Sue's HAL Western Caribbean Cruise - May 2004     

Who/When/Where

Who: Sue (45) Dates: May 15 - 22, 2004

Ship: Holland America Line's (HAL) Zuiderdam

Staterooms: 1051, Outside

Destination: Western Caribbean - with stops at Key West, Cozumel, Grand Cayman & Half Moon Cay

Experience: 15th cruise, 6th on HAL, 1st solo cruise

INTRODUCTION: This week I was due to be spending 5-6 nights at Walt Disney World to enjoy the Comedy Warehouse each night. Lately I've only been able to be there for 2-3 nights at a time, so I was really looking forward to this trip. However, then my 2nd love (Holland America Line) entered the picture with a great rate for HAL alumni to cruise the Zuiderdam in May. I cruised the Zuiderdam last summer with my son Chris and our friends Sheila & Colin, and although I prefer the smaller HAL ships the "Z" is still gorgeous. There were 2 dates that I could have cruised, and a co-worker was interested in sharing the cabin. Unfortunately, her PhD work conflicted with one date, and something with her boyfriend conflicted with the other. Undaunted, I decided to see what the price would be to cruise solo - having the stateroom to myself. I was afraid they would quote me regular price at 150% or 190% for being solo, but they used the discounted price. I decided to skip the verandah, since those staterooms would be 190% of the per person fare, and instead took an outside guarantee at 150%. HAL ended up upgrading me to the highest category of outside cabins, with a nice midship location. At first they had me in a cabin that connected to the one next door, but a call to my HAL cruise consultant got me moved! I will never willingly cruise in a connecting stateroom!

With the cruise booked, I somewhat reluctantly canceled my Disney reservation - the longer trip will have to wait until October. Cruising solo is something I always wanted to try, so I was glad this opportunity presented itself. The extra fee (single supplement) is a deterrent, but I understand why the cruise lines charge extra when only 1 person is taking the entire stateroom. This itinerary is one I've done several times before, so there are no new ports or things to see. However, since I cruise for the ship and not the ports, that's perfectly ok. I plan to mostly stay on the ship and enjoy having it to myself while everyone else has gone ashore. In Grand Cayman all ships have to tender in, which can be a pain. Staying on the ship eliminates that headache - unless I decide to ride the tender to shore and back just for the ride.

My only "must do" is to buy vanilla in Cozumel, and look for an internet cafe to catch up on my email while there. Last November in Cozumel I saw vanilla in the stores, and knew it was supposed to be excellent there (& much cheaper than at home). I didn't think I had a use for it though, and didn't buy any - then kicked myself a week later when I realized I use a lot of vanilla making fudge for the employees in my departments at work every Christmas season! So, instead of paying $5/bottle at Publix I decided to book this cruise to save money on the vanilla!

I'd been reading the Holland America board on Cruise Critic, and found some other people who would also be on this cruise. We're meeting up for drinks before dinner on the first night, and a family from Las Vegas invited me to join them for dinner at the Pinnacle Grill (specialty restaurant) that evening. The food there is excellent, and I enjoyed it with Chris on the Rotterdam 2 months ago, but was going to skip it this time since I was solo. Besides, I don't eat much at any one time and without Chris there to eat my leftovers it seems rather wasteful to have so much food thrown away. However, the restaurant is beautiful (we got to eat there for breakfast last time since we were in a suite) and it will be fun to enjoy the other family's company for the meal. My plans on the ship include as many fitness activities as I can find that interest me, lots of walking around the promenade deck, daily time spent laying by the pool with a book or magazine, eating light, and catching some of the evening entertainment. Hopefully I'll have interesting tablemates for dinner, but I doubt I'll be going to dinner every night anyway. I can only handle meals like that for so long before I start dreading eating again! The night they do Baked Alaska is one of my least favorite nights, so that might be a great night for room service or just appetizers in the lounge rather than dinner in the dining room.

Since booking the cruise a few months ago, my work situation has changed significantly. We're working on a number of things, I'm spending time at a 2nd location on the other coast of FL, we just learned yesterday we will be closing in 6 years, and I'm busier than I've ever been. Had I stuck with the Disney trip I probably would have shortened or canceled it, as it's a really tough time to be gone for a whole week and I hate leaving the rest of the executive mgt team to deal with this stuff while I'm laying by the pool on a cruise ship! Hmmm, perhaps wishing I could be at work instead of on a cruise is a sign that I NEED a vacation <g>. In any event, I think this cruise will be unlike my others in the sense that a big part of me wants to be at work during this time instead of floating around the Caribbean out of touch. The cruise sails from Ft Lauderdale on Saturday, so I decided to book Friday night at the hotel I use when I work in Miami. Coincidentally, I was give the exact same room I just checked out of 3 days ago when I was here last! Spending the night not only eliminated the 2-hour drive Saturday morning, I was able to help a Miami friend/co-worker who needed a ride home from working at our place. The cruise port should only be 15 minutes or so from the hotel, at the most - and since I had to finish my packing the night before I ended up having a nice relaxing evening before the cruise instead of running around making sure I wasn't forgetting anything! The plans: Sat 5/15: Embark in Ft Lauderdale, Set sail, dinner in Pinnacle Grill Sun 5/16: Key West Mon 5/17: At Sea, 1st Formal Night Tue 5/18: Cozumel (buy vanilla) Wed 5/19: Grand Cayman (stay on ship) Thu 5/20: At Sea, 2nd Formal Night Fri 5/21: Half Moon Cay Sat 5/22: Breakfast, Disembark

DAY 1 SATURDAY MAY 15, 2004: Plan: Embark in Ft Lauderdale, Set sail, Dinner in Pinnacle Grill Actual: This day's report ended up being longer than I expected - the next days should be shorter! I slept well here at the Baymont Inn, but that's probably because it's almost as familiar as home at this point. I seem to be here for a few nights every couple of weeks and the staff are starting to call me by my first name - which is kind of nice. I woke up around 7 or so, and decided to get up to start the day. Tim called around 7:30 (is he nuts??), while I was in the shower. He & a friend are over here as well, and were out on the beach (arriving too late for sunrise). He figured I'd be up and in line already at HAL , but then he's always been a smartass <g>! I went down to get breakfast (made a belgian waffle in their waffle maker) and thought back to a debate on a cruise board where people were adamant that since they'd paid for their meals on the ship, they were going to eat every one of them there. I figured I wasn't going to starve myself so I'd board the ship ready to "get my money's worth", lol - this waffle will probably be my main meal until dinner tonight.

One of my department heads had been on vacation last week, but I'd left her instructions to call me today so I could fill her in on anything that might come up at work this week while she was acting on my half. The news of our upcoming closure was a surprise, but we were able to talk it through so she wasn't blind-sided on Monday morning. I finished packing up, putting the evening clothes into the suitcase finally, and left the hotel around 10:30 to drive to the port. It took about 15 minutes to get there, and after parking in the garage it was an easy walk to the terminal. I dropped off the luggage, and since I had my documents already filled out my wait was shorter than some other people experienced. The line historically has been much longer checking into the Zuiderdam than the other HAL "dam" ships, most likely due to the Z carrying 1824 passengers vs 1200-1400. They were holding passengers outside until 11, but once I got inside I was all checked in and in the boarding area by 11:15. I found out the ship was fully booked, so there's no chance to buy an upgrade to a verandah. Boarding began at 11:30, and unlike Disney HAL manages to avoid the cattle call embarkation. When you enter the check-in area each person is given a boarding number (mine was #2). After checking in, there is a huge area full of seats to wait for your boarding number to be called. That way, you get to sit & relax until your number is called, then you're on the ship within 5 minutes. They were directing people towards one of the bars to drop off any carryon luggage since the cabins wouldn't be ready until after 1pm . I opted to keep mine, since I knew delivery of these items would be late this afternoon and I thought I might want the laptop before then.

