Live from the Westerdam Oct 18 - 29, 2016

[Alberta Quilter]

Good Afternoon from the Westerdam, I hope that Alberta Quilter does not mind me adding in my daily comments rather than starting a new thread. [emoji1]

 

I don't mind one little bit. I think it adds to the thread when there are many experiences given.

[lstrong]

It's wonderful to follow along with all of you. A great big thank you from us!!!

[SilvertoGold]

It should be from ATK. Maybe because it's so new, the 5 Stars want their perk. Of course, there are only so many spots available and, I suspect, many 5 star mariners.

 

On the Hawaii cruise before yours there were a lot of 5 stars. HAL put on 2 or 3 cooking classes. Ours had a couple of paying customers, so I guess not all the 5 stars did the class.

 

I hope you can take one of the classes on your next cruise, as they can be a lot of fun. We received one of the HAL cookbooks each, quite a surprise, and the lunch was excellent, too.

[frankc98376]

Not sure if mentioned but there is an option on the Internet login page to view your on board account like on Koningsdam. Also is an option the view daily schedules for each day of the cruise. Is great being able to check our account on the computer or the phone without logging into the internet.

Launch Wifi and browse to:

http://internet.hollandamerica.com/

 

PG is IMO the best I've been in. GREAT staff- definitely shows that PGM Gabor is a fantastic manager. Wonderful PG chef!!

 

Formal night tonight and as usual evidently the Concierge staff forgot that there still aft suites on decks other than 7. When in deck 5 afts we've never seen NS welcome letters, flowers on first formal night as well as other extras we see on deck 7. SC Suites on 7 had them. Concierge booked a Shorex for us and we picked up our tickets in NL. Sad these Suites seem to get forgotten as supposedly they are prime SB suites. Maybe they should just make them SS. :D Great Cabin Steward Riza down here so everything in cabin has bee great.

Edited October 24, 2016 by frankc98376

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Enjoying the BB Kings Blues Club this evening

 

Had fun broadcasting Live on Facebook, actually had a large audience at one point [emoji1303]

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Very fun night on the Westerdam. One thing I have not mentioned is how impressed I am on this Internet Package [emoji1303] what I cannot understand is why this is not Fleetwide? To have the middle package and $99.99 for the week unlimited is great for me, would I like it cheaper , of course but this is the going rate on other ships. I was quite surprised that I was able to somewhat stream Live on Facebook.

Yes the Westerdam is bringing back new faith for me about Hal [emoji6]

Tonight's dinner in the main dining room was quite good [emoji1303]

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Cruizer Bill]

Thanks for bringing us along with you! :)

[Alberta Quilter]

We have arrived in Cabo San Lucas! Another stunningly beautiful morning here. Again, the seas are calm. It is hot for us, and about to get hotter. And there is the humidity which we are not used to in Alberta.

 

We are going to try to find a dentist today. The one I emailed earlier in the week did not respond to my request for an appointment. So, we'll try to walk in and get someone to glue the crown back in. We did look at the dental glue option but DM wasn't comfortable with that (and I wasn't looking forward to sticking my finger in her mouth to hold the crown until the glue set!).

 

As previously mentioned, DM and I went to the wine tasting. It was short! I think the whole talk took 15 minutes! We had two whites and two reds. Only one white was from the Admiral package, the other three were from the Navigator package. I didn't finish all four; I really did not like the Chardonnay. But because it was so short, drinking four wines in such a short time really got to me! We had to go to the Royal Dutch Tea just to sober up!!

 

Played Bingo, too, but didn't win. The cards just weren't working for me. But I introduced a fellow roll call member to cruise ship bingo. It's always more fun to play with a buddy.

 

We were told last night at dinner that the upper level dining room would be closed tonight because there will be a Mexican BBQ on the aft Lido deck. The lower level will still be open for open dining. I thought that was unusual; I would have thought that they would close the lower level and keep the upper level open. Doesn't matter to us because we have our second PG dinner tonight. Hopefully, they got the crab legs in (and Frank and Loren didn't clean them out of them by now!!) so we can indulge ourselves. If you're reading this, Frank, let us know if they got them in, please.

 

Last night's gala dinner was quite good. Most of us had surf & turf (filet with prawns). DM had surf and surf; instead of the two prawns that the rest of us got with our filet, she skipped the beef and got five prawns. One, who doesn't eat seafood, went with the pasta dish.

 

After dinner, I went up to the puzzle table. Someone took down the puzzle I had been working on. I didn't like it anyway so wasn't too fussed about it. I completed the other one that someone had started yesterday.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Good Morning from Cabo [emoji41] it is hot and humid. But beautiful

 

We have a favorite place we like to eat at here so will head there for lunch.

