Live from Oosterdam - New Year's cruise 28 DEC 07-05 JAN 08

[Copper10-8]

Thursday 27 DEC 07

We pulled out of the driveway and left the homestead at about 1300 hours (1:00 PM) and, after making stops for gas and the post office, entered the south-bound 405 Freeway AKA the San Diego Freeway to our destination, the City of the Padres. Great opportunity to try out my new GPS navigation system that Santa had surprised me with the day before. So, I punched in the address of the Holiday Inn on the Bay and before I knew it had some sexy female voice (and it wasn’t Maria this time) telling me to “stay left”, “merge right”, “I said ‘turn right’ dummy”, etc, etc, Pretty cool! Took the 74 toll road which makes the drive a tad shorter by-passing Santa Ana and Costa Mesa and thankfully discovered that traffic was pretty light which put big smiles on our faces. We dealt with the usual congestion back on the (now) Interstate 5 Freeway going through Alisa Viejo and, after passing Camp Pendleton, oorah!, in the Oceanside/Carlsbad area. Decided to grab some lunch by pulling off in Del Mar Heights (just past the San Diego County Fairgrounds in Del Mar) and pulled into the parking lot of a Pollo Loco (Spanish for “Crazy Chicken” which is not to be confused with the “Lunatic Chicken” cruise, the escapades of which you can read about elsewhere here on CC) Those of you outside California, you’re missing out big time if you don’t have any Pollo Loco franchises in your area, good stuff!

After finishing lunch (a classic chicken burrito for Maria and a Pollo [chicken] bowl for moi), noticed a Barnes & Noble across the parking lot and decided to spend about 45 minutes to an hour inside browsing around. Back on the 5 Fwy, we soon headed through La Jolla before passing Mission Bay and Sea World, and MCRD San Diego and adjoining Lindbergh Field on the right. We were getting close! The “voice”, I think I will call her Olga, then told me to exit the freeway and take service roads to Harbor Drive and, ultimately, the Holiday Inn on the Bay where we pulled in to the front lobby (well, the driveway in front of same) at around 4:15 PM. There were no cruise ships in town today but, hard to miss across the Bay, both USS Nimitz and USS Ronal Reagan were “parked” at carrier row of North Island Naval Air Station on Coronado Island. The Holiday Inn front desk staff gave us a nice room with a view on the eleventh floor of the south tower overlooking the Bay and right smack across from berth #1 of the San Diego Cruise Terminal, the usual home of ms Oosterdam.

Since we had a somewhat late lunch, we skipped dinner and instead headed to the former San Diego Sports Arena for the winter 2007 version of “Dancing with the Stars, the tour”. We enjoyed an evening of stars and pros dancing the Mambo, Rumba, Tango, Cha Cha, etc. Good stuff! Performing in San Diego tonight were stars Sabrina Ryan, Drew Lachey, Joey Lawrence, Mario Lopez, Monique Coleman and Wayne Newton (he didn’t dance, just sang) and pros Cheryl Burke, Derek Hough, Karina Smirnoff, Dutchman Louis van Amstel, Mark Balas (with one busted wing), Alec Mazo and Brian Fortuna. Great band, great music, great dancing! We got our money’s worth!

[Copper10-8]

Friday 28 DEC 07

Took our time waking up, hey, we’re on vacation! No cruise ships in port today either. Showered and got dressed. One quick little item about the Holiday inn on the Bay. We like the place a bunch; you can’t get a better view of the SD Bay and cruise terminal from the south tower, and Ruth Chris downstairs is one of the best places to eat steak, anywhere! Be prepared however for jet noise starting about 0630 and, due to the close proximity of the single runway of SD’s Lindbergh Field, it can get a tad loud when those jets start their take-off runs. OK then, we headed downstairs to the Elephant & Castle pub and restaurant (located right across the front lobby of the HI) for breakfast. Then got the Expedition out and headed to the Ralph’s Market located in downtown San Diego for some essentials for the cruise including a six-pack of caffeine-free diet coke and a box of nylons for the child bride (she forgot to bring them which, I have discovered a long time ago as part of my ongoing education as a fully domesticated and house-broken happily married male adult, is something of a natural disaster along the like of the 1917 San Francisco earthquake if you happen to belong to the weaker sex, and happen to discover same prior to going on a cruise!). After this piece of damage control slash urban rescue work, we took a quick jaunt over to Old Town Historic State Park to a place called El Centro Artesano where Maria successfully located two giant painted Mexican flower pots for our backyard and I got my hands on something called a “whirly-gig”, basically a wind-driven contraption with a propeller in front that generates free movement of whatever scene the creator wished to portray and has created out of wood. Mine happens to be Uncle Sam milking a cow next to a sign that says “tax collector”. I’m taking this puppy onboard the Oosterdam with me just in case that famous starboard Azipod decides to call it a day/night. After this stop, back to the hotel to stable the steed and then crossed the street towards the waterfront.

Just south of the cruise terminal is located and can be found, a ticket booth as well as one of ten stops of the Old Town Trolley Tour of San Diego. Here’s a hot tip: If you’ve never been to San Diego (or even if you have, but not for a while), this is a great way to get a feel for this great city. In about two hours, since the trolley covers quite a bit of ground, you have the opportunity to get off at any of the ten stops, “do your thing” and then rejoin another trolley later. It even goes to Coronado and the famous Victorian Hotel “Del”, built in 1888, via the SD-Coronado Bay Bridge as well as other stops such as the world famous SD Zoo, the Balboa Park museums, the Gaslamp Quarter, Horton Plaza. We had a 7:30 PM dinner reservation tonight at Mr. and Mrs. Chris’ daughter Ruth’ place (so Ruth Chris). Since it was a Friday night, the place was hopping! We got our table and Maria and I both chose the petite filet mignon (also tried a couple of exotic martini’s which were pretty good). At the conclusion of dinner, we discovered that it had been, and still was, raining in San Diego so we walked the eighty feet or so back to the south tower.

[Copper10-8]

Saturday 29 DEC 07

Embarkation day! Woke up about 0605 only to see Oosterdam cover the last few feet, less than a hundred feet away from us, drop her lines, and be secured at her berth. She looked pretty good! A short time later Carnival Elation pulled in next door. The rain from last night had disappeared leaving some cloud cover. Drove over to a Denny’s (Denny’s, you say???? :eek: – Yep, pretty good breakfast!) on Pacific Hwy for breakfast. At around 1145 we drove into the Cruise Terminal and dropped off our bags with a porter and slipped him a five. We usually park in the Star 5 lot at the corner of Harbor Drive and Broadway but the doorman at the Holiday Inn had made me an offer I couldn’t refuse so back to the HI to park. We then returned to the terminal, made contact with Mrs Laffin who subsequently took a quick shot with the webcam on top of One American Plaza. This was the first time we had been exposed to passengers of both ships in port, Oosterdam and Carnival Elation, being checked in at the same terminal. (The “circus tent” is still there on adjacent berth #2 but was not being used to check-in Elation’s pax). The new process seems to work pretty well. Once inside the terminal, everybody goes through two airport-type metal detectors manned by private security folks. Elation pax then go to the left while Oosterdam’s go to the right. Depending on how many of your fellow passengers have assembled at this point, you are handed the medical questionnaire to fill out, you line up inside stretch-tape-marked corridors, and wait to be called by one of the red coats. The customary check-in process then follows which took less than five minutes. Oh yeah, the upgrade fairy, and not her ugly cousin, Mr. Murphy, made an appearance – life is good!

Several folks here on CC have talked about the new company HAL has contracted with for the onboard photographer staff. They were set-up just before leaving the terminal building and there was a bit of a line forming until several folks noticed and decided to by-pass this line and skip the embarkation photos. In the past, the ship’s photographers seem to make it their one mission in life to have every living passenger have their embarkation pics taken and at times used something resembling “strong-arm” tactics to get this accomplished. These new guys however, seemed content to do their thing with those who wanted to have their pics taken. As is normal on a holiday cruise, we are finding lots of kids onboard ranging in age from babies to teens. Lots of families and lots of groups. Once onboard, per SOP, we were directed to the Lido restaurant until cruise director David Martin made an announcement at 1:25 PM that all rooms were ready. WE did see a waiter we both recognized from a prior cruise. Those who have sailed with this guy will recognize him immediately because he can usually be found making baby sounds as he does his job “Mamma, Mamma”, etc. He just got back onboard last month, only eleven months to go!! Checked out our room and met Widi, our room steward. Found a nice bottle of StoneBarn Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon inside, courtesy of our TA. Oh yes, almost forgot! For Heather; our walls are as clean as a new baby’s bum!

We then made our way down to the Hotel Manager’s office in order to pick up the famous Cruise Critic banner. This will be our first encounter with him, Douglas Hernandez and it, the banner. After a couple of minutes in a holding pattern outside his office, Mr. Hernandez walked up with a phone stuck to his ear, apparently already working a problem and putting out a fire on turnaround day. Who says being a hotel manager on a cruise ship is a cush job? We shook hands and he gave us the banner, neatly folded up in a plastic carrying case. Mr. Hernandez seems like a pleasant, but obviously also a busy man, running a hotel with 1,848 (double occupancy – many more on this cruise, 1,950 we heard) guests. He has an unmistaken Spanish accent being from Costa Rica originally however he has resided in Karlsruhe, Germany for the past several years. We then walked forward to the regular “wave spot” on Deck 5 (Verandah Deck) and found………..nobody. Made contact via cell phone with the supreme allied wave commander at her command post in Las Vegas, Nevada who was her efficient self, getting ready to line-up and coordinate the big event. While on the phone, CCers Ineke and her husband Gary, fellow Dutch immigrants from the Vancouver, BC area, DesertDiva AKA Cheryl, and after the first wave, Newfies with her son walked up. Make a long story short; we had a successful banner wave and subsequent signing of same. When we brought the banner back to Mr. Hernandez’ office, we ran into Hans Dernison and his wife Tricia inside. Mr. Dernison had been our hotel manager on ms Rotterdam and his wife the onboard cruise consultant in September this year on the Black Sea and Egyptian Adventure cruise. They are onboard Oosterdam strictly as passengers, only the third time in his twenty plus years with HAL, Hans Dernison has done so. He’ll be rejoining Rotterdam on 27 JAN 08 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil for a visit to Antarctica, the infamous Drake passage, the west coast of South America and reverse before heading back to Africa and Europe.

4:15 was the mandatory life boat drill. This one lasted about 25 minutes. San Diego is not an easy location to hold the drill due to the abundance of ambient noise from the nearby airport, AMTRAK train station, adjoining vehicle traffic on Harbor Drive, etc. C/D David Martin came on the P/A system at least once “insisting on absolute silence on deck” and our boat commander of boat #14 used a bullhorn to make himself heard better. One “new” thing we noticed (at least we hadn’t seen it before) was a staff member from Club HAL coming by, physically checking on the minors at our boat station and giving their parents some instructions on what the procedures would be in case “the real thing strikes”. Oosterdam let go of her lines and shoved off her berth about fifteen minutes late due to what Captain “van der Hottie”:rolleyes: , (right Meg?), van der Waard had said was the later than expected arrival of some “officials”. He did his normal outstanding job of backing his ship up close to the carriers, turning her around and heading towards Point Loma and the Pacific Ocean. While he was doing this, we completed the rest of our unpacking.

At 7:30 PM we made our way to the Neptune for a reception hosted by the Capt. and H/M. Champagne, wine, and O.J. were served along with bitterballen and other hot hors d’oeuvres. Had a conversation with the art auctioneer, a Canadian lady from the Toronto, Ontario area who had lived and taught in Athens, Greece for three years. Our dinner time was (traditional) 8:00 PM on the upper level of the Vista Dining Room at table #3. Table #3 turned out to be a table for two tucked away immediately around the corner of the entrance and adjacent to one of the service stations. The table has one chair looking at nothing but the rear wall of the room and a bench seat on the other side, looking towards the aft end of the ship. That bench is shared with a table of four to our left. Not a primo table and/or location plus we always ask for a large table beforehand, being the social butterflies that we are. One of the assistant dining room managers, a nice blonde young lady from Den Bosch in the Netherlands by the ultra-Dutch name of Marijn Rensink, was making her rounds by each table so we brought this to her attention and asked her if perhaps something could be done about a potential switch. She suggested talking to another asst. dining room manager known by the spy-novel name of “Mister K”. Told her we would do that and half-expected someone along the likes of Doctor Evil (from Austin Powers fame) along with a hairless Egyptian cat on his lap and his pinky finger in his mouth but more about this anticipated encounter and the result of same tomorrow.

Dinner itself was good and, hey come on now, what’s better than enjoying a good meal, breaking bread while simultaneously looking in the beautiful face of the child bride and making idle conversation with her (I’m thinking brownie points all over the place when/if she reads this;) ). We both had the Mahi Mahi which was quite tasty. Our waiter’s name was Yuli. Followed that up at 9:45 PM at the Vista show lounge with a combination short show by the Oosterdam singers and dancers called “Up Front” and featuring the stand up comedy of Jeff Burghart. We thought the dancers/singers were talented and Jeff was a very funny guy. Think about it, it’s never easy to start out on the first night when most if your audience has had a loooooooong day getting to the ship. His impressions of John Wayne on Chinese TV as well as Jack Nicholson, Christopher Walken and Ozzie Osborne were outstanding. Afterwards, made a trip to both the Northern Lights nightclub and the Ocean Bar for a nightcap. Looks like DJ “Jazzy Jeff” spins the hits in the NL as well as runs bingo. Some of you, I know, have sailed with him before.

Great first day – more to follow manana! :)

[barbon2]

Copper,
What a fantastic review. Felt like I was sailing along with you, wish I was. Keep on posting and have a Happy and Healthy New Year.
Barbara

[LAFFNVEGAS]

John, looks to be a very good start to your review and you New Years Week Cruise. Sounds like everything is going Hunky Dory:D Speaking of have you met the famous Hunky Dory?

The Yum Yum Man group wants yout continue to Warn all the crew of their arrival in now less than 6 weeks;)

[Chivalrygirl]

Hey John, sounds like you are off to a good start, where do you get the time to pay so much attention to such detail, makes for an exciting read.

Keep on having fun.

Val

[Vic The Parrot]

Hey dude!


Great talking to you yesterday. Here's to a great New Years voyage!
Have a few Coronas for me, and my best to Maria.

Happy New Year :)

[KLLund]

Wow .. loving this review .. getting me ready not only for the cruise 2/23 but now I can't wait for dinner at Ruth Chris .. somehow we never seem to get downtown to the one here !!

Waiting almost patiently for the next installment !!

[mamaofami]

John, hope you have a great cruise and a very Happy and Healthy New year to you and Maria.:)

[Grampy]

John, great writing! It really touches me because our daughter and her family live in La Jolla and we live in San Clemente. I followed you down the road in your adventure and I'm glad that you and Maria made it to our favorite spot in San Diego... The Oosterdam.

You should really do some writing and try to publish it. I'm looking forward to what you see next on your travels down the coast.

On your way back, please stop in San Clemente. Drive down Del Mar to the pier and have lunch at the Fisherman's. Who knows, maybe you will move here some day.:)

http://www.fishermansrestaurant.com/contact.asp

Have a great cruise.

[hammybee]

A box of nylons ?

I think prom night (a long-long time ago) was the last time I heard reference to this.

I hope you and child bride can get seated at a large table or at least make friends with the bench warmers.

Looking forward to hearing more from onboard the beautiful Oosterdam.:)

[Copper10-8]

A box of nylons ?

