CSI: NA Reloaded (Nieuw Amsterdam 11/30 to 12/14/14)

[POA1]

Enjoying going along on your cruise! Love your menus and the food photos...makes me hungry looking at them.

 

Interesting about the "Available Every Day" offerings. I often opt for the salmon if there's nothing that appeals to me on the menu.

 

I'll ask our server if the every day selections were available last night. We leave for dinner in a few minutes.

 

I do think our menus are a little different because of the group that's on board.

 

Out internet speeds are screaming (in a good way) compared to last week. I got:

 

Download Speed: 3872 kbps (484 KB/sec transfer rate)

Upload Speed: 411 kbps (51.4 KB/sec transfer rate)

 

from the ship to New York earlier, while at sea. That's almost triple the speed of two weeks ago. Shrimpboat123 and I were joking that the HAL executives brought a big pipe with them.

[cruz chic]

Too funny about the Internet.

[RuthC]

I do think our menus are a little different because of the group that's on board.

Why am I not surprised (she says drolly). :rolleyes:

[kazu]

Love Pooh Bear's attire. Now I know why you had so much luggage:D

 

hope he lent his tie back to you as I am sure it would look better on him than you.

 

No purell stations? I'm shocked based on another thread. I've never been on a HAL cruise where there wasn't the purell "stuff" waiting before you boarded, at the Lido entry or the MDR?

[cruz chic]

Love Pooh Bear's attire. Now I know why you had so much luggage:D

 

hope he lent his tie back to you as I am sure it would look better on him than you.

 

No purell stations? I'm shocked based on another thread. I've never been on a HAL cruise where there wasn't the purell "stuff" waiting before you boarded, at the Lido entry or the MDR?

 

I found that remark a little odd. There were plenty of them on the ship from nov 16-30 and they were diligent in asking you to use them.

[shrimpboat123]

Love Pooh Bear's attire. Now I know why you had so much luggage:D

 

hope he lent his tie back to you as I am sure it would look better on him than you.

 

No purell stations? I'm shocked based on another thread. I've never been on a HAL cruise where there wasn't the purell "stuff" waiting before you boarded, at the Lido entry or the MDR?

 

You can be assured that there are Purell Stations everywhere. Into the Lido and MDR and when you come back on the ship and off the ship.

 

Some people still feel they don't need to use them. :mad::mad::mad:

 

I know there was one case of gastro. The people sitting next to us in the dining room reported that one of their party contracted the dreaded illness.

[innlady1]

I'll ask our server if the every day selections were available last night. We leave for dinner in a few minutes.

 

I do think our menus are a little different because of the group that's on board.

 

Out internet speeds are screaming (in a good way) compared to last week. I got:

 

Download Speed: 3872 kbps (484 KB/sec transfer rate)

Upload Speed: 411 kbps (51.4 KB/sec transfer rate)

 

from the ship to New York earlier, while at sea. That's almost triple the speed of two weeks ago. Shrimpboat123 and I were joking that the HAL executives brought a big pipe with them.

 

What group do you have on board? HAL executives? Sorry if I haven't been paying attention...lots of "non cruise related" stuff going on here! :)

[innlady1]

You can be assured that there are Purell Stations everywhere. Into the Lido and MDR and when you come back on the ship and off the ship.

 

Some people still feel they don't need to use them. :mad::mad::mad:

 

I know there was one case of gastro. The people sitting next to us in the dining room reported that one of their party contracted the dreaded illness.

 

I'm sure of that, shrimpboat....haven't been on a cruise for several years where there have not been Purell stations. They abound!

[Lizzie68]

You can be assured that there are Purell Stations everywhere. Into the Lido and MDR and when you come back on the ship and off the ship.

 

Some people still feel they don't need to use them. :mad::mad::mad:

 

I know there was one case of gastro. The people sitting next to us in the dining room reported that one of their party contracted the dreaded illness.

 

Thank you for confirming. On another thread it was noted that the Purell was not in evidence, or something like that. I would have been rather surprised if that were true.

[cruz chic]

Thank you for confirming. On another thread it was noted that the Purell was not in evidence, or something like that. I would have been rather surprised if that were true.

 

It is definitely not true. You couldn't get on the ship without using it. I simply don't understand that comment.

