Hitch a Ride with Bill & Mary Ann on Holland America's 2018 World Cruise - 113 days +

[Coco39]

We are expecting snow here in VA so warm rain doesn't sound all that bad. LOL

[JamesEM]

I'm in Myrtle Beach where we have a mix of ice and snow, rain would be great.

[Martezz]

I always enjoy your blog and will look forward to following you on this world cruise.

[WCB]

Report # 4 Thesecond full day in Ft. Lauderdale January 3, 2018 Wednesday Raining, windy, and in the 50's 40 Pictures

 

Our second full day in Ft. Lauderdale wasn’t much betterthan yesterday, as far as the weather was concerned. Seems that the storm hung around all night,and even got colder with strong gusts of wind. It did not stop us from walking to breakfast, where the café was votedas having the best brunch item back in 2013. Although we did not see it on the menu, they serve a special type ofstrawberry French toast. Coated with acrunchy corn flake batter, the strawberries are mixed with cream cheese, andfill the center of the entrée. Boy, thatsure does not sound like a low calorie way to start the day. Yep, that might put one in a food coma, asthe article suggests.

 

Since the big Lotto jackpot has gotten bigger, we picked upa couple of quick-picks at Publix just for the fun of it. At 4pm, the jackpot had grown to 440 million. To win is a very long shot, but you never know.

 

Did we mention that some rooms around us on the eighth floorhave been under renovation? The clue wasyesterday, when we noticed the hallway carpets were covered with plastic. Then we began to see and hear noise fromhammers and power tools. Odd that theywould put us right next to one of these rooms.

 

Our travel agency sponsored a bus that began transferringthose who wanted to shop at the nearest mall at 11am. About 20 of us took the ride to Westfield’s,where we happened to walk to yesterday. Riding was much easier, considering the high winds and suddendownpours. Not that we really neededanything, it is always a good opportunity to seek out bargains. We did find a few, of course.

 

The best stop was at Red Robin for a shared light lunch andsodas. Back at the bus stop, we foundmany folks had made some significant buys. There is a Target across the street, which is a great place for lastminute things. Even wine. Not sure what the policy is on bringing wineon this grand voyage. Sometimes theirrules are relaxed. This does not applyto us, as we don’t indulge with the wine, but we shall watch to see for thefolks that are interested.

 

Our travel agency had set up a desk in the lobby, asusual. But a surprise to us was seeingthe HAL desk set up as well. Seems thatthis is the preferred hotel for the HAL guests too. We said hello and goodbye to the hosts intransit, then picked up our complimentary bags, new jackets, and tour ticketswe had purchased. More info on ourtransfer to the ship tomorrow should be available at the cocktail/dinner partythis evening.

 

We made it a point to mention the construction noise at thefront desk before heading back to the room. Apologizing, they said they would come up with some sort of compensationfor the inconvenience. This was ourfirst chance to get a little down time in the room, although only one of us didthat. The clouds had begun to clear away,and the rain stopped. Good time for oneof us to take a walk to get some pictures of the local wildlife. The amusing iguanas were starting to come outof hiding to warm up in the sun. Theyhad better do it soon, because the temperature is supposed to drop into the 30’stonight. That is almost unheard of inthis part of Florida. Will believe itwhen we feel it…..

 

While getting ready for the cocktail party and dinner, ourphone rang. It was from the front deskwith the message that they were refunding some of our bill, due to the noise. That was not bad news at all. We thanked them.

 

The party began at 6:15pm outside the ballroom. We always show up 10 minutes after that time,and find that we are about the last ones to arrive. It works better finding your sticky name tag,although this time, we thought to bring the magnet ones instead. The sticky ones always end up somewhere in myhair. And sometimes, they are not evenmine. We had time for one quick drink,mostly due to the fact we ran into many friends. And much to our pleasant surprise, at leastthree couples introduced themselves, adding that they had followed our blog foryears, or as recent as last year. Alwaysgood to hear.

 

We also had the opportunity to meet one of the presidentsand CEO’s of our travel agency. Johnrepresented the conglomerate that currently owns the agency. He was quite interesting to talk with, as headded lots of details about the business. We got a bit worried about our buddies, Leta and Bill, who are always atthis dinner. Our host Wendy said that atleast 40 people had not arrived yet from the airport. Bill and Leta were among them. With this unusual weather, many flights hadbeen delayed or cancelled. One goodreason to come a few days ahead of time.

 

Promptly at 7pm, we were ushered into the dining hall, andseated with Gerald B, the Mariner Society Director,John, the other CEO, and sixother guests we recognized. Orlandohosted a table of the rest of the long-time clients. The meal consisted of a Waldorf-style salad,dinner roll, and red and white wines. Theentrée was a chicken breast, rice, and mixed veggies. Bill kidded the lady next to him that maybethey had a fish dinner. She asked, andthey said yes, they did. However, herdish arrived much later, while the rest of us continue to eat. Gerald OK’d it, since time was a factorhere. Finally, the salmon substituteshowed up, and she was a happy camper. The meal ended with a key lime pie….really tart and sweet.

 

During dinner, Gerald mentioned that there are a total of 102President’s club members now. At least93 are active. Ten more will be inductedinto the club on this upcoming world cruise. Four of our friends are among them. Then he said there should be a total of 21 of us on this world cruise.

