Zaandam to Hawaii Nov 17, 2012 Review

[Ginnyjen]

Fabulous post and pics!!! We just got off yesterday and had a really great time. I know there have been several posts re the condition of the Zaandam, but I have to say, the cruise, the room stewards, the dining room staff, the bar staff, and the overall condition of the ship was exceptional. We were also in a suite and I just loved the linens on the bed, in fact I loved the pillows so much, I am ordering them online (thanks for the info from the housekeeping mgr). Enjoy!!!

[madera1]

Hope you have a fantastic cruise and thanks for taking the time to update us on your trip. Love the photos of your suite and only hope that one day we too will stay in one. We will be in the "suite" that is not really a true suite so with none of the perks in February.

[writer2B]

Hi,

Thanks for all the pictures. We'll be on Zaandam in a few weeks -- our first cruise on HAL.

Have a great trip;)

[jayteeaitch]

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Here is a pic of our room. Not sure what to do with all this room! Lol

Also got a panoramic pic of the large balcony. This is my favorite part of the room I think!

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I always am amazed at how grumpy people can be onboard. I don't know why it surprises me though. We try to smile at people and they just push right past us. I do feel sorry for the staff. People can just be so rude.

 

I will post more later on embarkation and tonight's dinner.

 

 

 

That Suite photo brings back a few great memories :) - it wouldn'nt be 7026 by any chance.??? It seems to be portside.

 

what are the names of your cabin crew and how are you liking the Neptune, What's the concierge's name ? :confused:

 

We sailed her in the Pacific exactly 1 year ago. :D

[erewhon]

Thanks for your reports and photos.

 

Enjoy the lovely big verandah.

[kazu]

Wonderful posts and pictures (love your dogs;);)).

The S suites on this class of ship are fabulous as are the balconies:) Enjoy and have fun

[sue117]

Sunday Nov 18

GOOD MORNING!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

We slept pretty good last night. DH got up around 5am and went up to the Lido to get some coffee, read, and work on a school assignment that is due in a few days. I slept in a bit longer to around 6:30am. The sun comes in on our side of the ship (port) but it’s lovely to wake up to that really, knowing that you have nothing pressing to be done for the day (like to go work!).

I know that some people LOVE the beds, but I’m not the biggest fan. First, they are too soft for me. I like a nice firm board to sleep on…ok, not quite that hard, but you get the idea. Secondly, I hate hate HATE that there is a “dip” in the mattress from where people have been sleeping. You know, when the mattress doesn’t get “flipped” and there is an indentation in the bed. Ugh. I tried to move to the middle of the bed, but then I was sleeping on the crack where the two twin mattresses meet to make the big bed. Although sleeping there DOES make the mattress harder. So it’s a weird night sleep for me until I get used to that.

 

 

 

We went to breakfast in the Kings Room (a little room off of the dining room on the top floor). The saga of “you don’t belong with the suite people” continues. We walk into the dining room and this older couple looks at us and says “They aren’t serving breakfast up here, it’s downstairs”. I just ignore them and walk into the Kings room. Sigh. At least the workers didn’t kick us out! Lol Breakfast was lovely in there, and anything we can do to avoid the grumpy people in the Lido is a good thing. I have noticed that even the WORKERS are grumpy. No one smiles. I’m sure they are overworked with the first 2 days having to serve everyone instead of the buffet being open, but still. In the past they were all still very pleasant and friendly.

 

 

 

 

 

After breakfast we went to Good Morning Zaandam. Michael the Cruise Director was interviewing Kainoa (the Travel Guide). It was interesting, but I can’t help but wonder how many times both of them have asked/answered the same questions. It didn’t seem rehearsed per se, but it was definitely “quick and dirty” as far as interviews went.

 

 

 

 

 

After that we went up to the crow’s nest for our Cruise Critic meet and greet. Thanks to Alan for setting it up for us. We had some cookies and water and coffee set out. Michael the cruise director came and talked to us a bit. He told us what he did “before” he was a CD (choreographer for Veggie Tales on the Road for one thing! Lol) Then the captain (Andre van Schoonhoven) came and talked to us as well. He was really funny. I guess we are taking a more “Southern” route to Hawaii to try to avoid a “swell” (i.e. big waves) more to the north. He was teaching some of the younger officers this morning and they were concerned that they weren’t following the “line” of the original route..and he told them “look around, we’re in the middle of nowhere, what does it matter?!?” lol He talked about his kids and wife and how they met. He seemed really down to earth and it was nice of him to stop by our little group.

