Back from the Volendam Panama Canal cruise - loved it

[Jennie17]

On 11/20/2018 at 5:49 PM, DocJohnB said:

I believe it was.  I am terrible with names.  Unless I speak directly with someone more than once, I can never remember names.  However, his name sounds familiar, so . . . . . . . 

Again, I do not remember names.  However, while the narrator gave some interesting facts, I thought him be a droner.  I did not attend any of the enrichment lectures so I can't speak to that.  However, IMO, a must see night is called "BBC Earth Presents" or something similar.  Below is a brief description (from another web site) of what it is about.  It is a stunning visual show.

 

"Debuting in the main showroom of each ship, “Frozen Planet Live,” features live musicians playing a specially orchestrated musical score by award-winning composer George Fenton as the images unfold on screen. Guests are taken on an emotional and evocative journey into the wilderness of the polar regions, where life thrives in the most extraordinary conditions."

So glad to hear this!!  We saw something similar on the Westerdam last year in the Mediterranean and loved it!  Missed it on two holiday cruises on the Nieuw Amsterdam last year.  Will be doing the Dec 18th full transit FTL to San Diego!  Looking forward to your full review 🙂

[randr5153]

We were also on the San Diego to Fort Lauderdale cruise. All the ships crew were great given the noro outbreak. We enjoyed all the entertainment that was presented on the main stage that we attended. Our only complaint was not with the ship but a couple of the exc excursions we took. They were way below what we have experienced on our other Holland America cruises. If anyone is thinking to taking the Discover Costa Rica excursion, think twice. Ours turned into a 6hr bus ride and the two stops were terrible.

[Btimmer]

We were on the Volendam earlier this year for two months in Asia and we had several weeks of a Norovirus outbreak with intense sanitation processes in place.  We didn't get sick, but a significant percentage of guests and crew did.

[need2cruisesoon]

We saw you guys in the canal from the (Bliss). yes it was a great cruise.

[zelker]

On ‎11‎/‎20‎/‎2018 at 1:32 PM, DocJohnB said:

If you have any other questions, I will try to answer them.  Here on c/c or at usnretdocb at hotmail dot com  (just put it all together).

 

Did you go to Nicaragua and if so, did HAL issue any kind of extra warning because of the travel advisories due to civil unrest that's been going on for quite some time now?  The US State Dept. labels it at Level 3 - Reconsider Travel and Canada states Avoid Non-essential Travel … certainly gives one pause about even leaving the ship.

 

Re: Guatemala - did you go to Antigua?  Asking because the Fuego Volcano erupted again last week and they had to evacuate 4K people in nearby communities (in June 150+ people were killed from a major eruption and there are still 200 missing).  Antigua is only 9 miles away (but not evacuated from what I can tell), but apparently the road between there and the port was just finally repaired from damage it incurred in June.  I'm not sure of its current status or if it suffered damage yet again.