Cruise with Bill & Mary Ann on the Prinsendam's Grand So. America & Antarctica Voyage

[MMDown Under]

Thank you! Thank you, Bill and Mary, for sharing YOUR cruise experiences with CC members.

I hate it when people shoot the messenger, as I appreciate the time taken to share the ups and downs of YOUR travel experiences.

[lizf]

I think that Paul and Maria actually said they were notified of the water shutdown by a 'note' placed in their cabin the night before. They didn't actually say that they read about it in the daily news the night before. Since they are in a suite and not a balcony cabin, notices of this nature many times are placed like a personal letter to catch one's attention. Balcony cabins don't get that extra treatment. That's just how I saw the situation.

[Aussie Gal]

Lizf,

You are correct in that Paul and Maria did receive a note when they returned to their cabin. We too were in a mini suite and did receive lots of information but we still did read our newspaper each night before going to bed so that we could plan the next day.

Jennie

[lizf]

Jennie-
That is fine that you read your daily program in the evenng, but what does that have to do with Bill and Mary Ann? I didn't think your post was very nice and I know that is not typical of you. I personally am very grateful to Bill and Mary Ann for their honest posts. They express their opinion and I know I can rely on their information. They go to a huge expense to take us along and I really appreciate it. Far be it from me to criticize them.

I have downgraded our booking for next year's Grand Voyage to Africa and the Mediterranean because I fear we may have similar things so wrong.
You know what? I don't feel so much pressure now that the trip be without gliches. I know there will be such things, but I won't worry as much when my investment isn't as high. That is just how I feel. I didn't know until I did it, but I don't worry so much now.

[Hflors]

[quote name='MMDown Under']Thank you! Thank you, Bill and Mary, for sharing YOUR cruise experiences with CC members.

I hate it when people shoot the messenger, as I appreciate the time taken to share the ups and downs of YOUR travel experiences.[/QUOTE]

I totally agree!

Helen

[WCB]

Report # 50 February 27, 2010 Saturday Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Day one

We had to be up early this morning to catch the scenic sailing into the port of Rio de Janeiro, like around 5:30am. Oh, it wasn't easy, but it was sure worth it. Despite the heavy overcast, we started spotting the jutting granite knolls that mark the area. It was clear enough to see Corcovado Mountain with the famous staue of Christ the Redeemer perched on the top. The beaches were barely lit with hotels and street lights. The Prinsendam quietly slipped into the Guananbara Bay, where we will be docked for two days. The Delphin Voyager was already there, and we believe another ship was coming later.

When we turned on CNN, we heard the terrible news that Chile had suffered a massive earthquake of 8.8. The city of Concepcion and Santiago had been hit hard. We could not believe that we were just there 2 weeks ago, and all was well! The entire coastline of west South America is part of the Ring of Fire, where these things happen all of the time. Living in San Francisco as kids, we know too well what earthquakes can do. Tsunami warnings had gone out throughout the Pacific too. We would not know until later in the day if that would happen for sure, but it did have a lot of people scared. All of us kept them in our thoughts and prayers today. We did see that Robinson Crusoe Island had been hit, and 3 people died with 10 still missing. So, so sad.

Well, this was our second visit to Rio, but seven years ago, we missed two important stops...Sugar Loaf and Corcovado. We had been scheduled to take a helicopter ride over those mountains and the entire city, but it rained and all the flights were cancelled. So for that reason, we booked a 4 hour tour with our travel group this morning at 9am. There were only 23 of us, which was nice. There was plenty of space on the bus. And it was much easier for Lucia to herd 23 as opposed to 50!

Our guide was also very good. He spoke perfect English, which is a huge help for most of us. He told us that Brazil has about 197 million people, with 6 million living within the city limits. Add 10 million more living in the outlying areas, you have one MAJOR traffic jam!! Guess we could describe the city as a "rags or riches" society. However, many more live in poverty than the other way around. Thus, there is a lot of crime, especially with the tourists. But we did everything we were told yesterday....stay with a group and dress down. Not a problem!

The guide, with Lucia's request, drove us to the most important stop of the day.....Sugar Loaf Mountain. This cablecar ride to the top is split into two sections. The first ride is up to Urca Hill at 705 feet. Then you continue in another cable car to the top at 1300 feet. It was an exhiliarating and quick ride.

Once the tickets were purchased for all of us, we proceeded with almost no wait in line, to the first car. Seventy-five people can be squeezed into the cablecar. It is surrounded by windows, and sort of rocks back and forth once the climb starts. It's OK if you don't look straight down!! When we got out of the car, we walked around the base of this mountain to see the helicopter pad on one side. Our friend Mary Ellen had just climbed into the chopper and was off for a thrilling ride. Bruce was happy to watch!

While we were taking pictures of the views, we spotted tiny little monkeys running around. They were no bigger than a large squirrel. And it was obvious that they were looking for snacks, even though signs forbidding feeding the animals are posted everywhere. We were taking pictures of them going over the mountain side. That was when we noticed some rock repellers hanging dangerously on the side of the smoth granite, getting ready to go down. We could not watch that action!

Also on this level was an international restaurant called, guess what? Sugarloaf, of course!! Around the corner from here, was the entrance to the cablecar, where we boarded once again for the ride up. Straight up to 1300 feet! Wow, it only took three minutes. Besides fantastic views of the beaches, parks, and city below, guess what we saw? Yep, jewelry stores and souvenier shops! The most popular place, however, was the snack bar. The aroma of pizza drove us crazy, since we did not eat breakfast this morning! But we only had a short time to take pictures up here, before we had to go back down and join our bus. Even though the skies were cloudy, we were able to get good pictures. And a funny thing happened while on the top. A nice couple approached us, and asked if we were the Cruise Critic folks! They said they recognized us from photos posted on the site. They are members that will join the ship tomorrow for the last segment. We got their room number and promised to send them an invite for the March 1st lunch. What a small world to run into them up here!

Our driver took us through the mile long Santa Barbara Tunnel, through the Lapa area, and finally to the Centro area. We passed by the Carnival Street where many spectator stands that hold up to 45 thousand people, lined the boulevard. The real show happened here recently....four days of parades and parties before Ash Wednesday, which was on February 17th. Darn, we just missed it!! But we have heard that it is a zoo here, and the city is grid-locked during that crazy time.

Our last stop was at the Metropolitan Cathedral. It took a while to get there, because there was a lot of cars, buses, trucks, and traffic lights. We were right in the center of the local fresh food markets. And with today being Saturday, many locals were out shopping for food. Anyway, the Cathedral resembles a beehive to us, or according to the travel book, it looks like the nose of a space capsule. For what it lacks in beauty on the outside, this cone-shaped monolithe is gorgeous on the inside. Four columns of stained glass windows jut up to the ceiling where a white cross brings them together. The colorful columns represent the north, south, east and west. In the center of the floor space, is the conservative altar, with a huge wooden cross suspended over it. Even though we have been here before, we appreciated it more today.