I think prom night (a long-long time ago) was the last time I heard reference to this.

I hope you and child bride can get seated at a large table or at least make friends with the bench warmers.

Looking forward to hearing more from onboard the beautiful Oosterdam.:)

Hey OK,I admit it! I don't know squat about women's socks just that they can look extremely good on a nice pair of legs!;) From what I saw, the ones that Maria bought at Ralphs came in a little square box but for what all I know it could have contained a take-out order of KungPau chicken and eggrolls! Now ask me about a Glock Model 21 or a H&K MP-5!

Thanks Grampy! You live in a very nice city. We were there earlier this year at the Marine Monument overlooking the beach and the very nice historic casa above it for the retirement ceremony and subsequent reception for USMC Colonel Stewart Navarre. An awesome Marine!

Vic,good talking to you too, dude!

Thanks for the nice words, friends! Have a great New Year's Eve tomorrow night and lets be careful out there!

[Chivalrygirl]

Hey John

Some of us are waiting for midnight today and the start of 2008 in just 8 hours and 55 mins from now :p


By the time you start on your wang wangs I will be getting over my hangover.......I wish :D

[sail7seas]

Great of you to share your fun time with us, Copper.
Loving your reports.
Hope you and Maria continue to enjoy to the max!@!!

Happy, Healthy New Year to you both!

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Hey John

Some of us are waiting for midnight today and the start of 2008 in just 8 hours and 55 mins from now :p


By the time you start on your wang wangs I will be getting over my hangover.......I wish :D

Happy New Year Val, since you will be the first to experience 2008 you can tell us how it is ;) :D


And a Very Happy New Year to John and Maria

[temeculagirl]

John,
Thanks for your postings. I'm trying to talk my DH into letting me take the DD's on the Oosterdam for spring break (girls trip w/ DMIL). If you make it up to the kids club areas, can you let us know what kind of activities they were up to when you saw it?

Happy New Year and lets hope its a safe one for everyone!

[Williebill]

John,
Thanks for taking the time to write about your trip. You and Grumpy need to team up on a trip report some day.

Bill

[Chivalrygirl]

Happy New Year Val, since you will be the first to experience 2008 you can tell us how it is


And a Very Happy New Year to John and Maria

OK Lisa, I think after a bottle of Sojans, Sauvaigon Blanc, I may well be on my way to bed. This being and old duck is a real let down. :D

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL MY YANKIE MATES :D
Love and kisses from Valerie in Neiuw Zealand, almost something to do with Holland :D
However I will tell you something real funny about the GPS. My son has one of those, and as we were driving down to Virginia to arrange wedding reception, the GPS sent my DIL in the wrong direction. The Virginian Copper gave a real lecture on GPS not always being right .........BE VERY CAREFUL MR COPPER FROM TORRANCE WITH YOUR GPS, YOU MIGHT WELL BE IN A DIFFERENT STATE :D
Love all the way from New Zealand to all my friends in the USA :)

[off2ctheworld]

Thanks for your live updates!

Happy New year everyone!

[Ine]

As usual..great to read John, Thanks.
I e-mailed you Astrid's phone-numbers, but she is working Wednesday. Maybe you see her around in port.

For today.................
OLIEBOLLEN !!!!!!!!!!!

en een Gelukkig Nieuwjaar.

[cruznon]

John,
Thanks so much for taking us along on your cruise. Loved your first installments.
Happy New Year to you and Maria! Look forward to your future posts.

[DFD1]

HAPPY NEW YEAR JOHN AND MARIA! Thanks for taking us along. Great read. Looking forward to more! All the best!

[FlorenceItaly]

Happy New Year, John and Maria. I really appreciate the LIVE reports. Only 40 more days until the Yummers arrive. I can't wait. Glad to hear you enjoyed the show the first night. I will plan on attending it :). Where there many people in the disco???



Marie

[Seago2]

Keep 'em coming.

DJ Jazzy Jeff is a cool dude.

Thanks for taking me with you!

[Copper10-8]

Sunday 30 DEC 07

Had a great night of sleep and woke up about 0730 (we had lost an hour at 0200 this morning after setting our clocks one hour forward on our way south to Cabo San Lucas). We had some mild swells throughout the night, just enough to rock you to sleep. Upon awakening, the seas were pretty smooth; skies became clear after the clouds burned off. Temps were in the high sixties, lower seventies. We headed out for the upper level of the Vista dining room a little before 1000 for our highly anticipated meeting with “Mister K”. “Mister K” turned out to be Assistant Dining Room Manager Mochamad Khaeruddin. Looked all over the place for a hairless Egyptian cat, perhaps a miniature version/look-a-like of “Mister K” by the name of “Mini-me”, and/or a loudly yelling female assistant by the name of “Frau” :eek: but no luck today. Instead, “Mister K” consulted his laptop computer and advised us that, at this time, he did not have any vacancies at large tables for the 8:00 PM seating (he did for the 8:30 seating but that was a bit too late for us). The good news was that he had a table for two at a much nicer location, table #77, which is right against the glass railing looking down to the lower level of the dining room so we are looking forward to that tonight. The table comes complete with a rope, “D-ring” and harness (for rappelling down) and two small parachutes – something new HAL is trying out to give RCI and NCL some competition with their rock climbing walls). Oh before I forget and especially for Hammybee, Maria once again pointed me in the right direction and has ‘splained the meaning of the word “panty hose” to me! I have therefore seen the light once again. :o Told you my education as a fully domesticated and house-broken happily married male adult is ongoing! Followed our normal routine and had breakfast inside the Lido restaurant. When we arrived at about 10:30, Hunky Dory had just ended his shift and had departed but we did find “John Wayne” as one of the other “tray distributors”.

Did some checking out (like “Hey homes, I’m checking you out”) of the onboard stores but did not purchase anything which, taking everything into account, is not a bad thing, right fellows? We also made a quick visit to the Neptune for a cup of cappuccino. The NL is manned ……..wrong word….womanned by Front Office attendants Abby and Rona, two very nice and outgoing young ladies who do a great job running the place as well as a tight ship! Returned to our cabin to discover that Widi was already done – the guy is good and fast but that’s nothing new! The TV was one and before we knew it we got involved in a psychological thriller called “1408” with John Cusack. Scary stuff; probably will have nightmares tonight – will let you know!! 2:00 PM rolled around before we knew it so up we went to the Oak Room where H/M Doug Hernandez and Beverage (Bar) Manager Walter Schmuckenschlag (try saying that ten times in a row) from Austria were waiting for an impromptu Cruise Critic get together. Well that turned out to be a great time for some good conversation/questions and answers. As far as the attendance, only Cheryl (DesertDiva) joined us from the passenger community, primarily due to the difficulty in getting the word out at the last minute to any other CC members onboard. We were also joined by C/D David Martin, another very interesting gentleman with a very varied background. He grew up in Pittsburgh, PA. and for a while, earned his living being the Director of Game Day Entertainment for the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Pittsburgh Pirates (hey, ever seen Barry Bonds as a skinny youngster?) and the University of Pittsburgh Panthers. He recently came from Maasdam (as did Mr. Hernandez) where some of you might have seen/met them. Two professionals, without a doubt!

We wound up basically doing a lot of jelling & vegging for pretty much all of the afternoon as Oosterdam continued on a southerly course alongside the Baja California coastline. Carnival Elation has been following us on our starboard side and to our aft as they also, are heading for Cabo San Lucas. We did make a 7:30 PM dinner reservation at the Pinnacle Grill for Tuesday evening, New Year’s Day. Now, tonight for those of you interested in the somewhat low-key topic of the world of HAL dress codes, is officially classified as an informal night as far as the dress code is concerned. Interesting development as we were expecting Formal and Smart Casual only per the reclassified dress code as well as the pre-cruise paperwork. No biggie because I always bring one or two suits along and Maria does the same (insert dress instead of suit here). Per today’s Daily Program, Casual is described as No shorts, tank tops, swimwear or workout attire. Informal means Jacket and tie for men and Formal is Jacket and tie for men. Tuxedo suggested. After arriving at the dining room, I say about 55-60% of the gents wore a jacket, a tie or a combination of both with or without some resemblance of a shirt. The remainder was wearing some combination of casual and/or smart casual. No wife-beaters, no tank tops, no t-shirts, no dancing girls and no topless women observed, at least not at 8:00 or 8:30. Before I continue, I would like to let it be officially known that this was not a scientific project and that I can not be held responsible for the overall accuracy of the count since I was spending the vast majority of the counting period, clipboard in hand, on the look-out for dancing girls.

Maria and I really liked the location of table #77. Our new dining room steward is Dani and I still have to do a better job of learning the name of his assistant. Our entrees tonite consisted of shrimp (Maria) and beef tenderloin (yours truly). I know folks have talked here about the strings orchestra playing at least during the early part of dinner from their skybox. Rest assured, at least on this cruise, they did! Allrighty then, off to the Captain’s Welcome Aboard Toast at 10:00 PM in the Vista Lounge we went with beating heart and full of anticipation the like of a six-year old awaiting the arrival of Santa. You see, we have not yet been exposed to the new “toast” as opposed to the old “handshake and reception”. Got a couple of prime seats in the second row and, while waiting, did some chatting with DesertDiva/Cheryl who wound up sitting in front of us and to our left. She wanted to know if Capt. van der Waard was a hottie. Can you believe that?? Maria felt he was, so what’s a mother to do? Maria was asked by Lisa via telephone from Vegas and with the assistance of an undisclosed third party, to give the captain a hug on her behalf last night in the Neptune. I was under the mistaken opinion that my child bride might have some reservations against hugging a totally strange Dutch cruise ship captain. Well, I was wrong! She practically took a running leap in the dude's arms! Whoop, there it is or rather, there it went:eek: . Oh, and Lisa, mission accomplished.

Well, the captain as well as C/D David Martin came sauntering down the stairs about fifteen minutes late. The Capt. took his position center stage and gave about a five minute speech on the tradition of HAL and the background and current status of Oosterdam. He then invited and introduced some senior staff on stage consisting of H/M Doug Hernandez, Chief Engineer Martinus Spaansen, Chief Officer Ronnie Thie, Environmental Officer Michael Horn, Onboard Cruise Consultant Elaine Allen and the employee of the month, a smiling gentleman (with apologies for totally forgetting his name) who is one of the ship’s painters from Indonesia. Sorry, I forgot to mention that about six-eight bar stewards dressed up to the max in black tuxes with tails had been handing out glasses of champagne and/or coca cola at the top of the stairs leading down to the stage. Before you could say “what’s going on” the cellarmaster a gentleman with the very easy to pronounce name of Khrisnandu Chakroborty, common spelling, “call me Chris” had covertly appeared from stage left and in his arms, he was carrying an oversized (undoubtedly some steroid use involved here with said bottle) champagne bottle. Taking his cue like the pro he is, Captain van der hottie promptly announced “I would like to propose a toast” WHAM! Out of nowhere, the six-eight bar stewards with their black tuxes and tails appeared and lined up on the floor n front of the stage facing us, the audience and each holding their own (regular size) champagne bottle. You could have heard a pin drop. If you didn’t feel like doing that, you could have cut the anticipation with a sword, a saber or just a plain old butter knife. KABOOM! Went all the champagne bottles in unison and those of us in the first five rows, commonly referred to as the “splash zone” in places like Sea World and/or Gallagher concerts, feared the worst! Luckily, out of the seven-ten bottles came flying, not champagne, but confetti. In their best imitation of a regiment of Scottish Guards, those assembled on stage made a left facing movement and marched off the stage and up to the starboard-side stairs no doubt thinking “Goodie, another one of these things done without injuries”. C/D Martin reappeared to announce the impending commencement of tonight’s show by the cast entitled “Rockin’ Road”. Three stage hands and two brooms then made an appearance on stage, promptly receiving a standing ovation from the delirious audience and proceeded to sweep up the confetti on stage.

“Copper”, you might ask, “Tell us, what was your impression of the Captain’s welcome aboard toast?” Well, thanks for asking! Now don’t hit me, call me nasty names and/or make me write bad checks but I thought it was fine! Really, if you think about it, they have eliminated the frequently very long receiving line for the captain’s handshake, the H/M and the C/D handshake. They have eliminated the ship’s photographers setting up at least three “orbiting stations” commonly referred to here by angry CCers as “choke points” along that receiving line. And they have drastically cut back the introductions of the senior staff of the ship. Everything else is still in place plus you get exploding champagne bottles and the good folks in the “splash zone” get drenched with confetti! Who doesn’t want to see/be exposed to that? All kidding aside, I didn’t have a problem with it!

OK, the show, “Rockin’ Road”, described as a “rollicking good time at our very own roadhouse in a Las Vegas-style production show sure to have you (us) snapping our fingers and stomping our feet”. They weren’t lying the four principal singers (we though three of them kinda overshadowed the fourth) and, I believe, eight principal dancers entertained us for about an hour with a whirlwind of primarily Country hits and accompanied dances. Lots of action, lots of energy and lots of good times with some awesome solos by the lead guitarist and sax player of the HAL cats! Also evident was the difference in capabilities of the stage and crew of the Vista-class ships as compared to Prinsendam, the “S” or “R” class vessels. No hydraulic lifts and moving stages on the latter. Great show! Finished up the night with a nightcap (Kailua and Cuban Mojito) this time in the Crow’s Nest where a pretty good sounding band named “Counterpoint” was playing fifties, sixties and early seventies music. Lots of dancing going on!

Tomorrow, besides New Years Eve, is Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur! Buenos Nachos!

[Copper10-8]

HAPPY NEW YEAR VAL! And soon for you, Ine and Ton, GELUKKIG NIEUW JAAR!

Marie, the Northern Light's (Disco) was pretty dead on the first night but had a lot more folks last night, as did the Crow's Nest!

[Copper10-8]

Duplicate post!

[FlorenceItaly]

LOVING this live report. THANKS MUCH!!!! Great to hear the disco is coming alive. Happy New Year.




Marie

[DFD1]

Watch out! Those tables for two on the rail can be addictive.

[prescottbob]

Ahoy!

Last time I saw them, me think:


http://www.jamiefarr.com/images/jf_kilt.jpg

Have a Wonderful Cruise!

Good Health & Happy New Year!!!
Bob:)

[hammybee]

Well, well, well. It's good to hear you passed Hosiery 101 in 2007.

I think it great that you always acknowledge, by name, the various crew members you meet. Now I want to know how it is you remember all the names and more importantly, can spell their names. Do you carry a notepad? Is there a pencil tucked behind your ear? Or, are you wireless and handheld? Enquiring minds want to know.

[Tinknock50]

Happy New Year John and Maria!

Remember to be careful "driving" home after the New Years Party.....don't get into any "accidents". :D :D

[itwinkle3]

HAPPY NEW YEAR'S EVE


John, Maria and Cheryl


Thanks so much for doing this thread -- we are really enjoying it. Cheers!

[starysacz]

A great review. Have a good cruise and also have a Happy New Year.:)

[Jim Avery]

Copper 10-8:
I am finding your review to be most helpful. We have booked our first HAL cruise on the Oosterdam August 2 in Alaska. Used to work as a ship captain in Alaska but never have been on an Alaska cruise. Am looking forward to someone else driving while I sit back in a nice warm bar. Your detail and insight is most helpful. Keep it coming. Happy New Year.
Jim.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Maria was asked by Lisa via telephone from Vegas and with the assistance of an undisclosed third party, to give the captain a hug on her behalf last night in the Neptune. I was under the mistaken opinion that my child bride might have some reservations against hugging a totally strange Dutch cruise ship captain. Well, I was wrong! She practically took a running leap in the dude's arms! Whoop, there it is or rather, there it went:eek: . Oh, and Lisa, mission accomplished.



