John and Diane Hope to Finally Sail Away from Perth

[tennisbeforewine]

Sunday, January 8, 2023

Transiting the Panama Canal

 

No matter how many times we sail through the Panama Canal, we are always amazed at the engineering that created it and sad to read that approximately 25,000 people died building it.  Finished in 1914, we sailed through it during its centennial year in 2014, and two years later Panama added a second canal alongside the first, resulting in a doubling of traffic, since it now accommodates wider and heavier ships.  Since the locks are 110 feet wide, the number of ships, primarily cargo vessels, was limited.  Our ship is 105.8 feet wide, allowing for two feet on each side.  Was it designed for the canal?  Of course.  If you wonder why a cruise through the canal seems expensive, it’s because it costs the company over a hundred thousand dollars for the privilege.

 

The original canal takes ships either from the Atlantic to the Pacific or vice versa, and does so by way of three sets of locks.  The challenge is to take a ship from one side, up to the higher level of Gatun Lake and then lower it first to Miraflores Lake and then to the Pacific.  One bit of trivia here:  the transit is not east/west or west/east; it’s actually north/south or south/north.  We’ve been sailing south all day.

 

We began this morning by going through Gatun Locks, which raises ships traveling toward the Pacific to the level of Gatun Lake.  There are three sets of chambers which raise the ship about 100 feet and take about two hours to traverse.  One of my favorite parts of the locks is watching the ships on the other side which are going the other way.  We often see people sitting on their balconies in bathrobes, having coffee and waving at us.

 

It’s easy to tell that this is a tropical area.  If the heat and humidity didn’t convince you, the bright green of the hills and trees would do it.  If one watches carefully, it’s possible to see the occasional monkey in a tree or even a caiman, a close but smaller relative of the alligator.  We’ve seen both in the past, but no such luck today.

 

After the first set of locks, the next memorable site was the Culebra Cut, an artificial channel which stretches eight miles across the Continental Divide.  Then, while we had lunch on deck, we transited Pedro Miguel Lock, which lowered us about 30 feet to enter Miraflores Lake.  There’s a visitor center here, but since we’re all remaining on the ship, I guess we’ll have to skip it.

 

As I write, it’s a little after 2:00, and we’re entering Miraflores Locks, our third set, and will spend a little over an hour descending 54 feet to the level of the Pacific Ocean.   I can see out our window that the “mules, “ or little trains, are busy pulling our ship into position in the first lock.  In the early days, actual mules were used to do this job, so when it was mechanized, the name stayed the same.

 

We’ve really enjoyed going through the locks alongside the m/s Volendam, which sailed from Ft. Lauderdale with us, parked alongside us in Puerto Limon, and is headed for its two-month round South America cruise.  We’ll also dock together in Fuerte Amador (for Panama City), and we hope to visit with a few friends - passengers, crew and officers - whom we know from previous cruises.

 

If you ever get a chance to sail through the Panama Canal, take it!    

 

P. S.  Loved the photos.  During lunch we were able to look down on the aft deck of the Volendam (it's shorter than we are) and see all the activity.  

[leerathje]

18 minutes ago, Essiesmom said:

Together at Miraflores

 

 

 

I want to thank you for taking the time to post the canal photos!

 

L.

[Sir PMP]

21 minutes ago, tennisbeforewine said:

Sunday, January 8, 2023

Transiting the Panama Canal

 

No matter how many times we sail through the Panama Canal, we are always amazed at the engineering that created it and sad to read that approximately 25,000 people died building it.  Finished in 1914, we sailed through it during its centennial year in 2014, and two years later Panama added a second canal alongside the first, resulting in a doubling of traffic, since it now accommodates wider and heavier ships.  Since the locks are 110 feet wide, the number of ships, primarily cargo vessels, was limited.  Our ship is 105.8 feet wide, allowing for two feet on each side.  Was it designed for the canal?  Of course.  If you wonder why a cruise through the canal seems expensive, it’s because it costs the company over a hundred thousand dollars for the privilege.

 

The original canal takes ships either from the Atlantic to the Pacific or vice versa, and does so by way of three sets of locks.  The challenge is to take a ship from one side, up to the higher level of Gatun Lake and then lower it first to Miraflores Lake and then to the Pacific.  One bit of trivia here:  the transit is not east/west or west/east; it’s actually north/south or south/north.  We’ve been sailing south all day.

 

We began this morning by going through Gatun Locks, which raises ships traveling toward the Pacific to the level of Gatun Lake.  There are three sets of chambers which raise the ship about 100 feet and take about two hours to traverse.  One of my favorite parts of the locks is watching the ships on the other side which are going the other way.  We often see people sitting on their balconies in bathrobes, having coffee and waving at us.

 

It’s easy to tell that this is a tropical area.  If the heat and humidity didn’t convince you, the bright green of the hills and trees would do it.  If one watches carefully, it’s possible to see the occasional monkey in a tree or even a caiman, a close but smaller relative of the alligator.  We’ve seen both in the past, but no such luck today.

 

After the first set of locks, the next memorable site was the Culebra Cut, an artificial channel which stretches eight miles across the Continental Divide.  Then, while we had lunch on deck, we transited Pedro Miguel Lock, which lowered us about 30 feet to enter Miraflores Lake.  There’s a visitor center here, but since we’re all remaining on the ship, I guess we’ll have to skip it.

 

As I write, it’s a little after 2:00, and we’re entering Miraflores Locks, our third set, and will spend a little over an hour descending 54 feet to the level of the Pacific Ocean.   I can see out our window that the “mules, “ or little trains, are busy pulling our ship into position in the first lock.  In the early days, actual mules were used to do this job, so when it was mechanized, the name stayed the same.

 

We’ve really enjoyed going through the locks alongside the m/s Volendam, which sailed from Ft. Lauderdale with us, parked alongside us in Puerto Limon, and is headed for its two-month round South America cruise.  We’ll also dock together in Fuerte Amador (for Panama City), and we hope to visit with a few friends - passengers, crew and officers - whom we know from previous cruises.

 

If you ever get a chance to sail through the Panama Canal, take it!    

 

P. S.  Loved the photos.  During lunch we were able to look down on the aft deck of the Volendam (it's shorter than we are) and see all the activity.  

How were the Panama rolls?

[tennisbeforewine]

15 minutes ago, Sir PMP said:

How were the Panama rolls?

Not only were the Panama rolls delicious (as usual), but we just saw a crocodile lying in the brown sand at the water's edge.  So cool!

[Stakeout]

no matter how many times--and it's been many-- we've been thru the Panama Canal always an interesting day.. still my favorite is watching the '2 men in a rowboat'--no motor-- right in front of the ship catch the lines thrown to them from the ship as one rows sometimes rather quickly out of the ship's path and the other hands off the lines to connect to the first 'mule'.. have a great WC

Edited January 8, 2023 by Stakeout

[regnig]

1 hour ago, Stakeout said:

no matter how many times--and it's been many-- we've been thru the Panama Canal always an interesting day.. still my favorite is watching the '2 men in a rowboat'--no motor-- right in front of the ship catch the lines thrown to them from the ship as one rows sometimes rather quickly out of the ship's path and the other hands off the lines to connect to the first 'mule'.. have a great WC

Thought I was the only one to find that cool!

[tennisbeforewine]

Tuesday, January 10, 2023

At Sea en route to Nuka Hiva, Marquesa

 

Today is the first of eight sea days, during which we will travel across the Pacific to French Polynesia.  If you’ve read my posts before, you know how much I love sea days.  There is basically nothing to do and all the time in the world to do it.  No cooking, no housekeeping - what could be better?  The only drawback is that the “internet footprint,” or the places where internet is easily available, is poor in the South Pacific, so if I miss a couple of days of posting, that will no doubt be the reason.

 

Yesterday our port was Fuerte Amador, the port for Panama City.  The last few times we’ve called here it was a tender port, when we had to take the ship’s tenders (lifeboats) into shore.  Now they have built a large two-sided pier, but the port is still very much under construction.  In fact, the construction is such that passengers are not allowed anywhere except on the dock to take shuttles into one of two places:  either the nearby restaurant area or the mall.  We simply chose the next shuttle, since it was hot and the lines were long.   Since it was headed to the mall, that’s where we went.

