Join Pete and Judy on their FIRST World Cruise on the Amsterdam

[Skipper's Mom]

We are doing cable car on our own. Will check out the hotel. Thanks!

 

Definitely do the cable car up and sled down. What fun! We took the ship's shuttle into Funchal central and then walked to cable car. When we got off the sled, we haggled with a taxi driver for a tour.;)

[The-Inside-Cabin]

Back on the ship. Beautiful

Day. Great Port. Definitely on the "I'll be back" list

 

Today's GPS track

 

 

We have our last lifeboat drill today. We do one a month.

 

 

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[MMDown Under]

I saw the pdf of the 2018 WC. Few thoughts. I don't believe there are any new ports. I know that the people doing the WC do it for the country club feel but it is still nice to go somewhere different. I think the 2017 is the most interesting but it is also a cold weather cruise and on some previous try's some pax were not very happy. Missing india. Everyone hates that visa thing. Seychelles is beautiful. Nosy be is fun. Strange that they are still going to Angola. On a previous cruise HAL stopped there and as far as I can tell, everyone hated it as did the captain. Can't understand why they are going back. Totally missing Europe. Senegal and Gambia are nice if it really stops there.

I find it more interesting to put together several cruise to see a lot more for a lot less. We have put together 78 days on the Veendam ant the same time starting Jan 4. Judging by your reports you seem very into the ports you are going to. I remember the first time I was at the Acropolis I was able to climb inside. Not anymore. Nice to see it without the scaffolding.

Enjoy Rome.

 

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I found your comments comparing a WC to putting several cruises together to achieve a private WC, at less cost, interesting.

[jig]

We put together 3 Asia cruises for 42 days. Now doing 15 day PC with 14 day Carib and 48 day carnivale cruise. As well as others.

 

 

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[KirkNC]

Getting an Indian Visa was easy. I did it without a service. I will be posting a tutorial on how to do it when I get back or have more sea days.

 

Re Angola, probably because of limited other options. What else is there?

 

I look forward to reading that as we need to get one this summer for the 2017 WC.

[KirkNC]

I found your comments comparing a WC to putting several cruises together to achieve a private WC, at less cost, interesting.

 

We are in essence doing that next year on the Prinsendam. We get on July 15th and get off November 18th, 113 days in total I believe. It's actually 5 separate bookings. The resulting itinerary is great, everything from Greenland, Iceland, lots of wee towns in the UK and even includes the Black Sea. It's not any cheaper since it is on the Prinsendam but I think it would be on another ship. You would miss some of the WC frills.

Edited April 12, 2016 by KirkNC

[KirkNC]

Definitely do the cable car up and sled down. What fun! We took the ship's shuttle into Funchal central and then walked to cable car. When we got off the sled' date=' we haggled with a taxi driver for a tour.;)[/quote']

 

I have yet to visit Funchal but have been told to be careful on the sleds. People do get injured going down the hill. I think we will skip that part when we visit next year.

[windsor26]

I have yet to visit Funchal but have been told to be careful on the sleds. People do get injured going down the hill. I think we will skip that part when we visit next year.

 

 

Shame It was so much fun and they do look after you as they do not want bad press

[The-Inside-Cabin]

Good Morning Katakolo!

 

We are waiting for the train to Olympia

 

Where we are

 

 

A little closer

 

 

Train station

 

 

 

Self licking ice cream cone

 

 

 

The ship

 

 

The train

 

 

 

 

 

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[The-Inside-Cabin]

I have yet to visit Funchal but have been told to be careful on the sleds. People do get injured going down the hill. I think we will skip that part when we visit next year.

 

 

 

What do the sleds slide on? Gravel?

[The-Inside-Cabin]

Back on the ship. Wonderful day. Wonderful port. Perfect weather.

 

Today's track

 

 

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[C & D Cruisingfans]

What do the sleds slide on? Gravel?

 

You actually travel on city streets. We had some traffic but not a lot.

 

Here is a link to a video I shot of our trip.

 

 

The man who is standing on the left side of the street during the trip is taking a photo of us that is ready to buy when we get to the end of the ride.

 

It is the only place you can do this, don't miss it!

[chefestelle]

What a hoot!

 

 

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[Skipper's Mom]

What do the sleds slide on? Gravel?

 

Pete, the sleds go down an actual paved road! It's quite an experience and the sled-men do a very good job of steering. :D

 

I was at first hesitant to try it but, when I saw a couple take their infant down, I agreed to go.

