richwmn

Our Captain just announced a schedule change. We have received permission to be the first ship of our size to visit Bora Bora since the restart. I believe he said the visit would be on the 22nd. Letter with details to come shortly.

I have the purchased Premium Drink package which I believe is the one included with the HIA. I was just at the Dive In and was NOT charged for a very good Chocolate Milk Shake.

I just noticed I mistyped now instead of no. No freestyle machine on Volendam

People were successful with this in the past, but HAL has caught on to it. When you board and look at your account, you will see two balances, total and non refundable. The non refundable is, for the most part, used first but any casino charges would be taken out of the refundable balance.

Currently on Volendam and would be happy to answer specific questions. There is now freesytle machine on Volendam, only on the Pinnacle Class Ships (Koningsdam, Nieuw Statendam, Rotterdam). Coke, Diet Coke, and Sprite are part of the 'minibar' setup. Other Coke products are available from Bartenders. Please note that the 'minibar' is not part of beverage packages.

March 14th, 2024 – Auckland, New Zealand (Day 2) We are in Auckland for the second day. It is a nice day again, with a small chance of rain later today. Later today we will begin our trek back to San Diego. Yesterday I got off the ship and went around the city on the Auckland Express, a Hop On Hop Off bus. While there are two routes advertised, in reality there seems to be only one. That may be different at other times, but I was on the same bus last year and had the same experience. The bus runs the ‘Red’ route to a point, then announces a change to the ‘Blue’ route until a return to that same point, where it changes back to the ‘Red’ route and returns us to the first stop downtown. It is then a short walk back to the ship. After exiting the bus I went across the street to a cell phone store and bought the first case I have ever had. That covered the last of the New Zealand money that I had, and I headed back to the ship. Another late, light lunch and an enjoyable day back. At 4:00pm we did well on the early session of trivia. The late session showed pictures of different breeds of dogs for us to identify. We missed three, while the winner got all answers correct. After trivia it was time to ‘Experience the Richness of Maori Culture’. This was a group of nine local people who showed us in talk, song, and dance something about the Maori and their experience in New Zealand. It was a very good show and provided some interesting information. After the show, it seemed that the ship wasn’t very active due to the number of people ashore for the evening. Speaking of people, I was told a couple of days ago that the ship has 1,050 guests aboard. I had also been told earlier that 36 left and 50 arrived in Sydney, so it seems that we have had a little over 1,000 guests the entire cruise. Since the lower berth capacity is 1,432 we are well below full. From a cabin standpoint, there are quite a few solo cruisers aboard so it that respect the ship is closer to being full. Today’s activities and menus –

March 13th, 2024 – Auckland, New Zealand (Day 1 of 2) We are in position in Auckland and should receive clearance to go ashore shortly. This will be my third visit to Auckland, the first being a simple ride from the ship to the airport, followed by last year on the World Cruise. We have two days here this time. It looks to be another nice day. Yesterday was a very nice visit to Tauranga. As with several other ports on this cruise it was my third visit to this city. For my first visit, I took a tour. Last year I had a nice walk along the waterfront to the city and back. It was my intention this year to do the same thing. While walking toward the city I ran into a couple friends from the ship and had a nice time talking to them on the way to the city. We reached the trail that went around the mountain and they asked me to join them, so I did. We had a very nice time taking a very scenic route around the base. When we completed that, we walked thru the city on the way back to the ship. I ended up walking a little less than 4 miles and had a very good day. Back to the ship and a light, late lunch, and then trivia. We had the typical two sessions, both of which we did well at. The second session had a theme of ‘History’ which was very broad. In both cases, we were one off the winners. On the World Stage last night we were treated to a second performance by Benjamin Makisi. As I mentioned before he has a very good voice and is well trained. He has a very good stage presence. He puts on a very good show and was well received by the audience. Today’s activities and menus