 

 

 

 

 

 

DH went to the food demo today as well. They don’t do any of the “participation” cooking on this ship, but they do have the presentations. He watched them make Crème Brule and Lobster Salad. After that we just kinda hung out. DH went for a walk, took pics, and took a nap. I sat out on our balcony in the sun, read and took a nap.

 

 

 

DH DID get his hair cut today in the spa. They were “open” when he went up to check how much it would cost. In his words it was the “most expensive military haircut he’s ever gotten”. Lol I think it was like $36 for them to shave it high and tight against his sides and tapered and longer on the top. I had to laugh because when I saw him he had all sorts of gel and gunk in his head and on his scalp. He usually just washes his hair with regular soap. It was pretty funny. But it looks nice and he doesn’t have to worry about it for the rest of the cruise now. A happy husband = a good trip.

 

 

 

Tonight was a formal night and dinner was good as usual. This was a quick serving for us. None of the other 4 people showed up at our table tonight so it was just us. Our entire dinner service took about 45 minutes. Pretty good, but again it was just the 2 of us at the table. I do wonder how people feel it’s ok to show up to the 5:45pm seating at 6:20. Really? 35 minutes late? That is just rude and makes it really hard on the servers. I just can’t believe that kind of rude behavior from people. Sigh.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We didn’t go to the show tonight (singing and dancing and the captain’s welcome), but tomorrow is a comedian I think, so we will go to that for sure. Some general observances. We sent in clothes last night to be washed and they came back today all nice and neat (I do laugh that they fold our underwear. I’m sure some poor schlep downstairs just loves having THAT job! Lol).

 

 

The ship seemed to be a bit chilly today, but it was wonderful outside in the sun, so it didn’t matter. Our room temp is perfect. We like it a bit cold and so far as have been able to have that. The water pressure in our shower is nice. I hate showers that just trickle the water out at you. DH took a bath last night and said the tub was a nice size (Again, I have long legs and hate it when I’m all scrunched in the tub). We only have one room Steward, (I thought they worked in pairs, but he said that it was only him for our room. Not sure if that is a “suite” thing or not). He’s been great. Very pleasant and got the bar people up to our room to clear out the mini bar quickly.

 

 

Speaking of which the little fridge keeps our Diet Coke that we brought on board VERY cold. Nice. We got a little souvenir bag from Holland America tonight and it feels very cheap. Not unlike the bags that you get from the grocery store so you don’t keep having to use the plastic bags. And we only got one? Not sure what that is about. But they certainly aren’t the nice cloth ones that we have gotten in the past. Doesn’t matter to us as we don’t use them anyway. We love the smell the new carpet. It’s a bit slippery. Sorry to the people on the cruise a few weeks ago, but it looks nice now. We got the 1000 minute internet package for $250, and since we did it in the first 2 days we got 100 minutes free. That sounds like a lot, but both DH and I teach online and we have to have internet to grade papers (yes even on vacation, yuck).

 

 

 

We spent some time tonight watching CSI: NY from last season that we brought with us. We do like catching up on the shows that we haven’t been able to watch at home yet.

 

 

 

Let me know if you guys have any questions about anything on the ship. I can try to get answers if I don’t already know them.

[sue117]

That Suite photo brings back a few great memories :) - it wouldn'nt be 7026 by any chance.??? It seems to be portside.

 

what are the names of your cabin crew and how are you liking the Neptune, What's the concierge's name ? :confused:

 

We sailed her in the Pacific exactly 1 year ago. :D

 

We are in 7006.

We only have one Cabin guy...Kabu? I'll have to look at the card again when I get back to the room to let you know for sure.

The concierge in Helena. She seems nice. We haven't used the NL that much. We go in there to use the Internet and we have reserved one night in the Pinnacle and requested to have our mini bar emptied, but that's about it. :)

[sue117]

Enjoy that suite life and have a wonderful time. Thanks for sharing all the photos with us. Is that a Hawaiian shirt I see on the balcony?

 

Yes, my husband LOVES Hawaiian shirts! He has already said "I need to get more while in Hawaii. :) "

[Sage]

Thank you so much for the photos and posts. I am so enjoying reading each and every one. My DH loves his Hawaiian shirts as well, and he has well over 20 of them. I look forward to your next post.

