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LIVE from the Nieuw Amsterdam LAFFNVEGAS Returns Home To Holland America

LAFFNVEGAS

By LAFFNVEGAS,
in Holland America Line

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HeatherInFlorida

HeatherInFlorida

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Darn, I missed sailaway. But great to see the pictures:). I'm especially thrilled to see a picture of Lou of PortFever!!! He was so wonderful to our group when we sailed on Solstice this past October and got terrific pictures! Amazing how he can zoom in so well!

 

So they're off! Hope you are relaxing and enjoying your first night at sea, Lisa. Looking forward to reading all about it:)

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LAFFNVEGAS "Live from...." Rare

LAFFNVEGAS

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Thank You Thank You Thank You :)

Lou, thanks so very much and Joanie many thanks to you as well as Nathan. I have to say that was one full Sail Away.

Now on to today's report. It is not as detailed as I normally get but I am a bit tuckered out :o

Sunday March 20, 2011

Good Evening from the Beaultiful and Elegant MS Nieuw Amsterdam.

WOW, talk about a feeling of coming home. After 5 Non HAL cruises I honestly did not know how we were going to feel about our return to HAL. Now I was expecting it to be good but in the back of my mind was fearing "What if I am wrong" We really loved NCL Pearl and Celebrity Solstice. I guess once a HAL Gal always a Hal Gal.

We ended up being able to grab an early shuttle from our hotel rather than a taxi and got to the pier right before 11. We really did not wait long and the lines moved quickly. Once upstairs our boarding number of 5 was called only about 15 minutes later. I have to admit it was nice being able to go right to the cabin and drop off our carry on. We headed down to the Manhattan Dining Room for the Mariner Lunch. It was nice but I kinda of missed going to the Lido.

After lunch we all headed to the cabin and our luggage was there so we were able to unpack. I had forgotten how there are so few drawers to place things in here on this class of ship. I have to admit all the others ship we have been on this past year and a half have done a much better job in this area but so far that is the only area that HAL is not better in. I have to say this ship is so beautiful. While it may be smaller than the Solstice it really has a more elegant yet welcoming feel. And the crew.... well I had almost forgotten how friendly they are. There are been many familiar faces and many that remembered us, even after having been gone almost two years.

This was our first HAL cruise since not needing to wear the Life Jackets to Life Boat Drill. That was nice and was quick and painless. After words, Nick and Brad came to the cabin and it was time for a Web Cam Banner Wave Sail Away........ Did anyone see it? It was fun and a great way to kick off the Cruise. Of course Captain Mercer blew the ship's horn and very long time :-) We spent a good hour after we left Port Everglades out on our balconies. It is nice having the three cabins together but actually having the equivilant of 5 balconies with the two cabins being a double balcony. I was to thank Lou from Port Everglades Web Cam for doing our Web Cam Wave today and I am so looking forward to seeing it.

Tonight we had dinner in Tamarind, it was every bit as good as I remember it being on the Eurodam. The 8 fo us had a great time and the crew in the Tamarind were fantastic. Truly a wonderful treat for the first night on board the ship.

After dinner we had heard that one of the Bar people we knew might be on board but unfortunately it was not the same Ronald we were hoping to find but we did get to meet Boozi (or at least I think that is how his name is spelled)

We did go check out the shops but I need to go back and do a better job of checking things out because I spent most of the time talking to the shop Manager who I knew. (Note to Julie who I know is reading this....it is Flavia and she remembered us right away and wants to Hi to you I will give you a better report of the shops later) I did purchase a very cute Cruise Wear jacket they were just putting out that came in for the Europe Collection. But selection of Logo Wear that we like to purchase looked pretty bad. I felt bad there was not shirt at all for Tom to purchase.

We are now of course back in the cabin and I have been typing up today's report.

I have to admit I really am exhausted so I probaby will not stay up much longer.

But to conclude the first day on board........ It is so very good to be home :D

Signing off from the Beautiful and Elegant MS Nieuw Amsterdam while she heads to Grand Turk.

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kazu "Live from...." Rare

kazu

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Hi Lisa. Glad to hear from you already! There were a LOT of us watching your sail a way. And we DID see you :D

 

So glad you enjoyed your return to the dam ship:) We loved the Tamarind dinner too. Looking forward to more reports :D

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IRL_Joanie

IRL_Joanie

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Lou, Thank you so very very much for the wonderful service that you provide for everyone!!

 

I am now totally addicted to your site!!

 

I do have a question for you.... I tried to access the Archived section but could not figure it out:( How can I get to the archives for the Nieuw Amsterdam sailing on 28 November 2010?? We had a few people on our Deck 6 Aft Wrap Around that I would love to have a photo of.

