Live from MS Zaandam April 27 - May 15, 2016

Tuesday, April 26, 2016

Alberta Quilter and DM are off to Hawaii!! Well, almost off...

First some background. If you remember, when we last cruised with HAL, we were on a Noro infested cruise from FLL to Montreal, almost exactly one year ago. I took ill while on the ship, DM afterwards in Montreal. We are hoping to not repeat that Noro experience this time. We have cruised since then but it was on two river cruises (b2b) in France in November. While wonderful, the river cruises were busy because, of course, we wanted to see EVERYTHING! And, DM did NOT do well on the flights to and fro to Europe, even in business class. Thus, we were looking for something closer to home and relaxing. Hawaii was not high on the bucket list but we've only been to Maui and Molokai before so there are new sights to see. It's been quite stressful at work for me since last fall so we are looking forward to the sea days, which I really enjoy, to relax. Finally, this month of April has been a stressful (but a good stressful) on the home front for both of us. First we had the family party for DM's 80th birthday (her birthday was in February but we held the party in April), then we had been thinking about a kitchen renovation and when we finally decided to go ahead with it, it was scheduled for April, too. That took place last week and was mostly done by Saturday. The contractor came back on Monday and again this morning to complete some small tasks and will come again when we're back home, to complete the last of the tasks because some ordered items were delayed. The kitchen looks great and we're quite happy with it.

Okay, enough background, on to the pre cruise day!

We arrived in Vancouver after a short, smooth, flight from Alberta. We took a taxi to the Fairmont Waterfront where we were handed the room keys right after departing the taxi (I had checked in online from the plane before takeoff). We had a lovely room with a partial waterfront view (we could see a little bit of the west pier at Canada Place). After a bit of a rest, we went for a walk, this time east of the hotel. Last time we were here, we went west, around Canada Place and the waterfront. This time, we walked to Gastown. That was a bit of an experience. I know this may seem hard to believe in this day and age, but I have never smoked a joint in my life (DM has, but I digress). Well, let me tell you, I inhaled enough marijuana smoke during the one hour walk to get a headache!!! People were openly smoking it. It's not legal (yet) in Canada but that seems to be overlooked here in Vancouver. Of course, my observation is based only on an hour long walk and the headache that faded as we walked closer to the hotel and away from the fumes.

I made the hotel reservation well in advance of the cruise, about nine months ago, when I was at a high loyalty level with an airline loyalty program so I got some perks with my reservation. One of them was a "welcome amenity", no mention of which was made when we were handed the key cards by the bellman. Well, upon our arrival back in the room, after our walk, we found out what the welcome amenity was. We received three scones in a small basket with a plate of strawberry jam and Fairmont honey (they have bees here at the hotel and make their own honey and probably their own jam from the strawberries they grow in their rooftop garden). It was very good and a nice snack to tie us over until dinner.

After our snack and a little rest, we walked west to the convention centre for dinner at Mahony & Sons. At first, we sat outside, wanting to have a view of the waterfront but it was breezy and chilly. We were offered an inside table which we gladly took. Dinner was good; I had a scallop and prawn risotto, DM had an appetizer of smoked salmon, cream cheese and soda bread. After dinner, we walked back to the hotel and had a drink in the hotel bar (to use up a $25 credit that we received as another perk with the reservation). Then it was off to the room and bed to catch up on some sleep that we've missed over the past few days.

Good night from Vancouver!

Glad you are resting and getting ready for your cruise.

Looking forward to your cruise.

I hope you are both able to stay healthy. Looking forward to reading your live from thread. Have a wonderful cruise.

I love the Waterfront. Such a nice launch to your cruise!

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

Bon Voyage, fair winds & smooth seas.

Allan

Hope you have a wonderful cruise.

Thanks for taking us along.

Looking forward to reading all about it.

Hoping you have a very relaxing cruise, and thanks for reporting.

YAY!!

Welcome to Vancouver!!! The sun is shining for you!

Looking forward to your posts on this great cruise.

Hey Clipper - made my day to see your post that you and Mum are off on another adventure! :D Woo-hoo! Can't wait to follow along! Have a spectacular time - try to keep Mum away from the handsome Hawaiian men and behave yourself with those Mojitos, ya hear? Try to struggle thru the Name that Tune contests without us;). Miss you and wish you both smooth seas!

