Report # 30 Thursday October 3, 2024 Sea Day #3 Of 5 Enroute To Nawiliwili On The Island Of Kauai, Hawaii Overcast With Some Sun 76 Degrees 6' Swell -----Casual Dress

 

We are happy to report the first sightings of flying fish, an indication that the water is warming up the further southwest we travel.  One thing that we don't like is seeing floating debris on the surface, much like you would expect after heavy rains have fallen somewhere.  But there are no nearby islands or body of land where it can be coming from.  It is possible that the currents can transport "flotsam" for thousands of miles we guess. 

 

The Captain's talk at noon informed us that the temperature was 76 degrees and the sea state was keeping steady with a swell of around 6 feet.    It has been three days at sea now, and we have adjusted to the motion.  The skies were mostly cloudy and partly sunny, an improvement over the last two days.  We are 1123 nautical miles from Hawaii , about halfway there.  The ship's speed is an average of 16.5 knots with little wind.  The Captain expects similar conditions tomorrow.  He ended his talk with a comment that he just saw a small pigeon fly around the bow of the ship.   No kidding.  Another passenger had told us they saw an owl onboard after leaving San Francisco, which would have been very unusual.    Perhaps it was the pigeon, which may have hitched a ride all the way to Hawaii.   It's totally illegal for the crew to feed such a stowaway, but the bird will land by the Sea View Pool and  pick up whatever crumbs that are left from passengers dining outside.  We have seen some birds drinking from puddled fresh water on that same deck. 

 

Todays newsletter contained another reminder for everyone to check their shipboard account for accuracy.   It sure makes us wonder about the new system that has been launched on this cruise.  Now that the accounts have to be reconciled every 30 days, we guess they are trying to keep things correct before that period ends.  

 

The usual activities took place for a sea day.  Everything "Hawaiian" happened all day, as well as various services in the Wajang Theater.   Starting with Mass at 8am, the day continued with bible study, and two Rosh Hashanah services.  Learning to line dance kept the folks on their toes and ready for ballroom dancing at 4pm.  And don't forget trivia….always popular and held at least twice on a sea day.   One of these days, we may make it to Tea Time.  Today's special was cupcakes. 

 

We went for lunch in the Lido at 2:30pm, and one of us tried a soft serve chocolate ice cream.  They did have some waffle cones, but they were in pieces.  I was going to pass on the dessert, when the server put two broken pieces together, and filled it with the softy.  It was good, but messy and had to be eaten quickly as it melted everywhere. 

 

We decided to go to the Pinnacle Grill for dinner since the menu was not really exciting.  No problem getting reservations, we enjoyed our wedge salads and bacon.  Mains were a shared ribeye steak, each half cooked to our liking.  We shared one serving of French fries.  For dessert, we tried the "Hawaiian" dessert o angel food cake with pineapple, cream, and coconut served in the small Mason jar like last night's panna cotta.  It was quite good for a change.  Now the Pinncle Grill menu has a section related to the South Pacific.   There were two new appetizers  and three entrees, two of which were fish and one pork dinner.  We have a lot of complimentary dinners left, so we will have to try some of these new items  while we are on this Legendary cruise.   

 

The entertainer this evening in the World Stage was Felice Garcia, a singer with music from around the world.   We can always tell how popular a show is when the crowd passes by our "window" table while we are eating dinner in the Pinnacle.  There was quite a line of folks leaving that venue.

 

Bill & Mary Ann 

No Pictures

Report # 29 Wednesday October 2, 2024 Sea Day #2 Of 5 Enroute To Nawiliwili On The Island Of Kauai, Hawaii Overcast With Clouds 72 Degrees 6' Swell-----Casual Dress

 

Last night before we turned off the TV, one of us thought to check our shipboard account.  Discovered two surprise charges that did not belong.  One was a laundry charge, and the other was a charge for a bouquet of flowers.  Both of these items were perks we get for President's Club, so it should be easy to have the charges removed.   Ever since we became 4 star members several years ago, the laundry was been complimentary.  Which is really nice since the one basket of folded clothes added up to over $51.   

