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

[stylin]

Thank you so much for taking the time to do this. We met you in Kuala Lumpaur on the 2010 WC. Hope to see you in 2012.

[SJSULIBRARIAN]

Reading your daily log brightens up my day. Thank you. Looking forward to your 2012 journey.

[Bellair]

Hi Bill & Mary Ann,

 

Myself & my wife leave this arvo (Aussie for afternoon) on the Malaysian flight via Kuala Lumpur to Osaka/Kobe to join the Volendam to Vancouver....I wish you both were on it!!

Looking forward to your next trip.

Many thanks indeed for all the dedication you put into these reports.

Noel

[philly50's]

I'm suffering from post cruise depression now that your world cruise is over. I'm not a regular on the HAL boards, just happened to spot your post in the very beginning of your trip and got hoooked on checking daily to read about your adventure. Your writing style is so descriptive and each entry was exciting to read.

 

Like so many others I want to thank you for taking the time to share your experience with us. Following along in your travels helped me get through a long cold winter in Philadelphia.

[whereintheworld]

Thankyou for taking the time to so accurately report on your wonderful world cruise. Like everyone else I looked forward to reading about your activities everyday. Will be eagerly awaiting the start of your next world cruise.

Jennie

[KirkNC]

Thanks for taking the time to keep us up to date on your wonderful cruise. I felt like we were right on board with you.

 

Kirk

[WCB]

Report # 117 April 29, 2011 Friday Cartagena, Colombia

 

Today's port of call was Cartagena, Colombia, situated on the northern coast of South America. This city became famous in the 16th century, when it became the major port to ship gold and other products to Spain. Today, there are over 850,000 residents who have maintained the maritime and industrial part of the city, as well as the tourism industry.

 

We have been here too many times to count, and have done almost every shore excursion that has been offered. So we decided to only go as far as the cruise terminal area, and not through the port gate. Besides, it was hot and humid very early this morning, and it would only get worse.

 

The tour buses had left about the time we got off of the ship. Also with us in Cartagena today were the Sea Princess and Regent's 7 Seas Navigator, a ship we will be sailing on with friends in the fall of this year. She leaves San Francisco (convenient for us) and heads for Montreal, Canada, passing through the Panama Canal. So with three ship in prt today, the sites in town will be crowded for sure.

 

Our stay here is short, with the ship due to leave shortly after 1:30pm. That gave us plenty of time to wander around the shops and gardens pierside. On our last visit here in 2009, the main souvenier shop had some interesting jewelry made from dried calabash gourds that goes by the indigenous name of totumo. Yes, Colombia is world famous for their exquisite emeralds, but native-made jewelry can be just as interesting.........and you can afford a lot more of it. It took just a few minutes to find the right pink and purple butterfly necklace with matching earrings.

 

Coffee is huge here. One of the specialties is their coffee candy. So we bought a large bag of hard coffee candy to enjoy while we are on the way back to San Diego. This store was pretty crowded with passengers from both ships, so we headed outside to walk through the gardens. It's funny we missed this garden by not taking the time to explore here on the last stop here. Right outside the store was a small, but well-done aviary park. It housed the most colorful parrots, love birds, cockatoos, toucans, and flamingos. While we were slowly walking one of the narrow paths, a small toucan chased after our shoes to peck them. He was the smaller variety of toucans, and he must have been aggressive. We noticed that his beak had been cut to prevent him from injuring other birds and people. Since he was wing-clipped and running around loose, we decided he must have been a pain in the butt caged with his own kind.

 

The most amusing birds were the blue and yellow macaws that were busy fighting over corn cobs and destructively chewing the wooden window trim of the garden shed. Parrots need to chew hard surfaces in order to keep their beaks trimmed, or the beaks continue to grow until they cannot eat anymore and therefore, die. Boy, did that remind us of a bebe parrot that adopted us many years ago. If we let him out of the cage, he went right for the door jambs and window gaskets, causing a lot of damage. That is, until we found a nice new home for him. That darned bird squawked from sunrise to sunset, and we were happy to see him go. No wonder he flew to our place, obviously after someone let him loose on purpose.

 

This aviary led us to the entrance of the pier gate and the long line of taxi drivers. No way we wanted to get in the middle of that mess. So we continued strolling the nice, but small garden by the terminal building. Under some tall palm trees, were two iguanas busily munching fresh lettuce leaves. One was a juvenile, while the other was a big, fat adult. In Ecuador, these very same iguanas end up on dinner plates, believe it or not. It was getting warmer by the minute, which led us to enjoy the air-conditioning in the remaining shops. Most items were expensive, and there was no bargaining here. Perhaps in town, people would have a much better chance to buy those emeralds using their bargaining skills. Just not here.

 

We took our time walking back to the ship, even though there was a shuttle bus bringing people the short distance. Once onboard, we headed for the back pool with hopes of cooling off in the water. Since most people were still on their tours, the back deck was almost empty. A nice breeze was blowing across the deck, making it tolerable to sit there. We still have several bottles of water left over from our package we purchased for the world cruise, and we will have no problem using them for this segment.

 

We spotted Captain Fred sharing his lunchtime with his chief officer at an outside table by the aft pool. They both took the time to pay us a short visit, since we know Captain Fred from previous cruises. He is very friendly and equally as interesteing as Captain Olav. We looked forward to seeing them both at the special cocktail party in the Explorers Lounge at 7:15pm.

 

The aft deck was full of guests by the time we left, but there was no sailaway party held here today. It had been moved to the Crows Nest, probably because it was too warm for many folks outside. We did have music, however. Two large speakers had been set up to deliver some very good updated tunes........the type you would expect on a Caribbean cruise. We love it, because it gets the crowd in a good mood. Cocktails, beers, and sodas were sold by the dozens by the very attentive bar staff.

 

Around 12:30pm, the Navigator dropped her lines, and headed out to sea. They had been docked for only 4 hours, meeting their responsibility to dock in a foreign port before heading back to the USA, we understand. This applies to us as well. We dropped our lines as expected well before 2pm, leaving the Sea Princess back by herself.

 

We attended the party in the Explorers Lounge, along with perhaps 100 guests, some of which were the leftovers from the world cruise. The usual drinks of champagne, wine, and juices were offered, but we ordered our favorites of Jack Daniels and rum and coke. By the end of the party, our friendly bar fellows had brought us three drinks each, without us asking. We chatted wth Char, the future cruise consultant, Rico, the culinary manager on this trip, and Frisco, the chief officer who has been with us since Singapore. He looks so young, but will surely be vying for a Captain's position someday.

 

Dinner was a special occassion this evening. There was a celebration of the 100th ship for the Carnival Corporation. This happened because the newest ship for the Carnival Line fleet, the Carnival Magic, entered the family today. We were surprised to find that AIDA Cruises and Ibero Cruceros have been acquired, making Carnival Corporation 10 cruise lines strong. A huge (not real) cake was displayed in the center of the lower dining room. It was layered in the shape of a ship, with every cruise line represented on it. Along with the special "real" cake for dessert this evening, champagne was poured for all, where we toasted with the 227,000 guests who are sailing on the 10 lines worldwide........the largest champagne toast while at sea.

 

It just happened to be the 60th anniversary for our nice couple, Janet and Larry, our tablemates. Their kids had treated them to a special whipped cream/strawberry-filled cake for this special anniversary. Larry had also brought his welcome bottle of champagne to share with us, but our wine steward held it for another night, since the bubbly was complimentary tonight. We all felt priviledged to share this special occassion with them. Judi even ran back to her room to get her camera to take some photos for them. How many people nowadays will ever reach that number of years married?

 

Walking the promenade deck after dinner, we noticed a ship was following us, and would soon overtake our position. We suspected that it might be the Princess ship, since she was also heading the same direction we were.

 

Looking forward to the sailing of the Panama Canal early tomorrow morning. It will be a deja vu moment!

 

Mary Ann & Bill

[Evolus]

Report # 116 April 28, 2011 Thursday Day at Sea

 

We put the clocks back one hour last night, which leaves us just 2 more hours to be back on Pacific Time. Another reminder that we are nearing home in the San Francisco Bay Area pretty soon.

 

The seas were pretty choppy as we sailed between the islands of Cuba, Haiti, and Jamaica during the evening hours. In fact, we overheard some new guests, a little green around the gills, complaining about the ship's movement. We have experienced much worse over the years, and lucky for us, it does not bother us.

 

Breakfast in the dining room this morning was more organized as the staff is dealing with far higher numbers of guests choosing to dine there. Over 300 passengers were fed in there this morning, according to one of the Pinnacle girl waiters.

Of course, the service and food are so good there, why not?

 

There were many activities happening today, one of which was a Pre-Colombian Culture Jewelry presentation in the Queens Lounge. The talk was followed up with the unveiling of the collection in the ships store. We had taken our own sneak peek of the jewelry last night, assisted by Delic, one of the friendliest sales girls on the ship. We've had our eye on a necklace that has been on display for the entire world cruise. Nothing in the special collection from Colombia could hold a candle to this piece, which was a three-stranded freshwater pearl and turquoise necklace. And to sweeten the deal, it went on sale the day we left Ft. Lauderdale. Having done some homework on these pearls at home, we knew this was a deal that we could not pass up. It was a good way to use up some shipboard credit that could not be cashed out at the end of the cruise.

 

There was an invitation for another Mariner guest wine tasting at 2pm in the dining room. If we drank wine, we could order a navigator or admiral package now with a 50% loyalty discount. It is a nice perk for the wine lovers among us. However, we passed on the invite once again.

 

By going to the pool later around 1pm, we found that many of the "lounge lizards" had gone to lunch. The wind was still blowing strongly, but the sun made it worth the while. Just about all of the newbies are red to crimson with sunburns. We had to laugh when several friendly folks asked how we got our tans. When we said we have been onboard since January, they looked at us like we came from Mars. Oh, you're some of those that sailed onwards. Which then leads to many questions about the trip, which we don't mind sharing. Hey, the more people that are interested in such a long trip should be good for Carnival stockholders right?

 

At 2:30pm, Matt, our DJ, summoned willing passengers to participate in pool games. Surprisingly, it took him some time to coax 10 people to do this on a moment's notice. Since you never know what to expect in these games, most people shy away from it, including us. Three contests were involved, all relay-type games. The first one included a large apple being passed to each other under their chins, no hands allowed......very funny when it is done between strangers. One team never got the apple passed at all. The next one had people blowing up a balloon, swimming the pool's length with the balloon in teir teeth, then passing it to the next one in line. The same team won again. Now came the best one........the frozen water t-shirt pass. Yes, that is super large t-shirts, that was soaked in a bucket of ice water, then put on the first set of swimmers. They jumped in the shallow end and raced back and forth, where they took off the shirts and put it on the next swimmers. Well, it was all very amusing until one young lady almost lost the top of her swimsuit along with the t-shirt. We can only guess what Matt, the DJ, actually saw because she was facing him, and not the crowd when the accident happened. When Matt yelled, "I love this job" over and over, we knew for sure what he saw. The embarrassed gal was a good sport and continued on with the game. We think her team came close to winning again, even though Matt called it a draw. He awarded all of them an HAL insulated drink cup, which was guaranteed to keep hot drinks cold and cold drinks hot. OK, anything for a laugh. This type of frivolity would seldom happen on a grand world voyage, but it did seem to entertain the crowd back there today. And remember, the more folks that are out in the hot sun, perhaps the more drinks they will sell. The roaming bartenders worked the crowd all afternoon, serving many cocktails and ice cold beer. A win-win for everyone.

 

We skipped lunch, because we had our first reservation in the Pinnacle Grill tonight. Cooling off for a while in our room, we watched a good action movie, The Tourist. It was a rerun, but we managed to miss it the four times it has been shown.

 

Dinner at 8pm was marvelous in the busy Pinnacle Grill restaurant. The friendly waitress mixed a caesar salad tableside while we watched. It was far fresher with way less dressing than you get in the dining room. We both ordered the bone-in ribeye steaks, with button mushrooms, sauted onions, and one baked potato for two. The sauces on the side were great.....sun-dried tomato and horseradish-mustard. We did a fairly good job of finishing our plates, saving a bit of room for ice cream and bread pudding. Never being rushed, we were finished by 9:30pm.

 

We did a few laps around the promenade deck, until the mist from the waves started getting us too wet. A few stray birds were actually flying alongside the ship, an indication we must be nearing land. We should be arriving to Cartagena around 6:30am, and we rather doubt we will be up to see the sail in.

 

There was a surprise gift on our bed this evening. It was one HAL bag, however it was not the typical beige canvas bag, but a waterproof navy blue tote bag. This bag may be more useful for going to the pool or the beach.

 

On a side note, we'd like to thank everyone on Cruise Critic for your wonderful comments. It's been a pleasure for us to document this trip, even though we bury everyone with the details. But it's the details we wish to recall for future trips, a diary of sorts, which we hope to enjoy reading years later.

 

Mary Ann & Bill

 

Hi Bill & Mary Ann: We have so enjoyed your blogs and look forward to meeting you on WC2012. The Bay Area east of the Caldecott is warming up nicely for your return. They project 80's next week so should be pleasantly warm for your return. Enjoy the rest of your trip. Chuck and Marilyn - Danville

[windsor26]

Bill and Mary Ann I have been enthralled by your posts and as we have never cruised HAL given us a possible interest. Things - particularly in the dining room seem so much different to Princess P&O and RCI.

I will put a world cruise or my bucket list but will not hold my breath :p:D

[WCB]

Report # 118 April 30, 2011 Saturday Panama Canal Transit

 

Well, here we go again....transiting the Panama Canal for the second time this year. It is difficult to believe that it has been almost four months since we began the Grand World Voyage by sailing through the canal. We can report that nothing has changed, except it is much hotter today than it was in January.

 

As a reminder of that, we all received a detailed letter describing heat exhaustion and heat stroke last night, so we would be prepared for today. Among the usual advise to drink plenty of fluids, we were warned not to take seasick pills or wear the "scope patch" that helps prevent seasickness. These drugs can impair the body's ability to sweat properly, which we did not know. It was recommended not to spend any more than 30 minutes in the sun without going indoors to cool off. Liberal use of sunscreen is a must in this part of the world also.

 

This canal is considered a masterpiece of engineering, possibly the Eight Wonder of the Modern World. It shortens the trip around South America by 7000 miles. The history behind the construction is racked with drama and tragedy, due to thousands of deaths from yellow fever and malaria. The French were unable to complete the canal but the US did, by purchasing the rights and properties from them for $40 million. In 1999, the government of Panama was granted full authority of the enterprise.

 

We had the distinct pleasure of having an excellent local narrator, Edgar Paulk, who delivered interesting and useful information all day long. Having transited the canal many times in the past, Edgar was the first narrator who did such a good job. Even though all of the narrators we have heard before spoke English, some were better than others. Edgar was the best. And we told him that when we happened to take the elevator down with him and his team as they were leaving the ship. He thanked us and smiled from ear to ear.

 

By the time we woke up, we had just entered the first set of locks at Gatun. Opening our drapes, we saw nothing but darkness darkness and the side of the concrete wall of the lock just inches from our window. How weird was that? Eventually, as the lock filled with water, the ship rose to the next level, and we had daylight again. This process wpuld be repeated with each set of locks until we reached the Pacific Ocean.

 

Here are a few amazing facts about the canal. During the early construction days, over 200 million cubic meters of material were removed. If all of this material (rock, soil, etc.) were placed on railroad flatcars, it would circle the globe four times. Wow. The canal opened for traffic on August 15, 1914, and in September of 2010, the millionth mark was reached with the crossing of the carrier Fortune Plum. New locks are in the process of construction now, with a completion date in 2014. The new canal locks will be 427 meters long and 55 meters wide, the size of four football fields. As well as the new locks being made, they will also have to deepen and widen Gatun Lake and the Culebra Cut, the narrowest part of the canal. At that point when all the work is completed, this waterway will be able to double its capacity to handle the shipping traffic and the increasing demand of worldwide trade.

 

Currently, 14,000 vessels transit the canal annually, and it takes over 9500 men and women to run the operation. We never fully understood how each vessel was charged for this transit. Our narrator explained it well today. Container ships are charged according to how many containers they carry at the time. Passenger ships are charged by the number of berths each ship has, regardless if they are occupied or not. A large cruise ship could pay as much as $375,000, while the cargo ships can pay $1 million. In the past, we heard that the fee had to be paid in cash. Wish we thought to ask the narrator before he left the ship.

 

We found the perfect spot to watch the transit.......at the aft pool. Actually, it was so warm and humid, we spent much of that time in the swimming pool. It was much hotter today than it was back in January for sure. At least then, we had a few brief showers keeping things cooler. Around 1:30pm, DJ Matt, asked everyone to get out of the pool, so he could conduct the "Swim through the Panama Canal" contest. The passengers in the pool really did not like getting out, but we are sure they signed up to qualify for the certificate that went with the swim. The only difference was that Matt added a large glass of real canal water to make it authentic. It was murky brown and quite disgusting looking. Sure looked like a coffee/milk concoction to us.

 

Around 6pm, we had reached the end of the Panama Canal, and watched the modern city of Panama City disappear on the horizon. From this point, we would eventually turn northwest towards our next scenic sailing of the Golfo Dulce in Costa Rica tomorrow afternoon.

 

The dinner service has been going so smoothly, that we are finished eating shortly after 9pm most nights. Since the evening shows are before dinner at 7pm, the only activities offered afterwards are the bars, casino, and this evening....Dancing Under the Stars on the Lido Deck. With the dance hosts no longer onboard, it's not as much fun for the single ladies.

 

As for us, we took a stroll on the promenade after dinner, to find there were several couples doing the same. It was still warm and humid, but the breeze held a hint of coolness to it.

 

Eight more days left, and we will be heading home........

 

Mary Ann & Bill

[WCB]

Report # 119 May 1, 2011 Sunday Cruising Golfo Dulce, Costa Rica

 

Technically, today is a day at sea, with the special treat of scenic cruising in the Golfo Dulce in Costa Rica. As soon as the Amsterdam entered the gulf, Barbara our port lecturer, delivered an interesting narration while we sailed in this large bay. We reached this particulary beautiful spot shortly before 1pm. Even though we have seen this gulf many times, it is still thrilling to see nature at work.

 

Costa Ricans have had the insight to protect such pristine areas such as this one, where hotels, restaurants, and luxury resorts could have been built. As it stands, there are few roads to this spot. It is mainly accessed by boat. There were a couple of spots where some huts are built, but they blend in with the trees so well if you blinked, you missed them. The closest settlement is Golfito with a population of 35,000. It is completely out of sight from the gulf, and was at one time, a banana port. Today, they export palm oil from there, using a road that joins the Pan-American Highway.

 

The hillsides were green with a tropical rainforest. They get a whole lot of rain annually, measured in feet, not inches. Cougars, birds, insects, jaguars, crocodiles, sloths, and a large variety of snakes live in these forests. One of the most lethal of these snakes, the fer-de-lance, is among this group of reptiles.

 

We were treated with a sighting of a school of small dolphins, that skimmed the surface in the wake of the ship. They appeared to be playing with the vessel, darting under us and around the bow as we slowly sailed towards the end of the bay.

 

The only birds we spotted were swallows, although we had noticed that on the way here this morning, we had many boobys flying and diving around the ship. They are such pros at diving for food. When something edible is spotted, they fold their wings tight to their bodies, and dive like rocks, hitting the water in seconds.

 

We secured the perfect spot for viewing this scenic cruise.......on lounges at the railing of the aft pool deck, of course. Not too many passengers were willing to stay back there very long. It was hot, with few breezes. Keeping wet was the only way to survive the heat. And if you could stand at the side railing, you picked up those nice cooling breezes for a while.

 

Around 4pm, the immigrations officials were picked up by a small boat and taken back to shore. They had come on the ship earlier to clear the crew and passengers before we reached the port of Puntarenas tomorrow. What a good idea, since none of the tours would be delayed due to immigration problems, and those who were not on a tour, could leave the ship as soon as it docked.

 

This evening was formal again, and we had company at our table. A young junior officer, Paul, and his lovely friend Stacey, joined us. We understand that Paul's job involved working in the engine room. Stacey, a dancer from an HAL cast, is just on the ship as a passenger, not working, but having fun instead. She joined ths ship in Florida, and will be leaving in San Diego like us. Speaking of San Diego, we got an updated notice that it is possible that our debarkation may be delayed until 11am. Something having to do with clearing everyone with the customs and immigrations officials may take more time than usual. Why, we asked? Not everyone is getting off in San Diego, although we are not sure what the actual number of passengers debarking is. Some of the crew is also slated to go home to the Philippines and Indonesia in San Diego. Now we are nervous, because our flight is at 1:15pm. And remember, we have to get all of our luggage through the line, then four of the large pieces will have to be dropped off at the Fed Ex truck. That will not leave too much time to get to the airport two hours prior to our flight. The good news is that the airport is only 3 miles away from the pier. No sense worrying about it....there is nothing we can do to change things at this point in time.

 

Anyway, the show this evening was at 7pm for our second seaters. It was called Ballroom Rush, a quick change duo extravaganza. We did not attend, but our tablemates said that they were entertaining.

 

The pillow animals have appeared once again since the start of this re-positioning cruise. That, and the extra hour back, were the only presents we got tonight. Another reminder that the Grand Voyage is over.

 

We had a huge surprise when we returned to our room and turned on the TV.....the news about the world's worst terrorist, Bin Laden was dead. This will be one of those huge events that we will always remember where we heard the news. And to be sure, it will be the talk of the passengers and crew for days to come.

 

Bill & Mary Ann

[WCB]

Report # 120 May 01, 2011 Monday Puntarenas, Costa Rica

 

Puntarenas, Costa Rica, was our port of call for today. Even though Puntarenas is the main shipping port for the country, the town itself is relatively small, with little in the way of historical interest. That is probably why all of the shore excursion today involved a ride out of town. Most of them are long ones, with drives up into the mountains to San Jose, two hours out of the port. We have taken every tour offered here, and have enjoyed most of them. But today, we chose to stay back on the ship, and take a walk around town and the beach before noon. It was going to be one darned hot day out there for sure.

 

Regent's Navigator pulled along the pier opposite us while we were eating breakfast. Captain Fred was absolutely right when he told us she would be following us through the Panama Canal two days ago, and would be docking here as well. Many buses were lined up on the pier to take them on their complimentary tours. Unlike us on the Amsterdam, most of their excursions are free. Of course, their fares are much steeper too, since they are "all inclusive". This coming September, we have a cruise booked on the Navigator, which leaves out of San Francisco. We are looking forward to being "spoiled" when we join that ship.

 

We took a short walk on the promenade deck mostly to take some photos of the sandy point that Puntarenas is built on. The waters of the sea were deep blue, with steep mountaintops covered with fluffy white clouds. We can see why most of the buses took passengers up into these mountains.....it is so much cooler up there, evening raining, while it remains very hot here on the coast.

 

Several of the crew members were getting ready to drop platforms over the side of the ship to paint for the time we were in port. It was so unbelievably hot it would be torture to be painting today. However, these fellows take pride in their work, and more than likely work in shifts. One of the fellows told us a story about a passenger who dropped a baited fishing line from his balcony on one trip while the ship was docked. He actually got a fish hooked, and began hauling it up, when an officer spotted this action from the side platform of the navigation deck. Guess there are rules about doing that, because someone immediately went to his room to stop him. Gosh, you can't have any fun on this ship!! This crew member told us if they were caught doing this, they would get a one-way ticket home from the Captain.

 

Loaded with bottles of water, we finally made our way off of the ship. There was a little train-style transfer from the ship to the pierside, which worked well for transporting many folks in this oppressive heat. We enjoyed walking this bridge just to see the numerous fish swimming under it.

 

It took about one hour to walk through the tiny stalls set up along the almost abandoned stretch of beach. Perhaps it was too early in the day for the locals to come out, and besides, it was a Monday and the kids were in school.

 

Two years ago, while on a tour in Costa Rica, we had admired a wooden ice bucket they had for sale. It was made with their numerous varieties of hardwood, and were very nice. However, at the time, the one we wanted had no handle, and the vendor still wanted $50. We have kept an eye out for these ice buckets ever since. And we found one today. It was identical to the one we liked, and it even had a handle. But the best part, was it was only $20. Of course, we bought it. Now we have to figure out how to get it back home in one piece without hand-packing it on the plane.

 

It would have been great to take a stroll on the walkway along the beach, but there was little shade and it was getting hotter. So we slowly made our way back to the ship and the life-saving air-condioning. The ship was due to leave after 3:30pm, so we headed for the pool until it was time for the sailaway party.

 

Many of the crew members were back at the aft pool, sunning and swimming for their short time off. Among them, was Captain Fred, who quietly sat in a lounge at the railing in his swimwear. We have to say that this is the first time we ever saw a captain sunning and swimming. Any other time, he would have been accousted by passengers, but we think few people know who he is on this short cruise. The crew members did, and they behaved quite properly.

 

Today there were two sailaway parties.......one at the aft deck, as usual, and the other in the Crows Nest, for those who cannot take the heat. The HALCats band played in the Crows Nest, while we had DJ Matt's lively and up-to-date music. Matt did a few give-aways such as the first person who came to him with clothing with "Costa Rica" on it, he gave a beer. The next was whoever had a photo of Costa Rica with them, got a drink. Harmless fun, but fun nethertheless. We asked Matt why he couldn't play this type of music on the world cruise, and he said he was NOT allowed to. His boss, who is not here now, will not let him come anywhere near this type of "typical" cruise fun. Perhaps too many of the world cruise passengers complain, we suspect. That surely would not be US. We like this atmosphere that is geared towards a younger crowd, even though many are not that young.

 

"Dancin' Fool" was the show delivered by the Amsterdam singers and dancers at 7 and 9pm. We have been forgetting about the show being early for us, and missed it again. But we never are late for dinner. It was really good last night...again. Maybe the caviar and escargots are missing, but the entrees are just as good as ever. We ordered the pork loin with a mustard-honey sauce, and it was tender and delicious. They offered their special bread pudding, which was also excellent. It sure is going to be hard going home and putting dinner like this together. It won't even come close.

 

Our tablemates Janet and Larry had an interesting tour in Puntarenas today. It was going well until their bus broke down, somewhere up in the hills. Lucky for them, they were able to send a substitute bus, but could not accommodate one lady that was driving one of the large electric wheelchairs. A suitable taxi had to be called for her to take her back to the ship. At least they were able to transport her safely, which is good to know.

 

Tomorrow's port is a new one for us.....Corinto, Nicaragua.

 

Mary Ann & Bill

[CtheW0rld]

the contrasts between the world and regular cruises are quite interesting.

 

as for the ice bucket, have the wife use it as a purse on the flight home. might start a trend. :D

[kazu]

You continue to tantalize us. Thanks so much for sharing.

 

I envy you tacking on another cruise after the other and pity your cruise withdrawal when it ends :)

[WCB]

Report # 121 May 03, 2011 Tuesday Corinto, Nicaragua

 

Well, today's port was a new one for us, and for most of the passengers that are currently on the ship, we believe. By reading the daily HAL newsletter, the description of Corinto did not even fill half of the space on the top of the page. That is probably because there is not very much here in the way of tourist attractions....yet. Corinto's importance lies in the fact that it is Nicaragua's main harbor port on the Pacific Ocean. It handles about 60% of the country's exports, one of which is an exceptionally high quality coffee. The only way to really see this area is to take a tour that would take us out of the small town of 20,000 people, and into the countrysides.

 

So we booked a tour by the title of "Nicaragua Traditions and More". It was 3 hours, and would work out well, since the all onboard time was 1:30pm. Our tablemates, Janet and Larry also chose the same tour. And just by luck, we happened to get on the same bus. We were the last tour to leave, but we were the only tour that actually left on time. For some unknown reason, the longer tours all left late, not a good way to start the day in a new port.

 

Passing through the village of Corinto, we noticed that it appeared to be almost deserted. There were few locals out and about, and it was already 9am. We saw no activity on the pier or in town. Why? We did not find out why until later in the day.

 

The drive took us into the countryside that turned into farmland and pastures. The main crops here are corn and sugar cane. Other major industries include fishing, beef, tourism, rum, and gold. Our guide was interesting as he shared everything he knew about his country's history, politics, wars, and where they are headed in the future. Ultimately, their future depends on educating the kids, and not just up to the 8th or 12th grade level. College has been made available to those students that qualify to attend. If they cannot afford the tuition, then they are sent for free. By the way, the annual tuition is $50. This pretty much tells you where the annual salary is.........between $200 and $300 a month. Our guide said there is no middle class....just the poor and the rich. One of the wealthiest persons in Nicaragua happens to be the man who owns Western Union. Who knew? And he added that the Sandinista government, the Frente Sandinista de Liberacioc Nacional, a resistance force in Nicaragua, are ecolgists. Why, we asked? Because they are all about the "green", as in money! In 1996, Arnoldo Aleman was elected president of the country.

 

Our first stop was at another small settlement by the name of El Viejo with a population of 20,000 residents. The main attraction here was their church, a colonial building constructed in the 17th century. The outside needed some TLC, but once inside the church, we found it to be beautifully built. The altars were silver-clad and the high ceilings were done in carved hardwood.

 

We noticed that there were few vehicles on the roads....just large trucks and buses. A good reason for that could be the fact that their gas costs between $5 and $6.gallon. Yes, we will be paying that for fuel also when we get home, but here in Nicaragua, it means that the only means of transportation for these farm people is by bicycle or horse. Unlike China, Vietnam, or Thailand, people do not drive motorcycles here. Of course, we noticed there was little air pollution as well.

 

We had about 30 minutes to explore the rest of the small town. So we wandered down the street and stumbled onto the local mercado or marketplace. This was unlike any market we have ever seen. For one thing, it was dark inside, with a small courtyard to let in the natural light. The center of this market had several small counters with the ladies butchering beef. The meat looked much different from what we buy at home. The cuts were lightly marbled with a yellow fat, probably due to the type of feed the cattle consume. In one corner was a large BBQ pit, where more ladies were busy cooking some of the beef, which smelled really good. The rest of the stalls had the vegetables and tropical fruits grown here. Hanging overhead of the entire market were dozens of brightly-colored pinadas. Along the walls, were the tiny mini markets that carried household goods and personal care items. It was a one stop market.

 

Across the street near the bus, was a park. Vendors lined the sidewalks selling everything from kiddy toys to used clothing. Two stands had costume jewelry, most of which was of a religious sort. We did not see too many people buying things here, since there was no time.

 

We were about the last to board the bus to continue our way to the next stop in nearby Chinandega. It is also an agricultural community of about 250,000 residents. Surrounding fields are used for cotton, peanut, and rum farms. We read that there was a rum factory here, but there was no time to visit it. Overshadowing this city was the San Cristobal volcano. Also in the distance, we could make out several other volanoes that dot this small country, all part of the Pacific's ring of fire.

 

Our guide led us into the well-maintained church, obviously the most impressive building in town. It had recently been decorated for their national holiday called Labor Day. The silver and gold-guilded altars were beautifully done. Their churches are always an important factor in everyday living in this part of the world. Most activities revolve around the church.

 

As a surprise, we were all treated to a dance performance by four young ladies and two couples from here. The costumes were bright red and turquoise, which showed off well when the girls danced with them opened like huge fans. Their performance lasted about 10 minutes, which was followed by the "passing of the basket" for tips. Just about everyone gave them a dollar, which we are sure will go a long way for them. They surely earned it entertaining us in this oppressive heat.

 

Afterwards, we were given 20 minutes to walk the rest of the main street and explore the local hangouts. Across the cobbled street from the church was a park with a bandstand. It was empty of musicians today, but there was a long stall alongside that housed an outdoor cafe. They were selling fried chicken legs with french fries. Of course, there was beer and Pepsis being sold briskly. Unfortunately, there were no benches in the shade, so we continued on.

 

There was one small store on the corner, also across the street from the church. When we had passed by the first time, there was no way we could have squeezed in there. But now, most of the tourists had left, and we had the place to ourselves. Having 5 minutes before our bus left, we found a Nicaraguan shotglass and one postcard to buy. We got nervous when the girl had to run to another store for change, but she came back quickly, giving us one minute to get back on the bus. Everyone else had boarded, but were polite when we got back just on time.

 

Our driver had us back to the pier 15 minutes ahead of time. Looking back, we should have taken the time to walk out the pier gate, which was not visible from the ship. That was where all of the locals were......manning the stands. We heard later that several souvenier stands were set up for us tourists, and there were many bargains to be had. Well, maybe is was better that we missed it, because we still have lots to pack, and probably will not have extra room for more stuff.

 

Since it was just noon, we decided to eat lunch in the dining room. It was wonderfully cool there, and the food and service were excellent as always. We each had a breaded mozzarella stick with marinara sauce, soup, salad, and a very delicious Canadian bacon cheeseburger. Guess you can tell we did not eat breakfast today. So this will do until dinner at 8pm. Even though we had brought a large bottle of water and 2 Cokes with us on our tour, we still needed to drink what seemed like gallons of ice water. It's hard to believe how easily one can become dehydrated in a short time in this climate.

 

All aboard time was 1:30pm, with a sailaway by 2pm. We joined the fun at the back pool, while the bar staff pushed the special drink of the day.....the Woo Woo, a fruity concoction with rum, we presume. Pool games went on once again, and it was fun to watch.

 

Captain Fred announced that he expected strong winds and possibly high seas by tonight. He mentioned to be sure to take care while moving around the ship and use caution on the stairwells. It had been so hot and humid on the aft deck, that we looked forward to the breeze once the ship began moving. Well, we got more than we expected once the Amsterdam was clear of the port area. The wind almost blew us off of the deck! There were only a few of us sunbathers left by 5pm, so it was time to go watch a movie in our room.

 

Showtime presented the master ventriloquist, Don Bryan with Noseworthy, a very amusing set of characters who were previously on the world cruise. Darn, we miss the show again, but we heard he was outstanding.

 

Dinner was particularly good tonight with a chicken fajita salad and entrees of veal scaloppini and chicken cordon bleu. But the best was the mocha and chocolate-covered bombe for dessert....definitely one of our favorite ice cream treats.

 

The wind was still blowing when we walked the promenade deck after dinner, but not as strong as the Captain had predicted. However, maybe we were being a bit premature with our assessment. Tomorrow's weather may be different........

 

Bill & Mary Ann

[WCB]

Report # 122 May 04, 2011 Wednesday Day at Sea

 

Hey, what's the big idea? We had to put our clocks FORWARD last night. How rude. But we do recall doing this on every San Francisco to Mexico cruise we have taken in the past. Since our next port will be Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, we can assume their time is correct with the ship's time.

 

We still made it to breakfast on time, and because the fellows know us quite well by now, they always seat us at a nice honeymoon table for two. Nothing on the menu has changed at breakfast in the dining room since the world cruise ended. The big difference now, is that many more guests are enjoying this meal here. They are smart.

 

It was hot outside this morning.....hot and sticky. That did not stop us from walking, however, and we were glad we did. Just about the time we were thinking of going inside, we spotted some large dolphins jumping towards the ship. In seconds, there were dozens of them, playing in the ship's wake, also diving under the ship. How they miss those propellers while we are sailing at 19 knots is beyond us. Just as fast as they appeared, they disappeared. This was the best display we have seen so far. Now we will be on the lookout for them, because sealife sightings on the Pacific coast have always been good.

 

We couldn't avoid it much longer.....that is, packing. Now with only four days left, it was time to finish the last of the four duffels, and test the weight of the rest of our stuff in our two suitcases. What appeared to be just a little bit left to pack, turned into way more than we thought. It will all fit without adding extra bags, but the duffels will be heavy. We just need to keep the checked pieces for the airlines as light as possible. We had hopes that the express luggage service would be in effect in San Diego, but it was not to be. In the past, for instance, using this service from Seattle to San Francisco, it did not matter if we were a few pounds overweight with the luggage. It just showed up at the airport's turntable when we got back to SF.

 

Remember the Captain said it may get rough? Well, he was not kidding. Around 1:30pm, we went to the aft deck, to find the silly pool games going on. The passengers were really having fun with this today, because they pushed the entire team into the pool at the end of the games. However, the wind was howling something bad. Huge whitecaps on the sea were blowing spray for yards behind them. Needing to take a break from packing, we pulled up lounges, covered them with towels, and sat down quickly before they blew overboard. The spray from the pool reached us while we sat at the furtherest corner of the pool deck at the back railing. Actually, it felt really good, since it was still hot. Eventually, the deck crew had to stack the lounges to keep them from blowing overboard. By 5pm, we decided we better leave before we went overboard.

 

When we checked the ship's status on our room TV, we found that the apparent wind was 63 knots, a 10 on the beaufort chart. Yep, that was pretty windy. We hit this fierce wind and choppy seas somewhere along the southern coast of Mexico. And it appeared to us that the Captain had taken a different course, hugging the coastline instead of sailing straight towards Acapulco. Something tells us that once we leave this bay, it will get even rougher. The "do not open the outside doors" signs were back up on the promenade deck doors. We were also requested to stay inside the ship for our own safety.

 

The entertainer tonight was Juan Pablo Subirana, a pianist who is as funny as he is talented, according to the write-up in the newsletter. Our tablemates will give us their opinion tomorrow.

 

Dinner for us was in the Pinnacle Grill Restaurant this evening. It was much busier in here than while we were on the world cruise it seemed., but that could be because it was a formal night, the last one for us. For appetizers, we ordered crab cakes and a very delicious bowl of coconut milk and lemongrass soup, a recipe we will have to find once we are home. You can make a meal of this soup by itself. Next came the salads, which were arugula, cherry tomatoes, diced eggs, sliced mushrooms, and red onions topped with as warm bacon dressing. The meal got even better with the bone-in ribeye steaks. This time we asked for them to be less done than the last ones we had. If you ordered them medium, they came almost well done. Our cute waitress promised to watch the chef when he grilled the steaks. And they were perfect this time. We saved a bit of room for the vanilla and chocolate souffles for dessert. It was a good thing we had skipped lunch, or else we would not have enjoyed the meal as much.

 

We took a quick walk outside, noticing that it was still hot outside at 10pm. It must have been 80 degrees. The seas had calmed down a lot since this afternoon, and the wind was slight. Maybe we are through the worst, but who knows?

 

One more day at sea, and we will be in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.

 

Bill & Mary Ann

[candbgirl]

I want to add my thanks to you for taking us along on your adventure. It has been such fun to read each day. Will you be keeping a journal over on the Regent board for your next trip?

[donamae]

Hi Bill and Mary Ann-

We have been sitting here in Canada enduring our ugly winter, however, the bright spot in our day has been your posts.

 

We will add our thanks along with everyone else for the awesome detailed and feeling that we are with you posts. Have loved every minute, and wondering what the heck we will do when you arrive at your final port. But hey, whats this, you are off again soon???? OMG.

 

We would love to see some pictures of your adventures, and put faces to the people we have grown to know (and love) during the past few months.Thank you, thank you.

 

Ron & Donna

[WCB]

Report # 123 May 05, 2011 Thursday Day at Sea

 

During the evening, the seas had calmed down and remained that way for the rest of the day, thank goodness. The Amsterdam is now sailing close to the Mexican coast as we make our way towards Puerto Vallarta. As always, the skies are partly cloudy, almost hazy, with temperatures in the low 90's. The humidity is still high, but not as bad as it was in Nicaragua. The winds are still blowing strong, keeping us a bit more comfortable.

 

The cruise director, Jimmy Lynett, was written up in the daily newsletter today. He began his sailing career with the Disney Cruise Line in 1998, and eventually left "the mouse" behind for greener pastures with the HAL line. We can report that he is very good with the morning and afternoon announcements of the daily activities. Gosh, that was something we rarely had on the world cruise. Bruce only did this at the beginning of every segment, then he went silent. Bruce knows that we can and do read the newsletter every morning. Anyway, this is the first time we have sailed with Jimmy, and he seems to be a very nice fellow, well-received by the passengers.

 

At the 10am Good Morning Amsterdam TV show, Jimmy had an informal question and answer session with Captain Fred. We will have to check this show out on the TV later.

 

Then at 11am, Barbara gave a talk about the Mayan calendar. You can tell that she loves giving these talks because of the enthusiasm you hear in her voice. She can make absolutely anything interesting. It is actually a bonus that we still have her with us on this cruise, since normally she only does the Grand Voyages and perhaps the Voyage of the Vikings. She even conducted a game on flag trivia in the Wajang Theater later in the day.

 

Cooking demos are also being held in the Culinary Arts Center every day. The class today was on making crab cakes, a favorite of many guests. Another Celler Master's Dinner was advertised in the Pinnacle grill for this evening. It runs $69 per person, and includes premium wines served with a six course tasting menu.

 

The Signature Shops onboard have been holding enticing sales in the Lido pool deck area every sea day. At least 90% of the ladies are wearing the cute diamond-studded t-shirts that sold for 3/4 off of the 2 for $30. price. Good deal. All of the light- weight HAL brand clothing has also been discounted to make way for the Alaskan items we think. Today's special sale was really not a sale at all. It was their $10. items that are always $10.

 

We spent the afternoon, guess where? Yes, the aft pool deck. The wind was still annoying as it was hard to keep the towels on the lounges. Don't know if we were getting more of a wind burn instead of a suntan. At 2:30pm, Matt our DJ, requested 16 people to volunteer to participate in the pool games. However, only 6 people came forward, so the games were cancelled. Matt promised that on Sunday afternoon, they would hold the final games and all of his staff, including Jimmy the CD, would be pushed into the pool. That should get at least 16 people to participate.

 

We accomplished a little more packing before it was time for dinner. Our tablemates said that they did not have an officer join them last night, as we have had on formal evening since this cruise began. Perhaps other passengers have noticed that we have had company every formal night, and they may have requested that the officers join them too.

 

Dinner was good again tonight. We ordered the turkey entree, and it was really good. We had been hoping for a Mexican menu for Cinco de Mayo, but there was nothing near to that. We did read that tomorrow, there will be a Mexican BBQ at the Lido pool deck. We may just have to check that out.

 

Well, tomorrow's port is Puerto Vallarta, and we have not made plans as to what we are doing in town. It will all depend on the weather, and the heat. Usually, we walk to the downtown area, stopping along the way at a few hotels for cold sodas or beer. With all the problems Mexico has been having in regards to drug fights, etc., we are not sure how safe it will be to walk that stretch to the old town. Hopefully, this popular tourist destination has been spared.

 

Bill & Mary Ann

[WCB]

Report # 124 May 06, 2011 Friday Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

 

Our port of call today was Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, located on the west coast of the state of Jalisco. The setting for this city is perfect, with Banderos Bay as the waterfront, and the Sierra Madre mountain range in the backround. It is also one of our favorite places to visit.

 

No doubt about it, the day was going to be warm. But there was a nice breeze blowing, so we figured we would eat breakfast in the dining room, and head out into the city a bit later in the morning. Even though we could have taken a cab, we have always enjoyed the walk into the Old Town, and we could always take a cab back if need be.

 

The first thing we noticed when we arrived here, was that the port area had been remodeled and expanded. The pier where we tied up had been enlarged with new pier landings and gardens built with green grass with palm trees surrounding it. And the entire area was very clean, which was really nice.

 

As we made our way to the main boulevard, we found that the sidewalks continued all the way to the downtown area. Before, we had to negotiate our way through graveled roads, while dodging the rocks and exposed pieces of steel rebar. Since many more condos are going up on the beachfront properties closer to the pier, the roads and sidewalks have been greatly improved. Between the hotels, condos, grocery stores, shops, restaurants, and banks, the walk was not interrupted with bare spots for the entire 3 plus mile walk to town.

 

Our only relief from the heat, were the few side streets that opened up to the public beaches. All of the tall buildings blocked the sea breeze unfortunately. It wasn't until we reached the beachfront, that the cooling wind did its job cooling us off. By walking on the beachside promenade, we avoided the vendors and restaurant people that tried to get our business.

 

We came upon several fabulous sand art figures, created recently for a sand art contest. Most were of religious scenes, such as the Last Supper, the Virgin Mary, and Mayan figurines. One intricate piece of art was the Mayan Calendar. Another clever one was of an iguana, at least 15 feet long, and dusted with sparkly-colored sand of pink and green. The artists were spraying them with water from pressure canisters, and also hoping to gather donations in their staked slotted boxes in front of every sculpture.

 

We reached the Plaza de Armas, Puerto Vallarta's main square, which usually has bands of musicians playing for the crowds on weekends. Since it was a Friday, we saw none today. A block away and up the street was the old Church of Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe. We always make a stop here to take photos of the bright interior with gold-leafed decorations on the inside. This morning, Mass was being held, so we did not go any further than the back row of pews. The locals are fairly sensitive to how the tourists are dressed, and wearing shorts is not the way to go into the church.

 

It was getting towards noon, and lunchtime. So we walked to the river, Rio Cuale, to find the restaurant where we had a wonderful lunch a few years ago. As the bridge over the river begins, we walked down a flight of steps to the riverside. That was exactly where this restaurant, the Rivercafe, was located. Boy, did it feel great to be able to sit down at an outside table of their riverside deck. Glancing at the extended raised hut over the riverbank, we spotted Char, the future cruise consultant with Barbara, our port lecturer. Now we knew we had chosen the best place in town to dine, especially if these smart ladies were also eating there.

 

While we sipped on our ice cold beers, we noticed that below the deck where we were sitting, were several iguanas walking around, some as large as 4 feet long. In fact, these fierce-looking reptiles became famous with the making of the 1962 Tennessee William's film, The Night of the Iguana. That movie really put Puerta Vallarta on the map for tourism. We could tell it was beginning to freak Barbara out, since she is not a reptile or snake person. We kept hearing her say, "Go away, oh please, go away!" These iguanas literally climbed the palm trees to watch us eat our lunch. We had ordered chicken fajitas, and were not disappointed. The pieces of chicken had been sauted with onions, green and red bell peppers, mushrooms, and seasoning. On top of the meat mixture, the plate also had refried beans and guacamole, which we put in three flour tortilla shells, then topped with fresh tomato salsa. We were in "Mexican food" heaven! The chefs on the ship rarely offer Mexican items on the menu, so we were craving the cuisine. An hour passed quickly, while we savored every bite and drop of the Pacificos. Sadly, it was time to continue on our journey.

 

Walking down the riverside to the beach, we slowly made our way back. On the way, we passed a young local gal selling beaded earrings. Of course, we had to add to their economy by purchasing two pairs. And we also did the same thing in the Hard Rock Cafe, which we passed in the Old Town.

 

We had to laugh when we read a sign in front of a bar/cafe on the walk back. It read......we have no swine flu and no cartels here! They were right, thank goodness.

 

It never seems as long to walk back as it does walking there. But the heat was getting the better of us, which meant we were ready for a refreshment break. The FiestaAmericana Hotel was the best bet. The entrance to the hotel is actually a huge thatched hut, where the sea breezes flow through it. We went right to the poolside bar and ordered an ice cold soda and beer. Just sitting for a while was wonderful, although jumping in that inviting pool would have been nice, not appropriate, but nice.

 

By the time we got back to the ship, it was 4pm. All onboard time was 4:30pm, so we just made it. Quickly changing into our swimsuits, we went directly to the aft pool to cool off. Captain Fred had announced that everyone was onboard, so we left the pier before 5pm. The wind picked up as we left the coast and the friendly city of Puerto Vallarta behind.

 

Things got rather rowdy at the back pool, with some of the staff and passengers over-indulging at the Seaview Bar around 6pm. By then, most of the guests had left for dinner, one of which was a Mexican BBQ held in the Lido pool area. There was much laughter and clowning around, when suddenly fully-dressed guests were being thrown in the aft pool, along with the DJ and one of his staff, apparently his girlfriend now. We guessed it was time for us to leave before we got caught up in this mess.

 

Passing through the Lido pool area, we checked ut the Mexican fare being offered by the friendly Lido servers. We felt sorry for them, since they were wearing wool ponchos with western hats. The heat and humidity in this area was overwhelming, but the crew always kept smiling anyway. There was nothing Mexican that we noticed being served except for maybe the rice, tortillas, and corn bread. Despite that, many passengers were enjoying the BBQ.

 

It was much nicer to join our tablemates in the dining room at 8pm, where it was nice and cool. We all ordered the BBQ pork ribs with mashed potatoes and pineapple coleslaw. Being polite, none of us picked up the rib bones, but we sure would have liked to. Larry and Janet had gone on a complimentary tour with their travel group, and it was a pleasure to hear them talk about it. It has been years since we have gone on a tour in Puerta Vallarta, so it's always nice to hear something new that is offered here. They had also attended the pre-dinner show in the Queens Lounge. Jim Curry, a renowned singer, sang John Denver melodies, which Janet and Larry said was one of their favorites. They enjoyed it immensely.

 

And we set the clocks back one hour tonight.....a bonus once again.

 

Well, we have one more port left for us on this long voyage.....Cabo San Lucas, our port of call for tomorrow. We cannot believe how quickly this trip has flown by.......

 

 

Mary Ann & Bill

[ccos]

We boarded the world cruise in Hong Kong and left in Athens. We had read your blog before boarding and was anxious to meet you but alas, we never did. It's been fun reading about the cruise once we left. You really did capture the essence of the cruise. We have wonderful memories of great adventures, meeting new friends and cruising with a great staff.

HAL should hire you for your writing skills! Good Job!!!;)

[ccos]

Forgot to mention that we wish you good luck with Cruise Withdrawal. That's the tough part.:D

[CtheW0rld]

sounds like a nice day in PV. i really like that city - spent a month there once years ago. fairly clean, very nice locals and english is widely spoken. plently to see in the surrounding areas if you have the time.

[Kween Karen]

Wow! You are almost home.....what a great journey.

[Gail and Ken]

Happy Mothers Day Mary Ann. I'm sure your sons and grandaughter are looking forward to seeing you.. Sorry to see your cruise coming to an end but looking forward to your next one. We all appreciate the time and effort you put into your wonderful cruise stories.