LIVE from the Nieuw Amsterdam LAFFNVEGAS Returns Home To Holland America

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Well, not quite LIVE ;) But today starts the journey. I kind of feel like the Prodigal Son except in this case I am the Prodigal Daughter returning home to Holland America after cruising NCL, Princess, NCL again because yes we liked NCL :), Celebrity, then last Royal Caribbean. They were kind of the Good, the Bad, the Great X2 then the Ugly :eek:
The last several weeks thoughts have gone thru my mind as to..... will HAL be as good as I remember it to be, will my expectations be too high, or will it be that returning home will feel so good?

I will look forward to reporting to you daily some times twice daily our activites and comments. We are traveling with 6 friends all of which have cruised with us before.

Many of you have followed my previous Live from threads and know that for all the different cruise lines I often compared things to HAL, so this time I will be comparing HAL to them. Also you know at times I can be brutally honest or at the least what my feelings were at the time ;)

So be prepared to check back frequently thru the next week as I take all of you along with Tom and I to the Eastern Caribbean.

Well it's time to get in the shower and then get those last minutes items in the luggage before we head to the airport in about and hour and 20 minutes. I will report back in from McCarran Airport. :)

[SeaWatch]

Are on the ship next week, so I am looking forward to your reviews....our first HAL cruise.

[Two@Sea]

Enjoy, Lisa! Thanks for taking us along... again! :)

[ger_77]

Bon Voyage Lisa! I'll bet watching your posts as you sail away yet again. . . (green with envy).

Smooth Sailing! :):):)
Gerry

[GmaPajama]

And the adventure begins. Thanks for taking us along again - your Live Froms are always fun to follow.

[basiaZ03]

Even though we have done a 12 day and a 7 day on the nieuw Amsterdam ,I look forward to seeing the ship through your eyes
Barbara

[innlady1]

Have fun, Lisa and Tom...and, I look forward to your "Live From" - as I always do! :D And, hearing a first hand report on the NA!

[IRL_Joanie]

Subscribing to what wil be a great Live from!!

Joanie

[Ine]

We are sure you and Tom will have a great cruise and we cdertainly will read your daily reports.
Say Hi to DBA in case you meet him.
But it would have been more fun if we could have seen each other in PVR again.

[kazu]

Have a great trip Lisa - looking forward to you Live From threads. Thanks for taking us along again.:)

[luvtwotrvl]

Have a great cruise, Lisa. Thank you for taking the time for doing a live thread.

David

[mamaofami]

Lisa and Tom, have a wonderful cruise. Anxious to hear your views on the NA.:)

[scopewest]

Have fun and thanks for all the info to come!

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Good Morning from LAS otherwise known as McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas, NV.

Getting the the airport was the usual ride in our son's car. I use to report that it was like Mr Toad's Wild Ride but in the last several years (now that he is in his 30') he no longer drives like that ;) The airport this morning appeared crowded but most of the traffic was taxis with no passengers. Cannot quite figure that out why so many to make a huge traffic jam at passenger drop off. We are flying Southwest, I love SW check in is so easy and fast :)

Since we did not eat breakfast at home Tom grabbed us some Burger King breakfast sandwiches, I grabbed a Carmel Machiatto at Starbucks and I am not settled down to post some before we board our flight that takes off in about 50 minutes.

Well I know the ship is prepared for our arrival because when I got up this morning I found an email from the Captain :cool: No secret he is one of my favorite Captains and we have not seen Captain Mercer since Dec 2008.

If you have followed my Live from's over the years you will know that in September on the Solstice we cruised with our friends Kath and Bob, well they are coming with and should be here at the airport any minute. Then also with us is localady aka Sher who was with us several times our Anniversary cruise 4 years ago and two Yummer cruises. Then is her roommate Colleen who is my high shool best friend who has also cruised with me several times on the Oosterdam. This will be Colleen's first cruise to the Caribbean (she lives in Phoenix and her flight gets in 5 minutes before us also SW) Then also in our little group is our friends Brad and Nick who cruised with us on the NCL Pearl this past April and will cruise again with us on the NCL Jade in Nov 2012. Or I should say we will cruise with them.

I think that catches us up with the basics.

I surprisingly slept pretty good last night but then I had gotten up really early yesterday morning for work.

Well I guess that is about enough info for now till we land in FLL later today.

Signing off from MC Carran International Airport in windy and a bit chilly Las Vegas, NV

[Jade13]

I am looking forward to this!

[NorthPhoenixGuy]

bon voyage lisa. your "live froms" are always fun, interesting and very honest. that's why your reviews are so informative. i truly hope your homecoming is everything you hope it will be. for all the time and effort you put in on the hal board, you should be rewarded with a fabulous cruise. only wish i could cruise with you one of these days. enjoy and be safe.

cheers

[localady]

Checking in here from a super chilly West Coast :eek:....relaxing with some java as the weather precluded us from doing Market this morning.

I will be flying with the Supermoon to meet Lisa and the group tomorrow morning. Bags are packed, seems when I am snorkelling I need 2 full bags for 7 days!! :rolleyes: I will be taking 3 different snorkel excursions during the cruise if anyone wants feedback !

Safe flight Lisa and Pedro, see you all in the morning!! :D

[innlady1]

Lisa,

Are you and your group going to be doing a wave from the port side leaving Port Everglades? We'll be watching on www.portfever.com (http://www.portfever.com)...just in case!!!

And, don't forget to bring water on board...might help with the ankle swelling! ;)

[jbhcw]

Lisa...have a great cruise...love sailing out of FLL...Bon Voyage:):):)

[SabreSailor]

Have a GREAT cruise, Lisa! Jealous already!

If you happen to be walking through the starboard corridor on Deck 6 (Upper Verandah), and the door to 6095 might be open, could you help Joanie - and me - out by looking to see if there is a connecting door? It's been the subject of all sorts of research and while the Chief Housekeeper aboard suggests it is a connecting cabin, none of the deck plans show it as such and the folks who man the phones in Seattle swear that it is not a connecting cabin....

Don't get yourself in trouble! Just if you are passing the door is open....

Thanks!

[knitlady037]

Have a great trip Lisa! Thanks to your live from thread with NCL we went on one of our best cruises ever. Looking forward to this thread also.

[Chivalrygirl]

God how I "hate" you woman! :mad: I just know you will make me green with envy! I have read such rotten reviews of the Pacific Pearl it has left me wondering why the hec we have spent all that money. Oh well the joys of being just a very poor Kiwi and living so far from all the action. :confused:

I wish you and Tom and my very good buddy Sher a wonderful week at sea. Hope you all have a really good blast.

Look forward to following your antics for the next week

Love xxxxx

[dobiemom]

If you have followed my Live from's over the years you will know that in September on the Solstice we cruised with our friends Kath and Bob, well they are coming with and should be here at the airport any minute. Then also with us is localady aka Sher who was with us several times our Anniversary cruise 4 years ago and two Yummer cruises. Then is her roommate Colleen who is my high shool best friend who has also cruised with me several times on the Oosterdam. This will be Colleen's first cruise to the Caribbean (she lives in Phoenix and her flight gets in 5 minutes before us also SW) Then also in our little group is our friends Brad and Nick who cruised with us on the NCL Pearl this past April and will cruise again with us on the NCL Jade in Nov 2012. Or I should say we will cruise with them.
It's so nice cruising with friends. Bon Voyage Everyone! :)

[hulamoon]

Bon Voyage Lisa and Tom,

Best wishes for an excellent trip. Surrounded by friends and a staff you adore I am sure your vacation will be memorable.

Sharie

[SakeDad]

So happy you made the trip! :D I can't wait to follow and see how you enjoy it all. I know you'll have a fabulous week.

[PrincessNancy]

Thank you for the live review--we'll be sailing on the NA next March (our first cruise on Hal) and I'm looking forward to learning about the gorgeous ship. Sounds like you are going to have a fabulous time!

Nancy

[Candy]

http://iojo.com/gifs/expressions/bon_voyage/bon_voyage_cruise_ship.gif

I'm next!

[DAllenTCY]

Hi Lisa and Tom.....sorry you're sailing from the the "wrong coast" this time, but I wish you a great cruse. If you are planning a future trip to San Diego, I hear that they have a fantastic airport supervisor at Terminal One.
David

[Himself]

The Irish have a saying: "Cead Milea Failte" (One Hundred thousand welcomes) That is my greeting to you as you return to HAL. I hope you enjoy the Nieuw Amsterdam half as much as I did. If you do, you will really love this ship! I hope Jonathan is still the Master of the Vessel for your cruise. Have a great cruise.

[cruisinjudy]

Bon Voyage!

[HeatherInFlorida]

Bon Voyage, Lisa! Have a wonderful, exciting time on the Nieuw Amsterdam! You're certainly getting a magnificent send off weekend and I'm glad we could do that for you here in Paradise!

Know we didn't get a chance to meet up this time, but I'm hopeful and looking forward to November! We'll do it!:)

I almost feel the excitement myself. Have a great day tomorrow ... beginnings are the BEST!

[Belle]

Enjoy your cruise with all your friends!
Wishing you great weather.,.enjoyment at all the ports.
Welcome Back to Holland.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Greetings from Ft Lauderdale unfortunately I cannot get my computer to connect to the wi fi signal at hotel so doing this from my phone. Just a bit frustrated. Hopefully tomorrow morning it will work. So signing off from Hyatt Place North.

[earl_m]

Looking forward to reading about your cruise!!hope you have a great one!!

[fcorey]

Greetings from Ft Lauderdale unfortunately I cannot get my computer to connect to the wi fi signal at hotel so doing this from my phone. Just a bit frustrated. Hopefully tomorrow morning it will work. So signing off from Hyatt Place North.

Hey Lisa, staying there again. isnt that where we stayed when we went on Crown? quick question, when does James get back on westerdam, is it september or october?

to all the yummers, have a wang wang for us :) bon voyage to you all

[MissWindyCity]

Lisa, Pedro, Sher, Colleen, Brad and Nick...

