Panama Canal Semi Live from Zuiderdam 29 Nov through 9 December 2013

[Krazy Kruizers]

Sunburned

 

 

 

That is not good.

[monina01]

oh that can really make you feel pretty bad....:(

[Storylady]

It has been reported a technician has been brought on board to establish facts and data to support any cabin temperature problems. Best to leave this otherwise third party and/or hearsay discussion to those trained to measure and analyze this situation.

A friend of mine was on the previous cruise. He and his friends had Veranda cabins. I asked if he had heard of any air conditioning problems and she said that a team had fixed the problem.

[startwin]

A friend of mine was on the previous cruise. He and his friends had Veranda cabins. I asked if he had heard of any air conditioning problems and she said that a team had fixed the problem.

 

It was reliably reported that a team of technicians had boarded (not just one person) and it was to source and fix (hopefully) the problem, not to simply collect data and facts. More recent reports would indicate they might have actually had some success, as your friend confirmed. Time will tell.

[TracieABD]

Oh no, Joanie! I hope you are ok. As I have learned this year, some meds can make us so darn sun sensitive that it is not even funny. (Sorry, if I have made an incorrect presumption). I can sun-burn in about 15 minutes now. My last one took me 3 weeks to heal. (and my oncologist was MAD:mad:).

 

I am not sure how I am going to negotiate this next cruise, but we will get it figured out!

 

I hope you feel better.

 

Cool showers?

 

Hope you write again soon!:)

[Itasca]

Many years ago I found that aspirin was very effective in reducing the redness and sensitivity of sunburn. This was my personal experience, I can't say if it's a good idea from a medical point of view.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Oh no, Joanie! I hope you are ok. As I have learned this year, some meds can make us so darn sun sensitive that it is not even funny. (Sorry, if I have made an incorrect presumption). I can sun-burn in about 15 minutes now. My last one took me 3 weeks to heal. (and my oncologist was MAD:mad:).

 

I am not sure how I am going to negotiate this next cruise, but we will get it figured out!

 

I hope you feel better.

 

Cool showers?

 

Hope you write again soon!:)

 

There certainly are some medications that indicate you should avoid the sun.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Many years ago I found that aspirin was very effective in reducing the redness and sensitivity of sunburn. This was my personal experience, I can't say if it's a good idea from a medical point of view.

 

 

Aspirin is good for the heart for some people.

[TracieABD]

There certainly are some medications that indicate you should avoid the sun.

 

This medication comes with so many side effect, I guess that extreme sun-sensitivity was not high enough on the list to make it to the label. I sure know now!:)

[IRL_Joanie]

Well tis the last Saturday aboard the ship for a few months:(

 

It is Pearl Harbor Day, 7 December 2013, Medallion Day for hubby and I. We received

our 100 Days at Sea along with 2 other couples and a solo gentleman, and 3 300 days and

2 500 day couples at a special ceremony at 11 am today in the Explorers Lounge, followed

immediately with one of 4 Marniers Brunches this cruise. One was held each day starting

Thursday, one yesterday and one each today and another tomorrow.

 

Couple of things to report

 

1. Handicapped Bathroom inside the Lido (closest to Seaview Bar) keeps locking itself with

no one inside.... They've been trying to fix it for 2 days now.......

 

2. AC in our room this afternoon went wacky on us. We thought it felt a bit warm so turned

it super cold with little change. Called Neptune Lounge who immediately came down with what

appeared to be a rectal thermomenter in hand and temp throughout the room was

registering 81.5 even at the vent. MAintenance is on their way now. I must report that when it

was reported I KNEW that maintenance was working in the area so.....After 1 hour of having

reported it originally, we are told that they will be back in 1 hour to see if the fix worked. I

think someone forgot to let the coils get cold eno.ugh. Anyway room is comfortable at this

moment and I have confidence all will be ok by 8pm when I go to bed.

