Circumnavigate The Globe in 123 days with Bill & Mary Ann - 2011 World Cruise

[2552phxcrzr]

I wonder if the "eyes" they sell in the port of Tampa have the same powers to them! They said they were from Turkey.

 

I guess it's all a matter of believing in them ... :-)))

[FoghornLeghorn]

Thanks Bill and Mary Ann...my students will love this!

[WCB]

Report # 98 April 10, 2011 Sunday Piraeus, Greece

 

Today's port of call was Piraeus, Greece, the drop-off point for excursions in Athens and nearby regions. We had docked early, so we went outside to check the temperature. It was surprisingly warm, even at this early hour. That would indicate that today's weather should be quite agreeable for touring.

 

It would take days to describe the history in Greece, so we will not attempt it, We have been fortunate to have visited this area on a number of occassions, so we chose an HAL tour that would take us north of the city to the Corinth Canal and the ruins of Ancient Corinth. The tour would take about 5 hours, and we should be back in time for a late lunch.

 

We had two buses for a change, since most folks went to see the Acropolis and other important Athen's sites. Our small group arrived first to the Corinth Canal, which is technically a four mile long ditch from the Ionian and Aegean Seas.The purpose of this canal was to create a shortcut between the two seas. It is only 70 feet wide, but 170 feet in height. Therefore, only small vessels can fit through it. We noticed a sign that advertised a boatride through it during five days of the week.. Our guide also added that there is a bungee jump from the bridge that crosses it. Would have loved to see that, but there were no customers today.

 

Where the bus parked, was a complex that had a store for souveniers, a restaurant, and bathrooms. The bad thing was that there were dozens of buses filled with other tourists and kids of all ages on school outings. We found it odd that these kids were here on a field trip on Sunday. However, our guide said that going on a weekend gives the parents a chance to go with them. That would be a big help for the chaperones for sure. Among the school kids, were older teens who have been known to be pickpockets unfortunately. Our guide warned us to watch our wallets and handbags, since they can move fast. We can happily say that no one reported any problems with robberies this morning.

 

We did get some good photos of the canal before the bridge got too crowded. One of our passengers mentioned that we should see the palm reader at the opposite end of the bridge. Actually, it was a concrete disc with a face carved in it. In order to get your palm read, you added the required coins, then stuck your hand inside the mouth. We wondered how many people really did this? We made our way back to the bus, where everyone was ready to go to the next stop.

 

The driver continued on the rural roads that presented nice views of snow-capped mountains in the distance. We made our way up to another hilltop, where the ancient city of Corinth was located. The original city was built in 44BC by Julius Caesar in order to place Romans in this isolated Greek area. Later in the 6th century, the Greeks built their city right over the Roman ruins. We began the tour from the top with the now familiar erect pillars that once held a monumental temple. Down below, they built shops and restaurants that flourished over the centuries. There was a Christian basilica on the site, as well as a Greek racetrack, and a sacred spring that fed the Fountain of Peirene. More interesting, but less mentioned was the old fashioned pit stop.....a slab of marble with holes cut into it. It was very public, and only used by men.

 

After walking through the ruins, we headed to the conservative museum, where we had an abbreviated tour through the rooms. As you would expect, there were headless statuary (the heads were in another museum), ancient artifacts used during that period, and a garden area full of decorative sarcphaguses (coffins) , and fountains. Once a group of noisy students filled the rooms, we exited because we could not hear the guide anyway.

 

Our tour did not end there. We had one more stop at a ceramic and statue shop a few miles away. This also doubled as a pit stop before going back to the ship. Looking at their beautiful items of decorated plates and pitchers, we felt their prices were extremely high. We doubt that bargaining would be acceptable here and we saw no one purchase anything. Well, maybe one or two people bought something small. Since we already have the usual souveniers, we sure did not need more. What was priceless here was the view of the sea below and the mountains in the distance. Our guide mentioned that many Athenians are moving to the outskirts of the large and crowded city to regions such as this one. Remember the Olympics was held here in 2004? Well, the transit system was expanded to these outer regions, making communting to Athens much easier than driving a car. This has enabled the outskirts to increase rapidly.

 

It was time to head back to the Amsterdam. Our driver took a different route so we could see the Acropolis from a distance. You had to be really quick with your camera, or else you would miss it. The ride back also took us past the industrial and cargo portion of the city. Many boats and yachts were sailing in the waters today, since our guide said the weather had improved greatly since we had been in port. Yes, we brought it with us from Turkey. But don't say that to a Greek.....they are in such a competition with them, it boarders the absurd. They just tolerate each other, since over the centuries, there has been much warfare between the two areas. Each claim to be superior, so this never ends from one generation to the next.

 

On the way back through Piraeus, we passed blocks and blocks of a local flea market. However, it was too far from the ship to walk back there, and we really did not need anything. So we headed for lunch in the Lido instead. Since it was Sunday, not much was opened outside the pier building. We did purchase a duty free bottle of rum and some tasty local pistacios in the duty free shop in the terminal.

 

We noticed many new faces at the sailaway party on the aft deck. About 150 people left today, and 60 or better joined the ship for this last segment, which ends in Ft. Lauderdale. Of course, that meant we had to attend the final muster drill for this world cruise. Since we are staying onboard for another 13 days after Ft. Lauderdale, we will have one more drill to attend. It really is much easier now that we leave the life jackets in the room. There is a rollcall at each boat station, so we had to be there.

 

We heard at dinnertime, that the entertainer last night, Simone Welsh, was flown in from Scotland for tonight's entertainment. She was replacing the act that was cancelled at the last minute. Everyone was surprised to find out that this flautist/singer was brought here on such a short notice. She would leave today for home, where she left her young baby with her husband who was in the process of packing for a big move. Since today was the third port day in a row, many folks did not attend the show, we heard. They were all exhausted from three days of touring. We can agree with that. HAL could have saved a lot of money, since all they had to do was play a new movie in the Queens Lounge. Those that did attend said they enjoyed her singing more than her flute playing.

 

Also today, the president of our travel agency joined the ship with his wife for a stay until we reach Cadiz, Spain. Ellen and Tom have been planning an itinerary for them which includes a chat talk, dinners in the Kings Room, and lunches with clients. We look forward to seeing them, because he is very open to all suggestions and comments, whether good or bad. That way, he has a chance to make things work better in the future.

 

Tomorrow is a much needed day at sea. Thank goodness!

 

Mary Ann & Bill

[WCB]

Report # 99 April 11, 2011 Monday Day at Sea

 

Ahhhh, a welcome day at sea...... finally. After three days of touring and exploring Turkey and Greece, we needed today to get some serious rest and relaxation. The Amsterdam had left the Greek Islands and re-entered the Mediterranean Sea, where we will head westerly towards the Messina Straits, separating the island of Sicily from the mainland of Italy. We should reach this point sometime during or dinnertime. Too bad we did not do this during the day, because it is very scenic cruising. The last time we sailed this strait, the volcano on Sicily was active, spitting ash into the air. That sure must have made the natives restless!

 

The weather was markedly cool today. There was a chillness in the wind, which picked up later in the afternoon, making the sailing a bit rough. We have stubbornly not given up on wearing shorts, counting on wishful thinking to improve the weather. We did find a spot on the upper aft pool deck where we got out of the wind briefly. Attempting to climb the stairs to go up to the area above the Crows Nest was downright dangerous. The wind was so severe, that it almost lifted our feet right off of the decking. No wonder no one was up there.

 

There were plenty of things to do inside the ship of course. One of them was a talk by Barbara all about things to do and see in Rome. We have re-considered doing the tour we booked in Rome, because we have already done it more than once. So we backed out, and have decided to check out Civitavecchia, where the ship is docked. We know that touring Naples for two days will be exhausting, and adding the third day with a long excursion is really too much. Different if we had not been there before, but we have....more than once.

 

The Director of the Mariner Society, Gerald Bernhoft, joined the ship in Turkey. He will give a presentation of the last 130 years of the HAL cruise line history. But of more interest to the passengers, is the unveiling of the 2013 world cruise itinerary. All we know for sure, is that the cruise will start and end in Ft. Lauderdale. And it will be going westbound once again. A printed version of the itinerary should be coming out tomorrow. Gerald also tried to explain the problems with their new Mariner tier program, admitting that it had not been thought out thoroughly. The large group of passengers that have exceeded the 200 day level (a 4 star Mariner), feel that each level after that, such as the gold and platinum levels should be recognized. Gerald said that they are working on it, saying that there may be new levels of the four star people, such as bronze, silver, gold, and platinum levels. That would be confusing, but at least it is a step in the right direction. How long this would take? He did not know. Just sometime in the future, hopefully before we all die. Ha-ha.

