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WCB

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  1. Report #88 Wednesday March 27, 2024 Sea Day #3 Of 3 Heading West Transiting The Andaman Sea Enroute To Colombo, Sri Lanka At 18 Knots Rain And Clouds 12mph Wind 84 Degrees 77% Humidity Part #1 Of 1.......No Pictures--Casual Dress Today we woke up to heavily-overcast skies, so much so, that it seemed dark at 7am. Of course, we did have that time change, so that may have been part of the later rising of the sun. As the day advanced, we would have thunder, lightning, and rain. Not a lot of rain but passing showers. As we watched more commercial ships sail past us, we could see they were under the clouds and getting wet. Sometimes showers can be avoided by sailing around them. We forgot to mention that we spotted dolphins yesterday morning around 10am. By the time we took the camera out on the veranda, the dolphins were about gone, and the camera immediately fogged up. Today while we were at the Seaview Pool, Captain Friso said there were a few pods we were cutting through. It is possible we caught a picture of one jumping. Once again, they were gone as fast as we saw them. Appearing to be smaller dolphins, they skim the surface, but don’t jump like the larger ones. Better than nothing, we were happy to see some sea life. The best we have witnessed on the way across this sea have been flying fish. They are lucky since we have not seen a sea bird for weeks now. The usual sea day activities keep the folks busy. The most attended ones are the lectures. The Hidden Life of Trees was a talk given by Lauren and Merge, who has been onboard for a long time now, spoke about the Indian Ocean. Lunch for us was salads and sandwiches. Then at 4pm, there was another Block Party, which was scheduled for yesterday, but did not happen. The theme was “Zling & Nuts Block Party”. The rules were bring your own glass and a sort-of Singapore Sling beverage would be poured. The nuts we assume were peanuts in the shells, where we could drop the shells on the carpets in the hallways. What??? No way would we do that. Even while dining in Raffles Long Bar where it is acceptable, we did not do it. So there was a note given to everyone with a change of plans. Since some folks are highly allergic to peanuts, we were asked to refrain from disposing of them on the carpet. We have no idea where this idea originated, but the note came from the hotel manager, Henk. We cannot imagine Captain Friso and Chantal briskly walking down each hallway avoiding the shells. The sprinkles stopped long enough to get in the late afternoon walk. We have noticed more people we have not seen before, so these are probably the newbies that joined in Singapore. In the old days, these folks would be teased and called “segment people” in good humor. Sometimes it is difficult to come onto a ship that has been sailing for a couple of months where people have formed groups with the games, in the bars, and at dinnertime. Dinnertime had a few new items. The salads are getting more creative and new items such as Shanghai ribs were on the appetizer menu. We both went for the sweet and sour duck with what we thought were sauteed egg noodles. They turned out to be ramen noodles. This has to be the third or fourth time ordering a noodle dish that sounded different, but it turned out to be the ramen noodles. They were good with the sweet and sour sauce. Dessert was fruit – pineapple and a cup of coffee, which our waiter Yanwar insists is not dessert. He did remind us to put our clocks back ½ hour, which we knew was coming. It is one of those few places where we do the ½ hour, and once we leave Sri Lanka, we will put the clocks back another ½ hour. There is another place in the world we have done this, but we cannot seem to recall where that was. Tomorrow will be Colombo and now we are wondering what the weather will be like? Bill & Mary Ann
  2. Report #87 Tuesday March 26, 2024 Sea Day #2 Of 3 Transiting The Andaman Sea Enroute To Colombo, Sri Lanka Sunny And Warm Very Humid-75% 84 Degrees Part #1 Of 1.......No Pictures---Formal Dress On sea days, there seems to be a lot more folks sleeping in later since we are always the first to arrive at breakfast. We get the best service with the several Pinnacle waiters (girls and guys) in attendance. Eventually more guests trickle in, and by 8:30am, the place is full in the window area. As long as we continue ordering our breakfast items carefully, our meals arrive just the way we like. At times, we think there is a language barrier, and we are not understood clearly. After taking our morning walk outside, and completing the photos from Singapore, we had a bunch of notes arrive in our mail slot. The first one was an invitation to our travel agency’s cocktail party in the Crow’s Nest tomorrow at 6:30pm. That will be fun connecting with our friends there, some of whom we seldom see on the ship. Those who dine at the early seating have a whole different routine during the day. Our paths never seem to cross. The next note was about the laundry service, which may be delayed due to urgent maintenance issues. They do anticipate resolving this issue soon, but as a result there will be delays in delivery. Of course they appreciate our understanding, and we are not too concerned because we do have not any outstanding laundry to be delivered. With all of the ship’s laundry, especially in the dining venues, not counting the stateroom linens, it is understandable that things break down. The next Note For You was an invite to a President’s Club Samosa Cocktail Party held in the Gallery Bar on Friday at 6:30pm. We shall be present. Another happening tomorrow will be the delayed Block Party on the stateroom corridors and elevator lobbies. Zuiderdam Slings will be served (regular or virgin) as well as peanuts in the shells if we are reading this correctly. We can throw the shells on the floor indicating it was a good party. This follows the tradition of the Long Bar in Raffles where you toss the shells on the floor. Hmmm, poor crew members that have to clean it up afterwards. Maybe not the best idea. Captain Friso and Chantal will briefly visit with the guests as they fly from deck to deck. Tonight we had two more notes – one informing us that we will each receive $500 onboard credit to our account. This was their promise when the itinerary was adjusted and it is very much appreciated by all. The extra money will help pay for unexpected visas and perhaps added shore excursions. Today we researched the added African safaris now that we will be going there. The prices were sky high compared to what we paid last year. Of course, we did ours on our own and not with HAL. From what we read on the Navigator page, every one of the overlands are booked solid. Most all of them are places we have been, so we did not choose to book anything. And you all know how much we love bus travel……. Finally, the last note was to turn the clocks ahead one hour this evening. That works fine with us. And today, the vanity mirror on the desk had the bulb replaced. It has been out since we boarded but we forgot to report it. Our room attendants are very good about following up on anything broken. The light it provides is just enough light to read notes for reports which are mainly written at night. We had a light lunch of a Dive-In chicken sandwich and hot dog. They forgot to add the fries, doing us a big favor. They are still oily and stuck together, so it is better not to have them. We tend to keep whole apples in our room when we feel a need for a snack. Also have some popcorn and nuts such as pistachios. The news of the Baltimore bridge collapse dominated the news this afternoon. Such a horrible accident. By the time we left our room to take the afternoon walk, it was close to 6pm. Coming back after 7pm, we barely had time to get ready for dinner, which was formal tonight. That meant a suit or a tux for the guys. Or at least a jacket and a shirt and tie. Right before the first seating at 5pm, Kimberly announced that a jacket for the fellows will be OK. We wonder why the change in the dress suggestion? Honestly, it was a mistake to say that because we saw some men in collared shirts (dressy) and one elderly man who changed from a jacket and shirt to a pull over sweatshirt. Unbelievable. And he was part of a newbies group sitting near us so we saw what he did. He must have been testing the waters and as far as we could see, no one said a word. If Presty was around, as he usually is on formal nights, he may have questioned that maneuver. Oh well, we are not the clothes police. The menu was formal with special Asian cuisine like a Vietnamese veggie roll and a bowl of Indonesian soup. Nice for a change. One of us had the Gato Gato salad, which had one large Boston lettuce leaf with cooked cabbage and carrots with a peanut sauce. The other salad was Caesar. Our ,mains were the same with surf and turf, or lobster and beef tenderloin steak. A good cut of meat, the steak was coated with teriyaki sauce and tender. Dessert was sliced pineapple and a cup of coffee. With the hour back on the clocks, the crew had a special party happening later tonight. Our waiter Yanwar invited us, but we know he was kidding. We could tell they were looking forward to it. Sure helps keep their spirits up. A new instrumentalist joined the ship by the name of Sharene Tang. Her description was “Star of the Pocket Piano” and the recipient of the Two Time World Champion Instrumental Virtuoso. Now that’s a mouthful. Our buddy Greg is the go-to guy for attending the shows. He always updates us on what we missed. A note on our bed along with another towel animal and two chocolates was: A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step. -Lao Tzu- Bill & Mary Ann
  3. Report #86 Monday March 25, 2024 Sea Day #1 Of 3 Transiting The Malacca Straits Enroute To Colombo, Sri Lanka Sunny And Warm Very Humid 90 Degrees Part #1 Of 1.......26 Pictures---Casual Dress We have all agreed that a few days at sea have been well-earned. If we had stayed a week in Singapore, it still would have not been enough to see it all. If all goes as planned, we will be visiting Singapore again next year and looking forward to exploring further. We are currently heading northwest in the Straits of Malacca, one of the longest straits in the world, if not the longest. Situated between Indonesia and Malaysia, it is another busy body of water for commercial ships. Today we are seeing many vessels as they pass by on the horizon going both ways. We happened to spot two old-style fishing boats from either Indonesia or Malaysia. They were wooden and built similar to those we saw while in Vietnam. Comparatively speaking, the waters are shallow and we were lucky to have smooth seas and very little swells. And we had a really nice breeze going all day, which helped to cool things down. Yes, it is still hot and humid, but nothing like in Singapore. This morning while waiting for the Pinnacle Grill assistant manager Dhana to open the doors, we noticed a crew member who we have not seen for a week or so. He appeared today, and mentioned he had been quarantined with Covid for a week. He seems to be on the mend, but that is a sign that this nasty virus is still around. It is a reminder to all of us to continue the hand washing and sanitizer. Usually we are more conscientious of that when we leave the ship, but the real culprits could be right here onboard. Most of today was used processing an enormous amount of photos taken over the two fabulous days in port. Who can resist the Orchid Gardens and the gorgeous flowers we saw? It was a feast for the eyes. It was time well spent after what seemed like walking for miles and miles the last two days. And we will be talking about our travels in the city for days to come. And half of the fun comes from shared stories of our friends as well. We all did something different. We were so involved with working, that we sort of forgot lunch. Sometimes it is nice to have a few snacks instead. Taking a deck walk around 6pm, we came back to the room in time to get sunset shots. When dinnertime came, we were hungry. There were good appetizers of pork and shrimp spring rolls with a BBQ sauce. Salads came next, followed by pork and veal-stuffed cannelloni and one order of lamb chops, slightly under-cooked. Sharing , one of us took the rarest chop and traded one cannelloni. That worked just fine. A dish of a sliced banana with a touch of chocolate sauce was even better than the sticky sweet desserts. There were several folks missing in the dining room, so we bet they went to the first pop-up of Morimoto By Sea, the new contemporary Asian cuisine that has replaced Rudy’s Sel de Mer. There are always Morimoto items on the every day dinner menu, but this meal is probably more complete. It should be for $55, which is among the most reasonable of the pop-ups. A new entertainer joined us by the name of Rebecca Kelly. She is a comedy vocalist with a powerhouse voice with amusing tricks of the trade. Two more days at sea to enjoy are on the way. Bill & Mary Ann