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y192/BlueBandit1/BonVoyage.gif


Hope you all have a fabulous cruise!

Christine xoxo...

[Overtime4me2]

Thank you so much for posting during your cruise. I've enjoyed your past postings and look forward to these also!!

Enjoy your cruise!! :)

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Good Morning From the Hyatt Place North in Ft Lauderdale near Port Evergaldes. (Note to Frank, Yes exact same place se stayed Janaury 2010)

YEAH!!!! As you can see I turned on my computer and viola!!!!! The internet connected :) I have done this too amany times to not know what I am doing so my guess is something was wrong with their server last night.

OK for those that do not see my posts on Facebook, we got a bit of a late start leaving Las Vegas, 45 minutes to be exact due to late luggage getting on the plane our place stopped in Tampa and made some time up there and we were actually only 10 minutes late into FLL but Colleen who was coming from Phoenix her connecting flight out of Houston was 45 minutes late so she was late and we needed to wait for her, we finally got to the hotel and checked in and it was after 8. We were starved so we headed over the Outback, not quick but easy. Then we had wanted to all go to Total Wine so that we could pick up a few bottles of wine before the cruise so on my phone I pulled the web site to see what their hours were for Suday figured we would go over there in the morning but realized tomorrow was Sunday and they did not open till noon :eek: So since they are open till 11 we walked over there. Since we were having a small Sail Away Party thought we would buy a few bottles of bubbly and the others also wanted to have a bottle or two of wine for the week.

We get back to the room about 10:15 last night and suddenly I realized I forgot to contact Lou from Mortgage Mobile aka Port Everglades Web Cam to get the Banner from him, luckily at the same time he was trying to track me down as well and within a few minutes he was in the lobby of our hotel. It was nice finally meeting him because he and I have spoke for several years on the phone and since I originated the West Coast Web Cam Waves and he did one of the first East Coast Web Cam Waves for me when we were on the Eurodam in Dec 2008. From there his web site and camera have taken off especially his web site www.portfever.com (http://www.portfever.com) or go to www.portevergladeswebcam.com (http://www.portevergladeswebcam.com) Today he will be capturing our Sail Away on the Nieuw Amsterdam.
http://a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/188345_1921319309953_1151173614_3708950_5599799_n. jpg


I just posted a picture above from Facebook hopefully you can see it.

As of last night we all made it here with all of our luggage except Sher who was to get in this morning around 4:30 on her redeye flight I believe so I guess I will find out in a few hours that she hopefully made it here fine. Brad and Nick got in last night about the same time we did and all their luggage also arrived but they were in a different terminal from us and were staying at a different hotel so we will catch up with them at the pier.

I slept OK last night with the exception instead of a King bed we ended up with two regular size beds. Now after 34 years of marriage Tom and I have always slept in the same bed but we have always had at least a Queen Size or larger. The bed Tom chose for us to sleep in had my side of the bed practically against a wall so I had to crawl in from the foot of the bed :D Then I did wake up really early thinking will I get this internet to work this morning and of course I am just a bit excited to board the Nieuw Amsterdam ;)

I really need some coffee, I keep sitting her yawning so I think I will close for now.

Signing off from the Hyatt Place North in Ft Lauderdale FL.

[aliaschief]

I can sense the excitement. Lisa and Tom have a great cruise. Bon Voyage!

[kazu]

Wow Lisa - you would never have known from your post that you hadn't had your morning coffee ;) We'll be watching for YOUR wave today!

It won't be long now and you will be boarding :) We'll all cruise vicariously through you.:)

[KirkNC]

Looking forward to your reports. Have a great cruise.

Kirk

[dobiemom]

Lisa, I didn't there was another banner. How cool is that! :D What does this one say/look like? How many other ships do banner waves?

[IRL_Joanie]

Just a reminder to WATCH the Nieuw Amsterdam Sail off into the Caribbean here: http://portevergladeswebcam.com/ And to have your volume turned way up as the ships go by.... Never can get enough of that sound!!!

She, Nieuw Amsterdam is off to the left of the screen so you cannot see her, but YOU WILL when she leaves this evening.

Looking forward to seeing you and all our other CC friends sail away Lisa!!

Joanie

[innlady1]

Looking forward to your sailaway, Lisa! Where on the ship will you be with the banner?

[mamaofami]

Hi Sheila,
In case Lisa doesn't get back on here before sail away, I copied this from the thread about the web cam: We will be in those Deck 4 VD cabins toward the aft on port side as we sail our of Port Everglades :D __________________

I hope we'll be home to watch.:)

[innlady1]

Hi Sheila,
In case Lisa doesn't get back on here before sail away, I copied this from the thread about the web cam: We will be in those Deck 4 VD cabins toward the aft on port side as we sail our of Port Everglades :D __________________

I hope we'll be home to watch.:)

Thanks, Carol! Ah, the "secret" cabins! ;)

[Atomica]

Have a wonderful time on the Nieuw Amsterdam, Lisa! Bon Voyage!

[NorthPhoenixGuy]

IRL_Joanie.....what time does the Niew Amsterfam leave?

[Flindy&Doc]

1700 or 5:00 PM according to the port schedule

[ugminer]

Checking in here from a super chilly West Coast :eek:....relaxing with some java as the weather precluded us from doing Market this morning.

I will be flying with the Supermoon to meet Lisa and the group tomorrow morning. Bags are packed, seems when I am snorkelling I need 2 full bags for 7 days!! :rolleyes: I will be taking 3 different snorkel excursions during the cruise if anyone wants feedback !

Safe flight Lisa and Pedro, see you all in the morning!! :D

Please Sher, do post info on the snorkling. One of your pictures from last year is still my wallpaper. Wish I could have joined you guys but I know it will happen sooner or later.

BON VOYAGE TO EVERYBODY

[IRL_Joanie]

If Lisa is in 4166 or 4168, she is on board the ship now. Just saw people on those verandahs:)

Joanie

[ShenValleyGal]

We were in 4160 2 weeks ago and the camera didn't capture us that low.... Have a wonderful cruise, Lisa. Wish we were still onboard!

Rachel

[IRL_Joanie]

An IMPORTANT FYI!!!

The Ships are calling in their times for departure to the Harbor Master and Starting with the Carnival Feedom in 5 minutes (4:10 or so)) followed by Celebrity Solstice they are going to start departing at 4:45 EST!!! Pilots are being called for 15 minutes prior to each ship departing. At least those are what they have called in.

So the FYI is that you may want to start the Web Cam early so as not to miss Lisa and the rest of the Nieuw Amsterdam Passengers as they sail away!!

Joanie

[innlady1]

We were in 4160 2 weeks ago and the camera didn't capture us that low.... Have a wonderful cruise, Lisa. Wish we were still onboard!

Rachel

Lisa knows the mortgage mobile guy, so I'm sure he'll make sure he captures them! He delivered the banner to her hotel last night....

[SakeDad]

Freedom just pulled out, Solstice should be next then the NA!!!! BON VOYAGE LISA! Hope we can see you wave!:D

[ShenValleyGal]

Lisa knows the mortgage mobile guy, so I'm sure he'll make sure he captures them! He delivered the banner to her hotel last night....


Great! It will be wonderful to see the sailaway and see our verandah again:)!

[IRL_Joanie]

NA is on the move!!

Joanie

[bighairtexan]

I wonder if the Solstice will be delayed as they had another bout of Noro this past cruise, so probably have to disinfect more rigorously.

[SakeDad]

They just zoomed in on Lisa!!:D

[innlady1]

They just zoomed in on Lisa!!:D

Saw that!

[GmaPajama]

Just saw your ever-smiling face, Lisa! What a fantastic job he did with the webcam. Now, let the party begin!

[DCParky]

Bon Voyage, Lisa.... Looks like your group is having fun!!

[musicismylife]

Those are HUGE balconies! I'm going to remember those for future cruises.
Great shots on the webcam.

[aliaschief]

Like days ago with Lisa and Tom sailing away on a Dam ship. It helps to know the web cam owner. Great live shots and BON VOYAGE!
Thanks for taking us along.

[IRL_Joanie]

Hey Y'all Here ya go some photos of the Sail Away!!

I will post them at full sized in a few minutes and post the link for everyone as soon as I upload them (after the Solstice and Allure of the Seas leave)

189210

189211

189212

Joanie

[fatcat04]

Yep we saw you too... smooth sailing!! :)

[innlady1]

Those are HUGE balconies! I'm going to remember those for future cruises.
Great shots on the webcam.

They're nice...we had one on the Noordam for a Collectors Cruise in Feb '10...but unless you have a big group for sail=-way's, it's rather "lonely" out there for just two people!

[SakeDad]

HERE YA GO!!!!!!

http://sakedad.smugmug.com/Friends/Friends/img028/1222510074_5uqcC-XL.jpg (http://sakedad.smugmug.com/Friends/Friends/624121_NfsP9#1222510074_5uqcC)

click on red x if it doesn't appear for you

[SmokinActuary]

Very Nice! I rather enjoyed that. Bon Voyage!

[Candy]

NA is on the move!! Joanie
I missed it... I MISSED IT! I had the page open for hours, then slipped into the kitchen for awhile and SHE WAS GONE!

Oh well, at least I'll see the Noordam's sailaway from the INSIDE next week!

Candy the ZuiderPrincess

[IRL_Joanie]

The Banner Wave full sized photos (sorry tried to post them earlier, but CC was having problems):
http://abqreunion2008.com/Nieuw_Amsterdam/Sail-Away/

Joanie

[mamaofami]

I saw it live too. Great job from inlet cam. Let the good times begin.

[innlady1]

I saw it live too. Great job from inlet cam. Let the good times begin.

It was a great webcam wave!

