Re-Post due to bad formatting

[diann744]

***I was asked to repost this because the previous post had almost no white space and quite terrifying. If it's no better this time, just skip it, it's really not all that interesting anyway! :-) ***

 

OK fellow Halsters, settle in for the latest, all too infrequent installment of Hal TV’s hit alternative-reality show “The Boozy Twins on the Dam Seas!”

 

For those of you who are new to the show – let me bring you up to speed:

 

Season 1: New to cruising, the Chardonnay Sisters board the ms Amsterdam for the 17-day journey from Valparaiso to Rio. From the Lido to the Crow’s Nest to the Piano Bar to the Casino Lounge, the sisters struggle to find their perfect watering hole before discovering (in an emotionally wrenching and spiritually uplifting two-hour season finale) the Ocean Bar, where they finally find the enlightenment, acceptance, and yes -- cheesy goldfish -- that had been previously missing from their lives. (Rumors that the diminishing Antarctic glacial surface can be blamed on the girls’ unanticipated demand for cocktail ice have yet to be substantiated. HAL Seattle has been advised to make no official statement until the investigation is completed.)

 

Season 2: The twins go South of the Border for 10 days of Mexican Riviera sailing where they are tearfully and gratefully reunited with bar staff from Season 1. Having firmly marked their territory in the Ocean Bar, the girls discover that the ports matter not at all and a considerable amount of quality time is spent sampling the fares onboard. This season’s bar bill fully funds the construction of the ms Eurodam.

 

Season 3: The sisters set out for 15 days of Hawaiian Holiday fun on the high seas with stops at all the beautiful islands. ……………………………………….. At least, we think there were stops.

 

Season 4: Falling ratings and increased production costs lead to more local storylines. Several 3 to 5 day Pacific Coastal getaways provide our tipsy travelers with ample opportunity for closing the Crow’s Nest, sleeping through breakfast and learning colorful swear words to mutter at the early morning people assembling on the promenade outside their window. But still, no one gets hurt.

 

Season 5: The Holland America Cable Channel fails to meet the girls’ salary demands (frankly, they couldn’t afford to insure them) and so they take the show to rival CunardTV, Forrest Gumping their way through a 6-night transatlantic for which they are woefully unprepared, critically underdressed and generally outclassed. Limping back with tails between legs (albeit sequined and beaded), the twins are welcomed back by HAL, and will henceforth be responsible for polishing all brass on any cruise ship on which they travel.

 

The previous five seasons are all available on priced-to-own DVDs. Email me for payment information. Visa, MasterCard, American Express and HAL wine cards accepted.

 

And now on to the just completed Season 6.

 

Day One: As you can see, it’s all about me and the evil twin. Occasionally other people are allowed to travel with us as well, but when you’re twins you’re twins. My twin and I actually aren’t. This allowed Mom to leave the hospital and go home for 9 years or so before delivering the second but we’re twins where it matters.

 

Latest trip was (yet another) local coastal or “Loco”. Left the Bob Hope Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport (billed as the airport where the name is longer than the runway) for the trip to Vancouver. We had a painfully early flight, 7:00 am or something equally cruel and unusual, but since Burbank doesn’t actually open until 6:00, and is only minutes away, we didn’t need to deal with any of that “be there 2-hours before your flight” nonsense.

 

With such an early flight out, we actually made it all the way to Vancouver before stopping for a drink. Which helped us to remember that we needed to change planes in Portland. Upon arrival in Vancouver, we were told that the bus to the ship wasn’t leaving for an hour or so and so we ordered a bottle of the finest breakfast wine at one of the airport’s more upscale, self-serve eateries.

 

Soon enough, we were delivered to the pier and allowed to board the Statendam. This was our second time on board and we looked forward to meeting up with folks we’d befriended on earlier sailings. Unfortunately, we didn’t see anyone we knew, either because they were avoiding us or because our 15% lounge gratuity from previous cruises allowed them to retire early.

 

There were plenty of new folks to meet though and we soon were introduced to Yadi and Saipul (these are surely misspelled. don’t you hate misspelled stewarts *sic!*) who were to take care of our cabin; Red and Rico in the Crow’s Nest; Bobby and San who made sure we ate an ample dinner; and Ariel, who made sure we washed it down in fermented, finely oaked style.

