Report #13 Cozumel, Mexico Friday- December 31, 2021

We woke up to a much warmer day this morning, as the ship headed north-westtowards the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico. For much of the afternoon, our veranda was in the hot sun. Could have fried an egg on the chaise lounge in fact. We did relax out there, but kept it at a minimum.

Running into friends Susie and Woody in the Orange Club, we promised to go early to this morning's Mariner Society Recognition Event. That way we would have time to visit with them. Sadly to say, they were supposed to be on this ship for two months, but had to cancel due to health reasons. We have been friends and tablemates for many world cruises ever since 2007, so when they announced their Sunday departure, we were all sad. Since they are sailing with family members, they have a table for eight right now. The plan was to switch to a table for five when Barb comes onboard this coming Sunday. Oh well, life happens, and it is not always the way we expect it. And we always feel that things happen for a reason, making it easier to accept it.

One other President's Club member had fallen in her room last night, and broke her wrist. She had planned on boarding the Rotterdam Sunday, but now has to have surgery on her wrist. You just never know what is around the corner, do we? We wished her well.

So at 11am, we congregated in the Ocean Bar for the event where a few members received their medallions. Once again, Captain Noel gave a nice speech, admitting he had to make it different from a week ago, because there were several of us that had been on last week. He was quite pleased that we had all trusted HAL enough to be traveling again, helping him and his staff to keep their jobs. To the best of his ability, he promised to keep us all safe.

Today on the news, we heard that some cruise ships have reported a higher Covid level, and the CDC was recommending folks not to cruise. If there is a problem on this ship, we have not heard about it at all. Never before have we witnessed so much cleaning and sanitizing happening inside and outside. Most all of the passengers wear their masks, with a few exceptions of the younger crowd. Every crew member wears the R95 masks....some with a regular mask under that. So we figure that is how the Captain is keeping us all safe as humanly possible.

Anyway, we all got a turn getting our photos taken with the Captain and Hotel Manager, and once again, the photo showed up in our mail slot. The four of us spent some time with Jonah, the Event Planner, who answered more of our questions. Then we went to Susie & Woody's handicap room on deck eight. We believe it is the same category as our room, but much larger to accommodate his electric scooter. Too bad they will not be staying long enough to really enjoy it.

Our biggest job of the day was picking up the aluminum water bottle in the Photo Shop we had custom-made yesterday. That brings up the subject of plastic water bottles. Knowing we read the restrictions somewhere, we found the info on page 11 of our boarding pass and contract. Under Alcohol Policy, it is written that plastic water bottles are not allowed. It was

not explained any further here, but you can go to their complete alcohol policy online at hollandamerica.com or in the online Know Before You Go section. One thing for sure is that the disposable plastic water bottles are no longer sold on the ship, but you can buy a 16 oz. aluminum bottle for

$4.50 plus 18% gratuity. You can re-use the aluminum water bottle if the cap is put on properly. Or else, it leaks.

Lunch included a stop at the pasta bar. One of us ordered linguini with marinara and Bolognese sauces topped with shredded mozzarella cheese. A homemade bun made the dish perfect. It is nice that we still have many food choices after 2pm. We have yet to go to the main dining room for lunch. In fact, we may have mentioned this already, but on port days, there is no lunch served in the dining room, Orange Club, or the Pinnacle Grill.

It may have been a good day to go to the pool, but we have not done that yet on these trips. Today we would have burned for sure, and the last time we walked to the Seaview Pool after lunch, there was very little space left. And we are still a little afraid of crowded spaces with unmasked folks. We do have another Covid test coming up Saturday, we think.

Dinner was back in the main dining room, where we found out that on the next cruise beginning January 2nd, the upper dining level will be closed. There will be only 1000 guests onboard, a drop of 600 compared to this 7 day trip. So we agreed to moving downstairs to a round table for six for the following 10 or 11 days. There will be only three of us (unless Barb cancels), then we will have room for guests if we wish. With the new scare of Covid being on cruise ships hitting the news, there may be some last minute cancellations. Nobody knows yet.

In our mail slot, we did have a map of Cozumel, which is a good sign that we will be going there, and will be allowed off of the ship. Will let you all know.

Bill & Mary Ann

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Report #12 Ocho Rios, Jamaica Wednesday - December 29, 2021 Mostly sunny & 80 degrees

Jamaica is the 3rd largest island in the Caribbean. Cuba and Hispaniola are the largest. The island of Jamaica is 146 miles long, and is slightly smaller than the state of Connecticut. There are 2.7 million people living here, with 800,000 of them living in Kingston, the capital. This city also has the most English-speaking citizens south of Miami.

Our port of call today was the city of Ocho Rios, located on the north coast between Port Antonio and Montego Bay. There are several all- inclusive resorts here where the folks can explore the waterfalls, roads shaded by ferns, rivers, and beaches. Some are even "clothes optional".

Jamaicans are famous for the native dish of jerk pork and beef. "Jerk" is a seasoning consisting of allspice, pimento, cloves, garlic, onion, ginger, cinnamon, thyme and pepper. Jerk dishes can be served with breadfruit, rice and peas. A popular soup is called callalou, consisting of firey spicy,okra, and salt pork or beef.

Music is big here, and Bob Marley, the Reggae artist, was raised here, and is now buried here. A big event here is the Ocho Rios Jazz Festival held in June.

Things to do and see here are tours of Dunn's River and lunch, a cooking class with lunch, or a chair lift, bobsled, and zipline excursion. One can raft on the Martha Brae River, have a dolphin encounter, or take the ho-ho bus. Not sure this was operating today, due to Covid restrictions.

The ship docked at the pier in Ocho Rios Bay. We know we have been here before, but little of it was looking familiar. Taking our time getting off, we expected not to be able to access town, according to the information we got yesterday. However, that was not the case. It was a fairly long walk from the ship to the start of town, far enough for locals to offer wheelchair transfers to shore. Many took up on the opportunity. Government taxis were gathered at the gate, where we were told that was the only way out of the terminal.

For the first time this trip, besides the mandatory mask requirement, we had our temps taken by local authorities, then an orange band was placed on our wrists. Now we were free to walk through the closed gate. Purell stations were set up everywhere we went. Available to us were the Margarita White

Sand Beach at Island Village, the Harbour Shops, and the Taj Mahal Shopping Center. The latter one did look familiar. There was nothing to stop us from continuing on towards town, although we chose not to go further. By the way, more taxi drivers were outside the gate.

Crossing Main Street, we went into a few shops, but first being stopped at the door for another temperature check, and forced Purell. The prices of souvenirs seemed to have gone way up since we were here. But we have to say the vendors were willing to bargain. We did buy a visor and a t-shirt like top from a few of the smaller shops. On the way back, we strolled through Island Village, a property with more shopping, entertainment, jewelry stores, restaurants and bars. Starbucks also. One of the biggest restaurants here was Margaritaville, like we saw in Grand Turk. It might have been a suitable place for burgers and beers, but it was still too early for us. We just took pictures of the few birds we saw here. At the port gate, we showed our room key, and were allowed back in. We must have used Purell at least one dozen times by the time we got to this point. Our attitude was," no problem, mon". Cruises ships are just beginning to come back, according to a vendor. This particular lady called most of the passengers "cheap Charlies", as they were not buying much today. Her cost to set up her souvenir table costs her $25 a day, which she claimed she had not reached her rent money yet. Of course, many people were on tours, and would be back later. There were some nice wood carvings of bowls. However, we have to keep in mind that we have a luggage weight limit going back, so have to refrain from buying heavy items.

Passing through the terminal building, we were stopped for a vote on how wefound the island today. There were four Emoji faces, but we pushed the happy face. The guard was pleased. Back on the ship, we relaxed on our veranda, while watching the boat tours come and go. At 2pm, we headed for a Lido/Grand Dutch Cafe lunch, and ended up coming back by 5pm. All aboard was 5:30pm, and we wanted to be on the veranda for the sailing out of the harbor. Needless to say, having this veranda has been really nice. And having the opportunity to get a lot of fresh air sure doesn't hurt.

We are still experiencing problems with sending the blog with the photos attached. Bear with us as we try to figure out the glitch in the process. Earlier in the cruise, it worked fine, but now, not so good. In addition, our incoming emails have been piling up, and not coming through. For that reason, we have been going to the Front Desk area where it seems to work better.

