Volendam - Mar 11 - 20

The cruise already began on March 10th and I gave that report on the other review.

Mar 11 - sea day - Formal night

Even though the seas were calm it was overcast and cloudy.

We were seated in the middle section of the Frans Hals Lounge for the Captain's Welcome party. We did get cocktails but no appetizers. Two servers stopped but they had only 4 cheese coated cauliflowers left and a couple of meat balls. We asked them to return when they had more to offer like the shrimp. They said they would return but they never did. It was reported on our survey's.

The male lead singer sat at a table almost across from us. His grand parents were on this cruise. (This was announced a couple of evenings later right before the production show as they were celebrating their 56th wedding anniversary.) Three other elderly women were also seated at their table. Most evenings the conversation was very strained. The grand parents and he would talk and very seldom did the other women talk. Two of them were traveling together and they rarely talked to each other. The third woman just sat and ate.

We were susposed to have a production show this evening but it was moved till tomorrow night because one of the dancers sprained his ankle at last week's final show. Instead they announced that Annie Frances would be singing - saw her last segment - not worth going back to hear her again.

When we returned to our suite after dinner, the verandahs on port side had been washed again. They were just washed yesterday while we were in Ft Lauderdale. The carpet inside the cabin was soaked.

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Mar 12 - sea day - originally (according to the first day's daily program schedule) this was to have been an Informal night but it was changed to a casual night. Some people hadn't read about the dress change in their daily program so they came to the dining room all dressed up and then complained that no had told them about the change.

We had a beautiful sunny day to relax while at sea.

The production show that was scheduled for last night was performed tonight - Show Stoppers.

May 13 - Aruba - Informal night (it was originally to have ben a casual night)

Around 4 AM while enroute to Aruba we had a small rain shower that soaked everything.

The majority of the stores in the Royal Plaza Mall & Seaport Village Mall were all closed. So why did our shopping ambassador spend the better part of 45 minutes talking about shopping in Aruba when the majority of the stores on HAL's recommended list were closed? Maybe he should have checked the date to see that we would be there on a Sunday!!!! A couple of stores (not on HAL's list) opened at 9 and closed at 1. A few others opened at 10 and closed at 2. Not all the vendors along the water's edge opened. The shuttle that runs from the security gate over to town and then on over to the Seaport Marketplace wasn't operating. There are several small wooden craft shops to the left of the security gate - they weren't open. Stores like Diamonds International and Little Switzerland didn't open until 10. And only the Diamonds International closest to the pier opened. The other one in town was closed. The recommended Iquana Joe's Caribbean Bar & Grill didn't open at all. We could only find the Cantina in the Royal Plaza open to get a drink and they said that they were open only for drinks - no food.

Tonight was the wine and cheese sail away (from 5 - 6) as well as the 2 for 1 drinks at Bingo - both held at the same time. A lot more people came to this wine and cheese sail away. Once again we were able to stay for only a little while as we had dinner reservations at the Pinnacle.

This was also the night of the Who's Who/Vip Party. Once again it was held from 7:30 - 8 :15 on deck 3 in the atrium. About 100 people were in attandance. This time the doors to the cabin areas were closed to keep out uninvited guests - we saw only one couple move the barricade at the top of the steps and come down to the party. There was the usual great appetizers served like we had the last time - sure wished we had cancelled the Pinnacle and ate there!

There is a condo being built by the pier area. You can barely see the Royal Plaza Mall from the ship.

Some of the divi trees out on the reef were destroyed in the last hurricanes.

This was "Dutch" night in the dining room. They gave out the hats there. There was a couple we got to know and they had gone to dinner and asked why hats were given out this segment and not the last segment (we all were doing back-to-back cruises). They were told that the ship had run out of them for the last cruise but that they got a new shipment in for this cruise. That must have been the only thing we got in the way of supplies for this cruise!

When we went for lunch today (couldn't eat ashore) I went to the deli section to get a sandwich and asked where the potato chips were. I was told that there weren't any more chips. HELLO - this is only day 3 of the new cruise. And as I talked to a few other people I discovered that we were also out of pineapple juice and several wines. A couple at a table behind us in the dining room had ordered a certain wine the previous evening and were told that there wasn't any more.

We had noticed that there weren't any large trailers at the pier loading supplies when we were in Ft Lauderdale. It was very evident as certain staples were either out within a couple days of our second segment or ran out by day 8 and 9.

