Sea Day

Sea Day = Me Day.  I have been saying for last few months that I would get some rest, slow down and catch my breath when I finally got on the ship.  Today, it finally happened.  I got up early and hit the gym and tackled my workout.  I am sticking to a healthy eating lifestyle here on the ship, despite ALL the temptations.   I am still going to the gym daily.  And I am hoping to get back to my three pounds down a month routine.  Although it is impossible to get an accurate weight from the scale on a moving ship.  I’ll know again where I am in six days.  We had a healthy breakfast and then it was off to our Project Linus group.  It technically runs from 10:00-11:00.  Megan went off to meet her math tutor at noon and I stayed exactly where I was.  For three hours I sat in a velvet covered swivel chair, in the window on deck three, crocheting my blanket and thinking to myself, “This is the first time I have absolutely nothing to do and I have nowhere to be.”  It was such a peaceful feeling.  This is why I am where I am right now in the world.  My family at home is all safe and the waters are receding in California.  Waiting for reports on any damage and hoping to hear all wonderful news.  Megan went off to play Catan at 3:45 with Pete, ironically he’s the man who taught her how to play on the 2020 World Cruise.  We went to the Main dining room for dinner at 5:00pm and enjoyed another fantastic meal.  I will say that I am noticing everyone getting into a place of calm routines all over the ship.  Both the passengers and the crew are all settling in and seem much happier today.  I will say it is also REALLY nice to see everyone’s smiling faces now too.  Not having the masks on anymore definitely seem to be a weight off people’s shoulders.  We went to the newly opened library after dinner and each of us got a book to read.  The library is run differently now, instead of having to “check out” books, we are all now on the honor system. We are allowed two books at a time and we are encouraged to return them as soon as we are done reading them.  It is set up very nicely and it smells of new books.  I love it.  Next, Megan and I headed to the Crow’s nest up on deck 10 and cracked open a 500 piece puzzle and started it.  Around 8:00pm Megan went off to play games with Gail and then she retuned back to me around 9:30pm and we completed the puzzle.  One puzzle, 3.5 hours, start to finish….done.  By the time we got back to the cabin we were both exhausted, happy, and ready for bed.  A wonderful start to our week at sea.  Never a dull moment in our day unless we choose to have them.  I have zero photos to share from today.  Maybe tomorrow?  Hugs everyone!