John, I knew Maria would do a great job of that HUG;)
I am sure the Captain told you he was warned about that Dutch California Police Officer:D

It makes sense that they turned the normal Sunday night that is Formal into an Informal so that this evening being New Year's Eve can be Formal:)

[hawgwildterry]

John,

You are cracking me up! :)

[localady]

John-
I am so enjoying your tales from the high seas!! Wanted to wish you and your child bride the Happiest of New Years!!!:D :D :D

[GmaPajama]

It's so much fun to follow your Live From Threads, John - thanks for doing this!

[Chivalrygirl]

Hey John, I saw in the New Year from my bed, the firecrackers woke me up. Will the Captain of the ship let you let yours off :eek: John I am buggered if I can work out how you can write so much and so interestingly, where do all those words come from ;)
We are now 7 hours and 20 mins into 2008, you still got some hours to go up there guys, but heres wishing all the folk reading this thread, a truly wonderful and happy and properous New Year.

Val

[Sundagger]

Sunday 30 DEC 07

Now, tonight for those of you interested in the somewhat low-key topic of the world of HAL dress codes, is officially classified as an informal night as far as the dress code is concerned. Interesting development as we were expecting Formal and Smart Casual only per the reclassified dress code as well as the pre-cruise paperwork. No biggie because I always bring one or two suits along and Maria does the same (insert dress instead of suit here). Per today’s Daily Program, Casual is described as No shorts, tank tops, swimwear or workout attire. Informal means Jacket and tie for men and Formal is Jacket and tie for men. Tuxedo suggested.

John, thanks for the entertaining log - I'm on the next cruise following you, so it's of particular interest. I was wondering if I should warn our Roll Call about the change in dress code? Do you know if it might be a one-time departure due to it being a NYE cruise?

Anyone on earlier cruises have the old dress code in effect? I don't recall it being mentioned.

[barbon2]

John,
Great report, am really enjoying this thread. A quick question, do you type all of this offline and then upload on board the ship? The internet is so slow on board that you must you up tons of minutes posting. Anyway, was just curious. Keep the reports coming and

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!

Barbara

[KLLund]

Such a fun thread .. and will you please tell Maria .. should she ever require panty hose/ nylons ( can you say lost luggage ) in Kusadasi/Istanbul .. she must ask for "See through Knickers" ... they have no idea .. and the pantomime is way too funny to go into in print .. but I am sure you get the idea !!!

[Cruising-along]

Great LIVE report as always John! Thank you!
I too am curious how you manage to remember all the names and the spellings! Enquiring minds want to know :D
A Very Happy New Year to you and Maria!

[5 in OK]

You are hilarious!! It is so much fun to read your daily reports - I literally laugh out loud - husband keeps eyeing me - this is not unusual.:) Thank you so much for taking the time to post - it is most enjoyable!

[Copper10-8]

Monday 31 DEC 07

Woke up at 0605 just in time to see Oosterdam enter the Bahia de Cabo San Lucas where Capt. van der Waard dropped anchor around 6:25 AM. Carnival Elation followed us in and quite obviously was able to use the anchorage much closer to Cabo’s Marina. It's good to be the (cruising) king! Jutting out from the 1,000 mile long Baja peninsula where the Gulf of California (Sea of Cortez) meets the Pacific Ocean, Cabo San Lucas is separated from the north by Baja’s desert interior. At the tip of the peninsula lies a rock formation known as El Arco (“the arch”). According to geologists, the Baja California peninsula, once connected to the mainland, resulted from violent seismic activity along the San Andreas Fault between 10 and 15 million years ago. Powerful earthquakes caused Mexico’s west coast to split at about the same time and Baja was born. The sea around Cabo is home to a wide array of marine life, including large sea mammals such as grey and humpback whales. The area is frequently referred to as “Los Cabos” (the capes) which identifies the two communities at the end of the peninsula, Cabo San Lucas and San Jose del Cabo. Cabo San Lucas is the main resort area on the western side of the peninsula while San Jose del Cabo, 18 miles to the east, is the more laidback, colonial community. The combined population was once 200 people, but that has grown to more then 50,000 today. The term “Los Cabos” also includes the almost unbroken line of hotels, golf courses and luxury condominiums in between both communities.

After breakfast, our excursion today “Discover Todos Santos” would take us to, you guessed it, the artisan colony/community of Todos Santos. As directed, we presented ourselves in the Vista Lounge by 0900 hours where we ran into DesertDiva/Cheryl. You might remember that she had initiated a thread on CC asking for information on public transportation to Todos Santos. She had already experienced her very own private adventure, free of charge, by having been stuck inside one of Oosterdam’s elevators for ten minutes.:eek: After picking up the phone inside the elevator and speaking to someone on the bridge who “sounded like Scotty of Startrek”, help was summoned and she was rescued from her ordeal. Personally, I’m thinking Cheryl was hoping that some good looking Dutch officer would come charging down the elevator shaft on a white horse swinging a sword in one hand.:rolleyes:

This would be our only tender operation on this seven day cruise. Personally, I like tendering! It makes you remember that you are on the sea traveling to (sometimes) far away places. Having said that, tendering, specifically boarding the tender from one of Oosterdam’s ramps, can be somewhat of a challenge, especially for elderly and mobility impaired passengers, if larger than normal swells are present. This morning, however, the seas were relatively smooth making the 10 minute tender ride itself to Cabo’s Marina and tender dock uneventful. We had been warned ahead of time by Shorex personnel onboard not to take any fruits and vegetables off the ship because they would be confiscated by the Mexican authorities. When we arrived on the pier, an official did ask if we were carrying any fruits and veggies. I told him we were not and he thanked us and waived us on.

We met our guide, Libby, a school teacher which, btw, definitely showed when she started dishing out instructions at our first stop: “those on the driver side of the bus will exit first, those on the passengers side last and we are keeping our seats throughout the tour”. She resides one half of the year in Cabo and the other half near Chico in Northern California. We followed her down to our bus outside the cruise terminal and met Carlos, our driver, a vey good one who woul no doubt give Ralph Schumacher a run for his money. Funny thing was that we had Libby as our guide back in March on the Coastal Highlights tour when Ryndam visited Cabo. Ahead of us was an approximate one hour and fifteen minute ride on Highway 19 up the coast to Todos Santos passing shifting and contrasting scenery ranging from sandy beaches along the Pacific Ocean to Cardon cacti and arid land inland.
“Todos Santos” means “All Saints”. It is a quaint little town where lots of artists have found a home which explains the multitude of art galleries in town. Todos Santos is famous for one other thing: Hotel California. The famous hotel is rumored to have been the 1969 inspiration of the song of the same name by the band the Eagles “Relax said the nightman. You can check out any time but you can never leave”. We made a quick stop at some roadside stands that sell local candy, cookies and cake. We then kicked off a short walking tour at the town’s Cultural Center where Libby explained some of the history of the region. We continued on to the old Jesuit Mission established by the Spanish conquistadores. Next on the program was a Mexican lunch at the restaurant of Hotel California located at a rear plaza. A pretty good and tasty lunch was served consisting of a tamale, two chicken flauta’s, rice and beans. Included were a couple of Margarita’s. We shared the table with Cheryl and did a lot of talking about Cruise Critic and some of the more “interesting” characters and anecdotes. After lunch, we had some time left over to browse some of the shops and, low and behold, Maria found two more ceramic pieces for the backyard, a lizard (which terrify her since they “move so fast) and a crucifix. Back on the bus for the uneventful return to Cabo. Off in the distance in the Pacific, we did see several vapor spouts from whales swimming off-shore. The tender ride back to Oosterdam was smooth and we arrived back at our temporary home away from home in one piece. I can highly recommend the approximately five hour Todos Santos excursion if you are getting somewhat tired of the scenery in Cabo San Lucas and/or if you want something different.
OK, the New Year’s Eve festivities for tonight’s big night, a formal night no less, all begin at 10:30 PM. There will be several parties all around the ship. We can celebrate the New Year “under the stars” with “Leena and the HAL Cats” on Lido (pool) deck midships. We can join the Captain and the Cruise Director in the Crow’s Nest with “Counterpoint” at the New Year’s Dance Party. The “Tempo (string) Quartet” will be graciously ushering in the New Year in the Ocean Bar. DJ Jazzy will start the party in the Northern Lights with “Dance through the Decades” And, finally, David Guidice will be in the Piano Bar singing the night away. As is customary on HAL, the crew will hand out party favors at dinner, serve a Dutch New Year's Eve tradition called "oliebollen" and "appelflappen", and will hand out glasses of champagne. Looking forward to same!:)
Maria and I wish everyone on Cruise Critic a very happy, healthy and safe New Year!!
Back tomorrow in Mazatlan, Sinaloa.

[teachergal29]

Thank you, John and Maria,
Thank you so very much for reporting live from your cruise. We will be doing this itinerary in April. I also am interested in how you are able to write so much (and so well, I might add) using HAL computers. I was thinking of bringing my own laptop, but was worried about the slowness of the connection and the time it takes to write.

Again, thank you for bringing us along with you on your fabulous cruise and helping us celebrate New Years with you.

Have a happy and healthy New Year!!:D

[Copper10-8]

Well, well, well. It's good to hear you passed Hosiery 101 in 2007.

I think it great that you always acknowledge, by name, the various crew members you meet. Now I want to know how it is you remember all the names and more importantly, can spell their names. Do you carry a notepad? Is there a pencil tucked behind your ear? Or, are you wireless and handheld? Enquiring minds want to know.

It's not as hard as learning about panty hose! I took the list of the ship's senior staff that Sungoddess sent me, with me. ;)

Oh, and I did bring my laptop with me and we discovered that we have WiFi access from our cabin (gotta pay for it of course but it helps to compose it on the laptop first and then to go on-line to transmit it - HAPPY NEW YEAR, GELUKKIG NIEUW JAAR, SELAMAT TAHUN BARU!!

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Happy New Year Maria and John:)

[localady]

Have a great New Years Eve and enjoy ringing it in with your oliebollen and appelflappen Copper!!! :D :D :D
See ya next year!;) :D

[Williebill]

Happy New Year to both of you also. Of all the cruises that my DW and I have taken, we have never taken one during the holidays; it's fun to get a peek of what it is like.

Thanks,
Bill

[RuthC]

Finally! I've finally caught up with you via your thread. It's been a good read---keep it up!

And Happy New Year to you and Maria. Looking forward to meeting you both on the E-dam. :)

[teachergal29]

Yes, keep up the reporting!! So I am assuming with what you said is that you write your report off line and then cut and paste it on CC once you go online??
Thanks again for the "Live". Really enjoying "cruising" with you.
Happy New Year, everyone!!
Pam

[Chivalrygirl]

John I wonder how your New Year is going, I have just been to the New Years Day races and all my hacks are still running :D
I remember with fondness my first ever tendering experience, I was on the first passenger ship to enter the bay of Acapulco. The ships life boats in 1963 were just that. Life boats, big craft with dingy seating. Thank god I never had to try one for real, nothing like the tenders we see today. That however, was one of the most exciting days of my life, I have never, nor will I ever, forget the experience, what a lucky kid I was :D Oh well here we go, 2008 here we all come ;)

[kakalina]

John: Thank you for a most entertaining review. I am so enjoying your blog. You need to google hosiery when you get the time.
Hope you had a wonderful New Years Eve. Can't wait to read your next report from the big O.

[mjs125]

Well, I just got back from a few days a way and decided to check CC and see what has been going on. Much to my (happy) surprise, I find "live from" thread from John! Woohoo! :D All is right in the world. Well, at least until I saw this:

Oosterdam let go of her lines and shoved off her berth about fifteen minutes late due to what Captain “van der Hottie”:rolleyes: , (right Meg?), van der Waard had said was the later than expected arrival of some “officials”.

:eek: John, I seem to recall that it was someone else that gave him that nickname...I just happened to agree with them. ;) He was an excellent captain, very visible and friendly. It would be nice to get in touch with him and say hello--he and James Deering spoiled us immensely. Of course, many of the officers and staff were incredibly friendly, which made for a very enjoyable first cruise.

Thanks for taking the time to take us all along with you. Very happy new year to you and Maria. Enjoy your cruise in the warm and sunny Mexican Riviera....I'm looking forward to reading your updates!

Meg

[LolaWiz]

Thank you for your EXTREMELY fun and detailed onboard account! This week has been hard for me waiting to board the O so you have helped make it a bit more bareable!

Can I ask... Have you spent any time at the Piano Bar? We had the best evenings at the piano bar on the Z because of the pianist. Have you heard anything about him on the Oosterdam?

Thanks again, and Happy New Year!:)

[Copper10-8]

Yes, keep up the reporting!! So I am assuming with what you said is that you write your report off line and then cut and paste it on CC once you go online??
Thanks again for the "Live". Really enjoying "cruising" with you.
Happy New Year, everyone!!
Pam

Yes Ma'am! You've got it!

Can I ask... Have you spent any time at the Piano Bar? We had the best evenings at the piano bar on the Z because of the pianist. Have you heard anything about him on the Oosterdam?


Hi Lola and Happy New Year to you and hubby also! And, no, we personally have not been to the Piano Bar. There is a guy playing in there by the name of David Guidice. We have heard from people who have spent time in there that he's pretty funny and that you don't want to be caught just standing at the entrance because he will make you come in and sing :eek: a line of whatever song he's playing at the time. Time for us to go take a look in there perhaps

[teachergal29]

Thanks for clearing up how you are able to post.

How was NYE onboard last night?? Enjoy the Pinnacle Grill

[ger_77]

Happy New Year John & Maria - keep your ollie-bollen, and your appel-flappin! :D

I'm really enjoying your posts - makes me feel like I'm in the sun and warmth with you, rather than up here in the "frozen tundra". DH has already said maybe next Christmas we'll do the same ... woo hoo! Take care and have fun.

Smooth Sailing! :) :) :)
Gerry

[Copper10-8]

Monday 31 DEC 07 Parte dieux

First of all, forgot to mention that we have finally met the famous Hunky Dory:) . We had heard all about the guy and his incredible talent for remembering people’s first names. That, my friends, ain’t a lie! We have now seen this with our own eyes. He first started talking a couple of German! lines to us (no clue where he picked that up at) but then just about anyone that walked by his position at the head of the buffet line in the Lido was greeted by their first name and this was only the second day of the cruise!! Amazing!

When we left Cabo San Lucas yesterday, Carnival Elation initiated a “blow-of” with Oosterdam. Elation left first and, as stated, had a “deeper” (closer to town) anchorage then we did. So after her captain swung her around and started approaching us, he let go of three long blasts on her whistle. Capt. van der Hottie, or whoever was the officer of the bridge at the time on Oosterdam, answered that with his own three blasts. Elation, now abeam with us, answered with one short blast which was also repeated by Oosterdam. There was a lot of whooping and hollering from Elation’s passengers as both ships passed. Fun to watch!

