whogo

1* in 1999, if the star program was around then 2* in 2007 3* in 2011 4* in 2018 25 day pin in 2007 Bronze-ish medallion in 2015

We cruised with an 11 month old and later with a 10 month old, had a great time, just as capriccio's kids did. Yes, the staff will fuss over them. Make sure you bring everything you need that the cruise ship won't provide. We had to take diapers and a crib on our Danube cruise, for instance. It was much easier to take the breast fed baby than the bottle fed baby. We took a few excursions and split up a few times, the babies did not need both parents. It would have been nice to have capable grandparents along to sit for the kids at times.

Our first cruise was on a boat around the Galapagos Islands, our second was on a boat down the Danube, kind of an atypical beginning for cruisers from the US. It was vacation time constraints that forced us into some 7 day Caribbean cruises.

I searched the hollandamerica.com for "dress code" hoping to find the current information The-Inside-Cabin posted. The results demonstrate what a miserable website and search engine Holland America has. First result under "What to Pack for an Alaska Cruise": "Cruise Dinner Dress "Formal wear: Anticipate two formal nights per week. Ladies wear a cocktail dress or gown and gentlemen don a suit and tie or tuxedo. "Smart-casual wear for dinner: Slacks and collared shirts or sweaters for men. Skirt or trousers, sweater or blouse for women." Second result under "Caribbean Cruise Packing List": "Apparel for fine dining restaurants (collared shirts/slacks, dresses/skirts). Formal wear for Dressy Nights, pajamas, workout clothes if you plan to use our fitness center. Find out more about Caribbean weather in our article about the best time to cruise the Caribbean. Third result under "Peru's Galapagos: the Ballestas Islands": Nothing about dress codes. Fourth result under "Cruises to Cartagena, Colombia | Holland America Line Cruises": Nothing about dress codes, but the word "formal" is used. Fifth result under "Packing List for Europe": "Evening and Dining 'Long-sleeve tops and sweaters 'Dress pants 'Cocktail dress or formal dress for Galas 'Dress pants, collared shirt, blouses 'Dress shoes I did not bother looking for dress code information on the last five search results that were about shore excursions.

Do not be the jerk that does not show up on time and delays all the other B2B cruisers. Follow your printed instructions from Holland America to a T.

I hope your granddaughter wants to go on the cruise. You never know with teenagers. You could be in for some tears if the cruise conflicts with a big party, a bbf's birthday, teenage sullenness or any number of other things. Friends of mine take their grandchildren on a vacation when they are 10, old enough to be away from home and young enough not to have any teenage drama.

If nothing else, it may become a cheap way for them to get rid of their used deep fat fryer grease. Added benefit, the exhaust will have the tempting smell of french fries.

I think Amera must be the leader of current cruise ships, cruisemom42. She should rack up more new ports, some of these Norway stops must be new: Rorvik, Andalsnes, Sandane, Farsund, Svolvaer, Egersund, Rosendal, Sandane, Mandal, and Molde. She's currently doing an Iceland, Greenland, Canada, Azores cruise from Bremerhaven. Amera is scheduled for a 143 world cruise starting this December. I'd love to sail on her.

If you are looking for a one way to Hawaii, you will probably have to sail from Vancouver, Canada. You could also continue on from Hawaii to Tahiti, Australia, or New Zealand.

So last millennium. That video won't get any tiktok views.

Same here for B2B August 27 to September 10. However, Holland America kept sending me emails as if I were boarding in Montreal.

What difference does it make where Americans cruise, if all they are interested in are the FlowRider® Surf Simulator, the ice skating rink, the rock climbing wall and a week long drunken binge? What percentage of the US population cares about history or geography? Give them a drink and a Caribbean beach. I would say that Europe is a great place for a land vacation. The Galapagos Islands and South Pacific Islands are the best place to cruise, visiting them any other way is a challenge.

Or watch what the airflow does: IMG_0555.mov

I saw them pour water out of a bottle, the passenger kept the empty, saw another bottle just tossed, assumed it was the passenger's choice. I think it is mostly an attempt by Holland America to limit their plastic waste onboard. They save on the cost of recycling or disposal and make some money selling canned water, a waiter paraded through the dining room at breakfast offering it, I did not check the price. I took an empty one use bottle onboard with no problem, used it throughout my two weeks aboard, brought it home, put it in the recycle bin. I try not to buy water in bottles, had to in Salem, no water fountain, bought a 16 ounce bottle for $2. That's $16 per gallon. People complain about the price of gasoline. As others have pointed out, tap water is fine from your cabin or in dining venues. Drinking glasses will be provided in your bathroom and with your ice bucket. Ice water will be offered in all dining venues. I have never seen any attitude from staff when I turned down a chance to buy a beverage.

