Venture to the Caribbean with Bill & Mary Ann on the Nieuw Statendam & Nieuw Amsterdam 12-18-21 to 4-26-22

[WCB]

Report #100    Fort Lauderdale, Florida   Sunday-March 27, 2022    Sunny And Windy   78 Degrees.....Part #1 Of 2.......82 Pictures

 

Waking up around 5:30am, we were ready for yet another day in transit.  It wasn’t until after 6am that we spotted the coastline of Ft. Lauderdale.  Back “home” again, so to speak.  After breakfast, we saw the line forming for the expedited guests, or those who would pull off all of their belongings for a speedy escape.  That was not looking too good for them right now.

 

Our absolute latest time to get off of the ship was 9:15am.  So we usually head off before that, like 9am.  When we went to the gangway, the line for the expedited people had not moved.  It had increased now to twice the size.  We could see that the majority of the in transit guests were waiting as a group to be taken down for processing through Customs and Borders Control.   They would have to wait as well. 

 

We had no choice but to mix in with the expedited people, and wait for the line to move.  The staff on the ship blamed the wait on the shoreside crew, who were holding back the passengers.  It probably took all of 20 minutes before we started to go off.  Once down on the lower level, the line for the facial recognition went swiftly.  This time the scanner worked better. 

 

We took our usual path to town, only this time, we walked up the E. Clay Shaw Jr. Bridge.  Getting halfway, we stopped for the view ( and for the benches as well).  We needed to take our time, because we could not re-board the ship until after zero clearance was achieved.  Hoping the bridge would operate while we were there, it did not this time.   Bet the Sunday drivers were happy for that.  We did have a great view of the other ships in port.  They were the Celebrity Edge at pier 25, Allure of the Seas at pier 18, the Balearia Ferry was there briefly, with Radiance of the Seas docked at pier 2, with no passengers.  Finally, our sister ship, the Rotterdam was at pier 26.  The N. Statendam was at pier 21. 

 

From the bridge, we hiked to Publix for groceries to last for the next 11 days.  We will be able to shop for the N. Amsterdam when we stay overnight on April 6^th.   Gosh that is approaching soon.  Hard to believe, as the time has gone by so fast. 

 

We noticed that only the checkers and store workers were wearing masks in the supermarket.  No one else had them on, but us.  And we didn’t care.  We will have one more test at the end of this cruise, before we board the next ship.  Sure do not want to take any chances at this point of time.  Lunch would have been really nice in town, but we didn’t dare.

 

Shopping done, we hiked back to the pier, and got back before 2pm.  Talk about lines?  We noticed there was an unbelievable line of people embarking the Rotterdam.  Something must have gone wrong there, because this line snaked all the way to the Celebrity Edge.  Unreal….  Guess we will get the story tomorrow when we meet our friends at Half Moon Cay, who also boarded the Rotterdam today.

 

The terminal workers at this pier were not as organized as those at pier 26.  As in transit passengers, we do not need to stay in a line where documents are being checked.   We already have our keycards.  Showing the in transit card, we simply went around the rope to the xray, put our stuff through, and went right up the escalator, passing the check-in desks. 

 

We already had decided to make reservations in the Tamarind Restaurant this evening.  It was made easy since two desks were set up to do this on deck two.  Calling the front desk on embarkation day is not the best idea.  Earlier in the morning, we discovered the internet had been shut down.  Calling the front desk from our room was useless.  They never picked up the call.  It is their policy to “clean house” on the shipboard accounts, and remove all old information on the rooms and previous guests.  But this should not take all day. 

 

Arriving back to our room, we found the gift fairy had visited.  We had the bruschetta, mini tarts, and a bottle of sparkling wine on ice. However, there was no soda.  Will have to ask about that.  We had enough time to have a small lunch, then we were off to the Billboard Onboard for the final exclusive reception for the 4, 5 star members and President’s Club people.  The sparkling wine flowed, easing the aches and pains of our long walk.  We happened to have a chance to talk to the Assistant Bar Manager, who happens to be married to Jonah.  She was not present at this gathering, but her trainee, Otto, was there. He and a few other officers were the greeters.  We did have a few questions for the assistant manager regarding bottles of unused whiskey and sparkling wine, and the missing 17 diet sodas.  He said he would work on it.   During this gathering, many calls were announced ship wide for some folks who had not seen their lifeboat drill officer.  If you are not logged in, they cannot sail.  These calls came every few minutes, and  we wondered if we would ever leave on time.  Our guess is that someone’s scanner did not work properly. 

 

We did leave Port Everglades by 4pm, right after Celebrity’s Edge left.  The Rotterdam came next, then the Allure…..last.  Since we are both headed to Half Moon Cay tomorrow, we will probably sail close together through the night.  Almost felt like the Captains were racing. 

 

Going out past the houses and apartments was fun.  Since it was Sunday, most people were home to wave to us.  Horns blew at the apartment end, and the beach was full of sunbathers today.  At least, the Captain blew his horn with three log blasts.  Guess it works after all.  We stayed on the veranda watching the sail away, but when it got cold and windy, we came back inside.   Even bundled up with beach towels and blankets, did not keep out the cool wind.  

 

So dinner was in the Tamarind Restaurant with potstickers, Thai salad, ramen soup, and egg rolls.  Our mains were  Mongolian lamb  chops with bok choi, and sides of mushrooms and brown rice.   Totally filling, we passed on dessert.  Since it was not crowded here, we got the best service and visits from many waitresses.  Some had worked on the last world cruise, and looked forward to be called back.  We were done by 9pm, while watching the pool workers cover up the Seaview Pool with netting.

