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Join Pete and Judy on their FIRST World Cruise on the Amsterdam

The-Inside-Cabin

By The-Inside-Cabin,
in Holland America Line

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roberts2005

roberts2005

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Here are Garmin Edge GPS tracks from yesterday

 

450a29772bc077c11a2162d6dafb8327.jpg

 

815ab905a5c55522d9de86a3ea2b08d0.jpg2dc708a4cfb405fa47d0e3cf934f74b4.jpg

 

Can you explain how this works Is it a separate device that requires internet connection or does it work like a portable GPS in your car?

 

Also, how do you then program it to show your track.

 

Really appreciate.

 

Robert

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The-Inside-Cabin Great Review Rare

The-Inside-Cabin

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Can you explain how this works Is it a separate device that requires internet connection or does it work like a portable GPS in your car?

 

Also, how do you then program it to show your track.

 

Really appreciate.

 

Robert

 

 

These are from the Garmin 810 Edge made for cycling. There are many other Garmin models with the same capability to track walking, cycling or whatever. Look at the Garmin website for all the models.

 

I clip ImageUploadedByTapatalk1454357084.236104.jpg.d6abaa934f636ff7188e9c4070a98229.jpg the unit to my bag's shoulder strap - turn on and forget. The unit uses GPS satellites like a car - very accurate. No 3G or internet required. Pure GPS

 

When complete - I upload the data to the Garmin Connect Website (either by plugging into computer or linking to phone - this part requires Internet) which overlays the data onto a map along with other data. I then take screen shots off my computer to post.

 

The unit can link to your phone via Bluetooth and email a link to anyone who can then track your activity real time. My wife can track me when I ride my bike.

 

The unit can give turning guidance if I program a route and it can display a small map

 

Google DCrainmaker for a comprehensive review.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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dawei

dawei

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Pete, the internet speed test you posted is more than pretty bad. It reminds me of our DSL speeds before the phone co. tech installed a filter in the interface box where the phone line enters the house. It's amazing you are able to post as much as you do. It must take patience.

Like everyone else, I'm greatly enjoying the trip with you.

 

David

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The-Inside-Cabin Great Review Rare

The-Inside-Cabin

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Pete, the internet speed test you posted is more than pretty bad. It reminds me of our DSL speeds before the phone co. tech installed a filter in the interface box where the phone line enters the house. It's amazing you are able to post as much as you do. It must take patience.

 

Like everyone else, I'm greatly enjoying the trip with you.

 

 

 

David

 

 

Yes. It is slow and I typically go online after 1am or before 7am to avoid the Internet "crowds".

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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Kiwi Kruzer

Kiwi Kruzer

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Is that from a webcam? Or did you take the pic?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

 

From the Queens Wharf webcam. It also has time lapse so you can watch your arrival.

http://www.queens-wharf.co.nz/queens-wharf/gallery/webcam/

 

Heres another cam looking across to the City ..

 

http://www.tourism.net.nz/listing/nztg/visitor-information/117380?from=http://www.tourism.net.nz/region/auckland/visitor-information/web-cams/other-listings/

 

 

 

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The-Inside-Cabin

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Day 28, Auckland, New Zealand

 

Auckland.gif

 

Our little village, the Ms Amsterdam, sailed into Auckland, New Zealand this morning ready for another day of adventure and discovery. With just over 1000 passengers, the Amsterdam is like a small town moving across the globe sharing new experiences along the way. For the last few ports in the South Pacific, our influence was huge, the biggest show in town and we dominated the area for the day. Today is different as we are just another cruise ship in a long line of cruise ships whose influence is largely invisible outside the immediate port area.

 

It was nice to be alongside a pier, avoiding the additional travel “overhead” of tendering to and from shore. Our sail in was beautiful and since we are moored at the center of town we enjoyed magnificent city views as the ship maneuvered into her final position, bow facing forward, adjacent to the cruise terminal. Typical of many cruise terminals were the “Jet way” style bridges that connect to the ship some distance above the ground which allowed us to disembark the ship on deck three, in the bottom of the Atrium in the vicinity of the Hotel Directors office.

