John and Diane's Amazing Round the World Aventure

[Johnny B]

April 17 – Day 104 (only 10 days to go)

 

With all the bouganvilla, plumeria, and orchids, we thought we were in Hawaii, but it was Madeira. From the ocean in the morning we could see cream-colored buildings with red tile roofs and beautiful mountains behind. It looked like Santa Barbara. What a beautiful little bit of tropical paradise in the Atlantic. Madeira is an autonomous colony of Portugal and, like Lisbon, its sidewalks are cobbled, with black and white patterns designed into them.

 

We took a CSI tour, and saw some beautiful views, one from what the guide said was the highest sea cliff in Europe and the second highest in the world (South Africa –we asked). Then we drove up a steep, narrow road into the center of the island to an area called “Nuns’ Valley.” It is said that one time when pirates were attacking, the nuns fled the convent and hiked into this almost inaccessible valley to protect themselves. Now it looks very much like a little Swiss valley, and the story is that a century or so ago, there were people who lived and died in this valley, and because of its inaccessibility, they never even saw the sea. Amazing.

 

The road getting up there was really frightening. One time the guide called our attention to something down the cliff, and when everyone got up to go to the other side of the bus, I just knew that the bus would tumble down the cliff and our names were going to be in the local paper, under a headline saying, “Local couple killed in yet another tourist bus crash.” We did make it up successfully, however, and the view from the top was (I think) well worth it.

 

After the sightseeing, our tour group went to have lunch at Reid’s Palace, part of the Ritz Hotel. It’s a wonderful restaurant, which sits on a cliff over the ocean, with a dining room open to the wicker-furnished terrace and the Atlantic. The lunch of grilled tuna was accompanied by seemingly endless glasses of dry white wine, and some of us finally had to tell the waiter “no more, please.” Some, however, just kept on drinking.

 

After lunch, the tour continued back into town for some Madeira tasting, but we demurred and just got off the bus to see something of downtown. We walked and walked, seeing a political demonstration, a few stores (but didn’t spend any money), and some lovely parks with trees in bloom. This is another place we’d like to return. It looked to me like the perfect little island, and I guess the British, French and German tourists there agreed.

 

Now we’ve begun our five days at sea, ending in Bermuda on April 22. Today we met with the HAL reps in charge of shipping our bags home, so one more “winding down” task taken care of. Now we just have to write a list for customs of everything we bought – oh no! Certainly that can wait until the sea days between New York and Ft. Lauderdale. Right now, I think it’s time for a nap.

 

P. S. Our trivia team won today – hooray!

[MLAinVA]

Gosh, I'm going to miss you guys and your wonderful writings!

Mary Lou

[fireman845]

Congratulations to your trivia team!!!!

[Johnny B]

April 19th—Day 106

 

We have spent the last two and a half days at sea and are almost exactly between Madeira and Bermuda. As I am the seafarer in the family, Diane has “suggested” that I write this entry-so here goes.

 

Although all sea days are fabulous, the ones with calm seas and blue skies with only a gentle breeze can’t be beat. Our first two days from Madeira were rather rough and windy and not at all conducive to sun worshipping, but today is fantastic. The deck chairs have not been so filled since the South Pacific, and we’re hoping this continues, but the North Atlantic is subject to change at any moment so we will just take it as it comes. The only rather upsetting event that marred this beautiful day was witnessing a dead whale float by the ship. I don’t know the cause, but whales are often hit by large vessels as they traverse the seas.

 

Even as we approach the last week of the cruise, many activities and entertainments are held to keep us from getting depressed. Yesterday there was a Grand Buffet (with a pirate theme) in the dining room with a photo session available before the actually food fest began. We opted to eat on the Lido Deck to avoid the hoards (and protect the waistline), but it was actually quite colorful to behold. Our next to last formal night was also yesterday and the entertainment of the evening was the Osmond Brothers. Neither of us has ever been a great fan, but we still enjoyed the show, and anybody who can still be performing after 50 years deserves credit. The entertainment throughout the 100+ days has been quite varied: Regis Philbin, opera singers, comedians, magicians, dancers, harpists, flautists, violinists, etc. etc. etc. Some fellow passengers never miss a show while others never attend any. We have gone to several, but the best shows so far, in my opinion only, have been the Filipino show, the Indonesian show, and the International Crew show which brought back talent from the previously mentioned shows but consisted primarily of song and dance presented by the Cruise Staff. The seven young staff members (who work like crazy on the ship) obviously enjoyed what they were doing and the audience left with smiles on their faces. I should also mention that crew and staff shows fill up the theatre much more than the “professional” entertainers do.

