Between Cruises

Tuesday, Dec. 19, 2023; Fort Lauderdale, Florida

I hadn’t planned another blog post about my 73-day Grand South America & Antarctica cruise, but several friends on board urged me on. Who knew so many people who are on the cruise with me are reading a blog about this cruise? I guess I shouldn’t be surprised – I frequently follow the blogs of fellow cruisers. Each of our journeys is different, even on the same ship and itinerary.

Our last two sea days have been busy with activities. Ben Sack, the artist in residence who joined the cruise in Buenos Aires, unveiled his approximately 5-foot by 6-foot drawing of the cruise itinerary. I’m always tempted to order a smaller print, but it would just sit in storage.

The towel animal menagerie took over the Lido deck once again – this time with notes from the housekeeping staff. I found several made by Andri and Dwi, my great cabin stewards.

My travel agent arranged a rare bridge tour while the ship was underway. It’s nice to see some women working there.

A highlight of long cruises is the Crew Talent Show, and they have evolved and improved over the years. This year brought eight acts ranging from traditional Indonesian and Filipino songs and dances to contemporary pop and rock performances. It’s easy to forget that the wonderful crew we see in “corporate” uniforms around the ship are mostly just young people who follow the current music trends.

“Ask the Captain” is always a popular event, and this was one of the best sessions I’ve attended. Passengers asked interesting questions, and Capt. Ane Smit gave candid answers.

Had we been scheduled to sail up the Amazon River just two days earlier, the voyage would have been canceled. Just enough rain fell upriver to allow us passage. At times we had just one meter of water beneath our hull.

The odds of being able to tender in the Falkland Islands? He estimated them at 90 percent. I guess I’ve just been unlucky to have missed that port the two times I’ve cruised there.

What he might have done if he hadn’t had a career on the sea? “I think I might have been a farmer.”

We sailed an alternate route skirting Cuba on our way back to Florida from Puerto Rico due to a storm last weekend on the East Coast. After seeing very few other ships – and cruise ships in particular – on our cruise around the continent of South America, we passed a whole raft of them yesterday heading out for Caribbean cruises.

It took me most of yesterday to pack, mainly because I was trying to pack things for my three days in Florida in one bag, things for my 12-day holiday cruise in another and everything else for the world cruise in the last two, as I will be changing cabins for it.

When I finally got the luggage outside my cabin last night, I was somewhat embarrassed about how much there was and tempted to put a couple of the bags outside another door. I do remind myself that this is what I have to live with for eight months.

After dropping the bags at my hotel, I spent today shopping for a few things I need, getting some Christmas decorations for the cabin door, and upgrading my iPhone. I had planned to wait until next summer, but after a few passengers were robbed of their phones in South America, I decided I wanted to have a backup. I’m excited to see my sisters and nephews, who will arrive tomorrow.

In a few days Holland America will send me an extensive survey about the cruise, but here are a few thoughts. The Zaandam is in great shape, and I love the smaller size. The captain and hotel manager have worked together for years and it shows – this was perhaps the smoothest operation overall of any cruise I’ve taken. I loved my “vista suite” cabin with its nine desk drawers and full-length sofa. Newer ships have much smaller cabins.

I would say an area where Holland America falls a bit short is entertainment, and that is determined by headquarters. I thought the piano bar musician shouted more than sang, and apparently many others agreed, as there was seldom more than a half-dozen people during his sets. That deprived me of one of my favorite evening venues. On the World Stage, the comedians got mixed reviews. I think most of them cannot maintain a show for 45 minutes. There’s a reason late-night talk show hosts only do a short opening monologue.

Good news on the ongoing Brazilian visa issue. I still don’t have mine, but the visa contractor has finally sent it to Brazil for review. Even better, Holland America said no one will be denied boarding if the visa logjam doesn’t break. Instead, we will go somewhere else. Of course, many people are looking forward to the Amazon, so we all have our fingers crossed.

I’m planning to take a short break from regular blogging during the holiday cruise (although don’t be surprised if I sneak one post in).

Day 71, 2023 Grand South America and Antarctica

Saturday, Dec.16, 2023; San Juan, Puerto Rico

Eighty-four days after I left my sister’s home to join Holland America’s ms Zaandam in Montreal, I arrived this morning at our last port of this journey around South America. After today we will have two sea days before I disembark in Fort Lauderdale.

Because (of course) Puerto Rico is part of the United States, we each had to pass through immigration on the pier this morning. It always ends up being an arduous process, as once you pass through, you cannot return to the ship until everyone exits. Some people seem to think this rule doesn’t apply to them, and hundreds wait on shore for the dozen or so laggards to respond to urgent announcements of their names and cabin numbers on the ship’s loudspeaker.

