000-2 Travel Day

Good-bye Vermont, Hello Florida

DATE:  January 4, 2012                                                           

Day #: Embarkation Day minus 2

I.                   AGENDA

A.                 MORNING

I walked into Burlington International Airport with a checked bag and carry-on bags that were dusted with snow.  The temperature was two degrees above zero.

I had packed and shipped some winter gear, so only had the pantsuit and turtleneck to keep me warm.  No boots, no gloves, no coat.  Hey, I was headed to Florida – wasn’t it going to be warm there?  (Ummm, not really, as It turned out.)

I was reminded of an email from my brother about “photos of Wal-Mart shoppers” as I was standing in the check-in line.  I had begun a conversation with the couple in front of me, when we both noticed a woman bend over to put her bag onto the scale - a plump, middle-aged woman in vibrant makeup and wearing silver spangled wedges, black iridescent tights, a black scooped-neck stretched-the-max jersey top, and a black furry hip-length coat.  If there was a skirt, which we doubted, it was tangled into her coat. (Figured I had found Lulu’s twin; never did see Stephanie Plum.)  Rolling our eyes skyward, we said at the same time, “Mighty cold for that outfit”, “Oh my!”, and “Hello it’s zero outside!”  She flounced off to security, cheeks wobbling. 

I thought the inspectors would go through every inch of the carry-ons since they were packed full of jewelry, electronics, and camera gear. I was fully prepared to dump all the contents, go though the lengthy explanation of being on a cruise for four months, and repack it all.  I even factored in the extra time it would take.  To my surprise, I cleared security without a hitch.  Maybe they were still shell-shocked from the so-obviously-not-a-Vermonter woman in front of me.

There are places where one becomes a zombie – not really noticing one’s surroundings – for example, the grocery store, the mall at Christmas, an airport.  We are so wrapped in our own endeavors that we fail to notice a familiar face in the crowd.  Not so this morning, as I spied a good friend and his partner exiting the newly arrived Jet Blue flight.   It’s always amazing to me how much of each one’s life can be condensed into a five-minute conversation.  I gave them my card with the blog address as they “ooohed” and “aaahed” at my destination(s). 

B.                 AFTERNOON

The flight left Burlington International Airport promptly at 11:00 am. It’s always a quick and smooth flight to New York City. After an interval of about three hours at JFK Airport, Jet Blue terminal, a healthy lunch (for me!), and a side trip to the Ex Officio store, I boarded another plane for the leg to Fort Lauderdale at 3:30 pm.  Same friendly seat-mate as on the flight down from Vermont, what are the odds?

As we were taxiing into line, the two attendants suddenly jumped up and headed to the back of the plane.  I didn’t have a “rearview mirror” in my row 2 seat, so didn’t catch what was happening; but then the attendants returned, and the plane got out of line and headed back toward the Jet Blue terminal.  After a few more twists and turns, though, we finally got onto a runway and took off about 4:30 pm.  It was a smooth flight to Fort Lauderdale, but then we couldn’t deplane because there was “a medical emergency and paramedics needed to come on board first”.  So we waited and waited and waited.  Finally, they called one fellow forward and then we were allowed off the plane.  No further explanation, lots of uniforms at the exit ramp; but we were still on time, in one piece, so no harm, no foul in my opinion.

C.                 EVENING

I found the Holland America rep who loaded my bags onto the bus.  Gee, a whole 55-passenger bus just for me.  Just for kicks, I was going to sit in the last seat; but didn’t.  Anita (my cruise-mate) was waiting for me in the hotel lobby.  We are staying at the Fort Lauderdale Hilton.  Others are staying at the Embassy Suites or the Westin.  Maybe tomorrow we will meet up with others staying here who are going on our cruise

I am so glad to be back on terra firma.  I hate flying.  Always have.  Interesting that on this cruise I will have approximately 14 flights (because of the overland excursions). Oh well.  Time to enjoy one more day on land before heading off to sea.

Good night for now.

Apologies Necessary

Here we are 10 days into this four-month cruise, and I’m just now getting around to updating this travel blog.  My apologies.

I had no idea how easy it is to let time slip away - it’s not that there aren’t enough hours in the day;  it’s that there is so much to do.  With the slow speed of the internet, I may not get around to posting photos with the narrative, but I will eventually.  Please bear with me. 

