The Adventures of HAL Newbie "Flying Fishy" on Nieuw Amsterdam! 2/28/16

[chefestelle]

More!

 

 

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[sail7seas]

Terrific Review.

I'm really enjoying it and looking forward to more. :)

[Clarea]

Very much enjoying the review, thanks!

[FlyingFishy]

Thank you. I will have another installment today. Sorry for the delay.

 

 

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[dancourt]

Brilliant.....I love your writing style and can't wait for the next instalment.

 

Susan

[Keith1010]

Terrific writing.

 

Keith

[chefestelle]

Don't mind me. I was just enjoying your thread so much!

 

 

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[FlyingFishy]

Sunday morning arrived as I woke up on our room's couch around 8am at the Residence Inn. Remember those mattress commercials where someone would drop a bowling ball on one side of the mattress and the bowling pins balancing on the other side of the mattress would not move? Well, the mattress we were sentenced to sleep on certainly did not come from that commercial. In fact, this mattress was so bad, that at around 1am, I think Mr Flying Fishy dropped a feather on his side of the mattress and I catapulted into the air landing face first on the floor. After a few more dainty movements by my husband causing earthquake-like ripples across the bed, I reassigned myself to the living room of our hotel residence so that we could both get some sleep. Not a very romantic start to a vacation!

 

We did enjoy a lovely (and free!) breakfast in the lobby, complete with eggs, bacon, sausage, pancakes, fruit, and the usual continental fare. We quickly ate and dashed up to our room for a final packing and attachment of cruise ship luggage tags. Past experience has taught me to bring a mini stapler, tape, scissors, and a hole punch to avoid having to borrow these high demand items from the front desk of the hotel. In case you are unsure if you’re staying in an area of South Florida that’s prone to a cruise stampede in your hotel’s lobby, just follow these simple geographical and seasonal rules: If your hotel is south of Lake Okeechobee and east of the Everglades, then you’re in a cruise stampede zone. If your embarkation date falls between January 1st and December 31st, on a Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, or Sunday, then you’re in a cruise stampede zone. Please be prepared.

 

I am far from perfect (heads nodding furiously by my friends and family), and I realized that I forgot a few key items while packing, such as t-shirts and an adequate tank top selection for the cruise. Timidly, I asked Mr Flying Fishy if we could possibly stop at Ross on 17th Street in Fort Lauderdale, so I could pick up some items. Even though we were running a little later than planned, He immediately said “Of course!” while imagining scenarios of me on board the ship having a daily temper tantrum screaming “I HAVE NOTHING AT ALL TO WEAR!!!!” So we stopped at Ross. I found everything I needed, including the black cover-up I so desperately wanted, in about 3 minutes. After a 25 minute wait in line to check out, we were on our way to drop off the rental car at the Budget location just a block away.

 

I DO NOT recommend renting from Budget if you want to utilize their drop-off and pick-up location on 17th street. The free shuttle is VERY slow, to the point where we ended up just taking a taxi for we were sick of waiting in a parking lot, with our luggage, impatient to board the ship.

 

We arrived at the cruise ship with a porter greeting us as we fell out of the taxi. I guess the taxi driver wanted to give us a preview of ship life for I became seasick and disoriented from all of the swerving, and running of red lights that occurred during our short transfer. After we got control of our “sea legs”, we checked in with the porter, gave him our luggage and our beverages (a case of spring water and a 12 pack of Barq’s Diet Rootbeer), handed him a tip, and we headed inside the terminal to board our vacation home.

 

Entering the terminal building at exactly 12:17 we were on the ship at 12:18 (slight exaggeration). This turned out to be a fantastic time to check in! We encountered no wait at all, got our sail & sign cards, took our security pictures, took our embarkation pictures, and we were on our way!

 

The cruise director, Ross, welcomed us on board as we stepped onto the Nieuw Amsterdam for the very first time. He informed us that our cabin was ready. Being the second good encounter with a Ross today, I vowed to name our first-born Ross, even if our offspring turns out to be a girl.

 

Mr Flying Fishy and I were in complete shock that the cabins were ready at this hour, and so happy we didn’t have to lug our things up to the Lido Deck for lunch. Staying mid ship, deck 5, we quickly found our cabin, inserted our key card into the door’s lock, and entered our cabin excited and giddy for a week of fun and relaxation.

 

Up next: Lunch, Muster, Spa, and Dinner.

 

 

 

Ross, the store:

 

 

 

Cruise Director Ross:

 

Edited March 15, 2016 by FlyingFishy
Edit needed.

[retiredkid]

Excellent update!

[wldflr]

Mrs. Fishy,

I hope during your cruise on the NA, you were treated to the fabulous bartender service of Tony in the Crow's Nest. He makes a mean Wang-Wang drink!

[FloridaGram]

I am looking for information on this ship for a last minute cruise in 2 weeks. While I can tell your review won't be done in time to help me make that decision I am signing up to read the rest because you are so entertaining!

[FlyingFishy]

Mrs. Fishy,

I hope during your cruise on the NA, you were treated to the fabulous bartender service of Tony in the Crow's Nest. He makes a mean Wang-Wang drink!

 

Funny you should mention that... Mr Flying Fishy became OBSESSED with that drink! "Juan" in the Crow's Nest introduced my husband to the drink... His real name must have been Tony (your Tony), let me explain the name "Juan".

 

About halfway through our cruise, we went to the Crow's Nest for the mixology class. Since nobody else showed up, the class was canceled. So Mr Flying Fishy asked the bartender to mix him his favorite drink. This drink included about 12 different kinds of alcohol, and after a few sips, my fishy was as drunk as a fish. I asked him what was the name of the drink and Mr Flying Fishy replied "Juan-Juan... I guess that's the bartender's name, and his own drink concoction".

 

As you have probably figured out, the drink is really named Wang-Wang (or Weng-Weng), not Juan-Juan, as Mr Flying Fishy misheard. And I highly doubt the bartender's name was Juan, but Tony, as per your information! Mr Flying Fishy became incredibly popular among the Filipino staff any time he ordered this drink during the rest of the week (which was a lot, trust me).

 

In fact, Mr Flying Fishy became so obsessed with the drink, he did some research online, and came across the Filipino actor Weng-Weng, and will not stop singing the Weng-Weng song (the first 20 seconds or so of this video).

 

 

Wldflr, What are your recollections of Tony and the Wang-Wang? :D

[erewhon]

Great update, thank you.

[teamflames]

I love you my wang wang!

I can imagine singing this after drinking what you describe! Any chance that is covered by the SPB?! I doubt it as it sounds like it would breach the 15 drinks a day limit [emoji12]

 

 

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[Himself]

I am enjoying so far. Will be looking forward to the cruise.

[chefestelle]

Hilarious! Great start to my day!

 

 

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[FlyingFishy]

We entered our stateroom to discover the following: a bed, two nightstands, a sofa, a table, desk, television, bathroom, closets, and a balcony. Not much different than any other cabin we’ve ever had, and certainly not a disappointment. Mr Flying Fishy noticed a lot of little differences such as the sofa had arms, and resembled a real sofa, rather than a cushioned bench we have grown accustomed to while on board. This was actually a sofa bed that never fully fit while closed, but did not bother us much.

 

All of our gifts to ourselves sat on the bed and desk. I went ahead and purchased $100 each (to cover the daily tip fees), a bottle of Bacardi Gold for Mr Flying Fishy, and a $50 soda card for myself (which costs $25 if you buy ahead of time). We also each received a $25 OBC through the travel agency we booked through. The On Location (daily guide) for today rested on our bed as well, which I perused quickly in order to find a place to dine for lunch other than the buffet. Sure enough, the Main Dining Room was open! Oh happy day! I much prefer dining in the MDR over the Lido Buffet so off we went.

 

We passed the art gallery and the contest to guess the value of a painting on display. I always enter, yet, I never make it to the drawing, or the unveiling of the correct value. This cruise, I amused myself by entering often, always putting my cabin number as the value, and a made up number as my cabin. I am just dying to know if anyone has ever complained, saying they mixed up their cabin number with their entry guess, and in fact, they should have won. “I thought that I entered $824 as the value and that I am staying in cabin #2108. But I must have mixed up the numbers and entered the value as $2108 and my cabin as #824! Oh no!!!”

 

I also used fake names such as ‘Lady Snobbington’ or ‘Mrs Snooty McDoogal’, hoping to get some invitations to the art auctions addressed with one of my aliases (those entries I used my correct cabin number). This did not occur, and I would imagine without knowing, I have been banned for life from any art auction throughout the Holland America Line.

 

Back to lunch. We were seated near the center of the Manhattan dining room on the lower level (deck two) at a table for two and immediately served champagne. The dining room seemed about 25% full, definitely calm, and quiet, with a selection of classical music playing in the background. What a fantastic way to enjoy our first meal! Now, get ready to slap your forehead. I ordered the mozzarella burger, thinking it was a fancy meatless lunch of cheese and toppings (which I believe included basil and tomato, so in my head I pictured a Caprese type entree). I was a bit shocked (but tried to hide it well) when the waiter brought a beef burger with cheese on top. Let’s back up for just a minute though so I can share with you our starters. Mr Flying Fishy ordered the fried calamari and I ordered a salad. I don’t remember what kind of salad, all I remember was the size being quite large for a starter. The calamari portion left one wanting more, which became a running joke between my husband and I. The starters he ordered throughout the week were consistently small, where the starters I ordered were huge.

 

Mr Flying Fishy chose the fried chicken with mashed potatoes and vegetables. The vegetables looked like spinach but tasted like kale, either way, I loved them (I love vegetables). He did not care for the chicken, and the potatoes were of average taste. Back to my burger, wow! What a burger! I usually cannot stand any burgers that are larger than the 2 ounce beef portion of McDonald’s hamburgers. I just normally hate a thick piece of meat between buns (insert your own gross/perverted joke here, but keep it to yourself! Then wash your mouth out with soap!) By far one of the best burgers I’ve ever had. Lunch ended with dessert of course; an ice cream sundae for the husband, and a slice of scrumptious peanut butter pie for myself. I don’t think Mr Flying Fishy liked his sundae very much because he said he would only be having a sundae on Sundays, and not at dinnertime. That left no other opportunity to have a sundae on this voyage again. (Cue daunting music)...

 

More to come...

 

Our cabin 5110:

 

 

Another shot:

 

Edited March 16, 2016 by FlyingFishy

[chefestelle]

I have to say, that sofa is really ugly!

 

 

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[FlyingFishy]

I love you my wang wang!

I can imagine singing this after drinking what you describe! Any chance that is covered by the SPB?! I doubt it as it sounds like it would breach the 15 drinks a day limit [emoji12]

 

 

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Mr Flying Fishy said his wang wangs were under 8... dollars. So it should be included in the drink package. But I'm not sure as we did not have the package.

[teamflames]

That could be trouble then [emoji33]

 

 

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[jimbri]

Great review!!

[scluvsrain]

Enjoying your trip report.

[scopewest]

Can't wait to read more! Thanks for posting.

[teamflames]

Like waiting for the next episode of Lost

 

 

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[FlyingFishy]

Like waiting for the next episode of Lost

 

 

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Ughhh, I know right?

 

 

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