 

Looking forward to our beach walk on Half Moon Cay tomorrow, since it will our final one until who knows when.

 

Bill & Mary Ann   

 

[LewiLewi]

1 hour ago, WCB said:

Report #100    Fort Lauderdale, Florida   Sunday-March 27, 2022    Sunny And Windy   78 Degrees.....Part #1 Of 2.......82 Pictures

 

Waking up around 5:30am, we were ready for yet another day in transit.  It wasn’t until after 6am that we spotted the coastline of Ft. Lauderdale.  Back “home” again, so to speak.  After breakfast, we saw the line forming for the expedited guests, or those who would pull off all of their belongings for a speedy escape.  That was not looking too good for them right now.

 

Our absolute latest time to get off of the ship was 9:15am.  So we usually head off before that, like 9am.  When we went to the gangway, the line for the expedited people had not moved.  It had increased now to twice the size.  We could see that the majority of the in transit guests were waiting as a group to be taken down for processing through Customs and Borders Control.   They would have to wait as well. 

 

We had no choice but to mix in with the expedited people, and wait for the line to move.  The staff on the ship blamed the wait on the shoreside crew, who were holding back the passengers.  It probably took all of 20 minutes before we started to go off.  Once down on the lower level, the line for the facial recognition went swiftly.  This time the scanner worked better. 

 

We took our usual path to town, only this time, we walked up the E. Clay Shaw Jr. Bridge.  Getting halfway, we stopped for the view ( and for the benches as well).  We needed to take our time, because we could not re-board the ship until after zero clearance was achieved.  Hoping the bridge would operate while we were there, it did not this time.   Bet the Sunday drivers were happy for that.  We did have a great view of the other ships in port.  They were the Celebrity Edge at pier 25, Allure of the Seas at pier 18, the Balearia Ferry was there briefly, with Radiance of the Seas docked at pier 2, with no passengers.  Finally, our sister ship, the Rotterdam was at pier 26.  The N. Statendam was at pier 21. 

 

From the bridge, we hiked to Publix for groceries to last for the next 11 days.  We will be able to shop for the N. Amsterdam when we stay overnight on April 6^th.   Gosh that is approaching soon.  Hard to believe, as the time has gone by so fast. 

 

We noticed that only the checkers and store workers were wearing masks in the supermarket.  No one else had them on, but us.  And we didn’t care.  We will have one more test at the end of this cruise, before we board the next ship.  Sure do not want to take any chances at this point of time.  Lunch would have been really nice in town, but we didn’t dare.

 

Shopping done, we hiked back to the pier, and got back before 2pm.  Talk about lines?  We noticed there was an unbelievable line of people embarking the Rotterdam.  Something must have gone wrong there, because this line snaked all the way to the Celebrity Edge.  Unreal….  Guess we will get the story tomorrow when we meet our friends at Half Moon Cay, who also boarded the Rotterdam today.

 

The terminal workers at this pier were not as organized as those at pier 26.  As in transit passengers, we do not need to stay in a line where documents are being checked.   We already have our keycards.  Showing the in transit card, we simply went around the rope to the xray, put our stuff through, and went right up the escalator, passing the check-in desks. 

 

We already had decided to make reservations in the Tamarind Restaurant this evening.  It was made easy since two desks were set up to do this on deck two.  Calling the front desk on embarkation day is not the best idea.  Earlier in the morning, we discovered the internet had been shut down.  Calling the front desk from our room was useless.  They never picked up the call.  It is their policy to “clean house” on the shipboard accounts, and remove all old information on the rooms and previous guests.  But this should not take all day. 

 

Arriving back to our room, we found the gift fairy had visited.  We had the bruschetta, mini tarts, and a bottle of sparkling wine on ice. However, there was no soda.  Will have to ask about that.  We had enough time to have a small lunch, then we were off to the Billboard Onboard for the final exclusive reception for the 4, 5 star members and President’s Club people.  The sparkling wine flowed, easing the aches and pains of our long walk.  We happened to have a chance to talk to the Assistant Bar Manager, who happens to be married to Jonah.  She was not present at this gathering, but her trainee, Otto, was there. He and a few other officers were the greeters.  We did have a few questions for the assistant manager regarding bottles of unused whiskey and sparkling wine, and the missing 17 diet sodas.  He said he would work on it.   During this gathering, many calls were announced ship wide for some folks who had not seen their lifeboat drill officer.  If you are not logged in, they cannot sail.  These calls came every few minutes, and  we wondered if we would ever leave on time.  Our guess is that someone’s scanner did not work properly. 

 

We did leave Port Everglades by 4pm, right after Celebrity’s Edge left.  The Rotterdam came next, then the Allure…..last.  Since we are both headed to Half Moon Cay tomorrow, we will probably sail close together through the night.  Almost felt like the Captains were racing. 

 

Going out past the houses and apartments was fun.  Since it was Sunday, most people were home to wave to us.  Horns blew at the apartment end, and the beach was full of sunbathers today.  At least, the Captain blew his horn with three log blasts.  Guess it works after all.  We stayed on the veranda watching the sail away, but when it got cold and windy, we came back inside.   Even bundled up with beach towels and blankets, did not keep out the cool wind.  