 

Our buddy Barbie, attended a President's Club luncheon today, where she received her long-awaited President's Club pin. That level requires 1400 days of sailing with HAL. Our tablemates, including us, were very happy for her. Funny thing about Gerald's talk today, he failed to mention the 5 star Mariner, all of whom are in the small group of the President's Club. One nice perk with this level is you get a choice of a bottle of liquor, wine, or flowers, every so many weeks.

 

Tonight's dress code was formal. According to our Know Before You Go Booklet, it should have been a Greek Toga Evening in the La Fontaine dining room. However, there were no decorations for that and the menu just said "formal night". The crew must have not had the time to decorate the dining room. But last night, there was a toga party in the Crows Nest from 9 to 12. We heard that there were not many people that showed up wearing bed sheets.

 

Usually, we have an officer or crew member join our table on formal nights, but tonight there was none. We did get the wine with dinner anyway. It's also nice to know that we can request a Coke instead of wine, since not all of us drink wine. One nice surprise was spotting Sicily's lights as we sailed through the strait during dinner. This point is so narrow that we have to board a pilot for one hour to sail the 10 miles between the island and the mainland.

 

And we had gifts left on the bed after dinner. This time we got two sets of medium grey fleece scarves, caps, and mittens...all in a fleece pouch that can double as a pillow to use on a long bus ride. Now, that's a bit of a stretch, but they may come in handy on the transAtlantic portion of our trip.

 

The clocks went back one hour, which was really welcomed. Getting up really early has been like going to work. It really has us reconsidering booking so many tours, especially the really long ones. However, we are looking forward to our two day stop in Naples, a new port for us.

 

Bill & Mary Ann

[WCB]

Report # 100 April 12, 2011 Tuesday Naples, Italy Day 1

 

Our port of call for today, Naples, is the largest city in southern Italy and also the capital of the Campania Region. The early inhabitants in the 8th century BC were actually Greek, accounting for the greek-style buildings, museums, and even the language used today. Romans conquered the area in the 4th century BC, although in later years, this kingdom was divided , becoming part of Sicily. It wasn't until 1860, that it became part of one of the states of modern day Italy. What we see today, is Naples or Napoli (Italian), the second major seaport in Italy, with Genoa being the first. The city is sprawling, and is built from the seaside up the hills, reminding us a bit of San Francisco, only bigger.

 

Gosh, were we lucky today in the weather department. It must have been over 80 degrees with a nice refreshing breeze all day. It was the best day for us to go on the short 4 hour tour of the old city. The HAL excursion we booked was called A Taste of Naples: Pizzas and Piazzas. We had a small group of 42, so the bus was not crowded.

 

Our tour began with a long drive just to get out of the pier area. In reality, we began our brief walk within a short distance from the port's gate. The first stop was at the Galleria Umberto, which can be described as four large buildings joined together with domed-glass (now plexiglass) roofs, with a huge spiderweb-like dome right in the center. In all four directions in here, were shops, boutiques, restaurants, and bakeries that lined the mall. The floors in the center had many beautiful mosaic designs done in small tiles.

 

Across the narrow street from the Galleria, was the Teatro Di San Carlo, a theater that attracted many visitors and students to performances. Today was one of those days, that scores of young kids were on field trips to this theater. Our guide told us that many groups of kids go on 14 day field trips with several chaperones this time of year. Just like in Greece, these students of all ages, travel to the famous sites before they have to study for May finals.

 

Continuing on, we walked to the front of the Palazzo Reale, or Palace, which has been converted to other venues now. Across the street from the palace was the Piazza Plebisito, where a huge church stood with columned and roofed streets that led to the church. It was a mini version of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. We did venture inside the church for a moment, but left since there was a small service being held.

 

Our group had been given some free time to wander around the area, eventually meeting at the end of the palace. Some had gone shopping, of course, while others tried the delicious gelato ice cream. Sure it was early in the day for ice cream, but there is always room for such treats.

 

The next drive was to Posillipo Hill for views of the harbor below. An added view was of Mt. Vesuvius and the island of Capri in the distance. Fourteen years ago, we took a hydrofoil boat to that stunning island for the day. We had been anchored off of the town of Sorrento for the day, but we never saw it. Capri was so nice, that we hope to go there again, perhaps next year.

 

Once over the crest of the hill, we saw a small village which happened to be the area where Sophia Loren, the famous actress, was born and raised. Surrounding the area was an abandoned steel mill, which had been shut down due to the pollution it was dumping in the waters.

 

We made our way along the mountaintop that was covered with very nice homes and apartments. Every one of them had rooftop gardens, most with blooming wisteria vines and citrus trees. We could just imagine sitting up on the roof, watching the sunsets every warm summer night, sipping some of Italy's finest wines.

 

Now the best part of the tour would come next. We were escorted into a rather small restaurant by the name of Toto. Here we were seated with some Cruise Critic friends and a new lady we just met. The expert pizza maker rolled out his cart to demonstrate how to make the perfect pizza. Naturally, he tossed the dough into the air, almost reaching the ceiling, just like we expected. He created the margherita pizza by topping the thin dough with tomato sauce, mozarrella cheese, and basil leaves. Then, he liberally poured olive oil over the entire top. It was baked in a wood-fired brick oven at a very high temperature for 60 seconds. Wow, that is one, hot fire. But it created the crispy crust and well-done bottom that we love.

 

Now we were just expecting a slice of pizza, only because our tour description said "snack". Boy, were we surprised when the waiter served each of us a 16 inch round pizza. Yes, one whole pizza for everyone. This was pizza heaven for us. Along with the generous portion of pizza, the waiters brought water, wine, or beers for all of us. Did we eat the whole thing??? You betcha, but only because we did not eat breakfast this morning. After this delicious treat, we did not eat anything until our 8pm dinner. And that was not all. They served dessert too. It was two crispy fried lemon-ricotta cheese filled pastries, dusted with powdered sugar. How nice was that? We all left there happy campers.

 

On our way back to the shp, we encountered a demonstration of some sort, where the locals blocked the road, and would not move for the cars and buses. It had something to do with socialized healthcare, and recently announced cutbacks that would affect handicapped people. After a 15 minute wait, and a little sweet talking from our guide with the local police, the crowd made a path for us to get to the port.

 

We were back to the ship by 2:30pm, and decided to take advantage of the warm sun on the aft deck. Our guide had mentioned that this weather was unusual for this time of year, more like summer, not spring. We sure were not complaining. Tomorrow may not be as nice. Little did we know how much it would change.

 

There were only five of us at dinner tonight. Ellen,Joan, Judi, and Barb had gone to Capri for the day. By dinnertime, only Barb came....Joan and Judi were too tired, while Ellen had a date with Tom B. and Deann, the President of our travel group and his wife to go to a local restaurant with their deck 7 guests. We were quite content to enjoy our entrees of salisbury steak and roasted pork loin. Dinner always moves quickly with a smaller group. And again, we were all happy to retire early tonight. We were all on tour tomorrow once again, and needed our beauty sleep more than watching the movie, Eat, Pray and Love, in the Queens Lounge.

 

We are looking forward to more exploring tomorrow.

 

Mary Ann & Bill

[cruiseman111111]

Thanks for the blog...I have been reading it since day 1...

 

We leave on 4-27 for Barcelona to board the NCL Jade for 15 days, going to Monte Carlo, Italy, Greece & Turkey.

 

To bad Egypt was cancelled...

 

Best Wishes...

 

Jim

[erewhon]

Again, I thank you for your reports.

Very interesting comments about the Mariner reward program.

[WCB]

Report # 101 April 13, 2011 Wednesday Naples, Italy Day 2

 

Well, here we are on the second day in Naples, with a 8 hour HAL tour planned to see Sorrento and Pompeii. As predicted yesterday, the weather took a switch to overcast and cloudy. Darn, that would change the prospects of getting the stunning photos we hoped to take today. We do have to remember that it is spring in this part of the world and rain is common this time of year.

 

Among the 31 of us on this tour, were friends Bill and Leta. Now we know the day will be a fun one even if it does rain. The tour description mentioned that it took one hour to drive to the picturesque cliffs of Sorrento. Ha, that was far from the truth this morning as the traffic got worse the closer we got to the mountainside. Of course, in the fine print of the tour was a clause saying that traffic can be unpredictable, and our patience would be greatly appreciated. In other words, it is like this everyday, so don't complain. We were too busy chatting in the back of the bus with Leta and Bill that it did not matter. But there must have been some crabby guests in the front of the bus, because our nice guide kept saying that it was not his fault, and he had no power over heavy traffic. We are used to such traffic jams, living and working in San Francisco, so our attitude is don't worry....be happy, just like the song.