 

Orlando gave his speech last, and suggested we would likethe changes that have occurred on the Amsterdam. Other than new carpeting, he would not giveup what the changes were. We do knowthat some lanai cabins (lower promenade deck) will be added during thedry-docking in April. We shall report onhow well those will be received, since we should be coming back onboard May 10th.

 

Wendy came to our table to let us know our friends Bill& Leta had arrived safely, and made it to dinner just on time. They had rolled their luggage and handcarries right into the ballroom, not wasting time to even check in at the frontdesk. They had run into flight delaysand weather problems, just like we thought.

 

This nice affair was wrapped up by 9:30pm, with finalinstructions given by Holly. The luggagethat will be transported by truck to the ship will be picked up from our roomsafter 8:30am. The next time we see them, should be in our cabins. Then we will need to follow the bus transfertimes beginning at 9:45am. We shouldhave received this envelope upon check-in, but they failed to do it. Holly went to the front desk to get it forus.

 

So we re-packed most everything tonight, and will set offfor breakfast early tomorrow. The restshould be a piece of cake. We hope…..

 

Bill & Mary Ann

[Oak Hill Cruisers]

Now at dock 26!

[300dtc]

Bon Voyage! Our longest cruise is coming up in 2 months, 16 days! I can't even imagine the excitement you are feeling[emoji322]

 

 

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[WCB]

Report #5 BoardingDay In Fort Lauderdale January 4,2018 Thursday Sunny but cold and 40 degrees 54Pictures

 

Our day began very early with the alarm going off at5am. This would give us enough time toget the bags ready for an 8:30am pick up, and still have time forbreakfast. Neither of us had takennotice of the opening time at the little café, but did recall hearing one ofthe waitresses mention 6:30am. However,that was for the weekend, not week days.

 

Walking swiftly due to the cold, we arrived at the door at7am, only to see the opening time was 8am. Oh well, that gave us some time to check our lotto ticket atPublix. Darn, we did not win, but thennobody won the big jackpot. May as wellbuy a couple of more while we were there. You never know…..

 

So, our other option was to walk back to the hotel to dinethere. It would probably be crowdedbecause two large groups would be leaving for the ship. What we did not know was that today’sbreakfast was strictly a buffet. We arenot big fans of buffets, so we ended up going back to our favorite little café at8am. If nothing else, the double walkdid us good. One of us ordered anomelette, while the other had to try that strawberry French toast. It was more like a strawberry sandwich, withthe French toast made with challah bread. If anyone knows what that is, can you tell us? Absolutely delicious, the cream cheese heldit together, and the corn flakes kept it crispy. Did we mention that the breadwas deep-fried? Will need a triple walktoday.

 

Our special coach was delayed by ½ hour, leaving the hotelby 10:15am. The ride to Port Evergladesonly took 30 minutes at the most, and the line to check in was getting longeralready. Funny thing about grand cruises…..mosteveryone is 4 or 5 star Mariners, giving you the privilege of a quickerline. No way today, in hind sight, weshould have gone over to the 1 to 3 star line where there were only a handfulof folks. On every other cruise we havegone on since becoming President’s Club members, there has been a line set upfor us. Today, that was missing. A few of our friends complained to someonethat listened, and they did get them to establish this line. The rest of us were summoned to followthem. We were processed quickly at thispoint. We think it is worth mentioningthat we did have to sign a statement that we either had a current yellow fevervaccination or the proper waiver. Ifnot, we might run into problems as we attempt to enter some of the countriesthat require this vaccination. This isthe first time we had to do this. And wewere not advised that a one-time vaccination was good for lifetime, as had beentold to us when calling HAL before we left home.

 

Then we were escorted up the escalator where we had a phototaken with Orlando, Gerald, Captain Mercer, and the new CD, Hamish Davish. Our new room keys (red, white, and bluestriped) worked at the security kiosk, where we were welcomed onboard. Our room was still in the process of beingserviced, but we were able to stash our few things away. Our room stewards, Martin and Yusuf introducedthemselves and promised to complete our list of requests shortly. These fellows have a massive job on these turn-arounddays, so we told them to take their time.

 

There were a few items left in the room already such as abottle of champagne on ice as well as a handful of notes. One of those messages was from the Hotel Director,Henk, saying that the room amenities for a grand voyage can be so numerous,they would appreciate having at least two days to complete the service. In other words, don’t complain too quickly,as it will be coming, just slower than usual. The only thing we were having trouble with was signing on for theinternet. We had a prepaid packagewaiting for us, but it was impossible to set up the account. It kept rejecting our password. We would need help with this one. Calling someone at the front desk worked well,as the internet guru called back within minutes, and offered to clean up our account. With all of the recent voyages we have doneon the Amsterdam, it seems that the memory is still there with too muchinfo. He was able to clean it up, andsign us up.

 

Usually, the personalized stationary is already printed forus. Now it is only done by request. Better than last year, when it had goneastray, or as most folks thought, it had been eliminated. We turned our request in at the front desk,which had a growing line already. Only afew of the staff are familiar to us, the rest are new. Glancing over at the Shore Excursion desk, wedid not know anyone in there. Leslie andIrene have moved on or perhaps, retired.

