richwmn

Merry Christmas to all from Ocho Rios Jamaica.

No mention of Number 4, but they are to do another show, so he might be available then.

Todays activities: Today was a pretty full day, and unfortunately I was unable to attend a couple of activities. For instance at 2pm they scheduled a Military / Veterans meeting, a wine tasting, and a presentation on Rum. I think there will be another opportunity for a wine tasting, but I’m not sure about the presentation. The Military / Veterans meeting was well attended. When I returned from the meeting, the front desk called me about my internet concerns. I was able to meet with the IT Officer at 4:30 and he saw my problems and seemed interested in finding a way to fix them. He promised to get back to me shortly. At 6:30 was Culinary Trivia. I couldn’t find my partners from the last few days so I was on my own and didn’t do very well. There were quite a few interesting questions. Trivia was finished in time to catch the start of the 7pm show on the Main Stage. The show tonight was a group called Jukebox Rogues doing a Frankie Valley show. The show was good and kept moving. The singers did a very good interpretation of the Four Seasons, particularly since they only had 3 singers. I ducked out at 7:30 to do what was supposed to be Music Trivia but that didn’t happen. I was able to see the rest of the show. Over the next couple of hours there will be a dance band in the Ocean Bar, Music in Billboard and Rolling Stone, and of course the Casino. Later there will be a show – “The Sounds of Christmas” on the stage, and a Midnight Mass. Merry Christmas to All!

Yes, I am creating the posts in Libre Office using Times New Roman 14 pt. I am not sure if Cruise Critic is substituting another font, but I don’t think so. Tonight’s menus are now available:

Good morning from Zuiderdam. It is Christmas Eve and we are at sea headed for Ocho Rios, Jamaica. It is a beautiful day and there is a lot scheduled for today. The dining room menus have not been posted yet, but here are today’s activities.

The activities for today: General Trivia at 4:30 – along with @Scrapnana and others. We enjoyed the trivia and thought we did ok, but nothing great. We were surprised when we won with 13 points out of 17 or so. There were two questions that I talked myself out of, but I guess it didn’t matter. Travel Trivia at 6:30 – basically same group as 4:30. The others in the group pulled this one out. We again won, but I had little to do with it. Still enjoyed it. Main Stage at 7:00 – This started out with the Master introducing a few of the officers and staff. Then there was a toast and he thanked everyone for sailing. We were then introduced to Elliot Finkel. Actually, Elliot Finkel was the reason I was in the audience. I had seen him at least once before a long time ago and enjoyed the show. He did not dissapoint. He is a very talented musician and worked the audience well. My only disappointment was some people sitting next to me that insisted on talking during the performance. Luckily they didn’t stay long. He put a lot into the show, and the audience appreciated it. Music Trivia at 9:00 – Started out easy but got out of my area pretty quickly. @Scrapnana and I did manage to get about 16 points out of 35, not a very good showing. But we had a bit of entertainment and fun.

The ship is Zuiderdam. Right now it is overcrowded but for the World it will be a lot better.

we met and had a good talk yesterday!

today's activities

I guess I should point out that the World Cruise does not actually start until January 3rd. Along with several others I am on the preceding 12 day holiday cruise. We will be picking up a few more World Cruisers on December 29th for New Years, then on to the World. I had a chance to meet @Scrapnana yesterday. She mentioned on the sailaway thread that she would be on the promenade deck near the outside elevators, so I went out there. We then played trivia twice last evening. On this holiday cruise all cabins are filled, many with passengers in the 3rd and 4th bunks, meaning quite a few kids. So far they have been well behaved but they are evident everywhere. Today was a beach day at Half Moon Cay. Although they announced that everyone needed tender tickets there wasn’t an early crowd. I got an announcement last night that 4 & 5 star Mariners could pick up tickets at Rolling Stone Rock Room. When I got there no one was waiting, I was given a ticket and directed to go immediately to the tender. When I got to the staircase to deck A, someone asked the attendant where to get tickets and he directed them to go to the tender. I walked around HMC for a bit and had a nice conversation with the Assistant Beverage Manager. HMC has been built up a bunch since the first time I saw it, and I think it is over built. Back on board, I went to Guest Relations to sort out a couple of things. We will see tomorrow how those things shake out. Today’s meals:

As I mentioned, embarkation went without any hassle and I was in my cabin quickly. Both my cabin attendants were able to stop by and introduce themselves. I have Deny and Pita. Deny is a repeat, he was my mother’s attendant on my first cruise in 2000, and my attendant several years ago on Prinsendam. Pita is my first female attendant and seems very nice. I didn’t grab the meals yesterday, but here are the activities.

For the past few years I have started a thread on Cruise Critics for each of my cruises, generally just before joining the ship. For this cruise I have not been able to decide if I really wanted to do the same thing. Part of the reason, there will be several people doing live threads and blogs and I’m not sure another one is necessary. However, I’m going to start it. This will be from the standpoint of a first time World Cruiser. We will just see how long it lasts. I started traveling at 5pm on Monday, December 19th with a short drive to an Airport Area hotel. We did not hit the same traffic as we did in October and arrived safely and I got checked in without any problems. Tuesday morning the shuttle to the airport was on time, and getting into the airport and thru TSA was uneventful. I had plenty of time to get a quick bite, then get to the gate prior to boarding the plane. After a quick flight to Fort Lauderdale I got my luggage (without any problems this time) and proceeded to the shuttle pickup. I called the hotel and was given an eta of 30 minutes so I settled in. Just a very short time later the shuttle arrived. Seems he was at the other terminal and had room so he just came over. After an easy trip to the hotel I checked in without any problems. I didn’t really have any plans for Fort Lauderdale, I just wanted to be sure I had plenty of time. Thursday morning there was a shuttle available to the port, so I took that rather than an Uber or Lyft. Easy ride to the port, arriving about 11:40. I thought I would have a long wait, but there was almost no line and I progressed thru check in and embarkation very easily, taking about 30 minutes from arrival to being in my cabin. So I am now settled in for an extended period.

I am currently on Zuiderdam. Here is the price sheet for this cruise.

that looks like us!

This morning on Zuiderdam, headed for Half Moon Cay A sunrise for @rafinmd And our wake

Thanks to Roy @rafinmdfor posting this morning. We will be at Half Moon Cay today. So far it looks like a great day for the beach.

With @Scrapnana on promenade deck near outside elevator. About to pull away

I don't remember any problems in Boston, San Diego, or Seattle either

You didn't mention what port but here is my experience with Port Everglades. When the car gets to the guard booth you will be required to provide a drivers license for the driver and id ( DL or Passport) and boarding pass for passengers.

Today is Mathematics Day, National Cookie Exchange Day, and Zimbabwe Unity Day Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see a shadow. Helen Keller - Author Meal Suggestion for today - Roasted Squash and Pumpkin Seed Mole Bowls Drink of the Day - Red Greyhound Pinn Tini Wine of the Day - Te Mata 2018 Coleraine Red (Hawke's Bay) New Zealand Destination of the Day - Hakodate, Japan Eurodam Half Moon Cay, Bahamas 08:00 - 16:00 Koningsdam San Diego, California 07:00 - 16:30 Nieuw Amsterdam Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic 08:00 - 15:00 Nieuw Statendam Willemstad Curacao, Netherlands Antilles 07:00 - 20:00 Oosterdam Montevideo, Uruguay 08:00 - 23:00 Rotterdam At Sea Destination Grand Turk Island, Cockburn Town, Turks and Caic eta 12/23 Volendam At Sea Destination Panama Canal, Colon, Panama eta 12/23 Zaandam At Sea Destination Puerto Plata-Amber Cove, Dominicana eta 12/23 Zuiderdam Fort Lauderdale, Port Everglades, Florida 07:00 - 16:00 Eastern Hemisphere Noordam Wellington, New Zealand 08:00 - 23:00 Westerdam Kaikoura, New Zealand 10:00 AM To 6:00 PM

See you on board tomorrow

The base map with ships comes from cruisemapper. Any graphics editing program can be used to add the ship names. I use a free one, GIMP - available for Windows, Mac, and Linux. It is a pretty easy task once you have done it a few times (and I have).

Today is December Solstice, Blue Christmas, and Humbug Day You’re braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think. A.A. Mine - Author/Poet Meal Suggestion for today - Mushroom Chicken Skillet with Herbed Cream Sauce Drink of the Day - Long Island Iced Tea Wine of the Day - Spellbound Cabernet Sauvignon, California Destination of the Day - Puerto Madryn, Argentina Eurodam Fort Lauderdale, Port Everglades, Florida 07:00 - 16:00 Koningsdam Ensenada, Baja California Mexico 12:00 - 23:00 Nieuw Amsterdam At Sea Destination Half Moon Cay, Bahamas eta 12/22 Nieuw Statendam Kralendijk Bonaire, Netherlands Antilles 08:00 - 23:00 Oosterdam At Sea Destination Montevideo, Uruguay eta 12/22 Rotterdam Fort Lauderdale, Port Everglades, Florida 07:00 - 16:00 Volendam Oranjestad Aruba, Netherlands Antilles 07:00 - 19:00 Zaandam Half Moon Cay, Bahamas 08:00 - 17:00 Zuiderdam Half Moon Cay 08:00 - 16:00 Eastern Hemisphere Noordam Lyttelton-Christchurch, New Zealand 08:00 - 19:00 Westerdam Napier, New Zealand 12:00 PM To 6:00 PM

I buy quite a bit from Chewy for my cats and my impression is that they are very quick to write off things that go wrong. Examples, I had several shipments that the container for Greenies (a treat type thing) was split. Nothing wrong with the product, I put it in a jar and told them that. I just want them to know that their packers weren't careful. They sent another container both times that it happened. More recently I saw that a package was delivered to the wrong place. Chewy sent another which was delivered to a different wrong address and FedEx didn't seem to care. At least the second wrong address was someone I know so I did get that package.

I am in my hotel room as a temporary home for 2 days. It is nice to know that most of the journey toward Zuiderdam is completed. Nearby are plenty of places to get thing I failed to bring along.