Explore the world with Pete & Judy on the 2018 Holland America Grand World Voyage

[Keith1010]

Very much enjoying your reports.

Keith

[beach bunnie]

Thanks for taking the time to post here and the blog. I know how much work it is.

 

If we need to print something, is there a HAL printer on board we can use? Haven't needed to yet, but there might be in 4 months on the ship.

[boards]

Yes there is a printer on board, I am pretty sure every Hal where the computers are located, at least any we have been on. We have printed our boarding flights passes from them.

[bettty45]

Thanks for taking the time to post here and the blog. I know how much work it is.

 

 

 

If we need to print something, is there a HAL printer on board we can use? Haven't needed to yet, but there might be in 4 months on the ship.

 

 

 

There are printers onboard but I found out you can only print from their computers so you have to get on and log in online to be able to print. It won’t print from an iPhone or your own computer. That was my experience on the Amsterdam this fall.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[The-Inside-Cabin]

Arrived Napier. Will be renting a car and going on self drive Art Deco tour. Details later.

 

 

http://www.theinsidecabin.com

[The-Inside-Cabin]

Day 29, Feb 2nd, Auckland, NZ

 

The ship was cleared by 8 am but since we were staying until 8pm we weren’t in any hurry to get ashore. We left the ship around noon. The weather today was perfect. We learned later that the weather yesterday was horrible, so our timing was good by getting here today.

 

Agricultural security is a big deal here in New Zealand and the ship makes a mandatory announcement every 30 minutes reminding guests about the restrictions in bringing ashore any type of food products.

 

The ship is connected to the cruise terminal at the Atrium on Deck 3 using a scissoring type jet way style system you find on many other cruise terminals around the world. There aren’t any shops in the terminal but there are few people available to answer questions along with a rack with some maps and other tourist information. Chairs are available for people who want to use the free Wi-Fi.

 

NOTE: The terminal has free Wi-Fi which is best early or late when only a few people have logged on. After an hour or so it may be difficult to log on since so many people will be using the system. You may not be able to connect since the system is probably limited to 100 simulations connections or something. If you have a cabin on the starboard side, you may be able to connect to the cruise terminal Wi-Fi from the ship. Late in the day, when most people were back on board, we were able to get a very fast connection from our cabin.

New Zealand Yarn Shop

 

Our first stop was New Zealand Fabric & Yarn in the Queen’s Arcade which is about 3 blocks away. There is construction in the area and we had to find a way around all the torn up and blocked off streets, but we were able to get there after a slight detour. NZ Fabric & Yarn is a smallish shop that specializes in local yarns, including possum blends, from New Zealand. Judy was hoping to get some Cervelt yarn that they had featured on their web page. The undyed, lace weight yarn is spun from the downy underbelly of the New Zealand Red Deer. Cher, who was working in the shop, told us the yarn is costly to produce and has since been discontinued. NZ Fabric & Yarn had a total of 9 balls, each one packaged in its own little clear plastic box. Yarn packaged that way is definitely a high-end yarn. Judy bought 4 balls, about 800 yards, which is enough to knit a Haruni shawl.

 

Wild and Wooly Yarn Shop

 

We left the Queen’s Arcade and ordered an Uber to take us to Wild & Wooly Yarns in Milford. Milford is on the other side of the harbor from Auckland about 10 miles away.

NOTE: Uber’s are readily available in the Auckland area and are very convenient because it is so easy to request one when you are not in an area with a taxi stand nearby. Using UBER requires a smartphone with a local data plan enabled. If you haven’t used UBER previously, take the time before you leave home to give is a try in familiar surroundings, to understand the process. It’s not complicated but being familiar with the app in advance will help you avoid frustration while traveling.

 

Fran, the owner of Wild & Wooly Yarns, greeted us and pointed Judy to the selection of possum blend yarns. Our Uber driver, whose mother knits, came in the store with us to look around and take some pictures. There was a nice selection to choose from. Judy settled on a gray fingering weight yarn from Naturally Amuri, a blend of 75% Pure New Zealand Merino and 25% Possum. She bought 9 hanks, about 2,358 yards, enough to make the long version of the Gisela cardigan. We had a wonderful time chatting with Fran while her wonderful dog was keeping a close eye on all the activity in the shop.

 

Devonport

 

Our next stop was Devonport about 6 miles south. While we were waiting outside for an Uber to pick us up, a woman who was waiting for the bus, told us we needed to walk down the block on the other side of the street and look in the window of a shop called Craftworkz. When our Uber driver arrived, we asked him to make a U-turn and stop in front of Craftworks. Judy hopped out of the car and took some pictures of the window display. There was a crocheted VW bus and five crocheted dolls in swimming gear in the window. We didn’t have time to go in and look around (I mean shop) as they did have a selection of some yarn. We’ll put it on the ‘Next Time’ list.

 

Devonport is a small town with many interesting shops across the harbor from Auckland. We had our driver drop us off at Corelli’s – a nice restaurant with a menu full of fresh selections using local ingredients. Judy had some Fish and Chips while I had a Chicken Burger. They were both very good. I enjoyed a local beer as we used the free and fast Wi-Fi to synch up some programs on my laptop – something that is almost impossible on the ship.

 

After lunch we strolled around Devonport and stopped into a local grocery store where we picked up some interesting versions of “Kit Kat” cookies not available in the USA. The weather was gorgeous, and it was a wonderful day to wander around outside soaking in the local atmosphere.

