Venture to the Caribbean with Bill & Mary Ann on the Nieuw Statendam & Nieuw Amsterdam 12-18-21 to 4-26-22

[Florida_gal_50]

If you have the opportunity to eat at club orange for dinner I would for sure do that.  I don’t enjoy lukewarm food and find the food at club orange is actually hot.

 

I had asked a question about where you docked in ocho Rios.  Was it the carnival built port or was it in the middle of an industrial port for lack of a better word.  Thanks.

 

Happy new year.

[dchip]

Happy New Year! Having a Poinsettia and toasting the two of you!

Cheers, Denise and Howie too. 

[ottahand7]

Your sunrise and sunset photos in Cozumel were breathtaking.   👍

[WCB]

Report # 15   Day at Sea   Saturday – January 1, 2022   Sunny & breezy   79 degrees   Part #1 of 1     Pictures

 

Wishing everyone a most HAPPY NEW YEAR!  Let’s all hope this is a better year and virus-free!

 

We are heading back towards Ft. Lauderdale like horses going back to the stable.  The ship seems to be making good time, despite the fact we may have an Azipod problem.  According to the Captain, there is a strong current helping us along.

 

This morning after breakfast, we had an appointment for our second Covid test.  This time, there were about 90 passengers going on the next 10 day cruise.   And it was confirmed by Presty that 599 new guests will board tomorrow, and together with the 90 of us, there will be under 700.  Among the 599 guests, Barb, our best buddy, will be among them.  She will also have the Covid test at the airport, then hope her flight from Virginia doesn’t get cancelled.  She emailed and said she will see us tomorrow….or not.  We continue to think positive.

 

Going back to our room as required, we did not get that dreaded phone call saying one or both of us tested positive.  We are good to go for another 10 days.  At this point, we do not know what would happen if we did test positive, but were asymptomatic.  We do know for a fact that a fairly large amount of staterooms are deliberately kept empty in order to isolate any sick or positive tested passenger.  Each situation would be dealt with as to who went home, or who stayed and quarantined here.  Hope we never have to find out.

 

On another subject, we had a note on our door saying that the Mariner Delft tiles will be shipped to our home address, since there has been a problem with the delivery from the Netherlands. Funny, we are still waiting for the missing tiles from our Alaska cruise last September. This happened to us a few years ago, and eventually, they did arrive in our mailbox.

 

And with the start of another cruise, we  also got another plastic tote bag.  They are convenient to use for the pool towels. 

 

If there were big sales in the Shops, we sure did not see them. A few items had been discounted, but none of the higher end merchandise was being discounted.  The biggest activity was in the duty-free liquor shop, where the bottles folks bought today could be brought back to their room.  That saved the staff the trouble of delivering the bottles. We are guessing that a lot of parties will be happening tonight.

 

A light lunch was at 3pm in the Lido with salads and a shared sandwich.  Their custom-made paninis are sure good.  And since there is no more fruit bowl in the rooms, we got some apples to take back with us.  You can order the fresh fruit through room service, but we would need to be in our room to receive it.  We have yet to try room service, but may do so during this extended trip.

 

Relaxing in our room, we finally watched a movie, The Christmas Story.  Yes, we have seen it many times, and Christmas is over, but it still keeps us laughing, especially over the bee-bee gun the young boy dreams of getting.  Today’s movie at the Lido Pool was not a movie, but a football game.

 

Dinner for us was in the Canaletto.  We tried a few different items, and were happy with the choices.  Presty happened to stop by to chat a bit.  We told him we enjoyed the food in here, because it is served in a timely manner, and is hot.  He appreciated that. We even had enough time to take in another song and dance show in the World Stage.  This performance was called Off The Charts, with songs from famous artists over the last 50 or so years.  The singing was so-so, but the dancers were good as they performed on the tops of two huge piano-like instruments joined together.  The circular light show was equally as entertaining.  In our opinion, this was a re-imagined be-bop show of the old times.  We were surprised to see the room fill up with guests at 9:30pm.  Usually do not see that on the world cruise.