There was a pre-dinner show (6:45 PM for us), called “DV8 Reality Magic” by Drew & Angela who (Drew more than Angela) were to perform some classic magic as well as some brand new illusions in other words, fantastic charisma, stunning illusions and laugh-out-loud comedy! We had seen them before and have to admit, they were pretty good. Today however, we felt like taking it easy getting ready for dinner and the New Year’s Eve celebrations so we missed their performance, so sorry! Having said that, we changed into our formal attire (tux with burgundy/black vest for yours truly and burgundy top and black “harem”:rolleyes: pants for the child bride) Dinner was an interesting experience. The dinner menu was somewhat different than normal with pretty much a set menu (two appetizers, one soup, one salad, and four entrees to pick from). Maria and I both selected the Sea bass with crab meat and sticky rice which was actually pretty good. Everybody we saw had either a tux or suit on (men) or some kind of formal evening war for the ladies. There were so many of those glittery tops on ladies to be found that many of us resorted to wearing sunglasses. After dinner and our customary visit to Yum Yum Man Rhamat for some mints, which he always pretends to drop in a little cocktail napkin while handing them to us, we made our way to the Crow’s Nest. On our way getting up there, we walked by the Lido (pool) deck which already had the Macro-dome opened up and looked like a somewhat windy affair.

The Crow’s Nest already had most of the forward-facing seats/tables reserved but we were able to find a nice spot on the bench seats against the window. There were black & white balloons everywhere including on the fringes of the dance floor. At about 10:30 PM, the band members of Counterpoint started arriving and soon began laying dance music. A good time was had by all. At around 11:15 PM, the bar staff started handing out party favors (black top hats for the ladies, silver tiaras for the guys both emblazoned with “Happy New Year” on the front, streamers and those contraptions you blow down into to get some sort of lizard look-a-like tongue to extend and retract (apologies are in order here because I don’t know the name of that instrument just that some lady next to me kept hitting me in the right eye with hers until, after the umpteenth time, I and my right eye got tired of this game, took it away from her and deposited said contraption in the right front snow-white jacket pocket of the simply stunning-looking Austrian beverage manager who had arrived at the Crow’s Nest by this time and was busy managing his bar staff with commands in the German language, the likes of which, many of his Filipino bar staff found exceedingly difficult to comprehend). Speaking of Filipino bar staff, there is a gent assigned to the Crow’s Nest by the name of Michael who goes by the self-imposed nickname of “Booze, booze, booze”. Funny guy who has fast become our favorite up there! Had to think of S7S because smack right in front of the bandstand was Oosterdam’s bell suspended from some sort of frame. Captain van der Waard will be sounding his ship’s bell at midnight. While dancing continued non-stop, the bar waiters started bringing in plate after plate of Dutch New Year’s culinary traditions called “appelflappen” and “oliebollen”. At about 11:45 PM, they switched the contents of those plates to glasses of champagne which were handed out to all adults, who wanted one, in attendance. At one minute to midnight, both Capt. van der Waard and C/D Martin took their places at the bandstand and at 11:59:45 the cruise director began his countdown and right at the strike of midnight, the captain got to ring his bell. Lots of public kissing and well wishing followed and the dancing started up again! Everybody had a great time! We called it a night at about 0120 since we have a shore excursion with a 10:00 AM meeting time in Mazatlan.

[pvlover]

¨Sea bass with crap meat¨ NOW I understand all the recent comments about the lowering of the culinary standards!:eek: :eek:

Aha, the demon editor is alive and well....

[Chivalrygirl]

¨Sea bass with crap meat¨ NOW I understand all the recent comments about the lowering of the culinary standards!:eek: :eek:

Aha, the demon editor is alive and well....

tut, tut, naughty

[SDHALFAN]

Hi John and Maria:

And my very best wishes to both of you for a fantastic 2008. I hope that you both have a year filled with health, happiness and prosperity.

Okay, my Dutch may stink but my French is pretty good: it should be "Part Deux" (as in two) as opposed to "Dieux " which doesn't really mean anything unless you drop the x and then you would have "Part God." I'm really just teasing here - who cares what the French think or say anyway? It has been a long time since they were truly our allies.

Since I'm an avid cook I take every class that's offered on the HAL ships, however I have not yet learned how to cook Olliebollen (who knew that translates as Oil Balls?) but have learned how to cook Appelflappen (Apple Turnovers) and Bitterballen (still don't know the exact translation for those - bitter balls?), anyway I love them and Chef Rene Fitters taught us how to make a shrimp version - incredibly light and good.

Thanks so very much for your onboard reports. They are not just informative but also a great read, and I look forward to enjoying them every day. I had not really planned to take any shore excursions on the upcoming "Yummer Cruise" but your report on Todos Santos has me rethinking.

Thanks so much for your funny and enlightening posts. Now go have a fun evening.

HAPPY NEW YEAR.

Valerie:)

[sail7seas]

How cool........ They brought the bell into Crows Nest. Did you snap a great photo, I Hope!!?
How much I love those beautiful bells. :)

Thanks for your wonderful reports, John. Sounds like you and Maria were quite 'spiffy' for New Year's Eve.

Keep on having fun....... it's great fun reading about it.

[OVgirl]

John, I just love reading your live cruise journal. I'd say that it's almost as good as being there. Thanks for taking the time for all of us.
On our last cruise, I asked for the recipe they use for ollieballen. The chef said that they do have a recipe, but had been using a prepackaged mix. It is available in most deli/dutch grocers. Just look for Koopmans' Ollieballen Mix. Then you can make them at home whenever you feel a HAL craving coming on.

[Copper10-8]

¨Sea bass with crap meat¨ NOW I understand all the recent comments about the lowering of the culinary standards!:eek: :eek:

Aha, the demon editor is alive and well....

Awesome! You're awake and paying attention and, what's even better, you're still in the running for the dishwasher! Good luck to you!;)

Okay, my Dutch may stink but my French is pretty good: it should be "Part Deux" (as in two) as opposed to "Dieux " which doesn't really mean anything unless you drop the x and then you would have "Part God." I'm really just teasing here - who cares what the French think or say anyway? It has been a long time since they were truly our allies.


It was actually a parody on Jacques Clousseau;) My French teacher in high school in the lowlands would not approve!


......Did you snap a great photo, I Hope!!?.......



Sure did!


John, I just love reading your live cruise journal. I'd say that it's almost as good as being there. Thanks for taking the time for all of us.
On our last cruise, I asked for the recipe they use for ollieballen. The chef said that they do have a recipe, but had been using a prepackaged mix. It is available in most deli/dutch grocers. Just look for Koopmans' Ollieballen Mix. Then you can make them at home whenever you feel a HAL craving coming on.



The recipe is also in Rudy Sodamin's cookbook which they sell onboard in the Windstar cafe

[Chivalrygirl]

tut, tut, its still really naughty:D Whats more its the end of the 2nd day of the New Year, and I am still what we see down under "Pissed" but also bloody happy:D

[Copper10-8]

Tuesday 01 JAN 08 New Year’s Day!


After partying the night away, we woke up to blue skies and sunshine around 7:30 AM and discovered that Oosterdam was already securely berthed at the Cruise Ship Pier facing west. No matter how many times you’ve been here, Mazatlan’s harbor is by no means pretty and/or picturesque since it is principally a fishing, shrimping and commercial port, as a matter of fact, it is Mexico’s primary port for those activities on its Pacific coast. So, once docked, all you see is large warehouses, a whole bunch of shipping containers and a whole lot of concrete. The name “Mazatlan” comes from the Nahuati word meaning “place or home of deer” and refers to large herds of deer that migrated along the coast. Once the home of the ancient Totorame civilization, Mazatlan was later frequented by pirates who, according to legend, buried their treasures in the caves and coves near the city. Spanish settlers established Mazatlan in 1531 to export gold and silver from the Sierra Madre mines. The port did not really grow until the 18th century when a fishing industry was established. The city is divided into three distinct sections: Vieja Mazatlan (Old Mazatlan) which centers on a small square, Plaza Revolucion and its Basilica, an eclectic district of old Spanish-style buildings and colorful new condos. The second is the center of the Malecon (boardwalk) which curves along Bahia del Puerto Viejo and is a lazy stretch of city beach and Pacific recreation area. The third is the northern Zona Dorada (Golden Zone) where Mazatlan’s elegant hotels and condos are found. Dorado is also the tourist neighborhood.

Since we have been in Mazatlan several times, our plans today centered on participating in a shore excursion called “Salsa & Salsa” Huh?:confused: You ask, what’s all that about? Well sports fans, this is an excursion that would take our group of party animals in an open trolley car look-a-like to the Hotel Emporio in the Zona Dorado of Mazatlan. Enroute there, we couldn’t help but notice that the City still seemed asleep, no doubt as a direct result of last night’s activities. Traveling down Mazatlan’s Malecon or boardwalk called Avenida del Mar (Avenue of the Sea) we passed the numerous monuments erected here including the Monumento Pescador (Monument to the Fisherman) and even one dedicated to the Pulmonia’s. You see Mazatlan is known for and has a whole lot of these open windowed taxi’s, basically glorified golf carts, painted white with Volkswagen engines under the hood. The local cabbies call them “Pulmonia’s” and, as our tour guide “Jazmin” said, rumor has it that name was picked because you can get a good case of pneumonia from riding in the back of them!:eek: Usually the cab comes complete with a local driver who has made “blowing his horn” a self-proclaimed work of art. The horns produce all kinds of sounds including one very familiar and, once heard, would lead me to immediately pull over to the right side of the curb and produce my driver’s license. Other tunes that can be lovingly produced sound like loud whistles, Ludwig von Beethoven fifth symphony (but uncompleted) and the entrance of the gladiators minus the lions. Overall, an experience not to miss!

Awwwrighty then, having arrived at the Hotel Emporio, we were led to an area next to the swimming pool overlooking the beach and Pacific Ocean where about five large white easy-ups had been positioned. Jazmin handed the leadership of our group over to the Salsa mistress, an American lady living in Mazatlan by the name of Monica. Monica invited us to take a seat around each of the six tables. But before we did so, we had to put on “Salsa & Salsa” chef aprons and matching chef hats. Now, when I heard that I almost fell off my chair because I thought I was having a bad nightmare and we were about to be exposed to HAL Master Chef’s dinner for a second time and off the ship!:eek: Thankfully, here was the game plan: First we would learn the art of mixing a zingy Mazarita (commonly known as a Mazatlan Margarita). After drinking our own libation, we would then experience a hands-on cooking class to learn about Mexico’s fabulous (wow, I don’t even use that word a lot!) hot and zesty spices. We would be making a variety of sassy (there’s another one) salsas while dining on fresh cheese quesadillas and chicken taquitos. Now, after experiencing all that and still being able to stand up strait, we would then be exposed to a different kind of salsa, the dancing kind. By the end of the day, legend would have it, we would be armed with fantastic recipes plus be able to move around a dance floor to the tunes of authentic Cuban Salsa music the likes of which would make Antonio Banderrrrrrrras green with envy! We were ready!

The Mazarita mixing class, by all accounts, went very well. Our instructor would pick one person from each table; take that poor soul to the bar at the head of the class, to make a pitcher of alcoholic Mazarita, a non-alcoholic virgin one, and a strawberry (Mazarita Fresa) one. We then got to drink all three so suddenly our group turned into one of a bunch of extremely happy campers. On top of that, our instructor had some sort of a poquito cow bell on the bar in front of her. With the mini cow bell came instructions to yell “Ole” every time we heard that bad boy being rung. Soon, very soon, a lot of folks in our group did not need the little bell being sounded as an excuse to yell out a hearty “Ole”. The salsa making process was an eye opener for me. We actually learned and were able to make six different salsa’s and one Guacamole: Salsa Rojo, Salsa Verde, Pico de Gallo, Peppy Pina Salsa, Salsa del Sol, and Salsa Dulce. Great stuff which involved a lot of grinding or, as our instructor would call it, mushing ingredients in a molcajete (a bowl). This included pretty much dissecting several green peppers which was an experience in itself. In between attempting to make these concoctions of which I’m very confident btw, Julia Child, would be immensely proud, we were served quesadillas, taquitos and tortilla chips. We could use these to sample our creations. The good news was that no one made a mad dash to the banos in order to say hi to the Mexican cousin of Ralph, Montezuma. Lots of fun and everybody had a good time.

OK, then the real fun started! The entire group moved to the dance floor covered by a giant palapa and before anyone could say “Lucy, you’ve got some ‘splaining to do” Salas music started blaring from some speakers. Our instructor Monica (yes, she instructs in two arts of Salsa) had changed her chef apron for a skirt and high heels and started teaching a bunch of Gringo’s how to swing our hips, something she innocently called “the girly walk”, and a whole bunch of other gyrating moves. Now then, you’ve got to understand, my lovely spouse was born on the island of Cuba, without a doubt the reigning Salsa capital of the world. Heck, she learned how to dance Salsa when she was seven months old. Yours truly however, originally comes from the Netherlands, a country known for windmills, tulips and speed skating and not necessarily Salsa dancing. We are western Europeans for Peete’s sake! I used to wear wooden shoes and ride a bicycle to school…………..through the snow no less! And today, I found myself standing on a Mexican beach attempting my luck at Salsa dancing without a helmet and shin guards! Are you getting the rather ugly picture? Actually, we all had a blast and the steps were fun to execute, especially putting them all together to music so watch out Mario Lopez! I just don’t know about the girly walk. Might have to skip that one. Oh yeah, if anyone is interested, we have the recipes for all the Salsa’s, Guacamole plus the Mazaritas. If you want a fun-filled morning/early afternoon because you have seen the sights in Mazatlan, definitely a laughter-filled excursion! At the end of the class, Maria and I walked about five blocks down to a store called Seashell City we knew from our last visit here to look at some of the ceramic sun and moon “faces”. We then hailed a Pulmonia with driver who took us back to “el barco” for $10.


Got back onboard around 2:45 PM and took a nap after our “aerobics class” on the beach. At around 5:15 PM, the famous HAL ding-dong gong came on the P/A system, followed by Captain van der Waard’s voice. Now mind you, this announcement was piped directly into our cabin so we immediately knew what was to follow was important. The Capt. started off by giving us some navigational info about our sea voyage to Puerto Vallarta. Then came the information that this morning “several” pax had checked themselves into Oosterdam’s Medical Center with symptoms of the dreaded gastrointestinal (GI) virus. He talked about the biggest problem that the GI/Noro virus is easily spread from person to person, particularly in a closed environment such as a cruise ship. He reminded all of us to regularly and thoroughly wash our hands with soap and warm water. Although he never used the term “Code Red” based on the additional measures that have been taken, that’s what we found ourselves in effective immediately! Besides initiating a frequent and intensive sanitizing regimen throughout the ship and no more handshaking, he announced that in a subsequent letter distributed to all cabins that the following services will be modified and/or suspended immediately:

● The hot tubs and the hydro pool will be closed

● Self-service at the Lido’s salad bar and Terrace Grill will be
discontinued with Salt & Pepper shakers removed from tables

● Instead of having snacks available in the bars, individual bowls
will be served

● Magazines and paperback books will be taken out of circulation

● Plastic gloves will be made available in the casino

● Guests who have been ill during the previous 72 hours will need to
reschedule their spa appointments to a later time.

We’ve been through Code Red before, as recent as our Ryndam
cruise last March. All it takes is a little personal adjustment and
you’ll be fine (unless you like to hang out in the hot tubs or hydro-
pool on a daily basis. Passengers are still able to have a good time
onboard and we fully intend to do just that during our remaining
three full days onboard.

A Code Red onboard a ship usually lasts until the number of new and
old cases of GI cases has reached a manageable level. We will keep
you, and especially those getting ready to board Oosterdam this
Saturday appraised of any changes!

We had been invited to a 7:45 pm cocktail party in the Oak Room
hosted by the captain and hotel manager. We gave them both the
elbow as substitute for the handshake and made some small talk with
fellow guests one of which happened to be a huge USC fan (see
today’s Rose Bowl score) so that was torture to me.

