San Diego to Montreal in 134 Days

[richwmn]

April 15^th, 2024 – at sea, destination Panama Canaletto

 

This morning we are off the coast of Panama and it is a beautiful day. Tomorrow morning we will enter the Panama Canal for the transit to the Caribbean Sea and Fort Lauderdale. The transit and the canal is always a wonderful sight. We are currently headed Southeast at 14 knots. The temperature is 82°F / 28°C under scattered clouds. The humidity is 69% and the winds are a little over 10mph.

 

 

Yesterday was a nice, but hot day in Costa Rica. Puntarenus is a nice port town. While the walk from the ship is rather long, it is not really too bad. Once we got into town there was a rather large market set up, with vendors selling cigars, jewelry, and clothing. Everything appeared to be well made. I didn’t inquire about prices but of course was told ‘best prices anywhere’.

 

Back on the ship, we had our normal trivia sessions at 1pm and 4pm. I didn’t attend the 7pm ‘Music’ session because I didn’t want to miss any of the stage show. While we didn’t win the trivia sessions, we did well. The 4pm session had a theme of ‘Beverages’, and we talked before about how broad a topic that is. The questions were moderately hard and no one got a perfect score.

 

 

 

 

 

We changed our clocks again last night so we are in sync with Panama. We are still one hour off Fort Lauderdale and the east coast. Only six more days until the end of this segment. Here are today’s activities and menus --

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ATC]

What time do you enter the 1st locks Tuesday?

[richwmn]

7 hours ago, ATC said:

What time do you enter the 1st locks Tuesday?

Estimated times:

Miraflores -- 7:30am

Gatun -- 1:10pm

Panama Time is 1 hour earlier than eastern

 

https://multimedia.panama-canal.com/Webcams/miraflores.html

 

Edited April 16 by richwmn

[richwmn]

April 16^th, 2024 – Panama Canal Day

 

It is very late in the day, as there is something going on starting very early. We started our approach to the first lock at 6:30 this morning, and quite a bit has been happening all day. I don’t have the temperatures for this morning, but it has been hot and humid. At 2:30 in the afternoon it is 84°F / 28°C, a bit cooler than I thought. The screen says light rain, but I haven’t seen it. Humidity is 68% and 10mph winds. We are currently not moving, waiting for the lock to clear with a slightly North heading.

 

 

Typical trivias yesterday. We did well on the earlier session and better on the late session with a theme of “Food” and a good selection of questions for each. Last night I finally ate in the Main Dining Room, sorry no pictures. I had a nice salad, salmon, and a dessert. The food was good and the company was nice. The meal took about an hour, so not too bad.

 

After dinner I went to the show in the World Stage. This was a show I was looking forward to. The performer was Elliot Finkel, a piano player / humorist that I have seen several times in the past on other ships. His brother, Ian, who passed away a few years ago was also a staple on HAL ships and was very good. His father, Fyvush Finkel, was an accomplished actor most known for the show “Picket Fences”. True to form, Elliot put on a very good show last night, and I enjoyed it tremendously.

 

As I said, this morning started at 6:30. The bow of the ship was opened and plenty of people were out there taking pictures of the approach to Miraflores Locks and the Bridge of the Americas. We entered the locks around 7:30 and it was again a very good experience. Shortly after leaving Miraflores, we went thru the Pedro Miguel Locks. During this time we also went under the Centennial Bridge.

 

For the next few hours we passed thru the actual canal portion of the trip. It is very scenic and is a good place to sit and watch the world go by. We are currently in the Gatun Locks, ready to make our way into the Caribbean Sea.

 

Well, it is late in the evening and I’m finally getting this posted. It has been a long, but mostly good day. Activities and menus are here –

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 17 by richwmn

[richwmn]

April 18^th, 2024 – Cartagena, Columbia

 

Today we are still a couple of hours away from our stop at Cartagena. I was here once before and it is another container port with a shuttle provided. It is currently 86°F / 30°C under scattered clouds with the humidity at 74% and 9 mph winds. The ship is moving North at 3 knots.