Will continue when I get a chance.

Tomorrow we meet with our CPA (April is just around the corner) and then we will going out to lunch.

Aruba doesn't get much rain and so when it does get rain, it becomes kind of a crisis.

Sorry about no potato chips.

Himself

The last few times that we have stopped at Aruba, it had either just rained or we were in the middle of a rain storm.

It is very rare for any of the ABC Islands to have a hurricane. They almost never are in the path but this was such a horrible hurricane season.

Mar 14 - Curacao - casual night - also BBQ night

The evening before when Captain Van der Zee gave his little talk as we were preparing to leave Aruba, he mentioned that if we got to Curacao before 6 AM, we would be docked inside the St Anna Baai at the old cruise terminal. We didn't get there until after 7 AM. Considering that we had to go only 69 nautical miles and our speed was 6 kts and the seas were calm, a lot of people were complaining because we had to dock at the newer ocean side pier. A lot of the older complained because it was so far for them to get to town.

It was a hot and sunny day.

Knowing that we were going to be here until 11 PM, we signed up for the Curacao Beach Express. When we met our tour on the pier we noticed that the excursion sign read "Curacao Beach Express Fun Bus". We were taken to an old school bus that was painted with a beach sceen. Inside the bus the roof was lined with dried palm frawns. Bongo drums and artifical flowers and lots of other stuff also decorated the interior of the bus. There were 36 of and only about 10 people had aqua shoes. It was a 45 minute drive to the Porte Mari beach. The beach was all coral and stones. Even if you managed to walk to the water, it was also all coral and stones. One woman fell and gashed her leg. Most of us chose to just sit and sun. We there only 1 1/2 hours. The drive back was only 35 minutes. This was also Karioki (?) time. Now we know what they meant by "Fun Bus". I would not recommend this tour unless you have aqua shoes.

Many of the people did not know that the stores in town close from 11 until 1 for siesta. Not mentioned on the daily program.

In the afternoon we walked over to the Riffort Fort. The last time we were here, a few shops had opened up and there were a few vendors. Not much has changed. Most of the stores are still empty. We went up to the 4th level to the Anchor and had a drink and watched the sights. This is a good place to view and take pictures of the beautiful colored buildings on both sides of the St Anna Baai. Also great view of the Queen Emma Bridge (Pantoon Bridge) and the Queen Wilhalmina Bridge. DH didn't bring his camera!

BBQ was more popular this segment than the last one. It was more advertised more. The waiters mentioned it in the dining room the evening before and several annoucements were made during the day. About 300 attended. They also had ice scalping at the aft pool and unlimited pina coladas for $9.95.

Captain Van der Zee left today for a conference and Captain Visser returned to the ship. No explanation was given for our late arrival this morning.

At 11 PM we cast off our mourings. At 11:06 the fireworks began. The captain angled the ship a short distance from the pier so that we all could watch the fireworks from our verandahs (port side) and open decks. It was lovely. A couple of years ago when we were here on the Amsterdam and docked at the same pier, our captain didn't stop and wait for the fireworks. We were 3 - 4 miles out to see when they began and no one got to really enjoy them because we were so far away.

Mar 15 - sea day - Formal

Today was the first of 2 Mariner's Parties - again. There were 501 Mariners for the early dining time and less than 500 for the late dining.

Also had a wine tasting event today. Because of the poor response to the last one, the price was lowered to $9.95 and moved to the Frans Hals Lounge. We went. There were 87 of us.

Before we tasted the first wine, Sokol Blossom Pinot Gris, we all given white grapes to taste.

Then bread was passed around for everyone to cleanse their pallet. There was also a bottle of water (no charge) on the table for people to drink if they needed to bewtween wines.

The second wine was Chardonnay Hess Select and we tasted pineapple and apple chunks and sniffed vanilla beans before we tasted the wine.

The third wine was Merlot Trinchero. Everyone tasted blueberries and blackberries and smelled onion, garlic, fresh basil, and sun dried tomatoes. Then it was time to taste the wine.

The fourth wine was Cabernet Sauvignon Cuvaison. Didn't get to taste anything but we did get to smell pepper corns, portabella, oyster, and satchi mushrooms before we tasted the wine.

The final selection was Kenwood, Brut Cuvee, California. No tasting or smelling of anything. Just tasted the champagne.

It was a different wine tasting compared to others we have attended.

