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'Twas the Cruise During Christmas - Zuiderdam 2018


POA1
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Thank you for your extensive and labor intensive research. I know getting all the way through the Holiday drinks list was demanding but I think Science could not have picked a better person for the job. 🥂🍾

 

Thank you also to your lovely wife for her patience as you answered all our questions and kept us all in stitches with your commentary. :classic_biggrin:

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Welcome home Brian and Michelle & Pooh, too.

 

Thank you so much for a fun and informative thread again 🙂  You do this so well.

 

We appreciate all the scientific research and hope that your liver doesn't suffer too much in the interest of science.

 

Many thanks again for putting a lot of smiles on all our faces and giving us all magnificent reads.

 

Happy New Year to you 😄 

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1 hour ago, frankc98376 said:

Thanks for the great live thread !

Was wondering about internet limits per day on the packages.  I'm betting somewhere you mentioned it- I went back the re-read and got to page 3 when the ADHD kicked in and I remembered 10 things I needed to do for work today.

 

So.., were there limits and are the enforced?

 

Thanks!

 

Hi, Frank and thanks again for the tip of the char for our steaks.

 

The stated daily data volume limits are 150 MB for social, 300 MB for the mid tier Surf package and 500 MB for the upper level one.  The system allegedly throttles you once you hit your cap, but it certainly didn't in our case. We had a laptop, a tablet, my Kindle Paperwhite and two phones running through a hotspot and never saw any throttling. (The Kindle really didn't consume much data, because I was terrible at reading this trip and all it would have done was sync my reading progress back to the Amazon server so that my place in a book would sync between the eReader and the Kindle app on my phone.)

 

 

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On 12/20/2018 at 8:53 AM, POA1 said:

This is what the PoohbyNet router looks like. It's a TP-Link TL-WR802N. It runs off USB power. I have it running off of a "lipstick battery" - a 5,000 mAh Anker Power Core. It's connected to my PC by a LAN cable just because it makes for easier configuration. (While it will roam between the ship's various access points, I like to manually pick the one with the best signal.) The whole set up is small enough to carry in a jacket pocket. I have an even smaller battery I can use if needed. The router will run for a few days on the battery to which it's currently attached. 

 

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I could connect to the router wirelessly, but the bale allows me to keep my laptop's radio off avoids having my laptop hunt for the Zuiderdam's Guest WiFi.

 

I missed this post back there. Nice. Dh and I will have a look see at this set up for our next cruise. I have only ever used my phone as a portable hot spot so this is nice to know. Thanks!!

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This is sort of a follow up to @frankc98376's question about the Internet.

 

The only times we experienced slowdowns was on Sea Day #2, December 24th and Sea Day #3, Christmas Day.  The slowdown on the 24th started mid-morning and ended by the time we went to dinner at our late, fixed time of 7:45 PM.  The slowdown on the 25th started after Santa's arrival and was pretty much over by lunch.

 

I have a working hypothesis on why this happened, as well as an alternative theory in case my hypothesis gets knocked down.  Most people didn't use the full cruise plan, they opted for just a day or two because they could find free WiFi in port. The last two days also have people checking on flights, loved ones, pets, etc.  If people have been offline for a while and their devices are set to auto-update, there will be a boatload (literally) of people whose machines are downloading software updates at the same time.  Michelle's iPhone had 22 updates while we were away. There was a Windows monthly service roll-up, which is a huge file, and I had a smattering of Android updates. We have auto update turned off everywhere. (This is on the advice of our in-house IT department, me.)  However, most people will have auto update turned on, especially computer users because you have to jump through hoops to turn it off.

 

The net result is that you have all these devices, waking up and going online for the first time in over a week. They all try to update their software and the pipe gets clogged.

 

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3 hours ago, kftw said:

Thank you your research.  Going to miss your daily postings.  When is your next cruise?

 

We're leaning towards a Christmas cruise for next year. We bought a future cruise deposit and they had the full cruise atlas onboard, so we grabbed one. I should have taken a bunch to mail out. 

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Apparently we were having such a good time that I fell an entire week behind on my daily programs. Here's the When & Where for Amber Cove in the Dominican Republic on Wednesday. December 19, 2018. It's an Evernote link. You can open or download the PDF by using the link on the page.

 

https://www.evernote.com/l/AFhNfzsxzUpLIZSbxBeMr1D4iAQhaMpb7KU/

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Strike that last post. I had the When & Where, along with others, filed in a different Evernote notebook than I was supposed to. I guess we were having such a good time that I forgot how to file things.

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Just now, Mr. Boston said:

Welcome home and Merry Christmas. It was a pleasure to follow along with you. Thank you for all of the photos and taking the time each day to share your travels with us!

 

Merry Christmas to you as well.  Glad you enjoyed my random scribblings.

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Just now, AncientWanderer said:

Thanks for sharing your excellent adventure.  Great fun!

Happy New Year!

 

👏

 

My pleasure. You're not done with me yet though. I still have menus and more photos to post.

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Our first gala dinner was held on our first sea day, Thursday, December 20th.

 

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Michelle's first course was the Escargots Bourguignon with Herb Garlic Butter, Burgundy Wine, and French Bread. It's one of those dishes that doesn't photograph well, but she said it was delicious. (Actually, she said, "Tasty" which is Shell-speak for delicious.)

 

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Her father ordered the Orange-Jumbo Shrimp Cocktail with Melon Trio Skewer, and a Cilantro Lemon Grass Aioli

 

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I had the Iberico Ham with Manchego Cheese, & Port Soaked Cherries. Quite good.

 

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For her second course, Michelle had the Salad Of Arugula And Frisée, William Pear, Mandarin Organge Segments, Pistachios,  Cherry Tomatoes, and Organic Mixed Seeds. (The picture's a little blurry. The salad was not.)

