Trekking the Globe with Bill & Mary Ann on the 2017 World Cruise - 126 Days

[vino100]

Spectacular reporting of your day in Cadiz. You have a great way of making us feel like we enjoyed the day with you. Thanks so much for sharing your trip with us.

[bcnvcanada]

Thanks so much for your reporting on this years' world cruise. Loved the pictures and your

daily chat. It was something we looked forward to with our daily coffee.. Again, this year we will

pass you on our way to Europe. We should pass you early Saturday. Maybe someday we will

have to pleasure of meeting you. We have learned so much about cruising from your wonderful

blog. THANKS AGAIN

[WCB]

Report #107 Casablanca, Morocco April 16, 2017 Sunday Mostly sunny & 77 degrees Part #1 Of 3 87 Pictures

 

A most Happy Easter to everyone!!

 

The Amsterdam sailed into the port of Casablanca, Moroccothis morning about 7am. And we finallymade it here, after many attempts in the past that failed. Anyway, here is some info on Morocco. The capital is Rabat, and the population is34,860,000 citizens that speak mainly Arabic. The area of the country is 172,368 square miles of sandy beaches, redrocky mountains, and desert.

 

If you imagine cities like Marrakesh, Tangier, Fez,Casablanca, and Rabat, along with souqs, kasbahs, spices, and date palms, youmight think you were whisked away on a magic carpet ride.

 

Morocco is a cultural collision of Africa, Islam, and someAndalusian from across the Straits of Gibraltar. You can find Roman ruins, ancient medinas,and a hip hop city nightlife. They arealso famous for their handicrafts, as well as endless sand dunes.

 

The best time to visit is October to April. Things to see include Marrakesh’s Djemaa elFna Square, which is a joyful riot of music, food, storytellers, and snakecharmers. Ancient Fez has the mostintact medieval Arab city in the world.

 

A sunset over the Sahara Desert, the cornflower blue housesof Chefchaouen, and the Dades Gorge with palm oasis and red rocky cliffs arenot to be missed.

 

Things to do are trek deep into the Atlas Mountains withmules, and sleep in local Berber homesteads. Haggle for souvenirs in souqs, and get knee-deep in carpets. Or you can soak your cares away in a hammamor bath house. Satisfy your sweet tooth witha scalding mint tea and plate of pastries.

 

What is there to eat? Couscous (seksu), steamed for hours and heaped with meat andveggies. Their drink of choice is red orwhite wine.

 

Trademarks are mint tea, Berbers, couscous, quality rugs,and Bogart and Bergman in “Casablanca”, the movie. Their money, by the way, is the Moroccodirham at 9.00 to $1 USD.

 

A random fact is the Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca can hold25,000 worshippers, and boasts a minaret of 210 meters or 689 feet, the tallestin the world as of 2012. Also at thattime, this mosque was the third largest in the world.

 

There were 7 tours offered from the shore excursions. Highlights of Casablanca for 4 hours was$70. Casablanca sites and an inside tourof Hassan II Mosque was 5 hours at $90. A cooking demo and market tour was 6 ½ hours for $170.

 

Out of town excursions went to Rabat, 6 hours for $90, avisit to two Portuguese towns was $110 for 5 hours. A city tour of Casablanca and a ride to Rabatwas 10 hours for $160, while the grand-daddy of tours was for 12 ½ hours formagical Marrakesh for $250. The ridetime was 4 hours each way.

 

We decided on no tours today, although we considered goingto Rabat, the capital. The final thoughton that one was the 1 ½ hour bus ride one way. Nope, not in the cards. Breakfastin the dining room was first on our list. What a surprise we had when we found Barb sitting there. Since she was definitely not going off of theship today, we spent a few hours together before we left a little before 11am.

 

First, we felt we needed to leave the shorts behind today,and wear long jeans. Not that weintended to visit a mosque, you get far less disapproving looks from the localsif you are dressed conservatively. Muchmore so if you are a woman, as we are back in the “robes and head covers” partof the world once again.

 

For a change, we had a free shuttle that took us to UnitedSquare and the Hyatt Hotel, none of which were marked on the ship’s map. Since we were buried deep in a commercialport, this had to be one of the worst docks ever. There was a mountainous pile of sand that wasbeing off-loaded by the trucks right near the ship. But it was not this pile that was causing theproblem…….there was another pile of phosphates being loaded into a ship acrossfrom us that was causing a giant dust cloud that came over the decks. Even the fellows stationed at the gangway, aswell as the security staff had to wear masks today. It was that bad.

 

There was another ship already in port this morning….. TheAida diva, a 69,203 Gross ton vessel that holds up to 2500 passengers. They arebilled as a large family-friendly ship for a good time experience. Their ship was docked closer to the mainroad, so they were walking to the center of town.

 

Turned out that we did not go too far to the United Squarewhere many shops, hotels, and restaurants were located. Right across the road was the Hyatt Hotel,not especially pretty on the outside, but quite polished in the interior. Weplayed with the idea of coming back here later. One other fact to mention here is that Barbara H had a stern warning inher Casablanca Facts sheet. It said toavoid smartphone-based car services, such as Uber and the like. There have been reports of violence by taxidrivers. Good to know.

 

One form of transit looked fairly new, modern, andclean. It was the LRV, or Light RailVehicle, that ran right through the center of town. We are sure it connects to all parts of thecity, including the Ville Nouvelle, a more modern part of the city with nicehotels and chic restaurants.

 

Once off the bus, we left this square as fast as wecould. Taxi drivers were trying to getfolks to take tours, which was something none of us wanted to do. They tended to target the older and lessmobile people, giving us the chance to slip away. Walking carefully across the major boulevard,we found the local flea market or souq as they call them here. The very first stall had some interestinglong sleeve t-shirts, but we had to check out the entire place first. This was another place in which to getlost. This market was in narrow alleywayswith many twists and turns, hard to figure out where we started and where toget out. That’s their clever idea, themore time you spend in there, the more likely you are to buy stuff. And therewas a whole lot of stuff, much the same as we saw in Muscat, Oman….only not asnice.

 

There were a few places that sold knock-off handbags, butnot the one I was specifically looking for. Will have to go back to Hong Kong’s night market for that one. We think we passed some of these tiny shopsfour times, before coming out at the first shop with the nice t-shirts. We negotiated for three of them, and did geta good deal. The vendor wanted eitherlocal dirham or euros. We used euro. NoUSD, at least where we went.

 

Deciding against a buffet lunch at the Hyatt, we did makeuse of their restrooms. Casablanca beerswould have been nice, but it was still too early. Around the corner from this square wasMcDonalds and KFC. Both were quite smallwith most of the seating outside…more like take-away food. Also in this tight area, were several Italiancafes that did serve pizza among other spicy entrees. Once again, they were more like fast foodeateries.

 

So we followed the crowd that was gathering across thestreet at the United Square. Located betweencafes and restaurants, was an artisanal shop with nicer traditional items fromMorocco. This was the only shop we foundsome shot glasses, so we bought ne for 4.50 euro. We have our doubts that the world cruiseitinerary will include Casablanca anytime too soon, so at least we have ourlittle collectible.

 

Chatting with many friends that have been to this city, theysaid the only thing to really see is the Hassan II Mosque, the third largest inthe world, we understand. We could seeit on the water front, and probably could have walked there, but we were gladwe did not attempt it. Our over-allfeeling walking through this part of town, which we assume is the better partof town, it was a far cry from the clean, beautiful streets and historical buildingsof Cadiz. Quite different, it is nottypical Europe, and more of a third world country. Later in the day, we satwith friends on the ship that had taken the walk to the mosque, and weresurprised to see the condition of the area surrounding it. Much poverty, crumbling buildings, and dirtystreets. More important, they felt itwas not full of tourists, and they felt vulnerable. Not good.

 

They also searched for the famous Rick’s Café, which wasbuilt to resemble the movie setting for the old film Casablanca, with Humphrey Bogartand Ingmar Bergman. The interior was molded after the movie set complete withposters and photos from the movie. Theythought it was closed, since it also appeared to look seedy and abandoned inthe morning. Turned out, it was openedin the afternoon, but you could not get inside unless you had reservations……noteven to see the memorabilia. Glad we did not seek this out either.

 

Street vendors filled this square, as well as some cafesthat served mostly coffee and pastries. Restaurants were not inviting to us. So after walking down the street a short way, we turned around andheaded right back to the bus stop, where one was waiting to leave shortly.Truthfully, we were not all that far from the ship, and normally we would havewalked. But this time, we were glad wedid not.

 

Got back with just enough time to make it to the dining roomwhere lunch was being served until 1pm. Weboth had small salads and ham and cheese paninis with plenty of iced the withlemon. The price was right too, althoughwe missed having Barb join us. Wethought perhaps she may have changed her mind and went to town on the shuttle. So spending a few hours on computer work wasmost welcomed.

 

There would be no sail away to film, because all aboard timewas 8:30pm. That gave the extra-longtours to Marrakesh time to get back to the ship before 9pm. Carol, our watercolors friend, joined ourtable after 8:30pm, since she had done that tour. Although she was tired, she did enjoyit. Jim and Maureen had done a citytour, and admitted they knew more about mosques than they ever could imagine,after spending two hours in the big one today. Scoop had a great free tour, a smart guide, a new bus, and a good servedlunch. He was the “winner” today. As we thought, Barb had stayed onboard, asthis is one place she never felt safe. Wecan see why.

 

The ship left the port after 9pm, and we did get to see theHassan II Mosque lit up on the harbor front as we sailed in a westerlydirection towards the Portuguese island of Madeira. Since it was Easter, the tables were set withspring colored napkins and festive paper egg coasters on the table. Egg lanterns hung from the ceiling, placedhigh enough that the folks could not take them. Before she left the dining room, Barb “procured” a very large chocolateEaster egg that was part of the entryway decorations. As a joke, she gave it to Bill for a present,and fled the room as she always does. Wedid offer it to our waiters, but they returned it to the display, as tomorrow,they told us there was an Easter Lunch buffet, and they would keep the decorationsthrough lunchtime as well.

 

Bill & Mary Ann

[WCB]

Report # 108 SailingTowards Funchal, Madeira April 17,2017 Monday Partly cloudy & 68 degrees

 

Well, finally, a day at sea….just what we all need to chargethe old batteries. At breakfast thismorning, we found all the Easter decorations were still in place from lastnight. The dining room staff decided tofeature a Sunday Brunch today for Easter Monday. So the waiters were able to wear their pastelties and vests they wore last night. Theonly thing missing were the fellows dressed as the Easter bunnies. But there were additional foil-coveredchocolate Easter eggs to take as we left the room.

 

The best part of brunch was having Barb join us, and thesecond best thing is that spaghetti and meatballs was on the menu. Both of us ordered it and it arrived pipinghot, topped with extra parmesan cheese. Our waiter, Agung, made sure that we all had extra strawberry compote addedto our strawberry shortcakes for dessert. He has spoiled us so much, it will make doublyhard going home.