[kazu]

The Banner Wave full sized photos (sorry tried to post them earlier, but CC was having problems):
http://abqreunion2008.com/Nieuw_Amsterdam/Sail-Away/

Joanie

great job on this Joanie - you are just toooooooooooooo good :)

I caught it but I bet a lot of people will be forever grateful that you captured this (as will Lisa). Thanks so much for doing this :D

[Himself]

Lisa:
May you have fair winds and pleasant skies and my the ocean be calm and may you have the best of all your cruises. You are on a great ship. Four weeks ago I was doing what I hope you are doing now--enjoying the m.s. NIEUW AMSTERSAM!

[basiaZ03]

That was absolutely amazing, as were the pictures

[HeatherInFlorida]

Darn, I missed sailaway. But great to see the pictures:). I'm especially thrilled to see a picture of Lou of PortFever!!! He was so wonderful to our group when we sailed on Solstice this past October and got terrific pictures! Amazing how he can zoom in so well!

So they're off! Hope you are relaxing and enjoying your first night at sea, Lisa. Looking forward to reading all about it:)

[erewhon]

Joanie,
Thank you for posting the photos.
May Lisa, Tom and friends have a wonderful time on their cruise.

[PortEvergladesWebcam]

I took this photo of Lisa, Tom & friends on the way out today.

Enjoy!


http://i693.photobucket.com/albums/vv293/MortgageMobile/NIEUWAMSTERDAMWAVESMar202011-2.jpg

Lou
www.PortEvergladesWebcam.com

Live Streaming HDTV with Stereo Sound

[erewhon]

Lou, Thank you for posting this great photo.

[startwin]

I took this photo of Lisa, Tom & friends on the way out today.

Enjoy!


http://i693.photobucket.com/albums/vv293/MortgageMobile/NIEUWAMSTERDAMWAVESMar202011-2.jpg

Lou
www.PortEvergladesWebcam.com (http://www.PortEvergladesWebcam.com)

Live Streaming HDTV with Stereo Sound


Wow, that's a great photo! Thank you. Whereabouts are they located? Is that just ONE balcony or has a divider been taken out>

Ann

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Thank You Thank You Thank You :)

Lou, thanks so very much and Joanie many thanks to you as well as Nathan. I have to say that was one full Sail Away.

Now on to today's report. It is not as detailed as I normally get but I am a bit tuckered out :o

Sunday March 20, 2011

Good Evening from the Beaultiful and Elegant MS Nieuw Amsterdam.
WOW, talk about a feeling of coming home. After 5 Non HAL cruises I honestly did not know how we were going to feel about our return to HAL. Now I was expecting it to be good but in the back of my mind was fearing "What if I am wrong" We really loved NCL Pearl and Celebrity Solstice. I guess once a HAL Gal always a Hal Gal.

We ended up being able to grab an early shuttle from our hotel rather than a taxi and got to the pier right before 11. We really did not wait long and the lines moved quickly. Once upstairs our boarding number of 5 was called only about 15 minutes later. I have to admit it was nice being able to go right to the cabin and drop off our carry on. We headed down to the Manhattan Dining Room for the Mariner Lunch. It was nice but I kinda of missed going to the Lido.

After lunch we all headed to the cabin and our luggage was there so we were able to unpack. I had forgotten how there are so few drawers to place things in here on this class of ship. I have to admit all the others ship we have been on this past year and a half have done a much better job in this area but so far that is the only area that HAL is not better in. I have to say this ship is so beautiful. While it may be smaller than the Solstice it really has a more elegant yet welcoming feel. And the crew.... well I had almost forgotten how friendly they are. There are been many familiar faces and many that remembered us, even after having been gone almost two years.

This was our first HAL cruise since not needing to wear the Life Jackets to Life Boat Drill. That was nice and was quick and painless. After words, Nick and Brad came to the cabin and it was time for a Web Cam Banner Wave Sail Away........ Did anyone see it? It was fun and a great way to kick off the Cruise. Of course Captain Mercer blew the ship's horn and very long time :-) We spent a good hour after we left Port Everglades out on our balconies. It is nice having the three cabins together but actually having the equivilant of 5 balconies with the two cabins being a double balcony. I was to thank Lou from Port Everglades Web Cam for doing our Web Cam Wave today and I am so looking forward to seeing it.

Tonight we had dinner in Tamarind, it was every bit as good as I remember it being on the Eurodam. The 8 fo us had a great time and the crew in the Tamarind were fantastic. Truly a wonderful treat for the first night on board the ship.

After dinner we had heard that one of the Bar people we knew might be on board but unfortunately it was not the same Ronald we were hoping to find but we did get to meet Boozi (or at least I think that is how his name is spelled)

We did go check out the shops but I need to go back and do a better job of checking things out because I spent most of the time talking to the shop Manager who I knew. (Note to Julie who I know is reading this....it is Flavia and she remembered us right away and wants to Hi to you I will give you a better report of the shops later) I did purchase a very cute Cruise Wear jacket they were just putting out that came in for the Europe Collection. But selection of Logo Wear that we like to purchase looked pretty bad. I felt bad there was not shirt at all for Tom to purchase.

We are now of course back in the cabin and I have been typing up today's report.

I have to admit I really am exhausted so I probaby will not stay up much longer.

But to conclude the first day on board........ It is so very good to be home :D

Signing off from the Beautiful and Elegant MS Nieuw Amsterdam while she heads to Grand Turk.

[kazu]

Hi Lisa. Glad to hear from you already! There were a LOT of us watching your sail a way. And we DID see you :D

So glad you enjoyed your return to the dam ship:) We loved the Tamarind dinner too. Looking forward to more reports :D

[IRL_Joanie]

Lou, Thank you so very very much for the wonderful service that you provide for everyone!!

I am now totally addicted to your site!!

I do have a question for you.... I tried to access the Archived section but could not figure it out:( How can I get to the archives for the Nieuw Amsterdam sailing on 28 November 2010?? We had a few people on our Deck 6 Aft Wrap Around that I would love to have a photo of.

Joanie

[blueboro]

We just returned from NA yesterday. Great cruise and ship. Some thoughts. Tamarind excellent...so good we ate there twice and tried again. Pinnacle very good but almost 4 hours for dinner is WAY too long. Canneletto was good but nothing special...but it IS free. Three nights in dining room. Food very good but service seemed detached and not as attentive or friendly. Perhaps it was because this was our first time with anytime dining and there is not the "bond" that develops with assigned tables. Lido food for the most part good although the Lido seemed to be a little chaotic at times.

Entertainment...okay to very good. Many of the entertainers just joined the ship this week. Cantarre was excellent...one of the best shows we have seen on a ship. Rondell Sheridan (comedian) was very good as was the magician. The worst show to us was the "Two of Us" where two of the singers who were married sang. Very good singers but the the banter between songs was painful and cheesy.

Piano Bar was fun but David, the piano man, was way over the top in his playing and singing. But it is definitely worth the trip to meet Boozie the waiter who will remember your name for the remainder of the cruise. Gini and the HAL Cats okay but they really need a male voice to assist. Matt Murphy was good in the Crows Nest and very friendly.

Other than the Piano Bar or disco, it seemed at times it was hard to find much to do late at night.

If you sail on the NA I don't think you will be disappointed.

[Himself]

Lisa:
I am glad you feel at home. I was glad to hear of your positve reaction to the NA. she is really beautiful and elegant. I hope the sea is calm and the weather is sunny. I will check out the camera at Grand Turk to make sure you are in safe and sound tomorrow morning.

[innlady1]

Good morning, Lisa! Yes, of course, we saw you...I couldn't wait to see your sailaway! Glad to hear that you're feeling "at home" once again on a HAL ship!

[JWJs]

Lisa, I'm enjoying reading your "live from the NA" reports. :)

[puli]

Thank you so much for doing this eyewitness travelog. As a future NA cruiser I will be anxiously awaiting your daly reports!

[SmokinActuary]

Thanks! This thread is a MUST read!

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Monday Afternoon March 21, 2011

Good Afternoon from the Beautiful and Elegant MS Nieuw Amsterdam.

We are half way to Grand Turks in a extremely windy (60 mph) Port side with some high seas and lots of white caps. Right now the winds hitting the port side are so strong it is impossible to open out balcony door. While I would not tell my fellow cruisers who I know are looking forward to Grand Turk if this wind continues as good as Captain Mercer is there is no way he will be able to dock at Grand Turks. I know from previous experience and also know that Captain Mercer will give it is all to get us in there but that can be a difficult port. In winds not nearly this strong in Dec 2008 it took him three tries to get us docked.

Well since I last wrote, I had a wonderful nights sleep and in all honesty probably the best nights sleep on a ship since the last time on HAL. The beds of course our so comfortable and familiar and because we had some rough seas last night it just made for some good rocking to sleep.

We had decided that we would all meet for breakfast at 8:30 in the Main Dining Room so that right afterward Sher, Brad and Nick and I could go to the Thermal Suite. Colleen, Kathy and Bob and Tom and not spa people. So I kind of figured Kathy and Bob would not make it down to breakfast since I heard room service at their door this morning. Sher and Colleen and Tom and I made it there at 8:30, it was almost 9:20 before Brad and Nick showed. I like the new menu for breakfast, definitely a nice variety.

Sher and I headed to the Spa at about 9:35 and thought Brad and Nick would meet us there but never did see them. Sher hung out with me till sometime after 11 this morning but since I figured this would be the only day I would use the Thermal Suite I wanted to really enjoy this so stuck around till 1:00pm after the Captain's report from the bridge.

OK as you know I sometimes get a bit critical of the Spa/Thermal Suite, well this Thermal Suite gets 5 stars :) http://boards.cruisecritic.com/images/icons/icon14.gif Everything was absolutely wonderful, yes it is pretty much the same as the others but the decor and colors are slightly different and there are some subtle changes such as in one of the Saunas there was a control thing on the wall that stated Scent 1, Scent, 2, Scent 3 and Scent 4. Scent one as lit up and this was obviously something they controled. The showers also had the misters with the scents and all were working perfectly. It was busy almost to the point of being a bit crowded but then it was the first Sea Day. The only frustrating part were extremely loud talkers :mad: especially when Captain Mercer was doing his 12:45 Noon Time report from the Bridge. This was my first time to get to hear this in almost two years and while it is a bit silly it is something I really enjoy hearing and what better way than relaxing in the heated ceramic loungers but unfortunately these 2 couples felt the need to continue to talk and get even louder (the men) when Captain Mercer spoke.

