John and Diane sail the Mediterranean

[Johnny B]

Wednesday, November 29, 2017

Funchal, Madeira

You would think that an island in the Atlantic Ocean would be cold, windy and just plain miserable. You would, in fact, be wrong. Madeira is not only temperate and beautiful, but it’s overrun with tropical flowers and once a year has a wonderful flower festival which involves using flower petals to make pictures along the walkways near the city’s botanical gardens. We were here for that festival in the spring of 2008, and it truly is

an experience we would like to repeat.

We docked at 8:00, and by the time we disembarked at about 9:30, there was no crush on the gangway and we were able to just amble off the ship. As far as our ship’s docking area was concerned, we hit the jackpot. We docked as near to the center of town as was possible, so no shuttles were needed.

Our first destination was the wonderful little coffee shop/bakery we had so enjoyed last April. It was located on one of the numerous little side streets, so we began our quest. Well . . . . we must have walked along several dozen of those little side streets, and the sad news is that we never did find it. I guess the lesson here is that when you find a great place, take a photo of it as well as a photo of the street sign. Luckily for us, however, there are a LOT of nice cafes, and we found another one after we gave up our search. A discovery I made was that cappuccino in Funchal is always topped with a generous amount of whipped cream, much as ours was in April. We thought perhaps that’s we’d been exaggerating, but when we went back through the photos, we saw a coffee cup just overflowing with about two inches of the creamy treat. Yummmm!

After a long break and an opportunity to catch up on our wifi needs, we headed out to explore a bit more of the city. I think we’ve been here about six times, and we’ve never been disappointed. It is such a beautiful place, with Funchal facing the sea and backed by high mountains. Two of our favorite things to do (which we didn’t do today) are to take the cable car to the top of the mountain (and back), and to ride the “sleds” that are pushed by colorfully dressed local men. We decided that on our next stop, we’d do both. Actually, one of the things we always do when we stop in Madeira is to discuss how it would be a great place to rent an apartment for a week. There is so much to do and see, the people are so friendly, and the weather is really nice.

After our cappuccino break, our next stop was the city’s market, which has everything from spices to funny Madeira hats with a woven point of fabric on top, to fresh fish. Even if you don’t buy anything, it’s a great walk-through). The only purchase we made was a baseball cap which said “Madeira.” It’s for the young man who lives with us, since he’s from Madera, California. What’s one letter, hey?

One of the shore excursions offered by HAL (which we didn’t take), included an opportunity to taste varieties of Madeira wine. What I’ve been told is that Madeira has always made wine, but because of its distance from mainland Europe, it took quite a long time to arrive there. To prevent any spoilage, brandy was added to the wine as a preservative, and the increased amount of alcohol made it very popular with Europeans.

After walking and walking and taking photos of the beautiful painted doorways, we found a cute place for lunch which overlooked the sea. All of those tables were full, so we just went across the street to the restaurant itself and found a street-side table which also had an ocean view. The food was good and it turned out that John’s previous Aperol Spritz had not been his last in Europe.

Refueled, the walking continued, and by the end of the day it totaled 18,000 steps and over five miles. John is really pushing those knees to their limits. One more stop at a cute little shop found us one Christmas creche richer, and then it was time to return to the ship after six hours of our Funchal wandering. We were tired but had had a great day in one of our favorite ports.

The evening was very low key. Our Trivia team which had won on Tuesday evening, barely scored half the points this evening. We closed off the night with “Happy Hour” in the Crow’s Nest with Bill and Jane and then headed back to our cabin to turn the clocks back an hour and get some well-deserved sleep.

 

[Johnny B]

Friday, December 1, 2017

At Sea - Day 2 en route to Half Moon Cay

Well, here we are on the home stretch. We have seven sea days and then one day on HAL’s private island before dropping anchor in Ft. Lauderdale next Friday. These would be wonderful days to sit on the back deck and soak up the sun - if there were any such thing. A couple of days ago Captain Noel (who has the loveliest Irish accent) said that we’d have two days of difficult weather, and he certainly wasn’t kidding.