Dinner tonight was good! Maria had the King prawns and I had the
sirloin steak. They were also serving a really good and spicy Black
Bean soup. Salt & Pepper shakers and sugar and sugar substitute
packets had been removed. Bread and rolls as well as butter were
served individually by dining room steward Dani and his assistant
(his name is Budi). Everything else was “business as usual”. Tonight
was the Filipino crew show; always a nice event especially
considering that these guys and girls donate their own time often
during ungodly hours of the night after their shifts in order to
entertain us! Back tomorrow from Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco.

[Ine]

""""Since I'm an avid cook I take every class that's offered on the HAL ships, however I have not yet learned how to cook Olliebollen (who knew that translates as Oil Balls?) but have learned how to cook Appelflappen (Apple Turnovers) and Bitterballen (still don't know the exact translation for those - bitter balls?), """


Valeria
there are some differences between one recipe from the other, but I think this link in english gives a good recipe.
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Oliebollen-Dutch-Doughnuts/Detail.aspx

If making them, better not do do it in your kitchen, the (oil)smell stays for quite a while. We usually do it in the shed...
Enjoy.

John in a few hours you will again enjoy PV.

.

[Seago2]

When I started to read the "Salsa y Salsa" description I thought: what a nightmare. Let's see how sick everyone gets touching the raw fruits and veggies that we are all warned to stay away from in Mexico! But it sounds like a blast- definitely something I would do.

Sorry about the Code Roja. Keep 'em coming!!!

[HeatherInFlorida]

John, really enjoying your "Live from ..." reports ... most especially your humor!!

Sorry about the virus onboard but with all the precautions, hopefully you'll arrive home healthy and happy:) .

[LAFFNVEGAS]

OK, then the real fun started! The entire group moved to the dance floor covered by a giant palapa and before anyone could say “Lucy, you’ve got some ‘splaining to do” Salas music started blaring from some speakers. Our instructor Monica (yes, she instructs in two arts of Salsa) had changed her chef apron for a skirt and high heels and started teaching a bunch of Gringo’s how to swing our hips, something she innocently called “the girly walk”, and a whole bunch of other gyrating moves.

John, this sounds like a blast but question do you need to be coupled off? I am thinking of doing this with some of the Yummers and doubt I could get Tom to do this. If Tom could just be a by stander and had him some Negro Medelos he would be happy and entertained. Although who knows I could be wrong I might get him talked into this;) :D

[Copper10-8]

Goeie middag Ine!:) We are now back in PV and looking for the Price of Whales! The plan is to take a taxi to old PV and then be back by 1:00 PM since we have booked the "Rhythms of the Night" shorex which will take us to Las Caletas, a dinner on the beach and a folklore show under the stars.

Thanks Heather - we are enjoying ourselves

[QUOTE]
John, this sounds like a blast but question do you need to be coupled off? I am thinking of doing this with some of the Yummers and doubt I could get Tom to do this. If Tom could just be a by stander and had him some Negro Medelos he would be happy and entertained. Although who knows I could be wrong I might get him talked into this;) :D


Lisa, the participation in the dance part is totally voluntary! THere is a bar where Tom can purchase anything he wants. I personally think the Yummers will enjoy this shorex!

[Ine]

I heard it is nice and sunny in PV. You will love Ritmo de la noche, we did it in March with Astrid and Azael.
The buffet was quite nice and the show after that also. Ask for a table right near the beach.
Bring a jacket for the returntrip, it can be chilly then.
Enjoy it, we will think of you.

Hope you will see the Prince, it sails twice today.

[Chivalrygirl]

Lisa, had I been lucky enuf to be on the Yum Yum cruise, I would definitely be a starter for ths Salsa x 2. Although maybe without John's input it might not be quite as funny as he has just made it sound.
John is your oral conversation just as funny as your written?

Val

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Lisa, had I been lucky enuf to be on the Yum Yum cruise, I would definitely be a starter for ths Salsa x 2. Although maybe without John's input it might not be quite as funny as he has just made it sound.
John is your oral conversation just as funny as your written?

Val

Val, I have spoke with John numerous times on the phone as well as had the pleasure of being with him twice and YES he is just as funny in person:D

[sail7seas]

I'll second that, Lisa. As long as we're talking about him behind his back (right in front of him, if you will :D )........yah.......he's a REAL nice guy! :)

[Bengoshi]

John: Great trip report! Keep up the good work. I trust you will wear your miniature medals on 2nd formal night.

Semper fi,

[SDHALFAN]

""""Since I'm an avid cook I take every class that's offered on the HAL ships, however I have not yet learned how to cook Olliebollen (who knew that translates as Oil Balls?) but have learned how to cook Appelflappen (Apple Turnovers) and Bitterballen (still don't know the exact translation for those - bitter balls?), """


Valeria
there are some differences between one recipe from the other, but I think this link in english gives a good recipe.
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Oliebollen-Dutch-Doughnuts/Detail.aspx

If making them, better not do do it in your kitchen, the (oil)smell stays for quite a while. We usually do it in the shed...
Enjoy.


Thank you so much for the recipe Ine, and for the hint about not cooking them in the kitchen. I am definitely going to try them.

Valerie:)

p.s. Now that I think about it, Oil Balls doesn't sound much worse than doughnuts - no matter both sound awful but both taste delicious:D .

[NoNoNanette]

Oh, John.... my handsome "copper-bopper" ;)

It sounds as though you and your Maria are having a lovely time. That makes me smile, honey.

Looking forward to your future posts on this thread,

*sending sloppy New Years kisses to the both of you!* :)

[hawgwildterry]

Using my Law Enforcement contacts, I have been able to obtain rare video footage of John performing one of his dance routines while still residing in the Netherlands. As one can see, John was much younger, blonder and had not grown his moustache yet. It is amazing to see his transformation after he joined the United States Marine Corps and become a police officer. :eek:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Is6bPsuiR9E

[teachergal29]

Now that was tooo funny!!!

[Ine]

Thank you so much for the recipe Ine, and for the hint about not cooking them in the kitchen. I am definitely going to try them.

Valerie:)

p.s. Now that I think about it, Oil Balls doesn't sound much worse than doughnuts - no matter both sound awful but both taste delicious:D .

Well, the name "Bitterballen" make people wonder too what is in it....
So "Oilballs" gives some more confusion.....

[Copper10-8]

Wednesday 02 JAN 08

Oosterdam pulled into the Terminal Maritima at approximately 6:05 AM. Once inside the basin, Captain van der Hottie, using his side thrusters, turned his ship 90 degrees using available space (which wasn’t much at all, an admirable job) until her bow was facing southbound alongside the cruise ship dock. During 2007, Puerta Vallarta finally gained a new cruise dock which now allows three large cruise ships berthing space. The brand new dock is located on the north side of the harbor adjacent to the Navy base. The other two cruise ship docks are on the east side (across the street from the Wal-Mart) and the original one of the south side adjacent the quayside market. So we woke up to a lovely view of the PV Wal-Mart and the adjacent Sam’s Club on the other side of Carretara Al Aeropuerto. With us in port today were the ms Ryndam (at the new dock) and Carnival Pride (at the original dock).

Puerto Vallarta is a city of approx. 250,000 inhabitants located at the center of the 25-mile wide Banderas Bay (Bay of Flags) and alongside the Sierra Madre mountain range (Think Night of the Iguana: “Baaadges?? I don’t got to tchoew you no stinkin’ baaadges”). The name honors former governor Ignacio Luis Vallarta. The climate here is tropical (and can be humid) with sunny days most of the year. The rainy season takes place from July to September. The economy is based mainly on tourism and construction (lots of building going on in and outside of the City) with a small percentage derived from agriculture and tropical fruits. PV is divided into three major regions: the northern hotel and resort region (Nueva Vallarta), the Old Town/Rio Cuale region (Viejo Vallarta), and the Playa de Los Muertos “Beach of the dead” (how cool of a name is that?) region.

Had our customary breakfast in the Lido. Here’s life in Oosterdam’s Lido under Code Red: You will still get your serving tray, one cup, one saucer and your silver wear wrapped up in a cloth napkin handed to you by either Hunky Dory or John Wayne. Added to this now are individual salt and pepper packets. There is now a second steward stationed right after this where the fruits (melons, cantaloupes, etc.), cold cuts, bread rolls, butter/margarine can be found who will serve you any of those items you request. Moving down the line, the Filipino chefs will still make and serve you your pancakes, French toast, waffles, eggs, bacon, oat meal, etc. and the Indonesian steward at the end of the line will still serve you your toast/bagels, etc. At the juice/yoghurt station next door, which used to be self-serve (lift open the clear plastic door(s), pick out your glass of prune juice or yoghurt) there is now a steward who will do this for you. Same at the center station for coffee/tea/sugar which is now “roped off” and were two stewards will give you whatever your little heart desires (within reason, of course). The omelet station is business as usual since everything is served here. All the aforementioned personnel are wearing plastic gloves. We really didn’t notice any increased back-up/choke points and to us, at least, there was no added inconvenience. Hey, consider the alternative: you could be laying/sitting (take your pick) on the white ceramic throne in the head saying hi to Ralph and his ugly cousin Larry for 48 hours so live with it, adapt, and move on! Life is still good!

Puerto Vallarta’s local time was one hour ahead of the ship’s time but we were told to stay on the latter. Our game plan for the day was to have a relaxing morning, pick up a cab to Viejo Vallarta and, more specifically, to a place called Mundo de Azulejos or in Gringo language, World of Tiles. Do you yet get the feeling that the child bride is major league into ceramic “cutesy/artsy” stuff? Off we went in one of those Nissan Sentras (they make those bad boys here in Mexico and call them Nissan Tsurus – haven’t figured out yet what a Tsuru is but, then again, what is a Sentra?). Had some nice thoughts when we were here last and were met with Ine, Ton and their daughter Astrid. BTW, those PV taxi drivers have nothing on Astrid, a very smooth driver.:) Upon a safe arrival at Mundo de Azulejos, we did some browsing around (you can see their artists at work meticulously hand-painting their tiles, etc. – awesome craftsmen and women!). We then took another Tsuru back to the ship and paid a quick visit to the Neptune.

Here also, one of the stewards from the Pinnacle Grill is stationed at the plastic “amusement park dome” (Hey, it goes up and down with the flip of a switch) with all the little sandwiches, petite-fours, cookies, etc., who would assist you if you wanted something. We couldn’t help but overhear a somewhat interesting conversation between concierge Abby and a passenger. Their conversation centered on the better half of said passenger who apparently had come down with the GI virus. The pax wanted to know what the consequences would be if his better half would leave her quarantine prematurely in order to join them on a shore excursion they had paid for. Abby, in professional but no uncertain terms, told him that she would no longer be eligible for compensation (shipboard credit) if she would choose to do so. He stated he understood and would be back. He did return some time later and stated that they had decided that DW would join them on their shorex.:eek: And that, my friends, is one of the ways the GI virus will spread among passengers/crew not yet affected.

After lunch, we picked the Terrace Grill this time (Code Red had closed down the taco/salad bar there – one young female thought that was just plain “ridiculous” – I felt like answering but thought better of it – they walk among us!) we got ready for our excursion today called “Rhythms of the Night” which met at 3:45 PM on the pier. There were about 50-60 in our group and we were led to a medium-size two-deck cruiser. The one-hour sunset cruise across took us to the isolated cove of Las Caletas, the former hideaway of movie director John Huston, where we were welcomed by “natives” dressed in ancient Mayan garb and by a whole bunch of flickering tiki torches. We were then led to secluded individual beachside tables for two among the swaying palms and under a sky of a thousand stars (you just don’t see that back home). We then enjoyed a candlelight dinner of, among others, grilled steak, chicken, fish, vegetables, salads and hand-made tortillas, followed by desert and coffee. The pulsing beat of native drums (BTW, I’m not making this up) summoned us to follow a torch lit path to an outdoor amphitheater. For the next hour or so, we watched stories of an ancient civilization revealed through music and dance. On the way back to Oosterdam we were served rum punch from the open bar and did some dancing on the deck with the crew. A nice night!

We were back onboard about 9:00 PM and Oosterdam left PV at about 10:15 PM en-route back to San Diego. In between, we went to the Queen’s Lounge for something called “Broadway moves to Queens” which started at 9:30 PM. This was a unique acoustic concert by the four singers of the Oosterdam’s cast accompanied by the HAL Cats. For the next 40 minutes or so, they displayed their talents with songs from Broadway musicals such as Rent, Man of La Mancha, Cats, and many more. A great concert!:)

10:45 PM brought us to the Vista Lounge for the late night adult comedy of Jeff Burghart who we had seen on opening night. Jeff entertained us for close to an hour with very funny impressions of, for instance, Tom Jones, Christopher Walken, Rodney Dangerfield, Jack Nicholson as Oosterdam’s captain and others. He had folks rolling in the aisles and it is his goal for the next to sea days to get onto Oosterdam’s P/A system and, as Jack Nicholson, give us pax some nautical information.:D Can’t wait for that so we’ll see if he’s successful taking the captain in to letting him do that!

The end of another nice day!

[Copper10-8]

John: Great trip report! Keep up the good work. I trust you will wear your miniature medals on 2nd formal night.

Semper fi,

Hi Sir and Semper Fi to you! I have really never done that on cruises but I have seen others, we had a table mate once - retired Air Forc -who looked sharp in his dress uniform on formal night. Since leaving the Corps in 1980, I have worn my ribbons on my police uniform once a year during our annual Armed Forces Day parade. Take care and be safe!


.........As one can see, John was much younger, blonder and had not grown his moustache yet.........


Terry, I can see that you used to be a crack detective!;) Funny one!

[jjb415]

Hey John,

Thank you so much for the great reports from the Oosterdam, I really am enjoying them.

In the past, I have heard that the gym is closed during Code Red, but, that doesn't seem to be the case on your sailing. The only restriction that you've mentioned is for those affected by the virus & spa appointments and closure of the Thermal Spa. Is the gym still open?

Thanks very much in advance!!!!

[CRISPYT]

Hi John ~ Enjoying your review of the Oosterdam, thanks for taking the time. We are sailing (Hopefully) this Sat. the 5th, have you gotten wind of any delay for ship sanitation once they arrive in San Diego? It's already not going to start off a good cruise, we are suppose to receive 2 to 4 inches of rain Saturday(so much for a nice sail away out on deck).

Chris....!

[jjb415]

Hi John ~ Enjoying your review of the Oosterdam, thanks for taking the time. We are sailing (Hopefully) this Sat. the 5th, have you gotten wind of any delay for ship sanitation once they arrive in San Diego? It's already not going to start off a good cruise, we are suppose to receive 2 to 4 inches of rain Saturday(so much for a nice sail away out on deck).

Chris....!

Another thread mentioned a delay in the boarding until 3pm due to 'noro clean'.

[PalmBeachMom]

Sitting here in 40 degree F weather in South Florida and wishing I were on the west coast with John and Maria!

[Sundagger]

Hi John ~ Enjoying your review of the Oosterdam, thanks for taking the time. We are sailing (Hopefully) this Sat. the 5th, have you gotten wind of any delay for ship sanitation once they arrive in San Diego? It's already not going to start off a good cruise, we are suppose to receive 2 to 4 inches of rain Saturday(so much for a nice sail away out on deck).

Chris....!

