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Live from the 2020 Grand World Voyage


Scrapnana
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11 hours ago, Scrapnana said:

On past cruises I have stopped by the Piano Bar before dinner because it was on my way to the dining room.  I had not done so yet this cruise (and it is a tad out of the way since I am towards the aft) but I had extra time so I decided to do so.  The piano entertainer is Diane Slagle from Ketchikan.  She played a number of songs upon request (I asked for “Somewhere Beyond the Sea”).  She starts at 7:30 (dinner is at 😎 while in previous years the piano entertainer started at 7 and finished about 7:45.  I’ve noticed a number of times on this cruise (including early sitting and trivia) that differed from previous cruises.

Diane has been playing on HAL ships for many years and always drew big crowds in the Piano Bar.  She took a short break a few years ago when she finished a music degree in Seattle and then moved permanently to Ketchikan.  Her previous name was Diane Fast.

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On 1/6/2020 at 10:20 PM, Scrapnana said:

I met the three Judys from 2018 (I knew two were on the cruise but did not know the third one was – she was the lady who taught me how to knit socks).  We all agreed that unless you had a window seat, the light in the Explorer’s Lounge was not good and we will start meeting in the Crow’s Nest tomorrow.
 

     Hi Kathy, sounds like you are having fun so far.  Is the Judy who taught you to knit socks the same one that was half of a couple called "Rich & Famous"?  If so, she taught Mary about knitting socks on the 2018 too.  We had breakfast with them often.  Please tell her hello from Rick & Mary.

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4 hours ago, RBB said:

     Hi Kathy, sounds like you are having fun so far.  Is the Judy who taught you to knit socks the same one that was half of a couple called "Rich & Famous"?  If so, she taught Mary about knitting socks on the 2018 too.  We had breakfast with them often.  Please tell her hello from Rick & Mary.

She is indeed one-half of "Rich & Famous".  I will pass on your message.

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10 hours ago, Krazy Kruizers said:

We have also been to St Lucia so many times and done so many tours that now we just walk around -- not buying anything.

 

Wonder why HAL is changing times on so many things on your cruise?

It is strange.  The first few days afternoon trivia was at 4 and now it seems to be moved permanently until 4:30.  ????

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20 hours ago, Scrapnana said:

 

 

 

 

The piano entertainer is Diane Slagle from Ketchikan.  She played a number of songs upon request (I asked for “Somewhere Beyond the Sea”).  She starts at 7:30 (dinner is at 😎 while in previous years the piano entertainer started at 7.We lose another hour tonight.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We met Diane Slagle on the Maasdam Alaska and Pacific Northwest EXC cruise in June.  She and her husband were recently married and were the locations experts for our cruise.  Diane was not working the piano bar but did a special performance one afternoon in the showroom.  She was great and I would have loved it if she had been in the piano bar every night.  Her husband A.J. gave the lectures about life in Alaska and did a very nice recital of Robert Service poetry.  Is A.J. traveling with Diane on this world cruise?   I hope they will be on the Maasdam in Alaska again in 2020.  

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1 minute ago, oaktreerb said:

Is A.J. traveling with Diane on this world cruise?  

I know he isn't on the ship now. He was on through the Panama Canal, but disembarked when the World Cruise began. 
Diane is on until Sydney. I don't know who is taking over the Piano Lounge there. 

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I finally was able this evening to catch up on your reports!! I hope you find your additional trivia partner! As of right now I would be a bad choice 🙁But I am learning and that is progress.😉

How wonderful to be able to have the pool all to yourself on your cruise to relax and enjoy. That sounds wonderful to me.

Kathi I look forward to more.

Denise😊

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January 10, 2020

 

At Sea

 

Started my day with knitting in the Crow’s Nest.  Only three of us present – Judy (who taught me socks), Sherita, and I. 

 

All five of us were at morning trivia.  We had 10 out of 15 and the winners had 12.

1.Ailurophobia is the fear of what?

