Westerdam July 17-25. Semi-live?

[oaktreerb]

12 hours ago, JesseLivermore said:

 

thx, good to know for future trips

 

I will see if I can switch to lower deck balconies for this trip. Any advantages to Deck 10 that I'm giving up?. I thought it was good for easy access to kids club and sports deck  and fewer cabins?

 

 

Everybody has their own requirements.  We like to be mid ship aft.  We don’t have to consider kids club and don’t spend much time in the spa, crow’s nest, or sports deck.  There are plenty of outside areas for you to enjoy.  I just wanted to give you a “heads up” about the smaller balcony.  You will have a wonderful cruise.  The scenery is amazing and the staff is wonderful wherever you are on the ship!

[rubytue]

We are at the airport. We took the 7am shuttle for our 9:30 flight bc I’d heard so many horror stories of SEA. Our shuttle driver said she actually recommends *4* hours early. I laughed and said “oh well, we are missing our flight.” But, I have pre check and H did the spot saver. And we were at the gate, with coffee and food by 8am!  
 

protrip: if you have the Starbucks app, the airport Starbucks allow you to do mobile ordering. At least the one at B7. I was in a long line, and on a whim checked it. Placed my order, but stayed in line because it didn’t seem trustworthy. Sure enough, they started calling my name before I was anywhere near the ordering register! 
 

we got our post cruise survey. I am totally laughing at this question. 

[1ANGELCAT]

Oops 

[BetsyS.]

11 minutes ago, rubytue said:

We are at the airport. We took the 7am shuttle for our 9:30 flight bc I’d heard so many horror stories of SEA. Our shuttle driver said she actually recommends *4* hours early. I laughed and said “oh well, we are missing our flight.” But, I have pre check and H did the spot saver. And we were at the gate, with coffee and food by 8am!  
 

protrip: if you have the Starbucks app, the airport Starbucks allow you to do mobile ordering. At least the one at B7. I was in a long line, and on a whim checked it. Placed my order, but stayed in line because it didn’t seem trustworthy. Sure enough, they started calling my name before I was anywhere near the ordering register! 
 

we got our post cruise survey. I am totally laughing at this question. 

Rubytues - so glad you did well and got to gate early with food and coffee!

Safe travels home.  Your reports and pictures were A+!   Thank you.

[BetsyS.]

6 hours ago, rubytue said:

We are at the airport. We took the 7am shuttle for our 9:30 flight bc I’d heard so many horror stories of SEA. Our shuttle driver said she actually recommends *4* hours early. I laughed and said “oh well, we are missing our flight.” But, I have pre check and H did the spot saver. And we were at the gate, with coffee and food by 8am!  
 

protrip: if you have the Starbucks app, the airport Starbucks allow you to do mobile ordering. At least the one at B7. I was in a long line, and on a whim checked it. Placed my order, but stayed in line because it didn’t seem trustworthy. Sure enough, they started calling my name before I was anywhere near the ordering register! 
 

we got our post cruise survey. I am totally laughing at this question. 

Rubytues - I hope you had a good flight. I have a question, but I don't need answer right away.  You must be tired after your long day.  My mom grew up in Baltimore and I spent childhood summers there with my grandparents. I started eating crabcakes when I was very young.  I was spoiled by eating Maryland crab. Did you have any crabcakes on the ship? My stepfather and I will board the  New Statendam on 8/3.

I wonder if I should try crabcakes on the ship, if they have them. Thanks again for

all your great reporting and beautiful pictures!

[JesseLivermore]

looks like y'all lucked out weather wise this week?

 

 

Hoping this will be true for us next week? https://www.accuweather.com/en/us/juneau/99801/daily-weather-forecast/331728

 

Other sites are predicting more rain so I'm ignoring those 😉

 

 

[0106]

Not Rubytue but I am from Md.  I was talking to the Pinnacle Chef on my February Zuiderdam cruise and ask him what I should order.  He said “crab cake appetizer”. I said, “I am from Md.”. He said, “ don’t order the crab cake, it is nothing like a Md. crab cake.”  Since it didn’t cost me extra, I ordered it.  Took one bite and pushed the plate away. Nothing compares to blue crab.

