The LAFFNVEGAS LIVE From the Statendam Panama Canal Cruise

[Susie51]

Lisa, your daily posts are appreciated. Thank you for spending your time and money sharing your experiences with us. Like you, I usually do 7 day cruises. 2001 Hawaii cruise was the last time I did a longer one. Your insights has my "mouth watering" for at least a 10 day cruise hopefully in 2010. I have never been to the S. Caribbean. What would you recommend?

[Old As Dirt Mom]

Hi Karin:

 

.....one day you, Lisa (and your respective husbands) and I really do have to enjoy a cruise together.

 

Valerie:)

 

 

Valerie, I'll drink a Wang Wang to that!:) Lisa, now back to you..........

[wilsonzoo]

...and will toast the two of you with a Wang Wang of my own!...

 

It's probably been asked before, but does anyone have the official recipe for these heavenly little concoctions??? :D I experienced my first one one OUR Panama Canal cruise last December and fell in LOVE with them!!! :p

[Copper10-8]

It's probably been asked before, but does anyone have the official recipe for these heavenly little concoctions??? :D I experienced my first one one OUR Panama Canal cruise last December and fell in LOVE with them!!! :p

 

1/4 oz Vodka

1/4 oz Gin

1/4 oz White Rum

1/4 oz Scotch

1/4 oz Bourbon

1/4 oz Tequila

1/4 Triple Sec

1/4 oz Brandy

 

Top it off with Pineapple and Orange Juice

 

Add a splash of Grenadine and let the games begin!

[Himself]

Where are you on this Friday, April 24th Lisa.

[Himself]

Have a great cruise as you start to head to the home stretch. When is the Statendam due into San Diego?

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Friday Evening April 24th, 2009

 

Oh My this has been a very long day. I guess the best place to start is the beginning.

 

When we woke up this morning we were in a bay anchored at Puerto Caldera, Costa Rica. We had pre booked an excursion of a train and boat ride that we later found out we were lucky to have booked ahead of time on line because about 20% of the ship were taking that excrusion and it had sold out before we even sailed so good that I grabbed it when we did. We left the ship at about 10:30 via tender to shore and were in bus 15 I believe there were 4 busses for this group. First we were on a short bus ride that took us to the train. Our tour guide for bus 15 was Eduardo which was a very good looking guy that spoke absolutely perfect English with hardly any accent. I guess when we was young he spent a year in California as a Foreign Enchange student and learned his English and English slang from the L.A. area. He took lots of time to find every possible animal/ bird to show us. We were barely on the train but a few minutes he spotted a pair of Scarlet Macaws and he had them stop the train and was showing all the cars where the Macaws were. I was able to get some great pictures of them. Of course you could hear them. Those that know me know I am a bit of a bird person myself with 3 parrots and I know the call of a Macaw. Very hard to miss if you know bird sounds. I could hear lots of Macaws in the distance. Then one of the interesting moments was when we went thru that very long dark tunnel. As we were going thru I told Tom it reminded me of Disneyland lol only this was real. But as we emerged from the long dark tunnel a bat flew into the open windows of the train luckily it was up just two rows from us and they were able to push him out the front of the train car's door. After about an hour on this bumpy but rather interesting train ride we boarded a bus that took us to the Jungle Boat Ride seeing the Mangroves. On this boat tour we saw all kinds of iguanas, lizards, we did see Howller (not sure that is spelled right) Monkeys but I was unable to capture a picture, saw more different rare species of birds and hawks as well as more Scarlet Macaws. Afterwards they offered us fresh fruit from Costa Rica, along with fruit juices and beer. Then an hour + bus ride back to the pier. It made for a long day but also very interesting.

 

Since this is Friday and the start of our 2nd week we had decided the first day that we would dine at the Pinnacle this night. It was a wise choice because we missed absolutely nothing exciting in the Main Dining Room unless you think Master Chef Rudi's Meat Loaf is exciting. We had 7 PM dinner reservations and were one of only 4 couples in there the whole evening and one couple which were two girls had on Ship badges, so make that only 3 tables for two the whole evening and we were the last to leave. We had everyone waiting on us hand and foot. Of course we had already eaten there for lunch a few days ago and knew the Pinnacle Manager. The food was excelllent but I do very much miss the Pear Salad and the Pinnacle Manager says he hears that a lot as well as those that miss the Clam Chowder. We were asking about going again for lunch and they are actually open during port days which many Pinnacles are not open when in Port. The Manager was telling us that tomorrow was the first Mariner Brunch for those with less than 100and or just over 100 days and we are obviously being invited to the 2nd one since we have not yet received and invite but when we got to our cabin tonight we had tiles. They were actually tiles we did not have yet which was good. The Pinnacle Manager told us the Sea Day between Acapulco and Cabo would be the 2nd Mariner Brunch and the last Sea Day they hold the Suite Luncheon in the Pinnacle. Which is the only day they are closed for lunch.

