Vict0riann

Hi, Jacqui, Thanks for handling all our changes - we also have cancelled our 28-day Bermuda, Brittany and Canary Islands Allure on Nieuw Statendam for April 7 next year. Just not going to work with health problems. We have booked a 14-day Great Alaska Explorer on Nieuw Amsterdam for May 4, 2025, as it is out of and returning to, Vancouver. A year later, but something to look forward to!

Our PCC just called to let us know that the HAL Platinum cancellation protection could no longer be sold to BC residents. She was astonished to hear that we already knew about it from CC ! While I had her on the line, I cancelled our Spring cruise, boo hoo.

Good morning, Dailyites! Thanks for all the news. So exciting to be leaving for long cruises. We are about to cancel our next. I keep putting it off, but it must be done. Our cleaning lady is coming today after a break for carpal tunnel surgery, so Pat is vacuuming, I have no idea why. We have a very confused snowdrop blooming in my little flower bed. The sky was really red when I got up at 6:30, but Pat says the rain isn't due until tomorrow. I slept so well last night. I had been a member of the "Sleepless in (you name it)" for so long, I had forgotten how nice it is to wake up rested. I'm not feeling all that energetic, but I did go to exercise this morning. Now I must go and tidy up a bit for the cleaning lady.

Back in the mists of time (on June 2, 2023) , we booked a cruise we are going to have to cancel. I think the deposit must have been non-refundable, because at the same time, we purchased the Standard CPP from HAL. It actually was less than 10% of the fare. (Booking total was $6679 each, insurance was $489 each). On the back of the booking there is the Cancellation Fee Schedule. As of June 1, 2023 (the day before we booked), the cancellation fee was $1160 per person. Who knew? We booked with one FCD plus $1100 each. I'm figuring that this cancellation fee is the price of the insurance, plus Club Orange, plus something else. It will be interesting to see if we get anything back from our deposits when we cancel. I am quite confused.

We went to the "opening night" of Step One's new "Move" on Oosterdam last month. Pat's comment after - "Well, it was energetic..."

Love that crab and artichoke dip, then rack of lamb, then I’d be full. Maybe a scoop of sorbet, depending on what there is. I would have stayed away from the brunch… thanks, Lisa, now I have to go and eat my turkey burger….

I think I would have gone to Tamarind tonight. Nothing on the CO menu appealed to me!

Just discussed this with our PCC a couple of days ago. She said you can note on your account that you are interested in upgrades. She said there are specifics to note, you can say you are interested in "free" upgrades, which mean you may not know you have one until you board (this happened to us once, when we had only sailedd HAL twice, a really nice surprise from a verandah to a Signature Suite). Or you can say you are interested in "paid" upgrades - if space is available you may get emails offering alternatives, as the OP said. Or you can say you are interested in both.

The new phone system is not working that well! I had so much difficulty contacting our PCC we eventually just did it all by email. I couldn't get through from here (Canada) and she said all her calls to us were just going to voice mail after one ring, but we were in and not on the phone. I think I did get through to her one time, in very convoluted way, (as I do not give credit card numbers by email), but that was just plain luck! It's unfortunate they were working on the website AND the phone at the same time. Made life difficult... Of course that was a few days ago - maybe all is well now?

Bon voyage, @LAFFNVEGAS! Nieuw Statendam is my favourite of the Pinnacle ships, I can't really say why; there was something about the air on the ship which made me happy! The only thing I was not so happy about was the shape of the chairs in the Club Orange. I found it uncomfortable to lean back against the "bamboo". I'd love to know if they have added new chairs. I'll add a picture from one of the wine tastings. You can kind of see how the chairs are.

Annie, @marshhawk, you mentioned yesterday your awl nerve - I looked that up but can't find it. I had surgery a long time ago to "release" the ulnar nerve in my elbow, which helped a bit, but I still have trouble with my left arm, shoulder to pinkie, at least I can still use it. Jacqui, @kazu, hope you're not too bruised up from your fall. Was Ivan involved? And I was wondering, too, how your elbow was doing?

Good morning, Dailyites, and thank you for the news of the day! It is raining here, and the reservoir is up to 77% according to the newspaper. The moss on our garry oaks is running amok, not only on the north side, but all over! We have been to Funchal a few times, once on December 10, 2019 and we walked around inspecting the Christmas decorations, so I'll post some of my pictures. They really went all out. Lots of flowers blooming too, in December.

Good morning, Dailyites! Thanks to Rich for the Daily News, and to all who post with their interesting tidbits., Sorry for those hurting right now. I went back to our exercise group on Wednesday and again this morning. The doctor advised me that I am still not ready for a new hip, so I need to suck it up and at least get my muscles helping out. I didn't have too much additional pain after Wednesday's workout (just over half an hour of gentle exercises and stretches), so I will try to keep doing more. I am also getting down on the floor a few times a day and trying to get up just hanging onto a chair. The joys of getting old! We do the cryptic crossword in our daily paper, anything we can't figure out, DD does in 5 minutes! I also do lots of sudokus, and DD put a word game called Wordscapes on my iPhone. I think it was developed by teenagers because it accepts words like techie, aah, and eek! and rejects creel and lee. (and lots of other words). I do jigsaw puzzles on my iPad. I made brownies yesterday, but I put them all in the freezer for emergency chocolate access. We have Happy Hour in the complex clubhouse tonight, so I might get them out of the freezer for that. We visited Rhodes in our first cruise after Covid, on the beautiful Eurodam; Tony, @sailingdutchy organized a great tour for us for the second day there. The first day the guys went walkabout, the ladies started out with them, but turned back after a short stroll. My pictures from the tour, through Rhodes and Lindos are like the ones already posted, I'll just add a bit of food porn. Our guide took us to a restaurant on a hill with beautiful views and we had an amazing lunch. I wish I had taken a photo of the fried cheese (in a tempura-like batter), but it disappeared very quickly. There was a kitten who helped with the fish... The sun is shining today, but the reservoir has gone up to 76%; with all the rain we have had the watershed must be saturated. Usually by December, we're at 100%, and releasing water...

