Prinsendam 2005 World Tour... it has begun

[bepsf]

Grumpy and Slinkie---

Glad to hear that you and all of your luggage is home safe and sound!

I agree w/ you - disembarcation is such a rude awakening! Carrying your own luggage, paying for meals ("What's this? A Bill????")

Looking forward to seeing the pictures - I'm sure you've got quite a job ahead of you posting them all!!!

[emerald777]

I'm still suffering from the depression caused by them making me get off the Caribbean Princess this Saturday after only a 7 day cruise! Can't imagine the PCD after a world cruise!!! :eek: Did they hand out Zolofts to everyone as they left the ship?

 

Opps! Forgot to say Welcome Home!!!!!!

[bobpatj]

Many thanks for your wonderful posts which I've saved off-line to read whenever there's time. With some editing, there are 159 pages! We will be sailing in the South Pacific, from Singapore to San Diego, on the Amsterdam, in Nov., so your reviews of some of the ports we will visit are very valuable to us. It was so nice to experience a World Cruise with you, seated here at my computer in Cleveland Heights, Ohio.

[Cristiano]

Slinkie & Grumpy1,

 

thank you for the last 4 months of your world cruise, it gave my DW and I a great insight into your adventure, the ports of call and the Prinsendam.

It also afforded us the great pleasure of meeting you if only but briefly and we both hope that one day you return to our shores.

As you know we are due to set sail on June 6th out of Pireaus and your narrative about the Prinsendam has been of great help and we are so looking forward to our Black Sea cruise.

We wish you both well and look forward to hearing from you and perhaps see your writings on a future cruise.

Cristiano.

[localady]

Welcome home to you both, Grumpy and Slinkie!:) We just made our final payment for our July 26th 14 day cruise on the Slinkiedam today.(Yeeehaw!!!!):D

We promise to proudly carry the torch !!:cool:

[Ziggy7]

Pictures of Flat Grumpy & Slinkie,

 

Arriving at Ziggy7's in California

[Ziggy7]

Pictures of Flat Grumpy & Slinkie,

 

In Ziggy7's Cacti Garden

 

 

[Ziggy7]

Pictures of Flat Grumpy & Slinkie,

 

Leaving for first Formal Dinner!

 

 

[Ziggy7]

Pictures of Flat Grumpy & Slinkie,

 

Stopping to pick a rose for Slinkie from Ziggy's Garden!

[Cuttle]

.

 

I enjoyed the most recent escapades of Grumpy and Slinkie, Ziggy. Thanks for posting them.

[crusinggranny]

very nice thanks for sharing.

[TexEm]

Flat Grumpy and Slinkie are surviving another rough (plus cold and wet!) day at sea. The sun has tried to peek through. The weather in New York was wonderful, sunny and warm, perfect to walking in the city.

 

Grumpy and Slinkie--I sat next to Jeannie from your table at a movie Sunday, she filled me in on a lot of details about both of you--she said they missed you already!! She was glad to hear you made it home allright, even with forgetting the 2 bags. As you know much of the crew changed in FLL, we have a new captain, and the only one left from the cruise directors is Emily. The new people are very nice (but one of them, Travis, is on his first cruise ever, brand new to HAL).

 

Prinsendam and Host Doug--haven't met Tom Cassidy yet but left a note for him at the front desk. Invited him to our rollcall meeting at 4 p.m. today. I saw Andre in the atrium area and told him Mr. Card had talked about him, and he muttered, "oh, that spray painting..."

 

Met up with tjcox9--she got a great upgrade to a balcony cabin (from an H), but she can tell you all about that.

 

The Prinsendam continues (even with the weather) to be a great experience, I can't believe how friendly and helpful the staff are...

 

Ziggy--wonderful photos of Flat Grumpy and Slinkie, very creative!

 

Mary

[JaniceB]

Grumpy and Slinkie,

 

I am glad you made it home safely. Disembarkation is not a pleasant thing after a 7 day cruise, I can't image what it was like for you. You were very lucky to notice the missing bags when you got home and not the next day. You must have been exhausted after you trip back across alligator alley. I am looking viewing your pictures.

 

Thanks again for sharing your voyage with us.

 

Janice

[Time2sail]

and then there's WalMart. Welcome back to our part of the world. Of course, Naples isn't the worst place in Florida to live.

 

I look forward to your new reports.:)

[Slinkiecat]

Thank you all so much for your wonderful welcome home messages. It is absolutely awesome. We had such a wonderful cruise and so many memories from all around the world. Now we have all these great people on CC touching base with us so we can't feel sad about stepping off the ship. All of you are still with us.