 

3. Hubby and I are shocked at how fast rust can develop!! Seriously. We had no rust anywhere

on our verandah. Yesterday I pointed out one large spot on the overhang to the right of the door.

Today there are 4 new spots...I know sea air and mist does a job on ships, but HOLY COW, this

is faster than even we'd thought possible.

 

4. All of the Lifeboats and Tenders have been undergoing maintenance by a company hired to do

the annual maintenance and yesterday, lifeboat 12 passed its Lloyds Insurance certification. Now all

they have to do is put it through Coast Guard inspection on Monday.

 

5. Repairs to both Zuiderdam and Island Princess were made in Costa Rica yesterday, so none of you

will see the damage done at (in) the Panama Canal Locks themselves. As a matter of fact, we all

wondered why the island Princess spent almost 1 hour in the last lock headed into Gatun Lake, until

we saw the huge round gash being painted over yesterday at the stern Starboard side of Deck 3.....

 

Hubby and I have decided that the heat down here is just to freaking oppressive and are changing

our Aprill 11, 2015 for 2 reasons; (A) the heat is just to doggoned oppresive and so unbearable

and (B) We love Alaska and feel better with the ever cahnging weather there as long as we have

OUR Penthouse Aft Wrap Deck 5. Besides, I think at least to CC members will be happy I am not

on the same ship:)

 

So with that, I shall leave you until atr least Monday, when we return to Port Everglades.

 

Cannot reremember who it is following us into stateroom 6166, but Everything worked beautifully,

no damage, at least none I could see and my 54 adopted sons and daughters are looking forward

to y'all, especially my "Number 1 through Number 4 sons, Just tell them Mommie will see them again

im May 2014:)

 

Almost forgot, Captain Turner remebered me and made mention today of being thought of as "Chief of Security." He laughed cand told the story and as I sheepishly bent my head in embarassement, he said not to be ashamed, and thanked me for giving him a good story to tell at the conference:) I then looked him in the eye and said, "Sir, I want you to know that I will never pay attention to the CC members or Concierges who tell me I can be anywhere else but at my Muster station!!"

 

Joanie

[IRL_Joanie]

That is not good.

Yonnie, and everyone truly concerned........I'm fine:) Yes, extremely sunburned but loving 99.99% of the cruise:) sunburn and all. I will be tanned by morning and when we get home with the deep tans, all our friends and neighbors will be jealous since they've been in a deep freeze:)

 

Joanie

[Vict0riann]

Sorry you are cancelling your April, 2015 cruise, Joanie. I was looking forward to meeting you. I am not a heat lover either, though, and last time we cruised through the Panama Canal, DH complained I spent very little time on deck. I guess I looked out windows and stayed cool! I remember I did enjoy enjoy the trip, though, and the upcoming one has interesting ports on the Pacific side.

[kazu]

Well tis the last Saturday aboard the ship for a few months:(

 

It is Pearl Harbor Day, 7 December 2013, Medallion Day for hubby and I. We received

our 100 Days at Sea along with 2 other couples and a solo gentleman, and 3 300 days and

2 500 day couples at a special ceremony at 11 am today in the Explorers Lounge, followed

immediately with one of 4 Marniers Brunches this cruise. One was held each day starting

Thursday, one yesterday and one each today and another tomorrow.

 

Couple of things to report

 

1. Handicapped Bathroom inside the Lido (closest to Seaview Bar) keeps locking itself with

no one inside.... They've been trying to fix it for 2 days now.......

 

2. AC in our room this afternoon went wacky on us. We thought it felt a bit warm so turned

it super cold with little change. Called Neptune Lounge who immediately came down with what

appeared to be a rectal thermomenter in hand and temp throughout the room was

registering 81.5 even at the vent. MAintenance is on their way now. I must report that when it

was reported I KNEW that maintenance was working in the area so.....After 1 hour of having

reported it originally, we are told that they will be back in 1 hour to see if the fix worked. I

think someone forgot to let the coils get cold eno.ugh. Anyway room is comfortable at this

moment and I have confidence all will be ok by 8pm when I go to bed.

