Hitch a Ride with Bill & Mary Ann on Holland America's 2018 World Cruise - 113 days +

Report # 101 Day atSea April 11, 2018 Wednesday Partly cloudy & 85 degrees

In order to arrive to the next port of The Gambia, theAmsterdam will have to cover over 2300 nautical miles or 2645 statutemiles. That will take five seadays. Lots of excellent time to kickback, relax, and for us, catch up with past reports. All has been progressing well until we wentto go online in the afternoon. It seemedthat we had no service. A few hours wentby, and we tried again with no luck. Calling the front desk, we were told the system was temporarily down,and it may be a few hours before we were back in business. Well……..that was optimistic, but it did nothappen. We learned later on thatsomething serious had occurred when a strategic part burned up. The antennae was inoperable, and thatincluded the ship’s internet as well, not only the system available to thepassengers. This was a big deal. In fact, it was the talk of the day, andeventually, the talk of many days to follow. We were dead in the water with communications, and would have a longwait before it could be fixed. At leastthe navigation of the ship was not affected, as there are many back-ups for theactual sailing. We would eventuallylearn more details.

We still used this day at sea to continue with our homework,so when the system was back up, we would have the reports lined up to send.

At noontime, we met up with our lunch group, Barb, Woody andSusie, enjoying the nice portions of salad, soup, and an entrée. Most times the entrees are themini-version. A little too late to worryabout excess calories now, since most of the cruise is about over. For some reason, the small slice of pumpkin pie(out of season) tasted even better than at Thanksgiving.

Since she is caught up with port talks, Barbara H spoke allabout African arts. We never realizedhow much we did not know about weaving to sculptures, clothing, andjewelry. We learned that certain designsand colors mean different things to the Zulu people, for instance. It is a subtle way to communicate thingsabout yourself, like if you are single, or married, wealthy or poor, sad orhappy. The most fascinating fact wasregarding the materials used for weaving baskets. It could be fibers from plants such as sisal,bamboo or grasses. Even discardedinsulated thin phone wire was been incorporated into their basket and bowlweaving. With the primary colors, theyhave created the most unique and beautiful designs. These creations, whether made from naturalfibers or wire, can be woven so tightly that they are waterproof. Used as a necessity for everyday living inthe villages, we purchase these treasures for decoration. Now we will look closer to the collection wealready have at home, and see these in a far different light.

America’s Test Kitchen conducted a rainy day lunch demo,teaching new ways to make grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup. Leta said she was going to attend today,since her version of tomato soup was opening a can and heating it up. Hey, that works for one of us too. And “sophistication” was the name of a fancycheese sandwich as well.

Earlier in the day, we had a message in our mail slotconcerning Melon-chol-y – translated to a feeling of sadness for the shortageof melons at the moment. This has to beone of the funniest notes in the line of messages we have gotten on thiscruise. How many folks are calling thefront desk about the lack of fresh fruit on this cruise? The head chef has found it necessary toration the portions of melons, berries, and pineapple so it will last longerfor most all of us. Don’t they know thatwill cause hoarding? Yes, we have seenit first-hand. Just say you cannot haveit, and the hoarders appear to squirrel it away to their cabins. The next promised delivery should be inDakar, Senegal, so we are certain the fresh produce will return. None of us will starve.

Other deliveries included one of the final gifts forPresident’s Club. In our case, it was abeautiful flower arrangement and 17 sodas. There should be one more delivery in two weeks, and that will beit. On past cruises, if there are notmany days left after the last delivery, they offered us $40 each in shipboardcredit.

The third and probably last photo contest was announced lastweek. There are several categories, andyou simply bring your camera or memory card to have an 8x10 photo made of yourchosen entry. The deadline is April 12th,with voting taking place on April 13th. Not sure who votes? The last few years, it has been a staff paneldoing the voting. You still come outahead, even if you don’t win, since the $5 photo fee covers the picture for youto keep. Watching the foot traffic goingin and out of the photo shop has worked to their advantage. The contest has gotten people to go in thatsales part of the ship.

Guest speakers have continued their talks on everythingAfrica. The morning lecture dealt withthe predators of Africa, a subject we are most interested in. Catching his talk later on TV wasperfect. The other lecture dealt withthe search for spices in the continent, also interesting. At least these are showing up on TV at a moreconvenient time for us.

The heat and humidity have kept many people indoors. A good use of their time is going to theWajang for the movie. The flick, Maryand Martha, was shown three times today. It was about two moms that lost their sons to malaria, and their effortsto save future casualties. Makes us gladthat we have taken the meds to help prevent contacting it. Come to think of it, our host has beenquarantined since we left Cape Town. Hedid go overland like we did, but did not take his malaria preventativemeds. So when he became ill, showing similarsymptoms, he was checked for malaria by the ship’s doctor. Lucky for him, it was negative. Kept confined for a week, he said that hisroom was cleaned twice a day by a haz-mat team. The staff was taking no chances, since hecould have had the Noro virus, heaven forbid.

Dinner for us was in the Pinnacle Grill, which had beentransformed into the Sel de Mer. Thiswould be the final venue for this menu on the world cruise. Expensive, yes, but we get it for ½ off,making the final price $49 for two. Thistime, we showed up at our normal 8pm time slot, and a window table was readyfor us. Well, not really a window thatlooks out at the ocean, but a window that faces the hallway on deck four. This has always been something strange withthe location of this restaurant. Otherships have the Pinnacle on a different deck, and their windows do lookoutside. On the Amsterdam, peoplewalking by always slow down to see what you are eating. A little unnerving. Especially when Captain Jonathon, his wife,Karen, Hazel, and Renee from the spa, were all dining with him. They happened to be seated at the next tableto us. This group attracted manylookie-loos as they walked to and from the show lounge before and after theshow. If that were us, we might havemoved to the back room. Comes with thejob, according to Karen. You would besurprised to see how many folks stop and interrupt their meal, talking to themon their way out. Really, they needtheir space too.

The entertainers tonight was a group called 4Ever, fourfellows singing in various languages from pop to opera and rock. Sorry to have missed them, since out dinnerwent over-time. But it was well worthit, because we order the rack of lamb once again. It is the best they have to offer. Hopefully, this venue will appear on nextyear’s world cruise, as it seems to be most popular despite the higher price.

Tomorrow, we will cross the magic line on the Equator. This time there is a plan to celebrate it.

Bill & Mary Ann

Report # 102 Day at Sea April 12,2018 Thursday Partly cloudy & 82 degrees

Boy, were we in for a sudden surprise in the wee hours ofthe morning. Right before 4am, the ship’s alarm went off, with the longwarning blast of the horn. One of us heard it loudly, while the otheralmost slept through it. Earplugs were the culprit. Anyway, themessage came through saying that smoke had been detected on deck A in the areaof the incinerator. We all know that fire and ships do not go together,and this was NOT a drill. Within five minutes, Captain Mercer came on thespeaker saying that ashes from the incinerator had not been completely out lastnight, and they began to smolder, causing smoke to pour out. It wassignificant enough to set off the overhead sprinklers, flooding the area weheard later. The Captain said the situation was under control, and wecould all go back to sleep. Oh yeah, sure. Some of our friends dugout their life jackets and grabbed warm clothing, just in case. This wasthe second time we had a scare, but happily, both turned out to be OK. Not everyone heard this first alarm. Barb slept through it, as did Woody,and one of us thought it was a dream. We have been reassured that everycabin would get a wake up knock on the door to get us up, if it became a realemergency.

The internet was still off this morning. We discoveredthat the power supply to the antennae had been fried, although we suspect thatthe ship’s internet was still squeaking by. It was suggested that therewere no spare parts to fix it. They would have to wait until our nextports of Banjul or Dakar to get replacement parts. That would be betterthan waiting for Puerto Rico, when the trip is almost over. In fact, wedoubt that the Fed Ex gal, Sara, would be able to print the shipping labelswithout the internet service. It can be scary when you realize howdependent we have all gotten on this form of doing everything online. There is no paper trail, or the ability to do things the old-fashioned way.

Today was Barbara H’s talk on Bangul, the Gambia. Fewof us have ever been here, so listening to it for details was important to manyof us. As we seldom go to the Queen’s Lounge for this morning lecture, wealways catch it on TV during the day. One of our biggest gripes is thatyou can seldom find the time her talks begin, since they are mixed with otherspeaker’s lectures. It could be three hours between lectures. Thepowers to be say that they cannot give us a time schedule on the grid of programming. Why not? It is done on the other HAL vessels. So it is a hit andmiss process, which usually finds us tuning in to her talk in the very sameplace each time we attempt it. One day this ship may update their entireprogramming with new TV’s and the wonderful interactive systems that the newerships have. Hopefully, in our life time.

It was also printed in the When & Where paper that ourarrival will be later in Banjul, due to the unexpected clearance process andthe tidal window. They expect the formalities to be done by 10am now, andour exit will be extended to 7pm. That should work out OK. This is one port that we did book a tour with our travel agency,because we have never been here, and not sure how easily we can getaround on our own. The visa fee will run around $125 per person, sowhether we go ashore or not, we have to pay that price. Might as well seeas much as we can for that money.

