iflyrc5 Almost Live from the Nieuw Statendam - Feb 2 - Mar 16 (we hope)

[canadianbear]

We love visiting Curacao…easy port to walk and so much to see.  Enjoying your posts and photos (and blog).  

[hillside]

Thanks, Ted, for your interesting reports.  We remember you and Barb from our South Pacific cruise as well as another cruise. We joined you on Patrick's wonderful day in Bora Bora. Regards, Brenda and Jim

[iflyrc5]

Oranjestad, Aruba - Sunday - Mar 13 - sun - clouds and a couple quick showers - low 80s - moderate wind.  Today is out last port of call on our 42 days of cruising on the NS.  We arrived at 0800 and were quickly cleared.  The Freewind was in its usual berth and a Celebrity came in behind us.  Had a nice breakfast and then about 1030 headed out for a walk.  Barb joined me this time.  As we were getting off there were some dark clouds approaching and just as we got to the first set of shops a strong shower came in so we ducked into a small shop to get out of the rain. (I think the shop keepers planned it that way).  Within less than 10 minutes the sun was back out so after some looking we headed across the street and to the left to the local market area - more looking - then back toward town with again more looking but no purchases.  The sun stayed out so we headed down the main street and over the little bridge to the marina and saw 2 folks cleaning the fish they had caught earlier in the day along with a pelican waiting for a snack.  We headed back toward the ship and stopped at the I Love Aruba store for some more looking and a couple diet cokes ($2 each  - our only purchase of the day).  We sat on a bench along the main street and watched the traffic and finally after finishing our drinks about 1330 headed back to the ship.  I had a NY Deli Bronx pizza for lunch and Barb had a Dive in Burger with no bun.  We had a quick shower pass over the ship during lunch then the sun came back out.  We put our bathing suits on but ended up just laying by the pool the afternoon reading and never got in the water.  Sail away was at 1630 with sunny skies.  About 1730 we headed back to the cabin for showers and went through the lido and saw that it was a special Caribbean menu so decided to go there for dinner instead of the MDR.  After eating we hit the World Stage early (1930) show to watch Cantare'.  These guys are very good so if you see them on your ship make sure you go.  Monday is our first of 2 sea days as we head back to Ft Lauderdale and will be heading home on Wednesday.

[iflyrc5]

Sea Day - plus a quick stop - Monday - Mar 14 - mostly sunny - low 80s - moderate winds.  When in the cabin and not watching something special on TV we normally have it turned to the ship location channel which shows the time, ship heading, speed and location.  Sunday evening about 2200 we were reading and Barb looked at the TV and said it looks like we are going back to Aruba and not north to Ft Lauderdale.  We watched if for a while and sure enough we were heading south east instead of north west and had been gone from Aruba for about 5 hours.  You can zoom in on the path the ship had taken an yes we had turned around.    I estimated that we would be getting back to Aruba between 0400 and 0500 Monday.  About 0430 I could hear the mooring line machinery firing up so got up and looked out and yes we were back in Aruba pulling up to a pier.  I went out on the balcony and saw 2 ambulances with lights on and several people around.  The dock works secured a couple lines and then using a forklift started moving around the gangway equipment which took about 15 minutes to get in in place.  A gurney from each ambulance was then brought on board and I could see luggage and several people get off the ship and into a waiting van.  Shortly after that patients were brought off the ship on the gurneys and loaded into the ambulances.  The dock workers quickly pulled up the gang way and by about 0515 we were on our way back out to sea.  At just before 0900 the captain came over the PA system and talked about these medical disembarkations and that because of this we would be late getting into Ft Lauderdale.  Instead of arriving at 0700 Wednesday it would be about 1100.  He said to don't plan on making a flight out any earlier than 1600 on Wednesday and our flight was to be at 1030 - so the rest of the morning was spent on the computer changing our flight.  The later flight was going to require a long layover in Tampa and we would not get home until about 0300 on Thursday so we decided to get the same flight out on Thursday that we had planned which is a non-stop.  Then got a hotel reservation near the airport.  With everyone trying to change flights the wifi on the ship was running slow so it took until about noon to get everything in place.  Then did my 45 minutes of deck walking - then lunch - then the pool and some reading.  Tonight was our final Gala night in the MDR with a very nice filet and 2 large prawns and jumbo shrimp cocktail.  I saw the senior ship engineer in the elevator and he said the captain has the pedal to the metal with all 5 engines running and we have been averaging 22 knots which is the max speed for the NS.  Tomorrow is our final sea day and packing day. 

