All Good Things Must End

February 11, 2023

After a lousy night's sleep (and Bob admitted he struggled too) I was awake at 6 am, well before the three alarms I had set went off. The ship was just pulling into Port Everglades as we dressed and packed our last few items.

At the buffet, I savored each bite of my eggs benedict and fresh berries at breakfast knowing that things would change very soon. I'm not sure we will even be able to AFFORD eggs when we get home!! 😏 Bob and I joked that it might be cheaper to keep cruising just to get eggs! 

At exactly 7:45 on the dot we left our cabin and went down to deck 2 to leave the ship. There was no luggage to collect since we were doing the Luggage Direct option. In the terminal we zig-zagged through a taped off queue for customs but never stopped walking. At the front of the line were several face detectors and once your face was scanned you were given a green light if your photo matched what was on file. From there we were directed past the custom agents, but told not to stop. There were no questions to answer and we did not show our passports.

It was 8 am when we walked out of the terminal and called an Uber. (Sailor Steve walked by as we were standing there and we said good-bye.) By 8:20 we were in line for the security screening at the Ft. Lauderdale airport. Unfortunately at that point things came to a standstill. Our flight wasn't scheduled to leave until 1:25 pm and that was FIVE hours away. 

The gate area was extremely crowded and filled with lots of "coughers". One guy sitting across from us was coughing and clearing his throat so often that we got up and moved. Bob and I had taken a Covid test before leaving the ship just to make sure we weren't bringing any unwanted "souvenirs" home with us. What a shame if we stayed healthy for three weeks of cruising only to get sick in the airport waiting for our flight home.

The flight left on time and was totally full...every single seat was occupied. At least Bob and I were able to get seats together. Sitting across from us was a guy and two gals with a total of 4 kids...and two of the kiddos were babies. The guy seemed to be helping with all four of the kids and we speculated...did he have two wives? Maybe the two women were sisters? Who knows. What I do know is that the seven of them were quite the circus. They kept shuffling their seats in an effort to keep the kids under control. During one of the temper tantrums, one of the younger kids threw a bottle of formula across the aisle and hit Bob.

Our flight landed a few minutes early in Austin, Texas but then there was a delay getting off the plane. Our layover was so short that all we had time to do was rush to the bathroom and then get lined up to board the next flight to Minneapolis. That flight had 35 empty seats and Bob and I were able to have a row with a vacant middle seat. Yay! I finished watching a movie I had downloaded onto my iPad and then watched live TV using the SWA wi-fi connection. The majority of the passengers were from the Eden Prairie, MN, high school orchestra. We figured out they had been in Florida for some kind of music competition. 

Our son and his family had spent the day at the Mall of America which is near the MSP airport. They were there to go to Nickelodeon Universe, the indoor amusement park at the mall. Our daughter-in-law had left to take the kids home but our son (who had driven our car) hung out at the mall until our flight landed. He had been nice enough to keep our car at his house while we were gone and even provided a spot in his large shop where our car stayed warm and dry through the lousy winter weather that had been happening. He timed our pickup perfectly and arrived at the airport just as we were walking out of the terminal with our luggage. It was nice to crawl into a warm car since neither of us had a coat!

After a quick stop at Jimmy John's to pick up sub sandwiches, we were at our son's house west of the metro area in a little less than an hour. There was quite a bit of snow on the ground, but the temps were above freezing...much warmer than what they had experienced while we were gone!

Our grandsons were still awake when we arrived, but were very tired from their long day at the mall. Bob gave them the conch shells that he had picked up and then they were off to bed.

February 12, 2023

We didn't hang around long the next morning before starting the three hour drive back home. I was still a little paranoid that we might have picked up Covid (or some other variety of virus) sitting in the airport all day and didn't want to chance giving it to anyone. Also it was Super Bowl Sunday and our son & family had plans for the afternoon.

Our drive home looked a lot like what we had driven in over three weeks earlier at the beginning of our trip...a little snowy and very foggy. After seeing a few cars off in the ditch, we took our time and made it home safely.

All in all the trip was great. As I am writing this post a few weeks later, I can report that neither of us got sick at all. For the most part, the cruise felt closer to pre-pandemic times although "not quite normal" yet. We took part in activities regardless of the crowds but did wear masks when we were indoors around other people. I know from reading comments on a Facebook group I was part of, that others did come down with Covid after our Zaandam cruise (and I'm sure on the Nieuw Statendam too.) 