I wandered around the ship, and was not pleased to see the beautiful inlay floor outside the Windstar Cafe still had the big section that totally shattered - we noticed this last June! The ship looked the same, but after being on the Rotterdam just 2 months ago the difference in elegance was obvious. Before that I thought the Zuiderdam was gorgeous - now I see how much nicer the non-Vista Class ships are. However, like I said to another passenger in the elevator - it beats being at home! At the internet café I met the manager Terri and we tried to get my laptop working with a wireless card, but to no avail. I think it's just too old & has too many little things wrong with it, and after an hour I'd had enough! It would have been nice to be able to send the reports "live", but I'd still have had to go to the internet café to do that, plus I'd be renting the wireless card ($70/wk) on top of paying for the minutes. Instead I decided to do the biggest package available using their computers, which on embarkation day only can be booked for $75 for 250 minutes. The computers have an aol icon, so I can be in familiar territory, and I can certainly limit my daily time to stay within the 250 minutes (or supplement with a cheap hour in Cozumel). I sent off a quick email to a guy on my team at work, just to let him know I'd be accessible for any work-related stuff that came up during the week instead of being surprised Monday morning.

My next stop was the Lido Restaurant. Earlier they were directing people to the lower level of the Vista Dining Room for lunch, but I wasn't interested in that and wasn't hungry. By now it was 1pm and I felt ready to eat, so it was up to deck 9. On the vista class HAL ships the Lido is set up like a food court, with various stations which have separate lines. There is a Bistro, a Deli and an ice cream/desserts station on both sides. One side also has an Italian place, and the other has a combination sushi bar & wok station. I'd enjoyed my sandwiches on the Rotterdam so much I went to the deli and ordered ½ of a roast beef & provolone cheese grilled on their foccaccia bread. The Lido was quite busy, but I found a seat at a long table where a guy was waiting for his family to come back with food. The half sandwich was more than enough, and then I went to visit the fitness area to get a schedule of the classes for this week. It looks like the free classes are 7:30 and 5:00 each day, which works well for my cruise lifestyle! They have a really nice hydrotherapy pool and a steam room available for an extra fee ($15/day), but although I think they're pretty I'm not really into that stuff at all. I did chat with the girl working there for a little while, though.

Overall the crew has been so warm & friendly - always making eye contact, smiling and saying hi or welcome aboard. It's been nice - especially since I'm all alone! As passengers board, a white-gloved steward takes their carryon bags from them and escorts them to their stateroom (after 1pm ), which is a nice touch. Several bands are playing around the ship - in the atrium, at the pools, etc. It's feeling quite festive, and it's exciting to be back on a cruise ship again, despite my misgivings about missing work this week.

By now they'd announced the cabins were ready, so I headed downstairs to check it out. I'm in 1051, which is an oceanview midship. It seems a lot smaller than the verandah stateroom we had on the Rotterdam, and of course is MUCH smaller than the deluxe suite we had here last time However, for 1 person it's more than enough. The window is large, approximately 4 feet wide by 3 feet tall. It's recessed into the wall, with plenty of room for me to sit in there if I choose to do so. It's located over the head of the bed, and the beds are pushed together to make a queen size bed. There are 4 big pillows on the bed, plus a spare in the closet - I certainly won't be lacking for pillows this week! Two of the thin waffle robes are hanging on the wall next to the bed, and one of the lighted makeup mirrors has been installed on the desk. No sign of the pillowtop mattress yet, or the high thread-count sheets and duvet covers. I have a small sofa or loveseat, with a table to dine on and an extra chair. The desk contains the mini bar, electrical outlets, a stool, big mirror, and the tv is mounted up above. It swivels so you can watch tv from bed or the couch. The bathroom is the same as I'm used to - toilet, sink, tub with a shower. Since I'm in a cheaper cabin I don't have the fancier towels, the jacuzzi tub (which I never use), or the personalized stationery. There is more than enough closet space - I haven't put a single thing in 1 of the 3 sets of closets, and the rest of my stuff is pretty spread out. What's lacking is drawer space - the only drawers are in the 2 small nightstands, so I used shelves in a closet instead. Overall, I'm happy with the cabin and although a verandah would have been nice I'm not sure it's worth paying 190% of the fare.

Since the luggage wasn't here yet, I went up and did a mile on the promenade deck, talked to Chris at home for a while, and then took some pictures around the ship. When I checked back around 2-2:30 the luggage was there, so I unpacked and then updated the report before going back up on deck to enjoy the nice weather. I'd met my cabin steward Subi earlier, and had received a card asking me to reconfirm tonight's dinner reservation with the maitre d' so I figured out where he'd be and went to take care of that first.

The Pinnacle Grill looked as beautiful as I'd remembered, and the maitre d' confirmed I was dining tonight at 8 as a party of 5. I also stopped by the regular maitre d's area to see where my regular dining room table was located, and it looked perfect. I'd requested and gotten a table for 6 people, and it appears to be right next to the table we had last time. I wandered around a while, then returned to the cabin just before 4 to get ready for the lifeboat drill. Unfortunately my lifeboat station is out in the hot sun, but at least being short I should get to stay at the front of the line instead of pushed to the back! The drill wasn't too bad, and soon I was back in the cabin putting the life jacket away. Sailaway was just a half-hour later, so I headed up on deck with a bottle of water and sunglasses to enjoy the festivities.

The climb from deck 1 to deck 10 (using stairs) is a killer, but taking the elevators seems so wimpy ! Out by the aft pool the recreation staff had everyone up dancing to YMCA while the steel drum band took a break. Stewards were wandering around with silver trays of small pizza slices for everyone, and of course plenty of drinks were sold. I headed up to the Crow's Nest at the forward of the ship and settled into one of the blue recliners right in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows. We were late sailing, not leaving until around 5:15. I had chosen my spot looking forward to the view as we sailed away, but instead the ship backed up for quite a ways. I'm not thrilled backing up my car for any great distance, and here the captain was backing up this 935-foot ship for quite a long way! Eventually it turned (on a dime) and sailed out to the ocean, but by then I had returned to my cabin to get ready to meet some people. Although I didn't get to the cabin until 5:30 , I made it to the Windstar Café by 5:45! Someone said "that must be Sue", and soon introductions were made - Cindy & Bill, Jeffrey & Jeanne, and Sally & Chuck. They were all a great bunch of people, and we sat around chatting at a large table for about an hour. We were all eating at the Pinnacle Grill tonight, so we decided alter our reservation times to all be there at 7:30. Luckily, it wasn't a problem making the change. The others went to get dressed for dinner while I stopped by the cabin & read my mail (from the mailbox outside the door) and then went to the library to check out a couple of books when it opened. The crew member working there was young, cute (& possibly gay), and a complete delight to chat with. On the Rotterdam the library guy simply processed the transactions with no real interaction, so I like this guy much better. Tonight the dress is casual, but since the Pinnacle is so elegant I decided to wear a nicer simple black dress but tone it down with bare legs and a more casual sandal. I arrived at the same time as Sally & Chuck, and joined Cindy & Bill's family at our table. We were joined by their sons Billy (21) and Eric (19), then Jeffrey & Jeanne were seated at the table next to us.

It was a wonderful dinner - excellent company, food, service and ambiance. We were each given the "compliments of the chef" plate with small portions of caviar, vegetarian sushi, and goat cheese rolled in walnuts. I like the goat cheese, but don't touch the other stuff! Everyone else ordered the wonderful clam chowder, with Bill also getting the crab cakes (which looked excellent). I had the tomato salad, which is good but not spectacular. For entrees Bill & Cindy got the lobster tail and porterhouse steak, then shared them to make surf & turf. The boys also got steak, and I had the petite filet mignon - cooked a little longer than I requested, but it was still delicious. I also ordered the scalloped potatoes because everyone raves about them. Although I don't normally like them, these were out of this world! Wow! Dessert was the chocolate grand marnier volcano cake for everyone but Bill, who doesn't like sweets. That dessert is undeniably the best thing I've ever eaten anywhere in this world - it is amazing! I almost ate the whole thing, but didn't much more than half of any of my previous courses . The cake is warm, and filled with a warm chocolate sauce. Fresh whipped cream with a little grand marnier was on the side, and accompanying was a long white chocolate stick and a curled cookie. Cindy & I were moaning over that dessert, lol - it was so good!

