The-Inside-Cabin

A TASTE OF TAMARIND (POST #11) 8 JAN 24 Click "Show More Posts" to show all the links to the other posts for the 2024 World Cruise Show More Posts We enjoy a day at sea with a Taste of Tamarind in the evening COFFEE CHAT Executive Housekeeper Shiv was the guest at Coffee Chat. He introduced all his principal assistants. Shiv mentioned that due to the variation in crewmembers’ contract lengths it was impossible to handpick a world cruise housekeeping team as they had in the past. Shiv was described by Kimberly as a man who “knows how to get things” like Red from the movie Shawshank Redemption Shiv introduced his management team A TASTE OF TAMARIND Throughout the cruise, there will be about thirty special pop-up dinners in the Pinnacle Grill. Here is the list The first pop-up of the cruise, A Taste of Tamarind, was held this evening, and we joined our fellow Californians Alan and Sharon in the Pinnacle Grill. Alan, Sharon, Judy and Pete Here is the menu The food was all delicious – especially the steak which I highly recommend WASABI & SOY CRUSTED BEEF TENDERLOIN FRIED RICE CHINESE FIVE SPICE BABY BACK RIBS DRAGON ROLL WORLD STAGE Dave and Dawn Meyer performed on the World Stage this evening. Dave plays the Xylosynth, a combination of a Xylophone and a synthesizer, while Dawn dances alongside in darkness while twirling an illuminated cape and wands. Dave Meyer playing the Xylosynth Dawn Meyer dancing with her illuminated cape Dave performed a variety of songs including Teenage Wasteland, Saint Thomas and the Orange Blossom Special.

Current segment. Plus 61 folks not included whose nationality was not recorded. So guest count is 1215. Still light.

Yes - lightroom can resize everything in a folder all at once. There is a free trial for lightroom, but if all you want to do is bulk resize - then lightroom is overkill. You can probably find one of the free options I linked to that will do the same thing. One advantage of Lightroom is that with such a huge user base, it's easy to find helpful videos and other stuff. You can also use Lightroom to catalog your photos - track them etc....even on an external drive.

Yes - I use Adobe Lightroom Classic, which requires a subscription of $120 a year for just Lightroom. There are many free alternatives. HERE is a link to an article describing many options. I resize them to 770 pixels or about 300 KB. The app built into Windows can also resize photos and is pretty good and already on any Windows machine. If you use a Mac, I am sure they have something similar. Lightroom has the capability to enhance photos easily and provides a lot of options that free programs don't do as easily.

Open seating exposes you to more passengers than fixed seating, where you are limited to the same folks in your area. Since we had fixed seating, our exposure was limited to probably 30 people in our immediate area, which rarely changed as more of the open diners were on deck two.

I found the in room coffee maker a complete waste of time. Go to the lounge. HAL needs to get better machines.

You can probably upgrade your phone for free or less than the price of a pinnacle dinner.

Devils island sailaway. IMG_3886.mov

I have not had that situation. I am sure it happens to some folks, but I haven't seen much of it if at all.

GOAT RACING IN TOBAGO (POST #10) 7 JAN 2024 Click "Show More Posts" to show all the links to the other posts for the 2024 World Cruise Show More Posts We visit a Goat racing track in Buccoo, Tobago This is the Scarborough cruise terminal. There are vendors selling souvenirs under the white tents The Zuiderdam moored in Scarborough at 7:30 am and was cleared to go ashore at 8:10 am. After relaxing in our cabin in the morning, we headed ashore around 12:30 pm. The weather was a little warm but pleasant. This sign is at the end of the pier and leads to the cruise terminal There are a few vendors on the dock selling souvenirs and some tour operators selling excursions inside the small terminal. It will be easy to book something last minute if you don’t have any plans. Outside the terminal, we booked a taxi for $40 for a 1 hour sightseeing tour. Akini was our driver. I didn’t negotiate very much – you may be able to do better than $40 an hour if you invest more time. This is the route we took to Buccoo This sign is on the Buccoo boardwalk We drove to Buccoo, about 15 minutes away, and watched a goat race demonstration. And we got to hold the leashes for the crabs, which seemed to head off on their own. The goats and their jockeys start about 100 yards away at the far end of the course. When the gates open, the jockeys chase after their goats, who run independently without prodding. I got to hold one of the “racing” crabs The goats running hard at the start. The jockeys will be disqualified if they drop the rope On the home stretch Photo finish! When there is a full race, there may be up to 10 goats and jockeys running the track. After about 30 minutes of watching the goats and crabs plus a little time on the boardwalk, we headed back to Scarborough where Akini dropped us off by the “I Heart Tobago” sign. Our driver, Akini This sign is an easy 1/4 mile walk from the cruise terminal It was about 1/4 mile back to the ship. On the way we stopped at Sue’s Snack Bar where we bought some of the special “Doubles.” Doubles are made with two pieces of fried dough and filled with curried chickpeas and various chutneys. More HERE The Doubles were $2 USD each – we probably paid the “tourist” price You can get them spicy hot or not spicy hot – the spicy wasn’t very hot Good eating! We were there on a Sunday – so most everything was closed We were back on the ship around 3 pm – There was a movie on the World Stage tonight instead of a live show. HERE was my brief on this port for our pre-cruise ZOOM calls

There wasn't much difference in the line - I think it was mainly to appease some folks who demanded a priority line as you noted. I checked my 2018 reports - there wasn't any separate 4 star line then.

