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

[DeeniEncinitas]

Really enjoy reading the adventures for the day! I saw pics of the Panama hats you received and they look really nice.

Denise:)

[WCB]

Report #10 Transiting the Panama Canal & Fuerte Amador,Panama January 9, 2018 Tuesday Overcast & 85 degrees Part #1Of 3 80 Pictures

 

We’ve lost track of the number of times we have had theprivilege of transiting the famous Panama Canal. The purpose of this manmade canal was tocreate a maritime shortcut, saving time and money in transporting people andgoods. It came about at a steep price,not only in money, but also in loss of life. The first attempt to build this water route was begun by the French in1880. But it wasn’t until the UnitedStates entered the picture, that the canal was completed by 1914. Managed by the US, the full operation wasturned over to the Panamanians in 1999. It is now run by the Panama Canal Authority.

 

Well over one million ships have transited this 80 kilometercanal, using a system of locks that raise the ships from sea level to 26 metershigh at Gatun Lake. Then after crossingthrough the Continental Divide, the ships are lowered back down to sea level,this connecting the Caribbean Sea to the Pacific Ocean. We like the way one of our tablematesdescribed it. She said that it was likesets of bathtubs being filled, then dumped. Pretty much the right idea.

 

And since we have been doing this often, we have been ableto track the progress of the new set of locks on both sides of the canal startingin 2007. The idea was to double thewaterway’s capacity to transport the larger vessels that are being utilizedtoday. In fact, we happened to pass byone of the larger container ship in the world today. Captain Mercer said that it was well over 300,000gross tons, and held thousands of containers. He was impressed to see it. We believethat only the over-sized ships use the new locks. The Amsterdam is considered small, and westill fit in the old locks.

 

The ship arrived at Gatun Locks before 7am. No, we did not get up in the wee hours of themorning to watch this entrance into the canal. Years ago, we did. By the time we were sailing in Gatun Lake, it wastime for breakfast in the dining room. The good news was that the special Panama Canal Rolls, a tradition in thispart of the world, were being served in the dining room as well as the outsidedecks.

 

Going out on the promenade deck, we faced overcast skies,humidity, heat, and hardly a breeze at all. It stayed that way for most all day. Except for some rain, a little unusual for this time of year, when itshould be the dry season. The localPanama Canal narrator mentioned that it has been a wet year here with differentweather patterns.

 

Finishing up with yesterday’s reports and photos, we did notget back outside until after noon. So itwas at the Seaview Pool that we watched the sights of the canal go by. It was warm, but with enough sun lotion, itwas tolerable. Can’t say we saw many ofthe nicer Panama hats we all got for gifts last night. It was entertaining watching all of the shipand boat traffic as we proceeded towards the Pacific side of the canal.

 

Always on the lookout for birdlife, we were notdisappointed. Ever present are thefrigates, followed by pelicans, herons, egrets, vultures, hawks, terns, andgulls. The closer we got to the last setof locks, the more we saw.

 

We passed the prison where Manuel Noriega, their famousresident, has been locked up for years. And even though he is no longer among the living, there are still moreprisoners there. We saw some of themwaving to the ship as we passed by. Theguards in the high towers did not seem to mind.

 

As well as the mega container ship that passed by us, we had a very peculiar-lookingnaval vessel following behind us all day. It wasn’t the typical color of gray, but a strange “cloaking”exterior. Upon several of us askingquestions, we learned that it was indeed a type of covering that may prevent itfrom being detected by radar. They splitoff from our path and headed towards the new set of locks on the Pacific side.

 

Sometime around 3pm, we went out on the bow to film ourpassage under the Centennial Bridge, the Pedro Miguel Locks, and finally theMiraflores Lock. That is where thebuilding is where the locals lined every floor to watch our passage. There is always a group of people there, nomatter what day of the week we are here. Once wecame out of the last lock, we went past the skyline of Panama City in the distance. Going very slowly, the local authorities left the Amsterdam bydescending ladders and jumping into their waiting boats. Somewhere in the middle of all of this, itbegan to sprinkle. The sprinkle turnedin rain, which came down like a fire hose. Everyone with expensive cameras ran for the doorway, but in 30 seconds,we were all wet. That’s the way it is inthis part of the world. When it rains,you know it.

