RevNeal

2 hours ago, Mr. Boston said:

So nice to “see” you again Rev Neal. Your work is so important and I hope to attend one of your services someday.  

Thanks.

It’s been a long haul since January 2020, and ministry has changed greatly since then.  Thankfully, I have a sabbatical leave due me at some point on the next few years.  I hope to take part of that and do some significant travel again, and that might include a little chaplain duty.  Until then, I hope to cruise again soon; like many pastors, I haven’t been able to take much vacation time in more than a year, and now I’m moving to a new parish and will have to hit the ground running at the beginning of July.

20 hours ago, rkacruiser said:

 

I think that those of us who sailed on a Prinsendam's Christmas/New Year's Cruise 

late in her HAL career would disagree with such a statement.  There was only one type of service regardless if it was a Sunday service, a Christmas Eve service, etc.  No message; it was just a Communion Service over and over again.  If you think that such a couple were "highly qualified pastors", then, we will have to respectfully disagree.  

I am one of the clergy who used to serve as a protestant guest minister on HAL cruises. For my part, I tried to conduct a service that addressed a broad cross-section of denominational backgrounds, including a homily, hymns, and a Eucharistic liturgy which followed the BEM (Baptism-Eucharist-Ministry) guidelines. I conducted services for both protestant passengers and crew (the latter usually took place VERY late at night), and was always told how much appreciated those services were.

 In January 2020, just prior to the pandemic, I took a cruise aboard the Konningsdam and was asked by the Cruise Director (whom I knew) if I would conduct services for protestant passengers and crew (the crew, particularly, because most of the protestants among them hadn't had the opportunity to receive communion in several months).  By that time HAL had quit contracting with protestant guest ministers on all but a handful select cruises per-year, and that cruise didn't have one assigned.

For several reasons (mostly due to prior poor experiences with other protestant clergy), in the future I will probably offer my services to the Cruise Director via email before boarding.

IF they get a vaccine approved and into production by the end of this year we'll see cruising becoming a realistic option again during the first half of 2021. Anyone who wants to cruise will have to show certification of having been vaccinated, and all crew will have to be vaccinated.

25 minutes ago, RocketMan275 said:

Probably need more than one per day.   Masks should be replaced when torn or damp.  How many are familiar with the correct procedures for donning and removing a mask?  Or, even wearing a mask.  Just returned from Walmart.  Probably 50% were improperly worn.  The most popular style seemed to be just under the nose.  Now exactly how much protection does that afford?

Just under the nose affords NO protection at all to the wearer.  It is, however, partially protective if the mask's purpose is to protect OTHERS.

Your surgeon was correct when he said that he worse a mask mostly to protect the patient from the surgeon; the same is mostly the case with masks in the general public. Most of the masks that are in the public are effective at protecting OTHERS, not the wearer. Since much of the virus is expelled by breathing/talking/singing/shouting/coughing, a mask over just the mouth would help to mitigate the wearer spreading the virus from the mouth; its would be worthless for any virus spread that might come out the nose. While better than nothing, it's not how the mask should be properly worn in order to mitigate the majority of virus-vectoring. Better-grade filter masks -- of varying qualities -- would do a better job of protecting others from the wearer, while also providing at least some screening defense from others. 

My mother wore N95s on our daily trips to her radiation treatments; I didn't want her in a hospital setting in just a surgical mask. Oh, certainly, a surgical mask has some filtering capacity when it coms to the kinds of droplets we have to be worried about with this virus, but for someone with an already highly compromised immune system, I wasn't about to let her risk even that level of exposure.  I wear medical grade (not N95) masks (or masks with medical grade filters) that seal to my face, and I always follow the safety precautions that the CDC has outlined.  Given what I do for a living, it's important for me to "do no harm" and still meet the needs of my people to the best of my ability.

1 minute ago, RocketMan275 said:

The improper wear of masks made from t-shirts will not accomplish those objectives.    If  you want to mandate classes in proper wear of masks, institute a masking police to pursue violators, and require the surgical masks shown to be reasonably effective, then you would have a point.

I agree.  However, the wearing of non-medical grade masks is not so much about protecting YOU from getting the virus as it is protecting OTHERS from getting it FROM you (if you happen to have it and don't yet know it). Medical grade masks, and their proper use, are preferred in situations where the objective is to protect someone from getting it themselves. When I was taking my mother on a daily basis to get radiation and chemo, I made sure she had a medical grade mask and I taught her how to wear it properly. However, the wearing of even a simple cloth mask will significantly reduce droplet spread and, accordingly, reduce the number of people that a sick person can infect.

9 minutes ago, RocketMan275 said:

Nor can we hide behind masks forever.

The Al mandate requires wearing a mask inside most facilities.  If those facilities are so dangerous that a mask is required then I will avoid those facilities if at all possible.  

