Mtn2Sea

I have changed ships one time in Port Everglades.  The terminals were across the street from each other.  Explained my situation to the porter and he took luggage to the other terminal.  Don’t know if other porters will do this, but this porter had no problem in helping me out.

We’re currently on the Volendam and the internet is sooo much better!  Had a few hours last night when things weren’t working right, but otherwise the internet is almost like being at home.

We visited today’s destination of the day, Port Louis, Mauritius, earlier this year while aboard the Zuiderdam.  Our tour was an overview of the island, with our first stop at the Trou aux Ceres Crater.  That area is very overgrown, but the stop did provide a panoramic view of the valley.  We next went to the Grand Bassin area, which is sacred to the Hindu community.  We next went to the Black River Gorges and a nearby waterfall.  Our last stop was at Seven Colored Earths, which is a unique geological area that shows soils layered in hues of yellow, blue and red.  The area was created by erosion that left behind iron and aluminum oxide in the soil, which resulted in the colored soil that will not support any vegetation.

36 minutes ago, zelker said:

Following up to my original post - talked to Gary at Mariner Society this morning.  He said that yes, we can prepay for internet, then once onboard have Guest Services credit the $30 (Mariner 5*) discount to our onboard account.  

I’m wondering if policy has changed.  Earlier this year I was told by Guest Services that I could not get the $30 credit because my prepaid price already included a discount.

We visited Maputo, Mozambique, earlier this year while aboard the Zuiderdam.   Our ship’s excursion first stopped at the railroad station that was built in 1910 by the Portuguese.  The bronze dome was constructed in South Africa and was innovative for the time.  We next stopped at the Central Market and then at Independence Square, where the city hall as well as a large Catholic Church are located.  Nearby was a house designed by Gustave Eiffel that is all metal, pretty strange considering the hot temperatures in Africa.  We spent a short while at a fort built by the Portuguese during the time this area was its colony.  Our next stop was the Natural History Museum, which has many stuffed animals as well as a collection of elephant fetuses.  We then went to the Feima market, a market for African crafts.  Our last stop was at a five star hotel where we had lunch.

Train Station 

Statute near the train station.

Central Market.

Government Building.

At the Portuguese fort.

Natural History Museum.

Feima market.

Hotel pool where we had lunch.

We stopped at today’s destination of the day, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, last year while on the Nieuw Statendam.  We took a ship’s excursion that primarily was a bus ride around the island.  Although the bus seemed pretty new, it had a serious roof leak that caused “rain” to fall on numerous seats when the bus went uphill.  We were able to relocate, but several people took the option to cancel and got off the bus.  During the tour, we saw several numerous colorful houses, a lot of coastline and large warehouses that were built during prohibition, one of which was full with barrels of whiskey.

We stopped at our destination of the day, Isafjordur, Iceland, in August 2022.  We took a tour to Vigur Bird Island, which has three inhabitants.  A married couple, along with their five year old son live on the island.  During the season they have puffins, but we only saw young chicks and one adult who flew by too fast to get a photo.  In addition to conducting tours of their island, the couple also generate eiderdown.  We were told the Eider duck is the largest sea duck.  The island also has a small windmill, which is the only one in Iceland, that was used to mill flour.  We ended our visit with coffee and a piece of cake that included rhubarb grown on the island.

Upon arrival to Isafjordur, we had this view from our balcony.

This is the boat we took to Vigur Bird Island. 

One of several buildings on the island.

On our last visit to Ireland earlier this year while on the Zuiderdam, we tendered into Dun Laoghaire and chose to just wander around town after our tour into Dublin was cancelled.  After browsing through a park where numerous booths were set up (and resisting fabulous looking pastries), we stopped for a great lunch at a pub recommended by a local.  

Some views from the tender ride to the dock and then some photos from our walk around town.

We visited today’s destination of the day, Sarande, Albania, in 2014 while aboard the Ryndam.  Our ship actually docked in Corfu, but we chose to take the ship’s excursion to Sarande and the nearby UNESCO World Heritage Site of Butrint.  From the ship we walked to a nearby hydrofoil that took us to Sarande, where we took a bus for the short ride to Butrint National Park.  We walked around the ruins for about two hours, ending our visit at a small museum.  Upon our return to Sarande, we had a nice lunch overlooking the water before returning to Corfu on the hydrofoil.

