Navigate the World with Bill & Mary Ann on the Zuiderdam's 128 Day 2023 Grand World Voyage

[Sea Birds]

Thank you for all your awesome posts.

 

On the Grand Africa 2022 they had a wonderful "Crew Talent Show".

Any of the crew could enter. 

[ON cruiser]

Bill & Mary Ann, your daily recounting of life on board your world cruise is, as always, a pleasure to read. Thanks once again for sharing the good, bad, and occasionally the ugly (eg.: the description of some who got food poisoning) that went on this year. 
 

From your descriptions, notwithstanding my wife and I being 5 star mariners, I doubt that we will ever return to HAL. The “nickel and dimeing” has reached new heights (lows?). So, if even President Club members note the cutbacks, it would be even worse for those at my level. The food also sounded overall disappointing from your descriptions. 

The Zuiderdam was never my favourite ship. The first of the Vista class, it always seemed “beta” or resembling a prototype. Every time I was on it there were serious mechanical problems—more than the norm. A better choice for the World cruise, in my humble opinion, would have been Zaandam.
 

So, the “64 thousand $ Question” is, will you return for a world cruise in ‘24, or do something else?

 

Safe journey home and again, thanks for your wonderful blog!

[felma531]

Bill and Mary Ann,

 

It's been great traveling with you. We noticed some " cutbacks" on our 40 days on the Oosterdam too. We were actually on 3 cruises back to back to back. There was not a crew show on any of the legs. We thought there might be one on the Transatlantic section but the closest we came was an Indonesian dinner in the Lido. The crew wore their batik shirts. 

We enjoy the evening shows and I really like the Lincoln Center Stage performances but all of this was repeated 3 times while we were onboard and the Lincoln Center programs were the same we heard in February when we were with y'all on the Nuiew Statendam. Our MDR menus were repeated also and we weren't surprised at that since we were doing 3 legs but overall it wasn't our favorite HAL experience. The staff was excellent as usual but we are taking a " break" from HAL for a while.

We wish you smooth sailing to Ft. Lauderdale and back home. 

We'll look forward to your next adventure! Thanks for taking us along!

Monty and Margaret 

 

 

 

[WCB]

Report # 129   Monday  May 8, 2023     Day #3 Of 6 Enroute To Fort Lauderdale, Florida    Mostly  Sunny With Some Clouds  Some Wind And Calmer Seas  65 Degrees And Warmer     Part #1 Of 1........0 Pictures

 

We actually woke up to mostly blue skies this morning.   The seas have calmed down quite a bit, which is so much better for packing.   Walking was pleasant on the promenade deck, which we managed to do twice today.  We could count the walkers each time on one hand, so we are certain people are beginning to pack.   Last night we got a notice regarding wheelchair service for disembarkation day.  A last- minute request for mobility service, unless it is due to a recent accident perhaps, cannot be accommodated.  Only guests who have been noted and confirmed to use utility devices throughout the Grand World Voyage will be honored. 

 

On our morning hike, we stopped briefly to look over the side, and discovered dolphins swimming under the ship.  They never did jump out of the water but stayed under the surface.  They are so fast, if we had looked a few seconds later, we would have missed them.   Then there were none.  Funny how we sensed they were even there.  The water is still too cold for flying fish, which was what we had hoped to see.

 

There are two speakers on board – one lecturing on how folklore can save the world.   His name is Dr. John Bodner.   The afternoon speaker dealt with libraries and librarians.  Her name is  Crystal Rose.   A movie was shown in the Rolling Stone Lounge called The Disappearance of Mrs. Wu.  We never did attend a show in there, so we missed out on the popcorn.  Darn.

 

There were a couple of casino poker events, but from what we have gathered, the casino has not been the busiest spot on the ship.  One thing we have not seen on this trip are art auctions.  There is an art cubbyhole, but it’s seldom manned. 

 

Two more Mariner Brunches took place in the lower dining room today – one at 11am, and the second at 1pm.  There was no regular lunch served in the dining room, so we could not order something different from room service for lunch.    It was soup and a shared club sandwich for us. 