 

Even though we’re fairly new to cruising, we’re traditionalists and opted for the late fixed seating. We generally request a table to ourselves (unless Sis’ long-suffering husband is traveling with us in which case we begrudgingly let him sit with us). This is mainly because we figure there are plenty of other opportunities to get to know people without feeling obligated to find them amusing and because we love the dining room experience so much we don’t want to risk it.

 

I’m not sure if there are bad tables on HAL ships but if there are, I don’t think we’ve ever gotten one. We one time were positioned just inches away from another table for two, this one with two gentlemen, one older, one younger, who we enjoyed chatting with (and enjoyed speculating about). The set up was close enough that you couldn’t pretend you weren’t dining together and yet separate enough that you had to act as if you couldn’t hear every word. It wasn’t bad, just different.

 

This time we had a wonderful table right at the window. Maybe we’re not the most discerning of critics but we both thought that the food and service were perfect. Of course, the first glass of chardonnay that Ariel poured was actually nowhere near our first of the day and so it’s quite possible that we would have raved about corndogs in Styrofoam. I think we’re both so thankful to be able to cruise at all, that even if something warrants a notice as being less than perfect, (not that we saw anything like that!) it’s still so wonderful to be there that you just have to be grateful for the experience.

 

After dinner we headed to our beloved Ocean Bar, where we generally spend most of our waking hours only to find it quiet to the point of solemnity. First night on board, sleepy slow songs? Definitely not! So it was back to the Crow’s Nest where Red and Rico welcomed us back like old friends.

 

Those of you who’ve read my previous posts (come on, admit it, both of you) might remember that while sis and were smoking buddies from way back (boo hiss, smokers!) she finally escaped the nicodemon several years ago while I tried but failed. The last several cruises were strange with the two of us on separate sides of the smoking issue. This time, though, I was a nonsmoker as well. Yay!

 

Yes, after 30 years as almost a two-pack-a-dayer, I enlisted the help of a hypnotherapist and boarded the Statendam with five (count ‘em, -- five!) smoke-free weeks under my belt. The best part was, it was one of the easiest things I’d ever done. I couldn’t believe how, after my second session with the hypnotherapist, I had no cravings, no withdrawals, no pangs. I quickly grew to hate the smell (but not the smokers) and couldn’t imagine ever going back.

 

So why was I now sitting at the bar in the Crow’s Nest, surrounded by the (to me) foul smelling things, plotting how I could ditch the twin just long enough to suck down a cigarette I was willing to sell a kidney for? In the end, I let her in on my treacherous thoughts and she quickly guided me out of there. Whew!

 

Back downstairs, we hoped that the Ocean had jazzed up a little bit but alas, the band was in dire need of a battery and some jumper cables. So now what? It was too early to call it a night. We wanted to party. “Let’s walk by the piano bar,” I said. (This is a very unlikely sentence to come out of my mouth as every HAL piano player I’ve known sounds as though if they played any slower they’d tip over.)

 

But, we decided to walk by – quickly, lest someone try to force us inside – and see just how bad it was.

 

We covered the distance from the Ocean to the Rembrandt in 4.6 seconds. “Whaddaya think?”, we asked, catching our breath, “I dunno, it doesn’t sound half bad.” “Let’s make another pass just to be sure.” Back in the atrium – “They sound like they’re having fun.” “And the piano player doesn’t sound like he’s wearing a hair shirt.” “OK, let’s try it. But let’s scope out the fire alarm first.”

 

So we snuck in to find a pretty packed room. We grabbed a table as close to the door as possible in case the song we heard from the hallway turned out to be a fluke. It wasn’t. A quick check of the daily program told us that the piano man’s name was Lee [http://www.LeeStrubeck.com or on youtube go to 88keyz1] and he was to become the highlight of our onboard cruise experience.

 

We sang, we chair-danced, we grabbed the first seats to come available at the piano. We stumbled back to the cabin when Lee called it a night, having spent a marvelous first day at sea.

