Day 6 - Bonaire

Day 6 – Bonaire

Dec 7

Once again, the ship is in port and we are on the ship. Bonaire looks pretty inviting from our balcony. See picture …

the pastel houses, tropical foliage, and blue, blue water. But we have discovered that, if we stay on the ship on port days while everyone else goes ashore, it's like we have the ship and staff almost entirely to ourselves.

You see, there are certain things cruises are great for, and others … not so much. Cruises are great for travelling in style, not having to unpack, seeing beautiful landscapes and ocean and beaches, and for the occasional scuba or snorkelling outing. Cruises aren't so good for getting to know a port in depth. You are only there for several hours and, unless you are willing to venture out on your own, there's not enough time to escape the tourist shopping venues and pre-packaged “native” shows. Nope … if getting to know about a locale is your purpose for vacationing, then rent a condo and spend a couple of weeks living with the locals. … So Scotty and I rarely get off the ship.

But you win because we stayed on board today. I decided to get pictures of the flower arrangements today. In addition to its magnificent collection of art, HAL employs full time florists … two on the Noordam … to keep flowers fresh and ever changing. Here is a sample of the arrangements to be found on every floor and every dining table.

We had lunch at Pinnacle Grill … now, who would go to a five-star restaurant and order a hamburger?? Me! And it was one of the best hamburgers I've ever had! Then I mentioned to our waiter how much I loved the peach frozen yogurt from the day before and, even though it wasn't on the menu, he found some for me … ah, white glove service!

As I said, it was a lazy day for us, so we headed back to the room to sit on the verandah and just watch the water. I read and knit for quite a while. This is what I consider a vacation!

Dinner found us back in the main dining room. I had a roast duck appetizer (wonderful), a five-onion cream soup (interesting), and leg of lamb (YUM!!!). Finished off with a hot fudge Sundae. Yes, I will be gaining a pound a day unless I don't take another bite from now until we disembark on Monday!

The casino was kinder to me tonight. Won back part of what I lost last night. If I could learn to just walk away when I win, I could stay ahead … but where's the fun in that?

Here's the latest tip from Budget Travel Magazine:

8. If the porters haven't delivered your luggage to your door by the first night of the cruise, check what our experts call the “naughty room”. Security will store any bags containing contraband, (like candles, alcohol, or coffeemakers) in this centralized location until you come to claim it. You'll be able to pick up your bag on the first night but your banned items will not be returned until the end of the trip.

Folks, cruise lines are very serious about this. There is nothing scarier to the crew than a fire. So anything that heats up or has the possibility of a flame is confiscated. Please, please pay attention to these limits. It will make your cruise much more enjoyable and safer!

Day 5 - At Sea

Day 5 – At Sea

Dec 6

Very rollercoaster day today. No, the ship is not rocking … I am … well, me and the slot machines! I am down some, but this morning I won $500 on a random spin! I was on cloud 9 for quite a while. Now, after an evening in the casino … not so much … ah well. I am enough of a statistician to know I am just playing for entertainment and there is little hope of walking away ahead of the house.

I have to talk about the walking. We are really getting our exercise. The Noordam is three football fields in length … 935 feet, to be exact. As I have said, our cabin is at the very aft … looking out over the aft of the ship. The Lido Buffet is directly above us, three decks up. Otherwise, we walk at least half the length of the ship to get anywhere. The Main dining room is completely forward. The casino and lounges are mostly mid-ship. The crow's nest is completely forward. The Neptune Lounge is a little forward of midship. See … we are getting our exercise. Perhaps we won't gain that average of a pound a day that everyone talks about!

For those of you who have asked for more pictures, Holland America Line does it much better than I do. So here's a link to some beautiful pictures of the ship and facilities:

http://experience.hollandamerica.com/ships/noordam/NO_slideshow2/index.html

The first room picture is the type of cabin we are in. The hydrotherapy pool is the one I head to every day. We have eaten in the Lido Buffet and the main dining room. Tomorrow lunch is the Pinnacle Grill. I will take more pictures of things that aren't in this slide show. Especially the art work … amazing!!

