It is now 4:38am on Monday morning April 24th. I am sitting very comfortably at a table in the “Lido.” This is the dining area on the 8th deck where people who choose to get their food themselves come for breakfast, lunch, dinner, late-night-snacks and hot beverages. I have joked that while the message in the movie “Love Story” was “Love is never having to say you are sorry,” the message on a cruise ship is “Never having to say you are hungry.”
My intention with this final message is to tell you enough details about world cruises that you will know what you would be getting into if you decide to take one yourself. I guess I should limit my scope a little. I can tell you some of my discoveries as I enjoyed Holland America’s Grand World Voyage 2017 on the Amsterdam.
There is much to tell and you may not be interested in all the details but you may know somebody who is sitting on the proverbial fence. I was ambivalent for months until I got answers to questions that perhaps you do not have. Can I drink the tap water? Do I bring my own laundry detergent? The answers are “yes” the water is distilled and “no” do not bother bringing detergent. For eight quarters the washer starts and you just push a button and laundry detergent is added. The dryers are free. If you hate doing laundry, for $666.00, you can have all you laundry done for the entire cruise. (did that particular choice of a price strike anybody besides me as diabolical?)
Let’s talk about money. Just like you may fly on a plane in which each person has paid a different fare, the same is true of cruises. Logically, tiny windowless rooms at the bottom of the ship cost less than spacious staterooms with balconies.
The seventh deck is exceptionally expensive for people whom I will call “High Rollers.” They have a special lounge with an attendant and food available all the time. While on the “Lower Promenade” two stewards clean 30 rooms a day, the folks up on the seventh deck almost have personal butlers.
Holland America is one of a number of cruise lines owned by Carnival. Loyalty is appreciated so as cruisers accumulate more sea days they gain status and get discounts on certain things. Towards the end of the cruise, Mary and I found medals in our room designating us as “Bronze Mariners.” Some folks advance their way up to “Platinum” by spending thousands of days at sea. As first-time world cruisers, Mary and I found ourselves in the minority.
If you are not a big spender on the high-end merchandise such as clothing and jewelry and you do not drink alcohol or gamble, you can make an affordable cruise. (Of course, this depends on your definition of affordable.)
Most world cruises start out from Fort Lauderdale in January. Many cruisers count on these voyages to avoid the cold weather of winter and early spring in their home states. The majority of cruisers I met were American but there were some Canadians and a smattering of folks from around the globe. Each year the world tour visits different ports as it circumnavigates the globe.
There were sub-groups of people on board through different organization. “Road Scholars” had special lectures and tours as did “Cruise Critics,” “Cruise Advisors and “Distinctive Voyages.” There were quite a few travel agents ready to help me book my next cruise. Obviously, travel agents make commissions on cruise bookings so they have a variety of enticements so you will book through them. One agent said he would give me half of his commission.
The reason I share this is so, if you are a bargain hunter, you know the prices are not set in cement. Ideally for Holland America, people would book the complete tour far in advance and the ship would be full from the starting point to the end. Things do not happen that way. The cruise which Mary and I joined in San Diego, started in Fort Lauderdale. Most likely, our stateroom (that sounds nicer than ‘cabin’) had one or two people in it from Florida to California. Much to our surprise, all along our voyage, passengers got on and off. These travelers would often tell us about the good deals they got. My impression is, that if a person wants to save money and is flexible, the cruise line will settle for some money rather than have an empty stateroom.
I heard that people living near Fort Lauderdale keep their bags packed ready to go if a last-minute-bargain presents itself. There is also insurance for folks who book way in advance and then something comes up at the last minute and they cannot go. World cruises tend to be the sort taken by senior citizens who have time and money. Obviously, with age, comes the likelihood of health challenges. There is also a type of health insurance passengers may take out if a medical emergency ends their trip and they need to immediately return home.
Obviously, cruises cost money but I am suggesting that, if you are considering a long cruise, you might find a way to make it affordable. Think of the ship as a floating hotel. It was so nice to see the many places I saw without getting on and off planes and packing and unpacking.
