Disembarkation

Today I awoke at 5:30 am and by 6 am there was lots of action next door in the room stewards work area. 

LC and I went for one final breakfast in the Lido and it was very busy. Mom ordered breakfast in the room. 

On Holland America you can stay in your own stateroom while awaiting your time slot to disembark. I cleared out of my room and waited in Mom and LC's room so they started stripping down my room. At 8:15 we left our room and then sat in the Oceans Bar awaiting a porter and wheelchair for Mom. Those porters know the operation and the quickest way to move. By the time a porter pushed Mom we were probably through immigration in 15 minutes. 

An uber XL vehicle picked us up and we paid $16.58 for an uber (then added a $5 tip for our luggage)!  Much better than taking a $90 transfer through Holland America!

Our flight through Toronto seems to be on time. It will be good to be home with my family by 9 pm tonight!

What a wonderful vacation. 

Last Day at Sea

I awoke this morning with a phone call from LC advising me we had not moved our clocks back and it was indeed 8 am instead of 7 am. My sister had helpfully reminded me last night that we got an extra hour of sleep - only she was a day ahead of schedule!  I felt particularly groggy because I had taken a gravol to help me sleep - it was particularly rough at midnight last night when the movie ended. 

So off to the dining room we went for one final leisurely breakfast. Today is Shrove Tuesday (the day before Ash Wednesday) so Mom and I had pancakes for breakfast. 

Today there was a rather light offering of organized activities onboard the ship - that allowed ample time to pack up bags getting ready for our impending departure tomorrow. Instead Mom, LC and I went to the Lido deck for a swim and a hot tub in the morning. 

I attended Mariner's lunch in the dining room with Captain Emile de Vries (I and a few hundred other people)!  It was a lovely lunch which offered free champagne if that appeals to you. LC and I then went to a travel presentation entitled Travels with Ian on the World Stage. Our new Port Lecturer shared pictures of sites to see around the world. 

We then walked 3 laps for a mile around deck 3. We then collected Mom from the stateroom to go for a slushy drink around the pool and enjoy our last day!

One last supper in the dining room, a movie around the pool and a duelling pianos set at 9 pm and we were all done!

Our wonderful privileged vacation has come to an end. We are so very fortunate to have had the opportunity to spend such memorable family time together. We are blessed. 

Day at Sea

This morning I slept in until 7:30 am and it is the first day that I felt any noteworthy movement on the ship. The Koningsdam, with its 2600 passengers, is a big vessel and with the benefit of calm seas, has felt very stable for the entire cruise. 

Mom and LC joined me in the dining room for breakfast where we got a window seat (after LC requested one)!  Though the Koningsdam is a beautiful ship - the size is a bit big for Mom as our cabins are forward and the dining room is aft so it is always a long walk to go to the dining room for a meal. The Lido is more accessible and central (and one floor up from us) so that is a more manageable distance for Mom. 

LC and I walked the promenade deck - the best views from the promenade deck are at the back of the ship, the stern. Most of the starboard and port sides have views blocked by the lifeboats - so less people walk the promenade than other Holland America ships. There is a very small jogging track about deck 11 and of course treadmills in the fitness centre. It seems many of the fitness classes have a $12 or $20 charge associated with them. 

I spent the morning in the Culinary Arts Centre - at 10 am for a comedic presentation by Cruise Director Carson and at 11am by the pastry chef decorating with marzipan. 

The three of us then ate lunch on the Lido deck. I have chicken Caesar salad - I figure I better have salads at lunch to make up for desserts at dinner!

LC and I attended an "Ask the Captain" session with Captain Emil De Vries on the world stage, where we had a virtual tour of the command centre and engine room. Mom paid $45 to have her hair done for formal night. I then made my way to Lincoln Centre stage for a presentation by the quintet. Cruise Director introduced the artists of Lincoln Centre Stage for a question and answer session. 

The five ladies in the quintet are on the Koningsdam for a 4 month contract. They each auditioned (2 violins, 1 viola, cellist and pianist) and were selected to be a part of the quintet. They practised together 2 weeks on land then came onboard to perform. And they are fabulous. After this 25 minute question and answer session they performed "From Piaf to Peanuts". 

People are committed to this stage - if you wanted a seat for the performance you HAD to be seated for the question and answer session!

The quintet performance was excellent - it moved me to tears. It reminded me that I love to play the piano. I took lessons for ten years and have grade VIII Royal Conservatory in piano and don't play enough anymore. The quintet added on one song at the end in tribute to their colleagues and friends, the dance troupe is performing for the final time tonight as there contract ends with this cruise on March 1st. They performed the song in the afternoon so that the dancers could hear it as both groups would be performing tonight. 