[Typhoon1]

Thanks for taking the time to share.

[writer2B]

Yes, my husband LOVES Hawaiian shirts! He has already said "I need to get more while in Hawaii. :) "

 

In Honolulu last Dec, DH found 3 Hawaiian shirts (complete with the coconut buttons) for $50. He still raves about his find. He lives in Hawaiian shirts during the summer. Hard to get him to wear anything else. His closet is exploding with them! LOL

 

I love your pictures and your blog. DH loved seeing the dogs on the tanks. Gorgeous dogs.

 

 

We are dog people too. We had a Rottweiler but lost him to cancer in 1998. We then got a Redbone Coonhound, but we lost her in Dec of last year to cancer. Now we just have our 2 little ones. I miss having a big dog!

 

Enjoy your trip!

[kakalina]

Sue, if you want some great Hawaiian shirts I know a wonderful place. When you get off the ship at Aloha Towers and walk towards the shopping mall there is a kiosk there with shirts and dresses. The owners name is Trin. All her stuff is handmade in Hawaii. She can even have something custom made and shipped to you. We've bought all our Hawaiian gear there for years now.

 

Really enjoying your posts and pix. We love the Zaandam.

[sue117]

Sue, if you want some great Hawaiian shirts I know a wonderful place. When you get off the ship at Aloha Towers and walk towards the shopping mall there is a kiosk there with shirts and dresses. The owners name is Trin. All her stuff is handmade in Hawaii. She can even have something custom made and shipped to you. We've bought all our Hawaiian gear there for years now.

 

Really enjoying your posts and pix. We love the Zaandam.

 

Thanks for the head's up! We will definitely need to find her!

[sue117]

Monday, Nov. 19

 

 

For some reason I didn’t sleep that well last night. Clocks went back an hour, but don’t think that was it. We went to bed really early, but don’t think that was it either. I think it’s those stinkin’ beds. Love the linens, but not so much the bed. So the ship was really rockin’ last night. We had some good size swells we were going through. Every now and then someone would “crash” in the room. A glass here, something else there, a drawer would open and shut here and there, so that wasn’t helping the sleep situation. But as we were rocking back and forth my body was rocking back and forth in that crater in the bed (you know, where I said earlier that there was a “dip” in the bed from the gazillion people that have slept in the exact same spot over the years). Also, when I would try to sleep on my side, it would rock me back and forth too. I tried to sleep on the crack in the beds (where they are pushed together), but that wasn’t much better. Good thing I can take a nap during the day on the lounger on the balcony! Lol

 

The captain really has a great sense of humor. He was talking about having to drain the Lido pool and how it was either fill the pool or let everyone have showers...ok it was really a lot funnier when you heard it in person, but take my word for it, he's funny.

 

 

 

Apparently there is lots of flooding in a certain part of Indonesia, and the captain made an announcement about how the Indonesian crew members who had relatives in the flooded area should see their HR rep about making free phone calls. I thought that was an EXPECTED thing that HA should do, but nice that they did it for sure.

 

 

 

I spent about 2 hours this morning grading papers online (yuck!). The internet was working pretty good, so it wasn’t too bad. The NL wasn’t open, so I went down to the library/Internet café place on deck 5. Remember yesterday when I said the ship was chilly? Yeah, not so much down here! This seems to be the only deck that is warm compared to all the others!

Below is a morning panoramic view off the balcony

 

 

 

Breakfast was good once again in the Kings Room. Love those Southwestern Omelets. I had big plans to go to the Good Morning Zaandam show, but with the sun on our balcony that iddn’t happen. I plunked myself on the lounger on the balcony for an hour and a half instead.

 

 

 

When DH went to the daily cooking show I went down to see Leslie the FCC. I had the cruise that we wanted in my head, so it was a fairly painless process. My father has had Alaska on his bucket list for a while (as the last state he needs to visit to have been to all 50 states). Twist MY arm to get me to go on a cruise with him to Alaska! Lol I wanted to get 2 suites right next to each other, and with all the raving on the aft wrap around decks thought it would be good to get 2 next to each other. Well Leslie said that since we aren’t handicapped we aren’t supposed to be able to book that handicapped room. And there are no other suites next to that aft wrap around except for floor 6. But she had a good suggestion (that I should have thought of), we got TWO aft wrap around decks on the same floor! Lol. So now my dad and his g/f have an aft wraparound on deck 7 of the Westerdam and we have the one on the same deck on the other side. So when we go to see the glaciers we can run back and forth from one room to another so we’re always on the same side as the glacier! HA! This will be his first cruise and we decided that if he’s gonna do it, he might as well do it right and get the suite. We don’t care about the suite, but what is the point of HIM getting it if we can’t eat breakfast together, can’t get on/off the ship together, etc. So we ALL will get the perks that come with the suite so we can hang out more.

