Tuesday, March 30, 2010 – Mid-way across the Atlantic Ocean
We are now three hours ahead of Delaware…a few more time changes to go at lunch time.
Sunrise at 7:44 AM, sunset at 8:09 PM
Expected sea and swell are low; cloudy and showers – 75 degrees.
ENSEMBLE Cocktail party tonight!
Cooking Workshop with Sous Chef Biju and a wonderful preparation of Indian Lentil Dahl. Just like a live Emeril show!
We cross the halfway point of our voyage across the Atlantic Ocean today so we had a special ceremony to “swim the pond”! People received more “dam” dollars for going in the pool with their clothes on...not me!
Enjoyed an Exploration talk on “The Knights of Malta”, a largely barren group of islands bequeathed to a group of hospital keepers turned knights. This is one of our ports of call in the Mediterranean.
Lunch today with a friend in the restaurant, time to get ready for the cocktail party and
Cupcake tea time! How many varieties can they come up with for formal tea??
Plus an afternoon performance of Justin Miller on the violin with storytelling of great Broadway and Hollywood songwriters, including Irving Berlin, Rodgers and Hart, Cole Porter and more…a 20th Century musical history performance.
The first cocktail party was held in the Crow’s Nest, which is at the top of the ship with great windows and views ahead. We see water, water and more water at this point. We were extremely lucky to have Captain Gundersen (from Norway), Hotel Manager Francois Birada (from France), Beverage Manager Don Collins (from Ireland), Thom Faulkner Cruise Director (USA) and his wife Tina is the Future Cruise Consultant come to the party. People stayed on to talk and then Gene and I went to eat in the Lido buffet, which was extremely nice in the evening! Tablecloths, multiple attendants to carry your food to the table and serve you drinks and food and practically empty! The sun sets late now as we are the western edge of the time zone so it was really nice. You could sit outside under a cover also.
The Event Staff put on a mystery identity game show before our magician performed, Richard Griffin.
Extra information…we had a full moon last night which was absolutely gorgeous on the water. If you can schedule your cruise around a full moon and clear skies, I guarantee that you will not be disappointed.
St. Barthelemy: It is a crooked six miles long, with a fragmented shoreline having some of the most beautiful coves. Settlers first came in 1659 and began their living growing crops such as tobacco and indigo. But the island’s main income came from smugglers and pirates, en route from South America to the Bahamas, who took advantage of the island’s strategic location and well protected harbor to repair their ships and stock up on provisions. In 1784, it was taken over by Sweden. The King of France had simply swapped the island for trading rights in the Baltic without even consulting the people of St. Barts. In 1878, King Oscar II put sovereignty to a referendum and it was handed back to France. The tourist industry has steadily grown in the last 30 years and has maintained an exclusive and luxurious draw of international travelers.
“The only source of knowledge is experience” – Albert Einstein
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Monday, March 29, 2010
Gene's birthday !
“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” - Eleanor Roosevelt
Slept late and room service found us without a problem! Then the fire alarms went off! There was apparently smoke in the switchboard or somewhere below and they followed standard procedures and sounded all the alarms. Quite scary but then they came on to tell us what had happened and they sounded the “stand down” signal so the crew could come out of their fire suits and hoses were put back.
Found my earring! Know you are thrilled to hear the news…it had blended in to the design of the carpet in the 2nd room we are still occupying.
I attended the future cruise consultant overview of the new Holland America cruises for 2010 and 2011. Very interesting itineraries…especially the ones going to the Arctic and Greenland. The newest ship will be sailing on July 4, the Nieuw Amsterdam, the sister ship to the Eurodam.
Met friends around the ship – no time to be outside today except we did play croquet – or rather a competition to earn more “dam” dollars. The Lido buffet men sang to Gene at lunch for his birthday – an Indonesian greeting. We worked on our shore excursions and all four of us were at dinner tonight. A dinner companion is a watercolor painter and gave us the most beautiful set of note cards of her paintings!! Wonderful gift. They are great cards and paintings! And Gene had his own birthday cake and another round of birthday greetings, this time sung in Chinese, from the dinner staff.
Off to our first cocktail party with the Captain and Sr. Staff and you could see the full moon shining on the water in front of the ship. I LOVE that view. Absolutely beautiful. Promotion in the internet café/library that they will give back ½ of your minutes used between 7-9PM so we hurried up there to do some work. We are still living in two cabins – dehumidifier is still running and the floor is still wet. Lots of birthday cake to enjoy and the crew have been very caring and kind in sending us birthday wishes.
Show tonight is Justin Miller (Guitar Wizard) and Penny Mathiesen (opera singer).
Missed the flower arranging, Sit, Kint and Needlework, Duplicate and party bridge, bible study, dice bowling, fitness yoga class, Cha Cha dance class, mah jongg get together, Indonesian Tea Ceremony (hope they hold this again!! – I’ve been before and loved it!) and watercolor class….
Slept late and room service found us without a problem! Then the fire alarms went off! There was apparently smoke in the switchboard or somewhere below and they followed standard procedures and sounded all the alarms. Quite scary but then they came on to tell us what had happened and they sounded the “stand down” signal so the crew could come out of their fire suits and hoses were put back.
Found my earring! Know you are thrilled to hear the news…it had blended in to the design of the carpet in the 2nd room we are still occupying.
I attended the future cruise consultant overview of the new Holland America cruises for 2010 and 2011. Very interesting itineraries…especially the ones going to the Arctic and Greenland. The newest ship will be sailing on July 4, the Nieuw Amsterdam, the sister ship to the Eurodam.
Met friends around the ship – no time to be outside today except we did play croquet – or rather a competition to earn more “dam” dollars. The Lido buffet men sang to Gene at lunch for his birthday – an Indonesian greeting. We worked on our shore excursions and all four of us were at dinner tonight. A dinner companion is a watercolor painter and gave us the most beautiful set of note cards of her paintings!! Wonderful gift. They are great cards and paintings! And Gene had his own birthday cake and another round of birthday greetings, this time sung in Chinese, from the dinner staff.
Off to our first cocktail party with the Captain and Sr. Staff and you could see the full moon shining on the water in front of the ship. I LOVE that view. Absolutely beautiful. Promotion in the internet café/library that they will give back ½ of your minutes used between 7-9PM so we hurried up there to do some work. We are still living in two cabins – dehumidifier is still running and the floor is still wet. Lots of birthday cake to enjoy and the crew have been very caring and kind in sending us birthday wishes.
Show tonight is Justin Miller (Guitar Wizard) and Penny Mathiesen (opera singer).
Missed the flower arranging, Sit, Kint and Needlework, Duplicate and party bridge, bible study, dice bowling, fitness yoga class, Cha Cha dance class, mah jongg get together, Indonesian Tea Ceremony (hope they hold this again!! – I’ve been before and loved it!) and watercolor class….
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Palm Sunday and 51st birthday...