Well it was1 pm and I figured I better head back to the room, beside it was no longer quiet and peaceful in the Thermal Suite, so I walked thru the Lido picked up a glass of ice tea and a small ceasar salad and headed back to the cabin. I felt a bit bad because Tom was waiting for me and had not eaten. So not long ago he headed up to the Lido to see what he could fine to eat.

Oh BTW they gave us our Embarkation form this morning, does anyone else find this really cruel thing to do on your first full day on the ship.:eek: I seriously do not want to even be thinking about leaving yet. I do see where it does have SW Airlines but the question I have is if they get your your boarding pass, how soon do they log into get it for you. Is it my chance close to getting you an A or are you stuck with and C or D ? The other problem we thought of is the fact that things like my cosmetics and toiletries for the last morning are not travel size and I want to bring them home. If I place my luggage outside the night before and do not see it till I get home and keep only my carryon I have will no place to bring the toiletries so........will have to reconsider our thoughts on this. I am hoping that the other SW one might be outside and maybe check out large suit cases with Lluggage Direct and then hopefully can check here at the pier the smaller suit case. Otherwise we will have to still check in a piece of luggage at the airport.
We actually have Open Anytime dining for this cruise but figured since we were a group of 8 it may be alright to do that. Tonight we have decided to go to dinner early at 6 and then go to the Captain's Toast and see the early show. One thing I was extremely surprised about was how full all the dining options were for reservations. We fortunately had made the Tamarind reservations several weeks ago on line but figured we would do Pinnacle on board the first day since we planned to do that the last night. We barely got reservations and the only time left was for 5:30 :eek: and unfortunately we gave up on making reservations for tonight we are just going to wing it and see what happens.
I guess I will stop writing so I can post this and then either read or I might just take a nap ;)

Signing off from the Beautiful and Elegant MS Nieuw Amsterdam

[SmokinActuary]

Thanks Lisa!

I am going to be on this ship Thanksgiving week and now I know I should make specialty restaurant reservations WELL in advance!

[Flindy&Doc]

Lisa, you are the next best thing to being there and that's pretty darn good! Thanks for letting us all tag along this way. ;)

[innlady1]

Thanks, Lisa! I'm looking forward to travelling along in cyberspace with you this week!

I know...don't you just hate that when they leave the disembarkation forms so early? What a bummer....:eek:

[HeatherInFlorida]

Ooooooh, Captain Mercer. It's rare I remember any names of officers onboard any ship, but I'll always remember Captain Mercer who was the friendliest, most accessible, Captain on any ship we've been on.

So glad you're feeling right back home! The NA would have to go a way to make me like her better than the Solstice, but you never know!

Thanks for checking in with all of us you left behind!:)

[mamaofami]

Lisa, I also hate when people talk in that thermal suite.It makes it hard to relax, not to mention hearing Captain Mercer. I hope the winds die down so you can dock at Grand Turks.

[maxie99]

so that was you guys up there having to much fun:D--i was feeling kind of melloncally on sun, being that i was on NA only 7 days before,,then was watching the websight, coaght the banner, and was thinking --they,r going to have such a great time,,i wish i was back on board--then i read you message,, im REALLY going to have fun going along for the ride---:)--Joan

[SakeDad]

Lisa,
I hope you report on the shows on NA...I'm curious how they compare to the ones I did on EUDM?

[Himself]

Lisa I looked on David's post and clicked on the link to Grand Turk and the Eurodam was safely docked there this morning. Hopefully the winds will not follow you to Grand Turk and that you can safely dock there. If anybody can do it Captain Mercer can do it and do it well.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Good Evening from the Beautiful and Elegant MS Nieuw Amsterdam as we sail closer to Grand Turk.

Well today certainly was not he day for those who could not handle some rough seas. Definitely some high winds of 60 MPH gusts and and I beleive Jonanathan said swells of 3 to 4 meters which if my math is correct is between 9 to 12 ft swells. Kathy was actaully having problems with the movement and needed me to give her some Bonine I took some as well for precautionary reasons. I had planned to not take anything this whole cruise but thought it would not hurt. I have felt fine the whole night. So dinner tonight was just the 6 of us Brad and Nick, Sher and Colleen and Tom and I. We went to the Manhattan Dining Room at 6pm and then went to the 7:55 Captain's Toast. Cantare' was tonight's show and they were very impressive and actually one of the best shows for a Formal night I have ever seen on HAL. They were a lot like the Four Season Tribute show done on NCL yet with doing all different music. I was very impressed.

But back to dinner it was good as well. I had the Shirmp and Scallops Pasta dish. I tend to eat far more seafood when I am on a ship. The Captain's Toast was the usual that it has been the past several years, I do wish they would go back to the way they use to do it :( I was actually surprised that at the 8 pm show it was not totally packed in the Show Room. I am guessing the combination of the rough seas and people not feeling great. But also people do not start to fill up a show room till close to show time and at least tonight there was no one in there saving seats like we saw on Princess. Going to the show lounge on HAL tends to be a far more pleasant experience and not what we saw on RCCL and Princess both of those were bad but it was really bad on RCCL. In this repsect we found NCL and HAL to be far more similiar although Celebrity did fill up fast but was close to the HAL experience .

After the show we headed up to the Crow's Nest and listened to Matt Murphey on the Guitar. I am pretty sure he was the Guitarist that performed in the Crow's Nest when we were on the Westerdam two years ago in Alaska.
Now back in our cabin, everyone seemed a bit tired tonight and with wanting to get up early to see if we get into Grand Turk. Well let's just say we are keeping our fingers crossed that the winds subside and Captain Mercer can do his magic.

We continue to see crew we know, tonight was one of our favorite Bar crew Romeo. It was good to see him again. He was pretty sure the Ronald we knew was back on the Eurodam. Note to Karen aka Middle Aged Mom if by chance you are reading this, Romeo is the Romeo from our Noordam Alaska cruise in 2007.

By the way tonight we also toasted our wine glasses to our friend Laura Kerr who was to also be cruising with us but passed away several months ago.

Well, I think I am going to call it a night, I was to read just a bit more of my book, I am reading the James Patterson / Alex Cross series and sometimes I get to a point where it is hard to put the nook down.

Signing off from the Beauitful and Elegant MS Nieuw Amsterdam where it truly is good to be back home.:)
　
　
　

[hulamoon]

Lisa, I am happy to read all is well and you feel at home, hope you get into port and seas calm.

[Cristiano]

Hi Sharie,

following with great interest LV's reports as we will be on her in less than 2 weeks and doing the TA to Venice. Shame that you and DH are not coming with us as you did on the Eurodam. He and I could walk the promenade again!!

Ciao,

Cristiano.

[kazu]

Thanks for sharing with us Lisa - so glad that the seas didn't disturb you at least :) It certainly sounds like your cruise is off to a good start with your comments on the shows and dinner :D Smooth seas for the rest of your cruise :)

[hulamoon]

Hi Sharie,

following with great interest LV's reports as we will be on her in less than 2 weeks and doing the TA to Venice. Shame that you and DH are not coming with us as you did on the Eurodam. He and I could walk the promenade again!!

Ciao,

Cristiano

I too will miss our promenades! I really tried to take a HAL trip but I have had so much upper respiatory issue lately, I am going over on the Eclipse. I hope it works out we can walk a beautiful promenade together again. I know you'll have a great cruise Cristiano! I hope your flight is easy too, I know they can be brutal. This time let's all get home without a cough! Maybe Lisa will walk before she comes home and give us a taste of sea air.

Enjoy seeing your beautiful homeland again.

Ciao!
Sharie

[Himself]

Lisa:
It is good to see that you are safely docked in Grand Turk. There is a good part of me that wishes I was back there with you. The winds of yesterday did not stop you from docking today. Have a great day in Grand Turk until 3:PM EDT.
Himself

[Vic The Parrot]

Hi Lisa


Enjoy the Nieuw A!

Looking forward to reading more. :)

[Himself]

Vic:
You have to sail on this ship. No review can do it justice. It is that good a ship!

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Wednesday March 23, 2011

Good Morning from the Beautiful MS Nieuw Amsterdam as we near San Juan P.R.

OK first I must apologize for last night, We got back to the room fairly late and I wrote a brief shore note stating between a lots of sun in Grand Turk, Chanpagne in our cabin before dinner, then margartias at diinner then Wine, then a Samari Mojito in the Silk Den I was pretty wiped out and probably not a good idea to be writing a whole lot last night but after 30 minutes of attempting to get on the internet and the wi-fi connection keping going in and out, I said the heck with it and went to bed.

OK, today is a brand new day with lot so sunshine. But to tell you a bit about yesterday. We got off the ship at about 10 and 5 of us decided to grab some lounge chairs and relax on the beach for a while. About 11:30 we attempted to walk down the beach to find what we thought was a restaurant and bar butt what we found on the internet we did not see, so at what appeared to be the farthest bar we did stop to have drinks then we headed back to the area where the shopping is at the pier. We were last in Grand Turk in December 2008 and I believe it had opened earlier in 2008. At the time we were here I would say about 50% of the shops were open and several were under construction so it promised to be a nice shopping port for future cruises. Sadly there are now fare less shops open here than there was in December 2008 and the only ones remaining are those with big corporate pockets. Such and Diamonds International, Del Sol. Now granted we are toward the end of the season but this is a frequent stops for Carnival ships year round. I definitely appears the economy is ports such as Grand Turk.


Grand Turk is one of those ports that is great for taking pictures but it is almost always very windy, the sand is not packed as well and makes it hard to get around and the waves are usually a big strong making it hard to swim. But I got some great pictures of the Nieuw Amsterdam as well as the SilverSeas Silver Cloud ship that was also docked with us.

