WCB

Report #101 Tuesday April 9, 2024 Zanzibar, United Republic Of Tanzania Anchored Port Side Facing The Town Leaving 5pm Today Cloudy With Rain 82 Degrees 86% Humidity 10mph Wind ....Part #1 Of 6......... 65 Pictures---Casual Dress The second day in Zanzibar began with the tours going off early. Yesterday was so busy, we forgot to mention what was available to do and see here. There was a Stone Town walking tour for $100 for 4 hours or a trip to the Jozani Forest Reserve to see the red colobus monkeys for $140 for 3 ½ hours. For the same amount and time, you could see the Palace remains and a spice plantation. A Stone Town evening walk tour with drinks was $200 for 3 hours, while A boat ride to Prison Island was $210 for 4 ½ hours. A sunset dhow cruise for $220 was 2 ½ hours and another evening panoramic drive with dinner was $300 for 4 hours. Last but not least, was a sultan’s dhow adventure for $400 and 5 ½ hours which included lunch. Today another excursion was added to Diwengwa Beach for $380 and 2 ½ hours. We may have mentioned this before, but there were some guidelines suggested to all of us regarding dress and behavior in Zanzibar. This all came from Kimberly’s talk where we were reminded that we were in a very Islamic country where short shorts or sleeveless tops for the ladies were not acceptable in public. Leave the thong swimsuits on the ship please. Use bug spray and do not wear yellow or black as these colors tend to attract the insects. Leave your valuables on the ship and ask before taking photos of the locals. Taking pictures of the police or military folks was prohibited. Pickpockets were rampant in the Darajani Souk and Marketplace as well in the narrow alleyways. Do not bring large bags and put the backpacks around the front of you. And there was to be no hand-holding or any sign of affection displayed in public. Lastly, be careful with the taxi drivers and negotiate a definite price before getting into the vehicle. And be sure to bring TP with you just in case you need it. What a fun place to visit…maybe not? And these warning doubled at night time. Unless you went in a group, do not go over alone in the evening….especially if you are female. OK, with all that in mind, we left the ship by 10am. The skies were heavily overcast and it sure looked like rain. When we boarded the tender boat, it did start to rain lightly. It did not let up much until noontime. And guess what we saw on the tenderboat? Most folks, including crew members, dressed in shorts like us. Not short-shorts but conservative, and no one locally seemed to care. We also spotted some guests going to a beach somewhere dressed with just cover-ups….sleeveless. Again, it was not a problem that we could see. The ferry terminal was just as crowded as yesterday…. like a beehive. We made our way quickly to the waiting shuttle and got the last two seats. We could have walked to the Serena Hotel, but we did not wish to run the gamut of taxi drivers and guides. From the bus stop, we went back again to get some more photos of what we missed yesterday….namely the Forohani Park, the Palace Museum, the Old Fort, and the floating restaurant. At the park, we saw a load of cats again, but today someone was about to feed them. A local fellow opened a packet of dry kibble and spread it among the 30 cats that live there. We do hope these semi-feral cats are neutered or else there will be 90 cats soon. Surely they keep this area rat-free and that’s the reason they are kept fed and healthy. We continued back walking past the Freddie Mercury House and Museum, which could be visited for $10 we think. We had already seen enough of the place on Kimberly’s video, so did not feel the need to go inside. The next big building was the post office and a nice bank. This street had the most Stone Town shops, tanzanite jewelry stores, clothing and workshops. The largest store was called Memories and had about everything you could want to purchase. A souvenir emporium, it was filled with tour people from the walking excursion. Some were shopping, but most were sitting while waiting for their bus to return. We had hoped to find our way to see St. Joesph’s Cathedral, one of the two Catholic churches in the old city. However, we could not locate the steeples since they were hidden behind the many buildings. Also there was a renovation ongoing with a nearby structure and the side streets were closed off. The same thing happened with the Anglican Church and Old Slave Market. It turned out to be too far to walk. Following their map was good, but none of the streets were marked. It was time to head back since it was lunchtime. On the way, we crossed paths with Greg and his entourage of three. They had just been dropped off by their guide of the morning to navigate their way through the shopping area. They had just made a sweep through the Darajani Souk and Marketplace, and had mixed opinions of what they saw. Greg, who is always on the positive side, found it to be very interesting. After the melee we witnessed yesterday, we had no desire to mix in with the frantic scene. We had a repeat lunch at 12:30pm at the Beach House where we were welcomed back with a big smile from our waitress. We ordered the Safari pint beers again and a Margherita pizza with diced onions. When it arrived, the onions were missing, but we said nothing. Once again, the pizza was excellent. Each of us ordered a dessert. One was an espresso semifreddo with peanuts on the top and the other was a Sunday Sundae, ice cream with mashed berries, nuts, and whipped cream. Our meal came to 84,000 Tanzanian shillings, a scary amount for sure, which computed to $32.60. It was inclusive of taxes and tip as well. How about that? In most all of our previous ports, we would have paid at least that much for a few small beers only. It seems that inflation has not hit this part of the world yet. By the way, on our way into the restaurant, a vendor came by with some nice sarongs. They were hard to resist at 2 for $10….unheard of elsewhere. He made an easy sale. We got the last seats on the shuttle back. The route they took was the same as yesterday as they drove around the perimeter of the Stone Town. Once again we got in the middle of horrible traffic and hordes of shoppers. We agreed we had made the best decision not to visit this place, and the bus was so slow, we still got good photos along the way. This ride took up to 45 minutes due to the traffic jams, which we could have walked in 20 minutes tops. The boat ride back was much smoother than yesterday. The rain had let up and the sun was actually out. We were back home in our cool room by 3:30pm working on pictures and documenting our day’s activities. Everyone must have gotten onboard by 4:30pm, the departing time. Captain Friso came on the speakers saying he hoped we had all enjoyed our 2 day stay here. He added that the Zuiderdam was the largest cruise ship to come here today and also last fall while on the Grand Africa trip. Now we will head south to Maputo, Mozambique with three days at sea to go 1440 nautical miles. He expected the weather to be better than he had predicted. Sometimes that area of the Mozambique Channel can be very rough and many people (like him) get seasick. We can expect to miss that, thank goodness. We slowly made our way past the island while enjoying another sunset , even though it was on the starboard side, we got the opposite cloud color. Even saw a partial rainbow up high. We are so glad we decided to go to Zanzibar and explore on our own. Many of our buddies had stayed onboard and did not have to pay the visa fee of $100. For us, it was worth it since we have never made it here before. Dinner time had some favorites such as appetizers of spring rolls and a beet tataki with cauliflower. Different, but tasty. A squash soup substituted for a salad, while one of us had the stand-by of a Caesar salad. Mains were one chicken parmigiana with spaghetti and the other had the Club Orange short ribs with mashed potatoes. A half of a sliced banana was one dessert and coffee was sufficient for the other one of us. By the way, there was a pop-up Italian Cellar Master Dinner in the Pinnacle Grill this evening. Unusual for a port day, but many folks we know have not missed one pop-up since day one. There is no shame to admit we were tired after two long warm and humid days in Zanzibar, so we missed the show of Brendon Peel, a mentalist with magic and humor….guaranteed to be an award winning performance. Now we have three sea days to kick back and relax. We all appreciate that. Bill & Mary Ann

Report #100 Monday April 8, 2024 Zanzibar, United Republic Of Tanzania Anchored Port Side Facing The Town 7am-Overnight Cloudy With Rain 82 Degrees 86% Humidity 10mph Wind ....Part #1 Of 5......... 65 Pictures---Casual Dress Zanzibar, Tanzania was our port of call for today as well as tomorrow. Located 22 ½ miles off of the coast of Tanzania, the archipelago of Zanzibar consists of 50 islands. A total of 1.9 million people live on these islands, the largest being Zanzibar. This island is located 6 degrees below the Equator making it warm and tropical year round. Originally occupied by explorers, traders, and settlers from Persia, Arabia, and Europeans, this island has a mixed population. Included in the mix are the descendants from the slaves that worked the plantations. It also coincided with the notorious slave trade. Here’s a snippet of info on Tanzania. The capital is Dodoma and the population is a total of 52.5 million people. The official language is Swahili and English. This country is home to major sites like the Serengeti, Ngorongoro, Mt. Kilimanjaro and most impressive amounts of wildlife. Tanzania is THE land of safaris to see the plains animals which include the wildebeests, zebra, hippos, elephants, and lions. There are crocodiles, chimpanzees and monkeys. Hordes of people from all over the world come here to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro to boast the thrill of standing at the top of Africa. Oddly enough, overland safaris have not been offered here on a regular world cruise. Perhaps they are available on the Grand Africa cruise which just happened last fall. Their food consists of “ugali”, which is a maize (corn) mixed with cassava flour and used to coat much of their fried foods. There is a varied cuisine of African, Indian, and Chinese food. We happen to be visiting during their low season (March through May) where it tends to rain a lot, keeping the landscapes very green. Actually, checking the original itinerary, we should have been in Muscat, Oman today. In the desert. So the morning began with a “no show” from the pilot, according to Captain Friso. So he came into the harbor area by himself, and dropped anchor off shore. Eventually, the pilot arrived. The weather was not looking good and the waters were choppy with some swell going on. It was heavily overcast at 6:30am with temperatures in the low 80’s, but very high humidity. By 8:30am, we watched as shower after shower dumped rain on the entire island. All of us regulars at breakfast asked, “Why are we here”? When a tender landing spot was decided for us, the tours went off first. At one point, the Captain suspended the tendering due to difficulty boarding the guests into the small boats. It did not last long, but we still decided to wait until 10:30am to leave the ship. By then open tenders were announced, which really doesn’t matter to us as we can get off any time we wish with no tender tickets. We are seldom the first ones off. The tenders were bouncing around pretty good, but with lots of helping hands, everyone made it safely. Arriving at the more protected ferry landing, we walked to the terminal and did find a small tourist info spot. Going inside, we found a very nice local lady who gave us a map and pointed out the main sites to see. Most folks did not see this glass enclosure and never got the useful map. Outside on the street, we found the waiting shuttles that would take us to the upscale Serena Hotel, a 10 minute drive from the terminal. Good thing these buses were there, because we faced the same situation we had in Colombo Sri Lanka. The taxi and tuk-tuk drivers chased everyone trying to sell tours for cheap. Jumping in the shuttle ended that. At least until the last stop. The narrow streets were loaded with motor scooters, small cars, and vans. This part of town is called Stone Town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2000. There are about 1000 coral stone buildings built in the 18th and 19th centuries. There are also 200 wooden-carved doors. Many of the buildings have been converted to souvenir and jewelry shops, where you can find a deal on tanzanite stones and jewelry. We had passed some of the historical spots on the way to the Serena Hotel such as the Old Dispensary, Customs House, Palace museum, the Old Fort, St. Joseph’s Cathedral, and the gardens along the waterfront. At the end of the shuttle ride, we encountered a repeat of the tour guides that we had at the terminal. All of us filed out of the bus and into the lobby of the Serena Hotel just to escape them. Once again, saying “no thanks” was not enough. We guess it is just a way of life for these locals. Now we wonder how many folks will actually hire some of them. Like 50% perhaps? Many of the people we know will not book an expensive ship excursion, and go with whoever looks reliable. We are not so trusting getting into a stranger’s car going somewhere or anywhere in some of these countries. Walking to the patio of the Serena hotel, we did run into one of the ship’s tour groups enjoying a beverage at the end of their tour. Too bad it was raining as the view of the beach and ocean was nice from here. From here, we back-tracked the way the shuttle had come. We had passed by many important structures that we wanted to photograph. On the way to the main street, we passed the Park Hyatt Hotel and the Tempo House….also nice properties. On the seawall, we saw the Cape Town Fish Market, which turned out to be a high end restaurant. We came upon Fodorhari Gardens, a small park where a night time street food market is set up. Among the lawns, fountains, and tables, there were at least one dozen happy lazy cats. The coastline was full of small boats that looked like covered wagons from the Old West in the USA. Maybe they were water taxis. Traditional dhows sailed back and forth as well. By now, we realized we had almost walked back to the ferry terminal. It was time for lunch, so we turned around and went back to the hotels where the shuttle had left us off. Doing some homework, we had found that the Beach House, a Hyatt property, served among other things - all types of pizza. We found it a little further past the Serena Hotel, and were welcomed inside across the wood boardwalk to the restaurant. We happened to be the first guests of the day for lunch. The only problem was that it was still raining, and we did want to sit outside on the patio. Our waitress found a table for two that was dry, so we took it. The view overlooking the ocean was nice, however we know that if the sun was out, the view would be stunning. Without the sun, there was little color to the water. All of the blues and azure shades turn to grey with the heavy clouds. We ordered the local beer Kilimanjaro, but they were out, so we substituted Safari beer, which was good and cold too. Our choice of pizza was the Margherita with chicken (hold the chili flakes). When it arrived we noticed the chicken was tinted yellow, and decided it had to be the turmeric. It was quite good and we ate every single bite. We even added a shared dessert of Nutella cheesecake with a scoop of mocha ice cream. When the bill arrived, it came to a whopping 68,000 Tanzania shillings. Sounded bad, but it wasn’t. Turned out it was equal to $26.39. Now that’s a deal especially with the two pint bottles of beer as well as a very large size pizza. Eventually, the tables around us filled up, and it was time to move on. By the way, they did take all credit cards here as well as US cash we suspect. Before we joined a shuttle, we stopped at a nearby row of souvenir shops near the Beach House. We bargained for a pair of beaded leather flip-flops at one shop and a beaded African necklace at another one. It just happened to match a set of earrings we bought last year in Banjul, Gambia. Then we walked back to the shuttle stop and took a different way back. One of the places we passed was the Freddie Mercury Museum, a singer and composer from not long ago. We never did follow his music, but do remember some of the famous songs he wrote. His story is portrayed in the movie Bohemian Rhapsody. Then we must have joined a major artery around the perimeter of Stone Town. We passed by some gardens and a few schools and that[s when we noticed the sign for the Darajani Souk and Market. It was about then that the traffic came to a stop. This area was jammed with every car and motor scooter on the island it seemed. We had figured this was a place to save for tomorrow, but after seeing hordes of local shoppers and the traffic jam, we might reconsider. Now this might be the place where Kimberly had warned people to be cautious and not wear flashy jewelry, watches, or big handbags. She suggested putting backpacks around your front, so they don’t get slashed. She suggested people from the ship, especially single women, should travel in groups. What a fun place to visit….maybe not? Eventually we reached the end of the melee, and arrived back at the ferry terminal. It was still a zoo there with locals working the dock and more guys offering tours. We glanced at the tables of treasures as we went back through the terminal and to the waiting tender boat. The rain had stopped briefly, but the waves were still giving folks a rough ride. We were back to our room before 3pm. At least the rains had kept the temperature down a lot and we drank only two sodas and not four. We kept busy with photos and report writing until dinnertime arrived. Sitting outside, we heard the call for prayer at 3:45pm. We read there are 50 mosques in the Stone Town alone and all were chanting from the minarets. The sound traveled all the way to the ship. Tomorrow ends the Ramadan fasting period, so we suspect there will be a big celebration. Dinner had one of the best appetizers with smoked chicken on a bed of coleslaw and bleached raisins. So good. Salads were next followed with mains of the alternate chicken dinner and a vegetarian plate of parmesan-coated eggplant with spaghetti and marinara sauce. That’s the first time I tried it, and it was rally good…meatless for a change. A special dessert called Zanzibar “donut” (forgot the actual name) was good dipped in a chocolate sauce. We shared just one. There was a local group called Tanzanian Boys Circus in the World Stage this evening. They came from the streets of Dar es Salaam and attended a school to learn a dazzling display of daring skill and strength, speed and balance to the rhythm and beat of African music. Sounds like a gymnastic show. We were so beat, we had eaten our dinner and were finished well before 9pm. Time to rest up for another day of exploration. And if we are lucky, it will not rain. Bill & Mary Ann