Hi you two!! Its us from the Amsterdam Alaska May of 2014. Have a wonderful cruise to Hawaii. I will be following along from my home desk every so often. We are returning to Alaska on June 6th - another 14 day cruise on the Maasdam. Just had to return and see those awesome whales, etc. Your going to love the Hawaiian Islands.

Pat/Jim

Thanks for the good wishes, everyone! So nice to hear from Seabreez and AIP! I'm envious of the return to Alaska, Seabreez!

I've started today's report but will post later tonight or early tomorrow. Internet is the crappy by the minute package. As we wait for sail away, I'm using my regular Canadian package.

Some quick notes, there appeared to have been lunch in the MDR; it was listed in the program but we were told it was in the Lido. We didn't bother to go because we had an unusually large brekkie. There was the Mariner reception in the Crows Nest for 3, 4, & 5 star Mariners which was well attended even though it was from 1-2 pm.

Thanks for reporting live from the Zaandam.

Wishing you and your DM a wonderful cruise.

Wednesday, April 27, 2016

Embarkation Day

We slept really well at the Fairmont Waterfront! I got almost 9 hours of sleep which I sorely needed. Unfortunately, I missed the Zaandam's sail-in but I got to see the bunker barge being towed in by a tug! Woo hoo!! After a leisurely toilette, we finally descended for breakfast around 9 am. Breakfast was included (another perk) with the reservation and was very good. Because it was included, I forgot to tip the server (she didn't give us a bill to sign) but went back before checkout to rectify my mistake.

We couldn't actually see the Zaandam from our room even though we were overlooking part of the west pier. She was docked with her bow out and her stern towards the road but was farther back (probably because she's smaller than some of the other HAL ships).

We left the room at 11:45 and were onboard, in our room, by 12:15! It was amazing! Best Vancouver boarding that we've ever experienced!!! Of course, it helped that the Zaandam was the only ship in port today. DM chose not to use wheelchair assistance this time and walked using only her cane. Because of that cane, we were able to skip at least two line-ups. We were able to go though the handicap immigration/customs line and through a crew line for security. From there, we used DM's newly acquired 4 star status to get in the priority check-in line but there was only us in that line. After checking in, which took a wee bit longer than normal because we had a newbie, we were able to join the line-up to board the ship. That took a bit of time, even though we bypassed the picture part, since everyone had to be scanned aboard. But all in all, it was very quick and a much better experience then we have had previously.

We had sent all of our luggage from the hotel so only had to quickly unpack/dump what little we brought ourselves and put the valuables in the safe. Oh, the safe! Well, the safe needs a card with a magnetic strip to open and lock. We've never had that before in our cruises. DM's been on the Zaandam before but she doesn't recall the type of safe from then; it was more than 0 years ago when she was on the Zaandam. Anyway, I used my Aeroplan card for the safe but then we have to keep the card around in case either of us needs to quickly access the safe. As far as I'm concerned, it's not as secure as the ones where one uses their own code.

We had a couple of notices for our Le Cirque reservations and our TA OBC. We went upstairs to check out the buffet in the Lido. We normally go to the embarkation lunch but didn't this time because we had such a large breakfast. Instead we ended up at the taco bar for some nachos made the way we like them (cause we did it ourselves). I also used the time to purchase our wine package (now that DM is 4 star and we get 50% off!). After lunch, we went to the Crow's Nest for the Mariner's Reception. We received the invitation at check in; the reception was from 1 - 2 pm. It was very well attended which surprised me a little given it was so early on embarkation day. There we met up with Tink, a CC member with whom we cruised on that Noro infested cruise last year. A local woman from Ladner joined us and we spent a pleasant hour chatting about some of our past cruising experiences.

We went to our room to find most of our luggage had arrived so we quickly unpacked. Love those packing folders! They make short work of unpacking.

The muster drill went well but was still the old way of calling out room numbers. Many people checked in upon arrival so the number of cabins called were low and every one was present in our group. It was chilly on our side of the ship, though so DM was thrilled when it was over. There was a sail away up by the Seaview pool with appetizers and special drinks (for a price). Sail away was delayed by at least half an hour, not sure why.