All 8 of us went down to dinner at 6 in open dining and actually for a large group it tends to work pretty well with open dining, or at least so far. We started with Margaritas before dinner then had bottles of red and white wine during dinner. Last night was Caribbean night for the menu but several had the Beef Short Ribs that they said were great and the rest had the Parmesean Crusted Chicken Breast which was great. The best was the dessert of the Key Lime pie. Afterwards we heard to the Showroom at Sea to see Garage Band which are the singers and dancers of the Nieuw Amsterdam. I did find the show to be an improvement to past shows but still not nearly as good as the cast shows are on NCL or even what we saw on the Solstice. After the show the 8 of us headed up to the Silk Den where there were lots of laughes and sampling of the different Sake martini drinks.

So far today Tom and I headed up to the Lido for breakfast then went shopping at the 50% off logo wear by the Lido Pool, then down to the shops to purchase some more things. There is a HAL women's zippered hoodie that I wanted but they did not have my size by the Lido pool but they did have it in the shops.

On Great I am about ready to post this on line because I write these reports off line and the little box just popped up that there is no internet connect :( and there is that dreaded red X at the bottom where you check the wi-fi signal. That is exactly what kep happening last night.

This afternnoon the plans are to walk into town in San Juan and have a late lunch. I have been to San Juan several times so not sure I will spend much time ashore other than maybe a nice late lunch and a drink.
Well now I see the red X went away so hopefully we have a signal again so............

Just a note, I was not able to post, the internet has been really bad :( But we are now safely docked. Tom and I went up to the bow to watch as we wer coming into San Juan. Now we need to clear the ship before disembarkation.

Signing off from the Beautiful MS Nieuw Amsterdam where it is still good to be back home :)

[audrey]

another great read I am so enjoying them I will be taking my first Holland America cruise in May to Bermuda and I am so looking forward to it.

[hulamoon]

Hi Lisa,

The set up might be different but when I tried to post from the Eurodam from the stern, I was told to open the cabin door. Or as my husband did use the computer from the bathroom sink.

It seemed to help sometimes.

Glad you are having fun!

[Two@Sea]

Lisa ~ Eat, Drink, and Be Merry! Don't worry about taking a few breaks in posting. I would much rather know you are enjoying yourself, and can wait until you have time (sober up ;)) to send us something. :D

I think I mentioned to you that I seldom drink at home. A glass of wine here and there, maybe. But get me on a ship... and whoa! There is something about sea air that makes me VERY thirsty! :o So, I can relate.

[Himself]

Lisa:
When I sailed into San Juan last month--four weeks ago today--we were allowed out on the Forward deck for the sail into San Juan. It was a bit windy but a nice view. I was out there for over an hour and left when we started docking procedures. Glad you are enjoying this great ship.

[Candy]

Lisa, I'm inHALing this thread! Glad you're having a great time (how could you not) despite the wind and rough seas at the start. I found that after I compose my post, if I sit down next to the cabin door I can get a good enough signal to send it.

If Marco is aboard, please give him my regards!

Candy the ZuiderPrincess

[NorthPhoenixGuy]

lisa...so glad your homecoming is successful, so far. sounds to me like it will be for the whole cruise. as usual, your "live from" reports are so interesting and complete with terrific details, i feel like i'm there with you. keep enjoying yourself and have fun and enjoy being with all your friends.

did you hear that elizabeth taylor died today? just thought i'd let you know. she was a glamorous, beautiful, caring actress and she will be missed tremendously by millions of people. i hope she's having a fabulous homecoming of her own with all her ex husbands!

cheers

[joshuamg]

Laffnvegas,
THANKS for your thoughts on your current stay on the Nieuw Amsterdam! I jump on board 3/27.

With alot of current problems with Noro on Celebrity Soltice (3/27 embarkation delayed again), i am curious about the NA. Have you heard of any sickness going around on this current cruise?

Thank you kindly!

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Laffnvegas,
THANKS for your thoughts on your current stay on the Nieuw Amsterdam! I jump on board 3/27.

With alot of current problems with Noro on Celebrity Soltice (3/27 embarkation delayed again), i am curious about the NA. Have you heard of any sickness going around on this current cruise?

Thank you kindly!
Not a word, I believe we are totally fine. We did however see the Solstice today in St Maarten and they made sure everyone had hand santatizers squirted on our hands before re entering the ship.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Thursday March 24th, 2011

Greetings from one of my favorite islands in the Caribbean, St Maarten.

It is 5 minutes to 3 and 2:30 was All Aboard but it seems per what Captain Mercer said we have a few passengers that very much enjoying St Maarten and were still not yet on board. So we shall see how long it takes. Unofrtunately we are Starboard side to the pier rather than port so e cannot watch the show of those people running to the gangway.

I am typing a bit handicapped due to some reason my mouse to my net book does not want to work and while yet it has that little mouse pad I absolutely hate that.
Well, I guess I have not written since yesterday so I need to get you all caught up.

I think I left off where we were just getting ready to head into San Juan. Tom and I have been to San Juan before so had no big plans but the 8 of us wanted to go have lunch at a true Puerto Rican Restaurant so we went to El Jibarato or at least I think that is how it was spelled. We had some wonderful Puerto Rican food including monfungo.Sher and I had something called a Christmas Special with a pork rib and tamales. But one of the really good things they had were Pina Coladas :-)

Then we all headed off shopping our way back to the ship. Brad and Nick wanted to hit the Coach store but since we have such a good Coach outlet in Las Vegas I was actually saving my heavy duty shopping for St Maarten. So we all kind of went seperate ways for shopping and Tom and I headed back to the ship. Of course we were in Old Town and still at least a mile or so from the ship.

I think we got back to the ship around 5:30 which was 2:30 back home so called our son who is watching the home front, he was getting ready for work and found all was good at home. Then called my Mom who is 84 and has not been well but was doing much better so that was a relief.
We ended up going to dinner at 8 in the open seating and amazingly we have not had any problem at all this week getting seated immediately. But then possible filling a whole large table of 8 might be what makes it work, we are not going in and asking for window table or a table of two.

Dinner last night was again very good but OK I have been saying how absolutely wonder everything has been and it really has but one slight complaint and I had this same exact problem on our recent RCCL Mariner of the Seas Cruise. I like a cup of coffee after dinner but I must have half and half and or real cream in the coffee. I cannot stand milk in my coffee, I just plain will not drink it. The first night in the Tamarind it was perfect half and half, but the last three nights it would always be milk, not even whole milk but 2% in the container. Then I ask for half and half and some of them argue with you that it is creamer or some will take and and come back and it is still milk. Last night they did bring a container that appear to be half and half mixed with milk so it was slightly better. I guess I do not get it, I am guessing this is a way of cost cutting but it is the one pleasure I like to take part in while on the ship for the week. OK truly that is absolutely my only complaint. I have to say that everything else is exactly what we want in a cruise.

We ended up going back to the cabin and just reading after dinner last night, the others went to the late night comedian who they say did not get funny till he brought out his dummy for the ventriloquist part.

This morning we arrived in St Maarten along with the Allure of the Seas, the Solstice, AidaLuna. Yes it was packed but the port can really handle the crowds well. We did not get going off the ship till closer to 10:30 we really should have left more like 9 because we were to be back here at 2:30 on the ship.

I may have mentioned I had a mission and that mission was to shop. Of all the Caribbean ports we have been to I find St. Maarten to be the best prices and selection and especially quality. My main mission was a new hand bag, the one I have been using for over two years I purchased here in St Maarten in December 2008 so I felt I was due for a new purse. I found one in the final hour :D We started the morning off with 7 of us shopping together (Sher had a snorkel cruise that at the last minute was canceled due to the waters not being that clear) but we soon ended up splitting up. Bob and Kathy went off with Brad and Nick and Colleen , Tom and I went another direction. Sher ended up staying on the ship to enjoy the Thermal Suite all to herself. Another thing I did purchase here was Estee Lauder cosmetics, the selection is great and prices are approximately 1/3 less than you would buy at Macy's in the US. Now sometimes the ships do well but sadly the selection on the Nieuw Amsterdam for cosmetics and fragrances is really bad but slightly better for logo wear than the last time we sailed HAL. I would love to have a sit down with the buyers of Starboard who supplies the shops on board and tell them what I really think will sell because sometimes I do not think they have a clue.

So over all it was a very good day for shopping, although it was hot in town. We had lunch at a little beach side place called Barefoot something or other. Sher wanted to know if we had Dutch food I told her there was Gouda Cheese in my Club Sandwich :D Tonight Brad and Nick are returning to the Tamarind because they had a gift to go there so the other 6 of us are heading early to the dining room. Sher, Tom and I were invited to the VIP Party so we are looking forward to that since there are several Officers we know on this cruise and it is always a lovely time to be able to chat with all of them. Especially my favorite Captain, I ran in to he and his wife this morning and was telling her about the purse shopping and I think the Captain was not to thrilled I was telling her about this ;) So hopefully she is up there tonight and I will see how she did with her shopping adventure.

OK as I am writing this we are deck 4 aft and the strangest noise started up with the really bad vibration and it appears we have slowed down some and it has last over 10 minutes now so not quite so sure what that is all about.

Just where has this week gone, I can definitely tell you that I never had this feeling when we were on the Mariner of the Seas but this ship I am really going to be sad to leave. I admit we really enjoyed the Suite Life on NCL and the Aqua Class on the Solstice and dining in Blu was pretty amazing but like the old saying.......There is no place like Home, well.......There is No Place like HAL. My worries if it had changed or would I look at it differently after trying the other cruise lines did not effect at all how we feel about Holland America.

(the vibration and sound has now gone away so hopefully all is ok)

Signing off from the Beautiful and Elegant MS Nieuw Amsterdam on our way to Half Moon Cay.