Report #99 Sunday April 7, 2024 Sea Day #2 Of 2 Enroute To Zanzibar, Tanzania Partly Cloudy With Sun 86 Degrees 70% Humidity 4mph Wind Sea State: Rolling Motion....Part #1 Of 1......... 20 Pictures---Casual Dress After breakfast this morning, we had to fill out and sign arrival and departure forms for Tanzania. They needed to be turned in between 9 and 10am in each elevator lobby. This sure saves a lot of time for the guests, and lot of headaches for the front desk folks. Today a lady in the front of the line on deck six was concerned that there was an error on these official papers, and insisted that our front desk fellow check it out. The line of folks waiting got longer and longer, because they must have put our fellow on hold for a while. Impatient people asked this lady what her concern was, and she insisted that these are binding legal forms we are signing, and she was not about to put her name on something incorrect. The couple behind us in line offered to sign her papers for her, which was not taken as a joke. Finally she was told not to worry, the info printed was fine. She signed it and was gone in a flash, leaving a dozen grumbling guests in line. Never a dull moment here. We went out for our morning walk at the same time Captain Friso had a Q&A session on the World Stage. He did this often last year and has continued this year. He does have some interesting stories to share and people are not shy about asking many questions. In general, and personal questions – he handles them well. Due to the warm and humid weather this morning, the room was full of guests staying cool. There was another Sunday Brunch Sampler in the lower dining room from 11am to 1pm. Reservations were required and dietary requests had to be made the day before. There was a menu for this brunch posted on TV, so we looked it over. The meal consisted of starters, mains both cold and hot, and dessert. There was nothing that would have appealed to us as they were tiny servings of so much food, it was off-putting . We have gone to a few of these back in 2020, but found that there were many items one of us could not eat due to allergies. There were no substitutes. It was plenty warm at the Seaview Pool, and today the bartender brought over two glasses of ice water each. There was one sunbather on a lounge, leaving the rest totally empty. This has to be the first world cruise we have been on where so few folks are back here. At most, there were three swimmers in the pool and two couples using the Jacuzzis. Perhaps it is so empty because there is a much smaller amount of passengers this time. We did spot some “newbies” that joined the cruise on day two in the Seychelles. We’re not totally sure, but we think there are no more segments. And we did not have another block party yesterday as was printed in the new itinerary’s activities. We caught up with Kimberly’s talk on our next port of Zanzibar, Tanzania. She was full of info about what we expect to see there, but did add some precautions at the very end of her speech. Tanzania is a very Islamic society, and we are asked to respect their dress codes. Pretty difficult when this island is surrounded by dozens of beaches with resorts and hotels that are the big attraction for worldwide tourists. Once again, the fasting of Ramadan is still in effect until April 9th. So we have been asked not to eat or drink in front of the locals. And it sounded dangerous since Kimberly added to leave our valuables on the ship and don’t carry large bags. Since the stop here and the Maldives was never scheduled, our timing for the visit was not convenient for all of us. Everything changed when the Suez Canal was cancelled. On a different subject, we discovered a $250 per person credit made to our shipboard account with refunds on port and tax charges. That amount was added to the “cash” side of our account. There was no further explanation of where these refunds came from, but this is something we need to ask. Inquiring minds want to know….. We also had an invite to a bridge tour with the navigation team, with the choice of going on one of several port days. They scheduled the time at 2pm, but we will surely be off somewhere else in these ports. It’s nice idea for those who seldom leave the ship. On the Tales of the South Pacific, we had two tours of the bridge - one privately with the Captain and one with the President’s Club group. Can’t get any better than that. Then on April 10th, we have an invitation with our travel group for cocktails in the Gallery Bar at 6:30pm. They are always a nice gathering, and we will probably attend. Two of our hosts had to leave in Hong Kong, and they are truly missed by all. Now a younger couple has taken the reigns to host the group. Lunch was Dive-In grub, which was fine. One hot dog on a brioche bun and a back-flip chicken sandwich was just enough. We shared a fresh apple for dessert. And we are proud to say, we have not eaten one cookie so far this entire trip. You cannot eat just one. So we choose to eat none. We witnessed another tropical sunset but occurring a bit later due to last night’s time change. The clouds won out over the sun setting on the horizon, but the colors were just as nice as they reflected on the overhead clouds. The cloud formations are different every night. By the way, the weather has remained very warm and humid as we head basically west towards Africa. We are still quite close to the Equator, so need to be careful not to sunburn. At dinner, we were welcomed back by our waiter Yanwar. He did miss us last night (or so he says) and we told him if we don’t show up, we will be in the Pinnacle Grill. We still have six more dinners each to use up our complimentary dinners. In addition, we can swap some of those freebies for the pop-up of Tamarind. Although the menu for Tamarind does not have the favorite items we had come to like, there is enough to put together a good meal. We shall not go hungry that’s for sure. Tonight’s entertainer was a fellow by the name of Chris Bannister performing the music of John Denver. We happened to be passing by the show lounge doors when he was having a practice session. We slipped into the back of the seating area, and listened. We liked what we heard. That’s our kind of music – country western. And he sang very nicely with songs we remember well. We are sure the audience will agree later on. Looking forward to tomorrow’s port, since it is a new one for us and many others. Bill & Mary Ann

Report #98 Saturday April 6, 2024 Sea Day #1 Of 2 Enroute To Zanzibar, Tanzania Partly Cloudy With Sun 86 Degrees 71% Humidity 6mph Wind Sea State: Calm....Part #1 Of 1 No Pictures---Casual Dress We had two big jobs today. One was filling out visa requests for both Tanzania and Mozambique. Our 2 day visit to Zanzibar, Tanzania, will cost each of us $100. And the country of Mozambique lists the USA citizens as exempt. That’s a first since we have always paid to stop there. When we left Maputo several years ago to fly to South Africa and Kruger, we had to pay a lot for a special visa, even though we were just passing through. Now if we choose to go ashore, we will be charged $10.50 per person for an administrative fee. In both countries, we were given the option of staying onboard and not getting visas. Since we have never made it to Zanzibar, we decided to go with the visas. After all, we were all given $500 credit each towards buying these unexpected visas. We had decided not to get off in Maputo, but at the small price they asked, if we do or do not, it will be a small loss. These forms had to be submitted to the front desk folks on each passenger deck between 9 and 10am. Then the second job was easier….an hour time change backwards this evening. That is always helpful for everyone. On our way to the promenade deck for a walk, we rode the elevator with the new Staff Captain who came onboard with Captain Friso. His name is Babak and he mentioned that he was on the Grand Africa cruise last November. He admitted it was every bit as hot as our last two days there, but much more humid, if that is possible. He was most happy for the breeze today which was only 6.5mph. Checking the temperature, it was already 86 degrees and 72% humidity at 10am. Since Kimberly was talking about our next port of Zanzibar, most folks were enjoying the coolness of the show lounge. Few were walking outside but we took our walk. Then we did our usual visit to the aft pool where there was not one single person on the lounges. Guess they were still in recovery mode from the last two steamy days in the Seychelles. Jerome from the Seaview Bar brought us mugs filled with ice cold water. Sure was good. Captain Friso came on the speakers shortly after the officer of the watch announced a possible whale sighting on the port side. We went directly to the railing and eventually spotted a pod of lazy-swimming dolphins. Not whales, but that would have been nice to see. The Captain mentioned that we were running slightly behind due to strong currents and he would need to increase the speed. He said that usually there are much wetter conditions in this area of the Indian Ocean, so we are lucky to have only a few scattered showers. We don’t know why, but we feel things will change on the way to Mozambique. In addition to that info, Friso said that the lights outside will be turned off and we need to exercise caution while walking outside tonight. He may have mentioned something about birds that are attracted to the lights in the dark, and also we should be able to see the stars better with the lights off. By the way, he welcomed the new guests that boarded yesterday. There may be around 60 we believe. And all of us had to run the muster safety drill on our TV’s before we left the port in Victoria. The remainder of the afternoon was spent working on hundreds of photos from yesterday. It’s nice to have a sea day to take our time with this job. Dinner was in the Pinnacle Grill at 8pm, where every waiter came to say hi. Since day one, we have not missed a day there for breakfast, and we have gotten to know them all well. So for starters, we had the wedge salads with clothesline bacon directly on our plates. Warm bread went with it as always. Both of us ordered the filet mignon with a small baked potato….with all of the toppings naturally. A small side of mushrooms was plenty to fill our plates. Dessert was a shared Key lime pie, which was a good way to end a rich dinner. We seldom munch on the chocolates, so we said not to bring them. We were the last guests to leave the restaurant tonight. Lucky for us, the early diners were here and gone, leaving us the best service. One more day at sea to relax, then we will be in the first African country of Tanzania. Bill & Mary Ann

Report #97 Friday April 5, 2024 Day #2 In Victoria On Mahe Island, Seychelles Docked Starboard Side To Pier Leaving Today At 5:30pm Sunny With Clouds 90 Degrees 7mph Wind 88% Humidity Part #1 Of 6......66 Pictures---Dress—Casual If you don’t like high heat and humidity or white sandy beaches (65 of them on Mahe), then the Seychelles are not for you. We heard from so many people that were here for the first time that they never experienced such temperatures or sticky humidity. Refusing to walk anywhere, most of them took taxis. The message on the front of our newsletter said it would take a 20 minute walk to the town center, but we think that was way off. In this heat (even early in the morning) we estimate the walk was double that. Some of our older friends turned around and went back to the ship when they reached halfway. Like we said, these islands are not for everyone. We left the ship before 10am and it was already over 80 degrees outside. Our destination was the National Botanic Gardens, a 100 year old property of 5 acres. This garden was located not too far from the pier, and we guess it took about 45 minutes to walk there. Of course, we did stop along the way to chat with friends. A funny thing, we had researched this park online, as well as visited here often in the past and discovered the entrance fee was 100 Seychellois rupee. When we arrived at the entrance gate, the fee was 250 SCR. We wonder if these prices are current, or do they change depending on if a cruise ship is in port? We have no way of knowing unless anyone reading this has visited here recently, like on a Grand Africa voyage. If this is part of a tour from the ship, the fee is incorporated in the excursion price. Anyway, there were many folks from the ship just like us, doing this on our own. We all lined up to sign in on their guest book, then went to the office to pay for tickets. No one checks these tickets, but they could at any time. We had intended on using our credit card, since we did not get any local rupee. The card we used did not work after trying it three times. So we were allowed to pay in US dollars. The fee was $15 each, which when we figured the math, we got a deal as it should have been a bit more. Oh well, we were happy to get in and do the hike which is mostly uphill. We headed for the tortoise enclosure which has been expanded from the old one. We used to go into a recessed pit area with several of the large tortoises and feed them. If you were not careful, you could trip over the tortoises who got aggressive for more leaves to eat. Now there are many sizes of tortoises but they have much more space and a pond in a much larger enclosure. Several folks made their way here, and even a group with two young girls that are on the ship. They had fun feeding the branches of leaves to each tortoise. And like before, when they downed the leaves, they came looking for more. From here, we went uphill little at a time to other sections of the garden. Trails led past many indigenous plantings like palm trees and forest type trees. The pandanus tree is here, which is the one that produces the odd-looking fruit we saw in the Maldives. Another more famous palm tree here is the one that produces the coco de mer, the world’s largest nut. These trees can grow to 30 meters tall and live hundreds of years. It takes 20 years before it is ready to produce the first fruit. Now a days, these coco de mer nuts are the cultural symbol of the islands. There are many benches along the paths and we took advantage of those in the shade. One group of guests from the ship came down a hillside of lawn leaving the lily pond. Seeing the extra large fan I had brought with me, they asked if it was for sale. On days like this one, I never leave home without it. It was most useful today for sure. Then we headed up the grassy hill to the lily pond which was so full of blooming plants, you could barely see the pond. There were many dragonflies, so that told us there was a lot of flying insects. Some of which were biting bugs. We did not linger very long here. There was a grove of durian trees, although we could not find the picture of the actual tree. There was a sign along the road that said watch for falling durian. They are large enough to kill a person, like a coconut, and if that doesn’t work, the smell will do it. We kept thinking we were smelling something dead, but now we know we were smelling the durian fruit. It is so offensive that it is forbidden for the crew to bring them onboard. For those from Indonesian, durian is a fruit they like and had grown up with. The guys always say it is really good if you don’t smell it while eating it. We will pass….thanks. We took our sweet time going deeper into the dense jungle of tropical trees, ferns, and bamboos. The crowd thinned out the higher we got. We could hear birds, but did not see most of them. There were many common mynahs, and pigeons. But the best sighting had to be a few tropic birds, the graceful white and black birds that trail two long tail feathers behind them. Also in the canopy were several fruit bats, although not as many as we used to see. We made it up as high as the Chinese garden and the helicopter landing spot. There were few people up in this corner. Turning left, we made our way along the granite cliffs to a small creek that flowed from the top of the mountain. This happened to be where the restrooms are located, so it was a busy spot. From here, it was downhill all of the way. In every opening of the canopy, we stopped and watched for the tropic birds to come back. They did, but there were few here today and it was probably too hot for them to fly. After over an hour of exploring here, we were in dire need of something wet and cold. Like a beer perhaps? So we headed back to town, and had a repeat lunch like we had yesterday at the Coco Blu Bar and Restaurant. Today it was much more crowded, but we lucked out and got the same table that we had yesterday. Many of the guests from the ship had done tours yesterday, but went to downtown today. Several of them were here like us, enjoying the breeze and the beers. Once again, we ordered our favorite Hawaiian pizza and more than one Eku beer. It is another local brew like Seybrew, but harder to find we heard. Dessert was three scoops of vanilla, chocolate and caramel ice cream in a glass. We shared of course. Time to move on, we took a different street back to the main road, and followed the marina taking a short cut through a park. Back onboard by 3pm, we still had some time before the all aboard time at 5:30pm. It was so nice to cool down and have ice cold sodas, followed by more ice water. The heat had done a number on us and we needed to re-hydrate. Today we did not have any cooling rain, so it remained warm and sticky until the sun set. We left the port right near 5:30pm, since everyone must have been onboard. The sun set behind small islands and dark clouds by 6:20pm as we sailed out of the Seychelles. We now have 1085 nautical miles to reach Zanzibar, Tanzania two days from now. And according to Captain Friso, we may have showers on the way. He said the weather conditions near Maputo, Mozambique are not looking so good, so we do not now what to expect there. Sometimes the swells are too high and we cannot safely dock there. Time will tell. Dinnertime had some nice items. It was Caesar salads for both of us followed by one short rib entrée and a chef’s burger on a bun. Yes, one of us had a hamburger with fries. So much fun…simple and very good. The burger must have been ½ pound. Dessert was a sliced banana with hot fudge sauce. Most folks left the dining room early. We suspect the two days of heat and touring took a toll on most folks. Tina from the Pinnacle Grill passed by us and stopped to chat. Usually she never leaves her restaurant, but she admitted that she had one table all evening. That’s a record. A comedian, Jim David, was the entertainer this evening in the World Stage. Titled “for immature adults only”, he promised a laugh-filled evening with this new show. That is if the audience had the strength to laugh this late. Back in the room we had forms to fill out for both Tanzania and Mozambique visas. We do have the option of not going ashore in either country, and we would not need to buy the visas. That is most fair we think. Looking forward to two days at sea to recuperate. Bill & Mary Ann Catch Of The Day Gannet Catching A Flying Fish

Report #96 Thursday April 4, 2024 Victoria On Mahe Island, Seychelles Docked Starboard Side To Pier 8am-Overnight Sunny With Clouds 90 Degrees 3mph Wind 84% Humidity Part #1 Of 6......66 Pictures---Dress—Casual We forgot to mention a communication we got yesterday from the hotel manager, Henk. It was a health reminder regarding “huffing and puffing and sneezing and wheezing”. Henk sure has a way with words. He has come to the conclusion that a bug is circulating among the passengers and probably the crew and the reason is we have become too relaxed with precautions. Assuming it is a common cold, we are grateful it is not Covid or some other terrible virus that attack ship guests and crew. Perhaps the funniest comment was to seriously reduce or better yet cease hugging. We used to hear refrain from shaking hands….which we still do. And of course, as Greg would say, washy-washy-washy your hands often. Message received. Between our research and Kimberly’s talk, we gathered some basic info on this port of Victoria, Mahe, Seychelles. And we have been here several times over the years, and much of it we remember. The Seychelles is an archipelago of 115 islands scattered in the Indian Ocean. The largest of those islands is Mahe, where the capital of Victoria is located. It has the notoriety of being the world’s smallest capital. The population of all of the islands is 93,200 people that speak Creole, English, and French and a mix of all three. The total land mass is only 455 square kilometers. What do these islands offer to tourists? For starters, there are talcum powder beaches (over 65 of them), topaz waters, lush hills, a true tropical paradise. Diving and snorkeling is number one here. One of the highlights of Victoria has to be the Botanical Gardens, a 5 acre hillside treasure with 200 species of indigenous plants and trees. One of those rare trees is the coco de mer with the largest nut in the plant kingdom. Due to its shape, it has brought a lot of attention to the tree over the years. Within this park is an enclosure of giant tortoises, some of which exceed 100 years old. We may pay a visit to this garden tomorrow, depending on the heat factor. What kind of food is served here? One of the local delicacies is called bat curry. Yep, real fruit bats in a curry. And you wonder why we like pizza….hold the bat curry - topping please. One of their favorite beverages is Seybrew, the local beer. Other favorites are fish and rice, shark, parrotfish, grouper, and tuna. Local fruit consists of mangoes, bananas, breadfruit, papaya, coconuts, grapefruit, and pineapple. All types of fruit juice are sold as well as coconut water, which is number one. First and foremost, we have to mention that the temperature was in the 90’s and the humidity factor was almost as high. With very little breeze, the heat was nearly unbearable. We set out to walk the town, and hopefully, go out to lunch. When we got off the gangplank, we were not sure we were in the same dock we normally use. Kimberly had mentioned that maps were available, but we had to purchase them. Really? That turned out to be incorrect as they were available on our way out to the souvenir stands and the street. Nice maps of both Victoria, the island of Mahe, and a separate map of Praslin, a nearby island. An so we can remember, the local currency was Seychellois rupee with 13.65 rupee to the $1. USD. Euro is widely accepted at the rate of 14.57 rupee to the Euro 1. Many items are priced in Euro here. But before we begin, we have to mention the tours that were sold on the ship for today and tomorrow. The least expensive was a scenic mountain drive for 3 ½ hours for $150. Two excursions for $160 were the north island and Botanic Gardens for 4 hours, and a sparkling wine sunset cruise for 3 ½ hours this evening. A coral cruise for 4 hours was $170, while cruise and spice was $180 for 4 hours. A day on Silhouette Island was 9 ¼ hours for $240, and Mahe discovery was 8 hours for $250. Both of these had lunches. Last but not least was a day on Praslin Island and a visit to Vallee de Mai for 7 hours with lunch. The cost was $400. Turning the wrong way once we went through their xray which was next to the souvenir stands, we eventually reached where we needed to be. At least the road we took was lined with big shade trees which did help somewhat. We came to the large roundabout with the Unity Monument in the center. From there we did remember the way to town. It had been printed in the Daily News letter that this walk was about 20 minutes, but we would say ……no way. Try 30 to 40 minutes in this heat. Of course, many taxis were there at the gate to offer rides to town. Some tours were offered as well, but a simple “no thanks” was accepted without quarrel. Nothing like what we experienced in Sri Lanka and even Male, in the Maldives. We strolled up the waterfront road passing the yacht club and the marine charter. A seaside park and pond is located here too. We reached the Bicentennial Monument and the Peace Park with the tall flagpole displaying the Seychelles flag. We did want to see the cathedral, so we walked past Gordon Square field, passing the Natural History Museum and the Post Office. Across the busy street was a church, which we thought was the cathedral, but turned out to be St. Paul’s Protestant Church. Pulling out the map, we continued to Sir Selwyn Clarke Market, which housed the produce and fish market. The produce was fine, but the fish display was more flies than fish. Whew….. there were even small egrets on the cutting tables looking for scraps. We did not linger very long due to the smell and flies. Upstairs facing the center market, were stalls of souvenirs and clothing. We did manage to take the stairs (one of us under protest) and checked our their offerings. There were nice swimming sarongs, dresses, tops and many beach type bags. We were not tempted because we have so much of the same at home….and only use it while on vacation for the most part. Still searching for a pair of black sandals, we found many of them but in small sizes. And most of them were more like flip flops. We passed a Hindu Temple as well as a convent across the street. Passing what appeared to be a real “mall”, we went inside to find only a few stores were in there. Going up an escalator, we saw a few more shops and many more that were not finished yet. We finally located the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception at the end of a street and what looked like a very British church built next to it. That church also turned out to be Catholic. Hoping it was cooler inside the church, we walked up the steep driveway, trying to avoid the cars and people, and went inside. Nope, it was not cool at all, but dark with ceiling fans that were not operating. Staying a few minutes, we continued on our way. We were close to Albert Street, one of the main drags and located the Clock Tower which was installed in 1903 when the Seychelles became a British Colony. We think the name of the clock tower is Little Ben. Right on the corner of Albert and Independence Avenue was a restaurant called Coco Blu, a place we had gotten pizza several years ago. By now, it was almost 1pm, and we were in desperate need of something wet and cold. Seybrew beers sounded the best. Of course, located on the top level, we had to climb stairs too access the restaurant, but it was worth it. Not crowded, we were seated at the coolest spot on the railing where were ordered two pints of Seybrew beer and one Hawaiian pizza. Relaxing out of the piercing sun was the best. At least we had a breeze up here and the view of the center of town with the clocktower. The pizza was excellent and we added a glass of strawberry and chocolate ice cream to share. Reluctantly, we left around 2:30pm….back out into the heat and the now-crowded streets. We stayed on Albert Street until it turned into Rue Pierre de Possession, where we passed a row of souvenir tents called Esplanade Craft Village. Everything Seychellois was sold here, most all of it for the ladies. We passed by the National Library, a modern building, and the Kenwyn House across the street. We are not sure what this house was, but it was colonial and set in and among beautiful gardens and fountains. Perhaps tomorrow we will investigate a little more. Arriving at the roundabout with the Unity Monument, we turned left, carefully crossed the street, and headed back down towards the pier. This was the correct street to use to come downtown, and all of it was looking much more familiar. On one side of the road were trucking facilities and the other had the Seychelles Fire and Rescue Services. On the way, it began to sprinkle. What a pleasant surprise actually, as it cooled things off a little. Unfortunately it did not last very long, but we did get wet the closer we got to the pier gate. That’s where the covered walkway started. We went through their xray and back on the ship, instantly feeling the coolness of the air-conditioning. Back in our room, we discovered we had no power. Now that could be bad, but within a few minutes, it came back on. We cooled down further with ice cold sodas and the use of our tower fan. Luckily we are on the waterside and had no sun shining on the veranda. We were able to spend some time outside watching the boat traffic. The rest of the time was used to do photo work and report writing as always. Dinnertime came quickly and we were nicely surprised to find the Club Orange special was the veal cutlet or veal chop. We added salads and the entrees and that was perfect. Our waiter will probably go to town with some buddies and look for Chinese food. He recalled that he was here on another cruise not long ago and found good eats in downtown. It was still warm outside, like in the 80’s, but there did not seem to be any rain. At this point, we would welcome it. Tomorrow, we shall continue our roamings. Heat or no heat, we hope to visit the gardens. Bill & Mary Ann