 

Ferry

 

The ferry terminal is across the street from Devonport’s shopping area. The ferry to Auckland takes about 15 minutes, costs $6.90 NZ pp each way and runs about every 30 minutes – with more frequent service during rush hour. You don’t need a ticket to board on the Devonport side. Tickets can be purchased from the snack bar while onboard, or from the agents on the Auckland side. You need a have a ticket to leave the terminal on the Auckland side. Most people use prepaid transit cards which are waved by a gate to gain access to the ferry. There is usually an agent manning an open gate to scan the paper tickets of people without the prepaid cards. The ferry terminal on the Auckland side is adjacent to the cruise ship passenger terminal.

 

As we headed toward Auckland on the ferry we discovered that views forward were obscured by the bridge and the forward superstructure of the ferry. There is an open seating area on the upper level which faces aft and would be a good spot to enjoy the Auckland skyline, but only when you are taking the ferry TO Devonport, not the reverse.

 

Back on the ship

 

There is an open sports area in front of the cruise terminal with people playing basketball on a half court and enough area for an impromptu soccer match.

 

We didn’t leave until 8 pm, which was nice as we didn’t have to rush back to the ship from Devonport and we had a little more time to venture further away from the ship.

 

Southern Fried Chicken was a popular choice for dinner this evening.

 

Annie Gong

 

Annie Gong was headliner in the Queen’s Lounge. Annie is an amazing accordion player who puts on a wonderful show. She opened her performance while wearing a Darth Vader mask from the Star Wars movies as she played along to video clips from various Star Wars movies. An interesting start to an unconventional show. Many of the performers playing non-traditional instruments don’t mention their instrument in the show as many people will simply not attend an accordion show or flute show if it is advertised as such in advance.

 

Yarn Shops

 

Here is a list of the Auckland Yarn Shops we discovered

New Zealand Fabrics and Yarn

10AM to 5 PM

nzfabs.com

Shop 28, Queens Arcade, 34 Queen Street

 

Knit n Stich

49 Weston Ave

Mount Albert, Auckland 1025

https://www.facebook.com/knitnstitchnz/

https://knitnstitch.co.nz/

Thursday 10:30am - 3pm

Friday, 10:30am - 3pm

Saturday, 10:30am - 3pm

 

Craftworkz

168 Kitchener road, Milford

https://www.facebook.com/craftworkz1/

 

Wild & Woolly Yarns

10:30 to 3:30

93 Kitchener road, Milford

 

More pictures on the blog

[Krazy Kruizers]

Just got caught up with your reports, blog and pictures -- all great.

You certainly have brought enough equipment with you.

[roberts2005]

Pete

 

Since you did Uber today, was today one of the days you paid the ATT $10.00 a day fee. Is the 24 hours based on your base or your current location.

 

Would love a breakdown of your phone charges after you get home.

 

Enjoying all your reports.

 

Robert

[The-Inside-Cabin]

Pete

 

 

 

Since you did Uber today, was today one of the days you paid the ATT $10.00 a day fee. Is the 24 hours based on your base or your current location.

 

 

 

Would love a breakdown of your phone charges after you get home.

 

 

 

Enjoying all your reports.

 

 

 

Robert

 

 

 

I switched to the ATT passport for $60 a month with 1 GB data. 3 GB data is $120 month. The passport covers more countries than the day pass so I switched. Plus the plan is now offers more data for the same price as compared to a year ago.

 

Some crew swear by T mobile - but they say it is not as good in USA but since they are rarely their, they like it. I haven't checked it out, but worth a look.

 

To answer your question - the $10 a day is from 24 hours from first use.

 

 

http://www.theinsidecabin.com

[roberts2005]

Regarding phone

 

When you turn it on to use Uber are you concerned you might get a large data dump or do you isolate the phone from emails and apps

[The-Inside-Cabin]

Regarding phone

 

 

 

When you turn it on to use Uber are you concerned you might get a large data dump or do you isolate the phone from emails and apps

 

 

 

I set my phone to only retrieve email on request. You can also control data by selecting which apps can use cell data and which ones must use wifi.

 

Go to Settings - Celluar - then select which apps under "use cellular data for:"

 

 

http://www.theinsidecabin.com

[The-Inside-Cabin]

Day 30 – Tauranga – 3 Feb 2018

 

Arrive Tauranga

 

Blue skies greeted us as we arrived in Tauranga around 8 AM. The ship docked in the small beach resort town called Mount Maunganui which used to be a separate city, but in 1989 was combined with Tauranga which is now the official name of this area.

 

Our plan for today was to visit a local yarn shop and then explore the small town near the ship. We met Peggy, Rick and Margaret in the Ocean Bar at 10 AM and headed down to the Information Center on the wharf. There wasn’t much inside the Information Center, aside from a display booth with people selling day tours. Right outside the information center there was a sign for the shuttle bus that would take you to downtown for NZ$10 per person. It was about 8 miles to the downtown area and a taxi would cost about $35 New Zealand.

 

Since there was five of us, I wasn’t sure how difficult it might be to get a taxi that would hold five people. We considered taking the shuttle bus but when we realized that it would drop us off 10 blocks from the yarn shop, our ultimate destination, we decided to continue out into the nearby town to find a taxi.