Mar 14 - Curacao - casual night - also BBQ night

 

The evening before when Captain Van der Zee gave his little talk as we were preparing to leave Aruba, he mentioned that if we got to Curacao before 6 AM, we would be docked inside the St Anna Baai at the old cruise terminal. We didn't get there until after 7 AM. Considering that we had to go only 69 nautical miles and our speed was 6 kts and the seas were calm, a lot of people were complaining because we had to dock at the newer ocean side pier. A lot of the older complained because it was so far for them to get to town.

 

Did anyone explain why the time would make a difference where you docked?

Maybe another ship was docked there?

Thanks for your review. I enjoyed reading it.

There weren't any other cruise ships in Cruacao the day we were there.

We were told that we had to be docked before 6 AM because of the large volume of frieghters on a Monday and the tug boats would be dealing with them.

Mar 16 - Dominica - casual night

Easy day - we just walked around the vendors again.

At 9:20 an ambulance arrived with a doctor from the hospital. The ambulance driver, his helper, and the dcotor had to show all kinds of identification before they were allowed on the ship - took the better part of 5 minutes. It left at 10 with an elderly gentleman who had a heart attack. A younger man with all their luggage also left in the ambulance. We have seen a lot of ambulances come to the ships over the years but this was the first time that we have seen a local doctor come to the ship.

Sorry - got interrupted on this day's report.

Around 3:30 we noticed a small plane that went over the ship heading towards the airport. It didn't sound very good. At 3:35 there was an announcement for Mr & Mrs So and So of Cabin #--- to either call or report to the from desk. All aboard was 3:30 so we thought nothing of it. There have been numerous times when names were called for people to check as the scanners had indicated that they hadn't gotten back on the ship when actually they did. The problem accurs mostly at times when large groups are returning to the ship at the same time. At 3:55 a taxi pulled up at the pier. We were scheduled to depart at 4 but we had noticed that no preparations were being made for our departure. One of the dancers had sprained his ankle during the last show on our last segment. His replacement was the person we saw arriving in the taxi. We thought that once he got on the ship, the gangway would be lifted and we would be on our way. That didn't happen. Everyone was still just sitting around. At 4:10 Captain Visser came on and said that we were waiting for our hotel manager, Mark Pells, to return to the ship. He was scheduled to fly to Ft Lauderdale for a conference. The plane he was to fly on was the one the new dancer arrived on and it had mechanical problems. While the captain was talking to us, another taxi pulled up to the pier. A couple jumped out loaded with packages and ran to the ship. Guess who??? That was the couple that had been paged. They were just lucky that the ship was waiting for Mark. During both cruises there were several times when we left ports 5 - 10 minutes early. Had it not been for our waiting for Mark, we would have been long gone from Dominica. At 4:25 another taxi pulled up to the pier and Mark returned. He was quite surprised to find about 200 people calling and waving to him.

Mar 17 - St Thomas - Informal night and St Patrick's Day

The daily program and menus were all printed in green ink.

We lucked out again and docked at Havensight. There were only 3 other ships with us here today.

Embarkation began at 8 with those going on tours to report first and then everyone else alphabetically.

Having done all our shopping on the other segment we decided to take a tour. We went out to Coki Point and Coral World. We saw the original Coral World in 1987. In 1994 it was destroyed by a hurricane and it was 3 years before it was rebuilt and reopened. The windows in the underwater observatory are about 1/3 size of the original ones. Hopefully they are stronger and can withstand future hurricanes. The waters were a bit murky from the rain storm a couple of days ago but we were still able to a lot. Besides rebuilding the observatory, they have also built a walking area - cactus, fish, ducks, etc. A couple of other buildings show various fish and coral reefs. There is also a pond for the turtles, another one for the stingrays, and another one for the sharks. There is an area for children to touch various starfish, etc. There are also a couple of gift shops and 3 areas where you can get something to eat and drink. They also have a new feature called "sea trekking". On the lower level of the observatory you go out onto a platform where you are fitted with a helmet that has an air hose. It is adjusted on your shoulders so that water can't get in. You are met by an underwater guide and taken in groups of no more 8 to follow a certain path underwater around the observatory. There is a rope for you to hanf onto. We had a little over 2 hours there. Some of our group (19 of us) chose to go snorkling and diving at the beach right next door. The majority of us roamed around Coral World. It takes the better part of 2 hours to see everything. We fortunate to be there at a time when they fed the sharks. There were several ignuans walking around.