Report #95 Wednesday April 3, 2024 Sea Day #3 Of 3 Enroute To Victoria On Mahe Island, Seychelles Sunny With Clouds 86 Degrees 7mph Wind Sea State: Calm Part #1 Of 1......79 Pictures---Dress—Casual Our third day at sea was even nicer than yesterday. The unbearable heat let up a bit and there was a much stronger breeze. The partly cloudy sky was just that….no rain. Our big treat after breakfast was seeing tons more flying fish. And out of the blue, we spotted two birds. Where they came from is a mystery because they were gannets. They have possibly hitched a ride from our last stop or even Sri Lanka. According to the research we read, they are out of area. Whatever the reason, the one larger white bird did most of the hunting. We believe the second smaller bird is a juvenile, probably related to each other. There were so many small flying fish, they appeared as a cloud of white. The flying only lasted a few seconds, then they were gone. All the bird had to do was wait for the school to come out of the waves. Bingo….the bird caught them in the air. It took a lot of patience and time before we got some good shots of the hunt. Oh want fun we have. It appeared to us that the younger juvenile was learning from the older one. And it’s possible that the Seychelles will be their new home. We are about as relaxed as we can be for tomorrow’s 2 day visit to the city of Victoria on the island of Mahe, Seychelles. We have been here several times over the years, and have taken each and every tour as well. So we plan to hike to our favorite spots such as the Botanic Garden and the nearby city. Lunch may be a possibility here, and we do recall they have beer. Ice cold beer. At noon, the Captain said we had 399 nautical miles to go to reach the islands. And for some odd reason, he had to pick up our speed since we were falling behind in time. Then he addressed the area of the Indian Ocean that we will be crossing to get to the coast of Africa. He explained that the weather in South Africa can be dicey this time of year, and he would keep us advised as to the conditions we will be facing as far as swells and rough seas are concerned, not to mention rain. This reminded us of another world cruise a few years back while in this same area. If we recall, some of the ports had to be cancelled. Zanzibar, Tanzania was one of them as was the stop in Madagascar. We would be disappointed if that happened again, since we have never been to Zanzibar. It sounds so exotic. We did cross the Equator yesterday around 2:45pm. The Captain said he hoped King Neptune will forgive the snub, since there would be no ceremony this time. For those of us that are sailing up the west coast, there will be an opportunity to become Emerald Shellbacks, but more about that when it happens. We planned our pm walk around 6pm to catch a possible sunset. And we were not disappointed with another tropical display, even better than last night’s. Many people at the first dinner come out to take phone pictures along with many of the waiters and cooks. Dinner was as light as we could keep it. Lunch had been filling. We had a tataki appetizer and one bowl of chicken spaghetti soup. It is the room service staple, but no where near as good as it used to be. Then we had one veal piccata plate and one Peruvian chicken, which was so big, it took up the entire plate. It happens to be one of the Club Orange entrees and it very good. But it needs to be shared, which we did this evening. We wrapped it up with pineapple and coffee. The Grand Voyage Band put on a performance with “Notes from the Great American Songbook”. We happened to be passing by the door of the show lounge when they were practicing and listened for a bit. It’s nice for a change to have just music to enjoy. No comedians, balloon blowers, dancers, or singers. Just good simple music we all know and love. Back in our room, we had the next sticker for our travel booklet. This segment was short….from Singapore to the Seychelles. Some folks will be leaving tomorrow and new ones will be coming. We do not believe the numbers are very big this time. Bill & Mary Ann

Report #94 Tuesday April 2, 2024 Sea Day #2 Of 3 Enroute To Victoria On Mahe Island, Seychelles Partly Cloudy With Sun 86 Degrees 7mph Wind Sea State: Calm Part #1 Of 1......67 Pictures---Dress—Casual Another day finds us crossing the Equator and getting closer to the Seychelles. At noontime, we had over 600 nautical miles to reach Victoria, Mahe on Thursday. Waking up this morning, we noticed the seas were smooth as silk, something we rarely see. There was no wind although we are experiencing some swells. The Captain mentioned in his talk that this open area of the Indian Ocean is subject to swells from systems that come from Antarctica up the east coast of Africa. Even though the weather has been cooperating with us, he says that may change. There are some storms in the Seychelles and we may pick up some of those on the way there. Our day was laid back and relaxing. The morning walk was easy since most everyone was in the World Stage listening to the talk on the next port. And as expected, it was warm and sticky. There was a slight breeze that did nothing at all for comfort. Going to the Seaview Pool was interesting. We could see some fierce-looking clouds coming up, and did appreciate the shade for a while. Then it got darker, and it began to sprinkle. Lightly at first, then the sky opened up and the water pelted down like gangbusters. The wind created by the cloud had a power of its own. We can always tell when the rain will start when that wind picks up. And there is a coolness in that breeze, which is the rain. In minutes, the deck cleared of sunbathers who took shelter under the tented area. And in minutes, the decking was flooded. Actually, it was pretty exciting for a change. And the ship got a free washing on top of it. Eventually, the shower let up, and the sun re-appeared. And it never rained again until after the sun went down. We can live with that just fine. Kimberly gave her talk on the Seychelles, which we will check out later or tomorrow. It takes hours before it appears on our room TV, which we don’t really understand. We have been to the Seychelles several times over the years, but we always like any new info we can gather. Lunch was Dive-In cuisine from the very friendly waiter and chef. It is the best way to get it hot by getting it yourself. And we are not tempted by the massive amount of food in the Lido lunch buffet. Between reading and internet work, the day evaporated as they all seem to do much quicker these days. We took the time to go for the second walk around the time the sun set. Although we never actually saw the sun, it did put out some nice colors on the most interesting clouds formations. Enjoying a quick cocktail, we were off to dinner. A mixed seafood cocktail and a crostini plate were the starters, followed by salads. Our mains were the same – chicken cordon bleu with a pile of peas and mixed grilled veggies. Sometimes, it is feast or famine with the way they serve the entrees. They can be skimpy or over-flowing. Tried as we could, we did not clean our plates. Except for a small sliced banana, dessert was not an option. Only a cup of hot coffee was plenty. The entertainer tonight was Rebecca Kelly, a vocal comedian with soulful classics, toe-tapping tunes, and some songs she actually wrote. Greg never misses a live show, so he can tell us all about it. It amazes us how tired one can get doing practically nothing all day. We call it re-charging our batteries. Bill & Mary Ann

Report #93 Monday April 1, 2024 April Fool's Day Sea Day #1 Of 3 Enroute To Victoria On Mahe Island, Seychelles Partly Cloudy With Sun 88 Degrees 9mph Wind Sea State: Calm Part #1 Of 1......No Pictures---Dress--Birthday Suit Our first day at sea heading towards the Seychelles was a most pleasant one. The temperatures remained in the high 80’s and it was still humid, but with the ship moving, there was a nice breeze. That always makes a difference. It was also April Fool’s Day and the staff had fun with The Daily newsletter. Our location was listed as “lost at sea” and tonight’s dress suggestion was “birthday suit”. We do hope no one takes that literally. Other April Fool’s Day activities would include a costume party in the Rolling Stone’s Lounge at 8:30pm. There would be a winner to crown the ultimate “fool”. Not sure what this was about, but we will miss it. That’s our dinner time. There was also a bar hop for $25 at 8pm. Also dinner time. Other silly things were walk 1000 miles (it seems like that most hot days), coloring for fools, get jiggy with the Zuiderdam dancers, or doodle your designs. Hey, whatever floats your boat, we say. Our day was spent doing photos from yesterday. It takes time to pick the best of the best, and it is a good way of staying cool in our room. Taking our “1000 mile” walk, we noticed very few people were out and about. It could be they were in the show lounge with a new speaker, Lyn, lecturing on the summer of ’69 – a year of cultural achievements and milestones. Turtles of the Indian Ocean was the subject for the second speaker, Lauren. We still wish these talks would be televised for watching later in our rooms. We did our usual walk to the Seaview Pool and found a table with the most breeze. Greg surprised us and came by for a visit. It is always fun catching up with him and what his port activities were. He and some friends did a couple of resort tours while in the Maldives. It is always interesting talking to those who have done it and hearing the pros and cons. Talking to another friend this morning, we learned that one of the same tours that they did here, was half the price if booked independently. Same resort, same food and drinks, and even two extra hours to stay there. It seems to work better when the stay is over night. That way if something happens, you still have another day to get back to the ship before it leaves. Lunch was two chicken Caesar salads and a shared sandwich. Checking the dinner menu, we found that it had today’s theme of April Fools Day. Some of the items were strange, such as breakfast for dinner. Was it a joke or for real? We found out when we went to dinner that it was for real. And we heard a lot of people ordered the full English breakfast as well as appetizers of a poached egg on a half English muffin. Well, that’s different….why not? We chose the split pea soup, which tasted good, but was not hot. Maybe warm at the best. Ever since our assistant waiter Alfred left, the new guy never got the memo that we liked hot food. We did mention it to him after the fact, telling him it was no big deal, but next time we order soup, it needs to be hot. During our meal, we had a visit from Hari, one of the chefs. He happened to remember our request for hot food, and he asked how it was going. Well, we mentioned the soup, and he promised to make sure it came out hot from now on. Like we said, it wasn’t a big deal, but he wants everyone happy. We had one shrimp cocktail and a salad followed by lasagna and beef tenderloin. Sometimes, the beef entrees are hit and miss. Tonight’s tenderloin was excellent. Hope that continues going forward. Dessert was the usual pineapple slices. By the way, we were served green brioche rolls. Green? We still cannot figure that one out. As we head southwest, we should be crossing the Equator once again. The Captain did not mention that yet, and we know there will not be another King Neptune Ceremony. Bill & Mary Ann

Report #92 Easter Sunday March 31, 2024 Male' Maldives Anchored Overnight Using Our Tenders Leave At 5pm Today Scattered Clouds And Very Hot 92 Degrees 74% Humidity 12mph Wind Part #1 Of 5......66 Pictures-- Dressy Night First and foremost, Happy Easter Greetings to all! The only sign of Easter on the ship was an Easter Egg Hunt at 9am at the Seaview Pool. They had better be quick with their game or the chocolate eggs will certainly melt. That’s if they use chocolate and not real hard boiled eggs. We did receive a cute Easter card from our most favorite travel agent – always a nice touch knowing that she is thinking of us (via our hosts). We had hoped that today would be a little cooler, but that was wrong. If anything, it was hotter with temps in the 90’s with that sticky humidity….and it was only 9am. We went off of the ship by 9:30am well after the tour groups left. Last night after dinner, we chatted with one of our buddies who had gone on the 7 hour private resort with lunch yesterday. He said it was OK, but the resort they used was on the older side and showed its age. On the plus side, there was an open bar for drinks – both virgin and alcoholic. Another nice fellow traveler also said she did the same tour and at $281 she thought it was pricey, but she had never been here before and wanted to see it and experience the snorkeling and swimming. We had heard stories about sting ray feeding off of the pier wall, but did not see them yesterday. Bob mentioned that people told him that they saw them later in the afternoon. Kimberly had mentioned this in her talk, but failed to inform us that this feeding by the fishermen is done at 5pm when the Fish Market closes. We found this out when we asked a local policeman about the rays. He pointed the way to the spot, but said it happens at 5pm. Never taking anyone’s word for it, we walked past the veggie tents and onto the bulkhead where we got lucky. It took some waiting, but while we were watching schools of tropical fish, here came a tawny-colored stingray about 3 feet in diameter. It came close to the black rocks below where we were standing, and we did take some photos. Getting good pictures of them underwater was challenging or next to impossible. But you have to take a chance and give it a try. Or sometimes you have to enjoy it while it’s happening and store it in your memory. Three more came along and now more people were standing next to us watching the show. It was better than snorkeling to see the colorful tropical fish right below us. Time to move on, we made one more stop at the Fish Market, which was just as busy today as it was yesterday. Many fishermen were loading the plastic buckets with assorted sizes of yellowfin tuna. We wonder if there is a limit to how many they catch in a day? From here we made our way past the Grand Friday Mosque, the National Museum, and past a string of souvenir shops. At least they were opened for business, unlike every eatery in town, which was closed until sunset. Even the ice cream shops – not one was opened according to the Muslim law. Working our way towards the island’s center, we found one of the main cross streets filled with more modern shops, hardware stores, boutiques, and even some malls. It felt like all 100,000 locals were out and about today. The only saving aspect in this intense heat were the old-growth trees that spanned the two-lane traffic creating a leafy canopy of shade. The most shopping we did was window-shopping, as nothing really caught our eye. And do we really need more stuff? Probably not. On the way down this street we passed by a huge stadium surrounded with many dining options….all closed of course. Even a big advertisement showed a family style pizza ready to go at a nearby pizzeria. Good luck trying to find any pizza café here as the streets are chock-a-block jammed together as are the narrow side streets. We happened to run into another couple from the ship who had just come back from the Artificial Beach and another modern mosque. They pointed the way which turned out to be closer than we thought. Artificial Beach is just that – manmade. It was a cozy small crescent-shaped beach with imported white sand. Benches lined the beach and there were some trees for shade. Most every bench in the shade was occupied by locals. The food shack was closed as were the restrooms. Only one lady from our ship waded up to her knees in the warm waters with shorts on. No local women go swimming, and if they do, they will NOT wear a swimsuit. In other strict Muslim countries, such as Mozambique, we have seen the ladies go in the surf fully dressed in their flowing black robes and headscarves. No kidding. Right next to this beach was a blue – tiled mosque….very modern with four dark granite minarets resembling obelisks for lack of a better word. There were men with young sons going inside since it was close to noontime. Our friends that gave us directions had wanted to go inside, but only the husband was allowed. She had not wished to take her shoes off, so she was not allowed in. Even in this day in age, this is a man’s world. By 12:15pm, the call for prayer rang out from the city’s minarets. And to be honest, we never felt the warm and fuzzy feeling of being totally welcomed here. We were not alone in our thinking, since many of our buddies said the same thing. We were tolerated in town, but considered more of a nuisance. Now if we had never seen the capital of Male and had gone straight to a private luxury resort, the feeling of being welcomed would be a far different experience. Ignoring some of those impressions, we still enjoyed roaming around and tried staying out of the locals way, especially at the produce and fish markets. This is their livelihood and from what we saw, they are hard workers. We continued walking past the jetties in the marina until we reached the HAL tent and the tenderboat landing. We had consumed every drop of our ice water, and appreciated the cups of cold water that were discreetly handed to us in the covered tent. We were back onboard by 1pm. Cooling off was the first priority and ice cold sodas helped. Lunch was Dive-In with a chicken sandwich and a hot dog on a brioche bun. Finally figured out how to avoid those tiny black seeds on the hot dog buns. Going between the room and the veranda became impossible as the sun was shining on our side, and the heat was intense. Captain Friso came on the speakers at 4:30pm and admitted how happy the crew and passengers were to visit here….a first for many, even us. Friso said he was most happy to stop here as it was a first for him as well. Pulling up the anchors and competing the remaining customs and immigration details with the officials was all that was needed before we left the lagoon. The Captain said he intended on circling the island slowly, then heading southwest towards our next port of the Seychelles in four days from now. He mentioned that we have 1254 nautical miles to reach our next port, which will take three sea days. That’s great….we all need the rest and a chance to re-hydrate after two unbelievably hot days in Male. Unfortunately, the direction the Captain took put the island’s view on the starboard side. However, we did get close to an outer island with a nice resort with over-the-water huts and a large lagoon. This island would be reachable by local ferries, which we read that are quite cheap. That’s about all that is cheap here, we think. We had expected some Easter decorations in the dining room tonight. In fact it was a “dressy” night, so we thought the entrees would be top-notch. So the decorations were balloon figures of the Easter bunny at the entrance surrounded with colored lights. We ordered salads, a soup, and the every day shrimp cocktail. Club Orange had the best entrée with roasted lamb, white beans, and spinach. The meat was tasty, but not quite as hot as we like it, nor was it really tender. Since we finally sampled the Lido pizza at lunch, we were not all that hungry anyway. Dessert for one of us was sliced pineapple….so refreshing. There were no exciting desserts nor where there any chocolate Easter eggs or chocolate bunnies anywhere to be seen. We always get something chocolate for Easter, but not this time. In our room, we had the formal candies, another towel animal, and that was that. Is it possible that every little extra touch will be stopped, due to the fact from here on out, the itinerary has changed? Sometimes there is a method to their madness when it comes to saving money. Little things add up. Looking forward to some lazy days at sea. Bill & Mary Ann

