DAY 25, 26, 27, 28 - Oct 24-27

DAY 25 – Oct 24: Lautoka, Fiji. Today we stayed on board and relaxed with a Mani/Pedi each! We split a hot dog for lunch because we were still full from last night! We spent time around the Lido Pool as it rained pretty hard this afternoon. The water was very interesting as we cruised on to the next port. Tonight is Bavarian Dinner in the Main Dining Room. As we check in, Hakim said he had a special treat for us. We were seated separately on an 8 top. Soon 2 more women joined us, also seated separately. Next a couple Gerard and Jan were seated. We have eaten with them before and talked with them quite a bit. Soon we realized that an Officer would be sitting at our table. That was the surprise! This was the Environmental Officer, Melena Whales. She was born in Bulgaria but now lives in Scotland. It was an enjoyable dinner. We visited the casino after that, and left there happy.

DAY 26 – Oct 25: Savasava, Vanua Levu, Fiji. Rain was threatening all day but we were getting back on the tender before it started. We did not have an excursion planned. We wanted to find a massage. As it was, we found one offered at a small resort and we took their van there. It ended up they could only do one massage, so Stuart had it. I waited by the pool with a cocktail. It all worked out fine but a slight disappointment. After we got back to the charming port, we had a snack and a Rum and Coke. Hands down the hottest chips we have ever eaten. We ordered 2 scoops of vanilla to cool off our mouths! Tonight, for dinner we were seated on the 5^th deck in the dining room. We had already eaten one appetizer when Hakim came along and again requested us to move to the table that an officer is hosting. This officer is a cadet. He was young and very nice. Taku was his name. Janet and Hank, a brother and sister from the Netherlands, but she lives in Canada for the last 50 years! The other couple, Ray and Jan from the US. Tonight was a Magician so we skipped the show, visited the casino, listened to music, and called it a night.

DAY 27 – Oct 26: At Sea. It is nice to have a day at sea to relax! We splurged for the Pinnacle Grill for lunch. We had the Wagyu burger. It was huge, juicy, and delicious. We should have split the burger because we could only eat half. We played games around the Lido pool and Tiki Bar area as it looks like rain. In fact, it did pour down for about 5 minutes. By the time they got the roof over the pool closed, the rain had stopped. We had a small dinner in the dining room, listened to music, and visited the casino. It was a quiet and restful day.

DAY 28 – Oct 27: Nuku’alofa, Tonga. We have a tour today. It is a visit to a resort, beach, and cave after a drive around the area to see a few things. Our first stop was the blow holes, which were pretty. They dotted the entire coast line. I am not sure what part of the island we are on, but it was pretty. The skies are gray and rain seemed threatening, but never came. We also stopped to take a photo of a 3 headed coconut tree. Some rare occurrence for sure. We got to the resort…such as it was. The restrooms did not feature any sort of tissue, nor were there paper towels after washing the trickle of water from the tap. The people were very friendly and work very hard. The area has been destroyed several times by hurricanes and the last time was a tsunami. We had a traditional lunch there. The food looked nice but there was little to no flavor at all. The whole roasted pig was so tough you could not cut it, let alone eat it. The chicken was burnt and chopped up with a cleaver with bits of burnt bone throughout. I had hope for the large baked fish, but it was very dry. Needless to say, the food was a great disappointment. Stuart took the 60+ steps down to the beach to see the cave, but he could not find it. However, the beach and views were lovely. Now it is back to the ship. Our guide Melea was very good and told us a lot about the island. Women can vote but they cannot own property. Yet, she says women are valued and treated well. Anyway, Tonga is a new country for us and we saw a lot. Grateful for the nice tour. We walked through the different stalls by the ship upon our return. We ate in the dining room, went to the casino. We do have fun playing with a man named Eric and a woman named Ann from Florida, she is originally from NY.

 

Oct 19 - 23 - Sorry I haven't posted in so long!!!

DAY 21 – Oct 19: Cross the International Date Line – Skipped Day (we get this back by having a 48 hour Oct 29!) 

DAY 21 – Oct 20: Apia, Upolu, Samoa. Another new country for us. We had a tour planned with Viator but the company canceled it. That was disappointing but we didn’t find anything else we would like to do. However, we did get off and walked a bit. We got a taxi into town and had a nice lunch. It is very hot and humid. It isn’t raining but weather report says to expect rain. We were back before needing a poncho or umbrella that we brought.

DAY 22 – Oct 21: At Sea. Feeling under the weather with a cold. I stayed in the cabin most of the day. I did venture out for lunch and then sat in the sun at the Tiki Bar by the Lido pool. Dinner in the dining room was very nice. We also went to the 70’s show, which was good. Stuart was up and down in the casino. It was a calm and quiet day.

DAY 23 – Oct 22: Suva, Viti Levu, Fiji. A rainy day here in Suva so we are staying onboard. It is a new country for us, but we have several stops in Fiji so we will be getting off. As usual we slept in. We headed up to Lido and played Phase 10 until lunch time. We ate some great pork Bulgogi and Thai noodles for lunch. Then another game and back to the cabin. Nothing else of particular interest happened today. A quiet but nice day.

DAY 24 – Oct 23: Lautoka, Fiji. We have a ship’s tour today. It was sights seeing with a shopping stop at Jack’s. That is a very well-known shop in Fiji for nice art work, crafts, clothing, and other gifts. We drove past the largest Hindu Temple in the South Pacific, Sri Krishna Kaliya Temple. After that we went to a spa for a 1-hour massage. It was really nice! We didn’t buy any of the products but the massage was one of the best we’ve had. Following that we had lunch at a café called Coffee Hub. Then the drive back to the ship. We relaxed, played games, and rested up for our Cellar Master’s dinner tonight in Pinnacle Grill. As always, the Cellar Master event was marvelous! Rod is the Celler Master on this ship. He is very knowledgeable and very friendly, and he did a great job. Hakim is the Head Maître d' in Pinnacle Grill and over all the restaurants onboard. Temmy is the head Sommelier onboard. All served us tonight. The menu was amazing. We went directly to the cabin afterwards. It was a food coma, but we did play some Phase 10 before bed.

At Sea and American Samoa Day 19 & 20

DAY 19 – Oct 17: At Sea. I woke up with a sore throat so stayed in all morning, into the afternoon. Feeling better I ventured later in the day for the watercolor painting class. We went to the Crow’s Nest for the Hawaiian music and then to dinner in the Lido. We went to the show that was a tribute to Carol King, it was pretty good.

DAY 20 – Oct 18: Pago Pago, Tutuila, American Samoa. We ventured out despite the rain. We walked around a bit and found a restaurant. Someone from the ship we passed in walking said it was good so we tried it. It was good with huge servings. A few others from the ship were also eating there. We could only eat about have of the 2 dishes we ordered; sweet & sour chicken & pork fried rice. Sail away was about 5p so we were at Sea View for that. We don’t have festive parties when leaving most of the ports, but the views are always interesting. Somehow, we dodged the rain all day. We have a complementary Pinnacle Grill dinner from the Casino tonight; we were barely hungry! Yet, it was scrumptious. A bit of time in the casino and listening to James on the piano finished the evening.

Two Sea Days

DAY 17 – Oct 15: At Sea. Laptops in the morning in the cabin. We ventured out for lunch in the dining room, which was very good. It is decorated with the title Heritage Dinner for tonight. They really decorate on this ship. Following lunch, we went to the Sea View Pool because there is going to be a Neptune Ceremony. We did cross the equator earlier today. It was very entertaining and one of the best we’ve seen. We played games after the crowd cleared. It is quite a process to clean up after this event. We went to an acrylic painting class with Annie. It was fun but the painting results were more than interesting I thought it was hard to do. Stuart did well in the casino and we also enjoyed James on the piano. He finally sang Grease that I requested on Deb’s birthday!

DAY 18 – Oct 16: At Sea. Another enjoyable day. It is warm for sure so most of the day was spent around the pool, in the pool, and playing games. By afternoon we needed nap after all the sun and water! This evening was another event! Octoberfest! This crew really works hard with all the entertaining. I am sure they are exhausted but they sure seem to be having fun! At Octoberfest they had pretzel buns and another sort of plain bun. In addition, there were 2 kinds of cheese sauce, 2 kinds of mustard, and 2 kinds of sausage. The meal was completed with sauerkraut. We sat out there a while after the party. The weather was so nice with a slight breeze. After coming in, we both went to the casino and won for a change! The rest of the evening we listened to James on the piano. Once James was done, we chatted with John and Karen. John is quite the unforgettable guy who is loud and boisterous, but also very nice. We met him on the Africa Cruise. A game of cribbage in the cabin and off to bed.

Sea Day and Kirabiti, Fanning Islands Day

DAY 15 - Oct 13: At Sea. Today is Thanksgiving in Canada and the ship is decked out with Fall décor everywhere. It is warm enough at 77F but it is raining. We opted for lunch in the dining room. Then the cocktail water color painting class. I did some things in the cabin and we worked on laptops. After some Cribbage in our cabin, we had a nice dinner in the dining room. There were a lot of nice choices for the Canada Thanksgiving dinner. Stuart went to the casino. Sharon went to the cabin to work on the cruise album. The plan was to keep up every day. That has not happened!

