HAL Rotterdam

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This was our first cruise since the pandemic hit 2 years ago (our last cruise was in November 2019). We were supposed to sail on the HAL Rotterdam for an 11-day cruise beginning on Wednesday, November 9. Unfortunately, Tropical Storm Nicole was heading her way to FL and Port Everglades (Fort Lauderdale) was closed on the day we were supposed to leave. We were told to be at the port on November 10 by 4pm. This is the first cruise that we have ever had delayed. We watched the Port Everglades webcam and watched the ship arrive at the port at 11am.

 

The ship can hold 2668 passengers. Our captain was Bas Van Dreumel, the hotel director was Wessel van Oorschot, Food and Beverage Director was Saurabh Vaishampayan and our Cruise and Travel director was Karlijn Verpalen. We were at Table 202 on Deck 3 Dining Room and our servers were Eka and Ipan. Even though we are at a table for two, there is another couple at a table next to ours that was so nice to talk to at dinner. They were Sharon and Doug from Dallas, TX (see picture). Our cabin was 11053 and our cabin stewards were Dada and Nocodemus. We enjoyed ourselves and glad to be cruising again!

Day 1 Thursday, November 10, 2022, Embarkation

We watched the ship arrive at Port Everglades at 11am. We left the house at 1pm and arrived at the port at 2pm. We got on the ship by 4pm. We went to our cabin to get our keys and meet our cabin stewards (Dada and Nicodemus). I was surprised that our luggage was already there! After that, we went to find some lunch. I had pasta from the pasta bar and Don had fish. Then we had to go to our muster station (Deck 3) to get our key cards scanned. We walked from Deck 3 to Deck 11 where our cabin is. While we unpacked our suitcases, we watched the safety video. After that, we went to have dinner on the Lido deck, and I was excited to get my sirloin steak there. Then we walked around the ship. There was a sail away party on Deck 10 at the Panorama Bar at 8pm and there was a great turnout. Ruth (and her husband Larry) organized the party, and she was the perfect hostess! We also met Dorothy and Keith (Macon, GA), and Connie and Tom (central FL) and others but I can’t remember their names. Then we went back to our cabin, and I had no trouble falling asleep!

 

Day 2 Friday, November 11, 2022, Sea Day

I was up by 5am and sat on the Lido deck working on my computer, reading, or knitting until Don joined me. I had an omelet on the Lido deck and then we decided to go to the dining room, so I had French toast there. After breakfast, we walked on the jogging track. At 11:15, there was a lecture by Karlijn about The Deep Blue, and it was excellent. She talked about sea turtles and sunken treasure. Then we went to lunch on the Lido deck. I went to the Cabin Crawl at 1:30 (Don took a nap) where people volunteered to let us look at their cabins. Ruth did a great job organizing this with a sign to keep us all together and a list of the rooms for everyone to have in case we got separated. After that, we got ready for Dressy night and headed to the Billboard Onboard bar for Happy Hour (50% off). Don had vodka on the rocks, and I had a bloody Mary and it cost $10.33. We met a nice older man named Art who talked Don’s ear off about the Navy. At dinner, we ate with 2 other couples in the dining room. Karen and Steve were from Canada near Niagara Falls. The other couple was from Peachtree City, GA. After dinner, we went to the show Humanity by The Step One Dance Company which was very good.

 

Day 3 Saturday, November 12, 2022, Grand Turk

After an early breakfast, we got off the ship and went snorkeling at the beach right by the ship. We didn’t rent any chairs (I heard the guy tell this couple they were $30) so we just set our stuff in the sand. After 2 hours of snorkeling, we went back to the ship and cleaned up. Then we sat by the pool and relaxed (reading) until lunch opened. After lunch, we went back to the room and watched Romancing the Stone on TV and napped. We went to Happy Hour before dinner again. We went to our correct table for dinner this time and had a table for 2. Beside us was another couple from Dallas – Sharon, and Doug. They were going to charge Doug $8.50 for a shrimp cocktail, so he canceled that. After dinner, we decided the Captain needed something to brighten his day so we gave him one of my knitted gnomes. Then we went to the Captain’s reception by the pool and met Ruth. She is the Group and Events Director. She told us that the critically ill people were not from the same cabin but were in the hospital at Grand Turk and were much better.

 

Day 4, Sunday, November 13, 2022, Sea Day

The morning started off exciting! Around 5:30am, they closed off the back deck on Deck 9 to prepare for an emergency airlift off the ship. Around 6:30, we didn’t see the actual airlift but you could see the wind from the helicopter causing the artificial trees to really whip around. Later in the day, the Captain announced that three people were airlifted – the sick passenger, travel partner, and doctor.

 

We ate breakfast in the dining room and had a nice time with the other people. Then we walked on the jogging track until it was time to go to the lecture Unexpected Heroes which talked about the love and talent behind sports in the Caribbean. After lunch on the Lido deck, we went to another lecture – The Caribbean Spirit that told the story about rum. By then it was time to prepare for dinner and go to Happy Hour. For dinner, we had prime rib and it was very good. After dinner, we went to the show Timeless by Cantare which was 4 nice-looking men singing love songs. I enjoyed it more than Don of course!

 

Day 5, Monday, November 14, 2022, Barbados

We got off the ship around 10am and walked downtown. It was very breezy but hot in the sun. We walked along the water to the historic bridge and then around the town back to the ship. We walked about 6 miles. I stopped at this store and bought a Coke No Sugar and a White Rock Ginger Ale for $3 US and got .80 back in Barbados money. We were told that the exchange rate was $1 USD to $2 in Barbados currency. When we got back to the port terminal, there was a free shuttle back to the ship so we took it. We were back on the ship by 12:45 and went to the Lido deck for lunch. After lunch, we sat on the deck and relaxed until it was time to get ready for Happy Hour. After dinner, we went to the show theater to see the movie Top Gun: Maverick at 8pm and it was a really good movie.

 

Day 6 , Tuesday, November 15, 2022, Martinique

We arrived in Martinique at 7am. We walked around town until 10am. People were not overly friendly here. When we tried to buy a soda in the grocery store, they wouldn’t take US dollars. We sat on the deck until lunchtime and returned again after lunch. Before happy hour, I went to get our luggage tags for disembarkation and was able to pick the group according to the time we wanted to get off the ship. We had happy hour and then dinner in the dining room. We went to the show In Tandem by The Step One Dance Company. There was this cute little girl who just had to dance in the aisles and was enthralled with the dancing!

 

Day 7, Wednesday, November 16, 2022, St. Kitts

We got off the ship at 8am and walked around until 11am. We bought 2 sodas for $3 in the grocery store. Then we found the Fabric Store (Church St. and Cayon St.) where Don buys his postcards. The artist wasn’t there and was told she was quite elderly and didn’t come down much anymore. Then the lady in the store offered to take the four postcards ($1 each) upstairs to her and asked her to sign and date them. We walked near the cricket stadium, and the police car stopped us telling us we shouldn’t go any further and suggesting we go back to the tourist area, so we did. We walked around some more before finding a post office. The girl was so nice and patient with figuring out how much each sheet of stamps cost in US dollars. Don ended up buying $32 of stamps. We returned to the ship for lunch and sat on the deck until happy hour. After happy hour we went to dinner and the show which featured the illusionist, TJ Tana.

 

Day 8, Thursday, November 17, 2022, St. Thomas

We got off the ship in St. Thomas at 8am and walked around until 9:30. We went to the Pueblo supermarket to get some soda for $1. This was the first time I saw a diet Pepsi on the whole cruise! We got back on the ship and relaxed on the deck until lunchtime. After lunch, we relaxed on the deck until it was time for happy hour. After dinner, we went to the show All In by Cantare. I enjoyed the four men singing better than Don did. Then we went back to the room and finished watching Aladdin with Will Smith. We also watched a movie called American Underdog that told the story of Kurt Warner, a pro football player.

 

Day 9, Friday, November 18, 2022, Sea Day

Today was a sea day so we didn’t do much. I partially packed my suitcase today. We sat on the deck and relaxed all day until happy hour. After dinner, we went to the show Musicology featuring the dancers.

