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Hawaii and Tahiti.....Welcome to Paradise with Bill & Mary Ann on the Statendam

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Report # 25 October 27, 2013 Sunday Tahiti & Hawaii...Welcome to Paradise with Bill & Mary Ann on the Statendam

 

The Statendam quietly slipped into the sheltered bay of Nuku Hiva and the village of Taiohae very early this morning, while most of us were still sleeping....just as Captain Eric had promised last night. Normally, there is an announcement when the ship has been cleared by the local authorities, but not this morning. We could see some of the tenderboats circling around the ship, but without the go-ahead by the cruise director, we were not sure it was happening at all. We had decided early on that we would skip breakfast, and go to shore as early as we could. With the last boat coming back at 1:30pm, that would not give us a whole lot of time to do what we had planned.

 

So we walked down the hallway to check the stairwell that goes down to deck B and the exit door. There was no line, but we could hear the crew down there telling some folks that they were indeed transferring guests over, and we were welcome to go immediately. With that news, we got our stuff, and were on our way, without tender tickets, we might add. The five star symbol on our keycards does work out well in these situations, giving us priority tendering.

 

Conditions could not have been better for our stop today. There was very little swell in the bay, and the temperature promised a warm day, with occassional breezes. Whatever clouds were in the sky seemed to remain over the highest peaks, giving us some cover from the hot sun every now and then.

 

Here's a bit of info on the island of Nuku Hiva. With 198 square miles, Nuku Hiva is the largest of the Marquesas Archipelago. There is a total of 12 islands in the group, but only 6 of them are populated. The total amount of natives is about 8000. The village of Taiohae where we have landed is the administrative capital. This village boasts a town hall, one hardware store, a multi-purpose grocery store, one hotel, perhaps a few cafes, and a very impressice cathedral that seems to be the heart of the townfolk. The airport is situated on the northern part of the island, and is accessible by the only road that cuts through the middle of the island. Although we have never taken a tour here, we have read that the views are spectacular with panoramic scenery that is quite impressive. In fact, all of the times we have visited this part of the Marquesas, there have never been any tours sold by the cruise companies. People would just hire the locals to give them a sight-seeing ride in their private trucks or vans.

 

Greeting us at the pier landing, was a group of male Marquesan dancers that closely resembled Maori warriors of New Zealand. The drumming, chanting, and dancing was quite similar. Many tent-covered stalls had been set up with tables of treasures that included heavy wooden carvings, seashell jewelry, Marquesan ink etchings, and tiki souveniers. This was the first port that we saw the orange or red seeds with the black dots used in jewelry -making. These have been recently included in a warning that they may be toxic, and we should not purchase them.

 

One of the smaller buildings had the information desk with things to do and see while in Nuku Hiva. It was here that the locals were selling 3 and 4 hours tours, that were similar, or in fact, the same as the only HAL tour sold on the ship. As you might guess, the price was far cheaper, averaging $10. per person an hour. Good deal, but for those guests who want a guaranteed excursion, they are more comfortable booking ahead of time, even if the price is high.

 

As for us, we needed the exercise and walking was our choice. And besides, there would be a reward at the end of the road, which we'll get to shortly. One of the must-see attractions on the island is the Notre Dame Cathedral, with the most unusual wooden carvings of the stations of the cross, the pulpit, and statuary inside the rock and wooden structure. We hit it just right.....Sunday Mass was in process, and the singing from the young white-clad choir was....heavenly, of course. Not wanting to disturb the parishioners, we stayed on the outside listening to the sermon delivered in the Marquesan dialect, which sounded mostly French to us. Sitting on a rock wall, we waited until the service was over, and watched the families leave the church. They like color, as their clothing was bright shades of floral prints. Sure made for great photos.

 

Continuing up the road, we passed all of the important sites along the way. They included the Monument of the Dead, built to recognize the French colonial sailors that died from the 1800's to the early 1900's. A series of volcanic rock moais, like we have seen on Easter Island, lined the bay's edge. The cemetery was on the waterfront, full of flower bouquets on each grave marker. It was shaded with plumeria trees and bouganvilla vines. All of us that were walking in the heat of the morning took refuge under these trees along the way.

