From Glaciers to Palm Trees - Spend 71 days with Bill & Mary Ann on the Zuiderdam - 9-7-22 to 11-17-22

[WCB]

Report # 27   Day at Sea   Sunday October 2, 2022   Overcast early, then sun later   65 degrees   Part 1 of 1..........21 Pictures

 

Our last day at sea looked promising as we sailed towards San Diego.  Although the skies were overcast, the temperature was not cold.  As it usually does, the clouds broke up and eventually the sun appeared.  This is typical fall weather off the coast of California.

 

 Those of us that are continuing onward from San Diego, were required to perform a mandatory antigen Covid 19 test today from 9 to 9:30am according to a notice delivered yesterday.  As we were enjoying watching some dolphins from the Pinnacle Grill at breakfast, Captain Friso came on the speakers, asking us to go to our rooms.  We would receive the “complimentary” test kits, with a complete set of instructions on how to “self-test”.  The printing was so small, even we had a difficult time reading it.  Having done this test numerous times while on the N.Statendam, we knew the drill.  The only difference was that it was not done by a medical team, nor was it proctored.  Our room steward kept the door unlocked, and once we completed the test and waited 10 minutes for the results, he came into the room and verified them.  The results revealed a negative finding for both of us.  Now when we will do this test again is not exactly known.  We expect it may be before our arrival to Hawaii.  Then it will be determined by the countries we visit.  If there are a lot of guests and or crew with Covid, no one is saying, and we have not asked.  

 

Since we are not allowed to have plastic water bottles anymore, we opted to buy a metal drink bottle from the Photo Shop.  We do have one at home, but forgot to bring it.  At the time we bought it, we did not have it customized, but this time we requested a photo that was taken at the Mariner’s Recognition Event.  The manager said they would locate it, put it into the system, and we could order from there.  So this morning after our mile walk, we went to figure out their computers.  Not sure how they operate, one of the photographers offered to help us.  Once our room key was scanned, the photo came up.  With his help, he cropped it, leaving just the two of us in the picture.  For the backside of the thermos, we chose a whale tail, which will remind us of Alaska.  It should be ready by dinnertime, and will make a useful item for under $20.  Once we get to the warmer climate, we will pack water with us in the ports.  Having canned water would not work as there is no way to seal it.  So maybe, there is a method to their madness?

 

The day had begun with overcast skies, but slightly warmer as we headed south.  By the early afternoon, the skies cleared and we had sun.  We think the days of wearing long jeans are behind us.  It will be shorts from here on out.  Relaxing on our veranda, we spotted a few whales in the distance.  There were at least two humpbacks, perhaps a mother and baby.  The blows are the give-away, and there were plenty of them.  Since they were not diving deeply, we only saw one tail submerging.  During the following hour, we saw another half dozen, but really far out.  Even though our speed was about 11 knots, once these whales are spotted, they are gone pretty quickly.  What helped was the fact that the seas were fairly smooth and calm.  Sometimes on this coastline, it can be much rougher. 

 

We had pizza for lunch for a change, which was fun.  Compared to the pizza we had on the N. Statendam, we prefer this style better.  It has a thicker crust, and is never soggy. 

 

Those of us that are continuing on the next 45 day voyage, got a letter describing the disembarkation process tomorrow.  This was much different than what we had to do in Canada.  It does not appear that there will be a zero count, since there is a large number of us staying onward……like 600 passengers.  The letter stated that we are free to go ashore between 7:45 to 9:30am.  We would not be allowed to re-board until after 10am.  For those who had no plans to go ashore, we they would be allowed to remain on the ship. If this was Ft. Lauderdale, if we chose to remain on the ship, we would be required to go as a group to see the customs and immigration officials. Furthermore, we would not be allowed to leave the ship again.   That was not necessary  in San Diego.   To make sure we were reading this correctly, we paid a visit to the front desk to verify this.  Obviously, no one else had asked this question, because the receptionist had to make a few phone calls to give us the correct instructions.  All we would need were our room keys and a government photo ID.  This is good because we did not want to have to get up too early, and leave the ship at 9:30am. 

 

Dinner had some new entrees we have not seen for a while.  One was cheese enchiladas, and the other was blackened tuna, which turned out to be ahi tuna.  These days, the tuna is so expensive, and hard to come by.  Maybe that’s what made it taste even better.  The dos frijoles soup went well with the Mexican dish too.  Dessert was a slice of almond fruit cake, served with vanilla ice cream, and shared of course.

 

The Billboard Onboard, the Rolling Stones Lounge, and the Lincoln Center Stage were in full swing tonight.  The Mainstage show was Daniel Bouchet, the Latin crooner once again.  No dance performances on this 5 day trip.

