The LAFFNVEGAS LIVE From the Statendam Panama Canal Cruise

[woodz]

Thank you for your daily updates. We are getting on when you get off in San Diego. The Statendam was our first HAL cruise 4 years ago and we have taken a HAL cruise every May since then. We love the relaxed pace. A few questions I hope you don't find silly. How much is the self serve laundry? We travel stand-by and pack light. We will be at a wedding pre-cruise and will need to use the facilities. Also I am a soda drinker and have always bought a soda card. Do you know anything about it? I always have left over punches and have always used up my last card, and purchased a new one. I wonder if I still can. And one more (for now at least) How much per day is the Thermal Suite? (I loved your comment to the staff with the tour group? You sound like me, hehe.) Have a fantastic Sunday.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Sunday April 19th, 2009

 

Good Morning CCers, although I will admit by the time I post this it will be afternoon. Between 2 and 4 today the internet minutes are 50% off meaning that if you use 10 minutes you will only be charged for 5 minutes. Or at least that is how I am understanding it. It says it does not apply to new plans purchased, so we shall see. Actually I am going thru the internet minutes far faster than I planned. I said I would not purchase a 2nd $100 but I can already tell you I will. So no fear my sometimes weird daily reports will continue.

I slept like a very tired baby last night and felt absolutely nothing till I woke at 8:45. I decided since we were eating at the Pinnacle for lunch and seas were still smooth I would head up to the Thermal Suite. Today there were towels in the Women's bathroom but still no aroma therapy scents in either shower or in the steam saunas.

 

Luckily no tours interrupting my tranquility today, although shortly after I got in there a couple came in sat in the hydro therapy pool for maybe 10 minutes, got out and laid on the lounger for 5 minutes then left. An hour passed another couple came in laid on the loungers for about 15 minutes then got up and left. Maybe it is just me but to bother to get my swim suit on I want to spend far more time in there relaxing, a few minutes is not enough to get totally relaxed. So I pretty much had the Thermal Suite all to myself.

I came back showered and Tom was out and about, Tom returned a few minutes ago and I thought I would write up a few things. He said that today they did have breakfast specials and they had Banana Nut pancakes. Could be we totally missed this yesterday morning.We are still getting use to the lay out of where things are in the Lido Buffet. The Eurodam and Vista ships are really pretty much the same and even last year on the Amsterdam we did not find things very different. I think that everything is just condensed here so they can try to offer what the other ships do with half the space.

 

I have to say this 2nd Sea Day I am feeling very relaxed, content and am looking forward to lunch in the Pinnacle. I absolutely love the 5 Onion Soup, I could have 2 bowels of that for lunch with a little Orange and Lime Pana Cotta and be a happy cruiser. But I have decided to be adventerous and have the hamburger today. Tom and I usually always have the Blue Cheese Encrusted Filet because going for lunch is a one time thing during the cruise. Even on our B2B on the Eurodam we only went once but this time with all the Sea Days we plan to go at least one or possibley two more times.

 

I guess I better quit writing it's 11:53 and the Pinnacle is calling.

 

Signing off from the Beautiful and Elegant MS Statendam.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Part 2 Sunday afternoon April 19th, 2009

 

Well we just finished a very good lunch in the Pinnacle, I just love the 5 Onion Soup. A few weeks ago I had seen a list of Officers that were to be on the Statendam and recognized the name of the Pinnacle Manager, sure enough he had been on the Oosterdam a few years ago and he remembered us. Also the Events Manager had recently been on the Oosterdam and she remembered us. Other than that I have to say that for the first time in a long time there are not a huge amount of crew that we know on this ship. It actually does not surprise us I was kind of expecting that. But we are making friends with several of the bar Staff quickly.:D

 

While looking out the waves they do look a bit choppy but the Statendam is sailing smoothly. The winds have started to pick up and you can tell we have strong head winds and while sunny it is quite cloudy.

 

This morning in the Thermal Suite I finished a book that I had started before leaving home and I have 4 more books to ready but before I start in on my James Patterson series I will read the newest Janet Evanovich it is a thick hardback but her books are always a very easy quick read that a light with lots of humor.

