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

[The Other Tom]

Wow!  I, too, am surprised you saw a peregrine falcon that far out to sea.  It must've hitched a ride on your ship.

[The Other Tom]

Very nice pictures of the falcon.  thanks.

Beautiful sunset too

[WCB]

Report # 109   Day at Sea  Enroute to Ft. Lauderdale   Tuesday - April 5, 2022   Very warm and muggy-  over 80 degrees  Part #1 Of 1..........0 Pictures

 

The final day a sea has arrived, and we still wonder where did all of this time go?  Seems like we just set up house here, and now we are packing up the last of our things.  We really thought we had conquered most of it yesterday, but that was dreaming.  It’s a good thing we have had these two days at sea to take our time packing up. 

 

The weather was much nicer today with clear skies and sun…lots of it.  Even though the TV said the temps were 79 degrees, it felt like 150 degrees on our veranda.  Heading mostly west, the sun was blistering on the veranda.  And not helping was an easterly wind, none of which we got.  Watching for the falcon produced nothing.  He must have flown off somewhere yesterday.  We did spot one booby while we were at breakfast this morning.  Club Orange opened at 8am, but had few customers.  Most folks were probably sleeping in later today.  They close at 9:30am, so it is not usual to see the guests coming in 15 minutes before that time. 

 

We had a couple of jobs today.  The first was using the rest of the “have to spend” money.  No problem as one of us found some Swarovsky jewelry and a Mary Frances purse.  Some of their pieces are whimsical, but fun.  The only thing we do not like is having a sales person follow you around the shops.  It is never a problem if they offer to help you, but most times we are simply looking.  Our impression today, was that she was watching for shop-lifting.  Honestly, that action drove us out of the clothes shop.  Now in the opposite shop, a young fellow was there, but not intrusive.  He did not stalk us, and when we needed help, he was there.  And he was the one that made the sale.

 

The next job was the appointment with the Medical staff for the Covid test.   There are only a few of us that had to do this today.  We went down to deck A, and found the Medial Center closed….the door was locked.  Knocking, we were asked to come back in fifteen minutes, since there were three people in there already.  Since we had to get two more luggage tags, we left and did that.  Also got a copy of the last page of our shipboard account, since the front office does not automatically issue final statements to the rooms anymore.  They tell you to access the Navigator page on your cell phone.  Hello?  We do not have one.  No problem, they will print a statement for you upon request, but only at the front desk.

 

So we went back down to deck A, and this time we were the only ones to get tested.  The nurse said if we were positive, she would call us within 15 minutes.  We needed to head back to the room and wait.  Guess what? No phone call….best news of the day.  Later in the afternoon, we had an envelope on our mail slot with two certificates for the negative Covid test.  We will need that to board the N. Amsterdam. 

 

Finally, we had to set up an appointment with the IT tech, who met us at the desk near the front desk.  It took him a few minutes to fix our computer back to the regular settings.  Jonah happened to stop by, and we chatted for a bit.  She has an incredibly busy job, so we were most grateful that she took the time to help us with everything since day one. We have much to thank her for.  She promised to see us tomorrow at 9am, where she can take a photo of us and her specially-made “welcome home” life preserver she made for us back in January.  It was so sweet of her to do that, we left it on the door for the entire cruise.

 

Time for a break, we polished off the complimentary bottle of Veuve Clicquot….probably the last real champagne we will ever get.  Sure tasted good knowing it cost $18 a flute in the bars. 

 

It was the Pinnacle Grill for dinner tonight.  And it was far from crowded, which was nice.  We started with a basket of warm bread, then enjoyed the wedge salads with a side of clothesline bacon.  That could be a meal by itself.  We ordered the lamb chops, but they were not as tender like they normally are.  Tasty, but a little tough.  The sides of a baked potato and mushrooms went well with the meat.  Only one of us had ice cream for dessert.  Skipped the petit fours.

 

The luggage had to be locked and tagged, then put out the door before midnight.  We did that, squirreling away our dinner clothes the best we could.  Getting to sleep early would be a good idea tonight, as tomorrow will be a busy day for sure.