 

Right past the Miraflores locks, there was an open areaalongside the river where we spotted three large capibarras, the world’srodent, we believe. Last year, wecounted 10 or 12 grazing near the river’s vegetation. They are normally wild, and probably on themenu somewhere in this area. We doubtmany guests saw these without binoculars, or a high-power camera. Speaking of cameras, the ship’s photographertaped a Go-Pro on the back railing in order to film the entire canal’s transittoday. He also had another one in thefront of the ship, along with signs saying “Do not touch or remove”.

 

The last part of the canal was going under the Bridge of theAmericas. By now, the passing blackcloud had gone away, and it was actually nice. A breeze from the Pacific was cooling things down a bit. As we neared the end of Fuerte Amador, wecould see two cruise ships at anchor. They were the Oceania Marina, built in 2011 weighing in at 66,048 grosstons. She holds 1258 passengers. The other ship was smaller, an Azamara vesselat 30,277 gross ton. If it is the Quest, then it holds 777 passengers. We could see tender boats serving bothships. We would be doing the same, butnot until 7:30pm or so.

 

We had no plans on going ashore this evening. Dinner for us was in the Pinnacle Grill at8pm. Perhaps many passengers did go toshore, because we happened to be the last customers of the day at 8pm. The food was delicious as always. We had a hot and tasty fried ravioli for themuse, followed by Caesar salad, and two different entrees. One of us had the filet, and the other had lambchops. For dessert, we both had thenaked Cherry Garcia, or just the ice cream. The rectangular plate came with two squares of the ice cream with mixedberries in the center. Just right.

 

Going outside for a quick walk, we discovered that gulls andpelicans were circling the ship, probably hunting the waters around us. Smart if the lights attract fish. It had been a long day, although 1 hour shortdue to the time change last night. We passedon the show, Terry Davies presents: The Piano Man. Probably good, he was playing tunes of BillyJoel and Elton.

 

Tomorrow, we will explore Ft. Amador.

 

Bill & Mary Ann

[DeeniEncinitas]

Love your writings. Will be doing part of the canal in another month with The Maasdam on a 30 day cruise from our home in San Diego.

Thank you for taking us on your adventures.

Denise:)

[Bellair]

Great reports as always Bill & Mary Ann.

 

Our paths almost cross in Auckland as our ship, the Maasdam leaves for San Diego on the 1st of Feb & you arrive on the 2nd.

Shame I won't be in Hobart when you arrive (my hometown) Prepare for some warm weather 'Down-under'

 

Once you get closer to NZ you should see quite a few Royal Albatross being the ship.

 

Regards

 

Bellair

[Krazy Kruizers]

Catching up.

I would be worried about ordering certain items and not getting what I ordered. I don't like substitutions.

[erewhon]

Thank you for your interesting reports.

[Keith1010]

Enjoying following the adventure.

Keith

[Cruizer Bill]

What a fun cruise! Thanks for sharing it with us. i

[gbolton]

We normally follow along with great anticipation on your "other" blog site, and we are enjoying your travel journal. Thanks for sharing for those of us that travel vicariously through you, as increasing age, limited mobility and limited funds comes into play. You are doing us a great service and brighten our days, and we are grateful.

 

I am curious though - have your planted your window garden this season?

[WCB]

Report # 11 FuerteAmador, Panama January 10, 2018 Wednesday Chance of rain & 86 degrees 80 Pictures Part # 1 of 3

 

The ship spent a quiet night, anchored very close to thelittle marina of Fuerte Amador. Aninteresting fact is that this is a manmade town, that consists of three islandstied together with a causeway connected to Panama City. During the time of the canal building, it wasnecessary to construct a breakwater to prevent the canal entrance from siltingup. So the materials dug from this endof the canal were used to create the islands and the causeway. Very clever. Nowadays, the Amador Causeway, a 3 mile stretch, is used as a trendywalkway, jogging, and biking path. It islined with benches for viewing the lights of the Canal and also the Bridge ofthe Americas at night time. On theopposite side, you can see the lights of Panama City.

 

A brightly-colored wild-looking building in the center isactually a Frank Gehry Biomuseum. Theentire causeway has been planted with grass and flowering shrubs. And also included a few restrooms along theway, with attendants no less.

 

Flamenco Island, the largest, is where the tender boats dropoff passengers. There is a marina withsome nice yachts, as well as a small mall, restaurants, and small eateries. We would come back here later.

 

A few facts about the country of Panama are that the countryhas 3,361,000 people. Most areSpanish-speaking, but almost half speak English. Panama City happens to be the capital, andquite a modern one at that. It could bedue to the fact that the Panama Canal employs a huge number of people to runit. In fact, the canal, the most famous short cut in theworld, brings in 4 million dollars infees daily. Bet that number is evenhigher now that the new locks are operational.