 

You would expect to see white sand beaches, but there were none. Most of the bay was lined with rocks, put there deliberately we think, to keep the road from eroding from high waves. If you stand long enough and listen, you can hear these rocks rolling with the pounding of the waves. Not a good place to try to swim. There was one spot near the end of the road, where some families were BBQing, kayaking, and swimming in the water. What sand there was, had piles of broken coral mixed with it. So if you are planning on swimming in Nuku Hiva, we would highly recommend wearing aqua shoes.

 

Now comes the "reward" part of our walk. Several years ago, we had made our way to a little advertised hotel with a restaurant that was situated on the hillside above the bay. Following the conservatively small road sign, we found the dirt road that led up to this wonderful spot. The name of the place was Keikahanui Pearl Lodge, and although it is relativlely small, the restaurant/bar is a piece of paradise, especially for those of us who had trudged so far to relax here. We would estimate that only six other folks from the ship had also found it, and like us, had been here at least once before.

 

There were no bargains at this lodge, but we knew this, and since it was our final stop of the trip, it simply did not matter. This was a treat. We ordered ice cold Hinano beers, and shared a Mediterranean panini sandwich with a huge stack of crisp french fries. The long, thin baguette filled with goat cheese, sliced tomatoes, and basil was as close as we could get to a pizza. The best part was sitting at an umbrella-shaded table by the infinity pool while we dined. Time is of no importance to the staff, as we sat there for over an hour enjoying the views of the scenic bay below.

 

One of our fellow passengers came over and let us know that if we needed a ride back to the tenderpier, the lodge staffers would drive us for a whopping price of $2. a person. Good deal, especially with the ship pulling their anchor at 2pm today. We chose to walk, but the others did take advantage of the SUV ride. Once we got back to the bottom of the hill and the end of the road, we saw some older kids giving a horse a bath in the surf. How often do you see that? The horse appeared to be liking it too, since it was so warm out today. Other wildlife we spotted today included white terns, tiny doves, a diving brown bird, and a flock of parrots.

 

Zig-zagging from tree to tree for shade, we made it back to the pier a little after 1pm. Still enough time to check out the souvenier table and pick up a treasure or two. The vendors were happy to bargain at this point, since they were in a hurry to pack up for the day. After all, it was Sunday...their day for rest and relaxing too. Shortly after 2pm, the anchor was heaved, and the Captain set course for San Diego, leaving Nuku Hiva behind in the haze. We will have six plus days to get there.

 

Much to our delight, we found a bottle of chanpagne waiting for us in our room. The International Concierge, Nicole, had gifted the bubbly after hearing of our embarkation story while at dinner last night. Truthfully, we had relayed the story with a laugh, never expecting compensation. She had been listening intently, training from the job, and felt it would be a nice gesture. Yes, it was.

 

At 7pm, there was a Mariner Party in the showlounge, where we were greeted by the Captain and Hotel Manager as we entered. As usual, after being seated, we passed on the champagne, and asked for drinks of our choice. It took about three waiters before we finally got served without question. Snacks were passed around, and we lucked out by getting one jalapeno pepper or cheese poppers as we call them. Mixed nuts were on each cocktail table as well. The lower lounge filled up quickly, so the overflow guests had to climb the stairs to the balcony level. There was also another one of these parties at 9pm, but from the crowd the early one drew, the second one would be almost empty.

 

Medals were awarded for 100 (copper), 300 (silver), 500 (gold), and no 700 (platinum). And definitely, no President Club inductees. We and one other lady we know surpassed the 1000 mark, but we were combined with the 500 days guests for a group photo. There were perhaps a dozen of us in this group, but we think it would have been nicer to have had a special photo for the three of us with over 1300 days. We know......it sounds like we"re whining, but with almost three times more days than the 500 awardees, a separate photo with the Captain would have been appropriate. The problem was that they ran out of time to do this. The 8pm show was soon to start and we needed to clear the lounge for that. Another problem arose when the guests tried to leave the room, and had to run through the herd of folks coming in for the show, a master magician by the name of Craig Diamond. Usually, the show folks are held back to give us room to exit. Not tonight.