Report #91 Saturday March 30, 2024 Male' Maldives Anchored Using Our Tenders 7am-Overnight Scattered Clouds And Very Hot 92 Degrees 74% Humidity 12mph Wind Part #1 Of 5......66 Pictures---Casual Dress The Zuiderdam sailed into the lagoon of the main island, Male, early just after sunrise. There must have been some small boats in our way because the Captain blew the horn more than once as he approached the anchorage spot. Or perhaps the pilots tooted the horn. The capital of the Maldives is Male with 1/3 of the population living there. The total population is 393,000 people that speak Dhivehi, a close relation to Sri Lankan language. Three factors associated with the Maldives is unrivalled luxury, gorgeous white sand beaches, and an overwhelming underwater world. It is advertised as a guaranteed choice for a vacation of a lifetime. There are 1200 islands here, many of which are natural atolls. Private luxury resorts are situated on these outlying islands, some are only reachable by a floatplane. Over one million visitors come here in a year to enjoy this Indian Ocean paradise. The big draw at these resorts are the diving and snorkeling opportunities. There are dazzling corals, tropical fish, manta rays, turtles, not to mention hammerhead sharks. The world’s largest fish is here….the whale shark. Despite their massive size, they dine on plankton. Male is the best place to get to mix with the locals, although this is not the best weekend to be here. For most of us, it is Easter weekend, but locally, it is Ramadan, a time of Muslim fasting. It will last until April 9th. Many shops and cafes will be closed until sunset. And forget about drinking beer or any other alcoholic drink, as it is not served here in town. You would have to go to the airport or to a resort to enjoy alcoholic drinks. The anchors were dropped giving the port side the view of part of the city, a connecting bridge, and the ever-so-busy international airport. For such a remote part of the world, we never saw so many airplanes landing. There were commercial jets, twin Otter seaplanes and helicopters. The ship was cleared by the local authorities by 8:15am. Due to tendering, most everyone had to get tickets. Shortly before the thundering herd went off, Kimberly announced that there were steep cement stairs to access the landing so those with mobility problems had to be able to do these stairs. Furthermore, she said that no one should be seen in public sipping our water bottles , since it was considered impolite due to the fact that all of the locals were still fasting during Ramadan. We would never go off without water for safety reasons, but we would be discreet drinking it. Being in a Muslim country, we knew to dress conservatively. Not everyone from the ship got that message. We joined the tenderboat about the same time “open” tenders were announced. Many folks had booked tours, but just as many had not. Here is what was offered for the two day stay here. The least expensive was the snorkel excursion for 2 ¼ hours for $100. Two tours that were $160 were Bandoss Island Resort for 4 hours or a 2 hour ride in a submarine. A dinner and beach party for 4 hours went for $240, while a trip to a remote resort for 7 hours was $281. An over night stay at the Maldives Full Moon Resort was $630. The ride to the ferry landing took about 15 minutes. Turning right, we walked past the fishing boats crowded next to each other to unload their catch of the day. The first market we entered was the produce section. Most everything sold here must be imported from elsewhere. For instance, the oranges came from Egypt, the fresh berries were from Turkey, the wheat flour was from India, and Sri Lanka provided the tea and coffee. We have to mention here that what we saw in town was far from the idealistic paradise described in the tour books. This waterfront area was littered with trash discarded in piles on broken sidewalks and uneven cobblestoned streets. Tons of motor scooters filled every inch of the street and side alleys. To say that it was crowded is an understatement. On the other hand, the busy fruit and veggie markets were bustling with locals shopping for the weekend. Their fish market had the biggest and plumpest snapper we have ever seen. There were barracudas, wahoo, swordfish and tuna and more. In fact, they catch up to 100,000 pounds of tuna annually. It was all fresh, and there was little smell. Sometimes these types of markets will knock you over with the smell, but not today. A string of butchers were skillfully chopping and fileting some of the largest tunas we have seen. They seemed to enjoy having their pictures taken. Sometimes they don’t. Continuing on up this street, we passed a few hardware stores, but it became difficult dodging the many parked scooters blocking the sidewalk. Taxis and trucks were also weaving their way through the traffic. Time to turn back, we went down a narrow side alley to the back street. There were fewer cars here, and also a few cafes. But they were all closed until later. Truthfully, there was not one place that we would even consider going to. Some of the local favorite foods are called “short eats”. One is called karaubu, a small deep-fried dough ball with tuna, mashed potatoes, peppers and lime. Other finger foods are fish pieces coated with chili, and another is a fried dough ball with fish and spices. They like spicy fishcakes rolled in batter and fried. Doing some online research, we did locate several pizza places and international cuisine too. Useless info now that most everything is closed. And there was no way we would desire to come back after dark. The crew will come over in groups for sure tonight. And they will be happy to find there is a KFC in town. The ferry landing was already full of folks ready to go back either from short tours or just exploring like us. Good thing that the HAL tent had some hidden containers of ice water to serve because most of them were “melting” from the high heat and humidity. We decided to walk into the center of the island to see some of the sights. Across the busy road was a square with tall shade trees and a place to sit for a while. We could see the minaret of the Grand Friday Mosque and went in that direction to see it. It has an impressive golden dome and is made with white marble. A symbol of the city, it is the largest mosque in the country. It happened to be a non-praying time, but the surrounding patio was chained off for people to get closer. Some tourists were clueless as they went up on the marble stairs to pose for photos. Located in this square was the Victory Monument, a tribute to a war fought with the Tamils not too long ago. There was a nice garden beyond the mosque, but it closed just as we got there at 11:30am. We found a small park with benches under some huge old trees and sat for a spell. Locals were out and about shopping. There was more to see, but we found it way to hot to explore further. We have another day here tomorrow, so we shall save the other side of this city for then. The tender ride was easy, and we were back to the coolness of our room by 12:30pm. We found that our every two- week delivery of Coke Zeros were on our coffee table. Just in time as we were running low. Working online and doing research took the rest of the afternoon. Lunch was room service salads and sandwiches. We did have a good exposure on our veranda with no direct sun and somewhat of a breeze. And we had a great view of the lagoon and the boat traffic as well as the airplane activity. Before we knew it, the time had come for dinner. We enjoyed appetizers of a Thai salad and one arancini with marinara sauce. Salads for both, then one honey mustard chicken and one Club Orange short rib dinner. Both were excellent. Dessert was a sliced banana with a little chocolate sauce of course. One coffee and we were ready to go. There was no live show tonight, but a movie, Oppenheimer. We do need to watch it, but we think it is also on the TV movie grid. Tonight we would fall asleep in the middle of it. Bill & Mary Ann

Report #90 Good Friday March 29, 2024 Sea Day Enroute To Male', Maldives Sunny And Warm 79% Humidity 8mph Wind 86 Degrees Sea State: Flat Part #1 Of 1.......No Pictures---Casual Dress We woke up to fairly clear skies and smooth seas, a low swell, and gentle breezes. After yesterday’s exciting thunder and lightning storm, it was a surprise that system had not followed us. This morning at breakfast, they served hot cross buns with bleached raisins. A clear indication that Easter is approaching soon. In fact today is Good Friday and as always, Mass was celebrated at 8am. Also at 7pm, there was an interdenominational service in the Hudson Room. While Kimberly was delivering her talk on the Maldives, we took our walk on the promenade deck. There were only a handful of people out there because it was too darned hot. We are rapidly approaching the Equator once again and we are feeling the effects of the heat and humidity. We expect the stop in the Maldives will be a warm and sticky one. The only sea life we have seen are flying fish, and very few of them. Still hoping for dolphins sightings, but so far….nothing. The day was spent working on photos and reports from yesterday, and doing some research on Male, Maldives. This stop has been on our itinerary a few times in the past, but we have never made it there. Perhaps the tides were wrong, or we got bumped by another ship, it was cancelled each time. So during Captain Friso’s noon talk, he shared some basic info about tomorrow’s stop. Since this is the first time for him to visit this island country, he is unsure as to the immigration process with the locals. He is expecting things to be slow. He sort of relayed that he is nervous of navigating the many islands of this archipelago, but reassured us all that there will be a pilot onboard. The ship will be at anchor, and tender boats will be used to go ashore. It has been some time since we needed these. By the way, we will have a two day stay there. Today while at the Seaview Pool, we asked the bartender, Gerald, if he went into Colombo yesterday. Previously, he had asked us about the conditions there and we were perfectly frank with him. We told him of our experiences there, and he decided it was best not to go anywhere. So what he and other friends of his did was make a collection of money that they gave to other buddies who went to the KFC not far from the port gate. He said it was the best $5 he spent and enjoyed the chicken immensely. Then he added that his friends told him the same type of stories about the tuk-tuk guys and taxi drivers and figured he made the right choice. We did watch the Maldive talk and got more information about where we are going. We have been told that nothing is there and there is no place to walk. However, looking at the photos of Male, the capital, it is a small city, but there are things to see and do there. This evening before dinner, we were invited to a President’s Club Samosa Cocktail Party in the Gallery Bar hosted by the Captain and Henk M, and other officers and staff. There happened to be another pop-up dinner in the Pinnacle Grill at the same time, an Indian-Themed Dinner, so there were fewer of our group present. The officers circulate among the guests so everyone has a chance to meet Friso, since he recently boarded after Captain Frank departed. We had been chatting with the Assistant Accountant, who is in charge or ordering supplies and food for the ship. He is the money man next to the purser, or whatever they call them these days. It could be Finance Manager. He was very interesting explaining what goes on behind the scenes. Then Captain Friso came along and the conversation continued. He filled us in with the whereabouts of many Captains we have known over the years. Friso had been staff captain under several of the best and keeps in touch with most of them. Then it was his turn to move along and we had Mila, Henk’s assistant. By the time the hour was up, we barely had time to finish our drinks. The waiters served some nice, but elaborate appetizers, but we still had to go to dinner, so we passed on the treats. Last but not least, Henk came along and we had a fun time with him as always. We congratulated him on his recent memos he sent out regarding the new shore excursion process as well as the rescinding of the peanut shell mess on the carpets. It is not often he has to pull rank like that, but we commend him for his efforts in keeping the peace. Time for dinner, we ordered salads and the shrimp cocktails. Always good. The only really appealing item on the menu was the jerked pork tenderloin which really would have been better with some applesauce. It was more spicy than we are used to, but still tasty. Dessert? In a word….pineapple of course. And coffee. Entertainment was a repeat performance by Sharene, the female harmonica soloist. Her songs were those you love played in ways we will not believe. Ready, set….Male – here we come. Bill & Mary Ann

Report #89 Thursday March 28, 2024 Colombo, Sri Lanka 8am-11pm Docked Port Side To Pier Hot And Humid-84% Humidity Sunny With Afternoon Thunder Storms Part #1 Of 6.......66 Pictures---Casual Dress The Zuiderdam arrived to the port of Colombo, Sri Lanka around 7am, but was docked by 8am. Nothing looked familiar to us since we were in a different area of this very expansive port. It has been a few years since we have visited here, so perhaps the other dock cannot accommodate a ship of this size. The good news is that there were shuttles provided to take us on a 20 minute ride to the port gate. But which gate, we did not know. The country of Sri Lanka has a population of 22.2 million people that speak Sinhala and Tamil, as well as some English. The capital is right here in Colombo with 750,000 living in the city. One quote says it all: “There are endless beaches, timeless ruins, welcoming people (not quite all of them), oodles of elephants, rolling surf, cheap prices, fun trains (not always), famous tea, and flavorful food.” This best describes this teardrop-shaped island off of the coast of India. Once known as Ceylon, it is one of the most desired destinations for many vacationing Europeans. And cruise ships too. With all of the good stuff said, there have been years of war, tsunamis, train accidents, and interior unrest. Despite that, the people are resilient. Many UNESCO World Heritage Sites are here such as the world’s oldest living tree at Anuradhapura or witnessing hundreds of Asian elephants bathing in a river in Minneriya. And it was our pleasure to have stayed in Yala National Park out of Hambantota several years ago. We had a 6 day stay there to witness the world’s highest concentration of leopards – an unforgettable experience. The only downside at the time was an untimely deadly heatwave that struck the country. That made “roughing it” take on a whole new meaning while staying in not quite so much semi-luxurious tents with ceiling fans….no air-conditioning. This safari camp did not have a swimming pool, but did have a nearby pond where one could take a quick dip. However, there were wild buffalo there as well as crocodiles. Sometimes. No thanks, we will stick to a cool shower in the bathroom of our tent. What an adventure we had while sitting on our raised veranda watching for the procession of the Sri Lankan waiters coming down the hillside with our meals. Dinnertime was the best…magical, as they came down in the dark with flashlights. The highlight of this safari were the sightings of leopards every day we were there. On the drive back to Colombo, we spent a night in Galle Fort another UNESCO site. Perhaps some day, we will do it again if the ship stops on the east coast of the island. There was an overland tour from here to India. It was 4 days and 3 nights with visits to the Taj Mahal and Pink City of Jaipur. At least that was the original plan, so this may have been amended when the world cruise itinerary changed. After the tour, they will fly to the Maldives and re-join the ship. The price was $4000 per person. The other fun excursion was a long 3 hour bus trip one way to see Pinnawela elephants. That was 9 hours for $160 with lunch. A long drive to Galle with lunch was 10 ½ hours for $160. Shorter tours were Holy Colombo and Panoramic Colombo 4 ¼ hours for $55, and 2 hours for $50. We have done all of these over the years, so no buses for us today. There was a big show of Sri Lankan dancers and drummers on the pier when we arrived. They danced their hearts out for over an hour as the guests joined their buses. Not sure of the temperature today, but we guarantee it was hot even more steamy. However, that would change later in the early evening. We went off the ship after obtaining a nice map that was available in the Explorer’s Lounge. The information ladies said the port gate was # 8, and insisted it was the only gate. That would work for us because we know our way to town from there. The ride was 20 minutes, and the buses were leaving on the ½ hour. From the port gate, we were inundated with the most persistent tuk-tuk drivers and taxi guys. They were all offering incredibly cheap tours, and we knew not to fall for it. As usual, we were out for a walk with no desire to get into a car let alone one of the really unsafe tuk-tuks. We hate to admit it, but some of these guys lie about who they are and what they will provide as far as tours go. And have you ever heard of “touts”? They are well-dressed men, usually carrying a nice leather briefcase, and offering to get you a taxi to some kind of special event happening. It could be an elephant parade or like today, a Ramadan faire. Some of our buddies have fallen for that and had a ride to anywhere but an event. Usually a very expensive jewelry store. We were followed by several guys who did not know the meaning of “no thanks”, even saying it politely. This just goes with the territory, and we are well aware of the practice. But today we heard a new approach. One fellow behind us said he recognized us from the pool on the ship, saying he worked there as a bartender or a deck hand. Yeah….sure. He said he was on his way to see his family in town. Again, yeah, sure. We waited for him to suggest selling us something, but when we got to the crosswalk, we turned around and he was headed back to the gate. We made our way through the Fort area, passing the old Cargill Building, the Clock Tower, and finally, The Kingsbury Hotel. Great, we could duck into this lovely hotel to cool off and ditch the remaining tuk-tuk drivers who were stopping and offering us tours. We laughed and said we need to have T-shirts printed with “NO THANKS” on the front and back. Once inside the lobby, we had to pass through an xray portal. This was new to us. We have always had to do this precaution in Mumbai at the famous Taj Hotel, but never here. Funny thing – it did beep when we passed through, but nothing was said and we were greeted nicely. We checked out their dining options, but we were too early for the buffet or the outdoor pool dining. Continuing on, we located Marine Drive, and followed the seaside walkway passing the Colonial Government Building, the Beira Lake, and the Galle Face Green with many towering luxury hotels facing the Indian Ocean here. Besides crows and pigeons, we spot a few pelicans and white egrets. Thank goodness for the breeze coming off of the water with the pounding waves about hitting the seawall. It is one long walk, but it is far away from the road, and no one bothers you for rides here. The strip of the Galle Face Green used to serve as a race track in the old days. Now we could see some stands of hawkers selling beach toys for little kids. There are a few food stands that are mostly opened on weekends. Located at the far end of the Green is the Galle Face Hotel, a Sri Lanka icon and where we always go for lunch. We heard rumors that after Covid, the high- end hotels limited access to their properties to registered guests only. It would be very disappointing if that were still true. However, upon arriving to the front entrance, the doors were opened and we welcomed inside. Of course, there was another xray check upon entering. And again, the buzzer went off but no one double-checked either of us. We went right to the outside patio, and took seats under a working fan on the side veranda. Usually there are small squirrels that will search for crumbs on this patio, but it appears that they have been eliminated. Ordering Lion draft beers, we followed up with a burger with fries and one plate of Bolognese spaghetti. The nice aspect of dining here, besides the colonial atmosphere all around us, is the fact they never rush you. The Lion beer never tasted so good, and their cuisine was excellent. Some of the common foods here include a type of sambol, a condiment with spicy chili powder. Hoppers are bowl-shaped pancakes made with rice flour. If a fried egg is added, then it is called an egg hopper, which they top off with sambol. A national dish with spicy fish or meat is called rice and curry. Pani pol is a small pancake with sugary cardamom and cinnamon. Tea, of course, is popular with everyone, and they like it with lots of sugar and hot milk. The menu at this hotel did have some of these typical meals. Close by this veranda was a full buffet which began at noontime. We knew that one of the travel groups was on its way here at the end of their 4 hour tour. We have done it dining in both the inside convention hall as well as outdoors on this patio. As long as the breeze continued, being outside was the best option. We had spent almost 1 ½ hours relaxing here while finishing our meal with a shared tiramisu and caramelized banana dessert. Perfect ending for a hot afternoon. Time to leave, we went into the side bar and lounge to pay our bill. There were many photos of famous folks that had stayed here in the past. One was of Gregory Peck, another of Emperor Hirohito, and also President Nixon to name just a few. Many world leaders had graced these verandas as well as famous actresses of the day like Jean Simmons, Ursula Andress, and singer Sade and even Harrison Ford, who may have starred in a movie here. Back outside, we strolled down the stairway to the swimming pool and discovered some of our neighboring dinner mates on the ship were here. Four of them were enjoying the strong breezes of the India Ocean while sipping pints of cold beer. It is really the best place to spend an afternoon we think. Asking how we got here, we told them we walked, which they did not believe at first. Yes, it was hot, but taking our time was the trick. Taking a taxi here, they had avoided all of the “fun” dodging the tuk-tuk group. We were heading back into the melee as we walked back. Actually , it was better going back as most of the drivers did not bother us much. Only when we got to the port gate, they stuck their tour offers in our faces. And guess what? The price had dropped to half as much, if we could believe that. While waiting for the shuttle bus, one elderly man was being harassed by a taxi fellow, and seemed quite perturbed. He said this is the reason we should have never stopped here in this port. When one is a single elderly person carrying a cane, they pester you more. The 20 minute ride went quickly and we were back home to the wonderful air-conditioned ship by 3pm. Other than going out on our veranda, we never left the ship again. By 5:30pm, we noticed that the string of tented vendors on the pier began covering their outside tables of treasures with sheets of heavy plastic. In fact, they worked frantically because in the distance we could see black clouds dropping rain coming quickly our way. Then we saw the lightning and heard the thunder. The sunny and partly cloudy skies we had all day had turned on a dime and a good heavy rain was imminent. And that it did by 6pm…..heavy driving rain which had the vendors piling racks of clothing and other items into the waiting vans. Not everything was packed away, since there were still people coming back from tours and the shuttles to buy stuff. Even with the pier almost flooded, the guests and crew continued to shop. From out of the 12 to 15 tents, about 4 of them stayed open until 10:30pm when the all aboard time was in effect. Dinner had some nice Sri Lanka items, but we stuck to what we know best. One appetizer was fried calamari and another was a very tasty tomato-veggie soup. Our mains were the same – prime rib (half-size) with baked potatoes. It was plenty filling, so no dessert was needed. Only coffee. The ship finally left the pier after 11pm with the rain mostly gone by then. Now we are heading to new territory for us – the Maldives. Should be interesting. Glad we have some sea days getting there. The clocks went back another ½ our tonight. Not a bad idea….we need it. Bill & Mary Ann

Report #88 Wednesday March 27, 2024 Sea Day #3 Of 3 Heading West Transiting The Andaman Sea Enroute To Colombo, Sri Lanka At 18 Knots Rain And Clouds 12mph Wind 84 Degrees 77% Humidity Part #1 Of 1.......No Pictures--Casual Dress Today we woke up to heavily-overcast skies, so much so, that it seemed dark at 7am. Of course, we did have that time change, so that may have been part of the later rising of the sun. As the day advanced, we would have thunder, lightning, and rain. Not a lot of rain but passing showers. As we watched more commercial ships sail past us, we could see they were under the clouds and getting wet. Sometimes showers can be avoided by sailing around them. We forgot to mention that we spotted dolphins yesterday morning around 10am. By the time we took the camera out on the veranda, the dolphins were about gone, and the camera immediately fogged up. Today while we were at the Seaview Pool, Captain Friso said there were a few pods we were cutting through. It is possible we caught a picture of one jumping. Once again, they were gone as fast as we saw them. Appearing to be smaller dolphins, they skim the surface, but don’t jump like the larger ones. Better than nothing, we were happy to see some sea life. The best we have witnessed on the way across this sea have been flying fish. They are lucky since we have not seen a sea bird for weeks now. The usual sea day activities keep the folks busy. The most attended ones are the lectures. The Hidden Life of Trees was a talk given by Lauren and Merge, who has been onboard for a long time now, spoke about the Indian Ocean. Lunch for us was salads and sandwiches. Then at 4pm, there was another Block Party, which was scheduled for yesterday, but did not happen. The theme was “Zling & Nuts Block Party”. The rules were bring your own glass and a sort-of Singapore Sling beverage would be poured. The nuts we assume were peanuts in the shells, where we could drop the shells on the carpets in the hallways. What??? No way would we do that. Even while dining in Raffles Long Bar where it is acceptable, we did not do it. So there was a note given to everyone with a change of plans. Since some folks are highly allergic to peanuts, we were asked to refrain from disposing of them on the carpet. We have no idea where this idea originated, but the note came from the hotel manager, Henk. We cannot imagine Captain Friso and Chantal briskly walking down each hallway avoiding the shells. The sprinkles stopped long enough to get in the late afternoon walk. We have noticed more people we have not seen before, so these are probably the newbies that joined in Singapore. In the old days, these folks would be teased and called “segment people” in good humor. Sometimes it is difficult to come onto a ship that has been sailing for a couple of months where people have formed groups with the games, in the bars, and at dinnertime. Dinnertime had a few new items. The salads are getting more creative and new items such as Shanghai ribs were on the appetizer menu. We both went for the sweet and sour duck with what we thought were sauteed egg noodles. They turned out to be ramen noodles. This has to be the third or fourth time ordering a noodle dish that sounded different, but it turned out to be the ramen noodles. They were good with the sweet and sour sauce. Dessert was fruit – pineapple and a cup of coffee, which our waiter Yanwar insists is not dessert. He did remind us to put our clocks back ½ hour, which we knew was coming. It is one of those few places where we do the ½ hour, and once we leave Sri Lanka, we will put the clocks back another ½ hour. There is another place in the world we have done this, but we cannot seem to recall where that was. Tomorrow will be Colombo and now we are wondering what the weather will be like? Bill & Mary Ann

Report #87 Tuesday March 26, 2024 Sea Day #2 Of 3 Transiting The Andaman Sea Enroute To Colombo, Sri Lanka Sunny And Warm Very Humid-75% 84 Degrees Part #1 Of 1.......No Pictures---Formal Dress On sea days, there seems to be a lot more folks sleeping in later since we are always the first to arrive at breakfast. We get the best service with the several Pinnacle waiters (girls and guys) in attendance. Eventually more guests trickle in, and by 8:30am, the place is full in the window area. As long as we continue ordering our breakfast items carefully, our meals arrive just the way we like. At times, we think there is a language barrier, and we are not understood clearly. After taking our morning walk outside, and completing the photos from Singapore, we had a bunch of notes arrive in our mail slot. The first one was an invitation to our travel agency’s cocktail party in the Crow’s Nest tomorrow at 6:30pm. That will be fun connecting with our friends there, some of whom we seldom see on the ship. Those who dine at the early seating have a whole different routine during the day. Our paths never seem to cross. The next note was about the laundry service, which may be delayed due to urgent maintenance issues. They do anticipate resolving this issue soon, but as a result there will be delays in delivery. Of course they appreciate our understanding, and we are not too concerned because we do have not any outstanding laundry to be delivered. With all of the ship’s laundry, especially in the dining venues, not counting the stateroom linens, it is understandable that things break down. The next Note For You was an invite to a President’s Club Samosa Cocktail Party held in the Gallery Bar on Friday at 6:30pm. We shall be present. Another happening tomorrow will be the delayed Block Party on the stateroom corridors and elevator lobbies. Zuiderdam Slings will be served (regular or virgin) as well as peanuts in the shells if we are reading this correctly. We can throw the shells on the floor indicating it was a good party. This follows the tradition of the Long Bar in Raffles where you toss the shells on the floor. Hmmm, poor crew members that have to clean it up afterwards. Maybe not the best idea. Captain Friso and Chantal will briefly visit with the guests as they fly from deck to deck. Tonight we had two more notes – one informing us that we will each receive $500 onboard credit to our account. This was their promise when the itinerary was adjusted and it is very much appreciated by all. The extra money will help pay for unexpected visas and perhaps added shore excursions. Today we researched the added African safaris now that we will be going there. The prices were sky high compared to what we paid last year. Of course, we did ours on our own and not with HAL. From what we read on the Navigator page, every one of the overlands are booked solid. Most all of them are places we have been, so we did not choose to book anything. And you all know how much we love bus travel……. Finally, the last note was to turn the clocks ahead one hour this evening. That works fine with us. And today, the vanity mirror on the desk had the bulb replaced. It has been out since we boarded but we forgot to report it. Our room attendants are very good about following up on anything broken. The light it provides is just enough light to read notes for reports which are mainly written at night. We had a light lunch of a Dive-In chicken sandwich and hot dog. They forgot to add the fries, doing us a big favor. They are still oily and stuck together, so it is better not to have them. We tend to keep whole apples in our room when we feel a need for a snack. Also have some popcorn and nuts such as pistachios. The news of the Baltimore bridge collapse dominated the news this afternoon. Such a horrible accident. By the time we left our room to take the afternoon walk, it was close to 6pm. Coming back after 7pm, we barely had time to get ready for dinner, which was formal tonight. That meant a suit or a tux for the guys. Or at least a jacket and a shirt and tie. Right before the first seating at 5pm, Kimberly announced that a jacket for the fellows will be OK. We wonder why the change in the dress suggestion? Honestly, it was a mistake to say that because we saw some men in collared shirts (dressy) and one elderly man who changed from a jacket and shirt to a pull over sweatshirt. Unbelievable. And he was part of a newbies group sitting near us so we saw what he did. He must have been testing the waters and as far as we could see, no one said a word. If Presty was around, as he usually is on formal nights, he may have questioned that maneuver. Oh well, we are not the clothes police. The menu was formal with special Asian cuisine like a Vietnamese veggie roll and a bowl of Indonesian soup. Nice for a change. One of us had the Gato Gato salad, which had one large Boston lettuce leaf with cooked cabbage and carrots with a peanut sauce. The other salad was Caesar. Our ,mains were the same with surf and turf, or lobster and beef tenderloin steak. A good cut of meat, the steak was coated with teriyaki sauce and tender. Dessert was sliced pineapple and a cup of coffee. With the hour back on the clocks, the crew had a special party happening later tonight. Our waiter Yanwar invited us, but we know he was kidding. We could tell they were looking forward to it. Sure helps keep their spirits up. A new instrumentalist joined the ship by the name of Sharene Tang. Her description was “Star of the Pocket Piano” and the recipient of the Two Time World Champion Instrumental Virtuoso. Now that’s a mouthful. Our buddy Greg is the go-to guy for attending the shows. He always updates us on what we missed. A note on our bed along with another towel animal and two chocolates was: A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step. -Lao Tzu- Bill & Mary Ann

Report #86 Monday March 25, 2024 Sea Day #1 Of 3 Transiting The Malacca Straits Enroute To Colombo, Sri Lanka Sunny And Warm Very Humid 90 Degrees Part #1 Of 1.......26 Pictures---Casual Dress We have all agreed that a few days at sea have been well-earned. If we had stayed a week in Singapore, it still would have not been enough to see it all. If all goes as planned, we will be visiting Singapore again next year and looking forward to exploring further. We are currently heading northwest in the Straits of Malacca, one of the longest straits in the world, if not the longest. Situated between Indonesia and Malaysia, it is another busy body of water for commercial ships. Today we are seeing many vessels as they pass by on the horizon going both ways. We happened to spot two old-style fishing boats from either Indonesia or Malaysia. They were wooden and built similar to those we saw while in Vietnam. Comparatively speaking, the waters are shallow and we were lucky to have smooth seas and very little swells. And we had a really nice breeze going all day, which helped to cool things down. Yes, it is still hot and humid, but nothing like in Singapore. This morning while waiting for the Pinnacle Grill assistant manager Dhana to open the doors, we noticed a crew member who we have not seen for a week or so. He appeared today, and mentioned he had been quarantined with Covid for a week. He seems to be on the mend, but that is a sign that this nasty virus is still around. It is a reminder to all of us to continue the hand washing and sanitizer. Usually we are more conscientious of that when we leave the ship, but the real culprits could be right here onboard. Most of today was used processing an enormous amount of photos taken over the two fabulous days in port. Who can resist the Orchid Gardens and the gorgeous flowers we saw? It was a feast for the eyes. It was time well spent after what seemed like walking for miles and miles the last two days. And we will be talking about our travels in the city for days to come. And half of the fun comes from shared stories of our friends as well. We all did something different. We were so involved with working, that we sort of forgot lunch. Sometimes it is nice to have a few snacks instead. Taking a deck walk around 6pm, we came back to the room in time to get sunset shots. When dinnertime came, we were hungry. There were good appetizers of pork and shrimp spring rolls with a BBQ sauce. Salads came next, followed by pork and veal-stuffed cannelloni and one order of lamb chops, slightly under-cooked. Sharing , one of us took the rarest chop and traded one cannelloni. That worked just fine. A dish of a sliced banana with a touch of chocolate sauce was even better than the sticky sweet desserts. There were several folks missing in the dining room, so we bet they went to the first pop-up of Morimoto By Sea, the new contemporary Asian cuisine that has replaced Rudy’s Sel de Mer. There are always Morimoto items on the every day dinner menu, but this meal is probably more complete. It should be for $55, which is among the most reasonable of the pop-ups. A new entertainer joined us by the name of Rebecca Kelly. She is a comedy vocalist with a powerhouse voice with amusing tricks of the trade. Two more days at sea to enjoy are on the way. Bill & Mary Ann