Yesterday the morning started out somewhat pleasant, but with quite a bit of wind and some minor rolling. Later in the day, however, the temperature decreased, the wind increased, and some rain made the crew close the Lido roof. The captain had said that Friday (today) would be worse, and he was certainly correct. This morning the wind has increased, and although the ship’s online page says the temperature is 71 degrees, it feels more like 50 or so. The swell has increased to about 12 feet, and I really had to hold on to the bars in the shower this morning. We don’t know how long this weather will last, but we’re holding out hope for a few warm days before we hit the island.

This type of weather limits outdoor activities, of course, and it also makes for very inactive and relaxing days. That was a good thing for John yesterday, since he had to apologize to his knees for his 18,000 steps and 5.5 miles in Funchal on Wednesday. I spent a good part of the morning in the library writing, and a wonderful nap helped us to digest that shared Dive-In burger at lunch.

There’s been quite a flap about “happy hours,” since they’re from 4:00 until 5:00 and 9:00 until 10:00, perfect for early seating passengers but nearly impossible for those of us who eat at 8:00. We do occasionally pop on up to the Crow’s Nest for a nightcap just before 10:00, and we’ve given in and have joined Jane and Bill once or twice for the 4:00 hour. I guess HAL is just trying to save our livers!

Trivia has been interesting of late. Yesterday we scored 10 out of 20 which sounds truly awful, but we came in second! The questions were a bit difficult. For example, the bonus question (worth 5 points) asked for the top five coffee producing countries. Who knew that Vietnam was up there? We did get 3 of them (Brazil, Columbia and Ethiopia), but missed Vietnam and Indonesia. The best part of Trivia, however, is interacting with Ben, the Assistant Cruise Director, who is just a great guy - and pretty funny. We love giving him a bad time and he takes it very well. I won’t even mention that his looks could easily place him in a magazine ad for aftershave or something similar, and his smile lights up the room. Those things, of course, don’t influence my opinion.

I’ve been pretty disappointed with the showroom entertainment on this cruise, with the exception of Vox Fortura and “Five O’Clock Somewhere,” an Irish/Danish couple who play all kinds of instruments and have wonderful voices. Those folks who’ve been on the whole cruise have mentioned that the singers and dancers are repeating shows that were performed during the first half of the cruise. We feel that’s a bit cheesy, since on the four-month world cruise, the singers and dancers had ten shows and never repeated even

one.

Last evening, however, was not only the worst, but really sad. There was a “hilarious” (HAL’s adjective) clean comedian for whom I felt pain and embarrassment. He tried so hard but was just not funny. He told stories that seemed to have no ending and we saw a couple dozen people leaving the show midway (although we didn’t). At the end, he virtually apologized for his performance and I think it just made everyone squirm a bit. I don’t know how Seattle chooses entertainers, but this fellow must have slipped under the radar somehow.

Tonight our table group is having dinner in the Pinnacle, and we’re rather looking forward to that. If you’re a steak lover, that’s the place to go, but they do have some good seafood and the lamb chops are excellent. One of the things I like best is that when you order a “side,” (asparagus, shoestring potatoes, etc), it’s for the whole table, so we all get a variety of things to eat. Some of them we actually finish.

Five more sea days after today, and I expect to enjoy every one.

 

[regnig]

Diane I hope the weather conditions have improved enough for you two to enjoy a bit of "soaking up the sun" before you reach Half Moon Cay.

 

Thank you again for taking us along with you on your cruise and I look forward to our next voyage.

[Johnny B]

Saturday, December 2, 2017

At Sea - Day 3

Boy, was yesterday a rock and roll experience. Twice I was in elevators with ladies who were talking to either me or others about their seasickness medications. I had thought it was great fun to be “rocked” to sleep for my nap or look like I’d had too much to drink walking down the hallways, but I guess some people really have a hard time with seasickness. A piece of unsolicited advice: if you tend toward motion sickness, don’t take a transatlantic voyage in the (almost) winter months. Our friends told us it was a bit rough on the way over, but this is a more than a month later and we really are tossing and turning.

Last evening was our third Pinnacle Grill dinner, and the second with our tablemates. It’s always difficult for me to decide whether I do or don’t like the Pinnacle Grill. The food is excellent - but there’s so much of it! And of course I eat whatever they put in front of me. I love the fact that dinner always begins with an amuse bouche, and last night it was a tiny cup with “mushroom cappuccino.” Basically it was a single spoonful of creamy mushroom soup with a few drops of cream on top. The starters at our table varied from crab cakes to Caesar salad to shrimp cocktail. For mains, this place is a meat-eater’s delight. You can have two sizes of filet mignon, an 18-ounce rib steak, or an 18-ounce porterhouse. For those who really want to go all out, you can pay an extra $59 for a 36-ounce rib steak. Our waitress told us they’ve only sold two of those in the last several months - but the men who ordered them finished them! In our group, we had three (regular) rib steaks, two halibuts and John had lamb chops. By the time my halibut was finished, it was time for dessert, and as much as I love sweets, I really couldn’t finished my Baked Alaska made with Cherry Garcia ice cream. Of course then they bring out the little tiered trays of candies. That’s what I mean when I said that there’s too much of it - but it is truly wonderful.

Since we’re down to the last six days of the cruise, we hear more and more people discussing their evaluation of the cruise. They seem to divide that discussion between the ship itself and the people who run it. Of course we also discuss these sorts of things, and our main comparison is between the Veendam and the Amsterdam.

As this is our first cruise on the V-Dam, we’ve found that it has more similarities to the A-Dam than differences. However, it’s like looking at a photo with a piece of semi-transparent paper over it. I want to find things here as I do on the other ship, but they’re just enough different that I often have to turn around and go a different way or use a different name for a particular space onboard. One major difference is the elevator situation. There are three banks of elevators (four each) on the Amsterdam, but only two on the Veendam. We usually have a midships cabin so we use the midships elevators or stairs, but there are no such things here, so we hike to one end of the ship or the other. Additionally, there is an elevator at each end that hasn’t worked for the entirety of our cruise, and I don’t know why they can’t fix them.

I know that this ship is four years older than the Amsterdam, but I don’t think the maintenance on this one has been as good. I realize that they’ve spent a great deal of the dry dock period converting Lower Promenade cabins to Lanai cabins as well as replacing the aft pool with jacuzzis to make room for more cabins below on the Navigation Deck, but they really need to pay attention to general maintenance too.

I don’t know whether it’s the fact that the same officers and crew tend to be on the world cruise each year or not, but the overall friendliness of people in those positions on this ship suffers by comparison. The best example of this, I believe, is the Hotel Director. On the WC, Henk Mensink can be found in his office on Deck 3 (Lower Promenade) or out and about checking on things and people. Many people who have a problem go directly to Henk. We have seen his counterpart on this ship exactly once - in a welcome line at a cocktail party to which we’d been invited but still have no idea why. A few of the crew members have commented that the best place to find him is outside on the Sports Deck smoking. We really do feel that the overall service attitude comes from the top down, and that does explain a lot. A harsh commentary, but it’s the way we’ve seen it.

This does not include our room stewards, Herman and Nopi, who are two of the best we’ve ever had, or our dining room stewards, Moko and Yudi, who are also excellent.

Both of these ships are very different from the Koningsdam, of course. When we sailed on it for 26 days last fall, we fully enjoyed many of its advantages. It’s new and shiny and has wonderful dining options, including Sel de Mer and The Tamarind. For us, however, it’s just too big and it felt like when we walked from our forward cabin to the pool on the aft deck that we must be in a completely different zip code. The showroom is quite beautiful, but we’ve learned that it’s not big enough for all the passengers, even with three performances. I think we’ll probably go on it again, but only for shorter cruises.

 

So . . . that’s our take on comparison and evaluation. We’ve truly enjoyed this cruise, but we can’t wait to get back on the Amsterdam, even though that won’t be on the 2018 WC unless one of the African segments opens up. Who knows? Maybe we’ll get another chance to try out the Veendam (for a Cuba cruise) or the Koningsdam again.

[Johnny B]

Monday, December 4, 2017

At Sea - Day #5

The weather, to the great relief of many passengers, has calmed. The sea is fairly peaceful, the sky is blue with clouds, and the weather is in the mid 70’s. I don’t see anyone grabbing the green apples and saltines at the front desk (a cure for seasickness) or helping themselves to the famous white bags at the elevators. Since we’re headed for the Bahamas, the skies should remain warm and the seas calm until we get to our “beach day” at Half Moon Cay (pronounced key).

We have a friend on board who shall remain anonymous. We know him from world cruises, and he’s been cruising with HAL since dirt was white. Of course he’s in President’s Club, but he really dislikes it when any PC members make a big deal about it. Anyway . . . one of the nicest things he does is host a party for the crew on almost every cruise he’s on. This time he feels it’s even more deserved because of all the extra work crew members had to do during the weeks of the norovirus. I don’t know how much such an endeavor costs, and he not only doesn’t want anyone to know, but he also doesn’t want anyone to know that he even hosts the party. The only reason I know is that we were sitting in the Crow’s Nest reading when the Hotel Manager came up to have him sign for the charge. There are other passengers who’ve done these sorts of things, and while not everyone can afford it, it really is a wonderful gesture.

Yesterday and today were/are Mariner’s Club celebrations. The first one was for anyone getting (or already having) one, two or three stars. Today is for four or five stars or President’s Club. We’re to meet in the Showroom at 11:00 for mimosas and presentation of new medallions followed by lunch in the Rotterdam Restaurant at about 12:00. It’s kind of a fun activity - especially if you like bottomless mimosas - and many passengers get very excited about getting their new medallions - copper, bronze, silver, gold or platinum (I think that’s what they are). For those who are being inaugurated into President’s Club, that takes place at a special dinner for PC members only. I always kid our PC friends that “it’s about time they taught you the secret handshake.”

 

We’ve spent time speaking with Petr (that’s the spelling), the Pinnacle Grill manager, and learned that if you want to have lunch or dinner there, either don’t wait until the last week of the cruise or make your reservations early. About two weeks ago, when our table group had dinner there, Bill and Jane and Woody and Susie asked to make lunch reservations for one of the seven sea days before the end of the cruise. Petr said that there was absolutely NO space available, but he put them on a priority waitlist (because of their 5-star status). When we dined there on December 1, Bill and Jane had cleared, but Woody and Susie were still waiting. This cruise began with a seven-day transatlantic segment, and Petr told us that the dining room was almost empty during that time. I guess people are finally figuring out that the cruise does indeed have an ending.

[SilvertoGold]

Wonderful commentary! Love your reporting style.

 

It is such a shock for World Cruisers to sail non-Grand cruises. You see the real HAL on these regular cruises.

 

When the Prinsendam was doing the WC, a couple we know could not believe they were on the same ship when they did a Baltic on it the following year. Night and day as far as service, food, entertainment......

 

I guess this is part of what you pay for on a Grand, even now.

 

Enjoy your remaining days on this TA. Glad to know you can weather the seas!

[Johnny B]

Tuesday, December 5, 2017

At Sea - Day #6 en route to The Bahamas

We continue with fairly pleasant weather, but, disappointingly, not warm enough to find a lounge chair on the aft Lido deck to catch some sun. Yesterday at lunch we ordered up a pizza and sat out there, but I was not at all tempted to get out from under the covered area and stretch out on the back of the deck. The wind was still more than I’d like, and although it’s really nice to have it when it’s hot (most of the world cruise), 70-75 degrees doesn’t cut it.

The current discussion to be had in our cabin is about the perfect time to pack. Actually, with only three nights left, including tonight’s gala dress occasion, we could probably pack this afternoon and still have enough clothes out for the next two days, especially since my supply of clothes is limited. This morning I was looking for a top with some color in it, but the only colorful tops I have are “dinner clothes.” Instead I grabbed a light sweater that serves for a moderate day by itself or a cold day with a turtleneck under it.

We were informed before the beginning of the cruise that there were four formal nights, so I brought four formal dresses. After tonight, I’ll be able to pack all four into our “cruise clothes” suitcase, the one we had shipped from California to the Veendam. I have my last bag of laundry sent out, and I think that I’ll pop a load into one of the onboard washing machines Thursday morning while everyone crowds onto the tenders to go ashore. Then when I get home, I’ll be able to do the plethora of tasks awaiting me without worrying about dirty clothes.

Last evening the duo called “Five O’Clock Somewhere” performed, and if anything, they were even better than their first go-round. The woman has a hauntingly lovely voice as well as talented fingers on the piano and on an instrument which looks like a small piano but is worn like a guitar. Her partner has a great Irish pub voice, a wonderful sense of humor and plays everything from the guitar to a large suitcase which doubles as a drum. They earned quite the standing ovation.

Tonight is the last performance of the singers and dancers in a new show called “Atlantic Crossing.” How appropriate. All of them were at last night’s show and we’re looking forward to seeing them tonight. I understand that we have an officer dining with us this evening, so we have to move to a slightly larger table to accommodate all of us. We don’t know who it is, but Maud, the Assistant Dining Room Manager, told us that it was a “good” guest. We do know the difference, because we’ve had officers all the way from great fun and very interesting to the fellow who told us at the beginning of the meal that he really didn’t like doing this “dining with passengers” thing.

So . . . 25 enjoyable days down and only three to go. We’ll take as much advantage as possible of what’s left before heading home to the lettuce and water diet.

 

[Johnny B]

Wednesday, December 6, 2017

At Sea - Day #7 - Half Moon Cay tomorrow

One more day at sea, and some of the natives are getting restless. While most people on a longer cruise have no problem entertaining themselves, there are others who must not have read the itinerary or noticed the seven sea days each way. Well, their problem will be solved tomorrow at the beach. We really like Half Moon Cay, because every time we’ve been there it’s been warm and sunny with beautiful white sand and warm Caribbean water. I imagine it will be like that tomorrow.

Last evening was our last formal night (whoops - “gala night”) and we were moved to a downstairs table to accommodate our two guests. One was Simon, one of the three Second Officers and the other was Doras (pronounced just like Doris), one of the four Third Officers. They were both good company, with Simon, an Englishman, being very talkative and extremely jovial while Doras, a Dutchman, was quieter. We learned a lot about the running of the ship and the “hoops” that an officer has to go through to move up the ladder to captain. Simon estimated that it would take him about ten years to get to that level, providing he passed all the oral examinations along the way.

The most exciting part of the evening, though, was when we asked Simon about something we had heard earlier that day. We passed a man who was talking about a visit to the Bridge, something we thought had been outlawed since 9/11. It turns out that a few people may be taken on a tour, and he told us that there would be a tour the next day (today) at 9:15, and that if we were interested we should just go to the front desk and tell them that Simon had invited us to participate. Talk about “It’s not what you know but who you know.” The young lady at the front desk told us to be there at 9:00 this morning.

What a fascinating experience we had. Another young lady met us (“us” being John, me, Bill, Jane, and a gentleman who is a retired Naval officer). She took us up to the Navigation Deck and used her key card to gain admittance to Ali Baba’s cave - or so it seemed when we arrived. The first thing I noticed was the expanse of windows giving the officers a clear view of everything ahead. When I glanced over, I saw the First Officer holding a pair of binoculars to better scan the horizon. When I asked him what he saw he said that he thought there was something out there but a closer look assured him that he was wrong. The entire expanse of the Bridge was covered with all kinds of technology, each area for a different purpose. In addition, there’s a raised seat to be used by the captain for a clear view to the front of the ship. When I asked Martin, the First Officer, if he ever was able to sit there, he said, “No, but I get to polish it!”

When you look at any of the HAL ships, you can see that the Bridge has “wings” that extend out to both sides. When we were taken to one of these areas, we also found out that each of the “wings” contained viewing platforms made of heavy duty glass, so that when you stand next to or atop them, you can see straight down to the water. Since I have a fear of heights, I didn’t look down for too long. I asked our guide what they’re for and he told us that they allow those on the Bridge to see what’s below them when we dock. I guess being a ship’s officer is not for me.

There were three officers on duty: the Second Officer Martyn, the First Officer, also called Martin, and the third officer (whose name I didn’t get). There was also a quartermaster, one of whose jobs is to check the horizon for any other ships or other problems. For example, yesterday as the captain was giving his 12:00 report, there was a four-masted schooner (with sails furled) sailing east. It looked quite small from where we saw it, but Martyn told us it was 91 meters, or almost 300 feet long.

 

This was a wonderful activity for the last of our seven days at sea, and now we’re ready to set foot on terra firma tomorrow.

[SJSULIBRARIAN]

I have enjoyed your Mediterranean posts. Sorry you are not on the World Cruise this year as I always liked getting the Book Club selections from you.

 

Happy Holidays.

[kazu]

enjoying your posts as always.

 

How nice that you got to do the Bridge tour. :D

[Johnny B]

Thursday, December 7, 2017

Half Moon Cay - Finally!

The schedule today was to arrive and anchor offshore at Half Moon Cay at 8:00, with tendering to begin shortly thereafter. Well, now it’s 9:10 and the announcement has just been made as we’re watching the ship’s tenders bouncing around like corks in a storm.

As we watched the tenders get ready to take on passengers, the Zuiderdam arrived and made our little Veendam look quite small in comparison.

(Comment on arrival time: it turns out that we didn’t get that little card last evening that said to set our clocks back an hour, so today we operated all day on the belief that it was an hour later than it was supposed to be. It took 4:00 Happy Hour to let us figure out that it was us and not the bartender who had the time wrong).

We went through our usual morning routine, since we didn’t want to be part of the crowd pushing to get onto a tender to take us to the island. We ended up boarding one at about 9:30 (correct time) and after a fairly hard rain shower on the way over, we found ourselves at HAL’s (now sunny) private island at about 10:00. We wandered down the beach to the “Pirate Ship” which is actually a bar, found some lounges and had our first sunbathing of the cruise. The water was an absolutely beautiful turquoise and was a nice temperature, too. Since we thought it was 11:00 and would soon be lunch, we had some great mai tais, but heck, it was 5:00 somewhere!

At about 1:00 we headed over to the huge lunch barbecue buffet where the choices were hamburgers, barbecued fish, hot dogs, or barbecued rib meat (with no bones). There were all kinds of side dishes, and dessert was either rum/coconut cupcakes or vanilla ice cream cones. Not a bad spread.

Then we decided it was time to return to the ship, but instead of the Veendam tender we arrived on, we boarded a double level large tender which is based on the island. People just poured onto it, both upstairs and down, and finally it was time to tell the island goodbye and head back to our ship. That was the fun part. Unfortunately, the bad part was just beginning. The rain began again, with rough seas, and it blew onto those of us seated upstairs near the edges of the tender.

Then we arrived back at the ship where the fun really began. A long thick rope was our first connection with the ship, but then a metal ramp was pushed across between the ship and the tender while rough seas had the tender just banging away against the side of the ship. For about 15 minutes they were only able to transfer a few crew members from the tender to the ship - about one a minute. Then it became obvious that that wasn’t going to work, so they phoned the bridge and the captain said he would slightly adjust the angle of the ship to let us come together more smoothly. Finally they were able to begin transferring passengers from the tender to the ship - one at a time and fairly slowly. I can’t tell you how relieved I was to actually be back on the ship!

After a shower and some clean clothes, we had some time to rest before meeting Bill and Jane in the Crow’s Nest, where we learned what time it REALLY was. While waiting for them, the captain come on over the intercom and told us that there would be a medical evacuation, but because Half Moon Cay has no airstrip, we would have to sail ten miles to Eleuthera, where a passenger would be transferred to the island by tender and then flown out to receive necessary medical care. Later on, our neighbor Frank told us that the patient was a woman with a broken hip. We don’t know if that was a result of the tendering situation or not, but we hope she gets the care she needs.

 

Now we’re at the last night of our 28-day adventure, with Trivia and then dinner coming up. Tomorrow morning we’re some of the last off, since instead of rushing to the airport, we’re staying overnight in Ft. Lauderdale before flying home on Saturday morning. It’s been fun, but I think we’ll be glad to get home - with no cruises currently booked. I’ll post once more when we get home to sunny San Luis Obispo.

[cccole]

I have so enjoyed coming along on your voyage!!! Thank you for sharing it with us. As usual, you reports are wonderful, full of information, and done with a good sense of adventure. I am hoping that an African leg of the WC opens up for you. Wishing you a Merry Christmas and safe travels home. Cherie

[Johnny B]

Sunday, December 17, 2017

San Luis Obispo, CA

 

A little more than a week at home, and it's time to reflect on the cruise. Overall, we had a wonderful time. We learned that we actually DO enjoy having a Lanai cabin, contrary to what we had originally expected. The floor to ceiling windows let in a wonderful view and a great deal of light, and they are impermeable during the daytime. At night, however, you'd better have your curtains drawn. Our favorite, though, is still a veranda cabin.

 

We always enjoy traveling with friends, so it was great to spend time with Woody and Susie as well as Bill and Jane. We also made some new friends, and as I mentioned at one point, I spent time with my old teaching colleague Judy and her husband Charlie. John and Diana were on our Trivia team, and I'd join that team with them anytime.

 

Once, after our first world cruise, we took a 14-day repositioning cruise from Rome to Ft. Lauderdale and discovered that, after such a long cruise, 14 days was just too short. I felt like we boarded the ship, spun around, and it was time to get off. At 28 days, however, this one was a good length. We were able to settle in, seriously unpack, and spend a lot of leisure time. The number of ports was good and bad. Good because they were interesting places and many of them were great to revisit. Good also because we didn't need to use so much ship internet (we made do with 200 minutes) because we could always find a coffee shop for cappuccino and free wife (you've heard THAT before!). Bad, however, because I do love my days at sea and several times we'd have five or six port days in a row and I was exhausted from them. I was so looking forward to the seven days of our transatlantic crossing, but I found out that with rotten weather it wasn't nearly so much fun. Oh well, so much for my whining.

 

Unlike most cruise returns, this time we decided to stay the night in Ft. Lauderdale and fly home early the next day. That was NOT a good idea because of the storms which began Friday night. Our flight was at 8:00 on Saturday morning, which required an alarm set at about 5:00 so we'd be ready for the 6:00 AM shuttle. Once we arrived at the airport and were through security, we found that the United Club AND Starbucks were right around the corner, so we were set. Breakfast was at the United Club (we had some passes from our credit card), and it was a comfortable place to wait.

 

Boarding was supposed to be at 7:30, but because of problems with the cabin being too hot, it was delayed. So we waited . . . and waited . . . and waited. Then we finally boarded, the plane pushed away, and we found ourselves at the end of a queue of at least a dozen planes. The snowstorms in the South had caused all kinds of delays, so we finally found ourselves airborne - but it was an hour and forty-five minutes late. Yikes! What did that do to our 90-minute connection in San Francisco? The pilot was able to "put the pedal to the metal" and pick up time, so it looked like we'd have a 15-minute connection before our little plane to San Luis Obispo shut its doors. Do you remember the old O.J. Simpson Hertz commercials with him running through the airport? If you do, that's what we looked like. There we were, holding onto our carryons, literally running through the airport, giving John's knee a good workout. We made it! After we boarded our commuter plane we had ten minutes to begin breathing normally before we took off and headed home, arriving right on time at 2:18 PM.

 

What a ride we'd had, literally as well as figuratively. In the end we were thankful, because we found out that Woody and Susie had NOT been able to fly to Atlanta because of the snow, so they spent the night in Ft. Lauderdale and then ended up renting a car to drive home. It was an adventure to remember.

 

Do we have another cruise planned? No, not yet. What looks good in the near future is two back to back Caribbean cruises, one including Cuba and one calling at places we've never been. In the long run, we're really interested in the 2019 WC, but there's so much to do around the house and possibly helping our kids move from Davis to Auburn that we're still not even sure about that.

 

Thank you all for following our wanderings and my comments along the way. Your responses have been kind and when we're at sea again (hopefully soon), you'll find us here - same time, same station. We wish all of you a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and a wonderful New Year.

[Lizzie68]

I always look forward to your blogs so I do hope you plan another cruise soon! Thank you once again.

 

Sent from my SM-J320W8 using Forums mobile app

[alsas]

Sunday, December 17, 2017

 

San Luis Obispo, CA

 

 

 

A little more than a week at home, and it's time to reflect on the cruise. Overall, we had a wonderful time. We learned that we actually DO enjoy having a Lanai cabin, contrary to what we had originally expected. The floor to ceiling windows let in a wonderful view and a great deal of light, and they are impermeable during the daytime. At night, however, you'd better have your curtains drawn. Our favorite, though, is still a veranda cabin.

 

 

 

We always enjoy traveling with friends, so it was great to spend time with Woody and Susie as well as Bill and Jane. We also made some new friends, and as I mentioned at one point, I spent time with my old teaching colleague Judy and her husband Charlie. John and Diana were on our Trivia team, and I'd join that team with them anytime.

 

 

 

Once, after our first world cruise, we took a 14-day repositioning cruise from Rome to Ft. Lauderdale and discovered that, after such a long cruise, 14 days was just too short. I felt like we boarded the ship, spun around, and it was time to get off. At 28 days, however, this one was a good length. We were able to settle in, seriously unpack, and spend a lot of leisure time. The number of ports was good and bad. Good because they were interesting places and many of them were great to revisit. Good also because we didn't need to use so much ship internet (we made do with 200 minutes) because we could always find a coffee shop for cappuccino and free wife (you've heard THAT before!). Bad, however, because I do love my days at sea and several times we'd have five or six port days in a row and I was exhausted from them. I was so looking forward to the seven days of our transatlantic crossing, but I found out that with rotten weather it wasn't nearly so much fun. Oh well, so much for my whining.

 

 

 

Unlike most cruise returns, this time we decided to stay the night in Ft. Lauderdale and fly home early the next day. That was NOT a good idea because of the storms which began Friday night. Our flight was at 8:00 on Saturday morning, which required an alarm set at about 5:00 so we'd be ready for the 6:00 AM shuttle. Once we arrived at the airport and were through security, we found that the United Club AND Starbucks were right around the corner, so we were set. Breakfast was at the United Club (we had some passes from our credit card), and it was a comfortable place to wait.

 

 

 

Boarding was supposed to be at 7:30, but because of problems with the cabin being too hot, it was delayed. So we waited . . . and waited . . . and waited. Then we finally boarded, the plane pushed away, and we found ourselves at the end of a queue of at least a dozen planes. The snowstorms in the South had caused all kinds of delays, so we finally found ourselves airborne - but it was an hour and forty-five minutes late. Yikes! What did that do to our 90-minute connection in San Francisco? The pilot was able to "put the pedal to the metal" and pick up time, so it looked like we'd have a 15-minute connection before our little plane to San Luis Obispo shut its doors. Do you remember the old O.J. Simpson Hertz commercials with him running through the airport? If you do, that's what we looked like. There we were, holding onto our carryons, literally running through the airport, giving John's knee a good workout. We made it! After we boarded our commuter plane we had ten minutes to begin breathing normally before we took off and headed home, arriving right on time at 2:18 PM.

 

 

 

What a ride we'd had, literally as well as figuratively. In the end we were thankful, because we found out that Woody and Susie had NOT been able to fly to Atlanta because of the snow, so they spent the night in Ft. Lauderdale and then ended up renting a car to drive home. It was an adventure to remember.

 

 

 

Do we have another cruise planned? No, not yet. What looks good in the near future is two back to back Caribbean cruises, one including Cuba and one calling at places we've never been. In the long run, we're really interested in the 2019 WC, but there's so much to do around the house and possibly helping our kids move from Davis to Auburn that we're still not even sure about that.

 

 

 

Thank you all for following our wanderings and my comments along the way. Your responses have been kind and when we're at sea again (hopefully soon), you'll find us here - same time, same station. We wish all of you a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and a wonderful New Year.

 

 

 

Loved reading about your cruise. Wishing you both a Wonderful Christmas and a Healthy Happy 2018

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[Martezz]

Really enjoyed your blog...I kind of get withdrawal, when your blog ends! Have a Merry Christmas and wonderful Holiday!

[avian777]

I always look forward to your blogs so I do hope you plan another cruise soon! Thank you once again.

 

Really enjoyed your blog...I kind of get withdrawal, when your blog ends!

 

Would appreciate if someone would post a link to OP's blog ... thanks.

[Charleston Lady]

Enjoyed your writing as always and glad to hear John's new knees are doing so well. We had several cruise friends on that trip....Lots of the 'regulars.'

We will miss y'all on the world cruise this year and hope to see you on the high seas again one day soon.

Nancy

[Mystymom]

Thank you for taking us along on your wonderful cruise! Merry Christmas and a safe and healthy New Year. Hope John's knees continue to fare well. Evelyn

[boaterette]

Thank you so much for your trip report. I always love reading about your travels.