 

Day Two: First off, let it be said that the evil twin knows how to make the best use of suitcase real estate. She packed two of those insulated HAL coffee mugs so that one of us (me) could run up to the Lido each morning for coffee while the other (she) could grab a few more minutes sleep. So, morning one and I groggily put on last night’s clothes, grab the cups, and stumble up to the Lido.

 

The plan is to get in and out without actually having to make eye contact, much less conversation, with anyone or anything. I approach the coffee machine and find that the cups are a bit too tall to fit. I manage to get some liquid into the first mug but I have to hold it sideways and I can’t really see what I’m doing. A helpful crew member jumps in to add an attachment piece that accommodates larger cups.

 

Meanwhile, I put the cup down. He picks it up, looks at it and then looks at me like I’ve just shown up in the Lido wearing only my crocs and a feather boa. (I checked – I wasn’t. That was an entirely different trip.) I nervously follow his eyes back to the travel mug to find something white and fluffy floating in the Lido’s less than stellar coffee-like beverage.

 

My somewhat fuzzy brain begins running through scenarios that would explain this and hits upon the nauseating conclusion that the mug had been put away with some type of food product in it and that this was in fact, a prize winning mold sample. Envisioning code red precautions as a result of my exposing the guests and crew to some ebola-like virus, my panicked brain searched frantically for another explanation.

 

Brain to me – “OK, Christy packed the mugs. Is it like her to put something away dirty? No. Would she have packed them without looking inside? No. Aaahhhh! Would she waste available packing space? No again.” Then I got it. The cause for concern was not a code red violation or CDC issue but rather a fluffy pair of now well-caffeinated and soggy white sweat socks.

 

At this point I realize that the entire enterprise was way beyond my capabilities at this time of the morning after having closed the piano bar and should never have been attempted. Still, I was too embarrassed to turn tail and run, especially without the prize, so I slapped the cover on that cup, tore the cover off the other, wadded up the second pair of socks that I now knew to expect and stuck them in my armpit so that I could fill the second cup and get out of there before doing anything else that would be talked about below decks.

 

The worst part was – I get back to the room and relate the story and sis laughs so hard and so long that she never even drank any of the hard earned light brown beverage that so offends true coffee lovers everywhere. Suffice it to say that the mugs went straight back into the suitcase and no mention was again made of sending me off on my own at such an hour.

 

Eventually, we made our way back to the Lido for breakfast and I managed to avoid the poor crew member who had witnessed my debacle. (Some of you) will be pleased to know that there were trays aplenty. Now I don’t know if that was a breakfast only thing or if trays appeared at dinner as well. We meant to pop in to check but somehow once past lunchtime, I forget the ship even has a Lido deck. (This is not going to devolve into a tray thread – never fear. I’ll not mention them again. This is a tray-safe thread.)

 

As we were docked in Seattle, the casino and shops were closed so we ventured out of doors. We’ve had the pleasure of being in Seattle before but had never arrived by sea. We once tried to arrive by sea but were forced off the ship in Vancouver and had to bus it down to Seattle and watch the ship arrive from a window table at Pike’s Place Market. What HAL won’t do to avoid awarding a 50-day pin!

 

As many of you may know, Seattle’s motto is “Welcome to Seattle; Please Take the Stairs.” We asked several people for directions to Pike’s Market and each responded by pointing directly up to the sky. Eventually we managed to get there after climbing Washington’s many versions of the Waverly Steps. Only then did we discover that there was an elevator. Oh well. Canada hurts.

 

The forecast called for rain in each and every port we were to visit but here it was a persistent drizzle – enough to notice but not ever requiring an umbrella. After living in Los Angeles for so long, any kind of precipitation is welcome and we wandered the streets slowly, (mainly because they were all uphilland we haven’t made it to the gym in the last, oh, ever.) taking in the sights. After wandering around the fish market and flower stalls, we made our way to Etta’s where a nice waiter named Jeff found us a cold bottle of wine. Or two. Only then did it begin to rain a bit harder.