There was a priority line on 2020 - you can see my earlier post on Devils island, where I explained how it worked. I'll have to look back at some 2018 posts to see about the situation then.

Here is our location. Blue dot is the ship. Red star is the tender pier. Unlike previous World cruises, no tender priority for anyone except Neptune's and Presidents club. 80 pct of ship is probably 4 star and up so it doesn't really matter.

Arrived at Devils Island a few minutes ago - nice day - not too hot yet—our first tender port. Here is some info and a flashback post from our visit in 2020 HERE 9 Jan DP331.pdf Devils Island332.pdf

We will see if they perform for all the production shows....

Here is a short video of the call - curtain nice to see a live band on stage!

I forgot to include the menu for the Gala Night - Surf and Turf were not automatically combined - but you were able to order two entrees and get a Surf and Turf! 6 Jan MDR Gala.pdf

We watched the game here - sigh is right ----Hoping the Browns can get to the Super Bowl!

From the Zuiderdam - near Devils Island

Yikes - How can you say dial-up? OK, not so bad, but that's not good anymore.

We are on the Zuiderdam arriving in Devils Island tomorrow - Our internet has been BLAZING all cruise - I can upload 1 GB videos!

MEET ME AT THE JUNCTION (POST #9) 6 JAN 2024 Click "Show More Posts" to show all the links to the other posts for the 2024 World Cruise Show More Posts Our first formal night and Tuxedo junction ended with a dinner with the Captain and his wife. COFFEE CHAT Kimberly Wells interviewed Entertainment Director Bienelisa and Entertainment Host Tomas during this morning’s coffee chat. FORMAL NIGHT Tonight was the first formal night of the cruise. Over the years, formal nights gave way to Gala Nights, Dressy Nights, and other variations of a more casual theme. The Grand Voyages are different and they have brought back Formal Night with the requirement that a Tux or suit was required for men in all table service restaurants. This requirement was emphasized by the Cruise and Travel Director, Kimberly, during her Noon and afternoon announcements. As it turned out there was 100% dress code compliance based on my observations and discussions with others. Unlike Cunard, where the dress code extends to all public areas outside the Lido deck, there wasn’t any dress code in the lounges but we only noticed a handful of people in more casual attire. TUXEDO JUNCTION I started the Tuxedo Junction back in 2022 to provide a place for men to gather who continued the more formal tradition of wearing a Tux. On shorter cruises, you may find about 3-5% of men wearing tuxedos and the Tuxedo Junction was sometimes sparsely attended. The Captain’s welcome toast was at 7 pm, so we scheduled the Junction for 6:15 pm. We had a great turnout, as people at both seatings were able to stop by for a few minutes. Tuxedo Junction! CAPTAINS WELCOME TOAST Kimberly introduced Captain Frank van der Hoeven at 7 pm on the World Stage. He gave us a brief overview of his career before introducing the Zuiderdam’s senior officers: Staff Captain: Karl Overloop Chief Engineer: Pedro Van Houwelingen Environmental Officer: Marcel VanZwol Senior Doctor: Ralton August Security Officer: Michael Berry II HR Manager: Andrea Cosentino Hotel GM – Henk Mensink Asst Hotel GM: Mila Castellon Food and Beverage: George Nurchandra Beverage Manager: Edmund Simon Executive Chef: Neil Ashworth Finance Manager: Neil Joldersma Guest Services Manager: Maja Milanoska Exec Housekeeper: Shiv Charan Entertainment Director: Bienelisa Manalang Future Cruise Consultants: Justin and Melanie Perez The Zuiderdam senior officers Here was the crowd as the ceremony was starting CAPTAIN'S TABLE A ship’s officer hosts most formal night’s guests at fixed seating. This can be anyone from a Second Officer to the Captain. We were honored that Table 89 was selected by Captain Frank and his wife, Alexandra. Our table for 8 was expanded to fit 10, and our wine service was provided by the ship’s Cellar Master, Jacques Torres. Other than our special wine service, the remainder of our dinner service was by our normal waiters, who were outstanding as usual. We enjoyed our conversation and learned that Capt Frank was a big Fan of Formula One Racing (The Red Bull team) and, surprisingly, American Football where he follows the Pittsburg Steelers. They live in Colonge, Germany, where the Captain remarked that the choice of NFL football games is limited – so you have to watch the one game available regardless of your desires. The Captain and his wife hosted Table 89! PRODUCTION SHOW The Holland America Singers and Dancers were on the World Stage for their first production show, “In the Mood”. They will be performing 18 times during this voyage. We enjoyed the show very much and they were outstanding as always. PILLOW GIFTS Back in our Cabin, we found our “Pillow Gifts”. In the past, these were spread out over the voyage, but tonight, we received five useful gifts that we will be able to enjoy for the remainder of the voyage. This is how we found the gifts as we returned to the cabin Floppy Hat with Holland America Logo Tote Bag Messenger Bag 8000 MaH power bank Grand Voyage wallet

I have never seen Tach in stores - I am pretty sure it is online only. HERE is the link for the ones we bought - they are $335 for 3 and you usually get a pop up coupon for another 25% off. We have the softside lighter ones - they also make hard sides - Amazon sells them but I think you get better prices going direct to Tach

64% of those who requested name tags picked them up. I usually plan on 75% show rate for first M and G and then each following one will drop by 50% We are going to try and send out reminders for our next one in February.