 

Dinner time found all six of us present, sharing news of the day.  We think we were correct that there will not be a crew show, but there will be a passenger talent show tomorrow afternoon.  Dinner selections were better with appetizers of chicken tenders with a grainy mustard dip.  Every one of us ordered it, which has to be a first.  And it did not disappoint.   Mains were the Club Orange chicken, and one Chef Neil’s cheeseburger, one of the best of the cruise so far.  Oscar even brought a plate of piping hot French fries for Bill, knowing how much we prefer hot food.  It was a generous pile, so he shared.  Oscar saw this and brought another large plate full of fries.   Then his cheeseburger came with the basket of skinny fries.  So much for limiting the carbs…..  Desserts were jello and passionfruit sorbet, quite different from the other flavors, it takes some getting used to. 

 

We noticed that the sun was just going down on the horizon as we left the dinner table.  It was close to 9:30pm, indicating the reason we will need to set the clocks back one hour tonight.  Now we have two more hours back to be correct for Florida. 

 

During the afternoon, we compiled a list of changes we have noticed with the 2023 Grand World Voyage.   We will be posting the full list towards the end of this cruise. 

 

Looking at the ship’s location, it appears we are about even with Bermuda, but still far out at sea.  Currently, the ship is doing 21 knots, which is quite fast.  Could it be that we will be arriving earlier than expected in Florida, or will we be slowing down the closer we get?   Time will tell.  And so goes the third day at sea.

 

Bill & Mary Ann

 

 

[WCB]

We certainly appreciate the nice comments regarding the blog.   Nice to know it is being read.

 

We agree about the type of ship used for a world cruise.  The Zaandam would have been a better choice, but the money for HAL is tied to selling the verandas, which there are more of on the Zuiderdam.  Speaking of problems, our tablemates have had only scalding water in their suite for two days now.  We had the same problem last November while on the Tales of the South Pacific.

 

We are booked on the 2024 as well as the 2025 (not the pole to pole), but are still considering other options at this point.

 

Hi Monty and Margaret!  We sure have nice memories of the back-to-back cruises we did.  Things have sure changed since then.  Don't blame you for taking a break.

 

Bill & Mary Ann

[dchip]

Hi you two!

As you know we have been enjoying your blog every morning!  You will be pleased to know by the time you get home we will finally start having some springtime temps. It is still in the 40’s in the morning and not rising past 65 during the day. The sun peeks through occasionally. We have had rain twice this week. Can’t wait to see you both. 
Thanks for the morning reads,

Denise and Howie, too

[Cruising Is Bliss]

I've really enjoyed reading your posts, thank you for doing them! I never expected to do a grand voyage and you've always allowed me to fell like I was there.

Edited May 10, 2023 by Cruising Is Bliss

[WCB]

Report # 130   Tuesday  May 9, 2023     Day #4 Of 6 Enroute To Fort Lauderdale, Florida    Mostly  Sunny With Some Clouds  Some Wind And Calmer Seas  65 Degrees And Warmer     Part #1 Of 1........0 Pictures

 

The weather had improved quite a lot as the ship continues to head southwest towards Florida.  Doing at least 20 knots, it feels like a thundering herd of horses heading back to the stables.  We figured that as long as the movement on the ship was fairly stable, it was a good time to fill some suitcases.  We use a nifty hand-held scale that works rather accurately weighing the bags.  If the ship is moving up and down too much, the weight may fluctuate.  This morning it was working OK as the sea swells were not that bad.  And for those folks who do not have the hand-held device, there was a digital scale set up near the front desk.

 

We managed to complete six of our eight pieces of luggage, keeping them a bit underweight just in case.  Now we wondered how soon we could put them outside in the hall to be picked up.  And had the decision been made whether or not we would have to gather and drag the Luggage Forward bags through customs?   A quick phone call to the front desk folks answered those questions. 

 

We would be able to put the luggage outside by 8am tomorrow morning, with the final pieces out by 11pm Thursday evening.   And the greatest news of the day was that the shipped luggage would not have to be gathered and pulled through customs.  Now if we had any pieces of luggage we were bringing home with us on the airplane, we would have to go through customs with those.  We chose to go luggage-free and not haul anything on the plane except hand-carrys.   

