Titillating TransAtlantic Tidbits!!

[Ken the cruiser]

1 hour ago, colonialinnkeeper said:

 

On our NS TA there were two lecturers, Captain Anderson and Tom Goltz.  Some topics were: Macaronesia: Gems of the Atlantic; Prince Henry, the Navigator; The Azores Archipelago; Portugal's 600 year Empire; Communications at Sea (flags); The Building of America; Lighthouses of the Atlantic; Building the American West; Maritime Commerce and the Origins of Globalization;  the Portuguese in Hawaii; the Box that Changed the World; Columbus, Myth and Fact;  Geography and Current Affairs; Spanish Treasure Galleons;  The Sargasso Sea;  Spain and America Go To War.

That is great news and thank you for the detailed list! Maybe some of the positive lessons learned from the Maasdam in-depth EXC program are spilling over to the TAs at least. We had heard that in the past a cruise had to be 15+ days before HAL would book any professional lecturers. 

[kazu]

4 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

That is great news and thank you for the detailed list! Maybe some of the positive lessons learned from the Maasdam in-depth EXC program are spilling over to the TAs at least.

 

We’ve always had lecturers on our HAL TA’s.

 

Mind you they were mainly on the Prinsendam and the Rotterdam 😉 

 

4 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

 

 

We had heard that in the past a cruise had to be 15+ days before HAL would book any professional lecturers. 

 

I don’t think so - at least not on the TA’s that I have been on (and we’ve done a few 😉 )

[Ken the cruiser]

22 minutes ago, kazu said:

We’ve always had lecturers on our HAL TA’s.

 

Mind you they were mainly on the Prinsendam and the Rotterdam 😉 

 

 

I don’t think so - at least not on the TA’s that I have been on (and we’ve done a few 😉 )

That's good to hear. You right, though, the Prinsendam was a different deal, but I'm glad to hear there were lectures each sea day of your Rotterdam TAs that were 14 days or less. The only time we have heard any non-port lectures on any of our 11 HAL cruises were on those that were 15 or more days such as a 15 day R/T Hawaii cruise on the Amsterdam and a 16 day Panama Canal cruise on the Veendam along with our recent 40 day Maasdam cruise. We have never had a professional lecturer on any of our other 8 HAL cruises from 7-14 days in length to include a 14 day Alaska cruise in 2017 on the Amsterdam.

[Petronillus]

2 hours ago, colonialinnkeeper said:

 

On our NS TA there were two lecturers, Captain Anderson and Tom Goltz.  Some topics were: Macaronesia: Gems of the Atlantic; Prince Henry, the Navigator; The Azores Archipelago; Portugal's 600 year Empire; Communications at Sea (flags); The Building of America; Lighthouses of the Atlantic; Building the American West; Maritime Commerce and the Origins of Globalization;  the Portuguese in Hawaii; the Box that Changed the World; Columbus, Myth and Fact;  Geography and Current Affairs; Spanish Treasure Galleons;  The Sargasso Sea;  Spain and America Go To War.

 

Wow! To my mind, that series of lectures is worth the price of admission all by itself.

 

I thought Maasdam was the only ship that offered these lectures on history, culture, and civilization. Do you just luck into these or did you know in advance? If so, how? Were the lectures highlighted on the HAL website?

[colonialinnkeeper]

4 hours ago, Petronillus said:

 

Wow! To my mind, that series of lectures is worth the price of admission all by itself.

 

I thought Maasdam was the only ship that offered these lectures on history, culture, and civilization. Do you just luck into these or did you know in advance? If so, how? Were the lectures highlighted on the HAL website?

 

We have done 5 or 6 TA's and each one had a series of lectures.  I think HAL plans these since we have 6 or 7 consecutive sea days.  We did not know the subjects beforehand and we had heard only one lecture on a previous cruise that was similar to one that was on this cruise.

 

Also, different departments had a presentation listed as a kind of coffee talk.  Coffee, tea and pastries were available and the talks were given in the Lincoln Center/BB King Lounge.  In addition to the Captain's presentation there were members of the hotel, the engineering dept., the food and beverage, etc. giving a talk and answering questions.  Each department had their own presentation.  

[sevenseasnomad]

On 11/26/2019 at 2:22 PM, bobpell said:

The pre dinner downing drinks in the crowded Crow's Nest while watching the sun dappled waves and steamy sunsets seemed so serene. We miss those momentous moments!!

Bob

PS...I forgot to mention in my original posting our suite bathroom did not have a night light 

PPS...Nearing two weeks after what I refer to our coughing cruise my wife and I have stopped sucking on Lozenges and put the Kleenex box away!!

On to March, same cabin same ship, can't wait

You night light must have been out.  Even the lower level verandahs have a night light in the bath on NS.  Next time, call maintenance to replace your light.  Thanks for your thoughts.  Yes, some things have changed a lot, such as the sugar packets, flowers on table etc.  All for cost-cutting, I suppose, but it's the little touches that made HAL's ambiance stand out.  Now, although we continue to sail this line, we do miss some of those aspects of the cruising experience.