Prinsendam 2005 World Tour... it has begun

[sable1]

Ruth,

I'll be right behind you. I don't think I've ever had Chocolate bread pudding. Something to look forward to! Can hardly wait.

Joanne, the chocoholic

[Grumpy1]

Well, Gang, I'll have to fess up... never tried the bread pudding... it just has never been my favorite thing... but did see quite a few people heading that direction. the "English breakfast" with baked beans was offered several times... didn't try them so don't know if they were Cambells or not... prefer Bush's baked beans myself, but they still need a little "doctoring". I really liked breakfast in the Lido... so many choices... The waffles weren't great... reheated squares... only had them once, but the pancakes were very good... eggs benedict any day you wanted them... omelettes, your way... 8 or 9 juice choices... I usually had V8... and then eating outside on the aft Lido deck... it just doesn't get any better.

 

Cruznon, the Garmin GPSV that I use has world map software in it. Detail is limited outside the US, but you can usually identify the island you are passing and sometimes the larger towns are identified. There is software available that will get you to street level just about anywhere, but it's pretty expensive and we didn't need it.

 

KathieKata, I sent an email to your hotmail addy but haven't seen a reply.

 

Grumpy

[blackbird71]

Blackbird: Nice picture.........you're making me hungry!! :p

 

Well here is a small photo thing with what I call Mariner Food and Drink:p Click on the thumbnails for a bigger picture. And only for the menus, double click on the larger picture and you should get a readable version.

 

Sorry RuthC..... I did not have any good pictures of the Head Chief and his Death by Chocolate tea time. I ya ya had other things on my mind and in my hands.:D:D

[Rotterdam]

Well Slikie & Grumpy I made it back - I posted a review under the 6 May Prinsendam posting - loved the ship! It does spoil one with all that space -

 

I loved Stephen Card's paintings in the aft stairwell landings - every time I climbed the stairs(several times aday) I took a moment to look up close. I also sat with Stephens book "Cunarder" & loved every page!

 

I'm glad I had the chance to sail Prinsendam...err Slinkiedam. Each evening I raised a glass to you both in the Ocean Bar(third bar stool). And on the last evening after dinner while dancing & laughing with my tablemate Jeanette - I thought of you both...wishing you smooth seas & full moon.

 

So thank you once again - I hope you are well.

[KathieKata]

Blackbird: WOW......great pictures. They sure go all out on the food.....now don't they!! :p

 

Grumpy: I got your e-mail and just haven't had a chance to ask about some future vacation plans. I'll get to it soon. Thanks for taking the time to send it.:)

 

Hot and Humid again today. Yesterday we had Tornado warnings through the late evening and winds recorded at 62 mph just 5 miles from us. After the wind and rain stopped (it only lasted about 15 mins) it only took about a 1/2 hour for the driveway to get dry again. That's because the temps were about 94 degrees all day!! TOO HOT FOR ME!!

 

Gotta get out and clean up what the wind left behind! Have a great day all!

[Grumpy1]

Well Slikie & Grumpy I made it back - I posted a review under the 6 May Prinsendam posting - loved the ship! It does spoil one with all that space -

 

I loved Stephen Card's paintings in the aft stairwell landings - every time I climbed the stairs(several times aday) I took a moment to look up close. I also sat with Stephens book "Cunarder" & loved every page!

 

I'm glad I had the chance to sail Prinsendam...err Slinkiedam. Each evening I raised a glass to you both in the Ocean Bar(third bar stool). And on the last evening after dinner while dancing & laughing with my tablemate Jeanette - I thought of you both...wishing you smooth seas & full moon.

 

So thank you once again - I hope you are well.

 

I've followed the thread on 6 May Prinsendam, but hadn't jumped into it yet... Welcome back and we're really glad that you enjoyed your cruise. I'm sure things were a little different with all of the staff changes in NYC... obviously the Prinsendam knows who her real master is... she would never shut down her engines in the middle of the ocean with Capt Gundersen in command... and we always wondered what they did with all of the Jello that didn't get eaten on the WC...

 

It was nice that you were able to find "Cunarder" and spend some time with it. Stephen did a great job on the book...can't wait for the sequel... "HALer"??...

 

Thanks for the smooth seas and full moon wishes... we had a few strolls around the Promenade Deck, too, and saw some full moons... even on nights when the sky was cloudy... people in those forward Promenade Deck cabins really should remember to close their drapes when the sun goes down... the one-way glass that works so well during the day becomes crystal clear looking in when the light is on the inside...

 

Grumpy

[KathieKata]

Grumpy posted:

people in those forward Promenade Deck cabins really should remember to close their drapes when the sun goes down... the one-way glass that works so well during the day becomes crystal clear looking in when the light is on the inside...

