Prinsendam 2005 World Tour... it has begun

[Grumpy1]

Prinsendam 2005, April 22, Day 99

 

Grumpy and Slinkie are back at sea, full speed ahead... well, 18 knots isn't full speed, but close enough... on the way to Forteleza. After the surprisingly wonderful day on St Helena, Slinkie and Grumpy weren't sure what Ascension Island would have to offer. The short answer is... not much... The island is volcanic and a lot of it is covered with cinder cones that don't support much vegetation, so you won't find the lush tropical foliage in abundance that you would find on St. Helena. The view of the island from the Prinsendam was pretty bleak... the predominate structures were sattelite dishes, radar domes, communications towers and military barracks style buildings and cinder cones... lots and lots of cinder cones. There is a tall mountain peak in the middle of the island that looks a lot greener than the rest of the area. Way up near the top is a fairly large structure... yep, the governor lives there...

 

After getting to the wharf by tender, Grumpy and Slinkie spent a few minutes seeing all there was to see of Georgetown. There's a post office, a church, a hotel, a grocery store... some of the buildings date back to the early 1800's, so there is some history there... a couple of local entrepreneurs had set up a table with a few craft items... not much else... but then there are only about 750 people on the island, and most of them are contract employees on one year contracts. Most of the island is devoted to military installations and communications facilities. There is no agriculture to speak of. There were some crops grown in years past, but the modern military does not live off the land... everything is brought in from somewhere else... and so few permanent residents that there isn't anything of note being cultivated. There are donkeys that are left over from the days when the military used them, and wild sheep, but not much else on land. There are a lot of sea birds around the island and green sea turtles nest there, so the area is an important wildlife sanctuary. The water is crystal clear, even right at the wharf and several species of fish were visable. There are some really nice beaches, too.

 

HAL did not offer any organized tours, but there were a few taxis available that were offering a one hour tour of the island. $20USD pp. All of the taxi drivers were supposed to follow the same route and operate a hop off, hop on service... if you wanted to spend some time at a particular location, just get off and another taxi would be there an hour, or multiple thereof, to pick you up and continue on... OK, that sounded pretty good to Slinkie and Grumpy, so offf they went with about 10 others in their cab and 2 other cabs that left at the same time. The hotel was offering a similar, but independent, service with their two vans, but one had filled up and was leaving as Slinkie and Grumpy were getting off the tender, and the second one wasn't there yet.

 

The taxis drove south from Georgetown to the US military base, which really didn't look much like a military base. The driver said there are a grand total of two uniformed officers there, the rest are contract employees, many from St. Helena. From there they went to the airport, a nice facility with a two mile runway. Sitting on the tarmac was a Russian Cargo plane. The flights in and out are mostly military... US once a week, Britain about every 5 days, and Brazil, which probably accounted for the Russian plane, fairly often.

 

The taxi continued past the airport and went up to Command Hill, which has a good view of the airport and surrounding area. They stopped and unloaded for a photo op, but no one elected to stay for the next taxi. Back in the taxis and on to the town of Two Boats which is a residental area. The taxis stopped in front of a building that houses a bar and coffee shop. The driver said there were shops "just down the hill" and suggested that it would be a good place to stop for an hour and get the next taxi. Slinkie and Grumpy saw Frank Buckingham and two people from the shore excursions office get out of their taxi, so they also got out, along with a few others. The coffee shop and bar were pretty much deserted... it was only 10:30a... there was some good ol' country tunes coming from the bar... Slinkie and Grumpy wandered off on the street that went downhill... all they saw were residences. Back up at the top they were rounding the corner and saw a taxi pull away. It had only been a half hour, but one came by and the others that had stopped off there, except for the shore excursion trio, took that opportunity to escape. Slinkie and Grumpy wandered around a little more, took some pictures of a wild sheep that was enjoying the shady side of a cinder cone, watched as the shore excursion trio came out of the coffee shop and walked around the same places that Slinkie and Grumpy had already been, saw a few children playing, a couple of mothers with baby carriages... a few cars pulled up in front of the bar about noon... really exciting town... 11:30a had passed with no sign of a taxi, 12 noon, still no taxi, Frank and crew returned from their walk and went back in the coffee shop... Slinkie and Grumpy decided to stay out front so they wouldn't miss the next taxi.

 

Finally about 12:30 a van stopped. Slinkie and Grumpy had seen the van come into town earlier and stop by the Optician's office, leave and come back again later. The driver asked if Slinkie and Grumpy needed a ride back to the pier. He had seen them waiting there. He wasn't supposed to pick up any passengers except from the military base, but offered to take them down to the pier. An offer that couldn't be refused... He was a St Helena resident on a on year contract, like so many of the others, and a very nice gentleman... He dropped Slinkie and Grumpy off at the wharf... behind the warehouse so the locals wouldn't see him horning in on their business... So Slinkie and Grumpy didn't see the rest of the island... well, they did get a picture of one of the donkeys and had a really superb view of the golf course... nine holes of sand... no greens, just black patches of crushed lava with flags... but did get back to the Prinsendam for a late lunch.

 

Apparently the taxi company had thought there would be lots of people wanting to tour the island, and as the taxis returned from the first trip, there would be others waiting to go. What actually happened is that almost everyone that wanted to go was there by 10a. When they got back at 11, there was only one person waiting and the taxis just sat and waited... or went home... Slinkie and Grumpy heard that there were some that had stopped off at the beach on the north end of the island that went through similar waiting, but there must have been a taxi that finally made the rounds to pick up the stragglers, as no one was missing at sailaway...

 

OK, it wasn't a place that Slinkie and Grumpy would put really high on the list of places to come back to... but if you've followed the US space program over the years and have heard the NASA spokesperson say "the tracking station at Ascension Island has now acquired the orbiter"... you know where the tracking station is... or was... all of the maps refer to the "former NASA tracking facilities". As Dakrewser said, ports like that are the epitome of cruising... discover something different, learn something, see something and move on... Grumpy could probably enjoy a few days there, but much longer would be really boooooring... St Helena might be good for a week to see everything in detail, and would be an acceptable place to live if you had to, but Ascension... well, Grumpy would be plotting his escape very quickly. Maybe that's why they put Napoleon on St. Helena and the troops on Ascension, instead of the other way around...

 

There was one other interesting monument that Slinkie and Grumpy saw... there was a four foot tall rock alongside the road that was covered with paint... not brushed or sprayed on... dumped on... layer after layer... all colors of the rainbow... The driver told them that the tradition is that if you are leaving the island and never intend to return, you dump a bucket of paint on the rock... anyone have a spare bucket of paint Grumpy can have?... Any color will do...

 

Grumpy neglected to answer a question from several days ago... TexEm wanted to know about getting off in NY and back on again. The stop in LA was different... the Prinsendam had made several stops at foreign ports between FLL and LA, so everyone had to go through customs. It really wasn't a big deal... since nothing was being brought in at that time, no purchases had to be declared, but a customs form hasd to be filled out... Slinkie made sure that she only wore jewellry that she had brought with her from home, just to keep everything legal. The forms were collected, passports were checked... the agent wanted to know if Grumpy had ever lived in England... the computer must have spotted a similar name on the watch list... They probably could have reboarded the ship right then, as there were several people with visitor passes and some new passengers that were going aboard about that time. Since you will not be making any stops between FLL and NY, you won't have anything to declare for customs, unless you've already spent lots of money in the "duty free/tax free shops on board and are going to send the goodies home... but you may have to go through the formality. Getting back on won't be a problem... Passport and your ship's ID card will zip you right through... There is a tour of lower Manhatten offered, so HAL assumes there will be people getting off and back on... There will be an informational talk with all of the details in the Queen's Lounge one or two days before docking in NY.

 

Flat Grumpy and Slinkie???... Does that involve getting run over by a steam roller?? Now Grumpy's tummy could afford a little flattening... Slinkie is curved just right to suit Grumpy... Oh, you mean a photograph... OK, there is probably a photo or two lying around that could be used... since Grumpy doesn't know your cabin number, how about if he leaves an envelope at the front desk marked "for Mary, CruiseCritic member ID TexEm, hold for pickup." If that works, you could pass it to the next person the same way... It could be fun... Grumpy knows of a pair of red gloves that were lost by a CNN employee that showed up in some of the strangest places in the world to be interviewed, videotaped, held for ransom... it went on for over a year... Grumpy doesn't know if the owner ever did get her gloves back... but she got lots of pictures and tapes of them... Cruise Critic lurkers Jack and Lynn have been doing a Flat Stanley for their grand daughter, and there is another passenger that has a small teddy bear peeking out of her purse wherever she goes and it gets photographed in all of the ports for her grand daughter.

 

Regarding the RMS St Helena... Grumpy had noticed a building alongside the wharf in St Helena that had a large, hand lettered sign on it reading "Welcome, RMS St Helena" and then below, another line that read "Farewell, RMS St Helena". A round trip on that ship would get you to 6 ports that you might never find on any other single cruise... but Grumpy would suggest getting off at St. Helena and getting back on again after it returns from the first stop at Ascension Island... but 6 days Walvis Bay to St. Helena, 3 more to Ascension... talk about a Slooow boat...