 

Forgot to post this picture of our little group dining last night.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[SilvertoGold]

Great posts, A.Q., Frank and Lisa! I feel as if I am still on board. Same BB Kings group - thought the guitar player was sensational.

 

On the previous cruise they also closed the upper level of the DR for a BBQ. It worked well for us: we simply went downstairs after dinner the night before and made a reservation. It was not all that busy during our dinner and when we left at 7:00 pm so many must have gone to the BBQ.

Edited October 24, 2016 by SilvertoGold

[qsuzi]

Thanks to all who are posting from the Westerdam. Lots of great information and pix which is appreciated.

 

For those with Explore 4 what is the cost to upgrade to the Premium liquor package (7 day cruise), doth both persons have to upgrade, and where do you go to request the upgrade?

[Lizzie68]

Am loving this thread with everyone chiming in. It reminds me of our Sailaway Gang Live from the Westerdam last year. The internet package made it so easy for everyone to join in. Also loving the photos. I wish all the ships had the same internet package.

[qsuzi]

Thanks to all who are posting from the Westerdam. Lots of great information and pix which is appreciated.

 

For those with Explore 4 what is the cost to upgrade to the Premium liquor package (7 day cruise), doth both persons have to upgrade, and where do you go to request the upgrade?

 

See where AQ said $80.50 per person and assume both have to get upgrade. Is it available from a bartender or only from the Front Office?

[LAFFNVEGAS]

See where AQ said $80.50 per person and assume both have to get upgrade. Is it available from a bartender or only from the Front Office?

 

 

 

We got it from a server in the Bar

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Having a fun day in Cabo with CC friends at the Eco Bar and Grill.

[qsuzi]

Really great pix Lisa and thank you for information on where to upgrade the drink package. A new question. When you use Explore 4 SBP, can you just pay the difference on anything over $8 and do you pay the full price of the drink if it's above $8?

[Alberta Quilter]

Just back from Cabo. OMG, it is soooo hot here! Cabo was a bust for us. We got directions for a dentist, walked some of the way and then took a pedicab. When we got there, the dentist was closed for lunch/siesta. We tried another one that was open; the dentist wasn't there, though. He could help us tomorrow. We gave up at that point and took another pedicab back to the Marina. It is 91F or 33C.

 

Tendering over was a piece of cake. We had lunch here on the ship and then went to the lounge to get a tender ticket, forgetting about our priority tendering status. We were told to go right down which was awesome because there were many people waiting in the Queen's Lounge for their tender ticket to be called. We went down to A deck and there was hardly any lineup. We got on a Cabo tender as opposed to a ship tender. Because there were no windows at all (open air) it was nice and breezy. On the way back, we were on a ship's tender which was stifling hot.

 

Hopefully, we'll have better success with a dentist tomorrow. If not, we may wait until we get home. Fortunately, the loss of the crown does not seem to be bothering DM at all so if she has to wait to get it glued back on, that'll be okay, too.

[Alberta Quilter]

See where AQ said $80.50 per person and assume both have to get upgrade. Is it available from a bartender or only from the Front Office?

 

I think it was Frank or Lisa. We don't have E4 for this cruise so I can't help you with your questions.

[dfish]

 

Hopefully, we'll have better success with a dentist tomorrow. If not, we may wait until we get home. Fortunately, the loss of the crown does not seem to be bothering DM at all so if she has to wait to get it glued back on, that'll be okay, too.

 

You do want to protect it from infection, which can cause big problems. You can stick the crown on with toothpaste as well. You don't have to hold it down till it dries, but wait for a while to eat or drink anything.

[Alberta Quilter]

You do want to protect it from infection, which can cause big problems. You can stick the crown on with toothpaste as well. You don't have to hold it down till it dries, but wait for a while to eat or drink anything.

 

Thanks for the suggestion and concerns. We won't try the toothpaste method as she's concerned she'll swallow it should it come loose again.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Just back from Cabo. OMG, it is soooo hot here! Cabo was a bust for us. We got directions for a dentist, walked some of the way and then took a pedicab. When we got there, the dentist was closed for lunch/siesta. We tried another one that was open; the dentist wasn't there, though. He could help us tomorrow. We gave up at that point and took another pedicab back to the Marina. It is 91F or 33C.

 

Tendering over was a piece of cake. We had lunch here on the ship and then went to the lounge to get a tender ticket, forgetting about our priority tendering status. We were told to go right down which was awesome because there were many people waiting in the Queen's Lounge for their tender ticket to be called. We went down to A deck and there was hardly any lineup. We got on a Cabo tender as opposed to a ship tender. Because there were no windows at all (open air) it was nice and breezy. On the way back, we were on a ship's tender which was stifling hot.

