Embarkation Day

The ride to the port went so fast we almost drove past the exit from I-95. Then things slowed down. Apparently there were problems on the dock in addition to there being nine ships leaving Port Everglades at about the same time. We stood in a long line to check-in in spite of a very efficient process but everyone was happy and chatting so the time passed quickly. Then on board for our first cruise on Holland America Line’s Prisendam.

The ship is small at about 38,000 tons and there are only just over a thousand people onboard. It annoys me that the count is usually only passengers ignoring the ship’s crew and staff who make the journey possible, safe and pleasant, so that number is the total number of humans. Our cabin seemed small at first but after our cabin steward, Augustus, removed our five empty suitcases, the cabin felt larger. Everything is now put away and the room is beginning to feel like home.

We decided to try late seating for dinner this cruise since the itinerary is so port intensive. That was already a good decision because at the early seating time we were at the Sea View Bar with people from the Cruise Critic roll call and another couple and we didn’t want to leave. The weather was nice, the welcome aboard drinks were free, and I saw the green flash as the sun set.

The ship left a bit late as all of the supplies on the dock were finally aboard. We sailed past the high rises between the Intracoastal Waterway and the Atlantic Ocean with the Bon Voyage wishes of the people in the houses and condos along the way flashing lights, blowing air horns, and waving.

Now we are ready to check out the Lido for breakfast.

The most important news is that the rumors were true about the change in ports. Calls in Egypt are cancelled and are replaced with an overnight in Ashdod, Israel and a stop at Dubrovnik, Croatia.

Counting down to sailing

The list is slowly getting checked off but the pace of checking off had better accelerate. We now have two days before we leave. We have to pack! Yikes! Do we ever have to pack. I hope that our previous long cruises will really make packing for 62 days easy. Today we tested empty suitcases in the car to make sure that there is room for us, a driver, and 5 suitcases for the 2 of us. They fit but with no room to spare. Fortunately we have only a 45 minute ride to the port since the way the bags fit is with 2 large bags on the back seat between us.

The only decisions I have made so far are about the clothes for formal nights. There will be nine formal nights and I had no trouble choosing which dresses to take with me this time. The ship is usually so cold at night that I end up trying to keep warm by wearing a jacket or a shawl anyway.

While we were in Key Largo with my brother yesterday, I found a pair of water shoes in the Pennekamp State Park store so my shopping is complete. The snorkeling (for my brother) was excellent and J and I enjoyed sitting on the beach, eating at the picnic tables, soaking up the sun.

Today I read the news that Costa Cruises has dropped calls in Tunisia, Israel, and Alexandria, Egypt through the end of the year. There was also violence in Alexandria which resulted in 14 dead and over 100 injured according to one report. Although some cruise lines have canceled calls in Egypt, we still have no word about our calls in Alexandria and Port Said.

Today I stumbled upon something that gave me another reason to look forward to being on the ship. A few years ago, while on a cruise, I watched the performance of Livewire: A Whirlwind of Music and Celtic Spirit. After the performance I wanted one of their CD's but I didn't buy one. So the next day I went to the shop on the ship to see if I could purchase one there. The shop did have them, but when performers leave the ship they take their CD's with them and Livewire was gone as were their CD's. I searched online for them with only the name since that was all I could recall,  but there was a more famous group named Livewire and I was not able to find the group I was searching for.

Since this was our first time sailing on a Holland America Line ship, our travel agent had given us some of the daily publications from his last cruise with HAL. One of the performances was by Livewire and the listing included the Whirlwind description, so, of course, with that additional information I had no trouble locating their website. And this is the surprise part, Livewire will perform on the Prisendam in April while we are onboard. I will be first in line this time to purchase a CD.

 You can check them out. And no comments about my taste in music! I like a wide variety of simple music.

More last minute details tomorrow and packing for sure.

Where am I? Who am I? What am I doing?

First question: Where am I? As often as possible I am on a cruise ship traveling the world. In the past, I have blogged  about our travels and tried to upload photos as well. I say tried because the Internet connection on a ship is much slower than we are used to and I can't wait for photos to upload. This time I plan to take a flash drive and try Internet Cafes thanks to JW's suggestion.

Right now we are between cruises. Last week we were on the Crown Princess in the Western Caribbean with family. In two weeks we will be on the Holland America Prisendam for the Grand Africa and Mediterranean Voyage for 62 days. It will be our first cruise with HAL and we will be missing our loyalty perks from Princess and Cunard, like free Internet and laundry. But the itinerary is outstanding, with calls in many countries we have not been to as well as a stop in Syracuse, Italy. As long time residents of Syracuse NY, we are looking forward to visiting the Italian city of the same name. You will also see below that we may not be stopping as scheduled in Egypt, Morocco, Israel... Who knows at this point how stable the region will be by the time we arrive in the area.

Day             Date             Port                        

0             12 Mar 2011             Fort Lauderdale, Florida, US                        

1             13 Mar 2011             At Sea                        

2             14 Mar 2011             At Sea                        

3             15 Mar 2011             Gustavia (St. Barts), France            

4             16 Mar 2011             Terre-de-Haut, Guadeloupe           

5             17 Mar 2011             Fort-De-France, Martinique           

6             18 Mar 2011             Bridgetown, Barbados             

7             19 Mar 2011             At Sea                        

8             20 Mar 2011             At Sea                        

9             21 Mar 2011             At Sea                        

10             22 Mar 2011             At Sea                        

11             23 Mar 2011             Mindelo, Cape Verde            

12             24 Mar 2011             At Sea                        

13             25 Mar 2011             Banjul, Gambia            

14             26 Mar 2011             Dakar, Senegal            

15             27 Mar 2011             At Sea                        

16             28 Mar 2011             At Sea                        

17             29 Mar 2011             Santa Cruz (Tenerife), Spain                       

18             30 Mar 2011             Santa Cruz (Tenerife), Spain                         

19             31 Mar 2011             Arrecife, Canary Islands             

20             01 Apr 2011             Agadir, Morocco 

21             02 Apr 2011             Casablanca, Morocco             

22             03 Apr 2011             At Sea                        

23             04 Apr 2011             Cartagena, Spain             

24             05 Apr 2011             Mahon, Spain              

25             06 Apr 2011             At Sea                        

26             07 Apr 2011             La Spezia, Italy 

27             08 Apr 2011             Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy            

28             09 Apr 2011             Lipari, Italy 

29             10 Apr 2011             Syracuse, Italy 

30             11 Apr 2011             At Sea                        

31             12 Apr 2011             Kotor, Montenegro 

32             13 Apr 2011             Split, Croatia 

33             14 Apr 2011             Venice, Italy             

34             15 Apr 2011             Venice, Italy                         

35             16 Apr 2011             Ravenna (San Marino), Italy             

36             17 Apr 2011             At Sea                        

37             18 Apr 2011             At Sea                        

38             19 Apr 2011             Alexandria (Cairo), Egypt            

39             20 Apr 2011             Port Said, Egypt             

40             21 Apr 2011             Ashdod (Jerusalem), Israel             

41             22 Apr 2011             Haifa, Israel             

42             23 Apr 2011             At Sea                        

43             24 Apr 2011             Bodrum, Turkey             

44             25 Apr 2011             Kusadasi (Ephesus), Turkey            

45             26 Apr 2011             Piraeus (Athens), Greece             

46             27 Apr 2011             Monemvasia, Greece 

47             28 Apr 2011             Katakolon, Greece             

48             29 Apr 2011             At Sea                        

49             30 Apr 2011             Cagliari, Italy 

50             01 May 2011             At Sea                        

51             02 May 2011             Motril, Spain             

52             03 May 2011             Cadiz (Seville), Spain             

53             04 May 2011             At Sea                        

54             05 May 2011             Funchal (Madeira), Portugal             

55             06 May 2011             At Sea                        

56             07 May 2011             At Sea                        

57             08 May 2011             At Sea                        

58             09 May 2011             At Sea                        

59             10 May 2011             At Sea                        

60             11 May 2011             At Sea                        

61             12 May 2011             At Sea                        

62             13 May 2011             Fort Lauderdale, Florida, US           

The other questions will have to wait until another day - or month.