My plan for the day was fairly simple. My weather app forecasted rain for the afternoon, so I left at 8 a.m. to explore Old San Juan, just off the main cruise pier. (Large Royal Caribbean and Celebrity ships were docked at a less favorable location near the airport runways.)

As I left early, I enjoyed my morning latte at a nearby Starbucks and then headed up the hill to Castillo de San Cristobal, one of the historic forts of Old San Juan that I haven’t visited before. The Spanish initially established this and the perhaps more visited Castillo San Felipe del Morro at the entrance of the harbor to provide protection not only to Puerto Rico, but to the entire Caribbean.

The forts later became part of the American defense, particularly important during World War II. Now they are part of the U.S. National Park Service. Not thinking, I had left my lifetime park pass on the ship. Oh well, if I’m going to contribute $10 to a federal agency, the National Park Service is high on my list.

I explored the tunnels, turrets and other defensive elements of the fort and then meandered back down the hill through narrow streets lined with apartments and later shops that mainly cater to tourists. I thought I had found a rare t-shirt with my name on it, but the sales guy saved me from embarrassment by telling me it was a dirty slang phrase. I did find a tiny nativity scene in a gourd for my collection. By late morning, I was back on the ship.

The ship hosted a big party on the Lido Aft Deck for our final sail away, complete with live music and complementary wine and cheese.

Those who ate dinner in the Lido were treated to a Caribbean feast, including roast pig.

Yesterday I spent even less time ashore in Road Town, Tortola, the main island in the British Virgin Islands. I’ve been here several times before, but mainly arriving by air to charter a yacht for a couple of weeks at a time. It’s one of my favorite places to sail, with many smaller islands just a short distance away.

From the looks of the marinas, and the boats returning to them in the mist this morning, most of the charter boats now are catamarans. When my nephews were young, I took the whole family on a bareboat charter in just such a catamaran.

It promised to be a rainy day, but I managed to head out just after one deluge and return as another was threatening. Since last time I visited, the town has added a block or two of shops just off the cruise pier, with the ubiquitous jewelry shops and souvenirs. I headed a few blocks away to Pussers Rum and Pub, where I had planned to hang out if caught in the rain. But it was too early in my mind for drinking, so I shopped the outlet store and found a nice t-shirt instead. A local bookstore resulted in a great children’s book about ocean adventures, which I will send home for my great nephew.

On Thursday we stopped in Roseau, Dominica, but docked a mile out of town. I was disappointed to see the Eurodam on the center city dock – in my mind, our grand cruise ship should have been at the preferred dock. But those decisions are way above my pay grade. I enjoyed a day aboard the ship, as it is another port I have explored before.

Day 68, 2023 Grand South America and Antarctica

Wednesday, Dec. 13, 2023; Bridgetown, Barbados

Suddenly, the atmosphere has shifted on the MS Zaandam. We know our days on this cruise will be coming to an end, with just about a week left. I think it was the transition into the Caribbean, with five ports in a row before two last sea days.

Many of us on this cruise have sailed a lot before, and I dare say started with Caribbean cruises, as I did in the 1990s. So Tobago and Trinidad, Barbados, Dominica, the British Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico are not new ports. Still, I haven’t been on a Caribbean cruise in years. So the sounds of calypso music and steel drums brought back memories.

Today I toured Barbados with a group from my travel agency. I’ve been here half a dozen times and have taken a very similar island tour before, but this one was complimentary so I couldn’t pass it up.

New to me was a visit to Sunbury Plantation House. The plantation dates back to the 17^th century and the production of sugarcane and rum. Over the centuries fires and hurricanes have destroyed many of the original houses, including the one at Sunbury. But the rebuilt house is full of antiques from the era, and it is the only one left open to the public.

After our tour of the house and its various collections (carriages, farm implements, optical instruments collected by a previous owner), we had lunch on a shaded patio along with rum punch.

Our journey to Sudbury took us up the west coast and then across the winding roads to the east – and wilder – coast of the island. We could see why these beaches are favorites for surfers but not swimmers. Every parish has its own Anglican church, and we stopped to tour one.

Back at the port terminal, I suddenly saw family-size bags of Maltesers for sale. After spending a semester in England, my sister introduced us to what is now a favorite candy. I quickly bought a bag, texted a photo to my sisters, and returned to the shop to buy bags for each of them. We’ll see if the bags survive until my sisters join me in Florida next week.

