Jump to content
Cruise Critic Community

Here we go! 31-Day R/T Cruise to Incan Empire

Spinner2

By Spinner2,
in Holland America Line

 Share

Recommended Posts

Spinner2

Spinner2

Posted
  • Author
Posted

uesday November 19

Lima Peru

 

We actually arrived yesterday, but that day was taken up with my husband’s getting off to Machu Picchu and after his group left, my pulling out all of my literature to decide what I’d want to do on my own for the next couple of days. I’m not going to Machu Picchu because I don’t handle altitudes well; when I’ve been in locations over about 7500 feet in altitude I guess I sort of manage basic tasks but I don’t remember it later and I’ve noticed this all my life. Machu Picchu is too expensive a trip to not remember it and I’d be a nuisance to those who would have to look after me until we dropped to a lower altitude. And, the ship had no internet service yesterday as they switched to a new, and perhaps faster, satellite connection. When I got back online this morning I found that George had sent a few photos he’s taken on the trip; I’ll share those later in our travel blog (the earlier editions are accessed from the link you see in my signature below).

 

So, I’ve been thinking about what I’d like to do myself while George is on the Machu Picchu trip. There are a lot of archaeological museums and sites here, but I wanted to see more of the city, so today I joined a ship tour for something I couldn’t have done on my own: visit one classic historic residence to see the architecture, art, and furnishings and then to visit one ultra-modern home where the homeowner has hundreds (literally!) of Nativity sets on display from her collection. In the process I got to see some of the city of Lima’s wide variety of homes, monuments, churches, historic buildings, and businesses as the tour bus took us to the two locations. Both homes are occupied; at the historic home the family has continuously occupied it for more than two centuries and they continue to use the lower floor as a residence while the second story is maintained as a home in the 1700-1900s might have been furnished. There are photos of family celebrations, furnished bedrooms, parlors, and a small chapel used for baptisms and weddings. Original artwork is displayed on the walls and there is a gorgeous center courtyard with a water feature surrounded by well-maintained plants. The tile work in the halls is elaborate and in beautiful condition. The modern home, in the San Isidro district of the city, is occupied as well; one of the homeowners greeted us and led us through an interior courtyard to steps leading up to rooms that are used only for the display of her Nativity collections. We were allowed to just wander through the rooms as desired, taking pictures, admiring the little displays (a few not so little!) and stopping occasionally to admire and enjoy their adorable little—tiny, really—dog who seemed to enjoy the attention. A refreshing alcoholic fruit drink was offered to us before we left the site to return to the ship.

 

The port here, Callao, is a heavily industrial area and according to two separate warning letters we’ve received from the ship, not at all safe outside of the port gates. We’ve been urged to leave the area only via ship-supplied transportation or legal cabs and even around the port exit where the cabs gather, to not travel alone. This isn’t much of an imposition; there doesn’t seem to be anything here that would interest tourists. The trip into Lima was billed at “about an hour” but 35-45 minutes is more typical.

 

One other thing about our arrival yesterday; we were due into port by 10 am and many tours, private and ship-sponsored, had planned to be underway immediately after. We were here early, but local authorities who must clear the ship before anyone can leave were very late; the captain reported on their status about every 15 minutes, but another ship’s arrival apparently had priority and with one delay or another, it was about 10:45 before passengers could began heading off to their respective adventures. Several private tours that I know of were scheduled to start close to that 10 am arrival; I believe our Cruise Critic roll call members who had organized their private Machu Picchu tour had planned to leave immediately and I haven’t heard if the delay upset their travel plans to the airport for their flight to Cusco. Working with the local authorities is one of those travel uncertainties that can go smoothly or, occasionally, not. We were told that the Peruvian authorities came aboard before Salaverry, so they must have boarded in Panama, to handle the passport and landing card work. And since we were arriving from a Peruvian port, once the authorities actually arrived at the ship here in Callao the clearance was very quick. (We have all been issued Peruvian landing cards and given copies of our passports and the landing card to carry around with us; those going to Machu Picchu got the actual card and their passports back but so far in Salaverry and here in Callao, I haven’t been asked to show either one.)

 

A few new passengers came aboard today here; we were told that the changeover involved fewer than 100 individuals. Nevertheless, we’re on the 48-hour serving restrictions and tomorrow before departure there will be the customary safety drill.

 

Tonight there’s a display of local dancers to enjoy in the show lounge, and tomorrow I’ve planned to travel back into Lima to look at local crafts, especially the weaving and fibers that I think will be for sale. Some of the most gorgeous fibers for spinning into yarn come from Peru and I’m hoping to find some tomorrow to at least look over and perhaps buy some to take home to use on my own spinning wheel.

 

An interesting port day aboard the Statendam!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Spinner2

Spinner2

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Wednesday November 20

Lima, Day 3

 

As my husband George is still off on his Machu Picchu adventure, I had opted to go into Lima today on my own, to look at local crafts, and that’s what I spent about 4 hours doing, counting travel time. I went to the area in the Mira Flores district that features quite a few local craft shops; some seemed quite authentic and others in the same area were more of the “who knows where this stuff is from” variety. It was interesting, but I only bought one small item; a tiny shoulder purse that I doubt is authentic anything, but it suits a need I have—something a little larger than the tiny bag with a corded strap that only holds my iPhone and a few cards. It cost all of $2 and I doubt that it’s authentic anything, but it will be useful if I need to take a small notepad or some such with me and don’t want to take anything larger.

