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Around the World on Amtrak, KLM, and HAL


rafinmd
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Thank you all. We are now docked and I'm starting final preparations to leave. I'll have to look at comments and questions from my hotel later.

 

Day P16, Friday, November 17, 2017, [Half Moon Cay, Bahamas]

 

The Oosterdam is in Ft. Lauderdale. The Amsterdam is at sea from Darwin to Cairns.

 

I made little progress on my sleep disruption, sleeping until 4 rather than 3:30 and giving up on going back to sleep about 4:15. By 5 I had done the walking I had planned for the day, about 6 laps or 1 ½ miles.

 

Sunrise was about 6:20. I went up to the lido then for an omelet and found the day very cloudy with the sun peeking through just a little hole

 

https://solocabinchallenge.files.wordpress.com/2017/11/dawn1117.jpg

 

As I finished the omelet we seemed to be slowing down and I went up to the observation deck for a look. That’s 2 decks above the lido and the outdoor staircases are stacked on top of each other. As I went up to the next deck and turned back to go to the second landing there was a rainbow evident behind the ship. Once I was on the observation deck and turned to port at the front of the ship the other end of the rainbow was right in front of me.

 

https://solocabinchallenge.files.wordpress.com/2017/11/rainbow.jpg

 

I had booked a “Historic and nature” walk for 9AM. The ticket said to meet on the island at 8:50. Tender tickets were due to be given out at 8. I left my cabin about 7:45 walking down the exterior stairs from my “porch” to the lower promenade deck. An anchor flag showed prominently on the mast. As I walked back along the deck to the atrium I could see one of the island’s tenders alongside. They were supposed to be working for the Nieuw Amsterdam for the day so they may have been there to pick up supplies for the island lunch or they may have been available for the initial rush.

 

https://solocabinchallenge.files.wordpress.com/2017/11/anchordown.jpg

 

I got my ticket at 8; at 8:10 Captain Dag announced that the anchor would not hold us in place and we were aborting the call. Since I had been planning on walking on the island and had walked only 7 laps on deck I returned to the lower promenade to complete the rest of my 5 miles. As I walked I could see Nieuw Amsterdam (with azipods and dynamic positioning they apparently were able to complete their call) and the island fading behind us.

 

https://solocabinchallenge.files.wordpress.com/2017/11/na-at-hmc.jpg

 

Linda came on the PA about 9:30 and announced a new daily schedule. As Tom Anderson was closing his “final” talk the mentioned that he had one more talk to give but there was no time. His time was 10AM for a talk on “sea power”, not particularly in military terms but the advantages to a nation of having a strong sea presence in ship building, cargo handling, training and humanitarian purposes. He was followed by an 11 talk by Dr. Adrian Cooper on the Bahamas.

 

The day’s (and voyage’s) final presentation was at 3, Chris Mason on “Luxury Yachts”. Most of the afternoon was spent packing although I did briefly join the webcam sailaway addicts for the departure of Celebrity Reflection from Ft. Lauderdale. The sun was setting behind the clouds as I headed down to dinner.

 

https://solocabinchallenge.files.wordpress.com/2017/11/dusk1117.jpg

 

Dinner at table 153 was a mix of sad farewells along with Chicken Noodle Soup , Prime Rib, and Baked Alaska. There was a parade of chefs but it was short and sweet.

 

https://solocabinchallenge.files.wordpress.com/2017/11/dishes1117.jpg

 

The featured entertainment was a combo of Comedian Tony Daro and Juggler Luke Burrage. I passed on it but put my bags out at 8:55 and went up to the Crow’s Nest for a few minutes with Lee at the Piano.

