*Report from the Voyage of the Spammed*

[bepsf]

[quote name='RuthC']
[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][/QUOTE]

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

So glad you got your chocolates!
:)
Now [I]what[/I] have you been flushing down the toilet????
;) [/SIZE][/FONT]

[cruznon]

[FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=4][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=4]Ruth,[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=4]We all had NO doubt that DOUBLE chocolates would appear on your pillow!!!:) [/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=4][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=4]This cruise sounds wonderful ! Thanks to you and Greg for sharing with all us landbound CCers... [/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=4][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=4]Peggy[/SIZE][/FONT]

[Sunshine91]

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

[FONT=Book Antiqua][SIZE=3]That was my first thought, too. ;) :D [/SIZE][/FONT]

[FONT=Book Antiqua][SIZE=3]Greg - Thanks so much for the great posts. Sounds like the group is having a wonderful time. Your balcony - what a fabulous surprise for Christopher![/SIZE][/FONT]

[FONT=Book Antiqua][SIZE=3]Ruth - It's a good thing you got that double chocolate. Maybe tonight it will be triple! :) [/SIZE][/FONT]

[LAFFNVEGAS]

[quote name='RuthC']
[FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=3][COLOR=#4169e1]I [U]did[/U] get double chocolates on my pillow last night. :) [/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]

[/quote]

[SIZE=3]Ruth, when you said that you did not get your chocolates the first night, my first thought was that someone ([/SIZE][SIZE=1]Rev. Neal;) [/SIZE][SIZE=3]) paid your cabin steward to play a little trick on you:D But then we know that none of those Spam Damers would do anything like that right :rolleyes: :D [/SIZE]

[SIZE=3]So glad that you did get double the chocolate. [/SIZE]

[Copper10-8]

[FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=3][COLOR=navy]The place they're heading for has got some pretty decent chocolates also, wrapped around them macedonian nuts[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT] ;) [FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=3][COLOR=navy]Nobody said anything about yesterday's mustard party yet:confused:[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]

[hammybee]

[quote name='LAFFNVEGAS'][SIZE=3]Ruth, when you said that you did not get your chocolates the first night, my first thought was that someone ([/SIZE][SIZE=1]Rev. Neal;) [/SIZE][SIZE=3]) paid your cabin steward to play a little trick on you:D But then we know that none of those Spam Damers would do anything like that right :rolleyes: :D [/SIZE]

[SIZE=3]So glad that you did get double the chocolate. [/SIZE][/QUOTE]

OMG. They are playing with fire, when they mess with the chocolates.

[happy cruzer]

Hi, remember we still have the hot question - are there hot hor devours in the lounges pre dinner?

4 large tables in the dining room sounds like so much fun. It's bound to make the food taste even better.

Enjoy every minute!

[AAAAmerican]

Having a specific Pacific time are youall now...

HAve you had SPAMwiches yet? Is the real lemoade aboard again?:cool:

Seeing the Chocolate arrivals are sighted...

Ruth is it Flushing Queens or NL?


Are you planning on a SpamDam of a time in the HI Grand Canyon... what wonderful colors (colours)

Since you all left you missed Thanksgiving (Canadian) and in Halifax they finally dedicated Saturday 10-07-2006 AD the Sir Cunard Statue overlooking that Ice Free harbor (Harbour) there.

His kin did attend as well the Original Captain of the QM II too.

May the rest of the cruise be well not with many swells. Fairwinds and A Following Sea may it be for thee.

God Speed.

[Himself]

Going to Hawaii can be a problem. They have to turn the ship around for a half an hour each day so that pax can access the internet. For most of each day--outbound to Hawaii--the ship cannot contact the internet.

[jhannah]

Ruth, I hope they've gotten your potty fixed by now.

Glad John Mulvaney is on your cruise. That's a good thing. I could always tell a difference in the food when he was the ship's chef. He is top-drawer, and HAL is lucky to have him.

[bepsf]

[quote name='Himself']Going to Hawaii can be a problem. They have to turn the ship around for a half an hour each day so that pax can access the internet. For most of each day--outbound to Hawaii--the ship cannot contact the internet.[/QUOTE]

[FONT="Garamond"][SIZE="4"]Huh???
:confused:

Satellite domes are omni-directional - it doesn't matter which way the ship is facing to get a signal as the hardware inside the dome moves to track the satellite.[/SIZE][/FONT]

[AAAAmerican]

I am surprised you said Omi-Directional moves to track the satelite?

