Welcome to the Chronicles of
At Sea
10/27/2006
Good morning all! This morning finds us northeast of the Bahamas, and pretty much due east of Tampa, Florida. The seas are incredibly gentle, 2-4', with a 27kt breeze across the bow, and 73F on the thermometer. They don't give you a forecast on the Noordam that includes a predicted high or what the expected weatheri s going to be, and I can't figure out how to get Weather.com to give me a forecast for a longitude and latitude location. So, here is my prediction: Gorgeous!
As evidence, I submit the following - the morning view: Yesterday afternoon, Carol and I spent some time on our balcony, enjoying the weather (light sweatshirt made it quite comfortable!), the view, the sound of the ocean rushing by, and taking a nap (yeah, it is possible to do all that at the same time!). One thing about being on the stern is that it is noisier than on the side balconies. Its not like you are hearing more people - on the contrary, I think I heard more on the side balconies we have had. It is that the ship is being pushed thru the water (I know, its pretty obvious, but who really ever thinks about it?), and because of Newton's Laws of Motion (I think its the third that states "For Every Action, There is an Equal and Opposite Reaction" - my father's favorite physical law, by the way), the reaction happens at the stern of the ship. As a result, from a sound point of view, it is relatively noisy with the constant swish of water. Its not annoying or anything (as seen by the two of us practicing our tandem napping), but some thing you notice while standing at the rail. We got ready for dinner (tonite was an informal night - dress shirts, slacks and jackets for men), and went to meet one of our fellow Cruise Critic members for a drink. Vic the Parrot is quite an experienced cruiser, this being his third cruise aboard this ship (remember that the ship only started sailing with passengers in February). As he says, he has an addiction! We had a great time picking his brain about his cruises, his favorite ship, favorite destination, etc. His travel agent has got to love him! Dinner was quite nice - I had a perfectly cooked piece of sirloin (recommended by the waiter). During inner we learned a bit more about our tablemates. It turns out that he is a detective in central Jersey, and we had a good time hearing stories of things that happen in the course of his work. Of course, Linda and Carol told some of their war stories, so we had a good time. After dinner, it was on to the show. I was right when I said that I thought it was someone who played flute. She was incredibly good, playing the flute, piccolo, and the penney flute. The problem was that it was more of a lounge act than a stage show. She needed to be able to integrate talking between numbers and playing so that it was more entertaining. She just didn't have that sort of spark or personality. But her playing was absolutely incredible. I hate to say this, but I had Linda in stitches when we were clapping at the end of she show and I said "yea, its over..." No, no one besides her heard me! After the show, the four of us poked our noses into the Northern Lights Bar, where they had just finished up with kareoke, and had just started disco dancing. We met some people Linda had met eariler on the cruise, and chatted with them before going on to explore some of the rest of the ship. We lost Gayle (headed back up to the room, I think), and ended up hanging out in the Explorers Lounge, which is basically the biggest, nicest computer center I have seen. It is a combination lounge, internet cafe (complete with snacks and coffee), and library. It is huge for a facility of its kind on a ship. The chairs are really comfy, and we talked about the ship, cruising, and the art auction for a bit. Then we went outside (we saw some people some people walking around the Prominade Deck - on which, incidentally, you can walk around the entire ship (3 laps is a mile) - in shorts and without jackets!) to check out the weather. It was very nice - not warm, but it was not cold by any stretch. We headed up to check out the midnite buffett (its not really a formal midnite buffett - just a few stations open at the Lido), because by this time it really was midnight (actually, a bit later, but who cares? We're on vacation!). Hung out there until 1am or so, and headed back to the rooms. One thing I really miss about being at sea on a warship is the routine of darken ship. You see, when a warship is at sea, they tend to turn out all exterior lights at night. As a result, when you go out on a weather deck at night, and it is a moonless, starless night, you can't see the hand in front of your face. Of course, it is a ship, and you have to deal with the constant roll and pitch that ships tend to do, and you can't see jack! Its a very unsettling feeling. But when the stars are out, you can see more stars than you ever knew exsisted. It is beautiful. On our balcony, I hung out for a bit and let my eyes get accustomed to the dark. Our balcony is about the darkest place I have seen on the ship, and I have to be careful not to look down, because the sea foam is lit, probably from the lights of the diningroom 3 decks down (wrecks your night vision). You can see lots of stars that way. It is really pretty. I saw a big shooting star, as a bonus (I never saw one that looked almost like it exploded at the end of its short run!). I wish there was a way to show you a picture of what it looks like, but there is no way - no tripod, the ship moves, too much ambient light. I guess you will just have to join us on our next cruise (yeah, Mike, I know - you would have been on this cruise, but your boss sucks and won't give you the time off!)(for those of you who don't know Mr. Beecher, I am the boss in question). So, that leaves us here this morning. Today is another relaxed day, a chance to settle into the cruise routine. I am going to poke around the ship a bit today, and shoot some pictures so you can se a bit of this magnificent vessel. I know Linda's plan was to head out to the deck by the aft pool and catch a little sun - she is a California girl at heart, after all. I also want to see if I can find out more about the Culinary Arts Center (yesterday we had a conflict with out get together (Culiary Center lost) and Gayle didn't get there before it was done, so she didn't have anything to report on it at dinner last night. So much to do! Until I see you next, Keep Smiling!!!
1730 Well, it has been a gorgeous day - just as I predicted!
I promised you a little flavor of the Noordam, so here we go. First of all, there is a new tradition on cruise ships of giving guests towel animals in the cabins. Some are very elaborate, and some quite simple. Here is the first one Saiful (our cabin stewart) made for us:
I believe I mentioned earlier that there is a deck called the Promenade Deck where you can actually walk around the perimeter of the ship - 3 laps to the mile. I figured that a tour of the ship should begin with a walk around it. The Promenade Deck is Deck 3 of this 13 ddeck ship, so you are pretty close to the water. Part way around, close to the forward crossing section is a hole in the structure of the ship where I took this picture of Carol looking out at the water: During the walk around the ship, we ran into one of our fellow Cruise Critic members jogging (the things people do on vacation!). Her husband, who we hadn't met at the get together yesterday, was on the stern crossing area, enjoying the view and sound of the water. So we stopped and met him, and chatted with the two of them. He's from Turkey, and knew the resort town I had visited once, eons ago, while I was in the Navy. Nice guy, and a very nice couple. We were also trading places we knew about on the islands we'll be visiting - he used to work on a Celebrity cruiseship. Maybe we'll run into them on the islands.
We then went up to the pool level, which is is the Lido Deck, Deck 9. Here is the band that was playing (quite well, I might mention) and getting people to dance:
Now, there are 2 pools on board the Noordam. One is located amidships, and can be enclosed with a sliding glass roof. There is a poolside burger joint and taco station located at the midship's pool, as well as a bar (okay, there is a bar within easy reach of almost any place on the ship!). There is also a pool located on the same deck, but at the stern. Linda was sunning herself there today. She seemed to be enjoying herself, andhooked up with both Gayle and the woman we are sitting at dinner with. Here is a couple of pictures of the aft pool, and the people around it (yes, Linda is in the picture - right side, 2nd row back, second of 4 chairs in from the center - you can see her feet. I never said she knew how to sit in a lounger, but I did say she seemed to be enjoying herself!):
All the way forward, and one deck up, there is the Crow's Nest. That is where we had the Get Together yesterday, as well as where Linda and Carol sat in the big loungers before we pushed off from the pier 2 days ago (it seems like it should be longer!). Here is what it looks like from the near the bar:
After lunch, we down to Deck 3 (the Promenade Deck again). Throughout the ship there are all sorts of nautical themed stuff. The Nordam is named for the northern point of the compass in Dutch. There are ships' models, drawings, photos of Holland America ships and crews, old compasses, sextants, and any number of other details. Again, very elegant and understated. This ship's model, for instance:
There is the Explorer's Lounge, which I believe I talked about before. Here is a picture of the lounge. It only shows about half the lounge, since it is actually 2 rooms, since it includes the library books,a nd game tables (a gorgeous oversized chess set, too). Many of the tables have a New York Times crossword puzzle built right into it!
The Atrium, as I said, is pretty low key for a ship of this size and type (this one is only 3 decks, as opposed to the 8 or so decks on the Norwegian Dawn, and the one on the Carnival Legend that just went thru the roof, literally!). Here, you can see them getting ready for formal night, setting up lights for the photography station on the stairs:
There are numberous bars and lounges, as I said earlier. Here is one I shot because I like the chairs. They are heavy!!! Tonite is the first of the formal nights here on the Noordam, and the Captain's Cocktail Reception is in an hour or so, so I am goiung to close here, so I have time to post this dispatch, and still get ready for the evening. Tomorrow is Grand Turk, and we arrive early, so I don't know when I will get to post tomorrow. But when I do, I'll have plenty to tell you about! Until then, Keep Smiling!!!
|
|
All Images and Accounts of this Adventure are strictly the doings of the Author, and have Nothing to do with the Official Positions or Opinions of Timethief Photography, its affiliated divisions, or anyone associated with the company. If you have any issues with the accounts, how people or places are portrayed, or with any statements of fact, take it up with him! Of course, he'll probably be off on another adventure!
Copyright 2000-2006, Timethief Photography
|