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

[The-Inside-Cabin]

[ATTACH]377548[/ATTACH]i think it was the same. They must push him out each time.

 

 

They did say that most of the crocs were long time regulars.

[The-Inside-Cabin]

Barbara Port Lecture on Indonesia

 

[The-Inside-Cabin]

Day 48, Sailing toward Benoa, Indonesia

 

I was surprised to see a small island a few miles off our port side early this morning. After reviewing our location, it appears to be the Indonesian Island called Pulau Dana. The island is uninhabited except for one annual pilgrimage by the Raijua elders each year. I did notice some sort of tower near the center of the island, but I couldn’t figure out its purpose from my vantage point.

 

The morning air was hot and humid, but not unbearable, and I walked the promenade early and my shirt was sticky with sweat by the time I finished and I was glad to get back into the air-conditioned interior.

 

Good Morning Amsterdam’s guest was the ships HR Manager, Julie. She is responsible for taking care of the crew and all of their requirements from training and orientation onboard to transportation to and from their home countries. She is also responsible for coordinating the crew family visits while we are in Indonesia over the next few days. We will average about 650 family members visiting the ship during each port. Each crewmember is allowed to sponsor up to 6 guests.

 

 

Barbara, the location guide, presented and interesting overview of Semarang and Jakarta. The constant emphasis is on how horrible the traffic is and we are all but guaranteed to be stuck in traffic for hours and hours. We will be taking ship tours in all these ports as I don’t care to find out if they are exaggerating the traffic situation or not.

 

Judy went to crafts this afternoon, while I played Texas Hold’em. Afterwards, Judy spent an hour by the Seaview pool getting some sun while I took it easy in our cabin and did a little reading about Indonesia.

 

We received flyers in our rooms today advertising the arrival of Princeton Custom Tailors from Hong Kong. They will be onboard from Bali thru Hong Kong and will be open for business in the atrium on deck 5 from 4pm to 10pm. If you order early, your clothes will be ready upon our arrival in Hong Kong. A copy of the flyer is posted on the blog.

 

Our guest for dinner this evening was Azita, the ship’s acupuncturist. She was our guest earlier this cruise and is always a wonderful addition to our table. As we were finishing desert, Greg Andrew, from the Elton John show, stopped by and bid farewell as he is leaving tomorrow to head back to Brisbane.

 

Paul Adams, the comedian who joined us in Darwin, provided the entertainment tonight. He was quite funny and apparently has some history with Gene since Gene took great fun in heckling Paul a few times during his performance.

 

 

 

More on the blog at http://www.theinsidecabin.com

[jig]

I think the issue of traffic in Jakarta is overstated. We spent 5 days there and travelled all over the city by taxi and never had a problem. But nothing wrong with being safe then sorry. I'll assume you'll be going to bodubador. A truly amazing sight. Best at sunrise. But that's not possible on a ship.

[KirkNC]

I think the issue of traffic in Jakarta is overstated. We spent 5 days there and travelled all over the city by taxi and never had a problem. But nothing wrong with being safe then sorry. I'll assume you'll be going to bodubador. A truly amazing sight. Best at sunrise. But that's not possible on a ship.

 

But it does help sell ship excursions ;).

[RuthC]

We will be taking ship tours in all these ports as I don’t care to find out if they are exaggerating the traffic situation or not.

They aren't! At least in Semarang they aren't. Not only is there heavy traffic going in each direction, but motor scooters are weaving in and out. And if that isn't enough, sometimes motor scooters pull out against the traffic because they are going only a short distance. :eek:

Just looking out the front window of the bus was enough to give me heart failure.

 

Do prepare for rain harder than you have ever seen. It's as if you are walking through a waterfall.

[The-Inside-Cabin]

Good Morning. Almost there!

 

 

 

Pretty nice outside so far. No rain. .....yet

 

Pilot just arrived. Should be moored in less than 1 hour

 

 

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[cccole]

Looks like it will be a fabulous day!!!! I always love hearing about the joyous family reunions. Can't wait to hear what "we" do today. I remember on Bali that it was not only the traffic but wedding and/or funeral processions that could cause delays. Have a great time!!!! Cherie

[The-Inside-Cabin]

On our way. We took the all day private driver with guide. $429 divided by 6.

 

Nice size van

 

 

Would hold 12 if dense packed.

 

So far. No traffic

 

 

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Will be visiting.

 

Bali Ulun Danu Beratan Temple.

