Join us, Bill and Mary Ann, on our 128 day epic journey around the world in 2009

[matondo]

Thank you for the time you spend writing and posting. It is so nice to hear about warm weather. We had snow, then 1/2 inch of ice and now it is snowing on top of it all. It is so bad even "The Ohio State University" is closed today. Why did I take our cruise in early December instead of now?

[WCB]

Report # 25 January 26, 2009 Day at Sea # 1

 

This morning we noticed a big change in the weather...........it was warmer and more humid even at 8 am. Fewer walkers were out on the promenade, and those that were, bailed inside after three laps or one mile. Can't say we blamed them!

 

When we went for breakfast in the dining room this morning, we had remembered a funny thing that happened on the 2007 world cruise. After receiving our orders of bacon and eggs, I went to use the pepper, the lid came off, dumping the entire contents all over my food! Now if we were at home in a restaurant, we would suspect a teenager would be laughing around the corner somewhere. No kids in sight here, so how did this happen? The waiter replaced my meal,and mentioned that he often sees older folks taking off the lids, because they can't see the pepper coming out. Then they fail to close it correctly. OK, that makes sense now. So with that in mind, Bill checked the pepper shaker, and guess what?? Yep, the lid fell off. Must have been ESP!! So now we check both shakers every day.

 

We are guessing that the biggest complaint of the day was the lack of satellite TV since we left Hawaii. It was the headline story on the daily newsletter. It went into great detail how this system works or doesn't work. That should help stop all of the phone calls of complaints to the front desk, we bet.

 

A guest chef, Mr. Recipe, also known as Aaron Isaacson, has begun his culinary demonstrations, some complimentary, and others $39. for hands-on cooking classes. He is a "social butterfly", because we see him everywhere on the ship happily talking to the passengers. He sports a waxed mustache that takes off in a "v" formation, reminding us of a dastardly cartoon character! He does know his spices though.

 

Joe Kess, an exploration speaker, gave a talk on language, specifically Hawaiian words. Who would guess that his talk was really interesting? We always catch these speeches on our room TV.

 

There is a new twist for bingo. They are giving the passengers a chance to win Pinnacle Grill lunches. The price is right at $10. a person, we think. We may have to try lunch one day in there.

 

While walking through the ship, we ran into Lyn Peacefull, the prettier half of the Crow's Nest band at cocktail time. She remembered us from the 2008 world cruise, and the fun we had with our group while enjoying our drinks and treats. Only three of us are here this year, and she wondered how the rest of the gang were doing. For one reason or another, many of the repeat passengers chose to go elsewhere this year. A sign of the times, we fear. Maybe they will be back next year.

 

Barbie was back to the table tonight, after joining her buddies from past cruises. Sounded like they had a great time touring Hilo and Honolulu with Dwayne, who happens to live here.

 

We got sort of a gift tonight. It was a travel health booklet, describing the many serious ailments travelers can get while away from home. It gave some great information on how to avoid getting sick. Most of us came prepared with malarial pills, antibiotics, and insect repellant. There will be many ports that will require medication, the main areas will be in Africa. Better safe, than sorry!

 

The best gift we got tonight was the change of the clocks......one hour back. Yes!

 

One day down, and six more to go....that is seadays!

 

Mary Ann & Bill

[DizzyDallasDi]

Hello Mary Ann and Bill - I am so enthralled by the wonderful recollections of your fabulous voyage! I have been dreaming of a similar trip and I hope to be on one soon. Traveling by commercial air to see the world is just too time consuming, not to mention a total hassle, for my likes. My love of the sea and enjoying a commonality with my traveling companions is a big draw for me. I vow to be walking in your shoes (er, flip flops) very soon. Maybe we'll be on the same voyage...the first round at the Crow's Nest is on me!

 

Diane

[Johnny B]

Hi Bill and MaryAnn,

Isn't it fun to have a birthday onboard? John had his last February, and then I had mine during the repositioning cruise in October. You're right - they really don't let you forget about your birthday!

 

We've loved following your blog and will continue to do so. We remember how faithfully we read it in 2007, gleaning information for our WC in 2008. It's also great to hear about old friends. I'm glad Barbie and Martha got to meet with Dwayne. We heard a lot about him last year, but we've never met him. We really do miss table 309; I bet it's as loud and as much fun as it was in 2008.

 

Keep up the good work, and we'll keep reading. At least we don't have the cold weather that a lot of folks write about, but Susie and Woody had a day with 20 degrees, including wind chill. I guess for some parts of the country, that's a warm day, but here on the Central Coast, we're seeing global warming at its best - 75 tomorrow.

 

Thanks for taking all of us along with you.

John and Diane

[HALFans]

There is a new twist for bingo. They are giving the passengers a chance to win Pinnacle Grill lunches. The price is right at $10. a person, we think. We may have to try lunch one day in there.

 

I'm confused. I thought $10.00 was the regular Lunch price at Pinnacle Grill? How much does the chance cost?

[ColumbiaSC]

Again I ask, has anyone seen the wonderful man who does needle point work on the Rotterdam? He was on the Farewell World Cruise of the marvelous QE2 and often sits in public areas and does his fantastic work.

 

Don.

[CroneWynd]

Again I ask, has anyone seen the wonderful man who does needle point work on the Rotterdam? He was on the Farewell World Cruise of the marvelous QE2 and often sits in public areas and does his fantastic work.

 

Don.

WCB already said that they have not seen him onboard, and they have looked for him.

 

Why are you obsessed about it?

[HALFans]

WCB already said that they have not seen him onboard, and they have looked for him.

 

And I might add that it won't do much good for us READING these posts to look for him either. ;)

 

I certainly haven't seen him sitting around East Mesa, Arizona...

 

(I hope wherever he is, he is well.)

[DFD1]

Anyone else interesting sitting around East Mesa?

[Johnny B]

C'mon, guys, be nice.

[WCB]

Report # 26 January 27, 2009 Tuesday Day at Sea # 2 and Report # 27 January 27, 2009 Day at Sea # 3

 

Today started out to be hot, hot, hot!! As we baked in the sun by the back pool, we had to laugh at how we complained about the chilly breeze we had on our way to Hawaii. Now we could use some of that breeze! The most important thing we have to do is keep slathering on the sunscreen, and drink. We brought some of those little drink packets with us from home. You know the ones that you add to bottled water to make lemonade and ice tea? We just fill our insulated bottles with ice, and add the lemonade. It's so refreshing and zero calories to boot. The bar staff will offer the crowd ice water or real lemonade when it gets really hot outside, which is nice. We have noticed that since the Panama Canal group left, the bar servers have stopped pushing drinks around the pool. In fact, we have seen only one couple order bloody Marys. That is one thing we like about the HAL staff on the grand voyages. They treat the passengers differently, since we are on for a much longer time.....that is, no pressure.

 

We missed the kitchen tour, but we have been to many before. It's amazing to see the clean and orderly kitchen where 6,000 meals are prepared daily. That's a whole lot of food!!

 

The Explorations speaker was Joe Rosenthal, a pediatrician, among other roles, from Kaiser Hospital in Oakland, California. His topic, however, was his collection of antique maps from 1493 to the 1800's. Since there is no feed from the satellite, these talks are always an option to watch. There are three stations that are blacked out. What we can't figure is why they don't substitute pre-recorded shows, movies, or sit-coms. The technology is there.

 

The entertainer, Thien Fu, was billed as a juggling comedian. We shall gather our reports on his show tomorrow night at dinnertime.

 

The casino held a "Hawaiian Tropical Nights Party" at 9 pm. Decorations of streamers and balloons hung from the ceilings. They lured the guests with the promise of complimentary hors d'oeuvres and two for one selected tropical drinks. Free slot and blackjack tournaments and random raffles were also advertised. That happens to be right in the middle of our dinnertime, so we passed.

 

Barbie mentioned that one of the dance hosts left the ship in Honolulu. It had something to do with not enough "off " time. So we are guessing that Bruce, the cruise director, must have said, "OK, you're off now!!" Aloha!

 

Two sea days down, and four to go....