[innlady1]

So glad you're having a grand time, Lisa...I'm enjoying going along for the ride! :)

[OVgirl]

Lisa, thanks so much for taking the time to fill us in on your adventure on Nieuw Amsterdam. I see that you are enjoying her as much as we did this past February. Love being there again through your live report. So sad that you will be leaving her soon. Enjoy the last few days.

[maxie99]

speaking of late people--2 weeks ago , on N.A.,, in st. m. the ramp was being pulled up, at 3 pm and someone yelled :look, he's not going to make it" and shure enough, a gentleman, with a hat and 2 big bags, was just a huffing and puffing as fast as he could,he got to the door, and from his body language, he was pleeding with his life to be let on,,(i think they wanted to teach him a lesson) but after 2,3 min the ramp was rolled out,, and everybody cheered, and the band played on as we left st. maarten

[Himself]

Lisa:
The worst part of the cruise comes Sunday when they call your tag color and number. That is when you have to leave the Nieuw Amsterdam. If they would leave this ship in the Caribbean all summer I think I might become a stranger to Alaska. This and the Amsterdam are my two favorite and the Eurodam is not far behind.

[SakeDad]

Hoping the Capt tells you what that noise was:confused: Who is the CD? Glad you're having a fab time! The weather will be better in Vegas next week. Oh, my favorite part of San Juan was the FOOD!:D

[Himself]

My favorite thing with San Juan is sailing away from the place.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Thursday Evening March 24, 2011

Good Evening from the Beautiful MS Nieuw Amsterdam.

You know I have to say that I am really impressed with the meals in the Main Dining Room, tonight was another fantastic night. I had a Rib Eye in the dining room this evening that was so tender and with the garlic butter on it was so tasty. While I am seldom a Beef eater and often have seafood most nights I really enjoy the entree as well as this Pumpkin Squash soup that was sooooooooo good. and a Seafood Cirveche. (I may have spelled that wrong?)

After dinner we headed up to the VIP Party, with Brad, Nick, Sher, Tom and I. Very nice affair and the Captain soon joined us because he and I had some catching up to do. Then we spoke about a mutual friend who's birthday is tomorrow which is the same day as Tom's my 34th Wedding Anniversary. So we toasted to our friend's birthday. Lots of birthdays because Captain Mercer's wife's friend who was also on board also has a birthday tomorrow. This is actually the first time that we sailed on our actual anniversary. Our very first cruise was a week earlier in 2002, then the year we did our renewal of vows that Captain Mercer performed also was a week earlier 4 years ago. In those years the career position I held kept me from ever being gone from work the very last week of the month. Thankfully I no longer have that problem so we can actually cruise on the correct day;). We will also celebrate Tom's birthday the last night but his actual birthday is the day we disembark. Wish I could surprise him with another week on board but we both have to get back to work. Fortunately the wait will then be less than 8 weeks till we board the Westerdam.

BTW, Tom really likes the soda card and we think it works out great, Tom is one that likes his cokes in the evening and sips on colas thru the night when he wakes up. We have also been enjoying the drink cards.

Well tomorrow is the Mariner Lunch and Tom and I were invited to the Pre reception before the lunch. We have decided that Tom will put our medallions in his pocket and if we see others with their medallions on we will quick put ours on. :D

Not sure what Kathy and Bob did this evening after dinner, Colleen, Sher, Brad and Nick headed to the late show and Tom and I just came back to the cabin. I want to do some more reading and I just enjoy relaxing in our cabin.

I stopped writing for a bit and Tom and I spent some time out on the balcony. It is such a beautiful night, hardly any clouds or wind and the stars are shining bright. Plus it has that nice Caribbean warmth. This is one of the many things I love about cruising, I just wish the flight from Florida was not so darn far from Las Vegas.

Oh yes Captain Mercer told us that the weather for Half Moon Cay should be perfect and even joked that we should renew our vows again there except barefoot :D

Well guess I will sign off for the night.

Signing off from the Beautiful and Elegant MS Nieuw Amsterdam

[Candy]

Well tomorrow is the Mariner Lunch and Tom and I were invited to the Pre reception before the lunch. We have decided that Tom will put our medallions in his pocket and if we see others with their medallions on we will quick put ours on. :D

Lisa - WEAR THE MEDALLION! I wear it to every Mariner event. If everyone waits to see if someone else wears one, no one will!

[cruisinjudy]

We wear ours!

[jtl513]

... some reason my mouse to my net book does not want to work ...If it's a wireless mouse, try replacing or recharging the batteries. For either wired or wireless, check that there's nothing obstructing the light or detector, and try using different pad surfaces than you've been using. :)

[midgecruiser]

"BTW, Tom really likes the soda card and we think it works out great, Tom is one that likes his cokes in the evening and sips on colas thru the night when he wakes up. We have also been enjoying the drink cards."

Yikes, really bad for the teeth. Make sure Tom is using an extra Fluoride to counter this....that way he can enjoy without having to worry about decay :). Sorry, hard to take the Hygienist out of me:o. Sound like you two are having a great cruise. Thanks for taking the time to post and take us along. Hope to cruise the Nieuw Amsterdam next Spring.

Wendy

[Modern_Viking]

Thursday March 24th, 2011


OK as I am writing this we are deck 4 aft and the strangest noise started up with the really bad vibration and it appears we have slowed down some and it has last over 10 minutes now so not quite so sure what that is all about.
...

(the vibration and sound has now gone away so hopefully all is ok)



I wonder if the Signature class ships have the same aft end, under water, bubble blowing gizmo that the Vista class ships have to deaden the intense aft-end vibrations that would otherwise be created when the ships are underway. If so, perhaps the one on the NA shut down (or was turned off) for a few minutes for whatever reason and that is what you noticed.

[Modern_Viking]

Thursday March 24th, 2011


Just where has this week gone, I can definitely tell you that I never had this feeling when we were on the Mariner of the Seas but this ship I am really going to be sad to leave. I admit we really enjoyed the Suite Life on NCL and the Aqua Class on the Solstice and dining in Blu was pretty amazing but like the old saying.......There is no place like Home, well.......There is No Place like HAL. My worries if it had changed or would I look at it differently after trying the other cruise lines did not effect at all how we feel about Holland America.


It is always good to hear people say they have found a home where they are reliably happy! :)

[kazu]

go ahead and wear that medallion Lisa - so glad you are having a good time. Enjoy every minute - cruises end too quickly ;)

[Himself]

Lisa:

Thank you for another nice report. Makes me feel like I am back on the NA. By the way have you met "Dutch By Association?"

[Vic The Parrot]

Vic:
You have to sail on this ship. No review can do it justice. It is that good a ship!



Thanks for the input, Father H! :)


I intend on sailing her some day, hopefully in late 2012.

[ShenValleyGal]

Lisa, I've so enjoyed your thread. We were in 4160 just 2 weeks ago and had the best time! If Donny and Denny are still the room stewards, tell them hello from Rachel and Tom!

Have you seen any whales? We saw one soon after leaving Grand Turk, but none that I noticed or heard of the rest of the way.

Rachel

[ironin]

go ahead and wear that medallion Lisa - so glad you are having a good time. Enjoy every minute - cruises end too quickly ;)

I sure hope you did wear the medallion! You earned it. You like wearing it. Whether others do or don't doesn't matter.

Thanks for taking time to keep us updated on your cruise and thoughts.:cool: Nice to know that, in some special cases, one can "go home again" after all.;)

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Friday March 25, 2011

Good Afternoon from the Beautiful MS Nieuw Amsterdam on a perfect sea day.

Today has been a busy day already, we got up around 8 and managed to go up to the Lido at about 9 this morning. I had a light breakfast of just a bit of fruit, a glass of grapefruit juice and this Poppyseed Sweet Roll I found yesterday that is now a new favorite food item. Knowing that there would be several opportunites for eating today. About quarter to 11 Sher, Tom and I headed down to the Queen's Lounge where the 100 plus day Mariner's were invited to first see the short film put together by Fincantari of the building of the Nieuw Amsterdam. Then there was a presentation of 100 day Copper Medallions. Interesting that there was 20 people presented with the Copper Medallions. Some had 102 days and a few had 120 or right around that which I found odd that since this was only a 7 day cruise would they not have receivd a medallion prior but I guess if they were on a ship that no longer gave out the Copper Medallions. They also recognized several with over 500, then a few with over 700 and one little cute couple with almost 1100 days. It was rather funny but many waited till they went into the Queen's Lounge to put on their Medallions. It was a nice little gathering, although interesting not nearly has full in the Queen's Lounge as we expereinced on the Eurodam both times for the same gathering. Then we were all directed to head to the Manhattan Dining Room Well of course there was already a long line of a crowd to get in with not just the Mariners that were in the Pre Party but those going into the diningroom. We walked in and once again greeted the Captain and Hotel Manager and I whispered to Captain Mercer that Sher and I were going in to get out tile and then ducking out because we managed to snag reservations for Dim Sum in the Tamarind. I walked in because Tom stayed although we were directed to sit in the Upper level toward the back of the dining room with the other medallion holders Tom was going to sit with Kathy and Bob and Colleen. So the Dining Room Manager gave Sher and I our tiles and we saw the others at a table near a window. Sher and I then snuck out. Of course Jonathan the Culinary Manager asked me where we were going and I told him Dum Sum in the Tamarind and he just smiled. Brad and Nick were waiting for us in the Silk Den and we headed over to the Tamarind. I was the only one of the four of us that had done Dim Sum before in the Tamarind. I got the chance to enjoy it in December 2008 with Guest Relations Manager Amber Coomer since Tom is not big on Asian food like I am.

Lunch was fantastic and we finished off the bottle of Sake that we had left over from Sunday night but I have to admit, I drank most of it both times. Three of us had the Green Tea Tirimisu (not sure I spelled that right) which was very good and Nick had the Sorbet.

Afterwards we headed back to the cabin, we sat outside on the balcony for a while reading but my eyelids were getting so heavy and I could actually hear the bed calling my name. I am now up from my nap and will need to get ready for formal night very soon. I invited everyone to our cabin first for a glass of champagne but I see we only have two glasses so will need to track some down and or call everyone to bring some from their cabin.

