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Venture with Bill & Mary Ann on the 2013 GW Voyage "Postcards from Paradise" 115 days

WCB

By WCB,
in Holland America Line

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CruisinTexans

CruisinTexans

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Glad you are safely underway. The first thing both of us do when we go to our computers is look for your posts. It's almost like being there...almost.

 

I almost got teary-eyed when you were talking about seeing friends. Say "hi" for us.

 

Leslie & Handler

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WCB "Live from...." Rare

WCB

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Report # 7 First day at sea January 6, 2013 Sunday

 

We woke up this morning to mostly cloudy skies and wind, judging by the spray from the waves passing by our window. Crawling around our luggage, we made it to our first proper breakfast in the dining room. On sea days, this dining room is open from 8 to 9:30am, and is our favorite place to begin the day. The food is excellent and so is the service.

 

Stalling to tackle the inevitable job of unpacking, we took a long walk on the lower promenade deck. It was warm, but windy, so we knew we would not be missing much at the back pool today. So by late morning, we began the job. It was near dinnertime before we were done. Sounds incredible, but there would be no free time for us until everything had a place. Hopefully we remember all those places that we stashed stuff. We have to admit, it was easier than last year's unpacking, because then we had two sets of clothing. Some for hot weather, and serious cold weather gear for Antarctica. All that got placed under the bed in the empty suitcases, and went back there after we left South America. On this trip, the coldest place we believe will be in New Zealand. After that, it should get hot and hotter.

 

At dinnertime, we found that our table had another new guest, Joan, who we had invited this morning. She was our tablemate two years ago and we were all happy to see her. And by luck, Barb got introduced by Ellen to the couple who were scheduled to sit with us. They were not pleased with their table, so were more than happy to join us tomorrow. Ellen had met them on a previous cruise, and suggested earlier that we would like them. Casey invited Irish Helen, so we will have a lively group after all. Some will be leaving in Auckland, where we expect more friends to join us. In Sydney, two more will arrive. Should work out perfectly.

 

There was a show this evening, but since we are so far behind in writing, we called it a night to work on the computer. Already the time is flying by, and we've just started!

 

Mary Ann & Bill

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NMLady

NMLady

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Can't find it. Could you post a link.

 

Here's Kween Karen's blog and photos from this world cruise. It's a pdf file.

 

http://world.kweenkaren.com

 

Here's Jeff's. His are mostly photos.

 

http://amazingvoyages2.blogspot.com/

 

Here's another blog that's being done, this one by Stansfields:

 

http://www.2013worldvoyage.thestansfields.com/

 

And here's one from Brad:

 

https://mrvideo1949.wordpress.com/

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WCB "Live from...." Rare

WCB

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Report # 8 Day at Sea January 7, 2013 Monday

 

All through the night, the seas became rougher and the winds stronger. The outside deck on three had been closed off for foot traffic due to high winds. However, we always find our way outside by going out the hallway door, either forward or aft. Not many people were outside.......just the few that were experiencing seasickness we're afraid. We carefully walked mostly on one side, the one that wasn't getting the heavy spray. Actually we were glad that we had a meeting in the Crow's Nest at 10:30am, the first gathering of the Cruise Critic group.

 

It was well organized with the help of several members. Name tags were handed out and lists were on display to sign up for future events. Flutes of champagne, mimosas, juice and coffee were being served. After the welcome speech, Bruce, our cruise director delivered his welcome onboard talk, followed by Henk, our hotel manager. He thanked us all for our excellent, if not always totally accurate, reporting online. He said he did appreciate the effort and of course the money spent to track our experiences. In his opinion, the many views from the passengers have helped improve the cruise product over the years. Sounds like the HAL folks might be tuned in. Henk mentioned that other groups, such as Facebook, were also onboard, and he had been courting them as well this morning.

 

After the meeting ended, the members mingled, seaching out familiar faces, and looking to meet new ones. One nice lady approached us, and introduced herself as a friend of Alene and Don, our buddies at home. Turns out that she lives very close to us in California, and she and her husband happened to be the ones sitting in the lounges at the back of the ship this morning................both seasick. It was really so rough that we all had to hold onto the bar or heavy furniture to stay upright in the Crow's Nest. The higher you go (deck nine), the worse the motion gets. It wasn't very long before people headed downstairs to make it to trivia, a most popular game here.

 

While other passengers went to lectures in the Queen's Lounge, we went to the pool to get some sun. By the way, the lectures involved Barbara H. presenting a port talk on Cartagena, The Exploration speaker, Jon Bailey, a music officianado, speaking about a Broadway musical, and Dan Ostler getting into the details of the American effort at the Panama Canal. There is also a series of photo classes happening during the day, and of course the food and wellbeing activities keep everyone that participates fit and happy.

 

We heard a rumor about the bingo game that was held yesterday. Since we do not play it, we are not sure of the prices of the cards. All we know is that the price went up enough to cause a disturbance among the players and the staff. Bottom line..............they all walked out, and the game was cancelled. First we ever heard of that happening. You know, they should not mess with this group of seasoned passengers. They do not like changes that seem unfair or unreasonable. We'll keep our ears tuned for any further news.

 

A nice event was taking place in the Queen's Lounge this evening................the Captain's Welcome Champagne Reception. This is when everyone meets the master of the vessel, Captain Jonathon Mercer, some of the ship's key staff, and a few officers. The band plays dancing music for a half hour, while the crowd enjoys drinks and hot and cold appetizers. We wondered if only champagne would be offered, but found out that wine and any cocktail could be ordered. That's when it is good to know a few good bar servers. Manny and Christian are two of the best, and they always seek us out and take very good care of us. It was a bit difficult for them to serve this evening, since the ship was rolling pretty good. In fact, it was the first formal evening as well. One elderly lady had the right idea. She made her grand entrance into the room, dressed to the nines, carrying her bejeweled heels in her hand. Better safe than sorry we say.

 

Dinner followed at 8pm. Our table was full, and we even had an officer, the mechanical engineer, his name escaping us at the moment. The wine was complimentary (thanks to him), although we had sodas. So far the food has been very tasty. We ordered a teriyaki steak salad and a filet mignon, with a side of mushroom raviolis. All delicious. Dinner ended by 10pm, and some of us headed for the showlounge to watch the Amsterdam singers and dancers performing "Hit Me With a Hot Note". The other half of our tablemates headed back to the "Nest of the Crow's" as Casey calls it, to take advantage of the drink special of buy one, get one for $1.00.

 

We called it a night instead. Forgetting it was formal night, we remembered it was gift night too. We had two purple canvas shoulder bags on the bed. They contained the world cruise pin for 2013, and a small purple pouch with Purell, bandaids, some meds, and breath mints. A leather neck lanyard was included too with an artist's card explaining that the gifts will be fewer, but of better quality. Thanks.

 

Bill & Mary Ann

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WCB "Live from...." Rare

WCB

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Report # 9 Cartagena, Colombia January 8, 2013 Tuesday

 

Well, here we are at the first port of the cruise, Cartagena, Colombia. As we were warned, the temperature and humidity level put the mark at around 100 degrees. So it is a good thing that our stay here will be short. The ship will leave at 1pm.

 

Yesterday we received the first detailed map with the city printed on it. What they forgot was to print the information on the back of the maps. It was empty. So all we can tell you about Cartagena is that it was founded in 1533 for a stopping point for Spanish ships and also as a slave market. As Colombia's leading port, it has become the 5th largest city with a population of 850,000 people.

 

This city is a frequent stop for the Panama Canal sailings, so we have been here many, many times. A few tours were offered, but with the short stay, nothing was very long or detailed. Our job for this morning was to walk to the terminal building, or ride in the provided shuttle bus. On our last visit, it was raining cats and dogs, so we jumped into the shuttle for the 2 minute ride. Really did not matter, because we were drowned. Anyway, they sell bags of hard coffee candies that we love in the souvenier shop. But after an intensive search, we could not find one bag. Thinking they may have stopped making them, we asked a clerk. She said they sold out yesterday with the customers from two large cruise ships. Darn!

 

It was still worthwhile to walk here, because we got some nice photos of a flock of flamingos (new), the parrots and toucans, and a pair of amusing monkeys that have been added to the mix. As hot as it was, these little monkeys never stopped moving in the treetops, leading us to think they may be youngsters.

 

We immediately went to the aft pool to claim a good spot for the sailaway at 1pm. It was blistering hot, and would remain that way until we got underway. Most folks were bobbing up and down in the pool. We joined them. We could spot the newbies because they have no idea about the decking back here. It is not teak, although it looks like it is. Once you walk on it shoeless, you will never forget the searing pain. And those who strolled to the pool without shoes, were quickly dancing their way there on their toes. Secretly funny, because we also did the same thing a few years ago. It's something like a christening.

 

It was a nice scenic sailaway, although the best one we did out of here was in the coolness of the evening. The city was lit up with many lights and sparkled as we sailed out of the bay. There is always a haze of humidity mixed with pollution over this city, so the tall buildings faded quickly as we slipped out of the port.

 

We heard a bad story from friend Mel, who had one of his large pieces of luggage damaged by who knows when or where. The zipper was completely ripped off, and his things had been rifled through. He was also missing some items such as studs and cufflinks for his tux and a bottle of something special. Obviously, that was not an accident, so he was not happy about it. Will have to ask him if the travel insurance covers that theft and damage. He did send his bag to be fixed, just as we did with ours. We had a footlong rip in one of our duffels, although nothing was missing.

 

Another mix-up was with the shore excursion brochure, which had conflicting prices with the online prices. Some were as much as $30. difference. Knowing that there had to be a mistake, we asked Leslie and Irene, the managers, about it. And, of course, the errors happened by accident, and they were in the process of sending out the corrections to those it applied to. Every year, we notice that some tours could have been pre-purchased for about $5. to $10. less than when you board. Just for that reason, we always order and pay for them in advance.

 

Another amusing thing we noticed was the suggestion printed in the shore excursion forms not to turn in the entire brochure for your order....only the pages the tours you wanted were printed on. They are striving to go green and save a few cents in the process. Except now that the original order forms are incorrect, the staff has to print totally new ones to get rid of the wrong prices. Someone was asleep at the wheel with this venture this year.

 

We had an added guest to our table this evening.....a lady whose husband was too ill to go to the Crow's Nest or to dinner. Taking pity on her, Helen invited her to join us for one meal. Now we know this may sound bad, but we had all just used Purell on our way inside the dining room. The staff does not miss one person as you enter. That is a good thing. Now this new lady arrived late, and proceeded to shake almost everyone's hands at her introduction. That is everyone but Joan. She just sat on her hands on purpose. Later on we all had to laugh when she said how do we know what the lady's husband has??? This ship recently had a very serious outbreak of the dreaded gastro-intestinal virus, and there is no way any of us want to pick that up. We are packing those little bottles of Purell with us from now on.

 

Showtime featured Pianotainment, a fellow who is internationally renowned for a four handed piano show......Go figure...........

 

Mary Ann & Bill

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Report # 10 Transiting the Panama Canal January 9, 2013 Wednesday

 

What luck that we happened to be transisting the Panama Canal on the hottest day of the year! Wild horses could not get us up at 4:45am to watch the pilot board the ship, let alone watch the arrival to the Gatun Locks at 6:30am. And the reason we chose not to be up at the crack of dawn is that we had been here more than a few times in past years. We did, however, turn on the cabin TV and watched the ship's progress from the comfort of our room. An excellent Panama Canal narrator, Edgar Paulk, delivered a live commentary all day long. He was great. We learned many different facts from him than all of our transists combined.

 

And at breakfast in the dining room, we were served Panama rolls along with the pastries. Doesn't get any better than that. Usually we have to hunt them down in the atrium on deck three, but not today. We are getting very spoiled.

 

By 10am, the temperature had climbed and the heat was on. In the talks and daily newsletter, we were warned to take precautions against sunstroke. They suggested to limit time outside, drink tons of liquid (probably not alcohol), wear light clothing and hats, and avoid seasickness meds for the day. They reduce heat tolerance. Who knew?

 

As for us, we took photos from the promenade deck and the bow before heading to the aft pool for the rest of the afternoon. The best place to watch the locks is from the back, we think. And you have the showers and pool to keep us cool. And most of our buddies are back there. Asking some bingo players about the walk-out, we learned that a corporate decision was made to return the card prices to the lower price, making all happy. See, it helps to stay together to get results. It is better for HAL to get a small piece of these profits, as opposed to getting nothing from cancelled games. Glad they saw it that way, and remedied the problem as quickly as they could.

 

We forgot to mention a small problem we have been having trying to get our two bottles of gifted champagne exchanged for sodas. We spoke to the gals at the front desk, who suggested we bring the bottles to them, although we did not want to pack them through the ship. The next suggestion was to ask our wine steward in the dining room. Geez, he can't even remember to bring our tablemates their wine bottles half of the time. Barb's Merlot (which tasted like wine vinegar by the way) went upstairs to table 303 yesterday. By the time our wine fellow retrieved it, someone had drank a quarter of it. Anyway, we did not bother him with the champagne exchange. The only person we knew would make it right was Raymond, the assistant beverage manager. As busy as he was at the Captain's Welcome party, Raymond said he would have the bottles taken tomorrow morning, and Coke Zeros would be left in their place. And that's exactly what happened. Fourteen cans of soda equaled two bottles of the bubbly.

 

Anyway, back to the transit. While in the Miraflores Lock, two ambulances and a fire truck arrived to take off an elderly man who needed to go to the hospital. The ship was lowered part way until the gangplank lined up with the ground level. This was the first time we ever saw this manuever. Within minutes, the poor fellow was whisked away, although he did wave his red baseball cap and wished us all a wonderful journey. Hope he is going to be OK, since it appeared he left the ship alone with no family member.

 

We were amazed at the amount of work that has been accomplished on the addition of another set of locks on the Pacific side since we sailed through here last year. Far from being done, things are looking better for a completion in a couple of years. It is one massive project, but compared to the original build beginning in 1904, modern machinery and science have made these working conditions so much more efficient and tolerable. That is except for the unbearable heat. Not much can be done to change that.

 

The Amsterdam sailed under the Centenniel Bridge and the Bridge of the Americas around 5pm. Once out into the Pacific Ocean, we picked up a slightly cooler breeze, but not as cool as we remember on the southbound sailing. It was still humid at 10pm when we strolled the deck after dinner.

 

Tomorrow is a day at sea as we head towards Ecuador. Time perhaps to begin reading new books we picked up in the library.

 

Bill & Mary Ann

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