I received a fax from HAL (via my TA) about the boarding delay:

We have recently been experiencing a heightened level of gastrointestinal (GI)
illness on the ms Oosterdam. The ship is following a special cleaning and
sanitizing protocol developed in conjunction with the U.S. Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC).
To enable us to complete a thorough pre-departure cleaning, San Diego
embarkation will now begin on January 5th, 2008, at 3:00 pm, with the ship
sailing at 5:00 pm. The itinerary will not be affected by this change.
We encourage guests to delay arrival to the pier until 3pm. For guests that
need to arrive prior to 3pm, check-in will be available and luggage can be
dropped off. Continuous complimentary shuttles will operate from the terminal
to the shopping and historic districts to enjoy the day in San Diego.
If you have any questions or concerns please contact us at 1-800-577-1728.

[Texas Tillie]

John,

I'm loving your reports! Is the John Wayne you mention in your report from the Lido the same John Wayne who was on the Volendam in Alaska this past summer? That John Wayne was probably 40ish, balding, black framed glasses - and a real sweetheart! If so, tell him HI! from the table for 8, early seating, Aug. 10 -17!!

Patty

[Ine]

"""Had some nice thoughts when we were here last and were met with Ine, Ton and their daughter Astrid. BTW, those PV taxi drivers have nothing on Astrid, a very smooth driver.:) Upon a safe arrival at Mundo de Azulejos, we did some browsing around (you can see their artists at work meticulously hand-painting their tiles, etc. – awesome craftsmen and women!). ""

Guess what we have been talking about? So what did you order or buy at Azulejos?
By the way ...before your next time in PV, check these new private drivers:
****************************************index.html
(Site is under construction).

Have some nice relaxing days on your way back.

[Xelcaz]

Hia Cooper,

How are you? I think My friends are on that ship with you, did you just leave St. Thomas???... I was wondering, how would one go about getting a message to someone on the ship???

Hope your enjoying your cruise :o)

X

[Xelcaz]

oops sorry silly me, your on a west coast cruise (bah) I should have read back first .. thanx anyway

[Copper10-8]

Hi friends; here's some good news for those of you relieving us this Saturday in San Diego. Capt. van der Waard just did his "report from the bridge" and one of the things he mentioned is that "they have had a decrease in the number of GI cases reported to the Medical Center". He feels, and we agree 100%, that they made the correct decision in going to the Code-Red on Tuesday. He added that, even though, they show the decrease, they will continue sailing under Code-Red.

I will get answers to your other questions and, no, we did not visit St. Thomas on this cruise. Rumor has it, we might make a hook shank left and do a quickie to Papeete, Tahiti;)

[LAFFNVEGAS]

John, that is great news:) The crew of the Oosterdam do an excellent job of containing the NLV and are far better to be over cautious that to just let it go.

The passengers for this next weeks sailing are being told boarding will not start till 3, if you can in any way confirm this. The Roll Call still wants to do the Banner Wave.

Thanks for the update:)

[hammybee]

We couldn’t help but overhear a somewhat interesting conversation between concierge Abby and a passenger. Their conversation centered on the better half of said passenger who apparently had come down with the GI virus. The pax wanted to know what the consequences would be if his better half would leave her quarantine prematurely in order to join them on a shore excursion they had paid for. Abby, in professional but no uncertain terms, told him that she would no longer be eligible for compensation (shipboard credit) if she would choose to do so. He stated he understood and would be back. He did return some time later and stated that they had decided that DW would join them on their shorex.:eek: And that, my friends, is one of the ways the GI virus will spread among passengers/crew not yet affected.

I cannot imagine what this virus has cost the cruise industry, in terms of hard dollars, lost productivity, lost wages, and bad PR from those who blame the ship/cruise line. It's time for cruise lines to take the gloves off and get tough with passengers. Amend the cruise contract to make clear the consequences of failure to abide by the quarantine and then enforce it:

Put quarantine offenders off the ship and let them pay their own way home.

[localady]

I couldn't agree more HammyBee!!!:rolleyes:
I couln't help thinking to myself how downright selfish of someone to expose all the other folks on the tour as well as those poor pax that just happened to have the poor luck to be stuck near them.:o :o :o

Stay well and have fun Copper...ya might try a few mojitos as a preventative to stop the NV. You sure will have fun trying to stay well! ;)

[Chivalrygirl]

and spare a thought for the crew on board, who will not get off the ship in San Diego, they will be working their little butts off on hygiene scrubbing. It is really tough on those guys.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

I have to admit that this is rather upsetting especially since I heard first hand from a Mother and Daughter who were a couple cabins forward of us on our cruise and were quarantined in the first few days of our last cruise on the Oosterdam. The Daughter was quarantined first then the Mom came down with it. The Daughter was released on Wednesday and Mom on Thursday. We met and spoke with them and they told us about how wonderful they were taken care of. Of course they no longer had their regular cabin steward but a special Haz Mat crew they came into their cabin several times a day to clean as well as bring them their meals. The lovingly called them the "Ghost Buster" Because of how they were dressed when they came into their cabin. I halfway expect to hear from the daughter here on the HAL board because we spoke in length about CC and the HAL board. She sat with us at the Mariner's Brunch then that evening after Mom was released the two of them joined us up in the Crow's Nest at the Black and White Ball. It was interesting even after they were out of quarantine the "Ghost Busters" came by their cabin the morning we were disembarking and I think just to say good bye. They had said that the communication via telephone with the concierges Rona and Abi was great. They agreed that if you have to be quarantined being in a suite is the best but they too had excursions planned and canceled them because they did not want to infect anyone.

It was my understanding that you card key is deactivated so that you cannot return to your cabin or get off the ship. So I think it is highly possible that when she got to the gangway they said no way and sent her back to her cabin and because she left took away the additional ship board credit they would have received.

[Williebill]

When you mentioned the Walmart in Puerto Vallarta it reminded me of the time my DW and me were docked just across the street on the Prinsendam. I remember how excited the crew was to be able to cross the street and shop at that store. I don't think I saw any of the crew as excited about anything else the remainder of my cruise.

Bill

[barante]

Copper -- Thanks to you, I think it is time for this site to award prizes for good reporting. Snce I, as the originator of the annual award decide about this matter at this point, I am happy to extend to you the 2007 Bragging Rights award.
The citation reads as follows: What distinguishes Copper's work from conventional reviews is his prodigious use of names. Unless he made them up, this guy actually did some reporting and wrote things down! Impressive.
All in all, a terrific read. Congratulations.

[JuneLover]

Thanks, Copper--very informative narrative. My husband and I, another child bride, will be boarding on Saturday, Jan 05, and we're a bit concerned since we've never experienced Code Red.

Just joined the CC board as a result of your postings. Do CCs wave in the rain?

Keep the info flowing, if you can. We will read up to the minute of our departure! :o

[Copper10-8]

Thursday 03 JAN 08

This morning found Oosterdam on a north-westerly course towards the southern-most tip of Baja, Cabo Falso. Smooth seas and blue skies; what else does one want? We had our customary breakfast in the Lido and paid our homage to Hunky Dory. BTW, I know there was somewhat of a mystery a couple of weeks ago on CC when someone on Oosterdam (sorry, forgot who) posted that Hunky Dory had been selected as employee of the year 2007 for Holland America Line. Those of us who read Captain Schoonderbeek’s blog know that he had posted about one of his guys, a printer by the name of Balthazar, being named employee of the year also, so therein lies the controversy; two employees of the year? Well, C/D David Martin confirmed today that Hunky Dory is in fact, the HAL 2007 employee of the year so the mystery continues! Oh yeah, someone had a question about Hunky Dory’s partner on the port side of the Lido, John Wayne. The John Wayne on Oosterdam is definitely not in his forties and balding. I’d say he’s more in his mid-twenties. Also to answer another question; even though we’re sailing under Code-Red, the gym is open for use by pax. It gets a frequent clean and whipped down as does the rest of the ship. Code-Red, for the crew, means a lot of extra work!

OK, the Mariners party! We received an invitation in the cabin inviting us to what was called the “Mariner Society Award Ceremony followed by Brunch”. The first part was to take place at 11:15 PM at the Explorer’s Lounge. We were also asked to either bring the invitation and/or to wear our medallions for entrance to the lounge. Upon arrival, Capt. van der Waard, Hotel Manager Hernandez, Cruise Director Martin and Cruise Consultant Elaine Allen were present. Champagne and white wine was served and a gent was playing background music on a keyboard that sounded an awful lot like a piano. Present among the invitees were only those holding medallions and those who would be receiving one. The captain started things off by giving us an update on the two Signature-class vessels (Nope, no name on the second one yet!). He explained that they were basically going to be Vista’s with an added deck added. He used several HAL press releases to give us tidbits of information. This took about five-eight minutes after which he handed the mike back to his cruise director. For the following five-seven minutes, approximately five couples receiving their 100-day medals were asked to come up to obtain their hardware and take a pic with the Capt. and H/M. What was interesting to me was that some of these folks had surpassed the number 100, one couple were at 170 days! Introduced then, at least attempting to be introduced because none were present, were the 300-day medal holders. After this, all of us present were invited for a “team picture” with the Capt. and H/M in front of the always great wall mural that you’ll find in all HAL Explorer Lounges.

Those of us in the Explorer’s Lounge, my estimate was that there were about thirty of us there, were then escorted by long-time dining room manager Kiki Basuki to the raised portion of the lower vista dining room. All around us were 809 other Mariners on this cruise also enjoying a brunch. We were seated at four large rounders, hosted by the hotel manager, cruise director, and, I believe, guest relations manager. We were at a table with a couple from the Houston, Texas area and three nice ladies from the Vancouver, BC area. C/D David Martin joined our table. The menu for this occasion consisted of Dutch pea soup, Mariner’s seafood cocktail or Caesar salad with grilled herb chicken breast, Poached salmon with mustard sauce, sautéed spinach and fingerling potatoes or Sirloin steak with green peppercorn sauce, mashed potatoes and assorted vegetables or Cheddar quiche, with caramelized onion, broccoli and served with mixed greens and balsamic dressing, Silky white and dark chocolate mousse in brownie with raspberry sauce. C/D Martin gave a short speech to all in attendance explaining the reasoning behind the new Mariners brunch: HAL wanted to try something new (he did say “is trying something new”) instead of “just” the peanuts and drinks served at the previous version of the Mariners party. So they decided on giving all Mariners a brunch/lunch. I got the impression they are still taking feedback but, according to David, the feedback so far has been positive.

Personally, I like the new version. Yes, I understand that some folks like (and miss) the recognition part (standing up 25 and 50 days and being called on stage for a picture in the case of 100, 300, 500, etc. days) in front of their friends and/or a large audience in the show lounge. That part has obviously been cut out of the new version. Medal holders, and those being issued one, are now recognized in front of a much smaller group of their peers in the Explorers lounge. On the other hand, the old version did not include a lunch/brunch. You lose some, you gain some! I guess we’ll have to see if the feedback remains positive, as David mentioned, and/or a larger group of fans of the old system make their voices heard to Seattle.

The entertainment tonight, for us, was a pre-dinner (6:45 PM) show by the Oosterdam dancers and singers called “Escape”. Btw, tonight was the second of two formal nights. The vast majority of those we saw tonight adhered to the dress code. The Daily Program read “If you like Pina Coladas and getting caught in the rain, you’ll love our musical tour of the tropics!” It turned out to be a fast-moving, high energy show taking place in the Blue Marlin Bar, in Margarita Ville, Miami’s South Beach, Havana, Cuba, Rio de Janeiro and Hawaii with the finale including two of the male dancers being swung from to ropes at a pretty good clip! Great music and great dancing.

8:00 PM found us back at our regular dinner table in the vista. Here’s a little example of how we keep coming back to HAL. Yesterday afternoon, we ran into our assistant dining room steward, Budi, in the Lido restaurant. We both like Indonesian food so we asked him if any of that, specifically Nasi Goreng and Sate Ayam, was going to be on the menu for the last two days. He told us “No” because the usual day for that menu on this seven-day cruise is Monday but because that was New Year’s Eve on ours, it was substituted for. Well, we thanked him for that info and, as far as we were concerned, that was the end of that. Budi told us that he would talk to his supervisor to see what he could do. Imagine our surprise when, upon being seated tonight, Dani, our dining room steward, told us that he had Nasi Goreng for us as main entrée tonight. Apparently, Budi had talked to Dani who talked to his area supervisor who talked to the chef. Not only did we get Nasi Goreng, we got an entire Rijsttafel, something the Dutch created, which basically consists of a sampler of Indonesian food. For us tonight, it consisted of Ayam (a chicken leg), two sticks of Sate Ayam with peanut sauce (Two skewers of chicken meat), rice with egg and veggies, Pisang Goreng (fried sweet bananas), Rendang Sapi (Beef Sumatra with a generous amount of Sambal – extremely good for clearing out the sinuses) and Krupuk (shrimp chips). Without a doubt, the best meal of the cruise. We made sure asst. dining room manager Marijn knew about it, and who was responsible, and wrote the entire episode down on a comment card and gave same to the GRM (Guest Relations Manager).

OK, tonight was also the Black & White Ball at 10:30 PM in the Crow’s Nest. As has been stated here before, you usually don’t see the B&W Ball on cruises of less than ten or twelve days. Oosterdam appears to be the exception to that rule. The entire Crow’s Nest was decorated with black & white balloons and we had two bands (Leena and the HAL Cats followed by Counterpoint) playing (but not at the same time). Oosterdam’s officers were supposed to make an appearance however only the captain, hotel manager, cruise director and bar manager showed, Oh wait, there was one female officer who did some dancing and two more male officers who had their buttocks firmly planted on two bar stools. We did do some dancing and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves! We also talked to a couple from Angels Camp, California about Norovirus and quarantine. He was one of a group who had contracted the virus sometime during the morning of 31 DEC (Cabo San Lucas) and started displaying the nasty symptoms two-three hours later. He contacted the Medical Center on 01 JAN 08 and was quarantined for 48 hours (so he missed Mazatlan and Puerto Vallarta completely). What I found interesting is that his wife, who was naturally sharing a cabin with him, was allowed to leave that cabin and wander the ship and ports of call freely. I seem to remember that in the past that would not have been possible under those circumstances since that person was also quarantined for 48 hours. The gent was advised by the ship’s doctor that this restriction had been revisited and was recently changed giving a spouse, significant other, roommate, etc. the option to leave and return to the cabin while his/her “roomie” was in quarantine.

We did hear onboard that boarding Saturday has been moved back to 3:00 PM so that Oosterdam can receive a thorough cleaning/sanitizing. On a different subject matter, Oosterdam will be switching to/initiating “As you wish” dining starting this Saturday. They will have a whole bunch of extra support staff onboard helping them make the transition.

Last sea day before reaching San Diego coming up tomorrow!

[intandemNV]

Thank you so much for the awesome trip report. We fly out from Reno during a MAJOR storm to San Diego today for our Cruise tomorrow. I am so excited partly due to your terrific information. I am happy to hear that the Gym is still open! Thanks again!;)

[Chivalrygirl]

I have really enjoyed reading your reports and sailing along with you John and Maria. Unless I win the lotto it is part of the world I will probably never visit, so it makes it feel like I have been there, well sort of :) Thanks for taking such a long time out of your day to post same.

