LIVE from the MAIDEN VOYAGE OF THE ROTTERDAM VII - TRANSATLANTIC

[sansterre]

Our Captain speaks at the Mariner's lunch in MDR 2.

[sansterre]

Another view of the dining room.  I think it is beautiful.

[sansterre]

a close up view of one of the smaller lights in the Dining Room ceiling......

[sansterre]

We are cruising tonight at 21 knots, expecting to arrive just slightly later than the 8:00 plan.  Weather for Ponta Delgada is going to be wind and rain.  That is too bad as everywhere looks better in sunshine and Azores are no exception.  We have a planned a half-day excursion for 6 people to the West Side of the island with a stop at the Pineapple Plantation.  Perhaps the guide will have some other rainy day suggestions.

There seems to be a problem with the water system tonight.  Captain just announced that water should be back on by 10:30 so just a few minutes delay for some tonight.

[sansterre]

On 10/25/2021 at 7:25 AM, The-Inside-Cabin said:

I would appreciate if you could check the casino and see if they have a Texas Holdem Table.   The Nieuw Statendam doesn't have one, but every other HAL ship has Texas Holdem

I asked a dealer tonight if there was Texas Hold em here.  She said yes and pointed to the table pictured with the dealer in the center with his back to the camera.

[sansterre]

Here is another photo of the casino taken the other direction.

[sansterre]

On 10/24/2021 at 1:11 PM, rafinmd said:

The Rotterdam is supposed to have a different lifeboat mounting system that allows her to pass through the Panama Canal.  Do you have any pictures of the lifeboats in position and how it affects the aft promenade deck?

 

Roy

 

[sansterre]

Just now, sansterre said:

 

Sorry to take so long but walking on the promenade deck was not easy until today.  These photos are from the starboard side, looking aft.

 

 

[sansterre]

Two more, showing the mechanism and how the deck turns where the lifeboats are not.  It looks like the lifeboats jut out just a foot or so.

[rafinmd]

Thanks.  I think it looks pretty good.  I would love to sail Rotterdam through the canal.  While I think the old locks are more different I'd like to see the new ones once.

 

Roy

[sansterre]

Before we get to The Azores, I wanted to post my best photos of the last two ports of Portland, England and Brest, France.

In Portland we simply took the Blue Bus into nearby Weymouth and had a great talk with the bus driver about the Queen and the Royal Family.

[Laminator]

5 hours ago, sansterre said:

I asked a dealer tonight if there was Texas Hold em here.  She said yes and pointed to the table pictured with the dealer in the center with his back to the camera.

I think he is referring to the electronic hold em table that was very popular on the other ships. 

 

[Nodakboiler]

The captain just announced  our port stop in the Azores has been canceled due to heavy winds after he tried two attempts to get into the harbor.

[puppycanducruise]

1 hour ago, Nodakboiler said:

The captain just announced  our port stop in the Azores has been canceled due to heavy winds after he tried two attempts to get into the harbor.

That's too bad.  I hope the winds calm down for the rest of your journey.

[Pia1913]

27 minutes ago, puppycanducruise said:

That's too bad.  I hope the winds calm down for the rest of your journey.

We like sea days so now we have nine in a row.  The unexpected adventures of traveling. 

[sansterre]

We are sailing fairly smoothly now at 15 knots.  In Ponta Delgada harbor the wind gusts were 40 knots.  My group of 6 were assembled and ready for the half day tour.  We are very disappointed and talked about what supplies we were going to pick up and also what supplies the Rotterdam might intended to pick up, perhaps some fresh fruit?  pineapples ?

 

[0bnxshs]

2 hours ago, Nodakboiler said:

The captain just announced  our port stop in the Azores has been canceled due to heavy winds after he tried two attempts to get into the harbor.

Really sorry to hear this.  I know many were looking forward to this stop.

[MarkWiltonM]

18 hours ago, sansterre said:

Mariner's lunch today was excellent.  Menu is Caribbean theme but food was excellent.  We especially liked the Chowder and the Cobia fish entree.

We had virtually the same menu 3 years ago on Nieuw Statendam. It was okay, but not better than the regular fare in the dining room.

[kazu]

4 hours ago, sansterre said:

We are sailing fairly smoothly now at 15 knots.  In Ponta Delgada harbor the wind gusts were 40 knots.  My group of 6 were assembled and ready for the half day tour.  We are very disappointed and talked about what supplies we were going to pick up and also what supplies the Rotterdam might intended to pick up, perhaps some fresh fruit?  pineapples ?

 

 

What a shame 😔 So sorry they had to cancel Ponta Delgada.  And, very sorry your planning for your private tour was for naught 😔 

[TexasTrini]

@sansterre Thank you so much for doing this live reporting on your cruise! Could I ask you to please post a few pictures of the drinks menus in different venues, if its not too much trouble? I'm particularly interested in the price of Disaronno Amaretto. I'm trying to decide which beverage package to buy for the Rotterdam in December and it would be helpful to know what my favorite drink actually costs. Thanks in advance!

[mdwriter]

Has anyone tested positive for Covid on the TA cruise?

 

[NonnaGa]

So happy to see and read about your voyage.  I will be on this ship next September in Norway.  Cannot wait!

Azores, what a beautiful port to be at loved it!

If anyone staying in a V category cabin please post a picture ❤️
Wishing you all a smooth crossing!

[NonnaGa]

1 minute ago, NonnaGa said:

So happy to see and read about your voyage.  I will be on this ship next September in Norway.  Cannot wait!

Azores, what a beautiful port to be at loved it!

If anyone staying in a V category cabin please post a picture ❤️
Wishing you all a smooth crossing!

Oops I should have finished reading all the posts.  I’m so sorry you all missed this port.  I’m sure the Captain tried.

[jeh10641]

Thank you to all the "Posters" on the maiden voyage. My wife and I and two cousins from NC are booked December 1 for 11 nights. It has been great hearing about your adventures and misadventures so far. The photos have been amazing. We have been on two prior HAL cruises (2012 and 2016). I could not tell you the name of any staff member we encountered. Those who remember names from past cruises are fantastic. Thanks for sharing that info. I remember Punta Del Gado from our first transatlantic cruise on Navigator of the Seas in 2008. Reminded me a lot of Hawaii. Hope to see more posts of your DAYS AT SEA. Have any of the posters seen the Lincoln Center performers? That is our favorite music venue. Is the Microsoft lab gone? I saw that in its location was a library.

[db777]

I really appreciate all the posts.  We are on the November 21-Dec 1, 10 day cruise.  Was notified we are not going to Grand Turk as they are not open to cruise ships.  Instead will be going to Puerto Rico…then they changed the order of the ABC Islands. But all is good, we got our booster this past weekend, a collection of masks, and our covid test to use before cruise.   I will take pictures of deck 4 as we are in aft cabin, and post.  

Edited October 28, 2021 by db777