You’d think with all the up-to-date fancy equipment needed to run this ship they’d have better internet connections.  Maybe they want the folks to spend time doing other things – hmmm.  And, there is so much to do if one chooses to do so. 

Right now, I choose to sit on the Lower Promenade Deck, watching the walkers  go round and round, walking off the pounds accumulated by the good food, watching the deep blue ocean and white caps and rolling swells, the clear blue sky with small puffy clouds, basking in the warm breeze, shaded by the lifeboats, listening to the waves created by the ship’s forward motion – ah yes, you won’t find me inside the dark Queen’s Lounge listening to a lecture on rogue waves. Unpacking and organizing my stateroom (an inside cabin with no windows) are not on the agenda today!  It’s just too nice a day to be inside!  So, as long as my battery holds out on the computer, I’ll sit right here, cruising off the Brazilian coast, thinking of you-all.

Are We There Yet?

Thought I’d take a few minutes and list some of my favorite travel quotations and some culled from websites that resonated with me regarding my upcoming voyage.

JOURNEYS:

v   “I haven’t been everywhere, but it’s on my list.” -- Susan Sontag

The world cruise on which I’m about to embark will take care of some of the “everywhere” in this quotation –we will hit all seven continents, but sadly, only fleetingly.  There are still so many places I will probably never get to visit.  My advice to young people – travel while you can, stay home later.

v  "The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page." -- St. Augustine

This quotation came up in a conversation with a friend yesterday.  I’ve actually had a copy of this quotation for many years, ever since I decided it should go on my gravestone, one shaped like a book with a world map engraved upon it.  Up to this point, though, I have not traveled “the world”.  That’s all about to change on Friday as the Ms Amsterdam departs the USA.

v   "Two roads diverged in a wood and I – I took the one less traveled by." — Robert Frost

My mother was an artist, and I asked if she could paint this saying, a long-time favorite of mine, an indication of how my life has evolved.  She did – it’s a wonderful painting of birch woods in the fall, a small sign marker at the junction of a lesser traveled wooded path, and a more traveled gravel road to a farmhouse and barn and mountains in the distance.  She captured the saying perfectly – thanks, Mom.

According to the principles of fung shui, because of the split in the roads, the painting signifies relationships splitting apart.  It’s true.  Not long after the picture was finished, I left to travel full-time in the RV.  I tried to loan the painting to someone who needed to split from someone, but she wouldn’t take it.  I personally think it would have solved many problems for her.  The painting still hangs in my bedroom – where, when I return home, I always seem to be ready to start traveling again. Coincidence?

v   "For my part, I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel's sake. The great affair is to move." -- Robert Louis Stevenson

As I mentioned in an earlier blog, I think I was born with a “restless soul”.  I also think I passed that gene along to at least one grandson, who posted recently on Facebook, that he liked to just get in the car and drive – it didn’t matter where, it was the simple act of driving, of traveling, that was pleasurable.  Yup, I totally get that.

v  "The journey not the arrival matters." -- T. S. Eliot

On a wooden heart-shaped plaque I had in my RV, it reads: “it’s the journey, not the destination that matters”.  Six of one, half dozen of another – arrival/destination.  Means the same thing to me.

v  “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a cash advance.” –Bumper Sticker

The old adage about packing half the clothes and twice the cash follows that bumper sticker, I do believe.  Off to the bank tomorrow!

v  "Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter." -- Izaak Walton

With a voyage as long as this world cruise, and most of the people doing the entire voyage, not to mention those who have been on multiple world cruises, good company should abound.  I am also fortunate to have a good friend who decided to accompany me on this voyage. 

v  “Not all those who wander are lost.” -- J.R.R. Tolkien

RVers say this a lot when they are taking “scenic detours”, haha

v  “One of the gladdest moments of human life, methinks, is the departure upon a distant journey into unknown lands. Shaking off with one mighty effort the fetters of habit, the leaden weight of routine, the cloak of many cares and the slavery of home, man feels once more happy”. -- Sir Richard Burton

Substitute “woman” for “man”, and I can identify with this quotation.

v  "I travel a lot; I hate having my life disrupted by routine." -- Caskie Stinnett

Ahh, so that’s the reason I travel?

v  “I think that travel comes from some deep urge to see the world, like the urge that brings up a worm in an Irish bog to see the moon when it is full”. –Lord Dunsany

Interesting – primordial urges. Works for me!

