sailingdutchy

12 hours ago, Overhead Fred said:

Today is our 34th Anniversary!

 

I think Mitzi and I would have both forgotten it except for a celebratory text from our son😬. We are still "recovering" (unpacking, doing laundry, scrounging food, going through 3 weeks of mail...) from our NS cruise, so we may delay celebrating for a day or two. 

 

Here are a couple of pictures from the cruise. I will try to post more details later -

 

Marigot Bay

 

Soufriere rainbow

 

Aperol Spritzes

Love your pictures and the very happy faces . Martha and I wish Mitzi and you Fred  @Overhead Freda Very Happy Anniversary and many , many more years in good health and with lots of cruises ! 

Cheers ! 

Missed you guys and the last 10 days of the cruise but are working hard getting back on board again in about 9 more days .

Look forward to some more pictures .

Martha and Tony 😍

3 minutes ago, aliaschief said:

Made it home and my main thought of the day for all the non compliant mask users today was do you have any idea about these two innocent looking old codgers next to you?

 

Moral. You never know!

 

Good to be home and looking forward to our pillows!😁

sorry that this also happened to you @aliaschief , we look forward for so long to enjoy a nice cruise and make so many preparations and than Covid hits us because some selfish people who only think of themselves and don’t wear a simple mask in crowded spaces. 
 

4 hours ago, Overhead Fred said:

Greetings from Aruba! We will do a little walkabout in town soon. Don't expect much to be open though...

 

Here is yesterday's sunset from Curacao -

Have a great last few days on board Fred and Mitzi @Overhead Fred we will be flying home tomorrow and we are feeling great , I just home tested myself and saw a very nice negative !  So that gives us peace to get home , repack the suitcase and we should be even better protected from Covid for the next 180 days , so I have been told ! 
So sorry we missed the ABC islands which are this old Dutchy’ s favorite ! 
 

Have a nice Sunday everybody , I am feeling good ! 
 

Tony 😁😍

Good morning all from our Covid Marriott hotel in Ft Lauderdale , DW and I are making good progress and finally had some attention from a nice lady of Family Assistance who do the work for Holland America getting us better . We were able to rebook our flight home with FlightEase for the coming Monday so we can prepare our self’s for our next cruise on April 17th .
Roy @rafinmdthank you for your thought by placing us on the daily care list but please remove us from that tomorrow , there are many more people other than us that need the support .

There were a lot of people from our cruise transported to this hotel but many have already left for home in the US . For us being from Canada was that not possible until new rules for citizens came into effect yesterday .
 

Our stay here was reasonably good we were able to go on walks outside the hotel to get fresh air in nice temperatures and do some daily shopping while masked at Publix , but we really missed our wonderful cabin , our new friends we met on board @Overhead Fredand some very familiar wonderful crew we met from cruises past. 

When back home we can sort out with HAL the damages . 
 

I have to say that in our mind HAL brought this Covid flood upon itself by relaxing mask rules too much and too fast and also by bringing so many gamblers on board for a nickel and a dime while we paid good money for our cruise and those people did not care much about masks and were smoking again in the casino where almost every seat was occupied as soon as the casino opened for the days that we were on board.
 

Sorry for my rant but I had to get that off my Covid chest . We hope to get on board again soon . 

Greetings and best wishes for all our Daily friends , please take care and stay safe ! 
 

Tony and Martha 

9 hours ago, ehyup71 said:

 

It's a great question! Attached is the "Travellers with symptoms return to Canada" info sheet from Transport Canada with the details. If you are coming home after April 1st and it has been more than 10 days since your positive test I don't believe any further isolation or proof of testing is required.  You should just need to show your proof of vaccination. 

 

In short form, my understanding of the rules after April 1st from the attached information is this:

 

Every person who enters Canada who suspects they have COVID, shows symptoms of COVID, or has received a positive result for any type of COVID within 10 days before or on the day on which they enter Canada,  as well as every person who travelled with that person, must:

 

1. Go Directly to the place that you will isolate for the next 10 days

2. Take COVID Molecular Tests as directed

3. Report your arrival at your place of isolation within 48 hours in ArriveCAN or 1-833-641-0343 (if you didn’t use or cannot use ArriveCAN).

