Week 4

After we passed through the Panama Canal, we anchored off Panama City for an overnight and following day visit. That evening I went ashore with crew friends for a nice dinner. We had the name of a recommended restaurant in the French Quarter but found it closed as it was a Sunday evening. So we let our taxi driver takes us to somewhere he thought we would like which ended up being a fantastic place, not too expensive and great local food.


The following day I escorted a ship’s tour to Monkey Island where of course, we saw lots of monkeys. We rode a small boat around the Panama Canal waters and learned of the upcoming expansion (a mere $5.2 billion project). We saw many monkeys, a couple of crodociles, sloths, turtles and a manatee.

Tuesday night we will be crossing the equator around midnight. Most times there is a special ceremony – King Neptune – but they have chosen to do the ceremony later on in the cruise as we will be crossing again.


Our next stop was Manta Ecuador. We are now in the southern hemisphere and the sinks drain goes the other direction! I went on a tour where we stopped at a home where they made Panama Hats which actually are from Ecuador. They are very durable – you can roll them up and they still spring back to shape. They are called Panama Hats because they were sent to Panama during the building of the Canal.


Kapak trees are a tree that when they shed their leaves, the trunks turn green.



Along the way we saw some “Blue Footed Boobies” which I thought could only be seen in the Galapagos Islands. They are web-footed birds. There are some other pictures here of some of the sites seen in Ecuador. A friend who went to the Galapogas and took photos of blue-footed boobies said if I showed him my boobies, he’d show me his. Is anyone listening???? Comment if you are!


This weekend we were in Lima, Peru. I escorted a tour around the area which took us through a quaint artist district then to a personal home which was a museum of many church artifacts he has collected over the years. After being awed by his treasures of silver, paintings all artistically displayed throughout his home, we continued on to Miraflores (in Spanish it means look at the flowers) and it was truly a beautiful arboretic area (is that a word?).



We stopped at a restaurant/bar for a demonstration on the making of Peru’s traditional drink – Pisco Sours. They are very common hear and taste sort of like a margarita/daiquiri cross. Very tasty! Then on for a typical Peruvian meal at a house of Royalty near the Presidential Palace with more Pisco Sours! Lima was a lot cleaner and safer than I remember in the past. They have a new president who has done a lot to improve their country. One interesting note – every citizen is REQUIRED to vote. If they do not, they are fined heavily. If people in our country all excercised that privilege, they would have the right to criticize.

And as I'm tediously uploading all these images, I'm in my cabin watching the Golden Globes. I also was able to watch the Vikings victory today against Dallas. That's all for this week. Tune in next week!

Week 3

We had two days at sea after leaving Cartagena as we headed to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. It was quite surprising when we got there as the temperature was only 40 degrees. About 1100 people were just on board for the holiday portion of the cruise so they disembarked and 1000 new people came onboard. At 4:30 there was a Reunion Party poolside where everyone gathered and met up with friends they had met on other cruises and many met new friends. This was so fun for me as over my 4 ½ years with the company I have made many friends with both passengers and crew members. And there were people you forgot you had met before until you saw them again.





On such a long voyage there are lots of extra supplies to be taken on and people bring much more luggage than they normally do as they are onboard for such a long time so the loading of things was not complete for our scheduled sailaway time of 5pm. We ended up sailing at 8pm that evening.



We headed southwest for two more days at sea before visiting Puerto Limon, Costa Rica. This country has a beautiful rainforest and offers excellent kayaking and whitewater rafting opportunities.

We were alongside in Puerto Limon with another one of Holland America Line ships, the Zuiderdam which is sailing on 10-day cruises from Ft. Lauderdale roundtrip.

Friday night was our first formal night where the Captain holds a cocktail party/toast and introduces the senior officers onboard. In the photo – I’m the one in the purple. I’m one of the few officers not required to wear a uniform.


