lyndarra

I've just come off Westerdam and there was no smoking in the casino and there was no detectable (to me) smoke odour anywhere. Very few smokers in designated outdoor area by pool.

Went through the declare line this morning. Had Indonesian coffee, small wooden box containing civet coffee (all factory sealed) and a carved wooden Komodo dragon. Took less than 30 seconds to get the all clear - go.

You're right. Sadly I don't have the discipline required. On my MSC Divina Genoa/Miami cruise in 2019 I made notes each day and a few weeks ago I found them when clearing out old papers. It refreshed a few memories. I did do a CC review.

Final sea day before reaching Singapore tomorrow. Covid cases have increased to 40 pax and 16 crew. Most people seem to be adhering to mask wearing recommendations. My guess is about 90% When I arrive home I'll try and put together a review - of sorts. Highly dependent on my aging memory cells.

Have checked out the Crows Nest again and found things had changed. All nice and tidy. Captain has mentioned ongoing updating of areas. BB King will become Rolling Stone Rock & Roll.

We are in 1104 on main deck aft. It's close to stern and we get some engine noise but it is not disturbing at all. Cabin is roomy with a good size sofa and a small coffee(?) table. Plenty of desk space and USB be charging points and more near bed heads. Room is handy to lift to reach Lido. Miss not having an atrium as on RCI, Celebrity and others. No smoking in casino means no smell when passing through. Can't be many smokers on board as I haven't noticed tobacco smell at all so far.

Yes, perhaps "overused" (oops) is a better word. When we first walked in we thought renovations were afoot. Did not have the ambience of previous HAL ships we have been on. I may have to go back up there for another look.

That's what I found when i prepaid with HAL

I'm on Westerdam but I don't have the wifi package. It has taken me until now to sort out my phone as a wifi hot spot. From time to time I will ad some info on this thread as I am not proficient enough to do a real time review. So, from memory. Ship is very similar to Noordam. I miss the crows nest set up. Crows Nest was a very popular gathering spot on Noordam and Maadam where we would do Trivia play cards (500) and partake of happy hour which usually preceded our latish dinner time. On Westerdam the Crows Nest seems very neglected. Trivia is held in Billboard lounge(?) which is always overcrowded with people pinching seats from the casino. I entered a general knowledge trivia solo and scored equal tops core of 14/15 (brag brag). If I had known the writer of first English dictionary I would have made a perfect score. Seems very few people know what a Flemish Giant is but somehow I dragged the answer out of my grey matter recesses. Next point. There is obvious cost cutting. Most noticeably no resident "orchestra" for main stage shows however the entertainment has been excellent. There was a fantastic light and dance show from One Step dancers - I think it was called Humanity. Excellent singer from Perth, Karen Beckett who will be presenting Shades of Streisand tonight. A very entertaining Irish(?) magician. I decided to take a couple of bottles of my favourite Piggs Peak wine, prepared to pay the corkage, which was done when boarding, however I wasn't prepared for the 18% service charge that added to the service. Will be seeing Customer Service about that. On cost cutting. With a full ship there seems to be a lack of wait staff in MDR as not all tables are being filled (we are on My Time) which means queueing and waiting for shared tables using beepers but the wait is not long and you are served a complimentary glass of bubbly while waiting. Day before yesterday everyone had to do a RAT which added 16 cases to 15 already in isolation . Most are wearing masks as advised by HAL. Ironically there seemed to be more mask wearing after the test than before. Staff have been excellent. Customer Service staff have been great, so far. They fixed a glitch in my app which wasn't showing OBC - all good now. Happy to use 'old fashion' door keys. No Medallions here. IIRC there used to be a drinks list on tables in Lido but none now. We have night light in bathroom, doesn't bother us nor does the auto floor light. Enough for now. Will add more later if Julie doesn't mind.

One sleep to go. Thanks Julie for Live(ish). BTW How do I know beforehand if my OBC is on my account?

I have done this on Ovation. We just turned up at the time we wanted to dine, which was about 6.30, and the allocated a shared table for 8. Most nights we had the same table and often the same table mates who liked to dine at about the same time. Saved a lot of introductions and we could continue interesting conversation threads from the previous night/s.

Yes, you can do that.

Nobody drinking Tetley teas here? I once bought a pint of Tetleys draught ale at a pub The Telford Arms (Pontcysyllte) on a hot June day. I couldn't finish it - it was horrible. I hope their tea is better than their beer! I drink Aldi Green Tea.

Quite right. Sorry. I was thinking of Port Chalmers. I haven't been to Lyttleton. But don't the shuttle busses take you to CHCH?

He has a point. Perhaps it's a good time to go to the pub for a while. I don't get why cruisers spend thousands on a holiday and then penny-pinch by using the local public transport which is government subsidized. These may be the same people who complain of being nickel and dimed by the cruise companies.

My wife Darra taking in Fiordland views January 2012 on our first cruise - Celebrity Century. And a couple of friends of ours wrapped in blankets. They talked us into going.

https://www.google.com/search?q=it's+a+jungle+out+there+monk&client=firefox-b-d&source=lnms&tbm=vid&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwifx-yc_538AhWUxTgGHbumBFIQ_AUoAXoECAEQAw&biw=1695&bih=944&dpr=0.9#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:abe7c28f,vid:L_IOsLYVKkY

Only problem going outside for air is, on some ships, you find the doors to the promenade deck have been locked due to the "bumpy" conditions.😟

That would be funny if it wasn't so true. I've seen it happen.

Agree. The wine packages and happy hour in the crows nest suits me.

Yes, but watch out for snakes.🐍

First thing - try not to get overstressed about seasickness, relax and chill. Modern ships are very stable however you did not mention which ship you will be on. Reassure your mum that although seas can be rough, most of the sailings I've done across the Tasman have been quite smooth. We did miss fiordland one time to out run a storm but even then it was not rough. Others here will chime in on medications as myself and my late wife have never needed them. I'm in my mid 70s and our first cruise was also to NZ. Relax and enjoy your cruise.

You are correct. My mistake. I must have heard it incorrectly. Coincidently, I have an appointment on Friday with my audiologist to have my new hearing aids adjusted.

Maybe they're making up their own 'Trail mix' like you can buy at Coles et al. Or perhaps it's an alternative when feeling peckish during the day without resorting to chips or chocolate.

Terimah kasi