 

Some of you have wondered how we’re handling the winding down and if we have started the packing process, etc. Several of our fellow passengers are half packed already, but, with the exception of organizing some gifts, we have not really started yet. We’ll probably wait until after Bermuda. The emotions about ending the cruise are another matter, however. We haven’t even left the ship, but one of the most frequently discussed topics on board is “Who is coming back next year?” You’d be surprised how many people are already booked for next year—and the following year! Although we actually made a deposit (refundable) for next year’s cruise, we’re going to digest this one before we make a final decision. A segment may be more likely, but that has not been decided either! Maybe we’ll just stay home and enjoy the beautiful central coast of California.

[PhoenixCruiser]

Only 8 more days :( Wow that time really flew by. Thanks again for sharing your round the world cruise with us.

 

###

[Johnny B]

April 20 – Day 107

 

As John said yesterday, the seas change rapidly. Yesterday, I could hardly believe it. We have never sailed across the Atlantic before, but I always pictured it as grey and forbidding, with rough seas and people sitting on the Promenade Deck wrapped in blankets. Yesterday however, as he reported, was like sailing across a lake, with flat blue seas and sunny skies. Today, however, is as expected: grey skies, occasional rain, rougher seas (although still not very bad) and people in deck chairs swathed in blankets. It’s a good day to sit inside, read, and just watch the sea, instead of being out there experiencing it.

 

As we walk down hallways, we are beginning to see suitcases outside of staterooms. We’ve been told that we can order our luggage from “deep storage,” pack it, and then have it taken back downstairs. However, since I always believe that the best way to face negative things is to firmly avoid them, I don’t even want to so much as see a suitcase until we sail from New York. After all, how long can it take to empty drawers and closets into open suitcases. It’s not like the original packing, when every piece had to be evaluated for “will it be a good thing to take along?” Now, it’s just the matter of getting it all stowed away for delivery home.

 

One of the many good things about a balcony stateroom is the unlimited luggage pickup and delivery we are offered. The shipping company picked up eight suitcases on December 8, and we found them in our stateroom on January 4. Now, we just have to get everything back in the suitcases and they’ll take 5 or 6 business days to ship them back to our house. Outside staterooms have100 pounds of free luggage shipping, but I don’t know how you travel for four months with only 100 pounds of luggage. The people from Florida (and there are lots of them) don’t have to worry about it, though.

 

After trivia today (no, we didn’t win), we walked past the illuminated route map, and saw that there’s very little red left: only part of the Atlantic and then New York to Florida. Yes, I know that we already knew this, but to see it so graphically is getting pretty darned depressing.

 

Tonight is our travel agent’s (CSI) fourth cocktail party, and those people do throw a good party – the beverages flow freely and the hors d’oeuvres are hot and delicious. Tom Baumann, the CEO of the agency boarded in Madeira and will be on until Bermuda, and he’s been inviting clients to lunches and dinners to get input on the agency’s performance as well as HAL’s performance. Since CSI has a fourth of all the passengers on board, HAL really does listen to them. Tom will no doubt be “working the room” tonight, getting as much input as possible.

 

One more sea day and then Bermuda, another place we’ve never been. We found out that rental cars are not allowed, and that car ownership is, in general, frowned upon. I’m trying to talk John into renting bikes for the day, but that will depend on the weather. We’re both looking forward to the port, however, since we both love to go anywhere we've never been. I guess that's the main reason we've loved this cruise.

[scottydawg]

John and Diane, if you don't mind could you tell all your table mates that Jessica and Scott from the Holiday Cruise this last say hello and that we are engaged! I know the Levy's were very interested in when I was going to do this so tell them it was on a beach last week in Santa Barbara.

 

We really miss the whole group at that table.

[Rob & Beckys mom]

Thanks for all the great reading! Feel like I am with you, I wish. Please can you tell me what CSI stands for?

 

Jan

[peug]

I have been following you since the beginning and I will miss your accounts. I have followed several world cruise blogs and yours has been the best so far. The wonderful accounts of the ports made me feel as if I had been there too. Just once question. Does Holland America leave you "pillow gifts" on the world cruise. If so could you tell us when you have received?

 

Thanks for a wonderful blog.

[Host Walt]

Thanks for all the great reading! Feel like I am with you, I wish. Please can you tell me what CSI stands for?

 

Jan

Crime Scene Investigation.

 

(Just kidding. It's the initials of his travel agent. Full identification is not permitted under our guidelines.)

[candbgirl]

I have been reading this blog and a few others too. There is one that is written by people that were on last years RWC and they are on segments of this years cruise. They describe the gifts that HAL leaves in the staterooms. They all sounds very lovely. They did last year too.

