South America, Here We Come!

On behalf of the Ensemble Travel Group, (of which Preferred Travel is a member), I've been asked to host a 68-day GRAND VOYAGE around South America on Holland America's PRINSENDAM ship.

The voyage sets sail from Fort Lauderdale January 4th and we head south into the Caribbean and through the Panama Canal, head down the west coast of South America, in the Chilean fjords, around the Horn, down to Antarctica, to the Faulklands, up the coast of Argentina and Brazil, head west up the Amazon, north in to the Caribbean and back to the good ol’ US port of Ft. Lauderdale on March 12th – just in time for my aunt’s 95th birthday!!

There are 33 guests in our group. We host a private cocktail party, a private shore excursion (Buenos Aires) and offer lots of personalized service! That's just a sample of what our clients can expect when booking a Preferred Travel hosted cruise.

Prinsendam itinerary:

Day Date Port Arrive Depart
0 04 Jan 2012 Fort Lauderdale, Florida, US
11:00 PM
1 05 Jan 2012 At Sea
2 06 Jan 2012 Georgetown, Cayman Islands TR
Noon 06:00 PM
3 07 Jan 2012 At Sea
4 08 Jan 2012 Bocas del Toro, Panama TR
08:00 AM 04:00 PM
5 09 Jan 2012 Enter Panama Canal Cristobal CO
5 09 Jan 2012 Cruising Panama Canal CO

5 09 Jan 2012 Exit Panama Canal Balboa CO

6 10 Jan 2012 At Sea
7 11 Jan 2012 Manta, Ecuador
05:00 AM 05:00 PM
8 12 Jan 2012 Guayaquil, Ecuador
08:00 AM 05:00 PM
9 13 Jan 2012 At Sea
10 14 Jan 2012 Salaverry (Trujillo), Peru
08:00 AM 05:00 PM
11 15 Jan 2012 Callao (Lima), Peru ON
10:00 AM
12 16 Jan 2012 Callao (Lima), Peru
11:00 PM
13 17 Jan 2012 General San Martin (Pisco), Peru
08:00 AM 05:00 PM
14 18 Jan 2012 At Sea
15 19 Jan 2012 Matarani, Peru
08:00 AM 05:00 PM
16 20 Jan 2012 At Sea
17 21 Jan 2012 Antofagasta, Chile
08:00 AM 05:00 PM
18 22 Jan 2012 At Sea
19 23 Jan 2012 Coquimbo (La Serena), Chile
08:00 AM 05:00 PM
20 24 Jan 2012 Valparaiso (Santiago), Chile
07:00 AM 05:00 PM
21 25 Jan 2012 At Sea
22 26 Jan 2012 Castro, Isla Chiloe, Chile TR
08:00 AM 05:00 PM
23 27 Jan 2012 Chilean Fjords CO
08:00 AM 08:00 AM
23 27 Jan 2012 Puerto Chacabuco, Chile TR
10:00 AM 06:00 PM
24 28 Jan 2012 Darwin Channel Chilean Fjords CO
25 29 Jan 2012 Amalia Glacier CO

26 30 Jan 2012 Strait of Magellan CO
05:00 AM 05:00 AM
26 30 Jan 2012 Punta Arenas, Chile
07:00 AM 08:00 PM
26 30 Jan 2012 Cockburn Channel CO
09:00 PM 09:00 PM
27 31 Jan 2012 Ushuaia, Argentina
01:00 PM 08:00 PM
28 01 Feb 2012 Cape Horn and Drake Passage CO
29 02 Feb 2012 Wilhelm Archipelago CO

