Hello from Volendam!

[innlady1]

Ekerr and Brian,

I was just looking at those February 2009 cruises on the Noordam(since I love that ship and love to get away in February) and was wondering when is school vacation in the east that year? I don't have a 2009 calendar so I can't even guess. Anyone know?

 

Great minds think alike, Carol! When I read Brian's post, I had the same thought. Would love to do that cruise and finally meet all of these wonderful people...School vacation week is always the week that begins with President's Day. I just looked it up: In 2009, it falls on Monday, February 16. So, for anyone willing to take the kids out of school (which they did on the Noordam last year out of NYC) this would be the week.

 

Brian...loved your post! Your writing is fabulous!

[maxout]

Advocado, I'm not sure whether or not you're serious. But, I think it's actually a good idea. It is better than just refusing entry to those in tee shirts and jeans. Why not designate a special place for those who want to do their "own thing"?

 

Isn't it called the Lido? ;) :D (retreats to put on flame proof suit)

[RustaRoo]

Oh, Brian and Greg - thank you so much for your eloquent, descriptive posts and fabulous photos!! I still am counting down the days to this terrific cruise and can already hardly wait.

 

Please continue to have an absolutely terrific time - and a big hi and hug to Adele!

 

Cheers!

[advocado]

Isn't it called the Lido? ;) :D (retreats to put on flame proof suit)

LOL -- You're correct. Perhaps the proper greeting of the maitre d' in the main dining room is "... Good evening, sir. Let me show you to your table in the Lido." ;) p.s. Do they still have that world class Chinese restaurant in Hanford?

[maxout]

You know it closed last year, :( I guess the families' younger generation did not want to run it anymore. It was like a time capsule in there, the decor had not been changed or modified since the sixties, very authentically retro :D.

 

The best part was taking someone there for the first time, all the trappings of an upscale chinese restaurant, & chinese staff. Then they open up the menu and it's all continental cuisine! :eek: :D great food but a real non-sequiter if you weren't prepared for it.

 

I understand that one of the founders (chinese) was a cook in Europe in WWII and fell in love with the food there, learned to prepare it, came home and dumped the chinese food from the menu and it was continental from then on, with the exception of a few appetizers. :D

[lillulu]

LOL -- You're correct. Perhaps the proper greeting of the maitre d' in the main dining room is "... Good evening, sir. Let me show you to your table in the Lido." ;) p.s. Do they still have that world class Chinese restaurant in Hanford?

 

 

Oh you know what would be even funnier. :D They take them into the dining room, lead them up the stairs that are in the dining room, go out the doors to elevator. And tell them to just hit the lido deck. Imagine the looks on their faces:eek:

[maxout]

Brian, Greg and company, sorry for the highjacking!

 

"We now return you to your regularly scheduled thread..."

[advocado]

You know it closed last year, :( I guess the families' younger generation did not want to run it anymore. It was like a time capsule in there, the decor had not been changed or modified since the sixties, very authentically retro :D.

 

The best part was taking someone there for the first time, all the trappings of an upscale chinese restaurant, & chinese staff. Then they open up the menu and it's all continental cuisine! :eek: :D great food but a real non-sequiter if you weren't prepared for it.

 

I understand that one of the founders (chinese) was a cook in Europe in WWII and fell in love with the food there, learned to prepare it, came home and dumped the chinese food from the menu and it was continental from then on, with the exception of a few appetizers. :D

I live in the SF area where great Chinese food is abundant. So...when I first went to the Hanford restaurant in the 70's I was wary. Until I ate the food. I went back several times over the next 20 years and it was always memorable. Too bad it's gone:(

[terrydtx]

Oh you know what would be even funnier. :D They take them into the dining room, lead them up the stairs that are in the dining room, go out the doors to elevator. And tell them to just hit the lido deck. Imagine the looks on their faces:eek:

 

I LOVE this IDEA!!!:D :D

[LADYLAYLA]

Isn't it called the Lido? ;) :D (retreats to put on flame proof suit)

 

 

That is exactly what ran through my mind when I read that post Max!

 

Brian and Revneal -- thank you so much for allowing us to glimpse into your fun filled cruise! Had raised my level of OCD to a new high!

[ldog]

So glad to hear that Volendam is finally going into drydock. April is a long way off though. It really should have been done before the repo. I worry that there will be so many lukewarm reports between now and then that HAL will lose some potential cruisers.

 

It's difficult to post negative reports because that seems to be all that people remember.:(

[terrydtx]

Can anybody spot Greg, Brian or Scotty? Too bad there is a large tanker blocking the Volendam in the locks:(

[prescottbob]

Ahoy!

 

I enjoy reading your posts. Always like reading cruise ship reviews.

 

Would you be kind enough to comment on the ship shows, that s if you've attended any or have heard comments from other cruisers. And who is playing currently in the Ocean Bar and Explorer's Lounge. And thirdly, any comments you might have on the ship's activities / lectures thus far.

 

Thanks in advance. Sounds like your having a wonderful time.

 

Bon Voyage and Good Health!

Bob:)

[jhannah]

Too bad there is a large tanker blocking the Volendam in the locks:(

Don't those lock operators have any sense at all???? They're supposed to put our dam ships in the foreground! :p

 

That's just the luck of the draw. I'll try to be watching for the reverse transit later on.

[ekerr19]

Can anybody spot Greg, Brian or Scotty? Too bad there is a large tanker blocking the Volendam in the locks:(

 

OH, I see Brian and Greg!!!! Scotty, where are you? Did you order me a Bloody Mary? I'll be right down to enjoy it!!!! :eek:

 

Oh, how I wish I were there!

 

Thanks for keeping us "posted" :D

[RuthC]

I'm sitting here with my usual degree of patience---which is to say none---waiting for the reports on the Black & White Ball. You will be posting about it, won't you guys?

Yeah, yeah, I know. You're out and about enjoying the Canal, and all that. And I hope you really are having a great time today. Honestly. But, you know, it can get too hot out there, and that's not good for you. So, com'on in and post. K? ;)

[maxout]

You know, we got a life but they're livin' it :D

 

29 more days, sigh...

[mamaofami]

You know, we got a life but they're livin' it :D

 

 

 

So true.

[jtl513]

Can anybody spot Greg, Brian or Scotty?

Not until I put my Superman contacts in, no. :)

 

Brian, Greg and company, sorry for the highjacking!

"We now return you to your regularly scheduled thread..."

maxout - sorry about hijacking your hijacking, but please email me. I have a private question. Thanks

[maxout]

John, ygm.

[sail7seas]

Duh....

 

I looked and looked at your message until I got it.

YGM ... :D

 

 

[RuthC]

Got another "hidden" post here. Come out, come out wherever you are! :D

[maxout]

Acronyms. Gotta love 'em :D

[bepsf]

We are currently at anchor in Gatun Lake – the weather is mercifully cool-ish, grey and drizzly and we’re enjoying a late breakfast in the Lido overlooking the tenders taking passengers ashore for their excursions.

 

Apparently, there was mass-hysteria on the forward decks this morning as the oldsters fought for space at the rail from which to take their photos of Volendam entering the Gatun Locks. Some little biddy actually accused Greg of attempting to pick-pocket her! Scotty endured the massive hoards rushing the tables for the Panama Canal souvenirs. Me? I enjoyed the view from my bed in 7086 through my window overlooking the stern…

 

Last night was Formal Night and the Black and White Ball – Scotty wore his tux and I wore my white dinner jacket. Security Officer Larry and his DW Susan joined us for dinner again, and we all had a great time – it would seem that we are their table of choice for the remainder of the cruise, and they told us tales of the horrors of hosting tables for people who really should not have been out in public – the types of folks to stare straight ahead and give one-worded grunts in answer to questions – or worse, one lady who went on ad-nauseum at how she “Hated Cops”

 

During dinner, we observed what we initially thought were flashes from the photographers in the Dining Room: they turned out to be the beginnings of an amazing lightning display, which lasted all night, and into the morning! When we adjourned to the Crow’s Nest after dinner, we enjoyed a panorama of lightning flashes – but no heavy seas or very much rain at all.

 

Even so, not a single ship’s officer attended the Black and White Ball – no Champagne Dances, Nada – although many of the ship’s cast members did arrive after their late show, it was a real dud. Adele says it was The Worst she has ever experienced. Larry did mention at dinner that he had to be up awfully early in the AM to prepare for the Panama Canal Authorities, so it would have seemed that the Black and White should have been more appropriately scheduled for last Formal Night rather than this one. There were also a great many folks who were simply not dressed appropriately for the party – folks in shorts, khakis, etc. There was one fellow who looked exactly like Ernest Borgnine in his t-shirt and black pants while he was escaping a capsized Poseidon – Ugh!

 

It’s now 11am, and we’re slowly moving from our anchorage in the lake to go back through the locks and into the Caribbean – I have a great view from my seat here in the starboard Lido at the forward end of the cantilever facing the starboard bridge wing – there is an electrical plug here in the column next to me, so I think I’ll stay here and enjoy my tea and writing as we go back through. I can see from my seat the old military base that was adjacent to the locks – the elegant officer’s housing and offices with their wide verandahs, the red and white water towers, etc. It’s amazing to look at the concrete work that makes up the dams and locks, the various lighthouses, the control and administration buildings, and the mitred lock gates themselves and realize that these have been in daily use since 1914 – and all of it in perfect working order. I cannot wait to come back another time to do the complete transit from Ocean to Ocean. From what I recall reading, the building of the new 3rd channel should be underway shortly with an expected opening date in 2014.

 

As of now, the Panamax is 106 feet wide by 965 feet long – HAL’s S, R and Vista Class ships are all 106 feet wide, and Vistas are 935 feet long – the Queen Victoria is truly Panamax at 965 feet, and the “Nieuw” Elizabeth will be the same.

 

Speaking of ships, I learned that my toilet issue of yesterday am was not entirely “unexpected” - Greg tells me that as a result of the ongoing plumbing replacement work being done, entire segments of the vacuum system have to be disabled in order to cleanly make the cuts and replacements in the system lines – once the segment linkage is restored, the switch is flipped and the signals to flush which have remained “in queue” suddenly occur without any other intervention – I truly had no idea that the vacuum flush system was computer operated. This work is in addition to the electrical upgrades that are ongoing which I may have mentioned earlier – as we walk the corridors throughout the days, we see crews digging around in the corridor access panels and in the ceilings of the staterooms replacing great lengths of cabling – I have the feeling that this may be affecting the A/C since without the electrical cabling connecting the individual controllers to the system, there is no way that the affected staterooms can get A/C or heat: We heard that even the PH which is occupied by CrystalLady was without A/C yesterday – I know another frequent PH guest who would not have been at all pleased… ;)

 

As we turn back into the channel, the carcarrier Marvelous Ace passes ahead of us from East to West – another carcarrier followed us in the same direction as we entered Gatun Lake this am. I’m sure it’s laden with not only European cars headed for the West Coast, but possibly also Mexican-built American and German-branded models. These carcarriers look not too unlike cruiseships with their boxy profiles, light blue hulls and white superstructures – just no verandahs or open decks and very few window openings except for the bridge at the bow and the few crew cabins astern. From my seat, I can see a few umbrellas of passengers standing on the roof of our Bridge Wing looking to the right at the canal as we slowly make our approach. The tugboat, Harding, is to our starboard, poised to give assistance as we await the north-western locks to be cleared for our transit. (no, it’s not always “drive to the right” here – it’s “take whatever lane they give you”) In addition to its GPS and communications gear on the pilothouse roof, I can see a Television Aerial and a water-cannon…

 

 

Yesterday afternoon was a lazy day at sea: We were to meet Adele, Greg and Christopher for a relaxing lunch in the Dining Room – Greg alerted me that my 50-day pin had been delivered to my cabin, so I trotted up to retrieve it before lunch: When I glanced at the name on the card, it said: “Mr B Parker, Veranda Suite 7086” We joked how we should snatch some ropes and official looking signs and rope off the staircases leading to “Our Private Verandah” ;) Then I pulled my pin from the velveteen pouch: It was a Blue 25 day pin! Off I trotted again to the Front Desk to tell Vincent that Captain Fred had given me the wrong pin! (well, his “signature” was on the card…) Apparently, I was not the only one that day to have received the wrong pin – but I definitely wanted and shortly received the correct one as it’s the most expensive piece of jewelry I’ll ever own for the next few years…

 

After a nice lunch, we wandered about aimlessly: we made a donation at the Blackjack table and later scoured the ships bars looking for Scotty so that we could book a shore excursion for Costa Rica - we eventually found him in the Casino making his own donations at the slot machines (truly the last place I ever expected to see him!!!) We did book a Canopy-Zipline tour for early tomorrow morning: Even Adele is coming with us! I can’t wait to get pictures of her screaming across the jungle canopy tomorrow morning... Later, we had Bananarama’s at the Lido and it was off for a mid-afternoon siesta before dressing for dinner…

 

We’re entering the upper locks now just as lunch is starting to be served here in the Lido – I just popped over to get some Fried Rice, Singapore Rice Noodles and Stir-Fried Beef & Veggies – always a good thing! From where I sit, I can see the Captain, Pilot and officers clustered at the starboard controls on the bridgewing – it must take nerves of steel to guide a 106 foot wide ship into locks that are 110 feet wide! It reminds me of the story of an old P&O liner that drifted into the Canal wall a number of years ago, banging a prop and bending a shaft – they were able to repair/replace the prop but could do nothing for her shaft and for the remainder of her career, she had a wobble…

 

The MSC containership Davos is passing to our starboard, heading to the Pacific – she’s an older ship and there aren’t a huge number of containers on her decks the way many of the newer ships are nowadays. She probably services the smaller ports as she has her own boom for loading and unloading – her Bridge was just at the same level as our Lido – but they were at the lower level and we are at the upper: they are raising as we are lowering and they are now at the level of the Crow’s Nest. The Canal Commentator is on the overhead speaker system, but nobody listens as they chatter amongst themselves, snapping photos and gazing out the windows lining the rooms. I can see the raindrops pooling on the containers and on the steel deckhatches aboard the MSC ship – so I’m glad to be indoors and dry with my rice and tea and not on a kayaking excursion or somesuch…

 

What appear to be the jungles of Panama are actually gardens for the base, and they are amazingly lush: there are palms, various deciduous trees and beautifully groomed rolling lawns through which the drives, pathways and stairs descend to the locks. Many of the lesser buildings on the base have metal roofs, but the control tower and the nearby maintenance buildings dating from 1912 have the red terracotta tile roofs with broad overhanging eaves. The Davos is at her higher level and we are at the lower moving towards the center locks – her bridge now towers far above our SportsDeck…

 

The Panamanians have erected a modern prefab-steel covered observation platform from which tourists are watching us go up and down –As we slip into the lower locks, I can see the downward slope and my whole body anticipates a hill – I feel as though the entire room I’m in should tip downward as if I were a kid again in the backseat of Dad’s car approaching a hill – and yet we glide onward. There is a slight shudder from side to side – the Pilot must have nudged the side thrusters to keep us from grazing the canal walls, but it’s hard to say for certain.

 

Earlier, a steward passed and smiled – asking about my laptop. Silly ladies at the table behind me are saying “I wonder what happens if a ship gets stuck?”, and “Oh look, there are some houses – I wondered where the people lived down here…” A couple take the chairs across the table from me and sit to gaze out the windows as they eat ice creams in waffle cones - all made aboard ship. Volendam is slowly sinking…

 

There is what appears to be some sort of mid-sized bulk-freighter in the lower locks coming west just ahead of us – could it possibly have been German at one time from the colors on it’s stack? A big black bird walks across one of its hatch covers… The ship’s name is Lihai, and the crew is Chinese – we can see the officers on the bridge wing taking pictures of us as we move into the lower locks – now we see the tugboat Cecil F Haynes making its way west behind the Lihai.

 

Along the canal walls, there are yellow inlaid mosaic tiles with black tile numbers and arrows – these indicate the distance in feet from that spot to the ends of the lock: …500/550, 550/500, 600/450, 650/400... One of tiles has fallen out of a “500” making it look like a “600” – probably from a ship grazing the wall a long time ago. One can see that the canal was built to last a long, long time – as they didn’t want to have to paint those numbers over again, therefore the tile inlays…

 

Adele is here having Vegetables A-La RuthC: Pistachio Ice Cream. Hello Emily, we’ll tell you all about your Mom’s adventures here again tomorrow…

 

Until Costa Rica: TTFN

[rangeley]

Brian and Rev Neal, thanks so much for posting all the pics and for all the info. Of course its just making us all the more excited about our own cruises. Enjoy and be safe!