The Nasrid Palaces where the center of power for the Granada Emirate. They are designed around rectangular interior courtyards and flowing water. The decoration looks inward rather than outward, and is made of stucco, and stonework. The courtyards are surrounded … Continue reading The Nasrid Palaces at the Alhambra
There are good ships. there are wood ships, There are ships that sail the sea, but the best ships are friendships, And May they always be. Holland America’s Mariner Society appropriated that old Irish toast substituting “dam” for “friend.” And … Continue reading Coda, A Dam Good Voyage.
It started too early in the morning and didn’t really end for two days. I set the alarm for 6 AM after being up watching the last World Stage Company show featuring the team leader Florance and then finished packing. … Continue reading The Journey Home
Just as we were running out of time the pace on the ship picked up. We had six sea days between Nuka Hiva and San Diego. We needed those six days to sort what we wanted to throw and what … Continue reading Frenzied, Fun Filled Finale
I was surprised and delighted when I entered our room after our first dinner on our first night of our first Holland America Grand Voyage in 2015. Sitting on the bed was a cute little animal made from towels and … Continue reading A Delightful Tradition
Holland America has always been a cruise line with great music but they have stepped up their game for this grand voyage. My favorite improvement over recent cruises is the reintroduction of the Zaandam show band. Guest performers are playing … Continue reading Music On Zaandam
Everyone on the cruise is calling it Project Linus, after the Peanuts character who was never without his blanket, but it isn’t. It’s been a tradition on Holland America World Cruises for cruisers to knit or crochet blankets for hospitalized … Continue reading Project Linus by Any Other Name.
Music is the decorative theme of Zandaam. The walls are lined with musical memorabilia, an eclectic Hard Rock Café. Like Hard Rock there are guitars autographed by rock stars like Iggy Pop and Freddy Mercury, and others with illegible signatures. … Continue reading Musical Zaandam
The final sail out of a cruise seems like a forced celebration. We had a great time and now it is over. In the past we have had two or three sea days between the final sail out from San … Continue reading The Final Sail Out
The Taipivai Drive is a tour I’ve wanted to take for 8 years. It is the only tour offered by Holland America Lines on the island of Nuka Hiva in the Marquéses Islands. The tour is organized by residents with … Continue reading Final Port of Call, Nuka Hiva
I’ve written a lot about the ports of call this trip but not nearly as much as I usually do about life at sea on this Grand Holland America voyage. Usually during a cruise, I have more posts than days … Continue reading Virtual Food Trucks
We have one more port and six sea days after that left in this cruise. In other words, a whole seven day cruise ahead of us. Yet today we got our disembarkation letter, we have to select our time to … Continue reading Claiming the Moment, Sailor’s Delight
Unlike the other French Polynesian Islands we visited on this cruise, Fakarava is flat, no mountains, just a long skinny, roughly rectangular island, think of it as a picture frame, 37 miles long and 13 miles wide around a deep … Continue reading Fakarava, The Penultimate Port
Some mornings I wake up with a terrible earworm. Elvis Presley singing “All Shook Up.” When that happens, the only cure is an Elvis sandwich for breakfast. This has happened four times on this cruise so far. It happened Saturday, … Continue reading In Praise of Elvis.
I had been looking forward to our stop at Raiatea. The last time I was here was a two day stop. We had originally been scheduled in Raiatea for one day and for a stop at Bora Bora the next. … Continue reading Vanilla and Fish
When I looked out my balcony this morning, anchored in Cook’s Bay Mo’orea, I saw the pointed peak of the mountain and thought, the same thing I thought the first time I was here, “OMG I have dropped into the … Continue reading OMG! It’s Bali Hi. Mo’orea.
On Tuesday we became “sticker people” taking a Holland America tour “Tahiti’s Natural Wonders.” About halfway through I was asking myself “why?” feeling that I had made a mistake booking this. Our first stop was at Venus Point where Captain … Continue reading Tahiti Without COVID
In a way this cruise is relentless. Too much fun. We came off an intensive port schedule in New Zealand with three on board parties in a week. St. Patrick’s Day Tuesday, Costume Party Thursday, and Music Night Sunday, which … Continue reading Too Much Fun?
New Zealand’s founding document is the Treaty of Waitangi. In 1840 in front of James Busby, the British Resident’s house, Māori tribal leaders gathered with assorted missionaries, mariners, and military to sign the Waitangi Treaty. Captain William Hobson represented the … Continue reading The Birthplace of New Zealand, Waitangi
We’ve been to Auckland several times. Each time we’ve visited Devonport. We’ve walked the waterfront, visited the Maritime Museum, strolled through the Central Business District (CBD), sailed on an America’s Cup yacht, and visited local wineries. But we really hadn’t … Continue reading Auckland Hop on Hop Off.
Suzi and Jeff have known each other all their lives. They were born three months apart and grew up in the same neighborhood in St. Paul. Jeff’s mother was a New Zealand war bride. When Jeff was a teenager, he … Continue reading Auckland Family Visit.
This is our third call at Mt. Maunganui, the port for Tauranga, New Zealand. In three calls we have yet to set foot in Tauranga proper. Tauranga means “Anchorage” in the local Māori language. The Mount, as Mt. Maunganui is … Continue reading Mt. Maunganui, It’s the People!
This was our second visit to New Zealand’s capital, Wellington. We were in a lazy mood. The weather was on and off, rain in the morning, then sun then… The first time we visited Old St. Paul’s, a carpenter Gothic … Continue reading Wellington Redux
I honestly don’t know why we signed up for this tour. I have no memory of signing up. We had never been to Timaru, New Zealand so attended the port lecture, making note of what we wanted to see. We … Continue reading English Country Gardens, Timaru