richwmn Goes around the world in a daze

[cccole]

Thank you!!!!!!  I know sharing contact info is sometimes sensitive and I appreciate you doing this.  Looking forward to your posts on "our" cruise.  Cherie

[richwmn]

 

January 11, 2023 – Second day at sea.

 

The internet has been pretty flaky yesterday and today, but that was predicted. It seems to be up right now.

 

I’m going to start with tonight’s entertainment, then go back to what has been going on for the past two days. Tonight on the Main Stage I saw Chris Pendleton, billed as comedy and music. This is the first new entertainment for the World Cruise. She came out singing a parody of ‘Yesterday’ about eating at a buffet which was very funny. She then did a comedy routine taking on the south (she is from South Carolina), singles, Catholic School, and long time married couples. It was all pretty funny and got a lot of laughs. She then brought out a violin (aka fiddle) and proceeded to give a short concert over several types of music. All told, she is a talented comic and musician.

 

So yesterday and today were the first of 8 days headed toward French Polynesia. To some degree, sea days are settled into a routine. Get up, breakfast, an activity or two, lunch, another activity, dinner, the Main Stage Show – wash, rinse, repeat.

 

So for me, the activities are generally trivia. For the most part trivia lines up with happy hour so all is good. I have not be doing my best for trivia on the World Cruise. It seems the questions are a bit harder, but it may just be subjects or times that I am not as familiar with.

 

Most of my meals are in the Lido and the meals have been very good. The Italian Station has had a good variety of Pizza, Pasta, and breads. The Salad Station has plenty of variety with a couple of changes day to day. The Homestead has a nice selection as does the Asian Station.

 

Everything has been going well, I have even spent some time out on the balcony. All the staff in the Lido, and my cabin staff have been great. In the next day or two I will join some new friends at Pinnacle for dinner.

 

I will be adding the activities and menus for today.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[richwmn]

 

 

 

[CruisingGrandmaW]

Hi Rich:

Enjoying your Posts - tremendously.

 

Question:  Polynesian Ambassadors

Are they truly French Polynesian (Tahiti Dance & Song) vs Hawaiian?

On all the cruises I've been on -- they ended up being the same ole Hawaiian.

 

Tahitian music, song, dance is so different than Hawaiian.

Hope HAL made the change.

Would be nice for a talk on how tourism changed the French Polynesian Islands & quality of life for the islanders.

I remember the day when BoraBora only had 3 Resorts - all on the island - none on the outer islets.

No cars - only scooters & the open air wooden public transportation buses.

Native women wore only pareos & topless at the beaches.

 

I miss the ole days!

[Oceansaway17]

7 hours ago, richwmn said:

 

 

 

 

I am glad to hear you go to the lido as I always like to do.  I like to see my food and look out.

I hope there are NO repeats in any trivia lounges.  for the world cruise, I guess someone was hard at work creating LOTS of different trivia.  I was on a cruise with Celebrity and the hotel director put a few trivia together and ask permission from CD to lead it as well.  Was quite refreshing.

well continue to have a nice day.

My niece lives in Greensboro GA and goes to Athens a lot to shop.

[richwmn]

January 12^th – third sea day

 

It has been a lazy day at sea. I actually woke up very early this morning and couldn’t get back to sleep. By my choice, activities have been limited today. HAL has provided a good selection, I was just happy to relax. I have settled into a sea day routine which might not be for everyone, but is good for me.

 

Outside it has been a very pretty day. The ride has been smooth and despite leaving Fuerte Amador a bit late we have made up the time and will be arriving as scheduled on the 18^th. We did have an announcement today that our next port (Taiohae, Nuku Hiva, Marquesas) is a tricky tender port but that the weather currently shows that it will be acceptable.

 

The main stage tonight will be another new comedian which should make for a nice show. According to the comedian last night we got some new talent at Fuerte Amador, it will be interesting to see how much. Tonight is still a casual night, tomorrow is the first formal or dressy night.

 

 

 

 

 

[richwmn]

January 14^th

The internet connection has been intermittent for the last few days. I was unable to connect yesterday at all and have had some luck today.

 

So I have now been aboard Zuiderdam for 23 days, far from my longest cruise. From my standpoint this has been a good cruise, but maybe not a lot over my earlier cruises. The lecturers brought aboard have been very good, but so were the ones for Voyage of the Vikings and my previous Trans Pacific. I did not participate in the festivities last night, but that is not uncommon for me. Perhaps if I had boarded on January 3^rd it would feel a bit different.

 

So today is again a sea day, as was yesterday and will be tomorrow. Each day has included a good presentation by one or both of the guest lecturers. Trivia has been at least two or three times a day and has been challenging. The main stage entertainment has been good. Two were ladies who were both accomplished musicians and comics. Elliot Finkel is still aboard and does a good show.

 

After the 6:30 trivia last night Jett invited me to join her at the blackjack table. In the past the only thing I have done in the casino has been the roulette wheel. I enjoyed spending time with her and cashed out a nice amount over what I started with. I still have enough chips to play again.

 

Since boarding I have routinely heard ‘Are you Rich’. This is from Cruise Critic people who have never met me in person but have seen my picture. This morning at breakfast I discovered that I have a doppleganger aboard. I looked over and told the lady yes, and she responded that her husband has been asked that a lot. We took a picture together.

 

 

I'm having trouble loading menus and activities. I'll try again later

 

[canadianbear]

Looks like you have a twin on board!  
 

Enjoying following along on your journey! 

[cunnorl]

Oh my! You do look alike! 

[StLouisCruisers]

That is so cool you got to meet your lookalike on the WC!  People often say I look just like someone they know, and I have to tell them I have a twin already.  We just aren't identical though.  Congrats on the casino win by the way!