After dinner I stopped by the photo shop and found my embarkation photo. For $20.95 HAL can keep it . I stopped by the internet place & read my email for about 10 minutes, then decided to walk on the promenade deck. The wind was blowing against the door, and there was no way my 110 pounds could get that door open - and I felt I looked stupid trying! The other side wasn't nearly as bad, so I did a couple of laps on that side of the ship. I saw what I think is my table in the dining room (through the windows), and there were 4 people at the table for 6. Guess there might only be 5 of us booked there.

Tonight the show is a 2-part thing. They're doing a production number called Under the Sun, and it includes stand-up comedian Tom Drake. Supposedly he's really good, so I decided to attend. I went to the cabin to kill time until the 10:30 show, and found Subi had brought me a bowl of fruit (standard on HAL) and left the HAL canvas tote bag on my bed (also standard). I looked over the schedule for tomorrow and the Key West information, then left for the show around 10:20. It wasn't very crowded, and I easily found a seat in the 2nd row of the balcony (my preferred spot - I'm too short for the front row). The Zuiderdam cast came out and did a mercifully short production number (3 songs). I didn't really care for the costumes, and the dancers seemed really awkward - not sure if it was the choreography or the performers themselves. The singing was pretty good, but overall I wasn't impressed. Next was the comedian - Tom Drake. Turns out he lives in Ft Myers! Anyway, he was excellent - very funny, and the time flew by. I'll look forward to his adult show later in the week. When he left the stage the Zuiderdam cast came out for one last song, and this one was a little bit better. After the show I went to the dining room to check tomorrow night's dinner menu and saw that it is definitely Dutch Night. Nothing on the menu appeals to me except for the chilled berry soup, and the BBQ they're doing on deck isn't something I care for either. Looks like it may be Monday before I meet any of my table mates! It was 11:30 by now and the ship seemed deserted - so I headed back to the cabin to finish up the report and get to bed. There was a singles/solo get-together in Northern Lights Disco, but that's not exactly my thing! Today was a good day. On the one hand it's great to be back on a HAL ship, with a week of cruising ahead of me. On the other hand though, a big part of me wishes I was back in Ft Myers right now. I enjoyed meeting the other people before dinner, and having dinner with Bill & Cindy's family - it was nice of them to invite me to join them! Of course, I always enjoy ending my day with some good comedy, so I'm glad I attended the show tonight. Tomorrow is Key West - a nice, relaxing day.

DAY 2 SUNDAY MAY 16, 2004: Plan: Key West Actual: I slept really well, as expected, waking up around 6:45 after the sun had risen. I dressed to workout and went up to the promenade deck, where I could see Key West - we were almost there. I walked a mile and timed myself with the pedometer to see I was walking at the pace of a 15-minute mile. To complete the Disney half marathon in January I have to average not more than 16-minute miles, so this was pretty good. After I did the mile I decided to jog one lap (1/3 mile), and did that in 4 minutes. I'm not a fast jogger, but I plod along. By now it was almost 7:30, and the ship was almost docked. I went up to the Vista Spa for the 7:30 body sculpting class and saw the fitness instructor now is not the Mr. Perfect from last summer - it's some chick <g>. She seems really nice, though - it's not her fault she's not some gorgeous young man! The class was basically full, and the gym was very busy due to the younger demographic on this ship vs the other HAL ships. The class used resistance bands for pretty much the whole time, and it was challenging but excellent. The only weird part was the older overweight woman just in front of me who thought she was Jane Fonda! She was dressed for the 70's or 80's, in a tights/leotard/high-top sneakers outfit - bright fuschia and black. It was painful to see, especially that early in the morning. She would have blended right in and looked perfectly fine in shorts & a shirt – but she thought she was something special in that outfit. She was even practicing her aerobics moves while we waited for the instructor to put in the cd – gimme a break, lol!

One nice thing here - besides having towels available for everyone, they have a refrigerator with cold wet washclothes as well. After working out, you can quickly cool off this way, which is nice. After the class I went back down to the promenade deck and for whatever reason decided I hadn't had enough exercise yet. Passengers were just getting off the ship in Key West, but I didn't have any plans or desire to go ashore at this point. Instead, I reset the pedometer and jogged 3 laps to make another mile, and my time was 11 minutes - which I was happy with. I don't see myself keeping that pace for 13 miles at this point, but it's a start. I've always seen these crazy people jogging on cruise ships, and it was kind of cool to actually BE one today

Back to the stateroom I went, and updated the report. I knew it'd take a while after the exercise before hunger kicked in, and it was too early to go lay on deck, so I just relaxed in the stateroom for a little while and packed my HAL bag to take up on deck later. Around 9 I decided to get a fancy coffee drink from the Windstar Café and then find a lounge chair up on deck 9 or 10 by the aft pool.

The Windstar Café is a really nice feature on the new vista class ships - probably my favorite addition. Think Starbucks, but with the biggest most expensive drink being $2 instead of almost $5! They also have some pastries and desserts (free with beverage purchase), but I'll try to live without that! A card was delivered yesterday - buy 4 coffee drinks and get the 5^th one free during the cruise, which is a nice incentive. I ended up with a chocolate caramel mocha cappuccino, which I've had before - it's good but a little too sweet. I noticed they have a special coffee drink for each day and they all look great, so starting tomorrow I'll switch over to those. One is a cold chocolate mint coffee, which should be refreshing. I went up to deck 9, giving up after 3-4 decks and just taking the elevator after all the jogging & other exercise! I set up my lounge chair by the aft pool and then went inside to the Lido to find breakfast. Lines were long everywhere, and I wasn't interested in waiting or eating "real" food. I love the mini raspberry & lemon danish HAL always has, but there was no sign of them today. I got a few pieces of melon and a tiny croissant, then returned to my chair. The croissant ended up being excellent! Pretty soon a couple came and sat nearby, and I heard her send the hubby back inside because she'd forgotten her cigarettes and lighter. That was enough for me - I packed up my stuff and went up to deck 10 where nobody else was around. I guy walking with his wife stopped & showed me his camera - one of those small stick things that can also record voice with the still photo - pretty cool. I laid on my lounge chair and read one of the library books from start to finish (I'm a fast reader generally) - Last Man Down, by a firefighter who got out of the World Trade Center on 9/11.

The weather was gorgeous most of the time, with a nice cool breeze - but then it started to rain. I had to take cover for a little while, but then it was nice again. All in all I was out there from 9 until about 12:30 and even though I'd applied sunscreen as best I could (without help) I figured that was long enough for the first day. I was hungry, but the lines in the Lido were really long. Why aren't these people ashore??? I ended up grabbing a plate from the sweets bar and took 2 small cookies, then stopped at the end of the Italian stand and grabbed a slice of cheese pizza. It's not gourmet cruise food, but it met my needs for the moment. I brought it back downstairs and found Subi finishing up the cabin. We chatted a while - he knew exactly how many days I've sailed with HAL so far, from reading the info he gets on his passengers. Pretty soon he left, I finished my lunch, updated the report and got changed to go ashore briefly to take a photo of the ship.

After taking a few photos from the front and aft of the ship I got back onboard and took a much-needed shower. I had another pleasant surprise – the HAL hairdryer was easy to use and did a great job. It's located in a cabinet under the desk, permanently plugged in to some power source. Once I was dried & dressed I debated between sitting in my big window vs sitting up on the promenade deck. Ultimately I figured I'd save the window for when the ship was moving, so I grabbed a magazine, stopped by the library to drop off the book I'd read, and sat on a nice cushioned teak lounge chair on the shady promenade deck for a little while. I called Chris - he couldn't believe I'd eaten pizza for a cruise meal, and thought there was something wrong with me for doing the jogging & fitness stuff this morning (his priorities would be sleeping & eating). Of course, he's got the metabolism of a teenager! I was starting to feel hungry, so I checked the poolside BBQ menu for later tonight - grouper, ribs, steak, chicken, sausages, many salads - I think I'll get a little something from there after all, and then attend the early dinner seating show at 8:30 instead of having such a late night. I went back to the stateroom and made a cup of cappuccino (I'd brought my stuff with me), then in a few minutes headed up to the Queen's Lounge to see the 3:15 showing of Mona Lisa Smile (Julia Roberts movie). The Queen's Lounge is really a lounge – not a movie theater, so unless you're in the front row you'll be looking at the backs of people's heads. There weren't very many people there, so I easily got a seat in the front row. I was glad I'd brought a jacket, as the room was freezing! Most people had sweaters or towels over their bodies. I grabbed a bag of fresh popcorn on the way in (complimentary on HAL), and ate it even though I'm not a big popcorn nut. The cappuccino was the best part, primarily because it was warm! The movie was good - not exactly what I expected, but I enjoyed it. Afterwards I went up on the promenade deck to warm up some before we sailed away.

