**Near-Live Blog of Zaandam Inca and South America Cruise 24 Sep - 3 Nov 2018**

[0bnxshs]

1 hour ago, DeeniEncinitas said:

Obnxshs!

Finally I am able to read your whole blog thank GOD! I almost packed it up yesterday to say goodbye to all of the mess with the new format! 

Have a fantastic time, I sure wish I was on this journey! I thank you for taking the time to write about your vacation that is much appreciated 

Denise😊

 

Glad that you're able to read again. Thanks for the wishes, we truly are having an amazing voyage. 

[DeeniEncinitas]

33 minutes ago, 0bnxshs said:

 

Glad that you're able to read again. Thanks for the wishes, we truly are having an amazing voyage. 

 

 

Edited October 17, 2018 by DeeniEncinitas
I made a mistake

[DeeniEncinitas]

3 minutes ago, DeeniEncinitas said:

 

 

We were on The Maasdam to South America this past Feb-Mar and loved our cruise!

so much fun! That is why I wish I was on your cruise!

Curious? Do you get the National leagued Championship series?

Denise😊

[0bnxshs]

24 minutes ago, DeeniEncinitas said:

We were on The Maasdam to South America this past Feb-Mar and loved our cruise!

so much fun! That is why I wish I was on your cruise!

Curious? Do you get the National leagued Championship series?

Denise😊

 

We have enjoyed Maasdam a few times ourselves. 

I am looking now to see if we are going to have the games, haven't heard yet though.  Will update when I know something.

[0bnxshs]

24 minutes ago, DeeniEncinitas said:

We were on The Maasdam to South America this past Feb-Mar and loved our cruise!

so much fun! That is why I wish I was on your cruise!

Curious? Do you get the National leagued Championship series?

Denise😊

 

We have enjoyed Maasdam a few times ourselves. 

I am looking now to see if we are going to have the games, haven't heard yet though.  Will update when I know something.

[0bnxshs]

Day 17 (10/9)

Sea Day

Sea day heading to Manta, Ecuador.  We have our Machu Picchu Overland Tour meeting to attend at 2 PM.  We learn when and how we are getting to Cusco and Machu Picchu and are given a detailed itinerary of good intentions; if everything goes off as scheduled I'm sure we'll be witnesses to a minor miracle.  We are given flight times and numbers and our Silver package hotel name for communicating on to loved ones as we like.  Also, as we meet in the Mainstage on deck 4 at 5 AM for departing the ship at 5:30 AM, we are offered the opportunity to order breakfast from the MDR menu to be delivered to our cabins at 4 AM, 4:15 AM or 4:30 AM.  It's going to be a long, exhausting couple of days to say the least, but we are excited.

'1ANGELCAT' and 'TiogaCruiser' are correct.  Red for port and green for starboard.  I was standing near the middle of the ship in the stairway landings facing to the outside when I took the photos.  All I did was turn 180 degrees, walk a few steps and take the second photo.

'Vict0riann', so far we just hear faint voices from the wall under the window at the headboards.  They don't seem connected to the occasional head that shows up at the window either.

'stromer', ask and you shall receive!

    1.  I have taken photos of a "When & Where" on a sea day.  I hope they are readable.  It's got just about everything planned for the day.  There are startup games of basketball and ping-pong that aren't advertised.  I don't think there are any prizes given out though, unless you feel the sense of personal satisfaction in correctly guessing the name of the song(s) the Atrium Organ plays around noontime is rewarding.  It's been different every time I've heard it and except for the 1st day, I have had no idea what song is being played.  The shops are open, various but not all bars are open throughout the day, there are morning and afternoon lectures/presentations but not much in the way of organized games or prize-hunts.  I'm fine with all this as reading (code-word again) and doing this blog have occupied most of  my spare time.

    2.  Gym hours are 6 AM to 9 PM according to the ladies at the spa and the sign on the Fitness Center door.  So far, it's been open whenever Roger has checked his weight on the scale there around opening time.  Hopefully they'll have the particular machine you are looking for, there is a good selection of equipment.  Also, the men's and women's locker rooms are free to use along with the saunas for each.  All other areas are for fee.
                      
    3.  There is a movie a day shown in the Wajang Theatre on deck 4.  The times it is shown are found in the "When & Where" and online "Navigator".  The following day the same movie is repeated on television.  There is also a comprehensive library of movies on DVD available for check-out at the front desk that are free to enjoy in your cabin on the DVD player found in each cabin.  The players are also MP3 capable if you want to bring music on disk but are not blue-ray capable, at least not here in our cabin.  I am not a movie fan so can't really comment on the how recent the movies are.

