felma531

Thanks for your daily posts. You always make every port exciting! We can't believe you are at the end of this voyage. We agree with you that HAL has the best crew members! Glad they squeezed in a talent show! Safe travels home! M and M

Bill and Mary Ann, It's been great traveling with you. We noticed some " cutbacks" on our 40 days on the Oosterdam too. We were actually on 3 cruises back to back to back. There was not a crew show on any of the legs. We thought there might be one on the Transatlantic section but the closest we came was an Indonesian dinner in the Lido. The crew wore their batik shirts. We enjoy the evening shows and I really like the Lincoln Center Stage performances but all of this was repeated 3 times while we were onboard and the Lincoln Center programs were the same we heard in February when we were with y'all on the Nuiew Statendam. Our MDR menus were repeated also and we weren't surprised at that since we were doing 3 legs but overall it wasn't our favorite HAL experience. The staff was excellent as usual but we are taking a " break" from HAL for a while. We wish you smooth sailing to Ft. Lauderdale and back home. We'll look forward to your next adventure! Thanks for taking us along! Monty and Margaret

Hello We found ourselves on the opposite side of the curtain issue- only one time in 40 days.. but the glare was really terrific on diners to our right. We were at very back of dining room. We closed curtain without a second thought. As soon as the sun set our waiter opened for the afterglow. Hard to imagine anything different. We also had all of our themed nights in the Lido. We passed on the Italian night but I really wanted to try some dishes on the Greek evening so we skipped mdr and went to Lido Everything was awful! HAL may be saving money - the Lido has never compared to other choices in our opinion. Glad you are not having to report about the sickness anymore! Keep having fun! Margaret

Sounds as if your Captain made the 0 degrees latitude and 0 degrees longitude very interesting. What a treat to be in such a unique location. Sorry for issues with morsle and very sorry for the sickness on the ship. Hope you two keep avoiding it! As always we enjoy your posts. The combination Mary Ann's writing abd Bill's pictures make a great team. We are getting brochures about the longer HAL voyages weekly! Continue to have safe travels. Your Alabama friends, Monty and Margaret

Happy New Year from Alabama! We are enjoying your posts as always. We feel like world cruisers along with you. Interestingly, Mike West was on the Oosterdam in November as we completed our 40 days with a transatlantic segment. All of his lectures were well attended- with six sea days it's nice to have some enrichment on the program. We're glad to read the chef in the MDR offers some specials occasionally. We grew tired of the same offerings. Know you don't do the entertainment but it was also a repeat of what we'd seen on the NStatendam in Feb. We know you will keep enjoying and we will keep reading! Monty and Margaret

Bill and Mary Ann, We are enjoying your posts and have entered the HAL world ourselves. Embarked on Monday in Civitacheeia for a 12 day Greek Odyssey followed by 28 day Mediterranean and Spanish farewell. Embarkation was a breeze, maybe because we were early at the terminal. Some changes after the worst of the pandemic are positive ones. We were given any time dining but at lunch on embarkation Day we met Zin who serves as an assistant matre d for the set dining. We like the early dining and she said check in with her. She got us a table in the back corner. Our favorite place to be. Only1/4 or less of dining room is full so it's very quiet. Our waiter told us they are only using the kitchen on deck 2. It also seems our room stewards have more rooms than before covid. They only come once unless you have a specific request. We had a shore day in Naples today. We've never been in this part of the world so we have some excursions booked. We went to Capri today. Felt like being in the cattle call as you described it. We have 1600 on board Oosterdam. Keep enjoying your cruise. Regards from your Alabama friends, Margaret and Monty P.S. We have mask suggested policy only. Most are not wearing masks. We are like you two- we still wear ours.!

Bill and Mary Ann, We've always visited Alaska in September. Having fewer ships makes for less crowds which we like. A bonus is finding lots of bargains among souvenirs. Sounds as if the shops are holding on to merchandise. I'm sure they still feel losses from being closed for 2 seasons. Enjoyed the pictures of the parade of ships. That Bliss is huge! Have no desire to sail on megaships. Y'all stay warm this week! Margaret and Monty

WCB, Just found posts of your new adventure. Enjoying Mary Ann's delightful description of your daily activities. You've inspired us to lengthen our next journey. We scheduled for 40 days in the Oosterdam beginning 10/5. Looked at Bill's photos on the blog. Great eagle pictures! M and M from Alabama