 

The mall here is amazing.  As basically a non-shopper, I don’t spend much time in stores, but boy, do I recognize names:  Gucci, Fendi, Dolce and Gabbana, Jimmy Choo, Cartier, Tiffany - you get the picture.  Even if I were a shopper, I don’t think the limits on my credit cards would take me far in those places.  One of the nicest surprises was the huge grocery store in the mall.  The prices were a bit steep, but I can imagine that they pay a great deal in rent.  We went there for tropical juices (to go with John’s Captain Morgan), and ended up with Pringles for our cabin stewards and Goldfish for our pre-dinner cocktail group.  We used to get Goldfish in the Crow’s Nest, but apparently that’s not something they stock anymore.

 

The weather report called for thunderstorms in the afternoon, and since we were back at the ship by 1:00, it was still blue and sunny.  Then came the afternoon.  I was sitting at the desk in front of our window doing Duolingo French lessons when the lightning and thunder started.  I could see the lightning and then hear the thunder about five seconds later, so I knew it wasn’t too near.  Then came the BIG one.  It was so loud that I jumped up from my seat.  About five minutes later, I had a text from John saying, “Lightning scared us off the court.  We’re on Deck 9.”  Then came an announcement from the captain saying that lightning had struct the ship and destroyed an antenna (which was one of several, so it was redundant).  When I joined John, Rich, and Greg on the aft deck, they told me that they were happily playing pickle ball when that bolt hit the ship, and it scared the heck out of them, especially when the smoke rose from the destroyed antenna.  Of course that begs the question:  why would anyone in their right mind play pickle ball on the top deck during a thunderstorm?  Even John called himself a “dumb ass” for that decision.

 

As we were talking about their experience, the captain came by and I commented to him that his announcement was a bit late, because these two, pointing at John and Rich, had been playing pickle ball when the lightning struck.  He laughed and said he was sorry to hear that and, to make everyone feel better, he was buying all four of us a round of drinks.  Did I ever say that Captain Friso was a great guy?

 

This morning signaled the grand opening of the new ship’s library in what was formerly the Screening Room on  Deck 3.  I was pleasantly surprised to find that it contains well-selected books which are divided into sections:  fiction, biography, science fiction, etc.  Passengers may take two books (no check-out necessary) and return them when finished.  I think this is a great idea for long cruises, but I do have some concerns about whether unfinished books will be returned at the end of seven-day cruises.  My two choices were The Secret Lives of Church Ladies from the “new releases” section and Mrs Queen Takes the Train from the same area.

Can’t wait to start them.

 

Today is our first Sommelier Suites wine tasting at 12:00, just in time to be call pre-luncheon drinking.  We don’t usually do that, but our friend Jacques, the cellar master, can’t get another time slot, so 12:00 it is.  It gives us an opportunity to sample any of the wines on the three wine packages so as to decide what we want to order next at dinner.

 

I’m getting anxious to start on my new books, so I’ll sign off.  Life is good at sea, especially on sea days.

 

 

 

[tennisbeforewine]

Thursday, January 12, 2023

At Sea en route to Nuka Hiva

 

Yesterday was my favorite type of sea day.  I did a couple of French lessons, finished a book from the new library, and took a nap.  Not only that, but we had breakfast in the Pinnacle, a perk of either being in President’s Club (not quite yet) or staying in a Neptune Suite.  Because last evening was our first Chef and Sommelier Dinner, we decided to have a late breakfast, skip lunch, and then be in The Pinnacle Restaurant at 6:00 hungry.

 

We do enjoy specialty dinners.  Since our ship doesn’t have Tamarind or Sel de Mer restaurants, there is a “pop up” from those places once each segment.  In addition, there are always Cellar Master dinners, usually twice  each segment, one with a lovely gourmet menu and another with an Italian theme.  The prices vary, but we believe that it’s well worth it, especially for the wine pairings of the Cellar Master dinners.

