Nieuw Statendam 2018 Cruise to Florida

We woke up to a little rocking motion of the ship. As soon as Angela turned on the bow camera, I could see significant wave action and the bow flag was stretched out tight. The Oosterdam was directly ahead of us. After showering I went out on deck 11 and could see large waves breaking against Half Moon Cay. The Oosterdam rotated into the wind as we approached, and we, too, did the same. Then I saw the Oosterdam slowly head off; shortly thereafter we did the same and the Captain came on announcing we would be unable to land. In his later Ask The Captain session he further clarified how hard it was for him to decide to cancel the port call. He also noted that the supply vessel was also unable to land. So we ended up having a slow sea cruise today on our way to Nassau, our next port of call. We've been on other cruises which have missed ports and the Cruise Director and his staff have to scramble to add additional onboard programming. Personally, I decided to use my 5 Star Fre

We woke up at our normal time and enjoyed a leisurely breakfast in a crowded Lido. The impact of 2800 guests is being felt in the Lido. I confirmed it with a conversation with a food services supervisor that we've known for several years.  It was a very light schedule today. Lance and Monica from Exc Excursions gave a joint presentation on Half Moon Cay and Nassau. We followed that with a small Cruise Critic Meet & Greet and Mariner reception and luncheon. We did an art walk and ended up in the Crow's Nest when the little Prinsendam passed by on our starboard side. Then a few minutes later we were on a collision course with the Koningsdam (the Nieuw Statendam's sister ship). It altered course and it passed closely by on our Port side with the exchange of horn toots. These encounters were very cool for HAL cruisers. We even put together a cool photo collage shown at the top of this blog post and are having it printed on aluminum. After a nice Gala

Around 5am the Nieuw Statendam slipped into its berth at Terminal 26. At least that's what was announced, as I was fast asleep. All but around 270 guests were departing today and disembarkation started at 8:20 following HAL's customary color coded system. Since we were in-transit guests going on for 4 more days, we didn't have to wait for a color to be announced and could leave any time or even stay on board if we wished. For guests staying onboard, they had to assemble in the BBKing venue so HAL could get down to a zero count of guests onboard. Then the ship would be crawling with USCG and other inspectors and certifiers. Later one of the cooks confided that the inspectors really liked the chicken in the Lido. We didn't have anything planned except that I wanted to find a swimming suit and there was a Ross department store nearby. However a cruising friend, Larry, called me and volunteered to pick us up and play tour & shopping guide. So we mad

After today, we have one more day at sea. Today was pretty laid back with only a few big group activities. The first one for us was the coffee chat with a representative from the company responsible for procurement and placement of all the art around the vessel. Second, and the most important lecture of the cruise, was Captain Albert's 1 1/2 hour presentation on the history of Holland America Line. He spoke confidently and without notes the entire time and received a standing ovation. The afternoon session was another coffee chat, this time with Drake, the host of America's Test Kitchen. Dinner tonight was in the Pinnacle Grill with friends, William & Carolyn. It was wonderful! The Knights presented a terrific World Stage concert entitled Showmen. Later we enjoyed the dueling pianos along with treats from the chocolate surprize. Once again our clocks get set back again tonight. 

Today is our last day at sea and the schedule is pretty light. All but a couple hundred passengers are departing tomorrow and we get a whole new set of passengers joining us. Throughout the day the seas were extremely calm and we finally saw some land in the afternoon along with several other vessels. As darkness came, we joined a parade of two other ships (Caribbean Princess and Costa Deliciosa). All of the ship were well lit and formed an impressive parade. During the day the big events were the Ask the Captain session followed by Robin Ross speaking on Pirate Radio and street art. In the afternoon, Don Mings gave his Pirates of the Caribbean presentation in the small lecture room on Deck 12. It was an overflow crowd.   After a light dinner in the Lido, we watched a set at the dueling pianos before watching the 9pm inaugural performance of Stages by the Step One dance team. Normally HAL does not put on a major stage show on the last night of the cruise, but it

Today was a laid back Sunday. We had a major schedule conflict at 9am with an interview of our Cruise Director as opposed to attending the interdenominational service. The interview won out and it was very interesting to learn about Ross, his passion for flying both fixed and rotary wing aircraft as well as his exploits with his dogs and how he deals with a long distance marriage. Robin Ross followed with his program featuring interviews with American artists. It was very good. At lunch we had an extensive and good chat with a lady traveling solo (her husband is an airline pilot for Delta). The only afternoon lecture covered the slave trade and Angela won the giveaway pen and ink drawings by the speaker. Both before and after the lecture, I walked a mile under warm and sunny skies. We enjoyed a wonderful dinner in the Caneletto (Italian themed restaurant) before watching a special Director's cut of the Humanity program. It helped me understand the dance routine. We capped the