We never made it to the pool once again, but did use thetime to do offline homework. Lunch was with our friends in the diningroom. We had salad, soup, and mini-size reuben sandwiches withchips. Topping off the meal, we ordered flourless chocolate cake and icecream. This has worked out nicely, even though dinner is at 8pm. Itis a long stretch that we remedy with a handful of mixed nuts and a soda breakin our room.

The usual suspects in the way of activities kept the folksbusy this afternoon. The movie, Gorillas in the Mist, was shown in theWajang. Perfect subject, since we are sailing in that part of the world,more or less. Speaking of movies and TV, some passengers are most unhappybecause we are not getting any ESPN broadcasts. Our geographical locationand technical limitations prevent a good connection to that satellite. Ain’tgonna happen. They promise that it should get better the closer we get toPuerto Rico however. That will give the guests two days to enjoy it.

Dinner was shared with Friends Susie, Woody, Barb, and Donon deck five. Nice to be together again, we always have a finetime. The dinner menu was so varied we all said, “There’s nothing toeat”. The alternates looked better than the featured entrees. We dobelieve the freezer is being cleaned out after four months of sailing the world. The chefs have come up with some really weird combinations, leaving us asking,what the heck is this or that? Desserts are always good, so we all leavethe table happy.

Showtime was Omar, a multi-instrumentalist. He playsas many as 20 musical instruments with worldwide music selections.

A special Four Points Pajama Party had been created fortonight. It was to commemorate the point where the Equator and the PrimeMeridian cross. A pajama party? Well, it has been done before, butnever for an occasion such as this. The main attraction would not only bethe new screen showing our exact position, but drinks would be buy one, get onefor $2 special. Bet that packs the place. And according to Barb, itdid. There were some folks that came in bathrobes and slippers. This occurred between 11pm and 12am. By then, we were “countingsheep”, tired from getting up at 4am. Guess that is called trying to burnthe candle at both ends, right?

By the way, the clocks went back one hour thisevening…..that did help.

Bill & Mary Ann

Enjoy your reporting.

At least you have activities to do while catching up on your reports.

Report # 103 Day atSea & King Neptune Ceremony April13, 2018 Friday Partly cloudy & 85 degrees Part # 1 of 1 65 Pictures

Although we crossed the Equator last night, we celebratedthe event today. Come to think of it, wehave already crossed the line three times already since January, but did notrecognize it. According to the Captain,King Neptune had looked the other way.

So after breakfast, we made our way to deck nine to catchthe action from above the Lido dome pool area. Knowing this crowd, we expect those who wanted the closest seats to theceremony, were there several hours ago. Saving seats. Up on the top deck,we could get to the railing and watch the entire parade from above.

What made today better was the fact that we would all become“Emerald Shellbacks”, a distinction given to those who have crossed the Equatorand the Prime Meridian at Latitude 0 degrees, and Longitude 0 Degrees. Even with all of the various cruises we haddone over the years, this would be a first for us. The best way to describe this is simple. The bow of the ship will be in the Westernhemisphere, the spring and north latitude. The stern will be in the Eastern hemisphere, which is autumn and southlatitude. Later on, we understand theship missed the mark by a mere 15 feet. Only the “brainiacs” among the crowd would be disappointed. The certificates we received were pretty nicewith the format done in color. Highlyornamental and worthy of saving.

The actual ceremony was as corny as ever, but so much funfor those who participated. These days,the “pollywogs” or first time crossers, are all staff. So are the judge, jury, and King Neptune andhis queen. Most all the “slimers” camefrom the guest relations desk. As eachpollywog got judged, they were sent to kiss the fish, then sentenced to beslimed with egg whites, tinted in pink, blue, and green colors. At least they stopped using pounds of cookedspaghetti and the rubber chickens that used to fly in the air with strings ofphony sausages. What a mess to clean uplater.

Since it was so hot outside, we lasted until we got the bestof the photos, and left. The messyceremony would continue while repeating the process over and over until they ranout of prisoners. By the time it ended,we were already at the aft pool, laying our own towel-covered lounges for a fewhours. It was the first time we havemade it back there since we got to Maputo. Sure was nice to be back to normal.

We did Dive In burgers and hot dogs, bringing it to our roomto dine. Guest speakers had their talkson the TV, so while we still had downtime with the internet, we caught up onresearch for the upcoming African ports. We learned more about white sharks and African plantations while weworked.

Dinner time came at 8pm, and we finally joined everyone atour regular table. Despite being gonefor three nights, all was the same at the table. Seems that we have adopted another guest, whocomes frequently. He is Peter, andhappens to be a host for a small group onboard. He also happens to be an old room- mate of one of our tablemates, like50 years ago.

We had the pork loin entrée, which was really good. Some nights are better than others, since itis hard to appeal to everyone all of the time. Must be good, because most all of us at our table have complained aboutthat little “something” that has shrunk the clothes in our closets. Like the waistbands and jackets are getting abit snug.

Bill & Mary Ann

Report # 104 Day atSea April 14, 2018 Saturday Chance of rain & 85 degrees

The When & Where newsletter began with Day 100. Hard for us to realize that the trip hasreached this point already. If we turn onchannel 26, we quite often see the DVD’s that are being promoted from the verybeginning of the grand voyage. TheCaribbean, the South Pacific, New Zealand, Australia, Indonesia, Philippines,the Asian countries, Sri Lanka, theIndian Ocean islands, and finally the continent of Africa have been filmed. It has been quite an adventure thus far, andnot over yet.

A reminder that we need to start thinking about packing wasin the newsletter this morning. Luggageshipping services has shipping items such as bubble wrap, boxes, tape, andpre-made packages. These can bepurchased at the front office. For thosefolks that bought the 5 foot tall giraffes will probably need to start early onhow to get these home in one piece. Anyway, packing for us is a bit more complicated, since most of the luggage will be shipped from Ft. Lauderdale. Then we need to save the rest for the next 27days, when we should be home. There isstill time, however, especially sailing transatlantic.

With the chance of rain in the forecast, we decided not togo to the pool, because it looked like it could pour any minute. The Captain said so in his PM talk yesterday. Turned out that the dark clouds stayed on thehorizon, and it never did rain here. Wedid meet Barb, enjoying the dining room lunch, which seems to get better every day. Today the menu mentioned calypso cake. But we suspected it might be Mississippi mudpie. And it was, since one of us decidedto test it and see. Maybe they need toclarify the descriptions on many of their menu items. We do have fun testing the waters so to speak. Kind of like the box of candies…. you neverknow what you’re going to get.

The fourth day at sea is a repeat, more or less, from theprevious three days. It is a good timefor the ship’s stores and spa to offer specials. Sales on jewelry, clothing, and spa serviceshave been advertised a lot lately. Lectureshave continued with Africa as the main subject. Lots of guests have been attending the grand activities in order togather enough 10 cent coupons to get something before this trip ends. Since it takes 50 events to add up to $5, ithas been difficult for some people to get even close. Perhaps this group needs to go on strike toraise the 10 cent ticket to a higher value.

We discovered that the internet was up and running. But then, after reading the note left on ourdoors that it had been partially restored, everyone and their brother wasonline. Trying it later after dinner worked way better. Seems that we were back in business when theIT Officer figured a way to cannibalize other things to make the power supplywork again. Now they were not dependenton what is being shipped to Gambia or Senegal. Of course, getting the spare parts will prevent a future interruption.

We spent the late afternoon sitting on our special chairs inthe atrium deck five. Many people wehave met know that we will be there listening to the band. So it has been fun chatting with severalpeople as they pass by. Sometimes, theseconversations last an hour. But it is agood way to get to know some very nice folks, and enjoy the tunes while doingit.

Needing to check out what the stores have to offer, westrolled through the shops. Clothing isalways nice to buy, even with the inflated prices. Some of the collection in the shop is a trunkshow, which will be gone at the end of this trip. Not all the sizes are available, and there isno back-up inventory. So since we needto figure out what to spend our “use it, or lose it” shipboard credit, we needto find some useful and nice things to purchase. If we had been going to the lounges andbuying drinks, or taking ship tours, the money would have been long gone. We did neither, so here we are, shopping.

Jewelry is always an option too. There are many choices in the shop for theseitems. You can choose from costume tovery high end pieces. Watches too. Both of us have purchased some very nicewatches over the years, but how many can you have? So we window-shopped, basically, trying tofigure out what suits us best. Or atleast one of us. Simply looking is verydifficult, as the sales people want to show you everything. That will more than likely drive us rightout of the store. And it did. We will come back tomorrow, and look againwhen a different set of sales people are in there. One of us did spot two dress purses that werepretty cool……expensive, but that is what the credit is for.