TRAVEL BY SHIP:

v   “One doesn't discover new lands without consenting to lose sight of the shore for a very long time.”  --Andre Gide

v  "Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." -- Mark Twain

v  “A ship in a harbor is safe, but that’s not what ships are built for”. --William Shedd

v  “The sea is dangerous and its storms terrible, but these obstacles have never been sufficient reason to remain ashore ... unlike the mediocre, intrepid spirits seek victory over those things that seem impossible ... it is with an iron will that they embark on the most daring of all endeavors ... to meet the shadowy future without fear and conquer the unknown”. --Ferdinand Magellan

v  "Being in a ship is being in a jail, with the chance of being drowned." -- Samuel Johnson

v  “The great difference between voyages rests not with the ships, but with the people you meet on them.” --Amelia E. Barr

v  "Long voyages, great lies." -- Italian proverb

SEASICKNESS:

v   “The cure for anything is salt water - sweat, tears, or the sea”. --Isak Dinesen

v   “The only cure for seasickness is to sit on the shady side of an old brick church in the country”. --Author Unknown

I’d rather take my chances in a lower deck, amid-ship, inside cabin, or on-deck facing the horizon with fresh ocean breezes in my face, or pumped full of Dramamine and sailing the seven seas than to sit idly in the country.

TRAVEL BY PLANE:

v   “There are only two emotions in a plane: boredom and terror”. --Orson Welles

Absolutely!  I second that!

v  “A child on a farm sees a plane fly overhead and dreams of a faraway place. A traveler on the plane sees the farmhouse… and thinks of home.” – Carl Burns.

The World:

v  “We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open”. --Jawaharlal Nehru

v   “The first condition of understanding a foreign country is to smell it.” – Rudyard Kipling

Yuck!  Really?  Yeah, probably.

v  "If you reject the food, ignore the customs, fear the religion and avoid the people, you might better stay at home." -- James Michener

v  “Americans who travel abroad for the first time are often shocked to discover that, despite all the progress that has been made in the last 30 years, many foreign people still speak in foreign languages.” --Dave Barry

So, there you are.  The clock’s ticking – only one full day left before I leave home on this great adventure – where, according to these travel quotations,  people talk funny, where the food and water are suspect, where the country smells bad, where the sea is dangerous, where my routines will be disrupted – I can’t wait!!  How exciting!!

Hurry Up and Wait

All that frenzied activity getting clothes and supplies ready for a 4-month voyage has ended – no more fittings, no more washing, no more ironing, no more folding carefully (no more stuffing last-minute items in later J).  The bags were packed, locked, and tagged and are now out of the house.  The checked bag and carry-ons are all packed and tagged and are sitting by the back door just waiting for Wednesday’s flight to Fort Lauderdale.

The holidays are over, the presents unwrapped and the paper in recycling, the tree is down, and the house is (almost) clean.  There are a few pieces of homemade fudge and some cookies to eat, but basically, the refrigerator is empty.  I need to gas up the car and put in some gas stabilizer to keep things okay for the duration once I’ve completed my last-minute errands Monday and Tuesday.  My housemate will be here, so there is no need to stop the mail or have neighbors check on the house periodically.

Relatives have been notified of the ship’s phone number; my cell phone has the global plan added; the voicemail message has been changed to “don’t even think of calling me!”

I have nothing to do.   So, here I sit with the “Tropical Music” station on the TV as freezing rain patters on the rear deck.  If I close my eyes, I can picture the island musicians banging their steel drums, palm trees swaying, waves lapping against a sparkling beach, the turquoise waters of the Caribbean swirling in the ship’s wake.

 I have been to our two first stops on this cruise – Dominica and Barbados.  After that, it’s all new territory for me.  I’ve read enough books and watched enough movies, Discovery/National Geographic programs to be able to visualize “Happy Feet” in Antarctica; the Easter Island statutes;  Oprah at the Opera House in Sydney and the “Mutant Message Down Under”;  how Komodo dragons like white meat so don’t wear light-colored clothing on their island; and so on.

 I have the full trip in my head, so it will be interesting to see if the actual experience meets or exceeds my expectations.  So often, travelers are disappointed in the reality of a place.  Nature fascinates me, so I’m looking forward to seeing Iguazu Falls and Uluru and the Great Wall of China and the Taj Mahal, just to name a few of the places we’ll visit. 