 

So dinner was in the Tamarind Restaurant with potstickers, Thai salad, ramen soup, and egg rolls.  Our mains were  Mongolian lamb  chops with bok choi, and sides of mushrooms and brown rice.   Totally filling, we passed on dessert.  Since it was not crowded here, we got the best service and visits from many waitresses.  Some had worked on the last world cruise, and looked forward to be called back.  We were done by 9pm, while watching the pool workers cover up the Seaview Pool with netting.

 

Looking forward to our beach walk on Half Moon Cay tomorrow, since it will our final one until who knows when.

 

Bill & Mary Ann   

 

Hi Bill & Mary Ann,

 We boarded the NS yesterday, quickly, no lines at all. We seem to be in the great minority as far as mask wearing is concerned. We are in a Neptune Suite and poked our head in the Lounge at around 5 PM to see what was going on. The room was crowded, people on top of each other and of course, no masks. Dinner in Club Orange was so so, service extremely slow and the chairs quite uncomfortable. We are going to try the MDR tonight  and see if we like it any better. Tamarind, tomorrow night, which I am sure we will enjoy. The Neptune Suite is lovely and we are enjoying the cabin and the large terrace. Service is excellent.

[riverrat]

I sat in the sauna loving the view of our sister ship out the window. We also laughed at the possibility of a race. Yesterday on the beach since both ships were pointed in same direction we played “spot the difference” and only thing I found was we had one lifeboat in the water. Loved the beautiful warmer day in HMC. ❤️ 

[WCB]

Report #101  Half Moon Cay, Bahamas  Monday  March 28, 2022   Sunny And Warm   80 Degrees    Part #1 Of 2........80 Pictures

 

Well, it seems that the Rotterdam beat us here to Half Moon Cay.  There are two possible reasons for that.  One is they are preparing to transport and serve the lunch buffet this time.  The last time, we did it.  And the other reason, is that we still have some issues with the operation of one of the azipods.  Or it could be that the Rotterdam’s captain wanted the best parking spot.  Just kidding…….

 

Masks were required on the tender boat, but I had forgotten mine in the room. No problem as I always carry spares in my bag.  We went down to deck A forward to board the tender.  This time we were first to go on the smaller island tender, which was not as large as the bigger ones.  We happened to notice that the tender landing was opened with one of our tenders in the water.  Our first thought was that someone had taken ill, and was being transported to the island. 

 

The ride over was smooth, although cool.  It was going to be a very nice day as the sun was out with few clouds.  No rain at all.  As we were docking, there was the ship’s tender docked in back of us.  Some crew members were helping a lady into a scooter, while her escort (husband?) stood by.  We always thought that only guests with walkers could be brought over, but we were wrong.  We’ll have to ask someone who knows tomorrow.  

 

Making our way through the more crowded courtyard, we took our usual path to the Food Pavilion.  It was well before 11am, so it was not open yet.  Good thing we brought an apple with us.  It appeared that most of the cabanas were rented today. With two ships in port that is no surprise. And good for the company. 

 

The beginning area of the beach was really crowded today.  Not wanting to be around a lot of people, we hiked to the very end of the beach again.  The sand was hard-packed as it was low tide this morning.   That was good, since this was the third day of long walking, and the knee and back were beginning to feel it.  Nothing a strawberry daiquiri or a Heineken beer would not fix. 

 

There were way too many people up this end today.  Several had accessed the do-not-enter zone, even a couple of young fellows with fishing poles.  They had hiked to the highest outcropping of dangerous rocks, and no one stopped them. As for us, we took a seat on the driest of rocks, and relaxed for a bit.  We happened to run into fellow cruiser, Fred, who we met through the Cruise Critic connection.  He told us that friends of theirs had tested positive (the man but not the wife) at the last Covid testing.  They were put into isolation for 5 days on the ship.  Now he was concerned since he and his wife had shared a dinner table the night before.  You just never know.

 

We had a date to meet friends Linda and Dave, fellow world cruisers, who we saw a few trips ago.  They were back on the Rotterdam for another seven day trip, which is easy, since they live near Port Everglades.   In our early days of cruising, most of our short trips were taken from San Francisco to Mexico and back.  No flying involved. 

 

Anyway, they were already seated at Captain Morgan’s in a very fully packed bar.  It was noisy, so when a table became available outside, we quickly took it.  Much better.  We talked for an hour, comparing what is done on the ships, especially with President’s Club guests, as they are members as well.  It seems that every ship does things differently, so it must be up to each hotel director.  One thing for sure, being on these shorter cruises are a far different experience compared to Grand Voyages.  If all goes according to plan,  the next time we see each other will be on the 2023 World Cruise.  Our final words were enjoy your trip and stay healthy.

 

Back to the ship by 2pm, we discovered that someone from room service had been in our room, went in the cabinets, and took some sodas back.  Right before we left earlier, we had discussed the return of sodas with Jonah, but agreed that it could be left there until we leave on April 6th.  Fine with us, but we do not wish to have someone rooting through our stuff when we are not there. And besides, we have no idea how many sodas were taken.   So far, our phone call has not been addressed, but we will follow up with her tomorrow.

 

The N. Statendam left the island after 3pm, with three long toots of the horn.  This will be the final time we are in port with the sister ship Rotterdam.  They were still at anchor long after we sailed away.  Their next port will be Grand Cayman, while we are on the way to Grand Turk and Caicos tomorrow.

