Monday, January 30th, Vista Suite while at Willemstad, Curacao

After a few requests I will continue this blog with details of our isolation and ways were are keeping occupied.

The day began with us taking covid tests we brought that showed us both positive. We called the medical center who asked us to wear masks and come at 8 AM as they already had others coming at 7 AM. We arrived on time and the place was quite busy. There are two doctors and several RNs and a med tech. The center cares for both the crew and passengers with a doc for each group. They also have a rather well stocked pharmacy. They have an ICU suite including a vent for intubated patients. While waiting to be seen, a crew member with his arm bandaged was taken by wheelchair to an ambulance for further medical treatment on shore.

A second test confirmed our finally catching Covid and they made sure we had all the meds we needed. (They didn’t offer any antivirals and we didn’t ask.) Since we weren’t having any significant complications we got some Claritin and returned to our stateroom. We then got a letter slipped under to door outlining the isolation and what was available to us.

We could order from any restaurant on board. (Even those with an “upcharge” though we would incur that cost.) Any beverages we wanted we could call and request. No more cleaning the cabin but we can request towels or sheets as desired. Laundry service is available and we just leave the bag outside our door. The same is true with ice. In the cabin there are bottles of water that guests normally are charged for, but the letter indicated that they are now free and we can request more. With ice service twice a day, and Janice’s appetite for ice, we really will need the water because the tap water is too warm to drink without ice. The water onboard is desalinated water and tasks great, it just isn’t the temperature of water coming from pipes that in the ground.

The letter also outlined Holland’s Covid protection that includes a full credit for half the cruise in isolation. We need only rebook before January 2024. That shouldn’t be a problem. It was this guarantee that gave us the peace of mind to schedule the two previous and this cruise while we are still dealing with Covid.

For lunch we had Cobb salads. (sorry no pictures)

For Dinner we ordered from the Italian restaurant. Starters were grilled calamari & meatballs. We shared the main, an osso Bucco. We also requested dessert but saved them for later in the evening.

image001 7

image002 6

image003 6

For entertainment we have our books and kindles. There are movies on demand and a handful of live stations. BBC, MSNBC, Fox, ESPN, Food Network, HGTV.

Here are a few pictures of what our stateroom looks like. The bathroom is tiny but the rest of the space is pretty awesome.

image004 5

image005 5

image006 5

image007 3

image008 3

image009 3

image010 3

Monday, January 30th, Willemstad, Curacao

There won’t be a carpet picture from the elevator for today’s post. Last evening while watching football we both began to feel symptomatic. This morning we took a covid test that we had packed and both were positive. We both have avoided it for nearly 3 years and we caught it on the plane or ship. (since we were masked most of the flight we are pretty sure it was the cruise)

Our view today is from our balcony:

image002 5

image003 5

We have already received a letter noting our isolation precautions for the next 5 days. (the end of our cruise) This means we won’t see Aruba or Jamaica in person.

Holland goes out of its way to make this as pleasant as possible. All meals from all restaurants can be ordered and delivered outside our stateroom. We have a balcony so we can go outside. They give us future credit for the “lost” days which makes things a little less painful. I am hoping that we don’t get too stir crazy. They even offer free bottled water and internet.

So far the symptoms have been mild and we both are fully vaxed even with the bivalent this fall.

Sunday, January 29th, Caribbean Sea

One of the fun Holland traditions is that the rugs in the elevators change everyday to remind you what day it is. There are 12 elevators on the ship and the rugs serve to remind you what day it is.

When we first started cruising we thought that sea days were just “missed” days because you weren’t seeing new territory. We now look forward to sea days as a day to sit back and relax. We slept in and had a late light breakfast. Lunch was in the pinnacle and is one of the fun hidden opportunities that many don’t know about and those that do know you have to book the reservervations shortly after boarding or the will sell out.

Lunch was crab cakes, Pinnacle Burger for Janice and Cioppino for me. Dessert was fresh berries for Janice and curated cheeses for me.

image002 4

image003 4

image004 4

One of the great things about the ships is the interesting art work that fills every possible space. Much has a music theme on the Rotterdam but here are a few pictures

image005 4

image006 4

image007 2

image008 2

image009 2

image010 2

image011 2

We finished the day watching the sea and both championship games. The TVs have come a long way from our first cruise

image012 2

image013 2

image014 2

Saturday, January 28th, Amber Cove, Dominican Republic

Overnight the clocks moved ahead an hour to match the time in the Dominican Republic. Of course 6 AM came early and feeling like 5AM. We needed a quick breakfast as our tour met inside the port at 8:20 AM so we got a breakfast sandwich from NY Deli. It took longer than we expected but was absolutely fantastic.

As we arrived in the plaza to join the tour the heavens opened up with a tropical shower and we made our way to the bus. Today’s tour was a trip into the mountains to experience a coffee farm. It turns out the location was too far so they came and met us at an ecohotel for ecotourism. We began learning about coffee growing before heading down and planting 130 coffee plants that would be transported back to the farm.

We then learned about the life cycle of a coffee tree, the fungus that decimated the plants in the DR and the boring beetle that remains a problem. We then watched as beans were husked, roasted and then helped grind them for strong coffee that we absolutely enjoyed.

image003 3

image004 3

image005 3

image006 3

image007 1

image008 1

image009 1

image010 1

image011 1

image012 1

We were then served a local lunch consisting of a stew made with Chicken, pork, beef, plantains, yucca, carrots and served with rice and avocado. It was paired with El Presidente.

We then toured the town before returning to the port and the Rotterdam.

image014 1

image015 1

The town has its own Christ the Redeemer like in Brazil about the town in the mountains.

We spent time relaxing and reading late in the afternoon.

The ship left about 30 minutes late after an emergency evacuation. (better before we left than while at sea!)

We opted for dinner in the Lido as it was a special Caribbean night. Food was ok but we both realize how much we hate dealing with the crowds. While faster than the dining room it just isn’t as enjoyable.

Tomorrow is a sea day as we head toward Curacao. We are looking forward to our first sea day with the quiet pace without having to stick to a schedule.

Friday, January 27th, Grand Turk

The day began as normal with walking around the promenade deck as we made our way to the next port.

With a 10AM time to begin going ashore there was no rush so we slept in some and after getting ready for the day had breakfast in the dining room. One of Kevin’s favorites is Dungeness crab Benedict and Janice tried the Forrest Mushroom Benedict

This island is quite small and similar in size to the private Island we visited yesterday, Half Moon Kay. Here we were able to dock and entered an area built exclusively for cruise ships with a beautiful beach, pool and duty free shops. Margaritaville is at the center of the area.

image003 2

image004 2

image005 2

We did not plan on an excursion and so we walked around for a couple of hours before returning to an nearly empty ship for lunch, relaxation and swimming.

image006 2

image007

image008

John Glenn splashed down 200 miles from the island so there is replica of the space capsule and a statue to John Glenn.

image009

image010

Tonight we ate in the Pinnacle grill. Shrimp, Crab Cakes and Lobster bisque as the starters

image011

image012

image013

Janice

Janice’s goal is to have as many different types and forms of seafood so she had scallops and I had a dry aged steak. A side of lobster mac and cheese and no interest in any dessert

image015

image016

Our sail away from Grand Turk was delayed when one of the shore linemen noticed ropes in the area of one of the azipod propellors and divers had to come and inspect and remove any rope. Instead of sailing away at 5PM it was 4+ hours later. Thankfully it is a short distance and there plenty of opportunity to make up for lost time though fuel savings will have to be sacrificed with the increased speed.

Janice attended the BBC Earth show and the comedian. Saturday in the Dominican Republic and an early tour of a coffee plantation paired with moving the clocks forward an hour urged and early night.

Thursday, January 26th – Half Moon Kay

The day began slightly before sunrise when I woke up and realized that it would be a beautiful morning to walk around the promenade deck waiting for the sun to rise. I was the first to begin walking though there were a half dozen crew washing down the deck, walls, rails and other things that get covered in sea spray and sea salt. Here is the view this morning from our balcony in the aft section of the ship.