When we returned to the ship we discovered that painting was done above our cabin. There was white paint all over the railing - big blobs in a couple of areas.

Around 4 an annoucement was made that the evening show had been cancelled. David Muzio, a juggler, didn't make it from Ft Lauderdale - his plane had mechanical problems. Paul Pappas, one of the pianoist who has performed a few times already, was the replacement. It was also mentioned that a Jim (?) was to have flown out of St Thomas to return to Ft Lauderdale but his plane also had mechanical problems. While sitting on our vernadah this afternoon we saw quite a few jets arriving and leaving St Thomas. Mark Pell's plane took off. So what kind of planes is HAL booking for the entertainers and staff????

Since it was St Patrick's Day, there was beef brisket on the dinner menu - but no boiled potatoes, no turnups, etc. For desser there was Irish Whiskey Cake - I think they forgot the whiskey as the cake was very dry.

Sonja Marie, the piano player from the Piano Bar, had a sing-along of Irish songs in the Crow's Nest which began at 9:30 which was followed by Irish dancing at 10:30 (no ball this segment).

Both the dining room and Crow's Nest were all decorated in white and green ballons with green cloth drapped around. There were banners as well.

At dinner there was an obnoxious group of 8 at a table near the back of the dining room. One woman from the table kept going over to a table of 4 by the windows and closing the drapes. The table of 4 kept opening the drapes as they wanted to see the sun setting. She and the others kept yelling that the sun was bothering their eyes. This woman went at least 3 times to the windows and closed the drapes. The battle went on for 20 minutes. These obnoxious people weren't even dressed appropriately (JMO) for an informal evening. They had on jeans, dirty slacks, sport shirts, t-shirts - not one woman wore a dress or fancy pants and none of the men wore jackets.

THese things are all happening to keep you from getting jaded. After all, what would be the fun if everything went smoothly?

Now what should have happened is the folks who kept trying to close the drapes should have, at one point, yanked too hard and pulled them down. Got the makings of a 3 Stooges movie there!

Mar 18 - sae day - Formal night

It was a smooth, calm, sunny, and warm day at sea.

The second party for Mariner's was held today.

The toilets on Navigation Deck from 7002 - 7028 were out of order from 9:45 - 10:40 AM. The system had to be shut down while they worked on the public restrooms on deck 5 - one toilet in the ladies was out of order from Feb 28 when we boarded the ship. The system was off and on most of the afternoon.

We also heard that cabin 6108 had all kinds of problems since they boarded the ship on the 10th. Their air conditioning didn't work most of the time and their toilet kept over-flowing every time they flushed. The workers kept telling them that they working on the problem. Today they demanded to see the guest relations person. Wish we could have sat in the office to see how their problems were resolved.

Today was also the suite buffet in the Explorer's Lounge - same menu as before.

Tonight's menu had 2 Maine Lobster Tails instead of Surf (I mean SUF) and Turf. They were small - you could order extras. DH's were great but mine were tough, dry, and tasteless. Mine were cooked to the point where they fell out of the shell in pieces.

Forgot to mention that we received our surveys today and the flower arrangements were to be rated again.

We also got out information for disembarkation on the 20th. We were informed that the immigration and customs officials would becoming on board the ship when we docked in Ft Lauderdale. And that immigration would begin around 5:30 AM!!!! Breakfast would be served in the Lido from 5 AM - 8 AM. The Rotterdam Dining room would be open from 5:30 - 6:30.

Flags are now waving!!!

We knew that the Volendam was among 8 ships to be docked that day and most of us figured that since the Westerdam was also due to dock on the 20th she would be at pier 26 and we would be at 29.

So we began to ask questions and got little answers.

Mar 19 - HMC - casual night

It was a warm beautiful sunny day.

We got to HMC at 6:40 AM - the sun was just coming up. Since we were scheduled to leave here earlier than the schedule had origianlly indicated, many people chose not to go ashore - including us.

And Some of us were still asking why we were scheduled to dock at 5 AM and at which pier. Still no definite answers.

Really loving your reports and like the creative change to green text for St. Patrick's Day. Good touch. Your report brings back a lot of memories of past cruises. Sounds like there were the usual good and bad things happening including the obnoxious group in the dining room. It takes all kinds!

Thanks for sharing.