 

Back in the room, we had been gifted another HAL Journey’s booklet with a sticker of this cruise.  Got to turn in early since tomorrow’s breakfast begins at 6:30am.  Until then, good night.

 

Bill & Mary Ann 

 

 

 

[WCB]

We were not docked in an industrial port in Ocho Rios.  Must have been the Carnival-built one.

 

Bill & Mary Ann

[Florida_gal_50]

They had the tiles on my cruise on the koningsdam.  I do not like them so I put a note on it for them to return it to stock for someone that does.  Funny that they have problems on some ships but not others.  They don’t seem to be able to get chocolate on the koningsdam 😛.

[WCB]

Report # 16   Ft. Lauderdale, Florida   Sunday – January 2, 2022   Sunny & 80 degrees........Part #1 Of 2.......80 Pictures

 

Well, here we are once again back in Ft. Lauderdale.  The ship docked at Pier 26 today.  That meant an extra 45 minute walk  (one way) from the ship to town.  But with a nice breeze blowing, we did OK.  

 

Ships in port were the Caribbean Princess, RCI Odyssey of the Seas, HAL’s Rotterdam, Celebrity’s Edge and Reflection, and the Nieuw Statendam.  Sometime during the day, The Noordam appeared briefly, stayed a short time at Pier 2, then departed.  Not sure what was going on there?    Presty had mentioned last night that eight crew members were being sent there, even though we do not know where she heads next.

 

It took a little longer getting off of the ship this morning.  This time, we had to use our passports to go through Customs and Immigrations.  Once clear of the boarding area, we found our way to Eisenhower Blvd, and the way out of Port Everglades.  One of us wanted to do some clothes shopping, as well as stop for lunch.  We made a pass through the Renaissance Hotel, where we stayed two years ago before the world cruise.  Their Christmas decorations were still up.  On the ship, the Christmas train scene had been removed, and we suspect the rest will go sometime today.

 

Standing in a very long line in a shopping center, we saw people getting Covid –tested.  With the holidays soon to be over, people must be afraid of the virus spread to go and get tested before the work week resumes.  We were worried that Barb might not make it here on time, with all of the doom and gloom reports on TV.  Cancelled flights would be a problem.  Turned out she made it here without any delays, except for her Covid test.  She took it at the airport in Virginia before she boarded, but did not have the time to wait for the results.  Then her back-up plan was to have the test done here.  She passed the test, and boarded the ship after 3pm.  We met up with her at the 4 & 5 Star & PC Mariner’s gathering in the Billboard Bar.  Sure was good to see her, since the last time we were together was in March of 2020.  At that time, we did not  know if we would see each other again.

 

The champagne flowed as we chatted with other 2020 Grand World Voyage guests that Barb knew.  Sitting near the entrance were Gene and Shirley, friends who also boarded today.  Sure is nice to see friendly and familiar faces, even though they are partially disguised with those mandatory masks.  By the way, now we know why HAL is not giving out their logo cloth masks. Now they are not rated as safe for the new Omicron version.  The party lasted longer than usual, but we left to watch the lively sailing out of Port Everglades.  It seems that each time we head out to sea, the horns get louder from the locals.  But no one can top Captain Noel, who wins for the loudest and longest horn blowing.  Very uplifting!

 

For a change, we had time to relax and watch a movie in our room.  We are loving the interactive TV where we can start a movie, pause it, and resume when we wish.  This technology has been around for many years on other cruise ships, but never on the Amsterdam class of ship.  Now we can check just about everything on the ship, but most importantly, we can monitor our shipboard account without spending a lot of time at the Front Desk. 

 

Dinnertime in the dining room found changes.  As we said previously, the upper dining room was closed for the next 10 days.  So we were relocated to table # 62 seated with Barb.  It was a table set for six, in case we would like to invite company.  The aft section of this dining room is much different than on the Amsterdam, where the tables across the back window are open to each other.  Here, the dining area is split into sections with walls on either side.  So across from us was another table for six.  We had hoped it would be kept empty, but a group wandered back there, and asked to be seated next to us.  Well, they had been visiting the bars onboard, we assume, and were quite noisy.  Without the walls on each side, the noise might have been diffused.  But here, it just confined it to the point we could not hear each other at all.  We made the best of it, but we will have to do something about it tomorrow.   Once the rowdy group left, the sound level was fine. 

