North to Alaska - South to Hawaii & Tahiti with Bill & Mary Ann - 42 days - Statendam

Report # 35 Sailing Towards Nuka Hiva, Marquesas October 24, 2014 Friday Partly sunny & 81 degrees

The weather today could not be more perfect. Gone were the dark skies of yesterday that threatened rain all day. Maybe it was our imagination, but we could feel a freshness in the breeze that has been missing further down south in the Society Islands. There has to be something different, like the water temperature, because we have not seen the flying fish like we did around the Hawaiian Islands.

During our walk on the promenade deck, we spotted the sale going on in the atrium. It was called the Dam Good Bazaar, where some of the ship's shops stuff went for 75% off. The deck was jammed full of customers. We do not know what merchandise they were selling, because we could not squeeze into the area.

Shipboard activities continued full bore after such a long stretch of port days. That brought a memory back to our minds about the Mediterranean cruise we did back in the 90's. We had about 10 ports in 2 weeks, and needed a vacation to recover afterwards. So finally having a sea day to rest was welcomed by all we believe.

We have a new speaker named Dave Drummond. A former city councilman, an author, and a shipbuilder, he will be delivering talks beginning with the Kon-Tiki expedition. We just watched that movie about Thor Heyerdahl, who floated on a primitive raft from Peru to the Tuamotus, a 4300 mile trip. Unbelievable, but true.

The dining room staff conducted a kitchen tour this morning. Guests got to see where 12,000 meals are cooked every day. Later in the morning, a cooking demo showed the folks how to make grilled scallops and pineapple salsa.

Dancing with the Stars at Sea continued with teaching the samba. Wonder how many Fred Astaire and Ginger Rodgers we have onboard? Time will tell.....

The speaker Elizabeth Eve King is still with us. She delivered a talk about the sealife beneath us. This is up our alley, since animal life is our specialty. She spoke about cuttlefish, octopus, and other oddities.

Our day was simple. We worked on computer jobs, ate a great lunch in the dining room, then relaxed at the aft pool the rest of the afternoon. Well, almost relaxed until we were jolted awake by the constant abrupt calls for "bar drinks" by some of the bar staff members. At least 80% of the sunbathers were asleep on the lounges, when one young fellow yelled "lemonade". This does not happen on the grand voyages. Yes, the bar staff are always present, but they do not disturb the passengers. If you want a beverage, they are there to assist you. Isn't it that the way it should be?

Dinner was formal this evening. We had the third officer host our table. He is from Croatia, and described his job that involves navigation. We ordered the filet mignon and it was tender and tasty. He supplied the wine, which by our count, the table went through three bottles.

The entertainment this evening was a violinist named Kateryna Sychova from the Ukraine. We are certain that most of our tablemates will go see and listen to her.

Bill & Mary Ann

Fakarava, Tuamotu French Polynesia would have been a new port for us too. When we did this cruise, we did not have this atoll on our list. Sounds nice.

Fakarava, Tuamotu French Polynesia would have been a new port for us too. When we did this cruise, we did not have this atoll on our list. Sounds nice.

I agree. The last Tahiti cruise we did we had a new port (for us) , Rangiroa. It was a nice change to have a new place to explore. I wonder if HAL plans on adding Fakarava to the Tahiti cruises in the future.

I just realized you will still be cruising over Halloween....

Anything special planned on the ship....a formal night or costume parties.....??

Report # 36 Taiohae, Nuku Hiva, Marquesas October 25, 2014 Saturday Sunny & 81 degrees

Our final port of call for this cruise was the village of Taiohae on the island of Nuku Hiva. Nuku Hiva is one of the twelve islands of the Marquesas archipelago, and part of French Polynesia. Although there is a total of 8000 people on six of the twelve islands, only 2664 inhabitants live on Nuku Hiva. With 198 square miles, this island happens to be the second largest in all of French Polynesia. Did we mention that the total square miles of French Polynesia is actually slightly larger than Europe? That's pretty fascinating.

The Statendam slipped into the sheltered harbor of Taiohae very early this morning. This is the administrative capital of the Marquesas. The village is built on a gentle slope, then the basalt mountains jut straight up from there. Among these peaks are waterfalls, fertile valleys, and viewpoint to die for. This island is different than the ones we have visited thus far, in that there are few real accessible beaches, and even fewer shops or stores. Laid back is a better description. There is one waterfront road with dirt roads that lead to the inside of the island and a few other villages. In order to see it, you would need to take 4 x 4 vehicles with a local guide. There was one tour today for three hours. Our tablemate Maggie took it and got to see some more of the island, as well as the sites we saw today. The inland scenery includes a total of 7000 petroglyphs among the vegetation. One highlite of the island is Hakaui Falls, supposedly the 3rd biggest waterfall in the world, at 350 meters high. However, we have yet to meet anyone who has seen it.

Another thing you don't see here is many people swimming in the bay. Near the pier, there is a small stretch of beach, but with the tide out, it looked dirty and slimy. The sand is covered with smooth rolling rocks, and the only real beach is at the opposite end of where the tenderboats drop the folks off. It is more suitable to the local families. What attracts divers here are the underwater caves that surround this island. And since there is no coral, no one snorkels here.

The islanders are famous for their wood carvings of sandalwood, bamboo, and rosewood. They perfected the art of making tapa cloth, and tatoo art. Their exports are wood, copra, and vanilla.

Our day was rather short with all aboard time being 3:30pm. We had breakfast in the dining room, then waited for the earlybirds to go over first. By 9:30am, Rick, the cruise director, announced open tenders, which was a mistake. There was a mass exodus, with the line snaking down the hallway. We would have waited, but we had already waited 1/2 hour for the line to move down to deck B. By the time we got to shore, it was 10:30pm. Due to the low tide, it was difficult for some of the passengers to get off of the boat.

Greeters included a group of heavily-tatooed fellows and gals singing, dancing, and blowing the conch shell. Like the other Polynesian islanders, they handed out the tiare flower to every guest.

Turning right, there is a small number of souvenier shops. We knew we would have to visit a shop first, because the t-shirts would be sold out. By waiting, all that is left are extra small to xxxx large. One tented cafe offered fresh fruit drinks at $5 to $6 each, and free WIFI. The place was full of passengers online to home, wherever that may be.

