Day 27 At Sea

I could not believe how oppressive the heat was today. The humidity had to be through the roof. Getting wet, frequently, was the order of the day. The voyage continues to impress with impeccable service and food. It certainly would be better if I had full use of my left hand but hopefully that will come with time. It’s tough coming up with clothes with colors that match the large purple protrusion on my hand. I would hate to clash…. Tomorrow is our last day at sea before arriving at our first stop in the island country of Vanuatu. I had to start taking Malarone (malaria pills) today in advance of our arrival…. What a pain…. I’ll be taking Malarone a lot on this voyage….

Day 26 At Sea

The beautiful days just keep coming…. Today may have been the best. We also had the excitement of crossing the Golden Line at noon today. I caught a pretty good photo of the lines converging. It’s a good thing the lines are there because I’m not sure we could find them otherwise. It certainly was a fantastic day. As to the question that was asked about working out…. Yes, it’s true. Hopefully it is just a passing phase. Of course I get my exercise out in the sun. Tonight is another formal night. I may wear yellow to celebrate the crossing of the Golden Line. (OK so it’s not gold… I left gold at home). Oh yeah! I almost forgot. When I embarked on the ms Rotterdam in Ft. Lauderdale I received numerous emails and blog comments concerning the deck chairs. After working that issue very hard on the ms Amsterdam (with some success) I had decided that I wasn’t going to work the chair issue on the ms Rotterdam. That was until I injured myself sitting on one of those lovely stretchers yesterday. I enclosed a lovely photo of my ever growing hematoma…. These chairs a really pitiful and I surely hope HAL replaces these old stretchers with a better model chair in the near future….

Day 25 At Sea

What can I say? Another wonderful day! I have no complaints about the weather so far. This is the way a World Voyage should be. In 2007 we had great weather every day except for 2 places. On another note, last night’s Black & White Ball was a huge success. This was the best run Ball I have seen. It seemed like the entire senior staff was there and totally engaged with the guests. The dance floors were full all night. I had the good sense to stay off the dance floor to allow others the opportunity to dance. There I go putting everyone else first… or…… I didn’t want to dance. You decide. Tomorrow at 12:00 noon we cross the golden line. This will be the intersection of the equator and International dateline at the same time. I hope to get a photo of the golden lines that are displayed in the water as we cross them. Early morning photo for Holly the cloud lover….

Day 24 At Sea

Another fabulous day!!!! It just doesn’t get any better than this! Four more sea days until we reach land which is fine by me. On Friday at noon, two days from now we cross the Golden line… we will simultaneously gross the equator and the International dateline. I’ll have my GPS handy for that one. I’m also getting close to starting my Malaria medication in advance of arriving in Vanuatu, bummer…. I gain an even better appreciation of the Rotterdam every day. While it is similar to the Amsterdam there are noticeable differences. The aft decks are a perfect example with the aft pool on deck 7 versus deck 8. This is starting to grow on me and that’s too bad because the ship is scheduled to be modified to change all that. The colors on board the ship are bright and just great colors. Nice ship. Tonight we have the Black & White Ball. I wonder what I should wear…. I’ll think about that for a while.

Day 23 At Sea

As hard as it is to believe, today was even nicer than yesterday….as long as you like it hot!!!! It was a fabulous day. I was overcome by demons of some sort and even worked out. I hope I get over that soon. This voyage has been really top notch in almost every aspect. Last night’s dinner in the Pinnacle Grill was exceptional. The food and service was truly outstanding. So far I have to give Holland America very high marks. I know it is very early in the voyage but all signs point to sustaining this level of excellence throughout. All is not perfect, there are a couple of issues I may be writing about later in the voyage but they have nothing to do with the onboard staff or their performance. The onboard staff has been excellent across the board….. Great job and another great day!

Day 22 At Sea

The first of our 7 days at sea post Hawaii turned out to be wonderful. It was pretty much perfect, sunny with a nice breeze. Tonight I will be going to the Pinnacle Grill for the first time aboard the Rotterdam. I always loved the Pinnacle Grill but was a bit disappointed on the Grand Asia Voyage on the Amsterdam. I am sure it will be a much different experience here with a different chef. It should be nice, I’m looking forward to it.

Day 21 Honolulu, Hawaii

Today was a pretty darn good day…. I got up early for the sail into Honolulu harbor. Aside from the really large black cloud over Honolulu, it was very nice. We docked next to the Aloha Tower with Hula dancers welcoming us. It was a nice sail in…. Patsy, Charles, Jim & I headed out a little after 8:00 to go to Honauma Bay for some sun, sea and snorkeling. It was a really nice day. The snorkeling was pretty good, until my underwater camera got destroyed. I have no idea how but it apparently got water in it. Oh well…. I may get out of the underwater photo taking mode. This isn’t the first camera I have gotten wet. I included the last underwater photos I took. They aren’t very good but that’s all I have. Aside from that Hanouma Bay is truly breathtaking. It is just beautiful! A good time was had by all…. Next up, 7 straight days at sea. Yeah!!!!

Day 20 Hilo, Hawaii

The helicopter tour over the waterfalls and volcano was simply amazing….. The views were spectacular. I especially liked seeing the lava…. This was a tour that should not be missed by anyone traveling to Hilo. After our flight in the helicopter we went back to the ship to reload and head out again. My friends Charles & Patsy and Jo Ann Taylor from the Mariner Society & I headed out for a tour of waterfalls and scenic point around Hilo. We first headed out toward Akaka Falls along the coastal scenic route. It was a fabulous view and Akaka Falls was tremendous, all 420 feet worth. We also hiked down to Kahuna Falls which was nice but paled in comparison to Akaka Falls. We then went to see Rainbow Falls and the boiling pots (rapids above Rainbow Falls)…. Very nice. We went into town and toured the Farmers Market for a while and then went to the Tsunami Memorial. We finished up and headed back to the ship. A very, very nice day…. Tomorrow we will be in Honolulu. The plan is to go snorkeling and hitting the beach. Sounds like a great plan.