 

Last night’s dinner lived up to our expectations.  The Cellar Master, Jacques Louw, a longtime friend, and the Executive Chef Neil Ashworth worked together to provide us with a really delicious six-course dinner, each course paired with a matching wine.

 

We began with a really nice French sparkling wine (not from the Champagne region, so it can’t be called that) paired with pan-fried foie gras.  I know it’s not to everyone’s taste, but we really enjoyed it.  The foie gras was atop a toasted brioche with mushroom duxelles and with orange jelly on the plate.  As I write this, I realize that it really doesn’t sound very good, but everyone at our table loved it and cleaned their plates.  I wondered at the orange jelly, but it was just perfect.

 

Next we were served a coffee cup of pumpkin-sage cappuccino with a hint of cinnamon.  The pumpkin was the dominant flavor, and even though I really dislike Starbucks’ pumpkin spice anything, I loved this one.  It was a bit like pumpkin pie in a mug.  The wine served with it was my favorite of the night, Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand.  The wines from Cloudy Bay are Jacques’ favorites, and although I don’t like their chardonnay, I did enjoy this one.

 

The fish course was really delicious.  It was three pieces of butter-poached lobster alongside a small crab cake.  The sauce underneath was made from fava beans, and it made for a pretty plate, but the sauce was not my favorite.  Since the accompanying wine was Grgich Hills Chardonnay from Napa Valley, I skipped that one and had more of the Sauvignon Blanc.  I’m an ABC wine drinker:  anything but chardonnay.

 

After all of that, it was finally time for the main course:  a roasted veal chop which looked like a mini-tomahawk steak.  The wine sauce added wonderful flavor and I ate what I could of it, but I realized I was hitting “full” on my capacity.  The wine with this one was a Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon from Silverado.  This was a perfect main course, even though I couldn’t quite finish all of it.

 

Finally it was dessert time.  Oh my, was it delicious.  We had a small tart made of chocolate fudge with sea salt, ginger, and vanilla gelato.  Even though I couldn’t finish the veal chop, I had no problem with this one. The wine for the last two courses was Italian, Frescobaldi Pomino Viin Santo, a very pretty and very sweet pink wine served in small glasses.

 

Were we finished?  Of course not.  Now it was time for the cheese plate.  Even though we shared a plate, we didn’t even finish.  The cheeses, an aged cheddar and a blue, were accompanied by dried fruit, nuts, and a beautifully curved sweet cracker.  What a perfect finish.

 

The best thing about  these dinners is that the courses, although many, are quite small.  We try to do our best to eat most of it, but I certainly wasn’t hungry this morning.

 

We’ve book three more specialty dinners on this segment, so if we get off the ship weighing 300  pounds, I shouldn’t be surprised.

[0106]

2 hours ago, tennisbeforewine said:

Cellar Master dinners

My husband would have loved your dinner but I am a pescatarian.  If I let them know in advance, would they make substitutions?

 

Thank you for taking us along.  I am enjoying your reports.

[Tampa Girl]

1 hour ago, 0106 said:

My husband would have loved your dinner but I am a pescatarian.  If I let them know in advance, would they make substitutions?

 

Thank you for taking us along.  I am enjoying your reports.

 

Why would a pescatarian even consider a Cellar Masters dinner?  It would seem that many of the dishes would have to be re-designed.  Beside wines that may not be ordinarily available, what is the point of even wishing to attend such a dinner?

[0106]

26 minutes ago, Tampa Girl said:

Why would a pescatarian even consider a Cellar Masters dinner? 

Because my husband would very much like to attend a Cellar Masters dinner and I would like to join him.  For the appetizer I would be happy with just the “toastedbrioche with mushroom duxelles and with orange jelly” or a salad. For the main, I would be happy with just the vegetable sides.  I would enjoy ever other part of the food and wine described by @tennisbeforewine

[tennisbeforewine]

Saturday, January 14, 2023 - Day 11

At Sea en route to Nuka Hiva

 

Last night was our first Formal Night, even though most people dressed formally for the previous “Dressy” night.  Almost everyone was dressed to the teeth, and if I had a dollar for every sequin, I’d be able to pay off the 2024 world cruise.  It was great fun to see the tuxedos, the white dinner jackets, the sparkly dresses and shoes, and I think everyone enjoyed it.

 

We began, as usual, in the Ocean Bar, where Yancy, our favorite OB waiter, set up one end of the seating area for our large pre-dinner group.  At dinner, we had been given a different table so that we would have sufficient seating for our table host, Staff Captain Folkert Visser.  He is second in command to Captain Friso, and we had a great dinner chatting and learning about his job and his life in The Netherlands.  One of the advantages of having an officer host the table is that he or she provides the wine, but last night was The Captain’s Dinner, so wine was provided for everyone, a choice between Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon.

 

The menu was very special too.  We began with an amuse bouche of feta cheese blended with anchovies.  I know, I know, it sounds disgusting, but actually it was pretty good (I could barely taste the anchovies).    The starters all looked good.  The most popular one at our table was escargot, but mine was a delicious seafood bisque.  The main courses all looked wonderful.  The most popular throughout the ship was Surf and Turf, but at our table some of us had lamb chops and they were excellent  Folkert opted for the puff pastry covered salmon.  There were three dessert choices, and mine (to share with John) was a creme brûlée tart in a pretty little pastry shell.  Over all, it was an outstanding dinner.

 

When we first received a list of special activities for the cruise, last night’s was listed as “Captain’s Ball” in the Crow’s Nest.  However, there was a change of plans, and I think it was a good one.  Instead of having everyone crowded together in the Crow’s Nest, the regular bands and musicians were playing all along The Music Walk.  The most crowded one was The Rolling Stone Lounge, where the band was rockin’ out and the dance floor was jammed - including us!  We had a wonderful time, as did lots of other people, both on the dance floor and at the adjoining bar.  We spent time with our friend Stephen, the Restaurant Operations Manager, and met his partner Sascha.  It was a great evening, and the only thing that made it better was that we turned the clocks back an hour before we hit the sack.

 

We’ve noticed, as in last night’s example, that there are many new ideas for the world cruise.  Some are brand new and others are just twists on the way things have been done in the past.

Of course there are those passengers who want things to always remain the same, but a lot of these changes are really welcome to many of us.

 

Another sea day - ahhhh!  The single best thing about this cabin is sitting at the desk looking out at the turquoise wake behind us as I write or read.  Of course it looks pretty good from the balcony, too, but I could just look at it forever.  John’s off to pickle ball shortly, and I’ll try to finish another book.  I think that tomorrow’s post will cover the books that I’ve finished.  See you then.

[alibabacruisers]

Thank you for taking the time to include us on your cruise by sharing your experiences!

[cccole]

Love, love, love your daily reports!!!  You make taking a HAL WC a bucket list item.  Thank you for taking us along.  French Polynesia is one of my two favorite places to visit and I am looking forward to your arrival.  Cherie

[forwardho]

Following along, eagerly reading your posts. Last year I read your posts and loved your idea of sending postcards to your grandchildren so I started last year on our Hawaiian,French Polynesian and Marquesas cruise. They love receiving them so when we did a land tour of New Zealand and Australia ,we continued with the started tradition. Another person on our trip loved the idea and started as well. You are a trend setter.

jill

[tennisbeforewine]

 

Sunday, January 15, 2023 - Day 12

At Sea (still) en route to Nuka Hiva

 

It’s Sunday on a sea day, and for a lot of passengers on the world cruise, that means just one thing:  The Sunday Brunch Sampler.  What, you might ask, is that?  Everyone knows about Sunday brunch, but this is an inventive take on that idea.  It’s fun, tasty, and really easy on the kitchen and the servers.