 

Our friends board tomorrow, and it will be nice to see them.  Bet we will see some more of the regulars that always take this particular cruise.  Our previous travel host used to call these folks his “palm tree gang”.   Hmmmm, that sounds familiar….

 

Bill & Mary Ann

 

PS   Thanks to everyone that did the research on the mystery movie.  We shall follow up with finding those books that were written.

 

[dchip]

We are patiently waiting! Watched you sail in this morning. See you soon. 
 

[Essiesmom]

The Patrick O’Brian books are available on Amazon for kindle.  EM

[julia]

We had a great chat with the lovely Presty last night!  Greetings from the Noordam, we're following you down the left coast!

[WCB]

Report #28    Monday  October 3, 2022  San Diego, California   7AM-4:30PM  Partly Cloudy And Warmer 75 Degrees   Part #1 Of 4.........Text  Only ....Pictures In Parts 2,3,&4

 

Our port of call for today was San Diego, California.  It was the end of a 5 day cruise for some, a continuing sailing for about 600 of us, and the beginning of a 45 day cruise for  1100 or so who boarded today.   It was heavily overcast, but not really cold with a temperature of 69 degrees.  Southern California is typically warmer and drier than the north part of the state.  So we were surprised not to see the sun appear later in the morning.

 

And as always on debarkation day, the restaurants were opened at an uncivilized 6:30am to 8:30am (the Lido was even earlier at 6am).  However, since we have the option of getting off the ship anytime, one of us slept until 7am.  Breakfast was at the normal time of 8am for us, and several other guests..  Although we were not the last to arrive to the Pinnacle Grill, we almost felt rushed.  Even our empty coffee cups were not refilled.  That was most unusual.  Perhaps the staff here was anxious to get off for their free time.  Our meal was fine, just different.  Tomorrow will be totally different since we will be getting new passengers once again.

 

Disembarkation began at 7:30 and ended about 9:40am.  With only about 400 folks leaving, it was speedy.  Taking a walk on the promenade deck, we watched as the shore crew did their jobs.  All of the luggage had been taken off, and they were awaiting the new arrivals of baggage.  This would probably be a good time to leave, before the thundering herd started boarding.  For us, that was 10:30am, and a little too late.  A river of new guests were already on the move, like salmon swimming upstream.  Actually ran into some folks we knew, except for Denise and Howie, our friends who would also be joining the ship today.  Bet they were already onboard. 

 

Finally outside, we took notice of the parking lot area, which was under construction.  It was not as bad as we had expected, and when the work is completed, it will be a lot nicer.  The taxis were still arriving as they always do in a shorter version of the lot.  We turned right, like we always do, and headed down Harbor Drive passing the Sapphire Princess, the USS Midway Naval Aircraft Carrier, and the Seaport Village.  There are more than 60 shops here, as well as 19 eateries, and a hand-carved carousel.  Continuing on, we made our way past the marina, where dozens of high-end sailboats and pleasure craft are moored.  The San Diego Convention Center is located here, then a series of nice hotels begin.  Next to the Hilton, was a large group involved with a special event on the greens.  It turned out to be hundreds of real estate investors. 

 

We always make a pass through the Hilton to access the pedestrian walkway over the highway and trains below.  We ended up on the street that flanks Petco Park – the home of the San Diego Padres.  Usually, we cut across the back side of this ball stadium, but it has been fenced off.  So we continued walking up 10^th Street towards the Gaslamp Quarter.  There was a corner restaurant/sports bar where we always went to lunch when we stayed here.  But do you think we could find it?  Forgetting the name and street it was on, there is a possibility that it had closed during the pandemic.  And just like what happened where we live, the restaurants expanded their outside dining by taking over part of the street with fenced tables and chairs.  Actually, 5^th Street had been closed to traffic at one point.  We never did find that sport’s bar, so we headed back down to the pier area.  On the way we passed by what used to be Horton’s Plaza, part of Westfields.  It looked like it had been totally leveled since the last time we were here.  Bet the next time we visit here, there will be another new high rise in its place. 

 

It seemed like we had walked for hours, and it was time to find lunch somewhere.  We ended up going to the Claim Jumper, which was a favorite lunch venue where we live.  That is, until it closed forever.  By now it was close to 2:45pm, and we thought since they were not busy with many customers, lunch service would be OK.  Well…..that’s not exactly how it went.  We waited to be seated, as there did not appear to be any greeter.  Eventually, someone came, seated us, handed us the menus, then disappeared.  For twenty minutes.  If it wasn’t for their excellent house salads, we should have left.  And that’s what we did order, but waited another ½ hour for them to arrive.  The good news was that the ample salads were very good, served with cheesy toast.  Knowing that our waiter might disappear again, we asked for the bill as well.  The charge for our cokes had been complimentary missing from the bill, because of the delay, which was nice.