 

Etta’s is a pretty little restaurant right at the end of the market and across the street that looks out on a grassy little park which on this day was home to four or five official looking police folks on horseback putting their animals through their paces. Royal Canadian Mounted Police, we deduced. After days of referring to them as such one of us (I dearly hope it was me) realized that we were in the US at the time and unless we’d REALLY missed a breaking news alert, the RCMP did not likely represent.

 

Back on board we relaxed a bit before hitting the Crow’s Nest for happy hour. I’m not sure if this is a new thing but I don’t remember it from other outings. (Then again, happy hour leads to forgetfulness…). Happy hour was from 7:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. and included, among other things, 2 for 1 house wine. Not that we noticed. Or that this had any impact on our activities at all. Or that we set alarms or anything.

 

After dinner I was ready to hit the casino for a bit of video poker -- it’s my only vice, after all (choke! cough! sputter!). So I lost my first $20 and we headed for the piano bar where a lovely time was had by all, except perhaps for Lee who had to listen to us sing. At the top of our lungs. While chair dancing sloppily.

 

Even though the piano bar is nonsmoking (death to smokers!) I was in an atmosphere that I equated with smoking. I found myself sinking, wanting more and more to slip away and do something bad. But no, I had too much invested in this quit. I’d be strong.

 

Day Three: Oddly enough, we actually managed to make it to the Lido each day for breakfast. Probably because, for once, we weren’t closing the disco, which has a tendency to stay open as long as there are still upright people in attendance but rather closed the day when Lee played us out the door at 11:45 p.m.

 

Today’s port was a new one for us: Port Angeles. Actually, I think it was a new thing for the locals as well. It seemed the entire population was out on the pier to greet us. We paid $6 apiece for an on-and-off shuttle but that would take you to the only two places worth seeing – the downtown shopping area and the Olympic National Park Museum.

 

We hit the museum first. Not a whole lot more than a gift shop actually but there was an informative movie and good buys on the fridge magnets. Souvenirs for the office? Check. The Forest Service people stationed at the museum also provided “bear cans” and while we tried to figure out how you could possible stuff a full-sized bear into one of those small cans, we found a sign on the wall that explained the can was to stow your food and other smelly stuff while camping out in the National Park so the bears would not eat you alive. We passed on the cans, bought the fridge mags and got back on the bus for downtown.

 

Downtown was quaint but the highlight was they had a Gottschalk’s department store that was going out of business and I picked up two blouses dirt cheap. The down side was that being on vacation caused me to mistakenly believe I was several sizes smaller than I really am and have no prayer of fitting into either of them without surgical intervention. OK, re-thinking. Seeing as the blouses didn’t fit, the real highlight was the enormous amount of street art and public mini gardens in the downtown area. Really lovely place. See http://www.portangelesdowntown.com.

 

Back at the pier, we stopped at a cute place called Wine on the Water. Guess what we did there?

 

This was a nice wine and cheese place on the second story of a 3 story building (offices on top, I think). The spiral staircase was exceptional, showing salmon swimming or climbing upstream. While I was taking a picture of it and trying not to look TOO much like a tourist, a UPS man waiting (ironically) for the elevator asked me if I liked the staircase. When I said I thought it was beautiful, he told me his father made it. Having only lived in big cities, NY and L.A., (OK, L.A. might not count as an actual city) this kind of small town stuff cracks me up.

 

There was time for a short rest before Red and Rico expected us for happy hour. The cigarette craves were still bad (boo, hiss – smokers!) but I figured that as long as sis and I were together, she wouldn’t let me slip.

 

Day Four: On to Victoria. We took a shuttle into town, past the famous sign that proclaims “Night is for Sleeping; Day is for Resting.” And since vacations are for drinking, we toddled off to the Irish Times Pub where we’d idled away the hours on previous trips. Victoria, and maybe all of Vancouver Island, really does feel like England. Except without family you’re obligated to visit. Jolly good.

 

Next we visited a local’s hang called the Sticky Wicket which boasts a rooftop beach volleyball court and has posted warnings the likes of “if you don’t want to slip on the ice, don’t dance on the bar.” We didn’t. Slip, I mean. I’m not sure about the other part.