DAY 16 – Oct 14: Tabuaeran (Fanning Island), Kiribati. What a great day! It was a quick stop in this remote location. Often the weather doesn’t permit going ashore since it is a tendered port but we did go and it was wonderful. We walked around the small area with the variety of goods being sold. We bought a little knife to be used as a wall hanging in the office. We wandered to the white sand beach and got in the crystal-clear water. What a delight. Kiribati, aka Fanning Islands is remote. The nearest land is Hawaii and that is approximately 900 miles away. The elevation is 10 feet and population is approximately 2,000. It was a somewhat of an overcast day or it would have been really hot. This island appears in the closing shot of Gilligan’s Island! Tender back and lunch at Lido by the pool. We also played Rummikub before heading back to the cabin for a nap. We went to the lively show on the World Stage with the cast performing in Feel the Beat. It was a great show. The singers and dancers on the ship are really top notch. We ate a late dinner after the show followed by a stop in the casino and then James on the piano. A really full and nice day!

Hilo, Hawaii and Sea Day Day 11 & 12

DAY 13 – Oct 11: Hilo, Big Island Hawaii. This is the windward side of the Island. This island has the largest Japanese Garden outside of Japan. I am struggling a bit with pain so it is a day of rest for me. Stuart walked to a nearby store to see if he could find a few little things, but it was really just a 7/11 type store. We had lunch and worked on laptops in the afternoon. We had a delicious meal in the Pinnacle Grill with the Tamarind theme tonight. The casino has been closed since we arrived to the Hawaiian Islands. It was steaming with activity tonight after we have left port. Now we will have 2 days at sea before our next port.

DAY 14 – Oct 12: At Sea. We had a nice sea day. Sunday brunch was first on our agenda. I had a Hawaiian Plate, which I really enjoyed. I didn’t eat the egg or the rice but the Korean Beef ribs and Teriyaki chicken were delicious with macaroni on the side. We made it to the pool after that. Stuart took a nice dip in the pool. It is pretty rough today so I have Dramamine onboard today. It is Casino Royal Night. The décor around the ship is amazing. It was the perfect night for Stuart to hit Queens of Hearts for $625!!! YAY! They were playing all sorts of games with tickets to collect for the drawings. We didn’t do that part but it was a very festive evening.

Kahalui, Maui DAY 12

DAY 12 – Oct 10: Maui! We are excited for today. We are headed to Mama’s Fish House. The ship is in Kahului and the restaurant is in Paia Town. It took the taxi about 20-25 minutes to get there. They don’t allow Uber into the port area, that would have been half the price of the taxi. Anyway, I don’t care because we are here and ready for a fabulous meal. There have been some changes since my last visit. There is a new boat at the entrance off the hwy. There is also a new check in area up at the top and down below, with a paved area leading down to the beach. Other than that, it looked the same. It was the same lovely atmosphere, service, views, and the food was amazing. We had a very private table looking out to the waves and beach area. We first chose our cocktail concoctions. Stuart had the Scorpion and I had the Pau Hana; we were very happy with our choices. While waiting for those to come we received a small cup of potato vegetable soup with smoked

Gruyère cheese and a small loaf of bread with butter. Wow! We were instructed to drink from the little cup, what a tasty little treat. After looking for some time at the menu we made the appetizer choices. The special, not published appetizer of the day was fried Mahi Mahi roll, we got that along with the shrimp wontons. Both items were amazing with delicious sauces to go with each one. They were perfect for sharing. We weren’t sure if we could eat anymore but YES, we did! Stuart ordered a bottle of Sileni Sauvignon Blanc for the rest of our meal. We chose Opah with caramelized Maui onions, bok choy, and avocado. This was served on a bed of flavored rice. Opah was caught in the local waters south of the Big Island aboard the “Kawika”. It was served with a delightful sauce poured on tableside. We shared this full entrée and it was very good. We are stuffed but we made room for the famous Black Pearl dessert. I honestly don’t know how long lunch took but it was leisurely as we enjoyed the food and the views in our own time. One never feels rushed here but the staff is very attentive. The décor here is so pretty. There are fresh flowers everywhere and they are set off by beautiful vases and carved wood. Even our taxi driver agreed this is the best place to eat in Maui.

Back to the ship by Uber, they are allowed to drop us off closer to the port, just not for pickups. Of course we relaxed much of the afternoon. Sail Away by the Sea View pool and walking around the ship a bit. We are not hungry this early so we went to the 7:30p show to see a family instrumental group called Highly Strung Orchestra. They were entertaining. Now we set out for a light dinner in the dining room, followed by the music in Ocean Bar, a few hands of cribbage, and bedtime.

Honolulu, Oahu DAYS 9-10-11

DAY 9 – Oct 7: Our first of three days in Oahu. Today I have an errand to pick up a prescription from the picked up the prescription. I am thankful and grateful for Dr. Kan my personal physician for arranging this. No extra cost to me. I hope it helps. Uber back to Ala Moana Shopping Center was half the price of the taxi! Unfortunately, I could not get a ride to come up from Uber when we left the ship. We were happy to be at the mall. Right away we found an ABC Store and got almost everything on my list. I brief stop later at Longs completed the last few items. We had lunch in the Food Court at Little Café Siam. It was good with big servings. My “mild” Yellow Curry Chicken was at the absolute top of my heat level – far from mild! But that was delicious as was Stuart’s Chicken Satay.

We took Uber back to the ship and dropped our purchases in the cabin and headed up to the Sea View Pool for some sun and fresh air. In the mountains surrounding us you can see that it is raining. We were told it might rain but we didn’t feel any.

We grabbed a quick bite to eat in the Lido Market because we wanted to be around the Lido Pool for the party tonight. It was James on the piano and Shelly on the guitar until 10p, then we went to Ocean Bar, and called it a night after that! 

DAY 10 – Oct 8: Happy Birthday Debra! We were supposed to have a complementary Circle Island Tour today. There was some mix up on the paperwork and we are not included after all. It is a little disappointing but we have both done this trip in the past. It would have been interesting to see how things changed and perhaps even enjoyed shrimp at the North Shore. Instead, we went to the dining room for a nice breakfast. The day is lovely so we spent a little time at the Sea View Pool area. The morning was completed with some computer work followed by a walk to the UPS Store. I got Julie the Hawaiian slippers she wanted and I am mailing them home. We had bubbly by the pool before dinner, which was at Canaletto. We had the Antipasti plate to start with. Stuart had the spaghetti with shrimp and clams and I had shrimp Scampi with a side of pasta. Dessert was Affogato, and we did NOT share! Tonight was a local show, the Drums of Polynesia. It was very good. It is always a treat when locals come on to perform. Today we also got a new Captain! Time for the first one to take his time off. The new Captain Michiel Willems seems nice.

DAY 11 – Oct 9: Our last day in Honolulu. The big event of the day today is Parasailing! Neither of us has done this before. I was going to surprise Stuart with this outing but one has to be dressed and prepared for it, so it was no surprise. We took a brief Uber ride to the dock, checked in, waited a few minutes, then boarded our boat for adventure. We were the first to go, it was lots of fun. Getting on and off the boat was the hardest part. I took Dramamine, glad I did, it was pretty rough out there, Stuart didn’t feel too well by the time we got off. It was back to the ship with a bit of a rest and he was feeling fine again.

We had a nice dinner in the dining room followed by the classical group Vivace in the Explorer’s Lounge. We finished off the evening with James in Mix and then called it a night.

Kuilua-Kona DAY 8

DAY EIGHT – Oct 6: Today we are in Kona. It might be surprising but we didn’t get off. It is a tendered port and we have both been here before. We saw a lot of tours but everything was either a repeat or of no interest to us. We slept in and had a pool day. There is a lot of overcast so I am not sure how that will turn out for those taking any sort of flight to see the volcanic activity. An announcement was made yesterday that some heritage park and refuge will be close due to the Government shutdown. I am sure that is very upsetting to a lot of people. However, it does say online that Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park will remain accessible to the public during the federal government shutdown, but some services may be limited. We had a small lunch at Lido Market because we have Morimoto in Pinnacle Grill tonight. We have enjoyed this venue in the past and we are looking forward to it. We are thinking a lot about our friends Paul and Maureen who had to cancel coming on this trip just days before departure. They would have enjoyed it so much, but happy to know Maureen is making a good recovery.

There is much to enjoy on the Big Island, Kona is more of a village than a city. There are many areas to walk around and enjoy the area. You can see breathtaking sunset, as we did at sail away. There are many lovely beaches and you may see whales, dolphins, turtles, and more. You can explore Hulihee Palace, built in 1838 as a vacation home for Royality  You can visit the Palace Museum and many other places in the port.

Morimoto was fabulous. Appetizer choices were the dumplings and the fresh Ahi Tuna pizza. I like the pizza more each time I have it. The crust is thin, crisp, and goes so well with the tuna and other toppings. For our main course, Stuart had the Tenderloin and I had the shrimp 3 ways. Everything was quite delicious. For dessert we both had the White Chocolate Lime Ganache. We are so stuffed. We went to the piano bar to listen to James and then off to bed with 1 last Cribbage game of the day.

Our Last Sea Day - Tomorrow Kona, Hawaii DAY 7

DAY SEVEN – Oct 5: Latte and small pastry by the Sea View Pool this morning. The weather is lovely. We are having quite a few swells today. The pool has come over the sides a we times. We hung out there and played Rummikub until lunch time in the Lido Market. We don’t want to eat too much since we have the special Konigstafel Dinner tonight. Konigstafel means “Kings Table” in German, so it should be very special. After lunch it was a little housekeeping for me and a nice hot shower! It was water color class at 4:30p where we attempted to paint a jellyfish. This was not terribly successful.

Oh my, the dinner tonight was absolutely amazing. Certainly, this was the most outstanding meal experience we have had on a cruise ship. This was an eight-course event. I’ve listed the associated beverage serving after the dish. 

First, we were asked to join in the Ocean Bar. We were served 2 appetizers (crab for one and some goat cheese mixture for the other). The cocktail served to us was a very fancy Cosmopolitan, with a crown stenciled on top. We were surprised there were only 12 of us. After a few introductions we were taken for a tour of the galley. We didn’t know this would be part of the evening. After that we were escorted to the Kings Room, near the dining room, for the event.  We have the head Maitre d’, Celler Master Ron and Sommelier Temmy served the wines. There were six waiters to serve the 12 of us. It was quite formal with them all coming in with a specific course, they standing behind the guests, then serving us all at once. This type of dining is called synchronized service, also known as hand service or sweep service. This is an extremely formal and elegant method of food service often used for special events or in fine dining establishments. It was outstanding. The Executive Chef made an appearance more than once to see if we were pleased! One can certainly see why this event is limited to 12!

Here is our menu with every wine or spirit listed after the course.

Sesame Challah Poppy seed braid with 4 kinds of butter.

Asian Wagyu Steak Tartare - Smoked Champagne Cocktail

Butter Poached Lobster Tail, Lemon Grass Foam - Taittinger Brut Prestige Rosé, France

Spinach Ricotta Malfatti - Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc, New Zealand

Sour Cherry Granita

Cannon of Smoked Lamb, Pistachio Crust - Figgins Figlia Merlot/Petit Verdot, Walla Walla, WA

Artisan Cheese/fruit relish - Selection of Port and Amari

Honey Cremieux, Lemon Curd

Perfect ending for our last day at sea before reaching Kailua-Kona, the Big Island of Hawaii.

Sailing Toward Hawaii - Day 5&6

DAY FIVE – Oct 3: Coffee in our cabin plus this interesting yogurt dish they have on the breakfast menu. It is passion fruit yogurt with diced mango, chia seeds, mint, and a small sprinkling of granola on top. Tasty and perfect to take morning meds with! It was time for laundry for me. Yes, we have complementary laundry but I don’t want to send delicate items to be sent through the dryer. Stuart ran errands. By the time we were both done, it was almost lunchtime at Lido Market. It was very nice today. The special theme was Tex-Mex in addition to all the regular choices. The Tex-Mex was really good. I think they had the best salsa Verde I have ever had. There was regular taco meat that was very good, along with tender and juicy steak slices. Stuart went to the casino after that and I went to work on this blog and photos. I am not keeping up daily as I hoped I would. Soon it was time for our 4-star Mariner wine tasting event. We sat with Terry and Patty and they were nice to visit with. We tasted some delicious wines hosted by Celler Master Roy. It was almost time for the classical group Vivace in the Explorer Lounge. They were good but it was so cold in there it made it a bit harder to enjoy. Back to the cabin to warm up! We went to dinner around 7p and got in with just a couple minutes wait. Andy was sitting by himself at the table next to us, we struck up a lot of conversation with him. After dinner I wanted to listen to Shelly on the guitar. She has not been performing for a few days due to illness. All she really did was strum the guitar. We didn’t stay long and headed to Ocean Bar. The Dam Band was playing there. They are a rock band and we enjoyed that. James at the Piano was off today. We closed down the Dam Band and headed to the casino. Tonight, I am just watching, there is a good reason for that! Nonetheless, we stayed up late playing Cribbage in our cabin.

DAY SIX – Oct 4: We slept in. Stuart got lattes from the Coffee Bar on 5, delicious. Once I was finally dressed for the day, we browsed all of the shops. We have some significant OBC to spend. However, I didn’t even see anything I liked! We are going to need to eat in the specialty restaurants a lot to use it all up! We had lunch at Dive In. It was quite warm as the only table we could find at first was in the direct sun. Eventually, we moved. We left when the Ice Cream Social started. There was a speaker on the World Stage I wanted to see. The topic was Murder on the Dance Floor. What the speaker, Michael Adams, spoke on was telling the story of a murder from 1920’s in Australia. It was fairly interesting, but we were both nodding off after lunch! Ater that, back to the cabin to try and catch up on things on our laptops. It is dressy night so we need to change for dinner. When we saw the line at the Dining Room, we opted to return to Pinnacle Grill. I might have mentioned they have some Hawaiian menu items, so it was fun to try some of those. We had Violet from South Africa as our waitress again, she is delightful. Dinner was followed by the Zaandam Ball. We arrived after it started but we still enjoyed the music we did hear. It was fun and entertaining to watch the many interesting styles of dance that were displayed by some! Brief stop at the casino, then cribbage playing in our cabin to close out the day again.   

Sailing Toward Hawaii Day 3&4

DAY THREE – Oct 1: We got up early (for us) so we could go to the dining room for breakfast. The Swedish Pancakes were my choice and Stuart had the French toast. Both were delicious. From there we went back to the Sea View pool for the sun. It felt so nice. I believe the noon announcement said it was 72F. Very nice cruising today. Still, lots of swells and some challenge for balance for me. We stayed up there until after lunch time. The Lido Market was in full swing for food but we are still full from breakfast. I went back to the cabin to change, shower, and work on the blog. Stuart changed and went to a Rum tasting and a few other errands after that. Later in the afternoon we went to the Crows Nest for Aloha Sunset Music. It was enjoyable with both singing and dancing to Hawaiian music. After relaxing there we decided to head to the dining room. We were passing Pinnacle Grill and, on a whim, we decided to eat there. One usually needs reservations but honestly, we have seen very few people eating there. Stuart had a filet and I had the short ribs. Both were very good but my highlight of the meal was the Coconut Seafood Chowder. It was rich and delicious and did not overwhelm with the coconut flavor. We closed down the day with music at the Ocean Bar.

DAY FOUR – Oct 2: What a fun day at sea! We go up a bit early and grabbed a large Latte on our way to the water color art class. That was fun, even if we didn’t end up having a stellar painting. We will definitely do that again. The instructor teaches many classes a day, but they are repeats to accommodate everyone who wants to participate. It was lunch in the dining room today. This is typically served from 12-1p on sea days, often we go to the Lido Market for lunch but this was a nice change. We thought about a wine tasting, but we have that tomorrow so we just played games until time for the Tiki Bar Grand Opening. Such a festive event with so much participation. From décor to pool toys, with Hawaiian tunes and dancing. There is a lot of entertainment on this cruise. Dinner in the dining room, followed by a brief casino stop. The casino has not been very lucrative to date. We finished off the night with James in Mix. 

Boarding Tales of the South Pacific DAY 1&2

DAY ONE - Monday, Sep 29: As in the brief post from our stay in San Diego, we are on the ship. We have a few welcome gifts waiting in our cabin. One was a tote bag; the other was a reusable 12 oz. cup. They want you to use the cup for “to go” drinks, nice thought on saving waste. After dropping our small suitcase in the cabin, we ventured out to see the ship and have lunch. We chose Dive In for a burger by the Lido Pool. They have expanded their small menu with a few more options both in burgers and fries. One can get cheesy fries and Buffalo fries in addition to the standard ones offered before. Service was a bit slow, flavor was good. I was disappointed in my lettuce “wrapped” burger as the lettuce was falling off. However, I could eat it with a knife and fork.

4:45 was Sail Away at the Sea View pool. Tasty drinks, a few nice snacks, and Cruise Director Claire introduced some of the Dancers for a brief performance. She continued with some dancing for cruisers after the brief show. We appreciated views of San Diego upon departure. We chose Lido Market for dinner. It was so-so. 

Dinner was followed by the daily show featuring Erwin Urbi, from Hawaii. The show was called “Home in the Islands” with many traditional Hawaiian songs. A casino stop was next. I broke even on the slot machine so I was done for now. Not sure how Stuart did with Black Jack or Craps. From there we went to the Mix Piano Lounge. We met the piano player, James. He is from Scotland. He was personable and a I am sure we will enjoy many hours there listening to him perform. Long and tiring day. We have not fully unpacked the big suitcase that arrived in the afternoon. That will be a chore for tomorrow.

Ps: I forgot to mention we did not have a refrigerator in our cabin. We were surprised as we have never been on a ship that didn’t have one in our cabin. On this ship, only suite guests have them. We have a window cabin. There are no balcony cabins on this ship either. If you want a balcony one must splurge for a suite. We were told to inquire at Guest Service. We were told we could rent one for the cruise and it would be $60 for the entire trip. However, we were told there are none available. They hope to get more in Hawaii; they are on order. When we got back to our cabin, we now have a refrigerator! They put it below the desk, so now the chair doesn’t fit there anymore. This is an older ship. It has been refurbished and looks nice enough but there are these small things missing that larger ships have. Another missing feature is outlets, but we can deal with that.

DAY TWO – Sep 30: Today we slept in late. We are still feeing tired from yesterday. We had breakfast delivered along with coffee. After that we stayed in the cabin for some time working on our laptops and catching up on a few other things. In the afternoon it was Rummikub by the Sea View Pool and a few snacks to hold us over for dinner. It was a lovely day. The water looks like glass but there are swells and it has been challenging for me to walk. The pool even sloshed over the seating area. We went to dinner about 6p and that was a big mistake. It was very crowded. We were told the busiest time was 6p-7p so we will adjust our timing from now on. We skipped the violin show tonight and spent time in the casino and the Ocean Bar. There is a nice band in there, somewhat like the Rolling Stone lounge on other ships.