So tell us..........does Slinkie know that Grumpy was "peeking"!! :rolleyes: Boys will be boys I guess!!!

I bet you're having the same HUMID, STICKY, HOTTER than HOT weather we have had here in Michigan the last few days. At least the WIND calmed down today. My hanging plants had to get put under the picnic table for protection!!

 

Have a FUN day everyone!

[ILuvCruisin']

See what I mean...

 

You make me smile...sometimes laugh out loud...that's a good thing...

 

May I ask what city are you visiting in Ohio...I am from Youngstown

 

Grumpy? an oversight or...

[Rotterdam]

LOL - yes those forward cabins are a bit strange.....

 

I see how enchanted you were with the ship - it was very clubby with just enough facilitie for everyone.

 

I always hope that the lines build more ships Prinsendams size - I nly had breakfast by the midships pool - the aft pool was glorious - only 16 lounge chairs & all open.......thats luxury.

 

There are certain moments that a person knows they are living well - on this trip - it was when I was in the aft pool in med waters after a wonderful day in port & having a Spanish luncheon that was just perfect in every way or was it walking around the Promenade Deck the last evening just before a full moon, or was it the sunsets as we ate dinner in the dining room, or seeing the stars almost every evening, or the passage through Gibralter - with Africa within arms reach, or sailing out of NYC harbor on a beautiful sunny afternoon...or dancing with Jeanette in the Ocean Bar & laughing as we went along, or when we toasted Jeanettes husbands retirement with bubbly.......or each morning smiling when I saw Stephen Cards(PRINSENDAM) paintings greeting me as if I had my own oceanliner art gallery....

 

Yes I lived well.......

[Member]

Ditto..

[cindiedee]

Grumpy and Slinkie - me again.....hope you saw the photos I posted with a link while you were on your WC - we ended up taking you to the southern Caribbean in your formal clothes as casual photo didn't arrive til after we sailed. At any rate, you are going again! On the Westerdam 10/22-Rome to Ft. Lauderdale! Reading some of the other threads is hilarious as this Flat G&S just took off and now people are signing up to take you on their cruises! This is a riot! You are actually going around the world again....you must be getting very tired! ;) I will try to go back and get your informal photo to take with us on this cruise - you probably wouldn't enjoy Morocco too much in your formal duds. I am still so green with envy of your WC - to take one would be a dream come true but DH is a bit skeptical of being on ship that long - trying to now talk him into the 55 day one or at least the 35 day one. We went to Australia/NewZealand/Tahiti for a month and by the end, much as he loved the trip, he was ready to get back to sunny S. Fl. Not me.....I believe I have some gypsy blood in me because I could just keep going and going and going........................:cool:

[Grumpy1]

We're baaaaack! Left hot and humid Florida on June 7... arrived in hot humid Ohio that afternoon.... No palm trees here, though... Had to wait a couple of days for the cable guy to show up and get us set up for cable and high speed internet, plus had lots of other stuff to take care of, so I didn't get a chance to check the CC boards until today.

 

 

 

Grumpy and Slinkie - me again.....hope you saw the photos I posted with a link while you were on your WC - we ended up taking you to the southern Caribbean in your formal clothes as casual photo didn't arrive til after we sailed. At any rate, you are going again! On the Westerdam 10/22-Rome to Ft. Lauderdale! Reading some of the other threads is hilarious as this Flat G&S just took off and now people are signing up to take you on their cruises! This is a riot! You are actually going around the world again....you must be getting very tired! ;) I will try to go back and get your informal photo to take with us on this cruise - you probably wouldn't enjoy Morocco too much in your formal duds. I am still so green with envy of your WC - to take one would be a dream come true but DH is a bit skeptical of being on ship that long - trying to now talk him into the 55 day one or at least the 35 day one. We went to Australia/NewZealand/Tahiti for a month and by the end, much as he loved the trip, he was ready to get back to sunny S. Fl. Not me.....I believe I have some gypsy blood in me because I could just keep going and going and going........................:cool:

 

Yes, we saw the link in post 1287, May 19 ... you posted that on my birthday... so sweet of you... and I replied in post 1295. The pictures are great. We sure hope you are able to talk DH into the longer cruise someday, but I sure wouldn't complain about the shorter ones... There are a lot of people on here that would love to do that Australia, New Zealand, Tahiti cruise (including us).

 

ILuvCruisin'... I'm sorry I forgot to answer your question about where in OH we are staying... we're in Hinckley Township... about an hour west of Youngstown... I've spent a little time in the Mahoning Valley area over the years... Girard, Warren, Y'town, etc.

