Voldendam vs Niew Amsterdam for Panama Canal

[RuthC]

7 minutes ago, CruiserBruce said:

The bow will be open for the Canal, and thus the other forward decks will also be. They were when we went through.

They weren't when I did the partial Canal on the Zuiderdam. That Captain opened the bow only.
It made for extremely crowded conditions on the bow, and almost led to fisticuffs.

[CruiserBruce]

46 minutes ago, RuthC said:

They weren't when I did the partial Canal on the Zuiderdam. That Captain opened the bow only.
It made for extremely crowded conditions on the bow, and almost led to fisticuffs.

 

As always, the final decision is always the Captain's discretion. Our Canal cruise on Noordam a number of years ago, the bow, and forward open decks were available.

[Coolcruise02]

I just did the Panama Canal cruise on Volendam and loved it! But, we like the smaller ships that are less crowded, easier to get around and less of a wait to get off at ports & tendering.

[SeaTheW0rld]

On 1/31/2019 at 5:35 PM, AtlantaCruiser72 said:

You can do expedited renewal by by mail with a turn around time of 4 weeks or less, usually it comes back even faster, like 7-10 days. 

Yeah. I would need it be March 2. As a last resort I can roadtrip to Buffalo, NY (a couple hours) to renew in person - assuming the govt is open at the time (NOT a political statement).

 

Just got off NCL Epic. Hanging at MCO.

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2627943-epic-failure-live

Edited February 2, 2019 by SeaTheW0rld
More info2

[DaveOKC]

15 hours ago, Coolcruise02 said:

I just did the Panama Canal cruise on Volendam and loved it! But, we like the smaller ships that are less crowded, easier to get around and less of a wait to get off at ports & tendering.

Just off the Amsterdam on a PC cruise and there were lots of viewing options and most were not crowded.  Easier to get around the smaller ship as well.  We did a partial PC on the Zuiderdam a couple of years ago and found that the open bow area was very crowded for the first couple of hours.

[rkacruiser]

20 hours ago, CruiserBruce said:

the final decision is always the Captain's discretion.

This is particularly true for the Signature Class ships Deck 5 open deck area near the bow.  Some of the Captains will open this area in scenic areas; some will not.  That spot is a particularly good spot for viewing.

My Deck 5 stateroom on the Nieuw Statendam was just forward of the forward elevator/staircase.  Returning to the room one afternoon, the hatch at the forward end of the hall was open and it did lead to that ship's forward open deck.  The hatch was marked "Staff Only".  Why it was opened, I don't know.  No one was out there.  But, I am of the opinion that the deck really is for staff only inasmuch as there is a small pool there that probably is for staff use.  That deck, too, would be a great spot during scenic cruising. 

[SeaTheW0rld]

I did a partial on Zaandam. They opened the bow and served Panama buns. 

[rkacruiser]

22 minutes ago, SeaTheW0rld said:

They opened the bow and served Panama buns

The Panama Buns are worth the trip by themselves!