Report #85 Sunday March 24, 2024 Singapore Day #2 Genting Dream Along Side Us - Queen Mary 2 Left Hot And Humid 95 Degrees Sunny With Clouds Sailaway At 5pm Part #1 Of 6......66 Pictures Day two in Singapore found the tour groups going off early. Forgetting to mention some of them yesterday, here they are. The Best of Singapore included a lunch for 8 ¾ hours and $280, while Around the Island also with a lunch was 6 ½ hours for $150. A ride to the Gardens By The Bay and the Marina Bay Sands Hotel was 4 hours for $140. Yesterday, there was a tour to the Night Safari for 4 hours and $130 and iconic Singapore was 4 hours for $130. Private vehicles were also available as they are in most every port. Sadly, we heard the news about a fatal accident on the Nieuw Amsterdam that took the lives of two crew members. We are all heart-broken as are the crew members here. Our sincerest condolences go out to their families and friends. It will probably take time before the cause of the explosion is discovered. We tried starting our explorations earlier today, but we ended up going off of the ship a bit before 10am like yesterday. Since the all aboard time was 4:30pm, we decided to stick closer to the pier today. Taking the hike back out through the terminal and the checkpoint seemed to go smoother, as did the long walk to the Marina South Pier MRT station. We had hopes that the temperatures would have been lower, but it remained pretty much the same as yesterday. Hot and humid. At this end of the Marina South Pier MRT, it wasn’t so busy, but when we got off at City Hall, it was a different story. Today was Sunday and even more locals were out and about. The City Hall station dropped us off at the Raffles City Mall, where we had to find our way to the street outside. Thank goodness for a lot of signs in the mall, we found where we wanted to go. Walking around the block, we located the famous Raffles Hotel. For the last several years, their property was mostly closed for renovations. When it was ready to open up again, Covid hit and our stop here was cancelled. Back in all of its glory now, we were able to see most of it with the exception of the main lobby which is reserved for hotel guests only. And you had better be dressed properly (no shorts) or you will be allowed inside a bar or restaurant. The Long Bar is more casual and does offer their famous Singapore Sling. Kimberly mentioned in her talk that these sweet drinks cost $39 Singapore dollars these days. With tax that would be close to $30 USD. We’d rather have an ice- cold beer, which is not cheap in Singapore either. We had passed some signs in the hotel’s hallways announcing a wedding reception party here. We happened to run right into the group posing for photos in one of the colonial stairwells. The bride and groom were dressed in traditional Singaporean clothing, mostly red embellished clothing, not the usual white gown and tuxedo. The cameraman had them posing in one shot, then dancing in place in the next frame. Always fun to watch as long as we stayed in the back round. We made our way around to the front entrance to see the turbaned Sikh doorman greeting the guests coming in taxis as well as limos. The front of this iconic hotel is finally finished and was looking mighty fine. In the parking area we spotted limos with flowers attached. Then we saw another bride and groom posing for photos in the front entrance of this iconic hotel. Across the street was St. Andrew’s Cathedral, built in 1856, and Singapore’s oldest cathedral. It is a landmark in this part of the city and just by luck, it was opened today. The local parishioners were just leaving a service holding palm leaves. Then we remembered it was Palm Sunday and the giving of palms is a tradition in the Catholic Church. We were lucky to gain entrance through a side door to see the cathedral’s interior. Very impressive with blue vaulted ceilings, it was beautiful and peaceful. Another mass was about to begin, so we took our pictures and quietly left. The MRT station was right next to the cathedral, so we went down the escalator to find our way to the Gardens By The Bay. This would be the red line for one stop, then a transfer to the brown line. That one was not as easy to find. We found long hallways with few people, and figured we may have been able to walk the streets there faster. The only bad thing was the oppressive heat outside. It was good to be more like gophers and cool off down under. Finally finding the correct connection, we ended up coming out at the far end of the Gardens By The Bay. It was here that we found the park with reportedly 250,000 rare pants and two giant-domed conservatories. The Cloud Forest houses the world’s tallest indoor waterfall. Since our time was limited, we did not enter the domes today. Sunday has to be their busiest day of the week because the lines to tour the domes was long. Too long for us. We did stroll much of the 250 acre park surrounded by a moat. Trying to remember how we crossed over a footbridge to access the Marina Bay Sands Hotel, we finally found it and walked out of the Gardens to get a bird’s eye view of the Singapore Flywheel. Then we made our way through the center upper level of the fabulous “ironboard” hotel. We continued out the doors to another bridge that took us into the Shoppes By The Bay. Escalators took us down to the lower levels where we searched for a pizza restaurant we had found online. This mall is the newest and most opulent in Singapore. It is as glitzy as they come and well worth the visit. There is a huge casino in this complex and the destination of many of the locals as well as foreigners. Going from floor to floor, we went in the direction of where we had lunch 5 years ago. It turned out that restaurant had changed hands and was a Chinese restaurant now. Only opened for dinner it appeared closed. However, right next door was the place we were looking for - Roberta’s Pizza. It was not a large pizzeria, but one that had a wood-fired oven and Italian food. We lucked out and got two seats on the hightop chairs by the bar and the busy cooks. The way it worked here was to look over the menu, then go to their counter and pay for the food and drinks. Then we sipped our Tiger beers while watching the cooks make and bake the pizza. It was pricey by our standards but well worth it for a meal in Singapore. Even the beers were rather high, but that is expected since Singapore adds a hefty tax to anything alcohol. We read somewhere it is an attempt to prevent alcoholism. This is probably a good time to write the list of forbidden items to be brought ashore. There is no chewing gum, chewing tobacco, or imitation cigarette products. Lighters that look like a pistol or revolver are banned as are controlled drugs or psychotropic substances. No surprise here. No endangered species, obscene articles or videos are allowed or reproductions of copyrighted materials. Severe fines and or imprisonment can occur. Finally, e-cigarettes and vapes are prohibited. If found, they will be trashed. Possession and using of hard drugs can be punished by death. OK, back to our story. After relaxing for at the pizza café, it was time to head back and find the correct station to turn in our transit cards and get the refund. Only a few of the stations were able to do that, so we had to choose from the list we were given. We went back to the MRT and were told to go to the Bayfront station. Just by luck, we happened run right into it and they did do the refund there which was S$10 each. Then we had our original S $10 passes to get back to the Marina South Pier with some change left over like $2 each. Our weekend visit had been such a whirlwind of activity, and we have the MRT to thank for getting to places very quickly and easily. On the way out of the MRT station, we spotted many groups of local picnickers on the grassy fields on the waterfront. Some of the younger kids were doing karaoke with speakers, having a really good time. A nice breeze coming from the harbor had cropped up, making our walk a lot more pleasant. We noticed many Asian folks arriving to the cruise terminal and we suspected another ship had docked across from us. It turned out to be the Genting Dream Cruise, a gambling vessel we think. The guests were arriving with only one small suitcase and hand carrys. These types of cruises are numerous between here and Hong Kong and have no trouble filling up with local gamblers. By the time we got back into the terminal hall at 3pm, it was full of guests in line to board the gambling ship. Lucky for us, we had another entrance just for the Zuiderdam. Once through the security and xray checkpoints, we entered the ship and turned in our passports to be held at the front desk. Done for the day, we relaxed in our room and veranda until sail away, which happened after 5pm. Being one of the busiest harbors in the world, the Captain had to zig-zag his way around the many vessels. Our next port will be Colombo, Sri Lanka with three days at sea to arrive there. We are very much looking forward to that break to re-charge our batteries, so to speak. Dinner time found most everyone present after two busy days and a night in port. One of us had a rice paper-wrapped chicken appetizer and one bowl of tortilla soup…..both of which were very good. The Club Orange lamb dinner was one choice and the other was barbacoa sauced beef slices. Different but good. Pineapple was a perfect dessert and one cup of hot coffee as well. If people have the energy, there was a show tonight featuring an instrumentalist by the name of Dennis Lau. He was described as being a showman with finesse and determination to adapt to different music genres. Between the four other music venues, there is something for most everyone. The clocks went back one hour this evening which was appreciate by everyone. Bill & Mary Ann

Report #84 Saturday March 23, 2024 Singapore Day #1 Of 2 Docked Starboard Side To Pier 8am-Overnight Sunny And Hazy 9mph Winds Very Humid 96 Degrees Queen Mary 2 Also A Long Side Part #1 Of 10.......64 Pictures---Casual The Zuiderdam arrived early this morning to Singapore around 7am, but we were not docked and cleared until closer to 8am. We have gotten used to being at a different spot ever since we got the boot from the Harbourfront pier. These days we dock at Marina Bay South and we were not alone. The Queen Mary II, one of Cunard’s large ships was docked across from us. It’s possible that they were ending a cruise here, and taking on new guests. We did learn that about 60 new passengers will join this ship today or tomorrow. And 130 guests went home. Singapore is a small country with only 697 square kilometers. However, it houses 5.8 million people that speak Mandarin, English, Malay and Tamil. It happens to be one of the world’s hot-list destinations and also one of our favorite cities to explore. For those out there that adore shopping, you could take up to 6 months to locate all of the stores. Many are topside, but there is a city down under that equals what you find at ground level. We waited for the tours to go off before we left at 10am. We heard a funny story at breakfast this morning that concerned the mess with the excursion groups. Not only were people making their way to the buses too early, but some guests who were not on tours, were sneaking off with the tour groups to get off earlier. It’s no wonder that the staff eventually blew their stacks. We have noticed that sometimes the excursion groups go off before the general clearance is announced. Today’s process was complicated to say the least. We all had to have our room keys, our passports, and the Electronic Singapore Arrival Card ready to present to the immigration booth. Things have changed here since the last time we stopped in Singapore. Now there are banks of kiosks where we scan our passports, do a thumb print, and have our photo scanned to match the passport. Once completed, a glass door opens and we are released. No one asked to see the arrival papers, which basically declares we are healthy. The next stop is xray, where we are checked the same as when we come back. From here, we walked through the huge parking garage outside the terminal. It leads to a very long covered walkway which took us all the way to the Marina South Pier MRT station. It would have been nice if we could have bought the Singapore Tourist Passes at this station, but they did not sell them here. We had to purchase two $10. (Singapore $) in order to get to a station that sold them. Since we were headed to Harbour Front where these tickets were sold, that ticket got us that far with some left over. There are 15 stations in the system that sell these cards, and tomorrow we will drop them off close to the Marina station and get $10 Singapore refunds on each of our Tourist Cards. In the meantime, we can travel to our heart’s delight and probably exceed what we paid for the cards by a lot. We had to transfer to a different line to access Harbour Front (the purple line), which does involved time and a lot of walking. But we knew exactly where to find the ticket office, and by luck, there was no line there. Normally it is 20 thick. We had a local gal who spoke perfect English and explained how the cards work and where to get our refunds. The price for the two day unlimited card was $29 Singapore dollars each. Tomorrow when we return the cards, we will get S$10 back for each card. From there we walked to the end of the mall where the old cruise terminal was for us a few years ago. We saw that the Silver Shadow was docked there and leaving tomorrow. Ships of that size fit there, where we are too big. Back on the train, we made our way to Chinatown (purple line), got off, and explored the whole busy area. It was close to lunchtime now, and the food court was filling up with customers. We took a lot of photos of the Chinese food items being cooked at each stand. Some of their specialties are duck parts like tongue, feet, gizzards, hearts, necks and livers. This would be a good place for bargains if we were looking for any. Today was just mainly for pictures. Job done, we hopped back on the train (still purple line) and went to Little India. This place was really busy with folks buying fresh produce, meat and fish in the huge marketplace. Going up and down every side street, we saw so much that reminded us of shopping in Mumbai. By the way, did we mention how hot it was today? It was well over 90 degrees with a humidity level in the 70% area. Hot and sticky. It pretty much stopped the hawkers from being aggressive with their shop items. Back to the MRT, we switched to the blue line that took us to the Botanic Garden. This would be the highlight of the day. Walking in the heat of the day might have not been the best idea, but we had no choice….it was now or never. We had brought water with us, but it wasn’t near enough. We remembered that in the center of the garden were vending machines with water, sodas, and ice teas in many flavors. These machines only take coins (no paper money) or credit cards. We had no coins, but watched as some locals used their credit cards to buy drinks. OK, we gave it a try by tapping the card, and it worked. Before we left the park we had bought three drinks that way. And they were life-saving in the heat. Going deeper into the garden, we walked around a pond where we saw a large monitor lizard under a mangrove tree. We had seen two smaller ones when we entered the garden, but this one was big. Thinking it was dead, it finally moved its head….it was simply sleeping in the heat. This pond also had turtles, fish, and some smooth-skinned otters that were reportedly nursing young ones. We searched for them, but they hid successfully. Then we came upon the jewel of the park- the Orchid Garden, which is world-famous. There is a small charge (S$3 each) to get inside, but well worth it. Five or six years ago, this garden underwent a transformation, redoing the Cool House. That was a dome that mimicked a misty mountain zone with different types of orchids and bromeliads that can handle cool and moist weather. On the way to the new build, we took pictures of every orchid, big and small, along the pathways. Gardeners were watering everything, so we suspect they have not had a lot of rain recently. In the Cool House, we saw parasitic orchids, insect killers, and many types of ferns and trees from all over the world. This was the best place to linger as long as we could because it was so much cooler. Eventually we had to leave, but going back outside was torture. It made it seem ever hotter than it had been. Continuing up the hillside, we made our way back to the entrance where we went through their shop on the way out. Many years ago, possibly 20, we had bought a Risis necklace and earring set. These are real orchids that have been dipped in nickel and gold to preserve them. It made us happy to see that the price had gone up substantially over the years. The time was getting away from us, so we headed back to the MRT, which was pretty far away it seemed. If we had something that counted our steps, we may have been surprised how far we had walked so far. Sometimes it is better not to know. Now we had to go a short distance to a different line, the brown line, to access Orchard, the high end area of Singapore. And also the place of the Ion Mall. It is one of the largest in the city and has the most expensive stores that exist. Our destination was lunch at the Hard Rock Café, where we always go to relax for an hour or more. It took us a while to find our way out of the mall until we remembered we had to find Wheelock Place to be at the right exit. It was a good thing there was a concierge in the mall for us to get directions. Once out in the street on Orchard Road, we knew where to find the café. Climbing their stairs, we were seated at a window table where we ordered a draft beer and one Coke Zero. Adding a plate of cheese nachos with grilled chicken, we were happy campers. Resting up with cold drinks and a little food gave us our second wind to continue on our journey. But before we left, we made a stop in the HRC shop and got two t-shirts. Not expecting it to work, we provided our member number and did receive 20% off. It sure would have been nice if a hint of a breeze popped up, but it did not. By now, we noticed the heat had taken a toll for one of us, and there was just enough energy to get back to the ship. That was an adventure in itself. Finding our way back into the Ion Mall, we switched to the red line which went back to Marina South Pier, the end of the line. By the time we walked the covered walkway back to the ship, it was 6pm. Needless to say, it was good to be back on the ship with air-conditioning. Tonight we had been promised that the veal cutlet or veal chop was available for Club Orange. Both of us had Caesar salads and the grilled chops, which were delicious. Tender and tasty, we wish they offered them more often. So far they have appeared once a month. No room for dessert, we opted for a cup of coffee and one scoop of sorbet instead. There was no live show in the World Stage, but a very good movie we have seen three times, was Crazy Rich Asians. Filmed partly in the Gardens by the Bay, we recognized many areas in the 250 acre park that we had visited on past trips here. The best show for us had to be the view from our veranda of the Marina Bay Sand Hotel, the one that looks like an ironing board, and the Singapore Flyer, the Ferris wheel that offers spectacular views of the city. Seeing the city all lit up was magical. Hopefully with a good night’s rest, we will be ready for another busy, but shorter, day in Singapore. Bill & Mary Ann

Report #83 Friday March 22, 2024 Sea Day Enroute To Singapore Sunny With A Few Clouds 82 Degrees 7mph Wind Seas Are Flat Part #1 Of 1.......No Pictures---Casual Dress It was a lazy day at sea for us and many others as the Zuiderdam sailed towards Singapore doing 20 knots. Captain Friso said that the smooth seas and following winds were in our favor. And the warm but comfortable weather with a nice breeze was just about perfect. We learned that around 130 guests will be leaving the ship tomorrow and only 60 or so will be joining. More than likely some of the crew members will be ending their 8 month contracts and leaving as well. But we suspect that not all of them will be replaced. As this voyage continues, we believe there will be a further drop in the passenger count, especially when we head across the Atlantic Ocean in May. When the current itinerary changed, eliminating the Mediterranean, we feel that a number of folks made a decision to leave in Singapore. They were given that option to leave and receive future cruise credit for the missed days. Not everyone wanted a repeat of Africa, especially West Africa, since we did that last year. This morning we all received two more stickers for the cruise log booklet, adding the ports from Tokyo to Singapore. We are well beyond the halfway mark now. We still had not received our copies of the Singapore landing card info we had requested from the front desk folks as promised by this morning. So we made a call to our concierge, Michelle, who had to search for our emails from yesterday. In the meantime, she gave us her personal email to re-send the forms. While doing this, she located our emails and had already made copies for us. And even nicer, she delivered them personally to our room. She had brought her two daughters with her, who are visiting from the Philippines. How nice to meet them. They are teenagers we are guessing, and are having a fine time sailing for a few days on the ship. Their dad, Ray, is the bartender in the Ocean Bar, so having to see both of their parents at the same time is rare. The two young girls will be among the guests departing the ship tomorrow. Everyone had to pick up their passports to carry with us when we go off of the ship. The tables were set up in the passenger deck elevator lobbies, and it went smooth as glass. Kimberly delivered her Singapore talk this morning at 10am, so we looked for it on TV and found it this afternoon. Deciding to watch it around 4pm, we discovered it was gone. Will try after dinner, but have no faith it will be there. Of course we have been to the city several times in the past, but sometimes Kimberly adds extra tips, or closures we do not know about. Every bit of info we can gather is always a good thing. Doing online homework has been a big help with figuring out the MRT ticket counters that will be open tomorrow where we are docked. If nothing has changed since we were here last, we will be OK. The Culinary Council Dinner menu was the theme tonight. It had a different type of salad with lots of things we like, including breaded shrimp. Both of us ordered the prime rib, but ½ size orders. The serving size was still more than enough. And it was good. One of us had the craqulin dessert, a chocolate pudding- filled type muffin. Our friend Heo surprised us and came over to say goodbye. We wished him a safe trip and we sure hope to see him and Greg in the future. We will really miss seeing him and also getting his port pictures. Annie Gong was on the stage again tonight showcasing her one woman symphony concert. She is a favorite of the longtime world cruisers. Ready or not….Singapore, here we come. Bill & Mary Ann