It was impossible to not make comparisons between our experiences on the two different ships. Each ship had its pros and cons which I will summarize below. Overall I would have to say I enjoyed our time on the Zaandam more. One thing that was similar on both cruises was the location of our cabins...one deck below the aft pool and buffet. It was so handy to run up the stairs to get a cup of coffee in the morning! (Both cabins were quiet, but we did experience the smell of cigarette smoke in the hallway outside our cabin on the NS which was being sucked in from the smoking area on the Lido deck.)

Zaandam Pros: 

• Fewer passengers (1180 vs 2600+)
• Better variety of entertainment on main stage
• Piano bar entertainer was great
• Longer cruise gave us time to meet & get to know people
• Service in both buffet and MDR was much better
• Promenade deck much more enjoyable to walk (better view, wider) 
• Large library

Nieuw Statendam Pros:

• Loved the balcony cabin (only suites have balconies on the Zaandam)
• Main theater better, wrap around video screens impressive
• More food options at buffet
• Much bigger TV mounted on the wall (rather than taking up desk space)
• Grand Dutch Cafe (split pea soup especially!)

At the present time we have no future cruises booked. I am sorry now that we didn't purchase some future cruise deposits while we were on the ship in case we did find a HAL cruise of interest. Some of the longer itineraries require such a huge deposit otherwise!! But on the other hand, it might be time for us to check out some other cruise lines. So much of the HAL entertainment is the same from ship to ship that it would be nice to experience something new. On the other hand I REALLY like HAL cabins and the itineraries they offer.

For the last several years (since the pandemic began) we have taken land trips in the fall and Lord willing, this year we will do the same. In the meantime I will continue to keep my eyes open to interesting places to visit and any good deals that might come along! 

Deja Vu at Half Moon Cay

February 10, 2023

We slept with the drapes open to keep us from oversleeping, but it wasn't necessary. Both of us were awake before the sun was up. That extra hour of sleep from turning back the clocks made a big difference. 

Repeating a port that we just visited a week ago wouldn't normally excite me, but Half Moon Cay is the exception. I was looking forward to a day on that beautiful beach...sand, surf and an island BBQ...the formula for a perfect day with no planning or extra cost involved!

Breakfast was in the crowded buffet before we gathered up our beach gear and tried to figure out where the tenders were loading. We were already in line on Deck 1 when the announcement came that the ship had been cleared for passengers to disembark. Last week on the little Zaandam, we had to collect tender tickets and wait for our number to be called. No numbers needed today however. Perhaps the number system was used last week because two ships were at Half Moon Cay together and the tenders had to be shared?

The tenders hold a TON of people (actually many tons!) 😄 and it didn't take long before we were headed to shore. Learning from our experience last week, we asked if there were seats at the very front of the boat. We were directed to a small bench at the side of the pilots bridge. It kept us from being crammed in with all of the other people and it turned out that we were the first to get off when the tender docked.

We knew exactly where we wanted to go and walked down the road to get there. Walking on the hard surface was easier than walking through the sand on the beach. Our destination was the same chairs we had been in the previous week...next to the hammock and under a group of trees. 

Chapel at Half Moon Cay

Bob decided to take his walk down the beach right away during the cooler morning temps. I sat and read and got caught up online while he was gone. (Thank you T-Mobile!) Once the sun got to be a little warmer, I blew up my noodle and went into the water. The water temps were cool, but warmer than last week. I was in for quite awhile before I could see Bob's fluorescent yellow shirt off in the distance on his way back.

Bob came in the water for a little while and then we got out to dry off before going to lunch. The food pavilion was absolutely packed...much worse than last week. The menu was the same however. Various salads and items from the Dive In menu...burgers, chicken sandwich, hotdogs, etc. We chose one of the picnic shelters that had a view of the water and the ship.

Our view at lunch. 

Looking through the pirate ship bar. 

Last week Bob had spent very little time in the water, but I convinced him to blow up the extra noodle I brought and we both bobbed around on the waves. Occasionally a bigger than normal wave came through. It was fun to watch some people get caught off guard and get knocked off their feet!

