richwmn Goes around the world in a daze

[puppycanducruise]

Congratulations on the Gold Medallion.

 

[richwmn]

May 2 – Medallion Ceremony & Menus

 

There were at least two Medallion Ceremonies held today. I attended the one at 1:30pm and had a chance to talk to a couple of people. The Crow’s Nest was pretty full and well attended by the ship’s officers. After a short welcome by Ian, the ceremony consisted of him calling honorees by name and cabin number, followed by a picture with the Master of Zuiderdam and the Hotel Director. When the last picture was finished Ian said thank you and the ceremony was over. We did get wine, a mimosa, or a drink.

 

Today’s menus including the lunch menu for the Main Dining Room and the Lido:

 

Lido Lunch

 

Main Dining Room Lunch

 

Lido Dinner

 

Main Dining Room Dinner

 

 

[richwmn]

May 3 – at sea destination Ponta Delgada, The Azores, Portugal

 

 

 

 

Good morning from Zuiderdam. We are on the second sea day on the way to the Azores. After a messy start, the day turned out to be pretty nice right now.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[LouChamp]

Aloha. Congrats on getting the Gold lol

[bennybear]

Congratulations on the gold!  I am so enjoying the photos, brings back lots of memories,  something that never goes bad or takes up much  room!   Hope I can play trivia on your team some day!  

[richwmn]

May 4 – Ponta Delgada, São Miguel Island, Açores

 

 

 

Today started out overcast with a forecast of possible rain in the afternoon. I chose to walk out to the city this morning because of that forecast. However, like the last couple of ports, the day cleaned up nicely and it is very nice outside right now. The port area here is nice and well positioned to visit the city. Like many other places we have stopped the port is basically right in the city center and has no containers packed around the ship. That makes for a very nice experience.

 

I got off the ship early to a misting rain. It wasn’t really uncomfortable, just inconvenient. Right off the ship I got a chance to talk a little bit to a gentleman selling tours. He was a very nice gentleman and very proud of his home. The price he quoted was pretty good for a group of four or so, but I hadn’t arranged with anyone on the ship to go anywhere so I just walked around a bit. The city is a typical layout with a street along the waterfront and buildings only on the side away from the shore. On the shore side there were a couple of small areas with food trucks / trailers but nothing else to obstruct the view.

 

One street back from the shore line contained the shops, restaurants, and bars. As with the other European cities the area is extremely easy to walk. There is very little traffic and the drivers yield to pedestrians. Everyone has been very pleasant to deal with.

 

Today's activities

 

 

Today's menus

 

 

 

 

Zuiderdam Docked

 

The City

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 4, 2023 by richwmn

[scluvsrain]

The map photo you posted of Ponta Delgada looks just like California!!  I did a double-take!

[richwmn]

May 5 – Praia da Vitória, Açores, Portugal

 

Just a quick update before going ashore

 

 

Position at 6:15am

 

Position of Zuiderdam at dock

 

This morning at Praia da Vitoria

 

 

 

 

And today's activities

 

 

 

[Cruisercl]

Oh my gosh, I just read about the last sailaway. wow.

Sad but a nice accomplishment being on a cruise for this length of time.

Enjoy the rest of the cruise, hope packing isn't too bad. 🙂

[richwmn]

May 6 – at sea destination Port Everglades, Fort Lauderdale, Florida

 

 

 

Well, yesterday might have been my busiest day on this cruise. My first duty station in the Navy was Terceira Island, so I lived there for 14 months. In September of 2017 I had the opportunity to visit the island again. You can find what I posted then here: http://www.wa70.com/trip/Azores.html.

 

I had arranged for the same driver I had in 2017 to pick up me and 3 other people, one of whom had also been stationed on Terceira but 20 years after I was. The driver, Tony, arrived promptly at 8:00am and we took off around the island. We started with a quick tour of Praia da Vitoria, followed by a drive to the highest point on the island. We then came back to the coast and began a complete trip around Terceira. While going around we also managed to stop at the house where one of the other guests had lived while he was stationed at Lajes AFB. It was a wonderful day of memories. We arrived back at the ship at about 3:00pm.