 

Tonight they are holding the Lido Pool Party but after a very long day of excursion and a very good dinner with a bottle of wine and dessert there is no way I want to look at more food or desserts so we have retired to our home away from home to relax and so that I can report to all of you.

 

OK if I remember correctly someone asked about using the Thermal Suite in Alaska. I have to say it really depends on how active you are with excursions. If you have lots of excursions but have late dining so you can fit it in then that might work. We have been to Alaska many times so last summer I did get the Thermal Suite on the Amsterdam but even with out doing excursions I found I did not have a chance to use it as much as I have on other cruises. If this is your first cruise to Alaska you may want to pay by the day because you may not get your money;s owrth for a pass in Alaska.

OK as I suspected the clocks are changing yet again tonight but this tie the clock is moving ahead an hour so we lose an hour tonight. We laugh when The Captain mentions this when we gain an hour he always says "I Like That' and this afternoon he told us we lose an hour and he says "I do not like that"

Since my eyes are burning and I am a bit exhausted I am going to post his and call it a night.

 

Signing off from the Beautiful and Elegant MS Statendam.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Tom, thank you and keep up the good work:). Tonight I will be on the Amsterdam, thanks to my DH, and will toast the two of you with a Wang Wang of my own!:) Three days of Wang Wangs coming up for me:D Aren't we all just the luckiest people?

 

Karin

 

Oh Karin I am so very happy for you, here is a belated Bon Voyage!!!!! :)

 

Where are you on this Friday, April 24th Lisa.

 

Have a great cruise as you start to head to the home stretch. When is the Statendam due into San Diego?

 

Well from my post you can see we were in Costa Rica, and the next Friday morning we arrive in San Diego :o I am truly afraid this 2nd week is going to fly by far too quickly.

[Kiwi Kruzer]

Hi Lisa,

Thanks so much for your wonderful posts.

Sounds like you are and Tom are really getting into these longer cruises...

You will soon be booking a Trans Pacific and heading down this way to see us?:D

Along with others , I also think you would be a wonderful Future Cruise Host.....

in fact why not job share...

you and Tom would make an awesome team:)

Keep up the good work and the wonderful posts.

 

ps....Some great shots on Invincible of your canal transit.

[clogaltocruise]

Hi Lisa ~

 

I want to thank you for bringing the elegant and beautiful ms Statendam to the Pacific Northwest for us. We will be boarding a week from Tuesday for a 5-day Pacific NW cruise and then again in September for her final inside passage plus return to San Diego. It's been enjoyable reading your posts.

 

Kathy

[kryos]

Hi Lisa,

Thanks so much for your wonderful posts.

Sounds like you are and Tom are really getting into these longer cruises...

You will soon be booking a Trans Pacific and heading down this way to see us?:D

Along with others , I also think you would be a wonderful Future Cruise Host.....

in fact why not job share...

you and Tom would make an awesome team:)

That's actually a very workable arrangement. On one of my cruises, the future cruise consultant did just that. She had her husband assisting her, and whereas he really couldn't help people with selecting cruises and whatnot, he could handle the paperwork for future cruise deposits on open bookings. So what she did the complicated stuff ... assisting passengers in selecting their itineraries and staterooms, he handled the more routine matters of taking care of open bookings for folks.

 

Worked out quite well and thinned the line out a bit at her desk.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[Sea King]

 

We had everyone waiting on us hand and foot.

 

 

LOL:D

 

is that the same as saying the service was "good":eek:

[kryos]

Hmmmm.........not sure what you consider "older". LOL

I am in my 40's and a solo cruiser! I personally haven't considered myself "older" yet! LOL I didn't know you had to be ready for the retirement home to enjoy dancing or to be without a partner!

I'm sorry if I gave the wrong impression. My post was probably worded all wrong.

 

What I meant was that there are far more solo cruisers on the longish voyages and these women tend to be much older. In many cases they have outlived their husbands and because they danced regularly for years, always having their husband's for a partner, now they are left not being able to enjoy something that gave them pleasure for a number of years when their husbands were alive. That's why the dance hosts are used on these longer cruises ... because there are so many of these solo ladies traveling who need dance partners.

 

Also, there are cases too ... and I saw this on my last cruise ... where the husband just can't dance anymore. We had one couple ... they were adorable ... she was, I believe 89 and her husband was 99. Every now and then he would dance a slow dance with her, but he really couldn't keep up anymore. So often she just got up on the dance floor and danced by herself ... because she loves dancing. Of course, the dance hosts shared a lot of dances with her too ... as well as some of the officers who would drop by the Ocean Bar.

 

Without a dance host, that poor lady would have always danced by herself ... and that would have been sad.

 

But there are just not enough of these "women without partners" on the shorter cruises to make bringing along dance hosts (actually HAL calls them "social hosts" now) worthwhile.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[kryos]

Future cruise consultants do not have to be a TA, I know a few and none of there were travel agents. HAL for example seems to place more emphasis on the interview of the individual and their knowledge of cruising.

And usually cruise agency TA's are the ones with the most knowledge of the industry.

 

However, you do have a point. Enthusiasm for cruising would be important too, I would guess.

 

I would be willing to bet that the future cruise consultants who do the best in terms of sales are probably the ones with the most knowledge, not just of cruising but of HAL ships and itineraries, as well as the ones who exhibit the most enthusiasm for their job.

 

So, I think that means Lisa would make the perfect future cruise consultant!

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[cruz chic]

Thanks Lisa for keeping us up to date with how things are going. I tried the Pinnacle for the very first time on the Statendam in Nov.08. I was one of these people that said I will never pay extra for a meal. My TA gave it as a gift. I just loved it! I even got my friends to join me a few more times. While on Princess I tried their "pay extra" restaurants and while very good they just aren't as good as the Pinnacle. Enjoy the rest of the cruise.

[Jo-Bob]

Really enjoying your account! Thanks for taking the time to post. I wonder if you'd be able to answer a question for me? I will be sailing in DD 379 (lower promenade) and I realize there is a partially obstructed view....would you know if it is the bottom of a life boat I might be looking at, or what exactly? (and how much ocean view?) Much thanks, but pleeeeease do not take one minute away from your wonderful holiday to research this...unless you are looking for something to do! Maybe someone else has some info on this cabin. Thanks so much!

[2bout2c]

What you'll be looking straight out at is a solid rail. You'll be able to see the sky above, just not looking straight out your window. Hope this helps.

[RuthC]

I will be sailing in DD 379 (lower promenade) and I realize there is a partially obstructed view....would you know if it is the bottom of a life boat I might be looking at, or what exactly?

On the S- and R-class ships the lifeboats are above the deck level. They are never a visual obstruction. They are actually set against the ship on the Promenade Deck level. Since there's no public outside/window areas on that deck, there's no interference with the passengers'views.

2bout2c answered the rest of your question.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Saturday Evening April 25th, 2009

 

Good Evening One and ALL from the Pacfic heading to Mexico. Although it appears our arrival will be delayed. We were to arrive in Santa Cruz Huatulco Mexico at 11:00 AM and leave at 5:00PM then later this afternoon the Captain made and annoucement that we would not be arriving till 12:30 and would be leaving at 5:30. Now this evening we recieved a letter in our cabin stating.... At this time we would like to advise you of a minor revision to our intinerary. Due to mechanical difficulties, our arrival in Santa Cruz Huatulco, Mexico tomorrow April 26 will be delayed until 1:15 pm. Consequently, our departure from Santa Cruiz Huatulco will be pushed back until 6:00 pm, all on board at 5:30pm and our arrival into Acapulco on April 27 will now be at 9:00am.( it was to be 8 AM) .....Now I was not aware of any mechical problems. The Sea is as calm as can be with barely a ripple but we are going very slow. But the ship is running very smooth, I have been on ships that were having some mechanical issues and usually there tends to be a bit of a vibration or a feeling not all the squirrels are running at full speed. It does not feel that way, so not sure what the problem is. Hopefully what ever it is they can fix or give us plenty of time to make us aware of changes we need to make with flights since we have a 11:50 flight on Southwest on Friday. Fortunately it is Southwest and is easy to make those changes with no cost and many more flights back to Las Vegas but it is also a Friday.

 

Today was another relaxing Sea Day and with all these Sea Days the days of the week do tend to run together. We slept in again, got up and went up to the Lido for breakfast, then Tom headed to the Crow's Nest to read and I headed to the Thermal Suite since I was not there on Friday. As you might remember I did mention to them once again about the fact that there was no aroma therapy in the showers and or the steam rooms. Well guess what??? Yup, still no aroma therapy and the large steam room was also cold as could be. Although about 30 minutes before I left the Thermal Suite a worker came in and was doing something with it. By the time Ieft it was steamy and hot but no aroma therapy. When I left to check out I did mention again that the aroma therapy was not working. The Spa Manager just sort of rolled his eyes and said well we have reported it but no one has come to check on it. Something tells me it will not be working by the end of the cruise. Now don't get me wrong it is not a big deal but you don't make it a big deal that you have this when you have Spa Tours and epecially when I was interrupted numerous times and each group coming in being told about the aroma therapy. Either don't mention it and or apologise that it currently is not working. In the times I have reported it not working I have yet to hear "I am sorry"

 

Today was an absolutely beautiful day and I returned to our cabin close to Noon after stopping to get an Icey Caramello Creme Latte to bring back with me and then I spent the next 2 plus hours just sitting out on the verandah reading. The air temp was perfect and was not the least bit windy yet you could hear the sound of the ocean so it made for a great way to relax and read. I was able to finish up one of my James Pattersons books and will now start in on the next one in the series.

 

This afternoon was the Royal Dutch Tea at 3 PM and since Tom and I have not make it to one recently or at least the last time on the Oosterdam. Can't remember we may have made it to one on the Eurodam but at any rate we decided to go. I skipped lunch all together knowing that we would do this plus tonight was Formal Night once again. We go down there right at 3 and had a short wait to get in. I was actually quite surprised there was only about 1/3 of what is usually offered for treats/desserts and little sandwichs. The one thing I really miss is when they would read the history of the Royal Dutch Tea explaining it. To me that just sort of set the tone for the occasion. But sadly there are no introductions any longer. We were seated at a table with a couple from PA. and the other couple from Central Coast California. We talked quite bit with the couple from PA that have done a lot of traveling and different types of cruises including River Boat cruises in Holland and Cairo.

 

After Tea we went walking around the ship and saw Susana the Guest Relations Manager and thought we would introduce ourselves and chat with her. She is great and we enjoyed talking with her. She is heading home to the Phillipines on May 1st. it seems that quite a few will be at the end of their contract on May 1st so HAL has buses for them to board that will take them directly to LAX rather than fly them out of San Diego to catch flights. Also I asked, currently the number of passengers is 1199 with quite a few single occupants to a cabin. So I would guess there are actually a few empty cabins.

 

Tonight was our 3rd Formal night and again most of the items were a bit different than we are accustom to. For instance there was Salmon Sashimi with wasabi to place in the soy sauce, a Smoked Fish Creamed Soup, then there was Liver and Onions which I would not consider to be something to be on the menu for Formal Night and to a few people that know I actually like Live and Onions....No I did not order that ;) I actually had the Filet and Prawn no not Prawns because you only got one shrimp. They called it "Land and Sea" with the same exact description as the Pinnacle. We are guessing the Lobster will be on the menu the last night coming up on Wednesday.

 

This was our 9th night of eating at least a 3 course meal I have to admit I am almost getting tired of eating. We had a couple of glasses of champagne at dinner and Tom and I both decided that we would make it an early evening to come back and relax, read and write up my report. Tonight's show is the Statendam Dancers and Singers doing a show called "On Track" which is to be a musical journey through the 50's 60's and 70's but I was tired of being dressed up and my feet are slightly swollen (I think that I am not drinking enough water) and relaxing sounded much more appealing.

 

It has become quite foggy out and the Statendam is starting to do some gentle rocking. It does feel as though she is picking up speed.

 

Well, I think I will get this posted and check into CC since I write all this off line.

 

Signing off from the Beautiful and Elegant MS Statendam.

 

[mariner]

Hope it's not the turbocharger. Did that many years ago. You'll be delayed by more hours than that.

[woodz]

Can you tell us what you had for Lunch in the Pinnacle? We are getting on the day you get off and we would love to eat there. I really don't think spaghetti, meatloaf and liver & onions are fine dining sounds more like the blue plate special, but as long as there is a fish choice I'm happy.

[AZjohn]

Due to mechanical difficulties, our arrival in Santa Cruz Huatulco, Mexico tomorrow April 26 will be delayed until 1:15 pm. Consequently, our departure from Santa Cruiz Huatulco will be pushed back until 6:00 pm, all on board at 5:30pm and our arrival into Acapulco on April 27 will now be at 9:00am.( it was to be 8 AM) .....Now I was not aware of any mechical problems.

 

Hi Lisa,

Hal has a spare Azipod now complements of the Oosterdam if you guys need one.

Keep enjoying your cruise!

John

[sail7seas]

Lisa.... If you mentioned it, I missed who is Hotel Manager on Statendam?

Hope you continue to enjoy!

[themerle]

I'm still enjoying your review. Sorry the Dutch Tea wasn't exactly what you were hoping for.

[gentlemancruiser]

Hi Lisa,

Captain Frans told us our late arrival in FFL on Apr 17th was due to high seas, but we never reached much above 19 knots. I think they are having some REAL engine troubles. I'm guess one of the 4 engines is broken again. I noticed when we docked in FLL there was several large green coloured mechanical pieces being off loaded.

How's the AC, we were in 408 and after we lost propulsion one day, we never got the AC back to full again?

I think HAL needs to put some real maintenance into the Statendam. I was pleased to hear that someone was dancing with the Gentleman Hosts. I never once saw them dancing in the Ocean Bar.

Good luck with the rest of the cruise!

Bruce