 

Wanting to see what upgrades had been accomplished on thewet-dock last September, we went to the public areas of deck five. There we found all new carpeting and upholsteryre-do’s. So much nicer. Even better, the dining rooms have replacedcarpeting, a long needed fix. The PianoBar was remodeled with a new look to the grand piano. It has bar seating surrounding it. Finally, up in the Crow’s Nest, we were so pleasedto see the model replica of the Amsterdam, a gift from one of our dear friends,who was unable to make the trip this year due to illness. A few years ago, he requisitioned this modelto be constructed while in Vietnam, and here it is, under a protective glasscase, complete with a commemorative plack with his name on it. What a wonderful and lasting gift for HAL. Aart, you made us all proud.

 

Surely there are many more upgrades to be seen, so we willpost them when we discover more.

 

Needing to hunt down our buddies, we knew we might find themin the Lido pool area, where champagne and wine were being served. We did find the merry group, as well as somesurprises. Visiting for the afternoonwere former tablemates and friends, Greg and Heo, and Martha’s husband,Bob. How nice to see them looking just asgreat as the last time we were all together. Like family. Another thing thattook us by surprise were the number of folks that recognized us from the blog,and came over to introduce themselves. This began happening at the cocktail party last night, and continued allday. It sure is heart-warming to know thatsome of our little travel hints have helped them along the way. We’ll try to keep it up.

 

After a few glasses of champagne (or probably sparklingwine), we were in need of some food. There was a full service sandwich bar still opened, so we both had sourdough rolls with either ham or sliced beef. Perfect. And here came anothersurprise. Fun tablemates we had twoyears ago, Paul and Bonnie, showed up at our table, saying that they had bookedthis cruise recently, and were here for the whole thing. We told them we may have room at our table,so they said they would check out where they were assigned, and might be back. Much to our delight, they were.

 

One more job was going to the Pinnacle Grill to turn in ourlist of possible dinner reservations for our complimentary meals in there. Tina, the manager, was happy to work on it,as she added our list to her growing pile. Normally, we book these dates as we go, but end up waiting too long, andlose some of them. In addition, werequested to be seated with the purser and our buddies at the Captain’sDinner. She was happy to oblige.

 

Back at our room, we discovered that a platter of assortedfresh fruit and a tray of chocolates had been delivered. This will keep us in sweets until it is timefor dinner. Heaven forbid, we might gethungry.

 

Our duffels and suitcases began to arrive one at a time, sowe thought we had better start putting some of it away. We never got to the clothes, but did unbagmany of the toiletries. Doubling baggingeverything, it takes time to stash it all. The rest can wait until tomorrow, or longer. We piled the duffels on the couch, and everyother corner left in the room. As longas we had a way to get into the bed, we were fine for the night.

 

Promptly at 4:15pm, we all had to attend the mandatorymuster drill. It was more of home-coming than a drill. So many people are repeat passengers, andthis is a good place to meet them. Thenew method of logging us in works so much better. Scanning our room card, there is no morevocal roll call, unless you happen to arrive late. At least some of the modern technology iscatching up on these older vessels. Speaking of modern, our wish for new bigger flat screen TV’s never didget installed in the cabins. Maybe ondecks six and seven. We shallinvestigate tomorrow.

 

Dinner time arrived, and at 8pm, we hauled ourselves to thedining room, deck four. Although we arenot open-seating guests, we are assigned to table 311 at 8pm every day. Asingle red rose was handed to each and every lady that entered the room. Regulars Barb and Martha were there, as wellas former friends Bonnie and Paul. Newbies were Brenda from North Carolina and Ken from Michigan. By the end of the evening, they both seemedto be a good fit for our little group, and thanked us for letting them join us. So one of the worries most of us have, is “whois coming to dinner”? Once it isestablished, and it’s working, we’re all happy about it. And by the way, the food was delicious….hotand tasty, served by our waiter from last year, Slamet. Another nice surprise, Phillip, the wonderfuldining room manager, assigned Slam to our table, knowing how well he took careof us last year.

 

There was a sail away celebration happening at the Lido poolarea from 7:30 to 8:30pm, but dinner took priority. Because of the weather-related delays at manyairports, we were taken by surprise to see the ship leaving the drizzly portaround 8:10pm. The ship apparently waitedfor no one.

 

Taking note on the way back to our room, we did not see theusual door decorations from the different travel agencies. Rumor had it thatnone were going to be allowed this year. Other than a photo and three balloons, there weren’t any. In our opinion, the balloons are far worse obstructionthan a small stick-on figure.

 

Going to bed never felt so welcomed, as it had been one heckof a long day. We needed a good night’srest to tackle the unpacking tomorrow.

 

Bill & Mary Ann

[dchip]

Hi Bill and Mary Ann,

 

Challah Bread is a traditional Jewish braided egg bread. Next time my cousin sends some from New York, we will save you some.

 

Enjoying your posts.:) Hope you get some warm weather soon. It is finally raining here although it is still warm.

 

Cheers, Denise and Howie too

[Krazy Kruizers]

Loving your review.

[jig]

Saw the pics of Greg and Heo. I guess you’ll see them in Sydney.

Are you implying that you can’t decorate your door anymore? That would be a shame.

 

 

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[alsas]

We are following along love the post see you all in Sydney

 

 

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[Blue Eyes]

Looking forward to all your amazing adventures....

[Coco39]

Sounds like you had a very action packed day. Tell Barb we miss her and that she is lucky to be warm as it is below freezing here.