[bcnvcanada]

It is a great ride down, we have done it many times. Bus can be caught at the

bottom of the sled rides to downtown. The streets are very steep, and one

can get shin splints easily. Don't miss the flower and veggie, fish market at the bottom of the cable before you take your ride.

[MMDown Under]

It is a great ride down, we have done it many times. Bus can be caught at the

bottom of the sled rides to downtown. The streets are very steep, and one

can get shin splints easily. Don't miss the flower and veggie, fish market at the bottom of the cable before you take your ride.

 

If you don't take the sled ride, you can watch the activity, at the bottom. I didn't realise the sleds shared a public road, which I knew was steep. I agree don't miss the market at the bottom, which sells beautiful flowers.

[The-Inside-Cabin]

Day 95, Haifa, Israel

 

We arrived in Haifa early this morning, but before we could go ashore we would have to go thru a face to face immigration check with Israeli officials. The check would take place on Deck 5 in one corner of the dining room. The day before we received letters assigning us a number so they could call us down in specific groups to avoid long lines. About 7:30 am they started calling groups who were assigned letters beginning with “F” and then “S”. After about 10 minutes they started with the number 4. We were number 16, but we had no idea if that was 16 out of 16 or 16 out of 50. Our private tour was scheduled for 8:30 am, leaving us an hour to get processed, but we didn’t expect it to take that long. As time went by they started grouping numbers together and 8:15 am, 45 minutes after they started, they called groups 16 and 17, which turned out to be the final two groups.

 

Once we were on Deck 5, the line was only to the entrance to the Microsoft Classroom and moved quickly, almost to the point where you never really stopped. At the head of the line were a couple of tables with 4 officials going thru the passports and our landing cards. Back in 2008, Israel quit stamping passports because some Arab countries will not let you enter their country if you have an Israeli stamp in your passport. In the place of passport stamps, they give you a landing card, which repeats some of the information in your passport and gives them a place to put a stamp showing the date you entered the country.

 

After I reached the front of the line, I handed my passport to the official who took a quick glance at my picture, then me and verified that the name on the landing card, matched the name in the passport. He then quickly thumbed through every page of my passport looking at the various stamps and visas without comment. I imagine if I had a stamp from Iran, Afghanistan or Yemen, I might have been asked to step aside for a one on one conversation. When complete he smiled and said “Welcome to Israel” and we were on our way.

 

We met our group outside the cruise terminal and it turns out we were the last to arrive as everyone else had lower numbers and went thru immigration sooner. It was still 10 minutes before our scheduled departure time so we were able to get off a little early. Note to future private tour organizers: Consider the size and configuration of the bus you are using and limit participation so no one is forced to use undesirable seats. Also consider singles and couples and how they may affect the seating use and allocation. If you leave 20% of the seats empty, you will probably pay a little more, but it will be worth the extra cost if you are going to spend a lot of time on a bus.

 

Our guide’s name was Yazel and after a brief introduction we were on our way to Nazareth, the hometown of Jesus.

 

After 45 minutes of driving thru Israel’s modern highways, with light traffic, we arrived at the Church of the Annunciation. This is the location where the Angel Gabriel announced to the Virgin Mary that she would conceive and become the mother of Jesus, the Son of God. As we toured the beautiful church I realized what was probably obvious to others, that most of the structures and churches we would see today are relatively modern and not original to the time when Jesus was walking the streets. What was always more interesting was the terrain and physical features that have remained unchanged for the last 2000 years.

 

Judy collects the Robin Ruth hand bags known for having the names of cities written in a distinctive style. We found one in Dubai, but surprisingly we couldn’t find one in Hong Kong or Singapore. Judy was excited to see one in Nazareth with the distinctive logo spelling out the city name. Unfortunately, upon closer inspection, the bag was a knock off and not an original Robin Ruth. We’ll keep looking.

 

We spent about 1 hour touring the Church of Annunciation before we got back in the van to drove another hour to the Sea of Galilee where we would see the Benedictine Monastery and Church of Primacy of Saint Peter, in addition to the Sea of Galilee itself. The Sea of Galilee is the largest freshwater lake in Israel, about 13 miles long by 8 miles wide. It also sits about 700 feet below sea level.

