Rare scubacruiserx2 Posted January 8, 2022 #1 Share Posted January 8, 2022 It's been a couple of years since our last cruise . That one was on the Zuiderdam after a dry dock around Christmas in 2019 and went to the ABC islands . We wanted something familiar and yet , something different . I thought back to a song from my childhood ( When my wife was just 2 ) and we let Frankie Ford provide the inspiration for our future cruise . After being pumped up by Frankie and keeping with our theme , we found an itinerary that we were comfortable with and excited about . The B island of the ABC triad would be replaced with an old friend - Grand Turk . Our ride would be a new ship to us - The Nieuw Amsterdam . We had done our first Neptune Suite on her sister The Eurodam on our first trip to Alaska in Suite 7059 . We were excited about a couple of days at sea to relax and get acquainted with the ship before getting busy with our first port - Curacao . It was just what the Doctor ordered and what we wanted . 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare scubacruiserx2 Posted January 9, 2022 Author #2 Share Posted January 9, 2022 Sail away Half Moon Cay Grand Turk Amber Cove Willemstad Oranjestad 9 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dunmore2 Posted January 9, 2022 #3 Share Posted January 9, 2022 Very nice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
High Flyer Posted January 9, 2022 #4 Share Posted January 9, 2022 Best sail away photo I've ever seen.... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare scubacruiserx2 Posted January 9, 2022 Author #5 Share Posted January 9, 2022 7 hours ago, Dunmore2 said: Very nice. Thanks and it gets better . 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare scubacruiserx2 Posted January 9, 2022 Author #6 Share Posted January 9, 2022 1 hour ago, High Flyer said: Best sail away photo I've ever seen.... Thank you very much for you're kind remark . We do like our home port for sail away ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare ski ww Posted January 9, 2022 #7 Share Posted January 9, 2022 The pictures do bring back great memories of sail aways & past cruises. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare scubacruiserx2 Posted January 9, 2022 Author #8 Share Posted January 9, 2022 21 minutes ago, ski ww said: The pictures do bring back great memories of sail aways & past cruises. Hopefully there will be many more in your future . Yesterdays cruise on the NA was canceled because only 500 passengers had booked it . We wish that they would have made a decent offer for it as we would have gladly booked it on the spot . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare puppycanducruise Posted January 9, 2022 #9 Share Posted January 9, 2022 Great pictures. Looking forward to seeing more. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare scubacruiserx2 Posted January 9, 2022 Author #10 Share Posted January 9, 2022 2 hours ago, puppycanducruise said: Great pictures. Looking forward to seeing more. Thanks , we have over 3000 photos to choose from and 100 video clips to look at and or edit . 5 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare scubacruiserx2 Posted January 9, 2022 Author #11 Share Posted January 9, 2022 (edited) After booking our cruise we booked our specialty dining as soon as we could and 3 private tours in Aruba , Curacao the Dominican Republic . With just a month to go HAL flipped the schedule and our sea cruise became a Boots On the Ground cruise instead requiring changes to our tours and guides . Our previous guide in the DR was now available to take us but we didn't feel right canceling our new guide , so we didn't . The day before we were to leave we went to the Walgreens about a mile from our house for the Ring around the Nosy rapid antigen test . It was free and an hour and a half later we got our negative test and began packing . We left the next morning and an hour and fifteen minutes later we were at the Park N Go and on the mini bus for the short ride to the ship . The boarding was very quick only slowing down for a nieuw photo for the facial recognition ID . With key cards in hand we entered Neptune Suite #7137 . It was like trading a black and white farm house in Kansas for a technicolor Oz . Edited January 9, 2022 by scubacruiserx2 7 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare scubacruiserx2 Posted January 9, 2022 Author #12 Share Posted January 9, 2022 A video clip of cabin # 7137 . 