 

We will certainly miss the friends we made on board and the spirit of the passengers who celebrated every morning with a song ("Oh what a beautiful morning...") sung out of tune as well as the crew who celebrated every occasion in the dining room with the Indonesian song that sounded like "Tonta taboulay, tonta taboulay..." accompanied by much hand-clapping. That will stick with me for a long time, because they sang it to us as we celebrated our anniversaries every month on the 17th.

 

Our friends at the dinner table, Jeannie and John, Janet and Bob and Sherrie and Eli have left a mark and we love to show the picture taken on Black & Gold night of the whole table. I hope they will keep in touch with us.

 

I'm easing back into domestic life here, enjoying our beautiful SW Florida environment, of course, which matches the most beautiful ports we visited on the world cruise. I have this overwhelming sense that we all here in this country are so incredibly lucky. All politics and religion aside, we have the best quality of life of any country we saw with the exception of Australia and New Zealand, which were both very advanced and modern.

 

It was a little scary getting behind the wheel of the car today after four months of seeing our buses and taxis all on the wrong side of the road. I just stayed in my own lane and didn't try to pass anyone at all. haha. I couldn't even recall the speed limit on the streets I took to the beauty parlor. I made it there and back okay.

 

We're really enjoying showing the wonderful souvenirs we bought all over the world - some very artistic carvings from Bali and Namibia, gorgeous hand-embroidered pillow covers from several ports, wall hangings from some, jewelry from others, clothes for those theme nights to celebrate the cultures of countries we visited, and little things we picked up just because they represented the ports and tours we took, like some earrings made of paua shell or an ebony mask, a beautiful fan wall hanging, place mats with local birds, bobble-head turtle and armadillo, a dried piranha, crocodiles, giraffes, several elephants, and various other little things for us to enjoy and reminisce over this incredible journey.

 

Maybe I aged a little during the trip - looking at the photos from our various ports it looks like I have. I do know that at the same time I got a lot wiser, so it served me well in that respect. Those people in Indonesia, China, India, Africa, South America or any island in between don't care about our politics. They only care that we come there to see the beauty of their countries and learn about their cultures, and most of all, to spend our money to help them live.

 

I do hope everybody who can take the time to experience such a wonderful voyage will do so. We met so many people on board who do this every year, just because it is such a nice way to spend time and have all your needs taken care of. They truly feel secure in this environment and know that the ship is equipped to provide them an elegant life style in a secure environment.

 

We thoroughly enjoyed our cruise and love the Prinsendam, Holland America and its employees. They are the greatest.

 

Oh, by the way, for those who are curious, I loved the food, ate all I wanted, and weigh the same as I did the day we left.

 

Slinkie

[Slinkiecat]

Mary, I should have added, tell Emily she has a voice like a nightingale, and we really loved listening to her sing at the crew's nights on stage. What a sweetheart she is, too!

 

I'm glad you got to talk to Jeannie. She is amazing, out there dancing every night after a full day at a beach or swimming on board. I enjoyed dancing with her husband John too at a couple of the formal balls.

 

Sorry you will miss Captain Gundersen, but you probably have another good one to tell us about.

 

Slinkie

[Cuttle]

Hi Slinkie:

 

What a great account of getting back to reality at home and your listing of some of the treasures you acquired on the way around the world. You sound like you acquired lots of things to keep your memories alive. I am not quite sure about the dried piranha...but to each his/her own! Take care. Your and Grumpy's stories of your adventures and shopping experiences etc. have been so interesting and educational for the last four months. Thank you again.

[bepsf]

I do know that at the same time I got a lot wiser, so it served me well in that respect. Those people in Indonesia, China, India, Africa, South America or any island in between don't care about our politics. They only care that we come there to see the beauty of their countries and learn about their cultures, and most of all, to spend our money to help them live. Slinkie

 

Slinkie--

What a beautiful piece of wisdom to share.

It looks to me like you got your money's worth.

Thank You.

[Kiwi Kruzer]

Many thanks for your postings.

 

It has been a privilege

 

to share your adventures

 

as you both transversed the globe

 

on a fantastic voyage.........

 

Your memories , will last with you forever.........

 

Your postings will challenge us all to

 

reach out and find new barriers to conquer..

 

Thank you for sharing your cruise with us .

 

David.

[CruisinTexans]

Slinky and Grumpy,

 

We got home about 8:00 Monday night. From FLL to NY it was very rough and I was seasick all day Saturday when I should have been packing. There were a few changes after FLL. I think they were gearing down and that the world cruise actually ended in FLL. Things like they quit serving muffins and danish in the Java and only had cookies. Not that we needed anymore to eat.