We got our requested table for dinner, #36, right over the wake. I love being there and seeing the view as the ship leaves the port(s) if they leave over dinner. We sat with four other Canadians, two of whom I've been chatting with on the roll call. So that was nice to meet them in advance of the meet & greet, and we get to sit with them every day for dinner.

Dinner was a little disorganized. The first thing I noticed was that there was only basic cutlery there at each place setting; only one fork and knife. The rest was brought later. I had a steak but was not given a steak knife. My knife worked well enough but a steak knife would have been better. When the coffee was served, there were no spoons to stir the cream and sugar if one added those items to their coffee. Hopefully, this was just the first night jitters and not the new normal.

For those who like to hear about the entertainment, The Neptunes are still around and playing in the Ocean Bar. There is Adagio, of course; the solo guitarist is Daniel. And the HALCats are still around on the Zaandam, too, this time with Darlene. Jamm is the Piano Man. No Name That Tune scheduled yet, AIP!

We have only three Gala nights on this cruise (our first cruise since they changed them from formal to Gala). What's interesting to me is that the first one is not tomorrow but the following day; our second full sea day. I haven't actually told you all our itinerary but we have five sea days to get to Hawaii, then we have an overnight in Honolulu. Day 3 in Hawaii is Hilo, followed by Kona, Lahaina and Nawiliwili. Then we have another five sea days to get to Victoria, and then back to Vancouver. 18 days in total. Back to the Gala nights - the second Gala night is the day after Nawiliwili and the last one is the day before Victoria.

In looking at the On Location for tomorrow, we can learn to make floral leis and learn to hula. We can learn about the ukulele (no word about lessons yet). And we can learn to speak Hawaiian. There is a book club (the first selection is Molokai by Allan Brennert). Somewhere in all that, we have the meet & greet! What shall I do?!! Oh, well, it's a sea day; I'm going to do whatever I darn well want to do, when I want to do it!! Hopefully, by the time I figure out what I want to do and when, that particular event will still be available to do!!

Oh, forgot to mention that the Captain (Christopher Turner) mentioned that we will be hitting some rough seas when we leave the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Hopefully, it won't last long.

Aloha!

Thanks for posting, Alberta Quilter. We met a few years ago on a cruise. Looking forward to all of your posts about this cruise.

Have a wonderful trip!

Thanks for doing this thread.:) I have sailed with Captain Turner, who is excellent and has a happy crew.

Thanks for doing a review...looking forward to more:):):)

For those who like to hear about the entertainment, The Neptunes are still around and playing in the Ocean Bar. There is Adagio, of course; the solo guitarist is Daniel. And the HALCats are still around on the Zaandam, too, this time with Darlene. Jamm is the Piano Man. No Name That Tune scheduled yet, AIP!

I do! I do! Mahalo for including this info. So nice to know who is doing what on which ship.

Have a lovely time to, from, and in the islands. Off to a grand start!

Thursday, April 28, 2016

Sailing to Hawaii

Well, today was a busy day. We had to set our clocks back one hour for the first time. We did have some excitement last night; there was a Bright Star announcement probably around 8:30/9:00 pm. No mention of it was made today by anyone affiliated with HAL; I'm sure that privacy concerns made that impossible. However, it seems that we docked in Victoria (not 100% sure of that but we did stop somewhere) at around 10 pm because the stern thrusters woke DM up. I can only think it was for a medical debarkation. We all look forward to our cruises and to have one cut short right on embarkation day is terrible for those involved. I can only hope that the passenger is or will be okay.

As I said, today was busy for me but quite enjoyable. After breakfast in the MDR, I went to Good Morning, Zaandam! Bruce, our CD has been with HAL for 24 years as of this coming May. He and CAC host Alexa were joined by Ryan the Location Guide. It was an entertaining 45 minutes. Still in the CAC, we then had a lei making class. We were given orchid blossoms and string; we had to share a lei needle since there were so many of us. Everyone's lei turned out really well. Some were head leis and some were neck leis. The class was followed by a cooking demo. Fortunately, I still didn't have to leave the room! The chef is Italian but fell in love with a Canadian and now lives in Edmonton! He was very chatty and funny. Unfortunately, there was not enough samples of the chilled melon soup for everyone. The other item he prepared was halibut with shrimp.

