Report #129 Saturday May 10, 2025 Travel From Fort Lauderdale To Our Home In Northern California Very Warm 86 Degrees Clear Skies

With all of the excitement of leaving the ship yesterday, then adding the hike we took to lunch and back, it was no surprise that we would sleep well tonight.  And we did.  Knowing that we had an early pick-up time, the alarm was set for 3:30am.  Both of us were awake before it went off. 

 

No matter how we tried streamlining the carry-ons, it was a miracle our stuff fit.  Our driver showed up early right after 5am, and being that it was a Saturday, there was hardly any traffic getting to the Ft. Lauderdale airport.

 

We had no luggage to check, so we went right to the United kiosk and printed out our boarding passes.   Isn't it funny how many jobs have been eliminated by machines these days?  One thing we know for sure is that there is always an agent wandering around this area in case you need help. 

 

Another good thing was there was hardly a line for the security check.   At this airport, we did not have to take out the computer or Kindle, or the little Ziplock of liquids.  But when we proceeded to go through with our shoes on, the agent reminded us to do so.  Nope, we informed him we did not have to do that because we were over 75.  He had a brief look of shock, then said we were correct.  Then we thought later, it was nice that we spotted the shocked look, but maybe he does that all day.  We'll still take it as a compliment.

 

We had done all that and located the gate by 6am….record time.   We were missing our coffee, so there was a Mexican restaurant nearby, with full service.  And they had opened at 4:30am.  Perfect, we were seated at a table and ordered two regular breakfasts with hot coffee.  It was expensive, but we knew there would be no food on the plane except for a tiny package of pretzels or stroopwaffel and a drink.  Just in case we starve before getting home, we picked up a couple of bags of nuts for a snack.

 

Boarding began at 7:30am, and we were off on time.  This was a full flight, which being a non-stop, is always full.  There was a passenger in front of us that had a small dog in a carrier. All we could see was his or her cute head sticking out.  You know what?  The dog never made a sound for the entire flight.  Perhaps his owner gave him doggie meds to keep him calm.  Whatever she did, none of us surrounding her were bothered with barking or anything else dogs do. 

 

It was a long flight but cut short due to following winds.  The pilot said we saved about 45 minutes with the tail winds.  Hopefully our pick-up driver knew we were early, since we did not have a way to communicate with him.  There still are courtesy phones at SFO, and we did use them to call the company.  Somehow our wires got crossed and the driver was waiting at departures and not arrivals.  Eventually, he found us where we were told to wait – outside door 12 at the end of the United doors. 

 

The Saturday afternoon traffic was picking up in the city, as we well know, so it took some tricky turns and short cuts to get to the Bay Bridge.   We could see one of the big Princess ships in the new cruise terminal taking on guests for a run to Alaska, we assume.    Once on the bridge, the traffic lightened up and we were home by 1:30pm. 

 

All was well although we will have our outdoor work cut out for us for the next couple of months.  Checking out our birds, we saw one very young fawn jump out of the weeds.  The doe always has one or two, and hides them on our place.  Then she takes off leaving the little ones in the "big playpen". 

 

If all goes to plan, we will be sailing in the fall with three back-to-back Alaka cruises, followed by the Tales of the South Pacific.   So we will be back.

 

And Happy Mother's Day to all, and thanks again for tagging along. It's been a pleasure.

 

Bill & Mary Ann

 

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Report # 128 Friday May 9 , 2025 Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA Docked Port Side To Pier #26 Sunny With Some Clouds Warm 85 Degrees Slight Breeze --Transfer To Hotel

We had an early start to the day, waking up by 5am maybe earlier.  Breakfast for us was an hour earlier at 6:30am.  Only four of us showed up before the doors opened for our morning chat.  Jacque, the sommelier always passes by here every morning, and today he stopped to say goodbye.  We asked if he will be returning for the 2026 GWV on the Volendam, and he said no, he will not.  So far as he knows, he will stay with the Zuiderdam.  The same goes for Renee, the spa manager, who also said that she has not been  given her assignment.  Both Jacque and Rene have been on every grand voyage we have sailed on.    It will not be the same without them.   And with Henk retiring after the Voyage of the Vikings, the officer line-up may be altogether different.   And we are not sure about Kimberly, our highly enthusiastic cruise director, as it has not  any mention about her return for 2026.   Perhaps we missed it?

 

Little by little, the Pinnacle filled up with the usual suspects and some newbies as well.  Our favorite manager, Tina was going home as well.  She looked so happy.  Tina confided in us that she may be taking a year off of sailing to re-assess her direction in life.  Or she may change her mind.  In the old days, the Pinnacle Grill was the alternate steak or fish house.  But these days, there are as many pop-up dinner events as there are every night fine dining evenings.   It was a most challenging job for Tina, but all turned out successfully we heard. 

 

While waiting in our room to leave the ship, we watched from our balcony the activity below on the dock.  The Customs and Border Patrol officials were beginning the process of scanning the luggage that was tagged for shipping through Luggage Forward.  With the use of two specially-outfitted vans, each piece of luggage or box was put through xray, then loaded into bins.  These bins were then hauled to a waiting big rig and loaded for delivery.  What we noticed was different today, was that every fourth or fifth bag was put aside, opened, and searched.  Some were swabbed for residue, some were sniffed by dogs, and others were searched.  It was breezy and some of the Luggage Forward papers blew away.  Not all of them were replaced in the bags.  

 

When we received our luggage tags, a letter said not to lock the bags.  However, a second letter came with or re-done labels (we added a bag), and this letter said to lock them.  After losing two  pieces of luggage a year ago, we chose to lock the bags.  After what we witnessed today on the pier, we are certain that the locks will be missing when it arrives to our home.   And they should be delivered by May 15^th through the 20^th.  

 

Our time to leave was 9:15am, however the final four groups were called off 15 minutes early.  OK, time to say goodbye, we were greeted by the friendly security folks who wished us a safe journey.  It was really touching that they remembered us from previous cruises….. always calling us by name.  Captain Frank, Alexandra, Kimberly, Christel, and Henk wished us both goodluck with added hugs.  Several more officers and staff members had stayed in this line until we were all called off.   This late afternoon the Zuiderdam will sailed with a full guest load to Boston and part of Canada for 7 days. 

 

With the simple scanning of our room key,  we were done with any more checkpoints.  No passports and no landing cards to be filled out.  That's the beauty of doing the procedure while in San Juan, Puerto Rico as it is part of the USA and counts for clearing in Ft. Lauderdale. 

 

Coming out the door of the terminal, we saw a nice lady holding a sign with our names.  She led us to the area where she would pick us up.  Instead of a small bus, we must have been the only ones that booked the post cruise package this this hotel.  Fine with us, we had a nice roomy limo ride to the hotel.    It took 20 minutes at the most to get there.  Many people were waiting in the lobby for both the HAL ship and a Princess ship transfer.  The HAL rep had a letter of instructions for us with tomorrow's schedule.  

 

Even though it was around 10am, they did have a room ready for us.  Once settled, we took a long walk along the canal to Chili's, one of our favorite spots at home.   They have wonderful salads and bottomless Coke Zero.   We sure needed the drinks because it was really warm and humid.  It is no mystery why we see so few people walking these trails.  We enjoyed the food and Cokes for over an hour before heading out into the heat on the way back.  We did get some good shots of coots, lizards, Muscovy ducks, one egret, and a few iguanas.   The only other birds we saw were doves and noisy crows.  We kept our eyes peeled for the poisonous snakes and alligators on the trail, but thankfully, saw none. 

