Live from the Westerdam-Join the "Pearls of the Pacific" gang's South Pacific Cruise

At the Mariners Awards Ceremony -- was there a photographer taking pictures of the people getting their medals?

More on the salad bar.....

Hope the pics help for those wondering. Lots of different dressings and yes, you can have it on the side :)

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Hello. I just looked at the spreadsheet for your cruise. Fantastic! So well organized!

So, while we are doing some Lido pics, here is the area with the cheeses, fruit, etc.

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Nicely presented dishes of the cheese & fruit.

Oops, sorry, I did have more pics of the Lido area with the cheeses and stuff but thought that the Internet was going so here are the rest....

Here's where I go to get my roll for my sandwich...

I despise the pre-made sandwiches. I could handle one or two but the choices are yuck, the breads not to my taste (I know food is subjective).

So I go here...

Get a sandwich - rip it apart and make my own sandwich on a roll. The rest is wasted food. sorry HAL, but if you won't supply a simple bit of cheese and meats so we can make our own, it's our only choice.

And yes, I already made the suggestion.

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At the Mariners Awards Ceremony -- was there a photographer taking pictures of the people getting their medals?

Yes KK, the photographer was there taking pics.

Captain and HD were good sports and very thoughtful. If people were substantially shorter than they, they got on their knees to pose for the pics.

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Hello. I just looked at the spreadsheet for your cruise. Fantastic! So well organized!

Thanks so much. I suspect it will be my last one.

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I had a wonderful dinner with sapper1 and her DH in Le Cirque last night.

Lobster salad

Chateaubriand

Creme brûlée

Truffles left in cabin

Forgot to mention how bad the Internet has been for the last 36 hours. (don't know how to edit Tapatalk )

Thanks so much. I suspect it will be my last one.

 

 

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Spreadsheet or cruise??!

seriously though, I know the spreadsheet is a lot of work. I just hope it didn't add stress to your arm.

Forgot to mention how bad the Internet has been for the last 36 hours. (don't know how to edit Tapatalk )

BAD ? You are being kind Kathi. LOL.

Between losing Internet for 48 hours at Hawaii and this malarky, I think it is time that they pro-rate the Internet charge. A LOT of unhappy campers on board.

I have no problem if it is a bit slow or if it loses it for an hour or two in spots but that has been NUTS.

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We had our final meet and greet today.

And who was at the top of the stairs but our own Captain Van Eerten.

He answered a lot of questions gracefully and warned us that there will be a lot of motion of the ocean.

There is another storm brewing (yes, we are really lucky on this cruise). He is going to go full speed out of San Diego (if I understood him correctly) to try to beat some of the storm.

He threatened to pull the stabilizers in if we didn't believe him - LOL - on gala night.

Also learned that Papeete is a tricky port to get into even though it is a docking port because of the reefs. He has to pull in the stabilizers there.

What came across very well is that he wants a 5* experience for his cruisers.

He is talking to San Diego port and expects better when they return.

He is a very congenial host, commented on how easy his job is because his crew is so great and all he has to do is drive the boat. LOL.

I think there is a lot more to it than that. Many thanks to Captain Van Eerten for taking the time to join us today. Officers don't have to come and I was told don't by my shipboard co-ordinator.

Captain Van Eerten is a star in the HAl fleet. A real professional and cares about his passengers on board.

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OMG it looks like tap a talk is going to work. Yesterday was a fun day with the Equator celebration and the World around Wines. Both at the same time. Grrrrr.

The polliwogs certainly paid their dues.

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More of the crossing the equator.

Apologies, I was not in a good position yesterday, and I do have a roll call member who will air drop with me if the Internet co-operates (our attempt yesterday failed).

So, you will have to do with these for now and we will hope I have better soon.

The poor polliwogs had to kiss the fish, were doused in all kinds of goop, etc. Some of them said it took 5 showers and they could still smell it. by the next day they were ok though especially since they know they never have to do it again.

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It was a tough day for the polliwogs in the Equator crossing indoctrination.

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Yes KK, the photographer was there taking pics.

 

Captain and HD were good sports and very thoughtful. If people were substantially shorter than they, they got on their knees to pose for the pics.

 

 

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Thank you. I was curious as there was no photographer taking pictures of the people getting their medals on our Westerdam cruise. We had 66 people getting bronze medals and 2 people getting silver medals. It was a rush-rush job.

Love those Neptune ceremonies when we crossed the equator.

Great pictures.

Lido buffet - thanks again for the pics and the comments. My take away here ( pun intended) is they are trying to limit waste. Portioned foods stops folks from over loading plates and then just leaving it.

Shar

When does the ship arrive back into San Diego? Is the storm the Captain is talking about currently hitting, or is it predicted from the portion of the cruise from San Diego to Vancouver?

Storm off San Francisco, captain is hoping a front(?) in the western US might move it away - I don't know which direction he meant.

We are supposed to arrive about 6:30 and if SD can do a better job than last time (only about 700 pax embarking) we are supposed to leave at 3 pm with a full muster preceding.

I think that is all he told us yesterday at Q&A and the CC Meet and Greet about the next few days.

When does the ship arrive back into San Diego? Is the storm the Captain is talking about currently hitting, or is it predicted from the portion of the cruise from San Diego to Vancouver?

Storm off San Francisco, captain is hoping a front(?) in the western US might move it away - I don't know which direction he meant.

 

We are supposed to arrive about 6:30 and if SD can do a better job than last time (only about 700 pax embarking) we are supposed to leave at 3 pm with a full muster preceding.

 

I think that is all he told us yesterday at Q&A and the CC Meet and Greet about the next few days.

I think he said the storm was coming from California and another one up north. He is going to go full speed out of San Diego from what I gathered to try to avoid as much as possible.

Weather has cooled substantially this morning. And it is quite grey and cloudy this morning. Doesn't look promising at all.

Hi Kazu, I'm sorry to trouble you again with my question, but did you ever hear from others on your roll call as to whether Anton is still the cabin steward on deck 5, all the way aft? He works independently, and is extremely efficient and helpful.Thank you so much. I'm particularly enjoying your cruise review because we were on Westerdam ourselves for 4 weeks last year, and recognize many of the onboard team members:)

I asked at the meet and greet as promised, but no one has Anton as a cabin steward. Sorry,

Sounds like NA had a very bumpy ride up the coast a few days ago

I asked at the meet and greet as promised, but no one has Anton as a cabin steward. Sorry,

Thanks for checking Kazu; that was very kind of you. May you all have as smooth a ride as possible. Weather here in the Puget Sound/Seattle area is calling for increasing sunshine and warm temps through the weekend and into Monday, so hopefully you'll catch up with the good weather.

Lido buffet - thanks again for the pics and the comments. My take away here ( pun intended) is they are trying to limit waste. Portioned foods stops folks from over loading plates and then just leaving it.

 

Shar

I think that is the purpose Shar but it fails IMO. Ie., the cheese plate. If I only like one kind of cheese, the rest of the chees plate is waste. If I want several pieces and take several cheese plates (I don't, but it's an example and I have seen it) then several are wasted. Same for the fruit

No question I am wasting food when I take apart a pre-made sandwich and make a new one to my taste - LOL.