 

After passing through the Information Center, it is a short walk to a street where the taxis are waiting taxis. A taxi van was first in line and we all piled in for the ride downtown to the Tauranga Knitting Centre. The taxi ride cost $35 New Zealand.

 

Tauranga Knitting Centre

 

The Tauranga Knitting Centre had a nice selection of local yarns. Judy, Peggy and Margaret enjoyed browsing the shop and purchased some TOUCH 8 ply hand dyed yarn in a blend of 60% merino wool, 30% possum and 10% silk. Rick, with the assistance of the ladies, selected some nice yarn to mail to his mother for a Birthday present. While we were shopping, we were joined by half a dozen other people from the Amsterdam which made the shop quite busy for a bit.

 

Lynette, the proprietor, did a fine job of serving everybody quickly. This is a very nice local yarn shop, and should your plans take you to this area, is worth the visit.

 

We arranged for our taxi driver to return in about an hour. This gave us a little time to explore the other shops in the area. There was a nice clothing store called “Out of Italy” that carried a line of women’s linen clothing. Judy picked up a top to wear for the all-white night coming up later in the cruise. Surprisingly, the shop did not take credit cards but fortunately there was an ATM machine across the street where we were able to get some cash.

 

On the way back to the beach town, we had our driver take us through the Tauranga downtown area. We passed buy a lot of nice shops, cafés and bars. Taking the shuttle bus here would certainly be a nice way to spend the day. This area wasn’t all that much different from the town closest to the ship, so unless you had some reason to come downtown, you could probably find everything you would be looking for tourist-wise close to the ship.

 

Fish and Chips – Family Style

 

After the taxi dropped us off back near the ship, we spotted a fish and chips place where we decided to get lunch. The prices were quite reasonable, and we saw a family menu that was labeled ‘Family Menu Number 3’ which was only three times the cost of a single entrée. We should have read the description more carefully, because although the price was only three times as much as a single, there was six times as much food. Needless to say, we had enough to eat. In addition to fish and chips the family menu included chicken nuggets, sausages and breaded crab legs.

 

The weekly Saturday market was going on in the park. There was a collection of crafts, artwork and other items you typically find that these types of markets. It was only a short walk from the ship, but by the time we got there after lunch, most of the stalls were starting to break down.

 

Mount Maunganui

 

At one point while we were planning this trip, we considered hiking to the top of nearby Mount Maunganui. The hike is about 2.5 miles round-trip with an elevation of over 700 feet. By the time we got back to town from the yarn shop and had lunch, we no longer had sufficient energy to take on such a hike. We learned later from our table mate, Susan, who did make the hike, that it was fairly strenuous, and you should be sure to take a lot of water if you plan on doing this yourself.

 

We spent another hour or so strolling through town, popping in and out of shops, before heading back to the ship. There was an interesting sign near the gate to the port which gave the details for the current cruise ship.

 

Tauranga is a nice port where you can have an enjoyable day within easy walking distance of the ship. If you are a fan of the Hobbit movies, many people enjoyed the various tours to the Hobbiton move set – about 75 minutes away - which were available from the ship or independently from local vendors.

 

Tonight’s entertainment was provided by the Queen tribute group called Rock Rhapsody. The group consists of 2 women and one man and was accompanied by the Amsterdam house band. Everyone enjoyed the excellent show which was capped by a nice rendition of Bohemian Rhapsody.

 

 

More pictures, menus and more on the blog

[The-Inside-Cabin]

Day 31, Napier, 4 Feb

 

Napier, New Zealand

 

We didn’t arrive in Napier until 11 AM, which is later than typical for a cruise ship visit. All aboard was at 10:30 this evening, giving everyone plenty of time to explore the area.

 

Art Deco

 

Napier is the Art Deco capital of New Zealand. Much of the city was destroyed February 1931 when the area was hit by a 7.8 magnitude earthquake. Since most of the buildings were destroyed two architectural firms banded together to organize the reconstruction of the city. The architectural styles that were popular in the 1920s and early 30s, chiefly Art Deco and Spanish Mission, were predominantly used for rebuilding Napier and the surrounding areas. The city hosts an annual Art Deco festival that attracts thousands of people from around the world.

 

During my research for this port I discovered the Art Deco Trust, a company that supports the preservation of Art Deco architecture in Napier. They offer a variety of items of tourist interest for Napier and the surrounding area. I ordered the Art Deco self-driving tour which they mailed to me in San Diego for a few dollars. (The map is not available for download.) The self-driving tour describes a tour covering 90 km, which would take about two hours to drive without any shops.

 

Note: I couldn’t find a car rental company that would pick me up at the dock nor did I find one that was downtown. Since the airport is only a few miles away, I decided to take a taxi to the airport and use the rental car agencies there. All the major car rental agencies are located at the airport and I made a reservation at Avis. Taxi fare to the airport ended up costing about $25 New Zealand each way. Getting a taxi to and from the airport was easy.

Shuttle Bus

 

Even though we were relatively close to the city, we were moored in a working port and had to use the shuttlebus to leave the dock area. No one was permitted to walk out. As it turned out, the shuttlebus took us to the center of town, right by the Tourist Information center. This was much more convenient than had they dropped us off right outside the gate to the dock.