 

Back to the ship by 3:45pm, it was easy to get back onboard.  We relaxed on our veranda for the rest of the afternoon, and were soon happy to spot our buddies, Denise and Howie, doing the same thing on deck 4 below us.  They had attended the Mariner Welcome Sparkling Wine Event in the Crow’s Nest.  Oddly, we did not receive an invitation to this, because the official start of our South Pacific cruise began in Vancouver.  However, much to our surprise, we did have a special invite to a President’s Club Reception tomorrow evening at 5pm to meet the Captain and key hotel officers and staff.  Now that was nice to get, and will be a pleasure to attend. 

 

Dinnertime in the dining room found a lot more tables filled with the newbies.  Makes a difference with approximately 1700 guests now.  There did not seem to be a shortage of wait staff, which was a good thing.  Henk M, the Hotel Manager, stopped for a quick chat, which he often does.  He is really busy these days.  Anyway, starters were Caesar salad and a bowl of pork noodle soup.  Something new, one of us found the broth to be a bit too spicy with something hot added like jalapeno sauce.  Mains were macadamia-crusted rockfish and huli huli chicken.  With a name like that, it had to be good….and it was.

 

The best news of the day was the fact we turned the clocks back one hour.  Always most welcomed.  Now we will have a total of five sea days to reach Hilo, Hawaii on October 9^th, and the rocking and rolling has slowly begun. 

 

Bill & Mary Ann

 

 

[WCB]

Report # 29   Tuesday   October 4, 2022   Day at Sea   Mostly cloudy, windy, 7 foot seas   69 degrees  Part #1 of 1............0 Pictures

 

Our first day at sea found the skies very gloomy.  It was heavily overcast, windy, with seven-foot seas.  The ship was listing, making walking a bit challenging at times.  It increased during the evening hours, where you don’t notice the rolling as much if you stayed tucked in bed.  We’ve sailed in much worse conditions, so this is a piece of cake. 

 

At breakfast this morning, we found the venue quite busy with new guests.  In fact, some were lined up at the closed doors of the Pinnacle Grill well before 8am.  This was the first time we noticed that more tables were used in the center of this dining room.  Of course, the ship is fairly full now, and the restaurants can be expected to be busy. 

 

Working on the computer was more than frustrating today.  It was acting squirrely, as it always seems to do when traveling in this area.  But this appeared to be more so than previously, with reports and photos not going through together, or at all for that matter.  Nothing could be sent or received, and we got tired of watching that circle go round and round. Best to take a walk and get some fresh air.

 

We took that break around noon, when we knew fewer folks would be walking.  Due to the higher winds and the wave action, the ship continued to list.  The spray from the waves made the teak decking very wet on the windward side of the ship.  Could be a problem with slipping and falling.  The Captain came on the speakers with his noon talk, and warned the guests about the conditions outside.  He gave the usual stats about our position, weather, wave heights, and an explanation of the “rhumb line”.  Basically, it is too complicated to explain, however we do know that the navigators used this to get from point A to point B in a shorter distance, which helps to save fuel and time. 

 

Many activities were happening on the ship.  The shore excursions were being promoted, as well as jackpot bingo, origami folding, and even a $25 two hour painting class.  We knew the time would come when a charge would be applied to some activities.  Now we are not sure if this will apply to the grand voyages, as those arts and crafts classes have been complimentary.  Once again, we missed the free ($25) wine tasting. 

 

We did order a light room service lunch, because at 5pm, we would be attending a President’s Club Reception in the Explorers Lounge.  It read:  On behalf of Gus Antorcha, President of HAL, Captain Frank van der Hoeven, Henk Mensink, the HGM, and our key hotel officers and staff invite you to a private event.   It was dubbed to celebrate our health and well-being on board.  Whatever the reason, it was a nice gesture.  Actually, it was a good opportunity to meet the Captain and his wife, Mrs. Captain as Michelle, guest relations manager, said.  Some of the key officers were Shiv, Maya, Chantal, Ian, and other key officers.  There was a total of 12  President’s Club members present, some we recognized, and some we did not.  Elegantly prepared canapes were offered, as were beverages of our choice. 

