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albi

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

    in Holland America Line

    Posted

    Report # 117 Day atSea April 27, 2018 Friday Partly cloudy & 84 degrees

     

     

     

    When we went to breakfast in the dining room today, it feltlike evening instead of morning. Theskies were so dark and thick with black clouds, it actually made the roomdark. Obviously, we were heading into abad storm. While we were eating, wenoticed what looked like flashes from cameras. But no, it turned out to be lightning, followed by thunder……loud enoughto hear it inside the dining room. Rainfell swiftly and heavily, doing a great job cleaning the windows. Then as fast as it had arrived, it stopped,and the sun began to peek through the clouds. Perhaps it would be an OK day after all.

     

     

     

    Walking the outside deck, we found the workers preparing therailings by wrapping them with plastic, and later, foam padding. The pile of plywood was being readied tocover the teak decking, just as we figured. But first, there was an On The Deck For a Cause 5K non-competitivewalk. This is an event that happens onevery cruise, no matter the length, to raise funds for six international cancerorganizations. Passengers were invitedto sign up at the front desk a few days ago. Whether or not you walked, you would receive a free t-shirt andwristband. The music was blasting whenwe went out early at 9:30am. The goodnews was that the rain had stopped, and the decks had dried out enough for asafe event.

     

     

     

    All of us had been invited to put out the luggage all daylong, not just after dinner. This wouldgive the crew a chance to haul the suitcases and boxes without too muchstress. And with the amount of stuffgoing off, this would be a massive job. Decks six and seven would have a problem with their unlimited luggageblocking the hallways had they waited to put stuff out later. So we had been ready with our things for twodays now, and were happy to have it gone. The next time we see our five pieces ofluggage should be in the terminal in Ft. Lauderdale. And going off last, we will have no troublelocating it all. At least that is theplan.

     

     

     

    With having to save enough clothing and supplies to spendthe next couple of weeks of Florida time and a 17 day cruise, we seemed to havea bit more that would not fit into the suitcase. We really do not like wearing jeans todinner, so we kept out the usual smart casual clothes for the finalevening. After all, it is a special day,called Koningsdag or King’s Day, a holiday in the Netherlands. It is a celebration of the birth of KingWillem-Alexander, and a holiday to wear something orange. Also known as “orange madness”. We did notice that orange jackets were beinghanded to the waiters last night after dinner. So we will do the best we can to join in the party. And, by the way, we did purchase anexpandable HAL bag in the shop to stash the final things that will notfit. Reminder to self: Bring less next time.

     

     

     

    It was a happy, but sad time sharing our last sea day lunch withBarb in the dining room. It has beenmost enjoyable having this time to spend together. We had soup, pot stickers, salad, and onestew, which was really good for a change from the usual sandwiches. With few exceptions, lunch in here has beenoutstanding, as is the service from the best waiters Made and Gan. Hopefully, they will not be re-assigned onthe Panama cruise, because they are super.

     

     

     

    All library books and DVD’s needed to be returned today. We had intended to pick up some movies or TVseries on DVD, but we never did. Don’teven know if the DVD player works in our room. For most of this cruise, few of the TV movies were reruns.

     

     

     

    The Crew Farewell Grand Finale took place in the Queen’s Loungeat 3pm. People must have arrived veryearly, because when we went to deck five, all of the seats were taken, withstanding room only. All of the guestshad drinks of either free sparkling wine, mimosas, or orange juice, or like us,nothing, since we just finished lunch with lots of ice tea. The farewell began with pre-taped videos ofinterviews with Orlando and Gerald B, then Hamish spoke about the appreciationof the crew. We do think they shouldhave thought to also mention appreciation for the passengers as well. If it were not for us, there would be nocrew, right? Of course, they gotstanding ovations.

     

     

     

    But nothing like the applause and standing ovation BarbaraHaenni got after giving her excellent re-cap of this year’s itinerary. Her photos of all of our ports were perfect,and her comments short and sweet. Wewill all miss her next year, as she will be retiring in October aftercompleting a season in Alaska on the Volendam. As a special tribute, she was handed roses from Julie, the Human ResourcesOfficer, and Jonathon, the Master of the Vessel. The final standing ovation was heartfelt byall.