 

There were 10 ship tours offered here today. Most of them took the folks back into theCanal Zone, while one did the old and new Panama City. One went to the biomuseum, and a fun tourwent to the Embera Native Village up the Chagres River. We happened to go on that tour back in 2003,and still talk about to this day. Thescantily-clad Indians arrived and left the village in modern SUV’s, dressed inhip jeans and t-shirts. Never would haveknown this except for one of us that took a walk up high to take scenic photos. We still laugh about that.

 

After breakfast, we headed over at 10am. The tender boat was half full, but did notwait long to leave. There were two shipsanchored near us. One was the Azamara’sMarina, and the other was the Star Breeze, a ship belonging to Windstar, wethink. It looked familiar, and wediscovered later that it had formerly been the Seabourn Pride. It is under 10,000 gross tons, and holds only200 passengers. They were in the processof tendering their folks too.

 

It is nice to have the shuttle info printed on the frontpage of the When and Where pamphlet. Today the local port authorities offered a free shuttle to Multiplaza ShoppingCenter in downtown Panama City. It was a25 minute ride in comfortable buses. This was so much better than the mall they took us to two yearsago. Very upscale, it had all of thehigh end shopping you could imagine. Many recognizable restaurants too. As for us, we were simply looking for a grocery store. With three levels of shops and boutiques, wehad a difficult time trying to find the supermercado. So we walked almost the entire lower floor,discovering a Home Depot type of store. The market was close to here, but probably through a parking garage, andout of sight. A bit too early for lunch,we headed back on the bus. At least wecan say we saw Panama City with all of the modern high rises.

 

Back at Fuerte Amador, we walked through the shops, and didfind some groceries such as chips, candy, and souvenirs. The price was right, and they gladly took USdollars. Close by to this mini-mall wasan Argentinian restaurant by the name of Lena Y Carbon, a place we dined twoyears ago. No pizza, but good Mexicanfood. Since they are known for theirbeef, we split an entrée of beef quesadillas. Also added a plate of nacho chips with dips. Two Panama beers went very well with ourmeal. It was great sitting on the patioabove the marina, watching many workers cleaning the yachts.

 

Some of the crew members had told us they did come over toshore last night, but the bars (open 24 hours) stop serving alcohol atmidnight. Must be a law here.

 

All aboard was 3:30pm, and we did make it back in time. The real sail away celebration was happeningin the Crow’s Nest at 3:30pm, but there was also a crowd at the aft pool. Henk, the hotel director, strolled back tothe railing and chatted with us for a while. He usually touches base with us at the beginning of every long cruise,like a tradition now.

 

We didn’t leave until close to 5pm, but we kept amusedwatching the various birds flying overhead, or diving for fish. It wasa bit far away, but we watched a Silverseas ship, the Muse, and also an HALship, the Westerdam, come out of the canal. Not sure which way they headed, but we are sure it will not be our way.

 

Invited to dinner with longtime friends Susie and Woody, wesat upstairs on deck five, where we ate last spring on the Panama Canal re-positioning cruise. The same waiter, Prio, was back to thattable. Cannot believe it, but he rememberedthat we liked our food, especially soup, very, very hot. It was a wonderful evening as we caught up onship gossip for two hours. We had hearda quite disturbing story earlier today. It seems that the warning about NOT puttingyour medications in your shipped luggage was for a good reason. When some other friends of ours (seasonedtravelers) got their luggage, they discovered that all of their meds weregone. They had packed a week’s worth toFlorida, but sent the rest in the locked luggage. What a shame that you cannot trust thisuseful delivery service. Anyway, luckyfor them, they were able to find a pharmacy in Panama City, where they replacedmost everything without the required prescription forms. It is such a tedious fight to get those medsfor 4 or more months, and that is why they never leave our sight, as wehand-pack them on the airplane.

 

About the last of the guests to leave the dining room, wepassed on the show. It featured acomedian with “bald” jokes. Guaranteedto make you laugh out loud. Or maybe,not.

 

We will have a long stretch of sea days now as we headtowards the island of Nuku Hiva, in the Marquesas.

 

Bill & Mary Ann

[DeeniEncinitas]

Thanks for a nice review!! Glad you enjoyed your Mexican Food! I remember your last WC and it was pizza!!!!! Yum.

Isn’t it amazing how from past HAL cruises how the wonderful servers remember you!!