 

Joanie

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blueboro

blueboro

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We just returned from NA yesterday. Great cruise and ship. Some thoughts. Tamarind excellent...so good we ate there twice and tried again. Pinnacle very good but almost 4 hours for dinner is WAY too long. Canneletto was good but nothing special...but it IS free. Three nights in dining room. Food very good but service seemed detached and not as attentive or friendly. Perhaps it was because this was our first time with anytime dining and there is not the "bond" that develops with assigned tables. Lido food for the most part good although the Lido seemed to be a little chaotic at times.

 

Entertainment...okay to very good. Many of the entertainers just joined the ship this week. Cantarre was excellent...one of the best shows we have seen on a ship. Rondell Sheridan (comedian) was very good as was the magician. The worst show to us was the "Two of Us" where two of the singers who were married sang. Very good singers but the the banter between songs was painful and cheesy.

 

Piano Bar was fun but David, the piano man, was way over the top in his playing and singing. But it is definitely worth the trip to meet Boozie the waiter who will remember your name for the remainder of the cruise. Gini and the HAL Cats okay but they really need a male voice to assist. Matt Murphy was good in the Crows Nest and very friendly.

 

Other than the Piano Bar or disco, it seemed at times it was hard to find much to do late at night.

 

If you sail on the NA I don't think you will be disappointed.

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Himself

Himself

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Lisa:

I am glad you feel at home. I was glad to hear of your positve reaction to the NA. she is really beautiful and elegant. I hope the sea is calm and the weather is sunny. I will check out the camera at Grand Turk to make sure you are in safe and sound tomorrow morning.

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LAFFNVEGAS "Live from...." Rare

LAFFNVEGAS

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Monday Afternoon March 21, 2011

Good Afternoon from the Beautiful and Elegant MS Nieuw Amsterdam.

We are half way to Grand Turks in a extremely windy (60 mph) Port side with some high seas and lots of white caps. Right now the winds hitting the port side are so strong it is impossible to open out balcony door. While I would not tell my fellow cruisers who I know are looking forward to Grand Turk if this wind continues as good as Captain Mercer is there is no way he will be able to dock at Grand Turks. I know from previous experience and also know that Captain Mercer will give it is all to get us in there but that can be a difficult port. In winds not nearly this strong in Dec 2008 it took him three tries to get us docked.

Well since I last wrote, I had a wonderful nights sleep and in all honesty probably the best nights sleep on a ship since the last time on HAL. The beds of course our so comfortable and familiar and because we had some rough seas last night it just made for some good rocking to sleep.

We had decided that we would all meet for breakfast at 8:30 in the Main Dining Room so that right afterward Sher, Brad and Nick and I could go to the Thermal Suite. Colleen, Kathy and Bob and Tom and not spa people. So I kind of figured Kathy and Bob would not make it down to breakfast since I heard room service at their door this morning. Sher and Colleen and Tom and I made it there at 8:30, it was almost 9:20 before Brad and Nick showed. I like the new menu for breakfast, definitely a nice variety.

Sher and I headed to the Spa at about 9:35 and thought Brad and Nick would meet us there but never did see them. Sher hung out with me till sometime after 11 this morning but since I figured this would be the only day I would use the Thermal Suite I wanted to really enjoy this so stuck around till 1:00pm after the Captain's report from the bridge.

OK as you know I sometimes get a bit critical of the Spa/Thermal Suite, well this Thermal Suite gets 5 stars :) icon14.gif Everything was absolutely wonderful, yes it is pretty much the same as the others but the decor and colors are slightly different and there are some subtle changes such as in one of the Saunas there was a control thing on the wall that stated Scent 1, Scent, 2, Scent 3 and Scent 4. Scent one as lit up and this was obviously something they controled. The showers also had the misters with the scents and all were working perfectly. It was busy almost to the point of being a bit crowded but then it was the first Sea Day. The only frustrating part were extremely loud talkers :mad: especially when Captain Mercer was doing his 12:45 Noon Time report from the Bridge. This was my first time to get to hear this in almost two years and while it is a bit silly it is something I really enjoy hearing and what better way than relaxing in the heated ceramic loungers but unfortunately these 2 couples felt the need to continue to talk and get even louder (the men) when Captain Mercer spoke.

Well it was1 pm and I figured I better head back to the room, beside it was no longer quiet and peaceful in the Thermal Suite, so I walked thru the Lido picked up a glass of ice tea and a small ceasar salad and headed back to the cabin. I felt a bit bad because Tom was waiting for me and had not eaten. So not long ago he headed up to the Lido to see what he could fine to eat.

Oh BTW they gave us our Embarkation form this morning, does anyone else find this really cruel thing to do on your first full day on the ship.:eek: I seriously do not want to even be thinking about leaving yet. I do see where it does have SW Airlines but the question I have is if they get your your boarding pass, how soon do they log into get it for you. Is it my chance close to getting you an A or are you stuck with and C or D ? The other problem we thought of is the fact that things like my cosmetics and toiletries for the last morning are not travel size and I want to bring them home. If I place my luggage outside the night before and do not see it till I get home and keep only my carryon I have will no place to bring the toiletries so........will have to reconsider our thoughts on this. I am hoping that the other SW one might be outside and maybe check out large suit cases with Lluggage Direct and then hopefully can check here at the pier the smaller suit case. Otherwise we will have to still check in a piece of luggage at the airport.