Today was pretty calm, other than the casino trips. I spent some time in the Neptune lounge, sending off today's blog, checking e-mail, and knitting. My knitting is drawing some attention, so I have begun carrying around the pattern as well as the WIP. People want to see what the finished product will be like.

We had a nice lunch in the Lido Buffet. Salad, nothing too fancy. After a while you just have to have real food! Then Scotty went off to a movie and I headed to the casino. She enjoyed “Larry Crowne” and I played the slots … 'nuff said.

We spent a little while in the cabin prior to dinner, sitting on the verandah and reading. I admit, I snoozed off a little while in bed! Dinner was at Caneletto. HAL turns part of the Lido Buffet into a very nice, but informal, Italian restaurant at dinner time. We took advantage of it and had a great Italian dinner. My Chicken Marsala was wonderful and her Cod looked pretty good too!

Time for tip # 7

7. If your tablecloth is wet at dinner, you should prepare for rough seas. Restaurant staffers have been known to slightly dampen the tablecloth to keep plates and glasses from sliding.

This is another one that is outside my experience. Given how rough the seas were at the start of this voyage, I would have expected to see it then, but didn't … perhaps this is the sea-going version of an urban legend? Have any of you experienced dampened linens??

Headed off to bed now. We dock in Bonnaire tomorrow. We have lunch scheduled for the Pinnacle Grill, but we will also try to get off the ship and see what we can in town.

Day 4 - Samana - and a new tip

Day 4

Dec 5

Samana is a very small place. We stayed on the ship. Tender trip would have been 30 minutes, then another 20 cab ride into town, according to our dinner-mates.

I was up at 7:30 – no particular reason, just awake! Took my computer down to Lido for coffee and croissants. Had a very pleasant time posting yesterday's blog, checking e-mail and chatting with a couple from Jamaica/Canada. Coincidentally, they have a daughter living in Santa Fe. It is such a small world!

No pictures today, because it was really a lazy day. Went back to the cabin after eating and Internet time and took a quick snooze. Poor cabin steward hardly got a look at our room today, we were so snuggled up. Left Scotty in the room and headed out to browse the ship. Stopped in the Crow's Nest to read some, then down to the Lido for some sushi for lunch. Scotty found me there. She fixed herself up with some asian food and we sat and chatted for a while. Just luxuriating in the peace and watching the sea.

Back downstairs to the cabin … Deni hadn't made it by to make it up yet, so we put him off yet again and took another nap. I awoke after about 2 hours and decided to go sit somewhere beautiful and knit. Found a nice quiet place in the seating area of the ocean bar. Scotty and I browsed the jewelry and gift shop … seemed to be smaller than the last HAL cruise we took, but we are much for shopping anyway. Nick and Mark at the Ocean Bar took good care of us and I got a fair amount of knitting done.

Headed to dinner and ran into Ann and Bill, whom we had eaten with at lunch on the first day. It is amazing that, on a ship with 1800 people, you can run into the same folks over and over. So we shared a table with them for dinner. I had proscuitto salad, cheddar/bacon soup, and flank steak with polenta. All very yummy. Ended the meal with a date bread covered in zabaglione. Also yummy.

Then we parted ways. Scotty went to listen to the chamber string quartet and I headed for the casino again. Walked away with $69 more than I put in, so I consider it a good night.

Just came in from our verandah. I could have slept in the deck chair … ocean sound, rocking ship, sea air … lovely!

For those of you who have been reading along, I promised the answer to the trivia question … who wrote “Twinkle, twinkle little star”. And the answer is Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart!

