Sail Away Gang - in living Colour - a photo review

[1of4]

So instead of leaving our hearts in San Francisco, we left ours on the dock in San Diego.

 

 

 

I tried really had to get a picture of the bell without anybody in it. I failed. So I erased them....

 

 

But the Navy decided to give us a show so that helped! Quite nice of them, don't you think?! Once out of the inner harbour our trusted Captain got his finger stuck on the horn button again. He gave those Navy guys a run for their money...but they didn't appear at all intimidated.

 

At first it was a few high speed boats returning...then the helicopters...new more zodiac type boats....

 

 

 

[1of4]

Sorry everyone. I just reread what I had written today and some of it is very interesting...meaning words I had not intended to write now appear. :o

 

I think it is a combination of my head still being dizzy (just not AS dizzy) and my haste. I will try to proof read before I submit...no guarantee that will help though as I am not the best speller. :eek:

[summer slope]

Sorry everyone. I just reread what I had written today and some of it is very interesting...meaning words I had not intended to write now appear. :o

 

I think it is a combination of my head still being dizzy (just not AS dizzy) and my haste. I will try to proof read before I submit...no guarantee that will help though as I am not the best speller. :eek:

You have nothing to be sorry about. Your journey and the way you share it with us is just wonderful. I thank you so much and I wish I could cruise with your children. They are just the best.

[Himself]

Sorry everyone. I just reread what I had written today and some of it is very interesting...meaning words I had not intended to write now appear. :o

 

I think it is a combination of my head still being dizzy (just not AS dizzy) and my haste. I will try to proof read before I submit...no guarantee that will help though as I am not the best speller. :eek:

 

Your pictorial review of your cruise was one of the best reviews I have ever come across.

I do not know you and yet after this photo essay, I kind of do know you. Thanks for everything so far and I hope there is more.

Himself

[1of4]

Well I am certainly glad that you are enjoying my saunter down memory lane (before I forget!). :p

 

It was an amazing adventure for all of us; I was able to realize a long-time dream of going through the Panama Canal while we were all able to experience places and people who have widened our horizons. I saw an advertisement today in a journal at work, which was an unlikely place as it was an engineering journal but there it was and it said exactly how I feel:

 

Take them where textbooks can't

 

DS teacher phoned us on his second day back at school to tell us just this. She said she could never teach him what he learned.

 

The world is a fascinating place and I am fortunate to be able to show them even a little bit of it. DH had never been on a holiday until we married. It was a real chore to get him to agree to go on vacation that first time. Now I don't have to convince him; he just needs to check his schedule.

[1of4]

We thought the show was over when the first Navy helicopter and boats went by. But they just kept coming!

 

 

One of the roll call members who knew DH had stayed behind told DS that he was going to see the Navy submarines. But we had no idea we were going to see one in dry dock!

 

 

 

Here they come again...and again! The Captain was having a "blast":

 

 

They stay in formation even on the water!

 

 

What a beautiful day. I can't imagine any better.

 

[1of4]

Time to get ready for dinner. We were all still sad that we were only 3 instead of 4.

 

 

The anchor (at least I think it is an anchor) is just a bit bigger than DS:

 

 

We really enjoyed being able to go out to the bow on different days during this voyage. A co-worker just told me she booked a HAL cruise to Alaska for her and her son...because of me! I told her that the captain will open the bow on Glacier Bay day and she was surprised and thought that would be great. I told her she chose well.

 

We went to our dining table and it was made up for only 3. There was quite a change in the ambient noise level in the dining room. It was difficult to hear DD sitting across the table. But what really caught my attention was the table for 4 behind me that started "mooing" like cattle when they saw prime rib on the menu. Honestly. These were mature adults!

 

So here is our cabin made up after dinner:

 

 

After dinner we went back to the cabin for DS and DD to change for Club Hal. I must admit I was a bit of a lost soul. I wandered around a bit but saw nobody I knew so I went back to the cabin. It was a real challenge for me to stay awake as I didn't have DH as back up to collect DD and DS at 10:00. It was too cold to go out on the balcony so I just sat at the desk and worked on my tablet. I made a serious mistake when I packed DH up and I packed my stitching. I brought two projects, one cross stitch and one quilting to do when DH was gone. I really don't know what I was thinking sending them home ahead of me. I was lonely without DH but if I had my stitching I could have sat anywhere and done that and not felt like I no longer belonged.

 

Tuesday April 28 dawned grey. No other description would fit:

 

 

The high for the day was only 13 (55 degrees). After the temperatures through the canal, this may as well have been below zero.

 

The pools had a definite wave action going.

 

 

[1of4]

We had a "scheduled" tablet meeting with the roll call. We were supposed to meet at 10 in the Pinnacle Bar but when we arrived we found out very quickly that the location was being used for Mah jong. So we tried the Explorer's lounge and that was set up for an art auction. It went like this until we finally decided to settle in the lower atrium area.

 

We were doing well by ourselves until we needed an "expert". Who better than a 10 year old male? So up to Club Hal I went but I was surprised to find them on the sports deck. Did I mention the high temp was only 13 (55) and that does not account for the wind! I wasn't happy. So up to the sports deck I went and signed DD and DS out. They were frozen as they were in shorts and t-shirts.

 

DS sorted out the issues quickly (annoyingly quickly).

 

That was the last activity for the Sail Away gang.

 

The next two days are a bit of a blurr. I know I was cold and missing DH to do things with. That afternoon DS and DD did not want to go back to Club Hal because there was outdoor time scheduled and they just didn't have the clothes for that. We tried to see the movie "Into the Woods" playing in the Queen's Lounge but when we arrived all the seats were taken except a few on the extreme sides. When I moved the independent chairs to where we could see a couple that was laying down on the sofa in there said we couldn't sit there as they couldn't see. I said everyone else had seats there but they got very rude so I just removed us from their ugliness. So we went up to the Crow's Nest to work on a puzzle but when we got there the two woman at the puzzle table told us very pointedly that it was "their puzzle" and we were not welcome to join in. Funny since I had started that puzzle the day before.

 

So we went back to the cabin. After dinner there was no outside time in Club Hal so DD and DS went up and I couldn't go back to the cabin as I would fall asleep so I sat in the Lido for 3 hours. I emailed DH and watched the sun set.

 

The next day was sunny but still cold. There was a 6 foot swell all day. Not bad motion but the consistency of it got to my head and I was starting to feel the Meniere's come on.

 

 

 

I went to a lecture on the "What ifs in History". Excellent. But it was in the Vista Lounge and the motion was more there. That afternoon DD and I went back to the Vista Lounge for the talk with the Captain and the Pilipino Crew Show:

 

 

 

 

This night was the International Dinner in the dining room. Since I was given the menus a day ahead I had let our roll call know using the thread on CC that Kazu had started. I knew a number of members had PG reservation for the next evening and not Wednesday evening.

 

That night I was unwilling to sit by myself in the Lido so I went to the show...back in the Vista Lounge! Ugh. I was okay but the passengers who had gotten on in San Diego were dropping like flies with the motion. Many went running out never to be seen again. I hadn't bothered on Tuesday night as it was a comedian and I was not interested.

 

Thursday dawned and the ocean was calm. The bow was open at 10 so I enjoyed my pea soup...or two if truth be told, out on the bow. I love the pacific north west scenery. The poor crew were freezing and they looked at me like I was an alien choosing to be out there instead of inside.

 

[ger_77]

When I moved the independent chairs to where we could see a couple that was laying down on the sofa in there said we couldn't sit there as they couldn't see. I said everyone else had seats there but they got very rude so I just removed us from their ugliness. So we went up to the Crow's Nest to work on a puzzle but when we got there the two woman at the puzzle table told us very pointedly that it was "their puzzle" and we were not welcome to join in. Funny since I had started that puzzle the day before.

 

You know, it never ceases to amaze me how people can be so rude; it's as if they had been raised by wolves. No, wait, wolves can even be taught manners. One can only imagine how they must be when they are not on vacation and perhaps put into stressful situations.

 

Smooth Sailing! :) :) :)

[1of4]

I just compiled a few pictures taken by others and shared with me. I thought you may like to see them.

 

From the sail away:

 

 

4of4 in the PG:

 

 

and in the restaurant in Leon...how come DD is the only one that doesn't look overheated?

 

 

I had to take away the colour to make the picture clear but thought the look on the captain's face was worthy of including:

 

 

I guess he got impatient as this was the next picture!

 

 

Now back to our originally scheduled programming! On our way to Victoria:

 

[qsuzi]

I just compiled a few pictures taken by others and shared with me. I thought you may like to see them.

 

 

Thanks so much for sharing the pix. Memories to last a a life time.

Edited May 22, 2015 by qsuzi

[Himself]

I am still enjoying the pictures. I hope you got to Buchart Gardens while you were in Victoria.

[1of4]

We did something unique in Victoria....stay tuned!

 

I will never tire of the views around Seattle, Victoria and Vancouver. I guess because I am land locked (except for the Great Lakes but they just are not the same).

 

DD and DS went up to Club Hal knowing we would be off the ship all afternoon.

 

I was out on the bow and up on the deck in front of the gym. These pictures are in no order. My camera downloaded them mixed up with Vancouver and Guatemala for some reason.

 

 

 

 

[1of4]

woops. I hit submit instead of preview post on the last one.

 

It looks dark but it really wasn't.

 

 

 

 

 

Because the pictures are really mixed up I can't always tell that I have loaded similar pictures in to Shutterfly, like above:

 

 

Did I tell you that the Dutch Pea Soup was amazing!

 

[Himself]

They always serve the Dutch Pea Soup while the ship is in Glacier Bay.

[ayeamcdn]

Our CC roll call -Nieuw Amsterdam 10 APR 16 - have made your review compulsory reading. What a great preview of our cruise. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. Your review is excellent. Now we have to strive to have as good a time as your Sail Away Gang. A school in Guatemala is also on our tour itinerary. Where was the school you visited? Which tour company did you use? Some of our cruisers have CDN Military connections & this will also be a reunion of those who served, or were dependents, in Europe. Most of us have itchy feet & must travel or wither. Thanks for your review.

[1of4]

Our CC roll call -Nieuw Amsterdam 10 APR 16 - have made your review compulsory reading. What a great preview of our cruise. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. Your review is excellent. Now we have to strive to have as good a time as your Sail Away Gang. A school in Guatemala is also on our tour itinerary. Where was the school you visited? Which tour company did you use? Some of our cruisers have CDN Military connections & this will also be a reunion of those who served, or were dependents, in Europe. Most of us have itchy feet & must travel or wither. Thanks for your review.

 

It is a very nice feeling to know that you are enjoying my review. Thank you for telling me. I can not fathom not enjoying a cruise and this one would be next to impossible. We had no other expectation but to enjoy ourselves. Everything else just falls into place.

 

Kudos for the school visit have to go to Kazu. She did all the leg work in organizing the private tour. If you go to one of her posts you will see a link to the spreadsheet she and another roll call member developed for the cruise. The port for the school is Puerto Queztal so click on it and you will see the web address for the tour company she chose. Carlos was fantastic and I would not hesitate to use his company again. It was his idea to go to the school which was about 15 minutes outside of Antigua. The description of the tour is in post #226 of our roll call (Sail Away Gang Westerdam April 11 2015).

 

The whole cruise (food included) was fantastic.

 

Thank you for your and your friend's/family's service to our country. It is I that thank you.

[Vict0riann]

I thought I would mention that the name of the village where the school was was San (somebody-or-other) de Aguas Calientes. I can't remember the name of the saint, was it Felipe? I remember the Aguas Calientes, because it means hot waters, and I figured we must have been fairly near a volcano with some sort of hot springs in the area. I think most of the people in the area were of Mayan extraction. The village was not as high as Antigua, but still in the hills. (Antigua was about a mile high.)

[Krazy Kruizers]

Wonderful pictures.

What a wonderful experience your children had.

[1of4]

Here I am...sorry. Today was the first day off the meds for Meniere's and I was taking it very carefully to test if I got dizzy. So I stayed away from the computer. Only 2 dizzy spells so that is a huge improvement.

 

So where was I....eating pea soup I think. Hummm, it has been cold enough here for me to remember that fondly! Frost last night so everyone that planted their gardens last weekend were a bit sorry today. Good job I was dizzy and didn't get to it. Thank goodness for small mercies. But we did cut our grass (or DH did) for the first time in 2016 last weekend. No fear that anything grew this week!

 

I just couldn't get over the views as we got closer to Victoria.

 

 

Land-Ho:

 

 

 

I think we are getting close.

 

 

 

DD was the first to spot the nice welcome sign.

 

[1of4]

We had a beautiful view from our balcony.

 

 

The view made up for the tug boat captain with anger issues...his language left more than a little to be desired!

 

 

 

So we went back to looking to the horizon.

 

 

[1of4]

We did not wait long after the call came that we could go ashore.

 

 

A bit of perspective:

 

 

Something is looking familiar...

 

 

We are home....well a long way from OUR home, but home none-the-less.

 

 

We had no plans. I thought we would book a ship tour but, as Canadian, I couldn't really make sense of spending American dollars in Canada. So we left the ship with no clear plan. But it turned out fantastic.

[Himself]

We did not wait long after the call came that we could go ashore.

 

 

A bit of perspective:

 

 

Something is looking familiar...

 

 

We are home....well a long way from OUR home, but home none-the-less.

 

 

We had no plans. I thought we would book a ship tour but, as Canadian, I couldn't really make sense of spending American dollars in Canada. So we left the ship with no clear plan. But it turned out fantastic.

 

Victoria has the mildest weather of any city in Canada

[Mtn2Sea]

Thanks again for sharing your adventures with us. Your photos provide a great illustration of your trip. Looking forward to hearing about your day in Victoria.

[Dismomx5]

Loving the pictures! And seeing that Canadian flag always brings you home, doesn't it. (Even the quick turn around on the White Pass Railroad in the Yukon did that for us last year.) :D