Sunday, March 28, 2010 – Luisa turns 51! At sea in the Atlantic Ocean (last year I was in the Arabian Sea/Gulf of Oman on my birthday)
“…we will go sailing away from here to the beautiful land of Nod.” - Ella Wheeler Wilcox
We slept in room 271 which had the reverse room layout and a shower and not a tub. It was fine. Even room service found us in the incorrect room for our standing order for breakfast! I ran to Palm Sunday mass in the theatre and it was quite full! We had an organist and a pastor and his wife led the service. Then I went back to the stateroom to hear the latest on the room update – Gene had been trying to get in touch with the Chief Engineer with no luck – and lo and behold, I leave my lecture on Charles Lindbergh and Beryl Markham (an Englishwoman raised in East Africa who was the first woman to fly from the UK to North America in 1936) and there he is standing in our hallway talking to his assistant. They both look at the room and say it has been repaired so we could stay in the room! But there is an odor and it is wet so we will have the dehumidifier and dryer do their jobs and I will stay out of the room!
The big deal with the tub/shower thing is …if your door faces the front of the ship you have a tub/shower combo. If your door faces the back of the ship, you have a shower only.
I went out on deck to play Bocce – you receive a “dam” dollar for showing up! With the pitch of the ship and the movement of your roll, it was extremely difficult to get the ball where you wanted it to go. Fun and I enjoyed the sunshine and lovely breeze.
And today we changed our clocks an hour forward! But we did it in a new way. Normally, you move your clock during the night so you end up losing an hour’s sleep. They have a great idea to move it ahead at noon! So they come on the loudspeaker at noon and announce it is now 1:00 PM! And you go on with the day’s event. Great idea! We will do that for five days to get to the correct time for our first port of call, Madeira Portugal on Saturday.
After a nice salad at lunch in the Lido buffet, which again is a nice area with lots of window tables and covered open-air dining, we tried to sort out the room situation. The purser’s desk sent Gene and I flowers for our birthdays! A beautiful bouquet of roses, carnations and marguerites! Absolutely lovely! I put my birthday cards around the room, amidst all the clutter of piles of clothes (dry by now) and drying equipment.
The buffet area is on the 11th floor and you can order at the grill outside by the pool (where I have yet to see one person enter the water and it looks appealing to me!) or inside at the buffet with a pizza/pasta bar and an ice cream bar. Very healthy options and the fresh fruits are abundant.
I read all my newspapers outside and dressed for the first formal night. On this ship, we will have 7 formal nights for 51 days of cruising and people are complaining! We were meant to have 12 but they reduced the number. Imagine on Cunard last year we had 3-4 a week for 14 weeks….this is a breeze! So you have many choices in cruising. Choose the line which suits your style of dress and desired itinerary and off you go!!
For dessert in the dining room, I was presented with a delicious marcipan cake and they sang to me in Chinese! Nice presentation and I shared the cake with them also. It is the Captain’s champagne welcome before the Latin Nights production show. We met the new Hotel Director, Captain, Chief Engineer (whom I met earlier in the hallway) and the employee of the month (great way to recognize the hard working crew) and other officers.
Then I lost my earring. Nothing new there but I re-walked my paths tonight and no sign of it yet. But I have put out the alerts. Tomorrow should be calm again and hopefully will remain so. Forecast is showing 75 degrees and low to moderate sea and swell. Let’s hope it continues. On a 33,000 gross ton ship, it is inevitable that you will feel a bit more motion in the open seas.
“…we will go sailing away from here to the beautiful land of Nod.” - Ella Wheeler Wilcox
We slept in room 271 which had the reverse room layout and a shower and not a tub. It was fine. Even room service found us in the incorrect room for our standing order for breakfast! I ran to Palm Sunday mass in the theatre and it was quite full! We had an organist and a pastor and his wife led the service. Then I went back to the stateroom to hear the latest on the room update – Gene had been trying to get in touch with the Chief Engineer with no luck – and lo and behold, I leave my lecture on Charles Lindbergh and Beryl Markham (an Englishwoman raised in East Africa who was the first woman to fly from the UK to North America in 1936) and there he is standing in our hallway talking to his assistant. They both look at the room and say it has been repaired so we could stay in the room! But there is an odor and it is wet so we will have the dehumidifier and dryer do their jobs and I will stay out of the room!
The big deal with the tub/shower thing is …if your door faces the front of the ship you have a tub/shower combo. If your door faces the back of the ship, you have a shower only.
I went out on deck to play Bocce – you receive a “dam” dollar for showing up! With the pitch of the ship and the movement of your roll, it was extremely difficult to get the ball where you wanted it to go. Fun and I enjoyed the sunshine and lovely breeze.
And today we changed our clocks an hour forward! But we did it in a new way. Normally, you move your clock during the night so you end up losing an hour’s sleep. They have a great idea to move it ahead at noon! So they come on the loudspeaker at noon and announce it is now 1:00 PM! And you go on with the day’s event. Great idea! We will do that for five days to get to the correct time for our first port of call, Madeira Portugal on Saturday.
After a nice salad at lunch in the Lido buffet, which again is a nice area with lots of window tables and covered open-air dining, we tried to sort out the room situation. The purser’s desk sent Gene and I flowers for our birthdays! A beautiful bouquet of roses, carnations and marguerites! Absolutely lovely! I put my birthday cards around the room, amidst all the clutter of piles of clothes (dry by now) and drying equipment.
The buffet area is on the 11th floor and you can order at the grill outside by the pool (where I have yet to see one person enter the water and it looks appealing to me!) or inside at the buffet with a pizza/pasta bar and an ice cream bar. Very healthy options and the fresh fruits are abundant.
I read all my newspapers outside and dressed for the first formal night. On this ship, we will have 7 formal nights for 51 days of cruising and people are complaining! We were meant to have 12 but they reduced the number. Imagine on Cunard last year we had 3-4 a week for 14 weeks….this is a breeze! So you have many choices in cruising. Choose the line which suits your style of dress and desired itinerary and off you go!!
For dessert in the dining room, I was presented with a delicious marcipan cake and they sang to me in Chinese! Nice presentation and I shared the cake with them also. It is the Captain’s champagne welcome before the Latin Nights production show. We met the new Hotel Director, Captain, Chief Engineer (whom I met earlier in the hallway) and the employee of the month (great way to recognize the hard working crew) and other officers.
Then I lost my earring. Nothing new there but I re-walked my paths tonight and no sign of it yet. But I have put out the alerts. Tomorrow should be calm again and hopefully will remain so. Forecast is showing 75 degrees and low to moderate sea and swell. Let’s hope it continues. On a 33,000 gross ton ship, it is inevitable that you will feel a bit more motion in the open seas.
Palm Sunday and 51st birthday...
Sunday, March 28, 2010 – Luisa turns 51! At sea in the Atlantic Ocean (last year I was in the Arabian Sea/Gulf of Oman on my birthday)
“…we will go sailing away from here to the beautiful land of Nod.” - Ella Wheeler Wilcox
We slept in room 271 which had the reverse room layout and a shower and not a tub. It was fine. Even room service found us in the incorrect room for our standing order for breakfast! I ran to Palm Sunday mass in the theatre and it was quite full! We had an organist and a pastor and his wife led the service. Then I went back to the stateroom to hear the latest on the room update – Gene had been trying to get in touch with the Chief Engineer with no luck – and lo and behold, I leave my lecture on Charles Lindbergh and Beryl Markham (an Englishwoman raised in East Africa who was the first woman to fly from the UK to North America in 1936) and there he is standing in our hallway talking to his assistant. They both look at the room and say it has been repaired so we could stay in the room! But there is an odor and it is wet so we will have the dehumidifier and dryer do their jobs and I will stay out of the room!