 

Day 10, Saturday, November 19, 2022, Half Moon Cay

We were going to get on the tender at 9am but then it started raining. Instead, we sat on the deck and relaxed all day. I did go to the NY Deli and got us 2 bagels. They scan your card but it doesn't cost extra. Then they give you a device that vibrates when your order is ready. At 4pm we went to the enrichment lecture The Origin Story which told the history of Holland America and it was very well done. After dinner, we packed our suitcases. Then we went to the bar for a drink before coming back and putting our suitcases out in the hallway. We watched movies until bedtime.

 

Day 11, Sunday, November 20, 2022, Ft. Lauderdale

We had breakfast at 6am and then we got off the ship at 8am. I liked that we could choose what time we wanted to get off the ship and got the luggage tags for that time. It was well organized for getting off the ship and we got our luggage quickly. The line for customs was fast because we didn’t need to show our passports. They used face recognition machines and then we were done. Parking cost us $150. We were on I-95 by 8:30.

Changes we noticed:

• Turn-down service in the evening for your cabin has to be requested and is not automatic.
• The Lido deck didn't have as much variety as it used to have.
• The dining room dinner sound (xylophone) isn't used anymore.
• After dinner, there used to be a guy in a bellman's uniform that passed out mints, ginger, and dates but not anymore.
• We didn't see on the dining room menu the following items: Beef wellington, creme brulee,or baked Alaska.
• The shrimp cocktail was an extra $8.50 if it wasn't on the dinner menu.
• The pasta bar on the Lido deck was there but the guy didn't really make any fresh pasta for you. He told you to get what was already there.
• There was only 1-hour happy hour in 2 specific bars each night and none in the Crow's nest.  

Things I Learned:

1. To get on the internet on my computer I have to go to: http://navigator.hollandamerica.com
2. The internet was $179 for the premium package.
3. There was no movie theater on this ship.
4. They will turn you away from the dining room if you have shorts on.
5. On some ships, the Lido deck service is better than the Dining room but we enjoyed the dining room on this ship.
6. I like happy hour with 50% off better than the old $2 off the second drink or 2 for 1.
7. I don’t mind missing ports if it is for a medical emergency. I am always thankful that that emergency wasn’t for me.
8. I need to bring heartburn medicine for Don when we travel.
9. There was Dim Sum and fresh stir fry on the Lido deck for lunch every day.
10. I love having an omelet made for me every morning!
11. It was easy to walk into town when we got to Barbados.
12. Barbados – 2 sodas cost $3 USD.
13. You cannot wear anything with camouflage when you get off the ship in Barbados.
14. Martinique was not very friendly, and they don’t take US dollars.
15. St. Kitts – 2 sodas cost $3 USD.
16. St. Thomas – Pueblo supermarket – Diet Pepsi was only $1!
17. We like the cabin on deck 11 which opens right out to the jogging track.
18. Don't always depend on the menu on the Navigator app. The last night's menu was wrong.

Original photo by Pat Hensley

HAL Koningsdam November 2019

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We sailed on the HAL Koningsdam for a 10-day cruise. Our captain was Captain Werner Timmers, hotel director was Mustafa Gulbahar and our Cruise and Travel director was Karlijn Verpalen. Our cabin was 1064 and our cabin steward was Aries. There were 974 officers and crew (39 nationalities). We traveled 2635 nautical miles and used 232,470 gallons of fuel. 90,000 eggs were consumed.

Day 1 Embarkation 11/24/19

There were seven ships in the port, so we got one of the last parking spaces in the parking garage at 11:30AM. It was easy to go through security and check-in and by 12:10, we were on the ship. We went to our cabin to drop stuff off and then we went to the Lido deck for lunch. After lunch, we walked around and then went to the Welcome Aboard reception for 3,4, and 5-star mariners. We met a lovely couple, Russ and Gloria from the Villages (by way of Texas and New Hampshire) at the reception and really enjoyed talking with them! Then went to our cabin and found our suitcases inside and unpacked. At 4pm we had our mandatory muster drill which went quickly. We watched as the ship left the port and the sunset was really pretty. By then it was dinner time and we went to the Lido deck for dinner. After dinner, we went to the theater to hear the cruise director talk about the Caribbean. Then we went to our cabin and watched the movie John Wick 3 until we were ready for bed.