 

I also told him my all my fish was over cooked.  He told me to order my halibut “rare” and he would know it was for me.  It came out perfect.  (I don’t eat meat.). Told my server in the MDR the same thing and enjoyed my fish for the rest of the week.

[BetsyS.]

58 minutes ago, 0106 said:

Not Rubytue but I am from Md.  I was talking to the Pinnacle Chef on my February Zuiderdam cruise and ask him what I should order.  He said “crab cake appetizer”. I said, “I am from Md.”. He said, “ don’t order the crab cake, it is nothing like a Md. crab cake.”  Since it didn’t cost me extra, I ordered it.  Took one bite and pushed the plate away. Nothing compares to blue crab.

 

I also told him my all my fish was over cooked.  He told me to order my halibut “rare” and he would know it was for me.  It came out perfect.  (I don’t eat meat.). Told my server in the MDR the same thing and enjoyed my fish for the rest of the week.

Thank you very much. I appreciate it. It's true that nothing compares to blue crab.

I will order fish. I hope they will have Dover sole and I like halibut too.

[0106]

2 hours ago, BetsyS. said:

will board the  New Statendam on 8/3.

Are you looking at the daily MDR menus on the Navigator app?  On my last cruise Dover sole was only available at Rudis and halibut at the Pinnacle Grill.

[BetsyS.]

14 minutes ago, 0106 said:

Are you looking at the daily MDR menus on the Navigator app?  On my last cruise Dover sole was only available at Rudis and halibut at the Pinnacle Grill.

Thanks for answering. I am not using the Navigator app. I will wait until I get onboard. 

I have a reservation at Pinnacle Grill for one night and I will make Rudis reservation 

when I'm onboard.

[rubytue]

7 hours ago, BetsyS. said:

Did you have any crabcakes on the ship?

Nope. We saw them. We even joked about ordering them. But, we couldn’t bring ourselves to try. 😂 I feel like I saw it on someone else’s plate (maybe in the pinnacle grill?) and decided we chose wisely. 
 

had some travel woes getting home. 90+ minutes on the tarmac on our connecting flight. And we only picked up a snack, not really processing how long it would be til we saw real food again. So, we cooked the frozen pizza at 2am when we got home. It’s like we are in college again!

Edited July 26, 2022 by rubytue

[Euby]

@rubytueand @Cruise Suzy - Thanks so much for your posts!  I had completely forgotten about the chocolate extravaganza.  My last cruise to Alaska had the one by the Lido pool.  Does the new version still have the chocolate fountain?  I'm looking forward to my cruise in mid-September.  Hoping for sunny days like you had.  🤞

 

[BetsyS.]

7 hours ago, rubytue said:

Nope. We saw them. We even joked about ordering them. But, we couldn’t bring ourselves to try. 😂 I feel like I saw it on someone else’s plate (maybe in the pinnacle grill?) and decided we chose wisely. 
 

had some travel woes getting home. 90+ minutes on the tarmac on our connecting flight. And we only picked up a snack, not really processing how long it would be til we saw real food again. So, we cooked the frozen pizza at 2am when we got home. It’s like we are in college again!

Thanks for the info about the crabcakes. I won't order them, but there are many other choices. 

            I'm sorry you had trouble getting home. The pizza must have tasted great!

            I hope you can get some rest.

[Cruise Suzy]

All went very well yesterday until the plane's door closed in Charlotte.

 

Got up at 3:30 AM Seattle time (6:30 in FL) after going to bed at 8 Seattle (11 in FL). 4:30 shuttle to airport, got to TSA SpotSaver at 5:02 but they let us in anyway - reserved time was 5:45 +/- 15 minutes. Flight to Charlotte was at gate 15 minutes early, the gate to Tampa was just past restrooms and shops. No long walk, YEA!!!! Everyone onboard at 4:30 for 4:45 departure, door closed at 4:40. At 4:50 it was announced the system linking the plane to the push back vehicle needed a repair, including a complete shutdown with re-entering data. At 5:20 we got the Good News, Bad News: Ready to go but airport shut down due to weather system with lightning. Sat at gate awhile, pushed back, taxied to get in line, waited some more. Finally, wheels up at 6:50! So very glad we had used our miles for first class comfortable, 2-across seats rather than 3-across main cabin. There were 5 children between 6months and 2 years old in main, but we didn't hear any crying from them during the wait - I'm sure the parents were frustrated but kept them entertained.