 

A silent auction was held today in the atrium on deckfive. Items that some of the passengerscreated such as things from arts and crafts and watercolor paintings weredisplayed for bidding. We went with Barbto check out what was happening as it was about to close at 2pm. The way this worked was if you wereinterested in any given item, you wrote your cabin number and bid on theslip. As the bid prices increased, thosewith the final high bid won that item. Alsoup for bidding were dinners with some of the staff and crew members in thePinnacle Grill, and a charted map of this voyage, done by the resident artistBen. That should draw the largest bid ofall, we heard. All of the funds (100% ofthem) are going to a charity of the Foundation of Our Lady of the FunchalConceiao tomorrow. Judging from thecrowd that was here, we certainly expect the donation to be substantial.

 

The talks on the final port of Funchal were delivered byBarbara H, Lawrence Fairman, and Revell Carr. It’s a fairly small island, so these talks should cover it all.

 

Today’s movie in the Wajang was Hacksaw Ridge, recentlyshown in the Queen’s Lounge. It will beon TV tomorrow.

 

This evening, we were invited to a cocktail party, the last offour, hosted by our travel agency. The earlierparty was standing room only, as the majority of the guests dine at 5 or5:30pm. Also, one of the final Captain’sDinners was held in the Pinnacle Grill tonight at 6pm. Several folks we know were invited to that. We shared one of the stand-up tables, wherefolks can visit as they pass by. Don McDjoined us for the last ½ hour, bringing us up to date on who is coming nextyear. During the day, we spoke to manyfriends who are not coming back next year for various reasons. The main one was due to the cutbacks they havewitnessed on this trip. The generalfeeling was that the “Grand” was gone from it. Sorry, but we have to agree.

 

Reports and photos kept us busy for a few hours, mixed witha couple of miles of deck walking and visiting our buddies who are doing aboutthe same thing. The lower promenade isthe perfect place to catch up on serious book reading. Sorry to admit, this has been one cruise thatwe have done little reading, mostly due to the fact we have not gone to the aftpool for weeks now. Too cool for sunbathing for sure.

 

Tomorrow’s port will be the final one of this cruise formost of the passengers. For 30 of ussailing onward, we will have several more stops before ending our trip in SanFrancisco.

 

We had company tonight, since Jim and Maureen had gone tothe Captain’s Dinner. Our guests wereEllen and Aart, friends for several years now. They dine upstairs at a table for two, so occasionally they will joinus. Tonight was fun because we askedthem about their adventure to Marrakesh yesterday. They admitted it was one very long day, andwere sort of glad they did it, but once was enough. Eight hours traveling in a bus had to be verydifficult.

 

The entertainers tonight were brothers, Craig and BrianMacDonald, singing vocal harmonies with multi-instrumental talents.

 

 

Bill & Mary Ann

[bay guy]

Any word on what the 2019 WC itinerary will be?

[WCB]

Report #109 Funchal,Madeira, Portugal April 18, 2017 Tuesday Partly cloudy & 73 degrees Part #1 Of 4 87 Pictures

 

This morning we woke up early to see the tiny, glitteringlights on the hillside city of Funchal as we entered the harbor well beforesunrise around 7am. What a perfect wayto start the day, which happened to be a birthday for one of us. Our final port of this voyage, it is also oneof favorite ones.

 

Funchal is the capital of the island of Madeira, which ispart of the country of Portugal. Thepopulation of Portugal, including these islands, is 10,708,000 natives thatspeak Portuguese and Mirandese. Portugalis known for palm trees, plazas, bright-colored houses, and ivory whitedomes. The streets of the cities arefilled with cobblestone lanes, complete with boutiques, bars, and restaurants. You will also find medieval castles,white-washed villages, wine estates, and cork groves. There are granite peaks, lush inner valleys,and virgin forests. The people areexuberant, family-oriented, and passionate about food. Right up our alley…..

 

The best time to visit is from March to June, then September. If you want to bake in the sun, come in Julyand August….sizzling.

 

Things to see are Lisbon’s Castelo de Sao Jorge, Torre deBelem – the famous iconic monument in Lisbon, as well as modern art and Moorisharchitecture. Palaces in Sintra, aUNESCO World Heritage Site, and the walled 14th century Evora.

 

Things to do include discovering boutiques in dusty alleyswith bars, restaurants, and clubs in cool Lisbon. Or see Moorish old timer Alfama inLisbon. See the dramatic cliffs,scalloped bays, and gold sand beaches on the Algarve. Or tour a port wine lodge in Porto and hikerugged peaks in Parque National de Peneda-Gieres.

 

How about the food? Eatcaldeirada, a seafood stew, or cataplana, a seafood and rice stewed in a copperpot. Drink lots of wine with your mealssuch as a vintage port from Douro Valley.

 

Trademarks are fado? (not sure what that is??), football(Ronaldo, who we saw today at C7 in Funchal), salted cod, cork, and wine(Madeira wine).

 

An old Portuguese saying about four of the largest citiesis: Porto works, Coimbra studies, Bragaprays, and Lisbon plays.

 

Finally, Funchal is an island of Madeira and is locatednorth of the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean. A year-round resort, this island firstsettled with Portuguese citizens in the 15th century. These days, Funchal welcomes more cruiseships that any other port in Portugal, or in the other archipelago of theAzores. More than one million touristsvisit here annually. And we are happy tobe in those numbers.

 

Madeira happens to be volcanic with the last recordederuption 6000 years ago. Because it isvolcanic, it has the best growing conditions for growing wine grapes, amongother produce.

 

We hear that if you visit here during New Year’s Day, youwill treated to the largest fireworks show in the world, making the 2006Guiness World Records. There is a sloganadopted by the citizens: Madeira is gold…it’ssea, nature, silence, hospitality. It’sblue, a source of energy that never runs out 365 days a year. And according to the World Travel Awards in2015, Madeira is considered to be the world’s leading island destination.

 

Tours offered here today were a drive to see Cabo Girao at1902 feet high – the tallest sea cliff in Europe, and the second largest in theworld. Camara de Lobos is the fishingvillage where Winston Churchill spent a lot of time relaxing and painting. Funchal’s Botanic Gardens contain over 2000plants with spectacular views of Funchal. A drive to Pico do Arieiro at 5937feet in elevation is thrilling, while a visit to Monte Village is a must. There is an exciting toboggan sleigh ride intraditional basket sledges that dates back to the early 1800’s. Back then it was a quick transport for theworkers to the port. There are tworunners dressed in white that drive the sleigh, wearing “straw boaters”(traditional hats) for a 2 kilometer, 10 minute ride with speeds that canexceed 30 kilometers per hour. It was so fun, we did it twice over the years. There is a cable car ride up to Monte, a tripthrough Farmer’s Market, and a tour of the city center. And also wine tasting. The tours run from 3 ½ to 7 ½ hours for $55to $130 per person.

 

What did we do? Well,none of the above, since we have done it all several times over the years.

 

After breakfast, we got off of the ship by 10am. The weather seemed about perfect, with thesun mostly out. It was also humid, whichwas probably due to the damp fog that kept creeping over the tops of thecliffs. Although there was acomplimentary shuttle to the downtown area, we have always walked from the shipto town and back. We would do the sametoday.

 

We were the only cruise ship in port today, although therewas the local ferry that we always see here. This was nice, because the city did not seem over-crowded today. We made our way out of the terminal, werehanded excellent maps, then walked the water front towards the avenue along thesea. Passing the marina, we noticed thatthere were gelaterias, restaurants, and harbor boat rides. Nothing was opened yet, but the prices andtimes for the dolphin-watching boats and catamarans were 25 to 30 euro for 2 ½ to3 hour tours. Seem to recall that we didsee dolphins on our way out of the harbor last year.

 

The two hop on, hop off buses were accessed at the marinaalso. The tickets for these rides were15 to 20 euro, and 13 to 22 euro, depending on the route you wished totake. In this town, theses buses are areally good way to go. Running into friends,90 plus year old Eddie and Lee, they told us they had taken the free shuttle,then walked all this way to find the large veggie and fish market. But first, Eddie asked us to take theirpicture with his cameras. Besides a cell phone, and a small camera, Eddie usesan ipad. Since we don’t own one, it isdifficult for us to see the screen or the button to push. Lee always laughs because she admits she doesnot like it, nor does she know how to use it. Ending up using their cellphone, we were successful in getting theperfect picture of them. Later on, wedid run into them at the Farmers Market.

 

Continuing on or way, we ended up at Plaza do Povo where thereis room for special events, we are guessing.

 

The next landmark was Plaza da Autonomia and the river outlet.Near this is a small and large rocky beach, where sunbathers and a few swimmerswere enjoying what there was of the morning sun. There is no way that laying on those rocks iscomfortable, unless you are a lizard heating up for the day.

 

A better choice of activities has to be the cable car orTeleferico that takes the visitors up to the village of Monte, 1800 feet above thesea. The cost of a one way ride is 11 euro, while a round trip adventure is 16euro. Usually there is a long line toget tickets, but today, it looked like you could walk right into their basestation, and get right on. We have takenthis ride, as well as the one that starts at the Botanic Gardens….both arereally thrilling.

 

Continuing on, we ended up at the Forte de San Tiago, whereit costs 3 euro to tour. Frankly, mostof the best photos are taken from the outside. There is a little swim clubhere, and a few brave locals were swimming in the boat launch marina. They certainly are a hearty breed of people. Next to the mustard-colored fort isRestaurante do Forte, a ship-recommended upscale dining in the Old Town.

 

This led us to the Socorro area, Old Town, where betweentiny cafes and shops, there are painted doors reminiscent of the past. Checking the menus at the cafes, we foundthat besides Portuguese entrees, there were many pizza places. Little was open this early, but it is alwayson option to remember.

 

We back-tracked to the Mercado dos Lavrodores or the FarmersMarket. It is housed in a two storybuilding with a central patio full of flowers, veggies, and the chance to buyseeds, bulbs, and flowers native to Madeira. Many of the varieties of protea, bird of paradise, and hydrangeas aregrown and sold here. The only problemfor us is that we are forbidden to bring these items back to the USA. Packages seeds are OK to bring, but we havenever had any success in getting anything to germinate at home. Best to onlytake photos.

 

We headed directly downstairs to see the working fishmarket, but only for as long as we could take the smell. Among the large fish like tuna, swordfish,and shark, there are some unique eels and long fish that we only see here inthe Madeira Islands. One such creatureis the marbled moray eel at 31 inches long, or the black scabbard fish, alsolong and skinny with black skin and tiny sharp teeth. You would not want to be swimming in thewaters they inhabit.

