Evening- Fort Lauderdale

As with most turnaround days, this one was a busy blur, compounded by the fact that we had to move from the Noordam back to the Emerald Princess. The whole move- over to the Noordam ten days ago and back again today- actually went better than we could have imagined, and while I hope Princess never schedules another dry dock smack dab in the middle of any future winters at sea, it was a pretty good experience when all was said and done.

We were scheduled to disembark the Noordam between 9:30 and 9:45am this morning, but our disembarkation color was actually called at 9:15am. A nice thing about Holland America is that passengers are welcome to stay in their cabins until they disembark, and while we did spend some time in the buffet eating a leisurely breakfast, we were able to keep our carry off luggage in our cabin until we ultimately left the ship. The value of this cannot be overstated; we had an obscene amount of tote bags and beach bags thrown over our arms as we collected our four big suitcases in the terminal and made our way through ICE and out to a taxi. An entire 18-pack of Mountain Dew that had been carried to the Noordam was carried back (really...did anyone think that G was going to be able to drink FOUR of them each day?), but I also had the two Holland America tote bags we had been given stuffed with dirty laundry, with the intention of immediately going to a self-serve laundry once on board the Emerald and doing two loads of wash. With a beach bag once again filled with the contents of our over-the-door shoe rack, my backpack filled with the items I keep in the bathroom and my carryon bag filled with the contents of my nightstand drawers, I may have been a sight but I can tell you that unpacking once on the Emerald was a piece. of. cake.

We once again found a taxi driver who didn't snipe when he found out he had waited in line for an $8 fare (bless him and our driver from ten days ago!), and kind longshoremen who actually removed our Noordam disembarkation luggage tags and stapled on our Emerald embarkation tags. Has everyone been bitten by the holiday spirit? Whatever it is, we certainly benefited from it today.

There were lots of contractors- well more than 100- disembarking the Emerald as we got out of our taxi at 10:15am or so. Apparently the Emerald had arrived back at Pier 2 at Port Everglades late yesterday evening and work had continued on through the night. Our check in was speedy, but when we were directed to the Elite and suite waiting area at Terminal 2, we were told that we would have at least an hour wait before getting on the ship. This was not a huge surprise, but we simply had no where else to wait after disembarking the Noordam.

It was a good time to make a run to Publix to pick up the 100 ounce Cheer detergent we needed to get (well, no, we didn't need 100 ounces of it, but it came in only one size), more Sudafed and another box of Wet Ones hand wipes. G stayed behind with our hand luggage and I left to walk over to Publix. Thankfully, we were at Terminal 2, just a 20-minute walk or so each way. I decided to get a box of Merlot too, just to keep both hands equally weighted on the walk back to the ship. ;-)

When I returned to Terminal 2, no one had yet boarded the ship. We were told that they were having trouble "zeroing out" the ship, meaning ensuring that everyone had passed through ICE, and no one can board until that happens. By shortly after noon, it was finally resolved, and we were stepping back on the Emerald Princess.

Good grief, it was so good to be home!!!

We immediately schlepped our growing number of bags to our cabin, but I stopped along the way to start two loads of laundry. (Why, when we get it for free? We simply couldn't wait until Wednesday evening to get clean clothes back). Our very next stop was the DaVinci Dining Room for embarkation day lunch, and it truly did feel like coming home again as many of the waitstaff stopped by our table to say HI! We heard over and over again the big news: they had gotten 2 whole days off during dry dock, and Princess had provided free transportation to wherever it was they were going (the beach and town). They all seemed rested and happy, and we're so glad they had a bit of down time.

As for changes around the ship...well, it certainly looks clean, inside and out. Our cabin has a second new mattress, and the same old TV now has new programming. I was horrified to see that FOX News was now being shown (wasn't the ship going to tilt to starboard?), until I came across Rachel Maddow and MSNBC while flipping through the channels tonight. It's okay; now it truly IS fair and balanced. Also available: BBC and MSNBC. How will we ever survive without the inane Nancy Grace on HLN and without knowing the weather in Guayaquil and Barquesimento accompanied by obnoxious, loud music guaranteed to awaken you if you happened to fall asleep while watching TV?

;-)

The only other noticeable change is new carpeting- lots and lots of new carpeting, some of it still sporting the loose carpet fibers that accompany a re-carpeting job. I have no doubt that there are a million things I'm not noticing, but in the end the fact that they don't stand out is a good thing. The ship looked good before dry dock and it looks good after. And, just as we noticed no work taking place in the days leading up to December 7th, we're not seeing any now, either (although I'm sure there are still contractors working behind the scenes).

What IS noticeable is that Christmas has arrived on the Emerald Princess with tasteful decorations everywhere, but with no place prettier than in the Piazza. Oh, it is so nice to be able to enjoy them without personally lifting a finger to put them up!! As we came on board, a quartet dressed in 19th century costumes were caroling in the Piazza. They're not the Emerald Princess production show singers, so my guess is that they came on just for a few hours in Fort Lauderdale.

The rest of the afternoon flew by. I ran back to the laundry room to transfer the wash to a dryer while we were still having lunch, and by the time we were finished, so was the laundry. We unpacked our big suitcases and then stepped out on the Terrace Deck to use 3G Internet and make phone calls. I can't tell you how good it was to connect with Mom and friends today! We attended our third and final muster drill of the winter (yay!!) and then popped back outside for an informal Cruise Critic sailaway meet up when we sailed about an hour late today. Sunset was particularly beautiful tonight (I could post 100 photos of it, but I'll spare you most of them), and before we knew it, it was 6pm and time for dinner.

Suttipong and Somphong and our same table for two next to a window. Need I say more?? :-)

We opted out of entertainment tonight. We're worn out! It seems that moving days, even when they go perfectly, are a lot of work.

We're now settled for 80 (or 90 or 100) more days, and I can't tell you how good that feels. The Noordam was nice (and in some ways better than the Emerald), but just as, no matter how good a vacation is, it's always nice to get home, we're home again. And it's very, very nice.

The world may not be great, but life is still good.

We are so blessed.

:-)

Days 39 and 40: At Sea

Prepared Sunday, December 16th

I am not quite ready to continue blogging about our winter at sea.  I am taking a brief hiatus, just until I've had a chance to connect with friends and family. That's been the hardest part of being at sea the past two days...there's been no recognition that something horrendous has happened. It's been horrible; we're not so far removed that we're unaware of what has taken place, but we are floating about in a parallel universe that is supposed to be reality-resistant, but really isn't. I've never in my life been so cognizant of the fact that grief becomes bearable simply by being shared with people we love. 

Now I know.  

Evening- Aruba

Prepared Friday night, December 14th

Life is not good tonight, is it?

I wish I was home to hug the kids.
I wish I was home to be hugged by the kids.

Day 38: Aruba

This will be very quick, as we're walking through Orangestaad on the island of Aruba and came across some high speed wifi. All is well; we've opted to skip the beach today as the Grandeur is again in port with us, and are doing some walking instead. This is our last day on land until Monday...it's hard to believe this cruise is nearly over. In fact, the almost-40 days we've been gone are already a blur. Thankfully, I'll have my blog to help me remember once I'm home again (and the way that time is flying by, that will seem like next week, won't it?). :-(

Photo 1: the view of Orangestaad, Aruba from our breakfast table in the buffet on the Noordam.

Photo 2: somehow, my Google is now appearing in Dutch. This makes editing and posting quite interesting, and doing it from an iPhone even trickier. One of these buttons means DELETE, and I don't know which one it is!

I just hope it will once again be in English when I'm no longer on a Dutch island using wifi :-o

Photo 3: another reality of living on a cruise ship: sitting on dirty concrete steps on a busy corner in a smidge of shade using free wifi. Something is dripping on me from above. What is it? Leaky gutter? Bar balcony above me and someone spilling a beer? Seagull???

OK- THIS I can believe is MY life!

Life may not always be good, but it's ALWAYS an adventure!

Evening- Curacao

The best part of today was that the Noordam was staying in Curaçao until 11pm, affording us the opportunity to spend the evening walking around the waterfront area of Willemstad. With the Grandeur also staying late, it was hopping tonight. We had to return to a store we were at earlier today for G to get another baseball cap, because the 6 he already owns from Curacao simply aren't adequate for his needs. ;-)

Along the way we encountered everything from live music to dance teams to "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas" played over a loudspeaker. Well, not exactly, but we're loving it anyway.

We will return to the ship in time for the 9:30pm Holland America version of the tropical island night party, held pool-side as on Princess. We've already seen some of the decorations for it, and they are impressive. It will be a new experience for us, and one we're looking forward to as a perfect end to a perfect day.

Photo 1: sunset tonight taken from the Renaissance pool and artificial beach with the Noordam in the background. This photo prompted G to ask once again, "Can you believe that this is OUR life?" Sometimes, but not always. This was one of those "not always" instances.

Photo 2: and another

Photo 3: and another

Photo 4: and still one more

Life is good!

:-)

Curaçao (part 2)

 

 

 

 

 

Our intention for today was for it to be heavily walking-oriented. We've not been on Curaçao since we visited two years ago on the HAL Maasdam. At that time, the hotel area near the International Mega Pier was still under construction, although a few stores were open for business. Well, now it's a gorgeous complex, with winding brick sidewalks throughout. We first sought out some wifi, and easily found it at Starbucks. That's where I uploaded the videos I posted earlier today. We then continued on, walking along the waterfront to the floating pedestrian bridge that connects the two sides of Willemstaad. This entire area looks so much more developed than when we were last here, and it's a seemingly different island than when I first visited here in December 2000.

That was my one cruise that I took as a solo, and I criss crossed the Caribbean for two weeks from Florida to Caracas, Venezuela. It rained the entire time until we reached Curaçao and Aruba, and on both islands I rented 4-wheeled drive vehicles and explored the entire day.

Good times. Good times.

We crossed the floating pedestrian bridge, and wandered the streets and shops of Willemstad. It's a delightful mix of Europe and South America with its own flavor mixed in. I was afraid that it had perhaps gotten too "cosmopolitan" with all the fancy clothing and jewelry stores and feared that a Curaçao trademark, the floating market, featuring fruits and vegetables brought on boats from South America, might have been chased out, but no, it was still there.

By mid afternoon, the heat and the sun were taking their toll, and we wandered back to the ship. At that point in time, the pedestrian bridge had opened to allow a stream of boat traffic through, and we had to take a 5-minute ferry ride to the other side.

After lunch in the buffet and a soak in a hot tub (G) or pool (me), we were ready to do it again, and so showered and headed off the ship around 5pm. Bold as we are, we wanted to see up close the man made beach/infinity pool of the Renaissance Resort. We walked in and wandered our way out there. It was the most perfect place to be for sunset!

Photo 1: the Queen Juliana Bridge with the Grandeur of the Sea in the foreground. That used to be called the "good" pier; now I'm not so sure.

Photo 2: the floating pedestrian bridge and the colorful buildings for which Curacao is known

Photo 3: a closer view

Photo 4: just one stand of the floating market

Photo 5: and the boats that bring the produce from South America

Day 37: Curaçao

 

 

 

 

 

I'm sitting at a Starbucks near the ship in Willemstad, Curaçao. There is so much we want to do today; I'm glad we're here until 11pm tonight! We're at the International Pier (the Grandeur of the Sea is docked in town by the pedestrian pontoon bridge). The International Pier was universally detested by cruise ship passengers when we first started coming to Curaçao 12 years ago, but Renaissance Resorts has anchored a large hotel and casino here, and there is an entire high-end shopping area built up around it close to the ship. The walk from here to the waterfront in town has been made much more pleasant as a result.

This will be a big walking day for us. More to follow, but here are a few photos to get started...

Snorkeling at Klein Bonaire

Sunrise storm off the Bonaire coast

Day 36: Bonaire

Prepared Wednesday, December 12th

This morning came way too early for me. After a very restless night, when I awoke just after 3am, those two ventilation fans in our cabin's ceiling prevented me from falling back asleep. Even with ear plugs, the noise was drilling into my head. It simply never stops. Unfortunately for Holland America, when today's Explorer was delivered to our cabin yesterday evening, there was a comment form included in it:  In the event anything wasn't living up to our expectations, would we please let them know?

