Sea Day, April 22

 Monday, April 22, 2024

Each morning we would meet up with Jon and Michelle at the buffet for breakfast. The chat feature on the HAL Navigator app worked pretty well so we were able to connect and find each other pretty easily. Even without the app, the small size of the Zaandam meant a quick trip down each side of the buffet was all it took to find each other.

Breakfast in the buffet. 

At home Bob and I are set in our ways when it comes to breakfast. He has a bowl of oatmeal and I have two eggs and a piece of toast. You would think we would take advantage of so many breakfast choices when we are sailing, but we don't. Bob still has his bowl of oatmeal although he has a wider choice of toppings. Finding pecans to add to the oatmeal was a real treat. For me, the only change was to have poached eggs on an English muffin. On a few days I really splurged and had them put a small amount of hollandaise sauce on top!

At morning, the poached egg station was located where the Asian food is served for lunch and dinner. Besides eggs I could get cut up fruit and a choice of several kinds of sausages if I wanted without standing in separate lines. In addition, congee was available at this same spot. There were many people of Asian descent on our cruise and I found it fascinating to watch them order the rice porridge and then pick and choose from all of the unique toppings. Interesting to see, but I never had the urge to try congee. 

"The Daily", as HAL calls their newsletter, was full of activities to keep busy on the sea day. Most all of the offerings were ones we had seen just a few months earlier when we were on the Koningsdam. The Navigator App also has the same daily schedule where you can select the activities you would like to attend and then the app will alert you 10 to 15 minutes prior. Or at least most of the time that is what happened. Sometimes an alert would pop up hours after the activity had taken place!

On cruises, I enjoy attending the morning coffee with the cruise director. It is fun to get to know a little about the different staff members or entertainers when the cruise director interviews them about their role on the ship. "Coffee with Erin" was scheduled at 9:00 and I fully intended to go, but we lingered over breakfast so long, that I just didn't make it. Neither did I attend the lecture on "The World Up Close: Catching Waves" (the story of surfing) that was presented on the World Stage at 10:00. 

Michelle and I did meet back up at 11:00 in the Explorer's Lounge for the "Art of Flower Arranging". HAL is known for their elaborate fresh flower arrangements around their ships and on the Zaandam a single person was in charge of handling all of the flowers. The ship florist explained the process of putting different types of bouquets together and used the most beautiful flowers in his demonstration. I kept wishing they would give out samples or use the bouquet as a door prize!

Michelle and I were sure this bouquet would never fit into that vase...but it did!

After lunch I watched Bob, John and Michelle play some pickleball. The sport gives Bob a chance to meet others on the ship. This time the three of them got to know a Canadian couple (originally from Russia) who were just learning to play pickleball. The wife didn't quite understand and somehow got the idea that Jon was Michelle's son. Michelle is a couple of years older than Jon, but no where near old enough to be his mom! That became a running joke throughout the cruise with Jon often referring to Michelle as "mom"! 

The pickleball court on the top deck was plagued by wind.

While the three continued their game, I went back to the cabin to get ready for dressy night...so much easier to do when I am alone than when the two of us bump into each other trying to access the bathroom, closets, etc. And besides...Bob could shower, dress and be ready in about 10 minutes total!

Before the Step One Dance Company presented their program "Humanity" on the World Stage, free drinks were provided and Captain Ane Jan Smit and other ranking officers welcomed the passengers to the theater with a toast.

Cruise Director, Erin

Captain Ane Jan Smit

In the beginning days of the pandemic, the Zaandam was forefront in the news and I followed all of the reports. We had sailed on the Zaandam with Captain Smit in 2018 through the Panama Canal and he was again at the helm as hundreds of passengers came down with the new mystery illness (Covid) in South America in early 2020. The book "Cabin Fever" chronicles the saga as the ship was denied entrance into country after country all while people onboard were dying. A fascinating read and even more so because we were so familiar with the ship. By the end of this current cruise we had spent a total of 77 nights on the Zaandam. 

 

Some card playing and then time for bed. Early tomorrow morning the Zaandam would be pulling into San Francisco for a two-day stay!