  4. Report #85 Sunday March 24, 2024 Singapore Day #2 Genting Dream Along Side Us - Queen Mary 2 Left Hot And Humid 95 Degrees Sunny With Clouds Sailaway At 5pm Part #1 Of 6......66 Pictures Day two in Singapore found the tour groups going off early. Forgetting to mention some of them yesterday, here they are. The Best of Singapore included a lunch for 8 ¾ hours and $280, while Around the Island also with a lunch was 6 ½ hours for $150. A ride to the Gardens By The Bay and the Marina Bay Sands Hotel was 4 hours for $140. Yesterday, there was a tour to the Night Safari for 4 hours and $130 and iconic Singapore was 4 hours for $130. Private vehicles were also available as they are in most every port. Sadly, we heard the news about a fatal accident on the Nieuw Amsterdam that took the lives of two crew members. We are all heart-broken as are the crew members here. Our sincerest condolences go out to their families and friends. It will probably take time before the cause of the explosion is discovered. We tried starting our explorations earlier today, but we ended up going off of the ship a bit before 10am like yesterday. Since the all aboard time was 4:30pm, we decided to stick closer to the pier today. Taking the hike back out through the terminal and the checkpoint seemed to go smoother, as did the long walk to the Marina South Pier MRT station. We had hopes that the temperatures would have been lower, but it remained pretty much the same as yesterday. Hot and humid. At this end of the Marina South Pier MRT, it wasn’t so busy, but when we got off at City Hall, it was a different story. Today was Sunday and even more locals were out and about. The City Hall station dropped us off at the Raffles City Mall, where we had to find our way to the street outside. Thank goodness for a lot of signs in the mall, we found where we wanted to go. Walking around the block, we located the famous Raffles Hotel. For the last several years, their property was mostly closed for renovations. When it was ready to open up again, Covid hit and our stop here was cancelled. Back in all of its glory now, we were able to see most of it with the exception of the main lobby which is reserved for hotel guests only. And you had better be dressed properly (no shorts) or you will be allowed inside a bar or restaurant. The Long Bar is more casual and does offer their famous Singapore Sling. Kimberly mentioned in her talk that these sweet drinks cost $39 Singapore dollars these days. With tax that would be close to $30 USD. We’d rather have an ice- cold beer, which is not cheap in Singapore either. We had passed some signs in the hotel’s hallways announcing a wedding reception party here. We happened to run right into the group posing for photos in one of the colonial stairwells. The bride and groom were dressed in traditional Singaporean clothing, mostly red embellished clothing, not the usual white gown and tuxedo. The cameraman had them posing in one shot, then dancing in place in the next frame. Always fun to watch as long as we stayed in the back round. We made our way around to the front entrance to see the turbaned Sikh doorman greeting the guests coming in taxis as well as limos. The front of this iconic hotel is finally finished and was looking mighty fine. In the parking area we spotted limos with flowers attached. Then we saw another bride and groom posing for photos in the front entrance of this iconic hotel. Across the street was St. Andrew’s Cathedral, built in 1856, and Singapore’s oldest cathedral. It is a landmark in this part of the city and just by luck, it was opened today. The local parishioners were just leaving a service holding palm leaves. Then we remembered it was Palm Sunday and the giving of palms is a tradition in the Catholic Church. We were lucky to gain entrance through a side door to see the cathedral’s interior. Very impressive with blue vaulted ceilings, it was beautiful and peaceful. Another mass was about to begin, so we took our pictures and quietly left. The MRT station was right next to the cathedral, so we went down the escalator to find our way to the Gardens By The Bay. This would be the red line for one stop, then a transfer to the brown line. That one was not as easy to find. We found long hallways with few people, and figured we may have been able to walk the streets there faster. The only bad thing was the oppressive heat outside. It was good to be more like gophers and cool off down under. Finally finding the correct connection, we ended up coming out at the far end of the Gardens By The Bay. It was here that we found the park with reportedly 250,000 rare pants and two giant-domed conservatories. The Cloud Forest houses the world’s tallest indoor waterfall. Since our time was limited, we did not enter the domes today. Sunday has to be their busiest day of the week because the lines to tour the domes was long. Too long for us. We did stroll much of the 250 acre park surrounded by a moat. Trying to remember how we crossed over a footbridge to access the Marina Bay Sands Hotel, we finally found it and walked out of the Gardens to get a bird’s eye view of the Singapore Flywheel. Then we made our way through the center upper level of the fabulous “ironboard” hotel. We continued out the doors to another bridge that took us into the Shoppes By The Bay. Escalators took us down to the lower levels where we searched for a pizza restaurant we had found online. This mall is the newest and most opulent in Singapore. It is as glitzy as they come and well worth the visit. There is a huge casino in this complex and the destination of many of the locals as well as foreigners. Going from floor to floor, we went in the direction of where we had lunch 5 years ago. It turned out that restaurant had changed hands and was a Chinese restaurant now. Only opened for dinner it appeared closed. However, right next door was the place we were looking for - Roberta’s Pizza. It was not a large pizzeria, but one that had a wood-fired oven and Italian food. We lucked out and got two seats on the hightop chairs by the bar and the busy cooks. The way it worked here was to look over the menu, then go to their counter and pay for the food and drinks. Then we sipped our Tiger beers while watching the cooks make and bake the pizza. It was pricey by our standards but well worth it for a meal in Singapore. Even the beers were rather high, but that is expected since Singapore adds a hefty tax to anything alcohol. We read somewhere it is an attempt to prevent alcoholism. This is probably a good time to write the list of forbidden items to be brought ashore. There is no chewing gum, chewing tobacco, or imitation cigarette products. Lighters that look like a pistol or revolver are banned as are controlled drugs or psychotropic substances. No surprise here. No endangered species, obscene articles or videos are allowed or reproductions of copyrighted materials. Severe fines and or imprisonment can occur. Finally, e-cigarettes and vapes are prohibited. If found, they will be trashed. Possession and using of hard drugs can be punished by death. OK, back to our story. After relaxing for at the pizza café, it was time to head back and find the correct station to turn in our transit cards and get the refund. Only a few of the stations were able to do that, so we had to choose from the list we were given. We went back to the MRT and were told to go to the Bayfront station. Just by luck, we happened run right into it and they did do the refund there which was S$10 each. Then we had our original S $10 passes to get back to the Marina South Pier with some change left over like $2 each. Our weekend visit had been such a whirlwind of activity, and we have the MRT to thank for getting to places very quickly and easily. On the way out of the MRT station, we spotted many groups of local picnickers on the grassy fields on the waterfront. Some of the younger kids were doing karaoke with speakers, having a really good time. A nice breeze coming from the harbor had cropped up, making our walk a lot more pleasant. We noticed many Asian folks arriving to the cruise terminal and we suspected another ship had docked across from us. It turned out to be the Genting Dream Cruise, a gambling vessel we think. The guests were arriving with only one small suitcase and hand carrys. These types of cruises are numerous between here and Hong Kong and have no trouble filling up with local gamblers. By the time we got back into the terminal hall at 3pm, it was full of guests in line to board the gambling ship. Lucky for us, we had another entrance just for the Zuiderdam. Once through the security and xray checkpoints, we entered the ship and turned in our passports to be held at the front desk. Done for the day, we relaxed in our room and veranda until sail away, which happened after 5pm. Being one of the busiest harbors in the world, the Captain had to zig-zag his way around the many vessels. Our next port will be Colombo, Sri Lanka with three days at sea to arrive there. We are very much looking forward to that break to re-charge our batteries, so to speak. Dinner time found most everyone present after two busy days and a night in port. One of us had a rice paper-wrapped chicken appetizer and one bowl of tortilla soup…..both of which were very good. The Club Orange lamb dinner was one choice and the other was barbacoa sauced beef slices. Different but good. Pineapple was a perfect dessert and one cup of hot coffee as well. If people have the energy, there was a show tonight featuring an instrumentalist by the name of Dennis Lau. He was described as being a showman with finesse and determination to adapt to different music genres. Between the four other music venues, there is something for most everyone. The clocks went back one hour this evening which was appreciate by everyone. Bill & Mary Ann
