bleacher04

17 hours ago, Vict0riann said:

I just heard from our friends, SailingDutchy, on the Westerdam.  They are well, no one is ill on the ship and they are nearing their 14 day time to be clear.  Just waiting for the decision as to where they will be able to debark, as the next segment has been canceled.

 

"Thank goodness for the great staff, fabulous food and free alcohol."  Plus they have been given free internet to contact family and friends.  And Martha attached a map of where they are.

 

 

.

Thank you Ann, for posting this update.

26 minutes ago, Vict0riann said:

Haha.  I thought it was a typo and he meant HMC!  Actually the port for HCMC is Phu My and I seem to remember it's about 3 hours away in a bus?

 

I did email again.  I imagine  the internet is very busy!!  And I wonder if perhaps they are not advertising that they are giving internet away - just to those who complain....

LOL Ann, my brain saw "Half Moon Cay" for HCMC the first time too 🙂  We were just there in November, Phu My port is about 90-120 minutes from Saigon (and the airport).

Satellite internet on the ship gets slower as the number of users increase, so I would bet it is crawling most of the time right now on the Westerdam.

1 hour ago, Vict0riann said:

What's HCMC?

Saigon

I've emailed Sailingdutchy, as I'm sure you have, but have not heard anything since last Friday.  Will let you know if I do.

6 hours ago, AllureOfVacation said:

Finally, HAL informed us by email!

 

15th of February: Yokohama!

2 hours ago, pictonite said:

Update:  The captain has informed us that we will disembark in Yokohama on February 15.  We are going with the flow.  We have an extra day in Halong Bay rather than two days in Hong Kong.  Right now Halong Bay sounds so much better for us!  We'll disembark passengers in Hong Kong on February 1, and new passengers will embark then.  Still loving the cruise.

Thank you for these updates.  So does this mean that the Feb. 15-29 segment will be Yokohama return, omitting all Chinese ports?

22 minutes ago, Vict0riann said:

I was wondering what Seattle is doing about the present Westerdam itinerary - China seems to be "self-quarantining".  We have friends on board, but have not heard from them.

 

Can you imagine the fun the virus would have on a ship?!

 

A second case has been confirmed here in Canada - the wife of the first patient.

I was wondering the same thing; I was going to write to you, Ann, but obviously you have not heard from T&M either.

1 hour ago, kazu said:

 

Well then, I will have my hopes up for our Noordam sailing later this year in Asia 🤞

 

Thanks Paul 🙂 

Hi Jacqui -- Tony and Martha are on the Westerdam right now... sailing towards Hong Kong next weekend 😧

They have several stops in China afterwards, including Shangahi and the port for Bejing, and in five weeks they are supposed to fly home from Shanghai.  I have not spoken to them lately; I'm not sure how this is going to play out...

And sorry for hijacking this thread...

We were on the Westerdam in Nov-Dec -- if you had the sea bass on the Tamarind menu last week, then you will have the wasabi beef tenderloin this week 😁

As Alphen noted above, including one page of Tamarind selections on the Pinnacle menu is only done on cruises in Asia.

Our son (mid-20's) has an anaphylactic allergy to peanuts, and has sailed with us several times with no issues (although I don't believe he's ever been to the Tamarind).  My sister is Celiac and a 4-star Mariner with HAL, and again no issues, including dining at the Pinnacle Grill and the Tamarind (and also Canaletto, although obviously the menu choices there are more limited for her).  As others have mentioned above, the MDR staff and the specialty restaurant staff have always been great regarding food allergies.

The only other caution I would add is to keep a close eye on the Lido Market staff, as sometimes they need to be reminded to use clean (non-gluten) tongs when handling food in allergy situations.

Oh, and on the Westerdam last month, plastic stir-sticks (olive spears) at the bar had been replaced by dried pasta; I asked and was told it was gluten-free pasta.  But you might want to check that again.