 

The Sunday Brunch Sampler is served as a three-course set menu, but instead of three large courses, each course has several small samples of tasty items.  Each of the three represents the three main courses of a meal.  To begin, we had the cold sampler, much like a meal’s starter.  It included a fresh fruit and granola parfait, smoked salmon on a slice of brioche, a deviled egg, a small bit of prosciutto on a slice of baguette, and two little wedges of cheese, one cheddar and one brie.  Before you picture a plate overrun with “all” of this food, remember that each one is no bigger than about an inch wide.

 

For the main course, we had the hot sampler.  There was a tiny veggie frittata, one sautéed shrimp, a mini (and delicious) beef Wellington, a little bitty biscuit with a tiny glass of gravy, and a stack of three one-inch pancakes with syrup.

 

Of course there was dessert, with three little treats:  creme caramel, pecan pie, and baked apple strudel.  Again, each one was no more than about an inch in size, and all three were really a perfect way to finish a meal.

 

As we worked our way through the courses, several of our crew friends came and visited and we learned that no only would the Brunch Sampler be on Sunday sea days this year,, but it would also occur on various other days of the week when we’re at sea.  We’re really looking forward to enjoying  them.

 

* * * * *

 

As I write, John’s off playing pickle ball, or in some cases, paddle tennis.  As you can imagine, it can be quite windy at sea, especially when the sports courts are at the top of the ship.  Since pickle tennis is played with a type of whiffle ball, hollow with holes in it, the wind can play havoc with the game.  However, paddle tennis, a very popular game in Europe and gaining popularity in the United States, uses a ball very like a tennis ball, and the paddle has holes in it, allowing the players to really put some power behind the ball.  Most of John’s sports group have both types of paddles, and they play whichever one the wind calls for.

 

* * * * *

 

One of the nice things about the world cruise is that HAL takes into account that many people who are away from home for four months will wish to continue their religious practices while on board.  With that in mind, we have a minister, a priest, and a rabbi who conduct regular services.  In addition, the Protestant minister, a retired Presbyterian cleric, has regular Bible study on sea days, the rabbi has something similar which he calls “Rappin’ With the Rabbi”, and the priest celebrates mass daily.  The Protestant clergyman was supposed to be the same one we had in 2000, but his wife had some medical issues just before sailing, so Rev. Dale Williams, who had been scheduled to be a passenger, took over until probably Sydney, depending on the other pastor’s situation.

 

We began our church service last week in a small room, because the young lady who schedules such things decided that there wouldn’t be very many people.  Boy, was she wrong.  Fortunately, our room is adjacent to a much larger one, and when the wall was collapsed, there was enough room for everyone.  For today’s service, we had use of the larger adjoining room, and we filled that area.

 

The big decision for us now, as soon as pickle ball is over, is whether to go to our regular dinner or just grab a salad in the Lido.  Those “samples” at lunch may have been very small, but there were a lot of them, and we’re still full.  Oh well, we’ll have to wait and see.

 

P. S.  Regarding the Cellar Master dinners, yes, they will adjust the menu to fit eating requirements.  We had a vegan friend who would have dishes which looked exactly like those the rest of us would have, but they were entirely plant based.  Clever chef!

[0106]

13 minutes ago, tennisbeforewine said:

.Regarding the Cellar Master dinners, yes, they will adjust the menu to fit eating requirements.  We had a vegan friend who would have dishes which looked exactly like those the rest of us would have, but they were entirely plant based.  Clever chef!

Thank you very much for your informative and kind response about the Cellar Masters dinner.  I am enjoying following along on your cruise. Thank you for your posts.

[REOVA]

Loved the Brunches and yes very filling, even though small. 

[madera1]

I will be following your world cruise adventure. Congratulations on your cabin upgrade!

[tennisbeforewine]

Tuesday, January 17, 2023 - Day 14

Last day at sea en route to Nuka Hiva

 

We have finally arrived at the last of our eight days at sea, and now begin several days of ports, some docked and some using tenders.  Later in the cruise we’ll have seven sea days between Fremantle, Australia and Port Louis on the island of Mauritius.  Even later, we’ll have seven more sea days as we cross the Atlantic on our way home.  It’s too early to think of that, however.