 

Barb had thought to ask for the crudité plate with carrot and celery slices with ranch dressing.  Fredy, the head waiter, brought them immediately.  The veggies were fresh and crispy, so we asked for the same platter tomorrow, except for some added olives and heart of palm.  Better to munch on these instead of filling up on bread and butter.  The soups were almost hot enough, and the entrees of spaghetti, chicken, and lasagna were tasty.  And with new waiters, except for Oka, the service was good.  All of us were exhausted, so we passed on the Walk of Music shows, which were blasting really high volume. 

 

Since day one on this trip, we had been hearing what we thought was a cart going over a threshold outside our room.  Turned out that a locked door had a laundry chute, and it was being utilized during the late evening.  One mystery was solved as to “what was that noise?”

 

We are now heading towards Curacao, just north of Venezuela, a two day trip from Florida.  And even though the Captain had reported a problem with one of the Azipods, we seem to be sailing at a good clip.  We should arrive to Curacao around 2pm.

 

Bill & Mary Ann

 

[Florida_gal_50]

I wonder if the crew was sent over to the noordam to quarantine after testing positive for covid.  They did send some crew that tested positive over to a Princess ship from the koningsdam.

[*Miss G*]

On 1/2/2022 at 8:06 AM, WCB said:

And since there is no more fruit bowl in the rooms, we got some apples to take back with us.  You can order the fresh fruit through room service, but we would need to be in our room to receive it.  We have yet to try room service, but may do so during this extended trip.

 

 

On the Nieuw Statendam cruise before yours, my husband requested a fruit bowl from our cabin steward and it was refilled every day.

 

3 hours ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

I wonder if the crew was sent over to the noordam to quarantine after testing positive for covid.  They did send some crew that tested positive over to a Princess ship from the koningsdam.

 

Yes, it was reported that the Noordam is now being used as a quarantine ship for the crew.

[Btimmer]

Thanks for the explanation about the masks.  Over here on the Zuiderdam we were only issued paper masks instead of the cloth ones we received on the Rotterdam and Niew Amsterdam.  We, too, have a small guest count of around 900.

[albingirl]

Agree that the MDR is very noisy.  We couldn't hear ourselves think, never mind speak.  It basically forced us into specialty dining for many nights so that we could have a quiet spot for dinner.

[WCB]

Report #17   Day at Sea   Monday – January 3, 2022   Sunny & 75 degrees   Part #1 Of 1…….20 Pictures

 

As the Nieuw Statendam heads towards the island of Curacao, it seems that the temperature has dropped.  And some of the humidity.  This is fine with us, but not so much for the “snowbirds” that have joined us from up north.  Some of these folks left home, leaving a foot of snow and bone-chilling temps behind.  They seem to be the group that truly enjoys sunbathing, and they do intend to go home with a tan, hopefully not a burn.  The aroma of sunscreen was thick in the breeze at the Seaview Pool. 

 

Anyway, Barb joined us around 9am in Club Orange for a very light breakfast, consisting mostly of fresh-squeezed orange juice.  We introduced her to many of the staff here, and we could see right away that they are going to treat her royally.  Good, she deserves.  Prior to her arrival, Presty came by to chat.  He had been looking for Barb, but had missed seeing her.  We happened to mention the noise problem we had last evening in the dining room, so we do hope he follows up on a solution that will work for everyone.  In the past, he was the go-to guy for these same situations, and he has always had success making us all happy.

 

We did get in a long walk on the almost empty promenade deck.  On the Amsterdam, a stroll on that deck meant meeting up with friends old and new, while also getting a workout.  That’s not happening here, but it also keeps more folks inside shopping or gambling for instance.  The array of activities are numerous on these sea days.  The ever-popular trivia began at 10:30am, then lightning trivia at 4:30pm.  At 6:30pm, there was team trivia, so if you miss one game, there are always more.  The casino had several events, while the Shops began their sales.  We had been invited to the third wine tasting at 1:45pm, but once again, did not attend. 