[Crew News]

No purell stations? I'm shocked based on another thread. I've never been on a HAL cruise where there wasn't the purell "stuff" waiting before you boarded, at the Lido entry or the MDR?

 

Lots of Purell stations on this cruise but I noticed no crew members holding the bottles as we boarded from the VIP Waiting Area. Could be we were the first to board and they were slow in posting their Purell squad.

 

When my party entered the Mariner's Luncheon, nobody pointed us to the Purell Station near the door or offered a squirt from a Purell bottle.

 

Returning to the gangway from Grand Turk, I saw no crew members with Purell bottles that have always seen on my previous cruises.

 

As noted on previous threads, and medical journals, Purell has no effect on norovirus. Unable to place portable hand washing facilities with soap/water around the ship, IMHO HAL just stopped the Code Orange implementation in the Lido Restaurant. Might just be a trial for this cruise.

 

"It is definitely not true. You couldn't get on the ship without using it. I simply don't understand that comment"

 

Has HAL been in the habit of waiting until a passenger with alcohol-based product allergies is standing at the gangway before telling them to suffer the Purell or go back home? I am having issues trying to find this HAL rule.

 

Others may have different experiences but I have never been denied boarding, or entering a dining room, if I was not a verified Purell user.

 

Loving the cruise so far. Renewing crew friendships and entertaining fellow CC members has been enlightening.

[POA1]

Enjoying going along on your cruise! Love your menus and the food photos...makes me hungry looking at them.

 

Interesting about the "Available Every Day" offerings. I often opt for the salmon if there's nothing that appeals to me on the menu.

 

The "every day" selections were available. I asked our waiter tonight. He said that you could request them, but the special menu format didn't have room for them.

 

They were back on tonight's menu, which was a normal format.

[POA1]

Love Pooh Bear's attire. Now I know why you had so much luggage:D

 

hope he lent his tie back to you as I am sure it would look better on him than you.

 

No purell stations? I'm shocked based on another thread. I've never been on a HAL cruise where there wasn't the purell "stuff" waiting before you boarded, at the Lido entry or the MDR?

 

I don't think I posted about the Purell stations, but if I did, I apologize. They're all over the place.

[POA1]

What group do you have on board? HAL executives? Sorry if I haven't been paying attention...lots of "non cruise related" stuff going on here! :)

 

It's a group of HAL's best producing travel agents, as well as the new HAL President, upper level managers, Exec. Chef, Head of the F&B Departments (Food & Beverage), Corporate Cruise Director, etc.

 

There are a lot of people running hither and yon with clipboards. It's a good thing that this isn't a full-blown Institute of Cheer research project, because clipboards are in short supply. :D

[POA1]

We had a very nice dinner tonight, and I managed to get photos without dropping my phone into my food (So, yay for me!) I'll post the food pix and some additional information tomorrow from Puerto Rico. (The feed will be available in both English & Spanish at univision.boards.cruisecritic.com*.)

 

We lose an hour tonight. Expect the quality of our reporting to take a hit. We gain the hour back later, and our posts will be outstanding that day.

*Not a real website URL.

[Lizzie68]

Thanks POA. You brighten my day!

[kazu]

I don't think I posted about the Purell stations, but if I did, I apologize. They're all over the place.

 

no, you didn't. read it on another thread and I was surprised so I thought I would check with the sleuths at the Institute of Cheer :D

[IndyDenise]

So what does POA mean? Prince Of Amusement? Perfect Over Awesome? Prunes On All ?

 

 

We know what the #1 means, it's because you are the #1 trip reporter, Institute of Cheers professor, menu scanner, pooh toting, wine bringing, sparkles and bubbles provider, cheese plate eater there ever ever ever was!

 

Thank you for your reports!! Gosh, they make me freaking giggle !

[cruz chic]

Lots of Purell stations on this cruise but I noticed no crew members holding the bottles as we boarded from the VIP Waiting Area. Could be we were the first to board and they were slow in posting their Purell squad.

 

When my party entered the Mariner's Luncheon, nobody pointed us to the Purell Station near the door or offered a squirt from a Purell bottle.

 

Returning to the gangway from Grand Turk, I saw no crew members with Purell bottles that have always seen on my previous cruises.