  5. Report #84 Saturday March 23, 2024 Singapore Day #1 Of 2 Docked Starboard Side To Pier 8am-Overnight Sunny And Hazy 9mph Winds Very Humid 96 Degrees Queen Mary 2 Also A Long Side Part #1 Of 10.......64 Pictures---Casual The Zuiderdam arrived early this morning to Singapore around 7am, but we were not docked and cleared until closer to 8am. We have gotten used to being at a different spot ever since we got the boot from the Harbourfront pier. These days we dock at Marina Bay South and we were not alone. The Queen Mary II, one of Cunard’s large ships was docked across from us. It’s possible that they were ending a cruise here, and taking on new guests. We did learn that about 60 new passengers will join this ship today or tomorrow. And 130 guests went home. Singapore is a small country with only 697 square kilometers. However, it houses 5.8 million people that speak Mandarin, English, Malay and Tamil. It happens to be one of the world’s hot-list destinations and also one of our favorite cities to explore. For those out there that adore shopping, you could take up to 6 months to locate all of the stores. Many are topside, but there is a city down under that equals what you find at ground level. We waited for the tours to go off before we left at 10am. We heard a funny story at breakfast this morning that concerned the mess with the excursion groups. Not only were people making their way to the buses too early, but some guests who were not on tours, were sneaking off with the tour groups to get off earlier. It’s no wonder that the staff eventually blew their stacks. We have noticed that sometimes the excursion groups go off before the general clearance is announced. Today’s process was complicated to say the least. We all had to have our room keys, our passports, and the Electronic Singapore Arrival Card ready to present to the immigration booth. Things have changed here since the last time we stopped in Singapore. Now there are banks of kiosks where we scan our passports, do a thumb print, and have our photo scanned to match the passport. Once completed, a glass door opens and we are released. No one asked to see the arrival papers, which basically declares we are healthy. The next stop is xray, where we are checked the same as when we come back. From here, we walked through the huge parking garage outside the terminal. It leads to a very long covered walkway which took us all the way to the Marina South Pier MRT station. It would have been nice if we could have bought the Singapore Tourist Passes at this station, but they did not sell them here. We had to purchase two $10. (Singapore $) in order to get to a station that sold them. Since we were headed to Harbour Front where these tickets were sold, that ticket got us that far with some left over. There are 15 stations in the system that sell these cards, and tomorrow we will drop them off close to the Marina station and get $10 Singapore refunds on each of our Tourist Cards. In the meantime, we can travel to our heart’s delight and probably exceed what we paid for the cards by a lot. We had to transfer to a different line to access Harbour Front (the purple line), which does involved time and a lot of walking. But we knew exactly where to find the ticket office, and by luck, there was no line there. Normally it is 20 thick. We had a local gal who spoke perfect English and explained how the cards work and where to get our refunds. The price for the two day unlimited card was $29 Singapore dollars each. Tomorrow when we return the cards, we will get S$10 back for each card. From there we walked to the end of the mall where the old cruise terminal was for us a few years ago. We saw that the Silver Shadow was docked there and leaving tomorrow. Ships of that size fit there, where we are too big. Back on the train, we made our way to Chinatown (purple line), got off, and explored the whole busy area. It was close to lunchtime now, and the food court was filling up with customers. We took a lot of photos of the Chinese food items being cooked at each stand. Some of their specialties are duck parts like tongue, feet, gizzards, hearts, necks and livers. This would be a good place for bargains if we were looking for any. Today was just mainly for pictures. Job done, we hopped back on the train (still purple line) and went to Little India. This place was really busy with folks buying fresh produce, meat and fish in the huge marketplace. Going up and down every side street, we saw so much that reminded us of shopping in Mumbai. By the way, did we mention how hot it was today? It was well over 90 degrees with a humidity level in the 70% area. Hot and sticky. It pretty much stopped the hawkers from being aggressive with their shop items. Back to the MRT, we switched to the blue line that took us to the Botanic Garden. This would be the highlight of the day. Walking in the heat of the day might have not been the best idea, but we had no choice….it was now or never. We had brought water with us, but it wasn’t near enough. We remembered that in the center of the garden were vending machines with water, sodas, and ice teas in many flavors. These machines only take coins (no paper money) or credit cards. We had no coins, but watched as some locals used their credit cards to buy drinks. OK, we gave it a try by tapping the card, and it worked. Before we left the park we had bought three drinks that way. And they were life-saving in the heat. Going deeper into the garden, we walked around a pond where we saw a large monitor lizard under a mangrove tree. We had seen two smaller ones when we entered the garden, but this one was big. Thinking it was dead, it finally moved its head….it was simply sleeping in the heat. This pond also had turtles, fish, and some smooth-skinned otters that were reportedly nursing young ones. We searched for them, but they hid successfully. Then we came upon the jewel of the park- the Orchid Garden, which is world-famous. There is a small charge (S$3 each) to get inside, but well worth it. Five or six years ago, this garden underwent a transformation, redoing the Cool House. That was a dome that mimicked a misty mountain zone with different types of orchids and bromeliads that can handle cool and moist weather. On the way to the new build, we took pictures of every orchid, big and small, along the pathways. Gardeners were watering everything, so we suspect they have not had a lot of rain recently. In the Cool House, we saw parasitic orchids, insect killers, and many types of ferns and trees from all over the world. This was the best place to linger as long as we could because it was so much cooler. Eventually we had to leave, but going back outside was torture. It made it seem ever hotter than it had been. Continuing up the hillside, we made our way back to the entrance where we went through their shop on the way out. Many years ago, possibly 20, we had bought a Risis necklace and earring set. These are real orchids that have been dipped in nickel and gold to preserve them. It made us happy to see that the price had gone up substantially over the years. The time was getting away from us, so we headed back to the MRT, which was pretty far away it seemed. If we had something that counted our steps, we may have been surprised how far we had walked so far. Sometimes it is better not to know. Now we had to go a short distance to a different line, the brown line, to access Orchard, the high end area of Singapore. And also the place of the Ion Mall. It is one of the largest in the city and has the most expensive stores that exist. Our destination was lunch at the Hard Rock Café, where we always go to relax for an hour or more. It took us a while to find our way out of the mall until we remembered we had to find Wheelock Place to be at the right exit. It was a good thing there was a concierge in the mall for us to get directions. Once out in the street on Orchard Road, we knew where to find the café. Climbing their stairs, we were seated at a window table where we ordered a draft beer and one Coke Zero. Adding a plate of cheese nachos with grilled chicken, we were happy campers. Resting up with cold drinks and a little food gave us our second wind to continue on our journey. But before we left, we made a stop in the HRC shop and got two t-shirts. Not expecting it to work, we provided our member number and did receive 20% off. It sure would have been nice if a hint of a breeze popped up, but it did not. By now, we noticed the heat had taken a toll for one of us, and there was just enough energy to get back to the ship. That was an adventure in itself. Finding our way back into the Ion Mall, we switched to the red line which went back to Marina South Pier, the end of the line. By the time we walked the covered walkway back to the ship, it was 6pm. Needless to say, it was good to be back on the ship with air-conditioning. Tonight we had been promised that the veal cutlet or veal chop was available for Club Orange. Both of us had Caesar salads and the grilled chops, which were delicious. Tender and tasty, we wish they offered them more often. So far they have appeared once a month. No room for dessert, we opted for a cup of coffee and one scoop of sorbet instead. There was no live show in the World Stage, but a very good movie we have seen three times, was Crazy Rich Asians. Filmed partly in the Gardens by the Bay, we recognized many areas in the 250 acre park that we had visited on past trips here. The best show for us had to be the view from our veranda of the Marina Bay Sand Hotel, the one that looks like an ironing board, and the Singapore Flyer, the Ferris wheel that offers spectacular views of the city. Seeing the city all lit up was magical. Hopefully with a good night’s rest, we will be ready for another busy, but shorter, day in Singapore. Bill & Mary Ann
  6. Report #83 Friday March 22, 2024 Sea Day Enroute To Singapore Sunny With A Few Clouds 82 Degrees 7mph Wind Seas Are Flat Part #1 Of 1.......No Pictures---Casual Dress It was a lazy day at sea for us and many others as the Zuiderdam sailed towards Singapore doing 20 knots. Captain Friso said that the smooth seas and following winds were in our favor. And the warm but comfortable weather with a nice breeze was just about perfect. We learned that around 130 guests will be leaving the ship tomorrow and only 60 or so will be joining. More than likely some of the crew members will be ending their 8 month contracts and leaving as well. But we suspect that not all of them will be replaced. As this voyage continues, we believe there will be a further drop in the passenger count, especially when we head across the Atlantic Ocean in May. When the current itinerary changed, eliminating the Mediterranean, we feel that a number of folks made a decision to leave in Singapore. They were given that option to leave and receive future cruise credit for the missed days. Not everyone wanted a repeat of Africa, especially West Africa, since we did that last year. This morning we all received two more stickers for the cruise log booklet, adding the ports from Tokyo to Singapore. We are well beyond the halfway mark now. We still had not received our copies of the Singapore landing card info we had requested from the front desk folks as promised by this morning. So we made a call to our concierge, Michelle, who had to search for our emails from yesterday. In the meantime, she gave us her personal email to re-send the forms. While doing this, she located our emails and had already made copies for us. And even nicer, she delivered them personally to our room. She had brought her two daughters with her, who are visiting from the Philippines. How nice to meet them. They are teenagers we are guessing, and are having a fine time sailing for a few days on the ship. Their dad, Ray, is the bartender in the Ocean Bar, so having to see both of their parents at the same time is rare. The two young girls will be among the guests departing the ship tomorrow. Everyone had to pick up their passports to carry with us when we go off of the ship. The tables were set up in the passenger deck elevator lobbies, and it went smooth as glass. Kimberly delivered her Singapore talk this morning at 10am, so we looked for it on TV and found it this afternoon. Deciding to watch it around 4pm, we discovered it was gone. Will try after dinner, but have no faith it will be there. Of course we have been to the city several times in the past, but sometimes Kimberly adds extra tips, or closures we do not know about. Every bit of info we can gather is always a good thing. Doing online homework has been a big help with figuring out the MRT ticket counters that will be open tomorrow where we are docked. If nothing has changed since we were here last, we will be OK. The Culinary Council Dinner menu was the theme tonight. It had a different type of salad with lots of things we like, including breaded shrimp. Both of us ordered the prime rib, but ½ size orders. The serving size was still more than enough. And it was good. One of us had the craqulin dessert, a chocolate pudding- filled type muffin. Our friend Heo surprised us and came over to say goodbye. We wished him a safe trip and we sure hope to see him and Greg in the future. We will really miss seeing him and also getting his port pictures. Annie Gong was on the stage again tonight showcasing her one woman symphony concert. She is a favorite of the longtime world cruisers. Ready or not….Singapore, here we come. Bill & Mary Ann