 

The scenery on this two lane road became really beautiful as the driver started climbing the cliffs. Hairpin turns became the norm, with views of the sea and the cliff-hanger homes below. Most all of these steep hills were covered with old olive trees. Rolled up in long ropes, were green nets that are used to collect the olives when they are ready to be picked. They are simply unfolded under the canopy, then the olives are knocked off with long poles. Without the netting, all of the olives would fall down the cliffs to the sea. Pretty resourceful.

 

Closer to the town of Sorrento, we passed over an ancient bridge built by the Romans, still in use. These people also knew what they were doing way back then, creating a series of arches that withstood the test of time. Overhead, we also spotted a train that ran from Pompeii to Sorrento. It was moving at such a fast clip, we decided that would have been the better way to get to Sorrento.

 

Eventually we did get to our first stop, but not until the driver safely navigated our large bus through the narrow and winding streets of the town. We doubt that when this settlement was built, that they ever invisioned cars, trucks, and large coaches driving up and down these alleyways they call streets. Anyway, the first stop was a dual purpose one......bathrooms and shopping, of course. The name of the establishment was Cuomo's Lucky Store. We were led to the bottom level, where a demonstration was given on how their inlaid designs were created for the furniture and woodworks that were for sale. Sale? Really not. These items were gorgeous, but came with a hefty price. Naturally, they promised to pack and ship all over the world (credit cards gladly accepted). That was when Leta told us a story about a piece of furniture they had purchased in Thailand many years ago. Yes, they promised the same deal with the shipping. Only the item arrived very late, but not to Seattle near where they live, but to Los Angeles. It went into storage once it arrived, and Bill & Leta had to pay the storage fee to bail it out. More taxes were also due on the piece, something the vendor failed to mention at the time of sale. Once they finally received it, one corner of the table was broken. Now what are you going to do when you live halfway around the world? Call their customer service? Guess not. They did repair the piece themselves, but learned a valuable lesson about buying expensive things in this manner. Perhaps they just had bad luck that one time, but who wants to take a chance?

 

At this point, we were set free to explore the nearby shops and boutiques for about 40 minutes before meeting for lunch. We took advantage of this time to find two shotglasses, one for Sorrento and the other for Pompeii, to add to our collection. There were several small bakeries and food shops too. Wine and cheese are big sellers here, as well as parma ham, which we saw hanging from the racks in the butcher shops and delis. Pashmina shawls, silk scarves, and fun jewelry were priced right as the vendors had them displayed outside their doors. We noticed that it was starting to drizzle, but not bad. It was then that the sky opened up, and it poured cats and dogs for 20 minutes. Luckily, we had worn our waterproof shoes today, knowing that we would need them later in Pompeii. Umbrellas helped too. What a difference from yesterday.

 

We were all gathered together in the furniture store, staying out of the rain, waiting to be led to our lunch venue. It happened to be right around the back of the store, down a cobbled street, through a small park, and built under the street we think. It was a small place, but large enough to handle our group of hungry guests. A typical Italian lunch was served with fresh bread and red wine (or beer in Bill's case). The starter was a plate with two cheese and spinach cannelonis covered in tomato sauce. That was followed by plates of egg-dipped chicken breast, topped with cheese and more red sauce. Seasoned fried potatoes and eggplant in a tomato sauce filled the rest of the plate. It was so good, that all of our plates were clean as a whistle when we were done. Dessert was tiramasu, fingers of sponge cake soaked in rum, then topped with heavy whipped cream that was drizzled with chocolate and powdered coffee. It was delicious. The owner looked pleased that we had so thoroughly enjoyed the excellent meal.

 

Now we were ready to drive back for our much anticipated tour of the ruins of Pompeii. The traffic was still a mess getting out of the town of Sorrento, but it lightened up once out of the area. The only bad thing was that our tour through the ruins would have to be shortened to one and one half hours, since it took us so long to get to both cities. It still sounded good to us.

 

Old Pompeii was built on a knoll above the deep blue waters of the Tyrrhenian Sea. There was a problem however, because they built this city right beneath the active volcano of 3400 foot Mt. Vesuvius. In August of 79AD, the volcano erupted, killing around 2000 people that lived in the city. Nearby Herculaneum was also covered under a flood of hot mud, which buried and preserved that city forever. Our guide said most of the citizens were killed by the gases well before the ash and lava consumed the settlement. Gruesome to say the least.

 

We began our hike, entering the Porta Marina Gate at the lowest end of the complex. It was quite a walk up the steep large boulder-covered road to the top. The guide could not afford to go slow, since most of us would have stopped, and taken too long to catch up. We passed the remains of temples, baths, theaters, and markets. At the forum area, was a caged structure that displayed the castings of some depressions where people had been encased in the ash and lava. We saw some slaves, a couple of men, and a young pregnant girl about 17 years old. The most eerie casting was that of a dog, curled up in a fetal position, frozen in death for centuries. On shelves that lined the covered building were stacks of plastic trays, each one holding bones of a person. Artifacts such as pottery, metal chests, and cookware were also displayed on the many shelves.

 

Further up the cobblestone-lined streets were the homes of wealthy merchants. One of the largest homes had an outdoor courtyard with a decorative pool that was used to collect rainwater for cooking and drinking. Other homes had large living and dining rooms with the plaster walls decorated with colorful frescoes. On the way back down, we passed a common water fountain that was used for drinking, several small cooking areas used for a bakery, and their version of fast food service.

 

Navigating the heavily-stoned streets was challenging. Our guide mentioned that these streets were constructed for the water to run downhill towards the sea. Since they had no real bathrooms, everything had to flow down these streets. Large stepping stones were placed in the street, creating a way for the residents to cross without getting wet. There were only a few wider streets that could accommodate carriages with horses. You could see the ruts left in the rocks from their wheels of the carts.

 

This was a great tour, sparking our imaginations as to how life was back in those days. Modern Pompeii is built near this site, and is still in danger of another eruption someday. Makes one wonder why in the world they would rebuild here? But then, we think of the disastrous earthquake in 1906 in San Francisco. The city was obviously rebuilt, and to this day, is being retrofitted to withstand any future quakes. It is estimated that if Vesuvius erupts again, it has the capability of destroying 3 million people in this entire area.

 

We had one last stop upon leaving the ruins. It was a cameo shop across the street from the gate. Again, it was a duel purpose pit and shopping stop. As well as a large variety of cameo jewelry, there was also a nice collection of affordable Murano glass pendants and earrings. Took about 5 minutes to find a pair of black, silver, and white glass earrings, a nice momento from the city of Pompeii. The usual stalls of souveniers were set up next to the shop, but we had no time to check it out. If we did not get a move on, we would be late, and our guide said he would be fired.

 

It took about 45 minutes to get back to the ship, where we had 15 minutes to board before the Amsterdam left for our next port of Civitavecchia for Rome. We did leave a bit later than expected, because they had trouble removing the ropes from the pier. A large container ship had arrived after we did, and their ropes were tightly placed over ours. It took four guys and a lot of tugging and pulling to get the ropes off. One of the trailing blue polyester ropes snapped, being stretched beyond its strength. It sounded like a gunshot when it snapped in half. Very dangerous, these ropes can decapitate a person if they got hit with one. No wonder the fellows ran for cover when those ropes were being hauled in.

 

It had been a long and rewarding day, but we had one more event to attend this evening. We had been invited to a special dinner in the Kings Room with 22 of our travel agencies guests and Tom and Deann, the president and his wife. Tom and Ellen were our hosts too. We had a pleasant dinner sitting with Ellen and Peter, the ship's purser. There was no special set dinner, just the regular dinner menu for the evening. We were happy because they had fried chicken and steak for entrees. Doesn't take much to make us happy campers. By 10pm, we were really ready to call it a day. So, we did.

 

Tomorrow's port will be Civitavecchia, Italy.

 

Mary Ann & Bill

[WCB]

Report # 102 April 14, 2011 Thursday Civitavecchia, Italy

 

We were pleased when we woke up this morning to sunny skies and slightly warmer temperatures. Even though the daily newsletter had rain in the forecast, we hoped it would hold off until we left.