 

One of us made a visit to Barb to check out her room.  It is located inside and is compact.  The bathroom, cabinet and drawer space were identical to ours, but the biggest difference was that the desk area and couch we have was not there.  And obviously, there was no veranda and no windows.   There was one long desk with an ottoman for a chair.  This ottoman also opened up for more storage.  The approximate size may be 140 square feet, which is cozy to say the least. 

 

Checking out the Seaview Pool, we found that there were many empty chaise lounges….something that has not happened the last two weeks.  So we laid low on the “lay lows”, one of us hoping to be able to get up gracefully.  With a little help, it worked.

 

Lunch was in the Lido, where we think the set-up had been amended due to the fact there are only 700 guests onboard.  Closing one side at 1pm, the food was moved to the opposite side.  Usually we see this happening at 2pm.  In addition, the servers at the Lido stations had been rotated to other areas. Service remained to be good despite the changes.  Fresh fruit has been available at each station also.  You just have to ask, and you will be served.

 

Getting some more fresh air, we ducked out on the promenade deck and noticed the coast of Cuba on our port side.  Also seeing some tiny flying fish, and a few boobys chasing them.

 

We spent the afternoon working on reports and pictures, then off we went to the Grand Dutch Café to send and receive emails.  It still works better there than in our room.  One of us brought the Kindle to play daily games, but it would not turn on.  It had been working just fine in the room earlier in the day, but now, it appeared dead.  We brought 2 sets of connectors, and neither of them charged the unit.  We have no idea how long these tablets last, but we have had it for at least 6 years.  Probably not fixable, we will have to search for a new one.  It feels like losing a good friend……….

 

Dinner was gala this evening, and we met with Barb at the same table as last night.  And it was much better, since the table next to us was empty and stayed that way all night.  Having full tables around us has never been a problem before, heaven knows, our group has whooped it up more than once.  It is just the acoustics that hold the noise within the walls and window.

 

Our waiter had the crudité plate full of our requested goodies along with three small dishes of ranch dressing.  Two of us had the rack of lamb, and the other had the stuffed ricotta shells.  All the entrees were tasty and hot.  The plates were heated, and what a difference that makes.  Our waiter, Nur, even found Barb butter pecan ice cream for dessert.  We suspect it was from the Gelato collection of creamy ice cream.  One chocolate soufflé and strawberries with Grand Marnier finished our meal. 

 

The waiters were in the process of covering the empty tables with tablecloths, while we were still there chatting the night away, as we always seem to do.  Once again, we had been the last to leave.  The dining room was to be fogged after it was closed.  This precaution was happening even five years ago, but mostly for the Noro virus.

 

Passing Club Orange on our way out of the dining room, we spotted Presty in there with Wayan, the manager.  When Presty spotted Barb, he greeted her with a bear hug, saying she was like family returning home.  We have all known him for 15 years now.

 

Tomorrow  will be another day at sea, and that is good.

 

Bill & Mary Ann

 

[ON cruiser]

So glad to read the "happy news" in your reports--that Barb made the ship and that you are all having a nice time and are being well taken care of on the ship! May that continue for you! 

 

I do much enjoy reading your reports, so thanks for taking the time.

 

ON Cruiser

[The Other Tom]

8 hours ago, WCB said:

we laid low on the “lay lows”,

😁

[WCB]

Report #18   Day at Sea   Tuesday - January 4, 2022   Sunny & 75 degrees     Part #1 Of 1…….40 Pictures

 

We had another lovely day at sea as the ship headed towards Curacao.  If there is a problem with an Azipod, you would never know it.  The seas have been relatively smooth, accompanied with a strong breeze blowing across the decks.  It has remained quite comfortable as far as the temperature goes.  

 

This morning at breakfast, we had a different waiter, as they have been rotating every couple of weeks.  Our original waiter, Tanto, has remained close because he knows what we will order.  It took a while before the restaurant filled up, so we feel that many people go to the Lido and some to the dining room.  It has become quite obvious that there are only 700 guests onboard.  Decks 2 and 3 were virtually empty of people as we made our way to Club Orange at 8am. 

 

Walking the promenade deck, we have finally located the automatic doors, which are mid-ship on both port and starboard sides.  It is far easier to use these to get in and out, especially when it is windy.  And besides, you do not have to touch the door handles.  We have said for years now that the Amsterdam and similar ships in that class should have ADA approved doors. Of course, the ships are not registered in the USA.  But it never happened, as four of those ships were sold after the pandemic hit in 2020. 

 

A few of the boobys were back, but a different variety.  The only flying fish we saw were tiny ones.  And are they fast or what?  It is survival of the fittest out here.  It appears that we are in a shipping channel, as we spotted some tankers and a container ship going the opposite way.

 

While one of us was down-loading photos, the other was testing the power on the Kindle, still refusing to give up on it.  Lo and behold, by pushing down all of the top buttons, and holding them for 30 seconds, the word FIRE came up on the screen.  It was actually re-booting, something that has seldom occurred before this.  I put it down, did not touch it, for fear it would stop.  But it continued and the page came up like always.  In my mind, it was a miracle.  What had caused the Kindle to shut down, is still a mystery, but I am happy my little buddy is back to life.

 

We are still in the process of getting our shipboard account straightened out.  Both the offices of HAL and our travel agency were closed for  the long holiday weekend, so we had to wait until today to see if the credits were posted.  Thankfully, they were posted, and a statement of our account was printed showing every debit and credit since we boarded in mid- December. 

 

Thought we would check out the Seaview Pool and figure out how to access the lounge area above that deck.  We walked past the outside of the Tamarind Restaurant, and found the deck that way.  Later, we saw a stairway on each side that went down to the Seaview Pool.  There were only two people up there, so we went way to the back, and relaxed in the sun for an hour.  The only problem today was the wind.  You will surely lose your hat and anything not lashed down.  We could feel the motion of the ship more so back here.  While in our room, we barely feel the movement.  That is the difference with this bigger size ship compared to the Amsterdam.

 

Time for lunch, we did our usual salad and sandwich in the Lido.  At 3pm, we were the only ones on the starboard side, with the exception of the waiters.  Now the Lido Pool area had many more people lounging there.  They had less wind and also the chance to watch a movie,  Back to the Future, once again.   This evening, the Texas Bowl: LSU Tigers at Kansas State Wildcats was playing at 9pm. 

 

Back in our room, we resumed watching an HBO series that we have not seen before.  It is a mystery show and it hooked us with the first episode.  The beauty of the TV is that we can pause the movie, and resume whenever we wish. 

 

We joined Barb once again at our table in the aft alcove.  Since this is still anytime dining from 5:15pm to 9pm, the majority of folks had already eaten and left the room.  It was quiet with just a few tables filled near us.  Once again, besides one other table of guests, we were the last to leave.  Entrees of lamb shank, sirloin steak, and beef brisket were served hot in heated bowls.  None of us really likes the bowl plate, but we have learned how not to drop our cutlery in them.  Fredy, our head waiter, checked on us frequently to make sure we were happy.  Then another waiter arrived and said he remembered all of us from the 2019 world cruise.  He was the Lido salad maker then.  For us it is difficult to place the face with the name due to the dreaded masks.  Anyway, this same scenario has been occurring often since we boarded. 

 

Back in our room, we planned on resuming the series on TV, but it would not go on.  Oh, come on…….It was working fine when we left, we know there are some buttons that will make it work.  Unsuccessful, we will have to wait for tomorrow and ask our room stewards for help.

 

Oh yes, the clocks went forward one hour tonight.  We do not like that direction, because we lose an hour.

 

Bill & Mary Ann

 

[seagarsmoker]

So glad they got your shipboard account straightened out!

