richwmn Goes around the world in a daze

[puppycanducruise]

Congrats on the upgrade.  What a wonderful surprise!  Enjoy.

[StLouisCruisers]

That's a fantastic surprise!  Hurry, hurry!  We will be watching you depart today, and maybe see your balcony.  Let us know if it's port side.

[rafinmd]

1 hour ago, richwmn said:

I just got a call from the front desk asking me why I hadn't changed cabins. It appears I have been upgraded to a verandah for the World, but nobody told me. So now I have to do a quick cabin change.

I would think someone must have dropped the ball if your key card still works with the old room.  Enjoy the upgrade.

 

Roy

[LouChamp]

Aloha. Congratulations on the upgrade. Enjoy!

[Sir PMP]

Well deserved with the upgrade.

[JazzyV]

Congrats on the upgrade!

[richwmn]

It is port side.

I'll have on a red shirt -- go DAWGS!

[erewhon]

@richwmn  Rich, Congratulations on the room upgrade,............ a wonderful New Year gift, enjoy the port side balcony.

[cat shepard]

Perhaps they realized they had a celebrity onboard. After all you are the Editor-in-Chief of the Report & Daily!

 

Bon Voyage, Rich! I am thrilled that your adventures are about to begin!

[TiogaCruiser]

19 hours ago, richwmn said:

 

 

I just received the following instructions concerning the next few days.

Due to the specific itinerary and length of our upcoming Grand World Voyange, out of an abundance of caution, we will be requiring guests on board to wear face masks while indoors until Saturday, January 7^th.

 

As a further protective measure, we will also be conducting a round of self-testing using self-administered COVID-19 Rapid Antigen Tests on Friday, January 6^th. Once we receive those results we will update guests on if we need to continue our masking protocols.

 

Now that makes sense. Previously we had heard that masks would be required for the first 3 days, but nada about testing.

 

Congratulations on the upgrade!

[smitty34877]

3 hours ago, richwmn said:

I just got a call from the front desk asking me why I hadn't changed cabins. It appears I have been upgraded to a verandah for the World, but nobody told me. So now I have to do a quick cabin change.

 

 

That is so great!Enjoy

[alibabacruisers]

Wow, great news about the upgrade to a balcony for the WC!  Congratulations!  Bon Voyage and thank you for taking the time to share your experiences! 

[richwmn]

January 3^rd

The World Cruise Officially Begins!

 

It has been an interesting day. Breakfast, as always, was easy and tasty. Since I am up early it is usually not a problem, no lines and plenty of tables. Same thing today.

I relaxed a while, then went to lunch. Shortly after lunch the fun began.

 

I got a call from Guest Relations asking me why I hadn’t moved to my new cabin. Big surprise to me, I was supposed to be in the same cabin for the entire 140 days. I found out that they wanted my cabin for a contractor and I had been upgraded. Problem is, nobody told me. I had plenty of time this morning to move if I had known. Well, it was easy enough to change cabins so now I have a nice verandah. Still a couple of small problems, I didn’t have a key. So I went down to Guest Relations and joined a line of others who had key problems. Luckily someone was going down the line and helping out with key problems before we got to the desk. In a few minutes I had a key card. Since I had a new muster station I stopped by and let them scan my card. I also found my former cabin steward and thanked him. When I got to the cabin, the key didn’t work. So, back to Guest Relations for another key. The Officer who had previously made my key saw me just after I got in line and asked what the problem was. I had another key in very short order. This one worked. Now, about 2 hours later there is a knock on my door. I answered it and a gentleman said ‘I have you key’, and showed me that it worked. Of course, that meant that the key I had gotten no longer works.

 

The Captain just came over the speaker system and announced that sail away would be 6pm.

 

Today’s activities and menus:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[richwmn]

We have cast off the lines and we are officially on the 2023 Grand World Cruise. With sail away happening after 6, I was unable to attend the 6:30 trivia, oh well there are another 127 days to play. On the Main Stage this evening the Cruise & Travel Director Ian introduced the Activity staff and did a presentation listing the ports we are going to visit. He also had a few comments on some of the ports and promised a port talk on each port prior to each stop.

 

When I arrived back at my cabin after the presentation, this was on my bed:

 

 

[Quartzsite Cruiser]

Congratulations on the upgrade to a balcony.  What a great way to start the World Cruise.

[ClippyJoe]

richwmn, 

When ever my husband and I set off on a trip , even when our children were small, one of us always said and still do to this day, "Now to set off on another adventure". I  always liked the Star Trek sendoff myself, "To explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before ".(cue the music ) But it is a little long. Have a wonderful wonderful time. We are counting on you to enjoy yourself and that will increase our enjoyment when reading your postings.

[richwmn]

Good Morning! It is Wednesday, January 4^th.

 

I slept really well last night, perhaps the actual sound of the ocean helped. I know now that I have to be very careful closing the balcony door to make sure it fully latches.