 

Henk introduced us to Captain Frank and his wife.  Our paths have not crossed on past cruises, so this was a new meeting for all.  We entered the room, and took seats by a window.  Soon Chantal, the future cruise consultant, joined us, and Shiv stopped briefly for a moment.  When the group was all there, the staff sat with all of us.  We had the Captain and Mrs.Captain sit with us, along with Howard, as he was the only one we really knew.  The conversation got interesting when it was asked of the Captain about this ship going into the Amazon River in 2024 on the Grand World Voyage.  He surprised us by saying he was also concerned about taking a ship of this size and draft into that river with shifting sand bars and strong currents.  Of course, there will be a local river pilot, but that is no guarantee of beaching the darned ship.  It has happened in the past with smaller vessels, so it will be seen if in fact, they do go that route.  The gathering began to break up around 6pm, and that is when Henk joined us, as Chantal moved to talk to other guests.  A rousing conversation ensued until 6:30pm.  We did have a series of questions for Henk, who took out his cell phone to take notes.  One of our questions had to do with the Navigator app, and the lack of the posted menu for the dining room tonight.  Henk had no idea it was not working. As a matter of fact, the internet had quit working in the afternoon.  Henk agreed there was a problem, and it needed to be fixed.  Then we also brought up the fact that a motorized wheelchair has been parked outside our door at various times during the day and evening. Obviously, there were no handicapped rooms available for this guest, but leaving it in a narrow hallway can be a hazardous situation in case of an emergency or fire, God forbid.  Coming to and from our room, we almost tripped over this vehicle.  It appears that it should fit it the room (we saw it there initially), and there is plenty of space to keep it inside.  Speaking to our room steward, he has parked it in the elevator lobby, where it is not blocking any exit points.   Promising to look into the matter, we hope Henk will follow through.

 

Now, the most interesting side show of this event, was watching the ever-growing line forming for the dining room, which on deck two, it is anytime dining with open seating.  The line of folks was already beginning when we arrived to our event before 5pm.  Funny, considering dinnertime was 5:30pm.  Being that we are on deck three at 8pm, we never see what happens on deck two.  Perhaps by the end of this week, everything will fall into place.  By the time we got back to our room after the party, the dinner menu was still not posted.  However, by the time we looked again, it was there.  Henk did follow up on his promise.  Now we shall see how long this lasts. 

 

During dinner, Denise made a stop, in her neat flashing face mask, no less, asking if our internet was messed up.  Yes, like all day it had been acting up.  We clued her in on the help we got from Henk, but in the meantime, we bet there will be a whole lot of people at the front desk complaining about an expensive service that is broken.  Then another couple, Wendy and Steve, also popular travel hosts, paid us a visit. The last time we saw them was on a bus to the Perth airport in Australia, as we were on our way home after leaving the cancelled 2020 world cruise.  Honestly, we thought we may never see them again.  And here we all are, on another dam ship.  Lucky for all.  So they had chosen a table for two downstairs, and admitted it was a zoo down there.  Then they requested fixed seating up here, and got a nice table. 

 

Anyway, we ordered the mahi mahi and a sukiyaki with steak strips.  Very different, I made sure there was no oyster or clam juice in it.  If so, I would have gone with the spaghetti.   It’s fun to try something different for a change…..and I liked it.  Desserts were a fig pudding and a scoop of chocolate coffee ice cream.  One sea day gone, and four more to go to Hawaii.

 

Bill & Mary Ann

[dchip]

YAY!!!!! We are back online! Hopefully we will see you sometime today!

DenIse and Howie, too

[CruisingGrandmaW]

Thank you Bill & Mary Ann for continuing to Post with the challenge of at times slow/non-working internet.  Your blog/comments mean so much to us following you.  Sailing vicariously thru your Posts.

[WCB]

Report # 30   Day at Sea   Wednesday   October 5, 2022   Partly cloudy, but warmer and slightly humid  82 degrees    Part # 1 of 1 ........0 Pictures

 

What a difference a day makes, especially in the weather department.  By noon, the thermometer on our veranda registered 82 degrees.  The humidity was up as well.  The feeling of Hawaii is in the air now.

 

Even more folks were lined up for the Pinnacle Grill breakfast today, and we would soon learn the reason why.  Surprise, surprise.  At 9:15am, Captain Frank made a public announcement that every guest that boarded in San Diego was required to perform a self test for Covid 19 in their rooms by 9:30am.  The reason stated was due to an abundance of caution, and the remote location of the upcoming ports, it was necessary to test again.  Very interesting, since all of these passengers just tested as recently as Friday, September 30^th….a mere 5 days ago.  We sure hope this is not an indication that Covid has been spreading.  That could be a deal-breaker entering some of the South Pacific Islands.  Or, maybe we are reading way too much into this suddenly sprung test.