     

     

     

    Captain Mercer blamed a touch of too much sparkling wine,but we did see a hint of a tear in his eyes, and a wavering of his voice as hegave her a parting hug. During hisspeech, he mentioned that he has been the Captain now since 2012….a total ofseven grand world voyages now. Heintends to add one more to that number with next year’s grand voyage. Again, much applause.

     

     

     

    The show was ended with an amusing video of the crew membersin each department dancing and singing their daily jobs. The best shot had to be of the hoteldirector, Henk, sitting in his bathtub full of bubble bath, wearing a showercap. With only a 2 second frame, hepulled the shower curtain quickly, drawing a huge laugh from the audience. That’s Henk, always serious, but mostlyfunny. We had been expecting to see bothHenk and Christel riding their bicycle for two down the hallways, but they musthave thought it had been over-done by now. Maybe next year…..

     

     

     

    Taking our favorite chairs in the atrium across from theOcean Bar during the second happy hour, we watched a lot of activity happeningcompared to most sea days. Deck four wasvery busy with visitors to the front desk. Like us, they were getting more tags, or breaking large bills to smallerdenominations, or questioning charges on their accounts. The shops on deck five had constantcustomers, especially the liquor shop, where bag after bag of duty-free boozeorders waited to be picked up. The OceanBar was the most crowded we have ever seen it. This was the final evening that folks could meet to share a toast andsay goodbye. Lots of hugging going onwith old and new friends alike.

     

     

     

    This time tomorrow and Sunday, we have heard that the shipwill be full of workers that will be on this ship for the 12 day dry docking. The last number we heard was 1400 workers. We also heard that about half of the crewwill be completing their contracts, and will head home in Ft. Lauderdale. This info has come to us by head waiters, whoalways seem to know the numbers. If onlywe could be flies on the wall to see the destruction and re-construction. Bet it is quite a feat when it happens.

     

     

     

    Around 6:30pm, while we were doing the Sudoku puzzle,Captain Mercer came on the ship’s speakers with an announcement. It seems that a waterspout had formed verynear the ship. A most natural occurrence,it was unusual to see one so close. While everyone went to the windows on the starboard side, we spottedthree more spouts forming in the distance. The sea water was circling into the air under these spouts. Rather exciting.

     

     

     

    Dinnertime found all nine of us present. Even though it was a casual evening, the menuformat was Gala. Only one of us at thetable ordered the 24 ounce ribeye steak, but to be shared. It was huge, as promised, but nowhere nearthe quality of the Pinnacle cuts of meat. It tasted fine, but the flavor and texture was just OK. The Oriental noodles with spicy shrimp lookedgood, but it had oyster sauce, and one of us could not eat that. The dessert of apple pie with ice cream wasperfect. And the last dessert we mighthave for a while. Goodbyes were sharedby all, except for Barb, who being Rocket Dog, does not like goodbyes. So sherocketed out of the room with a quick “bye”. Several photos were taken, and we bid ourwaiters goodbye, thanking them for their excellent service.

     

     

     

    There was a show in the lounge tonight….a variety performancefeaturing Suzanne Godfrey and Tango Cervilla. Doubt they had a big crowd, because most people still had luggage todeal with. They had until 12 midnight toput it all out in the hall.

     

     

     

    For the first time ever, we did not have to put our bags outafter dinner, since we had done it late this afternoon. All that is left are the hand carrys, and thenew expandable tote, that filled up with quite a bit of extra things.

     

     

     

    Tomorrow breakfast will be served in both the Lido and the diningroom. The Lido will open at 6am, whilethe dining room opens at 6:30am. We hopeto be settled at the hotel in the afternoon, and will be writing as soon as wecan.

     

     

     

    The quote for this evening was pretty accurate: “I do believe it is time for another adventure”. –Unknown-

     

     

     

    Stay tuned…..

     

     

     

    Bill & Mary Ann

     

     

     

    Once again thanks for taking us along on another incredible journey! Looking forward to the next adventure. Continued safe and happy travels!

     

     

    Sent from my iPad using Forums

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