Shore side security dumped out water bottles during our Boston embarkation a couple of weeks ago.

Zaandam This and That A scooter was regularly plugged in at a elevator landing, thought that was verboten. I am not a fan of the bread pudding or peanut butter silk pie. Mussels, on the other hand... Everything worked. Toilet flushed every time. Temperature was pleasant throughout the ship. There were no leaky pipes, no buckets catching drips. Was this really a Holland America ship? We could not have asked for better weather. Brought a raincoat. Didn't wear it. Brought a jacket. Didn't wear it. Brought a sweater. Didn't wear it. I was comfortable in shirt sleeves for the whole two weeks. My experience only, others wore jackets. Did not care for the performer in the piano bar or the piano/singer duo. The trio in the Ocean Bar was more my style, did not frequent the place, though. Only heard the classical cello/piano duo while passing through. We spent almost no time on our balcony, although the temperature, wind, and shade were occasionally conducive. We appreciate the view through all the glass. Never ordered room service, do not eat in our bedroom at home, either. Cabins on deck 6 might be the handiest on Zaandam. Walk two floors up to the Lido and pools, add another deck for the Crow's nest, walk just one or two decks down for dining room and entertainment. Longer climbs from A deck or 1 or 2 are manageable after being ashore. I was surprised at the healthy looking people who took an elevator to go down just one floor. I suggest you make a rule for yourself before cruising. Promise to climb up a floor and down two or up two and down three, or whatever your knees and fitness will allow. Heard a woman order her second mimosa at dining room breakfast, she said that you have to start early with the beverage package. (It includes 15 drinks per day.) I miss having the daily printed mini-newspapers. There was a rumor that the Queen's Room would be turned into some sort of tech spot. I don't know why the daily planner listed Evening Catholic Prayer instead of mass. Cigarette smell is noticeable near the casino and on the starboard side of the Lido restaurant near the Seaview Bar. When the wind is wrong, the smell can extend through the whole starboard side of the restaurant. The promenade deck could have held twice as many deck chairs. Have some been removed for covid or because it was not a tropical cruise? I did not spend much time on the promenade deck, it is usually a favorite hangout, also did not read as much as usual. T-Mobile cell service worked great in USA and Canada. I was concerned when the phone used Bell and Telus services, but that's what T-Mobile does in Canada, “free” calls, texts, and data with Magenta 55+ plan. We managed to avoid unintended charges by the ship's expensive Cellular at Sea service. We were close enough to land to use land based services through most of the cruise on this itinerary. Even posted a few photos from the phone. Paid $149 for 14 days of adequate internet onboard. We received pillow chocolates on one gala/dressy night each week. Never saw a towel animal, did not miss them. We opted for no turndown service. Four star included laundry was returned the same day, laundry room probably had little demand on seven day cruises. We did not eat anything from Dive-In. We did not eat in the Pinnacle Grill. We may try some candied clothesline bacon yet. We did not take a Holland America excursion, did not find out how they handle those who do not have smart phones. Our private tours for two arranged on the dock cost about the same as HAL excursions. I lost a ton of weight in the past year on a low carb diet. Diet and exercise, who knew? Switched to a see food diet for the cruise. See it and eat it. I gained four pounds. I blame the cherry tomato they added to my full English breakfast. Salt grinders are an abomination. Stacked presentation of food is an abomination. The cruise director said they were 17% short on crew, visas were a major roadblock. I noticed no service issues. Covid? Pretty much a nonissue. Staff wore masks 99.8%, one occasionally slipped below the nose. Small percentage of passengers wore them, even on crowded tenders. Mrs. Whogo heard some coughing, but that's pretty normal on cruises. Aside from the closed section of cabins on deck 6, which might have been to isolate new crew, I saw no hint of covid, noticed no extra cleaning. This was like a pre-covid Holland America cruise, no big cutbacks, no appreciable service slips. Front desk staff and room stewards were better than usual. Hot food was served hot, cold food cold. The musicians were not to my taste, I'm sure others loved them. World stage shows did not appeal, dancers, BBC Earth, comedians, uh uh, would not have attended even if I was not worried about covid. Two days after the cruise and we are still free of covid symptoms and do not have our usual cruise cough and cold, may consider wearing masks for air travel even if covid goes away. In short, great cruise. My top four experiences? Anne of Green Gables excursion Quebec City Driving the electric vehicle around Acadia National Park Visiting our daughter and son-in-law

Which ship, which cruise line?