March 12th, 2024 – Tauranga, New Zealand We are still a little way from out goal this morning. We are scheduled to be in Tauranga at 10am, in about 45 minutes. The temperature is currently 68°F / 20°C under scattered clouds. There is a slight wind at 3.6mph and the humidity is at 77%. Not a bad day all together. Yesterday was Napier, a nice little town which has retained an Art Deco personality. I was in Napier in 2019, and it doesn’t seem to have changed too much. There is a shuttle from the ship that drops us at the information center on the beach, or continues on to their aquarium. The ride is short and scenic. Lining the beach on both sides of the information center are beautiful gardens. Yesterday was a particularly nice day for walking. Getting back to the ship was the typical two sessions of trivia. We did fine on the first. The second had a theme of ‘Casino’ and we were not expecting to get many right. We surprised ourselves with a total of 14 points out of 17, but we lost the tie breaker. The show last night was another installment of the ‘Grand Voyage Repertory Company’ called ‘Dreams’. It was again a fast moving show that seemed to be over quickly. The lead female singer was featured and showed her range and control. The dancers also provided a good background to the singers. The show was very good and the cast seemed to be having a good time. After the show ended I moved to the Ocean Bar and listened to that group until they took a break. This is also a very good group and they put on a show that the audience enjoyed. They feature a lead female singer, and a pianist that also sings. When they finished their set, I walked back to the Piano Bar but was not impressed with the two song fragments I stayed for. I moved to the Crows Nest but nothing happening there. I went back to the Ocean Bar and listened to that band for a few more songs. All in all, a very good evening. I slept in a bit this morning and had a late breakfast. We should be close to the port now, it does sound like it. Today’s activities and menus.

Good to see @Scrapnana back on a ship. Have a fabulous time!

March 11th, 2024 – Napier, New Zealand Good morning from Napier. We have been cleared to go ashore and there will be shuttles into town. The last shuttle back to the ship will be 3:45pm. Yesterday was a rather normal day. Two rounds of trivia that went well, nothing going on at sailaway, and a party in the Ocean Bar in the evening. Because of the party, no event was scheduled on the World Stage. In Wellington I stayed aboard the ship. I had two nice visits here in ‘19 and last year and got a lot of things taken care of. With the Gala Night last night, I enjoyed a restful evening. Today’s activities and menus –

March 10th, 2024 – Wellington, New Zealand Today is another beautiful day in New Zealand. I have been to Wellington twice before and managed to take the same excursion both times, first alone then with a friend. The weather is nice and I’ll go ashore shortly. Yesterday was another nice day. The tender to the port was a bit long at about 25 minutes, but Akaroa is a nice little town. It is another port that I have visited before, in 2019, and is worth another walk around. It seems like a resort town as it has a nice assortment of restaurants along the waterline. Back on the ship for the normal day of trivia. Both sessions were nice, with the late session being ‘Broadway’. Only three of us showed up for various reasons, not the best three for this category. We did manage to get twelve points which we believed was a good showing. After the first trivia I went to the Sea View Pool where Sailaway was supposed to be very nice. The staff had set up everything for a sailaway party but due to the chilly weather not many guests showed up so the party consisted of more staff than guests. Those who were there did have a good time and the scenery was great. The party did end around 5:30pm, before the ship actually started moving. Then there was the show last night. They were billed as ‘Carpe Idiotus Presents: The Mime and The Musician’. It was an interesting concept but not particularly good. The musician didn’t play much and the mime talked. For the most part, the mime did some movements inside a big round flexible tube. It was mildly entertaining but not really something I would go out of my way to see. Today’s activities and menus –

For me, Volendam this year, Zuiderdam last year, and other previously but I don't remember which ones.

I installed the stockperks app back in January and loaded an image of my statement with account number mostly blacked out, along with anything else I didn't think they needed (the same things I used to black out to fax/email). After seeing the post yesterday that OBC had been authorized until Dec 31st, I logged into stockperks yesterday and requested OBC for a September cruise. I received an email a few minutes ago that it was approved. I didn't have to load a current statement.

I don't know why my experience is different than @Crew News and @Haljo1935 but on several B2B cruises, including the one I am currently on, my OBC (both refundable and Non Refundable) has carried from cruise to cruise. I have had nothing refunded until my final exit from the ship. I can currently look at my account on Navigator and see charges and credits back to when I first boarded the ship, and as I mentioned in my previous post, the credits due to the second cruise were added on the first day of that cruise. I do know that my reservations were / are linked, I don't know if theirs were.

I would agree with you on the shore excursion credits, but not the OBC. If your reservations are linked you will not clear your account until you leave the ship and OBC will carry forward. Any OBC will be credited to your account when each segment begins.