Since the Nextel works while in Florida, I was able to chat with a friend for about 40 minutes or so - catching up and sharing a few laughs. Being solo here it was nice to hear a familiar voice - besides the one belonging to my offspring! By now it was almost 6 and time to sail away. I always enjoy watching the ship cast off, and tonight was no exception. I stood near the aft and watched as they released the tension on the ropes and one by one set them free. An elderly man (wearing pink slacks, blue shirt & some other color sports coat <g> - obviously from Florida) came by & commented he feels like a kid again watching the ship cast off. I struck up a conversation with him and we spent a while talking about our other cruises, his day in port, etc until it was his dinner time. It's amazing to watch the ship push away from the dock (using the thrusters), and then back up until it's far enough out to rotate in a 360-degree circle and begin sailing away - I always enjoy that and it leaves me with a feeling of excitement to be moving on to the next adventure. I returned to the stateroom, since it was becoming evening and I wasn't dressed appropriately. After updating the report I changed into a casual dress and sandals, and wandered upstairs to see what the BBQ looked like over by the Lido pool. I really wasn't hungry, thanks to that popcorn (my mistake), but since they serve until 8pm I figured I've got plenty of time to get something if that changes. Once upstairs it was quite busy in the Lido area. I ran into Sally & Chuck, and they told me the plan was to all meet by the aft pool tomorrow. I decided I might as well eat, so I got a couple bites of potato salad and ate half of a sausage. They had a dessert buffet, but it was the sorriest looking dessert buffet I've ever seen. The desserts on this ship are nothing like what I saw on the Rotterdam last time. A steward was just bringing out a new tray of assorted desserts and I saw a small magic cookie bar - so I took that & ate most of it as I wandered around. I'd also ordered a glass of white wine, served in a plastic wine glass since we were poolside. I went up to the promenade deck and walked around a while, then stretched out on one of the benches to wait for sunset. Some guy thought he was being really clever by positioning himself where he thought he could look up my dress, and then glancing back often - loser! Eventually he went away when I didn't cooperate. The sunset was really pretty, and Amy - I took pictures for you to see! Once the sun was down it was time for the early (8:30) show, so I went into the lounge and found a seat in the balcony again. Tonight the show was this guy called Edge, who's a comedic juggler. He's a young guy, and did really well at the juggling - not so well at the comedy(more stupid than funny, unfortunately). However, the juggling carried the show well enough to make it worthwhile, but I wouldn't go out of my way to see him again later in the week. He did interact with the audience well, which was fun. When the show ended I stopped in the internet café and spent some time online, then returned to the stateroom to update the report. I was very pleased to see that Sobi had noticed I'd put the bedspread across the bottom of the bed last night, so he'd left an extra blanket spread out on the side I'd slept on! That's great service, anticipating what I'd want. I was a little hungry so I decided to head up to the Lido to see if there was anything small to eat. All that was available was pasta, pizza and ice cream - all more than I wanted. So, I returned to the cabin and ate one of the apples in my fruit bowl,then did some reading before turning in for the night. Today was a nice relaxing day - as all of them probably will be this cruise! A mix of fitness and laying by the pool is my ideal cruise day, so I plan to repeat this each day.

DAY 3 MONDAY MAY 17, 2004: Plan: At Sea, 1st Formal Night Actual: Another good night's sleep - there's very little movement but I can hear the very faint hum of the engines so I'm reminded I'm on a cruise ship. I'd set the alarm for 6 and got up then. By 6:15 I was up on the promenade deck - walked a lap, jogged a mile, walked another mile, then jogged another lap. I was hot, sweaty & feeling gross by then, so I went back to the stateroom to get out of the wet clothes and cool down before the 7:30 aerobics class. Along the way I stopped at the dining room and checked out tonight's dinner menu - once again something I could skip entirely, but I really should meet my dinner companions so I'll go. They have sesame crusted salmon filet, beef wellington, rack of lamb, osso busco, and I forget what else. I may end up with 2 soups, or maybe I'll try the salmon knowing I can leave it after a couple of bites if desired. The sun rose while I was out walking/jogging, which was kind of nice (the sunset last night was more spectacular though).

Here on HAL they wash the promenade deck, the walls, railings, and even the underside of the lifeboats each morning. So, I had to walk/jog on a soaking wet deck, which fortunately wasn't slippery thanks to my sneakers. The stewards were just starting to sweep the excess water away as I was finishing up. Just before 7:30 I took the glass elevators up to deck 9 for the aerobics class. Jane Fonda was there again - oh joy @@. She was wearing her lovely fuschia/black number again and was flitting around stretching & generally acting like she thought she was the hottest thing since Pam Anderson! Yuck! She started talking to me - bitching about how her cabin steward threw away their half empty water bottles, she couldn't get the light to come on in the bathroom so she took her shower in the dark (she sure didn't look like she's showered - meow ), and then something leaked somewhere and water dripped on her. I told her it sounded like her day had nowhere to go but up, and walked over to the scale to weigh myself (lost 1 pound since yesterday - how weird). She went over to the instructor and started bitching about how the afternoon fitness classes are too close to her 5:45 dinner time, and she is going to complain about that - gimme a freakin' break, lady! She also told me she's done LOTS of cruises - 4 on HAL! I just kept my mouth shut and didn't get into trying to compete with her vast travel experience . Guess I'll have her to look forward to each morning, though - sunglasses & all! The class was pretty full again, and I realize I don't really like aerobics. I'm not the most coordinated person and it just seems like a real pain in the butt for no real benefit. I did the whole class & didn't even break a sweat, although just about everyone else did. They've got it one more time this cruise, so I'll have to decide if it's worth my time or not. I'd much rather do something with resistance - at my age that's probably what I need most.

Following the class I checked out the Lido Restaurant - not too busy just yet since people are sleeping in. I wasn't in the mood for a full breakfast, so I checked the continental section and found those yummy raspberry mini-danish things! Woohoo - I grabbed one, plus a mini croissant, and took them back to the cabin to eat while getting ready for lounging on the deck by the aft pool. Hopefully I'll hook up with the others from Saturday, but if smokers descend on my area I'm out of there! By 8:30 I was out the door, headed to the Windstar Cafe for a fancy schmancy coffee drink to take up on deck. Today the drink of the day was Almond Mocha Joy, so I got that - it was quite good! They'll make it with skim rather than whole milk for me (it might save a few calories that way), and it comes topped with whipped cream and more chocolate syrup. I rode the glass elevator up to deck 9 and went out to the aft pool. I spotted a guy who sorta looked like Chuck, laying on a lounge chair with his eyes closed. I casually said "Chuck" as I walked by, and when he opened his eyes and said "Hi Sue" then I knew it was him, lol! Sally was still sleeping, so I passed the time chatting with him - very nice guy. Eventually he went to get Sally for breakfast, and the guy on the other side of me (John) had overheard part of our conversation and started talking to me about marathons & jogging. Turns out he competes in triathalons, including IronMan, as well as marthons and long-distance cycling (1100 miles across Canada one ride). I was sooooo out of my league, lol, but he was a great guy, and very encouraging. We talked for quite a while, but then when he got up to go somewhere someone else took his chair. I didn't realize he was coming back until I saw him later.

On a sea day, chairs by the pool are a hot commodity! Sally came back and we spent the rest of the morning talking - it was a nice morning by the pool with all this company & conversation. Shortly after noon I'd had enough sun for today - it was very hot out there! Chuck & Sally went to have lunch, and I decided to take a look in the Lido. Once again there were long lines just about everywhere, and I don't have the patience to bother with that - food just isn't that important generally! I got a glass of ice water and one of the yummy nut cookies I'd been eating each day. The Asian Wok station wasn't busy, so I decided to try the chicken chow mein, giving the guy a saucer so I'd get a small portion rather than a platter full of the stuff! I had to wait about 5 minutes for more to be cooked, but it was worth the wait - it was excellent! My small portion was perfect too, as I wasn't left feeling stuffed. I brought it downstairs and chatted with Subi before going into the cabin and sitting in my window to eat lunch.

It's a great spot - big enough to not have to crouch down at all, and I can fully extend my legs. Later I'll be up there again, no doubt. I'd thanked Subi for the extra blanket, and once inside I noticed he'd replaced the apple I'd eaten last night. I updated the report and then went upstairs for the comedy workshop with Tom Drake. This was partly educational but mostly just plain hysterical! Towards the end he asked for people to volunteer telling a story, so I raised my hand. He handed me the microphone and I told about walking off the stage(missing the steps) after being pulled up from the audience during a show - then he came up with a couple of jokes about it to embellish the story. After the workshop I stopped to talk with him, and found out he no longer lives in Ft Myers since divorcing & remarrying - now Kissimmee is home even though he says Ft Myers. Anyway, he's very funny, so I'm looking forward to his late night show on Thursday. After sitting for an hour I decided it was time to go for a walk, so I headed up to the promenade deck. I walked a mile, and ran across some people from the comedy workshop who shouted out that my story was funny <g>. It was so humid outside after my mile I decided to head back inside and sit in my window for a while. There's a step class at 5, but I'm undecided whether I want to bother with that - it seems to require coordination like aerobics!

I spent the rest of the afternoon mostly in my window, then watched tv a little bit to get the Cozumel shopping information. Just before 5 I went up to the Vista Spa for the 5pm step class, but I was the only one who showed up. Lizzelle the instructor offered to show me whatever I wanted, or answer questions, but there really wasn't anything I could think of. We stood around talking for a little while, and she seemed dismayed that I didn't remember her from my last Zuiderdam cruise since she was here then. I didn't have the heart to tell her that with Mr. Perfect on board neither of us noticed anybody, lol! I went back to the stateroom to shower and dress for formal night. Our reception with the captain begins at 7, and my dinner is at 8. I'll finally get to meet the people at my dinner table! I wore a tight black cocktail dress I've worn on several previous cruises, along with some jewelry to dress it up more. I was starting to get hungry, and hoped there would be something worthwhile to nibble on before dinner. When I used to do early dinner I was never hungry, so I really like doing the late dinner. Just before 7 I went upstairs to meet Chuck & Sally for the reception, and we were joined by all of the others - Bill & Cindy with their sons, and Jeffrey & Jeanne. Jeanne had a dream last night that I was Mrs. Zuiderdam (a HAL tradition), lol - and asked me if I really was! We went into the reception and chose to skip the captain photo but did pose for some individual and group photos inside.

There were 9 of us, so we sat in 2 rows so we'd all be able to talk. Everyone looked really nice all dressed up! I got a glass of wine, and later added a cosmopolitan for my other hand. I felt like a lush, and was soon on my way to getting moderately drunk - which is about as drunk as I ever get. Stewards came by with hors d'oeuvres (potato things, fried shrimp, eggrolls) and the alcohol was flowing freely. Towards the end the captain got up to talk - wow, is he a young guy! They also introduced all of the officers and the 2 employees of the month. At 8 Jeffrey, Jeanne & I went to the dining room, while the others were free until 8:30. We agreed to meet for drinks tomorrow night at 7, so that should be fun. I found my table, and met my tablemates - WOW, what a great bunch! At first, only 2 guys and a women were there, and the empty chairs belonged to a mother/daughter party. My eyes must have narrowed at that point, but when they mentioned the mother was 85 and an absolute hoot, I relaxed realizing the daughter was not a child!

The 4 of us there at first were all solo travelers, which was nice. Dee comes from Canada, Michael from Orlando, and the other guy tried to impress me by saying his name was Hal - H A L. I mentioned my last name is Holland, and he immediately admitted I had him beat, lol! Michael is just adorable - nice looking man but even I could tell he was gay (I'm not the most observant). But, when you're not looking for romance, you can't find better company than a gay guy! Soon Harriet & daughter Diana arrived, and they were also delightful. Overall it seems to be a great table - I really lucked out this time! Hal wasn't feeling well, and decided to go back to his cabin, but as he was walking away he passed out and hit the table. A dermatologist at a nearby table came right over, as Hal was on the floor at that point. The poor guy eventually felt better and the ship's doctor or nurse took him to the infirmary to be checked out, then he returned to his cabin. He was planning to still see the show, though! The rest of us had a wonderful time at dinner, with lots of laughs and silliness. This is what dinner companions are supposed to be like! The menu was less than thrilling for me. I got the gazpacho, which was excellent - nice & spicy. I skipped the other courses and ordered the sesame crusted salmon for my entr̩e, eating less than half of it. It wasn't bad РI just wasn't hungry. The dessert menu looked much better - warm flourless chocolate cake, cr̬me brulee & something else I can't recall. I opted for the flourless cake, which wasn't warm at all - it was stone cold. Regardless, I ate most of it - more of this than anything else, but that's no surprise! Dee doesn't eat desserts at all, which seems almost un-female!

After dinner I returned to the cabin briefly to update the report, then headed up to the Vista Lounge for tonight's production show "Under the Boardwalk". I saw both of the production shows on this ship last summer, and really enjoyed this one. Of all the ships I've sailed on, I consider this perhaps the best show, and seeing it for a second time didn't change that opinion. It's just plain fun, and very upbeat. I'm not sure I'll bother with the next one on Thursday night, but I'm glad I attended this one. After the show it was time for the internet café, where I spent a little longer than planned but had a lot to share about this most wonderful day. From start to finish I had a great time, and I don't think I ever really wished I was at work today <g>. For a solo cruise, I certainly spent a lot of time surrounded by friendly people, and that really made the whole day for me! The Cruise Critic couples are a lot of fun, and I enjoy their company. My dinner companions are great, too - I think it's going to be a wonderful rest of the week!

DAY 4 TUESDAY MAY 18, 2003: Who: Sue (me) Plan: Cozumel Actual: Last night we were told to turn our clocks back an hour, as we entered a different time zone. Since we'd just be moving them forward an hour tonight I didn't bother - I'll just keep track of the time in my head. I ended up waking around 5:30, which was 4:30 local time - too early even for me to get up and go jogging! I stayed in bed until about 6:30 (5:30 local), and finally said "screw it" - and got up to dress for some exercise. Cozumel is the largest island off the coast of Mexico, but it's still quite small. The capital is San Miguel, and that's really all there is here! That's where all the shopping is, along with the main docks for multiple cruise ships.

Unfortunately, we're going to be docking at the other pier, in Puerta Maya, which is 3 miles away! I docked here once before on my 2nd trip to this itinerary and I wandered around for quite a while looking for the familiar shops before realizing I wasn't in San Miguel - I thought there'd been some big fire or hurricane that wiped everything out, lol! Anyway, to buy my vanilla I knew where to find it in San Miguel, and am hoping they'll have it at the few shops here in Puerta Maya so I'm not having to take a round trip cab ride to find it! So much for my big savings on vanilla ! At 6:45 (5:45) I went up to the promenade deck and started out by walking a mile, then jogging the next mile, followed by walking a couple more laps to cool down. By the end of the mile jog I'm pretty tired, and bored with the whole jogging thing! My jogging time was an 11-minute mile, which I was happy with - especially since yesterday John said my real jogging time in a marathon would be faster than running on deck (due to the twists & turns on deck). Now if I can only get past 1 mile, lol! The sun came up while I was jogging, and we docked at Puerta Maya. The only other ship here is not a cruise ship - this is really a crummy place to dock. Perhaps because we're here for such a short day they don't want to give us a spot at the real pier or something!