The usual handicraft tables were set up near the landing. Their jewelry includes the jequirity seeds that may be toxic. There was a warning printed in the Explorer guide describing the ports. It reads: Take caution when buying jewelry ashore. Items containing red or orange seeds with a black dot on the tip may be jequirity seeds, that have been recalled in many countries due to toxic side effects. Not only is their jewelry made with these seeds, they also sell them in used water bottles. Since the jewelry is unique and cleverly-made, we had to buy some. I do not intend to eat it, trust me.

One table held a carved bowl, very large and heavy, for the price of 50,000 French Pacific francs. We recall that we saw this piece last year on the same table. Continuing on, these tables led to a couple of buildings where more souveniers were for sale. Usually tours are sold here, where they sell postcards, but it appeared that HAL had plucked up the majority of vans for their 3 hour tour today.

The Town Hall sat across the road, but like the post office, it was closed today. The local fish market had already sold out their catch, and was also closed. Following the only road along the harbor, we came across the Monument of the Dead, a memorial to the dead French sailors from the 19th and 20th centuries. A canon marks the spot.

One of the highlites about in the center of the village is the Catholic church....Notre Dame of the Marquesas. It has been remodeled, but the inside is unique with their statuary carved from the local sandalwood. Stations of the Cross, and the Madonna and child are carved of the fragrant wood. The pulpit has a sea eagle, a lion, and strangely enough, a cow. The breeze blows through the windows, making this a comfortable place for the locals who fill this church on Sundays.

The one bank in town was closed today, and we did not see an ATM outside. Since there was never a need to get French Pacific francs, which the ship did not carry anyway, US dollars and Euros were widely accepted throughout Polynesia. Most all businesses took credit cards. Some did not.

The locals had set up a huge tent alongside the water, appearing to be having some sort of a BBQ later in the afternoon. Food was being prepared, so we stopped to check it out. Two men were cooking whole breadfruit, the size of small watermelons, in charcoals. Once they turned totally black, they were peeled and seeded. They had a wooden board on the tailgate, where they pounded the pulp into a pasty mass that looked like raw bread dough. Adding coconut oil to it, it was ready to eat like Hawaiian poi. We have never tasted it, but we understand it is a staple like potatoes are in our diet. A nutritious carbohydrate. Anyway, we learned something new today just by watching. Passing this tent later, we found the kids were playing basketball and they and their families had enjoyed the noontime picnic.

While we stolled along, we could hear the clipclop of hooves behind us. Three young local teenagers were riding small high-spirited horses from one end of the bay to the other. Along with the few 4x4 vehicles, horses and bikes are the best way to get around. Most of these slight-built horses are allowed to roam loose, or are fenced in people's front yards. The only other pets we saw were dogs and two cows.

We passed a fairly newly built Piki Vehine, a place where in the past, we had a type of luau with a Marquesan dance performance. It was in the month of December, and despite their massive effort with food preparations and entertainment, it was rained out. Or we should say, flooded out. The tents almost collapsed with the rain water. Anyway, we are sure the entire village had a party that day after we left and nothing was wasted.

By the time we got towards the end of the bay, we had also arrived to the beach area for the locals. There were fewer obstacles to getting into the water, and there were picnic areas with garbage cans everywhere. We saw very little litter. Just as the road ended, we found the dirt path to the only hotel here....the Keikahaui Pearl Lodge with a total of 20 bayview bungalows tucked under the canopy of acacias and palm trees. There is no sign to this hotel, so very few folks know it is here. And that is why we like to go there. The hike uphill is well worth the reward at the hotel.

We were seated outside on the patio next to the small pool. Pulling the table and chairs into the shade, the waitress made us comfortable with beers and a panini sandwich with tasty fries to share. Hate to admit, but it took five beers to cool us off. It was far from cheap, but since we did not take a tour here, we felt we could splurge on lunch, and still be way ahead. While we sat taking in the view, we could see the outline of an island directly south of Nuku Hiva. Asking our waitress, she said it was Ua Pou, the artist's island, and the most populated one next to Nuku Hiva. Usually not visible, it has always been shrouded in clouds.

Time was flying, and we needed to be back to the pier before the last tender at 3:30pm. We backtracked, taking our time while stopping in the shade of trees all the way. With the tide out, many local kids were swimming offshore in the exposed rocks. Their moms sat on the rocks watching, but not joining them.

Most of the passengers had already gone back, but they still waited until the tenderboat was filled until we left. A funny thing happened while waiting on the pier. Randall, our friendly hotel director, came along with a bottle of Evian water, and misted our faces and arms to cool us off. Hey, that reminded us of Seabourn or Radisson, where the deck fellows did that everyday at the aft pool. Very special for sure.

We got back in time to join the festivities that had been set up on the bow for sailaway. They were selling fruity sangria, and passing chicken satay. The crew had decorated the bow with tiki torches (unlit, of course) and put surfboards and decorations under the bell and flagpole. The band played some nice tunes as we slowly set sail out of the harbor. But the further out we got, the winds picked up, and Randall came by to remind us all to hold on to everything, or it would be overboard. That cleared the deck by 5pm, and the decorations were taken down within 10 minutes. We were about the last to leave, since we were having fun taking bird and flying fish pictures.

At dinnertime, we found that all of us but Rodger had gone ashore. Rita and Mary did not get too far, but still enjoy the shopping and even wading in the water. Maggie had taken the tour and enjoyed it, although she did not see the waterfall. We have really enjoyed our tablemates, and like hearing their travel stories of the day.

The clocks went ahead that extra 1/2 hour tonight. Instead of two hours to go forward now, we should only have one, snce daylight savings time ends November 2nd.

Bill & Mary Ann

If you can would you please check and ask if the current Capt, HD and CD will still be on board for the 13 Feb cruise that does this same trip. After reading about your trip makes us really look forward to our cruise. Thanks

Now ready for some nice relaxing days at sea. Sounds like you've had a great cruise so far.

Report # 37 Sailing Towards San Diego October 26, 2014 Sunday Sunny & 79 degrees

We have now begun the northeastly trek towards our final port of San Diego. No more exotic islands or friendly natives.....just a whole lot of sea, and hopefully, lots of sun. The day started out just fine with temperatures a bit cooler than yesterday. The seas are a little choppy, due to higher winds than we have had. Nothing too bad, but you have to be careful doing the stairs. Good excuse to use the elevators.