    4.  I have been assured that both pools are heated (to around 80f give or take) and are fresh water.  I have run into guests who would not agree about the heating.  There are also jacuzzis (did you know this is a trademarked corporate name?  Neither did I until now) (TM), actually hot tub spas, located at the Lido pool.  I have read that, on some ships, one is hot and and the warm, but I don't know personally as to me, these things are breeding vats for bacteria (the ship does take very good and frequent care of them.) 

    5.  Generally, the Lido Market is open from 6 AM - 10 AM, 11:30 AM - 2 PM, 5:30 PM - 8 PM and 10:30 PM - 11:30 PM.  There are occasions when you can find it open outside these hours but not on a regular basis.  There is always coffee, tea and water available there and room service operates 24 hours a day.

    6.  Yes, pizza and ice cream are free, found at the Lido Market.  Ice cream is available at lunch and dinner times but pizza seems to be available only at lunch. 

    7.  Remember, Zaandam is a relatively smaller ship than the Princess and Celebrity ships you may be thinking of.  I will go to a production show and see for myself and report back.

This sea day is filled with lots of lectures from 4 different speakers.  I decide I have only the capacity to attend 1 of them, Jim's class on "Lines of Latitude", why there are only 5 real lines of latitude that can be physically found on the earth and how our seasons help find them.  Jim is quite witty and very good at tying his information all together by the end of his lectures without being boring and I enjoy them.  Roger decided to stay in the cabin and read (nap) again.  If you see Jim McParland on your cruise, go and enjoy his presentations.

The "When & Where" from a sea day (click to enlarge):

Gym and spa photos:

Locker rooms with showers:

Men's sauna, I assume there's a woman's sauna somewhere:

Edited October 17, 2018 by 0bnxshs

[erewhon]

Great reports and photos, thank you.

[POA1]

Your photos have reappeared! Yay! 

[0bnxshs]

10 hours ago, POA1 said:

Your photos have reappeared! Yay! 

 

Hooray! Progress.

[roberts2005]

I am enjoying all your posts. Thank you for taking the time.

Question:  Are they selling an all inclusive photo package for your cruise?  And if so do you know the price?

 

thank you

[Krazy Kruizers]

Had to switch to a different computer -- get limited choices.

 

Loving your reports and beautiful pictures.

 

Great job!!

[0bnxshs]

3 hours ago, roberts2005 said:

I am enjoying all your posts. Thank you for taking the time.

Question:  Are they selling an all inclusive photo package for your cruise?  And if so do you know the price?

 

thank you

 

I will find out about the photo package and let you know!  Thanks for reading. 

[0bnxshs]

15 hours ago, erewhon said:

Great reports and photos, thank you.

 

Thanks erewhon.... glad you are enjoying!

2 hours ago, Krazy Kruizers said:

Had to switch to a different computer -- get limited choices.

 

Loving your reports and beautiful pictures.

 

Great job!!

 

These learning curves are getting harder and steeper.  Thanks, KK.

[0bnxshs]

I wanted to add this to the last post where I answered some questions and still need to answer some.  My other photo of this could not be read easily so had to make another trip.  Anyways, thought this info would be useful for some:

Edited October 18, 2018 by 0bnxshs

[kazu]

Your pics are great, Rich!

so nice of you to take the time to answer the various questions. 😄

[0bnxshs]

Day 18 (10/10)

Manta, Ecuador

Another overcast day greeted us as we finally make port at Manta.  It's a very early day for those passengers with an overland tour to the Galapagos Islands.  They'll be rejoining the ship on the second day in Lima like the Machu Picchu groups will.  I've been here before and little has changed but for Roger, this is a new port with an old face.  His brother Vince has been coming down to Ecuador for several years now as a getaway place and has even bought a condo in 'Ciudad del Mar', a lovely planned community just 10 minutes south of Manta.  I know he's been inviting Roger down about as long as he's been coming here but this will be Roger's first visit to Ecuador.

It's not strictly a social call either.  Roger has packed a small package that had arrived at his porch several weeks ago containing light bulbs.  It seems the oven in his brother's condo blew its light and there's not a replacement bulb to be found in Manta.  Vince did find 1 bulb that looked very much like the one that was burnt out and tried it in the oven; it burned brightly for a second and then burst in his hand.  So he went online and had a couple of varieties of oven lights delivered to Roger's home; a couple of 110v and a couple of 220v lightbulbs arrived a few days later.  I guess Amazon doesn't deliver for free to Manta.