Again, thanks to Budget Travel Magazine for tip # 6

6. Don't assume you can save a spot at the pool with your towel. Cruise lines give you one pool towel at the start of the cruise. If you don't have it (or a cleaned trade-in) at the end, you'll get charged. If you let it out of your sight, you run the risk of losing it or having it stolen by a fellow cruiser.

Not so in my experience. Although Scotty and I aren't ones to lay about by the pool, my daughters are. I have never had the experience where the cruise line only gives you one towel. HAL has towels poolside and hands them out freely. Of course, it is rude to save a seat with your towel and then not use it. Chair hogs are the worst on cruises!! Don't be one!

Day 3 - Grand Turk - and Tip # 4

Day 3 – Grand Turk


Dec 4

As I have regularly said, Scotty and I are ship people, rather than port people. But will still disembark long enough to see the shops at the pier. No sightseeing in Grand Turk for us.

I was up at about 9AM to head to the Neptune lounge to post yesterday's blog, and check e-mail and Facebook. Not trying to keep up with work or anything, but I don't like to feel totally isolated. I discovered a wonderful layout of fruit and breads. Two great cups of coffee later and I was ready to return to the room to wake Scotty up.

She was up, on her first cup of coffee and I could smell the bacon and eggs she had ordered for breakfast. Don't know why, but we ate in the room (I had a fruit plate), rather than on the balcony. Some times we just don't think about it, no matter how much we enjoy it.

Dressed and headed to the disembarkation station. Along the way, I discovered that the ship's crew was continuing to put up Christmas decorations. Today was the trees. There are several pictures of them below. The one in the main Atrium is the largest and suspended from the ceiling over the Atrium Bar. I have a couple of shots of it in process …

Then we headed outside. Gorgeous day! Here's the pictures of the ship from the pier and the entrance to the cruise terminal.

Grand Turk has done an outstanding job of creating a wonderful place for their cruise passengers. There's a beautiful white sand beach, a huge swimming pool, and many many shops. Here's a picture of Scotty under a shop sign I found pretty amusing.

It's the normal cruise stuff for sale … trinkets, liquor and cigarettes duty-free, jewelry, and the ever-present Margaritaville. We browsed for about an hour and headed back to the ship.

Took our lunch at the Lido buffet again. We hit the pasta bar this time. Made-to-order sauce, with a wide choice of mix-ins. And pizza. Not like home, but not bad either.

So what does one do on ship when in port? We took a nap! I'm not sure what Scotty did, but I slept for 2 wonderful hours! Pulled the curtains shut so there was no light and was immediately out. No the ship wasn't rocking, like at night … in fact, we've hit pretty calm seas now … but I still fell asleep right away … perhaps the sun and sea air?!?!

After nap time, I went looking for Scotty. Found her in the Crow's Nest. A wonderful lounge/bar at the very bow of the ship that has one of the best views aboard. We watched and listened as the Cruise Director played team trivia … I might have helped a team win, but we had entered late, so just watched. BTW, who wrote “Twinkle, twinkle, little star?” (Answer in tomorrow's blog).

I then headed down to sit in on Microsoft Windows Live Movie Maker class. Actually didn't know much about this product and so I picked up a few things. Frank, the “techspert” had wanted to see my Kindle Fire anyway, so we had a nice chat. Turns out HAL has an exclusive contract with Microsoft … at least for the next three years … for these classes. After that, Frank guesses other cruise lines will come knocking on Microsoft's door. Perhaps I've found something I could do to cruise and earn a little money???

Then dinner. Here's a picture of the menu. Don't know if you can enlarge it to read it, but you get an idea of how extensive it is. Different every night and this doesn't even include dessert.

Tonight I had the eggplant caponata … not made the way I make it, but not bad. Then an arugula and pear salad with balsamic dressing … YUM. Followed by “pot roast”. That's what the menu called it, but my pot roast has never had the depth of flavors or the presentation that this pot roast did.

We also had a complimentary glass of champagne as the captain's way of apologizing for missing Half Moon Cay. We are also being refunded $18.75 (woo hoo!) for the port taxes that didn't get collected because we didn't dock. Interesting.

