Btimmer's Blog of the Nieuw Statendam Inaugural Voyage

[ski ww]

All that dessert is really what I need late at night. I have no will power so I would be at the table eating some more.

[Btimmer]

I just learned from my fried egg cook that there are 2800 guests on board.  The Lido is certainly busier and the are lots of small children.  Today is a sea day and a spa day for me.  M&G at 11am and a Mariners Reception in the BBKing at 11:30.  There is no 9am coffee chat :-(.

[Btimmer]

Today was the CC M&G, Mariner's Reception and Medallion presentation.  Yes, the medallions got loaded in Ft. Lauderdale!

 

The Cruise vibe has certainly changed.

 

Winds have increased and there is some concern whether we'll anchor at Half Moon Cay tomorrow.  If we do, we get to use the large shore based  tenders while the Oosterdam uses their onboard tenders.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Love the reports.

 

The Koningsdam had to skip HMC today because of the high winds. 

[Btimmer]

Within a matter of a few minutes ago, we crossed paths with the Prinsendam and the Koningsdam.  SUPER Cool!!  Close encounters of the HAL kind.

Edited December 20, 2018 by Btimmer

[keeponcruising]

9 minutes ago, Btimmer said:

Within a matter of a few minutes ago, we crossed paths with the Prinsendam and the Koningsdam.  SUPER Cool!!  Close encounters of the HAL kind.

That's cool.  Did they blow the horns?

[boards]

Thank you for those great photos.  

[RuthC]

56 minutes ago, Btimmer said:

Within a matter of a few minutes ago, we crossed paths with the Prinsendam and the Koningsdam.  SUPER Cool!!  Close encounters of the HAL kind.

 

Lovely shot of that great little ship. I am going to miss her terribly.

[OlsSalt]

Prettiest "dam" ships out there.  From grand economy size to tiny premium. 

Edited December 20, 2018 by OlsSalt

[Krazy Kruizers]

1 hour ago, Btimmer said:

Within a matter of a few minutes ago, we crossed paths with the Prinsendam and the Koningsdam.  SUPER Cool!!  Close encounters of the HAL kind.

 

Great pictures!!

[Btimmer]

Yes, the horns were blown.  In fact the Koningsdam was on a collision course with us before altering course.  Impressive to watch to say the least!

[St Pete Cruiser]

Prinsendam looks so good moving along.  She just came out of drydock, so I would think new paint all around which always makes a difference.  With just 6 months left under HAL control (She has already been sold), the Elegant Explorer is going out in flying colors.  I see there is still rooms available for the Grand South America.....

[Muushka]

23 hours ago, Btimmer said:

When we got back to our room after 7pm, there was a letter in our mail slot indicating we had not attended the lifeboat drill and needed to attend a makeup drill at 6pm in the Hudson Room or we would be subject to being put off the ship.  This was contrary to the instructions we received in our in transit letter which indicated we did not need to attend the drill.  

 

Armed with both  letters I went down to the Front Office and explained the predicament and pointed out the error.  The clerk didn't seem to appreciate the gravity of the threat and tried to whitewash it saying we were 'on the manifest ' and needed to be there.  I countered with the original letter which stated we didn't need to attend.  HAL knew we were continuing passengers and we were exempt from attending.  No letter needed to be sent to us!

 

A few minutes later we ran into another continuing couple and they didn't go to the drill and didn't get a letter.

 

In any event, the NS left at 8pm in the dark and we're still on board.

We are doing B2B on the 23rd.  I hope we can get out of the 2nd drill!

[Btimmer]

Here's a photo collage of my wife's photos and my composition.

We're having it printed on aluminum.

Edited December 21, 2018 by Btimmer

[SusieKIslandGirl]

Hi-I'd like to add my thanks for the great photos and reviews. I also wanted to let you know Burien is still standing. Drove through there yesterday while shopping. After the tornado in Port Orchard Tuesday and high winds today it's been a pretty wild few days-rather unusual but interesting! Happy Cruising!

[puppycanducruise]

Thanks for the great pictures.

Good luck getting to HMC.

[Btimmer]

We were just departed HMC without landing.  It's simply too windy.  The Oosterdam left before us.

[Btimmer]

Waves crashing the shore and the Oosterdam leaving.

[Btimmer]

Collecting on my free 5 Star Spa Day!

 

The on board programming has been beefed up with the change of plans.

[puppycanducruise]

Oh my.  Such hardship.  How will you go on?😉

[FM]

Great photos/videos … quick question … with the angle of the toilet, is it cramped if you are a tall person with long legs or a person of size?  Thanks

[kazu]

Great shots and I love your collage.

 

Sorry you missed HMC but it seems you are making the best of it in the Spa.  Glad to see you were able to put your spa day to use 😉 

[CruiseLady88]

Is the ocean still rocky? Our friends on Crystal’s Symphony now returning to New Orleans from Costumel Mexico. She texted me that she and her husband has a very bad seasick since last night. They didn’t eat dinner last night and just ate cracker. 

 

I think that one will feel worst on a smaller ship when the ocean is rocky. This is why I don’t want to try smaller ship.

[Btimmer]

57 minutes ago, FM said:

Great photos/videos … quick question … with the angle of the toilet, is it cramped if you are a tall person with long legs or a person of size?  Thanks

While I'm short, I would think that a tall person would just sit at a slight angle and be comfortable.

[Btimmer]

1 minute ago, CruiseLady88 said:

Is the ocean still rocky? Our friends on Crystal’s Symphony now returning to New Orleans from Costumel Mexico. She texted me that she and her husband has a very bad seasick since last night. They didn’t eat dinner last night and just ate cracker. 

 

I think that one will feel worst on a smaller ship when the ocean is rocky. This is why I don’t want to try smaller ship.

The NS is extremely stable. It was slightly rocky last night and during the attempted repositioning at HMC. During our slow sail to Nassau there's very little motion.

 

Here's one of my favorite cruising views.  The Captain couldn't answer why was one prop wash more pronounced than the other.