Day 2 At Sea 11/25/19

After breakfast, we walked for exercise. Then we sat on the deck and relaxed until lunchtime. After lunchtime, we went back to our cabin and watched movies until dinner. We watched John Wick 3 and Angel Has Fallen. After dinner, we watched Hunter Killer, Braven,  and begin watching London Has Fallen. It was just a really nice relaxing day. Before we went to bed, we moved our clocks forward an hour.

Day 3 At Sea 11/26/19

Today was a repeat of yesterday mostly. After breakfast, we did our exercise walk. Then at 10:30 we went to a computer class and learned how to use Paint 3D. At noon we went to the Mariner’s Luncheon and met another nice couple, Robert and Josianne from the Villages. We had a lot in common with them and Robert is a ham operator! After that, we relaxed and read. We finished watching London Has Fallen, and then watched Rampage until dinner.  After dinner, we finished Rampage and started watching Aquaman.

Day 4 Bonaire 11/27/19

After breakfast, we relaxed on the deck until we arrived in Bonaire. We arrived early and got off the ship early. We went to the Animal Shelter booth and I gave the lady some yarn. She was so appreciative and said it was worth $35! Then we went to the artist’s booth who made the hummingbird paintings. We bought some notecards from her (6/$10). Then we walked around town until lunchtime. We had lunch on the ship and then got off the ship again and walked around town. Around 3:30, we got back on the ship and relaxed until dinner. After dinner, we walked around the ship and watched us pull out of the port around 8pm. At 8:30 we went to see the show featuring the magician, Martin Brock. He was okay.

Day 5 Curacao 11/28/19

Happy Thanksgiving. We arrived in Curacao at 7am at the Megapier. We got off the ship around 8am and walked toward the RIF Fort shopping area. If we took the first sidewalk to the left, we would have gone to Starbucks. At the fort, we did climb the steps up to the top of the wall to see the views. Then we walked across the floating bridge. We turned left and walked along the water until we ended up where the floating market would be if it was the weekend. We walked up and down the streets looking at the beautiful murals painted on walls. We also saw the oldest synagogue. At noon, we went back to the ship for lunch. After lunch, we left the ship to walk around the streets on the side the ship was docked at. This area was less tourist area and the more local area. At 3:30 we returned to the ship. After dinner, we went back to our cabin to watch movies.

Day 6 Aruba 11/29/19

We arrived in Aruba around 8am. After breakfast, we walked around town. We thought about buying a day pass for the bus ($10) but it didn’t look like many buses were running because of the holiday. We saw a lot of stores with long lines outside due to Black Friday sales. They were limiting the number of people in the stores. We found a free public beach called Governor’s Beach about a 20-minute walk or ½ mile from the ship. We got off the ship and turned right at the main road. Once we crossed the bridge over the canal, the beach was on the right. Next time we visit, we will try to go there. We came back to the ship for lunch and then relaxed on the deck for the rest of the afternoon. Around 5pm, we watched the ship leave the port and then we went to dinner. After dinner we went to the show Stages, featuring the dancers. Don didn’t like it and I thought it was boring. We haven’t been impressed with the “shows” on this cruise. Then we went back to our cabin to watch movies.

Day 7 Sea Day 11/30/19

After breakfast, we went to the session on “Ask the Captain” where he gave a virtual tour of the ship. Then he answered questions. He has a great sense of humor! We stayed after that session to hear about the “Language of Ships” which talked about the whistles and flags that ships use. I found that very interesting too. By then it was time to go to lunch. After lunch, we did our exercise walk. Then we went back to the cabin to relax until dinner. It was Gala night but we ate on the Lido deck and I was able to get my prime rib there. Then we went back to the cabin to watch more movies.

Day 8 Amber Cove 12/1/19

After breakfast, we did our exercise walk around the ship. Then we relaxed until lunch. After lunch we moved to the pool deck and relaxed until dinner time. We never got off the ship in this port because we have been here so many times and really didn’t see anything to do if you didn’t buy a shore excursion. After dinner, we went back to the cabin and watched movies. Before we went to bed, we moved our clocks back an hour.