 

Bill & Mary Ann

[The Other Tom]

4 hours ago, WCB said:

Guess what? No phone call….best news of the day.

Whoo-hoo!!  That's your last test, right?

[ottahand7]

We have really enjoyed following along with your extended cruise.  It did go fast.   I hope you will do one for the N. Amsterdam.    Bon voyage.  

[julia]

Yes...  where did the time go?!

Your daily posts have been SO enjoyable and informative...  thanks once again for sharing your travels with us.  Enjoy the land days and and your time onboard the NA... stay safe!

 

[scubacruiserx2]

Are you on the Nieuw Amsterdam tomorrow ?

[WCB]

Report #110  Fort Lauderdale, Florida   Debark Day  And Stay At The Renaissance Plantation Hotel  Cloudy, Hot And Humid 85 Degrees  Part #1 Of 1..........80 Pictures

 

A different day and another story to tell.  The ship was already docked when we went to our last Club Orange breakfast on this ship.  We were about the first ones there at 6:30am.    Thanking every worker there, we said our goodbyes…..so sad.  We have really enjoyed our time in here. 

 

We headed back to the room and did the last of our emails and luggage prep.  Jonah promised to call us, which she did around 8:45am.   Taking the time out of her incredibly busy morning, she arrived by 9am and took some selfies of the three of us and the welcome home door hanging.  Then we headed to the elevator, just in time to see a Covid patient transferred to an elevator with the hazmat medical team in tow.  Oh boy, de ja vu.  Jonah said that there were fewer Covid guests this last cruise.  No matter what, every single person has to get off of the ship this morning.  Those guests who still test positive for Covid will have to quarantine at a hotel, while those who are negative will be free to go home by land or air.

 

Jonah stayed with us, but only until we reached the custom’s check point.  Going any further, she would not be allowed back on the ship, due to the zero count rules.  We both got a huge hug from her, reminding us that goodbyes are sad.  We would love to see her on a world cruise.  She would be a great asset to the hand-picked staff there. 

 

A porter helped with our four bags, surprised at how much they weighed.  We did explain we had about a four month stay, then he got it. Going through the facial recognition kiosk was easy, then we were outside.  We were nervous about the luggage shipment fellow meeting us, but he was right there just as they promised with our name on a card.  Great - those two bags were gone and on their way with Fed Ex. 

 

Waiting for the correct bus to the hotel was a bit more confusing.  Luckily, our names were on the girl’s list.  We just had to wait for a while, which was OK, because we had no idea what time check-in was.  Sometimes it is well after noontime.  Our friends that were staying for two nights, then re-joining the ship, were here as well.  This is when the story got interesting.  This group of about 67 guests were originally scheduled for the Renaissance Plantation, like us.  Then they got a second letter changing the hotel to the Renaissance Harbor, which was right up the street.

 

After a long wait, we all boarded the same bus, and the large group got off just a few blocks away from terminal 2.   That left just three of us.  The driver got on the freeway, and we headed for the Renaissance Plantation where we began our journey back on December 18^th.  Lucky for us, we were able to check in and get our rooms. 

 

We figured that today would be the best opportunity to look for another piece of luggage at Burlingtons.  And we needed to stop at Publix for the final snacks we wanted on the next trip.  The walk wasn’t too far, as we have done it every time we stay here.  The problem was the heat and humidity.  According to the local news, the heat and humidity index combined equaled 100 degrees.  Yep, the hottest we remember it.  Anyway, we found a perfect duffel bag that should hold up to 50 pounds.  Along with a few groceries, we had a deli sandwich made, and took it back to the hotel.  It had to be a foot long.

 

On the way back, we heard someone yelling “Bill” from the bushes.  It was Howard, who was supposed to be with the in transit group.  He told a bizarre story, which we will repeat next.  He was most happy when we directed him to the nearby shopping mall.