 

** Edited to add

 

Of course, the interesting part of this is that without having to show a COVID test at the border, they would have no way of knowing you had tested positive for COVID unless you disclosed it.  They do tell you that "providing false information can result in a fine" ... but I don't know if the Canada Border Agents are going to ask that direct question of "Have you tested positive for COVID in the last 10 days?".   Like I said, interesting question and we may not get the answers until AFTER April 1st!

 

 

 

travellers-with-symptoms-return-canada-en.pdf 757.44 kB · 2 downloads

Thank you very very much for your clear reply to me , this helps us a lot so we can at least prepare for a flight home after April 1st we have hardly any symptoms and will do some more home testing , so we travel as save as possible and will be negative.
I very much appreciate your help , this is the clearest response I have had .

take care and stay safe , hope to meet you one day on one of the Dam ships 

Tony 

4 hours ago, ehyup71 said:

Finally clarification from HAL on Alaska & Canada / New England cruises!

(Full document attached for reading pleasure).  April 1st you no longer required to provide Negative Covid test to enter Canada (land or air), so I hope this makes it easier for everyone to get back to cruising both sides of the border!

 

HEALTH AND SAFETY GUIDELINES FOR ALASKA & CANADA/NEW ENGLAND CRUISES

Our Alaska and Canada/New England cruises are available for guests who have received their final dose of an approved COVID-19 vaccine at least 14 days prior to the beginning of the cruise and can provide a negative viral COVID-19 PCR or antigen test taken before embarkation. Guests under 5 years of age do not need to be vaccinated. Children under 2 years of age do not need to be tested prior to cruising.

 

Within 72 hours of your cruise embarkation, sign into ArriveCAN from a computer or download the mobile app to enter your proof of vaccination and travel information to get your ArriveCAN receipt. Please bring a digital copy of the email or print your receipt and take it with you when you travel.

 

CRUISES ORIGINATING IN U.S. PORTS: Proof of Negative COVID-19 Test Guests who are up to date with their vaccines may take their COVID-19 PCR or medically observed antigen test within 3-days prior to sailing. Up to date means a person has received all recommended COVID-19 vaccinations, including any booster dose(s), when eligible. If a guest is fully vaccinated but not up to date with their vaccines (i.e., is eligible for a booster but has not received one), they must take their pre-cruise COVID-19 test within 2 days prior to sailing.

 

CRUISES ORIGINATING IN CANADIAN PORTS: Proof of Negative COVID-19 Test Guests who are up to date with their vaccines or fully vaccinated may take their COVID-19 PCR within 3-days prior to sailing or an medically observed antigen test within 1-day before sailing.

 

 

0329-alaska-canada-health-protocols.pdf 427.02 kB · 1 download

@ehyup71 what is your take on our situation to get back home to Canada after April 1 as a fully vaccinated and boosted citizen who was tested positive on a cruise 7or 8 days before April 1st . 
I have had different answers and even the government person from the Covid Hotline was not 100 % sure yet of the new relaxed rules .

Coming from the US do I need to be at least 5 days or 10 days of isolation ( how to proof that ) or do I need a negative Antigen test taken by a medical licensed person or a PCR test which results take longer to acquire . 
 

Tony 

54 minutes ago, Beachbum1944 said:

 

We left on the 27th and tested positive yesterday. We are both symptomatic.  Personally, I think a lot of transmission went on through the casino. It was absolutely packed every night and very, very few masks in sight. HAL should step up and enforce the masks for the safety of all passengers. 

I agree 100 % with you that the main culprit the no mask mandate specially in the casino where almost every chair was occupied and where also people were smoking again . 
 

5 hours ago, LewiLewi said:

Hardly anyone is wearing a mask on board this ship now, except for the crew. People are crowding into elevators and sitting close to each other maskless in lounges, etc. The four of us continue to mask up. People in the Neptune Lounge look at us as if we are being ridiculous to wear a mask. We spend very little time in the lounge; just to pick up a snack and bring it back to our room. I hope we don’t have a lot of sick people on board during the coming week.

As one of the couples that had to be transported to the Covid Hotel after only having spend our first 11 days of our 21 day cruise I can really appreciate your commends that you are making today about people not wearing masks in crowded places like elevators , meeting rooms and crowded entertainment areas . 
 

I would have thought that HAL had learned a lesson after the explosion of positive Covid cases from the Mar 16 to Mar 27 cruise . 
 