Well, we made it to Madrid!  Our flight arrived 45 minutes early this morning (naturally) so even less sleep on the plane than usual!  But after exploring for a few hours to soak up some sun, and then a little siesta this afternoon, we are ready to go tapas-bar-hopping this evening!

The fleece jacket and puffy jacket layers have already been put to good use here...

And one more echo for Helen’s comments about Jacqui’s amazing work.  As an engineer, I can say that her roll call spreadsheet is truly impressive!

Safe travel wishes to everyone who is flying tonight and tomorrow (and the next day)

We're leaving for Madrid on Saturday (April 6), arriving in Lisbon on the 11th.  I'm still wrapping up work so have not thought about packing yet!  But as Barbara said, the weather forecast is not what I was expecting; I might just use the clothing list from our last Alaska cruise, hahaha 😁

Looking forward to seeing old friends and meeting new ones!

Paul & Diane

15 minutes ago, Betty in Cozumel said:

We fly Air Canada (And Cathay Pacific) to Hong Kong from Toronto all the time and I would never do a one hour layover.  Take your time and go with the 4 hr layover.  The HK airport is wonderful with lots of things to see and do.  (But not as amazing at Changi airport in Singapore).

Thanks!

16 minutes ago, Philob said:

To go to the "outside" terminal you'll need to go through HK immigration and again coming back into the "airside".

 

Instead of wasting an hour going through immigration, best to stay on the airside.  You'll only have to go through security between the Arrival and Departure areas.  There's a small mall in the departure area. 

 

Have a good trip! 

Thanks!  We'll stay put airside...

1 hour ago, Philob said:

Unless get to stay on your plane and continue on to Singapore I'd chill out at HKG for 4 hours.

 

You'll have to go through security again before going to the departure side.

 

We had a similar choice both ways and opt'd for the 4 hour layover.   I had lounge privileges so we had some food & drinks.  Some lounges will have showers which might feel great after 15 hrs , but makes you very sleepy .

We will be changing planes.  And changing airlines, Air Canada to Singapore Airlines (although the SA flight will be a codeshare).

Better to take the safe choice I think.  And I will have lounge privileges, for after we get tired of exploring the terminal.

Hi Cruisers!  I think I know the answer to this already, but I am going to throw this question out anyway:

I will be looking at flights soon from Toronto to Singapore.  The obvious connecting airport is Hong Kong, and I see that Air Canada offers me the choice of a 60-minute layover, or a 4-hour layover.  This is our first trip to Asia, and I would never think of booking a 60-minute international connection through (for example) Frankfurt, but it would be really nice to arrive in Singapore at 8 pm instead of 11 pm.

Any comments from more experienced travellers?  Is Hong Kong "special" in some way that a 60 minute connection (after a 15hr45 flight) is actually do-able?  Or am I better off trusting my instinct and booking the 4-hour connection and just chilling in Hong Kong airport?

Thanks!

43 minutes ago, Vict0riann said:

Thanks for all your kind comments!  I think we have really enjoyed sharing all our experiences with our good friends on Cruise Critic.  Thanks to all of you.  

 

Just one one more day on the beautiful Nieuw Statendam and it will all be over for some of us, but others will sail on and others will be boarding for a wonderful cruise.  Bon voyage, all.

Thanks so much for all of your efforts, Ann!  It's been a lot of fun!

Safe travels home!

7 hours ago, Vict0riann said:

I told Sherita to run and get Snort to play with his friends!

 

i saw this in the Lido Bar - really the only drinks list I have noticed.  I think if I had it to do over again, I would be taking a bottle of wine from our package to Happy Hour!

 

Wow!  Dumping the Explore 4 package and its Signature Beverage card for a lower fare looks like an even smarter move now.  Although the savings will likely be spent on more wine packages...

Love the towel animal extravaganza!  Kudos to the crew for all of their work!