 

 

The Benedictine Monastery sits on the shores of the Sea of Galilee and is where Jesus walked on water and the miracle of the multiplication of loaves and fishes occurred. The area surrounding The Sea of Galilee is green and covered with date palms and other vegetation. We walked down to a shaded area near the water’s edge where our guide read Bible verses applicable to where we were. It was interesting to hear the familiar stories in the actual area where the events occurred and try to visualize what it may have looked like here 2000 years ago. After listening to the verses, our group went down to the rocky beach – there wasn’t any sand – and spent a few minutes wading in the water and taking pictures. There were a couple dozen other people in the area posing for photos and walking up and down the shoreline, but we learned that it can get much busier during the peak tourist seasons. After about 10 minutes we headed back to our bus for a very short ride, only a couple of minutes, to our next stop: The Church of Primacy of St Peter.

 

We probably could have walked to the Church of Primacy of Saint Peter, which was built on the spot where Jesus reinstated Peter as the chief of his apostles, but we would save some time by driving even this short distance. It sits above the Sea of Galilee and has a wonderful view of the lake and surrounding area. The most prominent feature here is a large bronze statute depicting St Peter sitting on a rock inscribed with a verse from Matthew 16:18, “Thou art Peter and upon this rock I will build my church.”

 

Capharnaum, Jesus’s hometown after he left Nazareth, was our next stop and we spent about ½ hour exploring the area. It was also home to disciples Peter, Andrew, James, John and Matthew. There isn’t much left from that time, but it is also interesting walk around and get a feel for the area and imagine what it was like years ago.

 

It was time for lunch and we went to St Peter’s Restaurant, on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. The restaurant was a single, large room, containing moveable tables and chairs that can rearranged to accommodate many groups of different sizes. The buffet menu was simple enough for the waiter to simply list the choices: Tilapia Fish aka Sea of Galilee fish either served baked as a filet, or pan fried as the entire fish – bones and all. There was a salad bar available and a waitress pushed around a drink cart serving beer, soda or wine with the prices clearly marked in USD.

 

 

NOTE: We learned in many cases that the local “street” exchange rate of 4 Shekels to a $1 was actually better than the bank rate by about 5% since the conversion was so much easier using the 4-1 (Bank Rate was 3.76 shekels to the dollar). We didn’t go to any non-tourist areas, so maybe in other spots, the USD was less accepted, but if you stick to the tourist spots for the standard cruise ship day tours, I doubt if you need to change money.

 

The food was delicious and served promptly and we all settled our checks at the bar where they accepted credit cards or cash.

 

Our first stop after lunch was the Church of the Beatitudes which was constructed on the site where Jesus delivered the Sermon on the Mount. This sermon is Jesus’s longest on record and includes some of his best known teachings including the Beatitudes and the Lord’s Prayer. As I mentioned earlier, the modern structures and churches are interesting but unremarkable as compared to the exciting history the occurred in these locations and chance to take in the geography, flora and fauna which have remained largely unchanged over the years.

 

The Jordan River was the last stop in this area and is famous for being where Jesus was baptized by John. The visitor center sits about 50 feet above the river. They sell white robes and facilities to change if you would like to be baptized or simply immerse yourself in the river. The river itself is only about 75 feet across and doesn’t flow very swiftly. Yardenit runs the operation and the facility it is well maintained and organized, it wasn’t very crowded for our visit. It would be interesting to see how well it operates during a busy season. There is no admission fee to get to the Jordan River, but using the changing room costs about 50 cents. Judy went down to the edge and got her feet and hands wet, but no more. There was a steady stream of other visitors doing full immersion baptisms and there is a separate section for them.

 

Right before we returned to the ship we stopped by a vista point with a beautiful view of Haifa, the Amsterdam far below. It was peaceful for a few minutes until two other tour buses arrived and then we realized this stop was on everyone’s schedule.

 

 

Back in the cruise terminal we spent a few minutes shopping in the Duty Free shop but didn’t find anything of particular interest. The terminal has free Wi-Fi but as is usually the case, is unusable for anything more than downloading email, unless you find yourself with only a few other people.

 

There wasn’t any show tonight so we enjoyed another nice dinner in the Main Dining Room before heading off the bed. We didn’t leave port until 11:30 so there wasn’t any sail-away.

 

More on the blog at http://www.theinsidecabin.com

[windsor26]

What do the sleds slide on? Gravel?

 

No Just the concreted tarmaced road

[FloridaTourist]

Did they not take you to the lower levels of he Church of Annunciation? The newer church is built in top of 2 centuries older churches.

[The-Inside-Cabin]

Did they not take you to the lower levels of he Church of Annunciation? The newer church is built in top of 2 centuries older churches.

 

 

 

They may have.....it all sorta blurs together after a bit.....always best to read up before you visit, otherwise you risk missing stuff..

