Prinsendam 2005 World Tour... it has begun

[Ziggy7]

Grumpy and Slinkie,

 

"The plan for Bali is an 8 hour tour that includes the Barong dance, the temple of Holy Springs, Kintamani on the slopes of Mt. Batur for lunch, the Ubud artists colony, the village of Mas and.....SHOPPING! That still leaves a few hours which will probably be spent around the harbor area."

 

That tour will show you a lot especially as you will get to Kintamani which is out in the country. Ubud is most interesting and you may buy a painting or two to take home. Mas has all the silverwork. I wish I was there, our family love going to Bali.

 

It will be quite hot and humid in the morning as it is early March, but in the afternoon the sea breeze comes through and you may get some rain.

 

Jennie

Aussie Gal, you are so sweet, also caring for others and helping anyway you can! You have a good heart and I would love to someday cross paths with you :)

[Ziggy7]

Grumpy and Slinkie,

Did you see your jacket buttons being sold on ebay! I heard Prince Charles was upset cause the crowds at the dock were chanting..... Grumpy and Slinkie! ...... Grumpy and Slinkie! ...... Grumpy and Slinkie!

[blackbird71]

Grumpy and Slinkie,

Did you see your jacket buttons being sold on ebay! I heard Prince Charles was upset cause the crowds at the dock were chanting..... Grumpy and Slinkie! ...... Grumpy and Slinkie! ...... Grumpy and Slinkie!

 

I was thinking he was upset with all the RedHatters and he thought the Queen had her friends tracking him.:D:D

[Ziggy7]

I was thinking he was upset with all the RedHatters and he thought the Queen had her friends tracking him.:D:D

hehehee I'm not touching the RedHats thing, there everywhere heheheehehe and there lil old ladies! I mean little ole ladies :)

[Grumpy1]

Prinsendam 2005, March 4, Day 50

 

The big five oh... days since leaving Ft. Lauderdale, that is... so many things seen, so many new friends... and it isn't even half over yet! Slinkie and Grumpy feel truly blessed to be able to take this voyage and to have so many friends riding along on the cruise... those on board and those here on CruiseCritic. Thanks to all of you for your input...

 

The seas have been unbelievably smooth last night and today... Hardly a ripple on the water. Slinkie and Grumpy have been watching the flying fish. They see a fast moving streak below the surface and then a small creature that almost looks like a bird skimming across the surface for several yards and then disappearing with a splash. They appear close to the bow of the ship and move out away from the ship... must think it's a very large predator looking for a quick meal. At times there are dozens come up at once. Some are very small and others are more than a foot long. Those things are fast! Grumpy got a lot of pictures of nothing but water, but did get a couple of pictures where the trails across the water or the entry splash can be seen but only got one that actually has the fish and it's too far away to be able to enhance it much.

 

Last night, Slinkie and Grumpy, along with another couple from their table decided to try the Pinnacle Grill for the first time. Quite frankly, they were disappointed... certainly not a place where Grumpy would pay extra to eat there. Since they were provided with some free coupons, they figured they should give it a try even though they have been very pleased with the dining room... If you are looking for a very good steak dinner, then you will probably like the Pinnacle. By all reports, they serve excellent filet mignon, ribeye and porterhouse steaks. That wasn't what Slinkie and Grumpy were looking for, but one of their tablemates did get the smaller filet mignon. His DW got the cedar planked Halibut, Slinkie opted for the crab cake appetizer as an entree, with a vegetable side, and Grumpy had the cedar planked prawn scampi... The cedar planks looked like they went to Home Depot, got a bundle of cedar shake shingles and sawed them into 8" squares. Definitely different... The big problem is the side dishes... baked potato, scallopped potato, rice, grilled asparagus with Hollandaise sauce or creamed spinach... No steamed vegetables... the best they could do was leave the sauce off the grilled asparagus. Now most of us are trying to eat somewhat healthy choices, but HAL's idea of "Healthy" seems to be listing one or two items as low-carb... Hello... how about low-fat??? Well three of the four ordered the asparagus without sauce. The fourth ordered the creamed spinach. Grumpy also ordered the rice. No one has a clue what they did to the asparagus, but Grumpy suspects that they just use a spatula to clear a spot on the grill, throw on a little oil and throw on the asparagus. It was very pale, not green like it should be, not plump at all and tasted like it was grilled in oil that bordered on being rancid with hints of flavors of the things that had been grilled before... not edible was the unanimous opinion... The spinach was almost a puree in a very buttery sauce. One bite of it was all that was removed from the plate... The rice had a good flavor, but was served as a dry clump, like it had been dished up earlier and sat around awhile. The prawn scampi was good and very tender. Slinkie commented that the crab cakes weren't as good as the packaged ones she gets at Sam's Club... The halibut was declared OK, but nothing special.

