'Twas Two Weeks Before Christmas - Live from the Nieuw Statendam, Dec. 10 - 17, 2023

[POA1]

Just when you thought it was safe to go back on the water....

Ladies & Gentlemen, Boys & Girls, Moms & Dads, Teens, Tweens, Youngsters, Toddlers and Wee Little Shavers - It's that time again. The National Institute of Cheer has stoked the boiler on the blogging machine and we're going full steam ahead with our first "Live From" since Christmas of 2018.  That's five long years without a voyage on one of Holland America's blue-hulled beauties.

 

This cruise will be our first on the Pinnacle Class and we plan to cram in as much "research" as possible into a single week.  Our goal is to log as many firsts as we can.  To that end, we booked our first Club Orange, first Vista Suite and first meal at Rudi's Sel de Mer.

 

We were a little limited on vacation this year, so we opted for a 7 day sailing instead of our preferred 10+ days*. Way back in 2019, we had planned on another holiday cruise, but the schedule didn't come together. We planned another Christmas cruise for 2020... and we all know what happened then.  We waited a while after the restart because we really wanted to have a "normal" cruise.

 

This is a very familiar itinerary for us. We've been to Grand Turk, San Juan, St. Thomas, and Half Moon Cay many times over the year. We even had a few weeks' worth of land vacations in St. Thomas and San Juan. We don't really need to explore the ports. That will give us more time to focus on the ship and what the Nieuw Statendam has to offer.

 

* - Disclaimer: We have a 9 Day Southern Caribbean booked on the Rotterdam in March, so my whole "10+ Days" thing looks a little weak.

 

Edited December 10, 2023 by POA1

[hrhdhd]

Can't wait to follow along . . . from the ship! 😃

[RuthC]

Yippee! I do so enjoy reading all your research findings! 

[TiogaCruiser]

Bon voyage and thanks for taking us along!

[wdw1972]

When in March?  We're on the 3/8/24 9-day sailing and would enjoy meeting you both! Your reports are always entertaining and I look forward to this one. Hope you like Rudi's - our experiences have mostly (all but once) been very good.  In fact, we'll probably book it for embarkation day in March, but once we're onboard to use OBC.

 

Sue/WDW1972

[POA1]

11 minutes ago, wdw1972 said:

When in March?  We're on the 3/8/24 9-day sailing and would enjoy meeting you both! Your reports are always entertaining and I look forward to this one. Hope you like Rudi's - our experiences have mostly (all but once) been very good.  In fact, we'll probably book it for embarkation day in March, but once we're onboard to use OBC.

 

Sue/WDW1972

 

The March 29th - April 7th version.  Sadly, we are missing Curacao on our trip.  We were supposed to do the ABC Islands and now we're doing the AB Islands, with a "sea day" where Curacao should be. Because a 40-mile trip from Bonaire to Aruba makes for a heck of a sea day.

[wdw1972]

Just now, POA1 said:

 

The March 29th - April 7th version.  Sadly, we are missing Curacao on our trip.  We were supposed to do the ABC Islands and now we're doing the AB Islands, with a "sea day" where Curacao should be. Because a 40-mile trip from Bonaire to Aruba makes for a heck of a sea day.

Ah, too bad.  We were more fortunate.  We lost Bonaire, which wouldn't have been my first pick to lose, but we have an overnight in Curacao.  We're doing a cocktails excursion one night and will enjoy drinks/food at Iguana Cafe for sunset on the other night.  An earlier sailing lost Bonaire and got an overnight in Aruba - poor substitute in my opinion. I'm surprised they gave you a sea day with such a short distance to travel, unless they're cutting the engines and using the oars.

 

Sue/WDW1972

[SilvertoGold]

Delightful! Facts are OK, but lets have lots of opinions and critiques from the master :)

[POA1]

We received our boarding time and boarding group in late November. Out Group is A, which is great.  The boarding time is 1:00 PM which is a little later than normal for Group A in Port Everglades.

