MekesMom

Olga is our favorite! Hoping she is on Westerdam in October in the PG.

She said she will until November

Glad you all are finally having a sunny day. Hope that didn't change once you were on your tours.

Why limited tenders?? Confused

Infrastructure at dock. Can only handle one tender at a time. 2:30 they finally announced no tender tix required. Had earlier said crew shore leave canceled. Besides free laundry, definitely a benefit to be four star this cruise.

Watched from the pinnacle bar to see the first few guests go ashore after the entertainment came aboard. Was hoping Mario would crawl down the gang plank and roll on the ground as he demonstrated before the show last night. Didn't hear announcement about being able to set foot on land but I can wait until the am. Weather looks gray and gloomy but temp is much nicer than cruising from Southampton to Miami in late October/early November. I don't know how many on board are going to sign up for next years cruise on Maasdam but that is the *ad* in tomorrow's On Location for the FCC. Resisted thanking Captain for bday card. Fun to see so many of the entertainers out on the Lido. Good food, weak drinks.

Watched from the pinnacle bar to see the first few guests go ashore after the entertainment came aboard. Was hoping Mario would crawl down the gang plank and roll on the ground as he demonstrated before the show last night. Didn't hear announcement about being able to set foot on land but I can wait until the am. Weather looks gray and gloomy but temp is much nicer than cruising from Southampton to Miami in late October/early November. I don't know how many on board are going to sign up for next years cruise on Maasdam but that is the *ad* in tomorrow's On Location for the FCC. Resisted thanking Captain for bday card. Fun to see so many of the entertainers out on the Lido. Good food, weak drinks.

Too warm for me on deck so enjoying the CN a/c. Unfortunately a woman sitting under a speaker said the lovely Hawaiian background music was too loud and giving her a headache so it was turned way down and now all I can hear is her talking.

Grand Princess has arrived

Advantage to drinking solo at HH. Nice that they take pre-orders but service was still slow. Royal Manhattans worth the wait.

Wow. Anytime dining not available tonight. Dining rooms full at 6 so had to wait about half hour with a pager when we checked in at 6:30. Evidently 70% are early diners on this cruise. Early bird special or east coast cruisers? Reminded me of my experience on Princess.

Could have won 90s name that tune in crows nest tonight if I'd been playing with an answer sheet. Tie with four correct song titles but one team named more of the artists to claim those valuable pins.

Wish the new librarian had books for book club this am but nobody told him so he took names and room numbers.

Looking forward to warmer weather so I can start enjoying frozen strawberry margaritas.

Mom said interdenominational service was SRO. She is napping after lunch in PG, wine tasting, and her first CC M&G while I'm in the PB for Sip&Savor and a royal Manhattan. Love the internet so far. Knock wood

Prime rib on the menu for tonight. My card says open seating 2&3. Wish Kainoa spoke more. Love hearing the correct pronunciation of Hawaiian words and places.

Segway rider passed in front of us at emergency drill yesterday. Haven't seen him since. Quiet dinner in the PG. Menu changed a bit since we last sailed HAL in November but amuse Bouche was the same scallop with pumpkin purée. Looking forward to some of the many adult beverage events during the month. Remembered to manually set phone back an hour. This time of year it's three hours difference between CA and HI so maybe every other night or three nights in a row to get it over with? Nice ship movement for sleeping last night. Time for a cappuccino and book reading in Crows Nest

Enjoyed bourbon cocktails at three different locales and ordered appetizers at two restaurants. It's a happening town. Should come here more often. Usually fly in day of cruise from San Diego but Priceline gave me a hotel deal. Mom spent the day with a high school friend from Marin. My uber driver and hotel clerk are envious of my 30 day cruise. Lovely weather. SF Bay Area was overcast this am

We are at PDX. A group of people waiting to board are also on Westerdam. Our flight boards in about half an hour

I think my mom is one of them! She texted me about an hour ago. Marjorie flew over from Hawaii so she could cruise to Hawaii. Not the first time she's done that.

My über driver/friend is due in half hour. I'm staying in the Gaslight district and have two Open Table reservations for later today.

From HAL website:

Our convenient, affordable Signature Beverage Package allows you to select from a variety of wine, beer, spirits, cocktails (including non-alcoholic), sodas & coffee! Includes any beverage priced at a $8.00 or lower menu price.

I've always done open dining and whenever there is a lengthy wait I've wondered if it was because of people that didn't go to their fixed dining time.

Thanks for sharing your experience. Very entertaining read. I was on the same cruise and had a very different experience in just about every way so it is interesting to see the same time through the eyes of another.

I follow Mario Vines on a social media site and this is what he had to say:

Awwww his name is Ross Mctaggert

Got off Holland America Westerdam 11/07/15 at Fort Lauderdale and the particular terminal that was used had a "Global Entry "exit at the passport control. The typical kisok was not yet installed. The security people allowed passengers with Global Entry cards to go ahead of the line directly to the Global entry officer. It wasn't organized too well as I was informed that the system was only a few weeks old at this particular terminal. Sadly, the ship crew in charge of disembarkation was not aware of the Global entry availability or made any indication.

I had my email with approved number and that was sufficient to move to the short/non-existent line on 11/22. Of course I had to wait for mom on outside but I loved it. Card was in mail when I got home so now I'm official. Will be cruising Miami in February and sure hope they have the Global Entry sign there by then

I'm on Eurodam for second week. I think we were last in this am. Two hours extra anchored at HMC waiting for helicopter to pick up an unwell passenger at 5 yesterday.

Just wondering for those of you who have cruised on the Escape are you able to get drinks from a venue that are not on the menu? For example could I go to Margaritaville and order a Long Island Ice Tea?

That's a good one. Will probably have to wait until Miami. Right now you can't even get drinks that are on the menus. No N&S wine that is recommended on the dining room menu (but it us on display in the Cellar). No coffee for an Irish coffee in Mixx. No Veuve Cliquot in the atrium bar even though there is a ginormous bottle on display. I did see some kids get Shirley temples in Margaritaville today though

Looking forward to some warm weather and smooth sailing after crossing from Southampton on Escape.