[idiebabe]

@iflyrc5Very much enjoyed following along on your Cruise and reading your reports. 😀 We’ll be boarding on Wednesday.  Would appreciate any updates you’d be able to give on your arrival time!  Hope the two passengers taken off will be ok.  
 

Thank you! 

[timbom]

Just got message from Holland that boarding is being delayed two hours.  Should be a real mess at the peir tomorrow.

[iflyrc5]

At the noon report today the captain said we should arrive at 1000 Wednesday the start letting guests off at 1100 - that usually takes about 2 hours then you have the B2B folks (260) so I would guess new guests will not be getting on until about 1400

[DeborahP]

Have very much enjoyed following along on your NS cruise.  Thank you for all the details.  Safe travels home.  

[iflyrc5]

Sea Day #2 - final full day of our 42 days of cruising on the Nieuw Statendam - sunny - mid 80 - not much breeze.  Started today with a good breakfast in the lido then off to the Morning Chat with the CD and today she had the Cantare' singers as guests which was very interesting.  They have been performing together for over 10 years and the shows they are doing now are specifically designed for the pinnacle class ships.  After that I attended the Ask the Capt talk (2nd time) and asked about the Wet Dock that the NS is having in early April.  He said it is to replace a seal on one of the Azipods and will be done in Port Everglades using divers and will take 2 days.  After that I did my 45 minutes of deck walking - then lunch.  At the Capt noon talk he said he expects to be along side the pier Wednesday by 1000 the disembarkation starting about 1100.  The afternoon was spent with some initial packing then reading around the Sea View Pool then about 90 minutes of some final swim time.  The sea was very calm today so not much movement in the pool and by 1500 most guests had left the pool area so we had it pretty much to our selves.   We did our "last supper" in the MDR and then back to the cabin to finish packing and bags will go in the hall soon for pickup.  Because of the delayed arrival we could not make our scheduled flight and the later flights got us home very late so we are staying over night and taking the non-stop home to Indy Thursday morning so we will stay on the ship until the throw us off tomorrow then hang out at a Comfort Inn near the airport in the afternoon.  When I get home I will do a final wrap of the cruise.  I will say this for now.  HAL has done a great job with Covid protocols and as far as I can tell we have had no cases on the ship for the last several weeks and maybe longer and the experience has been one of the best of our 39 HAL cruises.

[AFNavigator]

On 3/14/2022 at 9:47 PM, iflyrc5 said:

I saw the senior ship engineer in the elevator and he said the captain has the pedal to the metal with all 5 engines running and we have been averaging 22 knots which is the max speed for the NS.

It's fun to hear the NS is pressing northward at full speed.

 

It's interesting to read elsewhere that the Pinnacle class ships, despite being 15-20% more gross tonnage than their Signature and Vista class predecessors (respectively), actually have less installed engine power, different hull shape, and lower speed (2+ knots) than those classes.  It was stated that was done in the interest of significantly increased fuel efficiency.

[Canadaclyde]

Thanks for taking the time to tell us about your cruise. Wishing you and Barb a safe and enjoyable trip back home.

[iflyrc5]

Back home again - Saturday - Mar 19 - off and on rain - 45 degrees going down to high 30s tonight.  Capt Eric did a great job of making up the 11 hour delay in leaving Aruba getting the good ship Nieuw Statendam back to Ft Lauderdale along side the pier by 1000 on Wednesday (only 3 hours later than scheduled).  The ship was cleared and the self disembark guests were getting off by 1030.  Since we had already changed our travel plans to stay over night in FLL we waited until 1130 when most of the other guests had already disembarked.  With most of the luggage already out of the terminal it was easy to find our bags, then the govt folks were using the facial recognition system so there were no lines so from gang way to taxi was only 5 minutes.  We had booked a Choice hotel near I-95 and Sterling Road and were there by noon.  There were no rooms available yet but the did have a place to secure our luggage so we could go out for a walk/shopping/lunch.  There was a couple in the lobby waiting for a shuttle to the pier and they were getting on the NS so we talked to them for a while letting them know about the ship until their shuttle driver arrived.  Then headed out for a walk (it was very humid and warm).  We hit a TJ Max and a couple other stores then about 1400 had a late lunch/early dinner at a Mexican place.  Walked back to the hotel and spent the afternoon relaxing, reading, going through emails and my favorite radio control websites on my laptop using the hotel wifi.  Thursday morning up early for a "grab and go" breakfast at the hotel and then got the 0800 shuttle to the airport.  Short lines for check-in and TSA and we were at the gate 90 minutes before our Southwest flight back to Indy. Easy flight with an empty seat between us and an early arrival in Indy.  

