Live From The Noordam With Tomc

[FIRELT5]

tomc: According to the latest NOAA-17 Sat-Pass, Looks like you will have

comfortable water temps (60F) until about 16 Hours or about 250 nm from NYC. Usually a 1000 am docking means a pilot pickup at Ambrose tower around 0830 or earlier. This time of year does yield heavy marine traffic in NY Harbor.

 

 

http://marine.rutgers.edu/cool/show/?file=../regions/bigbight/sst/noaa/2008/img/080203.034.0153.n17.jpg

[FIRELT5]

We have had a passenger take ill to the point where it (he? she?) must be evacuated by helicopter. The captain came on and said he has turned the ship around and is headed back to Puerto Rico. When we get closer, a helicopter will rendevouz with us and take the pax from the rear deck. This will affect our arrival time in NYC, he says.

 

He will give us more arrival time information tomorrow (Monday) morning.

 

This post has come to you live from the Noordam.

 

 

Latest info on the Noordam MediVac

 

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/breaking_news/story/405628.html

[FIRELT5]

We have had a passenger take ill to the point where it (he? she?) must be evacuated by helicopter. The captain came on and said he has turned the ship around and is headed back to Puerto Rico. When we get closer, a helicopter will rendevouz with us and take the pax from the rear deck. This will affect our arrival time in NYC, he says.

 

He will give us more arrival time information tomorrow (Monday) morning.

 

This post has come to you live from the Noordam.

 

 

Latest info on the Noordam MediVac

 

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/breaking_news/story/405628.html

[tomc]

A few hours ago, we were east of the Florida Keys, in the Sargasso Sea.

 

The Mariners' Ceremony took place this morning, in two groups: medals and non medals. With 921 of us, it wasn't practical to have everybody together. I was in the "medals" categoy. 26 people received teir 100-day copper medals, with 58 vets present. 3 people received their 300-day silver medals, with 5 vets. One lady received her 732-day platinum medal.

 

I don't know what the non-medals did after their ceremony, but the medals had a very nice lunch in the upper Vista restaurant.

 

We are still anticipating at 10:00 ET docking, although the captain seems to be thinking of that as a "latest time." Perhaps he is planning on taking some short cuts, through backyards and dirt country roads. Weather off Hatteras remains an issue. That medivac was time-expensive.

 

This post came to you live from the Noordam.

[innlady1]

A few hours ago, we were east of the Florida Keys, in the Sargasso Sea.

 

The Mariners' Ceremony took place this morning, in two groups: medals and non medals. With 921 of us, it wasn't practical to have everybody together. I was in the "medals" categoy. 26 people received teir 100-day copper medals, with 58 vets present. 3 people received their 300-day silver medals, with 5 vets. One lady received her 732-day platinum medal.

 

I don't know what the non-medals did after their ceremony, but the medals had a very nice lunch in the upper Vista restaurant.

 

We are still anticipating at 10:00 ET docking, although the captain seems to be thinking of that as a "latest time." Perhaps he is planning on taking some short cuts, through backyards and dirt country roads. Weather off Hatteras remains an issue. That medivac was time-expensive.

 

This post came to you live from the Noordam.

 

Congratulations!

 

We're newbies to cruising so have only accumulated 7 days on Princess, and this cruise will make 20 days on HAL. Someone (our TA!) told me that he thought we would get credit for the Princess cruise because it's all under the CCL umbrella. I've not seen anything about that.

 

Now, I'm glad that you're squared away and back on track! Thanks for the update, and look forward to more reports from you...we're not trying to rush you out the door or anything! ;) :D ;)

[mamaofami]

Congrats Tom and thanks again for the update. Glad the man who was ill is doing well.

[FIRELT5]

Anz084-050230-

Hudson Canyon To Baltimore Canyon Including The Waters S Of 1000

Fm Out To 40n 65w To 38n 67w To 36n 70w.

320 Pm Est Mon Feb 4 2008

 

Gale Force Winds Expected Wed Into Thu

 

 

Tonight

E To Ne Winds 10 To 15 Kt Becoming S To Se 15 To 20

Kt Late. Seas 3 To 5 Ft. Scattered Showers And Isolated Tstms.

 

Tue

S Winds 20 To 25 Kt Becoming Sw. Seas Building To 5 To 7

Ft Late...highest N. Isolated Showers. Areas Of Fog Developing W

Of 1000 Fm.

 

Tue Night

Sw Winds 20 To 30 Kt. Seas Building To 7 To 10 Ft.

Scattered Showers Nw.

 

Wed

Sw Winds 25 To 35 Kt Early...increasing To 35 To 45 Kt

Late.. Seas Building To 8 To 12 Ft...except E Of 1000 Fm To 12

To 18 Ft...highest Se.

 

Wed Night

Sw Winds 30 To 40 Kt Shifting To W. Seas 8 To 12

Ft...except E Of 1000 Fm 12 To 17 Ft.

 

Thu

W Winds 25 To 35 Kt Early...diminishing To Variable 10 Kt

Or Less Late. Seas Subsiding To 3 To 6 Ft...except E Of 1000 Fm

6 To 12 Ft...highest E.

 

Fri

Variable Winds 10 Kt Early...becoming W To Nw 15 To 20 Kt

Late. Seas 3 To 5 Ft...except E Of 1000 Fm Subsiding To 5 To 8

Ft...highest E.

 

Sat

W To Nw Winds 15 To 20 Kt Increasing To 20 To 25 Kt. Seas

Building To 8 To 10 Ft.

[FIRELT5]

Congratulations!

 

We're newbies to cruising so have only accumulated 7 days on Princess, and this cruise will make 20 days on HAL. Someone (our TA!) told me that he thought we would get credit for the Princess cruise because it's all under the CCL umbrella. I've not seen anything about that.

 

Now, I'm glad that you're squared away and back on track! Thanks for the update, and look forward to more reports from you...we're not trying to rush you out the door or anything! ;) :D ;)

 

innlady:

 

Your T/A was probably refering to the link below. Unfortunately cruise credits are not recipricoal(??) for loyalty programs with HAL, Cunard Princess or CCL.

 

 

http://www.worldsleadingcruiselines.com/vip/index.asp

[innlady1]

Thank you, firelt5! Interesting info. I could swear he said if we sailed on Princess, it would add those days to our Mariner account. But, he could have been wrong! :rolleyes:

[jhannah]

I could swear he said if we sailed on Princess, it would add those days to our Mariner account. But, he could have been wrong! :rolleyes:

He was wrong. While many TAs are knowledgable about these things, it's surprising how many are not. Each cruise line's loyalty program is independent of any other.

[bob brown]

Congratulations!

 

We're newbies to cruising so have only accumulated 7 days on Princess, and this cruise will make 20 days on HAL. Someone (our TA!) told me that he thought we would get credit for the Princess cruise because it's all under the CCL umbrella. I've not seen anything about that.

 

Now, I'm glad that you're squared away and back on track! Thanks for the update, and look forward to more reports from you...we're not trying to rush you out the door or anything! ;) :D ;)

 

Sheila, I'm surprised your travel agent told you that. The so-called V.I.P., that is Vacation Interchange Privileges of the "Worlds Leading Cruise Lines", aka Carnival Corp., give little more than past-passenger rates when booking, which you already get if you've sailed once before on any of the lines. The other perks, such as medals, pins, higher award levels etc. are not interchangeable between the lines.

[innlady1]

He was wrong. While many TAs are knowledgable about these things, it's surprising how many are not. Each cruise line's loyalty program is independent of any other.

 

I figured as much, Jim. ;)

[innlady1]

Sheila, I'm surprised your travel agent told you that. The so-called V.I.P., that is Vacation Interchange Privileges of the "Worlds Leading Cruise Lines", aka Carnival Corp., give little more than past-passenger rates when booking, which you already get if you've sailed once before on any of the lines. The other perks, such as medals, pins, higher award levels etc. are not interchangeable between the lines.