 

Those that have read my live reports before know we are not overly active on the ship. We do not do trivia, or bingo. Actually we just enjoy relaxing, reading eating, drinking and some Spa Time (or at least the spa time for me) So with 14 days this could get boring but then one never knows when I might go and open my mouth and get in trouble. ;)

 

I guess I have caught you all up on what is going on with us on the Statendam so......

Signing off from the Beautiful and Elegant MS Statendam.

[English_in_Spain]

Please do not be offended by my post.

I know on CC we should not comment on spelling etc but I must say that you ought to careful between 'bowls' and 'bowels' otherwise you could make a real blunder.

[Himself]

Lisa:

 

Thanks for another good report. When is your first port of call?

[OVgirl]

Lisa, thank you for taking the time to let us go on this cruise with you. It sounds absolutely wonderful, even with the little things not up to par. Looking forward to more cruising life on Statendam.

[kakalina]

Lisa, you mentioned that when you went out for breakfast that there were smokers around the Lido Pool. None of the HAL ships allow smoking at the Lido pool. Did you meant the aft pool?

It would be great if they went back to allowing smoking under the open roof.

[gentlemancruiser]

Lisa, you mentioned that when you went out for breakfast that there were smokers around the Lido Pool. None of the HAL ships allow smoking at the Lido pool. Did you meant the aft pool?

It would be great if they went back to allowing smoking under the open roof.

 

On deck 11 just aft and outside of the Lido there are several small round tables that have ashtrays. There were no ashtrays around the covered pool during the last cruise.

[sail7seas]

Lisa, you mentioned that when you went out for breakfast that there were smokers around the Lido Pool. None of the HAL ships allow smoking at the Lido pool. Did you meant the aft pool?

It would be great if they went back to allowing smoking under the open roof.

 

 

Exactly. I wondered about Lisa writing that as well.

 

It has been a while since they banned smoking at Lido Pool, at the tables outside Lido and at the bar.

 

I'm certainly hoping they haven't back-tracked on that restriction. When we were on Eurodam in March, no smoking permitted anywhere under the dome roof.

 

Maybe Lisa meant out the rear of Lido at the section just above the aft pool.

[reefisher]

Exactly. I wondered about Lisa writing that as well.

 

It has been a while since they banned smoking at Lido Pool, at the tables outside Lido and at the bar.

 

I'm certainly hoping they haven't back-tracked on that restriction. When we were on Eurodam in March, no smoking permitted anywhere under the dome roof.

 

Maybe Lisa meant out the rear of Lido at the section just above the aft pool.

 

We were just on this itinerary leaving the Statendam in FLL. There were quite a few Europeans on our cruise and many of them smokers. We had a few "activists" that asked the crew to ask the smokers to stop when they were smoking in restricted areas. One of the more confuseing areas was on the lower promenade outside deck. It is designated no smoking BUT there are ash trays or something that resembles them all along the railing. It took a few days for the smokers to realize the rules. Eventually all was well. On this cruise the only areas that were unpleasant as far as smoking was concerned were the Crow's nest starboard and the Casino. Lido deck aft is a small outside area that disipates the smoke rapidly. Would have loved to spend my nights playing craps but alas had to transit the casino as fast as possible to avoid an asthma attack.

[Kane]

Please do not be offended by my post.

 

I know on CC we should not comment on spelling etc but I must say that you ought to careful between 'bowls' and 'bowels' otherwise you could make a real blunder.

 

I understand that it is permissible if the ship visits Colon, Columbia.

[leoandhugh]

With the exception that Colon is in Panama and not Colombia Geography 101:)

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Please do not be offended by my post.

 

I know on CC we should not comment on spelling etc but I must say that you ought to careful between 'bowls' and 'bowels' otherwise you could make a real blunder.

 

Sorry:o My old computer had spell check on Note pad and this one does not, I try to proof read it before posting but sometimes miss a few words so hopefully no one is too offended by my spelling.

