Nieuw Statendam

[0bnxshs]

16 hours ago, Cailey53 said:

Take a look under the right flap of the large grey cardboard that your steward puts on your bed in the evening. It's usually hiding there. 

Hope you are enjoying the ship--she's a beauty!

 

That's were we found our room service breakfast hanger nightly, on the bed with the new day's When and Where and chocolates on the grey cardboard folder.

[Dismomx5]

Thank you for sharing your experiences! Is there a Happy Hour in Billboard Onboard in the afternoon? With snacks? We enjoyed resting there on the Koningsdam, so were wondering.

[richwmn]

7 minutes ago, Dismomx5 said:

Thank you for sharing your experiences! Is there a Happy Hour in Billboard Onboard in the afternoon? With snacks? We enjoyed resting there on the Koningsdam, so were wondering.

Happy Hour has been daily (except for embarkation) from 4 - 5 pm in both Billboard and Rolling Stone. Snacks are available from a steam table in Billboard, positioned similarly to Koningsdam except against a wall.

 

[Alberta Quilter]

Found the room service hang tag, thank you. 

 

Grand Cayman has been cancelled for all but the 300 people who got on the first tenders. Pax on one tender were kept bobbing in the water for an hour and a half in total. The swells in the harbour prevented them from disembarking the tender and then it was tricky for them to get back on the ship. It sounds like many were sick during that time. We were safe on the ship!  It was pouring rain and the waves were crashing on the shore side rocks. It’s too bad but we are safe and dry. 

 

We will depart once the 300 are back on-board. 

[Cruising-along]

10 minutes ago, Alberta Quilter said:

Found the room service hang tag, thank you. 

 

Grand Cayman has been cancelled for all but the 300 people who got on the first tenders. Pax on one tender were kept bobbing in the water for an hour and a half in total. The swells in the harbour prevented them from disembarking the tender and then it was tricky for them to get back on the ship. It sounds like many were sick during that time. We were safe on the ship!  It was pouring rain and the waves were crashing on the shore side rocks. It’s too bad but we are safe and dry. 

 

We will depart once the 300 are back on-board. 

Wow!  Glad you hadn't tried to go ashore, what a nightmare for those folks. 

[richwmn]

As Kathryn mentioned, the Captain called off tendering earlier. The Cruise Director's Staff got busy and had some new activities ready within a few minutes. They added two trivia contests, along with other things. Of course, the weather looks a lot better now.

 

The dinner menu has been posted, Happy Valentines Day to all!

 

Feb14Dinner.pdf

[Alberta Quilter]

We're still here in Grand Cayman harbour.  I thought we would've left a while ago but maybe those tours that actually got away are long tours.  As Rich mentioned, the weather has cleared. I haven't checked the wave action for a couple of hours. DM and I watched a movie in our room. They added the movie to the activity lineup but it was too humid, for us, to watch it at the Lido pool.

[doggfan7]

19 minutes ago, Alberta Quilter said:

We're still here in Grand Cayman harbour.  I thought we would've left a while ago but maybe those tours that actually got away are long tours.  As Rich mentioned, the weather has cleared. I haven't checked the wave action for a couple of hours. DM and I watched a movie in our room. They added the movie to the activity lineup but it was too humid, for us, to watch it at the Lido pool.

 

Hi there. My wife and I were actually 2 of the “lucky” 300 to get to the island this morning. The Captain made the right decision to cancel for the rest of you. It was VERY dangerous, especially for those with mobility issues. The swells had the boats bobbing from 4 feet below the dock to 4 feet above it very quickly and you had to time your jump on to the boat. Then once on the boat, it would repeatedly crash into the dock throwing everyone into each other and, unfortunately for my wife, her head into side of the boat. (She’s fine now).

 

They were loading one passenger every 30 seconds to a minute, which if you do the math will take them upwards of 300 minutes (5 hours) to get everyone back. They were handing out prepackaged sandwiches, muffins and cold bottles of evian at the dock which we thought was a classy touch.

 

Contrast this with with the Regal Princess, which apparently let everyone off and now has a mile long line of people to get back. They will be here a while!

 

Had a great tour (albeit in a thunderstorm) but glad to be back on board.

[catl331]

On 2/13/2019 at 5:22 AM, Alberta Quilter said:

I wanted to note that the head of the beds, in our room, is towards the bow so one is NOT facing the bow when laying down.  I don't know if this is true for all of the rooms.

I think they alternate on all of the newer ships to simplify the plumbing by making the bathrooms back-to-back.  It also makes it easier to have adjoining rooms, with the common door at the foot of the bed in each.

Edited February 14, 2019 by catl331

[catl331]

On 2/13/2019 at 2:58 PM, oldpharmguy said:

Is there a charge to dine at the Tamarind?

Yes. $25 pp last I knew. 3-star and higher discounts apply.

Edited February 14, 2019 by catl331

[stickey_mouse]

How does the ship handle the flow of people A) during port disembarkations and B) at night around the entertainment venues?

Thanks for the wonderful posts!

[richwmn]

36 minutes ago, stickey_mouse said:

How does the ship handle the flow of people A) during port disembarkations and B) at night around the entertainment venues?

Thanks for the wonderful posts!

Other than when the Main Stage shuts down, the traffic around the Music Walk is not bad. There is plenty of space between Billboard / Rolling Stone for people to move and mill around. It is easy to hear both venues from either.

When the Main Stage entertainment ends you will see a wave of people go the length of the ship, getting smaller as people drop off at various places. But that only lasts a minute or two. The ship really doesn't feel crowded.

 

[rkacruiser]

20 minutes ago, richwmn said:

Other than when the Main Stage shuts down, the traffic around the Music Walk is not bad. There is plenty of space between Billboard / Rolling Stone for people to move and mill around. It is easy to hear both venues from either.