 

The Atrium was filled with travel agents, divided into groups of about 10, each being led by someone from the ship. Leaving the ship we expected to find the New Zealand agriculture inspectors, but we were too late as they had already packed up and left, leaving us to the honor system to not introduce any banned items into the country. I was surprised to find in this port as well as the last port, that they were not in position all day, but I guess the possibility of them being present served the same purpose as them actually being there and acts as a deterrent to bringing prohibited items ashore.

 

Today’s plan was to take a taxi to the Auckland War Memorial Museum, about 2 miles away at the top of the hill, tour the museum and they walk back to the ship via Parnell Road and spend the remainder of the day in the shops near the ship. We had originally planned to get off the ship promptly at 8 am and tour the nearby Maritime museum, but we cancelled that and enjoyed a little more sleep.

 

We purchased the ATT International Passport Plan for $60 a month which allows unlimited texting, 50 cents a minute phone calls and 300MB of data – not a huge amount for a month, but manageable and an extra 300MB is $60 if you go over so it won’t break the bank.

 

We use UBER or LYFT wherever available over regular taxis and Auckland has a robust UBER service that produced a driver in a few minutes. The 2 mile drive was about $10 NZD and we enjoyed some interesting commentary along the way to the Auckland Museum.

 

Air New Zealand is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year and they had a full size B737 nose section on a stand outside the museum entrance. Since the museum had just opened, there were no lines and we had ample time to enjoy the inside of the cockpit and mug for a few pictures.

 

B737-Cockpit.gif

 

Inside the Museum we paid our admission using American Express. Our cards all have “chip and pin” capability but here when we stick the card into the machine and press CRD for “Credit” instead of DBT for a debit card, the machine pauses while it gets authorization and then automatically prints out a slip for us to sign rather than ask us for the PIN.

 

The museum has 3 floors and we decided to start on the top and work our way down. The museum also has free WIFI which was very fast initially, but slowly degraded throughout the day as more and more visitors arrived.

 

New Zealand’s military history exhibits are on the third floor along with the WWII Hall of Memories with the names of New Zealander’s who have died in battles over the years. It is always interesting to view WWII history thru the lens of a different country’s perspective and experience.

 

The highlight of the second floor was the Auckland Volcano simulator. About 30 people enter a living room mock up where a large flat screen TV simulating a window view over Auckland’s harbor is displayed on one wall with a TV on the other. The TV starts showing a simulated news show warning residents about imminent volcanic activity and interviewing volcano experts while showing the city being evacuated. After a few minutes, the view outside your “window” shows the sea start to bubble and churn followed by a full scale eruption. The room you are in starts to shake as you watch the dark clouds race toward your “house” with the lights going out right before the screen goes black. That concludes the show and then an announcer appears and gives some advice about what you should do in an actual volcano emergency.

 

A Maori Village is mocked up on the first floor and they have cultural demonstrations periodically throughout the day.

 

Air New Zealand’s 75th anniversary exhibit occupies the rotating exhibit space on the first floor. The highlight was a Virtual Airplane. You sit in a cabin monk up with airline seats and then don virtual reality goggles. When the show starts you are immersed in a airplane cabin of the future. You can look all around and see the cabin from different views and it is amazing. If you ever have the chance to see something with these goggles, you will find any wait worthwhile.

 

About 1:30 pm we started our 2 mile walk back to the ship via Parnell road. We are always on the lookout for “fish and chips” and spotted one immediately as soon as we arrived on Parnell Road. It was takeout only so we decided to check out the next fish and chips place we would come across. As it turns out, that was the first and last “fish and chips” place along our two mile walk to the waterfront. We did pass by a dozen sushi restaurants and they appear to be quite popular in Auckland.

 

The walk down Parnell road was all downhill and the weather was perfect. We enjoyed the leisurely stroll, window shopping along the way and soaking in the local ambience.

 

Back in town, we found our first of two yarn shops, New Zealand Fabrics & Yarn, in the Queens Arcade Building. The shop had a nice selection of yarn and Judy found some lace weight Zealana AIR, a blend of 40% cashmere, 40% brushtail possum and 20% mulberry silk.

 

Next stop was the Downtown Shopping Centre where we found the Masco Yarn Shop and we recall we visited this same shop during our last visit to Auckland in 2006. Still looking for possum blend yarns, Judy bought some Zealana KIWI, a fingering weight blend of 40% fine merino, 30% possum and 30% organic cotton. She also bought a small kit to knit a lace scarf. The yarn is a 2 ply (lace weight) blend of fine kid mohair and merino dyed in New Zealand by Touch Yarns Ltd.

 

It was now 4:15 and we made it back to the ship with 7 minutes to spare.

 

At 5pm sharp, the ship started to back out of her berth and rotated counter clockwise to head out to sea. The weather was perfect and the views spectacular during this sail away. As usual waiters circulated with small shot glasses filled with a tasty morsel. This time is was mushrooms and beef skewered with a toothpick.

 

Sail-Away-Snacks.gif

 

The Holland American Chefs do many things very well, but their version of Kentucky Fried Chicken will not make the highlight reel. While it was good, it was not the same as what you find at the local KFC, but it was very tasty nevertheless.

 

Showtime tonight was Martin Ralph who performed a variety of acts including lasso and rope tricks, a few magic acts and the highlight being his maneuvering a large top in an amazing fashion. He claimed this is the largest top of its kind in the world.

 

Check out Judy's yarn projects on ravelry under JudyZZ

 

More pictures at http://www.theinsidecabin.com

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Day 29, Sailing toward Picton, New Zealand

 

Stabilizers do a wonderful job of controlling the ship’s roll, but they are ineffective against the inevitable pitching caused by the swells of the Southern Ocean. Looking forward toward the navigation bridge you get a better sense of just how much the ship is moving on its steady march toward Picton, New Zealand.

 

Ship-motion.gif

 

Ship-bow-up.gif

 

Skies were mostly clear with a sharp horizon and moderate temperatures. The Captain mentioned that we may be able to see an Albatross in this part of the world and Gene offered a bounty of $100 Grand Dollars if anyone could capture one with their camera. I don’t know if anyone collected the reward.

 

Yesterday was exhausting and we slept in a little latter than normal to recharge our batteries for Picton. Room service breakfast continues to be exceptional, always hot and always on time – a real treat unmatched by any other cruise line in its class.

 

Martin Ralph was the guest on Good Morning Amsterdam. He passed out some Yo Yo’s and did a few Yo Yo tricks. He mentioned that he contemplated building an even larger top, but said that it would prove too difficult to pack for travel.

 

Judy took inventory of her yarn purchases from yesterday in preparation for the daily knitting group meeting. Here is a picture of the new additions to her stash. If you click on the picture you can see a larger version.

 

Judy-Stash.gif

 

The afternoon lecture by Joseph Kess was on the subject: Pacific Escapes – How a Sojourn in the South Pacific Changed the Lives of Paul Gauguin, Herman Melville, Marlon Brando and Others. His lectures are always well attended and interesting.

 

Crafts and the Texas Hold’em tournament are at the same time and I am now playing cards while Judy does crafts. We both had successful days here as I finished in the money for the second time out of three attempts and Judy decorated a tile that can be used as a dry erase message center. Her first message is very appropriate for this cruise.

 

Tender 9 is still out of action and rumors that it may be repaired in Auckland proved unfounded.

 

We enjoyed dinner with Noel from the ships staff this evening. She is the Onboard Marketing Manager and provided an interesting insight to her job and her background in music industry and growing up in Nashville.

 

Ashley Carruthers electrified the crowd tonight with an high energy show, singing and playing the piano along with some interesting stories about his career. His final number, “Great Balls of Fire” resulted in an enthusiastic standing ovation. The entertainment on this Grand Voyage continues to excel.

 

After the show, we wandered up to the Crows Nest to find a sparse crowd listening to music performed by Oasis. We discovered a map of the world with our course charted next to a flat screen TV displaying a variety of navigational and location information.

 

Pictures and more on the blog at http://www.theinsidecabin.com

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cccole

cccole

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Thanks for letting us know "we" have arrived in Picton. Can't wait to see what "we" do today. Really enjoyed the photos of the ships movement, that must cause a lot things on board to be secured in place. Thanks again for taking us with you on this cruise. Cherie

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cwn

cwn

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That interisland ferry ride is something...the scenery is beautiful!

 

Have a good day in Picton. We rode the ferry from Wellington to Picton and explored the area for a couple of days as part of a 5 month land and sea round the world trip in 2009. We loved all of New Zealand!!!

 

Loving your report. Thanks for doing it!

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