So that I can get this update posted I will signed off from the beautiful MS Nieuw Amsterdam.

P.S. will try to answer a few quick questions, Nathan the C.D. is Gene Young,

As you read above we did wear our medallions briefly.

Rachel, yes we do have Donny and Denny as our cabins stewards and I will definitely give our regards:)

Himself, no I have not but then with traveling as a small group we did not really do any type of CC Get Together so did not have the opportunity.

Many thanks to all of you following along, the only bad part is that this cruise is flying by way too fast. My fear that things would change was of course very wrong it was as if it had only been a few months since out last HAL cruise rather than almost 2 years. I guess once a HAL Girl always a HAL girl:D Now I am just hoping that those 8 weeks till we cruise again fly by as quickly as this week did.

Time to get ready for the last Formal night and a little celebrating of 34 years of marriage, luckily that guy I have been with all those years also loves cruising as much as I do ;)

[hulamoon]

Happy Anniversary Lisa and Tom!!

Sharie

[Candy]

http://beyondandback.files.wordpress.com/2007/07/happy-anniversary.gif?w=500

[mamaofami]

happy happy anniversary,

lisa and tom:):):)

[SakeDad]

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!!!!! (and I'll have a little news when you get home! ;) )

[Himself]

Lisa and Tom:
Have a very happy anniiversary!

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Saturday March 26, 2011

Good Morning from Half Moon Cay Bahamas.

It looks to be a perfect day for being at Half Moon Cay but so bitter sweet because it is the last day of our cruise. Weeks on board HAL truly go quicker than any other cruise.

Last night was a very nice evening for celebrating our Anniversary and the last Formal Night, It was a good thing we were in open dining because we were there quite a long time. We all met at our cabin and had champagne, then headed to the Dining Room. We were really impressed with dinner last night. Tom loves his lobsters and was very impressed by the size and the taste. I had a Pasta dish with crab but had them add on a lobster tail. Then for dessert they brought out this amazing large lemon creme cake for our anniversary. The ironic part was for our wedding, we had a lemon creme cake as well. Of course they sang to us in Indonesian. So it was a really great way to spend our special day with friends.

They have just started the tendering process here at HMC although since we have the Orange cabana we will be escorted over so I guess I need to get ready for the day ashore.

Signing off from the Beautiful MS Nieuw Amsterdam at Half Moon Cay.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Thanks so much for the Anniversary wishes :)

BTW tonight we will be dining in Pinnacle and hoping to prove my theory wrong............ I will explain that later tonight after we have dined in Pinnacle ;)

I have to say that we loved the Eurodam but we really love the Nieuw Amsterdam, she really is a stunningly beautiful ship with a great crew. After sailing many different cruise lines the past 2 years. This ship truly shines as the best. I ha raved about how wonderful the food was on Celebrity and dining in Blu but the food here all week has been equally as good plus the great crew, better amenities and a very warm welcoming ship decor.

It is so good to be home :)

[IRL_Joanie]

I love that you love OUR ship. I say OUR because everyone loves her and raves about her. Ain't she just the best?!!!!

I've been reading every single post you make and cannot wait for your final overall review.

You all have a safe and happy return home to Vegas:)

Would you like me to send the snap shots I took of your Sail Away?

HAPPY Belated ANNIVERSARY!!

Joanie

[kazu]

Thanks Lisa for your update. Your special dessert sounds very nice. enjoy HMC & happy anniversary:)

[fcorey]

Lisa, the weeks do fly by, wanted to wish you and Tom happy anniversary. Sounds like everyone had a good time, enjoy the rest of the trip, i'll look forward to your pictures when you get home

[Himself]

Lisa:
Have a great day on HMC. I sailed the Eurodam last fall and loved the ship. I did the NA because my first HAL experience was on the 1983 version of the NA which I sailed in November of '96. So I tried this ship for that reason and I too fell in love with this ship. I think many of us who have sailed on her refer to it as "our ship."

[sevenseasnomad]

Thanks for all the wonderful reports from Nieuw Amsterdam. Your glowing recommendations have "sold" us to go ahead & book a cabin on this lovely ship for next summer.

Hope your trip back to Las Vegas goes without a hitch.

[luvtwotrvl]

Happy Anniversary to Lisa and Tom!!!!!!!!



David

[ger_77]

Happy Anniversary Lisa & Tom! I'm thoroughly enjoying your "Live From" - thank you for taking us along with you. Enjoy Half Moon Cay!

Smooth Sailing! :):):)

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Hi just quick note I am writing live and did not compose off line first. We had an amazing day at Half Moon Cay, perfect weather, although I thought the water was a bit cooler than I like for swimming but still absolutely perfect. I actually liked captain Morgan's Bar and did not think it took anything away from the beauty of Half Moon Cay. I made comment to Tom that I barely heard the music but I did hear was nice with some distant Caribbean music and Tom said What Music, he coul not hear it at all and we were at the Orange Cabana.

Tonight is Pinnacle with one final celebration and that is Tom's Birthday which is actually tomorrow morning.

I will do a final report later tonight.

Signing off from the Beautiful MS Nieuw Amsterdam
and very much dreading tomorrow morning :(

[Chivalrygirl]

Well my best American friend, today, the 27th March is my 46th wedding anniversary. We share so many close dates together..........birthdays and wedding annis.
Glad you guys had a really nice anniversary, how I would enjoy a Caribbean sit on a beach to celebrate our special day. Its raining here in Auckland, although still hot and sticky. So just stay home and look at the distant sea for us as we count down to our cruise on the Pacific Pearl.

All the best for the rest of your cruise and safe journey home for all your party and special love to my other special American friend Sher :p

[OVgirl]

As your cruise comes to an end (sorry, did I say that out loud?),just want to thank you for taking the time to include us on your return to the fold.
I think those of us who have sailed NA are not at all surprised that you have fallen in love all over again. She is a beautiful and elegant ship!
Have a safe and uneventful trip home after disembarking the Nieuw Amsterdam tomorrow.
Thanks again.

[Chelly]

Lisa, Thanks for your enjoyable "Live From" and all that you do for us on CC.
Chelly

[Himself]

Lisa:
I understand why you will dread the morning. I also dreaded it. I was told my disembarkation would be between 9 and 9:15. At 8:55 my color and number was called. I was high up and I walked down the forward staircase trying to prolong my stay. It did not work and I was off the ship and in the terminal by 9:00 AM.

Have a safe trip home and I am so glad to have you back and to know you also loved the m.s. Nieuw Amsterdam. I cannot wait to sail on this ship again.
Himself

[SakeDad]

I'm watching her as she comes back into berth :( and will capture the pics for Lisa to leave on her desk at work tomorrow.

[innlady1]

Nathan...what a nice thing for you to do for Lisa! I'm sure she'll love it!

Safe travels home, Lisa...and just think...you'll be back on board a HAL ship in 8 weeks. :cool:

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Saturday March 26, 2011

Good Evening from the MS Nieuw Amsterdam as she makes her way back to Ft. Lauderdale.

It is truly a sad evening, we are packed or at least that luggage that went outside our stateroom. I have to say that it has been a very long time since I felt this very sad feeling about leaving the ship. It was such a dreadful feeling to have to pack. Of course we did our traditional watching of the Disembarkation Talk on the television and crying just a bit while they sang "Love in Any Language" while we packed. The only thing that is a light out there is the fact that 8 weeks from right now will be our first night on the Westerdam to Alaska. Luckily that is not that far away.
Tonight we dined in the Pinnacle and it was one of the better Pinnacles except I have to say that I still really miss the old menu, although I know this has been around for well over two years. Tom and I both had the Rib Eye and it was very good. They also brought out a cake tonight for Tom's birthday. Interestingly they are not allowed to sing in the Pinnacle, so we all sang to Tom :)

Tomorrow morning we all plan to go to the Main Dining Room for breakfast, all of our flights are well after 12 with the exception of Brad and Nick who are staying on for another week.

Today we were discussing when we can all cruise together again and are thinking of trying to do a Western Caribbean cruise next Spring that will include Roatan. We already have a cruise booked for the Med in November 2012 that will be with Brad and Nick.

I want to thank everyone of you for following along on our return to Holland America.

To Val in New Zealand, yes we have many things in commen including our birthdays that are close to each other :) Wishing you a very Happy Anniversary as well!!! One of these days my friends we will have to cruise together.

I will probably get more of my thoughts together this next week and will add more to the thread but for now I just want to say that this really has been a great Home Coming. For several years Tom and I had been cruising HAL at least 4 cruises a year and it had now been since the first week in June 2009 so almost 2 years with 5 other cruises in that time that were not HAL. This has felt so very good to come back home to HAL. I know some of you may never relate and some will but we tend to be those kind of people that like familiar surroundings that are comfortable and enjoy having crew members remember us. This was our 23rd cruise with Holland America and it definitely was one of the best and the best part it was as if it had only been a few months since our last cruise with HAL. I think this cruise pretty much solidified the fact that we truly are HAL cruisers. Although we could be persuaded to cruise a few times in a Suite on NCL ;)

OK a first just happened, we are all packed like I mentioned and Tom packed the dress pants he was wearing this evening. He just decided that he wanted to go up to the Lido for a late night snack and grab another cola and he discovers he left his room key card and his soda card in his pants pocket and YES I had already heard them come by and pick up the luggage. So he just headed down to the front desk.

OK signing off this last time from the Beautiful MS Nieuw Amsterdam.

Although it may not get posted till Sunday morning. I had logged in and was reading CC when suddenly we lost internet and it has now been down 20 minutes so all I was able to do is read a few posts.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Hi, we are at FLL. Disembarkation was extremely easy, as well as no lines here at the airport. In all honesty it is not really that bad even with all the ships here in FLL and the Allure.

We enjoyed breakfast in the Main Dining Room this morning and was off the ship about 9:30. We did not feel rushed.