When the Main Stage entertainment ends you will see a wave of people go the length of the ship, getting smaller as people drop off at various places. But that only lasts a minute or two. The ship really doesn't feel crowded.

 

 

From my perspective during my NS cruise on 1/6/19-1/20/19,  this is a very accurate statement.  Even though NS and Koningsdam are the biggest of the HAL fleet, NS does not feel crowded at all and I don't doubt that's true for "The King" as well. 

 

[Alberta Quilter]

2 hours ago, doggfan7 said:

 

Hi there. My wife and I were actually 2 of the “lucky” 300 to get to the island this morning. The Captain made the right decision to cancel for the rest of you. It was VERY dangerous, especially for those with mobility issues. The swells had the boats bobbing from 4 feet below the dock to 4 feet above it very quickly and you had to time your jump on to the boat. Then once on the boat, it would repeatedly crash into the dock throwing everyone into each other and, unfortunately for my wife, her head into side of the boat. (She’s fine now).

 

They were loading one passenger every 30 seconds to a minute, which if you do the math will take them upwards of 300 minutes (5 hours) to get everyone back. They were handing out prepackaged sandwiches, muffins and cold bottles of evian at the dock which we thought was a classy touch.

 

Contrast this with with the Regal Princess, which apparently let everyone off and now has a mile long line of people to get back. They will be here a while!

 

Had a great tour (albeit in a thunderstorm) but glad to be back on board.

 

Thanks for posting your experience.  I'm very happy to hear that your wife is okay.

 

I, too, am glad that the port was cancelled for most of us.  I didn't need the rum cake that badly (and I can still buy it on the ship, if I find I do).  It was a good decision by the Captain and crew.

[rkacruiser]

3 hours ago, Alberta Quilter said:

I didn't need the rum cake that badly (and I can still buy it on the ship, if I find I do).  

The rum cake can also be purchased online.  It used to be a "must buy" when I was at that port.  No more.

[richwmn]

Quick update for tonight.

Entertainment on the Main Stage

Step One Dance Company - Humanity

 

Movie on the Big Screen

Crazy Rich Asians (they had a special showing at 2:30 due to lack of tendering).

 

The also did 2 extra trivia games with very good participation.

 

And tonight was the second Gala Night. I saw all manner of dress out and about, from Tuxes and Gowns to short and t-shirts.

 

[Krazy Kruizers]

Grand Cayman sounds like what we have experienced a couple of times -- bad seas.  

 

Smart on the captains part to stop the tendering and keep everyone safe.  Glad that those who did get ashore got back safely.

[EbayCruiser]

Is Grand Cayman the only tender port?  I am recovering from bi-lateral knee replacement surgery and am not going to try the tenders.  I know you tender in HMC but it is the island tenders and should be safer for me than the lifeboats.

[richwmn]

20 minutes ago, EbayCruiser said:

Is Grand Cayman the only tender port?  I am recovering from bi-lateral knee replacement surgery and am not going to try the tenders.  I know you tender in HMC but it is the island tenders and should be safer for me than the lifeboats.

For this week, the Western Caribbean Itinerary, Grand Cayman and Half Moon Cay are tender. Ocho Rios and Cozumel are docked. Be aware that for Ocho Rios we docked at the industrial pier and it is a long walk or cab ride to get to any of the shops. Even at the newer pier it is a bit of a walk off the ship.

[richwmn]

It is a beautiful day in Cozumel. Maybe a bit warm, but the sky is clear. We are at the downtown pier along with an NCL ship. It is a bit of a hike down the pier to the terminal building.

 

Dinner menu is already posted, so I am attaching it here.

There is a Mexican Folklorico Festival tonight at 6:00 and 7:30 around the Lido Pool

The movie tonight, one showing only at 9:30 is Momma Mia! Here we go again.

 

We are in Cozumel until 11:00pm (must be onboard at 10:30pm).

 

Feb15dinner.pdf

[Krazy Kruizers]

Be aware that if there are 2 HAL ships at HMC, usually only one uses the island's tenders and the other ship uses its own tenders.

[Krazy Kruizers]

2 hours ago, richwmn said:

 

There is a Mexican Folklorico Festival tonight at 6:00 and 7:30 around the Lido Pool

The movie tonight, one showing only at 9:30 is Momma Mia! Here we go again.

 

 

 

 

 

The Folkloric Festival sounds like fun.

[rkacruiser]

12 minutes ago, Krazy Kruizers said:

Be aware that if there are 2 HAL ships at HMC, usually only one uses the island's tenders and the other ship uses its own tenders.

 

When I was there in January on the Nieuw Statendam, the Zuiderdam was also there.  The larger island tenders were used mostly for us.  The Zuiderdam mostly used their own tenders.

[Alberta Quilter]

1 hour ago, Krazy Kruizers said:

Be aware that if there are 2 HAL ships at HMC, usually only one uses the island's tenders and the other ship uses its own tenders.

 

Next week, both the NS and the Koningsdam will be at HMC on the same day.  Which one will get the island tenders?  Inquiring minds want to know!  We did our two tours last Monday when only the NS was there.  We may not get off the ship this time with over 5000 people at HMC next week...

[canadianbear]

19 minutes ago, Alberta Quilter said:

 

Next week, both the NS and the Koningsdam will be at HMC on the same day.  Which one will get the island tenders?  Inquiring minds want to know!  We did our two tours last Monday when only the NS was there.  We may not get off the ship this time with over 5000 people at HMC next week...

We will be on the Kongingsdam for that mess!  Think we will just go plunk ourselves in the water and look for the octopus.  I doubt we will get the Island tenders.