bcummin

December / January was good for our clockwise EXC ms Maasdam cruise. Barbara

I enjoyed reading "Denali to Fairbanks" on your blog this morning, Tim. Barbara

The original map display, etc. that I saw was in the museum in the center of the town of Corner Brook. Barbara

No, we are not on the GSA this year. We enjoyed it in 2009. I did delight in the ms Zaandam 2022 Grand Africa Voyage. If Jakob ever makes it to Corner Brook, Newfoundland, he could see some of Captain Cook's original maps, etc. You are right that there are advantages one-on-one with a child. We are planning a family cruise. Barbara

Thank you, Tim. Yes, Club HAL is not responsible for teaching about Alaska, but I can always dream. You are doing a great job of understanding what a ten year old can appreciate. Thank you for so many details. Barbara

Good morning, Tim. We are piecing together plans for next year, so I delight in this cruise with Jakob. Hopefully the Club HAL is more than fun, games, and new friends? Does it also teach anything about Alaska? I was surprised that Jakob went to Club HAL at Glacier Bay, instead of experiencing the day with you grandparents. How he experience Glacier Bay in Club HAL? Thanks so much. Barbara

Delighted that Jakob loves the pool so much after that unfortunate incident. Is there any extra charge for Club HAL? Barbara

Delighted that HAL gave Jakob the chocolate covered strawberries and the HAL ship stuffy. More good memories for him. Barbara

I found that loose long dresses are cooler than pants. Open sandals let my feet breathe. My umbrella is a good friend, rain or sun. Easy "bandana" option is a wet washcloth folded into a narrow strip and placed on the back of my neck. Thank you for your experiences. Barbara

You should ask for and complete an accident report. Thankful that Jakob is OK and that cool-headed Grandma Angela helped him through the ordeal. Grandad too. Barbara

If HAL is not finished putting out excursions, hopefully they will offer one to the pyramids since that was in their original description of the cruise??? Barbara

The EXC in-depth cruises did start with a legendary Australian explorer, who ended up staying in Antarctica more. Barbara

Thrilled to see the Inside Cabin's blog post on Casablanca to Marrakech, Morocco. I also took that Across Africa Tour last fall on the 2022 Grand Africa Voyage. Surprised that some of the sites that we each saw were different. My highlight was the meal and entertainment in the same restaurant. Thank you, Pete, for taking me back to Marrakech. Barbara

I was on ms Zaandam that stopped in Sharm el Sheik and Safaga, Egypt last October. HAL took care of whatever Visa there was. Sharm was a regular port to enter, but Safaga was different. Our HAL tour bus left the ship and stopped at the immigration building. All passengers left the bus to enter the building for inspection, then reboarded our bus to enjoy the long tour to Luxor. Returning to Safaga, we again left the bus to go through the immigration building before reboarding the bus to return to the ship. I could look up more details, but the important thing is that I did not have to take care of anything, except for the time-wasting inconveniences in Safaga. Enjoy your day at Alexandria. Barbara

Glad to hear this. It was the raw, unvarnished cultures that made some cruisers dislike the west African ports. Expect Africa to be different. Lots to learn. My only Across Africa Tours refund problem was after the disaster in Durban. (I made the mistake of booking only one day safari, and it was the disaster.) I used that refund to buy another AAT tour. Expect surprises. Barbara

Glad that you got your HAL tour. Wise choice. I had better luck than some with Across Africa Tours, and I would still do business with them because of the good prices. In retrospect, I think that they are a good company. Some African ports are not used to many tourists and organized tours. You will be seeing raw, unvarnished cultures along your journey. Barbara