Tonight was gala evening and the theme was Fabulous Las Vegas. The dining room was decorated with foil blackand red ceiling mobiles made with card symbols. You know, hearts, spades, diamonds, and clubs. There are no balloons on the tables anymore,as helium is not allowed now. Probably better,since these ended up in the hallways as door markers. Also not allowed anymore. We had a hostess this evening at our table ofnine (Peter, George’s friend, seems to have adopted us). Our guest was Cynthia, a front desk worker,who has been on the world cruise two years in a row. She seemed to enjoy herself as she sharedinfo about her life and country of the Netherlands. We did learn from her that our favoritesecurity officer, John, had left the ship back in Thailand. No wonder we have not been able to find him. Seems that there was some red tape regardinghis term here, and he had to go home to straighten it out. Sure hope he is able to come back soon. Perhaps if he is reading or blog, as heusually does, he will know that he is missed by all, and we wish him well.

Dinner was good with the usual suspects for galaentrees. Lobster ravioli, filet mignon,a pasta, a vegetarian entrée, and rack of lamb, which is what we ordered. The lamb was very good, although not the samequality as in the Sel de Mer, it was about the best item on the menu. The dessert of apple cheesecake was justright too.

The show tonight featured the singers and dancers with aproduction called Astoria. This wasAstoria, a middle-class neighborhood in NYC’s borough of Queens. It portrayed a storyline set in a studentmusic academy where love, music, and good times unfolded. And well done as well. But then all of their shows have been good.

We came back to the room to find gifts…….eight of them in fact. They were four luggage tags, and fourTSA combination locked luggage straps. All very useful, although we are not sure how the straps would keepanyone out of your bags. Off course,they would slow down anyone attempting to take them off. We still use theluggage straps, and heaven knows, ours are looking a bit shabby. These will be good replacements.

Bill & Mary Ann

Great reports.

We have always loved those King Neptune ceremonies.

Report # 105 Day atSea April 15, 2018 Sunday Partly cloudy & 87 degrees 5 Pictures

Today marks the fifth and final sea day as we approach thecountry of The Gambia. The weather hasremained warm and humid, and the seas have been most cooperative. Passing clouds kept the heat of the sun down,and a breeze had the promise of relief.

While waiting for Barbara H’s lecture on Senegal to betelevised, we spent some quality time at the aft pool. In general, this has to be the only worldcruise that we have done in recent years that has the fewest amount of serioussunbathers. There is never a demand forlounges back here, which is nice. Therewas that one exception today, when a “new” couple decided to take over someobviously occupied lounges. Why, wecannot figure that out. But this coupleproceeded to discard the occupants things, and put their stuff on it. The usual occupants were sitting at a tablenearby, eating lunch. This is a bigno-no, and they soon found out when the regulars stopped them from thetake-over. Apologizing, the newbies found their own lounges,and set up right near the offended couple. Go figure?

Making Spanish-style tapas was the subject for America’s TestKitchen. We have not attended a demosince our freebie last January. Notquite the same as “hands on” cooking for a small group, like they offer onnon-grand voyages. The excuse that therewere too many five star and above members to have the special private classeswas no excuse to discontinue it for this cruise. Just our humble opinion, don’tadvertise something you cannot deliver on.

The exc lecture on Senegal was tops on our to-do listtoday. Of course, we would listen tothis later in our room. Stopping atBarbara’s desk yesterday, one of us asked for the flyer on how to deal withwaxed fabrics from Africa. Well, theyhad run out, and instead of telling us to come back later, Barbara got up from her desk, and went down tothe office to get more copies. If sheretires, we will surely miss her, and her lifetime knowledge of the entireworld. The young and upcoming lecturerscan read from a book, but Barbara tells it from experience, a most rewardingway to share important info. And if youhave more questions for her, she will research it, and get back to you.

Sunday Brunch was the big draw for many hungry folkstoday. It worked out well with the chaircovers in the dining room, since last night was a gala evening. The 3 course set menu had a surprise today,according to Barb, who dined there with her buddies. It seems that one of the small eats wasseasoned with a substitute pepper, so potent, that it numbed their lips andmouths. Barbie said it could be comparedto drinking kava in Fiji, that paralyzes the mouth and all the way down thehatch. A different type of pepper hadbeen used and too much of it, according to Petr, the head chef. By the time it was discovered, many guestswere moaning as they tend to down the tiny portion in one mouthful. Hmmm, that’s why we don’t go to this brunch,because half the time, we don’t know what we’re eating. Lunch for us was a Dive In burger and chickensandwich (nowhere near as good as the burgers).

Later in the day, we went to our usual spot outside theOcean Bar to find there was no music playing by the Ocean Trio. Dancers, both guests and hosts, waited for a while,but they were a no-show. Then we sawMark, the event planner, put a sign on the piano, saying that one or two of themembers were ill, and may return after Cape Verde. Wondering if they had the dreaded noro virus,we asked Shiv, who makes a daily stop to chat with us. Checking the sign, he said no, it was notnoro, but sore throats and bad coughs that kept two members down. Yes, good they were not here, as none of uswant to share that with them. Theregulars did attempt humming some music, but soon gave up, and left for greenerpastures. Now you would have thoughtthat some piped-in music could be provided for the regulars that frequent thislounge. Remember, when the crowd leaves,so does your drink revenue.

Good time for us to make a swept through the shops onceagain. This time we made hits with someclothing, purses, and semi-precious jewelry pieces. Still have more credit left for another spreewhen the Swarovski collection is unveiled soon, as one of the pendants of amethystcalls for matching earrings. Or look atwatches again.

This evening we were invited to a President’s Club event calledSliders and Sides Party, held in the Lido Dome at 7pm. Exclusively for our small group of 40 or soguests, it was probably the last time we would be able to get together beforethe cruises ends. The bar area of theLido pool area was cordoned off. We weregreeted by Evel, the beverage manager, who headed the receiving line startingwith Captain Mercer, Henk M, and three other officers. Taking seats with our buddies, Barb, Susie,Woody, and Don, we made room for Peter, the purser, who toasted us with hisbeer.

Drinks arrived, followed by the long plates of ground steaksliders with fries. The second servingwas more plates of fish and chips. Andthis is appetizers? We could barely dothem justice, since we had to go to dinner after this party. The head chef, Petr, was visiting tables, sowhen he came to us, we had many questions for him. One was if his family was still onboard. The answer was yes, and they would stay onuntil we reach Florida. What a trip forhis two boys to remember. Guess thy havebeen home-schooled, as well as learning about the world first hand.

Other questions involved writing the menus and fooddescriptions. He agreed that sometimesthe names do not necessarily fit the final item. They do their best, but these menus arecreated in Seattle and open to interpretation here. Recently, the use of foreign languages hascomplicated the menu choices. Barb askedabout the mistake with the brunch this morning, and Petr was well aware of it. Guess a lot of folks were shocked at the mouth-numbingbrunch item. He promised no moresurprises and no more substitutes.

Following the awesome party, we went to dinner, but weremostly disappointed with our choice of prime rib. Having an outside cut turned out to be notthe wisest idea. This time the meat wasso over-done, we could hardly cut it with the sharp steak knife. Shouldhave sent it back, something we seldom, if ever, do. One of us got a piece of prime rib, bigenough to feed four. Having to leave ¾ of the over-size portion, it was the firstmeal that we did not like. Dessert madeup for it…..one scoop of strawberry icecream, and an apple crunch tart. Verygood.

The show tonight was a variety one, featuring Pete Neighbourand Bruce Parker. Both were good thefirst time around, and even better the second time.

Tomorrow will probably be a very long day, since we will begoing into town early, then re-considering doing the one and only tour of thisentire world cruise. So Banjul, TheGambia….here we come.

Bill & Mary Ann

Sounds like those pool people are used to being on ships where many people do put items on the loungers to "reserve" them and then leave for hours.

That must have been a shock for people with a pepper blast -- wonder how long it takes to get over that? I am sure that it must have ruined their taste buds for the other foods.

As 5 star Mariners we have yet to take advantage of the free cooking classes. It never appeals to DH as he doesn't like a big meal at lunch time.

Great reporting.

I was on the first HAL ship to call in Banjul in2002. The Princendam. Took a tour to Abuka preserve. Nice town. Busy market. Lots of people wearing Bin Laden tee shirts.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Report #106 Banjul,Gambia April 16, 2018 Monday Mostly sunny & 86 degrees Albert Market in the morning Part #1 Of 5 80 Pictures

Last night we received a copy of a shore pass that we wouldneed to pack with us while in Banjul today. The formal forms had not be able to be processed the regular way, sincethe internet had quit working for a few days. These were hand-printed and signed,except one of us had an unsigned one by accident. Thinking that might present a problem, wewent to the front desk, and asked if it was OK. It was not OK, and a new one had to be issued…..and signed. These visas for The Gambia will cost us from$117 to $125, but posted to our account after we leave. With last minute “bargaining”, the finalprice had not been calculated. At leastwe did not have a face-to-face passport check. At the end of our visit, we would need to turn these cards into a box atthe gangway.