Valencia and San Diego

Sunday, Sep 21: We left home after dropping Tony off with Julie and picking up the rental car. We met our friends from the Bucharest to Budapest River Cruise for dinner. That was lots of fun to see them and catch up!

Monday, Sep 22: It seemed like a long drive to San Diego today. We stopped for Panda Express along the way.  The traffic wasn't that bad but I really dislike the multiple freeways. Before going to the timeshare, we first made a stop at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery. Both of Stuart’s parents are buried there. It was an emotional and touching visit. We checked into WorldMark for our 1 week stay. We unpacked what was needed and relaxed. We ate our leftover Panda Express for dinner, watched some TV, and called it a night.

Tuesday, Sep 23: Today we went to lunch and then to Trader Joe’s for a few groceries for the week. In the late afternoon we headed to Eric and Kathe’s (Stuart’s brother and wife) home to meet them for dinner. We enjoyed dinner and a nice visit. Kathe just had hip replacement surgery 4 days ago and she was eager to go out to dinner. I think that is amazing!

Wednesday, Sep 24: Today we went to the Coronado Del Rey Hotel. I had never been there before, only viewing it from the mainland. Stuart took us to Nobu for lunch and it was amazing! The weather was perfect. The hotel is historic and so beautiful. We played cards and watched a little TV in the evening. A lovely and memorable day.

Thursday, Sep 25: We both worked on our laptops for most of the. We left to meet Eric and Kathe at Jake’s Delmar by 4:45p. It was a nice dinner, but quite the lively place, so it was a little bit hard to visit. It is a nice place directly on the beach. If it weren’t foggy, we would have had a nice sunset! The food was flavorful, but the steak was a bit over for me and the entire meal could have been warmer. Still it was an enjoyable visit spending time with Eric and Kathe. 

Friday, Sep 26: Today we are just going to rest here at WorldMark. I’ve been dealing with a lot of leg swelling so I want to keep my feet up as much as possible. I have also been working daily on my album, which I enjoy. Stuart always has something to keep him busy on his laptop.

Saturday, Sep 27: Another restful day. We made meals and did laundry. We are set to pack. We are watching posts of the Facebook group. It certainly piques the excitement we are feeling. The Zaandam had a stop in San Francisco. We did a few small efforts in packing.

Sunday, Sep 28: We had a lovely brunch and visit with Eric and Kathe today. After that it was time to seriously think about packing. It didn’t take very long to organize and put everything back in our suitcases. We filled up the gas tank for a speedy return of the car at the airport tomorrow morning.

Monday, Sep 29: The day as come!!! Checking out of WorldMark was a breeze. Drive to the ship airport to return the car and then a quick taxi ride to the ship. I believe we were to our cabin around noon. Boarding was efficient.

Lisbon Day 4 and Flying Home

07-15: We were up late and sleeping in when the phone rang in our room. We had been trying to set up a “Sprunch” (massage and lunch) but it was never confirmed. This call was to inform us we have that set up and we needed to arrive in 30 minutes. Since the massage part is only 30 minutes we had to choose from head-neck-shoulder or legs-feet. I chose legs and feet; Stuart chose the other. It was nice enough. Then we went downstairs for the brunch part. It was astonishing. There was so much food: Rolls of all sorts, pancakes, toppings, cheese, meats, fruit bowl, muesli with yogurt. Aside from that we each chose a main dish. Stuart had Eggs Benedict and I had chicken salad. All was accompanied by a glass of sparkling wine. We took the chicken salad and the fruit bowls back to our room to have for lunch later.

I spent a great deal of time filing a claim for my lost bag. I need to fill it out now, but they said they will wait 28 days to submit it, giving that long for my luggage to show up. I am told it will be sent to my home when (I say IF) it is located. I am very doubtful it will ever show up. It is much more disturbing to fill out everything than it was to just lose the luggage. Who can come up with receipts for everything in the suitcase? Not me. It will be daunting to begin the replacement process when I get home. Of course, several things cannot be replaced, such as dresses I bought in Africa and Hawaii.

We played Rummikub this afternoon and Stuart packed in preparation for our departure tomorrow morning. We plan to leave about 7-7:30a.

07-16: On our way home today. Still no luggage, I have very little hope it will be found! We had a taxi to the airport because we couldn’t connect with an Uber. We breezed through most of the airport. I was thankful to get a wheelchair ride the last long walk of the day. Everything was fine after the very long line to double check passports. Back on the plane. We have a layover Newark but no time for the club. We took an Uber from the airport and we were home at 10:45p.

Lisbon Day 2 and Day 3

07-13: There is no word about my luggage. I have connected via FB messages and online at the website. They are good to acknowledge quickly on FB to assure me they are searching for it. Off we go for our next day of HO-HO. We went in a little clothing store across the street from our hotel and I got a few things to get me by. Panties, sports bra, socks, top, and pants. All of it was less than the $40€ they say I will get daily until my luggage comes. Stuart took the stuff back to our hotel and I walked on to get us a table at Confeitaria Victόria. Sadly, it was closed on Sunday! Just across the street was another café so we went there. They had some similar foods but no the same rustic atmosphere. That’s okay because we are fueled up for the day to begin. This time Stuart got the correct directions on his own instead of trying to follow those given to us by the hotel. Soon we were on the Blue Line bus and out for our adventure. We also did the Green Line today; it was my favorite. It was a much smaller bus to take us through the small, winding cities of the old part of Lisbon.

Walking back to the hotel we stopped at a Lebanese café for a beer and French fries. As planned, we went to Aldi’s next for a few things. We are stocked for water, wine, cheese, salami, nuts, chips, and fruit. We played Rummikub (Phase 10 is in my suitcase), had a few snacks, and called it a day. They did clean our room today but they did not and do not restock the little coffee packets. We only got one towel as well. The 2-star hotel in Thessaloniki was nicer that this 4-star hotel for sure! The people are very nice here but lacking in service. They have a massage brunch offered. We have been trying to sign up for that for 2 days to no avail.

07-14: No luggage. I think I will never see my nice Away bag and contents ever again. We are off for a late breakfast to Confeitaria Victόria. It was almost noon by the time we made it there. Time must be set aside for daily laundry! We discovered that they also serve lunch and perhaps dinner. We decided to have lunch. Stuart had a meat skewer from the grill and I had ½ order of pork from the grill. Both were huge, included a small salad, delicious, and satisfying. Neither of us could finish! We went to Aldi again, but we didn’t buy much, we don’t need much. We spent the afternoon playing Rummikub and on our laptops.

Tonight, we have a cooking class. We are excited about that. We left in time but the traffic was horrible and we barely made it at the exact starting time. There was one other couple, Ben and Susie from Miami, but they were late. Beatrice our host was delightful. Lisbon Affair was clean and inviting, with a cozy atmosphere. Bea had all the food we will use at each station with utensils and everything we will need. We made a delicious soup for an appetizer, a pork dish for the main, and ended the meal with an amazing dessert. Wine and a charcuterie board were first offered just before starting. We cooked and then ate the dinner together about 9:30p. Feeling stuffed we got an Uber to return to the hotel and off to bed.

Thessiloniki to Lisbon and Lisbon Day 1

07-11: Checking out of the hotel was a breeze, and oh yeah, I put in yesterday's blog that even though there was no elevator here, the staff carried everything upstairs, like it weighed a feather, and this morning they did the same. 

They suggested taxi to the airport for a flat price of 25 euros, instead of Uber, which was more. When we got to the airport, we were treated with luxury. The nice man helped us get our boarding passes for Aegean Air, and then ask us if we knew where the club was. Well, of course we didn't. He personally took us through security through A. Gate or it was just a us and then walked us on right to the club. I've never had such service such personalized service! We have a couple hours until our flight. But we're sitting comfortably in the club and there is food. I haven't taken a look at it yet, but I see there are lots of choices.

Arrival in Rome was uneventful, also went to the club and awaited the next leg of our trip on TAP Air Portugal. Flight was uneventful. Arrival was fine until my luggage didn’t arrive. Stuart got his. I waited by the baggage belt and he went to lost luggage and filed a report. There is nothing more we can do. Uber to the hotel and had a snack in the lobby before bed. Nice hotel but boy that bed is FIRM! Tried other ways online to find and report the missing luggage, but they say they are “searching” for it. I have the clothes I have on, nightgown, medications, and a small toiletry bag. I guess I will be washing undergarments every night! Ugh…

07-12: Still no luggage. However, we are off to see Lisbon! We skipped the hotel breakfast, I think it was $20€, also just the same foods we have been eating. We wanted something Portuguese! I was thrilled when we walked just down the street and found a little café. It has many things I recognize from Brazil. A cochina was my breakfast with coffee. Stuart had a sort of tiny, flat meat pie. It reminded me of a pastel in Brazil. We added 2 cups of coffee with milk for $6,90€. So delicious! I want to go back there tomorrow!

On we walked for the HO-HO starting point. Somehow the 15-minute walk turned into almost an hour. We took a wrong turn somewhere. We did stop for some cheese and wine along the way because we wanted to use their restroom! That was $29€ but that was 4 glasses of wine with the cheese board. Still recovering from our wrong turn in the very hilly city of Lisbon! We finally got there and bought a 48-hour pass. Today we did just the red line. We were going to shop for some things for me, but I wanted to wait in hopes the luggage shows up. Tomorrow we will do 2 or maybe 3 lines. I’m not sure of our plans for the rest of the days.