Roger, being a retired electrician, packed a few of his trade tools, notably his voltage tester, to use in determining the light socket voltage.  He also wanted to check out Vince's breaker boxes to  be sure they were safely wired too.  We met Vince just outside of the very new terminal building at the port of Manta.  According to Vince, Zaandam is the first ship to use it and he says that the dock is being turned into a cruise ship only dock as soon as they build a dock for the cargo and fishing vessels elsewhere.  Who knows how long that will take.  Anyhow, the dock is very busy with unloading tuna and loading and unloading vehicles (we saw F-150s coming in and Kias and Hyundais going out) and we had to take a shuttle to the terminal building.  They had a free one and a $12 shuttle that took you first about a block down the street to the new mall and then a couple of blocks the opposite direction to the city plaza and then returned you to the terminal.  We chose the free one and suggest that most people do this.  The walk is not far to either and is still easy to walk over the rather uneven streets and sidewalks before getting your land legs back.  For those who don't already know, Ecuador uses the US dollar as its legal currency, so $12 for a ride of less than 2 miles round trip is kind of steep.

Taxis are plentiful in Manta which probably explains why they are quite cheap.  Vince walked us over to the mall to find a taxi so as to avoid the increased cruise ship passenger prices and we were soon on the road to his condo.  It's only a few minutes south but it was every bit an "E ticket" ride.  About the only traffic rule is 'whoever gets there first wins' and you just tap your horn and continue as you please (or, "Blow and Go" as I call it), so despite the "STOP" signs and traffic lights we encountered, we were there before we knew it.

A stunning view of the Pacific greets us as we come to a stop at Vince's condo.  I can see why he bought here.  It's still cloudy, and remained so all day, but the temperature is a comfortable 76f and it's only mildly humid, even being so close to the ocean.  Vince says the temperature remains within a couple of degrees above or below 80f year 'round, this even though Manta is less than 1 degree of latitude south of the equator.  Thank you Pacific Ocean!  Inside the condo, the windows and doors are open and we are greeted by Vince's wife, Jane.  Roger, being the task oriented kind of guy he is, jumps right into finding out where the oven is, producing the package of lightbulbs he's carefully carried and finding out where the breaker boxes are.

Long story short, Roger manages to reproduce his brother's earlier attempt at replacing the bulb.  It burns brightly for a second then dies with a noticeable "POP!"  Hmmmm.  However, the second attempt, this time with the correct voltage bulb, works just fine.  Mission accomplished, we settle on the patio with a beer and the view, but only after Roger examines the breaker boxes and decides that the electrical code in Ecuador is nothing at all like the one in the US.

We get a tour of some of the facilities of 'Ciudad del Mar' and end up walking down the beach to "Iguanas Bar and Grill" for different local beer.  We looked at the menu but decide to save our appetites for lunch at "Martinica Restaurant", a well known local place that serves a full menu of seafood, beef, chicken and pork.  Our meal here was perfect and I would recommend this place to anyone looking for restaurant the locals eat at where you can enjoy their iced drinks and nicely prepared salads too.

We then went to the plaza where people from outside of town bring their goods, mostly Panama hats and handmade native clothing and trinkets, to sell to the cruise ship passengers.  Take care of pickpockets here as you will be followed around the market by people trying to sell you rides to any place imaginable. 

We walked back to the terminal building and said our goodbyes to Vince and Jane and soon were back on the ship.  Since we had crossed the equator in the early morning hours, we each found a Proclamation on our beds conferring the title of "Shellback" upon us for having crossed the equator while at sea.  This is my 3d one and the nicest certificate of such notice that I've yet received.

Our thoughts are with the people of the Florida panhandle, my neice and Roger's granddaughter among them in Tallahassee, as Hurricane Micheal brutalizes them.  But we have Machu Picchu to begin preparing for as we leave the ship in less than 2 days time and I'm pretty sure I'm coming down with cruise crud. 

The port at Manta, the buses will be engorging people and the ship behind those will disgorge fish throughout the day:

The view from Vince's condo in 'Ciudad del Mar':

At the clubhouse:

The beach:

The restaurant we had a great lunch at:

Equator Crossing certificate (on heavy card stock):

[DeeniEncinitas]

I’m so sorry first about the cruise crud!!!!!

when we got to Peru a new group of people came on board and a couple of days later I started to come down with it. We believe IMO it was from them or me with vendors. Mine wasn’t bad at all but it made me 😠.

have a wonderful time in Machu Picchu it will be an experience you will never forget.