At 11am there was a pareo tying demo in the showroom. In the old days, pareos were made out of tapa cloth. Bark was stripped from local trees such as the mulberry, then pounded into a thin consistently resembling cloth. It would then be dyed with natural substances with patterns of hibiscus, tiare, or any island flower. The modern pareos, or sarongs, are a length of fabric 2 meters long and 45 inches wide. They can be fringed or hemmed, and also hand-painted with leaves and patterns, then dried in the sun. It is the basic piece of clothing for both native men and women. Supposedly, a woman can tie it in 1001 ways. Most all of the hand-dyed pareos are unique in that no one is the same. For that reason, one of us owns a couple of dozen of them, collected over many years of traveling in the tropics. They last forever, and are useful no matter where we go.

Dance lessons were in the air beginning with learning Tahitian dance, followed by the cha cha, then Dancing with the Stars at Sea. Their lesson for the day was the tango, not an easy task.

Speaker Dave Drummond delivered a talk on how to build a steel ship in 45 minutes. Really? He is referring to the building of large ships, military and merchant ships. His talk was 45 minutes, not the actual building of a ship.

Miss King spoke about the history of Tahiti and the South Pacific at her lecture.

For those that enjoy drinking, you can start with Happy Hour, 4 to 5pm, in the Crows Nest, or attend the wine sampling for $4. at the Wine Cellar across from the Wajang Theater.

You can continue with Sip and Savor with a pre-dinner appetizer with another glass of wine for $4. This happens at 5pm in the Explorers Lounge.

Also at 5pm, there is a Signature cocktail sampling for $3. a beverage. You can learn how to make these sweet drinks in the MIX.

At 6pm, one can attend the Pub Trivia where all cocktails are $1. off. This happens in the MIX directly after the cocktail class. If you have attended most of these venues, how in the world could you participate in trivia??? Must be fun, however.

Sometime between 7pm and 9pm, you must eat dinner. Then the drinking begins again in the Crows Nest at 9pm with drinks 2 for 1. All of the above happens every day, by the way.

Dinner was a different venue for us this evening. Starting at 6:30pm, we were invited by special invitation to the Pinnacle Grill Restaurant for the Captain's Dinner. Both Captain Smit and Randall, the hotel director, were there to join the tables. Assuming the folks there were either high Mariner Day members or deck ten suites, we filled the room to capacity.

We were seated at table # 1 with three other couples, one single fellow, and the Captain. Two of the couples we had already met, one of whom was the grape lady. Guess what she had for dinner? Green grapes, a pile of them. So sad to have allergies that prevent one eating real dinner food. Of course, there may be medical reasons also, so we do not want to judge one way or the other. The Captain did tease her, but that is his perogative.

Before the meal began, the maitre'd came to us and asked if all of the dinner items were agreeable with me, the one of us with shellfish allergies. All was fine except the halibut which was served with steamed clams. Thought it was very nice of him to double-check first.

The menu was elegant and creative starting with three small appetizers they called "amuses". The first was a bacon-wrapped goat cheese, followed by a char-grilled tiger shrimp placed on a bed of quinoa with orange-ginger mayonnaise. The next serving was foie gras with a tiny dot of caviar on top. It was served with a toasted piece of crostini and balsamic reduction on the side. Finally, the last course was a cup of mushroom cappuccino, or a tasty hot mushroom soup. There was a white truffle ground into the mixture, topped with a milky foam.

All of the time we dined on the amuses, white wine, a sauvignon blanc was freely poured. It was a California wine, 2012, from Monterey. Very light and smooth of course.... it comes from California. Not that we are prejudice.......A red wine from California was poured later during the entree. It was a merlot, but we stuck with the white.

The choices for our entrees were beef or fish. Tenderloin of beef in a hash form was served alongside with a tender piece of filet mignon. The hash was very much like the delicious pot roast we had last night for dinner. So good with a porcini madiera sauce. Assorted steamed vegetables were served on the side. The other entree was halibut with spring onions, clams, and cucumbers. It was accompanied with golden-baked gnocchi and confit tomatoes. A particularly good sauce flavored the fish.

But the best part of the meal was to come.......dessert, naturally. It was a hazelnut macaroon, cut in half, with fresh raspberries in the center. It was glued together with a vanilla white chocolate mousse. Alongside this, was a crispy candy-like cup that held a raspberry sorbet. Needless to say, we ate the whole thing. By the time coffee was served, we glanced at our watches, and were surprised to find that the time was 9:50pm. We had dined here for almost 3 1/2 hours. The Captain, who was very friendly, but difficult to hear for some of us, left by then, and we had a visit from the cruise director Rick and Randall, who sat with us for awhile. Funny thing was we could hear Randall talking from several tables away from us. He has a voice that projects, which helps when you cannot hear well.

All in all, it was a fun evening and we were glad we attended. We have to admit that we have been invited to more special events on this cruise than even on the world cruise. Our days count here even more we guess.

Looking forward to another day at sea tomorrow.

Bill & Mary Ann

Thanks for the update. Interesting about the dinner. I'd hate to be the lady that eats only grapes. What a way to have to live.

I think we had the grape lady on our cruise last year. They do either 3 or 4 months of cruising on the Statendam and that is what she ate, grapes.

Report # 38 Sailing Towards San Diego October 27, 2014 Monday Partly sunny & 79 degrees

Guess what today was? Crossing the Equator Day and time for a visit from King Neptune. This old tradition involves the first-time crossers (pollywogs) to become indoctrinated into seasoned sailors (shellbacks). This was held today at the aft pool this morning in front of a huge crowd of passengers and crew members.

The pollywogs were all crew or staff members and were held up in kiddie land above the pool. They were led down by the pirate jailors, to be brought up in front of King Neptune and his Queen. The prosecutor was the cruise director, Rick, who did an excellent job of entertaining the folks. The Royal Court of judges included the Captain, the hotel director, and some of the officers. They decided who was guilty, and whether they be dunked or saved to stink in the hot sun after they were "slimed" with frothy dyed egg whites. The fun lasted an hour or so, but got too hot to watch the whole ceremony. Little Sydney, our next door neighbor, was included in the festivities by sitting on the lap of the mermaid. She was dressed in a Hawaiian grass skirt with a coconut top. So cute.

It was so hot in the intense heat, we did not stay for the entire ceremony. Think we know how it ended. All of the prisoners had to "kiss the fish", then get slimed, and dunked in the pool. At the end, there was a huge mess, which would get cleaned up later. Doubt this pool will be opened today. At least they have stopped using cooked spaghetti and rubber chickens.

Later in the day, we all received certificates stating that we have officially crossed the Equator, once again.

For a change, we went to the dining room for lunch. We had soup, salad, an appetizer, and one hamburger, which was excellent. Ice cream finished the meal.

