LIVE from the 2018 HAL Grand World Voyage!

[Scrapnana]

At Sea – April 6, 2018

 

After three days in port it was nice to get back to the sea day schedule. I slept through water aerobics and went to pick up my juice around 9:45. In Sit and Stitch there were only a handful present before I had to leave for our fourth and final Cruise Critic Meet and Greet. We had about twenty-five members attending. Jerry has arranged for another slot pull before we arrive in Fort Lauderdale.

 

We had a dismal 9 for morning trivia (winning team had 11).

1)What is the national flower of South Africa?

2)How many gallons of beer in a firkin?

3)What article of clothing is named for its Scottish inventor?

4)What is the atomic number for potassium?

5)What is the national animal of Canada?

 

Spent most of my free time finishing up yesterday’s post.

 

In arts and crafts we made an African print necklace (not my favorite item we’ve made).

 

After crafts I finished and posted yesterday’s blog and had some time to knit in the sun. Today was breezy and cool and sitting in the sun felt good.

 

Afternoon trivia was African themed. We only had 10 while two teams tied at 13.

1)What is the largest lake in Africa?

2)Who was the leading lady in the movie “Out of Africa”?

3)What does the word “apartheid” mean?

4)What are the African “Big Five”?

5)What is a ceratotherium simum”?

 

Helen, with whom I played “Name That Tune” went home from Cape Town so Bev joined me tonight. We did not do very well.

 

For dinner I had French onion soup, short ribs, and a strawberry sundae.

 

I am listening to the show (through the floor) as I write this.

 

Namibia tomorrow.

 

Morning trivia…

1)protea

2)9

3)Macintosh

4)19

5)beaver

 

Afternoon trivia…

1)Lake Victoria

2)Meryl Streep

3)separateness

4)lion, leopard, rhino, elephant, and water buffalo

5)rhino

[kazu]

Catching up and very much enjoying your posts Kathi.

 

Sorry about the first tour that left so late, but delighted to hear you saw the penguins. Aren't they a sight?

 

And your visit in South Africa sounds fantastic with all the animals up close (or close enough) and not in cages.

 

Sounds like memorable days.

[bennybear]

Your big five adventure sounds amazing. I too would have choked on the overland costs.

[frankc98376]

Kathi- Others have already said it but wanted to say thank you so much for taking us along with you. I look forward to your posts and blog every day. Your adventure is only a dream for me- maybe someday!

[1of4]

We are all still doing “Kathi questions” so thanks for posting. It has been a nightly anticipation.

 

Your pictures have been fantastic and I personally love the wool you chose in Cape Town. Those are lovely sea blues.

 

Also glad to read you have signed up to do it all again in 2 years time.

 

Enjoy a relaxing sea day!

[JamesEM]

Enjoying your reports and photos, how would you rate the dinners.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Glad you had a day of rest before another port.

Love those trivia questions.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Just went back and looked at all the recent pictures.

They are great -- especially the animal ones.

[Scrapnana]

Enjoying your reports and photos, how would you rate the dinners.

 

Most are very good and some are excellent. I get disappointed when I order the "always available" steak and now I try to find something else.

[Scrapnana]

Kathi- Others have already said it but wanted to say thank you so much for taking us along with you. I look forward to your posts and blog every day. Your adventure is only a dream for me- maybe someday!

Glad you are enjoying the posts. Going on a world cruise was a dream of mine for 17 years and now I am signed up for my third!:eek: Very addictive!

[Scrapnana]

Walvis Bay, Namibia – April 7, 2018

 

Today’s tour was not the best one I have ever been on. I chose to take the tour that went to Swakopmund through my travel agency. We did all the items described in the write-up but I would have liked to have some time to walk along the main street and look into the shops.

 

Namibia came as a complete surprise to me. Only a few blocks from the port at Walvis Bay is the Namib Desert (for which the country is named and is the oldest in the world). In the two cities we saw, Walvis Bay and Swakopmund, there were lots of neat homes (very few with bars in the windows), much new building, no graffiti, and no poverty to be seen. I know it is there but it was strange that we could not see any of it. The two cities were also eerily deserted. The streets are wide but seeing three moving cars at one time was unusual. Very few people were seen walking while you would expect a great deal of hustle and bustle on a Saturday. It was almost like being on a film set.

 

We had to go through immigration on the ship. The travel agency had arranged to get us in the second group (and the first two were called together). Many people lined up regardless of the number they were giving but Christel was checking the numbers and made people get out of line if their’s had not been called. It did not take too long but our tour scheduled to leave at 8:15 did not take off until closer to 9:30.

 

It was about a 30 minute drive to Swakopmund. It was founded in 1892 as the main harbor for the colony of German South West Africa. The colony was taken over by the Union of South Africa in 1915. Today it is a popular holiday resort that retains some of the original buildings.

Our first stop was at a rug weaving store that had a leather factory next door. I felt it was a fairly wasted half hour and I did not see anyone buy anything big (I bought a magnet from a vendor in front of the factory).

 

We then went to the museum. We had an hour to look at the museum, see the craft vendors across the street, and/or walk into town. Far too short a period of time in my estimation. The museum was started by a dentist in 1951 and had a little bit of everything – stuffed animals, trophy heads on the walls, collections of all kinds of things (such as beer bottles and toy cars), rooms set up with various antique items, and even some old carts and wagons.

 

Looked through the craft vendors and would have loved to buy some wooden objects but there was no way I could get them home without buying another suitcase.

 

We then had a very short stop at the Crystal Gallery before heading back to Walvis Bay by way of Dune 7, the tallest sand dune in the country evidently. We saw some people climbing it.

 

Our last stop was at the lagoon which is a Ramsar site (wetlands of importance) where there were hundreds of flamingos.

 

I decided to take the shuttle to the new (less than a year old) Dunes Mall. It was a wasted trip as I did not need any clothing, shoes, housewares, electronics, toiletries, or groceries. I heard they had fantastic free wi-fi but I had not brought my iPad.

 

When I returned to the ship (just after 4) I had to go through immigration again and then had lunch at the Taco Bar. I missed the presentation by the charity for which we had the silent auction but will watch it on TV.

 

Since there was no 5 pm trivia, I sat and finished my asymmetrical shawl that I have been working on with the hand-dyed alpaca I purchased in the terminal in Hobart. About 7, I had dinner and tried the springbok that was on the menu in the Lido. It was fairly good and not gamey.

 

Came back and worked on the blog before going to the local cultural show at 9:30 (the reason I ate in the Lido). The group was called “Black Melody” and they performed a number of traditional songs based on the daily lives of their ancestors.

 

Sea day tomorrow.

[Scrapnana]

At Sea – April 8, 2018

 

Slept late because it was too cool to swim. Picked up my juice and roll and headed to Sit and Stitch. I had to give Judy back her wonderful knitting needles she let me use to make my second pair of socks. She took a picture of my sad face.

 

We only had 10 correct in morning trivia and the winning team had 14.

1)South Africa completely surrounds what other country?

2)If you suffer from cynanthropy, what do you think you are?

3)What is the national bird of South Africa?

4)What is the “b” word for a group of oysters?

5)What does the “c” stand for in E=mc squared?

 

The day was overcast and cool (around 70F) and the captain mentioned that tomorrow would be about the same tomorrow.

 

Worked on my knitting while waiting for Arts and Crafts. Some people spotted whales off the port side but I did not see them. We made a polka dot beaded necklace and earrings.

 

Read and knitted until time for afternoon trivia. We had 14 out of 17 but two teams tied with a perfect 17.

1)What was the first fraternity in the US started in 1776?

2)What country has the highest number of Catholics?

3)What flower blooms the longest?

4)What Frenchman designed the national flag of Italy?

5)In which country were croissants invented?

 

Sat and talked with Bev, Marilyn, and Rodney after trivia.

 

For dinner I had fruit, a pork medallion with sauce created by the guest chef, beef curry and ice cream for dessert.

 

Tonight’s show was a singer but I did not go.

 

We gain an hour tonight and tomorrow is another sea day.

 

Morning trivia…

1)Lesotho (sp?)

2)a dog

3)blue crane

4)bed

5)speed of light

 

Afternoon trivia…

1)Phi Beta Kappa

2)Brazil

3)orchid

4)Napoleon

5)Austria

[Krazy Kruizers]

Just got caught up with the last two reports.

Sorry your tour wasn't a good one.

The color of the shawl are lovely.

Great pictures.

[Scrapnana]

At Sea – April 9, 2018

 

After getting my roll and juice I headed to Sit and Stitch. We had about ten present.

 

We only had nine correct in morning trivia while the winning team had 13.

1)What is the name of the dog on the Cracker Jack box?

2)What is the only essential vitamin not in a white potato?

3)What are the dimensions of a cord of wood?

4)What is Africa’s largest country in area?

5)In Australian slang, what is an “esky”?

 

I went to lunch a few minutes earlier than usual because Cyndi and Ed were going to a wine tasting and I had to save our table for arts and crafts. I noticed today that people have started putting napkins on the tables to reserve four or six seats and not coming back for more than an hour. You would think we were making crafts out of solid gold and diamonds! Today’s craft was a crystal sun catcher.

 

The morning overcast skies cleared somewhat this afternoon and it was pleasant sitting by the Lido pool in the afternoon.

 

Evening trivia had a theme which was revealed in the two-point bonus question. Any guesses from the five questions below? We had 16 out of 17 correct and tied with two other teams for first place!

1)What international airport is “FLL”?

2)What is the name of the fortress in Manila?

3)Which African country has the most free roaming cheetahs?

4)What was the first Latin America country to adopt the US dollar?

5)What is the only Southeast Asian country never to be ruled by a European power?

 

Talked with Bev and two other Australians, Gillian and Anthony after trivia.

 

Tonight was a Gala Night with the theme “Out of Africa”. Some people wore African or safari clothing including our waiters. We had the Second Engineer host our table. He is from the Netherlands and likes to fish in his off time. I had a crab leg appetizer, Beef Wellington, and cheesecake for dessert.

 

The evening show was hits of Motown and Soul sung by Bruce Parker. He was very good.

 

Luanda, Angola tomorrow.

 

Morning trivia…

1)Bingo

2)A

3)4 feet x 4 feet x 8 feet

4)Algeria

5)cooler (ice chest)

 

Afternoon trivia…

1)Fort Lauderdale

2)Fort Santiago

3)Namibia

4)Panama

5)Thailand

Theme: places we have been on the world voyage

[Krazy Kruizers]

Congratulations on winning at trivia.

I figured that the evening trivia was about Africa.

[Scrapnana]

Luanda, Angola – April 10, 2018

 

Once again my morning did not go as planned. My tour did not leave until 1 pm so originally I was going to walk to the vendors which were supposed to be a ship length away. It was announced this morning that they were actually a mile away. A two-mile walk did not appeal before an excursion. It was also announced that there would be a shuttle but it was for physically handicapped. (I later found out anyone could ride it). So, I made a quick change of plans.

 

First of all, I went out on my deck to get a few pictures. There were people down on deck 3 putting down tape that read “145”. Joe, the photographer from Brazil, was out there directing them and I asked him why they were doing it. He said they were going to take a photo but did not elaborate why. I left to go to the pool. I haven’t been swimming in ages and my feet were starting to swell so time in the pool was needed.

 

After I had been swimming for about 10 minutes it was announced that all crew taking part in the video to go to the front deck. Since I had seen them setting up I needed to see what they were going to do. Out of the pool and back down to my deck. People from all the different departments were streaming out onto the deck. The event manager, Mark, was in a lemur costume and someone else was in another costume. They were taught a short dance which they practiced a few times and it was videoed. They then stood on the tape saying “145” with colored squares of paper (I didn’t quite understand the significance of the paper).

 

After it was over I went back to swimming. I had an early lunch sitting by the pool before getting ready for my excursion.

 

Angola was once a colony of Portugal and Portuguese is still the main language and the influence can be seen in various places. They became independent in 1975 but then there was a long and costly civil war. Most people live in poverty, the water is bad (we were warned to not even wash our hands in it), and electricity is intermittent (many of the buildings have a/c units but they don’t work our guide told us). Despite this, Luanda is the most expensive city in the world and it is reported that a gallon of ice cream costs about US$30. We were also warned not to wander around alone but to go in groups.

 

I chose “The Changing Faces of Luanda” which was three hours long. The tourist policy was to have a police escort so we had a police car and a motorcycle policeman leading our convoy and an ambulance bringing up the rear. The police would stop traffic for us when we had to cross the street.

 

We started out with a drive to the Iron Palace which supposedly was designed by Gustave Eiffel. The next stop was at the church Igreja Nossa Senhora dos Remedios finished in the early 1700s. From there we stopped at the National Museum of Anthropology. Our next stop was at the Fortress of San Miguel built in 1576. It was once used to hold slaves that were going to be sent to Brazil. Today it houses the Museum of the Armed Forces. It also houses a series of ceramic tiles that show the early history of Angola as well as some statues of famous people from the early years of the colony. The last stop was at the Mausoleum of the first president of the country, Antonio Agostinho Neto. The building was a gift from the Russians.

 

On the ride back to the ship we passed many new buildings, including the National Assembly building which has only been open a few months. It, like many other new buildings, was built by the Chinese. We have seen a number of developing nations that have had major projects that were financed by the Chinese.

 

A cold Coke was in order when I returned while waiting for afternoon trivia. Before trivia I asked Amanda what the video was for. She said HAL was having a contest for all of the ships in honor of the anniversary. There is a cash prize involved.

 

We had 12 correct but three teams tied with 13.

1)The 1914 Eagle was the first example of what from the Rolls Royce factory?

2)Alexander Parks “parkesin” is the first example of man-made what?

3)What is the only non-European country to win the World Cup in the 1980s?

4)What element is in sea water and its name comes from the Greek for violet?

5)Ezra Warner patented what 45 years after the invention of canned foods.

 

For dinner I had carpaccio of beef tenderloin, a Caesar salad, a shrimp and scallop sambuca (only two shrimp and two scallops in the dish), and a butterscotch sundae for dessert.

 

The show was a jazz singer which I skipped.

 

Wishing my daughter a very happy birthday.

 

Five sea days ahead.

 

Trivia…

1)airplane engine

2)plastic

3)Argentina

4)iodine

5)can opener

[Krazy Kruizers]

Love your report but not your port. Very scary.

Glad you didn't have a long tour there.

[Happily@Sea]

Kathi,

 

145 is # of HAL anniversary - Apr 18, 1873

[Scrapnana]

Antenna got fried and the system has been down for days. I hope to get some posts up this afternoon while the system is still working.

[Scrapnana]

At Sea – April 11, 2018

 

Another restful day at sea.

 

Since I did not go to bed until 1:30, I slept until 9:15 and missed water aerobics. Picked up my juice and roll and headed to Sit and Stitch. Doreen brought her swift and ball winder and a number of us had our skeins wound. One of mine was all twisted and it wouldn’t work so Bea’s (one of our knitters) husband, Charles, wound it by hand. He has wound many, many balls of yarn for the Project Linus blanket program.

 

We only had 8 correct in morning trivia and two teams tied with 12.

1)What Benjamin Holt invention was good news for farmers in 1900?

2)Who is a “Prince” of the Roman Catholic Church?

3)Sugar cane is considered to be what kind of plant?

4)What is the name for a group of hawks?

5)What is chaetophobia a fear of?

 

I didn’t have as much fruit as I usually do at lunch because we are running out of a number of things. We have not had any watermelon in ages. Today we received a notice from Henk (Hotel Manager) regarding “melancholy” defined as “a feeling of pensive sadness for the shortage of melons”. He explained the shipments of melons and pineapples we planned to take on board in Cape Town did not arrive and we will not take on any more until Dakar. What we have will be rationed out so an equal amount will be available each day (instead of totally running out).

 

In Arts and Crafts we made a shoe bag. Afterwards I finished my book and worked on my knitting by the pool. It was mostly overcast so it was not too hot even though we are close to the equator.

 

Afternoon trivia was better with 14 but the winners had 16. Mario, one of the assistant Cruise Directors became sick this afternoon so Amanda gave us questions from previous trivias.

1)What school did Doogie Howser graduate from at the age of 10?

2)Gro Harlem Brudtand was the first female prime minister of which Scandinavian country?

3)What hip brand used the slogan, “The family that ticks together sticks together”?

4)What decade saw Nigeria get its independence?

5)What country would you go to to find Mount Kilimanjaro?

 

I worked on my knitting before dinner. I had spinach and artichoke dip for an appetizer which was a strange choice since I don’t like spinach or artichokes. It was actually good because the dip part tasted like boursin cheese. I had a main course and a half. My main course was Mac and Cheese. Another main course was a tomato and buffalo mozzarella salad and I ordered a half portion. Blackberry sorbet was dessert.

 

The show tonight was four singers (two from Spain, one from Italy, and one from Uruguay) called 4Ever. They were excellent.

 

After the show I went out on my deck and did some stargazing.

 

Another day at sea tomorrow.

 

Morning trivia…

1)tractor

2)cardinal

3)grass

4)cast

5)hair

Afternoon trivia…

1)Princeton

2)Norway

3)Swatch

4)1960s

5)Tanzania

[Scrapnana]

At Sea – April 12, 2018

 

The day started early - 3:55 a.m. to be exact when the first stage emergency alarm sounded. An announcement stated that there was a problem in the incinerator (we had one before). At 4:02 the captain announced that there had been a fire in the incinerator room but the fire retardant system had worked as it was supposed toand all was well. He told us to go backto sleep. I did.

Even with the interruption I was up in time for water aerobics. Amanda (who teaches the water aerobics) said that we would not have class tomorrow because of the King Neptune Ceremony. She is one of the polliwogs that would go through the initiation and become a shellback – something she was not really looking forward to.

 

 

Pickedup my juice and a muffin then headed back to change. Instead of my usual Sit and Stitch next, I had a tour of the laundry. My travel agency scheduled the tour and there had been a number of them over the past week or so.

 

We traveled down to “B” deck in the elevator that our guide controlled with a remote control (there is no button for that deck on the panel in the elevator). We were guided through a watertight door that remains closed because B deck is below the waterline. It was explained that clothes are tagged and sorted before going into the wash. I always thought all my things were put into a mesh laundry bag and sent through together. We saw the large washers and dryers (one of the washers for sheets holds 400 pounds). The steamers for taking wrinkles out were very interesting. There are also iron presses for some items that require them. All in all it was a very interesting tour.

 

I had about 35 minutes to join the stitchers before going to trivia. Another day that was not our best. We had 12 and two teams tied with 14.

1)How many fillers in a Hungarian florint?

2)What creature is on Germany’s coat of arms?

3)What New York location is known as “the crossroads of the world”?

4)What organization replaced the League of Nations?

5)Where are the “Southern Alps”?

 

Duringthe captain’s “Voice from the Bridge” at 12:45 he explained more about the fire. When items are burned in theincinerator the ash is put in bags and removed from the ship at various ports. There was a piece of ash in one of the bags that was still smoldering which set off the sprinkler system and that ended the nighttime drama.

 

In Arts and Crafts we made a leather luggage tag.

 

Another enjoyable afternoon by the pool reading and knitting.

 

We did even worse in afternoon trivia with only 10 correct. The winners had 16 (out of 17).

1)Who discovered the rings of Saturn?

2)Which city’s first subway line was the Metropolitan Line?

3)Which color is displayed on the starboard side of a ship?

4)What Broadway smash hit has lyrics by poet T.S. Elliott?

5)In what country would you find the 1300 mile long Orange River?

 

I sat by the pool a little longer after trivia and found a notice from the IT Officer when I returned to my cabin. Here is part of it.

 

“Due to a malfunctioning power supply to the antenna dome earlier today, we are experiencing delays/outages in sending and receiving email. Moreover, internet reception is negatively affected and will not work, presumably not until Dakar.”

 

I was unable to get on-line last night starting around 11:30 and tried all day until the notice arrived.

 

America’s Test Kitchen featured Czech recipes, some of which were on the menu tonight. I had a salad, cheese filled boureka, Czech Wedding Braised Beef, and a blueberry sundae for dessert.

 

The big excitement for tonight was 0/0. We crossed the Equator and the Prime Meridian at the same time so we were at 0°latitude and 0°longitude at about 11:23 p.m. There was a big party (Happy Hour – I had two margaritas) in the Crow’s Nest billed as a pajama party although very few actually wore pajamas. Ed thanked the captain for taking the route that would put us in this position. The captain said it was his first time ever sailingat 0/0.

 

Morningtrivia…

1)100

2)eagle

3)TimesSquare

4)UnitedNations

5)NewZealand

 

Afternoontrivia…

1)Galileo

2)London

3)green

4)Cats

5)SouthAfrica

[Scrapnana]

At Sea – April 13, 2018

 

What has been my normal sea day routine was changed a little this morning.

 

There was no water aerobics today so I had my normal breakfast (juice and a roll) and went to Sit and Stitch at about 9:40. The participants of today’s ceremony were rehearsing and having a great time. I had planned to go to the King Neptune Ceremony and snap a few photos and then leave because I had been to three of these ceremonies before. I wanted to see Amanda “put on trial” as she had mentioned yesterday that she was a polliwog and not looking forward to getting gunked up and kissing the fish. Of course, she was in the next to the last group. I didn’t have a very good view up on deck 9 overlooking the Lido Pool at first but as time went on people left and I was able to get better pictures. I ended up staying for the whole ceremony.

 

I didn’t realize how hot it had been out on deck because there was a nice breeze blowing but once I was back inside I realized I was hot and sweaty. The a/c in the Crow’s Nest was not that good (usually our corner is like an ice box) and it took me quite some time to cool down.

 

Left for trivia at 12:15 which was set for the unusual time of 12:30. We only had 8 correct and the winners had 14 (I think – I forgot to write it down).

1)What is the main constituent of an egg shell?

2)In computers, what does UPS stand for?

3)Who took over production of Rolls-Royce in 2003?

4)What was Chuck Berry’s signature move on stage?

5)Odontophobia is the fear of what?

 

Went directly to lunch after trivia (it was 1:00) and sat with Cyndi. In crafts we made birthstone earrings with sterling silver findings and Swarovsky (sp?) crystals. With my schedule back on track I sat by the empty pool (they were still cleaning it from this morning) and read and knitted until afternoon trivia.

 

Marilyn and Rodney were having drinks with friends so we had two people join us. Part of their normal team were missing also. We had 11 correct and the winning team had a perfect 15.

1)What word is on the label of every dry champagne?

2)Who was the first US poet to speak at a presidential inauguration?

3)What is Pentagon double-speak for “permanent pre-hostility”?

4)What is the last element alphabetically?

5)Who wrote To Kill A Mockingbird?

 

At 7pm it was time for what I have renamed “I Can’t Name That Tune” with Jamm in the Piano Bar. I was able to get 8 correct.

 

We had a guest for dinner – Cass - who is acting as the librarian because Courtney had to go home with back problems. Cass is from Australia and is usually a HAL assistant CD who was on vacation but agreed to work for the last few weeks of the WV. She said that the antenna got “fried” and we are waiting for the parts and the technicians to install them are being flown in to repair (hopefully) the antenna.

 

I had a salad, a spring roll, butter chicken (spicy), and vanilla ice cream for dessert.

 

Went to the show. Jo Little was the entertainer and she sings and is a comic. Enjoyed her show.

 

Morning trivia…

1)calcium

2)uninterrupted power source

3)BMW

4)duckwalk

5)teeth

 

Afternoon trivia…

1)brut

2)Robert Frost

3)peace

4)zirconium

5)Harper Lee

[Scrapnana]

I hope to have pictures up on my blog later this afternoon.

[Scrapnana]

All caught up with pictures on my blog.

 

If we disappear again, the temporary fix must have failed or having internet back, we overloaded and crashed the system!

[Krazy Kruizers]

When I didn't hear from any you World Cruise people for a couple of days, I figured you all were either in a dead zone or something happened to the Internet.

Hope the parts arrive and the antenna gets fixed.

Three days in Cape Town and the order for melons and pineapples didn't arrive -- not good. Hope you all get supplies in Dakar.

Got caught up.

Sorry you didn't did well at some of your trivia games.

I was fortunate to get a good picture of my DH kissing the fish on one of our crossing the equator ceremonies.

Will have fun this afternoon with the trivia questions after the locksmith repairs our back storm door.