 

The bus ride took about 10 minutes, with buses leaving about every 20 minutes after the early wave of continuous bus service that handled the initial surge of guests.

 

Visitor Information Center

 

The Visitor Information center was well staffed with about four clerks and numerous racks filled with a wide variety of tour brochures. The information center doubled as a gift shop, offering a nice selection of souvenir items. The visitor center closed around 5 PM, so even though bus service will be continuing until 10:30 PM you will want to make sure you shop here before heading out on any tours.

 

There is a restroom next to the visitor center, but there is a $.20 cent fee, so it is helpful to have some local change available before you arrive. We always enjoy playing miniature golf, and there was the miniature golf course adjacent to the visitor center, but we didn’t have time to play a round here.

After we finished shopping in the Visitor Center, we were ready to head to the airport to pick up our rental car. I was surprised that there wasn’t a taxi stand nearby but the clerks in the Information Center will call a taxi for you. Our taxi arrived in a few minutes.

 

Renting the car

 

Fifteen minutes later we arrived at the airport and entered the terminal where the car-rental counters are located. Completing the paperwork for the AVIS rental car was a breeze and we were soon on our way. We were traveling with Rick and Margaret and because of my familiarity with the tour route I asked Rick to drive while I did the navigation. We didn’t rent a GPS for the car but used the MAPS.ME app on my iPad. The MAPS.ME map provides turn by turn directions and was more than sufficient for what we needed today.

 

Bluff Hill

 

The self-driving tour starts back at the Visitor Center, so we headed there after we left the airport. Our first stop however was not on the tour route but at a nearby popular attraction known as Bluff Hill. Bluff Hill is probably about 300 feet above the surrounding terrain at the end of a very narrow winding road. The bluff overlooks the port of Napier providing a spectacular view. The Amsterdam was moored in the port and we had a terrific view of the ship from this vantage point.

If you are in the mood for a hike, you could walk to the top of Bluff Hill from the Visitor Center. There are also numerous vintage cars in the Napier area that operate as taxis and offer tours in addition to basic transportation.

 

 

The Art Deco self-driving tour route includes stops at four different wineries. If you would like to visit wineries in addition to seeing the various examples of Art Deco architecture, this tour has something for everyone. The self-driving map is available HERE . It cost me US$2.61 to have it mailed to me in the USA. There is a self-guided walking tour available as well.

 

National Tobacco Company

 

After Bluff Hill, we continued the self-driving tour route. One of our first stops was the National Tobacco Company building, built in 1933. This building is Louis Hay’s masterpiece and was inspired by the work of Chicago architect Louis Sullivan. At one point, the building was open to the public during working hours, but no longer. We went into the Urban Winery next door and talked to the proprietor. If we had lunch there and enjoyed some wine, she said she would open the National Tobacco Company building and take us inside. We had a long drive in front of us so we had to decline her offer and continue on our way.

 

Mission Estate Winery

 

We continued the tour route for another half an hour or so, enjoying a variety of views and different buildings before we stopped at our first winery: The Mission Estate Winery. The Mission Estate Winery is New Zealand’s oldest. It’s housed in a refurbished historical seminary building. Here they offer wine tastings in addition to lunch at the restaurant. The restaurant was closed today due to a wedding reception that was already in progress when we arrived. The grounds are beautiful, and we enjoyed wandering through the old building, but we didn’t take part in the wine tasting.

 

Hastings

 

We bypassed two other wineries in route to our stop in the neighboring town of Hastings. Hastings is a small town with a very compact downtown area that features some Art Deco architecture and some very interesting looking streetlamps.

It was past our lunch time, so we decided to stop at a restaurant called the Breakers. There was a large sign on the roof of the restaurant featuring a $14 Sunday Roast and Sundae special. Since this was a Sunday, most everything else was closed in Hastings except for a few restaurants.

The restaurant was almost empty. Menus were available at the bar and once we were ready, we ordered from the bartender and they brought the food to our table. We both ordered the Sunday special and an order of the fish and chips. Service was prompt and the food delicious.

 

Arataki Honey Center

 

Continuing, we headed towards Te Mata peak, but since it was almost 5 o’clock we headed to the Arataki Honey Center first since they closed at 5 PM. The Arataki Honey Center has some nice exhibits that shows how honey is manufactured and processed. Along one wall, they have some bee hives behind a glass wall and you can see the live bees buzzing around. The queen bee has been marked with a blue dot, making her easier to spot.

 

Four honey tasting bars are set up and ready to handle the larger crowds from the cruise ships. It was almost closing time, so we had the place to ourselves. I never paid much attention to the various types of honey before, so I was a little surprised that there was so much flavor variation between all the honeys that were available for sampling. We were in and out in less than 20 minutes, but you could spend 45 minutes here if you wanted to read the signs on all the exhibits.

 

Te Mata Peak

 

We left the Arataki Honey Center a little after 5:00pm and headed toward Te Mata peak which rises to over 1300 feet above sea level. The road to the peak is two lanes until the last kilometer where it is about a lane and ½ and quite winding. I thought that there would be no way that the large tour buses could get to the summit, but I found out later that the large tour buses do manage to negotiate the narrow road.

 

Clear skies offered a spectacular 360-degree view of Hawkes Bay and the surrounding area. A bride and groom were posing for pictures on a small rise nearby, while many other tourists and locals enjoyed the view. There were two areas with ramps made for hang gliders to start their flights but we didn’t see any one flying while we were there. If the skies are clear when you visit, a trip to Te Mata peak is worthwhile.