That has happened to us on several cruises with HAL.

Denise:)

[WCB]

Report # 12 Day atSea January 11, 2018 Thursday Partly cloudy & 84 degrees 57 Pictures

 

Today marks the one week mark since we joined the ship inFt. Lauderdale. As always, the time hasflown by. The one job left is to hangthe sticky hooks in the closets, a convenient way to utilize any space we canfind for small stuff. Works well forlight weight purses for instance. Wehave also used the hooks to put up calendars and a clock, but used masking tapeto hang a large world map. Once again,we used the multi hook hangars on the side wall hooks for jackets andhats. Also useful for the hair dryer andextension cord. One shoe bag with 24pockets holds all the little stuff like pens, scissors, note cards, tape,nailpolishes, bandaids, etc. An earringpouch holds up to 66 pairs of earrings, although only 2/3 of it is used. Have to save space for possibleadditions. Single over the door hookswork well for necklaces.

 

There was a notice that from noon until 3pm yesterday, thehot water would be turned off ship wide. The evidence of that appeared in the tub this morning, with the watercoming out of the faucet a brown, rusty color. It was to be expected, but it still is strange to see. It was recommended that we let the water runfor a few minutes to clear the pipes. Itwas reported as periodic maintenance. Wehad also requested our filter to be changed in the ceiling, since we had been sneezingsince we boarded. That job was donetoday when we were out. They have beenvery good about responding to trouble calls.

 

We have been welcomed to have the same table every day inthe dining room for breakfast and lunch. This is nice, because once the waiters get to know us, ordering iseasy. And since the bulk of the guestsdine in the Lido, those of us in the dining room are well attended. In a word…..spoiled. We have only been to lunch once so far, andif the weather cooperates, we spend the morning and early PM outside or at thepool.

 

And that is what we did today. We were in for a treat, as two of ourfavorite types of seabirds tagged along with the ship. The usual suspects in this part of the worldare the masked boobys. There were a fewthat were skimming the waters and diving for flying fish. As we head south, their numbers have increased,and so have the sightings of the birds. So fun to watch them diving. Whatwe did not expect was the presence of the red billed tropicbirds. A small number of them escorted us most of theday. They are most graceful flyers withtail feathers longer than their bodies. Needless to say, they were well-documented by the bird watchers onboard. It was worth the trouble to get the good cameraand take a few photos.

 

The Polynesian team boarded the ship yesterday inPanama. Led by the big guy, Kainoa, thisgroup includes a couple of dancing ladies and a ukulele instructor. They have been on every longer South Seasvoyage we have taken the last several years. They should entertain the folks for theseupcoming nine days at sea.

 

The rest of the activities involved sales of clothing,jewelry, watches, and spa treatments. Speaking of the spa, one of us that has a birthday this month received a$50 credit for a treatment or service in the spa. It will expire at the end of the month. Not sure if it applies to a haircut, or amore expensive treatment, but we will find out. This was gifted by the hotel director, Henk.

 

Walk a mile, 10 pin bowling, team trivia, and a basketballshootout earned everyone one grand activity coupon (10 cents). We shall continue with the daily itinerarytomorrow. By the way, we were invited toa complimentary sommelier suite wine tasting at 11am. For the wine lovers among our group, it is agreat way to pick your favorites from the wine packages available onboard. Attending many of these over the years, weenjoy the talks, but prefer the cheese plate more. So, we passed.

 

To answer a few questions, we did not bring our windowgarden supplies this year. The new mattresstopper took the room of the garden supplies. We figured we would purchase a potted plant or two while in Hong Kong. We have not introduced our tablemates tocork-forking, except for a brief demonstration.

 

We got so busy with photos, we forgot to have lunch. A few room snacks were good enough to tide usover until dinner time. Actually, weenjoyed dinner more being hungry. Thesoup was hot–hot-hot and the salad fresh and crisp. We both ordered the chicken kiev entree witha side of pasta to share. Desserts werea tiny serving of bread pudding, and fudge tracks ice cream. All good.

 

Oddly enough, there was another comedian on stagetonight. His name was Martin Beaumont, anew entertainer for the Amsterdam. The onlycomment we heard about last night’s comedian was that he, the entertainer, wasthe only one that thought he was funny.

 

No presents tonight, but a note was left from Henkconcerning the fresh berries. Seems thatthe initial delivery was short in Florida, so we are running low. This is the first time we have ever gottensuch a formal excuse. Anyway, the nextbig delivery will be in Tahiti, so we may have a long wait. We will survive.