 

 

Bill & Mary Ann

 

Report # 27 January 28, 2009 Wednesday Day at Sea # 3

 

Something nice happened to us at breakfast in the dining room this morning. Yesterday, we had ordered omeletes, and got sauted red potatoes with onions instead of the greasy potato triangle,which we never eat. A head waiter, who was working nearby, overheard our conversation, came over to our table, and said he would put in a special order for those potatoes for us daily. Wow, that is what we call service over-the-top. Now we shall see if it will work tomorrow.

 

It was extremely hot today, except for one hour that it rained. It sure helped to cool things off. This is common for this area since we are so close to the Equator. We think the powers that be on the navigation bridge may steer into these squalls on purpose. It is probably entertaining to watch us run for cover with all of our stuff! Just kidding....we know they try their best to steer around these clouds if they can.

 

Barbara Haeini, our port lecturer, gave a talk on Vanuatu. These upcoming ports will be new ones for us and we are looking forward to it.

 

A new Explorations speaker, Michael Baume, a former Australian diplomat, gave a talk on politics, specifically comparing Australia's government to America's.

 

One nice thing we discovered today was the much improved pizza in the Grill area. We have had a few discussions with Rico, and he seems to have talked to the right cook. The sauce is better, and they are adding more cheese. They have also included a table for ice tea and water next to the pizza. All it takes are a few suggestions from the experienced cruisers, and the staff responds. We are impressed.

 

The show in the Queens Lounge was early this evening, due to tonight's Black and White Ball at 10 pm. A singer by the name of Paul Griffith performed along with the Rotterdam singers and dancers. We got mixed reviews on this one. The best comment we heard was that the dancers had brief costumes on, and the show was good. Of course, that comment came from the fellows!

 

The dining room was decorated with small and huge black and white beach balls. The waiters were dressed nicely with big sequinned bowties. Tonite was formal, so that meant we would get guests at our table. The chief electrical engineer, Peter Mackenzie, and his lovely wife joined us. For some strange reason, our waiters seemed to be stressed the last couple of days. This evening they got the wrong entrees for three of us, including the officer. He was a good sport about it, and decided to eat the beef wellington he did not order. The fine white and red wines soothed our ruffled feathers. Especially Barbie's, because she got the red wine we never drink!

 

After our meal, many people went off to the ball in the Queens Lounge. We believe that the Captain and his officers are available to dance with the lady passengers. Will give you a report tomorrow, since we were too tired to attend. Yeah, we know.....party poopers!!

 

We had gifts tonite! There were two Oregon Scientific World Time Alarm Clocks on our bed. Hope these will be easier to set that the usual ones.... you know, the ones that you press this button, while pressing the second button, and stand on one foot at the same time????

 

Oh yes, the formal candies were back along with the reminder to set our clocks back one hour!

 

Three sea days down, four to go!!

 

Bill & Mary Ann

[ldog]

We just like to read your posts and the natives get restless when it's been a while.:D

[Traveller1]

Thank you so much for posting--it sounds idyllic.

Wendy & Al

[Aussie Gal]

We were interested to hear that Michael Baume is a speaker on the ships. He was a Liberal Party Politician for many years. He was in our lower house (House of Representatives) for 8 years and then he moved to the Senate (our upper house) for a number of years before he became Australian Consul General in New York for 5 years.

 

What a great job to be an Exploration Speaker as well as enjoying all the lovely benefits of being on a cruise ship. He is widely read and should be most interesting.

 

Jennie

[COLLEYBERRY]

Thank you so much for taking us along on your voyage. I am enjoying your posts so much. You have been very generous with keeping us updated. Enjoy the next few sea days:)

Colleen

[ColumbiaSC]

I am happy to hear from CroneWynd that WCB had replied to my request to hear about the gentleman doing the needlepoint. I had missed it. Thanks for your report. I am quite sorry that you think I am "obsessed" by this -- it is simply a matter of my being interested in a passenger on the Farewell World Cruise of the QE2. Your use of the word "obsessed" is excessive and goes beyond what is commonly thought of as polite conversation on these boards.

 

DK

[cccole]

I am happy to hear from CroneWynd that WCB had replied to my request to hear about the gentleman doing the needlepoint. I had missed it. Thanks for your report. I am quite sorry that you think I am "obsessed" by this -- it is simply a matter of my being interested in a passenger on the Farewell World Cruise of the QE2. Your use of the word "obsessed" is excessive and goes beyond what is commonly thought of as polite conversation on these boards.

 

DK

 

I hope they see the gentleman you mentioned. He sounds like an interesting cruiser!!!!!! Needlepoint would indeed be a good pass time on a long voyage.

 

Cherie

[WCB]

Report # 28 January 29, 2009 Thursday Day at Sea # 4

 

Yesterday, we had a bit of trouble with our laptop, trying to sign off. Technically, we were off line, but the signoff page said we were online. So we paid a visit to the internet wizard, and questioned her about the discrepancy. She looked a bit confused as well, but she had us log on and off to make sure it was working. It finally did, but she credited us with 19 minutes anyway, which was quite fair. This is one luxury we miss while traveling with HAL.......Regeny gives us free internet, since we are gold members. Yes, you do pay more, but you can go online and e-mail to your heart's content!!

 

Well, guess what we had for breakfast this morning? Yep, Spanish frittatas with delicious diced and sauted red potatoes with onions. They remembered, how about that? They said from now on, we have a standing order every day, if we wish. We are going to be spoiled!

 

The forecast was partly cloudy, with temperatures in the 80's. That sounds comfortable, but with the humidity extremely high, it is sticky. We can tell we are nearing the Equator.

 

While walking the promenade today, we ran into another nice couple we remembered from previous world cruises. It is amazing that we had been sailing 11 days since leaving Los Angeles, and are just meeting old aquaintances now. And this ship isn't all that big. On the larger ships that hold 3,000 people, you can go for weeks without seeing the same people twice!

 

Not too much was happening today. The explorations series continued with speakers Joe Kess (languages), and Joe Rosenthal (catographic ignorance). The crew is advertising for open mic night for guests to show off their bottled-up talent that lies inside. That could be dangerous. It reminds us of talent night years ago, when a notorious lady, Kissing Annie, took the stage to tell jokes. She was allowed one minute, like everyone else. But, no, she was not going to leave until she told all of the jokes on her cheat sheet! It was much more fun watching the cruise director trying to get her off of the stage!! She was one of a kind, God bless her!

 

At dinner tonight, we asked how the Black and White Ball went. Apparently, the younger officers in training, were supposed to ask the ladies to dance. However, according to Margaret, they stood in a circle talking with each other instead. We doubt these kids are much over 21, so they must be shy. But we heard that the senior officers, including the Captain did dance for the entire hour. Then there was a drawing for a small crystal tabletop globe. Playing cards were handed out to everyone, but only the aces were called up to the stage. There happened to be twelve of them, and every one was a lady, mostly single ladies. That does sound like a big coincidence. One lucky gal did win the globe. We think this method was the substitution for jumping for the balloon with the winning ticket. Bottles of champagne were also given away.

 

The entertainment tonight was a magician named Devlin, a South American artist. And once again, we will report on his performance tomorrow. It has been very warm on the ship these past few days do to the ever present air conditioning problem through out the ship. However, we can cool down with our fan running in our room all through the night.

 

Three more sea days to reach Vanuatu!!

 

Bill & Mary Ann

[Paul123]

Hi Bill and Mary Ann

 

We've just returned from been away cruising in the Caribbean for the last few weeks with the family and so have now spent the last few hours catching up on your fascinating Grand World journey you are so expertly and interestingly describing. Wonderful reading and as Valerie said earlier "makes me green with envy". Well done to you both. Continue to enjoy.

 

Paul

[ANSalberg]

Bill & MaryAnn - Hi; I may have missed this info- but -Are Edward Van Zaane and "first Lady" Apollonia your Captain/wife on this cruise? They are 2 of our FAVORITE people. We've sailed a total of 8 months with them and think they are VERY nice people!

Anne Salberg [ sailed WITH you guys 2007 Grand World]

[SDHALFAN]

Bill & MaryAnn - Hi; I may have missed this info- but -Are Edward Van Zaane and "first Lady" Apollonia your Captain/wife on this cruise? They are 2 of our FAVORITE people. We've sailed a total of 8 months with them and think they are VERY nice people!

Anne Salberg [ sailed WITH you guys 2007 Grand World]

 

 

psst Anne - Mary Ann and Bill are on the Rotterdam. The Amsterdam is down somewhere around Cape Horn right now.;)

 

Valerie:D

[bcnvcanada]

Thanks so much for taking you time out to share with everyone this great journey. For those of us who have to limit our travel, it is so good to follow along on your journery. We can't wait for your upcoming reports. Again, thanks..................................

[WCB]

Report # 29 January 30 and 31, 2009 Friday and Saturday Day at Sea # 5

 

Today is going to be two days in one. Confused, yes so are we!! This day was advertised in the 2009 Grand World Voyage booklet as the "Midnight Golden Line Crossing", when the Rotterdam would cross the Equator at the 180th meridian, known as the International Date Line.

We expected at the very least, a King Neptune Ceremony, typical of crossing the Equator. Nope, it did not happen. Neither did the midnight crossing. What did occur was a change in the schedule. Captain Olav announced that we would experience the crossing at high noon, Friday the 30th, at which time, the clocks would be advanced 24 hours, thus losing one full day. This way we had one half of the day Friday, and the other half, Saturday. Does that make any sense??

 

While we sat with friends by the back pool waiting for the big event, festive drinks of juice were served to all. At high noon, Captain Olav blew the ship's horn....one very long blast. And that was that.

 

Now the amusing part was watching all the people running outside with cameras and binoculars taking pictures of the "imaginary lines" ! We joked with our buddies that we felt the bump as we went over the Equator. Of course people overheard us say that, and snapped pictures of the water below. Ha-ha, that made our day! By the way, Jeff had his GPS finder and reported that we were pretty close to being right on the mark.

 

The sun has been very hot these last few days, so we had to moniter the time we spent outside. Many passengers obviously did not use sunblock, and are paying the price. What is deceiving is the nice breeze that has cooled us off a bit, but the intensity of the rays are still coming through strong.

 

We spent the rest of the afternoon trying to track some lost clothing that should have come back three days ago. One item was a brand new tux shirt. The laundry had been searching all day, and we assumed that they were missing forever. Our concierge gal offered to lend Bill a shirt for the duration of the cruise if need be. It wasn't until late in the afternoon, that we had our room steward pick up the laundry slip I had saved. Thanks to the numbers on the top, they were able to locate the items. That teaches us to inventory the laundry as it comes back, and always save those tags. You never know when you may need them!!

 

Our travel group, the Specialists, hosted the first official cocktail party of the world cruise. It was held in the Crow's Nest at 4:30 pm for the early dinner guests, or 7 pm for the late seaters. The crowd filled one half of the lounge, so we think many first seaters came to this one. We have heard that the second party is much more lively. Our friend, Millie, surprised us by being there. Usually she does not like the noise or confusion, but she got brave today. The staff passed around many hot hors d'oeuvres of crispy chicken tenders, coconut shrimp, teriyake chicken, and bitterballen. Cold treats included pate, mozzarella and tomatoes, caviar, and butterflied shrimps. The cocktails were freely poured, and the crowd got louder and louder. Hosts Tom and Ellen gave their speeches, welcoming the repeat passengers as well as the new ones traveling their first time with our agency.

 

We had another formal night this evening, but did not have an officer. But we did enjoy spaghetti and meatballs....one of the entrees! And we celebrated Margaret's birthday with a delicious chocolate marshmellow cake. She had hoped that there would be no fuss, because technically, her birthday ended at high noon! No, these guys never forget!

 

And there were two more gifts on our bed tonight. They were the HAL large shoulder bag in the color purple. These are very handy when traveling, and are made well enough to last for years. We just love these presents!!

 

Mary Ann & Bill

 

PS We are still looking for the needlepoint man. In 2005, while on the Prinsendam's world cruise, we saw him every day in the lounge on sea days enjoying his needlepoint creation!

[cccole]

So....since you lost a day, do you still have two more sea days? It seems so much easier when you change time zones on an airplane. But not as much fun!!!! I'm enjoying every post and hope the mystery needle point gentleman appears!! Cherie

[candbgirl]

That losing a day and gaining a day always confuses me. I am reading Jeff's blog and he even posted a picture of the Golden crossing complete with intersecting gold lines. :) I am so enjoying your posts. Thank you.