We were driven through the financial district that was filled with old, but stately buildings. Then we went back to the ship for a leisurely lunch, but not in the dining room as we had wished. It was closed again today. Room service worked out just fine! Two chef salads and one club sandwich did the job!

The rest of the afternoon, we spent downloading photos, and watching the traffic on the busy pier. We could have taken the Stern shuttle back to Ipanema, but then we would have been stuck with the sales pitch in their store. Been there, done that! And tomorrow, we will be going to the beaches on another tour. That will be enough for us.

Dinner was nice tonight, with just six of us. Two couples had gone out to a huge lunch and were exhausted. Sometimes that is a good thing, because the conversation between six is comfortable and just easier. We ordered the breaded veal entree and it was perfect.

We did stay up to see the Sambo Show in the lounge, but it really wasn't the best. When a very tall, large man sat right in front of us, that was a good excuse to "exit stage left"!! And besides, tomorrow will be another busy day, so off to bed we went!

Mary Ann & Bill

PS Thanks to Cruise Critic readers RuthC and Deepwatermariner, we now know the correct names to the letters on our cups we got last night. NASD means Netherlands American Steam Navigation.
Also, Sundried....yes the pools were closed and the self service laundry rooms were locked during the CODE RED period.
And Aussiegal, we think the special help with the Cruise Critic meetings may be due to the fact this is a GRAND Voyage.

[I_r_a]

Hi Mary Ann & Bill,

Thank you very much for sharing your adventure with us.

[CruisinTexans]

We have done three world cruises with Mary Ann and Bill and I love to read their take on the trip when we get home. I am too cheap to waste internet time on the ship to read it, but we do visit with them quite often in the Crow's Nest during the voyage.

I find their comments on Cruise Critic to be "right on" for the cruises we have shared with them. They are generous with their praise when things are done right and try to make the best of it when things aren't so perfect. If things aren't so perfect and nobody lets Holland know, how can they correct it.

Thanks, Mary Ann and Bill, for taking the time to share your experiences and observations with the Cruise Critics board.

Leslie & Handler

[Aussie Gal]

[quote name='lizf']Jennie-
That is fine that you read your daily program in the evenng, but what does that have to do with Bill and Mary Ann? I didn't think your post was very nice and I know that is not typical of you. I personally am very grateful to Bill and Mary Ann for their honest posts. They express their opinion and I know I can rely on their information. They go to a huge expense to take us along and I really appreciate it. Far be it from me to criticize them..[/quote]

Lizf,

My comments were not meant in a nasty way. I was just pointing out that we always read our programs at night and therefore knew what was happening on board the ship. Waking up in the middle of the night and not knowing that the water had been turned off would have been a shock and then to find it still off in the morning would have made it even worse!

I too am enjoying Mary Ann and Bill's posts and have learnt a lot from both of them over the years though this time I am reading between the lines quite a bit of negativity which means that perhaps they are not enjoying themselves as much as they thought they would. They are on an older ship and it does need a lot maintenance which perhaps they didn't realize.

Jennie

[CruisinTexans]

Bill and Mary Ann were on the world cruise on the Prinsendam in 2005 with us, so I am sure they are familiar with the ship. Since it has had a major refurbishment since 2005, it should be in better condition than it was on the world cruise. It just sounds to me like there have been some problems that HAL has been a little slow to respond to. Stuff happens but usually on the Grand Voyages HAL goes above and beyond to rectify or compensate for inconveniences. It sounds like they aren't doing as good a job of this as they have on the Grand Voyages we've been on in the past. It's too bad because we are booked on the Grand Med/Black Sea right after Bill and Mary Ann's voyage.

Leslie

[WCB]

Report # 51 February 28, 2010 Sunday Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Day Two

The morning started off with blue skies with scattered clouds. It looked like we were going to have a sunny day, but we didn't let that fool us, because things can turn on a dime here. We would discover that later in the day........

We booked a 4 hour tour with our travel group for this morning. Henk, our host, took the reigns today for 20 of his clients . Our first destination was a trip up Corcovado Mountain to see the famous statue of Christ the Redeemer. He is a powerful site, sitting on top of the 2300 foot mountaintop! We had taken good photos of this monument, but only from the top of Sugar Loaf yesterday. It was a much better experience to see it up close and personal!

Our bus ride was short with little traffic getting to the bottom of the mountain and the Cosme Velho train station. But that was due to the fact that today was Sunday, and the streets were empty at 8am. Even though the bus ride was short, that was not true with our wait to board the train. That was over an hour long. Our guide, who happened to be the same fellow we had yesterday, purchased the tickets, handed them out, and told us we had an hour to roam around. There were a few tourist shops, but everything was ridiculously expensive. One of our friends wanted to buy a small Brazilian flag, but it was $19!! She quickly handed it back to the salesgirl.

That was when we saw a large group of HAL passengers arrive, end around us, and board the train. Something was fishy here...... That's when we figured out that someone for HAL pre-purchased their tickets before they were here. According to our guide, he said that is not supposed to happen. It was first come, first serve. There was only one way they got their tickets ahead of us,,,,HAL greased somebody's hand with lots of Brazilian reals $$$$$$$. But is that a surprise? No, we are in Brazil right?

By 10:40am, we boarded the cogwheel train that was originally built in 1885. The steep ride of 2.3 miles took about 20 minutes to reach the top. Most of the view from this train was of thick forested cliffsides. Once off of the train, we had the use of two banks of escaloters and one elevator to get to the summit. Once we rounded the corner to see the 100 foot, 700 ton statue on a 20 foot pedestal (which was scaffolded), it was too immense for words. This icon was created using reinforced concrete, with a layer of soapstone adhered to the outer surface. Around the back of the statue is a small chapel. It has been sanctioned to host baptisms and weddings by the Catholic Church. It would have to be a small affair, but what a place to have a ceremony!

Now is when that tricky weather stepped in, creating a bank of fog that settled over half of the view up there! In the short time snce we had left the pier, clouds came overhead, and the conditions were just right to create fog. It drifted right up to the statue, threatening to cover that too. We took pictures quickly before all of the scenic landscapes were gone. We really knew that once we were back at the bottom, the clouds would lift, as they can do in the afternoon. We can see why this site has been named one of the New Seven Wonders of the World!

There happened to be a celebration of some sorts being set up right under the statue. Three extremely large cream frosted cakes were set on tables, waiting to be served by 11:30am.....right after we left, of course. A four piece band was getting ready to set up their instruments. bet it was cool, but we just did not have the option to stay. The ship was due to leave around 3pm, so we needed to keep moving. We chose to walk down the 200 stairs to the train loading zone. Every level of stairs had a souvenier store offering trinkets of all kinds with little statues on them.