 

Bill & Mary Ann

[DeeniEncinitas]

Enjoy your relaxing 8 days at sea! Love the readings from you every day!

Thank you

Denise:)

[INSIDERS CABIN]

Your reports are great-factual, down to earth, focus on places- and are helping us become better travelers, less intimidated by setting out in foreign countries. Thank you. Have a wonderful trip around the world again this year.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[Krazy Kruizers]

Got caught up.

I would be upset if I didn't get my daily berries.

[sherifa]

Hello!

 

Having fun reading your review! Do you know the names of the Hawaiian dancers/instructors and the ukulele player/teacher? We had a great team on our south pacific cruise and just wondered if any of the same people are onboard, other than Kainoa. We just love him!

 

Thanks!

[WCB]

Report # 13 Day atSea January 12, 2018 Friday Partly cloudy & 81 degrees

 

Our second day at sea found the skies overcast, but coolerthan yesterday. Oddly enough we arelocated 3 degrees above the Equator, so you would expect it to be hotter andmuch more humid. What we should haveremembered was that the intense rays of the sun can be powerful, even if thatsun is not out. More about that later.

 

On last year’s world cruise, there was a series of the usualactivities on sea days. Towards the endof the voyage, we found out that some of these activities would end, or changewith the times. So we wanted to take thetime to let you all know what is still here. Exercise classes begin the day at 7am with morning stretch, abs class,sit and be fit, Qi Gong internal health, and tai chi. The instructor Cathy is not here this year.

 

Some other classes have a $12 charge, like yoga, pilates, orindoor cycling.

 

Watercolor painting, knitting and needlework, drawingworkshop, and arts and crafts are still in progress. They seem to be the most talked aboutactivities onboard, besides team trivia. Carol is back for the watercolors and new instructors are doing the artsand crafts.

 

The new America’s Test Kitchen is in full swing with cookingdemos for a larger group. Since thereare so many 5 star members, it was necessary to change the format, weunderstand. Today’s subject was anItalian favorite with tagliatelle with prosciutto and peas. Tomorrow several of us have a date forravioli-making, which normally should have been hands-on. We’ll report on that tomorrow.

 

We’ll continue on the other activities as the week goes on.

 

Back at the Seaview Pool, we found that the pool was closedfor emergency repair. It had beencompletely drained, and the tile flooring had been re-grouted. Several deck workers were creating a dustcloud that blew over the entire area. Since the sun was not out, and the wind was blowing a gale, few peoplewere back there. And this is where wesat for a few hours, mostly in the wind, and also in occasional showers. The drizzle was light enough to keep thebreeze cool, so we did not feel the effects of the filtered sun toastingus. Despite using sunscreen, one of uswas sizzling by early evening. Andbecause the wind was so strong, a hat or visor was impossible to wear.

 

Tonight was Dutch dinner complete with the Dutch hats. Not many of us wore them. The dining room was illuminated with orangelights, and the wait staff was wearing orange long sleeve t-shirts withmatching sailor hats. Dutch pea soup wasoffered and a couple of Indonesian/Dutch entrees were the popular items. We doubt there will be many if any, hangingdecorations, since they are considered flammable. They did go to the trouble of covering thedining room chairs with white covers, even though tonight was not a galaevening.

 

A vocalist by the name of Helen Wilding was the entertainerin the Queen’s Lounge. From her photo inthe daily newsletter, we guessed her age to be perhaps 30 or so. However, the description of her theater,opera, television, and film career had her in the business for 20 years. We’re missing something here……As we got outof the dining room at 9:15pm, it was way too early to wait for the show, so wemissed it.

 

 

Bill & Mary Ann

[Krazy Kruizers]

Love hearing about the various activities.

[WCB]

Report # 14 Day atSea January 13, 2018 Saturday Partly cloudy & 80 degrees

 

Besides putting the clocks back one hour last night, it isworth mentioning that today’s sunrise and sunset are very close to 12 hoursapart. With sunrise at 5:21am and sunset5:32pm, we know that the ship is approaching the Equator. We all got a notice from the hotel directorthat King Neptune will not be paying us a visit this time. That will occur later on in the voyage, wherethe occasion will be marked by a special ceremony. Last year, we never had a Neptune Ceremonybecause the ship never went below the magic line, staying north of the Equatorthe whole trip.

 

A group of our buddies joined us in the America’s TestKitchen (Wajang) for a complimentary cooking class. This was not the usual “hands - on” cookingclass we attended while on the Eurodamlast fall. As we previously reported,there are way too many 5 star Mariners on this trip to break the groups up into8 at a time. Previously, these classesincluded a nice lunch with wine in the Pinnacle Grill. That nicety is gone. At least on the Eurodam, we had a taste ofthe product we learned to make. Today,that was also missing. The test kitchenhost, Abby Koch, gave a 45 minute talk on making pasta dough in a foodprocessor. We learned how to use ahand-cranked machine, which flattens the dough into sheets. Nothing new to us, as we already do this athome. Then we watched while shedemonstrated how to fill the sheets with a wild mushroom ricotta filling, cutthem, and boil them in salted water. Finally, she made a butter sauce, mixing in roasted pine nuts to add tothe cooked pasta. Sprinkling parmesancheese over the top, it sure did look and smell good. Too bad there were no samples.

 

Well, we did not learn anything new, but we all got one red TestKitchen apron with laminated recipe cards. This may be a dish one of us will attempt at home. And the nice thing, was that it wascomplimentary, a perk of being a 5 star Mariner and above. Today’s class was by invitation only, but theroom was not filled to capacity, as we thought it might be.

 

We forgot to mention that we stopped by the desk of thefuture cruise consultants, Lynn and Larry. Have to admit, it was not a totally positive experience. Both of them were sitting at the desk, but wedid not notice the sign that said they were closed. Originally opened until 6pm, they had anunannounced closure. Anyway, we simply wantedto ask a question, but were greeted with, ”Do you have an appointment?” No, we had not seen the sign-up sheet. It’s been years since we have seen a sign-upsheet, and for the most part, they don’t work. Guests who do not know what they want to book, go way over their time,and all of the appointments get delayed anyway. A friend of ours had sat 2 hours yesterday waiting for her time slot. SoLynn pointed to the self-service sign-up for a future deposit, and did continueto fill it out for us. Took her 5minutes. When we asked about anothercruise, she said make an appointment tomorrow. At this rate, they will lose some good customers if they are notcareful.

 

Explorations Central is the new name for the shore excursionand related groups. Kainoa, thePolynesian Ambassador, along with his relative, Paki, gave their culturalpresentation this morning. His talks aregood, since he tells it from his personal experiences. Later in the day, ukulele lessons were given,but we do not know who the teacher is.

 

There are two guests speakers onboard. One is MichaelChriss, talking about longitude and maps, we think. The other is not on the itinerary today. There were two big playoff football games inthe Sports Bar. Early this morning, theTV reception was spotty, so we hope it holds during the games.

 

Did we mention that Debby Bacon and her husband Ron are nolonger entertaining in the Piano Bar on this cruise? A fellow by the name of Jamm plays there now,and was doing the musicals of Andrew Lloyd Webber tonight. We have heard mostly positive comments sofar. Change is hard for many folks,especially for repeat world cruisers.

 

The dinner menu has been surprising us with many newitems. Many of them are in thevegetarian department. Bonnie likes totry new things, so sometimes she shares with the others. We had the traditional turkey dinner andwienschnitzel. Ox tail French onion soupwas delicious, as was the pickled papaya Thai beef appetizer.

 

Tom Suha was the star on stage tonight. He was described as a charismatic youngviolinist. Everyone commented that sofar, the shows have featured people we have never seen before. Perhaps that is a good thing.

 

We wonder what the weather will be like tomorrow. It has been unusually cool, considering wherewe are located. We sure are not complaining.

 

By the way, many thanks for all of the comments about thingswe are seeing in the ports. Nice to haveships or buildings identified by someone who knows.

 

 

Bill & Mary Ann

[Krazy Kruizers]

Still enjoying your reports.

[SJSULIBRARIAN]

I am surprised that the future cruise consultants are being so unfriendly and rude and so early in the cruise. That doesn't speak well for HAL.

[WCB]

Report # 15 Day atSea January 14, 2018 Sunday Partly cloudy & 77 degrees

 

Well, if it is Sunday, and we are “at sea”, then it isSunday Brunch Sampler from 11am to 1pm. Although we did not go, our buddy, Barb, seems to enjoy it. There is a 3 course menu beginning with sevensmall starters, followed by six little mains, and three desserts. You get it all. Her favorite was the deviled egg with thegood caviar. She likes it so much, thatshe convinced her tablemates to donate this item to her. She traded perhaps the sushi for the caviar.A winner for everyone, we heard. And tokeep with the elegance, gala seat covers had been added for the brunch.