I met up with DM after that and we went off to lunch on the Lido deck. I had my favourite Dive In burger; it did not disappoint. Lunch was followed by Team Trivia. I did not participate as the Captain was correct about the swells since getting into open ocean; I've had my seabands on all day but decided, during trivia, to get some meclizine from the front desk. First time I've ever taking motion sickness drugs on a cruise but I felt it necessary since we were up in the Crow's Nest for trivia and then our CC Meet & Greet. Even then I had to sit with my back to the window as that darn horizon kept moving up and down, up and down. I think you can imagine it.

The M&G was fairly well attended. Unfortunately, the 4 star free wine tasting was at the same time so some had to make a choice between the two events. We didn't receive the wine tasting invitation but had decided we would go to the M&G anyway. The M&G was organized by Geezy, who painted original paintings on our name tags! She did a wonderful job. We then introduced ourselves and told a little about ourselves.

After the M&G, there was a lesson on the Hawaiian language which I attended. I didn't do so well with that. Hopefully, I can get by with Aloha and Mahalo!!

Then it was time for Happy Hour. While I was feeling better, I opted not to drink. Well, that and I have 7 bottles of wine to get through pretty much by myself in the next 16 or so days! However, we did get some beer for DM. We tried to get the Bucket of Beer plus a second one for $1 like some previous posters had said worked for them but it didn't work that way for us. What we did get was three beer for full price and another three beer for $1 each. It was still a good deal so we can't complain.

Dinner saw most of us ordering the prime rib. It was very good but quite large. The show tonight was a pianist Rogerio Tutti. Tink told me that he was also on the Maasdam cruise from last year but I don't recall that. DM and I chose to go to the movies instead. Hopefully, I can provide a report on Rogerio tomorrow after hearing about it from others. We saw the movie One Chance which was about Paul Potts who won Britain's Got Talent a few years ago. Actually, it was pretty good. The popcorn was not available at the beginning of the movie but must have arrived some time during the movie. For the first time that I've ever seen, there were bags of popcorn available at the end of the movie! I grabbed a couple of bags and as we walked to the elevator, we saw more people nibbling their popcorn so they obviously did the same.

Now I shall call it a night. We're very tired; must be from the altitude change. Odd thing is that we don't gain an hour tonight. I can't remember for sure the time difference but I thought it was about 4 hours between Pacific time and Hawaii time.

Good night from the MS Zaandam!

I do! I do! Mahalo for including this info. So nice to know who is doing what on which ship.

 

Have a lovely time to, from, and in the islands. Off to a grand start!

I know you do; I write those parts specially for you ( and any others who also enjoy reading about the entertainers).

Thursday, April 28, 2016

 

Sailing to Hawaii

 

Snip....

 

Now I shall call it a night. We're very tired; must be from the altitude change. Odd thing is that we don't gain an hour tonight. I can't remember for sure the time difference but I thought it was about 4 hours between Pacific time and Hawaii time.

 

Good night from the MS Zaandam!

Three hour time difference between Pacific and Hawaii time zones. :)

I know you do; I write those parts specially for you ( and any others who also enjoy reading about the entertainers).

Oh, that is so thoughtful of you. Very sweet. I didn't realize the mention was deliberate, so even more thanks for that.

Loving your review.

Hi AQ Thanks for taking the time to report live. Just saw on the KOMO news channel from Seattle that the Westerdam has arrived in Seattle to start the cruise season. My, it sure does generate $$$$ for the area with all the ships out of their 2 piers.

What are the temps outside as you sail toward the Islands?? Should be Gala night soon - enjoy every minute.

Later - Seabreez Pat

Friday, April 29, 2016

Sailing towards Hawaii

The day started off bright and sunny; the seas were down, just rocking gently. DM's hands were swollen, we think from the seabands that were quite tight. She took them off and the swelling came down. I kept mine on just in case; while tight, my hands were not swollen.