 

Job done, we headed back to our air-conditioned room.  But when the elevator opened up, there was our friend, Ruth, who was supposed to be at the harbor hotel.  We saw them all get off the bus there.   Well guess what?  The hotel did not have them registered, nor did they have room for them.  Wow, someone had really screwed up there.  So they loaded up in another bus, and headed to Renaissance Plantation, our hotel.  And to really make matters worse, each guest had to pay an additional $11 out of pocket for the ride to the second hotel.   Can you believe that?  Surely this will be re-imbursed  , but it’s just the thought of it.  Insult upon insult.  More bad news was they had to wait since no rooms were ready for them yet.  This hotel is one of HAL’s pre and post cruise options, so we suspect there are many more of us staying here to board the N. Amsterdam tomorrow. 

 

Lunch in our room was really good.  Rearranging the contents of the bags, we ended up with 150 pounds in three of them.  Some of that will be gone at the end of the nineteen day cruise…especially the toiletries.  We could have stayed inside the room watching TV, but we chose to walk the canal like we always do.  We did see a few iguanas along the bank, as well as a few birds.  The heat was penetrating and it began to sprinkle, so it was time to head back.  Good time to catch up on photos and emails, especially with the hotel’s speedy wifi. 

 

By 5:30pm, we headed out to dinner at Bokampers Restaurant and Bar.  More of sports bar, one of us had a chicken Caesar salad and one had the cheeseburger.  Been dying for a good burger and this was a perfect fix.  We shared one slice of Key lime pie, then remembered we had forgotten to take photos.  Trust us…it had been a long day.

 

Back to the hotel after 7pm, it was just beginning to get dark.   Hope it cools off a bit by tomorrow.  And looking forward to a restful night.

 

Bill & Mary Ann

 

 

[0106]

2 hours ago, WCB said:

Been dying for a good burger and this was a perfect fix.

Don't you like the Dive In burgers?

 

Thanks for taking us along.  I have enjoyed all of your insights.

Edited April 7, 2022 by 0106

[StartrainDD]

On 4/7/2022 at 6:59 AM, WCB said:

 Hope it cools off a bit by tomorrow.  And looking forward to a restful night.

 

Bill & Mary Ann

Your wish came true!  It really is COOL this morning!

 

We enjoyed meeting you on the Nieuw Statendam and wish you a very enjoyable cruise on the Nieuw Amsterdam!

[WCB]

Report #111   Embarkation Day On The Nieuw Amsterdam   Fort Lauderdale, Florida  Sunny, Rainy And Very Humid  85 Degrees  Part #1 Of 1 .........80 Pictures

 

The time has arrived….embarkation day on the N. Amsterdam.  We knew it would be one of those marathon days, so we set the alarm for 5:30am.  However, we did not need it since one of us was awake around 3am, unable to go back to sleep.  Rarely, if ever, has Bill overslept, while, on the other hand, my mom used to wake me up singing “Lazy Mary Will You Get Up” when I was little.  It worked……..

 

Stashing the rest of our stuff, we were glad we had bought some more ziplock bags yesterday.  We had been given a letter of instructions from HAL for embarkation day.  The luggage had to be locked and tagged, then left inside the room by the door for collection at 9am.  We did not have to be present when they did this. 

 

With that done, we headed off to Kristof’s Kafe (near Publix) for a hardy breakfast.  By 8am when they opened, the café was already half full. 

 

Back at the hotel, we saw our three bags in the pile, then notified the HAL rep who had a desk in the lobby. We thought it was odd that the lobby was full of guests waiting to get the ride to the ship.  We asked the rep and she said the bus would be leaving by 10am, not 11:15am as our letter said.   Good thing we asked, since no one contacted us with this info. 

 

It’s always a good idea to look at your hotel account before checking out. Before we left the room, we had made a call to get our up-to-date credit card info, and discovered the hotel had charged us for internet (it was complimentary) and another $50 holding fee.  So we made a stop at the desk, and the gal immediately took the charges off of our account.  Then we went to wait with the rest of the group.  It took like forever for the luggage to be loaded, but we had to remind ourselves that it was an hour earlier, and we would be to the ship maybe first…...beating the crowd.  We realized that not everyone got the early departure message, when one lady questioned the rep about the time.  Her husband was still in the shower, and not ready to board. Apologizing, she said they would take the rest of the group to the ship in another shuttle. 