[cruisin'teach]

Thank you so much for your reports! We were scheduled for our first world cruise on this voyage but had to cancel. It will be enjoyable to join the cruise through your postings and adventures!

You're about to visit one of our favorite places, Nuka Hiva. Enjoy. Looking forward to hearing your experience!!

[richwmn]

3 hours ago, StLouisCruisers said:

That is so cool you got to meet your lookalike on the WC!  People often say I look just like someone they know, and I have to tell them I have a twin already.  We just aren't identical though.  Congrats on the casino win by the way!

I have two people at home that look similar enough that we are all mistaken for each other. We do know each other well enough to be able to tell whoever asked where the others might be.

[madera1]

Love the photo of you and your twin! Of course I will have to guess as to which one is you. Enjoy your trip!

[richwmn]

 

 

 

[richwmn]

 

 

 

 

 

 

[richwmn]

 

 

 

 

 

 

[puppycanducruise]

Love the picture of the "twins".

[richwmn]

 

 

 

 

 

 

[richwmn]

January 17^th, the last of 8 sea days

 

Good morning. Since leaving Panama we have had seven days at sea, and today is the last. Sea days consist of Presentations, shows, trivia, and lessons. We have had opportunities to learn many things such as Mah Jong, Origami, and Creative writing. There have also been organized sessions of Uno, Bridge, Yahtzee, and other games. Each day brings bingo sessions for a chance to win some money.

 

Yesterday I filled my day. I started at 9:30 with a visit to Rabbi Starr and a presentation on Genesis. He is a very engaging speaker with about the right amount of wit. The session was well received.

 

At 11:00 Mike West took the stage to talk about Funnels, Flags, and Funny paint. This was a good presentation on why ships look the way they do. The portion on flags talked about positioning of national flags, as well as the signal flags that ships use and how they came about.

 

At 1:00 we had a regular trivia session. We have gotten together a small team that does ok, but more importantly gets along and enjoys the session. We may not get every question right, but we do have a good time.

 

At 4:00 we were in Billboard for another round of trivia, this time highlighting Women. Our host put together a good series of questions and I think everyone had fun and maybe learned something.

 

6:30 brought us Nautical trivia. This session contained a wide variety of questions from what was originally used to christen ships (blood), to how many Polar Bears are at the Lido Pool (2). It was a good session and we tied for first, but lost in the tie breaker.

 

After trivia I had my first meal in the Main Dining Room for this cruise. Some people I met early and who joined me for trivia asked me to join them for dinner. We arrived and were seated promptly. The meals and service were perfect and the company was great.

 

After dinner, we adjourned to the casino where I managed to lose half of my original stake. I still have my winnings from the other day so I’m still ahead.

 

The multiple time changes over the last few days have messed with my timing, so I was up extra early this morning. At least we don’t have another one before our arrival tomorrow. Here are today’s activities.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[REOVA]

1 hour ago, richwmn said:

The multiple time changes over the last few days have messed with my timing, so I was up extra early this morning.

But at least on HALs GWC you head West and gain time. Enjoyed that much better than Eastbound cruises and losing hours. 😁

[richwmn]

 

Now it is Tuesday evening, after a good day aboard Zuiderdam.

 

Today was another day of mostly trivia and a couple of other things. All three trivia sessions were pretty good. The afternoon (1pm) and early (4pm) sessions were jammed full and were interesting. The evening (6:30) session was lightly attended but was very good. It was a second Beatles Trivia, and contained 5 questions with some little known answers. Out of the 15 songs played, 3 were a bit obscure but we did have an expert that got almost everything correct.

 

Tomorrow we should be in sight of land, and tender operations are scheduled for 8am.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[richwmn]

January 18^th Taiohae, Marquesas Islands, French Polynesia.

 

Today we have land!!

 

Our first stop and it is a tender stop. The Captain has been preparing us for the last couple of days in case we are unable to tender. The weather is co-operating and the tenders are out. We were cleared to disembark a little early and will be here until late. I will go out for a while after lunch.

 

 

 

 

Todays activities and menus.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[richwmn]

More of Taiohae, Marquesas Islands, French Polynesia.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Cruisercl]

Hi Rich,

Looks like things are going really well, lots to do for at sea days. Relaxing is also good, IMHO.

I really like looking at all of the menus and the daily program.

French Polynesia looks beautiful.

Hope you have fun 'on land'. 

Hope all is good for you.🙂

[richwmn]

January 19th – At sea

Yesterday was our first port day and a good one. I waited until open tendering and boarded the tender shortly after showing up. The tender ride was short and calm. Upon arriving there was a small port area with a lot going on, the typical restaurants, bars, and vendors selling ‘authentic’ goods from the area. A group of local musicians was also playing for our enjoyment. After a short visit, I went back to the area to load the tenders for the return. It was a bit disorganized and I missed the first opportunity, but a second was waiting to unload as soon as the first one left. The ride back was also uneventful.

The first trivia yesterday was at 6:30 pm. I have a small group that I have been playing trivia with which has about 8 members total. Last night was the first time we had everyone there, so 1 didn’t play. This was a general trivia and we did pretty well. After trivia 3 of us headed for the Pinnacle Grill for dinner. The food and wine were both good and with good conversation the meal lasted around 2 hours. After dinner I went to the final trivia at 9pm which was the music of Michael Jackson. Not my strong suit and I was the only one there. As a point of reference, the total number of players was about 12. Our host did a good job and everything went well.

Last night I slept very soundly and didn’t wake up at all until almost 7am. I took care of some things happening at home, and now it is approaching time to get moving. Today’s activities and menus: