February 3, 2018 Our journey begins, Marietta to Fort Lauderdale
We actually started celebrating last evening, with the Stewarts, Judy Meadows, and Mom, as we wished Judy an early birthday! Teri, as the Executive Chef, prepared a fabulous chicken picatta dinner, along with TWO cakes - vanilla/chocolate for Judy, and carrot cake for me! It was a wonderful evening, and great way to begin our journey.
Saturday morning, we left our home at 0615 hours for the ATL airport. Alan took advantage of a great parking garage, Peachy, followed by a quick shuttle to the airport where we checked in with minimal effort. Our flight was uneventful, which is always a good thing! We had a bit of a wait at the terminal for Holland America's shuttle to our airport, but eventually we arrived at the lovely Harbor Beach Marriott. We enjoyed a delicious lunch at the Ocean View Restaurant, then Rob took his retirement nap, while Teri, Alan and I strolled along the beach! We saw several para sailors taking advantage of the gusty winds while we collected many steps.
Back at the hotel, we called Uber to take us to Las Olas for dinner. We had a delightful driver, Michael, who recommended several restaurants, which we checked out, and eventually selected Big City Tavern. Great pick!
February 4, 2018 Fort Lauderdale, FL
We enjoyed breakfast in the Starbucks located within the hotel, then quickly called Uber, rather than opt for the Holland America transfer which we learned would be transporting over 150 guests! Luckily, that turned out to be the best decision of the day, because shortly after we were checked into the Westerdam, a security breach occurred and delayed embarkation for 2-1/2 hours! Meanwhile, we dropped our luggage off in our stateroom, 6145, enjoyed lunch, explored the ship, and eventually took place in the dreaded life boat drill. Once back in the room, our luggage arrived, we unpacked, and Rob napped while I joined the Stewarts for a sail away drink on the Lido deck. Unfortunately, we didn't sail away for quite some time because of the interrupted embarkation.
We enjoyed a fabulous first dinner at Table 21 with Manga and Gerry, as well as our friendly wine steward, Anthony. And, our journey begins!
February 5, 2018 - Half Moon Cay
Lots of glorious sunshine as we spend the day in Half Moon Cay. Rob opted to stay on the ship, while Teri, Alan, and I walked the beach, then swam in the beautiful Caribbean Sea. While swimming, we had lots of visitors (beautiful fish) and the talented musicians from the BB King Lounge!
Back on the ship, we had lunch with Rob, then hit the gym! Back in our stateroom, Rob and I enjoyed balcony time as we watched the world sail by! Once again, we were delayed sailing due to a medical debarkation. My heart hurt for that passenger! After dinner, we enjoyed the music in the BB King lounge, and even danced a bit!
February 6, 2018 - Day at Sea
After breakfast, we enjoyed watching the sea birds from the Crow's Nest! Then, it was time to attend the Port Lectures, and decide on some excursions. Rob agreed to accompany me on a Zip Lining excursion while in Costa Rica! Need to cross that one of my Bucket List, and everyone keeps insisting that the zip lining in Costa Rica is amazing! After lunch, Teri and I attended the Shopping Talk, and decided that we HAD to purchase emeralds and coffee while in Columbia! Definitely, a "Can't not" - right? Next lecture was the history of Cartagena, which was very fascinating. I attended an Abs class in the Fitness Center, then walked the promenade deck for extra cardio. Tonight's Gala Dinner was fabulous, and to top the evening, more dancing in the BB King Lounge.
February 7, 2018 - Day at Sea
We truly enjoy our breakfasts in the Dining Room! Afterwards, Rob worked on emails, while I attended the Port Talks. We decided to sign up for three more excursions, so our days in port are taken care of. After lunch, I attended the History of the Panama Canal presentation, then checked on my email. Back to the Fitness Center for another Abs Class with "J" which is a great motivator! Back in the room, Rob got his weekly haircut then we headed to dinner. Tonight, we watched the incredibly talented crew perform a great show, which included "Uptown Funk" and "Some Nights" which made us think of David and Lily! We sure do miss them!
February 8, 2018 - Cartagena, Columbia
Because we have a short day in this port, we decided to have breakfast in the room, before heading into town at 0800 hours. The walk to the taxi stand was quite entertaining with beautiful macaws, ant eaters, flamingoes, black swans and various gorgeous plants. Our sweet taxi driver, Frank, took us to one of the recommended emerald factories/stores where his daughter just happened to work. Score! I am now the proud owner of beautiful emerald earrings and pendant thanks to my generous husband's birthday gift! We then went to the "Coffee and" store where I purchased several bags of Columbian coffee to take home! Traffic in Cartagena is CRAZY! Actually, I spent most of the taxi ride with my eyes closed; however, the few times I had them opened, I observed a very clean, but crowded city. Our driver was extremely proud of the baseball players from his city, especially the players on, drum roll, the Atlanta Bravas, as he called them. He said that soccer was the favored sport in the northern part of Columbia, but baseball was the number one sport in his warm, year round sunny city of Cartagena.
Back on the ship, we enjoyed salads for lunch, which has become our daily lunch, then I spent some time by the pool before heading to my gym class. Rob napped and read. He's plowing through many books on this trip.
After another awesome dinner, we headed back to the room for tomorrow's early wake up call of 0530 hours (yikes) to witness our crossing of the Panama Canal!
February 9, 2018 - Crossing the Panama Canal
We were all perched in the Crow's Nest at 0600 hours to witness our entry into the first locks of the Panama Canal! Luckily, thoughtful Alan had raced up to the Crow's Nest to secure the "perfect seats" for our trip! The treat of the morning was "Panama Rolls" which are custard filled rolls topped with powder sugar. They are also VERY filling, when coupled with a cup of hot coffee. So, being well fortified, we were ready to witness this Bucket List journey. The pilot and narrator boarded the ship in Colon, Panama, and stayed with us until we sailed under the Bridge of Americas at the conclusion of the Panama Canal. It was truly a day I will always remember and treasure. I'm grateful that the ship provided plenty of history and information regarding this amazing construction, because although I had taught the building of the Panama Canal for many years, there was still so much to learn. The French originally began the construction in 1880, but financial troubles and diseases made the initiative fail. The United States resumed construction in 1903 and finished the canal on August 15, 1914 primarily due to the pressure from President Theodore Roosevelt. The American government returned to Panama Canal to the country of Panama on December 31, 1999. It cost our cruise ship over $350,000 for the passage through the Canal. The passage must be paid in cash before entering the canal, AND a pilot must accompany the ship. The lowest price ever charged was 36 cents to the gentleman who actually swam the canal. The passage is determined by the number of passengers, length of vessel, and in our case, the number of berths on board. Since its opening in 1914, more than one million ships from all over the world have transited the Canal. This interoceanic waterway uses a system of locks with two lanes that operates as water elevators, raising the ships from sea level to the Gatun Lake, 26 meters above sea level to allow the crossing through the Continental Divide, and the lowers the ships to sea level on the other side of the Isthmus. The water used to raise and lower the vessels in each set of locks comes from the Gatun Lake by gravity and poured into the locks through a mail culvert system that extends under the locks' chambers from the sidewalls and the center wall. We traveled through the Gatun Locks (3), Pedro Miguel Locks (2) and Miraflores Locks (2) before entering the Bay of Panama and Pacific Ocean. We could see, but did not enter the new Panama Canal Expansion, inaugurated in 2016. The "mules" Mitsubishi cars, costing between 2 and 3 million dollars, safely guide the ships through the locks. Amazingly, two rowers come out to the ship in a small row boat, to throw the guide ropes onto the cruise ship! We all took turns viewing the journey from various parts of the ship, while one person always remained in our "perch" to save seats. What a day!
February 10, 2018 - A Day at Sea
Today, we slept in, then enjoyed breakfast in the Lido. It's going to be a quiet, restful day after spending many "awake" hours during our Panama Canal crossing. Rob is napping, while I catch up on this blog post. I'll add pictures once we are back home because the Internet on board the ship simply can't keep up with the picture posts.
I've started reading "Anything is Possible" by Elizabeth Strout, which is the Oprah featured book here on the ship. On our last sea day will have a book club discussion of this novel. So, I took my book out to the pool deck and enjoyed a fabulous afternoon reading!
Our new "happy hour" destination is the Gallery Bar before we head off to wonderful dinners. And, another glorious day at sea ends!
February 11, 2018 - Puntarenas, Costa Rica
Today is another day to cross off a Bucket List item - zip-lining! So, after breakfast, we head off to the Main Stage Lounge for our trip. We board the bus and notice the extreme poverty; however, the locals seem very happy and proud of their country. After an hour's drive, we arrive at The Original Canopy Zip-Line to "channel our inner-Tarzan as we zip line from tree to tree along a series of 10 observations platforms (9 in the trees, 1 on the ground) and 9 horizontal traverses. I loved every second of this adventure! Rob seemed to aggravate his previously injured knee, so we made a little ice packet, propped up his knee, and had him take some Advil. P18erhaps one should not zip-line at age 70? We turned in his ticket for tomorrow's excursion so he can rest that knee.
February 12, 2018 - Cortinto, Nicaragua
After breakfast, I went to the Main Stage for my excursion to Leon. The ride took almost two hours through a variety of country side including several volcanoes. Eventually, we arrived at Leon University's Botanic Garden. This 30-acre garden seeks to safeguard some of its iconic species, including 1,200 plant species and 80 species of birds. We walked approximately one mile on a trail through the garden seeing the different groups of plants, trees and vegetation from the tropical dry forest and savannah. Afterwards, we stopped at Leon's Central Park, where the cathedral and main market are located. I opted NOT to tour the top of the cathedral where shoes and socks needed to be removed in order to prevent damage to the property. Something about walking around in bare feet where zillions of other folks have walked in bare feet for many, many years. So, instead I walked over to the local McDonald's to use their Wi-Fi. I napped on the bus ride back to the ship. Rob and I then enjoyed a salad and iced coffee until time to get ready for dinner. We went to bed fairly early due to tomorrow's excursion.
February 13, 2018 - Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala
We enjoyed breakfast in the Lido since the dining room would not be opened in time to eat and then meet for our excursion at 0810 hours. Rob had planned to stay on the ship today, so this gave him extra time to rest his knee. Meanwhile, Teri, Alan, and I boarded a comfy bus for our 90-minute ride to Antigua. It was so fascinating to see several of the active volcanoes! We also noticed that Guatemala seemed more developed than the previous other two Central American countries. Guatemala as 37 volcanoes, and three of them are active. We had a very interesting walking tour around the former capital of Guatemala. The capital was moved due to constant earthquakes due to the active volcanoes. While on our walking tour, we had the equivalent of a walking mall accompany us trying to sell us everything from scarves to handcrafted ornaments! I must admit, their salesmanship was quite impressive! Teri and Alan purchased a lovely watercolor from a local artist, and we all purchased some cocoa at a local store. We then boarded our bus for a thirty minute drive to Filadelfia Coffee Estate, established in 1870. This coffee bean estate includes a lovely resort on 1,700 acres of prime coffee bean farms, a zip line, horse back riding, and an event venue which had just housed a HUGE Jewish wedding. After a restroom stop, we headed to the resort for an amazing lunch that included steak from Texas, corn, potatoes, guacamole, black beans, tortillas, chips, salsa, lemonade, coffee mouse, and coffee! Next, we visited the coffee bean plant nursery to learn all about have this coffee estate graphs two different type of coffee bean plants to create their unique coffee plants. We learned SOOOO much about coffee. This particular producer only exports about 30% of the beans grown, with the top beans going to Japan, Taiwan, Great Britain, and Starbucks. We were taught how to pick only the ripest beans, the red ones, and the process that eventually leads to these beans being brewed. The beans at Filadelfia are handpicked with the pickers starting over approximately every three weeks until all the beans are picked. The beans are harvested from November through March. A fascinating note - the best beans sink to the bottom of the soaking barrel, and the worse beans float to the top where they are used to make instant coffee. Our tour guide said that the BEST way to drink coffee is a medium roast with nothing added! So, I purchased two bags! We then boarded our bus with our tour guide, Gus, for the two hour trip back to the ship. Along the way, Gus told each of us our Mayan sign. I'm a rabbit!
Back on the pier, we did a bit of shopping. I purchased these adorable hummingbird ornaments for our family, while Teri and Alan bought jade jewelry. The port shopping was actually quite nice.
After iced coffees, Rob and I returned to our stateroom for his haircut and to get ready for dinner. Once again, Holland America provided a fabulous meal. We then went to the BB King Lounge for a few songs before heading the Main Stage for an incredible production with amazing special effects with the production crew. Gotta love this cruising!
February 14, 2018 - Perto Chiapas, Mexico
Happy Valentines Day! And what a gloriously, beautiful day! We enjoyed breakfast with yet another lovely couple from Seattle, Audrey and Dick. Then, we found Teri and Alan at our usual meeting place at the Crow's Nest. Teri and I decided to go out to the port tiki hut to see if Alan and Rob should check it out. Originally, we were supposed to be in Acapulco today, but Holland America removed it from the itinerary due to unsafe conditions, which was unfortunate since Alan found this cruise specifically because of Acapulco as he and Teri had honeymooned there.
So, I'm updating our blog while Rob watches a movie. We enjoyed a fabulous dinner, and Rob had the most amazing dessert - a chocolate shaped box filled with a whipped cream. The presentation was perfect!
February 15 - 16, 2018 - Days at Sea
Luxurious, relaxing days at sea, spending time on our balcony, sipping coffee in the Crow's Nest, and enjoying the gorgeous, balmy weather. I did participate in the "On Deck for the Cure" 5K Race to raise money for cancer research. The weather was perfect, and the ship's cruise director, Kerry, said that this was the largest participation in the ship's history.
February 17, 20 18 - Cabos San Lucas
We arrived at 0700 hours, so we had an early breakfast in the Lido before meeting the Stewarts to stroll down town. Our ship was tendered into the lovely port, which actually was one of the prettiest ports we've ever entered. First stop, a straw market so Teri and Alan could find a dice shaker to replace the one they bought on their honey moon 40 years ago. Success! They also found some pretty silver and pottery. We purchased a "Pittsburgh Steelers" poncho-type backpack for David. We kept walking into down to hopefully find some artwork for the Stewart's, but finally gave up, and had iced coffee at Soloman's. I walked over to Milano's to look for a piece of jewelry since Rob was insistent upon purchasing something for me. Immediately, I found a gorgeous Tanzenite pendant, which I'll put to good use. We then hustled over to catch our catamaran for our whale watching excursion. We found the perfect seats on the upper deck, and enjoyed every second of our fantastic trip. We saw sea lions and plenty of whales. All of us decided that the whales did not offer the same show that we saw in Alaska, but, nonetheless, they were still amazing!
Back on ship for our 2:00 PM sail away, we enjoyed salads, then everyone went to relax. I opted to spend time out on the back deck, reading in the sunshine, while Teri, Alan, and Rob went to the Crow's Nest for coffee. Afterwards, I worked out at the gym, then enjoyed a stretch class. It was another Gala Night, so the menu was extra special with surf and turf. Teri, Alan, and I retreated to the BB King Lounge while Rob returned to the cabin to read. I also attended the entertainment staff's presentation, which was marvelous with all the incredible special effects!
February 18, 2018 - Last Day at Sea
Sigh.....how does two weeks pass so quickly? After a delicious breakfast, we spent time up in the Crow's Nest while the ship sailed on water that looked like glass! Unfortunately, the temps outside have cooled down with the passing cold front, but who cares since we were nice and comfy. Back in the room, it was time to pack to go home. Our luggage was already placed on the bed, ready to complete the dreaded task. Luckily, all of our laundry was back in the room, and we packed in record time. Now, it's time to update this blog while Rob naps.