 

There have been so many ways to spend time during this idyllic interval, and everyone has selected their favorites.  There are exercise and tai chi classes around the Lido pool in the morning, Ian’s coffee chats with both officers and entertainers, painting classes, and more.

If those don’t do anything for you, there are sit and knit groups (for Project Linus), pickle ball (which we know well), dancing classes, trivia, Bible study, and, of course, the lectures that take place in the MainStage (I think I’ll always call it the Queen’s Lounge).

 

Both of our current lecture series draw many, many passengers.  One of the speakers is Andy Fletcher, and his science-based lectures appeal to many people interested in the sciences.  Today’s lecture is “Complexity Theory” and I figure that if I don’t even understand the title, it’s really not for me.  The other speaker is Mike West, whose talks center on the history of transportation.

 

In the evening after dinner, there’s always the entertainment in the MainStage.  So far we’ve had singers, comedians, the Zuiderdam singers and dancers, and Elliot Finkel, a truly amazing pianist.  The one main difference on this cruise is that about one night a week, the MainStage is “dark,” with no performance.  On those nights, however, there seem to be alternative activities, including a “Glamp Out” which will be “glamorous camping fun” on the Lido deck.  Occasionally there’s also a movie, but only when we sail quite late.

 

As you can see, there’s always something to do, even if it’s John’s favorite - sitting out on our deck watching the ocean go by and looking for flying fish.  We’ve both done a lot of reading; he was smart enough to download a 10-part novel series about World War II and the ***. He’s on book 5 right now, I think.  I have my Kindle fully loaded, and I can even go to the new library to pick up a couple of books.

 

If you avoid long cruises because you think you’ll be bored, think again.  There is always something for everyone, and I’ve really only scratched the surface on the possibilities.  If a world cruise is on your bucket list, sign up now!

[colbe]

Thank you for your positive reports. I am enjoying following along with you. 

[tennisbeforewine]

Wednesday, January 18, 2023 - Day 15

Nuka Hiva, Marquesas, French Polynesia

 

After eight days at sea, most passengers were more than happy to see dry land, and in this case, some absolutely beautiful dry land.  We were greeted by a heavy rain shower at about 7:00, but since it only lasted for about 30 minutes and the first tenders weren’t scheduled to begin until 8:00, all was well.  The rain was replaced by bright sun, and by the time John and I went ashore at about 9:00, it was a beautiful day.

 

The Marquesa Islands are a bit far-flung from the rest of French Polynesia, evidenced by the fact that we’ll have two sea days before reaching Papeete. They are a group of volcanic islands and the beautiful rocks jutting up from the sea are leftovers from ancient volcanos.  This entire island group only has a population of less than 9,000 in about 400 square miles.  The people are friendly and relaxed and speak French, Marquesan, and occasionally English.  Tribal tattoos are very common on men and women.

 

Upon disembarking the tender, there are two choices:  left or right.  There’s one main road in Nuka Hiva, and as our friend Pete (The Inside Cabin) says:  “Each visit here I alternate directions.”  To start with, we chose left, and it brought back memories of former visits, the most recent in November as the final port of the Hawaii/South Pacific Cruise.  We passed a couple of small markets, a junior high school, and the road leading up to the beautiful arched entry to a well-known church.  The ocean was on our left and the roads leading inland were on our right and we just kept walking until we ran out of road.  There are some cute little B & B’s, and we saw a sign for a resort up the hill which is listed with Relais et Chateau, which only represents really luxurious properties.

 

After returning to the center of town, we changed directions and walked to the right, since that’s the way to La Poste, or the post office.  We still hadn’t mailed Jessica’s Costa Rica postcard, and we picked up a beautiful scene of the island on another post card.  After that task was completed, we headed back to the tendering area, and decided to eat on shore.  John had noticed a (very) small local cafe, so we headed there.  There were actually several choices, from a hamburger and fries to lemon fried chicken to Poisson Cru.  Since this is a French island, however, we decided to order the steak frites, one order to share.  It was delicious, and since everything here is really relaxed, we didn’t mind waiting about 20 minutes to order and then another 10 to eat.  We were among the few locals at the cafe, which always tells us that the food will be good.  The steak was perfect, and the fries were excellent.  We washed it down with a real Coca Cola, and I don’t know the last time I had a Coke that wasn’t diet.

