LAFFNVEGAS Says Aloha LIVE from the MS Oosterdam

[Himself]

Thanks for the report from the Garden Isle of Kawai. I love that place! A long time ago, I was in Honolulu (Waikaki) and one day I Island hoped on a small plane and I can recall flying through Waiamea Canyon. It was beautiful. I recall seeing it three years ago and six years ago when I was doing a Hawaiian cruise.

 

Have a great day tomorrow in Lahaina on the beautiful Island of Maui.

[AlohaPride]

If ONLY I had seen this earlier!! I would have loved to meet up with you here on Oahu!!

[AlohaPride]

Oh wait! It looks like you'll be on Oahu tomorrow (Sunday). We'll be in town anyway, and would LOVE to meet up with you. My husband is doing his long run at Kapiolani and we'll be at the beach (Walls). Please email me and maybe we can meet up someplace!!

[ugminer]

Hi Frank, we are well. I wish we could all be on the O with Lisa and Tom. Say hi to Michelle for us.:)

 

Mike

hey Frank, NOTICE where they will be on Dec 3. Sure you don't want to join us?

[ugminer]

Aloha Lisa, glad you guys are having a good time. Tell Sher, Bob and Pedro Aloha from No. Nevada. Your posts are really making me anxious for Feb when we will be spending 2 weeks on Kauai. But first we have MR on the "O" in Dec. Take care of her for us

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Oh wait! It looks like you'll be on Oahu tomorrow (Sunday). We'll be in town anyway, and would LOVE to meet up with you. My husband is doing his long run at Kapiolani and we'll be at the beach (Walls). Please email me and maybe we can meet up someplace!!

 

Unfortunately we were in Oahu Friday. Today is our last day in the islands and we are in Lahaina.

 

I am doing this from my phone but my attempt to post yesterdays report a bit later this morning since we are not going to town till 10

 

Sent from my SCH-I500 using Tapatalk

[Candy]

Unfortunately we were in Oahu Friday. Today is our last day in the islands and we are in Lahaina.

Waddaya mean it's your last day... you just got there!

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Saturday October 29th, 2011

Aloha from the Oosterdam!!

I had already reported in earlier today so will make tonight's writing brief plus will most likely not post till tomorrow morning. I cannot tell you how many internet minutes I have lost this past week mostly because it keeps cutting out, the Internet Manager tells me it is because of my cabin location and that I should not even attempt to to use unless I have 5 full bars. It is just that is is not easy being in the aft relaxed and already in my PJ's for the night to have to go way up to the Explorations Cage to sign on to the Internet :(

Well I finally did a first, in all of our HAL cruises we finally dined in Canaletto. It was actually very good and yes the Oosterdam served the Cotton Candy. That was my favorite ;) I really enjoyed Canaletto and will definitely do it again. It has been in the past with a 7 day cruise it is just hard to fit it in especially now with have Le Cirque as well as Pinnacle.

As I posted earlier we had a relaxed non rushed day going over to the Marriott Resort. We had lunch had Dukes, then did some shopping at the Anchor Cove shopping center. Tomorrow is our last port day and it is also a Tender Port in Lahaina Maui. I believe this makes our 5th time to Maui. First time by ship all of the others we always stay in the Wailia area which is south of Lahaina about 27 miles. We were originally going to do a snorkel excursion but I did some checking and the company they use has a boat that makes it a bit more difficult to get on and off the ship, even when I spoke with a Rep from HAL Shore Excursions she admitted that it may not be the easiest boat to climb back on to. I decided that I am not exactly that athletic and should maybe pass so both Sher and I canceled. Instead we plan to just spend the day in Lahaina, have lunch and do some shopping.

Well since I drank a majority of the fine bottle of Merlot we had at dinner ;) I am going to quit writing tonight and maybe add some more in the morning before I post this.

Signing off from the Beautiful and Elegant MS Oosterdam.