 

Our final stop of the day was a sculpture built in 1971 by Frank Szirmay as a memorial to a local physician. After looking at the sculpture we walked down to the ocean and discovered that the what at first appeared to be sand on the beach consisted of black pebbles and stones.

 

Returning the car to the airport was a breeze and we took a taxi back to the tourist center to catch the shuttle bus back to the ship.

 

Due to our late departure, there wasn’t any live entertainment in the Queens Lounge. Instead, they showed the movie “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri”.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Enjoying your reports.

Love the picture of both of you with the Amsterdam in the back ground.

[The-Inside-Cabin]

Day 32, At Sea – Super Bowl Monday 5 Feb 2018

 

The main event today was the Super Bowl and it would dominate today’s schedule. They moved up some of Barbara’s lectures to 9 AM which caused Tai Chi to be canceled. Tai Chi usually has an informal class in the Crow’s Nest when they must cancel the Queen’s Lounge Class. Judy forgot to check the Crow’s Nest to see if there was a class there. She heard later that there were only 10 people who went to the Crow’s Nest for the class.

 

There were several Super Bowl specials advertised in the bars. Reserved seating with butler service and unlimited drinks was $49.95. If you only wanted unlimited drinks – that was available for $34.95. Six bottle beer buckets were available from $29 to $34 depending on the brand.

 

 

Coffee Chat

 

Rock Rhapsody was the guest at Coffee Chat this morning. John, Alinta and Maddie discussed their backgrounds and how they came to be with the Rock Rhapsody group. Their background is in musical theater. Maddie was one of the finalist in a recent season of “Australia’s Got Talent “. They commented that every Australian performer has to perfect their American accent if they want to get any work outside of Australia.

 

The Big Game

 

Super Bowl frenzy swept thru the Queens Lounge for the big game. Green “Game Day” pennants were displayed on the tables and hanging from the walls. A plastic football shaped noisemaker was placed on every table, but one women decided to scoop up an entire row’s worth of the noise makers to take back to her group. I arrived about 30 minutes early anticipating a large crowd, but it never materialized as there were plenty of choice seats available right up until kickoff.

The first few rows were cordoned off for guests who paid $49 per person for unlimited beverages and butler service. The rest of us enjoyed a nice selection of tail-gate food set up buffet style in the two entry hallways leading to the seating area on Deck 4. The culinary staff did a great job with the food. They prepared miniature Philly Cheese steaks and New England style lobster rolls. Also on the menu were Mini Ham and Cheese Sandwiches, Philly Fried Cheese Bits, Empanadas and New England Mini Corn Dogs.

 

As the game progressed, the Queen’s lounge filled up, but enough people were leaving so you could always find a seat. The sports bar near the casino was another good spot to enjoy the game.

 

The game was projected on 3 large screens. Waiters roamed the area wearing Turkey Hats. I couldn’t make the connection between turkey hats and the Super Bowl. Maybe they were left over from Thanksgiving.

 

Captain Jonathan slipped into the Queens Room’s upper level right before kickoff. I couldn’t tell who he was rooting for.

The game was shown from an international feed thru Australia – so we got some Australian color commentary instead of the USA commercials. We were able to see the half time show and the cruise director staff hosted some trivia and other lounge games.

 

Texas Hold'em

 

I stepped out to play a couple of Texas Hold’em games and won both tournaments. Today was a day where I simply couldn’t lose. A few examples – I was the small blind and was dealt pocket 7’s. The flop produced 2 more 7’s giving me 4 of a kind. Fortunately for me, someone else had a straight so it turned out to be a nice pot. During the second game, I had a big blind special, a 2 and a 4 and since no one raised I could see the flop for free. The flop was A, 3, 5 giving me a straight while someone else had 2 pair which once again produced a nice win. Great days like these are rare, so I enjoy them when I can.

 

We were able to catch the end of the Super Bowl in the sports bar next to the Casino. What a great game – close and high scoring. The ship did a marvelous job with the Super Bowl. The food, service and atmosphere in the Queen’s lounge was first rate.

 

Dinner

 

Tonight’s dinner was delightful. I went with the lamb theme – ordering the grilled lamb appetizers and along with the lamb chops for the entrée. I joked with our server, Deden, that I wish they had lamb ice-cream so I could complete the trifecta. I always hesitate to mention any type of special request, even in jest, as the marvelous crew will often surprise you with their resourcefulness.

 

Queen's Lounge

 

Ruben Vilagrand was the headliner in the Queens Lounge. He advertises his show as one featuring: “Mime, Magic and Comedy”. Ruben never speaks but puts on a marvelous show featuring sleight of hand and other illusions. He manages to skillfully include an audience member’s participation – all without saying a word.

[kazu]

The Superbowl party sounds fantastic Pete. Thanks for all the wonderful details :)

 

Enjoying both your posts here and your blog. Thank you :D

[Krazy Kruizers]

Sounds like HAL did a great job for the Super Bowl.

Turkey hats do sound strange.

[ElaineKeagy]

I’m hearing on other threads about some pretty severe restrictions on some ships with sanitary practices, no menus, limited food services, no self service laundry, and horror of horrors, no Trivia. Any illness on the Amsterdam??

