sail7seas - welcome home

[Krazy Kruizers]

Welcome Home. Can't wait to hear about your cruise.

 

There has been some talk on here about shipboard credit while you were gone.

 

Did you get your $300 shipboard credit from AMEX?

 

Also - HAL is stopping the first night $10 perp person special for the Pinnacle.

[babyher]

Hi Sail

 

Welcome home :)

I have seen by some of your posts that you had a wonderful cruise and really enjoyed your Eggs Benedict *LOL*

 

Glad you had a good time :)

[grannynurse]

Hi Sail,

I can believe that you didn't want to get off the Volendam, but Welcome back to your "other" world.

 

When you get a chance to catch up, drop us a line and tell us about your trip.

GN

[FlorenceItaly]

Looking forward to hearing all about your cruise.

 

 

Marie

[bepsf]

Sounds like a lovely cruise!

 

Hope you'll be able to take time to meet some of us in NYC for lunch/dinner in a couple weeks?

[jhannah]

Welcome back! We just returned last night from a week at Disney World with all our grandkids, so I'm a bit out of the loop here. I will be reading about your trip as soon as I can.

[Bucky3]

Welcome Back! Looking forward to finding your review somewhere around here!

[sail7seas]

Thanks, everyone.

 

We had a wonderful time on VODM and after I finish with all of the 'must do's' around here, I plan to post some comments.

 

In brief........Ship looks beautiful after SOE; pax need to get used to a few of them IMO. Executive Chef Ronald Waasdorp really, really good. Yes.....food is subjective but most comments I heard were very positive.

 

Really rough seas the first few days. Captain was great about keeping us informed as to why we were rocking all over the place. HIGH winds but didn't keep DH and me away from aft pool. :)

 

VERY friendly crew. So eager for everyone to have what they want/need in order to enjoy themselves.

 

Unfortunately, we (and Maasdam) both missed HMC on the same day. Bright, sunny and beautiful when we got there. DH and I looked out from our balcony and knew they couldn't drop tenders. Sure enough, the Captain announced it wasn't safe.

 

More details later.....Just wanted to say how much we enjoyed VODM. She's a pretty ship, in great condition with a wonderful crew.

[Stakeout]

..that I took with my digital camera on 1/24 as we entered a short rain squall and some continuous high winds and 'sporting seas' that lasted two days until we got down to Aruba

 

go to http://stakeouttoo.neptune.com ..then click on 'Enter site'.. and then 'Volendam 012406' ..that should start the short video clip.. if you listen closely you'll hear my 'better half' say ' Look at those mountains out there'

 

they posted 'seas as moderate'.. 7.5'-12'.. I think not.. a wee bit more with larger swells later on... Capt advised of Force 9 wind gusts at 48mph.. and winds steady at 32-35 kts...

 

had the same high seas on the Nov Volendam cruise with Capt Van der zee who personally confirmed them at 15-18' with 20-22' swells.. at about the same location but heading n/b from St Thomas.. ....the other Album- video clip 'Volendam 111305' shows seas n/b from Nov last year

[Krazy Kruizers]

Stakeout

 

Wonderful video.

 

It certainly was rough.

[sail7seas]

KK......

 

I forgot to respond that we got our $300 AmEx Shipboard credit, as usual. We had the coupon included with our documents and gave it to the concierge for processing.

 

My understanding of the AmEx Platinum/HAL program at present is that any cruise you booked during 2005 and your TA got the tracking number, will receive THE credits. Any cruises booked in 2006 At the Moment, are not processing (issuing tracking numbers). It seems that HAL and AmEx did not renew the contract contrary to what I (and others) were previously told.

 

We booked our 14 day Ryndam cruise and our Maasdam back-to-backs during 2005, so will get credits for those cruises. So far.....for our Westerdam and Christmas/New Years cruises we will not be getting the credit unless they renew their agreement.

 

[sail7seas]

The seas really were very rough day one and two out of FLL with high winds. I stayed in our cabin one evening with a touch of mal de mer. (DH and I dressed and went to Ocean Bar but at the sight of the drinks, I thought it best I return to our cabin.)