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Aloha and good morning from Lahaina, Maui

What an absolutely beautiful morning here in the Explorations Cafe up in the Crow's Nest as the bow of the Oosterdam is facing into Lahaina.

I have decided to try to do more posting up in the Explorations Cafe to see if the internet works any better.

Something I did want to report is even as we are cruising they are still upgrading the Oosterdam. When we came on board in San Diego we saw huge rolls of carpet being brought on board. Well this morning when we walked all the way forward to the forward elevators on deck 8 I said to Tom I do not remember the round circle in the middle being this color blue. Then we got up to 10 and saw defifinitely brand new carpet the kind where when you walk can can feel the new carpet and definitely had the smell of new carpet. So it had to have been done just last night. Or maybe during the day while we were in Kauai.

Maui is another island that we really love is the very first island in Hawaii we ever visited back in March 1985. That was when we fell in love with Hawaii. Maui is also the last Island we visited in recent times which was 2005 so appropriate it is our last visit before we head home.

They are still calling tender tickets and announced something about a delay. I guess they are having trouble getting everyone off and and even not allowing Suite and 4 Star off till they can get those on Excursions off the ship. To me it seems rather late to still be getting excursions off, fortunately we had decided to not get off till closer to 10. Sher just found us and said she had left a message that her and Bob would meet us in town they were going ashore but when they got turned away they came up here.

It seems there was going to be more I was going to write this morning and darned if I can remember.

I will try to remember more later. chances I will be writing my report in the evening then coming up to the Explorations Cafe and posting the next morning.

Signing off from the Beautiful and Elegant MS Oosterdam.

　

[805bonvoyage]

Lisa,

 

We will be joing the O next Saturday for our very first cruise to celebrate my husband's 40th birthday. Feeling out of our elements, I really want to thank you for your detailed accounts of your trip. It had allowed us to put a lot of nervouseness aside reading your perspective of life on board.

 

I was wondering if you know what the schedule is next week on the Mexico portion of your trip regarding formal nights. I reserved Friday night at the Pennacle for my husband's actual birthday dinner, but we definitely are looking forward to formal nights and are curious if they have posted next week's dinner schedule or, if from experience, you can offer your advice.

 

I really want to make it as special as I can and have enjoyed researching all the options PV and Cabo have to offer.

 

Thank you so much and we look forward to joining the fun. (We will be the couple who don't look like they have a clue what is going on.)

 

Melanie

[andilynnwright]

Hello Lisa,

 

Thank you so much for your wonderful posts. I recently moved from Lahaina to Virginia and your posts are making me a little teary eyed. Missing Hawaii!

 

I am excited to be going on O for the first time in December on a Mexican Riviera with my good friend Stefanie for her first cruise. Thanks so much for sharing your love of cruising with us!

 

I am so excited! Aloha!

 

Andrea

[kazu]

As always Lisa, I am enjoying cruising vicariously through you :D This cruise was on our 'bucket' list and now, I think it is something to keep there:) Smooth seas and have fun

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Aloha from Lahaina again. It is now 10 after 3 in the afternoon and we are back on the ship. Absolutely perfect weather day in Maui. We had lunch in town at Lahaina Prime Rib or something like that I had the Hawaiian Mixed Plate lunch which was excellent. Tom had a Cheddar Burger, Sher had some sort of Sashimi dish and Bob had the same as me. Then we all had Lava Flows to drink. The view was amazing, but I have always loved Lahaina. I would have loved to go down to Wailia, maybe next time. I definately want to do this cruise again. I have to say I am looking forward to the 5 sea days on our return.

 

Right now we have an amazing view of the shore from our verandah so I think I will head out there and join Tom. I am typing this from my phone in the cabin. After today will not be able to use my phone but at least. I can turn off the data and use to text our son at home.

 

Signing off from the Beautiful MS Oosterdam

 

Sent from my SCH-I500 using Tapatalk

[Himself]

Have a safe journey home. The days in Hawaii pass all too fast.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Have a safe journey home. The days in Hawaii pass all too fast.