 

Going up to the second level, we found more unusual fruit aswell as the typical fruit we have at home. They are big into peppers here, many of them dried and hanging inbunches tied with string. Garlictoo. The vendors offer tasting of someof the local fruit up here. One of thequestionable tastings was of a blossom of a philodendron, a houseplant where wecome from. Something that looked justlike an orange, contained a seedy creamy substance. They also grow noni fruit, touted to be thecure-all for about everything. A betterbet, was purchasing one Madeira t-shirt with blue hydrangeas on the front. Wanting to clean out a purse-full of change,the vendor was happy to take it, even though I was one cent short of herprice. She simply said obrigado, as shehanded the bag over. Of course, that isthank you in Portuguese.

 

Going out of this market, we followed the street that tookus past shops, boutiques, cafes, and bakeries. This avenue was most crowded. Weran into Jane and Bill, who had just done the toboggan ride down thehillside. Showing us the photo theybought, it sure looked like they had their thrill of the day. Resembles the same photo we bought ten yearsago doing the very same thing. Too badthis couple are not coming back on another world cruise, as they are so muchfun.

 

Continuing on, we spotted Handler sitting on a bench,people-watching, while he waited for his wife, Leslie, who probably wasshopping. He was happy to be relaxing insuch a busy place, which is nice.

 

From here, we made our way to the Municipal Garden, asmaller complex than some of the upper gardens, but nice since most of the treesare very old growth. “Sticky” people(tour folks from the ship) were wandering around here, as it is a stop on oneof the tours.

 

Going around the Rotunda do Infante, a beautiful fountainroundabout, we hiked uphill to the multi-level Santa Catarina Park. It is beautiful up here with spacious lawns,swan ponds, huge trees, ending in the official residence of the President atQuinta Vigia. Today, the guard saidtickets were needed to go inside the gates. Last year, we were welcomed to walk the grounds with no fee.

 

Further up this hill is the huge Casino that overlooks theharbor. Near here is a narrow littlestreet that led down to our lunch venue at Casa Velha. After hiking for three hours, we were sohappy to find this café uncrowded and about hidden from the huge crowds. They had patio dining, surrounded by gardensof palms, ferns, and banana trees. Weordered local beer with a chicken salad and Bolognese spaghetti, served withgarlic bread. We shared on dessert of analmond pastry, a moist, nutty, cake topped with a very creamy vanilla ice cream. All excellent. A group of 20 year oldsjoined us on the patio to enjoy omelettes. No pizza here, as their menu was very Mediterranean.

 

Leaving around 2pm, we found our way back downhill, passing atiny chapel called Chapel da Penha de France. The street was so narrow that we had to duck inside the church gate forthe cars to go by. And they do not slowdown, even going down extremely narrow steep cobbled streets.

 

There was an impossibly steep street where the sidewalkturned into stairs with a railing, thank goodness. As we came down at the bottom, a group of ourcrew took the steps two at a time, getting to the top in less than 30 seconds. Oh, we remember the days we could do that…..

 

It was a short hike back to the ship from here, but we stillhad some change from lunch to spend…..4.40 euro. So a tiny denim purse was negotiated at thelast kiosk before we boarded the ship. Running into Woody and Susie, we thanked them for the gift of acustom-painted birthday card Susie had painted in watercolors class. We have a collection of three other cards shehas gifted us over several years, and now we have a new one to add to thegroup. Sweet.

 

Of course, we worked on pictures and putting together thelast details of the report for Funchal. Where has all this time gone??? We did go out for an hour to see thedolphin-watching boats come back into the harbor, as well as watch the gullsand terns as they dove for rolls or buns that people were throwing from the aftdeck or their balconies. Probably notthe best thing to feed them, as it can eventually kill them as the bread swellsin their crops. Most folks do not knowthat.

 

Sail away came upon us quickly, and we barely made it todeck nine as the ship pulled away from the pier. Even though there was no “party” at the aftpool, many folks were there today in hopes of seeing some dolphins. For the first time in over 100 days, Barbjoined us at the railing. She brought usluck….we saw dolphins jumping in the wake, the same as last year. We were out of the harbor quickly, and headedout to sea. Captain Jonathon hadmentioned that we might be heading for some rough seas and rain in a fewdays. Unavoidable as we have seven dayssailing west to do over 3300 nautical miles to reach Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. Sure hope the storms track in a differentdirection…..

 

Dinner for us was in the Pinnacle Grill, a quiet and privatecelebration. That is until a chocolatecake arrived with a personalized message on the top…Happy Birthday Bill. Our cute waitress even sang to him verysoftly, as they do not do the song extravaganza that happens in the diningroom. Good way to end the day. Oh yeah,even better, we got one hour back on the clocks tonight. There will be more to come over the nextseven days….

 

Bill & Mary Ann

[bettty45]

Report #109 Funchal,Madeira, Portugal April 18, 2017 Tuesday Partly cloudy & 73 degrees Part #1 Of 4 87 Pictures

 

 

 

This morning we woke up early to see the tiny, glitteringlights on the hillside city of Funchal as we entered the harbor well beforesunrise around 7am. What a perfect wayto start the day, which happened to be a birthday for one of us. Our final port of this voyage, it is also oneof favorite ones.

 

 

 

Funchal is the capital of the island of Madeira, which ispart of the country of Portugal. Thepopulation of Portugal, including these islands, is 10,708,000 natives thatspeak Portuguese and Mirandese. Portugalis known for palm trees, plazas, bright-colored houses, and ivory whitedomes. The streets of the cities arefilled with cobblestone lanes, complete with boutiques, bars, and restaurants. You will also find medieval castles,white-washed villages, wine estates, and cork groves. There are granite peaks, lush inner valleys,and virgin forests. The people areexuberant, family-oriented, and passionate about food. Right up our alley…..

 

 

 

The best time to visit is from March to June, then September. If you want to bake in the sun, come in Julyand August….sizzling.

 

 

 

Things to see are Lisbon’s Castelo de Sao Jorge, Torre deBelem – the famous iconic monument in Lisbon, as well as modern art and Moorisharchitecture. Palaces in Sintra, aUNESCO World Heritage Site, and the walled 14th century Evora.

 

 

 

Things to do include discovering boutiques in dusty alleyswith bars, restaurants, and clubs in cool Lisbon. Or see Moorish old timer Alfama inLisbon. See the dramatic cliffs,scalloped bays, and gold sand beaches on the Algarve. Or tour a port wine lodge in Porto and hikerugged peaks in Parque National de Peneda-Gieres.

 

 

 

How about the food? Eatcaldeirada, a seafood stew, or cataplana, a seafood and rice stewed in a copperpot. Drink lots of wine with your mealssuch as a vintage port from Douro Valley.

 

 

 

Trademarks are fado? (not sure what that is??), football(Ronaldo, who we saw today at C7 in Funchal), salted cod, cork, and wine(Madeira wine).

 

 

 

An old Portuguese saying about four of the largest citiesis: Porto works, Coimbra studies, Bragaprays, and Lisbon plays.

 

 

 

Finally, Funchal is an island of Madeira and is locatednorth of the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean. A year-round resort, this island firstsettled with Portuguese citizens in the 15th century. These days, Funchal welcomes more cruiseships that any other port in Portugal, or in the other archipelago of theAzores. More than one million touristsvisit here annually. And we are happy tobe in those numbers.

 

 

 

Madeira happens to be volcanic with the last recordederuption 6000 years ago. Because it isvolcanic, it has the best growing conditions for growing wine grapes, amongother produce.

 

 

 

We hear that if you visit here during New Year’s Day, youwill treated to the largest fireworks show in the world, making the 2006Guiness World Records. There is a sloganadopted by the citizens: Madeira is gold…it’ssea, nature, silence, hospitality. It’sblue, a source of energy that never runs out 365 days a year. And according to the World Travel Awards in2015, Madeira is considered to be the world’s leading island destination.

 

 

 

Tours offered here today were a drive to see Cabo Girao at1902 feet high – the tallest sea cliff in Europe, and the second largest in theworld. Camara de Lobos is the fishingvillage where Winston Churchill spent a lot of time relaxing and painting. Funchal’s Botanic Gardens contain over 2000plants with spectacular views of Funchal. A drive to Pico do Arieiro at 5937feet in elevation is thrilling, while a visit to Monte Village is a must. There is an exciting toboggan sleigh ride intraditional basket sledges that dates back to the early 1800’s. Back then it was a quick transport for theworkers to the port. There are tworunners dressed in white that drive the sleigh, wearing “straw boaters”(traditional hats) for a 2 kilometer, 10 minute ride with speeds that canexceed 30 kilometers per hour. It was so fun, we did it twice over the years. There is a cable car ride up to Monte, a tripthrough Farmer’s Market, and a tour of the city center. And also wine tasting. The tours run from 3 ½ to 7 ½ hours for $55to $130 per person.

 

 

 

What did we do? Well,none of the above, since we have done it all several times over the years.

 

 

 

After breakfast, we got off of the ship by 10am. The weather seemed about perfect, with thesun mostly out. It was also humid, whichwas probably due to the damp fog that kept creeping over the tops of thecliffs. Although there was acomplimentary shuttle to the downtown area, we have always walked from the shipto town and back. We would do the sametoday.

 

 

 

We were the only cruise ship in port today, although therewas the local ferry that we always see here. This was nice, because the city did not seem over-crowded today. We made our way out of the terminal, werehanded excellent maps, then walked the water front towards the avenue along thesea. Passing the marina, we noticed thatthere were gelaterias, restaurants, and harbor boat rides. Nothing was opened yet, but the prices andtimes for the dolphin-watching boats and catamarans were 25 to 30 euro for 2 ½ to3 hour tours. Seem to recall that we didsee dolphins on our way out of the harbor last year.

 

 

 

The two hop on, hop off buses were accessed at the marinaalso. The tickets for these rides were15 to 20 euro, and 13 to 22 euro, depending on the route you wished totake. In this town, theses buses are areally good way to go. Running into friends,90 plus year old Eddie and Lee, they told us they had taken the free shuttle,then walked all this way to find the large veggie and fish market. But first, Eddie asked us to take theirpicture with his cameras. Besides a cell phone, and a small camera, Eddie usesan ipad. Since we don’t own one, it isdifficult for us to see the screen or the button to push. Lee always laughs because she admits she doesnot like it, nor does she know how to use it. Ending up using their cellphone, we were successful in getting theperfect picture of them. Later on, wedid run into them at the Farmers Market.

 

 

 

Continuing on or way, we ended up at Plaza do Povo where thereis room for special events, we are guessing.

 

 

 

The next landmark was Plaza da Autonomia and the river outlet.Near this is a small and large rocky beach, where sunbathers and a few swimmerswere enjoying what there was of the morning sun. There is no way that laying on those rocks iscomfortable, unless you are a lizard heating up for the day.