We actually have Open Anytime dining for this cruise but figured since we were a group of 8 it may be alright to do that. Tonight we have decided to go to dinner early at 6 and then go to the Captain's Toast and see the early show. One thing I was extremely surprised about was how full all the dining options were for reservations. We fortunately had made the Tamarind reservations several weeks ago on line but figured we would do Pinnacle on board the first day since we planned to do that the last night. We barely got reservations and the only time left was for 5:30 :eek: and unfortunately we gave up on making reservations for tonight we are just going to wing it and see what happens.

I guess I will stop writing so I can post this and then either read or I might just take a nap ;)

 

Signing off from the Beautiful and Elegant MS Nieuw Amsterdam

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HeatherInFlorida

HeatherInFlorida

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Ooooooh, Captain Mercer. It's rare I remember any names of officers onboard any ship, but I'll always remember Captain Mercer who was the friendliest, most accessible, Captain on any ship we've been on.

 

So glad you're feeling right back home! The NA would have to go a way to make me like her better than the Solstice, but you never know!

 

Thanks for checking in with all of us you left behind!:)

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maxie99

maxie99

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so that was you guys up there having to much fun:D--i was feeling kind of melloncally on sun, being that i was on NA only 7 days before,,then was watching the websight, coaght the banner, and was thinking --they,r going to have such a great time,,i wish i was back on board--then i read you message,, im REALLY going to have fun going along for the ride---:)--Joan

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Himself

Himself

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Lisa I looked on David's post and clicked on the link to Grand Turk and the Eurodam was safely docked there this morning. Hopefully the winds will not follow you to Grand Turk and that you can safely dock there. If anybody can do it Captain Mercer can do it and do it well.

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LAFFNVEGAS "Live from...." Rare

LAFFNVEGAS

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Good Evening from the Beautiful and Elegant MS Nieuw Amsterdam as we sail closer to Grand Turk.

Well today certainly was not he day for those who could not handle some rough seas. Definitely some high winds of 60 MPH gusts and and I beleive Jonanathan said swells of 3 to 4 meters which if my math is correct is between 9 to 12 ft swells. Kathy was actaully having problems with the movement and needed me to give her some Bonine I took some as well for precautionary reasons. I had planned to not take anything this whole cruise but thought it would not hurt. I have felt fine the whole night. So dinner tonight was just the 6 of us Brad and Nick, Sher and Colleen and Tom and I. We went to the Manhattan Dining Room at 6pm and then went to the 7:55 Captain's Toast. Cantare' was tonight's show and they were very impressive and actually one of the best shows for a Formal night I have ever seen on HAL. They were a lot like the Four Season Tribute show done on NCL yet with doing all different music. I was very impressed.

But back to dinner it was good as well. I had the Shirmp and Scallops Pasta dish. I tend to eat far more seafood when I am on a ship. The Captain's Toast was the usual that it has been the past several years, I do wish they would go back to the way they use to do it :( I was actually surprised that at the 8 pm show it was not totally packed in the Show Room. I am guessing the combination of the rough seas and people not feeling great. But also people do not start to fill up a show room till close to show time and at least tonight there was no one in there saving seats like we saw on Princess. Going to the show lounge on HAL tends to be a far more pleasant experience and not what we saw on RCCL and Princess both of those were bad but it was really bad on RCCL. In this repsect we found NCL and HAL to be far more similiar although Celebrity did fill up fast but was close to the HAL experience .

After the show we headed up to the Crow's Nest and listened to Matt Murphey on the Guitar. I am pretty sure he was the Guitarist that performed in the Crow's Nest when we were on the Westerdam two years ago in Alaska.

Now back in our cabin, everyone seemed a bit tired tonight and with wanting to get up early to see if we get into Grand Turk. Well let's just say we are keeping our fingers crossed that the winds subside and Captain Mercer can do his magic.

We continue to see crew we know, tonight was one of our favorite Bar crew Romeo. It was good to see him again. He was pretty sure the Ronald we knew was back on the Eurodam. Note to Karen aka Middle Aged Mom if by chance you are reading this, Romeo is the Romeo from our Noordam Alaska cruise in 2007.

By the way tonight we also toasted our wine glasses to our friend Laura Kerr who was to also be cruising with us but passed away several months ago.

Well, I think I am going to call it a night, I was to read just a bit more of my book, I am reading the James Patterson / Alex Cross series and sometimes I get to a point where it is hard to put the nook down.

Signing off from the Beauitful and Elegant MS Nieuw Amsterdam where it truly is good to be back home.:)

　

　

　

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