 

That made us a bit late to arrive at our dinner table. Our tablemates had already begun their appetizers and it was only 8pm. Perhaps our waiter thought three of us were not coming. Whatever the reason, the service was dis-jointed and we waited for our entrees while the ohers were eating dessert. Adding to the confusion, one of us had ordered the ribs, but got fish. No we did not order cod, but kept it anyway. Waiting for a replacement would had meant further delay. Oh well, that's the first time that happened and hopefully the last.

 

What a busy day this Sunday.

 

Bill & Mary Ann

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WCB "Live from...." Rare

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Report # 26 October 28, 2013 Monday Hawaii & Tahiti...Welcome to Paradise with Bill & Mary Ann on the Statendam

 

We began our six day sailing towards San Diego, as the Statendam continued northeasterly towards the Equator. It was warm and humid today, but as the day progressed, some cloud cover lowered those temps considerably.

 

Last night after dinner, we found two envelopes on our bed containing ten Statendam dollars each. Wondering what this was about, we read the daily newsletter which described the Statendam Village Fair, an event that would be held in the Lido pool area tomorrow. So after breakfast, our walk, and emailing job, we stolled with our cameras to see for ourselves what this was about.

 

The lido deck was transformed into a fair with several booths of games, where everyone lined up to pay one "dollar" to knock over beer cans, dart the photos, fold a towel animal, toss a ball through the life rings, or land a wine cork with a fork in a water bottle. Hey, what the heck...they stole that idea from our group of friends that have played that game at the dinner table most evenings on several world cruises. If the line wasn't so long to try it, bet we would have aced the game.

 

By the way, the purpose of these games was to earn more dollars. Those with the most money by noontime, had the chance of winning among other things, a lunch in the Pinnacle Grill, or a dinner in the same restaurant, with the grand prize winning the actual navigational chart of this cruise, signed by the Captain and or staff. That has potential of being valuable someday in this century.

 

The highlite of the game involved throwing a ball, attached with a rope, through the life rings hanging over the Lido pool. It looked like whoever got the most balls through, had the chance to jump in the pool with the Captain and the cruise director, Linda. That did happen, in fact, twice by the time we arrived there at 11:45am. The crowd loved it, especially when the ship's horn was sounded three times once they hit the water. We had gifted our dollars to our tablemates, so they had a better chance of winning. Too bad they are not as aggressive as some of the other guests are. There are some of these people on every ship. You know, the ones that are extremely competitive and need to win all of the time. We were told some of these folks were actually cutting in the line in front of others than had been waiting for a long time. Come on people, it's only a game. That is one reason we choose not to participate in trivia. Way too intense for us.

 

Anyway, it looked like everyone had a great time at the fair, even the Captain, who left soaking wet, but will be known as being a good sport for sure. The other event today was putting the clocks ahead 1/2 hour at 12:45pm. We are not sure why we are doing the half hour thing, since we are not stopping at another port on the way back. Suppose we have to be geologically correct even while at sea.

 

Yesterday, we received a letter requesting us to pick up our passports at the front desk after 8am, as they will not be needed anymore on this trip. On past cruises, one of us has been able to bail out both of the passports, but today was an exception. Each one of us needed to sign in person for our individual passports. Guess there have been problems in the past with accidental mix-ups or losing passports on the way back to the rooms. Rules are rules and are there for good reasons that we don't always know about.

 

When you have to stand in line at the front desk, sometimes it is impossible not to overhear things. That happened while waiting for the passport collection. One upset couple were questioning the international concierge about the medal awards ceremony held last night. This couple assumed they were eligible for a certain medal, since they said they had the days that qualified them. Their confusion was over the two programs that exist now. One is pure sea days or days actually sailed. This is the original Mariner Society Rewards Program. Not to be confused with the newer Star Levels, which are days earned through onboard purchases or even booking suites. The days are based on the amount of money spent, which we think it is maybe $300. for one earned day. These are called earned Cruise Day credits. Now on paper, everyone has a number of days listed, but they are written separately and then combined. In our way of thinking, this is quite confusing, since your final number, the combination of days, will not get you into the President's Club at 1400 pure sea days. Nor will the combined number get you the medallions. It's no wonder that the couple at the desk was confused. For more information, you need to go online for the details. Good luck........

 

We spent the afternoon reading and relaxing at the Seaview pool, where lounges are continued to be saved by ghosts, or those who appear every three hours to use them. There was a definite drop in temperature as the afternoon went on, and we thought we may be in for some cooling showers. No, it must have been the breeze that cropped up, not rain. When it turned chilly, we left. Go figure....we are nearing the Equator, you would think we would be melting with the intense heat as we usually do. Not this time of year we guess.