 

 

 

A better choice of activities has to be the cable car orTeleferico that takes the visitors up to the village of Monte, 1800 feet above thesea. The cost of a one way ride is 11 euro, while a round trip adventure is 16euro. Usually there is a long line toget tickets, but today, it looked like you could walk right into their basestation, and get right on. We have takenthis ride, as well as the one that starts at the Botanic Gardens….both arereally thrilling.

 

 

 

Continuing on, we ended up at the Forte de San Tiago, whereit costs 3 euro to tour. Frankly, mostof the best photos are taken from the outside. There is a little swim clubhere, and a few brave locals were swimming in the boat launch marina. They certainly are a hearty breed of people. Next to the mustard-colored fort isRestaurante do Forte, a ship-recommended upscale dining in the Old Town.

 

 

 

This led us to the Socorro area, Old Town, where betweentiny cafes and shops, there are painted doors reminiscent of the past. Checking the menus at the cafes, we foundthat besides Portuguese entrees, there were many pizza places. Little was open this early, but it is alwayson option to remember.

 

 

 

We back-tracked to the Mercado dos Lavrodores or the FarmersMarket. It is housed in a two storybuilding with a central patio full of flowers, veggies, and the chance to buyseeds, bulbs, and flowers native to Madeira. Many of the varieties of protea, bird of paradise, and hydrangeas aregrown and sold here. The only problemfor us is that we are forbidden to bring these items back to the USA. Packages seeds are OK to bring, but we havenever had any success in getting anything to germinate at home. Best to onlytake photos.

 

 

 

We headed directly downstairs to see the working fishmarket, but only for as long as we could take the smell. Among the large fish like tuna, swordfish,and shark, there are some unique eels and long fish that we only see here inthe Madeira Islands. One such creatureis the marbled moray eel at 31 inches long, or the black scabbard fish, alsolong and skinny with black skin and tiny sharp teeth. You would not want to be swimming in thewaters they inhabit.

 

 

 

Going up to the second level, we found more unusual fruit aswell as the typical fruit we have at home. They are big into peppers here, many of them dried and hanging inbunches tied with string. Garlictoo. The vendors offer tasting of someof the local fruit up here. One of thequestionable tastings was of a blossom of a philodendron, a houseplant where wecome from. Something that looked justlike an orange, contained a seedy creamy substance. They also grow noni fruit, touted to be thecure-all for about everything. A betterbet, was purchasing one Madeira t-shirt with blue hydrangeas on the front. Wanting to clean out a purse-full of change,the vendor was happy to take it, even though I was one cent short of herprice. She simply said obrigado, as shehanded the bag over. Of course, that isthank you in Portuguese.

 

 

 

Going out of this market, we followed the street that tookus past shops, boutiques, cafes, and bakeries. This avenue was most crowded. Weran into Jane and Bill, who had just done the toboggan ride down thehillside. Showing us the photo theybought, it sure looked like they had their thrill of the day. Resembles the same photo we bought ten yearsago doing the very same thing. Too badthis couple are not coming back on another world cruise, as they are so muchfun.

 

 

 

Continuing on, we spotted Handler sitting on a bench,people-watching, while he waited for his wife, Leslie, who probably wasshopping. He was happy to be relaxing insuch a busy place, which is nice.

 

 

 

From here, we made our way to the Municipal Garden, asmaller complex than some of the upper gardens, but nice since most of the treesare very old growth. “Sticky” people(tour folks from the ship) were wandering around here, as it is a stop on oneof the tours.

 

 

 

Going around the Rotunda do Infante, a beautiful fountainroundabout, we hiked uphill to the multi-level Santa Catarina Park. It is beautiful up here with spacious lawns,swan ponds, huge trees, ending in the official residence of the President atQuinta Vigia. Today, the guard saidtickets were needed to go inside the gates. Last year, we were welcomed to walk the grounds with no fee.

 

 

 

Further up this hill is the huge Casino that overlooks theharbor. Near here is a narrow littlestreet that led down to our lunch venue at Casa Velha. After hiking for three hours, we were sohappy to find this café uncrowded and about hidden from the huge crowds. They had patio dining, surrounded by gardensof palms, ferns, and banana trees. Weordered local beer with a chicken salad and Bolognese spaghetti, served withgarlic bread. We shared on dessert of analmond pastry, a moist, nutty, cake topped with a very creamy vanilla ice cream. All excellent. A group of 20 year oldsjoined us on the patio to enjoy omelettes. No pizza here, as their menu was very Mediterranean.

 

 

 

Leaving around 2pm, we found our way back downhill, passing atiny chapel called Chapel da Penha de France. The street was so narrow that we had to duck inside the church gate forthe cars to go by. And they do not slowdown, even going down extremely narrow steep cobbled streets.

 

 

 

There was an impossibly steep street where the sidewalkturned into stairs with a railing, thank goodness. As we came down at the bottom, a group of ourcrew took the steps two at a time, getting to the top in less than 30 seconds. Oh, we remember the days we could do that…..

 

 

 

It was a short hike back to the ship from here, but we stillhad some change from lunch to spend…..4.40 euro. So a tiny denim purse was negotiated at thelast kiosk before we boarded the ship. Running into Woody and Susie, we thanked them for the gift of acustom-painted birthday card Susie had painted in watercolors class. We have a collection of three other cards shehas gifted us over several years, and now we have a new one to add to thegroup. Sweet.

 

 

 

Of course, we worked on pictures and putting together thelast details of the report for Funchal. Where has all this time gone??? We did go out for an hour to see thedolphin-watching boats come back into the harbor, as well as watch the gullsand terns as they dove for rolls or buns that people were throwing from the aftdeck or their balconies. Probably notthe best thing to feed them, as it can eventually kill them as the bread swellsin their crops. Most folks do not knowthat.

 

 

 

Sail away came upon us quickly, and we barely made it todeck nine as the ship pulled away from the pier. Even though there was no “party” at the aftpool, many folks were there today in hopes of seeing some dolphins. For the first time in over 100 days, Barbjoined us at the railing. She brought usluck….we saw dolphins jumping in the wake, the same as last year. We were out of the harbor quickly, and headedout to sea. Captain Jonathon hadmentioned that we might be heading for some rough seas and rain in a fewdays. Unavoidable as we have seven dayssailing west to do over 3300 nautical miles to reach Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. Sure hope the storms track in a differentdirection…..

 

 

 

Dinner for us was in the Pinnacle Grill, a quiet and privatecelebration. That is until a chocolatecake arrived with a personalized message on the top…Happy Birthday Bill. Our cute waitress even sang to him verysoftly, as they do not do the song extravaganza that happens in the diningroom. Good way to end the day. Oh yeah,even better, we got one hour back on the clocks tonight. There will be more to come over the nextseven days….

 

 

 

Bill & Mary Ann

 

 

 

Happy birthday Bill![emoji512][emoji322][emoji324]. What a way to remember your birthday. Here's to many more travels and birthdays.

 

 

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[WCB]

Report #110 Transatlantic – Day at Sea # 1 April 19, 2017 Wednesday Partly cloudy & 72 degrees 59 Pictures

 

Well, here we are, sailing Transatlantic towards Ft.Lauderdale. In a matter of days, we willhave gone around the globe, ending up where we began about 4 months ago. It bears repeating, but it seems to go byfaster every time we have done this. Wehave added an incredible amount of new memories to share once again, and haveenjoyed the company of old and new friends. We are truly lucky.

 

The dining room was busier than ever this morning, becausewe believe that some passengers have never tried eating here, staying in theLido. We commented this morning thatthis will change when the Panama cruise begins April 26th, and we get mostly allnew cruisers who will try everything. Theyonly have two weeks to experience every part of the cruise, so time isprecious.

 

The weather had cooled off a bit since yesterday, but it wasstill pleasant walking outside. The onlything that has been a constant pain is the work continuing on the lowerpromenade deck. Every railing has beenremoved a little at a time, and deep paint-chipping and grinding has beendone. The railings have been takensection by section down below for re-finishing, then returned once the metalsrailing have been rust-proofed and re-painted also. Added to that work, every outside wooden doorhas been scraped clean of old varnish, sanded, and re-varnished. We believe the smell of paint has been over-whelmingat times, driving folks away from the lounges. Like we have said before, this ship will be looking great for the Panamacruise. Sure does not feel like a “grand”voyage this year for many reasons….this being one of them.

 

The rep for the luggage shipment is onboard, Sarah. She is the one to see for getting our stuffhome, as well as adding extra pieces and covering it all with some extrainsurance. A few days ago, we allreceived packets with our Fed Ex luggage tags for those bags that most of usget delivered complimentary. We havethree suitcases that we do not want to carry home, so we will pay to ship thoseas well. This year, they will go offwith us in San Francisco, with ground delivery to our home. Thanks to communications with our kids and amost kind neighbor, we learned that our road has been temporarily deemed safeenough for one way traffic. The plan isfor an alternate road to be put in, while the slide is repaired on the mainroad. That may take months, weunderstand.

 

Lunch was in the dining room, although we kept itlight. Agung said that the half-portionburger has to be the tiniest burger in the world. We tend to agree, but we like it for thefries that fill the plate. Rice puddingand coffee fudge ice cream was quite good.

 

This afternoon, there was a special show performed by ourIndonesian crew…….standing room only on both decks four and five. We got our usual spots at the back counter,where we could get some good photos. When we picked up the program this morning, we saw that our roomsteward, Ratno, was the master of ceremonies, and his assistant, Three, was inthe angklung orchestra. So many of ourfavorite waiters were in this show, we had to go. It was so nice to see the guys and galshaving so much fun showing off their talents. Some were musicians, singers, dancers, or actors. One of the best acts was the firstperformance of a Canaletto waitress named Yani. Her costume was beautiful, as was her Balinese dance. Anyway, we think you will enjoy the photos tofollow. The crowd loved it, showing thatwith a standing ovation at the end.

 

Dinner for our entire table plus one guest was in thePinnacle Grill at 7:30pm. Although theservice was excellent, we feel that serving nine of us is not the same as servingjust the two of us. The food was not really hot as it usually is. For the first time that we can remember, thesoup was so overly salty, that three of us could not eat it. First time we ever had to send somethingback. Even though we did not ask for asubstitute, the chef tried to thin it out with cream, we think. Despite the effort, it is impossible toremove the extra salt, and we still only ate half of it. The tempura shrimp and the crispy springrolls were most delicious. Entrees wehad were steak and lamb, both good, but not up to the usual hot food weget. French fries kind of made up for it. Dessert was our usual Cherry Garcia icecream.

 

We heard the show last night was good with Ian Finkel, whowas on last year’s world cruise with his brother, Elliot, the pianist, and hisdad, Fivish Finkel, an actor from Picket Fences, among other things. Ian plays the xylophone like no one else wehave ever seen. Too bad we got out ofdinner too late to see his performance. Certainly,he will be on stage again before we reach Florida. Wonder if his brother anddad are onboard? Sure hope so…..

 

Tonight’s entertainer is Fogwell Flax, a comedian,impressionist, and a singer.

