LIVE! From the Rotterdam

[tomc]

We left NYC at the scheduled departure time of 8:00pm. HAL faxed our TA to note the later sailing, as a press event would be taking place. Check-in was the quickest and smoothest I've ever experienced. We were ushered to the Lido, as our cabins were not ready, but we had hardly reached the buffet line when we were allowed to move in.

[Orcrone]

Thanks for reporting in. Hope you have a great cruise.:)

[sail7seas]

Happy to hear you are safely aboard. Have a great time.

[Ziggy7]

Hey Tom !! Good to hear from you :) We watched the celebration in the big Lounge on the web, we were looking for you, did you get any of that champange ????? :)

[Bill S]

Bon voyage, Tom! Hope you have a great cruise and looking forward to your on-scene reports!

[Sage]

Tom, thanks for posting from the Rotterdam, one of my favorite ships. I hope that you have a wonderful cruise.

[debblue]

bill have a great time its a beautiful ship and a great crew one of the best enjoy your cruise, and if possible keep us posted happy sailing. :)

[doone]

Tomc have a wonderful cruise on the beautiful Rotterdam.

[LizB1]

Thanks for posting Tom. Hope you have a great relaxing cruise.

Keep us posted when you have a chance. Love to hear directly from folks while they are sailing.

[RuthC]

We're all looking forward to your unique observations again, I'm sure.
Do you see any damage left from the power failure in that trans-Atlantic storm?

Here's to a relaxing vacation for you.

[CruisinNana]

Have a wonderful vacation with smooth seas and just a little rocking at night to put you to sleep on those wonderful new mattresses and Oh So Soft sheets!
Dee :D

[jazzsea]

We had trouble with the webcast and only saw parts of it. Hope you are enjoying my wonderful Rotterdam. Wonder who got upgraded to my category "A" mini suite?

How's the weather?

[localady]

Tom C-
Looking forward to reports of the Rotterdam and your impressions of her!
Safe seas and blue skies!!:D :cool:

[FlorenceItaly]

It's great to hear from you. Have a wonderful week, and I look forward to your live updates :).

Marie

[tomc]

At lunch yesterday, I was seated with two ladies; one pointed out the George Washington Bridge, identified it as the Verrazzano Narrows Bridge and said she spent 30 years working in a building right under it, saw it being built. Remind me not to ask her for directions when in NYC.

There was a basket of fruit in my room (2547), as in the old days. On my last two or three trips, it was not there but available on request.

The music onboard, so far, as been age appropriate: The American Standards Songbook. Sinatra, vintage recordings of other artists. This is in all the public rooms. By the two pools, it's been more like "Soft Rock 101.5 Non Repeat! Latest Hits! More Music on 101-Five!" At least the volume is down. They do the same thing at night in the Lido before the buffet.

Speaking of the Lido, the spaghetti in the pasta bar is excellent! Partially cooked, it is then fully cooked in front of you with sauce added. I'd have to say I've probably not had anything like it.

Speaking of food, at least the first night out, I thought it was quite good. Lady to my right sent hers back because of the sauce (she is not a sauce person), but failed to read the menu where it clearly states you can order it without sauce ("Note: If you don't want sauce, SAY SO! Don't order and then have your waiter bring it back. That's a freakin' insult to us in the kitchen, hey? Got it? Then get it!") Well, actually that's a paraphrase. I think it actually says, "All dishes may be ordered without sauces," but you know that's what they really mean. The lady to my left said the waiter got her drink order wrong, which he might have, but she was a little snappy when he brought the right one back; I would have poured it on her head. "Happy now, ma'am?"

Speaking of dining rooms: The service is good and I see no problems with staffing. Again, that's based on only one meal's experience. By next week, we may be going into the kitchen ourselves to get extra vegetables and the dessert tray. You just never know.

Seas this morning are a bit rough. Not really bad at all --no pianos are flying around the rooms-- but the midwesterners are lining up for the motion sickness patches. I think they better get directions. Wouldn't it be just a scream if they accidentally put their birth control patches behind their ears, and their motion sickness pills "below the waterline"? And to think that they took this cruise to get away from the kids!

No meatloaf sighted so far.

[FlorenceItaly]

to order the meatloaf until your very last night in the dining room, LOL,LOL.
Keep the live updates coming :).

Marie

[Orcrone]

Tom,

Love hearing about cruises while underway. As opposed to a review, it feels more like you're living it. Of course, I'd rather be cruising and telling you how it feels.:D

Just an observation about the G. Washington, Verrazano Narrows bridge question. From NYC the ship would head south, underneath the Verrazano Narrows bridge, though NY harbor and out to sea. Northbound would take it under the G. Washington and up the Hudson River.

I grew up about 4 miles from the Verrazano Bridge and watched it being built. It was actually 40 years ago, as it was opened in 1964. When it was first opened my family drove across it just for the fun of it. It's now about an $8.00 round-trip toll. Don't think we'd do that again.

[DFD1]

Thanks, tomc; Your reviews are a hoot and fun to read. Hope you find the time to keep them coming. Have a great cruise. Wish we were there.

[ekerr19]

Hey tomc! Glad to hear all is well so far - keep us posted. :)

[elmorejj]

Thanks Tom for posting. Your wonderful wit is, as always, great to read. ;) Have a cuppa on the lido for me....jean :cool:

[Ziggy7]

At lunch yesterday, I was seated with two ladies; one pointed out the George Washington Bridge, identified it as the Verrazzano Narrows Bridge and said she spent 30 years working in a building right under it, saw it being built. Remind me not to ask her for directions when in NYC.

There was a basket of fruit in my room (2547), as in the old days. On my last two or three trips, it was not there but available on request.

The music onboard, so far, as been age appropriate: The American Standards Songbook. Sinatra, vintage recordings of other artists. This is in all the public rooms. By the two pools, it's been more like "Soft Rock 101.5 Non Repeat! Latest Hits! More Music on 101-Five!" At least the volume is down. They do the same thing at night in the Lido before the buffet.

Speaking of the Lido, the spaghetti in the pasta bar is excellent! Partially cooked, it is then fully cooked in front of you with sauce added. I'd have to say I've probably not had anything like it.

Speaking of food, at least the first night out, I thought it was quite good. Lady to my right sent hers back because of the sauce (she is not a sauce person), but failed to read the menu where it clearly states you can order it without sauce ("Note: If you don't want sauce, SAY SO! Don't order and then have your waiter bring it back. That's a freakin' insult to us in the kitchen, hey? Got it? Then get it!") Well, actually that's a paraphrase. I think it actually says, "All dishes may be ordered without sauces," but you know that's what they really mean. The lady to my left said the waiter got her drink order wrong, which he might have, but she was a little snappy when he brought the right one back; I would have poured it on her head. "Happy now, ma'am?"

Speaking of dining rooms: The service is good and I see no problems with staffing. Again, that's based on only one meal's experience. By next week, we may be going into the kitchen ourselves to get extra vegetables and the dessert tray. You just never know.

Seas this morning are a bit rough. Not really bad at all --no pianos are flying around the rooms-- but the midwesterners are lining up for the motion sickness patches. I think they better get directions. Wouldn't it be just a scream if they accidentally put their birth control patches behind their ears, and their motion sickness pills "below the waterline"? And to think that they took this cruise to get away from the kids!

No meatloaf sighted so far.

Thanks for the good laugh this morning :) Glad your having a good time :)

[bobpatj]

It's so nice to read your posts from my favorite ship. Have you noticed anything that might still be damaged? Any conversations with staff about their experiences or maybe they just want to forget it!

[tomc]

I don't really go fishing around the crew for info, but the general drift I get is that they'd just as soon forget the "storm" incident and get on with their lives. The ship looks lovely as ever and one person said they put a lot of work into fixing it up overnight after the incident so that it would look pretty much the same as usual the next morning.

We're in fairly good seas now, probably off Boston, or maybe southwest of Boston. The ship has been pitching fore and aft, stem to stern, front to back, or you-know-what to teakettle all day. There is a noticeable creaking near the front of the ship; I guess that's just an expansion joint. At least, I hope that's all it is. Never heard it before. I'm thinking of having my cabin moved to the aft part because, as we all know from Titanic, that's the part that stayed afloat longest after the ship broke in two. So, I figure I have a better chance of survival when this thing wrenches itself in two. Also, the dining room is in the back and I can stuff myself while waiting for the inevitable. I just have to find a cute chick to share a piece of floatsam & jetsam and, no offense to the HAL clientele, finding anybody under 60 on this ship is gonna be a good trick.

Note to the queasy: I saw a dispenser of barf bags on the railing just outside the Lido deck elevator, where you ring. Probably the only thing on the ship that does not have the HAL logo.

Rumor Control To The Rescue: I was told quite authoritatively by a passenger that the Rotterdam just came out of a 2-week drydock in Bayonne NJ, following severe damage caused by the hurricane incident. Not only that, but we were late sailing by four hours because it just arrived at the pax ship terminal from Bayonne. I said, "I really don't think so; I know we were scheduled for a late departure because of a media event and I'm sure I would have heard that the Rotterdam had been in drydock for two weeks, especially if it were in Bayonne." He said to check with any crew member, as his source said it was great, having two weeks with nothing to do. I think I know the crew source and I, personally, think that source is an idiot; I've sailed with him before. I asked the crew how the last couple of trips have been and they said, "Fine; we've been doing NE/C." Any delays due to the hurricane? "No; just had to clean up the ship, but we kept on schedule."

The ship's map, where the colored lights show our itinerary, has several glaring mistakes. "New Bredford" for New Bedford. "Nova Socotia" for Nova Scotia. The ship cost $315 million to build; for another $1.25, they could have bought a roadmap that would have given them the correct spellings of those cities' names.

Gerry Valero (hope I have that right) is in the piano bar and he is very good. He's doing age-appropriate music and puts the songs across quite well. Gerry told me that his "book" is 70's onward and, when he joined the ship in June, he realized that he'd have to learn a lot of older pieces. I think he's done a good job. He recorded rhythm and bass accompaniment and plays the piano to it, sings along as appropriate for what the audience seems to want.

That's it from the rocky Atlantic, where you can get drunk, stagger and get away with it because even the teetotalers are banging into walls tonight.