 

Instead of flying home the day we disembark we had decided to stay one night in Ft. Lauderdale and fly out the next morning. Really alleviates the stress of getting off early to catch a flight.  That way we will not be in the middle of horrible traffic when we land in San Francisco.  We booked the hotel stay with transfers with HAL, so our disembark time will be 10:15am, among the last ones to get off.  The disembarkation package was promised to be delivered either this afternoon or tomorrow morning.  It was in our mail slot within an hour after calling. 

 

We took a nice long walk on the promenade deck around 5:15pm, mostly to see how the folks were dressed for the final formal evening in the dining room.  It appeared that the majority of guests followed the dress suggestion, while a few did not.   If HAL had not changed the description of formal to gala, then gala to dressy, and the usual country club casual, perhaps more people would stick to the suggested code for the various evenings.  We understand the trend is changing to almost 100% casual, but many folks like to dress up and we hope this tradition does not go by the wayside.  

 

Doesn’t take much to make us happy as we saw some flying fish this afternoon while on our walk.  We began seeing those chunks of green algae floating by, followed by some tiny flying fish.  Patiently we watched for more, and they did get larger…. evidence that the water is warming up the closer we get to Florida.  Hoping for dolphin sightings would have been the frosting on the cake.  Did not see any of those……at least not yet.

 

A couple of interesting events occurred today with a Q&A session with Captain Frank.  Greg attended and said the questions were very good, and his answers on some subjects were acceptable.  A very sensitive question was asked regarding the situation we were in while stopping in Senegal in West Africa.  As you may recall, none of us were allowed off of the ship that day.   Apparently there was some confrontation with the locals and the Captain, who refused to deal with them.  That is probably one reason the containers meant for us were not released.  Not all of it was food, but supplies and furniture etc.  Non-perishables.  The Captain suggested that other HAL ships were due to stop there, and they may be able to take possession of some of the items.  That is, if they are still there and not pilfered.  That area was not our favorite part of the world cruise for sure.

 

The other event was the Guest Talent Show.  Hoping it would be televised at 2pm, we could not find it on the room TV.  Since we were in the middle of packing, we did not want to quit to go to the show lounge.  We did hear that there were a few good singers among the passengers.

 

And as we have already said, it was formal for dinner tonight – the final one.  This afternoon, two Delft plates for the 150^th year of Celebrating Holland America Line were left on our bed.  Printed on them were the words, 2023 Grand World Voyage.  Unfortunately, there was no itinerary printed on the plates this time.  Since there had been so many changes with ports deleted and some added, they never would have gotten them correct.   Funny story…..one year not too long ago, the plate-makers in the Netherlands got the wrong year and itinerary completely.  That summer, they mailed us corrected plates.  Guess the incorrect ones may become a collector item someday. 

 

Our table was hosted by our friend Rene, the spa manager, but we were missing Woody.  Apparently, he had miscalculated the time, and was so late, he must have decided not to come.  Our waiter Nik tried calling him but got no answer.  Barb got worried that something was wrong and went right to his room.  Oscar, our head waiter followed.   Afraid that Woody may have had an accident,  Oscar got the room steward to open the door.  He was OK, but definitely not dressed for dinner.  As it turned out, he must have decided it was too late to join us, and never did come.  Oscar said he would see to it that he had room service for his dinner.  You’ll never find crew members like we have here, and all of us appreciate it.

 

So the starters were fishy, like bay shrimp cocktails, fish chowder, and a mixed croquette.  The usual formal entrees included surf and turf and a type of shrimp ball with Dover sole.  Expecting the Dover sole that needed to be de-boned, this dish was far from that.  It looked like two eyeballs on the plate with sides of veggies.  The sole had been wrapped around a shrimp ball.  Creative and tasty we suppose, it did give us all a chuckle.  One of us had the” formal” cheeseburger and savored every bite along with the hot French fries. Fancy desserts were available, but we had one jello and a frozen chocolate yogurt.  Pavlova and a fruit plate for the rest ended the meal nicely. 

 

There were two choices of entertainment after dinner., as well as the venues in the Music Walk.  One was a Grand Masquerade party in the Crow’s Nest at 9pm, while the other was a performance by the singers and dancers with Simply Broadway.  We would wager a bet that the show in the World Stage might have drawn the bigger crowd. 