 

Tonight's dress was formal once again, the second in three days. Two of our tablemates had been invited to the Captain's Dinner in the Pinnacle Grill, which we know they will enjoy. But they sure missed one of the best dinners we have had so far this trip. We had company.....the head security chieftain, John, aka Copper John on Cruise Critic. Not only was he a pleasure to share the meal with, he was most informative in regards to what goes on behind the scenes security-wise. Being on some longer cruises that take in dangerous waters of the world, we have seen some of these extreme precautions taken for the safety of the crew and passengers. We are sure that John has plenty of stories to share, so we invited him back on the next and last formal night of this cruise. Hope he can make it.

 

The entertainment this evening was delivered by the singers and dancers of the ship featuring Bob Mackie's Broadway. We did not need to attend after dinner, since we heard the entire performance while emailing at noontime today. In fact, the passengers were invited to watch the rehearsal at noon, and now we know why. One of our Cruise Critic members told us that these shows have been standing room only at both time slots. And even though this show was a repeat from the beginning of the voyage from Vancouver, people never tire of seeing the elaborate costuming and listening to the classic Broadway songs from musicals of the past.

 

Tomorrow promises to be another busy day with the Crossing of the Equator Ceremony....a traditional no sailor or guest ever forgets.

 

Bill & Mary Ann

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PathfinderEss

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The awards ceremony sounds like the way it was years ago. It was always before dinner in the show lounge. That was when we could get any cocktail we wanted without paying for it. However we always had a hard time getting any appetizers.

Thanks KK, I think I remember doing some of these award ceremonies in the show lounge a long time ago. Not our favorite way but understand when you have large amounts of Mariners.

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"...not as aggressive as some of the other guests are. There are some of these people on every ship. You know, the ones that are extremely competitive and need to win all of the time..."

 

People like this suck the fun out of things, and, like you, we end up not participating because of these downers. Enjoying a game for the game itself means nothing to them.

"...the original Mariner Society Rewards Program... (vs) ... the newer Star Levels..."

 

HAL could SO easily clear up the confusion by stating that the former is based on actual days sailed and the latter is Mariner points (or some such term) which are accrued via days sailed (1 day = 1 point) + suite bonus (1 day = 1 additional point) + money spent ($300 = 1 point). (Of course, they didn't ask me and don't want the hear what I have to say. sigh... ;))

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Thank you for the great updates of your experiences you have had on this cruise. Now I know for sure that we will try to yet take this cruise in hopefully in 2015. We are very much looking forward to following you and your DW on your 2014 World Cruise. Through you is the only way we will ever take that cruise. Thank you.

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WCB "Live from...." Rare

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Report # 27 October 29, 2013 Tuesday Hawaii & Tahiti...Welcome to Paradise with Bill & Mary Ann on the Statendam

 

So far, there has not been one uneventful day while sailing at sea. Today was filled with activities, starting with the 10:30am Crossing the Equator Ceremony - From Pollywog to Shellback. It was held at the Seaview Pool, and by the time we arrived, there was little standing space even on the upper aft decks. The point of the ceremony in the old days was to create a test for the new sailors to ensure they were capable of handling long, rough times at sea. However, today the senior officers, including the Captain, will induct the pollywogs, or first time crossers, by the shellbacks, or those who have crossed the Equator many times. Each one is brought in front of King Neptune, and judged if he or she is fit to be slathered by egg whites, then dunked in the pool. But first, they have to "kiss the fish", usually a big, ugly, smelly one. The crowd loves it, although there is always one huge mess left afterwards.

 

Although we did not see it, we heard that there was a fight between some passengers right before the ceremony began. Apparently a man rudely barged in front of some ladies who had been sitting in a good spot to see, and had been for a better part of the morning. When the gals asked him to move, he got nasty with them. So much so, that security had to be called to escort the man out. We heard the ladies drew applause from the bystanders. They had "stood their ground".

