Cruise with Bill & Mary Ann on the Prinsendam's Grand So. America & Antarctica Voyage

[fann1sh]

Looking forward to your excellent reports with eager anticipation!

[callmedeb]

Thanks you so much for doing this! It makes the cold winter go buy that much quicker!

 

Cheers,

 

Deb

[WCB]

Report # 2 A few days left

 

The days are speeding up now as we continue to get ready to leave Tuesday. The weather here has been so dismal, cold, and damp with tully fog, we can hardly wait for the warmer weather that awaits us! We hope.......

 

This cruise will not be our first on the Prinsendam. We sailed on her world cruise while it was the Seabourn Sun in the 2001, well before the nightmare of 9/11. At that time, we ate in the mid-ship dining room, which eventually was transformed into the Ocean Bar. Another beautiful lounge also existed near the aft, with a large bar and dancefloor with floor to ceiling windows. That is long gone also.

 

When we returned for our second cruise onboard the Prinsendam in 2005 for her world cruise, that back lounge had been replaced with special veranda cabins, with a private (or so they thought) back deck with a spa.

 

Now we will be experiencing something new.........sailing on a cruise while more construction is ongoing. The Prinsendam went into drydock just a few days ago for a new addition of 22 cabins in the aft, where the special veranda cabins had been. The aft pool will also be expanded with the addition of more decking space and a small bar. Watching this process on Captain Albert Schooderbeek's blog is fascinating. He will be our captain on this grand voyage, instead of Captain Gundersen. We have been reassured that the work will be unobstrusive, but we shall see. HAL has promised that the main retrofit will be done before we all board on the 13th, and the finish work will be ongoing until perhaps Santiago, Chile.

 

To our surprise, we received a call from our TA this afternoon telling us that HAL has upgraded us (complimentary) from an outside Dolphin deck to an A veranda! Wow, we had given up all hope of that ever happening, though friends of ours had the same good luck a few years ago. Perhaps our 700 days did help with the upgrade. We know we will not get all the perks that came with the room, such as first class air, unlimited luggage shipment, more shipboard credit, a special event, and 4 bottles of liquor. But we did gain a balcony and a refrigerator, so we are happy campers!

 

Mary Ann & Bill

[kiberkid]

Report # 2 A few days left

 

Now we will be experiencing something new.........sailing on a cruise while more construction is ongoing. Mary Ann & Bill

 

Imagine getting that contract... "oh we have a construction job for you.. ah.. it is on a cruise ship AND you will be cruising to Chilie....all expenses paid AND we will even pay you AND fly you back home....." Wow.. our contractors here work outside in minus temperatures & freeze their nickers off..... lucky guys!!

 

Congratulations on your upgrade!

[earl_m]

Congrats on the upgrade!!! have fun!

[markf]

thanks for taking the time and effort to write--ai enjoyed your trip last year after taking the Z to the Panama Canal--we decided this year that we will go on a land vacation instead of a cruise--not sure of we made the right decision

[KAKcruiser]

Are you sure you won't be getting the perks?

[luvcruisn']

Are the refrigerators different in the Verandas than those in the inside cabins? We had a small fridge in our inside cabin on the Prinsendam, from which we had all of the sodas and alcoholic drinks removed so we could use it for late night snacks.

[WCB]

Report # 3 January 12, 2010 Tuesday The Journey begins......... San Francisco to Ft. Lauderdale

 

Our day started early.....really early, 2 am! We needed to be ready to go when our son Ken picked us up at 3:30 am sharp. It was a good thing that our luggage had been picked up last week, because it was raining this morning. The only place to put it would have been in the bed of Ken's pickup truck, not a great idea.

 

There was virtually little traffic, which was great. We made it to the airport, which just happens to be where Ken's job is now, by 4:40am, exactly two hours prior to our flight. American Air is our carrier for this trip. Online, we were able to choose our seats and preprint our boarding info. With the AA barcode, we brought up our boarding passes at the kiosk in a few minutes. It gets easier every time we fly. Also, having no luggage to check is a snap.