 

OK, RuthC and the rest of you chocoholics... you're sitting there wondering... did anyone try the chocolate volcano cake??... Well Grumpy didn't let you down... he didn't really want to... yeah,right!... but he ordered it... YESSSS!... it was delicious!

 

The Pinnacle should be a special place where the food and service is a cut above the dining room. Grumpy and his gang did not find that to be the case and did let the Pinnacle manager know that they were not pleased. Grumpy would like some comments from others that have eaten there recently... and he probably just blew that free cruise HAL was going to offer...

 

For those that might be planning a long cruise or for that matter, any cruise to places that you have never been before, Grumpy would suggest that you do a little research on the locations, the tours available and then see if you can come up with good maps before you go. A day or two before each port, there is an information sheet with a map of the area delivered to your cabin. The information will list such things as where the ship will dock, history of the area, cultural attractions, shopping tips, etc. All very good... EXCEPT... most of the time the map won't give you a clue where most of those places are. Sometimes the dock location isn't even shown. The maps are just stock downloads from Lodestar Maps with no enhancement. There are usually better maps available once you leave the ship, but you could lose a lot of time trying to figure out your day after you leave the ship. One of Grumpy's friends that got on in LA asked the shore excursion office if they could provide any information on horse race tracks in any of the ports... No problem, it'll just take a couple of days to get the information... 35 days later... still no answer. Tours are a profit center for HAL and that might have something to do with the small amount of information available for those wishing to strike out on their own. Unless you want to use a lot of internet minutes researching things online after you sail, do your research before you go... Grumpy wishes he had done more...

 

Well, that's all of the negatives... Grumpy thinks you deserve his honest opinions... the positives certainly outweigh the negatives by a long shot, though.

 

Grumpy didn't follow the Ebay link, but did hear that the buttons were... what's a good word here... hideous?... No thanks...

 

Sjs79, Grumpy asked Liz about the monkeys and twix bars in Gibraltar. She stared at him for a minute and then said "I'll bet George told you about that"... Now Grumpy wouldn't identify his source... what good reporter would?... so she said she wasn't going to tell him about it... come on Liz, tell us all about it... no one here will pass on your secrets...

 

Ziggy7, you're in BIG trouble now... you've just incurred the wrath of THOUSANDS of Red Hat ladies... including our dearest Slinkie... with your comment about little old ladies... Grumpy has seen them in all sizes and age ranges... and HE sure wouldn't want to get on the bad side of such a fine group of ladies... better keep looking over your shoulder, Ziggy... they'll be looking for you...

 

This afternoon the movie "Cellular" was shown in the Queens Lounge. It drew a pretty good crowd... It's probably the latest released movie that has been shown to date... Slinkie gets pretty involved when she's watching a movie... should have seen her on the edge of her seat riding right alongside of Seabiscuit... and Cellular gets a little intense at times... it was a good way to spend a few hours of a sea day.

 

Aussie Gal, that tour seemed like it would give the best overall experience of the island. Slinkie and Grumpy are glad you think it's a good choice. The Prinsendam arrives in another 12 hours, so the Bali report should be in the next post.

 

Grumpy and Slinkie

 

[Aussie Gal]

Ziggy,

 

Thank you for the compliments. I do adore this part of the world and am happy to share any knowledge I have with anyone who comes down this way. I too would love to meet up with you and hope that one day we maybe on the same cruise.;) ;)

 

Jennie.

[Sage]

Grumpy and Slinkie,

 

Thank you once again for taking us along on your adventure. You have such a wonderful style of writing, and you are so generous with your descriptions. I wish you continued smooth seas.

[soccerfootballmom]

What a wonderful travel log :)

Hey Grumpy, if you need info about any of your future destinations, you know you only have to ask ;) I'm sure there are lots of people (myself included) who would luv to give you whatever info you need on future ports of call :)

[blackbird71]

Thanks Grumpy.... A lot of good information and ideas.

 

Stupid Computer Geek Blackbird71 :D did not think of going into his profile and turning off signatures and things on his 12 RSSC Mariner cruise. I miss reading this thread and other forums because of the download costs.

 

Enjoy.....

[LizB1]

Grumpy and Slinkie, still enjoying all your posts about your WC adventure. We are re-living our WC thru your eyes this time.