Yesterday’s port was Scarborough, Tobago. Local dancers and musicians energetically welcomed us on the pier.

My plan was to walk to the Botanical Garden, but before I got there a light rain began to fall and the sky showed more coming quickly. I returned to the ship after just an hour on shore, to face a challenge that I have put off for days.

Our 2024 Grand World Voyage, which starts Jan. 3., requires visas for a few countries. Getting a China visa can be a challenge, but I still have a valid one from a previous visit. The ship will take care of a Vietnam visa. But it is up to us to get visas for India, Sri Lanka and Brazil.

Sri Lanka should be easy, but we can’t apply until Dec. 28. India has instituted an e-visa, so it’s an online application. The big problem is Brazil. Its visa requirement for Americans goes into effect in early January, and they only just activated their application website a week ago. Let me just say it is not ready for prime time. Applications are being rejected routinely, and the requirement for uploading documents seem to be almost impossible to meet.

Holland America has said we cannot board the cruise if we don’t have a Brazilian visa, but late word today is that a record of application may be enough to board the ship, where Holland America will have staff to help us get approved.

Pete Laszcz, blogger at The Inside Cabin, has been a wonderful resource for many of us – holding multiple zoom calls to answer questions and offering help with editing photos and PDFs to meet the strict requirements.

Not having a scanner on board, I have struggled trying to meet those requirements, but finally succumbed to getting Pete’s help while I was out on tour today. I spent my afternoon completing my India and Brazil submissions. I’m anxiously waiting to hear whether they will be accepted.

Meanwhile, we are busy with social activities on board, many of which seem to be packed into this last week or two. The highlight of last night’s Christmas Tree lighting was trays after trays of Christmas cookies, and I must report that they were delicious. I’ll be seeking some of the recipes.

Day 62, 2023 Grand South America and Antarctica

Thursday, Dec. 7, 2023; Alter do Chao, Brazil

Sand, sand, sand.

Alter do Chao is known for its beaches, and when the Amazon River is at record low levels, the beaches multiply. Today’s port is near Santarém, where we stopped five days ago, but a world apart from that city. This is a small beach town sometimes known as the “Caribbean of the Amazon.”

Tendering was only part of the journey ashore. A large wooden pier loomed up high, sparking the imagination of what this area must look like when the river is up. Our tender docked at a boat, which was rafted end-on-end with another boat, which was rafted end-on-end with a floating platform, which led to a long wooden pier and eventually a hill of sandy beach. After climbing that sand hill, we reached the original pier to be met by a local dancer.

The only ship excursion here went back to Santarém. Most of us just fanned out through the few blocks of the town and along the boardwalk. Shoppers bargained for jewelry, straw hats, t-shirts and mounted piranhas, spending any Brazilian real they still had, as this is our final of nine ports in the country. The piranha earrings were a big draw, as this seems to be the only place along the river to buy them.

Beyond the boardwalk is a long stretch of sand and a bit of shallow water, with beach huts on the far sandbar. Distinctive blue boats with white benches were anchored in the shallow water.

After walking through the town square with its small church and admiring the colorful murals, two of which marked the bathrooms by the pier, I reversed my journey back to the tender and the ship.

My recent reports on our shallow passage by the grounded ship near Manaus have made the “big time!” Fellow cruiser Ralph Bunting sent me the link to an article from The Maritime Executive, which provided details about the ship’s mishap. It also used one of my photos and referenced my report. In my ignorance of ship types, I called the vessel a cargo ship when it is in fact a tanker, so I corrected the original blog post.

Back on board, it seems trite to say “it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas,” but that’s exactly what has been happening since the beginning of the month. Wreaths and other decorations are showing up here and there, and garlands grace the atrium stairways.

But the big activity was the construction of gingerbread villages near the Ocean Bar on the Upper Promenade. First the carpenters built platforms, and then the culinary and housekeeping teams started with draping, decorations and gingerbread creations.

Now there are more than 50 whimsical gingerbread structures, all made and decorated by the ship’s culinary team. Most but not all are in the central display, surrounded by lit trees, giant gift boxes and lots of hanging ornaments.

Other decorations grace the bars, lounges and restaurants – even by the Lido’s handwashing stations.

So far there has been no official opening ceremony, but it could still happen, as we are on board until Dec. 19. On previous pre-Christmas Grand Asia cruises, we had a tree unveiling with caroling and a visit from Santa Claus. After 30 years of cruising, this will be my first actually on board for Christmas, as I’ll jump to the Zuiderdam to join my family on Dec. 22.