Live from the Rotterdam, 14 day Jewels of the Baltic

[badtwin]

10 hours ago, AbsolutSki said:

Is this the premium package?

 

Has anyone tried using their cell phone hot spot feature to tether a second device?

DH tried a couple times with basic package and it didn't work.  Might be his phone but he could make hot spot when we have local service from t-mobile.

[kapitch]

We too are on this cruise, and one addition I would like to make is the bands of both the Rolling Stone Rock Room and BB Kings are fantastic.  The singers are very talented and love to entertain, and the musicians are very skilled.  I make a point to catch both bands each evening, even skipping the shows on the Mainstage.

[VMax1700]

3 hours ago, kapitch said:

We too are on this cruise, and one addition I would like to make is the bands of both the Rolling Stone Rock Room and BB Kings are fantastic.  The singers are very talented and love to entertain, and the musicians are very skilled.  I make a point to catch both bands each evening, even skipping the shows on the Mainstage.

Agree!

The BBK band is what I would call 'tight'.  They really sound together and in my opinion are not too loud.

[VMax1700]

15 hours ago, AbsolutSki said:

Is this the premium package?

 

Has anyone tried using their cell phone hot spot feature to tether a second device?

Yes it is the premium package.  It was $50 to upgrade for 14 days.

I normally connect my phone to the ships wifi system and then connect my laptop via an USB cable.  

I will try again either later today of tomorrow to set up a hot spot but afaik it is necessary to use a dedicated mobile router, as most phones cannot receive wifi and broadcast wifi at the same time.

We are currently in the Stockholm Archipeligo so I am using land based 5G data on my phone, which thanks to EU rules, costs me nothing extra above my usual monthly charge back home.

[Retired 07]

2 hours ago, VMax1700 said:

Agree!

The BBK band is what I would call 'tight'.  They really sound together and in my opinion are not too loud.

That’s terrific! BB Kings is our favorite spot.  I hope the same bands are still on board next week.

[VMax1700]

20 hours ago, AbsolutSki said:

Is this the premium package?

 

Has anyone tried using their cell phone hot spot feature to tether a second device?

We are now out in the Baltic Sea, no longer in range of the land based towers, so completely at the mercy of HAL's internet.

I can no longer connect via Hot Spot or Bluetooth.  Only option is when I connect a USB cable between phone and laptop.

 

 

As you can see, the wifi calling icon is showing.  Only on Premium.

[VMax1700]

Day 10 Monday 2nd October

 

Here is today's Daily Program

 

 

 

[VMax1700]

And the menus for Day 10 Monday 2nd October

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

lido_lunch_day_9.pdf

 

lido_dinner_day_9 (1).pdf

 

mdr_dinner_day_9.pdf

[VMax1700]

Second day in Stockholm and we took the HAL excursion to the Abba Museum.  We had one and half hours at the museum.  45 minutes would have been enough.  We only did it to use up HIA excursion credit.

Summed up in a sentence -  Too long, too expensive.

 

[VMax1700]

Just on the subject of HIA excursion credit.

Although transfers to the airport are listed as not being available for HIA credit, when we booked the end of cruise transfer to Schiphol via the app, it used up some of our credit.  Also HOHO bus tickets used up credit.

 

[boze9999]

Has anyone confirmed the Hotel General Manager and the Cellar Master?

 

 

[VMax1700]

Not physically confirmed but HGM is listed as Errol Nelson.

[VMax1700]

Day 11 Tuesday 2nd October

At Sea between Stockholm and Kiel.

 

Today's Daily Program

 

[VMax1700]

We are at sea.........

 

 

 

 

 

This morning started off very foggy and the captain did not show at the 'Meet the Captain'.  At the 12 noon position report he said that the conditions were to bad for him to leave the bridge and safety of the ship was his prime concern.  I had been checking on the TV and even in the fog he was hitting a solid 17 knots, or as he reported it seventeen decimal zero. 

Around 1pm the sun appeared, then disappeared again and then the wind got up and so did the seas.  

So this evening we are bouncing along the baltic sea.

[VMax1700]

Today was the Mariners' Lunch for 3 star and above.

didn't go, but tried the gainer burger (again) at Dive In.  Service was very quick (the buzzer was buzzing, as buzzers are wont to do, before I even got upstairs to order the pizza).  They were not grilling to order.

Ellen had pizza.   We decided it was time to start weaning ourselves towards normal everyday food again 😉😭

[VMax1700]

Day 11 Menus

Tonight was our third 'Dressy' Night

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

lido_lunch_day_13 (1).pdf

 

 

lido_dinner_day_13 (1).pdf

 

 

mdr_gala_menu_gold_-_updated (1).pdf

 

[VMax1700]

Puspa, the young lady who looks after us in the Lido each evening was beyond excited tonight as she is getting 2 hours ashore tomorrow.

That is just so hard to imagine for us.  

[VMax1700]

Rolling Stone Rock Room band were great tonight, but BBKings were outrageously good.  They did a Carlos Santana set that was amazing.

 

[Mt Washington]

I am disappointed I won't get to see Tomas on my trip Oct 22.  He is so delightful and full of energy.  I met him on our June Baltic trip.  Good for him, a promotion.

[Overhead Fred]

Hi Colin!

 

I should have asked this sooner, but if you happen to see Khay please tell her Fred & Mitzi say hi. She was the Cellar Master on our last cruise but I heard a rumor that she was promoted to Beverage Manager. She was a lot of fun at the wine tastings. 

 

 

Say, I don't think we have seen a bread pudding picture recently....

[Radbooks]

We were in Aarhus, Denmark today and it was a wonderful place to visit. We went on a ship excursion to Den Gamle By, which is a very cool museum that contains buildings from the last 700-800 years. It was fascinating to walk around and explore.  The cobblestones are pretty tough to walk on though. 

[VMax1700]

On 10/4/2023 at 7:09 PM, Overhead Fred said:

if you happen to see Khay please tell her Fred & Mitzi say hi.

She is on board and if I run into her over the next couple of days I will pass on your good wishes to her.

[VMax1700]

Apologies for the break in transmission!  Ellen had been feeling unwell and getting very tired, very quickly.  We had to rearrange our daily schedule and plans to accommodate the necessary rest and her energy levels.

I will finish off the posting of Daily Programs and Menus and then some overall thoughts on the cruise.

[BetsyS.]

I hope Ellen will be feeling better soon.

[Cruzmama]

On 10/1/2023 at 4:32 AM, VMax1700 said:

The stateroom tv is now listing both a college football channel and a nfl channel.

I will try to post the nfl listings

 

Where on the ship can you watch football games?