The big deal with the tub/shower thing is …if your door faces the front of the ship you have a tub/shower combo. If your door faces the back of the ship, you have a shower only.
I went out on deck to play Bocce – you receive a “dam” dollar for showing up! With the pitch of the ship and the movement of your roll, it was extremely difficult to get the ball where you wanted it to go. Fun and I enjoyed the sunshine and lovely breeze.
And today we changed our clocks an hour forward! But we did it in a new way. Normally, you move your clock during the night so you end up losing an hour’s sleep. They have a great idea to move it ahead at noon! So they come on the loudspeaker at noon and announce it is now 1:00 PM! And you go on with the day’s event. Great idea! We will do that for five days to get to the correct time for our first port of call, Madeira Portugal on Saturday.
After a nice salad at lunch in the Lido buffet, which again is a nice area with lots of window tables and covered open-air dining, we tried to sort out the room situation. The purser’s desk sent Gene and I flowers for our birthdays! A beautiful bouquet of roses, carnations and marguerites! Absolutely lovely! I put my birthday cards around the room, amidst all the clutter of piles of clothes (dry by now) and drying equipment.
The buffet area is on the 11th floor and you can order at the grill outside by the pool (where I have yet to see one person enter the water and it looks appealing to me!) or inside at the buffet with a pizza/pasta bar and an ice cream bar. Very healthy options and the fresh fruits are abundant.
I read all my newspapers outside and dressed for the first formal night. On this ship, we will have 7 formal nights for 51 days of cruising and people are complaining! We were meant to have 12 but they reduced the number. Imagine on Cunard last year we had 3-4 a week for 14 weeks….this is a breeze! So you have many choices in cruising. Choose the line which suits your style of dress and desired itinerary and off you go!!
For dessert in the dining room, I was presented with a delicious marcipan cake and they sang to me in Chinese! Nice presentation and I shared the cake with them also. It is the Captain’s champagne welcome before the Latin Nights production show. We met the new Hotel Director, Captain, Chief Engineer (whom I met earlier in the hallway) and the employee of the month (great way to recognize the hard working crew) and other officers.
Then I lost my earring. Nothing new there but I re-walked my paths tonight and no sign of it yet. But I have put out the alerts. Tomorrow should be calm again and hopefully will remain so. Forecast is showing 75 degrees and low to moderate sea and swell. Let’s hope it continues. On a 33,000 gross ton ship, it is inevitable that you will feel a bit more motion in the open seas.
“…we will go sailing away from here to the beautiful land of Nod.” - Ella Wheeler Wilcox
We slept in room 271 which had the reverse room layout and a shower and not a tub. It was fine. Even room service found us in the incorrect room for our standing order for breakfast! I ran to Palm Sunday mass in the theatre and it was quite full! We had an organist and a pastor and his wife led the service. Then I went back to the stateroom to hear the latest on the room update – Gene had been trying to get in touch with the Chief Engineer with no luck – and lo and behold, I leave my lecture on Charles Lindbergh and Beryl Markham (an Englishwoman raised in East Africa who was the first woman to fly from the UK to North America in 1936) and there he is standing in our hallway talking to his assistant. They both look at the room and say it has been repaired so we could stay in the room! But there is an odor and it is wet so we will have the dehumidifier and dryer do their jobs and I will stay out of the room!
The big deal with the tub/shower thing is …if your door faces the front of the ship you have a tub/shower combo. If your door faces the back of the ship, you have a shower only.
I went out on deck to play Bocce – you receive a “dam” dollar for showing up! With the pitch of the ship and the movement of your roll, it was extremely difficult to get the ball where you wanted it to go. Fun and I enjoyed the sunshine and lovely breeze.
And today we changed our clocks an hour forward! But we did it in a new way. Normally, you move your clock during the night so you end up losing an hour’s sleep. They have a great idea to move it ahead at noon! So they come on the loudspeaker at noon and announce it is now 1:00 PM! And you go on with the day’s event. Great idea! We will do that for five days to get to the correct time for our first port of call, Madeira Portugal on Saturday.
After a nice salad at lunch in the Lido buffet, which again is a nice area with lots of window tables and covered open-air dining, we tried to sort out the room situation. The purser’s desk sent Gene and I flowers for our birthdays! A beautiful bouquet of roses, carnations and marguerites! Absolutely lovely! I put my birthday cards around the room, amidst all the clutter of piles of clothes (dry by now) and drying equipment.
The buffet area is on the 11th floor and you can order at the grill outside by the pool (where I have yet to see one person enter the water and it looks appealing to me!) or inside at the buffet with a pizza/pasta bar and an ice cream bar. Very healthy options and the fresh fruits are abundant.
I read all my newspapers outside and dressed for the first formal night. On this ship, we will have 7 formal nights for 51 days of cruising and people are complaining! We were meant to have 12 but they reduced the number. Imagine on Cunard last year we had 3-4 a week for 14 weeks….this is a breeze! So you have many choices in cruising. Choose the line which suits your style of dress and desired itinerary and off you go!!
For dessert in the dining room, I was presented with a delicious marcipan cake and they sang to me in Chinese! Nice presentation and I shared the cake with them also. It is the Captain’s champagne welcome before the Latin Nights production show. We met the new Hotel Director, Captain, Chief Engineer (whom I met earlier in the hallway) and the employee of the month (great way to recognize the hard working crew) and other officers.
Then I lost my earring. Nothing new there but I re-walked my paths tonight and no sign of it yet. But I have put out the alerts. Tomorrow should be calm again and hopefully will remain so. Forecast is showing 75 degrees and low to moderate sea and swell. Let’s hope it continues. On a 33,000 gross ton ship, it is inevitable that you will feel a bit more motion in the open seas.
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Sea Day and St. Barts...plus room change
“It’s the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting.” - Beth Bingham
1:30 PM was the Killer Whale Racing! Had to try this new experience….the Dining Room staff have hand crafted six sleek and beautiful racing whales! Instead of racing horses we rolled the dice out on the pool deck and raced WHALES! And my team won one time so I collected 6 Dam (each Holland America ship ends in “dam”) dollars. With each dollar you accumulate, you can purchase Holland America merchandise – key chains, t-shirts, sweatshirts, visors…I’ll share my grand total with you.
Lukcom dropped off two gifts for us! A nice leather diary in an exotic cover and a leather key holder (also good for business cards) which are very nice voyage gifts from the Holland America.
Guest Chef is Kirsten Dixon, the chef/owner of Within the Wild Adventure Company, an Alaskan Travel company offering three remote boutique adventure lodges. She attended culinary school at the Cordon Bleu in Paris and received a master’s degree in Astronomy from Adelaide University in Australia. She presented a cooking demonstration in the culinary arts demonstration center (a Signature event for Holland America).
Penny Mathisen, from Sydney’s Opera House sang songs from London’s West End. She has been singing professionally at sea since she was 19 years old! Wonderful renditions from Cats, Les Miserables, Carmen…classics and Broadway.