 

3. Hubby and I are shocked at how fast rust can develop!! Seriously. We had no rust anywhere

on our verandah. Yesterday I pointed out one large spot on the overhang to the right of the door.

Today there are 4 new spots...I know sea air and mist does a job on ships, but HOLY COW, this

is faster than even we'd thought possible.

 

4. All of the Lifeboats and Tenders have been undergoing maintenance by a company hired to do

the annual maintenance and yesterday, lifeboat 12 passed its Lloyds Insurance certification. Now all

they have to do is put it through Coast Guard inspection on Monday.

 

5. Repairs to both Zuiderdam and Island Princess were made in Costa Rica yesterday, so none of you

will see the damage done at (in) the Panama Canal Locks themselves. As a matter of fact, we all

wondered why the island Princess spent almost 1 hour in the last lock headed into Gatun Lake, until

we saw the huge round gash being painted over yesterday at the stern Starboard side of Deck 3.....

 

Hubby and I have decided that the heat down here is just to freaking oppressive and are changing

our Aprill 11, 2015 for 2 reasons; (A) the heat is just to doggoned oppresive and so unbearable

and (B) We love Alaska and feel better with the ever cahnging weather there as long as we have

OUR Penthouse Aft Wrap Deck 5. Besides, I think at least to CC members will be happy I am not

on the same ship:)

 

So with that, I shall leave you until atr least Monday, when we return to Port Everglades.

 

Cannot reremember who it is following us into stateroom 6166, but Everything worked beautifully,

no damage, at least none I could see and my 54 adopted sons and daughters are looking forward

to y'all, especially my "Number 1 through Number 4 sons, Just tell them Mommie will see them again

im May 2014:)

 

Almost forgot, Captain Turner remebered me and made mention today of being thought of as "Chief of Security." He laughed cand told the story and as I sheepishly bent my head in embarassement, he said not to be ashamed, and thanked me for giving him a good story to tell at the conference:) I then looked him in the eye and said, "Sir, I want you to know that I will never pay attention to the CC members or Concierges who tell me I can be anywhere else but at my Muster station!!"

 

Joanie

 

congrats on the 100 day medallion Joanie :) hope you got the pins too. DH and I prefer to wear those over the medallions.

 

Glad you are doing well and all is good.

 

Thanks for the update and the revelation that the A/C is still struggling on the ship.

 

Did I read this right? Are you cancelling that cruise???

 

I can take you off the future cruise listing if you want.

 

Just let me know - thanks :)

[soccerpapi]

Dear Joanie,

 

I am happy you were able to post an update tonight.

 

I was just about to post "soccer is worried about Joanie" after reading about your sunburn.

 

Glad to hear you are having a nice cruise overall. Safe travels.

 

soccer

[magandab]

Joanie, thanks for taking care of the ship for us. We are at our pre-fly out hotel, dreading our 3:45 am wake up call. I too am not a hot weather vacationer but realize the only way to see the Panama Canal is to go there.

 

Right now it's so cold here, yes, in So. Cal. I'm looking forward to the heat, which I will enjoy for about 10 minutes.

 

Your reports (and your husband's) have made me really look forward to our upcoming adventure.

[cruz chic]

For you folks complaining about the cold it was minus 40 with the windchill yesterday. It's warmed up to minus 24 c right now. Who wants to change places with me?

[Chelly]

Crews News and Joanie,

Thank you for taking the time to share your cruise experience. I particularly appreciate your matter-of-fact impartiality.

 

The Ziuderdam's 10-day Panama Canal cruise in 2012 was one of my favorites.

 

C.

[Watson's aunt]

Joanie

 

I was going to say because of your susnburn you just will stay on board until you feel better.. But you post yo don't like the heat you might be trying Alaska,, Try Amsrerdam 14 day cruise. I am on her (June 22) 14 glorious days

 

Hope you are better

 

Mary

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thanks Joanie for checking up and updating what is happening.