The ship was supposed to be arriving early to Banjul, TheGambia, but due to tidal fluctuations, we had to delay our docking by a fewhours. The water depth would have beentoo shallow to enter the harbor. Becauseof that time change, all of the tours had to be delayed as well. For the very first time on this cruise, wehad a booked tour with our travel agency, actually the second one. The excursion in Bali we had reserved was too long in duration, so after much deliberating,we chose to not go.

Long story short, the tour today had been changed to theafternoon instead of morning. Being thatwe do not get any refund if we choose to skip it, we changed our minds anddecided to go. After all, it was only 4 ¼hours. How bad could that be? Well, we would find out.

But first, a little info on The Gambia is in order. This countryhas a population of 1,783,000 people that speak mainly English, although it isa Portuguese-influenced society. It is acountry that is a tiny sliver of land in the center of Senegal, with Banjul, thecapital that houses the seat of government. It is the smallest country in Africa, and a long time destination ofsun-deprived Europeans. Beaches and highend resorts draw them here by the thousands. This country is also number one for bird-watching, with a total of 560species of migrating birds. If you aresearching for traditional music, eco- tourism, landmark sites to the slaverypast, then The Gambia is for you. Sincea major river by the same name flows through it, you can take a wooden pirogueboat up the currents.

One place worth mentioning is their general market, AlbertMarket, the largest of its kind in The Gambia. It was described as friendly, slow-paced where the vendors like tohaggle. Again, we would find out laterin the morning.

The best time to visit is November to April, during the dry season. These days, the top things to see are theAtlantic coast party resorts and fishing villas. The place to study the history of slavery isJames Island. They have fine markets,but still has the distinction of being the quietist capitals in Africa. It is also a goat-raising society, as wewould see later in the day.

Food specialties here are domodah, a peanut stew orbenechin, a rice dish with fish, veggies, and sauce. Their main staple is rice. Their favoritedrinks are bissap, hibiscus juice, bouyi, which is baobab juice, or JulBrew,the local beer.

A random fact is Gambia may be famous for beaches, but ithas the second shortest coastline in Africa after the Democratic Republic ofthe Congo.

Now Barbara H’s lecture had some current info for us. She suggested, as in many ports around theworld, to watch for pickpockets. Do notwear jewelry, bring tablets or computers to town, and don’t wear abackpack. It is a low income port…we hadno idea how low income until we were in the middle of it. She advised not to drink the water or eat thelocal food. And again, no bottled water. Originally founded by the British, a fort waserected at the mouth of the river to stop slavery exportation.

There were a few ship tours here today which ran from 2 ½ to8 hours. The costs ran from $120 to $240. This included a camel ride (soldout), a nature reserve, a palm forest and canoe ride, the highlights, and threetours that included lunch. One of thosetours took the folks into Alex Haley’s “Roots” experience. The popular show, The Survivor, was filmedhere at one time, but we never knew exactly where.

The ship was providing a complimentary shuttle to the AlbertMarket, beginning at 10am, or whenever the ship was cleared. And that is what we did shortly after theclearance was announced. There was noteven the resemblance of a line for this ride to town. Some of the passengers have become numb tothe normal understood courtesy of first-come, first-served. Chaos was the name of the game to get on oneof these small transfers. Eventually,Henk M appeared and did organize somewhat of an orderly process, before someonegot hurt.

The ride was short, but we sure would not want to walk the 2mile distance through the pier, which was partially flooded from an unknownsource of water. One of the spa’sbeauticians and her friend did walk the bridge, and happened to hook up with alocal who accompanied them to town, for a few dollars. These fellows would stick to you likebarnacles (Brenda’s pet name), and people were giving them money to please goaway. It worked too, sadly.

What we found at this market was not a really prettysight. All of the roads are basicallysand, with potholes, and broken cement blocks. It created an “accident waiting to happen” scenario, where one elderlyman experienced when he fell from the bus into an open ditch. Lucky for him, this ditch was dry, but atleast three feet deep. He must have hadan angel on his shoulder this morning, since he came out without an injuries…..justa wounded pride.

At this point, we have to admit, we saw many passengers turnaround, and re-board the same shuttle. We were game to go deeper and explore what was here, as we are not soeasily scared off. The market was a mazeof mostly cloth-covered stalls selling everything you can imagine. Besides the usual trinkets, we saw a wetmarket with veggies, fruits, and grains for sale…..all of it on thecloth-covered sandy ground. Fresh orsmoked fish was being sold from open-air dishes, mostly plastic wash tubs. The flies were extra. Even the local cats were not interested inthe platter of aromatic fish guts that were being piled high.

Moving on quickly, we came upon an area where the fabricswere displayed. One nice bolt of a cottonprint caught our eye, and we negotiated a great deal for two meters of 90 inchwide piece. It was $10 USD, and willmake a nice lightweight jacket. Surrounding this area, several young men were busy with their old-fashionedsewing machines, appliqueing designs on future dresses and shirts. These fellows objected to any photo-taking,although we may have done this without them seeing it. When they did see you taking pictures, they oftendemanded money if you wanted more shots. This was the case for the rest of theday. Especially photographing women….askfirst, then walk away if they objected.

There was a section where hand-carved furniture was beingcreated and sold. The vendors triedselling us anything, including the headboards and matching chests of drawers.

We did run into Barb, Freddie, and Maurice, all of whom wererunning through here in a rapid speed, mostly looking for the way out. After picking up a few things like a wovenbasket, a jewelry set, the fabric, and a Gambia t-shirt, we also found our wayback to the shuttle. There was still thevendors and their crafts to check out on the pier.

Not hungry for lunch yet, we hydrated in our room, workingon photo-downloading until 1:30pm. Thatwas our meeting time for the Discover Banjul tour with our travel hosts. It was the same identical excursion as HAL’stour, because it was the same, only less money. It was the second tour we had booked with their credit towardstours.

As we said previously, we had been scheduled to leave earlyin the morning for this 4 ¼ hour excursion, but we got bumped to theafternoon. The three buses we had weresupposed to be filled with guests and off on the tour by 2pm. However, at 2:40pm, we were still waiting forthe early buses to return, before we could begin our tour.

We ended up leaving with all three coaches full before 3pm,and figured we would be back past the all aboard time of 6:30pm. The plan was to shorten the time at each site,which was fine with us. So the firststop was at the National Museum, which was not exactly what you mightexpect. Small, but obviously an old hometurned museum, the stop was short in duration. The people there wanted an extra $2 if you wished to take photos. No one was interested.

We continued on to drive through Arch 22, which is a fairlynew to the city. Built in 1994, itrepresented the military coup that occurred here. There is a viewing arena for watching paradesthat occur here. There is also a textilemuseum attached to this arch.

On our way out of the city, we passed through mangrove-likeponds full of bird life. We did see afew of the residents such as whimbrels, blue herons, magpie crows, black kites,greater egrets, reef herons, and blue kingfishers. A few rollers were perched on the overheadpower lines as well. Sure would be funto see the major route of the migrating birds from Europe, but it is not thistime of year. We also passed by severalpeanut factories, where the peanut oil is extracted. It is one of their major exports.

We came upon a city/village called Bakau, located 10 minutesfrom Banjul. Besides a local craftmarket, it is the pick-up point to go see the Katchikally Crocodile Pool withinthe confines of this village. All of ustransferred to smaller buses to ride to this pool, which was an eye-openingtrip. The housing here was basic,created with concrete speed blocks, and covered with corrugated tin roofs. Close and tight, and concrete-fenced, it wasnot the nicest places we have ever seen. A step above a shantytown, many of these abodes sported satellite disheson the roofs. Go figure…..they may havelimited services and food, but sure do enjoy TV.

At the wire-fenced pool, we saw something shocking……an openditch used for sewage. The water wasflowing right past the homes and the kids playing in the streets. The aroma was less than pleasing, and itactually burned our eyes. TheKatchikally Pool housed somewhere around 90 Nile crocodiles, most of themyoung. If we did not know better, wemight have guessed these crocs were not real. One of them is named Charlie, and is a croc that has starred in a Britishdocumentary. The folklore is that if anative woman touched these crocs or used the pool water (grossly green withalgae), they would increase their chances of having a baby. Or contracting a fatal disease, in our opinion. Many folks did touch the croc, but not us….nothanks….a photo will do just fine. Wecould not leave soon enough to get away from the stench. We did purchase one beaded necklace to makethe vendor happy at the exit.

Back at the entrance, we were given a few minutes to pay avisit to an elementary school, where they sang for us and begged for moneydonations. Then we had 5 minutes to shopat the craft market. They had a carvedchair that someone bought at the pier for about $70. How you would ship it home was another problem.

Then we continued to a demonstration of tie-dying skillswith batik fabrics. The demo was short,but the main idea was for us to buy their products, of course. Few folks purchased anything. Except us, since one of us spotted afabric-covered jewelry set. Somethingquite unique to this area. And cheap.

Another stop was made at a hotel/bar/restaurant calledSmiling Coast. We had two beers…thelocal one called Jul Brew. Cold andtasty, it was safe to drink, and we even had 5-star restrooms to use.

