LIVE Thanksgiving Review Nieuw Statendam Rome -> FLL My First Transatlantic Nov 26 - Dec 10 🦃

[ksmaxey]

17 minutes ago, oakridger said:

 

I took it to mean that two crew told @ksmaxey that the decorations were shipped from Ft. Lauderdale to the ship in Italy.  

 

~Nancy

yes.  the decorations were in Florida and were shipped so we would have decorations 

[Haljo1935]

Drydock Update: Deck 10 Club HAL was revamped during drydock! Will definitely make a return trip (or more) to get some pictures - here's what few I could get of the redone Kids Club, now ADA compliant as well as divided into sections to draw families (rather than just kiddos) into the space. 

Crew who greeted me said I could take pictures so long as I didn't get any of the kids (there were 3 present), but a more senior person who came out said no pictures. He was happy to answer questions; though, so all info is from him. Not intentionally butchering his name, but sure I'm getting it wrong - Deundrae I believe is how it's spelled. Very nice guy from Houston TX (CD Bettyann Chun is from San Fran CA, so at least 2 Americans among the crew) who is debarking in FLL and will resume duties on the Rotterdam when his next contract begins.

The area is decked for Christmas beginning with the entry when you get off the mid-ship elevator.

 

We were directed to go right past the desk to access the areas currently open to all passengers; the restricted area is to the left.

Music theme is present, so it's cohesive with the rest of the ship. 

The area is now divided into 3 sections: High Score for older kids 12-17, Hang 10 for 3-11 yo and Kids Clubs for 3-6 yo. Only High Score (aka the family game room) is open to all ages and families from 6-10pm.

There are life size interactive puzzle games, like a maze board and slide puzzles (fans of Survivor will surely recognize these) plus Skeeball and a miniature soccer game, race simulators and pinball machines. ALL ARE FREE TO PLAY!!

Th High Score area has been fully decorated. The design team will be back on at a later date to install decor in the other areas; we're told they're currently painted white, but were not granted access due to age restrictions. 

Deundrae said he (personal opinion not official HAL statement) thinks the fact there is a no cost game room onboard not being hyped is because they're not certain the direction they want to take it and are testing the waters (pun intended?). Maybe they'll step up their marketing to families and showcase that space. Or maybe they'll feature it to increase attendance by families already onboard. He said that while it's currently open to everyone in the evenings, that could change to become families only. So it's a PIP (plan in progress).

Most of the games will be familiar to children of the 70s and 80s 😊

I'll go back in the coming evenings to see if I can get more pictures.🤞 🫣

[flcraigs5]

Can you tell me if the Statendam has the free style coke machines for the soda package?

[ksmaxey]

2 hours ago, flcraigs5 said:

Can you tell me if the Statendam has the free style coke machines for the soda package?

Yes there is one by the Lido Pool bar

[FLCruiser97]

Just wondering...wouldn't they have had all the Christmas decorations already on the ship in storage or somewhere knowing they would need to decorate. Shipping the decorations seems a costly endeavor. 

[Haljo1935]

1 hour ago, FLCruiser97 said:

Just wondering...wouldn't they have had all the Christmas decorations already on the ship in storage or somewhere knowing they would need to decorate. Shipping the decorations seems a costly endeavor. 

I have not discussed storage location of decorations, but will ask someone. Will be interesting to see how the response compares to what others were told (hope we all get same response).

[cruisemom42]

2 minutes ago, Haljo1935 said:

I have not discussed storage location of decorations, but will ask someone. Will be interesting to see how the response compares to what others were told (hope we all get same response).

I suspect they may have been in FLL because originally Nieuw Statendam was not scheduled to be in Europe so late in the year. Remember, the dates of the TA were changed around mid year.

[Haljo1935]

Spending a few leisurely hours enjoying the forward view in Explorations. It is full up here w/few chairs available. Wait staff doing a good job of circulating to take drink orders.

I got a strawberry mojito, ordered at the bar where I watched it being made. It's good, but the mint was not muddled at all - only mint present was placed on top of the glass before serving. I wasn't able to get her name (tag was angled and picture was blurry), but I will try to have the next one made by someone else.

[Haljo1935]

Dining room was not crowded. It was all very good -  Any guesses on where we ate breakfast?

Monte  Cristo

Fritatta

Starters

Dessert - apple for the 3rd time - really hoping for cherry or mixed berry soon!

[Haljo1935]

Looks like someone went to watercolor and origami class!! Good job 5***!!

[Haljo1935]

In case I didn't already share, here's today’s Daily. Clocks went back an hour...

[mawvkysc]

How was the Monte Cristo? I loved them growing up from a certain local restaurant. Have a hard time finding good ones anywhere else. 
 

I love that there is brunch! And I’m excited to see watercolor classes. 

[SDARCH]

8 hours ago, ksmaxey said:

Our aggravation with the TV continues.  It keeps locking us out and needing to be reset. 

We were on the N.S. in October.  I lost count of the number of times we had to have our TV reset.

[Haljo1935]

22 minutes ago, mawvkysc said:

How was the Monte Cristo? I loved them growing up from a certain local restaurant. Have a hard time finding good ones anywhere else. 
 

I love that there is brunch! And I’m excited to see watercolor classes. 

Monte Cristo was very good; only deduction (and it's really VERY minor) is the powdered sugar was very very lightly dusted onto the plate before the sandwich was put down w/no sugar dusting on top. Not a big deal to us, but I mention it because it was different than what we expected and some might be disappointed. The bread was crispy - yummy!!

The brunch is not called out in the Daily - just look at MDR hours on Sea Days - when you see morning to noon hours (ours are 9am - 12:30pm) you will know that's brunch. There's no additional charge for it: although there are items w/surcharge. 

Watercolor instructor said they do it every sea day. Here's what my travel mate made today.

Edited December 2, 2023 by Haljo1935
Typo

[lcand1923]

Thank you so much for posts.  I have friends on this particular cruise.  This will be their

4th or 5th TA.  (They try to do one every year.). They don’t use the Internet when cruising, so your posts will be the only way I have of knowing how things are going.

[POA1]

4 hours ago, FLCruiser97 said:

Just wondering...wouldn't they have had all the Christmas decorations already on the ship in storage or somewhere knowing they would need to decorate. Shipping the decorations seems a costly endeavor. 

Nope. There are warehouses here in Fort Lauderdale (and I assume on the West Coast for ships based out of San Diego.) where the decorations are stored.

 

Buying decorations is really expensive. Shipping them is not nearly as spendy.

[Haljo1935]

Currently at CD Bettyann's talk on Punta Delgada; she is insisting we will be stopping as we need fuel. No guarantee we will get off, but we're stopping and she feels pretty confident we'll be allowed to get off. So, Yay!!

 

[Haljo1935]

Sat mass in BB Kings was well attended, standing room only.

[FLCruiser97]

4 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

I suspect they may have been in FLL because originally Nieuw Statendam was not scheduled to be in Europe so late in the year. Remember, the dates of the TA were changed around mid year.

Yes, that would make sense.

[FLCruiser97]

1 hour ago, POA1 said:

Nope. There are warehouses here in Fort Lauderdale (and I assume on the West Coast for ships based out of San Diego.) where the decorations are stored.

 

Buying decorations is really expensive. Shipping them is not nearly as spendy.

That would be a lot of decorations.

[Haljo1935]

1 hour ago, lcand1923 said:

Thank you so much for posts.  I have friends on this particular cruise.  This will be their

4th or 5th TA.  (They try to do one every year.). They don’t use the Internet when cruising, so your posts will be the only way I have of knowing how things are going.

Thanks for following along - hope this helps in some way give you a feel for their cruise. The ship looks lovely with all the holiday decor, so they are definitely in beautiful surroundings. 😊

Let me know if you want a picture of something specific or have a question - I'll try to answer🤔

[LouChamp]

1 hour ago, Haljo1935 said:

Sat mass in BB Kings was well attended, standing room only.

Aloha. Mass at sea is always a blessed experience 

[Haljo1935]

3 minutes ago, LouChamp said:

Aloha. Mass at sea is always a blessed experience 

It was lovely, even in such a contrasting place as BB Kings. It just feels different at sea.

[Haljo1935]

They're preparing to boot us off.😪 Luggage Direct is a great program; highly recommend if you've never tried it. Put your 🎒 in the hallway by midnight like your fellow cruisers and not mess with it again until baggage claim at your destination airport. So nice to not claim it, tote it, check it then reclaim it. I love Luggage Direct 😊

[Haljo1935]

Tomorrow's Daily for Ponta Delgada