[dakrewser]

Rumor Control To The Rescue: I was told quite authoritatively by a passenger that the Rotterdam just came out of a 2-week drydock in Bayonne NJ, following severe damage caused by the hurricane incident. Not only that, but we were late sailing by four hours because it just arrived at the pax ship terminal from Bayonne.
How could you doubt? The passenger got it from a crew member, and they never bend the truth, do they?:rolleyes:

If the seas are rough, a bit of brandy after dinner will help settle your tummy. I can recommend the Remy Martin VSOP in the lounge, or the XO if you're feeling like a splurge (or feel so bad you don't think you'll survive to the end of the cruise, so they won't be able to change you!)

-dave

[localady]

That's it from the rocky Atlantic, where you can get drunk, stagger and get away with it because even the teetotalers are banging into walls tonight.
ROFL:D -I would think that getting drunk when the ship is rolling would be like a double whammy, or. then again, maybe it's the drunk ones who appear to be walking straight?:p I hope there is a bit less rocking and rolling when you awaken tomorrow!!!!!:D Safe seas and blue skies!:cool:

[Ziggy7]

Oh dear Tom, be safe or stay drunk hehehehe :)

[Himself]

A couple of points.

I saw the media event that delayed your departure on line.

I was sorry to hear of the rough seas. (Come on Tom, they were not all Midwesterners that were looking for patches.) I have been in Gale Force winds in the Caribbean and up between Canada and Alaska and I have never needed a patch or got sea sick. And I grew up on the Streets of Chicago and there is nothing more midwestern than a guy who grew up in Chicago.

Himself

[Himself]

Tom:

Are Patrick Murray and Matilda due to appear on the main stage of the Rotterdam?

When you are going by Our Lady of the Midnight Buffet, give her my regards.
(I bet you thought I would not remember that one from a couple years back.)
Himself

[grannynurse]

Hi,
If you remember, when you see Gerry, please tell him Chuck and Myra and their son Shawn from his first 34 day transatlantic crossing say "HI". Shawn sang "piano Man" with Gerry while on board. We really had a good time with him and liked him very much. You might tell him that we request "Number 46", He'll get a big laugh out of that, ... and if possible could we have his email address?

Tom, I know you're on vacation, and I'm asking alot, so if it's inconvenient, just ignore the request. Thank you, so much!

Have a great trip to Montreal. We did this itinerary on the Rotterdam from NY in 2002 and loved it. If you stop in Sydney, you might consider the Bras D'Or Lakes sail. It's a great shorex. "High tides and Fine Wines in Halifax is super too. The Saguanay Fjord is beautiful, it's not Alaska or Norway, but still a great experience.

Love your running commentary,
GN

[LizB1]

Thanks Tom for your updates! But, I wanna hear about the "beached whales" again!

[gizmo]

No meatloaf sighted so far.
LOL :D

Thanks for your posts. I am enjoying them.

[RuthC]

No! Not that! Pleeeeze!

[Orcrone]

No! Not that! Pleeeeze!What if it were chocolate covered meatloaf?:rolleyes:

[tomc]

No wonder HAL is cutting costs anyway they can. It's those half-price sales in the shops. How can you make money when your usually low prices are cut even lower? If the prices go down any more, they might start getting reasonable and we don't really think that will happen, do we?

Thursday, we sailed through 12' seas and gale-force winds. I'm not sure if I mentioned this in a previous post. There are discreet containers of barf bags are several elevator call-button locations. What happens in Vegas may stay in Vegas, but what happens in the dining room might stay in the elevator.

I was in the Ocean Bar last night listening to the trio. At one point, they played a tango and this lithe couple got up and danced like few couples outside the business. Excellent. After the piece, I went over and chatted with them. Very friendly people, amateurs, they just love to dance and are very good at it. Not at all uppity, as some purists might be, they thoroughly enjoy the art and just as much enjoy chatting about it. Even stopped me on the stairway later that night. You meet the best people on a cruise.

I had the turkey dinner last night and noticed that the portions were smaller. This is not a criticism; I felt they were too big in the past. I was happy to see a little less on the plate. I did not feel at all hungry or deprived when I was finally able to get up from the table (I use a power winch after the third meal, especially when they have heavy desserts).

RUMOR CONTROL: In a previous installment of "LIVE! From The Rotterdam," you will recall some "k-it-a, a-h" (e-mail me for a translation, if you really need one) who informed me that he heard diiirectly from the crew that the Rotterdam spent the last two weeks in a Bayonne NJ drydock following the hurricane damage and was late sailing because it just returned in the nick of time. He said, "Ask anyone on the crew." I told him it didn't sound right and did ask the crew. They reported having sailed as usual -- and were boarded by the Canadian health people right after the breakdown and subsequent damage. The health report was a solid 100% and the crew had a party that night. Ok, more from the resident a-h: He said one of the problems on that voyage was that the Rotterdam is designed to be a cruise ship and is definitely not designed to do trans-Atlantic voyages. I felt it was better to leave at that point and get a mug of tea, rather than tell him the Rotter is a world-class ship that, in fact, goes around the world and even goes to other places, as well.

The Rosario Strings is/are on board.

I came down to breakfast this morning, groggy as usual. There was some old guy at the table next to me who, apparently, thought it was pretty funny to mimic me. Every movement I made, he would do the same. Additionally, I am ambidextrous and he even managed to get that little ability down well. I was getting a little p*ssed. When I woke up a little more, I realized that next to me was a serving station and I had been glancing at a mirror. Sheesh; I look awwwful in the morning.

Grannynurse: I'll check with Gerry. He's a real friendly, professional guy. As you already know, of course.

LizB1: No, I'm trying not to alienate anyone. Actually, I never deliberately tried and the post you referred to was not an attempt. It sure brought out the flames. But everybody has been warned before I started this cruise: one flame and I'm outta here. I'm not paying for heat.

Grannynurse, again: I guess I misunderstood. I thought Bras d'Or was French for "Gold Bra" and I wanted to see what was spectacular enough to need something that expensive.

Himself: I'll check on Patrick Murray and Matilda. I'm not sure who is scheduled this trip.

[Himself]

Your story about the early breakfast in the Lido was great. You know my job and I often am working at 6:30AM and feel much like you did.
Himself

[RevNeal]

You know my job and I often am working at 6:30AM and feel much like you did.

It's a moments like these that I praise God that I don't work with your chain. :D

[FlorenceItaly]

cruise with you one of these days...:). Really enjoying your posts. Thank you.

Marie

[saltydog28]

Hi Tom,-Looking in a mirror-That's really funny. Did you take Amtrak? If so, how was it?
Thanks for the posts.
Enjoy your holiday-Safe home.
Pat.

[the2ofus]

Tomc, I'm enjoying your posts so much! Practically a play-by-play of your daily observations, so much more fun than the standard cruise review. Please keep writing.

[Cruising Jake]

What a great way to spend a bit of time - enjoying humor and cruising. A double header!

[grannynurse]

If you want a big expensive bra, there's a bridge in Amsterdam you could check out, I'll even send you the picture.

If you mention Shawn, Gerry might remember us. Play # 46!

Tell your resident A-H, that you already have one, and one is enough.
Love,
GN

[Bill S]

Tom: keep up your "reflections" on the day's events! Good stuff! :)

[tomc]

E-mail me and I can get the information back to you.

[tomc]

HAL Mariner is aboard and said I should use some smilies in my joke posts, as they can come across the wrong way.

:) This is a joke post :)

Now that HAL is, according to sources on the CC HAL board, going with Dick Meadow's "50 is the new 30" concept, let me tell you how that has already played out on the Rotterdam. And, believe me, Rotter is the right word.

The fancypants restaurant is now "Kirk's All*Night Diner," with plenty of formica, stainless steel and neon. Apparently, the old place was deemed too elegant for the re-branding of HAL as the swinging line for the "New 30's" and it had to go. The waitresses keep their pencils in their hair, call you "honey" and yell orders back to the kitchen.

The Lido has changed, too. They have paper placemats, which is bad enough, but these have designs which change daily. Yeah -- you got it: ads for the stores in upcoming ports. Around the edges are coupons. On the back are "connect the dots" maps so we can see the quickest routes from the dock to the recommended stores as we play the game.

Crepes Suzette is the most interesting thing. The waitresses who serve it all have "Suzette" name tags and are dressed in tiny little waitress outfits that are cut down to there and up to here. Again, an attempt to get rid of any class that HAL once had and try for lowest common denominator. Too many of the old guys are dropping napkins and asking the Suzettes to bend over and pick them up, so maybe 70 is the new adolescent. ??

The Signature of Excellence thing has been a dismal failure in at least one area. The seas were just as rough last night as before the SOE thing went into effect. I thought we wouldn't have anything larger than 2' waves.

:) This is a joke post :)

[Jackjenson]

Tom, you are a riot.


Since I am still in my 30's, does that mean I am really a teenager?:rolleyes: Somehow I don't think so.

While you are grilling the piano man, ask him exactly what #46 is....my bet is Metallica.

[Peggy Sue]

Tom,

I'm really enjoying your "travel log" .. Sitting here in cool, damp New England .. just a stones throw from the Atlantic..I can only imagine how your past few days at sea must have been!! Must be mighty chilly out on them there waters!!!! ??

Are you heading to Bar Harbor next?? Arcadia .... our favorite national park...hope the sun comes out soon and you are headed into calmer waters!!

Love your humor...the breakfast mirror story .. excellent!!

Looking forward to your next post. Enjoy your cruise..and be on the lookout for that meatloaf. It can be disguised as many different things...who knows, you may have already had some and didn't even know it!!

Thanks again!! Enjoy!

Peggy Sue

[RevNeal]

For some reason I'm having trouble breathing ... oh ... yes ... laughing and breathing are hard to do at the same time.

What a riot.

[Terri Lee]

Tom...Tom...Tom.....you are a breath of fresh air with your so intelligent humour.Looking forward to your next epistle.Please take care of my favourite ship(pretty please??)

Terri;)

[RuthC]

tom, if you run in to the passenger who appears to be so "in the know" you can tell him that the Rotterdam was in Newport, R.I. two weeks ago today (checking watch. yeah, it's still today) on a New England/Canada cruise. She was exactly where she was scheduled to be that day---not in drydock in Jersey.

If necessary, I'm willing to come aboard to testify in person. ;)

[LizB1]

Tell k-it-a that we had friends who sailed on the September 30th Rotterdam cruise from NY/Montreal so there was no way it was in dry dock for two weeks.