We went to the Pinnacle Grill to make reservations for two dinners in there. Time is running out to make use of our freebies. The manager of the Pinnacle is a very nice fellow from India. What an improvement from the man that was here last year. He was aloof and not so accommodating. Funny what difference a positive attitude makes.

There is a photo contest going on, where folks can submit their best photo of the cruise so far. To enter, you have the photography department make an 8 x 10 copy from your camera, which then gets posted for the rest of us to vote on. Even if you do not win, you get to keep the photo. At $5, it is a bargain. The prizes are worth up to $450. Our tablemate Maggie entered one of hers, so we hope she wins.

Dinner was good with entrees of short ribs with mashed potatoes. Desserts of flourless chocolate cake and the bee sting were delicious. Boy, it is going to be hard to go back to reality pretty soon. We are getting spoiled.

The entertainers, The Unexpected Boys, are on stage this evening. If you like Frankie Vali and the Four Seasons, then this is the show the folks will like.

Bill & Mary Ann

I have really enjoyed your posts, it reminds me of a past Polynesian trip, and it helps me imagine/anticipate our upcoming trip in February!

I am really pleased to hear such positive reviews of the ship staff, and food. With the ship changing hands soon, its a bit worrisome...Have you heard many ongoing complaints from Pax regarding the A/C? What about the internet, did you see improvement as the trip went on, or should I just plan on the blue screen of death continuing to be the norm? I know you said Rick hoped to delve into it for you. We had a similar situation last year on the Maasdam, and it never got better, in spite of optimistic comments from staff. At least if I know it's sketchy, I can warn folks, so they aren't worried.

Thank you in advance for your comments/observations. Best, Kathi

I just want to say that I have really enjoyed your blog this time both for the great way you describe your travels and that we will be getting on the day you end your trip. I have followed your world cruise and enjoyed that. Just know that for "two ships that pass in the night", one was brightened by your blog.

Report # 39 Sailing Towards San Diego October 28, 2014 Tuesday Chance of rain & 82 degrees

We woke up to a very overcast morning, even though it was plenty warm and sticky outside. Taking our usual walk after a light breakfast, we found it to be so muggy, it was hard walking for too long. With barely a breeze blowing, we went down to cool off in our room for a bit.

We had been invited to a special Cabaret Luncheon by the Captain, and Randall, the Hotel Manager, at 11:30am. It was held in the Showroom on deck seven, where several tables and chairs were set below the stage, as well as up the lower sets of aisles. All together, we guess there were about 60 lucky people invited.

Greeted by the Captain, Hotel Director, and Cruise Director, we were escorted to good seats in the center of the room. Even though we arrived at the invited time, most of the seats were filled by the time we got there. At least there was no re-arranging of seating, like what happened at the Captain's Dinner a couple of nights ago. Since the Captain and Randall did not join any specific group, we were free to sit at mostly tables for two. Thinking back on that evening, one of us had been seated next to the Captain, however, before he arrived, three other guests moved his name tag across the table, and took different seats. That was a bit rude, we think, because the maitre'd had pre-arranged the seating with a lot of thought behind it. Bet the lady on the other side of the Captain was not thrilled either. No one had asked her permission. Proving that people are funny sometimes......

A menu awaited us, and we soon realized that we were in for a treat. Wine was poured, the show was announced, and we relaxed for the next 90 minutes of entertainment and excellent cuisine.

The five course meal began with a spoonful of duck and fennel slaw. Only one of us could eat the seafood martini cocktail, since it contained scallops. A chilled green pea soup followed, then came the entree of filet mignon, grilled shrimp, and a potato tart. And what a better way to end the meal than with a tiramisu dessert, served in a small cocktail glass. Bonbons and friandises were supposed to be served with coffee or tea, but we left before they appeared. When the staff began upping the lights brighter and brighter, we felt it was time to move on. Hint, hint.....

The only change from last year with this year, is that only in-house entertainers were used in the cabaret. Last year, whoever the professional entertainment people happened to be onboard, were the singers. Made little difference, since all of them were top notch, especially the couple that sang a score from the Phantom of the Opera. Excellent.

Heavy rain interrupted our usual afternoon pattern of pooltime, reading, and relaxing in the sun. Checking the TV channel for the temperature, wind, and rain, we found the gauge for the humidity had risen to 101%. Is there really a number like that? This was no passing cloud, so we stayed inside watching a movie, that we had only seen half of recently. We could have gone to the front desk and gotten a movie for our DVD player, but we have seen most of those also.

Days like these bring most of the folks inside the ship. So the shops, bars, lectures, lessons, casino, etc. were full of people. Now we joke that the Captain must head for a good storm to increase the revenue. Can't say we blame him, because there are only a few days left to get the folks to part with their money.

One of our jobs for the day was to pick up our passports at the front desk after 4pm. We had been assigned a time early in the morning, during our breakfast time. It was much easier to pick it up later with no wait in line. The staff is requesting the receipts that had been handed to us when we surrendered the passports a few weeks ago. Normally, we put them somewhere, and forget about them. If we did not have them, we would have to fill out another one for their records. So remember, keep those little slips of paper.

Dinnertime was formal, one of the last of two. Did we mention that our waiter always announces the night before that the next evening will be formal in the dining room? He directs his comments to the gentlemen at the table, knowing the ladies have no problem with getting dolled up. It also helps avoid the awkward moment when someone shows up dressed for smart casual by accident, or not. To tell the truth, we have not noticed any infractions to the formal dress code. The guests choosing not to don the tuxes, suits, or prom gowns go to the Lido.

We also had double company this evening with a nice San Diego couple joining us once again, and Vincent, the first officer. We enjoyed Vincent's company the first time he came, and even more tonight. Towards the end of the dinner, he made a remark that he was only 32, which brought a blush to one of our faces, since we guesstimated he may have been in his early 40's. Our reasoning was the amount of experience he had under his belt, not by his appearance, which they all look young nowadays. Kind of surprised to know we are being monitered by someone he knows. To be certain, Vincent has a promising career ahead of him, and in our opinion, will make a great captain if he chooses to be.