It's not that the facility is somehow "dangerous" -- the problem is that unaware carriers are. This virus is a very sneaky bug: because people can be infectious for several days prior to the manifestation of any symptoms, they can unknowingly spread it to many other people before they even suspect that they're ill. This means that wearing a mask can protect other people from getting it if you happen to be the one who is sick and doesn't know it. A non-medical grade mask may also provide at least some protection for a healthy person catching the virus by further reducing the saturation-level of virus laden moisture droplets in the air that one breaths, but that is a secondary consideration. If everybody wears a mask when in public, the chances of this virus being spread will be significantly reduced; indeed, it would be largely eradicated as spread-vectors are significantly reduced.  This is what has happened in places like Japan, where the prophylactic wearing of masks has long been an accepted practice.

I have recently looking at a late April 2021 cruise from San Diego to Vancouver followed by an Alaska Cruise out of Vancouver, but I'm not confident that such will be possible even by then. So, now I'm starting to look at Fall of 2021 and January of 2022.

Please, everybody, keep safe, don't take any undue risks, and know that you're not alone in any of it.

I'm not surprised about the two S-class ships.  I loved the Maasdam -- sailed aboard her twice --  and had never had the chance to cruise aboard the Veendam, but I fully anticipated that this disaster would result in HAL going through a fleet downsizing and that the S-class ships were the likely ones to get the chop. However, I'm VERY surprised about the Amsterdam; I figured she, of all the R-class ships, would be retrained the longest since she's probably in the best shape of them all. Don't misunderstand me: I love the Zaandam and the Volendam, and have sailed aboard them for well over 100 days on each -- however, I just didn't see them outlasting the Amsterdam.

Oh, well ... time marches on.

I am well and doing the best I can to be safe while still helping my people.

On Sundays I go to the Church building and, along with 7 other members of my church staff, we broadcast a livestream worship service on the Church's Facebook page while maintaining social distancing.  I go to the office midweek to check mail and messages and such and to get books that I need for Sermon preparation, and on those trips I also help the food pantry staff make porch-deliveries of food stuffs for this who have contacted the church for assistance.  Meals on Wheels, which also operates out of my church building, has a volunteer staff that makes deliveries during the week to area residents who depend upon the program for hot meals, and the past 3 weeks I've been helping as a driver for that as well.  With Social Distancing rules, however, I don't have any close-contact with people and, when I do, I'm wearing a filter mask and gloves.  Other than that, and making a grocery run for curbside pick up for my own needs, I don't get out.  I spend a lot of time on the phone, talking with Church members and fellow clergy, and I'm part of several Zoom calls each week with denominational colleagues, etc. On Tuesdays at 1pm I broadcast a LiveStream Bible Study on the church's Facebook page and I have a Zoom staff meeting for my church staff on Wednesdays at 11 am.

As of Sunday (April 19) in the county where my house is we have 26 confirmed cases and 2 deaths with 3 in the housing development where I live. However, where I'm actually on the boarder with two other counties that have many more cases. In the county where my church is there are over 500 confirmed cases, and in the other county where the closest bigger city is there are 34 confirmed cases.  And, of course, I'm just outside of Dallas County where we have 2428 confirmed cases ad 60 deaths.

I pray everybody keeps safe, follows directions, and takes no unnecessary risks.  As much as I enjoy cruising, I believe that life is sacred and we must care for it and for others.  I pray for you, I pray for those still trapped on ships, I pray for the HAL employees who are in limbo and, for those on their ways home, I pray they safely make it to their families.

3 minutes ago, Copper10-8 said:

Security Officer with the orange life vest, white shirt and face mask Good to see Joe doing OK

John, thank you so much for being a voice of calm and reason on this thread.  I've been watching "from afar" while very busy with work and family and, so when you posted something I knew I could trust it.  Several others, too, but your posts especially have been very helpful.  Thank you.

14 minutes ago, Boytjie said:

Cheers!
I wish I had a Wang Wang....

 

Ditto.  And I am thankful that the ships have docked and that those in need of critical care will be getting it.  God bless all those who have worked so hard in the midst of this disaster.  They're putting their lives on the line.  May God protect them and give them wisdom and guidance.

May God grant safety, guidance, and wisdom to those who command and conn these damships, the staff who care for the passengers and crew, and the administrators who are working hard to get all the clearances needed to get them home.  

How do we purchase the drinks?  Will we be given a special card, or is it just on our account (as if we were buying a drink at a time)?

