John and Diane "Ferry Boat" Adventures on the world cruise

Wednesday, March 14 - Singapore

If anyone ever tells you that a 17-hour flight is "not too bad," don't believe them. We left San Francisco at about midnight on Sunday and didn't arrive in Singapore (even nonstop) until Tuesday morning. That darned International Dateline! Fortunately, our hotel room was ready for us by 11:00 so we could shower, change clothes, and get in a much-needed nap.

Our friends Rich and Ginni, who had come on the same flight (after a four-hour flight from Austin), were staying at a different hotel in Singapore's Little India, while we're staying at The Swissotel (yep, no "h") on Clarke Quay. We all agreed that after that flight, we didn't need to make any plans until dinner.

We do love Singapore. The combination of English colonial buildings and modern architecture makes the city/state a beautiful spot. The place is clean enough to eat from, due to the strict laws about nearly everything. You do know about chewing gum being illegal here, don't you? The geographical location near the equator provides, as our taxi driver told us, "just one all-year season." Right now, that season is just plain hot, with a serving of humid, however I imagine a few people on the East Coast would trade that nasty snowstorm for 88 degrees with 90% humidity in a flash. Of course, this year-round weather produces beautiful tropical flowers and plants throughout the city.

The four of us met up at our hotel at about 5:00 and quickly found The Brewerkz for a beer (or a cider in my case) and a plate of calamari. I thought we were going to order dinner there, but it turned out to be a progressive dinner, so we moved down the quay to Jumbo, a popular local fish restaurant. There are two things that always sell us on a restaurant: it's fairly full and many of the customers are locals. That's what Jumbo looked like. Our seafood fried rice, shrimp, and garlic broccoli were great, and the weather in the evening made us happy to be sitting outside on the water.

I think we saw more of Singapore today than we have in previous trips, because instead of taking the subway to Rich and Ginni's hotel, we decided that the mile and a half walk would be good for us. On the way back, the four of us stopped from time to time to look at some of the many gold stores in Little India and I even picked up a new top for Indian night on the ship next week. We have long known that the best way to see a place is not from a bus but from walking, walking, walking. Today was a good example of that.

Tomorrow is "All Aboard" day, so we're planning to hop onto an Uber about 11:30 or 12:00 and make our way to our "home away from home," the m/s Amsterdam, at least for the next 20 days, along with Rich and Ginni and our friends Will and Nancy. Afterward, we disembark in Cape Town, see our old friend Dr. Dave (from last year's WC), and then head to a game reserve in Kruger National Park for several days before heading home. We are really looking forward to spending time at sea (lots of sea days - hooray!), seeing old friends, and spending time "on safari." I'll keep you up to date on our adventures.

P.. S. The term "ferry boat people" was a less-than-kind label of some people who took only a segment on a rather upscale world cruise on another line.

John and Diane, Bon Voyage and I look forward to following along.

Keith

We also did a segment from Singapore to Ft Lauderdale, loved spending a couple of days exploring Singapore. Bon Voyage, fair winds & smooth seas.

Allan

Looking forward to your reports.

Bon Voyage!!

I feel your pain on the flight.

sounds like a lovely evening in Singapore. I so agree with you walking. You see so much.

Looking forward to your adventures.

Bon Voyage! Have a great cruise and a WONDERFUL time!!!

Bon Voyage! I'm happy to see you're going to take us along with you once more. Please say hi to Copper John from "Her Honour" for me if you have the time. Thanks!

Smooth Sailing! :) :) :)

Gerry

Bon Voyage John and Diane. Looking forward to following your adventures on your WC segment, followed by your African safari.

Glad to see you on board. Looking forward to your reports.

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I love your adventures, and thank you for sharing them with us.

Sooooo happy to hear that you are doing a segment of the WC. Thank you taking us along with you!!!!! Bon Voyage, Cherie

Welcome aboard!

Thursday, March 15, 2018

(The Ides of March)

Singapore

All Aboard! We’re finally on the ship and feeling quite at home. As much as we like Singapore, we like being on board even better, so we’re quite happy at present.

Last evening, our friends bailed because they were too tired and not feeling well, so we headed over to our favorite Clarke Quay restaurant, Little Saigon. The weather had cooled nicely, so our table on the water was perfect. John checked his Facebook account at the end of dinner and we found that our cruise friends Alan and Sandra had just posted, saying that they were at Clark Quay. John responded, asking where, and it turned out they were about 50 feet away, sitting outside a pub drinking Guinness and listening to music. We wandered over, hugged, and since they wanted Vietnamese food, we all returned to Little Saigon, where they had dinner and we had wine. It’s just great to bump into old friends and spend time together.

Today, we had one more errand, and that took quite a bit of the morning. As Verizon customers, we can add an international plan when we’re out of the country, so that’s what we did for the month. It includes 100 somethings of data (a tech expert I’m not), 100 texts, and 100 telephone minutes. The telephone time is important because our daughter and her family expect us to call once a week to check in. Unfortunately, we couldn’t make the darned phone work, so we knew we’d have to find a Verizon store to get it straightened out, since the nice girl on the phone gave us what sounded like wonderful help, but it didn’t work.

When I looked up “Verizon - Singapore,” I only found one listing, and it was across town in an enormous high-rise building. After our Starbucks breakfast, we hopped in a taxi (very reasonably priced in Singapore) and were dropped off in front of a 30-story glass building with tight security. After promising them our firstborn, we were escorted to an elevator and whisked up to the 16th floor. We found out that Verizon is not allowed to sell wireless service in Southeast Asia, so this was the corporate office, which was why we were surrounded by people in very nice suits. It only took about three minutes, and after I found out that I just had to hold the zero button down longer, I was calling California. I did mention that my tech skills leave something to be desired.

Afterwards, instead of taking a taxi back to the hotel, we walked the 3/4 mile on the pathway along the Singapore River. It was absolutely beautiful and we wished we’d had more time to stop and enjoy some of those restaurants.

Then it was time to complete the packing and hop in another taxi, this time to the pier. Fortunately, it wasn’t far, so ten minutes and eight dollars later, we were at the ship, picking up our room keys, dropping off our luggage, and walking on board. It felt so good to “be home” on the Amsterdam. We found Rich and Ginni on the Lido having a late lunch, and after our meals were wolfed down, the four of us headed to the Crow’s Nest, where there was a reception for newly-boarded passengers.

When we finally got back to our cabin, our luggage had arrived, so the next hour was the horrible job of unpacking and putting away our clothes. On shorter cruises (like this 20-day adventure), we usually just put the bags under the bed, but the space between the bed and the wall is so small in this cabin that we just can’t get them under. On a full WC, we bring more bags, but the room stewards take the empty bags away and bring them back a few days before the end of the cruise. We just may have to do that on this one. We finished unpacking just in time for the new passenger safety drill, but unlike the regular drills for everyone, there was only a small group and we were done in about 15 minutes.

Now it’s just rest time until 6:30, when we meet our friends in the Crow’s Nest. It really is good to be back on board.

Looking forward to your posts.

Glad you have safely arrived in Singapore and are safely on the ship.

You were fortunate to get help with your Verizone phone.

I have been following some of the other folk on the WC. I enjoy your posts as well. Thank you for sharing your journey with us. BTW, I too have Verizon and will be in New Zealand and Australia for a month in November, so if you have any tips in getting my phone to work down there, let me know!

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Friday, March 16, 2018

At Sea

Ahhhhh! A sea day to begin our cruise. If it weren’t for internet frustrations, I’d be completely relaxed. I’m sitting in my usual spot at the end of the library at the long marble table, but unlike last WC, there’s no one here but me. Shocking! I’ve been going a bit nuts trying to access AOL, since that’s how we communicate with our kids, but it just wants to make me sit and waste minutes while never actually pulling up new mail. I had no problems with Cruise Critic or NBC Sports (John wanted to see if Roger Federer had continued his winning streak), but AOL makes me want to throw the laptop across the room. Patient I’m not.

Yesterday after getting everything put away, we decided to go into the dining room to see where our table (#160) was, and the wonderful part was that we were besieged by former waiters, assistant waiters, wine stewards and Philip, the Dining Room Manager.

Our favorite part, though, was spending time with Manny, our all-time favorite Crow’s Nest bar steward (since the 2008 WC) who has just (as of yesterday) been promoted to wine steward. Unfortunately, he’s not OUR wine steward, but we’re just so proud of him.

The wonderful thing about the WC on the Amsterdam, as I’ve probably said before, ad nauseum, is the feeling of family among passengers, officers and crew. While walking in the hallway outside our room, I was “accosted” by Jacques, the Cellar Master, who has become a good friend, and on the last WC, our across-the-hall neighbor. At one point we were called into an office where three officers and friends greeted us like long-lost friends. I think you get the picture. It’s not about us; it’s about the feeling on the ship.

We agreed to meet in the Crow’s Nest at 6:30, since “Happy Hour” is from 6:30 to 7:30. We met a couple of new bar stewards as well as hugging and catching up with Twinkle,

the Assistant Beverage Manager, and Laurence, a bubbly young bar server who makes sure we’re well taken care of. Afterwards, we realized that an hour and a half in the Crow’s Nest was a bit long, especially since drinks were virtually two for one. Tonight, however, we’ve been invited to something for new passengers. I think it’s to meet some officers (whom we already know), but we’ll just go and find out.

