Friday, May 5, 2023

Praia di Vitoria

With a cleanish bill of health, Addy was ready to play again.  She would not have liked to be flown home at this point, and is starting to admit to herself that maybe there is too much wrong with her to keep galivanting around the world.  But she was certainly ready for a last fling. So, today, she joined my shopping team: myself, Nona and Lenora, and took it to new heights.  This was absolutely the A shopping team.  We weren’t the only ones out on the same mission.  I met lots of my people.

The shopping was good, too.  It looked like a Hong Kong family had had the bright idea to model their stores on Stanley Market, where I shopped like a local for five years, and kept going back.  We scored tops and bottoms, hats and purses.  It was great fun.  Once you have given in to the second suitcase, and Holland America has provided a big one, you are open to buy.

We finished off with a beer on the square and took the shuttle back to the ship, well satisfied. 

The entertainment  was a fellow named Tom Crosbie, who called himself The Entertainerd.  I am a bit of a nerd myself, and his mathematical feats were impressive, but I didn’t need to see the Rubic’s Cube solved eighteen ways from Sunday, one-handed, blindfolded, etc.  Dee and I pounded a good few zzzzzzzzzzzs.

Saturday, May 6, 2023

At Sea

I worked in the morning, when I suppose I should have been watching the Coronation of King Charles III, but I am not in to watching television by myself in my cabin when there’s work to be done, and the ship hadn’t made an event out of it.  Seabourn did, I found out from my informer.  And one of my fellow hosts did.  Tom Mullen, long time Cruise Specialists’ ‘Round the World host, honored a tradition Brits have for such occasions.  It’s called “The Big Lunch”.  In England and abroad, people hold big, elegant lunches on Coronation Day, and Tom’s was in The Pinnacle.  I was honored to be his friend and one of the “Colonials”.  There were more decorations there than on the whole rest of the ship, which had none, despite our Cruise Director being British, too.  The cake was particularly impressive:

At four o’clock, I had to be in the Crow’s nest to receive my Platinum medal for 700 days sailed on Holland America.  The medals came quickly, thanks to five circumnavigations, but this is the last one before President’s Club and that’s 1400 days.  I should live so long.  Anyway the ship took a nice professional picture with the Hotel Manager, Henk Mensink and Captain Frank van der Hooven:

Henk has been Hotel Manager on all five of my world cruises, but Frank is new.  I did the other four with the inimitable Jonathan Mercer.

The entertainment was to my liking.  It was Pianist/Vocalist Lisa Harman, and the material she chose was show tunes. 

Sunday, May 7, 2023

At Sea

It gets very busy during the last six days of the cruise.  It’s like the ship saves all its events to send you away remembering the fun you had.  There are so many Mariners of all star levels that they do three Mariner’s Lunches.  I went with my old friends from 2012, Beryl and Nona, and this year’s new friend, Lenora.

Microsoft had a title for this picture.  It was “A group of older women sitting at a table”.  The nerve.  Did they not notice we were “happy ladies drinking wine”?  “good old friends getting sloshed” ?  anything.

That night I hosted my own “Big Dinner” at the Pinnacle, to recognize my Distinctive Speakers.  If you want to put together a good party, just ask a bunch of speakers.  I’m never going to let that idea go.  I don’t think the speakers would let me.  They all loved telling the group about what they had done in life that was special.  They had me tearing up with appreciation.

We started dinner at seven, so we did finish in time for Jim David’s second show, the gay, dirty show.  He had warned the audience at the first show not to bring the kids, there are five of them on the whole ship.  He had also cautioned anyone who thought they might be offended to stay away.  There were still negative comments the next day, but I thought it was hilarious. 

Monday, May 8 2023

At Sea

My old friend, Dan, from previous worlds, had a birthday party in another old friend, Marlene’s suite, and a nice dinner in the Dining Room, with “Panjang Amurnia”.  I think Dan was 85.  It was a little sad, because Dan’s best friend aboard, had been disembarked with heart problems in the Azores, and would be flying home.  His condition is stable, but it made us all a somewhat morose.  A lot of people face their mortality on these long cruises, but all in all, it’s not a bad way to go. 