 

The usual activities continued all day, including three lectures, games, dancing, and bingo, which is so low-key, you hardly hear it advertised. Remember when bingo was a huge thing on the ships? No one missed going to it, especially at the end when the jackpot had grown and someone had to win it. It seems the jackpot here is $22,000., but since the cruise has several days to go, nobody will win it yet.

 

The access to the internet has been spotty. This morning we had no trouble logging on, but later in the afternoon, we gave up. Must have something to do with being out of range at this longitude and latitude. Just as promised, the TV feed has been limited since October 17th as well. What most folks miss the most is regular news coverage. Our only source is the daily newspaper snipets from The Times. Better than nothing. One of our cruise buddies at home has been keeping us updated on Hurricane Raymond. It appeared that it may be headed our way, but so far the Captain has said nothing about us encountering any ill effects from it. The seas have been smooth, the temperatures warm to balmy, and the winds moderate. Sure hope it stays that way for as long as possible.

 

Since the aft pool had to be drained and thoroughly scrubbed with disinfectant, the pool was closed. A crew of workers came out while we were sunbathing and brushed every square inch of the pool and surrounding decks. Should be very nice and cool tomorrow....and clean. The best part of the pool closure was the fact we had our choice of most any lounge back there.

 

We had room service lunch once again, mainly because we can only order the chicken caesar salads that way. They are not available in the Lido at 3pm. They are particularly tasty, and loaded with garlic and parmesan cheese. We also watched the most recent movie of the Star Trek series while dining in our room. Half way through the movie, a huge bumble bee-type of flying insect landed on one of us, almost causing a panic attack. Where did that come from? Now the strange thing was after swatting it with a couch pillow, we could not find it anywhere. Hope it doesn't hide somewhere to attack later, or we will be in trouble.

 

At 7:30pm, we had been invited to the Crow's Nest for a cocktail party hosted by the Captain and his officers. Unusual time for a party that would last only 1/2 hour. Oh well, we went more out of curiosity than anything else. Again, we witnessed yet another unpleasant exchange between passengers while trying to exit the crowded elevator on the Sports deck. The line had backed up into the elevator lobby, making our exit almost impossible. As the first man slowly inched out, he must have slightly nudged an elderly lady. Not deliberately, but gently. Someone yelled at him, accusing him of pushing the lady, which he did not. Then his wife made an obscene gesture to the person that chastised her husband. This lady was called vulgar names more than once. Holy cow, people are getting testy. We got away as far as we could before it got even worse. Once into the Crow's Nest, we made our way past the Captain, saying brief hellos to all the officers as we continued all the way through the crowd to the empty bar on the opposite end. As we were ordering drinks of our choice, Bart, the culinary manager joined us for the rest of the party. Visiting with him made up for the bad start of this affair, as did the several drinks that were offered by the bartender.

 

At dinner this evening, we discussed some of the things that came up with John, the head honcho security officer who joined us last night. He shared some interesting info with us regarding safety and security measures coming up on the ships. A new thermal imaging system is currently being added to the new ship being built for the HAL fleet. It will enable security to be able to see anyone who may have fallen off of the ship during the night. It will work through heat sensors. We asked John about the new metal boxes we have seen on the ceiling of the lower promenade decks on this ship and the Amsterdam. They are located near every tenderboat and lifeboat station. John said these will be used in the future to scan everyone's keycard at the muster drills, and of course, if there is ever any reason to abandon the ship by the tenderboats. This will eliminate the need to use megaphones to yell our stateroom numbers by our muster captains, and certainly a more efficient way of accounting for everyone's presence at the drills.

 

So much for a lazy day at sea!! Got a few more days left before we need to think about packing. Yuck.......

 

Bill & Mary Ann

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Report # 28 October 30, 2013 Wednesday Hawaii & Tahiti...Welocme to Paradise with Bill & Mary Ann on the Statendam

 

Well, we were due for a day of not-so-perfect weather. When we went to breakfast, it was apparent when we scanned the horizon, that all we could see were dark clouds and rain hitting the windows. However, if this is due to the rains and winds from a hurricane, then we got fortunate. With any luck, this storm will break up, and it may turn out to be a good day later on.

 

We had some other things to keep us busy today. The first one was the Mariner Society Brunch held in the lower dining room at 11am. This was done differently here. On the Grand Voyages, this brunch follows the Medallion award ceremony, which is held in the Explorers Lounge, and only attended by a small number of people. Once completed, this group would be brought to the dining room to be seated in the center section of the dining room. As recently as two years ago, the Medallion brunch crowd was hosted by the Captain and his officers. Now, the Captain and the cruise director say a few words, propose a champagne toast, then exit the room.

 

Today, there was no special group seating. It was first come, first serve. Actually that worked out better for us, since we were able to find a table for two with a good waiter. The menu offered a warm salmon spinach salad or soup, and a choice of quiche, fish, or braised short ribs. We chose the beef entree, which came with garlic mashed potatoes, green beans, and steamed red onion slices. Dessert was a slice of light chocolate cake with a raspberry sauce drizzle. Also at each place setting was an HAL tile, the special gift we receive at every Mariner Brunch.

 

With the dining room filled with guests, the room heated up quickly.....lots of hot bodies. We were glad to be served speedily, then head for the promenade deck to get some fresh air. That reminds us of the ongoing situation with the air-conditioning. Not that it has bothered us too much, but our tablemates seem to have a problem with it being too hot, or way too cold. Sometimes the dining room at 8pm has been chilly, as is the showlounge. This seems to happen on all the ships at one time or another. We prefer it to be cooler, as opposed to too warm, especially on formal evenings when you are dressed to the nines. While we are on the subject of hot and cold, some folks have complained about no hot water or non-working toilets in their rooms. So far, we have had no interruptions at all, and once again, find the lower deck to be consistently operational and quiet as well.

 

During his afternoon talk, the Captain mentioned that the clocks were to go ahead 1/2 hour today. We had not seen that in the newsletter, but when the Captain says so, it is so. A minute later, he had to take that notice back, since it was meant for tomorrow instead. Oops, we are sure he will be teased about this later on. Good thing he is friendly with a really good sense of humor.

 

It was a good afternoon to watch a room movie, because there would be no pool time with the rainy weather. And for a change, there was a movie we have not seen yet.....Jack Reacher. It was a good one as well, we thought. Have we mentioned that the TV schedule is on a two week cycle, where most everything is repeated, especially the movies? At least the Wajang movie that is shown like on a Tuesday, will be shown on TV the following day, Wednesday. These films tend to be the more recent ones. This is a subject we have mentioned on every final questionnaire after a voyage. Having sailed on other ships with other cruise lines, we do know that a much more advanced system is available. Have you ever heard of interactive TV, where up to 200 movies, TV series, and documentaries can be accessed around the clock? You have the ability to start the movie of your choice at any time of day, even pausing it to continue viewing later on. Your shipboard account can be viewed at any given time with the use of a personal password. Sure, we know that it would cost a lot of money, but we feel it would be money well spent. On the plus side, at least we have the newer flat screen TV in the room.

 

By the way, the cruise director mentioned at the brunch, that no more guest questionnaires will be handed out at the end of the trip. The excuse is they are going "green", by saving reams of paper, and will send an online questionnaire to us once we are home. That is, if you all have computers. It seems that even the pre-cruise info is headed in that direction, with less and less printed info being mailed to us. Sometimes, that is not always the best way to go, but apparently we speak for fewer and fewer of the guests.

 

Now that the days are winding down, many sales are happening in the shops onboard. The photo gallery is pushing their videos that have been taken over the course of the almost 4 week cruise. We have noticed many art shows, which have been held in the Ocean Bar, usually while we are emailing. The Greenhouse Spa and Salon have had numerous specials throughout the trip, with a flyer advertising their treatments almost daily. And if you are looking for something really extravagent, then a visit to the Merabella Luxury Collection corner may not disappoint you. The prices might give you a moment to pause, but if you have extra shipboard credit to spend, then this would be a good way to do it.......quickly.