Returned to our room after dinner because, even with a nap, we are tired. I suited up and headed for the spa. The last time I wrote about the hydrotherapy pool, I said I was a prune. Tonight I was a noodle. It's the best way I can think of to relax prior to bed.

Here are the rest of the pics of Christmas decorations I took today:

With a tip of the hat to Budget Travel Magazine, here's cruise tip # 5

5. Internet phone services like Vonage can be programmed to send transcribed voice mails to your e-mail in-box. That way, you can check your home answering machine quickly at an Internet cafe without paying insane roaming fees on your cell. The transcriptions won't always be perfect, but you will get the gist.


I can vouch for this one. I use Vonage and I do get my voice-mail transcribed into my e-mail in-box. Even with George at home catching most of the phone calls, I feel like I still can stay in touch. And yes, the cell phone roaming charges are exorbitant. If you are planning a cruise, tell family and friends you can check e-mail intermittently, but not to plan on phone calls. I purchase an Internet time package (about $.40/min when purchased in bulk) Then I sign on … download e-mail … sign off … compose e-mails and blog posts … then sign back on and upload. It's as efficient with your minutes as you can be and still stay in touch.

Tomorrow is La Samana in the Dominican Republic. And tip # 6.

Day 2 - At Sea and Tip # 4

Day 2 – At sea


Dec 3


Last night the Captain announced that we would hit some high winds, rain, and rough seas around midnight. So it was. I take back everything I have ever told anyone about the stabilizers on these big cruise ships being able to take care of rough seas. Partly because we were in 11 ft. seas and partly because our cabin is on deck 6 and the absolute aft end of the ship, we had quite a ride last night and today. Luckily, Scotty and I don't suffer from seasickness and, in fact, we enjoy the swaying … like being rocked to sleep in a cradle. And we were definitely rocked last night.


The Captain awoke us this morning at 7AM (!) with an in-room announcement that we could not dock in Half Moon Cay. Two things about this... Most announcements are heard only in the hallways, in order not to disturb folks in their rooms. This one was considered important enough to wake us up. Secondly, it was important because canceling a port stop is a BIG deal. So it had to be some serious winds and waves to keep us from stopping. The ship was OK, but the seas were too rough for the tenders to safely come alongside. Oh well … we had a day at sea, heading for Grand Turk.

Scotty and I both love days at sea. I have mentioned earlier we are ship people, rather than port people. So an extra day at sea is fine with us. We had breakfast delivered at 9:30 and had leisurely coffee, bacon and eggs, bagels, and fruit. Yummy. And in our PJ's. Couldn't eat on the balcony, because it was a little rainy … but we will do that many times in the coming week.

Scotty went back to bed and I headed for the Neptune lounge for a little more coffee and some Internet and knitting time. Two ladies commented on my knitting and one said she had asked the Cruise Director to announce a needlework meetup for tomorrow. That would be cool!

Did a little e-mail and then headed back to the room. Scotty was up by then, and we visited and tried to decide what to do for the rest of the day. Lunch seemed to be in order, so we headed for the Lido buffet. Interestingly, HAL has instituted a policy that they serve all buffet food (even tea, water and juice) for the first 48 hours. Then everything returns to self-serve. It is a health thing and appears to limit the spread of norovirus. Also, they are fanatical about reminding you to wash your hands and use the ubiquitous hand sanitizers. It does seem to help. I can't imagine how many cruises would be ruined by the spread of virus with this many folks in close quarters without these precautions.

Lunch done … hamburger and fries … nothing too exciting. I decided to head for the hydropool. One of my favorite places on the ship. Not only is it a HUGE hot tub, but it has places where you can lay down on a bed of pipework so you are essentially floating in the bubbles … heaven!! I spent enough time there to become a prune and Scotty joined me for a little while to read. Note this is a “for fee” area of the spa, and we bought ourselves length-of-cruise passes. Well worth it in our opinion!

We returned to the cabin to rest and get ready for dinner. Now we didn't really need to rest … note I had just returned from the hot tub … but we took time to sit on the balcony and enjoy the sound of the water and the view. Here are some pictures of our view … lovely, right?!?!?

We showered and dressed for our first formal night dinner … there are three this cruise. “Formal night” means many different things to people on a cruise. We see some tuxedos, a little more glitter than usual, and in general, a dressier feel. I did see the maitre'd turn away one gentleman who did not have on a coat and tie. I am glad they keep up a dress code for formal nights. It's only for the main dining room, so there are other places to eat on the ship, and it does lend an air of elegance to one night.


I am trying the daily drinks before dinner. Most cruise lines will run a special drink each day. On Carnival, they are usually something fruity and served in a funky glass with a little umbrella. HAL is a little more conservative. Tonight's drink was a “red something-something”. I forget the exact name, but there was no red in it. It was, however, a wonderful concoction of bourbon, lemon-lime soda, lime juice, and grenadine (not much grenadine). Not too sweet, with just the right amount of kick. Hope the rest of the drink specials are as good.


Dinner was excellent … Shrimp cocktail, arugula and pear salad, and surf and turf. This brief description does not do justice to the superb balsalmic dressing on the salad or the lobster thermidore for the surf and turf. Dessert was peach yogurt that was to die for. Some times the simple things are the best! I left stuffed and happy.

We are now back in the room, rocking along (literally). I am looking forward to being rocked to sleep once again and then exploring Grand Turk tomorrow.

Once again, thanks to Budget Travel Magazine, cruising tip # 4:

4. It's easy to lose track of time in a windowless interior cabin. Before going to sleep, tune into the ship's bridge camera channel for real-time videos of the front (or bow) of the boat. The screen will act like a virtual porthole and you'll rise and shine with the sunshine.

I can't comment much on this one because I've never sailed in an interior cabin … Like my balcony too much! … but I do turn on the bow or aft camera channel some times just to be able to see what the crew sees. It is really interesting.

That's it for tonight. Rocking along till tomorrow.

Cruise Day 1 - Embarkation and Tip #3

Day 1 on the ship

Dec 2

We slept in at the Hyatt Place this morning. I awoke early enough (10AM) to head down to find coffee. Both pots were empty :-( But the wonderful desk clerk checked “in the back” and found another pot. So Scotty and I got our coffee!

Called George and read for a while. Scotty showered … there's a story. The mat that we placed in the tub had suction cups on the bottom and they were deep enough that they made standing on them squishy. Squishy enough that we felt like we were already on the ship in heavy seas. Quite disconcerting.

We took the noon shuttle to the port and handed over our luggage then went to stand in line. The line moved relatively quickly and, when we made it inside the building, we were directed to the shortest line. Yea for taking the upgrade to a suite!! You will hear this refrain often.

Check in was quick and smooth and we headed up the gangplank to the ship. We were finally officially on vacation!

Our first stop was the Vista dining room. As Mariners (at least one previous sailing on Holland America) we could eat in the dining room, served by waiters, rather than struggling to find a seat in the Lido buffet area. I think there must have been significantly more Mariners than they anticipated because lunch was VERY slow arriving. Luckily, we are on vacation … no rush. Very nice people at lunch and at dinner as table mates.

Left the dining room to head to our cabin. We are, indeed, at the very aft of the ship, in a HUGE cabin with a wrap-around deck. We have plenty of room between the beds and the couch, a desk for my computer next to the TV. The entrance is a little funky because we are in a corner cabin. We have two full closets with both hanging room and shelves. One of the closets is in a dressing room, with a vanity seat and makeup mirror. This leads into the bathroom, with double sinks, a Jacuzzi tub, and a separate shower. I could get used to this!