 

Thanks now just looking forward to relaxation and good entertainment since Joel Mason and his very talented wife are now on board. I believe they will be doing some shows together.

 

PS to those that I hinted that I might be changing my mind and canceling our Westerdam March 18 cruise received information that has now making me lean more toward the Westerdam ;)

 

Sent from my SCH-I500 using Tapatalk

[Ine]

Thanks now just looking forward to relaxation and good entertainment since Joel Mason and his very talented wife are now on board. I believe they will be doing some shows together.

 

PS to those that I hinted that I might be changing my mind and canceling our Westerdam March 18 cruise received information that has now making me lean more toward the Westerdam ;)

 

Still hoping you will change your Westerdam into Oosterdam...

We enjoyed reading your reports and also the FB photos.

Enjoy those seadays back.

[socmft]

@Ine Where/how do I pull up Lisa's FB pictures? Went to HAL's FB page but couldn't find anything.

[Ine]

@Ine Where/how do I pull up Lisa's FB pictures? Went to HAL's FB page but couldn't find anything.

 

Lisa has her own FB pages, which you probably only can see (and also the photos) after you are accepted as friend by Lisa.

https://www.facebook.com/laffnvegas

[Himself]

I hope the weather is still good for you, Lisa. You will find as you get farther from HAWAII that it will get cooler but hopefully not rougher. It is too bad HAL has dropped the KONA stop. I always enjoyed that day very much.

Himself

[Copper10-8]

I hope the weather is still good for you, Lisa. You will find as you get farther from HAWAII that it will get cooler but hopefully not rougher. It is too bad HAL has dropped the KONA stop. I always enjoyed that day very much.

Himself

 

Agree with you Father, that was a great stop, although a tender port. Prefer it over Hilo

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Monday October 31, 2011

Good Morning and Happy Halloween from the MS Oosterdam as she makes her way back to San Diego.

On the daily program that HAL calls the Exporer it always states what the dress will before that evening, todya's has to be a first. ..... Formal or Halloween Costume!!:eek: That puts a whole new spin to the Dress Code Threads ;)

I did not write anything last night because I basically had caught you up to everything that was going on. I did want to mention a bit more about the problems they had yesterday with tendering. It seems the probelms was that the Lahaina Port Authorties were only allowing one tender to go into Lahaina at one time and of course they needed to get everyone off first that had a HAL Shore Excursion. Unfortunately it was causing quite a Mutany of the passengers. Many had private Shore Excursions and getting off the ship was running a couple of hours behind. I had over heard that they sent over some Officers to talk with them to get them to allow more tenders to operate. Just my guess is that the one reason could be that the Port Authorities were not expecting the Oosterdam to be a big ship and probably did not call in as many employees to work. I think we actually got off the tender about 11:30. Not a big deal since all we did was walk around town and shop and have a nice lunch. For those that had plans I think that it really upset a lot of passengers, the unfortunate part is every one is blaming the ship when the problem is it is the Port Authority. Hawaii while yes is US they kind of run on their own time clock or as they call it Hawaii time. I actually felt bad for the crew especially Dave the CD because they were really getting a lot of complaints. I truly believe you have to kind of learn to just go with the flow. While the seas looked calm tendering especially returning to the ship was quite difficult. I have done quite a bit of tendering but it has been a long time since I have seen the tender quite so out of control as it was when we returned to the ship. The last tender was to be at 4pm and they moved it to 5pm to allow more time ashore. We ended coming back to the ship at about 2:30 and getting back to the cabin at 3:30 ish. Of course there was a line to catch a tender. As I mentioned before we had a very good lunch at Lahaina Prime Rib and Fish Company with a great view.