You mentioned HAL Mariner...is this by any chance a fellow named Howie whom we have sailed with??? Can't remember his CC name.

Also heard the ship had an unexpected inspection in Portland and received a 99% rating!!! That is great considering all they went thru...speaks well for the staff and crew IMO!

Keep your wonderful humor coming to the boards. We need it!

[tomc]

I think HAL Mariner's name is Harold ... perhaps the reason for "Hal." He says his family uses that board name. I think he's a TA. There's a difference. He's a TA and I like T&A. That ampersand changes everything.

It's been pretty rough and windy at night. I have not yet dared go on the Sports or Sky decks, else I'd be blown overboard and they'd never find me until some day a tramp steamer is plying the trade lanes and a besotted able seaman says, "Arrrrr, matey, look t'starberrrd. There be a body, I tell ya. A body floatin' from Davy Jones' locker. Neptune has extracted his vengeance once again. Why, I recollect, down in the Roaring Forties back in the '50s. Or was it the Roaring Fifties back in the '40s? Maybe it was after a bar fight in the wharf district of Rangoon...."

I'm at an internet cafe in Halifax, heading to Peggy's Cove after lunch. My brother was there a couple weeks ago in his teeny little camper and forgot to get a rain hat for his son who has a sailboat. So my assignment is to get that rainhat. (You're not going to believe this, but as I started writing "So my assignment is," the music in this place started the "Mission: Impossible" theme.)

Did I mention that the reason the Rotter missed getting a 100 score in Portland was because the inspectors found a soda can in a storeroom? They found the person who left it there; services were held at sea last night. The RC chaplain was there, at the stern, as they slid the guy over the side. "Wherefore, as this idiot has prevented us from having back2back perfect scores, we commend him to the mercy of God, who is a lot more laid back about this sort of thing than we are. Hasta la vista, Ghamed." sploosh

Seas are running about 12' and we have a lady from NYC who is not used to anything higher than the ripples in her bathtub. She wants the captain to make an announcement that we are safe, the ship is solid and we won't capsize in these high waves.

[LizB1]

Sure do look forward to your posts, Tom, and get my laughs for the day. Glad you are headed for Peggy's Cove...enjoy your lunch there, perhaps a lobster??

Take care and enjoy. It sounds like you are having fun!

[elmorejj]

Oh Tom, my sides are aching and there`s tears all over my keyboard, you are such a phenomenal wit! I love you! Keep it coming......jean :cool:

[Ziggy7]

Oh Tom, my sides are hurting from laughing so hard! Are thoses high seas normal for that route ???? Seems like they always have big waves over there! eeeks I may not get my lobster after all ! :)

[Himself]

Tom:

It is raining here in Joliet, Illinois. Thanks for the post which put a little sunshine into a dreary day.

Himself

[Cruising Jake]

"...services were held at sea last night..."


Gotta love the humor. It sure helps me as I sit here in the cold midwest with a cold.

[spottedcamel]

TomC wish you were on the next sailing (October 30th) from NYC to FLL/Panama Canal. Your observations are hilarious and makes me look forward to my sailing.

What is the "Skyroom?"

[grannynurse]

Believe this, # 46 is "Piano Man".
GN

[tomc]

It's not really rough (although we know for sure we're on a ship in the ocean), but the wind is blowing enough to keep me from even thinking of going up on the Sports or Sky decks so far this voyage. I am really afraid I would be blown off and tonight is no exception. From my cabin on Deck 2 (Main Deck), the amount of spray going by the window when we hit a swell just right reminds me of what it might have looked like when the Titanic went by the iceberg.

There is a waiter on board with what appears to be a name tag with "DWI" on it. I guess it's a name tag. Where I live, that is a moving offense that can get your license suspended.

Entertainment tonight is a magician, who was dying on stage when I left. He was good; the audience was unresponsive. They just sat there, not laughing at his jokes, barely applauding his tricks. When he did a rope illusion and tossed the three pieces into the audience so they could inspect them, two were tossed back tied into nooses. That's a tough audience. I hope his second audience is better. His assistant is a cutie pie, by the way. I wouldn't mind taking a few swords thru me if I could snuggle up in that box with her.

Did I mention that we had a surprise inspection in Portland? Scored a 99.

There have been seagulls flying next to the ship at night, apparently watching for fish to be brought to the surface by the combination of rough waters and the ship's slicing thru the sea providing that foamy bow wake. From my cabin, they look spooky as they fly in and out of the deck lights. You will be looking out the window and all of a sudden, here is this white thing out of nowhere, like the ship's guardian angels.

Went to Peggy's Cove today. The morning runs had cold, overcast weather. It was much nicer when the afternoon people (us) arrived. An hour to get there, an hour to stay, an hour to return. Good narration on the road both ways by the tour guide.

[FlorenceItaly]

organizing a CC HAL group cruise. It would be very successful, as we would all love to have the pleasure of sailing with you! :). Please think about it........Sooooooo enjoying your posts. Thank you.

Marie

[ekerr19]

Did you get the hat? That was your mission, wasn't it? :)

Seriously, enjoying every minute of your travels - thanks tom... !

[Gary Karschnick]

WE were on the September 30th cruise and we definately did not go into dry dock. The crew told us that the power failure and subsequent seas did do a lot of damage especially to the crockery in the dining rooms. Everyone was quite frightened. All passengers were given a 50% refund of that portion of the cruise. Evidently the fuel filters were full and the rough seas put all the filtered material back into the lines and the engines wouldn't start (for three hours). I was disappointed in the overall ship's maintanance program. On the day they tested a generator, they couldn;t get the ships elevators back "on-line" for four hours. We used the ships lifeboats as tenders and returning from the dock in Glouscester, our tender/lifeboat broke down with engine/transmission problems. It took about a half hour to get it running well enough to make it back to the ship.
We had the same magician on board and he was received in the same way. He just didn't have any repport with the audience. My wife met him and his lovely assistant later and she suspects that all is not well between them.
Overall, it was a great cruise! Food was excellant and the wait staff as always was wonderful. The new cruise director, Peter, just over from the Noordam was excellant.

[Roadwork]

Tom,

I just read through all your posts. Keep them coming, they are great. You have a wonderfull style of writing.

[tomc]

I notice that they are dispensing juice at night in the Lido, instead of filling glasses and lining them up. Less waste that way and works just as quickly.

The tour guide for the Peggy's Cove excursion said he had to leave two people behind last month or so. They just weren't around when it was time to leave; nobody could find them and the bus waited as long as possible. He called the ship and was told to leave. I rather suspect the pax in question might have taken the wrong bus back, as there are few places there to get lost. Unless they loved it so much they bought a house and stayed. That would make a lovely Hallmark movie.

We had generator problems (which affected the elevators) at the same time the health inspectors were here (which affected the Lido lunch). So you can be sure that set the rumor mill running full-blast. I know for certain [ok, this part is not true] that, since they had to use the stairs and lunch was a half-hour late, some people demanded credit against a future cruise, others wanted an immediate onboard credit, while I sought only an upgrade to a suite. Others said they heard that since Carnival bought HAL last year they took out all the good generators and replaced them with rebuilt generators from old, scrapped ships to save money. [remember, all this is not true.]

I noticed this morning that there were very few people in the Lido to clean tables. One on my side. That may, or may not, have been due to a fire drill which was taking place at the same time. In the drill, there was a (pretend) fire on B deck, which then spread and caused a (pretend) evacuation of the ship. Could be some of the Lido crew were involved in this, or could be that the clean-up crew has been reduced near the end (9:00am onwards) of the breakfast period. Whatever, there were a lot of trays from previous diners on active tables, pushed aside for the newcomers.

During this drill, I noticed what may have been a real fuel spill -- or may have been some sort of simulated spill. Looked real to me, but you never know. It was not contained by the spill booms in all areas, and leaked thru one section. I'll check later to see what it looks like.

The Lido is safe from terrorists. I noticed the onshore security people (local police, I suppose) taste-checking the Lido buffet at noon. Thank goodness we still have heroic people like that who are willing to put their lives on the line to make sure that the pax will not be poisoned. Hooray for the brave men and women who put their stomachs on the line --the buffet line-- so that we may eat without fear.

[dakrewser]

The Lido is safe from terrorists. I noticed the onshore security people (local police, I suppose) taste-checking the Lido buffet at noon. Thank goodness we still have heroic people like that who are willing to put their lives on the line to make sure that the pax will not be poisoned. Hooray for the brave men and women who put their stomachs on the line --the buffet line-- so that we may eat without fear.

Were they serving doughnuts? :rolleyes:

-dave

[Himself]

Hey TomC:

These local Gamdarms were not protecting the Lido from Terrorists or sampling Lido food to make sure it was okey. They were getting a darn nice meal "at the right price" if you will.
Keep up the good posts. They are entertaining, thought provoking and giving a lot of people good material. When do you get to "Our Lady of the Midnight Buffet?
Himself

[tomc]

FUEL SPILL? I'm trying to trace this fuel business. I have the impression the fuel spill might have been from the dock and not the ship. There's a local environmental company that has a couple of trucks here; one is backed up to a pier where a HAL tender is being pumped out. Possible that the tender was picking up fuel spill into a tank and now getting rid of it. Another such truck is also amidships pumping (I assume out of) stuff, while someone is doing the dock surface.

WHERE RUMORS START: A woman at the next table in the Lido said, "Those tenders are taking gas out to another ship. I saw them taking on fuel at the dock." That's odd, I thought, ships don't usually run out of gas on this run and have to send tenders to the nearest filling station. So, being the good newsman, I checked. Sure enough, the Crystal Symphony was tendering pax into shore from where they had anchored, and the Rotterdam tender (see "fuel spill pickup" paragraph) was being pumped dry by what appeared to be a fuel truck. To the casual pax, one tender looks pretty much the same as another.

WEATHER NEWS: Last night, we were grounded (so to speak). Could not go out on deck due to the high winds, per posted note. Previous nights, we could go out, but only a fool ::raises hand:: would do anything so silly. I've not been anywhere but the Lower Prom deck and even there it has not been pleasant.

Himself-- We don't go up the St Lawrence this time, so we don't go by the 27' wide statue of Mary (Our Lady of the Midnight Buffet) in the Saguenay Fjord.

