richwmn Goes around the world in a daze

[erewhon]

Hi @richwmn  Rich,  Enjoying your reports.

Who is your new Captain?

[richwmn]

4 hours ago, erewhon said:

Hi @richwmn  Rich,  Enjoying your reports.

Who is your new Captain?

The Captain is now Frank van der Hoeven

[aliaschief]

Rich. Does the Zuiderdam have the new Star Link WiFi system? If so how is it?

[richwmn]

1 hour ago, aliaschief said:

Rich. Does the Zuiderdam have the new Star Link WiFi system? If so how is it?

I don't think so, the internet is about the same as I have had in the past.

 

Some additional pictures from Cape Town. This is the Marina Area where the shuttle dropped us and the HOHO bus stopped.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[aliaschief]

Rich. Thanks for the quick reply and pics. 

[richwmn]

This evening's menus --

 

 

 

 

[richwmn]

Cape Town at Dusk

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[cccole]

Your WC reports are fabulous and it seems like you are enjoying it more everyday.  Your photos are great and daily life onboard sounds good, especially when you connect with other passengers that you enjoy spending time with.  Thank you for this "live from."  Cherie

[Boytjie]

On 3/13/2023 at 4:44 AM, richwmn said:

 

 

Oh man, I wish I was there for this! 😮

 

 

 

 

[erewhon]

18 hours ago, richwmn said:

The Captain is now Frank van der Hoeven

@richwmn  Rich, Thank you for your reply.

[richwmn]

March 16 – at sea, destination Luderitz

 

 

After trivia last night I relaxed a bit then went to the 9:30pm show, which was the South African Youth Choir. It was a very good show featuring some very good singers. The program included several songs by the group, along with a few solo performances. It was a very nice farewell to Cape Town and South Africa.

 

 

 

Today we are back at sea with another bright, comfortable day. The seas appear calm, and the ship is stable. A Cruise Critic M&G was held this morning with light attendance.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[cat shepard]

On 3/15/2023 at 4:42 PM, richwmn said:

Cape Town at Dusk

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gorgeous pics, Rich! Thank you for sharing!

[richwmn]

March 17 – Saint Patrick’s Day – Luderitz, Namibia

 

 

 

 

Today started out a bit overcast, but it is very nice out right now.

 

Yesterday they had a silent auction to benefit a children’s facility in Namibia. It seems that they raised a good amount for the facility. As normal with sea days, we had several trivia sessons, at 1:00pm, 4:00pm and 6:30pm. Again we finished high in all, but didn’t win. We also had Bocce Ball, or at least the ship board version, at 2:30pm. It is fun and I managed to win this one.

 

I spent a little bit of time in the Ocean Bar with friends listening to the Group there. They generally play dance music, but will do Jazz when no one is dancing. They are also the band that plays behind some of the performers and during sail aways. They are good musicians and easy to listen to.

 

This morning we had to have a face to face meeting with immigration. It started on time and like South Africa went smoothly and quickly. As each person finished a sticker was placed on our ships card and we could go ashore then. Today is a tender port, and open tendering began at 10:00am, right when my group had decided to go ashore.

 

Like the tender platform on the ship, the floating dock at Luderitz had some motion to it and everyone was helped on and off the tender. The incline to the permanent dock was pretty steep and the walk was a bit long. The city itself is nice, and we found a good place to buy gifts and beer. They also had free wifi that was pretty good. I had a bit of a shock this morning when I received a message that Namibia is not on my T-Mobile access so for the first time I don’t have data in port, the wifi was nice.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Crow's Nest Bartender and friend

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[clueless2]

How's the T-Mobile data speed in most ports?  I assume it's pretty slow but is it fast enough for email and other non-video "stuff"?  Thanks for taking the time to post your adventure.  Very enjoyable.

[Oak Hill Cruisers]

Dear Rich,

 

We are greatly enjoying your GWV blog.  It brings back memories of our 2018 GWV on the Ms Amsterdam.

 

Question for you: If you are not in a suite and your stateroom is an inside, outside view or veranda, can you tell us if your shower is a standup shower (not a tub shower) with a safety handrail and if the shower head is fixed or is the shower head a removable wand on a hose?

 

The reason we ask is that, after booking the Voyage of the Vikings and the 2024 GWV on the Ms Zuiderdam, my wife underwent brain surgery and she has some vision & mobility issues.  There are no handicapped staterooms available on our upcoming Voyage of the Vikings cruise.  So we need to know if I can stand outside the shower with a removable shower head and wet down & rinse my wife.

 

Thanks in advance for your reply and comments.

 

Ron

[richwmn]

3 hours ago, clueless2 said:

How's the T-Mobile data speed in most ports?  I assume it's pretty slow but is it fast enough for email and other non-video "stuff"?  Thanks for taking the time to post your adventure.  Very enjoyable.

The speed has actually been pretty good. I have had T-Mobile since about June of 2018. Since that time I have been on several cruises and this is the first time I have received the out of network message. The speed has always been good, and on this cruise in particular I have not had any problems using local data. In fact, I have watched Youtube videos on both my phone and tablet (both have T-Mobile service). I have also been able, for the most part, to use WiFi calling on the ship, and Whatsapp for calls and video calls in ports. I did make a couple of international calls at 25 cents a minute, also without any problems.