This may be trivial, but we feel it worth mentioning. While chatting the next day to one of the dining room heads, we mentioned innocently that the Captains Dinner ran much later than we thought it would. We should have clarified that we were having such a nice evening, we did not notice that the time was later than expected. Well, when we thanked the Pinnacle Grill manager on the way out of showlounge today, he apologized for the delay in the service at the special dinner. Someone had told him, third-hand, that we were not happy with the delay. Far from the truth, we never meant that. See how things can travel and change along the way? Never thought in a million years that our innocent comments may be actually listened to. With that in mind, we went to see Randall, the Hotel Manager, and cleared that misunderstanding up. He had not heard of it, but said it may have come from the Culinary Manager, who we have never met. The Pinnacle Grill manager is so nice, we wanted to make sure it was known that he did nothing wrong. He is one of the best.

The entertainment this evening was a comedian from Comedy Central & Star Search by the name of Jeff Burghart. Doubt we go.

Bill & Mary Ann

Hello Bill and Mary Ann

Thank you so much for these daily reports -- I have enjoyed them immensely!

My husband and I were on the 5 day coastal part of this cruise, but 2 couples at our table in the MDR were doing the 35 day section

We have been with you all in spirit these last few weeks and will miss your reports so much. You made us feel like we were there with you though, your details of the ports you visited and the wonderful places you found to enjoy your pizza and beer

Thanks for taking the time to include us in your beautiful cruise :)

Report # 39 Sailing Towards San Diego October 28, 2014 Tuesday Chance of rain & 82 degrees

 

We woke up to a very overcast morning, even though it was plenty warm and sticky outside. Taking our usual walk after a light breakfast, we found it to be so muggy, it was hard walking for too long. With barely a breeze blowing, we went down to cool off in our room for a bit.

 

We had been invited to a special Cabaret Luncheon by the Captain, and Randall, the Hotel Manager, at 11:30am. It was held in the Showroom on deck seven, where several tables and chairs were set below the stage, as well as up the lower sets of aisles. All together, we guess there were about 60 lucky people invited.

 

Greeted by the Captain, Hotel Director, and Cruise Director, we were escorted to good seats in the center of the room. Even though we arrived at the invited time, most of the seats were filled by the time we got there. At least there was no re-arranging of seating, like what happened at the Captain's Dinner a couple of nights ago. Since the Captain and Randall did not join any specific group, we were free to sit at mostly tables for two. Thinking back on that evening, one of us had been seated next to the Captain, however, before he arrived, three other guests moved his name tag across the table, and took different seats. That was a bit rude, we think, because the maitre'd had pre-arranged the seating with a lot of thought behind it. Bet the lady on the other side of the Captain was not thrilled either. No one had asked her permission. Proving that people are funny sometimes......

 

A menu awaited us, and we soon realized that we were in for a treat. Wine was poured, the show was announced, and we relaxed for the next 90 minutes of entertainment and excellent cuisine.

 

The five course meal began with a spoonful of duck and fennel slaw. Only one of us could eat the seafood martini cocktail, since it contained scallops. A chilled green pea soup followed, then came the entree of filet mignon, grilled shrimp, and a potato tart. And what a better way to end the meal than with a tiramisu dessert, served in a small cocktail glass. Bonbons and friandises were supposed to be served with coffee or tea, but we left before they appeared. When the staff began upping the lights brighter and brighter, we felt it was time to move on. Hint, hint.....

 

The only change from last year with this year, is that only in-house entertainers were used in the cabaret. Last year, whoever the professional entertainment people happened to be onboard, were the singers. Made little difference, since all of them were top notch, especially the couple that sang a score from the Phantom of the Opera. Excellent.

 

Heavy rain interrupted our usual afternoon pattern of pooltime, reading, and relaxing in the sun. Checking the TV channel for the temperature, wind, and rain, we found the gauge for the humidity had risen to 101%. Is there really a number like that? This was no passing cloud, so we stayed inside watching a movie, that we had only seen half of recently. We could have gone to the front desk and gotten a movie for our DVD player, but we have seen most of those also.

 

Days like these bring most of the folks inside the ship. So the shops, bars, lectures, lessons, casino, etc. were full of people. Now we joke that the Captain must head for a good storm to increase the revenue. Can't say we blame him, because there are only a few days left to get the folks to part with their money.

 

One of our jobs for the day was to pick up our passports at the front desk after 4pm. We had been assigned a time early in the morning, during our breakfast time. It was much easier to pick it up later with no wait in line. The staff is requesting the receipts that had been handed to us when we surrendered the passports a few weeks ago. Normally, we put them somewhere, and forget about them. If we did not have them, we would have to fill out another one for their records. So remember, keep those little slips of paper.

 

Dinnertime was formal, one of the last of two. Did we mention that our waiter always announces the night before that the next evening will be formal in the dining room? He directs his comments to the gentlemen at the table, knowing the ladies have no problem with getting dolled up. It also helps avoid the awkward moment when someone shows up dressed for smart casual by accident, or not. To tell the truth, we have not noticed any infractions to the formal dress code. The guests choosing not to don the tuxes, suits, or prom gowns go to the Lido.

 

We also had double company this evening with a nice San Diego couple joining us once again, and Vincent, the first officer. We enjoyed Vincent's company the first time he came, and even more tonight. Towards the end of the dinner, he made a remark that he was only 32, which brought a blush to one of our faces, since we guesstimated he may have been in his early 40's. Our reasoning was the amount of experience he had under his belt, not by his appearance, which they all look young nowadays. Kind of surprised to know we are being monitered by someone he knows. To be certain, Vincent has a promising career ahead of him, and in our opinion, will make a great captain if he chooses to be.

 

This may be trivial, but we feel it worth mentioning. While chatting the next day to one of the dining room heads, we mentioned innocently that the Captains Dinner ran much later than we thought it would. We should have clarified that we were having such a nice evening, we did not notice that the time was later than expected. Well, when we thanked the Pinnacle Grill manager on the way out of showlounge today, he apologized for the delay in the service at the special dinner. Someone had told him, third-hand, that we were not happy with the delay. Far from the truth, we never meant that. See how things can travel and change along the way? Never thought in a million years that our innocent comments may be actually listened to. With that in mind, we went to see Randall, the Hotel Manager, and cleared that misunderstanding up. He had not heard of it, but said it may have come from the Culinary Manager, who we have never met. The Pinnacle Grill manager is so nice, we wanted to make sure it was known that he did nothing wrong. He is one of the best.

 

The entertainment this evening was a comedian from Comedy Central & Star Search by the name of Jeff Burghart. Doubt we go.

