Come Sail a Way with us LIVE as the Westerdam meets the Sail a Way Gang

[Krazy Kruizers]

scrapnana

Hope you are feeling better.

[dfish]

I'm really enjoying this trip report. I think the new internet packages that they are trying out help immensely with a Live From thread such as this one. Many thanks to all the posters!

 

Debbie

[1of4]

A picture truly IS worth a thousand words. And what a wonderful - and lasting, I hope - memory for your DD.

 

PS - Cute pencil bags! And so fun to whip up although I must admit I do not enjoy sewing in zippers. :p

 

Barb, 1of4 had to cut the zippers to get them to fit. those pencil cases were a lot of work and sewn with a lot of love. She and her DD did them :)

 

The fabrics made the project fun. Cutting and interfacing them was a chore. We found out early that DD liked the sewing together part and I liked sewing in the zippers. It was a team effort!:)

 

what Kazu meant about cutting zippers is that some of the zippers were metal and none of them where the right size. So to use the metal zippers I had to pull the metal teeth out one by one with needle nose pliers so I would not sew over the metal and break my machine's needle. This was the worst step. But it was a learning experience and so worth it to see the joy in those children's faces.

[1of4]

great pic Vict0riann - thanks:)

 

more good news from Vict0riann......are you ready for this? There was going to be a special wine tasting tomorrow (and there still is), but it now conflicts with our cabin crawl since we had to change the time due to the mariner's receptions and lunch. So Vict0riann had to cancel explaining they had a prior commitment.

 

When Ingo (our cellar master found out) he asked Vict0riann and she explained and suggested a wine tasting for the Sail a Way Gang. Ingo is all set to do it for us :) He needs a minimum of 10 and we have 8 already. :)

 

What a great offer from our cellar master. All roll call members reading, give me a dingle if you are interested.

 

And I WILL be asking:)

 

My DH may be interested. I will ask him when he wakes. Is there a cost? I imagine so. I will be packing him up and trying to figure out what the remaining 3 of us will need until Vancouver and making sure it fits in the remaining luggage.

 

I guess we will be visiting the front desk and requesting our tiles as we were not invited to the lunch.

 

We are setting it for the 26th - the day before San Diego (I think that is our only sea day before San Diego when some are getting off).

 

Tomorrow is just too, too busy. Mariners reception, luncheon, cabin crawl and the fun get together after.

 

Who knew sea days could be so busy?

 

The quote is messed up but I can't delete it now for sum reason. So my reply is buried 7 Kazu's quote. ..sorry!

[1of4]

that's a great picture Vict0riann. 10f4 - I am happy to help if you like.

 

I didn't see this as I was passing out stuff. Thanks so much.

 

Would love the help! :)

[1of4]

I am sitting outside watching the sunrise and waiting for 3 of 4 to wake. It is breezy and a bit cool but it is not quite 7:30. I guess it is true, we are heading North. :eek: :rolleyes:

[Lizzie68]

Good morning 1of4! Yes we are indeed feeling the temp change today and I enjoyed it while doing my laps.

 

I was awed by your pencil cases and particularly loved the gecko one when we were doing the filling. You did an incredible job!

[1of4]

Good morning 1of4! Yes we are indeed feeling the temp change today and I enjoyed it while doing my laps.

 

I was awed by your pencil cases and particularly loved the gecko one when we were doing the filling. You did an incredible job!

 

If I had of known you were right below me doing laps I would have joined you..better than crawling over the sofa bed to get to the verandah! :p

 

Thank you for your generous comments. I have more of that gecko fabric at home. We will be talking. ;)

[kazu]

Would love the help! :)

 

 

happy to - I think you know where I live :)

 

If you don't have the gadget to download pics from your camera to your ipad, I do and we can download as well. very quick and very easy.

[kazu]

The quote is messed up but I can't delete it now for sum reason. So my reply is buried 7 Kazu's quote. ..sorry!

 

 

1of4 - are you saying you DID NOT get an invite to the mariner's luncheon? Visit the front desk and ask for your invite if you want to go. You are entitled to go to the lunch. In fact, they don't usually ask for the invites. Otherwise request the tiles. I know they have a lot of mariners on board, but you should have gotten an invite. There is one at 11:00 I believe and 1 at 1:00 pm. On the bright side, the Lido shouldn't be too busy today.