 

3 hours ago, Oak Hill Cruisers said:

Question for you: If you are not in a suite and your stateroom is an inside, outside view or veranda, can you tell us if your shower is a standup shower (not a tub shower) with a safety handrail and if the shower head is fixed or is the shower head a removable wand on a hose?

I have been in two cabins since I boarded Zuiderdam. For 12 days over the holidays I was in 4058, an outside obstructed view cabin. Since the beginning of the World, I have been in 5048, a nice verandah cabin. Both have the tub with detachable shower head. Photos of 5048 can be found at https://halfacts.com/vista-class/5048-zuiderdam/

 

Closer view of shower head in 5048, the one in 4058 was identical

 

 

 

Edited March 17, 2023 by richwmn

[rafinmd]

Looks a lot like my oceanview cabin on the Eurodam, and perhaps a bit of the worst of both worlds.  You do need to step over the walls of the tub to get into the shower, and if used as a bath tub, the soap dispenser is too high to reach.

 

Roy

[clueless2]

5 minutes ago, richwmn said:

The speed has actually been pretty good. I have had T-Mobile since about June of 2018. Since that time I have been on several cruises and this is the first time I have received the out of network message. The speed has always been good, and on this cruise in particular I have not had any problems using local data. In fact, I have watched Youtube videos on both my phone and tablet (both have T-Mobile service). I have also been able, for the most part, to use WiFi calling on the ship, and Whatsapp for calls and video calls in ports. I did make a couple of international calls at 25 cents a minute, also without any problems.

 

Thanks.   I had GoogleFi (which uses T-Mobile in the USA) for a 49 day TA/Med cruise in 2017 and it worked great everywhere but Malta-and we were there overnight.  Another person on the cruise that had Fi also had the issue.  It was supposed to work but I assume it was just some type of glitch.

[richwmn]

March 18 – Walvis Bay, Namibia

 

 

 

 

Until a few minutes ago it was overcast and not very inviting. We are again in an industrial port with a shuttle into town. The only thing in view from the ship is the workings of the port.

 

Last night was a festive St. Patrick’s Day. The ship was decked out in green and activities were themed to the holiday. The 6:30pm trivia was questions about the day and the Dance Band played on the Lido deck mid ship. Everything was very nice.

 

This morning has been nice and relaxed. Later this afternoon we have to parade thru the Hudson Room to get our passports stamped out of Nimibia and we will officially be gone. Children from the Bernhard Nordkamp Centre, the charity HAL supports, are on board and will do a show at 4:00pm before we leave. Today’s program states that Zuiderdam raised over $7,000 to donate to the charity.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[richwmn]

March 19 – at sea, destination Destination Luanda, Angola eta 3-21

 

 

 

Another pretty day at sea. During the noon announcements the Captain noted that we could be in for some bad weather coming up. For the next couple of days it should still be nice.

 

Namibia as a colony was under German influence. The ship had a nice German meal last night that I really enjoyed. The Dance Band played next to the mid ship pool to a very light audience. It was an enjoyable evening.

 

The ship had a charity auction yesterday benefiting the Bernhard Nordkamp Center and raised over $9,000 to benefit the project. About 20 children that the Center serves came aboard the ship and put on a show last evening. It was a cute show with some talented entertainers. After the show we had to wait for a few people to clear immigration and we were about an hour late leaving.

 

Today was a light breakfast day, just a bowl of cereal, because I had a reservation for another Brunch Sampler in the Main Dining Room. Since we were scheduled for 11:30am, it was basically a lunch and was again very good. Quite a few people took advantage of the lunch. We finished lunch in time to get to trivia at 1:00pm.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[REOVA]

You may find a few ports in Africa that cell phone data is expensive and not part of their service. 

[jayhawk66]

Rich, I am really enjoying your posts as you take us along on your journey. I particularly like to see your daily screenshots of your location on Google maps. Is there any particular setting required to get the large area geographic view? I’d like to do the same on our upcoming transatlantic cruise.

[richwmn]

10 minutes ago, jayhawk66 said:

Rich, I am really enjoying your posts as you take us along on your journey. I particularly like to see your daily screenshots of your location on Google maps. Is there any particular setting required to get the large area geographic view? I’d like to do the same on our upcoming transatlantic cruise.

I use two different ways to get the location. Many mornings I walk the promenade and the step tracker I use gives me the map with two dots. I use google maps directly otherwise. I would suggest you download the map for online use as internet is not always great. In both cases, once I have the map up I can tap the screen and it goes to full screen. This is on a Samsung Android phone. YMMV

[richwmn]

31 minutes ago, REOVA said:

You may find a few ports in Africa that cell phone data is expensive and not part of their service. 

So far only Namibia, but we will see going forward.

[Divi]

My husband said we may have to do a world cruise just so he can have the chilled soups again. 😂 Thank you for your pictures and reports, very enjoyable.