The time went by too quickly. I have no idea when (or if) we will make it back to Half Moon Cay and I tried my best to remember the sounds of the surf and the many shades of blue of the water.

An open air tram came by as we were walking down the road to get back to the ship and they stopped and offered us a ride. It worked out well because we were one of the last ones to get on the tender being loaded and didn't have to wait at all. We weren't quite as lucky with the seats though and were crammed into the hot lower level shoulder to shoulder with many others.

I was concerned about getting checked in for our SWA flight. I had planned to check in while we had cell service at Half Moon Cay, but since we were using Luggage Direct program, someone from guest services would be doing the check in for us. I was afraid they would check us in so late that we would have an awful boarding position. I checked my Southwest Airlines app as soon as we got back to the ship, but all I got was a reminder to check in. Just as the ship started to sail away, I checked one more time and was excited to see that we were checked in and our boarding pass was available! I did a screen shot just as I lost my cell connection. 

Our boarding group was towards the end of Group B. Not the best, but it could have been worse. We did find seats together on the flight. 

Once we were showered, the dreaded job of packing began. In some ways it was a little easier because there weren't as many things that I felt needed to go in my carry on bag. Losing our luggage on the way home wouldn't be as devastating as it would have been coming TO the cruise.

Once most of the job was complete, Bob suggested we go have a bowl of split pea soup at the Dutch Cafe (he loves that soup!!) I also stopped in the shops to use up the remainder of our onboard credit. I bought a HAL water bottle to replace the one I dropped and broke while on the Zaandam and also a ball cap from the $10 items. 

I thought one of our 3-star Mariner perks was a discount in the gift shop, but I was wrong. But while I'm on the subject, we had a note in our cabin today saying the ship was out of the delft tiles that we usually get on each cruise. The note said I "might" be able to get the missing tiles on a future voyage if I saved the note. I was surprised that we hadn't gotten any invitation to a Mariner's reception on this cruise or even a coupon for a free drink. We had gotten both on the Zaandam.

Since this was the last night, I thought maybe we should give the MDR one last try. But we didn't. The buffet is where we ended up...mostly just laziness on our part. I am dreading going home to a house with am empty fridge and cupboards after having so many options at each meal on the ship. 

Artwork at aft elevators near entrance to the buffet. 

The Step One dance show, Off the Charts, was scheduled for the World Stage. I was looking forward to this show especially since it would also feature the Lincoln Center Stage musicians and maybe the Billboard Onboard piano players. Also it was a show that we hadn't seen previously. But...since the show, In Tandem, had been cancelled last night it was performed instead. 

We thought we were getting to the theater in plenty of time by going 30 minutes in advance, but by that point there weren't many seats left. We were fortunate to find two seats together in the upper section where the view of the stage is better. By showtime the theater was standing room only with at least a dozen people standing along the wall. Although we would have rather seen a new show (for us) it was interesting to compare the same show done on the small stage on the Zaandam to the Nieuw Statendam with the wrap around video screens. Now we can say we have seen In Tandem two and a half times. (This was the show that was cancelled midway on the last cruise when the seas got too rough.)

Our packet for the Luggage Direct service was delivered to our room and had luggage tags plus our printed boarding passes for both legs of our flights. This was our first time using the service so after setting the bags outside our door, I crossed my fingers that our bags would show up in Minneapolis tomorrow. Besides being extremely convenient (if all goes well) we are not obligated to pay for overweight bag fees. (Remember those two big conch shells that Bob found....?) It will also be a test to see if my Apple AirTag can keep me updated on the location of the luggage.

See those conch shells…they were HEAVY! 

Thankfully we didn’t have to pay for overweight luggage!

I always get nervous on the last night of a cruise, hoping that I won't need anything from the large bags we set out OR that I won't have left more things to pack in the morning than what I can fit into my carry on. 

Our assigned time to debark was 7:45 am...much earlier than we needed to get to our 1:25 flight. We stopped by guest services and asked if it would be OK if we stayed on the ship a little longer and were told NO. I questioned the reasoning (since we didn't need to pick up any luggage in the terminal) and was told that U.S. Customs was expecting us at that time. Well...Ok then...I guess.

I was so worried about not waking up on time that I scheduled a wake up call, set my travel alarm clock and also set an alarm on my iPhone. I also left the drapes open but by the time the sun would waken us we would be running really late. So, as my dad used to say about his time in the Army...we will hurry up to wait.