 

Even the security check had no line. Jackets and shoes had to come off, the laptop out, our ziplock bagged liquids and gels out for inspection, and off we went through the xray. Bill breezed through, but I got put in a locked glass enclosure with a door at the end. There I waited to be patted down, with no problem of course. Despite the scare of the latest "underwear bomber", the security check went smoothly.

 

Since we had time, we stopped at the Mission Cafe for a light breakfast and much needed coffee. Gate 66 was close by, and the boarding started early by 6 am. Surprisingly, the plane appeared to be half full, leaving lots of space for people to spread out.

 

Economy class gets no food....just two beverages during the 5 1/2 hour flight. Sure makes the job of the stewardesses much easier. The flight was a bit bumpy going through the rain clouds, but other that that, it went by quickly. The movie shown was "Cloudy, With a Chance of Meatballs", an animated family movie, which was amusing.

 

We arrived to the Miami airport by 2:30 pm, eastern time. It was a chilly 60 degrees, pretty cool for here. The best part was the lack of humidity, which the Floridians seem to be enjoying.

 

Since we had no luggage to claim, we easily found the HAL rep, who summoned a bus for us. Three other HAL passengers from England shared the bus with us. They were taken to the Hilton, and we were brought to the Marriott Beach Hotel, both in Ft. Lauderdale. Our room on the 9th floor was spacious and well-appointed, with a nice balcony. The first thing on the list is LUNCH!! The Reva Restaurant in the hotel had a great cheeseburger and cobb salad. Even though it was only 4 pm, we probably will call this dinner. Exhaustion was quickly settling in.

 

We did take the opportunity to stroll around the property. A huge pool with numerous fountains sat pretty much empty. Hundreds of comfortable lounge chairs filled the decking.....all unoccupied. The beach was gorgeous, just too cold to walk. We spotted two ships that had just left the pier, heading probably towards the Caribbean. That will be us on the Prinsendam tomorrow evening!

 

There was enough time to log on the internet in the lobby of the hotel, and download emails. Even though it is a weekday, the lobby was full of people enjoying complimentary crabcakes and cocktails in the lounge and bar. Tomorrow morning, there should be an HAL rep who will direct our transit to the ship after checkout.

 

We hope to have time tomorrow to walk to some nearby stores about a mile up the beachfront. In the meantime, we asked the friendly concierge fellow if they had any travelers toiletries, namely a disposable razor. He did, and he also offered toothbrushes, toothpaste, combs, etc. Never hurts to ask, right?

 

A busy day awaits us Wednesday!

 

Bill & Mary Ann

[WCB]

Report # 4 January 13, 2010 Wednesday Embarkation Day

 

We slept well last night, despite the 3 hour time change from the west coast. And we were good and ready for breakfast at 9am. The fresh Florida orange juice and strong coffee was most welcomed with our omelettes.

 

Afterwards, we hunted down the HAL ladies in the hotel lobby to obtain our transfer information. While waiting, we got acquainted with a nice couple from Arizona, who were sizzling with excitement about the upcoming adventure. We remember the feeling well, looking forward to our first big trip many years ago. Last year's world cruise was 128 days for us, so that was more stressful than exciting. Mostly, we wonder what did we forget to do before leaving home? Too late now......

 

Since we were allowed to stay in our rooms until noon instead of 11 am, we took the opportunity to walk up Seabreeze Blvd.. a beachfront street lined with hotels, cafes, nightclubs, and shops. Conveniently located about a mile from the Marriot Beach Hotel, the CVS pharmacy had the little extras we needed, especially our favorite suntan lotion. The round trip walk only took a bit over an hour, with a gorgeous view of the Atlantic Ocean and its clean, white sandy beach.

 

All that is left now is to check out and haul our carryons to the lobby and WAIT. This will be the first of many WAITS we will have today for sure.Our WAIT turned out to be a bit longer than expected, due to the fact that the bus left wthout us! No, we were not late, just forgotten accidently by the HAL rep. Being occupied with the laptop and reading the newspaper, we never noticed the small group of six leaving the lobby of the hotel. We found out that our rep had just received a phone call concerning her daughter, who had just been rushed to the hospital with an appendicitus attack. Horrified that she had forgotten us, she promptly got her own car, and drove us to the pier! We actually beat the bus there. We did not panic, since the ship was not leaving until 10:30 pm, so it was no problem. She thanked us for our patience, which of course, we totally understood her situation. It was very nice of her to give us a "mini" limo ride!

