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Old 11-23-2021, 06:00 AM
thevillages2013 thevillages2013 is offline
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Originally Posted by dtennent View Post
We just returned from an 11 day cruise on the Holland America Rotterdam sailing out of Ft. Lauderdale. Here are some of our cruising experiences on this is a brand new ship which did its first cruise starting on October 20th which was a transatlantic crossing. Please realize that this is just a description of our experience on board the ship and is not meant to be a discussion of mask vs no mask or vaccine vs. no vaccine.

1. Vaccination record and negative Covid test within 48 hours of boarding were required by the cruise line and were confirmed before proceeding to check in.

2. Masks were required whenever you were outside of your room unless you were eating or drinking. In fact, each cabin came with 2 masks/person. There was about 99% compliance. Captain reminded folks of this requirement several times during the cruise.

3. There were 4 areas with sinks for washing hands as you came into the Lido dining area. Staff members were there to encourage you in a friendly way. Food was plated and given to you rather than having it open to serve yourself.

4. The muster stations are not on the decks near the lifeboats but rather in areas within the interior of the ship. In part, this is due to the change in design where the life boats are on the same level as the Promenade Deck which reduces the width of that walkway.

5. Staffing seemed to be a little short. May have been due to many of the staff being relatively new and were still learning their positions. However, the effort to provide great service was always there. One nice change was the Dining room steward now served the wine so you didn’t have to wait for a wine steward to show up.

6. Excursion tickets are now e-tickets. This requires a smart phone or a tablet to use them. This is part of an ongoing effort to reduce paper on Holland America ships.

7. Each island had its own requirements about getting off the ship.
a. St. Thomas, St. Maarten and St. Lucia allowed everyone to get off the ship and roam freely but took our temperatures as we got off the ship.
b. Barbados only allowed passengers on Holland America excursions and Government approved excursions to leave the port area. They also had disinfectant stations that measured your body temperature. Made me jump the first time I put my hand under the dispenser.
c. Dominca only allowed passengers on Holland America excursions to leave the port area.
d. St Kitts and Nevis only allowed passengers on Holland America excursions and Government approved excursions to leave the port area.

8. They ran shows in two different venues and had music a few different places. Given that everyone was close together, all wore masks.

Overall, the ship is beautiful. We had 1800 passengers on board (2600 passenger capacity). We felt very safe and had an enjoyable trip.
Glad you enjoyed that but it sounds like being on a prison ship to me. Thanks but no thank you