 

Originally, the plan for today was to take an HAL all day tour to Rome. But the more we thought about battling the traffic and crowds in Rome, the more we leaned to cancelling it. So that was what we did, and that freed us up to explore Civitavecchia today. And besides, many friends have had the best pizza in town, and that sounded great to us.

 

Civitavecchia is the main port for Rome, which is located about 40 miles away (about a 2 hour ride). It is quite busy with cargo and container ships, ferries, and cruise ships. Italian rail service connects the port with all inland cities, as well as the passenger rail system that is only a 20 minute walk from the pier. That is a much more affordable way to get to Rome we hear.

 

There is a lot of history here too. During the Roman era, this port was called 100 Warehouses. Emperor Trajan revamped the city in 107AD, adding monumental buildings and statues, revealing the importance of this port in the Roman Empire. Ft. Michaelangelo (designed by the artist) was erected near the port, a reminder of the days of lawlessness and warfare.

 

The nearby Archaelogical Museum has a collection of local artifacts such as glass implements,ancient embalming tools, and pottery fragments. There is even a spot in the central promenade street that is dug out to show the original foundations of the portal that led into the city. It is covered in glass so you can see the old cobblestones and pieces of pottery and plates.

 

As we began our walk, after being dropped off by a complimentary shuttle from the pier, we passed a McDonalds. Yeah, we know, it doesn't really fit in the scene, but it sure is a popular spot for the locals. For us visiting guests, we know that McDonalds always has bathrooms that are open for our use. We walked up some stairs that led to a marbled walkway around several apartments and restaurants that faced the harbor. Since it was only about 9:30am, not much was going on. The city doesn't seem to wake up until after 10am, when all of the shops and markets are open. By the way, most all of the stores close their doors between 1pm and 4pm. They open up again at 4pm and stay open until 8pm. We noticed that the restaurants did not open until noon, while the bars (coffee shops) are open earlier.

 

We followed the walkway that led to the Cathedral San Francisco, with 2 statues of St. Francis out front. There were no priceless works of art inside the church, but it was still impressive. We paused for a few extra moments while in church, because we had learned about the passing of a dear cruise friend, Millie, a wonderful 90 year old lady we have known and sailed with for the last 6 years. She had endless stories of traveling the world with her husband, who had passed away in 2002. She was particular as to whom she befriended, so we considered it a compliment that she chose the two of us. God bless her, she will be missed.

 

Continuing up the pedestrian zone which was created on the central main street, we found our way to a wonderful fruit and veggie market, along with a meat, fish, and poultry stands. Bakery stalls were selling the best smelling crunchy breads too. The locals were shopping early to get the best buys of the day. Near this complex was a flea market, selling all types of clothing, shoes, jewelry, purses, and everyday necessities. Between the two venues, there was no need to shop in a supermarket. We're not sure we even saw one anywhere in this area.

 

Walking back, we passed some highend stores, where we checked out the price on a simply made silk blouse. The price tag on it was a mere 650 Euro. That's a bit under $1000. dollars for Italian silk. Truthfully, we could not tell too much difference in the fabric compared to the pieces we purchased in Oman and Singapore. There were other shops that were much more reasonable, with familiar clothing lines that can be bought anywhere in the States.

 

It was getting closer to noon, so we went in search of the perfect restaurant for our pizza "fix". Most of the small cafes were serving pasta, seafood, and Italian specialities. Well that is except for Subway, which is also a big thing here. We must have read the menus of 10 restaurants before we found one nearer to the water. Having already walked for three hours, it was time to sit down and relax for awhile. They had several outside tables, which we would have taken, but it was much more windy by now, so we chose to go inside. Wouldn't you know it........most all of the tables were filled with Amsterdam people. Two of our tablemates, Joan and Judi were sitting behind us, while Barb was at the other end with friends Lee, Ellen W. and Sue A. When Barb spotted us, she threw her arms up into the air, almost knocking over a waiter. Seeing Barb convinced us that we had the RIGHT place for the BEST pizza. We ordered two 12 inch mushroom and cheese pizzas with the local beer. Needless to say, the pizzas were delicious, and the beer was great. The waiters do not rush you in Italy. They are in no hurry to bring your bill, in order to move you along. While we were waiting for the bill, a fellow came inside playing his accordian for the guests. Of course, he was looking for tips, and the couple near us did give him money. He stayed there playing a few romantic songs, then wandered from table to table. He had no more customers, so he quietly moved on to the next cafe.

 

Next to enter the small restaurant, was a peculiar guy who put a card down on every table explaining that he was deaf and dumb (mute). He was carrying a large bag full of small items such as a set of screwdrivers, a huge cigarette lighter, a little flashlite, and finally a plastic pig with a battery operated light on the inside. On his card, he asked if we could buy any or all of these items. We're not sure if anyone bought his treasures, but it was the first time we have ever seen this done anywhere. On the other hand, a street vendor, possibly from nearby Africa, began to proposition customers outside the cafe. The owner went after the man, who was twice his size, and literally pushed him firmly by the shoulders to get him away. The guy started to come at the owner, but backed off and left. The funny thing was that nobody else saw this happen, because they were too busy eating their food and drinking the wine. Looks like this type of thing happens everyday here.

 

When we left the cafe, we walked towards the waterfront where we saw more vendors with souveniers spread out on sheets on the ground. Having a pocketful of change, we used some of it to buy 2 almost real Murano glass pendants. They really are not bad looking for a few euro coins.

 

It was time to go back to the ship, since the skies were clouding up, and it was getting cooler by the minute. Perhaps rain was coming after all. The shuttle was waiting near McDonalds, so we jumped on and were back to the ship in 5 minutes. It took the rest of the afternoon to work on photos and reports.

 

All aboard time was 7:30pm, and we noticed that many buses were coming back really late from Rome by then. It was also raining by now, so there would be no sailaway today. During the day, our outside window framing had been scraped, and re-painted by two fellows in a scissorlift bucket. Hopefully the paint dried by this evening. Whatever, it is sure nice to be able to see out the clean window now.

 

At dinnertime, we heard many stories of the long tours in Rome, that took even longer due to the traffic jams on the freeway. It confirmed to us that we made the right decision today, but only because we have thoroughly visited Rome on three different occassions in the past.

 

We are looking forward to a day at sea tomorrow, especially if it warms up a bit as we head for Spain.

 

Bill & Mary Ann

[kazu]

Thanks Bill & Mary Ann - hope you were in time cancelling your tour to get your money back - maybe things are different on world cruises?

 

You should hit some decent weather when you get to Spain, I hope.

 

Thanks for continuing to share your adventure with us.:D

[WCB]

Report # 103 April 15, 2011 Friday Day at Sea

 

The Amsterdam is now sailing towards the coast of Spain, by way of Bonifacio Strait, which lies between the island of Corsica and Sardinia. The morning started out very chilly, but there was hope for more sun later in the day.

 

It was so nice to be able to sleep in late this fine morning, and enjoy a breakfast in the dining room. Few people were eating in there, since spending three days in a row in ports wore most folks out. This is always a factor when traveling in the Medi- terranean in such a short time.On our first cruise to the Med in 1997, we were surprised to see how quickly we went from one country to the next in 13 days. Back then, after completing the cruise, we went home and needed a vacation!

 

Besides the usual activities happening today, Barbara gave a talk on the two ports coming up in Spain, Cartagena and Cadiz. Cartagena is a new port for us, but we have been to Cadiz twice in the past. We can always learn new things by listening to Barbara' talks no matter how many times we have been there and done that.

 

Between 10am and noon, our hosts held an extended chat time on deck five across from the Ocean Bar. We always use that area to email, since it is less crowded than the library. Today Tom, the president of our travel agency, was also present to answer questions our other guests may have. We had a few of our own. Specifically regarding shore excursions....both HAL and our travel agency's. Somehow they have been interspersed with each other, and we just needed to clarify the whats and whys about them. We are hoping that in the future that our agency's tours can be independant from HAL.

 

A letter had been sent to our room telling us that the Nieuw Amsterdam will be in port with us in Cartagena tomorrow. It is the newest ship of HAL that was launched last summer. They are giving all of us the opportunity to visit the ship either on a guided tour or on our own. It's a great idea, but for us, we have a tour that will get us back by the time we are ready to leave. We do know many friends that are going to see her, so we'll get the scoop tomorrow.

 

Searching for an area on the outside decks that had some sun and shelter from the wind, we found one such place on the Sky Deck above the Cows Nest. There were few people up there, so we grabbed a couple of blankets and relaxed on the lounges for a few hours. What is nice up here is that it is quiet and you don't get the smoke from the stacks blowing soot all over the place.

