Veendam South America/Antarctica 12/20/10

[Liv4cruzin]

Thanks everyone who responded here; & left comments on the blog, It appears "lupines" is the general consensus; & I sincerely thank everyone for helping me out with that one.

 

We're winding down now. Packing has begun; & tomorrow our last port of call, Montevideo. We've had 2 relaxing say days. Our last CC get together this afternoon. We had about 15 attend; so many from our roll call, I'll never get to meet. During our CC party we were treated to quite a site on the port side of the ship. At least 2 dozen, maybe more frolicking dolphins & some other sea creatures that have yet to be identified. Brownie points for those who are able to tell me what that large black/white creature w/o a back fin & with a pointy nose is.

 

The blog was just updated so there are photos there.

[Liv4cruzin]

Since the internet is so lightning fast tonight, I'll put the picture here as well.

[RuthC]

Is it an orca? A killer whale?

[SilvertoGold]

Since the internet is so lightning fast tonight, I'll put the picture here as well.

 

Looks like a Pacific White-Sided Dolphin, but then you are in the Atlantic...,

Possiblly a Common Dolphin?

The weird one is certainly out of my league!

Hope you get an expert for this.

 

Loved your blog, commentary and photos! Thanks for posting about this cruise: it brought back very fond memories.

[Mangapai Cruiser]

A Northern Right Dolphin Whale? Fits the description as they have no dorsal fin.

[Vic The Parrot]

Happy New Year!

 

 

Quite a diary you have going ... it's fantastic. :)

 

Glad that Veendam is in great condition.

Was wondering ... is Chris the waiter still in the MDR?

 

 

If you see him, tell him i said hello.

Thanks.

[peapod2]

A Northern Right Dolphin Whale? Fits the description as they have no dorsal fin.

 

Darned close, Mangapai Cruiser and thanks for just the right, helpful clue. Upon googling, it appears to be a Southern Right Whale Dolphin.

[Coolcruise02]

We were on the Veendam the trip before you and I have enjoyed reading your blog. One thing I would like to point out is the ship took a terrible beating on the cruise before you. It does not surprise me that railings are loose or lighting fixtures are popped out of the ceiling. I can't imagine the stress on bolts and screws, etc during the more than 24hr pounding. I wish I knew how to post pictures here and I would show you the damage done to the front on the open deck.

 

You certainly have some beautiful pictures!

[Liv4cruzin]

I just knew I could count on y'all to come up with another right answer. I knew it's body looked whale-ish. But it's nose was dolphin-ish. I had no idea what I had captured until I enlarged & cropped. From way up in the Crow's Nest & with the naked eye, they could have been penguins jumping in & out of the water for all we could tell.

 

Coolcruise02: yes, everyone on the ship is STILL talking about the tremendous tossing that she took on the previous cruise. I had a chance to inspect the bow (hull) while in port in Montevideo yesterday. Got some close up shots; & she's banged up badly. You could see the deck damage when we were allowed all the way forward on deck 7 during the Antarctic cruise days. I hadn't thought about the railing damage being a result of the rough seas. But the black showing on the plastic lighting grid was not damage; it appeared to be dirt or mold (or best case scenario, a silver coating that had deteriorated). At any rate, it was disgusting to look at while you were eating,

 

The sunrise sail into B.A. was gorgeous this morning. Thank God it's not so hot today; & a great breeze. Disembarkation this morning was rather choatic with stupid problems. We didn't leave the pier until after 11:30. And then had to wait for the rooms to be ready at the Sheraton. I'd love to have had a nap this afternoon; but not with all the hammering & buzz sawing 3 floors above my head. Anyone coming to the Sheraton Libertador any time soon should be forewarned. Renovation going on 10a-7p daily.

 

Will have a nice city tour after breakfast in the morning. Then they'll bring us back to the Sheraton to hang out until 5:30 when they transfer us to the airport (approx 4 hrs. prior to your flight's departure). If I'm able to drown out the noised & get a short nap, I MAY update the blog & upload a bunch of photos since I'm not on unlimited internet for only $13/day. If only one could get a deal like THAT on a ship!

