"Treasures of Cruising the World" with Bill & Mary Ann: Report #3 First full day in Ft. Lauderdale January 2, 2018 Tuesday Rainy and 59 degrees 49 Pictures

Wednesday, January 3, 2018

Report #3 First full day in Ft. Lauderdale January 2, 2018 Tuesday Rainy and 59 degrees 49 Pictures

Well, we can tell you what we did not do on our first full day in Ft. Lauderdale. Due to the inclement weather, we did not spend any time in or around the hotel pool area. We did run into two folks that were just getting out of the spa, having been sitting in the driving rain. Turned out we knew them well, as they are long time hosts we have known since 2001, while we were on a Seabourn world cruise. They host for our travel agency, but mostly on Regent, Silverseas, or Seabourn ships. What a sheer coincidence that we happened to cross paths with them today, as they are attending another function unrelated to HAL’s world cruise.

Our day began with a mid-morning breakfast a short walk from the hotel. For a cool and rainy Tuesday morning, the place was full of customers, with a constant line of waiting diners. The meals and the coffee are always hot, and the prices are more than reasonable. Good thing we brought our umbrellas, because it turned out we needed them all day.

We made a stop at Burlington’s, picking up a couple of good deals on useful knick-knacks for our room on the ship. Then, we went to Publix for some room snacks.

Back at the hotel, we had to deal with a computer problem we experienced yesterday after arriving here. Good thing we were able to call our oldest son, who could fix the problem on his end. We were unable to send or receive emails, due to added security on our account. We are still having an issue with posting photos, but our son is working on that one as well. It sure is nice having smart kids.

Under drizzly skies, we headed off for a hike on the canal road. Lunch was our ultimate destination, and also a quest to find the Sheraton Hotel on University Avenue. We knew it was close to the Westfield Mall, but could not recall having gone past it on previous trips. After the world cruise ends, we will be staying there for several days, waiting for the Amsterdam to come back into service. Then we will board her, and head through the Panama Canal and up the west coast of the USA, and eventually home.

It began raining pretty hard, so when we spotted a Chilis, we ducked in there for lunch. Even that was crowded. We suppose with the kids out of school, the next best place to take them, is out to lunch.

Making our way up the road, we did locate the hotel, then headed back. It took about one hour to reach the Renaissance. Needless to say, the wind began to blow, and we did get damp. The one thing that was good was that it was not all that cold today. And that’s when we ran into hosts, Kevin and Susan, coming out of the spa. We all walked into the hotel, all of us dripping from either rain or the pool. You should have seen the looks we got when the elevator door opened, and Kevin had dropped his towel to wipe up water puddled on the tile floor. A couple of folks waiting on the second floor saw him in his swimsuit, and said they would wait until the next one came. We had a good laugh all the way up to their floor.

Drying out in our room, we down-loaded photos on the computer (now working), and headed out for a pizza dinner around 7pm. The rain never stopped, and after watching the news, we learned that Ft. Lauderdale had over an inch of rain today. Probably be more before the day ends. And from the looks of it, tomorrow may be wetter and even colder.

To answer a question regarding world cruises…..including this upcoming one, the number is fifteen.

Bill & Mary Ann

Renaissance Hotel in Plantation