Report # 122 Sailing Towards Cartagena, Colombia April 30, 2014 Wednesday Sunny, 84 degrees

Funny thing about this cruise.......if there are 1300 passengers onboard, you sure wouldn't know it. A sharp contrast from this same cruise last year, there are no crowds of passengers anywhere so far. There could be a few explanations for this. First of all, everyone traveled some distance to get to Florida to board, so there may be a lot of jet-lagged folks. Second, after a long day in the sun and surf at Half Moon Cay, some may be sunburned, and tired from the outdoor activities. And third, this crowd looks every bit as elderly as the world cruisers. That was the general comment we heard from some of the officers at the cocktail party last night. If there are any kids onboard, we have not seen them. Not that we are complaining, we just find it different not to have to search for two spots at the aft pool. There were even fewer lounges set up back there than on the world cruise. Last year, we could barely walk between the rows of chairs, as they were spaced very tightly.

Up to this point, we have not noticed any huge differences in this trip compared to the grand voyage. Of course the dining room hours have changed, as well as the fixed and open seating arrangements. No longer two set dinner times, there's the upper dining room with fixed seating at the slightly different times of 5:45pm and 8pm. The lower dining room is open seating from 5:15pm to 9pm. Our world cruise waiter, Firman, is now on deck four with the open seating diners. He has moved to the center section, where we can watch him serving the last of the diners by 8:30pm in his section. He is now our breakfast waiter in the main dining room. Joseph, our assistant waiter is on deck five with a new partner serving the large tables in the back of the room.

Lots of things were going on today, according to Gene's general annoucement at 10am this morning. The only thing different we see in his day, is that he hosts trivia at 1pm instead of 11:45am. This makes more sense, because it gives the folks a chance to eat in the dining room or the Pinnacle Grill from 12 to 1pm. Gene also hosts a pub trivia at 7pm in the Piano Bar. The pianist in there is now Derek.

Starting at 10am, Barbara H gave a talk on upcoming ports of Cartagena to Puerto Chiapas. One of the numerous ads we have gotten in our mail slots, was announcing the addition of a port shopping ambassador, Chris Lindsay, who will give shopping talks in the Queens Lounge. He will be giving away some prizes to the guests who attend his talks which will give hints for going ashore, top buys in each port, and places recommended to buy emeralds for instance.

The Lido Buffet went back to the regular self-served operations today at noon after the required 48 hours of full service. That is a good sign that the ship's population is healthy, and there is little threat of the spread of the dreaded stomach virus. For one thing, we have not noticed any sick people coughing, sneezing, or obviously ill. That was not the case back in January at the start of the world voyage. Many folks came onboard ill we think, considering that it was the middle of winter.

We spent the afternoon at the aft pool, of course. It was quiet, and we had plenty of space. The few lounges that were placed around the pool had been dragged to the shade near the showers and restrooms. This crowd is a shade-loving group, instead of sun worshipers.

Although there are no guest speakers scheduled, the Dancing With the Stars at Sea has begun. The waltz will be taught today with the help of the Amsterdam dancers and Gene too. We will probably never know the results of this contest, because we will be debarking in San Diego, about 5 days before the end of this voyage.

Dinner this evening was formal, with Captain Fred giving a welcome toast in the Queens Lounge before showtime of 8 and 10pm. No pre-dinner cocktail reception like on the world voyage. We noticed that most of the gentlemen wore suits and ties, and also a few wore tuxes. A select few had only a long sleeve shirt with no tie. Come to think of it, there was no description of the two acceptable forms of suggested dress.....smart casual or formal. Something was not working with the air-conditioning this evening, especially in the upper dining room. So most of the fellows with jackets had taken them off. The waiters were having the hardest time. Tom G., the manager, said there was a team of Russian workers that came onboard while we were in Ft. Lauderdale. It seems that they will be doing some needed maintainance with the motors and belts, thus shutting the system down as necessary. We wish they could save this work for the night time. According to Tom, they may be tackling this job all the way to San Diego. So far, our deck on one has remained cool, and we hope it stays that way.

We ordered one entree of beef wellington and one of the grilled lamb chops. Both were equally excellent, and hot, we might add. We have to give our new head chef Daniel an A plus for his over-the-top cuisine on this continuing trip. We are also happy to hear that he will be back for next year's grand voyage around the world.

The show for tonight was the Phillip Huber Marionettes, a popular and very funny performance that made everyone smile as promised. We sort of expected the late show to begin as 9:30pm, as they tended to do on the world cruise. But so far, the shows have been mostly at 8 and 10pm. This adjustment may be made to accommodate the numbers that show up each evening. No matter how the staff does the scheduling, some folks will just call it an evening after dinner, and go to bed, thus cutting off their chances of getting that extra revenue in the casino or the bars.

Getting back to our room, we found another invitation to a cocktail party tomorrow in the Explorers Lounge, hosted by Captain Fred and Henk M. This one will be at 7pm, and is for after-dinner or pre-dinner cocktails. Don't know what the occassion is, but we will be happy to attend.

Looking forward to another day at sea tomorrow. We have been rocking and rolling a bit, but not enough to bother us. We would not have even thought about it, but while at the front desk, we could not help but overhear one guest after the other asking for seasick meds. We were sailing around Cuba this afternoon, an area where it is also turbulent and choppy.

Report # 121 Half Moon Cay, Bahamas April 29, 2014 Tuesday Sunny, 84 degrees

Amsterdam anchored in Half Moon Cay

Bigger, better tender boat to the island

Well, we made it to Half Moon Cay, despite the many reasons we could have missed the stop. We think Captain Fred put the pedal to the metal all through the night to arrive here at exactly 8am this morning. Looking out the window, we saw two large tenderboats from the island, ready to take on ticketed passengers. Last night, we had received a notice saying that as five star Mariners, we did not need tender tickets. It is a nice perk, but as it turned out, we did not get off the ship until 10:30am, when no one needed tickets.

Captain Morgan On the Rocks Bar

Tropics Restaurant

Lounges on the beach and bars nearby

Azure blue waters

Cabanas

Pine tree-lined beachfront

The first and last time we stopped at this little bit of paradise was back on the 2005 world cruise. Ever since then, we never were on an HAL ship that had this stop on their itinerary. So we were looking forward to seeing what we remembered, and what was different in almost 10 years. What we remembered was a beautiful cove of white powdery sand with the clearest, aquamarine waters you can imagine. The amenities of shops, bars, some watersports, a restaurant, and an expanse of beach was what we recalled. The horse stables are still here, but out of sight. What we did not see back then was the Stingray enclosure on the Bonefish Lagoon where a tour was offered. Another new addition was the aqua trax adventure, where they rented jet skis, also on the lagoon. Kayaking and biking may have been offered, but since we don't participate in those activities, we aren't sure they were here many years ago.

Browlack-headed gulls in a

Looking for food

Several different sizes of cabanas were situated near the food pavilion, bars, and restrooms. For some unknown reason, the price for those was not posted in the shore excursion booklet. 

An old diving outfit

Jet skis in the lagoon

For rent  -  1 hour  $70.

Convenient restrooms

The white sands of the beach

We did notice that a canvas clamshell with a sunshade and two lounge chairs were available for a rental fee of $16. Dozens of lounges were there for everyone to use for free. The island tram ride, snorkel by boat, the glass bottom boat, and horseback riding were the most expensive tours in the book, costing up to $90. per person. No tour was over 2 hours.

Three flags of Half Moon Cay

Welcome

We are here

Going through the portal of Fort San Salvador 

The central fountain

Pirates Cove

The straw market, island gift shop, and lustre jewelry 

Cool spot for a bar

All beverages were charged to your shipboard accounts

Rumrunner's Bar

T-shirts

Restrooms

Shops

Easy shopping....no cash

Runners and bike track

The nursery

Potted plants for decoration

Once we arrived to the island, we took a hike towards the walking track, which eventually took us to the stingray adventure area. Standing above the group, we were able to photograph the rays while the guests were learning their habits and how to feed them. Also in this lagoon are nurse and lemon sharks, bonefish, conch, and sea urchins. 

The Stingray Adventure  1 hour  $25.

The way to the sting rays

The Bonefish Lagoon

Large stingray

Looking for squid

Ray climbing up a passenger

Looking for squid

Here comes the female

They are smaller

Look dangerous

Odd-looking creatures

A live starfish

The surrounding mangroves of the lagoon are a sanctuary for birds. We saw most of them, but some only briefly since it was hot and they do not come out much in the heat. A pretty chameleon lizard crossed the road in front of us, as the local mockingbirds were singing their hearts out. 

Chameleon lizard

Blends well

Besides the black-headed gulls, we saw some seed eaters, doves, and some pigeons. We understand there are some burrowing owls as well as hummingbirds. The largest animals on the island are horses, kept at the Pegasus Stables, but we saw no dogs or cats.

A bird in the Passerine order

A seed eater

Large dove

Watch for these creatures

Bahamian mocking bird

Bouganvilla

Wanting to go swimming, we popped out through the mangrove somewhere near the end of the long stretch of beach. Few people were out this far, which was nice. Right near to where we came on the beach, there was a gazebo made with lattice walls. There was a round picnic table and two rattan chairs under the roof. This was not a cabana, and since no one was using it, we claimed it like squatters. 

Nice place to stay

Best part of the beach

We got squatters rights

Here's a good spot

Our private gazebo

If someone was renting it, then we would gladly leave. As it turned out, no one ever came along, and we spent the day there. Our main objective was to use the chairs, eliminating the need to sit on towels in the sand. In fact, we spent more time in the water, than out of it. Pure paradise.

So clean and inviting

Bill in the surf

Sunbathers gone, now it is time for the birds

Black-headed gull

Many gulls

Fighting over food

Looking for small fish

Amusing to watch

Fight

And flight

Black-headed gull

Truthfully, some people did approach us and inquired about the gazebo. They asked us if this was the massage cabana, which is was not. Not realizing who this couple was at first, we figured it out that it was the ship's doctor and his wife, who have been on board with us since January. By now, you would think they should know that these services had to be booked before we arrived here. It was not even listed as an option in the tour book, so we believe that it is not happening right now.

We never did seek out lunch, which had been brought to shore straight from our ship. All of the food was served free, except for the beverages of sodas, beers, and bottled waters. All of those drinks could be charged once again, to your shipboard account. We did bring a bottle of water, left over from our water package on the world cruise. That was all we needed since we had eaten a good breakfast before we left this morning.

Life guard stand

Bars, cabanas, and lounges

Two story cabanas

A smaller private cabana

All painted different shades of pastels

Many lounges, not so many people now

The bar

Ship anchored right offshore

Pink bouganvilla

Matching pink buildings

Off limits to the public

Very nice cabanas

The more reasonably priced pup tents ($16)

The last tender was at 3:30pm, and we were among the final guests to leave the island. They have a bar here that is named, "I Wish I Could Stay Here Forever Bar". How appropriate. We had a super nice day here, and yes, we could stay here forever. Except we think no one stays here forever. Not even the help. 

 Wish I Could Stay Here Forever Bar

The ferry home for the working crew on the island

Gull

Gull

We heard that a designated crew does stay on the island to keep up the maintenance and horse stables, but the other employees loaded up on the ferry boat, and were taken west of the island to parts unknown.....perhaps one of the larger islands in the Bahamas.

Winds were blowing at sailaway

Setting up the bar

Birds on the hunt for appetizers

Serving appetizers

Look..........chicken tenders

Tell all our bird buddies

Guess the snacks are gone

We attended the sailaway party at the aft deck, where drinks and appetizers were once again being served. We actually got some crispy fried chicken tenders with honey mustard sauce on them. Most days while at these parties, the waiters never made it back to us. The food was snatched up instantly. Darlene and the HALcats entertained us with Caribbean music, while many folks danced.

Darlene and the HALcats

The "Blues" sisters

When we went back to our room, we found a twelve pack of Coke Zero on the desk. It was another gift from Captain Eversen and Henk, our hotel manager. Later on when we saw Nestor, he said he automatically exchanged the wine for the soda, remembering we did not drink wine. Another welcomed surprise was the invitation to a cocktail party in the Explorers Lounge before dinner. It was the suite guests and collector's voyage guests invitation to share drinks with Captain Fred and some of the officers onboard. Once we got our drink order, we spent the evening chatting with the new housekeeping officer, Emily, the librarian, Tom, the dining room manager, and finally Peter, the purser. Peter has extensive knowledge on the finer whiskeys and scotches of the world, although, no officers or crew are allowed to drink hard liquor anymore. Wine or beer is OK.

Captain Morgan on the Rocks Bar 

Best tenderboats we used the whole trip

Goodbye gazebo

Horses ridden in the surf

Bet the horses like the warm waters

Sky was turning dark

Cool sailboat

Leaving Half Moon Cay

Rocky shoreline

Last of the island

Disappears on the horizon

Our new dinner seating was at table # 85 on deck five, a balcony table for four, but set for two. Our new waiters are Darma and Eka, who remembered seeing us over the last four months. There really are few changes with the dinner menu items. In fact, we noticed some new entrees. One nice thing about eating at a table for two, is that our food was served quicker and it was hot. And since some of the shows begin at 9:30pm, we may even go to some. Last night, the Latin harpist, Shirley Dominquez, entertained the folks. This evening, the show begins at 10pm and was Timeless, performed by the Amsterdam singers and dancers.

We now will have two days at sea, and it's looking good for sunny skies and smooth seas.