 

 

 

I almost hate to admit it, but I did a whole lot of nothing today…and it was great! I had lots of PLANS to go to talks and whatnot, but a nap seemed to be in my future instead of the talks! DH went to 2 cooking classes today. He said they have been full each time. Dinner was another nice affair. The waiters are getting more comfortable with us, which is nice. Joking around a bit more. Hanging out on the back of the ship.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We did got to the show tonight. It was Tony Pace. He sings and does comedy with the singing and impersonations. He was very good at doing the different voices for the different singers. From Cher to Neil Diamond to Pat Boone to Elvis and Michael Jackson. He even danced the “Gagnam style” dance! If you don’t know what that is…google it! It’s done by a Korean singer by the name of Psy and is “all the rage” right now…of course it is NOT your 50s and 60s music which it seems like most people on board are into! Lol (bad pic below of Tony singing)

 

 

 

 

Anyway, so another slow day, but I’m on vacation…right?

[star dancer]

Thank you for the great posts. We will be going on 12/8 sailing. Which Holiday Inn did u stay in? Have fun!

[sue117]

Thank you for the great posts. We will be going on 12/8 sailing. Which Holiday Inn did u stay in? Have fun!

 

It was SAN DIEGO-ON THE BAY -1355 NORTH HARBOR DRIVE Definitely overpriced....but it was VERY convenient. I you don't care as much about taking a taxi to the cruise ship pier, then stay somewhere else, youc an save money. But if you want to be lazy, like we were, then it's an easy place to stay, and get to the Rite Aid to get last minute missed things and drinks, and walk across to the ship. :)

[solocanadian]

Sue: Been enjoying your posts & wonderful photos. I too love the pic. of your doggies - 4 drewling hounds. Must be a challenge at meal time. Say hello to Capt. Andre for me from the lady on the b2b Alaska cruise who wanted to go to Bella Bella. I found him funny too. Please ask him if he will return to the Zaandam next April & bring her to Vancouver as I'll be on that cruise for 12 glorious days. Looking forward to more posts. Who are the bar tenders in the Ocean Bar & Crow's Nest? Enjoy the rest of your cruise. :D:):D

[erewhon]

Thanks for your reports and photos.

 

When we were on the Volendam, we had the one room steward, he took care of some of the forward Deluxe Suites, on both port and starboard sides, also the PH.

[star dancer]

It was SAN DIEGO-ON THE BAY -1355 NORTH HARBOR DRIVE Definitely overpriced....but it was VERY convenient. I you don't care as much about taking a taxi to the cruise ship pier, then stay somewhere else, youc an save money. But if you want to be lazy, like we were, then it's an easy place to stay, and get to the Rite Aid to get last minute missed things and drinks, and walk across to the ship. :)

 

 

Thank you! Absolutely, love your way to cruise. :) Sounds like a plan for our family. Take care

[monina01]

really enjoying your report and writing style. It's fun to read :)

 

Wow, can't believe some people, so quick to judge and tell somebody else they "don't belong". Why do they do that? :confused:

[sue117]

Tuesday Nov 20

I slept more normal last night, so that was good. The ship wasn’t rocking as much as last night. DH still got up very early to go and roam the halls of the ship, but I slept in until around 7am. We ate breakfast again in the Pinnacle Grill. That seems to be a nice start to our day, and a bonus is that we don’t have to fight all the grumpy people in the Lido.

 

 

 

We went to the Good Morning Zaandam talk with the hotel manager Edwin Brunick. The “interviews” still seem very “staged” to me, but the info was still interesting. I always like hearing how people got to where they are today. It’s interesting to hear how someone started off in one area and now are working in the ship. Apparently his 12 year old daughter was on board with him on the last 7 day cruise to Mexico.