Breakfast in the MDR took forever today. Some said it took a long time yesterday but we had no issues then. Today, the MDR was to open at 8 am. We got there before 8 and they were already seating people. We had a lovely window table at the back. I don't recall how long it took for us to get our orders taken or how long it took to get our first course but we got our main course at 8:55 am! Luckily, DM and I split an Eggs Benny again; we ate quickly so that we could try to make it to Good Morning Zaandam at 9 am. We did make it but I think they were a little late in starting the show. When we left the MDR was full and there were people lined up to the stairs. It seems that on this cruise, most people like to be served their breakfast. I think, if we don't get there at opening, we'll just go up to the Lido. I'm not sure it's worth the wait.

I got intrigued about the Good Morning programs from The Inside Cabin's reports about Good Morning Amsterdam. Bruce seems to do it a little differently in that the guest is someone from the crew, never a guest entertainer. I suppose that GMA has to use guest entertainers on such a long cruise. DM came with me to GMZ for the first time and I think she enjoyed it. Bruce is quite funny and able to ad lib very easily.

After GMZ, DM came down to the cabin to read her book; I went off to the show lounge to see the History of Hawaii through Hula. Well, I lasted ten minutes. I'm not sure what it was that I didn't enjoy or if it was just talking that was making me drowsy. I did expect that there would be hula dancing with some explanations and maybe there were after the first ten minutes! I'll have to ask someone who was there!

Instead, I went to the Explorations Cafe to join the jigsaw puzzle aficionados, staying there until lunch time. I know, since I'm convinced that I got sick from the jigsaw puzzles on the Maasdam last year, I was going to try not to do them this cruise. But, like any other aficionado, I can't stay away.

After lunch in the Lido, we went off to Team Trivia. The questions were much easier today than yesterday! So much so, that we WON! We only got one wrong answer. The question we got wrong was What bivalve mollusk makes freshwater pearls? We guessed oysters but one of our team mates had thought it was mussels and she was right. Too bad she got outvoted by the rest of us! Fortunately, it didn't cost us the win. We are now the proud owners of a South Pacific pin!

DM went back to her book; I went to the Future Cruise talk. They're now promoting that booking onboard gets you double the OBC. So my question to recent cruisers is, if you purchased an FCD onboard, have you gotten a Welcome Back email which, if you book within 60 days, you double your OBC? I'm not sure what to do. We have a couple of itineraries in mind so would prefer to get FCDs and decide later. But if they don't do the Welcome Back email anymore, it might be best to book onboard.

After the Future Cruise talk, in which I also had some issues staying awake, I decided to go back to the cabin for a happy nap. I swear, I fell onto the bed and went right to sleep! And I had slept well the night before, too! DM hadn't but I sure had. I don't know why I'm so tired; I can only think it's the altitude change from home to sea level.

It was Gala night tonight. The menu did seem like a formal night dinner menu. There was Cracked Pepper Beef Tenderloin with Prawns which three of us had; there were escargot which three enjoyed. DM had the sole. And there was jumbo shrimp cocktail. I'm sorry I can't remember the menu (and we're not in a Neptune Suite so we don't get a copy of the menu), but there was rack of lamb on the menu, too. The dinner was good; we got all the cutlery that used to be on the table right from the start!

There is an older crowd on this cruise, mostly Canadians, of course. There are more mobility impaired people, too. I ended up at the jigsaw puzzle table tonight and spoke to a woman who lived in the Vancouver area, who is cruising with her mobility impaired husband. The cruise gives her a much needed break, not from her caregiver duties but from the regular housekeeping, cooking, laundry, etc. duties. I believe there are many more couples like them, where it's easy for them to get to the cruise terminal.

I mentioned earlier that the day started off nice and sunny. Well, it ended in fog. I'm not sure when the fog descended but it was there during dinner. When I was in the Explorations Cafe afterwards, we could hear the fog horn going off the entire time I was there (which was a few hours).

I thought I had recently read on CC that the clocks were never changed on Gala/Formal nights. That wasn't true here tonight. We had to set our clocks back one hour tonight.

Well, it was not an exciting day (except for our Trivia win) but it was a most enjoyable day!