Our Anniversary cruise on the Nieuw Statendam : Is the honeymoon over ?

[scubacruiserx2]

46 minutes ago, Krazy Kruizers said:

 

Gorgeous sunset pictures.

 

Thank you , it was quite a display .

 

44 minutes ago, Krazy Kruizers said:

Great pictures from around the ship.

 

Sel de Mer does look like a nice place to relax while dining.

 

Pinnacle Grill is our favorite for breakfast.

 

It is our favorite for breakfast as well .

 

[mocruzer]

17 hours ago, scubacruiserx2 said:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Amazing pictures.  Thank you for sharing.  

[scubacruiserx2]

18 hours ago, mocruzer said:

Amazing pictures.  Thank you for sharing.  

 

You are welcome .  

[scubacruiserx2]

The pier that we would be using in Ocho Rios is the old Reynolds pier also called the James Bond pier .

 

 

 

Room service for breakfast . There was something that the room service man said when we asked about returning the tray and dishes . He said " just give it to your boy ". We noticed a big difference on the cruise compared to our Zaandam cruise in January . Tray pickup exceeded an hour or more most of the time , and sometimes required several phone calls . We don't know if being in a Neptune Suite made a difference or just a different ship . 

 

 

Balcony view of Fisherman Beach with the white triangles in the center

 

 

We took a walk around the ship after breakfast 

 

 

You exit to the left from this photo

 

 

The gate beneath the Jamaican banner is where you exit 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

We were not the only ship in town

 

 

The Sensation was tied up at the long Turtle Bay Pier

 

 

 

 

We went ashore to get some different photos of the ship

 

 

After you leave the gate there will be many taxi drivers and guides offering their services . We kept walking because we only wanted the photos .

 

 

 

 

 

We passed Margaritaville but didn't stop

 

 

A bow shot before returning to the NS .

 

[scubacruiserx2]

Plenty of ships and people in Grand Cayman when we visited 

 

MSC Armonia

 

 

Carnival Sensation

 

 

and Vista

 

 

Regal Princess and Celebrity Equinox

 

 

and us .

 

 

That means we will be tendering

 

 

 

[Caribbean Chris]

Beautiful ship photos on a beautiful sunny day! I believe Grand Cayman is always a tender port for all ships, as the island has never built a cruise ship pier. My relatives have a home there, and that topic has been controversial for many years.

 

When we've gone to Cayman by sea, sometimes large tendering boats were supplied by the island and sometimes the cruise lines' tenders were employed, or a combination of the two.

 

From your photo of the HAL tenders, it looks like you were fortunate to enjoy a calm day. Somebody posted earlier this year an episode where a Celebrity captain had to discontinue tendering entirely into Georgetown due to unsafe conditions after the first few hundred passengers went ashore. That was it for the day, other than bringing those people back aboard, so most of the passengers never set foot on the island.

 

Or on windy days, we've seen big ships anchoring on the south side of the island with shuttle buses arranged into Georgetown. 

Edited March 14, 2019 by Caribbean Chris

[Krazy Kruizers]

Wonderful pictures of Ocho Rios and Grand Cayman.

 

All the many times we docked in Ocho Rios, we always docked at the "James Bond" pier -- even when we were the only ship there!!  Looks like they have spruced up the buildings there.  They were really in poor condition the last time we were there.  In fact we were afraid they would down on us.

 

Know about all those crowds when there are several ships there.

[scubacruiserx2]

5 hours ago, Caribbean Chris said:

Beautiful ship photos on a beautiful sunny day! I believe Grand Cayman is always a tender port for all ships, as the island has never built a cruise ship pier. My relatives have a home there, and that topic has been controversial for many years.

 

When we've gone to Cayman by sea, sometimes large tendering boats were supplied by the island and sometimes the cruise lines' tenders were employed, or a combination of the two.

 

From your photo of the HAL tenders, it looks like you were fortunate to enjoy a calm day. Somebody posted earlier this year an episode where a Celebrity captain had to discontinue tendering entirely into Georgetown due to unsafe conditions after the first few hundred passengers went ashore. That was it for the day, other than bringing those people back aboard, so most of the passengers never set foot on the island.

 

Or on windy days, we've seen big ships anchoring on the south side of the island with shuttle buses arranged into Georgetown. 

 

We were indeed fortunate with a calm day this time of the year . We have been diverted to Spotts Bay on the south side several times and on an anniversary cruise on the Regal Princess we dropped a sick passenger off at GC and departed allowing another ship to take our place . 

 

 

 

Here's a map showing the Georgetown area at the blue area and the Spott's Bay in the south at the red arrow as you said .

 

[scubacruiserx2]

2 hours ago, Krazy Kruizers said:

Wonderful pictures of Ocho Rios and Grand Cayman.

 

All the many times we docked in Ocho Rios, we always docked at the "James Bond" pier -- even when we were the only ship there!!  Looks like they have spruced up the buildings there.  They were really in poor condition the last time we were there.  In fact we were afraid they would down on us.

 

Know about all those crowds when there are several ships there.

 

Thanks , we are glad that they have improved this pier .

[Krazy Kruizers]

We were never diverted to Spott's Bay when the seas were rough in Grand Cayman.

 

We just skipped that port and had a sea day.

[scubacruiserx2]

We had to cancel our dives in GC due to some painful swollen knees and we decided to go ashore with out our dive gear and just take photos of the ships in port and have lunch at one of our favorites places on the water . We went to board the tenders using our Orange Club card but we were stopped by security . When we told her that we had priority boarding she said that she didn't know anything about it and to get in line . We came ashore on the South terminal of the Georgetown .