After the introductions, we all host dinner tables in the main dining room. I was with a table with 8 Americans and Canadians, three of whom I already knew so it was an enjoyable evening. After dinner was the evening’s entertainment. Many of you may remember Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show – the band leader, Doc Sevirinson along with the band El Ritmo de la vida performed one of the best shows I have ever seen. Very talented musicians! And Doc continued in his true fashion of being a flashy dresser, wearing a hot pink suit. After the show we went to one of our lounges, the Crow’s Nest, where Doc & his band came to relax and socialize. He now is living in Mexico.

Sunday was out transit from east to west through the Panama. There was a nice breeze so not as hot as it could have been. They are expanding the canal so it can handle more traffic and larger ships. Completion of the new sections is scheduled for 2014.

We have had our 3 stops in Mexico, Puerto Vallarta, Puerto Chiapas, and Huatulco. The weather has been quite warm and I’ve managed to get a really good sun tan as the sun is hot here – and you know how easily I tan. This area is very lush with beautiful beaches and mountains with rainforests. Centuries ago there were numerous advanced Indian civilizations, the greatest of these being the Mayans and the Aztecs. Today there are many fishing villages along the sea.

While we were in Puerto Chiapas, a “sister” ship of ours, the Rotterdam, was docked with us. A sister ship means the two ships are built from the same deck plans. There was a nice restaurant on the pier where we had a chance to see crew friends and passenger friends from the other ship. It was a fun day for all.

Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala

Guatemala is considered by many to be one of the world’s most beautiful countries. Volcanoes, mountain lakes, and jungles, combined with a population that is mostly of Indian descent, make this a unique land. Geographically, Guatemala is the northernmost country in Central America. Guatemala’s people are descendents of the ancient Mayan civilization. While Europe was still mired in the Dark Ages, the Mayan civilization was at its peak. The Mayans are people of great intellectual strength and vivid creativity. They developed great public architecture, were by far the first to develop an accurate calendar and displayed an explosion of energy in the arts, commerce, mathematics, astronomy, and the development of the written language.

New Year’s Eve was a fun evening onboard. It was a formal night so everyone was out in their finery. I host dinner tables on formal nights and had very enjoyable company for the evening with all my tablemates being from the US which is quite unusual. I made it into the new year, finally heading for my cabin around 1:30pm. The people in the photo with me are Jeff, a passenger that I sailed with last summer on a different cruise, and Diane & Bud. Bud is our Lead Medical Officer onboard and his wife, Diane, sails with him. I have sailed with them in the past and was happy to have them onboard with me.



New Year’s day was a typical work day for me. I gave a presentation to passengers about what the grand voyages such as the upcoming one are like and what makes them different from a “normal” cruise. In the evening we arrived at Fuerte Amadore (Panama City) for an overnight stay. Since it was a holiday most places are closed but we will return here in about 10 days so will have an opportunity to see it then.


Transiting the Panama Canal is always fascinating to me. The canal has three sets of locks which operate as water lifts to elevate ships 75 feet above sea level, then lowers them back to sea level to transit from the Caribbean Sea to the Pacific Ocean.


Our last port call on this 14-day segment from Los Angeles to Ft. Lauderdale was Cartegena, Columbia. I have been here several times and always enjoy it. My favorite all-time movie is Romancing the Stone and much of it was filmed here. It’s very historical here with many forts protecting entrance to the city.


I like to read your comments and know that someone is reading my blog. Feel free to give me some feedback.

Panama Canal

On January 2, you can watch my ship, the Amsterdam, transit the Panama Canal at www.pancanal.com Check it out!

I have settled in on my home-away-from-home on cruise ship the Amsterdam and we headed south from Los Angeles to our first stop, Puerto Vallarta Mexico.

We had two full sea days along the way which were Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. The ship festively decorated with 50 Christmas trees adorning all the decks of the ship. On Christmas Eve about 100 crew members formed a choir and held a candlelight service singing Christmas carols from around the world for the passengers who are onboard. On Christmas morning there was eggnog and cookies for everyone as Santa Claus arrived here on the ship! That evening everyone dressed in their Christmas fineries for a formal dinner and caroling and dancing until wee hours. There were many family groups and others just meeting new friends and renewing old acquaintances. It was great fun.