The first day on board, I usually find the internet pretty poor, so we often wait a day (or two) to buy internet. The price goes down that way.

Good morning, Dailyites. Happy Birthday, @Cat in my lap, and my prayers for all those with worries and cares. Cheers to those cruising! We visited New Zealand on the old Statendam, many years ago. Our stop in the Bay of Islands included a visit to a glowworm cave and a kauri forest. Then we had a couple of weeks driving around NZ and spent a few days in Paihia, when we visited Waitangi and Russell. We took the ferry to Russell and wandered around, including a visit to the Duke of Marlborough Hotel, where we had a meal in the pub, and Pat discovered the bartender was from a town in Ireland near where he grew up. Small world...

I approve all three days, dear Dailyites! Both of us worked in banks, in fact we met in the Royal Bank of Canada in Nassau, so it holds a special place in our hearts. I don't think we saw cheetahs when we lived in Kenya, but I won a lot at an auction of a batik of Pippa and her daughters (remember Joy Adamson who wrote about Elsa the lioness and Pippa the cheetah?) We have been to Aruba a few times, my memories from the latest visit were all the blue horses. We took the free trolley around town and saw a lot of them.

I searched on the HAL site, and couldn't find anything about Covid. Perhaps one day they will come up with some advice. This is all I could find in the frequently asked questions.

Good morning, Dailyites. I think I must have missed a lot from yesterday, and I will go back and read the Daily News... I spent half the day in the hospital having a scope, and the other half asleep, recovering from the scope! GI doctor said the flat polyp was back, removed what he could and I have to go back next year for another go at it. Boo... but he gave me the options of colonoscopy or colon cancer, so I guess I will go back next year. It rained most of the day, I believe, so I didn't miss much. Pat managed to book us a cruise for 2025, all on his own, although I will have to make a few changes next week. The sun is shining today, and most of the leaves are down, so perhaps I will get out and do a bit of cleanup. I have a tender fuchsia which still has flowers and the hummingbirds are visiting it, so I hesitate to put it away in the garage for the rest of the winter, but I will have to watch carefully for a threatened freeze. This week is expected to be rainy and warm-ish.... It sounds like there were happenings yesterday, good news and not-so-good, so I'll go back now and be thinking of you all. We haven't been to Mindelo, but I will try to post a video of one of the bartenders on Rotterdam which Martha took; hope @sailingdutchy doesn't mind. IMG_4308.MOV

I feel the OP should contact the Front Desk and ask what is going on, and what the rules are. If you don't have to stay in your room, then don't!

Good morning, Dailyites. Hope things go well for Roy today, and also for all the Dailyites ailing! Thanks for the Daily News... We might just have French toast for supper tonight, if DD doesn't make the tempura that she has been threatening. It seems like we have visited Naples on every Med cruise we have ever done, so many times. The Archaeological Museum is a highlight, and has so many artifacts from Pompeii, it's a must-see. The Blue Grotto of Capri was a treat, too. The last time we were in Naples, Vesuvius seemed to have moved even closer and was looming over the city (taken from the ship). The museum - lots of animal sculptures and mosaics, especially dogs! Entrance to the Blue Grotto - you are put into a little rowboat and have to crouch down to enter, the boatman may sing to you in the grotto.

Thinking about Roy today and hoping all is going well. I guess his bags are sitting in his hotel room. Wasn't he planning to take the train tomorrow? Wish we had someone nearby to help out... When we lived in Virginia our community owned a lake. We had box turtles come into our garden to eat our Mayapples and when their babies hatched, we had to help them cross a street to get down to the lake. There were always a lot of little squished bodies, but we did get many safely down to the water. Our other turtle rescue was a red-eared slider DD acquired in university in London, Ontario, and of course brought home to Mom and Dad. Eventually Dork went to live out his days at the National Zoo in Washington, with friends, in a heated moat around the monkey island.

Roy, I'm so sorry you are in the hospital. Get better soon! Terry, I'm sorry Tana is still struggling. I said a prayer for her at church this morning. I think of her often. Santa arrived in Victoria last night. We don't go to the parade, but I enjoy watching it on TV. A number of the marching groups had incorporated umbrellas into their routines - probably remembering that the last two years the parade has been almost rained out!

Good morning, Dailyites. I commiserate with those having tummy troubles! I'm still having to eat really bland food, which Pat finds boring, and the only problem is that I'm due for a colonoscopy on Friday, and my doctor said to let the GI doctor know if it is continuing, as they may want to postpone. I dread the prep! Today we are going to Canadian Tire to look for a shoebox-sized container for all the masks we have accumulated, so I can store them away for a future day. I've only visited Australia once, and the visit didn't include Melbourne. We took the train from Sydney to Perth, flew to Cairns, then train back down to Sydney. It's a fascinating country. I would love to do a round trip there by cruise, I don't ever want to fly again, except maybe really short distances!

Bon voyage!

That is exciting! Maybe ours will come through soon…