 

 

Nearby fish was being cleaned .

 

 

Rackam's is where we went for lunch

 

 

They have real conch chowder

 

 

Conch fritters

 

 

and lobster cakes

 

 

They also made a good Margarita

 

 

and have Tarpon swimming around in the clear water

 

 

 

Edited March 15, 2019 by scubacruiserx2

[scubacruiserx2]

The Sensation

 

 

Departing CG

 

 

Vista's departure

 

 

Regal's departure

 

 

Another arrival

 

 

The Equinox Starboard

 

 

 

and Port

 

 

We didn't realize that CG had such a large landfill

 

 

 

 

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

We came in to Cozumel in the afternoon on the next day . 2 ships at the Punta Langosta , a Costa ship and the NCL Breakaway 

 

 

 

When we went downtown later we noticed that the Magaritaville was empty

 

 

 

This looks like fun

 

 

 

At the International pier we had the Harmony of the Seas and at the Puerta Maya Pier was the Carnival Dream and Vista and the Regal Princess .

 

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

 

 

We backed in and tied up next to the behemoth Harmony of the Seas

 

 

 

 

 

 

The way to Cozumel

 

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

We had a great view to watch people coming and going on our cozy balcony

 

 

 

 

 

 

[3rdGenCunarder]

Great pictures! It must have felt like being in a canyon walking between the two ships in Cozumel.

 

Regarding priority tendering, there is no priority for the return to the ship, only for going ashore. It's always been like that for NS/PS and 4-5* Mariners, so it's probably like that for CO, too. 

 

[Krazy Kruizers]

Great pictures.

 

I hate being in both Grand Cayman and Cozumel when there are so many ships in port -- crowded everywhere.

[*Miss G*]

On 3/15/2019 at 11:39 AM, scubacruiserx2 said:

Rackam's is where we went for lunch

 

In Grand Cayman we go to an amazing Italian restaurant called Casanova.  Not only are the waiters real Italians, their food is like BEING in Italy!  It’s pretty awesome.  The last time we were there there were also 5 other ships.  Right beside us was a Disney ship blaring Disney music non-stop.  We weren’t able to use our balcony that day due to the noise factor.  In fact we eventually moved to the interior of the ship as it was driving us crazy.  The same thing happened beside a Carnival ship one day.  Rather than go into port we had decided to enjoy the day in the Cabana... but had to leave because of the obnoxious music blaring from their ship.  Thank you, HAL, for not being like them.

[puppycanducruise]

Great pictures.

Thanks for sharing.

[scubacruiserx2]

14 hours ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

Great pictures! It must have felt like being in a canyon walking between the two ships in Cozumel.

 

Regarding priority tendering, there is no priority for the return to the ship, only for going ashore. It's always been like that for NS/PS and 4-5* Mariners, so it's probably like that for CO, too. 

 

 

Thank you and yes it did feel that way . That Harmony is a lot of ship !

When we were stopped we were using  or attempting to use our CO priority to board the tender to Grand Cayman . We have never seen priority boarding ( except wheelchairs ) when returning to the ship . But that raises an interesting question . With CO and our Neptune suites we have enjoyed priority boarding on embarkation , disembarkation and tender boarding  why not offer priority tender for returning to the ship ?  HAL is a premium cruise line and some people are paying premium prices for the privilege so why not raise the bar in the cruise industry by making the priority tender trip a round trip ?

 

Edited March 17, 2019 by scubacruiserx2

[scubacruiserx2]

3 hours ago, Krazy Kruizers said:

Great pictures.

 

I hate being in both Grand Cayman and Cozumel when there are so many ships in port -- crowded everywhere.

 

We couldn't agree more ! Those are our 2 favorite places dive and we have spent more staying there then we have visiting them on ships . We love cruise ships when we are on them but we love to see them go when we are are staying . It's much more laid back and quite especially on Sunday when there are no cruise ships in port . We did a thread on Staying and playing in Cozumel  which is found here :

 

 

It may be helpful if anyone is planning to stay there . This is our favorite place to stay

 

 

 

[Despegue]

Because on the ship you can relax in a lounge or in your stateroom until your number is called.

on shore, you would have to wait in a long line, often in the Sun, as second rate people while others whisk by.

That is why. 

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

3 hours ago, *Miss G* said:

 

In Grand Cayman we go to an amazing Italian restaurant called Casanova.  Not only are the waiters real Italians, their food is like BEING in Italy!  It’s pretty awesome.  The last time we were there there were also 5 other ships.  Right beside us was a Disney ship blaring Disney music non-stop.  We weren’t able to use our balcony that day due to the noise factor.  In fact we eventually moved to the interior of the ship as it was driving us crazy.  The same thing happened beside a Carnival ship one day.  Rather than go into port we had decided to enjoy the day in the Cabana... but had to leave because of the obnoxious music blaring from their ship.  Thank you, HAL, for not being like them.

 

Thanks for the tip . We agree about the music . In Cozumel that evening we heard and felt the music coming from the Regal Princess across the water about a half mile away .

 

 

 

The music on this cruise was louder than our previous HAL cruises and rivaled some our Carnival cruises . I was taking some photos at 5:30 in the morning and we could hear this music 4 floors below in our room .

 

 

 

We understand the music but not the volume at this time in the morning .

 

[scubacruiserx2]

3 hours ago, puppycanducruise said:

Great pictures.

Thanks for sharing.

 

Thank you and you're welcome .