One last sunset. 😢

Sea Day #9

February 9, 2023

Our last sea day. One week cruises are just too short. Even though this cruise was tacked onto a longer voyage, it felt like we had just got settled in and into a rhythm and now it was time to start thinking about packing.

I don't know that we have ever had a cruise with such great weather. Once again we woke to blue skies and relatively calm seas.

The lovely fresh mixed berries were still available this morning at breakfast and I topped the bowl with a spoonful of Greek yogurt. The Zaandam did have some yummy fresh pineapple, but otherwise the fruit was mainly cut up melons that weren't the ripest.

Bob went up to the sports deck for pickleball while I attended the coffee chat held in the BB King lounge. Gage's guests were all six of the Step One dance troupe. They came from different backgrounds and nationalities but shared the fact that they all knew they wanted to be dancers from a very young age. This seven day cruise has four different dance shows scheduled whereas we only saw two dance shows on the fourteen day Zaandam cruise. That was not by design but rather due to the rough seas that caused the shows to be cancelled and postponed several times.

The Step One Dance Company
A sad note to add...Fabio (2nd from left), a dancer from Argentina, was killed in a swimming accident in Curacao less than 3 weeks after this photo was taken. 

I went back to the cabin long enough to do a little packing and then returned to the front of the ship for the "Ask the Captain" Q & A session at 11 am. Part of of the program was the captain narrating a slide show from the bridge, but the more interesting segment is when he answered questions from the audience. I have attended these sessions on various ships and I am always impressed with how witty and humorous the captains are!

Cruise Director Gage Griffin and Captain Eric Barhorst
(At 24, Gage is the youngest Holland America cruise director!)

I took time to browse through the gift shops but didn't see anything of interest. We will have about $40 left from our onboard credit that is nonrefundable and I was looking for ways to spend it!

I met Bob back at the cabin and somehow he had lost his cap going the short distance from the pickleball court to our room. He knew he had it in his hand at one point (because it was windy) but then realized he didn't have it when he got to the cabin.

We went to lunch at the buffet and after getting our food, Bob went to get our drinks. (The servers always took forever to bring drinks...if at all.) When he got to the drink station, his hat was there laying on the counter! 

There were several interesting activities planned for the afternoon but I decided I didn't want to spend the whole day indoors. First, Bob and I went and walked a couple of laps on the promenade deck. I saw a flying fish! The ship sailed through a brief rain shower as we were finishing up so we came back to the room for a short time.

The promenade deck is quite narrow in places.

Ahhh...that wonderful blue water!

Bob ended up splitting his afternoon between ping pong and pickleball. I went to the aft pool and was barely able to find a vacant lounge chair. I went into the pool briefly but the ship was rocking so much the waves made swimming impossible. At one point, a woman sitting on the edge of the pool was completely flattened by a "pool tsunami". She went down hard, but never spilled a drop of her drink. Everyone cheered! The water seemed a little warmer than yesterday but that could be due to the fact that the rocking of the ship was causing the water from the hot tubs to pour into the pool!

It was dressy night and we had planned to go to the dining room as soon as they opened since neither of us wanted a repeat of our last MDR experience. But...Bob lost track of the time playing pickleball and by the time he got back to the room we decided to just eat at the buffet. The decision turned out to be a good one. The buffet was not crowded and the menu was excellent. 

I wasn't sure what this was, but it was so interesting I had to give it a try!
(Crunchy but not much flavor.)

As we were eating, the cruise director made an announcement that the evening's dance performance, In Tandem, had been cancelled due to the rough sea conditions. (That was the same performance that was postponed three times on the Zaandam.) Jose Sarduy, the comedian we saw twice on the Zaandam, was going to fill in. Neither of us wanted to hear rerun jokes.

A check of the Navigator app showed the Billboard Onboard had a set at 7:30 so we went there instead of the main theater. The piano players didn't interact much with the audience or generate much enthusiasm. 

After turning our clocks FORWARD multiple times, tonight we finally got to go BACKWARDS...an extra hour of sleep! No tender tickets are required for Half Moon Cay tomorrow so that should simplify our morning.