[drowelf]

23 hours ago, WCB said:

Report #17   Day at Sea   Monday – January 3, 2022   Sunny & 75 degrees   

 

We spent the afternoon working on reports and pictures, then off we went to the Grand Dutch Café to send and receive emails.  It still works better there than in our room.  One of us brought the Kindle to play daily games, but it would not turn on.  It had been working just fine in the room earlier in the day, but now, it appeared dead.  We brought 2 sets of connectors, and neither of them charged the unit.  We have no idea how long these tablets last, but we have had it for at least 6 years.  Probably not fixable, we will have to search for a new one.  It feels like losing a good friend……….

 

Sorry to hear about your Kindle. I've had a couple over the years and actually bought some backups of the model I like (Kindle Keyboard) off eBay a few years ago. I had success in doing a 'hard reset' of my kindles when they appear dead. Search for how to hard reset or even factory reset your model of kindle. That has brought mine back to life a couple of times. I've never had the batteries on mine fail, it is usually the screen which starts to fail and eventually becomes unreadable with drop out or black areas. 

 

Enjoying your posts on your long adventure. 

Edited January 5, 2022 by drowelf

[Florida_gal_50]

Oh yeah, I meant to comment about the kindle.  I haven't had any luck with mine lasting more than about 4 years and I usually just use mine on vacations.  Maybe I don't use it enough.

[albingirl]

16 hours ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

Oh yeah, I meant to comment about the kindle.  I haven't had any luck with mine lasting more than about 4 years and I usually just use mine on vacations.  Maybe I don't use it enough.

Same here, although lately I've been using it more and more.  Easier to see in the winter light.

[WCB]

Report #19  Willemstad, Curacao   Wednesday - January 5, 2022  Partly cloudy & 78 degrees   Part #1 of 3.........81 Pictures

 

Today’s port of call was Willemstad, Curacao in the Netherlands Antilles.  The largest of the three islands that make up this area, Curacao is 38 miles long and 7 ½ miles wide.  And this is our first time to visit here. 

 

The weather is always good in Curacao, like today, for instance.  The skies were partly cloudy, with an occasional spitting of rain and the temperature never exceeded 80 degrees.  A strong breeze blew all day as well. 

 

What is famous here?  We would say the waterfront in Willemstad, the capital, has to be the most scenic setting with the typical brightly-colored houses with red tiled gable roofs facing Santa Anna Bay. The story has it that these houses were painted white back in the old days.  However, the governor was inclined to get migraine headaches, and he ordered the houses to be painted pastel colors to reduce the glare. True or not, he was right about the blinding glare off stark white.

 

A floating pontoon bridge by the name of Queen Emma Bridge connects the Otrabanda and Punda districts.  This bridge was built in 1888, and a toll of 2 cents was charged for folks wearing shoes.  If you went barefoot, the crossing was free. It was nicknamed the Swinging Old Lady.  This bridge was restored in 2005. 

 

Other important events here are Carnival, the biggest party ever.  And we cannot forget the famous liqueur, orange-flavored Curacao is made here.  This alcoholic drink is made from the rinds of oranges, which are dried, then fermented.  The original liqueur was bitter, until a Frenchman came along  and combined the drink with sweet oranges.  The newer and better version was tinted with a blue additive, to make the drinks more interesting.  Otherwise the liquid is clear.

 

Things to do and see here are the neon blue iguanas and 10 foot cacti plants.  There were ship tours that took folks on a country drive, or a beach excursion, and a trolley train trip.  A tour of the distillery of the Curacao liqueur, or a ride to the ostrich ranch with a stop at the aloe factory would have been good choices.  There are 38 beaches, most are small, and there are diving spots here and there.  A sunset cruise took folks around the lit-up harbor and shops. 

 

The ship took its time sailing the length of the island, giving us scenic cruising.  Good time for us to be located on port side.  We were supposed to have arrived at 8am this morning,  but that got delayed until 2pm.  There were two ships already docked when we arrived.  They were the RCI Grandeur of the Seas, and NCL’s Epic.  We are not certain that all of the guests on these ships are vaccinated, so we wore our masks all day…..inside and out.

 

The ship was cleared shortly after 2pm, and those who were on tours, met onshore.  Once they were off, we went down to deck A and walked towards the exit from the pier.  Dancing ladies greeted us, and there was an information booth with convenient maps.  This is nice because the ship does not provide printed maps often on these shorter cruises.  Following the crowd, we wove our way through a series of shops at the Renaissance Mall.  That led to the harbor that was lined with souvenir stands. 