Report #82 Thursday March 21, 2024 Phu My Port For Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam 6am-5:30pm Docked Starboard Side To Pier Sunny With Sea Haze Hot And Humid 95 Degrees Part #1 Of 5.......55 Pictures--Casual Dress Well, we’re up a river today, one of the hundreds of Vietnamese rivers with foreign-sounding names we cannot pronounce. This river or its tributaries might go as far as Ho Chi Minh (formerly Saigon) but only the smaller vessels and cruise ships can sail there. The Zuiderdam is way too large, so we docked at an international cruise port near Phu My. You might ask what’s in Phu My? We can verify there is absolutely nothing for tourists except the place to take bus tours elsewhere. Today we are docked in a different spot and although there are buildings, it is totally industrial. This dock seems to be a storage area for gigantic metal cylinders that are wired in the center core and made to connect to each other. Their purpose is a mystery to all of us. However, we will investigate later. Since we do not plan on going into Ho Chi Minh or anywhere else, we figured it was a good time to attend to another directive sent to us this morning. This letter gave instructions on Singapore arrival cards we will need in two days from now. They are free and we do not need tourist visas there. So we went online and filled out their required information for each of us. Some of the questions were fuzzy, such as what ship are we on. Zuiderdam was not in their data base. So the correct answer was “others”. Once completed and accepted, it was recommended to download the form on our cell phone. Of course, we do not have a cell phone, so what now? A further request was to fill out Sri Lanks electronic arrival cards. Before we left home, we applied for the free Sri Lanka visas and were granted them. No print outs were required with these. However, just to be sure, one of us went down to the front desk to ask for help with the Singapore cards. And besides, we needed to buy some Singapore money….might as well kill three birds with one stone. Expecting to find only a few guests in line due to the tours that went off, it was surprising to see a line that had formed down the hallway. Many others had trouble figuring out the questions and answers with their cell phones. Normally, we do all of this on paper forms and turn them in. Now it is all online. I helped a nice but upset lady behind me figure out what to answer on the fuzzy questions. Even her city of residence was not there, just like ours was not. Finally my turn to get help, I was told to email our Singapore approved applications to the website of the Front Desk. We had to request printed cards to be sent to our room. So far, it is 10pm and no cards have been delivered. Surprised? No. The money buying was easy, as was breaking large bills into 20’s, 10’s, and 5’s. We like the ship’s cash because it is new, clean and not torn. Many countries will not accept old or worn currency. Back in our room, we tried to complete the Sri Lanka electronic arrival card, but we were a day too soon. We will be there on March 28th and have plenty of time to figure it out. So much for the big job of the day, we headed off of the ship by 10am to temperatures near mid-90’s and high humidity. Good thing there was a breeze going on. Intending only to check out their souvenir tables, we talked to some folks who had ridden the shuttle bus to the port gate. They never got off of the bus and rode it back to the dock. They said nothing was there. We had to find out ourselves, so we got on the next shuttle and rode the one minute ride to the gate. All that was there were maybe a dozen taxi drivers offering us cheap tours. No thanks….been there done that three times. We did see some happy crew members coming back with large bags of KFC, so there was civilization somewhere. Taxi drivers mentioned a mall, but frankly, that was the last place we wanted to go. So outside the security checkpoint, there was a wide road with nice walkways under tall shade trees for quite a way. The tide was up in the river and along the walkway were tidal basins on the riverbank where we spotted some birds. There were mostly egrets, pigeons and more swifts. Not much else, except lots of road trash. We ended up walking an hour or more taking pictures of the factories and industrial buildings. Other than the big rig drivers, we saw few local people. Occasionally some motorbikes passed by, but that was about it. At one end of the walkway, we watched as one of those huge cylinders was being trucked into the dock area. We did ask a few fellows what these were, but no one spoke English. We ended up bussing back with many crew members who had gone “snack” shopping. For us, it was Coca Cola time since we had not thought to bring water off with us. It turned out our timing was bad. It was close to noontime and some of the tour buses were coming back. We did check out the souvenir tables with t-shirts, caps, magnets, little kid toys, purses, handbags, and wooden lacquer items. They also sold some Vietnamese clothing and flip-flops, as well as designer watches – all knock-offs. No sense to even attempt bargaining (which they expect) with so many people shopping there. Better to come back later, if at all. We never did go back. We cooled off with those sodas and spent some time on our veranda watching the river traffic. There were all sizes of boats and ships, but nothing like what we saw in Da Nang. Checking out a website, we did see that the Celebrity Solstice and another ship were also docked in the river. The Solstice is quite large and had to be docked closer to the river’s entrance. We would see it later on our way out to sea. So where did some of the guests go today? The best of Ho Chi Minh was 8 ½ hours for $150, and a tour to see the Cu Chi tunnels for 10 hours was $140. Both of these excursions included lunch. Also a lunch, there was a taste of Vietnam in partnership with Food and Wine for 7 hours and $140. Shorter tours were Vung Tau for 4 hours at $60 or Ba Ria for 3 ½ hours for $50. A transfer only to Ho Chi Minh was also $60 for 8 ½ hours on your own. Comparatively speaking, today’s excursions were the most affordable so far in our opinion. All aboard was 5:30pm, and we all had to turn in our landing cards to a box at the front desk. Before 6pm, Captain Friso carefully turned the ship around and headed back down the river. We stayed on the veranda the whole time enjoying the scenic cruising. The sun went down and the lights came on, which really made everything look so much nicer, even if it was all industrial. Numerous container ships were operating through the night, which is smart since it is much cooler. And like we said, we passed by the Celebrity Solstice just as she was ready to leave as well. With up to 3400 passengers, this ship is much larger than the Zuiderdam. Captain Friso did toot the horn as we sailed by. It was dinner time by the time we passed by Vung Tau, the city on the seaside. It was lit up like a Christmas tree. Dinner time was celebrating the end of another segment with the parade of the cooks and waiters. Why tonight, we do not know, since tomorrow is a day at sea. No one goes home until Saturday we believe. We ordered the spicy chicken/peanut sauce dipped appetizer with one salad and one chicken noodle soup. It’s still spaghetti soup and we gave up trying to get the noodles. Entrees were the veal tenderloin – one with rice and one with a baked potato. We skipped the parsnip puree which is really of swipe on the plate. We passed on dessert, which really upsets our waiter. He loves to bring a complete dinner, but it can be way too much at times. Showtime featured instrumentalist Dennis Lau, a pianist and violinist. People were filing out of the dining room early, so we are not sure how many of them make it to the later show. Since some of the tours left at 6:15am, we doubt many folks will go to the show tonight. We knew that the clocks had to go ahead one hour tonight, but our waiters forgot to tell us, and there was no card left on the bed like they usually leave it. The front desk folks verified that yes, the clocks went forward tonight. We don’t like that, but at least we have a sea day to relax before Singapore. Bill & Mary Ann

Report #81 Wednesday March 20, 2024 Sea Day Enroute To Phu My Cruise Port For Ho Chiu Minh City Sunny With Heavy Sea Haze 84 Degrees 27mph Winds 4" Swell Part #1 Of 1.......No Pictures----Dressy Night The rain from last night was gone when we woke up this morning, which was a nice surprise. It did seem to be warmer with temperatures in the mid 80’s and accompanied with high humidity. Hard to believe only 10 days ago, we were wearing our heavy coats in ice cold China, complaining about it. What a big difference now. We expect the same warm and sticky weather now for most of the remainder of the cruise. Taking our walk this morning, we finally saw more folks coming outside on the teak lounges. Gone are the blue plaid blankets. The dark blue towels are back. During our walk, we saw some more of the small swifts still flying around the ship. We were certain they would find a home in our last port of Da Nang. Guess they did not like the neighborhood. Another bird that was really lost was one white egret and possibly one booby. The flying fish are starting to appear again indicating we are sailing in warmer waters now. Going to the Seaview Pool, we had a nice visit with Greg, our long time tablemate.. He informed us that Heo is going home in Singapore and will not be returning. His parent’s health has been failing recently, and he feels the need to be closer to home to help his brother out. Since they live in Sydney, Heo will be at home to give them extra care. He will be missed by their many friends. Our big job of the day was attending to another muster drill procedure, which is a piece of cake now. We could have sworn we just did one, but looking back on the calendar, it has been exactly one month since the last one. Passengers in the odd numbered rooms went first at 1pm. The even numbered folks, like us, went at 1:30pm. We headed down to deck three around 1:20pm, and beat the crowd going down. Our cards were scanned, then we watched our stateroom TV with the vital information in case of an emergency. We should be good for another month now. We are still not sure where the ship will be docked tomorrow, although Captain Friso did mention something about changes at his noon talk. Honestly, it really does not matter since every one of the docks on the river are just that. Docks…a place to tie the ship up and nothing more. There is no place to walk to such as a town or village, so we plan to stay onboard. If there are souvenir stands on the pier, we might check it out. With Singapore coming up this weekend, we did some research on their transit cards and where to buy them. It used to be easy when we docked at Harbourfront. But now we are out in the sticks at Marina Bay South, and they may not sell those tickets there. One way or another, we’ll figure it out because this is one stop we make the most of our time. And the good thing is we will have two full days to explore and enjoy it. The dress suggestion was “dressy” this evening, although while taking a late walk on the promenade deck at 5:30pm, we noticed some folks did not get that memo. Casual is as good as it gets for some, which is fine. Jackets for the fellows are a bit on the warm side with this weather, but it is only for a few hours. The appetizers were a little strange, but there is always the choice of jumbo shrimp and Caesar salad. We had both. Mains were the surf and turf (shrimp and a tenderloin steak) and a lasagna. We have been waiting to see the veal cutlet show up on the Club Orange menu, but so far, we only saw it twice on this whole trip. So we asked our head waiter, Hazel, who checked into it and said it will be served on March 23rd. We said count us in….we will be there. One of us had a little serving of pineapple for dessert which was perfect. The show tonight was a performance of the singers and dancers with These Dreams: A Journey To Love. Their routine should be a piece of cake since the seas have been behaving with slight swells and following winds. There was a very pointed note waiting for all of us in our room after dinner. It came from Henk M, the hotel director, and it concerned the shore excursion dispatch procedure for the tour groups. Really, this did not apply to us since we no longer participate in bus tours, but we found it interesting. Several years ago, a change had to be made to sticker the guests on tours at the exit from the show lounge. Prior to that, they were stickered on their way inside the lounge, then left to run to the buses to get the best seats. It worked better back then, but somewhere along the line, they went back to the old way. We assume it has caused some conflict with the staff and other guests. Here is the way Henk worded the warning: While nothing is ever perfect, we can implore, plead, or urge you all, especially those of you seemingly not wanting to comply with the principal effort behind the complexities of this operation to cease and desist being a “rebel without a cause”. A mouthful of words, we hope people take notice. You do know that if things get out of hand, people can be removed from the cruise. We have seen it happen. Bill & Mary Ann

Report #80 Tuesday March 19, 2024 Da Nang, Vietnam Docked Starboard Side To Pier 8am-10:30pm Sunny With Haze And Clouds 86 Degrees Slight Breeze And Warming Up Part #1 Of 4.......66 Pictures---Casual Dress Another day, and another country. This time it is Vietnam – a place that we never thought we would be visiting over and over again. Today’s port was Da Nang, one of the smaller cities, even though it is still huge. We were here several years ago, and at that time we took tours to Hue and also to Hoi An, since we had two full days in port. So here’s some info on Vietnam. The population is 95.3 million people that speak Vietnamese. The capital is Hanoi in the northern part of the country. There were several tours here which included a 4 hour Da Nang by rickshaw and museum visit for $70, or later this evening, a 4 hour trip to Hoi An. Missed the pricing on that one, but it is doable since all aboard time is 10:30pm. Out of the area tours included a 9 hour one to Hue with lunch for $155, as well as ancient Hoi An for 7 ½ hours for $130. There are always private car or van excursions in every port, but too many to list. And the big one was a 2 night 3 day overland to Angkor Wat for $2200. The best memory we have of our first visit to Nha Trang in Vietnam was trying to cross a wide street with a tsunami of motorbikes coming at us……none of them stopping. Our guide said the secret to crossing was to keep going, don’t stop, and they will go around you. It worked, but it sure raised the blood pressure. Anyway, their favorite food is sweet and salty, sour and crunchy whatever they are cooking. Favorites are fish head soup and lots of veggies and everything rice. Pho noodles are a big treat for all. We had breakfast as usual, but today we had the view of the water and watched as various types of fishing boats went by our windows. These vessels are wooden and unique to this country. Painted blue and red or brown and orange, they serve a purpose such as shrimping or deep sea fishing. We even saw one of those “bowl” shaped boats go by. So we went off of the ship shortly after 10am and went through the little security shack to have our landing cards stamped. We will need to keep these cards until we leave the next and last Vietnam port of Phu My. Our temperatures were taken at this shack as well although we did not know it at the time. We did not plan on booking any tours today, but hoped to simply take a walk to see what we could. Yesterday we had been told there may be a $10 bus shuttle one way to downtown Da Nang which was 8 miles from the dock. All that was provided were four electric golf carts that took the folks to the port gate….no further. This dock is a working dock and walking was not allowed. Even Henk and Christel, who were heading out on their bikes, had to put them in the cart and ride to the gate. There was no shuttle, only a ton of taxi drivers trying to get us to go anywhere. They do not take “no thanks” for an answer. It might take 10 times that for them to give up. Many couples will go to the furthest taxi driver at the end of the queue in order to get the best price for a ride. We saw that happen more than once this morning. It had been mentioned that there may be souvenir tables set up outside the port gate, but there was nothing. What we saw was a bunch of small shops and bars and a whole lot of trash everywhere. Mostly broken beer and water bottles and chip wrappers, etc. A few other guests had walked further past the mess, but gave up when the sidewalk ended. Oh well, it was warm, but there was a breeze and some shade along the road, so we continued our hike. It took us past several military facilities, mostly naval it appeared. Besides the big rigs from the port, there were lots of locals on motorbikes. Every time a taxi passed us, they beeped, in hopes we would wave them down. They even stopped and followed us until we finally said no thanks a dozen times. The map supplied from the ship was basically useless here. The map was more of the central city of Da Nang and not where we were docked. We still carry the maps with us because they also contain the port info, address, and phone number. The local currency rate is printed on it as well which today was 1 USD = 24.76 Vietnamese dong. We figured we had hiked about 6 miles when we came to the outskirts of town and a number of small cafes, shops, and stores on both sides of the road. We had not gotten far enough to run into any hotels. The little cafes were just opening their doors, but we knew the cuisine was most likely not going to work for one of us, so we decided to turn back. Just then, a taxi guy pulled up, and we wisely negotiated a ride back to the pier with the help of our printed map which had the phrase “return us to the ship, please”. The young driver had actually had a phone that translated English to his language. But the letter worked better. He was very nice, drove safely, and charged us appropriately. We waited at the gate for the golf cart, and rode the rest of the way back to the ship. Our landing cards were checked once again. Even though we had brought water with us, the ice cold Cokes sure tasted a lot better. We did Dive In for lunch and relaxed in the room and outside on the veranda which had a beautiful breeze later in the afternoon. Around 3pm, there was a flotilla of the fishing boats passing us going in one direction. And we mean hundreds of them, which we guessed they may be going out for evening fishing. In the past, we have passed these types of boats off of the coast fishing with strong lights in the darkness. Hopefully we will see these tonight after we leave the port. Captain Friso came on the speakers around 6pm, and gave the report for tomorrow’s day at sea. He mentioned that there was a significant storm with monsoon-type rains heading our way. He hoped to be able to outrun it. So far, we have been lucky not to have had any severe weather, but that could change. The Captain had hoped to leave sooner than 10:30pm, but that would depend on whether everyone was back onboard. Dinner was good with some nice appetizers of drunken? chicken (looked sober to us) and a tomato soup. Salads were Caesar and arugula for a change. Mains were the same…..sweet and sour crispy breaded shrimp with jasmine rice and plenty of extra sweet and sour sauce. They cannot serve this often enough in our humble opinion. We would also like sweet and sour pork or chicken. Hint, hint…. Dessert for one of us was a sliced banana with a small ramekin of chocolate sauce. A little wicked, but good. As this is being written 11pm, we checked outside our veranda and discovered it was raining. Not bad, but definitely wet. Hope this is not the start of the deluge……. Bill & Mary Ann

Report #79 Monday March 18, 2024 Sea Day Enroute To Da Nang, Vietnam Warmer And Humid, Hazy With Sun 80 Degrees Sea State-Flat Part #1 Of 1.......24 Pictures Not too much to report today with one big exception. During breakfast we suddenly discovered dolphins swimming in the wake right outside our window in the Pinnacle Grill. Yelling “dolphins”, many guests jumped up and turned on their cell phone cameras. Too bad they were too late to catch one of the jumping dolphins as they disappeared as fast as they appeared. And we did not have our camera with us. Of course, we watched until 9am, and never saw another one. Maybe later….. We stayed on dolphin-watch in our room while working online. It has really heated up as we travel further south towards Vietnam. The high of the day had to exceed 80 degrees which we found out when going to the Seaview Pool. For the first time in weeks, some sunbathers were there on the lounges and even in the pool. Now most folks have to be careful not to burn, even us. Our friend Greg came by and chatted for a while. It was good to catch up on each other’s adventures for the last few days. We have usually gone in different directions in each port, so at the end of the day by sharing, we feel we have covered a lot more territory. Both Heo and Greg are “foodies” and readily enjoy trying local cuisine. Lucky for them, there are no allergies there. Hong Kong was one of the places to eat locally they said. The photos they shared told the story. Captain Friso came on the speakers after sounding the horn. He really likes laying on the ship’s horn or whistle as it is called. Yesterday it was necessary while leaving the harbor in Hong Kong as there was so much boat and ship traffic with the danger of low fog. Today that heavy fog was mostly gone. The skies were not totally clear, but overcast and cloudy. Later in the morning, it did warm up as the clouds broke up. We think the time has come we can pack our cold weather jackets in the suitcases under the bed. If we had stuck to the original itinerary, the jackets would have been needed for the Mediterranean. Kimberly had another port talk on Ho Chi Minh City. The ship will dock at Phu My, which sounds good but is not. There is absolutely nothing there. No terminal, no town, no facilities…..nothing. There may be a few souvenir tables set up, but we have been there many times with nothing offered. There are tours from this port, which we have done more than three times to Saigon, and once to Vung Tau, a seaside resort. It will probably be like a sea day for us and many of our buddies. The port tomorrow will be Da Nang, so we listened to Kimberly’s entire talk on that stop only to find out we will be docked 30 minutes away from town by car. There was a possible bus that might take guests to town for a $10 round trip ticket. But that was not confirmed yet. Maybe they will tell us if that will happen when we arrive. Doing a little research, we learned that a big Celebrity ship will be in the port as well. The last time we were here, we went to Hue and Hoi An, but never saw any of Da Nang. Maybe this time we will. Just by luck, we had another spotting of the dolphins in the afternoon. Once again, they appeared far off of the ship and unless you were looking for them, you would never spot them. This time the camera was ready and we did get some cool shots. In a couple of minutes, they were gone. The sea water is getting warmer as well, so we expect to see some flying fish once again. And we still have some birds tagging along with us. That flock of swifts were seen flying at the back deck, as well as a larger bird. We could not identify that one. A bit more disturbing was the sighting of two military jets flying over us today. It makes us realize that we are not in “Kansas” anymore, a term said in the Wizard of Oz movie of the past. If there was a sunset, we sure did not see it. The horizon appeared to be in a haze again. Dinner was OK…better than last night’s lamb soup. Greg said he had ordered that same stew and it was awful. Not a stew, but boiled lamb with veggies. And his was cold. Tonight Hazel, our dining room assistant, said so many guests complained that the chef said he had to re-do his recipe. Actually, throwing it away and starting over would be a better idea. We both ordered the chicken tenders for appetizers, a winner for sure. One of us had a salad and the other a bowl of pea soup, but not Dutch pea soup. It was missing the smoked sausage that makes it so good. Mains were chicken piccata with parsley mashed potatoes, carrots, broccoli and a mushroom gravy. And that was just fine. A sliced banana worked for a light dessert. The entertainer this evening was a familiar name – Annie Gong. She has been a frequent performer and was back with her classic accordion. She simulates a virtual one-woman symphony orchestra…..a popular musician for the regular world cruise travelers. Bill & Mary Ann