5 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare scubacruiserx2 Posted January 9, 2022 Author #13 Share Posted January 9, 2022 (edited) We watched the safety drill and followed the signs in the ship forward for the length of the ship to what we thought was our muster station . The signs had us cross over to the Port side and go outside to the promenade and then aft the length of the ship . Finding nobody to present our keycards in order to check in for the drill went went to lunch at the Main dining room . There we were told that the check in wouldn't begin until 2 PM . For lunch I began with a BBQ chicken Spring roll . Patty chose the Pannenkoek , an apple and bacon Dutch pancake . I chose the Lobster roll The lobster roll and slaw were mushy and the roll was kind of salty . The water that we brought on was in a paper container and we brought on our limit of 12 . It was like liquid gold to us , but a lot cheaper . Edited January 9, 2022 by scubacruiserx2 6 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare scubacruiserx2 Posted January 9, 2022 Author #14 Share Posted January 9, 2022 Introducing new feature Trip tips . Things that we use to make travel more easy and enjoyable . #1 Bag tags - Reusable luggage tag holders . We attach 1 to each handle to get our checked luggage where we want it to go . https://www.amazon.com/Cruise-Luggage-Holders-Steel-Loops/dp/B017BVF8L6/ref=sxin_14?asc_contentid=amzn1.osa.e22f36ca-9a08-4fb4-ae31-00eecfb1ec00.ATVPDKIKX0DER.en_US&asc_contenttype=article&ascsubtag=amzn1.osa.e22f36ca-9a08-4 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare scubacruiserx2 Posted January 10, 2022 Author #15 Share Posted January 10, 2022 Our next order of business was a visit to the Neptune Lounge to meet the Concierge . We never ate more than snacks or a cup of coffee there but it seemed like it was slim pickens compared to the good ole days . 4 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare scubacruiserx2 Posted January 10, 2022 Author #16 Share Posted January 10, 2022 The Retreat Our cabin was the aft Starboard corner . We were interested in a cabana on HMC until we heard that we could rent a cabana on the ship for the whole cruise for the same price as 4 hours on HMC . The Retreat cabanas are forward and when the family cabana on the Port side became available , we were all over it . This was our next stop after the lounge . We were in # 11 . 5 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare scubacruiserx2 Posted January 10, 2022 Author #17 Share Posted January 10, 2022 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare scubacruiserx2 Posted January 10, 2022 Author #18 Share Posted January 10, 2022 (edited) A walk around the ship Edited January 10, 2022 by scubacruiserx2 8 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare scubacruiserx2 Posted January 10, 2022 Author #19 Share Posted January 10, 2022 (edited) A sign of the times Edited January 10, 2022 by scubacruiserx2 5 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare scubacruiserx2 Posted January 10, 2022 Author #20 Share Posted January 10, 2022 (edited) Hey HAL check this out . Windows in the hull , it doesn't get much cooler than this ! We went to check out the location of the Pinnacle Grill for breakfast in the morning . Below us in the Atrium was some Christmas decorations . Edited January 10, 2022 by scubacruiserx2 3 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare scubacruiserx2 Posted January 10, 2022 Author #21 Share Posted January 10, 2022 Trip tip # 2 - Luggage handle wraps . We use these to help us pick out our luggage in a sea of black suit cases in the luggage line up . 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lido deck main Posted January 10, 2022 #22 Share Posted January 10, 2022 Great pictures, keep it coming. Re tip. #2, we added ribbon to our handles. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare scubacruiserx2 Posted January 11, 2022 Author #23 Share Posted January 11, 2022 9 hours ago, Lido deck main said: Great pictures, keep it coming. Re tip. #2, we added ribbon to our handles. Thanks and the best photos are yet to come . Regarding tip # 2 . That sounds like a great way to repurpose and reuse those throw away ribbons left after opening Christmas presents . 🙂😊 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare scubacruiserx2 Posted January 11, 2022 Author #24 Share Posted January 11, 2022 After our ship familiarization walk we returned to the cabin for unpacking duties before the sail away . Soon it was azipods on and cast off all lines . We hustled forward to our Retreat perch for the sail away where we met the dynamic duo of Alvin and Wency the Retreat attendants . We had been craving some Dive In fries ( Only for a couple of years ) and they appeared as if by magic along with some chocolate covered strawberries . Hey ,we could get to like this place ! 6 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare ski ww Posted January 11, 2022 #25 Share Posted January 11, 2022 Thanks for the great photos. I guess it's the next best thing, if we can't be on a cruise look at photos from people who are. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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