We decided to stop at the front desk after breakfast, but there was a line of folks there, so we said we'd come back in an hour.  By 10am, the line was gone, and one of the staff who recognized us yelled hello.  With that, we went right to the desk and reported the error on our account.     He apologized for the mistakes, and said he would contact each department, and have those charges removed.  Then he promised to send a copy of the statement to our room later in the afternoon.   Which he did, and all was correct.    One item we did order through Tihaha, the cellar master, was a bottle of Jack Daniels for $80 and 18% gratuity.  We would never pay that much at home, but that is the going "hotel" rate for alcohol these days.  It didn't matter to us, since it is on their dime with all of the credit we have.  Now we know why there has been a reminder for all of us to check our accounts regularly, which we do anyway.  But this is the first cruise in a long time that we have had so many mistakes.   

The TV reception has been spotty most of the day as well as yesterday after leaving San Diego.  We do seem to recall this is common in this area, and the further we get out to sea, the worse it will become.  We know there are no mountains blocking the signal, like we had in Alaska, but sometimes the ship's stacks are blamed for the distorted picture.  Another explanation is that there is no mass of land near us, so there is no demand for a strong signal.  Whatever the reason, we have not lost the programing all together, and the internet connection has been fine.  Perhaps a little slower at times, but still functioning. 

Another front page notice in the "Daily" was concerning health information.   It's the reminder to wash our hands frequently with soap and water, and continue to use hand sanitizer as well.  There are still some purell stations around the ship, especially in the dining areas and restrooms.  We have been asked to report any respiratory or gastrointestinal illness to the medical staff onboard.    That normally leads to quarantining in the room.  There has not been any mention of Covid whatsoever.

We took our usual walkabout on the promenade deck in the morning and later in the afternoon, but the weather has not improved much yet.  During his noon talk, Captain Smit confirmed the weather was about the same as yesterday.  The temperature was 72 degrees with 6 foot swells still keeping us rocking and rolling.  The Captain asked where is the sun?  Then he said it was above the cloud cover and should break through sometime later today.  He was correct, as we did see some blue sky and a little filtered sun.  There was still a nip in the air, so it is not quite "shorts" time for us.  Maybe tomorrow.

Lunch was a salad, a slice of pizza, and a tiny torpedo sandwich.  They do keep some already-made sandwiches on the Lido counter, so if you don't want to wait for a custom-made one, you can help yourself to these.  

Dinner time seemed a long ways away, mostly because we turned the clocks back last night one hour.  We were told that we will do the same tonight as well.  Then we will lose one more hour before we reach Kauai.  It sounds good to gain these hours, but it sure can throw you off.  Three hours in five days disrupts more than your meals.  It affects your sleep patterns too.  Most of us are pre-programed to wake up at the same time every morning.  It doesn't matter what the clock says, your body tells you something else. 

Anyway, the dining room was not crowded this evening, perhaps due to the motion of the ocean.  Some folks might have a case of mal-de-Mer or seasickness.  So far we are fine.  We have sailed in a lot worse conditions in these wide open seas.  Anyway, for dinner they had some of our favorites such as almond-crusted chicken tenders.   They are the best when served hot and crispy with the honey mustard dressing.  They also go well cut in pieces and served over a Caesar salad.  Our mains were different.  One was beef Bourguignon and the other was a simple spaghetti dish with a Bolognaise sauce.   Our plates were so hot, we could not touch them, keeping the meal nice and warm to the end.   Finally one of us tried the panna cotta dessert, which was served in a tiny mason-like jar.

The entertainer this evening was a comedian from Ireland by the name of Patrick McCullagh.  He was guaranteed to be funny with his magic comedy and wit.  Comedians are not our thing, so we skipped the show and went to bed.   But not before setting the clocks back one hour.

Bill & Mary Ann

No Pictures

Report # 28 Tuesday October 1, 2024 Sea Day #1 Of 5 Enroute To Nawiliwili On The Island Of Kauai, Hawaii Overcast With Clouds 63 Degrees 6' Swell ----Dressy Night

 

Many new guests filled the seats in the Pinnacle Grill for breakfast this morning.  All Neptune people, we assume, since there is only one single man who is also a President's Club member.  We are not familiar with his name.

