Jump to content
Cruise Critic Community

LIVE from the 2018 HAL Grand World Voyage!

Scrapnana

By Scrapnana,
in Holland America Line

 Share

Recommended Posts

Scrapnana "Live from...." Rare

Scrapnana

Posted
  • Author
Posted

At Sea – April 1, 2018

 

An event filled day!

 

I didn’t wake up until 9:15 so no water aerobics for me. I had actually awakened about an hour earlier and we were rocking so much I figured the water would be sloshing all over the pool so I went back to sleep.

 

Ate a roll and had some juice and then headed for Sit and Stitch. Many in our group got off yesterday to go on safari so there were only four of us. Since I finished my second pair of socks I have started on a new project - a warm scarf for Antarctica.

 

Trivia was in the Crow’s Nest (nobody knew why because nothing was going on in the Ocean Bar) and this was definitely not our day. We only had 8 while the winning team had 11 out of 15.

1)What is the fastest flying insect?

2)What is a group of frogs known as?

3)What did Freud say was the “goal of life”?

4)How many day long segments of the Tour de France are there?

5)What was the name of the dog in “Little House on the Prairie” TV series?

We missed all of these. ☹

 

There is a brunch every Sunday that is a sea day. Today there was a special Easter Sunday Brunch. Marilyn had reserved places for our trivia team and the six of us had a good meal and a good time.

 

After brunch I went to Arts and Crafts. Today there was another zendangle card. Since it was not jewelry there were only about half the number of participants. I did not finish (that is why there is no picture) because trivia was at 3:00.

 

We even did worse than this morning (but better than our all time low – 5) with 7 out of 17. The winning team had 16!

1)What is the only planet that rotates clockwise?

2)Which US president opened the Empire State Building?

3)Which boxer was known as the “pride of El Paso”?

4)What was Hitler’s dog’s name?

5)In what year did Elvis have the hits Heartbreak Hotel, Hound Dog, and Love Me Tender?

 

Marilyn, Bev, and I decided to drown our sorrows by going to visit Larry, one of the Future Cruise Consultants. And why did we go? We all made a pre-booking for the 2020 World Voyage! The amazing itinerary appealed to us all. If we all end up going we have a ready made trivia team and dinner table! We sat and talked for over an hour after making our bookings.

 

When I returned to my cabin there was a three pack of candy bars for Easter.

 

It was then time to get ready for the Gala Night and a special Mariners cocktail party. This was a chance to meet (and be photographed) with Orlando Ashford and his wife. His two teenage sons were in line in front of me and Hamish (the CD) was teasing them that they had to stand in line to get a picture with their parents. After shaking hands with everyone I got a glass of really undrinkable wine and looked for a place to sit. I could not find one and as I have already mentioned, I am not a cocktail party person. So, instead of standing, I went to the Piano Bar to play SINGO.

 

We had a special Easter menu for dinner. I had fruit, Chateaubriand (which was fantastic), and cheesecake for dessert.

 

The show was the Amsterdam Singers and Dancers presenting “Atlantic Crossing”. This had music from the British invasion from the Beatles up to Adele. It was very good.

 

Another gift was on my bed when I returned. It is a very nice Waterford crystal sugar bowl but very heavy. It’s good that my cases are going home by FedEx and do not have to be weighed to get on a plane!

 

One more sea day until Cape Town.

 

Morning trivia…

1)dragon fly

2)army

3)death

4)21

5)Bandit

 

Afternoon trivia…

1)Venus

2)Hoover

3)Oscar de la Hoya

4)Blondie

5)1956

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Krazy Kruizers

Krazy Kruizers

Posted
Posted

You did have a full day.

But it definitely was not a day for trivia for your group. Hope you do better tomorrow.

No matter cocktail party we are invited to -- even the Mariner's award ceremony -- we pass on the cheap sparkling wine that they serve. There was a time when we were allowed to order a drink of our choice, but on our last couple of cruises.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
TJR_0323

TJR_0323

Posted
Posted
I've seen the map. Is there any indication of what the segment break points and dates might be?

 

Thanks in advance.

 

Roy

 

Final itinerary and dates have not been announced yet...... probably some time later this month.

 

Tom

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

Scrapnana

Posted
  • Author
Posted
We are following the world cruise blog with much interest and thanks. Wondering what the cost is for the arts and crafts - the articles look lovely - very clever

Nancy Grace does a fantastic job planning all the different activities. As I have mentioned, the jewelry is the most popular. The only time we pay anything is when there is a leftover item and someone either wants an extra or missed it from a previous day. Nancy puts a price between two and five dollars (based on the costs) and that money goes to the crew fund.

 

I will likely have 10 pounds of projects by the end!;)

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

Scrapnana

Posted
  • Author
Posted

At Sea – April 2, 2018

 

Since I did not go to bed until 1:45, I skipped water aerobics and slept until 9:15. As has become my custom, I picked up juice and a roll and headed to Sit and Stitch. Somewhere along the way I lost one of my knitting needles for my new project, a wool scarf. I retraced my steps and still could not find it so I worked on another project.

 

Once again we were not having a great day in trivia. We had 11 out of 15 and the winning team had 14. This was the only trivia of the day because of the evening activities.

1)Which country has the most cattle?

2)What kind of weapon is a “fulchion”?

3)How many valves on a piccolo trumpet?

4)A “penny farthing” was a popular type of what?

5)What is the heaviest insect?

 

We had to pick up our passports for immigration tomorrow. While I was at the front office I asked if anyone had turned in my knitting needle and they had so my scarf was back on track.

 

After lunch we made a necklace in arts and crafts.

 

I sat by the pool and read for a bit and then checked out yarn shops in Cape Town. I mentioned I was going and had at least one person in Sit and Stitch who also wanted to go on our third day.

 

At 4:30 the South African Springbok Festival started. In the Ocean Bar, Piano Bar, Explorer’s Lounge and Crow’s Nest there was live music until 8 pm as well as free drinks. There was not as much passing of hard liquor as the sail-away, but you could still order it. There were also lots of appetizers and they were still being passed at 8:00. Between the appetizers and the alcohol, the dining room was fairly empty tonight.

 

I sat with Bev and her friend Mary until 7 when I went up to see what was happening in the Crow’s Nest. It was not as busy as the Ocean Bar. HAL brought on a South African group called Dolce Vita and they had people up and dancing the entire time. They kept playing until almost 10 pm with short breaks. I stopped by on my way back from dinner and their were a number of officers, dancers, dance hosts, and shop people dancing.

 

Cyndi did not make it to dinner so there were only six of us. There was a reduced menu because of all the afternoon food. I had fruit, a spring roll, prime rib, and ice cream for dessert.

 

No show for me.

 

Tonight at a few minutes after 11 we will pass the southern point of Africa and go from the Indian Ocean to the Atlantic.

 

We arrive in Cape Town about 7 tomorrow morning. I have an all-day tour to the Cape of Good Hope.

 

Trivia…

1)India

2)sword

3)3

4)bicycle

5)Goliath Beetle

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

Scrapnana

Posted
  • Author
Posted
I've seen the map. Is there any indication of what the segment break points and dates might be?

 

Thanks in advance.

 

Roy

Orlando Ashford indicated that all would be finalized before the end of the cruise (April 28).

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

Scrapnana

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Cape Town, South Africa – April 3, 2018

 

Today did not go as planned. We were supposed to sail-in with commentary from Barbara at 7 am. When I woke up at 7:15 and could not hear her muffled voice from my deck, I knew something was wrong. Turned out we were nowhere close to coming into port. A few minutes later the Captain announced that we had to wait. Some time later he announced that there was a cargo ship blocking part of our berth and it had to move before we could dock. We sat and waited and it was after 10 am (we were supposed to be docked by 8) before we actually tied up.

 

Once we were tied up I went to the Queen’s Lounge and waited to hear what was going to happen with the tours. We were told all would go but some itineraries would be changed. I was on the “Cape of Good Hope” tour which was supposed to be nine hours. The tour was the second one called at 11:30 (our original time had been 9 am). Getting off was really backed up and it took a little over 15 minutes to make it off the ship. Then we had to go through immigration which took another 25 minutes. The bus finally left at 12:30.

 

Getting out of the city was very slow. This might have been because there were a number of small brush fires on Table Mountain. Helicopters were flying over and dropping water to try and put them out.

 

We drove along the Chapmans Peak Road and passed some beautiful seascapes and beaches on the way to the Boulders Penguin Colony. Since it was already about 2 pm. we had lunch at the Seaforth Restaurant. Our guide, Paul, said that fish and calamari were on the menu and I thought I would have to make do with the salad appetizer. When the meal came I found the calamari fairly good - the only time I had ever had it was in 1986 in Greece. It tasted like chewing on rubber bands so I was surprised. The fish was lion fish (never heard of it) that turned out to be bland (I don’t like fishy tasting fish so bland was good). The dessert was a very tasty cake (nobody at our table knew what) with a sauce on top.

 

We then walked down to see the penguins. These are known as African Penguins and they are the descendants of a pair of penguins from 1982. There are now over 2000 but are on the endangered list.

 

Leaving the penguins at about 3:30 we headed to the Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve. Paul told us that the cape was once named the “Cape of Storms” (by Portugese explorer Dias) but was renamed by King John II of Portugal due to his optimism in opening a sea route to India.

 

The Cape of Good Hope is often considered to be the southernmost point of the continent of Africa. Actually, that is Point Agulhas. The Cape of Good Hope is the most south-western point of the continent.

 

We were supposed to take a funicular up to a view point but by the time we got there the funicular was making its last trip to the top. If you went up, you had to walk down. About a third of our group chose not to go. Instead I went shopping at a great little shop called “Out of Africa”. We were late leaving because one couple missed the part about having to walk down and were waiting to take the funicular down.

 

A few miles away was the actual cape and we took pictures of each other with the sign.

 

Paul told us we were not going to be able to go to the botanical gardens because they closed at 6 pm. As it was, we did not get back to the dock until almost 8 pm.

 

My day was not over yet, however. I had gotten some Rand (South African currency) before I left home but did not check to find out that the 50 Rand I had was under $5. I needed more money and I hate changing onboard because of the terrible exchange rate. So, I took the shuttle (with the captain and his wife who were heading to dinner) to the V&A Waterfront mall to go to an ATM.

 

That done I returned to the ship just before 9 pm. One of my Cruise Critic friends, Helen, is getting off tomorrow and she had an extra suitcase she could not take with her. Another friend needed an extra case so I went by Helen’s cabin to say good-bye and pick up the bag. By then the Lido was closed so I had room service. I had a very good quesadilla appetizer, a roast beef panini, and a piece of the delicious chocolate cake that is on the room service menu.

 

It is now 11:47 and I have not processed my photos yet and I have another 9 hour tour tomorrow. It may take me a few days to got all my pictures up, so check back.

 

Smooth sailing until next time!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
old mike

old mike

Posted
Posted

I remember sailing into Cape Town in November 1971. The sight of sunrise and the "table cloth" of clouds over Table Mountain is burned into my memory, despite the hangover from the last night party.

 

I had just graduated university and also married two weeks earlier, the boat out from Southampton to Cape Town was our honeymoon, the bunk beds didn't go down too well, in those days we were down in what can only be described as steerage, I swear the prop shaft went through the cabin. I had a three year contract to work in Zambia and we drove up to the north of Zambia to the copper belt from Cape Town up through South Africa and what was then Rhodesia in the new car we had bought before leaving the UK.

 

 

Happy memories, and still married to the same amazing woman.

 

Enjoying your reports on the cruise.

 

 

Mike

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

Scrapnana

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Cape Town, South Africa – April 4, 2018

 

What a great tour today! I knew I wanted to see animals in South Africa but did not want to spend $5000+ to do an overland, multi-day tour. Instead I signed up for the Aquila Game Reserve excursion through my travel agency (just like HAL’s excursion only cheaper).

 

We had to drive 2.5 hours to get to the reserve. We passed many vineyards along the way as well as some “squatter camps” as our guide, Carol, called them. She said some who live there are migrant workers. She also mentioned that someone has been arrested for starting the fires on Table Mountain yesterday. Along the way she talked about the education. Children take English, Afrikaans, and a native tribal language at school. The average unemployment rate in the country is just over 25% although in some areas it is as high as 80%.

 

When we arrived at Aquila there was a welcome drink and then we headed out into the reserve with Raymond our driver/guide. He told us a great deal about the animals and the plants that grow there.

 

Some facts I learned (although a couple I knew from trivia)…

• Hippos kill the most humans in Africa (mosquitoes are second)

• Elephants can run 35 km/hour and never stop growing

• The stripes on a zebra are unique just like human fingerprints

• White rhinos are the most endangered animals in Africa

• The horn on a male rhino is short and thick while the female has a long thin one

• The night vision of a lion is 6x better than that of a human

• Springboks can run 80 km/hour and the male’s horns form a heart

• A giraffe’s tongue is purple

• Elands are the largest antelope in Africa

• Every turn on an eland’s horn represents three years of life

• Only male ostriches have a pink color on their legs

 

We were able to see four of the “Big Five” of Africa (we did not see a leopard). The animals we saw were hippos, elephants, water buffalo, zebras, rhinos, lions, springboks, giraffes, blue wildebeest, white tailed wildebeest, oryx, elands, baboons, and ostriches. Amazing!

 

There was a short stop for another glass of wine and, after 2 hours and 45 minutes, we came back to the hotel and had a delicious lunch. There was also some time for shopping in the store although I did not buy anything.

 

Quite a few of us snoozed on the way back to the ship. We arrived about 7 pm. I had a really lousy steak and fries for dinner in the Lido. I should have had room service again.

 

At 9:30 there was a local show with lots of singing and dancing.

 

Thursday is our last day in Cape Town.

 

 

P.S. I will catch up on the blog tomorrow.:o We will also have our last Meet and Greet.

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

Scrapnana

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Cape Town, South Africa – April 5, 2018

 

After two long days of touring I was glad to have a day to do as I please. Originally, I considered doing the HO-HO bus but since I had started collecting beautiful yarns from around the world, today became a day to buy yarn.

 

A knitting buddy and I were going to take a taxi to two yarn stores but she phoned me last night saying she had found two places to buy yarn in the Watershed near where the shuttle dropped us at the Victoria and Alfred Mall.

 

I was on the shuttle by 9:30 and arrived at the mall about 9:45. I needed to walk through the mall and around a few buildings but eventually made it to the Watershed. Inside were numerous booths selling all kinds of items from fine jewelry to kid’s toys. I located the two booths with yarn (one had a great deal more than the other) both of which sell locally sourced products.

 

I started at the one with the most yarn and fell in love with all of it. I managed to end up with only four different types of yarn after much perusal. Then it was back to the other shop where I found some very pretty (and soft) yarn that I will use for a Christmas present.

 

Mission accomplished I walked around and looked at all of the booths. Such a lot of beautiful items I wished I had three trunks instead of three suitcases to get items home!

 

Looked at some of the other buildings on the way back to the mall. By then it was 12:30 and I was getting hungry. Lots of places to eat – sidewalk cafes, bistros, food stands, etc. What did I decide on? Nostalgia. Bit of a back story. In 1986 my daughter and I went to Europe. We drove around Britain for a couple of weeks and sometimes ended up at a fast food place named Wimpy (British competition for McDonalds, Burger King, etc). I always got the fish and chips. Over the years the Wimpys disappeared in Britain (I think they all may be gone now) but as I was heading back to the mall, there was a sign for Wimpy! I had to eat there. So, I had my usual fish and chips although they had a much expanded menu from my days in British Wimpys as well as table service. The food tasted about the same. I also enjoyed the free wifi.

 

After lunch it was time to head back to the shuttle because all-aboard time was 3 pm and we had to go through immigration.

 

Once back onboard I had my afternoon ice cream and knitted while sitting and looking at Table Mountain that had part of its tablecloth on (when the clouds cover the top they are called the “tablecloth”).

 

At 4 pm our fourth (and final!) muster drill started. It lasted until about 4:40 when I headed to afternoon trivia (it had been two whole days without trivia!). Only Rodney, Bonnie, and I played and we only had 13.5 out of 17. Three teams tied with 15.

1)What creature has the world’s largest eyes?

2)What method was first used to send a message across the US in 1955?

3)What is the largest dinosaur discovered so far?

4)What breakfast dish is made mainly from Seville oranges?

5)Who became Queen of Denmark in 1972?

 

Sail-away was a bit delayed because the line handlers were tying up a cargo ship so I was able to get up on deck before we left. The Station Band was playing by the Lido Pool and some were dancing. Rodney, Marilyn, and I sat talking until the sun set. Marilyn’s friend in Cape Town sent a couple of pictures of us leaving the harbor.

 

Finally back to the dining table (after the awful Lido dinner last night) tonight. I had French onion soup, a Caesar salad, sweet and sour chicken and Strawberries Romanoff for dessert.

 

No show since I had to finish the blog from yesterday.

 

Trivia…

1)giant squid

2)fax

3)brachiosaurus

4)marmalade (we did not considered marmalade a “dish” so we got it wrong)

5)Margrethe II (half point if you did not put “II”)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
0bnxshs

0bnxshs

Posted
Posted

Ahhhh... Wimpys in South Africa, I do remember them well. That was the first time I had ever seen, and used, Monkey Gland Sauce.... :o

 

Sounds like a nice trip through the game reserve. And I do remember the "shanty-towns" along the roads, camps made of plywood, cardboard and corrugated metal sheeting that could be taken down and moved easily by the migrant workers (and others) who lived in them.

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
      • ANNOUNCEMENT: Set Sail Beyond the Ordinary with Oceania Cruises
      • ANNOUNCEMENT: The Widest View in the Whole Wide World
      • 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...