 

The internet has really given us headaches.  And because we have just begun the 50 day cruise, we wondered if we still had the premium plan in place.  The guest relations manager, Michelle, phoned to confirm that she checked into the details, and we did have the best plan.  Later on, we had a phone call from Henk M. thanking us for pointing out the fact that the dinner menu for the dining room was not working on our stateroom TV.  Digging deeper, he discovered that this problem was happening fleetwide as if there was a virus in the system.  As far as the menu being on the Navigator app for the cell phones, we are not sure if that was working.  When this gets resolved, we have no idea.  Remember when you could go to the dining room entrance, and read the menu for the evening which was posted on the walls?  We never passed by there without checking in case we found nothing we liked, we had the time to make reservations for the Pinnacle Grill.  In fact, the assistant maitre’d agreed with us at dinner tonight, that some of the old ways were much better and simpler.  By the way, he was not aware of the problem with the menu being missing.

 

We took a long walk on the promenade deck during lunchtime.  It is always less crowded then.  We sure noticed the difference in the temperature, especially on the sunny side of the ship.  Many more lounges and deck pads were out, but more guests chose the shady side over the sunny one.  After our warm walk, we went to the Ocean Bar and rewarded ourselves with two cold beers.  One of us had Heineken, and the other the last can of Alaskan Amber.  It tasted better because of that.  We inquired about draft beer, and learned that it was served in the Galley Bar, near the casino.  And of all things, they had Aflegem Belgium draft beer.  We shall check that out tomorrow before they run out.

 

It’s no surprise that we like the room service salads among other items.  Hands down, they make the nicest Cobb salads, and will customize it with different cheeses.  We do not care for blu cheese, so they substitute either swiss, cheddar, or even parmesan.  Their sandwiches are always made with fresh breads and fillings.  The best thing is that the wait is never too long.  We could go to the Lido, but after 2pm, the choices are limited.  And we still are apprehensive with the style of serving up there.  Under the circumstances, we were happier with everything being served by the wait staff.  We would love to pretend that Covid is not here, but that’s probably not the case.  We are happy to report that most every guest has been wearing their masks indoors.

 

Everything Hawaiian was the subject of many activities today.   Beginning with a talk on the geology and geography of Hawaii, it was followed by hula lessons at 11am.  Catching the Waves was all about surfing, and the shore ex team were promoting tours.  There were 14 “promotion” activities as well.  No need to be bored…..that’s for sure.

 

We took a sunset walk before dinnertime.  There was a cloud bank on the horizon, so the sun slipped behinds those clouds and disappeared without a spectacular show.  The sunsets will get better….we are sure of it.

 

This evening was the first “dressy” dinner of the cruise, and most everyone we saw around us were looking pretty nice.  There was one exception, as there always seems to be.

A young gal walked by dressed in white jeans, a t-shirt, and a baseball cap.  Really?  These days, as long as the guests are not dressed in swimwear, nothing is said.  Whatever floats her boat……  Anyway, we noticed that the surf and turf entree included lobster.  This is the first time in about 5 weeks that we saw lobster on the menu.  We ordered one plate of stuffed ricotta shells with a small filet, and one yellow fin sole plate.  Both were good, but would have been better if the fish did not have a few bones.  Up to now, this was the first bone found in any fish.  Both of us had the flourless chocolate cake for dessert.  We are happy the portion sizes are conservative, so we do not feel over-loaded at the end of our meal.  

 

The clocks went back an hour this evening.  There will be one more hour to go before we arrive to the Hawaiian Islands on Sunday. 

 

Bill & Mary Ann

 

 

 

[canadianbear]

@WCB

 

Another big thank you for taking us along.  Really appreciate all your information since we should have been on this cruise.  Living vicariously through your posts and others.  
 

 

[Florida_gal_50]

Good to hear they have lobster on the menu.  They should have on such a long and expensive cruise.

[WCB]

Report # 31   Day at Sea   Thursday   October 6, 2022   Mostly cloudy   82 degrees   Part # 1 of 1..........0 Pictures

 

The day began with mostly blue skies and pretty calm seas.  We still are experiencing a bit of rolling, but it has become tolerable.  Like it or not, we are getting our sea legs.  Some days are made to be lazy, and today was one of them.  We did get some walking in this morning, then made plans to meet our buddies in the Gallery Bar.  Yesterday we discovered that this is the only place we would be able to find draft beer.  And better yet, they had Belgium Aflegem beer.  Denise and Howie also like the German and Belgium beers, so that’s what we all ordered.   It was so nice to visit finally, sharing news and just having a good time.  Two hours flew by.

 

During our stay there, we introduced them to our previous hosts, as well as Shiv, who walked through the lounge.  As he is the Head of Housekeeping, he really makes the rounds all over the ship.  We were just lucky he ducked in the Gallery Bar.  He visited for a few minutes, then said goodbye, but before he left, he ordered another round of beers for us all to enjoy.  He is truly a very nice person, and we are happy to call him friend.

 

Back in the room, we ordered a late lunch of quesadillas and salads.  The afternoon evaporated, but then, so did the sun.  Passing some interesting dark clouds today, we did notice that it felt a little cooler.  That’s always what happens when there are rain clouds here and there. 

 

When we sat down in the dining room at dinnertime, we had a visit from Denise who told us that she heard that there might be an itinerary change coming up.  She went back to her room and found a letter from the Captain.  It was a long letter of apology for the last minute changes that took place so close to the start of this voyage.  So….. long story short, Bora Bora is back.  They flipped flopped some ports and reversed some calls.  We assume this will make some folks really happy, since many of them have never been to Bora Bora.  It will not be an overnight, so if their plans included staying in one of the over-the-water bungalows, that will not be possible.  However, they will save a lot of money.  We will arrive to Papeete on a Friday evening, and staying until Sunday.  Now with that change, the guests might be able to stay overnight in Moorea, and take a ferry back to Papeete the next day or on Sunday. 

 

Naturally, all of the ship’s excursions will be re-done.  And there is still time for the independent guests to make other plans.  Hope this is the end of the changes, or the passengers will be pulling their hair out.

 

Dinner choices are getting more tropical-sounding as we near the Hawaiian Islands.  One of us ordered the mahi-mahi wrapped in a banana leaf.  Could have used some mango salsa, as said by the non-fish lover among us.  Lasagna was the main course for me, but remains far different from what I make at home.  Dessert was an apple streusel with a side of vanilla ice cream for each of us.  Very nice.

 

Two more days at sea, and we will be in Hilo.

 

Bill & Mary Ann

 

[dchip]

The change in itineraries explains why there were only shore excursions for one day in both Raiatea and Moorea. Now there are none to cancel and rearrange. We are also very happy for all those folks who have never been to BoraBora.

 

We certainly enjoyed our afternoon catch up yesterday!

 

Denise and Howie, too

[julia]

That is such good news that the Zuiderdam will call on Bora Bora!  Hoping our Koningsdam cruise to the South Pacific in a few months might also get invited!

[CruisingGrandmaW]

FANTASTIC NEWS about Bora Bora - there were so many unhappy passengers over the previous cancellation of Bora Bora & other itinerary changes.  Having that great news so early into this cruise along with the Great Food including lobster --- should really appease those who were cursing HAL pre-boarding.

I am SO happy for all of you - chance to see Patrick again in his OhLaLa Firedance attire!! 🤣

 

[WCB]

Report # 32   Day at Sea   Friday   October 7, 2022   Mostly sunny in the am, then mostly cloudy in the pm   82 degrees.......0 Pictures

 

Today marks exactly one month that we have been traveling on the Zuiderdam.  The “glacier” part went by so fast, and here we are, ready to start the “palm tree” segment.  It was mostly sunny when we got up this morning, and it was pleasantly warm.  The seas have tuned into a deep shade of blue as we continued to sail southwest. The swells have been slight, however, that may change.  According to Captain Frank, the wave action will increase during the day.  He said the stabilizers are out, keeping us as comfortable as possible.  Later in the afternoon, the skies became cloudy with scattered showers here and there.  And as promised, the swells deepened. 

 

During our morning hike, we noticed that all of the teak lounges were laid out on both sides of the ship.  The pads on them are really nice and thick, compared to those on the Amsterdam.  We began to wonder when we will start to see some flying fish.  They are fun to watch, especially when they pop up by the hundreds.  Of course, when the boobies are present, then it becomes a hunting game for them,  and a spectacular show for us that love to watch the birds in action.

 

After our walk, we cooled down in the Ocean Bar with ice cold coke Zeros.  This bar has been the most convenient place to stock up on the Have-It-All beverages.  Originally, we were told we could get two at a time, but here, the bartender has gotten to know us, and allows us to get more.  We think their rule to restrict the number given is to prevent sharing.  That is not allowed.  We always carry a folded bag, then take the cans to our room.  When we start to dock in the ports, we will be taking some of the water off with us, but poured in the new thermos bottle we bought.

 

We forgot to mention that yesterday, while passing by the Lincoln Center Stage after our meeting with friends, we found the room to be full of guests.  Since it was after lunchtime for most, at least half of the folks were sound asleep in their seats.  Or perhaps they were listening with their eyes closed.  The music was very relaxing.

 

There was also a real movie being show in the Rolling Stone Lounge today “Dog” (2022).  We also spotted a cart full of bags of popcorn heading that way.  Glad to see they are doing this here. 

 

We are still deliberately staying away from crowded places such as the casino, the Mainstage activities, and the Shops.  Until we are sure there is not a huge outbreak of the virus, we are much more comfortable staying close to “home” and away from crowds.   We should add here that just about every guest we have seen has honored the mandatory mask requirement.  All of the crew members wear them all of the time, except many of them need to change them more often.  We can tell when the elastic straps become stretched, and the masks refuse to stay up and over the noses.  But it is up to their supervisors to remind them to wear fresh ones.

 

A funny thing happened when we ordered room service lunch today.  It appears that different waiters answer the phone to take the orders.  If a request does not fit the correct button to push, it is hard to customize something.  Take today for instance.  Asking for Caesar salads, no anchovies, but add a slice chicken breast to each salad, sounded simple to us.  When the food arrived , we had the Caesar salads all right, but we also had two hot dinner plates of grilled chicken breast with vegetables and gravy.  OK, this was more than we needed, but we began to cut up the chicken breast, and found it SO good, we ate everything….except the broccoli.  Hands down, this chicken entrée had to be the most moist and tasty chicken we have had so far.  The slices of breast never made it on the salads, as we finished those second.  Guess we will not need a huge dinner tonight, even though that will not arrive until 8pm.

 

Our laundry from yesterday was delivered this afternoon.  Their service has been great, but I failed to check the items returned, and realized later on that a fleece vest was missing.  And it is not just an everyday sleeveless vest, but one I received 11 years ago on a Grand World Voyage.  It is one of my favorite vests, that has been worn frequently at home.  It is not replaceable as it has the logo from 2011 on it.  Long story short, we asked Putu our room steward if he knew how to find it.  Lo and behold, before we went to dinner, he arrived with it, and that sure made one of us happy.

 

This evening was the first Cellar Master Dinner in the Pinnacle Grill.  We do think that is a wine pairing fixed menu which began at 6:30pm to 9pm.  Since there seemed to be fewer guests in the dining room, we assume some of them were attending this pop-up venue.  There will be more of these held during this cruise, and will include Rudi’s Sel de Mer, Tamarind, and two other specialty dinners.  If we wish to get in our 11 complimentary dinners on regular nights, we will need to make those reservations tomorrow morning.

 

So, it was a bowl of chicken “spaghetti” soup, an appetizer, a Caesar salad, and mains of flounder with substituted French fries (hot and crispy), and one Club Orange special, tender slices of beef ribs and mashed potatoes.   Saving a little room, we enjoyed the small slice of pear strudel with sides of vanilla ice cream….one scoop only.

 

Another new entertainer appeared in the Mainstage.  Her name is Rachel Tyler, and her performance was called Straight Up…With A Twist.   We assume she is a comedian or a singer.  

 

The clocks went back one hour again this evening.  That will put us on Hawaii time now.

 

Bill & Mary Ann

[The-Inside-Cabin]

1 hour ago, WCB said:

During our morning hike, we noticed that all of the teak lounges were laid out on both sides of the ship.  The pads on them are really nice and thick, compared to those on the Amsterdam. 

 

There was also a real movie being show in the Rolling Stone Lounge today “Dog” (2022).  We also spotted a cart full of bags of popcorn heading that way.  Glad to see they are doing this here. 

 

Bill & Mary Ann

It's nice not having those "reserved" lounge chairs on the promenade deck - glad to hear about the thicker cushions.

 

Nice to see popcorn making a return for the movies.  Was the movie a matinee?  There was talk of them using the world stage for movies on the GWV.   

 

 

[WCB]

Yes, we agree about the reserved Lanai room lounges.  But it sure working for selling those rooms for HAL.  

 

The movies shown in the Rolling Stones Lounge were listed as "matinee".  We will investigate about using the Mainstage for GWV movies, as there is no World Stage on this class of ship.

 

Bill & Mary Ann

[DAllenTCY]

In the right place at the right time when the Zuiderdam departed from San Diego, I encountered crew members who brought on 4 huge 50 pound bags of corn kernels. 

 

We joked for a minute about their "addiction" and they laughed and said it was for stocking the galley for passengers and crew.

 

David

 

[wynkys]

Hi Bill & Mary Ann,

Once again I'm enjoying reading about your adventures and your reference to the GWV 2011 prompted me to write.

It was on the first leg to Sydney that we met and shared a table along with my mate from Cairns, Pat

Dunworth.

I am resuming cruising in a few weeks time but it will be only local stuff because of the insurance issues.

Keep enjoying and stay safe.

Wayne Keys

 

[Bookited]

Question... How does one get 11 complimentary meals on one cruise?