On the way back, we drove through the area where theembassies were located in Serrakunda. Thiswas more like a real modern city with stores like Safeway and pharmacies,etc. There was one stop light in town,but it was not working today. Many SunniMuslims live here, so there are several mosques in the area. There were no McDonalds or KFC restaurants inthis country.

On the way back to the pier, we made a u-turn to take photosof the Arch 22. Finally back to the pierby 6:45pm, we boarded the ship and waited to leave. Glad to have seen more of the country, butalso glad to be leaving. Knowing now howthe ebola virus had spread so rapidly in these countries four years ago, we canunderstand the conditions that made it flourish. Our guide said the biggest killer of localsis malaria these days. Also marijuana isinfiltrating the scene. He claimed if wewanted to buy some, he was the man to be seen. Really?

Sail away went overtime as we left the city. The temperature had plummeted and we did notlast long on the aft deck.

Dinner was in the Pinnacle Grill for us at 8pm. Since the only thing we ate for lunch weresmall packages of trail mix and peanuts, we were most hungry for the great cuisinein the special restaurant. Grilled lambchops and the 10 ounce filet were perfect.

Although we knew the second performance of 4ever, the foursingers, we could not stay awake that late for all the tea in China. And since tomorrow’s port was Dakar, Senegal,we needed to get all the rest we could. Cruising can be hard work, right?

Bill & Mary Ann

Report #107 Dakar,Senegal April 17, 2018 Tuesday Mostly sunny & 74 degrees Part #1 Of 2 61 Pictures

The port of call for today was Dakar, Senegal, a new stopfor us and many of our friends. Thecountry of Senegal has a population of 14,000,000 people that speak French andWolof, as well as some English. Thecapital is Dakar, a city of 2 ½ million people. According to Lonely Planet, Senegal is one ofWest Africa’s most rewarding countries. It has coastal beaches, mangrove forests, savannah woodlands, and dustySahel desert. It provides a perfectbackdrop for migratory birds, coming here from Europe by the millions. There are slavery monuments along with devoutreligious traditions. They are alsoknown for their international music stars.

The best time to visit is November through February for thecooler dry season. Things to see are Ilede Goree, the monument island dedicated to the Africans who were cast intoslavery. See the Grand Mosque and thecolonial architecture. Beautiful beachesare a plus, and bird –watching during the migration season must be exciting.

What do they eat here? Try a dish of rice cooked in tomato sauce with chunks of fish, veggies,and spices. Grilled chicken marinatedwith onion and lemon juice is anotherfavorite.

Drink: hibiscus juice, ginger beer, and baobab juice are thetop three.

A random fact is: Touba is the site for one of the African pilgrimages. It happens 48 days after Islamic NewYear. Two million people descend on townfor this pilgrimage.

The capital city of Dakar was once the center of French presencein Africa. Dakar has a strong economyand is a place that attracts many immigrants. It is filled with banks, markets, night cafes, and lots of music. Big on the list are restaurants featuringFrench, Moroccan, and Senegalese dishes, most of which come with peanut sauceand seafood.

A reminder of the past, old wooden boats will pull up onbeaches of upscale resorts, cafes, and bars. Their religions include Islam, Christian, and Animism. Peanuts, corn, rice, and millet are theirmain exports. Iron ore, phosphates, andfish processing keep most of the people employed.

The tours for here were $130 to $400, for durations of 3 ½ to 9 hours. The highlights of the city was the mostreasonable tour, then they got increasingly expensive. The onlycity tour that was affordable was what most folks took. The more expensive were rides out of town tosee the island where millions of natives had been shipped to the New World. Thiswas the ferry to Ile de Goree, where 40 million natives were thrust intoslavery.

A few tours were offered as mini-safaris with large trucksas transports, and there was a long trip to see Lake Retba, a pink lake from analgae bloom. This tour included lunch. One longer excursion took the folks to theBandia Wildlife Reserve , 40 miles out of Dakar. You would see very old baobab trees here. These trees can be 100 feet in circumference,making them the widest in the world. These bottle-shaped monsters can hold up to 318 gallons of water. The inner bark also provides fiber forropes. Their flowers open at night, andare pollinated by bats. Legend has itthat the baobab was cursed, pulled from the ground, and planted upside down.

For those of us that did not book a tour, we assumed that bytaking the free shuttle would be a good start for our normal walkabout. In retrospect, this was a place to take anorganized tour. The small shuttle busestook us to Place de la Independence, a 10 minute ride out of the port to thecenter of the downtown city. Waitinguntil the bulk of the tour buses left, we went off after 10am. There was a massive craft market on the pier,but we would have time later to check it out.

So we got on the bus, which took about 10 minutes to take usuphill in traffic to our drop-off point. Normally, we are taken to a central area of the city, surrounded withcafes, restaurants, and hotels. Nicehotels. Not so today. Besides the city’s largest main park, this place was run down, and almostdeserted. With one big exception. There were “barnacles”, those people thatstick to you like glue, offering to take you anywhere you wished to go. Even escort you to the shopping district,which was 10 blocks away. Not just a fewof these imposing fellows, but a dozen of them.

Not looking good, we were hassled every two feet, by anumber of unsavory-looking but intimidating young local men. Some were selling stuff we did not want. Anything to part you from whatever money wehad with us. Tomorrow we would hearscary stories of what happened to some of the passengers and crew alike. Moreabout that later.

One thing we did buy was a Senegal t-shirt for $5, before wedove back on the waiting shuttle with most all of the guests we came here with.Some pushy vendors followed us into the bus with offers of expensive perfumeand more trinkets. The driver told themto get off, and he quickly closed the bus door, and off we went. Honestly, we felt like we had just been fedto the lions.

To be fair, we did learn later in the day, that there was anice hotel not too far from this park. However, when all of us asked these locals, they said no hotel was nearthere. Instead, they wanted us to paythem to escort us elsewhere. Even thehandful of crew members did not go off in search of their internet venture. Figuring that we would find a market sellingthe same things that were on the pier, then why not go back there and see whatwas available.

And that is what we did…..peruse the treasures at thepier. Not that we needed anything, it isalways free to look, right? Stonenecklaces were on every sheet on the ground, and it was easy to find one thatwent perfectly with my blouse. Woodcarvings abounded….and nice ones at that. We do have a conservative collection of African warriors and matchingmates. So when a nice, sturdy pair wasspotted, the bargaining began. This is partof the fun, we think. The vendors herewere not too pushy, and we figured they would know their bottom line, wherethey were making enough on their items, and settled for a fair price. So we ended up with a pair of ironwoodcarvings of a warrior, complete with arrows and a pitch fork, smoking apipe. He has a female counter part, innative costume. Good thing our luggage isnot weighed when it is shipped back home. This was our last chance to find such exotic carvings, so we will have abetter memory of our visit here. One ofthe wooden masks also found its way into our possession. It is called a queen mask, complete with hairmade from bamboo. Compared to some ofthe wild-looking scary masks, this one is almost attractive. Onceback on the ship, we never left again.

Keeping busy with photos, we enjoyed a lunch of Dive In foodagain, since the dining room was closed today at noon. The sail away was at 5:30pm, so we went up todeck nine to get panoramic photos of the area we mostly did not see. There was a lot of bird activity however, sowe did get some good shots of the black kites, cormorants, egrets, vultures,and some tiny canaries.

Once again, we were delayed while we waited for some latebuses, and a late local pilot. Finallypulling out of the dock, we passed by Ile de Goree, getting some close-up shotsof the former island where so many natives were transported across the AtlanticOcean. Terribly horrible history, but itis a nice-looking island a mere two miles off of the mainland.

We were now heading towards the last stop in this part ofthe world……Cape Verde.

Most of us were present for dinner, sharing stories of theday. Most of them took tours, and one ofthem was a trip to the Bandia Reserve with many animals of Africa roaming on2500 acres. At least Ken got out of the rat race in the city to see the desertcountryside, as well as the Pink Lake. Barb had gone with her dance hosts buddies, only to turn around and comeback to the ship like we did. Attemptingto hire a driver to take them on a short tour never worked out for them either. Not giving up yet, the trio walked towardsthe nearest market called Marche Kermel. They ran into a lady, who had lost the group she was with. Worried about how she would get back to theship, Barb and her buddies escorted her back to the pier. She was most happy. Brenda had done a city highlight tour, anddid see the main attractions of the city in the safety of the bus. Back at the pier, she also checked out thecrafts, telling the vendors that she looked going one way, then might buy onthe way back…..a new line she learned today. It worked, as they gladly allowed her to look.

We do know that therewere a few negative things that happened today with guests and crew, but wewould find out more tomorrow. We bothagreed we were glad to have stopped here, but it would be a one-time thing forus. Perhaps we did not see the higherend of society in Dakar, but someone made a remark that this would be worse thana third world country in their minds.

Instead of a performance in the Queen’s Lounge, they showeda 2 hour 45 minute movie, The Legend of 1900, about a baby boy discovered in1900 on an ocean liner, who grows up to become a pianist, never setting foot onland. Entertaining fiction, of course.