  7. Report #82 Thursday March 21, 2024 Phu My Port For Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam 6am-5:30pm Docked Starboard Side To Pier Sunny With Sea Haze Hot And Humid 95 Degrees Part #1 Of 5.......55 Pictures--Casual Dress Well, we’re up a river today, one of the hundreds of Vietnamese rivers with foreign-sounding names we cannot pronounce. This river or its tributaries might go as far as Ho Chi Minh (formerly Saigon) but only the smaller vessels and cruise ships can sail there. The Zuiderdam is way too large, so we docked at an international cruise port near Phu My. You might ask what’s in Phu My? We can verify there is absolutely nothing for tourists except the place to take bus tours elsewhere. Today we are docked in a different spot and although there are buildings, it is totally industrial. This dock seems to be a storage area for gigantic metal cylinders that are wired in the center core and made to connect to each other. Their purpose is a mystery to all of us. However, we will investigate later. Since we do not plan on going into Ho Chi Minh or anywhere else, we figured it was a good time to attend to another directive sent to us this morning. This letter gave instructions on Singapore arrival cards we will need in two days from now. They are free and we do not need tourist visas there. So we went online and filled out their required information for each of us. Some of the questions were fuzzy, such as what ship are we on. Zuiderdam was not in their data base. So the correct answer was “others”. Once completed and accepted, it was recommended to download the form on our cell phone. Of course, we do not have a cell phone, so what now? A further request was to fill out Sri Lanks electronic arrival cards. Before we left home, we applied for the free Sri Lanka visas and were granted them. No print outs were required with these. However, just to be sure, one of us went down to the front desk to ask for help with the Singapore cards. And besides, we needed to buy some Singapore money….might as well kill three birds with one stone. Expecting to find only a few guests in line due to the tours that went off, it was surprising to see a line that had formed down the hallway. Many others had trouble figuring out the questions and answers with their cell phones. Normally, we do all of this on paper forms and turn them in. Now it is all online. I helped a nice but upset lady behind me figure out what to answer on the fuzzy questions. Even her city of residence was not there, just like ours was not. Finally my turn to get help, I was told to email our Singapore approved applications to the website of the Front Desk. We had to request printed cards to be sent to our room. So far, it is 10pm and no cards have been delivered. Surprised? No. The money buying was easy, as was breaking large bills into 20’s, 10’s, and 5’s. We like the ship’s cash because it is new, clean and not torn. Many countries will not accept old or worn currency. Back in our room, we tried to complete the Sri Lanka electronic arrival card, but we were a day too soon. We will be there on March 28th and have plenty of time to figure it out. So much for the big job of the day, we headed off of the ship by 10am to temperatures near mid-90’s and high humidity. Good thing there was a breeze going on. Intending only to check out their souvenir tables, we talked to some folks who had ridden the shuttle bus to the port gate. They never got off of the bus and rode it back to the dock. They said nothing was there. We had to find out ourselves, so we got on the next shuttle and rode the one minute ride to the gate. All that was there were maybe a dozen taxi drivers offering us cheap tours. No thanks….been there done that three times. We did see some happy crew members coming back with large bags of KFC, so there was civilization somewhere. Taxi drivers mentioned a mall, but frankly, that was the last place we wanted to go. So outside the security checkpoint, there was a wide road with nice walkways under tall shade trees for quite a way. The tide was up in the river and along the walkway were tidal basins on the riverbank where we spotted some birds. There were mostly egrets, pigeons and more swifts. Not much else, except lots of road trash. We ended up walking an hour or more taking pictures of the factories and industrial buildings. Other than the big rig drivers, we saw few local people. Occasionally some motorbikes passed by, but that was about it. At one end of the walkway, we watched as one of those huge cylinders was being trucked into the dock area. We did ask a few fellows what these were, but no one spoke English. We ended up bussing back with many crew members who had gone “snack” shopping. For us, it was Coca Cola time since we had not thought to bring water off with us. It turned out our timing was bad. It was close to noontime and some of the tour buses were coming back. We did check out the souvenir tables with t-shirts, caps, magnets, little kid toys, purses, handbags, and wooden lacquer items. They also sold some Vietnamese clothing and flip-flops, as well as designer watches – all knock-offs. No sense to even attempt bargaining (which they expect) with so many people shopping there. Better to come back later, if at all. We never did go back. We cooled off with those sodas and spent some time on our veranda watching the river traffic. There were all sizes of boats and ships, but nothing like what we saw in Da Nang. Checking out a website, we did see that the Celebrity Solstice and another ship were also docked in the river. The Solstice is quite large and had to be docked closer to the river’s entrance. We would see it later on our way out to sea. So where did some of the guests go today? The best of Ho Chi Minh was 8 ½ hours for $150, and a tour to see the Cu Chi tunnels for 10 hours was $140. Both of these excursions included lunch. Also a lunch, there was a taste of Vietnam in partnership with Food and Wine for 7 hours and $140. Shorter tours were Vung Tau for 4 hours at $60 or Ba Ria for 3 ½ hours for $50. A transfer only to Ho Chi Minh was also $60 for 8 ½ hours on your own. Comparatively speaking, today’s excursions were the most affordable so far in our opinion. All aboard was 5:30pm, and we all had to turn in our landing cards to a box at the front desk. Before 6pm, Captain Friso carefully turned the ship around and headed back down the river. We stayed on the veranda the whole time enjoying the scenic cruising. The sun went down and the lights came on, which really made everything look so much nicer, even if it was all industrial. Numerous container ships were operating through the night, which is smart since it is much cooler. And like we said, we passed by the Celebrity Solstice just as she was ready to leave as well. With up to 3400 passengers, this ship is much larger than the Zuiderdam. Captain Friso did toot the horn as we sailed by. It was dinner time by the time we passed by Vung Tau, the city on the seaside. It was lit up like a Christmas tree. Dinner time was celebrating the end of another segment with the parade of the cooks and waiters. Why tonight, we do not know, since tomorrow is a day at sea. No one goes home until Saturday we believe. We ordered the spicy chicken/peanut sauce dipped appetizer with one salad and one chicken noodle soup. It’s still spaghetti soup and we gave up trying to get the noodles. Entrees were the veal tenderloin – one with rice and one with a baked potato. We skipped the parsnip puree which is really of swipe on the plate. We passed on dessert, which really upsets our waiter. He loves to bring a complete dinner, but it can be way too much at times. Showtime featured instrumentalist Dennis Lau, a pianist and violinist. People were filing out of the dining room early, so we are not sure how many of them make it to the later show. Since some of the tours left at 6:15am, we doubt many folks will go to the show tonight. We knew that the clocks had to go ahead one hour tonight, but our waiters forgot to tell us, and there was no card left on the bed like they usually leave it. The front desk folks verified that yes, the clocks went forward tonight. We don’t like that, but at least we have a sea day to relax before Singapore. Bill & Mary Ann
  8. Report #81 Wednesday March 20, 2024 Sea Day Enroute To Phu My Cruise Port For Ho Chiu Minh City Sunny With Heavy Sea Haze 84 Degrees 27mph Winds 4" Swell Part #1 Of 1.......No Pictures----Dressy Night The rain from last night was gone when we woke up this morning, which was a nice surprise. It did seem to be warmer with temperatures in the mid 80’s and accompanied with high humidity. Hard to believe only 10 days ago, we were wearing our heavy coats in ice cold China, complaining about it. What a big difference now. We expect the same warm and sticky weather now for most of the remainder of the cruise. Taking our walk this morning, we finally saw more folks coming outside on the teak lounges. Gone are the blue plaid blankets. The dark blue towels are back. During our walk, we saw some more of the small swifts still flying around the ship. We were certain they would find a home in our last port of Da Nang. Guess they did not like the neighborhood. Another bird that was really lost was one white egret and possibly one booby. The flying fish are starting to appear again indicating we are sailing in warmer waters now. Going to the Seaview Pool, we had a nice visit with Greg, our long time tablemate.. He informed us that Heo is going home in Singapore and will not be returning. His parent’s health has been failing recently, and he feels the need to be closer to home to help his brother out. Since they live in Sydney, Heo will be at home to give them extra care. He will be missed by their many friends. Our big job of the day was attending to another muster drill procedure, which is a piece of cake now. We could have sworn we just did one, but looking back on the calendar, it has been exactly one month since the last one. Passengers in the odd numbered rooms went first at 1pm. The even numbered folks, like us, went at 1:30pm. We headed down to deck three around 1:20pm, and beat the crowd going down. Our cards were scanned, then we watched our stateroom TV with the vital information in case of an emergency. We should be good for another month now. We are still not sure where the ship will be docked tomorrow, although Captain Friso did mention something about changes at his noon talk. Honestly, it really does not matter since every one of the docks on the river are just that. Docks…a place to tie the ship up and nothing more. There is no place to walk to such as a town or village, so we plan to stay onboard. If there are souvenir stands on the pier, we might check it out. With Singapore coming up this weekend, we did some research on their transit cards and where to buy them. It used to be easy when we docked at Harbourfront. But now we are out in the sticks at Marina Bay South, and they may not sell those tickets there. One way or another, we’ll figure it out because this is one stop we make the most of our time. And the good thing is we will have two full days to explore and enjoy it. The dress suggestion was “dressy” this evening, although while taking a late walk on the promenade deck at 5:30pm, we noticed some