Pitcairn Island

Pitcairn Island

The original itinerary stated a day at sea with scenic cruising, which basically we did but the ship stopped about a mile out and 40 out of the 60  islanders that live there came on board. This is the exact opposite of what we usually do.

My knowledge of Pitcairn is the Hollywood  version of Mutiny of the Bounty. I remember Capt. Bligh as being the bad guy. The debate continues as to why the mutiny occurred. The scholars feel that Bligh was not an unusually harsh Captain.

The residents that came on board are all descendants  or Fletcher Christian and the other mutineers. They were multiracial in appearance and brought with them handicrafts made out of mainly wood, postcards, honey and of course tee shirts. They spoke English with a New Zealand accent. They gave a visual presentation and answered questions from the audience. It was fascinating to here about their lives. They have electricity just 10 hours a day, 5 in the morning and 5 in the evening. Supplies arrive from New Zealand quarterly. They chose to live this most isolated way, but can it last?Officially they are a British overseas territory. Passenger ships, 10 to 12 a year stop and give them food etc and let them on board as ours did. They have a Doctor and a teacher both from New Zealand. There is no water source on the Island, they collect rain water.

In 2008 a sex scandal became public. It seems incest and pedophilia are fairly common. There was a trial and some of the men served minimal sentences, mainly because their skills were need to help the island survive.

For all of us on board it was a very interesting day.

Gina Wagg

OUR FELLOW PASSENGERS PART TWO

Hi Again,
   I thought I would blog about the ports we visit on this cruise, but instead I am fascinated by our other passengers.

   We have had lunch in the dining room twice so far and both times were interesting. The first time a woman sat beside Joe and for some reason told him she was looking for a man on this trip. It seems she found a prospect and changed her table to his. Unfortunately for her all he does is talk about his dead wife and how he spreads a little of her ashes in each port of call.

The second lunch was with a couple from Vancouver. I don’t know if they were married. The gentleman told us he took a train to Ft. Lauderdale from Vancouver to go on this trip. < that costs a small ransom and takes 4 days>. He is getting off in Athens, spending a few days, and flying to London where he will board the Queen Mary and sail to NYC where again he will take the train back to Vancouver. His companion/wife will depart in Hong Kong and fly back home. Go figure

   I have noticed a lot of elderly people traveling alone. By elderly I mean old such as 90. Almost all have deficits such as vision, hearing, or mobility issues. All of a sudden I am a nurse again and can’t help thinking, what are these people thinking, they are an accident waiting to happen. One roll of the ship and over they go.

Before we left, almost everyone asked, how do you pack for a 4 month cruise? For myself I probably brought too many evening clothes. Here are examples of what two others have done. The first looks like she is having lunch with Michele Obama every day. She is dressed in silk suits with matching shoes and jewelry. So, how much stuff does she have with her? The answer is more than plenty. By chance, her cabin was being cleaned while I walked by and she had brought with her closet organizers that are made out of plastic and hold tons of shoes etc. They are about 6 ft long and she has them hung on the outside of her closet doors. The second women is a bit more practical. She brings only old clothes and discards them as she wears them. She stated she flies home with a carry on bag. I like her plan better.

Lastly an update on hat lady with a picture. It seems she has 18 animal hats with her. This one was taken as we were getting off the tender in Easter Island. Too bad Joe cut part of the chicken’s head off.

Gina Wagg
  

EASTER ISLAND

EASTER ISLAND    January 20, 2011

In the words of the immortal Gilbert & Sullivan, “O Joy! O Rapture!”.  For the first time in years, I’ve found an onboard activity that fits into my very limited sphere of interest.  The cruise director, Bruce, used to be the music director for years prior to attaining his current position.  He is a very talented individual and graduate of Julliard.  It seems on every World Cruise there is a HAL Chorale.  Imagine my great surprise and joy when I read a small blip in the daily paper calling for Sopranos, Altos, Tenors and Basses!   We’ve been away 15 days now and the only thing I really miss is my Tuesday evenings with the Apollo Club of Boston.  This will help me.  While I enjoy singing with female voices better than just males, the repertoire is not exciting, “songs of the twenties”.  In fairness this was picked by a democratic vote, barely edging out songs of the sixties and completely destroying a medley from Guys and Dolls (my vote).

BTW, this was a weigh-in day.  I’m wondering how accurate this scale is because today’s number was 201.0, a cumulative loss of 11 pounds already.  I am working at it but this has to be an aberration!

The captain informed us early-on this morning that we would be unable to go ashore at Hanga Roa, the small town and center of life on the island.  The small opening from the ocean into the bay was being hammered with ten foot waves, crashing upon the rocky outcroppings surrounding the entrance.  He has moved the ship around to the North side of the island in an attempt to get us ashore.  This, from the ship, is a barren wasteland with a small beach.  The plan is to BUILD a pontoon landing deck held in place by one of the tenders.  Tenders from the ship will tie up to the tender and passengers will be able to cross from the transport tender, onto the stationary tender, then onto the newly built pontoon and on to shore.  We can see the tour vehicles lined up over there now.  Our tour, scheduled for 1:00 PM will now depart at 4:00PM.  It is my plan to write a short note to the captain for going above and beyond the call of duty.  You have no idea how much effort has been required to pull this off.  It would have been very easy to just say “Sorry” and continue on our way.  How many times are you going to get a chance to explore Easter Island?

Update -  all went as planned.  We got ashore and visited one of the places I have always longed to see.  The topography is very much like the main island of the Galapagos, scrub brush, no trees over six feet tall, arid and generally an unwelcoming environment.  The island itself is shaped like a triangle formed from three distinct volcanoes.  There is no water other than the rain water gathered in the craters of the volcanoes.  The weird thing is that even though we’ve traveled 2700 miles from the west coast of South America, we are still in the same time zone.  Easter Island maintains the same time as Santiago, Chile.  Weird!

The moai are magnificent and the mysteries and tales that go with them are entertaining.  They are said to be burial grounds and all face away from the sea.  Very impressive with respect to size, weight and how they were transported.  Four more days at sea before Tahiti, including a stop off Pitcairn Island, where descendants of Fletcher Christian will be boarding the ship to sell their wares.

Joe Wagg

FIRST WEIGH-IN

January 16, 2011    at sea heading to Easter Island

Lots to tell since last post.  First and foremost, the tale of the scale.  Thursday morning weigh-in says 209.8, cumulative total -2.2 pounds. I immediately went to the Lido for pancakes, bacon, fried eggs and waffles with whipped cream!  I mean you can’t have a sixteen week project and meet the goal too early, can you????

Friday, we arrived in Callao, the port for Lima, Peru.  The ship provided a free shuttle to Lima, about 8 miles.  Ships do not always provide free shuttles so the savings generated by not having to pay for transportation to and from the ports, as I understand they will be doing throughout the cruise, will be significant.  We hadn’t been to Lima since 1977 and even thought there is very little new construction, we didn’t recognize anything.  Gone are the street vendors who sold Indian handicrafts at ridiculously low prices.  They’ve all been moved to a section of town called Indian Market, storefronts that have seen better days and are being put to use rather than remain empty.  Also gone are the American cars I remember from 1977.  Every vehicle on the traffic clogged streets was a 20 year old American car, ‘54 Fords, ‘56 Chevys and even a Studebaker or two.  All now replaced with 95% Japanese/Korean vehicles.  Gas is $5.10 a gallon!

WE grabbed a cab and went to Baranco for lunch.  Sundays at home are a ritual.  Gina makes poached eggs in the morning, then we go to Shaw’s for fresh fish (Whole Food’s fish is about double) which I prepare for dinner.  Lunch is on our own, mine usually two beers and a bowl of popcorn.    Soledad is the lady who sells us our fish on Sundays.  She is a native of Lima and recommended a restaurant in Baranco for lunch, Rustica, and this is where we went.  Buffet style, all Peruvian, lots of rice and sauces but not enough veggies for Gina’s taste.  I thought it was great.

Day two in Lima brought the first of our four escorted tours.  As hosts, we must arrange a meeting place on the ship, pass out tour stickers identifying which coach they will be assigned to, and escort them to the coaches.  This part was a minor disaster as the cruise line gave us a place to meet that held 40 people at best and our count was 87.  We hurried the process along but the passengers arrived dockside before the coaches were in place.  Confusion ruled but we were able to straighten it out with no help from the ship’s shore excursion staff (more on that in a later post).  The tour was excellent and included a Peruvian lunch in the shadow of an ancient step-pyramid.  One gentleman did take a tumble in the restaurant.  The passengers were great, helped him back to the coach and we had a wheelchair waiting for him upon arrival at the ship.  Whisked him off to the medical center where he was seen and sent home (his cabin).

Four days at sea until Easter Island, then five days at sea before the next port.

Joe Wagg

MANTA

Manta, Ecuador   Day 8 of 110             January 12, 2011

Our first South American port of call is a gritty but friendly town.  People are smiling, streets are clean but restaurants are few and far between.  We grabbed a cab and went to what was called in our pre-cruise research a “mountainside colonial town”, Montechristi.  It was pretty much the same as Manta except there were hills.  We both purchased Panama Hats which, despite the name, are hand created here.  The name Panama stuck when everyone working during the construction of the canal wore one of these hats.  They are crushable, light weight and come in a balsa wood box.  When we went to Galapagos I almost bought one in Quito for $80.00.  Price in Montechristi, $20.00.  

Sadly to say, Holland America has fallen into the Carnival Corporation way of doing things.  Get people onboard for as much as the market will bear then absolutely rape them financially when they get onboard.  Coors Light with tip is $5.24, Jack Daniels on the rocks $7.48 and not even a decent shot.  All parcels are supposed to be checked on boarding for alcoholic beverages.  So, if you buy a bottle of booze onshore, it will be confiscated and returned on the last day of the cruise.   The tour from the ship for what we did today was $89.00 per person.  Our cost $20.00 for two by cab.  Now these people with whom we are traveling accept this for the most part, as the cost of doing business.   However, several folks are definitely finding ways to beat the system.  I walked past a cabin on our deck today which was in the process of being cleaned.  Stacked at the base of the bed were three cases of white wine.  These were obviously shipped from home prior to the cruise.  In fairness, Holland’s policy of intercepting booze and beer as you board and holding it until the end of the cruise, is certainly being overlooked.  But why should I feel like a criminal when I try to smuggle aboard a six pack of beer from whatever locality I may be in?

The first of the tours we will host leaves in Lima in three days.  Passengers have been fantastic in their responses of yea or nay for their participation.  We even had one lady who complained to the front desk that she was not part of our group and would we please stop leaving things in her mailbox.  After we explained to her why she was one of the group, she is now an enthusiastic member.

Another day at sea tomorrow before a two day stay in the port of Callao for Lima.

Sorry there is no photo, having minor technical difficulties.

Joe Wagg

Puerto Limon, Cost Rica   January 9, 2011

Day 5 of 110 – Finally settled in after hectic start.  We’ve already had three changes to our Sydney tour.  Communicating changes to the 111 passengers we are hosting is problematical.  I spent two hours calling the 65 cabins the first time only to find out that some NEVER answer the phone or listen to messages as that is what they went on the cruise to avoid or they are hearing impaired and cannot use the phone.  The other option is hand delivering printed material ( the ship charges .50 per piece for delivery) to each cabin after I find a way to get the message into print.

We had our cocktail party which was an unmitigated success.  Gina and I greeted 92 guests and received positive feedback from them with respect to the program we are offering.  A much younger than expected crowd, all very well-traveled and many frequent world cruisers.

Our first port was Georgetown, Grand Cayman, a spot we have frequently visited.  We anchored at Spot’s Bay on the other side of the island from Georgetown due to wind conditions that were creating an unsafe situation for tendering. We spent most of the time in an internet café except for the obligatory visit to the jewelry department at Kirk Freeport.  Grand Cayman is always a pleasure to visit and offers varied options for the visitor.  Seven Mile Beach, the turtle farm and swimming with the stingrays are the most popular activities. Spot’s Bay is about 5 miles from Georgetown and the ship provided free shuttle service to town.  Taxi fare was $5 per person, each way, so this was a well received gesture by the passengers.

The ship is very comfortable in every way. No long lines for anything, a great library/coffee shop, and even our Category E, outside cabin, is fine.  More than enough closet space, an 84” couch, suitable for napping/watching TV, decent space for two getting dressed for dinner at the same time.

Last night was the first formal night and the evening’s entertainment was Mitzi Gaynor.  She owns up to being 79 but I have to wonder how accurate that is.  Still, her show was entertaining if not musically perfect.  She did crucify one of my all-time favorite songs, “If I Had You”, which always brings back memories of Intermission between periods at the old Boston Garden Bruin’s games.  John Kiley at the keyboard never failed to play this song.

Puerto Limon was enjoyable.  The thing to do here is visit nature’s wonders which abound in the area.  Having been here before, we opted to walk around the quaint little town and found free internet at a Pizza Hut. 

Next post will deal with the expenses onboard and the false economy of the Carnival Corporation.

Joe Wagg 

Our fellow passengers

January 9,2011, Puerto Limon, Costa Rica

Hi Everyone,

   I thought you might like to read something about the other passengers on board. There are 1170 passengers and 1000 of them are on the full 110 day cruise. The majority of the rest will disembark in Sydney and a few more will get on in that port. Our group has some of these.

We all know that people come in all ages, sizes, and color. We have a few babies, young school age children, but mostly they are in their 70s and 80s. They are more mobile than I thought, not many scooters or wheelchairs. I am surprised at the amount of obesity however. On the other hand there were so many at the fitness class that it  had to be moved out of the gym to a lounge.  As for color, unfortunately there are only a few Asians and one Black couple who are in our group.

We also have in our group a gentleman who has made a vest for himself out of Holland America canvas logo bags complete with a pocket and zipper. He is very proud of the fact that he matched the pattern perfectly. One other older lady with waist length white hair walks around with plush animals on her head. So far she has had one for everyday.  I made a point of going over to talk to her because she was sitting alone at our hosted cocktail party. < what a surprise> She was quite talkative, and called her “hat” by name and stated that the towel animals < the room steward makes these and puts them on our beds at night> don’t get along and were fighting all night. I could not make this up even if I tried.

  I hear other passengers talk about this being their 5th World Cruise, another stating the this  is her third and she has had the same cabin on everyone and lastly one saying this is only <?> her first. I find this mind blowing considering the cost and length of these cruises. Recession, What recession?

Gina Wagg

Onboard!

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

 You would think that a company would put its best foot forward when catering to, arguably, its most loyal clientele aboard the cruise line’s flagship on its premier cruise of the year.  WRONG!

We’ve boarded three ships in the last 11 weeks, a luxury ship, a mass market ship and this ship which is categorized premium.  This was by far the worst experience of the three.  Best described as disorganized, there was no feeling of welcome on boarding.  Mass chaos waiting to check in at the pier. No glass of champagne to welcome you aboard.  No line of smiling stewards waiting to escort you to your cabin.  Absolutely nobody to even give you a smile as you crossed the gangway onto the ship.  I understand that this is a special cruise and with the amount of luggage to be delivered to the cabins, perhaps there is no time for the little amenities that mean so much to travel weary passengers embarking on a very special adventure.  But there should be!  Shame on you Holland America.

Passenger mix appears as expected, maybe a little younger than I expected.  Wheel chairs and scooters are far less than I expected also.  We’ve met people on their fifth world cruise.  Some folks go to Florida for the winter, these guys do world cruises.  At least it appears that most people are younger than our celebrity entertainers, Wayne Newton and Mitzi Gaynor!

The ship itself is showing its age but is still a classic ocean liner.  Lots of wood, a complete walkaround Promenade Deck, cheery library and comfortable showroom make this my favorite model for a ship.  The artwork throughout the ship enhances the experience.  Now if only the staff will be as expected.  Holland America’s strong point is and always has been  the people who work on the ship.  I didn’t get that warm, fuzzy feeling today.  I’m sure it will get better.

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Got on the scale this morning for the weigh-in.  Yours truly is a robust, cuddly, hot hunk of squeezability at 212 pounds.  Goal is to perhaps hit 199 by the time I get off.  I’m sure there will be ups and downs but I feel confident I can achieve the goal.

Joe Wagg

Tomorrow is Embarkation day

Hi Everyone,
  Tonight we are in a hick town called Palm Coast, Florida. We have just 3 1/2 hrs of driving to go. The drive down was uneventful. Joe does all the driving by choice and went the mountain route through Western Virginia. It takes a bit longer but avoids all the congestion in DC. We got lucky with good weather.
   Many people have asked us where we will go and since there are so many places, I thought I would break it down into months. This month January we start in Ft Lauderdale and our first port is Grand Cayman. Then onto Puerto Limon, Costa Rica, through the Panama Canal and onto Ecuador and Peru. If you are rich, you can get off the ship for tours to the Galapagos or Macchu Picchu. After 5 days at sea, we arrive in Easter Island, one of the most remote places in the world. The waters are quite rough here, so I hope we get in. If not, we will be at sea for 9 days. Next up is Tahiti and Bora Bora in French Polynesia. We end the month Rarotonga, Cook Islands.
  It will be interesting to see our other ship mates tomorrow. Joe and I have a bet as to how many wheelchairs there will be.
Gina