[ski ww]

Enjoy reading your posts. One good thing is that the weather will get better.

Allan

[The Other Tom]

I had to look up Challah bread. From Wikipedia:

Challah ( /xɑːˈlɑː/, /ˈhɑːlə/ or /ˈkɑːlə/; Hebrew: חַלָּה‎ Halla [χa'la]), plural: challot /xɒloʊt/ or challos /xɒləs/) is a special bread in Jewish cuisine, usually braided and typically eaten on ceremonial occasions such as Sabbath and major Jewish holidays (other than Passover). Ritually-acceptable challah is made of dough from which a small portion has been set aside as an offering. Similar braided breads - such as kalach, kalács, kolach, or colac - are found in Eastern Europe, though it is not clear whether these influenced or were influenced by the traditional Ashke****c challah.

[WCB]

Report #6 SailingTowards Grand Cayman January 5,2018 Friday Partly cloudy & 68 degrees 24 Pictures

 

Gosh, it seemed like we just closed our eyes last night, andit was time to get up. We were understandablyexhausted, but we think that the comfortable bed had something to do with our undisturbedsleep. We had requested a new mattress,and may have received one. Never hadtime to look. And just in case we didnot get that new one, we brought a new foam mattress pad with us. That should do the trick. We’ll add it later this week.

 

We did arrive well before the dining room closed forbreakfast, since their “at sea” times are 8 to 9:30am. Interesting that compared to the Eurodam,there was no line at all to enter the dining room. Or this is a different crowd who prefer to goto the lido or have room service. Webelieve that the Pinnacle Grill is also open for the folks on deck seven.

 

Walking on the lower promenade deck was refreshing thismorning. The temperature had warmed upafter leaving Florida, but the wind was blowing rather strong. Heavy clouds masked the sun, and almostlooked like it could rain. It did by thelate evening. Some changes have occurredsince we were here last summer. Most allof the teak lounges were gone, and in the process of being replaced with thesame metal-framed lounges that are at the aft pool. Perhaps they are easier to keep clean, andstack better. They do not require padseither, so it is less work for the deck staff. There were perhaps 20 teak lounges left inthe forward area, but they may disappear also. We know for a fact that after this world voyage, several cabins in theforward area will be converted to lanai rooms with lounges reserved for thoserooms. That should be interesting.

 

There was the first of several meetings of the Cruise Critic group in the Crow’s Nest at11am. There must have been 200 people inattendance, the largest group we have ever seen. Even Captain Mercer made an appearance, whichis unusual these days. At one time, thehotel and cruise directors attended, along with some other staff members. Then they quit coming at all, saying therewere too many of these types of meetings for them to attend. Since the Captain keeps a blog, he is equallyas interested in what the rest of us have to say in our blogs. Of course, that presented a photo op formany, who whipped out their phones and asked anyone who was willing to taketheir picture with him. As they linedup, Captain Mercer said $20 please. Ofcourse, he was joking.

 

Once again, several friendly people approached us, asking ifwe were Bill & Mary Ann. They had recognizedus from our posted photos, and wanted to thank us for writing for so manyyears. Sure is nice to hear, as weconsider what we report is as we see it……..a mix of how things used to becompared to the reality of the ever-changing cruise product. Actually we never thought in a million yearsthat potential passengers read all of the reports, and use that info to decidewhich cruise line will fit their needs, especially on long voyages. And the wealth of information that can beshared at these meetings is quite helpful. Some creative passengers have come up with some fun activities on seadays, as well as some reasonably-priced shore excursions.

 

Lunchtime found us back in the dining room at our same tablewe had the last two years. Barb joinedus after trivia, telling us that everyone that showed up to play got a newvoucher worth 10 cents towards Amazon prizes. These will replace the grand dollars. We don’t think that the winners of trivia earned any more than the 10cent voucher. On a side note, Bill gota voucher while walking a mile on the promenade deck during the advertised timein the daily newsletter.

 

The rest of the afternoon was dedicated to unpacking. After 4 hours, we were close to thefinish. We will fine tune it tomorrowbefore we get to the Cayman Islands. That is, if we make it there. Captain Mercer mentioned that the winds and swells may prevent tenderingtomorrow, so they may not attempt it. There are three ships scheduled to be there too. So we shall think positive.

 

This evening, we were invited to an Exclusive WelcomeReception with the Staff Officers at 7pm in the Explorer’s Lounge. This affair included guests from the Pinnacleand Neptune suites, including President’s Club members. In the receiving line, we were greeted byCaptain Mercer, hotel director, Henk, and the new cruise director, HamishDavis. We spent the majority of the timewith Peter, the purser and other fellow friends we have known for years.

 

At dinner, we discovered that our group had grown to nine,with the addition of a single man named George from San Francisco. The menu had so many choices of good entrees,it was difficult to choose. There was ashow at 10pm,but we were all still enjoying dessert at that time. Abba FAB was performing Mama Mia. Positive we have seen this show, maybe wewill catch it the next time.

 

Back in the room, two gifts waited for us. They were two navy blue 2018 Grand WorldVoyage messenger bags, very similar as the ones we got last year, onlysmaller. Also, the first towel animalappeared on the bed. We will need totell our room stewards not to make those for us, as we have seen them all. And two nice blue and white-striped beachtowels had been placed in our room for our use while on shore. If we would like to purchase them (or newones), the price is a reasonable $27.50.