 

Taman Ayun Temple

 

Jatiluwih Rice Terrace

Edited February 23, 2016 by The-Inside-Cabin

[cccole]

Sounds like a perfect day. I didn't know that HAL offered such small tours. The size and price are right!!! Looks like "we" will see wonderful sights! Cherie

[The-Inside-Cabin]

Sounds like a perfect day. I didn't know that HAL offered such small tours. The size and price are right!!! Looks like "we" will see wonderful sights! Cherie

 

 

Bali private driver is probably 1/3 price of other cities. Excellent value.

 

Roads are very narrow. Traffic flowing ok but wouldn't take much to jam it up

 

 

 

No rain. Temps OK fairly comfortable.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[The-Inside-Cabin]

Visited rice terraces.

 

 

 

 

Starting to rain - right after we got inside van. Good timing.

 

 

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[The-Inside-Cabin]

Visited Temple

 

 

 

Raining

 

 

 

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Edited February 23, 2016 by The-Inside-Cabin

[jig]

Was that a HAL van? When we were there a few years ago we had a Toyota innova van for the day. Just the two of us but it could have seated 5 for about $75. But we didn't go far.

Is this your arrangement in the next two ports or are you on a regular tour?

[The-Inside-Cabin]

Was that a HAL van? When we were there a few years ago we had a Toyota innova van for the day. Just the two of us but it could have seated 5 for about $75. But we didn't go far.

Is this your arrangement in the next two ports or are you on a regular tour?

 

 

This was s HAL arranged private driver. Going on normal HAL tours next two ports. Drivers in those cities were 3 times as much.

 

 

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[jig]

In Jakarta we took a blue bird taxi from our hotel to the zoo. 45 min south of the city. $7.00. Gave him 10. Not sure what your doing but hopefully they will take you to the grand mosque, the church across the street. The main square with the manas and Batavia. That is the old Dutch city. Faded and a bit smelly but the most atmospheric part of the city. Chinatown is very near. As we did not arrive by ship I have no idea about the time from the port but I was expecting the worst when we arrived at the terrible airport. And we drove very fast.

Jakarta gets very few tourists. It's very interesting.

[The-Inside-Cabin]

In Jakarta we took a blue bird taxi from our hotel to the zoo. 45 min south of the city. $7.00. Gave him 10. Not sure what your doing but hopefully they will take you to the grand mosque, the church across the street. The main square with the manas and Batavia. That is the old Dutch city. Faded and a bit smelly but the most atmospheric part of the city. Chinatown is very near. As we did not arrive by ship I have no idea about the time from the port but I was expecting the worst when we arrived at the terrible airport. And we drove very fast.

Jakarta gets very few tourists. It's very interesting.

 

 

Doing Borobudur by train in Semarang then : Jakarta, Batavia and Obama's School in Jakarta

 

 

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[The-Inside-Cabin]

Today's GPS track from my Garmin Edge 810. Didn't start it till late, which explains the starting point

 

 

 

 

 

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[cccole]

I just can't wait to see your posts after three very intensive port days. The photos already provided are great, the different shades of green are beautiful. Thanks for including us in the adventure. Cherie

[jig]

Borobudur is amazing. We went up it at 5AM by flashlight. The steps are steep. I assume you will have lunch at the hotel attached to it. Views from the tables are awesome.

We had no interest in visiting the presidents former school. Not even sure where it is. Hopefully you will get out of the bus and into some places. One reason we very rarely take a ships tour. In the end 5 days in Jakarta was the right amount. Very hot so you need to pace yourself.

When we were in Surabaya last year pax from the Rotterdam were at our hotel having tea. It was like raffles just 75% cheaper.

[The-Inside-Cabin]

Good Morning! Current Location. Pretty cool outside - for now. Update on Bali in the works

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[The-Inside-Cabin]

Day 49, Benoa, Bali, Indonesia

 

The Amsterdam paused outside Benoa Harbor around 7am this morning to pick up the pilot for our final approach to our berth alongside the Benoa Cruise Terminal where we would moor around 8 am. Rain was in the forecast, along with heat and humidity, but it was surprisingly dry and not too unbearably hot, at least early in the morning.

 

Our gangways were in place around 8AM and the ship was cleared almost immediately. We had arranged for one of HALs private drivers, and were traveling with 2 other couples. With a hard meeting time of 8:30 AM in the Ocean Bar we quickly headed for the gangway for an 8:45 AM meeting the driver outside the terminal.

 

• 
  NOTE: Normally Holland America’s private touring minivans are fairly expensive but for Bali, the price for an all-day minivan that would hold 6 people was $429. The same minivan in Jakarta is $1,250 and in Sydney it was $1,800. Based on this reasonable price and the concerns with missing the ship due to traffic we decided to book the all-day minivan and we found 2 other couples to join us thru our cruise critic roll call. Another benefit of the HAL private driver is that since you are on an official HAL tour – the ship will wait for you or bear the expense of getting you to the next port – if you are late returning.
   
  After you book a private driver with HAL and once the cruise begins, the excursions office will ask you for your proposed itinerary. They will send this to the tour operator who verifies that they can complete your desired trip in the allocated time. Once you and the tour operator agree on the schedule, HAL excursions will give you the tour ticket. The Minivan will be in your name only and you are responsible for letting everyone else know about the required meeting time. The Excursions office also gave us HAL Tour Dots, which we wore, but it turned out were really not necessary.
  

 

This was the first time we left the ship right after being cleared and there was quite a crowd on the stairs going down to A deck. There were many tours leaving at the same time with a lot of folks trying to get off all at once, but the line moved quickly and we were off in a few minutes.

 

In the terminal there was a large security X-ray machine that at first I started to walk around, assuming it was for returning passengers. A security guard motioned to me to send my bag thru the machine and that’s when I realized that they were checking the bags for people entering Bali, but as I learned later, not on the way out as is typical.

 

We rushed thru the terminal where we discovered a large scrum of tour operators, standing before numerous buses and vans, holding signs with numbers and names. After a few minutes, I found our tour guide, Harmoni, holding a sign with my name and after rounding up our group we headed over to the van. The vehicle was described as a minivan with a capacity of 6 in the brochure and I was pleasantly surprised when I discovered that the van was really more of a mini bus that would hold 12 people. After we all piled into the van, we verified our schedule and then our driver headed out of the parking lot and we were on our way.

 

 

With all the hype about traffic, I was fully expecting something similar to mid-town Manhattan during rush hour once we crossed the causeway and entered the city. I was not disappointed to find that the traffic, while busy, was really quite ordinary for a large city and was flowing easily. There were a large number of mopeds darting to and fro and they would freely hop on the sidewalk to keep moving. Driving among the mopeds was like driving thru a flock of birds standing in the road – ignore them and they will get out of your way. Drivers seemed to maneuver without regard to the 2 wheelers and the moped operators used their superior maneuverability to stay out of harm’s way.

 

I used to race bicycles and when confronting traffic here or in Rome, I realize that you simply act as if you are in a large bicycle race by following a few simple rules.

 

1) Road lane markings are meaningless and should be ignored – traffic signals may indicate a change in traffic flow, but are advisory only.

2) The vehicle in front has the right of way – this negates the need for rear view mirrors as you have the right of way over any vehicle behind you.

3) Driving is allowed anywhere you vehicle will fit

4) Ride a predictable line and avoid sudden moves or turns. Avoid using your brakes.

 

Wide 4 lane roads gave way to 2 lane roads as we left the city and headed up north into the hills. After 45 minutes we were in rural Bali with beautiful terraced rice paddies appearing alongside the road. We stopped after we saw a lone farmer working in knee deep water, clearing weeds out of the paddy. His “Be Happy” T shirt matched his mood as we discovered after our guide shouted to him and tossed him a cold bottle of water. He flashed a big smile as he retrieved the water bottle and we all waved. Harmoni informed us that these farmers have been working these fields for generations and that they will typically keep half the rice for their families use while selling the other half in the local markets.

 

A few minutes later we stopped again and Harmoni waved to two women working in their field. We learned that these women were in their 70’s but still putting in a hard day’s work. Harmoni tossed them cold bottles of water that they appreciated. Here at about 1800 feet above sea level, the temperature was in the low 80’s with a nice breeze and was really quite comfortable.

 

 

Across the street from the fields were several houses, or compounds. A local grandfather saw us wandering the road and he beckoned for us to come into his compound and look around. His compound consisted of a common room or living room, several separate buildings, one housing the kitchen and another a bedroom (with only 2 permanent walls) and a family temple. His 3 darling granddaughters watched us from the doorway smiling shyly. They graciously allowed photographs and we left the children with some keychains from San Diego that we bring with us for this purpose. We have learned that many people enjoy small gifts from your home town and we often receive a small gift in return.

 

Our first official stop would be the Jatiluwih Rice Terraces. The admission fee was 20,000 Rp or about $1.50 USD. The rice terraces sit below the road, which is lined with street vendors, cafes & shops, and offers beautiful vistas of the terraces and the distant mountains. While we were enjoying the view, our guide purchased some local snacks: Dried Bananas and some type of fruit they called Snake Skin Fruit. We never did learn the real name, but it peeled easily and tasted sorta like a cross between an apple and a plum. There were about two dozen other tourists, not from the cruise ship, and a couple of tour buses filled with Japanese who were also enjoying the cool, clear weather and the amazing views. We could have stopped for lunch here, but we elected to skip lunch (never hurts to skip a meal once in a while on a cruise) and spend more time touring.