Catalina Island

Sunday, April 21, 2024

Out of our full 18 days on the ship, the port of Avalon on Catalina Island was the only place we hadn't visited previously. There were very few excursions offered by HAL and so the plan was to just tender ashore and explore. Or at least that was the plan for all except me. I knew my sore knee would make it hard to walk and rather than slow everyone else down I decided to stay onboard the ship. 

My day actually went by quickly...even though I did very little! The weather was nice so I spent some time by the aft pool enjoying the view of the island. I even saw a pod (school?) of porpoises!

Since my day was not that interesting, Bob has agreed to give a play-by-play description of the time he, Jon & Michelle spent on land.

Blogger Bob's report for the day...

Jon & Michelle waiting in Ocean Bar for tender number to be called.

My intention for the day was to escape the tourist areas and get out and explore a bit. As it turns out, that was not that difficult to do. The three of us agreed we would look around Avalon just a bit before we ventured out. Jon and I left Michelle while she hit the shops and we chose to walk the back streets.

Housing in this small community is tightly packed together, small, and very expensive. From what we saw, Avalon is it for Catalina Island. There are small pockets of people here and there but if you can't get what you want there, well you better head to the mainland. We were only gone an hour and we hooked up together again.

Jon and I had checked on renting a golf cart to get away from town. Renting a car was not an option. The city only allows so many vehicles on the island, and the waiting list to have a car is 25 years out. You walk, bike, or golf cart to get around. We discovered the golf carts were not allowed out of town, and even if you could, the steep mountains around the town would prohibit it. We chose the only feasible option: Eco Tours. This was going out with a guide in open vehicles that carried 8 people. They were like big dune buggies. Since they were operated by the Nature Conservancy, and much of the island is nature conservancy, it made sense. We booked a time slot and off we went.

Leaving on the tour...

As we headed out of town we went by an interesting hotel that was built by a famous western author, Zane Grey. I have read several of his books and enjoy his writing. He is also responsible for the ranch and buffalo on the island. After passing the hotel we had a long steep climb up and were treated to a beautiful view of the ship below.

The island is home to a small variety of wildlife, but due to the isolation and careful regulation of other species, the animals take on some unique characteristics. They are currently doing some study on a species of bat that may be unique to the island. The plant life is the same way. The Conservancy has worked hard to keep non-native plant life in check. Parts of the island that have not allowed the Conservancy to help have trouble with invasive species. As we traveled through the hills we crossed hiking trails several times. There are lots of trails for backpackers if you have the time. Some of the trails are miles long and involve multiple overnight camping stays.

We went by the ranch, which is not a large operation by any means, the two vineyards, which aren't large by any means, saw an old church, and down on the coast, saw a beautiful "oasis". This was on the opposite side of the island from Avalon. I believe they called this a beach, but it looked fairly rugged to me. It was here we learned a Clark Gable film, Mutiny on the Bounty, was in part filmed there.

Also on this part of the island, up high on the hills, were some old concrete boxes used in WW2 to overlook the pacific.

As we made our way back we saw bald eagles nesting at the reservoir that is used for Avalon's water supply. There is also a small horse stable in the valley there, if you are wealthy and can afford such luxury. You can also see old wagon wheels from early days when the only transportation was wagons. We managed to see one buffalo as well. The herd is closely managed because of overpopulation problems in the past. Our guide told us what took days in wagons years ago we just did in 4 hours.

I don't know that I would call this an incredible tour, but it did get us away from the usual tourist affair. I'm glad it worked out for us and we did have a great time together. We all went back to the ship feeling like we had experienced what Catalina Island had to offer. 

Back to Mary...

   

Bob, J & M texted me when they returned to the ship and I met them at the buffet. I sat with them while they ate a late lunch and listened to the stories of their escapades on land. (Mostly about how bad they needed to use a restroom but the tour operator refused to stop...) 😄

In spite of the late lunch, we decided we wanted to eat in the main dining room since we hadn't made it last night. It was nice having a table by a large window so we could watch as we sailed away from Catalina Island.

The four of us attended the main stage entertainment, guitarist Mark Donoghue, and then played cards. I have mentioned that my card playing ability is very limited so when J & M kept introducing new games I was even more befuddled. Most of the time we played at a table in the buffet area but a few times we went to the library instead. The library on the Zaandam is so nice, but the lido buffet usually won out because it was nice to have a cup of tea while we played! As the cruise continued, several of the buffet crew got to know us and would stop by to check on how our game was going.