[Himself]

From your weather reports, it is too bad you don't go up the St. Lawrence--it might be calmer. I think your ship heads to FLL and the Canal after your sailing.

I hope the company doesn't get fined for the fuel spilling
Don't want another Valdez.

Himself

[jazzsea]

Thanks for the review. We would have been with you. Will you post the names of the Captain, Hotel Manager, Cruise Director and other senior staff?

[RevNeal]

When he did a rope illusion and tossed the three pieces into the audience so they could inspect them, two were tossed back tied into nooses. That's a tough audience.

Naaaaa ... they were just trying to spice up the act a bit! :)
Or ...should I say ... YOU were. Yeah ... we know ... it was YOU who did it!!!! :D

[LizB1]

jazzsea...The Captain is Fred Eversen and HM is Willem van de Poll. I believe the CD is a gentleman named Peter?? (not sure on that one).

[RuthC]

I'm pleased to see that Gerry has learned some new (or should I say old?) songs. That kind of music was sorely missed during my cruise---at least that hasn't continued. Good for him!

There's more than a few of us who know and love music from the 40's, 30's and (dare I say!) 20's. I'm glad that he's trying his best to please the crowd.

[tomc]

Master: Fred Eversen
Mistress: (he didn't tell me her name)
Hotel Manager: Willem van de Poll
F&B Manager: Marco van Belleghem
Exec Chef: Rene Olea
Maitre D': Sander Vogtlander
CD: Peter Daems
Sr Asst CD: Jennifer Kilian
Music Director: Adrien Sackett
Internet Manager: Natalia Marginean (often catch her dancing in here at night)

[localady]

I'm pleased to see that Gerry has learned some new (or should I say old?) songs. That kind of music was sorely missed during my cruise---at least that hasn't continued. Good for him!

There's more than a few of us who know and love music from the 40's, 30's and (dare I say!) 20's. I'm glad that he's trying his best to please the crowd.RuthC- I am a relative youngster on HAL but I love the older music for dancing and at the Piano bar.:D Great to hear that he is playing a wide variety of the old classics and not just the theme to Titanic, over and over again!:eek:

TomC- Thanks for the list, it will be interesting to see how many of them are on the ship in December, as it seems the senior staff of the ships move frequently.

[Margie_Lady]

Tomc, it's great to read of all your adventures, especially with the added "tongue in cheek" irreverance.

If you're talking to Sr ACD Jennifer, say Hi to her from Mum. She's been aboard since April, and we're looking forward to seeing her soon.

[RuthC]

Since you're now sailing down the New England coast you'll need to know that it's late October and you can still buy a Fenway Frank. At Fenway Park.

Enjoying your posts enormously. Keep it up! (please?)

[tomc]

Sarah is at my table nightly; it is not her real name, in case her family is reading this. They will recognize her anyway and, if so, will nod their heads and, ruefully, laugh.

Sarah is from the NYC area and has mastered the art of being very picky while --at the same time-- appearing as if this were the first time anything had gone wrong and nobody's really to blame. It's not until the second night that we began to notice that she's averaging two send-backs per meal. But she's soooo pleasant.

"Oh, I didn't know this appetizer would be served cold. I like it hot; please send it back. ... I forgot all about my coffee and now it's cold; please take it away. ... This beef dish isn't what I thought it would be; can you get me something else? ... Oh, I can't eat this; the ship is rolling too much and I knew I shouldn't have come to supper at all. Please take it back."

People in cities all over the world are crawling thru garbage dumps looking for food. People in our country are lining up at soup kitchens because they are on the skids and have to ask for food. Meanwhile, Send-Back Sarah could feed a family of three on the magnificent food she throws away at each meal.

Sarah was missing from last night's supper. Someone at the table said she went to the Pinnacle. We spent the entire meal talking about everything else except the elephant in the parlor. Finally, one person couldn't contain herself: "I wonder what Sarah is sending back in the Pinnacle?" We all burst out laughing and I 'fessed up having supressed the same question.

Now I had to find a way to see what Sarah didn't like because --as sure as God created the waters, as sure as we invented cruise ships and a sure as Carnival Corporation will one day own all of them-- it's equally sure she will have sent back at least one dish from that magnificent dining room.

I ran into her this morning outside the main dining room. "Well, how was the Pinnacle?" She replied, "Oh, I found some friends and went somewhere else. I didn't show up."

Send-Back Sarah sent back the entire restaurant!

(Folks, this is a true story.)

[tomc]

localady and RuthC --

I was in the library really late last night and Gerry was there with his laptop. He was checking out some new old music (downloaded, possibly) to add to his repertoire. One piece he did not want to add was "My Way." He said, "I don't like this one, but the passengers want it, so I will have to do it. They are singing it in funeral parlors all over California." So, rest assured, it appears that, as long as Gerry is on a HAL ship, he will be expanding his set list and listening to the pax' requests. He does want to know what you like to hear, he does want to vary the show each night, he does want to get a feel for when the mood is dancing, or singing, or listening or background music while the pax talk.

Not like the loser RuthC and I experienced.

[saltydog28]

Tom-Send-back Sarah sat at our table about ten years ago. After the second night of sending dishes back, 5mins. after being served, the waiter was right there to pick-up the unwanted meal and what else could he bring her. And she always wanted something else. Causing us to be the last table to leave the dining room. The last two nights my husband and I skipped dessert (I know-unbelievable) because we didn't want to be late again for the show.
It's a shame she missed the Pinnacle. But you know what they say about cutting off your nose to spite your face. Thanks for the posts.
Take care,
Pat.

[Peggy Sue]

Tom,

Your posts are a delightful read. I was really laughing over send-back-sara. I can see this woman in action. this is part of the reason why we now choose to ask for a table for two. Funny has the wait staff now knows to anticipate her next move and be ready for the hand off!! they should just bring out one of every item from the kitchen and pile it up in front of her!! These are the folks who should go to the lido every night, so they can check out what the food looks like before the take it!!

Hope the seas are now calm and you're enjoying your cruise. I know we are all enjoying your daily updates!!

Thanks for sharing!!

Peggy Sue

[tomc]

Immigration is onboard today. We all paraded thru with our passports on high. The line never stopped (at least, not while I was there) and now we don't have to go thru it in NYC. They will find other ways to torture us, in the name of 9/11, you can be sure.

Played "Best joke / worst joke" today and I won a keychain. Well, so did everybody else. The best and worst won some other stuff, but it was given out later.

Bingo Pete is the CD. I didn't realize that until this afternoon. He was on one of my cruises a few years ago and his name has come up on this board several times. During the joke competition, in the middle of someone's story, Jennifer came on with a bingo announcement, so we had to stop and wait for her to be finished. Afterwards, I asked the CD, "Were you Bingo Pete?" He said yes and I replied, "So you're putting up with what you had the other CD's put up with, huh?" I'm not sure if he was pleased or not, but he did manage a wan smile.

[jazzsea]

Thanks for the info on the officers and staff. I suppose none of them will be on when I sail on Rotterdam in January.

[RuthC]

They sing My Way at wakes in California? Good grief (no pun intended; well, maybe it was;) ), I never heard of such a thing! You mean now I have to make up a list of songs to sing at my wake? :confused:
Depending on my mood when I make up the list that could get to be one good time. :) Too bad I'll miss it. :D

Send-back Sarah sounds like one finicky woman. Good story.

[LizB1]

jazzsea...when are you sailing in January?? Some of the same Officers will be returning in January but it depends on the date.

[localady]

The only wake I want when I die is the wake of the ship as they toss my ashes overboard!!! If someone chooses to sing anything, it sure won't be "My Way", more like "My bonny lies over (or in) the ocean"!:eek: :cool:

[tomc]

I caught her last night sending something back from the Lido Buffet. How can you be dis-satisfied with something you picked out yourself? Sure enough, she was at a table, asking a waiter to remove something she didn't like.

And the beat goes on.

[localady]

She sounds like a ..............peach!!!!:eek:

Blue skies and calm seas!!:cool:

[Cinder]

I'll be on the Rotterdam January 25, do you know who the officers will be then?

[jazzsea]

I'll be on Rotterdam January 5 - 15, 2005.

Is Sarah still sitting at your dinner table? If so, why don't you order her a second entree?

[jazzsea]

My imagination was getting away from me regarding Sarah. Please disregard prior post.

[LizB1]

I'll be on the Rotterdam January 25, do you know who the officers will be then?

Cinder...I believe that Fred Eversen will be back as Captain and Willem van de Poll as HM. As far as I know they are scheduled to return on January 15th.

For jazzsea, word has it that Peter Bos will be Captain when you are on in early January and Peter Fealey as HM.

Of course, things can always change!

[tomc]

** This is a joke post **

Signature Of Excellence. Poo on that baloney P.R. attempt. We have had nothing but cloudy days, despite all this SOE blather. Did you notice that we have robes even in the Cat E cabins, but just to distract us from the fact that they have taken away one sunny day per 7-day cruise and two sunny days per 10-day cruise? Celebrity has 90% sunny days, NCL has 90% sunny days. Why can't HAL have 90% sunny days? It's because of the cutbacks, that's why and don't try to tell me anything else. I heard it's because Carnival bought HAL two years ago.

They took away the pirates on formal nights, ever since Carnival bought HAL four years ago. Nice going, Mr. Arison. That was one thing the loyal HAL cruisers always looked forward to. Formal dress, a nice meal, good conversation and then the pirates and photographers would work their way from table to table adding a sensitivity and charm to the evening. "Arr, matey, yer wantin' yer throat slashed by the likes of this prrrretty girl pirate, yer better buy a photo now, you hearrrrr?" They probably went to the QM2.

I heard that Carnival is going to buy HAL next year. They're going to turn out specialty ships for private groups. The "Queendam" will advertise itself as, "Drag yourself aboard for a gay old time." The "Drydam" will be chartered exclusively for Friends of Bill W. Then there will be the "Condam," a child-free cruise.

(joke post)

[tomc]

We had meatloaf in the Lido at noon!

Actually, it wasn't just your standard-brand "Mom's homemade meatloaf," but something they worked out from their stop last week in Quebec. Or so the cook told me.

"Meatloaf Quebecois" was the name posted on the card above it on the buffet line. Underneath it said: "Avec fin (ou fesse) de cheval."