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[The-Inside-Cabin]

I’m hearing on other threads about some pretty severe restrictions on some ships with sanitary practices, no menus, limited food services, no self service laundry, and horror of horrors, no Trivia. Any illness on the Amsterdam??

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

All normal on the Amsterdam. Not even a rumor or anything

[The-Inside-Cabin]

Day 33, Port Chalmers, Dunedin

 

Our arrival was delayed into Port Chalmers this morning due to high winds. Another cruise ship, the Norwegian Jewel, was in the channel ahead of us and Captain Jonathan wanted to stay clear of the channel until the Jewel’s mooring was assured. If the Jewel had to abort her visit, the Captain wanted to keep the channel clear so the Jewel could retreat to the open sea, if necessary, without us being in the way.

 

Despite the high winds, the Amsterdam successfully moored in Port Chalmers, albeit about 1 hour late. The power of the wind on a surface ship can be incredible. I recall being on the USS Saratoga (CV-60) when we were unable to get underway because the high winds kept us pushed against the pier. Despite the efforts of 4 tugboats, we were unable to clear the pier and we were forced to spend another day in port.

 

Our plan for today was to visit an online yarn shop called Vintage Purls and the local yarn shop Knit World. Morag McKenzie, proprietor of Vintage Purls, opens her home store to yarn shoppers by appointment.

 

The ship was cleared quickly after we moored, and guests began to stream ashore immediately. The temperature was in the 50’s and the Captain came across the public address system to remind guests of the lower than normal temperatures as he was observing some people leaving the ship in short sleeves and shorts.

 

Our group met in the Ocean Bar at 10 am and we headed ashore to catch the shuttle bus to Dunedin. The shore excursion buses were waiting for their tour participants at the base of the gangway. The shuttle busses were parked on the main road, about ¼ mile away. It was quite windy and there were a few light showers. Our choice of a waterproof windbreaker as our outer garment was perfect.

 

The shuttle buses left once each wave of guests arrived. They didn’t make us wait until the bus was full. It is 8 miles to Dunedin, or about 20 minutes by bus. We found out later that a taxi to or from Dunedin would cost about $45 NZD. The busses dropped us off across the street from the Dunedin Library, about a block from the Octagon, which is the center of town.

Our appointment with Morag at Vintage Purls was at 11 AM so we had about 30 minutes to explore a souvenir shop right off the Octagon and across the street from the taxi stand.

 

Vintage Purls

 

A few minutes after 11 AM we grabbed the first taxi in line and headed off the Vintage Purls, about 2 miles away. The taxi driver was an independent driver with an interesting design on the side of his cab. He called himself the Pirate Cab.

 

Morag met us outside her house on the porch and escorted us into her retail area. She uses one of the front rooms in her house for her business and her dye studio is in the basement. She features the lighter weight yarns in bases that she dyes. There are also a few lines of European yarns. Her shop is small, the four of us plus Morag almost filled the room. We all gravitated to the yarns that she dyed. Judy bought a sweater quantity of fingering weight in a cobalt blue. It’s a blend of 70% NZ Polworth / 20% Tussah Silk / 10% Black NZ Merino.

 

Morag welcomes visitors, but by appointment only. If you find yourself in the Dunedin area, send her an email and set up a time to visit.

 

Morag called a taxi to take us back to the Octagon. Taxi fare was about $12 NZD.

 

Afternoon in Dunedin

 

We had planned to walk down the street to a restaurant near the train station, but once we got out of the taxi, it started to rain – and rain hard enough that we went into the nearest restaurant – called Craft Bar and Kitchen – which as the name implies sells craft beer alongside a limited bar menu.

 

I ordered an “Open Burger” which was a thick hamburger served on a single bun and piled high with tomatoes, lunch meat and other fixin’s. Our only complaint was that the WI-FI didn’t work and the waitress simply shrugged and moved on after we complained. Fortunately, we hadn’t planned on needing faster Wi-Fi today to do anything important.

 

Scattered showers made walking around less fun than it would have been otherwise, but there were enough stretches when it was not raining that we managed to avoid getting too wet.

 

Near the Octagon is a large supermarket called Countdown. They have anything you may be interested in and we picked up some Tim Tams and Peanut Butter to take back to the ship.

 

Cadbury chocolates is located right behind the grocery store. We heard that they may be closing soon, so be sure to check before you plan a visit if visiting Cadbury chocolates is important. They offer one hour guided tours for $22 NZD or charge $5 NZD to visit their visitor center. We elected to skip both paid options and spent some time browsing the retail store and taking a picture of us with the giant chocolate bunny in the lobby.

 

On the way back to the shuttle bus stop, we walked by KnitWorld, located at 68 Princes Street, but it was closed due to the Waitangi Day Holiday.

 

We arrived back at the shuttle bus stop 1 hour before the last bus and found 4 buses lined up ready to take people back to the ship. Twenty minutes later we arrived at Port Chalmers where port security bordered the bus, checked everyone’s cruise card and photo ID before clearing us onto the wharf. The bus drove right up to the gangway so we didn’t have to walk the length of the wharf like we did in the morning.

 

SailAway was moved to the Crow’s nest due to the high winds. I stopped by to take a look, but there were only a handful of people enjoying the views.