 

After getting pinned with a priority boarding badge at the pier, we proceed through the security check, and right on over to the special check-in desk for suites, verandas, disabled, and 4 star Mariner members. It was not quite as speedy as we had hoped, since it took about 40 minutes in line to get our roomkeys and info. However, we were informed that the regular line took up to 2 hours to check in! Wow!

 

The rest went quickly. Up the escalator, we lined up for the required embarkation photos, then onto the ship we went. the rooms were not ready yet, so we headed to the Lido and pool grill for a bite to eat. Did we mention that the prinsendam is undergoing a big retrofit? Long story short, 22 new cabins were added to the aft on deck 8, a new bar and extensive teak decking was being built around the aft pool, and the interior carpeting and upholstery was replaced. Much of the nine day drydocking work was accomplished in Freeport, Bahamas. And as we anticipated, much was not done according to their schedule.

 

We believe the aft pool area will not be done for several days, nor will the walk around promenade deck be functional as well. Lucky for HAL, the weather is very unseasonally cool, and there is no demand for the pools yet. We shall keep you updated on the progress.

 

Muster or lifeboat drill was held at 4:15 pm. We all met at our stations, but without the dreaded life jackets. This is much better than tripping on the darned belts dragging on the floor. Thank you HAL for the change.

 

Cocktail time came swiftly on the Crow'snest, where our travel group had a party with hosts Henk and Lucia and head honcho Tom and Deann B. It was great to see friends from past cruises, including our tablemates Keith and Margaret, Paul and Maria, and Mary Ellen and Bruce, who actually joined us later due to a late flight. We were surprised with the addition of a nice couple from Southern California at table 305 in the dining room, even though we had requested our table be kept at 8. We figured that way, we would have seats available for officers or staff on formal evenings, who usually provide wines. Guess that will not happen now, but we will survive. Our new guests, Gary and Gerry will fit in well.

 

Dinner was very good, even though most of us were on our last legs by 10 pm. But after dinner, we would have another long WAIT, since we had no luggage in our room. Actually, only 3 bags did arrive by midnight. It turned out, that the fourth duffel had been isolated at the front desk office, because there was a problem with security. We were asked if we had any weapons in our bag. Like get real here! No, we said, not that we recall.......It took another 20 minutes for a security officer to observe us unlocking the bag. The problem seemed to be with the metal ice bucket we brought with us, that was packed with costume jewelry. Must have looked like a bomb or something! With profuse apologies, they delivered the duffel to our room, where all four sat unpacked until the next day. And so went our embarkation day.....glad that it was over!

 

Bill & Mary Ann

 

PS We had a nice surprise waiting for us on the bed after dinner....our first set of gifts.....2 leather bound journals, and 2 matching keycard holders. nice touch!

[WCB]

Report # 5 January 14, 2010 Thursday Key West, Florida

 

Today was an unusual day in two ways.......the weather was very cool, and our first full day included a port. Typically, on a long cruise such as this one, our first days are days at sea. However, sometime back, the original port of The Turks and Caicos had been cancelled. Why, who knows? The substitute port was Key West, Florida. A bit disappointed since we have never been to the Turks and Caicos, the new stop was also a first visit for us. So, once again, no problem. And we even got a whopping credit of 53 cents a person, due to a smaller port charge. Whoopie!

 

We did not book a tour here, and glad we did not. The Captain docked literally in the downtown area at Mallory Square, along with RCI's Majesty of the Seas. The town will be crowded today.

 

The first order of the morning was enjoying a civilized breakfast in the dining room. It is opened most mornings from 8 to 9:30 am. Today there were not many people eating in there, so the service was very good. Our waiters are primarily from Indonesia, while the bar staff and working crew are mostly from the Phillipines. To say they are a superior group of warm and friendly people is an understatement! Breakfast was great....what more could we want?