 

Arriving at the Queen Emma Pontoon Bridge,  we crossed over to the Punda side, where many historical sites exist.  Of course, this area is full of boutiques, cafes, bars, museums, a fort, casinos, and souvenir places.  We found our way to Wilhelmina Park, and the Central Market as well as the floating fresh produce market.  We have read that schooners from Venezuela come here to sell their produce.  Fish used to be sold here, but it can be purchased from private homes these days.  Nothing really caught our eye, so we came back with nothing.  We will be back  here in a few weeks, so we will look again. 

 

After taking many photos, we headed back to the ship.  Since the few pubs and cafes near the bridge were full of guests, we decided beers and a ham sandwich in the Dutch Café would be better.  We got back by 4pm, and had a late lunch in the Dutch Café.  The ship was nearly deserted with folks on tours and off into town.  All aboard was 10:30pm, so many will be off at dinnertime  as well.

 

One of us relaxed on the veranda, while the other worked on photos.  It was enlightening watching so many folks from the ships go unmasked.  These islands have been hit with the new variant, so why not be super-careful?  We were.

 

Dinnertime was in the Pinnacle Grill with Barb tonight.  There were few tables of people dining in there.  So the service was good, and the food hot.  Barb started with a steaming bowl of lobster bisque, although the bits of lobster  were microscopic.  Our waiter, Raj, gladly brought her another generous serving to add to the soup. In fact, we soon found out that Raj had a very great sense of humor, which was fun for a change.   Salads were next with a side of clothesline bacon, a treat for all, especially Barb who never tried it before.  She gave it a thumbs up.  Our entrees were the 7 ounce steak, while Barb had one lamb chop, the perfect portion size for her.  We all had dessert…..key lime pie for us, and crème brulee for Barb.  Usually not a dessert person, she liked this one.

 

After the satisfying meal, we had intended to check out the BBC Earth Experience in the World Stage , but there was only one showing at 8pm, and we did not know that.  We shall catch it the next time around.

 

Tomorrow we will be in Aruba, but arriving much earlier than today’s port.

 

Bill & Mary Ann  

 

 

[canadianbear]

Enjoying following along.  We love Curacao-been several times.  We have gone snorkeling; grabbed a tour at the dock; gone to the Curacao liquor factory with free samples (yum) etc.  I really enjoyed the ABC Islands one year when we were on the Koningsdam just before Christmas.  Curacao was magical that time. 

[Yellow Lab's Rule]

I always enjoy reading your trip reports.

In case you didn't see it during your first trip to Curacao, in the fort there is a Delft Shop.  The makers of the Holland America Ship Tiles.  It's a lovely shop selling a variety of ceramics and jewelry.  It's in the Rif Fort which is between the ship pier and the Swinging Bridge.

Here are the details.  Check it out on your next stop in Curacao.

 

Curaçao

Rif Fort 409
Otrobanda, Willemstad
Curacao
+5999 4650831

[rkacruiser]

10 hours ago, canadianbear said:

I really enjoyed the ABC Islands one year when we were on the Koningsdam just before Christmas.  Curacao was magical that time. 

 

My first visit to Curacao was during a Christmas Cruise on the original Royal Princess.  We were docked well within the harbor, further in than the current docking areas along the channel entering from the sea.   Sailing after dark, along the shore line where the oil refinery is located, a lovely lighted Merry Christmas sign was viewed.  Sailing past the still docked Nieuw Amsterdam III, decked out for the holidays with a banner above the door to the Bridge wing that said "Merry Christmas and Happy New Year" with some of their Officers waving to us and both ships exchanging "toots":  for me, this was a Christmas memory that I obviously savor to this day.  I have returned to Curacao a few times since and I have enjoyed each visit.    

[canadianbear]

@rkacruiser what a lovely memory!  It’s a magical place in my heart too with such good memories in Curacao.  

[madera1]

As always your posts are very entertaining. Hope you continue to have an enjoyable trip.