Our Panama Canal Adventure!

Panama Canal cruise – April/May 2008

Monday – April 21, 2008

Am starting this narrative at the point where Mom and I picked Robert up at Orlando airport. Southwest brought him in on time, and surprise! His luggage wasn’t absolutely the last off the plane! YEA! (Actually, the fact that his luggage arrived at all is a really good thing, as we get on the boat tomorrow!) Drove down the coast a couple of hours to Fort Pierce. Not sure why I picked it, but figured that it was about mid-way between Orlando and the port of Fort Lauderdale. However, as we got off the freeway and headed toward the water, did realize that things were looking fair to partly bleak – by the time we got to the beach highway, I was wondering if McDonald’s would be all that would be available for dinner! Fortunately, once we turned onto the island off Fort Pierce, things started to improve. Our motel, The Royal Inn, got great reviews from Tripadvisor.com, and it was a nice, clean place to stay – with all comforts! Large fridge, microwave, extra sink – and we were on the 3^rd floor (top) with a lovely view of the water a block away. As it was already almost 8 (and we have found that Florida closes up early!) we headed out to Mangrove Mattie’s, which we had passed coming in. Think we were the last folks in that evening, but fortunately, we did get in. R ordered mussels for a starter, and I shared my crab-stuffed Portobello mushrooms with the table. Then R had pompano, I had Florida lobster, and Mom ordered King Crab. Well…watching Mom work through all those crab legs was more than enough entertainment for the evening! And, we didn’t think she’d EVER get done! Whew! Lots of work, but she really enjoyed them and we enjoyed watching her! Back to the hotel for the night…although at one time, we did think that we’d be picking Mom up for breakfast!

Up and out around 7:30 a.m. Breakfast of sorts was provided by the hotel, but actually would have done better at McDonald’s! The drive to Fort Lauderdale was uneventful, except for one stop at a CVS along the way for Mom to pick up yet more Dramamine. R also bought scissors so that I could cut his hair somewhere along the way!

Made it to the boat by about 11 a.m. Dropped off Mom and the luggage, and then headed to the airport (only a couple of miles away) to turn in the rental car. Dropped everything off with no problem, and then caught a cab back to the pier. By this time (11:30-ish) folks were starting to arrive, so we joined them and headed on-board. Processed through in no time at all, and soon found ourselves at the Lido Grill where they were serving lunch. Mom went head-first into the pate; I had ebi (shrimp) sushi with fried rice and Singapore noodles; R also had sushi with a different plate of noodles; yummy! From there, we went up to the top deck to find comfy places to sit until our rooms were ready. Found that the computer room and Explorer’s Lounge had been moved upstairs; lovely location, great leather chairs! Mom settled down in one for a quick nap; R purchased computer time, and I read in a wonderful recliner overlooking the water. Didn’t have long to wait, though, before our rooms were ready!

Headed downstairs and found our cabin; 5067 (fortunately, a number easy to remember!) Just like our cabin on the Zuiderdam (surprise!) except turned around! Very confusing! Lovely verandah, with plenty of room and comfy chairs. We had one on the Zuiderdam, but the weather there wasn’t all that conducive to sitting outside and lounging! Started unpacking our carry-on bags, and then, WOW! Our checked luggage! Plenty of room for everything; just have to stay organized! (and remember where I put everything!)

Once we’d gotten everything settled, headed back upstairs to the Crow’s Nest, which is at the top of the ship. This time found wonderful leather recliners at the very front of the ship, so settled down to await departure, read and drink! What a life!! R starting out with his “G’s & T” (helps prevent malaria, we’re told…) and me having a bit of the bubbly to celebrate the start of another wonderful adventure! I delivered Mom to the Beauty Salon to get her hair washed and set – long overdue, according to her! Hope she can find her way back home! (The good thing about a ship is that she can’t get too far away, and always someone around to ask!)

Met the two guys sitting next to us – Mark and Bruce – and surprise! They’re the celebrity chefs on the cruise! They’re cookbook authors; have written a series of books called “The Ultimate…” – we don’t know the books, but they sound fun and interesting! Bruce is the chef, and Mark is the food scientist. Really interesting folks; enjoyed getting to know them – and will be taking one of their classes sometime in the coming weeks!

Ship sailed a few minutes late (waited for one last passenger who was a bit late on his airplane.) Weather perfect; in the high 70’s and some fluffy white clouds in the blue sky. Let’s hope it holds!