 

We also took the opportunity to speak with the dining room manager, Andre. He was very happy to accommodate our rather large Cruise Critic group for three lunches during the 70 day trip. Things are looking good for our meet and greets and lunches now! Yesterday, we touched base with the Beverage Manager, Roger, who just happened to be in the process of writing us a welcome letter when we wandered by his office. Excellent! We hope to have some officers or staff join us at our meetings, if we are lucky. They are not always available, so we will cross our fingers and hope for the best.

 

The big job of the day came next.......unpacking! It is a bit overwhelming wondering where in the world we are going to put all this STUFF! Miraculously, everything found a place. We'll go into more detail later, but these cabins have undergone a make-over since we sailed on this ship in 2001 and 2005. In our opinion, the bathroom was transformed quite tastefully. But we have heard mixed comments concerning the walk-in closet. Hangar space was considerably reduced with the addition of banks of cubbyholes and sliding drawers. Good thing this trip has only 13 formal evenings and no informal.....they have been eliminated on all HAL ships. We made the closet space work with the addition of a hanging shoebag on the pocket door, and Command hooks around the cabin walls. Our nice cabin steward provided more wire hangars (take less space than wooden), and extra wicker shoe baskets for little stuff in the bathroom and room. Under the bed, we stashed our winter clothes for the colder climates.

 

By 12:30pm, the unpacking was 98% done. So off we went to explore the lively town. We found Key West to be very charming , clean, and friendly, although quite a bit touristy, of course. There are many leftover hippies here from the 60's. They are the vendors and street performers now, just a wee bit older! Hmmmm, come to think of it, so are we! The restaurants, bars, and streets were crowded, but not the shops and boutiques. Probably a sign of the slow economy. It did result in shorter lines in Circle K and CVS for the few supplies we needed today.

 

The old churches, towers, mansions, and high-end stores were nice to see, but the best attraction was a small pet store with five adorable puppies in the window display. Remember the song, How Much is that Doggie in the Window? Well, that's how darn cute they were as they played with toys or slept in an uncomfortable heap. You just wanted to pick one up and let him lick your face silly!

 

Continuing up Duval Street, we ended up at the southernmost point of the continental United States. This was another first for us. At this point on the tiny pier, we stood just 90 miles away from the shores of Cuba.

 

We headed back to the pier with one stop at the Hard Rock Cafe to buy a neat t-shirt, and another stop at CVS. The store was jammed with passengers from both ships buying supplies, and probably plenty of stomach remedies, if they are smart, just in case. Captain Albert had announced right before he let the passengers off this morning, that there was a reported outbreak of a few cases of the dreaded Noro virus in town. He warned us to be very careful in stores, restaurants, and especially the internet cafes. He said, remember to sing the happy birthday song while you are washing your hands with soap. Twenty seconds is all it takes for really clean! And carry Purell with you all the time. Better safe than sorry...it is worth the extra effort, we hope.

 

There was a lot of activity at the Mallory Square pierplace, with street entertainers raising a ruckus with tricks of the trade. The crowds loved it, as we did also from the comfort of our veranda. This is nice. The Prinsendam was supposed to leave at 5:30pm, however, we were missing two ship workers. By 6:10pm, it appeared that they had not arrived, even though the Captain was blowing his horn for 20 minutes! Could it be that these foreign workers deliberately got lost in the last US port? Who knows, since it has happened before.......... We should find out more tomorrow.

 

There is a very talented pianoman, Buddy, in the Crow's Nest at 7 pm. We really enjoyed his style of singing and music at cocktails the last two nights. Something tells us that he will see a lot of us in the coming weeks.....

 

Dinner was fun again tonight, although we almost did not make it there on time! After leaving the Crow's Nest, too many of us filled the elevator, and it went NOWHERE!! Over and over, the doors opened and closed. We were hysterically laughing, but decided to exit and take the stairs with Paul and Maria.

 

Funny thing at dinnertime, we seem to be the last ones leaving by 10:30 pm! Guess that's the price you pay for having a large table. As the cruise progresses, the timing of our waiters should get better, or our guests will be missing many shows in the Queen's Lounge.

 

Our promenade deck walk after dinner was short, mainly because the winds and waves had picked up considerably since leaving Key West. And besides, the deck is closed in the aft, and we still cannot walk completely around.