 

Thanks again for taking us along. I'll be sad when the cruise is over. I can't imagine how you 2 will feel.

[Rob & Beckys mom]

Crime Scene Investigation.

 

(Just kidding. It's the initials of his travel agent. Full identification is not permitted under our guidelines.)

 

 

Ha Ha! Ok Thanks.

 

Jan

[Ms. Fun Bunch]

John and Diane,

 

I have enjoyed reading your "Amazing Round the World Adventure"!!! I felt that I was along with you!!! Great writing!!! I will miss it!!! :(

[GilZ]

Hi John & Diane:

 

Since we met on a cruise, it's been a true pleasure to travel along with you during your wonderfully written worldly journey.

 

Ellen and I also love New Zealand, have been on the Trans-Alpine Express from Christchurch, enjoyed the company of Aussies and Kiwis Down Under, and have relished your trip from afar.

 

Ironically, Ellen is on a cruise right now to Vancouver/Victoria, escorting a group of 60 Pedro card players.

 

I know how you feel about trivia. We play once in a while in a local restaurant and get upset when our teammates don't take it as seriously as we do.

 

Can't wait to see your photos. Let us know if you're flying back through SFO or LAX.

 

Cheers!

Gil, Ellen & Sara

[Johnny B]

April 22 – Day 109

Bermuda

 

What a gorgeous place is Bermuda! It is pastel colored buildings, clean streets, no air pollution, turquoise water and pink (yes, pink) beaches. We weren’t here for very long, but we loved every minute of it.

 

One thing I’ve learned on this extended cruise is that the best way to approach any port is by sea. We’ve traveled extensively in Europe and Hawaii, but there is absolutely no comparison between arriving by air and by sea. Somehow it seems softer and gentler to sail in, watching the port approach slowly before you, preferably while the sun rises. This morning was no different. The sea was blue and turquoise and there were bits of rock sticking up very near to the sea lane – very unusual. As we approached near enough to see land, buildings of all sorts, in every pastel shade, appeared before us. This was an anchor port, so we just sat out in the middle of this beautiful sea and waited until the 750-

passenger ferry came to transport us into Hamilton, the capital.

 

We disembarked the ferry on Front Street and spent a couple of hours just wandering, picking up things here and there, and then going onto back streets to see the Parliament Building, the Sessions (Supreme Court) building, and the Anglican Cathedral, built with double rows of marble pillars to ensure that it didn’t fall victim to hurricanes. It has now stood for more than 100 years, so I guess the double rows were a good idea.

 

Lunch was at Flanigans, an Irish pub with a balcony overlooking Front Street. The food was good and the beer was too, but oh, my, this is an expensive place to vacation. A pint of beer was $7.00, and sandwiches were about $15.00. I guess that’s what Visa is for.

 

The last ferry back to the ship was (supposedly) at 2:45, so we got ourselves lined up at about 2:20, figuring that it would arrive about 2:30 and leave at the scheduled time – WRONG! By the time the ferry arrived at 3:10, the line went waaaay down the street, and we wondered if everyone would fit – they did. Sailaway party with free Champagne began at 3:30, and by the time we got there shortly after 4:00, we couldn’t manage to find glasses or champagne, so we just had some of our own white wine. It is amazing what a little free alcohol does to people. They were pushing and shoving and one man even went behind the barrier and took a whole bottle of Champagne – until the bar steward told him in no uncertain terms that this was a “no-no.” It doesn’t speak well for people who really can afford their own Champagne to act like that.

 

Right now we’re sailing by the rest of the island, and it is just as beautiful as everything else we’ve seen. The Bermudians are extremely strict about building codes, cleanliness and car ownership (only one per family and NO rental cars), and their island certainly shows it. We really do want to come back here for at least a week and stay at a beach resort to just relax.

 

Now I have to tell you about last night. It was just THE BEST! It was Black and Gold Night, with a ball after dinner at 10:30 (at home I’d be sound asleep!) The Queen’s Lounge was decorated beautifully, and there was a huge net full of black and gold balloons suspended near the ceiling. During the dancing, Bruce, the Cruise Director, announced that there were prizes attached to some of the balloons, so that got our interest. When he told us that the balloons would be released after the next song, we stayed on the dance floor directly under the net. He then said that 12 balloons had tags attached to them which were good for prizes.