 

KathieKata... Ahem!... you shouldn't be making assumptions about who's doing the peeking... Grumpy and Slinkie do their deck walking together... and it wasn't Grumpy that said "There's a naked man standing there shaving"...

 

Rotterdam... You described the experience very well... and your comment, "Yes, I lived well" pretty well sums up our feelings, too. May your future sailings be as enjoyable...

 

Grumpy

[blackbird71]

I noted on the tipping thread that in 2006 the WC includes pre-paid tips for full cruise pax and a glass of wine with your dinners.

 

I have read the brochure and would like for your comments on new or same as your cruise features.

 

1) They list a "Grand Voyage Table" in the captain's quarters, did you have that?

 

2) In-stateroom liquor set-up (4 bottles)

 

3) and for your cat SS/SY Newspaper delivery (USA Today or International Herald Tribune)...

 

thanks in advance.

[Ides of March]

Grumpy:

I have been lurking on this thread almost since day one and have found it fascinating especially as we are booked on the Circle of the Sun cruise next year. In so doing we went against our travel agent's advice which was that for a trip of a lifetime, pay more but get a lot more on Crystal. Reading your posts on the seaworthy and intimate Prinsendam, we are reassured that we have made the right choice particularly as we love small boats being sailors and the HAL itinerary including the Amazon turns our crank which the Crystal one does not.

We had wanted to book only as far as Mumbai and continue home around the world via train plane and short cruises however due to the high booking rate HAL has not released segments to my knowledge and thus we booked the round-trip.

My question relates to the passenger turn over segment by segment on your cruise and if you are aware if cabins were vacant during particular segments. Also you mentioned that many of your cruise mates had booked for next year and I wonder if you believe they will bail when deposits become nonrefundable in September.

The reason for my question is that I've just learned I will need an angioplasty in July which blows away any meaningful insurance. As my teacher wife is on a year's leave of absence we have a limited window in which to travel. HAL keeps various percentages of your increasing deposits depending on when you cancel even if they resell your slot later. They even use a different formula for the world cruise which is to their advantage and which I only learned about from my agent as it's not on the Web. Makes you wonder why seniors with preexisting conditions are willing to take the risk on big-ticket cruises.

Depending on how my procedure goes we will likely cancel in September and hope to rebook closer to departure to minimize risks. Lose a few perks but hey... We may yet end up with Crystal. I can't see next year's cruise been more popular than this years except for your incredible promotion efforts so I'm trying to get a better read on the risks. I realize it's only a guess on anyone's part and would appreciate your thoughts.

Thanks for doing what you did. It made a long Canadian winter brighter.

 

IOM aka Terry

[ILuvCruisin']

We're baaaaack! Left hot and humid Florida on June 7... arrived in hot humid Ohio that afternoon.... No palm trees here, though... Had to wait a couple of days for the cable guy to show up and get us set up for cable and high speed internet, plus had lots of other stuff to take care of, so I didn't get a chance to check the CC boards until today.

 

ILuvCruisin'... I'm sorry I forgot to answer your question about where in OH we are staying... we're in Hinckley Township... about an hour west of Youngstown... I've spent a little time in the Mahoning Valley area over the years... Girard, Warren, Y'town, etc.

 

Grumpy

I know Girard and Warren well as they are just a stone's throw from Y_town and all are very, very small cities. But then I guess you know that. I just realized they are guys names.

 

Hope you all enjoy your visit to my home state. I will be in Miami on the 24th thru 27th hope it's ok if flat Grumpy and Slinky accompany me.

[blackbird71]

Grumpy:

I have been lurking on this thread almost since day one and have found it fascinating especially as we are booked on the Circle of the Sun cruise next year. In so doing we went against our travel agent's advice which was that for a trip of a lifetime, pay more but get a lot more on Crystal.

 

IOM aka Terry

 

I am not sure you get more on Crystal... When looking at all World Cruises, Crystal is always very low on my list. The ending of a World Cruise in London just does not sit right with me. After getting off a WC, a long airplane flight home it just not what I would like. Also, Crystal has two seating times like HAL. Before my problems with RSSC home office, a major point for me with them was the "open seating" but after my one cruise with them, one thing I did find out was I always went to dinner at the same time.

[Grumpy1]

Blackbird71... To answer your questions about the SS "perks"... There are more perks for the 2006 WC than for the 2005. We received a letter while onboard that listed all of the perks, but some were for signups before reaching Sydney. Since a WC in 2006 doesn't fit our plans, we didn't book and I didn't pay too much attention to which perks were not offered for later bookings. For 2005, prepaid tips was not included, nor was the wine with dinner. We did purchase the wine package prior to the cruise, though. There was no in-room liquer provided, but the prices to purchase from room service were greatly reduced for the WC... about half what I would pay in the local liquer store.