I collected Mom and LC in their verandah room to head up to the Lido deck. Holland America has a bit of a profiteering idea - they close the ice cream shop and leave the gelato station open. Ice cream is free - gelato is an extra $2 for an 8 oz serving and $2.75 for a 12 oz serving. I did have a small cherry gelato and it really was superb. 

Tonight was the second and final gala or formal night. It seems that fewer people are dressing up for these occasions now. Many men wore jackets with ties but a number were without ties and a few in just shirt sleeves. Women wore long gowns, knee length dresses and even dress pants. 

In the menu tonight was surf and turf and it was delicious!  The flourless chocolate cake was the best dessert I have eaten on the cruise. 

The production called "Off the Charts" on the World Stage wss performed in the round and I chose to take a front seat on the stage!!

We closed out the day with a viewing of the movie featuring Warren Beatty as Howard Hughes!

A full day at sea indeed!  We are so very fortunate to have had this time cruising together!

Aruba

What a busy day this has been. We met up with private tour guide, Frances, whom we found through "Tours by Locals" - they are a Canadian based company and offer tours in a number of countries around the world. In this case, we are in Aruba. Hiring a private guide for just the three of us was a good decision as today is Carnival - and many streets are closed. Frances knew how to manoeuvre around this all!

We started with a tour of sites in Oranjestad.  

 The island measures about 12 km by 30 km and is 25 km away from Venezuela. 

We headed to see the Casi Bari Rock formation near the town of Santa Cruz.   

The town of Santa Cruz has the claim to fame that Betico Croes is from here. He took Aruba out of the Dutch West Indies - they were fed up with the dominance of Curaçao and so separated in 1986. 

There is a desalination plant in Balashi. First time visitors are told they must try a Balashi Cocktail- and that is a glass of water!  Balashi also makes one of the three local beers. 

Frances took us to a beautiful local beach called Mangel Halto Beach near the town of Pos Chiquito. There are mangroves, snorkelling and shadey spots!  I learned the thatched roof umbrellas are called palapas. 

Aruba bus transportation is good - a trip from the ship to the resorts (and common beaches) costs $4.50. A day pass costs $10. 

We headed west and visited Alto Vista Chapel where there was a labrynth in the yard. Mom lit a candle in memory of Dad. We had a chuckle as Mom nearly burnt the church down trying to light the candle!!

We stopped at Tierra Del Sol for a bathroom break and our guide told us that ship's tours will bring guests here for a day trip. Looked like a lovely resort and pool overlooking the ocean. 

Other beaches we passed included Arushi Beach. This was very busy. Boca Katalina offers great snorkelling. San Nicholas has Baby Beach and that is a great place to take kids snorkelling. 

The geology student in our house would have been interested in seeing the volcanic rock that erupted some 80 million years ago and coral remains!  Sorry - I was not allowed to take a sample of what remains!

The California Lighthouse is at the far west end of the island. It is named for the ship California that sank there after reportedly failing to respond to the calls for help sent out by the Titanic. 

Frances then drove us to Eagle Beach area where Mom and I went in for a swim. Mom found the surf a little too strong for her to feel comfortable in the water so I walked her out the floated for a few minutes. Refreshed, we returned to her vehicle and headed back to the ship. 

Just before we stopped at Eagle Beach, Frances mentioned we were passing her local bakery and I asked her to stop!  We all clambered out and bought an individual bun that was fresh and a little something to hold is over until supper tonight!

We enjoyed swimming in a quiet section of Eagle Beach!

Frances dropped us off about 1 block away from pier exit and then walked us across the Carnival parade route - still no sign of the parade so we could safely return to the ship!

After a shower and cleanup LC and I returned to the Aruba wifi zone and paid $5 for an hour of free high speed wifi. $10 for the day. We walked out into the street hoping to see the parade and many tourists and locals lined the streets by no parade yet to enjoy. 

So we returned to the ship and LC showered and I updated my blog!

We enjoyed dinner in the dining room followed by by the BBC documentary called Frozen Earth. The footage was filmed in the Artic and Antarctica over four years and accompanied by live musicians. 

We raced to the big screen over the pool to see the Oscars begin at 8 pm. Fun to watch - we had a cabana on the tenth deck to watch the action. By 11 pm we still weren't through 50% of the awards so we headed to bed. 

It has been a great day!

Curaçao

Because I went to bed at 9:30 pm last night I woke up at 6 am without an alarm!  I started walking on deck 3 on the Promenade but found the deck too wet from cleaning to go too quickly so I headed up the stairs to deck 9 and went to the fitness centre to use a treadmill to get a great view of the docking process at Curaçao.  

