richwmn

Greetings from the skies over Florida. We are about Orlando and will be in Fort Lauderdale by noon.

I knew something was missing, just didn't realize what.

Today is Go Caroling Day, National Sangria Day, and Sacagawea Day Meal Suggestion for today - Pork with Crispy Kale Drink of the Day - Pumpkin Bourbon Cider Wine of the Day - DuMOL 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley) Napa Destination of the Day - Sydney, Australia Eurodam At Sea Destination Fort Lauderdale, Port Everglades, Florida eta 12/21 Koningsdam At Sea Destination Ensenada, Baja California Mexico eta 12/21 Nieuw Amsterdam Puerto Plata-Amber Cove, Dominicana 08:00 - 19:00 Nieuw Statendam Oranjestad Aruba, Netherlands Antilles 08:00 - 23:00 Oosterdam Buenos Aires, Argentina 08:00 - 16:00 Rotterdam Half Moon Cay 09:00 - 15:00 Volendam Willemstad Curacao, Netherlands Antilles 15:00 - 23:59 Zaandam Fort Lauderdale, Port Everglades, Florida 07:00 - 17:00 Zuiderdam At Sea Destination Half Moon Cay eta 12/21 Eastern Hemisphere Noordam Dunedin, Port Chalmers, New Zealand 08:00 - 18:00 Westerdam Tauranga (Rotorua), New Zealand 8:00 AM To 5:00 PM

Today is National Hard Candy Day, National Heroes and Heroines Day, and Look for an Evergreen Day You can't stay in your corner of the Forest waiting for others to come to you. You have to go to them sometimes.--A.A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh Meal Suggestion for today - Braised Chicken Thighs with Almonds and Olives Drink of the Day - Banana Nana Wine of the Day - Clos du Bois Chardonnay, North Coast, California Destination of the Day - Santarem, Brazil Eurodam At Sea Destination Fort Lauderdale, Port Everglades, Florida eta 12/21 Koningsdam Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Mexico 11:00 - 21:00 Nieuw Amsterdam At Sea Destination Puerto Plata-Amber Cove, Dominicana eta 12/20 Nieuw Statendam At Sea Destination Oranjestad Aruba, Netherlands Antilles eta 12/20 Oosterdam Buenos Aires, Argentina Rotterdam Grand Turk Island, Cockburn Town, Turks and Caicos 07:00 - 14:00 Volendam At Sea Destination Willemstad Curacao, Netherlands Antilles eta 12/20 Zaandam At Sea Destination Fort Lauderdale, Port Everglades, Florida eta 12/20 Zuiderdam St Thomas Island USVI, Charlotte Amalie, US Virgin Islands 10:00 - 18:00 Eastern Hemisphere Noordam Fiordland National Park, New Zealand 07:00 - 08:00 Westerdam Auckland, New Zealand Arrive 7:00 AM

Hanukkah (lasts through 2022-12-26) Today is Bake Cookies Day, National Twin Day, and Flake Appreciation Day Books are the perfect entertainment; no commercials, no batteries, hours of enjoyment for each dollar spent. What I wonder is why everybody doesn't carry a book around for those inevitable dead spots in life.--Stephen King Meal Suggestion for today - Spaghetti and Air Fryer Meatballs Drink of the Day - Legent Blossom Old Fashioned Wine of the Day - Fox Run 2019 Doyle Family Chardonnay (Seneca Lake) Finger Lakes Destination of the Day - Adelaide, South Australia, Australia Eurodam Puerto Limon, Costa Rica 06:30 - 16:00 Koningsdam At Sea Destination Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Mexico eta 12/19 Nieuw Amsterdam Fort Lauderdale, Port Everglades, Florida 07:00 - 16:00 Nieuw Statendam At Sea Destination Oranjestad Aruba, Netherlands Antilles eta 12/20 Oosterdam Montevideo, Uruguay 08:00 - 18:00 Rotterdam Puerto Plata-Amber Cove, Dominicana 08:00 - 17:00 Volendam Half Moon Cay 08:00 - 15:00 Zaandam At Sea Destination Fort Lauderdale, Port Everglades, Florida eta 12/20 Zuiderdam San Juan, Puerto Rico 13:00 - 18:00 Eastern Hemisphere Noordam At Sea Destination Fiordland National Park, New Zealand eta 12/20 Westerdam Tauranga (Rotorua), New Zealand 9:00 AM To 6:00 PM

I think I know who you are talking about. nice couple.