The entertainment was Tom Crosbie again, on which I passed.  I can sleep in my own bed. 

Tuesday, May 9, 2023

At Sea

Our farewell no-host cocktail party was at 4 o’clock, to have dinner with the early eaters, for once.  Fifty four people came and 50 of them came to dinner, where I poured wine for everyone from my own wine package.  That costs me a bit, but, being five-star, I do get it half price, and it generates a lot of good will.  My own table was delightful.  The Zuiderdam Singers and Dancers were on stage with their last Production Show, “Simply Broadway”  They were wonderful.

Wednesday, May 10, 2023

At Sea

This was my packing day.  I got organized and even packed a bit before my office hour.  It was quiet.  I think everyone else was packing, too.  I said a few goodbyes, including a nice one to Tom Mullen, who stopped by.  We will met again. 

Miraculously, I had more wine left in my package than I could drink, but my tablemates were short a bottle, so they drank one and I took my bottle around the dining room, looking for my people to pour for. I found good ones and was happy it was them. Liza Harmon was on stage again.  Good.

Thursday, May 11, 2023

At Sea

It was time to write my sad little farewell letter, so I did.  This one summarized our time together.

Please don’t ask why the logo isn’t centered. It was in the word file that i distributed. I am lucky to have it at all.

May 11^th , 2023                                 Newsletter No. 22                                                                             

Guest Names

Time to say “GOODBYE

Thank you for sailing with Distinctive Voyages.  It has been a pleasure and a privilege to serve you.  You have been a wonderful group, on time, good communicators, nice people, the works.  I am very proud to have been your host.  Please don’t forget to thank your travel agent for this program.  If you did not know about it beforehand, tell your Travel Agent that the amenities are on “Agent Universe”, and that you’ll want to know about them, in a timely fashion, next cruise. 

Our shore excursions saw us in a Maori Village in Tauragna, NZ, on catamarans in Port Luis, Mauritius, watching Flamenco at a winery in Jerez, and Irish dancing in Dublin.  Some of us even went to jail and/or the Opera.

We had six cocktail parties, with optional diners after, and four shore excursions.  We also had no host dinners in the Pinnacle and Canaletto as well as dinners out in Sydney, for people going to the Opera, in Cape Town at GOLD,  at Dim Sum at Zilver in Sydney, and a pub lunch in, Dublin before our no-host add-on at Kilmainham Gaol.  There were a few that came up quickly, when I found a yacht club to visit.  A lucky few were well received by the Royal South Australia Yacht Squadron in Adelaide and the Royal Perth.  We need more overnights.

My apologies to those who don’t drink wine as that’s the way this Montreal and Napa girl expresses her hospitality and her thanks for participating in the program. 

The Distinctive Speakers series has been a great success. I’ll be repeating it every world cruise now and asking for budget to cover the AV.  Huge thanks to our speakers, Larry Sutton, the Navy Diver, Sandra Hobson, the Audiologist,  Ken Stein, who has demystified Space on the World stage, Dee Wescott, with her gorgeous underwater photographs, and Pat Sanders, whose software found the Titanic.

I have helped with three insurance claims and accompanied two patients to medical appointments.  I’m there whenever any of you needs me.

Many thanks to those of you who have returned your Comments Card.  If you haven’t yet, please do.  Return it to me, or to a PERSON at the Front Desk, where they will have an envelope for me.  Do NOT put it in any box the ship puts out for its reviews.  If you can’t find the form, I’ll bring some to our last Happy Hour, tonight.

Time:   6:30 pm          Ship’s Happy Hour   Location:  Crow’s Nest, Deck 10          

 May the road rise to meet you. May the wind be always at your back. May the sun shine warm upon your face; the rains fall soft upon your fields, and ‘til we meet again, may God hold you in the hollow of His hand.

Helen Megan, Distinctive Voyages Host                                                                                                       Stateroom 7041

Friday, May 12, 2023

Fort Lauderdale

It was an easy, well run disembark.  We quickly found a cab to the airport.  My plane was on time and landed 40 minutes early.  Best ever.  Now to get my report in, and taxes done for two countries, before I leave for my next adventure on July 4.