*Report from the Voyage of the Spammed*

[LAFFNVEGAS]

[SIZE=3]What Great pictures:) I am so green with envy:D [/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]I see Mr. Deering standing next to Greg, that is so great he was able to take the time from his buys schedule on the Oosterdam.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]I love seeing this picture of everyone.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]Dan, Thanks so much for posting them:) [/SIZE]

[crystal808]

Since our web shots were so "scattered"(!)...

What an absolute HOOT to see James Deering "slumming" on the Spamdammers' deck! Although he must have had so many responsibilities awaiting him on the O'dam... it just shows that he "cares' about all of his CCer friends! I'm just floored he'd take the time away from his own sailing!

(And Greg's not in boxers!) ;)

:D

I hope all are having a blast on their first sea day, and that the O'dam is safe and sound....

Best wishes to the Spammers!

Paul
Boy, are these pages adding up quickly, or what??? !!!!!

[kakalina]

Thanks for the great pix. Keep 'em coming

[cruznon]

Dan,
The photos are great. Thanks for posting.
What s great sight--a beautiful ship, glorious weather, happy CC'ers anticipating sailaway--Thanks for sharing.
Sorry to have missed meeting you all Friday night!
Peggy

[HeatherInFlorida]

Such a wonderfully happy group in the bow! Thanks so much for sharing the pictures.:)

[RuthC]

[FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=3][COLOR=royalblue]All right, so we've sailed, unpacked, gotten a night's rest, and are enjoying our first full day at sea---each in our own way. [/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=3][COLOR=#4169e1][/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=3][COLOR=#4169e1]But, let's back up to yesterday for a moment---those two lines you saw outside the terminal were [U]both[/U] for the Oosterdam:eek: , the line for the Zaandam was [U]inside[/U]! [/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=3][COLOR=#4169e1]And that is a great part of what was so confusing---you see two ships and two lines and you figure one for each, but nooooooo. We couldn't find where to leave our luggage, and where to go. Once that hurdle was passed and we were inside things were fairly organized. I said "fairly", not "well". [/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=3][COLOR=#4169e1][/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=3][COLOR=#4169e1]We met for dinner and started getting to know each other in a very different way than the boards have allowed. It was strange for me to sit down at a cruise table and feel I knew people. :) I guess we were enjoying it because we didn't get up from our 8:00 sitting until 10:20! [/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=3][COLOR=#4169e1][/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=3][COLOR=#4169e1]By then everyone else seemed tired---I went to the Piano Lounge. Natch. Until closing I was joined at least for a while by longtimecruiser, BC Eagle78 and parents, the2ofus, O'briendan, and Rustaroo and Heather. It's neat to [U]know[/U] people on board! :) What a change from other cruises!. I like this. [/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=3][COLOR=#4169e1]Oh, not sure yet on the piano player---he does have a good repertoire. That's a good start. [/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=3][COLOR=#4169e1][/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=3][COLOR=#4169e1]Did I mention that my steward forgot to leave my pillow [COLOR=sienna]chocolate[/COLOR][COLOR=royalblue]? :eek: [/COLOR][/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]

[LAFFNVEGAS]

[quote name='RuthC']
[FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=3][COLOR=#4169e1]Did I mention that my steward forgot to leave my pillow [COLOR=sienna]chocolate[/COLOR][COLOR=royalblue]? :eek: [/COLOR][/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT][/quote]

:eek: [SIZE=4]Ruth, say it isn't so!!!! I can't believe it, you of all people. This just must be corrected right away:D [/SIZE]

[cruznon]

I'll bet there's DOUBLE chocolate tonight!!!!

[Tinknock50]

No pillow chocolate!! I will never sail HAL again!

[Sunshine91]

[quote name='RuthC'][FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=3][COLOR=#4169e1]Did I mention that my steward forgot to leave my pillow [COLOR=sienna]chocolate[/COLOR][COLOR=royalblue]? :eek: [/COLOR][/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT][/quote]

[FONT=Book Antiqua][SIZE=3]So at 2 in the morning, did you hunt him down to get it for you or did you just go find the secret stash for yourself? ;) :D [/SIZE][/FONT]

[FONT=Book Antiqua][SIZE=3]Tell you what Ruth - I can't eat the chocolate late at night. If you join us on Noodam in January, I'll give you mine. :) [/SIZE][/FONT]

[mechcc]

[quote name='RuthC'][FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=3][COLOR=#4169e1]Did I mention that my steward forgot to leave my pillow [COLOR=sienna]chocolate[/COLOR][COLOR=royalblue]? :eek: [/COLOR][/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT][/quote]

[SIZE=5]Obviosuly your cabin steward does not need an above and beyond tip! Or he doesn't know his passengers! Hope he does alot better soon and leaves double.[/SIZE]

[bepsf]

[quote name='RuthC'][FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=3][COLOR=royalblue], BC Eagle78 and parents, the2ofus, O'briendan, and Rustaroo and Heather. It's neat to [U]know[/U] people on board! :) What a change from other cruises!. I like this. [/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=3][COLOR=#4169e1][/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=3][COLOR=#4169e1]Did I mention that my steward forgot to leave my pillow [COLOR=sienna]chocolate[/COLOR][COLOR=royalblue]? :eek: [/COLOR][/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT][/QUOTE]

[FONT="Garamond"][SIZE="4"]Ruth--

Yes, I agree that it's so much more fun to cruise when you know the folks you'll be traveling with.

Did you inform the HM at your meeting this am that you were lacking your chocolates?*;) [/SIZE][/FONT]

[grannynurse]

Ruth,
ARRRGGH! Speaking of sins of omission! My bread Pudding and your CHOCOLATE, and both on Pacific sailings...maybe I'll stay in the Atlantic.
I was one of the weeping watchers of your sailing, My grandgirls asked "grandma, why are you crying?". We compensated by going to see "open Season".
Please give Adele a hug for me, Hug yourself too...
GN

[babyher]

Just joining this thread (I was busy this weekend)

Wishing all you Spamdammers a wonderful trip:) Add me to the list of the envious.

Love thye reports and pics so far. Thank you for sharing them.

Looking forward to tagging along with you folks in spirit.

ENJOY:)

[RevNeal]

Greetings from the lovely Zaandam!
Yes, I know ... I was remiss yesterday in posting to the board. I was simply too busy enjoying the ship! Isn't that GREAT!? Truthfully, I'm having a great time. I had intended to post the following yesterday, but by the time I remembered to do so it was "too late."

As I'm sure you've all heard by now, embarkation was a huge mess. I've boarded many HAL ships and have seen some major foul-ups, but this was just an unmitigated disaster. No one seemed to know where passengers bound for the Zaandam were supposed to go. The Hotel transfer (I will never use it again) dumped us in the middle of the parking lot many MANY yards away from where we were supposed to be delivering our bags to longshoremen who were carting them to the ships. It would appear that there were 10 or 20 porters for the Oosterdam, many of whom were sitting around doing NOTHING, and only a small handful (I could count only 2) doing porter service for the Zaandam. One of the porters with nothing to do came over and started loading our bags onto his cart to take them to the Zaandam and a port official stopped him and told him he was only supposed to do Oosterdam bags, not Zaandam bags. It took another 40 minutes before the 2 overworked porters were able to pile our bags up on their carts and take them off. THEN, with the only directions being to go stand in a huge line, we did so ... only to later find out that what we were SUPPOSED to do was to head into the terminal through a door marked with a tiny sign "Zaandam" -- a sign that can't be seen because of all the people in the super line that passed in front of it.

GRRRR ... it was a madhouse.
Once we got into the terminal proper, however, everything really improve. Things became more like the nominally efficient HAL service ... initial line to check to make sure our paperwork was in order, then into another fairly quick like to check-in and receive our ship ID cards, etc. Then, with no more waiting, we ruined a camera (they took our picture) and we boarded the Zaandam.