Our group boarded the train for the slow ride back down to the station. Our bus driver was there to pick us up, and drive us to see the famous beaches. Because it was Sunday, two lanes on the shoreside were closed for pedestrian and bike traffic. That figures.....we sat on the right-hand side of the bus to take beach pictures! Not a problem, we could switch back and forth, since there were only 20 of us on a really nice coach.

We made our way to Ipanema, where the apartments and stores comprise Rio's money belt! However, most of the shops were closed today because it was Sunday. We are certain that H. Stern jewelry store was open, because a shuttle was running from the ships to here on a 20 minute cycle. Between the lagoon located behind the street and the tree-lined beachfront, this has got to be the prettiest section of the city. With the except of the lagoon, where thousands of small fish floated dead on the brackish waters. For some reason, there had been a die-back, and the city employees were scooping these fish up by the tons and disposing of them. Can you imagine the smell if they left them piling up? The many joggers and bikers were greatful for the city's efforts....even on a Sunday.

We all looked for "The Girl From Ipanema" as we drove by slowly! Once the guide began singing that song, we all joined in! Good thing we love that tune, because once it is in your head, it is there all day!! If our calculations are correct, this 14 year old Brazilian beauty may be in her 80's or more!! Even though it was heavily overcast, the activities on the beach were in full force. Many local families and those on vacation were out swimming, strolling, biking, or playing volleyball. Drink and food stalls lined the roadside selling beach toys as well for the kids. Then, the driver had to circle around to drive back to Copacabana beach.

This area has been dubbed "Manhattan with bikinis"!! We did not see that many of those scantily-clad girls, but we did notice that many men were dress with less. Some should not have been according to most of the passengers on our bus! More volleyball games were happening on this stretch of beach. It was amazing to see the fellows hit the ball with everything but their hands. Gosh, they must go home with headaches and sore chests!! This was the first time we noticed the presence of police stands scattered along the shoreline. That must be a big help with the crime. Although, we were warned that if you set anything down in the sand, and turned your back....it would be gone in 60 seconds! We were given 10 minutes to walk the wide mosaic sidewalk and take photos, which was not on the tour itinerary. We think Henk told the guide he owed us that, because of the hour wait we had at the train station.

We passed by the famous Copacabana Palace, also associated with the song made famous by Barry Manilow. Now we have two songs playing in our heads!! But we like that one too! Passing the luxury hotel built in 1923, brought back memories of the special event held by Radisson seven years ago. The full South America voyage passengers were treated to a cocktail reception poolside, with a tour of the interior of the hotel. Sure was nice!

Our tour had exceeded the time by an hour, so we headed back to the ship. We missed the dining room lunch, so room service was our best bet. It was fast, and it was good!

The ship was scheduled to leave at 3pm, but that did not happen until 4pm, when the pilot finally showed up. And guess what? We had a sail-away party on the aftpool deck. It was well attended with waiters serving hot snacks and bartenders making the special drink of the day among other cocktails. Wish we did this more often. Anyway, we had scenic sailing along the coastline to Copacabana Beach...that is until it started raining. That cleared the deck quickly! Oh well, we could watch this from our veranda. On or way to our room, we ran into Sue and Laurie, who invited us to their new room forward on deck nine. It was a smaller room, but their balcony was a bit deeper than ours. They hope to stay in this room now, because it is their third time around!

Later on at 5pm, we were invited to the James Bond suite 007 (not really Janes Bond, but it sounds good to our friends). The suite was really, really nice with lots of space and storage capacity. They had two leather couches and a large coffe table, which they had filled with cold hors d'oeuvres brought by their butler. We have not seen these special treats anywhere else on the ship. Plates of stuffed mushrooms, tempura lobster, sushi, butterflied shrimp, cheese rounds, and assorted nuts were all appealing and delicious. It was really nice visiting with our friends that we have traveled with on several cruises in the past. They were sure lucky to have been upgraded to such a nice room, and we couldn't be happier for them! They deserved it!

Tonight was Carnival Night, with all the neat decorations in the dining rooms. The waiters were dressed like jesters...very colorful, but warm costumes. Now wouldn't you think that this should have been a formal night? Especially with the Masquerade Ball held in the lounge at 10pm?? Nope, it was a casual night, and tomorrow is formal. Go figure!! They just can't seem to get it right!

We skipped the ball, because it had been a busy port day. Bet many others did the same!

Bill & Mary Ann

[MMDown Under]

Could someone please explain the differences between a World Cruise and a Grand Cruise?

[RuthC]

[quote name='MMDown Under']Could someone please explain the differences between a World Cruise and a Grand Cruise?[/quote]
[FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=3][COLOR=royalblue]The World Cruise circumnavigates (or almost circumnavigates) the entire globe. A grand cruise does not. [/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=3][COLOR=royalblue]Both are long cruises, with special touches to make them memorable. [/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]

[wander]

Love your travelogue!!!!!

When we were in Rio in December (not on ship) we took a Grayline tour to see the statue. Our guide already had the tickets for the train and we walked right past folks and filled the waiting train. So, I guess even locals have a way around the lines.

[MMDown Under]

[quote name='RuthC'][FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=3][COLOR=royalblue]The World Cruise circumnavigates (or almost circumnavigates) the entire globe. A grand cruise does not. [/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=3][COLOR=royalblue]Both are long cruises, with special touches to make them memorable. [/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT][/QUOTE]

Thanks Ruth C,

Does one have more special features than the other or are they meant to be of similiar standard?

[mancunian]

I think that possibly your guide was not being strictly honest with you. Two years' ago we did an excursion pre our Rotterdam cruise to Corcovado and exactly the same thing happened. The two previous trains had been prebooked one of them by Princess.

[WCB]

Report # 52 March 1, 2010 Monday Day at Sea

Well, we are NOT wishing that the weather gets warmer.......it was HOT today when we went out to walk after breakfast. Not only hot, but really HUMID!! The closer we get to the Equator, the more sticky it will be. We may as well get used to it and very soon!

Today turned out to be a fun one. The second Cruise Critic lunch was held in the dining room at 12:15pm. We welcomed two couples that joined us for the first time....one couple had already been on since Florida, but had not given their room number. They were members due to friends who suggested they join the group, but really did not know what it was about. And the second couple boarded the ship yesterday in Rio. They felt comfortable almost immediately. For some reason, the Cruise Critic folks are good conversationalists, and for the most part, well-traveled. We learn new things every time we get together. Lunch ended for some of us around 2pm. We figured that we had better leave the dining room, because the waiters were setting up the room for a special cupcake tea at 3pm.

