tennisbeforewine Posted October 8, 2021 #1 Share Posted October 8, 2021 It was March 21, 2020, when we were unceremoniously ejected from the Amsterdam world cruise in Perth, Australia. Since then, we've had to depend on FaceBook posts, old photos, and the HAL Cruise Atlas. We've booked some cruises, but I'm sorry, planning and thinking about future cruises is NOT the same as sitting on the balcony watching the sea go by or wandering the hallways and greeting old friends, both passengers and crew. Now we have something to really get us excited: our two Koningsdam 7-day B2B cruises begin this Sunday from San Diego, and WE CAN HARDLY WAIT! Of course there are drawbacks, as we experienced this morning. The fact that HAL requires a negative test within two days is a bit of a bummer, but to make sure we had at least one back in time, we spent our morning getting tested - and then tested again. At 7:30 we were at the local Veterans' Hall, where the San Luis Obispo County Health Department was happy to jam a Q-tip up my nose and tell me it "should" be back in 1-2 days - but don't worry because we guarantee it in 5." Great! Then at 10:00 we drove down to the closest CVS with a drive-though to have another test, one which they tell us comes back in 1-2 days. If for any reason neither of those come though, we'll Uber back to the San Diego Airport for a quick antigen test before our 1:20 (Group B) boarding. Our second 7-day cruise is to Mexico, and we don't know what the Covid testing situation will be. One of the bits that pleases us about this cruise is that at least two of our favorite crew members are aboard: Manny and Kay. They were both wine stewards in the dining room, but after the reshuffling, all MDR wine stewards were dispensed with and wine will be taken care of by dining room stewards. Manny was going to be the wine server in the Silk Bar adjoining the Tamarind restaurant, but now he's going to be the beverage server for the Cabanas, and Kay said she'll be working in the Crew Bar. It's such a shame that they have to work so hard and learn so much to become a wine steward and then have that position removed. We're just excited to see them. So . . . tomorrow the adventure begins. We'll be flying from San Luis Obispo (nonstop) to San Diego and then headed for our overnight hotel, from which we can see the ship. Usually we can watch our ship sail in early on boarding day, but this time it's been sitting there for awhile. I'll keep you up to date on our adventures. No matter how many problems there are, we'll just be glad to be back on board! 29 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seagarsmoker Posted October 8, 2021 #2 Share Posted October 8, 2021 Have a wonderful cruise! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare VMax1700 Posted October 8, 2021 #3 Share Posted October 8, 2021 Have a great cruise. We are enjoying Eurodam in the Med. It really is great to be back on board a Dam ship. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlorenceItaly Posted October 8, 2021 #4 Share Posted October 8, 2021 It's good to hear from you. Kay was our wine steward on our 51 Day South Pacific cruise in October 2019 R/T San Diego. She is a DELIGHT! Hopefully, eventually, she will be working a more out front position. Have a wonderful cruise and thank you for your LIVE review. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilvertoGold Posted October 8, 2021 #5 Share Posted October 8, 2021 This is wonderful news! And a lovely photo. Looking forward to your commentary which is always refreshingly interesting. Have a really excellent time! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhsocal Posted October 8, 2021 #6 Share Posted October 8, 2021 Interesting that you were assigned a boarding time. Pre-covid, sometimes we were assigned an arrival at port time, not a boarding time. Something new? Hope your boarding experience is covered in future postings. have a wonderful time! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Florida_gal_50 Posted October 8, 2021 #7 Share Posted October 8, 2021 Looking forward to every word. Super excited to have the koningsdam back in the fold. Have a wonderful time. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare kazu Posted October 8, 2021 #8 Share Posted October 8, 2021 Have a wonderful cruise 🙂. Looking forward to your reports 😄 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mtn2Sea Posted October 8, 2021 #9 Share Posted October 8, 2021 Fingers crossed your test results come back quickly, followed by a great cruise! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Love the beach Posted October 8, 2021 #10 Share Posted October 8, 2021 Have a great time! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rkacruiser Posted October 8, 2021 #11 Share Posted October 8, 2021 2 hours ago, tennisbeforewine said: I'll keep you up to date on our adventures. No matter how many problems there are, we'll just be glad to be back on board! It's been so long since we sailed together. I am looking forward to reading your reports. Neither of you appear to have aged one day! Bon Voyage! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westcoastsue Posted October 9, 2021 #12 Share Posted October 9, 2021 We board on 11/7 for a Pacific Coastal so are really interested in your reports. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lido deck main Posted October 9, 2021 #13 Share Posted October 9, 2021 Will be following. BonVoyage 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Florida_gal_50 Posted October 9, 2021 #14 Share Posted October 9, 2021 I hope this picture works. It’s currently on Hal’s Facebook page showing the crew on the koningsdam ❤️ 16 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fred321 Posted October 9, 2021 #15 Share Posted October 9, 2021 Have a great trip. Last time we were together was at the big marble table in the Amsterdam library with me trying to draw and you editing your friend's book. Please tell Manny that Rich and Peg say hi. Bon Voyage! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tennisbeforewine Posted October 9, 2021 Author #16 Share Posted October 9, 2021 We had several writing and drawing get-togethers at that marble table. I’ll have to find a matching table on the Koningsdam. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruising Is Bliss Posted October 9, 2021 #17 Share Posted October 9, 2021 Have a wonderful cruise! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
san diego spartan Posted October 9, 2021 #18 Share Posted October 9, 2021 We are on the October 31st cruise. Will be following and looking forward to your reports. Have a great time. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Radbooks Posted October 9, 2021 #19 Share Posted October 9, 2021 Have a great time! We're on the Koningsdam in April for a coastal cruise to Vancouver. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare erewhon Posted October 9, 2021 #20 Share Posted October 9, 2021 Bon Voyage! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare zgscl Posted October 9, 2021 #21 Share Posted October 9, 2021 I was supposed to be on this cruise but had to reschedule due to a work conflict and will be onboard in 5 weeks. Can't wait to follow along. Have a fantastic cruise! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
High Flyer Posted October 9, 2021 #22 Share Posted October 9, 2021 Have a great time......We're right behind you.....496 days behind.....😰 1 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimbri Posted October 9, 2021 #23 Share Posted October 9, 2021 Have a great cruise! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caribbean Chris Posted October 9, 2021 #24 Share Posted October 9, 2021 What a lovely photo! We’ll be following your postings and will sail on Konigsdam January 16 to Hawaii. Can’t wait! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare puppycanducruise Posted October 9, 2021 #25 Share Posted October 9, 2021 Have a great cruise. Looking forward to reading all about it! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now