On Saturday we were in Puerto Vallarta. Puerto Vallarta was a fishing village until about 20 years ago when it became a popular beach destination sport for North American vacationers. Fishing is still popular here as a trade as well as for sport. It rained in the morning, then we had a sunny afternoon which was great beach time in this tropical resort area. In the evening a cruising entertainer friend, Janine Gardner, performed her hilarious comedy act. Of course it’s not all fun and games, somewhere in between the events, I talk to people about the options of planning a future cruise with us and have sales targets to meet, reports to send in to my main office in Seattle, presentations to prepare and present.

Sunday was a day at sea. The weather was hot and sunny. In the evening a party was held for the 142 people already on board and staying the cruise around the world. The other 1100 will be boarding the ship next year – January 6, 2010 in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.

The Grand Itinerary

2010 Grand World Voyage
December 23, 2009 - April 29, 2010
128 Days aboard Holland America Line's ms Amsterdam

Here are the details of where the Grand Voyage will take me. Just click on the link below to see exact dates and times of each port of call. I'll just give you segment details on this website as the whole itinerary may be too much to absorb. Then as the days go by, I will add photos of my port visits.

http://www.hollandamerica.com/find-cruise-vacation/CruiseDetails.action?webItineraryIdForAudit=W9W128&durationCode=&noOfFlexibleMonths=1&portCode=&shipCodeSearch=AM&flexibleMonths=false&pageNumber=1&voyageCode=A952A&destCode=&dateCode=12_2009

12/23/09 Day 1 - I join the ship in the early morning at the port of Long Beach in Southern California.

12/24-25/09 - Days 2 & 3 - We will be at sea these days, sailing south.

12/26/09 - Day 4 - Puerto Vallarta

12/27/09 - Day 5 - Day at Sea (now we start to head east)

12/28/09 - Day 6 - Huatulco, Mexico

12/29/09 - Day 7 - Puerto Chiapas, Mexico

12/30/09 - Day 8 - Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala

12/31/09 - Day 9 - Day at Sea - New Year's Eve!

1/1-2/10 - Day 10 & 11 - Fuerte Amador, Panama (Panama City overnight)

1/2/10 - Day 11 - Transiting the Panama Canal (Happy Birthday Dad!)

1/3/10 - Day 12 - Cartagena, Columbia

1/4-5/10 - Day 13 & 14 - Day at Sea

1/6/10 - Ft. Lauderdale, Florida

Preparing for a World Voyage

The time is nearing when I will begin my World Voyage. When planning a trip such as this if you are not familiar with foreign travel requirements, it would be very wise to consult with a travel professional to make sure you are well prepared for the travel.

When traveling to foreign countries a passport is needed. A passport is a document issued by the government of the country you are a citizen of. For US citizens, passports cost around $100 per person and is valid for 10 years. Most countries allow you entry into their country if you are carrying a valid passport that will be valid at least six months after your ending travel date. However, some countries require advance approval from them before you visit that country. This is called a visa (This is not a credit card named visa but is a traveler's visa). For my upcoming trip I need a visa to enter China. To obtain visas you must contact an embassy of the country you wish to visit. These can be found on the internet. The procedure to obtain the visa for a specific country will be listed on the web page of the country. For China the nearest embassy to me is in Chicago so I needed to send them my valid passport, completed forms that they provide which are translated into English, proof of my employment, exact entry and exit dates into the country and, of course. payment. For China the cost is approximately $200 and is good for up to one year. Some countries also require certain vaccinations to enter their country. This information is also available on the embassy's website.

Each country does vary so this information needs to be checked out thoroughly. Some countries, (Turkey, Russia) require visas only if you are going to be going ashore on your own without a planned tour escort.