Other activities included a talk from Frank B. about the upcoming port of Salvador de Bahia, the original capital of old Brazil. When we were here in 2003, we found this area to be extremely different from any other Brazilian city. In fact, the feel of the old city is very African, due to the slaves that congregated here from other parts of Brazil many, many years ago.

At 11am, speaker Jawad Barghothi, spoke about politics in Brazil, while Dennis Wille lectured on gems of America.....not the kind you think, but South America's 3000 bird species.

We spent some time walking the promenade after lunch, watching the several masked boobys that circled the ship endlessly for hours. They were on the hunt for the small flying fish that sprung up from around the ship's hull. When a fish was spotted, one of these birds would dive like a rock to catch it. Other birds then dove after the fish in the beak of the first bird. This would continue until the biggest bird got the fish! It was amazing to see. Survival of the fittest!

Even though it was cloudy with drizzles this morning, the afternoon sun finally peaked out. We took advantage of the aft pool finally after weeks of cool weather. Actually, not the pool itself......it is filled with salt water, not our favorite. We just used the new lounges, which are such a huge improvement over the old plastic chairs. The sun's rays were not quite as hot by 3pm, so we knew we could avoid sunburn. Since this evening is formal, there were few people back there by 4pm, and we appreciated the quiet time.

By late afternoon, the ship began heating up. We knew that the air conditioning was failing again. And, of course, this was a formal night, although, some people did not dress that way due to the rising temperatures. I brought my Malaysian fan to dinner, and it was most appreciated by those who sat near me......that would be Bill and Gerry.

Since we have not been to the Crows Nest for awhile, we decided to break the record, and go for a cool drink. For some reason, it was really warm in our room, no matter how low we turn the thermostat down. Remembering this happened on past cruises on this ship, we were grateful that we brought our electric fan from home. Some of our tablemates were also trying to cool down in the Crows Nest, and we suggested that they ask for a fan for their hot rooms. One smart couple did just that, and had one delivered to their cabin before dinner. You might think that opening the veranda door would help us, but no. Even at 11pm, the air was still warm and sticky. The door will remain shut!

Speaking of dinner, we had a guest tonight.....the human resource manager. She's a young gal in her 30's from Brazil. So she was able to educate all of us about everything.........Brazilian, of course! She was very passionate when she spoke about politics in her country. It was funny to discover that her worries about the economy mirrored that of ours in the USA. Her opinion concerning the fact that Rio de Janeiro, Brazil was chosen for the 2016 Olympics, surprised us. She was very much against the idea, saying she felt the city did not have the resources to create the infrastructure to handle that massive crowd the games would attract. Well, time will tell!

We skipped the entertainer, which was Elena Duran, another flute player. Since we have an early arrival to Salvador de Bahia, we chose to turn in early.

We were hoping that the air conditioning was fixed by bedtime, but the temperature in our room had only dropped 2 degrees. Guess the fan will run all night!

Mary Ann & Bill

PS Just wanted to add a note to the Cruise Critic folks out there. If we see something that we feel needs fixing, we will bring it to the attention of the ship's staff. Not just us, but all of the passengers that are speaking up. Remember, anything we do here to correct things, will make it a better cruise for those of you who will sail on the Prinsendam further down the line!

[AFuncruiser]

[SIZE=3]Mary Ann & Bill[/SIZE]
[SIZE=3] [/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]PS Just wanted to add a note to the Cruise Critic folks out there. If we see something that we feel needs fixing, we will bring it to the attention of the ship's staff. Not just us, but all of the passengers that are speaking up. Remember, anything we do here to correct things, will make it a better cruise for those of you who will sail on the Prinsendam further down the line![/quote][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]
[COLOR=black][FONT=Verdana]Ann & Bill,[/FONT][/COLOR][COLOR=black][FONT=Verdana][/FONT][/COLOR]
[COLOR=black][FONT=Verdana]Your efforts are much appreciated. I am booked on the Prinsendam's May 17th Trans Atlantic cruise and I am becoming increasingly fearful of maintenance problems on the old girl.[/FONT][/COLOR][COLOR=black][FONT=Verdana][/FONT][/COLOR]
[/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]Dennis[/SIZE]

[B][COLOR=black][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=1]387 days at sea [/SIZE][/FONT][/COLOR][/B]
[B][COLOR=black][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=1]33 cruises[/SIZE][/FONT][/COLOR][/B]
[B][COLOR=black][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=1]11 cruise lines[/SIZE][/FONT][/COLOR][/B]
[B][COLOR=black][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=1]T/P, T/A, Hawaii, Central & South America, New Zealand & South Pacific[/SIZE][/FONT][/COLOR][/B]
[B][COLOR=black][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=1] [/SIZE][/FONT][/COLOR][/B]
[B][COLOR=black][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=1]Booked [/SIZE][/FONT][/COLOR][/B]
[B][COLOR=black][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=1] 21 day TA HAL Prinsondam May 2010[/SIZE][/FONT][/COLOR][/B]
[B][COLOR=black][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=1] 12 day TA Norwegian Sun Oct 2010[/SIZE][/FONT][/COLOR][/B]

[WCB]

Report # 53 March 2, 2010 Tuesday Salvador da Bahia, Brazil

Wow, it is going to be a scorcer today!! When the Prinsendam arrived to the port of Salvador at 9am, the temperature was already in the mid 80's. And it has become obvious that we are having difficulties with the air conditioning on the ship. Our room never got below 75 degrees, even though the thermostat was down to 17 Celsius, or about 64 degrees. Sure hope this gets fixed sometime today.

We were in no hurry to depart the ship, because we had no tour booked for this port. Yes, we were here seven years ago, so we figured that we could navigate our way to the Upper City.

We discovered that our room was really comfortable, temperature-wise, because the dining room was hot as we ate our hearty breakfast. If this continues, I will have to pack my fan all over the ship!

Anyway, continuing on, Salvador da Bahia was the original capital of Brazil from 1549 to 1763. In that year, the capital was changed to Rio de Janeiro, then finally it was moved to Brasilia. This Portuguese colony grew to importance due to the wealth made from sugarcane and tobacco. What makes this city what it is today, goes back to the days of slavery. Africans from Senegal were brought here by the slave traders, and today 70% of the 2.5 million citizens are from black ancestry. This is what makes Salvador so much different compared to the Brazilian cities we have visited so far.

The moment we arrived to the Upper City, courtesy of the H. Stern shuttle, the sound of the African drums and the sight of the African ladies, dressed in their colorful voluminous dresses and hats, we felt like we were back in Africa! It was nice when the ladies offered for you to take their picture. However, we knew from experience, if you take that photo, be prepared to pay her! If you don't, she will chase you forever!! That lesson learned 7 years ago!! By the way, this particular Sterns was very low-pressure. We were given two nice plastic-coated fans with their ad on it. Friends Don and Shirley happened to be there, getting the free Stern charms. They are very good for knowing these things, as they urged us to do the same. Of course, we did! The sapphire watches sold here are really gorgeous. We priced them back in 1994, and they ran around $1500. The same watch today was in excess of $4200! Did we buy two??? No, not this time!

We had been dropped off at the H. Stern store, located on the corner of Terreiro de Jesus square. This area is the oldest historical spot of the city. Further down this square is Praca Anchieta, where two Baroque churches are built....Igreja Sao Francisco and Igreja da Orem Terceiro de Sao Francisco. We peeked in the doorway of the larger church, and remembered seeing the 18th century painted ceiling and tiled walls. The interior of the church was filled with gold leaf.

Walking back to the first square, we passed several shops that lined the praca. They were filled with items related to Candomble, a type of religion based on African dieties and animals. The main religion, however, is Catholic, which was apparent with the number of Churches and Cathedrals present. Another word beginning with the letter C, that we heard a lot about is Capoeira, a slave-inspired dance that resembles street fighting done with the legs. This dance is performed here in the squares, but probably in the evening, when it cools down a bit. Many t-shirts have that dance design imprinted on them, and of course, they are sold in every shop here.

A few more items also begin with the letter C. They are Cachca, the Brazilian "firewater" made from sugarcane. And the drink made from the firewater is called a Carpirinha. OK, the last one.....Cashews are a big treat here!! Sorry, there is one more big C, and that is Carnival! A huge and loud celebration is held here during that time. It is reported to last for a week, drawing unbelievably big crowds. With the local African music played here, it must be a very exciting time.

We had not wandered too far, before some street people were trying to give us different colors of ribbons. Some tourists had them tied to their wrists. It wasn't until we read more about this later on the ship, that these ribbons are wrapped around the wrist tied with 3 knots. Each knot is supposed to give you 3 wishes, but only if you wear the ribbon until it falls off. Now that would look good on formal night! No, they are not free, because the gifter wants money,naturally.

Dozens of street vendors were trying to sell their necklaces and little souveniers. We had better luck at a nice set of tents further down the street. We had no trouble buying a t-shirt and a set of wooden carved jewelry. Nothing expensive, but just a token keepsake. Also purchased was a beaded bracelet joined by large rosewood hooks. We spent more time talking to friends from the ship that we ran into up here.They were doing the same shopping we were.

It was getting really, really hot, so we moved on with our walk. We passed Cathedral Basilica, the Praca da Se (another square), and a walkway that took us to the wall that faced the bay. We were straight up here with a long way down. Glad we had ridden the shuttle, and not tried to walk up here, which was dangerous anyway according to Frank B, our port lecturer.

Continuing on, we came upon the Lucerdo Elevator, which was built in 1872 to move people from the Lower City to the Upper City. It climbs at the rate of 236 feet in a minute. It was restored in 1930, and continues to move thousands of people daily! In 1996, the cost per person was 2 cents (reals). It wasn't that much more today, according to our friend Margaret.

Right across from this elevator complex was the Rio Branco Palacio, now the tourist information center. Across the street was the Palacio Toma de Souza, but appeared to have been turned into nicer stores.

It was time to head back to Sterns and the ride back to the pier, since we had run out of our water!! Gosh, this heat was oppressive! The ride took about 10 minutes, passing by the Mercado Modela, or the handicraft market. We took photos and that was about it. Even though this market was located close to the ship, it still was not safe walking alone there, we thought. So did everyone else in our van!

The dining room was closed again for lunch today. After we cooled down in our still warm room, we tryed to call for room service lunch. Their line was busy, busy, and busier. Trying the front desk, we asked if their phone was out of order. The front desk girl said she would have room service call us. Well, that did not happen until an hour later...too late for lunch. Oh well, this way we will be good and hungry for dinner! Earlier in the day, we had asked Roger, our favorite bar manager, how to go about getting a case of Coke. He put the order in immediately, and the case was delivered, cold, to our room. Now we shall finally get the minibar purchase of sodas for being 4 star Mariners....... 1/2 off!! Hope that works when it is posted to our account! Anyway, the cold drinks were just what we needed after our touring this morning.

Did we mention it was hot? We tested the temperature with our alarm clock that records temps too. It was 93 degrees in the shade on our veranda. That doesn't sound bad, but the humidity matched it! When placed on the chair where we sat in the sun, it recorded 109 degrees! That is "melting" stage for us!! And, by the way, there had been no improvement with the air conditioning yet. Hope it improves soon!

When we were emailing in the Explorers Lounge, we chatted with Roger, thanking him for the quick service of the Cokes we ordered. When we questioned him about the next Grand Voyage, which will go to the Mediterranean, it was hard getting answers. In particular, it has been brought to our attention that Captain Gundersen's name was not on the manifest that was recently sent to embarking passengers on March 24th. It has appeared as a surprise to most staff members we have talked to. Perhaps, Captain Halle is considering retiring??

There were only five of us a dinner tonight. Sometimes, this is nice, because we get to visit better with those that were there. We had the best entrees of sweet and sour tempura shrimp. Even though the plate was full of crisp veggies, rice, and shrimp, you never feel "stuffed to the gills" after you eat. And there was room for the apple crisp dessert!

Before the ship left at around midnight, lightening was flashing in the horizon, although we never did hear the thunder. Bet we see more of this action the closer we get to the Equator.

Looking forward to a sea day tomorrow!

Bill & Mary Ann

[luvcruisn']

[quote name='WCB']And it has become obvious that we are having difficulties with the air conditioning on the ship.[/QUOTE]

On the last week of my cruise in December /09 on the Prinsendam, our friends who were on Dolphin Deck, starboard side had problems with their air conditioning not working. Our room on the port side, Dolphin Deck, didn't have the same problems at all, and worked throughout the cruise. This problem with the air conditioning not working must be an ongoing problem on the ship.

[catl331]

We are having another cold snap here in Florida and we would love to have our house at 75 deg. I won't let John raise the thermostat beyond 70. You are using your fan and we are walking around with heavy clothes on. It is all relative!!! (Actually it is the NW wind that is making it cold. Sun is shining)

[WCB]

Report # 54 March 3, 2010 Wednesday Day at Sea

The Prinsendam is now sailing north-easterly towards Recife. This will be a new port for us, and we're looking forward to it!

The sun was out strong, with mostly blue skies with a pleasant breeze blowing. The seawater was a beautiful azure blue, probably because the water is very deep here. We watched for sea birds this morning, but saw none. Come to think of it, we saw one vulture in Salvador yesterday. There were absolutely no gulls or pigeons anywhere near the harbor and bay. Wonder why?