 

When they were released, I had my eye on one visible tag, but someone put an elbow in my solar plexus before she grabbed that one. However, John, my hero, yelled, “I’ve got one!” When I looked at the tag, I saw the number 2 on it and thought, “Oh darn, someone with number 1 is going to get a really good prize. We were pulled up on stage and put in numerical order, 1 through 12. Then Bruce gave people 3-12 envelopes with $50 cruise credits in them and had Mr. #1 and John and I go to the front of the stage. He gave each of us boxes and told us that they contained 18-karat solid gold globes, mine as a necklace and the other gentleman’s as a pair of cufflinks. My mouth fell open, since I never win anything. I’ve looked at these necklaces, and some of my friends have them, but I’d never spend that much money on a piece of jewelry – and NOW I OWN ONE! It is just soooo exciting to win something like that when it is least expected. What I did expect was a bottle of Champagne. John is really my hero now – and I’ll have to think of some way to thank him. Maybe I’ll even have to admit that the beach in Bora Bora wasn’t that bad after all.

 

So, as we sail away from Bermuda, headed for New York on the 24th, life is even better than usual – even though we only have a few days left. Tomorrow is one of those wonderful sea days, and several of us are having a “girls’ luncheon” in The Pinnacle. I’ll let you know about it tomorrow – and I really will write about the pillow gifts then.

[RuthC]

He gave each of us boxes and told us that they contained 18-karat solid gold globes, mine as a necklace and the other gentleman’s as a pair of cufflinks. My mouth fell open, since I never win anything. I’ve looked at these necklaces, and some of my friends have them, but I’d never spend that much money on a piece of jewelry – and NOW I OWN ONE!

Wow! I'm so happy for you! Congratulations. :)

I got it in my mind that I'd like one of the globes, and finally priced one out. :eek: When I found out the cost, I said "Thank you for your trouble" and left. No little Shops on Board bag to bring to the cabin. :(

Enjoy your necklace and all the memories attached to it.

[btobey]

Diane, congrats on your prize; it sounds lovely!

[GranysT]

Diane, congrats on winning your necklace. Enjoy it. I won an amber one once, on an RCL ship.

 

I've been to Bermuda twice. The 1st time we flew over, and stayed for 4 days. The 2nd time we cruised. Way too short a visit. I agree with you, Bermuda is beautiful, and one of my favorite places. I also noticed how incredibly clean it was. I never saw so much as a gum wrapper tossed down.

Of course it's such a small island, that if they started to throw trash around, they would soon bury themselves. So they simply don't do it. American's take note. The people are also some of the friendliest, I've ever met.

 

They also have almost no crime there. I was told that if you're caught with a gun, it's an automatic 5 yrs in jail. No questions asked, and no excuses, you go streight to jail. If only America could be more like that.

 

I'm very sorry that your cruise is nearly over. I have enjoyed it no end.

[Flyingfish]

I've been following your wonderful adventure from day one. Just had to mention my DH and I adore Bermuda. Living in NY we often get away to Bermuda just for the peace and quiet, not to mention the beauty. And, congrats on the wonderful "prizes." I have loved traveling with you both.

[innlady1]

John and Diane, I've also been enjoying your cruise! Congratulations on winning the necklace...that is awesome!

Bermuda is one of our favorite places. We've been there several times but only once on a cruise...and that was during College Week in the 60's :eek:

[candbgirl]

Congrats on the prize necklace. That is so nice. I am sorry this wonderful trip is coming to an end. Thank you again for taking us along with you. It has been such fun.

[SDHALFAN]

Diane and John, I also have to add my thanks to you for taking me along on your wonderful adventures. Diane: I am so happy that (with John's help) you won that beautiful gold globe necklace. I can't think of anyone who deserves it more since you were so generous to share your time and adventures with all of us.

 

Enjoy the last few hours of your cruise. All of us are almost as sad as you are that the cruise is just about over - but, hey: there's always next year;) .

 

Valerie:)

[cruz chic]

I can't believe your trip is almost over! I've enjoyed seeing the world through your eyes. It's my dream to do a world cruise one day but in case I don't win that lotto at least I get to see it through folks that are so generous to share it with us. Thanks again!

[localady]

I realize that sharing this Around the World adventure with us here at CC has been a huge financial investment for the two if you, and I want you to know how deeply we appreciate it.:D :D

I never want to stop exploring or learning, and, as others have said, you have taken us to far away places and given us a glance into so many other cultures.

Thank you soooooo much!! :D

Have a safe flight home to California!! :D

[70 +]

Your adventure story now fills 67 pages of very small font size 11 printing. It will be sad for us to not have the "new page' to read each morning. Your writing is the best in the world. You are ahead of Greg's postings as his printed log is only 59 pages long. You are even ahead of Jeff's 65 pages even though his trip is now at 215 days. It has been the best of fun to live your trip while reading your writings. I hope that you decide to take the World cruise next year so Marjorie and I can meet both of you.