iflyrc5

Update from Capt Timmers on the rope on the prop at Grand Turk last night - turned out to be about 60 yards of line.

Captain Timmers gave an update on the rope around the prop and that was approximately 60 yards long.

7 hours ago, Minoushka said:

Where is Errol Nelson these days ?which ship 

mustapha?

when do crews switch before transat ?

Errol Nelson is currently on the Rotterdam but don't know when is contract is up.

The 5 Star also get 2 free meals in specialty restaurants and we can't book them before boarding as we must pay for them at time of booking.  Happened to friends on a recent cruise as they were not able to use their 5 Star benefit because of sold out specialty restaurants.

When we went to leave Grand Turk this afternoon at 5pm one of the dock line workers noticed a long black rope coming out from under the ship near the port Azi Pod.  They pulled on the rope and about 20 feet come out with a frayed end and it appeared that it had wrapped around the propeller on the pod,  One of the local life guards did a quick look free dive and found there was still a piece of rope around the prop.  They called in a local diver to free the line and by 9 pm we are on our way to Amber Cove.  Since it is a short distance we should be able to make up the time and arrive as scheduled tomorrow morning at 0800.

There was mention of drink prices going up.  Attached are photos of the drink menu that was at the lido pool this afternoon.  I don't know the old price so can't comment on how much they have changed

Also attached is the daily program for Saturday, Jan 27

In talking to one of the waiters today I found out that yes there is at least some Covid cases on the ship.   Also the crew members are tested every 6 days.   So my guess is that probably one or more of the cabins in our hall with dishes outside the door are crew members that have tested positive.

Here is the daily program for Friday, Jan 27 - Grand Turk.

9 hours ago, 0106 said:

Thanks for creating this thread.  We will be boarding on the 4th.

 

I heard from some friends who recently disembarked that you got a new captain on this sailing.  I am looking forward to hearing of about any changes you may notice with the new captain ( and other staff…is the cruise director the same.)

 

I don’t want to touch the same pen that others use for signing checks.  Seems very unsanitary.  I’m going to see if I can refuse signing, if not, I’ll have to carry my own pen.  
 

We got CO for the cabin upgrade.  My friends said skip the MDR and eat in CO every night.  I hate to wait for a table and like having the same waiter.  Thoughts?

 

Looking forward to a child free Seaview pool and relaxing in the warm sun.

Captain Timmers is the new Captain and we sailed with him on the Volendam for the Grand South America in early 2020.  He is very good and funny at times.  The CD and Hotel manager did not change.   We have not had the Club Orange and it does look nice but the chairs don't look very comfortable.

We had about 450 guest stay on today for the Turnaround day in FLL.  One couple showed up over 30 minutes late to the World Stage for the meetup to go through CBP which then held up the process for everyone.   We finished the 11 day Eastern Caribbean and now on to the 10 day Southern Caribbean.

Here is the daily program for Thursday Jan 26

2 hours ago, dutchgal46 said:

Is Genesis still the hostess?

Please say hi from me. Anneke Prins.

She is swesome!

She was one of the 4 last cruise.  Adi went home today.

7 hours ago, Ipeeinthepools said:

Do you have any idea about the number of Covid cases that have been reported?

That has never been reported on any of the several cruises we have been on since the restart.  Asking and we don't get an answer.

I realize that the Eurodam does not have the Dutch cafe`, however, are the vases that are in the Dutch cafe` on the pinnacle ships available for purchase on the Eurodam?   We are currently on the Rotterdam but don't have much OBC.  We will be on the Eurodam in Oct 2023 with lots of excess OBC so wondering if they will be available on that ship.  The florist on the Rotterdam said they should be available for purchase on the Eurodam but was not positive.  TIA.

22 hours ago, St Pete Cruiser said:

Was the Rotterdam supposed to go to Bon Aire originally? I see it now scheduled for Grand Caymen.  Bon Aire is only taking 1 ship a day as of Jan 1st.

When we booked it in Mar 2022 it was schedule for Ocho Rios which is where we are currently scheduled to go.  The same cruise starting Feb 15 is supposed to go to Bonaire but we will just need to see what happens.

8 minutes ago, cabinluvn said:

Just looked up the requirements for our March 10 SA cruise. I guess I thought all testing was a thing of the past, but it says they need a negative test uploaded to VeriFly 3 days before embarkation. It says “medically observed or home PCR test. I looked at the covid tests from the government and cannot tell if those are PCR tests or not. Anyone know? And if they are, how do you upload the results to Verifly?

The "normal" home tests are not PCR test - they are rapid antigen tests.

We are getting a new Captain starting with the Jan 25 cruise.  Not sure who it is going to be but I am guessing it is Captain Timmers.

Here is the daily program for Wed, Jan 25

5 hours ago, westcoastcruiser said:

We have.  First night were given a table that was not a good fit for us.  Then next night we were more specific and have been assigned same table, same time, same servers each night.  So even though we have open sesting on deck 2, we go to the “reservation” line and get seated almost immediately.  There is a line for those without reservations and it moves along albeit a bit slower.  

What time is your reservation.

?  I was told by Adi, Hendri and the lady at the check in desk that we could only reserve a time at 5:15 or 7:45 and it would not be a specific table.   We have been doing the walkup at 7pm and the last few nights there was no wait - seated immediately.

When I get up in the morning I usually turn on the TV to the chart channel and see where we are and our speed and heading.  When I did that this morning I noticed that we had made a course change sometime in the early morning and had been to Puerto Rico but at 0830 we back on course for Ft Lauderdale.  Later found out that we had a medical evacuation.  We sailed in near Puerto Rico about 0600 and by small boat took a guest to shore to a local hospital.

below is the daily program for Tuesday - Jan 24

27 minutes ago, onthelido2 said:

Iflyrc5, just a quick question. We will be joining you on your last 21 days of your sailing and know there is a turnaround day on Feb 15. We have never done a b2b and are interested in how HA handles?  Are we going to have to leave the ship and reboard?

You will find many references to how turnaround days are handled on the ship and if varies by ship and port.  Here is the instructions we received for our turn around day on Jan 25.  All guest continuing on the next cruise can do one of 2 things.  If you wish to get off the ship you can do so when the debark starts.  Take along you ship card and the "in Transit" card that we got in the info envelope.  Go off - do you business/what ever.  When you return show you "in Transit" card and you can get right back on.

For those guests continuing we are to report to the World stage at 0930 with our ship card and passport.   Once all the guests that are not continuing for the next cruise are off and all the guests that are continuing are in the main stage the we are escorted as a group into the terminal and are seen by the customs and border patrol officials (this was done via facial recognition stations in Nov).  Once everyone has gone through this process then you can get back on the ship.  

If everyone does what they are supposed to do it is a quick and easy process, however, there always seems to a handful of guests that think they don't need to follow the process.  They don't leave the ship when told - they don't show up in the World Stage - they don't have their passport - etc.....  which can lead to the process being delayed by as much as an hour.  Back in Nov when we were on the NA there were 3 families that basically took their own sweet time leaving the ship.  They delayed our turnaround by almost any hour while we stood in line in the terminal and watched one lady wheel her luggage off and she was so drunk she could hardly walk.

OK - I found out more about what is going on with the dishes on the floor.  We are on the main deck aft and the photo is of the 5 cabins aft of ours.  In talking to our room steward he said these are set aside for new crew members that are joining the ship.  They stay in quarantine for a short period of time when joining the ship before joining the rest of the crew members in the crew quarters. 

6 hours ago, thecruiserman said:

Was the main dining room open for lunch on embarkation day?

 

Yes - noon to 1pm

The menu for the NY Deli

Several of the cabins down the hall seem to get room service for every meal - see photo

Here is the daily program for 23 Jan

17 minutes ago, 0106 said:

 

Why aren’t those kids in school!  🥹. 

Adult pool rules need to be enforced.  

It was the lido pool so fine with kids.  That was just to give an idea of how many youngsters are on the ship.  BTW - I have seen some of the staff removing towels from chairs that were unattended for a period of time.  Watching the Bills/Bengals around the pool this afternoon - lots of fans from both teams and they did have popcorn.  Funny thing is they have run out of popcorn bags so you got a bowl and had to bring it back for refills.

1 hour ago, canadarocks said:

Well according to my Navigator the showtimes for our January 25th cruise are now changed to 7:30pm and 9:30pm. This change of course happened after the deadline for booking and/or changing restaurant reservations. I have never seen so many changes right before a cruise, and there is still no confirmation as to when the Gala Nights are! 

The Dressy nights will probably not appear on the app until you board.  I would guess 1 Feb is an almost for sure.  The other could be Jan 26 since are leaving HMC early and if not then for sure 29 Jan

I forgot to mention yesterday - I asked one of the waiters and they said we currently have just over 2500 guests and today at the pool I counted 15 youngsters from 3 to about 14 years old all in the pool at the same time.

6 minutes ago, barbon2 said:

My hubby is happy.  They are showing the games.  I see it on the schedule. So far the Eagles are killing the Giants.  As long as they win, he will get to watch the game next Sunday.  It’s a sea day for us, so it’s a win win situation. 

They are on in the cabin and also the big screen at the pool.  At the pool there is popcorn and also the NY Deli is open for pizza and other snacks.

Tonight was Caribbean night in the Lido for dinner.

Here is the daily program for Sunday Jan 22

Friday we had the Runaround Boys on the World Stage.  They are a British group that played 50s and 60 music and put on a great show.  First time we have seen them.