Moving in. This will be our home for the next 111 days: Cabin #3336 of Holland America’s ms Amsterdam—180 sq ft of compact coziness, measuring just slightly larger than the master bathroom in our Florida home. On the Lower Promenade Deck by the ship’s atrium, its location is certainly convenient. We can be outside on the Promenade in less than a minute, the main desk is just above us, the theatre is next to that, and, the Sports Bar, with its big-screen for football and basketball games is nearby as well. There is a public restroom three doors down, in case you just can’t wait out your roommate, and the passenger laundromat is directly across the hall. We have earned enough loyalty points for free laundry service now so this is not as cool as it might have once been but handy access to a dryer for hand washables and an iron and ironing board could turn out to be useful.
Surprise #1: Unlike other ships in the HAL line, the only metal wall in the cabin is the one with the window so the magnetic hooks we have relied on previously are useless. Thanks to an advance tip from seasoned world cruiser friends, we did bring a few Command brand sticky hooks but not enough heavy duty ones. Surprise #2: Everything fit! The contents of our 12 pieces of luggage and 2 boxes disappeared into the available drawers, closets, and under bed storage. Wow, and yay! And, because of Ron’s masterful packing skills and a little advance planning, we were able to store all the luggage in the room as well. Did we, or, rather me, pack too much? Of course. Most dubious tip from seasoned world cruisers to gain more storage space: turn in your lifejackets because they take up too much space in the closet and if you show up at the lifeboat without yours, you will be given one. Hmm. Can’t help thinking about what would happen if everyone did that. We are keeping ours for now.
DAY 2 — January 5, 2017 — Cruising the North Atlantic to Central America
Our first World Cruise has really begun. It is an amazing feeling to wake up and not have to think about what needs to be done to prepare for a 111-day trip and what we might forget — a totally needless worry as it turns out. All over the ship we have found passengers and crew talking about the Walmart within walking distance of our pier in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico on Day 13, the convenient CVS in San Diego on Day 16, and the Walmart and Hilo Hattie’s shuttle buses that pick up at the pier in Hilo and Honolulu, Days 22-24. Plenty of time to decide if we really are missing anything. Mexican pharmacies also offer the extra allure of name-brand drugs at much lower prices and without a prescription. We hear they do a pretty good business in Viagra when the cruise ships are in town.
We are finding out that first-timers are a rarity on this kind of cruise. Ninety percent of our fellow passengers are on their second, third, tenth (or more) World Cruise. This means there is a wealth of experience and accumulated wisdom to take advantage of. We appreciate that. On the slight downside for us, many of these repeat World Cruisers have been sailing together for years and tight knit groups are already formed. We are thinking that this is probably THE main reason they sail on World Cruises with the same cruise line year after year. They have already been everywhere so it is not about the destinations. It’s all about personal connections. They are “at home” with their friends and the ship’s crew takes wonderful care of them. And that relationship with the crew is a huge part of it, too. Everywhere we go on the ship, passengers are having joyful reunions with their favorite crew members.
This is looking like one happy place.
And why not? The world is laid out before us. Friends, both old and new, abound. And we don’t have to cook and clean. Sweet.
DAY 3 — January 6, 2017 — Sailing the Caribbean Sea
As we told friends and family about this trip, we often heard this reaction: Wow, that’s a lot of time at sea, won’t you get bored? Our answer was always about the same: Of course not, we love the water, we love to read, we love each other’s company, we love meeting new people, we love not having to cook and clean. (Well, that last part was mostly from me.) Plus, we had sailed enough with Holland America to know that they will always offer plenty of diversions. As this schedule for the second day at sea shows, there is ALWAYS something to do. To us, it will never be a question of boredom. By Day 3, we have already realized it is more a question of how to avoid exhaustion. And for me, when to find time to write to family and friends via this blog.