 

I've just started reading your posts from Los Angeles to FLL. I started at the end and am working my way back to LA. Slinky, I loved your thoughtful observations on the experience. You said so well what, I'm sure, many of us felt about the trip.

 

I can believe you ran out of hangers. You bought at least two outfits in every port. I didn't buy many clothes but ended up taking off 4 big suitcases and shipped 13 boxes and suitcases, so I must have bought something. It will be like Christmas when everything arrives. Debarkation was a breeze in NY. I had seen customs on the ship about my allowance overage. The ship didn't clear until about 8:30, but we were off the ship and on the way to the airport by 9:30.

 

The real world is really cruel after 100 days on the Prinsendam. I want to get back on the ship instead of deal with mail, taxes, laundry, etc.

 

Miss you guys and hope to see you on a future cruise. I've got Slinky's e-mail so I'll stay in touch.

[TexEm]

Prinsendam--Met up in the Crow's Nest today with Tom Cassidy and he said to be sure to say hi back to you, he hadn't emailed you yet. He sure is nice, and glad I got a chance to meet him.

 

Slinkie and Grumpy--I'll be sure to say hi to Emily and tell her what you said about her voice. I have to laugh, she gets on the announcement system to say she's "Emily, the bingo bee." She has been nice from day number one. We have a new ACD by the name of Travis, Peter (the new CD) says Travis has been sick, his first cruise ever.

 

Flat Grumpy and Slinkie are looking forward to their first port--Horta in the Azores. So far the weather has not been terrific, but today the sun has come out and it's no windy or cold. The food continues to be outstanding, and the staff wonderful.

 

Mary

[dare2dream]

How did this wonderful thread get to page 2? It must be bumped.

 

Thanks for checking in Slinkie and sharing your adventure with us

Nudge Grumpy. We are all eagerly waiting for the report on HMC.

 

Welcome home.

 

Brenda

[Slinkiecat]

Grumpy is busy catching up on all his other earthly contacts, his online groups, and the mundane chores of land-lubbing. He hasn't forgotten, though.

 

I am amazed at the number of "welcome home" messages we received on this thread as well as in our mailboxes. Thank you all, and I hope you'll keep this board alive as long as it is interesting to you.

 

For those that are curious, I can tell you that we loved both Barbados and Half Moon Cay. We took a bus tour of the Natural Wonders of Barbados and still had time for shopping - Did you doubt that we would? haha. As I always say, jewelry takes up no space and adds no weight...

 

Yes, we also made it to the Cruise Critic get-together at 5:30 with Steve Simao in the Crow's Nest, and since it was Pirates of the Caribbean theme night, we arrived in full costume, Grumpy in his pirate suit with eye patch and sword, and I in the pirate's wench costume. I think Cruisin Texans Leslie has the only photo of us dressed up, since the ship's photographers were not working that night. Do you have that picture in your camera, Leslie?

 

Slinkie

[Sinbad37]

Welcome home!

 

All of your new friends acknowledge and thank you both for the time, effort, desire, ability and delivery of your adventures and misadventures to those of us who were still attached to shore!

 

I have printed out the "record" for personal reference. It is a very thick 3 ring binder!

 

Interest will surely continue - (How about "Flat Grumpy & Slinkie?)

 

My late husband's family settled into Naples, Florida, back in the mid 40's.

Lawrence and Jane Tibbett. Their son, Michael Tibbett, and I were married at their home in 1966. Mike's father had passed away and Jane had remarried.

We spent many fun times at their home. It has since been sold after his mother's death, but was such an elegant existance. We still have family friends there, but I have not been back in years. From what I hear, I would not know the old area.

 

I would consider it a pleasure to have your email, if you are interested in personal communication. Best always for your continued health and joy in your travels.

 

Virginia Tibbett

[Grumpy1]

Prinsendam 2005, Barbados

 

 

OK, OK, Sheesh, poor Grumpy is still trying to recover from a severe bout of PCDS, but his fans keep clamoring for updates… so being the loyal servant to his fans that he is, he’ll muster the strength to put fingers to keyboard for a report on Barbados and Half Moon Cay.