 

We did have a daily newspaper... if you want to call 2 11x17sheets, printed both sides and folded in half to form an 8 page 8 1/2 x11 booklet a newspaper... It was the NY Times Digest. There were many newspapers that could be purchased... One couple we know bought the LA Times, but only for Friday and Sunday. There were also some newspapers in the library, but heard comments about them disappearing before most passengers had a chance to read them...

 

On the 2005 WC, all full world passengers, regardless of cabin category, had an opportunity to dine with the captain in his cabin. Check this thread about Feb 15 or 16, as we dined with him on Feb 14. Full World was defined as boarding in either FLL or LA and staying on until FLL or NYC. I don't know if that perk is now being reserved for CatSS and higher or not. To get all of the approx 500 full world passengers to his cabin, eleven at a time, required the captain to host formal dinners about every other night. Add in the captain's dinner for Cat S, regardless of length of cruise, and he had a lot of entertaining to do....

 

Ides of March.... Well, my name isn't Julius Ceaser, so I guess I don't have to beware... Welcome to the thread... I certainly hope everything works out OK and you are able to take the Circle of the Sun cruise.

 

The segment turnover was pretty low. I believe we left FLL with 731 pax, there were about 130 that got off in LA and were replaced by a similar number. Turnover in other "end of segment" ports was even lower. Although the capacity of the Prinsendam is listed as being close to 800 pax, it is only about 730 for the WC because of extra staff and entertainers that require accomodations. Two or three of the suites were occupied by entertainers or guest lecturers most of the time (much to the delight of a few that I spoke with that were not expecting anything more than a bunk below the waterline in the pointy end of the ship). I doubt that there were empty cabins on any of the segments.

 

Most of the pax that I spoke with about booking while on board were serious about taking the cruise and weren't just holding the reservation on the chance that they might decide to go, but there were a few that indicated they might decide not to go before they had to make final payment. The early talk was that there was little to no chance of getting segments, but toward the end of our cruise I heard that some segments were being offered. Those may have been snapped up pretty quickly though.

 

As far as seniors with pre-existing conditions... I think if the insurance is purchased at the time of the booking, pre-existing conditions are covered... at least on some of the policies I've seen. If there's anything else I can answer for you, let me know.

 

Grumpy

[Ides of March]

Your observations will go into the decision data bank.

On pre-existing conditions, the HAL premium insurance is not available to non Americans and all other insurance coverage that I have found excludes coverage when cancelled due to pre-ex's.

[blackbird71]

As always Grumpy, thanks for your information... :):)

[Slinkiecat]

I guess I'm just an "old girl", but I would love to see both John Davidson and Pat Boone just for old time's sake ... for the momentary joy of remembering songs like "Love Letters In The Sand" from a time that I perceive as so much better than this. But I'm just a little over the top sentimental about those days.

 

Heather, I think I liked John for "old times' sake" too. He was not really competitive in today's entertainment market, but he did good and received a 75% standing ovation. I tend to support that kind of effort, so I stood.

 

Yes, it's a sentimental thing.

 

Slinkie

[Traveller1]

Hi Grumpy & Slinkie--we just arrived home from Europe after leaving on 3rd May so have been busy catching up with all your posts.

 

Thank you for continuing on with them and telling us the story of yr arrival back home including the trips across alligator alley. I have not been able to find a message about Half moon cay --which you said in one of yr posts would be next--did Imiss it and if that is the case which number post is it?

 

Thank you so much once again--we did enjoy the fun of it all.

 

many thanks,Wendy & Al

[Slinkiecat]

Wendy, Here's my journal entry for the last two stops.

 

Slinkie

 

Tuesday, May 3, 2005, 7:30 P.M.

After three very pleasant sea days, we sailed into the port of Bridgetown on the island of Barbados in the Caribbean Sea. We had been up early and watched the approach from our verandah until we got into the harbor. Again there were flying fishes in our path, so now I know they live in oceans all around the world.

 

Barbados is slightly hilly but does not have tall mountains like the volcanic islands do. Part of it was formed by the movement of the tectonic plates under the sea, and part of it is sandstone and clay that migrated over thousands of years from Venezuela, which lies just south of it. There are many beautiful beaches where natives and tourists alike go to swim, and since we arrived on their national holiday, a sort of Labor Day, the beaches were very busy.

 

After breakfast where we watched the docking from the Lido deck, we gathered in the Queen's Lounge for our tour, and left the ship to board our bus. First we had to walk past a long terminal building where a local steel band played calypso music to welcome us and around it to a shopping center where we saw several shops, not yet open at 8:30 Monday morning.