Day 9 Grand Turk 12/2/19

We went to the beach after breakfast and had a great time. We asked security which chairs were the free ones and was told the ones with the green umbrellas. I’m glad we were one of the first ones off because the Carnival Horizon was in port with us so there were about 8000 people coming ashore. I think if we waited too long, we would not have been able to get a free chair. We did some snorkeling, but we didn’t see as many fish as we did other times. They also didn’t come to get food like they have in the past. After 3 hours of swimming, we decided to return to the ship for lunch. Then we went back to the cabin to watch movies until dinner time. After dinner, we went back to the cabin and I packed my suitcase while we watched more movies.

Day 10 Half Moon Cay 12/3/19

After breakfast, we packed Don’s suitcase. Then we got on the tender at 8am. It was very windy and cool, so I wore my long sleeve shirt and put my towel around my legs to keep warm. We got to the beach and it was pretty windy. We picked chairs on the third row away from the water. In front of us was a nice couple, Bob and Laura from the Villages in FL. We visited with them around 2 hours until we decided to return to the ship. We got on the tender around 10:30. After lunch, we came back to the cabin and I finished packing our beach stuff. We watched movies until dinner. After dinner, we returned to our cabin to watch movies.

Day 11 Debarkation 12/4/19

Our scheduled time for Brown 2 was 8:15. We listened for them to call our tag color/number and got off the ship around 8am. By 9am we were in our car leaving the port. It was well organized and painless.

Things I Learned:

1.     Find out the exchange rate before you get off the ship.

2.     If there is a map posted of the town you are visiting, take a photo of it and you can refer to it as you walk around.

3.     Bring empty bottles in your suitcase that you can fill with water and take with you when you go ashore.

4.     Not everything offered in the dining room is available on the Lido deck.

5.     Keep bottles of water in your cabin in case the ship ever loses power or an emergency happens.

6.     Bring a bicycle chain and lock to secure your beach bag to your chair.

7.     Bring bottles of water with you to the beach.

8.     When needing a tender, it is best to get off the ship as early as possible to get the best beach chairs.

9.     Bonaire – another couple to the No Name water taxi to another island for $35 pp to go snorkeling. The boat picks you up 4 hours later.

10.  Grand Turk - I learned from another couple that they paid $30 for two front-row chairs and an umbrella.

11.  The shows were not very good on this ship. There was only one production show and it was boring.

2018 Carnival Conquest

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We were on the Carnival Conquest out of Ft. Lauderdale on 9/8/18 - 9/15/18. This ship holds 2974 passengers.  It is 110,000 GT, 290.5 m (953 ft.) long, and has 13 decks. Our captain was         Claudio Cupisti. Our cruise director was Matt. We sat at table 429 which was a table for 2 at dinner. The maitre’d was Stany and the hostess was Elena. Our dining servers were Antoine, Olena, and Ni Putu. We were in cabin 1368 and our cabin steward was Lamphong.

Normally we book cruises ourselves but started to go to The Cruise Corner in Simpsonville, SC and having them book our Carnival cruises. Sam and Allie have worked with us on a couple of cruises and we are so glad we have! It doesn’t cost us extra and the service they give is excellent! Not only do they book our cruises, but they print out all of our documents and they faxed Carnival our papers for us to get our shareholder’s benefit! On the first day of the cruise, they also sent us cookies and chocolate covered strawberries! I would highly recommend all cruisers to use their services because they are awesome!

Day 1 Embarkation:

We got to the port around 11:30 and checked in with about 4 different people. We had to show passports and take photos. The first guy was grumpy and barely spoke to us. We went through security and I had to take out my laptop (which I didn’t have to do in Miami last week). Don forgot about the 2 unopened bottles of Gatorade in his pack and they took them away. Then we had to check in again with a person to show our passports and take Don’s photo again because someone forgot to hit save or some garbage like that. We went right on board and went to our cabin. Then we went to the Lido deck which was super crowded, and we got a seat up at the BBQ place on deck 10. There were no salt and pepper shakers, so I had to go down to the Lido deck and grab some off an unoccupied table. Then we walked around the ship and kept checking at our room for our luggage. We had the muster drill at 3:30 which seemed to take forever. Then after checking for our luggage and not finding them, we went to the upper decks to watch us pull out of the port. After that we went back to our cabin to wait for our luggage which finally arrived at 5:30. Then we went to dinner. Dinner was very good. After dinner we walked around the ship and enjoyed the music. Before going to bed, we gathered our dirty clothes and prepared them to get picked up the next day to get laundered.

