Today is my final day at sea as we are heading for a 7am mooring at Port Everglades in Ft Lauderdale.  The Veendam, however, continues on with many passengers heading for Boston in three additional days.  After that the Veendam will sail the Quebec City-Boston route for most of the spring and summer.  Will and I are taking a different Holland America ship, the ms Maasdam, for our one-week Canadian cruise since it begins in Montreal rather than Quebec.

So this is probably my last entry before returning to Tucson tomorrow.  After I enjoy some quiet time at home, I will probably add some more pictures to the blog and I will definitely post lots of pictures, as I usually do, on Shutterfly.

Saturday, 27 April 2013
Day at Sea

After the hectic day in Cartagena, Saturday is a nice day for resting.  The seas have remained calm during the entire trip, and as we venture further in the Caribbean and up to the Gulf of Mexico, the waters present a dazzling display of different colors.  I have been on special lookout at night for the stars in the Southern Hemisphere skies.  Unfortunately, although the days have been mostly clear, the nights have always been overcast and there has been little to see as the ship glides through the dark (sorry, Dr V!).

This morning’s Mariner’s Reception and Brunch starts at 10:30am and I am just getting ready to leave my stateroom as 10:30 ticks away.  The phone rings; the front desk is calling to remind me (in a nice way) that I am supposed to be at the brunch.  I don’t see any reason to rush and diddle about as I make my way to the Explorations Café on the uppermost deck.  The awards ceremony is just getting started and two women (not travelling together) are introduced, each having over 600 days at sea on Holland America ships.  Although the awards system now takes into account cash spent on board in addition to days at sea, this morning’s awards are for actual days at sea only. 

The reason for the phone call becomes clear when I am the next awardee called forward—with 109 days (including the current cruise)—number three for the record-holders on this cruise.  My reward is a very tacky fake copper medallion with a blue ribbon, and a photo (which they actually give me for free; now that was the big surprise!), with the Captain and the Hotel Manager.  [Too bad, the Chief Engineer was not present for this ceremony because I really would have liked to have had my picture taken with him!]

 

 

 

 

 

 

The other big incident of the day is the misadventure of my room key card (make that plural, cards), which doesn’t want to work anymore.  Even after I have another card made, I still can’t get into the room, which leads to a more serious issue:  there is no way to reach the Front Office since there are no telephones anywhere on this deck, except in the staterooms.  Since it’s the middle of the day and the housekeeping staff is taking its well-deserved break, I have to make the long trek back to the front desk twice (and twice again in the evening when the new key card stops working).  But the big issue is that if there had been a true emergency there was no way for a passenger to get help, except to bang on the door of a stranger’s stateroom.   The closest public-use telephone was two decks away.  Although I mention this to several members of the staff, no one seems at all interested in thinking that there is a problem here.  I’ll raise it again with Holland America after I get home.

Sunday, 28 April 2013
Falmouth, Jamaica

Falmouth is a port on the north side of Jamaica, not too far west of Ochos Rios, a popular beach resort.  Up until the 1950s it was the major port on this side of the island, but has since seen its tourist industry eclipsed by Ochos Rios and its industrial uses diminished by the end of the sugar industry.  It is a pleasant small town, however, and still retains much of the British influence established by the Moulton-Barrett family, the major landowners of the area.  Elizabeth Barrett Browning, the poet, is the most well-known of the family; her ancestors settled here and built many houses.

Today’s tour includes a visit to one of the country houses built by the Moulton-Barretts, Greenwood House, located in the hills, surrounded by plantations and looking down toward the sea.  The guide gives a very complete tour of the house, including some hidden amenities used by the family still in residence (like the 50” televisions hidden behind beautiful 18^th century mahogany cupboards).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We also visit an Anglican church in the city of Falmouth itself, arriving just as Sunday service is ending.  The vicars and parishioners are very welcoming and the simple church has a quiet charm in its thick stone and dark woods, as well as a family of goats living in the attached cemetery.  There is also a pointless 30-minute stop for liquid refreshment at a restaurant overlooking a quiet bay.  At least there is very little shopping on the tour (this has been true for all of the tours Holland America has offered; at least the ones I’ve been on).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After we return to the cruise center—full of duty-free shops and restaurants—I decide to take a short walk through the central part of Falmouth, which is right outside the port gates.  The natives are very aggressive about selling their cheap goods, however, so I soon head back to the ship for a late lunch.

 

 

 

 

 

Monday, 29 April 2013

George Town, Grand Cayman Island

Notorious home to the banking and insurance industries and trying to live down its anti-gay past, Cayman is quite a pleasant surprise.  If you ever visit the Caribbean don’t do any shopping until you get here—the variety of goods (not just the usual liquor, perfumes, and jewelry) is fantastic and there is a variety of name-goods shops from which to choose.  Outside the port, the small town offers a pleasant and clean series of seafront streets with more shops and restaurants.  The waters are a deep cobalt blue and the sand is sparkling white.  The Caymans are, of course, ideal for the active tourist, offering swims with stingrays and visits to turtle farms.  We more sedentary folk choose a tour that visits an historic residence, Pedro’s Castle (the oldest in the Caymans), which provides a nice comparison with yesterday’s house in Jamaica, and the Queen Elizabeth II Botanical Gardens.

The “multi-media” presentation at the house is a bit feeble, but the house itself is quite wonderful, with wide-ranging views of the sea.  The Botanical Gardens are well run and organized and offer plants from around the world, emphasizing the tropics.  The highlight of the Garden is their sanctuary for “Blue” Iguanas, the most threatened of the species, which is not open to the public.  However, several of the Iguanas like to wander the Gardens at will, and I was lucky enough to see two of these giants up close.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And I leave you at the port of George Town, Grand Cayman, with the Mother Ship—Walt Disney’s Fantasy—and the Baby Ship—Holland America’s Veendam.