 

Tomorrow’s port will be Georgetown, Grand Cayman. Hope we make it.

 

Bill & Mary Ann

[Krazy Kruizers]

Love the details of your review.

By the way we had Hamish Davis as a CD on our 2015 Zuiderdam cruises. He is great. Glad to see that HAL thinks so much of him that he is doing the World Cruise.

[TiogaCruiser]

Thank you for taking us along again. I’ll be setting my alarm a little earlier so i can read your blog before work. Making marguerita pizza tonight in your honor.

[WCB]

Report #7 Georgetown, Grand Cayman January 6, 2018 Saturday Chance of rain & 77 degrees 80 Pictures Part #1 Of 3

 

Thinking positive last night worked……we did end up droppinganchor off of George Town, Grand Cayman. Yes, the weather was not the best, but the wind and the sea swells weretolerable, and we were able to tender ashore.

 

But first, we went to the dining room for a properbreakfast. The fresh mixed berries havebeen delicious, and we would not miss a morning without them. At least until they run out. They are perfect on top of Greek yogurt witha sprinkling of granola. Did we mentionthat our favorite little jars of jams are back? Not sure for how long, but we were happy to see the upgrade. No flowerette butter, however. That has been replaced with tiny balls ofbutter. Perhaps they have changedproducts again.

 

Anyway, here is a little info on the Cayman Islands. There are three islands here, Grand, Little,and Cayman Brac. George Town, the capital, is located on Grand Cayman, which isabout 22 miles long. Back in 2012, thepopulation was reported as 49,000. However, the current info has it at 37,800 now.

 

Trademarks are shipwrecks (for diving), pirates, condos,snorkeling, and tax shelters. Banking isbig business here, with over 600 of them. Many are secretive institutions where few questions are asked.

 

Other big businesses here are the high-end name brand luxuryitems such as loose gemstones, watches, and jewelry. Ever heard of Tortuga Rum Cake? We will never forget tasting the samples ofthe buttery pound cake, literally soaked with 151 local rum. We inquired about the existence of that rum,and were told it is no longer allowed to be sold, since it is explosive.

 

A really fun tour, which we have taken at least three times,is a swim with the sting rays and sharks at Sting Ray City. Then you can stop on the way at Hell, home tounique volcanic rock formations, where you can send a postcard from Hell toyour relatives and friends.

 

Seven Mile Beach is located fairly close to George Town,where the nice hotels have access to coral sand and crystal-clear water. And sunburn, if you are not careful. Not too many takers on that tour today, dueto the rainy overcast day.

 

We have also visited the Queen Elizabeth II Botanical Park,across the island, where you can see rare blue iguanas, if we remembercorrectly. And the turtle farm was alsoa learning experience. Just have toremember that it is illegal for many to purchase anything made from theirshells.

 

Today we headed off at 10am on the first boat over to town.We were not all that happy that we had to present our keycards at the door downto Deck A. In the past, we had beenescorted down an inner set of stairs to the tender platform. That avoided any ill feelings from the other passengers.We may have mentioned already that it was announced that due to so many 4 and 5star Mariners on this cruise, 800 in fact, that priority boarding had been suspended forthem. Somewhere around 9am, there was anannouncement that no one would be allowed to line up on Deck One, which doesblock people from leaving their rooms. You had to get a tender ticket, and wait elsewhere on the ship untilyour number was called. So the bottom line now is that priority tendering isreserved for the Pinnacle and Neptune suites and President’s Club membersonly. This was not a problem on lastyear’s world cruise, because we had no ports where the ship had to anchor.

 

Three other ships were anchored too. Costa Deliziosa, an Aida ship, and a smallervessel with the name of Berlin were already bringing their passengersashore. For sure, everything will becrowded.

 

There is no doubt about it…..this town is “touristy”. Our port guide listed over 20 stores, boutiques,and galleries where you could have the opportunity to part with some bigbucks. And worse, the Cayman dollar is.80 to the USD$1. Nothing was cheaphere, from what we saw, and that includes the restaurants, as we would find outlater.

 

It was a good day for walking…..not too warm, and notraining yet. One stop we did make firstwas at the Hard Rock Café to purchase a couple of t-shirts. With the size of the crowd today, they mightrun out of the city tees. We did buy two,then continued our walk. Once out ofdowntown, the two lane road took us past some very nice residences, massiveestates, and condos. One property evenhad a “Disneyland” like garden, decorated with Christmas scenes and lights.

 

A public area called Dart Park was hidden behind huge rodiron gates. Complete with picnic tables,benches, a small kiddie park and decent restrooms, it was a good place to restfor a few minutes. There was a sliver ofsandy beach with mostly exposed dead coral beds. A low concrete wall provided a spot to sit fora few minutes, with curious chickens investigating us. For those who want toknow, this area did not have any easy access to swimming or snorkeling. So we continued onward.

 

The island is full of pastel-colored homes, all withchickens running around wild. Must bespringtime all the time, because many of the hens had chicks. They were all of the games variety, small,but feisty. Busy taking photos of themand the surrounding tropical flowers, it took us by surprise when anunfortunate accident occurred. A youngwoman, riding on a motorcycle, must have lost control of it, rolled it, andended up underneath it. Lucky she wasnot flung into the opposite traffic. Things sure turned on a dime for her today.