 

Today we crossed the Equator, but did not mark the occasion withthe King Neptune Ceremony. However, wedid hear something happening in kiddie land on deck nine aft. We do have a small population of kids on thistrip. Two of them belong to the headchef, Petr, so they will probably be on a segment. The HAL club leader conducted a mini-NeptuneCeremony for them, which must have been fun, because we could hear themcheering and clapping.

 

We noticed that the TV reception has become more spotty aswe travel the vast Pacific Ocean. Therewas an explanation in the newsletter stating that satellite outages could occurall the way to the Marquesas. The onlychannels that come and go are the news and network stations, as well as the sportschannels. For sure, the sports-lovingfans are not happy that they might miss the football playoffs. But this is life at sea, and has been thisway for as long as we can remember.

 

It was another good day for lectures. Barbara H educated the folks on Avatoru, CookIslands. Michael Chriss continued hisseries on the watch that mapped the world. Tim Calvert spoke about the voyages of Columbus. We have not checked to see if these talks arerepeated on our room TV. Barbara’slectures are, since they are linked to the exc program (ExplorationsCentral).

 

As far as the weather is concerned, it has been surprisinglymild for this part of the world. Usuallyhot and humid, it has been comfortable and less sticky. In fact, while at the pool today, a breezepopped up and it almost got cool. Still,the sun can burn you quickly, even more so, because you don’t feel it. The pool is fully functional after thefix. We heard through the grapevine,that it had been leaky, flooding some cabins on deck seven below the pool. That was the “emergency”.

 

The aft pool was a good place to be, because ever sinceearly this morning, we passed by several schools of dolphins feeding in thedistance. Not the type that jump high,they were hard to see as they skimmed the surface. It did keep many guests on their toes as theysearched with binoculars and cameras the rest of the day.

 

We’ve been going to the Lido for a sandwich around 3pm. The pizza/sandwich station is opened until4:30pm, but when we go there, it seems that they have been running out of themakings. The ciabatta rolls we like weregone, and the roast beef was depleted. Anyother cruise, the waiter would go get more. But not this server, who does not appear to enjoy her job. Perhaps we will have to start coming a littleearlier, or see what we can do to keep the bar fully stocked and presentable.

 

Later in the afternoon, we made a stop at the future cruisedesk. Now we see their sign says Make anAppointment with a message underneath that saying Not Mandatory. Hmmm, some people have been complaining weassume. And today, they used both desks,since Barbara H was not there. That waythe passengers who are looking to put cruises together can go to the lady,while people like us, who know what they want, can go to the man. They seemed nicer today, but did say theywere swamped with invoices. Good forthem, but we don’t think they should advertise that they were having troubleprocessing it all. But that’s just ouropinion.

 

All of us showed up for dinner tonight. Martha attended the first of the sommelierdinners in the Pinnacle Grill lastnight. This several course meal beginsat 6:30pm, and is accompanied by different wines with each course. The price is $79 and the evening is byreservation for a small number of guests. On this and every other grand voyage, these specialty dinners areusually fully booked well before the trip begins.

 

Anyway, we ordered the carne asada entrée, and it was quitegood. Seems that there are new itemspopping up on the menu lately. Usuallywe stick to what we know we like, but one of our tablemates likes toexperiment. Sometimes she will order anew item, then have Slam bring one for the table. A chicken tikka plate was passed around forall of us to taste. Good idea.

 

A night of classic Las Vegas featured a fellow named RobbieHoward. Not exactly sure what he does,but we did not go. So far the bestcomments have gone to the singers and dancers.

 

Wonder if the weather will change tomorrow as we head closerto French Polynesia? It’s inevitable.

 

 

Bill & Mary Ann

[Krazy Kruizers]

Glad to hear that your weather is mild and that the cruise consultants acted more normal. Sounds like people complained.

[WCB]

Report # 16 Day atSea January 15, 2018 Monday Partly cloudy & 78 degrees 5 Pictures

 

Today marks our fifth straight day at sea on our way to theMarquesas. Three more days and we willbe on land once again. Longer than atrans-Atlantic voyage, this stretch has given people the chance to settle intoa daily routine. Someone said to us thatthey were more busy and getting much more exercise than if we were inport. That’s the way to go.

 

Need to make a correction. Yesterday we mentioned Barbara H’s talk about Avatoru, which is onRangiroa, not the Cook Islands. To tellthe truth, one of us was too lazy to get off the chair to check the itineraryon the wall calendar last night.