 

We found it necessary to have the front desk fellow run our shipboard account. It seemed that Margaret had shipboard gratuities charged to her account, even though those charges are included for most of us on this trip. And yep, there they were.....$11 per person per day. They promised those charges would be removed by tomorrow. We are still waiting for our water package to begin. They are two days behind now. Oh well, have patience will travel!

 

Oh boy, it's 1 am, and time to crash for the night......literally!

 

Mary Ann & Bill

[RuthC]

There is a very talented pianoman, Buddy, in the Crow's Nest at 7 pm. We really enjoyed his style of singing and music at cocktails the last two nights. Something tells us that he will see a lot of us in the coming weeks.....

Ooooo! Buddy's aboard. I swear he owns the Prinsendam Crow's Nest. Yes, he's very good, knows his music, and is a lot of fun. He really knows how to read the sea, too. He can spot interesting things that seem very small---even while he never misses a note on the keyboard.

 

Thanks for the continuing reports.

[statmanfp]

Hi Guys, We found you no problem. Just one more week and we also will be enjoying ourselves in the Crows Nest. Looking forward to hearing more.

Sandy and Frank

[cccole]

Hearing about the gifts left on your pillows is always fun for me. And...enjoying a great dinner with wonderful people is my idea of a fun evening. Can't wait to read about your day and evening adventures!!! Cherie

[Overtime4me2]

Thanks for posting. Will enjoy reading along with you on your wonderful cruise! :)

[mrsltg]

It all sounds wonderful - even the headaches! Have a wonderful and safe trip.

[WCB]

Report # 6 January 15, 2010 Friday Day at Sea - Finally!

 

There were so many activities happening today, this first fairly cool and partly cloudy sea day. The headliner in the Daily Program was Guest Chef Paulette Mitchell, who we met and dined with a few times on last year's world cruise. She is delightful and an excellent chef too!

 

The exploration speaker, Joe Daley, began his series of lectures on the South American Asian Ancestors, while the amateur shipbuilders met for the future "Sea Trial contest". Bingo was happening somewhere, because several public announcements were made. We noticed that first thing in the morning....public announcements. They usually do not do that on Grand Voyages. Most of us CAN read the daily newsletter!

 

All the shops, casino, library, and internet cafe were up and running. The shore excursion staff was pitching their tours in the Queens Lounge too. We doubt that we will make it to any of these activities today.....still too much to do! One good thing is that the chef"s demo and the lecturer's talk will be on TV this evening. That works well for us.

 

We filled our time with cabin chores, namely assembling the portable fan we brought wth us, and stashing more of our things away. It is a good thing there is so much room under our bed to store stuff. Unlike the Amsterdam and the Rotterdam, there are no drawers at the foot of our bed here. Everything we do not need for awhile is under there. We were greatful for the fan, because the ship heated up around 5 pm. We suspect that the air conditioning is directed to the dining room at that time. Who knows?

 

We should mention here that the ship is fairly full with around 680 plus passengers. The majority eat at the 5:30 pm seating, leaving the late seating scattered with empty tables. Perhaps many people go to the Lido for dinner. The only other alternate dining room is the Pinnacle Grill or room service. So far, there is no specialty Italian restaurant on this ship. We have heard that the food was very good there on the Amsterdam's South Pacific/Australia/New Zealand cruise last fall.

 

We filled the afternoon with (we think) a complimentary 4 star Mariner wine tasting at 2 pm in the narrow dining room. Even though we drink very little wine, we did learn a lot concerning pairing wines with food. It's a matter of balancing the tannins with different proteins and fruit. It does make a big difference. We met more previous grand voyage passengers that we recognized. There are many of them on this cruise, since they chose not to go eastbound on the world cruise as well this year.

 

We skipped lunch today because the wine and cheese was sufficient, and we will have a better appetite for dinner this evening.

 

Then we had a visit with the Guest Relations Manager, Gary, to discuss the disruption of the ongoing construction. We had been promised, in writing, by the head HAL honcho in Seattle that there would be total access to the promenade deck and the aft pool deck for the entire trip. From what we see, the back pool deck will NOT be finished for several days. So far, there is no water even in the Lido Pool. Anyway, Gary did agree that this retrofit should have been planned at a better time, but HAL was at the mercy of the availability of the drydock slot. So be it.