 

We were led through the shopping center to the parking lot where we boarded our bus for the Natural Wonders of Barbados tour. Our guide told us we would be able to shop there after our return, but very little else would be open that day. Our bus took us through the countryside where we saw farms and homes on the hillsides as well as dense forests. We were told that there were thousands of green monkeys on the island, but they prefer the cooler times of day to be out, and we never saw any. Another animal that is plentiful on Barbados is the mongoose, and we did see a small one run across the road.

 

The first stop on our tour was at a farm to see the rare black-bellied sheep which are plentiful on the island, and the owner had corralled several of them including a couple of very young lambs for us to see up close. One little lamb squeezed through the wooden fence and ran back and forth through the group of tourists trying to find the way back in. Twice as he passed me I was able to pet him. These sheep do not have a wool coat, but are rather more like hairy goats, a medium brown in color with black undersides. The local people raise them for meat, which is low in fat and is preferred over beef by the Barbadians. We also saw cattle grazing in small herds and at times a single animal in a fenced yard or tied up beside the road. Horses were being groomed at a riding stable. We heard that pigs and chickens are also raised there.

 

As usual, we drove on the left side of the road, but for the most part the road through the hills was so narrow we used most of it. The driver honked a couple of times at each bend in the road where there was no visibility of oncoming traffic.

 

We drove through the hills to a botannical garden where we stopped and again got out to walk around. There was a very nice gift shop there, and I was happy to see that they had some ceramic flying fishes hanging on the wall. I selected a small one and paid in U.S. dollars. While we waited outside the building for the others to finish shopping, we had a chance to admire the flowering plants just outside. One bush covered with yellow blooms sheltered some gray birds with yellow breasts as well as a dark gray to black hummingbird that had an iridescent green head. Tiny lizards that resemble the anoles we see in Florida climbed the wall and ran quickly into a hiding place.

 

A path through the gardens led us past dozens of beautiful plants, bushes, trees and walkways. A hermit crab poked out of a snail shell beside the path. Finally boarding the bus again, we continued our tour of the island. We passed by several sugar cane plantations, and stopped at one where some men were harvesting the cane by hand, chopping down the tall stalks with a curved machete and slicing down the stalk to strip off the leaves. Our tour guide got off and asked one of the men for a couple of stalks to let us sample it, and we watched as they peeled the outer green part off and cut the stalks into smaller sections. The guide brought them back to the bus where she cut them into bite-sized pieces and offered each of us a piece. It was very woody and slightly sweet.

 

Our tour guide pointed out some old windmills, the huge stone based ones that are now used for storage of crops and farm supplies, and one that is still working, claimed to be the only working one of this type in this hemisphere. It's the old wooden bladed kind with four vanes. We also saw the quarries where slate, clay and rock are mined.

 

Continuing along the main road, we went through a few small towns around the island and saw several beaches, some with warning signs posted as dangerous areas where the current is very strong and the ocean floor irregular and rocky. Others were filled with swimmers and sunbathers, surfers and snorkelers. There is a golf course which we were told Tiger Woods uses and was married at an adjoining church last year. A brief shower just dampened the ground where we were, but a few miles down the road it was flooded in one section and we had to slow way down to pass through it. Fortunately there was no more rain as we pulled up at the pier in time for lunch. Well, at least it was only a few sprinkles as we came out of the shopping center and back to the gangway of the ship.

 

After lunch, we finally got our chance to go shopping. The pierside shops were mostly open, and we checked out the souvenir shops where we bought a shot glass and bypassed a clothing shop that had a really pretty bright orange and yellow dress in the window... oh well - I guess I don't really need another orange dress.

 

The biggest store in the shopping center was Colombian Emeralds International. Of course, I already have my Colombian Emeralds, but I had this big amethyst pendant we bought in Fortaleza and it really needed some companion pieces to match it. Wouldn't you know, in the amethyst section this store had just the right shade of purple earrings in the same setting, as well as a perfectly gorgeous ring with a fantastic violet color stone ringed by small diamonds, and it was exactly my size! Knowing Mother's Day was just around the corner, my dear sweet husband also decided that the matching bracelet would make this complete set the perfect gift, and I just couldn't wait to wear these beautiful amethysts all evening. He didn't say I had to wait until Sunday, after all.