 

A group of us walkers helped the best we could, but it wasapparent from what she said, that her leg might be broken. She asked to be moved off of the road, whichprobably was not the best thing to do. But people did it anyway. A passerbycalled for an ambulance, and it finally arrived within 20 minutes. A most very long 20 minutes for the injuredgal.

 

As we were certain that she was taken care of, all of uscontinued on our exploration. This areawas mostly residential, but we did come across a public beach Smith Cove or asthe locals call it, Smith Barcadere. It hada small patch of sand, but easy access to the water, where some people were snorkeling. Too bad the sun never peeked out today, or itwould have been beautiful. There weresome nice picnic tables, benches, and even clean restrooms.

 

We had not paid attention to the all onboard time, so by1pm, we decided to head back to town. The hike back was uneventful, no more accidents, thank goodness. For us,it is hard to get accustomed to the opposite traffic pattern. We had to be careful, since there were fewsidewalks and narrow shoulders. Surely,we did not want to end up in the hospital like the young motorcyclist.

 

The Hard Rock Café was just about 100% full upstairs. But we waited for 10 minutes, and got seatedat the window facing the main street. Perfect. Sure was great to relaxwith draft beers, a shared salad, and a tray of tasty chicken tenders. Topping off the meal, we had an apple cobblerwith one scoop of ice cream.

 

Afterwards, we wandered through town, visiting a few shops,and sampling the Tortuga cake, of course. Then it began to rain, so it was a sign that it was time to goback. Better yet, there was no line atthe waiting tender boat, and we got seats right away. Within a few minutes, we were back in ourroom with some time to work on photos and continue unpacking.

 

The last tender was at 5:30pm, and we were on our wayshortly after 6pm. Because of the rain,the sail away party was held in the Crow’s Nest. Hot appetizers and the drink of the day, MaiTai’s, were available for sale. Down-sizingthe sail-away festivities has been the norm since last year, we think. Of course, the early dinner service was inprogress, and many people would have chosen to go there instead of watch theship leave port. No doubt about it, this group of passengers,for the most part, are easy-going and laid back. In no rush to line up or get off early, it isa sharp contrast to the previous shorter cruses we took on the Eurodam last fall.

 

We need to mention that two Happy Hour times wereoffered. One at 4pm, and the second at6:30pm. Great for ALL of us. So someone at HAL has been listening to ourrequests.

 

Dinner time arrived quickly, and everyone showed up at thetable. Only four or five of us had goneoff of the ship today. But then, most all of us have been to these Caribbeanports several times. Seeing three otherships in the bay also deterred many. Fordinner we had Rudy’s roasted chicken with stuffing and cranberry sauce. Delicious. By the time dessert arrived, it was 10:15pm. That is one negative with having a largetable….it takes a much longer time to serve everyone.

 

We did peek into the Queen’s Lounge to see the show, theunique musical madman, David Meyer. Hehad a one-of-a-kind instrument that we could not see, but could hear. It was putting us to sleep, so we left for ourroom.

 

There was a reminder in the folder that the clocks needed togo back one hour, an indication we were heading southwest. Funny that Slam, our waiter, had notmentioned it. Confirming it with thefront desk, it was indeed true. Whichwas a good thing….we will take all the extra sleep time we can get.

 

We also had two more gifts…..Moleskine travel journals. Nice to get them early on in the cruise. And lastly, new smaller “good night” cardshave appeared with nice messages for a good night’s sleep. The first message was “A Grand adventure isabout to begin. Winnie the Pooh.

 

Bill & Mary Ann

[Krazy Kruizers]

Hope that the young lady who had the accident wasn't from a ship.

Great reporting.

[DeeniEncinitas]

Enjoying again another WC reading!!

I sure hope the young women recovers and it was great for you guys to help and be there as support.

Thanks again for your reviews.

Denise:)

[Keith1010]

I have been enjoying your posts.

 

Keith

[WCB]

Report # 8 SailingTowards Puerto Limon, Costa Rica January 7, 2018 Sunday Partly cloudy & 73 degrees 3 Pictures

 

A day at sea was just what we needed today in order to getour room almost totally organized. Afterbreakfast, we took our usual walk outside. Finally, the warmth and humidity are back. So far, it is tolerable, but soon, we willsurely be complaining about the heat. Wedid expect to see some flying fish, but there were none. The only wildlife we spotted were a couple ofboobys.

 

Something we noticed at breakfast in the dining room wasthat today was “Sunday at Sea Brunch Day”. At 11am, a special menu would be available for brunch items. They did this last year, but took it a stepfurther this year with a few changes. Looking at the posted menu, we figured out that it was a fixedmeal. Everything on the menu would be servedto you. So it was actually littletastings of several different items. Therewere at least three starters, nine entrée servings, and three desserts. Guess you simply ate what you liked, and leftthe rest. Perhaps you could call these “littleeats”, something that has been popping up in our local restaurants at home. Since we had eaten breakfast around 9am,brunch would be too early for us. Barbdid go, and loved it. The next one theyhave, we will attend just to see what it was all about.