Today is Canadian Maple Syrup Day, National Ugly Sweater Day, and Wright Brother's Day And now here is my secret, a very simple secret; It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.--Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince Meal Suggestion for today - Vegetarian Chili Macaroni Drink of the Day - Sqrrl Pb Manhattan Wine of the Day - Villa Guelpa 2018 Lessona Piedmont Destination of the Day - Guam (US Territory), Guam Eurodam Panama Canal - Colon, Panama 05:00 - 05:00 Koningsdam San Diego, California 07:00 - 16:30 Nieuw Amsterdam At Sea Destination Fort Lauderdale, Port Everglades, Florida eta 12/18 Nieuw Statendam Fort Lauderdale, Port Everglades, Florida 07:00 - 16:00 Oosterdam At Sea Destination Montevideo, Uruguay eta 12/18 Rotterdam At Sea Destination Puerto Plata-Amber Cove, Dominicana eta 12/18 Volendam Fort Lauderdale, Port Everglades, Florida 07:00 - 17:00 Zaandam San Juan, Puerto Rico 08:00 - 23:00 Zuiderdam Grand Turk Island, Cockburn Town, Turks and Caicos 08:00 - 15:00 Eastern Hemisphere Noordam At Sea Destination Fiordland National Park, New Zealand eta 12/20 Westerdam Napier, New Zealand 7:00 AM To 2:00 PM

this is assuming that you actually receive the Guest Confirmation from HAL. Many Travel Agents, and even HAL CSRs and PCCs, don't provide the Guest Confirmation unless they are pushed to do so.

Today is Day of Reconciliation, National Chocolate Covered Anything Day, and Stupid Toy Day It is sometimes an appropriate response to reality to go insane.--Philip K. Dick, VALIS Meal Suggestion for today - Baguette Pizzas Drink of the Day - White Chocolate Raspberry Martini Wine of the Day - Ferrari 2012 Perle Nero Extra Brut Riserva Pinot Nero (Trento) Destination of the Day - Funchal (Madeira), Portugal Eurodam Cartagena Colombia 07:00 - 13:00 Koningsdam At Sea Destination San Diego, California eta 12/17 Nieuw Amsterdam At Sea Destination Fort Lauderdale, Port Everglades, Florida eta 12/18 Nieuw Statendam Half Moon Cay, Bahamas 09:00 - 15:00 Oosterdam At Sea Destination Montevideo, Uruguay eta 12/18 Rotterdam Oranjestad Aruba, Netherlands Antilles 07:00 - 17:00 Volendam Half Moon Cay, Bahamas 8:00am 3:00pm Zaandam At Sea Destination San Juan, Puerto Rico eta 12/17 Zuiderdam At Sea Destination Grand Turk Island, Cockburn Town, Turks and Caic eta 12/17 Eastern Hemisphere Noordam Sydney, NSW Australia 08:00 - 16:00 Westerdam Wellington, New Zealand 8:00 AM To 4:00 PM

I will be happy to be on Zuiderdam again. While I have been on all the current ships, I have been on Zuiderdam the most and have many happy memories.

cruisemapper dot com - but I have to add the ship names.

If you want to make it easy on yourself and have more than 3 days before you embark simply use the gift card to purchase OBC and you won't have to visit the front desk. Check the box marked CASH when you do the check in. You may be 'encouraged' to provide a card when you embark, but you don't have to. I do this for every cruise.