[Esme]

HA, HA! ROTFLMAO! :D - "fousse de cheval". Good one Tom!

[gizmo]

MEATLOAF!!!!

I would love to know if "Send it Back Sarah" sent it back.

ROTFLMAO :D

[Roadwork]

Tom,

You are a riot. My side hurts from laughing. :D

Keep the posts coming, but from the horses mouth. :rolleyes:

[elmorejj]

Tom you`ve got to stop it, or I`ll be needing Depends when I read your posts!!!.........jean :cool:

[LizB1]

Tom, you are unbelievable!! Just made my day AGAIN!!

Keep your posts coming, and perhaps by the time you reach the Vineyard we, too, will have sun as we haven't seen it in a week either.

[Esme]

HA, HA! ROTFLMAO! :D - "fousse de cheval". Good one Tom!


OOPS - made a spelling mistake and it was too late to edit when I noticed it.

I meant "fesse de cheval"

[Pudgesmom]

Joke post!

TomC- It appears to me this may be another report of a large dead mammal, couchezd en francais.:D

Beth

[RuthC]

Too bad our southern New England weather didn't reach further north today. It was sunny and bright with temps up to low 60's. It's 59 at the airport in Warwick as I type.
Perhaps the nice weather will head up to meet you. :)

(My French is rusty. Did I read what I thought I read?)

[Himself]

TomC:

With your joke posts, you keep getting better and better. I don't see how you can outdue yourself everyday but keep up the good work.
Himself

[LizB1]

Ruth...glad to hear your weather was nice as we still had raw drizzly weather today on the Cape. Finally did see the sun around 5:00 so perhaps they will have it tomorrow in Gloucester.

[Peggy Sue]

Beautiful, sunny day here in Beverly..just a stones throw from Gloucester. Is that the next stop on The cruise?

Weather tomorrow and Wednesday in Gloucester - Sunny - highs in the 50's.

Tom...Your posts are delightful, always bring a smile to my face! Glad to hear you found that meatloaf today...

Enjoy your day ..and I hope the weather reports are accurate and you have a beautiful sunny day...and calm seas!!

Peggy Sue

[tomc]

Weather is, indeed, nice. Used to live here, but I have no doubts that the place has changed much in 34 years. I wonder if the widows still wear black 50 years after their husbands have been lost at sea?

[Roboat]

TomC - I'm just now reading this thread after, alas, being away at sea for the week. ;) My sides are hurting. Very, very funny and enjoyable! Like everyone else, I'm looking forward to more.

And I loved RuthC's excellent pun about the Californian's playing "My Way" at wakes: "Good grief!" :D

[RuthC]

And I loved RuthC's excellent pun about the Californian's playing "My Way" at wakes: "Good grief!" :DThank you; just throw chocolate. :D
Actually, I've been thinking about the song list for my wake. Would it be inappropriate to start with There'll Be A Hot Time In The Old Town Tonight?

Eagerly looking forward to tomc's entry for today. His posts always make for a delightful diversion at work! :)

[tomc]

Just left Gloucester MA a little while ago. I used to live here, but things have changed a lot in 34 years and I hardly recognized the place. Of course, it's a two-way street and I'm sure they'd hardly recognize me, either. I did radio here for a while and, while the station has changed owners, the owner has gone to his Maker. Both are in better shape for it happening.

Dessert extravaganza tonight. Chocolate Rules!

Excellent banjo player last night. He's enough to make me reconsider my thoughts on what constitutes "perfect pitch": Tossing a banjo into a dumpster so well that it doesn't touch the sides.

I fell asleep in the tender during the 20-minute trip returning to the ship from Gloucester. That was some feat, but my meds can overcome noise, smell, rocking and anything.

[Himself]

You are the first person who I heard of falling asleep in a tender. Wow!

[tomc]

Problem #1: Tendering was just awful.

We arrived at the usual time this morning, but you had to wait hours for open tendering. Like, let's say 2:00pm. I've nothing against taking a ticket, but tendering was so slow that people were pretty steamed -- especially those who had shorex planned. There was only one tender dock in operation, despite the large number of people signed up for shorex. I think this ship has four tender docks and if two tender operations were being run, it would have been a whole lot more efficient. I don't mean two boats overall, but two loading at pretty much the same time, or a few minutes offset; it's a 20+ minute ride in and you could stagger the tenders. Places like this require more than the usual two boats running past each other.

Problem #2: A disabled person was left behind at his bus.

This was nothing more than sheer stupidity on the part of the shorex bus driver (bus company's name on request, but a similar name is playing the Red Sox). A couple was on the bus; he has a portable oxygen unit with a spare cannister he must have nearby when he's off the ship. The bus driver was well aware of this and made provision for him to keep it on the bus while he was walking around the excursion area. As they returned to the bus, not fifty feet away, it left them stranded with the cannister still in the front of the bus. Through the kindness of a shopkeeper, they hired a cab and returned to the ship; the a-h driver had dropped off the cannister at the dock and left.

I urged them to tell the Shorex office and also to write to HAL hq. This is, to my mind, a very serious matter. It's serious even if you are not disabled; bus drivers are not to leave people behind (unless they are very late) and should give that last look before pulling out. If there is a medical difficulty, they should be even more vigilant.

[Ziggy7]

[b]
I urged them to tell the Shorex office and also to write to HAL hq. This is, to my mind, a very serious matter. It's serious even if you are not disabled; bus drivers are not to leave people behind (unless they are very late) and should give that last look before pulling out. If there is a medical difficulty, they should be even more vigilant.
Tell me who they are and I'll do it for them ! That is just not excusable! I really feel shorex and Hal need to know about this, they cant fix it if they dont know about it :) Come on TomC, use your wits and talk em into it :)

[tomc]

(a) Person's document won't print and apparently it's pretty important.
(b) Manager has gone off-duty for the evening. I'm sure she'd take care of it if she knew there was a problem; she's a nice person.
(c) Person does not want anyone to see the document if it prints later.
(d) Onboard staff will not get manager because she is off-duty.
(e) Person is upset.
(f) "Above and beyond" doesn't seem to apply to contacting the Internet Cafe manager, who would most likely zip up here and fix it in a moment..
(g) We've got a major case of "leave the ship with bad taste," I think.
(h) Could have been avoided with one simple phone call to the manager.
(i) "Sorry, ma'am, we have our working hours," does not seem to be the correct response here. Not the kind of thing you hear from HAL.

Stay tuned. Everybody has just left and/or stomped out. I'm the only witness from start to finish and I'm thinking of having major memory loss.

Note to HAL or DSI, or whoever is reading this: It's not the manager's fault.

[tomc]

Well, it's not the easy way if you are off-duty and probably thinking of heading to bed. But it's the easy way when you are on a ship where, sometimes, the difficult has to be the ordinary.

Someone called the Internet manager and she was up here in a moment, got the problem fixed and everybody is happy again. She's a real pro, knows how to handle bad situations. Too bad the lady had to wait this long and worry that her document might be seen by other people.

Summation, or something: Don't print documents when the manager isn't there, just in case something goes wrong. Don't think that the staff will get the manager for you, because they may not see the same level of importance you place on it (whether you are right or wrong). When the manager does come like that, do put it in the comments book and do make sure someone in authority knows about it.

Yeah, people were doing their job and following the rules as laid out for them. That much I understand. But when a pax is in some distress over what is in the print queue (and this person sure was), then you have to decide if the rules still work.

(We had an eclipse of the moon tonight and I'll just bet that Mel-Roy, the Moon God, was angry that this person was not out on the Sky Deck begging that he return the moon to its rightful place and not swallow it up.)

[tomc]

Correction on the bus line that stranded the disabled the pax--

I wanted to slightly disguise the name of the bus line that left the disabled pax and his wife behind at the Gloucester port stop. So I mentioned it had the same name as the team playing the Red Sox (which I thought was the Yankees). The bus line is not the "St Louis Cardinals." Sorry for the error.

Port stop cancelled in Mahtha's Vineyahd--

It's too rough to launch the tenders, so we're heading to Newport for the afternoon and our overnight plans are hazy. I think we will be returning to Newport tomorrow, but I have to find out definitely. I'm pretty sure we will, 'cuz there are all kinds of shorex planned there.

Someone in the dining room said, of the cancellation, "This is totally inappropriate." Having tendered in swells like this, I'd just love for him to get into a boat and take the trip. He might change his mind real fast.

[LizB1]

Glad you are headed for Newport and not surprised when the TV said this morning that seas would be between 3-5' in Nantucket Sound. Could have been a pretty rough ride for some as we are supposed to have small craft warnings this afternoon. Glad the ship made the right decision IMO.

Thanks again, Tom, for all your wonderful posts. I think we all have enjoyed reading them.

[Roadwork]

Tom,

I have enjoyed your posts very much. I got the Mrs. to read them and she thought they were the best. Your style of writing is one of a kind. Thanks again.:)

[tomc]

We just arrived in Newport, 'sted of remaining in M's Vineyard. We will be here for the afternoon and, I think, going out to sea (probably to save on anchorage charges), returning to Newport in the morning for the regular round of activities.

Regular round of Newport activities:
(a) Drooling over how the Other Half used to live
(b) Wondering if the Newport Creamery is still in business
(c) Trying to find out why people in New Bedford call it "Roy Dyland"
(d) Telling people that we stopped at a state the size of Rhode Island

The water is much calmer here in Newport Harbor and tendering should commence (as they put it) shortly.

[RuthC]

Good thing the captain decided to rule out the Martha's Vineyard stop---I remember the reports the last time you stopped there: People were tossing their cookies on the tender. And you got a lovely day in Newport to boot! The weather's absolutely beaautiful here today.

Yes, the Newport Creamery is still in business. It was going under a few years ago, but was saved by a new owner and the bankruptcy court. It was called a Rhode Island tradition.

It's "Row Dylan". Talk right. (she smacks him upside the head.)
O.K. so the state is small. So how many other states can you live in and know everybody else? In what other states can you give directions to where someone lives by neighborhood rather than town? Statewide! Or by saying something like "ya know that pink house up the street from where Ralph used to live? Turn right there."

Hoping the last of your journey brings good memories.

[tomc]

We've left Newport for the night. Going be hanging out somewhere at sea so we can open the casino, then heading back to Newport in the morning for the regularly-scheduled round of activities.