 

Pilot made up some time and we were at our car ready to leave hotel parking lot at 9. Decided to drive home rather than stay in Tampa overnight. Stopped at our local Wendy's drive-thru and were home at 10:55.

 

Had a good time in Alaska, great time with DD, DS and spouses. Now to unpack and work on photos. Last laundry bag went out at 9AM on Saturday, so there's not a lot of dirty clothes. (We use part of our OBC for that.)

[BetsyS.]

13 minutes ago, Cruise Suzy said:

All went very well yesterday until the plane's door closed in Charlotte.

 

Got up at 3:30 AM Seattle time (6:30 in FL) after going to bed at 8 Seattle (11 in FL). 4:30 shuttle to airport, got to TSA SpotSaver at 5:02 but they let us in anyway - reserved time was 5:45 +/- 15 minutes. Flight to Charlotte was at gate 15 minutes early, the gate to Tampa was just past restrooms and shops. No long walk, YEA!!!! Everyone onboard at 4:30 for 4:45 departure, door closed at 4:40. At 4:50 it was announced the system linking the plane to the push back vehicle needed a repair, including a complete shutdown with re-entering data. At 5:20 we got the Good News, Bad News: Ready to go but airport shut down due to weather system with lightning. Sat at gate awhile, pushed back, taxied to get in line, waited some more. Finally, wheels up at 6:50! So very glad we had used our miles for first class comfortable, 2-across seats rather than 3-across main cabin. There were 5 children between 6months and 2 years old in main, but we didn't hear any crying from them during the wait - I'm sure the parents were frustrated but kept them entertained.

 

Pilot made up some time and we were at our car ready to leave hotel parking lot at 9. Decided to drive home rather than stay in Tampa overnight. Stopped at our local Wendy's drive-thru and were home at 10:55.

 

Had a good time in Alaska, great time with DD, DS and spouses. Now to unpack and work on photos. Last laundry bag went out at 9AM on Saturday, so there's not a lot of dirty clothes. (We use part of our OBC for that.)

Thanks for the update. I'm sorry you had delays, but glad you had comfortable first class seats.   I hope you can get some rest.  That's great you had a wonderful trip.

[Cruise Suzy]

HAL traditions experienced:

Mariner tiles

Mariner Cocktail card (used in place of reception since restart)

Chocolate Extravaganza

Orange Party

Blue plastic bag

Journey booklet (used in place of log since restart)

Chocolates, but only on Dressy/Gala Nights

Staying in stateroom until disembarkation group called

Wonderful crew members

 

HAL traditions missed:

No Afternoon Tea

No towel animals, not even on Dressy/Gala Nights

 

Ask if I've missed an event as I'm sure I've overlooked some. I've saved all the daily Programs for reference - aka When & Where. HAL has used at least 3 formats since the restart.

[rubytue]

Our connection sounds like it went a lot like your, @Cruise Suzy. But, in Las Vegas. 
 

Deplaned at C25, next flight at B14. So we had a hike. I turned toward decreasing Cs and got to the end and couldn’t find the signs for B. I found the train, but it said it was to baggage. Someone asked me how to get to D, I said I had to clue I was stumped getting to B. She assured me she had walked here from B and you just got down that hallway. So, I walk back toward where I came from and find the entrance to B right at C25. Who the #*11 designed an airport with terminal connects at the high numbers?! Anyway, on the hike, I notice the dark clouds outside. I was hoping the windows were tinted. I finally get where I need to be (H stopped at a restroom, and then, checked signs when he came out, so he beat me there by 15 minutes). Then they start talking about trying to get flights out before the storm. Great. Delay is already 30 minutes and growing. 
 

At least we made it in time to take advantage of our A10/A11 boarding numbers (Southwest). So, they board the As, and we were able to get our preferred seats, the two seater exit row! Yay. And then, boarding stops….