Maui is an Island that Tom and I visited frequently before we started cruising and we especially liked Lahaina for the shopping. Many quaint shops with lots of variety. I was almost stunned when every single shop had the exact same items, or at least it sure appeared that way. Same types of Maui Logo wear, same exact prices in at least 15 different shops. It was as if some large company came in a bought out every shop, especially when all the sales clerks were wearing the same Hawaiin shirt.:rolleyes:

This morning the seas are a bit choppy with quite a few white caps out there which is the first I have seen since the cruise started. In about 30 minutes I am meeting Sher up at the Thermal Suite so should be interesting in the Hydrotherapy Pool.

I will quit writing for right now and fill you in on more a bit later today.

Signing off from the MS Oosterdam.

[sassyredhat]

Lisa, Maui is my favorite port. We have been several times before, so this time, (in April), we are just walking around.

I wanted to go to Lahina Prime Rib. Is it an easy walk from the pier ? We can get lunch there right ?

Thanks,

Pat

[rafinmd]

Monday October 31, 2011

Good Morning and Happy Halloween from the MS Oosterdam as she makes her way back to San Diego.

SIZE=3].... I did want to mention a bit more about the problems they had yesterday with tendering. It seems the probelms was that the Lahaina Port Authorties were only allowing one tender to go into Lahaina at one time and of course they needed to get everyone off first that had a HAL Shore Excursion. Unfortunately it was causing quite a Mutany of the passengers. Many had private Shore Excursions and getting off the ship was running a couple of hours behind. I had over heard that they sent over some Officers to talk with them to get them to allow more tenders to operate. Just my guess is that the one reason could be that the Port Authorities were not expecting the Oosterdam to be a big ship and probably did not call in as many employees to work. I think we actually got off the tender about 11:30. Not a big deal since all we did was walk around town and shop and have a nice lunch. For those that had plans I think that it really upset a lot of passengers, the unfortunate part is every one is blaming the ship when the problem is it is the Port Authority. Hawaii while yes is US they kind of run on their own time clock or as they call it Hawaii time. I actually felt bad for the crew especially Dave the CD because they were really getting a lot of complaints. I truly believe you have to kind of learn to just go with the flow. [/size]

]

Signing off from the MS Oosterdam.

 

Seems to have been a tough day for ports holding things up, whether sea or air. Consider yourself lucky you were in comfort on the Oosterdam, not sitting in a crampted 737 in the snow at Hartford.

 

Roy

[big green]

Wow I have a private tour ( whale watching) booked in Lahaina on the Oosterdam Dec. 10 cruise on Dec. 18 at 10:46 am--I wonder if I should cancel it now with all of this tender issue---do you think it will be resolved????

 

bg

[adrift@sea]

Monday October 31, 2011

 

 

On the daily program that HAL calls the Exporer it always states what the dress will before that evening, todya's has to be a first. ..... Formal or Halloween Costume!!:eek: That puts a whole new spin to the Dress Code Threads ;)

 

Definitely not a first...Last year on Maasdam, the dress code for Halloween was Formal or Halloween Costume!! The great majority of passengers opted for formal attire. The handful of passengers that dressed in costumes were few and looked a little out of place. We thought it was a strange choice but...:confused:

[LAFFNVEGAS]

October 31, 2011

Just a quick note to keep you all updated if I can actually get connected.

About 45 minutes ago the Captain came on the PA system to annouce that we have turned the ship around because the passenger took a turn for the worse and we are headed back to Honolulu. We were in the Queens Lounge at the time attending the Monster Mash Costume Contest, it was very nice that they asked everyone to take a moment of silence for the patient. Right now they expect us to each Honolulu in the morning. We are going on top speed 22kts with some fairly rough swells.

Much earlier today when they originally considered turning around the estimated arrival into San Diego was to be 4pm on Saturday with this new turn of events it appears it could easily be Sunday morning before we return to San Diego. But there is no official word and they told us they will let everyone know the information tomorrow once we arrive back in Hawaii.

 

We are all saying a prayer for this passenger that we can get her quickly to a hospital.