@rafinmdasked yesterday about my posting schedule. I shouldn't have any problem posting from the hotel the morning of the 22nd before I leave for Zuiderdam. The site halfacts.com/daily includes the fleet locations as scheduled. If I find out about changes, either on a CC Thread or an email to me, I will try to update in advance. The maps are not included as they have to be done each day. Thanks to everyone who has indicated that they will post while I am aboard Zuiderdam. Rich

Today is National Cat Herders Day, National Re-Gifting Day, and International Tea Day Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.--Rumi Meal Suggestion for today - Pork Ragu Rigatoni Drink of the Day - Red Stag Half Half Wine of the Day - Osprey's Dominion 2014 Flight Meritage (North Fork of Long Island) Long Island Destination of the Day - Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada Eurodam At Sea Destination Cartagena Colombia eta 12/16 Koningsdam At Sea Destination San Diego, California eta 12/17 Nieuw Amsterdam Willemstad Curacao, Netherlands Antilles 08:00 - 17:00 Nieuw Statendam At Sea Destination Half Moon Cay, Bahamas eta 12/16 Oosterdam Port Stanley, East Falkland Island 08:00 - 18:00 Rotterdam Willemstad Curacao, Netherlands Antilles 07:00 - 23:00 Volendam Sea Day Destination Half Moon Cay, Bahamas Eta 12/16 Zaandam At Sea Destination San Juan, Puerto Rico eta 12/17 Zuiderdam Fort Lauderdale, Port Everglades, Florida 07:00 - 16:00 Eastern Hemisphere Noordam At Sea Destination Sydney, NSW Australia eta 12/17 Westerdam Picton, New Zealand 8:00 AM To 5:00 PM

In the same place you printed your luggage tags you should see a button to press for boarding pass. I printed a preliminary copy over a week ago for my Dec 22nd cruise.

Today is More Good Today Day, National Energy Conservation Day, and Roast Chestnuts Day All the world is made of faith, and trust, and pixie dust.--J.M. Barrie, Peter Pan Meal Suggestion for today - Parsnip-Potato Latkes with Quick Sautéed Apples Drink of the Day - Glasgow Seelbach Wine of the Day - Coffee Pot Cellars 2014 Merlot (North Fork of Long Island) Destination of the Day - Aomori, Japan Eurodam Willemstad Curacao, Netherlands Antilles 08:00 - 23:00 Koningsdam Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico Riviera 08:00 - 21:00 Nieuw Amsterdam Oranjestad Aruba, Netherlands Antilles 13:00 - 23:00 Nieuw Statendam Oranjestad Aruba, Netherlands Antilles 07:00 - 15:00 Oosterdam Cape Horn, Chile Antarctica Rotterdam Kralendijk Bonaire, Netherlands Antilles 10:00 - 23:00 Volendam Ocho Rios, Jamaica 8:00am 4:00pm Zaandam At Sea Destination San Juan, Puerto Rico eta 12/17 Zuiderdam Dry Dock Freeport, Bahamas Completion 12/14 Eastern Hemisphere Noordam Eden, New South Wales, Australia Westerdam Lyttelton (Christchurch), New Zealand 8:00 AM To 5:00 PM

I have a friend that owned a restaurant. Tips reported on charge slips and passed directly to the servers do not count as income to the restaurant so are not taxed to the restaurant. The situation with HAL / Carnival may be the same or similar.

You don't need to subtract the OBC - it is the spending that counts, not how it was paid.