IF it was Omni as in a di pole is tracking is not needed..so tracking a satellite is [B]Directional actually.[/B]:eek:

[quote name='bepsf'][FONT="Garamond"][SIZE="4"]Huh???
:confused:

Satellite domes are omni-directional - it doesn't matter which way the ship is facing to get a signal as the hardware inside the dome moves to track the satellite.[/SIZE][/FONT][/QUOTE]

[bepsf]

[FONT="Garamond"][SIZE="4"]***Looks at the split hairs blankly***[/SIZE][/FONT]
:cool:

[Tinknock50]

I have heard if you hold your cell phone over your head and spin slowly it helps you pick up calls. Is this true??

[RevNeal]

Greetings to all on the CC HAL Board from the Spamdammers aboard the lovely and gracious (and smoothly sailing) Zaandam!

AHHHHH! What a lovely day yesterday was. The ship was nice and calm, activities were plentiful for those who wished to participate, and otherwise relaxation was glorious for all who wanted to partake of NOTHIGN! :D

We had a nice CC group lunch yesterday. A large percentage of the group met in the Explorer's Lounge and then hogged 3 tables in the main dining room, enjoying lunch across the "time zones" of early and late seating ... so to speak. :) And what a pleasant afternoon and evening it was! It's hard to tell that we're at sea unless one looks out a window ... "smooth wavelets" and force 2 and (now) 1 winds are the order of the day!!! We can see some showers off our port bow ... in fact, I'm looking at them now at the windows of the Explorations Cafe ... but they're far enough away as to not bother us here.

NO swell. That's the thing that surprises me the most. Even when crossing the deepest part of the Pacific between the Mainland and the Islands we're experiencing one of the calmest sea-rides I've ever had ... and certainly the calmest for the depths of the Pacific. God is smiling on us ... though, I'm sure, RuthC would like some more wave action. And, I wouldn't be surprised if we got some either tomorrow or on our way back to the Mainland. :)

Yesterday did have it's minor annoying confusing points. Dress Code Confusion was rife due to TWO (2) errors on the part of the Cruise Director. Firstly, the dress code for last night was originally published as being "Informal." That's also what it said on the sign outside the Rotterdam Dining Room. However, in the program it stated that the dress code for the evening was to be "Formal." Two formal nights in a row? Wow! Only, of course, that was a misprint. But ... to make matters worse, Eric Holland (the CD) announced at the 1 pm Bridge Report that the dress code for Monday night would be ... (drum roll) ... Casual!

So ... we saw everything from full suits and ties (no Tuxedos that I could see), jacket and slacks, and even causal garb. I only saw one person being turned away from the dining room for trying to enter in shorts and t-shirt. Otherwise, it would appear that the staff was making allowances for the confusion in dress code.

Dinner last night was excellent. Prime Rib ... yum yum. Indeed, all the food aboard has been excellent -- at least, it has been to my taste. I've always enjoyed the desserts quite a bit more this cruise than in the past. Lots of varying choices.

Paul Tanner provided the entertainment last night ... and he was as good as I remembered from previous cruises.

All-in-all, things were great last night (even setting side the dress code confusion). And, better yet, today is developing into a lovely morning and promises a glorious afternoon. My word, it's not yet 0930 hours for us here on the Zaandam! :) we've still got the full day ahead of us!!

Until I report again, blessings be with all of you.

PS.... the ship is making a steady course for Hawaii. We're not zig-zagging to avoid submarines nor is the ship turning around to access sats. Several TV sats are off, and we're just now getting into range for those over the mid-Pacific. But it would appear we've got coverage for the whole way on internet. And ... NO ... the ship doesn't turn around to allow us to access. That's just silly.

[jhannah]

Good morning, Greg. Glad things are going smoothly. That IS somewhat rare ... having no swells out in the middle of the Pacific. I guess RuthC will be the only one who doesn't care for it. ;)

In looking at cruise ship tracking, it appears you're following the Island Princess. She appears to be about 8 degrees ahead of you.

Continue to enjoy your voyage, and soon the beautiful isles of Hawaii.

[RevNeal]

If that Princess tub is ahead of us she's not visible from the forward observation deck (deck 6 forward). :) I just came from up there a few minutes before posting on the board ... it looks like we're out in the middle of nowhere ... which we are. :D

[hammybee]

[quote name='Tinknock50']I have heard if you hold your cell phone over your head and spin slowly it helps you pick up calls. Is this true??[/QUOTE]

I have observed too many sellers at art auctions with wireless credit card machines swear by this tactic. Regardless, it makes it fun to watch.