The "c.Columbus" has been in Newport. I see it mentioned in a Great Lakes maritime magazine all the time and thought it was a Lakes cruiser, but a crew member said it's a world cruiser. Nice ship, nowhere near as big as the Rotterdam. Nice lines.

Baked Alaska tonight, along with lobster as one of the entrees. Watched the eclipse from the Sky Deck last night (which I may have mentioned) and, as we left Newport, this big orange moon rose over the city. People on Goat Island were having a cookout or, quite possibly, burning a heretic at the stake; it was hard to tell in the dusk. Whatever, it was quite colorful.

Mr. and Ms. Rotterdam have been revealed at the Disembarkation Talk that I didn't make, as I was busy stuffing myself with the no-calorie Baked Alaska at the time. As it was not me, I'm not that interested. I was Mr. Rotterdam a few years ago and my mother was Mrs. Rotterdam twice.

Newport does not have an internet cafe, but if you leave the dock and walk across the main road, then take the sidewalk to the right, it leads you to a small Mom & Pop convenience store with a sign, "Convenience" over the door and a computer terminal right ahead of you as you walk in. Half the price of the ship's internet room. They don't seem to monitor your online time too closely, nor do they seem to care a whole lot; just don't abuse the extra minutes.

[Peggy Sue]

Tomc,

glad you had a nice afternoon in Newport! Hope tomorrow brings you another sunny day!

Please explain .. what is Mr. & Mrs. Rotterdam?? Did they win a free cruise or something?

Too bad you didn't stop in Salem...the witches are out in full force, with all the haunted happennings in full force over the next few days..but a heretic on Goat Island is almost as good...

thanks for posting...enjoying your cruise journal...and the smiles it bring daily!

Peggy Sue

[grannynurse]

are individuals chosen by the cruise staff to remain "hidden" identities, while the pax go around asking eachother "are you Mr, Mrs, ----- ship name?"

Once the person has been found, he or she has to deny the identity from then on. The designees and their finders are revealed on the last day. Prizes USED to be a free cruise, now the prizes are bags full of "Dam ship" goodies and logo items. The contest is fleet wide.
GN

[tomc]

Yecchhhhh. You're in the dining room, looking out, and you'd think you were at some sloppy backwoods home where they don't get around to things like cleaning the dirt off the windows. The rest of them aren't any better, but it's most noticeable in the dining room.

"Hey, Maw, tell Jeb to put thet banjo down an' kick the chickens outta th' way. They's a bucket under th' sink and mebbe if he primed th' pump out back he kin git some water and do the winders cuz we got company comin' an' we don't want them to think we's not high-falutin' like the big ship. I bet they keep their winders bright an' shiny, yessir. You don't see dirty winders on a big shiny cruise ship, not like here in th' back woods."

[Esme]

are individuals chosen by the cruise staff to remain "hidden" identities, while the pax go around asking eachother "are you Mr, Mrs, ----- ship name?"

Once the person has been found, he or she has to deny the identity from then on. The designees and their finders are revealed on the last day. Prizes USED to be a free cruise, now the prizes are bags full of "Dam ship" goodies and logo items. The contest is fleet wide.
GN

I don't know where you heard that Mr/Mrs. "Dam" every received a free cruise, but that definitely is not true. I have been Mrs. Rotterdam V, Mrs. Noordam & Mrs. (old) Westerdam and DH was Mr. Nieuw Amsterdam and found Mrs. (old) Westerdam (not me) and we NEVER received a free cruise.

Tom - did you or your Mother ever receive a FREE cruise?
:p

[Pudgesmom]

TomC-

The unusual moon you observed on Wednesday night may have been part of the same lunar eclipse we had down here in Texas.

Thank you very much for your hilarious and insightful posts!

Beth

[tomc]

Esme--

No, we never received a free cruise, but we did get piles of goodies. Speaking of which, I got some brown gold today. My toilet was inoperative all yesterday and today I received a nice credit toward my next cruise.

[Esme]

Esme--

No, we never received a free cruise, but we did get piles of goodies. Speaking of which, I got some brown gold today. My toilet was inoperative all yesterday and today I received a nice credit toward my next cruise.

Weren't you lucky. LOL :p :D
Yes, we got some really nice useful goodies and some not so usefull also. One gift was a lovely silver picture frame with the HAL crest.

[RuthC]

It's 6:15 and inquiring minds want to know:
are they serving meatloaf and fish & chips at the last supper?

(I received "only" a nice bag of goodies wne I was Ms Ryndam back in '96.)

[GayleArc]

Tom, Please, please, please eat up all the meat loaf before we board tomorrow. Thank you. Oh, and please clean the windows. Gayle

[tomc]

Dear Inquiring Minds:

No, they are not serving meatloaf tonight. Nor fish & chips. At least, not in the main dining room. The only meatloaf I spotted was in the Lido at lunch the other day.

I don't think they are worried about cleaning the windows, what with the rather serious omens we received the other night. The Red Sox winning the series, the eclipse of the moon; those are big-time. You don't waste your time washing windows when it's obvious the universe, as you have known it, is rapidly coming to an end. When Mel-Roy, the evil god, was swallowing up the moon, we were searching to find a virgin to sacrifice on the Sky Deck. Lacking that, we went for anybody under the age of 60. Then we settled on anyone under 70 who was still up at midnight. By the time we finally found someone, evil god Mel-Roy was disgorging the moon from his mouth and goodness had overcome bad.

[tomc]

CC's "HAL Mariner" was the impetus behind the post regarding bad tender ops at Gloucester. I did not include his name, as I had not asked permission and it's a lot easier to include it later (upon learning it's ok) than to take it out and erase it from everyone's mind (upon learning it's not).

[tomc]

It's been a pleasure keeping this online daily diary. The 10-day cruise is within hours of being over and I am within ten minutes of being out of onboard Internet time.

I ran into RuthC today in Newport and we had a nice time for a few hours before parting. It's a treat to see someone you've met on the board, talked via e-mail and even happened to be on the same cruise together once. We've done this twice now and, with any luck, will do it again in a couple of years if HAL has NE/C trips from NYC again.

Thanks for reading and contributing. See you from home.

This report has come to you LIVE! From the Rotterdam.

[elmorejj]

Tom, thank you so much for all of the time you have put in doing this log, both onboard and in cyber cafes. It has been a joy to read. Kudos for your journalism prof, he sure taught you well! I have had so much fun reading it and have laughed till I hurt. Have a :cool: safe journey back to Pa....jean

[Ziggy7]

Tom, thank you so much for all of the time you have put in doing this log, both onboard and in cyber cafes. It has been a joy to read. Kudos for your journalism prof, he sure taught you well! I have had so much fun reading it and have laughed till I hurt. Have a :cool: safe journey back to Pa....jeanDitto and well put :) Have a safe trip home Tom, see you back in reality soon :)

(I found Mrs. Zuiderdam and only got a bag full of "Dam" stuff, but it was really nice "Dam" stuff. However when our friends we met on the ship found out, they told us I won a free cruise, which I didnt)

[tomc]

Home.

Didn't have a journalism prof; taught myself by reading lots and widely. Started by writing for a newspaper and a radio station as a teenager. Read, read, read. Read everything, whether you agree with it or not. Examine writing styles. Don't go with the fashionable, but stick with what has worked over the long haul.

For those of you in the NYC area, I had Brian Carey (of 1010 WINS radio) as a journalism and radio student when I began teaching on the side.

[localady]

Welome Home Tom!!!! :D

Tomorrow morning is going to be tough, as there will be no room service or Lido buffet:eek: ! Withdrawal is a b*tch:o .

Glad to hear you had a nice visit with Ruth, it's lovely to meet in person after chatting for long here. Would love to here your overall thoughts and hints about the Rotterdam and HAL's performance when you are well rested! Thanks for letting us be part of your voyage. :cool:

[trustee55]

Hi!
Richard and I and the Antles are home safe after our 10-day cruise on the Rotterdam.
I have just scrolled through TomC's remarks and agree with all of them.
I wanted to meet Tom, but the closest I got was having a computer at the internet cafe in Halifax after him...his hotmail address was still on it...and hearing his name called for those who already had their 100-day medallion.
However, if he is the bald man travelling with his mother, then I know who it is as we played trivia against them most days and came home with a suitcase full of prizes.
We liked the ports on this cruise, but wish the weather had been a bit better. Yet we knew when we booked the cruise that the days could be cloudy, rainy and cold.
Halifax's Pier 21 was most interesting, especially for my husband, Richard, and our friend, Joanne, who had landed there when them emigrated from England and Holland. The staff was particularly helpful here.
We loved Glouster and its free one-hour internet at the local library. Folks there were very friendly as were most of the New Englanders we met on the trip.
We felt the service on the Rotterdam had gone down quite a bit since we last sailed on her for 19-days in 2000. Food in the dining room was not quite as good , and often, there just wasn't enough entree for the men at our table. On the other heand, our cabin steward, SUSILO, was one of the very best we have had in 20 cruises. He was efficent, humerous, and always happy.
The Pinnacle was another story! What great meals we ate there on both nights we had booked. Eveything was perfect and the Creme Brule was absolutely sinful. The only downer there was the unfriendly Maitre d' Johnny who made us feel very unwelcome on both occasions. He certainly should take a course in guest relations. Also, for the last two trips, we have booked the first night at the Pinnacle with 'HAL head office. Both times, although our credit card charges had gone through, there was no record of our payment at the Pinnacle.
We loved the cruise staff especially Mikey, Debbie and Leah, and felt they made our trip...and trivia...most enjoyable. And we liked the Mariner's ceremony where we received our 100-day medallions. That was very well done, and we received a free picture as a memento of the occasion.
We had booked an HH guarantee as we really like to be on the lower promendade deck. HAL gave us an upgrade(?) down to floors to the Dolphin deck. You couldn't mistake our cabins...ours were the two in front of the ever-spreading soggy wet carpet. It was like a horror tale...each day the blob kept moving...moving...moving...
When we trierd to get our original rooms back, Caroline at the front desk told us there was no such thing as a category HH... and besides, she told us, those rooms are not longer avbailable to you as we have given you a four category upgrade!!!
This was the same woman who told us that we would be first off the ship because of our tight flight times and then told us later as we waited...and waited...and waited...to get off the ship, that we should have known that we'd get off between 9-9.30!! ( We got off at 9.20 and our flight from JFK left at 11) Apparently the girls at the front desk are told to say anything that will make you happy! They all said we'd be first off, but then when the time came, they tried to let others go before us.