folks did not get that memo. Casual is as good as it gets for some, which is fine. Jackets for the fellows are a bit on the warm side with this weather, but it is only for a few hours. The appetizers were a little strange, but there is always the choice of jumbo shrimp and Caesar salad. We had both. Mains were the surf and turf (shrimp and a tenderloin steak) and a lasagna. We have been waiting to see the veal cutlet show up on the Club Orange menu, but so far, we only saw it twice on this whole trip. So we asked our head waiter, Hazel, who checked into it and said it will be served on March 23rd. We said count us in….we will be there. One of us had a little serving of pineapple for dessert which was perfect. The show tonight was a performance of the singers and dancers with These Dreams: A Journey To Love. Their routine should be a piece of cake since the seas have been behaving with slight swells and following winds. There was a very pointed note waiting for all of us in our room after dinner. It came from Henk M, the hotel director, and it concerned the shore excursion dispatch procedure for the tour groups. Really, this did not apply to us since we no longer participate in bus tours, but we found it interesting. Several years ago, a change had to be made to sticker the guests on tours at the exit from the show lounge. Prior to that, they were stickered on their way inside the lounge, then left to run to the buses to get the best seats. It worked better back then, but somewhere along the line, they went back to the old way. We assume it has caused some conflict with the staff and other guests. Here is the way Henk worded the warning: While nothing is ever perfect, we can implore, plead, or urge you all, especially those of you seemingly not wanting to comply with the principal effort behind the complexities of this operation to cease and desist being a “rebel without a cause”. A mouthful of words, we hope people take notice. You do know that if things get out of hand, people can be removed from the cruise. We have seen it happen. Bill & Mary Ann
  9. Report #80 Tuesday March 19, 2024 Da Nang, Vietnam Docked Starboard Side To Pier 8am-10:30pm Sunny With Haze And Clouds 86 Degrees Slight Breeze And Warming Up Part #1 Of 4.......66 Pictures---Casual Dress Another day, and another country. This time it is Vietnam – a place that we never thought we would be visiting over and over again. Today’s port was Da Nang, one of the smaller cities, even though it is still huge. We were here several years ago, and at that time we took tours to Hue and also to Hoi An, since we had two full days in port. So here’s some info on Vietnam. The population is 95.3 million people that speak Vietnamese. The capital is Hanoi in the northern part of the country. There were several tours here which included a 4 hour Da Nang by rickshaw and museum visit for $70, or later this evening, a 4 hour trip to Hoi An. Missed the pricing on that one, but it is doable since all aboard time is 10:30pm. Out of the area tours included a 9 hour one to Hue with lunch for $155, as well as ancient Hoi An for 7 ½ hours for $130. There are always private car or van excursions in every port, but too many to list. And the big one was a 2 night 3 day overland to Angkor Wat for $2200. The best memory we have of our first visit to Nha Trang in Vietnam was trying to cross a wide street with a tsunami of motorbikes coming at us……none of them stopping. Our guide said the secret to crossing was to keep going, don’t stop, and they will go around you. It worked, but it sure raised the blood pressure. Anyway, their favorite food is sweet and salty, sour and crunchy whatever they are cooking. Favorites are fish head soup and lots of veggies and everything rice. Pho noodles are a big treat for all. We had breakfast as usual, but today we had the view of the water and watched as various types of fishing boats went by our windows. These vessels are wooden and unique to this country. Painted blue and red or brown and orange, they serve a purpose such as shrimping or deep sea fishing. We even saw one of those “bowl” shaped boats go by. So we went off of the ship shortly after 10am and went through the little security shack to have our landing cards stamped. We will need to keep these cards until we leave the next and last Vietnam port of Phu My. Our temperatures were taken at this shack as well although we did not know it at the time. We did not plan on booking any tours today, but hoped to simply take a walk to see what we could. Yesterday we had been told there may be a $10 bus shuttle one way to downtown Da Nang which was 8 miles from the dock. All that was provided were four electric golf carts that took the folks to the port gate….no further. This dock is a working dock and walking was not allowed. Even Henk and Christel, who were heading out on their bikes, had to put them in the cart and ride to the gate. There was no shuttle, only a ton of taxi drivers trying to get us to go anywhere. They do not take “no thanks” for an answer. It might take 10 times that for them to give up. Many couples will go to the furthest taxi driver at the end of the queue in order to get the best price for a ride. We saw that happen more than once this morning. It had been mentioned that there may be souvenir tables set up outside the port gate, but there was nothing. What we saw was a bunch of small shops and bars and a whole lot of trash everywhere. Mostly broken beer and water bottles and chip wrappers, etc. A few other guests had walked further past the mess, but gave up when the sidewalk ended. Oh well, it was warm, but there was a breeze and some shade along the road, so we continued our hike. It took us past several military facilities, mostly naval it appeared. Besides the big rigs from the port, there were lots of locals on motorbikes. Every time a taxi passed us, they beeped, in hopes we would wave them down. They even stopped and followed us until we finally said no thanks a dozen times. The map supplied from the ship was basically useless here. The map was more of the central city of Da Nang and not where we were docked. We still carry the maps with us because they also contain the port info, address, and phone number. The local currency rate is printed on it as well which today was 1 USD = 24.76 Vietnamese dong. We figured we had hiked about 6 miles when we came to the outskirts of town and a number of small cafes, shops, and stores on both sides of the road. We had not gotten far enough to run into any hotels. The little cafes were just opening their doors, but we knew the cuisine was most likely not going to work for one of us, so we decided to turn back. Just then, a taxi guy pulled up, and we wisely negotiated a ride back to the pier with the help of our printed map which had the phrase “return us to the ship, please”. The young driver had actually had a phone that translated English to his language. But the letter worked better. He was very nice, drove safely, and charged us appropriately. We waited at the gate for the golf cart, and rode the rest of the way back to the ship. Our landing cards were checked once again. Even though we had brought water with us, the ice cold Cokes sure tasted a lot better. We did Dive In for lunch and relaxed in the room and outside on the veranda which had a beautiful breeze later in the afternoon. Around 3pm, there was a flotilla of the fishing boats passing us going in one direction. And we mean hundreds of them, which we guessed they may be going out for evening fishing. In the past, we have passed these types of boats off of the coast fishing with strong lights in the darkness. Hopefully we will see these tonight after we leave the port. Captain Friso came on the speakers around 6pm, and gave the report for tomorrow’s day at sea. He mentioned that there was a significant storm with monsoon-type rains heading our way. He hoped to be able to outrun it. So far, we have been lucky not to have had any severe weather, but that could change. The Captain had hoped to leave sooner than 10:30pm, but that would depend on whether everyone was back onboard. Dinner was good with some nice appetizers of drunken? chicken (looked sober to us) and a tomato soup. Salads were Caesar and arugula for a change. Mains were the same…..sweet and sour crispy breaded shrimp with jasmine rice and plenty of extra sweet and sour sauce. They cannot serve this often enough in our humble opinion. We would also like sweet and sour pork or chicken. Hint, hint…. Dessert for one of us was a sliced banana with a small ramekin of chocolate sauce. A little wicked, but good. As this is being written 11pm, we checked outside our veranda and discovered it was raining. Not bad, but definitely wet. Hope this is not the start of the deluge……. Bill & Mary Ann
  10. Report #79 Monday March 18, 2024 Sea Day Enroute To Da Nang, Vietnam Warmer And Humid, Hazy With Sun 80 Degrees Sea State-Flat Part #1 Of 1.......24 Pictures Not too much to report today with one big exception. During breakfast we suddenly discovered dolphins swimming in the wake right outside our window in the Pinnacle Grill. Yelling “dolphins”, many guests jumped up and turned on their cell phone cameras. Too bad they were too late to catch one of the jumping dolphins as they disappeared as fast as they appeared. And we did not have our camera with us. Of course, we watched until 9am, and never saw another one. Maybe later….. We stayed on dolphin-watch in our room while working online. It has really heated up as we travel further south towards Vietnam. The high of the day had to exceed 80 degrees which we found out when going to the Seaview Pool. For the first time in weeks, some sunbathers were there on the lounges and even in the pool. Now most folks have to be careful not to burn, even us. Our friend Greg came by and chatted for a while. It was good to catch up on each other’s adventures for the last few days. We have usually gone in different directions in each port, so at the end of the day by sharing, we feel we have covered a lot more territory. Both Heo and Greg are “foodies” and readily enjoy trying local cuisine. Lucky for them, there are no allergies there. Hong Kong was one of the places to eat locally they said. The photos they shared told the story. Captain Friso came on the speakers after sounding the horn. He really likes laying on the ship’s horn or whistle as it is called. Yesterday it was necessary while leaving the harbor in Hong Kong as there was so much boat and ship traffic with the danger of low fog. Today that heavy fog was mostly gone. The skies were not totally clear, but overcast and cloudy. Later in the morning, it did warm up as the clouds broke up. We think the time has come we can pack our cold weather jackets in the suitcases under the bed. If we had stuck to the original itinerary, the jackets would have been needed for the Mediterranean. Kimberly had another port talk on Ho Chi Minh City. The ship will dock at Phu My, which sounds good but is not. There is absolutely nothing there. No terminal, no town, no facilities…..nothing. There may be a few souvenir tables set up, but we have been there many times with nothing offered. There are tours from this port, which we have done more than three times to Saigon, and once to Vung Tau, a seaside resort. It will probably be like a sea day for us and many of our buddies. The port tomorrow will be Da Nang, so we listened to Kimberly’s entire talk on that stop only to find out we will be docked 30 minutes away from town by car. There was a possible bus that might take guests to town for a $10 round trip ticket. But that was not confirmed yet. Maybe they will tell us if that will happen when we arrive. Doing a little research, we learned that a big Celebrity ship will be in the port as well. The last time we were here, we went to Hue and Hoi An, but never saw any of Da Nang. Maybe this time we will. Just by luck, we had another spotting of the dolphins in the afternoon. Once again, they appeared far off of the ship and unless you were looking for them, you would never spot them. This time the camera was ready and we did get some cool shots. In a couple of minutes, they were gone. The sea water is getting warmer as well, so we expect to see some flying fish once again. And we still have some birds tagging along with us. That flock of swifts were seen flying at the back deck, as well as a larger bird. We could not identify that one. A bit more disturbing was the sighting of two military jets flying over us today. It makes us realize that we are not in “Kansas” anymore, a term said in the Wizard of Oz movie of the past. If there was a sunset, we sure did not see it. The horizon appeared to be in a haze again. Dinner was OK…better than last night’s lamb soup. Greg said he had ordered that same stew and it was awful. Not a stew, but boiled lamb with veggies. And his was cold. Tonight Hazel, our dining room assistant, said so many guests complained that the chef said he had to re-do his recipe. Actually, throwing it away and starting over would be a better idea. We both ordered the chicken tenders for appetizers, a winner for sure. One of us had a salad and the other a bowl of pea soup, but not Dutch pea soup. It was missing the smoked sausage that makes it so good. Mains were chicken piccata with parsley mashed potatoes, carrots, broccoli and a mushroom gravy. And that was just fine. A sliced banana worked for a light dessert. The entertainer this evening was a familiar name – Annie Gong. She has been a frequent performer and was back with her classic accordion. She simulates a virtual one-woman symphony orchestra…..a popular musician for the regular world cruise travelers. Bill & Mary Ann