 

We also discussed the process of the last minute upgrading, and the reasons behind their logic. Actually, there is no set logic.....some get it and some don't! Many factors go into the mix. Perhaps the demand for the inside and outside cabins prompts a move to the upper levels. The travel agencies that give HAL a lot of business, get favors. But we think that a big factor is the amount of days sailed by certain passengers. But that is not set in stone either. Friends of ours that are also on the the next cruise to the Med, have a lot of days, and they did not get offered an upgrade. Go figure? On the other hand, four people booked on the main deck got a surprise when they were moved to suites on deck 10. Just lucky. The bottom line is, no matter what HAL does, not everyone will be happy, and that's the way it is! We would NOT want to be the Guest Relations Manager. Can you imagine what he has to listen to all day???? And keep smiling????

 

Our next stop was at the future cruise consultant's desk. Her name is Tina and she is married to Thom, the cruise director. There have been some nice changes with future bookings deposits. Now you can deposit most cruises with $100 per person (not grand voyages), with nothing due until final payment. The deposit can be transferred to a different cruise for up to four years. This is similar to the Princess Cruise Line policy. And you'll get some shipboard credit on top of that. We plan to deposit some cruises shortly.

 

Tonight was the first formal evening with Captain Albert's welcome champagne toast in the Queens Lounge before the HAL singer and dancer show. We missed the toast, because we were late getting out from dinner...again. Our waiters have a total of 22 guests to serve at this second seating. Until they get a good routine going, we will be the last to leave for awhile. Patience...... We did ask to meet our dining room captain, and requested an officer to join us on the next formal evening. It will be a tight squeeze with 11, but we can do it!! Remember, they usually provide the wines!!

 

By the way, we did stop by the Queens Lounge to see the show, but left in 5 minutes. They were good, but once you've seen one, you've seen them all.

 

Bill & Mary Ann

[Aussie Gal]

Mary Ann and Bill,

 

I am so enjoying your posts especially as it is only a few weeks since we left the lovely Prinsendam after her TA from Athens. I don't envy you the mess and noise whilst they are finishing off the work. We had such a wonderful, peaceful and smooth crossing that it is hard to imagine the mess you are enduring.

 

I look forward to reading about your great adventure as we have also been up the Amazon and back and have been down to Antarctica. We will relive it all again through your eyes. Thanks for posting.

 

Jennie

[canadianbear]

I will be living a dream through reading all your updates and maybe, just maybe, one day I will be able to take that cruise too. I like reading honest

reviews, good and bad....keep it up!:)

[CruisinTexans]

Congratulations on your upgrade! You haven't mentioned the food yet and you know that is one of my main interests. A friend who did the Grand Med in 2009 said the food was not good at all and I don't want to believe her, since we'll be getting on in FLL as you get off.

 

Have a great trip. We'll be following you on the board.

 

Leslie & Handler

[LADYLAYLA]

Report # 6 January 15, 2010 Friday Day at Sea - Finally!

 

Our next stop was at the future cruise consultant's desk. Her name is Tina and she is married to Thom, the cruise director. There have been some nice changes with future bookings deposits. Now you can deposit most cruises with $100 per person (not grand voyages), with nothing due until final payment. The deposit can be transferred to a different cruise for up to four years. This is similar to the Princess Cruise Line policy. And you'll get some shipboard credit on top of that. We plan to deposit some cruises shortly.

 

 

Thank you so very much for posting on this cruise! I have a ? about the changes with Future cruise deposits. The program you describe above is the same as the program I have been aware of and using since I have been sailing HAL. What has changed about it?

 

Hopefully the Aft deck and pool will open soon and the any other "dry dock" problems will be cleared up soon! Has the changes made to the Lady P really made a difference?

[WCB]

Report # 7 January 16, 2010 Saturday Day at Sea

 

The seas got rather rough last night, because we were bouncing off of the walls going back to our room after dinner. It wasn't rough enough to make one sick, but enough to know that we are at sea. It's nice to be rocked to sleep at night, but not as nice trying to walk a straight line.