 

There was also another time change tonight…..one hour backagain. That’s two days in a row, withmore to come.

 

 

Bill & Mary Ann

[ger_77]

Unfortunately you won't be able to see Fyvish Finkel - he passed away in August, 2016 from a heart attack. We've seen Ian on one of our cruises - what a talented musician he is!

 

Smooth Sailing! :) :) :)

[JamesEM]

Happy belated Birthday Bill!!! Have you complied a list of all the cut backs on your "Grand Voyage."

[WCB]

Report #111 Transatlantic– Day at Sea # 2 April 20, 2017 Thursday Chance of rain & 68 degrees 2 Pictures

 

Seems that the Captain was able to dodge the bullet bytaking a more southern course to avoid the heavy rains. And the storm tracked away from us aswell. The seas did get deeper androugher as the day wore on. And thewinds picked up, spraying the starboard deck with water all day. We did get a chance to take in some sun atthe aft deck, but left when the winds almost blew us off the deck.

 

At the future cruise presentation at 11am in the Queen’sLounge, we learned about Tina’s top ten destinations. They included just about every place we havebeen, except for a few. But the realreason we attended was to hear the news about the itinerary of the 2019 WorldCruise. A couple of months ago, we allhad been given 4 possible world cruise itineraries to vote on. Three of them went through the Suez Canal andthe Mediterranean, while one went around the Cape of Africa. The one that resembled B was the one chosenby HAL. Leaving on January 22, it goeswestbound through the Panama Canal, then south to Panama, Peru, and Chile. Then it heads to Easter Island, and Pitcairn,followed by French Polynesia and one stop in Tonga. There are four ports in New Zealand, and fourstops in Australia. Indonesia has twostops, and Singapore, and Kuala Lumpur are on again. No Hong Kong, though. There is one stop in Sri Lanka, and two portsin India. The port of Muscat is followedby Jordan before transiting the Suez Canal to the Mediterranean. Naples, Barcelona, and Cadiz are on, as wellas two stops in Portugal. Now thiscruise goes into a different direction that has not been done for many years,if at all. There are stops in Cherbourg,France, Belgium, Amsterdam, and Copenhagen. Then there are two ports in Norway, one in Scotland, and three inIreland. Then it goes transatlantic toBermuda and finally back to Ft. Lauderdale on May 16th. Quite a different itinerary for sure. No prices yet either. We stayed until the very end, in hopes ofhearing if there were plans for a 2018 Asia/Pacific cruise, but it was not announced.

 

We met Barb for lunch, and got her up to speed with the cruisenews. Lunch is always good in here, andit is apparent that more folks are trying it. For a change, we have spent more time for lunch in the dining room thananywhere else on sea days.

 

Today we went to see Sarah, the Luggage Service expert forFed Ex. We needed to add three suitcasesto the list and some insurance on the duffels. Since we debark in San Francisco, the luggage will stay with us, and bedelivered to us from the port. That waywe don’t have to drag anything with us.

 

The other big event was the Filipino Crew Show held in theQueens Lounge. This year the performers werefrom different departments such as the front office staff, the beverage crew,and the culinary people. Although wemissed it, we heard it was well done and also well-attended. We had started watching an excellent movie,Lion, and did not want to miss the ending.

 

Dinner found all of us present, as well as a guest of Barb’s,Ray a dance host. He seems to likecoming to our loud table, even though he is pretty quiet. We enjoyed our dinners of chicken cordon bleueven better than last night’s Pinnacle Grill dinner. At least everything was hot, as our waiterSlam really takes care of all of us. Weonly have five more nights together and the party will be over. All good things must come to an end.

 

Once again, the clocks went back one hour. This is going to catch up with all of ussoon. Technically, we will be eatingdinner at 8pm, when a few days ago, we were already turned in for the night.

 

The entertainers this evening were a group of four fellowsfrom Trinidad with Broadway and Classical melodies. They are called Island Magic.

 

Bill & Mary Ann

[zbxb006]

A note on the band, Island Magic: I take it from your brief mention that you didn't see their show. They should do a second performance later and you might want to attend. They are amazing. Their billing as a steel drum band may not sound like everyone's cup of tea, but you would be surprised what they can do. The last two times we saw them were the longest standing ovations I have ever seen on a ship.

[bettty45]

Thanks for that info :). Hope I get to see them!!

 

 

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[WCB]

Report # 112 Transatlantic Day # 3 April 21, 2017 Friday Partly cloudy & 72 degrees

 

On our morning walk, we saw some sun, a lot of clouds, andfinally some rain showers as the captain has taken the ship in a more southerndirection. We think it is an attempt toavoid the storms tracking this way. Sofar, he has been most successful in keeping us out of the squalls. We are experiencing high winds and some very roughseas, but not as bad as it might have been had we gone the charted route. One thing for sure, it is not cold, as thetemperatures remain in the low 70’s.

 

Being that we are staying on for another 15 day cruise, wewanted to take the time to book some Pinnacle Grill dinners before the nextthundering herd arrives on April 26th. From experience, we know that we cannotafford to wait, or else every time slot will be booked. And considering that reservations can be madeonline prior to sailing, we may still run into problems getting in.

 

When we came out of the Pinnacle restaurant this morning, weran into tablemates Jim and Maureen. They had just come from the front desk and had a copy of their shipboardaccount. Checking other charges forcorrectness, they discovered two healthy credits had been added. It was for refunded port taxes that amountedto over $475 per person. Really? This had not been announced, and it wasdefinitely not expected for missing a couple of ports. We guessed it might have something to do withIstanbul being cancelled, and some other ports substituted many months ago. That did occur after we had all paid the balance last year. We all agreed it best not to question theamount, because maybe they made an error with the decimal point. Like it should have been $47.50. Whatever the reason, this should make for a lot of happy people on the ship. Especially those that have run up charges forthe spa, bars, shops, and tours.

 

While we were in the front desk area, we checked out the artisticdrawing exhibition of the “artist in residence”, a young fellow that has sailedon the last couple of world cruises. Heconducts a drawing class in the Wajang Theater on sea days we understand, eventhough he is a passenger and not an HAL employee. His drawings on display today are for sale, aswere high quality reproductions available for order.

 

Yesterday, it was posted that the auction the other daynetted over $5100 for the charity in Funchal. Not a bad day for the charity.

 

And speaking of sales, there are ads daily with a list ofthings to buy……tanzanite gems, DVD’s, future cruises, spa treatments, photogallery sales, and casino games. Thereis always an ad for the Canaletto dinner for $15 every evening. We have yet to eat there, as we have heardmixed reviews from many friends.

 

There are to speakers onboard, Revell Carr and LawrenceFairman speaking about brave sailors of the past and Renaissance art inItaly. Our tablemate, Martin, has notmissed one talk this cruise. Living inHolland, he loves the history of the land and the sea.

 

Checking our emails, we were sad to find out that the seniorFyvush Finkel had passed away last summer. He was such a talented performer, and had a great act with his twoincredibly talented sons. And speakingof emails, many thanks for the kind birthday wishes. And to answer the question about the manychanges we have noted while on this trip, we shall be posting the growing listafter we get home in May.

 

Most folks are packing already. It is hard to know how much stuff has beencollected along the way as well as the gifts that we have received. The Luggage Shipping Services will sell boxesand tape to ship the extras home at a price. And we have a feeling that many of the small rolled suitcases will beleft behind for the crew to take. If weare given the same items of a ship tile and a commemorative Delft plate, thatshould be the final gifts of the world cruise. Oh yes, we finally had two cookbooks delivered in place of the CulinaryArts aprons that they ran out of. Onebook is recipes for appetizers and the other is the Taste Of Excellence. A much nice gift that aprons, we think.

 

The best part of the day was meeting Barb for lunch in thedining room. Like us, she was most happyabout the refund on our shipboard accounts. News like that travels quickly around the ship. Agung, our waiter, was quietly singing thesong, Time to Say Goodbye. We laughed that he was dropping hints to us as thethree of us are always the last to leave the dining room. He did admit that some folks need to go home,as they have been rude and demanding of the wait staff. There is not one waiter we know that deservesthat kind of abuse.

 

It was a good afternoon for a movie….a comedy with JackBlack and a group of kids he taught to be in a band. He is truly one funny dude, perhaps silly,but sometime we need that. Today’sWajang movie was Passengers, about a distant colony planet and spaceships. This might be an option for tomorrow, since rainis predicted once again.

 

Around 5pm, we checked out the advertised Grand Lido Dinner,obviously in the Lido. A promisedculinary masterpiece was on display, however, we sure did not notice a wholelot of difference in the food. Perhapsit was fancier, with better choices. Butall we noticed were bright white lights that were blinding, and a biggerselection of cafeteria food. It’s greatfor those who like this type of dining, but we still prefer the diningroom.

 

There were several questionable items for dinner tonight,but we stuck to the chicken noodle soup, beef empanadas, and a typical turkeydinner with dressing and mashed potatoes. Extra cranberry sauce on the side. Can’t go wrong there…….

 

The entertainment tonight was a group of ladies by the nameof Stereoettes, a four piece vocal harmony group with a fully choreographed,harmony-filled show. Hey, we don’t writethis stuff, just report it. Hopefullytheir show is better than the description. Good thing it is not a dance show,because the ship has been rocking and rolling all evening…..and getting worse.

 

And once again, the clocks went back one hour tonight. That was something that was missed ontomorrow’s daily newsletter, as it was not printed on the front page. Oops, someone goofed….again. We knew that Captain Jonathon mentioned thetime change in his PM talk, so we went by the reminder left on the bed. We should be one hour off of Eastern Timenow.

 

Bill & Mary Ann

[dchip]

LOL!!! :') The "thundering herd" cracked us up!! Get ready!!

 

Cheers, Denise and Howie

[bettty45]

Great as always!! What was the name of the artist in residence? Sounds like you will soon be grieving the end of this wonderful adventure. Are you in the Grand Asia in October of this year?

 

 

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[WCB]

Report # 113 Transatlantic Day # 4 April 22, 2017 Saturday Chance of rain & 73 degrees

 

Today was a day of parties, a gala dinner, the Masked Ball,and gifts. All in that order. Not bad for a day at sea.

 

The seas have continued to be rolling with 15 foot swells,and on the horizon, we could see showers. It did not stop us from doing several outside walks during the course ofthe day, as it was not cold, just windy. The lower promenade deck was nearly empty of customers, since themajority of the passengers are packing. Those that were relaxing on the lounges werewrapped with blankets. There is a possibilitysome of them were a little seasick.

 

There was only today and tomorrow to earn those GrandDollars before the 24th, when there will be the finalredemption. We wonder if this program willcontinue on next year’s world cruise. For some reason, we feel its daysare numbered.

