DAY 28 — February 1, 2017 — Cruising the North Pacific to the MARSHALL ISLANDS

Jane gives up on trying to treat her cold with Dayquil/Nyquil and spends three hours in the ship’s medical Center being diagnosed with acute airway obstruction, getting a Nebulizer treatment and meds, and leaving with a $336 bill.

It is nice to know the ship has a fully equipped medical facility and an Intensive Care Unit.  Two doctors and two nurses are on-board to provide potential treatment to 1100 passengers and 500+ crew members.  But getting sick on a cruise can be pretty expensive and insurance may or may not reimburse.  Plus, at their prerogative, the doctors can isolate you in your cabin until they decide you can rejoin the general population AND they can put you off the ship at the next port if they feel you need more treatment than they can provide.  There is no arguing with that decision.

DAY 29 — February 2, 2017 — Majuro,  MARSHALL ISLANDS

Our visit to Majuro in the Marshall Islands was a first for everyone.  A large coral atoll of 64 islands (in the Marshall Islands), it has never been on the list of must-see ports in the Pacific Ocean and HAL actually didn’t have anything planned for us to do there.  The Visitor’s Bureau of  Majuro had other ideas and gave us a big welcome, sending shuttle buses to pick us up at the port and delivering us to the park in the town center, where they had set up a performance tent, offering us music, dance, food, and crafts all day.

Students from the local schools sported t-shirts designed especially for welcoming the ms Amsterdam.  It was a HOT, HOT day but everyone had a great time.

The Bikini Atoll Town Hall is also located in Majuro since it cannot be located on the Bikini Atoll.  That circle of 23 coral islands was rendered uninhabitable by the detonation of 23 US nuclear devices between 1946-1958, during the Cold War nuclear arms race with the Soviet Union.  This is the beginning of our immersion into the WWII Pacific theatre history, with visits to Guam and Saipan to follow in a few days.

The town of Majuro is working on its tourist attractions.