Today is National Cocoa Day, National Day of Saint Lucia, and National Violin Day We loved with a love that was more than love.--Edgar Allen Poe Meal Suggestion for today - Tuscan Sausage and Kale Frittata Drink of the Day - Purple Haze Martini Wine of the Day - Barefoot Bubbly NV Extra Dry Sparkling (California) California Other Destination of the Day - Manila, Philippines Eurodam Oranjestad Aruba, Netherlands Antilles 13:00 - 23:00 Koningsdam Mazatlan, Sinaloa, Mexico Riviera 08:00 - 17:00 Nieuw Amsterdam At Sea Destination Oranjestad Aruba, Netherlands Antilles eta 12/14 Nieuw Statendam Willemstad Curacao, Netherlands Antilles 08:00 - 23:59 Oosterdam Ushuaia, Argentina 12:00 - 20:00 Rotterdam At Sea Destination Kralendijk Bonaire, Netherlands Antilles eta 12/14 Volendam Sea Day Destination Ocho Rios, Jamacia Eta 12/14 Zaandam At Sea Destination San Juan, Puerto Rico eta 12/17 Zuiderdam Dry Dock Freeport, Bahamas Completion 12/14 Eastern Hemisphere Noordam At Sea Destination Hobart, Tasmania Australia eta 12/15 Westerdam Port Chalmers (Dunedin), New Zealand 10:00 AM To 6:00 PM

actually, it is not.

Nothing aboard the ship is refunded directly to a credit / debit card. At the end of the cruise any remaining OBC will be refunded either in cash or to the credit / debit card on file.

I posted this last night, but just to make sure everyone sees it. I believe everyone knows that I am boarding Zuiderdam on December 22nd for the holidays followed by the World Cruise. I do have the internet package for the duration, but it will be difficult to post the daily each day. All the information is also posted on halfacts at halfacts.com/daily. Tonight I completed setting up the site with the general information that is included each day, such as locations, quote, meals, and others. With this completed, each day halfacts will have the initial daily post which someone can copy and past to start the thread each day. If someone will do this each day, I would appreciate it. I will check in most days but it will be at varying times since I will be in each time zone over the next few months. If anyone wants to contact me for more information please email me at richwmn at gmail dot com. Thanks Rich @kochleffel replied that they would be able to do it some days and would post if no one else did earlier. That would work. Each morning someone different could post.

Today is Gingerbread Decorating Day, National Ambrosia Day, and National Poinsettia Day Reader, suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress. But I repeat myself.--Mark Twain Meal Suggestion for today - Spaghetti Squash Alfredo Drink of the Day - Hornitos Midori Margarita Wine of the Day - Rivetto 2019 Vigna Lirano (Nebbiolo d'Alba) Destination of the Day - Istanbul, Turkey Eurodam At Sea Destination Oranjestad Aruba, Netherlands Antilles eta 12/13 Koningsdam Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Mexico 11:00 - 18:00 Nieuw Amsterdam Half Moon Cay, Bahamas 08:00 - 15:00 Nieuw Statendam At Sea Destination Willemstad Curacao, Netherlands Antilles eta 12/13 Oosterdam Punta Arenas, Chile Antarctica 06:00 - 18:00 Rotterdam At Sea Destination Kralendijk Bonaire, Netherlands Antilles eta 12/14 Volendam Oranjestad, Aruba 7:00am 8:00pm Zaandam At Sea Destination San Juan, Puerto Rico eta 12/17 Zuiderdam Dry Dock Freeport, Bahamas Completion 12/14 Eastern Hemisphere Noordam Burnie, Tasmania Australia 08:00 - 18:00 Westerdam Cruising Fiordland Natl Park

First, if you purchased OBC using gift certificates it is refundable - usually back to the payment method but there have been reports that it can come back as cash or to a credit/debit card. For the actual non-refundable OBC (Stock, Military) it can be used for anything, including gratuities, except the Casino and getting cash from the front desk. I know that the information you receive says that it can't be used for gratuities, but that has always been allowed on the ships.

I believe everyone knows that I am boarding Zuiderdam on December 22nd for the holidays followed by the World Cruise. I do have the internet package for the duration, but it will be difficult to post the daily each day. All the information is also posted on halfacts at halfacts.com/daily. Tonight I completed setting up the site with the general information that is included each day, such as locations, quote, meals, and others. With this completed, each day halfacts will have the initial daily post which someone can copy and past to start the thread each day. If someone will do this each day, I would appreciate it. I will check in most days but it will be at varying times since I will be in each time zone over the next few months. If anyone wants to contact me for more information please email me at richwmn at gmail dot com. Thanks Rich