 

Last stop was at a place we hadn’t been before called the Bard and Banker, named for Robert W. Service which any of you who have traveled to Alaska on HAL or otherwise will surely have heard of (and then immediately dozed off). The name “the Bard and the Banker” reminds me of an incident at “the Slug and Lettuce” in London last year but that’s another scandal entirely! That was definitely a YouTube moment and if anyone had a camera we’d have knocked Susan Boyle out of the running.

 

Back on board, we encountered something we’d not seen before. When we questioned the crew we found that Canadian law dictates that when docked in a Canadian port, only one bar per deck is permitted to remain open. Now, how having the Ocean and Piano bars pouring libations at the same time in any way impacts Canadian security I cannot say but since the Ocean won the coin toss, and for some reason was in a persistent vegetative state this entire cruise, (heck, it was downright vegan) we headed to the Crow’s before dinner and found to everyone’s dismay that the piano bar couldn’t open until 10 p.m.

 

This short, five-day itinerary had been dubbed the Neighborhood Watch cruise by fellow boarders, in part because the vast majority of passengers lived in one of the five port cities visited and also, I assume, because the ship didn’t actually need to power up to get from one port to the other. The entire trip covered 681 nautical miles, which is approximately the full length of the Eurodam.

 

The problem with this was that we were never far enough from land that the casino could open. I’d dropped the initial $20 but I had plenty more waiting to follow that. Unfortunately, (or fortunately, as you’ll soon read) I never again found the casino (or shops) open. Saved some money and maybe something more important.

 

Day Five: Last full day onboard. If they can catch us, that is. This was another unfamiliar destination. One that we almost missed.

 

I’m almost positive this was billed as a tender port but we woke to find we were docked right up alongside downtown Port Alberni. Problem was, the gangplank (is that really what it’s called or am I broadcasting my newbie-ness here?) was pretty much at a 20 degree angle. Or a 300 degree angle. Or whatever angle a geometry major would consider really, really steep.

 

I am not all that confident of the ankles and the idea of basically navigating a rope ladder down the side of a ship did not thrill. Fortunately, a gentleman ahead of us was assisting his elderly mother down very, very slowly and when he continually murmured apologies for holding us up, I silently thanked the heavens that I wasn’t expected to hurtle down that thing.

 

Once on solid ground, we trekked the short distance to the main square where we found a farmers’ market of sorts with some kids performing dance numbers, a vintage car show, a sprinkling of shops and locals mixing with the influx of HAL invaders. Again the Chamber of Commerce was out in force! In fact, everyone in town was out there to meet the ship.

 

This might have been a place we should have popped for a tour. Hard to say. Like in Seattle, everything seemed to be straight uphill, which we weren’t quite up for and so there may be major wonders we didn’t get to see. What we did see was beautiful, clean, friendly and quite laid back. Again, tons and tons of beautiful outdoor art, carved bears, eagles, old fishermen, etc (at least I think the old fisherman were statues…).

 

We stopped in a little restaurant/bar called the Cedar Room under the Rusty Anchor Inn. We were the only customers when we walked in. Ordered a bottle of wine, sat by the window and watched the proprietress wash the windows. When we were ready to pay, we belatedly realized we were low on Canadian funds and sheepishly asked if she accepted US dollars or credit cards. She hastily adjusted the total for US money and I said, “oh we have that but not enough for the tip so we’ll use a card.” “Don’t be silly, this is Canada, don’t worry about the tip” was her answer. We found the tip money.

 

OK, gearing up for the season finale here folks. (Dear God, we thought she’d never shut up.)

 

Back at the dock, the wonderful HAL crew had managed to lower the ship, raise the ocean or something similar because the walkway up to the ship no longer rivaled a Hubble spacewalk in terms of sheer difficulty. Which was a decidedly good thing as I actually desired to re-board the ship without requiring the use of hydraulic equipment which I’m sure I would have been charged for.

 

Once home on board, we relaxed, cleaned up and sorted out the extra tips we’d be leaving. Started packing (say it isn’t so) before leaving to visit Red and Rico for happy hour. We left gifts for Yadi and Saipul, moved on to dinner with our friends Bobby, San and Ariel, and finally settled in for our last night at the Piano Bar. Lee welcomed us like old friends. In any case, we wanted to make the most of our last night before coming home to jobs, obligations, etc. So we hit the bar with a determination to make the evening count.