 

Also on display, were the blankets that many guests made forthe Linus Project, a charity located in Seattle we believe. They were not all created by the ladieseither, as we have seen a few fellows crocheting on the promenade deck aswell. “Busy hands, happy heart”, the oldsaying goes. The yarn and the knittingneedles and crochet hooks were provided by the staff onboard. And there was a reminder announced yesterdayto please returned those borrowed tools today.

 

We met Barb for lunch, and we all ordered the phillycheesesteak half sandwich for our entrees. Quite good, they came with hot and crispy French fires, the plain kindwe all like so well. Each of us tried adifferent dessert, because someone has to do it…..might as well be us.

 

With all these time changes, we thought watching a movie at2pm was a great idea. That happened tobe a sci-fi flick called Passengers. Basically, there were three actors in this movie, but the story line wasgood. TV reception has been really spotty during this crossing. Several times throughout the day, we lose thenetwork feed. So there has been no newsstations, and ESPN has been mostly missing for weeks now. We have been told that the direction we takesometimes interferes with the signal. Famous last words are the ship’s stacks are in the way. Logical or not, there are always HALstations, lectures, and movies to watch.

 

Two Mariner Society Reception cocktail parties were held inthe Queens Lounge ……one at 4:15 and the second at 6:45pm. Medallions were handed out to those whoreached the levels of 100 (bronze), 300 (silver), 500 (gold), and 700(platinum). These are pure sea days, bythe way, not earned days. The ultimatelevel, not advertised, is 1400 days (President’s Club pin).

 

We attended the second party, but entered on the port side ofthe lounge with other fellow President’s Club buddies, most of whom weknow. We call it the “Best in Show”, orthe cage, since the area they seat us is cordoned off from the rest of theseats on deck four. This area has grownsince the last time we sat here. Nowthere are so many guests, that most of the dance floor is taken up with ourseats. The upside to being confined isthat we have special appetizers and all the cocktails we want……the goodstuff. Without even ordering, Manny hadour cocktails for us within seconds of sitting down.

 

Starting off this event, we were called up to have a photowith Captain Jonathon and Henk, the hotel director. If we recall, this photo should be gifted tous tomorrow. Then all of the new medalswere handed out, taking up the rest of the hour. There were many more guests gettingmedallions on this cruise, than on the previous South Pacific cruise we tooklast fall.

 

The dining room was decorated with several of the HAL blueand white striped flags with the ship logo in the center. The theme for thisevening was The Masked Ball in conjunction with the dance that would be held inthe Queen’s Lounge at 9:30pm. Eachperson got a black or pink lace mask with satin ribbon ties. Some folks really do put these on during themeal, a bit odd we think, but whatever floats your boat. These balls last for one hour, but we seldomgo, if ever, because we are in the middle of our meal service at 9:30pm. Hard to do it all…….

 

We were invited to dine with friends Bill & Leta. This was the highlight of the evening,although we did have guests at our regular table. The future cruise consultants, Thom and Tina,were the hosts for this final formal evening. This worked out better for our tablemates,because 10 is really too tight. Sometimes it is nice to have just four ofus. The food is always hot, and we don’thave to wait for two hours to eat. And it is a good opportunity to have privateconversations. Although, we have to admit, we always find somuch to talk about, we ended up staying beyond 10pm.

 

And as expected, we had our last gift of the world cruise……apretty platter, custom-made by Royal Goedewaagen in the Netherlands. It was asclose as it could be with the 2017 ports we did listed on the plate, but withlast minute deletions and changes, some of the places listed were incorrect oromitted. But it is an improvement overthe year that the entire itinerary was wrong, since they printed the itineraryof a previous Grand Voyage. It wasrectified when a replacement plate was sent to our homes during the summer.

 

One more hour back on the clocks this evening, and now weare finally back to eastern time in the USA. At least we will have four more days to adjustto these numerous clock adjustments.

 

 

Bill & Mary Ann

[WCB]

Report #114 Transatlantic Day # 5 April 23,2017 Sunday Partly cloudy & 75 degrees 11 Pictures

 

Our breakfast was really light this morning, because we wereinvited to the Mariner Society Brunch at 11am this morning in the dining room. We had been assigned a table, but we did notneed to respond with a “regrets only” response. The good news was that Barb had also been assigned to table 306, thelargest one on the lower dining room. Even better was discovering that Peter, the ship’s purser had beenassigned to our table of eight. Alsowith us were Don McD, Howard, and newly-inducted Joe and Sylvia…….all President’sClub members we have known for some time now. Our entire group had been included in this first seating, each tablehosted by an officer. Not among thehosts surprisingly, was Captain Jonathon. Actually the Captain, hotel director, Henk, and cruise director Erinwere there to welcome all of us. But theone that took over with the biggest welcome was Thom Faulkner, one of ourcurrent future cruise consultants, but a former cruise director with HAL. Got to admit, he is one funny guy, who tendsto shoot from the hip with quick humor and wit. Maybe he has a possible future in cruise directing again, who knows?

 

The brunch moved forward with the serving of white or redwine. Missing were the flutes for theusual champagne toast, not that we needed it with the wine. The choices on themenu included a seafood cocktail with shrimp, mussels, and scallops or anapple/pear gazpacho (cold fruity soup). Entréechoices were a small filet mignon topped with a large prawn, mashed potatoes,and veggies. Poached cod with pasta wasthe second choice, and the third one was tasty pumpkin raviolis with chopped sauteed veggies. Finishing the meal was a slice of key lime pie, coffee, or tea. Very nice brunch. Over an hour flew by as we enjoyed the companyof friends.

 

The waiters had 20 minutes to clean the tables, and be readyfor the second brunch at 12:45pm. Usually these special brunches are spread over a couple of days, not allin one afternoon. Buddies Susie andWoody stopped by to chat, which could have lasted for an hour at any other time. The wait staff must have feared that too manyfolks were lingering, so the bell-ringer waiter came around the dining roomwith his song, reminding us it was “time to say goodbye”. Which we did, by the way. We could tell that may people were on theirway to naptime, as the wines had flowed freely, at least at our table.

 

We met up with Jack and Shirley, who had already did a quickchange of clothes and were headed back to deck three and their favoritelounges. Just then, Captain Jonathonstarted his PM talk, announcing that the Amsterdam will be sailing into astormy situation that he cannot avoid. He has been most successful up to now in keeping us as comfortable as hecould with calmer seas and less rain. That may change by tomorrow. Andthis is where most folks are glad they are not on decks six and seven. Remember, the more you pay, the more yousway. And just try doing serious packingin those conditions. We remember it wellwhen we stayed on deck six, as we literally bounced off the walls as we loadedthe duffels. We still have over twoweeks before we have to face that job.

 

Following the Captain’s talk, Erin, the stand-in cruisedirector, made a very strange announcement concerning laundry. For the last week, we all have noticed athree or four day delay in returned laundry. Of course, all those guests who have the complimentary laundry have beensending tons of clothing to be cleaned before final packing. The message todaywas to please check that the clothing you received from the laundry is yoursbefore packing it. Good grief….now we’reworried we will never see our denim shorts again, as they have not come backyet. Who in the world would keep someoneelse’s clothes? Especially underwear? Now we’re figuring it will be best to wait afew days to turn in more laundry, when the crush is mostly over.

 

Another item printed in today’s newsletter might be of someinterest to those cruisers that have enjoyed the Grand Dollar activities. Tomorrow will be the last day to turn in theaccumulated “dollars” for the exclusive line of Grand World Voyage prizes. In addition, it was written that the finalopportunity to redeem these dollars was on this cruise, as a new program willbegin on all future grand voyages, and this form of “money” will not be accepted.In the past, we know of people that have saved their money, and redeemed a muchlarger amount for bigger and betterprizes. No more. Also due to limited availability, Amazon giftcards are limited to one per person. Allprizes are given on a first-come, first-serve basis. Barb told us that many of the good items arealready gone. Should be very interestingto see the direction this fun program for many will go…..

 

Florists Eddy and Calista featured some Royal Goedewaagenvases and also a line by the name of Dianthus International. They had a couple of tables set up in theatrium, outside the Ocean Bar, with some of the most unique pieces we haveseen. The less expensive designs weremade in China, but were just as interesting as the good stuff. Calista showed us glass vases, or cylindersjust big enough for a single stemmed flower. Instead of sitting vertical, these were made to lay flat or curved justenough to hold some water with a rose for instance. Did not get the prices on this collection,since they were in the process of packing it all up.

 

There was a private cocktail party held in the ExplorersLounge at 7pm. The guests included deckseven passengers and the President’s Club members. The reception line greeters were CaptainMercer, Erin, the Cruise Director, and Henk, our Hotel Director. Upon saying welcome, the Captain mentionedthat he was facing some issues with getting us back to Ft. Lauderdale, andwould be glad we were back to port in a few days. He also added that he was very happy to begoing home for a few months, especially after helping his wife, Karen, pack hertreasures she has collected on this voyage.

 

Gathering at one of the small raised round tables, we met upwith Barb, of course, Peter, the purser, Don McD, and a couple of other PCfriends. Very tasty appetizers wereserved, such as special caviar, shrimps, spring rolls, cheeses and evenbitterballen. Tonight’s theme at dinnerwas Dutch Night, complete with everything Dutch. So the appetizers at this party also followedthe same theme. Trying not to over-indulge,we had one cocktail and a few snacks before heading to the Pinnacle Grill fordinner at 8pm.

 

One of our favorite Dutch treats is split pea soup that ismade on all of the HAL ships. It was onthe menu in the dining room tonight, and we were disappointed that we weremissing out. So when we ordered our foodin the Pinnacle, we asked our sweet waitress if we could have the dining roomsoup. She said it was no problem. Hey, we never knew that we could dothat. And for a change, we tried some ofthe items on the new Tamarind menu as well as chicken jadori. It was moist and delicious, as was the entiremeal. Tina, the manager, also worked outour next requests for the Panama cruise, and will send the final dates beforeshe leaves in Ft. Lauderdale.

 

The singers and dancers took to the stage tonight with aroutine called Stepping Out. They are amost talented group, and we hope they do stay on for the next two week voyage.

 

Two more days at sea, and this trip will end. Hope it is smooth sailing…..

 

Bill & Mary Ann

[jig]

On the noordam we were in the pinnacle and one of the people at the table for four next to us ordered from the Italian restaurant. Thought it was strange but the waiter says it happens every now and then.

 

 

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[WCB]

Report # 115 Transatlantic - Day # 6 April24, 2017 Monday Chance of rain & 75 degrees

 

This morning we joined Susie and Woody for a short time inthe dining room after eating our usual breakfast. This was the first time we have seen them in here, as we think they normally dine inthe Lido at a later time. Too bad theydid not try this sooner, since they seemed to enjoy being pampered. Barb came running out of the elevator as wewere all on our way out of the dining room. Since it was 9:35am, she had missed breakfastin here. Oh well, there is alwaystomorrow…..