 

That's why I asked on here...it didn't sound "right" to me.

[cruz4evr]

Congratulations Tom! :D

 

 

Thanks so much for your wonderful daily recaps that never failed to put a grin on my face and have a safe journey home.

 

I definitely will miss your funny stories..........hurry up and go on your next cruise! :)

[tomc]

Global Cooling has come to the Noordam. The Farewell Dinner was tonight and the March of the Baked Alaska happened *before* the salad was served. What the ???? I mean, I had just burned my fingers on the metal bread basket --really-- and all of a sudden the march is playing, the CD is announcing the Grande March, and people are clapping. WTH??

 

I think someone needs to rethink this a bit. Dessert comes, well, at the END of the meal. The end, folks, not after the salad. Ok, they didn't serve it until the end, but all the time I've been on HAL, the march, the slicing and the serving were done right in order. Not while you are slurping your soup with one hand, clapping with the other and taking pictures with whatever is left over. (I have long argued for a prehensile tail.)

 

The Captain's Q&A talk was today; remind me about that when I get home.

 

Thomas Kinkaid, the Painter of Light, was on display by Park West. I like a Kinkaid painting. But a whole wall full of them is like having a chocolate cake with thick chocolate frosting bathed in chocolate syrup with chuncks of fudge on top. A little bit goes a long way.

 

There seems to be some chatter about the excursion to the Pirates of the Caribbean thingy the other day, where a woman broke her wrist. Several people have talked about how rough it was and that the boat should not have run that day. I ran into her at the Front Office.

 

This post has come to you live from the Noordam.

[FreeStyleNCL]

 

We are still anticipating at 10:00 ET docking, although the captain seems to be thinking of that as a "latest time." Perhaps he is planning on taking some short cuts, through backyards and dirt country roads. Weather off Hatteras remains an issue.

 

This post came to you live from the Noordam.

 

bad weather the day before arrival also caused our late arrival(8:30am)...but with the medivac stuff, 10 am could be optimistic.

 

with 18~20ft swells and constant banging noise that seemed like it was going to put a hole in the hull, the ship looked like a ghost town that day lol

[innlady1]

Global Cooling has come to the Noordam.

 

That jumped out at me Tomc. I know exactly what you mean! Those days meandering up the East Coast, getting back to reality...the temperature going down jogs you back into the reality of what's to come.

Actually, that's why I like sailing from NYC. Instead of being hit with 80 degree temps arriving from New England to FL by air, and 30 degree temps upon return to New England, the cruise down...and up the coast is easier!

[mamaofami]

I have a message on my cell phone from HAL guest relations that the Noordam will embark at 2pm on 2/6, and the message on my home phone from the same person says that the Noordam will be on time. Figures.

[cruz4evr]

bad weather the day before arrival also caused our late arrival(8:30am)...but with the medivac stuff, 10 am could be optimistic.

 

with 18~20ft swells and constant banging noise that seemed like it was going to put a hole in the hull, the ship looked like a ghost town that day lol

 

Oh, sweet memories!!!!! Do you remember those two horrific explosive sounds during the storm on Friday? We were on the pool deck and it sounded as if something had exploded. It was probably the ship being hit by those huge 18 ft. swells broadside.

[BeenAround]

Hey Tom!

Before I leave to drive down to Ny tomorrow I just had to let you know you did a magnificent job of entertaining and informing me and I am sure many others of what we can expect to come. Most of us all have sailed before but you added little twists to lighten the visions up. Have a very safe trip home and all the best to you!

[ittibit]

Dear Tom,

Thank you so very, very much for posting while you were on your cruise. You can bet I will look for what else you wrote when we get back. Your posts have made this waiting week ever so much more bearable. Your wit had me laughing out loud in a room by myself. When I wondered what was going on...I just waited for your next post. Thank you.

Barb

[nckvilledudes]

Another hedonistic day at sea.

 

I just realized how much I miss making my own bed, vacuuming my room, taking out the trash, cooking my own meals, shoveling the snow we had back home and ==brrrrrrrrng== [sound of alarm clock going off]. Oh, I'm on the Noordam. Boy, was THAT a bad dream. Whew! I actually thought I was home and somehow got bored with cruising. I better see my doctor about this. Well, not until I get back. Maybe a quick visit with Dr. Jack Daniels will help.

 

Well, the AYW dining experience continues... Last night, I was the six at a table for six. One couple, at least, and I don't know how the other three fit (Together? One couple and a single?) Anyway, good conversation until ... until ... the couple started to talk about their brother and his wife, who have a teenage son who just started driving. He blew a red light and got caught. Here is the approx conversation in the family, as best as I can paraphrase it from Uncle and Auntie:

 

Father: "You ran a red light!"

Son: "Well, you do it all the time and you're a cop."

Father: "Your mother and I have 40 years of experience and we know when to do it."

Son: "And you do U-ies."

Father: It's ok for us, but not for you."

Son: "I'm just driving the way you do. And you two speed all the time."

Father: "We know what we're doing."

Uncle at table: "Kids. They think they know everything."

Me at table: "A cop is blowing lights, doing U-ies, speeding. Now, all of a sudden he's trying to tell his kid it's wrong?"

Uncle at table: "Well, he and his wife have experience."

Me at table: "Yeah, in breaking the law and setting a bad example."

Uncle at table: "He's just starting to drive."

Me at table: "Parents are the first and best teachers of their children. A cop and his wife have taught their son well."

 

Grannynurse was out on the back deck this morning with a bright and cheerful yellow shirt. She looked like a giant daffodil in a field of passenger groundcover. I wanted to pick her, stick her in a vase and bring her to my room. She would have none of it.

 

I notice there is a "Friends of Dorothy" meeting at 6pm. I'm not sure what this is all about, but I do have a good friend named Dorothy back home. What I might do, wherever I am on the ship, is go straight there. Those who have met me know I'm a bit of a loose cannon, so I'll just walk in, find this cruise's "Dorothy" and announce, "I'm here, my dear, get used to me."

 

There's a "Friends of Bill" meeting just before it. I wonder if we can have the Jewish service called "Friends of Moses," and the Catholics go to a "Friends of Jesus" meeting. Or have Bill and Dorothy stage a fake marriage, toast each other and do whatever they do.

 

We are 660 NM east of West Palm Beach. Or west of East Palm Beach. It's 72 US or 21 KM Cdn and we have remained 16k' above the ocean floor.

 

This report came to you live from the Noordam.[/quote

 

Did you go to the FOD meeting???? I bet you would not have been so much of a loose cannon as you brag about in a FOD meeting. You would have been put in your place very quickly.

 

Dan

[mamaofami]

Tom, thanks for your live from thread. You've certainly made the waiting for this week more fun. Any more news on your ETA ? HAL left me a cell phone message at 6:40 last night that you would be on time, and an earlier one on my home phone that said you would be late by about 2/12 hours. Same lady left both messages. Which is correct?

[innlady1]

Tomc...I'll chime in withi the other folks on our Roll Call...your posts have been the best! Like Barb, I've laughed out loud...sitting her by myself!

 

I promised to do a "Live from...." next week, but I may renig now...I can't match yours by any stretch!

 

How are the seas today? Is the Yum Yum man passing out candied ginger yet?

 

Enjoy your last sea day on the Noordam, and give us an update if you get a chance! And, thanks again for such an entertaining thread!

[Freedom55]

T

I promised to do a "Live from...." next week, but I may renig now...I can't match yours by any stretch!

 

Please do it anyway! We are on the March 8th trip and its great to hear he "Live froms" even if they dn't live up to Tom's great posts!