 

There were only seven of us at the table this evening. Ellen and Tom M. had obligations to join Tom and his wife Deann, which involves spending time dining with them in the Pinnacle Grill. We do miss her, but we understand.

 

We're looking forward to a good night's sleep, since we have to be up early for our tour tomorrow.

 

Bill & Mary Ann

[musicismylife]

Thank you once again for your wonderful posts. I continue to thoroughly enjoy reading about your trip. Maybe one day I will see the exciting places you have been. I hope the rest of your trip goes well.

[WCB]

Report # 104 April 16, 2011 Saturday Cartagena, Spain

 

The port of call for today was Cartagena, Spain. The history is rich in more ways than one. Gold and silver were exported from this port during the Roman times. The area was sacked by the Goths, then later taken over by the Moors. Cartagena was a major naval base of Spain, as seen by the remains of forts, watchtowers, and old walls. Today the region exports natural metals such as lead, iron, copper, zinc and sulphur. Olive oil products, citrus, and vegetables are grown in abundance here.

 

These were the farms we saw as we began our HAL tour, which took us out of the city to the countrysides. Our destination today was a ride to the city of Elche, about an hour and a half journey from the pier. What has made this place famous are the groves of between 200,000 and 300,000 palm trees that grow naturally in this climate. In 2000, it was named as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

 

Our guide gave us much information on our way here, except using English mixed with a Spanish accent. She tended to switch words, such as melonwaters, when describing the fruits grown here. We were all confused until someone figured that she meant watermelons. From there on, we could decipher her meaning even if it was turned around for us. She was really a good sport working with our group.

 

We approached the old city by crossing a deep canyon , going over the modern-looking Bimil Jenari Bridge. Our first stop was at Huerto del Cura, a beautiful garden complete with hundreds of date palm trees, cacti, fountains, and ponds. The most interesting feature in this garden was a very old palm tree that had forked out into eight separate trees from one trunk. A series of photos of this palm had been taken since the late 1800's to the present day. The story behind the presence of so many palm trees dates back to the 8th century when the Arabs migrated to this country.

 

We had a tasting session in the center of the garden, sipping a liquor made from dates. It was more sweet than anything else. Along with the wine, we snacked on dried dates, figs, apricots, and a delicious candy treat made with figs and almonds. Even though it was early in the day, it sure didn't keep the folks from the wine tasting. They all figured it was 5pm somewhere in the world. Good excuse, right?

 

We enjoyed walking among the many varieties of palm trees and cacti. A nice addition to the gardens were wood ducks, pond turtles, and peacocks. As soon as we heard the calls, it reminded us of home and the 20 peacocks we have there. We hope they are not driving our sweet neighbors crazy with their mating calls, which usually commences with the sunrise.

 

There was a small stall selling plants and seeds, so we purchased some palm tree seeds to try our hand at it once we are home. They are certified to bring back home to the states. Another unique item we bought, was a keychain with our picture in it. On our way inside the park, a young gal had snapped our photos, so now we know why. It was a nice and useful momento for only 5 euro.

 

Our next stop was at St. Mary's Church, where our guide led us on a tour of the inside. What sets this beautiful church apart from others we have seen, is the ceremony that is conducted here in August. It is called the Mystery Play of Elche and is held on the feast of the Assumption of Mary into heaven, according to the Catholic religion. The assumption into heaven is displayed by a golden pomegranite tree that comes down from the highest dome in the church. Sparkling confetti pours from the tree, indicating the assumption. This play has been enacted every year since the 15th century.

 

From this spot, we were given some free time to explore the shop, cafes, or the municipal park nearby. We walked through the narrow streets, only to find that not much was opened. Citizens of Spain do not get up early. Their day begins later in the morning, with a light breakfast, then a small lunch at 2pm. Around 6pm, it is tapa (hors d'oeuvres for us) and wine time. Dinner may be as late as 10pm. We discovered this fact many years ago on our first trip to Barcelona. Spending two nights before we joined a ship, we went to go to dinner at 8pm, only to find no restaurants were open. We had to wait until 10pm, and still found that there were few customers at that time of day. No wonder the streets of the city were empty of people at 9am. They sleep late!

 

Anyway, we opted to explore the park, which had a large area for kids, gardens full of spring flowers, blooming trees, and a small restaurant. Many of our bus members had found this cafe and were drinking Spanish coffees and eating pastries. We circled the park, stopping to see some ducks, geese, and some swans in ponds. Since we had to meet outside this park by 12:30pm, we headed that way early, or so we thought. Stopping for a short time to drink some water, we noticed our escort running from the entrance to the back of the park. Obviously, she was rounding up some stray guests. What we didn't know, was that she was looking for us. By the time we went outside to the meeting point, no one was there. We had missed the time by 10 minutes, and thought for a moment that we were left behind. Let us tell you, that is not a good feeling. We could see some buses way down the street, but they were all turning the opposite way. Our best bet was to wait right there, where we knew someone would find us, hopefully. That would have been a very costly cab ride to the pier, and to make matters worse, the ship was due to leave at 3pm.

 

Long story short, our escort spotted us, waved, and came running to lead us to the bus. Thank goodness for that. She explained that it was not our fault. She had helped the older folks that were using canes and walkers to get to the bus early. She reassured us that we never would have been left behind. That was good to know, for sure.

 

The ride back to Cartagena took a bit longer than expected. We did see some interesting things on the way back, such as ancient windmills that pumped ground water to irrigate the fields in the old days. Most all of them are in ruins now. All of the fields are now irrigated with the more efficient drip system. Nothing is wasted. Another interesting aspect was that all of the vegetable rows were covered with plastic to avoid further evaporation. These fields of vegetables and citrus trees went on for miles, reminding us of the fertile valleys we have in California.

 

We arrived back to the ship about 15 minutes after the all aboard time. Thinking we were just in time for the sailaway party at the aft pool, we were disappointed to find that it had been moved to the Crows Nest. Perhaps they thought earlier in the day that it was going to rain. There were clouds instead of sun, but that had cleared by the afternoon. We stayed back there anyway, and took photos as we left the historic port. Perhaps if we visit here again, we will tour the city.

 

This evening after dinner, the Indonesians performed their crew show in the Queens Lounge. It is always a pleasure to watch these hard working guys and gals, mostly guys, sing their traditional songs and perform the special dances. Many of them come from Bali and Java, so the costumes are exotic and colorful.

 

We were hoping that we would have a time change with one hour back, but it was not to be. Sure could have used the extra sleep, since tomorrow's port will be Cadiz. It is located on the Atlantic side of Spain, and unfortunately, we would miss the sailing by the Rock of Gibraltar, since it will occur during the wee hours of the morning.

 

Bill & Mary Ann

[kazu]

Thanks for your report Bill and Mary Ann. Cartagena is a great port :)

[WCB]

Report # 105 April 17, 2011 Sunday Cadiz, Spain Part 1

 

The ship arrived to the port of Cadiz a bit later today at 10am. Cadiz, in the region of Andalusia, is a very old city that is located on the Atlantic Ocean side of Spain. There are many layers of history here, since several different peoples made their settlements in Cadiz. Phoenicians, Romans, and the Moors ruled this area, which can be seen by the several levels of ruins left behind. Columbus also sailed from this port on his second voyage to the New World in 1495.

 

On our first visit to Cadiz in 2001, we went to see the Andalusian horses that performed in a huge arena outside the city. On our second visit, we drove to the vineyards to taste the Tio Pepe sherry. So today, we decided to see the old city, and we were sure glad we did.

 

The HAL Cadiz Walking Tour and the Flamenco Dance sounded like a winner to us. We needed the "3 person walking" exercise, instead of a long bus ride like yesterday. Of course, we did start by taking a short bus ride to the town center where we were dropped off to begin our walk.

 

We began at the Palace, that had one of the highest watchtowers in this walled city. We walked through the very thick old wall which kept out the enemies centuries ago. The streets became very narrow, typical of Moorish design, our guide said. We paused for a few moments to view some large merchant homes with decorative balconies on our way to the Nueva Cathedral. An important thing to mention is the fact that today is Palm Sunday, a huge holiday for the Catholics, who are a majority here in Spain. We saw many stands where the ladies had fashioned religious articles made from the golden-colored palm leaves. Later in the afternoon, we would see the significance of these palms.