Another up and down walk back to the hotel. No luggage… I am exhausted from all the walking; seems we were always going uphill! We stopped at a shop near our hotel and bought fresh cherries and a couple cold drinks. Also, a bottle of wine for our room.

For dinner we ate a hamburger in the hotel, I am much to tired to go out somewhere. It was huge and I could only eat half. Off to bed in total exhaustion. Even this hard bed did not stop me from sleeping!

 

Last Day on Cruise and Welcome to Thessiloniki

07-09: Thessaloniki, Greece. We are staying on board today and taking care of laundry and more. I caught up on this blog and organized things for packing. We were also warned last night that it is going to be very hot today. Apparently, Greece is having a heatwave. I just read online where they have closed the Acropolis in Athens due to heat being 107.6F. We will see about our plan after disembarkation tomorrow. We plan to go to our hotel and drop our bags and see Thessaloniki by HO-HO bus. That should be cool enough.

After laundry we headed to Beefbar for lunch. It was delicious as always. We did more organization and packing in the afternoon then headed to Crystal Cove. We had a bottle of champagne (Veuve Clicquot) to celebrate the sale of Stuart’s house in Boise.

We finished it off in Waterside with our last dinner onboard. Entertainment tonight was in Starlight Lounge with the singers and dancers, it was great. Then back to Crystal Cove and to our cabin to put luggage out. It’s been a great cruise.

07-10: Today we disembark. It was easy to find our luggage when there are so few passengers on these smaller ships. The hotel was easy for our taxi driver to find. Taxis were waiting at the gate. We were able to check in very early. The hotel is not fancy but the people are so nice. The carried all our heavy luggage to the room. I was grateful for that because of the steps and no elevator. For whatever reason we are exhausted and took a good long rest, even sleeping for a bit. After noon we tried to get the HO-HO bus but missed it. Instead, we walked around the city, saw St. Demetris Cathedral, the largest in Greece. We also saw some Roman Forman ruins with parts of an amphitheater left. We had a very different pizza for lunch. They called it Mediterranean but it mainly had feta cheese, peppers, and sauce with a few olives. Anyway, it was good. Back to the hotel for a rest, we are feeling so tired. We ventured out later for a small bite to eat and a drink. Off to bed at a decent time after playing Phase 10. We will fly to Lisbon tomorrow, via Rome.

Patmos, Greece and Sea Day

07-07: Patmos, Greece. After a quick breakfast, we took the tender to the port where we boarded a bus and drove a short distance to the cave of the Apocalypse. There were fantastic views. The Cave of the Apocalypse is located approximately halfway up the mountain on the Aegean Island of Patmos, along the road between the villages of Chóra and Skala. This grotto marks the spot where St. John of Patmos received his visions that he recorded in the Book of Revelation. The cave is now part of a complex of monastic buildings protected by UNESCO.

You can see the rock where John put his head, but they have it surrounded by metal and also a metal gate. But we saw it, and I never thought I would be able to see a place like this. This is the cave where he received the Revelation. After that we drove on to the to the base of the monastery of St. John which is a big hike up a hill. I stayed at the cafe at the bottom and Stuart went up the hill to the cathedral. At the cafe, I bought an iced coffee and a piece of spinach pie. I'm not really hungry, but I don't want to sit here and take up the space without buying something. Stuart took some great photos. We also saw and took a picture of the windmills of Patmos. These are 3 windmills that were built-in the 1500s and 1800s. When flower production ceased in the 1950s, the windows were abandoned and fell into disrepair. Now they've been restored, and they're a landmark One mill still grinds, some small quantities of wheat and there's a small museum, we did not go in.

Back on the bus and it was just a few minutes until arriving to the restaurant, Aloni, for our snack and Folklore show. The place of food call Meze (also spelled mezze or mezé). Just like our other food in Greece, it was delicious, accompanied by very tasty white wine. The short Folklore dance was nice. I felt sorry for them dancing in heavy costumes. Now back to the ship.

Dinner in the dining room, my sole was outstanding. I ordered a half portion, but I am sure it was the full portion. I could not eat it all.

07-08: Today is a relaxing pool day. It is our ONLY sea day as well. Stuart spoke at 10a about the Seven Wonders of the world, both original and new. It was well attended and enjoyed by all. After that he was free of any obligation. We headed to the pool. We split a hot dog for lunch from the Trident Grill. We have Beefbar dinner tonight so we don’t want to eat too much before that. Today there were a lot of people around the pool since it was the only day at sea. We played Phase 10 all afternoon. We skipped the Captain’s Reception and opted to rest before dinner. Again, Beefbar did not disappoint. Afterwards, we went to the show and also the casino. It was a nice and relaxing day at sea.

Two days in Kusadasi, Greece

07-05: Kusadasi, Turkey today. We slept in and skipped the breakfast, heading right into the city for a nice lunch at 1453 Osmanli. It was quite tasty trying some different foods, a huge platter with a lot of choices. We took quite the walk out to the Kusadasi Castle on the other side of the port. It isn’t too hot and there was a breeze on the walk there. Not much of a breeze on the way back. We stopped at Molly Malone’s, strange as it may seem, they did not have Guinness Beer! However, they had other beers and a nice cooler to sit in front of!

We have our Turkish Lira left over so we walked around and found some goodies (Turkish Delight) for the crew. They guy who owned the shop was so proud of his shop and the things in it. He even offered us some watermelon. The walk back to the ship seemed very hot so we were happy to find our cabin nice and cool. After freshening up we had a predinner cocktail in Crystal Cove and then on to the dining room. Fish and chips was the choice tonight. Later on it was listening to Jazz in the Avenue.

07-06: Today was a relaxing pool day. We're still in Kusadasi, but since we were out all day yesterday, we stayed in today and enjoyed the pool and relaxing. We had a wagyu pepperoni pizza for a snack from Beefbar. Once we finally got warm, we went back to the cabin. Tonight is a treat again in Umi Uma. We refreshed for dinner and had another epicurean delight! It was really outstanding. We had delicious dishes – sashimi, tempura, lobster and some shell crab spring rolls. We went to crystal cove, afterwards and listened to Inga play for a little while. Then we moved on to the starlight for dancing music and a few people in there. The Ambassadors were there to dance with the ladies.

Santorini and Rhodes, Greece

07-03: Today we're in Santorini. Since there's at least three other cruise ships, the crowds will be huge. We decided to have a lovely and relaxing pool day. We have both been here before. Looking up at the sparkling white villages up on the cliffs, enjoying champagne, and freshly baked pastry - what more could we want? We played Rummikub up there until it got pretty windy.

When it was close to dinnertime, we went to Crysyal Cove to listen to Inga on the violin. Every evening, they pass out tiny appetizers. We are careful not to eat most of them or we can’t eat the dinner. Dinner was in the main dining room and even ordering half portions, it is just more than we can eat. The comedian at the show wasn’t too impressive (mark Palmer). Jade was extra loud so we didn’t stay. Instead, we went to the Avenue Saloon to listen to the piano for just a little while.

07-04: It is sunny, but it's not supposed to be too warm today. So, we're headed out with a short walk to the beautiful walled city. Like most Greek water, we've seen, it's clear and sparkling, and a beautiful color blue. We skipped to breakfast on board to be able to have a nice breakfast in a cafe in Rhodes. That's exactly what we did after the brief walk to the city. Stuart had a waffle with banana and whipped cream, and I think strawberries. I opted for a crepe with feta, tomatoes, and olives on the side. Everything was delicious. The Greek coffee is pretty strong. Thankfully, I had a sweetener packet in my purse. We walked around looking in shops and had a stop for a glass of cold wine before heading back to the ship.

The ship is beautifully decorated today for 4th of July. I was surprised to see that since we're not in the US. The cake that represents the day is absolutely beautiful. Everything was handmade on it, and edible. Tonight is the White Party. Of course, we will check that out later.

We had a quick, small lunch in the Beefbar. They do have some delicious items! Dinner was Waterside but we only had a few appetizers. Time for the White party and it was really fun to watch. Cruise Director Vicky really did let her hair down! Fun Night!

Next Cruise Begins!

07-01: Piraeus today. I was still tired when we got up this morning. Me made it to the buffet at Market Place and then back to the cabin to get some things done. It seems like a good time to do laundry since a lot of people are getting off and new passengers getting on a few hours after that.

Otherwise, it was a quiet day for us. We ate lunch at the Beefbar and took a nap in the afternoon. Dinner was in the dining room, though we weren’t very hungry, we did have a delicious seafood cocktail (muscles, shrimp, scallop, lobster, and crab!)

We went to the show and spent some time in Jade after the show. As I said, a quiet day.

07-02: Crete: today, we took a wonderful excursion to the countryside for olive oil tasting and wine tasting. It was lovely. The drive through the countryside was so interesting and I didn't realize there are 7000 ft peaks here in the White Mountains. They are limestone, thus the white colors. Crete isn’t even that large to have this these tall mountains. There were lovely flowers along the way plus scads of olive trees, orange trees, and other citrus trees. They plant Oleanders by the freeways, so that the animals won't try to cross. Because they are poisonous, the animals stay away and therefore, no animals have been hit or killed on the highways. Our guide was very informative and even shared a few mythological stories with us. Our tour got a late start because the microphone did not work in the bus. You are forbidden to leave the port without a working microphone! Who knew? However, a new bus came and all was well. We were back in plenty of times since Stuart had to speak at 4:30p. His talk was on caldera formations today, it was very interesting plus being well attended. 