[hammybee]

[quote name='revneal']

Yesterday did have it's minor annoying confusing points. Dress Code Confusion was rife due to TWO (2) errors on the part of the Cruise Director. Firstly, the dress code for last night was originally published as being "Informal." That's also what it said on the sign outside the Rotterdam Dining Room. However, in the program it stated that the dress code for the evening was to be "Formal." Two formal nights in a row? Wow! Only, of course, that was a misprint. But ... to make matters worse, Eric Holland (the CD) announced at the 1 pm Bridge Report that the dress code for Monday night would be ... (drum roll) ... Casual! [/QUOTE]

Greg, Is there a chance tonight will be "clothing optional" dining?

[BCEagle78]

Just wanted to add my 2 cents worth.

The embarkation was a real nightmare but it is probably like childbirth (no I have not given birth). It was very painful to go through but the pain has faded away since we have had 3 wonderful days on board.

Unlike Ruth, we have had chocolate on our pillows every night. No problem there. The thing that is strange for us is that we have not even once met our cabin steward. Normally you run into him on the first day. That never happened, and his presence has been felt yet he has not been seen. We don't even know his name.

Ruth mentioned earlier about the piano bar. It has been pretty empty. So have most of the other nighttime spots, at least after 10pm. Even the gambling tables were almost completely void of anybody last night.

Doesn't matter though. That just means that we have no waits for anything that we want to do. Very peaceful. No worries about anything.

The weather has been overcast almost 100% of the time since we left San Diego. The temperature and wind have both gone in the right direction every day, though. We did our morning walk and it was a pleasant 68 degrees with no wind. Perfect.

It has been a lot of fun meeting some of our fellow CC'ers on this trip. Everybody has been so pleasant and interesting to talk with. We run into Dan and Barb O'Brien several times a day. We have run into Ruth, Christopher and Rev Neal many times. Always with a smile on their faces. This has been so much fun!

A special thanks to Rev. Neal for pulling this all together. He has worked hard to make sure everybody is having fun and included in the events that he has helped to organize.

Thanks also to all of the CC'ers that have expressed their warm wishes... Will write again soon!

[sail7seas]

[B]Great to hear from you all and happy everything is so wonderful aboard.

Continue to enjoy..... thanks for remembering us 'landlubbers' and sharing your cruise with us.

[/B]

[Grumpy1]

[quote name='revneal']PS.... the ship is making a steady course for Hawaii. We're not zig-zagging to avoid submarines nor is the ship turning around to access sats. Several TV sats are off, and we're just now getting into range for those over the mid-Pacific. But it would appear we've got coverage for the whole way on internet. And ... NO ... the ship doesn't turn around to allow us to access. That's just silly.[/quote]There may be times when the internet signal to/from the satellite is blocked by the smockstack, but that's usually a problem that show's up when docked. At sea, it wouldn't take much of a tack to get a clear shot. There may have been a cruise sometime, somewhere that had an antenna that wouldn't rotate causing a need to turn around for access, but it certainly wouldn't be the norm.

[Copper10-8]

[FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=3][COLOR=navy]Good to hear from you Spamdammers! Enjoy having fun![/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]

[quote name='Tinknock50']I have heard if you hold your cell phone over your head and spin slowly it helps you pick up calls. Is this true??[/quote]

[COLOR=navy][FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=3]Ah, a time tried and trusted method but it only works once due to the di-poles running interference! It's kinda like what the Kamikaze instructor said to his students at Kamikaze school: "[/SIZE][/FONT][COLOR=navy][FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=3]Watch closely. I'm only going to do this once"
[/SIZE][/FONT][/COLOR][/COLOR]

[TampaMike]

RevNeal,

Perhaps you wouldn't mind passing my regards to 2 friends aboard Zaandam? Kevin Farwell should be ShorEx Manager onboard. We worked together aboard Royal Cruise Line. And Hans, Celler Master, ask him how his podium is doing! Tell them I will drop a note from Veendam in a few weeks.

Cheers!

TampaMike

[jhannah]

[quote name='revneal']If that Princess tub is ahead of us she's not visible from the forward observation deck (deck 6 forward).[/quote] And likely won't be. One time zone is about 15 degrees in longitude. So half a time zone away would probably not make her visible. But it's interesting to see the plots of all the ships in the Pacific. Looks busy out there. The fact that you don't see anything is simply testament to just how big that pond is! :)