[The-Inside-Cabin]

Day 96, Ashdod, Israel

 

We left Haifa late, after 11:30 pm and traveled the short distance down the Israel Coast to Ashdod, arriving the next morning around 7AM. Ashdod is another commercial port where there isn’t much available nearby. But since we were on another all day tour it didn’t really matter as we would be driving from the port anyway.

 

Since we cleared Israeli Immigration yesterday, we were cleared almost immediately and we were soon on or way to meet our tour group outside the cruise terminal. We had the same guide as yesterday getting us off to a good start since we enjoyed his explanations and were looking forward to another great day. The weather was on our side with partly cloudy skies and moderate temperatures.

 

Security in the various ports ranges from nothing, to X-ray and metal detectors going in to the port, but not leaving the port, while some have security both directions. An absolute rule is that you only go thru security once returning to the ship. If you are X-rayed in the port, then you won’t be X-rayed aboard ship. If the port has no security, then the ship will set up their metal detector and X-ray machine.

 

Traffic was heavy this morning as Sunday is a normal working day here, so the lighter traffic on the Israel Sabbath day was missing today.

 

Our first stop was at a view point overlooking the Walled City of old Jerusalem with the golden dome of the Dome of the Rock being the most prominent feature and the only building with any color other than various shades of desert brown. This view point is fairly large, with plenty of room for many tour groups to huddle with their guides as they explain what we are seeing below and provide an overview of the city below. It was interesting to hear all the different languages being used as there were groups present from all over the world.

 

 

After we spent some time taking in the view and getting oriented to the area, we got back in the bus to head down the hill to the Mount of Olives where Jesus met with his disciples on numerous occasions and was a convenient stopping point on their travels to and from Jerusalem. It was from here where Jesus ascended into heaven after his crucifixion and resurrection.

 

There is zero parking in the area. All the tour buses drive off and park some distance away until they are summoned by the guide when their group is ready to hop onto the bus when it makes a quick stop near the meeting place.

 

It was only a short ride from the Mount of Olives to the entrance to Old Jerusalem and we were soon off the bus, heading for the entrance which required passing thru airport style security, with different lines for men and women.

 

Our first stop inside the city was the Wailing Wall which is closest spot the Jews were allowed to get near the Dome of the Rock centuries ago. It remains a popular spot for prayer today with separate sections for men and women. We had about 15 minutes to enter and contemplate before we assembled once more to continue our visit.

 

We walked thru the old, narrow streets, lined with various shops, ranging from those selling trinket for tourists to bakeries for the local residents.

 

In a few minutes we stopped at the Sixth Station of the Cross. There are a total of 14 stations which mark the path of Jesus as he made his final journey to his crucifixion. It is important to remember that every structure we were walking on or near didn’t exist 2000 years as all the original structures have been leveled, rebuilt and leveled again before they settled into the final form we see today. This means that the Stations of the Cross represent the symbolic path of Jesus as opposed to his actual path which has been lost to time.

 

The Stations of the Cross lead you to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher which contains the two holiest sites in Christendom: the site where Jesus was crucified (Calvary) and Jesus’ empty tomb where he was buried and resurrected. The line to enter the tomb is typically several hours long so we didn’t have to time to actually go inside today. Once again, these locations have been significantly modified over the years and are now quite ornate as opposed to how they appeared during the time of Christ. The actual Rock of Calvary which is on display under glass has a hole which tradition says was the actual hole where the crucifixion cross was inserted. As we were leaving the church we walked past the Stone of Anointing which marks the spot where Jesus’ body was anointed before burial. The stone that is on display was only added in 1810 so it is unlikely that this stone was actually present 2000 years ago.

 

We stopped for a quick lunch at Everest Ramzi which was on one of the narrow streets on the way out of the walled city where we enjoyed our choice of a either a Gyro or a small Pizza.

 

Our final stop for the day would be the Dead Sea where we would have a chance to float in the extremely salty water, which at 34% salinity, is about 10 times saltier than the ocean. It is also the lowest spot on earth at 1,407 feet below sea level. There are several spots where you can swim in the Dead Sea and were we went was different than the spot used by the HAL tours. It’s not clear what the difference is between the various spots, but your spot will be determined by your tour and I don’t know if it really matters where you end up going.

 

 

There are changing rooms and showers near the visitors center/gift shop and bar. Outside the changing rooms are locker to store valuables while you are down at the Dead Sea which sits about 50 feet below the level of the parking lot and visitors center.

