomir, have a great deal of fun with these ceremonies. This occurred at 12:30 and we were all invited to the Main Dining Room for a lunch. My entire trivia team was in attendance and all but one, who was actually presented a medallion, went to the 1pm trivia instead. By the time we got to the Mix for trivia, all the seats were filled. We asked Cliff to put the questions on the screens in the bar area, but he was reluctant to do so. We ended up joining a nice lady who was sitting alone. We did well and enjoyed the session. The 4pm session consisted of all True and False questions. We got more right than we expected. On the World Stage last evening we had the piano talents of Elliot Finkle. As I mentioned the other day, he is a talented pianist and very good speaker. He played a variety of songs, with a story about each. It was an interesting time in the World Stage. Last night was the Orange Party in the Crows Nest. The Ocean Bar played to a packed house. The bar hop was also held, ending in the crows nest for the rest of the evening. Many people had various pieces of orange clothing on to participate in the festivities, and many had on orange wigs. Everyone seemed to be having a good time. Last night we did our final time change, so we are now on Eastern time to match Fort Lauderdale. Here we have today’s activities and menus – Daniel

@SusieKIslandGirl Yesterday you posted "Knowing not much about adding things to maps, etc.--would it be difficult to add a red star at the Destination of Day location? Some ports are very familiar but others can be huh, where's that? Thanks! I do appreciate your maps." The fleet locations on the maps are pulled from another website, we only add the ship names. I checked a bit yesterday and couldn't find a site that would give port locations for all ports consistently.

April 18th, 2024 – at sea, destination Half Moon Cay, Bahamas Welcome to the second version of April 18th. It is my 118th day aboard Volendam. As many of you know, it is difficult to keep track of the day of the week, let alone day of the month on long cruises. HAL assists us by placing mats in each elevator showing the day of the week. It won’t be too long until I finally disembark from Volendam and have to head home. Yesterday was an interesting day. I had previously stopped in Cartagena in October, 2014 on Zuiderdam (I didn’t realize it was so long ago). That was at the end of a reposition from Vancouver to Fort Lauderdale. At that time I looked off the ship and just didn’t quite feel like entering the city so I stayed aboard. Several people mentioned the bird sanctuary near the port so I determined to at least see that. Also, I saw enough of Daniel’s presentation to know that there were taxi’s at a reasonable price. Armed with that, I left the ship and took the shuttle to the entrance. I was very pleased to find that the exit to the city included a walk thru the bird sanctuary. It was as good as people had said. I got to the end where the cab drivers were waiting, and after a short conversation I found one that was willing to do a one hour ride into the city for a price I agreed on. I am very glad I did it. Cartagena is a nice visit and a study in contrasts. Like many cities there are sections that are new and upgraded, while other areas look like they haven’t been touched for years. I got to see a little of both. I arrived back in time to participate in the 4pm trivia, with the theme of ‘Games’ and was concerned with the board games we have all played. As a group we didn’t feel that we would do very well, but the questions favored us and we did manage to win after a tie breaker. The evening show in the World Stage was the second show by Mario D’Andrea. He did another nice show featuring hits of Tom Jones, Elvis, and others of the same era. He is an excellent singer and guitar player. It was another good show. This morning is a nice smooth ride on the Caribbean. We are headed for our last stop on this segment, Half Moon Cay on the 20th. Then off to Fort Lauderdale to change out most of the Guests for new ones. I know that there are a few other than me that are staying aboard. Today’s activities and menus –

My experience, although it has been a while, is that if you walk to another elevator bank the service is a lot quicker. Most people congregate at the elevators right where they board the ship.

April 18th, 2024 – Cartagena, Columbia Today we are still a couple of hours away from our stop at Cartagena. I was here once before and it is another container port with a shuttle provided. It is currently 86°F / 30°C under scattered clouds with the humidity at 74% and 9 mph winds. The ship is moving North at 3 knots. Yesterday was a busy day going thru the Panama Canal. I posted the Canal images yesterday, so scroll up to view them. I would always like for a Canal transit to include a port day in Panama, but it generally does not happen. I have been fortunate to have Fuerte Amador as a stop twice and would enjoy another stop. Because of the Canal transit, the early trivia was not scheduled. The 4 pm session was themed ‘Panama Canal’ and my team did well without me. I was by the Sea View Bar taking a few pictures, and reliving memories. I passed on the late trivia again because I didn’t want to miss the first few minutes of the first show. Speaking of the show, the ‘Grand Voyage Repertory Company’ (AKA Volendam Singers and Dancers) for a reprise of their show ‘Boogie Wonderland’. The group has been a very welcome addition to the past few months and have always put on a good, energetic show. They are all good dancers, and the singers have good voices. The entire troupe puts a lot into their performance and also seems to enjoy themselves. This morning we are proceeding to Cartagena, and a late afternoon / evening stop before Half Moon Cay and our turnaround day in Fort Lauderdale. Here are today’s activities and menus –