Saturday, September 10, 2022. Boston The woman using the automatic hand washers next to me pulled out her wet hands from the little washers and said, “This is how I clean my jewelry.” “Yeah? Let's see you do your earrings.” Ran into the feisty 91 year old lady who had complained on the first day that there was no refrigerator in her ocean view cabin. She paid for three cabins, they should provide a refrigerator. Saw her last night, asked if she had one. “No, and this ship doesn't have a laundromat! Every ship has a laundromat!” Wish I'd seen more of the old girl. We finished most of our packing last night, left out toiletries and clothes for today, knew everything would fit in our suitcases. We bought a few professional photos, rare to find any of us that we like. I have been warned for six weeks about weekend road tunnel closures making travel to Boston's Logan Airport difficult, repetitive email warnings from my travel agent, email warnings direct from Holland America, and more recent warnings from the airline. Allow extra time, use public transport, ride share. Double the warnings, Mrs. Whogo received the same. Managed a good night's sleep despite the looming chaos. I was up early, dining room opened at 6:30, another full English for me. Supervised the Zaandam's docking, the captain did just fine, can't say the same about the shore side line handlers. Lines snagged on everything snagable. Accompanied Mrs. Whogo to her Lido breakfast, was there to fetch things and keep her company. She ate much more sensibly than I did all cruise. Finished packing, left home with four bags, returned with three, I jammed my carryon into my checked bag, didn't worry about wrinkles on the way home. I toted our 80 pounds of luggage down three flights of stairs in one go. Debarkation started a bit after seven, we did unassisted debarkation about 8:40 from deck 3 forward, no customs or immigration after clearing them yesterday, walked a short way to a handy pickup point, spent the morning with our daughter and son-in-law, wonderful to see them again, took a long walk through Boston, had time for ice coffee and then a game of Scrabble and they shuttled us to the airport, thanks again, with absolutely no traffic delays. All that tunnel closure panic for nothing. Paid for two checked bags, accepted the offer to check our carry-on for no extra charge. Was patted down again by TSA, all the layers of cloth in my empty pockets, trousers, undershirt, and undershorts looks like firearms and explosives to the nudie-scope. Fried clams at Legal Seafood were delicious, have not had any for years. Coach flights were as good as it gets, on time, empty seat between us, marred only by loud talkers on both legs. Why do people broadcast their drivel to people five rows away? Had a full English breakfast this morning, minus the fried toast, beans, grilled tomato, whole wheat toast, mushrooms, hash browns, sausage and back bacon. I had to cook and serve it myself and clean up after. Living at home is going to take some getting used to.

Advertised at $35, it is $41.30 with 18% gratuity. Our waiter was pleased that we ordered it, he must get a cut of the gratuity. He claimed the lobsters are live downstairs, I should have asked to see one. I would see if they are available with drawn butter.

I think this New England Lido menu is the same as last week’s Canada themed dinner menu.

Friday, September 9, 2022. Bar Harbor Dressy night last night according to the Daily Program, Gala night according to the dinner menu, guests followed the rules, women dressed better than men, did not see a dinner jacket or gown either week. Same menu as last week, I ordered the same dishes as last week, snails, shrimp, tangerine glazed duck breast, same comments on the lack of horseradish in the cocktail sauce and lack of tangerine flavor. Nice meal. Chocolate surprise on deck 5 again, too, with waiters offering trays of treats; cocoa dusted almonds, marshmallows with pink sprinkles, chocolate pecan creations, white chocolate covered raisins and more. Great breakfast this morning, full English again. Holland America should train the fifteen stewards who offer juice to offer coffee. “Would you like some juice?” “No, thank you. Coffee please.” “Your waiter will bring it.” I guess the waiter and only the waiter is the sommelier of coffee. Received printed instructions yesterday about US Customs and Border Patrol inspection as we enter our first US port of Bar Harbor. So long Canada, it's been swell. Cruise director Glenn stumbled over the USCBP initials a few times in his PA announcements, but everyone, regardless of nationality, everyone, whether going ashore or not, everyone had to present themselves to USCBP staff. No exceptions. Announcements started before 8:00 AM. At 9:30 they were still looking for 33 passengers, at 9:58 the last two holdouts were named and shamed. We tendered without hearing the final results. I was uncomfortable tendering in a fairly well loaded tender with only 15-20% of us wearing masks. I have been cautious about covid. I have not seen a show in the World Stage theater or the Wayang Theater, have not taken a coach tour, have not stepped into an elevator. We have worn masks indoors except when eating. Catching covid was a common theme in a number of cruise blogs that I followed, I worried that blogging might cause covid, but have risked it to bring you the news. A talkative woman with an unpleasant voice chose to sit next to me, blessed many of us with the inanities that only her husband should have had to hear. We were aboard lucky tender #13, coincidentally my assigned lifeboat, felt better seeing that it could transport me safely to shore. Overheard a woman who was disappointed that Bar Harbor and the outlying islands weren't built up with big hotels and more houses. Something to look forward to, Acadia National Park and Condo Association. Had a great time tooling around Acadia National Park in a rented electric vehicle a couple of weekends ago, this visit was calmer. Still nice, we walked the shoreside path, read the placards at what they call The Museum of the Streets, informative blurbs about the properties we passed. There were some lovely homes, indeed. Must be nice. We visited the Abbe Museum, devoted to the local Wabanaki Native Americans. I liked the stone and bone tools best, also the canoes. I headed back to the ship down Main Street which is lined with tourist shops, restaurants and bars and packed with tourists, my idea of hell. Everyone else loves it. Mrs. Whogo visited St. Saviour's Episcopal church, checked out the stained glass windows, some of which are by Tiffany. Highly recommends a visit. She also visited Jessup Library, which looks like a drawing room in a mansion, there is some wealth in Bar Harbor. She had the sense to avoid Main Street and returned via a side street. She overheard a couple of old women on her return tender. “I can't believe we were the last two to go to inspection.” “I had just sat down to read the instructions when we got the phone call.” What was called Canada night in the Lido last week was called New England night this week, poutine, lobster mac and cheese, some maple flavored dishes, seafood chowder, etc. We feasted yet again on mussels. Poutine ala Zaandam was French fries with melted Velveeta-ish cheese with the opportunity to add onion and a few other things. Maybe if mussels hadn't been available... And I was starving... Lost at evening trivia as we did at afternoon trivia, said goodbye to teammate Jeph, who led us to victory a few times. Somehow Mrs. Whogo and I did not know who Beyonce was married to, Jeph did. I pretty much finished packing, left the cabin to give Mrs. Whogo some room, found a great, quiet, empty place to read, the Wayang Theater. Light is not good enough for paper books, but ebooks work fine. Looking forward to a short visit with our daughter and son-in-law tomorrow in Boston.

