2024 Grand World Voyage with The Inside Cabin

[sandiego1]

I have been using the Windows app. But I need to do 1 photo at a time and then save it as a new jpg. I was hoping to find a tool to use that can resize all photos in a folder. I'll check out the link. Thanks for your help!

[The-Inside-Cabin]

Just now, sandiego1 said:

I have been using the Windows app. But I need to do 1 photo at a time and then save it as a new jpg. I was hoping to find a tool to use that can resize all photos in a folder. I'll check out the link. Thanks for your help!

Yes - lightroom can resize everything in a folder all at once.   There is a free trial for lightroom, but if all you want to do is bulk resize - then lightroom is overkill.  You can probably find one of the free options I linked to that will do the same thing.   One advantage of Lightroom is that with such a huge user base, it's easy to find helpful videos and other stuff.   You can also use Lightroom to catalog your photos - track them etc....even on an external drive.   

[The-Inside-Cabin]

[CNSJ]

2 hours ago, The-Inside-Cabin said:

Is that for the current segment or those dong the entire WC?  1154 folks on a Vista Class is pretty empty!

[The-Inside-Cabin]

2 minutes ago, CNSJ said:

Is that for the current segment or those dong the entire WC?  1154 folks on a Vista Class is pretty empty!

Current segment.   Plus 61 folks not included whose nationality was not recorded.  So guest count is 1215.  Still light.   

[Wehwalt]

In Tobago, by the way, we had a two hour tour (four people) for $60. That was just the offered price. There was only one goat at the goat races when we got there so it probably paid to go later in the day.

[Bill B]

26 minutes ago, Wehwalt said:

There was only one goat at the goat races when we got there...

 

What sort of odds were they giving?

[Wehwalt]

9 hours ago, Bill B said:

 

What sort of odds were they giving?

10-1 against the passenger (not us) who took it on.

[WriterOnDeck]

22 hours ago, sandiego1 said:

Pete - do you condense your photos before posting them? What tool do you use? 

I'm not Pete :-), but I use an app called Compress Photos & Pictures. It is free, I believe, and works well. I put the photos I want to compress into a folder in Photos (I'm using an iPhone), and then open compress, select all the photos in that file, and compress in a few seconds. You can set the level of compression -- I aim for around 500 kb. I set the photo quality scale for "great - 90%" and photo dimensions for 35% and that is what I then put in my blog. Hope this helps!

[sandiego1]

2 hours ago, WriterOnDeck said:

I'm not Pete :-), but I use an app called Compress Photos & Pictures. It is free, I believe, and works well. I put the photos I want to compress into a folder in Photos (I'm using an iPhone), and then open compress, select all the photos in that file, and compress in a few seconds. You can set the level of compression -- I aim for around 500 kb. I set the photo quality scale for "great - 90%" and photo dimensions for 35% and that is what I then put in my blog. Hope this helps!

Thanks Jo! 

[The-Inside-Cabin]

A TASTE OF TAMARIND (POST #11) 8 JAN 24

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We enjoy a day at sea with a Taste of Tamarind in the evening

COFFEE CHAT

Executive Housekeeper Shiv was the guest at Coffee Chat.  He introduced all his principal assistants.  Shiv mentioned that due to the variation in crewmembers’ contract lengths it was impossible to handpick a world cruise housekeeping team as they had in the past.

Shiv was described by Kimberly as a man who “knows how to get things” like Red from the movie Shawshank Redemption Shiv introduced his management team

A TASTE OF TAMARIND

Throughout the cruise, there will be about thirty special pop-up dinners in the Pinnacle Grill.   Here is the list

The first pop-up of the cruise, A Taste of Tamarind, was held this evening, and we joined our fellow Californians Alan and Sharon in the Pinnacle Grill.

Alan, Sharon, Judy and Pete

Here is the menu

The food was all delicious – especially the steak which I highly recommend

WASABI & SOY CRUSTED BEEF TENDERLOIN

FRIED RICE

CHINESE FIVE SPICE BABY BACK RIBS

DRAGON ROLL

WORLD STAGE

Dave and Dawn Meyer performed on the World Stage this evening.  Dave plays the Xylosynth, a combination of a Xylophone and a synthesizer, while Dawn dances alongside in darkness while twirling an illuminated cape and wands.

Dave Meyer playing the Xylosynth Dawn Meyer dancing with her illuminated cape

Dave performed a variety of songs including Teenage Wasteland, Saint Thomas and the Orange Blossom Special.

[julia]

Whaaaat?!  Three onion rings on the wasabi crusted tenderloin??  Must be a GWC thing! 😲😅

[The-Inside-Cabin]

11 minutes ago, julia said:

Whaaaat?!  Three onion rings on the wasabi crusted tenderloin??  Must be a GWC thing! 😲😅

How many do you usually get?   

[julia]

Just now, The-Inside-Cabin said:

How many do you usually get?   

In the actual Tamarind... one, only one, only EVER one! 🥴

[Bill B]

2 minutes ago, The-Inside-Cabin said:

How many do you usually get?   

 

Four*

 

* Not applicable to Grand Voyages or voyages of three days or less.

 

[The-Inside-Cabin]

14 minutes ago, Bill B said:

 

Four*

 

* Not applicable to Grand Voyages or voyages of three days or less.

 

 

19 minutes ago, julia said:

In the actual Tamarind... one, only one, only EVER one! 🥴

Check - I'm on it - I'll get to the bottom of this pronto!   Maybe it's based on the number of Mariner Stars?   I know I should have worn my 5-star pin!

[oakridger]

8 hours ago, julia said:

In the actual Tamarind... one, only one, only EVER one! 🥴

 

Last time in Tamarind I asked for a couple more onion rings with my filet and the chefs happily (I hope!) provided them!

 

~Nancy

[The-Inside-Cabin]

Not too surprising .....

[iflyrc5]

20 hours ago, oakridger said:

 

Last time in Tamarind I asked for a couple more onion rings with my filet and the chefs happily (I hope!) provided them!

 

~Nancy

I have done the same thing - I have had better but they are good.

[The-Inside-Cabin]

SWIMMING ON DEVILS ISLAND (POST #12) 9 JAN 2024

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On our second trip to Devil’s Island we walk around the eastern coast to get to the Hôtel Iles du Salut

THE SALVATION ISLANDS

The cruise itinerary lists Devil’s Island, French Guinea, as our destination, but to be accurate, we never set foot on Devil’s Island, only the nearby Royal Island with a view of Devil’s Island.

Devil’s Island is one of the three Salvation Islands (Iles du Salut) about 10 miles off the coast of French Guinea.  The three islands are Ile Royale, the largest and where we will land, Ile Saint Joseph, and Devil’s Island, which is off-limits to visitors.  The Salvation Islands were part of the French penal system and were in use from 1852 until 1953.  This is the location featured in the book and movie Papillon.

TENDERING

Our second port of the World Cruise was our first tender port.  Tender tickets are required for all guests except those in Neptune/Pinnacle Suites or the Presidents Club, who can show their key card instead of a tender ticket.  On our 2020 and 2023 World Cruises, tender tickets were distributed in two locations:  the Rolling Stone Lounge (4 and 5 stars) and Billboard Onboard  (3 stars and below).  More tickets were called from the Rolling Stone lounge, so the 4/5 stars still got priority.  On this cruise, there is only one spot for tender tickets, and 4/5 stars don’t get any priority.  Most of the tender ports on this cruise are not high-priority ports (like Easter Island), and with over 80% of the ship four stars or above, running a priority system created additional complexity for not much benefit.  We’ll see if there is any pushback that may force a return to the process of past cruises.

Open tendering was called at about 10:30 am.

We relaxed in our cabin until 2 pm, headed down to Deck A, and waited about 5 minutes for the following tender with 5 passengers.  Most passengers were already back on the ship when we went ashore.

The tender ride was about 10 minutes.

The tender pier is located behind the red star The tenders moor to a floating platform, connected to a jetty by a gangway

EXPLORING THE ISLAND

Once ashore, we headed down the path on the east side of the island.

Holland America Refreshment tents This is the map the ship provided in 2020, which was better than the map we received today – copy HERE.  We took the green route today.  Back in 2020, we walked the yellow route. If you turn left from the tender pier, you will face a choice of three different routes to the summit and the Hotel The trails were dry, and the weather was warm but not blistering

We came across the old workshop and then the slaughterhouse before we turned inland.

Abandoned Workshop

The swimming area was about 50 yards down a path that opened onto flat rocks next to the water.  About 1/2 dozen tourists were swimming.  They jumped off the rocks into the deep water and then climbed out using the steps.

The water was warm, about 85 degrees, and over 10 feet deep Most of the swimmers jumped in the water and then used these steps to climb out These French tourists gave us the details on the swimming situation

Continuing on, we headed up a switchback path with some steps that led to the top of the island and the hotel.

The hotel gift shop and restaurant were closed, but we got 2 Coke ZEROS for 9 Euros.  As I pulled out my bag of euros, the front desk clerk spotted all my Euro coins, and he wanted to buy them all as he had a hard time getting change.

The desk clerk was happy to buy my Euro coins

BACK TO THE SHIP

The path back to the ship took about twenty-five minutes, but we slowed for some of the steeper stairs.  The last tender was 4 PM, and we arrived with about 5 minutes to spare.

These Terns were on a railing near the tender landing

SAIL AWAY

The Zuiderdam Grand World Voyage Band played during the sail away while the waiters passed out snacks and served drinks.

 

WORLD STAGE

 

Comedian Sid Davis was very funny and put on a wonderful show

[The-Inside-Cabin]

On 1/11/2024 at 4:08 PM, julia said:

Whaaaat?!  Three onion rings on the wasabi crusted tenderloin??  Must be a GWC thing! 😲😅

 

On 1/11/2024 at 4:22 PM, julia said:

In the actual Tamarind... one, only one, only EVER one! 🥴

 

On 1/11/2024 at 4:27 PM, Bill B said:

 

Four*

 

* Not applicable to Grand Voyages or voyages of three days or less.

 

 

On 1/11/2024 at 4:43 PM, The-Inside-Cabin said:

 

Check - I'm on it - I'll get to the bottom of this pronto!   Maybe it's based on the number of Mariner Stars?   I know I should have worn my 5-star pin!

 

On 1/12/2024 at 1:10 AM, oakridger said:

 

Last time in Tamarind I asked for a couple more onion rings with my filet and the chefs happily (I hope!) provided them!

 

~Nancy

 

Per my confidential and inside sources - the correct number per the recipe card is THREE

 

 

[sandiego1]

On 1/12/2024 at 2:12 PM, The-Inside-Cabin said:

Not too surprising .....

On the 2023WC, we got a similar list. We were told that in addition to paying passengers, the list included people that were non paying people such as the lecturers, dancers, entertainers, arts& crafts, and others that weren’t directly employed by HAL. 

[The-Inside-Cabin]

A short video as we entered the Amazon River

 

 

[The-Inside-Cabin]

 
We are on the HAL tour Best of Manaus 

 

Edited January 14 by The-Inside-Cabin

[*Miss G*]

Curious:  What is the medallion the people in the pics are holding?  (Which I think is a great idea, btw.)