 

Once we had all taken care of those receipts, certificates and guarantees, we returned to the ship to clean up and dress for our evening's festivities. We had a meeting arranged earlier with the Holland America Lines marketing director for long cruises, who was boarding in Barbados and wanted to meet with us and all the other fans of Cruise Critic on the Internet. We passed the word along and expected seven couples. That was a good group. As it turned out, two couples didn't make it, but two other couples did, and we had a very good discussion group at 5:30 in the Crow's Nest. Most of the group left at 6:15 for early seating at dinner, but a few of us remained until 8:10. Oh, I should mention as well that this was the night for the Pirates of the Caribbean theme in the dining room, so we were in full costume all evening. It brought a lot of chuckles from the other passengers, since very few of them were in costume. The photographers were off duty, so we don't have that on film. All the waiters were dressed like pirates too.

 

The evening's show in the Queen's Lounge was a puppeteer with Matilda and his wife with an ant, which we thoroughly enjoyed.

 

Tuesday morning we had the port talk on Half Moon Cay and Ft. Lauderdale. I guess mostly HMC, which is a private island in the Bahamas owned by Holland America, is a very low-key place to visit the beach and relax for the last day of the cruise, as we will dock in Ft. Lauderdale early on Friday. When we returned to our cabin, our suitcases were standing beside the door to the verandah. I guess we will have to start packing soon. It's hard to believe, but we have only tomorrow at sea, then Thursday in Half Moon Cay, and when we wake up Friday it is all over.

 

The guest talent show was held in the Queen's Lounge Tuesday afternoon and was full of fun acts plus two of really talented performers. We had a couple doing a short ballet and a classical pianist to entertain a fully packed auditorium.

 

We met with three couples at 5:30 in the Crow's Nest, including the two who had missed the previous evening's gathering. I was the last to arrive this time, since I had an appointment in the salon at 5 o'clock. I was wearing my dinner clothes, which included the amethyst jewelry. One of my friends noticed my ring immediately and asked if it were tanzanite. When I told her it was amethyst, she was amazed at the color. I agree that a 2.5 carat stone in deep purple with pink highlights is impressive.

 

Now that our suitcases have been returned to us we have to face the task of packing. Somehow it seemed easier to pack back home for the trip - We just took everything we thought we would need into the spare bedroom and the night before we left we put in all but what we would use in the morning before we had to load the car. Now we have to contend with U.S. Customs, knowing they can inspect any or all of our eight suitcases and certainly have to have a list of all our purchases outside the U.S., and we have all these breakable souvenirs plus the many gifts the cruise line gave us that we want to keep with us. I've already started taking clothes off the ship's wooden hangers and putting them on our plastic ones, and we sent out our dry cleaning this morning so it should be back on Thursday. We sent out our last laundry order on Sunday and that is due back any minute. I don't dare send anything out tomorrow knowing that hundreds of passengers are disembarking with us and the laundry and dry cleaning service is not going to be able to handle any more. Since we'll have a lot more time back in Naples to wait on dry cleaners it's better to have them done there.

 

How does one prepare for the world cruise? Four months ago those answers came to me easily. Now I am at odds about how to prepare for ending a world cruise. Not so much the physical preparations, which involve collecting everything in our cabin that belongs to us, but the mental preparations more importantly, as this has been home for nearly four months and we are preparing to abandon it and the way of life that we adopted when we stepped on board back in January. We have to do a debriefing in much less time than the months of anticipation and preparation to start this great adventure. As wonderful as it will be to go back to our home on land, we will always have this empty space in our hearts for the floating home we leave, wherever on this earth she is visiting. I would have to say that I would repeat this fantastic journey in a heartbeat if I ever got the chance again.

 

--

 

Wednesday, May 11, 2005, 12:30 P.M.

 

Oh, my! I am a few days late posting the last chronicle of our fabulous journey around the world, and some people are wondering if we had found a place to hide out on board instead of getting off the ship on Friday as scheduled. Well, never fear, they would not let us continue with the Prinsendam as it sailed away.

 

We had one last port before Ft. Lauderdale, and on Thursday, May 5, we anchored in the clear blue water offshore at Half Moon Cay in the Bahamas, which is also referred to as Little San Salvadore. It was a bright and warm day, just perfect for the beach lovers on the ship. We decided to bypass the swimming and would instead just walk around and explore the little island. We could see from the ship that there were long white sand beaches with clamshells and cabanas lined up along the main stretch for shade, as there are no trees near the water. There were a few buildings including a small church and some pavillions away from the beach.

 

The water was a little choppy and there had been an announcement on board the ship that all snorkeling and glass-bottom boat excursions were canceled due to the sediment interfering with visibility. As we boarded one of the lifeboats used to tender passengers to shore, some of the kitchen crew also boarded with trays of hors d'ouevres which would be served before the barbecue lunch on the island. It was a short ride into the little bay where the tender dock was located, and we set out through the area of shelters, which turned out to be a few little souvenir shops and bars. There was nothing of interest to us in the shops, which seemed to us to contain no bargains, and consisted mostly of things we could have bought for a fraction of the price in other ports. So we went on through to the beach, passing another bar on the way. Our ship was the only one there so all the people on the beach were ship's passengers. Apparently nobody lives on the island, but the people working in the shops and bars come in by small boats when a ship is scheduled to arrive.