 

Dinner was back to our table on deck 2, but our waiters were different once again.  It seemed quite busy, even at 8pm, but then this was the first gala night. Or was it???  Less and less folks are choosing to dress up these days.  Nor do they feel out of place with the couples that are in formal-like clothes, suits, or tuxes.  Don’t want to sound like the fashion police, but we preferred things the way they were.  Have to add that we were seated next to a group of people (all with foreign accents) that were dressed differently.  Ever see a man in a turquoise suit that was covered with small red tulips all over both the jacket and slacks?   All heads turned when they left the room.  Very gala in our humble opinion.

 

Back in our room, we had a letter stating that tomorrow morning, we will need to do a re-test for Covid.  Why???  Since so many in transit guests tested positive at the last procedure, and there was an operational disruption causing a late detection of cases, we need to do it again.  If we had a tour in Grand Turk, we need to be seen at 7:30am.  If not, the time to go is 8:15 to 8:30am on deck one.  With the ½ hour stay in the room requirement, we will be lucky to make it to breakfast, which ends at 9:30am.    Think we have a tour tomorrow………

If that is the case, and more folks are running around with the virus, they had better start the mandatory mask-wearing again…. and soon.

 

Bill & Mary Ann

 

 

 

[510picker]

I am a full-time wheelchair user and have been to HMC many times. The island tenders are accessible with a steep ramp that goes to each level and a ramp on the front that folds down to allow on/off access to the island. The tram that goes around the island also has a ramp for wheelchair access.

 

With that being said, I am in a lightweight wheelchair that is much easier to move than a scooter. Some of those scooters are very heavy, but the amazing staff always do an excellent job assisting.

 

Thank you for your posts throughout your trip. My wife and I will be boarding April 8th.

[Essiesmom]

I think I may have seen that man in the blue suit on Equinox.  But then his blue suit had pink flamingos on it, and his wife was wearing a similar patterned dress.  EM

[albingirl]

On 3/26/2022 at 10:16 AM, Florida_gal_50 said:

I had read that the nieuw statendam was back to mask wearing.  I wore mine everywhere on the koningsdam indoors for the 2 weeks I was on except when eating or drinking.  I was in the minority.  That said the occupancy is likely lower on the koningsdam.
 

Just goes to show you how ships go things differently.  When I was on the koningsdam in November and in March I was able to order my drink of choice at the high level Mariner reception.  It might have helped that I was sitting at the bar😛😉.  

Agree, I wore my mask the entire cruise.  Not everyone did.  I refused to get into crowded elevators, too, which caused comments from the elevators passengers, which I didn't need.

[LewiLewi]

Hardly anyone is wearing a mask on board this ship now, except for the crew. People are crowding into elevators and sitting close to each other maskless in lounges, etc. The four of us continue to mask up. People in the Neptune Lounge look at us as if we are being ridiculous to wear a mask. We spend very little time in the lounge; just to pick up a snack and bring it back to our room. I hope we don’t have a lot of sick people on board during the coming week.

[Hogladyrider]

I am not cruising but still wearing a mask everywhere I go.  Let others do their thing, I care about my health and well being!

[Florida_gal_50]

3 hours ago, albingirl said:

Agree, I wore my mask the entire cruise.  Not everyone did.  I refused to get into crowded elevators, too, which caused comments from the elevators passengers, which I didn't need.

I don’t know about your cruise but for all 14 days I was on the koningsdam we were told that mask wearing was recommended and thank you for wearing your masks.  Not once did I hear make sure to make nasty comments to those that are doing right by the cruise line.  Clearly I missed that part 😛🤪🙄.

[Florida_gal_50]

2 hours ago, LewiLewi said:

Hardly anyone is wearing a mask on board this ship now, except for the crew. People are crowding into elevators and sitting close to each other maskless in lounges, etc. The four of us continue to mask up. People in the Neptune Lounge look at us as if we are being ridiculous to wear a mask. We spend very little time in the lounge; just to pick up a snack and bring it back to our room. I hope we don’t have a lot of sick people on board during the coming week.

Ugggg.  Where I live hardly any mask wearing either unless it’s mandated.  In a month or two it will be back to everyone wearing masks again as we go through wave 1,600,202 🙄.

 

[rkacruiser]

I won't even consider cruising until I no longer have to wear a mask and the crew does not need to do so either.  Personally, why?  With breathing issues that my doctors can't seem to resolve and wearing a mask makes my time doing so--wherever I am--less than pleasant.  Why spend thousands of dollars for what is likely to be a disappointing "vacation"?  Personally, regarding the crew?  I want to get to know and to be able to clearly hear their voices of those who are kind enough to serve me.  Being able to recognize faces and not having to ask:  "please repeat what you just said" is important to me.  Not being able to do so would diminish my enjoyment of such a "vacation".   

[Florida_gal_50]

38 minutes ago, rkacruiser said:

I won't even consider cruising until I no longer have to wear a mask and the crew does not need to do so either.  Personally, why?  With breathing issues that my doctors can't seem to resolve and wearing a mask makes my time doing so--wherever I am--less than pleasant.  Why spend thousands of dollars for what is likely to be a disappointing "vacation"?  Personally, regarding the crew?  I want to get to know and to be able to clearly hear their voices of those who are kind enough to serve me.  Being able to recognize faces and not having to ask:  "please repeat what you just said" is important to me.  Not being able to do so would diminish my enjoyment of such a "vacation".   