 

As noted on previous threads, and medical journals, Purell has no effect on norovirus. Unable to place portable hand washing facilities with soap/water around the ship, IMHO HAL just stopped the Code Orange implementation in the Lido Restaurant. Might just be a trial for this cruise.

 

"It is definitely not true. You couldn't get on the ship without using it. I simply don't understand that comment"

 

Has HAL been in the habit of waiting until a passenger with alcohol-based product allergies is standing at the gangway before telling them to suffer the Purell or go back home? I am having issues trying to find this HAL rule.

 

Others may have different experiences but I have never been denied boarding, or entering a dining room, if I was not a verified Purell user.

 

Loving the cruise so far. Renewing crew friendships and entertaining fellow CC members has been enlightening.

Could I ask you to clarify what the vip waiting area is? I've heard you mention this a few times but I don't understand what this is. Do you mean the second floor? If so, I had no idea it was called this. As far as Purell goes they were a lot more diligent in prior weeks then it appears they are now.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Lots of Purell stations on this cruise but I noticed no crew members holding the bottles as we boarded from the VIP Waiting Area. Could be we were the first to board and they were slow in posting their Purell squad.

 

When my party entered the Mariner's Luncheon, nobody pointed us to the Purell Station near the door or offered a squirt from a Purell bottle.

 

Returning to the gangway from Grand Turk, I saw no crew members with Purell bottles that have always seen on my previous cruises.

 

As noted on previous threads, and medical journals, Purell has no effect on norovirus. Unable to place portable hand washing facilities with soap/water around the ship, IMHO HAL just stopped the Code Orange implementation in the Lido Restaurant. Might just be a trial for this cruise.

 

"It is definitely not true. You couldn't get on the ship without using it. I simply don't understand that comment"

 

Has HAL been in the habit of waiting until a passenger with alcohol-based product allergies is standing at the gangway before telling them to suffer the Purell or go back home? I am having issues trying to find this HAL rule.

 

Others may have different experiences but I have never been denied boarding, or entering a dining room, if I was not a verified Purell user.

 

Loving the cruise so far. Renewing crew friendships and entertaining fellow CC members has been enlightening.

 

 

On the Noordam -- no Code Orange, no one standing by the Purell machines asking you to use it, no one at the dining room squirting your hands as you enter it, no one at the gangway squirting your hands.

[Krazy Kruizers]

You can be assured that there are Purell Stations everywhere. Into the Lido and MDR and when you come back on the ship and off the ship.

 

Some people still feel they don't need to use them. :mad::mad::mad:

 

I know there was one case of gastro. The people sitting next to us in the dining room reported that one of their party contracted the dreaded illness.

 

 

Sorry to hear that you have 1 case of gastro on your cruise. Hope that will be the only one.

Many people did not use the Purell stations on the Noordam.

[cruz chic]

On the Noordam -- no Code Orange, no one standing by the Purell machines asking you to use it, no one at the dining room squirting your hands as you enter it, no one at the gangway squirting your hands.

 

What they are doing in the lido is switching out the tongs every few minites. Unfortunately there are still pigs that touch food and then not take it. I try to severely limit my exposure to the lido for this reason.

[IRL_Joanie]

Brian, I will only post this one time on your thread, because it is imperative I do so before this goes any further.

 

NO WHERE in Crew News's posts or mine did we say there was no purell!!! We stated ONLY that there are no crew members PUSHING anyone to use purell!!

 

Someone twisted our comments and or misread what we posted on my thread "3rd time's the Charm.".

 

Joanie

[pamelabrown53]

Hi IndyDenise. I know what you mean. I am having too much fun here at home! :D

Edited December 10, 2014 by pamelabrown53

[POA1]

So what does POA mean? Prince Of Amusement? Perfect Over Awesome? Prunes On All ?

 

 

We know what the #1 means, it's because you are the #1 trip reporter, Institute of Cheers professor, menu scanner, pooh toting, wine bringing, sparkles and bubbles provider, cheese plate eater there ever ever ever was!

 

Thank you for your reports!! Gosh, they make me freaking giggle !

 

Point of Americas I - It's where we live. I wanted something short, and it was available. In hindsight, I should have picked something better, like "Vice Chancellor of Fun" but POA1 is easy to type. :)