richwmn Goes around the world in a daze

[richwmn]

February 20^th – at sea toward Fremantle / Perth

 

 

Yesterday turned out to be a very relaxed sea day. I went to all three trivia sessions and enjoyed them. We managed to win one of the sessions. The trivia hosts are managing to keep the sessions fresh, with few repeat questions. The sea day sessions always get a good audience.

 

After the evening session it was dinner in the Main Dining Room with Kelly, Jett, and Sue – my partners in crime from the previous evening. The dinner was very nice, I had Shrimp Cocktail, a steak, and Carrot Cake, others had the Fish and Chips. I don’t remember what Kelly had. All meals were good and the portions adequate. Again the conversation was very good and the meal lasted about 90 minutes. After dinner I headed in and after adjusting my clocks again called it an evening.

 

 

 

 

Most of my sea day mornings are a bit lazy. The activities I generally participate in start after lunch. I did manage to walk around the promenade deck again this morning. @aliaschief asked the yesterday if I had gained any weight, regrettably the answer is yes but I think it is now under control. Not much, but enough to take note and do something about it.

 

It is again a very nice day outside. We have been very fortunate in that respect. The Captain has been hedging his comments a week out, seems that the weather might not co-operate when we get to Africa. We’ll just have to wait and see.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[richwmn]

February 21, Mardi Gras in Fremantle, Western Australia, Australia

 

 

 

Last evening on Zuiderdam was very good. At some time yesterday Zuiderdam got together over 400 current guests and staff who were on the 2020 World Cruise that had to end early. People that attended said that it was very nice.

 

The 4:00pm trivia session was called ‘Lightning Movie Trivia’ and consisted of 30 movie clips that we were to give the name of the movie. The clips were well known clips from the movies and we did well on that one. The 6:30pm session was entitled ‘Disco’ and actually covered more than disco, but all around the same time frame. We didn’t do as well on the music as we usually do, but still did ok.

 

Following trivia, I went to a Bocce Ball event. Only two showed up, but it ended up being fun with us and the host. I guess it helped that somehow I won. The next event was ‘Majority Rules’ and I participated with with two of my trivia partners. It was fun and we did ok. It was interesting to hear some of the responses.

 

Since I enjoyed the Jazz Band the other night I went up to the Ocean Bar but they were on a long break. I went back to Billboard Lounge and watched a few people play Scattergories. The World Stage entertainment was ‘The Magic and Comedy of Adam Dean’. By definition I guess he qualifies as a Magician. His act was things like having someone in the audience think of a number, then he writes it down an when the audience member reveals the number it is what he wrote down. A couple of variations on this completed what I saw of his act, but I will admit that I left before he finished.

 

This morning we arrived in Fremantle on time and were cleared to leave the ship a couple of minutes early. I left the ship around 8:30am and took the provided shuttle downtown. Locals were available both in the terminal and in town to help you find what you were looking for. I walked around the downtown area for a while and found some familiar names, Target, Subway, 7-11, McDonalds, and more. I walked a little more and found that I was close to the ship and walked back rather than going back to the shuttle. It was a very nice day for the walk and I really enjoyed it.

 

We don’t leave Fremantle until tomorrow, so plenty of time today and tomorrow and Perth is not far away.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[richwmn]

February 22 – Final Day in Fremantle

 

 

Last night the ship celebrated Mardi Gras. Activities included Mardi Gras themed trivia, a Coin Scavenger Hunt, a Bead Toss, and a Party including a King and Queen. Billboard and Rolling Stone were open for everyone to enjoy.

 

This morning included a normal breakfast followed by another day in Fremantle. We left the ship and took the shuttle back to downtown and took a two hour walk. Fremantle is full of old buildings still in good repair and beautiful. The weather was good for the walk and it went quickly. We stopped at the shipwreck museum and enjoyed the exhibits. Back to the ship for an easy lunch.

 

 

Prior to sail away today we have to watch the safety video again and check in at out muster site. Sail away will be at 4:30pm with the Jazz Band playing somewhere. Navigator App lists them playing on aft Lido Deck, printed information list them on deck there but not where.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[aliaschief]

Thanks Rich. Enjoying your live.