 

Back at the hotel, we did some internet work, then went down to the pool to relax in the shade.  With only two other people there, it was nice and quiet.  The rest of the afternoon, we cooled off in the room watching news and other entertaining shows like HGTV.  We figured it would be convenient to stay in the hotel and have a light dinner in the Bin 595.  So that's what we did after 6pm. 

 

We shared a Caesar salad and a crispy seasoned chicken sandwich with fries.  Then we topped it off with a delightful slice of Key lime pie, probably our last dessert for a while.  With a 4am wake-up call, it was time to hit the sack.  Our flight from Ft. Lauderdale will be after 8am, so we need to be there ahead of time like always.  The journey is almost done…..

 

Bill & Mary Ann

 

79 Pictures

Report # 127 Thursday May 8, 2025 Sea Day #2 Of 2 Enroute To Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA Sunny With Some Clouds Warm 79 Degrees 4' Swell Slight Breeze----Casual Dress

Well, here we are on our way back to Florida.  On this final day at sea, we were able to finish labeling the rest of the photos and complete the last minute packing.  Don't ask why, but it took all morning. 

 

We had a reminder from the front desk folks that we still had some shipboard credit to use.  They even sent a note yesterday saying the same thing.  In the past, they never used to inform you of an overage, and if you did not keep track of it, you would lose it. 

 

So we took the time to go shopping in the new Shops and did find some new merchandise.  One off us collects the Mary Frances beaded and whimsical handbags, so that's where the credit went.  Later in the day, we spent the remainder credit on Ricola cough drops which will keep for a year. 

 

One thing worth mentioning is that if you need to get small bills like 5's, 10's and 20's, it is better not to wait until the last day.  They always seem to run out of the smaller bills, and sometimes only have 1's available.  Also, it is always a good idea to ask for a printed copy of your shipboard account, even though it is online.  Some of us still prefer "paper". 

 

While watching the news, we learned that the world has a new pope……Pope Leo 14^th.  And he is from the USA, which made us proud.  It is refreshing to hear good and positive news for a change.  And it will be a memory we will never forget. 

 

Captain Frank came on with his last sea day talk.  He said we still have 248 nautical miles to reach the Ft. Lauderdale pilot station early tomorrow morning.  We should be docked before 7am, and it will still be dark.  We are currently sailing between the Bahamian islands in a westerly direction in waters that are 15,000 feet deep.  It was partly cloudy with 12 knot winds and sea swells up to four feet.  The temperature was a balmy 82 degrees and the sea temps were 84 degrees.  He expected no changes for tomorrow.   The good news is that there was no rain in the forecast.  Then he added  his goodbye to the guests and crew that are scheduled to go home tomorrow.   He was sincere when he said goodbye my dear friends.   There was no mistake that we could hear Kimberly sniffling in the back round.  We shall miss her cheerful voice saying – hello, hello, hello!

 

We still needed to pick up our Effy certificate for the jewelry we purchased.  So when we went there, we were handed tickets for a raffle at 3pm.  No harm in going since our work was finished in the room.  It was a surprise to see only five guests with the tickets.  Sales must have slowed down the last two days with the re-opening.   Anyway, after the sales gal went into an unnecessary story about Effy, she finally began drawing a winning ticket.  She picked six tickets before there was a winner.  The little gift bag contained a scarf, a piece of small jewelry and some cosmetics.  An elderly lady in a wheelchair won it, which was nice for her.   

 

Then we put seven pieces of luggage out in the hall, and our room steward moved them a few at a time.  The last two would go out before dinner.   It really brought back bad memories from last year, since the final two bags went missing.  History had better not repeat itself. 

 

Lunch for us was two custom- made sandwiched from the Lido.  We brought them back to our room and dined on the veranda.  

 

One of us had an appointment for a haircut at 5pm.  It took Bianca an hour, but it turned out perfect and will last him until mid- July. 

 

There was a grand farewell at 10am in the World Stage with free sparkling wine.  Knowing it could get really crowded as well as emotional, we did not attend.   We do hope it was recorded and we can watch it later today on TV.   There were all sorts of promotions all day because once we are in port tomorrow, everything will be closed. 

 

We polished off the last bottle of HAL sparkling wine we had since day one.  It was well-chilled.  We are not necessarily wine drinkers, but this sparkling wine was not sweet, but dry.  Dinner tasted even better with starters of a shrimp cocktail (not on the menu) and a bowl of beef and veggie soup.  Caesar salads were enjoyed for both of us, then we had the ribeye steaks served medium rare.  They were not as thick as the ones they serve in the Pinnacle Grill, but they were just as tasty.   Dessert for one of us was a lemon tart and one scoop of raspberry sorbet for the other.   We will miss our waiters, especially Kadek.  He has been most enjoyable this whole cruise. 

 

There was a show this evening with the World Stage Repertory Company with "Celtic Spirit".  We are sure it was good, since we have heard many positive comments with this group.

 

By the way, there were a few tours available for the folks flying home tomorrow.  Depending on your flight time, an everglade boat ride with a transfer to the Ft. Lauderdale airport was 4 hours and $90.  The other one was Land and Sea Excursion for 4 hours for $100, also with a Ft. Lauderdale airport transfer.   

 

As for us, we will get off the ship last and board a bus to our hotel for one evening.  Our flight will be Saturday morning.  This removes all the pressure to get to the airport on time, and gives us one day to relax. 

 

We shall return with a wrap-up report when the dust settles at home.  In the meantime, thanks for tagging along with us on this Grand World Voyage.

 

Bill & Mary Ann

 

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Report # 126 Wednesday May 7, 2025 Sea Day #1 Of 2 Enroute To Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA Sunny And Warm 79 Degrees 4' Swell Slight Breeze---Casual Dress

And so we started our day at sea # 1 after leaving San Juan last night around 8pm.  It was breakfast as usual, meeting with our little group of early morning risers.  We will miss our breakfasts here because we have been spoiled for sure.  Tina and her specially chosen wait staff have been the best.  

 

One of us took a promenade walk, while the other caught up with yesterday's exploits.   It was much more comfortable outside today with mostly sunny skies and less humidity.   The only thing that spoiled this was the final crew drill with the horn-blowing and an hour of interruptions.  It is a necessary drill, and something we will not miss.  During his noon talk, Captain Frank said we were sailing close to the Turks and Caicos as well as passing the Dominic Republic.  We have 643 nautical miles to reach the pilot station outside of Ft. Lauderdale.  The ship was doing 18 knots with both stabilizers out.  The sea state had a low swell of 4 feet with a light and gentle breeze.  The sea depths are 12,000 feet and the sea temperature was 84 degrees.  The air temps were 79 degrees.    It really could not have been much better.  

 

Then he continued with an interesting explanation of the bridge watch team.   The "look out" job is a 24 hour necessity for all types of ships.  We have been on the Navigation deck while the watchers were present and realized what a hard job that must be.  They had to stand or sit for hours looking through binoculars at the bright and sometimes blinding waters.  Captain Frank said that in the future, "AI" will be involved with new technology that will partially replace these watchers.  The human element will always be present, but perhaps their jobs will be a bit different with the extra set of "artificial eyes".  Interesting thought. 

 

Keeping occupied by photo work, we stayed at it most of the day.  It was a room service lunch of salads and a shared sandwich, eaten on our veranda.  Really nice for a change.  We sort of missed some of the day's activities which included a Q&A with the Captain, as well as the re-opening of the new shops.   Gosh, they are sure making a big deal about new merchandise.  We shall give you all our opinion once the dust has settled as we still have some credit to spend. 

 

The Crew Talent Show was held at 2pm, and it sure filled the World Stage.   It was a heart-warming show that did reveal their hidden talents.  In the old days, the final bingo was the biggest highlight that filled this stage.  Boy how things have changed. 

 

The other event was a surprise night in the Lido Poolside with a food-truck-style festival set up around the pool during 5 to 8pm.    A lot of people must have gone there, probably because they were offering free Zuidy-Surprise cocktails or mocktails.  That will pack in the crowd in a heartbeat.  DJ Berny blasted his tunes while the guests chatted, danced, and partied the night away.   One of our buddies went there for an hour, and reported that it took another hour for his hearing to return to normal. 

 

Shortly before dinnertime, we watched another north Atlantic sunset.  Because of the direction we are sailing, we were able to see the sun disappear right from our veranda.  Always a pleasure.

 

Our dinner was quiet, which we appreciate.  Only our head waiter was there since they needed some of the assistants to help in the Lido.   For starters there were spring rolls that we like.  A Caesar salad was enjoyed by one of us, then we had one chicken entrée and one pork chop.  It was served with quinoa and spinach, but Kadek substituted French fries with catsup.  Way better.  He knows out likes and dislikes very well by now, and suggests substitutes when we happen to miss something.   He talked us into sharing one slice of cherry pie since it doesn't show up often on the menu.  It was good.

 

The entertainment was One Final Grand Night of Musical Surprises.   It would be one surprise we did miss as we still have to wrap up the last  of the packing.  People have begun to put out their bags a few at a time, instead of waiting until the final night. Much better idea than tripping over luggage stacked against the walls all day and night.

 

One more day at sea, and we shall be back to the good ol' USA.

 

Bill & Mary Ann

 

27 Pictures

Report # 125 Tuesday May 6, 2025 San Jaun, Puerto Rico 12pm-8pm Docked Starboard Side To Pier At Pan American Terminal Cloudy With Late Sun 84 Degrees 15 mph Wind ----Casual Dress

Our port of call for today, and our final port of this grand world voyage, is San Juan, Puerto Rico.  The population is 3.5 million folks that speak mostly Spanish and some English.   It is an island of "swashbuckling" history - a great way to describe Puerto Rico.  It is often called the sun-washed backyard of the United States.    This island is covered with tropical forests, nice beaches, and a thriving night life that includes casinos and good times. 

 

In Old San Juan, it is easy to find the cobblestone streets lined with pastel colonial buildings and old fortresses such as El Morro.  Many visitors go to this gate of the Caribbean for the cluster of bars and clubs to enjoy the wild night life.

 

Food and drink of the Puerto Ricans have four essential elements of rice, beans, plantains, and pork.  The pork can be grilled, fried, stewed, and skewered.  On the top of their list is their suckling pig that is spit-roasted for as long as 8 hours.  A fitting feast for the parry-hardy.   The pina colada is said to have been created here, and they are on every menu in town.

 

And one of the best reasons we stop here, is that the guests and crew on the Zuiderdam will be cleared through US customs and immigrations here.   That will save us the trouble of doing this clearance in Ft. Lauderdale.   And if things go smoothly, we will still have until 7:30pm to enjoy the visit here. 

 

There were a few ship tours here today.  The history and cuisine of San Juan on foot with lunch was 3 ½ hours for $60.  San Juan old and new was 2 ½ hours for $80.  El Yunque's Rain Forest drive was 4 ¼ hours for $90, while Puerto Rico's favorites was 4 ¾ hours, also $90. 

 

We were able to access Kimberly's port talk on Puerto Rico…..better late than never we say.  She said we have traveled 3330 nautical miles since leaving Tangier, Morocco and we have had 5 time changes.  The area we will visit in San Juan, a city of 556,000 residents, is a mere 3 square miles and the country uses the US dollar as their currency.  That's because they are part of the US, but also independent.  Three days ago, there was a 77% chance of thunderstorms here today.  Lucky for us, it never happened.  The temperature was in the 80 degree area, but it was also very humid.  She said that there would be five ships in port, but we only saw four, and that included us.  Shuttles will be provided since we are going to dock at a different pier – the Pan American Pier, which is located at least three miles from the regular piers.   There is no more trolley and there is no Ho-Ho operating here anymore.    The other vessels were the Liberty of the Seas, Enchanted Princess, and the Carnival Sunshine.   That is a whole lot of people and if you add the crew that were able to get some time off, it increased the number.

 

Both of us woke up very early, like at 4am.  Geez, we don't know why that early, except for the several time changes this last week.  The weather looked promising on the way to Puerto Rico early this morning, but the clouds increased, wiping out the blue skies.   Although the bow was opened around 10am with scenic narration, the best place for us to film the scenery was right from our veranda. 

 

Looking behind us, we could see the Carnival Sunshine was right behind us.  They would take the pier where we usually dock.  The other two ships were already there…..the RCI Liberty of the Seas and the Enchanted Princess took the other two spots.  We would dock at the Pan American Pier, which was opposite of the regular piers.  We would also have shuttles to take us to Plaza Colon, which was a good three-mile drive one way.  

 

But first…..we had to attend a mandatory Immigration Inspection, which was conveniently conducted on the ship.  Shortly after we were docked, Kimberly began calling the numbers of groups after noontime.  We had Group # 1, so went first to the upper dining room.  Our room keys were scanned, and we turned over our designated card # 1.  Then the line came to an abrupt stop.  Nothing was happening, except frantic running around with the ship's officers and the custom officials.   Something was wrong, and we sure hoped their systems had not shut down.  What a fiasco that might be.

 

After about 10 minutes, we saw the agents start taking the guests one or two at a time, and we finally got through rather quickly.   By the way, there was no custom forms to fill out, at least not for the US citizens.  On the way out, we had stickers put on our room keys.  Daphne, our guest relations manager, happened to be there, and mentioned that she was having heart palpitations after the computer system was not working at first.   So there was a possible glitch, but it was resolved, thank goodness.  

 

We went back to the room, stashed the passports in the safe, and headed off to board the first shuttle to town.  It was 12:30pm, and passing through the spacious, but basically empty terminal building, we realized we had been docked here sometime in the past.  Truthfully, this was working better for all of us, because we were away from the activity of the three other large ships.   And the shuttle buses were nice….made for people with long legs.   And there were several of them.  

 

The drop-off point was in a convenient spot like we stated, and we headed uphill to walk past the Castillo de San Cristobal,  the massive Spanish fortress with tunnels and sentry boxes that worked for centuries of invasions.  This fortress as well as El Morro are part of the US National Park system.  If you purchase a reasonable-priced ticket, it would be good for both sights.  In addition, if you are a US senior citizen and pay for a basic national park membership for life, you can enter these sights for free we understand.

 

Continuing up the malecon, we walked past the La Perla district down below the cliffs, followed by the Santa Maria Cemetery located above the Atlantic oceanside.  

 

We have to mention that it was a very overcast day, but the humidity and temperature was high.  Honestly, with the huge ships in port today, we expected bigger crowds.  Walking this part of the Old Town, we could say that today was the smallest crowd we have ever seen here.  One reason could stem to the fact that many public places such as museums and theaters are closed on Tuesdays.   And the other factor are tours, both ship excursions and independent tours took people out of town.  Whatever the reason, we had a most pleasant hike up Del Morro Road to El Morro, the six level coastal fortress with cannons, dungeons, and beautiful Atlantic views.  This structure took over 250 years to be built, and it successfully defended the San Juan Bay for more than 400 years. 

 

Last year we were here at the same time but encountered the worst bug infestation we have ever seen.  They must have been like no-seeums, but they did not bite.  Similar to what we experienced in Walvis Bay's Lagoon walk, these tiny flies were everywhere.   Today, there were none.  Go figure?  One savior to the day's hike was the strong breeze that blew over the grassy areas surrounding the fort.   It sure is a great place to fly kites, which the locals do often.   There was a sign posted saying that kite-flying commemorates the battles that had taken place over these fields in the past centuries.  Not such a pretty sight back in the old days. 

 

From here, we went straight up the hill passing the School of Fine Arts and the theater.  Resting briefly in Plaza de Ballaja, we figured it was time to search for the perfect pizza restaurant that served beer…preferably draft beers.  Walking the old and narrow cobblestone streets, we looked for the dozens of cats that are usually here.  We did see about ½ dozen, but many of them were missing.  Someone feeds these feral cats, as well as the ones that are on the lower trail surrounding this point.   These days, we suspect the younger cats are "fixed" to keep the population down.  And they do serve a purpose in controlling the rodents.

 

We knew that if we located the San Juan Bautista Cathedral, we might find a possible restaurant nearby that may serve pizza.  This very old Gothic colonial cathedral is the final resting place for Ponce de Leon.  After passing the Plaza with the same name across the narrow street, we found that pizza restaurant was not their biggest item and decided to continue on.  They had few customers.

 

Now we were in the maze of the Old Town shops and cafes, where all of the cruise guests were congregating.  We happened to come across the main plaza where an Info kiosk was.  Perfect…they had island and city maps.  The nice fellow recommended a great pizza café right down the street.  We never would have noticed this place because the menu they posted was small, and the entrance was a narrow door with no sign on it.  That's when we remembered the name of La Rustica that was here before, but we assumed was closed. Basically, the main restaurant had closed for renovations two years ago, and now this café was up a flight of stairs.   What we won't do for an excellent pizza…..

 

We were welcomed inside by two folks that worked there, and took seats on the second level.  It was really a quaint café with mostly all locals dining there – a good sign.  We ordered a local draft beer the waitress recommended and then zeroed in on the large margherita pizza with onions, mushrooms, and  some pepperoni on half of it.  We were happy campers when it arrived, seeing instantly that the crust was perfect and the toppings were correct.  It was big, no doubt, but we managed to eat every bite.  No room for dessert, we carefully went down the stairs and headed back to the shuttle stop.

 

The bus was waiting with a few folks onboard, and we were off and running by 4pm.   Back to the ship by 4:30pm, we were glad to relax until dinner time.   There was a nice sunset that we did not expect, and we had the best place to film it……from our veranda, of course.  Speaking of the verandas, we had a note this morning saying they would be cleaned between 2 and 5pm.   This means washing and scrubbing and hosed with lots of water.  This appeared to have just been completed when we got back to our room.  That was good.   However, one of us went out with writing materials to compose the report for the day, and suddenly water was coming down from deck seven above me.   Good grief…..why would they do things backwards like that?  Now our deck was wet again and one of us was getting a bath.  It stopped by 5pm, and we hope that will be the last big cleaning.

 

Needless to say, we were not that hungry for dinner, but we went anyway.   Salads were good, and our mains were Indonesian-spiced lamb chops, which looked like sliced and grilled rack of lamb.  Tender and tasty, and just the right size for tonight.  The other entrée was fish and chips with French fries, which was very good as our waiter served it fresh and hot.  Served with malt vinegar and tartar sauce, there were no bones, always a concern for the picky one of us.  Dessert was one scoop of pecan ice cream and strawberry sorbet. 

 

No show for us….we were done for the day.  The entertainer was an instrumentalist by the name of Sebastian Fucci with music from the entire world.

 

Two days at sea, and we will be back to Ft. Lauderdale.

 

Bill & Mary Ann

 

413 Pictures

Report #124 Monday May 5, 2025 Cinco De Mayo Sea Day #6 Of 6 Enroute To San Juan, Puerto Rico Mostly Sunny With Clouds 75 Degrees 2' Swell Part #1 Of 1....No Pictures------Casual Dress

 

 

Happy Cinco de Mayo to all!

 

We have discovered it is nice to have a beverage card in place of one of our President's Club bi-monthly amenities.   It has come in handy to try one of the specialty coffees like a caramel latte while waiting in line for Tina or Able to open the Pinnacle doors.  The Pinnacle Bar has coffee service like the Exploration Lounge, and it is right across the hall. 

 

The sun was out bright this morning, and the skies were basically blue.  It has remained warm and humid, but as the day advanced, the clouds covered up that sun and turned the skies gray.  We could see rain showers on the horizon, but we don't believe we had any rain here.  The flying fish are still with us, although in small numbers.  We spotted one bird that must have perched on the bow….a stowaway.

 

We were still busy finishing eight of our nice pieces of luggage.  They were all weighed, locked, and tagged with the Luggage Forward info fully secured with a Ziplock.

 

Captain Frank was the voice from the Navigation deck.  He said we have 441 nautical miles to go to reach the pilot station in San Juan, Puerto Rico and he hopes to be there around 10am.  It seems that we are going to be docking in a different spot….one that we have never been to.   There are reportedly five ships in port tomorrow, including the Zuiderdam.  Gosh, that is a lot of people flooding the town of San Juan.  At least there will be shuttles taking us to the normal docking area.

 

By noontime, we had partly cloudy skies with a temperature of 84 degrees.  We are having four-foot swells with both stabilizers out for our comfort.  There was a 15-knot breeze and for tomorrow, we may have thunderstorms.  We sure hope not, but there is no way we can wish it away.  We may have to pack the ship's big orange umbrellas just in case.

 

Finally the clocks will go back one more hour this evening.  That will put us on EST, and the correct time for Florida.   

 

There had been a Cinco de Mayo lunch on the Lido today, but we forgot.  Bet it was good.  That is something they have too little of, and that's Mexican cuisine.  It may show up more in the Lido, but not in the main dining room.   We had room service Caesar chicken salads, and a shared club sandwich after 2pm.  We also relaxed while watching a movie. 

 

Tomorrow will be the last day to turn in our laundry, so today we sent two bags.  It has been excellent service throughout the entire trip.    Most days, the turn-around was the same day. 

 

This afternoon we had a knock on our door and our room steward handed us two small tiles, compliments of the Mariner Society.  We own more than a few of these Dutch tiles.

 

Dinner was back to casual tonight.  There were a few things Mexican-style and one of those was the bean and tortilla chicken soup.  Very good too.  One of us had the cold summer roll, and one chicken sate appetizer.  Mains were tri-tip sliced thin with hidden spinach, which our waiter kindly removed before serving.   The other entrée was a tasty chicken cordon bleu. We saved a little space for one scoop of orange sorbet, and one Mexican flan……both good.

 

One of our good friends had gifted us with a watercolor painting of the Zuiderdam on a card.  She discovered she had a talent for that form of art and has become an expert at it over the last several years.  It will go into the photo album with our 8 x 10's from the photo department.   

 

So much for our six days of sea days.  Even those went by fast.

 

Bill & Mary Ann

 

PS    We want to thank all of the nice folks that posted complimentary messages regarding this blog.  It sure made our day!

 

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Report #123 Sunday May 4, 2025 Sea Day #5 Of 6 Enroute To San Juan, Puerto Rico Mostly Cloudy With Chance Of Showers 7' Swell 73 Degrees------Formal Dress

It was breakfast as usual for us in the Pinnacle Grill.  There has been a small group of us that arrive early and we have dubbed it the "Breakfast Club".   We have gotten to know each other after all of these months, and we can say that it has been the nicest way to start the day.    Then during the times of 7:30 to 9am, many of our buddies trickle in a few at a time. 

 

We did notice there was no brunch as they have had on most Sundays at sea.  However, there was an 11am Mariner Society lunch for all of the guests leaving in Ft. Lauderdale.  We had received an invitation to attend but decided not to go this time.  Normally, they do these lunches in two or three days, but with so few people on this voyage, it may have been just this morning.  And for that matter, perhaps not everyone was included.  

 

We used this fairly nice morning to continue with the packing.   Today was concentrated on bagging up the small stuff such as whatever toiletries were left over, costume jewelry, and assorted necessities you may need just in case.  We do have the amounts we bring down to a science, and that way we have some space for the souvenirs we had bought and the gifts we received along the way both from HAL and our travel group. 

 

When Captain Frank came on with his talk, he said he hoped we were having a relaxing day at sea.    Was he kidding?  He must realize people are doing the same as us and tackling the job of packing.  We are glad that the seas have calmed down somewhat although we still have 7.5-foot seas that has the ship rolling.  The morning began with a nice sunrise followed by blue skies, then the clouds arrived.   It did rain off and on, but it did help keep the temperatures down to 76 degrees with 27 knot winds.  The humidity has been increasing every day now, and it is beginning to feel like the Caribbean. 

 

Then he went into a description of the Great Atlantic Sargasso Sea, where we are sailing at the moment.  He says the theory is that this sea area is increasing with the distribution of algae or seaweed, among other things, and that has become problematic.  We have noticed that clumps of this seaweed have been floating by the last three days, so now we know what we were looking at.  Captain Frank also said that periodically this algae has covered beaches on the east coast and it is a stinky mess.  Some are concerned it may contain bad bacteria and could cause illness.  Anyway, we learned something new today.

 

Lastly, the clocks will go back one more hour this evening.  Now we will have one hour left to go back tomorrow, and will be on Eastern Standard Time. 

 

Lunch for us was the same as yesterday – Lido sandwiches, which we enjoyed in our room while watching a good movie.   The Lido did have a traditional Shawarma buffet with slow-roasted marinated meats, shaved fresh off a rotisserie grill.   They served beef or chicken with all of the garnishings in a warm pita pocket.  Sounds appetizing.

 

This evening was the final formal night, and Kimberly repeated her description of what that means at her 5pm talk.  This includes suits, tuxedos, dresses, and other forms of cultural formal attire.  And at the entrance to the upper dining room where we eat, there were a couple of dark jackets hanging near the reception kiosk just in case a guest gentleman needs one.  

 

Our dinners started with the everyday shrimp cocktails, followed by one salad and one bowl of chicken noodle soup, not on the menu.  Our mains were the same – steak Diane with the best cheesy potatoes and some asparagus.  It came with a tasty mushroom gravy.  Instead of dessert, we opted for drinks of amaretto liqueur.  Sure was good and we wished we had thought of it sooner in the voyage. 

 

And as always with the final formal night, we had gifts.  Perhaps the final gift of this voyage.  They were the expected Commemorative Authentic Delft Plate by Royal Goedewaagen.  Truthfully, the title was bigger than the actual plate.  Gone are the days when we received 14 inch platters with the entire itinerary printed on the map.  Not that we don't appreciate the thought behind the gift, but with the reduction in size from a platter to the size of a saucer, it leaves us feeling the company is suffering money-wise.  Sure hope we are wrong.    

 

And so ended day five at sea.  One more to go……

 

Bill & Mary Ann

 

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Report #122 Friday May 3, 2025 Sea Day #4 Of 6 Enroute To San Juan, Puerto Rico Mostly Sunny Calmer Seas 3' Swell 70 Degrees Part #1 Of 1.....No Pictures------Casual Dress

Day # 4 at sea found us busy packing.  We had intended to fill a couple of suitcases at a time, but once we hauled the bags out from under the bed, it was just as easy filling all nine of them with most of the stuff.  We have one of the larger couches that makes into a bed for a third guest.   We dropped it flat and all of the luggage fit conveniently on it.   This time we will put them out all at once and not a few at a time.  Not that it will guarantee they stay together,  but they will have a better chance of arriving to our home.     Last year, we were encouraged to put them out in the hallway a couple at a time.  We even began a day or two before the final evening.  And as you all know, we lost two pieces of luggage forever. 

 

Captain Frank tooted the noon horn, and came on minutes later with his daily at sea talk.  He was happy to report that the skies were partly sunny with some clouds.  The temperature was a balmy 73 degrees with light winds.  The sea state presented us with 3-to-5-foot swells, so we did have some rolling, but nothing like we had the last several days.  It seems the worst is over.  He predicted that tomorrow will be much the same, except the seas may reach 7 feet with the swells.  It will be cloudy later in the afternoon with possible rain showers.      

 

Then he added a very complicated explanation of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, an underwater mountain range that we are crossing over.  It was discovered in the 1950's and consists of active volcanoes.  It is considered one of the most fascinating geological features on earth. 

 

And for the first time in weeks, we began seeing flying fish.  As the temperature of the water has increased, we guess that is what makes the difference with the presence of these amusing little critters.  Lucky for them, the birds are not here….yet.

 

Taking a break for lunch, one of us went up to the Lido and had two simple sandwiches made and brought them back to the room.  We had started to watch a movie and did not want to leave.  

 

Lots of activities continuing around the ship, but we noticed that most venues were not filled.  We bet most of the passengers stayed inside like us, and packed, especially those of us that have been on the full trip.

 

We did take a walk on the promenade deck around 6pm.  There were two people resting on the lounges by then.  And the deck crew was picking up the chairs and cushions as they do every night about this time.   On the way back to our room, we made a stop at the jewelry shop to pick up the guarantee information for the Effy pieces we purchased yesterday.  It did not surprise us that the paperwork was not done yet.  It never is when you go to pick it up.  Of course, while you are waiting for them to find it, they want to show you more items that might interest us.  And we should mention here that if you are serious about purchasing anything in this shop, be sure to do your online homework prior to looking or buying.  That is the only way to get the fair price, since what is marked on all of the jewelry is highly inflated.  And remember this – everything seems to be negotiable.  So we were advised to wait until they call us to pick up the final paperwork.  

 

Dinnertime had some good choices such as a beef soup and a different type of salad.  One of us had the everyday Caesar salad and the shrimp cocktail.  One thing we can say for certain is that the shrimp cocktail has been good and has been on the menu about every single day.  The entrees we chose were one beef brisket with creamy mashed potatoes, and one chicken parmigiana with spaghetti and broccoli.  They have been offering many "comfort" type meals, which we really enjoy.  There wasn't a smidgen of room for any dessert for either of us. 

 

There was no time change tonight.  

 

Two more sea days, and we will be in San Juan, Puerto Rico.  We would also like to thank everyone for your nice comments.  Yes, not everything is rainbows and butterflies all of the time, unless you are living in "La La Land".    Years ago, we had a lovely retired business woman as our tablemate on a world voyage.   She came up with that description of these longer cruises, and she was so right.  Life onboard can be like living a dream until reality hits and you have to pack and go back to "real life".  We enjoy both worlds.

 

Bill & Mary Ann

 

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Report #121 Friday May 2, 2025 Sea Day #3 Of 6 Enroute To San Juan, Puerto Rico Mostly Sunny Calmer Seas 3' Swell------Casual Dress

Boy, these report numbers are racking up fast now.  We have less than a week left and must seriously start packing.  Not just thinking about it. 

 

It sure was nice having that extra hour back on the clock last night.   Even though, that can be deceiving.  Most of the guests are simply waking up earlier, as we do because you cannot adjust that quickly.    It is one of the downsides of traveling so rapidly across "The Pond".    Those who live on the east coast will be able to handle the frequent time changes better than the west coast folks.  We gain three more hours just by flying back to California. 

 

There was an invitation in our mailbox for a private kitchen tour at 9:50am this morning.  A general invite for everyone was at 9:30am, followed by complimentary sparkling wine.  Once again, we had another meeting with Chantall, and missed both time slots.   Oh well, we have had excellent tours on other ships just as recent as last fall.  The Zaandam crew gave us a thorough tour of their main galley, and we did not feel a need to visit again. 

 

Lectures continued and Kimberly delivered her talk all about San Juan, Puerto Rico, our final port on the world voyage.  The problem we had getting those our port talks to work on our TV has to be one of the biggest disappointments of the cruise. The tech department never figured out the reasons why it worked sometimes, and other times…..nothing.

 

We all received another letter from Henk regarding the Shops onboard.  We do not ever remember them closing some of them down for several days like this.  Effy's jewelry has remained opened, but the watch section as well as the clothing side have been locked down since April 30^th.  The Captain's Collection will close tomorrow and re-open on the 5^th.   And the main shop will open their doors on May 7^th, giving the folks two full days to shop. 

 

So later in the day, we made a visit to Effy's since we had some shipboard credit we had to use or lose.  We got the lowdown on what's happening with the Shops not only here, but on all of the HAL ships.   The current duty-free shops had ended their contract with HAL, and had to pack up and leave while the ship was in Portugal.  Effy's stayed as they were a separate entity.  The new duty-free people came onboard the same day with their merchandise.  It will take a few days for them to stock the shelves and displays.  The watch section has already made the transition, but we sure didn't see much of a change there.  They still sell a variety of the top brands.  We never priced any of the previous watches, so we do not know if the cost is comparable. 

 

Doing some homework online, we read some interesting remarks concerning the new duty-free shops.  Not all of the comments were positive, but we shall judge for ourselves.  We did have our eye on some of Effy's special limited collection, and they made a nice sale today with us.  One of us got to ring the bell, while we were served cranberry mimosas.  It was a good thing that we were there during the early dinner seating, because there were no customers in the shop but us.  We did not need any fanfare as to what we do or what we buy.

 

The voice from the bridge, Captain Frank, said we had smoother seas and calmer waters – making him happy.  We still have a total of 1971 nautical miles to reach the pilot station in Puerto Rico.  The skies were pretty sunny most of the morning, then turned cloudy later on.   We are sailing in waters 10,000 feet in depth and with a sea state of 5 feet.  The temperature at noon was 68 degrees and the sea temps were 70 degrees.  The winds were gone and now we had light breezes.   And the clocks will go back one more hour tonight.  

 

There has been some heavy-duty cleaning happening around the ship.  Now that we are getting closer to San Juan, we think there are going to be health and safety checks in every nook and cranny of this ship.    The aroma of disinfectant was heavy in the air in most public places.  It has also come up online about norovirus traveling around the guests and crew as well.  We sure hope that if it is true, they are able to contain it.  No one wants to go home sick. 

 

Dinner for us was in the Pinnacle Grill.  We went at 8pm since Tina told us that tonight was going to be very busy.  We did get a nice booth and the service and food were perfect as always.  This time we ordered our salads to be served on a larger plate with the clothes line bacon on the same plate.  It worked much better.  Then we both ordered the lamb chops and one side of French fries to share.  The meal was fine and filling, so we passed on the dessert. 

 

A violinist by the name of Claire Gobin was the entertainer this evening.  She delivered a sophisticated rock symphony. 

 

One more hour back on the clock tonight just like the Captain promised.  And so ended day # 3 at sea.

 

Bill & Mary Ann

 

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Report #120 Thursday May 1, 2025 Sea Day #2 Of 6 Enroute To San Juan, Puerto Rico Partly Cloudy--Wind 35mph 12' Swell------Dressy Dress

One of us had an appointment with the future cruise consultant concerning fall cruises of 2026.  It seems that questions come up after the visit, and you need to go back to clear them up.  Chantall is so good at her job and has followed up in a very timely manner with the details.  Even at that, sometimes things do not get communicated exactly right, so it is a good thing to go over each and every detail as soon as you get the paperwork.  One of our good buddies had pre-booked the Voyage of the Vikings for this fall and secured the perfect room for him.   Then suddenly, almost a year later, his room changed, and needless to say, he was not a happy camper.  This has happened to other friends as well on different voyages.  He contacted everyone involved and was thrilled to find out he got his original room back.  Lesson learned…you have to keep an eye on everything these days.

 

And while it is on our minds, this is a good time to mention that the "Health Information" has remained as the number one item in the Daily newsletter on every sea day.  Without exception, we are still reminded to wash-wash-wash our hands regularly and use copious hand sanitizers around the ship.   More importantly, report any illness to the medical staff who will probably quarantine you if you have serious symptoms.  And please….no hand shaking.  We still see passengers wearing masks, and still hearing coughing and sneezing no matter where we go on the ship.   And if there is a problem with the number of ill guests, we sure have not been informed.  We do know that while returning to the ship in Barcelona, we all had to use Purell before going up the gangway.

 

The seas were still nasty today with cloudy skies and high winds.  It was spraying so much that our portside decks were wet all day.  Forget sitting on the veranda, because our room stewards had taken in our cushions for fear they might blow overboard.  And just as the Captain had promised, the conditions improved slightly, even though the outside decks were still roped off for our safety.  They remained closed all evening.

 

A new activity of the day was making a Derby Night fascinator, or the silly little hats some of the ladies like to wear.  It will be interesting to see how many of these creations show up in the dining room tonight as it is "dressy" with a Hollywood Theme.

 

We had an invitation for what was described as a Mariner Event held in the Crow's Nest at 4pm.    The heading on this invite was printed with the President's Club logo, which usually means the event is strictly for our small group.  Other guests we know were also invited, although they were not President's Club members.  So we assumed it was another Medallion award session.  Well it was not that either.  We almost didn't go, but decided we had nothing else pending.

 

The first indication that it was larger than expected was when every elevator went by jammed with people 10 minutes before the party began.  When the doors opened on deck 10, we had a hard time getting out into the lobby it was so crowded.  And to make matters worse, the crew was late in setting up the props and flower arrangements they use for such events.  Many folks were forced to use the stairs and wait while the doors were opened.  And remember the rough seas?  Well up here it was magnified about five times worse with the motion. 

 

Many of us questioned why they did not use the World Stage like they used to, where there was room for everyone?  At least, the motion would have been better there, but what do we all know?  After passing by the greeters of the Captain, Alexandra, Kimberly, and Henk, we entered the room and were directed to the specially-marked seating  on the starboard side.  By now, most of the seats were occupied because the smart ones came early. Or some folks snuck in and took seats that were reserved for our group.  Nothing was said. We learned one thing for sure…..never sit on one of the ottomans that are placed near the couches.  One unfortunate fellow sat on one of those and rolled over onto the floor.  He recovered quickly, unhurt, which was lucky, but embarrassed to death we are afraid.  It could have been his wife, which would have been worse. 

 

Wine and sparkling wine was offered,  but we ordered our usual beverages.  Some canapies were served, but few were eaten.  So the point of this gathering was recognizing the loyalty of the President's Club members currently onboard, which numbered about 38.  We had heard that the overall group included 5 star members and above., and in our humble opinion, it was way too many people for this venue.  The members were called to take a photo with Henk and Captain Frank starting with the lowest number of days over 1400.   We were surprised to hear the actual number of days being announced as they don't always do that on all of the HAL ships.  Last year, at this event,  the officers came to each person or couple to take the photos.  It was probably just as rough then as it was today.  There were only three of us that had over 3000 pure sea days.

 

The party was a wrap by 5pm and the folks left for the early seating dinner.  We stayed and relaxed for a while, not in a hurry to cram into the elevators once again. And some of the guests were wearing the "Hollywood" glitz  of Tinseltown with the little hats and bejeweled headbands.  Whatever floats their boat, we say. 

 

Dinner was fun with starters of calamari frites, a mozzarella/tomato and Caesar salad, and entrees of a grilled pork chop and one plate of Bolognese spaghetti.  We had a nice surprise for dessert.  Kadek our waiter had ordered rice pudding full of raisins just for us.    Really thoughtful. 

 

The entertainer was a vocalist from the Emerald Isle of Ireland by the name of  Stephen Barry.  His show was billed as thrilling with nice music and funny stories.  But the best part of the evening was setting the clocks back another hour.    And we had a Grand farewell gift waiting for us in the room.  They were HAL logo duffel bags with a small travel kit containing long compression socks, an eye mask and earplugs.  All good for flying we assume. 

 

Bill & Mary Ann

 

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Report #119 April 30, 2025 Sea Day #1 Of 6 Enroute To San Juan, Puerto Rico Cloudy With Rain Showers Rough 10' Swell 30mph Wind------Casual Dress

The "crossing" has begun with rough seas and high winds which kept up through the evening.  It continued through the rest of the day.  This is not unusual, as we seem to always have the same conditions going back to the USA.     So it was a good time to catch up online with pictures and reports.  There has been so much going on with the last two ports, it is hard to keep up with it. 

 

One of us made a visit to the luggage service rep to add one piece of extra luggage to be shipped home.  Taking a number, I ended up waiting for 1 ½ hour before being seen.  Of course, this fellow will be at his spot for a few more days and I could have made a later appointment.  I figured people would sleep late and would wait to do this. And if you did not have to add more bags, then you didn't need to do anything.  An envelope had been delivered with the 8 tags and zip ties already.  When the rep looked up our booking number, he had all the information about our lost bags last year.  He was more than interested on what happened, and apologizing profusely.  It's done and over, but we sure hope history doesn't repeat itself. 

 

The rep did add that there is a chance the two missing pieces of luggage will surface, however, after talking with our local UPS delivery fellow at home, he said we can kiss those bags goodbye.   In addition, the rep also said that the money paid for the damaged bags, the late bags, and also the missing ones is ours to keep in the event they did re-appear. 

 

We had been invited to a laundry room tour with our travel group, but it was the same time as our appointment, so we passed on it.  Been there….done that more than once. 

 

The usual activities continued with lectures, arts and crafts, trivia, bingo and poker, as well as dance sessions, and golf putting, ping pong, and cornhole tournaments to name a few.

 

For the second time this whole trip, we ordered room service for lunch.   Within minutes, two club sandwiches were delivered and they were excellent.  Stacked high and cut in half, they were served with coleslaw and potato chips.  By staying away from the Lido, we are not tempted with the extras, such as ice cream cones.

 

Captain Frank hoped everyone was not grumpy due to the motion of the ocean due to the rough conditions.  One member of our "breakfast club" mentioned that her drawers were opening and closing all night long.  Perhaps using some duct tape would help with that, if you remembered to bring some.  We also heard things falling, and they weren't even in our room.  At the moment we were sailing near the Azores at a speed of 20 knots.  Despite the stabilizers out, we were rolling, pitching, and holding on to everything.  The sea swells were 11 ½ feet, and we still have 2494 nautical miles to reach the pilot station at San Juan, Puerto Rico.  The skies were heavily overcast with wind a gale force of 35 knots.  Captain Frank expected the swells to increase to 16 ½ feet at worst, then subside to 7 feet later in the day.   Taking a northern route, he said he was avoiding the worst of the system causing this rough sailing.  Tomorrow will be better, he promised.  I made sure I had enough seasick pills by going down to the front desk to ask for some.  I was informed they were charging for them, where in the past, they were free.  When I asked for some packets in the beginning of this cruise, they were free.  Anyway, better to have them and not get sick, so I didn't mind paying for them.  By the way….they work well.

 

This afternoon was a good time to start cleaning out the extra papers and flyers we have collected along the way.    You would be surprised how much this unneeded stuff weighs.  A convenient luggage scale has shown up in the center elevator lobby as well.  That's such a good idea, although we have brought our own battery-operated hand-held scale with us to use.  Today would not have been a good one to use it, due to the high seas and rolling of the ship.  

 

Dinner had some good appetizers, but the Thai beef salad had beef that was raw and mostly inedible.  It was one of those few times we sent something back.  Our waiter noticed it was raw, but sometimes it looks that way and it is really marinated and tender….almost cooked.  One of us had the chicken noodle soup with extra spaghetti (still not noodles).  I give up.  One of us had breaded veal without the polenta and the other had a small portion of pasta with andouille sausage.  Watermelon was the only dessert we ordered. 

 

The entertainment was supposed to be the singers and dancers, but under the circumstances, we think it had been cancelled and another act substituted.  And so much for day one at sea.  Six more to go.  And by the way, there was no clock change yet.

 

Bill & Mary Ann

 

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Report #118 Tuesday April 29, 2025 Tangier, Morocco 11am-6pm Docked Starboard Side To Pier Cloudy And Overcast 20mph Wind--Cooler----Casual Dress

It did not surprise us that the skies were overcast and the temperature was a cooler 60 degrees.  Tangier, Morocco, is so close to Gibraltar we expected the same dreary weather like we had in Gibraltar on April 10^th.   And we were not disappointed.

 

So here is a little info on the country of Morocco on the north coast of the African continent. The capital is Rabat and the population is over 33 million people that speak several languages.  They are Moroccan Arabic, Berber, and French.  Some locals speak limited English. 

 

There are mountain ranges, ancient cities, deserts and lots of hospitality.  There is hiking, eating, camel trekking, shopping in souks or getting lost in the medinas or old towns. 

 

The only city we will be visiting is Tangier, home to spices and souks.  Mint tea is the drink of the day, taken with freshly-baked bread.  Their markets sell healthy produce of the seasons such as Fall time for figs, pomegranates, and grapes.  Winter has oranges, mandarins, onions, beets, carrots, potatoes and many root vegetables.   Spring brings apricots, cherries, strawberries and peaches.  The Summer time produces the watermelons, wild artichokes, and tomatoes.     One important suggestion comes with this produce, and that is it must be peeled, cooked, and washed first to be on the safe side. 

 

For starters, we arrived close to three hours late, due to our delayed departure from Lisbon yesterday.  That Captain seemed determined to get to Tangier no matter what.  And he did.  At least the all aboard time was extended from 3:30pm to 5:30pm. 

 

We had arrived to this port under dark cloudy skies and high winds by noontime.  The local officials had not shown up yet, so we had to wait to be cleared.  There were some tours here, but out of the four offered, only two seemed to be happening.   One was Tangier highlights for 4 ¼ hours and $75.  Moroccan tea and bread experience was 3 ¼ hours for $190.  The other two excursions went out of town and may not have occurred.  They were Asilah the Atlantic Pearl for 5 hours and $90 or Tetoucan experience for 5 ½ hours and $100. 

 

The ship was eventually cleared by 12:30pm and the tour groups went off first as always.  There was a shuttle provided to take the guests to the Mandubia Garden, which was located at the top of the Medina or Old Town.  From there, you could enter the several narrow streets to the Grand Socco or the marketplace.    When we left the ship around 12:30pm, we were told that the shuttle was allowed to come closer to the Zuiderdam.  A long line consisting mostly of crew members had already formed .  There must have been at least 30 folks with some guests mixed in. 

 

Mila, Henk's assistant, told us it took some strong negotiations to get the shuttles to come past the port gate.   We were lucky in two ways as the cruise guests were singled out to take the next small shuttle to the drop-off point in town.  A larger bus was coming for the crew members.  Kimberly our cruise director kept saying in her announcements that the walk to the shuttle was two ship lengths, when in fact, it was much further than that.  Later in the afternoon, we heard that the shuttles were not going to be let into the port, but stop at the port gate.  That was at least ½ mile or more to walk. 

 

The shuttle ride took from 15 to 20 minutes, driving us up a very steep and narrow road to the square in the garden.  There was a large plaza with an empty and inoperable fountain that was surrounded with grass and trees.  Once out of the cramped shuttle, we were faced with local guides trying to sell us a walking tour.  Seeing this , at least five people in our bus did not get off and decided to go right back to the ship.  Being that we were here a couple of years ago, we knew what to expect.  Believe this – it was nothing compared to what we had in Sri Lanka, which was 1000 times worse.    The locals took a "no thanks" without a fight, and left us alone, more or less.  

 

Our main focus was locating their marketplace and the bustling meat and fish section.   Going down a few of the portals from the garden area,   we finally found the right one.  We entered the spice section where piles of the fragrant spices are sold by the kilo.  The produce section was next, but it was in very tight and dark quarters – all housed in ancient stone buildings. 

 

The meat, fish, and poultry area is always interesting.  Their main meat products are sheep and goats, and it is not unusual to see half of a sheep hanging from hooks in the ceiling, skinned and ready for the spit-roasting.  Every part of the animal is sold, including the hooves and heads.  The chickens were a dark yellow color, probably raised on cracked corn and quite large.  The fish section was separated from the rest with all of the butchering work being done by men and younger fellows learning the trade.  It didn't smell extremely bad, but the floor was soaked with water to wash away the blood.   I hiked up my long jeans to make sure I wasn't in contact with the water.  We saw one local lady buying some shrimp, but other than that, there was not a single woman in this room except for me.  We didn't linger very long. 

 

One item you will not see being sold in this market was pork, as this country is mostly Muslim.  Many of the women wore the dark robes with head coverings.  We did not see burkas.

 

The produce area was much nicer as was the part where bread was being cooked.  The lady vendors made piles of a round loaf of French-looking bread  about 10 inches in diameter.  The best was watching two fellows making "trid" which was an extremely thin layer of bread dough smeared on a hot surface.  It was cooked in a few seconds, then stacked like tortilla shells in a stack.  The fellows explained that these shells are used like a platter under chicken or fish stews.  And they were really good.  They seemed pleased that we were interested in their craft.  Of course, we took 100's of photos in this fascinating market. 

 

Back outside, we ducked into a different portal which led to a series of souvenir shops – all very small with all types of treasures.  One persistent street vendor was selling "real" Pashminas, the wool scarves.  They caught our eye with their colorful designs, so we figured they are useful.  So two of them ended up as ours for a really good price.  Suddenly, we were surrounded with other guys selling almost real Rolexes, t-shirts, and costume jewelry.  No thanks, we said, then left them to go after other new customers.

 

Many of the shops sold nice leather products and carpets as well.  Typical clothing included silk-like caftans and fancy robes for the men.  Shoes are a big seller here.  Magnets, keyrings, camel figurines, and silver earrings and necklaces were sold by the thousands.  At this point of time, we knew we better not buy anything else, or risk being overweight with our luggage. 

 

There was no suitable place for lunch, and we doubted we could find beer, except in a nice hotel.  Since we had made our way down from the bus drop-off point, we found our way out of the souk mostly by memory.  This area was set up on the ancient days to confuse the enemy so they could not find their way in or out easily. We ended up about 2 miles from the pier and decided to walk back.  No sense going back up those steep and narrow alleyways to the Garden. 

 

We were back onboard by 4pm and heard the Captain's talk around 4:30pm.  He confirmed we had some rough seas arriving to Morocco, and he had avoided the worst of the system the best he could.  The weather at noontime was windy and cooler with temps in the low 60's.  He said the weather would remain mostly cloudy with rain showers, and the seas will be 13.5 feet with winds at 30 knots tonight.  And to be safe, he will probably close down the outside decks .  He also warned all of us to be most careful using the stairs, elevators, and doors.  Mind your fingers and toes….meaning  to wear practical shoes, please.   He continued to explain the best he could about the power outage we experienced yesterday.   He reassured us that the ship is self-sufficient but also good to know we have emergency back-up systems onboard. 

 

Despite the cool and windy weather, we did have somewhat of a sail away out of the harbor after 6pm.  Using the camera and binoculars, we could see horses and even camels on the beach across from the hotels.  We have seen this in other Moroccan ports.  We began to feel the motion of the ocean as soon as we got away from the land. 

 

Dinner for us was two different salads, one bowl of chicken noodle soup with extra glass noodles, and entrees of prime rib with baked potatoes.  Dessert was just one scoop of strawberry sorbet for one.  Zero for the other. 

 

The Grand World Band played music from Pink Floyd, a group that never really interested us.  Country rock is more our style.

 

And the clocks went back one hour, which was nice for all.  We are actually looking forward to our days at sea, even if it means we have to begin packing.

 

Bill & Mary Ann

 

359 Pictures