On the way inside I stopped at the dining room to see tonight's menu, and was surprised to find something in each of the 4 courses that I like! The dessert menu wasn't posted, but that's not usually my problem . I really can't do 4 courses though, so I'll skip the entrée since it's one I ate last time in March (parmesan crusted chicken breast - very good, but pretty large). I decided to make a cup of my cappuccino and took it up on deck 4 with a magazine to wait the hour for the step class in the gym. It's weird with everything being an hour earlier than what seems normal, but at least it's only for a day. Sitting on the promenade deck was absolutely wonderful - it was sunny but with a cool breeze, and the walkers/joggers almost all spoke to me as they passed. When it was almost 7:30 ship's time I dropped off my magazine and rode the glass elevator up to the gym. I really like the way HAL sets up their spa area - it's just really nice & it smells great! I used the scale & found I'd gained back the pound I lost yesterday - must have been the wine, cosmopolitan & flourless chocolate cake ! There were only 3 of us for the step class - me, Jane Fonda and another woman. Today Jane wasn't bitching about anything, and she was actually quite pleasant to talk with - I just can't get over that outfit, though . Lizzelle asked who had done step before and I was the only person who hadn't (not counting one time on a rocky Disney ship with Sheila where we pretty much just moved around to keep from falling down). The class was a good workout - some of the footwork threw me a bit, but I managed to pretty much stay with it. After the class Lizzelle came over and questioned if I really hadn't done it before - she & the others said I did really well, so that made me feel good. Of course, even if I did awful I'd never see these people again, so who cares! Since I was up there already I decided to swing through the Lido and pick up breakfast to bring down to the cabin.

I ran into Hal and stopped to talk with him a while - he's feeling fine today and was about to eat a big breakfast. We discussed our individual plans for the day, and then he went to eat while I continued on my way. Once again I opted for the continental section, where today they had the mini lemon danish. Ordinarily I would hate lemon danish, so I'm not sure why I like these so well. I got one of the mini danish, a mini croissant and also a piece of melon. The Carnival Sensation was pulling in on the other side of our dock and authorities had pulled our gangway until that ship was secured. Anyone wanting to get off the Zuiderdam had to wait 15-20 minutes or so - no big deal to me since it was still too early to shop for vanilla .

I headed back down to the cabin and spoke to Subi in the hall, then went inside to update the report and eat my breakfast before cleaning up a little and dressing to go ashore. People on the Sensation across from me were looking out their window - not sure if they could see inside my cabin, but I'll be sure to not sit naked in the window or anything like that today until after we sail away! Around 8:45 ship's time I went downstairs and went ashore figuring the sooner I got off the sooner I could be back on the ship! Getting off the ship was a breeze, and it was easy to miss the photo opportunity after the gangway. The Carnival ship had their photographer stationed so their passengers had no choice but to wait, which caused them to have quite a line of people backed up. I walked into town and was surprised/pleased to see how much this area has changed since my last visit years ago! There's a whole shopping area here, including a branch of Los Cinco Soles, which is where I usually shop. I asked shopping guy Chris where to buy vanilla, and he said Los Cinco Soles, so that's where I headed. I bought a liter of vanilla (should last me a good long time ) and the guy in the store gave me a paper listing the many uses for vanilla. I'm only interested in using it for fudge, though - and this vanilla smells so much better than the stuff we buy in the USA. I also picked up some sweets for people at work, although I won't be around to really enjoy it with them for a few days after my return. Once I'd finished my shopping and taken a few photos of the ship, I returned a nd got back onboard. I changed into my swimsuit and headed up to deck 9 to stake out a nice lounge chair in the sun.

Along the way I stopped at the Windstar Café to check the coffee drink of the day - today is the cold drink of the day - frosty chocolate mint or something like that. I decided to get it later instead of right away, so I continued up to deck 9 and set up camp on a lounge chair by the aft pool. It was mostly sunny and the breeze was nice & cool - it felt wonderful! The music was great, it wasn't crowded, and I thoroughly enjoyed a few hours spent by the pool. At one point I did ask a stranger to put suntan oil on my back for me, not wanting to risk burning. I sat in the pool for a while, which was really nice - the deck inside the pool is covered with a few inches or so of water, which is perfect for sitting and staying cool. The pool itself goes from just under 5' to just under 7' in depth. Eventually I got my coffee drink, and this one turned out to be a dis appointment.

Oh well, live and learn! The pool area was never crowded while I was up there, and around 1:30 I went downstairs to get the camera to take a couple of photos of Cozumel from the ship. I'd looked for lunch earlier, but ended up with just a nut cookie - so this time I went back and ordered a ½ roast beef sandwich grilled on the focaccia bread. The guy didn't understand half, and gave me a whole one, so the other half went in the trash. It's very good, but half is plenty when you eat like me. I took the sandwich down to the stateroom and updated the report after eating. I washed out my bathing suit in the bathroom sink, and put some casual clothes on for the rest of the afternoon. Later I planned to see another movie, then tonight I had plans to meet people for a drink before dinner, then have dinner, then see the show (tribute to Elton John). I left the cabin and entered the glass elevator, noticing there were other passengers in there but not really paying attention to them. They scared the crap out of me by immediately starting saying "Hey Sue, where you been Sue, we've been talking about you Sue", etc! I wondered how the HELL they knew my name, and then I saw it was Eric and Billy, lol! They had stories to tell, too - evidently Chuck & their parents got so drunk they had to walk them back to the ship and make them go to their cabins to "think about what they'd done" . It's strange when the children become the parents because the parents are busy having so much fun! After returning the other half of the sandwich & plate to the Lido I went down to the promenade deck to walk around for a while.

All aboard was 2:30 and we were supposed to cast off for Grand Cayman at 3:00 but one of the tours must have been late since lots of people were still boarding after 3pm. The movie today is Along Came Polly, with Jennifer Aniston & Ben Stiller, which sounded good. I decided to see the 3:15 showing, and this time skipped the popcorn! The movie ended up being ok - nothing great, and I was glad I hadn't paid to see it! After the movie I went back to the cabin and sat in my window for a while until it was time to shower & dress for the evening. I just love this window! I don't get the fresh air of a verandah, but I also don't have anyone's smoke blowing at me either. There's complete privacy in the window, which isn't true of a verandah, and it's plenty big for 2 people . Tonight is casual attire, but I'm dressed up a bit. I'd bought a wild little dress recently - somewhat out of character for me, but maybe I'm ready to throw caution to the wind and shock a few people (on vacation at least ). It's an animal print, mid-thigh length, low-cut, and skintight - yikes! A friend gave his opinion on it after I bought it, so I'm going to trust him that I won't look like a complete idiot!

Around 6:15 I went upstairs to the photo gallery to look for the photos taken last night. As it turns out the formal portraits won't be up until tomorrow night, so there wasn't anything of interest to me there tonight. I returned to the cabin until it was time to meet the others at the Ocean Bar at 7. On the way up I stopped at the Pinnacle Grill to see if I could buy a glass of wine from their bar. They have the Chateau St Michelle Riesling that I like, while the rest of the bars have crap on the wine by the glass menu. The Pinnacle staff were great, and I got my good wine with no problem! Sally came down and found me, and I went upstairs to join her & Chuck at the Ocean Bar. The others never made it - too drunk or hungover, perhaps??? We had some hors d'oeuvres and then Sally & Chuck had to leave to get to the Lido before they stopped serving at 8. They were less than thrilled with their tablemates, unfortunately. I stayed put, and when a party of 4 came looking for a table I offered to give them mine and move to a smaller one. They invited me to just join them, so I did - and they bought me another glass of wine for giving them the table. They were a nice group, and we enjoyed chatting until it was time for dinner. Tonight my table was full again, and it was nice to see Hal feeling well. It was a nice meal, and even better company - just the way it should be. I started with the chicken satay, then had the chilled strawberry soup and instead of an entrée had the mixed greens salad. I even skipped dessert - I was wanting to get online and nothing on the dessert menu was really worth the calories. Besides, in this dress a dessert may have caused me suffocate, lol! I went to the internet cafe and took care of my email.