 

Bill & Mary Ann

enjoying your travels, Jeff Burghart is hilarious! you've missed a good show, if you chose not to go to his... I have seen him 3 times this year!! I'm afraid he was beginning to think I was stalking him!! :)

Report # 40 Sailing Towards San Diego October 29, 2014 Wednesday Chance of rain & 79 degrees

Today brought more clouds heavy with rain. However, as far as we know, it never did. We went for a light breakfast once again, because there was another early lunch at 11am this morning. We found there was a good breeze blowing on the promenade deck while we took our walk. That has to be a sign that we are heading north rapidly.

We were invited to the Mariner Society Lunch in the dining room. As always, we arrived a few minutes before 11am, and were initially led to the center area of the raised lower level of the dining room. Whether or not we had assigned seats, we will never know. But apparently where we were supposed to be seated, our spots were not available. Donny, the dining room manager, came right to us, and escorted us to the window seating in the back end. A few years ago, we had seating with an officer, or sometimes, the Captain, at these events. For some reason, this has been changed to no officers sharing tables. The Captain, Hotel Director, and the Cruise Director gave a short and sweet greeting, then a toast was made, and lunch was served.

Today, three couples were introduced according to their accumulated pure seas days as Mariner members. The first two couples had around 1100 and almost 1200 days. Then, we were announced with almost 1400 days. Randall, the Hotel Manager, jokingly bowed in homage to us as we stood up, making us laugh. Love his sense of humor. Glad that was over, we enjoyed the lunch with our tablemates we had just met. Both couples were Cruise Critic members, and one of them had read our blogs from past trips. The good thing is that they liked it, and admitted that we had helped them with our many suggestions. That's what we like to hear.

The menu was good as always. Starters of a salmon salad or a cold fruit soup were tasty. Who ever thought you could eat soup made with pureed melons? The main was a choice of short ribs, cod, or a broccoli and cheese tart. But the best was the dessert of a key lime treat in a pastry crust. A dot of whipped cream and a strawberry glaze made it super delicious. And we also got two more tiles for the collection at home.

We are always nervous about who we are going to sit with, but today we lucked out by meeting some very lovely folks. We talked well beyond lunchtime, and shared info about the selling and retrofitting of this ship. They had heard the rumor about the ship being cut in half for new cabins to be added. Since this very subject had come up last night with first officer Vincent, we knew that was not right. There was no truth behind that rumor. However, one or more decks will be torn out, and new, smaller cabins will be replacing the larger ones that are here now. Makes sense when it is explained that way.

We did get a little "outside" time, even if the sun was not out. Many of the outdoorsy folks were laying on the lounges at the aft pool, absorbing what heat there was to get. The wind was blowing across the deck, and sometimes sprayed a fine mist of water across us on the starboard side of the pool. Judging from the coolness of the water, we figured the pool water must be clean and cold now. No one was swimming.

It has taken us several years since the Digital Workshops have been added to the ships before we have gone inside one of them. Probably because we had so many internet problems in the middle of the cruise, we paid a visit to the techspert, who was helpful to a point. Anyway, we discovered that perhaps we can learn something about the newer computers if we test them between classes. What we did find were the availability of games for free. One of us loves games, such as solitare, mahjong, bejeweled, or word games like bookworm. With a little help from techspert Patti, she helped us locate card games. The touchscreen technology is new to us, so we need all the practice we can get.

Thinking there may be a good sunset tonight, we went up to deck 12 to find the sun setting with hardly any color at all. Too many clouds.....it may rain yet.

We were all back for dinner tonight. The menu was a mix of Filipino and Indonesian food. We tried a little of each, but our main course was Caesar salad with a chicken breast. Always an excellent alternate. We got creative with dessert by ordering deep fried bananas, a meringue-filled custard treat, and one scoop of rum raisin ice cream. All were excellent.

This evening was also the Dessert Extravaganza in the Lido Pool area. It was scheduled to start at 10:30pm, but since we had indulged at dinner, we would not wait to eat more sweets. But we do like to take photos, so we killed some time walking the promenade deck. It was windy and cooler, but there was no rain. Strangely enough, when we went to deck 11 and the Lido Pool, we could hear people almost screaming. Guess the party started early. We soon found out why they were yelling......the ship must have sailed right under a massive cell cloud, and the retractable roof was partially opened. The desserts below were getting very wet as were the people. Someone must have moved quickly to close the roof, but the progress was slow. We could swear that firehoses were being used on the upper deck by the way the roof was being hit. The crew had saved the desserts and the guests by minutes, however, and the evening extravaganza was a success.

The Unexpected Boys were on stage once again with a new show....Broadway. Our lunch mates had enjoyed their first show, and looked forward to tonight's. If we understood them correctly, they told us that during the coffee chat with the cruise diector yesterday, members of this group said that there were a total of 40 of them, and they perform worldwide on many ships. They always do their act with a total of four fellows, and they can interchange with each other when needed. Interesting......

The clocks went ahead one hour this evening. As this is being written, suddenly it is 1am, and time to call it a day. And being that daylight savings time ends Saturday/Sunday at midnight, we will not have to put the clocks ahead the extra hour.

Hope we see a little more sun tomorrow...........

Bill & Mary Ann

Thx for the update. I rarely go to the mariners lunch. Doesn't look like I'm missing anything food wise.

Thanks for another great report. Interesting to hear you had a Dessert Extravaganza - the last few cruises we haven't had one at all.

Report # 41 Sailing Towards San Diego October 30, 2014 Thursday Partly sunny & 77 degrees

It turned out to be a busy day, our fourth one at sea on our way back towards San Diego. Even though the forecast said pasrtly sunny, it was more cloudy than anything else. There would be no swimming today.

We kept breakfast light, because we had spotted a nice lunch menu for the dining room between 12 and 1pm. One of us has been watching the menu for spaghetti and meatballs. Lo and behold, it was one of the entrees for lunch....finally. Another interesting entree was a flatbread pizza with sliced chicken breast. Sounded good to us.

The kitchen has been running out of some of the basic foods we usually order. Some things like cottage cheese, ranch dressing, and fresh strawberries. That must be due to the missed delivery in San Diego back at the beginning of October. They did get much of what they needed in Papeete, but not everything. And we are certain that the cost of the food was much higher in French Polynesia.

For that reason, the menus have been adjusted from what they post outside the dining room in the morning. By dinnertime, many items have been removed and replaced with something different. Good thing they are able to do that, as long as the items are what people like. And, as long as peanut butter and jelly sandwiches don't show up for dinner, we are going to be OK.