St. Thomas

February 8, 2023

My iPhone health app showed I was within a few steps of having 11,000 total yeseterday (4.6 miles) and most of it was done in the heat. You would have thought I would have slept well, but I had trouble drifting off. My theory? The ship was still docked and I have gotten to the point where I can't sleep without the rocking of the ship. I was aware when we sailed and after that I slept much better.

The Nieuw Statendam covered the short distance to St. Thomas overnight and we were already docked when we woke up this morning. When I looked out the balcony door I felt like I was living amongst the lifestyles of the rich and famous!

I had made up my mind that I wasn't getting off the ship today. With six ships scheduled to be in St. Thomas, I knew any beach we went to would be crazy crowded. Shopping isn't my thing so I will just stay onboard and pretend that the Nieuw Statendam is my private luxury yacht while everyone else is on shore.

My original plan for this port was to take the gondola up to the top of Paradise Point. Once I decided to not get off, Bob left to "go for a walk". I could track his location on my iPhone and it didn't take me long to see where he was headed...up the mountain to the top of Paradise Point! He at least sent a video from the top so I could see the view.

This is the way "most" people get to the top of Paradise Point.

This is the way Bob got to the top of Paradise Point...walking up this steep road.

His reward for the long strenuous hike.

This was also a view he had while at Paradise Point. 😲

I couldn't believe how quickly he made the walk UP and then back DOWN the mountain and back on the ship again. Since a strenuous hike wasn't enough exercise, he went to the gym to lift weights. Me? I was perfectly happy sitting on the balcony. Great weather, good cell phone service and a million dollar view.

And speaking of a million dollar view...I actually had a three hundred million dollar view.
This yacht, owned by Nancy Walton, heir to the Walmart fortune, was purchased for $300 million!

Going to the NY Deli & Pizza seemed like a good option for lunch while so many passengers were off the ship. I tried a Bronx Pizza (lots of meat) and Bob got a Rueben sandwich...and we both got salads. For dessert we walked back through the buffet and Bob had a pineapple soft serve ice cream cone and I got a sugar free almond cake.

I thought Bob might be ready to relax, but he left the ship again and walked along the shoreline of the marina. I changed into my swimsuit and relocated to the sea view pool with a view of the Disney Fantasy. Several times I went into the pool, but the water was very chilly so I didn't stay long. Bob showed up about 2 pm to say he was back from his walk but was going to play pickleball on the Sport's Deck. That man can't eat enough calories in a day to keep his body fueled!

This time Bob's walk took him in the opposite direction.

No shortage of available chairs by the pool today!

A little after 3 pm the pool area was getting more crowded and I knew I had been in the sun long enough. Our balcony was in the shade and an interesting place to be with all of the boat traffic coming and going. We follow several YouTube channels of people who live full time on sailboats and catamarans and I wondered how many of the boats moored in the bay were full timers? There were lots of dinghies coming and going with people shuttling between their boats and the shore.

Dinghy dock was a busy place.

Sail away from St. Thomas is always beautiful and we were able to enjoy it from the balcony. The Norwegian Encore was still tied to the dock as we left. Once we were out to sea, we showered and got ready for our 6:30 pm dinner reservation at the Asian specialty restaurant, Tamarind. Things looked hopeful for a good sunset, but then the sun disappeared into a bank of clouds and that was that.

We had eaten at Tamarind when we were on the Eurodam in Alaska last year and like it enough to repeat. Having a nice sum of onboard credit made the decision even easier. 

After we finished eating, it was too late to make the early show at the World Stage so we went back to the cabin and sat on the balcony. Off in the distance we could see lights on land and from looking at our location on Google Maps, we decided it was probably San Juan. With Bob's binoculars we could also see four other ships in the distance. One was definitely a cruise ship, but the other three were too far away to distinguish.

For starters, Bob had the Satay Sampler and I had the Lobster & Shrimp Potstickers

Main course: Bob had the Szechuan Shrimp and I had the Wasabi & Soy Crusted Beef Tenderloin. 

For dessert we both had the sorbet assortment.

It had been several years since we had last seen the "Seven Worlds One Planet" BBC Earth Show and much of it I had forgotten. The Lincoln Center Stage quartet provided the accompaniment to the video and it was so much better than on the Zaandam when only the violin and piano duo played.

Tomorrow would be the last sea day of the cruise. Seven day cruises just seem to fly by!!