[Debz62]

I'm not quite sure what this means. I've been invited to pretty much every vip party since I've been a four star. I have my theory about why I wasn't invited. I've been critical about one of hals policies on facebook and I suspect that is why. I mentioned it to my PCC and she was going to see if she could find out anything. That's the last time I've heard from her so I suspect I'm right.

 

I meant that perhaps there is no rhyme or reason as to who gets invited. I believe a 5 star Mariner posted they weren't invited to a vip party when there were others with lower stars who had been. If you weren't invited to a party because you were critical about one of Hal's policies, that's too bad. It shouldn't be that way, but then again it is all about the bottom line. HAL may have been concerned you'd express your opinion. Who knows. I do hope you're able to find out if your theory is correct. At least you'd know. It would be awful if you weren't invited to future vip parties.

[ger_77]

I'm really enjoying the folksy back and forth chatter from those onboard - it makes me feel like I'm right there with you.

 

Kazu - what gorgeous flowers; were they for sale on the dock, or did you find a flower shop while you were wandering around?

 

Hope the hot water continues, and good health prevails.

 

Smooth Sailing! :) :) :)

[kazu]

CANADA CUSTOMS AND IMMIGRATION IN VICTORIA - PLEASE FILL OUT YOUR FORMS NOW!!!

 

Ok, this is really weird. Last night we received our Canada Customs & Immigration forms for Victoria and they have to be turned in by today. huh?

 

We are still 7 days away from Victoria and have three more ports to go to. How the heck does anyone know how much money they will have spent on goods that have to be declared when we Canadians return to our home country?????

 

Making a false declaration is very serious business with Canada Customs.

 

Spoke to the concierge and have been told to ball park it. The ship needs to collate them and turn them into Victoria. She states that Victoria will know that this has been requested this early.

 

I've never seen this or heard of this before and neither have a couple who have done this transit many times.

 

I guess the only thing to do is to save the letter we got from HAL with the date and do my best guess. Will go high and tell Customs the actual amount when I go through I guess.

 

Very uncomfortable with this process.

[kazu]

I'm really enjoying the folksy back and forth chatter from those onboard - it makes me feel like I'm right there with you.

 

Kazu - what gorgeous flowers; were they for sale on the dock, or did you find a flower shop while you were wandering around?

 

Hope the hot water continues, and good health prevails.

 

Smooth Sailing! :) :) :)

 

 

We went into the town Tapalucha on the shuttle and went to the market. There was a flower vendor there preparing them and I bought them there after asking the cost.

 

Lizzie68 told me they had hot water yesterday afternoon. I think that makes 3 whole days where they have been able to have hot showers and they had to wait until the afternoon.

 

I hope their hot water continues now too. When we were on their verandah for the sail a way the other day, 2 plumbers arrived to check to see that they really didn't have hot water. (seriously???) and to work on it.

 

I'm thinking that if HAL has issues they can't fix then they should not sell out their ships. At least if they didn't then Lizzie could have a "shower room".

[sapper1]

CANADA CUSTOMS AND IMMIGRATION IN VICTORIA - PLEASE FILL OUT YOUR FORMS NOW!!!

 

Ok, this is really weird. Last night we received our Canada Customs & Immigration forms for Victoria and they have to be turned in by today. huh?

 

We are still 7 days away from Victoria and have three more ports to go to. How the heck does anyone know how much money they will have spent on goods that have to be declared when we Canadians return to our home country?????

 

Making a false declaration is very serious business with Canada Customs.

 

Spoke to the concierge and have been told to ball park it. The ship needs to collate them and turn them into Victoria. She states that Victoria will know that this has been requested this early.

 

I've never seen this or heard of this before and neither have a couple who have done this transit many times.

 

I guess the only thing to do is to save the letter we got from HAL with the date and do my best guess. Will go high and tell Customs the actual amount when I go through I guess.

 

Very uncomfortable with this process.

Here is a copy of the email I have sent to my travel agent:

 

-------------------------

Hi Beth

 

We are having a great cruise but I was wondering if you could phone Canada Customs and check something for us please.

 

HAL is trying something new this year and gave us our Canada Customs forms for Victoria clearance today. They want them filled in and turned in tomorrow, April 23rd and have dated them April 30th for us.