 

I wasn't very, very ill but enough I didn't want to risk 'embarrassing myself'. :( I have only been seasick maybe two days in the past out of hundreds and hundreds of days aboard. It is very rare when the pill I take (tigan) at the first hint of queasiness doesn't immediately provide relief. I had taken one so I'm sure it helped....just not enough, this time.

 

By about 8:30 P.M. I felt much better and DH and I ordered Room Service. They had been very busy that night and we were very shocked when they offered us the option of ordering from the dining room dinner or the usual Room Service Menu. We got a combination of both. :) I have never in the past heard of them allowing orders from the dining room menu that late in the evening. Maybe because so many people didn't appear in the dining room that night???

 

[RuthC]

I have never in the past heard of them allowing orders from the dining room menu that late in the evening. Maybe because so many people didn't appear in the dining room that night???

Perhaps there was a great deal of leftover food, and they didn't want it to go to waste?

Glad that you had a pleasant trip, in spite of the unsteady start. Welcome back to looking forward to another cruise! :)

[jhannah]

Sorry things were so rough for your cruise. We've experienced that only twice. China tumbling off the serving stations in the dining room. Yikes! But that's bound to happen from time to time on the open sea. I enjoy some of it ... but not to the extreme!

[HeatherInFlorida]

As you know, Sail, it's so good to have you back. I missed you.

[sail7seas]

I don't want it to sound too exaggerated about the rough seas. We've had worse.....the mistrals off of Africa were pretty fierce. It's just that this time that 'put me down' :( for a short while. I made up for it though!!! :)

 

 

[sail7seas]

Ruth....I think you probably have a good point. All those dinners prepared and so many not eaten so they were able to offer us the choice to order from the menu. Dinner was great. Room Service on Volendam was really excellent.

 

 

 

Thank you, Heather.

It's nice to be missed!!! :)

 

[Stakeout]

second nite out the upper early dining room crowd was 'thin'.. as in not many there... ahhhh more food for moi and the better half..... :)

 

worst seas I've ever encountered .. in the Pacific dodging a typhoon being 'shipped' over to Vietnam on the General John Pope troop ship in April '67.. not nice...:eek:

[ekerr19]

Sail -

 

I just wanted to say a big "Welcome" home. I have not had much time to spend on the boards lately, but was looking for news of your trip and came across this thread. I'm glad to hear you enjoyed it, sorry to hear of the weather and rough seas.

 

I understand you will be aboard the Noordam for either lunch or dinner in Boston - I hope you have the opportunity to share your observations! I will be looking for your posts....

 

Again, welcome back - glad to hear the Volendam didn't disappoint. :)

[Gardendog]

I wasn't very, very ill but enough I didn't want to risk 'embarrassing myself'. :( I have only been seasick maybe two days in the past out of hundreds and hundreds of days aboard. It is very rare when the pill I take (tigan) at the first hint of queasiness doesn't immediately provide relief. I had taken one so I'm sure it helped....just not enough, this time.

 

I was a little sea sick on my last cruise a year ago. I took Bovine. It might have helped, I did feel queezy though, and had to lie down most of the day. What is tigan, and where do you get it?

 

In fact, the sea sickness kept us away from cruising, but decided to try again.

[peaches from georgia]

I was a little sea sick on my last cruise a year ago. I took Bovine. It might have helped, I did feel queezy though, and had to lie down most of the day. ...

I believe you mean 'Bonine' (generic name- meclazine). You need to start taking Bonine a day or so before you get on the ship (or anywhere there will be motion) and take a tablet or 2 every night. Then it will be in your system and if waters get rough you are protected. I used to get very seasick and haven't had the first problem since I began taking Bonine regularly when cruising. There are not supposed to be any side effects and neither DH or I have ever had a side effect of any kind.

 

If you wait until you are feeling seasick it is normally too late to start taking it then.

[Gardendog]

I believe you mean 'Bonine' (generic name- meclazine).

 

If you wait until you are feeling seasick it is normally too late to start taking it then.

 

Yes, that's what I meant:(, (hiding my face in shame). Can you drink alcohol and take that medication?

 

If the other one is more instant, I'd rather take that one instead of the Bonine, because I only needed it one day of cruising, not that I have cruised that much, only about 20 days (this will be our 4th cruise).

 

I think I will start a new thread so I can have this question answered instead of hi jacking the welcome home to Seas. Welcome home!