I don’t blame you one bit.  It is difficult to understand people with a mask on especially if they are soft spoken.  I hope we get to a day when masks aren’t needed anymore.  I’ve completely lost hope in that happening.

[iflyrc5]

11 hours ago, WCB said:

Report #101  Half Moon Cay, Bahamas  Monday  March 28, 2022   Sunny And Warm   80 Degrees    Part #1 Of 2........80 Pictures

 

Well, it seems that the Rotterdam beat us here to Half Moon Cay.  There are two possible reasons for that.  One is they are preparing to transport and serve the lunch buffet this time.  The last time, we did it.  And the other reason, is that we still have some issues with the operation of one of the azipods.  Or it could be that the Rotterdam’s captain wanted the best parking spot.  Just kidding…….

 

Masks were required on the tender boat, but I had forgotten mine in the room. No problem as I always carry spares in my bag.  We went down to deck A forward to board the tender.  This time we were first to go on the smaller island tender, which was not as large as the bigger ones.  We happened to notice that the tender landing was opened with one of our tenders in the water.  Our first thought was that someone had taken ill, and was being transported to the island. 

 

The ride over was smooth, although cool.  It was going to be a very nice day as the sun was out with few clouds.  No rain at all.  As we were docking, there was the ship’s tender docked in back of us.  Some crew members were helping a lady into a scooter, while her escort (husband?) stood by.  We always thought that only guests with walkers could be brought over, but we were wrong.  We’ll have to ask someone who knows tomorrow.  

 

Making our way through the more crowded courtyard, we took our usual path to the Food Pavilion.  It was well before 11am, so it was not open yet.  Good thing we brought an apple with us.  It appeared that most of the cabanas were rented today. With two ships in port that is no surprise. And good for the company. 

 

The beginning area of the beach was really crowded today.  Not wanting to be around a lot of people, we hiked to the very end of the beach again.  The sand was hard-packed as it was low tide this morning.   That was good, since this was the third day of long walking, and the knee and back were beginning to feel it.  Nothing a strawberry daiquiri or a Heineken beer would not fix. 

 

There were way too many people up this end today.  Several had accessed the do-not-enter zone, even a couple of young fellows with fishing poles.  They had hiked to the highest outcropping of dangerous rocks, and no one stopped them. As for us, we took a seat on the driest of rocks, and relaxed for a bit.  We happened to run into fellow cruiser, Fred, who we met through the Cruise Critic connection.  He told us that friends of theirs had tested positive (the man but not the wife) at the last Covid testing.  They were put into isolation for 5 days on the ship.  Now he was concerned since he and his wife had shared a dinner table the night before.  You just never know.

 

We had a date to meet friends Linda and Dave, fellow world cruisers, who we saw a few trips ago.  They were back on the Rotterdam for another seven day trip, which is easy, since they live near Port Everglades.   In our early days of cruising, most of our short trips were taken from San Francisco to Mexico and back.  No flying involved. 

 

Anyway, they were already seated at Captain Morgan’s in a very fully packed bar.  It was noisy, so when a table became available outside, we quickly took it.  Much better.  We talked for an hour, comparing what is done on the ships, especially with President’s Club guests, as they are members as well.  It seems that every ship does things differently, so it must be up to each hotel director.  One thing for sure, being on these shorter cruises are a far different experience compared to Grand Voyages.  If all goes according to plan,  the next time we see each other will be on the 2023 World Cruise.  Our final words were enjoy your trip and stay healthy.

 

Back to the ship by 2pm, we discovered that someone from room service had been in our room, went in the cabinets, and took some sodas back.  Right before we left earlier, we had discussed the return of sodas with Jonah, but agreed that it could be left there until we leave on April 6th.  Fine with us, but we do not wish to have someone rooting through our stuff when we are not there. And besides, we have no idea how many sodas were taken.   So far, our phone call has not been addressed, but we will follow up with her tomorrow.

 

The N. Statendam left the island after 3pm, with three long toots of the horn.  This will be the final time we are in port with the sister ship Rotterdam.  They were still at anchor long after we sailed away.  Their next port will be Grand Cayman, while we are on the way to Grand Turk and Caicos tomorrow.

 

Dinner was back to our table on deck 2, but our waiters were different once again.  It seemed quite busy, even at 8pm, but then this was the first gala night. Or was it???  Less and less folks are choosing to dress up these days.  Nor do they feel out of place with the couples that are in formal-like clothes, suits, or tuxes.  Don’t want to sound like the fashion police, but we preferred things the way they were.  Have to add that we were seated next to a group of people (all with foreign accents) that were dressed differently.  Ever see a man in a turquoise suit that was covered with small red tulips all over both the jacket and slacks?   All heads turned when they left the room.  Very gala in our humble opinion.

 

Back in our room, we had a letter stating that tomorrow morning, we will need to do a re-test for Covid.  Why???  Since so many in transit guests tested positive at the last procedure, and there was an operational disruption causing a late detection of cases, we need to do it again.  If we had a tour in Grand Turk, we need to be seen at 7:30am.  If not, the time to go is 8:15 to 8:30am on deck one.  With the ½ hour stay in the room requirement, we will be lucky to make it to breakfast, which ends at 9:30am.    Think we have a tour tomorrow………

If that is the case, and more folks are running around with the virus, they had better start the mandatory mask-wearing again…. and soon.

