Come Sail a Way with us LIVE as the Westerdam meets the Sail a Way Gang

[sapper1]

It looks as though one couple may be left behind. All aboard was 20 minutes ago and the captain has been sounding long toots on the horn. They have paged one couple twice.

[1of4]

We are in the balcony waiting for the crew show to begin. We finally got our laundry!! Woo hoo!

 

We spent a terrific morning with Mumsysailor and her DH at the local beach about a 3 minute walk from the ship. Sun, sand, sea water and a bucket of Corona.

 

Once again the Mexican military are right beside the ship. The Mexican police were checking ship cards to get back on the dock. I went back with DS as he was hungry. The officer took DS ship card in his hand and held it long enough for me to get nervous. I only remembered then that I neglected to bring his passport so I had no photo ID with me for him. But he finally let us go ahead.

 

Tomorrow bis a sea day. Looking forward to that. We have our cabin crawl in the afternoon along with the poker run.

[1of4]

I think it worked! Will try again with three little boys enthralled with their pencil cases:

 

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

This is the little boy I wrote about...the one holding the crocodile pencil case who went back to give DD a huge hug of thanks.

 

Thanks for posting the pictures Vict0riann. Now you can teach me!! ;)

[kazu]

Just leaving Hualtulco - the captain did a nice toot job. Some long ones for the passengers and then a nice melodic one as we were leaving. I missed a couple but I think there were around 20? and of course the nice three long toots to say farewell to the pilot.

 

We had a great day in Hualtulco.. We hired a private guide at the port - Adelino Olea (a very old Spanish name DH tells me). He was licensed so we felt safe. He took us on a tour to see the different Bays, hotels, homes, fauna and flora in Hualtulco and then to the town of La Crucecita. A lovely spot and we had a nice Mexican bite and beer, saw the church, which, while it is new has beautiful murals telling the story of Hualtulco.

 

After that we headed back to the port where we paid and tipped him ($50 for about 3 hours which I thought was very good for two people).

 

DH got some great shots as did I (but his are probably better). I will upload and post on our not so lazy sea day.

 

Huatulco means "the people that love wood". There is a story that a man came out of the ocean (who is not thought to be St. Thomas) and put a cross in the ground. For that reason, the Spaniards called it Saint Cross (Santa Cruz). This cross has quite the story as the people did worship it (but they were really worshipping the wood not the cross) and it could not be burned nor destroyed.

 

Eventually the cross was cut into several pieces and one of them is in the Vatican.

 

Along our ride we saw pineapples, lemon grass, bananas, turkey vultures, mescale and many copa de oro and bougainvillea to name a few. I love bougainvillea but didn't know it was from the cactus family. It blooms in the dry season (which we are in) and does nothing in the rainy season.

 

A great day.

[kazu]

This is the little boy I wrote about...the one holding the crocodile pencil case who went back to give DD a huge hug of thanks.

 

 

 

Thanks for posting the pictures Vict0riann. Now you can teach me!! ;)

 

 

that's a great picture Vict0riann. 10f4 - I am happy to help if you like.

 

I didn't see this as I was passing out stuff. Thanks so much.

[kazu]

With regard to the rowdy lot in the piano bar - you have to admit the pianist's eyes lit up when we walked in. He already knows us well and knows we liven the place up, LOL

 

 

Who wouldn't be delighted to see the Sail a way gang come in?

 

The show last night by the Abba people was very good I thought as well. Good singers.

 

Our piano bar is getting better and better.

 

We had a lot of fun last night. Thanks for the great company all :)

[sail7seas]

This is the little boy I wrote about...the one holding the crocodile pencil case who went back to give DD a huge hug of thanks.

 

Thanks for posting the pictures Vict0riann. Now you can teach me!! ;)

 

The photos you all are posting are truly wonderful.

 

The three little boys in the 'pencil case photo' are beautiful children. The one on the right is engrossed watching his friend. :)

 

Edited April 22, 2015 by sail7seas

[sail7seas]

VictOrian,

Thanks so much for the wonderful photos. You getting VERY good at posting them. :)

[kazu]

Awe don't worry I got over it a long time ago. Some Captains and Staff are more intune with things going on around their ships and other are not or seemingly don't care.

 

 

 

Sorry about your dinner service, makes it kind of hard when you have kids.

 

 

 

Hey, getting my cabin cleaned around 12 or 1 pm is great for me. I always advise them that I'm a late riser and don't care what time they come to make up my bed.:) I'm sure that gives them some leeway to take care of other cabins that passengers insist on early cleaning's. You are absolutely right though, they are streched thin and have many cabins to take care of.

 

 

 

Kazu, nobody says you can't stand on the outskirts of the Explorer's Lounge and cheer for 0bnxshs as he gets his medallion. I'm sure the crowd in the lounge would enjoy all the enthusiasm.