 

Lisa, you mentioned that when you went out for breakfast that there were smokers around the Lido Pool. None of the HAL ships allow smoking at the Lido pool. Did you meant the aft pool?

It would be great if they went back to allowing smoking under the open roof.

 

I will say that the very first day near the bar on the port side Lido Pool area YES there were ash trays which surprised me as well we were walking from the forward stairs to the Lido Buffet. Now I have to admit I seldom spend any time near the Lido Pool so I cannot comment as to if this has continued but I will make it a point to go check it out. I know that the Starboard side of the Crow's Nest also has smoking as well as the aft pool area.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Sunday Evening April 19th, 2009

 

Good Evening Friends,

I will give you a bit of an update although not a whole lot to tell.:o

 

We have settled in to a very relaxed mode of Eating Drinking and Sleeping. This afternoon Tom and I were both reading and suddenly our eyelids got that heavy feeling and we both laid down for a nap. Which is something neither of us rarely ever do. We woke at about 5:25 giving us enough time to freshen up for dinner. Truthfully neither of us were that hungry, mostly because a couple of hours after lunch in the Pinnacle Tom went up and got a couple of slices of pizza, I myself was just plain full from the Pinnacle and could have no way thought about pizza. But I had the Tuna Tartare as an appetizer tonight which was very good and Veal Medallions with Butternut Squash Risotto. Truth be told I mostly got it for the Butternut Squash Risotto but I only had a couple bites of the Veal. Yes it was very tender I am just not a huge fan of Veal. I always feel bad when I do not clean my plate because the server and even Andy our Assistant Dining Room Manager come over and are all concerned that I did not like it and could they get me anything else. I just kept telling them I was leaving room for the Key Lime Pie which I was. That is always one of my favorites.:)

 

We were able to get out of the Dining Room just a couple of minutes after 7 so decided to go to the 7PM show of Contemporary Concert Piano Showman Antonio Salci. Now I must confess that neither Tom nor I were overly impressed but we heard many talking about how wonderful he was. I think this biggest thing for us was his music and the demographics he was targeting. Which was not us but the major part of the demographics of the ship. His music just did not do anything for me. Tomorrow night we will go see the comedian Benji Hill. I think we may have been on a cruise where we saw him before.

 

After the show we went to the Ocean Bar for a drink, I had the Drink of the Day which was a Coral Drop and Tom had a Pina Colada. Tonight there were 4 Male Dance Hosts there but neither of the 4 were dancing. Definitely a slow night and not many of the single ladies out and about. We walked up to the Crow's Nest where we needed winter parkas because you could almost see snow flurries but there was nothing going on up there so we just headed back to out cabin.

Tomorrow is our first port of call Oranjestad, Aruba. This port is one of the reasons I chose this ship and itinerary, it is a port I have always wanted to visit. So I plan to set the phone wake up call for 7 AM so we can see the Statendam come in. It is extremely windy outside now and the weather forecast for tomorrow is windy, partly cloudy and about 80 degrees F, my guess it will also be about 80% humidity as well. We plan to just play it by ear and go check out some of the Resort/Casinos/Beaches.

 

Remember me mentioning we hated receiving at the beginning of a cruise the paper wanting to know about disembarkation?....Well we received it tonight....HEY I am not ready to get off the ship yet. But at least it says it does not need to be turned in till Wednesday April 22nd but that is still more than a week before anyone will be getting off the ship.

 

I think I have filled you in all the small details of the day, hope everyone had as a relaxing day as we had at sea and you could at least close your eyes for a few minutes and imagine you were relaxing on one of HAL's DAM Ships.

 

Signing off from the Beautiful and Elegant MS Statendam.

[nik953]

I had the Drink of the Day which was a Coral Drop and Tom had a Pina Colada.

 

Those were my favorite drinks when we went to Alaska last year with mom. I can't wait to get on the Amsterdam this weekend and have a few =)

[Stakeout]

Exactly. I wondered about Lisa writing that as well.

 

It has been a while since they banned smoking at Lido Pool, at the tables outside Lido and at the bar.