[Liv4cruzin]

Lou, Lee Ann & Bill.......I'm missing y'all.

[Rivergirl77]

Becky and Lou. Just want to thank you guys so much again for your awesome blogs. I know I hung on every word and loved the pics. Very much appreciated.

 

We are on the Veendam now and the ship sails at 8.30pm. I have met some great people already on our roll call and they all eagerly devoured your blogs too. Some of us are blogging on this trip too

 

Thanks so much again for all your information, we lived the experience with you guys :)

[DrTee]

Thanks, Rivergirl.

 

 

I'm at the Hilton now, up in the Exec Lounge using free wi-fi (though only for 24 hours--long story). They had empanadas, salad, crostini, mushrooms, and little sweets and free booze at 6. I slept all afternoon, having had lunch in the lobby and then succumbing to the lusciousness of a Hilton bed AND fabulous air conditioning.

 

I have a city tour in the morning, and then I'm not sure what I'll do the rest of the day.

 

I found disembark pretty easy. I left my room early (because it was uncomfortably hot), and waited in the Lido (where it was always cool--I should have slept there). I left when my number was called. Finding my bags was easy, but there were NO porters as we were promised. There were carts, but you couldn't take them all the way to the taxi queue, so I struggled quite a bit with my excess (as did a lot of other people). The taxi queue was not organized very well, so there was quite a wait, but I figured my room wouldn't be ready anyway. My driver had lived in Alabama for four years, married an AL girl. He was pleasant--his English wasn't much better than my Spanish, but we both tried and it was delightful.

 

BA is beautiful. Very clean and modern.

 

I'll "see" everyone on line when we all get home. What a trip!

[Liv4cruzin]

While drtee was the Hilton, I was at the Sheraton (which is undergoing construction & noises were slightly annoying). I took a HAL excursion in B.A. Fri. morning. I was standing in the La Boca area snapping pictures like crazy; when a voice behind me said "do you know where I can take pictures of food?" There stood Lou, on her own tour; & we chatted just a few mins. got a quick photo together & said our goodbyes again.

 

Fri. was an unmercifully long & challenging day. Mainly because I still wasn't feeling well (despite finishing a round of antibiotics) & had gotten very little sleep the last 5 days. It was no fun hanging around the lobby of the Sheraton all afternoon until it was time to board the bus to the airport (5:30).

 

We were treated to an unexpected & unwanted experience during that ride to the airport. The bus broke down along the interstate highway, not too far form the airport. We kept hearing this beeping noise (warning beep); none of us aware what was going on. The driver pulls off the side of the road at an off ramp; gets out & is talking on the phone. It appears a fam belt broke; & there was much discussion in Spanish over the phone about plan B. Since he could speak no English, he handed the phone to a Pax who then relayed the info to the rest of us. They were sending another 'bus' in 5 mins. How convenient that they would have one so close by? Not that we believed it; but....

 

It was hot on the bus; so he opened the doors & finally let us get off (I think his fear was if we got off & scattered he'd never round everybody up again). The folks at a nearby Shell station brought over bottles of water & styrofoam cups to quench our thirst. We're all worrying about how long it was going to take to unload all that luggage that had been so meticulously wedged down below & reboard another bus.

 

HAL went with plan C. They sent a mechanic out in a van, who replaced the fan belt right there on the side of the road. Even though we left almost 4 hrs. before my flight's departure, I had no time to spare when I finally got through the never ending lines at the MANY different security, immigration & passport procedures in place at EZE. It was nerve wrecking.

 

I couldn't believe how frigid it was when I changed plans in ATL, just walking the length of the jetway. Knowing the weather that is coming tonight, I'm extremely glad that my travel day was yesterday. I'm hoping drtee can make it to TX w/o delays. I was not a happy camper when I finally made it home around noon on Sat.

 

I'm still in a foggy daze today. I apologize for not finishing the last 2 days of the blog. I'm gonna get there though. And to all those who followed our blogs & gave your encouraging comments, I THANK YOU. Your enjoyment makes it all worth while. And especially to those who are currently on the Veendam or about to be on the Ve or the Prinsendam, I hope you are blessed with the same ideal sailing conditions we experienced.