 

A summary of our cruise.  We are loyal HAL guests ( we have sailed a couple other lines) with this cruise bringing us to 753 days on board DAM ships.  Our last time on a DAM ship was Mar 20, 2020 when we disembarked the Volendam in FLL after the Grand South America.    First we felt that HAL did an excellent job in keeping people safe and healthy and trying to minimize any of the guests or crew getting sick.  Our first segment had about 850 guests and the last segment was up to about 1200.   As we went along the Covid precautions were eased and processes changed with each segment both on the ship and in the ports we visited.  With the ship sailing as less the 50% capacity the crew (they call them team members now) were very engaging and were able to spend lots of time talking with guests even more than they normally do.  I could see some cutbacks but the HAL experience was still excellent with great food, elegant ship, good entertainment, and outstanding crew members.  It was difficult to get a time to see the future cruise consultant as she always had a line waiting so I think that cruising will be coming back as time goes along.  We have this same 42 days booked on the Rotterdam in Jan/Feb 2023 and I purchased several future cruise deposits to have ready for booking additional days on a DAM ships.  Bottom line - had a great relaxing 42 days on a DAM ship and looking forward already to our next cruise.

[Sea42]

Thanks so much for taking the time to provide us with so much information. I'm looking forward to my first sailing on a Pinnacle class ship in 2023!

[CvilleJane]

@iflyrc5 Thank you for your almost live postings. We were on that last cruise with you, Mar 6, and your insight and knowledge were incredibly helpful — from boarding, to COVID test taking, masks, # of passengers, protocols, etc. All super helpful and much appreciated! 

Edited March 19, 2022 by CvilleJane
Correction

[smlnd]

Thanks for allowing us to follow you and Barb after we departed the NS.  Enjoyed spending the day with you in Curacao Blue Bay Beach.  Rondi and Bruce

[New Jersey Pat]

We are thinking of cruising on the Nieuw Statendam and would like to know if there are deck chairs on the Promenade Deck and if so, how many would you guess.  The Promenade De k on HAL has been a favorite place for us on past cruises

[wdw1972]

2 minutes ago, New Jersey Pat said:

We are thinking of cruising on the Nieuw Statendam and would like to know if there are deck chairs on the Promenade Deck and if so, how many would you guess.  The Promenade De k on HAL has been a favorite place for us on past cruises

No - there are none.  There's no room.  The only "seating" you'll see on the promenade deck would be the wooden benches that hold life jackets & have the name of the ship carved into the top section.

 

Sue/WDW1972

[12cruise2]

5 hours ago, wdw1972 said:

No - there are none.  There's no room.  The only "seating" you'll see on the promenade deck would be the wooden benches that hold life jackets & have the name of the ship carved into the top section.

 

Sue/WDW1972

The lack of this nice, quiet, comfortable, shady, great-view area on Promenade with no deck chairs caused us to cancel 3 cruises on the Rotterdam.  It's just not worth it to be cooped up with a ton of people shoulder to shoulder, loud music and noise--might as well take a 3500-passenger cruise if that's the case.  And the upper deck around the Rotterdam pool doesn't seem to do it for us, either.  So, the NA or Eurodam or the other, older ships will be our mainstays.  Ports aren't so important to us; the cruising experience at sea, enjoying the ocean views is just so peaceful and relaxing for us. 

Edited March 21, 2022 by 12cruise2

[rkacruiser]

46 minutes ago, 12cruise2 said:

The lack of this nice, quiet, comfortable, shady, great-view area on Promenade with no deck chairs caused us to cancel 3 cruises on the Rotterdam.

 

I understand.  The Lower Promenade Deck on the ships that have that space with deck chairs is an area I have always valued.  

 

Have you considered a veranda stateroom for such a location on the Pinnacle Class vessels?