 

As expected, the clocks went back one more hour tonight.  Now we have one more to go to be on Florida time or Eastern Standard Time.   And waiting for us on the bed was a letter from Gus Antorcha, President of HAL saying that he was grateful for the fact we chose to sail with them.  He thanked everyone that provided feedback, including praise and critique while he was on the ship recently.  He added that they are already working on ways for the next Grand Voyages to be even more special. And he said that they will be finalizing changes for the future cruises based on our feedback.   He added that he was proud of the genuine connection the guests had with the crew and officers.  We strongly agree.

 

This was good news to read, since it does make a difference speaking up and questioning changes.  If not, nothing would ever have a chance of improving.  Some may consider this whining; however, we see the comments (good, bad, and ugly) as constructive criticism.  A large group of our friends that have up to 20 Grand World Voyages under their belts like us, are on the same page as we are.  We will not be seeing everything through rose-colored glasses or accept these cutbacks and deletions quietly.

 

Two more sea days left now, and we hope the Atlantic Ocean will be smoother as the swells and winds did pick up later in the day.  

 

Bill & Mary Ann

 

 

 

[oakridger]

Mary Ann, you will arrive home to a hot day on Saturday after a long, cold and rainy (!!!) winter.  I'm sure your family has kept you informed what has been going on here at home.  

 

I have read every single blog and thank you so much for the entertaining and informative posts. It's a heck of a lot of work and I appreciate you doing it!  

 

Welcome back home this weekend and I'll be watching for your next trip.  

 

~Nancy

[WCB]

Report  #131      Wednesday  May 10, 2023    Day #5 Of 6 Enroute To Fort Lauderdale, Florida   Sunny  And Warmer 70+ Degrees   Calm Seas And Little Wind   Part #1 Of 1........0 Pictures

 

We enjoyed another special breakfast with friends this morning, realizing our days are numbered now.  One of the best decisions made by re-locating our group to this area was brilliant.  Waiters Andri and Danu along with Sugi have been the best ever.  Hope we are lucky enough to have them back on future cruises. 

 

Another positive thing was being able to put our luggage outside in the hallway after 8am this morning.  We asked our room steward who was hauling the bags to the elevator lobby, and he said they were.  We saw the hand trucks filled with luggage as we left the elevator, but they were gone quickly afterwards.  Last night at dinner, Rene told us that deck A was going to be filled  from end to end with the luggage baskets that will be taken off with forklifts in Ft. Lauderdale.  And now that we have all day tomorrow until 11pm to put out the last bag, there should be no parade of suitcases being hauled down the hallway during the late evening.   Our drawers and closets are about empty now as we saved only what we needed for a few days. 

 

The weather has warmed up a bit and the sun was mostly out today.   There were scattered clouds on the horizon, but the seas had flattened out.  No more “white horses” or deep swells like we have been experiencing the last four days.  Always good for walking, we did just that with a few elderly gentlemen whose wives must have kicked them out of their room so they can pack, we assume.   After being here for over four months, you come to know the usual walkers, and these fellows were not among the ones we know.    We did spot some more flying fish, but no birds yet.  Guess we are not close to any land.  

 

The Crew Talent Show in the World Stage at 2pm was packed to the gills.  The overflow went to the Rolling Stone Lounge to watch the show on the TV.  There were some pretty talented crew members having a fine time on the stage.  We expect they get a lot of practice in the crew quarters especially with the karaoke equipment. 

 

While dropping off some library books, we ran into Christel and had a long conversation regarding the cruise and the direction it took due to cutbacks.  The bottom line was that with over 500 passengers sailing with their future cruise credit from the 2020 GWV cancellation, it was impossible for this cruise to make any profit.  We suspected that from the beginning.  She has truly enjoyed her stay on the ship ever since she boarded in Freemantle, Australia.  It was so much different than being the Guest Relations Manager, and she admitted it was so nice to be free to come and go, especially in the ports.  On the day we crossed paths while in Eidfjord,  Christel had hiked the same trail we did, and was on her second trip.  As it turned out, she did it three times….making that 15 kilometers.  And she did admit to sleeping quite well that evening.