Getting ready to board the hydrofoil.

Our first stop on our walk was at the theatre.

Continuing our walk through the city.

The Roman Basilica 

A small area of the floor inside the Basilica that was uncovered so visitors could see the mosaics.  Most of the floor was covered with dirt to protect it.

At one point, we walked around the outside of the city walls.

While walking along the walls, we saw this view.

This is the Lions Gate, one of six original entrances into the city.

A landscape view on the way back to Sarande.

Looking forward to hearing all about your trip.  Safe travels!

While aboard the Amsterdam in 2019, we docked in the destination of the day, Belfast, Northern Ireland.  We didn’t really see Belfast since our excursion concentrated on Saint Patrick.  We took a bus to Downpatrick, which was about an hour’s ride.  We visited the Saint Patrick Center, which included a 20 minute presentation on the life of Saint Patrick.  We then went to the nearby Down Cathedral, where Saint Patrick is “purportedly” buried.  A large stone supposedly covers his burial spot.  We returned to the town center of Downpatrick, where we had lunch at Murphy’s Pub.  Next we visited Saul Church, the first ecclesiastical site in Ireland.  After riding a ferry across Strangford Lough, we stopped briefly at the remains of an old stone windmill, which had expansive views of the water.  Our last stop was at Grey Abbey, founded in 1193.  This abbey has the distinction of being the only one on the island of Ireland to be founded by a woman.

Down Cathedral

Saul Church

A couple of photos from our travels through the countryside.

Grey Abbey

We visited Callao-Lima, Peru, today’s destination of the day, in 2019 while on the Amsterdam.  We took a panoramic city tour that included one 15-20 minute stop as we were returning to the ship from our overland tour to Machu Picchu.

While cruising aboard the Zuiderdam this past April, we tendered to shore at the port of the day, Oban, Scotland.  We choose an excursion that took us about an hour inland so we could tour Inveraray Castle, the family home of the Duke of Argyll.  Originally built in the 1700’s by the 3rd Duke of Argyll, this home is among the earliest examples of Gothic revival in Britain.  Approximately two-thirds of the castle is open to the public, with the rest of the home reserved as the private residence for the current Duke of Argyll and his family.  While touring the home, we learned the Duke was working the register in the gift shop.

Some photos from the bus on the way to Inveraray Castle.

Inveraray Castle

DW with the Duke of Argyll in the gift shop.

We were at today’s port of the day  earlier this year while aboard the Zuiderdam.  After a short tender ride into Gisborne, we took a short bus ride before boarding a train pulled by an old steam locomotive down the Poverty Bay coastline to Muriwai, about 15 miles from Gisborne.  The locomotive was built in 1897 and was used until 1942 when It was moved to a children’s playground.  Local vintage railway enthusiasts later restored the locomotive and it is now used to entertain tourist.  At Muriwai we got off the train to watch some local school kids in a Māori cultural performance, which featured the songs and dances of the local iwi (tribe).  We then returned to Gisborne.

@smitty34877 My deepest condolences to you and your family.  No words are even remotely adequate.  May your faith and memories bring you and your family comfort.

We stopped in Casablanca this past April while aboard the Zuiderdam.  We took a half day highlights tour of the city that started with a drive by of Rick’s Cafe.  Of course, this business was established years after the movie.  Our first stop was at the Hassan II Mosque, which is the third largest mosque in the world, but has the tallest minaret.  Over 100,000 people can attend a service here, but that includes attendees in the courtyard.  We next stopped at a restaurant on the beach where we had mint tea and cookies.  We also stopped at the city’s primary Catholic Church.  We then went to the New Medina area where we could see the outside of the Royal Palace.  We walked along the streets looking at the various shops.

the Catholic Church

A local bakery 

Thanks for taking the time to do a review of your cruise.  Enjoying your photos,

Looking forward to hearing about your cruise.  Enjoy!