Their showroom provokes the feel of a cabaret lounge: low ceiling, slanted floor leading to the stage, tub chairs and tables for drinks. It is an intimate surrounding with a powerful live orchestra behind the entertainer.
The casino is very dead. We talked to the dealers and they said on the longer cruises, it is hard to get people interested…how many people want to lose money 50+ days in a row?? A week, OK, it is a game, a hobby. Over 50 days could be serious money the way some of them play.
Tonight’s movie is “Amelia”, which I personally find very interesting. From Kansas, Amelia Earhart learned to fly at age 23 and won the “Distinguished Flying Cross” as the first woman to pilot a plane solo across the Atlantic Ocean. At age 39, in the 1930s, she sets out on an attempt to circumnavigate the globe…and we all know the rest of the story. I cried at the end; you have to admire her spirit and passion for flying.
Saturday, March 27, 2010
“My favorite thing is to go where I’ve never been.” - Diane Arbus
St. Barts (St. Barthelemy, Caribbean)
We were up early to see the approach to this small island of the rich, famous and often most beautiful people. It is the ultimate in sophistication in the Tropics; chic, rich and very Parisian. You go for the relaxation, the French cuisine, the white-sand beaches and the ultimate in comfort. Columbus discovered it in 1493 and named it after his brother. On the approach we saw two beautiful rainbows on St. Maarten and clouds ahead on St. Barts. But it cleared up for a sunny, hot and humid day – 84 degrees at least.
This is a tender port so after our room service breakfast (love it!), we claimed our tender tickets in the showroom and headed to the tender, a motor boat for approx. 100 passengers – not too small at all. It was a short 10 minute ride to Gustavia, St. Barts and we docked right on the main street. We hired a taxi for an hour+ ride around the island – seeing fabulous beaches and driving up and down steep hills past small-ish ritzy resorts where life is easy. We saw much more cactus and trees-bent-over-due-to-the-wind than I imagined would be on the island, an old salt field and an airport that would frighten even the most experienced traveler. At the roundabout on the top of the island there is a sign to “duck if a plane is preparing to land over your head” as they land on one of the shortest runways possible for a 19-seater plane – ½ mile.
Most of the roads were 1.5 lanes wide with very little signage; only two gas stations and two banks on the island; the euro is the accepted currency; French is the main language and they are considered an Outer Territory of France but receive no money from their government. 95% of the island’s income comes from tourists. In the capital Gustavia, named for the Swedish King, we walked the main streets passing expensive boutiques (Gucci, Hermes…you get the idea) with many Swedish style buildings (their first conquerors) and climbed an extremely steep hill to the fort, which was closed for the lunch hour.
The three day regatta/sailboat race was taking place and it was incredible! On this beautiful afternoon we watched HUGE sailboats (guessing 100-130 feet) racing around the marina with big colorful sails. I’m sorry I don’t know the correct terms but their beauty was evident as they whizzed past our ship – almost too close for comfort! They appeared to be steering right in to the front of our ship as they moved along with sails fluttering in the breeze – approx. 40 sailboats. Memorable.
We walked through town and saw some beautiful teak wood furniture from Southeast Asia 2400 euros each. Multiply that figure by 30% and that is the cost of ONE chair, which was probably purchased for 50 dollars in Asia. GORGEOUS quality and designs - not your local WalMart. One chair had 2” wide round blocks of wood about 6” long that formed the seat of a chair. When you were seated, the blocks of wood were pushed down in varying depths as needed and it was actually very comfortable even if it looked like you were seated on round thick clothes pins.
We were hot and tired by the time we walked back to the tender and boarded the ship.
We saw Captain Albert Jan Schoonderbeek (Dutchman) disembark as he headed to the Holland America Captain’s meeting in San Diego. We heard Captain Gundersen (Norwegian) is onboard now.
In our stateroom, Lukcom had dropped off two more gifts! Hand sanitizer (the cruise lines are trying very hard to keep the norovirus off the ships) and a nice day bag stating GRAND BLACK SEA AND MEDITERRANEAN VOYAGE 2010 – HOLLAND AMERICA.
We are on a GRAND VOYAGE – not your usual cruise. A cruise is typically a shorter trip with more emphasis on beach/relaxation, gambling, drinking and younger guests since they are shorter in length. A Grand Voyage has specialized lecturers and onboard activities for the older guest who is usually more interested in historical, architectural and cultural aspects of a region.
Consider:
29 days from Auckland to Hong Kong – Feb 7, 2011 (New Zealand, Australia and Southeast Asia)
or
32 days from Sydney to Dubai – Feb 21, 2011 (Vietnam, Philippines, Dubai, Mumbai India, Hong Kong and Singapore)
or
33 days from Ft. Lauderdale to Buenos Aires Argentina – Jan 5, 2011 – Amazon Segment!
After a quick fajita at the pool bar, we headed back to our stateroom to hear drip-drip-drip….UGGH.
Towels, phone calls, more visits than we can count from the front desk and housekeeping and more towels and more visits and looks of disbelief and apologies in a by-now-very-humid room and still no engineering department showed up to fix the leak. The clothes are on the bed – some wet, some dry, all the towels are used up and Gene is trying to watch the Final Four basketball tournament in a room constantly being visited by all but the engineer. The water is coming from the top of the door frame between the bedroom and walk-in closet and also from the ceiling panel in the walk-in closet.
Dinner time. I left. He can watch basketball and deal with the leak.
Saw another rainbow at dinner! FOUR of them today! Incredibly beautiful.
I found an ideal typing area in the card room next to the Ocean Bar, where a fabulous live dance band plays. “Are you lonesome tonight?” is playing now…now “Can’t live without you”…
All passengers receive a daily highlight newspaper for their region of the world. You can ask for any additional national newspapers. Beside the Times Digest, we receive The Canadian, Australia Today and Britain Today. In no other paper except Australia Today, on March 25, did we read that the U.S. Health bill needs a new House vote due to two procedural violations.
Well, we are changing rooms. Not sure if we will get one with a tub or a shower but they tell us we can’t stay in the room we have. Bummer. Real bummer. All that unpacking and organizing and now re-packing and re-organizing to be done on my birthday and all the letters I have printed and copied with my room number included for clients and letters I sent out tonight to all the officers personally inviting them to our cocktail party on Tuesday night….But let's put this in perspective, Luisa! How fortunate you are to be where you are and to have a room to change to!!!
Sorry, gang, but I just spent $8 trying to upload 3 pictures and it is just too slow...I'll have to wait until I get on land and have free WiFi.
1:30 PM was the Killer Whale Racing! Had to try this new experience….the Dining Room staff have hand crafted six sleek and beautiful racing whales! Instead of racing horses we rolled the dice out on the pool deck and raced WHALES! And my team won one time so I collected 6 Dam (each Holland America ship ends in “dam”) dollars. With each dollar you accumulate, you can purchase Holland America merchandise – key chains, t-shirts, sweatshirts, visors…I’ll share my grand total with you.
Lukcom dropped off two gifts for us! A nice leather diary in an exotic cover and a leather key holder (also good for business cards) which are very nice voyage gifts from the Holland America.
