The-Inside-Cabin

The official ship time is on the home page of your Navigator App and the ships TV Holland America always changes the ship time to match the local port time.

Marty was the guest at Coffee Chat this morning. He talked about Project Linus Here is the replay. Tomorrow Project Linus will display the blankets that were made for this cruise on the Lido Pool over 400 blankets !!!!

Skies were clear as we dropped anchor off the coast of Lüderitz around 6 AM. Immigration officials came aboard, and we started our face-to-face immigration check around 7:15. We were in no hurry, so we waited until the final call around 9:15 AM. Open tendered was called at 11 am We went ashore at 12:30 PM - a 15-minute tender ride. Today is Sunday, so many places, including the grocery store, closed at 1 PM. We walked around town in a 2-mile loop, stopping at Desert Deli, Portuguese Fisherman, Lüderitz Museum, Felsenkirche - Lutheran Church of the Rock and back to the tender landing. Here are a few pictures. Earlier in the morning, they prohibited wheelchairs and scooters due to the steep ramp and no railings on the pier. Later they allowed a few ashore The OK Foods grocery is close to the Tender Landing - it closes at 1 PM on Sunday - otherwise it is open until 6 PM The Desert Deli served food and drinks. It has a gift shop and wifi. They also have a tour desk. At first, I thought these guys were selling street food - No - they were just having a Sunday BBQ on the street. This is the best restaurant in town per Trip Advisor. It was crowded - Free Wifi. T-Mobile didn't work in Namibia. We ordered fish and chips and a Rainbow Sushi Roll The Lüderitz Museum is next to the Portuguese Fisherman restaurant. Admission is $ 2 USD or 30 NAD. We spent about 15 minutes exploring. It's worth your time and money. Inside the museum We hiked up to the Felsenkirche - Lutheran Church of the Rock. It was closed when we arrived. Here is the church as see from the Ship Back on the ship, there was the Biergarten Dinner in the Lido, featuring various German dishes. Afro Popera Trio was on the World Stage - They put on a great show. Here is the menu for the special LIDO dinner Afro Popera Trio - they sang a nice variety of songs, including: - Andrea Bocelli’s Canto Della Terra - Romanza - This Is the Moment from the musical Jekyll & Hyde - Paralyze My Mind - Lippen Sweigen - Dein ist mein ganzes Herz - O Sole Mio - Funiculì, Funiculà - Nessun Dorma

Cape Town - 19 April - Final Day We went to the High Tea at Mount Nelson - More HERE. About $30 pp. Reservations are required. Mount Nelson is a very expensive Hotel - $1000 - $2000 USD a night for rooms - Its very nice inside Here is the menu. Here is the first course First Course - Close-up picture Second Course - Scones and Chocolates Plenty of tea- of course Third Course Third Course as served We had a great time! Back on the ship Bunny Chow was served from the Dive In at the Lido Pool - Choice of Marsala Steak, Butter Chicken or Vegetarian The skies were clear blue - great view of Table Mountain from deck 10 On the main stage the South African Youth Choir performed one show - two were scheduled but they canceled the second show as we moved up our departure to avoid the fog that was moving in fast. Their show started with 30 minutes of traditional African songs. The second half consisted of Broadway Show tunes, including Hey Big Spender and Phantom of the Opera hits—quite the contrast. Outstanding performance. Hey Big Spender!

We are back in Cape Town - We enjoy some Bunny Chow and a Gatsby Sandwich in downtown Cape Town and the Gatsby Palace. There sandwiches are HUGE!!!

I suspect that people who get complimentary casino cruises aren't eligible to use those days for PC

You can find safari accommodations ranging from tents to a motel 6 quality all the way to six stars and beyond.

The invitation requirement weeds out people with many sea days but not as full-fare guests, e.g., lecturers, travel hosts, agents, etc. Unlike the Mariner Star Level Program, the Medallion Program only recognizes and rewards actual cruising days – there isn’t any bonus credit for suites or spending as there is in the Mariner Star Program. Here are the Medallion Award levels 100 days – Bronze 300 days – Silver 500 days – Gold 700 days – Platinum 1400 days – Presidents Club While achieving greater Star status offers definite perks, achieving a higher Medallion Station offers nothing more than the commemorative medal itself and local recognition, including invitations to special parties. The perks for Presidents Club Membership, include, but are not limited to: • Annual Holiday Gift e.g. Waterford Crystal Vases • Invitations to special onboard parties • “Head of the line” tender service equal to Neptune Suite Guests • Your choice of flowers/beverages/wine, etc. every 2 weeks • Recognition at onboard events Plus more – there isn’t a specific list publicly available, but these are the highlights I have discovered based on my research. Any updated information is appreciated.

Here are a few highlights from our second safari day. Tomorrow, we fly to Cape Town to rejoin the Zuiderdam. The main entrance to the Ukhozi Lodge This morning we tracked and found a couple of Cheetahs The Cheetahs don't stay put very long- We had about 10 seconds to observe before he took off. Lodge staff meet every returning game drive with interesting drinks (orange juice and grenadine here) and hot towels. We had the same Ranger, Forrest, for all three days. On the afternoon drive, our guide, Forrest, dug into a termite mound and offered us a chance to sample a live termite. It tasted like a blade of grass. Forrest offered us live termites - about half of us took him up on the opportunity/ They look like ants We came across a small herd of Wildebeest One of three White Rhinos we observed this afternoon. We came across the same two lions we saw yesterday - they sleep a lot. At our "Sundowner" drink stop, we observed two male Giraffles - necking - which is how they fight it out to see who gets the desirable female. My Picture above = More below from YouTube Our Game drive group at the Sundowner stop/

Thanks. I am trying to not take pictures of animal's butts! They always seem to be facing away.

Their location is on the eastern cape much further west than our previous safaris. The reservation grounds are huge (44 square miles) but enclosed by fencing so the animals can't migrate to other parts of South Africa. Thus all the animals are "here" but sometimes hard to find nevertheless. No jaguars here at all. Maybe a few cheetahs. The facilities are about the same. All crazy good. Our room is smaller that last year which was over the top huge. This suite is a nice size.

Highlights from this afternoon's Game Drive - All about Elephants! (plus a few giraffes_ We came across about 25 elephants at sunset. Nice

You can find safari rooms that are a Motel 6 up through the Four Seasons..... We return to Cape Town on the 18th

Flight from Durban to Port Elizabeth was on time - nice flight. Warning!! Arrived too late for the evening safari drive Here is our room Highlights from this morning's drive After reading about elephants in the news in Zambia - this encounter got our hearts pumping. He passed close enough to touch - but left us alone And finally a Lion - more later

We arrived in Durban very early this morning (15 April) We are moored at the new Nelson Mandela Cruise Terminal Last year we were at the Ocean Terminal Building The ship has a shuttle going to uShaka Marine World. Walking out of the port is allowed but not recommended as apparently we are in a bad neighborhood. All the passengers had to walk into the terminal for a face to face immigration. It started at 7 AM and finished at 10 AM We are leaving the ship today and heading to the Kariega Game Reserve - we retund on the 18th in Cape Town. More HERE