 

Hopefully, we'll have better success with a dentist tomorrow. If not, we may wait until we get home. Fortunately, the loss of the crown does not seem to be bothering DM at all so if she has to wait to get it glued back on, that'll be okay, too.

 

 

 

Sorry that your DM didn't get her crown glued back in. Glad she isn't having any pain.

[dfish]

Just talked to my dental hygienist sister. She said you can't just leave the crown off for a period of time because the tooth will shift and then the crown won't fit properly when you try to reseat it. You'll have to get a whole new crown. She said use the toothpaste to put it on when she's not eating. Be sure to brush it well after eating and before putting the crown back on.

 

If you can find the dental cement, it isn't necessary for you to hold it down. She can fold up a piece of tissue, put it over the crown and bite down hard until it is set.

 

Debbie

[frankc98376]

We have arrived in Cabo San Lucas! Another stunningly beautiful morning here. Again, the seas are calm. It is hot for us, and about to get hotter. And there is the humidity which we are not used to in Alberta.

 

We are going to try to find a dentist today. The one I emailed earlier in the week did not respond to my request for an appointment. So, we'll try to walk in and get someone to glue the crown back in. We did look at the dental glue option but DM wasn't comfortable with that (and I wasn't looking forward to sticking my finger in her mouth to hold the crown until the glue set!).

 

As previously mentioned, DM and I went to the wine tasting. It was short! I think the whole talk took 15 minutes! We had two whites and two reds. Only one white was from the Admiral package, the other three were from the Navigator package. I didn't finish all four; I really did not like the Chardonnay. But because it was so short, drinking four wines in such a short time really got to me! We had to go to the Royal Dutch Tea just to sober up!!

 

Played Bingo, too, but didn't win. The cards just weren't working for me. But I introduced a fellow roll call member to cruise ship bingo. It's always more fun to play with a buddy.

 

We were told last night at dinner that the upper level dining room would be closed tonight because there will be a Mexican BBQ on the aft Lido deck. The lower level will still be open for open dining. I thought that was unusual; I would have thought that they would close the lower level and keep the upper level open. Doesn't matter to us because we have our second PG dinner tonight. Hopefully, they got the crab legs in (and Frank and Loren didn't clean them out of them by now!!) so we can indulge ourselves. If you're reading this, Frank, let us know if they got them in, please.

 

Last night's gala dinner was quite good. Most of us had surf & turf (filet with prawns). DM had surf and surf; instead of the two prawns that the rest of us got with our filet, she skipped the beef and got five prawns. One, who doesn't eat seafood, went with the pasta dish.

 

After dinner, I went up to the puzzle table. Someone took down the puzzle I had been working on. I didn't like it anyway so wasn't too fussed about it. I completed the other one that someone had started yesterday.

 

Was told in San Diego that Crab Legs are back. I haven't had them yet- will explain when I see you. We'll be there at table 27 at about 7:30 (straight back from the entrance bythe windows- the booth right next to the side room with the large table). Stop by if you are still there! if not we will be in Pinnacle Bar before dinner

[Alberta Quilter]

Just talked to my dental hygienist sister. She said you can't just leave the crown off for a period of time because the tooth will shift and then the crown won't fit properly when you try to reseat it. You'll have to get a whole new crown. She said use the toothpaste to put it on when she's not eating. Be sure to brush it well after eating and before putting the crown back on.

 

If you can find the dental cement, it isn't necessary for you to hold it down. She can fold up a piece of tissue, put it over the crown and bite down hard until it is set.

 

Debbie

 

Thanks, Debbie, for the additional info. DM's asleep right now. We'll try again for a dentist in Mazatlan tomorrow and if no luck, we'll do as you say. That's the sort of thing that worried me about waiting to fix it.

[canadianbear]

Alberta Quilter-I sure hope you find a dentist tomorrow. What a worry.

 

Lisa-you sure take great photos and so clear! I have no idea how to post photos.

 

We had a great day in Cabo. Because we have so much OBC to spend we've been doing all HAL excursions. Today we did the Chileno Bay sail & snorkel. Was a gorgeous day to be on the water & we had a lot of fun.

 

It was SO hot after the excursion we went back to the ship & jumped in the pool. Stayed put for the BBQ which was excellent. We were there long enough to watch the hard working crew clean everything up-a warm evening and I wish more people were around to see just how efficient they are & how hard they work to put on these events. I told one of the officers how impressed we were with the BBQ & especially the staff.

 

We went to the 10pm show in the Vista lounge and it was comedian Kermet Apio-really enjoyed his performance. Not a lot of people at the late show which is nice. I had my Bailey's which got me one of their souvenir shooter glasses for free. She said there are 6 different ones & included in the price (no up charge) so may have another after our dinner in the Pinnacle tomorrow night.

 

Night everyone!