[richwmn]

February 23 – at sea, destination Port Louis, Mauritius Island

 

 

Yesterday the festivities for sailaway were set up on the promenade deck, mid ship. They had a table set up for making Margaritas and the Jazz Band from Ocean View Bar was set up outside. It seemed to be a bit of an awkward setup but it worked. The celebration started at 4:30pm and lasted a little over an hour. Along with the Margaritas we were served Hors d’Oeuvres. After sailaway a nice dinner in the Lido, followed by trivia and games. The scheduled games were to be golf putting and lawn bowling, but it ended up being only golf putting. It was interesting trying to putt with the motion of the ship included. It ended up being fun. After the putting was a ‘Name the Tune’ session which we won. Good thing all the songs were from the right era.

 

 

This morning I watched the presentation HAL put on before Fremantle for those guests that had to leave the 2020 World Cruise there. It is available on the cabin tvs and was very good. There are quite a few crew and staff that were on that cruise that are currently working aboard. If you can find it online, it is a good watch.

 

Another lazy sea morning, but lots to do this afternoon and evening.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[erewhon]

Enjoying following along with you, where is your next port of call?

[richwmn]

February 24 – at sea, destination Port Louis, Mauritius Island

 

It is almost 5pm here and I’m not sure where the morning went. Somehow the day has gone very quickly. So without any further ado, here we go.

 

Last night was very busy.

 

First off we had four trivia sessions, two of which were the ‘Name that Tune’ type. Each session was fun but we tend to do best with the music based sessions. The final session at 9:30pm was all Rolling Stones songs and we got 14 out of 15. One team beat us by getting them all.

 

Yesterday was billed as ‘A Night of Music’. Something was going on from 5:30pm until late night. The World Stage had the Jazz Band at 7:00pm and 9:30pm with a show titled ‘Jazzed up Beatles’ which was very good. They talked about themselves and their love of the Beatles. The songs were a bit different but well done.

 

In the Rolling Stone Lounge the normal group played, but were accompanied by one singer from Billboard and on another song the violinist from the Classical Group. A trio from Rolling Stone played in the Ocean Bar, and in Billboard the pianists were joined by others from Rolling Stone. It was all pretty good and a refreshing change.

 

 

Again, today has gone by very quickly. It is early evening and it seems that it should still be morning. Only two trivia sessions today, and both went well. The second one had an interesting twist. We were shown two very similar logos for major companies and asked which one was correct. In many cases the difference was that colors were swapped. In the Starbucks logo, the crown was an outline rather than filled in. We had 31 chances and got 26 correct. But, that wasn’t enough but we were close.

 

Everything is going well. Hope everyone has a great weekend.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[richwmn]

On 2/23/2023 at 12:41 PM, erewhon said:

Enjoying following along with you, where is your next port of call?

 

Hope you are well,

 

Port Louis, Mauritius Island

 

 

[erewhon]

@richwmn Rich, thank you for your reply.

We are well, enjoying a sunny day, not a cloud in sight.

[richwmn]

February 25 – at sea, destination Port Louis, Mauritius Island

 

 

It is again a beautiful day at sea. Last night stayed a bit busy. With only two trivia sessions (1:00pm and 4:00pm) other things had to be found. After dinner I met up with Sue and we went to the early performance of Trevor Knight. Trevor is an Australian country / folk singer who lived for a while in Nashville and Los Angeles. He had a good show with interesting stories between songs. About half of the show was songs he wrote, and they were pretty good. He ended the show, as the Australian Trio did a few days ago, with the song ‘I am Australian’.

"I Am Australian" is a popular Australian song written in 1987 by Bruce Woodley of the Seekers and Dobe Newton of the Bushwackers. Its lyrics are filled with many historic and cultural references, such as to the "digger", Albert Namatjira and Ned Kelly, among others.Wikipedia.

It was again a nice ending to the show.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[richwmn]

February 26 – at sea, destination Port Louis, Mauritius Island

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today is day three of seven at sea, headed toward the part of this World Cruise that is the most port intensive. Sea days are a bit like being at home. Each day we wake up, eat breakfast, maybe a lecture, eat lunch, then trivia and lectures with maybe some sports, eat dinner, then shows and bed – all with a few drinks and company thrown in for good measure. The staff is very attentive, and the other guests are generally fun. There is always the guest that we perceive as trouble but they are easy to stay away from.

 

We had a time change last night, and again tonight as we wind our clocks slowly back toward Eastern time for the end of the cruise in Fort Lauderdale.

 

 

[lcand1923]

Rich,  As you meet your fellow passengers, have you gotten a feel for how many have taken a lot of World/Grand Cruises?  Are many of the guests “first timers”?  Have you met anyone who has only taken short cruises prior to this one?  If so, did they have any problems adjusting to a lot of Sea Days?

[RedneckBob]

Great reviews and thanks for posting the daily’s. Is the Pinnacle Grill busy on such a long cruise? I can’t believe every day they have jumbo shrimp cocktails. After a world cruise I probably would not like to see another shrimp!

[alibabacruisers]

Thank you, Rich, for sharing your experiences!

[REOVA]

3 hours ago, lcand1923 said:

Rich,  As you meet your fellow passengers, have you gotten a feel for how many have taken a lot of World/Grand Cruises?  Are many of the guests “first timers”?  Have you met anyone who has only taken short cruises prior to this one?  If so, did they have any problems adjusting to a lot of Sea Days?

There are about 30% of the passengers that do this every year (winter home) and probably 70% or more that have done at least one GWC prior. It's a "family" reunion to many (and there usually is a banner strung on deck that says "Welcome Home" while in port). First timers can feel the comraderie of "groups" formed over the years but (except for a few passengers) they are all inclusive and welcoming. We only cruised 10-14 days (and 1 28 day) before booking our first GWC and didn't want to leave the ship after 4 months. It's a unique experience that will spoil you due to the special activities and entertainment planned for these. (But we wait for the itinerary that meets our bucket list). 

[richwmn]

February 27 – at sea, destination Port Louis, Mauritius Island

 

 

The time changes are wearing me out. We changed the clocks again this morning and I woke up at 5am. We have one more time change before Port Louis.

 

Last night was a full range of activities. The Jazz Group played in the Ocean Bar, classical music in the Explorer’s Lounge, and Rolling Stone Rocked. The late session of triva was a Motown theme. We didn’t do as well as we should have in identifying the songs. The World Stage featured a Comedian – Martin Ralph.

 

 

Today we had to turn in paperwork for the African stops. We have been given very specific instructions about what to take ashore with us at each stop. We also had to fill out a form with the maker and dates of our Covid shots. This was all turned in at 9am.

 

At 2:30pm Spenser hosted a round of golf putting. We got a bit more participation than last time and it was fun. In a few minutes we will have the second “Block Party” of the cruise. The intent is for everyone to meet in the passageway outside our cabin and get to know your neighbors. The beverage staff will be passing thru with bottles of wine for us to consume. Some blocks are more fun that others and some guests might be attending those rather than their own.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[FlaMariner]

5 hours ago, richwmn said:

Some blocks are more fun that others and some guests might be attending those rather than their own.

 

LOL

 

Just like when kids and we would go trick or treating in the other neighborhood because they gave out better candy (was more fun). 

Edited February 27, 2023 by FlaMariner

[richwmn]

February 27 – at sea, destination Port Louis, Mauritius Island

 

 

I was awake again too early this morning. We have one more time change before Port Louis and I hope I can get myself back on a more regular schedule then. One good thing about waking up so early, laps around the promenade deck before breakfast.

 

The block party yesterday was fun and better than the first. I stayed with my group and met some very nice people. A Cruise Critic member @itinerary is two doors down from me. We had a nice chat. Dinner came after the block party, followed by Sports Trivia, which somehow we won. The, because of waking so early, I was tired and made an early evening of it. Most likely that is why I woke up again so early this morning.

 

 

 

During the first segment several people discussed how many people were aboard. Holland lists the capacity of Zuiderdam as 1,964, which is normally lower berth or two per cabin. I heard several people mention that we had around 1,400 aboard for the first segment, which is over 500 short of fully booked. After breakfast I stopped by Guest Relations and got a current Guest breakdown. For this segment we have 1,325 aboard. This includes 1,085 US, 143 Canadian, and 29 Australian. Other countries have 1 or 2 with Netherlands having 22 and the UK having 15. Still far from fully booked. For reference, this World Cruise was originally scheduled for Zaandam which has a stated capacity of 1,432 which would have been full for the first segment.

