whogo

We booked an eight hour Seabourn excursion in 2020 to visit a ranch, wrote about it here: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2724452-the-grouch-on-seabourn-quest-january-12-2020-san-antonio-to-buenos-aires-via-antarctica/?do=findComment&comment=59303795

My banking website did not like my being away from home and wanted to text me a verification code to allow me to log in to my account. I did not have phone service in the middle of the ocean.

French Polynesia, Amazonia, India.

Cruise ships have been skipping Nicaragua port calls due to safety concerns. Do not be surprised if your cruise itinerary changes.

You could also watch downloaded movies on your phone like the kids do. I don't watch TV onboard ship, but have done so in airports and on planes. Remember your earphones. I am surprised that I like reading books on my iPhone, perfect for down time waiting in lines or whatever and smaller and lighter than a Kindle.

Many thanks, crunchii.

I am enjoying your reports, crunchii. Is the expedition staff blogging from the cruise? If so, can you provide a link, please?

Will your new TV be operational when installed tomorrow or is this just step one?

I appreciate your taking the time to post, shark b8. I look forward to your reports. Sunviking, I'd be happy to hear of your Quest cruise as well.

Excellent review, Reds4life, thank you for posting.

Thanks, Fletcher. You are an artist and a wordsmith.

Isn't Beyond Meat a highly processed foods we are supposed to avoid? rob7, you're the first vegetarian I have seen on this board who is rightly concerned about cross-contamination of cooking and serving utensils. I am not confident that Holland America's "vegetarian" selections are free of gelatin, rennet, anchovies, or other meat ingredients. I am more confident of the Indian menu dishes, if that is what the crew eats.

I found only one usb charging port in our Zaandam deck 6 cabin. It was on the lamp on the cabinet that housed the refrigerator. I have no idea what other Zaandam cabins have.

Too few passengers debark when faced with unacceptable maintenance issues. My wife would not willingly cruise on a ship without stabilizers. Apparently seasickness is one of the worst feelings there is.

I thought I was the only one to check air flow in hotel and cruise ship bathrooms. I use a piece of toilet paper, I'm not about to risk a dollar bill.

Nor do I. I hoped that someone would find out about actual engineering changes made to the ship during an "Ask the Captain" session. Holland America said, "Where feasible, we utilize enhanced filters and other technologies to mitigate risk." My assumption is that they find changes to be infeasible more often than not. Perhaps they have made no changes at all to a number of their ships. I hesitated to book our August Zaandam cruise out of concern for covid, continued to wear a mask as I had been doing around town, was uncomfortable around crowds of unmasked people in planes, airports, tenders, and queues and I stayed out of elevators and theaters. I am now hesitate to book a January cruise because of covid, RSV and flu. Hospitals are filling up. A local parochial school reported 92 out of 300 students absent. I do not want to spend my cruise isolated in a cabin and I do not want to infect others.

iPhone Instructions: Settings > General > Date & Time Your iWatch should switch times as soon as your iPhone switches time. You might want to add your cruise ports to the World Time app or your phone. All worked well for four time zone changes on my last cruise, but it never hurts to double check.

A passport and credit card are all you should need to board a cruise ship. I had my covid vaccination record, boarding pass, Holland America Navigator app, Verifly, ArriveCan, and covid antigen test results on my phone. Just to annoy me, staff at the Boston cruise terminal needed a paper boarding pass. I had one. They were willing to print one.

As always, your live blog has been a delight to read. Thanks for keeping me entertained.

February, 2022, it was the Drake Lake for us on the Veendam as the captain circled Cape Horn. In 2020 the we delayed crossing the Drake Passage to Antarctica until 24 foot swells abated. The roughest seas I have encountered were in the Irish Sea, of all places.

I think HAL is deliberately trying to make the chocolate unappealing. Chocolate covered Rice Krispies would have been good. I snagged one chocolate covered pecan on my cruise. No chocolate cremes or chocolate covered caramels or just plain milk chocolate. Great thread, kazu, thanks for posting and get well soon.

I sat down for breakfast in the Zaandam dining room and tried to get my first cup of coffee. Instead, I had a man try to sell me cans of water. No, he could or would not get me a coffee. That is the kind of thing you avoid on more inclusive ships.

Holland America considers a name change to be a new booking. Cancellation fees maybe involved, prices may change.

I would gladly live aboard. Sell the house and car and all the stuff I have accumulated and ride the waves. No more lawn mowing, snow shoveling, and no more home maintenance. I would want to cobble together long cruises that visit new ports and would change ships as needed. Spend some time ashore to visit family and the dentist, and to reset health insurance coverage. Intersperse some land vacations as the mood hits me. Hey, no more state income taxes, either.