2.What does a V with a bar over it represent in Roman Numerals?

3.Who has the most hair follicles – blonds, brunettes, or redheads?

4.What cooking fuel is produced by heating wood without oxygen?

5.What is the largest number of children born to one woman – 29, 49, or 69?

6.What Tennessee Williams’ play includes the characters Big Daddy and Big Momma?

 

After working on my Project Linus blanket for about 30 minutes, I went to the Lido for lunch.  I sat with Judy and Sherita during Arts & Crafts where we made a necklace.

 

There was no swimming today.  If you watch the video you will see why.

 

Afternoon trivia has been changed to 4:30 from 4 pm.  We thought it was only on port days but today it was at 4:30 also.  We only had four players but won with 14 out of 16.

1.Which space shuttle flew the most missions (39) between 1984 and when it was retired in 2011?

2.What was the nickname of Tom Cruise’s character in Top Gun?

3.Which country produces the most major league baseball players per capita?

4.What online movie ticked company shares its name with a Spanish dance?

5.Which large retailer dropped a star and added a starburst to its name in 2008?

6.  Order these countries in order from largest population to smallest – India, China, Indonesia, U.S., Brazil.  (this was worth two points)

 

Marilyn and I sat and talked after trivia (I wanted her ideas on what to do in Darwin) and then I got ready for dinner.  Tonight was the second Gala Night.  Once again, I watched Diane in the Piano Bar before dinner.  Lenore’s cabinmate came to dinner tonight so we finally got to meet her.

 

After dinner was the Grand Gala Party with dancing to the music of the Station Band at The Mainstage.  There was a “Chocolate Surprise” towards the end of the party with various chocolate treats being passed out.  Most were dark chocolate so they did not appeal to me. I watched the dancing for a bit and then returned to my cabin.

 

Devil’s Island tomorrow.

 

Morning trivia

1.cats

2.5000

3.blonds

4.charcoal

5.69

6.Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

 

Afternoon trivia

1.Discovery

2.Maverick

3.Dominican Republic

4.Fandango

5.Wal-Mart

6.China, India, US, Indonesia, Brazil

 

 

Smooth sailing until next time!

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9 hours ago, Scrapnana said:

Afternoon trivia has been changed to 4:30 from 4 pm.  We thought it was only on port days but today it was at 4:30 also.  We only had four players but won with 14 out of 16.

 

YAY 🙂 Congrats at winning trivia 😄 

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One of my favorite HAL touches has been fresh flowers on the tables in the MDR as well as orchids on the Lido tables.

Back in July on the Zuiderdam, they were missing, so I asked the DR manager if they didn't get delivered dockside in time or?

He told us that there were complaints about them causing allergies, to which I suggested remove them from those who objected.  I must say, I didn't think that was the reason, but rather an excuse not to have them.

 

Do I understand correctly that the Amsterdam's World Cruise does indeed have the flowers?

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20 hours ago, RuthC said:

I know he isn't on the ship now. He was on through the Panama Canal, but disembarked when the World Cruise began. 
Diane is on until Sydney. I don't know who is taking over the Piano Lounge there. 

Thanks for the update.  

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16 minutes ago, Oak Hill Cruisers said:

Are they still printing the morning newspapers?  They still are being so on the Volendam which we are now on for the Grand South America/Antarctica.  We thought that HAL would stop the printing of the morning papers starting at the beginning of the year.

They are not being printed.  You must go to the Navigator app and read them there (no charge).

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5 hours ago, St Pete Cruiser said:

One of my favorite HAL touches has been fresh flowers on the tables in the MDR as well as orchids on the Lido tables.

Back in July on the Zuiderdam, they were missing, so I asked the DR manager if they didn't get delivered dockside in time or?

He told us that there were complaints about them causing allergies, to which I suggested remove them from those who objected.  I must say, I didn't think that was the reason, but rather an excuse not to have them.

 

Do I understand correctly that the Amsterdam's World Cruise does indeed have the flowers?

Yes, there are flowers.  Orchid plants on some of the tables in the Lido and cut flowers on the tables in the MDR.

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Thanks so much for taking us along with you. I'm enjoying living vicariously through you. Someday, when we retire, I hope to be just like you! I'll take any old guarantee cabin as long as it takes me around the world! 

 

I just hope a Judy will be around to teach me to knit!

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January 11, 2020



Devil’s Island (or close thereto), French Guiana



I had decided long ago (as in March 16, 2019 when I was here before) that I would not be going ashore.  Here is a link to my post for that day if you want to hear more about it - https://2019halgv.blogspot.com/2019/03/march16-2019-devilsisland-not-really.html .

Since I had been up to just after 2 am trying to get the video to load, I slept until after 10.  I tried again when I woke up but was still unsuccessful.
  

As I was finishing up, Hamish (the CD) started making announcements about getting tendering tickets.  On the 2018 world cruise there was no priority tendering because almost everyone qualified – 4*, 5*, and President’s Club members.  We had received a note yesterday saying there would be priority tendering this year.  I wonder if they got a lot of bad comments about not having the perk.


I went to the Lido for lunch at 11:30 (when it opens) and then headed out to the pool afterwards.  I swam for an hour and then sat in the sun for almost 90 minutes.  When I returned to my cabin I tried once more to load the video.  I even downloaded an app to cut down the length of the video in hopes that would speed up loading the video – still didn’t work.


Headed to the Crow’s Nest at 4 with my laptop in hopes that leaving it uploading during trivia would work (it didn’t).
  

Only Diana, Sherita, and I were there so we joined with Janet (Sherita and I met her on the Prinsendam last year) and her teammate, Sabena.  We had 19 out of 22 but the winning team had 21.


1.What team sport has a foul called “submerging”?

2.If you ordered a “carpetbagger steak” in Sydney, your beef would be stuffed with what seafood?

3.What restauranteur kicked the bucket in 1980?

4.What is the largest bay in the world?

5.What leader did Marco Polo say had strange powers over animals?

6.Where is the human skin the thickest?


After trivia I gave up on the video and decided to take some still shots from it to post.  I had received a message that the resizing app I use needed updating yesterday, which I did.  When I went to resize the still shots it would not work.  I needed to leave the Crow’s Nest because the sail-away party was getting ready to start.  I walked out on the deck and watched as we were leaving.

Upon my return to my cabin, I decided that maybe uninstalling the resize app and then reinstalling might fix the problem.  Turns out it worked!

Four of us for dinner.  I had a really good but strange sounding cold soup.  It had apples, pears, and eggnog in it – delicious.  I have been having one of the cold soups almost every night and I have liked them all.

I had not gone to see the comedian, Tim Kaminski, the first time but I had heard good things from everyone who had gone.  I decided to give him a try and he was funny without anything vulgar or profane.  I don’t always find the comedians funny but I liked him.

Trivia

1.water polo

2.oysters

3.Colonel Sanders

4.Hudson Bay

5.Kublai Khan

6.on the back

 

Smooth sailing until next time!

Edited by Scrapnana
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40 minutes ago, senoragilbert said:

Thanks so much for taking us along with you. I'm enjoying living vicariously through you. Someday, when we retire, I hope to be just like you! I'll take any old guarantee cabin as long as it takes me around the world! 

 

I just hope a Judy will be around to teach me to knit!

 

9 minutes ago, Vict0riann said:

Or Scrapnana could teach you...

There is always someone who is willing to make a convert!  I know I love to!😊

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January 12, 2020

 

 

 

At Sea

 

 

 

Four of us at knitting this morning (missing one Judy).  Sherita and I stayed until about 11:30 and then left for trivia.  Margaret has rejoined our team.  We did not do very well with only 8 out of 15.  The winners had 11.

1.In Greek literature Chronos is the personification of what?

 

 

 

2.Which famous composer has two skulls in his tomb?

3.What author wrote his last novel in crayon?

4.What is the only human organ that can float in water?

5.What is the study of grass called?

6.How many official different flavors of jelly beans are there? (answer is between 40 and 60)

 

After trivia I worked on my Project Linus blanket for about 30 minutes and then headed to the Lido for lunch. 

 

In Arts & Crafts we had two projects.  First, we made a sea turtle fabric basket (the sewing was done, all we had to do was fold it and add the decorative buttons.  Then we made sea turtle earrings.  The two projects took a little over an hour and I had time for a cookie and to read a chapter in my book before heading to the Crow’s Nest to get a spot for trivia.

 

We had the Bridge instructor join us for trivia since his team had grown to seven (no more than six per team).  We had 13 out of 15 and the winning team had 14.

1.What is the softest mineral on the Mohs Scale?

2.What do sufferers of epistaxis suffer from?

3.In what country’s original language was it referred to as Aeteoroa?

4.What is the culinary term for a starter made of butter and flour?

5.What is the capital of Ethiopia?

6.Who wrote Madame Butterfly?

7.Which country consumes the most chocolate per capita?

By the time trivia was over and we finished talking it was too late for me to swim before sunset so I worked on my Project Linus blanket some more.

 

I went to hear Diane in the Piano Bar for a bit before dinner.  For some reason the dinner chimes ring at 7:45 and the dining room opens.  I have been arriving right before 8:00 (the official start of Main Dining) and have been the last one, so tonight I arrived at 7:50.  Our usual four were there.

 

John Bressler was the entertainment in The Mainstage tonight.  I had seen his show a few nights ago and enjoyed it so I went to see his second show.  He is a piano player and singer with a raspy voice.

 

Belem, Brazil tomorrow.

 

Morning trivia

1.time

2.Haydn

3.James Joyce

4.lungs

5.agrostology

6.50

 

Afternoon trivia

1.talc (my team did not believe me)

2.nose bleeds

3.New Zealand

4.roux

5.Addis Ababa

6.Puccini

7.Switzerland (22.3 pounds per year)

 

 

Smooth sailing until next time!

 

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On 1/9/2020 at 8:13 PM, Scrapnana said:

 The piano entertainer is Diane Slagle from Ketchikan.

ooh, I've been to Ketchikan! In the 80s the existence of the base was classified, but now, we can say it exists and say we went there. I can also say that we submerged in a static dive and AT&T donated telephone time, so we could call anywhere on US soil for 2 minutes, while submerged 🙂 I called home, trying to get my dad, but my little sister (in high school at the time) answered. She was unimpressed that I was calling from a submerged submarine. lol. The time was 0200, 2 o'clock AM. But yeah the base has a web site now,

https://www.navsea.navy.mil/Home/Warfare-Centers/NSWC-Carderock/Who-We-Are/Ketchikan-Alaska/

 

While we were going back out to sea, we caught some fish and baked them, and ate topside. A civilian sailboat passed by, and apparently asked on the bridge to bridge radio if they could join us. Of course, the Captain said, negative! lol 🙂

This was on USS Florida SSBN-728...must have been 1999, because I remember I wasn't Qualified in Submarines yet, so I could not join the parties going ashore. It is an intellectually rigorous certification, requiring months of study, where you learn all major ship systems and emergency operations, and then you have a 2 hour board interview...if you don't get to the board interview and pass it in 12 months, you might be sent to the surface, considered not smart enough for submarines. after 9 months you are assigned even more duties (we already get very little sleep on subs) as punishment for being too close to 12 months...it took me 10 months but I made it.

Anyway, the whole crew can't go ashore anymore. We used to do that, but apparently a few years before I joined the Navy, one submarine crew went to Ketchikan all at once, and most of them got drunk and trashed the town, and the Captain had to write a letter of apology to them. So now, little groups of five or ten people can go into Ketchikan. At least that was true when I was in, I got out 2003, it could have changed by now.

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