 

It will probably go down as the most awe inspiring itinerary I'll ever take. It was not my best HAL cruise experience; but one I wouldn't trade for anything. I'm so grateful to have been able to share this experience with some wonderful new friends. From what I can tell, EVERYONE felt it was their trip of a lifetime.

 

When I finally get the hundreds of photos fully edited & uploaded to webshots, I will resurrect this thread to direct you to those photos (should you wish to see more than what was in the blog). Thank you all for going along on the ride with me.

[RuthC]

Thank you all for going along on the ride with me.

No, thank you for letting us join you.

I'll be looking for that Webshots link.

[aliaschief]

We have really enjoyed your blog. Thanks for taking us along.

[dunbawn]

Thank you for your wonderful blogs. Although it is one of the things I would love to do I don't think I ever will. So "going" with you has truely been a trip of a lifetime. Smooth sailing.

 

Eileen

[Storylady]

Here is the bedbug story from their blog: Although I didn’t mention it back then, they encountered what appeared to be bed bugs in their cabin upon embarkation. She found them when she lifted up the pillows. Housekeeping tried to tell them that it was dirt that sometimes falls from the A/C vents; but Shirley asked how could it fall “under” the pillows. There was no empty cabin to move them to; no extra mattresses to swap out. They’ve been trying to resolve this issue with Guest Relations for 3 days. So far, they’ve been offered a bottle of wine & a box of chocolates (which they declined). But they’re trying to keep their sense of humor about all this.

 

 

Be sure to go back to the post where they post their blog link - they have absolutely stunning photos from this trip - unbelievable capture of that glacial turquoise blue and some really great menu item photos. Great job with this blog and thanks for the on the spot report -the good, the not so good but laced with a lot of humor and appreciation for the beauty of it all too.

 

 

What is the blog link for Ken and Shirley's blog? I just read Becky's and really enjoyed her text and photos. Read the whole thing aloud to my husband as we will be hopefully going to most of the ports next month.

[DrTee]

I'll be putting some summary comments on my blog in a day or two. Still recovering from the trip home. And I'll put a link there to my pictures when I get those up.

 

The BA airport was a nightmare, I think, no matter how you look at it. I was able to use the Admiral's Club Lounge, but it wasn't pleasant--it was packed and there were feral children running around screaming while the parents tuned it out.

 

The check in process was similarly chaotic--it was almost like they didn't expect us! I was so relieved to get on the plane! Not sure I'll ever go to BA again.

 

Oh, and Storylady--my link is in my signature, just below.

[bcnvcanada]

So sorry that you both hard a hard time in EZE. It is like LAX in the international area. Do hope that you both will be feeling better soon.

[Liv4cruzin]

What is the blog link for Ken and Shirley's blog? I just read Becky's and really enjoyed her text and photos. Read the whole thing aloud to my husband as we will be hopefully going to most of the ports next month.

 

I'm pretty darn sure Ken & Shirley were not writing a blog. We became friends on day 1; & I was the one writing about their "bed issues". The last time I saw them onboard, they had not gotten a satisfactory response or acceptable compensation.

[Liv4cruzin]

I FINALLY posted the last entry to the blog. I've been out of service for a couple of days. My sinus infection became bronchitis; & I've been too sick to even watch TV or play on the computer. I've never been too sick for either of these 2 favorite past times before.

 

It'll take me a while to whittle down all the photos to a manageable number. But I will post back here when they're ready for Webshots.

[intx9]

We are doing the around the horn cruise on the 23rd. Can either of you tell me how long it takes to upload each update so I can get an idea on how many minutes to buy when we get aboard so my 14yo dd can do a blog for us?

 

I have really enjoyed them both as well and it is getting us more excited!!

We will also be on the cruise leaving on the 23rd. We are in room #014. There is an informal meet and greet planned for the first day of the cruise. See the Roll Call for more info.