 

 

 

Then we listed to Kainoa (the travel guide) talk about how Hawaii went from “Kingdom to State”. I left a bit early to go to the galley tour. It’s not so much a “tour” as a walk through. The Kitchen Staff has 102 people working in it. In a week the average consumption of ice cream is 200 gallons, 2100 pounds of rice for the crew, 1100 pounds of butter and 18,000 eggs! For anyone keeping count from the past, there are 103 dining room staff members on the Zaandam, 37 dining room stewards, and 28 Asst Dining room stewards.

Below is the "infamous" cafes of water that coast money. The green has the "bubbley" water and the blue the "regular" filtered water. Beware!! lol

 

 

 

This is one of the workers in the galley making bread. Yum!

 

 

 

DH went to the cooking demo of “A piece of cake” about decorating cakes. Maybe I can benefit from what he learned on that one! Lol He DID say that he would have rather gotten the recipe for the cake that they made to decorate then to watch them actually decorate the thing.The afternoon today was spent at leisure. We took another nap (big surprise) and DH worked in a paper that he had to write for his schooling.

Below is DH napping in the sun on the balcony. The weather was perfect for it!

 

 

 

There IS a sewer issue on the 7th floor. It seems that there is an issue in one of the suites on our side. 7028 maybe? They were upset about the situation this morning in the NL, but the carpet has to dry before they can shampoo it, and I can’t imagine that it’s fun. I was walking down the hallway on Monday night and got “dripped” on, I didn’t think much about it at the time, but perhaps that was the start of the issue? I was telling DH that if our room was yicky like that I would sleep out on the balcony, but then again, I’m not in my 70s so it’s probably easier for me than someone else. I hope it gets better soon for them! I haven’t heard anything about the Dolphin deck or anything, but then again, I pretty much holed up in the room in the afternoons. Maybe I’ll try to take a walk down on that floor.

 

 

DH did go and work out again today. He really likes the biking machines because you can plug your ipod into the machine right in front of you and it will play a movie/tv show or whatever on the tv screen right there in front of you. So he got to watch his movie while he was working out. I figure that could motivate anyone to stay at it a bit longer! I also took a 2 mile walk on the deck and jammed to my music on my headphones. It was a great day to take a walk. Not too hot and not too cold.

 

 

We also hung out for a bit on the forward deck on deck 6. Yes, it was windy, but it was a warm wind. We watched the flying fish for a while..and we saw a bird! Yes, a bird, out here in the middle of nowhere! lol I took a pic of the flying fish, but it's not "close", so I won't post it unless you all really really really want me to! lol But here is a pic of the view that we had today from the front deck. Beautiful.

 

 

 

 

I hung out in the NL and graded some papers tonight and heard a man come in and say that his toilet would not flush. Apparently there was an “issue” with the “line” on “6 & 7”. Our room was fine, so maybe it was just the starboard side that had the issue? They knew about it already and were working on it.

 

 

 

We ate in the Pinnacle Grill tonight. We had the same waiter that we have for breakfast every morning. The food was good, but of course this was the first night that I would have ordered off the menu in the regular dining room (instead of the “Everyday menu”). I’m way too picky with what I eat! Lol I got the Filet Mignon and it was really good. It was a bit overcooked for “medium”, but it was still yummy! DH got the king prawns for an appetizer and they were the biggest shrimp he had ever seen and he said some of the BEST shrimp he had ever eaten. That’s big praise coming from him! I got the Volcano cake for desert and was sooo disappointed! First of all I had this desert about 10 years ago in the regular dining room, then they took it out of there and put it exclusively in the PG. But when I got it it tasted like….flowers? Roses? I’m not sure if they used a fancy flour to make the chocolate cake or what, but it was not good. I had to ask for a side of ice cream to be able to finish it. (anyone know what the recipe is and what they put in it?) I guess I’ll stick to Chili’s Lava cake from now on!

 

Below is DH's "not so baked alsaka" desert in the PG. He loved it.

 

 

 

 

The show was more singing and dancing, which we don’t do. I hope that when we get to Hawaii they get more magicians and comedians and such onboard.

 

 

 

More general notes. There is a lot of painting or something going on. Our table mates at dinner said it was hard to enjoy their balcony because of the smell of the paint (or varnish or whatever). I could see the workers working as I walked around the deck as well. It wasn’t overwhelming there because I was walking and the wind was blowing though.