 

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I had the shrimp cocktail which you saw as her father's starter.  He skipped the second course.

 

For her entree, the lovely and talented Michelle had the Rack Of Lamb with Cannellini Beans And Garlic Pearls, Roasted Red Bell Pepper, and Sautéed Artichoke. She ordered her lamb medium rare and it was.

 

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My father-in-law had theBaked Ricotta Stuffed Shells served in a Garlic-Basil-Tomato Sauce, with Mozzarella And Parmesan Cheeses

 

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I had the Yellowfin Sole Fillet with Smashed Potato Crab Gallette, Sauce Vierge, and Haricots Verts

 

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When we're out with our friends and there's a dish everyone wants to try, we order one "for the table."  (If you want to be fancy or pretentious, order it "pour la table.")  Michelle ordered the Truffled Mushroom Risotto with Parmesan & Mascarpone Cheeses for the table. I highly recommend this when you encounter a dish everyone wants to try. It's an "order to share" when you're a party of two and "for the table" when you have three or more people.

 

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Both DW & DFIL had the Lemon Meringue Cheesecake with Blueberry Sauce, and Crusted Amaretti for dessert. Michelle has cappuccino with dessert every night. Our waiters knew to bring it pretty much automatically after the second night. (This is one of the reasons we like fixed seating. The waiter and assistant get to know what you want.)

 

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I went for the Warm Espresso-Date Pudding with Caramel Sauce, and Tabasco Spice Pecans. I had Graham's Six Grapes port as my dessert wine.

 

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Poohby Joe, as is his custom, dressed festively for the gala night.

 

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wayback-orange.jpg

 

 

Back when you had to pay for both the film and the developing of the pictures, you took photos that were worth paying for - to you anyway. You certainly didn't blow your hard earned cash on photos of every single dish you at on vacation. There were six of us on the cruise in 2003. Between us, we had at least three or four cameras at any given time. If we shot every dish at dinner, we'd have used more than half of a typical 24 exposure roll of film.

 

This is the sum total of our "food p0rn" from our Zuiderdam cruise 15 years ago.

 

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Granted, it's a nice photo and it's well-composed - but it's the single food picture from the whole trip. By the way, what ever happened to the awesome grill marks?  The potatoes are miniscule compared to the ones you get today. (We have no potato photo for some reason. I guess we'll have to take another cruise.)

 

 

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Just now, Copper10-8 said:

I have to say, Michelle's feet made those daily elevator mats look a lot classier :classic_smile:

 

She makes everything classier. (I'm not just saying that because she is currently reading about our vacation in the other room. :classic_biggrin:)

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9 hours ago, POA1 said:

I have heard rumors of its demise, but we got a cruise log, printed on heavy card stock. It's not wavy on the right. I failed to hold the scanner exactly straight.

 

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This version of the log is really nice. I'm impressed with the work they put into it. Makes me want to book a HAL cruise now. 

 

Thank you, Sir Brian:classic_cool:

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Just now, Vic The Parrot said:

This version of the log is really nice. I'm impressed with the work they put into it. Makes me want to book a HAL cruise now. 

 

Thank you, Sir Brian:classic_cool:

 

You're welcome.  I'll try to rescan it, only straight - like it's supposed to be. I had it on our dining room table when I scanned it and it was across the seam where the you insert a leaf or two to expand the table. My right hand got a little ahead of my left when scanning, which caused the dip on the right.  If I set it in the other direction and scan it, I can probably do a better job.  I also see that there's a smudge on the scanner. It's causing that white drop out line that runs west to east across the southern part of the USA.

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Just now, Vic The Parrot said:

This version of the log is really nice. I'm impressed with the work they put into it. Makes me want to book a HAL cruise now. 

 

Thank you, Sir Brian:classic_cool:

 

The parts of the the Voyage Log that look golden in the scan, the are actually embossed gold metallic print. It's nice enough that we brought it home. We usually scan paperwork and throw it away.

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3 minutes ago, POA1 said:

 

The parts of the the Voyage Log that look golden in the scan, the are actually embossed gold metallic print. It's nice enough that we brought it home. We usually scan paperwork and throw it away.

Wow ... I can imagine that looks sharp in person. The way you describe it, it's definitely a keeper for the scrap book!

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The Wayback Machine presents: The Death of (the) Disco

 

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In 2003, Deck 2, Forward & Midships was quite a bit different than today's Music Walk concept.  The casino is pretty much unchanged, although the slot machines are a completely different animal today.  Call me a fossil, but I miss the coins and the clanging sound they made as the dropped into the tray if you won. The area formerly occupied by the casino bar and piano bar is now Billboard Onboard with its piano duo.

 

In this installment of the Wayback Machine, we'll focus on the area that was once the ship's disco.

 

The Vista Class ships were originally fitted with discos where the Gallery Bar is today. The one on the Zuiderdam in 2003 was called The Northern Lights. We called it "The Cow's Nest" for reasons that should be obvious.

 

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That's my sister-in-law and Michelle's brother's wife with us in 2003. Her brother took this photo. I can tell by the can of Coors Light on the table.

 

Rarely was the disco ever full when we were in it. This goes for the ones on the Oosterdam, Westerdam and Noordam.  You had the occasional busy night,  but I can't recall seeing the discos ever being consistently busy, Even when a cruise was chock full of Europeans, whom I have been assured love disco, I don't recall the Northern Lights being persistently packed.  I suppose that's why we have the Gallery Bar now. While it did absorb some of the sports bar functionality that the old casino bar had, it completely lost any semblance of dance floor.

 

The first two photos below are taken of what would have been the same as the ones above.

 

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The rest of the area that would have been the dance floor in 2003.

 

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The bar itself in 2018.

 

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