Guest Chef is Kirsten Dixon, the chef/owner of Within the Wild Adventure Company, an Alaskan Travel company offering three remote boutique adventure lodges. She attended culinary school at the Cordon Bleu in Paris and received a master’s degree in Astronomy from Adelaide University in Australia. She presented a cooking demonstration in the culinary arts demonstration center (a Signature event for Holland America).
Penny Mathisen, from Sydney’s Opera House sang songs from London’s West End. She has been singing professionally at sea since she was 19 years old! Wonderful renditions from Cats, Les Miserables, Carmen…classics and Broadway.
Their showroom provokes the feel of a cabaret lounge: low ceiling, slanted floor leading to the stage, tub chairs and tables for drinks. It is an intimate surrounding with a powerful live orchestra behind the entertainer.
The casino is very dead. We talked to the dealers and they said on the longer cruises, it is hard to get people interested…how many people want to lose money 50+ days in a row?? A week, OK, it is a game, a hobby. Over 50 days could be serious money the way some of them play.
Tonight’s movie is “Amelia”, which I personally find very interesting. From Kansas, Amelia Earhart learned to fly at age 23 and won the “Distinguished Flying Cross” as the first woman to pilot a plane solo across the Atlantic Ocean. At age 39, in the 1930s, she sets out on an attempt to circumnavigate the globe…and we all know the rest of the story. I cried at the end; you have to admire her spirit and passion for flying.
Saturday, March 27, 2010
“My favorite thing is to go where I’ve never been.” - Diane Arbus
St. Barts (St. Barthelemy, Caribbean)
We were up early to see the approach to this small island of the rich, famous and often most beautiful people. It is the ultimate in sophistication in the Tropics; chic, rich and very Parisian. You go for the relaxation, the French cuisine, the white-sand beaches and the ultimate in comfort. Columbus discovered it in 1493 and named it after his brother. On the approach we saw two beautiful rainbows on St. Maarten and clouds ahead on St. Barts. But it cleared up for a sunny, hot and humid day – 84 degrees at least.
This is a tender port so after our room service breakfast (love it!), we claimed our tender tickets in the showroom and headed to the tender, a motor boat for approx. 100 passengers – not too small at all. It was a short 10 minute ride to Gustavia, St. Barts and we docked right on the main street. We hired a taxi for an hour+ ride around the island – seeing fabulous beaches and driving up and down steep hills past small-ish ritzy resorts where life is easy. We saw much more cactus and trees-bent-over-due-to-the-wind than I imagined would be on the island, an old salt field and an airport that would frighten even the most experienced traveler. At the roundabout on the top of the island there is a sign to “duck if a plane is preparing to land over your head” as they land on one of the shortest runways possible for a 19-seater plane – ½ mile.
Most of the roads were 1.5 lanes wide with very little signage; only two gas stations and two banks on the island; the euro is the accepted currency; French is the main language and they are considered an Outer Territory of France but receive no money from their government. 95% of the island’s income comes from tourists. In the capital Gustavia, named for the Swedish King, we walked the main streets passing expensive boutiques (Gucci, Hermes…you get the idea) with many Swedish style buildings (their first conquerors) and climbed an extremely steep hill to the fort, which was closed for the lunch hour.
The three day regatta/sailboat race was taking place and it was incredible! On this beautiful afternoon we watched HUGE sailboats (guessing 100-130 feet) racing around the marina with big colorful sails. I’m sorry I don’t know the correct terms but their beauty was evident as they whizzed past our ship – almost too close for comfort! They appeared to be steering right in to the front of our ship as they moved along with sails fluttering in the breeze – approx. 40 sailboats. Memorable.
We walked through town and saw some beautiful teak wood furniture from Southeast Asia 2400 euros each. Multiply that figure by 30% and that is the cost of ONE chair, which was probably purchased for 50 dollars in Asia. GORGEOUS quality and designs - not your local WalMart. One chair had 2” wide round blocks of wood about 6” long that formed the seat of a chair. When you were seated, the blocks of wood were pushed down in varying depths as needed and it was actually very comfortable even if it looked like you were seated on round thick clothes pins.
We were hot and tired by the time we walked back to the tender and boarded the ship.
We saw Captain Albert Jan Schoonderbeek (Dutchman) disembark as he headed to the Holland America Captain’s meeting in San Diego. We heard Captain Gundersen (Norwegian) is onboard now.
In our stateroom, Lukcom had dropped off two more gifts! Hand sanitizer (the cruise lines are trying very hard to keep the norovirus off the ships) and a nice day bag stating GRAND BLACK SEA AND MEDITERRANEAN VOYAGE 2010 – HOLLAND AMERICA.
We are on a GRAND VOYAGE – not your usual cruise. A cruise is typically a shorter trip with more emphasis on beach/relaxation, gambling, drinking and younger guests since they are shorter in length. A Grand Voyage has specialized lecturers and onboard activities for the older guest who is usually more interested in historical, architectural and cultural aspects of a region.
Consider:
29 days from Auckland to Hong Kong – Feb 7, 2011 (New Zealand, Australia and Southeast Asia)
or
32 days from Sydney to Dubai – Feb 21, 2011 (Vietnam, Philippines, Dubai, Mumbai India, Hong Kong and Singapore)
or
33 days from Ft. Lauderdale to Buenos Aires Argentina – Jan 5, 2011 – Amazon Segment!
After a quick fajita at the pool bar, we headed back to our stateroom to hear drip-drip-drip….UGGH.
Towels, phone calls, more visits than we can count from the front desk and housekeeping and more towels and more visits and looks of disbelief and apologies in a by-now-very-humid room and still no engineering department showed up to fix the leak. The clothes are on the bed – some wet, some dry, all the towels are used up and Gene is trying to watch the Final Four basketball tournament in a room constantly being visited by all but the engineer. The water is coming from the top of the door frame between the bedroom and walk-in closet and also from the ceiling panel in the walk-in closet.
Dinner time. I left. He can watch basketball and deal with the leak.
Saw another rainbow at dinner! FOUR of them today! Incredibly beautiful.
I found an ideal typing area in the card room next to the Ocean Bar, where a fabulous live dance band plays. “Are you lonesome tonight?” is playing now…now “Can’t live without you”…
All passengers receive a daily highlight newspaper for their region of the world. You can ask for any additional national newspapers. Beside the Times Digest, we receive The Canadian, Australia Today and Britain Today. In no other paper except Australia Today, on March 25, did we read that the U.S. Health bill needs a new House vote due to two procedural violations.
Well, we are changing rooms. Not sure if we will get one with a tub or a shower but they tell us we can’t stay in the room we have. Bummer. Real bummer. All that unpacking and organizing and now re-packing and re-organizing to be done on my birthday and all the letters I have printed and copied with my room number included for clients and letters I sent out tonight to all the officers personally inviting them to our cocktail party on Tuesday night….But let's put this in perspective, Luisa! How fortunate you are to be where you are and to have a room to change to!!!