 

I'm certainly hoping they haven't back-tracked on that restriction. When we were on Eurodam in March, no smoking permitted anywhere under the dome roof.

 

Maybe Lisa meant out the rear of Lido at the section just above the aft pool.

 

 

when we were on the Statendam in Feb-Mar thru the canal and back... NO smoking at the Lido pool.. those who partake of the smoke had to go outside ..most met for coffee early at sunrise on the back end of the Lido deck at the table/chairs section looking down at the SeaView Pool ( we are non-smokers)

[CaledonHockley]

Can someone explain what a coral drop is? Is it similar to a lemon drop?

 

Thanks.

[Sea King]

very in-depth report

 

just curious though Lisa

 

are you on vacation or on assignment for Porthole Magazine:)

[serendipity1499]

Thanks Lisa for a very informative & honest review of your cruise..

We actually have not been on any of the vista ships with the exception of the Westerdam back in 2004, so we will not have a problem with the smallness of the ship..

However one our our favorite places outside of the Promenade Deck is the Crow's nest..Hope the air is fixed in the Crows Nest, before we board in Nov... I hate being cold..;) In any event, to be safe, I'll plan on taking a few warm sweaters, as most of the ships are too cold for me anyway..LOL

Hope you enjoy Aruba, one of our favorite places & where we spent our Honeymoon 33 years ago..

Looking forward to the rest of your trip..

Cheers..:)Betty

 

P.S. By the way on another thread this was said Quote "doesn't sound like Lisa is having a very good time

But from your posts I don't get that feeling..

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Greetings from Arrrruba :D

Where is it hot and even more humid that hot. I am typing from some free wi-fe at a hotel near downtown. I did not realize that my littlw net book was not charged up as much as it should have been so will make it short. We have walked around here in downtown a bit but plan to go grab a taxi to go out to the Raddisson Resort and get a little beach time in. So i will most likely do a quit Hello from there as well. Not sure what hotel we are at but it was next to the Crystal Casino, there appears to be a water taxi that comes right inside the area not sure where it goes but I just sent Tom down to the guy operating the baot to as. Would love it if it took us to the Raddisson Resort.

OK Unfortunately it is just for hotel guests, so I guess we will grab a taxi , they did say it should run about $12 to get there.

I will also say that I remember asking if the shopping was as nice as in St Maarten and was told no. So far I have to agree. You have Diamonds International aka Rip Off International and dozens of other high end jewlery stores, then numerous flea market type junk. Not a lot in between or at least what I have seen so far.

Well think we will grab that taxi and head out to the beach.

Signing off from Aruba :)

[chloes nana]

 

P.S. By the way on another thread this was said Quote "doesn't sound like Lisa is having a very good time

But from your posts I don't get that feeling..

was that comment really necessary?? it seemed as though she got off to a rocky start is all I meant. :(

[serendipity1499]

But from your posts I don't get that feeling..

was that comment really necessary?? it seemed as though she got off to a rocky start is all I meant. :(

 

Chloes Nana..You obviously did not say what you meant..:(

Yes my comment was absolutely necessary, as I did not get the impression from Lisa's posts that she was not having a good time...

I also believe it was only fair to let Lisa know what others are thinking about her cruise & posts..This way she had the opportunity to clarify her thoughts..

This is an open forum & I believe it's only fair to be honest with people..

Betty

[callmedeb]

I'll be boarding the Statendam in 20some days...

 

I really appreciate your live from thread!

 

Thanks,

 

Deb

[Susie51]

Thank you Lisa for your live posts. I am thinking about a cruise on Amsterdam this summer or a repo cruise this fall. Thank you for the s class ship review. Lately, I have been on Oosterdam and Zuiderdam and their lido buffets are my favorite at sea. Because of your posts, I know what to expect. In 2004, I was on Maasdam, but I forget what the lido buffet was like.

 

Enjoy your lovely, relaxing cruise.

[themerle]

I just got through reading all the posts. Thanks for posting! I'm really interested in your experiences onboard the Statendam. Hope you're enjoying your day in Aruba. Looking forward to hearing about today and the rest of your cruise.