 

It was actually warm this morning as well as humid. It’s been at least a month since we have beenable to relax on the aft deck with swimwear on. The days that we had some sun recently, were also accompanied with acool breeze. But this morning, it was sonice, it was starting to feel like we are entering the summer weather. Sitting out back, we chatted with tablematesMaureen and Jim (all of us hoping we were not burning) until it was time to goto lunch.

 

We waited for Barb to come, as she was at one of her lasttrivia games. Bet she was working ongetting bonus dollars, so she could get a nice prize with her “money”. The prizes range from lanyards, to alarmclocks, 30 minutes of internet, selfie sticks, a $10 Amazon gift cards, and aKindle Fire to name a few. The cost from$50 to $5000 grand dollars. Before sheran off to redeem her wad of cash, we all enjoyed a meal of sweet and sourcrispy chicken with rice. A special dessertwe all like is the chocolate pudding, which we have only seen on the menu once.

 

During lunch, we listened to Captain Jonathon’s PM talkwhere he announced that we were going to be in for some bad weather on our wayback to Ft. Lauderdale. A storm was tracking down from the Carolinas headingright towards us. He expected the seasto develop 30 foot swells with 50 mph winds. Extremely heavy rain would hit during the night while we were allsleeping. Or not sleeping, if it isgoing to be that rough. With a couple ofdays left to go, we won’t be able to outrun or outmaneuver this one. Obviously, this was the storm he referred tolast night during the cocktail party. He also added he will be most happy once the shipis docked there.

 

This afternoon there was a grand farewell finale by theAmsterdam’s crew. It drew a good crowd, since sparkling wine flowed freely. We went early at 4:30pm, standing in the backon deck five in the Queens Lounge. Itseemed to take forever for the show to begin. In fact, we got tired of watching their video over and over again fortwenty minutes before it really began, so we left. We already saw a version of this event whileon the Tales of the South Pacific cruise last fall. We did get the lowdown from a sweet elderlybuddy of ours on what the Captain said during his farewell speech, which wasshort and sweet, we were told. He saidthat some rumors were circulating about a few things, and he wanted to clarifythose rumors. One was about the librarybeing gone next year. He claimed that itwould remain, but might be abbreviated. The Culinary Arts Center (Wajang Theater) may take on a new name withdifferent presentations. Seattle isworking on how to bring back the BBQ’s and the Grand Buffet in the dining room,explaining that many reasons had shut down those activities on this trip. Perhaps these were questions that were notaddressed when the big bosses were onboard back in February. We suspect some folks have been pressing forresponses to many more questions than these. Missing was any hint of information on how Gene Young is doing duringhis medical leave. Mum seems to be theword…..

 

A special Chef’s Farewell dinner was held in the dining roomtonight. The items on the fancy menuwere numerous, and most people’s favorites. Dessert was one of ours…..Mississippi Mud Pie, disguised as JamaicanCalypso torte. We were missing threetablemates to different affairs, but it was nice for a change with the five ofus.

 

Island Magic was onstage once again tonight. We happened to ride the elevator with two ofthem, and they most definitely are from the Caribbean. Once again, we got out of the dining room toolate for the show.

 

The ship began rolling by midnight, and we bet the heavy rain is on the way. Sure hope it will be gone by the time wereach Florida. Hard to believe we arealmost back, having gone full circle.

 

Bill & Mary Ann

 

PS We received an 8 x10 photo from the Mariner’s Society Cocktail Reception two days ago. It is one of the nicer gifts that they havegiven us.

[WCB]

Well, so much for the imminent threat of terribly high seasand heavy rains showers. If it didoccur, it was much less than what we expected. Watching the news on TV, it appeared that the storm heading our way,turned and went north towards Washington DC and New York. Friends on the starboard side verandasreported that the rains and winds did hit during the night, waking themup. We never heard a thing on the portside. When we woke up, there wereclouds, but blue sky was showing through them, promising us a good day in theweather department.

 

Breakfast was even more crowded this morning, with somepeople we have yet to see on this cruise. They have probably been customers in the Lido all this time, so it ispossible they have never seen us either. There are many folks that we know, butseldom see, because they have early dining. Their whole day is on a different pattern than ours.

 

We sat for some time with friends during breakfast that weprobably will not see until next year’s world cruise. Never seems to be enough time to dothis. Saying goodbyes to our surroundingAM tablemates was bittersweet as well. Tomorrow, most folks will be catching a quick bite in the Lido, becausethey will be debarking for their early flights home. Even our waiters will be assigned differentjobs tomorrow, and more than likely will be re-assigned to different area inthe dining room. All good things must cometo an end, we’re afraid.

 

The two guests speakers gave lectures today….one aboutDarwin and Fitzroy, a clash of beliefs, and the other about the Vikings. Not sure how well-attended the talks werewith all the packing happening. Even inthe early morning, the guests were putting their luggage outside their rooms onall decks. The room stewards were ready,however, and began removing them a few at a time. This would continue all day, so we bet bytonight, most all of it will be done. Seeing all of this, we are glad we have another two weeks before we haveto tackle it.

 

It was so nice outside, we went to the aft deck for an hourof sun. From here on out, we will haveto start using the sunscreen again, as the rays are stronger and the weatherhotter. We met up with Barb afternoontime for our final lunch of this cruise. As long as this nice weather holds up, we will probably not be going tothe dining room for lunch. Relaxing by thepool will be better for a couple of weeks now. Actually skipping lunch would even be better for us also. We do have to admit that the lunch menu hasbeen quite nice, sometimes even better than the dinner menu. And we couldn’t ask for better company.

 

After our PM walk, we watched a good movie titled BoatBuilding, or something close to that. Agood “people” story, and not violent or off-color. Much better than a really inappropriate moviethat was shown on TV yesterday. Someone that programed this into the system wasway off the mark here.

 

We sort of knew that our British buddies, Shirley and Jack,might be sitting in their favorite spot on the promenade deck for the lastafternoon on the ship. They have been onsince last September, but will be flying back to England tomorrow. They will be back on this ship on next year’sgrand Asia cruise, as well as doing some shorter cruises during the summer. By the time they are on the 2018 worldcruise, they will be in the President’s Club.

 

Before the first dinner started, we caught up with morefriends Marilyn and Harry in our “shared” living room, deck five atrium, acrossfrom the Ocean Bar. We all could hearthe last of the applause for the talent show performers and the HAL chorale. Our sweet friend came out of the lounge atthe end and reported how much she enjoyed the show. Better than most she said. Once again, it was time to say goodbye, asthe song goes.

 

Some of the sales today included photos and DVD’s from thesegments of this cruise. Parts andpieces of these videos have been running non-stop on our TV for several daysnow. We have seen many bottles ofalcohol being sold from the ship’s duty free shop today. Even the clothing section of the other shopwas busy with customers, as people must have money to spend.

 

Dinner should have been the best tonight, since a ribeyesteak was offered, as well as some other international favorites. However, it was not so good….over-cooked andtough. There is really only one place toget that tasty morsel and that is in the Pinnacle Grill. We have truly enjoyed meeting our new tablemates,and hope to see them again on another Grand Voyage.

 

Tomorrow, we move upstairs on deck five and fixed seating. Some really good friends will be boardingtomorrow, so we will not feel all alone for long. We did hear that 43 of us will be staying onto either San Francisco, Vancouver, or Seattle.

 

By the time we reach Ft. Lauderdale in the early morning, wewill have sailed a bit short of 31,000 nautical miles or 35,650 statute miles,according to Captain Jonathon.

 

So stay tuned, and we will be back for two more weeks…..

 

Bill & Mary Ann

[Oak Hill Cruisers]

Have to say we enjoyed your fantastic reporting. Can't wait for our 2018 WC.

Also just loved your space-saving word combinations. It should be adopted world-wide and millions of trees could be saved! ;-)

[Mr. Boston]

Welcome home, sort of. Thanks so much for illuminating my dreary winter months with daily reports of your exploits! Enjoy the rest of your trip.

 

 

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[WCB]

Report #117 Ft. Lauderdale,Florida April 26, 2017 Wednesday Chance of rain & 81 degrees Part #1 of 2 56 Pictures

 

Today ended the 111 Grand World Voyage for 2017. But it was also the beginning of the 15 dayPanama Cruise to San Francisco for us. Considered “in transit” guests, we had been delivered two passes, andinstructions for proceeding ashore today. The group of 43 of us back-to-back guests had to exit the ship before10:30am in order to achieve the zero count on the ship. That meant we would filter through with thecrowd of folks going home today, as well as the crew members who also had topass through the US Customs and Border Protection check. Advising us that it might not be until 12noon or later before we would be allowed to re-board, the last thing we wantedto do was sit and wait in the terminal.

 

All we needed were our room key cards, our passports, andthe in-transit cards. Also we had tofill out the US Custom’s form, but did not have to declare anything if we chosenot to. We will have to do this again inSan Francisco, where we will declare the few items we purchased overseas. Most everything we bought was locally-made,and definitely not extremely valuable. Considered local arts and crafts, most of our treasures are allowedduty-free. Different if we had purchasedlarge cost items in the ship’s stores, where your name would be on a list. One other detail is that we would not beallowed to bring any large personal items purchased anywhere on this trip offof the vessel. Especially if we had theidea of shipping such things home via the post office or Fed Ex forinstance. It’s simply not allowed.

 

Also for future reference, the dining room was opened forbreakfast from 6:30 to 8am. Only half ofour usual breakfast group was present, as some of them were going off in theexpedited group (carry all of your stuff off). We said our goodbyes, and went back to the room to gather what we neededto leave the ship. By the way, we couldhave booked a 4 hour shore excursion for an airboat ride in the Everglades for$50 each, but we have done this many times in the past. Fun, but how many times can you do this? Other options on past cruises included a tourto the Las Olas area and a trip on a boat that goes into the intercoastalwaterways. One other thing we have doneis take a taxi to the Galleria Mall , a fairly short ride from Terminal 26,where we were docked.

 

On a past trips, which we cannot remember the year, we had walked to aWalgreens, but could not recall which terminal the ship had been tied up. Once we stood in the porter line with Barb,who had to gather her bags and go through customs, we headed through the checkourselves. The line of exitingpassengers got longer and longer as there were few porters available to helpeveryone. Really made little sense tous, since there were no other ships docked near us this morning. We do have to admit, there appeared to be amuch more controlled debarkation plan this morning, as the groups called to gooff were spread out appropriately. Cruisedirector, Gene, always had problems controlling the crowds of folks blockingthe stairwells and the elevators, because he called too many too fast. Today, many more crew members and securitypersonnel were present to help the exit. If we had not been in-transit, or did not have the correct coloredluggage tag, we would have been stopped and not allowed off.

 

It only took five minutes max to pass through the custom’sinspection. On the way out, we figuredwe could ask one of the terminal workers where we could find a simple mallclose to here. They thought we werecrazy that we considered walking. Onegal said to turn left and follow the tall light poles, and we might find ourway out of Port Everglades, where there were some stores and restaurants.