[WCB]

Report #33   Saturday October 8, 2022  Sea Day Enroute To Hilo, Hawaii   Sunny With Some Clouds 80 Degrees    Part #1 Of 2.......Text Only...... Pictures In Part #2

 

 

Waking up to blue skies, a slight breeze, and a noticeable sea swell, we knew it was going to be a great day….and our last full day at sea before arriving to the islands.  At breakfast this morning, we gave Alejandra a list of 11 dinners we would like to reserve for the remainder of the trip in the Pinnacle Grill.   She told us there were 11 specialty pop-up dinners, so we needed to secure what we could now.  That will begin this evening if she has space.  On our way out of the restaurant, she had OK’d a table for tonight at 8pm.  The rest, she will let us know later.

 

Guess what we saw while walking this afternoon?   Yep, flying fish.  Funny we had just thought about that yesterday, and here they are today.  There were not huge numbers of them, but we know there will be more.  Now all we need are the birds…..

 

Once again, we went to the Ocean Bar for cold Cokes, and who should appear, but Denise and Howie.  Boy, did they have a story to tell.  One underlying fear we all might have is getting stuck in an elevator.  Well that’s exactly what happened to them in the glass elevator midship around noontime.  Eventually help came, but we bet it seemed like ages.  After that, they had drinks in the bar.  We said it should have been doubles!  And that is one elevator we shall avoid in the future.

 

During his noon talk, Captain Frank mentioned that once the ship reaches the Hawaiian Islands, it will be necessary to turn off most of the fluorescent lights on the promenade deck during the evening hours.  Apparently these lights attract some birds to land on the ship.  We have seen this many times over the years.  And the end result for the birds is never a good one. So we can expect a “romantic setting” on the outside decks, but warned to be careful if taking an evening stroll.

 

Today while reading the blogsites for another HAL ship,  we stumbled across some interesting developments regarding new requirements from the countries of Fiji and New Caledonia.  We saw that they are requiring every passenger on the Westerdam to have medical insurance for travel.  Or have private insurance that would cover you out of the USA, or even credit card coverage.  Wow, we have never heard of that being required before this.   There was even a suggestion of where this type of insurance can be found to buy online.  Since this came out well after people boarded the ship, we wonder how that will impact their trip?  As for us, we never leave home without coverage, but know many folks that never purchase the expensive travel insurance.  Anyway, since we are heading to Fiji, now we expect to get a similar letter. 

 

It was room service lunch again, but a fairly light one.  Dinner will be in the Pinnacle Grill, so we need to be good and hungry for that meal.  Sitting out on our veranda, guess what else we saw?  Yep, a booby……a masked booby to be precise.  The masked boobys are the largest of the gannet family of tropical seabirds, measuring up to 33 inches in body length, with almost a 6 foot wingspan.  Since most of the sightings are in the distance, one has no clue they can be that  big.   The one disadvantage of being in the aft cabin is that most all of the birds will fly on either side of the ship.  If they dive, and regain flight, they will wander to the back of the ship.  That’s how the photos were taken today.   There were only a few of them flying, but we did spot some flying over what may have been a school of tuna feeding. 

 

Dinner was great tonight.  Wedge salads with a strip of candied bacon, fresh rolls, and entrees of filet mignon and halibut were all delicious.  Sides were ½ baked potato, French fries (the skinny ones), and sauteed mushrooms.   Barely enough room for a small dessert, we had some pistachio ice cream and one chocolate souffle.    While we were on our way out, some other guests noticed we had put on our masks.  They told us that a letter had been delivered to everyone, releasing us from the mandatory mask-wearing.  Now it is optional.  After the last covid test we all took, the numbers of infected were very low.  They are still warning about congested places on the inside of the ship like the show and music lounges and casino for instance.  We think we shall leave them on for a while, if not, for the rest of the cruise. 

 

Think we are all really ready for Hilo tomorrow.

 

Bill & Mary Ann

 

 

[WCB]

Hello Wayne!  Nice hearing from you, since it has been a while since we shared that fun table with you guys.  Do you keep touch with Pat D?  We have not heard from him for quite a while.  

Perhaps we may meet on another HAL ship in the future.

 

As President's Club members, we get 10 complimentary dinners in the specialty restaurants (except Sel de Mer & other pop-ups).  Does not matter if the cruise is 7 days or 128 days, the number is the same.  The extra dinner comes with the Have-It-All package on this 50 day voyage.  

 

Bill & Mary Ann

[Highway27]

Following along because my parents are on the Zuiderdam with you. Thanks for the updates!

[Florida_gal_50]

Good news about Covid numbers being low.  I’d still be wearing my mask.