Sounds like your sunburn isn't bothering you as much -- that is good. That is wonderful that you turn brown after being burned.

Enjoy the rest of your cruise.

[IRL_Joanie]

Sorry you are cancelling your April, 2015 cruise, Joanie. I was looking forward to meeting you. I am not a heat lover either, though, and last time we cruised through the Panama Canal, DH complained I spent very little time on deck. I guess I looked out windows and stayed cool! I remember I did enjoy enjoy the trip, though, and the upcoming one has interesting ports on the Pacific side.

 

I was also looking forward to that cruise, but the heat has proven to be to intense for me. The hein the canal was actually must easier to ddeal with than Curacao and Costa Rica were. It was not as humid there and we did have a slight breeze:)

 

I was so looking forward to doing the canal this time, and though the heat in some of the ports were bad enough, the thought of Mexican Ports is not incentive enough to put hubby and I through this misery again......

 

We will stick with Southern, Eastern and Western Caribbean and NOT during the super hot times of their weather. (I say that only because we do have another Caribbean cruise already paid in full for December 2014. The rest of our cruises will be Alaska!!

 

In all honesty, I do have to add that I do not feel that I would be my normal happy self on the April 2014 canal cruise due to extenuating circumstances, so why burden those of you who wish to enjoy the cruise, We will decide which Alaska cruise to change to.

 

Watsons Aunt, I'd love to do the 14 day aborad Amsterdam, HOWEVER, if it aint an Aft Wrap for me it aint worth paying for.:)

 

Jacqui, Go ahead and remove ours for April 11 2014 and Once home

 

Joanie

Edited December 8, 2013 by IRL_Joanie

[kazu]

A shame you are cancelling Joanie, but I can certainly understand your concerns with the heat.

 

Although removing cruises from the future cruise listing is not a task enjoy, I will certainly take care of this for you.

 

Enjoy the rest of your cruise:)

[solocanadian]

For you folks complaining about the cold it was minus 40 with the windchill yesterday. It's warmed up to minus 24 c right now. Who wants to change places with me?

 

The Americans won't be able to relate to the C temperatures.:confused:

[RuthC]

The Americans won't be able to relate to the C temperatures.:confused:

 

Some of us can do the conversions, and even though we may never endure temps so low, we have an idea what cold feels like. Cruz Chic is talking way below bitter here.

 

Negative 40 is the same in both Celsius and Fahrenheit.

A "down & dirty" easy conversion from C to F is double the C, then add 30 (remember, when you double a negative, it's even colder; -40 doubled is -80). Close enough to know what to wear, anyway.

[chrispb]

Some of us can do the conversions, and even though we may never endure temps so low, we have an idea what cold feels like. Cruz Chic is talking way below bitter here.

 

Negative 40 is the same in both Celsius and Fahrenheit.

A "down & dirty" easy conversion from C to F is double the C, then add 30 (remember, when you double a negative, it's even colder; -40 doubled is -80). Close enough to know what to wear, anyway.

 

Yes, that's the way I do it too. Fahrenheit was more commonly used here pre-EU so it took a while to get used to C but it's 2nd nature now.

[startwin]

Perhaps it is the time of year you cruised that made the heat difficult to deal with - though as you yourself said, heat discomfort is a personal perception. What a shame you cancelled your intended Panama transit in April, because having done it at that time myself, we all found it hot but bearable and well worth it for the experience. Plus, as a repositioning cruise, you gradually go north, calling at some lovely ports before ending in Vancouver for the Alaska season. Many add that cruise to the repositioning, as well. It is a very unique cruise, and well worth a couple of days of heat and humidity. Even for this cruiser from northern climes.;)

 

So glad to hear (from others) that the team of technicians appear to have finally - yay after several years! - fixed the air conditioning problems on the Zuiderdam. If she is indeed being repositioned for the European cruises, I imagine that was critical.