 

Dinner for us was in the Pinnacle Grill seated at a nice table for two at the window.  It was surprising to see how many people were dining in there, but we did notice that many were President’s Club members and were probably using up their freebies.  Even though they had run out of the buttermilk dressing for the wedge salads, we had their substitute ranch along with some balsamic vinaigrette.   It didn’t look pretty, but it was tasty.  We ordered one filet mignon and one ribeye steak.  Both were delicious……tender and tasty.  We saved a little room for desserts of sorbet and a chocolate souffle.  By then, most of the restaurant had emptied out.  Unknown to us, friends Mike and Pauline must have been sitting on the other side, and stopped  to say goodbye, just in case we do not see them tomorrow.  Since they live in Florida, they will be driving home.  We gave them a hug and said our goodbyes, promising to talk on the phone during the summertime.  They will be doing the New England and Iceland cruise, then will be back on the 2024 Grand World Voyage….good news.

 

There was a performance tonight by Lisa Harman playing the piano and belting out some songs.  Then there was the music walk with farewell songs, rock classics, and Beethoven Spring Sonata.  Never a lack of things to see and do.

 

Heo had mentioned there was a new movie being shown on TV called Wild Mountain Thyme, so we might just watch it.

 

One more day at sea, and we will be in Florida.

 

Bill & Mary Ann  

 

[tonto524]

Thank you yet again for your detailed, informative and fun posts. Please know that the work it takes for you to do this day after day is much appreciated!!! 
Cheers,

Linda

 

Edited May 11, 2023 by tonto524

[Oahucruiser]

Thank you for all the time that you put into such detailed, informative and fun posts. I've been a fan for years and look forward to your next adventure.  As a passenger on many Cunard Line world cruises I really enjoy reading about the excellent voyages of Holland America and your personal thoughts about your world cruises.  Aloha from Hawaii

[WCB]

Many thanks for the nice comments regarding the blog and photos for this 2023 Grand World Voyage.  It was different in many ways....some good, some not so good, but we are most happy to be able to have done it once again.  

 

You are correct about the time involved in doing a blog, but it is something we have enjoyed documenting for many years now.  It did take a total of four hours or more of each day to accomplish.

 

Thanks for joining along with us!

 

Bill & Mary Ann

[Florida_gal_50]

I’ve read every post and enjoyed it very much.

Edited May 11, 2023 by Florida_gal_50

[seagarsmoker]

Thank you for the detailed daily journal of another world cruise.  I enjoyed reading your updates and detailed stories.  

[Mr. Boston]

Thanks @WCB for taking us along on your journey around the world.  I’ve really enjoyed following you along especially on those dark, cold, winter nights.  I appreciate all of the time and effort that you put into this thread.  Safe travels back home and welcome back!

[albi]

As always, we enjoyed reading about your great adventure.  Thank you for sharing your time and experiences with all of us.

[WCB]

Report  #132     Thursday  May 11, 2023    Day #6 Of 6 Enroute To Fort Lauderdale, Florida   Sunny  And Warmer 70+ Degrees   Calm Seas And Little Wind   Part #1 Of 1........0 Pictures

 

Well, here we are on the last day of the cruise, writing the last report of the voyage.  It seems that no matter when the time change occurs, we are still up with the chickens.  Today we woke up to balmy weather…..mostly blue skies with white fluffy clouds on the horizon and really humid.  Sure feels like Florida.

 

Breakfast saw deck three in the dining room about full of our Breakfast Club.  We are going to miss this the most.  We will have one more breakfast in here, but at 6:30am.  One more day of being spoiled. 

 

Back at our room, we had the last set of itinerary stickers for the Journeys booklet.  Adding up the five major segments, we came up with a total of 33,798.1 nautical miles sailed.  However, converting that to statute miles, the number rose to 38,867.82 miles.  We think that is way more than just circling the globe, since we did a lot of south to north traveling this time as well.   What a journey.

 

The morning highlight was the Grand Crew Farewell.  Ian announced that the World Stage would be opened at 9am with showtime to begin at 10am.  Once again, the Rolling Stone Lounge was open for live-streaming of the event.  We could not locate the show on the room TV, although it was shown later in the afternoon. It was quite similar to the crew farewell we attended for the Tales of the South Pacific last fall, except there were more ports obviously.   As each port was flashed on the big screen, there was some applause.  However, we did hear some boo’s when they showed both The Gambia and Senegal.  Also Mozambique gathered some negative vibes.   Guess the folks were not thrilled with these stops.  Actually, Dakar, Senegal never happened because we were kept on the ship.  The show ended with the crew and staff coming on the stage, and the crowd clapped for what seemed like forever.  They are the best crew on the high seas in our opinion. 