Fuerte Amador, Panama

We have officially been on the Zuiderdam and the 2023 World Cruise for a full week. Seven days gone, three countries visited, countless new memories made, hundreds of old friends reconnected with, hundred of new friends being made, much laughter, and many suitcase unpacked and stowed under the bed. Feels like I have accomplished more in week than I sometimes do in a month back at home. Today we continued our stay at Fuerte Amador, Panama. We met our excursion at 7:45am after a quick breakfast in the Neptune lounge. Today we ventured by bus back to the Gamboa Rainforest Reserve where we hopped a boat out onto the Gatun Lake. That is the lake the connects the two sets of locks that take you into and out of the Panama Canal. Fun fact, the lake spans a large portion of the 50 miles that makes up what we know as the Panama Canal. It was so amazing to be in the channel that is the heart of shipping for such a huge part of our world. I was able to reach down and touch the water, we rode by cargo ships filled with containers of God only knows what, going God only knows where. I thought it was absolutely fascinating. We traverse up the lake and into a series of rivers and estuaries that feed the lake. We saw so much wildlife today including Coatimundi raccoon, Capybara, Capuchins, Snail Kite birds, many different vultures, Iguana, Pelican and Howler monkeys. I have included as many photos as I could capture. You have to be quick, I missed the Capybara before they scurried away. When we arrived back to the port we hopped right onto the shuttle to the local Super Mercardo (Super Market) for some quick restock of snacks (cookies) for Megan. She had diminished her supplies and we are now going to be at sea for seven full days so a restock was in order. We were back on the ship in plenty of time for the 4:30 sail away that was slightly delayed. So here’s a story for the blog…I spent some time on our patio upon getting back on the ship so I could call all my family and friend back home since we could be out of range for a bit. We are very worried about our loved ones back in CA. Schools are closed, roads are flooded, landslides are happening, power outages everywhere….and here we were in a lightening storm. Cause, life is never dull. I watched the lightening and listened to the thunder for a good 30 minutes all the while trying unsuccessfully to get a good photo. I’m from CA and storms are a novelty to me. All of a sudden there was a huge flash of lightening not very far above me (about two stories) and a boom that sounded like thunder, I could actually feel it in my chest, and then I saw a cloud of smoke drift away from the ship. I knew the lightening had struck our ship. Turns out it did!! It hit a communications antenna and we later found out, the glass in one of the panels of the retractable roof for the pool. Happily the glass is tempered and no one was injured. Such excitement. We also said goodbye to our sister ship the Volendam. She will continue on her adventure and we on ours. It was neat following side by side with another Holland America ship for a time. Next, we had a fabulous dinner in the Main dining room. During dinner an announcement was made by the captain informing us that it has been deemed safe to change our ships mask wearing status from required to recommended. So as of 7:00am tomorrow morning masks are no longer required. YEAH!!! After dinner I went to the MainStage where they showed the movie Panama. Megan stayed “home” to enjoy some time to herself. Tomorrow everyone is so excited about the much anticipated grand opening of the ships Library. Can’t wait to see it, use it and donate books to it. So we are now at sea for seven consecutive days. I hope to be able to share with you all how we pass the time daily, but if not, know that I am drafting my blog and will post them as soon as wifi availability returns. Stay safe everyone. Love and Hugs!

Sea Day. Panama Canal. Fuerte Amador, Panama.

Sea Day:  Today we traversed through the Panama Canal.  We said goodbye to the Atlantic Ocean for a while and came out on the other side in the Pacific Ocean.  The pilot boarded the ship around 5:30am and took us through the canal. The canal is quite a marvel of architectural ingenuity and a true commitment to the betterment of man.  Essentially an elevator for ships that takes them up 85 feet in elevation and back down the other side.  If you haven’t had a chance to learn, read, study this canal, I encourage you to take some time to watch some videos or do some reading about how this canal came to be.  I watched the Zuiderdam enter the first locks this morning from the gym.  We were right behind the Volendam and got to watch it go up and down the locks in front of us while we also watched giant container ships coming out traveling in the opposite direction.   After we crossed Gatun Lake, we entered the locks that would take us back down to the Pacific Ocean.  As we went through the last set of locks, by some amazing twist of fate, the Volendam and the Zuiderdam went through the locks side by side  at the same time.  I told you a couple days ago how several of the passengers have friends on the other ship and it was so much fun watching everyone waving back and forth to each other from almost every deck of the ship.  There was even a sound off between the two ships as they talked back and forth to each other.  It was discussed that this type of happenstance does not happen very often.  The probability that there was two Holland America ships going through the canal at the same time was a future advertisement dream.  During the day we also attended our Project Linus Group, Megan had tutoring, we went to tea with Gail and Marty and then attended a special event on the pool deck called burgers and beer.  They served the passengers a trio of sliders and they had a promotional price on “buckets” of beer. It gave us a chance to go to dinner with our bathing suits on under our shorts and then after we ate we took the opportunity to enjoy the beautiful weather and took a dip in the pool.  The ship pulled into Fuerte Amador, Panama around 6:30pm.  We were permitted to disembark and take shuttle buses to a dining district if we wanted to, but we have opted to stay on the ship until tomorrow when we have a scheduled excursion.  Megan is off playing cards with Gail and Marty tonight as I write this to you and anticipate all the photos I have to attach below.  We will be up at 7:00am tomorrow.  My body is quite exhausted having been through three time changes in the last 6 days.  One of the many joys and prices of international travel.  I wouldn’t trade it for anything.  Sending love and prayers again to all my friends and family in California.  As you prepare for more rain, clean up from the previous storms, and attempt to stay safe and dry, know that I am thinking of you and praying for you.  Love and Hugs from across the miles.  