 

Rotterdam... A repeat world tour for the "loyal subjects"?... Well, if the "loyal subjects" will just pay their taxes to Slinkie and Grumpy... it would certainly receive consideration... Thanks for the champagne toast...

 

HeatherInFlorida... Dayum!... did you have to remind Slinkie and Grumpy just how close to the end they are getting? Well, getting to chat with you on some of the other threads will be one positive, though... thanks for checking in...

 

Time2Sail... always glad to help enlighten... but Grumpy would never use the phrase "less ignorant"... "even better informed than before" would be his choice of phrases... probably means the same thing, though...

 

OK, enough enlightment for today... Luiza, they're on the way to pick you up...

 

Grumpy and Slinkie

 

Post Number 1001!

[ekerr19]

Wow! Thanks Grumpy! I don't know what we are going to do when this is over... :confused:

 

I've enjoyed your reposrts immensely and look forward to hearing more. Maybe when you get back, you can pick up the saga with pictures from each locale, then we won't have to suffer World Cruise withdrawal...

 

I'm still wondering how you plan on getting all your "loot" home - can you ship anything in advance? Oops, I think I asked you this already, sorry...

 

Anyway - I love this thread, thanks for sharing such a great trip with us. :)

[RuffinReady]

Grumpy1

 

One of the interesting places my DW and I visited on our South American jaunt was Forteleza. If this old memory is correct there is a prison that was converted into a multi-floor shopping mall. There are a lot of native items for sale there. It is most unusual place for shopping. It is a huge open space with the former cells on the outside and the inside connected by ramps. It is worth a stop if you have the time.

 

Regards,

 

Ruffin

[DFD1]

I see the number of posts here has passed 1,000 and the number of views is more than 34,400. Grumpy and Slinkie should be very proud.

 

They have provided me - and thousands of others - an opportunity to look in on one of life's grand experiences. It has been a real treat to read about their cruise and I hope they know the pleasure it has brought to so many of us.

 

Thank you, Grumpy and Slinkie. Safe trip across and finally, home. DFD

[ger_77]

This has been the most amazing tour - I have enjoyed each port vicariously through you, Grumpy and Slinkie, and for that I thank you so very much! It has been great to read about the ports you've visited, the people you have met, and the memories you are making. DH and I were on the Prinsendam last year in June, and I love reading about your experiences in various locations around the ship. It was interesting to see that you discovered each other "later in life" and that you are celebrating your "months" instead of years - congratulations!.:)

 

I was anxious to see who would be the 1000th poster, and thought I would save my thoughts until that post appeared. The Cruise Critic message boards will seem so tame once you two end your world tour - you'll have to book another one soon to give us all something to look forward to. Thank you for the experience that helped get us through the last vestiges of winter up here in the "frozen tundra" of Canada.

 

Smooth Sailing! :) :) :)

[cruznon]

Grumpy and Slinkie,

I've seen this thread over the past several weeks and kept meaning to read, but I wanted the WHOLE EXPERIENCE, so......I started this morning and just finished reading all 41 pages!!!!

WOW! Thank you so much for taking the time to share this incredible experience with all of us. Your posts have been informative, enlightening and filled with wit and humor. You've made the ports and shiplife come to life for all of us. (The mental image of the ship's bow hanging over the road in Singapore will linger with me for a while.)

We all experience Cruise Withdrawal Syndrome (CWS) after a short cruise. So after 113 days......I can't imagine.

I will now check in daily to keep up with remainding days of your cruise. May you have calm seas....

Peggy

[HeatherInFlorida]

I've been here, Grumpy!!!:D Just thought it was way more interesting to read what you have to say than yap away myself! We look forward to seeing you back on the boards. It's not the same without you. I'm even thinking of going through this thread and copy and pasting just your posts into a word document to save for the future. It's a magnificent tribute to your journey.

 

Enjoy these last few days and always remember there's really no place like home;)

[Cuttle]

So sorry, I got caught up on the Grumpy/Slinkie thread this morning and posted a quick reply not realising that I beat Grumpy by ONE second when posting Post #1000. His post 1001, Day 99, was one second behind but...I figure that's ok as Grumpy's post appeared on the top of page 41. I wonder how many more posts and pages this thread will cover. My bet is for 1,111 posts!!!!! Any takers? Closest one wins. No prize, just satisfaction. Maybe there will be a lot of posts about HMC?????