Denise😊

Stay Healthy

 

 

 

[1of4]

Oh I hope you weren’t sick for your long awaited excursion to Machu Picchu.  I am hanging in anticipation since we leave Friday afternoon for Algonquin Park were Internet will be spotty until Sunday night.  Ian must canoe...even in the snow!

 

here was my view this morning going into the chiropractor at 7:50:

 

[0bnxshs]

9 hours ago, roberts2005 said:

I am enjoying all your posts. Thank you for taking the time.

Question:  Are they selling an all inclusive photo package for your cruise?  And if so do you know the price?

 

thank you

 

Jumping ahead of myself in time to keep up with questions so no one loses interest.

 

Yes, they have the all inclusive photo package, in color. This includes candid photos around the ship and in port, portraits you sit for and Gala night photos, prints and a CD with full licenses. Prices and number of photos vary by length of cruise but for the San Antonio to Rio leg, I was told it costs $364 total by one of the photographers.

 

Thanks for reading.

[0bnxshs]

2 hours ago, DeeniEncinitas said:

I’m so sorry first about the cruise crud!!!!!

when we got to Peru a new group of people came on board and a couple of days later I started to come down with it. We believe IMO it was from them or me with vendors. Mine wasn’t bad at all but it made me 😠.

have a wonderful time in Machu Picchu it will be an experience you will never forget.

Denise😊

Stay Healthy

 

 

 

 

I have made it through the crud but don't want to spoil too much. Thanks for the well wishes!

 

1 minute ago, 1of4 said:

Oh I hope you weren’t sick for your long awaited excursion to Machu Picchu.  I am hanging in anticipation since we leave Friday afternoon for Algonquin Park were Internet will be spotty until Sunday night.  Ian must canoe...even in the snow!

 

here was my view this morning going into the chiropractor at 7:50:

 

 

Yes, I will try to get more posted before you leave..... I miss visiting snow.  Keep Ian warm!

[roberts2005]

15 minutes ago, 0bnxshs said:

 

Jumping ahead of myself in time to keep up with questions so no one loses interest.

 

Yes, they have the all inclusive photo package, in color. This includes candid photos around the ship and in port, portraits you sit for and Gala night photos, prints and a CD with full licenses. Prices and number of photos vary by length of cruise but for the San Antonio to Rio leg, I was told it costs $364 total by one of the photographers.

 

Thanks for reading.

Thank you for taking the time to ask. Enjoy Peru

[Krazy Kruizers]

Another wonderful report with great pictures.

 

Hope the bulbs Roger brought with him work.  One of my bulbs blew a couple of weeks ago on my electric stove -- I have a 44 year old double oven stove and the one that burned out was under the top oven.  I wrote down what husband was to buy -- Appliance -- 40 watt -- regular base.  Husband didn't buy the right one.  Sent him back to the store.

 

 

[Krazy Kruizers]

Meant to say that the certificate you got for crossing the equator was really a beautiful one.  Of all the times we have crossed the equator we have only gotten one certificate.

[1of4]

36 minutes ago, 0bnxshs said:

 

I have made it through the crud but don't want to spoil too much. Thanks for the well wishes!

 

 

Yes, I will try to get more posted before you leave..... I miss visiting snow.  Keep Ian warm!

 

Don’t rush on my account.  I can catch-up read!  I will savour it either way.  The snow may be here when you visit.  Safe to say it won’t be warm!

 

ian is threatening to dump his sister just to be a miserable little brother.🙄  then he said he would beaver tail her (slap the water with his paddle).  He is just in a pest phase.  He wouldn’t dare do any of it.  Why?  He won’t want to get wet either!!

 

keep enjoying.

[0bnxshs]

25 minutes ago, Krazy Kruizers said:

Another wonderful report with great pictures.

 

Hope the bulbs Roger brought with him work.  One of my bulbs blew a couple of weeks ago on my electric stove -- I have a 44 year old double oven stove and the one that burned out was under the top oven.  I wrote down what husband was to buy -- Appliance -- 40 watt -- regular base.  Husband didn't buy the right one.  Sent him back to the store.

 

 

 

23 minutes ago, Krazy Kruizers said:

Meant to say that the certificate you got for crossing the equator was really a beautiful one.  Of all the times we have crossed the equator we have only gotten one certificate.

 

If you want, KK, we will schedule a Canada and New England cruise and I'll have Roger make a house call..... 

 

Yes, the certificate is the best one I've gotten yet.  We did each get one as you can tell by the name being on them.

Edited October 18, 2018 by 0bnxshs