Live From Nieuw Statendam Nov 28 - Dec 12, 2021

[canadarocks]

Wow, there are a lot of repeats in the Starters (Appetizers) section. ☹️

[Sharon in AZ]

27 minutes ago, Crew News said:

I was told that only the PG New Years menu is special and different from their regular menu.  Other Specialty Restaurants are not serving special items.

Thank you for checking Roger. I will just be surprised. We have it booked for the Rotterdam. The website only lists a sample menu. 

 

 

Edited December 6, 2021 by Sharon in AZ

[Crew News]

16 minutes ago, Sharon in AZ said:

Thank you for checking Roger. I will just be surprised. We have it booked for the Rotterdam. The website only lists a sample menu. 

 

 

I will add the Canaletto to the New Years Eve PG menu for deeper digging.  The Canaletto Manager just started yesterday.

[Florida_gal_50]

Roger you are a saint for answering all these questions 🙂.

[Crew News]

21 minutes ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

Roger you are a saint for answering all these questions 🙂.

I must have been a detective in a previous life.

[Florida_gal_50]

5 minutes ago, Crew News said:

I must have been a detective in a previous life.

On roller skates too😛🤪.  In all seriousness, thank you so much!  The information you provide is priceless.

[Crew News]

4 hours ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

Roger you are a saint for answering all these questions 🙂.

Day 01 of the Tropical leg of my time aboard began with partly cloudy skies and a brisk breeze.  Realizing that the Eurodam was also parked nearby, I opted to switch my Lobster Shack reservation to tomorrow when we will be the only ship there.  The weather for tomorrow will have less wind and temp of 81 degrees for a better beach experience.

Enough seeds have been sown in my menus search to start having results.  What I a unable to gather on this cruise, I will be aboard the Nieuw Amsterdam to renew my searches.

I mentioned the movement Specialty Restaurant Managers yesterday and today I learned that servers are not permitted to move from their contracted restaurants, only Hosts and Managers.

At the request of the Tamarind, it was decided to reschedule a CC Tamarind night to Dec 9th.  The roll call has more than 70 members but only a handful have joined so far.

For Canadian flying back home, before 11:00 AM on Disembarkation Day,  the ship will accept appointments to have COVID tests performed the day before disembarkation  For those flying after 11:00 AM, testing will be performed in the terminal.  Both test swill be provided printed test results. As we get closer to disembarkation, I will try to get an official notice from the Front Desk.

PG service was much better on my second visit but not perfect.  I was negligent in not looking at my dessert spoon until after the waiter disappeared.  Eating key lime pie with a spoon was a new experience and the thick crust failed to succumb to my attempted assaults.  When my waiter reappeared and looked at my empty crust, I said it would have been totally eaten if I had the proper utensil.  His response that he has always given spoons to eat pie was interesting.  Probably a custom that I missed in my world travels.

For lunch, I tried the custom Lido stir fry and really liked all of the choices available over the pre-cooked dishes at the end of the counter.  The line for this will probably by very long when the ship is back up to capacity.

The fourth person for whom I provided Navigator feedback stopped me in the Lido and said how happy her Manager was to pass on my comments. The Navigator feedback tab is well-hidden and probably not used enough.  Feedback is definitely easier than filling out Comment Cards to recognize great service.

For those wanting to meet Vanessa, Guest Relations, her visa expires this month and has not been reinstated. The ship will really miss her.

Passengers received their disembarkation letters today with instructions to come to Guest Services and choose the luggage tags for whatever time they wished.  What a huge savings of paper/envelopes/printer ink in not having to send out tags to every stateroom!  Club Orange and 4* & 5* will get a letter with their tags delivered. the their stateroom.  Luggage Direct is available for flights after 11:30 AM.

Tomorrow is a beach day with a hint of menu searching and answers to posed questions.  

More later.

[Florida_gal_50]

Lovely comment from the waiter in the pinnacle 🙄.  It doesn’t matter if you want to eat it with a knife I don’t know why people have to comment.  I really wish if it wasn’t a productive comment they would keep it to themselves.  It’s so unprofessional.  

[SarahCBL]

Looking forward to your review and menu posting of the Half Moon Cay Lobster Shack.  We are on the Rotterdam in January for our first cruise back since the shut down.  Thought we might try that out for the first time.  Thank you for all the information.  Your "Live From" posts are always the best!!

[Crew News]

32 minutes ago, SarahCBL said:

Looking forward to your review and menu posting of the Half Moon Cay Lobster Shack.  We are on the Rotterdam in January for our first cruise back since the shut down.  Thought we might try that out for the first time.  Thank you for all the information.  Your "Live From" posts are always the best!!

I am having lunch for the first time at the shack that I have passed since it was first open.  No need to wait.   Half Moon Cay Lobster Shack Menu

[leerathje]

Roger, I did a search through this thread, but couldn't find it....probably just blind!  Who is the current captain on the NS?  And how long has he been on board?

 

L.

 

[Minoushka]

Mustapha is General Manager or Hotel director …very nice guy 

[Crew News]

38 minutes ago, leerathje said:

Roger, I did a search through this thread, but couldn't find it....probably just blind!  Who is the current captain on the NS?  And how long has he been on board?

 

L.

 

The Captain is Noel O'Driscoll.  A great Irishman who gives great briefings to the ship.

 

It is alleged that during one of his "Ask the Captain" sessions", he was asked what the ship did with "gray water".  The Captain raised a glass of water and said, "Cheers."

Edited December 7, 2021 by Crew News

[Crew News]

12 minutes ago, Minoushka said:

Mustapha is General Manager or Hotel director …very nice guy 

I spoke with him for a few minutes before he was called away.  In the days of ever-changing titles, he is the Hotel General Manager.