 

 

Yesterday was a busy day going thru the Panama Canal. I posted the Canal images yesterday, so scroll up to view them. I would always like for a Canal transit to include a port day in Panama, but it generally does not happen. I have been fortunate to have Fuerte Amador as a stop twice and would enjoy another stop.

 

Because of the Canal transit, the early trivia was not scheduled. The 4 pm session was themed ‘Panama Canal’ and my team did well without me. I was by the Sea View Bar taking a few pictures, and reliving memories. I passed on the late trivia again because I didn’t want to miss the first few minutes of the first show.

 

Speaking of the show, the ‘Grand Voyage Repertory Company’ (AKA Volendam Singers and Dancers) for a reprise of their show ‘Boogie Wonderland’. The group has been a very welcome addition to the past few months and have always put on a good, energetic show. They are all good dancers, and the singers have good voices. The entire troupe puts a lot into their performance and also seems to enjoy themselves.

 

 

 

This morning we are proceeding to Cartagena, and a late afternoon / evening stop before Half Moon Cay and our turnaround day in Fort Lauderdale. Here are today’s activities and menus –

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[CGinMTL]

Hello rich

Thanks for sharing

Btw. You are off sync with the dates

( World travel / you have crossed the international date line too often hihi )

.

Also, wanted to know how you are feeling 

With 3 weeks left to this great adventure.

 

 

[richwmn]

April 18^th, 2024 – at sea, destination Half Moon Cay, Bahamas

 

Welcome to the second version of April 18^th. It is my 118^th day aboard Volendam. As many of you know, it is difficult to keep track of the day of the week, let alone day of the month on long cruises. HAL assists us by placing mats in each elevator showing the day of the week. It won’t be too long until I finally disembark from Volendam and have to head home.

 

 

Yesterday was an interesting day. I had previously stopped in Cartagena in October, 2014 on Zuiderdam (I didn’t realize it was so long ago). That was at the end of a reposition from Vancouver to Fort Lauderdale. At that time I looked off the ship and just didn’t quite feel like entering the city so I stayed aboard. Several people mentioned the bird sanctuary near the port so I determined to at least see that. Also, I saw enough of Daniel’s presentation to know that there were taxi’s at a reasonable price. Armed with that, I left the ship and took the shuttle to the entrance. I was very pleased to find that the exit to the city included a walk thru the bird sanctuary. It was as good as people had said.

 

I got to the end where the cab drivers were waiting, and after a short conversation I found one that was willing to do a one hour ride into the city for a price I agreed on. I am very glad I did it. Cartagena is a nice visit and a study in contrasts. Like many cities there are sections that are new and upgraded, while other areas look like they haven’t been touched for years. I got to see a little of both.

 

I arrived back in time to participate in the 4pm trivia, with the theme of ‘Games’ and was concerned with the board games we have all played. As a group we didn’t feel that we would do very well, but the questions favored us and we did manage to win after a tie breaker.

 

The evening show in the World Stage was the second show by Mario D’Andrea. He did another nice show featuring hits of Tom Jones, Elvis, and others of the same era. He is an excellent singer and guitar player. It was another good show.

 

 

This morning is a nice smooth ride on the Caribbean. We are headed for our last stop on this segment, Half Moon Cay on the 20^th. Then off to Fort Lauderdale to change out most of the Guests for new ones. I know that there are a few other than me that are staying aboard.

 

Today’s activities and menus –

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 18 by richwmn

[richwmn]

April 19^th, 2024 – at sea, destination Half Moon Cay, Bahamas

 

Today is our last sea day for this segment. We should arrive at Half Moon Cay tomorrow morning for a nice beach day before heading to Fort Lauderdale to exchange Guests. We are currently headed in a northerly direction at 14 knots and are between Cuba and the Dominican Republic. Under clear skies, the temperature is currently 79°F / 26°C, the humidity is 69% and the winds are at 20mph. The ship is experiencing a little bit of motion this morning.

