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Come Sail a Way with us LIVE as the Westerdam meets the Sail a Way Gang

kazu

By kazu,
in Holland America Line

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kazu "Live from...." Rare

kazu

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Every time I see a picture of that Lobster Salad Le Cirque, I get hungry. Food porn, indeed!

 

 

It was SO good. I would put this Le Cirque right up there with the P'dam's. Of course, Clifford did a lot to help in the experience.

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kazu "Live from...." Rare

kazu

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Well the captain's picture getting is plaque is on the OTHER memory card. GRRRR (to quote Marley) or uggher (to quote Kazu). DH has promised it to me tomorrow so I can post it for you all so in the meantime

 

In the meantime, here are a few pics of Guatemala from Dh's camera (he is better photographer than I

 

Guatemala is the Athens of Central America.

 

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hope you can see some of the frescoes that are still here after all those centuries.

 

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kazu "Live from...." Rare

kazu

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For some of us, the highlight was the children's school in Guatemala. I know we have posted about it so here are just few more pics of the very sweet children. So unassuming, so appreciative. Things we take for granted are so appreciated.

 

It was truly a wondrous time as we watched the joy as they slowly realized it was really for them

 

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kazu "Live from...." Rare

kazu

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Thank you all who have contributed to this thread -- I've been considering a Panama Canal cruise, and now really really want to take one.

 

Kazu, do you have any more pictures to share?

 

Yes, I do. Just waiting for the other memory card. It has the Captain's presentation on it where he gets his plaque. :)

 

I am pressuring DH :)

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Lizzie68

Lizzie68

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Yes, I do. Just waiting for the other memory card. It has the Captain's presentation on it where he gets his plaque. :)

 

I am pressuring DH :)

 

Oh good. This captain sure got into the spirit of things, and was so much fun to sail with. He and Mark Pells made a great team. So glad he is back in time to do our cruise next year.

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kazu "Live from...." Rare

kazu

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OK, is everyone ready? I have the other memory card downloaded. Yup, lots and lots of pics.

 

I will go in order...

 

A number of us stayed at the Embassy Suites and we had a great get together the night before our cruise and then headed for a group dinner.

 

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as you can see a lot of roll call members were having fun:)

 

we were off to a great start!

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summer slope

summer slope

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Oh good. This captain sure got into the spirit of things, and was so much fun to sail with. He and Mark Pells made a great team. So glad he is back in time to do our cruise next year.

Do you know if he'll be on the Westerdam next March? Panama Canal Cruise?

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kazu "Live from...." Rare

kazu

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and we were off.

 

Our first stop was Half Moon Cay and a group of us had the Oasis. What a great spot. We really had fun here..

 

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and the next day... It was time of our Meet and Greet.

 

What a treat we had with so many of the ship's officers and staff coming to join us. Here are the "top dogs" and I mean that in the good way

 

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PathfinderESS (Melodie) had sent a plaque to 0bnxshs for us to present to the Captain since she is the Queen of Horns or the official winner of the Suuperbowl of horns.

 

Here is our Captain (who is very proud of his tooting by the way) receiving his plaque

 

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kazu "Live from...." Rare

kazu

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The Captain is very eloquent and a lot of fun.

 

For those toot purists, he disagrees and thinks it is a fine Maritime tradition. When he is not supposed to toot, his finger gets stuck - LOL.

 

His speech was a lot of fun and he and all the staff really added to our meet and greet. What a pleasure to have them all with us.

 

 

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Since it was a sea day, that night was our first formal night and I must say, the Sail a Way Gang cleans up pretty nicely!

 

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as the sun set, and the entertainment began, our thoughts turned to our very early stop in Cartagena. Didn't stop us from having fun though!

 

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to be continued...

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kazu "Live from...." Rare

kazu

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Do you know if he'll be on the Westerdam next March? Panama Canal Cruise?

 

 

Not sure, sorry.

 

According to his current schedule he said he would be on for April 2/16 next year (all things subject to change). It did sound like he was doing the Panama before hand as I remember him saying something about hopping on for the repositioning and just going on to our Hawaii, Tahiti, Marquesas cruise. I hope he is for you.

 

He is a wonderful man, great sense of humour, a lot of class and a fabulous dancer :)

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Lizzie68

Lizzie68

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Not sure, sorry.

 

According to his current schedule he said he would be on for April 2/16 next year (all things subject to change). It did sound like he was doing the Panama before hand as I remember him saying something about hopping on for the repositioning and just going on to our Hawaii, Tahiti, Marquesas cruise. I hope he is for you.

 

He is a wonderful man, great sense of humour, a lot of class and a fabulous dancer :)

 

Yes that was what I understood him to say, too. I sure hope that does not change. And he was an absolutely charming host when we had dinner with him with a great sense of humour.

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kazu "Live from...." Rare

kazu

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OK, I have to go out of order for one second. and do one last special picture tonight. After all, I had to buy the DAM picture :)

 

Last time I did this, they gave us the pic But that was a long, long time ago and a different line. . But we did get the menu signed :)

 

Here we are all dressed up for the Captain's dinner.

 

It was a smart casual night - we more than observed the dress code.

 

You would too, if you were dining with the captain wouldn't you?

 

A great night, great dinner companions, fabulous food and a fabulous time!

 

And for the escargots fans out there - they were offered and totally unbelievable. The best I have had anywhere other than one land restaurant and that says a lot. Not at all like the MDR. Fantastic.

 

We were asked to meet where the Adagio plays and a special area was roped off for us. Our Cellar Master was there to pour our champagne and the Captain had a lovely conversation with us before dinner.

 

And then we were off to dinner. I never noticed that little circular area with a few steps down before. But I sure know where it is now!

 

We all had a wonderful time.

 

Here is the Captain's table:

 

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kazu "Live from...." Rare

kazu

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And the lobster was was way better than any offered on surf and turf night. Absolutely delicious.

 

 

totally agree - and I am a Maritimer!!!

 

DH had the opposite of what I did and said it was delicious.

 

the food was delectable!

 

Those that eat at the Captain's table will not suffer for sure :

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kazu "Live from...." Rare

kazu

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Those are some excellent pics Kazu; awesome job! Captain Rens is one of the good ones! ;)

 

Thank you kindly Copper. These are my husband's which is why the quality has improved ;). Our Captain was fabulous. Anyone who sails with him is truly fortunate.

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kazu "Live from...." Rare

kazu

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We had a very EARLY start for Cartagena. We were here only a short time and a private tour arranged. So, we were certainly up early enough to catch this

 

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Cartagena was incredible. Much more than I expected. When we headed towards our van we passed through this incredible area with birds, swans and flamingos. A lovely visitor's centre. DH couldn't resist and yes, these are real.

 

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the fort was incredible and much larger than it appeared at first. You only realized the size as you were driving around or looking down on the city from a scenic point.

 

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afterwards we headed to La Popa for scenic views of Cartagena. Of course a picture of the two blue hulled beauties in port was a must!

 

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kazu "Live from...." Rare

kazu

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Cartagena is an amazing city - very modern in some spots and much more modern than I had anticipated.

 

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and then there was the charm of the old city

 

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