[honeyb2]

We are getting onboard December 12 for a B2B. Could we get a couple of questions answered please?

 

Are there any heated pools on the Nieuw Statendam?

 

Do you know anything about Bingo?

 

TIA

[Crew News]

4 minutes ago, honeyb2 said:

We are getting onboard December 12 for a B2B. Could we get a couple of questions answered please?

 

Are there any heated pools on the Nieuw Statendam?

 

Do you know anything about Bingo?

 

TIA

Yes to the heated pools.  As for bingo, I have a photograph of the bingo poster and will be translating it to text soon.  Stay tuned.

[Crew News]

8 hours ago, SarahCBL said:

Looking forward to your review and menu posting of the Half Moon Cay Lobster Shack.  We are on the Rotterdam in January for our first cruise back since the shut down.  Thought we might try that out for the first time.  Thank you for all the information.  Your "Live From" posts are always the best!!

The grilled lobster tail at the Lobster Shack was good as were the included salsa and rice with beans.  It should be noted that I did not arrive until 1:00 PM. 

 

I don't normally comment on food taste but the lobster chowder had the taste and consistency of instant mashed potatoes. It could be that all of the previous customers received any potato chunks.  After a meticulous search, with each piece of flatware available,  I found a piece of suspected lobster the size of the tip of my pinkie finger.  Again, I arrived a little later than normal dining time.

 

Turn in your reservation paper at the Lobster Shack terminal, receive your beeper, and find a table.  Food will be delivered.

[scubacruiserx2]

Thank you for your review of the Lobster Shack . The last time that we ate there was on the Nieuw Statendam in 2019 . See if the photos look similar .

We had to look hard to find a seat for 2 but after we did find seating , the food came quickly . The lobster plate was very good but the conch chowder was really a conch and seafood chowder that seemed to have little , if any conch in it . It tasted like floured water with some kind of fish mixed in and a couple of bites were enough .

 

Edited December 8, 2021 by scubacruiserx2

[oakridger]

@Crew News and @scubacruiserx2 Those descriptions of the seafood/conch chowder convinced me that I will not be ordering that!!  The lobster plate looks good though.  Thanks everyone!

 

~Nancy

[Crew News]

1 hour ago, scubacruiserx2 said:

Thank you for your review of the Lobster Shack . The last time that we ate there was on the Nieuw Statendam in 2019 . See if the photos look similar .

We had to look hard to find a seat for 2 but after we did find seating , the food came quickly . The lobster plate was very good but the conch chowder was really a conch and seafood chowder that seemed to have little , if any conch in it . It tasted like floured water with some kind of fish mixed in and a couple of bites were enough .

 

With the exception of the butter container shape, my lobster plate looked the same. 

 

My chowder was without pieces of any color.  As stated, it looked like instant mashed potatoes and tasted the same.  Perhaps i misunderstood that I was obligated to add the removed shell of my lobster to provide the flavor profile to the pureed potatoes?

 

To be able to comment on anything cruise related, I believe that I needed to give it a try. I did.  I won't again.  Now I can legitimately comment.

[Florida_gal_50]

The lobster meal looks totally underwhelming to me.  Thanks for trying it.

[Comptech]

We got our new itinerary for the 26th sailing. Not super excited about the change in that we are not going to Cozumel anymore, but it is what it is.

 

SUN 26DEC21 Fort Lauderdale, Florida, US  4:00pm
MON 27DEC21 Sea Day
TUE 28DEC21 Georgetown, Cayman Islands  8:00am - 5:00pm
WED 29DEC21 Ocho Rios, Jamaica 9:00am - 6:00pm
THU 30DEC21 Sea Day
FRI 31DEC21 Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos 7:00am - 2:00pm
SAT 01JAN22 Half Moon Cay, Bahamas   9:00am - 3:00pm
SUN 02JAN22 Debark Ship Fort Lauderdale, Florida, US 7:00am

[islander47]

On 11/29/2021 at 1:35 AM, Crew News said:

It is interesting being a menu collector but it all started when a coworker asked me what wa on the menu that I did not eat.  Menu searching has introduced me to a lot of culinary and bar folks making it easier the second time around.  Ii have discovered that many on CC are just as intense at planning as I am.  "Know before you go." 

I am a HAL newbie sailing Jan. 16th on the Zuiderdam. What is your website address? Love reading all your news here!

 

[Crew News]

3 hours ago, Comptech said:

We got our new itinerary for the 26th sailing. Not super excited about the change in that we are not going to Cozumel anymore, but it is what it is.

 

SUN 26DEC21 Fort Lauderdale, Florida, US  4:00pm
MON 27DEC21 Sea Day
TUE 28DEC21 Georgetown, Cayman Islands  8:00am - 5:00pm
WED 29DEC21 Ocho Rios, Jamaica 9:00am - 6:00pm
THU 30DEC21 Sea Day
FRI 31DEC21 Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos 7:00am - 2:00pm
SAT 01JAN22 Half Moon Cay, Bahamas   9:00am - 3:00pm
SUN 02JAN22 Debark Ship Fort Lauderdale, Florida, US 7:00am

I spoke to Guest Services today and learned that your ship will be the first to visit

Grand Caymon.

[Crew News]

1 hour ago, islander47 said:

I am a HAL newbie sailing Jan. 16th on the Zuiderdam. What is your website address? Love reading all your news here!

Welcome to Holland America.  My website does not have any news, just photos and menus.  Click on either of the links below.

 

Make sure you join your roll call to connect with others on your cruise.