Following that, we went to Cystal Cove and listened to both the violin player and a duo singing group that also plays the keyboard. Dinner in the waterside dining room followed by Sabrina Aloueche for our show tonight. She has a fabulous voice. She has starred in many Broadway plays.

Another trip to casino was uneventful and, disappointing for Sharon. There is a waiting list and she gave up waiting after fifteen or twenty minutes. Stuart played a little three card poker while waiting for a Black Jack table. He ended up doing pretty well for the eve.

Piraeus, Greece

06-30: Today we visited the Ancient City of Corinth and the Corinth Canal. This tour started at 8:30a so it was up early for us! After breakfast in the Market Place, we met in the Starlight Lounge for the tour. Our number was quickly called and we headed to the bus. It was a 1.5+ hour drive to Corinth. The first stop was for the restroom and a 5-minute walk to view the Corinth Canal from above. Quite an amazing feat. The Corinth Canal is a canal that connects the Gulf of Corinth in the Ionian Sea with the Saronic Gulf in the Aegean Sea. Completed in 1893, it cuts through the narrow Isthmus of Corinth and separates the Peloponnese peninsula from the Greek mainland. It is 4 miles in length and 80.7 feet wide at sea level is impassable for many modern ships. It is currently of little economic importance and is mainly a tourist attraction. You can find much more information online. Back on the bus heading to the Ancient City.

There have been dramatic changes since John and I were here in 2017. For Christians, Corinth is well known from the two letters from Paul the Apostle in the New Testament, the First Epistle to the Corinthians and the Second Epistle to the Corinthians. Corinth is also mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles as part of Paul the Apostle's missionary travels.

Ancient Corinth was one of the largest and most important cities of Greece, with a population of 90,000 in 400 BC. The Romans demolished Corinth in 146 BC, built a new city in its place in 44 BC, and later made it the provincial capital of Greece.

After the tour of the city, we stopped for a cold drink and tzatziki with fresh, hot pita bread. It was delicious. Back on the bus for the 1.5-hour trip back to the ship.

We dropped our things in the cabin and went upstairs for a cold drink and to play cards. It was much too hot outside but there are plenty of places to play inside. We came back to the cabin for about an hour before Stuart had an important phone call with the attorney and his real estate lady. He is still working to get that resolved.

Then it was off to Crystal Cove for some violin music before dinner. The best thing we had tonight was Jerusalem Artichoke soup. After dinner we went to the show, followed by Jade. We had a nice talk with Vickie and then it was off to bed.  This is the last day of the 1st cruise! We are overnight here in Piraeus. The next cruise begins tomorrow.

Monemvasia and Spetses, Greece

06-28: We are in the tiny port of Monemvasia, Greece. We opted to stay onboard after sleeping in late. We did get up in time for the late riser’s breakfast in the Trident Grill, followed by a walk around the upper deck and taking photos. It is a quaint looking place with a long history. The large rock mountain in Monemvasia, Greece, is simply called Monemvasia. It's also known as the "Gibraltar of the East" due to its dramatic location and fortifications. The town itself is built on this rock, which is connected to the mainland by a small causeway. This remarkable place, off the easternmost finger of Greece’s Peloponnese region, is only about a quarter of the size of the Rock of Gibraltar (to which it is always compared). But Monemvasia’s vertical bulk, towering about 330 feet over the Aegean Sea, is every bit as dramatic. I even found a drone view that I posted to Facebook.

We had some drinks and played cards by the pool. For dinner we went to Waterside, the main dining room. Following that, it was the show, and Jade Night Club.

06-29: After breakfast in the Market Place (breakfast buffet), we headed ashore. Today we went to Spetses. Another small, lovely place that only smaller cruise ships enter. We read there were carriage rides around the city so that is what we opted to do. I will say the tender into port was pretty grueling. I took Dramamine and did okay, Stuart was not feeling so well when we arrived. We sat on a bench in the shade for a little bit and then took the carriage ride.

It was a nice ride showing us narrow city streets with no cars. Other streets had a few cars, just very little cars. Beautiful flowers, lemon, oranges, and beautiful homes. Most of the older homes have been refurbished and really looked lovely. Some have been turned into hotels for visitors. Some have been restored and it is clear they take pride in their city. Beautiful flowers, lemon and orange trees abound. The ride took 30-45 minutes and brought us right back to the port. We walked around a little bit and found a nice place to sit watching the sea. A glass of wine and a small salad to share was very enjoyable. It's sunny, but cloudy and very breezy. It feels perfect sitting here in the cafe overlooking water.

There's are many ferries here. You can get a ferry to and from Athens, I think it's to say 3 hours to Athens. Then, of course from there, you could get other ferries to other islands. That would be a fun way to travel with just a carry on no dressy clothes, just flat out travel clothes and comfortable shoes. Just pop island to island seems really nice.

The water is still rough, but not as bad as it was this morning. Back to the ship and a nap helped “cure” all the ill feelings we had.

Stuart spoke today in the Hollywood Theater again. This time it was about Athens. It was well attended. We will not venture there tomorrow as we have both been there. It will be very hot and strenuous.

We had dinner in Waterside again. We made it to the show just in time and then spent a short time in Jade. We decided to go to the casino. It was a waitlist to play. Stuart stayed but I went back to the cabin. We rise early in the morning.

Katakolon, Greece

06-27: Today we are in Katakolon, Greece. We got up early and made it to our first breakfast in the main dining room. There were only 3 couples eating there when we arrived. After breakfast it was laundry time. They have a Guest Laundry on each deck. We didn't have a lot to was but we want to keep current on it. Stuart went up to the pool deck but I stayed behind to soak my sore toe. Big fun! When everything was done we headed out for the town.  

There is another ship in port, MSC Fantasia. It is large, holding 4K+ passengers. Oh my, it is blistering hot. MSC was docked nearer to the port but we had a bit of a trek to get to the port. Not sorry we went but it was grueling in the heat. We readily stopped at a café and had a cold beer and dolmas for a snack. We called that lunch as we don’t want to fill up for dinner tonight. We are going to Umi Uma tonight. We checked the menu and it looks fantastic! After we got back, we rested. Well, I rested, Stuart was busy on his laptop. The heat really zaps me.

Umi Uma, did not disappoint! Set in an elegantly modern setting and created by legendary Master Chef Nobuyuki (Nobu) Matsuhisa, dishes are inspired by the exotic array and traditions of the Orient. Crab spring rolls, lobster tempura, sashimi, lobster stir fry… so much could be said, but the photos speak for themselves.

Following dinner, it was a Broadway show with the ship’s singers and dancers. They have very elaborate costumes, an enjoyable show. Brief stop at the casino. I think I said what a small casino it is. Maybe 30 slot machines, 1 roulette table, and 2 black jack/poker tables. The 2 tables can flip the tops to be one or the other. Black jack has become very popular and they keep a running wait list of who may sit next when someone leaves. I wonder if they will add more tables in the future.

Good-bye Croatia and Welcome to Greece!

06-25: Here we are in Dubrovnik! I am excited to be here. It is beautiful. Often, I see photos of places I want to go to but then when you get there is a disappointment, certainly not the case with Dubrovnik! We took the tender to meet our excursion at the pier. We were on time but ended up waiting in the hot sun for everyone to arrive. We booked Dubrovnik by Tuk-Tuk. I mainly wanted this so we could see a lot and not just walk around in the hot sun. As it turned out we had to walk about 20 minutes to get to the beginning of the Tuk-Tuk ride. At least as we were driven along, we had refreshing breezes. There is certainly a lot of history here. We saw Napolean era ruins, new town and old town, an amazing bridge, beautiful sites from the mountain top, and we could even see Bosnia from one view point. Our driver Moro was very knowledgeable. On our walk back we stopped at a café for a cold drink. A lovely little spot overlooking the harbor. Back on the tender and to the ship swiftly. Time for a shower and refresh for dinner. 

Dinner was enjoyed in the dining room followed by the show. It was a comedian and he wasn’t bad. A quick stop at the casino, to make a donation… Tonight we lose and hour of sleep time as we are turning the clocks forward.  

06-26: Today we are in Igoumenitza, Greece. Breakfast for late risers was our choice in Trident Grill. There is a tender into town but we opted for a pool day. It was pretty hot at the pool but the shade, playing a game, and a dip in the cool water, made it pleasant. Temps were already 97˚F at 9:30a! 

Stuart had a speaking engagement at 4:30p. That was great and we all learned more about Olympia. We listened to music in Crystal Cove until it was time for dinner. Tonight, we chose the main dining room, Waterside. Off to the show after that, which was a Neil Diamond Tribute, he was good. After that it was a quick stop in the casino. Stuart stayed a while but I was tired from the day and went back to bed.

Croatia! Zadar and Dubrovnik

06-24: We slept in and had a nice lunch out by the pool. We enjoy the food in Trident Grill, which has a nice and simple menu. We hoped to go off the ship today but this is a port intensive cruise and we do have a plan to tomorrow. We walked around and admired the coastline and lovely, rustic homes. The sun beat us after several games of Rummikub and it was a nap before bed.

We chose Beefbar for dinner. It was good. It was somewhat similar to most steak houses on cruises. Everything is brought to the table separately and you then have a plate to choose what you want. Having the steak come in a hot skillet-type of dish is a nice touch to keep the steak hot. They have a special sauce there, one of four to choose from. We chose the one from Paris called, “Sauce Originale Realis de Paris”. It was good but I will try a different one next time.

We didn’t go to the show tonight as it already started when we finished dinner. Instead, we went to the casino and had some fun there. We chatted a lot with a couple from Florida. They have their adult son with them. A very nice family. We      

06-25: Here we are in Dubrovnik! I am excited to be here. It is beautiful. Often, I see photos of places I want to go to but then when you get there is a disappointment, certainly not the case with Dubrovnik! We took the tender to meet our excursion at the pier. We were on time but ended up waiting in the hot sun for everyone to arrive. We booked Dubrovnik by Tuk-Tuk. I mainly wanted this so we could see a lot and not just walk around in the hot sun. As it turned out we had to walk about 20 minutes to get to the beginning of the Tuk-Tuk ride. At least as we were driven along, we had refreshing breezes. There is certainly a lot of history here. We saw Napolean era ruins, new town and old town, an amazing bridge, beautiful sites from the mountain top, and we could even see Bosnia from one view point. Our driver Moro was very knowledgeable. On our walk back we stopped at a café for a cold drink. A lovely little spot overlooking the harbor. Back on the tender and to the ship swiftly. Time for a shower and refresh for dinner.

Dinner was enjoyed in the dining room followed by the show. It was a comedian and he wasn’t bad. A quick stop at the casino, to make a donation… Tonight we lose and hour of sleep time as we are turning the clocks forward.

Welcome Aboard, and more...

06-22: We both had a great sleep and woke up rested. Later in the day we felt drowsy but did not take a nap! We ate a piece of fruit we had for our breakfast and there was coffee in the room. Packed back up and headed to the ship about noon. We thought we knew where we were going but they are in a different location this time. Thankfully our Uber driver could adjust our trip and get us to the right location. Like last year, there was some mix up on our cabin number. It did get straightened out but it is strange that this happens. But I’m getting ahead of myself. First, we went to Trident Grill for lunch as the cabins were not ready. Then we spent a little time walking around the ship. It is a smaller ship, holds just 620 persons, I like it. However, this voyage has just 450 onboard! 2:30p our cabin was ready and I unpacked my suitcase. Stuart went to a meeting for speakers and unpacked when he returned. 

We walked around observing the changes to the ship since last year. There are a lot, for the better. There is now Beefbar where we ate lunch.  It was delicious. There was a very different and delicious. Later in the afternoon we went by the Crystal Cove bar and enjoyed some piano music before dinner. They walk around serving these lovely little lobster appetizers that a fabulous of course!

After dinner the show was great, called Crystal in Motion. Great dancers and singers, and a lot of them! Following that it was the Jade Lounge where we saw Viv and reconnected from last year. He is a delight. He used to work at Studio 54 and has all sorts of original photos and videos from that era. Exhausted and ready for bed!!

06-23: We had an overnight in Venice. We had a nice breakfast in the dining room. Today we spent most of the morning on a canal tour in Venice. It was okay, we saw several of the islands that make up Venice, but we did not go on the Grand Canal. Since we have both been here before, that didn’t matter too much. It was a nice tour with a different perspective and very little walking. For lunch we tried the Beefbar for lunch on the Crystal Symphony. It is a new restaurant choice this year. The appetizer Caesar salad was delightful and different and the Wagyu pepperoni pizza was...well, it was Wagyu! They only serve Wagyu, beef here at the Beefbar during lunch!

Stuart had his first speaking engagement today. We were hopeful that at least 6-7 people would attend. What a surprise to have 50-60 in the Hollywood theater! Cruise director Vicki van Tassel (yes, that is her name!) introduced him. She is a delight and such a comedian! She is a friend already. The presentation went great with several coming up afterwards. It was a rewarding time for Stuart.

We leave port at 7p tonight. After the show, very good Elton John tribute, we found the casino. This is new from last year. There is one Black Jack table, one Poker table, one Roulette table, and about 25-30 slots. We played Black Jack, but didn’t win… off to bed!

It's Time! Venice!

06-20: We're off for back-to-back to back cruises, on Crystal Symphony. Stuart will be speaking on both cruises. Our flight from FAT to SFO was uneventful. We went to the United Club and had a nice meal and cocktail before heading to our gate. 

06-21: SFO to ZRH was also uneventful. We went to the Star Alliance Club and relaxed there with a glass of wine while we awaited our final short flight to Venice. This flight was also uneventful and it was just a 1 hour flight to Venice. There was a lot of snow as we went over high mountains, we also saw a lot of lovely landscape. 

After arrival it was a taxi from the airport to the Four Seasons Hotel. We didn't unpack much as we will only be here one night. However, we want to stay up as late as possible to get back to the "right" time so we went down to the bar and played Phase 10 for a while. We were slightly hungry and ordered a pepperoni flat bread to split. Back to the room and Stuart had some computer work to do. I decided to play solitaire on my Kindle but soon fell asleep. I think that was around 7:30p.

Missed Port and Keeling, Taiwan (Taipei)

02-23 Kaohsiung, Taiwan at Sea Sunday: Poor weather today and we need to out run a storm on the way with 70-80 mph winds. We were supposed to undergo immigration in this port but we will need to see what will happen now. We played Train but the ship was really pitching about. We will just divert and go on to the next port of Keeling, Taipei. This evening, we had dinner in Pinnacle Grill with Paul and Maureen. It was another great evening, great wine, great food, and great company! We didn’t do immigration today even though we arrived at 5p. We will see how that goes tomorrow. For today they do revise the activities and promotions with an updated information sheet.

02-24 Keelung (Taipei), Taiwan Monday: Our excursion is On Our Own in Taipei. First it was the immigration process. For us this started at 8:15a and we did end up leaving on the tour approximately 9:15a, close to the original time. This was a bus ride into town for 1 hour. We had 6 hours on our own to explore. It might have been a great day but we didn’t check things our well enough. We started walking and went into the first welcoming entrance we came too. That was a mistake! It was a maternity and baby exposition. We had a laugh with that one! Neither of us are feeling 100%, just feeling woozy and not quite right. We decided we would get a bite to eat then take the Hop-On Hop-Off bus to check things out. The only thing we could find was a spot for coffee in a mall. We were then on our search for the HO-HO stop. We walked back to Taipei 101 and found information. We gathered the information but decided we better eat something before heading out. There was a lovely food court, very crowded, but we found a spot and had a quick sandwich that we bought at 7/11, potato salad, and bottled water. Now we headed out to find the HO-HO station. After about an hour of searching we finally got the information that the bus doesn’t run on Monday. I might mention it was a bit cold and a bit rainy. I was beat by this time and we headed back to the food court. Stuart wasn’t hungry. Sharon got a chicken and Udon noodle bowl, and we shared. It was interesting trying to eat slippery noodles with a spoon or chop sticks! We met at 4:20p for our 1-hour bus ride back to the ship. Internet has been very poor in waters near China. Things should improve when we get into Japan.

Manila, Philipines and At Sea

02-21 Manila, Philippines Friday: We did plan to get off today, but we are just tired. We had a pool day instead and also played Rummikub up at Sea View. When we got too warm, we went back to the cabin to rest and play Phase 10. Soon enough it was time to prep for dinner. After the dinner we went to the show, Violinist Jocelyn Ng. It was quite different from what one might expect. Off to the casino after that. I left early but Stuart played on and did very well again!

02-22 At Sea Saturday: We awoke to rough seas on our way to Taiwan. We planned to have breakfast on the balcony with our last bottle of bubbly, but it was too windy. We will save the bottle until later! We had a lovely dinner at Canaletto. We really like the Born of Fire Cabernet Sauvignon.

Puerto Princesa, Philippines and Missed Port

02-19 Puerto Princesa, Philippines Wednesday: We planned to get off and walk around like we did on the first visit here. However, we awoke to rain and fog so think at times you could not see the water! We decided to skip the port today. We had breakfast in our cabin and ventured out to Sea View to play Rummikub. The rain cleared up but it was very humid and warm. Back to the cabin in a couple hours. The rest of the day was uneventful other than receiving chocolate covered strawberries from the casino!

02-20 Boracay, Philippines Thursday. But we didn’t make it to the port after all. The water was too rough and the tenders could not safely operate, so no port for us today. We didn’t plan to get off anyway, we were going to have a pool day. However, it was very disappointing for those expecting to visit family there. Maran, our wine person, was to see her parents. We did play Train with the group, which is always fun. This evening, we ate at Pinnacle Grill with Paul, Maureen, Don, and Lisa. It was another 4-hour dinner and very enjoyable.

Two Days At Sea

02-17 At Sea: Rough seas with some rain and wind. We slept in and went to Dive In for lunch, then quickly on to Mexican Train. As the day went on, we did see sun!  We had an early dinner in Pinnacle with Paul and Maureen tonight. It was a 4+ hour dinner, we do have fun chatting!

We secured our QR code entry card required for the Philippines on the 19^th. Stuart also spoke with Shore Excursions today about our tour yesterday. We don’t expect anything for ourselves but hopefully others in the future will avoid the somewhat disappointing day.

02-18 At Sea Monday: We slept in after another late night. There was an announcement that everyone immediately needed to get to the thermal scan required by the Philippines. I hopped out of bed and made it before they started to call names of those who didn’t show up yet! We had a French Dip sandwich in the dining room for lunch and then on to play Mexican Train. We have 3 port days ahead of us so we won’t be doing that again soon. It was fun. We came back to the cabin and decided to play Rummikub on the balcony. Oh my, the weather has changed! Time to pull out the summer clothing again! Another nice dinner and visit to the casino.

At Sea and Hong Kong, China

02-15 At Sea, Saturday: We are sailing in Chinese waters today. We have no internet and we are told NOT to take photos in this area or we might be prosecuted. The fog horn blew all through the night and we see very little out there. There are a few scattered boats and yesterday one of our friends saw a drone. Speedy boats seem to go around us from time to time. We slept in due to turning the clock ahead last night and lack of sleep from the ship’s fog horn blowing all night. We made it to Lido for lunch and then to Mexican Train. The afternoon we played cards and prepped for dinner this evening. Sharon had a lamb shank that was delicious. The appetizers were spectacular tonight and Stuart had 3 of those.

02-16 Hong Kong, China, Sunday: We booked a HAL shore excursion today. Hong Kong is a new stop for Sharon, Stuart has been here, and Mainland China, several times. The excursion didn’t do exactly what was described below: Approximately 5¼ Hours Adult $99.95. Depart the pier for Hong Kong Island and cross under Victoria Harbour by tunnel. At Aberdeen, learn how fishermen and their families live aboard the thousands of junks and sampans crammed into the harbor. Enjoy a short sampan ride here. (We did not see a fisherman’s village at all or learn about it. We did have a short sampan ride).

Continue to the small village of Stanley and the legendary Stanley Market, famous for its clothes, furniture, souvenirs and great, inexpensive knock-offs of pricey designer goods. (Close to half the shops were closed due to our early arrival time.) I did find a postcard but they were out of stamps.

You'll drive past Repulse Bay to the southern side of the island, with panoramic views of one of Hong Kong's most popular and beautiful beaches. The beautiful hotel you'll see has long been a landmark here. Head up to Victoria Peak by funicular tram for a breathtaking view of the harbor and Kowloon. (Instead, we drove up to Victoria Peak and took the funicular tram down, which was fine) Here we had 30 minutes to find something quick to eat and get back to the meeting place. There was supposed to be a Burger King on one level, but we got there and there were no restaurants to be found. We went back up a floor and got some dumplings and spring rolls. It held us over until dinner.  

Pause briefly at one of the city's jewelry showrooms to see the wonderful craftsmanship on display. (We were told we would be going to an outlet that had many things for sale. It was all pearl jewelry, nothing else)

Overall, it was okay. The island is very smoggy. At first, we thought it was clouds or fog but our eyes started burning so we surmised it was smog.

 

At Sea and Halong Bay, Vietnam - Valentine's Day

02-13 At Sea, Thursday: Today we had a plan to have a bubbly breakfast on the balcony. We did do that but the bottle of bubbly was not good. It had the aroma of rotting grape waste at a winery… not good. It barely popped when we opened it. Bernardo said he would replace it, but we said no. We still have wine in our package and that will do. It was Legrand Courtȃge from France. Tonight was Gala Night so also dressy night. Steak and pasta for us. No one really dresses up that much anymore. At least we did see them turn someone away in shorts and flip flops! It was a brief stop in the casino.

02-14 Halong Bay, Friday, Valentine’s Day: We did have a cruise of Halong Bay and the Caves planned, but we canceled it. We decided to try for a massage and lunch in town again. It was a poor day for this lovely port. You could barely see all the rock formations in the bay due to the fog. There is a nice port building but very little around the port itself. We hired a multi-seat golf cart- type of vehicle. It was approx. US$20 and worked out well. There was a route to follow but thankfully he took us just where we wanted to go. First stop was the massage. It was different than other massages we had, but still nice. From there we went to a local market. It was in a building and very interesting. We walked down a ramp to the lower level which was all food; fruit, baked good, spices, and much more. Going up the next ramp we found a lot of clothing, kitchen supplies, and almost anything else you might want. We did not find a Bitak shirt for Stuart, which is what we were looking for. We used Google Translate to clearly tell the driver what we wanted. He did not know where to go for the shirt but took us to a souvenir shop, he thought might have one. Wow, it was an upscale souvenir shop for sure. Most of the things there were made of 100% silk and lovely. We did find Stuart a really nice shirt for approx. US$40. I tried a couple of tops but the sizes are just too tiny for my full figure! There were some amazing sheets but I don’t want to haul something like that home in my suitcase. After that he took us along the shore. There is a lovely, long, but deserted beach. It is off season. You can certainly see what it must be like when the weather is warm and everyone is here to have fun. I didn’t mention when we first got into the town area, there was a lot of damage from a typhoon that came through 3 months ago. Like a hurricane, it just cut a path through snapping off trees, ripping off roofs, and doing a lot of other damage. There were a lot of places closed and some being refurbished. The whole street was one vacant hotel after another. Now it was back to the ship. As I said the terminal is big and quite nice. We looked around there a little bit. I did find a postcard but no stamp. I decided to get it anyway. I have 3 postcards to mail from home now! 

It was Pinnacle Grill tonight for the Valentine Dinner. It was wonderful. Appetizers, palate cleanser, main, and dessert – 6 courses! We also had one of the best tables in the place. We have become friends with Rebecca the hostess there. I have tried to put the menu and photos on FB but so far no success! It was a fantastic evening. 

Over night in Da Nang, Vietnam

02-11 Overnight in Da Nang (Hue), Tuesday: It was stormy this morning. Rain and chilly. Amazing what a change in weather crossing the equator. Our tour for today is tonight to Hoi An Ancient town. The town is only 22 miles away but takes 1 hour to drive it. This was a shore excursion via HAL. Several busses went and it was a mass crowd. I am sure it is crowded anyway but this was bad. Our guide was sweet and all, her name was Dong. She walked so fast only a few could keep up through the crowds. She did slow down after Helen (Distinctive Voyages) asked her to in a loud voice. Others echoed her request. We had about an hour to shop there. We did not shop but sat for a cold drink. The tour included dinner, which was very good, at a restaurant called Morning Glory. It was at least 3 stories and very busy. We had a brief time to walk around again and then we headed to the bus. It was nice to see such a night market. It rather reminded me of Disneyland, sans the rides, with the crowds and little toys shooting up in the air. There was also a great change in the weather. It was actually quite warm there. We dressed for the weather in the port so we peeled off our outer layer pretty quickly. We are overnight here so arriving back after 10p was not an issue.

02-12 Da Nang, Wednesday: Today we are here until 6p so we have all day. We started with a late and small breakfast. Our plan is to take the HAL shuttle into town and find a massage and a lunch. The drop off point at APEC park. It was a nice location and we could see the Dragon Bridge from there as we were leaving. We walked around the town and stopped at 3-4 massage places. No one had a massage for 2 available. We walked on back toward the shuttle point sort of giving up on the idea. Sharon was tired of walking so we stopped at a little café. It is so eye opening to stop in these cities. We sat at the little wood and metal table on plastic stools. We intended on having just a beer but then decided to try “something.” The menu was on a device that looks like what they use for payment with a credit card. We opted for “Chicken Noodle Soup” – It was really tasty. It also included an average salad plate size of mixed greens, which was have herbs and so delicious. No dressing on the salad, which was good because you could indeed taste the various items on it. I know there was some lettuce, thinly sliced cabbage, cilantro, radish micro herbs, maybe basil, some fennel, and daikon radish. The soup was very flavorful as well. Not a lot of chicken – I might add, almost everything we have chicken in seems to under go a hatchet job. It is all randomly hacked up with a lot of bone and little pieces of bone. One must be careful when eating. The bowl also had a delicious broth, noodles, peanuts, and some herbs. The total for our lunch with 3 beers, big bowl of soup and the salad (which we shared) was approximately US$3. Hard to believe how they live here. You certainly don’t see any overweight people! After that we walked on to get back to the shuttle point. We came across one more massage place called Nhō and asked if the massage for 2 was possible. The surprising reply was YES! What a great massage we had and this one worked out to be US$8 each. We left a very nice tip and we’re happy to do so. Now walking to the shuttle once more. We didn’t have to wait long and off we went back to the ship. We got that nice view of the Dragon Bridge when leaving the area. A quote about the bridge said, “the Dragon Bridge has breathed new life into finances in Da Nang” – interesting that tourist come to just see that I guess. Dutch dinner onboard and the food was served hot and tasty. We missed the show but had a short stop at the casino.

At Sea and Superbowl

02-09 At Sea, Sunday: We have rough seas today. We are managing well, but hanging on too! We had Sunday Brunch in the dining room. It was an Asian brunch, different. Few recognizable dishes when we think of brunch, but it was fine. At 4p we met Paul and Maureen in Ocean Bar. We are going on a tour with them when we arrive in Osaka. It will be 4 couples. The others are Rob and Joan from Canada and Ralph and Laurie from Los Angeles. Eating a few peanuts there ruined our appetite. We skipped dinner and went to the show, it was great. Sonz of Soul. It was a Motown group and they were really good. Stuart had seen them before when speaking on Celebrity. After that, we met our “group” for Craps. It didn’t go as well tonight, either did Black Jack. We had fun and came back to the cabin to play Phase 10 and off to bed.

02-10 At Sea, Monday. Today was the Super Bowl game. It showed at the World Stage, in Billboard, and on your cabin TV. At the world stage they had all sorts of snacks and things. We did not get up early to watch it. We did catch the end of it. Eagles won. I managed a call to the kids and spoke with Julie and Deb, it was good to hear their voices. Tonight, we had dinner at Morimoto in Pinnacle Grill. Where we weren’t terribly impressed the last time, this time was wonderful. It helped that we ate with our friends Paul and Maureen. Because there were 4 of us, we ordered almost every dish! Maureen didn’t hesitate – I might have. It was really fun to try everything. We had the best waiter “Acho” as well.