It's too bad we had such a bad experience this morning; it sure colours your thinking about the cruise. However, we will sail with HAL again when and if the price is right.

Best regards and happy sailing,

Carol Ann

[RuthC]

Hi!
... if he is the bald man travelling with his mother, then I know who it is.nope. That's not tomc.

Folks there were very friendly as were most of the New Englanders we met on the trip.That doesn't sound like typical New Englanders. You must have caught us in a good mood after the Red Sox victory! Don't let that fool you. We tend to be reserved in these parts.

It sounds like you, too, enjoyed your trip. Glad to hear it.
Welcome home.

[Cruiseoften]

Prizes USED to be a free cruise, now the prizes are bags full of "Dam ship" goodies and logo items. The contest is fleet wide.
GN

"Prizes USED to be a free cruise" - must have been a l-o-n-g time ago! I've been Mrs. Maasdam - think I received a garment bag, picture frame etc. but no word of a free cruise. Have been lucky to ID the title holder several times - some nice trinkets received - picture frame, travel bag, portfolio with calculator etc. - nothing to turn cartwheels over! :)

[tomc]

Pax departure was delayed because the baggage was delayed making it to the pier. I was in the cabin right next to the exit and I think I saw you asking about the departure time vs your early flight.

I didn't play trivia, but was in my radio golf shirt each daytime and in a suit reading in the Lido each evening. I did get to other events, as well, but when in doubt, I headed for some quiet time in the Lido. I also spent time chatting up the musicians.

[grannynurse]

about a free cruise awarded to the finder of Mr or Mrs (ship name). I probably associated the prize with another last day award for a free cruise.

I never claimed to be infallible, just a smart A**.
GN

[Roadwork]

Tom,

Thanks again for the best posting from the ship we have ever read.
My wife and I will miss reading you daily log. When is your next cruise?

[Ziggy7]

about a free cruise awarded to the finder of Mr or Mrs (ship name). I probably associated the prize with another last day award for a free cruise.

I never claimed to be infallible, just a smart A**.
GNWell I for one wish you were right on this one hehehehehe :)

[Esme]

trustee55 - I do hope you wrote comments in your "on-board" survey form about the 2 employees who were so rude to you. The Hotel Manager would be be very interested in what you had to say. There was no need for either of them to treat you the way they did.

Hope you mentioned the other crew members who made your trip most enjoyable.

[sail7seas]

By writing it here, it can be considered "told". Folks on the ships and in Seattle read these boards. This is an indirect route to be sure and it is better to either write it on comment sheets or speak up while aboard......but, the message WILL reach them.

[tomc]

Roadwork--

Next cruise is a b2b last week of June, first week of July. NE/C Boston-Montreal-Boston on the Maasdam.

[trustee55]

Hi Esme,
Yes; we made sure that we mentioned both the employees we thought were rude and the employees that went the extra mile to make our trip enjoyable.In the Lido, it was Tony, Echo and Iman; our steward, Susilo, and the cruise staff of Debbie, Mikey and Leah.
We also mentioned the inappropriate music at breakfast.....loud screeching tunes that set your teeth on edge. When we mentioned it to Lido manager, Todd, he said the music that was played was by directive of the HAL head office. No matter that the more senior passengers didn't like it.

Best regards,

Carol Ann Westbrook

[bob brown]

I just read these posts and thoroughly enjoyed reliving my cruise on the Rotterdam. I wish I had a chance to meet Tom on board. What a great sense of humor! I agree with most of what was said previously. The only real problem was for those unfortunate folks who had to endure the broken toilets in their rooms. The crew was wonderful, the food was very good, especially the dinner in the Pinnacle. Thanks to those recommending going there on "Dutch" night. I was very sorry to learn that HAL is not returning to New York in 2005.
By the way, I am that bald man who travelled with his mother. We very much enjoyed the trivia competition. We took home six picture frames, two luggage tags, two key chains, a Rotterdam video, a camera, and last but not least--one of those dam mugs. Oh, and Mom won a clock from that drawing in Bar Harbor. So we did pretty well.

[trustee55]

Hi Bob,
The four of us...the B&B's...really enjoyed playing trivia AGAINST you! You probably know which four persons we were....The Blonde women with her bald husband and the silver-haired short woman with the very tall silver-haired husband! So sorry neither one of our teams won the HALLOWEEN trivia!
The four of us sat across from you at the Pinnacle on Dutch night. Great meal, wasn't it!
Actually, we gave most of our prizes back to the cruise staff the day before we sailed.
Who needs that many mouse pads? Not even mice! We already have a house ful of prizes from other trips. We kept the cameras for our grandchildren, the dam mugs, and the picture frame.
We didn't have any bathroom problems; only that ever spreading wet spot in front of our cabins. The one that kept moving...moving...moving...
Nive to hear your mom won the clock...our friend, Joanne, won a crystal lighthouse from a draw held at Pier 21 in Halifax.
Hope to see you again on another cruise,

Best regards,
Carol Ann Westbrook

[jazzsea]

Hi Carol Ann,

I have forwarded some of your comments to Holland America Line Ship Services. I would like them to respond. Many of us love the Rotterdam and would not be happy if her service continues to slip. I have 1000 people on her January 5, 2005 and would really be dissappointed if the food and front office service did not improve. Thanks for taking the time to include your comments.

[Roadwork]

Roadwork--

Next cruise is a b2b last week of June, first week of July. NE/C Boston-Montreal-Boston on the Maasdam.Tom, thank you. Wow, 8 months to go, wish you were going sooner, since we enjoyed your journel so much. Hope you write another. :)

[tomc]

I sit here, with a steaming mug of tea and a bagel, my "shared custody" cat up on the back of the recliner just under the lamp. The tv is, as usual, off until there is something worth watching.

It is time to look back on the cruise.

The Shape of the Ship

For one thing, the windows were filthy. The dining room windows were the most obvious, but only because there were so many of them and you were more likely to be looking at the view. I don't remember any window cleaning taking place at all during this ten-day cruise.

Spotless Fleet: 0
We're sorry, sir: 1

The dining room curtains are somewhat the worse for wear. At least, as far as being stowed in the full upright position. Most of them go up and stay up; too many sort of hang there on an angle, somewhat askew, some hanging halfway down. Looks ratty.

Signature of Excellence: 0
Signature of Mediocrity: 1

General cleanliness is the way I've always known it: eat off the floor. I don't see the vacuum cleaners as much as I did before, but maybe they're just part of the background and I don't notice them. The floors are spotless and everything ('cept the windows) just shines. The Lido tables could be cleared a little quicker, but I've seen that in the past and, possibly, it's because I show up at end-of-shift when there's few people available.

Spotless Fleet: 1
We're sorry, sir: 0

That's Entertainment

I did not attend all the events, but I did hear that the singer (tenor? baritone?) was quite good, although someone said he went flat a couple times. Regardless, the good words far outweighed the one bad. His name might have been Steve Teague.

Buddy Wachter, banjo: Just excellent. He played ragtime, he played classical music, he did it all very well. He also did a jam session with the band and had the class to do his part, then leave the stage and let the band members each have a solo without him being present. Great rapport with the audience. It was only his second cruise gig and I think he could do this as a regular sideline.

Matilda and Patrick Murray: One lady said her face hurt from laughing. I only saw one show and I know what she means. Matilda is the puppet, Patrick is the ventriloquist. No ordinary puppet, no ordinary act.

The magician, whose name I can't remember and with good reason, never cut it with the audience. At least, not with the type of rapport you would expect with a cruise crowd. He was good at what he did, but you might as well have been watching him on tv; there just wasn't the immediate contact that you should have with a live performer right in front of you. Someone posted (on my thread) that he was the same was on a previous sailing.

The comedian, whose name I also can't remember, but who looks like Dom DeLuise, was pretty good but I don't think he was a standout. He certainly was clever enough. Others may have a higher opinion than I.

We no longer get to comment on individual entertainers, which is (IMO) not a good idea. I'd have given the banjo guy a very high rating, the pupeteer likewise, the magician somewhat lower, and so on. Maybe there's a good reason for letting the CD or someone decide who stays and who gets the hook. But I think pax input should play a good part.

Worth the ticket: 1
Give 'em the hook: 0

[tomc]

Onboard music, live:

The Rosario Strings sent a three-piece group which was quite good. On the old Rotterdam, the R.Strings used to play "Orange Blossom Special" at least once per set (or so it seemed) and this one appeared not to have it in their song list. They provided a good mix of music.

The Ocean Bar musicians (three pieces, I think; maybe four) were a more "up" group and also good. I think I have the right location; they were off the atrium, above the Front Office.

The Crow's Nest is not one of my hang out places, but I heard that the three-piece group there was good and the singing was very fine.

The Rotterdam "Orchestra" (oh, come on; it's a small band, six pieces) did a good job with all the varied tasks it had to perform. During the major stage shows, it played to a track and gave the impression of being a much larger group. One fellow, at a synthesizer, was quite good at creating varied instruments as needed.

I think this covers all the live music venues.

To the bank: 4
Walk the plank: 0


Onboard music, recorded:

When it was appropriate, it was very appropriate. When it wasn't, hoo-HAH, it was over the edge. For several cruises, I have heard (first-hand or second-hand), "That's how Seattle wants it." Well, Seattle, take out a piece of paper and a pen. Ready? Ok, write this down: "Play music that's appropriate for the group on board. If 80% of the pax are Senior Citizens, play something that pre-dates 'Pop Rock 105,' or whatever the station is out there. It could be that the younger crowd also likes some of the classic tunes, the stuff you can sing along with, the lyrics you can understand."

If you want to attract a younger crowd, then do it before they get onboard. Once the cruise starts, fit the music to who's onboard. If it's us older-timers, who have faithfully kept you in a job all these years, keep us happy. Don't alienate the people who have bought your kids' braces, the cars you drive, the houses you live in. Where do you think all that money came from? (Hint: Us, the people whose ears hurt from the junk you insist we listen to.) You can attract the necessary younger people without alientating the faithful multi-cruise retired crowd.