We stopped at Praia da Vitoria this past May while aboard the Zuiderdam.  We took an excursion that highlighted various sites on the island, which included several overlooks where we could see cities as well as the green countryside.  As in Ireland, we saw a lot of dairy cows.  The island has twice as many cows as it does people.  We spent a lot of time in Angra do Heroísmo, which is known as the City of Lords and dates back to the 16th century.  The city has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1983.  We had lunch at a resort hotel, which featured a local specialty called Alcatra, a meat dish cooked for about 12 hours.  Our last stop was at São Sebastião, where we saw a very old church, Church of St. Sebastian, that has late-medieval frescoes.  The church, which dates back to 1455, has undergone several renovations through the years.

Looking forward to reading about your cruise.  Hope you have smooth seas, great weather and, above all, lots of fun!

We’ve been to Copenhagen a couple of times.  On our last visit while aboard the Zuiderdam this past April, our excursion made a quick stop to see the Little Mermaid statue before taking us out into the countryside north of the city.  Our first stop was in Hillerød at the Fredericksborg Castle, which was used as a Royal residence from the 1600s to the 1850s.  It now serves as the National Museum of History and is best known for its outstanding collection of portraits -- the largest of its kind in Denmark.  Our next stop was to see Fredensborg Palace, which is the Royal Family’s summer residence.  Our last stop was to view Kronborg Castle, which was used by Shakespeare as the setting for Hamlet.

Photos from Fredericksburg Castle.

This organ was completed in 1610 and has 1001 pipes.

Photo of the guards at the Fredensborg Palace. 

A couple of photos of the Kronborg Castle, which is really more of a garrison than a palace.

A country home we passed on the way back to Copenhagen.

We were in Cape Town this past March while aboard the Zuiderdam.  Although the ship was in Cape Town two days, we were traveling back to the ship on the first day because we had taken an overland tour to Zambia, so we only had one day in Cape Town.  Because we were somewhat tired from our Zambia excursion, we decided to take it easy in Cape Town.  We took a shuttle shortly before lunch to Victoria Wharf where we had lunch at a restaurant overlooking the harbor.  Many local dishes were available, but we played it safe and had chicken and prawns.  The restaurant was connected to a large mall, where we did some brief shopping before returning to the ship.

We ate at an outdoor restaurant overlooking a boat basin.

From our table, we could see Table Mountain.

The menu included some unique items.

The lunch that we shared.

The flowers that we bought at Woolworths.

33 minutes ago, Haljo1935 said:

I also use my middle name name which is on my AARP card. I clicked the "edit" (might actually be "update" - it'sgot a pencil icon) button which allowed me to change my name so it matches my HAL (and passport & DL) profile. I uploaded that card after making the change. I had an approval email in minutes.

Once the OBC posted to my bookings, I changed AARP back to reflect the name I use in everyday "real" life.

It seriously took me longer to enter this comment on how to do it than it took to actually change my name in AARP.

That is an option if you don't get the results you're hoping for.

Thanks for the suggestion.  I did get a very prompt response from SheerID Verification asking that I send a copy of a government ID that showed my full name.  I sent them a copy of my driver’s license (with most of the number redacted) and shortly thereafter I had my approval.

We’ve done two partial and two full transits.  For the partials, we took excursions.  The first time we did the Embera Indian Village and the second time we took an excursion that took us through other parts of the canal including additional locks on a small boat, which gave us an up close view of the process.  Both excursions were enjoyable and I would recommend either.  Having said that, I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend staying on the ship for the return portion if inclined to do so.  I don’t think I will ever get bored watching the locking process.

We stopped in Walvis Bay, Namibia, in March of this year while aboard the Zuiderdam.  Our excursion made one quick stop in Walvis Bay at a lagoon area where flocks of flamingos were present.  We then drove out of town on a very nice coastal road lined with thousands of Palm trees.  On one side was the ocean and the other side was a desert.  We made another quick stop at the highest sand dune in the Walvis Bay Area.  Four wheelers and dune buggies were available for rent.  Our next and primary stop was down the road a few miles at the seaside town of Swakopmund, which was originally developed by the Germans in 1892.  Our first stop in town was at the Kristall Gallery, which displays crystals up to 14 tons that were mined in Namibia.  We next went to the Swakopmund Museum.  After a quick visit at the museum, we then found someplace for lunch before heading back to the ship.  The biggest impression we had of this area was the amount of prosperity we saw.  We rode by numerous million plus dollar homes.
 

Glad they no longer disembark passengers in a basket!