Dressing area

Separate Shower

View from entryway

Balcony looking forward

Balcony looking to port

Double sinks

View toward entry

Couch and sitting area

Bedroom

Jacuzzi tub

We did the lifeboat drill that is required on every sailing. At least they no longer require us to take our life jackets with us on the drill. So we didn't have to head back to the cabin when we were dismissed. And it's much more comfortable standing around without having to wear the life jackets.

We then headed for the spa, because we had to purchase our trip-long pass to the hydrotherapy pool and thermal suite … ahhhh. Oh, of course we had to enter the drawing for free spa treatments. Bummer, won nothing :-(

Went back to the cabin to take advantage of the view as we sailed away. Gift for suite occupants … a bottle of champagne! As we started to unpack we decided it was wonderful to have so much room for hanging clothes and drawers and shelves for miscellaneous stuff!

Spent some time chatting with Jack the techspert. He teaches the Microsoft classes. I noticed he had a Kindle Keyboard so we chatted a while about Kindles and I promised I'd bring him my Kindle Fire to play with. Techies are everywhere!

Purchased a 250 minute Internet package and got two casino coupons and a spa discount voucher. Woo hoo!

We separated to browse the ship for a little while prior to dinner. I visited the Neptune lounge … another perk for suite passengers (I could get used to this!) Then I made my first visit to the casino. I won't post how much I have spent there so far, but let's just say I have had my fun for today.

Dinner was wonderful. We sat with two interesting couples and chatted the entire meal. Mine was a wonderful antipasti, French onion soup, prime rib with vegetables and potatoes, and banana crisp for dessert. YUM! No wonder the spa guy says people gain an average of 1 lb. Per day.

A short visit to the casino after dinner and now back to the room to write this. Tomorrow I will spend on the beach in Half Moon Cay

Now for cruising tip # 3 (with thanks once again to Budget Travel Magazine):

3. For fire safety reasons, cabins don't have their own irons. Don't wait until the last minute to tackle your evening wardrobe. You can find shared irons down the hall in the laundry room, but lines often form before mealtimes. Opt for off-hours (like mornings)

My addition: DON'T try to sneak your own iron on board. Cruise lines take fire safety VERY seriously! Even a little travel iron will be confiscated and returned to you at the end of the cruise.

Now off to bed ... more tomorrow with pics of the beach and tip # 4

Ft. Lauderdale

Left the house at 6:45 AM and arrived in Ft. Lauderdale at 510 PM. Makes for a LONG day. But we are settled into our hotel (Hyatt Place by the Convention Center) and are looking forward to a wonderful night's sleep and a late wake up before we head to the ship tomorrow.

Nothing exciting to write about for the airports. Layover in Love Field was uneventful, flights were on time and we had an empty seat between us the entire way. That's the way I like things to go! Even the little kids on the plane were well-behaved.

I was fascinated by the time we spent flying over the Everglades. It is HUGE! I will have to put it on my list of things to really really see. From the air it looks like water and green, but you can see trails through the green where folks have made waterways. And, although no animals can be seen from the altitude we flew over, I watch the Discovery channel enough to know it would be fascinating.

As promised, here's cruising tip #2. Again thanks to the Budget Travel Magazine:

2. Most cruise lines offer certain drinks for free -- juice, lemonade, iced tea, coffee, milk, tea -- but you'll have to pay for soda. If you're a caffeine addict, pack a bottle or two. Unlike on a plane, you won't have to worry about paying for the added weight.

My addition: This is yet another good reason to fly in a day early. Gives you time to hit a local grocery store and purchase sodas to carry on board. Just remember, the policy doesn't extend to alcohol. Wine or any liquor found in your bags will be confiscated and held until the end of the cruise. However, some cruise lines, Carnival for example, allow a small amount of alcohol per person ... like a bottle of wine. Check with your travel agent or the cruise line for their specific policy.

Tip #3 tomorrow along with pics of our first day on board the Noordam