Just one question, what exactly are they using for the whipping :D
"It gets a frequent clean and whipped down as does the rest of the ship. Code-Red, for the crew, means a lot of extra work!"
Sorry just couldn't resist this one :D

Val
xox

[JuneLover]

Thank you so much for your great reports! You are giving us courage to cruise under Code Red! Love your attitude and sense of humor! LOL!:D

Thursday 03 JAN 08

This morning found Oosterdam on a north-westerly course towards the southern-most tip of Baja, Cabo Falso. Smooth seas and blue skies; what else does one want? We had our customary breakfast in the Lido and paid our homage to Hunky Dory. BTW, I know there was somewhat of a mystery a couple of weeks ago on CC when someone on Oosterdam (sorry, forgot who) posted that Hunky Dory had been selected as employee of the year 2007 for Holland America Line. Those of us who read Captain Schoonderbeek’s blog know that he had posted about one of his guys, a printer by the name of Balthazar, being named employee of the year also, so therein lies the controversy; two employees of the year? Well, C/D David Martin confirmed today that Hunky Dory is in fact, the HAL 2007 employee of the year so the mystery continues! Oh yeah, someone had a question about Hunky Dory’s partner on the port side of the Lido, John Wayne. The John Wayne on Oosterdam is definitely not in his forties and balding. I’d say he’s more in his mid-twenties. Also to answer another question; even though we’re sailing under Code-Red, the gym is open for use by pax. It gets a frequent clean and whipped down as does the rest of the ship. Code-Red, for the crew, means a lot of extra work!

OK, the Mariners party! We received an invitation in the cabin inviting us to what was called the “Mariner Society Award Ceremony followed by Brunch”. The first part was to take place at 11:15 PM at the Explorer’s Lounge. We were also asked to either bring the invitation and/or to wear our medallions for entrance to the lounge. Upon arrival, Capt. van der Waard, Hotel Manager Hernandez, Cruise Director Martin and Cruise Consultant Elaine Allen were present. Champagne and white wine was served and a gent was playing background music on a keyboard that sounded an awful lot like a piano. Present among the invitees were only those holding medallions and those who would be receiving one. The captain started things off by giving us an update on the two Signature-class vessels (Nope, no name on the second one yet!). He explained that they were basically going to be Vista’s with an added deck added. He used several HAL press releases to give us tidbits of information. This took about five-eight minutes after which he handed the mike back to his cruise director. For the following five-seven minutes, approximately five couples receiving their 100-day medals were asked to come up to obtain their hardware and take a pic with the Capt. and H/M. What was interesting to me was that some of these folks had surpassed the number 100, one couple were at 170 days! Introduced then, at least attempting to be introduced because none were present, were the 300-day medal holders. After this, all of us present were invited for a “team picture” with the Capt. and H/M in front of the always great wall mural that you’ll find in all HAL Explorer Lounges.

Those of us in the Explorer’s Lounge, my estimate was that there were about thirty of us there, were then escorted by long-time dining room manager Kiki Basuki to the raised portion of the lower vista dining room. All around us were 809 other Mariners on this cruise also enjoying a brunch. We were seated at four large rounders, hosted by the hotel manager, cruise director, and, I believe, guest relations manager. We were at a table with a couple from the Houston, Texas area and three nice ladies from the Vancouver, BC area. C/D David Martin joined our table. The menu for this occasion consisted of Dutch pea soup, Mariner’s seafood cocktail or Caesar salad with grilled herb chicken breast, Poached salmon with mustard sauce, sautéed spinach and fingerling potatoes or Sirloin steak with green peppercorn sauce, mashed potatoes and assorted vegetables or Cheddar quiche, with caramelized onion, broccoli and served with mixed greens and balsamic dressing, Silky white and dark chocolate mousse in brownie with raspberry sauce. C/D Martin gave a short speech to all in attendance explaining the reasoning behind the new Mariners brunch: HAL wanted to try something new (he did say “is trying something new”) instead of “just” the peanuts and drinks served at the previous version of the Mariners party. So they decided on giving all Mariners a brunch/lunch. I got the impression they are still taking feedback but, according to David, the feedback so far has been positive.

Personally, I like the new version. Yes, I understand that some folks like (and miss) the recognition part (standing up 25 and 50 days and being called on stage for a picture in the case of 100, 300, 500, etc. days) in front of their friends and/or a large audience in the show lounge. That part has obviously been cut out of the new version. Medal holders, and those being issued one, are now recognized in front of a much smaller group of their peers in the Explorers lounge. On the other hand, the old version did not include a lunch/brunch. You lose some, you gain some! I guess we’ll have to see if the feedback remains positive, as David mentioned, and/or a larger group of fans of the old system make their voices heard to Seattle.

The entertainment tonight, for us, was a pre-dinner (6:45 PM) show by the Oosterdam dancers and singers called “Escape”. Btw, tonight was the second of two formal nights. The vast majority of those we saw tonight adhered to the dress code. The Daily Program read “If you like Pina Coladas and getting caught in the rain, you’ll love our musical tour of the tropics!” It turned out to be a fast-moving, high energy show taking place in the Blue Marlin Bar, in Margarita Ville, Miami’s South Beach, Havana, Cuba, Rio de Janeiro and Hawaii with the finale including two of the male dancers being swung from to ropes at a pretty good clip! Great music and great dancing.

8:00 PM found us back at our regular dinner table in the vista. Here’s a little example of how we keep coming back to HAL. Yesterday afternoon, we ran into our assistant dining room steward, Budi, in the Lido restaurant. We both like Indonesian food so we asked him if any of that, specifically Nasi Goreng and Sate Ayam, was going to be on the menu for the last two days. He told us “No” because the usual day for that menu on this seven-day cruise is Monday but because that was New Year’s Eve on ours, it was substituted for. Well, we thanked him for that info and, as far as we were concerned, that was the end of that. Budi told us that he would talk to his supervisor to see what he could do. Imagine our surprise when, upon being seated tonight, Dani, our dining room steward, told us that he had Nasi Goreng for us as main entrée tonight. Apparently, Budi had talked to Dani who talked to his area supervisor who talked to the chef. Not only did we get Nasi Goreng, we got an entire Rijsttafel, something the Dutch created, which basically consists of a sampler of Indonesian food. For us tonight, it consisted of Ayam (a chicken leg), two sticks of Sate Ayam with peanut sauce (Two skewers of chicken meat), rice with egg and veggies, Pisang Goreng (fried sweet bananas), Rendang Sapi (Beef Sumatra with a generous amount of Sambal – extremely good for clearing out the sinuses) and Krupuk (shrimp chips). Without a doubt, the best meal of the cruise. We made sure asst. dining room manager Marijn knew about it, and who was responsible, and wrote the entire episode down on a comment card and gave same to the GRM (Guest Relations Manager).

OK, tonight was also the Black & White Ball at 10:30 PM in the Crow’s Nest. As has been stated here before, you usually don’t see the B&W Ball on cruises of less than ten or twelve days. Oosterdam appears to be the exception to that rule. The entire Crow’s Nest was decorated with black & white balloons and we had two bands (Leena and the HAL Cats followed by Counterpoint) playing (but not at the same time). Oosterdam’s officers were supposed to make an appearance however only the captain, hotel manager, cruise director and bar manager showed, Oh wait, there was one female officer who did some dancing and two more male officers who had their buttocks firmly planted on two bar stools. We did do some dancing and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves! We also talked to a couple from Angels Camp, California about Norovirus and quarantine. He was one of a group who had contracted the virus sometime during the morning of 31 DEC (Cabo San Lucas) and started displaying the nasty symptoms two-three hours later. He contacted the Medical Center on 01 JAN 08 and was quarantined for 48 hours (so he missed Mazatlan and Puerto Vallarta completely). What I found interesting is that his wife, who was naturally sharing a cabin with him, was allowed to leave that cabin and wander the ship and ports of call freely. I seem to remember that in the past that would not have been possible under those circumstances since that person was also quarantined for 48 hours. The gent was advised by the ship’s doctor that this restriction had been revisited and was recently changed giving a spouse, significant other, roommate, etc. the option to leave and return to the cabin while his/her “roomie” was in quarantine.

We did hear onboard that boarding Saturday has been moved back to 3:00 PM so that Oosterdam can receive a thorough cleaning/sanitizing. On a different subject matter, Oosterdam will be switching to/initiating “As you wish” dining starting this Saturday. They will have a whole bunch of extra support staff onboard helping them make the transition.

Last sea day before reaching San Diego coming up tomorrow!

[Copper10-8]

I have really enjoyed reading your reports and sailing along with you John and Maria. Unless I win the lotto it is part of the world I will probably never visit, so it makes it feel like I have been there, well sort of :) Thanks for taking such a long time out of your day to post same.

Just one question, what exactly are they using for the whipping :D
"It gets a frequent clean and whipped down as does the rest of the ship. Code-Red, for the crew, means a lot of extra work!"
Sorry just couldn't resist this one

Val
xox


A reminder, Madam Kiwi, English will always be my second language;) Pretty good excuse for grammatical errors and what not, no?

Thanks for all the nice comments, friends!:)

[Copper10-8]

Thank you so much for your great reports! You are giving us courage to cruise under Code Red! Love your attitude and sense of humor! LOL!:D

Code Red is just a minor inconvenience!;)

[RustaRoo]

John, this has been a most enjoyable thread - your honesty, humour, and attention to detail is greatly appreciated and respected! Thank you for letting me 'ride along' :D

[Chivalrygirl]

A reminder, Madam Kiwi, English will always be my second language;) Pretty good excuse for grammatical errors and what not, no?

Thanks for all the nice comments, friends!:)

Absolute rot my good friend, your English is substantially better than mine :D You just get on out there and enjoy your last sea day, you lucky man.

[ger_77]

Last sea day before reaching San Diego coming up tomorrow!

Awwww, you mean we have to get ready to leave already??? I was really enjoying my trip with you & Maria. I have a question - how do you remember all the offerings at dinner, etc? When we're onboard, I have a tough enough time to remember what I ate, have to ask DH what he had, in order to put it into my trip journal at the end of an evening. I can't believe the depth of reporting you're giving us! Thanks for a great ride!

Another question - can you take a pic of John Wayne and post it somewhere? We also met a John Wayne on 2 occasions - the Prinsendam and again on the Maasdam. I am sure there are more than a couple of guys who go by the same name, as with one of our cabin stewards - Bambang. Now there was a sweetie; could have taken him home in a suitcase in a heartbeat!

Have a wonderful last day at sea and have an extra wang-wang for me!

Smooth Sailing! :) :) :)
Gerry

[teachergal29]

Thanks so much for such a wonderful week of fantastic reporting from the beautiful Oosterdam. I feel we all got to cruise along with you. I looked forward to reading your daily reports and getting an insight into what our April cruise will be like. Thank you for taking the time out of your cruise to share your adventures.
Pam

[Cruising-along]

Where has the week gone?! :confused: It can't be almost over, not already!

Thank you John for the as always humorous, entertaining, and educational review! So glad you and the child bride did not come down with the dreaded virus, and still had a great cruise even under code red.

Thanks for bringing us along. :D

[Peggy Sue]

I have enjoyed reading your travel log ...you are a very gifted and talented writer! Thank you for taking the time during your vacation to share your experiences with us.

I hope your last night at sea continues to be enjoyable and your return home tomorrow goes smoothly.

Thanks,
Peggy

[hawgwildterry]

John,

Thank you for one of the most informative, entertaining and well-written cruise reports that I have read on this board in a very long time. As both my son and daughter were in the Corps (1966 was not a good year to join the Corps so I joined the Navy instead) I salute you with a Semper Fidelis on their behalf.



http://www.gifs.net/Animation11/Science_and_Body/Hands_and_Feet/Clapping.gif

[Copper10-8]

Friday 04 JAN 08

Before I forget, upon returning to our cabin last night, we found the HAL Mariner “tegels” (tiles) waiting for us. They were the Dutch mother and child at dock side with one of the old sail-powered ships leaving for the good old USA and the little girl asking mum “Waar gaat dat schip naar toe?” (Where is that ship going?). I personally think this is the nicest out of the four released in 2007. I’m kinda hoping HAL will go back to the ships themselves and/or the Dutch costumes/windmills or, at least, have more scenes like the one depicted above.

We went to the Lido for breakfast and ran into Hunky Dory. He wanted to know if we wanted to see a picture of his six-month old daughter “Hunky Dora”. “Heck yeah” we said so he shows us a little passport size pic of the beautiful little girl and a bigger pic of himself and his equally beautiful wife. So we asked him “With your looks, how did you get so lucky #1 with a good-looking wife and #2 with such a cute little daughter?” All kidding aside, here’s another little tidbit of life at sea for these guys. Hunky Dory hasn’t even seen his little daughter in person yet! Sacrifices!!

We headed straight from breakfast to the Vista Lounge for C/D David Martin’s disembarkation briefing and crew farewell. David Martin, without a doubt, is a very polished and professional cruise director. The man has a very smooth delivery especially when you’ve heard the disembarkation briefing before. He’s been with HAL for about a year and was asked to join Oosterdam, while on Christmas vacation. We’ve been very impressed with him and rank him right up there with much longer tenured HAL C/D’s such as Susan Wood, Bruce Allen Scudder and some others. He started off his talk with the “Top Ten” list of silly questions asked by passengers. I’m sure those of you who have cruised with HAL have heard most of them i.e. “What do you do with the ice sculptures after they melt?” and “Does the crew sleep onboard?” For us today, there were three “new” ones: “If the ship sinks, will you sent my luggage home?” “What religion are those people with the little patch behind their ear?” and “Is my face too big for the mini facial?” He then continued with the mandatory items (luggage tags, tips, library items, breakfast hours, etc.) but with a couple of twists.

He referred to Captain van der Waard and described him as someone who “cares tremendously about his passengers” to the point of stressing about finding a sea route that will bring the most comfort and least motion to his pax. He continued on about Capt. van der Hottie leaving the ship tomorrow on his way to ms Rotterdam in Valparaiso, Chile. He added that he did not yet know who his replacement was going to be when someone back stage went “Ding, dong, ding – this is Captain Nicholson speaking” and out on stage strolled Jack Nicholson (Jeff Burghart) complete with dark sunglasses and wearing an authentic HAL summer-white captain’s uniform complete with gold bars, one of which was looped. As stated before, Jeff has got Jack down pat down to the raised eyebrows. A very funny guy!:D

David also talked about the on-board survey which, btw, is changing from the current scale of numbers 1-9, with 9 being best to the new options of excellent, good, fair and poor.
The briefing ended with crew farewell. It seems like more and more crew takes part in this, at least on Oosterdam with her chefs (complete with cooking utensils), room stewards (complete with towel animals), dining room stewards, wine stewards, bartenders, bar stewards, Pinnacle Grill staff, front office staff, entertainers, cruise activities staff, Club HAL, the dining room manager, guest relations manager, event manager and of course, the singers and dancers all taking their place on, or in front, of the stage. It ended with the always popular singing of “Love in any language” and a bunch of silver streamers being shot over the audience in the front rows.

At 1:30 PM, the “On Deck for the Cure”, a non-competitive 5K Walk around the ship’s deck to support the Susan G. Komen Foundation fight against breast cancer was held. A great cause! At 3:15 PM the Oosterdam Superstar final round took place in the Vista Lounge. There was some pretty good talent on stage. The “American Idol” type judging panel consisted of Jane, the British lead singer of Oosterdam’s singers and dancers, Jeff Burghart and Jazzy Jeff.

The remainder of our day was spent relaxing and getting ready for the always popular packing of the bags. Our final supper will be about 45 minutes from now.

What remains is to thank everyone here on CC for having “sailed” with us on Oosterdam’s New Year’s Cruise and for the kind words! We had a great time as usual. I will probably post some final notes on this cruise after getting home. See ya! :)

[sail7seas]

What a wonderful report from aboard, John. Many, many thanks for it.