30 03 Feb 2012 South Shetland Islands CO

31 04 Feb 2012 The Antarctic Sound CO

32 05 Feb 2012 At Sea
33 06 Feb 2012 Pt. Stanley, Falkland Islands TR
07:00 AM 03:00 PM
34 07 Feb 2012 At Sea
35 08 Feb 2012 At Sea
36 09 Feb 2012 Buenos Aires, Argentina ON
08:00 AM
37 10 Feb 2012 Buenos Aires, Argentina
08:00 PM
38 11 Feb 2012 Montevideo, Uruguay
08:00 AM 05:00 PM
39 12 Feb 2012 At Sea
40 13 Feb 2012 At Sea
41 14 Feb 2012 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil ON VS
08:00 AM
42 15 Feb 2012 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil VS
06:00 PM
43 16 Feb 2012 Armacao dos Buzios, Brazil TR VS 08:00 AM 03:00 PM
44 17 Feb 2012 Vitoria, Brazil VS
08:00 AM 05:00 PM
45 18 Feb 2012 At Sea
46 19 Feb 2012 Salvador da Bahia, Brazil VS
08:00 AM 11:00 PM
47 20 Feb 2012 At Sea
48 21 Feb 2012 Recife, Brazil VS
08:00 AM 11:00 PM
49 22 Feb 2012 Cabedelo, Brazil VS
08:00 AM 06:00 PM
50 23 Feb 2012 At Sea
51 24 Feb 2012 Fortaleza, Brazil VS
08:00 AM 05:00 PM
52 25 Feb 2012 At Sea
53 26 Feb 2012 Belem, Brazil TR VS
10:00 AM 06:00 PM
54 27 Feb 2012 Cruising the Amazon River CO

54 27 Feb 2012 Crossing the Equator CO

55 28 Feb 2012 Santarem, Brazil
10:00 AM 06:00 PM
56 29 Feb 2012 Boca da Valeria, Brazil TR VS
08:00 AM 02:00 PM
57 01 Mar 2012 Manaus, Brazil ON VS
10:00 AM
58 02 Mar 2012 Manaus, Brazil VS
06:00 PM
59 03 Mar 2012 Parintins, Brazil TR VS
08:00 AM 02:00 PM
60 04 Mar 2012 Cruising the Amazon River CO

60 04 Mar 2012 Crossing the Equator CO

61 05 Mar 2012 At Sea
62 06 Mar 2012 Devil's Island, French Guiana TR VC 07:00 AM 03:00 PM
63 07 Mar 2012 At Sea
64 08 Mar 2012 Castries, St. Lucia
08:00 AM 03:00 PM
65 09 Mar 2012 Philipsburg (St. Maarten), AN
08:00 AM 05:00 PM
66 10 Mar 2012 At Sea
67 11 Mar 2012 At Sea
68 12 Mar 2012 Fort Lauderdale, Florida, US
07:00 AM

Still unpacking...

May 16, 2011 – It’s been harder to adjust to the real world after this voyage. I’m still unpacking…and in the midst of it all, I came across this poem placed at our dinner table on the last formal night.

“We’ve been together for so long, it’s so hard to say goodbye
Our dreams of travelling the world, fulfilled, our spirits high
We turn, now, to the hardest part, to say farewell to friends
So dear to us, like family now, saddened as this trip ends
So here’s to the great “Amsterdam”, we won’t forget its crew
Or Olav, Master of our ship, its officers, “true blue”
And most of all we’ll love our friends, although we must now part
You know, I know, that all of us are bonded in our heart.”

Time to reflect once again on how special a voyage it was.

I just looked up at a fire twinkling star and thought that a voyager whom I know, now many days’ sail from this coast, might possibly be looking up at the same star with me. – Henry David Thoreau

Last days at sea

Saturday, April 23 – at sea

Cocktail party and dinner in Canaletto AGAIN! Our third and final time this week and we had a nice meal with our regular dinner-mates. There was a “garage sale” onboard, by the pool! People unloaded their unwanted items and they had a cruise line sponsored walk for the Susan G. Komen Foundation for breast cancer.

Wayne Newton performed! We went to both shows and enjoyed the Las Vegas style entertainment with banter between him and the audience and his musical talent on five instruments.

Sunday, April 24 – Easter Sunday at sea and last formal night!