After a shower I went to the dining room for breakfast while Mom ordered breakfast into the room and LC ate breakfast at the Lido. We had arrangements to meet with the brother of a colleague of LC's and he has lived here for 34 years. We were privileged to tour the island in his private vehicle. 

The island of Curaçao is about 15 km wide by 60 km in length. The eastern tip of the island is owned privately and not open to the public. Our private guide headed through the city of Willemstad and headed West. We stopped to buy two coconuts to drink the coconut water - they cost the equivalent of $1.75 US. 

Because this is Carnival weekend a number of facilities were closed so we kept on driving and stopped at two beautiful beaches - Small Knip Beach and Big Knip Beach!  Small Knip Beach had snorkellers and divers and a few families swimming. 

There were many umbrellas and chairs on the beach available to use.   A local was cooking chicken for sale too - but had no bathroom facilities. We did use the facilities at big Knip - we paid about $5 US for four of us to use the bathroom. 

We then went for lunch at Restaurant Landhuis in Klein Santa Martha. It was perched on the hill overlooking an inlet to the ocean. We ate outdoors, thankfully in the shade because it was 30 degrees Celcius. What a delightful setting for a laid back lunch!  Nothing happens quickly in Curaçao but the chicken stew I had was delicious!

After lunch we were fortunate enough to see some flamingos in he wild. What a thrill!

Cos Abou Beach near Bandabou was our guides favorite beach (24 km West of Willemstad) - it is great for snorkelling and has bathrooms, umbrellas, the works!

As we returned to Willemstad we saw great amounts of  traffic going the opposite direction, because of the Carnival. The parade is taking place tomorrow but people save up their money all year long to put towards this event - costumes, food, drink, buying a permit to build a viewing area for their friends along the Carnival route. 

We then drove up to Fort Nassau to get a great view of the city.  Our private tour drew to a close in the Punda district - the Unesco World Heritage site.  We loved all the buildings with Dutch architecture and the Caribbean colours!  We thanked our guide with a gift of Canadian products and some money in a thank you card. I am sure he didn't want anything but we appreciated his 6 hours of time and customized your just for us!

After a bit of shopping in Punda Mom and LC took a taxi back to the ship and I walked across the floating bridge to the ship. 

A shower and change of clothes was needed from the heat of the day and we were ready to enjoy supper in the dining room. We don't leave port until 11 pm so LC and I are walking off the ship to use the free wifi  to try to post this blog tonight!

Bonaire

Today's alarm was set for 6:30 am to ensure I had plenty of time to meet up with the private snorkel excursion with Woodwind Bonaire. Mom and LC met me and the three of us ate breakfast in the Lido at 7 am. Around 7:30 am we took time to watch the process of docking the ship - a very interesting process!  I returned to my room to do final preparations for my snorkelling and at 8:15 I discovered I was to be at the meeting point at 8:20!  Yikes!  How did I miss that?  I thought 8:45 was the designated meeting time!

So I grabbed my already packed backpack and my ship card and raced off the ship!  I hurriedly ran down the pier to meet up with the group and learned there were others behind me so I took the time to stop at the bathroom. My two cruise critic friends fom Florida welcomed me and brought me up to speed to learn I had missed nothing.  

Owner Dee welcomed the 24 guests on board the Woodwind Bonaire ship - well maybe catamaran is a better term!  She reviewed snorkelling basics and signals. We were each divided into 3 groups and partnered with a leader of each small group.  We all the option of wearing a wetsuit or an SPF shirt. Woodwind Bonaire also offers prescription masks from -1 to - 8 corrective lenses. I had my own mask and snorkel but borrowed some fins from Dee. I was partnered with Dee in the third group, partly because I was a solo traveller. 

Dee would get our attention above water then free size down and point up close to the marine life, then resurface to tell us about the animal or plant. She identified hawksbill turtle ( out of season now as their season is May through January), barracuda, snapper, parrot fish and a whole host of other ocean life. 

 We completed took two drift dives around Klein Bonaire. Drifting is very easy in that th current moves you along as it will and the. Out picks you up perhaps 45 minutes or an hour later. Klein bonaire s a protected marine park where there will never be any development. There was also a photographer snorkelling with us that took pictures of the fish and the snorkellera. You could buy a CD from him for $35. I saved my money!

I was pleasantly surprised to see they served us a lunch of noodles, chicken and veggies along with some cake after our second snorkel. I drank several glasses of water and a sprite - but there were alcoholic options available complimentary. Total cost of the tour was $65 US (plus cash tips are appreciated at the end). 

The tour ended no sooner than 12:45 and that was exactly the meetig time of the complimentary excursion. For a number of reasons I decided to give it a pass. One reason was in my haste I forgot to grab a dry shirt and towel so I was a bit cool after boating on the return. 