 

Once we shut the door to our van, the rain came down in large buckets – then smaller buckets and finally settling down to a steady drizzle. The roads continued to narrow and the condition became worse and worse as we continued on toward our next stop: The Temple at Bali Ulun Dana on Lake Beratan.

 

By the time we arrived at The Temple at Bali Ulun Dana, the rain had slowed to a light drizzle, which still required an umbrella, but was light enough that you could set it aside to take a picture. Admission to this temple was 30,000 Rp ($2.25 US). The temple and grounds were flooded with tourists from around the world and was designed with tourism is mind as there were wide, well-marked paths in numerous languages and many souvenir shops.

We were warned prior to leaving the ship that entrance to these temples required having your legs and shoulders covered and to dress modestly. There was a sign, in English, reminding people to dress respectfully, but this was ignored by many as we saw quite a few women wearing short shorts, halter tops and men wearing shorts with cut off T –shirts. Later on we would learn from people on another tour, that the temple they visited enforced the dress code and was passing out sarongs as necessary.

 

This temple is featured on the Indonesian 50,000 Rp note. Many people amused themselves by attempting to photograph the actual temple in the background while holding a 50000 Rp note in the foreground. We gave it a shot, but the concept proved more interesting than the actual photograph.

 

After leaving Bali Ulun Dana, the rain let up and we were now heading back toward the ship. Narrow half lane and one lane roads started to widen as we continued down the mountains and toward to sea. Throughout the day we would come across amazing feats of people carrying heavy and weird stuff on mopeds and motorcycles. We learned that the minimum legal age to drive a moped was 16, but that was only advisory and not enforced.

 

Around one curve we were surprised to see a small swarm of children, wearing school uniforms (complete with blue ties) all riding motorcycles and scooters of various sizes. Here is a picture of the kids shot through the rain splattered windshield of our van.

 

 

Along the way to our last temple, we stopped by a coffee retailer called Mertha Sari Bhuana. They sell a variety of teas and coffees and were offering free samples for everything except their Luwak Coffee. A sample of Luwak coffee would cost 50,000 Rp or about $3.75. We learned that the Luwak coffee is made using beans that have passed thru the digestive system of a small animal called a Luwak by the locals. Well, where else can you get coffee like that! They produced the cup with great fanfare, covered by a special lid. It was very hot, but not very good. At least to my taste – it was very strong – but tasted overcooked rather than having a strong coffee taste like an espresso. But coffee is very subjective and I’m sure that others may find it more to their liking and I would encourage everyone to give it a try.

 

Back in the city, the Taman Ayun Temple was our final stop. Beautiful flowers and trees covered the grounds making the temple a lush oasis in the midst of the bustling city. A moat surrounded the temple and was lined with fisherman of all ages. By now the rain had completely stop and the temperatures were quite pleasant. It was really turning out to be a nice day. We have learned in Bali, almost anything can appear at any moment and as we were leaving the temple we came across a person handling a Luwak (you know, the animal that makes coffee) and was offering the chance to let him crawl all over your shoulders. Our tour guide took advantage of the opportunity.

 

After a busy day we made our way back to the cruise terminal about 15 minutes before the all aboard time. We had Just enough time to buy some postcards and stamps from vendors inside the terminal. There was no security other than checking cruise cards prior to us boarding the ship. As per normal procedure, the ship uses its metal detectors and x ray machine whenever there isn’t any screening done in the terminal. As it turned out, there were a couple of late returning tours and the Captain announced that there was only 2 feet of water under the keel at the moment so he would wait until 7pm to depart when he would have more buffer from the bottom. He noted that it was a little disconcerting to see fisherman standing in water so close to the channel.

 

Once on board, we learned that the Sail Away was moved to the Crow’s nest even though the rain stopped in time to use the Sea View Pool had they stuck to the original plan. The Crow’s Nest had a couple dozen people, but looked more like a normal happy hour setup and was missing anyone passing out traditional sail away snacks.

 

Martin Lawson, one of the HAL singers, was featured at the 7:30 PM Spotlight Show. His performance was amazing and he was able to really showcase his wonderful voice. Singing one of his mother’s favorite songs – “Stars” from Les Miserable he displayed incredible range and ability to create an emotional tie to the audience. His final song was “Nessun Dorma” (None Shall Sleep), an aria from the final act of Puccini’s opera Turandot and he nailed it – bringing the audience to its feet with explosive applause.

 

 

Dinner was a joy as always as we everyone recounted their days of adventure and daring do. A few folks at our table traveled the luxury road and the spent the day being pampered at one of the Bali’s many luxurious resort spas – Bali is a wonderful spot and is definitely on my list of places we need to visit again for an extended stay.

 

Spanish Guitarist Vincenzo finished our day with an incredible virtuoso performance on the Spanish Guitar. One of the many wonders of this Grand World Voyage has been the incredible entertainment. Night after night we have been exposed to a wide variety of high quality shows – ones we would normally never seek out at home, but are so glad we had the chance to sample their talent on the Amsterdam.

 

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

[chefestelle]

Oh, you took me back to a time I spent three weeks in Bali! I could see and hear everything! Thanks for this. I wish you could have stayed longer! It's one of my favourite places ever

[The-Inside-Cabin]

Oh, you took me back to a time I spent three weeks in Bali! I could see and hear everything! Thanks for this. I wish you could have stayed longer! It's one of my favourite places ever

 

It was a wonderful stop. People so friendly - we will be back when we have more time.

[The-Inside-Cabin]

Day 50, Sailing towards Semarang, Indonesia

 

Early this morning we continued our transit northwest thru the Bali Sea, enroute to the Java Sea before turning west toward Semarang. With partly cloudy skies, land was visible just a few miles off our port side when we woke up this morning. As is typical for us following a big port day, we didn’t do a whole lot as we simply wanted to rest and get ready for our very early tour tomorrow. We’ll need to meet in the Queens Lounge at 6:15 for our tour to Borobudur.

 

Our room service breakfast was delivered promptly at 8:00 as has become our routine. If I walk on the promenade before breakfast I will occasionally wander thru the Lido to see what fresh pastries may be available or anything else that may look too tempting to pass.

 

Today was the first day in a long time – maybe ever – that I didn’t venture outside at all. I recall when serving on aircraft carriers, always in an inside cabin, we would sometimes go an entire week without going above decks for fresh air. When you live under an airport, and the flight deck is filled with jet aircraft, hot exhaust and danger everywhere we sorta had an excuse for not spending too much time above decks. What’s my excuse now? Well, don’t really have one – but we will be off the ship the next two days for make up for today.

 

Emily Yates and Martin Lawson were the guests on Good Morning Amsterdam that was hosted solo by Donna, the Culinary Arts Center Manager, since Gene was called to the Bridge so he could take part in the Ships Emergency Drill which was scheduled at the same time. The drills are usually at 9:30 and Gene normally schedules Good Morning Amsterdam for 9:00 start so he will finish prior to the drill. Donna did a fabulous job interviewing the two singers who discussed the challenges and opportunities, highs and lows of working as a cast member for cruise ships. Emily and Martin are both leaving the ship in Hong Kong to head back to their homes for some time off before taking on new adventures. They both aspire to be guest entertainers with their own gigs but remarked that getting these jobs is extremely competitive and require that they develop a unique and distinctive show.

 

 

Melvyn presented another entertaining and informative lecture entitled: Lore and Legends of the Seven Seas. He expanded on some interesting stories about several of female pirates that I previously knew nothing about.

 

Waiting for us in our mail slot after we returned to our cabin was a nice note along with our 4 Star Mariner pins. One of the perks of an Grand World Voyage is they will upgrade your Mariner status mid cruise. Now that we are 4 star mariners we will get free laundry and priority tenders. We also get additional discounts on mini-bar purchases and certain coffee drinks.

 

We passed by a few oil drilling platforms this afternoon and the occasional fishing boat as we remained fairly close to land all day.

 

Indonesian food was the theme for dinner this evening and dining room was decorated appropriately while the wait staff was wearing colorful Indonesian clothing. I chose all the Indonesian items on the menu: Soto Ayam – Chicken and Vegetable Soup, Ikan Pepes - Tilapia Baked in Banana Leaves and Rijstafel - Beef Sumatra, spicy shrimp, babi kecap and a chicken drumstick. They were all spicy but very good.

 

 

Paul Cutler, who sang in Les Miserables for two years on London’s West End, was tonight’s guest entertainer. Based on his Les Miserables background we were all expecting many musical numbers, but instead he performed a variety of hits including a Chuck Berry song and tossed in a little tap dancing along the way. He demonstrated his vocal chops on his only Les Miz number, Empty Chairs and Empty Tables, and followed up with an exciting rendition of New York, New York for the finale.

 

 

Early to bed as we have to be up before the crack of dawn for our tour tomorrow.

 

More on the blog at http://www.theinsidecabin.com