Cruise Day!

Saturday, April 20, 2024

How fun to get up on Saturday morning and see the Zaandam docked right outside our window! 

Photo taken from our balcony!

As per our usual cruise day routine, Bob took a long walk while I showered and took my time getting dressed for the day. He ran across a fish market as he walked along the shore. Fishermen were cleaning and selling fish directly from their boat which Bob found quite interesting!

Jon needed to return their rental car to the San Diego airport by 11 am so he dropped off Michelle and all of their luggage at our hotel first. Once he had the car returned, he Ubered back to join us. 

Getting an elevator on the 14th floor for four people and all of our luggage proved to be the most challenging part of getting to the ship. Once we were outdoors it was just a quick walk across the street and we were at the pier. I had read horror stories of very long waits for people to board ships in San Diego, but in our case once we dropped off our luggage outside and walked into the terminal it was smooth sailing 😄. We breezed through security and never stopped walking until we were on the ship. 

Our rooms were ready so we first dropped off our carryon bags before heading to lunch at the buffet. We were in cabin 7086 and J & M were one deck below us in 6125. 

Bob and Jon checking out "our private balcony"...aft on deck 7.

I had an agenda that I wanted to accomplish after we ate lunch at the buffet which required a little more walking than was comfortable for me...but we got it all accomplished. One of the first tasks was to check on the location of our table in the dining room. When we got there we found out that J & M had not been assigned to the same table as us! Fortunately that was an easy fix. I had asked our HAL personal cruise consultant (PCC) to request any of four possible tables in the dining room. (I had gotten a diagram of the table placement back in 2019 when we did our Antarctica cruise on the Zaandam.) He pulled it off and we were assigned #20, a table for four on the upper level right by a large window. Perfect.

To make sure it didn't sell out, the four of us had booked a tour for our stop in Astoria which required paying in advance. Since we each had so much onboard credit (OBC) I wanted to have someone in the shore excursions department switch the payment over to use the credits...something that could only be handled once the cruise began. Unfortunately because the 11-day cruise could also be booked as a 7-day and 4-day itinerary, they couldn't do this until the second itinerary began. This went on my to-do list for a week later.

While we were close to guest services I wanted to get a hole punched in my ship card. The line was sooooo long that I skipped that. Bob was nice enough to go back later and get that taken care of.

Lastly, we had to report in at our muster station on the promenade deck. Our station was on the port side, J & M had to go to the starboard side. We still needed to watch the safety video on the TV in our cabin but that was done while we were unpacking.

And unpacking is what happened next...at least for me. Bob did some roaming around the ship and checked out the pickleball court. Having him OUT of the room makes it so much easier for me to unpack. I met our room steward and made my usual requests...extra hangers and ice twice a day. By the time Bob returned and did a little of his own unpacking it was time to go up "our private stairs" to the aft pool deck for sail away. 

Bob and Jon 

The Zaandam cows seem uninterested in the San Diego skyline.

Looking back at the San Diego cruise terminal.

A zoomed in view of the USS Midway.

An even more zoomed in view of the aircraft on deck of the USS Midway.

The ship left later than planned so we decided to eat at the buffet rather than going to the dining room for our 5 pm dining time. At 8:00 we attended the "Origin Story" in the main theater...a look back at Holland America's 150 year history. The presentation was a slide show with cruise director, Erin, reading the narrative off of a teleprompter. 

Almost every single evening, after the main entertainment, the four of us played cards or some other type of game. Most of the time we sat at a table in the buffet. By then dinner service was over and there were only a few others around and we could enjoy a cup of tea while we played. I know I won't be able to remember what we played on what nights, but what I do know is that I am probably the world's worst card player!! As the cruise continued, I did get a "little" better. What I DO remember is how much we laughed. 

And that is why I didn't take any notes for the blog. It was so fun to be with good friends. They were able to get my mind off of my ailments and all of the heavy stuff we had been dealing with. By the time we got back to our cabin each evening I was worn out and ready to sleep. And with the ship to rock us to sleep each night we slept well!

Travel Day to San Diego

 Friday, April 19, 2024

Compared to flying from the Sioux Falls regional airport which is much closer to our home, flying out of Minneapolis-St. Paul is almost always cheaper and more direct for us. But…it does involve a three hour drive from our house. That certainly isn't a hardship when we know that we will get to see our grandkids at the end of that three hour trip! So as usual, our actual travel began the night before when we left our home and spent the night at son #2's house.

Whatever respiratory virus I had been fighting was getting a bit better but the lingering cough hadn't improved much. I made sure to keep a pocketful of cough drops handy because once I started coughing I just couldn't stop. My knee (that I injured at the beginning of the previous cruise in late January) was really no better either. Wearing a knee brace made it feel a little more stable, but it was still painful to walk. My doctor had given me a cortisone injection a couple of weeks before our trip but it did very little, if anything, to relieve the pain. What a way to start a vacation!

Our flight wasn't scheduled to leave until almost noon so we had a leisurely morning. We were able to spend time with the grandkids before they left for school and then son #3 and his wife stopped by briefly after dropping off our other grandkids at school. (All five of our grandkids go to the same school.) 

It was snowing lightly when our son drove us to the airport. (Seems like most of our trips begin in the snow!!) There was no wait to drop off our bags but getting through security took some time. I always hold my breath when I put my bag on the scale, but no worries today...it was "only" 48 pounds. Bob's luggage was 37 pounds and that included my heavy toiletry bag that he had graciously agreed to pack for me.

I was worried about my cough and was hoping no one would be in the middle seat between Bob and I...but there was. I think the guy must have also had a cold so we might have just traded germs. I went through many cough drops on the flight trying to tame the tickle.

The flight did go smoothly though. I was thankful for my noise cancelling headphones when the small child in front of us screamed for much of the flight. 

We landed on time at 2 pm (Pacific Time) and our luggage was already on the carousel by the time we got to baggage pickup. As Bob grabbed the suitcases, I was on the phone with the Wyndham San Diego Bayside hotel inquiriting about their shuttle. I was given directions where to meet the van and was told it would be 2:30 before it arrived. We had just gotten to the meeting spot and the shuttle was pulling in at 2:20. Only one other couple was with us.

We barely had time for our selfie before the hotel shuttle arrived!

I had booked a city view room, but we got lucky and were upgraded to a bay view room on the 14th floor. Wow! When we got to the 14th floor we realized we had been so excited about the upgrade that neither of us had heard what room we were in! Bob had to go all the way back to the lobby to find out! Once in the room, Bob grabbed his binoculars and we sat on the balcony for a long time just enjoying all of the activity along the waterfront. 

A great view from our 14th floor room! And to think it had been snowing when we left Minnesota!

The Maritime Museum was across the street from the hotel.
We had visited the museum prior to our Panama Canal cruise last year.

The cough medicine I had taken was making me quite sleepy so Bob went for a walk while I napped. His mission was to scout out someplace nearby where we could get some dinner.

USS Midway aircraft carrier has been converted into a floating museum.

The 25-foot "Unconditional Surrender" sculpture near USS Midway.
The statue is copied from the famous 1945 photo in Life magazine.

Bob walked past the USS Midway which is now a museum and returned with photos of several different menus from restaurants along the way. We decided on the Hazelwood Deli which was the closest of all of the restaurants (it was actually part of the Wyndham Hotel) and had a decent menu. We both ordered burgers (which were huge and delicious!) and sat outside and enjoyed people watching as we ate.

This photo taken from our table at the deli shows just how close the cruise ship pier is to our hotel!

After dinner we returned to our balcony and sat outside until after sunset when the chill chased us back into the room. Throughout the evening we kept in touch with our friends and travel companions, Jon and Michelle. They had flown to Tucson and spent a few days with Jon's brother and then rented a car to drive to San Diego. They didn't get in until later and spent the night at a Hilton Garden Inn about 12 miles away. 

Our day ended with warm showers and some TV time. The two hour time difference had us in bed fairly early but anxious to start our next journey!

From San Diego to Alaska...2024 Cruise #2

 Last August, several months before booking our recent Hawaii cruise, I was looking through some of the "deals" in a promotional email from Holland America. I saw that an Alaska cruise on the Zaandam was priced really low AND that oceanview cabin #7086 (which opens up onto the rear public deck) was available. I've always preached that you MUST have a balcony cabin when sailing to Alaska, but since we had already done three Alaskan cruises, I could be content with this ocean view cabin. Even without a private verandah we would have easy access to some outside space while saving a bundle of money. But wait...cabin #7083, the other oceanview cabin by the rear deck was also available. This was the cabin we had on a 2023 Panama Canal cruise and loved the location. Good friends, Jon and Michelle, had never been to Alaska. Maybe they would want to join us?

The arrows show the obstructed ocean view cabins that we booked.

Before I even called HAL I realized that the 11-day Pacific Coastal cruise just prior was an even better bargain. The two cabins on deck 7 weren't available for that cruise but there were nearby inside cabins that would be suitable. We checked with Jon and Michelle and the next thing I knew, the four of us were booked on back to back cruises on the Zaandam for 18 days!

April 20 to May 1.
We booked an 11-day cruise but the same itinerary was also offered as a 7-day and 4-day cruise

May 1 to 8

I continued to check prices and in October noticed that #7086 was available for the 11-day portion of our cruise. It raised our price just a bit but I called and got our cabin switched so we would be in the same room for the entire 18 days. Jon and Michelle remained in the inside (#6215) for the first 11 days and then moved to the outside cabin (#7083) for the Alaska part of the itinerary. 

Once the cruise bookings were made then I went into planning mode. I made sure that we (and Jon and Michelle) got the various onboard credits (OBC) that we were eligible for...shareholder credits, military credit (Jon), educator credit (me) and AARP credits. For the two cruises combined, we each had $675 in OBC to use. I figured that would go towards our ship gratuities but then when HAL offered free gratuities during a Black Friday sale we were each able to get that added to our booking as well.

This would not be the first time we had cruised with Jon and Michelle. Right before the pandemic, in fall of 2019, we sailed with them on back to back cruises on the Veendam. 

The four of us in Key West in 2019.

Our friendship goes back a VERY long way. Jon was a student in my 10th grade geometry class during my first full time teaching position after college. He and several other guys from that class were involved in a Christian youth group that Bob and I worked with and he also attended the camp where I cooked in the summers. I like to tease Jon now because although he was one of the brightest kids in my class he was also one of the more mischievous! (And although Jon now has eleven grandchildren, the mischievous description still fits!) 

Back to the 80's! Jon giving me a ride on his motorcycle. 

Jon met Michelle when he was in the military. They have lived in many different locations over the years, including half a dozen years in Europe. And although we don't see them often, our friendship has remained constant. What a blessing to have such friends!

I do want to start this series of blog posts with a disclaimer. When we travel my usual practice is to write detailed notes at the end of each day and then publish the narrative together with photos when we return home. This time I did not take ANY notes. None. Hopefully my pictures will spur my memory (and Bob's) enough that we can recall the highlights of each day. 

My emotional health was not the best as this cruise began. We had just gone through the death of my sister which had taken a toll. My physical health wasn't any better.  About three weeks before we left, I caught the nastiest of colds which really knocked me off my feet. My cough got so bad that I finally gave in a few days before the cruise and went to the doctor. I don't really think I was contagious at that point, but I was definitely obnoxious when I had one of my coughing fits. I left the appointment with several prescriptions which might have helped a little, but it just took time for me to shake the cough. After being concerned that I would get sick on the Hawaii cruise I thought it was ironic that I picked up something at home where I am rarely around many people.

And lastly, it had been nearly three months since my knee "popped" right before our Hawaii cruise and it was still very painful to walk. My initial diagnosis was "patellar subluxation"...a partial dislocation of the knee cap. My neighbor is a former NFL trainer and that was his opinion after a brief look at my leg. The orthopedic doctor also made the same diagnosis after a thorough exam and x-rays.

I had just started to do some physical therapy when we had to leave for St. Louis when my sister was ill and our extended stay prevented me from following through on any productive PT. The doctor hadn’t placed any restrictions on my activity so I took along my hiking poles to use for support in the ports and just decided I would do as much (or as little) as I felt like. 

Yes…I was a mess, but I’ve seen people in far worse shape on cruises. In fact, what better place to be…no cooking or cleaning for almost 3 weeks!