 

 

 

Also, I couldn’t imagine what the issue was when I read the Zaandam nitemares thread about the elevator not working on the back of the ship. I sorta get it now in regards to dining. As-you-wish dining is on deck 4. If you use the middle elevators or stairs you can NOT get to the dining room on deck 4. There are WALLS. So you either have to go up to deck 5 and walk to the back of the ship and go down the stairs to deck 4, or you have to go down to deck 3 in the middle of the ship, walk to the back, then go up a flight of stairs to 4. I suppose you could enter the dining room on deck 5 and go down the stairs inside the dining room to get to the lower level too. So I get that it would be a pain if those elevators weren’t working. There’s not too many other ways to GET to the lower level of the dining room because of the layout of the ship. But on another note…the new carpets are really nice looking. Lol

[phquick]

Thanks so much for posting your trip, my Dad and his wife are on that cruise with you.....it is their 3rd cruise.

The first with out us :confused:...

Brad

[JamesEM]

Thanks for keeping us posted, as for your bed I might suggest asking your guy for an egg crated.

[sue117]

Wednesday Nov 21

To start you out today a Good Morning sunrise! A pretty good pic if I do say so myself!

 

 

 

The seas look “choppier” today, but we are sailing smoothly. I guess that’s because there are no “swells” that we are going over. I hadn't thought about asking for an "egg crate" for the bed. I think that might make it MORE soft though! Lol

 

 

 

We went to bed at a more normal time last night and got up at a more normal time as well. Even DH didn’t get up at 445am to go off into the depths of the ship to do who-knows-what until I get my butt out of bed! Lol.

 

 

 

We had another nice breakfast in the Kings Room. The waiter now knows what I order, as I have ordered the same thing each day. DH likes to order different things, so he still had to look at the menu. Lol. We sat with a funny couple. Apparently they had some toilet issues last night (they must have been on the other side of he ship from us) but apparently their toilet was flushing this morning otherwise we would have heard more about it!

We went to the Good Morning Zaandam show and it was with the entertainer Tony Pace that we had a few nights ago. This interview seemed less staged, but I guess that is normal as Tony isn’t on every cruise, so it wasn’t staged!

 

 

 

DH went to the “cooking” show this morning, but as it was how to carve fruit and veggies and not a “cooking” show he wasn’t that interested and admitted that he left early. Our room Steward, Bayu, leaves our room to last and didn’t get in to clean until around 130pm. We don’t really care, as it’s not like we HAVE to have our bed made as soon as we get up. I was talking with him a bit and he said that he has 7 suite rooms plus the penthouse. I asked why so “few” and he said that it was because they were bigger rooms and typically he had to do more “stuff” for the people in the rooms…i.e. they are more demanding! Lol I also asked him about the women room stewards. He said there were about 4 on board. He also said that they don’t seem to like to be room stewards as “it was too much work for them”. Ha! Bayu said that typically they apply to be waitresses in the Pinnacle Grill or the dining room instead.

 

 

This is the picture that we got of the flying fish. it's pretty good. You can see them right?

 

 

 

 

I’m sure you have all been wondering about the popcorn that we brought on board…we have finished half of it…still plenty left for the second half of the cruise. DH used the soda card that I bought before I found out that it was for “fountain” sodas and not cans of soda…one glass of Diet Coke cost $1.73. Sigh. I’m glad that we brought some on board with us and I’m glad that I only paid $25 for the $50 card. That way I can think that the drink with his lunch only cost 86 cents!

 

 

 

It’s HOT outside today! Partly cloudy, but definitely warm. DH took a nap on the balcony, but I had to come in, it was just too darn hot to sit out there! I guess that’s a good problem to have though, so I’m not complaining.

 

 

 

I AM complaining that I will have to order off of the “Everyday” menu tonight at dinner. Sigh. Figures that last night they had lasagna, which I would have ordered, but tonight they seem to only have the frou-frou dinners that I don’t like. Guess it’s back to my French Onion soup, Caesar salad and the Strip steak. Tomorrow is Hilo. We are renting a car and tooling around on our own. It will be good to get off the ship and break up our routine a bit.

 

 

Oh and before I forget. I got an update from back home today. My mom sent this picture of her Granddogs... Rosie and Ozzie….can’t you just hear Ozzie thinking “Rosie, get your foot out of my face!”. Lol Looks like all is well back home with the dogs and Grand-dog-ma. No worries there!