Mar 20 - Ft Lauderdale

We arrived at 4:40 AM and were securly docked at 5 AM at pier 31 - a freight dock far from all the other docks.

Some people had gotten some information as to what would be happening.

We never got anything in writing - nor were we ever given the Neptune Lounge's hours of operation.

More questions being asked.

We were told that we would be bused to pier 27 where there would be taxis to take us to the airport.

Hello - big problem - we aren't going to the airport. We didn't mention that we were only going to a hotel.

Immigration was to have begun at 5:30 but the officials didn't start calling anyone until 5:55 - alphabetically. It went very slowly. We weren't called until 6:55. After passing through immigration in the Explorer's Lounge we also got our custom's form initialed. The last calls for 12 Americans and 2 foreigners were made at 7:40 and the ship was cleared at 7:50.

Being in a suite we had #1 and were the first to be called at 8. There was a hut where most of the luggage had been taken to. We had watched earlier in the morning as freight crew moved 7 large containers to block off the end of the pier - guess they thought we might flee the area. Not all of the luggage could be taken into the hut at once. When we left there were still 14 containers of luggage ready to moved into the hut once some of the luggage was claimed.

More to come - need to take a break.

Many times the Captain does not know where he is going to dock until a few hours before arrival. Also, things change at the last minute, so maybe the reason you didn't get any answers is because they honestly didn't know. HAL has no control over what time Immigration starts, especially if there are 8 ships in FLL. It is frustrating, but it can't be helped.

HAL knew days in advance where we would be docked. The information was not passed onto the passengers.

The ship that fouled everything up was the MSC Lycra(?) - she was #9 for the day. MSC has been docking perpendicular to the Princess pier. Usually when 2 Princess ships are in port they are in that area. If ony 1 Costa ship is in port, the second Princess ship will dock at her pier when MSC is in port. It is a complicated schedule and having sailed many, many times out of FFL we know which ships are assigned to certain piers. The only time there is a major problem is when there are more than 8 ships scheduled for FLL.

The workers arrived at 6 and began setting up the HAL logo carpets on the pier and the various extra tents and xray machines that would be needed for the passengers embarking in the afternoon.

The buses and handicapped vans to take us either to pier 27 or the parking garage began to arrive at 7. We had planned on calling Embassy Suites to pick us up had we been docked at 29. But no hotel buses were allowed in the freight docks.

We went into the "terminal" and claimed our luggage. There were several porters ready to help with taking luggage to the buses. We were assigned to bus #1 - to go directly to pier 27. Those who had cars parked in the garage directly across from 26 were assigned to another bus.

The bus was only half full but the luggage bins underneath were full so we left within a few minutes. Our bus driver had no idea of what he was doing or where pier 27 was - even though there were signs posted everywhere. He went right past the sign for pier 27, past pier 26, past 24 and right on down into the loop and past 22 and 21. He stopped in front of the garage and said that we were all to remain on the bus until he got the luggage onto the sidewalk. We all kept telling him that we weren't the bus for the garage but were supposed to be taken to pier 27. After taking off most of the luggage he began asking questions and the other bus drivers drivers told him where he was supposed to be. So he had to load the luggage back onto the bus. Many people were getting mad and anxious as they knew that there were a lot of ships in port and they wanted to get to the airport as soon as possible and get through security before the mobs hit. We finally got to pier 27 at 9 AM! ONE HOUR TO GO ONLY A SHORT DISTANCE!

When we got to pier 27, the handicapped vans had already arrived and took the first 4 cabs to the airport. Since we were sitting in the front of the bus we were able to get off right away and claim out luggage. There were porters there who took our luggage to the next available taxi. The HAL representatives were overwelmed by the number of people needing taxis and we were just the first bus to arrive - several more arrived after us. But they did keep calling for more taxis and the taxis did come. All the taxi drivers had been told that everyone needed to go to the airport. We didn't say a word until we were in the cab that we were going to a hotel. He didn't seem happy about the cheaper fare at first but once he saw his tip, he was a different person.

We got to the Embassy Suites at 9:15.

We were roaming the hotel at noon before going to lunch and there were a lot of Westerdam and Volendam passengers just arriving from the ships.

Yes, FLL does have a complicated docking schedule, and I have sailed out of there over 500 times. However, even if the ship knows where it is supposed to dock, things can change at the last minute. The Front Office does not purposely hold back information, although it may seem like that when you aren't able to get an answer that satisfies you.