Sunrise service breakfast, lunch and tea with friends before getting ready for the Black and Gold Ball. The Queens Lounge was beautifully decorated for dancing and a fun time.

Monday, April 25 – last day on the ship! At sea

At the cruise disembarkation talk we were told why we gained all the weight we had! The kitchen staff had prepared 6,000 meals a day!!! -- We had consumed 70,000 pounds of beef, 120, 000 pounds of seafood, 175,000 baked goods, 80,000 Danish, 12,000 bagels, 500,000 eggs, 50,000 pounds of potatoes and 4,000 pounds of ice cream!! OK, this was over 13 weeks and we were approx. 1400 people when you count the crew but that is a LOT of food!!

We also enjoyed an incredible video of the precious crew of the MS Amsterdam. Each department had each person walk past the camera and wave. We saw them all – housekeeping, laundry, flowers, front desk, engine room, bridge, explorations team, dining, beverages, casino, entertainment…And the words they played to the music on the video...oh wow.

I've got a roof over my head
I've got a warm place to sleep
Some nights I lie awake counting gifts
Instead of counting sheep

I've got a heart that can hold love
I've got a mind that can think
There may be times when I lose the light
And let my spirits sink
But I can't stay depressed
When I remember how I'm blessed

Grateful, grateful
Truly grateful I am
Grateful, grateful
Truly blessed
And duly grateful

In a city of strangers
I've got a family of friends
No matter what rocks and brambles fill the way
I know that they will stay until the end

I feel a hand holding my hand
It's not a hand you can see
But on the road to the promised land
This hand will shepherd me
Through delight and despair
Holding tight and always there

Grateful, grateful
Truly grateful I am
Grateful, grateful
Truly blessed
And duly grateful

It's not that I don't want a lot
Or hope for more, or dream of more
But giving thanks for what I've got
Makes me so much happier than keeping score

In a world that can bring pain
I will still take each chance
For I believe that whatever the terrain
Our feet can learn to dance
Whatever stone life may sling
We can moan or we can sing

Grateful, grateful
Truly grateful I am
Grateful, grateful
Truly blessed
And duly grateful

Just one word for the rest of the day. Packing. What is the sense in packing earlier when you still need everything?? The day was spent trying to cram as much as we could into the suitcases we came with PLUS the two extra given to us during the cruise. We received lovely gifts from Holland America – rolling duffle bags, document holders, Tiffany bowl with the cruise itinerary, very pretty refrigerator magnet with the entire voyage on it, an over-the-shoulder tote bag, a LARGE stuffed koala bear, a puzzle with the picture by Stephen Card (renowned maritime artist) of the AMSTERDAM, fleece gloves/hat/scarf, luggage straps, business card holder….every formal night there was a lovely gift beside the nightly chocolates!

“Our final gift to you is compact thus easy to pack,
And fridge magnets are collector’s item often sought after en-route.
Depicting the original itinerary with its published turn-around ports in green, our cruise color, we trust that each glance on it at home will warmly remind you of this exceptional voyage we have travelled.
Remember that travel is not about the destination, yet far more so about the journey to get there. Until we meet again!
Captain Olav van der Waard, Hotel Manager Henk Mensink, Ship’s Staff and our Precious Crew”

Tuesday, April 26 – disembarking in Ft. Lauderdale

We left in a rush -- many goodbyes and hugs and tears. It was a beautiful sunny day in Ft. Lauderdale as we disembarked. While waiting for Gene to return with our FULL SIZE VAN (there were four of us PLUS luggage enough for a family of 24!!), we helped others get on the rental car shuttle or bus to the airport, loaded their cars and enjoyed the last final moments at the cruise terminal. We were not going to be rushing back to her tonight for a wonderful dinner nor would we find chocolate on our pillow…others were already lining up to board her for the passage through the Panama Canal. And then…we saw them painting over the front of the ship where it once read HOLLAND AMERICA GRAND WORLD VOYAGE 2011. It was over. The white paint was the final testament that the voyage was indeed over.

At sea...special birthday!