Day 2 At Sea:

We had a lovely sea day! We went to sea day brunch and had steak and eggs and dessert. After eating, we walked 3 miles on the walking track. At noon we went to the food demonstration in the steak restaurant where we get samples and the food is always good. After that, we had a cocktail reception with the Captain. He was very personable. After that, we sat on the deck and relaxed until dinner. Dinner was a formal night and we had prime rib and lobster. Then we went to listen to the violinists.

Day 3 Grand Turk:

We had a beautiful day in Grand Turk. We snorkeled for 3 hours and finally returned to the ship before lunchtime. After lunch, we just relaxed (some napping involved) until dinner time. After dinner, we came back to the cabin and watched TV and read.

Day 4 San Juan:

We arrived around 11am so we enjoyed watching us arrive. It is a beautiful port to arrive in! It seems like it doesn’t matter how many times we have been here, we like to see this.  It was so hot! We didn’t get there until 11am and it seems like it was the hottest part of the day! We got off the ship and headed to El Meson for cheese Mallorca and a soda (I have had a soda since Saturday and I think my headache was my body going through withdrawal! When I’m home I never drink sodas but last week I had all the free soda I wanted and overdid it.) Around 2pm, we walked enough and returned to the ship for lunch and relaxed until dinner.

Day 5 St.Thomas:

We had an okay day in St Thomas. We arrived at 7:30am and it was already hot! Don was feeling a little under the weather, so we walked around town for about 90 minutes and then returned back to the ship. We sat around the deck and relaxed and read. After lunch, we went back to the cabin, so hubby could take a nap until dinner.

Day 6 Amber Cove

We arrived around 11am and got off the ship for an hour. This is not our favorite port and unless you take a shore excursion, there really isn’t anything to see or do other than to go to the pool. Don was still feeling blah so we spent the rest of the day reading and relaxing. After dinner, we came back to the cabin and read some more!

Day 7 At Sea:

We had our favorite sea day brunch and our dinner waitstaff served us! They are really a great team! After brunch, we packed our suitcases and spent most of the day on the deck reading. We took a short nap in the afternoon and then went to the Platinum/Diamond party. It was really nice and held in the Degas Lounge. Drinks were easily ordered and served quickly. I liked the cozy intimate atmosphere rather than the theater. Gordon, the entertainment director, said there were about 300 people invited but not everyone showed up. Then after dinner, we came back to the cabin and put our suitcases out in the hall.

Day 8 Disembarkation

We ate an early breakfast at 6am and then went to the meeting room (Cassatt meeting room, Deck 3 fwd) around 7:15. By 7:45 we were allowed to get off the ship. Once we got our luggage, it seemed like we stood in a super long queue (about 12 rows of people) to get through customs. By 8:15, we were on the road.

Things I Learned:

1.     Children can learn to behave and sit nicely in a fine dining restaurant. There are 4 children under 12 years old at the table near us and I don’t know they are there during dinner. They are so well behaved.

2.     People still don’t know how to let people off an elevator before getting on one.

3.     There are only 20 Diamond members on this cruise.

4.     We like Grand Turk and snorkeling there.

5.     Carnival has good food!

6.     The midday sun is really hot in San Juan.

7.     Stay on the port side of the ship when arriving or the starboard side when leaving. because those are the best views!

8.     There is a Kmart about a mile from the Havensight Mall in St. Thomas

9.     It cost $10pp one way to Secret Harbor Beach in St. Thomas.

10.  Amber Cove is not our favorite port.

11.  Sea Day Brunch is our favorite breakfast!

12.  Have a good dinner team really makes the dining room experience wonderful!

13.  Our cabin steward was excellent!

14.  This was one of the best Carnival cruises we have been on for a long time.

15.  Getting on and off the ship was awful.

Original Photo by Pat Hensley