Well, as long as they asked...

After laying awake for two hours in the noisy dark, I grabbed a pen, found the form and took it into the bathroom where there was some light. I wrote down exactly what wasn't living up to my expectations, dressed and left the cabin to drop the form off at the Front Office. I was awake at 5am; it was time to let someone know about it. I then went to the buffet to get some of that delicious coffee, available 24 hours a day. Even at that early hour, there were crew members cleaning and getting the breakfast food stations set up. 

My next stop was the Crows Nest. I thought those comfortable leather chairs and ottomans would be a good place to settle until the sun rose. I knew that today's port, Kralendjik, was on the western side of Bonaire, and that sunrise would appear right off the front of the ship. It was a good plan...for awhile. I sat sipping my coffee and waiting for the first sign of dawn, until two crew members came into the lounge and began vacuuming. I was on the move again...

By that time it was 6am and the fitness center was open. Not that I wanted to watch sunrise from a treadmill; more that I wanted to walk through the fitness center to get to an open deck that G had said was over the bridge at the front of the ship. I found the wooden door to get out there, and slipped out onto that deck.  Finally i saw the first light of dawn. Success!

At the same time, just as I've mentioned seeing before, I could see areas of squalls, then clearing, then squalls. It was extremely windy out there, but I thought that the squalls were moving parallel to the ship and behind us, missing us. 

I was wrong. Before I could make a decision to move inside, the ship was hit from the side by a storm. The wind was gusting so much that the rain was blowing sideways. I had retreated to an area under a small overhang when it started to rain, but it was an exercise in futility. The rain was hitting the bulkhead behind me with such force that it was running down the steel in sheets. My hair was stinging against my face. I tried to open the heavy wooden door I had come out of, but couldn't budge it against the force of the wind. I was stuck out there for the duration of the storm. No one knew I was out there, nor was there anyone around to help me. 

Luckily, the storm was as fast moving as its wind would indicate. But by the time I was again able to open that door, I was drenched. Cold, wet and tired.  And it wasn't even 6:30am yet. 

I returned to our cabin, peeled off my wet clothes and crawled back into bed. No, it wasn't any quieter but at least I was warm and dry. 

When we arrived in Kralendjik at 8am, I had been up for almost 5 hours. If Southwest had flown from Bonaire to home, I would have been on that flight by 8:30. That's all it would have taken for me to flee. Fortunately, that wasn't an option, because I proceeded to have one of the best days of the cruise so far.

For the past two days, G and I have been...let's say "discussing" our plans for Bonaire. With a full day on the island (our Emerald cruises feature a shorter day), I desperately wanted to go snorkeling at Klein Bonaire. G's ears are still stuffy; he has no interest in snorkeling right now. But he also didn't want me to go alone (I would have been fine, but he had visions of that awful propeller accident on Dominica less than two weeks ago). In the end, he figured out an acceptable solution;  I joined a 3-hour snorkel trip on the Woodwind catamaran.  G spent time on the ship eating lunch and walking around Kralendjik, knowing I was being looked after.  And despite the winds and a brief rainshower, I had a wonderful sail and snorkel. 

I did learn a nugget of knowledge about Klein Bonaire:  it was once owned by Harry Belafonte, and in the old days it was where people infected with cholera were quarantined.  Who knew?  But all I really care about is that it has some of the best snorkeling in the Caribbean. 

Of course I took underwater videos and photos with my iPhone. It held up to two hours underwater, and allowed me to get what is, without a doubt, the closet video I'll ever get of a turtle. I was busy videoing a hawksbill turtle diving into the depths off the wall by Klein Bonaire, and when I turned around, there was another one behind me so closely I could hardly get all of him in my shot. It was amazing, right up there with when I saw a family of dolphins just feet away from me while diving in Cozumel. You don't forget those sorts of experiences. The sun wasn't shining brightly, so the colors weren't the best, but, if you'll watch the videos, I think you'll understand my fascination with underwater sea life. 

G was waiting for me when the Woodwind Trimaran returned to the dock at the Divi Flamingo Resort, and by the time we walked back to the Noordam, it was after 4pm.  We were showered for the evening and up on deck for a gorgeous sailaway from Bonaire (sadly, no photos of that, though, as my phone's battery was depleted after all the underwater videos and was charging in the cabin). 

After dinner, we went to the Vista Theater for the second production show of the cruise, called "If These Walls Could Rock". The first production show earlier in the cruise had NO props, but made excessive use of the stage floor's ability to raise and lower in sections and rotate.  It almost required a Dramamine to watch.

Tonight's show made up for that lack of props by featuring hundreds of them. The stagehands worked harder than the dancers. Beds, benches, trees, a dance club, sofas, chairs, a phone booth...you name it, this show had it. The pit portion of the stage went up and down at least 8 times, and every time it did, the props on it had been changed out. And the darn thing would make this grinding noise, announcing its imminent arrival. OK, so production shows aren't Holland America's forte. It certainly offers a lot of other, varied entertainment. It's just the opposite on Princess; there, the production shows are a highlight for us and the other entertainment pales a bit in comparison. 

There wasn't any question about enjoying any of the other entertainment tonight, though. Up since 3am, two hours on the water with a fair amount of chop due to the wind...I'm nearly typing this in my sleep.  I don't think that the ventilation fans will even bother me tonight. 

Not that it would make a difference.  I'm just five sleeps away from the quiet of our cabin on the Emerald. Unless they've re-worked the ventilation during dry dock, I have nothing to worry about there. 

Photo 1:  I really thought that storm was going to miss the ship. I was so wrong!

Photos 2 to 5:  snorkeling off Klein Bonaire. You can see the drop off of the wall in photo 4, and the shallower part of the reef in photo 5. 

Photo 6:  two ships in Bonaire today; the Noordam on the left and Royal Caribbean's Grandeur of the Sea out of Panama on the right. We'll also be in Curaçao and Aruba with the Grandeur on Thursday and Friday. 

Day 35: At Sea

Prepared Tuesday, December 11th

In the itinerary for this cruise, this was to be was to be our first, welcome break on the Noordam after three beach days. As it turned out, we started the day well rested and determined to enjoy all that the Noordam had to offer.  I had several ideas for the day before I even looked at the daily Explorer (the HAL equivalent to the Princess Patter):  fitness center, a walk on that wonderful promenade, and some time in a soft leather chair in Explorations reading an Oprah magazine.

Holland America offers a few things that are fairly unique:  a Culinary Arts Center, which is basically a demonstration kitchen with instructional cooking classes and which becomes a show room for game shows or live music at night (good trick, that!); a Party Planner position, who, among other things, conducts crafts classes; a Digital Workshop offering FREE computer and digital photography classes and a Travel Planner position, separate from the Shore Excursions Department, to help plan your time on shore (and not just by selling you a cruise line shore excursion). Yes, there are still the ubiquitous art auctions, health and beauty classes and port shopping, gems and watch seminars, all designed to extract just a bit more from your wallet, but one does get the sense, on Holland America, that increased on board revenue is not the only goal (which, of course, it is. It's just a bit subtler here).

Each day's Explorer has the usual chronological listing of available activities (on a convenient, concise tear-away guide), but it also groups things differently than on Princess. First, on the bottom of page 1 is a summary of the evening's entertainment options. Then, across the top of pages 2 and 3 are the highlights of the day's activities categorized by four types:  Explore Our World (activities such as an interview with the Executive Chef, future cruise presentation, shopping talks and a lecture on Pirates of the Caribbean by the Travel Guide); Explore Food and Entertaining (activities such as a crafts class by the Party Planner, a Behind the Scenes galley tour, a flower arranging demonstration and wine and beer tastings); Explore Technology (today's free classes included how to transfer photos from your camera to your computer, photo editing, Meet Windows 8, and Windows apps); and Explore Wellbeing (fitness classes, dance classes and health and beauty seminars).

This is a wonderful format, and the free Explore Technology classes along with the dedicated space to hold them in are probably the best of it. Yesterday featured a class on how to use file folders and manage your computer's storage space. How many people could use that (and I'm not pointing fingers here!)?   ;-)

So, it could be a busy day...or not. That's the beauty of a cruise. G always says that there are a thousand different cruises taking place simultaneously on every cruise ship, and he's right. No two people share the exact same activities all day long, not even G and I. Especially not G and I. There's a lot of togetherness for us all winter on port days...on sea days we generally limit it to meals until the evening. It's better that way!

After breakfast in the buffet, I browsed the sale tables set up by the pool- not my usual thing, but I saw small, dressy purse for sale. My black one is over 12 years old, held together with safety pins and requiring frequent touch ups with a Sharpie marker to cover up the scuffs.  It can now retire...I found a $10 replacement!, and then tried to walk a couple of miles on the Promenade deck. I didn't last long; it's windy and rough today.  The captain just gave us a navigational update from the bridge and said we're experiencing Force 7 winds and rough seas. Having cruised the Caribbean for three Decembers in a row, I have to admit that this is the norm. I suspect we're experiencing those same Christmas winds we had last year at this time. 

While I was walking, G was in a hot tub (surprise!) in the Lido pool area. The plan was for us to meet up for lunch around the pool. We take turns being Suttipong this cruise...this morning G brought me an omelet from the omelet station in the buffet and I brought him lunch from the buffet so he never had to change out of his swimsuit. 

Have I mentioned we miss Sutti?  Yes, I know I have,  but have I mentioned it yet today?

A letter from Captain Can was delivered to each cabin this afternoon. Because we essentially missed the port of Samana yesterday, in addition to having our taxes for that port refunded to us, we also received a complimentary glass of champagne at dinner tonight. It's simply a (very) minor goodwill gesture; the cruise line is not obligated to do anything beyond refunding the port charges for Samana. 

Once again this evening, we enjoyed dinner in the buffet. It was a formal night (apparently on HAL there are three formal nights per 10-night cruise, instead of two as on Princess. That's okay. We did unpack our formalwear, just to hang it up in the closet to minimize wrinkles, but we have no intention of wearing it this cruise. We both had beef tenderloin for dinner tonight as well as some of that pasta prepared to order (garlic!  I want garlic!). Then we reversed the order of things a bit tonight and listened to string quartet Adagio first, then attended the 8pm Vista Theater show, Paul Pappas on the piano (alliteration abounds), then finished up with happy hour in the Crows Nest with guitarist Johnny Champagne. 

We are very much enjoying the different routine this cruise. Unlike on Princess, we get invited to nothing on HAL:  no Mariner party (their version of the Captains Circle on Princess), certainly no Most Traveled Party. It's making for a most relaxing and unstructured cruise.

Tomorrow:  Bonaire.  First up:  hopefully, some high speed wifi time to get caught up with life. I certainly have felt disconnected this cruise, a most discomforting experience. Then, of course, I'm hoping for some good snorkeling time at Klein Bonaire. Although the winds are supposed to abate a bit, they are still predicted to top 20 knots. Depending on their direction, they could impact the ability to drift snorkel. Keeping my fingers crossed...

Photos 1-4:  today's Holland America Line Explorer. Photos 3 and 4 show the tear away portion (front and back) of the Explorer.

Evening- Samana

After dinner in the buffet (once again, we built our meal primarily around the wonderful made-to-order pasta bar with garlic! lots of garlic! for me), we were feeling perky. A day essentially at sea will do that to you. We started our evening's entertainment by going to the Crows Nest to listen to solo guitarist Johnny Champagne for an hour (out of the four hours he plays each evening). We then moved to the Vista Theater for the 8pm performance by Tony Pace, billed as a comedic vocalist from Las Vegas. We didn't know what to expect, and so sat up high in the back by the Deck 3 exit doors (which Tony himself referred to during his show as the "just in case" seats, as in just in case we don't like this guy and want to sneak out the back).

We didn't want to sneak out the back at all. In fact, I suspect that apart from the Beatle Maniacs, this may have been the best show we'll see all winter. He sang in different impressionist voices songs by several artists over several decades while doing funny stunts (switching hats and voices to do the Willie Nelson/ Julio Iglesias duet "To all the girls..."). His Michael Jackson moonwalk was unbelievably good. And, it was a 55 minute show (watch and learn Princess!).

Thoroughly entertained, that alone would have made for a wonderful evening. But we moved on to the Ocean Bar to listen to the three-piece group Neptune, and, finally, went to the Explorers Lounge to listen to Adagio, the string quartet. (We could also have stopped by the piano bar to listen to pianist Lee). But back to the string quartet...

Why has Princess done away with a string quartet on the Emerald? Oh, I'm certain it's a money thing. Four people require more cabin space, money and travel expenses than the solo steel drum artist the Emerald now strongly features (and which, BTW, the Noordam also has). But I can't tell you how much we miss it on the Emerald. Tonight we stood (as it was standing room only by then) for over 30 minutes to listen to wonderful classical music. (I am so lucky to have a husband who enjoys it as much as I do!!) And this quartet is playing for four hours every evening! We could do nothing but listen to them and be thoroughly entertained. Instead, they're just one of many available options.

We love to be entertained by talented professionals, and not by our fellow passengers, which seems to be the route Princess is increasingly taking. The entertainment variety and quantity on the Noordam (1900 passengers) frankly puts the Emerald (3100 passengers) to shame.

Days like today, with lousy dining room service, the necessity to do hand laundry as there aren't self serve laundries on board, and then sensational evening entertainment options are the reason we simply can't reply in a straight forward manner when we're asked which is our favorite cruise line. We love elements of all of them. We dislike elements of all of them. Just hours after dinner, where G said he couldn't recommend Holland America for most people our age and would never feel as comfortable on this cruise line as we do on Princess, we were discussing with regret the fact that we cannot look forward to a similarly entertaining evening during the remainder of our winter on the Emerald Princess.

It's such a quandary.

;-)

Day 34: Samana, Dominican Republic

Prepared Monday, December 10th

We've been to the Dominican Republic before, but not to this part of the DR, so we were very much looking forward to today's stop in Samana.  Alas, it wasn't to be. But I'm getting ahead of myself here...

Also, just to clarify, the Dominican Republic is located on the eastern side of the island of Hispaniola, sharing it with Haiti, and is not the same as the Caribbean island of Dominica (pronounced differently:  Do-man-NEE-ka) that we visited last cruise on the Emerald Princess.

Moving on (finally!)...

I've figured out how to sleep through the noise of two ventilation fans:  take two Benadryls and mix a drink of water, Target's generic Margarita-flavored Crystal Light alternative and a minibar bottle of gin and it doesn't really matter anymore. I slept well and long last night.

We've been a bit amused about how Holland America has been handling information about the port of Samana. Both on the cabin TV channel covering the port destinations, and in today's Explorer newsletter, this was said/printed:

"The Dominican Republic is still a very rustic, rural and developing nation. This means that there may be some areas that are poverty stricken.  Please keep an open mind and appreciation for other cultures and their way of life being different than your own".

It's very well stated, but we're surprised that it's stated at all.  Isn't that an inherent part of travel? The same could be said for nearly every place we visit.  If we wanted things to be the same as they are at home, we'd simply stay home.  I haven't seen such acknowledgement about the less than flattering aspect of a port since I cruised South America on Celebrity Cruises in 2002. When we were in Rio de Janeiro for three days during Carnaval, cruise director Ray Carr thought it was important to teach us the phrase, "Sir, please do not beat me about the head that way while you're stealing my wallet" in Portuguese.

;-)

BTW- for breakfast today, I had a slice of nut bread French toast. Yummy!  G had several slices of carved ham and pronounced Holland America's meat- all of it-  better than anything on Princess. Frankly, I'm missing all the seafood on Princess...

Yes, I know I'm jumping all over here today.  Those who know me tell me I write exactly as I talk. What can I say?

We were scheduled to arrive in the Bahia de Samana (Bay of Samana) between 8 and 9am this morning.  Like Half Moon Cay, Samana lacks a dock large enough to accommodate a cruise ship, and tender operations were anticipated to begin around 9:30am.  Although we could see patches of sunshine on the surrounding hillsides, large, ominous-looking dark clouds loomed in every direction. The wind was topping 20 knots. Tender operations started, then shut down, then started again. We were taking a "wait and see" attitude about disembarking, and so were observing all this from the comfort of the buffet on Deck 9.

Our intention all along for Samana was to buy a day pass at the Gran Bahia Principe Cayacoa, an all inclusive resort that we could actually see from the ship. At a cost of $45pp, plus the short, required taxi ride each way, this was not something we were prepared to commit to with the weather so threatening. Around 11am, a serious squall came in, and we watched sheets of rain blowing sideways across the water. Tender boats were bobbing like corks on the big waves, and tender operations were once again discontinued for passengers wanting to go ashore. The winds were over 30 knots at that point. Finally, the captain made an announcement:  tender operations were being discontinued for the remainder of the day.

Well...shoot.

We were anchored near the Norwegian Gem, an NCL cruise ship also in port today. We could see tenders going back and forth from that ship, but we couldn't determine if they were simply retrieving passengers from on shore or were still ferrying people into port. We did wonder if the Noordam's passenger demographic influenced the decision to discontinue tendering to shore, but, no matter; the Noordam captain had not made this decision lightly, and it was what it was.

The change of plans left the day slightly discombobulated. As there were still passengers on shore unaware that anything was changed on the ship, we remained at anchor in the bay, the thrusters running full stop to keep us that way.  Meanwhile, cruise director Michael quickly published an addendum to the Explorer with new activities scheduled for the afternoon. Most impressive was that the Vista Dining Room which had not been scheduled to open for lunch suddenly did. As we had not yet been to the dining room, we decided to take advantage of this change in plans.

Lunch was good...the food was excellent (I had the Chicken Korma), but the service was just as we remember the dining room service on the Maasdam two years ago:  painfully, uncomfortably slow. I don't understand it. There were few passengers and plenty of waiters. Why is it that this seems to always be our experience on Holland America?  Furthermore, our Indonesian waiter had a very limited command of English. He might have understood us (or maybe not...the ladies at the next table were both brought the wrong food, especially perplexing as there were only three entrees from which to choose), but we certainly couldn't understand him. Ordering hot tea, I was brought a tea pot with hot water, then a full five minutes later offered a selection of tea bags from which to choose.

We did have a wonderful table for two at the back of the ship with full windows, so the experience was not a total loss. I just don't anticipate us returning to the dining room this cruise. Not when the service there is so poor and we're enjoying the buffet experience as much as we are.

By 3:30pm, the sun was out, but the swells were still huge and any passengers returning from shore on the tender boats were getting quite a ride (as we heard later from fellow passengers who found themselves in that situation).

During the afternoon, we walked on the Promenade for awhile, but, with parts of it closed off due to the tender boats being in service, it was more walking back and forth rather than in a full loop. Finally, I decided that, with the ship fairly stable, it was a good time to have another go at coloring my hair.  The lighting in our cabin, but especially our bathroom, is much better than the lighting in our Emerald cabin. With not much scrutiny, I could see how blonde I was getting, with a smidge of grey growth thrown in for good measure. I had brought the supplies I needed from home, and this time mixed up color with slightly less medium copper blonde.

It turned out perfectly. :-)

I also took advantage of the time to take apart my Lifeproof iPhone case, clean it, and do another water test with it empty.  It's supposed to be done once a month, so it was overdue.  Meanwhile, I used the sink filled with water (and phone case) to do some clothes hand washing. How are we surviving without free laundry or any self-serve laundries on the Noodam?  Well, we're only three days into this cruise, and, thankfully, we've spent much of them in swimsuits, but, with the help of a twelve-year old twisted, stretchy travel clothesline, a bar of Holland America's soap and a big bottle of Fresh Linen scent Fabreeze, we're doing just fine. My intention is to do much as we do on the Emerald even with our unlimited laundry there:  downgrade clothes from ship wear to workout wear to beach wear, thanks to large amounts of Fabreeze. At the end of this cruise, the dirties will just walk themselves back to the Emerald. (Sheila, this just brought back memories of our trip to China. I still laugh about that!)

By 5pm we were dressed for dinner and up on Deck 10 for sailaway. Cruising out of Bahia de Samana, the scenery was spectacular.  With verdant hills  covered in rainforest rising right out of the water, it reminded me a great deal of our Alaska cruise, and, although we were unable to get to shore, the day wasn't a waste at all.

Photo 1:  cruising in the Bahia de Samana

Photo 2:  the storms move in

Photo 3:  cruising out of the Bahia de Samana just before sunset

Photo 4:  looking back up the bay toward the town of Samana

Photo 5:  the day had cleared and we had a beautiful "sort of" sunset, but the winds remained high

Day 33: Grand Turk

Prepared on Sunday, December 9th

To a certain extent, today was like déjà vu all over again. Weren't we just on Grand Turk, in the Turks and Caicos Islands, about two weeks ago?

I was awake early today, simply because G was awake early today. The difference is that, while he was asleep by 11pm last night, I had finished typing my blog post for yesterday and then, for the life of me, couldn't fall asleep. Hot house orchid that I am, I'm bothered by the sound of the two ventilation fans in our cabin's ceiling. Honestly, it's as loud as the noise in the cabin of an airplane. It's even getting through my SPF (or some such initials) 33-rated earplugs. Are all the cabins on this ship this noisy?  I don't know. But this one sure is. G, who could sleep standing up in the noisy cabin of a plane (he attributes it to the US Army) is not similarly bothered. Lucky him.

We were scheduled to arrive at Grand Turk at noon, and so spent the morning having breakfast in the buffet and further exploring the ship, walking from the front of the ship to the back on all the public decks. I am most impressed by the combination library/ Internet cafe/ coffee shop, called Explorations, on Deck 3.  Comfortable leather seating, a very extensive selection of books, the current issue of several popular magazines (the latest Oprah magazine has my name on it for our upcoming day at sea), chess games, puzzles, a gorgeous globe...you name it. If it would be appropriate for and look good in a library or bookstore, Explorations has it. The only downside:  if you want any of the delicious-looking pastries in the coffee shop part, you have to order an extra-cost, specialty coffee drink. Petty.

I also love the Lido Pool area with its bandstand; hot tubs; plentiful, comfortable loungers; wicker furniture; and, best of all, a retractable glass roof that is frequently opened or closed, depending on the wind and weather. We're enjoying taking our food from the buffet just aft of it out there for our many of our meals.

This ship is fully decorated for Christmas, and I'll be honest:  during the day, I'm not a huge fan. Many of the decorations are really gaudy. It's as if the Christmas aisles at WalMart exploded and everything landed willy-nilly on the trees, particularly the ones in the Lido Pool area.  The apparent decorating strategy was "if one is good, 37 are better". However, at night, the pool area is transformed, because all you can see are the twinkle lights, and not the thousand stiff, pre-made red and gold velveteen bows, miles of that thick, fuzzy, metallic garland and the hundreds of poor stuffed teddy bears hanging from every tree branch and garland. Is that a Dutch thing (Holland America, like Princess, is a CCL brand, but still maintains strong ties to its Dutch roots)?  Am I insulting an entire nationality here, or just die-hard Holland America fans?  I'll sandwich my harsh words with another positive...the many large gingerbread houses located all over the ship are darling. They also appear to be real. Someone's worked very hard on these.

I also love the Promenade Deck on this ship.  It's real teak, it's wide enough to allow full length padded loungers with plenty of room to actually walk and jog, and it wraps fully around the ship on one level (no stairs to navigate at the front of the ship as on the Emerald). I'll also be spending a lot of time enjoying this on our first sea day.

And I mostly love that this ship feels relatively uncrowded compared to the Emerald Princess. There are plenty of loungers on the open decks, plenty of theater seats, and I've seen few chair hogs. It makes for a more relaxing vacation. Or it should.  Read on...

Just before we arrived in Grand Turk at noon, we stopped by the buffet for a light lunch. Holland America has a rule on all its ships:  the first 48-hours on board, the buffet is not self-serve, to prevent the possible spread of the Norovirus. All food, all water, coffee, lemonade, etc., plates, silverware, you name it, must be handed to you by a buffet steward. Thankfully, it's just temporary, providing there is no Noro outbreak, because it really slows things down, creates lines and cuts down on the drink service in the buffet. At noon today, that restriction was lifted. Yay!  The buffet immediately became more user-friendly, and we were able to get in and out for lunch in less than 30 minutes.

After our quick lunch, while walking back to our cabin to collect our things to leave the ship, we encountered a most unsettling situation that still has us shaken. Right behind me i overheard a conversation between two people. A man said, "Have you checked all the bathrooms?" And a woman frantically responded, "I've checked EVERYWHERE". The man then said, "She has to be really frightened by now."  This all happened so fast, but my immediate thought was that a child had wandered off and gotten lost on the ship.  These two people approached a nearby officer and I heard the man say to him, "My wife has wandered off and we can't find her and she has Alzheimer's..." and the officer said, "We need to phone the Front Office..." which is what Holland America calls its Pursers Desk.

That was the extent of it. I don't know what happened next; within minutes we were off the ship, but that short episode left both G and I upset.  I don't know what bothered us more:  that a person who wanders was brought on a cruise or that she wasn't more closely protected when she was. That quick, overheard conversation kind of overshadowed the next several hours for us. I suppose HAL deals with this sort of thing as often as Toys R Us deals with lost kids, but for me it underscored the fact that the passenger demographic on this ship is not only so much older, but many passengers are also in very poor health. We've even been openly told by passengers that this is their (or their spouse's) last cruise- that they are suffering from a terminal illness.  Yes, it's life, but it's also damn depressing.

No, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore.

But, back to happier things (though you can tell that I haven't quite put this out of my mind)...

The weather was sunny, but quite windy when we walked off the ship. Our primary goal for today was not to plop in a beach lounger at Margaritaville, but to walk to the left down the beach past Margaritaville for awhile. We wanted an exploration day, not another beach day, and so started down the beach in search of wifi and cold beers. We found both at a beach bar called The Local Place. Immediately, 32 emails were downloaded in my iPhone, but just one an emergency, so I set to work dealing with those. I was even able to make a couple of phone calls using my Vonage app. Not great quality, but decent, and it was nice to check in with Mom.  It was from there that I posted a couple of days' worth of blog posts.

The Local Place was offering 90-minute island tours on a small tram for $20 per person. Since we've never had an island tour here (only seen the beach area) I was game, but G was reluctant to spend 90-minutes sitting on a tram listening to a tour guide over a loudspeaker. We can pretty much see the entire 6-mile long, 1-mile wide island from the upper decks of the ship, so we simply spent our time walking further down the beach and back. When we returned to the ship, we talked with several passengers who had taken tours. It seems G was right...there really wasn't much to see. Basically, Grand Turk is a beach day, or a diving/snorkeling day (it is surrounded by good reefs) and little more.

Now we know.

We returned to the ship just before sunset, and went immediately to a hot tub. Unlike on embarkation day, the hot tubs are now fairly hot, not merely lukewarm, and a real pleasure to use. We showered, dressed casually (although we're wearing slacks, not shorts, in the evenings, even to eat in the buffet, in case we choose to go to some entertainment on the lower decks afterward), and went to the buffet for dinner.

We had checked the dinner menu in the dining room during our walk around the ship this morning. The exact same menu was being offered in the buffet, so we're not missing out on much. Tonight's menu had a Caribbean theme, and I enjoyed grilled salmon, jerk chicken (Wow.  Was that spicy!), sweet potato fries, salad and, key lime pie, which you know I don't like at all.

;-)

No entertainment for us tonight, though. It was tempting. We really enjoy the piano player, Lee, the guitarist Johnny Champagne and the HALCats (they played poolside at sailaway and I got a bit danc-y as we listened), but last night's lack of sleep and today's long beach walk had caught up with me. We returned early to our big (but noisy as an airplane) cabin.  We move our clocks ahead an hour to AST tonight, and it's a good night to fall asleep early.

Photos 1 and 2:  Christmas decorations in the Lido Pool area by day...

Photo 3:  and by night. See what I mean?


Photo 4:  one of the many gingerbread houses around the ship

Photo 5:  the Promenade Deck

Photos 6 and 7:  Explorations

Half Moon Cay (continued)

If a picture is worth 1000 words, then a video is worth 1000 pictures.

Enjoy!

Posted with low speed wifi on Grand Turk. But with a beer and a breeze and beach sand underfoot, who needs speed?

Life is good.

Day 32: Half Moon Cay

Prepared Saturday December 8th

We were awake early today, well before 7am. Of course, we were asleep by 9pm last night, tired after a busy "moving day".  When we first arrived in the buffet for breakfast, there were just a handful of us there. But we were supposed to be at Half Moon Cay at 8am, and we wanted to be ready to go and to get a tender ticket as soon as they started handing them out. 

We love Holland America's buffet for breakfast. Fresh squeezed orange juice (which is extra cost on Princess), nine different kinds of juices, seven different variations of eggs Benedict made to order, ingredients such as crab meat, Brie and artichokes in the made to order omelets, and coffee from beans (not syrup) leaves Princess's buffet breakfast offerings in the dust. Granted, the drink service is far more limited than on Princess; we had to get our own juices and coffee refills today.  But there are certainly a lot of food and beverage options to choose from.  It is more confusing to us newbies...there are various food stations located in the buffet:  omelets, juices, cereals, waffles and general breakfast items. We eat breakfast in stages, as we have to wander a bit to get everything we want. 

We were dining at a table near the Lido Pool when the captain made at an announcement at 7:45am saying that there was a chance we might not be able to tender to Half Moon Cay today. Another Holland America ship, the Nieuw Amsterdam, was already at anchor and had gotten the best spot for anchoring, either by getting there first or being the slightly larger ship (I couldn't totally understand what the Dutch captain said). Apparently there were large ocean swells that could prevent a safe anchoring and tendering process for the Noordam. 

Once again, Seinfeld provided the best response. I looked at G and said, "I don't like the sound of THAT". 

Honestly, on this entire itinerary, I was most looking forward to Half Moon Cay. Yes, having to miss ports is always a possibility on cruises, but that doesn't mean I couldn't be disappointed if we did. 

We finished breakfast and went up to the Crows Nest on Deck 11 forward. The Crows Nest is kind of like Skywalkers on the Emerald Princess in that it is on the top of the ship and with floor to ceiling windows and expansive ocean views. However, while Skywalkers is at the back of the Emerald, the Crows Nest is at the front of the Noordam. With leather seating and ottomans, it's a comfortable place to spend an hour- or half a day. Our goal was to get a good view of what was going on. We could see the Nieuw Amsterdam tendering its passengers over to Little San Salvador Island, and could also see the long, crescent beach of Half Moon Cay. 

I was almost afraid to consider how devastated I'd be if we had to miss the island, especially as we knew passengers from the other ship were already there. Thankfully, luckily, after about an hour the captain made another announcement stating that we'd be able to tender after all. We rushed back to our cabin to change into swimsuits and collect the beach bag we'd already packed. 

Tender tickets, which group passengers based on tender capacity, were being handed out in the Queens Lounge.  We first had to figure out where the heck that was. It's a bit like moving to a new city. No matter how well we know the Emerald Princess, here it's all new to us. Once we had our tender tickets, we waited just a few minutes until our number was called to board. But, in that short period of time, a passenger came over to me and said my name, questioningly. It was a amazing coincidence. Before we had even left home, I was emailed by someone following my blog. It was the day I posted about moving to the Noordam during the Emerald dry dock. Rob introduced himself and said that he and his wife and friends of theirs were also going to be on this cruise and would like to get together for drinks on board. He gave his cabin number, but we hadn't had a chance to connect yet. Well, he recognized G's ever-present yellow shirt, blue swim shirts and Tilley hat from the photos in my blog from last winter and took a chance that it was us. Amazing...on a ship with 1900 people, we connected the first morning of the cruise by being assigned to the same tender boat. I can't wait to meet up for drinks!

On our two previous visits to Half Moon Cay, while on the 1250 passenger Maasdam, we were the only ship in port and the beach felt empty. Not so today. Between the 1900 passenger Noordam and the 2100 passenger Nieuw Amsterdam, nearly every one of the thousands of loungers was filled. By the time we arrived on the island at about 10:40am, most of the ones in the shade were already taken. We finally found two together close to the lunch pavilion and set ourselves up for the day. It didn't take more than five minutes for me to inflate a float and enter the water. Wow, that is one beautiful beach, possibly the prettiest I've ever seen. The sand is like powdered sugar, the beach entrance as gradual as can be, and I could go out nearly to the edge of the swim area before it was over my head.  The gorgeous blue water is crystal clear with a view of the bottom everywhere. 

I wished I could stay there forever. 

That must be a common thought, because there's even a beach bar, called the "I Wish I Could Stay Here Forever" bar. 

:-)

Only 15 miles from Princess Cays, Hurricane Sandy also passed right over Half Moon Cay. As with Princess Cays, we could see the damage to vegetation, but that was the only sign of the storm that I noticed. Unlike Princess Cays with its many palm trees, Half Moon Cay has almost none.  Although the beach at Half Moon Cay is better in every way than that at Princess Cays, aside from the actual beach, I think Princess Cays is actually the prettier resort.

But, let's face it...it's really all about the beach itself. 

We were at Half Moon Cay for about 4 1/2 hours today, and I spent all but about 30 minutes either in the water or walking round trip the entire length of the beach, barefoot along the water's edge (which is so long it takes about 80 minutes). It simply doesn't get any better than that. 

We ate lunch from the BBQ on the beach- chicken and ribs and grapes. There was a lot more to choose from, but we wanted it limit it to easily eaten finger foods, as we couldn't bear to leave the beach and sit at a picnic table to eat with silverware. The last tender back to the ship was at 3:30pm; we must have been on the second last one when we boarded our return tender at 3:20pm. 

It's an understatement to say it was a perfect day because it was much better than that. 

Still, it's always a joy to return to our clean cabin and get showered. Although tonight was a formal night, we're not planning to do them this cruise, and dressed in tropical wear to dine in the buffet. We both started with made-to-order pastas (garlic!  I always want lots of garlic!) and then I had a shrimp entree with steamed broccoli and sautéed cabbage and lemon sherbet for dessert. And decaf coffee.  I'm savoring the real brewed coffee served on Holland America. 

After dinner, we went up to the Crows Nest to enjoy listening to singer-guitarist Johnny Champagne play. We love this sort of entertainment...acoustic guitar, small venue, friendly interaction between musician and audience; it's a standard Holland America offering. At 8pm, we went to the Vista Theater for the captain's champagne welcome just prior to tonight's production show. HAL does this differently than Princess; instead of a party in the Piazza, we were handed a flute of champagne as we walked into the Vista Theater. The cruise director introduced the captain, who introduced the senior officers. A toast, and then the production show (a tribute to dance) followed.  Shall I mention that Holland America is not known for its production shows?  I guess I won't need to now...  :-/. It very much reminded me of that champagne lady on the old Lawrence Welk show with the puffy, full skirted dresses. My grandparents would have loved it. Me?  Well, I'll be kind:  the singers and dancers seemed quite talented. 

Afterwards, we walked the length of Deck 2, the primary entertainment deck, to see the different venues.  Frankly, we were amazed at the quantity of offerings. In the piano bar, pianist Lee had a packed audience singing along, the HALCats were playing music of the 50s and 60s in the Queens Lounge. The string quartet (which, sadly, is no longer a feature on the Emerald Princess), played in the Explorers Lounge. And the guitarist and a band called Neptunes were playing elsewhere on the ship. For a ship with more than 1/3 fewer passengers than the Emerald, the entertainment options are impressive, even if the production show wasn't. 

Finally, it was 10:30pm and past time for bed. And I've written so much here tonight that it's well after midnight. Luckily, our arrival into Grand Turk tomorrow isn't until noon, and I can (hopefully) sleep in a bit.  If not, after another beach day tomorrow, I may be in bed before dinner!

Photo 1:  this pirate ship beach bar was under construction when we were here in November 2010

Photo 2:  I walked until I ran out of beach, and then watched the waves crash  

Photo 3:  looks like a Dos Equis commercial, doesn't it?

Photo 4:  boy, do I!!

Photo 5:  that is some clear water (and some big feet)