 

 

 

Woohoo, Captain Van Eerten on keeping up the tooting for all the sailaway gang. .......and yes, the Eagle has landed.

 

 

 

Thanks Melodie,

 

I decided when I got back from Hualtulco to ask the concierge if she knew the reason and of course, we have so many mariners.

 

I explained I would like to see the medallions as we have several on our roll call getting them (and who wants a drink at 10:30 a.m. anyways? LOL)

 

They said we could go to that reception and when I asked don't they tick off names, they said that they would see if they could get us a new invite :)

 

YAY!!!

 

Most people get their exercise walking around the promenade deck. I got mine inside delivering the notices for the cabin crawl change.

 

Had offers to help, but it really doesn't take that long and Kazu can afford to burn a few calories - LOL

[Vict0riann]

The Indonesian crew show was great, and I think every seat in the theatre was taken. It was nice to see such a good crowd. The show itself was very professional and well done, especially the 1,000-hand dance. I always love that one.

[kazu]

me too Vict0riann. I really liked that it was in the afternoon too! Ideal with the early sailing today.

[kazu]

This is really wonderful of all your Roll Callers.

 

Best post in the whole excellent thread!!!! :)

 

Great photos.

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks Sail and all, while everyone who was participating in the poker run helped (1/2 the money went to the school), the bulk of the supplies were provided from some key roll call members and I think it's only appropriate I acknowledge them (hope I don't miss anyone)

 

1of4

lakeswmr

sapper1

lizzie68

Vict0riann

scrapnana

BobE

Mumsysailor

& kazu

 

If anyone is interested, now that we have been successful, here is our spread sheet for the children's school - https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/tTakNEu_6oG9I5E_glVfEjg/htmlview

 

there was lot of stuff added in Fort Lauderdale of course due to weight and co-ordination of some stuff.

 

My sincere thanks to all for helping with this project, carrying bags, helping to pack the pencil cases, etc.

 

I think the time there (at the school) made it all worth while.

 

I didn't know about the tears in the teacher's face when I gave her the ink jet cartridges for their printer as she had turned away. from me to put them away in a safe place until another roll call member told me.

 

off to download and do some back tracking :)

[Lizzie68]

Excellent Indonesian crew show and so much better having it in the afternoon.. There was a full house. Our server Ali, is a great singer!

[1of4]

The Indonesian crew show was great, and I think every seat in the theatre was taken. It was nice to see such a good crowd. The show itself was very professional and well done, especially the 1,000-hand dance. I always love that one.

 

We loved the show. I agree with Vict0riann, there was not an empty seat in the house. Now we are in the Ocean Bar for happy hour. Tough life!

[0bnxshs]

We are in the balcony waiting for the crew show to begin. We finally got our laundry!! Woo hoo!

 

We spent a terrific morning with Mumsysailor and her DH at the local beach about a 3 minute walk from the ship. Sun, sand, sea water and a bucket of Corona.

 

Once again the Mexican military are right beside the ship. The Mexican police were checking ship cards to get back on the dock. I went back with DS as he was hungry. The officer took DS ship card in his hand and held it long enough for me to get nervous. I only remembered then that I neglected to bring his passport so I had no photo ID with me for him. But he finally let us go ahead.

 

Tomorrow bis a sea day. Looking forward to that. We have our cabin crawl in the afternoon along with the poker run.

 

Just to add some details to the mention of the Mexican military being alongside the pier during our presence, the ship was the ARM Vallarta (PO-113), a surplus WWII minesweeper built in 1942, used today by the Armada de Mexico as a gunboat. She was sporting what appeared to be a 3 inch deck gun forward and twin Bofors machine guns aft. 4 SPs from the ship watched everyone leaving the pier and Federales did indeed check everyone returning.

[1of4]

Just to add some details to the mention of the Mexican military being alongside the pier during our presence, the ship was the ARM Vallarta (PO-113), a surplus WWII minesweeper built in 1942, used today by the Armada de Mexico as a gunboat. She was sporting what appeared to be a 3 inch deck gun forward and twin Bofors machine guns aft. 4 SPs from the ship watched everyone leaving the pier and Federales did indeed check everyone returning.

 

Thanks for the explanation Rich. They scared the you-know-what: out of DS!

[0bnxshs]

According to Phil, the librarian and internet help desk person, he emailed one of the program admins and reports the following:

 

Dropbox is blocked for all levels of access, including the Premium plan, as it is a file sharing service and therefore, bandwidth intensive. While there are other such sevices, such as Evernote and Google Drive to name 2 others, they are not blocked at this time as they are not so popular. Sorry to bear bad news to those who use use Dropbox.

 

The crew show was great, loved the 3pm time, and was packed in the lower level too.