 

 

Barbados… seems like ages ago… Sunday, May 1, was a Holiday in Barbados, but they have adopted the US custom of celebrating weekend holidays by closing down everything on Monday instead… so just about everything was closed. Frank, the port guru, had warned everyone that there wouldn’t be much going on, so Grumpy and Slinkie decided the best bet was to do a tour of the island in the morning and then decide what to do with the afternoon. Natural Wonders of Barbados looked like it would give a good overview of the island, so Slinkie and Grumpy decided to do that one… the fact that the transportation was listed as “air-conditioned motorcoach” also made it attractive…

 

 

Barbados isn’t very big, about 14 by 25 miles, but it is an interesting island with a variety of geological features. The western side of the island is limestone and coral, the eastern side is sandstone. There are mountains in the middle… OK, that may be stretching it a bit… there are some pretty good hills in the middle… There isn’t a lot of agriculture other than sugar cane. It seems that it’s more profitable to grow houses and golf courses for the rich and famous instead of crops. There isn’t much wildlife… well, maybe in the dozens of bars… make that “male bonding facilities”.. that dot the island… other than birds. And the bird populations have been greatly reduced since the Mongoose was introduced to the island. There are some beef cattle and lots of Barbados Blackbelly Sheep.

 

 

The sheep are interesting… primarily because they don’t look like most sheep. More like a goat… They don’t shear them because the coat is very short, but they are a source of low fat, very low cholesterol meat. The first stop on the tour was at a sheep farm where there were a couple of dozen sheep in a pen next to the road. Slinkie was able to pet one of the lambs without incurring the wrath of Mama sheep. Snap some pictures… back on the bus… next stop, the botanical gardens. The gardens were very nice… lots of variety… There is a Talipot Palm there that is quite interesting. The Talipot grows very tall, reaching a height of about 60 feet in 60 years. During that time it doesn’t bloom, it just produces a huge canopy. At 60 years the tree blooms once and then dies. The big one in the botanical garden is 8 years from that time. They plan to have it on a website so the blooming and demise can be observed around the world. There are many varieties of orchids and bromeliads, giant water lilies and many other plants from all over the world. The paths and steps were a little rough for a few of the passengers to navigate, but for most it was a good stop.

 

 

There are beautiful beaches on the east side of the island… and almost all of them are posted as being to dangerous to swim. That didn’t seem to deter the tourists that were staying in the area, though, there were lots of swimmers and surf boarders enjoying themselves. The tour continued on around to the north end of the island, passing sandstone cliffs and canyons, wind eroded boulders and volcanic hills along the way. The bus passed the golf course where Tiger Woods was married, (and a few Prinsendamers were playing), freshly harvested sugar cane fields and mahogany forests before returning to the ship.

 

 

As promised, everything in town was closed for the holiday… poor Slinkie, no place to shop… and when Slinkie and Grumpy left the ship, most of the shops in the passenger terminal were closed, too. After returning from the tour, though, much to Slinkie’s glee, all of the terminal shops were open. That’s when Grumpy made a serious tactical error. It was past lunch time and both he and Slinkie were pretty hungry… now if Grumpy had been thinking, he would have suggested getting a couple of souvenirs and then getting back on the ship… But, no, he suggested getting lunch and then come back out to shop for souvenirs… Now there’s nothing like a nice lunch in the Lido to recharge Slinkie’s shopping batteries, so shortly after lunch Slinkie and Grumpy found themselves back on shore wandering through the shops. There was the usual assortment of handicraft shops, island souvenirs, duty free beverage stores, Diamond International, Columbia Emeralds International… bet you can see where this is headed. Grumpy knew that Amethyst pendant from Forteleza was going to need some company at some point, and sure enough, the perfect companions were right there in the terminal building… After liberating a ring, earrings and bracelet from the showcase where they had been held prisoner, and finding a couple of souvenirs, Slinkie and Grumpy boarded the Prinsendam again.

 

 

The theme for the evening was “Pirates of the Caribbean” and Slinkie and Grumpy were all set for the occasion. There was also a meeting of CC’ers scheduled in the Crow’s Nest. Most of the passengers ignored the suggestion that pirate attire would be appropriate for the evening, but Slinkie and Grumpy donned their finest, complete with an eye patch and sword for Grumpy, and they had a ball. The wait staff and the ACD’s were dressed appropriately for the occasion and, of course, Randall was the show stopper with his three ft across hat and stuffed parrot on his shoulder. Where does he keep all of his costumes? Those and his many books of sheet music would fill a Cat S cabin…

 

 

The CC’ers meeting started just before sailaway, so Slinkie and Grumpy celebrated sailaway in the Crow’s Nest with several of the other CC’ers and Chief Lurker ChiefPurser. Thanks for the drink, Steve, it was good to see you again.

 

 

That’s about enough for this post… Half Moon Cay will be next.

 

 

Grumpy and Slinkie (wishing they were still on board the beautiful Prinsendam)