We signed up for the “as you wish” dining program, which is new with Holland America. Supposedly you can either make a reservation for a particular time, or you can just saunter in. We decided to saunter when we got hungry; tonight about 6:30-ish. Were seated promptly; no wait, at a nice table for four. Great service; amazing food! I ordered a crab timbale topped with baby shrimp for starters (as did Mom) and we both followed that up with wonderfully tender chicken and beef satay with peanut sauce. I also had a baby spinach salad with a great blue cheese dressing. R started with the salad – he chose the hot bacon dressing, which I may also try on a future occasion – and a roast chicken for his entrée. Deserts (of course!) included mango sundae for Mom, chocolate cake for me, and black cherry ice cream for R – all great!

Found the classical quartet right outside the dining room, so sat down to listen for a bit. Two violins, a viola and a cello – playing a combination of classical and contemporary music; very enjoyable! R starting to work his way through the cognac list … hmmm…

Early evening though; must be the breezes!

Sailed all night, and up fairly early for our walk … R not too pleased, but nice breeze; blue skies. Walked 7,000 steps and then headed up to the Lido for breakfast. Were joined by a very nice older gentleman named Horst; born in Germany but now Canadian. I think he is a fairly recent widower, traveling alone. Very nice man; hope to see him again!

Back to the cabin for showers (well deserved!) and by this time, the ship was approaching Half Moon Cay, Holland America’s private cay, where we are to spend the day. Lots of activities planned, but we’ve scheduled absolutely nothing at all! Tenders to the island, but rather than being life boats pressed into service, there are three large double-decker boats going back and forth, almost continuously! So, no wait to board, and a nice 10 minute run to the island. Absolutely beautiful, pristine place. Beautiful beach – and for anyone who has already been down that way, no surprise to say that the water was an amazing array of turquoise – but for we who haven’t been here before – WOW would be a good word to use! Have only seen colors like that in movies or photographs!

Walked for miles along the beach. Folks being very active or not; horseback riding, parasailing, snorkeling, swimming – whatever. We (being the lazy sort) walked – and walked – enjoyed the water, then went back to the ship for our books. Found Mom somewhere along the way (she didn’t want to go to the island), and had lunch on the Lido Deck by the pool. Mom and grilled hot dog, R had grilled Italian sausage sandwich, and I had a wonderful beef fajita with chips and guacamole. (Why do all our adventures involve FOOD?? More steps…) Oh! Mom did try her first Pina Colada … wasn’t too impressed; said she’d stick to wine – but she is a good sport!

Spent the afternoon alternatively napping and reading on the promenade deck; what a life! Oh! Did find out that the Pinnacle Grill chef is Philip, the same chef we had on the Zuiderdam to Alaska! He’s the “kick it up a notch” “take it to the next level” “lots of love in the kitchen” chef who is hilarious. Looking forward to seeing more of him!

Sauntered down to dinner fairly early, as Mom wanted to see the guitarist performing this evening. Lovely table next to the windows – no wait, which was great. This time, R had vodka-cured gravlax (sp?) for starters, I had a fabulous roasted beet and corn quesadilla, and Mom had a salad. For mains, R had a black-pepper encrusted steak with twice baked potato, I had a grilled chicken breast with mole and a twice baked potato, and Mom had Italian Wedding Soup. All excellent! From there we headed to the Vista Lounge and got seats in the front row. FREE CHAMPAGNE for all!! YEA!

First came the introduction of Captain and heads of the various departments. Then came Justin Miller, to play the guitar. He is a Ph.D., R figures in musicology; just an amazing guitar player. He has interviewed many of the greats over the years, from Cole Porter to Richard Rogers, and he is a great performer and story teller. GREAT show! In fact, as a special request, he is performing for an hour today, but it will be just him (no back-up orchestra) and he will play as well as tell stories. Will definitely be there!

Wandered back through the classical quartet, and finally ended up upstairs to check email. Good to hear from folks, although as we’re paying for time, I won’t be doing too much corresponding! (And will have to see what pictures we have to include!)

To bed about 10; nice evening! (Now, a note here about ESPN…I know everyone knows that that is my channel of choice – well, Holland America has ESPN (as well as CNN and a few other channels) on LIVE – which means I WON’T miss the NFL draft for the second year in a row! How amazing! So nice of them to think of me…

Today (Thursday) is our first of two consecutive days at sea. Our schedule (between meals, that is) looks like this: 11:30 – Chef Philip doing a cooking demonstration in the culinary arts center; 1:30 p.m. speaker on the Panama Canal; 3:30 guitar performance. So…that’s about it for now!

Have no idea how often I will write. I know it won’t be every day; probably every couple of days – and to be honest, had NOT planned to blog – it’s just that we’re having such a wonderful time, and the food is SO great, that I want to remember it! And blogging is by far the best way! So – for those friends who inquired, would I be blogging? I guess I will – just not every day!

For now, then, take care all!
M