Puerto Limon, Costa Rica

Port Day: We woke up in Puerto Limon, Costa Rica this morning. I actually woke up early enough to see the ship gently backing into her berth at the pier. We pulled right beside the Volendam which also left Fort Lauderdale the same day we did. We are traveling “together” for a bit before we we will go separate ways. We even shared some excursions today so that they didn’t need to cancel any due to lower numbers. A win win in my book. Megan and I got up and headed to the Lido for a good breakfast before we headed off on our adventures today. White water rafting was on the agenda for the day. We took an hour long bus ride to where we the tour company had the home base right on the Rio Pacuare (River Pacuare). There were three rafts in our group and we all traversed the 7.5 miles down the river in about 2 hours. We had a great guide who pointed our many different types of plants, trees and birds. We even saw his father jogging along side the river bank and all got to cheer and wave to him. At one point we all pulled our rafts to the side of the river bank and our guide hopped off to grab and let us all see a Poisonous Red Tree Frog. Afterwards he “washed” his hands with the juice from a lime to neutralize the poison. Talk about working hard for your tip. We thought that was definitely above and beyond. He was so nice to Megan and we bantered the whole day away. It was such a great time on the river. We had several water fights between the three rafts, we laughed and screamed and paddled hard and played hard. We had a great opportunity to feel the Costa Rican sun on our bodies and feel the breeze blowing up river. Megan even had the opportunity at one point to jump off the raft and swim along side us during a calm section of the river. We did have one passenger fall out of a raft during one particular rough set of rapids, but he was in a different raft. They were quick to pull him right back in and we all helped gather up oars before continuing on our adventure. It turned out to be so much more fun than I had anticipated. After we got out of the river we headed back to base camp and had the chance to get something to eat, grab a local beer, and changed before the hour long bus ride back to the ship. We were back on board with some time to relax and spare this time before getting ready for our 5:00pm dinner seating. After dinner Megan went off to play games with Gail and Marty and I stayed in. This mom is beat after a full day of paddling, sun and laughter. Another fabulous one for the memory books. Enjoy the photos from today everyone. Tomorrow we go through the Panama Canal. Until then…sweet dreams!

Sea Day

Today was a full day at sea. Sometimes our sea days feel busier than our port days. Off to the gym first thing this morning and then to breakfast after I woke up Megan. The entire ship also had mandatory COVID testing today. We both tested negative. We were also told by the captain that no specific numbers will be divulged to us, but that we are remaining in a Level 1 classification on the ship and we are going to be required to mask up for at least three more days. We then headed to a quiet place to try and get some school work and my blog done,  but we ran into some friends and had a lovely conversation instead. Next, we met with our project Linus group and I had the chance to start my first blanket of the trip. From there we headed back to the cabin where Megan had the opportunity to meet with her math tutor for the first time and I had the opportunity to work on her lesson plans.  At 2:00 we went to our first educational talk given by Ian the cruise director. We learned all about the Panama Canal  and its history and its importance to the world. And then, just like that it was time to get ready for dinner.  Our seating time is 5:00 so we have to start ready by 4:30. Tonight was a dressy night, a new classification for us. Previously Holland America had casual and formal nights. This world cruise they have added a dressy night about once per week and decreased the number of formal nights. It’s a little confusing, but we generally wear dresses to dinner already so we stuck with what we know. After dinner we went to the MainStage theater and had the opportunity to “meet” the captain and all of the main crew members who are taking care of us during this World cruise. They served us champagne and we toasted to the crew and our adventures yet to come. We headed back to the cabin and Megan decided she wanted to go for a swim so we popped up to deck nine and she got the pool all to herself while I relaxed in a lounge chair. It was a lovely ending to a long day. We were in bed by 8:30. Tonight we set our clocks back an hour in preparations of our arrival into Puerto Limon, Costa Rica tomorrow. I am going to let the ship gently rock me to sleep tonight. My heart is full with the blessing of being on this trip, the opportunity to be traveling again and being able to be here with Megan.

The Captain and the main officers that are taking exceptional care of us.

Our first towel creature of the 2023 WC. A lovely seal in the foreground, and Megans’s imported squish mellow collection in the background.

Falmouth, Jamaica

A day late, but as you know life gets crazy on the ship. Today we pulled into our very first port of this 2023 World Cruise adventure. We pulled into Falmouth, Jamaica around 10:30 am and were ready to disembark and go on our excursion. We took a bus over to Ocho Rios, about an hour away from the port. We had a lovely tour guide that shared a lot of local information about Jamaica and its history. Thank you, Stacy for giving Megan her history lesson for the day. We visited Dunes River Falls and got the opportunity to climb them. I hadn’t been there since 1993 so much has changed in 30 years. They actually scrub the rocks down now, but it was still a challenge and I was worried about one of us falling and injuring ourselves on the first excursion of our trip. We both came out relatively unscathed. A few bumps and bruises but it was a wonderful morning. Next we journeyed to a a touristy spot called Mystic mountain. There we got to “bobsled” down the mountain in a contraption where you get to control how fast, or slow you descend. Megan and I turned the brakes off, put it in full throttle and barreled all the way down the hill. We also had an adventurous ride on a type of roller coaster where your individual car swings to the left and right as you whip around the curves. In a few spots it actually swings you out and over the side of the cliff where the coaster is situated to increase your heart rate even more. We had lovely lunch of traditional style Jamaican jerk chicken and red beans and rice. (If anyone has a good recipe for Jerk Chicken, I’d LOVE to have it) I purchased a Red Stripe, the official beer of Jamaica, and enjoyed cooling off after all our adventures. So our excursion adventure lasted a bit longer then originally expected as there was a delay for about half the passengers that were also on our tour bus. They were zip lining and the locals are still on holiday which caused the lines to be longer than anticipated. You know it’s not a good sign when they board the tour bus at 5:15pm and you are supposed to be all aboard the ship by 5:30pm. And remember, we were an hour drive away. Let me now emphasize the importance of booking your excursion directly through Holland America. I can argue the pros and cons of this but this was definitely the biggest argument in favor of doing this. The ship waited for us. They delayed the departure of the ship as our driver made his own lane and tried to break the land speed record to get us back to the ship as soon as possible. We felt like VIPS when the bus pulled directly up the pier to the gang plank of the ship. As Megan and I always sit the back of the bus, we were among the last to get off and get back onto the ship. They pulled the gang plank up right behind us. We missed our 5:00pm seating time at the dining room, but we were too tired and in need of a shower to feel like getting dressed for the later seating. We enjoyed a delicious, casual meal in the Lido and I was on bed by 8:00pm. I walked over 7 miles yesterday between the morning workout, our hike up the falls and all our other adventures for the day. All in all a fantastic first day off the ship. I do also want to add that last night we received a very nice letter from Holland America apologizing to use for the stress and chaos that the excursion delay may have caused us. I know that this was completely out of the control of the excursion team and they even reimbursed us for the cost of our day. I feel that was way above and beyond and I want to recognize the level of customer service that we receive on this trip courtesy of Holland America staff and crew. Tomorrow is a sea day and we will enjoy all our normal activities that I will tell you all about tomorrow. To all our CA friends and family, please stay safe and dry. Love and Hugs to you all.

Sea Day

And just like that a whole sea day is done.  It never fails to surprise me how fast and how full a day spent on the ship can go by.  After my first night of being slowly rocked to sleep on the MS Zuiderdam I forced myself to have an ealry rise to hit the gym.  Unfortuantely SEVERAL other passengers had the same idea.  The majority of those in attendance were there for the Yoga class, and by 7:30 they had all but cleared out.  Megan and I went to the Pinnacle dining room for our first breakfast on board.  We then went and helped out at the Projet Linus program as this was their first day of introducing the wonderful program to the passengers on board.  Gail and Marty go above and beyond to organize and execute this event every sea day.  We popped up to the Crow’s next for the Cruise Critic’s community meet and greet.  What a fantastic turn out of cruising enthusiats.  I look forward to more events with that group.  A small group of us put together a meet up for Friday for all the bloggers in the group.  There are about a dozen of us.  We also had the wonderful opportunity to touch base with Bonita.  For those of you who followed my last world cruise journey, Bonita is the amazing woman who donates her time on sea days to tutor the children in Math.  In 2020 it was Algebra for Valerie, and now in 2023 it will be Algebra for Megan as well.  Megan and I then headed back to the cabin to change into our bathing suits for a couple of hours of soaking up the sun in the beautiful 80 degree weather as our family back in CA are contending with cool temperatures and torrential rain storms.  We wrapped up our afternoon by heading back to the cabin to complete our rennovations.  Photos have been hung, pillow shams have been added for pops of color and decals have been applied throughout to give our cabin a tropical, hawaiian feel.  (Photo to come at a later date).  At 4:30pm the ship hosted a “block party”.  Everyone was encouraged to step out into the hallway with the empty wine glass to meet our neighbors and those in the cabins around us.  The ship hosted appetizers and wine that were served by staff walking up and down the hallways.  Something new for our memories on board a ship and all in all a really fun time.  We did not particuallarly love our seating for dinner last night and we had heard our waiter from the 2020 WC was onboard so we sought him out this evening.  We were able to reconnect with Regy, and as luck would have it, there was an available table in his section so we now have a table for just the two of us with our dear old friend for the remainder of the cruise.  We actually have a table for four so I hope to host some crew at a future meal.  I love getting to know the crew and learning more about the ins and outs of ship life for them.  It’s educational for Megan as well and we incorporate it into her homeschool cirriculum.  We are back in the cabin early this evening.  Still a little jet lagged, still adjusting to the time difference and looking forward to our first port tomorrow of Falmouth, Jamaica. Adventures ahead for us there but you’ll have to wait to hear about until tomorrow.  Below I have included some photos from our sail away from last night, and a few others from today.  I am blessed to be here living this journey out with so many past passengers, friends and Megan.  I immensely miss those we left back at home in California and I know you are “here” following along with us.  Hugs and sweet dreams from Megan and I both.

Port Webcam of the MS Zuiderdam 1/3/2023.MS Zuiderdam getting stocked up and ready for her adventure. Sunrise from the 9th floor gym aboard the MS Zuiderdam.My dinner escort for the evening.  On tonight’s menu, escargot, filet mignon, and we splurged for a minor upgrade for some lobster tails.

Fort Lauderdale, Florida

It’s cruise day!  After three years of patiently waiting and hoping and praying, we are finally going on another World Cruise.  It looks much differntly for us this time as we are half the number of people as last time around the world.  Mom and Valerie are back in CA and we miss them so much already.  But Megan and I are in Fort Lauderdale waiting for our transport to the cruise terminal.  We had a wonderful evening and felt spoiled by our booking company Cruise Specialist yesterday.  They put us up at a beuatiful hotel, took care of our airport transfer, threw us a lovely party and dinner last night, and are providing our transportation to the cruise ship this morning.  Yes, I strongly recommend this company for all your cruise needs, no I wasn’t paid for that endorsement!  We got to see so many old friends last night and have already had the oppotunity to make new ones.  Everyone is shocked to see how much Megan has grown and changed.  She definitely drew a alot of attention for sure with passengers inquireing how she was able to be on this long trip and asking about her schooling.  Many thanks to Donnia at Templeton Home School Program and the love and support of Cayucos School for making it possible for me to have all the resources we need to make this happen for her.  I believe this adventure is the best education she can be receiving.  Some logistical information for you all, we had to take a COVID test yesterday before we could board the ship this morning.  All passenger are required to wear masks on the ship for three full days and we will all be required to take another COVID test on Friday.  So let’s get this party started. I look forward to sharing our adventures with you all as we make this journey around the globe.

It has been a whirlwind over the last couple of days in Vancouver.  On Saturday we slept in and relaxed more then we had expected too.  Oogie Boogie Bash tickets went on sale for Disneyland and we wound up being in the que on the computer for about two hours.  We were successful and got our tickets for the date we wanted.  Later that afternoon the wait was only three minutes, but by then 8 of the dates (including the one we wanted) were already sold out.  So I am glad we did it.  Then we walked just a couple of blocks from the hotel to the City Bike rental company.  We rented bikes for half the day.  We took a fantastic, scenic, and active 8 mile bike ride through Vancouver, down past the pier where we started and ended our cruise from, around Stanley Park along the Sea Wall and back through town to visit a Greek resteraunt one of Megan’s new cruise friends had recommended.  It was a beautfil day.  Around 75 degrees and the sun was shining bright.  We retuned the bikes and headed back to the hotel to get ready for a nice dinner out.  Sunday morning; HAPPY CANADA DAY!! We didn’t know what it celebrated and we spent the morning learning about the significance of this date to Canadians.  There was live music, stages, and celebration all around Vancouver.  I had promised the girls we could do some shopping and the stores didn’t open until 11:00am so we got a chance to walk around and enjoy the sun again.  We did some retail therapy, grabbed a light luch at this lively resteraunt called Joe Fortes, I highly recommend it.  We enjoyed walking through some high end shops; Tiffany, Gucci, Dior and Louis Vuitton; but we resited making any purchases.  We have spent many a Christmas or post Christmas, since Don’s passing at the Fairmont in downtown San Jose.  So the smell of their products have come to represent Christmas to me, at the Fairmont in Vancouver they use the same products and it was comforting to smell them for the first time in a few years.  And they even go the extra mile in Vancouver, they printed my name on the bottles.  It was a simple but super sweet gesture on their part.  So after shopping it was back to the hotel to “pack” our treasures and make sure all the suitcases had proper weight distribution. The car picks us up at 6:00am tomorrow to take us to the airport so we will be getting up at 5:00am.  Yuck!!  It has been a most wonderful vacation away with the girls.  I give big thanks to Kevin and Jenny for watching our fur baby Murphy and allowing us this opportunity to get away.  Now we head home to get ready for house guests for the Fourth of July celebration at home and the opportunity to honor our own country and it’s independance.  Happy Fourth of July everyone.  I will post more when we embark on our next adventure to……who knows where?

And just like that we wake up and we have docked back in Vancouver.  One week of excursions, sea days, and bonding with the Zuiderdam.  Fantastic new cruising memeories made, new crew friends and family made, and a new cabin that we have now and will soon again call “home”.  We were up and enjoyed our last breakfast at the Pinnacle Grill.  As we are staying in Vancouver for a few days and were in no hurry to get to the airport, we enjoyed sitting and watching the border and immigration employees come and clear the ship.  Then we sat and watched the passengers disembark.  Several of them waved to us and we waved back, sending them off with a smile and a wave.  We disembarked around 8:30am.  A swift trip through immigration where we turned in our immigration disclosure form, grabbed out suitcases and grabbed a cab to the hotel.  We left our luggage with the porters and took a little time for some catching up of some emails and phone calls.  Then we walked right up the street to grab a shuttle to the Capillano Bridge.  We had prepurchased our tickets before we boarded the ship a week ago so it was quick and easy.  We spent the day in the trees walking across suspension bridges, walking back and forth accross the large suspension bridge, and having a nice sit down lunch. Wagyu burgers with truffle fries for the girls and a fantastic seafood chpwder for me.   Then it was back on the bus back to the hotel.  We got all checked in and layed down.  We all fell asleep and had a lovley little nap before dinner.  We walked to the Italian Kitchen for a lovely dinner right up the street.  We are all in bed by 9:00pm. We are wiped out and look forward to sleeping in as late as we can tomorrow. Another day of adventures planned for tomorrow.