At 10am, Captain Albert had a morning chat with the cruise director in the Showlounge at Sea. It's funny....just a few days ago when Frank, our experienced port lecturer, was beginning his talk, he tripped over the name of the lounge, calling it the Queens Lounge. He firmly stated that all of the ships have forever called their lounges the Queens Lounge, and he saw no need to go changing it now! With that said, he got a big applause from the entire audience! Anyway, back to the Captain's talk, we missed it, but will try to catch it later on TV. We were curious to find out what kind of questions he had to answer from the passengers.

Speaking of Frank, he had a lecture on the upcoming ports of Recife and Fortaleza at 3pm in the what??? Yes, the Queens Lounge!! We shall catch this one on TV later too.

Back in our room, we watched the movie "Amelia", the story of the famous woman aviator who disappeared while flying over the Pacific Ocean on a round the world quest. It was good for a change.

Other daily activities continue as usual. Just in case you all have forgotten, some of the daily events include tai chi, fruit carving, team trivia (very popular), grand slam golf, needlework, dance class, art painting, bridge, and afternoon tea. Need more? Nah....
All right, just one more...the movie, "The Blind Side" was shown in the Wajang Theater 4 times today. Now maybe they should change the name of that room, since most people have a hard time pronouncing the word Wajang! ( WHY YANG )

We made a dash to the Pool Grill for a really late lunch of sandwiches, which we brought back to our room. Much cooler in there! Actually, the only places we noticed the lingering heat inside the ship were in the public areas. Perhaps the air conditioning is getting fixed! Slowly....

Dinner was fun, even though only 8 of us were there. We ended our very good meal with the cork-forking game, which was enjoyed by all. It was more of a challenge though, because we had to use our coffee spoons! Our waiter had removed all of our forks! One of us scored the flowerbowl, but it took quite a few turns to do it!!

Sorry, we've been behind on the evening entertainment lately. So here is the list of the Stars since we left Buenos Aires.......

1. Scotty McLean, a comic magician
2. Maria Holliday, a very good singer, we heard
3. The Local Samba School & Band from Buenos Aires, they started slow, but ended with a bang!
4. Marty Brill, actor & comedy writer (Mary Tyler Moore Show, Mash, All in the Family, etc.) - got good reviews from tablemates
5. Elena Duran, a flute player
6. Robin Fellows, a woman singer and voice on TV and radio commercials
7. Tommy Bond, a pianist showman - good until he involved the audience, which sometimes, ruins a good thing

We actually lasted at the after-dinner show for 20 minutes. The pianist was good, especially when he performed alone, without the orchestra backing him up. But once he went into the "comic" mode involving the audience, we left, as did many others. Since tomorrow is a port day, we needed to get to sleep. We do have an early morning tour!

Mary Ann & Bill

[WCB]

Report # 55 March 4, 2010 Thursday Recife, Brazil

Oh wow, was it ever so hot on our veranda this morning! And it was only 8am! The Prinsendam had just docked at the port of Recife, Brazil, the furthest-most easterly city of Brazil. And perhaps, the hottest so far this trip. A small group of young local dancers were performing for us on the pier. They had some pretty good moves!

Recife is an old Portuguese colonial city, built on the wealth of sugarcane plantations. This industry was worked with slaves that were brought from Africa during the 17th to 19th centuries. One hundred thousand Africans were captured and brought to Brazil every year.

The modern city of Recife has grown to house 1 and 1/2 million residents, with another 3 and 1/2 million people living outside the city limits. It is built on a series of islands that are connected by bridges, thus giving this area the name of "Venice of Brazil". Six rivers, most polluted, run into the Atlantic Ocean in this city.

Our tour with the HAL group, took us north, 18 miles out of town. Our destination was the town of Igarassu, and the island of Itamaraca. We were surprised that HAL shore excursion even ran this tour, because there were only about 23 of us. That made it nice, though. We were easy to keep track of and round up when we needed to continue on!

Our guide for this 5 hour tour was German. He confessed that his parents brought him to Brazil to avoid military service, probably around the time of World War Two. That was 47 years ago for him, and even though he goes back to germany to keepup his citizenship, his real home is in Recife.

Recife draws many retirees from all over the world to live here for six months at a time. They enjoy the warm weather and beaches. Then, they leave during the rainy season, which runs from late March to the end of July. Somehow, they can avoid paying taxes by limiting their time here for 6 months.

He also mentioned that most of Recife is poor, and the fact that unemployment is at 25%, that does not help. Many kids do not go to school here. They are needed to work and help support their family members. Those with money, send their kids to private schools, where they wear uniforms. We saw some of both today.

Our first stop was in the colonial town of Igarrasu, where we visited the Church of Saints Cosme and Damiao. It is the oldest church of Brazil. It was not opulent or imposing.... just a small comfortable church with a few side altars. It dates back to 1535. and was built by Portuguese settlers.

Some teenage boys were selling carvings of the church complex on the putside of the church. These intricate carvings were made from a chunk of a hardwood tree bark. We picked out a large one to add to our collection at home. We bought similar ones ina small village of Coppala, Mexico a year ago. The carving was a mere $6., and the kid was so proud to sell it to us. He had written his name and the date on the base for us. We considered it a donation, and we know that money will buy quite a bit here. These young carvers may have lived at the adjacent convent, where 90 ophans live.

Down the street from the church and convent was a monastery. It was not open to tour, so we continued down the hill to the colonial center of town. Rows of pastel-color shops and buildings lined the busy streets. It reminded us of the colorful businesses in Bermuda. A little paint can sure make a difference in the appearance of a town.

Our guide said that water to these outlying towns is provided once a day. Every house and building had some sort of water tank on the roof. bet these people know how to ration it! We are not sure where the water source is, but we do know that the rivers really looked polluted. To compensate for that, the air was clean and clear. Well, one out of two is better than nothing!

Leaving the town, we headed towards the island of Itamaraca, crossing a bridge over a wide river. We noticed many people digging for clams and fishing with nets for shrimp in the low tide. Near the bridge on a hillside, was a huge ALCOA aluminum plant. Bet they employ a lot of people.

This island looked like a jungle, much like the whole area must have looked before being developed centuries ago. Coconut and mango groves lined the roadside. They appeared to grow well here. Locals come to this island on the weekends to enjoy the lovely long beaches and many bars and cafes. As we neared the end of the island, many small homes and bungalows lined the road. Most had some kind of swimming pool, either inground, or pre-made fiberglass. Some of the weekend homes were quite nice, surrounded with towering palm trees.

The complete opposite exists here too. A huge prison with high barbed-wired walls with guard towers sat on top of the hill. Our gjuide said that 1200 prisoners are driven daily at 6am to work in town or in the plantations. they come back at 6pm for the night.