 

Am curious to know if the George Kowoloski trio is still playing on the WC...perhaps in the Ocean Bar?? He started with HAL back in the early 70's and has for many years been on the WC. If he is there please say "hello" to him from Liz and Earl from "Olde Cape Cod".

 

Enjoy Bali and then Hong Kong which I am sure you will love.

 

Happy sailing and calm seas to you and those we know onboard.

[divinggirl]

Grumpy--

 

Those fish you speak of that skim the water are most likely needlefish (pipefish). It's cool how they swim and then skip on top of the water for quite a ways. They are attracted to lights as well, on our recent trip to Panama we were on a houseboat, and when our flashlight hit the water we had three or four come flying (or I should say skipping) at the boat and one even thumped right into the side. There have been stories of fisherman being "stabbed' by skipping needlefish as they lean over the side of their boat. And they get quite large...Thank you for your wonderful thread.

 

Nikki

[Sail With Me]

Dear Grumpy and Slinkie,

 

Congratulations on day 50! Quite a milestone but it's not over yet....

 

So sorry to hear that you did not have a good experience dining in the Pinacle Grill. We have found the food and ambiance to be excellent, but our choice has always been the wonderful steaks and have found the price to be more than worth it. And that Volcano cake...WOW!

 

We are still enjoying all of your letters and wait anxiously for your posts. It sounds like the dinner in Pinnacle certainly has not put a damper on your fabulous experience and are happy to hear that the positives still outweigh the negatives. Making new friends and seeing new and exciting parts of the world make it all worthwhile.

 

We hope that you enjoy your stay in Bali. It should be a real treat for you both. Today is 345 which will never be seen again in our lifetime. We are off to a Holland America Cruise Agent weekend in San Diego to visit the Statendam, Ryndam and Oosterdam, and to try out lunch onboard all three ships. Sounds like a fattening weekend for us, but should be fun

 

Continue to have a great time!

[ChiefPurser]

Prinsendam 2005, March 4, Day 50

 

 

The Pinnacle should be a special place where the food and service is a cut above the dining room. Grumpy and his gang did not find that to be the case and did let the Pinnacle manager know that they were not pleased. Grumpy would like some comments from others that have eaten there recently... and he probably just blew that free cruise HAL was going to offer...

 

 

 

Well Grumpy... your chances are certainly lessened! <grin>

 

Keep up the great posts... it's the best and most honest feedback I've ever gotten!

 

You gotta know I've been lurking here! :)

 

Steve

[dakrewser]

Grumpster:

 

 

Sorry to hear about your poor experience in the Pinnacle, it certainly sounds like it wasn't up to the standard we enjoyed on the O'dam recently. The crab cakes were excellent. Not the best I'd ever had (those were in Windows on the Water in Morro Bay, CA), but very, good. DW loved the halibut but found the scampi a bit wanting. Our asparagus, though, was grilled to perfection. The steaks were outstanding. Surprisingly it was the desserts that we found less than great, especially the creme brulee (which is really hard to do bad).

 

Still, if you're looking for low fat, then a steak house is probably not the best place to go. So to relieve your mind, you can just forward any remaining Pinnacle coupons and I'll see they find a good home. :rolleyes:

[sjs79]

Grumpy-

 

Sorry my sister Liz wasn't interested in telling you about the monkey's... I'll just say that she had a twix bar and got attacked for it by a rather large monkey. The monkey won, and devoured that twix bar! Needless to say, she isn't a huge monkey fan!

 

As for the Pinnacle. We were on board the Westerdam in December and dined there twice (having a sister that works on board is a plus!) and found it to be a pleasant experience. We all enjoyed the steaks (the other dishes didn't look quite as appealing). We found the steaks to be delicious, but like you, were very dissapointed with the side dishes. In fact on our second trip, we opted to not have any. The appetizers were good (we all went with the high calorie clam chowder, (We're from the Pacific Northwest, what can we say!)which we all enjoyed!) As for desserts, I never experienced them (we decided to take our 8 month old with us on board, and the baby sitter could only watch him for so long) but everyone at our table ordered the creme brulee (with the exception of Elizabeth, who only eats vanilla ice cream) and loved it. Especially my husband who couldn't get enough of it! I am so sorry that your experience wasn't all that you had hoped for. My sister did mention that she liked the Pinnacle on the Vista Class ships better (I would have guessed they would have been the same?!) At least you enjoy the dinning room!!! I hope you both have a wonderful time in Bali (I've heard it is going to be WARM!)