 

Bill & Mary Ann

 

 

 

There was someone on the Facebook Nieuw Statendam page that reported they were one of 60 guests on the NS that tested positive on the turn around day testing and had been moved to quarantine cabins and then to the Marriott in FLL so yes it sounds like there was/is an outbreak on the NS.

[rkacruiser]

30 minutes ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

I’ve completely lost hope in that happening.

 

When I get to that stage of "hope", I find solace in listening to Maureen McGovern's rendition of The Morning After.  

[Florida_gal_50]

11 minutes ago, iflyrc5 said:

There was someone on the Facebook Nieuw Statendam page that reported they were one of 60 guests on the NS that tested positive on the turn around day testing and had been moved to quarantine cabins and then to the Marriott in FLL so yes it sounds like there was/is an outbreak on the NS.

Ouch!  Here we go again.

[LewiLewi]

13 minutes ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

Ouch!  Here we go again.

We will certainly continue to wear our masks on board and avoid any large groups of people, we don’t want to get sick and have to quarantine. I would think that the Capt. would mandate mask wearing after this new outbreak on board. So far, nothing has been said or done about it. Yes, there is a sign that has been in place since day 1 recommending masks, but no one has seemed to pay any attention to it. 

[Florida_gal_50]

17 minutes ago, LewiLewi said:

We will certainly continue to wear our masks on board and avoid any large groups of people, we don’t want to get sick and have to quarantine. I would think that the Capt. would mandate mask wearing after this new outbreak on board. So far, nothing has been said or done about it. Yes, there is a sign that has been in place since day 1 recommending masks, but no one has seemed to pay any attention to it. 

Hal is always so afraid of offending people.  I’m sure it’s a delicate balance.  At the end of the day hal and their employees are the ones that will pay the price for poor decisions.

[sailingdutchy]

5 hours ago, LewiLewi said:

Hardly anyone is wearing a mask on board this ship now, except for the crew. People are crowding into elevators and sitting close to each other maskless in lounges, etc. The four of us continue to mask up. People in the Neptune Lounge look at us as if we are being ridiculous to wear a mask. We spend very little time in the lounge; just to pick up a snack and bring it back to our room. I hope we don’t have a lot of sick people on board during the coming week.

As one of the couples that had to be transported to the Covid Hotel after only having spend our first 11 days of our 21 day cruise I can really appreciate your commends that you are making today about people not wearing masks in crowded places like elevators , meeting rooms and crowded entertainment areas . 
 

I would have thought that HAL had learned a lesson after the explosion of positive Covid cases from the Mar 16 to Mar 27 cruise . 
 

Bill and Mary Ann mentioned that on turnover day they were waiting for the ship to reach zero occupancy . Well that point was never reached , while we were waiting to be transported off the ship to be taken to the Covid hotel  new guests were already climbing on board  . We only left around 1pm ! And there was a very large number of us infected guests . I am not sure of the exact number of us taken off but I am guessing at least 50 or 60 !
 

I do not like to hijack @WCB nice and important blog which I also have been reading for a couple of months , so my sincere apologies to them , I have learned a lot before we came on board from this .

 

So thank you for taking a stand @LewiLewi, please keep wearing your mask , we were one of the victims paying the price and having to miss a very nice part of our cruise . 
 

If people from Holland America are reading my post , please reinstate a tighter mask mandate , this is costing you too much ! 
 

Tony 

[h20cruzer]

14 hours ago, WCB said:

Report #101  Half Moon Cay, Bahamas  Monday  March 28, 2022   Sunny And Warm   80 Degrees    Part #1 Of 2........80 Pictures

 

Well, it seems that the Rotterdam beat us here to Half Moon Cay.  There are two possible reasons for that.  One is they are preparing to transport and serve the lunch buffet this time.  The last time, we did it.  And the other reason, is that we still have some issues with the operation of one of the azipods.  Or it could be that the Rotterdam’s captain wanted the best parking spot.  Just kidding…….

 

Masks were required on the tender boat, but I had forgotten mine in the room. No problem as I always carry spares in my bag.  We went down to deck A forward to board the tender.  This time we were first to go on the smaller island tender, which was not as large as the bigger ones.  We happened to notice that the tender landing was opened with one of our tenders in the water.  Our first thought was that someone had taken ill, and was being transported to the island. 

 

The ride over was smooth, although cool.  It was going to be a very nice day as the sun was out with few clouds.  No rain at all.  As we were docking, there was the ship’s tender docked in back of us.  Some crew members were helping a lady into a scooter, while her escort (husband?) stood by.  We always thought that only guests with walkers could be brought over, but we were wrong.  We’ll have to ask someone who knows tomorrow.  

 

Making our way through the more crowded courtyard, we took our usual path to the Food Pavilion.  It was well before 11am, so it was not open yet.  Good thing we brought an apple with us.  It appeared that most of the cabanas were rented today. With two ships in port that is no surprise. And good for the company. 

 

The beginning area of the beach was really crowded today.  Not wanting to be around a lot of people, we hiked to the very end of the beach again.  The sand was hard-packed as it was low tide this morning.   That was good, since this was the third day of long walking, and the knee and back were beginning to feel it.  Nothing a strawberry daiquiri or a Heineken beer would not fix. 

 

There were way too many people up this end today.  Several had accessed the do-not-enter zone, even a couple of young fellows with fishing poles.  They had hiked to the highest outcropping of dangerous rocks, and no one stopped them. As for us, we took a seat on the driest of rocks, and relaxed for a bit.  We happened to run into fellow cruiser, Fred, who we met through the Cruise Critic connection.  He told us that friends of theirs had tested positive (the man but not the wife) at the last Covid testing.  They were put into isolation for 5 days on the ship.  Now he was concerned since he and his wife had shared a dinner table the night before.  You just never know.

 

We had a date to meet friends Linda and Dave, fellow world cruisers, who we saw a few trips ago.  They were back on the Rotterdam for another seven day trip, which is easy, since they live near Port Everglades.   In our early days of cruising, most of our short trips were taken from San Francisco to Mexico and back.  No flying involved. 

 

Anyway, they were already seated at Captain Morgan’s in a very fully packed bar.  It was noisy, so when a table became available outside, we quickly took it.  Much better.  We talked for an hour, comparing what is done on the ships, especially with President’s Club guests, as they are members as well.  It seems that every ship does things differently, so it must be up to each hotel director.  One thing for sure, being on these shorter cruises are a far different experience compared to Grand Voyages.  If all goes according to plan,  the next time we see each other will be on the 2023 World Cruise.  Our final words were enjoy your trip and stay healthy.

 

Back to the ship by 2pm, we discovered that someone from room service had been in our room, went in the cabinets, and took some sodas back.  Right before we left earlier, we had discussed the return of sodas with Jonah, but agreed that it could be left there until we leave on April 6th.  Fine with us, but we do not wish to have someone rooting through our stuff when we are not there. And besides, we have no idea how many sodas were taken.   So far, our phone call has not been addressed, but we will follow up with her tomorrow.

 

The N. Statendam left the island after 3pm, with three long toots of the horn.  This will be the final time we are in port with the sister ship Rotterdam.  They were still at anchor long after we sailed away.  Their next port will be Grand Cayman, while we are on the way to Grand Turk and Caicos tomorrow.

 

Dinner was back to our table on deck 2, but our waiters were different once again.  It seemed quite busy, even at 8pm, but then this was the first gala night. Or was it???  Less and less folks are choosing to dress up these days.  Nor do they feel out of place with the couples that are in formal-like clothes, suits, or tuxes.  Don’t want to sound like the fashion police, but we preferred things the way they were.  Have to add that we were seated next to a group of people (all with foreign accents) that were dressed differently.  Ever see a man in a turquoise suit that was covered with small red tulips all over both the jacket and slacks?   All heads turned when they left the room.  Very gala in our humble opinion.

 

Back in our room, we had a letter stating that tomorrow morning, we will need to do a re-test for Covid.  Why???  Since so many in transit guests tested positive at the last procedure, and there was an operational disruption causing a late detection of cases, we need to do it again.  If we had a tour in Grand Turk, we need to be seen at 7:30am.  If not, the time to go is 8:15 to 8:30am on deck one.  With the ½ hour stay in the room requirement, we will be lucky to make it to breakfast, which ends at 9:30am.    Think we have a tour tomorrow………

If that is the case, and more folks are running around with the virus, they had better start the mandatory mask-wearing again…. and soon.

 

Bill & Mary Ann

 

 

This my sound like a silly question but how do I see your pictures?

Norma

 

[oakridger]

@h2ocruzer   Go to their blog then scroll down each post and it will say 164 Pictures (or whatever number  of pictures there are) and click on it to see them.  I need to enlarge the page to see them on my desktop PC.  

 

"Treasures of Cruising the World" with Bill & Mary Ann (cruisingwithbillandmaryann.blogspot.com)

 

Enjoy,

~Nancy

[WCB]

Report #102  Grand Turk, Turks & Caicos  Tuesday March 29, 2022  Sunny With Clouds  80 Degrees   Part #1 Of 3...........82 Pictures

 

So, this morning Club Orange breakfast was at 8am, even though it was a port day, we would not be getting to Grand Turk until 10am.  We figured the majority of in transit passengers that had to re-do the Covid test, would go early at 7:30am, tour or not.  We were among the first through the Club Orange door when they opened 5 minutes early.   There were several more people coming in that we have not seen yet.  One couple sat across at the next high top table, and began talking to us.  One of us was wearing a 2013 GWV t-shirt, and that has to be what sparked the interest.  They were from the Neptune floor, and this was their first breakfast in here.   They complained that their room was much smaller than the Neptune suites on other ships.  But what they were incensed about was the fact that they had brought two bottles of wine with them, like they always do.  This time, the bottles were confiscated, because they were told a new rule has begun that forbids those two bottles now.  Furious, they had to give them up, to be picked up at the end of this trip.  Has anyone heard about this change which supposedly began on March 27^th? 

 

We were later than we expected to the test room on deck one, but we were not the last to come at 9am.  The antigen test was quick, and the end result was NO PHONE CALL in our room ½ hour later.  Thank goodness!  One more test, and we should be home free. 

 

We would not be the only ship in town, as the Carnival Sunrise was already docked in Grand Turk.  Never heard of this ship, so we did a little digging.  It was formerly the Carnival Triumph, which was revamped, and named the Sunrise back in 2019.  Apparently, this was the ship that lost power for several days, and not everything was working.  Specifically……the toilets in the cabins. So it became known as the “poop” ship.  No wonder the reason for coming out with a new name.  She is bigger than us with 101,509 gross tons and holds up to 2984 guests.  The lounges on the beach were filling up as we were still taking our time docking. 