Good news – the clocks went back one hour. We are now only six hours ahead of PacificStandard Time.

Bill & Mary Ann

Dakar isn't a port we would want to visit. Been to too many places like that.

Glad you got back to the ship safely.

Report # 108 Day atSea April 18, 2018 Wednesday Partly cloudy & 79 degrees

Today happened to be a special one for one of us and alsoHolland America Line. For one of us, itwas a birthday (Bill), and the other was a 145th birthday for HAL. Worth mentioning, it was also the 112thbirthday of the San Francisco earthquake in 1906. Happy to say, those birthdays are far olderthan one of us.

Stories about yesterday’s port in Senegal have beensurfacing as the day progressed. Therehas not been anyone that we know that had a great time there, except the fewthat took the animal reserve tour out of town. There were two couples that actually thanked us for alerting them to thesituation at the other end of the shuttle stop. These folks had some pretty scary tales aboutwhat happened to some of their friends and also the crew members. It seems that one lady got robbed of hermoney, with hands in pockets and purses. And another woman was literally grabbed by her throat, and gave up herstuff, while another was threatened with a small knife. And this all happened in the square where manypeople were present.

Our breakfast and lunch dining room waiter told a story ofhis own. He had taken the shuttle with agroup of 9 friends. But as soon as theygot off of the bus, they were all surrounded by the local “criminals” thatdistracted them, then went right for their pockets. They are smart enough not to keep theirthings in loose pockets, but not all the time. Our waiter had a $5 bill in one, and when the robber took it, he grabbedhis hand and forced him to let go of it. He also warned the guy that if he wasin Indonesia doing this, he would kill him. With that, the guy ran off. Oneof our waiter’s friends was not so lucky, as he lost his cell phone and $350 incash.

It just happened that two of our security guards were on thesame bus as our waiter. They wentdirectly back to the ship, probably reported it, and shortly afterwards, theshuttles cancelled the stop at the square, and simply gave the guests a quickride around the city, returning to the ship. Problem solved, we guess. We still ask, why were we here in this port?

Anyway, we now have one day at sea to catch up on the usualthings to do, as well as relax. BarbaraH gave a talk on our next port of Praia, Ilha de Santiago, Cape Verde. We have been there once, but seem to havetrouble recalling what we did there. Even though it has only been four years, this port had been on theitinerary. But another two day stop wasadded in Mindelo, on another island as a substitute for missing The Gambia and Senegal. Trying to recall the layout, we seemed tomixing the ports up. Oh well, time willtell tomorrow.

This trip has had a lot of “firsts”, mostly regarding littlemessages to inform us of the quirks that have occurred along the way. We received a letter about another recentproblem: eggs. A day ago there was a recall on 200 millioneggs due to potential Salmonella contamination. Who would think this could reach us, since it originated in the UnitedStates, we believe. A mixed message was given saying that theydestroyed all of the affected eggs, but they were happy to report that none ofthese eggs had been served during the cruise. Now, there are some dishes on the menu that still contain eggs, but theyare not part of the recall. Wonder howmany passengers will order any of these dishes? Not us. Continuing on, themessage in this letter said a new fresh supply of eggs will return in Ft. Lauderdale(when this cruise ends). And the shipgoes into dry-dock.

It seems that a new speaker has joined the Amsterdam by thename of Andrew Schofield. His lecturewas on Dr. David Livingstone. Cape Verdeas a trading center was the subject for Dr. Valerie Mock in the afternoon.

Lunch was in the dining room with Barb, and it lasted foralmost two hours. Sure will miss thesemoments once everyone has gone home in a matter of days now.

The weather had turned rather cool this afternoon, especiallywhen walking the promenade deck. Therewere three people lounging in the teak chairs. But they were covered up with hats, jackets, and blankets. One side was totally empty because it wasalmost raining with the spray blowing off of the swells. Captain Mercer had said we would feel themovement of the ship due to the deep swells, and the fact that we were goingonly 9 knots. The distance from Dakar toPraia was not great, so we required a slower speed to get there.

Warming up in the atrium was a good idea, while listening tothe music. Before we knew it, a crowd ofour closest buddies arrived, and we ended up missing a cocktail party, hostedby our travel agency. Oh well, timespent with friends is always a good thing.

Dinnertime was fun, but one of us had hoped the birthdaywould go without the recognition. After all,we had not ordered a special cake for the occasion. Unknown to us, someone elsehad done the job…..Barbie, of course. Afterdinner, we noticed a bunch of waiters milling around or table. They brought a carrot cake and gathered tossingthe special Indonesian birthday song. Noescaping it, it was a proper birthday party. The slices of cake even came with ice cream for everyone. Fun time for all.

There was a chocolate surprise for the 145th HALbirthday tonight at 9pm. The surprisewas for us, who were still in the dining room after 9:30pm. Three waiters appeared with trays ofchocolate candies, created for this occasion. Thought we were filled to the brim, but there is always room for alittle good chocolate. It was a nicesurprise not to miss the goodies.

Showtime featured a group of five fellows who sang with theirthree-part vocal harmonies. It promisedto give all that infectious energy to get the folks on their feet with the veryfirst beat. And it certainly did.

Looking forward to our visit at Cape Verde.

Bill & Mary Ann

Senegal is definitely a port that HAL should drop.

Sorry so many crew and passengers were robbed.

Thankfully your next port will be a better one.

I have a couple questions for you. 1) Steve and Wendy; you mention them and geocaching. Can you ask them what their geocaching name is? We geocache and ran into a couple that are hosts that do also but don't remember their names. Our geocaching name is "diveduo". 2) Would you ask Barbara H. if she will be on the Vikings this year out of Boston? I love her; she is a veritable fount of useful information and is a great person to boot!

I've been following along the whole way with you and enjoying it very much! Thank you for sharing with us. We'll be on next year so we might run into you then.

Thank you,

Linda R.

Was just looking at pictures and re-reading --- sorry the ship decided to throw out all the eggs. But it is better to be safe than sorry.

Report # 109 Praia,Ilha De Santiago, Cape Verde April 19,2018 Thursday Partly cloudy & 79 degrees Part #1 Of 3 60 Pictures

Today’s port of call, and the last one in the African areawas in Cape Verde. The city of Praia,the capital, located on the island of Santiago, was our destination. It has been the capital of this archipelagosince 1777, established as the first Portuguese settlement. Built by save labor, it was an important tradingpost on the way from West Africa to the Americas. A visit from the scientist Charles Darwin andpirate attacks have added to the city’s colorful past.

The total population of all of the islands is 430,000 (2012)with the locals speaking Portuguese, Crioulo, and also English. This archipelago is 500 kilometers or 311miles off the coast of West Africa. Theyare full of active volcanoes, canyons, desert plains, and beaches with cleanAtlantic breezes and Saharan trade winds.

A 100 year drought in the late 1700’s wiped out most of thepopulation. Eventually, fishing andagriculture re-developed, and the people thrived once again. The population in Praia is about 120,000these days, and many work in the government and education areas. There is shopping, restaurants, and night life,but most of all….music.

The best time to visit is October to August.

Portuguese and African influences shows up in the food. Extreme dry conditions on these islands haveled to some creative ways to grow peppers, corn, beans, sweet potatoes, manioc,bananas, and cassavas. What do they liketo eat here? Cachupa is a stew of beansand corn with fish or meat. And theirfavorite drinks are Ceris Beer or grogue, a sugarcane spirit. Even white and red wines are bottled here.

A random fact is Cape Verde has the highest adult literacyfor a West African country, and the life expectancy is 71.1 years old.

Today there were free shuttles that took us to town. Or there were ship tours offered from 4 to 8 hours. They cost from $55 to $120, reasonable,considering what the previous ports had to offer. There were city tours that were short, and thesame short tours combined with a trip to the mountain villages with lunch. Since we have been here four years ago, wechose the shuttle to town.

The ride went uphill to the plateau where the main shoppingdistrict was located. Still retainingthe feel of the colonial days, we did see the main plaza, the church, a museumor two, and the main central market. Theproduce and fish market was the best. Totally operated by the local women, this old market, almost 100 yearsold, housed tables full of fresh veggies and fruit. One side had a small corner where fresh fishwas being sold. The gals seemed a littleconfused that one of us chose to take photos of fish, but we love doing this,as it adds interest to the culture of the area. One young lady asked our first names, just being friendly, weguess. Nice to know she spoke English,we asked her name, which was Carla. Since we were not exactly sure where we were located according the ship’smap, she giggled and showed us the street we were on. She also wanted to knowif we wanted to buy some fish. Not todaywas our answer. Thanking her, we continuedonward. By the way, their produce was beautiful……colorful,full-size and clean. So much differentfrom what we saw in the last three ports in West Africa.