Second Sail with Seth “pillow” gift. Food, just what we need. Unsubtle reminders to get off the Dam ship tomorrow: Bags out from under the bed, thanks Wibi:

Girdled tree rescue attempt:

Thursday, September 8, 2022. Halifax, Nova Scotia My braised lamb shanks were delicious last night. Solo breakfast was nearly perfect this morning. Had a window seat in the dining room, the people nearby kept their voices low, coffee arrived in good time, read a bit on my phone, and the runny yolks in my eggs Benedict jiggled nicely as the plate was set down in front of me. Yolks continued to jiggle with the vibration of the dining room. Grade school witticism, “What was Snow White's brother's name?” “Egg white. Get the yolk?” After peaceful Charlottetown and Sydney, Halifax is noisy, we are assaulted by the din of traffic, bag pipes and construction. We took a circuitous route to the Public Gardens, detoured around torn up streets and sidewalks and I chose routes that led to more torn up streets and sidewalks, zigged when I should have zagged. Halifax Public Gardens again? We were just there on the first leg of this cruise. Yes, we enjoyed the gardens that much. Lovely place away from the city noise, almost. Sad story, shortly before our last visit a vandal girdled thirty trees in the gardens, stripped away bark all the way around in an effort to kill them. It is unbelievable what some people will do. I watched and heard about repair efforts. Staff were attempting to graft young twigs onto the tree to span the gap in the bark. They won't know if rescue efforts succeed until spring. I wish them luck. We split up. She went through Camp Hill Cemetery, the Old Burial Ground, and the Natural History Museum, got to handle live mussels. I toured the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic. Fascinating display about the Halifax explosion of 1917, which killed 1700 and scattered shrapnel to a range of eight kilometers, another about the Titanic. There were numerous small craft and also models of ships. Their mascot Merlin the macaw was affected by the covid shutdown. “In 2020, the museum’s first COVID-19 closure disrupted the museum work routine for all staff, including Merlin. The change in routine and lack of visitor interaction affected Merlin which led him to snip his feathers. Merlin’s health and happiness are priorities for us, and we are following his veterinarian’s recommendations. This includes medication to help Merlin’s coping behaviour towards stress. Merlin’s behaviour is common, and his feathers do grow back. Merlin receives regular visits from his veterinarian for general health inspections.” https://maritimemuseum.novascotia.ca/about/mascots The boardwalk trail back to Zaandam was packed, what with the beautiful weather and Adventure of the Seas and Carnival Legend being in port with us. During trivia we watched a man surf on the Flow Rider on Adventure of the Seas and were envious of the water slide, no wonder we did not win with all that excitement next door. We chose the wrong ship for our cruise. Next time, dear.

Guides were looking for customers in the parking lot outside the port building next to a price listing. Interviewed the first and hired him.