 

Final activities took place during the day like jackpot bingo, poker tournaments, team trivia, arts and crafts, coloring classes, and most exercise sessions.  We have never noticed if there was a yoga class on this cruise, by the way.  If you haven’t learned to dance with the Zuiderdam dancers, then you had your last chance today.  A final movie was shown in the Rolling Stone Lounge called Seriously Red.  It looks like these movies will be included in the movies on demand on the room TV from now on. 

 

We finished the last of the packing, which was only one bag.  It might have weighed a tad over 50 pounds, but it is what it is.  We will lock it up and put it out in the hall after dinner.  In anticipation of a lot of luggage movement, three of the elevators were shut down in the aft area.  Did us good to go down three flights to the upper dining room.

 

Dinnertime was bitter-sweet, of course, with the good-byes.  But first, the menu was a little strange as it was titled “Chef’s Surprise”.  The surprise was, according to Barb, was there was nothing to eat.  We chose the Dutch pea soup and one appetizer that had real potato salad.  It came with herring, so that was donated to Greg, who loves herring.  For main entrees there were lobster and crab pie, haggis, venison, and a vegetarian stuffed cabbage roll, as well as the usual everyday items.  We both had the meatloaf and it was very good.  Oscar was sweet enough to bring a plate of piping hot French fries for all of us to snack on.  Barb had the lemon shrimp fettucine but ate mostly the shrimp like she always does.  No wonder she manages to stay slim, even though she did enjoy the little carrot cupcake.  It was frozen chocolate yogurt for us. 

 

Usually when it comes to the end of this final dinner, Barb becomes “rocket dog”, as she was aptly named by retired purser and friend Peter.  She hates to say good-bye.  Anyway, people began to stop by asking if we were on next year, and they would see us then.  One by one, more friends came and we all had a group hug and that was that.  So long until the next voyage.

 

There was no entertainment in the World Stage, but the music walk would keep folks happy.  We rather doubt that many will stay up late, because tomorrow will be a busy day beginning early.  We heard there were only 20 guests staying on for the next voyage which goes to Europe.  Everyone else will be newbies.

 

And for the last time, we had one hour back on the clocks, eventually giving us back the day we lost while crossing the International Dateline months ago. 

 

We will be up early as we usually are but will not be debarking until after 10am we are told.  Fine and dandy with us.

 

Thanking you for tagging along with us on another Grand World Voyage!  Stay tuned…we will be back for the final report and a follow-up.

 

Bill & Mary Ann

 

 

 

[BetsyS.]

Bill and Mary Ann - Thanks so much for all your detailed reports. I have really enjoyed following you along. Thank you for taking the time to share your adventure with everyone. Safe travels home. 😊

[Love the beach]

Thank you for taking us along...safe travels home.

[felma531]

Thanks for your daily posts. You always make every port exciting! We can't believe you are at the end of this voyage. We agree with you that HAL has the best crew members! Glad they squeezed in a talent show! 

Safe travels home! M and M

[wynkys]

Bill and MaryAnn,

Thank you again for another entertaining and informative report.

Stay healthy,

Wayne (Downunder)

 

[Stratheden]

Thank you for your reports. It is very kind of you to take us along with you. I have enjoyed the ride.

[WCB]

Report #133    Friday  May 12, 2023   Fort Lauderdale, Florida  Disembarkation Day Port Side To Pier 26    Mostly Sunny And Warm 85 Degrees High Humidity With Some Wind  Part #1 Of 1.......83 Pictures

 

The Zuiderdam slipped into Port Everglades quite early this morning, turned, then docked port side at Pier 26, where the Amsterdam usually docked.   It seemed like we just left here, but that was 128 days ago.  Time sure has a way of flying on by, doesn’t it?  Despite it still being dark outside, it felt like it was going to be a nice day.  At least it wasn’t raining as had been predicted. 