All too often, travelers on a whirlwind trip are driven to a sightseeing spot, get out, snap a few photos, and go on to the next place, leaving only a ghostly impression of what they’ve seen and done.   And, when they return home, exhausted, with suitcases full of dirty clothes and photo cards filled to capacity, they pick up their “old lives” as though they’d never been away.   They’ve overloaded their brains and their bodies. 

That’s why I like the idea of this cruise.  We will have multiple days at sea to recharge between ports, to review our experiences, to check the photos, and to write the blogs.  Days with nothing to do except eat, attend seminars, eat, go to classes, eat, play games, eat, watch live entertainment, haha.  Surely, doesn’t sound like a life of leisure, does it?

Wednesday will be here soon enough; but for now, I will wait and enjoy the serenity and solitude as warm calypso and reggae music inside compete with snow and freezing rain outside.

Countdown

This year, Hallmark presented a Christmas ornament with a “countdown” clock to hang on the tree.  The TV ads showed a young girl constantly reminding her parents that there were only “18 days, 4 hours, and 6 minutes before Christmas”; “11 days, 2 hours, and 3 minutes”; “8 days, 8 hours, and 8 minutes” and so on throughout the commercial.

Even though Christmas has come and gone, my “countdown” continues.  Luggage will be picked up tomorrow afternoon – hopefully the snowstorm that is predicted for tomorrow night and throughout Wednesday will abate enough for the FedEx plane to fly from Burlington, VT to Fort Lauderdale, FL, where my luggage will rest in warmth for about a week before being loaded onto the ship.  Actually, the luggage will probably be shuffled around, moved around, and tossed hither and yon in an attempt by the workers to sort everyone’s luggage into a logical pattern to facilitate loading.  I envision something like chain-link enclosures with each stateroom number on the door, keeping everyone’s luggage separated.  In all reality, the luggage is probably dropped into a large open warehouse, and then fork-lifted into piles.  I should ask.

With only my one checked bag and two carry-ons left in the house, it will certainly feel a little empty, for which my housemate will certainly be very glad.  After all, he gets to have the house all to himself for four months (again).  I think I will be pacing the empty rooms, looking for anything I might have forgotten to pack – although how that is possible, I don’t know, since I packed EVERYTHING! J

The Cruise Critic board provides a countdown clock that can be inserted into the signature lines of each person posting a comment about the upcoming cruise.  Some folks have two or three countdown clocks because they are taking multiple cruises.  But, as of a few minutes ago, my countdown clock reads: 

10 Days, 13 Hours, 44 Minutes, and 31 Seconds

to departure of the MS Amsterdam on her 2012 World Cruise.

And, I will be flying to Florida two days earlier, on January 4, to await the sailing on January 6.  Whew! It's almost time!

Other World Cruise Blogs

I’m not the only one who is writing about our around-the-world voyage.  Several others have their own blogs:

www.amazingvoyages2.blogspot.com  World Adventures –  has awesome photos of his travels

www.bet410.blogspot.com  Snapshots from Around the World

www.pictureperfectplaces.blogspot.com Picture Perfect Places

www.janeandbarry.blogspot.com Grand World Voyage – Around the World in 112 Days

www.rmtaussig2.blogspot.com – Roberta Gets Around

There are at least two couples I have found who write their “blogs” directly onto the Cruise Critic website.  Best place to check is www.cruisecritic.com  Click on Boards; click on Holland America Roll Calls under Roll Calls; click on Amsterdam Roll Calls; click on World Cruise January 6, 2012.  Go to the last page or to “first unread”.  There are approximately 110 pages of postings already and we haven’t even sailed yet!

I’m happy to report that the blog by “legally blonde” was reinstated.  She had some wonderful information and a great sense of humor and unfortunately deleted her blog at one time.  Now she's back - hooray!  Here is the link to her blog:  http://www.worldcruise2012-legallyblonde.blogspot.com/

So, happy reading – getting different perspectives of the same trip! 

Formal Night

Some people who take cruises hate the thought of dressing up for formal night; many don’t even go on cruises because of this “requirement”.  Some don’t bother to dress up and just go up to the Lido Bar for dinner that night.  Some show up in the Main Dining Room dressed “inappropriately” and scorn the fact that others “play by the rules”.  I go by the theory that it’s part of the allure of cruising – getting to dress up and play Cinderella at the ball for one night.  I don’t get to do that at home.

On a “normal” (7-day) cruise, there is usually one formal night.  It’s easy to pack one formal dress.  It’s easy to plan a wardrobe for 7 days.  I should say “easier” for some people.  I think I would still tend to over-pack for a 7-day cruise.   Which is why this 4-month cruise was giving me such fits.   I’m not sure I could get 7 days worth of cruising clothes into one small carry-on; maybe a carry-on plus a checked bag – that might be doable.  But, 4- months – no way!!

After months of asking Holland America what to expect in the way of formal attire, I did hear that there would be approximately 16+ formal nights, and some themes were repeated annually – Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, something white for Antarctica, something Indian (sari), sometimes Black and White, or Black and Silver, or Black and Gold, and Mardi Gras. 

As I was looking at formal dresses throughout the spring and summer, these were the colors I hoped to find – red, green, white, black, and purple.  I  had great luck at Fiori Bridal, at David’s Bridal, at Needleman’s – all close to home – but did not have good luck ordering dresses online.

It was not until we finally received our final packet of information late November/early December that the following list was included.  

It turns out there are 18 formal nights on this cruise.  Yikes!

Since each formal dress I purchased needed alterations, it would have been nice to know this list earlier to focus my search on specific colors or styles and to allow time for the seamstress and fittings.   Too late – what I had hanging on the clothes rack would have to suffice! 

For example, I had been told “White” for Antarctica; however, the Winter Ball this year is entitled “Ice Blue”.  So much for the short white dress I bought – unreturnable, of course, as is all formal wear  I found out – but at least I did have a long blue dress.  Hooray!

Needless to say, I don’t have the personality to wear the same black dress or black pants every week.   And while the prevailing theory is to pack for one or possibly two weeks and then rotate, I don’t tend to do anything in small measures.  If I have it in my closet, it goes into the suitcase.  Simple. 

My zodiac sign should have been a peacock, I think.

 I do have one suitcase full of formal dresses.  Just one!   A BIG suitcase, to be sure, but just one!   It’s because I put tissue and plastic wrap and hangers and used a special folding method that the dresses take up a whole suitcase. 

And, in matching up colors and the list, I think I’m going to be okay.  Pictures will posted on the blog.

Do I get points for picking up a couple of Halloween eye masks without knowing there would be a masquerade ball?

8-Jan		Captain's Welcome Reception (formal night, traditional event with on-stage staff introductions by the Captain
14-Jan		Black & Silver Ball (formal night, the first Grand Ball in the Queen's Lounge)
21-Jan		Copacabana Samba (formal night, enjoy this borough's root-style of rhythm, spectacular clothes, food, and culture)
26-Jan		Viva Las Vegas (formal night fun-raiser)
31-Jan		Ice Blue Winter Ball (formal night, Antarctica's splendor dance on board)
7-Feb		Captain Bligh's   Dinner (festive formal night of bounty served by many "Ole Men"
14-Feb		Valentine's Day Hearts & Flowers Ball (formal night to celebrate love at this time-honored Queen's Lounge Ball)
21-Feb		Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday's revival of a whole different kind)
27-Feb		Many Leagues Under The Sea (formal night, dining cornucopia with seafood delicacies)
4-Mar		Chef's Dinner (formal night, culinary excellence in the La Fontaine Dining Room)
9-Mar		Indonesian Formal Night (colonial style formal night with indigenous culinary specialties)
17-Mar		St. Patrick's Day (formal night, partake in "the wearing of the green" and look for that pot of gold)
22-Mar		Oriental Night (formal night, time-honored theme to match your oriental wardrobe for this evening)
31-Mar		Maharadja & Maharani (formal night, don your Indian finery and feast like royalty)
7-Apr		1,001 Arabian Nights (formal night, relive the romance and passion of Scheherazade)
14-Apr		A Classic Formal Night (formal night, a chance to dress in near-bygone style)
22-Apr		Celebration Night & Dessert Extravaganza (formal night, the perfect chance to create memorable moments, concluded with our Pastry Chef's sweetest Grand Buffet imaginable)
26-Apr		Black & Gold Masked Ball (our final formal night of the cruise, join us for this classic Grand Ball in the Queen's Lounge - masks to be provided, or wear your own "maskerpiece")