 

My best find though was not exactly an Apple Computer store, but the closest I’ve seen in Lima to that. George and I are making a photo collection of Apple storefronts from around the world, trying to photo the front of an Apple store in each city we visit on our travels. (Yes, we’re a bit nutty when it comes to our electronic devices!) Looking for free wi-fi to occupy a little time until I was to meet others that I’d gone into Lima with, I wandered into a large computer mall sort of place across the street from the craft marketplace where we were all to meet; it was filled with small stores selling computers, phones, printers, etc. And sure enough, there was one little shop called “Imagine;” it sported the traditional Apple logo up by the store name, and the single computer on the counter inside the little space was an Apple laptop. I held up my iPhone and asked if they offered wi-fi and the person at the computer reached over and entered a password onto my iPhone, giving me to an excellent connection. And, of course, I got my photo of the storefront.

 

Mid-afternoon, the Machu Picchu travelers began returning, George among them, tired but pleased with the adventure. No rain amazingly, and no travel problems. He was also pleased that upon collecting his airline ticket from the tour organizer that he’d been able to take it to the airline counter (a Peruvian airline) and have them accept his American Airlines frequent flyer number and have this One World Alliance Partner give him mileage credit for the flights and also upgrade him to preferred boarding. Once he saw whose partnership the hotel was in, he pulled out that loyalty number and got credit for that stay as well. It pays to have your numbers with you; he carries a list on his phone. He reported that both the flights to and from Cuzco had gone smoothly, the hotel was comfortable and that among the food offerings were some high-quality croissants with real French butter. The touring of Machu Picchu had gone very well, although strenuous. His choice would have been a slightly slower pace (there was barely time in some spots to frame and take all of the photos he wanted) with less time spent on a local meal and a shopping break.

 

The shopping break wasn’t totally useless; I’m the proud possessor of an absolutely gorgeous baby alpaca scarf that he purchased for me; a craft guild hang tag to guarantee authenticity and I’m just delighted to have it! Soft, generous in size, lovely pumpkin-spice color. Delightful, and I’ll use it a lot.

 

George opted to go with the ship’s Machu Picchu tour, knowing that the cost would be a lot more than what many Cruise Critic roll-call members were paying for their privately-arranged tour, but also knowing that he was getting extra city tours and such because the ship’s tour was for more hours. We often use private tours, but the distance that would be traveled from the ship, the unfamiliarity with the language, and not having any personal knowledge of the available tour operators caused us to go with this extra caution. Judging from the reports of those who did this with a private tour agent, this caution was unnecessary. Their group did just fine, they had a wonderful time also, and felt they’d been well-served by the agent they used. We also know of some individuals who did the trip totally on their own, arranging all of the details themselves and they were happy travelers as well. I did hear some stories from those who purchased tours with guides, whether ship or through a private agent, that their guides were interrupted at times by strangers (not from the ship; the area allows 3,000 visitors a day and fills every spot) wanting their advice on where to go, how to navigate ticket systems, etc. because they hadn’t purchased any assistance and now needed some help. I’m sure that those inquiring think their request only took a minute, but when your guide is interrupted again and again as I heard from several people was the case, it adds up. (For those who may have missed it upthread I know I don’t do well with altitude; never have my whole life, so I never seriously considered going. I was happy for George to have the opportunity and I’ll get to enjoy his many photos.)

 

The obligatory safety drill, held just before sailing (new passengers came aboard here and the drill is required for everyone) did offer a little diversion; a sea full of jellyfish could be seen just below our assigned muster station while we were waiting for the roll call to be completed. When the drill was held in San Diego cabin numbers were collected as we arrived at the station and only the missing ones were called later, but this time, no cabin numbers were checked off ahead of time and the list was quickly run through, everyone answered, and our section was complete. The captain had to call for 3 cabins to show up to other muster stations and that apparently did happen quickly as the entire drill was pretty quick this time. Or maybe it just seemed so because we had the jellyfish entertainment!

 

It was very enjoyable for us to have dinner together again tonight, but George was pretty tired from his adventure and we skipped the show, opting for an early turn-in as the ship sails northward toward Manta. I must say, one expects warmth at the equator (at least I do!) and it’s been a bit strange to have our Lima stop the chilliest yet. Sailing north from the equator to warm up a bit and get back out into the warm sunshine seems strange indeed, but Manta will be about 80 degrees, up from the 68-70 we experienced in Lima, although it did warm up a bit from that this afternoon.

 

=================

Thursday, November 21

At Sea, toward Manta Ecuador

 

Today, in honor of a few members of our Cruise Critic Roll Call that joined us in Lima, and so we could hear about how everyone’s adventures thus far have gone, we had a second Meet/Greet. As the organizer I’d not expected as many as came to the first; certainly one such meeting is all that many have in mind, and of course the primary purpose for many was to get with the people they’d arranged to join for private tours and firm up their plans. Most of those tours, although not all, have now concluded, so I’d estimated that at most we’d have about half as many, perhaps 40-45. I counted 49 and I think a few more came in later. We heard many stories of successful outings and adventures; no real negatives at all. Everyone’s careful planning has really paid off, and anyone who thinks another trip to these ports may be in their plans was able to collect names of vendors and tour agents for future reference and know that someone they’ve met used that agency successfully. This has been a really good roll call group to work with! I’ve asked everyone to send me vendor contact information and when I do our Wilde Adventures blog, with the photographs, I’ll add in those vendors too, so the site is as useful to future travelers as possible. I don’t think I’ve been on a cruise where there were so many tour options available and sought out so creatively. The choices have been extensive!