I'm glad I bought the internet package, as I not only won't have a huge pile of unread mail when I return, I'm able to stay in touch during the trip. A lot of the mail I don't actually read - I look at the subject and decide to skip it, but at least I have some idea what's going on with my friends. I could hear the Elton John singer performing while I was in the internet café, and he really sounded like the real thing. Hal has seen him perform somewhere and said he was excellent! I returned to the cabin to update the report, then went up to get a seat for the show around 10:15 ships time (11:15 my time - yikes). There's no word of the time changing back tonight, so I guess that will happen tomorrow night. The performer's name is Joel Mason, and I guess he's performed all over the world. He does look & sound like the real Elton John, but I wasn't impressed with his show. I ended up leaving after 30 minutes. At one point he left for a costume change, and left some guy playing the saxophone - that's not why I'm there! He kept trying to be funny, with mostly gay jokes or double entendre stuff, which I thought detracted from rather than enhanced the show. Finally I'd had enough and went back to the stateroom to call it a day. Overall it was another terrific day. Nothing truly spectacular happened, but it's just nice being back on a HAL cruise and I'm enjoying this solo cruising stuff! I'm thinking about some of the people at work from time to time, but not in the sense that I'd rather be working than on the cruise anymore .

DAY 5 WEDNESDAY MAY 19, 2004:  Plan: Grand Cayman (stay on ship) Actual: I was awake early - shortly after 6, which wouldn't have been a problem except that ship's time was shortly after 5 at that point! I never did get back to sleep, and finally got up about an hour later and checked the tv to make certain the time hadn't changed back (it hadn't). I got cleaned up & dressed to go up on deck. My jogging sneakers have given me a blister on the back of my left ankle, so unless the bandaid makes it comfortable I may skip jogging today - plus it looks like we're cruising very quickly and the wind will probably be tough on one side of the ship. On the way up I stopped at the dining room to see tonight's menu - not really appealing at all. There is an appetizer I'll try, but after that it'll be tough. They've got perch and monkfish - I'll have to find out if one of those is a non-fishy fish and maybe try that. There's also a sirloin steak, Thanksgiving turkey dinner, fettuccine alfredo and paella - none of which I want. They're perfectly good choices - I'm just a pain to feed! I went out onto the promenade deck, and it was very humid & quite windy. The sky was overcast, and it looked like plenty of rain could be seen. There was no sign of land yet, however. I started walking quickly, lost in my thoughts - and before I knew it I'd completed 2 miles (6 laps). I was mulling over some work stuff, and trying to mentally schedule my next business trip to Miami (when, what to accomplish, how long to stay, bring my staff for all or part of the trip, etc) and eventually I realized I'd lost my focus and was just walking laps aimlessly.

So, I stopped! I went into the Lido and today they have the raspberry mini-danish. I took one of those and a mini croissant, along with a few pieces of cut-up fresh fruit. I ran into Chuck & stopped to talk to him, then returned to the cabin to eat the fruit & croissant before my 7:30 body sculpt class. The class was pretty full, and Jane Fonda almost didn't make it on time - but she was there in all her fuschi/black glory complete with sunglasses. Lizelle made the class a little different from the first one, but they were both good workouts. After the class I chatted briefly with Jane Fonda, then went down to the cabin. I chatted with Subi out in the hall, then went inside and ate my raspberry danish while updating the report. The Carnival Triumph is anchored across from my window, and there's another ship further back that is either Royal Caribbean or Princess. The ship was cleared for people to disembark around 8:15.

I changed into my swimsuit, got my stuff together and then made a stop at the Windstar Café for the coffee drink of the day (Irish cream latte) on my way to the aft pool. Sally had decided to stay onboard while Chuck did a snuba excursion, so she'd be meeting me there later after she had her breakfast. First I went to the promenade deck to take photos of the other 2 ships, and had to wait for the camera lens to de-fog from the high humidity. While I was in the Windstar Café it started raining - pouring, actually. The big Carnival ship was no longer even visible in the storm! Hopefully the weather will turn nice soon, or this is going to be one very loooooong day! I took my latte back down to the stateroom, since it seemed silly to be on deck in a swimsuit & coverup in the pouring rain .

The local weather was predicting torrential rain off and on all day, so it doesn't look good. I read a magazine in the cabin then decided to take a shower and get dressed. By 10 I was on my way to the tender, figuring I might as well go ahead and go ashore. I was able to get right on a tender without waiting, but then had to wait while they filled it up. I realized later I was supposed to have a tender ticket, but nobody said anything to me then. The ride to Grand Cayman was short, and the weather wasn't bad for the first 5-10 minutes. I started walking towards the Tortuga Rum shop, thinking that was where I'd seen "Big Black Dick" last November. There's a private joke in there, involving a photo of me with Big Black Dick and some interesting conversations with this person.

It started to rain, or rather it was a deluge! The streets flooded, the rain was coming down sideways, and even with an umbrella I was soaked. I took refuge against the side of a building, and hoped it would let up some soon. It never really did, of course - so I made short dashes from one fairly sheltered area to another, and once I was back in the immediate town there in front of me was Big Black Dick, lol! That's the name of a rum here on Cayman Islands, so I went inside and bought a few souvenirs for myself and the other person (shot glasses, refrigerator magnet). They were giving away rain ponchos today, so I took one of those but ended up not using it (that didn't say Big Black Dick, lol - it was from Grand Switzerland jewelry store). I browsed through some shops, but there wasn't anything I wanted. I did see a little tank top with a cheap-looking screen print on it, and they wanted $23.75 for it. No way in hell, lol! Soon I made my way back to the pier and caught the next tender back to the ship. Chuck was on the tender, so we sat together and shared experiences so far today. He'd been shopping for emerald rings for Sally --and found one that sounded pretty. I'll have to keep my mouth shut, but I'll be looking at her fingers next time I see her! They were going to come back ashore, so I left him my umbrella to use for the rest of the day. When the tender got back to the ship, a couple people got off, then the tender drifted away. It was only about 12-18 inches away from the dock thing, and I knew I could make it, lol! The stewards saw I was going for it and started saying "no, no, no" but it was too late - I cleared it easily & apologized on my way into the Zuiderdam .

Back in the stateroom I decided my clothes could dry with me wearing them, but I used a towel and the blow dryer to try to dry out the tevas enough to make them more comfortable. Subi hadn't cleaned my cabin yet, but I knew he usually did it towards the end of his shift so I wasn't really bothered by it. I decided to go wander around a bit to kill time, then perhaps find some lunch or maybe get online early today. The internet connection in Grand Cayman was only $.05/minute cheaper than the plan I bought on the ship, so I didn't bother with it over there. If I need to buy more minutes here, then so be it.

I spent some time in the internet café getting email taken care of, then went upstairs to the Lido. I found Sally & Chuck finishing up their lunch and chatted with them for a while. They let me know the plan was to meet at Ocean Bar again tonight - the others should be feeling better today! They headed off to shore and I made the rounds trying to decide what I wanted to eat. They had the chocolate chunk cookies, so I got one of those - they're ok, but not nearly as good as Disney's cookies. I ended up at the deli and this time got half of the roastbeef & cheese sandwich I always get. I brought it back to the cabin and ate while reading the rest of my 2nd book - about a single mother of a child with autism & asperger's syndrome (Elijah's Cup). The book was just ok - I actually prefer smut & fluff for my reading, lol! Subi still hadn't done the cabin, so I took the book and finished it up on the promenade deck. It was pretty damp & chilly up there, and I was the only one out on deck. Soon I returned the library book and checked out 2 more, then went back downstairs and was happy to see Subi's work was done. I was tempted to crawl under the covers in bed, since I was seriously chilled from the damp sandals and lack of sunshine! However, I decided instead to get into my window and figured if I was still cold I'd put on one of the bathrobes.