There were a few very small hotels, outdoor cafes, andminimal souvenir tents with little to offer. Certainly, we could not find a place we cared to eat lunch or even get abeer. The closest we found to be a goodspot for beer was at a music concert set-up, where a local 6 piece band wasplaying some really good modern Cape Verde music. It was loud, and did attract a good sizecrowd. Outdoor tables were set up near abar, and many passengers from the ship were attempting to get internet. Not sure if they were successful.

Walking towards the end of this plateau, we found the Palaceof the President, which dated back to colonial days. It was the home of the island’s formergovernors. Next to this building was theJaime Mota Barracks, dating back to 1826….one of the oldest buildings in town. Finally, we passed by Our Lady of GraceCathedral, built in 1900. Having seeneverything up here, we headed back to the shuttle stop and squeezed into themini-van for the cozy ride back to the ship. As we drove down the street, we passed Barb and Susie, who had gone tofind lunch, wine, and internet. Obviously, they struck out, and were on their way back also.

Our hopes of finding a place for pizza and beer had beendashed. We assumed that we could find alunch spot here, like we did in Mindelo four years ago, but nothing here wasclose to it.

We made it to the dining room in time for lunch. So did Barb, who joined us. As always, we had a fine time, and the pricewas right. It was nice enough outside tohave gone to the pool, but we stayed inside working on more photos. And thought about the chore facing us withpacking. That was as far as we got withthat….just thinking about it.

There was a complimentary sail away party held in the LidoDome starting at 5pm. We went up to decknine, like we always do, at 4pm, and found every available chair takenalready. Just say “free” and they willcome…..saving seats, and ready to pounce on the tables that were filled withfree punch-like drinks with umbrellas, and artisan-style snacks. Live music played by the Station Band until 6:30pmwould keep the folks happy or make them deaf. We always take photos of this melee from deck nine, but seldomattend. Way too crowded, we like to goto the aft deck to get the best pictures while sailing out of the harbor.

We did not attempt to go for the free beer or soda in theLido pool area, as it was standing room only. But a bit later during the party, three waiters did come out with traysof stuffed jalapeno poppers to pass around the guests back there. One of us has been waiting for this entirecruise for these appetizers. Took them longenough…. Our buddies Bill & Letawere already sitting back here, and joined us as we sailed out of the smallharbor by 6pm or so. We stayed visitingwith them until the sun went down at 6:48pm. When it did go down, it was chilly outside. Shortly after leaving the harbor, we sailedpast Cidade Velha or Old Town. Locatedabout 10 miles out of the town square, this village is a UNESCO World HeritageSite. Many colonial structures remainhere, like the Fortress of San Filipe,built by order of Filipe I, the King of Portugal and Spain.

We now have over 2400 miles to sail before we reach PuertoRico, our final port for this world cruise. We could look forward to deep swells for a few days, but no rain is inthe forecast, so that is good.

Dinner found all of us present, including Peter, our newsometimes tablemate. It appeared thatjust about everyone had attended the complimentary sail away party, and cameaway happy. Perhaps due to the freedrinks? Absolutely. It was a nice way to commence our transit toour next and final call of the 2018 world voyage.

A classically trained cabaret vocalist, Maria Lyn, was the entertainerthis evening. Coming from Wales, she isreported to have a thrilling mezzo-soprano voice and sings in fourlanguages. In her spare time, she playsthe piano. We have to agree, she put ona great show.

Better news of the day? The clocks went back one morehour.

Bill & Mary Ann

Sounds like a nice, friendly port for a change.

Too bad you couldn't get your pizza and beer.

Report # 110 Day atSea April 20, 2018 Friday Partly cloudy & 79 degrees

It was nice to get that extra hour last night to sleep latertoday. That is, unless you tend to wakeup the same time every day, regardless of the time change. Then the day becomes longer by one hour,making it hard to burn the candle at both ends. Good thing we have only two more hours to beon Eastern Time.

Like it or not, we had to begin the task of packing. Most of it will be shipped to our home oncewe get to Ft. Lauderdale. And the restwill go with us to the hotel in Florida. We’ll keep exactly what we will need for a 17 day cruise, and no more.

We still find it incredible how much stuff we had stored inour room for four months. Each time wepromise to bring less, and we really have found the right amount ofeverything. Most of our supplies aredepleted, making room for some of those nice gifts we got along the way. A good thing is that the duffels we shiphome, and the extra suitcase we added, do not have a weight limit.

The first day that Sarah, the rep for Fed Ex, is at her deskfor shipping services was today. For thefirst time, it has been done in an orderly fashion. Instead of a first-come, first-serve method,they have arranged for the guests to be seen by decks. Beginning with decks 6 & 7, one day has beenassigned to take care of everyone.

It seems that another guest speaker joined the ship by thename of Jim McFarland. He spoke on thenatural history of the Cape Verde Islands. Even better, Captain Mercer took folks on avirtual tour of the Amsterdam’s bridge. A most informative talk.

Today was the final delivery of our sodas and flowers forthe remainder of this trip. ThisPresident’s Club amenity has worked out nicely. We never had to buy any more sodas this trip.

One other advertisement was about the upcoming Breakfast forDinner venue held in the Pinnacle Grill on Sunday. Wine pairing was included, costing $79 perperson. This is a first time venue, andmany folks are wondering what will be served that will go with wine.

We met Barb for lunch again. The choices remain good, like a small dinner for the most part. The most talked about thing was the unveilingof the 2020 Grand World Voyage, which happens to be a whopping 128 days. Everyone is so happy it will includeAntarctica.

A little more packing, and we were done for the timebeing. We have several more days left tofine tune the job. Taking a walk to getsome fresh air, we noticed that the deep swells are still with us. Most of the outside deck was vacant, sincemany people are doing the same thing we were today.

Even the Ocean Bar had fewer dancers this evening. While we were listening to the music, andvisiting with other passengers, Hamish made an announcement that the scheduledshow featuring Tango Cervilla had to be cancelled. Another act will take their place. With the movement of the ship, it would havemade this performance dangerous.

Two tablemates were missing, but someone added Peter, so westill had seven guests. Empanadas andthe turkey dinner seemed to be the favorite meal of the evening. And a small serving of strawberry shortcakewas a nice ending.

A laundry service conclusion notification was delivered to our rooms tonight. The cutoff time to turn in the final requestwill be Tuesday, the 24h of April. Sounds like they are expecting a voluminous amount of cleaning to bedone. Of course, we all would like to gohome with clean clothes. We have beenmost happy with their service, more so when they located a lost blouse.

One day down, and four more sea days to go. But who’s counting?

Bill & Mary Ann

Glad you have started to pack but sad that soon this cruise will be over.

That Breakfast Dinner venue in the Pinnacle sounds different.

Report # 110 Day atSea April 20, 2018 Friday Partly cloudy & 79 degrees

 

It was nice to get that extra hour last night to sleep latertoday. That is, unless you tend to wakeup the same time every day, regardless of the time change. Then the day becomes longer by one hour,making it hard to burn the candle at both ends. Good thing we have only two more hours to beon Eastern Time.

 

Like it or not, we had to begin the task of packing. Most of it will be shipped to our home oncewe get to Ft. Lauderdale. And the restwill go with us to the hotel in Florida. We’ll keep exactly what we will need for a 17 day cruise, and no more.

 

We still find it incredible how much stuff we had stored inour room for four months. Each time wepromise to bring less, and we really have found the right amount ofeverything. Most of our supplies aredepleted, making room for some of those nice gifts we got along the way. A good thing is that the duffels we shiphome, and the extra suitcase we added, do not have a weight limit.

 

The first day that Sarah, the rep for Fed Ex, is at her deskfor shipping services was today. For thefirst time, it has been done in an orderly fashion. Instead of a first-come, first-serve method,they have arranged for the guests to be seen by decks. Beginning with decks 6 & 7, one day has beenassigned to take care of everyone.

 

It seems that another guest speaker joined the ship by thename of Jim McFarland. He spoke on thenatural history of the Cape Verde Islands. Even better, Captain Mercer took folks on avirtual tour of the Amsterdam’s bridge. A most informative talk.

 

Today was the final delivery of our sodas and flowers forthe remainder of this trip. ThisPresident’s Club amenity has worked out nicely. We never had to buy any more sodas this trip.

 

One other advertisement was about the upcoming Breakfast forDinner venue held in the Pinnacle Grill on Sunday. Wine pairing was included, costing $79 perperson. This is a first time venue, andmany folks are wondering what will be served that will go with wine.

 

We met Barb for lunch again. The choices remain good, like a small dinner for the most part. The most talked about thing was the unveilingof the 2020 Grand World Voyage, which happens to be a whopping 128 days. Everyone is so happy it will includeAntarctica.

 

A little more packing, and we were done for the timebeing. We have several more days left tofine tune the job. Taking a walk to getsome fresh air, we noticed that the deep swells are still with us. Most of the outside deck was vacant, sincemany people are doing the same thing we were today.

 

Even the Ocean Bar had fewer dancers this evening. While we were listening to the music, andvisiting with other passengers, Hamish made an announcement that the scheduledshow featuring Tango Cervilla had to be cancelled. Another act will take their place. With the movement of the ship, it would havemade this performance dangerous.