 

Great idea about Flat Grumpy and Flat Slinkie. Grumpy, post a picture and we can all print it out and take it on our travels.

 

Keep up the wonderful travelogue Grumpy. It will be quite a let down when the WC is all over, not only for you, I am sure, but for all of us who have read your great descriptions of where you have been and what you have seen.

 

Thank you again Grumpy and Slinkie

[Ziggy7]

Grumpy, I have a favor to ask :) Please could you take a picture of the new terra cotta Cabana on HMC at the far end of the beach for me :) I have been searching everywhere for a picture of it and no one has one yet. So I would greatly appreciate it if you could get me one :) If not its ok too, I will find one somewhere hehehe !

[Sail With Me]

Grumpy and Slinkie,

 

It is sad to think that "our" World Tour is coming to an end. We have enjoyed every day with you whether in port or at sea. You have both made us feel that we were there over the past few months and we are not sure that we could ever do the 2006 tour justice.

 

We will give it our best though and hope that you will follow our trip on the Prinsendam World Tour next year as we have followed yours. We will have the opportunity to familiarize ourselves with the ship and crew when we sail the Windmills and Waterford voyage in August.

 

We hope that when you arrive home you will take the time to post your pictures and that we will be able to communicate with you for advice re packing, etc.

 

We congratulate you both on a job well done and for keeping your figures the way they were when you left Florida.

 

Thanks to you both for a wonderful journey!

 

Best wishes for a long and happy life together!

[DesrtDrmr]

Dear Grumpy and Slinky,

We have just returned from our long awaited 15 day cruise to and from Hawaii, and gotten caught up on your travels.

We thought of you often while we were enjoying our sea days, and thinking how wonderful it would be to have as many as you have had, along with the wonderful and amazing ports you have visited.

Thanks, again, for sharing your fantastic experiences! We also are very glad that Slinkie wasn't hurt by your run in with that purse snatcher.

We're missing being rocked to sleep on the ship, and wonder how long it will take you to readjust to land sleeping. :)

[Kiwi Kruzer]

So sorry, I got caught up on the Grumpy/Slinkie thread this morning and posted a quick reply not realising that I beat Grumpy by ONE second when posting Post #1000. His post 1001, Day 99, was one second behind but...I figure that's ok as Grumpy's post appeared on the top of page 41. I wonder how many more posts and pages this thread will cover. My bet is for 1,111 posts!!!!! Any takers? Closest one wins. No prize, just satisfaction.

 

 

 

I was also watching for the 1,000th post,and I am sure Grumpie was too.

Perhaps you should get a prize (No prize, just satisfaction.) for being #1000..............

 

As to how many posts this thread will end up with??????

 

Well how about all the lurkers/readers out there just posting a quick thank you

and maybe we can run it up 1500 replies!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

That must surely be a record for the Cruise Critic board.

 

Keep those posts coming Grumpie,they are cherished all over the internet world.

I am looking forward to the book???

(Good timing ...you could get it out for Xmas.)

 

 

 

David.

[cindiedee]

Oh Grumpy and Slinkie - we will be SO bored without having your mostly-daily updates to read every morning. I cannot tell you how much I have enjoyed your world cruise (it is probably as close to a WC as we will ever get) There are lottery tickets of course, but I think you have to buy them to win! Anyway - post that "Flat Grumpy and Slinkie" photo today - we are leaving on another ship tomorrow and would love to start of the "World Tour of Flat Grumpy and Slinkie" for the boards! I'll bet we could make it go 'round the world again!

Again, many thanks for ALL the entertainment and enlightenment you have provided for ALL of us - you are coming home just in time for official start of hurricane season - wouldn't you rather just be leaving on another WC?!!!!

Cheers to you both and smooth sailing home! Cindie;)

[TexEm]

Cindiedee--in case Grumpy doesn't get to post before you leave, he did post one picture--Message #154, 1/28/05, on page 7 of this thread. You could use it to start the "World Tour"--but of course, they're dressed pretty formally! (and it only shows the top half of them)

 

At first when I proposed "Flat Grumpy and Slinkie" I was thinking of doing a relay type of tour, continuing on the Prinsendam--but it would be so much more fun to just have everyone who's enjoyed this virtual world cruise participate--on any ship, any cruise line, at any port--hopefully, the real Grumpy and Slinkie can post one more full-length photo (preferably two--one in shore excursion clothes, the other formal--as someone has pointed out, they have to be dressed appropriately for the occasion!) that everyone can then copy, cut out, and take with them on their cruises. When you get back, post a quick message and a photo. I guess we could continue it on this thread or start a "World Tour of Flat Grumpy and Slinkie" roll call thread.