 

https://solocabinchallenge.files.wordpress.com/2017/11/bagsout.jpg

 

My parting shot will be a look at the last few years. I mentioned while on the Amsterdam that voyage completed for me a cruise ship path around the world. There are several possibilities and the details get a bit messy since Crystal and HAL tend to use different US home ports but here’s one of the possibilities:

 

Ft. Lauderdale to Key West–Maasdam, 2015

Key West to Cabo - Crystal Symphony, 2012

Cabo to San Diego - Zaandam, 2017

San Diego to Hong Kong - Amsterdam, 2017

Singapore to Hong Kong (reversed) - Zaandam, 2012

Singapore to Cape Town - Crystal Serenity, 2014

Cape Town to Ft. Lauderdale - Amsterdam, 2014

 

Roy

 

 

Enjoyed your final report and pictures from this adventure.

Have a safe flight home.

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Thank you Alan, Perfect Match, Kazu, Keith,

Debbie. I do still have a few days left with no more flights to go. Kazu, I'll have to get back to you with a partial response on the dinner.

 

Thank

Day P17, Saturday, November 18, 2017, Disembark MS Prinsendam, Ft. Lauderdale, FL

 

The Oosterdam is at sea from Ft. Lauderdale to Aruba. The Amsterdam is at sea from Darwin to Cairns.

 

I’ve been feeling caught up in a bit of a “hurry up and wait” scenario although I am not actually involved. When we moved our departure from Half Moon Cay from 3PM to 1:30, it was because we had been given a very early time slot by Immigration and Customs and needed to be ready to pick up our pilot at 4:30. As it turned out they weren’t ready for us until 5:30. If we had been able to get into Half Moon Cay I would have been exceedingly frustrated.

 

I did wake up again a little after 4, but this time decided I would just go with it and start the day early. I was first up on deck about 4:30 and it was very dark. I walked 6 laps around the deck and could see that the Harmony of the Seas was already docked, and it was soon joined by the Independence of the Seas. It was still quite dark when we sent the first lines ashore, just a couple minutes after 6.

 

https://solocabinchallenge.files.wordpress.com/2017/11/arrived.jpg

 

Not long after we arrived it got bright enough so we could see the other ships in port, at least the Crown Princess and the Harmony of the Seas, and a little later the Nieuw Amsterdam, last of the day’s ships to arrive.

 

https://solocabinchallenge.files.wordpress.com/2017/11/nieuwamsftl.jpg

 

There are also changes in the port. The first time I sailed from Port Everglades was on the Celebrity Solstice in 2012 and that terminal is now fenced off and the buildings beyond it completely demolished.

 

https://solocabinchallenge.files.wordpress.com/2017/11/old-term.jpg

 

I got a final waffle soon after the lido opened at 6:30. With all the day’s activity I had forgot about sunrise but ended up looking right at it as I finished the waffle.

 

https://solocabinchallenge.files.wordpress.com/2017/11/dawn1118.jpg

My yellow 1 disembarkation group was estimated to depart 8:00 to 8:15. Things ran pretty much according to schedule with the self disembark group leaving near the end of their estimated window and my group was called at 8:14.

 

It was a small group and I had a little difficulty finding my bags because yellow 1 was such a small pile it was easy to overlook. Immigration seemed to go pretty well. With my NEXUS card I was able to use the Global Entry line which was extremely quick; it looked like people in the regular line probably waited less than 10 minutes.

 

I had booked Luggage Forward to ship my big bag home. Their representative was right outside the terminal exit and she relieved me of the big bag I was pulling. There were only a few of us going to Miami Airport (8 on a big bus). We left just after 9 and were at the airport about 9:50.

 

My hotel is the Sheraton Airport. Miami has a relatively new multimodal transportation center with rental cars, buses, metrorail, and a shuttle train to the airport. There are 2 ways to get to the hotel; they have a courtesy van which stops at the airport a couple of hours, I’ve found waiting for the shuttle while MANY other shuttles are coming and going as well to be kind of frustrating. The alternative is to use the airport’s shuttle train to go to the multimodal center and then walk across the street to the hotel, a walk about equal to the length of the Prinsendam. A couple on the bus used the hotel shuttle while I went to the multimodal center and then walked to the hotel. We arrived just about the same time.