 

My friend and I went to the front desk and pointed out that we still have three more ports to visit and would be doing more shopping so that our declaration would not be accurate by the time we reached Victoria. I was told I could estimate what I would spend and put that amount down. I have enough experience with Canada Customs to know that is hogwash and they want an accurate figure, not an estimate.

 

My friend and I said we would turn in our customs form when we leave San Diego and have an accurate total of what we spent. That is not going over well as they insist Canada Customs wants everything in advance.

 

I told them they could not force me to sign a false Canada Customs declaration and that if I arrive in Victoria having spent more than I have declared, I could be fined and have goods seized. Could you find out if I am within my rights to refuse to sign an inaccurate declaration on April 23, that the cruiseline has already dated April 30th for me.

 

Thanks---I hope I have not been too confusing to you.

 

Bobbie.

[Debz62]

It is not just the luck of the draw.

Seattle has a list of who should be invited, captains have their own list, hotel directors have their own list, etc.

 

So if you're not invited, it's because they have their reasons for not inviting you? If I were a 4 or 5 star Mariner and didn't get invited I'd sure be wondering why.

[1of4]

1of4 - are you saying you DID NOT get an invite to the mariner's luncheon? Visit the front desk and ask for your invite if you want to go. You are entitled to go to the lunch. In fact, they don't usually ask for the invites. Otherwise request the tiles. I know they have a lot of mariners on board, but you should have gotten an invite. There is one at 11:00 I believe and 1 at 1:00 pm. On the bright side, the Lido shouldn't be too busy today.

 

Correct. No invitation. This is not necessarily a bad thing as DD and DS do not tend to like the set menu. I just wish we could have made the choice to go, or not, instead of HAL.

[kazu]

Here is a copy of the email I have sent to my travel agent:

 

 

 

-------------------------

 

Hi Beth

 

 

 

We are having a great cruise but I was wondering if you could phone Canada Customs and check something for us please.

 

 

 

HAL is trying something new this year and gave us our Canada Customs forms for Victoria clearance today. They want them filled in and turned in tomorrow, April 23rd and have dated them April 30th for us.

 

 

 

My friend and I went to the front desk and pointed out that we still have three more ports to visit and would be doing more shopping so that our declaration would not be accurate by the time we reached Victoria. I was told I could estimate what I would spend and put that amount down. I have enough experience with Canada Customs to know that is hogwash and they want an accurate figure, not an estimate.

 

 

 

My friend and I said we would turn in our customs form when we leave San Diego and have an accurate total of what we spent. That is not going over well as they insist Canada Customs wants everything in advance.

 

 

 

I told them they could not force me to sign a false Canada Customs declaration and that if I arrive in Victoria having spent more than I have declared, I could be fined and have goods seized. Could you find out if I am within my rights to refuse to sign an inaccurate declaration on April 23, that the cruiseline has already dated April 30th for me.

 

 

 

Thanks---I hope I have not been too confusing to you.

 

 

 

Bobbie.

 

 

what a smart idea! I hope she answers you quickly. Would you be kind enough to share with me as well when she does?

 

I am very, very uneasy about this as well.

 

I have NO idea what I will spend in Puerto Vallarta and Cabo in particular. I am hunting for a gift or two and if I find them, I will get them. If I don't, I won't. thanks :)

[retired714]

We didn't get invited to the Mariner lunch. We turned to 2 star on this trip, so I just figured that since probably half of the passengers on the ship this time are 3 or 4 star customers, there wasn't room? Not a problem for us because DH wouldn't be excited about going to it anyway

[sapper1]

what a smart idea! I hope she answers you quickly. Would you be kind enough to share with me as well when she does?

 

I am very, very uneasy about this as well.

 

I have NO idea what I will spend in Puerto Vallarta and Cabo in particular. I am hunting for a gift or two and if I find them, I will get them. If I don't, I won't. thanks :)

 

Yes, I will share for sure. I suspect this is for Hal's convenience and they did not think it through.

The Canadians boarding in San Diego won't have forms turned in until after the ship leaves there.

[TiogaCruiser]

Correct. No invitation. This is not necessarily a bad thing as DD and DS do not tend to like the set menu. I just wish we could have made the choice to go, or not, instead of HAL.