 

I can't wait for your next post!!!!

[RuthC]

OK, RuthC and the rest of you chocoholics... you're sitting there wondering... did anyone try the chocolate volcano cake??... Well Grumpy didn't let you down... he didn't really want to... yeah,right!... but he ordered it... YESSSS!... it was delicious!

Knew I could count on you, Grumpy! Glad you didn't let me down.

And glad the Chocolate Volcano cake didn't let you down, either! :D Yum!!!

[2552phxcrzr]

Grumpy and Slinkie - thanks so much for sharing your WC with us. I am enjoying it tremendously. Not being retirees, it will be many more years before we get to do our WC -- unless we hit the lottery. But wait - to win the lottery, you have to play first don't you! Oh darn - I guess we will have to wait until retirement after all.

 

About those Gibraltar apes: my mom can vouch for the fact that they like cookies just as much as Twix bars. She came out of the cafe at the top of the Rock with an open bag of cookies and two apes jumped on her from the roofline - one grabbed the tissue in her hand and disappeared; the other jumped off and went after the cookies when she threw the bag to the ground. It sounds like slapstick comedy now, but was quite traumatic for her at the time. There's a lesson there - open food and apes don't mix. :-)

[dakrewser]

..can get very insistent!

 

 

:rolleyes: -dave

[KathieKata]

Great update Grumpy!! Tell Slinkie I said Hello and to keep her Red Hat On!! :p Wonder what she'll buy in Bali??? :rolleyes:

Can't wait to hear all about BALI!! Make sure to let us know the temps there! Thanks.

[BuckeyeGal1956]

Grumpy stated about the asparagus, "It was very pale, not green like it should be, not plump at all..."

I'm really sorry it was not well prepared, because the BEST ASPARAGUS I ever had was just what he described ... in Germany. It was called "spargle." Very pale (almost white) because it had been wrapped so that it wouldn't become the traditional bright green. And, of course, much more expensive than the usual kind we buy.

 

Did a Google search on "spargle" and found the following from someone's diary of a trip to Germany "...and had a wonderful lunch of Spargle (white asparagus), which was in season just now."

 

And speaking of the usual kind, right now it's a BIG item in Florida. Pencil thin, and Winn-Dixie was selling for 88 cents a pound! Along with my broiled shrimp had a big helping, lightly buttered with fresh lemon juice! Excellent.

 

Sorry about that, bro. Sounds like my "prawns"--not on a shingle, and asparagus was a lot better than yours!

 

 

 

 

[Aussie Gal]

We also have the white asparagus here and it is the most expensive and hard to come by. It is delicious though and well worth the cost.

 

Jennie

[Williebill]

Grumpy1 and Slinky,

Hello from Memphis. It doesn't seem like it has been four weeks since we last saw the two of you, but it has. As you probably remember, my DW and I had dinner in the Pinnacle while we were on board and I have to agree with your discription of the side dishes. As far as the rest of our dinner, the steaks were fantastic and cooked to perfection. I did try the chocolate volcano cake and I am still dreaming about that wonderful concoction. Stay healthy and tell Slinky that I will be watching for her next post.

[Ziggy7]

Knock ... Knock !

 

Who's there ???

 

Red Hatters !

 

What can I do for you ????

 

We are looking for Ziggy7, does she live here ?????

 

Yes she does, what do you want with her ?????

 

She called us old ladies!

 

Hmmmmmmmm your not old ladies ... are you sure your a Red Hatter ????

 

Well, yes we are sure!

 

Let me get this right, your not a senior citizen and your still a RedHatter ????

 

Yes, why ????

 

Because Ziggy7 was told it was a club for senior citizens and they all wear Red Hats!

 

Thats the funniest things I have ever heard and so not true! How do you know this is what Ziggy7 was told and thought ???????

 

Because I'm Ziggy7 and I meant no offense to any Red Hatter, especially a very nice lady named skinkie :)

Can you all forgive me ????

 

Well ok, but next time check out your facts and not make a fool of your self!

 

THank You!

 

Come on ladies, lets go back to our meeting, it's not going to be as fun now without Ziggy7 to throw food at!

[localady]

Okay I am bumping Grumpy and Slinkie's fabulous World Cruise log onto the front page again!! :D

 

It's a nice way to let them know that they are in our thoughts!!:cool:

[Cuttle]

Here, here, Localady. It is so hard waiting for the next post. I guess Grumpy and Slinkie are enjoying Bali by now. ;)