Report #78 Sunday March 17, 2024 St. Patrick's Day Hong Kong, China-Day #2 Heavy Overcast With Smog 69-79 Degrees Sailaway At 4:30pm Part #1 Of 6.......66 Pictures---Casual Dress---Green HAPPY ST. PATRICK’S DAY TO ALL!!! The day began much like yesterday as far as the weather was concerned. That heavy smog-like haze remained over the entire city, although it was not cold. At 7am, the temperature was in the low 70’s and there was some humidity in the air. At least we are not getting a shock every time we touch something metal. That was occurring ever since we arrived to Tianjin, China. We tolerate the chilly weather, but really prefer mild, warm, and sunny. That will come in time…..and more. During breakfast, Suzanne shared some photos of her walk around the terminal yesterday. She had not been able to spot a sidewalk that led to the streets to downtown Kowloon, but did discover the garden part of the cruise terminal located on the roof. We had already decided not to return to the APM Mall, since all aboard was 3pm. After the delays we experienced yesterday, as well as hearing more stories much like ours, we knew we could not trust that we would get back to the ship on time. We do not recall ever leaving Hong Kong so early on day two. Many times we have sailed out of this magnificent harbor in the dark, which is a real treat seeing the city lit up. So around 11am, we ventured off of the ship after completing yesterday’s photos and report, keeping us up to date. We had been under the impression that there was no way to walk out of this terminal due to the construction going on. Even the information fellow down by the exit said if we wanted to take a walk, we could go up to the garden on the roof, or walk outside a little way. Their final suggestion is to take a taxi somewhere, one thing we did not want to do. Anyway, we picked up the map of the MTR Stations and noticed there was a list of buses that came to this terminal that went to different areas. Bus numbers, times, duration of the ride, and the price was posted on one side. Some buses came back to the terminal, some did not. Then we noticed that this flyer was dated for today, and also had the times for the free coach to the APM Mall, the one we took yesterday. Today, the shuttles ran every hour, not ½ hour as was printed on the newsletter. There was a window where we could buy Hong Kong dollars or turn in other currencies like yen we still had. And just a note to ourselves…..we did exchange yen for US dollars, but it had to be converted to HK dollars first, then US dollars. Since it was a small amount, the fee was negligible. But it is better to do the exchange in the same country of the money. Better yet…..spend it all. This was the same place to buy those bus passes and even purchase an Octopus Card for seniors. This is something to remember if we ever come back here. We could ride the MTR for two days for a very small amount and not worry about taxis. It sure works for us in Singapore and we hope that has not changed since we were there last. Making our way the same street the bus took yesterday, we found the entrance to the Kai Tak Skypark. Lucky for us, we had run into another couple we see often on world and longer voyages, and they said they had made their way back to the terminal from the Mall yesterday, mostly because he could not lift his wheelchair-bound wife into the coach. They did indeed find the right street and sidewalks all the way back from town. It was not easy to see at first, but there was a fountain with stairs going up to a wide elevated garden walk. This was perfect, and even more so because they were few people up here. Mostly local joggers and a few dog walkers were here. Forbidden on this garden wall are bikes, roller skates, and skate boards. Much better for people that are hiking like us. It was extremely well-maintained and clean as could be. And the view of both Hong Kong Island and Kowloon was spectacular. One thing we did not anticipate was how warm it became as the day advanced. The haze had thinned to a point that it actually got too warm. Many benches were placed in between plantings of trees, shrubs, and flowers. Grasses and ground covers filled every planted area. We even saw some birds in these trees today as well as one lone kite or hawk. There were many stairways as well as elevators to access this garden walk. What a wonderful discovery. There were many signs describing how this area came about. This long finger of a peninsula was actually the old airport runway. Once it was relocated to Lantau Island, this Kai Tak Cruise Terminal was built. Long and narrow, it takes up the far end of the old runway. Then the Skypark Garden begins where the terminal ends. It is built above the old runway and runs the full length of it. The walk continued all the way to the old airport we believe. It had to be about a mile or more from end to end. In a few areas of the walkway, there were small wind turbines that charge batteries that supply the LED lighting along the pathway and also in the floor. Hard to believe it takes so little of these windmills to create the energy needed. New towers of apartment complexes are going up on both sides of the Skypark. They are massive and modern with fountains and swimming pools to die for. We could not help but notice that the scaffolding is made from bamboo. When they are completed, this Skypark Garden will be much appreciated for exercise and the views. Of course, on the way back, we tested the nice benches along the way. Especially the ones that were in some shade. Had we known there were drink vending machines up here, we would not have cashed out our HK dollars. After taking hundreds of pictures, we got back to the terminal with enough time to check out the roof. Locating an elevator, we went there to find another rooftop garden with three sets of escalators, none of which were operating. Only two sets of elevators took the folks to either A or B terminals. And by the way, another ship had arrived this morning and docked behind us. It was called Resorts World One, an Asian-owned ship registered in the Bahamas. It was about the same size as the Zuiderdam with up to 1856 passengers and built in 1999. The gross tonnage was 75,000 and there were 13 decks. Checking it out later online, the rooms looked very Asian-decorated with a mix of insides, outsides, and many verandas. Today was their turn-around day, and eventually they left after 3pm. We did see a good-sized group of mostly Asian ladies running from a bus to board the ship shortly before it left. Back to the roof, we found there was a large venue for private parties. Last night there was a wedding reception, so that explains the lights we saw from deck 10 on the ship. On the opposite end was an origami café for kids. It appears it is rented for groups and not open to the public. We had built up a mighty thirst, so we headed back down and did the security checkpoints. They asked to see our passport copies twice, comparing it to the name on our room cards. The xray was done in the terminal, which saved time onboard. We had a surprise when we jumped in the elevator. It went up almost to deck six, stopped, buzzed and dropped back down to the third deck. It almost felt like a free-fall at first. The doors opened and we jumped out. The security officer said they had shut down all of the elevators for a quick test. They did resume working in 5 minutes, but that was not a good feeling thinking we might be stuck. It did happen to our friends not that long ago…an experience they will never forget. All aboard was 3pm and around 10 minutes later, our new Captain Friso welcomed us as he is taking over now. He did mention that Hong Kong is one of his favorite harbors, and we had hoped we could sail further up to see the area where we usually docked. However, it was not be since we were already facing the way out. Besides more cranes for new construction on the Kowloon side, we also spotted an area that was being leveled, like a mountain being tiered and the sand taken away. We will have to research this, even though Captain Friso mentioned it as we passed by. The haze became heavier the further away we got from the harbor, the horn had to be blasted every two minutes. There was a lot of traffic with small boats and we had to announce our presence. Even a few miles away, we could not see the city anymore. Tonight was everything St. Paddy’s Day. Green lights decorated the dining room and the menu matched with appropriate Irish items. Both of us had the smoked chicken appetizer….most delicious. One salad ordered was nicoise (tuna) which always had flaked tuna in it. Now they put a chunk of ahi tuna on the plate, so I asked for no tuna. Our entrees were a choice between corned beef and cabbage, not our favorite, or an Irish stew. We chose the stew and were surprised it came like a soup. It was tasty, but we missed the gravy that usually holds it together. There was a bar hop that began at 8pm and it was in full swing when we left the dining room. The Ocean Bar had to be the fourth stop. We believe that many people got their money’s worth ($25). There was a movie in the World Stage, so the bar hop must have been more appealing. And the clocks went back one hour tonight , giving us all a 25 hour day at sea tomorrow. Bill & Mary Ann

Report #77 Saturday March 16, 2024 Hong Kong, China Docked Port Side To Pier At Kai Tak Terminal 7am-Overnight Day #1 Of 2 Very Smoggy No Sun 73 Degrees Part #1 Of 4........57 Pictures---Casual Well, here we are in Hong Kong, one of our favorite places to visit. The weather was dreadful-looking outside with overcast skies and a heavy haze that sure looked like smog. It was not cold, however. The temperature was close to 70 this morning. It might not be the best day for those going to Victoria Peak on Hong Kong Island. At least it was not raining. During breakfast, we watched outside the Pinnacle Grill window while a large truck pulled up with two dragons. Dragons….you say? Of course they were the Dragon and Lion Dance and Drum Show performing for all of us. It took them all of 45 minutes to assemble the dragons and “man” the bodies. The drummers were the best. If anyone thought they could sleep in after 8:30am on the portside, they would be quite surprised how far those drums sounds can travel. We went back to our veranda to watch, but were mostly blocked by an extra gangway. Towards the end of the 15 minute show, one of the dragons broke loose and came our way waving at us and others, as well as our room steward Putu who was washing veranda windows at the time. Pretty good we thought. And we did get some neat pictures. Here’s a snippet of info about Hong Kong. The population is 7.18 million folks that speak mostly Cantonese and English. Situated on several islands and part of the mainland, it is connected by ferries, trams, an underground metro, buses and cars. It boasts that they have the world’s smoothest transport systems. It is also considered one of the world’s top culinary capitals where they worship the “God of Cookery” with Cantonese, Sichuanese, Japanese, and French cuisine according to Lonely Planet. Their favorite food is dim sum, pork buns, teahouses and late night snacks. There are too many sights to mention but if you booked a HAL tour (as we have many times) you would see the best of Hong Kong for 8 ¼ hours for $220. Or there are shorter tours like East meets West for 3 hours and $220. The Kowloon Market is a winner at $55 for 4 ½ hours while a trip to Lantau Island to see the worlds biggest Buddha was $240 and 7 ½ hours. Taking the Lantau Skyrail was an option for $130 for 4 hours, but we were informed that it was shut down due to maintenance today. Lastly, an evening harbor cruise was 2 ¾ hours for $140. We have done them all over the years. There was some confusion with the complimentary shuttle offered today, as well as a last minute offer of a $10 USD bus to take folks to the Star Ferry Terminal area. On all of the past world’s cruises when we stopped here, we docked in the Star Ferry terminal. Not any more. Even before Covid and 2020, we were moved to the Kai Tak Terminal (former airport). It is not conveniently located to the major attractions. The last time we were here, we were taken to the Peninsula Hotel by the shuttle, which worked out fine. Yes it was an inconvenience, but we were put in an area we all knew well. Now we were transferred to the APM Mall, supposedly one of the largest in Hong Kong. However it is miles from the sights we wish to visit. Complicating the matter even more, there was another shuttle costing $10 USD one way to the Star Ferry Terminal area. It was more direct, but it was a one- way trip only. The only way back to the cruise terminal was by taxi or the MTR (mass transit) to the mall. So that was not a good deal. The only good thing about the free shuttle was that it dropped you off close to the MTR Kwun Tong station, and if we could figure it out, we could make our way to the top of Nathan Road several miles away from the Mall. Once the free bus (made for tiny people) filled up, it took no more than 15 minutes to get to the mall. And we need to mention here that HAL did not pay for this shuttle, as it was tied to the mall. It runs all of the time for anyone who wished to use it. We had missed a few details before coming to the mall on the first bus. One was not getting an MTR map and the other was failing to get some Hong Kong dollars. Normally, we would be able to purchase HK dollars on the ship, but with a few exceptions, they do not do that anymore at the front desk. In addition, we had been told that the metro accepts Visa as a payment method. We watched some guests from the ship try tapping their cards to gain entrance to the trains, and it would not work. Asking at the customer service desk, we were told it was Hong Kong cash only for short trips. And it was a different type of Visa card that works here. The mall was big, very nice, and modern. But to tell the truth we have been in so many of these, we wanted to get outside and explore. Somehow we found our way to the MTR and ran into friends Mike and Nancy who were trying to do the same thing as us. Since we did not have any local money, we went in search of a money exchange shop. There was nothing in the entire mall except ATMs and banks….none of which exchange foreign money. So we went outside and around the block, down some alleys, and found a side street with an exchange place. Now the fun was trying to remember how to get back into the mall or find the access to the metro. No matter which direction we walked, it was like salmon swimming upstream. Back inside, we bought our tickets for a total of $20 HK ($2.56 USD). This would get us to the top of Nathan Road at the Prince Edward Street. By the way, everything was crowded because today was Saturday. Many families were out and about as well as lots of school age kids. They filled the trains, the streets, and the stores. If we thought the trains were crowded, our destinations of the Mong Kok Flower Market, the Bird Market, and the Ladies Market were wall-to-wall shoppers. We were actually surprised to see the old bird market still in operation, because when we got off of the ship, we were handed a warning to watch out for avian influenza. It stated that human infection with the virus can result in respiratory failure, multi-organ failure or death. We believe this is directed more to poultry ranches, and not the pet store-type bird market. Now we wondered why so many of the locals were wearing masks. Covid may still be around as well as the bird flu. In the meantime we always pack the Purell and use it often. The flower market here is two blocks long, and filled with the most perfect blooming bouquets and live plants too. The orchids had to be the prettiest and came in all shades including blue-tinged with dye we assume. It is not uncommon to see locals with armfuls of single-cut flowers and heading for the MTR. From what we saw, they were not terribly expensive. The Bird Market was not as crowded this morning. A huge stadium has been built alongside this old market, and we were lucky to find it. Many local bird owners will bring their pet birds in small cages to listen all day to other singing birds. In time, their pets will learn to sing. And it is obviously a good place for the elderly folks to visit with each other. Varieties of birds sold here were parakeets, parrots, macaws, mynah, finches, canaries, love birds, cockatiels, and all types of little song birds from the wild. Their eating habits drop a lot of seed on the ground, so that attracted dozens of pigeons. They do keep the place clean, but then add some of their own deposits as well. These roaming birds might be responsible for transferring viruses and there is no good way to keep them out of the open-air market. The Ladies Market went on for block after block and had about everything imaginable for everyone. It was most busy, especially where the fresh produce was being sold. A weekend is probably not the best time for a cruise ship to stop in Hong Kong. Time was getting away from us, so we continued onward to another MTR station on Nathan Road. Buying return tickets, we were back to the mall in a short time. Even though there were a lot of people on the trains, it really is the most convenient way to get around. There were some young girls who insisted we sit down when there were no seats left. It was sweet of them to do that. Today’s shuttle ran from 10am to 6pm, but we would never wait until the last buses to go back. We walked back inside the Mall and found a nice place for lunch. They had a varied menu which happened to include pizza. So guess what we had? A salami-topped cheese pizza with a side salad and Coke Zeros. It was really good. Then it was time to go. What was not good was by the time we got to the shuttle, it filled up mostly with crew members. We understand that the crew has limited time off in these ports, but normally, they will insist on guests going first on the bus. That did not happen today. Not a big deal, we were first in line for the next bus which should have come in 30 minutes. Well, it did not arrive until an hour later. In the meantime, we watched several arrogant older ladies cutting into the line by talking to some people from the ship, then slipping in behind them. They should know better, but they get away with it until someone speaks up. Other folks did speak up, but only a few listened. That should be something one learns in kindergarten, but some people are clueless or simply do not care. At least this bus was larger and the seats worked better. We studied the route back and wondered if we could have walked back easier. The distance was not that far, but due to a massive amount of construction happening, there was no clear path to take. And with all aboard tomorrow at 3pm, we are not sure we will attempt to go back to the Mall. Sure would have been nice to make it to the Night Market like we always do. The Temple Street Night Market will start up around 4pm, even if all of the dining venues are not operating yet. It’s fun just to see the vast variety of souvenirs and treasures that are being hawked. We would have liked to walk on the Avenue of the Stars at the original terminal. We always make a sweep through Kowloon Park, but we would need more than a half of a day to do it all. The hike back through the terminal took us on a zig-zag journey from the garage level to the second floor and down again. We had our passport copies checked before we were made to go through the xray. Eventually, we were back onboard. Thank goodness. We spent the rest of the late afternoon working in the room. Dinner time had some good choices with a seafood croquette and an orange avocado salad with no lettuce. We do hope that some food was delivered here today as we have been running out of fresh stuff. Our entrees were one chicken meatball plate with rigatoni and marinara sauce. The other main was a Shepard’s pie, made with ground lamb, peas, gravy and baked mashed potatoes piped on top. It was quite good and hot as ever. Since they were out of fresh bananas, we skipped dessert. There was a local show performed by a local folkloric group at 9:30pm, but we have seen similar performances and decided to skip it and head up to deck 10 to take some photos of the famous skyline of the harbor. Too bad the smog/fog was so thick, we could barely see all of the lit-up buildings. One more short day here tomorrow, and we will be on our way towards Vietnam. Bill & Mary Ann