Bill and Mary Ann mentioned that on turnover day they were waiting for the ship to reach zero occupancy . Well that point was never reached , while we were waiting to be transported off the ship to be taken to the Covid hotel  new guests were already climbing on board  . We only left around 1pm ! And there was a very large number of us infected guests . I am not sure of the exact number of us taken off but I am guessing at least 50 or 60 !
 

I do not like to hijack @WCB nice and important blog which I also have been reading for a couple of months , so my sincere apologies to them , I have learned a lot before we came on board from this .

So thank you for taking a stand @LewiLewi, please keep wearing your mask , we were one of the victims paying the price and having to miss a very nice part of our cruise . 
 

If people from Holland America are reading my post , please reinstate a tighter mask mandate , this is costing you too much ! 
 

Tony 

Good morning to all Daily Friends from the Marriott Covid hotel in Ft Lauderdale . DW
Martha has not been feeling well for a couple of days and I was finally allowed to home test her and yes she is now also positive with bad head aches .
Myself I have had no symptoms whatsoever , sleep fairly well and have taken some nice walks outside in brilliant weather compared to the snow and rain that has been falling at home the last couple of days .
 

Our dear daughter Natascha who lives near New York is keeping an eye on us and treated us with medicines , special teas and home test kits . She is just wonderful ! 
 

No word from Holland America other than prompts that tonight we have a reservation in the Canaletto and a tour with them in a couple of days ……….have to catch up with the ship first I guess . .?? 
 

Have a great day everybody , please take care and stay safe 

Tony 

5 hours ago, bennybear said:

I’m sorry you’re both positive now, hope you’ll be back with your DW soon.   Just a question,  if you test positive, is it up to the passenger to choose to stay onboard or leave?  Just wanting to understand how it works. 

In our case we did not have a choice of staying on .

On the N Statendam the only passengers that were tested 2 days before we got back to Ft Lauderdale were those who were to be on the next segment of that cruise , like ourselves . Because I was positive and DW negative we had no choice in staying for the next ten days on board even in quarantine for the necessary days . 
This might have been because they were swamped by the high number of Covid cases 

I should not give you a guesstimate but I have heard of at least 50 to 60 cases and I have seen myself the  long hallways on deck 4 and 5 of quarantine cabins in the aft because we were disembarked twice , once in error two hours before transportation to the hotel was available . 
 

I have to mention that in October when we were on a three week cruise on the Eurodam with the stricter mask mandate there was only 1 Covid case ! 

Please draw your own conclusion of that fact and what HAL should do ! 
 

Tony 😷

3 hours ago, Quartzsite Cruiser said:

Good morning from the Koningsdam.  We're sitting off Santa Barbara, and I'm not sure about going ashore today.  It is very overcast and foggy.  We can see a little more of town but still not much.  DH has been to Santa Barbara, but I haven't.  I may wait until next week to go ashore.

 

Our covid test was very early this morning, and we're both negative. 👍 Sadly, I cannot say the same of at least one person who was tested shortly before we were.  We think there are other cases on board as several people were coughing in the Lido this morning.  Fortunately, all but 40 are getting off tomorrow, and now two more will be leaving after one tested positive. 

 

Sadly, more and more people on board don't wear their masks even in the elevators.  They are still required in the tenders.  I hope the Captain tightens the mask requirements, but I'm not holding my breath.  To avoid unnecessary risk, we spend most of our time in the cabin and have a table for two in the MDR.

 

We wear our masks whenever we leave the cabin.  In places where we are not sitting close to others we might remove our masks, but probably not so much now.  About the only time we took off our masks on shore was in the golf cart yesterday.  Otherwise, we stay masked when off the ship.

 

An interesting collection of days.  I hope to live long and prosper with good health.  For my holiday, I think I'll also celebrate International Dailyite Day, and honor a place and group who have greatly helped make the last two years better. I'll take my spinach raw in a salad, but don't serve me cooked spinach.  Ironically, spinach must not be too expensive and is plentiful since it shows up almost everyday at dinner.

 

The quote is very true, and we read to our DDs everyday until they could read on their own.

 

We'll pass on the meal, drink  and wine.  

 

We have not been to Albany, Australia, but hope to get there someday.  @tjcox9 and @StLouisCruisers Thank you for sharing your pictures.

 

@kazu  Jacqui, I wish there was a way to ease your pain.  I know that losing your last pet is even harder. When our Nikki died, we donated her beds to an animal rescue shelter where they would use them for dogs recovering from surgery.  Know that we all are mourning Marley, and are sending love and big virtual hugs.