I want to thank everyone at Holland America and all the Officers and Crew of the Nieuw Amsterdam, there are so many people I want to thank for making this a very special homecoming back to HAL. I will of course send indivual emails to several.

Nathan, thanks is there a hidden message in your post ;)

Well I am going to sign off because it is hard to type andhold my net book and mouse on my lap :D

Signing off but very sadly not on the beautiful MS Nieuw Amsterdam:(

[kazu]

Safe travels to you Lisa & Tom as you leave your home away from home and head home.:D Looking forward to any added comments you might choose to share later:)

[innlady1]

Thanks for taking us along on the Nieuw Amsterdam, Lisa. I guess Fred and I are going to have to try her one of these days! ;)

[NorthPhoenixGuy]

lisa...i'm so happy this homecoming turned out to be so wonderful and happy for you and tom and the whole group. i've felt like i've been right there with you because your posts are so detailed and your honest feelings come right through in your writing.

thank you for sharing your cruise with all of us. have a safe trip home.

cheers

[Himself]

Lisa:
Thanks for your faithful posts on this cruise. It brought back many memories of my days on the NA in February. I also felt very sad in leaving the NA and I hope to return to her next year.

All the Best
HIMSELF

[Ine]

As always we loved you reports Lisa. We again had some Internetpoblems, so I started to read (again) today.
Sounds like you had another great cruise with great people.
Better late than never....Happy anniversary to you and Tom and to Tom a happy birthday.

[Two@Sea]

Thank you, Lisa, for sharing your cruise with us. I am so glad you had such a wonderful time!

Since I am obviously a bit late for this year, may I be one of the first to wish you a Happy Anniversary for next year? :D

[aliaschief]

Tom & Lisa, Thank you for taking us along on your cruise. It was like days ago having you back at the helm. Hurry back. Bruce

[mamaofami]

Safe home.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Greetings from Las Vegas and sadly not on the Nieuw Amsterdam. We are home and totally unpacked with the exception of my cosmetic case. I normally like to wash at least one load of clothes as soon as I get home but we went out to dinner and by the time we unpacked it was just too late. Grocery shopping and laundry will have to be fit in after work this week.

Our animals are all thrilled we are home, while I missed them I would rather still be on the ship :D

Many thanks to all of you for following along. And many thanks to all my friends on the ship. Our home coming back to HAL was amazing. :)

[erewhon]

Lisa,
Belated Congratulations to you and Tom, on your 34th Wedding Anniversary.
Thank you for taking time to do the "live" review of your cruise.

[kazu]

Greetings from Las Vegas and sadly not on the Nieuw Amsterdam. We are home and totally unpacked with the exception of my cosmetic case. I normally like to wash at least one load of clothes as soon as I get home but we went out to dinner and by the time we unpacked it was just too late. Grocery shopping and laundry will have to be fit in after work this week.

Our animals are all thrilled we are home, while I missed them I would rather still be on the ship :D

Many thanks to all of you for following along. And many thanks to all my friends on the ship. Our home coming back to HAL was amazing. :)

thanks for letting cruise vicariously through you Lisa :)

[localady]

What great fun to read all about the cruise today. Arrived home early this morning after a couple of delays from Phoenix and Ontario. Had a great time traveling with Lisa and Tom and the entire group !!:D

I too found the ship to be amazing. I so enjoyed the art around the ship and especially the old photography in the cabin corridors. I absolutely loved the Tamarind, with a special shout out to the fabulous staff. Nothing like being greeted by name 6 days after you had a meal there,
so welcoming.

Our room stewards, Donny and Denny were just amazing, they noticed one day I had used a sweater throw as a napping blanket and that night I arrived back to find a HAL steamer blanket folded on the end of my bed....:D

Another huge shout out to the shore ops folks at HAL also. I had the horror of all cruisers happened, my passport went missing between the airport and pier only discovered as I reached for it to present it for boarding...... :eek: Here is a great reason to use the pre-boarding system to submit your passport information early if you need one! ;) After further documentation was faxed from home so I could get back into the country at the end of the cruise, I was allowed to embark. :D

That was an excruciating couple of hours for me as they got it all sorted. I really feared my bags would be pulled and I would be trying to arrange a flight back home early. The shore staff was amazingly kind to not tell me what a total imbecile I was to not have back up somewhere. Here is a tip I was offered during that time, take a photo of your passport with your cell phone and store it there. (And yes, I know I should have had a back up and been more prepared, if it was a European or more exotic cruise I would have been. I was probably a bit less mindful as it was just a 7 day out of Ft. Lauderdale. That will NOT happen ever again!:rolleyes:)

I am really missing room service at this very minute........

[Chivalrygirl]

Welcome home Sher. Sorry to hear about the passport misx up! Did you find it?
We needed our passports to fly from DC to New Orleans, fortunately my son thought about it and ran all the way home from the metro to get them. I had read we needed photographic evidence and presumed our NZ drivers licences would be enuf!

Anyways I for one have missed your company on FB. Nice to have you around again and really happy you had such a great cruise. You lucky ones ;)
Love Val

[Ine]

What great fun to read all about the cruise today. Arrived home early this morning after a couple of delays from Phoenix and Ontario. Had a great time traveling with Lisa and Tom and the entire group !!:D

I too found the ship to be amazing. I so enjoyed the art around the ship and especially the old photography in the cabin corridors. I absolutely loved the Tamarind, with a special shout out to the fabulous staff. Nothing like being greeted by name 6 days after you had a meal there,
so welcoming.

Our room stewards, Donny and Denny were just amazing, they noticed one day I had used a sweater throw as a napping blanket and that night I arrived back to find a HAL steamer blanket folded on the end of my bed....:D

Another huge shout out to the shore ops folks at HAL also. I had the horror of all cruisers happened, my passport went missing between the airport and pier only discovered as I reached for it to present it for boarding...... :eek: Here is a great reason to use the pre-boarding system to submit your passport information early if you need one! ;) After further documentation was faxed from home so I could get back into the country at the end of the cruise, I was allowed to embark. :D

That was an excruciating couple of hours for me as they got it all sorted. I really feared my bags would be pulled and I would be trying to arrange a flight back home early. The shore staff was amazingly kind to not tell me what a total imbecile I was to not have back up somewhere. Here is a tip I was offered during that time, take a photo of your passport with your cell phone and store it there. (And yes, I know I should have had a back up and been more prepared, if it was a European or more exotic cruise I would have been. I was probably a bit less mindful as it was just a 7 day out of Ft. Lauderdale. That will NOT happen ever again!:rolleyes:)

I am really missing room service at this very minute........

Also to you...welcome home Sher.

[mamaofami]

Sher, I'm so sorry that happened to you, but really want to thank you for the suggestion to take a photo of the passports. I just went to do that and my passports are not where they're supposed to be. Now, at least I have time to try to locate them before my next need for them.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Sher, I am so glad you came in and told of what happened to you.

As you can tell I left a little bit out in the beginning. :o Six of us had rode over in the hotel shuttle that morning and it was not till we were at check in that Sher discovered her passport was missing. Five of us went ahead and checked in but we kept texting with Sher for updates. When she finally got on board and joined us in the Manhatten Dining Room we gave her a big applause and I have her a great big hug. We were so fearing that Sher would not be able to join us. I cannot tell you how thrilled I too was with HAL's Shorex staff in helping her thru this. We had a lot to celebrate that first night :D

[DAllenTCY]

Was it a copy of her passport (mostly useless) or a copy of her birth certificate that finally got her the "green light" to board? I'm unaware that a saved image on your cell phone is sufficient evidence of citizenship. One would think that an issued US passport would trump a faxed copy of a birth certificate; however, that has not been my experience in denied boarding situations.
David

[boaterette]

I enjoyed reading your review very much. Thank you for posting.

[Himself]

Well over 16,000 people have checked out this thread of yours. I am still recovering from the Nieuw Amsterdam and I sailed her over a month ago. I returned here one month ago today.

[localady]

Was it a copy of her passport (mostly useless) or a copy of her birth certificate that finally got her the "green light" to board? I'm unaware that a saved image on your cell phone is sufficient evidence of citizenship. One would think that an issued US passport would trump a faxed copy of a birth certificate; however, that has not been my experience in denied boarding situations.
David


David- The copy of a passport is clearly not acceptable for entering the US, but at least a copy would give you a passport number and your date of issue etc. A copy of a birth certificate was accepted for my re-entry.

My passport information had been submitted long before to HAL. I believe it was more the case of making sure I boarded with documentation that would allow me to return to the US (although becoming a refugee on the Nieuw Amsterdam might not be too bad......;) :D).

[ugminer]

ok Sher, now tell the truth, was the refugee at the back of your mind all along? LOL So have you found your passport and did you take any more of those awesome snorkling pictures? And one day we will snorkle the carribean together, just couldn't pull it off this time. Welcome home

[hulamoon]

Thanks Sher and Lisa for getting us excited about cruising again...

[DAllenTCY]

The point that I would like to make is that a photo (saved image) or photocopy (even in color) is not suitable for embarkation. CBP does not have the time or manpower to check the passport number, and as far as shoreside staff, unless you have your passport or certified duplicate of your birth certificate, you don't get to board. It does not make any difference if you have given your passport number online. Lisa explained the situation to me, but you were very, very lucky.
David

[IrishColleen53]

Just wanted to pop in and thank Sher for being such a nice roommate. It was fun meeting Kathy and Bob, hanging out with Brad and Nick and bring with Tom and Lisa again. Lisa has been my friend for 41 years and I introduce Tom and Lisa. My personal favorites were Half Moon Cay, the Key Lime pie, the lemon cake, mango dacquaris, a drink called the Silk Den, pasta and the singing group Cantarre. 2 things I had to get used to were the strong iced tea in the Manhattan dining room and having to put a card in the slot to keep our stateroom lights on. I had a great time!

[Himself]

Did the Irish Colleen ever lay eyes on the Emerald Isle?

[IrishColleen53]

Did the Irish Colleen ever lay eyes on the Emerald Isle?


Not yet!