 

We had the chance to say goodbye to Captain Jonathon, whowas following a porter with a cart stacked with at least a dozen suitcases, andboxes of stuff. He indicated that hewill be back for next year’s world cruise, and possibly the 2019 grand worldvoyage. In the meantime, he will haveabout a 2 month break, then re-boards the ship for some of the Alaska runs. Truthfully, he looked very happy to be goinghome or a while.

 

So, we got out of the crazy terminal, and turned right,since the street lights went both ways. Turnedout to be a good wrong turn, because we got to see the nearby terminals, whichwere empty today. There was also a goodmap of the area posted outside each terminal. Perfect. We copied down thestreets and the way to nearby shopping and dining. No doubt, it was a long walk, but close asthe crow flies.

 

Turned out to be the perfect way to get some exercise anduse up time, since we might not be able to re-board the ship until 12 or1pm. Surprisingly, the all aboard timewas 3pm, with a mandatory muster drill at 3:15pm. It would be tight, but we had control by nottaking a taxi or bus to town.

 

In a round- about way, we walked through the industrial portbuildings (there were sidewalks all the way), and found that we were passing byterminals one and two. It was comingback to us, that several years ago, we were docked one time in the Princessterminal, and this was where a big name pharmacy was located. Funny thing, we never went beyond that drugstore back then. We did have to walkpast the gate to get out to the main boulevard, which was 17th.

 

It was hotel row with restaurants, huge strip malls…….everythingwe needed. Spotting a Hilton, we wentthere and ended up staying for a poolside/quay side shared appetizer and beers. It appeared to be one of the older hotels,but once through the lobby, it was really nice. The “backyard” sat on one of the many fingers of the intercoastalwaterway. We enjoyed a pile of chickenand cheese nachos and ice cold draft beers.

 

Our waitress gave us directions to find one of the largestsupermarket chains along with some rather large malls with the discount clothesstores, post office, drug stores, and chain restaurants. If we had turned left out of the check gate,we would have even found a brick oven pizzeria. And despite the fact that every local person we asked said it was toofar to walk, it was do-able, only taking us less than one hour each way. Likewe said months ago, most locals do not walk that far, because of the sun, heat,and humidity. At least there was abreeze today, and despite that fact that the forecast said rain, it neverdid. Nothing close to it…..

 

After lunch, we did a little shopping, getting what weneeded at the grocery store. Our laststop was at the pharmacy to treat ourselves to ice cream cones, chocolate andvanilla Drumsticks, covered with chocolate chips in sugar cones. Many crew shuttles passed by us as we headedback, full of dozens of staff and crew members we know. They had paid $11 to ride here, since theyusually only get one hour to shop grab a quick lunch. By the way, free wifi was available in theentire Port Everglades area for everyone.

 

We had ½ hour after we got back to the ship before themandatory emergency muster drill at 3:15pm. The good news is that it will be our last one for this cruise. The promenade deck was jammed full ofnewly-embarked guests, an indication that this re-positioning trip was soldout. It always is, since the price wasright.

 

Our good friends from home found us going back inside theship from the drill. It so nice to seethem, and we will have two weeks to catch up on home news.

 

Later at the Bon Voyage sail away party on the aft deck, weran into more friends that we met on the Tales of the South Pacific last fall. Wonderfulfolks. They had a much harder timegetting to Florida with everything that could go wrong….did. They will need this two week cruise to recouperate. Anyway, at least the sailaway party was back,after one month of having them in the Crow’s Nest. Guess we got better fuel today that will spewfar less gritty smoke. We got to this sail away 10 minutes late, and must havemissed the appetizers passed around by the bar staff. The evidence of empty shotglasses sat on theback counter on the soiled dish cart. Of course, drink carts were set up withtheir specials for this occasion.

 

It was so windy after we left the port, that several of thetall tablecloth-covered cocktail tables blew over. When one large rectangular drink table blewoff of its stand, flying into the back railing, the waiters finally gatheredthem up and put them away. That was an accidentwaiting to happen. Some folks we did not even know remarked about the absenceof the sail away music, asking where’s the band? Oh, they have not been here for two yearsnow. There was not even the piped-inmusic.

 

Now that we have begun the 15 day re-positioning cruise, wegot gifts delivered. One was a bottle offine champagne (not the sparkling wine) from Orlando Ashford, compliments forbeing President’s Club members. Bart,the hotel director, sent a plate of assorted chocolates with a cute littlecard, the smallest card we have seen. Andalso in another tiny envelope, was our promotional $100 beverage card from ourtravel agency with the cute little card. Must be the “green” paper-saving thing once again. However, we never look a gift horse in themouth, as the saying goes.

 

Turning in our in-transit cards, we asked for a copy of ourshipboard account to find all of the promised credits had been posted….always agood thing. One of the promotions was “tipsincluded”. They did this by adding thetotal amount as a credit to our bill, which will be taken off daily for 15days. A good deal we think. Also, we had two letters left on ourbed. One was a health advisory with theusual warnings about hand washing, etc. Sure hope everyone follows this advice. The second letter informed us of the zika virus advisory and preventivemeasures to avoid it….we hope. Andfinally, the big pitch for the next 48 hours is the purchase thespecially-priced beverage packages. Theactual packages and prices were not provided, but would surely be accessed inany bar or the Explorations Café. Wenoticed that the art folks were back onboard with Park West. If we recall, they were not present at all onthe world cruise.

 

Well, dinner had some fine choices, and it had to be betterthan the horrible ribeye steak from last night’s farewell menu. We re-locatedto table 81 on deck five….at a table for 4, but only for the two of us. Our waiters were also new to us…..Mohammed andPrio, his assistant. Our head waiter wasMade, also new to us, and just embarked this morning, replacing Presty. Having a table for two means hot food, andquick service. Have to admit, we had thebest prime rib, even better than on the world cruise. Tender, cooked perfectly, and really tasty. Dessert was vanilla ice cream and one apple strudel….bothexcellent. Even better, our meal was donewell before 9:30pm, which was fine for us as it had been a long day.

 

A really long day for our room stewards, who had to turnover most all of the rooms. By last night, they had removed all of the grandvoyage bags, and today, delivered new luggage for this trip. They did have extra help, but we found they werestill on duty when we came back to our room after dinner. Hard workers for sure.

 

Looking forward to a couple of days at sea now…..

 

Bill & Mary Ann

[WCB]

Report # 118 SailingTowards Cartagena, Colombia April 27,2017 Thursday Partly cloudy & 85 degrees

 

A strange thing happened in the middle of the night, whenone of us woke up to see that lightning turned our room light blue with the suddenbolt. It continued off and on, althoughwe are not certain if there was rain as well. The winds had been blowing across the decks, but hitting the starboardside all day. And since we are on theport side, we could not see any rain. Onlyone other couple we know saw the same thing, as they must be lightsleepers. So it wasn’t a dream.

 

We find it odd that there has been no itinerary printed inthe Daily Navigator. Perhaps anoversight, the 15 to 18 day cruise always gives the date, the port or sea day,the dress code of each evening, and port time arrivals, back onboard time, anddeparture time. So far, this has notshown up in the first three newsletters of this cruise.

 

Other changes are that trivia is at 1pm instead of 11:45am. Fewer games are held such as basketball,shuffleboard, or card games. Gone arethe DAM or Grand dollars. Also gone are artsand crafts, watercolor class, bridge instructions, tai chi, dance class, andalso dance hosts. Good news is that theDigital Workshop still has very useful workshops throughout the day. There are no lecturers, but there are portand shore excursion talks. Cooking showshave continued in the Culinary Arts Center, and there are two times for HappyHour. The first one is at 4pm in theCrow’s Nest and Ocean Bar, where you can enjoy a second drink for $2. The second one today was at 11pm in the Crow’sNest only. Gone is the slot at 6:30 to7:30pm.

 

Today we spent almost three hours at the aft pool, deckeight, sunbathing. Determined to getsome sun after one month not going back there, we had to hold on for dear life,due to high winds blowing across the decks. Good thing we had plenty of clips to hold on the towels. For the whole time we were there, we saw manythings flying overboard like drink receipts and hats. The towels were even blowing into thegutters. One man even lost his soda can,which blew in the gutter. Trying to getit, he was blown off of his feet, rolling into the back railing. Talk about embarrassing….at least he was nothurt.

 

Despite using sunscreen, one of us has a fairly warm facetonight…..a combination of too much sun and way too much wind. We are heading south so quickly now, that weneed to remember how strong the sun can be this low. And it should get warmer and more humid thecloser we get to the Panama Canal.

 

Taking a break in our room, we ordered room service cobbsalads. We asked for them to be largerthan appetizer size, and they did it for us. We have to admit that these salads were the best we have had sofar. We also split a beef panini, made with shavedprime rib from last night. These werealso the best paninis we have tasted from room service. They must have a new chef in there. For dessert, we shared the plate of chocolatecandies we got yesterday.

 

We had been given an invite to a wine tasting at 2pmtoday. Or was it today? The invite was printed with the date ofSaturday, April 27, 2017. Last wenoticed in the elevators, it was Friday. So was it today or Saturday? So many folks were confused, that theydecided to re-do the tasting on the real Saturday. It is a port day, so that should beinteresting to see how many folks they attract. Naturally, the main reason for this tasting is to sell you a Navigatorpackage or the premium Admiral package. By the way, our favorite wine steward,Nestor, has taken over the job as sommelier, since Jacques went homeyesterday. He is very proud to be giventhis assignment for a while.

 

We went to buy some vitamin water bottles at theExplorations Café, using our new beverage card, but the card was not activated. We had to go to the front desk and have themscan the card and activate the amount, which was $100. Then back at the café, we had her run theamount and deduct it off of the bill. Itworked.

 

A new band is playing in the Ocean Bar now by the name ofThe Ocean Trio. The trio that played forthe world voyage was called The Neptunes. The music is pretty much the same as before, and there were some couplesdancing. Makes a difference not havingall of the dance hosts onboard.

 

Dinner service seemed slow tonight, but when our soups andchicken entrees arrived, they were all good. Philip, the manager, stopped by for a chat. We asked how the anytimedining was working downstairs. He saidit was better than most cruises, as around 400 guests were eating in theLido. That does help keep the wait inthe dining room down to a minimum.

 

There were two things in our room when we got back afterdinner. One was an invite to a specialCollector Voyage cocktail party tomorrow at 7:15pm in the Crow’s Nest, hostedby Captain Fred Eversen and hotel director, Bart Groeneveld. At least we should be able to find out whoelse has sailed onward with us. Theother nice surprise was the hour back card left on the bed. Funny thing, we did not do this last Januaryuntil we reached the Panama Canal. Whatever the reason, we do appreciate the extra hour back.

 

Bill & Mary Ann