Sorry, gang, but I just spent $8 trying to upload 3 pictures and it is just too slow...I'll have to wait until I get on land and have free WiFi.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Room Service...one of the luxuries of the day
Room service delivered our egg-beater omelets and juice – what a way to start the day. We had a nice conversation with our two room attendants – I Made (i-maa-day) and Lucmon (luke-mon) who are both from Indonesia. They seem very friendly and funny and will be on the ship until October and then enjoy three months at home with their families.
I called all my group to welcome them onboard and arranged a meet and greet for tomorrow morning in the Explorer’s Lounge at 9:30. I met the nicest lady from Sydney on my 1.5 mile walk around the deck! We fell in step together and kept walking and talking. They flew over for the cruise and will stay in NY for 4 nights before going back home. Gene could see us as we cruised past our stateroom window on our laps around the ship.
It was a gorgeous spring day with white clouds and sunshine at 72 degrees. Really lovely day…so after room service lunch (starting out on the right foot with a salad!) I took an hour nap outside. The age of the guests is older and not many were outside in the sun. There are many activities during the day so they could have been at a fitness class, Tai Chi, doing the daily quiz, playing in the croquet target challenge, listening to the port lecture for St. Barts and Funchal Maderia Portugal, learning about Olive Oil!, at the casino, taking a knitting class!, golf chipping, in a dance class, doing arts and crafts, enjoying afternoon tea or ping pong…there is quite an extensive list of daily activities.
I worked with the purser’s desk and bar manager for our cocktail invitations and confirmations. Enjoyed a nice surf’n turf and poached pears for dinner and worked again…The 5:30 dinner hour is a bit early for me but the 8PM is too late. On most cruises they also offer a “ANY TIME” dining but on the longer voyages they offer the two set times and the buffet. We’ll enjoy the buffet some nights also and maybe some room service. I like being outside for the sunsets and you miss those when in the restaurant….although the windows are great! Full length and sparkling clean!
On to the show...Justin Miller.
I called all my group to welcome them onboard and arranged a meet and greet for tomorrow morning in the Explorer’s Lounge at 9:30. I met the nicest lady from Sydney on my 1.5 mile walk around the deck! We fell in step together and kept walking and talking. They flew over for the cruise and will stay in NY for 4 nights before going back home. Gene could see us as we cruised past our stateroom window on our laps around the ship.
It was a gorgeous spring day with white clouds and sunshine at 72 degrees. Really lovely day…so after room service lunch (starting out on the right foot with a salad!) I took an hour nap outside. The age of the guests is older and not many were outside in the sun. There are many activities during the day so they could have been at a fitness class, Tai Chi, doing the daily quiz, playing in the croquet target challenge, listening to the port lecture for St. Barts and Funchal Maderia Portugal, learning about Olive Oil!, at the casino, taking a knitting class!, golf chipping, in a dance class, doing arts and crafts, enjoying afternoon tea or ping pong…there is quite an extensive list of daily activities.
I worked with the purser’s desk and bar manager for our cocktail invitations and confirmations. Enjoyed a nice surf’n turf and poached pears for dinner and worked again…The 5:30 dinner hour is a bit early for me but the 8PM is too late. On most cruises they also offer a “ANY TIME” dining but on the longer voyages they offer the two set times and the buffet. We’ll enjoy the buffet some nights also and maybe some room service. I like being outside for the sunsets and you miss those when in the restaurant….although the windows are great! Full length and sparkling clean!
On to the show...Justin Miller.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
On the ship!
We’re on the ship! Gene arrived early. We drove to the ship and embarked en masse. When he left, Dad said he thought it might be easier to arrive later in the day when the crowds subside but we were lucky to check in at the suite desk with fresh flowers and a shorter line.
We dumped our carryon in the stateroom – upgraded to #264! View of the promenade deck and water…I think we will see everyone marching past our window as they do laps! Nice big picture window! A bathtub (little luxury not often included on a cruise ship). And a walk-in closet! And a little hallway from the real hallway to your stateroom. Very nice layout of the room: sofa, TV, refrigerator, long desk area, safe, many shelf units for clothing and storage and a very good size bathroom. I’m pleased.
We ambled down our same floor to the dining room and promptly ordered our first meal of many. Prawns, soup, salmon and then up to the buffet for dessert! We had time to explore with Dad and found the laundry, card room, library, internet café, two pools and whirlpools. The first pool I saw was a very small round one in the middle of the ship. I thought about my laps and that would have been an adventure. It hardly qualifies as a pool – more like a large Jacuzzi without the heat and bubbles.
Dad was anxious to get on the road so off he went to western Florida. I am being chased by security now to get on the ship....we sail in an hour and have to do the lifeboat drill. Off I run....
We dumped our carryon in the stateroom – upgraded to #264! View of the promenade deck and water…I think we will see everyone marching past our window as they do laps! Nice big picture window! A bathtub (little luxury not often included on a cruise ship). And a walk-in closet! And a little hallway from the real hallway to your stateroom. Very nice layout of the room: sofa, TV, refrigerator, long desk area, safe, many shelf units for clothing and storage and a very good size bathroom. I’m pleased.
We ambled down our same floor to the dining room and promptly ordered our first meal of many. Prawns, soup, salmon and then up to the buffet for dessert! We had time to explore with Dad and found the laundry, card room, library, internet café, two pools and whirlpools. The first pool I saw was a very small round one in the middle of the ship. I thought about my laps and that would have been an adventure. It hardly qualifies as a pool – more like a large Jacuzzi without the heat and bubbles.
Dad was anxious to get on the road so off he went to western Florida. I am being chased by security now to get on the ship....we sail in an hour and have to do the lifeboat drill. Off I run....
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Crossing the border in to Florida
Gorgeous spring day in Florida! Bright sunshine. Mild temperatures (46 in the morning and then a high of 65) and a nice drive.
Had our Florida orange juice at the welcome rest area just over the state line and headed to Dad’s friend Ed’s home, a fellow WWII
Veteran from the 12th Armored Division – the Hellcats.
Ed is a creative decorator! He lives alone on a golf course and has his photos and cut out murals of popular U.S. scenes in frames and placed them around the house. He even has a wooden light post in his living room that lights up! He has framed a photo of his friends playing in a lake and hung curtains around it so it looks like a window! And his garage is meticulously organized with the collectible Hess trucks and miniature antique cars in glass containers with old postcards placed behind the cars, so the cars look as if they are in a street scene. One wall has his 12th Armored Division memorabilia from the regional meetings he attends.
When we left Hobe Sound, we merged into the Ft. Lauderdale traffic but were thankfully allowed in the HOV lane, and managed to find the Residence Inn in Plantation. Just in time for a dinner of BBQ chicken and bratwurst, wine and beer, potato salad and watermelon! And of course the popcorn! Did you know dinners are provided on certain nights at a Residence Inn??? (Photo of the lounge/dining area where we will also have breakfast.) I finished the night working on quotes and emails and packing….
1175 miles from my house to the hotel
Gene is coming! He is able to get away and was confirmed today. We will pick him up tomorrow morning and head to the Prinsendam. I’m excited about my Dad coming on the ship before he heads to the west coast to visit friends.
Monday, March 22, 2010
1st Night on the Road
Did you hear me banging car doors this morning as I packed and re-packed the car at 6:15?? Sorry to disturb you!
