Day 8

January 29, 2019 – at Sea

Today we are headed south along along the coast of South America. The seas are very calm and there is a nice breeze.

I was up early as usual. I like to read the paper and have coffee. The ship has wifi and all passengers can login through a browser on a phone, tablet, or laptop. The Holland America Navigator appears after a guest provides the proper credentials. Use of this is free and it is useful to:

• view the ship schedule
• book dining reservations
• book shore excursions
• view current account and bill
• chat with other guests

It is also possible to connect to the satellite internet. This is not free and is sold by use or by package. Three different speeds are available. We purchased the high speed and cruise duration package. It is possible to stream with this package but buffering interruptions are common. Only one device per account can use the internet at a time. This can be a challenge at times.

When one is retired and on vacation, time is meaningless. Thankfully the floor mats in the elevators are changed each day to help. I imagine before these mats, conversation in the elevator revolved around which day it is. Think of the absent minded player in a game of Euchre who asks “which suit is trump again?”.

We have been going to breakfast about 6:30 am and then up to the gym on sea days. Breakfast is served in the Dining Room, at the Lido Market, or room service. Guests can choose. We have been dining at the Lido Market which serves buffet style. The food has been very good and plenty of variety exists.

The gym is not very large but we find it adequate. The cardio equipment is placed in from of the windows and one has a beautiful view of the ocean while on the treadmill or elliptical trainers. There are machines, free weights and barbells. There is also a wooden floor where spin classes, pilates, or other classes are given. There are other classes at different locations around the ship. Some free. Some not. The locker rooms remind me of a very high end club. Showers, lockers, sauna. All available.

The lower promenade is where our room is located. It has a wooden deck all of the way around the ship. 3.5 laps around is a mile. People begin power walking and strolling as soon as the sun appears along this deck. We have chairs that are reserved for us in front of our door; we enjoy sitting, watching people and the ocean go by. Our room is on the starboard side of the ship. We will be headed West for a good portion of the trip and we will be looking North outside of our room. Today we head South and have the Western sky and sun. There are numerous locations around the ship to sit. The Lanai room that we have allows us to have easy access to our rooms as we enjoy sitting outside. For those who enjoy complete privacy, there are staterooms with balconies. There are also staterooms with just a window and inside cabins with no windows. After we booked the trip we upgraded form an inside cabin and are happy with our decision. The Lanai stateroom is brand new on the Amsterdam. They were added during a dry dock period last May.

The Grand World Voyage fills very quickly. 80% of the passengers aboard are repeat customers. The 2020 cruise is sold out. The 2021 cruise has a waiting list. There is an area on this ship where one can go to book future cruises. We have met many people who do the this cruise yearly and also do other cruises in between. Each year the itinerary is a bit different to keep things interesting for repeat cruisers. Retiring soon? Book now. Carmelle?

There are 200 crew members taking care of the 1400 passengers aboard. They are extremely friendly and helpful. Who wouldn’t want a warm, moist towel handed over on silver tongs as you stood in line for the tender on the way back from an excursion? Wipe off dust on your face. Warm towel in one hand, cool glass of lemonade in the other. Get the idea?

On the edge of the ship watching the Panama Canal go by? Why not enjoy a special Panama Roll and a cup of coffee brought to you on a platter. Think about anything you have done with a group of people and then imagine everything that could be complained about. Now imagine an answer to all of these possible complaints. We feel quite pampered.

The Captain is quite friendly and appears around the ship often. The entertainers mingle with guests also. Guests are older on this type of cruise and there are no children aboard. We have done the Carnival cruises in the past. 6000 passengers, 16 bars and a huge casino. Kids jamming the swimming pools. Not on this cruise. I do love kids but I like this atmosphere also. Maybe when the grand kids are a bit older we can go back and do one of those.

After the gym we sat outside, read and blogged. We did team trivia. Worst score yet. “This is the only creature that can turn its stomach inside out”. I don’t know why “starfish” didn’t come to mind. It must be common knowledge.

At lunch, we met with Bill the retired marine that we met at dinner last week and shared our excursion schedule with him. He will join us for three of our booked excursions.

At 2:30 a golf putting challenge was scheduled. We showed up and it was a ring toss game instead. I redeemed myself here after the trivia disaster and walked away the winner. The golf challenge is on for tomorrow. This is Terri’s forte.

Tonight is a black and white Gala night and costume ball. What a date I found!

We had dinner with a couple from Arizona. Brenda and Bob. We chose “open seating” for the cruise. It is also possible to choose the same table with the same folks every night. We like the variety. Bob was an engineer and current college adjunct professor. Brenda did volunteer work at a hospice. This is their first world cruise and we joked about all of the repeat cruisers aboard.

We did some dancing after dinner but I couldn’t help criticizing the quartet. It was obvious that they have never played together before this cruise. The bass player could only walk in one direction and the pianist ‘comped the same rhythm the entire tune. The vocalist was on the edge of many notes and the drummer was bored. They were all reading charts. Probably sight reading.

The Ball was at 10 pm. Way past our bedtime. The Station Band performed. They seem to really have the latin genre down cold. Their Motown review lacked the classic guitar and bass licks but the vocal harmonies were spot on. The rock and roll set didn’t have the drive necessary. We did enjoy it. It is hard not to analyze musical groups.

Tomorrow we arrive in Peru. Very late docking.