From Captain Albert's blog of December 14:

"The guests seem to be very happy, although I had one guest asking if there was any option to do a bit of sightseeing while on the way, so there was something else to see than just waves. I promised him that I would take it up with the head office and that we would do our best to have a large mountain on the route, next time we come this way."

I do hope this isn't anyone I know...

2 hours ago, Vict0riann said:

At the medallion ceremony, but the medals are missing.  Evidently they were shipped to the Bahamas.

 

LOL!  So are you detouring?

55 minutes ago, OlsSalt said:

Some parts of the world have restricted aerosol insect sprays - far better to take some wipes - always handy to keep in a pocket for when you need them --not impact the rest of the critters beyond the drift of your spray zone.  Or look into the bug repellant clothing or neck scarf, or even better the easily packable net head gear.

 

Best protection is sufficient cover-up clothing.  Last thing we need are super-bugs which mutate beyond the scope of chemical bug repellants. 

Good idea, and thanks for the reminder!  I tried to buy some insect-repellent clothing from LL Bean about a year ago; when I got to the check-out they said that they could not ship outside of the US, presumably because it hadn't been "approved" (?) in Canada yet.  I should check to see if this has changed.  Or else ship my order to a buddy in the US 

16 minutes ago, kazu said:

 

already missing?  But the cruise isn't over?  Are passengers not allowed to take the books to their room to read?  Or are they missing from when the VIP's were on I wonder?

You may have cracked this case! 

(my emphasis)

1 hour ago, kazu said:

From Vict0riann:

 

These stickers are in the books in  the Crow's Nest:

 

 

14 minutes ago, scluvsrain said:

We talked with Captain Albert at dinner about the library books issue. He said that over a third of the books on this ship are already missing. 

 

Unbelievable. 

Un-frickin-believable...

And the stickers in the books probably just make them more attractive souvenirs for book thieves...

3 hours ago, Fouremco said:

Creams are included under the liquids rule. From the TSA website:

 

You are allowed to bring a quart-sized bag of liquids, aerosols, gels, creams and pastes in your carry-on bag and through the checkpoint. These are limited to travel-sized containers that are 3.4 ounces (100 milliliters) or less per item. Placing these items in the small bag and separating from your carry-on baggage facilitates the screening process. Pack items that are in containers larger than 3.4 ounces or 100 milliliters in checked baggage.

 

Any liquid, aerosol, gel, cream or paste that alarms during screening will require additional screening.

 

However, as you say, at 3.2 oz it is within the TSA threshold.

You're right, thanks for the refresher!

I'm not sure where in Canada you're located, but my sister bought this product from a travel doctor in Toronto.  It's 30% DEET, but it's a cream, so technically should be outside of the "liquid/gel" restriction (although as we all know, that can be pretty subjective).  And at 3.2 oz it will meet airline carry-on requirements regardless.

I am also a mosquito magnet -- I protect everyone else in the group -- and this stuff works great for me.

21 minutes ago, firecrewcapt said:

Wow, there's a lot of assuming here. My comment wasn't directed at anyone, it was an opinion, let me say I really enjoy all the info/pics, we'll be on the ship in April for 21 days and will be better aware of the amenities/food/areas for following this thread. The whining and complaining happens on all threads/cruises. 

At the risk of unnecessarily dragging this out, you have a funny way of showing your thanks...

I have been fortunate enough to have sailed with one of the originators of this blog / thread, and toured and dined with them.  They are gracious, wonderful people, and in 18 days at sea, and in this thread, I have found them to helpful and welcoming.  It takes a lot of work to blog from a ship (I know), and a lot of internet time ($$), and time spent writing and responding to posts, for which I, for one, am grateful.

35 minutes ago, Krazy Kruizers said:

When we have stayed in the Neptune Suites, there were a couple of times when we were not able to exchange the cheap bottle of sparkling wine -- food and beverage manager didn't allow it.  One was even new (from RCI) and when we talked to him about this, he said the "champagne" had no value.  What a joke.

Well, at least he was honest...