I want to write briefly about dining. Some aspects of cruise ships have changed due to changes in lifestyles. Years ago, people would be formally assigned to a dining time and table. They would dress up for dinner. While the option is open for people to have a fixed time and table for dinner, 5:30pm or 8:00pm, there is something now called “open seating” where you show up at the dining room whenever and get seated with whomever. I have met many nice people this way. I like being presented a menu, making choices and being served.
Many people opt for the Lido which is more like a buffet but still the same excellent food. There is wait staff ready to help get your beverages or carry items to your place.
There is a place near the main swimming pool called the “Dive In.” It serves hamburgers, hot dogs and fries. The Dive In is open all afternoon and is a welcome option for those who return to the ship after an excursion.
Meals and snacks are delivered to staterooms at all hours. A passenger can call in a request or leave a written breakfast menu on their door handle before 2:00am specifying when they wish to have breakfast delivered. A passenger might eat breakfast in her room, lunch at the Lido and dinner in the dining room.
One of the surprising niceties on this voyage was fresh flower arrangements throughout the common areas. There were two very creative florists behind the scenes who treated our eyes and sometimes our noses with delightful arrangements. I admit I take an excessive amount of pictures but, when it came to the floral creations, others were snapping the colorful arrays too.
Another wonderful feature of this cruise which I had not anticipated was high quality live entertainment. Almost every evening we had top-notch performers in the “Queen’s Lounge.” First of all, the Amsterdam has its own musicians. They are excellent on their own but are also able to meet the needs of the many other musicians who come aboard. We had prize winners on virtually every musical instrument. I particularly liked a group called (of all things) “Graffiti.” Look them up on You Tube. There was a pianist whose last name was Ataman who played magnificently non-stop for 45 minutes. There were the Amsterdam Singers and Dancers. Often, when we were in a port, local talent would be welcomed aboard to perform wonderful traditional songs and dances. We had comedians and magicians. I was not just amazed at what the magicians were able to do but the fact that Holland America was able to afford such top-of-the-line entertainment. Most of the time, this meant bringing the entertainers on at one port and dropping them off at another port. As an audience member, I just had to travel steps from our stateroom.
Usually, I would attend the 8:00pm show and if I loved it, and could stay awake, I would return for the 10:00pm performance. I often found myself dozing during the entertainment no matter how excellent it was. A few times, my drowsiness was directly connected to one teeny, tiny sea sick pill. Other times, my sleepiness was due to the gentle rocking of the ship. I think that the International Dateline did something crazy to me. I have dutifully set my clock and watch back an hour each time I have been instructed to do this but my body has not been saying “Hooray an extra hour of sleep!” In one of the lectures, we were told that an explorer who circumnavigated the globe was mystified when he got home a day later than his meticulous records indicated the date should have been. He had to go and talk to the pope about it. Oh yes, I dozed off in lectures too but happened to be awake for this globe circumnavigating tidbit.
If you ever meet anybody who says they were on the same cruise with me, you can just tell them I was the woman wearing the Z-Coils. Yes, they were comfortable. Yes, they were safe. I probably answered questions about my footwear at least 100 times. One day, I was sitting in the “Digital Workshop” waiting to ask the instructor a question. I was watching pictures on a computer screen that a man sitting in front of me was showing to his companion. Suddenly my shoes were on the screen! I had no idea when he photographed them. This led to an interesting discussion. While the man had photographed them as an oddity, another woman in the room spoke up. She was from Albuquerque (Z-Coil Headquarters) and not only had good things to say about the unusual shoes but also mentioned she owned stock in the company. Wow! It never occurred to me I could buy stock in Z-Coils. I have been a global circling billboard for the shoes.
In many ways, life aboard ship is remarkably simple. In the morning, I put my camera and key-card in my right pocket and a copy of the “Daily Navigator” and a small zip-lock bag of vitamins in my left pocket. (I notice lots of other folks have pills that resemble my vitamins.) The key card does more than open my stateroom door. It serves as an identification when I leave or re-board the ship. I have noticed that when my key card is scanned, my picture shows on a screen. It also serves as a credit card if I wish to buy something on the ship. I am not a big spender but I did invest in a few CD’s. I will miss the freedom of not carrying a purse.