 

We walked along the water's edge along the beach, marveling at the transparency of the waves that rolled in, and after a few tries finally got used to the temperature of the water. I carried my sandals and walked in the soft sand with the water lapping at my feet. We couldn't see any fish in the water at all, but in a few places we saw black rocks on the ocean floor. Dozens of people decided to swim in the roped-off area near the dock and along the stretch of beach where several dozen lounges were lined up. We walked further down the beach, past all the cabanas, which are small garage-type buildings with three walls and a roof, which one can rent for the day and use the bar, refrigerator and air conditioner. A window on each side can be swung out and propped open, and some of those were in use by some serious party-minded people.

 

Further on down the beach we passed a horse-riding station where one could rent a horse to ride around the island and even into the water on horseback. There were also rentals of paddle-boats and a kind of motorized boat. I think they called them Hobie Cats. When we reached the rocky point of the island we turned around and walked back, as it was time for lunch. A shuttle bus took us around the island to the pavillion area where a buffet and barbecue had been set up. There was a good variety of food and even free wine in plastic cups. As we sat to eat in one of the small pavillions, a few chickens wandered in to beg for food. We didn't take long to eat lunch as the mosquitos started biting so we walked back to the tender dock and went back to the ship. It was only a couple of hours before the sailaway at 3 P.M. and we were entertained by watching the food and kitchen supplies being loaded back on the ship from the port's boat as it pitched and rolled with the waves.

 

Thursday evening we had dinner in the Pinnacle with our usual dinner companions so we could say our farewells. The food was excellent and we ordered champagne to accompany it. Then the serious business of packing was addressed. All but our carry-ons had to be out in the hallway before midnight, and we discovered that we would need to use all our Holland America bags plus our computer bags to carry our belongings in. Our two biggest suitcases had been put out early to be shipped, so we put out the other four suitcases, tagged and labeled, for the porters to store until we arrived in port Friday morning.

 

We woke up early Friday to watch as we pulled into port in Ft. Lauderdale. There were the pelicans diving for fish in the beautiful waters on another gorgeous day. The port was very busy with cargo ships passing by and another cruise ship docked as well. A barge towed a very long pipe past us with tires around it at intervals. The beautiful palm trees lined the green banks of the bay, just as we had left them nearly four months earlier. The Lido was open for breakfast at 6:30, so we ate one last time on the deck. At 7 o'clock there was an announcement that all passengers who had exceeded the $800 allowance for purchases were to meet with U.S. Customs officials with their declaration forms filled out, so we proceeded down to wait our turn in the Wajang theater. Once we were there, we were told that our bill had to be paid by cash, personal check or traveler's check - no credit cards accepted. We took our turn in the room where six Customs officials sat at small tables, and then took the bill to a nearby cashier to pay by check for our purchases all around the world, a total of $608 for all the clothes, souvenirs and jewelry we had bought on and off the ship in the months of travel. Not too bad, considering all we had bought tax-free.

 

Back to our cabin, we finished up our packing, preparing for possible luggage inspection when we cleared Customs in the port. My jewelry purchases were all packed in Ziploc bags with the respective receipts for them and put into my computer bag along with the other jewelry I had taken on board from home. We also had copies of the receipts for them with us just in case. Our cabin steward kept knocking on the door to see if we were out yet, as he wanted to clean up the room for the new passengers getting on board. We knew we wouldn't be allowed to disembark until 11 o'clock, as the passengers who had flights to meet would be allowed off first. We finally had everything stowed into bags by 10 o'clock, so we strapped the small bags onto the pull-along ones, hung the computer bags on our shoulders and struggled into the elevator to go to the Queen's Lounge to wait until our disembarkation number was called. Once in there, we rearranged our loads to make it easier to get them all down the escalator without losing anything, and finally at about 11:30 we were allowed to disembark.

 

I couldn't help remembering how at one of the last stage shows where Patrick Murray and his Caribbean hand puppet Matilda performed, she explained just why they call this final process of leaving the ship the disembarkation. When talking to people in this age group, you don't say "checking out."