 

I was a bit too early at the hotel and told to come back in a couple of hours. I returned to the multimodal station and bought a day pass and took the metro to Coral Gables. After browsing a bit in Publix to work on my shopping list for preparation for the World Cruise I stopped at Panera for lunch. I remember the Miracle Mile as being a nice pleasant setting for years but recently they have been doing a “streetscape” and it’s been a construction nightmare. I saw no sign of positive progress since I was there in January on the Grandeur of the Seas.

 

https://solocabinchallenge.files.wordpress.com/2017/11/lunch1118.jpg

 

I returned to the hotel about 3 and was soon checked in.

 

https://solocabinchallenge.files.wordpress.com/2017/11/sheratonmia.jpg

 

After watching the ships sail from Ft. Lauderdale with my fellow HAL webcam addicts I headed out for dinner. The sun was setting through a rather streaked window just as I was getting ready to leave.

 

https://solocabinchallenge.files.wordpress.com/2017/11/dusk1118.jpg

 

The final ship to leave Ft. Lauderdale was the Prinsendam, a late departure at 8. Though mostly a silhouette she looked stately as she made her way towards the Amazon.

 

My parting shot today will be a bon voyage to all those leaving Ft. Lauderdale Saturday. Despite quite a large number of people in the port. Special Bon Voyage for those headed out for a month to the Amazon and back.

 

Roy

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The Miami airport set up sounds intriguing Roy.

 

You were smart to use Luggage Direct for your big bag - makes getting around so much easier :D

 

You have had an incredible cruising adventure/voyages.

 

Appreciate it if you can let me know on the dinner. No worries, if you don't have time.

 

Thanks so much for taking us along for the entire trip. It's been so enjoyable. Safe travels home :D

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Love the dusk and dawn pics Roy.

 

Sorry about the shortened stop at HMC. Hopefully you can successfully tender there.

 

Glad your water problems are short lived.

 

OMG - talking about packing at dinner and HMC = cruise nearly over. I hope your remaining time is wonderful.

 

If you happened to notice and if you have time, was the there any special dinner offering like the Cellar Master dinner?

 

Thanks :)

I saw the menu posted in the Lido the next day but never gave it another thought. I missed seeing it in the When and Where but it was held in the Pinnacle Grill the day we were in Funchal with a price of $79. Here's the menu as well as I could capture it from under glass.

 

See attached PDF

 

Roy

cellar.pdf

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I saw the menu posted in the Lido the next day but never gave it another thought. I missed seeing it in the When and Where but it was held in the Pinnacle Grill the day we were in Funchal with a price of $79. Here's the menu as well as I could capture it from under glass.

 

See attached PDF

 

Roy

 

YAY :). Thanks very much Roy. We had none on our Rotterdam cruise and when I inquired, Seattle told me they were cancelled. Meanwhile, a post revealed that they were still on the Prinsendam so I was hoping that was still the case.

 

Now, I can hold out hope for our cruise next year (yn)

 

Much appreciated :D

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YAY :). Thanks very much Roy. We had none on our Rotterdam cruise and when I inquired, Seattle told me they were cancelled. Meanwhile, a post revealed that they were still on the Prinsendam so I was hoping that was still the case.

 

 

 

Now, I can hold out hope for our cruise next year (yn)

 

 

 

Much appreciated :D

 

 

 

Jacqui. We had a Cellar Master dinner on the Westerdam crossing .

The price was $79.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

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Hi Roy-

I kept Maryland safe for you while you were gone. We have finally gotten into the colder weather in the past couple weeks.

Thank you for your blogging efforts; entertaining and informative as always. Looking forward to your next trip; mine is still too far off....

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Hi Roy-

I kept Maryland safe for you while you were gone. We have finally gotten into the colder weather in the past couple weeks.

Thank you for your blogging efforts; entertaining and informative as always. Looking forward to your next trip; mine is still too far off....

 

Thank you. First time Panama Canal? Enjoy!!

 

Roy

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Thank you all. Posting quickly on my final night in Miami. Amtrak says they have wifi now on the Silver Meteor but I'll believe it when I see it.

Day Pplus1, Sunday, November 19, 2017, Miami, FL

 

The Oosterdam is at sea from Ft. Lauderdale to Aruba. The Amsterdam is in Cairns. The Prinsendam is on her way to St. Thomas, USVI, the first stop on her Amazon Explorer.

 

I rose at 5 and mostly worked online until about 6:30. I had hoped to visit an area church where the pastor grew up in my local congregation but the transit connections required were a bit more daunting than I was prepared for today. I opted instead for First Methodist Church of Miami which was much more accessible.

 

https://solocabinchallenge.files.wordpress.com/2017/11/mover.jpg

 

After an early breakfast at the hotel I boarded metrorail at the multimodal station and rode to central Miami, then transferred to “Metro-mover”, a free automated shuttle that took me to the bayfront. I was there about 8:15 for the 8:30 chapel service, an intimate setting with only about a dozen people in attendance. The pastor was out of town and the service was conducted by a very young and enthusiastic associate. There were barely a dozen of us at the service.

 

https://solocabinchallenge.files.wordpress.com/2017/11/firstmiami.jpg

 

I had decided to spend part of the day in Fort Lauderdale. The commuter railroad Tri-rail intersects the metrorail system at the multimodal complex and I retraced my steps back there. The train to Ft. Lauderdale runs hourly and I had just missed the 10:17 so I went back to the hotel for a little while before catching the 11:17. The ride to Ft. Lauderdale is about 40 minutes.

 

https://solocabinchallenge.files.wordpress.com/2017/11/tri-rail.jpg

 

Tri-Rail provides free shuttle buses at some of their stops. They are nominally to bring people to and from the stations but my experience was that a tiny portion of their business. I also found that they did not run very close to schedule but they did get me within walking distance of the Embassy Suites where I will stay before my World Cruise.

 

https://solocabinchallenge.files.wordpress.com/2017/11/shuttle.jpg

 

I looked around the Embassy lobby. They did appear pretty organized preparing to shuttle a large number of people to 7 different cruise ships. I also checked out the Publix and tested the distance to the 17th street while getting a look at all 7 ships in port, including the Koningsdam and Eurodam.

 

https://solocabinchallenge.files.wordpress.com/2017/11/doubledam.jpg

 

Lunch came in 3 parts, skim milk from Burger King right after leaving Tri-Rail, soup at Panera after the 17th street bridge, and finally an ice cream cone at McDonalds. I got to the shuttle stop I thought on time but it never appeared. After a long wait I gave up on it and boarded a regular Broward transit bus. I got to the station soon after a southbound train had left and had to wait until almost 5PM. I made a stop at another Burger King near the next to last Tri-Rail stop and then walked back to the hotel, returning about 6:45. The rest of the evening was spent at the hotel.

 

https://solocabinchallenge.files.wordpress.com/2017/11/broward.jpg

 

I looked back at my walking which was about 8 miles on the Oosterdam, 92 miles on the Amsterdam and 57 on the Prinsendam. According to my Amtrak timetable my total of 157 miles was a little longer than the distance from Philadelphia to Washington. I don’t think I would have ever set out to do a walk like that but in effect it has happened. As they say, a journey of 1000 miles (or 157) begins with a single step (or lap).

 

Roy

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You had quite the day, Roy!

 

ES is such a great location for everything. Perfect prior to your World Cruise to stock up on anything you need.

 

Amazing how all those walks on the promendade decks added up! 157 miles - WOW! Well done indeed.

 

Hope your rail ride is smooth and enjoyable.

 

Have a good trip home.

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