  11. Report #78 Sunday March 17, 2024 St. Patrick's Day Hong Kong, China-Day #2 Heavy Overcast With Smog 69-79 Degrees Sailaway At 4:30pm Part #1 Of 6.......66 Pictures---Casual Dress---Green HAPPY ST. PATRICK’S DAY TO ALL!!! The day began much like yesterday as far as the weather was concerned. That heavy smog-like haze remained over the entire city, although it was not cold. At 7am, the temperature was in the low 70’s and there was some humidity in the air. At least we are not getting a shock every time we touch something metal. That was occurring ever since we arrived to Tianjin, China. We tolerate the chilly weather, but really prefer mild, warm, and sunny. That will come in time…..and more. During breakfast, Suzanne shared some photos of her walk around the terminal yesterday. She had not been able to spot a sidewalk that led to the streets to downtown Kowloon, but did discover the garden part of the cruise terminal located on the roof. We had already decided not to return to the APM Mall, since all aboard was 3pm. After the delays we experienced yesterday, as well as hearing more stories much like ours, we knew we could not trust that we would get back to the ship on time. We do not recall ever leaving Hong Kong so early on day two. Many times we have sailed out of this magnificent harbor in the dark, which is a real treat seeing the city lit up. So around 11am, we ventured off of the ship after completing yesterday’s photos and report, keeping us up to date. We had been under the impression that there was no way to walk out of this terminal due to the construction going on. Even the information fellow down by the exit said if we wanted to take a walk, we could go up to the garden on the roof, or walk outside a little way. Their final suggestion is to take a taxi somewhere, one thing we did not want to do. Anyway, we picked up the map of the MTR Stations and noticed there was a list of buses that came to this terminal that went to different areas. Bus numbers, times, duration of the ride, and the price was posted on one side. Some buses came back to the terminal, some did not. Then we noticed that this flyer was dated for today, and also had the times for the free coach to the APM Mall, the one we took yesterday. Today, the shuttles ran every hour, not ½ hour as was printed on the newsletter. There was a window where we could buy Hong Kong dollars or turn in other currencies like yen we still had. And just a note to ourselves…..we did exchange yen for US dollars, but it had to be converted to HK dollars first, then US dollars. Since it was a small amount, the fee was negligible. But it is better to do the exchange in the same country of the money. Better yet…..spend it all. This was the same place to buy those bus passes and even purchase an Octopus Card for seniors. This is something to remember if we ever come back here. We could ride the MTR for two days for a very small amount and not worry about taxis. It sure works for us in Singapore and we hope that has not changed since we were there last. Making our way the same street the bus took yesterday, we found the entrance to the Kai Tak Skypark. Lucky for us, we had run into another couple we see often on world and longer voyages, and they said they had made their way back to the terminal from the Mall yesterday, mostly because he could not lift his wheelchair-bound wife into the coach. They did indeed find the right street and sidewalks all the way back from town. It was not easy to see at first, but there was a fountain with stairs going up to a wide elevated garden walk. This was perfect, and even more so because they were few people up here. Mostly local joggers and a few dog walkers were here. Forbidden on this garden wall are bikes, roller skates, and skate boards. Much better for people that are hiking like us. It was extremely well-maintained and clean as could be. And the view of both Hong Kong Island and Kowloon was spectacular. One thing we did not anticipate was how warm it became as the day advanced. The haze had thinned to a point that it actually got too warm. Many benches were placed in between plantings of trees, shrubs, and flowers. Grasses and ground covers filled every planted area. We even saw some birds in these trees today as well as one lone kite or hawk. There were many stairways as well as elevators to access this garden walk. What a wonderful discovery. There were many signs describing how this area came about. This long finger of a peninsula was actually the old airport runway. Once it was relocated to Lantau Island, this Kai Tak Cruise Terminal was built. Long and narrow, it takes up the far end of the old runway. Then the Skypark Garden begins where the terminal ends. It is built above the old runway and runs the full length of it. The walk continued all the way to the old airport we believe. It had to be about a mile or more from end to end. In a few areas of the walkway, there were small wind turbines that charge batteries that supply the LED lighting along the pathway and also in the floor. Hard to believe it takes so little of these windmills to create the energy needed. New towers of apartment complexes are going up on both sides of the Skypark. They are massive and modern with fountains and swimming pools to die for. We could not help but notice that the scaffolding is made from bamboo. When they are completed, this Skypark Garden will be much appreciated for exercise and the views. Of course, on the way back, we tested the nice benches along the way. Especially the ones that were in some shade. Had we known there were drink vending machines up here, we would not have cashed out our HK dollars. After taking hundreds of pictures, we got back to the terminal with enough time to check out the roof. Locating an elevator, we went there to find another rooftop garden with three sets of escalators, none of which were operating. Only two sets of elevators took the folks to either A or B terminals. And by the way, another ship had arrived this morning and docked behind us. It was called Resorts World One, an Asian-owned ship registered in the Bahamas. It was about the same size as the Zuiderdam with up to 1856 passengers and built in 1999. The gross tonnage was 75,000 and there were 13 decks. Checking it out later online, the rooms looked very Asian-decorated with a mix of insides, outsides, and many verandas. Today was their turn-around day, and eventually they left after 3pm. We did see a good-sized group of mostly Asian ladies running from a bus to board the ship shortly before it left. Back to the roof, we found there was a large venue for private parties. Last night there was a wedding reception, so that explains the lights we saw from deck 10 on the ship. On the opposite end was an origami café for kids. It appears it is rented for groups and not open to the public. We had built up a mighty thirst, so we headed back down and did the security checkpoints. They asked to see our passport copies twice, comparing it to the name on our room cards. The xray was done in the terminal, which saved time onboard. We had a surprise when we jumped in the elevator. It went up almost to deck six, stopped, buzzed and dropped back down to the third deck. It almost felt like a free-fall at first. The doors opened and we jumped out. The security officer said they had shut down all of the elevators for a quick test. They did resume working in 5 minutes, but that was not a good feeling thinking we might be stuck. It did happen to our friends not that long ago…an experience they will never forget. All aboard was 3pm and around 10 minutes later, our new Captain Friso welcomed us as he is taking over now. He did mention that Hong Kong is one of his favorite harbors, and we had hoped we could sail further up to see the area where we usually docked. However, it was not be since we were already facing the way out. Besides more cranes for new construction on the Kowloon side, we also spotted an area that was being leveled, like a mountain being tiered and the sand taken away. We will have to research this, even though Captain Friso mentioned it as we passed by. The haze became heavier the further away we got from the harbor, the horn had to be blasted every two minutes. There was a lot of traffic with small boats and we had to announce our presence. Even a few miles away, we could not see the city anymore. Tonight was everything St. Paddy’s Day. Green lights decorated the dining room and the menu matched with appropriate Irish items. Both of us had the smoked chicken appetizer….most delicious. One salad ordered was nicoise (tuna) which always had flaked tuna in it. Now they put a chunk of ahi tuna on the plate, so I asked for no tuna. Our entrees were a choice between corned beef and cabbage, not our favorite, or an Irish stew. We chose the stew and were surprised it came like a soup. It was tasty, but we missed the gravy that usually holds it together. There was a bar hop that began at 8pm and it was in full swing when we left the dining room. The Ocean Bar had to be the fourth stop. We believe that many people got their money’s worth ($25). There was a movie in the World Stage, so the bar hop must have been more appealing. And the clocks went back one hour tonight , giving us all a 25 hour day at sea tomorrow. Bill & Mary Ann
