Rare WCB Posted December 19, 2021 #1 Share Posted December 19, 2021 Venture to the Caribbean with Bill & Mary Ann on the Nieuw Statendam & Nieuw Amsterdam Report # 1 Travel Day December 18, 2021 Saturday Cold in Clayton 33 degrees - 81 degrees in Ft. Lauderdale Well, here we go again, beginning a different type of long journey on the Nieuw Statendam for about 108 days. The ship will stay in the western, eastern, and southern Caribbean instead of circling the world. The final 19 day cruise will take us through the Panama Canal, back to San Diego, with a short flight to San Francisco. Looking forward to it since we have never sailed on this class of ship before. One thing for sure, we will get plenty of exercise just walking from one end to the other. Having passed the Covid tests on Friday, we looked for the health questionnaires to arrive via email from HAL. Oddly enough, they never sent them. Calling there, we learned that there was a bug in the system, and not everyone got them. So we will fill out the form when we get to the pier like we always did in the past. Now to the “travel day” saga. The day began early at 2:30am for a 4am pick up by our friendly driver. Despite the fact that it is the holiday season, the traffic was very light. Also, it was a Saturday, and that helped. Once at the SFO airport, it was a different story. Everybody and their brother seemed to be flying somewhere. Flying with Alaska Airlines, we noticed that the check-in area was very confusing. Lines crossed over with folks waiting for the kiosks, as well as passengers (some with dogs) lining up to drop off tagged bags. At times, we think the dogs were better behaved than the guests. Our luggage tags did not print, so an agent took us out of the help line, and did it for us. Nice guy. Then off we went to the security line, where we did not get the magic TSA free pass. At least we did not have to take off our shoes or separate the small liquid baggie. However, the knee replacement ( I assume) set off the bells, and I was subjected to the xray and pat down. Saying nothing about the knee (they don’t listen anyway), the guard decided my watch set off the alarm. OK with me. Even if I had a card certifying that I had a replacement, they would still search, so my doctor does not issue cards anymore. We were early enough to enjoy a hot breakfast with lots of coffee before boarding at 7:20am. The morning had gone relatively well, and we knew the flight would be good too. Remember the longer flights when you were fed a meal? Well, no more. Beverages were served along with Cheezits and Biscoff cookies. Most folks buy all of their food right before boarding, despite the cost. Anyway, all went well, but, little did we know what awaited us later in the day. The plane landed around 4:30pm Florida time to overcast skies and muggy breezes. No rain, which was good. Now was when the fun started. There was no rep in sight as promised in our documents. We had pre-purchased a one night hotel package with transfers on both ends. About an hour later, several more people congregated…some were going on a Princess cruise, and another couple of ladies were with us for the HAL cruise. Finally a rep appeared, but she was not the most helpful person as she spent most of her time on her cell phone. We sensed that something was wrong with our ride, but she promised it would be just a little longer (actually one hour). Two more agents showed up, and led us outside, put the four of us in a van, and off we went. Except, we were going in the wrong direction towards the Las Olas area, and a different hotel (The Element). By now it was dark, and we stopped the driver and said this is not the way to the Renaissance Plantation. Traffic was horrendous, and the local drivers were so rude. So our driver got a call from his boss, who insists that HAL had cancelled our hotel reservations, and we were to be brought back to the airport. Really??? You can bet that did not sit well with the four of us. He claimed he would get fired if he took us to the other hotel. So back we went where we sorted out what happened. A much younger agent had made a mistake, and put us in the wrong van. Then we discovered that if we had insisted that he drive us to the right hotel, we would have had to pay the first driver directly. No way! Long story short, the other agent apologized profusely, and ordered us another van. Within 30 minutes, we were at the right place, and found our reservations were still intact. Good thing, since none of us needed this extra stress. The agent did promise a bottle of champagne, which all of us said, we would rather have something stronger than that! Time will tell………. There was an HAL rep at the hotel, and also apologized for the mix-up. She had the info for our transfer tomorrow, so we were all feeling better. The nice ladies that shared this experience (both from Texas) claimed they will have lots to write their family about tomorrow. Dropping off our stuff, we headed to Bokampers located near the hotel. Both us of enjoyed chicken Caesar salads with a soda and a beer. Really looking forward to a good night’s sleep, breakfast tomorrow, and boarding the ship around 12pm. Now we ask, what else can go wrong?? Better not ask! Bill & Mary Ann PS We are posting the report and photos at this blog site: https://cruisingwithbillandmaryann.blogspot.com/ 15 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
h20cruzer Posted December 19, 2021 #2 Share Posted December 19, 2021 What a way to start your trip. Let’s hope thing get smoother starting tomorrow. Norma 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare erewhon Posted December 19, 2021 #3 Share Posted December 19, 2021 What an unfortunate mix up.! Hopefully those will be the only problems during your trip. Best wishes for a wonderful cruising experience. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caribbean Chris Posted December 19, 2021 #4 Share Posted December 19, 2021 Oh my goodness! You seem to be able to roll with the punches and still remain cheerful. I salute you and look forward to following the adventures ahead! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Gail & Marty sailing away Posted December 19, 2021 #5 Share Posted December 19, 2021 Have a great time .. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cunnorl Posted December 19, 2021 #6 Share Posted December 19, 2021 Oh My, what a mess. Well hopefully all of that is out of the way and you can enjoy your wonderful trip! Looking forward to following along. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Florida_gal_50 Posted December 19, 2021 #7 Share Posted December 19, 2021 I don’t know what is wrong with hal lately and their hotel transfers. They seem very confused. Looking forward to reading about your adventures. The n statendam is my favorite ship. I met some friends of yours, Leslie and Handler (sorry if the spelling isn’t correct) in the pinnacle one night on the koningsdam in November. What lovely, interesting people they are. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dchip Posted December 19, 2021 #8 Share Posted December 19, 2021 Happy to know you are safe and sound in Florida! That is certainly no way to begin a vacation. YIkes. Since the advent of Global Entry and paying for TSA pre check, there are no more magic pre checks for airlines frequent fliers. It’s still really cold here with many days of rain ahead. Enjoy the warm temps and we hope lots of sunshine. BON VOYAGE!! Denise and Howie, too. 🤗 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir PMP Posted December 19, 2021 #9 Share Posted December 19, 2021 That was a 'great' Carnival experience.. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruzin Terri Posted December 19, 2021 #10 Share Posted December 19, 2021 Bon Voyage! I will be looking forward to following your Caribbean adventures. Terri 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbhcw Posted December 19, 2021 #11 Share Posted December 19, 2021 thanks so much for doing this thread! Hope today is better than yesterday! Have been on the NA...but not the NS...hope I can sail the Rotterdam in February!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruzingnut Posted December 19, 2021 #12 Share Posted December 19, 2021 Oh, boy, how exciting! Can't wait to follow your adventures! Let us know if you find familiar crew to have breakfast with....let's see what name you can come up with. Must keep the ".....ville" breakfast section name going, even if it isn't with Gan! Linda + Dave WC "Ganville" 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iflyrc5 Posted December 19, 2021 #13 Share Posted December 19, 2021 Looking forward to following your adventures - we are scheduled to board the NS on Feb 2 and will be on through Mar 16. Hope we get to meet up. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ger_77 Posted December 19, 2021 #14 Share Posted December 19, 2021 Thanks so much for taking us with you again. I'm sorry it started on such a sour note - hopefully it will all be bright and beautiful from here on in! Smooth Sailing! 🙂🙂🙂 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NextOne Posted December 19, 2021 #15 Share Posted December 19, 2021 Sorry you had such a mishap to start your trip! Thanks for taking us along again! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickb Posted December 19, 2021 #16 Share Posted December 19, 2021 Welcome back Bill and MaryAnn from a Omecron ridden UK. Thank you for keeping our spirits up through what promises to be a long winter. We shall follow your voyage with anticipation and interest. Given the travails of your journey to Ft Lauderdale - it can only get better! Bon Voyage! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rkacruiser Posted December 19, 2021 #17 Share Posted December 19, 2021 5 hours ago, Florida_gal_50 said: I don’t know what is wrong with hal lately and their hotel transfers. They seem very confused. HAL's ground staff from whatever port I sailed were always top notch. Organized, detailed, helpful, knew what they were doing. Many of these people were older individuals. I would not be surprised that many of these people are no longer interested in doing such jobs. Thus, HAL has had to hire many new ground staff members that obviously lack the experience of those whom we remember. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RICHARD@SEA Posted December 19, 2021 #18 Share Posted December 19, 2021 WCB..... so happy to see you posting once again & that you ae on a cruise - tho not a world voyage. As far as Florida is concerned - I've been stuck here(Fort Lauderdale) for the last several months.....there is no surprise in what you went through after living here (I'll be gone as as soon as I can relocate). i hope the last few months in california have gone well for you both. Looking forward to reading of your current voayge as I've thought about living onboard for the winter months instead of having a second home on land. Bon Voyage!!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Florida_gal_50 Posted December 19, 2021 #19 Share Posted December 19, 2021 12 minutes ago, rkacruiser said: HAL's ground staff from whatever port I sailed were always top notch. Organized, detailed, helpful, knew what they were doing. Many of these people were older individuals. I would not be surprised that many of these people are no longer interested in doing such jobs. Thus, HAL has had to hire many new ground staff members that obviously lack the experience of those whom we remember. I agree. I think so many companies hire inexperienced people because they are less costly. It’s not less costly if it costs you business. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GonzoWCS Posted December 19, 2021 #20 Share Posted December 19, 2021 Following 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare The-Inside-Cabin Posted December 20, 2021 #21 Share Posted December 20, 2021 Bon Voyage 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Batesbooks Posted December 20, 2021 #22 Share Posted December 20, 2021 Look forward to your updates! Will be on the NS IN February. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruising Is Bliss Posted December 20, 2021 #23 Share Posted December 20, 2021 I hope you have a wonderful problem free trip going forward! Looking forward to following your travels. Thank you for taking the rest of of along. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimbri Posted December 20, 2021 #24 Share Posted December 20, 2021 Have a wonderful time. So good to see you posting again. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regnig Posted December 20, 2021 #25 Share Posted December 20, 2021 Will be traveling along with you thanks to your postings. Currently supposed to board the NS for 21 days in March. All fingers and toes crossed that a surge in Covid does not alter that. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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