 

Grumpy--my cabin is A107 starting May 6. If you're able to post more photos before you leave the ship, I'll use those, and you won't have to leave any for me. BTW, have you met very many passengers from A cabins--do they also get robes, locking drawers, dvd players, fruit basket? (or just SS and above?) Do the tubs have bath mats in them? Thanks for the help.

 

Are you enjoying Brazil and the Amazon?

 

Mary

[Peggy Sue]

This has been a simply amazing journey. a highlight to be sure of every visit to the HAL boards. You have shared such wonderful details of the ports you've visited .. your adventures have been a joy to read about .. Thank you for taking us along. Through your eyes I've come to learn a great deal about our world! It has been a pleasure to read your posts, and keep up with this thread!

 

Perhaps someday our paths will cross on some ship heading some where .. If so, I will make it a point to thank you personally for taking the time to take us all along .. we had such a long, cold winter here, that your posts lifted my spirits and transported me to exotic locals ... fantastic and much appreciated!

 

You've been in so many wonderful ports of call...your cruise journal will certainly be a great way to rememer all that you saw ... Do you have a favorite port from this cruise?

 

When a world cruise comes to an end do they give passengers more time to pack up and depart on the final morning? Will they provide luggage carts and assistance to get everyones new found treasures off the ship? However, I will say that I think slinkie has the right method of shopping ..... rings, etc. don't take up much luggage space. I would say that was right thoughtful of her!!

 

Enjoy the remainder of your cruise...and thanks again!

 

Peggy Sue

[KathieKata]

Grumpy and Slinkie: WONDERFUL REVIEW AS USUAL! Keep them coming. What the heck am I going to do when your cruise is over....I may have to go out and buy a book to read!! :D Can't wait to see pictures. Now that may take half of my Summer up to see!

[cindiedee]

Ok guys - here's the deal - I printed the photo (half photo really) of Grumpy and Slinkie in their formal finest, mounted it on cardboard and am hoping to find a tongue depressor stick or popsickle stick to attach it to. Now, I didn't hear back from Grumpy or Slinkie so I SURE hope this is ok with them-we will take pics holding their pic at each port - we will go to San Juan, St. Thomas, Antigua, St. Lucie and Barbados on this trip so that will cover those ports for G&S - then someone else (who is cruising from May 1st onward?) can print the photo and carry it to their ports - I will bet that within 6 months we can have Flat Grumpy and Slinkie cover most of the world! I think when I get back, I will post the photos on this site because it is where the WORLD has been reading the saga of their World Cruise and dreading the end of it because we will be SO lost without them!

If Grumpy and Slinkie don't like this idea, don't tell them who I am, where I live (we live in the same state......eeeeek! :eek: ) or that you ever heard from me.

More next week..........maybe!!!! :cool:

Cindie

[TexEm]

Have a wonderful trip! May the real Grumpy and Slinkie get to visit every port their fans take you to.

 

Mary

[Grumpy1]

here's a pic

 

Grumpy

[TexEm]

Thanks, Grumpy--now flat Grumpy and Slinkie can go on shore excursions. Plus we have proof that you're actually on the cruise you've been writing us about (that formal picture could've been taken anywhere--you could've been making this up. If that was the case, you have a great imagination and really should be a writer). Slinkie looks great in the new photo, like she's a little kid about to embark on a special adventure.

 

Best wishes for the last weeks of an unforgettable cruise...

 

Mary

[Cuttle]

What a great picture! Bon Voyage Flat Grumpy/Slinkie/Slinkiedam. I wonder where they will travel to next?

 

How did you get the special photo op sign made? You must have special photographer friends on board as I presume they are the graphic artists. Or did you simply super impose it yourself on your computer? Again, it's a perfect picture.

[louiskam]

Thanks for your photo... you two just look sweet. (Louis)

[mariner]

Grumpy and Slinky,

 

Prepare for some cooler weather in New York. Hopefully, these rain fronts we've been getting with get out of the way by the time you arrive.

 

Don't know what I'll do every morning without having a new post from the world cruise.

 

Hope you have plenty of ink in case you decide to print them out for the scrap book. Let me know what type of printer you use so I can buy stock in the ink company.

[Ziggy7]

Watch out for rouge waves too !!! eeeks!:eek:

[Williebill]

Grumpy, you know that my DW and I are considering going on the 2007 WC. We are just waiting to see what the itinerary will be before we make our final decision. Some of that money that you saved me on this cruise will go toward that WC.