Candlelight and music: 1
Candles and earplugs: 1


Staffing

Well, let's see. We had a Captain and, when necessary, a pilot for the harbors. Zork, the navigation computer, takes care of steering, engine rpm's and whatever else goes on in the bridge.

Dining Room Stewards: I thought the d.r. was well-staffed. Our tables (mine and the two around me) had no problem with service. One night there was a snag, but only because two of our people came in rather late, after our orders were taken and the waiter was taking care of a couple at another table. Not his fault. Plates were taken away promptly.

Lido Waiters: I had lunch here daily. One day, a waiter took my tray to a table for me; other times, no one happened to be nearby. I have no reason to doubt it would have been taken just as quickly. Tables were cleaned quickly, although I did notice that --after a time-- only one person was left to pick up. Could have been a shift ended, or only one person was on duty, instead of two or three; don't know.

Cabin Steward: Seldom saw him. He did his job well and disappeared. I needed something one day and asked another steward I saw nearby; the item was delivered as requested.

Good guys: 1
Bad guys: 0


Four a Day At Sea

De gustibus non disputandum est (some Latin scholar can correct me on that one), which means something like: "There is no disputing taste." When you get to discussing food, you are into areas like sex, politics and religion. So, unless you pray while having sex with a politician during lunch, here we go.

Breakfast: I can remember when only a dozen, or fewer, people would be in the main dining room. Service was slow and it was not a good experience. At one point, it became popular and now it's full again. A bright and lively place to start the day. The guys are all there: coffee, pastry, main waiter. It's lovely and for people like me, who wake up slowly, a delight.

Lunch: My mother and I used to use the main dining room, but I've started going to the Lido because the d.r. starts a bit late for me. I'm not red-hot about the selections there, but realized that I wasn't losing weight, either. As I look back on it, there were always selections that I liked and, for the life of me, I don't know why I have any negative memories. Maybe I just don't like pushing a tray down a buffet line.

Supper: Ok, some people call it dinner. To my mind, very good almost every night. "Almost" means there were nights I didn't like most of the entrees; that's my problem, not HAL's. On another night, I'd probably like them. Maybe I was moody and turned my nose up at a few of them. Again, as posted above, I didn't lose any weight and there was always one or two entrees that were just right. Portions seemed smaller in some cases, which was fine with me, as they used to seem too large.

Late Night Buffet: Too much, too late. On the old Rotterdam, you'd stand in line for five or ten minutes when it opened. Now, there's hardly any line at all ... if there is a line. I appreciate it, but it just seems too much for the few people who actually show up. I think eating patterns and preferences have changed in recent years.

Drooling right now: 4
Get the gag bags: 0

[tomc]

Gettin' on (Embarkation)

Got there, checked in, walked on. It was so fast, it made my head spin.

Gettin' off (Debarkation)

Delayed due to some problem with transferring luggage to the pier. No sense having a shipload of people all standing around the terminal grumbling and starting rumors when they can be on the ship grumbling and starting rumors. When the bags were ready, the gates were opened and it seemed to go rather quickly.

Tendering

We had to miss Oak Bluffs, at Martha's Vineyard, due to the seas. Just too dangerous to have people trying to get from the ship into the tenders under those conditions. As to the guy who said, "This is very inappropriate," it would be more inappropriate to fish you out of the harbor.

Gloucester seemed to be a mess. I heard an amount of grumbling over how the tendering was being done and "HAL Mariner" had a much better view on this than I, as I did not go ashore until later, so I can't really comment on what I did not experience. Perhaps he will add to this thread. Gloucester is a long ride and a slow one, since we have to go thru a harbor at, for most of the way, very reduced speeds. That affects the process tremendously.

I think Newport and Bar Harbor were the only other ports and things seemed to go well there, as they always do.

We had hot chocolate at two ports, if not three! RuthC, eat your heart out. Or drink your heart out. (Actually, she met me at Newport and, indeed, did help herself to some as a Mariner with many trips under her belt. Excuses, excuses.)

Internet Cafe

Big improvement here -- it's slow. You will remember that it used to be glacial. Rates are the same three categories: (1) Highway robbery, (2) State highway robbery, (3) Interstate highway robbery. I used it, but I also made lots of use of the onshore internet cafes, whose rates are about one-third of the ship. In Newport, the visitors' bureau will tell you there are no cafes, but if you cross the street and turn right, as the sidewalk curves you will see a store with "CONVENIENCE" on it -- a Mom & Pop. They have a terminal in there.

Yum-Yum Man

Sometimes he was there, sometimes he wasn't. That could have been a factor of when I left the dining room; I really don't know. Maybe someone else knows if he has on-duty hours, as I'm sure he doesn't stand there all the time.

[Himself]

They are a lot cheaper. It is amazing why the Visitor's Bureau could blow that one so badly. Perhaps they wanted you in town spending and not spending time in an Internet Cafe. Perhaps they don't think a Cafe is someplace you should be visiting. I personally think they discredit themselves when they do not give you the information you need.

Himself

[tomc]

It's not really an Internet Cafe, as we know them. It's a M&P with a terminal and a stool. Maybe Newport is too affluent for that sort of thing; the other ports need them for the locals and welcome the cruise pax as extra income.

[tomc]

Forgot Gerry in the Tropic Bar (piano bar). He's quite good and getting better by the day. When he was hired, his repertoire was not that of the pax, but he quickly learned the songs and plays to a relatively full house nightly. He is smart enough to feel out the customers and get the mood as his set moves along: dancing, listening, singing, etc.

[elmorejj]

Thanks Tom for all of the additional insight and comments re your cruise. I have enjoyed reading all of it.
As an aside, do you ever cruise anywhere other than Canada/New England itineraries?....jean :cool:

[tomc]

Nope; just NE/C.

[trustee55]

Hi!
In regard to the internet in Newport, Rhode Island, one can use the internet at the new public library for an hour FREE of charge. There are about 20 computers to choose from. All one has to do is sign in on a blackboard stating your name and time you start.
Also, they have a stand of second copies of some of the latest magazines that they sell for 50 cents. There are also pocketbooks and hardcovered books for sale...all very cheap.
It is a very up-to-date place and I am sure the folks of Newport really appreciate it. As a visitor, I know I did.

Best regards,

Carol Ann Westbrook

[tomc]

I won't be there for a couple of years; I'll get directions then.

[IKE]

Thanks for taking the time on your cruise to update us on everything. Heard the ship had a bad time up Halifax way a month ago. How is the Ship handling now. You said there were some rough seas. Is the Ship in good shape as many items were broken. Enjoy your Cruise. Ike

[RuthC]

I especially appreciate that you named the entertainers. It's nice to have a previous endorsement of the evening's entertainment when checking our own daily program.

Thank you, again, for taking us along with you. :)

[tomc]

Ike --

The Rotterdam had engine problems during a hurricane which caused a lot of cosmetic damage but, as far as I know, nothing serious. The crew reports they kept to schedule after getting underway again (but had a h*ck of an overnight clean-up job). I understand the ship looked great the morning after the incident.

We had a know-it-all onboard who had been misled by an idiot crew member into believing that there was substantial damage to the ship, which necessitated drydocking in Bayonne NJ for two weeks. Let me emphasize that this was baloney from the moment the crew member opened his mouth.

* * * * *

During the ten days I was onboard, we ran into some weather northbound, mostly in Canada, for three days. The seas were running 12-15' with gale force winds. We were staggering around a bit, but nobody was falling over or anything like that. One night we were requested not to go out on deck because of the high winds. Nothing really bad; just a few mildly snotty nights on the North Atlantic. It would have been more fun without the stabilizers.

[bob brown]

I noticed some residual damage to some glass doors in the gift shops. They probably were hard to obtain quick replacements for.

I agree that the ship rode the gale force winds very well. I had no problem moving about, (I guess experience walking on moving subway trains has its benefits!)
I might add that I really lucked out with my cabin. I purchased a last minute guaranteed inside, and was assigned #2619. This is a unique cabin that is oriented from stem to stern with a side entrance. It couldn't have been more centered on the main deck then if I tried, and consequently it rode with almost no motion. It also was much larger than the standard cabin although it had no extra amenities. I would try to get it again.

[tomc]

Now that you mention it, I noticed that, too. Just didn't pay it any mind. I thought, "Huh ... that's a strange way to decorate the doors." But I was usually on my way somewhere and not particularly interested in the shops.

I was forward, starboard side and was not aware of much movement. But [truth in advertising] was brought up on boats and things like that don't make it to my consciousness. It's not until the engine bolts rip loose that I realize we're starting to roll badly.

[Terri Lee]

bob brown.......

Cabin 2619 is a wonderful room,isn't it? I had that cabin back in 2000 when I did the Baltics and St.Petersburg cruise.Some friends on board who were in a suite,couldn't believe how spacious it was,especially for an inside cabin.At one point,there were 9 people in my room and we didn't feel crowded at all.

Like you, I would love to have that cabin again and again and again!LOL!:D


Terri;)

[tomc]

At one point,there were 9 people in my room and we didn't feel crowded at all. I think I saw that film. Groucho comes in and Harpo is asleep in the trunk...

[RuthC]

That was my home for 10 days back in '02. Love that cabin, and would take it every time (I do steerage) if I had the chance.

Actually, there is one little extra amenity---there's a second electrical outlet on the passageway side. (In steerage ya takes what ya can gets for extras.)

If you got that cabin last minute you sure did get lucky. Did you try the casino, too? ;)

[buck_92105]

Roadwork--

Next cruise is a b2b last week of June, first week of July. NE/C Boston-Montreal-Boston on the Maasdam.

I've really enjoyed your posts.... like your sense of humor.
Ever do cruises from the LEFT Coast? You seem like an interesting character that would make for a great shipmate.
Take Care,

[tomc]

RuthC may have another opinion, but I don't think I'm anywhere near that interesting in person. I'm a good writer, a good radio personality and do other things well, also. But I'm definitely not a party guy; I'm definitely a loner or a one-on-one at best. I spend the evenings reading in the Lido or hanging out on the Sky Deck pondering the Mysteries of the Universe. (Gee, I'm starting to sound serious here, when all I mean is, "how come the captain knows where he's going when the ship doesn't have headlights?")

[CDRMark]

On ships the headlights are in the bathrooms.
Enjoyed your posts. Thanks much.
MarkB