 

Breakfast in the dining room was great. They offer chocolate croissants and excellent cinnamon rolls....really a treat we'll only have occassionally.

 

Guess what? The lower promenade deck was opened to wrap-around traffic this morning. The only bad thing was the extreme wind that made it difficult to make it across the bow. So therefore, our walk was short.

 

We chatted with Paul and Maria on the aft Lido deck, while checking out the progress on the pool deck below. The teak planks are all down, and the seams are sealed with oodles of gooey black mastic. The canopied bar sure looks like the one from the Rotterdam. That ship recently had their back deck re-designed to include an Oasis (foot pool), and more cabins installed where the old pool was situated. Will we have to investigate the bar thing.

 

Then while on our way to do something useful, we ran into good buddy Hank from Canada, with whom we cruised on the 05 and 07 world cruises. We shared many good stories and memories from those trips. It was so pleasant sitting near the Lido pool, which was finally filled with water. The sun felt good, but we kind of forgot how strong the rays can be down south. Think we may have gotten a bit sunburned!!

 

There was still work to be done in our room, so we headed off to do it, once and for all! We needed to check our tour tickets to make sure they were correct and complete. They were, so we marked the calendar with the particulars. The end result being that we have 14 tours with HAL, 12 "Specialists" tours (our travel agency), and 11 ports with no tours. Some of the "no tours" are really no tours available, and the rest are ones we have visited before, and only want to go on our own.

 

This morning we received a printed port itinerary for the 70 day trip. It has the dates, arrival and departure times, and the dress code for the evenings. Usually, this information is on the first newsletter of the segment, but this time it was not. This way is better, since we've taped it on the wall to see quickly.

 

Before we knew it, we missed lunch again! We opted to try room service. The club sandwich, chips, and cheese plate were all good. it did take 30 minutes to arrive however.

 

We forgot to mention that al of the ladies got a single red rose bouquet at dinner the first evening. Nice touch. And to update you on the late arriving workers in Key West, they did come back to the ship late, dressed in matching Key West sweatshirts. Captain Albert has understandably cancelled their leave privileges for the rest of their contract. That's that!

 

Cocktails in the Crow's Nest was very nice, mostly for the fact that it was 20 degrees cooler in there than in our rooms. It seems that the passengers are establishing their routines, since we are about the same ones there every night. We hear that the Ocean Bar is very crowded, because that is where the dancefloor is and the dance hosts too.

 

Dinner was very good again. There are numerous choices of entrees, like eight of them or more. We sailed a short 12 day cruise last summer on the Silver Shadow. Their cuisine was a disappointment for us, with the one exception of the Italian restaurant. HAL truly lives up to their boast of fine foods and quality fare! Our friend Margaret requested a veggie tray with ranch dressing for our table. It is there every night, nicely presented......cold and fresh. And it does hold down on the bread (so good) consumption.

 

For the first time tonight, we finished dinner early enough to go to the show. It was a good thing too, because tonight we broke our record of going to no shows. The entertainer tonight was Elliot Finkel, a brilliant pianist, composer, and conductor. We had the pleasure of seeing him years ago, and also on last year's world cruise. Wow, can he play those keys!! Awesome! He also promised a classical concert on the next sea day. We shall be there!

 

The only downside to staying up late and getting to bed by midnight, is the fact we have to get up early for our first visit to Santa Marta, Colombia. It's hard work, but somebody has to do it!!

 

Mary Ann & Bill

[sylteach]

I noticed that you mentioned that you like chocolate croissants from the dining room. We ordered by writing them on the breakfast room service card, so you can get them every day, if you want!!

[markf]

He is Fyvush Finkels son and we saw him 2x on Celebrity--where he used to be a regular--I agree he is a first class pianist.

 

I am surprised to hear that you think food is so superior on Holland as compared to the luxury cruise lines--I was on HAL last year this timeand I was not impressed with the food

[cccole]

Happy to hear that the work is being finished and you are able to enjoy more areas of the ship. Can't wait to hear about Columbia. As usual, your daily reports of social and other activities are fun to read about!!! Hopefully the veranda room you received from the upgrade fairy is kind to you in rough seas. Cherie