 

We were directed to go to our luggage at the far corner of the large terminal building, past the Customs inspectors and other groups of luggage, to the area where our purple-polka-dotted-tagged luggage would be. Most of ours were together, and two others were located nearby. We were surprised to see that our two biggest bags had not been red-tagged after all and were there for us to try to fit into the car. I stood with them while Jerry went to stand in line to wait for a porter to collect our bags on a cart and take us through Customs for final release. We saw that they were all loaded onto the cart, and it took only a few more minutes to clear Customs as all we had to do was show our receipt. Then we went outside to wait by the curb while we waited for Lynn to retrieve the car from the parking garage and pick us up. We got under way at noon and decided to look for a place to have lunch before making the 100 mile trip across the state to Naples. We passed several exits but no sign of a restaurant, so we continued on toward home and when we got off the freeway in Naples, we stopped at Cracker Barrel for lunch. Lynn dropped us off and left in her own car while we unloaded our luggage. Once we got it all into the condo and saw it collected in the dining room, I thought it looked like something was missing. Jerry studied the piles of luggage and agreed - Two suitcases were missing - One black and one red medium sized suitcases were not there. After rechecking the car and seeing that they weren't there either, we decided to return to Port Everglades immediately to get them. We had no idea whether they were still on the ship, in the terminal building, or in someone else's car. Recalling that one of our tablemates was still waiting for her last two pieces of luggage to be located when we left, we knew that sometimes they get misplaced.

 

We were back at the port by 4:45, and the Prinsendam was still docked there taking on passengers for its 6 P.M. sailaway to New York. Meanwhile Jerry had talked to Lynn on the cell phone about the situation, and she had contacted our travel agent to get the phone number of the port and was able to talk to Security there. They had our suitcases and said we could pick them up in the Security office. We found the place just inside the entrance and retrieved our luggage, which we happily transported back home after waving a final "good-bye" to our former home on the big water.

 

It is a very pleasant drive across I-75 with alligators in the canals beside the road, giving the highway the nickname of "Alligator Alley." I'm sure those grinning alligators were chuckling at us all the way during our second trip.

 

This time back at home we were satisfied that we had everything and only had to find room to unpack all the clothes and souvenirs and other goodies... It wasn't as easy as packing it at the start of our vacation was - Those extra bags from Holland America meant a lot more belongings to stow, and as soon as we got the biggest bags open we realized that there were not enough hangers, not even close to enough, in our closet. Oh, well - We needed groceries too, and we were hungry, so it was time to get back into the car, have dinner in a nearby restaurant beside the water, and then head for the big Wal-Mart for some provisions and about 40 hangers.

 

Once we hung up all those beautiful Thai silk shirts and most of the new clothes I had bought, our walk-in closet was full and we were again out of hangers. I guess I either have to weed out some old clothes or buy another bunch of hangers. I was very happy to note, though, that the new jewelry caused no problem at all in storing. I was right - it takes up no space and weighs nothing. Good choice for souvenirs from many of the foreign countries we visited.

 

So that was the end of our fabulous vacation, and the memories of it will be treasured for the rest of our lives. It is really a fantastic way to see a little bit of a lot of different countries and to get a small amount of insight into their culture. I loved walking down the busy streets of Hong Kong, riding the ultra-modern train system underground in Singapore, shopping in the street market in Pattaya, Thailand, in the very primitive Central Market in Durban, South Africa, and the modern and beautiful downtown arcades in Sydney. Every place was entirely different and has its own unique imprint on our memories, and most of them I would very happily have stayed in longer to find out more. Maybe we will be so lucky as to see some of them again one day. Even if so, this 113-day adventure has to be the most amazing trip anyone could take.

 

Slinkie

 

 

 

[Slinkiecat]

Hmmmmmm, I see on reviewing my notes, while I include a lot of detail he doesn't, I don't have the flair my dear sweet Grumpy does for reporting these things. His computer is down right now, so I hope this will do until he can reply to your query.

 

Slinkie

[blackbird71]

Hmmmmmm, I see on reviewing my notes, while I include a lot of detail he doesn't, I don't have the flair my dear sweet Grumpy does for reporting these things. His computer is down right now, so I hope this will do until he can reply to your query.

 

Slinkie

 

How did the world cruiser handle customs. I would expect a lot if not all of them to have been over their limits and have to pay the customs man :(. Did they come on before you got to Fort Lauderdale?

[Slinkiecat]

Yes, we had to go down to the Wajang theater and wait in line for customs (this was announced for those who had purchased over the allowed amount (gee, I've already forgotten what that is). Our names were already on the list because of purchases made in the jewelry store on board. This was around 7 A.M. It took less than an hour with the next wait after our row was called and led to the room where Customs officials did the interviewing. The official studied the form we had filled out and itemized all our purchases made throughout the world. We paid our assessment in the same room and were free thereafter, and at final checkout down at the pier all we had to do was show the receipt we were given on board.

 

Slinkie