 

Of course we had been up early, even though we had a later departure time.  Around 6am, we went outside on the veranda to see what was happening down below, and were surprised to see an ambulance, lights flashing, and a fire truck at the lower gangway.  The EMT’s had a stretcher ready at the bottom of the stairs, and three more fellows were helping a man down those stairs.  He was loaded quickly, then his companion or wife climbed in the front seat of the ambulance and away they went to the hospital we assume.  Asking friends later, no one seemed to know about this pick up, so it may have been something recent that occurred.  There was a lot more activity happening, but we would watch that later. 

 

We did not want to miss our last breakfast in our special spot, but what made it even better was seeing Barb come into the room to join us.  Last night, we had suggested she meet us, but getting up early is not in her routine.   It was a good time for her to enjoy doubles on the fresh-squeezed orange juice.  Her luggage tag number had been called a half hour later, so she rocket-dogged out of the dining room, but not before Danu and Andri could give her a proper hug.  She really does not like sad goodbyes, so we all said we would see her later, God-willing, and the creek don’t rise. It’s something we say every night when we head back to our rooms.  You would think we all live in Little House on the Prairie, and so far, the creek has not risen…..

 

The best place for us to wait our turn to go off, was in our room and the veranda.  It was a zoo down on the dock with all of the luggage being taken off with forklifts.  The majority of it was being loaded into trucks with the Luggage Forward tags on them.  It was great knowing that these suitcases did not need to be claimed and hauled through customs.  Bet the porters did not like that.  For those guests who did not get the free shipping or chose to take their stuff on the plane or by car, they did have to claim their bags. 

 

Along with the luggage, there were big deliveries of food and supplies for the trans-Atlantic sailing.  It looked about the same amount of products that we loaded back in January, indicating the ship is probably full. 

 

So with our hand carry bags over-loaded, we went off the ship when our tags were called.  That was about 10am, fifteen minutes ahead of schedule.   A double line of officers said goodbye to us, including the Captain, Henk, and Maja among others.  Although we did see a lot of Maja, we did not run into Henk that often.  He had his hands full with this cruise and that is an understatement.  Maybe that was why he had a look of relief on his face.  Christel had told us that he will be flying to Montreal for a big HAL pow-wow today, coming back in Europe for a short time, then it would be vacation time. 

 

Most of the luggage in the terminal had been picked up already, since we were the last group to be called.  We went directly to the Customs’ desk with virtually no line.  The friendly official greeted us and asked for the passports, which he scanned.  Then he took a facial recognition photo with a very small camera mounted above his window.  Easy-peasy, we were free to go.

 

Once outside the HAL reps guided us to an area to wait for our bus ride to the hotel.  There were only seven of us going to the Renaissance West, and the bus left at 10:25am.  Just as we were backing out, we spotted some people we knew that had to leave the ship in Mauritius for a family emergency.  We are guessing they were here to collect more of their luggage since they live close by.  We also saw some folks we know getting ready to board the ship for the trans-Atlantic voyage and beyond. 

 

We arrived to the hotel by 10:40am, but found it was too early to access our room.  By the way, the lobby was filled with new passengers on their way to the Zuiderdam.   Once their entire group was present, the rooms would be ready.  We had been told it might be shortly after 11am to get our room, but it really was closer to noontime before they became available.  It was worth the wait, since we were given a nice remodeled room on the 9^th floor with a great view.  Unloading what little we had brought with us, we were off for a much- needed walk, which led to our lunch destination.  It felt like a long haul to Chili’s on University Avenue, but we think that was due to the 80 degree weather and high humidity.  We are not used to that yet.  We ordered salads which were refreshing, also downed two large Coke Zeros with lemon. 

 

We headed back to the hotel taking some photos of course along the way.   Back at the hotel we caught up on emailing and downloading computer stuff, also relaxing while watching some TV.  Knowing we have to be up before the chickens tomorrow, we decided to walk to Bokampers for a light dinner at 6pm and turn in early.  We will need to meet our driver in the lobby at 4:15am for the transfer to the Ft. Lauderdale airport, which is fairly close by.  On a Saturday morning , there should be little traffic. 

 

So sweet dreams……

 

Bill & Mary Ann

 

 

[TheGuys16]

Thank you for taking us along on your trip!  I really enjoyed your posts - so detailed and thorough!  Looking forward to tagging along on your next adventure!