 

By the way, the fancy chair covers were put on last nightafter the late dinner. Presty said thatthey needed to do this today, because there would not be enough staff or timeto do it before tomorrow night’s gala dinner. He added that we can eat breakfast and brunch in style. Last year, these chair covers were notused. The reason was that they gotsoiled too easily, and may carry bacteria. The bottom line really was that it would save a lot of labor by notusing them. So with a few complaints fromother folks we know, those covers came back last year, but later into thecruise.

 

Have we mentioned that we began getting a delivered New YorkTimes Digest on our door every morning? And we did not even have to ask for it. In fact, it appears that everyone on our deck had papers outside. How about that….some of us spoke up afterthis service was discontinued last year, and they really listened. We also noticed a large stand in the Lidowith the Canadian, Dutch, and German papers.

 

Lunch for us was in the Lido, where the sandwich gal made usham and cheese croissant and one roast beef on a roll. Don’t know if these machines were here lastyear, but we did see lemonade and ice tea straight from the spickets.

 

Leta and Bill stopped to chat on their way to lunch. They mentioned that the Explorations Café wasunder-manned yesterday. Long lines putpressure on the single server, causing her to spill hot milk over her hand,burning herself. Eventually, a secondserver was added to help out. Leta alsoconfirmed that someone on their deck got a letter telling them that they had toremove their door ornament. They are nolonger allowed. The story we heard isthat if it is flammable, it must be removed. Someone on our deck taped up a Valentine Day message, but it was gone intwo days. This must be a Coast Guardrequirement. However, the three balloonsare still hanging next to someone’s door. They are much more annoying than a photo.

 

Another thing happened with the beverage perk for the Vistaroom guests. An order had been takenwell before the cruise, but did not match what was chosen. We had gotten a call regarding our perktoo. One of us ordered a bouquet offlowers, but it never arrived. They hada bottle of scotch to deliver instead. Nope, never ordered that. Laterin the afternoon, someone knocked on our door, and there were the flowers. Bill had gotten a bottle of bourbon, but itwas not his choice. Asking Nestor to switchit, a room service steward came by with what he wanted, and he swapped itout. We do expect a charge for thedifference.

 

The internet service has worked OK so far. No complaints from us, but as we travel tosome more remote areas, that might change. There was a blip with the app for the Navigator on your cell phone. It was not programmed properly, but they didpromise to fix it. We can access thisfree site on our laptop computer. Mostlyhelpful when figuring out menus for the day.

 

One of the last things left to do was add that new foam padto our bed. Thinking we would wait until the sheets were changed, we decided totackle the job ourselves. Surely we canfigure it out. There was only one smallproblem, and that was the size of the pad, marked queen, was a bit narrow onthis mattress. All total, we found thatit was short by about 8 inches. Theactual size in inches was not provided with the pad, so we guessed that queenmeant the same thing. If we did thisagain, we could have gone with the king size, then trimmed it to fit. Anyway, we got the bed back together, andhope it provides a better type of comfort and support.

 

Tonight was the first gala night and labeled Black and Gold. At 4:30 and 7pm, there was a Captain’swelcome aboard reception and Black andGold Dinner. Normally, champagne(sparkling wine) is served, followed with staff introductions. For some reason, we never made it there. But then, we have done it so many times, weare sure having a cocktail in our room would work better.

 

An officer joined our table tonight. His name was George and he is the firstengineer. A young fellow from Bulgaria,he seemed to enjoy the antics at our table. He admitted to us that he enjoys dressing up for a change, since all heever wears are overalls. A nice fellow,he has a wife and a 4 year old son at home in Bulgaria. He keeps in touch daily via facetime.

 

Our dinner choice was the rack of veal, and the best choiceon the menu. Totally good. They offered the usual surf and turf, butwhen they have veal, it Is always the best. Desserts for us were apple strudel and a soufflé, both small servings,just the way we like them these days.

 

Two more gifts were given to us this evening. They were keycard holders with a necklanyard. Quite out of the ordinary toget three gifts in a row.

 

Tomorrow, we will be in Puerto Limon, Costa Rica.

 

Bill & Mary Ann

 

 

PS Many thanks forthe info on the challah bread. Learnsomething new every day.

[Peggy Tuten]

Hi, can you - or anyone else provide more detail about the Vista beverage perks? Or any other perks? Is this because of the Vista rooms or your Mariner status? I've booked a Vista cabin for next year's voyage, but since I've only done one previous HAL cruise, I have just the lowest level Mariner status. Thanks

[WCB]

Report # 9 PuertoLimon, Costa Rica January 8, 2018 Monday Partly cloudy & 82 degrees Part #1 Of 3 80 Pictures

 

Pura Vida! That iswhat you see printed everywhere here in the city of Puerto Limon, Costa Rica. It means pure life, which is what one canexpect if you live here. Reportedly,Ticos (Costa Ricans), are the happiest people in the world, and out-live thosethat reside in North America. Thecountry has the highest level of education available and the best health benefitsin all of Central America. And it showsin the tourism business, which is the number one industry these days. If you have ever taken a tour from a cruiseship here, you will find that the guides are among the most educated anddedicated to their job.

 

The capital of Costa Rica is San Jose, and the population ofthe country is 4,254,000. We arevisiting during the dry season which begins in December and ends in April. However, it was obvious that a storm camethrough last night, because everything was soaked with large muddy puddles allthroughout the town.