@smitty34877  Terry, thaks for another great picture of Camilla.

@grapau27  Graham, I'm sorry Pauline has Covid, and I hope she is over it soon.  I also hope you continue to test negative.  Your new cruise sounds nice.

@aliaschief  Bruce, I'm sorry you tested positive.  I hope it is a mild case, and you feel better soon.

@summer slope  The air fryer I have is Emeri's that looks a lot like the InstantPot or PowerXL that has three racks.  At the time I bought it, it seemed the sturdiest and best built.  I have not been disappointed with it.  I'm not sure if that model is still available. 

 

Lenda

 

i agree 100 % with you Lenda that HAL dropped the ball by eliminating the mask requirement indoors . Too many people are reckless and pick up the virus on tours after they get on board ship . 
 

the captain on the Nieuw Statendam supposedly has reinstated those rules after all the cases showed up yesterday . 
 

4 hours ago, garlictown said:

Tony @sailingdutchy~~could be a false positive???😲 This happened to my husband's aunt when she was in FL and she 'redid" the test. We were 100% certain that there was no way she could have Covid. 👍Turned out she was actually negative. 

Could you request for another test onboard?

Katie

Thank you so much trying to help . I have asked for a retest and they will not do that . 
I feel completely like I always am , no headache , fever , or bad cough .

this is the first time in about 30 cruises with HAL , our favorite line , that I am starting to get upset with them . It took 3 hours and 3 phone calls to get our breakfast delivered . 
phone calls to guest services or in cabin dining are not being answered and such is the case also with our in solitary neighbours , there is a whole row and two levels of us .
 

one of the neighbours who is diabetic had to call 911 to get food , which is normally for the medical centre, otherwise his wife would have to call them if it was too late for him ………

Sorry to have to be so negative today , that is not my normal me !  
 

Tony

Good afternoon all , this is Tony , sailingdutchy reporting from our isolation cabin .

Thank you all yesterday and today for your kind remarks to us because of me testing positive .  I can tell you it was and still is a big shock to me to get that phone call ,  I can still hardly believe it also because we have been quite careful where a lot of other guests are not , they just do not adhere to some simple rules like having to wear a mask in an elevator which usually is crowded . The Captain mentioned that the rules will be tightened up again and they should .
 

I am very happy to say that so far I hardly have any symptoms , temperature is normal and just have a very slight cough once in a while , which is normal for me on a cruise due to all of the air conditioning . 
 

We had such a great time on board in the best Cabin we have ever occupied , the Signature Suite , so right now we feel very cramped in a small veranda. We also had such a good time with our new friends Fred and Mitzi going to our favorite specialty restaurants to be served by some very familiar people and also with Arie and Cheryl with whom we did a couple of nice tours .

Club Orange for as long as it lasted was also a success as long as the daily price is reasonable . fresh Orange Juice and or Mimosas are rated high on DW list . 

So now DW Martha and I are waiting to see where they will dump us in Florida until I have two negative days in a row , we have a number of questions for the front office and I also hope that Martha made the right decision to join me in isolation and will stay negative .

We will miss the next 10 day cruise to the ABC islands that are always so special to us and we had looked forward to. 
 

So thank you all , hope to get off the care list soon because others will need that more than we do. 
 

Have a great weekend everybody and to our good friends Ann and Pat @VictOriann enjoy your cruise you will be fine ! 
 

When I get home I hope to post some nice pictures from the Nieuw Statendam 

Tony & Martha 😍

10 hours ago, kb4683 said:

@sailingdutchy

@Overhead Fred

FYI -This was in the stateroom when we returned tonight

 

Thank you for trying to send us a message @kb4683because of the delayed arrival , but I could not read this message that you received . In the mean time HAL has told us they hope to arrive at 11 am and will not start embarkation until at least 2 pm on Wednesday . Hope that is still the case .

Tony 

22 minutes ago, kb4683 said:

@sailingdutchy 

Currently on N. Statendam.  If you haven’t already heard, we will probably not arrive in PE until 11:00 on Wednesday.  Had to turn around last night 5 hours from Aruba for 2 medical emergencies.  Didn’t arrive back in Aruba until approximately 4:30 am.  Currently doing 22kpm to try to make-up some lost time.

Thank you very much for letting us know @kb4683 , will keep an eye on that so we do not take too early a shuttle to the port .