7:00 am Fitness Class: Early Morning Stretch
7:30 am Fitness Class: Fab Abs
8:00 am Fitness Class: Pathway to Yoga
Morning Zumba
9:00 am Fitness Class: Indoor Cycling
Morning Tai Chi
Watercolors Workshop
Book Club
Pickle Ball
Bible Study and Prayer
9:30 am Coffee with the Cruise Director
10:00 am Fitness Class: Body Sculpt Boot Camp
Sit, Knit, Needlework & More
Beginners Bridge Instruction
Upcoming Port Lecture: Santa Marta, Colombia
10:30 am Digital Workshop: Make Windows 10 Your Own
Basketball Challenge
11:00 am Emeralds Seminar
Cooking Demo
Ask Your Location Guide
Intermediate Bridge Instruction
11:30 am Ping Pong Tournament
Casino: Slot Tournament
Digital Workshop: Get Creative with Photo Gallery
11:45 am Team Trivia
1:00 pm Watercolors Workshop
Cooking Demo
1:30 pm Board Games
Casino: $60 Texas Hold’em Tournament
1:45 pm Duplicate Bridge
2:00 pm Lecture
Ask Your Location Guide
Chess and Scrabble
Basketball
2:30 pm Shuffleboard
Art and Crafts
Digital Workshop: Make Windows 10 Your Own
3:00 pm Classic Afternoon Tea
Dance Instruction
Afternoon Trivia
3:30 pm Digital Workshop: Get Creative with Photo Gallery
4:00 pm Friends of Bill W. Meet
Fitness Class: Core Conditioning Pilates
Happy Hour (2nd drink only $2)
4:30 pm Captain’s Champagne Welcome Reception for Early Seating
Cocktails and Ballroom Dancing
Digital Workshop: Q & A (get individual questions answered)
5:00 pm Fitness Class: Total Body Conditioning
Sip and Savor: Winetasting & HDO’s
Adagio Violin and Piano Duo: Sophisticated Classical Music
6:00 pm Captain’s Champagne Welcome Reception for Late Seating
6:15 pm Cocktails and Ballroom Dancing
6:30 pm Happy Hour (2nd drink only $2)
7:00 pm Piano Bar: Music, Requests, and Fun
7:30 pm LGBT Meet
Adagio Violin and Piano Duo: Sophisticated Classical Music
8:00 pm On Stage performance
Movie
8:45 pm Cocktails and Ballroom Dancing
Adagio Violin and Piano Duo: Sophisticated Classical Music
DJ Music and Dancing
9:00 pm Casino: Texas Hold’em Cash Game
Piano Bar: Music, Requests and Fun
10:00 pm On Stage performance
Movie
10:30 pm Casino: Paradise Lottery Drawing
11:30 pm Late Night Dancing
Santa Marta is a relatively new stop for the cruise lines. There are not a lot of well-developed tourist attractions here, although the home where liberator Simon Bolivar died in 1830 provided us with a summary of his accomplishments and a glimpse into domestic life during that period. Colombia’s Bank of the Republic has a small, priceless collection of pre-Columbian gold and pottery pieces which was beautifully exhibited in a lovely, air-conditioned gallery. The temps hovered around 100 degrees outside in Santa Marta today. It is amazing how personal comfort can add to one’s appreciation of a museum exhibit.
DAY 4—January 7, 2017—SANTA MARTA, COLOMBIA
Our first stop was Santa Marta along the beautiful northern coast of Colombia, looking out across the Caribbean Sea. Here is our ship docked at the cruise line pier. Such a pretty sight.
And, below, is the passengers’ route from the ship’s berth into the city. Ports are ports. Fancy travelers and shipping containers all share the same space.
Santa Marta is a relatively new stop for the cruise lines. There are not a lot of well-developed tourist attractions here, although the home where liberator Simon Bolivar died in 1830 provided us with a summary of his accomplishments and a glimpse into domestic life during that period. Colombia’s Bank of the Republic has a small, priceless collection of pre-Columbian gold and pottery pieces which was beautifully exhibited in a lovely, air-conditioned gallery. The temps hovered around 100 degrees outside in Santa Marta today. It is amazing how personal comfort can add to one’s appreciation of a museum exhibit.
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