 

We had about a twenty minute ride to Port Everglades and pier 26.  Usually, there is someone there to greet us, like Janine, the guest relations officer did on the N. Statendam.  Today, there was no one.  Showing our boarding passes with the President’s Club symbol,  we were directed down the right side of the terminal.  At a kiosk, a rep checked our boarding passes, Covid test results, Covid vaccination cards, passports, and had us answer four questions regarding our current health status.   Good to go.

 

The xray was next, where I failed to take off my waist purse (forgot I had it on).  Of course, the alarm went off, which It would have anyway with my new knee.  Putting the purse through, I was wanded, but not patted down.  

 

Then we were good to go to another kiosk, where our photos were taken.  We ended around the main desk where people were lined up checking in.  Going up the escalator, we sat with another group to board first.  We still felt that something had fallen through the cracks with our priority embarkation perk.  Asking one of the shoreside reps, he called the Event Coordinator, Teresa, on the ship, who came down to personally escort us onboard.  She claimed that the shore people were to inform her of our arrival, but they failed to do so.   When we boarded,  Captain Jeroen Baijens, and the General Hotel Manager, Ruben Kooiman, greeted us inside the ship.  We remembered the captain from an Alaskan sailing we did last fall, even though it was just 7 days.  Thanking them for the royal greeting, Teresa took us to our room on deck five, giving us her direct number in case we needed anything.  Normally, we don’t have a need to call, but that was not the case today. 

 

Our room is laid out similar to the one we just left.  Except flip-flopped.  The bed is on the opposite wall, not that it matters, just different.  This ship is older than the N. Statendam, and is already showing wear and tear.  However, we can get into more details later on.  Our room stewards introduced themselves…. Ronny and Dodi.  What little stuff we had with us, we stashed it away until the luggage arrived.  Two bags came and we started to undo them.  But we were being prompted to go to our muster station and have our cards scanned.  So much better than the actual muster drill we have in the past.  Don’t remember if we watched the muster info on our TV. 

 

That’s when we ran into our boat commander/dining room head waiter, Pandi.  He immediately recognized us as we did him, although it has been a few years since he sailed on the Amsterdam’s world cruise.  Wonderful how the crew can remember faces and names like forever. Anyway, he scanned us into the system.   He promised to look for us in the Lido and the dining room.  Time to head back and finish the unpacking, hoping bag # 3 was there.

 

Well, it wasn’t there, so we called Teresa and she searched for it.  We suspected it had been pulled for further inspection by security.  And we were correct when we got the call from Teresa to go to deck A and see the security team.  There was nothing new in that bag except a hairdryer and plug strip.  And that was the culprit…..a plug strip.  Looking closely at it, the officer wanted to know if it had a surge protector.  No, it was an older model, one we have used for years on several HAL ships.  Never been questioned.  And that’s what we told the head of security when we asked him to come over.  Just doing their job, and not apologizing, he said to be careful and turn it off when not in the room.  The alternative was for them to lend us one of theirs, and give ours back at the end of the cruise.  We kept it.  Then the bag was delivered to our room within 20 minutes. 

 

By now, it was 3pm, and we needed to have some lunch.  There was a dining room lunch from noon to 1:30pm, but we had missed it.  So it was the Lido for salads and a ham and cheese sandwich on fresh rolls.  Pandi greeted us as did another waiter we knew, Faizal.  He updated us on many of the waiters we knew and where they are now.  Several were here until yesterday, when they went home.  Figures….one of them was Gan, a popular fellow on the world cruises. 

 

About the same time we were eating lunch, it began to rain, slowly at first, but then a real thunder and lightning show with massive rain fall.  Gosh, we never see this in California.  Sitting at a window table in the Lido, we couldn’t even see across the street.  The terminal work ceased, while the workers took refuge inside the building.  The storm lingered for quite a while, dumping a whole lot of water.  Out by the Seaview Pool, we found it flooded.  Just guessing, we think this delayed our departure by 6pm instead of 4pm.

 

Tackling the last bag, we had the room shipshape, but still needed to address some things that required fixing.  Number one priority was the refrigerator, which was not working well at all.  We had bought some cheese spreads, but when we found them warm, and actually sweating from the humidity, we knew it would spoil soon.  Another broken thing was the deadbolt on the room door, which was frozen shut, not working at all.  Cannot believe that no one reported this.  Also the veranda door handle needed tightening up also.  Asking our room steward, he said he would report it.  When, who knows?

 

Dinner time came quickly, and we headed for the dining room.  We found that the upper dining room was closed, since the total passenger count is 900.  We were seated at a nice table by the aft window.  Our waiters were most attentive.  The dinner menu was a repeat of the N. Statendam’s menu, which was OK.  The best were the scoops of rocky road ice cream. 

 

One of us was really dead after the long day, so we wrapped it up by 10pm.

 

More tomorrow….

 

Bill & Mary Ann

 

 

[lostatsea200]

We love to read your detailed reports, the next best thing

to cruising. Since we won't be able to cruise for a while,

it has been our morning with coffee.  Thanks.

[WCB]

Report #112  Day At Sea En-Route To Cartagena, Columbia  Sunny And Windy  79 Degrees   Part #1 Of 1..........Pictures

 

Our room seemed to have a problem with being too warm, especially yesterday while in stormy Ft. Lauderdale.  We recall that we had the same problem on the Amsterdam at times.  Asking our room steward, he blamed it on embarkation day, with the gangway and deck A doors opened. We do have a projection clock that has a thermometer.  It was a constant 80 degrees and climbing in our room.  Thank goodness a tower fan was delivered, as it is one of our requests before every trip.  In fact, none of our requests happened here such as getting 20 wire hangers, 3 sets of bath towels, and a bar of soap.  The room steward did bring these things, but when we asked for the turndown evening service and the pillow candies, he said he would have to check with his supervisor.  We got the feeling he really did not want to do it.  We do understand that the first day on a cruise is stressful and tiring.   On the other hand, our assistant steward was really nice, and a lot younger we might add. But he does not seem to be the boss here.

 

Our new President’s Club letter stated that while on this ship,  we are invited to have breakfast daily in the Pinnacle Grill.  Club Orange exists here, but they do not have a special restaurant for those folks. A section in the back of the dining room, deck two, is reserved for them.  So we decided to try the Pinnacle, and sure glad we did.  Greeting us at the entrance was a dining room assistant who recently joined this ship from the N. Statendam. She knew us immediately, and welcomed us in.  Seating us at a nice table by the window, we were given the best service.  Yes, this will work just as well as Club Orange, perhaps even better with the glitzy surroundings. 

 

The report from yesterday was never finished last night…just too tired.  So Bill took a walk and noticed that the crew were lined up for Covid testing.  Now we know why we did not see our room stewards this morning, and our room did not get serviced when we returned from breakfast.  Something is up, and we will find out.  By the way, yesterday’s report # 111 showed some photos of an osprey with a 10 inch fish in its talons.  It was spotted flying near the ship, before we left Port Everglades.  It was another one of those unusual sightings.

 

Since there were several things not working in our room, we called Teresa and gave her the list.  Shortly thereafter, the Head of Housekeeping arrived, and we showed her everything that was broken.  First of all, the refrigerator worked like an oven.  Obviously, it was broken.  We had brought some cheese spreads with us, and they were warm to the touch.  No choice but to dump them.  If in doubt?  Throw them out.  Then the deadbolt lock on the cabin door was frozen and would not work.  In addition, the veranda door had a broken handle, and it slammed so hard, it would wake the dead.  When we showed her the damaged metal door frame on the veranda door, she shuddered.  That was an accident waiting to happen.  She even took photos of it.  With her list, she them called each department to take care of it.  Before she left, we asked about the crew getting tested.  She said that the CDC was requiring all crew to be tested today, since this is a re-positioning cruise to Alaska.  And Alaska is super strict with regulations, especially concerning Covid.  No wonder our room stewards were absent this morning. They did show up after noontime.

 

Within minutes, the crew came with a replacement refrigerator, and installed it.  Then the locksmith came and fixed the deadbolt.  It was a five minute job.  He also took care of the veranda door handle and adjusted the door closure bar, keeping it from slamming.  Since he had WD 40 in his bag, we asked him to take care of some squeaky closets and bathroom doors.  Job done. All that is left is the decaying metal door frame.  That might be a bigger job. 

 

The Captain came on for his noon talk and confirmed the fact that it was a very overcast day.  No rain, and only 3 foot swells and 81 degrees.  The forecast for tomorrow was about the same as today.  The sun eventually did come out for a while.  We spent a lot of the day sailing along the northeast coast of Cuba, getting pretty close at times.   Good news is that the clocks will go back one hour tonight. 

 

Lunch time was in the Lido with salads.  Then we decided to try a pizza here, as we recalled it was very good on this ship.  One of the waiters heard us say that, and he volunteered to order the pizza for us  Although he wasn’t sure what a Margarita pizza was, we explained it, and he filled out the order with extra onions and mushrooms.  In about 15 minutes we had a crispy hot pizza that was delicious.  It makes a difference with the type of oven that is used, and this ship has the right one.  We will be back again for sure.

 

At 3:30pm, we had a call from Teresa checking to see if the room work was done.  Yes it was, and we also asked about the Mariner welcome onboard gathering.  It did happen at 11am this morning, but we never received our invite last night.  Teresa had personally printed it, but somehow it never arrived.  She was very apologetic, and insisted on sending us a bottle of wine.  You know us…..we don’t like wine, but we do  like diet sodas.    So she sent us 20 cans of diet Coke , which was very sweet of her. While talking on the phone, she lost the connection.  Calling back, she said our phone would be tested in case it was not functioning right.  Golly, what else can break? 

 

We forgot to mention that yesterday we got a letter saying we did not complete all of the steps of the safety drill.  Yes, we did have our cards scanned at the muster station, but we did not turn on the room TV to watch the drill.  Somehow they knew that.  So before breakfast, we found the drill, and let it play until the end.  Must have worked since we heard no more.

 

Dinner looked good in the dining room, so we went back there for nicoise salads and prime rib.  The meat was tender and tasty, served with green beans, and a baked potato.  No room for dessert, our waiter looked crushed.  They love to serve you all five courses if you can handle it.  We have learned long ago, less is better.

 

Setting the clocks back was nice before retiring for the evening.  One down, two more to go. 

 

Bill & Mary Ann

 

 

[ottahand7]

It amazes me that people don't report issues in their cabin.   Who wouldn't want the deadbolt to work?   

[Florida_gal_50]

3 hours ago, ottahand7 said:

It amazes me that people don't report issues in their cabin.   Who wouldn't want the deadbolt to work?   

My phone was dead in my room.  Trying to get it repaired was difficult.  They kept telling me it was fixed.  I guess they didn’t realize fixed means getting a dial tone.  The upside to that might have been getting tested for covid between the 2 cruises.  They tell you to stay in your room and they will call if you are positive.  Broken phone = no call 😛😉.

[rkacruiser]

2 hours ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

My phone was dead in my room.  Trying to get it repaired was difficult.  They kept telling me it was fixed.  I guess they didn’t realize fixed means getting a dial tone.

 

Who told you that the phone was "fixed"?  If such information came from a Front Office staff member, some of these good people do not have accurate information.  

[Florida_gal_50]

34 minutes ago, rkacruiser said:

 

Who told you that the phone was "fixed"?  If such information came from a Front Office staff member, some of these good people do not have accurate information.  

Of course, the front desk.  They just kept repeating to me that it was fixed.  People would call and the phone would cut off on them in mid sentence.  To me that’s not fixed.  It think the last few days it did get better.  

[JamesEM]

On my last cruise my cabin did not have a remote for the TV and the staff did not seam to care until I got really assertive at the front desk, I guess everyone was working on other passenger problems.

[WCB]

Report #113    Sea Day  En-Route To Cartagena, Columbia     Saturday  April 9, 2022     Partly Cloudy With Sun  79 Degrees     Part 1 Of 1...........38 Pictures

 

We woke up early this morning due to the time change.  The seas became rough during the night with deeper swells.  We sailed past Cuba and into open seas.  The rolling increased during the day, and it might be a meclizine day for one of us.

 

We went to the Pinnacle Grill for breakfast, except the receptionist (not the manager) did not recognize us.  Checking our room number, she was about to tell us we could not dine here, when the manager arrived, greeting us by name.  One of us (not the shy one) said loudly that this lady was not going to let us in.  Oh boy, her mistake, and if she blushed, it would have been crimson red.  On our way out, the young greeter said she has memorized our faces, and would not forget us…..ever.

 

During our meal, we met Allan, a beverage runner, who happens to be Twinkle’s brother, the nice assistant beverage manager on several world cruises.  He told us the story about how many of his buddies that left HAL for jobs on other cruise lines.  Two years is a long time to be off of work.  He is hoping to be chosen for the next world cruise.

 

Guess we were spoiled on the N. Statendam, because our room stewards knew our routine, and had our room clean within minutes of leaving it.  That is not happening here.  So our room was a mess all morning with no stewards in sight.  We did leave the room around noon, and ran into our guys.  They said they did not want to disturb us, but we told him we leave the room every morning at 8am.  He promised to clean ours first, since they start their day at 8am.  Guess that was one request we did not make on day one since there was so much going on. 

 

We took a walk on the promenade deck, which is much wider with many lounges.  The sign stated that it takes 3 laps for one mile.  There was no directional arrow to show the flow pattern.  A no smoking sign was placed on the wall near every wooden box bench we passed.  And there was no dedicated spot for smokers that we could see.  So it must be located elsewhere.

 

We forgot to mention some statistics on the N. Amsterdam.  It is 86,700 gross tons, holds up to 2100 passengers, and has 874 crew members.  It was launched in 2010, and is starting to show some wear and tear…...  mostly in our room.

 

It was Lido salads and pizza for lunch today.  This time we got smart and ordered the pizza first.  Then went inside and had salads made.   By the time we sat down and began eating, the buzzer went off and the pizza was ready to pick up.  Perfect.  And it was every bit as good as yesterday’s. 

 

After lunch, we went out the back to the Seaview Pool, which was netted over.   This normally happens when someone has an accident in there, and the water has to be treated for a specific time.  The sun was peeking out for the handful of folks that were sunbathing.  They were mostly getting  a cloud burn, but it was still warm.  We stayed for ½ hour before we burned. 

 

The suggested dress for gala night was really followed by the guests tonight.  Most everyone we saw had on nicer clothing, unlike those that were on the N. Statendam.  This crowd seems to be mixed with more Canadians who are re-positioning like us.  We ordered two Caesar salads, although they were not on the menu, they are available every day.  For our mains, we each ordered the rack of lamb, with a shared dish of ricotta-stuffed pasta shells.  The tomato sauce dish went well with the lamb as we skipped the cannellini beans.  Saving a little room for dessert, we had one chocolate soufflé and a black forest cake.   Both were perfect to satisfy our sweet tooth.  We also had visits from the head waiter, the maitre’d, and the head chef….all asking if they could do anything else for us.

 

On the way back, we stopped and looked into the Mainstage, where a show was in progress.  We caught some of the new Frankie Vali Boys, doing their signature songs and dance.  The crowd seemed to enjoy it.

 

Tomorrow, we will be in Cartagena for a short stay…..only 7 to 1pm.  Plenty of time to walk around the terminal and the surrounding grounds.

The Captain mentioned during his noon talk today to be careful while in port tomorrow.  Guess there have been problems with the guests , so he advised us to stay alert and safe. 

 

Bill & Mary Ann

 

 

[Navybikermom]

My son and I were just on the Nieuw Amsterdam and the smoking area is at the Sea View pool, which made it awkward for those parents with young children, since it normally is for adults only. There were a lot of spring breakers on our cruise and some of the smoking parents brought their kids with them when they smoked, so there were kids where they shouldn’t have been. 

[Essiesmom]

A nice sunny morning!  Here you are at Gatun, waiting for the big Ro-Ro to move into the third lock so you can enter the first...

 

 

[Essiesmom]

Finally moved into first lock:

 

 

[Essiesmom]

All the way up and gates are open to second lock

 

 

[Essiesmom]

All the way up in middle lock, gates are open for the move into the third:

 

[Essiesmom]

The big picture...moving into #3: