Hitch a Ride with Bill & Mary Ann on Holland America's 2018 World Cruise - 113 days +

[WCB]

Report # 113 Day atSea April 23, 2018 Monday Partly cloudy & 80 degrees 2 Pictures

 

Despite the fact that Captain Jonathon has mentioned the possibilityof rain in the forecast these last three sea days, the only rain that may havefallen was during the night. If weremain lucky, it will stay that way. Onthe distant horizon, we can see that showers are falling, but not here. The only sea life we have spotted have been afew flying fish. Also, there has beensome floating clumps of seaweed or algae. We are so far away from any land, we are not sure what the source is.

 

After breakfast, we went to the front desk to collect ourpassports. Then a letter was deliveredexplaining the process we will all need to do on the day we arrive to PuertoRico. An immigration inspection will take place inthe terminal ashore. This will be ourface-to-face inspection with the US Border Protection Inspection. It is mandatory and everyone onboard the shipwill have to attend, whether you plan to stay ashore or go on a tour.

 

When the announcement begins, those of us with the letter “S”will be called first. This will be a zero count inspection, meaning that all ofthe passengers and crew will need to go off the ship, and not return for a fewhours. At least we will not have to repeat this same process in Ft. Lauderdale.

 

According to Henk M, we will have to fill out our customsform in Ft. Lauderdale, and take it through the gates with our luggage. If all goes well, it should be a breeze.

 

Our day for seeing the Fed Ex rep, Sarah, was today. This has worked much better, as most everyonewould be fighting to get to the head of the lines. Things like this are a test for politeness inregular folks like most of us. Wedecided to go see her this afternoon, when most people would be getting readyfor the pre-dinner cocktails in the Queen’s Lounge. More about that later.

 

But first, we met Barb for lunch in the dining room. She had beat us there, and was waiting toorder. This hour or two has to be themost sane part of the day for us. Allthe things we discuss stays at that table, since that’s what good friends arefor.

 

We had another job to do today, and that was to figure outwhat we can do with five bottles of champagne and wine, gifts along theway. Since the beverage team seemed tobe missing in action, we went to see Christel instead. She can fix anything. Last year, some of these gifts could becredited to our shipboard account , but that has been stopped weunderstand. It’s 11pm right now, and westill don’t know the decision on this. Weonly have ourselves to blame for this, since we could have followed up with itduring the last four months. But we had shoved the bottles in the back of thecloset, and out of sight.

 

Around 3pm, we went to Sarah’s desk and found only onecouple was waiting to be seen. A coupleof gals that we know had a few questions like we did. The forms that had been sent with the Fed Exlabels were self-explanatory, but not everything was explained clearly. Sarah is an expert on this service, so all oftheir questions were clarified easily. Addingone more suitcase, we were issued new shipping tags and we were on our way. Easy.

 

The first pre-dinner cocktail party was scheduled to beginat 4:15pm. Since we often sit in theatrium deck five near the Ocean Bar, we thought we might as well go see howearly the folks would show up. Ofcourse, 4pm was not too early for many. The invitation we had received usually gave directions for our President’sClub group to enter on the left side of the Queen’s Lounge. However, the invite failed to say this. It did say that seating was reserved forus. Asking Cynthia at the front desk,she confirmed that the process had been amended, and the left side door wasclosed to everyone. So there were threelines of guests merging together to enter on the right side only. Now, it was not important to us that we hadto be singled out like we used to be, but someone should have explained that toall of us ahead of time.

 

With the early seating crowd plugging the elevator area as well as liningup well past the Wajang Theater, they kindly opened the door to the loungeearlier, and cleared the people. Therewas a receiving line with the Captain, Henk, and Hamish, but most folks simplypushed their way past them, so no photos were being taken, thank goodness. We did hear later that the change in thisprocess was because too any people would bypass the receiving line in order toreserve front row seats for their friends. And that did cause many fights. Crazy, huh? This whole thing wasrepeated for the later cocktail reception.

 

So after this melee, when the ceremony was starting, we wentinto the back of deck five to watch and listen for a few minutes. The usually beverages were being passedaround with several trays of hot and cold appetizers. Twenty minutes after the doors opened, theawards were being given, with each awardee posing for photos with the Captainand Henk. There were 249 medal recipientsat the early party, making this ceremony go overtime. The biggestdisappointment for the new inductees to the President’s Club was that they werenot singled out for a photo with the Captain and hotel director. They felt that the one to five star memberswere recognized better than them. Atleast they had a photo taken today. Those who had dinner at 5:15pm and 5:30pm, leftearly, as it went 25 minutes overtime.

 

Going back to our atrium chairs, we spoke to many of ourbuddies as they left the lounge. This isone evening that those who dine exclusively in the Lido every evening, willattend the dining room dinner instead. Yes, there are folks that choose to go entirely casual for four months,leaving all of the “gala” clothing at home. It is a nice choice for them, and totally fine.

 

We went to our party before 6:30pm, and did find a lineforming already for the opening at 6:45pm. Unless you got to the entrance right after the first ceremony, you couldnot avoid some confrontation. Had we allbeen informed earlier, this could have been avoided. As a group, we were seatedwith escorts, if you could find them, when the door opened early once again,which happened to be the raised section on the right hand side of the lowershow lounge. One negative was there wasno handicapped entrance here. The folkswith wheelchairs or walkers had to sit outside this section against the wall.

 

What else was missing compared to previous Mariner Societyparties? Remember, we are simplyposting what we see as changes. The “corral”that had been sectioned off in the center of the lower lounge was gone. Even though we all joked we were “the best inshow” (referring to the dog show), this spot was the best for easy access toeveryone, and the best place to watch the medal awards ceremony. In the old spot, we were served Dom Perignon (reallygood champagne) and a three-level tray of appetizers, which always included thebest caviar. This was gonecompletely. And we always had one waitertaking care of this section, but he was gone, and so were the roamingbartenders. Some of the late-comers werenot offered anything, since there was no one in attendance. One of the longest-time PC members resortedto flagging down the head sommelier to get beverages for all that came late andwere ignored. To make things worse, whenthe beverages arrived, they were watered down. Even the house wines. Trays ofnice appetizers (minus the caviar) did arrive, but the waiters had one heck ofa time maneuvering between the tight couches and chairs. Unless we were receiving a new level with amedal award, we would re-consider even attending this affair. OK, lastly, we were always invited up individuallyor by couples, to have our photo taken with the Captain and Henk, and giftedwith this picture later on. That did nothappen. In no particular order, we wereintroduced by name (no mention of days racked up – good thing), and asked towave or stand up.

 

The medals awarded at this late ceremony numbered over 300,so the rest of the party was used for this. Unfortunately, the cruise director had trouble pronouncing the names,and the order of medals given. At leasteach awardee had a photo taken. With fourmedal levels, it was a long time before the party ended. We exited immediately after it was over. We would hear volumes about this tomorrow…..

 

The final gala dinner was this evening, and we had a guestofficer join us. As he was seatedbetween two rather quiet men tablemates, we never did get to hear any of hisstories or even his name. That can be aproblem when the table size is for ten guests. Or perhaps, one of us is definitely having issues with hearing. The more tables that are occupied surroundingus is also problematic. Something tokeep in mind when choosing a future table.

 

The menus are different on these nights with a limitedselection, but always special. Surf andturf, a fish entrée, and a vegetarian meal are the normal. The poultry or meat dinners included goose ora veal chop. We both ordered the veal,which Slam, our waiter, said was exceptionally good tonight. He was SO correct. Dessert for us was even better…..the cappachinobombe, chocolate-covered coffee ice cream. But tonight the ice cream was chocolate. Can’t win them all. The final formal entertainers were thedancers and singers with a production labeled Bellissima. It was classical, pop, and opera classics,and most enjoyable way to end the day.

 

An hour back on the clock, and two final gifts ofGoedewaggen (Delft) plates with the GWV itinerary printed on it were waitingfor us in our room. They were almostcorrect, but Madagascar was still on them, and Reunion was not. Obviously already made, there was no time toget them correct.

 

Only a few more days left on this trip, and happily, one ofthem is a port.

 

Bill & Mary Ann

[Krazy Kruizers]

Yes -- I remember when we all were called up to have our picture taken with the captain after others got their medals. Now we are just asked to wave our hands.

The good old days are gone.

Wonderful report and pictures.

[JamesEM]

I find it amazing just how many places/items the cruise lines can find to cut back on, to save money.

[WCB]

Report # 114 Day atSea April 24, 2018 Tuesday Partly cloudy & 85 degrees

 

Despite some clouds, the temperatures stayed rather highwith some humidity. We can sure tell weare headed towards the Caribbean now. Atleast the rain has stayed away.

 

Doing three time changes in five days has been taking itstoll on those of us who continue to wake up with the sunrise. It sure does make for a long day.

 

This morning was a good time to follow up on shopping. A nice dressy top had one of our names on it,but it had been put away yesterday. Infact most of this collection was a trunk show, and what did not sell was set togo to another HAL ship. Had we known itwas going to be packed up, we would have gone to the shop sooner. The sales gal promised to hunt it down, andif it had not sold, she would call me. So this morning there was a call waiting saying come into the shop, tryit on, and if it worked, it was ours. Sofollowing those instructions, one of us went to the shop to find they wereincredibly busy. There was a “sidewalksale” where some trinkets were put on sale for ½ off. Would have been nice if the high endcollection was also on sale, but it was not. Took a while to get some help with the purchase, but it worked outfine. It appeared that the 2 for $30sequined t-shirts were the big draw today.

 

Things are wrapping up such as the laundry service. Today was the final one to turn in a bag oflaundry for it to be returned in a timely manner. Also, the Grand Activity Voucher Redemptiontook place at 4pm. The 10 cent voucherswere good for Amazon gift cards. It didtake a minimum of 50 vouchers to get a gift card worth $5. We assume that there will be no more 10:30amwalks, baggo, trivia, or name that tune activities for the rest of thisvoyage.

 

Lunch in the dining room was a table for two, since Barb hadgone for a Pinnacle Grill lunch with Woody and Susie. We both ordered the appetizer salad and theFrench dip sandwiches, with pumpkin pie for dessert. We have to say that the dining room lunch hasbeen so nice, that we have enjoyed it as much as dinner in here. Sometimes more. The portions can be smaller, the food cold(salads) or very, very hot (soups & sandwiches). And our waiters are among the best, as is thecompany we share it with.

 

The highlight of the day was the Indonesian Crew Show at 3pmin the Queen’s Lounge. Both decks filledwith guests to see this matinee show time. Many of the waiters and room stewards participated with dancing, singing,and story-telling representing their various islands of Indonesia. Tina from the Pinnacle Grill and Nass (Nasirum)joined forces to be masters of ceremonies today. They were both quite good. Nass is the most fun waiter who we havegotten to know when we joined Leta and Bill for dinner. The minute we met him, he told us to call himNass, but think of him like Elliot Ness from the Untouchables series. Humor has to be his second career. He claims that his friends call him “Sweetand Low”……sweet, because he is, and low because he is short. And he added thedescription, handsome, as well. With each act, the crowd’s applause gotlouder. So much fun, and with a turnoutlike today, they know they are loved. Weexpect the Filipino show will occur within a few days.

 

We were invited to the last cocktail party of thiscruise. It was for the Pinnacle andNeptune Suites and President’s Club members in the Explorer’s Lounge. A very nice exclusive farewell party, we weregreeted by Captain Mercer, Henk M and Hamish. Our same group usually gathers at a stand-uptable, which includes us, Barb, Howard, and always Don. However, Don was missing. Later in the day, we learned that he got theday wrong, as was expecting the party for tomorrow. Oops….. Shiv and Peter, the purser stopped to share food and conversation withus. Henk M also took the time to listento our comments regarding the new format for the Mariner Society Cocktail Partylast night. He admitted that this affairhad been changed by the powers to be in Seattle. Not his decision. We do know for a fact that many unhappyfirst-time President’s Club members had already left copious Share YourThoughts comment cards at the front desk. Their biggest disappointment was thefact that they were not recognized at all at this gathering with at least aphoto taken of the new inductees. Even agroup photo would have been better than nothing at all. We all added our 2cents worth, regarding the wheelchair-bound guests that were not able to sitwith the group. He agreed with that one. Then, we all thanked him for listening. The next place to write our comments will beon the online survey after the cruise is over.

 

At 8pm, we had our last of our 10 complimentary dinners inthe Pinnacle Grill, ordering the lamb chops as our entrée. They were as tender as they could be, andgrilled just right….medium. With theprawn cocktail and Caesar salad, we were totally full. Well not so full to savor the desserts ofcheesecake and Cherry Garcia ice cream.

 

The entertainer for tonight was Maria Lyn, the vocalist fromthe other evening. She was back with anew show.

 

The good night card had a great saying, so we thought itappropriate to add it.

 

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by thethings you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bow lines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore -Dream- Discover - Mark Twain –

 

Could not agree more…..

 

Bill & Mary Ann

[bay guy]

I was pleased to see your comments about Nass. We were abound the GWV until Hong Kong. We were assigned to open dining and the first night we went to dinner, we were given a table with Nass and his great partner Dimas. They impressed us so much with their wit and excellent care that we always asked to be seated at one of Nass's tables when we came to dinner.

We missed their kindness after we left the ship and especially missed Dimas' "mile wide" smile and Nass' subtle but excellent care.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Glad that many of you mentioned to the hotel director and wrote comment cards about the new way HAL is handling the Mariner's Award ceremonies.

Great report.

[bcnvcanada]

Thanks for taking us again on your cruise. We always enjoy your guides to ports and how cruising continues to change. Safe travels home.

[MMDown Under]

Thanks for your comments on the latest cutbacks, Bill and Mary Ann.

 

Seems Head Office needs to appoint someone with empathy and common sense, most undervalued qualities. It is almost beyond belief that passengers in wheelchairs/walkers could not meet/sit with the rest of their group.

 

How much organisation would a group photo take? Such a shame to not have that momento to keep.

 

Sounds like a lack of respect to their frequent cruisers to me!

 

Enjoy San Juan.

[WCB]

Report #115 SanJuan, Puerto Rico April 25, 2018 Wednesday Mostly sunny & 87 degrees Part # 1 of 3 80 Pictures

 

The Amsterdam sailed into the Bahia de San Juan around 7am,joining the already docked Harmony of the Seas (RCI). It was not long after that, when the CarnivalMagic arrived, making us look tiny by comparison. Since the cruise line book is packed, we arenot sure of the passenger capacity of these two ships, but they have to bedouble or triple of what we have on the Amsterdam.

 

But first, we would have to attend a mandatory United StatesBorder Protection Inspection in the terminal. This was a “zero” count, where everyone on the ship, including all staffmembers had to clear this inspection before anyone was allowed back on theship. There was one exception, thepassengers would clear first, and would be allowed back onboard during the timethe crew was being cleared.

 

We were all assigned a letter or a number to follow whenbeing called off. Ours was an “S”, whichmeans we could go off first, or anytime we wished. We chose to go to breakfast like we alwaysdo, then go off when the final call was made for everyone to clear. This happened around 9:15am. Not wanting to be the last off, we went offthe ship to line up with many folks doing the same thing. The process went quite well, where we queuedup in five lines to see five agents. Ourpassports were recorded and we were on our way to either wait in the terminalto go back to the ship, or go out for the rest of the day. Some folks were on HAL tours as well.

 

There were several stores with souvenirs and alcohol on bothlevels, so many guests spent their wait time shopping. We were surprised to find so many people thatwanted back on the ship.. We ran intoBarb near the exit. She was also goingto hang around to go back. She told uslater on that it took 20 more minutes for all of the passengers to attend theinspection. The crew members were beginning to go through when she and the restof the crowd were allowed back onboard.

 

Puerto Rico was founded in 1508 by Ponce de Leon, theSpanish explorer. San Juan, the capital,is the oldest city in a United StatesTerritory. A completely walled city, SanJuan was protected by several forts. TheBritish and the Dutch attacked several times, but only the Brits weresuccessful in 1596 when they overtook San Juan for 65 days. The island was ceded to the United States atthe end of the Spanish-American War. Full of plazas, churches, and gardens, today it is a vacation haven withits Euro-African music, culture, and cuisine. The currency here is the US dollar, and the languages spoken are Englishand Spanish. The population is 395,400people according to the census in 2016.

 

Listening to Barbara H’s talk, she mentioned that since wewill be close to the center of town, shuttles will not be provided. There were, however, trolleys that you cantake for a free tour around the city. Not a bad idea. But with 10,000 passengers in town, not including us,there might be a long wait to ride them. And it might avoid some sore feet from walking on the streets paved withold blue/gray cobblestones.

 

The Old Town was full of the typical Caribbean islandshopping. High end shops like Diamonds International, Effy, Milano, Del Sol,and Cariloha were all here. So weredozens of souvenir boutiques, and street stands selling lots of treasures. Art is everywhere, and so is food. Many different types of restaurants linedthese cobbled streets with fish, pork, stews, and rice. But most important of all, they have lots ofpizza places, as we would discover later.

 

Barbara’s talks always end with, “When all is said anddone, Puerto Rico (or whatever port weare in) has something for everyone. We did ask Barbara what her summer plansare, and she told us she was on the Volendam for the Alaska season. Then after that, she plans to retire. She will not be doing the Voyage of the Vikings. We will sure miss her when she does not comeback to the world cruise. The only otherport lecturer we have had on Grand Voyages was Frank Buckingham, but that was 2010on the Prinsendam’s Grand South America. Barbara has been the most informative speaker,as well as a personal friend. As manytimes as she has been to these world-wide ports, she has stayed enthusiasticwith each one, like it is her first time visiting there. The year that our camera shut down, shehelped locate a replacement lens while we approached Africa. Calling port agents, she located just what weneeded in Richard’s Bay. We would havebeen without a good camera going on our safari that year, had it not been forBarbara’s help.

 

Getting out of the terminal with so many other passengerswas unusual for this trip. We have nothad to share facilities with anyone during most of this four month voyage. Maybe in a few ports we had company, but notlike today. Following the ship’s map, wehiked across the street and uphill towards the Monument of ChristopherColumbus. Street markets had popped upeverywhere along the way, selling lots of stuff for cheap. Few of our passengers were buying, since weare packing now, and finding we had little or no room.

 

Our destination was Fort San Cristobal, a UNESCO WorldHeritage Site, and one of the largest fortifications in the New World. We did not go inside, but got plenty ofoutside pictures. Turning left at thetop, we followed the boulevard above the fortresses below us. This area is called Le Perla, which is notreferring to the gemstones of pearls. Itrefers to the area surrounding the water’sedge, where a wall is built with smaller forts.

 

On the opposite end of this walled hillside, is El Morro,built in the 1500’s, it is the oldest Spanish fort in the New World, also aUNESCO World Heritage site. We walkedthe grassy knolls to the front entrance, where we found a price board withtheir national park fee of $7 per person (kids were free) to enter this castle. It was brought up at dinner tonight thatif you already have a National Park lifetime membership card, every US park isaccessible for free. Good to know. Some of our tablemates had paid $10 for thiscard as little as 5 years ago, while today, the going fee is $80.

 

The white Santa Maria Magdelena cemetery was below, next tothis imposing fortress. Not enough timeto explore it, we did take several photos. Following this coastline around the base of this fort, was a road wheregreat photos could be taken. However, wewere informed that the road was closed, due to recent damage done by a massivewave. Besides many roofs being coveredwith blue tarps, the damage from the hurricane this past summer was not reallyobvious. Just guessing, we think most ofthe destruction was in the mountain area. This whole Old Town of San Juan has been cleaned up and well-maintainedsince that catastrophic storm.

 

We have to mention that a notice was printed in the dailynewsletter. It referred to donationsgiven in this port for hurricane relief. While Amsterdam’s management had diligently and exhaustingly tried to addto those efforts, local limitations prohibited further ship-wide support. Go figure….. Guests were welcomed to undertake personalefforts, but the ship could not be involved. Again, go figure…..Now this didnot stop locals from begging at the terminal gate, but who knows where thosedonations really ended up. No one gaveanything to these fellows. Absolutely noone.

 

Back-tracking, we slowly made our way over the top anddownhill. Sprinkles were beginning tofall, but the passing cloud kept going. There wasn’t one tourist that was packing an umbrella, and had itrained, thousands of us would have been quite wet. Might have felt good actually, since it wasplenty hot and sticky out.

 

Our next job was the hunt for the Hard Rock Café, whichshould have been on Recinto Sur Calle. When we got to that address that was listed ontheir website, we found it was gone. Theproperty was locked and for rent. Knowing that with this crowd today we hadlittle chance of eating lunch there, we did want to buy a couple of theirt-shirts. Not happening today, and itwould have been nice if they updated their website.

 

So we found the nearest information center, and inquired ifthe HRC had been re-located. Nope, itwas gone, but may have moved to the new city, far from here. Another suggestion was the best place forpizza. Pulling out a very detailed freelocal map, she circled the spot to go. Yes, there was one place very close, afew blocks uphill, but a bit more off the beaten path. It was called Pirilo, and was basically anarrow café with room for 2 dozen customers. They served tapas, salads, and most important….pizza, about the bestever on this entire trip. No kidding. Ordering a large 20 inch Margherita pizza, itarrived piping hot, with a thicker than usual crust. The beer we ordered was from a local brewerycalled Ocean Ale. Very icy cold and ahigher alcohol content. We did noticethat the majority of diners in here were locals, only a few tourists. That is a sign of a very good place toeat. When we left, there was a line offolks waiting for tables, including some of our ship buddies.

 

Trying to find a small souvenir from Puerto Rico was notthat easy. One of us collects and wears sunvisors, but everywhere we looked, only baseball caps were sold. One shop did have a few denim visors, so wewaited in line to make our $10 (plus tax) purchase. The two young ladies in the line ahead of uswere obviously not from our ship. Howcould we tell? Well, the age was less by40 years, the clothing was skimpy, and they were quite mobile (no canes orwalkers). Ha-ha, just kidding, but notreally….. They took more time addingtrinkets to their order, then taking out items like t-shirts because they had a$60 limit. Bet the vendors see a wholelot of different tourists here, as they were patient, but happy when theyfinally got their money. So werewe.

 

Taking the last of the photos, we walked up far enough tospot the Casino, the Department of Housing, and the Capital building of PuertoRico. Then we made our way back to the pier,where a crowd was gathering by 2:30pm. It seems that the Harmony at the Seas had already left at 2pm, but theCarnival Magic was getting ready to go at 4pm. So the line getting back on for us, mixed with those Carnival folks, madeit take much longer to board. No problemfor us, because all aboard was 10:30pm.

 

Sure was nice getting back to the coolness of theair-conditioning. Downloading photostook some time in our room, then we went out to watch the massive Carnival shipleave the pier and the harbor. Theresure was a different crowd on that huge vessel, rock-climbing, high walking,and tube pool diving. Some of their cruisesare very short, so the guests have to squeeze everything into 4 to 7 days.

 

Dinner found eight of us, which included frequent guest, Peter,and Freddie, one of the nicest dance hosts. He is a buddy of Barb’s and us, and really enjoyed being at our tablethis evening. He sure likes to eat,since he seldom gets a chance to eat in this dining room. The lamb chop entrée was recommended, and heordered a double. We stayed chattingwell past dessert time, and got back to our room by 10pm.

 

A big screen movie was shown, The Post, which was alreadyshown on the ship a month ago. Bet theyhad few takers tonight.

 

We now have two days to get back where we began….Ft.Lauderdale.

 

Bill & Mary Ann

[Krazy Kruizers]

Many years ago we had lunch at the Hard Rock in San Juan -- it was just a couple of blocks up the hill from the ship. When we went back a couple of years later, it had burned down and we were told that they were not going to re-open.

I just looked at their web site and there isn't a Hard Rock listed for anywhere in San Juan.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Wonderful report. We have walked everywhere in San Juan as well.

Glad you found a place to get your favorite Margarita pizza.

[WCB]

Report # 116 Day atSea April 26, 2018 Thursday Partly cloudy & 85 degrees

 

Today things are winding down as we only have two more seadays left to prepare to leave the ship. Many folks have waited until now to do the final packing. This is when we are happy that we did notbring 22 suitcases, like those who got unlimited shipping. Finishing up the luggage shipping services,Sarah was at her desk for the final time to get correct Fed Ex tags if morewere needed. And as always towards theend of a segment or a long cruise such as this one, the digital scale wasoutside Shiv’s office for guests to check their luggage weights for flyinghome.

 

In our mail slot today, we had the disembarkation packagewith instructions for the night of April 27th and the morning ofApril 28th. After our morningwalk, we went back to complete our numbered tags, which are Black One. We had requested to be among the last onesoff. We always feel better to be doubledtagged, so we got some more to add to our stuff. Also picked up more Amsterdam tags to be usedwhen we re-board on May 10th. A copy of the last 2 weeks of our shipboard account gave us an idea ofwhat we need to spend to get to zero.

 

We met Barb for lunch in the dining room, and as always, hadfun. It is a good place to meet up andhave a mostly quiet conversation. Ourwaiters have been so attentive and have joined in with our fun. Gan still cannot remember that Barb likes thesmall fork, instead of the big one. Agung, who has graduated to head waiter, reminds Gan almost daily….thelittle fork. But we think Gan is funningwith Barb, especially the day he brought her the tiny butter fork. We all ordered the sweet and sour chicken entrée,as well as the lemon meringue pie. Ohboy, are we going to miss this as our lunches at home are basically salads. And no desserts.

 

The afternoon highlight was the Filipino Crew Show, wheremany of the front office staff, bar staff, and kitchen workers presentedtraditional music and dance from their homeland. Not sure how many folks took advantage of theLuningning Marikit drink in a light-up souvenir glass for $9.75. But it is always there for sale at thisperformance. Some of the program hasbeen updated, keeping with the traditional, but adding some very modern movesat the end. They do have such a goodtime doing this show, and the passengers are always very supportive. Not sure how the Star Wars theme song fitinto the mix, but it added some interest to the show. It ended with a fluorescent glove act,spelling out the words thank you and farewell, followed by an up-to-date songand dance by the whole group.

 

In the meantime, sheets of 4 x 8 plywood were beingdistributed and stacked on the lower promenade deck. Obviously, this was loaded on yesterday whilewe were in port. We suspect it will beused to protect the teak decking that still exists on this ship, or the carpetson deck three.

 

A bit more shopping, and the last of our shipboard creditwas brought down to 82 cents in our favor. Perfect. Nothing owed, but nothing will be credited toour credit card this time. Last year, weleft 79 cents, and that amount showed up on our credit card.

 

Dinnertime arrived, and our table was full with nine ofus. Everyone seems to be organized andready for the last day that will end this long voyage. All of us are still wondering who thismystery entertainer that was promised at this evening’s show. Savannah Jack, the five man singing group,was scheduled for a special 1 ½ hour performance beginning at 9:30pm. Unless we skip our entrees, no one will be ontime for that one. Actually two leftearly, but one went without the dinner. No way were we leaving when the dessert had calypso chocolate torte onthe menu. Also known as Mississippi MudPie. Dinner ended up around 10pm.

 

An interesting message was printed in the When & Wherepaper today. It read: Please be advised that due to operationallimitations, mobility assistance service to a guest using a cane, walker, wheelchairor scooter will only be offered if you have been using such throughout thecruise. Mobility assistance service isnot offered as an alternative luggage/package transportation option either. First time we have seen this message…….

 

Bill & Mary Ann

[Krazy Kruizers]

That is funny how HAL credited back to your card such a small amount of money.

As to wheel chair assistance in getting off the ship -- on our last cruise we saw very few people using wheel chairs or walker/rollators during the cruise. I do use a rollator all through the cruise -- everywhere. When we went down to the appointed area for my wheelchair assistance to leave the ship, the place was mobbed. One couple I recognized were in a cabin just down the hall from our cabin and never once did I see them use any device for mobility issues and we saw them quite a few times in the Neptune Lounge -- but both left the ship using wheelchairs and pilled with lots of assorted bags. Definitely some people were using the wheelchair assistance to help get off all their extra stuff from the ship. I can see why they have to clamp down on who can use the wheelchair assistance to get off the ship.

[ON cruiser]

Thanks again for your great narrative! Wondering if you did sort out the issue with the gifted wine & champagne?

 

Enjoy your time in Florida and your next cruise home. Will you be posting about that one?

 

Thanks, safe travels!

[WCB]

Report # 117 Day atSea April 27, 2018 Friday Partly cloudy & 84 degrees

 

When we went to breakfast in the dining room today, it feltlike evening instead of morning. Theskies were so dark and thick with black clouds, it actually made the roomdark. Obviously, we were heading into abad storm. While we were eating, wenoticed what looked like flashes from cameras. But no, it turned out to be lightning, followed by thunder……loud enoughto hear it inside the dining room. Rainfell swiftly and heavily, doing a great job cleaning the windows. Then as fast as it had arrived, it stopped,and the sun began to peek through the clouds. Perhaps it would be an OK day after all.

 

Walking the outside deck, we found the workers preparing therailings by wrapping them with plastic, and later, foam padding. The pile of plywood was being readied tocover the teak decking, just as we figured. But first, there was an On The Deck For a Cause 5K non-competitivewalk. This is an event that happens onevery cruise, no matter the length, to raise funds for six international cancerorganizations. Passengers were invitedto sign up at the front desk a few days ago. Whether or not you walked, you would receive a free t-shirt andwristband. The music was blasting whenwe went out early at 9:30am. The goodnews was that the rain had stopped, and the decks had dried out enough for asafe event.

 

All of us had been invited to put out the luggage all daylong, not just after dinner. This wouldgive the crew a chance to haul the suitcases and boxes without too muchstress. And with the amount of stuffgoing off, this would be a massive job. Decks six and seven would have a problem with their unlimited luggageblocking the hallways had they waited to put stuff out later. So we had been ready with our things for twodays now, and were happy to have it gone. The next time we see our five pieces ofluggage should be in the terminal in Ft. Lauderdale. And going off last, we will have no troublelocating it all. At least that is theplan.

 

With having to save enough clothing and supplies to spendthe next couple of weeks of Florida time and a 17 day cruise, we seemed to havea bit more that would not fit into the suitcase. We really do not like wearing jeans todinner, so we kept out the usual smart casual clothes for the finalevening. After all, it is a special day,called Koningsdag or King’s Day, a holiday in the Netherlands. It is a celebration of the birth of KingWillem-Alexander, and a holiday to wear something orange. Also known as “orange madness”. We did notice that orange jackets were beinghanded to the waiters last night after dinner. So we will do the best we can to join in the party. And, by the way, we did purchase anexpandable HAL bag in the shop to stash the final things that will notfit. Reminder to self: Bring less next time.

 

It was a happy, but sad time sharing our last sea day lunch withBarb in the dining room. It has beenmost enjoyable having this time to spend together. We had soup, pot stickers, salad, and onestew, which was really good for a change from the usual sandwiches. With few exceptions, lunch in here has beenoutstanding, as is the service from the best waiters Made and Gan. Hopefully, they will not be re-assigned onthe Panama cruise, because they are super.

 

All library books and DVD’s needed to be returned today. We had intended to pick up some movies or TVseries on DVD, but we never did. Don’teven know if the DVD player works in our room. For most of this cruise, few of the TV movies were reruns.

 

The Crew Farewell Grand Finale took place in the Queen’s Loungeat 3pm. People must have arrived veryearly, because when we went to deck five, all of the seats were taken, withstanding room only. All of the guestshad drinks of either free sparkling wine, mimosas, or orange juice, or like us,nothing, since we just finished lunch with lots of ice tea. The farewell began with pre-taped videos ofinterviews with Orlando and Gerald B, then Hamish spoke about the appreciationof the crew. We do think they shouldhave thought to also mention appreciation for the passengers as well. If it were not for us, there would be nocrew, right? Of course, they gotstanding ovations.

 

But nothing like the applause and standing ovation BarbaraHaenni got after giving her excellent re-cap of this year’s itinerary. Her photos of all of our ports were perfect,and her comments short and sweet. Wewill all miss her next year, as she will be retiring in October aftercompleting a season in Alaska on the Volendam. As a special tribute, she was handed roses from Julie, the Human ResourcesOfficer, and Jonathon, the Master of the Vessel. The final standing ovation was heartfelt byall.

 

Captain Mercer blamed a touch of too much sparkling wine,but we did see a hint of a tear in his eyes, and a wavering of his voice as hegave her a parting hug. During hisspeech, he mentioned that he has been the Captain now since 2012….a total ofseven grand world voyages now. Heintends to add one more to that number with next year’s grand voyage. Again, much applause.

 

The show was ended with an amusing video of the crew membersin each department dancing and singing their daily jobs. The best shot had to be of the hoteldirector, Henk, sitting in his bathtub full of bubble bath, wearing a showercap. With only a 2 second frame, hepulled the shower curtain quickly, drawing a huge laugh from the audience. That’s Henk, always serious, but mostlyfunny. We had been expecting to see bothHenk and Christel riding their bicycle for two down the hallways, but they musthave thought it had been over-done by now. Maybe next year…..

 

Taking our favorite chairs in the atrium across from theOcean Bar during the second happy hour, we watched a lot of activity happeningcompared to most sea days. Deck four wasvery busy with visitors to the front desk. Like us, they were getting more tags, or breaking large bills to smallerdenominations, or questioning charges on their accounts. The shops on deck five had constantcustomers, especially the liquor shop, where bag after bag of duty-free boozeorders waited to be picked up. The OceanBar was the most crowded we have ever seen it. This was the final evening that folks could meet to share a toast andsay goodbye. Lots of hugging going onwith old and new friends alike.

 

This time tomorrow and Sunday, we have heard that the shipwill be full of workers that will be on this ship for the 12 day dry docking. The last number we heard was 1400 workers. We also heard that about half of the crewwill be completing their contracts, and will head home in Ft. Lauderdale. This info has come to us by head waiters, whoalways seem to know the numbers. If onlywe could be flies on the wall to see the destruction and re-construction. Bet it is quite a feat when it happens.

 

Around 6:30pm, while we were doing the Sudoku puzzle,Captain Mercer came on the ship’s speakers with an announcement. It seems that a waterspout had formed verynear the ship. A most natural occurrence,it was unusual to see one so close. While everyone went to the windows on the starboard side, we spottedthree more spouts forming in the distance. The sea water was circling into the air under these spouts. Rather exciting.

 

Dinnertime found all nine of us present. Even though it was a casual evening, the menuformat was Gala. Only one of us at thetable ordered the 24 ounce ribeye steak, but to be shared. It was huge, as promised, but nowhere nearthe quality of the Pinnacle cuts of meat. It tasted fine, but the flavor and texture was just OK. The Oriental noodles with spicy shrimp lookedgood, but it had oyster sauce, and one of us could not eat that. The dessert of apple pie with ice cream wasperfect. And the last dessert we mighthave for a while. Goodbyes were sharedby all, except for Barb, who being Rocket Dog, does not like goodbyes. So sherocketed out of the room with a quick “bye”. Several photos were taken, and we bid ourwaiters goodbye, thanking them for their excellent service.

 

There was a show in the lounge tonight….a variety performancefeaturing Suzanne Godfrey and Tango Cervilla. Doubt they had a big crowd, because most people still had luggage todeal with. They had until 12 midnight toput it all out in the hall.

 

For the first time ever, we did not have to put our bags outafter dinner, since we had done it late this afternoon. All that is left are the hand carrys, and thenew expandable tote, that filled up with quite a bit of extra things.

 

Tomorrow breakfast will be served in both the Lido and the diningroom. The Lido will open at 6am, whilethe dining room opens at 6:30am. We hopeto be settled at the hotel in the afternoon, and will be writing as soon as wecan.

 

The quote for this evening was pretty accurate: “I do believe it is time for another adventure”. –Unknown-

 

Stay tuned…..

 

Bill & Mary Ann

[albi]

Report # 117 Day atSea April 27, 2018 Friday Partly cloudy & 84 degrees

 

 

 

When we went to breakfast in the dining room today, it feltlike evening instead of morning. Theskies were so dark and thick with black clouds, it actually made the roomdark. Obviously, we were heading into abad storm. While we were eating, wenoticed what looked like flashes from cameras. But no, it turned out to be lightning, followed by thunder……loud enoughto hear it inside the dining room. Rainfell swiftly and heavily, doing a great job cleaning the windows. Then as fast as it had arrived, it stopped,and the sun began to peek through the clouds. Perhaps it would be an OK day after all.

 

 

 

Walking the outside deck, we found the workers preparing therailings by wrapping them with plastic, and later, foam padding. The pile of plywood was being readied tocover the teak decking, just as we figured. But first, there was an On The Deck For a Cause 5K non-competitivewalk. This is an event that happens onevery cruise, no matter the length, to raise funds for six international cancerorganizations. Passengers were invitedto sign up at the front desk a few days ago. Whether or not you walked, you would receive a free t-shirt andwristband. The music was blasting whenwe went out early at 9:30am. The goodnews was that the rain had stopped, and the decks had dried out enough for asafe event.

 

 

 

All of us had been invited to put out the luggage all daylong, not just after dinner. This wouldgive the crew a chance to haul the suitcases and boxes without too muchstress. And with the amount of stuffgoing off, this would be a massive job. Decks six and seven would have a problem with their unlimited luggageblocking the hallways had they waited to put stuff out later. So we had been ready with our things for twodays now, and were happy to have it gone. The next time we see our five pieces ofluggage should be in the terminal in Ft. Lauderdale. And going off last, we will have no troublelocating it all. At least that is theplan.

 

 

 

With having to save enough clothing and supplies to spendthe next couple of weeks of Florida time and a 17 day cruise, we seemed to havea bit more that would not fit into the suitcase. We really do not like wearing jeans todinner, so we kept out the usual smart casual clothes for the finalevening. After all, it is a special day,called Koningsdag or King’s Day, a holiday in the Netherlands. It is a celebration of the birth of KingWillem-Alexander, and a holiday to wear something orange. Also known as “orange madness”. We did notice that orange jackets were beinghanded to the waiters last night after dinner. So we will do the best we can to join in the party. And, by the way, we did purchase anexpandable HAL bag in the shop to stash the final things that will notfit. Reminder to self: Bring less next time.

 

 

 

It was a happy, but sad time sharing our last sea day lunch withBarb in the dining room. It has beenmost enjoyable having this time to spend together. We had soup, pot stickers, salad, and onestew, which was really good for a change from the usual sandwiches. With few exceptions, lunch in here has beenoutstanding, as is the service from the best waiters Made and Gan. Hopefully, they will not be re-assigned onthe Panama cruise, because they are super.

 

 

 

All library books and DVD’s needed to be returned today. We had intended to pick up some movies or TVseries on DVD, but we never did. Don’teven know if the DVD player works in our room. For most of this cruise, few of the TV movies were reruns.

 

 

 

The Crew Farewell Grand Finale took place in the Queen’s Loungeat 3pm. People must have arrived veryearly, because when we went to deck five, all of the seats were taken, withstanding room only. All of the guestshad drinks of either free sparkling wine, mimosas, or orange juice, or like us,nothing, since we just finished lunch with lots of ice tea. The farewell began with pre-taped videos ofinterviews with Orlando and Gerald B, then Hamish spoke about the appreciationof the crew. We do think they shouldhave thought to also mention appreciation for the passengers as well. If it were not for us, there would be nocrew, right? Of course, they gotstanding ovations.

 

 

 

But nothing like the applause and standing ovation BarbaraHaenni got after giving her excellent re-cap of this year’s itinerary. Her photos of all of our ports were perfect,and her comments short and sweet. Wewill all miss her next year, as she will be retiring in October aftercompleting a season in Alaska on the Volendam. As a special tribute, she was handed roses from Julie, the Human ResourcesOfficer, and Jonathon, the Master of the Vessel. The final standing ovation was heartfelt byall.

 

 

 

Captain Mercer blamed a touch of too much sparkling wine,but we did see a hint of a tear in his eyes, and a wavering of his voice as hegave her a parting hug. During hisspeech, he mentioned that he has been the Captain now since 2012….a total ofseven grand world voyages now. Heintends to add one more to that number with next year’s grand voyage. Again, much applause.

 

 

 

The show was ended with an amusing video of the crew membersin each department dancing and singing their daily jobs. The best shot had to be of the hoteldirector, Henk, sitting in his bathtub full of bubble bath, wearing a showercap. With only a 2 second frame, hepulled the shower curtain quickly, drawing a huge laugh from the audience. That’s Henk, always serious, but mostlyfunny. We had been expecting to see bothHenk and Christel riding their bicycle for two down the hallways, but they musthave thought it had been over-done by now. Maybe next year…..

 

 

 

Taking our favorite chairs in the atrium across from theOcean Bar during the second happy hour, we watched a lot of activity happeningcompared to most sea days. Deck four wasvery busy with visitors to the front desk. Like us, they were getting more tags, or breaking large bills to smallerdenominations, or questioning charges on their accounts. The shops on deck five had constantcustomers, especially the liquor shop, where bag after bag of duty-free boozeorders waited to be picked up. The OceanBar was the most crowded we have ever seen it. This was the final evening that folks could meet to share a toast andsay goodbye. Lots of hugging going onwith old and new friends alike.

 

 

 

This time tomorrow and Sunday, we have heard that the shipwill be full of workers that will be on this ship for the 12 day dry docking. The last number we heard was 1400 workers. We also heard that about half of the crewwill be completing their contracts, and will head home in Ft. Lauderdale. This info has come to us by head waiters, whoalways seem to know the numbers. If onlywe could be flies on the wall to see the destruction and re-construction. Bet it is quite a feat when it happens.

 

 

 

Around 6:30pm, while we were doing the Sudoku puzzle,Captain Mercer came on the ship’s speakers with an announcement. It seems that a waterspout had formed verynear the ship. A most natural occurrence,it was unusual to see one so close. While everyone went to the windows on the starboard side, we spottedthree more spouts forming in the distance. The sea water was circling into the air under these spouts. Rather exciting.

 

 

 

Dinnertime found all nine of us present. Even though it was a casual evening, the menuformat was Gala. Only one of us at thetable ordered the 24 ounce ribeye steak, but to be shared. It was huge, as promised, but nowhere nearthe quality of the Pinnacle cuts of meat. It tasted fine, but the flavor and texture was just OK. The Oriental noodles with spicy shrimp lookedgood, but it had oyster sauce, and one of us could not eat that. The dessert of apple pie with ice cream wasperfect. And the last dessert we mighthave for a while. Goodbyes were sharedby all, except for Barb, who being Rocket Dog, does not like goodbyes. So sherocketed out of the room with a quick “bye”. Several photos were taken, and we bid ourwaiters goodbye, thanking them for their excellent service.

 

 

 

There was a show in the lounge tonight….a variety performancefeaturing Suzanne Godfrey and Tango Cervilla. Doubt they had a big crowd, because most people still had luggage todeal with. They had until 12 midnight toput it all out in the hall.

 

 

 

For the first time ever, we did not have to put our bags outafter dinner, since we had done it late this afternoon. All that is left are the hand carrys, and thenew expandable tote, that filled up with quite a bit of extra things.

 

 

 

Tomorrow breakfast will be served in both the Lido and the diningroom. The Lido will open at 6am, whilethe dining room opens at 6:30am. We hopeto be settled at the hotel in the afternoon, and will be writing as soon as wecan.

 

 

 

The quote for this evening was pretty accurate: “I do believe it is time for another adventure”. –Unknown-

 

 

 

Stay tuned…..

 

 

 

Bill & Mary Ann

 

 

 

Once again thanks for taking us along on another incredible journey! Looking forward to the next adventure. Continued safe and happy travels!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[cruzingnut]

Thanks again for taking us along! Will you be blogging from the ship after dry dock? I'll be curious to hear about the changes. I just hope they don't take that great place to sit across from the Ocean bar (between the two shops) away. I saw on the deck plan for after dry dock that was showing another shop in it's place but when I asked Chrystal about it (on Grand Asia), she said she didn't know anything about it. I just hope it wasn't one of those "pat answers" like the standard "we've never had that happen before" one.

 

Linda R.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Another wonderful report.

We have often seen water spouts and actually got a picture of one.

Hope all goes smoothly getting off the ship.

[ski ww]

Thanks for taking us along on your excellent adventure, enjoyed reading your reports.

Allan

[TJR_0323]

Bill & Mary --- thanks for your effort with the blog --- very enjoyable!

[boards]

Thank you for taking the time to prepare the blog that gave us the great experience to being on a World cruise that most of us will never be able to take. Safe journey home.

[Kween Karen]

Thank you once again for your wonderful descriptions.

I look forward to seeing you in person again next year on the 2019!!

[dchip]

Thanks Bill and Mary Ann,

 

We loved following along with your world cruise again this year!! Enjoy your time in Florida and have a wonderful cruise through the Panama Canal. See you soon!

 

Cheers,

Denise and Howie

[Blue Eyes]

Once again I have enjoyed traveling with the two of you around the world. I always look forward to your post describing the ports and your adventures. Thank you for taking the time to bring us along....

[Hflors]

Bill & Marianne, I also would like to thank you for allowing us to follow you as you finish another World cruise. I can't wait until you embark in 2019!!!