I was in Abidjan last fall on the 2022 Grand Africa Voyage. I would guess that your waitlisted HAL tour will happen, considering all the changes that happen during the voyage. I would call Abidjan unpredictable and full of surprises, not yet fine-tuned for tourists. First the ship docked at a different place than originally planned. Friends noticed that dock workers had to scramble to make it ready for us. From my journal: "I met my Across Africa Tour leaders onboard. The ship docked about 7am, and we were to meet our guide about 8am. Some in our group wanted to go stand in line for leaving the ship, so all ten of us joined the long line already back down a hallway. It was a long wait. The ship was not cleared until 8:30am. We made it off the ship and joined the crowd of people on the dock. Nobody from AAT in sight. We heard that they were still trying to get inside the port gate, so all of us rode the shuttle to the port gate. Found our van and were onboard at 9am. Our guide Francis kept looking for the other two vans that we were supposed to travel with. He had our van enter the port gate and drive to the ship, Saw one leaving the port. (Never did see the other; heard that it took off without a guide. It never visited a village, but did get to the handicrafts market.) By now some people were getting unhappy. It was 9:30am when Francis got a police motorcycle escort for our two vans, sirens and all. Between our late start and the bad traffic, this was our only hope. Traffic parted like water, and everyone stared at us. We drove past countless stalls of merchandise to sell and poor housing. It was a long drive. 'Day Trip Indigenous District of Abidjan, 6 hours, $89. We will pick you up at 8am from the port enroute to Atchan village known for the earliest inhabitants of the Ivory Coast. Upon arrival at this district, you will explore the five villages commonly known as Ebrie. The district consists of nine indigenous clans. . .' Big bottles of water were passed out. (HAL tours gave out no water.) We arrived at the village, which was a modern-day urban community on the outskirts of Abidjan. The people's homes were humble, one paved street, the rest uneven dirt. We met the chief in a nice big community building with toilets for us to use. Learned that today was the chief's birthday. We visited with some uniformed schoolgirls standing in a gateway. Then we piled back into the van and drove to their outdoor gathering place under huge trees. They were ready for us. Women and babies sat in one area. Empty chairs were waiting for us (and the second van) to sit in. A drummer was already making music. They all stared at us and took photos with their cell phones. We did the same. I noticed that the costumed women were wearing nice bras as outside clothing with their colorful skirts. Small bottles of water were given to us. The village chief and two other leaders welcomed us and explained that not only did the men dance, but women also dance, and most important, the boys have learned to dance to carry on the tradition. We got to see the boys and women and men dance to several drummers, including a young boy drummer. The women and watchers cheered on the dancers with whoops, hollers, and shrieks. The mothers especially encouraged their boys. One came out front and hugged hers. A good time was had by all. We sang Happy Birthday to the chief. Our tour guide handed envelopes to one of the leaders, who proudly read aloud the names of the recipients. Apologies were made for us to leave. No time to stay longer. One couple gave pencils for the children. I waved farewell and blew kisses to our new friends. They waved back and blew kisses. Our motorcycle escorts led the way back into Abidjan. Another long drive exposing the humble lives here. Saw more miniature goats, a few sheep, and some Brahman cattle. No cats. A couple of dogs. We arrived at a nice restaurant for lunch. They served platters of couscous, chicken, fish, spicy sauces, and French fries. Akan is the native language here. Everyone speaks French, and some speak English. 46% of Ivory Coast people are Muslim, 35% Christian, some Animist. Abidjan is the second largest port in Africa, after Durban. The Ivory Coast grows the most cocoa. And pistachios. Public college is free, but there are few jobs. Some people are very wealthy - and corrupt. Most are poor. We stopped near a chocolate shop, because someone in the other van wanted to buy some. Someone at the port was calling the tours back, so we returned to the port without stopping at the Handicrafts market. Many disappointed, some angry. We returned to the ship about 2:15pm, well before the 3:30 all aboard. Hot 88 degrees today. No dockside shopping here." Wayfairers, I hope that this is helpful to you. It was the worst but best tour imaginable, considering the hospitality of the one village that we got to visit. I remember finding a similar Viator tour online, but I do not see it this year. You might be smart to stick with a HAL tour in Abidjan. You have an amazing voyage ahead of you. Barbara

Last fall I enjoyed inside cabin 2676 for 71 days. It had a shower, not handicapped, but with a couple of grab bars. Shower head removable for hand use. Shower curtain. No water problems. Barbara

Thank you for all of this. Our family will enjoy this cruise next year. Question: Were passports required for everyone to board the ship, or were other forms of ID acceptable??? Thank you, Barbara

Thank you, Hank, for sharing so much. Sorry that you are missing Kushiro. Our 2022 Grand Africa Voyage did have a Crew Talent Show. Wishing you a safe crossing and travels home. Barbara

No luck with photos this morning. But the 2022 Grand Africa Voyage had a Crew Talent Show in December. Many individuals and groups competed, including the familiar Filippino stick dance and my Lido breakfast server Prand from Thailand. She danced a lovely Thai dance and was the humble winner. Barbara

We ate very well on the ms Zaandam's 2022 Grand Africa Voyage, no extra charge. Barbara

I thought that we were in Antarctica in March, but it was February 11 - 14, 2009 on ms Prinsendam. The daytime temperatures then were 34 to 35 degrees. Warmer than we expected. Barbara

Who is the Tai Chi instructor on this World Cruise? Thank you. Barbara