  12. Report #77 Saturday March 16, 2024 Hong Kong, China Docked Port Side To Pier At Kai Tak Terminal 7am-Overnight Day #1 Of 2 Very Smoggy No Sun 73 Degrees Part #1 Of 4........57 Pictures---Casual Well, here we are in Hong Kong, one of our favorite places to visit. The weather was dreadful-looking outside with overcast skies and a heavy haze that sure looked like smog. It was not cold, however. The temperature was close to 70 this morning. It might not be the best day for those going to Victoria Peak on Hong Kong Island. At least it was not raining. During breakfast, we watched outside the Pinnacle Grill window while a large truck pulled up with two dragons. Dragons….you say? Of course they were the Dragon and Lion Dance and Drum Show performing for all of us. It took them all of 45 minutes to assemble the dragons and “man” the bodies. The drummers were the best. If anyone thought they could sleep in after 8:30am on the portside, they would be quite surprised how far those drums sounds can travel. We went back to our veranda to watch, but were mostly blocked by an extra gangway. Towards the end of the 15 minute show, one of the dragons broke loose and came our way waving at us and others, as well as our room steward Putu who was washing veranda windows at the time. Pretty good we thought. And we did get some neat pictures. Here’s a snippet of info about Hong Kong. The population is 7.18 million folks that speak mostly Cantonese and English. Situated on several islands and part of the mainland, it is connected by ferries, trams, an underground metro, buses and cars. It boasts that they have the world’s smoothest transport systems. It is also considered one of the world’s top culinary capitals where they worship the “God of Cookery” with Cantonese, Sichuanese, Japanese, and French cuisine according to Lonely Planet. Their favorite food is dim sum, pork buns, teahouses and late night snacks. There are too many sights to mention but if you booked a HAL tour (as we have many times) you would see the best of Hong Kong for 8 ¼ hours for $220. Or there are shorter tours like East meets West for 3 hours and $220. The Kowloon Market is a winner at $55 for 4 ½ hours while a trip to Lantau Island to see the worlds biggest Buddha was $240 and 7 ½ hours. Taking the Lantau Skyrail was an option for $130 for 4 hours, but we were informed that it was shut down due to maintenance today. Lastly, an evening harbor cruise was 2 ¾ hours for $140. We have done them all over the years. There was some confusion with the complimentary shuttle offered today, as well as a last minute offer of a $10 USD bus to take folks to the Star Ferry Terminal area. On all of the past world’s cruises when we stopped here, we docked in the Star Ferry terminal. Not any more. Even before Covid and 2020, we were moved to the Kai Tak Terminal (former airport). It is not conveniently located to the major attractions. The last time we were here, we were taken to the Peninsula Hotel by the shuttle, which worked out fine. Yes it was an inconvenience, but we were put in an area we all knew well. Now we were transferred to the APM Mall, supposedly one of the largest in Hong Kong. However it is miles from the sights we wish to visit. Complicating the matter even more, there was another shuttle costing $10 USD one way to the Star Ferry Terminal area. It was more direct, but it was a one- way trip only. The only way back to the cruise terminal was by taxi or the MTR (mass transit) to the mall. So that was not a good deal. The only good thing about the free shuttle was that it dropped you off close to the MTR Kwun Tong station, and if we could figure it out, we could make our way to the top of Nathan Road several miles away from the Mall. Once the free bus (made for tiny people) filled up, it took no more than 15 minutes to get to the mall. And we need to mention here that HAL did not pay for this shuttle, as it was tied to the mall. It runs all of the time for anyone who wished to use it. We had missed a few details before coming to the mall on the first bus. One was not getting an MTR map and the other was failing to get some Hong Kong dollars. Normally, we would be able to purchase HK dollars on the ship, but with a few exceptions, they do not do that anymore at the front desk. In addition, we had been told that the metro accepts Visa as a payment method. We watched some guests from the ship try tapping their cards to gain entrance to the trains, and it would not work. Asking at the customer service desk, we were told it was Hong Kong cash only for short trips. And it was a different type of Visa card that works here. The mall was big, very nice, and modern. But to tell the truth we have been in so many of these, we wanted to get outside and explore. Somehow we found our way to the MTR and ran into friends Mike and Nancy who were trying to do the same thing as us. Since we did not have any local money, we went in search of a money exchange shop. There was nothing in the entire mall except ATMs and banks….none of which exchange foreign money. So we went outside and around the block, down some alleys, and found a side street with an exchange place. Now the fun was trying to remember how to get back into the mall or find the access to the metro. No matter which direction we walked, it was like salmon swimming upstream. Back inside, we bought our tickets for a total of $20 HK ($2.56 USD). This would get us to the top of Nathan Road at the Prince Edward Street. By the way, everything was crowded because today was Saturday. Many families were out and about as well as lots of school age kids. They filled the trains, the streets, and the stores. If we thought the trains were crowded, our destinations of the Mong Kok Flower Market, the Bird Market, and the Ladies Market were wall-to-wall shoppers. We were actually surprised to see the old bird market still in operation, because when we got off of the ship, we were handed a warning to watch out for avian influenza. It stated that human infection with the virus can result in respiratory failure, multi-organ failure or death. We believe this is directed more to poultry ranches, and not the pet store-type bird market. Now we wondered why so many of the locals were wearing masks. Covid may still be around as well as the bird flu. In the meantime we always pack the Purell and use it often. The flower market here is two blocks long, and filled with the most perfect blooming bouquets and live plants too. The orchids had to be the prettiest and came in all shades including blue-tinged with dye we assume. It is not uncommon to see locals with armfuls of single-cut flowers and heading for the MTR. From what we saw, they were not terribly expensive. The Bird Market was not as crowded this morning. A huge stadium has been built alongside this old market, and we were lucky to find it. Many local bird owners will bring their pet birds in small cages to listen all day to other singing birds. In time, their pets will learn to sing. And it is obviously a good place for the elderly folks to visit with each other. Varieties of birds sold here were parakeets, parrots, macaws, mynah, finches, canaries, love birds, cockatiels, and all types of little song birds from the wild. Their eating habits drop a lot of seed on the ground, so that attracted dozens of pigeons. They do keep the place clean, but then add some of their own deposits as well. These roaming birds might be responsible for transferring viruses and there is no good way to keep them out of the open-air market. The Ladies Market went on for block after block and had about everything imaginable for everyone. It was most busy, especially where the fresh produce was being sold. A weekend is probably not the best time for a cruise ship to stop in Hong Kong. Time was getting away from us, so we continued onward to another MTR station on Nathan Road. Buying return tickets, we were back to the mall in a short time. Even though there were a lot of people on the trains, it really is the most convenient way to get around. There were some young girls who insisted we sit down when there were no seats left. It was sweet of them to do that. Today’s shuttle ran from 10am to 6pm, but we would never wait until the last buses to go back. We walked back inside the Mall and found a nice place for lunch. They had a varied menu which happened to include pizza. So guess what we had? A salami-topped cheese pizza with a side salad and Coke Zeros. It was really good. Then it was time to go. What was not good was by the time we got to the shuttle, it filled up mostly with crew members. We understand that the crew has limited time off in these ports, but normally, they will insist on guests going first on the bus. That did not happen today. Not a big deal, we were first in line for the next bus which should have come in 30 minutes. Well, it did not arrive until an hour later. In the meantime, we watched several arrogant older ladies cutting into the line by talking to some people from the ship, then slipping in behind them. They should know better, but they get away with it until someone speaks up. Other folks did speak up, but only a few listened. That should be something one learns in kindergarten, but some people are clueless or simply do not care. At least this bus was larger and the seats worked better. We studied the route back and wondered if we could have walked back easier. The distance was not that far, but due to a massive amount of construction happening, there was no clear path to take. And with all aboard tomorrow at 3pm, we are not sure we will attempt to go back to the Mall. Sure would have been nice to make it to the Night Market like we always do. The Temple Street Night Market will start up around 4pm, even if all of the dining venues are not operating yet. It’s fun just to see the vast variety of souvenirs and treasures that are being hawked. We would have liked to walk on the Avenue of the Stars at the original terminal. We always make a sweep through Kowloon Park, but we would need more than a half of a day to do it all. The hike back through the terminal took us on a zig-zag journey from the garage level to the second floor and down again. We had our passport copies checked before we were made to go through the xray. Eventually, we were back onboard. Thank goodness. We spent the rest of the late afternoon working in the room. Dinner time had some good choices with a seafood croquette and an orange avocado salad with no lettuce. We do hope that some food was delivered here today as we have been running out of fresh stuff. Our entrees were one chicken meatball plate with rigatoni and marinara sauce. The other main was a Shepard’s pie, made with ground lamb, peas, gravy and baked mashed potatoes piped on top. It was quite good and hot as ever. Since they were out of fresh bananas, we skipped dessert. There was a local show performed by a local folkloric group at 9:30pm, but we have seen similar performances and decided to skip it and head up to deck 10 to take some photos of the famous skyline of the harbor. Too bad the smog/fog was so thick, we could barely see all of the lit-up buildings. One more short day here tomorrow, and we will be on our way towards Vietnam. Bill & Mary Ann