We had a stop at a small Manatee Center, built in the center of the island. The complex hpoused perhaps 6 manatees, that had been injured at one time. Most were females, with one male. It was obvious that sometimes they let the male in with the females, because there were three babies! They sure are a slow-moving, strange-looking creature when viewed close up. The young ones were constantly trying to nurse on their mamas, occassionally rolling around to catch a quick breath. It's easy to see why these animals get killed from speed boats in the Florida waterways. In this part of the world, they are killed for food. This complex is devoted to teaching the locals not to kill them, since their numbers are dwindling. A continuous series of large photos were posted on the walls inside a domed building. Too bad they were all printed in Portuguese! We do not believe that many cruise ships with English-speaking people visit this city. Or else, they would have English descriptions as well.

Right at the end of the road from the manatee center, was Fort Orange. The Dutch constructed this fortress in 1630 to protect the settlement from invaders. The walls were made with granite rocks that were used as ballast on the sailing ships at that time. The name "Orange" came from the Dutch people. It is their national color.

It was unbelievably hot within the walls of the fort. But once we climbed to the top level where the cannons were perched, the breeze was wonderful. Looking down, a long stretch of beach was sure inviting. Too bad that we were warned by the shore excursion staff that the water was not safe to swim in. In fact, at the last port of Salvador, our Fodor's travel book said that a type of fungus lived in the sand on the beach. If you sat very long on that sand, you could get a terrible rash from that fungus. We figured that might be the case here, ecause nobody was sitting on the sandy beach. They were either in the water, or sitting on plastic chairs under umbrellas. We were content to just take a walk on the shoreline, picking up a few colorful seashells along the way. Vendors came down to us, offering sodas, beers, or camarones (shrimp). Since we had very little time left here, we said thanks but no. However, we did have enough time to buy sa set of earrings made from fish scales and small shells. The young girl and her mom selling the trinkets were nice, so again, it was a donation, and I was happy with my purchase.

All of us hot and sweaty passengers were relieved to board our air conditioned bus. The mid day heat was so intense, it was hard to cool off standing under the palm trees. We drained our quart bottle of water in two minutes! And probably needed more. Sometimes not drinking enough can leave you with a dull headache, which it did later on.

On ourway back to the ship, we passed the old sugarcane mill, reportedly one of the oldest in Brazil. It sits obsolete now, closed to the public, except for special groups. We thoght we were supposed to see this, but our guide said no. All of the sugarcane now is processed with modern equipment elsewhere in the city.

it took about an hour to return to Recife. On the way, we passed a hillside cemetery, where the dead can only be buried for 2 years and 1 day. Then, the bones are given to the relatives, and the gravesite is sold to someone else for 2 years and 1 day. Strange practice, we thought.

Closer to recife, we spotted the colonial town of Olinda, famous for their 16th and 17th century baroque churches and monasteries. This elevated city overlooks the Atlantic Ocean and Recife. It is also a UNESCO world heritage site.

When we arrived back to the Prinsendam at 1:30pm, another ship, the MSC Melody, had docked behind us. We understand that it is an Italian ship. Shortly after that, a Brazilian naval ship docked behind the Melody. It was so pleasant watching the sailin from the comfort of our veranda. We had ordered room service salads and a club sandwich, with plenty of ice water and tea. Perfect!

The heat of the day had really zapped us, so we stayed in and watched a good movie, "The Blind Side" about the life of a street kid who got a break from a local wealthy family. He became an accomplished football player with their help. Before we knew it, it was time to go to dinner. We doubted that all of us would be there, but only 2 were missing. That left a space for hosts Henk and Lucia, who gladly joined us.

Can you believe we got the disembarkation information form to fill out for the front desk people? We do have three weeks to go, but we guess they need to organize our info to give it to the Fed Ex reps that will be giving us the printed labels for shipping our bags home. Hope all of our "stuff" fits!!

Looking forward to a relaxing day at sea tomorrow.

Mary Ann & Bill

[WCB]

Report # 56 IDES OF MARCH Friday Day at Sea

Guess what? Yes, it is hot again this morning! Our starboard room got the morning sun as we headed northwesterly since leaving Recife yesterday. It is remarkable how the heat from the sun can quickly warm up our cabin. The best way to keep out the heat is to close our drapes. At least we know the afternoon will be more comfortable as the sun crosses over to the port side.

The internet has been spotty the last two days. One minute you are up and running, the next, you are cut off. Very frustrating when you are sending emails. This morning while we were on the internet, we did receive a very interesting report from Rod, our buddy from two previous cruises. He reminded us of the same situation concerning the air conditioning, or the lack of, on the 2005 world cruise. In an area of hot seawater, such as where we are now, the air conditioning system on this particular ship has problems. Because of the original design of the times (1988), the system does not work efficiently. Different areas of the ship may be cool, while the other end is stifling hot. So, it is not "broken" as we are all led to believe, it just cannot be fixed. Long story short.....it is the "nature of the beast". This doesn't quite compare to the excellent technical info Rod gave us, but the end result is the same. We are lucky because our room has been fine...now the public rooms... not so.

There was not much going on today for us, except a proper breakfast and a long walk as usual. The most entertaining part of the walk, was watching a flock of masked boobys and one pretty bold frigate bird soaring around the ship. Every now and then, one would do a nose dive to catch a fish, while two more followed. Then the frigate bird would swoop down on those three birds, trying to steal their meal. Today they were hunting a smaller fish, like a sardine. So it was much harder for the birds to snag it from one another.

At 2:30pm, there was a meeting, hosted by Ashley, our hostess on the ship. It was a chat talk about the 2011 world cruise for those of us who are booked or thinking of booking it. There were only about 21 of us, but we did share a lot of information Tina, the furture cruise consultant also attended. She was able to answer many questions for the group. Once she and Ashley excused themselves to go to other activities, the conversation got much more interesting. It was like, OK, the staff is gone now. What do you all really think??? We did hear more grumbling about this cruise and the problems that have plagued us for weeks. Sadly, several people said they would never, ever sail on this ship again. Most of them had gone on several HAL ships that were twice the size, and in their opinion, twice as nice. The Prinsendam has her devote followers, just like any other DAM ship, but there are just not that many of them! Sometimes the itinerary surpasses the ship experience, and that is why we are here. One lady friend of ours attended the meeting just to check out who was going. Her roomate jokingly told her that if she sees someone she hates, just kill them now and get it over with!! What a great sense of humor these ladies have!!