 

Lee tended to take us through some of the same songs every night in an attempt to show us that we were getting better at singing them. Lee, if you’re reading this – the buttercup song. No non-professional can sing that song. It’s like asking anyone other than Art Garfunkel to sing Bridge Over Troubled Water. Asking for trouble. And we never got better. But that’s alright.

 

So there must be a season ending dramatic turn, correct? Last night onboard, we’re sitting at the piano, chardonnay in hand, I start to experience a combo hot flash (woman of a certain age, you understand) panic attack/nicotine urge. One is fueling the other, temperatures are rising and the lizard brain is screaming, “go to the casino, bum a cigarette, no one will ever know, you’ll be fine tomorrow.”

 

So. I claim hot flash, which was true enough. Grab and fly with full intention to blow my quit asap. (As if the twin doesn’t know fully and completely every single plan in my head.) But there’s really nothing she can do. I’m out of control (or rather, I’d ceded control).

 

I race to the casino where I know I’ll find my fix. But no. The casino is closed. Run to the Ocean (dead as can be) and actually pay something like $8 for a pack of Marlboros that I would never have smoked when I WAS a smoker, race to the elevators, fly out on to the promenade deck, rip a stubby little cigarette out of this pack and – all I can picture is Sis’ face as I left the bar. Can I really ruin the most successful quit I’ve ever had?

 

Launch the cigs in an ashtray attached to the railing on the promenade. Got back in time for the buttercup song. All’s well. Fade to black.

 

Closing Credits

Captain – Harm Arnold

Hotel Manager – Theo Haanan

Cruise Director – Lizabeth Knight

Cabin stewards -- Yadi & Saipul

Crow’s Nest Servers – Red & Rico

Waiters – Bobby & San

Wine Steward – Ariel

 

ENTERTAINMENT PROVIDED BY – LEE STRUBECK

[ger_77]

I have to tell you, I enjoyed reading it just as much the second time around. Still a good giggle.

 

Smooth Sailing! :):):)

[serendipity1499]

LOL...What a fun post!..Laughed myself silly.:D:D.Are you by any chance a writer with a wonderful sense of Humor?

Love the socks in the Mugs..:)Tell your twin she's not alone..We put all sorts of things in our mugs when we pack & often they are socks....:D

We'll be on the Statendam in Nov. Hope that Lee is still in the Piano Bar..Will download your post for DH to read...Also must tell our Friends who will be with us on the cruise about your post..

Thanks again for the laugh..

Cheers...:)Betty

P.S. Glad you resisted the Marlboro's..:eek: It's not easy...After I quit, would have an occasional cigarette when visiting our Kids..Only one though ...Finally realized that wasa dumb so now & stopped for good & don't regret it..

[off2ctheworld]

Had a blast reading your story-thanks for posting!

[Cruising-along]

I laughed so hard! I too loved the socks in the mugs -- what a hoot, you're a terrific writer! :D

[SDHALFAN]

That was absolutely hilarious, thank you. I can't wait to hear about your next adventures.

 

Valerie:)

[Two@Sea]

Thanks for the rewrite... especially since I missed the original! :D

[christy744]

I laughed so hard! I too loved the socks in the mugs -- what a hoot, you're a terrific writer! :D

 

She may be a terrific writer but she owes me a pair of non-caffinated sweat socks.

 

Christy

[Cruising-along]

she may be a terrific writer but she owes me a pair of non-caffinated sweat socks.

 

Christy

 

:d:d

[canehdn]

Thanks for the chuckle. This HAL TV reality show is so much better than anything on TV these days. What a fun read ... looking forward to Season 7.

[CDRMark]

Almost passed this thread by when I read the title and had a flashback to a bad computer class-then I noticed who the poster was, and HAD to read.

Always love your style-demand that the hall monitors re-title the thread to something catchy like "Read this or else!" to maximize exposure to your wonderful wit.

Keep 'em coming!

Cheers

Mark

[herbshopgirl]

Love it....now Im hooked, when is season 7 coming out?