[1of4]

It looks as though one couple may be left behind. All aboard was 20 minutes ago and the captain has been sounding long toots on the horn. They have paged one couple twice.

 

I just overheard a conversation in the Ocean Bar with the bartender...we definitely left 2 people behind in Huatulco. Now they have a whole day to make their way to Puerto Vallarta as tomorrow is a sea day. The bartender confirmed that their passports were left at the port.

 

we, once again, didn't hear any horns. This time we were in the Vista Lounge for the crew show.

[summer slope]

I just overheard a conversation in the Ocean Bar with the bartender...we definitely left 2 people behind in Huatulco. Now they have a whole day to make their way to Puerto Vallarta as tomorrow is a sea day. The bartender confirmed that their passports were left at the port.

 

we, once again, didn't hear any horns. This time we were in the Vista Lounge for the crew show.

I can't imagine the horror of getting back to the dock and seeing the ship pulling out.

[retired714]

Maybe now the test of the passengers will get the message to pay attention to the time. In Guatemala the other day we were 1/2 hour later than scheduled getting back to the ship because several people were wandering around Antigua. The tour guide was getting a little frantic. We didn't weren't late departing but still, then today we had a couple come strolling back to the bus 15 minutes late. While I'm not usually a person that is early for stuff, the idea of missing a bus or ship in a foreign country really helps me to think about the time!

[Krazy Kruizers]

According to Phil, the librarian and internet help desk person, he emailed one of the program admins and reports the following:

 

Dropbox is blocked for all levels of access, including the Premium plan, as it is a file sharing service and therefore, bandwidth intensive. While there are other such sevices, such as Evernote and Google Drive to name 2 others, they are not blocked at this time as they are not so popular. Sorry to bear bad news to those who use use Dropbox.

 

The crew show was great, loved the 3pm time, and was packed in the lower level too.

 

 

Thank you for this information.

Others will be appreciative of your getting this information.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Just leaving Hualtulco - the captain did a nice toot job. Some long ones for the passengers and then a nice melodic one as we were leaving. I missed a couple but I think there were around 20? and of course the nice three long toots to say farewell to the pilot.

 

We had a great day in Hualtulco.. We hired a private guide at the port - Adelino Olea (a very old Spanish name DH tells me). He was licensed so we felt safe. He took us on a tour to see the different Bays, hotels, homes, fauna and flora in Hualtulco and then to the town of La Crucecita. A lovely spot and we had a nice Mexican bite and beer, saw the church, which, while it is new has beautiful murals telling the story of Hualtulco.

 

After that we headed back to the port where we paid and tipped him ($50 for about 3 hours which I thought was very good for two people).

 

DH got some great shots as did I (but his are probably better). I will upload and post on our not so lazy sea day.

 

Huatulco means "the people that love wood". There is a story that a man came out of the ocean (who is not thought to be St. Thomas) and put a cross in the ground. For that reason, the Spaniards called it Saint Cross (Santa Cruz). This cross has quite the story as the people did worship it (but they were really worshipping the wood not the cross) and it could not be burned nor destroyed.

 

Eventually the cross was cut into several pieces and one of them is in the Vatican.

 

Along our ride we saw pineapples, lemon grass, bananas, turkey vultures, mescale and many copa de oro and bougainvillea to name a few. I love bougainvillea but didn't know it was from the cactus family. It blooms in the dry season (which we are in) and does nothing in the rainy season.

 

A great day.

 

 

Really does sound like a great day.

[Krazy Kruizers]

I just overheard a conversation in the Ocean Bar with the bartender...we definitely left 2 people behind in Huatulco. Now they have a whole day to make their way to Puerto Vallarta as tomorrow is a sea day. The bartender confirmed that their passports were left at the port.

 

we, once again, didn't hear any horns. This time we were in the Vista Lounge for the crew show.

 

 

Sure wish those that decide to wonder about on their would keep track of the time. We have seen people miss the ship all too often.

They have learned a very costly lesson.

[65 Gator]

According to Phil, the librarian and internet help desk person, he emailed one of the program admins and reports the following:

 

Dropbox is blocked for all levels of access, including the Premium plan, as it is a file sharing service and therefore, bandwidth intensive. While there are other such sevices, such as Evernote and Google Drive to name 2 others, they are not blocked at this time as they are not so popular. Sorry to bear bad news to those who use use Dropbox.

 

Thanks Rich... That is not happy news as I rely on Dropbox for many apps... Will have to experiment and learn some new methods. I wonder if they will block iCloud as well. If you get the chance, would you kindly ask about that...

 

Thanks

 

Leon

[Vict0riann]

Sitting in the Vista Lounge, we didn't hear much of what was going on, but we, and those around us, were watching ourselves on the webcam:

 

 

 

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