Lisa already gave hugs and love from us to David and Jazzy but if you run into them again, please tell them DH and I miss and love 'em. :)

Travel home safely. Hopefully you'll have a few more 'final thoughts'. Can't seem to read enough of this fine report.

So happy you and Maria had such a wonderful cruise.......as always!

Safe home.

[v702]

Excellent report, Copper! I was just thinkng how great a "live from the world cruise" would be from you. :)

[hawgwildterry]

It looks like a raw day in San Diego this morning. The Oosterdam must have run into some rough weather seeing how she is not tied up yet. Hopefully, John and Maria did not have too much of a rough ride on their final night.

http://live6.truelook.com/timages/live6/ecodb/ecodb_sandiego_oneamerica2.1/imgbuf/buf_707/1199523702393688.jpg

[hawgwildterry]

Good news...........John and Maria have finally landed.

http://live6.truelook.com/timages/live6/ecodb/ecodb_sandiego_oneamerica2.1/imgbuf/buf_707/1199523702394294.jpg

[Williebill]

I had a wonderful cruise, thank you for the trip. Since it is so stormy in California, I certainly wish for you and your DW a safe drive home!

Bill

[1FatPER]

John - Your postings of this cruise have been most enjoyable. As many others have said, your inclusion of detail and descriptions make us feel as if we were on the ship with you. We are looking forward to your next cruise. Welcome home.

[cruznon]

John, Thank you so much for sharing your cruise with all of us. I throughly enjoyed your commentary.
Look forward to meeting you and Maria in February in San Diego!

[HeatherInFlorida]

Welcome home! A shame to return to lousy weather, but you've got lots of good memories to enjoy. Hope you came home healthy!

[MissWindyCity]

John... Thanks so much for taking time out of your cruise to share so many wonderful details with us! Sounds like you and your "child bride" had a wonderful time and I thoroughly enjoyed following along!

You have helped my anticipation of the Yum Yum Man cruise grow even stronger....I can't wait!

Looking forward to meeting you and Maria in San Diego in February!!! :)

Have a safe trip back home!

[Copper10-8]

Just got home. Trip was uneventful with just some drizzle heading north. Getting off Oosterdam was something else though. Raining pretty hard so left Maria with two bags at the terminal and got pretty much soaked walking across the street to the HI with one bag to pick up the car.

Don't know exactly what happened this morning. Oosterdam passed Point Loma lighthouse at about 0519 and slowly proceeded up the Bay to the terminal under heavy rain and a pretty strong wind. Arriving in between carrier row/North Island NAS and the cruise terminal at around 0600, it just appeared that Capt. van der Waard had problems lining her up correctly to bring her in next to her berth. It appeared that he made several attempts and several different turning movements. I was out both on the balcony and was watching the bow cam on the cabin TV. Next thing you know, a big tug appeared from underneath the SD-Coronado Bay Bridge and took up a position at Oosterdam's port-side bow (I couldn't tell if there was a second one on her starboard side)

With the combination tug(s) and side thrusters, the capt. was able to safely "park" his ship at her berth but that wasn't until about 0715, one hour later than planned. I got a feeling it was due to high winds as opposed to something mechanical but that's pure speculation on my part.

After that, the C/D had to make numerous p/a announcements asking/requesting/ordering individual pax to either present themselves at Immigration in the (I think) Hudson Lounge or to take care of their shipboard account at the Front Office. He didn't start calling disembartkation colors/numbers until 0915. We left the ship at 1100

Once again, thanks a bunch for the nice comments!:)

V702, a World Cruise must be a very nice thing but I don't see it on the horizon for us;)

Yummers, looking forward to seeying you guys in SD in Feb and breaking bread............I mean fish at Anthony's

Terry, Go Navy!

[v702]

V702, a World Cruise must be a very nice thing but I don't see it on the horizon for us;)



Ah, probably not for us either, but never say never!

Thanks again for the great read, I enjoyed every moment.

[beannie]

Welcome home JP. Sorry you had an eventful day of disembarking. But you didn't melt in the rain , did you?

[Copper10-8]

Welcome home JP. Sorry you had an eventful day of disembarking. But you didn't melt in the rain , did you?

Nope, just shrinkage! How's the weather in Modesto?;)

[RuthC]

Glad to know you're home safe and sound---and none the worse for all the rain.
It's been fun hitching a ride on your cruise. Thank you for all your delightful posts.

[FlorenceItaly]

Nope, just shrinkage! How's the weather in Modesto?;)

LOL! Ahhhhhh, a Seinfeld fan, I love it :).


Marie

[KLLund]

John .. I want to add my thanks for an entertaining and informative review. I can hardly wait to get out of this rain and wind in Oregon and get on the seas in Feb!!

You sound like a delightful person and I do hope our paths cross at sea some day !!

[Copper10-8]

......... I have a question - how do you remember all the offerings at dinner, etc?

Another question - can you take a pic of John Wayne and post it somewhere? We also met a John Wayne on 2 occasions - the Prinsendam and again on the Maasdam. I am sure there are more than a couple of guys who go by the same name, as with one of our cabin stewards - Bambang. Now there was a sweetie; could have taken him home in a suitcase in a heartbeat!...........Gerry

In a nutshell, it's a memory like a steel trap!;)

AS requested, a pic of John Wayne

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p73/Copper10-8/IMG_0935.jpg?t=1199592503

[Copper10-8]

And one of Captain Olav van der Waard...............Easy ladies!;)

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p73/Copper10-8/IMG_7174.jpg?t=1199592670

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Hot Dam That is a Great picture of Captain van der Hottie :D

[beannie]

Nice pictures JP:) Weather is fine here, just a bit damp:D :D

[Copper10-8]

And in the Crow's Nest.............Michael "Booze Booze". Funny guy, he was also the MC for the Filipino Crew Show

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p73/Copper10-8/IMG_0931.jpg?t=1199593128

[Copper10-8]

Nice pictures JP:) Weather is fine here, just a bit damp:D :D

Cool Beannie!;) Take care and be safe!

[barbon2]

Copper,
Enjoyed your review. Welcome HOME!! Looking forward to your live reports on your upcoming cruise.
Barbara

[Copper10-8]

Thank you all!

This is what the Crow's Nest looked like during the New Year's Eve party

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p73/Copper10-8/IMG_0893.jpg?t=1199593974

[Copper10-8]

Same place, same night, same party! In Holland, they call this a "polonaise"

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p73/Copper10-8/IMG_0897.jpg?t=1199594075

[Copper10-8]

The child bride during the Salsa y Salsa extravaganza in Mazatlan. That shooter is filled with Tequilla:eek: but it was used to make a Margarita. The dance floor for the second part of Salsa y Salsa is to the right

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p73/Copper10-8/IMG_0909.jpg?t=1199594177

[hawgwildterry]

Great photos John, post more when you have the time. :D

[Copper10-8]

Yum Yum Man Rhamat, apparently the subject of a cruise in FEB, word has it

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p73/Copper10-8/IMG_7172.jpg?t=1199594646

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Maria, looks like she was having FUN:) I tried to talk Tom into doing this and he said no, so looks like next time you want to do this I will just have to cruise with you ;)

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Yum Yum Man Rhamat, apparently the subject of a cruise in FEB, word has it

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p73/Copper10-8/IMG_7172.jpg?t=1199594646
Yes Sir, that is our Official Yum Yum Man :D

[Copper10-8]

Cruise Director David Martin

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p73/Copper10-8/IMG_7173.jpg?t=1199595084

[Copper10-8]

The new and improved Captain's Welcome Aboard Toast - On the far left is Hotel Manager Doug Hernandez

[Copper10-8]

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p73/Copper10-8/IMG_7177.jpg?t=1199595112

[Copper10-8]

The infamous Mazatlan taxi, the Pulmonia

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p73/Copper10-8/IMG_7236.jpg?t=1199595576

[Copper10-8]

This is Captain Jack Nicholson speaking;)

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p73/Copper10-8/IMG_7271.jpg?t=1199595674

[Copper10-8]

"Love in any language" by the Oosterdam cast

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p73/Copper10-8/IMG_7282.jpg?t=1199596220

[Copper10-8]

This morning's arrival in SD with a tugboat facilitating. Just a tad grey outside,a little wet and some wind blowing:eek:

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p73/Copper10-8/IMG_7297.jpg?t=1199596281

[Williebill]

Thank you for the pictures; it's nice to put faces to names and pictures to events that you talked about while on your cruise.

Bill

[Ineke]

Hello John and Maria

We returned home this afternoon, after spending one more day in San Diego. It was great meeting the two of you, and I have really enjoyed reliving the past week by reading your posts. I am in complete agreement with you about your comments about Hunky Dory, John Wayne, and the whole compliment of amazing officers and crew. The G.I. thing was handled incredibly well, but as you noted, it is a huge job for the crew. They must all be exhausted after all the extra work during the week plus the 'deep clean'. The only minor 'complaint' I could have, is that you had Nasi Goreng! If we'd only known... But oh well, next time perhaps. And tomorrow it's back to real life!
I hope that all the folks who are on the Oosterdam this week will have as wonderful and relaxing a time as we did!

[Copper10-8]

Hello John and Maria

We returned home this afternoon, after spending one more day in San Diego. It was great meeting the two of you, and I have really enjoyed reliving the past week by reading your posts. I am in complete agreement with you about your comments about Hunky Dory, John Wayne, and the whole compliment of amazing officers and crew. The G.I. thing was handled incredibly well, but as you noted, it is a huge job for the crew. They must all be exhausted after all the extra work during the week plus the 'deep clean'. The only minor 'complaint' I could have, is that you had Nasi Goreng! If we'd only known... But oh well, next time perhaps. And tomorrow it's back to real life!
I hope that all the folks who are on the Oosterdam this week will have as wonderful and relaxing a time as we did!

Hi Ineke, good to hear you guys our safe back home again! We enjoyed meeting you also! You never know, maybe we'll run into each other on some dam ship in the future! Take care and be safe!

[coach_anne]

Hi, John,

AmpleThanks to you for sharing your online cruise journal!

Have so very much enjoyed your lively and detailed posts this week -- delightfully helps build anticipation toward our O'dam cruise end of Feb.

Do you write such detailed online reports from all your cruises? Your fan club wants to know!

Appreciatively,
Anne

[HeatherInFlorida]

And one of Captain Olav van der Waard...............Easy ladies!;)



Hmmmmmmm ..... I may have to rethink my idea that I don't care what Officers are assigned to each ship..............;) )

Welcome home, John ..... wonderful pictures and great journal of your cruise. Thanks.

[Cruising-along]

Hmmmmmmm ..... I may have to rethink my idea that I don't care what Officers are assigned to each ship..............;) )


Exactly what I thought Heather ;) :D

[May4]

Thank-you, thank-you, thank-you for those wonderful images of your trip.
Everyone looked so very handsome and/or beautiful at the party in the Crows Nest on New Year's Eve.

I, myself, looked quite stunning on that evening. I wore my very best red flannel jammies, accessorized by the finest of white cotton socks.
:p

[teachergal29]

Does anyone know how long Captain van der Waard will be on the Oosterdam?? Wondering if he will be there when we sail in April... Thanks for the picture, John. Now I understand how he got his well earned nickname... Did you say that he is aware of this nickname??? Nice "eye candy":D
John and Maria, Glad that you are back safe and sound from your delightful cruise. I enjoyed going along with you. Thank you again
Pam

[Copper10-8]

Does anyone know how long Captain van der Waard will be on the Oosterdam??


He left Oosterdam with us on Saturday, flew to Chile and is taking over command of ms Rotterdam today. He'll be assigned to her until 19 MAR 08

Thank you all for the nice comments!

[k8russ8]

Thanks John for the week of fun. My cruising has been sorely curtailed due to the housing crisis. Real Estate is not all it's supposed to be......... Perhaps next year will be a better year. I felt like I was there too. It brightened my days considerably. Just another Torrance bud who loves to sail.

[teachergal29]

He left Oosterdam with us on Saturday, flew to Chile and is taking over command of ms Rotterdam today. He'll be assigned to her until 19 MAR 08

Thank you all for the nice comments!

So there is still hope that he will come back for our April 19th cruise!!??
The eternal optimist:D

[Copper10-8]

So there is still hope that he will come back for our April 19th cruise!!??
The eternal optimist:D

Well Ma'am, being that the good captain, when leaving Rotterdam on 19 MAR, will have then been onboard two different ships for just about four and a half months and that a "normal" captain's contract last three months, I'm thinking he's gonna be relaxing at his home sucking on a couple of cold Heinekens, Amstels and/or Oranjebooms for about three months;) .

Thanks Kate!

[teachergal29]

OK, I will cut him some slack.. Everyone deserves some time off. Can't say I'm not disappointed but fully understand....

Again, thanks so much for the great "Live". It was wonderful to follow your adventures onboard as a prelude to our upcoming cruise. I love your style of writing and your definite wit... Thanks

[Copper10-8]

OK, I will cut him some slack.. Everyone deserves some time off. Can't say I'm not disappointed but fully understand....

Again, thanks so much for the great "Live". It was wonderful to follow your adventures onboard as a prelude to our upcoming cruise. I love your style of writing and your definite wit... Thanks

Thank you Ma'am! Enjoy your Mexican Riviera/Pacific North-West repo on Oosterdam!

[hawgwildterry]

Disregard.........10-22.......Never Mind. :eek:

[ger_77]

Thank you John for showing me what your John Wayne looks like - mine's a lot different - and cuter, too! He also has the sweetest looking little boys at home.

http://inlinethumb33.webshots.com/36704/2200156350046068627S425x425Q85.jpg (http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2200156350046068627BkhAPM)

Smooth Sailing! :) :) :)
Gerry

[hawgwildterry]

Although John and Maria look so much younger in their avatar.......below is a true representation of their age and the two of them dancing the Salsa. Party Animals!

http://www.animationplayhouse.com/peo-_dancer_old_dude.gif

[Copper10-8]

Although John and Maria look so much younger in their avatar.......below is a true representation of their age and the two of them dancing the Salsa. Party Animals!

Took you a while, didn't it, eh, Mr. 10-22;) ? I happen to have a pic of you and your pet cow zooming down some Washington State county road
http://us.f810.mail.yahoo.com/ya/download?fid=Inbox&mid=1_608948_AFrHjkQAACTAR4LpXAK4M00%2B6o0&pid=2&tnef=&YY=1199762305953&newid=1&clean=0&inline=1

That's a nice pic, Gerry, your honor:o Looks like that John Wayne is a DR supervisor, though, by the looks of his shoulderboards

[hawgwildterry]

John,

Sorry, but the photo you posted does not show up on my computer. I guess all my security features are working and keeping erroneous items from infecting my system. I will have to thank my cousin Bill (as in Gates) for thinking of everything. ;)

Actually there may be a photo or two of me floating around riding a cow. Before Barb and I moved to the big city, we had a 38 acre farm. Yep, 4 horses, nice herd of cattle and a chicken coop full of Rhode Island Reds. There are so many times we wish we were back on the farm now that we have grandchildren. :)

[SDHALFAN]

And one of Captain Olav van der Waard...............Easy ladies!;)

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p73/Copper10-8/IMG_7174.jpg?t=1199592670


Oh man:

I can see some great Rotterdam cruises in my future plans. Wow, what I have been missing and to think that he was aboard the Oosterdam - practically at my front door.:cool:

Valerie:D

[Copper10-8]

Hey, as you can see from the picture, he knows how to levitate also:eek:

[LAFFNVEGAS]

You know John, I was going to point that out. I thought Captain van der Hottie had no legs:eek: