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The Official LAFFNVEGAS "LIVE" from the MS Zaandam

LAFFNVEGAS

By LAFFNVEGAS,
in Holland America Line

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Old As Dirt Mom

Old As Dirt Mom

Posted
Posted
Instead of spending your precious Zaandam time looking for those lips why don't you enjoy this evening relaxing in the Explorers Lounge. ;)

 

 

Heh heh heh, Ruth you are a witty one, you are.;)

 

 

Lisa:

 

You are so nice to report back here on your cruise, especially with the aggravating onboard internet connection! Thank you! Enjoy your Spanish Coffee in the Explorer's Lounge tonight!:)

 

Karin

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Love Cruises

Love Cruises

Posted
Posted
Hi Everyone... I was out on Harbor Island tonight watching the Zaandam head for the open seas... Here is a link to some photos I took tonight. They are not that great but these are the best ones as I wanted to practice shooting night shots.

 

 

Enjoy!

Nobby

Wow... those night shots are great. Wish I was there leaving on the ship, though! Thanks for posting them!

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RevNeal

RevNeal

Posted
Posted
Instead of spending your precious Zaandam time looking for those lips why don't you enjoy this evening relaxing in the Explorers Lounge. ;)

 

Ruthless has an excellent suggestion ... only ... you might want to first stop by the Explorations Cafe, get a Latte or some other specialty coffee, then turn around and saunter across to the starboard side of the ship and the Explorer's Lounge to sit back, relax, and enjoy it. :)

 

Hint ... I found internet access at the hot spots in the Explorations Cafe and the Explorer's Lounge to be excellent, with the desks found in that central area between port-and-starboard side to be a nice place to plug in and find power. Make sure you look around for ... how shall we put it ... the oldest Mariner aboard. ;) There's one standing in the middle, there ... ready for bed. ;) And, NO, I'm NOT being Cryptic. :D

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LAFFNVEGAS "Live from...." Rare

LAFFNVEGAS

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Friday Evening November 17th 2006

Good Evening and what a Fine evening it is. After a lazy sea day afternoon we prepared for our first Formal night at about 4 pm. We got down stairs to go thru the reception line at about 4:40 and to our amazement the line was way past the mid ship stairs. I have never seen a long so long. Fortunately it did move fairly fast. Many passengers were very dressed up and we saw quite a few of the gentlemen in tuxes. I laughed to myself when I saw several still wearing the big metal Mariner button. With the very long line we thought we would get stuck to the back of the showroom after greeting the Captain but we were actually seated toward the front. The drinks being served were champagne, white and red wine and orange juice. I asked for a Bloody Mary and a few minutes later I was brought this Jumbo Bloody Mary that came from the bar. We half way expected them to ask for our cabin number but that did not happen. I did notice there were a lot of servers that were refilling wine and champagne glasses frequently. There were plenty of mixed nuts and appetizer trays that had jumbo shrimp on them.

 

After the Captain’s reception we saw kakalina aka Trisha so we chatted with her and walked down to dinner with her. She had early upper so she headed in. We had lower so we walked down stairs. This is one area of the ship that I find poorly designed and could be a major fire hazard. There of course was a large group gathering to enter the lower level dining room. As it fills up there is no where to go yet the elevator doors keep opening with more passengers trying get in this area, many with scooters and wheel chairs. The crowd is smashed together and all the way up the stairs. They were late opening the doors and for a good 25 minutes it was wall to wall people that was way too loud and crowded.

Dinner was excellent, the main entrees were Beef Wellington and Crab Legs. Tom and I both had the Beef Wellington and it was excellent. The beef was so tender and tasty you could cut it with a fork. I have been very impressed with the quality of the food on the Zaandam it is been excellent.

Oh we did find that our Cabin Steward we have not had before although his name Tri seems very familiar. We have had our Wine Steward before on the Ryndam in 2004. After dinner we walked around the shops, in one of the shops we ran into Tom and Mary who are traveling with us but did not show for dinner. It seems they took a nap and over slept and decided they did not want to dress for dinner. Our other tablemates who are also in the cabin next door to us also did not show which was strange because I had saw him in the Neptune earlier and he “ See you at dinner” I am guessing they may also have taken a nap.

OH Yes, on our way walking with Trisha I mentioned not seeing the Yellow Lips, just as we were walking by them and she says “there they are” They could not have been any closer if those lips had jumped out to kiss me. We had walked by them at least 4 times. I think we had always been looking toward the Explorations Café and just missed them.

The weather this evening is so beautiful and warm. Before writing this I went out to our verrandah and relaxed on the lounger listening to the ocean. It was so relaxing I could have easily fell asleep right there. Well, I think I will call it a night, I have another hard sea day tomorrow. My plans are to spend a good portion of the day in the thermal suite.

 

Signing off from the Elegant MS Zaandam.

841946604_Fridaynov17th2006038.jpg.c833acc4c2a4930fd7d5f02d31962f0a.jpg

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RevNeal

RevNeal

Posted
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OH Yes, on our way walking with Trisha I mentioned not seeing the Yellow Lips, just as we were walking by them and she says “there they are” They could not have been any closer if those lips had jumped out to kiss me. We had walked by them at least 4 times. I think we had always been looking toward the Explorations Café and just missed them.

 

Hehehehe ... that's absolutely hilarious!

Smooch!

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RevNeal

RevNeal

Posted
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Lisa!

 

 

Great to hear you and Tom are enjoying yourselves. :)

 

Have a great cruise, and make sure the ship comes back in one piece.

(Did you remember to bring a jackhammer with you ...or a chisel for that ugly lips sculpture? )

 

:D

 

LOL ... if they had they would have missed it!!!! :)

Walked right by them 4 times and still didn't see them until they smooched her!!!! :D

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cruznon

cruznon

Posted
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Lisa,

Glad you're having a wonderful cruise! Hmmm....a day in the Thermal Suite---not a bad way to spend the day:)

It's great to hear your weather has been so warm--usually the first day after leaving SD it's rather cool.

Thanks for sharing your journey with us.

Peggy

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DonMaryCar

DonMaryCar

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To steal a phrase from TV (sort of) I Love Lisa especially all her posts, they are fabulous. I find myself tuning in a couple times a day to see what you are up to. We board Westerdam 2 weeks from tomorrow so I'm getting a little hyper. You and Tom continue to have a great time. Think how great you will feel on night 6 knowing you don't have to get off the next am.

 

Mary

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HeatherInFlorida

HeatherInFlorida

Posted
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Lisa, so sorry to be so terribly late wishing you a wonderful cruise! Reading your reports and seeing your pictures gets me all the more excited for our own cruise in 2 weeks.

 

You are an angel to share with us when the internet is giviing you such a terrible time! Relax, enjoy and post when you can:) .

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LAFFNVEGAS "Live from...." Rare

LAFFNVEGAS

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Saturday November 18th 2006

Good Evening,:)

Now tell me just why do Sea Days fly by so quickly?:confused: It was another glorious day here on the MS Zaandam somewhere off the coast of Mexico. It was very sunny and warm all day but a bit on the humid side. We got up this morning at about 8:00 and decided today we would eat in the Lido for breakfast. Great Zucchini French Toast. My plan for today was to spend several hours in the Thermal suite relaxing and reading, Tom decided he would take the Behind the Scenes Galley and Pinnacle Grill Tour. Would you believe that with all the Dam ships we have been on we had never done this. So while he did that I had a wonderful day lounging.

About 1:20 I headed back to the cabin to get cleaned up so we could attend one of the Exploration Series, Speaker was Jack Hardy on Mexican Pacific Marine Life. It was interesting but the speaker tended to be a bit boring and I almost felt like nodding off. After that we headed to the Upper Level of the Rotterdam Dining Room for Royal Dutch High Tea at 3 PM. It was as nice as it usually is and was just the right amount of food to have since I had not had lunch. After that Tom chose to go back to our cabin and I decided I needed some long over due exercise so 4 times around the deck to make a mile was my choice. Although it was warm and a bit humid but still some good exercise. I probably should have done a few more laps. Then came back to the cabin and read and then watch a gorgeous sunset.

Dinner tonight was very good I had a Baja Grouper with Smoked Salmon on a fluffy black bean puree with fresh spinach. I was so very good. Then Tom had the Prime Rib. I have to say that our service has really been very good and the food seems to get better each cruise. I feel that the quality has improved drastically in the past couple of years. It seemed like a few years ago that when you ordered soup it would come out luke warm. Tonight I had the Cream of Double Baked Potato soup and it was very hot.

After dinner we of course stopped for a piece of ginger and a mint from the Yum Yum guy then did our usual walk by the Explorers Lounge, Piano Bar and the shops. I will mention since this is our first time on a R Class ship I really like the way the Piano Bar is set up. Not as intimidating and very easy to relax and listen with the open area.

We returned to our cabin, we are not one to go to the shows very often unless there was an entertainer we really wanted to see. One of these days we hope to see Joel Mason. Tonight it was the Antics of The Other Brothers. I believe it was a juggling/comedy type of routine.

Tomorrow is our first port and we will be in Manzanillo. Since we have a early excursion “Turtle Experience” we have chosen Room Service so our card has been checked off and placed outside our door. We are keeping our fingers cruised for good weather. The Captain stated in his 1 PM report that Tropical Storm Sergio has weaken but we could hit some swells this evening as we get closer and we could have rain tomorrow. But Rain in port is better than a Sunny Day at work any day.

Well, I guess that is really all I have to report this evening. Hard to believe this is our third night already. I just wish it would slow down.

Signing off from the Elegant MS Zaandam.

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Bandit

Bandit

Posted
Posted

Laffnvegas

 

Thank-you for the wonderful reviews you have posted on the Zaandam. I have been copying them daily and reading them to my friend who will be sailing with me on the Zaandam on Dec 11th. (21 more days. Can't wait.)

We are doing the 10 day trip, but it goes to La Paz and Lorento. But still all the shipboard information you are providing has hightened our excitment. Thank-you. By-the-way we will be in the cabin next to yours, I believe. Entering your cabin we would be to your right.

 

I am very interested in all that you have to say, but I have one question and you may not be able to answer it at this time. We did not get ships transfers to the airport upon return to San Diego, because we have a flight out at 11:45 AM. We felt that the transfers would delay us getting to the airport. We booked our own flights, because HAL had us flying out at 10 Pm that night. That would have put us home the next day. My question is do you think we can get off the ship around 9 AM and get a taxie at the pier and make our flight at 11:45 AM.I promise you that I will not ask you any further questions. It is just that I don't know if I should get a transfer from HAL or go by taxi. I'm lost.

Thank-you for yours and everyone else pictures and information. It is so good to have people like you who share. Have a great trip.

 

Ron

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Copper10-8 "Live from...." Rare

Copper10-8

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............ My question is do you think we can get off the ship around 9 AM and get a taxie at the pier and make our flight at 11:45 AM.I promise you that I will not ask you any further questions. It is just that I don't know if I should get a transfer from HAL or go by taxi. I'm lost.

Thank-you for yours and everyone else pictures and information. It is so good to have people like you who share. Have a great trip.

 

Ron

 

Hi Ron; San Diego's Lindbergh Field is one of those airports that is a 10-15 minute tops ride from the port. For a 11:45 domestic flight you will have absolutely no problems disembarking Zaandam at 9:00 AM and grabbing a cab outside. Don't waste your money on a transfer! Have a great cruise:)

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ekerr19

ekerr19

Posted
Posted

Lisa -

 

Glad to hear you are enjoying your cruise on the Zaandam. Sounds like the weather is nice and you've discripstions of the meals are making me hungry!!! I almost feel right there with you!!!

 

Do you have any pictures of the thermal suite area? I'm curious to see what it looks like...

 

Hope you continue having an awesome & relaxing voyage. :)

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AcaCandy

AcaCandy

Posted
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Weather report from Acapulco, as promised. Still rainy and overcast. More rain today than yesterday.

 

Carnival Spirit was supposed to arrive yesterday afternoon, but they cancelled.......not sure where they are going instead.

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