 

turns out, the computers went down between A and B (plane rumors was B55 tried to sneak in with the As, and they had to do something bc her pass was scanned before it was noticed, and that caused the reboot). But it was about 30 minutes before boarding continued. Then the pilot decided to change the route to avoid storms over Iowa, so he needed to top off the fuel tank. Then we taxi, and wait. Ground stop #1. Move to a new runway. Ground stop #2. Finally in the air 1:55 after scheduled. 
 

and, of course, delays at baggage claim. Took bags about an hour to come out, and ours were in the third wave. 
 

We got home about 1am. 15 hours of travel. And then cooked a pizza before bed 😂

[Euby]

17 hours ago, Cruise Suzy said:

Ask if I've missed an event as I'm sure I've overlooked some. I've saved all the daily Programs for reference - aka When & Where. HAL has used at least 3 formats since the restart.

What times were the evening Trivia and games?  Also, how many Bingo games were there over the course of the cruise?  I need to make sure I have my Bingo budgeted.

[Cruise Suzy]

3 hours ago, Euby said:

What times were the evening Trivia and games?  Also, how many Bingo games were there over the course of the cruise?  I need to make sure I have my Bingo budgeted.

Sun: Trivia 4:30P; Game Night 8P

Mon: Trivia 1:30, 6P, 7P; Game Night 8P; Bingo 11A, 3P

Tues: Trivia 10A, 9:30P

Wed: Trivi 12:30P, 6P; Games 8P; Bingo 11A

Thurs: Trivia 4P, 6:30P, 8:30P; Pictionary 5:30P; Game 7:30P

Fri: Trivia 1P, 4:30P; Games 7:30P; Bingo 3P

Sat: Trivia 10A, 4:30P, 7P; Bingo 11A

[BetsyS.]

39 minutes ago, Cruise Suzy said:

Sun: Trivia 4:30P; Game Night 8P

Mon: Trivia 1:30, 6P, 7P; Game Night 8P; Bingo 11A, 3P

Tues: Trivia 10A, 9:30P

Wed: Trivi 12:30P, 6P; Games 8P; Bingo 11A

Thurs: Trivia 4P, 6:30P, 8:30P; Pictionary 5:30P; Game 7:30P

Fri: Trivia 1P, 4:30P; Games 7:30P; Bingo 3P

Sat: Trivia 10A, 4:30P, 7P; Bingo 11A

Thanks so much for posting this. I love Bingo! 😊

[JesseLivermore]

2 hours ago, Cruise Suzy said:

Sun: Trivia 4:30P; Game Night 8P

Mon: Trivia 1:30, 6P, 7P; Game Night 8P; Bingo 11A, 3P

Tues: Trivia 10A, 9:30P

Wed: Trivi 12:30P, 6P; Games 8P; Bingo 11A

Thurs: Trivia 4P, 6:30P, 8:30P; Pictionary 5:30P; Game 7:30P

Fri: Trivia 1P, 4:30P; Games 7:30P; Bingo 3P

Sat: Trivia 10A, 4:30P, 7P; Bingo 11A

 

thx. how much for Trivia? Prizes?  

[Cruise Suzy]

27 minutes ago, JesseLivermore said:

how much for Trivia? Prizes? 

Trivia is free. Prizes when I've attended are usually just bragging rights or some inconsequential trinket.

[Euby]

@Cruise Suzy- Thanks so much for posting this!  I may have to rearrange a few dining reservations, so I can indulge in some fun & games.  LOL

 

[Florida_gal_50]

On 7/25/2022 at 4:39 PM, 0106 said:

Not Rubytue but I am from Md.  I was talking to the Pinnacle Chef on my February Zuiderdam cruise and ask him what I should order.  He said “crab cake appetizer”. I said, “I am from Md.”. He said, “ don’t order the crab cake, it is nothing like a Md. crab cake.”  Since it didn’t cost me extra, I ordered it.  Took one bite and pushed the plate away. Nothing compares to blue crab.

 

I also told him my all my fish was over cooked.  He told me to order my halibut “rare” and he would know it was for me.  It came out perfect.  (I don’t eat meat.). Told my server in the MDR the same thing and enjoyed my fish for the rest of the week.

Good information on the halibut.  I find it’s always overcooked for me in the pinnacle.