Hi, we are now on the Volendam!

[ekerr19]

Just wanted to check and and say "hi" from the Volendam! We are onboard and having a great time so far. The weather is grand and we have been enjoying relaxing in the Suite - we are so glad we upgraded, it is fantastic!

Met fellow cc'er jon at embarkation - not seen doone yet. We had a nightmare embarkation as the port authority oversold the berth space - the Volendam ended up in the commercial port - accessible only by bus, so we all ended up being shuttled from pier 27 to the commerical port. There were more than a few unhappy campers. Nothing to be though - not HAL's fault and we made the best of it.

Had the first formal night last night - had the pleasure of an Officer hosted table which we really enjoyed.

We have been spent most of our time on the Verandah and in the cabin - just relaxing.

Will report in again later - let me know if you have any questions - I will try my best to answer them!

[sail7seas]

So good to hear from you.

REALLY happy you are safely aboard and hope you and DH are fully recovered. No place better IMO to recover than aboard any 'dam' ship, especially in a wonderful suite with a beautiful veranda.

Thank you for spending precious vacation minutes thinking about us landlubbers. :)

Hope you continue to enjoy.

[dakrewser]

THanks for thinking of us, Laura - now go back out on the Verandah and think about ordering lunch!

:) -dave

[ekerr19]

We had a huge breakfast on the Verandah - so it will be awhile before lunch - though DH is probably ready fro me to sign off now -

Talk to you later! Keep me updated on all that's going on! I am having CC withdrawal and not enough time to read all the posts!

[SHayesShip]

What a wonderful tease. Will be boarding 4/9/05 and can't wait!
Steve Hayes

[JoanneF]

It is a tease. We will be on Volendam starting 6/29. Alaska.:)
Since it will be our first cruise ever, I'll be looking for your updates when you can post, Laura.
Joanne

[Cruising Jake]

Your post makes me feel warmer already. It is snowy here in MI.

[Krazy Kruizers]

ekerr19

Glad to hear that you made on board.

It was a nightmare for those of us getting off the ship on Sunday. There were 9 ships in Ft Lauderdale on Sunday and as usual HAL ships get the worse deal. When I write up my review I will tell everyone about the mess. There were a lot of unhappy people and a lot will be letting HAL know what they think.

What dining time do you have?

Which captain do you have? Visser? or Van der Zee?

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Laura, glad you are on board even thoguh it was hectic to get on. Hopefully the time slows down better than ours did. It went by way too fast. Have a great cruise.

[bepsf]

Happy Travels, Laura!!!

[ekerr19]

Hi all! We are in St. Thomas today - still waiting for those stragglers to make it to immigration - go figure. The port will be full, we are tendering, so not sure yet if we will venture ashore.

Yes, disembarkation & embarkation were a zoo on Sunday! Can't wait to read KK's take on it as well. We were fortunate to get one of the early shuttles to the ship and were aboard by about 2:00 or so.

We have Captain Visser - who was with us also on the final voyage of the Noordam in Novemebr - so a nice surprise. Also ran into the Maitre D' from the final voyage, who just arrived the cruise before ours.

We had upper level Main, but switched after the first night (more on that later!) and now are lower level Main at 8:30 with wonderful tablemates.

So far very nice and relaxing - we have not been doing much at all this cruise other than trying to rest up and get well. Have met some wonderful folks so far - but also some very unhappy campers.

Well, I am off - DH & I are thinking of heading into town early to do a bit of shopping, then up to the Aft pool for some sunshine. The weather is fantatsic and we plan to take advantage of it!

More later... :)

[Burnsey]

Glad you are having a great time........What kind of shape is the ship in? We were on the Rotterdam in Feb. and our carpet in the suite was torn and the veranda table was broken. The ship definately needed to be drydocked . Is the Volderdam looking O.K.? Thanks and continue good weather!!!

[dakrewser]

So far very nice and relaxing

And I hope it stays that way, so you can recuperate...

[lindleyjulie]

Hi Laura, is it still BBQ night in St Thomas? Hope you enjoy, I loved the night under the stars and the lights from St Thomas very romantic!!!!!!:D Now dont you get carried away:eek:

[ekerr19]

Actually, the ship is in good shape considering her age - shows more wear & tear then we would expect -but that's ok ---- so far......