 

Then it was time to tender back to the ship, and after four hours in the sun, we were ready for a lovely nap.  Part of the reason we were tired was that we’ve been out “past our bedtime” for the last two nights.  On Monday, eight of us enjoyed the “pop-up” Sel de Mer dinner in the Pinnacle.  Even though most had the Dover sole, I ordered lamb chops and then finished up sharing profiteroles with John.  If you’ve never had them, you’re in for a treat if you ever see them on a menu.  They’re tiny little cream puffs filled with ice cream or frozen custard and then topped by pouring over some warm dark chocolate.  Yummm!

 

Last night, as though that wasn’t enough, we went back to the Pinnacle for the Italian Cellar Master Dinner.  It was five delicious courses, from a lobster salad to a wonderful stuffed pasta to grilled branzino to a roasted beef tenderloin to a dessert of grilled figs and mascarpone cream.  We shared that one.  Each course was matched to an Italian wine, and I was so stuffed by the end of the meal I just wanted to walk the deck ten times to try to work it off.  Instead, we finished the evening at the Rolling Stone Lounge and danced a bit.

 

Now we have two more sea days and then Papeete.  If you’ve traveled to France and enjoyed the grocery stores, you’d love the supermarche which we always visit there.  Can’t wait to pick up some baguettes, french cheeses, and some of our favorite French cookies.  I’m salivating already!

[tennisbeforewine]

 

Thursday, January 19, 2023 - Day 16

At Sea (again!) en route to Papeete

 

I commented earlier that once a week the MainStage is “dark,” but when it is, there is a major event elsewhere.  Last night was no exception, and the activity was “Glamping” around the Lido pool.  What is that?  you might ask.  I believe that on land, glamping is an upscale version of camping, perhaps with luxurious tents or extremely well-equipped RV’s.  On the Zuiderdam, it was hundreds of people gathered around small tables by the mid-ships pool, some of which had (imitation) campfires.  There were a couple of bars and a snack table selling Pringles for $6.95 (ouch!).

 

John and I headed up at 7:00, when it began, and we were amazed to see the crowds of people gathered around “campfires.”  At one end of the Lido The Band (that’s its name) was playing.  Even though I really don’t care for the music they play in the Ocean Bar, they were rocking and rolling most of the evening.

 

The first camp snacks served were 1/3 size hot dogs, topped with sauerkraut and mustard.  Even though we were headed to dinner shortly, we tried one, and for someone like me who doesn’t even like hot dogs, it was pretty darned tasty.  We sat with Greg and Heo and watched Henk, the Hotel  Director, and another crew member paddle a canoe around the pool.  The problem was that the canoe was about 2/3 the size of the pool, so it took them about two strokes to get to the other end and then several minutes to use their paddles to turn the canoe around.  It was great fun to watch them.

 

As we were getting ready to head to dinner at 7:30, the snack trays contained cute, bite-sized S’mores, one of my favorite treats.  Since dinner was upon us, we (sadly) skipped that one.

Later, after skipping dessert at dinner, we headed back up to the Lido, hoping that there would be some leftover S’mores, but, sadly, they had run out.  The offering this time was cups of hot chocolate, but even though that would usually appeal, I just wasn’t interested.

 

Because of the large number of people who were “glamping,” they had opened the roof part way to keep the area cool and allow our visiting astronomer, Andy Fletcher, to direct some star-watching.  Unfortunately, while we were at dinner, the sky opened up, sending down sheets of rain, sending people running for cover.  By the time we returned, the floor must have had a half inch of rainwater.  We found a dry table and just sat and listened to the music.

 

There have been several new activities on this WC, and most passengers are giving “thumbs up” to them.  I had my doubts about “glamping” but it was a huge success.

[oakridger]

The Glamping sounds fun to me!  I love a party around the pool, minus the downpour!

 

~Nancy

[madera1]

Thank you for sharing your World cruise with us back on shore.