17 minutes ago, Vict0riann said:

I don't often make it to Page 1 on this thread, so I was in a hurry to post earlier, now I can add a few pictures from Ravenna.  We were there in 2016 on Prinsendam, and Tony, @sailingdutchy organized a great tour, which included us and our DD.  

 

Dante's Tomb

 

 

Pat and Tony trying to break into Dante's tomb...

 

 

Some of the mosaics

 

 

 

 

At the market

 

 

The market wall

 

Thank you for the wonderful pictures of this memorable tour we did together Ann @VictOriann it was  so nice  your DD Cathy was with us .  What a beautiful place  Ravenna  is to visit , I could add another bunch of pictures of that day but we are busy packing for our flight tomorrow to Ft Lauderdale ......................so looking forward to another cruise on the Nieuw Statendam , I have some very big surprises in store for DW Martha , hope she likes it ! 

Take care everybody , I know I have not posted for a long while but I do some lurking .

Tony 😍

42 minutes ago, regnig said:

Your high end jewelry stores will probably be open but some of the smaller locally owned shops will not be.

Mary/Bill would you please see if you can find out how many people will be on board the sailing out of Ft Lauderdale on this Wednesday the 16th. Thanks 

We hope to be there also on Wednesday  @regnic.  They posted a couple of days ago that occupancy was expected at about 1550 ( out of a possible 2650 )  Post #486 .

Thank you Jacqui @kazu for keeping the "Bon Voyage " list up to date, despite all of your concerns and worries for your DH Jose , plus your wonderful pets and the harsh winter weather , very much appreciated !  Best wishes to Jose !

Thank you all fellow CC' ers for your good wishes , we hope to see a few "old " friends again from former cruises and more than likely meet a number of new ones .

Take care everybody and stay safe 

2 minutes ago, kazu said:

 

Thanks for the kind wishes, Tony. ♥️ 

 

I will get those listings removed for you and hope you can find replacement cruise down the road for a more opportune time 🤞 

Yes please just remove the Rotterdam cruise and replace it by the Nieuw Statendam cruise  the other NS cruise is still going on Mar 16th .

Tony 

Hello Jacqui , Thank you very much for keeping the Future Cruise list despite all of the very sad things happening around you , we are thinking of you and please say hello to Jose from us we hope his health is improving more and more  .

In the mean time we have decided to cancel our birthday cruise on the Rotterdam in exchange for the B2B cruise on the Nieuw Statendam  ( 21 days ) from April 17th until May 8th from Florida to Rome .

Take Care and Best Wishes 

Tony 

3 hours ago, Vict0riann said:

I turned off the Live on my iPhone.  It made me dizzy!😊

 

I have been busy all day!  Garden cleanup this morning, and moving a few perennials.  This afternoon I have been concentrating on what is going on in Ottawa.  It is so interesting.  The "paddy wagons" seem to have individual little cubicles and they can just put each person they are arresting into their own "room".  What a huge response is going on!

Garden clean up ??????  What NO snow to shovel @VictOriann ? 

and yes we like our governments and police response to the wacko's .....

21 minutes ago, Vict0riann said:

Good morning, still.  My original rule was that I was not to go to CC until after I rode my exercise bike, but that has now  been amended to no posting until after I ride, but I read The Daily news after breakfast, thank you, all.  So now I am posting, exercised, showered, dressed, and ready for lunch!  Pat has gone for a walk and to pick up some prescriptions, and mail a packet of stamps to @sailingdutchy...  DD has made a big pot of soup (potato and leek).  We did experiment with the gnocchi and sun-dried/pistachio pesto the other day.

 

 

 

 

You know how to lure me out of my tent Ann  @VictOriann I was just leaving the Daily for a few days as far as posting was concerned  have just lurked a bit here and there , but you got me !  Even though I might have to plow out our mailbox I will patiently look out for the mail from you !  Thank You So Much !

The weather we are having now is perfect for doing my hobbies , like keeping up the stamp collection or doing large jigsaw puzzles , looking at more cruises or tours for cruises  etc etc . Its good to be busy 

Greetings from the snowbelt in SW Ontario , Will mail you later . 

Take Care and big Cuber Hugs ! 

Tony 😁😁

@WCB  quote :   “ I remarked that one day, we will split a bocce ball?sp, a huge chocolate eclair filled with whipped cream.  Well, having mentioned that, the bartender brought over the huge pastry, saying why wait? "