Sunday May 17, 2009 At Sea

@ 6am a knock on the cabin door slightly woke me as my tea and fruit platter were delivered to the cabin. Fortunately dh was already awake as I knew he’d be and back to a sound sound sleep I went as he left me to do more of an exploration venture round the ship. No light, no one moving about and no cat crying…ah, I could sleep in! By 8am, I was up, he was back and we went on up to the Lido again for some more tea and coffee and my usual if it’s available gravlax. With 11 decks and a few twists of floors that could only be accessed in one way, we had a lot of exploring to do. The sea was not terribly smooth and both of us walked like drunken sailors. Fortunately neither word applies to us.

Mid morning we met up with the Cruise Critic group and were grateful that Fran – our serendipitous meeting at the train station – had told us where and when the group was meeting. Amazingly enough there was another couple named Maureen and Richard, and they were on the same deck. Talking to the assorted other members about 40 people in all, we found many interests shared and many had many enjoyable conversations. Because the online group has been in existence since last year, a lot of work has been done on booking tours and setting up plans at prices much more reasonable than HAL’s prices. That was a real blessing.

Suddenly – it seemed – it was lunchtime and back to the Lido we went. We each had our laptops and uploaded our photos and enjoyed talking to the couple at the next table who are on baby call…waiting to hear about a new grandchild in San Diego. While dh went back to the cabin for a nap, I went to a talk about Belfast. We had a quick dash to High Tea with tea, coffee and pastries and tablemates from Tennessee. I think I will have to pass on the High Tea if I want to have any hopes of continuing to wear the clothes I brought with me. Morning walks become harder and harder to get up for as we continue to lose an hour hear and there each night sailing east. I had forgotten about that.

A bit more exploring, some computer time off line and then we had a 12 step meeting. It’s always nice to make that connection with Friends of Bill at sea. Amazingly, it was time for dinner again! Neither of us was terribly hungry but we made a valiant effort and of course managed to eat!

After dinner, there was some computer time and then a movie. We saw Nixon/Frost which both of us really enjoyed and I highly recommend it to people of all political persuasions. I found it very poignant and even if you feel you know that history you may get some insights into the personalities of both men.

May 16 NYC

A morning departure from BWI train station to Newark led to a serendipitous meeting with a fellow cruise member. She spotted our luggage and came over to talk to us, rightly guessing that we were on our way to the Holland America cruise. We learned about the Cruise Critic on line group, and we said we would find each other on the ship. The train left, and after a Whole Foods pre-purchased lunch aboard the train, we hopped aboard the airport train and met out HAL connection at the airport. We shared a van with two other couples – one from Ottawa Canada and the other from Ocala Florida. As the drive into Manhattan was thru heavy traffic we had time to do a lot of chatting with them. Hank, the FL man, turned out to be a USNA grad so there were some memories traded of Annapolis.


Upon arrival at the ship, we turned over our luggage and then went thru the security and health checks. Finally, we boarded the ship, and went to our cabin. My suitcase was already in there and dh’s arrived while we went out exploring the internet site. Then came the requisite lifeboat drill which always involves a lot of ‘stooging around’ but then we were done. Time to use the net a bit while we still had free access thru the WAN on dh’s Mac, then farewell to NYC, the Statue of Liberty and our first dinner.


We decided to stick to the casual Lido buffet which had the same menu as the main dining room for the first night especially as I was really feeling the movement of the ship. I was glad to have the Dramamine from a prior cruise and after a walk about outside – just one lap to be sure dh’s feet didn’t get blistered up again – we were ready for an early night. We did go back to the Lido for an ice cream cone tho – chocolate and cinnamon scoops for me and vanilla and orange sherbet for dh.



A Dramamine for me and about 5 pages of reading and I was out like a light while being rocked to sleep by the ship.

Counting Down Once Again

This week is the week to plan the suitcase. What does one take for 28 days with 18 different cities, and who knows how many changes of weather? That should be a clue that this trip involves a BIG ship but not the ship below.

At least I am going with a laptop of my own this time (well at least a hand-me-down from dh) and a chance to do some of my own computer work, and not have to share on line time with dh. DH's computer time makes $$ so it was always hard to compete with that!

Ok, I have to get back to some serious planning of the packing! See me back here on Saturday.