We kept busy for the rest of the afternoon, doing what, I don't know. It was just a lazy day. Before we knew it, it was cocktail time. We had been invited to the Crows Nest for a party hosted by Captain Albert and the hotel manager, Francois. Many of our friends were there, so we joined them at the bar. Boy, the bartenders had their hands full tonight. The lounge was filled to capacity! A fine time was had by all as we listened to Buddy play some of our favorite tunes.

Our tablemates forgave us, we think, for coming a bit late to dinner. Since we had decided right after breakfast that there was nothing on the menu we liked for dinner, we knew we were ordering the alternate New York steak. Actually, several of us did. And it was good. But not as good as the dessert of apple strudel with creamy vanilla ice cream on the side!!

Tomorrow, we will be in Fortaleza, a twice-visited port for us. This time we will be heading for the mountains with our travel agency group. Wonder if it will be cooler up there??? Sure hope so.....

Mary Ann & Bill

[WCB]

Report # 57 March 6, 2010 Saturday Fortaleza, Brazil

Our port of call for today was the city of Fortaleza, Brazil. Boy, has this city grown since we were here in 2003 and 2005. The good weather and sandy beaches attract vacationeers world-wide here, increasing the population of 2 million people to even more.

The name of Fortaleza, (meaning fortress in Portuguese) was given to this settlement in the early 1600's. The main industries here are the production of cashews, fishing, and clothing. Most of what we have seen of Fortaleza in the past is the Central Area. That houses the main museums, the theater, the cathedral, and lots and lots of shopping.

So today, we chose a tour with our travel agency that would take us out of town, heading west towards the Maranguape Mountains. It would take around two hours to get to our first stop. Most of the roads exiting the city were paved, although, roughly paved. Or maybe we had a bus with no shocks? Eventually, we had a bus with no air-conditioning, which was way worse! Since the weather was warm and sticky, it definitely was the hottest we had ever experience here. Our guide mentioned that the month of March is the hottest one of the year. The locals are praying for the rains to return.

While we are on the subject of rain, we read that there was a severe drought over 20 years ago that hit the interior . Some people had to resort to eating rodents to survive. Now that sort of takes your appetite away!

Our young guide had been giving us good information as we drove through the industrial areas outside the city. But at one point, he decided to show us a DVD, which we all assumed was related to the history of the area. Well, it would not work. The terrible sound coming from the overhead speakers was driving everyone crazy. Our host, Lucia, asked him to forget it, thank goodness. We think it was just a promotional video on Fortaleza's hotels and beaches anyway.

Around the same time, it was obvious that we had no air-conditioning. We had no choice but to open the windows. Of course, we took in the hot blast of furnace air, along with flies. Bad option! Our driver stopped at a roadside car shop, and came out with tools to try to fix the problem. But, no banana! He told Lucia that he would call for a replacement bus. We sure hope he is successful!

We passed by some large stores, like Sam's Club, a Walmart, and numerous streetside stores. Outside the city, the stores changed to small markets, that had hunks of meat hanging in the open air. Legs and rumps of cows, sheep, and hogs hung from the ceiling, uncovered, opened to the dust, dirt, and flies! Many locals prefer buying their meat that way as opposed to buying in the supermarkets. Our guide said the supermarket meats costs way more. He personally, preferred the wrapped meats in the more modern supermarkets.

This was when our driver left the paved highway to travel on dirt roads for many miles. That really slowed us down, and made note-taking impossible. The countryside opened up into what is called the sertao, or the drought-ridden foothills. The vegetation was green with very large mango trees, brush, and a peculiar type of palm tree. The houses in this landscape were basically shacks with metal or tiled roofs. In contrast to that, were huge farms with nice haciendas with barns with livestock.

Eventually, we found our destination of Sao Geronimo Farm, a bed and breakfast style resort. It was surrounded with ponds, fountains, a chapel, cabins, pool, and a main house, where meals were served three times a day. The grounds were just gorgeous with views of the farm from the main house. We were greeted with drinks of mango, guava, and pineapple juice. The owners had set a table with assorted local fruit, cheese, meats, and fresh rolls. Another table with cakes and fritters tempted us all! We had time to stroll the property, seeing the accomodations of cabins and apartments available for rent. Animals we saw were a pair of ostriches, horses, and water buffalo. They were the smart ones, standing in a big tub of water to stay cool!

In hindsite, it would have been wonderful if we could have stayed here for lunch. Soon our time was up, and a new bus was waiting for us as promised. Hurray!! The cool air on the new bus was most welcomed by all of us.

We continued on to the Cachaca Museum, where we toured the small museum. Here we learned how the sugarcane liquor was produced in the old days. The drink, caipirinhas, is made with the cachaca, which is the national drink of Brazil. We were told that no photos could be taken on the museum tour. Frankly, we did not see any photos worth taking! But for some strange reason, that seems to be a challenge to those of us who wish to take photos, without the flash, of course. It was so warm and confining, we were happy to enter the tasting room at the end of the tour. Here we sipped samples of the cachaca in many forms. The best was the chocolate chachaca liquor, so we purchased a small bottle of it.

Lunch was not the best we have ever eaten. Everyone agreed that cafeteria-style food is OK, but never really good. There were many complaints about the dried up chicken, bony pork and beef items, and the lack of some items that had empty platters! The best part of the meal were the beers of Antarctica and Skol.

After lunch, we had a tractor-pulled ride around the property. This place is really set up for families with young children. Two manmade lakes are on the property where you can take foot-pedaled boats on the water. The part we liked was the animal display. One sow pig had 11 babies nursing on her. She never moved, even when the playful piglets began chewing on her nose. It was just too darned hot! By this time, we were more than ready to rejoin our cool bus for the ride back to Fortaleza.

Luckily, we were closer than we thought. At least we left the dirt roads behind, and drove back on paved streets. We ended our tour with a stop at the Tourism Center, which was a former prison. Many stalls are set up in the cells with souveniers of clothing, shoes, and tablecloth items. Bill found the same special t-shirt he bought seven years ago. Since it is one of is favorites, he purchased another one. The colors on the artistic design had faded, but the shirt had held up well. The new one had vibrant colors of red, blue, and yellow, which should last for another seven years!!

We also bought a new tablecloth for our dining room table at home. They are very nice quality here for a reasonable price.

The ship was ready to leave by 5pm. The Prinsendam left the port of Fortaleza, while many guests enjoyed the third sailaway party on deck nine aft. Speciality drinks of the day were pushed. And they had a lot of takers. The waiters did serve food, but we noticed that the chicken nuggets, chicken sate, and shrimps were warm, not hot. That could be a problem if these foods are not kept hot. On the world cruise, heated pans keep the food hot until they are served. We just don't see the same careful practices going on here on the Prinsendam.

Dinner was quiet, since three were missing. The good thing, was that we were done by 9:30pm. Tomorrow, we have a day at sea...a welcome break for all!

Bill & Mary Ann