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Everything posted by St Pete Cruiser
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Several of my more favorite captains are over at Seabourne, including Captain Bart. With the cost cutting measures, I'm not expecting to see Captain Albert return. He is a wealth of information! Copper John, who posts here, is also a Holland America ex employee who knows a lot of history.
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Nieuw Statendam in Port Everglades on January 28, 2023
St Pete Cruiser replied to leerathje's topic in Holland America Line
Good evening sailaway addicts. -
Nieuw Statendam in Port Everglades on January 28, 2023
St Pete Cruiser replied to leerathje's topic in Holland America Line
Yes, here we go! Saved the best for last. -
Nieuw Statendam in Port Everglades on January 28, 2023
St Pete Cruiser replied to leerathje's topic in Holland America Line
I didn't hear anything from Enchanted. -
Thanks, Copper John, for starting our day and daily oh so early! Punte del Este looks to be a nice port call. I have been to Montevideo. We are driving a condo neighbor to Tampa airport this morning as she will be flying to Buenos Aires to board a NCL ship doing Antarctica. The NCL Star, which is two years older than Oosterdam, and about the same size. The Star carries about 400 more guests and does not have the covered mid ship pool area, which makes it near useless in cold weather cruising. Does my partiality show? She told me a couple of weeks ago, she would have preferred Holland America, but her cruise mate liked NCL because of the price. I might have joined them, too, as an inside for the 14 day cruise was $699! Probably a big port fee plus of course the air, so not as great a deal as it may seem. NCL does Antartica RT from BA, where as HAL does it between Chile and BA as a 21 day cruise, so of course it is a lot more. What would you choose?
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The Fleet Report and Daily for Monday January 23rd, 2023
St Pete Cruiser replied to rafinmd's topic in Holland America Line
Good Monday morning all. Looks like the fleet is mostly at sea today. Our friends onboard Koningsdam should enjoy Hilo. We are dog and house sitting for friends in nearby Gulfport. They have a Shar Pei. Yesterday was a concert many of you would enjoy as well as your parents or grandparents: Glen Miller Orchestra at the Mahaffey. My parents, who grew up in the 30's and married in 1941, especially loved those wonderful tunes. Moonlight Serenade, Tuxedo Junction, Chattanooga Choochoo, Pennsylvania 6 5000 and finished with In The Mood. They do all the moves, too. Great commentary as well.- 95 replies
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Nieuw Statendam in Port Everglades on January 21, 2023
St Pete Cruiser replied to leerathje's topic in Holland America Line
Missed NS. We are dog and house sitting, and their internet connection seems worse than mine. I use the local cable company and our friends use Amazon Silk. It hasn't been good for sailaway, that is for sure. -
Nieuw Statendam in Port Everglades on January 21, 2023
St Pete Cruiser replied to leerathje's topic in Holland America Line
The webcam cut out before I got to hear Apex. Hoping it stays on now for NS. -
Volendam will be doing Canada New England for 2024
St Pete Cruiser replied to Andi Land's topic in Holland America Line
Yes, Volendam to do Canada/ New England 2024 along with the Zuiderdam. The initial release is missing some of the dates. Bar Harbor is still on some of the itineraries despite the voters decision to keep cruise ships from debarking more than 1000 guests a day. Looks like the merchants are suing to keep the ships and shoppers coming. -
The Fleet Report and Daily for Monday January 16th, 2023
St Pete Cruiser replied to rafinmd's topic in Holland America Line
On this 4 day cruise there was. We left late from Miami and arrived in Nassau the next morning, spending the day until 6PM. We then went very slowly to Ocean Cay, the MSC port just south of Bimini, arriving about 1PM and staying there overnight until 6PM the last day of the cruise. We were the first ship back in Miami. There was a light show and a beach party that evening, but then the guests were directed back to the ship and the gates were locked until 8am when the island reopened. The island was a commercial sand mine and has been filled in with a dock and channel. Our MSC ship, the Divina, backed into the dock with obviously shallow water nearby. I thought it would be challenging to do so with a strong north or south wind against the broadside of the ship, and I was right as the very next cruise was unable to dock after a strong front came through with north winds. -
The Fleet Report and Daily for Monday January 16th, 2023
St Pete Cruiser replied to rafinmd's topic in Holland America Line
Martin Luther King parade warm ups downtown this morning. My volunteer lunch from the theater was chicken marsala! accompanied by asparagus and mashed potatoes, all very appreciated.- 67 replies
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Just returned from MSC Divina 4 day cruise. If our experience is typical, they still have a lot of work to do. Maybe because announcements are done in 6 languages, no communication from officers or staff with the exception of the cruise director's basic agenda. They saved a great deal of fuel by staying close to Miami on our cruise. Their private island is just below Bimini, 65 miles from Miami. The buffet consists of a lot of cheap carbs. You have to look hard to find the more nutritious items. Most people seemed to have taken the drink package, which results in some very "over served" behavior.