San Diego to Hawaii
Holland America MS Amsterdam 1400 passengers, 650 crew
As I write this, I am hearing a xylophone indicating first seating for dinner and violin music from one of the bars nearby. I am seated at a counter in the Digital Workshop Room where a digital workshop host showed me how to get started on the Toshiba laptop than my friend John Attard kindly lent me. The Amsterdam is rocking back and forth and I am rocking with it. I, along with all the passengers and crew, am moving very cautiously. The deck rises up and then drops off. It looks like we are all failing a sobriety test.I am writing this on Monday afternoon January 23rd. The Holland America ship “Amsterdam” set sail from San Diego, Thursday late afternoon January 19th. Christa delivered me to the ship with three tightly packed suitcases. (I had loosely packed four.) My daughter convinced me not to take quite as much stuff and then demonstrated her remarkable ability to squeeze the air out of everything and utilize every crack and cranny of my luggage,
Those of you who have cruised before know that once I got onboard, there was a mandatory lifeboat drill before the ship would leave the dock. Once that was over, I breathed a sigh of relief. I had successfully gotten on board with my boarding pass, passport, ID and credit cards and had complied with the safety requirement which allowed me to stay onboard. My suitcases were delivered to our stateroom.
My travel companion, Mary Kapalla, and I watched the skyline of San Diego grow smaller as we literally sailed into the sunset. Soon, we were in the very pleasant dining room and just by chance had been seated at a table which included the ship’s Catholic chaplain, Father Bill Gold. We not only had Catholicism in common but, of all the Dioceses in the world, this priest was from San Diego. The first parish in which he served was Saint Mary Magdalene where I am currently the Wedding Coordinator.
There were a couple of hours after dinner when the ship hit rough water and I began thinking I had made a huge mistake. I know there are people who would never even consider a world cruise or for that matter any cruise due to their propensity for seasickness. I made a desperate search for those little pills and when I finally located them, I managed to read the instructions. “Take one and hour before you start to travel.” Oops! I realized I would not be able to convince the captain to turn back and I am awfully sure this was not the sort of a medical emergency where a helicopter lands on the deck and spirits me away. A few tiny pills and a few days of being half awake and I am no longer nauseated!
I have learned that the forward and backward motion to the ship is called “pitching” while the sideways movement is called “rolling.” Stabilizers for this ship are 18 feet long, six feet wide wings that are under the water on each side of the boat. The job of stabilizers is to minimize the rolling. The captain apologized on the loud speaker that there is no device to deal with the pitching and the ship has done much of this over these last few days. I spoke with a seasoned traveler who said she has traveled this same route when the water was a smooth as glass. A number of people have assured me that what I am experiencing now is the worst it probably will get. This is reassuring. I cannot count the number of times I thought we smacked really hard into an iceberg. At one point, two men were joking we had hit a whale which would be served for dinner.
Speaking of dinner, all meals have been outstanding. The servers are attentive and there is a wide variety of options if you sit down in the formal dining room and even more choices at a buffet arrangement called “The Lido.” You have choices of soup, salad or other appetizers, nice main courses and, as you might guess, tantalizing desserts. Servers try really hard to get it right. The other night, we had a “Gala” dinner and a waiter extracted the lobster from the lobster shell. A much appreciated act of kindness!
Not only is the food outstanding, but the entertainment is as well. The formal theater is called “The Queen’s Lounge.” We have been regaled by piano playing brothers, a stand-up comedian, and four extremely talented singers and tonight are looking forward to a mind-reading act.
Queen’s Lounge
There are three other locations on the ship which also have entertainment in the evenings. There is “The Ocean Bar” and “The Piano Bar” and a place on the top deck in the very front of the ship called “The Crows Nest.” I am fond of “The Crows Nest” because of its comfortable chairs and tremendous view but also because of a rather heartwarming incident what happened one evening. My travel companion is 86 years old and even though she had no previous need to use one, she had been told to bring a walker. She had been dancing despite the ship’s movement due to the high swells. At one point, she got on the dance floor with her walker and danced with it. A gentleman who clearly was too disabled to get out on the dance floor began to wave his arms and even his legs while he remained seated. He had a huge grin on his face. With this, virtually everyone there got out on the floor and danced. I looked around and everybody had smiles on their faces.
the Crow’s Nest
In addition to the entertainment in the evening, there is a wide variety of activities scheduled each day. A passenger could not possibly participate in everything being offered. Mass, Yoga, Meditation, Tai Chi, Watercolor workshop, Bridge Instruction, Indoor cycling, Bocce Ball, Pickle Ball, seminars, lectures, Flower Arranging, Blackjack tournament, Digital Workshop, Drawing Workshop, Basketball, Arts and Crafts, Bingo, Afternoon Tea, Team Trivia, Happy Hour, Chess and Scrabble, Body Conditioning, Movie watching and Star Gazing.Before I end this first account, I would remiss if I did not mention the friendliness of my fellow passengers. Each time I have sat at any table, whomever I sit with has been kind and friendly. Mary and I try hard to remember the names of our fellow passengers as they do ours. Even if we have forgotten each others’ names, when we encounter each other again we are glad to see each other.
I look forward to sending you further emails as this world cruise adventure continues. I thank my friend Bonita Chamberlin Long for her willingness to send this out to you.