 

A series of steps lead you down to a rocky beach with a few chairs and benches where you can undress if you are wearing your suit under your clothes or watch your friends as they enter the water to float for a bit and splash around.

 

We decided not to float in the Dead Sea, but we enjoyed watching others in our group take part and we helped taking photos and watching their belongings.

 

Here are a few pointers if you choose to enter the Dead Sea:

 

• Bring water shoes or old tennis shoes. There are concrete blocks and other debris hiding under the water – not always soft sand. If your guide says you don’t need them, bring them anyway and be happy you didn’t need them rather than the other way around.
   
  
• If you plan to cover yourself with the mud, bring an older swim suit.
   
  
• Bring Soap, Shampoo, combs and brushes. None of these items were available at our location.
   
  
• Bring your own towel and a plastic bag or two gallon zip-locks to store your wet suits and shoes.
  

We spent about 90 minutes here before we headed back to the ship, about 2 hours away. There was a line getting back on the ship as many people stayed in the Duty Free shops until right before the all aboard time. Additionally there was only one official from Israel to collect the Landing Cards before we boarded the ship. That was the cause of the biggest delays, but the wait was only about 10 minutes.

 

Back on the ship the sail away was lightly attended as we bid farewell to a wonderful two days in Israel.

 

Francisco Yglesia, a harp player was on the main stage this evening. He was very entertaining and in the late show he departed from his normal song list to take a few requests from the audience during the middle of his show.

 

 

more on the blog at http://www.theinsidecabin.com

[MMDown Under]

Oh to be entertained by a harpist - now I'm envious!

 

What is that latest work of art in the photo?

[The-Inside-Cabin]

Oh to be entertained by a harpist - now I'm envious!

 

What is that latest work of art in the photo?

 

Which Photo?

[The-Inside-Cabin]

Day 97, Sailing toward Piraeus, Greece

 

 

Partly cloudy skies greeted us this morning as we headed north toward Greece and our visit to Piraeus tomorrow.

 

Francisco Yglesia was the guest of Good Morning Amsterdam. He was the guest entertainer last night and per custom the previous evenings entertainer is usually the guest the next day. We learned that Francisco has been playing the harp since he was 6 years old and is from Paraguay, but today he makes his home in England with his wife.

 

I swung by the Queens lounge to listen to Barbara’s discussion on our port visit to Monaco soon. We arrive on a Sunday, early at 7 am and will have an all aboard at 3:30 pm. There won’t be a lot of time to shop since any stores that do open probably won’t open until 10 am or so.

 

We spent a lazy day in our cabin catching up on the blogs while Judy worked on her knitting project. She is almost finished with her very complex shawl which she should have finished by the time we get to Civitavecchia, Italy.

 

Tonight was a Gala night in addition to having a Toga Party in Crow’s Nest and the popular production show by the HAL singers and dancers. Normally when there is a theme party in the Crow’s nest, e.g. April Fool’s day or Saint Patty’s day, they only have a single show at 7:30 pm so there isn’t any competition for the theme party which runs from 9 to 11 pm. Additionally theme parties usually don’t coincide with a Gala night which reduces dressing conflicts.

 

We had also had guests to dinner this evening, so we weren’t able to speed up our dinner or come to the Gala night dressed in our Toga’s.

 

Laura Broad and her boyfriend, Brian joined us for dinner and we had a wonderful time. She recounted her time on the British TV Show “Britain’s Got Talent” and how she was able to move from being a cruise ship cast singer to having her own show. The guest entertainer business is hypercompetitive and they must continue to deliver outstanding performances every time or they will soon find their bookings drying up. I don’t think Laura has anything to worry about as she is very talented.

 

After dinner we hurried back to our cabin to change into our Toga’s and arrived in the Crow’s Nest around 10 pm. At the previous theme parties, 10pm was the peak and it usually lasted until well after 11 pm. Unfortunately, tonight the attendance was light, more the size of a happy hour crowd then a theme party. The dance floor could only attract a single couple.

 

The food was delicious, with the miniature Chicken Gyros being the clear favorite along with pizza and meatballs.

 

I suspect most people were at the production show, so we left the Crow’s Nest after a few minutes and headed down to the Queen’s lounge to catch the last ½ hour of the show.

 

The singers and dancers put on a great show called “Jazz, Blues & Rock “n” Roll” which demonstrated their incredible talent and infectious energy.

 

 

More on the blog at http://www.theinsidecabin.com

[MMDown Under]

Which Photo?

 

? your wife ? knitting in front of "I visited the Dead Sea" Sign.