 

Once again, the weather has remained pleasant, not thatanyone is complaining. The seas were abit more choppy today, unlike yesterday, when the waters were like silk. CaptainMercer mentioned that the nearest landmass to the Amsterdam is the GalapagosIslands, off the coast of Ecuador. Thearea we are sailing is so far out at open sea, that we feel quiteisolated. Not a ship in sight anywhere. And it seems that we have lost the birds,with no islands for them to nest. Manyfolks were still on the lookout for dolphins, but there were none that we saw. In fact, someone asked us if we thought someof the sightings yesterday were whales. Totallynot sure of that, but we did say that it would be a great rumor to start. Oh, we’re bad.

 

This morning at breakfast, our waiter informed us that allof the berries are no longer available. At least we had wonderful fresh strawberries until yesterday. A few have been saved for garnishing desserts. The next delivery will be in Papeete. In the meantime, there are many otherchoices, especially fresh tropical fruits. For sure, we will not go hungry.

 

The Microsoft Digital Workshop held 5 sessions today. In the past, these classes filled tocapacity, and we never did have the chance to get computers in there. And we have not attempted here yet. If the weather takes a turn for the worse,then we might explore our options. Asmost of you know, we spend most of our day relaxing outside in the sun,visiting with friends or reading books.

 

We enjoyed the first Dive In burgers for lunch thisafternoon. Every bit as good as you canget in the Pinnacle Grill for lunch, we prefer them without the sauce andspecial toppings. The nice thing is thatthe chef will custom build it – with all the works, or plain. The double-dipped fries are not a favorite ofours, so we never order them. Todaythere was no line, and the order was complete in 10 minutes. They were still hot when we brought them backto our room. At least the grill hadplenty of buns, and had not run out of them.

 

After watching a movie, we walked up to deck five to listento the Ocean Trio, the same group that played on last year’s grand voyage. Bonnie had told us that the pace of the musicon the Ocean Bar had been slowed to a crawl, and we agree. The faster and more contemporary music isplayed by the Station Band in the Crow’s Nest. Twinkle, the current assistant beverage manager, is married to one ofthe band members. Last year, they wereassigned to different ships, and Twinkle was not too happy about it. So now that Sonny is here, she chose to stepdown from the “boss” position, and be the assistant.

 

Have we mentioned that there is a dance hostess thiscruise? The fellows have always wonderedwhy HAL never hired any ladies, but for some reason, that takes on a differentmeaning for some. But finding theperfect way around having single ladies as dance hostesses, they hired amarried couple, both of whom are dance hosts. Now here’s the clincher. The menhave not danced too much with her. Butthat has not stopped our tablemates Bonnie and Barb from dancing with thelady. Perhaps they helped break the iceand pave the way for the fellows to get over their shyness.

 

There was an early showtime with Sarah Chandler – sax to themax. The first show was at 5pm and thenext at 7:15pm, freeing up the lounge for the “ball” later on.

 

This evening was the Black and Silver Masked Ball, completewith sparkling gold and silver masks. Thank goodness no one wore them during the meal, as they can be spookyas well as uncomfortable. They are made of a stiff plastic with many sharppoints. Probably will not be goodHalloween masks for the little grandkids this year, as they might take out aneyeball or two. Our table was hosted byPeter, the purser, who was most happy to linger over a long dining time. The reason? Since the actual ball was held at 9:30pm in the Queen’s Lounge, he wouldmiss the dancing obligation with the passengers. Although he would never admit this in ahundred years, we know him well. Therewas not a chance that we would make it to the ball, mostly because it was overat 10:15pm. Entrees were the usual “gala” suspects. We ordered the rack of lamb, which was tasty,but cooked mostly well done. Didn’t muchmatter how you ordered it, as it all came about the same degree of doneness. Bonnie and Barb had left well before thedessert was served. If they wantedsomething sweet, all they had to do was wait until the ball was over, and theywould be served a Chocolate Surprise. Too bad Barb missed her carrot cake, one of the very few desserts shewill order.

 

The best thing of the day was the clocks going back one morehour. Now we are on Pacific StandardTime. The staff appreciates this timechange way more than we all do.

 

Waiting on the bed in our room, were two gifts – GrandventureGames, described as a fast dealing property trading game. Sounds a bit like Monopoly to us. Now these might be suitable for the kids.

 

Bill & Mary Ann

[PhoenixCruiser]

Thanks for the updates!

 

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