 

This morning is again a very pretty day at sea. I hope everyone has a great week!

 

 

 

 

Lido menu is not yet available. Will post later.

Edited February 28, 2023 by richwmn

[richwmn]

Lido menu

[richwmn]

Today's position showing our next two stops.

Tomorrow is Port Louis, Mauritius Island

Then Reunion

 

[richwmn]

March 01 – at sea, destination Port Louis, Mauritius Island

 

 

Well, it is the start of a new month. Today is the last sea day after a string of sea days. From now until May 5^th this cruise becomes very port intensive. Between now and then we have around 22 sea days, mostly singles and a few doubles. After that we have seven sea days ending in Fort Lauderdale. Since I started with the holidays cruises, tomorrow is my halfway point.

 

Last night had a theme of Hollywood and the Oscars. Even though it was technically a casual night, we were encouraged to dress up for the Hollywood party in Rolling Stone Lounge. I chose to avoid the party. As I mentioned yesterday, I have been waking up very early and even though I am trying to stay active later, it is not easy. Hopefully last night was the last time change for a while and I will get myself back in sync. A good thing about the early hours is that it has been nice to walk the promenade deck during those hours.

 

There was also a late night (10:00pm) Star Gazing session which I am told was well attended. The Navigation Officer presided over the gathering and talked about navigation by the stars.

 

Today is another pretty day at sea. We are on course to arrive at Port Louis on time. We have been given instructions on what documents to take with us when we are off the ship. It will be nice to see what is available tomorrow.

 

 

 

[WriterOnDeck]

On 2/28/2023 at 8:48 AM, richwmn said:

During the first segment several people discussed how many people were aboard. Holland lists the capacity of Zuiderdam as 1,964, which is normally lower berth or two per cabin. I heard several people mention that we had around 1,400 aboard for the first segment, which is over 500 short of fully booked. After breakfast I stopped by Guest Relations and got a current Guest breakdown. For this segment we have 1,325 aboard. This includes 1,085 US, 143 Canadian, and 29 Australian. Other countries have 1 or 2 with Netherlands having 22 and the UK having 15. Still far from fully booked. For reference, this World Cruise was originally scheduled for Zaandam which has a stated capacity of 1,432 which would have been full for the first segment.

 

 

Rich, the world cruise is normally a good bit below the "capacity" because there are so many singles. So we wouldn't fit on the Zaandam this year. Next year when there aren't so many 2020 World Cruisers with future cruise credits it may be different.

[REOVA]

Which would be better for you, gaining and hour around the world or losing and hour? We've always liked westward cruises. I am usually a night person, but found gaining an hour got me up earlier (like you) and out an about. (Early to rise, early to bed 😉). The best part is by the time you get back to Ft Lauderdale, it works out. Glad you are enjoying the cruise. 

[richwmn]

March 02 – Port Louis, Mauritius Island

 

 

Last night Spencer, the Sports Director, hosted a trivia session based on Nautical terms. He had good questions and we did well. Spencer is a good host when doing sports or trivia and it was a fun session. He made sure that the session finished in time to see the World Stage show.

 

Trevor Knight took the World Stage again last night with a tribute show, featuring the songs of John Denver. The early show was well attended and was very good. Trevor Knight is a talented entertainer and one of the best we have had so far. It was a nice selection of songs, played with a lot of feeling, and appropriate stories between songs.

 

This morning we arrived in Port Louis on schedule and we were just cleared on time to exit the ship.

 

@WriterOnDeck--I didn’t realize there were enough singles on board to skew the numbers that far. Since Zuiderdam is currently scheduled for the 2024 World Cruise, the chances of using a smaller ship probably won’t happen until ‘25.

 

@REOVA – I was doing fine with the time changes and I think that westbound is best. However, crossing the Indian Ocean there were four time changes over eight days with two of them being back to back. I generally wake up at 6am and have breakfast and have done the Daily by 7am. The last few days I have been up at 5am. The good part of that is that part of the morning has been very good for walking a few laps around the promenade deck before the Lido hot breakfast opens at 6:30am.

 

Here are todays activities and some photos coming into Port Louis. Menus are not ready yet, so I’ll post them when I return.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[erewhon]

@richwmn Rich, thank you for the Port Louis photos.