 

Two tablemates were missing, but someone added Peter, so westill had seven guests. Empanadas andthe turkey dinner seemed to be the favorite meal of the evening. And a small serving of strawberry shortcakewas a nice ending.

 

A laundry service conclusion notification was delivered to our rooms tonight. The cutoff time to turn in the final requestwill be Tuesday, the 24h of April. Sounds like they are expecting a voluminous amount of cleaning to bedone. Of course, we all would like to gohome with clean clothes. We have beenmost happy with their service, more so when they located a lost blouse.

 

One day down, and four more sea days to go. But who’s counting?

 

Bill & Mary Ann

Sent from my Pixel using Forums mobile app

Report # 111 Day atSea April 21, 2018 Saturday Partly cloudy & 72 degrees 3 Pictures

Another day at sea has found the weather agreeable, althoughnot really hot, it has been pleasant. The seas, now they are something else. The rolling swells have left one of us slightly queasy overnight. Never sure if it will get worse, a smallseasick pill was in order. The onlydownside was drowsiness most of the day. Better sleepy, than sick.

We made the most of the day by continuing to pack ourstuff. One of the hardest parts wasgetting the mattress foam pad we brought with us into the original size itbegan with. Simply impossible. Folding it length-wise, then rolling it, we securedit with two luggage straps. It waspretty close to the same size that we brought it. It does take up a larger part of one of theduffels, but it was really worth using it. By noon, we were pretty far along, but it was a good time to take abreak.

Lunch in the dining room was that break we needed. Barb was waiting when we showed up. Her trivia mates came in very happy sincethey happened to come in first in trivia this afternoon. Now this did not gain them any more than 10cents, since that is all you get for simply showing up. But now they have bragging rights, and wereproud of it. They teased Barb, since sherecently gave trivia up. Her 10 centcoupons were not adding up quickly enough. There is a $5 minimum to buy anything.

There was a singles and solos meet for lunch in the diningroom as well. Some folks had alreadyconnected, but for the most part, many of them were still sitting silently whilethey dined. Certainly some gatheringslike this find couples meeting with possible friendships that could last alifetime.

There was a guest talent show at 3pm, where the passengershad a chance to take to the stage with a three minute performance. The show went on for almost two hours, endingwith the HAL chorale group singing. Theywere the best. Some of our friends werein this show, such as Harvey and Barbara, who did an act consistent with theMotown theme for dinner tonight.

Did a little more shopping , but since our luggage hasfilled up quickly, something small, like earrings were a good idea. And we still have more to spend before thetrip ends.

The usual things were happening around the ship, buteverything seemed slow. Guess many ofthe long-time passengers would be packing like us. Some of our buddies were searching for boxesto take their collection of wood carvings home. Some of the wooden animals were reportedly over 6 feet. It hasbeen our experience that if you ask Eddie and Calista, they seemed to have thebottom line when it comes to suppling old flower boxes for these odd-shapeditems.

Today would be near to the final chance to exchange foreignmoney back to the US dollars. Or save itfor the next time you travel abroad. Thecoins would not be cashable, but you can donate them to a fund for charity atthe front desk. They do add up.

Dinnertime found the dining room decorated with gold records(cardboard) hanging in the entry. The waiterswere dressed in several colors of velour shirts. Bet those were warm, especially for ourwaiters Slam and Dewa, since they were hot pink. The looked like they belonged in the Travoltamovie from years ago, dancing their hearts out.

There were only seven of us at the table, with twomissing. It seemed that the meal timewas ended about 9:30pm, with the service a bit faster and the food hotter. Having a smaller table might be better in thefuture. Actually, the same table, butleaving seats available for occasional guests instead. We see that being done with other frequentguests at this later dining time. We canget away with it, since the demand seems to have shifted to early dining thesedays.

The entertainer was Jason Lyle Black, an award-winning pianist. But a fun activity was taking place earlier,at 8:45pm, in the Crow’s Nest with the Magic of Motown with the Station Band. We were invited to enjoy hot appetizers anddrinks as we grooved to the hits of Motown.

We grooved to the time change….one hour back again. One more too go, and we will be on EasternTime.

Bill & Mary Ann

Can't believe how quickly this cruise has gone.

Certainly have enjoyed reading your daily adventures and looking at your pictures.

Report # 112 Day atSea April 22, 2018 Sunday Partly cloudy & 73 degrees 11 Pictures

Just because it was a sea day, did not mean it wasn’t aspecial day at sea. When we arrived tothe dining room for a very light breakfast, we found the chairs covered withturquoise and white covers, and the tables set with dark blue and whitenapkins. Sure looked nice.

Now this could have been for the Sunday at Sea Brunch thatwas introduced on this cruise, but it was for the Mariner Lunch instead. No more brunches this voyage, as we have runout of Sundays. This affair was split intwo, with the first meal being served at 11am, and the second seating for1pm. A few days ago, we received aninvitation for this lunch, without an RSVP. Usually, our fellow President’s Club membersare seated at the larger tables with a host. We would all have nametags marking our spots at the table as well. Several years ago, the hosts would have includedthe Captain and his top officers. Theremaining large tables would have hosts that had staff members such as thefuture cruise consultant, the cruise director, or shore excursion managers, forexample. These days, the meal goes “unhosted”,and there are no more assigned seats. Apparently, it has become easier to make it open seating for everyone,with no hosts. You can never make allthe people happy all of the time, we are told. Or the new excuse for not doing things as they used to be, is that thereare too many of the highest members to acknowledge. In our opinion, that is not really a goodanswer. We are talking about 40 peoplethat could dine at two different lunch times today. So that puts about 20 folks that can be seatedat the larger tables with a host. In ourminds, that is quite do-able. It was thesame excuse for the America’s Test Kitchen hands-on cooking classes. The powersto be found it to be too much work to figure out a class for all of the folksthat qualified for it. Just a littleventing here, but we sure hate to see some of the nice touches disappearing oneat a time.

One other thing missing was the complimentary sparkling winetoast that we always did for this luncheon. There was none…..only house wine or whatever you might want to orderlike soda perhaps. When we asked whathappened to the champagne, we were told they figured wine was good enough. From what we saw, the way the wine was beingguzzled, there will be quite a few folks napping this afternoon.

The menu was nice, and had different choices. Both the seafood and gazpacho came toeveryone, followed by your choice of entrée. These were filet mignon with shrimp, seared black cod, or a mushroomravioli. Key lime pie with coffee or teaended the nice meal. And more white orred wine was poured for most.

Our table of five was deep in conversation, when one of thehead waiters strolled through the dining room with the ding-dong bell, in orderto clear the room for the next group. With our HAL ship tiles in hand, we left by12:30pm. A walk on the outside deck wasin order to get some fresh air. The temperatureand the weather was close to perfect today. And the seas have leveled out somewhat.

We stopped by the beverage manager’s office to find out ifwe can exchange our five bottles of wine and champagne for other beverages wecan use on the following voyage next month. We had squirreled these bottles away in the back of the closet,forgetting we had them. Each time wewent there, we found the door closed and no one home. Hopefully we have not waited too long to dothis.

Other things happening today included a talk by Barbara Habout what to do and see in Puerto Rico, our last port of call. It has been many years since we have been toPuerto Rico, and we don’t know what to expect. Especially in light of thedamage that occurred here with the hurricane last year. Guess we will all find out when we get there.

Guests speakers are continuing their series on the historyand economy of the Caribbean area we will be visiting. Last minute promotions are ongoing,attempting to part the guests with some of their money before the tripends. It has been a lot of fun for us(well maybe one of us more than the other), spending shipboard credit.

At dinner, all we present. George and Ken have been coming with some of the daily trivia questions,especially the ones that stumped them. Sometimeswe actually get many answers correct. Ifnot, we make up something as silly as we can make it. Barb is good at that. Truthfully, she has played this game for manyyears now, and pretty much remembers most of the answers. Recently, Barb quit playing because the funhas been taken out of the competition. The winners get no more than those who did not win. A DAM dime. Period. And that is for justshowing up to play.

The choices on the menu were good tonight, especially thebrie appetizer and the prime rib had to be the best we have tasted so far. Since two of our tablemates had alreadyvacated the group, several desserts arrived without being ordered. We did have fun testing the butterscotchbrulee, no sugar-added amaretto ice cream, and tiramisu. This is going to be a hard habit to kick………

The show tonight was a musical treat with a lady namedSuzanne Godfrey. Her performance wasfeatured as a radiant sound that crosses stylistic borders and musicalboundaries. And she does it with greatease and beauty, giving her a worldwide appeal. Boy are they getting over-the-top with their descriptions, or what?

Bill & Mary Ann

Hope San Juan gets power back in most areas by the time you get there -- they had another major outage a few days ago.

We gave up on the Mariner brunches years ago. Too much of a mob scene to get a table. Only a half glass of some cheap sparkling wine -- no refills. No hosted tables.