[HeatherInFlorida]

Hi, Laura!!! I didn't even see your thread because I haven't even had time to look at the main boards. I'm up to my ears in this group cruise thing (as you can imagine) so I've had little time for any other threads.

So good to hear from you!!! Hopefully the warm sun is soothing all your ailments. It's very hot now in Florida and will remain so through Easter Weekend with my family coming.

These weeks around Easter and Spring Break are a nightmare everywhere so I'm sure that explains your problems in Port Everglades. Doesn't surprise me.

Keep relaxing and having a wonderful time. I can't wait to see all your smiling faces next Wednesday (1 week from today). I know you'll have tons of stories to tell and I'm ready to hear them.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Laura, Hope you are having a great time. I also hope you are both starting to feel a lot better. How neat that Captian Visser is the Captian. This past cruise we started running into crew we have sailed with previous. This was a first for us and made it fun.

Enjoy the rest of your cruise.

[Aussie Gal]

Laura,

Hope you are enjoying your well earned rest and "feeling top of the world". How nice that you have Captain Vissar. He was our Captain when we were on the Noordam in 2003 and he was a very capable Master.

Enjoy the sunshine and have a wonderful time. I will be interested to hear about you switching times and tables in the dining room when you get a chance.

Jennie

[Himself]

Laura

I hope it is warm where you are. Here in Beautiful Joliet Illinois it was in the high thirties but with the wind it felt like the high twenties.

Himself

[Ziggy7]

Hi Laura !!! Good to hear from you, hope you are feeling much better now :) Do me a favor, find that doone person so we know he's real hehehehe he has been very elusive (sp) on his last cruise I heard :)

[HeatherInFlorida]

Isn't Doone a female? :confused: ... how do I always get this stuff mixed up? Laura, tell us!!!:D

[ekerr19]

Yes, my understanding is that doone is female - though we have yet to meet up.

We are off to tour Dominica - though not sure how much we'll see as it is Good Friday.

Having a blast so far - the Volendam is showing some wear in places, especially the carpet - also in our Suite the outdoor furniture sure could use some attention. They are doing our Verandah cleaning today. Tonight are cocktails with the Captain and Hotel Mgr. We ate in the Pinnacle the other night and it was pretty good - going again on Saturday for the Sommelier's dinner, which is actually offered each day.

Well, signing off - Heather, hang in there! See you on Wednesday. If you need to email, use the work one, that is the one I have best access to right now.

Bye all!

[HeatherInFlorida]

Laura, if you happen to come back on we haven't forgotten you! Hope you're still having a fabulous time and all is fine here. We miss your smiling face on the boards!!!:D Happy Easter to you and your family.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Laura, Isn't this the cruise you get your 100 day medallion? Tom and I were talking about that tonight.

Hope you and your family have a Happy Easter.

[Ziggy7]

Laura, Isn't this the cruise you get your 100 day medallion?woooohoooo Laura, if it is Congratulations !!!!! Happy Easter !!!

[Renorita]

Laura

Hope your Cruise continues to be wonderful! Looking forward to your full Review! Also looking forward to meeting you on 10/29/06! :)

Rita

[ekerr19]

Still here and having a lovely time - to those who asked, yes - tomorrow I receive my 100 day medallion and looking forward to it! Still have not met up with that elusive doone - but tomorrow I will try and leave her a voice message so we can at least meet and have a cocktail.

Had a wonderful time at the Captain's Suite reception - will fill you all in later - and we also got to meet up with some crew who visited from the Maasdam yesterday while we were in Barbados - a nice treat!

I am still very sick with my cold - seems like it comes and goes, so we have not been as social as we normally are - have eaten 3 times in Pinnacle and I will detail the experiences in my review.

Hope everyone is well - our cruise will be over before we know it! :(

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Laura, Congratulations on getting your 100 day Medallion. That is currently our goal:D Although it may take us several more years. I also hope you start feeling better. Drinks lots of Vitamin C drinks:)

[HeatherInFlorida]

Laura, so glad you're having such a good time, but so sorry you're still sick. When you return I think you'd better get completely checked out because you should not be this sick for this long!

Looking forward to hearing all on Wednesday! Enjoy the rest of your cruise:)