That's either because the ship is returning from Europe after dry dock and there are inspections and immigration - or, because they want to ensure an awesome time for us and they want everything to be perfect for us.  (We travel in The Bubble of Awesome, which, according to the cruise contract, guarantees an excellent experience.)

 

We will probably make the long, arduous journey to the port a little before our assigned time.  The only thing we have planned as an immediate to-do is to make our Pinnacle Grill Lunch reservation for Monday.  We have all our other dining  locked down.

[POA1]

28 minutes ago, POA1 said:

 

The March 29th - April 7th version.  Sadly, we are missing Curacao on our trip.  We were supposed to do the ABC Islands and now we're doing the AB Islands, with a "sea day" where Curacao should be. Because a 40-mile trip from Bonaire to Aruba makes for a heck of a sea day.

 

To rub salt in the wound, they added Grand Turk in as a substitute for Curacao.  We'll just float off the coast for a day and it'll be like, "Neener, neener! You can't come ashore."

[oakridger]

Yay!  I'll be here watching for all the juicy details!

 

Bon Voyage!

 

~Nancy

[ger_77]

Yay, another adventure to follow along!   Thanks to you and @Huskerchickfor taking us with you!

[POA1]

1 minute ago, ger_77 said:

Yay, another adventure to follow along!   Thanks to you and @Huskerchickfor taking us with you!

 

If it weren't for my lovely wife, I would still be thinking about packing instead of being ready to go now. The electric shocking collar can really focus a fella on the task of putting things into the suitcase.

 

In unrelated news, I'll try to use the 16 point font when I post from my computer.  CC doesn't seem to want to allow font size changes from my phone.

[POA1]

When @LAFFNVEGAS was on her last cruise, she posted a daily "What Am I Going To Have For Dinner Tonight" thread which @Huskerchick really enjoyed.  I'm not sure how that will work in person since we're on the same ship and in Club Orange together. 

 

We should probably avoid creepy staring though. 😉

[oakridger]

Maybe you could use her idea but change it to a "What am I having to drink for a pre-dinner cocktail?" 

 

😉

 

~Nancy

[canadianbear]

Looking forward to laughing, I mean, following along on your journey!  

[oakridger]

Nighty night......................

[erewhon]

@POA1  thank you for taking us along with you on your cruise.

Hope you have a  wonderful BHB cruise..

[POA1]

3 hours ago, oakridger said:

Maybe you could use her idea but change it to a "What am I having to drink for a pre-dinner cocktail?" 

 

😉

 

~Nancy

 

That's probably not as fun a game as it would sound. You could probably just better on "Maker's Mark on the rocks" and let it ride.

 

On the other hand, we discussed purchase the Elite Beverage Package, so I suppose I'll have to branch out. The Christmas Cocktails sound intriguing.

Edited December 10, 2023 by POA1

[POA1]

Oops. That last post says "better on" instead of bet on.

 

Sure, I can blame it on my phone's auto correct, but still.. A typo this early in the game is a little embarrassing.

 

The Nieuw Statendam sailed in a little while ago and she is now safely tucked into her berth at Terminal 26.

 

The Ruby Princess is sailing by now and has blown her fog horn a few times. As much as I like the toots during departure, they're not as endearing before dawn"s early light.

Edited December 10, 2023 by POA1

[puppycanducruise]

Thanks for sharing your cruise with us.  Enjoy!

[kazu]

Looking forward to your reports and all your ‘scientific’ investigations 😊 

 

Thanks so much for taking us along.  Hope you two have a fabulous time.  

 

Bon Voyage!

 

 

 

[seagarsmoker]

Bon Voyage! Looking forward to report on the NS. 

[POA1]

When we first cruised on the old Noordam in 1994, we brought a couple of prepaid calling cards along so we could keep in touch. We each carried a book in case we needed extra entertainment.

 

Today we have a laptop, two tablets, a Kindle Paperwhite, two smartphones and my trusty travel router.

 

Progress is wonderful!

 

 

Edited December 10, 2023 by POA1

[albingirl]

Love the ship and wishing you a very happy and fun adventure!