 

Today the show room once again filled, upstairs and down, for the port talk on Ecuador. We agreed at the meet/greet that most of us knew little to nothing about this port and had very few ideas of activities to pursue while we’re in port, and I’d say the rest of the passengers pretty much agreed with this assessment, thus the huge turnout. We know now that there’s interesting beach-walking that can be enjoyed; downtown, away from the beach area, also walkable, is a small archaeological museum that only charges a dollar for admission (Ecuador uses the US dollar for currency; long story why) and I’m sure that will interest some. There are ship tours to see Panama hats woven and buttons made from a local nut and a wildlife trip that may interest some.

 

At least one whale and a few dolphins were spotted today!

 

Formal night and a production show that we’ve seen; but it will be another pleasant evening now that it’s started to warm up a little, so I think we’ll start our evening out on the verandah.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
lindaler

lindaler

Posted
Posted

You are one very informed lady. I really am looking forward to your posting the vendors names so I can hang onto them for our roll call next Nov on the came route. When you return I hope you don't mind if I message you for more information. And thanks for all your posts.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Spinner2

Spinner2

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Friday November 22

At Sea, toward Manta Ecuador

 

This has been a fairly quiet day at sea, broken by a very nice Suite/5-star “cabaret lunch” held in the show lounge. We were served a very nice (an way too large!) lunch at the little showroom tables, while the various musical groups aboard entertained from the stage. Since most people are here as couples the little tables were occupied as 2-tops; a few people traveling in a larger group were accommodated at the larger tables placed along the front couple of rows of lounge-benches. It was an enjoyable event.

 

We’ll start enjoying the remaining Central American ports over the next few days; Manta tomorrow, then Costa Rica next, and so on. The cruise is going by way too fast.

 

Work continues, it seems, on the internet system here. We heard on last year’s Statendam cruise that HAL would be switching to a new company that could offer a more modern set-up for at-sea internet; one that apparently most cruise lines would switch to. I don’t know anything official, but I think perhaps that’s in process and our frequent internet interruptions are a result of this and just possibly a lessening of support from the current supplier who will not be continuing on the contract. That’s just a guess, but for sure, we’ve had more difficulties than usia, going past the expected slow speed and global-position outages.

===========

Saturday November 22

Manta Ecuador

 

Manta turned out to be a much better port than I expected! I could have happily just spent the day out on our verandah watching the fishing boats, for this is a major tuna port and all day long fishing boats have been moving huge nets of fish into trucks for transport to the packing factories and where ever else they take them. We’ve watched nets so full of fish that as fish were transferred to the trucks a half-dozen or so huge fish would miss the truck altogether and land on the pavement; eventually someone would gather them up and toss them up into one of the bins. Early this mooring we watched as a huge fishing net was transferred to a waiting truck. The net was threaded up through a high pulley mechanism on the boat and then down onto the truck; as it rose up to the pulley and then down onto the truck crews of 6-8 individuals pulled sections of the net out to inspect it and then fold it onto the truck. It took a couple of hours to complete this operation; the net was really big.

 

We did take the free shuttle out to the port gate (required; you’re not allowed to walk out) for a walk along the beach. It’s a very nice beach, with many little restaurants along the shore, kiosks selling netted sets of children’s sand toys and sunglasses, and a separate section of the beach where water-skiers can do shore takeoffs. There are beach chairs along the shore, all in a line, with umbrellas; we didn’t go down to make sure, but probably those are rented. Because it’s Saturday, lots of families were there to enjoy this beautiful day. We crossed the street (not easy! lots of traffic and no stop lights although there are crosswalks) to visit a delightful museum displaying pre-Columbian artifacts. If you come here don’t miss the little movie that runs in an anteroom at the back of the fourth floor; it’s in English and it’s an animated discussion of Andean thought about the afterlife. While the displays are signed only in Spanish the large drawings on the walls need no language for enjoyment. After returning to the pier we took the $7 shuttle to the plaza marketplace but had we realized how close it was we would have just walked over there too. There are some attractions here that are too far to walk, namely the hat and button factories and (I think) an ecological tour, but what is in the port area is so close that the ship is visible at all times. Turn to the right at the port gate to go to the beach; go left to head up to the plaza.

 

We were lucky; our verandah overlooked the fishing boat activity, but if you’re here and you don’t have an automatic view, find a place onboard to base yourself for some interesting observations in a working fishing port.

 

The trip is coming much too close to its conclusion; last night we got the disembarkation queries. I don’t even want to think about it!

 

As I write this we haven’t departed although we should have 45 minutes ago; they’ve been refueling all day and still it’s not finished! Not anything to worry about; tomorrow’s a sea day and I’m sure they’ll make up the time before the next port.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Spinner2

Spinner2

Posted
  • Author
Posted

I’m sorry to compress so many reports below into one post, but I’ve not had much luck getting online and I’d rather not pay for the long waits between posting subsequent messages on the Cruise Critic website.

 

November 24

At Sea toward Costa Rica

 

A rainy Sunday! The weather slightly upset King Neptune who had expected to preside over the aft pool for the usual ceremony and probably upset, or at least annoyed, even more his appointed helpers who so carefully set up all of the chairs and cushions, only to have the rain descend upon them shortly thereafter, forcing the entire process to be repeated down at the Lido pool. But the ceremony went on as usual there and a bit humid it was, until the rain let up and the deck’s retractible cover could be opened. That’s probably a more difficult pool to drain and clean of the goopy egg-white mixture that’s used to slime the first-time crossers of the equator (crew only; passengers just get to watch!) but it’s in the cleaning process, I noticed, when I went by it later this afternoon in search of an afternoon ice cream cone.

 

============

November 25

Costa Rica

 

What a delightful day! We’d dithered around for so long about what to do today; we love this port and thee are so many choices, both as private tours and as shore excursions. Previously we’ve taken the entire day to go to San Jose to visit the Brit Coffee Plantation; Brit is our household coffee and we discovered it at a tasting in the terminal some years ago. While the tasting was separate from the ship, HAL had some relationship with them; the port shopping ambassador had forms for a very nice discount on a 20-bag order, shipping costs included and shipped to your home. We’ve been using it ever since. And, on another visit, we went out to the rainforest to enjoy the tram that goes up into the canopy and at the moment my laptop screensaver is a photograph of mostly Costa Rican rainforest trees of a thousand shades of green, with four dear little monkeys lounging on their backs amongst the branches. When the photo was taken (in the rain, from an arial tram, all that was visible was a streak of brown but when magnified . . . magnificent! So we wanted to do something different this time and after looking at the private tour offerings and the shore excursions we selected an option that I only found in the shore excursions—a time on the river and a train ride through the back country.It turned out to be an excellent decision. The bus ride to the river was enjoyable, although very bumpy, and we had an excellent guide to show us sights along the way. And once we got to the river, there were more pleasant surprises. We were offered a lovely tasting of fresh pineapple and watermelon and among the drinks offered (water, ice tea and beer) was the best ice tea I think I’ve ever had. It was really a fruit tea of some sort; just delicious and so refreshing. Then we walked down a paved pathway to the boat landing where there was another surprise: everyone would be getting an individual molded, padded bucket-style seat, fastened two to a platform, with wide aisles to make moving around easy. We knew from the photo that the boat was covered, but usually the seats on a boat aren’t all that comfortable. The entry onto the boat was simple too; no steps to climb; just a ramp from the walkway onto the boat. Almost anyone would be able to do it.

 

We had our guide and a boat driver, both excellent spotters of wildlife. We’d hardly left the dock before one of them spotted our first crocodile, and the guide used his laser pointer to make sure everyone could see the animal as it was well-camouflaged in the sandy shoreline. Then the boat was turned around so that those on the opposite side got a good look too. Seconds later a pair of macaws were spotted up in the trees and again the laser pointer was used to help spot them, and the boat turned so everyone could see. All that activity probably spooked them, but as they flew away I think almost everyone got a great shot of their flight away from the stresses of a boatload of people. The trip produced sightings of many crocodiles, birds, termite nests, crabs, and many species of trees and shore plants.

 

Once back on land I decided to purchase a couple of wooden mats I’d seen on the way down to the boat; they are made of small rectangles of polished wood and actually fold up into a manageable size to transport, although the mats are a bit larger than a standard placemat. It’s rare that I buy anything when we travel, but these were really beautiful.

 

As we continued on the bus to the train we learned more about the history of the railroad, Costa Rican economy, taxes, daily life, etc. as people do wonder why the smaller roads are in such poor repair. It sounded like the situation at home; a federal agency maintains the main roads which are reasonably good in most places; local governments maintain the local roads and there’s never enough money to fix all the potholes and such.

 

The train was interesting too. As we pulled up to the station, the first (rather disconcerting!) sign was a station house with a big “For Sale” sign on it and a rather rusty-looking train, but no worries. The interior of the train is beautiful: well-maintained pine covers the ceiling and walls down to window-height; the windows do look vintage and open easily; a good thing, since there’s no air conditioning. Each car does have a toilet compartment and someone comes through the train selling water and beer. The seats look vintage—old metal frames, but have newly-upholstered seats and backs which seat two persons each and very comfortable. The trip was magical; we saw homes right up along the edges of the train tracks; as the line was abandoned for so long, people moved in a squatters to occupy it and now have legal rights to the land they settled. As we descended a hill, the train came to a stop and we began to back up while our guide explained that he’d spotted a family of howler monkeys high up in the trees along the track. Despite the noise of a train backing up the monkeys didn’t leave, but they had plenty to say about the interruption of their day, much to the amusement of all of us. We stayed there probably 15-20 minutes, letting everyone take pictures, while the babies scampered along the branches and their parents chased them. Once we were underway again the trainman allowed photographers who wanted a little more adventure to join him on the back stoop of the train for even better photos; at one point he tossed a small sack of candy to a little girl who was standing alongside, waving. We saw several families come out to greet the train from their yards, but most weren’t close enough to have any interaction like the candy-passing. When the ride ended (much too soon!) the exit back to the bus was very simple; down the train steps and immediately onto the bus. It was surprising how close we were to the cruise port; less than a 15 minute ride. One couple wanted to leave the bus early and walk back to the terminal along the shoreline; the guide radioed for permission, and then pulled off to the side so they could exit and the guide could show them exactly where it was safe to cross and to walk..

 

This is an excursion that almost anyone would enjoy; the one exception would be those with severe back/neck problems for the roads are very rough, except for the main highway. Other than that there aren’t many mobility issues, I don’t think, but I don’t know if a scooter could be accommodated or not and it would be necessary to climb the usual couple of steps onto the train and back off again. Those steps didn’t seem any more difficult than tour bus steps.

 

I used plenty of insect repellent (I’m convinced that word goes out in advance as to my arrival anywhere so that all mosquitoes in the area can line up to bite me!) and I didn’t get bitten at all. Often, even with liberal application of a strong repellent, I get bitten anyway.

 

From what I could tell about the arrangements, I don’t think this is a tour you could arrange on your own. The train doesn’t have an operating schedule (maybe it will eventually) and I didn’t see anyone at the boat dock except HAL tour groups; there were enough participants that two busses, and thus 2 boats and later 2 rail cars, were needed.

 

I’ve not done a good job of reporting on the entertainment in the past few reports; we’ve attended most of the 10 pm shows (yes, three shows per night continue to be the norm!) but none have particularly impressed. Eventually I’ll pull a list together. I don’t think that information will be very helpful to anyone considering this cruise, as only the production numbers are likely to be the same.

 

One additional ambience I should note—new to us on this cruise as we haven’t seen it consistently on earlier cruises—lemonade is served daily around the public areas, especially on the Lower Prom area, each morning and ice tea in the afternoons. They are using shorter, wider glasses both for this and for available glasses at the self-serve areas in the Lido which seem to me to be an improvement over the small glasses used previously. These probably hold more and are much less likely to tip over.

 

November 26

Corinto, Nicaragua

 

Those of you who have known me for awhile are aware that I’m very interested in the school here that is Captain Albert’s special project so you can imagine my disappointment at his not being aboard to follow through at the school on this cruise. I’ll look forward to what he and his team will accomplish there in future cruises, but that was off the agenda for this cruise.

 

The port call here was very short, time-wise, but we did join a ship’s tour to look at Leon, the nearest large city. While there we visited the Botanic Garden and took a short, quick tour of downtown. The tour left the port very soon after our arrival and we stayed on schedule all day, but we were the tour that arrived back late into port so the ship had to wait for us. I doubt that we delayed the departure by much, but we were later than all aboard, so the full complement of officers and the shore excursion manager were waiting at the gangway for us when we did arrive. To do more than just drive to Leon and come right back, this wouldn’t have been a day to go off on your own. The traffic coming back from Leon was heavier than expected I think; certainly when he could, the driver was going awfully fast and in my opinion, driving through narrow streets in town way too fast.

 

The Botanic Garden tour was well-done; it seems fairly new and is laid out in a way to highlight various agricultural zones, such as river botanics, succulent garden, humidity-seeking plants, desert plants, etc. The walk through it is billed as 2.25 miles, but it didn’t seem that long to me. The path is mostly paving stones of varying sizes; it would be difficult to navigate for some people, I think. There are a few short path areas made of only of dirt and rock construction. There was a very large convention of mosquitoes meeting in the Garden when we arrived and they were certainly on the attack, even with huge amounts of Deet that I had covered myself with. However, their “bites” didn’t last; never got to the itching and bumpy stage so I think the repellent was effective and most people were not that bothered.

 

The tour was billed as well as a “butterfly garden” and I’m sure at times that’s accurate but this isn’t the butterfly season and only a relative few were seen. Those that I did see were colorful; it would be nice to have seen more of them.

 

The walk through Leon’s main square, with a quick (very quick!) climb up to the top of the structure was the final activity. Those climbing up with the guide to the top were required to remove shoes so as to not get the dirt on their shoes into the painting that was going on. Despite this, the stairwell was so narrow that many people couldn’t help but brush into the “paint” and get it onto their clothes. I don’t know what kind of “paint” it was but you can draw your own conclusions when I tell you that it washed right out with the addition of a little plain water once we were back on the ship, and laundering those garments took care of it completely.

 

Personally, I wouldn’t recommend this tour. The time available at the port was too short to give it the time that was needed; your opinion might be different if you have more hours in Corinto. If you go into the city on your own allow extra time for your return; the road is mostly 2-way and large trucks will slow the speed on the road considerably. The one thing I did appreciate was being able to see so many varieties of housing along the way. Nicaragua certainly has the reputation of a “poor” country, but as often is the case, there are definite exceptions. We saw more than a few beautiful estates as we drove between Corinto and Leon—gorgeous grounds with large, modern homes surrounded by well-maintained walls and gates. In contrast, there were entire hillside “shanty-towns” at the other extreme. We saw extremes in industry too; a few new-ish, active modern factories and then many industrial efforts that were labor-intensive with older equipment.

 

If you stay around the port, you can walk through the Corinto streets; we’ve done that on our own on previous visits. The people are friendly, there is merchandise for sale, but this is a challenging place to live and to visit, in my opinion.

 

However, Leon has contributed a delightfully-ironic image for our photographic collection and eventually you can see it when I get the photo blog done. The scene was shot in a busy traffic circle, filled with busses, cars, trucks, etc. all circling, exiting and entering the circle in that confusing-yet-orderly fashion of traffic circles. Included in the mix was a horse-drawn vehicle. The horse looked terribly underfed to me; perhaps it’s the breed, but to my eye, that was a hardworking, down-on-his-luck horse. He was towing an open wagon, originally a bright yellow, probably, but now very faded. And the text on the wagon read . . . “Western Union.” Of course Western Union isn’t the essential service it once was, as the primary purveyor of urgent messages, but somehow I hope it hasn’t sunk to the level represented by this image!

 

November 27

Guatemala

 

So, today we’ve decided to join a ship excursion for zip lining and a quick run through Antigua because it was, for us, the most of what we wanted to do in the time we have. We’ve been in Antigua before, and we were ok with seeing a little more of it, but primarily we were going for the zip line and to see how a coffee plantation is maximizing its resources into what I call “Agri-Entertainment” where a working farm finds other ways to add to its income. This location was the Filadelphia Coffee Plantation and in addition to coffee production, from the growth of the beans through the packaging of the final product, they offer the zip line, horseback riding, a nice restaurant, and probably more that we didn’t see. The distance to just about any activity from the port city of Porto Quetzal is considerable, and even though we’re here for a long day, time is a consideration. We liked the zip line that the shore excursion was offering. It is 7 platforms, the braking at each platform was handled for you which is a first for us (used to doing it ourselves and hoping each time to get it right!) , and above all, transportation to the actual zip line from the point where you arrive at the plantation is by vehicle, so the time there wouldn’t be spent in long hikes to and from the zip line’s beginning and ending stations. However, the trip up the mountain to the highest station is a rough one, with very steep inclines and rough roads which might concern some.

 

What we weren’t prepared for was how cold it would be! At the ship the temperature, even at 8 am, was 95 degrees; we took rain jackets as a precaution, but even when we reached the plantation (a little under 5000 feet in elevation) and found it slightly windy and cool, we weren’t terribly concerned with warmth. We should have been, along with the rest of our little group (8 people; the rest of the people on our bus of 32 were going to the coffee tour at the same location) as only one took a sweat shirt up to the zip line with her. The rest of us left our jackets on the bus. So we were pretty cold! The wind was really blowing up in the trees; standing on those platforms waiting our turns was a chilly process and no one was shivering from nervousness; it was the cold! Wear something warm when you go! But this was a really nice zip line experience; the tour operators were excellent and the travel between the stations was varied in length and steepness so we had a nice variety of runs. A very nice sack lunch (large roast beef sandwich,chips, cookies, boxed fruit drink) awaited us at the end, with a lovely patio where we could have enjoyed it, but it was just too cold, so we all opted to climb back onto our vehicle, lunches in hand, and return to the base where we could find a warmer (but still chilly!) table outside on the restaurant patio. We saw those who had opted for horseback riding go past, trying to keep their horses from nibbling at the vegetation along the path, and those from our own tour who had visited the coffee tour seem to have enjoyed their visit as well.

 

On the way back there was a fairly brief walk through Antigua; our guide took us to see the interiors of some very nice buildings that are now being used as hotels, with lovely interior courtyard gardens. We visited the municipal building and climbed up to its balcony to see the city overview. However, the trail of those peddling goods followed us everywhere; I’m sure it doesn’t bother most tourists, but I find it really hard to appreciate what this city has to offer when I’m having to run a gauntlet of sellers to whom I have to say to each and every one, “No, gracias.” I know they need to make a living, but I wanted to listen to the tour. At least on this trip, for we’ve been here several times before, the sellers were primarily adults; in the past I’ve had to turn away an awful lot of really pitiful-looking young children, trying to sell things.

 

The tour guide expected to turn us loose to “shop and explore” on our own for 30 minutes; she was voted down by a large majority who wanted to just leave and go back to the ship. Quite a few of the tour group had bought items as we moved along the streets as a tour group so were about shopped-out, but I think a lot of our group had been here before and just didn’t want any additional looking or shopping time. Despite leaving early from Antigua we still didn’t return until our expected time; again, traffic was heavy.

 

One of the things I look forward to when we come here is the handicrafts market at the cruise port. While the merchandise may be the same as in town, the selection is much larger as it is not limited to what the seller can carry with him/her and there aren’t other distractions. Comparison-shopping is easy. And, if you’re not interested and walk on, the exhibitor is not likely to follow you. I am not fond of shopping, but several years ago I purchased a small rectangular padded case on a shoulder-bag-length cord; it was meant as a glasses case but the year after I got it the iPhone came out and it was a perfect fit. Since there’s a zippered compartment on the outside of the case it’s a perfect small purse; the phone, credit cards/license, even a lipstick or comb will fit into the zippered compartment. After all these years mine is still wearing well, but I know that if the cord should start to unravel it wouldn’t be useful any longer so I wanted to purchase back-up units as I really use it a lot. A quick glance around the market place as we went to the tour bus produced exactly what I wanted to I picked up 3 cases for $5 each (her selling-price offer for one was $8; I said I’d buy 3 —thus, one was almost free) so I had the essential item I wanted before the tour even started. When we returned I did pick up a placemat set in the same heavy weave and a traditional nativity set. That’s enough shopping to last me for awhile!

 

No formal evening entertainment; we were in port past the time that would normally be the first showtime. We were fine with that; it had been an exhausting, although totally enjoyable, day and we went to the Pinnacle for a leisurely dinner. Very nice way to end the day.

 

November 28

Thanksgiving Day (USA)

Sailing toward Manzanilla, Day 1

 

Today is our rough and crazy sea day. With ferocious winds; Beaufort 10+ (yet no rain; a gorgeous sky!) all outer doors are closed, the barf bags are out, and we’re all moving carefully through the corridors. There are some leaks along our corridor here on the Navigation Deck; we’re below the pool that seems to be having some problems. There are people in the corridors working on the situation; but I haven’t heard of any cabins that are affected. It seems to be the Neptune Lounge and the hallways adjacent and it’s not a flood by any means; just some dripping. We expect to be out of this weather pattern by 8 pm and I hope so; this is formal night. I don’t really want to not wear heels with a formal dress, but I might not be able to walk in them either!

 

I’ve secured some doors in our cabin and have put paper and cloth separators between the wine glasses in the cupboard as they were clinking together very loudly when we returned from lunch and I don’t want any of them to chip. The gale is supposedly at its strongest at the moment, mid-afternoon. I was up at the Crow’s Nest just before lunch, watching the waves. While the ship has been adjusting its speed and course to ride pretty much in synch with the waves, occasionally that won’t happen, and the resulting spray is hitting the windows of the Crow’s Nest and dripping down the windows. Quite a sight!

 

It’s Thanksgiving, of course, and turkey (whole birds, roasted here on board, I’ve heard, not pre-assembled roasts of turkey parts) is on the menu, along with some very nice side dishes. It’s a pleasure to not be the holiday-meal-cook for a change!

 

The entertainment tonight is an Encore Night; I haven’t looked to see who is on the agenda but if the sea calms a bit, I think we’ll go, if for no reason other than to support the 10 pm show time. We much prefer the entertainment to follow dinner, but it is, of course, the lowest-attended time so we’re trying to go as often as possible to help the attendance count.

 

This is such a wonderful cruise; it’s hard to believe we have less than a week to go.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Ineke

Ineke

Posted
Posted

I have been vicariously travelling along with you, and am enjoying your accounts tremendously. You have a great way with words, and I can almost place myself in all of your locations and situations. Thank you!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Spinner2

Spinner2

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Thanks for all the kind words!

 

 

Friday November 30

(posted Saturday, Nov 29)

 

THOSE JOINING THE SHIP ON DECEMBER 4: BE SURE YOU READ TO THE BOTTOM OF THIS ENTRY

 

We had a very nice sea day today; the Village Fair was held in the morning, with games of chance and fun for all. Great attendance, long lines. I don’t think any officers were dunked into the pool; when we attended the Village Fair on this ship last year the rules were a bit looser; this time, several successful ring tosses across the pool were needed to send someone in and no one managed that, I don’t think.

 

We received our 300-day Silver Medallions at an event in the afternoon. Held in the showroom just for medal awardees, I’d say probably 60 bronze (100 day), 5 silver (300) and 1 gold ( 500 days ?I might be wrong on that) were awarded, one by one, with photos for each couple, or individual if not traveling with a companion who was also awarded. We have been sent an invitation for the usual Mariner Lunch for later in the week; for this cruise anyway, the medallion event will not precede the lunch.

 

About 5 pm yesterday the ship went CODE RED, with an announcement over the PA by the captain and letters to each cabin followed. As best as I can tell the level of illness is too high to ignore but not excessively severe; there seems to be as much concern about what people are bringing back on ship with them in the way of food-borne illnesses as NORO. I know that the ship crew have been told not to eat or drink anything on shore today; to take water with them and not purchase food, even to get the free internet that’s often part of the deal. Personally I know only of one couple who has been quarantined and they are back out in circulation now, having been cleared by the health folks. I would assume that they are very anxious to get this controlled so they go into San Diego clean but we only have 4 more days and 2 Mexican ports to go.

 

Affected are the hot tubs and spa, paperback books and magazines, self-service of food/drink. As of Friday night the library was still open for hardcover books and the pools were open. The crew, of course, is working overtime at sanitizing and someone with the hand sanitizer is at each end of every corridor in the public areas, not allowing anyone past until they get re-squirted with the sanitizer.

 

I’ll update and if someone with better internet access than I have (that’s all of you! ) would put a note on the upcoming Statendam Mexican Riviera 12-day cruise from San Diego Dec 4 those folks would know to watch for further announcements as they plan their boarding times.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
kazu "Live from...." Rare

kazu

Posted
Posted

What a shame you have hit Code Red :( It can put a damper on a cruise but the good thing is that most of your journey is complete.

 

I suspect that it is things people were bringing back from their shore excursions as well.

 

I hope it clears up for you quickly. Your reports have been a joy to follow and you deserve to have the remainder of the cruise as nice as possible :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Spinner2

Spinner2

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Saturday November 30

Manzanillo Mexico

 

We didn’t find a lot of interest here, although we did see photos from our cabin neighbors’ trip to a local beach where they saw a lot of sea life, including bringing up quite a few starfish to photo before dropping them back into the water. It was Saturday in town, but there were not a lot of local people out shopping; the downtown stores are an easy stroll over from the ship. There are interesting statues along the beach to see. So most of our day was spent onboard, enjoying the sunshine out on our veranda.

 

Sanitation procedures continue to be the major ship activity of the crew; in addition to the usual continual wipe-downs there is a smiling crew member at every corridor intersection, with the dispenser. If you’re crossing the full length of the ship on a public deck chances are you’ll be expected to pick up a squirt of the hand sanitizer at least 3 times, although you may have touched nothing on the way. A little awkward when your arms are full of books being returned!

 

Speaking of the library, while you can still check out books, you must select one from behind the grillwork and then ask the librarian to get it for you. It’s not easy to read titles behind the grill, but at least the books are available to check out.

 

Thank you for your kind words, everyone, about finding ourselves in Code Red, but the impact on us has been minimal and we continue to very much enjoy this wonderful cruise.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Spinner2

Spinner2

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Willow every effort is being made to clear this. We have seen so many in port buy a cold bootled drink and pour it over a glass of ice. So foolish as you know nothing about the quality of that ice. The big push other than wash your hands has concerned care in buying food and drink ashore. There are quite a few continuing onto the new cruise so it won't start with a blank slate

 

I am on wi fi at the Vallarte mall Starbucks. It's good if you come over. Just across the street from the ship

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Spinner2

Spinner2

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Sunday, December 1

Puerto Vallarta

 

A relaxing Sunday! We’ve been here many times before and weren’t interested this time in sight-seeing, so we strolled across the street to the Crew Store (aka, the Wal-Mart) where, in addition to the crew, we saw many other passengers, picking up little stuff. We went over in search of a sturdy folder to be used to bring home the attractive menus and other paperwork we’ve collected during the cruise, as that’s the one thing we forgot to bring. We found a nice folder that will work, after it’s stiffened up with a purchased acrylic cutting board that fits neatly inside. Then, based on advice we got from a crew member, we went next door to the Vallarta Mall which is beautifully decorated for Christmas, and up to the second floor Starbucks, where the purchase of a cup of coffee got us wi-fi access. With the ship library essentially shut (it’s really hard to pick things from behind those metal grids!) I wanted to add a couple of library books to my iPad and iPhone, for reading pleasure out on the verandah. Four books later, and the mail collected, my half-hour of internet access closed, but it was plenty of time for what I wanted, and my DH George got his mail collected, as well. A good wi-fi access reference; as good as it is reputed to be.

 

Tonight’s entertainment was Marty Brill, who we’ve enjoyed before, and did so again tonight, as he had an entirely new show, with all new material. This was followed by the Indonesian Crew Show which is always a delight and as often happens, there was some ad-libbing in the Monkey Dance script to work in some jokes about the hand-washing campaign and such. Lots of passengers joined the Anglung Orchestra for the traditional “Spanish Eyes” which was fun, too.

 

Code Red continues! When we returned from the Indonesian Crew Show, about 11:45 pm, housekeeping staff was still working, wiping down the corridor walls, rails, door handles, etc. They’re doing all they can, I’m sure; there’s a smiling crew member in literally every public corridor intersection, holding out the hand sanitizer dispenser and expecting no one to pass without a re-sanitizing. The announcements have explained that every time you touch a surface, you could pick up the virus, even if you’d just thoroughly washed your hands and while hand washing is preferred, the sanitizer is better than doing nothing when you’re out and about.

 

Monday, December 2

At sea, toward San Diego, Day 1

 

We heard a little about the Code Red situation this morning. The rate of illness is very definitely down; way down, although there is still the occasional illness reported. Clearly the crew’s efforts are paying off, but personally, with no official information to back it up, I don’t think there’s enough time between now and San Diego to satisfy HAL and/or health officials, that the ship is totally disease-free. There just aren’t enough days to “prove” that; this happened so late in the cruise, and I’d guess that the code won’t be lifted before we arrive in San Diego on Wednesday. But I don’t think that the December 4 passengers should assume they will absolutely be inconvenienced by any more than the usual precautionary code yellow; at this point, I doubt that there’s any definite decision made yet.

 

Meanwhile, on board, we have a lot of fun activities to look forward to; the cruise is still great. It is, however, a bit chillier out on the verandah; San Diego is definitely looming in our future, as I think we’ve left those warm, humid coastal breezes.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
SJSULIBRARIAN

SJSULIBRARIAN

Posted
Posted

The crew really works terribly hard during a long Code Red situation. The first 14 days of 17 of our Amsterdam cruise last December was in Code Red having begun on the previous Asia Pacific Grand Voyage the previous week. I have the upmost regard for all the crew during these situations trying to get the place noro free as well as being as nice and friendly as they always are. They rarely get any sleep but still perform as great as they do in a non Code Red situation.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing
  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Cruise Critic News & Features
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...