 

 

So yesterday was a sea day and went well. I had a few things to do in the morning. We had a meeting yesterday to present medallions, and there were quite a few to present. Our Captain, Rens Van Eerten, and our Hotel Manager, Florin Dragomir, have a great deal of fun with these ceremonies. This occurred at 12:30 and we were all invited to the Main Dining Room for a lunch. My entire trivia team was in attendance and all but one, who was actually presented a medallion, went to the 1pm trivia instead.

 

By the time we got to the Mix for trivia, all the seats were filled. We asked Cliff to put the questions on the screens in the bar area, but he was reluctant to do so. We ended up joining a nice lady who was sitting alone. We did well and enjoyed the session. The 4pm session consisted of all True and False questions. We got more right than we expected.

 

On the World Stage last evening we had the piano talents of Elliot Finkle. As I mentioned the other day, he is a talented pianist and very good speaker. He played a variety of songs, with a story about each. It was an interesting time in the World Stage.

 

 

Last night was the Orange Party in the Crows Nest. The Ocean Bar played to a packed house. The bar hop was also held, ending in the crows nest for the rest of the evening. Many people had various pieces of orange clothing on to participate in the festivities, and many had on orange wigs. Everyone seemed to be having a good time.

 

Last night we did our final time change, so we are now on Eastern time to match Fort Lauderdale. Here we have today’s activities and menus –

 

 

 

Daniel

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 19 by richwmn

[POA1]

I cross-posted this from the fleet report, but you are really lucky to have Half Moon Cay to yourselves today. We were there two weeks ago. Both the Rotterdam and the Nieuw Statendam at the same time.

 

To say it was crowded is a bit of an understatement. Your visit is probably a lot more like the first time I was there and it was just the Maasdam.

 

Have a great day, and we look forward to waving at you as you sail out tomorrow!

[richwmn]

April 20^th, 2024 – Half Moon Cay, Bahamas

 

This is the last stop on the Canal Transit Cruise. I heard this morning that around 65 Guests are continuing on to Montreal, and I believe that cruise is sold out as well. That mean that around 1,350 Guests checking in tomorrow morning. Another good day to stay on the ship.

 

 

 

 

 

So for weather today, we have clear skies and a temperature of 73°F / 23°C. The humidity is 71% and winds at 10.4 mph. Looks like a beautiful day for the beach at Half Moon Cay.

 

Yesterday we had a lot going on. We started out with the final time change of the cruise. Some of the highlights begin with the presentation “A City on the Sea”, which is a look at the construction and operation of a ship. The ship shown under construction is Rotterdam VII. Trivia was challenging, and we did well with both sessions. The World Stage presentation was “Classique” by the Volendam Singers and Dancers. The troupe was in very good form last night and the show was really good. This was a repeat from the Grand Voyage, and might have been performed a little better this time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We arrived on time this morning, anchors being dropped around 6am, and tenders available starting around 7. It looks to be a great day at Half Moon Cay, and also aboard Volendam. Today’s activities and menus –

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[richwmn]

April 21^st, 2024 – Fort Lauderdale, Florida – Turnaround Day!

 

In a short time Volendam will zero down Guests and a new cruise will begin. I have had a good time so far and expect it to continue. Half my trivia team is continuing on, so we will be recruiting three new players.

 

It is currently 72°F / 22°C with 83% humidity and no wind according to the ship. Local forecast says 76°F and increasing to 85°F at 1pm.

 

 

 

It is 7:31, and Daniel is already calling for self-assist passengers to start leaving the ship. At 9:15 the returning Guests who are not leaving the ship are to report to the Wajang Theater to do the immigration thing. When we are finished with that, we will return to the empty ship and the new Guests will start boarding shortly after.

 

Last night was a normal final cruise night. Lots of goodbyes, and changing of information. One of the people I said goodbye to was a trivia partner for the last 109 days. He is also a Fort Lauderdale resident, so he has a short journey home. The other trivia partners that are leaving were for the last 15 days and are flying back to their home in San Diego. We won the last general trivia at 1pm, and just missed the final themed trivia, ‘Languages’, at 3pm. I have had a good run so far at trivia on this cruise.

 

After trivia the final bingo was at $2,700 or so. I bought a ticket for the free cruise lottery, then decided to play bingo – not a normal thing for me. The bingo package was for four games and a scratch off ticket. The scratch off ticket got me a $5 free play chip in the casino, the bingo got me zilch. The bingo package was $39, so I spent $59 on ‘gambling’ last night.

 

On the World Stage last night we had comedian Adam Yenser. Talking at trivia, no one could remember seeing him before. He was listed as being a comedian and Emmy Award winner, and a former writer for Ellen DeGeneres. His comedy was uneven and didn’t say too much about Ellen. It could be that he never got in his groove, but all he got were a few polite laughs.

 

 

I need to wrap this up because the internet is going away shortly for an upgrade of sorts.

 

Today’s activities --

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 21 by richwmn

[POA1]

I'm not sure which pixel is you, unless you are on the port side in which case there's another pixel in front of you. 😃

 

 

 

 

[POA1]

Hope I got you on the zoom. I should have pulled out my real camera and tripod. These are phone pix.

 

[POA1]

One more

 

 

[richwmn]

@POA1 You got where I sat for most of the afternoon, but Jacqui came and got me as they had a space a bit forward. PTV got us

 

from left, someone Jacqui met, Debbie, Jacqui, me

 

[POA1]

Oh well. If you run into any of the people you were standing by earlier, you can tell them I have their picture. 😁

[richwmn]

April 22^nd, 2024 – at sea, destination Newport, RI

 

Back in the sea day routine. Early breakfast and a nice relaxing day. This morning we are proceeding North along the US coast, currently off Savannah, GA. Our bearing is North and we are moving at 16 knots. On the Sea View Pool deck it was sprinkling a little while ago, but not bad. The tv weather is showing broken clouds and a temperature of 72°F / 22°C with a humidity of 74% and winds at 12 mph.

 

 

Yesterday was turn around day in Fort Lauderdale. It appeared that most of the ‘In Transit’ Guests took the option to stay on the ship and there were about 50 or so people in the Wajang Theater. Once all the disembarking Guests left the ship, and several had to be reminded as always, we proceeded to the terminal for our immigration scanning. That went smoothly, but again we had to wait for one Guest to show up so the ship could have a zero Guest count and we could return to the ship. He did finally show up and once he did we returned to the ship.

 

It was again very nice to be on the ship for a little while with almost no other Guests. A little after 11am the new Guests started arriving with their hand luggage. The cabins were ready about 11:30 and the ship settled down a bit. The Lido restaurant was open about the time the new Guests boarded the ship.

 

Sail Away was originally scheduled for 3pm but was closer to 4pm. Just prior I was able to meet @kazu Jacqui and we manned the rail for Sail Away together. It was nice finally meeting her after working together on various CC projects over the years. I also got to see some other friends that I knew would be boarding.

 

Last night on the World Stage was a presentation of ‘Origin Story’, which I watched several cruises ago. While it is a nice presentation, I didn’t feel the need to watch it again. Everyone seemed to be in a good mood again, so the night went well.

 

Today is full of activities, including some special ones not on the Daily sheet. There is a Captain’s Reception for 4* and above at 11am, and a Wine Tasting at 2pm. Here are the general activities and menus –

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[POA1]

Hi, Rich. Brian from tech support here. Did turning off MAC randomization help with the login issue?

 

If it did, we can close out your trouble ticket. If not, we will have to escalate to someone with a greater understanding of networking.

 

Thanks!

[richwmn]

8 hours ago, POA1 said:

Hi, Rich. Brian from tech support here. Did turning off MAC randomization help with the login issue?

 

If it did, we can close out your trouble ticket. If not, we will have to escalate to someone with a greater understanding of networking.

 

Thanks!

Yes, it seems to have taken care of things, thanks for checking back.

[richwmn]

April 23, 2024 – at sea, destination Newport, RI

 

Good morning from a rocky Volendam. The ride North so far has been rougher than I remember from my previous relocation trips from Fort Lauderdale to Montreal. Or my memories could be thru rose colored glasses.

 

Volendam is currently headed North and a bit East and we are currently near the North Carolina Virgina boarder. We are due into Newport tomorrow at 7 am for a short stay. The temperature is currently 55°F / 13°C under broken clouds. The winds are just under 29 mph and the humidity is 55%.

 

 

For the most part of the day yesterday the ship had quite a bit of motion. We did have a full slate of activities and everything was well attended. Trivia was well attended and the questions were difficult.

 

At 11am the Captain held the first of two Mariner receptions and I had a chance to talk to Jacqui and Debbie, along with Jim and Catherine. The reception had good attendence and everyone got a drink or two. After the Mariner reception we had lunch.

 

After the 1 pm trivia session I headed to the Cruise Critic Meet and Greet. The event was well attended and HAL provided the usual water, tea, and cookies. We all introduced ourselves and several announcements were made. We then had some time to meet the other CC members. It is always nice to talk to the people we have chatted with on line for a while.

 

Last night the World Stage show was scheduled to be the Singers and Dancers. Due to the ship’s motion that show was delayed until tonight and Elliott Finkel took the stage for his second show instead. He always does a good show and I’m sure he did last night as well, but I felt like a movie night so I stayed in. If the sea state co-operates we will have the Singers and Dancers tonight.

 

Today’s activities and menus –

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[POA1]

3 hours ago, richwmn said:

Yes, it seems to have taken care of things, thanks for checking back.

You're very welcome! The National Institute of Cheer is very focused on customer satisfaction. That's why we would have given you your money back if we couldn't help. 😁

[clueless2]

3 hours ago, POA1 said:

You're very welcome! The National Institute of Cheer is very focused on customer satisfaction. That's why we would have given you your money back if we couldn't help. 😁

I thought it was double your money back.

[richwmn]

April 24^th, 2024 – Newport, RI

 

A quick note before leaving on an excursion – “The Mansions of Newport”

 

 

 

Today’s activities and menus

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[richwmn]

April 24^th, 2024 – Newport, RI

 

It has been an interesting morning. But first, lets see about yesterday. It was a good day at sea yesterday. For what it is worth, the current trivia host is not, in my opinion, as good as we had on the Grand. The questions are fine, and we have done well. It just isn’t as much fun for me. Add to that, he doesn’t finish the 7pm trivia in time to make the 7:30 show as happened on the Grand.

 

Last night the World Stage show was ‘The Volendam Repertory Company’ in ‘Guitar Rock’, a show that keeps moving and is very good. This was the third time I have seen the show, and it was still good. We will have three more shows by this troupe before they leave in Quebec City.

 

After a good night’s sleep and a good breakfast I reported to the World Stage to join a HAL excursion for Newport. We were to report at 8:00am and tender together for a start time of 8:45 at the pier. We received our stickers, orange 21, and shortly after 8am we were called to go to the tender area. The tour organizer had the busses parked very close to the tender dock, and we took off right on time. Our guide was very knowledgeable about the area and his commentary was very good. We saw many majestic houses from the bus, until we arrived at one named ‘The Elms’. Here we were allowed to exit the bus and tour the house and grounds for about an hour. This house is very nice and the staff has done a great job of staging it for the visitors. After we left the house, it was back to the tenders and back on the ship around noon. It was a very pleasant day in Newport.

 

[clueless2]

Thanks for taking your time to document your travels.  I've followed since the beginning.