Today's "Daily" started out once again on somewhat of a negative note.   We did see this mentioned on every Alaska cruise, so it bears repeating.  It is regarding pool etiquette and laid down the rules of the Lido and Sea View Pools.  We have always known that the deck chairs and lounges are first come, first served.  In other words….no saving lounges with your personal stuff, then leave and go to lunch for instance.   If your chairs are left unattended for 30 minutes, your things will be removed.  Have we ever seen that enforced?  Perhaps a few times in all of the years we have sailed.   Only the solid blue towels are allowed to be used, and not your blue and white striped beach towels from your room.  If the striped towels are not brought back to your room, you will be charged for them.  Finally, no bathroom towels are allowed at the pool sites as well.  We never realized there was a problem with the toweling, so cannot complain since we have all been warned up front.

And once again, we all had the note in our staterooms reminding us not to leave unattended items on our balconies, as the wind may blow things overboard.  One good example of the power of the wind, happened to one of us on the grand world voyage this year.  We were a day out of Tokyo, when we hit extremely high winds on the outside decks.  A favorite wool scarf (a Burberry) was literally ripped from my neck despite being tied in a knot.  It went sky-high in seconds, then landed in the Tokyo Sea never to be seen again.  Something I will never forget……

Today was loaded with activities to keep the guests happy and busy.  The newly-boarded cultural enrichment team have joined us and offered lei-making, a ukulele and hula class,  and an aloha sunset music hour in the Crow's Nest.  There were several sessions for the arts and crafts crowd held in the Queen's Room.  One of the ship's staff members, Simone, directs the creating designs from doodles, Dam dots, coloring for adults, knitting basics, origami folding, and watercolors.  Gosh, she is one busy lady on sea days. 

The usual lectures took place during the day, all having something to do with the South Pacific.  Kainoa spoke about the geology and geography of Hawaii, while Australian author, Michael Adams dealt with the Titanic.  If that wasn't enough, there was pickle ball, basketball, and ping-pong.   Todays weather may have put a stop to pickle ball as the ship was rocking and rolling with the winds and swell.

Speaking of weather, Captain Smit gave the details at his noon talk.  The temperature was 63 degrees at noontime with partly cloudy skies or partly sunny skies depending on how you look at it.  We are sailing at an average of 17.2 knots while experiencing a six foot swell that he described as long swells.  These swells are coming from the north, all the way from Alaska, where they have measured up to 30 feet.  So glad we are not up there now.  Even with this smaller swell, we expect some folks will be seasick, as it takes time to become accustomed to the movement.  For some people, this never happens.  The Captain expects the conditions to remain the same for the rest of the crossing.  From his daily talks so far, we gather that Captain Smit is a "half-full" glass of water type of person, which is good.  He makes the best of what we have to deal with, even if it means not saying it will be cloudy for five days and the seas will be rocky. 

We worked online for most of the morning completing our report and photos on our day in San Diego.  We really did not feel the motion of the ocean until we got up and walked around the room or outside on the deck.  For no announced reason, the ship lost the satellite connection for the TV reception.  Sometimes when they have to work on the system, they will shut it down temporarily.   It lasted for a few hours, then came back on.  The news was disturbing with news of missiles flying from Iran to Israel.  We have heard many seasoned travelers mention that here we sit twiddling our thumbs while Rome burns.  Not that we can do anything to change things, it is hard to watch happen. 

Time for lunch, we headed to the Lido for a salad, sandwich, and pizza.  Many of the waiters and servers appear to be new.  They have been rotating the staff every couple of weeks in the dining venues, so we are running into waiters we know, but have not seen yet.  On waiter in the Lido, Samuel, talked to us for a long time since he remembered us from past cruises.  All of the waiters have a story about the ships being stopped back in 2020, and the difficulty they had getting home.   Being that most of the wait staff and room stewards are from Indonesia, they had other problems we did not have.  One was the fact they could not access home due to their visas and foreign passports.  Many of the crew were out at sea with no port here they could get off.  Samuel said their ship was allowed to dock in Cambodia and all of them were able to fly home from there. 

Tonight was dressy night and most folks looked sharp.  However there are always a few that did not get that message, but they were in the minority.  Pulung said they were slammed at 6pm with everyone wanting to eat early.  As always, there is a problem finding seating for two.  That's why we always go with fixed seating and a table for two these days.  If we want to go a bit later, and let them know ahead of time, they will save our table. 

There was a Captain's welcome in the World Stage at 7:15pm, but we did not attend.  Been there, done that.  Gala dinner had lots of nice things on the menu.  Starters were a shrimp cocktail with red sauce, a smoked chicken plate, and a different salad, resembling the Pinnacle Grill wedge salad.  Only smaller.   Our mains were the long-awaited veal chop.  They were as large as the plate, but cut half-size compared to what they used to be.   Good thing, because the portion was quite satisfactory with mushroom gravy and mashed potatoes.  We ordered a sphere of chocolate, not knowing what they were.  Thought we were getting one, we each got one ball of chocolate mousse in a hard chocolate shell.

The best news was that the clocks went back one hour, which we can really use. 

Bill & Mary Ann

No Pictures

Report #27 Monday September 30, 2024 San Diego, California Docked Starboard Side To Pier 7am-5pm Foggy In The Morning Clearing To Sun Most Of The Day 75 Degrees-----Casual Dress

The Zaandam sailed silently onto the San Diego Bay so early this morning, it was still dark.  There was fog too, which kept the temperatures down as well as the visibility.   This is a very scenic port, so we will be sure to watch it on the way out.

 

Breakfast was early at 6:30am on the Pinnacle Grill.  It was also the same time for the dining room.  For the super early risers, you could go to the Lido at 6am.  Of course today was the official start of the Legendary Tales of the South Pacific.  We heard later that about 300 guests stayed on like us, and close to 900 joined the ship.   So we are not totally full, and there may be some folks that are able to get onboard in some of the bigger ports.   

 

Disembarkation began at 7:30am with those who could take all of their stuff with them.  Expedited we think it is called.   We took advantage of this time to do computer work until about 9:30am.   By then we figured most of the guests had left.  Since we had some necessary shopping to do, we figured we could do all of that on the way to lunch around 1pm. 

 

We had our "Legendary" intransit sticky labels with us to wear on our way back.  No sense putting them on now, as we would surely lose them.   We took a right turn outside the terminal, and headed towards the Midway, and the iconic soldier/nurse statue nearby the ship.  People are able to buy tickets to visit this museum at nearby kiosks.  Also available are ticket vendors for the Coronado Island Ferry, and boat charters.  We had already seen a couple of young kids on jet skies circling the ship this morning at 9am. 

 

Many street vendors had set up tables long this stretch of waterfront selling t-shirts, sweatshirts, and costume jewelry, much of what we usually see in Mexico.   You never know what the weather will be like here.  Today the fog ceiling was high, but there was a chill in the breeze.  If you stayed in the shade, you would be cold.  So we bet these vendors sell a lot of those warm sweatshirts.

 

We entered Seaport Village, where a few of the seafood restaurants were being re-modeled.  There seems to always be a project here.  We passed the Tuna Harbor where all of the local fishing boats are moored.   They appeared to be more commercial-type vessels.  Continuing on, we passed by the Convention Center and some high rise hotels like the Marriott and Hyatt. 

 

Getting closer to the Bayfront Hilton, we began hearing what sounded like a protest demonstration happening.  All of the entrances on the harbor side were shut off, and the only way inside this hotel was sneaking through an outdoor restaurant (not opened yet), and entering where the swimming pool is located.   And that's where we discovered where that noise was coming from.   It was a strike of some kind in the front entrance of the Hilton.   To get through this hotel, we had to take an escalator up to the main lobby, then down another one to find the main entrance. 

 

Of course, this door brought us right into the crowd of people that were holding signs and chanting mostly in Spanish.  It appeared these people were employees of the hotel.  They attempted to hand us flyers, assuming we were staying at this hotel.  We said no thanks, we are just passing through to the parking garage.  Using loudspeakers and noise -makers, we could not get away from them fast enough.   Once in the parking garage, we found our way to the bridge that crosses over the highway below.

 

The bridge brought us to Petco Park, where the San Diego Padres play their  games.   Walking around the stadium, we found the streets we needed to find a CVS Pharmacy.  This one is a larger one than we used to go to, and had what we needed.   There were some locked up products there, but not everything.  Nothing like what we saw in San Francisco. 

 

The next stop was at Ace Hardware for a new wall clock, as our old one bit the dust.   And when we moved from our room on deck one, one of us accidently left the night light in the bathroom.  It would have been more trouble trying to get it back and since it was old, we decided to look for some new ones.   Found what we needed in both stores. 

 

It was lunchtime, so we hiked the rest of the way back down to the Cheesecake Factory.  We seated ourselves in the high-top tables in the bar area. That's where we always sit in the Cheesecake Factory in Walnut Creek.   We have a favorite salad there called the Mexican Tortilla Salad in the Skinnylicious Menu.    We doubt that it is light in calories, because we always add extra sides of their ranch dressing.   Our nice bartender/waitress brought us extra French bread along with the brown bread.  Needless to say we enjoyed every bite along with some Stella Artois beers. 

 

The hike back was not so long, as we ended up close to the Midway aircraft carrier.  It must have been the warmth of the day or perhaps the beer, one of us was really beat.  Oh yeah…we also got up a 5am….that's what did it.  We stopped for a few minutes to put on our intransit tags for the shore staff to identify us.   We were sent directly to the xray checkpoint, where a belt buckle set off the sensor.  My knee made it through without detection.  We don't remember if there was facial recognition today, but we would say no. 

 

We did have a little wait to board the ship since the locals were playing with the connections to deck two.  It was sure nice getting back to our room by 2:30pm.  Once again, we had an invite to a President's Club, 5, 4 & 3 stars Mariners welcome onboard event.  It was held in the Lido Pool area at 6:45 to 7:30pm.  One of us was so tired, we decided not to attend again. 

 

Then at 4pm, there was a mandatory passenger emergency muster drill.  It had been announced that it applied to everyone, including those of us in transit.  It did not count that we just did this in Vancouver.   Anyway, we assumed this was the same procedure that we have done on all four cruises.  Just have our cards scanned, listen to the drill on TV, then we would be done.  Surprise, surprise.  Waiting until most of the crowd was checked it, we walked down the stairs to deck three to find the old-fashioned drill taking place.  People were lined up like sardines in their assigned life boat areas.  Ours was way up front, and it had not changed when we switched rooms.  There was no way we could squeeze through the crowds to get to lifeboat 8.  We had come out at 14.  Tihana is one of the boat captains, so she stopped us and said wait with her.   In the meantime, our boat captain, Pulung, had worried we were not back onboard.  We were the only ones in his group that were missing.  So he scanned our cards and we were fine.  It was written in the newsletter that those who refused to participate in this drill, would not be allowed to sail with the vessel.  We have never seen this happen, but maybe it has….who knows.

 

Sail away took pace shortly after the drill around  5pm, where we watched from the comfort of our veranda, which had been hosed down earlier in the morning.  It never dried.  We got the portside view of Coronado, several fishing boats passing us, and the buoys that were full of resting sea lions.  The gulls and pelicans followed as well.  Some military helicopters took off from the air station as well as an osprey-type plane and a jet.  Sure was noisy. 

 

The Captain gave his talk shortly before leaving.  He said we will have 5 days at sea and travel 2330 nautical miles to reach the island of Kauai.  He expected the weather to be good and a light swell of under 3 meters.  We will do an average of 17 knots.  Sounds good to us.

 

We had a pleasant surprise at dinner tonight.  Head waiter Bayou joined the ship today.  He recognized us instantly, as we did Bayou.  We met last year on this very same cruise, but a different ship.   Some of the waiters and crew members also went home today.  So for starters, one of us had crispy pork bellies with cerviche sauce, and one Caesar salad.   The chicken noodle soup was good….nice and hot.  Mains were one cheese enchilada and one pork tenderloin  They were ample servings.  We shared one caramel cheesecake slice with a piece of stroopwafel. 

 

Entertainment was a rerun of the Origin Story or a Wajang movie – Midway. And just like on a world cruise, we got a two week layout of the evening lineup.  And guess what?  We finally got 2 of the round chocolate pillow candies from Lindt. 

 

Bill & Mary Ann

 

232 Pictures