We were off right on time at 6:30 and then the rain came!
It rained and rained but we drove on.
Sun came out around 11:00 and we saw the beautiful white pear trees and light pink cherry trees and yellow azaleas and daffodils in full bloom! Just beautiful as you are driving south....
Hardeeville, South Carolina is our home tonight. Russell Stovers chocolate outlet, Chinese dinner, computer time, phone calls and slumbertime...that was enough for the day.
We were off right on time at 6:30 and then the rain came!
It rained and rained but we drove on.
Sun came out around 11:00 and we saw the beautiful white pear trees and light pink cherry trees and yellow azaleas and daffodils in full bloom! Just beautiful as you are driving south....
Hardeeville, South Carolina is our home tonight. Russell Stovers chocolate outlet, Chinese dinner, computer time, phone calls and slumbertime...that was enough for the day.
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Final night of preparation
Well, suitcases are packed. Incredible. It went rather quickly this time. Most of my clothes are in one case; included are ten pairs of shoes. But what is a female without shoes…..?
It’s the gifts and paperwork that slow me down. I have been sifting through the piles and writing down so many passwords.
Dad has very kindly offered to drive me to the pier! In Florida! I’ve also been granted special permission for him to have a quick tour before we sail at 5PM. That will be fun!!
Prinsendam ship
Ship's Registry: The Netherlands
Passenger capacity: 835 (Queen Victoria was over 2,000)
Crew members: 470
Gross Tonnage: 37,983 grt. (Queen Victoria was 90,000 grt)
Length: 669 feet
Beam: 106 feet
Maximum speed: 22 knots
Features
La Fontaine Dining Room: features impeccable service and an extensive wine list. Five-course menus include continental cuisine, vegetarian and low-carb options
Pinnacle Grill: This intimate reservations-only venue offers an elegant, sophisticated dining experience. Featuring premium Sterling Silver beef, inspired seafood dishes and many select wines rated "Excellent" by Wine Spectator - as well as distinctive Bvlgari® china, Riedel® stemware and Frette® linens
Lido Restaurant: offers a relaxed ambiance for all three meals and features a variety of fresh, cooked-to-order specialties
The Culinary Arts Center, presented by Food & Wine Magazine: our state-of-the-art demonstration kitchen offering interactive gourmet cooking lessons taught by our own Master Chefs or culinary guests
Explorations Café, powered by The New York Times: a comfortable, coffee house environment where you can browse through an extensive library, surf the Internet and check email or simply read the morning paper.
Greenhouse Spa & Salon: features heavenly beauty and wellness rituals. Enjoy a facial, hot stone massage, steam in a thermal suite and have your hair and nails done for a special evening.
Queen's Show Lounge: features talented vocalists, dancers, illusionists, comedians and variety acts
I know I'll enjoy exploring all the options on-board...just get me out the door tomorrow morning!
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Documentation received!
Documentation has been received!
Stateroom #408
Holland America is very well organized with pre-boarding information. I received a flyer with the Grand Voyage Activities, the names of all the officers, prices for internet ($250 for 1000 minutes!), laundry, wine, soda and spa packages….there is much to ponder over these last few days.
Gala Celebrations!
There are 8 formal and 43 smart casual nights plus all these special events.
March 25 is the Captain’s Welcome Toast
March 27 Buccaneers' Night
April 1 is the Black and White Ball
April 5 Ali Baba Night
April 8 Viva Espana Paella BBQ on deck
April 9 Sommelier Dinner
April 10 is “Speakeasy”
April 15 is the Mariner Lunch (for those who have cruised before on Holland
America)
April 17 Indonesian Rijsttafel Dinner
April 19 Imperial Russian Night
April 21 Indian Delicacies
April 24 Night of the Gods
April 29 Medieval Knights
April 30 is Queens Day (the Queen of The Netherlands’ birthday)
May 2 Fiesta del Matador
May 3 Grand Mediterranean BBQ
May 8 "A Deadly Feast" Murder Mystery
May 9 is the Black and Gold Ball
!!!
Plus there are Casual Theme Nights!
Ali Baba Night
Imperial Russian Night
Medieval Knights
Fiesta del Matador
Holland America is a big supporter of the Susan G Komen Foundation and on every cruise they sponsor a walk and auction in support of breast cancer research, supplying t-shirts to all participants.
Everyday Enriching Activities
Yoga, dance instructors, water-colorist, arts and crafts instructors, culinary and hotel-related demonstrators.
Plus we will have two celebrated top chefs in the Culinary Arts Center, presented by Food & Wine magazine.
Kristin Dixon, Executive Chef and Owner, Within the Wild Lodges (Alaska) from March 24 – April 8
Marisol Koczal Simon, Culinary Educator, Author and Chef, Denver, CO from April 9-26
Much more to read and digest…final preparations are underway.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Seas Beckon...Holland America GRAND VOYAGE
I've been asked by Ensemble, the host agency for Preferred Travel, to host a group of 22 from Ft. Lauderdale for an incredible journey: two trans-Atlantic crossings, two crossings in the Mediterranean and stops in the Black Sea...
How could I refuse??!!
March 24 - May 14, 2010
I'll be on the Prinsendam ship for 51 days!
Here is the itinerary:
24 Mar 2010 Fort Lauderdale, Florida, US 05:00 PM 1
25 Mar 2010 At Sea 2
26 Mar 2010 At Sea 3
27 Mar 2010 Gustavia (St. Barts), France TR 08:00 AM 05:00 PM 4
28 Mar 2010 At Sea 5
29 Mar 2010 At Sea 6
30 Mar 2010 At Sea 7
31 Mar 2010 At Sea 8
01 Apr 2010 At Sea 9
02 Apr 2010 At Sea 10
03 Apr 2010 Funchal (Madeira), Portugal 08:00 AM 05:00 PM 11
04 Apr 2010 At Sea 12
05 Apr 2010 Tangier, Morrocco 08:00 AM 05:00 PM 13
06 Apr 2010 Almeria, Spain 07:00 AM 05:00 PM 14
07 Apr 2010 La Savina, Spain TR 09:00 AM 05:00 PM 15
08 Apr 2010 Barcelona, Spain ON 08:00 AM 16
09 Apr 2010 Barcelona, Spain 05:00 PM 17
10 Apr 2010 St Tropez, France TR 10:00 AM 06:00 PM 18
11 Apr 2010 Livorno (Florence) Italy 07:00 AM 07:00 PM 19
12 Apr 2010 Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy 06:00 AM 07:00 PM 20
13 Apr 2010 At Sea 21
14 Apr 2010 Katakolon, Greece 09:00 AM 05:00 PM 22
15 Apr 2010 At Sea 23
16 Apr 2010 Istanbul, Turkey ON 08:00 AM 24
17 Apr 2010 Istanbul, Turkey 06:00 PM 25
18 Apr 2010 At Sea 26
19 Apr 2010 Sochi, Russia VX 08:00 AM 05:00 PM 27 2014 WINTER OLYMPICS!
20 Apr 2010 Batumi, Georgia 08:00 AM 05:00 PM 28
21 Apr 2010 Trabzon, Turkey 08:00 AM 05:00 PM 29
22 Apr 2010 Sinop, Turkey 08:00 AM 05:00 PM 30
23 Apr 2010 At Sea 31
24 Apr 2010 Volos, Greece 08:00 AM 05:00 PM 32
25 Apr 2010 Kusadasi (Ephesus), Turkey 08:00 AM 05:00 PM 33
26 Apr 2010 Piraeus (Athens), Greece 07:00 AM 11:00 PM 34
27 Apr 2010 Thira (Santorini), Greece 08:00 AM 11:00 PM 35
28 Apr 2010 At Sea 36
29 Apr 2010 Valletta, Malta 08:00 AM 05:00 PM 37
30 Apr 2010 At Sea 38
01 May 2010 At Sea 39
02 May 2010 Cadiz (Seville), Spain 08:00 AM 05:00 PM 40
03 May 2010 Lisbon, Portugal ON 08:00 AM 41
04 May 2010 Lisbon, Portugal 11:00 PM 42
05 May 2010 At Sea 43
06 May 2010 At Sea 44
07 May 2010 Ponta Delgada, Portugal 08:00 AM 05:00 PM 45
08 May 2010 At Sea 46
09 May 2010 At Sea 47
10 May 2010 At Sea 48
11 May 2010 At Sea 49
12 May 2010 Hamilton, Bermuda 08:00 AM 04:00 PM 50
13 May 2010 At Sea 51
14 May 2010 New York, New York, US 07:00 AM 04:45 PM 52
15 May 2010 At Sea 53
16 May 2010 At Sea 54
17 May 2010 Fort Lauderdale, Florida, US 07:00 AM
The Prinsendam is "designed to explore the remote corners of the world in elegance and style, the ms Prinsendam is our most intimate ship. Accommodating just 835 passengers, she gives guests the feel of a classic yacht with the spaciousness of a cruise ship. The ms Prinsendam offers many cozy areas in which to find your favorite spot, most of her staterooms feature commanding ocean views and many have private verandahs. (I'll have a window.)
A special signature sculpture dominates the three-story atrium featuring etched fish, turtles and dolphins climbing a stunning cylinder of Bolle glass and lit with state-of-the-art fiber optics. Other works of art include a remarkable abstract marble sculpture of a Viking ship by contemporary Norwegian artist Nicholas Widerberg, a series of paintings by impressionist painter Neil Pinkett, and an outstanding collection of Roman Amphorae from 50 - 150 AD. The ms Prinsendam, or "Princes" ship, is truly a classic ship worthy of her name."
Much to do to prepare...If I could only remember the routine for packing from last year...
How could I refuse??!!
March 24 - May 14, 2010
I'll be on the Prinsendam ship for 51 days!
Here is the itinerary:
24 Mar 2010 Fort Lauderdale, Florida, US 05:00 PM 1
25 Mar 2010 At Sea 2
26 Mar 2010 At Sea 3
27 Mar 2010 Gustavia (St. Barts), France TR 08:00 AM 05:00 PM 4
28 Mar 2010 At Sea 5
29 Mar 2010 At Sea 6
30 Mar 2010 At Sea 7
31 Mar 2010 At Sea 8
01 Apr 2010 At Sea 9
02 Apr 2010 At Sea 10
03 Apr 2010 Funchal (Madeira), Portugal 08:00 AM 05:00 PM 11
04 Apr 2010 At Sea 12
05 Apr 2010 Tangier, Morrocco 08:00 AM 05:00 PM 13
06 Apr 2010 Almeria, Spain 07:00 AM 05:00 PM 14
07 Apr 2010 La Savina, Spain TR 09:00 AM 05:00 PM 15
08 Apr 2010 Barcelona, Spain ON 08:00 AM 16
09 Apr 2010 Barcelona, Spain 05:00 PM 17
10 Apr 2010 St Tropez, France TR 10:00 AM 06:00 PM 18
11 Apr 2010 Livorno (Florence) Italy 07:00 AM 07:00 PM 19
12 Apr 2010 Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy 06:00 AM 07:00 PM 20
13 Apr 2010 At Sea 21
14 Apr 2010 Katakolon, Greece 09:00 AM 05:00 PM 22
15 Apr 2010 At Sea 23
16 Apr 2010 Istanbul, Turkey ON 08:00 AM 24
17 Apr 2010 Istanbul, Turkey 06:00 PM 25
18 Apr 2010 At Sea 26
19 Apr 2010 Sochi, Russia VX 08:00 AM 05:00 PM 27 2014 WINTER OLYMPICS!
20 Apr 2010 Batumi, Georgia 08:00 AM 05:00 PM 28
21 Apr 2010 Trabzon, Turkey 08:00 AM 05:00 PM 29
22 Apr 2010 Sinop, Turkey 08:00 AM 05:00 PM 30
23 Apr 2010 At Sea 31
24 Apr 2010 Volos, Greece 08:00 AM 05:00 PM 32
25 Apr 2010 Kusadasi (Ephesus), Turkey 08:00 AM 05:00 PM 33
26 Apr 2010 Piraeus (Athens), Greece 07:00 AM 11:00 PM 34
27 Apr 2010 Thira (Santorini), Greece 08:00 AM 11:00 PM 35
28 Apr 2010 At Sea 36
29 Apr 2010 Valletta, Malta 08:00 AM 05:00 PM 37
30 Apr 2010 At Sea 38
01 May 2010 At Sea 39
02 May 2010 Cadiz (Seville), Spain 08:00 AM 05:00 PM 40
03 May 2010 Lisbon, Portugal ON 08:00 AM 41
04 May 2010 Lisbon, Portugal 11:00 PM 42
05 May 2010 At Sea 43
06 May 2010 At Sea 44
07 May 2010 Ponta Delgada, Portugal 08:00 AM 05:00 PM 45
08 May 2010 At Sea 46
09 May 2010 At Sea 47
10 May 2010 At Sea 48
11 May 2010 At Sea 49
12 May 2010 Hamilton, Bermuda 08:00 AM 04:00 PM 50
13 May 2010 At Sea 51
14 May 2010 New York, New York, US 07:00 AM 04:45 PM 52
15 May 2010 At Sea 53
16 May 2010 At Sea 54
17 May 2010 Fort Lauderdale, Florida, US 07:00 AM
The Prinsendam is "designed to explore the remote corners of the world in elegance and style, the ms Prinsendam is our most intimate ship. Accommodating just 835 passengers, she gives guests the feel of a classic yacht with the spaciousness of a cruise ship. The ms Prinsendam offers many cozy areas in which to find your favorite spot, most of her staterooms feature commanding ocean views and many have private verandahs. (I'll have a window.)
A special signature sculpture dominates the three-story atrium featuring etched fish, turtles and dolphins climbing a stunning cylinder of Bolle glass and lit with state-of-the-art fiber optics. Other works of art include a remarkable abstract marble sculpture of a Viking ship by contemporary Norwegian artist Nicholas Widerberg, a series of paintings by impressionist painter Neil Pinkett, and an outstanding collection of Roman Amphorae from 50 - 150 AD. The ms Prinsendam, or "Princes" ship, is truly a classic ship worthy of her name."
Much to do to prepare...If I could only remember the routine for packing from last year...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