I'm reminded of my birthday cruise in 2007 when they cut a 10 day cruise to 7 days and cut out two ports so that they could do an extensive cleaning of the old Ryndam after a massive Norovirus outbreak.  It was a disappointing event, and there were severe communication problems leading up to the cruise (many of us were not informed of the cancellation until we arrived in San Diego).  No one could board the ship, of course, so arrangements were made for those of us who didn't cancel the cruise to stay at a Marriot Hotel in Orange County -- near Disneyland.  It wasn't a bad alternative: they provided transport there and back, took care of most of the expenses at the hotel (2 meals a day), and provided us with an option to go to Disneyland for a day.  Still ... it wasn't the same as being aboard ship and at sea.

Upsets to itineraries like this are annoying and disappointing, but they sometimes have to happen.  The best thing to do is just roll with it and try to enjoy life.

Thanks for the information!

It looks like it is probably too difficult to get back to the auxiliary HDMI port on the back of the TV if it's mounted on the wall in that small recession.  My harm is too large to be able to squeeze it into that small of a space, and I wouldn't want to try to take it off the wall to plug in an HDMI cable, only to have to hang it back on the wall.  Ugh!  So ... no go on that one.

Again, thanks for the information!

Thanks!  Looks like it’s about a 40 inch screen.

Does anybody know the size of the in-cabin TVs in the Verandah cabins aboard the Koningsdam?  And, does anyone know the manufacturer and model number of these TVs? If not, does anyone know if they have auxiliary HDMI ports?

Thanks!

Just now, kazu said:

 

@RevNeal - do you mean Jan. 12th 2020, please?

 

Thanks 🙂 

I'm sorry, I misunderstood the nomenclature you were using in posting the cruise dates.  I thought you were saying the cruise I'll be on ran from January 2 - January 20. The 20 in the listing you provided is the YEAR, not the day.  My bad.  There is no error (other than my own). 

The cruise I'm on departs Fort Lauderdale on January 2, 2020 and is 10 days long, returning to Fort Lauderdale on January 12, 2020.  I WISH it were longer.  😄

On 10/25/2019 at 5:42 AM, kazu said:

Koningsdam - 02-Jan-20 - 10 day Southern Caribbean Seafarer
RevNeal

That should read "O2-Jan-12"  

Sigh .... another 74 days until I board the Koningsdam for a Caribbean Cruise, Jan 2.  And a LOT to do between now and then:  All Saints Day, Thanksgiving, Advent, Christmas Eve, and Christmas ... that's 11 Sundays, plus Christmas Eve services.  The good thing about being busy is that it makes the time fly faster!

I can't wait.

I'll try to be on the webcam and here to watch the Zuiderdam depart tonight. 

The first cruise I paid for myself was in late 1994 (I think it was around Thanksgiving) aboard the Nieuw Amsterdam III.  I'm pretty sure it was a 14 day Cruise in the Caribbean and I was sharing a large outside cabin (I think they called called a "mini-suite") with my grandfather, who was 94 at the time but still in superior condition.  Earlier that year I had successfully completed the defense of my doctoral dissertation, and this seemed like a great way to celebrate. This was was my grandfather's last sea voyage, and he had a great time showing me around the ship and some of the islands.

As for how much it cost, for some reason I seem to recall that I paid $1400, which was an enormous sum to me at that time. Granddad took care of all of our onboard expenses, for which I was deeply grateful.

Thanks for the superb pictures!

Love the shot of the blessing with holy water. 

35 minutes ago, Himself said:

I usually like to be convenient to the Water Taxi and I like to be in Ft. Lauderdale.  .

If I were to stay for more than a day on either side of the cruise, I'd probably prefer to do the same.

I've stayed in many different Ft. Lauderdale properties over the years.  Rarely do I stay in the same place twice, but I've usually stuck with Hilton properties. For my January 2020 cruise, I'm currently booked into the Hilton Garden Inn Ft. Lauderdale Airport-Cruise Port for my pre-cruise stay on January 1-2, and the Hampton Inn & Suites Ft. Lauderdale Airpot/South Cruise Port for my post-cruise stay on January 12-13. These two are close together and just south of the airport.  I've not stayed at either of these specific hotels, but I've been in many Garden Inns and Hampton Inns ... they're good hotels.

I keep checking prices and availability, and may change one or the other or both, but I always book something immediately after booking cruise to make sure I'm forced to take something I don't want or can't afford.

14 hours ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

 

I would want it closed when the ship was moving. I had a forward-facing bump-out cabin one time, and it was VERY windy sitting or standing at the rail when the ship was moving. I had to sit back in the shelter of the partition of the next balcony. 

I would agree.

I've had a forward-facing cabin on an R-class ship (the Amsterdam - 6102) and it was wonderful to have the forward-facing view out the window during the day (at night the shades had to be closed for navigation reasons). There was also an access hatch out in the corridor which led out to the forward observation deck (6 forward).  While wonderful for scenic cruising in Alaska or going through the Panama Canal, when the ship was out on the high seas we stayed away from that outside deck ... the wind was horrible.