Saturday, March 17, 2018 - Happy St. Patrick’s Day

Phuket, Thailand

I wasn’t able to finish writing yesterday, because I was having trouble accessing AOL to get our email, and Courtney, the librarian, had the HAL tech expert come into the library. He decided I would be his first “guinea pig” and tried to get access to our email. It wasn’t successful, but Courtney showed me how to do that very thing by logging into the ship’s website on my cell phone instead of my laptop. Even better, she showed me how to use texting without using any internet time until I was ready to post. Overall, it was a successful effort, but I still didn’t finish writing.

Last evening there was a really nice cocktail party in the Explorers’ Lounge for those of us who had boarded in Singapore. As we entered, we were greeted by Captain Jonathan and Hank Mercer, the Hotel Director, both of whom have become friends. In addition, we met Hamish, the new Cruise Director, who seems very nice and who runs trivia, so we’ll be seeing him there. After being provided with beverages and hors d’oeuvres, we planted ourselves in a comfortable position and were joined by Florin, the Food and Beverage Manager and Mark, the Assistant Cruise Director. As always, it’s nice to spend time with old friends.

Dinner was our usual silly time, with Will giving Ginni and John mugs which he had designed. They were decorated with a large “33” and a Sudoku-like grid on which every line added up to that number. He had seen it in Sagrada Familia, the Gaudi cathedral in Barcelona. It represents the age at which Jesus died and the grid was on the wall there.

The show last night was great. The four-man group was called “Jukebox Rogues,” and they sang and danced to all those wonderful songs of the 50’s, 60’s, and 70’s. Considering the average age of the passengers, it was a perfect choice and we even knew all the words.

Today was Phuket, a coastline city in Thailand with one of the most beautiful beaches and waterways you’ll ever see. Many visitors go to Phi Phi Island, where “The Beach” was filmed, and there’s even a beach where one of the James Bond movies was shot.

Unfortunately, the city on land is a vast disappointment compared to the sea. Buildings are crowded up against one another and open-sided bars are everywhere. It’s not a city I enjoy visiting, but many of the passengers like it. I think the best thing to do here is to set up a tour out on the island to see elephants, flora and fauna, or whatever.

It’s Ginni’s birthday today as well as St. Patrick’s Day, so we wandered along the waterfront until we found an Irish pub, where they had an interesting combination of pub food and Thai food on the menu. Dave, the owner, came over to chat and told us about how he and his Thai wife of 18 years had renovated the pub and just opened it a few months ago. It was an excellent choice for lunch - and their pad thai (my favorite) was really tasty.

Arriving back at the ship, we wandered through the stalls set up by sellers of everything from clothing to jewelry to whatever, but the real highlight was walking on board into actual air conditioning. We are so spoiled, but we’re really not used to 90 degree heat with 95% humidity. Now it’s time for a bit of a rest to get ready for the St. Patrick’s Day party and the celebration of four birthdays at our table. The fun never stops!

Happy Saint Pappy day.

Allan

Sounds like you had a couple of great days -- especially with meeting up with lots of crew members that you know.

Hope your internet problems are solved.

I'm so pleased to see you joined the World Cruise, if only for a segment, and that you are posting your adventures. It's always a treat to read what you are up to during the day, and the evening.

You don't seem to miss the fun on board, which I love, too, so love reading about.

Have fun! And thanks for taking us along.

I'm here at home near San Diego, and AOL has been very stubborn for the past week.

I don't know why, but it seems to be an AOL issue not a server one.

Enjoy your time on the Amsterdam!

David

Sunday, March 18, 2018

At Sea en route to Colombo, Sri Lanka

Last evening was ever so much fun! We hosted our old friends Woody and Susie at our table to celebrate Woody’s birthday as well as the three other birthdays at our table. Woody’s birthday had been on the 16th, Ginni on the 17th, Will is on the 19th, and John’s was on February 23, but at our table, we’ll celebrate anytime! Gifts were exchanged and everyone seemed to have a wonderful time.

Afterwards, we headed up to the Crow’s Nest for a nightcap, since the entertainer was a magician, and we usually prefer singers and comedians to ventriloquists and magicians. Everything had been decorated for St. Patrick’s Day and the band was in fine form.

Since today is Sunday, it was time for the nondenominational service in the Queen’s Room under the guidance of Pastor Al, a retired minister from Canada. He was the minister last WC also, and he and his wife are really nice people.

After church, it was time to introduce ourselves to the new Sunday brunch in the dining room. Now usually our lunch on Sunday consists of a shared Dive-In burger with a side of really superb fries, but everyone had said how nice this brunch was, so it was time to try it out. Boy, were they right! It’s called a “Sunday Brunch Sampler” and is served as a three-course set menu. Each course is served on a rectangular plate and is made up of several small “samples” of delightful foods. At the beginning, one is offered a choice of fresh-squeezed orange juice, coffee or tea, accompanied by a basket of breakfast pastries. The other options, at a charge, are mimosas, champagne, and wine.