 

Before dinner this evening, we had an invite to a different type of party....a wine and cheese reception. It was held in the Half Moon Room at 7:30pm, which we can say, we have not even located yet. On this ship, it is next to the Wajang Theater, and across from the Hudson Room, where the :Pinnacle Grill is located on the Amsterdam. These rooms are off the beaten path, because there is not a set of elevators or stairs in this area of the ship. Anyway, there was a receiving line starting with Captain Eric and the hotel manager, followed by the cruise director and many other staff members. It was almost like a repeat of last night in the Crow's Nest, but with wine and champagne offered. In the center of the room, were tables set with an array of canapies from fried mozzarrella cheese, brie in phyllo dough, salmon on crackers, and chili-topped cheese triangles among other treats. On each end were trays of chocolate-covered fruit...strawberries, olives, almonds, and blue cheese squares. Now that is different. Chocolate-covered blue cheese. Hmmm? This reception was for a few guests who either could visit after dinner or like us, before dinner. We really had to be careful not to over-do it, since we had reservations for our second complimentary Pinnacle Grill dinner at 8pm. In hindsite, we could have indulged more, but that's another story. The future cruise consultant, a very sweet young lady, came over and chatted most of the time with us, as did the Captain. He did admit that he had been teased by his staff after his little mistake today with the time change, but he just laughed about it. Right now, we are one and 1/2 hours off of Pacific time. But we do know that on November 3rd, the clocks will go back one hour, ending daylight savings time. Wonder if we will go ahead two days in a row, only to go back one hour on Saturday night? We shall see.

 

Now, on to dinner in the Pinnacle Grill. This was our third visit, not counting the Captain's Dinner, where the menu was set for us. On all of our previous voyages with HAL, we have seldom been disappointed with the food in this venue. To be more specific, after ordering the beef entrees for three times, we have to admit they have not been what we have come to expect. You know when you bite into the first morsel of grilled and seasoned meat and how it literally melts in your mouth? That has not happened here. Perhaps the quality of meat is not quite the same as it is on the Grand Voyages, although, it should be. Don't get us wrong, it is good, but not over-the-top great. Tonight the bone-in ribeye steaks were cut thin, but were large enough to cover the plate. And they were not trimmed of the excess fat, so about 1/4 of it was pure fat. We did mention this to our kind waiter, when he came by to see how we were doing. He offered an explanation that maybe the Pinnacle Grill had run out of their best steaks, and these had to be taken from the main dining room fare. Maybe that was not the best excuse to use, but he may have been innocently telling the truth. Making up for the lack of flavorless meat, were the desserts of chocolate bread pudding and the raspberry cheesecake. Needless to say, we did not leave the restaurant hungry, just a little disappointed.

 

The show was the return of the Unexpected Boys with the best of Broadway songs. Following the 10pm show, was the Indonesian Crew Show at 11pm. Hopefully, it will be broadcasted on TV tomorrow, since we could not stay up that late.

 

Bill & Mary Ann

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I've really enjoyed reading your detailed blog. It brings back memories of our cruise on this route on the Ryndam back in Jan/09. We really enjoyed our stop in Nuku Hiva. I organized a tour with the locals, and we ended up with over 30 people from the ship. We went all the way over to the other side of the island. It was truly a memorable day. One day we will take this cruise again. Bora Bora has been our special port stop of all the places we have been on our cruising.

 

Enjoy the rest of your sea days, and hope they are nice ones!

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Skorpora

Skorpora

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The chocolate covered blue cheese probably should have been paired with Port Wine. My neighbour, who is knowledgable in all things related to alcoholic beverages, taught us all last winter to pop a piece of dark chocolate, a piece of blue cheese, and a sip of port. I didn't try it because I didn't find the combination very appealing, but others did, and survived.

 

 

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WCB "Live from...." Rare

WCB

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Report # 29 October 31, 2013 Thursday Hawaii & Tahiti...Welcome to Paradise with Bill & Mary Ann on the Statendam

 

First of all - HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

 

We should have started packing today, because the weather was not good. Rain was on the horizon, and the temps have taken a fall since yesterday. You could have had your choice of teak lounges on the promenade deck this morning too. The only sea life we spotted were a few schools of flying fish. It has become a lonely feeling without seeing any other cruise ships or even freighters or cargo vessels. We're probably not alone, but if anyone is out there, we cannot see them.

 

Perhaps we spoke a bit prematurely yesterday saying that Hurricane Raymond has not effected us. Today we are experiencing deep swells and high winds, remnants of the hurricane, according to Captain Eric. He mentioned that the stabilizers are out for a more comfortable ride, but we are still pitching and rolling. We are maintaining a speed of 17 knots, but also have apparent winds across the decks at 36 knots. It's no wonder few folks are outside today. Oh well, we know we are sailing on a ship for sure.

 

Thought we might mention a little something in regards to smoking on the ship, or at least, the changes we have noticed. On this ship, there are far fewer cigarette ashtrays on the promenade deck. There are only two, both located at the aft end. On deck 12, outside the elevator lobby near the Crow's Nest, are two more ashtrays. That is it for the outside decks.

 

We have noticed a few folks smoking in the casino, but not too many that would make a difference to the non-smokers. Smoking is permitted on verandah balconies only, not in the staterooms. If this policy is violated, especially smoking in any of the staterooms, several warnings would be given before a $250. cleaning fee would be levied. To continue smoking, could result in being taken off of the ship. On the other hand, electronic cigarettes will be permitted in the rooms, but not in public areas. Truthfully, we can say that on this trip, we have noticed that fewer folks smoke, and those who do, have been very polite about it by following the rules.

 

A bit more information for those who may need to know about the laundry prices. A bag of laundry, all you can possibly fit in their little blue bag, costs $20.00. It's surprising how much you can squeeze in there. A 48 hour turn-around is suggested for all of the packages. Unlimited laundry for the entire 35 day trip was $210. We guesstimate that is what our complimentary cleaning was worth for being 4 or 5 star Mariners. Finally, unlimited pressing for the 35 day cruise was $105. Naturally, the laundry package includes the pressing, as your laundry comes back on hangars or folded. So far, there has been only one batch that took 24 hours to return. Great perk.

 

This afternoon, we ordered another room service lunch and watched an older movie by the name of Mud. It was another good one that must have slipped by unnoticed by us. Before we realized it, the time had come for the sunset. The last two days have been uneventful, compared to the South Pacific sunsets we have been wowed over. But tonight, we had a nice surprise when the sky lit up.

 

At 7pm, we had an invitation to join our very nice hosts for cocktails in the Ocean Bar. They have done a lot of cruising with various companies, and have actually worked as dance instructors for many of them. As well as enjoying a lively conversation with them, we were entertained by the number of staff members who strolled in, dressed in full Halloween costumes and make-up. They were really having fun with it. The only couple we saw today that were dressed as the Sheik of Arabia and his one of many wives, approached us as we were emailing outside the Ocean Bar. No, we did not know them, but went along with the joke, telling them that they must have joined the wrong ship in one of the last ports, since they should be somewhere in the Middle East. They loved the attention.

 

Dinner was fun as usual. We both ordered the turkey entree which came with an apple stuffing, sweet potatoes, veggies, and plenty of gravy and cranberry sauce. Got to admit, we enjoyed every bite...more so than last night's dinner in the PG. All of our tablemates were in a hurry to finish by 9:30pm, because there was the final Dancing with the Stars contest in the showlounge. Six of our fellow guests will take the stage, partnered with the ship's dancers. One guest will be chosen as the cruise champion. Will report the results tomorrow. Sure hope they do well with the motion of the ship........

 

For those who like to stay up later to celebrate this spooky holiday, there was a party in the Crow's Nest at 10:30pm. Karen and the HALCats were playing the Monster Mash among other familiar tunes. Costumes were encouraged and prizes would be given for various categories.

 

We had a nice surprise when we got back to the room after dinner and our walk outside. The alternate TV feed was back, and so was the Cartoon Network. Sounds desperate, but it was great to hear Stewie and his dog Brian from the popular series The Family Guy. We get a kick out of the silly show, and find their naughty humor very funny. Tonight they had back-to-back episodes of Halloween specials. Doesn't take much to make us happy.

 

Two more fun-filled days left, and/or two days for not-so-fun packing. Boo-hoo!

 

Bill & Mary Ann

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innlady1

innlady1

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Don't you just hate those packing days, I know I do:( but I'm packing to get on the ship, so it is happy days for me.:D

 

I think WCB just does the blog...don't think they often reply. But I sure hate the packing days, Melodie! :)

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SilvertoGold

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I think Mary Ann is the one who writes the blog. She does read it because she has on occasion answered questions.

 

Mary Ann: Thanks for the super posts. We loved this cruise on the Westerdam and enjoy reading about how the Statendam handles it. Your posts cover eveything, on board and off, and we appreciate your ongoing tireless work on these posts!

Would love to hear how this ship handled the 5 star perks.

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