 

We enjoyed some nice scenery as we sailed out to the open sea. Captain Jonathon pointed out some penquins that were near the shoreline, but I wasn’t able to spot them, even using my binoculars.

 

Dinner

 

I went with another theme dinner this evening, selecting the Maori Seafood Pot and the Linguine with Clams for my main course. We all celebrated Susan's birthday today at dinner. The dining room made her a special cake made with Tim Tams and Kit Kats.

 

Queen's Lounge

 

Rock Rhapsody was back in the Queen’s Lounge this evening with another exciting show. They played a few new Queen favorites and reprised two classics: Under Pressure and Bohemian Rhapsody. Rock Rhapsody hits all the marks for great cruise ship entertainment – high energy, entertaining and that 45-minute show just flies by. Don’t miss this talented bunch if you have a chance to catch their show.

 

 

More pictures on the blog along with all the menus and programs

Edited February 10, 2018 by The-Inside-Cabin

[The-Inside-Cabin]

Day 34, 7 Feb -- Fiordland National Park

 

Today was different than our typical sea day as we would spend almost all the daylight hours cruising thru the scenic Fiordland National Park in New Zealand. The casino was closed and many of the other activities such as Tai Chi and Crafts were not scheduled.

 

The bow was open all day and the other viewing spots were busy with observers. It was quite chilly and windy in the morning and I only spent a few minutes out on the bow. The observation deck on Deck 6 forward was a little nicer and I spent some time there taking in the sights as we cruised Dusty Sound.

 

Fiordland rolls, juice and coffee were available in most of the viewing stations until 9 AM and in the atrium on Deck 3, right off the lower promenade deck. I assumed that Fiordland rolls were Panama Canal rolls by a different name, but as you can see by the picture, they have a distinctive appearance and used a kiwi fruit filling. They were quite tasty. We left Dusty Sound around 10 AM, entering Doubtful Sound around 11:15 AM.

 

Even though many other events were not scheduled today, Ben held his drawing class on schedule and continued his discussion on drawing perspective.

 

An hour later we departed Doubtful Sound and cruised along the New Zealand coast until around 3:15 PM when we entered Milford Sound. Milford Sound has the most interesting scenery with plenty of waterfalls and wildlife. Some people spotted some dolphins, but I didn’t spot any.

 

The Norwegian Jewel, the ship that was in Dunedin yesterday along with us, was already deep in Milford Sound and we spotted her off in the distance. She would pass us as we were heading in and she was on the way out.

 

While we were in Milford Sound, the sun came out and the weather warmed. A little after 3 PM, waiters appeared on all open decks passing out small cups of Dutch Pea Soup. No one was quite sure about the tie-in between Milford Sound and Dutch Pea Soup – and I guess there doesn’t need to be one, as it was quite tasty and a nice treat on a cool day.

 

High Winds

 

It wasn’t obvious at the time, but we had a tail wind as we sailed into Milford Sound. Once we turned around at the end of Milford Sound, the tail wind became a headwind and the once comfortable open decks became chilly and quite breezy. We were sitting by the Lido Pool when the wind kicked up and the nearby umbrellas went airborne and flew over the chairs and crashed into the bar. Fortunately, no one was nearby and the alert staff quickly gained control of the umbrellas and held them in place until they could close the dome.

 

For dinner I enjoyed the Seafood Curry while Judy ordered the Penne Pasta with Italian Sausage. At her request, the galley was able to substitute Marinara sauce for the Pesto sauce. If something is not the way you prefer, it never hurts to ask for a modification. Sometimes they can accommodate your request and sometimes they can’t, but it is always worth asking the question.

 

Queen's Lounge

 

In the Queens Lounge – Violinist Fiona Pears was the headliner. She put on a marvelous show and wowed the crowd with her skill and enthusiasm. The daily “When and Where” didn’t mention she played the violin and I assumed she was a vocalist. There is a perception, probably accurately based on experience, that when certain instruments are explicitly mentioned, the showroom attendance is down, so they tend to leave out those details when describing the some of the acts. We are now conditioned that if the nature of the show is not specifically mentioned, it is probably a flute, violin or accordion player. We go to the shows regardless as we enjoy them all and seeing so much quality live entertainment is one of the best parts of any Holland America Cruise and world cruises in particular.

 

[The-Inside-Cabin]

Day 35 – At Sea 8 Feb Gala Night – Under the sea theme

 

As we sail across the Tasman sea, the ship’s motion is constant, but not enough to disrupt any activities or bring out the green apples at the front desk.

 

Judy started her day with Tai Chi where they have progressed to the “Punch Ears” step.

 

Knitting

 

Judy is progressing well on the Starting Point Shawl and she should be finished it soon. Others in our group are working on projects that are suitable for knitting where you don’t have to concentrate as much on changing stitches or careful counting. Margaret has started her second project with the possum blend yarn she bought in Tauranga. Judy saw that the circular needles she bought weren’t pointed enough and loaned Margaret her high-end Signature Needle Arts Circulars. Margaret immediately felt the difference between the needles and was happy to have better needles to knit her project. I am still working on my first project and haven’t made much progress in the last week.