March 10th, 2024 – Akaroa (Christchurch), New Zealand Good morning from an anchorage off Akaroa. We are here and the tenders are in the water, but at 8:20am they haven’t started service yet. It is currently 54°F / 12°C with few clouds. The wind is calm at about 4mph, and the humidity is at 81%. Yesterday was a nice day off the ship in Timaru. The locals had a nice market set up where the shuttle let us off which included a display of vintage vehicles. Included was a MG B, a Buick Roadster, and a Suzuki 850 Motorcycle with sidecar. I had an interesting conversation with one of the volunteers for the display since a friend had a MG of the same vintage and I used to own a Suzuki one year newer than the one on display. It was a beautiful day for a walk around the small town. Back on the ship was a lazy day. Enough people were off the ship so that those who were aboard had no lines. It was a very nice day both ashore and aboard the ship. At 4:00pm we had the early trivia session. Since all aboard hadn’t been called yet, it was a small session but good. The 7:00pm session had a ‘Rock & Roll’ theme and stuck to music trivia. As a team, we managed to be the only one to get all the questions right. Although there are currently no prizes awarded, it is still fun to win. The show last night was Maori Tenor Benjamin Makisi. This gentleman is a very good singer and does a very good show. He started off with a song that he introduced as a Maori song of welcome. He then went thru several types of music, and did each well. The show was full of singing with only enough talk to describe what he was singing. I did enjoy the show very much. He will sing again in a few days. Today’s activities and meals – Coming into Akaora this morning. Coming into

March 8th, 2024 – Timaru, New Zealand It looks to be another pretty day in New Zealand. We have arrived and the ship is in the process of tying the lines and preparing for us to see the area. Yesterday was a very pretty day in Port Chalmers. The temperature was good for a nice walk out in the city. As with other places, as soon as I stepped off the ship I recognized the area. The local people I talked to were all very nice and helpful. Back on the ship I had a nice lunch, then proceeded to catch up on a few things. Time flew and I realized at 4:30 that I had missed the early trivia. The late trivia had a theme of ‘Capitals’. While on the surface, that may seem to be either state or national capitals that was not totally the case. One of the questions – what words have capital letters? Another was – Which city has a NHL team named the Capitals? Most of the rest were the capitals of countries, some a bit obscure. The show last night was the Grand Repertory Company presenting ‘Boogie Wonderland’, a high energy song and dance routine. The group consists of a total of eight people. Four of the people, it seems, are solely dancers. There are a pair of lead singers, and a pair of backup singers – each male and female. The dancers are also split two male and two female. The lead singers each are very good and have a wide vocal range. All of the singers are also good dancers. The choice of songs was great, and the show moved quickly with no pauses. The ride last night from Port Chalmers was very smooth. That made for a very good night’s sleep. Today we have two shuttles to get us into Timaru. One will go to the information center in town, the other to Carolina Bay. Several people mentioned last night that this would be a beach day. The last shuttle will head to the ship at 5:00pm. Today’s activities and menus –

March 7th, 2024 -- Port Chalmers (Dunedin), New Zealand Good morning from New Zealand, we finally made it. After three rough days at sea, we are now berthed at Port Chalmers. The view from the aft pool deck this morning was gorgeous. We will be in New Zealand for about a week before heading back toward San Diego. Last night we had the normal trivia schedule, with sessions in the afternoon and evening. Both sessions were good, with the late session having a theme of ‘TV Shows’. This was a description of a show and we were supposed to identify the show. We again tied for the lead with several other teams. The tie breaking question was ‘What year was the Guiness Book of World Records’ first published. The winning team hit it right on the nose with 1955. We were quite a bit off. The schedule for yesterday lists Katie Clarke, a pianist, for the World Stage. I didn’t attend, and I’m not sure she played. Last night the ship started the task of settling back into a normal routine. We had a Happy Hour with a free drink between 4pm and 5pm yesterday as compensation for missing Milford Sound. Everyone was out and about and having a good time. This morning the Lido was back to normal for breakfast. Today’s activities and menus – Coming into Port Chalmers this morning –

March 6, 2024 – at sea destination Port Chalmers (Dunedin), New Zealand Volendam is still steaming toward Port Chalmers, and the seas are still a bit rough. We had quite a bit reorganized yesterday but things are returning to normal. We are pretty much on time to reach Port Chalmers on schedule. The ship is still heading Southeast, now at 16 knots. The temperature outside is 57°F / 14°C under overcast skies. The humidity is 79%, and the winds are a little under 17mph. As I mentioned, last night’s schedule was rearranged a bit to account for the motion of the ship. The show last evening was replaced by another movie, the new release of “The Color Purple”, with one showing. We still had the Cocktail Piano Player, and Ocean Bar Band, along with both trivia sessions. The late trivia was supposed to cover the 1920’s to go along with the canceled ‘Gatsby’ night, but that got changed as well. The topic was facts about music, and we did well, losing by our typical 1 question. The ship had settled enough that I had another good night’s sleep. The Lido this morning was still exercising care by not having anything other than utensils on the tables until someone sat there. There were only small stacks of dishes around the serving areas. Despite the extra work, everyone seemed to be taking things in stride. Today’s activities and menus –

as @Mary229 said, behind the TV on Volendam (and probably Zaandam). This is a picture of behind the TV in an outside cabin on Volendam. The European power strip was already there with only the TV plugged in. The other two plugs are in use by my laptop, and a USB charger

March 5, 2024 – rocking and rolling on Volendam, destination Port Chalmers (Dunedin), New Zealand It is a bit later in the day than I usually make this post. Lots of reasons involved, but partially just being lazy. As many of you know, my cabin is all the way forward on the promenade deck. It took a while to fall asleep last night, but I did sleep soundly once I did. We also had another time change last night, but we won’t have another one for over a week when we leave New Zealand. So, currently we are at sea heading for New Zealand. The sea is still very choppy, with large swells hitting the ship. The outer decks are still closed. We are moving southeast at 15 knots, still expecting to reach Port Chalmers on time Thursday. According to an announcement the seas should get smoother in a few hours. We currently have overcast skies with a temperature of 59°F / 15°C. The winds are 22mph and the humidity is 68%. With the motion of the seas last night, the scheduled show on the World Stage was changed to a movie, and even though things were open, many people stayed in their cabins and relaxed. We did have two trivia sessions, but both had fewer participants than normal. The late trivia involved identifying national flags. Our team got 11/22 with the winning team only doing a little better with 12. With no show on the stage, I turned in early. As mentioned, not many people are moving around on the ship this morning. Here are the scheduled activities and menus.

Capt Bart was on Volendam for about 2 months as a relief Captain. He will be on Westerdam in Sept/Oct for the Majestic Japan cruise beginning Sept 1

The stockholder benefit is the only one that will be or needs to be approved at the stockholder meeting. That benefit is provided by Carnival Corp, not HAL. The others are approved / negotiated by HAL itself and can run for whatever time frame HAL and any sponsor (AARP) decides.

When he spoke yesterday he said 5 - 8 foot swells, his announcement this morning mentioned having had 18 foot swells. BTW, you should have heard the water hitting the bow this morning around 2am, very loud bangs.

March 4th, 2024 – at sea destination Port Chalmers (Dunedin), New Zealand Good morning from a rocking and rolling Volendam. Last night the Captain mentioned that we would be having five foot swells while we crossed the Tasman Sea. The sea has lived up to its advance billing. We are currently sailing Southeast at 16 knots. The temperature is 64°F / 18°C under broken clouds. The wind is almost 30 mph and the humidity is 56%. The outside decks are locked off at the moment due to the wind and swells. During our visit to Sydney we had a change in Captains, our current Captain is Rens Van Eerten, who has been with HAL for 30 years and at sea for 44. He lists his home as being Canada; California, US; and Canterbury, UK. Something that I knew about before, but never participated in happened yesterday. Those of us who purchase items in port pay taxes that are sometimes refundable. I have never purchase enough to worry about it. On this trip I did. For most of the day, Australian Border Patrol had a desk set up where we could get the tax refunded. It started at 11:00am in the terminal building. Those who wanted a refund first met in the Atrium where we were told to make sure we had our passports (had to retrieve from main desk) and the items we had purchased. Then we proceeded off the ship and were processed. Since I only had one item it went very quickly. I then proceeded to get on the shuttle and go back into town. Later in the day they moved the desk to the ship and stopped requiring that we present the actual items. Yesterday we had a very nice sailaway from Sydney, passing under the Harbour Bridge and getting a good view of the Sydney Opera House. No band was playing, but a good selection of music was being played over the PA system. A good crowd enjoyed the great weather and beautiful view. The evening trivia was another round of logos. My group missed one and that was our downfall. One team got them all. The one we missed we discussed the right answer and decided that ours was correct but it wasn’t. After trivia most of the team went directly to the World Stage for the second show of Rebecca Kelly. This show was a tribute to Carole King, and was very good. With more music than talk, Rebecca gave a good history of Carole and the music factory in New York of the ‘60’s and ‘70’s. After the show I called it a night knowing we had a time change, the first of two, of an hour forward to eventually match the time in New Zealand. The Kiwis use only one time zone so we won’t have another time change for almost two weeks! This morning was a day to sleep in, so breakfast was a bit later than normal. It appears that we will continue to rock & roll for most of the day today. Today will be little movement and a lot of staying where we are. The Captain is currently announcing that we will miss our scenic cruising in Milford Sound and will be going directly to Dunedin Today’s activities and menus –