 

Our guide led us into the impressive cathedral, where we filled some pews to listen about the church's history. There was a lot of decorating activity going on inside the church, as well as outside the church. We thought it was for Mass that was soon to be held, but it was going to be for much more than that. We were led to some of the side altars, which are chapels in themselves, since they are large with pews too. One display along the sidewall in the church was a very heavy, elaborate silver-clad float, which we suppose have a specific name, but it escapes us at the moment. A collection of these floats leave the cathedral once a year, for a procession through the center of the old town. That day happens to be today, as we would discover later on.

 

Our guide then led us to a steep flight of marble stairs that took us down under the church to the crypt. This circular area housed several saints who were buried down here. One of the saints was in a glass covered coffin, her face made of plaster, but her skeleton was still intact dressed in her clothes from centuries ago. She must have been no more than 4 foot 5 inches tall at the most.

 

From here, we walked the narrow alleyways to the Mercado, the street market. This area was full of vendors selling flowers, jewelry, Spanish fans, shoes, belts, and purses. Since we had 30 minutes to explore the market, we ended up buying a nice leather purse and some more seeds...green peppers and blue morning glory. Everyone of our group arrived on time, a miracle in itself, and we continued our hike.

 

This time we found ourselves in a nice square that had a small garden. There was a ficus tree that was over 150 years old planted in the center of the square. Cafes dotted the plaza, with small tables under the tree for shade. This morning it was filled with local families enjoying the fine weather and local food on this Palm Sunday.

 

Now the best part of the tour was coming. Near the Plaza de Mina was a tiny cafe called La Cava. We entered through the conservative door to find a long bar, and a raised stage that was surrounded by small round tables. It was large enough for our group and a few more customers. Unknown to us at the time, they opened this cafe for our group exclusively.

 

We found the perfect table for two with high bar-style chairs at the back wall. This was perfect, because we could take all the photos we needed without bothering anyone. Waiters brought every one of us 2 drinks (soda, wine, or beer), a plate of French bread and crackers, and a dish with slices of cheese and ham. Another plate came with 2 slices of a potato quiche.

 

Once we were served, the lights dimmed and out came five performers...three flamenco dancers, a singer and a guitarist. What a show they delivered. The two colorfully dressed ladies each danced the flamenco, but when the fellow came on, he drew the most cheers and clapping by all of us. This dance is described as rhythmic, soulful, and beautiful performed by gypsies. When we thought they could dance no more, they kept going and going. What energy and talent. Yep, this was the highlight of the tour.

 

The time to leave came quickly as we enjoyed the drinks and tapas and especially the performance. Our guide led us to the waiting bus, where the tour continued for another half hour. The driver took us on a scenic drive that took us around the outside of the walled city. Since the old city is built on a peninsula, it is surrounded by several bodies of water....namely the Atlantic Ocean, Playa de la Caleta, The Bay of Cadiz, and finally, the commercial port where our ship was docked.

 

Once back at the ship, we relaxed for awhile, shared a sandwich, then decided to take a walk on the pier, or so we thought. We ventured further than we had planned, only because the sun was out and it was so much warmer in town than on the ship. We were not due to leave the port until 11pm, so we had plenty of time to take a walk.

 

That adventure follows shortly.....

 

Bill & Mary Ann

[WCB]

Report # 105 April 17, 2011 Palm Sunday Cadiz, Spain Part 2

 

Like we said, the pier was so much warmer, so off we went for a little more walking. We had liked the park we had passed on the panoramic bus ride, so that would be a nice place to stroll. It really was not too far, but walking back into the old town without a map was not exactly the right thing to do.

 

We navigated our way to the cafe where we had our flamenco performance, only to find it shut up tight. The sign on the door said it opened at 9:30pm daily. The price for tapas and beer with the flamenco show was 22 euro each. That was how we knew that they opened for our small group only.

 

The streets seemed to be getting more crowded the closer we got to the center of town. We must have gone too far down the street, because suddenly nothing looked familiar. The locals seemed to be heading in one direction, and that was towards the Cathedral. So of course, we followed to see what was happening. Remember we mentioned that it was Palm Sunday today? At home, that means that you go to church and you get a blessed cross made from a palm leaf. Here it is a whole different thing. We seemed to be caught up in the middle of a frenzy involving the actual parade that was about to commence.

 

We could hear drums and trumpets being played. It reverberated throughout the city, contained by those old thick medieval walls. The next thing we saw were groups of people dressed in long robes, wearing tall cone-shaped hats with hoods over their faces. They were following the immense floats that were being carried by strong young fellows out of the cathedral. The smell of incense drifted down every alleyway, because several priests were carrying the incense burners used in Catholic services. Each float had a following of purple, red, or white-robed and hooded participants that trailed behind. We sure would love to find out the meaning behind the hooded people.

 

On our way to find an exit from this melee, we passed a familiar souvenier shop, where we admired a white flowered shawl on our tour. Disappointed that we had no time to buy it, we found this a sign that we had a second chance to do so. Yep, it was a miracle due to it being Palm Sunday.

 

Oh yes, speaking of the palms. The articles made from the yellow palm leaves were sold to the locals, who brought them to church to be blessed by the priests. Once blessed, they are taken home to insure that the family has good luck and health during the following year. Everyone here in Cadiz must be very lucky and healthy since everyone had a palm article in their hands, especially the children.

 

It seemed that we were destined to stay in this town, because every alleyway we walked down, ended being blocked off by the police. At least we were able to get photos of every float that passed by, along with the paraders and bands. Our only hope was to walk towards the Atlantic Ocean side of town, and follow the road to the commercial port. We did finally get out of the crowd and the festivites, and found our way back to the pier. It's funny, once we exited the walls, we could hear no noise of the crowd, just the church bells that tolled every hour.

 

What an experience. At no time that we were surrounded by hordes of locals, did we feel uncomfortable or unsafe. Perhaps we did not look like tourists from a cruise ship, since we carried nothing or wore nothing to give that impression. This has to be the closest we have come to feel the heartbeat of a city, witnessing such a moving ceremony, enjoying it as much as the locals.

 

A flamenco show was being performed at 7pm tonight in the Queens Lounge...one show only for all. We missed it since we didn't get back until almost dinnertime. We wonder if this group was as good as the one we saw today? Somehow, we doubt it.

 

We did make it to dinner on time, but were glad to see that Ellen was back,as well as Tom, who chose to join us this evening. He had a busy day, since he had to take an unfortunate 98 year old man and his wife to the hospital here in town. He had taken ill during the night, and at that age, the ship's doctor would take no chances with a diagnosis. More than likely, they will have to stay here, and fly home as soon as he can travel. Since the ambulance was literally outside our window this morning, we knew another person had to leave. In fact, one of our reliable fellow passengers has counted the ambulances that have taken people off. They numbered 21. Some of these guests did make it back to the ship to continue their cruise, but many did not. Considering the advanced age of the world cruise passengers, it is to be expected to have health issues pop up. With only one port left on this world cruise, there hopefully will be no more to leave.

 

The sun did not set until after 9:30pm. We are sure to be getting a time change tomorrow, since this does not feel right. At this rate, we will be changing the clocks back every day until we reach Ft. Lauderdale.

 

Well, tomorrow is a much needed sea day. Then Funchal, Madeira.

 

Mary Ann & Bill

[WCB]

Report # 106 April 18, 2011 Monday Day at Sea

 

We are now heading on a southwesterly course towards the island of Funchal, Madeira. The weather has remained cool, but mostly sunny. It was a great day for walking, relaxing, and celebrating a birthday....Bill's. We had toyed with the idea of making reservations for dinner in the Pinnacle Grill, but we waited too long. Besides, there was a special dinner in there tonight, as well as the Seder Dinner in the Lido for the Jewish Passover. Neither of us like to make a big thing over our birthdays, so a quiet one at our table will be fine.

 

Barbara, our port lecturer, gave her last talk about what to see and do in our last port of call, Funchal, Madeira tomorrow. We have been to Funchal many times in the past, so we opted to take a short tour with our travel agency. Hopefully, it will be a nice day. Captain Olav did mention in his talk today, that the planned Mariner cocktail party for tomorrow night would be cancelled. It appears that a storm is headed this way that will produce waves up to 14 feet, which can created walking problems for the passengers and the crew on the ship. The party was moved to Saturday. That's a sea day, so it will work better for everyone.

 

The first reminder that the trip is coming to an end was an envelope that was on our mailslot this afternoon. It contained the information, tags, and ziplocks for our four pieces of luggage that will be taken off of the ship the night before we arrive in Ft. Lauderdale. Even though we will be staying on for another 13 days, we do intend to ship the four duffels back home with Fed Ex, keeping only what we need for the short trip to San Diego. According to the information they provided, we will only need to place the four bags outside our room the night before Florida. They will be taken to the trucks the next morning, and we will not have to take them through customs like we used to. That is so much better for everyone. As a result, there should be no missed plane flights and hot tempers due to the long lines waiting to get out of the terminal. Hope this works well, because in the past, going home was sometimes a hassle beyond belief.

 

Tonight was one of the last of the formal nights.......with a Roaring 20's theme. We didn't see many guests actually dressed in zoot suits or flapper dresses, but we did have feather boas and black top hats at our dinnertable to wear if we chose. Martha joined us for dinner, since Ellen was eating in the Pinnacle Grill and Sue and Laurie were at the Seder Dinner. Joan was ill, so there was just the four of us. Since we did not have an officer assigned to us, they sent the wine in their place. We finished the dinner with a nice, small and tasty birthday cake with the waiters gathered to sing the two birthday songs. These waiters seem to have so much fun doing this.

 

Formal night meant presents. We received two commemorative Delft plates with the world cruise itinerary printed on them. Of course, some of the ports we missed were still on them, but that seems to happen on every long cruise. Now we really have to start thinking about packing for real.

 

Also, the clocks went back one hour, as they will for the following 6 days. Works for us.

 

Mary Ann & Bill

[GmaPajama]

I can't believe this world cruise is winding down already. It's been an amazing journey, and I thank you ever so much for taking us along through your reports. I've enjoyed every single minute with you.

[WCB]

Report # 107 April 19, 2011 Tuesday Funchal, Madeira, Portugal

 

Well here we are, at the last port of call of the world cruise, Funchal, Madeira, which happens to belong to Portugal. It is named after the plant, fennel, which grows wild on the island. There was so much about the history here that we learned on our tour today, we'll save it for later.

 

It seems that Funchal is always on the itinerary if the world cruise includes the Mediterranean. If we did not stop here or in the Azores, also belonging to Portugal, it would be a very long seven days to cross the Atlantic Ocean. So we are grateful for the last chance to walk on land, so to speak.

 

The weather started out beautiful early this morning, with the sun out, and the skies clear blue. Even though Captain Olav said a storm was coming, we hoped that it would hold off until we left. That was not to be. Thinking positive, we left the umbrellas on the ship when we left for this tour. Duh....

 

One thing we hate to see is an ambulance waiting outside on the dock when we arrive. There was one there this morning, and we found out it was for a man in our travel group. He and his wife were headed for the hospital, because he was having heart problems. Tom M, our wonderful host, would have to pack up their luggage, since they were not coming back. We learned later in the day, that the man had a pacemaker put in that very afternoon, and he was doing well. Although, they would have to stay for up to 3 weeks before flying back to their home in California.

 

Anyway, our final shore excursion was with our travel group, namely, "Discovering Madeira". Even though we have done similiar tours, this one included the basket sled ride, which was exhilarating. There were just over 40 of us that boarded the bus after 9am. The driver wound his way through two tunnels to get to the waterfront shops, directly across from the ship in the harbor. Our first stop was at the local produce and fish market right in the center of town. This 2 story building housed vendors selling fruit, veggies, flowers and seeds. They even had a cage with three goats in the center of the market. We bought a few more packages of seeds for our deer-proof garden at home. Many stalls offered regional handicrafts which included wicker baskets, embroidered linens, and a huge assortment of souveniers and wines.

 

Off to one side of the market, was a large building that housed the fish vendors. They were in the process of cleaning and preparing the fish to sell directly to the locals. Among the fish were yellow fin tuna, long, thin eel-looking fish, and a type of local delicacy that is reportedly one of the ugliest fish in existence. It was all so fresh, there was not a really bad odor.

 

Next, we walked down the narrow, roughly cobbled streets to the fairly new Madeira Story Centre Museum. Once we passed through the gift shop (they all have them), we were given a virtual journey through the island's history beginning with the volcanic explosions that created this lush land 14 million years ago. Having a bit of a hard time understanding the guide's English, we were glad that the information was posted near every exhibit.

 

From the first floor, we entered an elevator that took us up to an nice patio. Some of the native plants had been permanently grown in planter boxes, including fennel, which our guide broke off to let us smell. We read somewhere that this island has some of the most diverse plantlife in the world, earning it a place in the group of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

 

On the top level, we toured through exhibits of the history of Madeira with the help of photos and physical displays of the sugar, wine, and trade over the centuries. We never realized that sugar cane had been grown here with the labor of slaves brought from Africa. When the islands in the Caribbean took to growing the "white gold" (sugar), the need declined here. Grapes then took over, where special wines evolved for trade. Bananas and fruit orchards also cover most of the island today, as it did back in te old days.

 

Finally, it was time for our group to walk to the nearby Cable Car ride, which would take us up 2000 feet to Monte. Six of us at a time, filed into the slow moving cars, which presented some of the most spectacular views of the city and sea below that you can imagine. This system opened in 2000, and has 40 cars or gondolas, for the 10 minute ride up. Once we exited the car, we walked right into the wind and cold. That was something we remembered from the past. And this was the reason that many vendors sell woolen sweaters and caps up here. And wouldn't you know it? Our photo that was snapped of us at the bottom, was ready to buy at the end of the ride. Another 10 euros. Been there, done that.

 

Once our entire group was assembled outside the Cable Car ride, we were given one hour to explore on our own. Since so much walking would include stairs and steep rocky trails, few of the group wandered far away. In fact, they went to the nearest cafe to sit and drink coffee for the hour. It probably would have been better if our guide took us on a tour of this area, as we have done on past trips. Well, that did not stop us. Since it was cold, we needed to walk to keep warm!

 

Right in front of us was the twin-towered church by the name of Church of Encarnacao. There were 68 steps to get to the top to enter this small church, so we were the only ones to go up there. An Austrian Emperor, Carlos the First, is buried at a small chapel on this site. It was nice to go inside the old, but charming church, not only to take photos, but to warm up a bit.

 

Below the church, was a garden to hike, but time was short, and we wanted to check out the shop in the nearby Cafe where our friends were having coffees. Along with the woolen sweaters and ponchos, were the typical souveniers from Funchal. We bought a useful colorful tile cheese cutting board, something we did not buy in the past. At home, we already have the woolen poncho, t-shirts, shotglass, funny hats with the top notch, and a Portuguese designed noise-maker. Actually, we saw a local man at the museum creating one of these instruments. It is a stick with native-clothed figurines on it with old coke bottle caps attached to make the noise. Very resourceful.

 

Now came the fun part........the wicker basket sled ride down the steep streets of Funchal. In the old days, these sleds were used to haul the workers in the vineyards down to their houses every day. Now, they are only used for a thrilling joy ride for the many tourists that visit the island. We all lined up, two at a time, to begin this ride. The only problem was it had started to rain. It was not heavy rain, but wet enough to make the fast ride more dangerous. So, the two sled guys that drove the basket with us in it, had to keep it slow. That backed up all the sleds behind us too, but better safe than sorry. This 25 euro ride for two are not covered by any insurance companies, we were told. But all of the local drivers said they never have accidents. We rather doubt that, because at the end of the ride, they asked for "beer money"!! Once we got out of the wicker baskets, more fellows had photos of us, complete with musical DVD of Funchal.....all for 10 more euro. Since we already have the photo and DVD we have never listened to, we said no thanks.

 

It was still raining, so we all took refuge in a small shop while waiting for our coach to arrive. Many sales were made here to our waiting passengers, except the items were higher than in Monte on the top of the mountain. The bus came within 10 minutes, where we gladly jumped on in hopes of warming up. The driver brought us back to the ship, where the all aboard time was 3pm. We had thought there would be time to walk back to town, but the last shuttle back to the ship was at 2pm, so we stayed home.

 

Because a storm had been expected, the sailaway party was held in the Crows Nest. The rain had not reached the harbor yet, even though it was cloudy and windy outside. We went to the back deck to take the last of the pictures of land before we headed out to sea. Many folks joined us, as we waved to the locals who had come to watch us leave. We think that late April is the start of many ships coming here on a daily basis.......a huge boost to their economy.

 

Captain Olav took us around the island for scenic cruising. That is, until the rain and wind drove everyone back inside the ship. Even though this volcanic island is only 35 miles long, and 13 miles wide, the weather can be different in every area.

 

Before dinner, we tried to send some emails. We were not sure if the rough seas would interrupt the connection, but it was still working OK. The further out to sea we got, the rougher it got. In fact, as we were walking by the library, we literally ran into our celebrity guest singer, Wayne Newton. He said hi as he passed, although we did not recognize him instantly. This is the first time we have spotted him and his family since they boarded the ship in Civitavecchia. It must get really boring staying in a suite on deck seven for days on end. We suspect that his performance in the Queens Lounge will be in a few days from now.

 

At dinnertime, we were experiencing 4 to 5 meter waves, which made it difficult for the waiters to serve us. It was dicey, but we made it through the meal with no wine lost (the main thing not to spill). Actually, this has been the roughest we have felt it since the Tasman Sea between New Zealand and Australia. When you see the white bags for seasickness at each elevator landing, you know we are in for a bouncing ride. None of our tablemates minded the rolling, because they like to know we are at sea on a ship for a change.

 

We were lulled to sleep quickly, and appreciated the extra hour we got back tonight.

 

Bill & Mary Ann

[waverley7]

I for one, am really really going to miss reading your reviews each day. The time seems to have gone by so fast since you started your journey. Awesome trip, hope I can get to do one of these one day! Thanks for the time you took to report everything, loved reading the history as well as your dining experiences and the ports! All of it was exceptional!!!

[chees]

First of all, thank you for the wonderful blog. I check it daily as I live vicariously through you both.

 

My question is -- why do you have an officer/someone join your table on each formal night? And if you do not have a person, then they send wine. Do they do this with many tables in the dining room, or is your table 'special' in some way.

 

My apologies if this sounds rude or if you have already answered this before, but just wondering. Our longest cruise was 20 days into Antarctica so we are not familiar with how the world cruises are different. We've never dined with the Captain or had officers join or table, since we take shorter cruises and I only received my copper medallion on our last cruise.

 

Seems like if officers joined all tables on each formal night or sent wine if they did not show, that they would be funding a lot of wine! Just wondering what makes your table special. :)

 

Regards,

Tina (and Randy)

[WCB]

Report # 108 April 20, 2011 Wednesday Day at Sea # 1

 

The Amsterdam has begun its long trek across the Atlantic Ocean with a bang. Or should we say with rocking and rolling, pitching and listing her way home instead of smooth sailing. Last night the wave heights did reach 5 meters, which is not the highest waves we have encountered. Try 55 foot seas on our way to Petropavlask, Russia? That was something to write home about, and we were glad to have made it to land after that night. So this was really small potatoes compared to that experience. Of course, we're not even half way yet, so we are keeping our fingers crossed for better weather and soon.

 

According to the TV sailing chart, we have traveled a total of 29,000 miles from Ft. Lauderdale to our last port of Funchal. That's a whole lot of miles. We think that we have another 3300 to go, which should take 6 days. Even though we have almost circumnavigated the globe in the last four months, it makes us realize that the world is smaller than we think. It would seem that way more so if we flew from point to point. As kids, we studied ancient history and geography, thinking that Europe, for instance, was so far away that we would never see it. How about Africa, India, Asia, South America, Iceland, the North and South Poles, Antarctica. Never in our wildest dreams would we think we'd ever be there. Yep, cruising is the best ever. Once the sea is in your blood, you are hooked forever, in our humble opinion!

 

After breakfast, we did some emailing. We had a report from Margaret and Keith, good friends that are currently sailing on the Prinsendam's Grand Med Cruise. Their stop in Alexandria, Egypt had been cancelled before their sailing date in mid March. However, once the travel warnings had been lifted, the Egyptian port was back on the itinerary. Margaret reported today that 14 busloads of passengers left Alexandria for all day tours to Cairo and the pyramids. Another 4 buses took passengers on a one night, two day overland tour to Cairo also. That left the Prinsendam almost a ghost ship, according to Margaret and Keith, who chose to stay in Alexandria and tour there. We are curious to see what the guests report about their experiences in Cairo, that is can we believe everything we see and hear on the news?

 

Speaking of the news, we have been without CNN and the other channels that are bundled with it. If memory serves us right, the channels have been gone since we entered the Mediterranean. We are sure there have been a lot of complaints, because there has been several notes of apologies in the daily newsletter from the front desk folks. Their explanation describes a situation that we are in an area where the reception is changing from the European footprint to the North American footprint. There will be no signal for the CNN group until we get closer to the North American coast. What puzzles us the most, is the fact that the other pre-recorded channels are showing mainly repeats of shows we have seen already in the last few months. Every world cruise has had this same problem, which we have voiced our comments about on every one of those cruises. Apparently, the ones involved in ship TV programming do not realize that so many of us have been on this trip for over 100 days. With all the TV programs that are available over the past 50 years, for instance, why should we have reruns? We guess no one is listening.

 

A new speaker gave an interesting lecture on cycling around the world. Wow, this fellow, Robert Lilwall, from Britain, actually took three years traveling from London on a bike for 30,000 miles. Unbelievable. His first talk in the Queens Lounge was part one in a series of six episodes. Besides writing a book on this harrowing adventure, he also had a show on National Geographic Adventure Channel in 2010. We shall listen to his talks while packing our bags.

 

Speaking of bags, we packed two of our large duffels today, since we had the time. It was so windy and cold outside, we could only walk a few laps on the promenade deck. In fact, signs were on the outside doors warning about the strong winds. That could be why we were the only ones out there. Anyway, we did accomplish the packing, and put the bags beside the couch and out of the way. We thought it might be a good idea to double check with the HAL luggage gals that just came onboard yesterday for our shipping questions. Assuming that the letter that came with the tags applied to everyone, we found out differently when our turn came to speak to the agents. They are telling us that we have to take our luggage off in San Diego to be shipped home complimentary by Fed Ex, one of our perks on this trip. That is not what we were told by HAL and our travel agent before we left home back in January. The Fed Ex agent said we had no choice in the matter. We would be required to go off the ship in Florida, but only with our passports to go through immigrations. Our luggage would have to go through customs in San Diego, with us dragging it there with the help of the porters. We really wished this would have been in writing prior to sailing, so we would have known ahead of time. Well, at least only two of the large duffels are ready to go, even though we and our room stewards will be tripping over them for the next 18 days. Even our four shipping labels had been printed with the wrong information. They promised to replace them with the correct ones when their little printing machine is working again. Yes, it broke down today for no reason. Since there is a group of 100 or so passengers sailing on the next cruise, these gals are going to have a lot of complaints in the next few days when the other guests find out the same info we did today.

 

The first Mariner Brunch was held in the dining room at 11am today. We missed it, since we were in the middle of trying to figure out the luggage mess. We heard from friends later that the menu was more like a dinner instead of a light brunch. Champagne was served with appetizers, salad or soup, a choice of two entrees, and dessert. The President's Club members had assigned seating with the Captain and other officers. The rest of the crowd could sit with whom they wanted and where they wished . A tile was given to everyone. Even though we missed brunch, Presti assured us that we would receive the tiles tomorrow if we missed the brunch.

 

Since we have not eaten a dinner in the Pinnacle Grill yet, we made reservations for 2 evenings on the next cruise. They serve the most delicious steaks in there, which we will appreciate more after the world cruise ends next Tuesday.

 

At the last minute, we remembered that the guest talent show was happening at 3pm. We got there just in time to hear the HAL Chorale deliver their excellent performance under the direction of Bruce, our Cruise Director. They got a standing ovation from the crowd after they sang. They certainly deserved it since they have been practicing faithfully for many days, and it showed.

 

Dinner was interesting with guests Martha and her new tablemate, Ruud from Holland. He had such a strong accent, it was hard to understand him. He probably thought the same thing about all of us too. Martha felt sorry for him if she left him behind with her elderly tablemates, who really do not talk to him. The meal was good too. We ordered the rack of pork, which was really a large serving of a pork chop. It was delicious with a fine madeira gravy and crisp vegetables. Funny thing with the air conditioning in the dining room. Remember in the beginning it was too cold in there? Then, something broke recently, and it was boiling hot. Well, now it is back to freezing, so go figure??

 

Five more sea days to go............

 

Bill & Mary Ann

[Georgiane]

Thanks for letting me come along on your incredible adventures. I look forward to reading your blog every day - not sure what I will do when this adventure of yours comes to an end. I think you just need to continue traveling to keep us all entertained...

[sparky-elpaso]

Thank you so much for taking me along - on a trip I'll probably never be able to take. :( Your descriptions of your adventures are wonderful - you could write a book.

[erewhon]

Thank you for keeping us informed each day of your cruise.

Hard to believe that it's time for you to start packing!!