 

At breakfast this morning I noticed two things. The first is that the staff seems to be a little bit more engaging with the guests. I guess I kinda saw this over the past week or so, but didn’t notice it as much. Most staff are at least greeting most guests. Many staff members are using some form of the guest’s name. The other thing, like most I think, I have a standard breakfast that I order. One of the staff members instructed another as to one of my preferences.

 

Here are today’s activities. Not on the list, of course, is the Cruise Critic M&G at 10:00am in the Crow’s Nest.

 

 

 

[lcand1923]

I am getting more and more excited for you as I read your posts.

 

I now believe that someone at HAL reads CruiseCritic since they chose YOUR old cabin for a contractor and gave you the upgrade.  Seattle knows how much you do for them with your Daily and other posts about their product.

 

ENJOY!!!

[richwmn]

The dinner menus appear to have been posted already. Here they are along with the Lido lunch menu for today.

 

 

 

 

 

[0106]

Bon Voyage Rich

I never imagined I could give you advice but here is my opportunity.

 

Mike West is an extraordinary speaker who was with on our November Oosterdam transatlantic.  Do not miss his lectures.  Very interesting.

[0bnxshs]

On 1/2/2023 at 12:55 PM, richwmn said:

A note for 5 * Mariners. One of the benefits when you achieve 5 * status is supposed to be an internet credit. In reading Cruise Critic I have noticed various interpretations for this benefit. Upon boarding 11 days ago I didn’t notice any benefit attached to my pre-purchased internet. I have asked at the Front Desk twice getting assurances that it would be looked into and I would be contacted but so far I have not.

I did receive the $30 credit on my 18 December cruise on NA for my pre-cruise purchased internet.  Hope you have by now.

[richwmn]

8 hours ago, 0106 said:

Bon Voyage Rich

I never imagined I could give you advice but here is my opportunity.

 

Mike West is an extraordinary speaker who was with on our November Oosterdam transatlantic.  Do not miss his lectures.  Very interesting.

His first presentation was earlier today and he is a very good speaker. I enjoyed the talk and look forward to more.

[canadianbear]

On 12/26/2022 at 4:57 PM, Seasick Sailor said:

Rich, is there any way you can change your font? It's difficult to read your posts. Xx, Joy

I read on my iPhone and it’s ok.

Edited January 4, 2023 by canadianbear

[richwmn]

Good evening from Zuiderdam!

 

It has been a very interesting day aboard Zuiderdam. The morning was nice, and very relaxing. We are at sea and it was very peaceful.

 

I arrived at the M&G a little before 10am and met several of the cruisers that have been posting at the Roll Call. The M&G was well attended and really too many people to introduce individually. @the inside attempted to identify states and regions that were represented with a little success.

 

Following the M&G I went to the Main Stage to see a presentation by Mike West entitled Wonder of Ships (pt 1). This was a very good presentation, given by someone who has the background to give it. In most respects it was an introduction to Mr. West and the presentations he will be giving in the coming weeks.

 

The presentation was followed by lunch, today it was spaghetti in the Lido. By the time I got there it was pretty crowded and it was a bit of a problem to find a seat. Once I was seated the stewards were attentive.

 

Then it was off to the Crow’s Nest for my first trivia of the cruise. There was a big crowd so I sat at the bar and had a drink. I did reasonably good for playing alone. Sandra, as usual, was animated and did a very good job as a host.

 

From trivia I went to the Military M&G. This event was also very well attended and I had a chance to talk to several people. It was a very nice gathering and it seemed everyone had a good time.

 

I missed the 4pm trivia because there was a ‘block party’ scheduled at 4:30 for everyone to meet their neighbors. It was an interesting event with wine and champagne flowing. Small plates of food were also available. I had a chance to meet the Catholic Priest since his cabin is fairly near mine. It was a nice chance to see the faces of those who are nearby.

 

A quick meal of lasagna in the Lido and the I relaxed in my cabin for a bit. The next event was Music Trivia in the Billboard Lounge. Shortly after I sat down Jet Williams and Kelly Zumwalt walked up and introduced themselves. Jet went off to play blackjack while Kelly and I played trivia. While we didn’t win, we did get a really good number of the songs and artists correct. After trivia we sat and talked for a bit.

 

Tomorrow will be Falmouth, Jamaica.

 

It appears we will be getting a quote each evening for the World Cruise.

 

[richwmn]

This morning is a late, lazy day on Zuiderdam. Our port for today is Falmouth, Jamaica. Glancing thru the online descriptions of the port at Falmouth we find references to a big $180 million rebuilding of the port. It seems to me that either CCL or RCI financed the rebuilding to provide another Jamaica port. In any event, it looks like all the normal port activities, ie Margaritaville, DI, and others will be available. Tours listed seem to be pretty much the same ones available from Ocho Rios.

 

The menus for today have already hit the Navigator, so here the are along with today’s activities.