Saturday, 5 April 2025
Ft Lauderdale
This morning begins with a light breakfast at the Hampton Inn Downtown Las Olas--which isn't quite close enough to merit the name. My ride to the Port Everglades Cruise Terminal is scheduled for 10am and takes about 20 minutes. I am a little surprised when a well-dressed older man (not older than me, but pretty close), driving a brand new Mercedes Benz appears to take my suitcase to the car. Generally the drivers of these short-distance pickups are young, sloppy, and can barely speak English. This gentleman was born in Israel, spent most of his adult life in a New York City suburb and moved to Ft Lauderdale seven years ago.
After I am dropped off and my suitcase is magically whisked away, the boarding process proceeds very quickly. Once on board I enjoy lunch in the casual Lido Marketplace: two pulled-pork sliders, delicious grilled asparagus, and a large mixed salad with balsamic vinaigrette. When I arrive at my Vista Veranda Suite on deck eight, I am greeted by the delivery of my luggage and the presence of cabin steward and his assistant.
I spend the afternoon putting everything away and my suitcase under the queen-sized bed. Then it's time for the sail-away at 5pm as I climb up one flight to the aft pool on deck nine, where the party is already in full swing.
Ft Lauderdale--On Board ms Nieuw Statendam
It's 6:52pm on my Apple Watch and the ship is still in port in Ft Lauderdale--we were supposed to sail at 5:00pm and I am not sure why the ship hasn't moved. I probably missed whatever announcement was made while I was in the shower. This reminds me of my HAL Westerdam second departure from Sydney two years ago. The ship was scheduled to sail at 5pm, but she sat in the harbor until 3am the following morning. The excuse was a shortage of pilots to guide us out to sea.
At any rate, I am ready for 7:30 dinner at my assigned solo table in the main dining room. Of course there is a major snafu as I am taken to a large table on the main level. I absolutely insist on the table for one I was guaranteed after standing on line at the reservations desk immediately after I boarded at 11am. Finally, a manger arrives who can solve the problem, although I will stay at this large table by myself for tonight. Tomorrow and the 13 nights to follow I will have a two-top table for myself by a window in the upstairs balcony dining area--just like I always have on every HAL ship I have sailed alone. Nowadays it isn't just personal preference, but also a matter of health.
Dinner is very good, even though it is an exact repeat of the the dinner I ate on the first night of my California cruise this past November on the Koningsdam (sister ship to the Nieuw Statendam): spicy Caribbean shrimp cocktail, Buffalo mozzarella and fresh tomato caprese, rustic lasagna, and hazelnut-chocolate bread pudding for dessert.
This is accompanied by by a glass of California Pinot Noir, sparkling water, and decaf coffee. Although the food is very good, with large portions served at the right temperature, I am afraid that the menus will be very repetitive of my recent HAL cruises. In addition, the serving staff fails to clean the crumbs and debris from the table before serving dessert. Hopefully tomorrow will be better.
Just as I am finishing dessert, the ship begins to pull away from the pier, makes a 180-degree turn and heads out the Port Everglades inlet into the darkness of the Atlantic Ocean. A little later I ask a staff person the reason for the delay. Turns out a crew member had an appendicitis attack and had to be taken to hospital. But I still wonder at the three-hour delay--did they expect the crew member to return to the ship immediately after his surgery? Still seems a little odd. But we have two sea days to make up the time as the ship heads northeast to Bermuda and I head directly to bed.
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