There was a special event at the Lido Pool today at 10:30am. It was the Statendam Village Fair, where the crew and officers put on a fair with games of skill and chance. A few days ago, we all received $20. Statendam dollars to be spent to play these games. By winning at some of the almost impossible tasks, you can win more $$$. The guests with the most bucks have a chance to win fabulous prizes at the end of the games, which happened to be 12pm.

We did pay a visit to the fair, but only for photo-taking. Even after 11am, it was still crowded, with long lines for all the venues. Some of the games included throwing a ball through the liferings suspended over the pool, or throwing darts, and even cork-forking, our old game at the dinner table. (We have since stopped the fun game, because our tablemates did become very noisy.)

We saw little Sydney and her parents, and decided to donate our $20. to them. That would give them a better chance of winning. One venue missing was the dunk tank, where one of the officers (sometimes the captain) sits and waits to be dunked. It always gets the biggest crowd trying to do it. All in good fun.

Our other chore for the day was paying a visit to the photo gallery, where we could put a vote in for Maggie's Bora Bora photo. Hope she wins. Looking over each category, we noticed that besides composition, the quality of the camera can make a huge difference in judging the photos. So these may have the edge for winning.

One other job awaited us, as we received our packet with disembarkation info this afternoon. We had luggage tags to fill out, as well as the customs form. We have requested to be among the first off, because heaven knows if that will happen as planned. Our flight back to San Francisco does not leave until 1:40pm, but once again, if everyone does not follow directions and clear the ship on time, our exit time might be delayed. We have experienced that in the past.

After lunch, we watched a movie in our room. We think it may have been Godzilla. Sitting on the aft deck in our shorts was just a bit too chilly for comfort. Speaking of chilly, it has been asked of us if there have been air-conditioning problems onboard. We would say, yes. In the beginning, we had trouble getting our room cool. Then we had the ducts and filters cleaned, and the temperature adjusted, giving us some relief from the heat. Now, even with the thermostat turned up high, it only gets in the 70's. That is OK, but sometimes we have to use pool towels to keep warm while watching TV. In the public areas, it can be quite warm in the dining room, but very cool towards the showlounge. Patti, the techspert, has to wear sweaters and shawls to keep comfortable in the Digital Workshop. We are far enough north now that we doubt we will have heat problems anymore.

We had dinner reservations in the Pinnacle Grill this evening at 8pm. Our meals were very good, but filling. We had a tiny starter of a piece of salmon wrapped with seaweed, crab cakes, jumbo shrimp cocktail, and Caesar salad. Our entrees were a New York strip and a filet mignon, cooked perfectly. We shared the smallest baked potatao they had, and also button mushrooms. Saving a bit of room for dessert, we both ordered the lemon tart. Chocolates and bon bons finished the ample meal.

Tonight happened to be the final formal and also the Black and Gold Gala Ball. The dining room was decorated with hundreds of balloons with gold and black mobiles. The highlight of the affair is that some officers are available to dance with the ladies or gents. It began at 10pm and was held in the Showroom at Sea. We had spotted Vincent, the first officer, on his way to the dance at exactly 10pm. It has been our impression that most of the officers attend this ball only because they have to. The younger cadets always stand in a group at the further corner of the room in order to avoid being a dance host. This confirmed ur suspicions when we saw three of the dining room head waiters and one boss come flying down to deck six from seven and the lounge. They laughed, because we caught them as we had just walked through the door of the promenade deck. They covered by saying....guess we will see you upstairs? Us, no way. They laughed hilarioulsy as they ducked into the culinary manager's office. Must have had some really important work to catch up on.........

We want to wish everyone a very Happy Halloween. Gosh this month has flown by so, so fast. We shall be home soon.

Bill & Mary Ann

Thanks for your great reporting of your trip. I can hardly wait for our turn to come. I'm not sure but have you only had 3 formal nights or did I miss 1 or 2.

It would help with our packing if we don't need to take so much formal wear. DH would love that too.

Safe sailing and flying home.

Helen.

Report # 42 Sailing Towards San Diego October 31, 2014 Friday Partly sunny & 72 degrees

Today turned out to be a good one to start packing. Since the weather had cooled off and the skies were cloudy, we would have no pool time. At least the rain has held off for the time being.

Halloween was in the air all over the ship. There were carved pumpkins and orange and black baloons decorating the dining room. By dinnertime, there would be ghosts and ghouls hanging from the ceiling. And the dining room staff would be in full scary, even gory, Halloween costumes. We sure do not remember this frivolity last year.

We spent some more time in the Digital Workshop this morning at a class to learn about Windows 8.1. What it taught one of us was that it is time to get with the job of finding a new computer. Technology has gone a long ways since we purchased our first laptop back in 2004. It is, however, going to take some doing getting to learn a new way of doing internet. Having this access to classes onboard will be perfect while on the world cruise. May take four months to learn it, but we shall master it.

After a proper lunch in the dining room, we watched a movie in our room. It was Devil's Knot, and kept us rivited to the TV for two hours. Based on a true story, it was a powerful tale about the murder of three little kids in Arkansas, and the following trial of three possibly innocent teenagers. To this day, the truth has never been uncovered.

As this cruise winds down, the last of the lectures continued, as well as a final Hawaiian/Tahitian Concert given by Henry, the ukelele artist. This evening, instead of the regular show, Dancing with the Stars at Sea will have their finale. One fellow guest will be crowned winner, and will have the chance to compete with other winners of many other cruises. Following that show tonight will be the Filipino Crew Show at 11pm. Select members of the staff will dance and sing traditional music of their homeland.

Lastly, a Monster Mash was held in the Crows Nest at 10pm. Judging by the costumes we saw at dinnertime, we are sure the party will be interesting if not loud and rowdy.

At the 1pm Captains talk, he mentioned that tomorrow may bring deep sea swells, and we may experience problems with walking. He also suggested to secure all items in our rooms, so nothing falls and breaks. He also promised to keep the stabilizers out. With that in mind, Mary announced that she may not be able to come to dinner if it remains too rough to walk. Sure hope she makes it, because it will be our last night together and we do all have a lot of fun.

Time will tell, but just to be safe, we better put the vase of flowers on the floor, wedged with couch pillows.

Bill & Mary Ann

Report # 43 Sailing Towards San Diego November 1, 2014 Saturday Partly sunny & 66 degrees

Sunny skies greeted us early this morning when we woke up. However, after going outside after breakfast, we discovered the temperature had really dropped since yesterday. We must be nearing the coast of Mexico and California, as the water temperature has also dropped to the high 60's. As much as we looked, we have seen absolutely no sealife, not a fish or a bird for the last three or more days. Well, it sure doesn't matter, because today will be used for the rest of the packing..We have two bags to go, or perhaps more? We think that we may have bought a little more than we thought.

This is a good time to mention how happy we have been with the crew and staff. In particular, our room stewards, Hardi and Sugi. They have consistently taken excellent care of us this entire trip of 42 days. They have a habit of checking the hallway,no matter where they are working. When a door closes, they check to see who's room they can clean next. No sneaking out with them. Just in case they miss us, we have been putting the "service please" sign in the door as instructed, so they know for sure that we are gone. Every day, they ask if we need anything. A few times we did, and they responded right away, even though we said anytime was fine.

Our waiters in the dining room have been great. They are Arif S. (he said the S was for Superman), and Ari, his assistant. Arif tells us what the first guests liked or what they did not. Sometimes the soup was too salty, or the meat chewy. If the fish was fishy, then he warned us. Ari has also been our pastry waiter at breakfast time, always seeking us out for the best treats. They make a good team.

The Dining Room Manager, Donny, and his staff of head waiters made sure our meals were the best. Our head waiter, Kadek, came every evening and asked how we liked our dinners. If we needed something else, he took care of it. Made, Pras, Hery, and Hendra contributed to our welfare too. Just about every formal night (there were two in Alaska, and seven on this trip), we had a host, who happened to provide wines. We can thank Donny for that.

The Pinnacle Grill Manager was quite personable as well. He went out of his way to introduce himself, and provide a nice dining experience in his restaurant. We would have taken advantage of the seven complimentary dinners we were gifted, but we had so much fun with our tablemates, we hated to desert them. Besides the special lunches and Captains dinner, we also had two regular meals in there. All excellent and more than ample.

The Hotel Directors, Bart and Randall, were both outstanding. We have sailed with Bart well before he was an HD, but Randall was new to us. We will remember him for going the distance with our internet problems. He made it work. The Cruise Director, Rick Barnes, was also a new name for us. We highly recommend him, if you happen to be sailing on this ship. He has proven to be one of the most popular and talented guys on the ship.

Gary M, the Guest Relations Manager, really helped out with the internet too. We would have lost many minutes of internet time, if he had not intervened on our behalf. All of the front desk staffers were politely helpful when we needed assistance. And finally, Captain Vincent, took us on a safe trip for over 10,000 nautical miles. He is a man of few words, but did his job well.

Despite being the last day at sea, there were many activities happening onboard. Last minute sales was the top priority in every department. Lectures continued, and the usual games were held. The last of the Mariner Society Lunches was held at 11am in the lower dining room. After we finished packing our bags, realizing we were going to need to add one to the count, we headed for lunch in the upper dining room. We both ordered the Canadian cheese burger with crispy fries. Desserts were good.....a napolean (no sugar added) and a peach crisp.

Taking a brief walk after lunch, we found it was cooler and we were headed for some rain. The Captain mentioned in his talk that we would be hitting 6 foot swells, but not until 10pm. If that is the case, then perhaps all of us will be at dinner tonight. Mary had intended on staying in her room.

Watching a 2pm movie on TV was difficult to choose, because we have seen them all. Can you believe we ended up with watching Ghostbusters? It is SO old, we forgot what it was about. Gosh, the actors sure looked a lot younger in that flick.

The techspert, Patti, had one last question session at 4:30pm in her workshop. We attended and found she only had a few stragglers, mostly folks who have taken the entire series of classes for the last month. That gave us a chance to ask simple questions that probably have been addressed already. Can't get any better than one-on-one. Patti even had some pre-printed instructions that we were able to take with us. We do intend to follow up with these classes while on the world cruise.

In the last couple of days, ever since the Mariner's Lunch and our surprise introduction, many nice folks have stopped us and asked about our number of days we have sailed with HAL. Most of the inquiries are about where we have been, and where do we like the best. Almost impossible to answer, we usually end up talking the most about South Africa. And keeping track, we would say most all of the people asking questions have been Canadian. They have to be among the friendlist guests, and polite too.

Dinnertime found all of us present, enjoying our last evening together. Originally, we had made reservations for the Pinnacle Grill, but this morning we cancelled. It would be our last chance to share email info with everyone too. The menu was the fairly new International Venue, with specialties from four different parts of the world. We could choose something from each one, or order from the everyday alternate menu. We had a soup from Argentina, an appetizer from the Mediterranean, and a dessert from New York City (cheesecake, of course). Our entrees were the alternate steak and baked potato. Guess that was international enough?

Around 9pm, Rick, the Cruise Director, announced the kitchen staff and waiter parade, followed by a song from all of them. Everyone gave them a huge applause after Rick's very motivated speech about everyone living in harmony on the Dam ships. Once the meal resumed, Rick paid a visit to every table in the dining room, something we have only seen on this ship. It's a nice gesture, we think, and reflects the nice guy he truly is.

It is always bittersweet saying goodbye. We hope to see everyone again on another cruise someday. We know we will see Mary and hope she joins our table in 2016. Bob and Cherry will be staying on for the next 30 days as the ship sails south to Lima and back to San Diego. Mary teased them by saying they will never have such a fun group of tablemates as we have had on this trip. But then, you never know.

There was one last performance in the showroom....a variety show with Jeff Burghart, Kateryna Sychova, and Bob Trunell. It's doubtful many folks will attend the late show, because there seemed to be a mass exodus from the dining room around 9:30pm. Guess not everyone took the time to pack earlier in the day, and saved it to the last minute. While we are on the subject, it may be good to know that a scale was made available to weigh your luggage outside the housekeeping office on the lower promenade deck. The only problem with that is the sea swells create a variable of about 4 to 5 pounds. You have to weigh each piece at least three times, and take an average and hope for the best. As for us, we use a handheld digital scale, which also fluctuates, but so far, has helped to keep our weights under 50 pounds.

As we write this at almost midnight, the swells have begun to deepen somewhat. Nothing bad, but enough to rock us to sleep one last time.....something we miss when we go home.

We will follow up with our impressions of this cruise once we get home and back to reality.

It's been a pleasure for us and hopefully you all too..............

Bill & Mary Ann

It's always a pleasure to travel with the two of you! Thanks so much for your "creative" writing. Safe trip home. Barb

Great trip. Can't wait for the 2015 World Cruise. Thank you again for your wonderful reports.

Sent from Gail's Galaxy S3