The first course, called a “Cold Sampler” had seven tiny treats: a small container of muesli, a piece of focaccia with bits of tomato and mozzarella, a piece of brioche with egg salad on top, a shrimp sushi with crab, a small spoon with a taste of caviar, a bit of pate in puff pastry, and a piece of toast with chopped bits of salumi. Every single one of the “tastes” was delicious and nothing on my place went to waste. Surprisingly, though, the amounts were so small that I wasn’t in the least bit full.

Then it was time for the “Main Course: Hot Sampler.” Another seven tastes were presented, and by the time I was finished I really was full. This course consisted of the following: sweet and sour tempura battered jumbo shrimp, a mini chicken cordon bleu, an “English breakfast cup” consisting of a small glass container with the makings of an English breakfast (bacon, sausage, tomato, and beans), roast beef roll au jus, a piece of waffle in a berry compote, corned beef hash with spinach and potato, and an egg benedict shooter. I worked my way through all of them except the last (not my favorite) and then complained about how full I was.

For those who were interested (not me), the dessert sampler included small servings of chocolate cheesecake, tropical fruit pavlova, and strawberry shortcake. If you haven’t figured it out yet, I can give this whole experience two thumbs up. Everything was delicious and it was something I would recommend to anyone. Now I can hardly wait for next Sunday!

The rest of the day was spent in true “at sea” fashion. We headed to the back deck and worked on our tans at the pool while visiting with old friends, and then a nap was called for. It’s been a great day and we’re looking forward to the rest of it.

I am SO happy to be tagging along. I really enjoy your descriptions! Singapore sounds amazing! And those beaches...... sigh. I am in a frozen land.:D

That special breakfast sampler certainly does sound delicious. Way more than I could eat.

Monday, March 19, 2018

At Sea en route to Colombo, Sri Lanka

Sea days have always been fairly consistent, but that has changed since I’ve met a new young man named Shane. He’s ten years old and is traveling the world with his grandparents. His paternal grandparents and his maternal grandmother boarded with him in Ft. Lauderdale, and his grandmother supervised his fifth grade education until she disembarked in Sydney. Now his paternal grandparents are doing their best to continue on, along with the help of Bonita, a retired math teacher. Bonita has now recruited me to help with the reading/language arts program, so our few sea days will have at least a couple of hours taking me back to my English teaching. He’s a great kid and it’s fun to work with him.

Dinner last evening was even more entertaining than usual. Our waiter, “Tiger,” is quite the expert at origami, and is especially talented creating flowers of various types. He and another waiter spent quite a bit of time trying to teach us, but only Ginni had the talent (and patience) to really learn that skill. He promised that tonight he would teach us magic tricks. I don’t think there’s a better staff than on HAL.

We were tempted to skip the show last night, a violinist, but decided to go anyway and we were very happy we did. She was outstanding, and her version of “Danny Boy,” in honor of St. Patrick’s Day, was especially moving.

Today has been a typical day at sea. We got up at about 7:00 and headed up to the gym, with John making a stop in the Lido for coffee. About 40 minutes and a great deal of sweat later, it was back to the Lido for breakfast, where we usually sit with Rich and Ginni. Then it’s showers and John heads outside to a lounge chair while I grab the laptop and walk to the library, which today is much more crowded than it has been. After I wrote for awhile this morning, I began working with Shane and his language arts workbook. At 11:00, Bonita replaced me to work on math, and here I am back writing at the long table in the library.

We had pretty much decided not to play trivia on this cruise, but we sat in with Donald and Margaret a couple of days ago. I think that may be it, since we were of no use whatsoever to their team. I guess we’ll just wait until next year’s full world cruise and put together a team to play on a regular basis.

After lunch it will probably be sun time, but I for sure won’t admit it to my dermatologist. A nap may be in the works, but I may just continue reading the book club selection. The meeting is in two days and I have to be at page 181 by then. The book is Circling the Sun, a novelized version of the life of Beryl Markham, the first person, male or female, to fly the Atlantic from east to west. I’ve got to get myself really busy getting to that magical page 181. (BTW, the last book was Crazy Rich Asians, in case you’d like to know that. I’ll get the other titles soon).

This evening is our first formal night. Originally it was to be an Indian formal night, but too many people complained that such an occasion should be after being able to purchase Indian wear, so it has been rescheduled for after Sri Lanka. Since I picked up a nice new Indian top in Singapore, I’m all ready.

So, two lovely sea days in a row, and tomorrow we’re actually taking an HAL tour - to the beach. It’s inexpensive and who’s going to complain about spending the day at a resort. Can’t wait.

How wonderful that you have a 10 year old taking a world cruise. And some of you are willing to help home school him. He'll have a lot to tell his friends when he gets home.