Friday, April 22 – my Dad’s special birthday! At sea

Walked on deck, lunch with friends, packed, signed up for garage sale table, Indonesian Tea in the dining room, lecture on biking from Australia to Tibet, Amsterdam singers and dancers performed “Ultimate Broadway”. Listened to last night of Diane’s port songs and they will be on her website and available for downloading.

Everyone is exchanging contact information and saying goodbye…It really is all about the people.

Madeira Portugal and days at sea

Monday, April 18 – at sea

Day of rest. HAL Chorale practice and we were informed that we perform on Wednesday! Read, cleaned up the room to get ready to pack and worked.
Phantom of the Opera singer, Dale Kristien – fabulous voice; she sang with Michael Crawford for five years(!!!) in Phantom of the Opera on Broadway.

Tuesday, April 19 – our last port! Funchal Madeira Portugal

Madeira is an island belonging to Portugal – a 2+ hour flight from the mainland. Lovely steep cliffs, high green mountains, nice beaches and quaint villages and a comfortable size city for walking. Great port of call.

We were up early to see the most beautiful moon shining on the water on one side of the ship and on the other we had the sun rising over the mountains of Madeira. Gorgeous view. Blossomed in to a lovely morning with sunshine and 70 degrees, we hired a taxi for a tour of the western part of the island and the main city of Funchal. He was quite a character – every other word was “Momma” and “I tell you the truth” and he had the funniest characteristics, we could not tell if it was a show or if it was his true character. Anyway, he made the ride enjoyable and we had many smiles as we tried to hide our shaking bodies due to the laughter from his mannerisms!

We started out in the village of Monte, about 4 miles from Funchal, high in the hills. There was a beautiful small church at the top with a gorgeous golden baroque interior and the smell of “old age” and feeling of warmth. Charles I, of the Hapsburg Empire, is buried here. We then sat in the sled of wicker with two long runners on either side (two of us) and two men pushed and steered and pulled us down the streets of Monte for over 1.5 miles! It was quite fun but I was concerned about the gutters! There were about a foot deep on either side of the one way/one lane road but we never hit the edge – came close a few times but they know how to steer and judge the speed of the sleds. And then we came to an intersection; we were glad to see the cars had a STOP sign but what if they forgot to stop and we were whizzing past….?

Of course, they take your photo as you are zooming down and have it ready at the bottom – quite a good photo with our hair standing on end! And also big smiles!

We ventured to the 2nd highest sheer cliff in the world – to Cabo do Girao – and viewed the magnificent coastline. Many items for sale by Peruvians, which I have never understand – different continent and different language…

Next to the fishing village where Winston Churchill painted and saw the dried cod by the colorful fishing boats. There were hoards of German tourists (and others) and we heard that all the trips to Egypt had been canceled due to political unrest so Madeira was one of the destinations which won out when clients re-booked. Again there was a precious chapel with a wooden ceiling which had been painted over with the most beautiful scenes. We walked around Funchal, the largest city and through the supermarket, past the cafes and small shops and through the two story market with beautiful flowers and fresh fruits and souvenirs. Delicious Madeira wine was available for sample and sale.

Lovely port call and by the time we headed back to the ship, the clouds were rolling in over the mountains, which is typical in this region. We had special invites for the spa and spent a few hours there in the sauna and on the hot beds and Jacuzzi as we left our very last port of call. How sad.

Almost immediately we hit rough seas and people were jostling around and getting the green apples and crackers to settle their stomachs. Max Dolcelli was the comedian.

Wednesday, April 20 – at sea

Rock and rolling all night; quite rough; seas at about 16 feet. The bumps around the elevator shafts make you want to take the steps! By dinner time it had calmed down considerably, but many people were in their rooms for most of the day. Great guest speaker: Robert Lilwall. He will show us in four lectures about his three-year (!!) journey via bike from Siberia to London. He covered over 30,000 miles – “Cycling Home from Siberia” was published in 2011 in the USA. Haircut, guest talent show and HAL Chorale performed our medley of Rogers and Hammerstein. Suffice it to say our last rehearsals were just “OK” and nothing spectacular but when we got on stage and sang that medley, it was as if we were professionals. I was so touched that I cried and couldn’t even sing the last songs! It was an incredible sound coming from the Chorale and it was just like my band director from high school, Mr. Rehberg; everyone wanted to do their best for him and it showed. Bruce, the cruise director/director, was touched and he even had tears in his eyes.

Had a nice dinner in the Italian restaurant, Canaletto, with four others and then the Piano Bar, with Diane Fast playing her port songs. She has written words describing each port experience to songs. Tonight she sang 14 port songs and they are incredible. She returns to the ship by 3PM, writes the words for an hour and then performs them that night. Then the English singer, Kimika, performed, we were some friends and I worked. No internet connection as we are between the European and US internet connections. Weather is clearing up and the ship is sailing smoothly.

Thursday, April 21 – at sea

Attended the TV taping of “Good Morning Amsterdam” and I won a document holder! Mariner luncheon at 11:00 and we were given a Holland America tile. Walked, went to both shows of “The Scintas” brothers from Las Vegas – a real Las Vegas-style show with piano, impersonations, Dino, Frank, Elvis, Neil Diamond, Tom Jones, jokes…And the Piano bar pianist, Diane Fast, played her second night of port songs – fantastic! Packed one suitcase. Fed Ex is onboard to assist people in shipping and wrapping. The race is on.
The sea is beautiful. Expansive, blue, rolling. It is incredible to look out and see just water and more water. I love these days at sea.

Spain

Saturday, April 16 – Cartagena Spain

Good or bad, the newest Holland America ship, the Nieuw Amsterdam ship was in port with us so over 400 of us ventured over to visit her. She is a beauty with pool cabanas, a lovely Asian restaurant Tamarind and a Manhattan theme; 86000 tons and 2200 passengers (compared to our 1200 passengers and 58000 tons) BUT this meant less time in the beautiful city of Cartagena! It was a beautiful day with a warm sun and clear skies and we found out we were in an easily walk-able city. We found the Roman Theatre with a capacity for 6000 spectators with columns, the Punic Wall from 299 BC, the Decumano Calzada Romana which reflects the street life of a Roman city on the main road of Carthago Nova with the bustle of the shops and coming and going of people between the port and forum and the grocery store! They are always a good place to wander around to see the specialties of the region as reasonable prices. There was also a tourist boat for an hour’s tour of the castles and forts along the coast - -next time! Very clean city with a nice walking street and free WIFI at the City Hall. Hope to return there again also!

Cartagena is Spain’s principal naval base. There are five natural hills and it was from here that Hannibal set out in 218 BC with a mighty army and his elephants crossing the Pyrenees and the Alps before narrowly failing to destroy the Roman Republic. The Romans had their revenge in 209 BC when they captured Cartagena and ruled until the 2nd century AD. The area is rich in lead, iron, copper, zinc and sulfur and mining is a big industry here.

Entertainer Marty Brill, TV and motion picture comedy writer.

Sunday, April 17, Palm Sunday – Cadiz Spain
Lovely day – brisk wind with a hot sun. My kind of weather. Cadiz claims to be the oldest continuously inhabited city in the Western world. Julius Caesar first held public office here and Columbus set out from here on this second voyage, after which the city became the home base of the Spanish fleet. Most of its buildings were built in part with the gold and silver form the New World.

Met our friends Arnold, Astrid and Bob at the pier and spent a few hours chatting and eating on the back deck. Wonderfully relaxing time. We were together two years ago and they drove over 2+ hours to meet us.

After they left, we headed in to the lovely port town of Cadiz for the Palm Sunday procession from the Santo Domingo church. The streets were lined with masses of people and they were also standing in the small balconies above the narrow cobblestoned streets. From the side of the church, came many young altar boys in white gowns with a white hood with only their eyes showing. Each church has a different color for their gowns. Then walked rows of older boys swinging the incense. Then the large floats depicting Christ’s Passion – and I mean large. The scenes on the floats were elaborate and ornate. And they must have weighed a lot. I counted feet for 72 men UNDER one float. Imagine trying to all walk together with your head covered and the only set of eyes for all these men were from the men in the very front of the float. It was a slow mechanical sway of walk as they progressed down the cobblestoned streets. And then the band! Whew. The sound they made – powerful, powerful, powerful. It actually brought tears to my eyes. I thought of them as a highly talented high school marching band – a sound that touched your soul. There are 30 processionals scheduled for this Holy Week/Semana Santa – what an incredible time to visit Cadiz.

We ventured out to the 1st century BC Roman ruins, found a beautiful city wall with an overlook to the Atlantic Ocean that was spectacular and then walked the narrow streets down to the Cathedral. If our plan had been to wander that area, we were wrong. It was a huge throng of people waiting for another procession to finish or end there so we found some other less-traveled streets and headed to the Genoves Park. We enjoyed a homing pigeon hut, a waterfall with a high lookout over the sea and city, lovely flowers and benches to relax on and beautiful groomed trees. Wandering through various other squares, we found the ones with free WIFI and headed back to the ship to get the computers. Back at the square, we worked and phoned home. Luckily, it was not dark until after 9PM!
Dinner in the cabin and collapsed! Great day. “Aires de Cadiz” flamenco show.

Italy

Thursday, April 14, 2011 – Port of Civitavecchia for Rome, Italy

We could not get up but we made it out to the train station by 9:30 for the 45 minute ride to Rome. 9 euros is a deal for a transportation ticket for the train, metro and all buses PLUS it was culture week so all the museums were FREE! Yeah! Off at Roma Ostiense for a change in rail station to the Roma Lido station and on to Ostia.

12PM tour of one of the only triangular castles in the world – through the pathways, looked out the artillery holes for cannons and guns and climbed the round tower.
Walked across the street to Ostia Antica, ruins founded in the 4th century BC. This site has been on my “list” for years and this is the trip to explore them. They were on the Tiber River and the town was designed to secure the river mouth against possible invasion. It became a flourishing commercial center. There were vivid mosaics in the Baths of Neptune and an ancient amphitheater seating 3500 spectators.

Civitavecchia is only 37 miles from Rome. We love Rome but were glad to spend some time outside of it today. Buses were late from tours and everyone said the streets were full of school groups; sometimes it is nice to venture in a different direction for a new perspective of the area.

Graham Jolley was the entertainer – a mind reader and he is fascinating and a great entertainer. We’ve seen him before and are still mystified at how he knows what he does from people in the audience. Finished my book! Enjoyed the adventure and the mere fact that I finished ONE book during these days onboard. How wonderful to know that you were physically and mentally able to traverse the path of Marco Polo for eight months on a camel and horse through Central Asia. Something to be proud of.

Friday, April 15, 2011 – Tax day! At sea in the Mediterranean

Sunny day at sea, time for a fun lunch with new friends from Hockessin, DE!, computer class on messaging, art I-pod tour around the ship, walked with a friend for an hour on the promenade, chorale practice.

It is nice to walk around and see all your friends and stop to chat – really, how easy can life be? People are beginning to realize the cruise will soon come to an end. Where has the time gone? Where they were once complaining (how could they be??) about a small issue, they are finally realizing how wonderfully we have been treated and how easy the days have been and how blessed we have been with safety issues and the weather and the wonderful sites we have visited. I guess no matter how good or hard you think you have it, there is always something to talk about.

Show was Jordan Bennett and Dale Kristien singing songs from Les Mis and Phantom, both shows they have starred in on Broadway. Powerful singers. Looked at the Faberge eggs and jewelry – I’ll take three please! They begin at $3K for the highly decorated and innovative eggs but a mere $800 for the golden egg necklace with a pearl inside. Worked and listened to music from my little corner of the world, the atrium level on Deck 3.