 

There were many excursions offered today…..14 of them infact. You could see the rainforest,travel the canals, or ride an old train, which used to be used for the bananatrade. Birds, monkeys, sloths, toucans,and crocs abound. And you could see thecanopy of the forests with an aerial tram ride, or a thrilling ziplinetour. On the tamer side, you could see afolkloric show, or take an eco bus ride. The ship offered a variety of these activities starting from $50 to$170.

 

The ship arrived to the working port around 7am. We were the only ship here today. We noticed that the shuttle bus informationhas been printed on the front page of the When & Where daily newsletter. Usually, this info was word-of-mouth, andnever posted so everyone would know for sure. Of course, they don’t want to advertise transportation too soon, or elsepeople may hesitate to book tours. Duh….

 

In no hurry to go off, we had our usual breakfast, and leftthe ship around 10am. All aboard was3:30pm, so staying in town was our option. We have been on most every tour here anyway. Funny thing happened on our way out thismorning. There are always local fellowshawking tours on the pier. When weinformed one man that we have already done his tour, he suggested maybe we hadforgotten it, and we could do it again. Nope, we’re not that absent-minded yet.

 

It was warm and humid, but there was a saving breeze. The air seemed clean, except for the noxiousfumes drifting from a pumper truck alongside the ship. The good thing was thatthere was no rain in today’s forecast. Aswe have said, this is the dry season.

 

There is a very nice local craft shop right on the pier. All the typical souvenirs of Costa Rica canbe purchased here. This included woodenproducts (bowls, trivets, coasters, or ice buckets). In our opinion, the vendors did not seem towant to negotiate much. Not like in Puntarenason the Pacific side. Although we did buyone covered wooden bowl for ship candies, the rest were priced double of whatwe paid previously. One nice lady had adifferent type of earrings made with embroidered fabric. Figured it was a small memento of our visittoday.

 

Taking a left turn out of the terminal, we walked throughParque Vargas with a jungle of tall palms and flowers. In the canopy were a female sloth and herlittle baby. Locals were pointing themout for the folks who were taking photos. Also, there were two owls perched up high on the branches. Would have sworn they were stuffed owls,until they moved slightly. There is agood view of the Caribbean Sea from here. Many locals were sitting on the concrete wall watching the surf comein. No beaches were in sight in thisarea. In fact, Barbara H, our port guideonce again, did not recommend swimming here.

 

If you stood long enough under these tall trees, you wouldbe rewarded with many various bird sightings. While everyone was looking for the larger animals, we spotted the largenative blackbirds, along with the most colorful of seed-eaters. Nervous little creatures, the most colorfulbirds seldom landed long enough to get a picture of them. But we did get a few.

 

Outside the park, some of the bird life included theseabirds such as pelicans, terns, and frigates. Some soared high with the hawks and vultures, while the pelicans skimmedthe water in the port. Terns were notnumerous, but they also hunted the waters around the boats and our ship.

 

Then we walked past Town Hall, downtown clothing and shoeshops, a few cafes, and the Park Hotel. This hotel was described as the best one in Limon. We did not go inside, so we can’t comment onthat statement. The Cathedral SagradoCorazon De Jesus was right up the street, now full of people. It is a fairly new Catholic church, replacingthe old one that was damaged, we think, during an earthquake. Only one tower remains from the old church,and it is not accessible to the public.

 

There is one central market that includes stalls withclothing, more shoes, produce market, and meat and chicken butcheries. Little cubbyholes with small cafes line the narrowwalkways. It was here that we purchased6 limes for $1. They do gladly take theUS dollars here, as well as credit cards. Local money is the Costa Rican colon and is 558 to the US$1. So when we saw a shoe sale for 5000 CRC, itsounded expensive, until you do the math, and realize it would be under $10.

 

As far as getting lunch today, the only place we saw thatwas probably OK was a Subway. The fewcafes that served beverages were full of passengers playing on the freeinternet. In fact, there was anair-conditioned room right out of the terminal where free wifi was availablefor the ship’s crew and passengers. Manypeople we knew did not have to go any further to do their internet chores.

 

We went back to the ship after exploring for threehours. Surprisingly, it was not as hotand sticky as we remember it. We didhear that it had been raining for six days straight. No wonder there was so much mud and deeppuddles in town. Working on photos for awhile, we went to the sail away after 3:30pm. Some tour groups were still arriving well after all aboard time, proofthat the ship will wait for their excursions. It was interesting watching the cargo ships off loading sand, thenloading bananas and coffee, the biggest of Costa Rica’s exports.

 

At 4:20pm, we stopped by the sandwich bar, and split onesandwich, and added a few slices of pizza. It was OK, but cannot compare to the fresh-made pizzas on the Eurodam. The sandwich station closed promptly at4:30pm, which kind of surprised us. Thoughtit was always 5pm.

 

All were present at dinner, and everyone had different talesof the day to share. That’s what is funabout having a large table. Sharingexperiences gives us all a better idea of what to see. Of course, there was not one tour we have notdone here, so we may have seen it all already.

 

The waiters were wearing Panama hats this evening, and wewere told that all of us were getting one in our rooms tonight. Sure enough, they were on the bed, a usefulitem for tomorrow’s day through the Panama Canal. There was also a note to put the clocksahead, so we would be on Panama time, the same as EST.

 

Bill & Mary Ann