Today’s we were to arrive at anchorage at 7 AM and tendering to the private Island was scheduled to begin at 8:00. We both exercised, got ready for the day and then headed to the dining room. We love the leisurely pace of dining there and not facing crowds grazing at the buffet. Breakfast was a fresh fruit plate for each of us. How I wish this would magically appear at home for breakfast every day. Interestingly the melon and the mango gets better each day of the cruise and toward the end the berries tend to run out.

I had a bagel and lox and Janice and quinoa with poached eggs, jalapeno, avocado with a miso dressing.

After breakfast we grabbed our stuff and made way to tendering. Tendering typically involved using lifeboats to ferry passengers ashore when there is no pier that can accommodate the ship. In this case there are Island based ferries that hold 200 each. With over 2600 passengers and the ability to ferry 4-5 ferries an hour, there is always a line. The solution is getting tickets and calling groups to head downstairs to board. Because of our mariner status by virtue of the number of cruises we are given priority tendering. We literally go to designated location, show our ship card and walk right on to the ferry. We were on the island before 9 AM. There we found chairs in the sand and relaxed. We had contemplated swimming but the water was pretty cold. There were 2 ships in port with a potential of 6K people between passengers and crew. The private Island is leased by Holland. All food and beverages are brought from the ship and prepared by ship crew. Bahamians ferry to Island and operate excursions, sales and are lifeguards. It is one of the nicest beaches we have ever visited. After 11 we decided to return to the nearly empty ship rather than eating on the Island and enjoy amenities on board. The all aboard time was 2:30.

One of the great things about HAL ships when we first started cruising was that they had libraries with a librarian. They phased them out but passenger feedback meant that they have returned in the last few months. We visited the now new library and it was well stocked with current titles. Janice picked up “Fuzz” by Mary Roach. She is loving it and will return the book when done.

We relaxed all afternoon before enjoying dinner in the Tamarind, the Asian specialty restaurant on board. It is probably our favorite food and beverage venue that HAL has.

Some Food Porn

image004 1

image005 1

After Dinner we went and listened to the Rolling Stone Rock Room Band before returning to find a towell animal from our cabin steward

Friday is a 10 AM arrival in Grand Turks

Wednesday, January 25th Embarkation and Sail Away

Wednesday began early for me as I didn’t sleep well. The room was quiet and the bed quite nice but the pillows were lousy. I think a recliner would have been easier to sleep in.

After enjoying some coffee I headed to the gym for exercise before returning to join Janice for breakfast.

We had scheduled an Uber for the ride from the hotel to port to pick us up at 10 AM. It was about double the cost from when we looked the night before but guaranteed our time, ride and we didn’t have to worry about demand pricing. Our driver arrived a few minutes early and we were off. Today was a light day at Port Everglades with only 6,000 passengers coming and 6,000 going. On Friday, Saturday and Sunday that number swells to 20,000 each.

We had been assigned an 11 AM check in time which is the earliest typical. We arrived at 10:30 and promptly moved through the process of dropping our luggage, answering that we were vaccinated, security scan, check in with facial recognition and then were ushered to an upstairs area with the priority 1 boarding group. One of my favorite activities then commenced – people watching. It was better than most television with the exception of OP Live. While very entertaining our time was brief as we were cleared at 11 to board. Our state room wouldn’t be ready until 12:45 though we swung by to see if our cards were there and we found our room completed so we dropped off our carryon luggage and began to explore. Here is a picture of cabin

At noon we headed to the dining room for lunch. When boarding the crew all urge you to take the elevators to floor nine where the lido buffet is. It is a crazy mess with people learning the ropes, hungry for the first meal and walking around and blocking others. The dining room is a quiet space with more limited options but we both enjoyed a fantastic Cobb salad. As we were leaving we stopped by our muster station to check in before returning to our stateroom to watch the safety video. Pre-covid there would be a muster drill where everyone had to report to their muster station near the lifeboats, listen to the safety speech and get your card scanned to prove attendance. You would stay there huddled until every passenger had been scanned. Even though all food and beverage service stops for the drill, there was always about a dozen who held up 2K plus passengers. They would call out their cabin numbers. The crowds would grow restless and angry. I always waited to hear crucify them. I did often hear people ask for names and pictures. There was also those who felt they needed to practice bringing their life jackets which created all kinds of additional trip hazards.

The real challenge of these drills was they would be covid mass spread events as you were huddled closer together than a game in the big house. With the new ships there isn’t enough room to muster on the deck by the lifeboats so there are indoor muster locations with some seating for those requiring it. You are then ushered to the lifeboat if that becomes necessary.

While watching the video our luggage arrived. With the power of technology your tv won’t let you watch anything until you have watched the entire safety video. I keep looking for the camera to prove you watched but I didn’t find one.

A little after 3 PM we dropped the lines, backed up into the turning basin and headed to sea with a great volley of horn blasts. There would like be some ship movement as we crossed the gulf stream.

At 5:15 we headed to dinner and it was mass chaos as passengers and crew figured out the process and everyone was seated. We had dinner of seared place with starters and corn chili chowder. Here are a few pics for those who love food porn.

image002

image003

image004

image005

After dinner we enjoyed the Rolling Stone Rock room before attending the Holland America Origin Story and finally the end of the BB Kings Blues club before heading to bed. Thursday is Half Moon Cay.

Tuesday, January 24th, Time to Get Away

We began another adventure today. This vacation will not be as adventurous as many and includes visits to many places we have visited before yet we know this is exactly what we need right now.

The Beetles have a song “Here Comes the Sun” but this vacation is better titled “Here we come Sun.” January has been one of the roughest ever for us in NW Ohio. Snow this winter has been about 10% of the normal average and most January days have been gray and overcast. Where we are going is less important than getting away for some rest and relaxation and experiencing the blue skies and warm weather every day. Any other experiences are just bonuses.

This adventure is a 10 Day Southern Caribbean Seafarer aboard the Holland America MS Rotterdam. The Rotterdam is Holland’s newest and is in a class of ships that we have never sailed despite our many cruises with HAL.

Our day began with us packing and dropping Nela off at the doggy daycare to play with friends. We have a dog/house sitter staying in our home and she picked Nela up. We headed to DTW late morning with ironically blue skies and smoothly parked, checked in and got through TSA with less than a 5 minute wait. While it was late morning, this is surprising because the entire area was bracing for snowmageddon on Wednesday and Delta had emailed passengers about free flight changes to get out before the storm. There were more empty seats on the flight than in recent travels though it was over 90% full.

We arrived in Fort Lauderdale just before 5:30 and in less than 5 minutes after arriving at baggage claim we had our bags, walked the short distance to the hotel transportation pick up and called our hotel. 20 minutes later the van arrived towing a trailer for luggage. Port Everglades is an incredibly popular and large cruiseport. There are many many hotels within 10 minutes of the airport. It is only a 10 minute ride from the airport to the terminal.

We stayed at the Hyatt Place which is quite nice and is across the parking lot from the Hyatt which is supposed to be nicer with all suites. While checking in the hotel provided a list of restaurants within walking distance. A 10 minute walk has us a Padrinos for some amazing Cuban food. The walk after being in a plane seat for 3 hours was great and we returned to the hotel to relax before heading to bed.

Our Itinerary

WED		25JAN23			Sail from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, US			3:00pm
THU	26JAN23			Half Moon Cay, Bahamas Tender Required Wheelchair Access Limited		8:00am			3:00pm
FRI	27JAN23			Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos		10:00am			5:00pm
SAT	28JAN23			Amber Cove, Dominican Republic		8:00am			5:00pm
SUN			29JAN23				Sea Day
MON	30JAN23			Willemstad, Curacao		7:00am			11:00pm
TUE	31JAN23			Oranjestad, Aruba		7:00am			11:00pm
WED			01FEB23				Sea Day
THU	02FEB23			Ocho Rios, Jamaica		7:00am			4:00pm
FRI			03FEB23				Sea Day
SAT		04FEB23			Debark Ship Fort Lauderdale, Florida, US			7:00am