 

Assuming you're on until Canada, perhaps they have you scheduled for a luncheon on a later day. On my 7 day Mexico trip they started having mariners on the first sea day. My neighbor told me about it. I went on Friday, the last (3rd) sea day.

[cruz chic]

I meant that perhaps there is no rhyme or reason as to who gets invited. I believe a 5 star Mariner posted they weren't invited to a vip party when there were others with lower stars who had been. If you weren't invited to a party because you were critical about one of Hal's policies, that's too bad. It shouldn't be that way, but then again it is all about the bottom line. HAL may have been concerned you'd express your opinion. Who knows. I do hope you're able to find out if your theory is correct. At least you'd know. It would be awful if you weren't invited to future vip parties.

 

It really won't be awful. I have much bigger problems then that right now. I doubt that I'll ever find out. If you have a contact to be able to do that I'd love to hear about that. There is not always an answer for everything in life.

Edited April 23, 2015 by cruz chic

[Krazy Kruizers]

So if you're not invited, it's because they have their reasons for not inviting you? If I were a 4 or 5 star Mariner and didn't get invited I'd sure be wondering why.

 

Correct.

After no invites for a couple of cruises to the VIP and no invite for a suite luncheon, we came home and cancelled a couple of HAL cruises.

Even our TA could not find out what was going on.

[Krazy Kruizers]

CANADA CUSTOMS AND IMMIGRATION IN VICTORIA - PLEASE FILL OUT YOUR FORMS NOW!!!

 

Ok, this is really weird. Last night we received our Canada Customs & Immigration forms for Victoria and they have to be turned in by today. huh?

 

We are still 7 days away from Victoria and have three more ports to go to. How the heck does anyone know how much money they will have spent on goods that have to be declared when we Canadians return to our home country?????

 

Making a false declaration is very serious business with Canada Customs.

 

Spoke to the concierge and have been told to ball park it. The ship needs to collate them and turn them into Victoria. She states that Victoria will know that this has been requested this early.

 

I've never seen this or heard of this before and neither have a couple who have done this transit many times.

 

I guess the only thing to do is to save the letter we got from HAL with the date and do my best guess. Will go high and tell Customs the actual amount when I go through I guess.

 

Very uncomfortable with this process.

 

Here is a copy of the email I have sent to my travel agent:

 

-------------------------

Hi Beth

 

We are having a great cruise but I was wondering if you could phone Canada Customs and check something for us please.

 

HAL is trying something new this year and gave us our Canada Customs forms for Victoria clearance today. They want them filled in and turned in tomorrow, April 23rd and have dated them April 30th for us.

 

My friend and I went to the front desk and pointed out that we still have three more ports to visit and would be doing more shopping so that our declaration would not be accurate by the time we reached Victoria. I was told I could estimate what I would spend and put that amount down. I have enough experience with Canada Customs to know that is hogwash and they want an accurate figure, not an estimate.

 

My friend and I said we would turn in our customs form when we leave San Diego and have an accurate total of what we spent. That is not going over well as they insist Canada Customs wants everything in advance.

 

I told them they could not force me to sign a false Canada Customs declaration and that if I arrive in Victoria having spent more than I have declared, I could be fined and have goods seized. Could you find out if I am within my rights to refuse to sign an inaccurate declaration on April 23, that the cruiseline has already dated April 30th for me.

 

Thanks---I hope I have not been too confusing to you.

 

Bobbie.

 

 

This sounds like the most stupidest thing I have ever heard.

Can't wait to see how this will be resolved.

[Krazy Kruizers]

1of4 - are you saying you DID NOT get an invite to the mariner's luncheon? Visit the front desk and ask for your invite if you want to go. You are entitled to go to the lunch. In fact, they don't usually ask for the invites. Otherwise request the tiles. I know they have a lot of mariners on board, but you should have gotten an invite. There is one at 11:00 I believe and 1 at 1:00 pm. On the bright side, the Lido shouldn't be too busy today.

 

 

Quite a number of years ago, we were on the Ryndam going from Ft Lauderdale to San Diego. The majority of the people were staying on all the way to Vancouver.

Back then there wasn't a Mariner's brunch. The cocktail party was held in the show room. And it was held on the last formal night which was after San Diego -- thus we didn't get to attend it.