 

Casino and Lady Luck

 

I was able to sign up for 2 Texas Hold’em games today, losing the first and winning the second. My great lucky streak continued in the afternoon when I hit a big jackpot on one of the slot machines. The new machines are so complicated I can’t really tell anymore what is supposed to happen. I put $20 in a penny machine while waiting for the second Hold’em game and started playing the maximum which means that a “penny” machine is really a $3 machine. After $12 of my $20 was gone, I hit 3 Crystal Bells which triggered some bonus which gave me 12 free plays - and then I maxed out another bonus when the machine stopped spinning I had won over $900.

 

Crafts

 

People are getting to Crafts earlier and earlier each day. Since the classes are in the Lido at 2:30, many people arrive for lunch around 12:30 and then remain in their seat until the start of class. A recent trend is for the craft projects to be passed out well in advance of the scheduled start time – and on some days the projects have been passed out over one hour early. Unfortunately, this simply encourages people to get their even earlier. At the rate things are going, people wanting to do crafts may arrive for breakfast and never leave.

 

There was no drawing class today as the Wajang theatre was used for a lecture by the Environmental Officer, Eddie.

 

Photo Contest

 

Today was the deadline to enter photos for the first photo contest of the cruise. There were 4 categories: People, Landscapes, Wildlife and Around the World. Judy entered four pictures. You can see them on the blog

 

Under the Sea

 

Tonight was a Gala Night with the theme “Under the Sea.” The dining room was decked out with blue lighting and the wait staff was wearing blue themed uniforms. Lobster tails and Chateaubriand were popular choices for dinner. As I have reported earlier, I have yet to spot anyone wearing the minimum gala attire of dress slacks and a collared shirt.

 

The HAL singers and dancers returned to the Queen’s Lounge this evening for their show titled “Nations”. The show featured a variety of numbers that highlighted songs and dancing styles from around the world. The dancers on this cruise are exceptionally talented and have been amazing during all of their performances this cruise.

 

[The-Inside-Cabin]

Day 36 – At Sea

 

The Hazel Omelet

 

Over the past few days, our tablemate Rick has been raving about the Lido Market omelet cook, Hazel. She created an omelet she named “Ricks Special Hazel Omelet”. This morning Rick and I met for breakfast to give this omelet a taste test and watch Hazel in action. Hazel is from the Philippines, near Manila and has a nice smile with a very friendly disposition.

 

Hazel makes the omelet using virtually every ingredient available – except seafood – and she adds pepper jack cheese to give the omelet a little kick. While she was making omelets for me and Rick, another guest, who was watching this exposition, changed his order and asked for a Rick’s Special Hazel Omelet instead. Who knows, maybe this will catch on as a special omelet for the rest of the cruise.

 

The omelets were very tasty, and we enjoyed them in the Lido at a nice table by the window.

 

Coffee Chat

 

Ruben Vilagrand was the guest for Coffee Chat this morning. He is a mime magician from Spain, but today he spoke for his interview with Hamish. He started out as a magician and developed his routine using mime skills so his show could be easily performed for a variety of audiences regardless of their native language.

 

There is one trick he removes from his show if there are a lot of children in the audience – this is where he pretends to swallow dozens of fish-hooks and then pull them back up. It is a little unnerving to watch and I can only imagine children either getting scared or getting some bad ideas.

 

Judy demonstrated how to block gauge swatches in the Crow’s nest during knitting time this morning.

 

Judy wins the photo contest!

 

They announced the winners of the photo contest this morning and Judy’s picture won the Landscape category. There were probably over 30 entries in this category and the winner was selected by popular passenger vote. With so many entries, and there were many very nice submissions, we were pleasantly surprised when we saw that her photo was the winner. This photo was my feature photo for my Bora Bora post back in January.

 

Spotlight show

 

Violinist Finona Pears was the featured performer for the special Spotlight show this evening. She put on another outstanding show and Judy was able to meet Fiona and her husband after the show.

 

Dinner with the Hotel Director

 

Henk Mensink, Hotel Director, joined us for dinner this evening. Henk is a delightful dinner companion and we all enjoyed our evening. Toward the end of dinner, the Dining Room Manager and Executive Chef stopped by to check on how everything went. Needless to say, everything was marvelous, which it has been all cruise.

 

Queens Lounge

 

The show this evening was a split bill featuring the magician Ruben and accordion player Annie Gong. Ruben’s show featured more sleight of and some amazing rope tricks. He spoke thru the entire show this evening and we enjoyed his performance very much.

 

Annie Gong finished the evening with another amazing display of her skill playing the accordion. She plays a wide range of genres and wrapped up the evening with some lively polkas while see marched thru the audience with some of the backstage crew accompanying her waving brooms. After her performance, Hamish asked her to return to the stage for a bow. Once back on center stage, Annie grabbed a surprise Hamish as she took him for a quick spin around the stage.

 

[scluvsrain]

I set my phone to only retrieve email on request. You can also control data by selecting which apps can use cell data and which ones must use wifi.

 

Go to Settings - Celluar - then select which apps under "use cellular data for:"

 

 

http://www.theinsidecabin.com

 

 

 

TMobile gives you unlimited data in 140 countries. Phone calls 20 cents a minute. All included in your regular monthly plan. Mine costs $59 a month unlimited everything. Oh, and that includes insurance on my phone.

 

I'm one of those who swear by it. Have for nearly 15 years now.

 

 

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[Krazy Kruizers]

Great reporting, blog and pictures.

Lucky you at Texas Holdm.

Congratulations on Judy winning the Landscape part of the contest. All the pictures were great.