 

It was really cloudy when we arrived, but soon a strong breeze seemed to blow the clouds away. Many people were snorkeling in the rather shallow water, and we sure hope they used a ton of sunscreen.  That is a good way to get the worst sunburn, since you spend so much time swimming with your back exposed.  Those new t-shirts with UV protection are a great idea as well. 

 

We headed in the same direction we always walk, covering the area to the right of the largest duty free store.  Diamonds International was the first shop, but it was so crowded, we came back later.  Further down the beach, we did not see the sea glass hunters sifting the sands for a possible treasure.   We ducked in and out of stores, but really, they were crowded.  Masks were required to go inside, but outside, it was not.  Most folks did not wear them. 

 

We did buy a Jimmy Buffet t-shirt on the way to the pool and Flowrider attraction.  It sure was fun watching some young boys trying their luck at the ride.  Most used what looked like a skateboard and did pretty well.  But once the wave took hold of them, the pressure of the water flipped them sideways, head over heel.  Embarrassed?  Probably, but they went back for more. 

 

On the beach, we strolled all the way to the loading pier and beyond a bit.  Walking in this sand was different from yesterday’s powder-packed beach.  You tended to sink deeper in the loose sand, and had to be careful of broken bits of coral and rocks on the water’s edge.  It did get better the further we went.  Once we hit the edge of the complex, we got hit by the hair braiders and lounge renters.  Of course, we said no thanks and they were fine with that. 

 

Near the end of this beach is Jack’s Shack, which had chicken or burgers grilling.  You could smell the aroma for a mile away.  Going all the way to the loading pier, we went under the pier, took some photos,  and headed back.  This is always a good place to stop and relax in the sun for a while.  We met a nice lady from Ontario who recognized us.  She and her family had come over from the Rotterdam, and were sailing with us now.  We chatted for some time, then she thanked us for writing the blog that helped her with some info.  That’s what we love to hear.

 

As we headed back, another couple of folks from the N. Statendam asked questions about the world cruise.  Of course, it was the t-shirt.  Although they were not readers of Cruise Critic, they were curious about the longer trips. One last visit was with “Overhead Fred”, who introduced his wife.  They had been on the previous cruise, and also passed two Covid tests to be on this one.  It sure looked as if rain was coming, so we headed to DI for that charm, which was a conch shell.  This time, they were located in a bowl with the bracelets, free for the taking. 

 

Back on the ship by 1:30pm, we had completed our three hour tour.  Time for the reward of two Affligem beers, ham & cheese sandwiches and fries to share.   It is seldom crowded here in the Grand Dutch Cafe, but there was a continuous stream of customers. We heard through the grapevine that it is possible that the Volendam may be used as a Ukranian refugee vessel soon.  What a wonderful gesture that would be for the displaced people.  We bet other cruise lines will follow, since many of the ships are not in operation yet. 

 

The Carnival Sunrise left the pier well before us.  Then we followed by 5pm, sailing south towards the Dominican Republic and the port of Amber Cove tomorrow.  The Captain mentioned that we would be doing a speed of 8 knots….a crawl.  Guess we are fairly close.

 

Dinner was back in the dining room with coconut crusted pork meatballs….steaming hot and good.  Salad nicoise followed with mains of lasagna and veal wienerschnitel.  We shared the entrees.  Dessert for one of us was one scoop of rocky road ice cream.  So good…..

 

Farewell to Grand Turk, our final stop here.

 

Bill & Mary Ann

 

 

 

[WCB]

Greetings all!

 

We welcome all the information whether it is related to our blog or not.  We completely agree that the mandatory wearing of masks should be re-instated, and soon.    

We knew the Covid cases with the in transit group were higher than usual, but had no idea how high.  Hope this group is doing well at their Covid hotels.....so much better than being cooped up onboard in a veranda room for days. 

 

Bill & Mary Ann 

[albingirl]

15 hours ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

I don’t know about your cruise but for all 14 days I was on the koningsdam we were told that mask wearing was recommended and thank you for wearing your masks.  Not once did I hear make sure to make nasty comments to those that are doing right by the cruise line.  Clearly I missed that part 😛🤪🙄.

I missed that memo, too. I guess people can't help themselves with their comments.  Must be my face.

[albingirl]

12 hours ago, sailingdutchy said:

As one of the couples that had to be transported to the Covid Hotel after only having spend our first 11 days of our 21 day cruise I can really appreciate your commends that you are making today about people not wearing masks in crowded places like elevators , meeting rooms and crowded entertainment areas . 
 

I would have thought that HAL had learned a lesson after the explosion of positive Covid cases from the Mar 16 to Mar 27 cruise . 
 

Bill and Mary Ann mentioned that on turnover day they were waiting for the ship to reach zero occupancy . Well that point was never reached , while we were waiting to be transported off the ship to be taken to the Covid hotel  new guests were already climbing on board  . We only left around 1pm ! And there was a very large number of us infected guests . I am not sure of the exact number of us taken off but I am guessing at least 50 or 60 !
 

I do not like to hijack @WCB nice and important blog which I also have been reading for a couple of months , so my sincere apologies to them , I have learned a lot before we came on board from this .

 

So thank you for taking a stand @LewiLewi, please keep wearing your mask , we were one of the victims paying the price and having to miss a very nice part of our cruise . 
 

If people from Holland America are reading my post , please reinstate a tighter mask mandate , this is costing you too much ! 
 

Tony 

I just wish the passengers would stop talking so I can hear the Captain when he speaks. People just don't want to pay attention to the announcements.