 

After a short break it was off to Billboard for the early trivia session. When it was over, it was time for sail away at the mid ships Lido Pool. For the final sail away we were treated to free flowing white or red wine and small food treats. The Ocean Bar band was playing for background music and everyone had a good time. At 5:30pm I was off to the buffet for a bit of ‘real’ food. After a short break back to Billboard for another trivia.

 

With trivia complete, the World Stage show was about to start so I went to my preferred seat to see the show. The show was billed as ‘The Comedy & Variety of Tom Crosbie’. He bills himself as a nerd and quite a few of his jokes were based on that. Most of the Variety consisted of him solving Rubik’s Cubes and talking about that pastime. It was mildly funny and not a terrible way to spend 45 minutes.

 

After the show I went up to Deck 10 and walked around for a bit. When I arrived back at my cabin I realized it was a bit past 8:00pm and in Billboard they were supposed to have an Officers vs Guests trivia. I hurried downstairs to find the trivia almost completed and no Officers to be seen. I then returned to my cabin where I saw a message that Jett was headed to the Casino and I went back downstairs to meet her. After making a donation to the Casino, I was finally in for the evening.

 

So that brings us to today, the first of six sea days on the way back to Fort Lauderdale. We had a time change this morning, and we have three more hours to make up before we are back in sync with the East coast. We received our paperwork for disembarkation and have been notified that the last laundry will have to be turned in tomorrow. Luggage can be placed in the hallway from 8:00am on the 10^th until 11:00pm on the 11^th. Those who have luggage shipment have already received their information.

 

We will have the normal sea day routine of meals and three sessions of trivia. This will be our routine for the next few days until Fort Lauderdale.

 

Today's Activities

 

 

Today's Menus

 

 

 

 

 

Around Terciera Island

 

 

 

 

 

 

The bullfight ring in Angra

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The final sail away

 

Edited May 6, 2023 by richwmn

[kazu]

So hard to believe that your trip is nearly coming to an end, Rich.

 

Really enjoyed following along and wishing you very safe travels home.

 

thank you for sharing with us 👍 It’s been so wonderful 🙂 

[highscar]

Ditto, ditto.  Thank you 

[richwmn]

May 7 – at sea destination Port Everglades, Fort Lauderdale, Florida

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 7, 2023 by richwmn

[richwmn]

May 7 – at sea destination Port Everglades, Fort Lauderdale, Florida

 

Another day at sea, and very relaxing. Preparations are being started for getting off the ship. Today is the last day to turn in laundry and as mentioned yesterday we have already received the disembarkation paperwork. The group that I am booked thru is having a goodbye party tomorrow and I’m sure that over the next few days the other groups will be doing the same thing.

 

Since we have completed our last port stop, it might be a good time to talk about the ports we have visited. To start off with the two ports I would return to any chance I get are Fuerte Amador (Panama City), Panama and Praia da Vitoria, Azores. Both are places I lived in for over a year a long time ago and visits bring back a lot of good memories and give me additional ones. Lisbon is another city that I had visited before and enjoyed returning. Any visit there would be a welcome day. I would like to visit Copenhagen again but I think it deserves more than a cruise ship stop. Dublin was another stop that I enjoyed on two different occasions. Between the two stops I got to see a good portion of the Irish countryside and would enjoy seeing more.

 

Turning to Norway, we had several stops there. Each was pretty and a good visit. Given the resources to do so, I would be very happy to return to the same ports and maybe others in Norway. I had visited Eidfjord on the Voyage of the Vikings in 2017 and was pleased to return.

 

Visiting the Polynesian area is always nice. The islands are beautiful and the people are very nice. Between this World Cruise and a 2019 TransPacific I have visited several of the islands and enjoyed the visits. Most of the ports are great as cruise ports and many would stand alone as places to visit for several days by themselves.

 

Australia and New Zealand are both wonderful stops. As mentioned above I visited both in 2019 as well and I’m planning to visit again on the 2024 Grand Australia. Each visit was unique and very enjoyable.

 

The other major place we visited over the World Cruise was Africa. This was my first visit to Africa and it was very different. Cape Town was a very nice, modern city and was a good place to visit. On the other hand, Durban seemed to be very poor. In Durban I had a tour that took a group of us to a very local area and I was surprised at how the local people live. In Senegal we were not allowed to leave the ship, and supplies that were sitting in the port stayed there. Morocco seemed to be nice and I did enjoy Casablanca.

 

The European ports were all nice, several were places I had visited before and enjoyed the return visit.

 

 

[BetsyS.]

Rich - Thank you so much for your great reporting, beautiful pictures, menus and activities schedules.  I have friends to this day that I met on cruises in 1973 and 2002.

Enjoy the rest of your week. Safe travels home.  😊

Betsy

[richwmn]

May 8 – at sea destination Port Everglades, Fort Lauderdale, Florida

 

Yesterday I talked about the ports, today I will talk about the staff aboard Zuiderdam. With a few exceptions we have had the same people from the start. These are people that I have had direct dealing with or in the case of Captain Frank, at least the announcements each day.

 

Captain Frisco Kramer gezegd Freher

Captain Freher was in charge of Zuiderdam from the start until Cape Town. As I mentioned earlier, he was all over the ship and very easy to talk to. His announcements were fun and informative.

 

Captain Frank von der Hoeven

Captain von der Hoeven took over in Cape Town. I don’t see him out and about as much, but when I have seen him he does seem to be available.

 

Henk Mensink – Hotel General Manager

In the past the Hotel General Manager has been a position that I have been aware of but I don’t think that I could tell you who filled that position. Henk can be seen around the ship at all times of the day and evening and participates in the activities. At most ports he is one of the officers at the gangway greeting guests leaving the ship and sometimes those arriving back. He has mostly been easy to talk to.

 

Ian Page – Cruise & Travel Director

Ian is an interesting bloke. By title it seems that he is in charge of the entertainment staff but it seems that function belongs to someone else. Ian introduces each act on the World Stage and does a couple announcements each day. He has also done presentations on the World Stage. The presentations I attended were well done.

 

Manish Lopes – Assistant Hotel General Manager

This is another position that I have been aware of but I don’t think I have ever had any type of interaction this officer. Manish has been around the ship quite a bit and has been very easy to talk to. He generally greets me by name when we run into each other. He is one of the officers that has made this trip much better.

 

Neil Reilly – Future Cruise Consultant

In the past my only dealings with the FCC has been to purchase Future Cruise Deposits. In general I have had cruises already booked well into the future. I had occasion to talk to Neil several times this cruise and he handled my questions very well and I did book a cruise thru him that my Travel Agent has already acknowledged.

 

Ode & Fa – My current Cabin Attendants

When I changed cabins to begin the World Cruise, Ode & Fa became my cabin attendants. They have been very good about keeping my cabin clean, as well as the verandah. They have always been cheerful and have greeted me whenever they saw me anywhere on the ship.

 

Deni & Padi – My Holiday Cabin Attendants

I must also mention these two. For the first twelve days aboard Zuiderdam I had a different cabin with these two as my attendants. This is my third dealing with Deni and he has always been a very good worker. I was very happy to see him on the first day and a bit sad that he wouldn’t continue for the World. Padi was also very nice and easy to get along with and both did a very good job.

 

Mikie – Beverage Attendant

Most of my beverages have been in the Billboard bar. Mikie has been one of the attendants since I boarded the ship. He has also filled in at events in other bars such as the big final sail away. He has been very good about getting my drinks and snacks and very easy go get along with.

 

Edmund – Beverage Attendants

Edmund is also in the Billboard bar. He has also been very good about talking to my group and making sure we have everything we need.

 

Leo – Bartender

Leo is the bartender in Billboard and also the Lido bar during the afternoon. While I don’t generally deal with him directly, he always greets me when he sees me. He makes a good drink and is easy to talk to.

 

Rasheed – Bartender

Rasheed was the bartender in the Crow’s Nest during afternoon trivia on sea days. It didn’t take long for him to know that we would be there and have a space ready for my group when trivia was on the schedule. He was easy to talk to and was good at joking around with us. Unfortunately he left the ship in Oslo and the Crow’s Nest is not quite is good.

 

Sandra – Entertainment Supervisor

Sandra was the head of the Entertainment staff until I believe Cape Town. She was responsible for trivia and other activities. Her trivia sessions were fun and she was around during other activities and talked to my group regularly.

 

Simon – Entertainment Supervisor

Simon took over for Sandra and after a bit of getting used to he has been a good staff member. His trivia sessions are fun, but high might over emphasize Barbra Streisand. He also is easy to talk to during other activites.

 

Jessica – Entertainment Staff

Most of where I see Jessica is trivia, but she is part of other activities such as sailaway, the barn dance last night, game nights, and others. As with the other staff I have dealings with she talks with us and seems to enjoy her job.

 

Suzanna – Entertainment Staff

Suzanna is another trivia host and is also very good. She seems to enjoy the sessions. She is also at other activities encouraging the guests to participate.

 

Spencer – Sports Director (Entertainment Staff)

Spencer is a ‘jack of all trades’. He does trivia on some subjects, but also hosts things like shuffleboard, corn hole, bocce ball, and others. The activities he hosts are always fun and part of that is his attitude.

 

 

[richwmn]

Today's activities and menus

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[aliaschief]

Rich thanks for taking the time in sharing your great adventure. B.

[FlorenceItaly]

Thank you for sharing your wonderful adventure with us.  I can not believe it is already ending.

When you disembark we are embarking the lovely Zuiderdam for the TA to Rotterdam.

[zelker]

Hi, Rich -

 

Between what you've posted both here and on your Facebook page, we've gotten to "sail" along with you and thank you for sharing your grand adventure.  We board this Friday for the TA and British Isles (30 days, a far cry from your 143 days!) but are looking forward to being back onboard Zuiderdam.  Too bad timing for your disembarkation and our embarkation won't allow at least a quick hug. 

 

Welcome back to the real world and safe travels home. 

 

Barb & John

[richwmn]

Today's menus and activities. Today is the final Formal Night for the cruise

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[richwmn]

May 9 – at sea destination Port Everglades, Fort Lauderdale, Florida

 

Today’s trivia consisted of questions submitted by guests

 

1. According to a Disney song, how tall was Paul Bunyon?

2. Before London, what was the capital of England?

3. What TV show starred Johnny Weissmuller?

4. Which artist painted a private collection of porn which no one else saw?

5. What is the name given to the last living member of a species before extinction?

6. Who was the male villain in Pride and Prejudice?

7. Which medal was awarded to Malta in WWII and appears on it’s flag?

8. What country is William Shatner from?

9. Who lived at 79 Wistful Vista?

10. Who is considered to be the father of geometry?

11. What was the only thing worn by Eric Shultie?

12. What is the first name of KFCs Colonel Sanders?

13. Before decimalization what was the difference between 1 guenia and 1 pound?

14. Which has more edges, a octahedron or a hexahedron?

15. What is the southernmost country in Scandinavia?

16. Who were the first couple to be show sharing a bed on prime time TV?

17. What part in a CD player has the same role as a stylus in a record player?

18. Which sport is played over 5 days with breaks for lunch and tea?

19. In 1979 Evelyn Walker was the first woman to run 100 meters in under how many seconds?

20. Who played Michael Knight in Knight Rider?

Bonus: What is the diameter and thickness of a hocky puck?

[LouChamp]

Aloha . So enjoying your reviews and pictures and menus. Perhwhen you are home you can still post daily and include your dinner menu😂 All the best.

[richwmn]

34 minutes ago, LouChamp said:

Perhwhen you are home you can still post daily and include your dinner menu

I post daily as the Fleet Report and Daily with a suggested meal. My actual meals are not noteworthy

[travelnap]

Rich, Thank you for taking us all along with you on your voyage.  I have enjoyed your travels from the comfort of home.