Instead I stopped at a beach front bar and ordered a virgin piña Coloda to get some free wifi and catch up on emails that require attention. Sounds like it's snowing at home. 

Upon returning to the ship, I ran into LC who was leaving the ship to go do a little shopping. She and Mom had done a trolley tour through town that didn't go far and wide but gave them a brief overview. I turned around and joined LC looking at some local shops. The Elements jewellery store had a better selection of earrings than did the shop in the Domican Republic. 

As we walked around the little market the heat of the day was very evident. LC and I stopped for a cool drink at a little bar by the market ( maybe it was called Abu noobi)?  There LC had a bottle of water and I had a pineapple juice for $4.75 total and wifi seemed pretty fast once we actually logged on. 

I was crying for a shower by that point so was happy to return to the ship about 4 pm.  Service in the dining room with Sulton and Marga was very attentive, if not one of my favourite dishes. I found the red snapper too dry for my liking - maybe I swallowed too much  salt water while snorkelling and that affected my taste buds!

The dancers were kept very busy with their performance of Musicology. On the backstage tour yesterday, I learned these dancers and singers are getting off the ship in Fort Lauderdale after this cruise as there contracts are up!  We will get to see their final performances.

LC and I were tired so we all retuired to the verandah room where I typed the blog, LC did some organizing and Mom watched the Big Band Theory. 

At Sea

Today was our first day at sea!  Hip, hip, hooray!  I set my alarm for 7 am and went to the fitness centre where I found a treadmill and did some weights. I had a  shower where I didn't get my hair wet.  Mom, LC and I met at 8:15 to enjoy breakfast in the dining room. I always enjoy the fresh orange juice they serve and meeting other travellers at a shared table. For breakfast I had fruit and cottage cheese as well as a dish of muesli. 

Straight after breakfast, at 9:30 am, I went to the culinary arts centre to see fruit and vegetable carving demonstrated.

 Then at 10 am I raced to the world stage at the opposite end of the ship,but still on deck 2, to hear the location guide Ryan talk about the ports of Bonaire, Curaçao and Aruba.  At the end of the presentation the excursion guide said to look at the seat we were sitting in. I found an empty seat next to me with a sticker on it and turned it in for a port excursion in Bonaire. It is for a 1 pm sail and snorkel in Bonaire. I had booked a private excursion drift snorkelling in the morning with Woodwind Bonaire who offer excellent trips. So I will snorkel in the morning and if I have the energy, I will snorkel again in the afternoon!

I attended a Cruise Critic Meeting at 11 am in the Crowsnest Lounge.   I met two other passengers from Florida  who will be snorkelling with me on the private excursion in Bonaire. Fellow CC members just talked about what they enjoyed about the Koningsdam - and it made me want to try the Culinary Arts Centre Meal, called Farm to Table!

The three of us went up to the Lido Deck on 9 for lunch - I grabbed a Caesar salad again and tried the sugar free Pistachio pudding. LC and Mom both had salads and different desserts - as LC says, "I rewarded myself for having a salad by having two desserts!"

In the afternoon Mom laid down for a rest while I went and had a backstage tour of the World Stage. Singers Jonathan and Michael were quite vocal in sharing stories, while dancers Katie (Btitain), Victoria and Vladmir (Kiev) were a little more reserved. The World Stage theatre cost $10 million to build and there isn't a permanent theatre anywhere in the world that can rival it. The singers were not lip syncing and but were singing live.  

It really was a day full of activities - even if this activities were enjoying a drink sitting on the couches on deck 10 overlooking the pool!  Mom and enjoyed watching flower arranging in the Oceans bar.  I took the time to shower and clean up for formal night. The dining room menu didn't appeal to LC and I so the three of us made a reservation for Tamarind - the Asian restaurant. Normally this is priced at $25 per person but as. 4 star Mariner we get extra meals like this at 1/2 price!  It was delicious!

We then raced off to the world stage for the 7:15 show and found not a single seat available. We headed over to the Lincoln Stage to enjoy the Quintet again - it too, had no seats, so we settled in the Billboard lounge across the way. The Commonwealth twin sisters joined us again. We had some great conversation and took on the music trivia challenge together. The Brits on the team solidly answered 14 of our 15 questions about the Beatles and LC answered the 15th. We scored a perfect 15!

I was left holding down the fort for the tiebreaker music trivia question while the twins went to their dinner reservation and LC and Mom wen to get seats in the world stage. Of course I lost without any. True Bestle trivia knowledge!  We enjoyed the show with a ventriloquist and musical impersonator. 

I took in the late showing of the movie Florence Foster Jenkins, starting Meryl Streep and Hugh Grant. Early to rise tomorrow morning for snorkelling in Bonaire!