[Olive Passion]

LOVED your posting, dearie, whatever the format.

 

Brava, dear Quitter, brava! What an Excellent save from a return to a favorite, Most Wicked Vice. Congratulations. Reward thyself with a crate of Cheez Doodles! My entourage and I must catch Lee and his magic piano keys in our forthcoming travels.

 

Look forward to more True Confessions on the High Seas.

 

Toodles.

 

Olive P

[diann744]

Many, many thanks for all the wonderful comments. As I've said before, I write the reviews (with much help from the twin) mainly to help me remember the highlights of our travels. I have no idea why this one turned out to be so very long but I thank you all for struggling through. I'm remembering (badly) a quote from Mark Twain - "Sorry for the long letter; I didn't have time to write a short one."

 

As for the next season, I'm not sure what Sis is thinking but I'm kicking around Alaska or Panama Canal. I'm sure she'll chime in. Any interest in taking up an audience poll? More importantly, any interest in funding the next season? (Yeah, right!) :)

 

BTW, if any of you get to vote for the Emmy Awards, we'd probably be a write-in vote.

 

Diann

[OhioLair]

I LOVE YOU! WE MUST SAIL TOGETHER!

;)

 

Statendam Panama Canal Oct 09

Eurodam Innaugural 20 days Baltic summer 08

Oosterdam Alaska summer 07

Noordam (thebest so far) Eastern Med Summer 06

[dandro]

Bwahahahah! Thank you so much for posting that...I really needed a good laugh after the hellish day I have had. You have such a gift!

[midgecruiser]

what fun!!!

[IRL_Joanie]

She may be a terrific writer but she owes me a pair of non-caffinated sweat socks.

 

Christy

 

Christy, we ALL want to hear your side of the Evil Twin story now!!!

 

I loved your Older sis's story. Had me in stitches the entire read. NOW it is your turn.... Pretty Please????

 

Joanie

[Sharon in AZ]

Many, many thanks for all the wonderful comments. As I've said before, I write the reviews (with much help from the twin) mainly to help me remember the highlights of our travels. I have no idea why this one turned out to be so very long but I thank you all for struggling through. I'm remembering (badly) a quote from Mark Twain - "Sorry for the long letter; I didn't have time to write a short one."

 

As for the next season, I'm not sure what Sis is thinking but I'm kicking around Alaska or Panama Canal. I'm sure she'll chime in. Any interest in taking up an audience poll? More importantly, any interest in funding the next season? (Yeah, right!) :)

Diann

 

Loved, loved, loved your write about your cruise!! Talk Sis into the Panama Canal, I'm sure you'll love it and she'll just tag along and enjoy. There are a lot of steamy, sweaty, port days and long sea days to enjoy your Chardonnay. Sorry, can't contribute any funding......all my extra monies go toward my own cruise fund. Enjoy!

[kelhair]

Seriously, this was the most fun I've had forever (OK, boring life).

 

We simply must be on the same ship at the same time at some point.

 

Preferably at a video poker machine, toasting each other with our chardonnay.

 

What a gift to read this and "go along".

 

Kelly

[NMLady]

I LOVED it! Makes my shipboard journals look blah.

What an entertaining journal. I could picture you in the Piano lounge,

chair dancing and singing at the top of your lungs.

Bravo!!

 

You must do the Panama Canal next.

[diann744]

HALsters,

 

I was surprised to see this thread come alive again, so long after the original posting. I guess that means the show has been picked up for syndication. ;)

 

Some of you will be happy to know that Season 7 begins filming in December and will be shot on location in Fort Lauderdale; Half Moon Cay; Mayaguez, Puerto Rico; Oranjestad, Aruba; Santa Marta, Colombia; San Blas Islands, Panama; Puerto Caldera, Costa Rica; Corinto, Nicaragua; Puerto Chiapas, Mexico; Huatulco, Mexico; Acapulco, Mexico; Cabo San Lucas, Mexico; and finally, San Diego. And of course, the Ocean Bar.

 

This will be our first time on the Rotterdam and we're getting our livers in shape for 19 days and nights of debauchery. Stay tuned!

 

Diann