The sun set early, and we did have some scenic sailing as the ship followed the northern coastline of Jamaica, passing several smaller towns, as well as going past Montego Bay. Once clear of the tip of the island, the ship headed west towards our next stop in Cozumel, Mexico.

Dinner for us was in the Tamarind Restaurant, which was fairly busy at 8pm. The food and service was good, but we did experience a longer wait for our entrees. At the beginning of this cruise, Presty had mentioned that about 28 dining room stewards were going home, and being replaced with 28 new crew. This new set of wait staff would have to be quarantined before beingvable to work. That tells us that they are short-staffed for a while, and that could be part of the reason our meal service was slower than usual. Not that we were in any hurry to go somewhere, they did apologize profusely. Once again, we said no problem mon!

Looking forward to a relaxing day at sea tomorrow.

Bill & Mary Ann

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Report #11 Sea Day Tuesday-December 28,2021

Having a day at sea will give us a chance to catch up on recent news. Originally, we were to have four ports to visit, namely Half Moon Cay, Ocho Rios, Jamaica, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel, Mexico. Before we left home, Cozumel had been dropped, followed by Grand Cayman, which was a disappointment, since our ship was to be the first one to visit for a very long time since the start of the pandemic. The Cayman authorities (under British rule) was going to make HAL test everyone on this ship, or we would not be allowed entrance. The Captain declined, so the port was dropped. To replace Cozumel, another stop at Grand Turk was substituted, but that was also cancelled. Are you confused yet??? We sure are.....

It is what it is, and we have to go with the flow. Of course, all of the ship's tours would be automatically refunded, and new excursions would be added for Cozumel. This evening we received the When & Where newsletter with a statement regarding going ashore in Ocho Rios. With the exception of the immediate port shopping area, people would need to use a government approved taxi bringing people to the pre approved areas. In other words, no independent touring on your own. Recalling our first visit here many years ago, we remembered that the hassle factor was huge. One very aggressiveb hair stylist chased us down the road to convince me to have my hair braided for free, just to entice others to have theirs done. No thanks, was not in her vocabulary. Funny now, but not at the time.

The first thing we noticed was that the boobys were back, following the ship. Obviously, they were searching for their favorite food, the flying fish. Some of these curious birds flew up to our veranda, as if they expected food to be tossed to them. Yes, we have seen folks doing that with seagulls while docked, something frowned upon by most captains.

After breakfast, we wandered through the Shops, looking for their HAL logo items. Oddly enough, they seem to be few and far between. Specifically, we were looking for a suitable reusable water bottle, one that is not plastic, which is not allowed on the ship anymore. We did not find anything like that in any of their stores. What we did find was name brand clothing such as Chico's, Nautica, and even Tommy Bahama items. The women's section was full of lightweight tops from l India, and they were reasonably priced. In this same shop, we saw Tagua nut jewelry, which is very interesting since it comes mainly from Ecuador and is considered "green". It is made from hard nuts, and commonly used to make buttons. The biggest selection has to be handbags and purses. On the higher end is the Mary Frances line, which one of us has already begun a collection.

As far as jewelry goes, Effy now has a large presence on the ship. Their choices are on the more expensive end, about as much as Merabella. The watch display and the duty-free booze corner are still here. Cosmetics occupies their own shop too.

On the way out to the promenade deck, we passed through the photo shop, where we did spot a water bottle in their cabinet. We inquired about purchasing one, and they showed us how to have it customized. The price is the same with or without the designs or photos. This was all done on a wall screen by scanning our cruise card, then entering what you wished to buy. We could choose from many designs, as well as have our personal photo on the bottle. Since we have not posed for any photos, they had none on file. So we picked the designs and will pick up the bottle tomorrow evening. This photo shop has the now-gone Amsterdam beat as far as convenience and searching for your photos among hundreds of them. The kiosks do the work for you. The first time we saw this slick and easy way to buy photos was on a Disney cruise, so it just took HAL a bit longer to go modern.

It was time to get some fresh air, so we went outside for a walk. That's when we spotted a crew member riding a little floor scrubber, much like a street cleaner, only smaller. Maybe that eliminates the need to hose down the decks every evening, leaving it very slippery. After doing a few laps around the promenade deck, we went back to our room to do some computer work, like answer emails and figure out why some of the photos were not attaching to the reports. With the help of our eldest son, we believe this glitch has been fixed.

Once again, we were invited to a wine tasting, but did not attend. If you were not part of the higher Mariner Society members, this tasting would cost $25 per person. On past cruises, we have attended these tastings, only to learn more about the process of growing the grapes and the bottling techniques. Then, we would donate our red wines to guests seated around us No one ever turned the offer down.

We are still waiting for the shipboard credit to be posted from our travel agency. Something went wrong, and HAL had no knowledge that it existed. With the help of our travel agent, we shall see if this can be retrieved. More glitches in the system, but it was a good thing we brought the invoice with us so help them track it down. Dealing directly with the Guest Relations Manager has been unsuccessful, as we do not know where to find her. On the Amsterdam, Christel had an office where we could go directly to see her. On this ship, you cannot find anyone's office. You need to make an appointment, which we will be glad to do to get this resolved.

What we did receive was another HAL tote bag, and more Diet Cokes for our President's Club perk for this 7 day cruise. What we missed was the invitation to the 4 & 5 star and President's Club members welcome onboard party, which occurred on Sunday. We needed to remind them not to drop us off of the list as we like to attend these parties. And that was one reason we booked the back-to-back cruises like we did.

Dinner was in the Pinnacle Grill this evening, a gala night. Most everyone in there was dressed in their finery, which is nice to see for a change. It has really surprised us to spot some younger guests coming into the Lido during lunchtime with only their swimsuits on. No shoes either. We are certain there is a dress code, but not so sure it is being enforced. Anyway, we started with wedge salads, noticeably smaller than on our last cruise. This is fine, because we had trouble finishing them. We added the delicious clothes line bacon, then followed up with the 7 ounce filet mignon, cooked perfectly. Sharing sides of mushrooms and a fully-loaded baked potato, we saved a bit of room for desserts of key lime pie and an almost baked Alaska. Our waiter, Raj, from India was delightful, as was the attention from the entire staff. Yes, we will be back for sure.

Tomorrow we will be in Jamaica, a port we have not been to in ages.

Bill & Mary Ann

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Report #10 Half Moon Cay December 27, 2021 Monday Sunny & 75 degrees

Here we are again, but today is different as far as our time goes here.

Tomorrow we have a day at sea, so we were able to stay on the island until 5:30pm. Much nicer.

While we were having our breakfast, we had a chance to speak to Jonah from the Front Desk. She reported that yesterday there was a longer than desired wait for the in-transit group to re-board the ship. Tempers must have flared. Years ago, the same thing happened to us, and we remembered it well. Luckily, we had made the right decision to leave the ship to come back later. We shall repeat the same trek every time we come to Ft. Lauderdale. Since we did not ship 4 ½ months-worth of toiletries, we intend to do shopping along the way. And going out to lunch is always a plus. One of us has a fish allergy, so we usually do not go to that type of restaurant. Thanks for the dining tips anyway.

The tender boat did not leave the ship until it was mostly full. Even at 10am, many people had waited like we did. One thing for sure, there is no "social distancing" on these tenders. Absolutely everyone, including the young kids, wore masks without complaints. Once on the island, most of the masks were taken off. Except for the few shops, we are all outdoors in the fresh breeze, so masks were not needed.

We arrived to the food pavilion in time to see the cuisine set up. Cold salads, sandwiches (hot dogs, hamburgers, and tacos, etc.) were served by the wait staff. Desserts were simple cupcakes along with a variety of fruit. One helped ourselves to one pear to be used later. Ice cream and beverages were served too. All of this food was complimentary. Once again, we did not dine here. Maybe next time. 

Making our way down an alleyway to the beach, we passed by the Lobster Shack. All of the lobster related dishes were served here for a price. In fact, the chef mentioned that we would need to place our order before they ran out of lobster. Not to worry, we replied, as lobster is not exactly one of our favorite dishes. Serve us a charcoal broiled burger any day, and we are happy campers.

Determined to hike the entire crescent-shaped half-moon beach, we took our sweet time and made it to the very end. One must stop was at the corrals to pay a visit to the friendly donkey. Now this is where the pear came in handy. One of the corral staffers was there and noticed the pear in my bag. Calling the donkey by name, Ted, he came over to check us out. Another young couple had made it quicker, and insisted on photos with Ted. They held onto him until smart Ted spotted the fruit, and left them. He sucked the pear into his mouth and bit it in half. Good thing I moved my fingers away fast. The staff member said that many guests will bring apples from the ship over here to feed Ted, explaining why he had his head in my bag last Saturday.

Time to mosey back to Captain Morgan's Bar. We had walked much further than we thought, and needed some refreshments. So the strawberry daiquiri and margarita were mostly for medicinal purposes, ha-ha! Last week, we noticed that the charges for these drinks were slightly higher than $11 plus 18% gratuity. Reading the menu closer, there was an additional charge for Bahamian tax, which applied to this island. Interesting...... 

One of us was going to check out pricing on some island clothing in the shops, but did not have the energy to do so. As the saying goes, we will be back. We boarded the waiting tender, and had the treat of watching flying fish soaring around us. We were back onboard by 2pm. A Lido lunch was in order with custom-made salads and sandwiches on ciabatta rolls, toasted no less. All of the food venues appeared to be busy, so many people did not eat on the island today. In fact, we know that many never left the ship. That's the beauty of this type of travel, as you have so many options to do whatever you like. You are never bored. In fact, the word "bored" is not in our vocabulary.

Spending the rest of the afternoon on our veranda, we had the perfect view of the tender boats bringing the folks back. Working on photos and future port reports was another job to do. The ship left before 6pm, and was now headed for a day at sea on the way to Jamaica.

Nothing really caught our eye for dinner in the dining room tonight, so we made last minute reservations in Canaletto. They gave us a time of 8:30pm, and we said yes. Thinking that the Canaletto was filled with guests, we were surprised to find it mostly empty. Of course, this is later than usual for us, and the restaurant is closed for any more guests by 9:30pm. Our service was great, the food hot, and delicious. Starters were salad, minestrone soup, and veal meatballs. Our mains were short ribs and veal scaloppini. Saved a little room for desserts of chocolate tart and an orange tart. As well as the waitress chatting with us, we were visited by the manager and chef, making sure our meal was to our liking. Yes, it sure was.

So glad tomorrow is a sea day, as there are very few on these shorter cruises.

Bill & Mary Ann

159 Pictures

Report #9 Fort Lauderdale, Florida December 26, 2021 Sunday Sunny & 75 degrees

 

Well here we are, back where we began…..in Ft. Lauderdale.  Breakfast was early from 6:30 to 8:30am in the dining room and Club Orange. The Lido service was from 6 to 9am, and there was no room service.  The entire population of the ship had to be cleared through the US Customs and Border Protection, which is called a "zero" clearance.  This process began with the passengers after 8am, and needed to be completed by 9:15am. 

We needed to take our passports, our room key, and In-Transit cards, as well as wearing our masks.  We had already decided that we wanted to leave the ship, and not return until the early afternoon. For those that were In-Transit like us, that did not want to leave the ship, this group had to proceed together to be cleared by Customs.  Then they would have to wait in the terminal for about 90 minutes to re-board after 11am.  These folks would not be allowed to leave the ship again if they chose this option.  In addition, once all of the In-Transit guests came back onboard, none of us had to visit our muster station again, since we had done that a week ago.  Now that we have gotten this down pat, we will repeat the process over and over.

We had three things to do in mind this morning while in town.  One was to take a long walk, do some shopping, and possibly go out to lunch, something we have not done yet.  The weather was cooperating with mostly blue skies, temps in the mid 70's, and a nice breeze blowing. A good recipe for taking some photos.  Access to town from Pier 4 was so much easier than walking from Pier 26.  This pier was located directly behind the Convention Center, which is being remodeled at the moment.  Getting directions from the terminal crew, we easily found our way to Eisenhower Blvd which led to the Walgreens on the corner of 17^th and SR A1A.

From here we turned right and walked over the draw bridge towards the beach area.  The sidewalks here were busier than we remembered, but most of the locals were not wearing masks.  Creatures of habit, we felt more comfortable leaving ours on.  Eventually we reached the Ft. Lauderdale Beach, which is opened to the public.  There is a lot of parking here, but there is also a charge.  Bikes were here to rent also.  Within an hour, most all of the parking spots were gone. 

We continued our hike, but stopped short of the Las Olas area, which we can walk the next time we come here.  One of us was being most careful of going too far, just in case it may be difficult to walk back.  So far, all is good as long as we take it slowly.  From here, we back-tracked, and continued up  17^th to the Harbor Shops, and Duffy's, a fun sports bar.  We had already decided that if it was crowded, we would not go inside.  However, even with a football game in progress, the high top tables near the back were all empty.  This would work OK.  We ordered draft beers, a house salad and a bacon cheeseburger to share.  The ice cold beer hit the spot and the burger was excellent. 

In this same mall, we went to Publix and found a few items we needed.  At the far end was an Ace Hardware Store where we bought a large wall clock (battery powered) for our room.  It fit perfectly over the big screen TV.

Back at the ship by 2pm, we relaxed in our room until sail away around 4:15pm.  Welcoming us, were a new vase of red roses and one dozen Cokes. On the desk, were two plates, one with bruschetta and the other with truffles.  The best was another bottle of champagne on ice with two champagne flutes.  We shared this while enjoying the boisterous sail out of Port Everglades.  Captain Noel, once again, had fun with the ship's horn.  We happened to be the first of the six ships in port to leave.  We noticed that many of the onlookers ashore came out to wave at us again.  During the sailing out, a Coast Guard speed boat, complete with a gunner in the front, kept all of the fishing boats and jet skis away from the big cruise ships.  A couple of police boats were also nearby for back-up.  We watched for the dolphins, but there were none to be seen.  Only one frigate bird soared above the ship briefly.  So here we go again on another 7 day trip, this one a New Year's sailing.

There was a big difference with service in the main dining room this evening.  With more guests onboard, the service seemed much slower.  Even the head waiter was running food and clearing tables.  We did notice our waiter was using a larger tablet to take our order, so don't know if that was a problem.  Some of our food was warm, not hot, except for the onion soup, which was boiling.

We knew that friends Susie and Woody would be boarding today with some of their family members, who are joining them for 7 days.  Turned out they had a table for eight near the back of the room.  The Hotel Manager and one of his assistants stopped by our table to inform us that they were here.  Then Presty stopped by for a chat, and we sent him there to greet them.  Presty also told us that under 1600 were on this cruise, but there were also 300 kids under 18 here for the holiday sailing.  We expect this to be a lively crowd. And like we did last week, we will dine in each specialty restaurant at least once in the next 7 days.

Back in the room, we had two more $50 spa offers and a $200 credit for an Effy product.  Also back was the laundry we sent in this morning.  Wow.

Tomorrow, we will be in Half Moon Cay, another day in paradise!

Bill & Mary Ann

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Report #8 Half Moon Cay December 25, 2021 Saturday Sunny & 75 degrees

Merry Christmas one and all!   Ho-ho-ho!

If there was an ideal place to spend Christmas, the private island of Half Moon Cay would be one of our picks.  While we were enjoying breakfast mimosas (one of us has switched to a poinsettia with champagne and cranberry juice),  we watched as the ship sailed into the bay of this tiny island.  The weather could not have been better, with temps in the high 70's and perfectly clear, blue skies.  Not a cloud in sight.  Knowing that combination could be dangerous as far as sun exposure goes, we decided to play it safe, and not spend all of our time in the water or sunbathing.  A little at a time is best.

Back at our room, we found one blue waterproof HAL bag, which can be used to pack our blue and white HAL towels to the island today.  In addition, we had a stack of white masks.  These are not the same re-usable cloth masks with the HAL logo we got in Alaska. 

The ship was cleared after 8am, but we waited until closer to 10am to take the island's large tender boat to shore.  These vessels can hold up to 200 guests, and are much easier to access.  The waters in this bay are pristine blue to turquoise – picture perfect.  The Carnival Corporation has really developed this property over the years.  Way back when we had our first stop here (may be almost 20 years ago), there were a few kiosks for souvenirs, a large dining area for the outdoor lunch, water toys for rent, horseback riding, and lagoon activities. Plenty of complimentary chaise lounges lined the beach.  All that is still here, but now there are cabanas, beach villas, and one Private Oasis….all available for a hefty price starting from $450 to $1400.  And that may be the price per person.  Butler service can be addition like $100 to $270.  Keep in mind, we were only here for about 6 hours. But this is the final port of this 7 day trip, and many folks might think….what the heck.  The last tender boat to leave the island was at 2:30pm.

Following the map of the island, we found the trail that led to the kayak and glass bottom boat rides in the inner lagoon.  Jet skis were there as well.  It appeared that each tour group had a guide, and you were not allowed to go off on your own.  Close to this venue was the sting ray swim adventure.  The rays are screened in a large area where guests access the water to swim with them.  One of the island's large transport, an open-air 18 person truck, drove the guests here.  Many younger kids were in the group, and we knew this tour would be thrilling for them.

Continuing on, we located the Nature Trail where we saw mostly mangrove growth, a few indigenous tress, and a couple of blue-tailed lizards.  Fairly deep sand sort of slowed the walking for one of us.  We came out to the road that led us to the horse stables.  Now this is where things got interesting.  A few of the extra horses were near the railings, so we walked over to see them.  We should have remembered that we were walking through some pretty noxious grasses, that left at least one million sticky burrs on our shoes and socks.  Good grief…..it would take 20 minutes to pick them off.  The tiny thorns were sharp enough to penetrate the soles of our shoes. Oh well, kind of made our day to be able to pet the horses, one of which was chewing on the wooden railing. 

A bit further up this road, we found the area where the horseback riding began.  There were benches and a small building with lockers for the riders to stash their stuff.  While sitting on a picnic bench, a lone donkey wandered over to us, and began looking for food, we think.  No, we had no food, but we did have very sharp stickers to clean off. Of course, we pet him, and he never left.  Even when we got up to leave, he followed us to the sandy beach.  He was convinced our HAL bag had some goodies for him.  Aren't animals great?

With our shoes off, we walked the soft sandy surf back towards the Pirate Ship Bar.  The water felt so good, we said the next time we come, which is Monday, we might go for a swim.  Finally at the Pirate Ship, we went inside and had two frozen Margaritas.  Boy, were they ever so good.  The second round, one of us tried a frozen strawberry dacquari.  Made with spiced rum, now this is my favorite drink.  Can't believe I never tried one before.  The bartender announced the last call for alcohol around 1:15pm.  The staff began cleaning everything up, which surprised us.  Guess they want to make sure everyone makes that last tender.

Passing the outdoor cafeteria, we found that it had been completely cleaned also.  We had missed lunch here again, but we knew where we could find food on the ship….like everywhere.  On the way to the tender boat, we had to pass through security.   No need to do that on the ship.  Our keycards were not scanned onshore.  We relaxed on the top deck while waiting for more people to board.  Within a few minutes, we were back onboard the ship. 

Lunch for us was in the Lido, with a stop at the Dive In Grill for one burger, fries, and a hot dog.  That took maybe 20 minutes, even though they did not appear to be that busy.  The Captain blew the horn by 3pm for at least 20 seconds while he sailed away from the island.  Like we said, we will be back here on Monday with mostly a whole new group of people. 

Christmas dinner for us was one entrée of steak and lobster, and one meal of sliced ham.  For dessert, one of us had a pumpkin tart, and the other the Christmas snowman, which was the white chocolate mold filled with a chiffon cream.

Back in our room, we had the new small "Journeys" booklet with a sticker of the N. Statendam's itinerary for this cruise.  There is room for 15 more stickers.  Also, last night we received a letter of instruction for tomorrow's procedures for in transit guests.  Breakfast will be at 6:30 to 8:30am, and we will need to disembark by 9:15am.  We will fill in the details tomorrow.

Bill & Mary Ann

239 Pictures

Report #7 Sea Day December 24, 2021 Thursday Mostly cloudy & 75 degrees

Ah, finally a day at sea to kick back and relax.  Well, not exactly since we had a few activities in the morning to do.  After yet another nice breakfast in the Club Orange, we headed to the main dining room, deck three, for a mandatory Covid test.  Only those guests who will be doing the next voyage had to go.  Turned out the line was already long when we got there, but we discovered that about 150 folks will be travelling onward.   The process was easy.  We were required to bring our "invitation" we had received yesterday.  This card was kept and we each got a sticker with our name & room number on it.  It was adhered to the back of our hands.  Four stations were set up to do the swabbing, then the sticker was placed around each sample.  Now the fun part….we had to return to our room and wait ½ hour.  If we did not receive a phone call from them, that meant our tests were negative.  We would be free to leave the room at that point.

Now the good news……we never got that phone call, meaning we did not test positive.  A much nicer activity was the invite to a Mariner Recognition Event held at 11am in the Ocean Bar.  On this ship, the Ocean Bar is a much smaller room, and was perfect for the 30 or so people that attended.  We knew two other President's Club guests who travel on the grand world voyage every year.  One other lady we did not know made the five of us on this trip.  Several guests, already wearing their new medallions, were called to have a photo with Captain Noel and Mustafa, the Hotel General Manager. One of these guests was a very special one…..a guide dog assisting a blind lady.  A black lab, she posed for the photo with her "family" as if she knew what was happening.  Heartwarming, they all got an astounding round of applause from the small group.  The majority of the group were then summoned for photos, but their days were not mentioned.  Last but not least, the President's Club members were introduced by name and our number of sea days.  During the ceremony, wine, orange juice, or mimosas were served.  Lingering after most everyone left, we chatted with a couple seated next to us.  They recognized us from the 2020 world cruise, even remembering that I wore a knee brace.  Turned out, they were also members of the same travel agency we used for years, although, we have changed companies a few years ago.  All-in-all, this was one of the more fun gatherings we have attended.  The Captain set the tone for a very casual meeting.  Anyway, we did receive the complimentary photo along with a photo of the ship by 5pm this afternoon.  Nice.

We know this is getting to be old news, but our computer still does not work in our room.  We even had trouble in the atrium.  Oddly enough, the battery in the computer was low, but should not have been.  That was when we discovered that when our room steward pulls the card from the wall slot, it was cutting power to some of the desk plugs, thus our computer was not charging.  Now we have located the correct receptacles that do not shut down on the desk when the card is pulled, and we will not have to bother our room stewards about it.  Not sure we mentioned that this new ship has modern technology in regards to room keys, that work by tapping, not inserting.  And like most hotels have these days, you need to put a card (any card) into the slot by the door to enable the lights to work.  It saves power, which is fine once we figured out what works or not.

So we went down to the Front Desk area and took our favorite seats to try the computer there. This time we looked for a plug, and it was there near the desk. The IT fellow spotted us, and said two of their top technicians were on their way with a possible solution for the computer to work everywhere.  Then magic happened.  Tweaking a few things, the internet came back in the atrium as well as our room.  We sent them a thank you on their Navigator site, which takes the place of "Let Us Know" cards. 

                                                                                        

Many activities were taking place all over the ship today.  Besides entertainment, there were last chance sales in every shop.  We have yet to check any of their things out, but we do have lots of time to do it and make use of the use-it-or-lose-it shipboard credit.  And of course with today being Christmas Eve, there were reports that Santa was roaming around, although we never did see him.  Bet the kids found him.

We did have a few passing showers today, and the temps have cooled down to the mid 70's.  That is the forecast for tomorrow's weather while at Half Moon Cay.   We should arrive there around 8am with the last tender leaving at 2:30pm.

Tonight's dinner was gala, and with it being Christmas Eve, most everyone in the dining room was dressed for the occasion.  We ordered a hot pumpkin soup, crab cakes with Thai peppers, Caesar salads, beef tenderloin with Yorkshire pudding, and vegetarian raviolis with an added side of roasted chicken breast. Perfect.  Desserts were a very chocolaty yule log and a fruity pavlova.  The plates were decorated with a Happy Holiday white chocolate edible decoration.  And this is the first evening we heard two birthday celebrations with the special Indonesian song.  The crew really loves doing this, and we are happy that the tradition has not been dropped…….yet.

The clocks went back one hour tonight, much to everyone's delight.

Bill & Mary Ann

52 Pictures

Report #6 Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands December 23, 2021 Thursday Mostly sunny & 80 degrees

Nothing really looked familiar when we arrived to Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas early this morning.  Guess it has been longer than we remember as to when we were here last.  On the earlier visits here, we had taken tours, mostly to a beach for the afternoon.  The last time, we went on a boat to St. John's for a day of snorkeling. 

History here is interesting in the fact that the three largest of the US Virgin Islands were acquired by President Teddy Roosevelt for $25 million in 1917.  At that time, Denmark owned this area.  This island is 32 square miles, 13 miles long and 4 miles wide, roughly the size of Manhattan.  Sixty thousand people live here, most of them US citizens. 

In the old days, St. Thomas was a magnet for pirates , and often attacked ships bringing silver and gold back to Europe.  Plantation owners grew sugarcane (for rum making), cotton, and indigo for export to the rest of the Caribbean, Africa, and Europe.  This area is famous for their johnnycakes, a bread snack eaten while working in the plantations.  Imported slaves from Africa were given these cakes so as not to stop field work eating a proper lunch.  Time is money…..nothing has changed, has it?

Today, there is much to do here such as sailing, beaches, diving, snorkeling, golf, and horseback riding.  Naturally, it has become a shopper's paradise with gold, diamonds, and emeralds.  High end shops are here by the dozens, as well as upscale resorts and hotels.  It can be very expensive during the peak season of December through May. 

The front desk crew are still working on our shipboard account, with most  of the problems resolved.  Getting a good signal in our stateroom has continued to be evasive, although the IT manager did say today that they will try to remedy it with a little extra work.  We happened to be sitting at the side table near the Front desk while a big drill was announced.  Took them almost an hour to complete it.

Leaving the ship after the thundering herd got off, we strolled through Havensight Mall with over 60 shops.  Not all of them were occupied or opened today.  By the way, we were in port with the two Carnival ships, creating many crowded venues everywhere.  Close to lunchtime, most folks were searching for bars and restaurants.  Once again, we decided not to eat out.  Most of the guests from all of the ships wore masks, but many did not.  Signage for wearing masks was posted on every building, as well as plenty of hand sanitizer dispensers available for use. 

Turning left out of the gates, we wandered to The Shops, a place which houses nice shops with cafes and restaurants here and there on the Bayfront.  Mega yachts, sailboats, catamarans, and dinghies filled the small harbor.  When we come back here, this is where we might go to an outdoor bar and grill.  It was far less crowded here.

We did walk through Havensight Mall on the way back, and did manage to find nail polish remover.  This is one item we do not want to ship in luggage or pack in luggage on the airplane.  The other small items we need will have to wait a few days until we return to Ft. Lauderdale. 

Getting hungry and thirsty, we went back on the ship and went to the Lido for salads and sandwiches.  A few cookies and a small ice cream cone were good also.  All aboard was 4:30pm, so we sat on the veranda to watch the sail away.  We have enjoyed this immensely.  Over in another bay, we could see the stacks of the APEX.  So there were at least 4 ships here today.  We read that as many as 8 ships can be here in a day, making St. Thomas one of the busiest ports in the Caribbean.  Many of the water-related tours were taking place right near our veranda.  Namely, the boats and catamarans were loading and unloading both morning and afternoon.  We did not have a chance to check out the ship's tours here, but most of them must have been on a boat.  What caught our eye more so were the 6 fellows working on one of those mega yachts.  They wore us out just by watching them paint, polish, and clean all day.

Dinner tonight was in the Pinnacle Grill at 8pm.  This is such a bigger venue than what we knew on the Amsterdam.  For one thing, there are windows, which is nice, even in the dark, we could see waves from the ship.  Jumbo shrimp was suggested for an appetizer, so we shared them on top of our Caesar salads.  A bowl of bread sticks were served with two types of butter spreads.  One of us had the 7 ounce filet mignon, and the other had chicken….both delicious.  We split an order of French fries, then ended the meal with Key lime pie.  Excellent cuisine and even better service.  The manager Ada, her assistant, and even the chef checked on us throughout the meal.  We left happy campers…full to the brim.

Laundry service has been swift, with the return time the same day.  Our clean clothing even came with a thank you note from Paryono.  No, we should be thanking him!

Tomorrow, we will have a restful day at sea, thank goodness.   We need it!

Bill & Mary Ann

115 Pictures

Report #5 San Juan, Puerto Rico December 22, 2021 Wednesday Mostly sunny & 80 degrees

Today's port of call was San Juan, Puerto Rico, a place we have visited often over the years.  The island of Puerto Rico is 110 miles long and 35 miles wide, with a population of about 4 million.  Most residents are US citizens, and the country was made a US commonwealth in 1952.  There is talk that Puerto Rico may become a state someday.  It reportedly rivals Miami with night clubs and disco.  And it houses El Yunque, the only rain forest in the Caribbean. This range of mountains can get 100 billion gallons of rain a year.  Not sure how that was calculated, but it can get hot and steamy up there.  Checking out the shore excursions, we did not see a trip there today.  There may have been considerable damage during the hurricane almost 5 years ago.

Founded by Spanish explorer Ponce de Leon in 1508, he became governor and created the Old City of San Juan.  The area we traversed today was full of 16^th to 17^th century Spanish colonial architecture, most of which have been restored.  Blue gray cobble stones that pave the streets in Old Town, were used as ballast on the Spanish ships.  Can you imagine how long they have held up? 

High stone walls used to surround this entire area, but eventually most of it crumbled.  Now the area is full of homes with tree-shaded squares, monuments, and lots of people, mostly masked.  There are two major forts here, as well as a cathedral, a convent, museums, and universities.  We would hike the area for a few hours.

The ship was scheduled to arrive at 1pm, so at noon, the bow on our deck 5 was opened for folks to watch the sail into the harbor.  Of course, we did that, and discovered there was a large Jacuzzi spa on this small deck.  Now whether or not it is opened while we are sailing, we do not know, since there is a very high step to access the outside.  The most fun about being out here was the show the boobys  and the frigates put on.  They were most curious to see people on this bow.  We were more curious to see how long it would take to get "christened".  When it got more crowded out there, we went back to our room where we had just as good of a view as we sailed past the infamous El Morro.  However, we could barely hear Bettyann, the Cruise & Travel Director, give her scenic commentary listening to our interactive room TV. 

In the area of the piers, we could see two distinct stacks of whale tails, obviously Carnival ships.  One was the Sunshine and the other Mardi Gras, one of their newest and biggest.  With almost 100,000 gross tons to our name, we felt like midgets.  Docked at a pier further away, was the NCL Norwegian Sky, which may not even be sailing yet.  And while we were hiking, we spotted the Celebrity APEX, a fairly new vessel, sailing into the harbor, which was also huge.  Boy, that is going to be a whole lot of people in town. 

Once our ship was cleared, we watched while people poured out of two gangways.  We figured one exit was for tour people, and the other, independent.  Local shore side authorities were reminding passengers to put their masks on. You could tell from where we were watching, that some folks do not like being told what to do.  Some complied, and some did not. 

We had decided that on this trip it may not be wise to seek out lunch.  It is difficult to tell how much of the virus is around, and many of the cafes and restaurants in this part of town are fairly small.  Some had chains draw across their doors, because the place was at capacity.  There is too much good (and safe) food on the ship, we could wait until we got back. 

So we began or 2 hour hike, but not before purchasing an aluminum bottle of water on the ship.  No more plastic, and you cannot bring plastic water bottles back on the ship if you bought them onshore.  Even though the weather was quite nice today, the sun was still hot, and we did not want to risk dehydration.

Heading straight uphill, we found the road of the Old Wall.  The first fort we passed was Fuerte San Cristobal, a stone fortress built between 1634 and 1785.  This fort is even bigger than El Morro and was known as the "Gibraltar" of the West Indies.  Tour groups were already congregated at the entrance, and we could have toured it for a small fee.  However, we have been here and done that, so we continued onward.

We took our time walking towards Fuerte San Felipe del Morro. This fort was built on a promontory at the tip of the Old City back in the 15^th to 18^th centuries.  There were so many people out and about today and we realized most of them were locals.  School must be out for the holiday, and with so many cruise ships in port,  everything was crowded.  Families were picnicking and flying kites, a favorite pastime here.  Anyway, that was when we saw the APEX arriving to the harbor, which was about 3pm.  As we said, they would pull up right across from us at the pier.

From the fort, we walked back the way we came, which was far easier going downhill.  We ducked into a CVS to look for a battery-operated wall clock, but found none.  Then we tried Walgreens, and had no luck there.  Both stores were full of mostly crew members buying loads of snack food. Some actually bring suitcases to haul it back.  Lines wrapped around both stores with a long wait to check out.  Even if we had found what we needed, doubt we would wait that long in a line.  Best to wait until we are back in Florida to shop. 

Back to the ship, we searched for lunch, and found the NY Deli & Pizza opened.  We both had Caesar salads, and a shared pizza and meatball sandwich.  Our beverages were served by a waiter.  Then we still had those free Mariner cocktail coupons to use.  Going to the aft pool bar, we ordered mimosas in place of their special drink. It was so  good, we paid for seconds.  It was there that we saw  the Coke machine, and asked the bartender how that worked.  He said for $8 a day, you got a special soda glass with a chip in it.  Then you could drink to your heart's delight from the machine.  Just don't lose your glass, as anyone can use it.

Presty spotted us outside the NY Deli, and stopped to chat.  He said there was a total of 1250 or so passengers on this trip.  Then we heard from a waitress that there are 120 kids onboard….mostly because it is Christmas and many families are traveling together.  We also told him that we were going to the Canaletto for dinner tonight, and he said we would really like it. Of course, he is the head of that venue as well as the Lido.

Spent the rest of the late afternoon relaxing on our veranda, and eventually working on photos.  Dinner was at 8pm, and the Canaletto was not full.  Of course, the ship is here until 11pm, so many people may be ashore.  The special of the day was veal liver, definitely not our favorite.  But the menu offered numerous starters and mains.  Our Thai waitress explained everything, and made her suggestions.  We were more than happy  with our choices of antipasto, salad, calamari, and minestroni soup.  Two slices of their special bread were really good.  Although she did offer more, we said no, we would eat too much.  Mains were short ribs and lamb chops with ½ orders of lasagna.  All good.  Dessert was shared chocolate tart and  two types of gelato in small shot glasses.   While we were ordering, the Mardi Gras blew her horn, and set sail for their next port.  A half hour after that, the Sunshine departed, and by 10pm, the APEX left.  We would ship out at 11pm.

Tomorrow will be another port……St. Thomas.  Been there, but it has been many years.  Bet it doesn't look the same.

Bill & Mary Ann

196 Pictures

Report #4 Grand Turk, Turk & Caicos December 21, 2021 Tuesday Warm & breezy 80 degrees

Well, here we are at our first port of the trip……Grand Turk, Turk & Caicos.  This is the very first time we have visited here, and we were pleasantly surprised at what we found.

Beginning the morning once again with a breakfast in the Orange Club, our day began with trying to figure out why we cannot get any wifi in our room.  And once again, we went down to the front desk area, and took two seats at the side table there.  Cynthia, a senior front desk employee, came over and chatted for a bit.  She was aware of our internet problem, and said a technician would be paying a visit to our room to see why this was happening.  Fine with us.  She also updated us on our account as far as the credits would work for this entire cruise.  They will need a copy of our travel agency's documents to add up the cashable credit.  The statement on our account is not jiving with our contract, so this will have to be cleared up as well.

Grand Turk and the Caicos are located between the Bahamas and Haiti, and happens to have the third largest coral reef system in the world.  We never knew that.  Guests from all over the world come here for the diving, snorkeling, deep sea fishing, and offshore finance.  Must be similar to the practices in the Caymen Islands where the rich and famous can house their fortunes.

Out of the 40 islands here, only 10 of them are inhabited.  There are about 25,000 natives, many of whom are of African and Bahamian descent. They are called the "Belongers". This group of islands belong to the British Overseas Territory.  Originally the natives harvested salt, retrieving it with rakes, bagging it, and transporting it on donkeys to the ships for transport to America and Canada.  To this day, several wild donkeys roam the islands. In the 1700's, the plantation owners grew cotton for export, until eventually, tourism, fishing, and offshore financing took over as we mentioned.  Another village industry was weaving as in baskets, mats, and hats made with native grasses, palm leaves and sisal.  Today the salt ponds attract flamingoes who dine on the shrimp.  The abandoned windmills have become home to osprey who make their nests on top.

The deep sea fishing here is for bonefish, marlin, sailfish, wahoo, tuna, barracuda, and shark.  The larger islands of the Caicos have the most over-the-top resorts and hotels, and attract the Hollywood crowd we read. Grand Turk is only 7 miles long and 1 mile wide, and is more suitable for beach activities.  And for good reason, the turquoise waters are pristine, and the beaches have soft white sand.  This would be available for everyone on the ship.

The ship docked very close to the Grand Turk Cruise Center, built by the Carnival Corporation in 2006.  It comprises of 18 acres of shops, a few restaurants, numerous restrooms, and even a large swimming pool.  Guests from the ship were welcomed to use all of it, including the stretch of beach filled with chaise lounges.  All with no cost.  There are the usual high end jewelry shops, but also Caribbean apparel, souvenirs, and gifts. 

The most well-known bar and restaurant is Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville.  Today, they were about the only restaurant opened for business.  We chatted with a local vendor at a craft market who told us they just opened this complex a week ago, as they may have been closed due to Covid.   She expected more ships will be arriving at the rate of 2 or 3 a week.  And they are most happy to see the tourists back. 

Walking the beach was most pleasant, since the temps were in the low 80's and the humidity was not especially high.  But this could be deceiving, since a nice breeze kept us comfortable, and we know the rays of the sun could be dangerous.  We would have eaten lunch but we had indulged a big at breakfast, and were not that hungry.  Maybe next time, as we will be back. 

One of us did buy a few useful souvenirs, but for the most part, prices were high.  Have to mention that there was a capacity of only 7 people in a small shop at a time, and there several sinks with soap to wash your hands.  Great idea.  If you wished to go to downtown and nearby Cockburn Town, taxis were available for $5 per person for a one way 3 mile ride there.  There were only 2 tours offered through Shore Excursions, mostly sightseeing, and perhaps a beach stop.

Our time was limited with all aboard at 3:30pm.  We headed back to have lunch onboard at 2pm.  Then while relaxing on our veranda, the horn began blasting with really long blows.  Over and over again.  Finally an announcement was made for two missing guests.  We did see some people running to the gangway about then.  It would not be the first time we saw people miss the ship, although we think they made it.

Hey, we learned something new today.  Does anyone know what a "potcake" is?  To us, we joking said it sounded like a marijuana-laced dessert.  Well, no.  It is a name for the feral dogs that run these islands.  Not sure where the cake part comes from, but the pot refers to the fact that the dogs were fed from the bottom of the local's cooking pots.  How about that?  Today the puppies from these dogs are being adopted out for free to tourists that travel here. And perhaps there is an effort to sterilize the adults.

Once the ship picked up speed, it began to cool off.  We did read that this is the beginning of the humpback whale season, where they are migrating to their feeding areas.  Keeping an eye out for a possible sighting, we did see some large fish jumping and diving under the ship.  They may have been tuna, but they were too fast to identify.

Lunch was in the Lido again with cobb salads and hot sandwiches.  A few cookies full of nuts ended the meal.  We checked out the back pool to see if there was a sail away party, but there was none.  What we saw were many lounges full of folks snoozing.  There were a few outside tables on the starboard side where guests could smoke.  Looking a deck above the Seaview Pool, we spotted a Terra Cotta warrior statue, and thought it odd to see it there.  We would discover why later.

While working online at the front desk, we learned that someone did come to our room and claimed the wifi worked.  News to us, we went back to try it, and discovered we could not get a signal.  We'll let them know and see whatever tricks they have up their sleeve, or not.

Dinner was in the Tamarind this evening, and we did not get a written reminder in our mail slot like we do on the Amsterdam. Guess they figure we could look it up on the Navigator site, but we do not own a cell phone, so even a phone call reminder would be  good.  We were seated at a table for two at the window.  Lo and behold, right outside the window was the Terra Cotta warrior, which makes sense.  He is guarding the Asian Tamarind Restaurant.  Across the room from where we sat was the Nami Sushi Restaurant, which serves ala carte dishes with charges.  Not our cup of tea, but it was full of customers, including some officers. 

The service and food were impeccable.  Starters were Thai beef salad, spring rolls, and a shared dish of baby back ribs…..the absolute best. Shrimp crackers were served along with the little dishes of sauces and soy sauce.  Both of us ordered the wasabi-crusted beef tenderloin, which came with asparagus and tempura onion rings.  One side of basmati rice was enough for the both of us. Thank goodness the dessert of cheesecake was on the small side. It was unlike any cheesecake we ever had, tart and lemony inside a boat of white chocolate.  We finished by 9pm, but were too early for the World Stage show of In Tandem.  It will be repeated in future trips, and we can go then.

The clocks go ahead this evening, so better hit the hay, so to speak.  Tomorrow, we will be in San Juan, Puerto Rico, but not until 1pm.

Bill & Mary Ann

120 Pictures

Report #3 Day at Sea December 20, 2021 Monday Partly cloudy & 78 degrees

Today began our first journey in the Caribbean Sea.  For a change, we decided to try the Orange Club restaurant for breakfast.  The manager had promised to save us a table, so why not?  This venue only exists as a separate restaurant on this class of ships.  It is accessible to suite folks as well as guests who paid for the Orange Club privileges.  This is also a fairly new concept that we never experienced on a Grand Voyage. From what we have seen, it has worked well at $25 per person per day to gain some extra perks.  We have been included as we already have earned most of the perks through President's Club.

Breakfast items were close to the same as in the Main Dining Room, except there were a few different items offered.  To begin the meal, we enjoyed a Mimosa.  Then we had Greek yogurt with mixed berries and granola, followed by an American breakfast (eggs, bacon, muffins, and the famous hash brown hockey puck.  All of it was delicious and hot….even the hockey puck.  We were also served fresh squeezed orange juice (the only place you can get it), as well as lots of hot coffee.  The waiters were very attentive and not stressed as we have noticed in the Main  dining room at times on other ships.

While we were dining, Presty, the Lido Manager who we have known for many years, had hunted us down to say hi.  So nice to see him, he shared a lot of info since we had all been dispersed from the ill-fated world cruise in 2020.  He spent months on the Amsterdam before he was able to go home to Bali.  Glad to be working again, he runs the entire Lido and other venues……a huge job.  We promised to visit him during this cruise.

A walk around the Promenade deck was in order, so we did a one mile trek (3 laps).  Unlike the lower busy promenade deck on the Amsterdam, here we only saw about a half dozen people which included the working crew.  Most places around the deck are narrow, and there is little room for chaise lounges. In fact, there were no lounges at all.  No jogging is allowed, but there is one designated smoking area.

Today was the first time we spotted some wildlife in the form of boobys, flying fish, and some dolphins.  Around 12:30pm, Captain Noel spotted something even more interesting.  It was a dinghy with a surf board.  Still too far away to see anyone onboard, he turned around and headed back to check it more thoroughly.  Viewing from our veranda, we could see with binoculars that the boat was unmanned, which was good, or maybe it was bad.  The crew retrieved the dinghy and the Captain mentioned it would be reported just in case someone was missing.  Captain Noel's theory was that it could have been washed out to sea during a storm.  This is not the first time we have had this experience, but all ended positively.

We are having a problem with getting online in our room.  The signal is just not strong enough.  So the best spot to go is across from the Front Desk.  The good thing is that we attract some attention from the staff, namely Mustafa Gulbahar, the Hotel General Manager, as they are called these days. Explaining our situation, he promised to look into solving our problem.  Not that we mind the walk twice a day, but it would be more convenient to stay in our room.  We are paying for the Premium plan, which works nicely near the Atrium.  So we shall keep you up to date with the progress.

That gave me time while there to decipher our shipboard statement with Cynthia (from the Amsterdam).  When the credits are listed, they do not itemize the source.  And it is difficult to figure out.  The final answer was she would look into it and let us know before the week was over.

Everything in our room has finally found a place.  Powerful magnets were used to hang a shoe bag from the ceiling for small stuff, and Command hooks were used to hang costume jewelry.  We had purchased a 4 foot ½ inch wooden dowel (cut in two) to hang from the ceiling with the magnets.

Now they are holding 14 shirts across the wall above the metal hooks.  We used the metal hooks to hang more shirts.  The walls of the room have far less metal in them, but the ceiling has much more.  The magnets stick so well, it is difficult to get them off.

We had read on Cruise Critic that over-the-door hooks would not fit on the bathroom door.  And that is correct.  If needed, these hooks could be used on the closet doors.  And to finish up the clutter, we sent two pieces of luggage to be stored until we need them in April.

At 1:45pm, we were invited to a Mariner Society wine tasting in the dining room.  But since we do not drink wine, we passed on the affair.  We have found that this activity appeals to the folks who are interested in purchasing a wine package.

Lunch was in the Lido after 2pm.  We discovered a row of high top tables against a wall, and had salads and sandwiches there.  Beverages were served by a waiter.  A few sets of double sinks are set up right in the Lido where people are urged to wash their hands.  Great idea.  On the way out, we stopped for two cookies for dessert.  Now that you are served, you tend to take less.

This was a good time to explore these upper decks.  First was the Lido Pool area, which seemed pretty full of sunbathers and swimmers.  The biggest attraction here was the big screen movie, which was showing Back to the Future.  No need to be bored while burning in the warm rays of the Caribbean sun.  The deck above this pool has what appeared to be bungalows, but we are not sure.  Above this deck is the running track, as well as the New York Deli & Pizza and a bar.  Now we know where to find popcorn, nachos, and pretzels.  Also above this deck are the Retreats for rent.  We did see a few folks sitting in them.  Wonder how hot these tents get?  More mid ship, we found the sports area which included a basketball court, exercise equipment, and shuffleboard to name a few.  They are smartly situated so no noise can be heard down under.  There is a lot to say about "new" as the design and layout are much more people friendly.

From here we walked both decks two and three with all of the shops, Music Walk, and Casino.  Every venue was full of people, and with continuing activities,  no place sits idle.  Perhaps when we are in port, that will be different.  We have to keep reminding ourselves that most folks are on here for one week, with only two sea days to buy stuff.  And they are buying……

This evening was Gala, and we wanted to see how people were dressed.  It was a mixed bag, but most everyone followed the suggested dress code.  Perhaps it is due to the fact this is a holiday sailing.  Leaving early, we stopped along the way to listen to the music in Lincoln Center Stage, Billboard Onboard, and Rolling Stone Walk.  Every venue had many customers…nice to see.  

Dinner in the dining room was good again.  The food has not been disappointing for us, as it was on the Nieuw Amsterdam.  Even our entrée plates were pre-heated tonight, keeping our rack of lamb and NY strip loin steak hot. Desserts were ice cream sundaes.  Our waiters, Surya and Oka, have been outstanding.  Even the head waiter stopped by twice to check on us.  We are guessing that with all of the alternate dining choices, the number  of folks in the main dining room are far less than usual.

For those that know us, we usually do not attend shows.  In past years, we saw them all over and over.  Same- same.  And when we have a table of eight, we never finish in time for the 9:30pm performance.  However tonight, the timing was perfect to check out the show of Step One Dance Company.  Not sure we would like it, we decided to stay a few minutes, then sneak out.  Well………we had a pleasant surprise to find a show that was so unique, we stayed for the whole thing.  This show lounge does not resemble the Mainstage at all.  It appears almost barren with a two story circular wall surrounding the stage.  The technology includes piped in music (no band), a light show, and dancing.  The theme tonight was Musicology, featuring a variety of musical instruments.  Each skit was fairly brief, but did include strings, percussion, guitars, organs, violins, and piano to name a few. Even if you did not care to watch the interpretive dance with seven talented performers, you would be amused with the changing display of lights on the floor, ceiling, and walls.  Glad we stayed and would give this performance a big wow, deserving of a standing ovation.

Tomorrow will be our first port of Grand Turk, Turks & Caicos, new islands in the Caribbean for us.

Until then, 

Bill & Mary Ann

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Report # 2 Embarkation Day December 19, 2021 Sunday Rain showers & 80 degrees

Even with all of the turmoil yesterday evening, we managed to sleep pretty well.  The only problem was the time change, which is three hours ahead of California.  Normally, we try to spend around three nights in Ft. Lauderdale to get used to the change.  Due to having the required Covid test two days prior to sailing, our only option for this pre-stay was one night.

We figured it has been four years since we stayed here before a world cruise. Not a fan of hotel restaurants (breakfast buffet), we discovered years ago that by walking up the street a few blocks, there was a nice local shopping mall with a family-style café.  So much for sleeping in later, we got up early enough to re-pack the bags to have them ready for pick-up at 9am.  Then we headed off for Kristof's Kafe.  There was a 50% chance of rain, but we ignored it since the sun was shining through the clouds.  Yeah, right.

Being a Sunday morning, the café was almost full, but still enough room for us.  The food very was good as was the service.  Have to mention here that the restaurant staff did wear masks, although there was no mask mandate posted for guests at the café.  There was none last night at Bokampers either.   Since the local news is slammed with Covid spread in this state, we made it a point to wear our masks like we do at home.  Also no one asks for your Covid vaccine card here.  Thinking positive, we really wished this virus scare would be winding down by now.  Guess not.

Remember the 50% chance of rain?  Well while we were eating the skies opened up.  Really?  Naturally the umbrellas we brought with us were packed in the luggage.  Duh, we know better.  Waiting it out by finishing our last cup of coffee, the rain let up, and we decided to walk back and take our chances.  Turned out, it was a huge passing cloud, and we stayed dry.  When the sun started coming out, the roads and landscaping seem to steam, adding to the humidity.  Better get used to it from here on out.

We had until 11:15am to be in the lobby for our transfer to the pier. Our 2 pieces of luggage had been picked , so that was good. Going online, we discovered that HAL had sent 9 emails about changes, but nothing to click on.  If they involve the health questionnaire, we will just have to deal with it at the pier, as we were advise by them a few days ago.  Should have gotten this in writing.  No sense worrying about it now, but you would think HAL could fix this bug in their system.  Our patience with them is beginning to wear thin at this point.  It reflects an uncomfortable incompetence with their process….something we have never experienced before now.

In the lobby of the hotel, we checked to make sure our bags were there, and they were in the pile.  There were about 22 of us waiting for the big green bus to take us to the pier.  We were told by our buddies that the ship was delayed with guests that were late in showing up for the zero count, and we would have to wait a bit longer before we left.  This has occurred on other cruises as well and can be very frustrating for the folks that need to get to the airport.  Perhaps one day a fine will be imposed on those inconsiderate guests who cannot follow directions.

The bus ride was less than ½ hour, and we were taken to Pier 4, a new berth for us.  On the billboard entering Port Everglades were six ships sailing today.  That's a good indication the cruise industry is bouncing back.  Right before we entered the building, we spotted an agent holding a sign that had six names on it.  Right in the middle were our names. We should mention here, for those who do not know us, we reached the President's Club level in 2015.  That is after attaining 1400 pure sea days of sailing with HAL.  Anyway, the friendly agent led us into a different line to present our boarding passes, negative Covid tests, our Covid vaccination cards, and finally our passports.  Instead of a paper health questionnaire, they had a tablet with five questions about feeling ill.  Of course, we both truthfully said "no" to all of the symptoms, thank goodness.  Then we were off to pass through security.  With the alarm bell going off, I was asked if I had a hip or knee replacement.  Saying yes, I did, she was satisfied and let me go.  Then the agent led us to the counter where our passports were scanned.  No photos or a credit card were needed, as we were already in the system.  Easy……

A few staff members came to escort us to the ship's kiosk, where we logged in with a slip of paper.  Our keys would be in the mail slot onboard. We were greeted by more crew members when we entered the ship. The room was ready, so we went directly there to drop off our hand carrys. We will go into more detail on the size of this veranda room (VC) in future reports, but we noticed it was a bit wider than our previous aft balcony room on the Nieuw Amsterdam.  With a few tricks up our sleeves, there should be enough space for the contents of the four pieces of luggage we brought.  Did we mention that we shipped two bags (65# each) through Luggage Free?  Yes, it was a bit pricey, but it saved our backs trying to haul them.  We are so used to getting four bags or duffels, in our case, with no weight restrictions sailing on the Grand Voyages, that we really appreciate how much that is worth now.

In our room, we had a lovely bouquet of roses and a bottle of Veuve Clicqout champagne on ice.  On the desk were two trays of snacks, as well as a case of Diet Coke.  We had a welcome letter from Gus Antorcha, the new president of HAL, outlining some of the shipboard credit gifted to us.  So it appears they will be treating this batch of cruises as a Collector's Cruise, and combining all of the credits from the beginning.  That will save us the trouble of doing this with every 7 to 11 day cruise.  Of course, we will have to check this out later at the front desk to make sure, but not for a few days.  One other letter described Covid restrictions, and one of them was no smoking in the Casino.  We did find a pile of masks in our room, which are not the cloth masks we got on the N. Amsterdam.  Those did not fit well anyway, but were washable.

The first job was to program the safe which takes up a narrow shelf in a closet.  However, no matter how we tried, we could not get it to work.  Calling the front desk, one of the girls came to our room and discovered the battery was very low and was defaulting.  Once she fixed that, it worked fine.  In this same closet is the small refrigerator, which really takes up a lot of space.

The luggage we brought with us arrived, and at that time we met our room steward Koko.  He said he remembered us from the Amsterdam.  We had a few questions for him, and he did everything we asked within the hour, even though we told him "no hurry".  We added that we would like to have nightly turndown service, but no towel animals.  He was fine with that, saying no problem.  Later in the afternoon, we met Faishal, our room assistant. The job of setting up house began for an hour or so, until it was announced we needed to go to the muster stations inside, not outside, and have our cards scanned.  It was mandatory to watch the muster video on the TV too.  Really easy compared to  the old way.

We could have gone for the Mariner Society lunch in the dining room, but by the time we remembered, it was after 1pm.  When the next two pieces of luggage arrived, we stayed and continued to put it away.  So far, it looks like the space will be sufficient.  Although, to make more room in the two closets in the hallway, we asked for plenty of wire hangars, as they take up less space.  Of course, we did bring much less with us, knowing the storage space was limited. 

Our next problem was not being able to log onto their website to buy an internet package.  The front desk gal did try to assist us, but it appeared the signal was not great in our room.  She suggested to go to the front desk area, and ask for the IT manager, which we did next.  He was most helpful, taking over the computer and making it work.  Since we will be onboard for 108 days, and we have President Club shipboard credit to buy a plan (Premium), he said he would figure it out.  That will also save us the time of doing this every cruise.

And since we were so close to the Grand Dutch Café, we decided it was time to have a beer, and check out their menu.  We had been reading about the almond cookies on Cruise Critic, so we had to have one.  That led to sharing a grilled ham and cheese sandwich, and another monster-size chocolate chip cookie.  A perfect lunch after all.  This venue will be dangerous, but oh so nice.  And we were close to the dining reservation area, so we stopped and made dates for two weeks of Pinnacle Grill, Tamarind, and Canaletto.  Many of the spots had been taken before this sailing, but he promised us to save us a table.  Once again, being members of the President's Club really sets the scene for utmost attention.  And the head staff all seem to know our names when we talk to them.  Really nice.

There was an invite to a 4 & 5 star mariner reception, so  we went to the Billboard On Board to check it out.  Greeted again by the assistant Hotel Director and his crew, we stayed chatting with them and enjoyed some Mimosas.   Although the sail away was planned at 4pm, Captain Noel O'Driscoll announced we would be leaving around 5pm, due to the number of ships in port.  Once the ship began to move, we went back to the room, and stayed on our veranda until we were out of the harbor.  Never before have we heard the ship's horns being blasted very long and numerous times.  Someone was sure having fun on the bridge.  On the waterfront side of homes, we spotted some folks holding a large HAL flag, while waving at the guests.  Residents of the condos were blowing their horns also.  On the way out, several fishing vessels passed by, and so did a pod of dolphins in the distance.  One of the best send-offs yet.  This time we did not hear the festivities from the Seaview pool deck, because we are located more forward on the port side. 

So two suitcases fit under the bed, one with extra toiletries, and the other for more clothes storage if needed.  The other two will be stored elsewhere according to our room steward.  We have to mention that we had several visits by the head of housekeeping, front desk ladies, and the head room supervisor, all letting us know we can contact them for anything we needed.  We are happy campers now that we have the room mostly in order. 

Leaving early before dinner, we walked through the two levels of shops onboard.  The managers were more than friendly, inviting us to check out their stuff.  They don't know it yet, but they will see a lot of us for the next 108 days.  The upper dining room (fixed seating) was opened by 7:45pm.  As we expected, it was only ½ full, downstairs was also half empty.  But today was a busy day, and most folks probably ate early, then crashed.  We were told there are about 1400 passenger this trip.  Anyway, dinner was excellent as was our waiter, Surya. We ordered roasted chicken breast, jerk pork tenderloin, and one order of lasagna we shared.  Ended up with desserts of hot fudge sundae.  Another good start.

There were more gift cards in our room….a $50 spa service for both of us and a $200 credit towards Effy products.  There will be a wine tasting tomorrow at 1:45pm, and we were invited.  The When & Where brochure was on the bed along with two HAL chocolates.  We also received a Club Orange tote bag, which reminds me, we did locate the dedicated Orange Club Restaurant, and spoke to the manager.  He was happy to meet us, and promised to save us a table for two at the hallway window for tomorrow morning.  We believe the restaurant is reserved for Orange Club members, suite guests, and President's Club members, another nice perk.

Time to close, but will be back tomorrow with more news.  A day at sea is what we really need.

Bill & Mary Ann

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