I was last aboard the Zaandam in 2004 and I must say that the upgrades applied to the Zaandam look fabulous. The Explorations Cafe really is an excellent upgrade and I was SO PLEASED to note how its layout, while different from the Noordam's, is nevertheless comfortable, uncrowded, and useful. I shall be doing a full photo-gallery on the explorations Cafe alone, so watch for those pictures once I'm home. Suffice it to say, this addition constitutes a major expansion of the library into a multi-media information center and coffee bar. I love it. The rest of the ship appears to be in tip-top shape, and for that I am thankful.

Once aboard I kept running into staff I knew from prior cruises (on the Zaandam or from other DAM ships), and that's always a nice experience. We ate lunch and then proceeded to our verandah stateroom (6161). Christopher was greatly surprised that we had a balcony ... I had managed to keep that a secret for the better part of a year. :D

At 10 till 3pm we made our way to the forward bow for the "webcam wave." It was the first time some of us manage to get together with the others, and we chatted a bit before waving to the webcam. At about that time James Deering (Hotel Manager for the Oosterdam) and the Hotel Manager for the Zaandam, Cees Tesselaar, came out on deck to see us and wave with us. It was great to get to see Mr. Deering again, and we had a nice (short) chat before he had to make his way back over to the Oosterdam ... CDC hit BOTH ships when they got into port Saturday morning, and that arrival fouled up a great many things for a great many people ... arrangements for flowers and other items in their cabins, failure to distribute the wine bottles that are part of our Group Cruise perks, confusion on the Pinnacle Grill arrangements, and -- in many respects, most annoying -- a major screw up in the dining assignments that put Scott at 6:15 and left SeaGypsy1 and her husband out of the loop altogether. I had a stern conversation with the Matre'D and, apparently, they're going to do some re-arranging and shuffling to get us two tables sufficiently sized and sufficiently close together to accommodate our group at both dining times. (Monday Morning Update to above: They DID take care of us, with 8 pm being given two largish tables for our people and the same for the 6:15 time. I think we're all pleased. At least, I know I am. :D

We didn't push away from the pier and steam out of the harbor until 5:40-something ... in other words, we were late departing. But, depart we finally did, and from that point things have been improving. The show was a waste of time, but the first show usually is (it was mostly just a series of introductions), dinner itself (apart from the table-grouping and time-assignment issues) was very nice ... pretty much standard Holland America Line food (nothing spectacular, but also not anything "awful" or "bland" or "bad" or you-pick-the-pejorative-adjective. Food is, as always, a subjective quantity, though, so I'll keep that in mind and remember that what one people thinks is delicious another wouldn't serve it to their dog.

And so begins our voyage at sea. We arrive in Hilo on Thursday. Until then ... 3 more full days of "west and wewaxation" lay in store.

I will report more later today or, if all else fails, tonight.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

[SIZE=3]Greg, so glad to finally hear from you:) [/SIZE]
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[SIZE=3]Tell everyone "Hi" Tom and I will be looking forward to following along on your Voyage.[/SIZE]

[RevNeal]

Monday morning and everything is LOVELY. The seas are nice and calm today ... hardly a Pacific of heavy seas, like we've had in the past. It's VERY nice today. Winds were at "near gail force" our first night out, and then they declined all day Sunday. Today we've got "fresh breeze."

Some of us met for an informal "lunch" yesterday, and we've got another CC "informal lunch" today. we're meeting in the Explorer's Lounge, chatting for a few minutes, then at 12 noon we saunter back to have a bit to eat.

I want to say that it's been GREAT meeting even more CC members. And, while my primary focus in that statement are those in our Group, I must admit there are about a dozen "CC Lurkers" aboard, because I've had a bunch of people introduce themselves to me as having read my posts on CC. Yes, I'm a ham and enjoy being greeted by "internet friends."

Last night Christopher and I went up to the Crows Nest with Adele (longtimecruiser), Richard (Rustaroo), Heather (EnglishQueen), and a few others in our Group and went dancing. It was fun, but I'm TERRIBLE at the Macarena. :D Scotty was nowhere to be found last night after dinner, so ... maybe he'll join us for dancing in the Crows Nest tonight.

I must go. It's about 8:42 aboard ship and I feel a lite (and tiny) bite of breakfast calling.

[hammybee]

Be thankful that your luggage is not sailing with the "O", all things considered.

Thank you for making the time and incuring the expense of keeping us posted. You know we love hearing from all of you and the Happy Wanderer's Song of the Sea.

[sail7seas]

[B]Great to read the reports from aboard. Sorry embarkation was such a nightmare but that 'pain' fades quickly as you get into enjoying your wonderful cruise.

I love the photos.....thanks for posting them. Great looking group.
I especially love the 'wave off' shot on the bow. What a fabulous photo of the Ship's Bell. :) Make sure they keep it polished. ;)



[/B]

[HeatherInFlorida]

So I'm gathering from your post, Greg, that while there were some major glitches in the embarkation process, nothing "[I]horrific[/I]" has occurred as yet????;)

Enjoy those days at sea ... still my favorite part of cruising.

[puddles'n splashes]

I'm enjoying reading everyone's posts on this trip. Keep the Zaandam gleaming for us as we sail on her in April. Just love the sea days on the Hawaiin trip!!!!!! Have a great time with all the Ccer's.

[bepsf]

[quote name='revneal']*Scotty was nowhere to be found last night after dinner, so ... maybe he'll join us for dancing in the Crows Nest tonight.[/QUOTE]


[FONT="Garamond"][SIZE="4"]If I know him, he's already found the Crew Bar...
;) [/SIZE][/FONT]

[midgecruiser]

Glad you all are enjoying your spamdam cruise. I look forward to every post. Living on the West coast I find myself looking at the clock and falling back an hour and thinking about what you all are up to (OK, 7:45 on the ship. They are probably having pre dinner drinks in the Ocean Bar.........or 10:30 on the ship it must be show time....etc.) I knew we should of booked this cruise.....;)

Have you turned the clocks back again? I know you need to lose 3 hours before you reach the Islands.

Have Fun!!!
Wendy

[nobbync]

Hi everyone... I am really enjoying this trip report and thanks fall all those posting. I just booked the Zandam for October 11, 2007 to Hawaii so one year to go! Taking my mom for her birthday and lifelong dedication to us. It's exicting to read all about it only one year early....

Keep up the great posts and really looking forward to reading all of it and seeing pictures when you come back.

ENJOY THE TRIP YOU LUCKY SPAMMERS!!!! :D

Nobby

[RuthC]

[FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=3][COLOR=royalblue]I went to the traditional Captain's Welcome Aboard Cocktail Party last night. The good nuts were out! And I [U]was[/U] able to order my cocktail of choice. :) But the hors d'oeurves were scarce as hen's teeth. I was finally able to scare up a steward, but all that was left were the dregs. :( [/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=3][COLOR=#4169e1][/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=3][COLOR=#4169e1]We were meeting for lunch today---gathering in the Explorer's Lounge---when who should be brought forth but John Mulvaney! :D He gave me a warm greeting, a great big hug, and the promise of some [COLOR=sienna]chocolate[/COLOR][COLOR=royalblue] truffles. [/COLOR][/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=3][COLOR=#4169e1]Some of you may not remember John ---he was an Executive Chef and now is in a position overseeing chefs. He'll be around 'til Honolulu. [/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=3][COLOR=#4169e1]I thought the food was extra good! [/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=3][COLOR=#4169e1][/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=3][COLOR=#4169e1]I [U]did[/U] get double chocolates on my pillow last night. :) [/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=3][COLOR=#4169e1][/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=3][COLOR=#4169e1]Did I mention my toilet doesn't flush properly? [/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]