  13. Report #76 Friday March 15, 2024 Sea Day # 3 Of 3 Enroute To Hong Kong, China Overcast, Some Showers And Sun Much Warmer 59-65 Degrees 20 mph Wind 4' Swell Part #1 Of 1…..19 Pictures---Casual Dress We have sailed far enough south that it was not quite as cold as yesterday or the day before that. The temperature at 7am was 59 degrees, not in the 40’s. That chill was gone as was the dryness. With a higher humidity, it was a lot more comfortable. While walking today, we noticed a few swallows flying around the ship. Then we saw a small flock of them and wondered where in the heck did they come from? Currently we are sailing between Taiwan and mainland China, but there may be some small islands close by. Swallows are not a sea bird, so they must have hitched a ride. If they can hang on until tomorrow, they will be Hong Kong birds. It was time for some hot chocolate at the Seaview Pool. We did find some more of the new packets in the Lido, hiding behind the tea bag display. Not as sweet as the regular mix, we added some Splenda and it was perfect. Taking a couple of chairs by the pool, there was actually a little sun peeking through the heavy clouds. For a short time, it was almost warm. Then we spotted Christel M, our former guest relations officer, who frequently runs on deck 10. She joined us for an hour chatting about the way things were and where they are going now with HAL. She did admit that she is enjoying retirement immensely and hopes to be able to tag along next year with her husband Henk. In the meantime, we got our next delivery of our President’s Club Coke Zeros. It reminded us of how quickly this cruise is flying by. The noon whistle was sounded twice for some reason, and was soon followed by Captain Frank’s talk. He sounded almost sad about leaving the ship in Hong Kong and said he really enjoyed this first half of the world voyage. When he mentioned that his entrance and exit in Saipan was one of his highlights, we were surprised. Of course, after having met the pilot that afternoon, we understand fully what was involved with the plans for the port. So it was an unexpected highlight for us as well being able to hear the details first-hand. Ending his noon update, he actually sang a farewell song….short and sweet. We could hear Kimberly in the back round chuckling as he sang for all of us. Well done, she said, well done indeed. Later in the day, we received more copies of our passports that we will have to pack with us while we go ashore. That is much better than taking our actual passports. Included with the copies were landing cards for Vietnam that we had to fill out to carry with us when we arrive to Da Nang. That will be sometime next week. This morning at breakfast, our buddy Don informed us that Sonny from the former and popular Station Band had come onboard to visit his wife Twinkle, the assistant beverage manager. One of their kids came with him, and the other one will join in Hong Kong. One of the most visited bars on the Amsterdam was in the Crow’s Nest, where Sonny and his band played every evening. Barb was one of their biggest fans, and when they did not come back (not by choice), she was not happy, nor were all of the customers he entertained. Tonight Don said Sonny promised his followers that he would sing in the Ocean Bar for a short time after the late dinner seating. Hope that was allowed as some toes could be stepped on with other contracts with other band players. Our assistant waiter, Alfred, told us tonight was his last evening onboard. His contract was up after 8 months at sea, and he was going home to the Philippines. In the old days, most all of the crew members stayed for the entire world cruise and beyond. Now they are coming and going all of the time. Alfred said a group of waiters and room attendants were leaving tomorrow and more on day two in Hong Kong. New crew will be coming onboard to replace most of them. We need to ask how many guests were leaving in Singapore and how many boarding. So far we have lost more than we have gained. That will be a factor as to how many departing crew will be replaced. The dinner menu was not exciting, although one of us tried a tuna roll appetizer. It came with ahi tuna which was raw. If it had been described that way, it would not have been ordered. Neither of us has developed a taste for the less than cooked fish. The Caesar salads were good as ever, and the mains of rack of lamb and a half order of the alternate steak was plenty. A sliced banana sounded better than the dessert selection, so our waiter Yanwar dressed it up with vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce. Pretty good. We wished Alfred the best of luck as we left the dining room. The entertainer tonight was a concert pianist by the name of Tian Jiang. His credits included a profiling on CBS Sunday Morning Show as well as performing at Carnegie Hall and touring China with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Fantastic artist, he was excellent. Really looking forward to Hong Kong, since our last visit had to be in 2017 we think. Bill & Mary Ann
  14. Report #75 Thursday March 14, 2024 Sea Day # 2 Of 3 Enroute To Hong Kong, China Heavy Overcast A Little Sun And Warmer 40-52 Degrees 10 mph Wind 2' Swell Part #1 Of 1 No Pictures---Formal Dress The Zuiderdam is currently sailing in the East China Sea, and for the last couple of days we have been seeing some unusual things in the water. Chunks of what appears to be seaweed or algae have floated by as we maintain a speed of 18 to 19 knots. The seas are shallow here, reflecting a shade of green/blue color, due to the depth being between 200 and 300 feet. Besides the usual commercial ship traffic, we have begun to pass numerous medium-sized fishing boats. We cannot be sure, but they may be working as a fleet. We search daily for signs of sea birds but have spotted none. Except for one seagull that happened to come near our veranda early this morning out of the blue. It flew away never to be seen again. There are no other signs of life out here such as dolphins or flying fish. We miss that. We have also been passing dark and white soccer ball size globes which the Captain refers to as buoys. Some have to be shipping channel markers, while other may be weather-related beacons. While in Japanese waters we seem to recall the Captain pointing out some more buoys that were actually solar-powered and used for sea and weather conditions. Normally these sources of information have come from ships that are sailing in that area. Now it is more precise using modern technology. At one point n the afternoon, we looked out our veranda to see dozens of white boxes floating in one area near some of the fishing boats. We figured they may have fallen off of one of those boats and heaven knows what would be in them. There did not seem to be an attempt to gather them up as they were dispersing in all directions. Other than that, the day was uneventful. The sun seemed to be coming out this morning, as we were blinded at breakfast in the Pinnacle Grill. Little by little, the sea haze blocked most of the rays although we still went to the Seaview Pool to enjoy a cup of hot chocolate. Today they did have some of the new packets in the Lido. Kimberly gave her talk on Da Nang (Hue) at 10am. We have been to Hue and Hoi An on tours several years ago, so this time we intend to explore Da Nang. And we shall watch the lecture on TV later. We still have to catch up on the Hong Kong talk mostly to find out where we will be docking and if the shuttle bus will be available. It used to be so easy when we docked where the Star Ferry is located. With all of the gambling ships docked there, they kicked out most all of the cruise lines. Nothing stays the same forever, does it? We have arrived to another evening for a formal night. The theme is the Zuiderdam Ball where the dance commences at 7:30pm with the first dance by the Captain and his wife Alexandra. Other officers should be there as well, sometimes not exactly voluntary as they have joked in the past. Yes, this is a grand evening reminiscent of yesteryear, and one of the things that has not gone away….yet. The menu for dinner had the usual appetizers of escargot and a prawn cocktail. No caviar, which is really a thing of the past. Entrees did include surf (lobster) and turf (filet) as well as lamb chops. One of us ordered the lamb, while the other had tortellini, a lighter dinner. Dessert was a sliced banana with chocolate sauce for one of us and coffee for the other. We are finding it better to keep dinner lighter since we are eating later than we normally do at home. With the Zuiderdam Ball continuing in the Rolling Stone Lounge at 9:30pm, there was no show in the World Stage. In our room, we had the formal night note card on the bed saying, “Walking 10 thousand miles of world is better then reading 10 thousand scrolls of books.” We definitely agree. Bill & Mary Ann
  15. Report #74 Wednesday March 13, 2024 Sea Day # 1 Of 3 Enroute To Hong Kong, China Cooler Heavy Overcast A Little Sun 35-45 Degrees 20mph Wind 4' Swell Part #1 Of 1 No Pictures---Casual Dress Today was one to kick back and try to relax after two busy days in our last port of Tianjin or Beijing for many. One thing for sure, we would not be spending any significant time on our veranda, as the temperature this morning was 38 degrees. We doubt it warmed up much more than that for the rest of the day. We did take a couple of long walks on the promenade deck, but there very few of us willing to brave the icy winds. Mid- morning, we went to the Seaview Pool to see if we could find a table and chairs out of the wind and in what sun there was. We had our choice of everything out there since it was void of guests. Only the bartender was there with one waiter. Seeing that we were going to sit there for a bit, he came over and asked if we would like some hot chocolate. We had brought the last package of chocolate mix and shared the cup. Looking for more packets, we came up empty. But the waiter said he would go and look. Well he came back with two cups of boiling water and two different packets of mix. These were not from the Lido, so he may have had some in the bar area. Anyway, the drinks sure tasted good and warmed us up a bit. It was time for the Captain’s talk and he had some interesting things to say. On one hand, he remarked how happy he was to get us to Tianjin and Beijing for many of us to see the major sights. However, a big HOWEVER, we did not know what went on behind the scenes with our officers and staff and the local customs and immigration officials. He said that the procedures in Shanghai were much more professional as they dealt with older and more experienced officials. But here in Tianjin, the group was younger and more firm on protocol. He even admitted that they bordered on being rude at times. Wow….this must have been due to the late tours coming back as well as the big delay in our departure. Reading between the lines, the Captain said there were several complaints and negative comments from many guests and that was why he tried to address their dissatisfaction. He did sound like he was looking forward to our three days at sea as we head towards Hong Kong at a faster speed. Of course, he and his wife will be heading home and Captain Friso will be joining us for the remainder of the trip. We think that his partner Chantalle will also be onboard as a passenger, and not working as the future cruise consultant. They make a nice couple. There was a lecture on Hong Kong delivered by Kimberly at 10am. At 2pm, we were still looking for it on TV. At least we have two more days to watch what we already know. Right now, we are concerned as to where we will dock and if there will be a shuttle bus to town. Our big job of the day was filling out Hong Kong arrival and departure cards. They had to be signed and turned in at the front deck box by 5pm today. They provided a detailed sample of how to fill out the blank spaces, which is a big help. Sometimes the wording on the local forms can be confusing for many of us. At 4pm, there was another Block Party, delayed from the day after Tokyo when it was cancelled. This time a photographer would be present to take group photos of the Captain, his wife, or other key staff and officers in each elevator lobby on the passenger decks. We happened to be watching a good movie when our time slot came at 4:16pm, so we missed it. This was a good attempt to boost the sales of photos though. In addition, the Shops were delayed in opening until 2:30pm due to Chinese regulations. Our guess was that we were not far enough away from the mainland to be in international waters. What we have always wondered was how would the Chinese government know what we were doing on the ship in regards to the shopping and casino? Dinnertime was back in the dining room with a rather lack-luster menu. Even though we had a light lunch, we were not all that hungry. One of us had the arancini appetizer followed by Caesar salads. Our entrees were the veal piccata with spaghetti and a red tomato sauce. We had requested small portions, but they arrived heaping….enough for four people. There was only one dessert ordered and that was three slices of pineapple. The Grand Voyage singers and dancers put on a show called “It Takes Two”. Not sure how that will work since we are rocking and rolling a bit due to the higher speed we have to maintain to get to Hong Kong on time. Bill & Mary Ann
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