I want to write about all the people I have met. I have no time to tell interesting individual stories but I would say genuinely nice people cruise. It seems that people who have been teachers at all different levels are disproportionately represented. I think there are a variety of factors that contribute to this. Teachers are accustomed to more vacation time which allowed them to catch the travel bug early. Teachers are more likely to have a steady source of retirement income. Teachers are accustomed to schedules and regular routines. They attend the lectures as they did in college. With many couples, the wife was the teacher so there was a two income marriage.
Soon after introductions at the dining table, couples will state how many years they have been married. Cruising is popular among widows. Often, widows will tell me they cruised with their husbands. I think cruising is a safe choice for women who are now on their own.
I mentioned lectures but there is another activity which I believe teachers enjoy. It is called “Team Trivia.” Several times a day, players gather to compete against each other in their knowledge of trivia. There may be up to 6 players on a team and there are fifteen questions in each game. The game director reads the question aloud but the team needs to write notes to each other in order not to be heard by their competitors. The topics run the gamut of knowledge from history, geography, entertainment, science, anatomy and something as current as the most recent Starbuck’s drink. There is much laughter and amazement. Some of the trivia is forgettable but some is worth thinking about. I learned only 10% of the world’s population lives south of the equator. Usually some questions are so hard that no team gets a perfect score. Just as in exams, sometimes the team changes the answer from the right one to a wrong one at the last minute. This brings fun interaction. There is much amusement over the answers to tough questions. The teams that place first, second and third are rewarded with “Grand Dollars” which may be cashed in for prizes. Participation in a variety of events is rewarded with “Grand Dollars.” This is really pretty silly when one considers the overall expense of a cruise but we humans like rewards, even symbolic ones.
A movie is shown several times every day in the Wajang Theater and then, the next day, it is broadcast on the televisions in the staterooms. There are also a wide variety of DVD’s available at the front desk. These are free to use and are listed in a catalog named “Ship Flicks.”
Many passengers do a lot of reading while on cruises. This ship has an extensive library. The library also has quite a few computers which people may use with pre-paid internet minutes. The librarian helps passengers struggling to use the internet with personal lap tops.
One activity which provides unexpected excitement is “Aqua Aerobics.” When the ship is rocking and rolling, big waves sweep exercisers from one side of the pool to the other. It is like the pool is exercising you.
There were a variety of activities I tried only once. I went to one drawing class, one crafts class, one guided meditation, one meditative coloring class, one cooking competition, and one kitchen tour. There were many games I did not try such Mahjong and Bridge. I never tried to fit even one little piece in the large puzzle spread out in the library.
There were athletes that engaged in marathons, pickle ball and ping pong. There were knitters who made blankets for the “Linus Project.”
During the portion of the cruise that started in San Diego, there were 13 “gala” nights. These meant that we got dressed up and the crew wore costumes and decorated the main areas. There were “Sail Away parties as we left ports. There were special parties for special holidays such as St. Patrick’s Day and April Fool’s Day. Every evening there are three different bands playing for dancing and a talented pianist taking requests and singing.
The ship is kept very clean by crew members who are constantly vacuuming, wiping, hosing off or washing all surfaces. Our stateroom location, which is just steps from the Promenade, has a disadvantage to late sleepers. Workers are out on the Promenade long before dawn hosing things off. There is also the tasks of putting deck chairs out and placing cushions on them. There is a constant battle against the corrosive salt water. Often crew members are chipping, sanding and painting. I am all for maintaining the ship but wish the paint fumes could be eliminated.
The wait staff is also very conscientious. They are not only friendly but pay attention to your patterns and do their best to anticipate your needs. I have observed a sincere attitude of friendship and affection between the crew and passengers. This makes for a pleasant atmosphere.
Well, it is now 9:38pm and I am very sleepy. Tomorrow I will finish packing and the day after that Mary and I will fly home from Fort Lauderdale. This truly has been the trip of a lifetime.