At the library I'd gotten one smut/fluff book and then picked up Dr Phil's book The Ultimate Weight Solution. I'm not trying to lose weight, but I thought it might be interesting to see what he had to say about maintaining. I read through pretty much the whole thing from the serenity of my window. At one point I set the camera up on the timer so I could take a picture to show me sitting in the window with the Royal Caribbean ship passing by - so I've got proof . After reading I was feeling a bit guilty over not jogging this morning, so I got changed and went up to the promenade deck. I figure if my friend Mary could ride her bike 80 miles or more in the FL humidity then surely I could jog 1 mile in the Grand Cayman humidity. It'd be so much easier to be lazy if I didn't have friends who actually accomplish great things, so I sucked it up and jogged my mile. I won't pretend I enjoyed it, except for those last couple of steps when I knew it was time to stop & check my time (11 minutes). I walked a lap or 2 to cool down, then went back to the stateroom and spent the afternoon reading and laying around. The rain had stopped but it was still totally overcast. Around 4:30 I took another shower, updated the report, and got ready for the evening.

Tonight my show is before dinner because they're doing a passenger lip-sync show at 10:30. Tonight's entertainer is an illusionist named James Cielen. I have no idea if he's the guy I saw on the Rotterdam last March, but if so it will be a great show. My show's at 6:30 - but, the group from Saturday is meeting for a drink at 7, so I'll sit near the back and quietly leave early. I'd rather spend time with these new friends than sit in a show - UNLESS it was the Comedy Warehouse, of course . Tonight is the informal night, which for me means dressy business attire (as opposed to casual FL business clothes). For men it's their formal night suit (no tux) minus the tie. I went to browse in the shop before the show and ran into Hal so I talked to him instead. Just before 6:30 I found a seat on the aisle up in the balcony and watched the first 25 minutes. The illusionist started out really strong, but I don't think it was the same guy I saw 2 months ago. I went to the Ocean Bar next, and the others weren't there but someone had recently stopped by. The steward set up one of the big couches with a few tables and extra chairs for our group, while I went downstairs to the Pinnacle Grill to get a decent glass of wine. When I got back upstairs to the Ocean Bar I saw the people from last night, so I went over to chat with them until Chuck & Sally arrived. Soon Jeffrey & Jeannie were there as well, and the steward brought us hors d'oeuvres and took their drink orders. Chuck & Jeffrey went down the hall to the photo gallery and brought back all of our group's formal portraits from the other night!!! I couldn't believe it - they walked out with them, lol! We put them all back later, except for the ones people bought.

Our group photo was nice, and Jeffrey is going to scan it and send it to us. I'd rather have it as a 5x7 than an 8x10! Chuck was sitting at the end of the table and he said "Sue, would ya grab my nuts, please?" He's got a great sense of humor - he was talking about the honey roasted peanuts over near me ! We had a delightful time in the lounge, and Jeffrey & Jeannie invited us to their suit for hors d'oeuvres tomorrow night. As suite passengers, they can get them sent up from room service - we did this & invited Sheila & Colin one night last June. Soon it was time for dinner, and since I knew Harriet & Diana were eating at the Pinnacle Grill tonight I let Chuck & Sally know in case they wanted to join my table. They eat at 8:30 and have nice tablemates, but there's no chemistry or fun going on. I'd told them how my tablemates are all terrific, so they were eager to eat with us. I introduced them to Hal, Michael & Dee, and we had the most fun dinner! Chuck & Sally's 25th anniversary is today, and Chuck got a bottle of champagne for the table to celebrate. They fit right in, and seemed to really enjoy the table - and my regular table mates all enjoyed them as well. It was a really great meal in terms of the company! The food was another story, though - at least for me. I had the appetizer chicken breast with black pepper, which was good. It was a few bites of chicken breast, but with a nice presentation. I also got the tomatoes, onion & something else salad, which was also good. For an entrée I decided on the pan fried perch, thinking it would be a nice light fish (even though I'm not a seafood eater). Well, it turned out to be a huge thick hunk of fish, and it tasted like fish! I ate a few bites, then ate the potato wedge and called it quits. Between the other stuff and the bread, I'd had more than enough anyway! Sally & Dee got the fettuccine alfredo, which I was surprised was a decent-sized portion instead of being a massive plate full of pasta. Hal got the paella, Chuck the perch, and Michael had the turkey dinner. For dessert Sally & Chuck got the 3 cheesecake sampler I've had before (very good). Michael & I both got the chocolate mouse pastry thing, which was very good. Hal got strawberry ice cream and Dee doesn't eat dessert. We were one of the last parties to leave the dining room, because we were just having so much fun.

I left the others but later ran into Michael & Hal at the big map and stopped to talk with them before they went to the next show & I went to the internet café. I got online for a while, and then did some shopping in the shopping arcade before returning to the cabin. Tonight we turn the clocks forward an hour, so we'll be back on east coast time again! Tomorrow I'll meet Sally up at the aft pool (assuming there's sun) after exercising, and just before noon is the Mariner's Society reception (free champagne & news about what's going on with HAL). There's also the Dutch Dessert Extravaganza (formerly known as the chocolate extravaganza) at 3:15, hors d'oeuvres in Jeffrey's suite, another formal dinner, and who knows what other mischief I will find! Well, this day did not go as planned, thanks to the crappy weather. On the plus side, I did enjoy the body sculpt class, and if it hadn't been raining I never would have found the Big Black Dick gift for a friend. The evening more than made up for the day, as I had a great time before & during dinner. The Cruise Critic friends and my table mates have really made this cruise for me

DAY 6 THURSDAY MAY 20, 2004:  Plan: At Sea, 2nd Formal Night Actual: Finally this morning I didn't wake up as early as the other days - thanks to the time change I think, and perhaps the wine & champagne . I got up at 6:45 and knew I wouldn't be jogging this morning - maybe later. Instead, I got dressed and headed up to the promenade deck to try to get a mile in before the 7:30 aerobics class. On the way I checked the dinner menu for this last formal night. Surf & Turf lovers will be happy as they have a lobster tail with a petite filet mignon. There's also a pair of the filet mignons for beef lovers, venison, veal, escargot, shrimp cocktail, caviar, crab soup, and a bunch of other stuff. I did my mile, and arrived at the class just as they started. Jane Fonda was absent today, and the instructor commented that she wondered where I was. It was a great class, and I felt more coordinated today since so much of it was familiar . After the class I went thru the Lido for a mini croissant and stopped to talk with Cindy & Bill briefly.

Back in the cabin I changed into my swimsuit, packed my HAL bag, and went up to the aft pool area to stake out a spot. On the way though I stopped at the Windstar Café for the coffee drink of the day - a chilled/frozen raspberry cream mocha thing. It was also free, since I'd filled my buy-4, get the 5th free card. The coffee drink was excellent - the best one ever! I may have to get these again even though it's a different day. I ran into Cybille from the spa at the Windstar, and she remembered me from our chat the first day. She invited me to come & use the hydrotherapy pool for free (it's $15/day or $80/week) and use the steam therapy rooms for free also (same charge as hydrotherapy). I told her I'm not really a spa person, but she insisted so I figured what the heck! If I hate it at least I'm not paying for it, and I am curious why people like that stuff . She told me to just find her when I get there and she'd let me in - very nice! I went up to the aft pool area and it was incredibly windy!! Everything was flying around, but I managed to get towels wrapped around a few chairs to begin our little area. Soon Chuck & Sally arrived, and Chuck saved another chair or 2 - then Jeffrey & Jeannie arrived. The men went off to take a walk, which I thought was odd but I later found out what they were up to! The women stayed by the pool and we talked & laugh nonstop for hours! Bill came by a few times, too - it was just a nice relaxing morning by the pool.

I had the Mariner's Society Reception to attend at 11:45 so I left my stuff on the chair and went to attend that party. Chuck went inside ahead of me and pulled me aside once we were out of sight. Turns out he & Jeffrey decided since they're on their anniversary cruise they'd renew their wedding vows on the island tomorrow - the wives don't know, and Cindy & Bill will also be doing it! They're getting special tender passes to get everyone off in time and they want me to be there as their special guest - how sweet!! I was going to stay on the ship tomorrow, but now I'll definitely attend their ceremony & decided what to do from there! Just as I got to the reception I ran into Dee from my dinner table, so we hung out together and enjoyed the free champagne & hors d'oeuvres. We both have 45 days on HAL at this point, so our next cruises means we'll get our 50-day pins. One couple on board had 887 or 886 days - I'd love to be able to say I've spent that many days on a HAL ship! The captain talked about the new "Commitment to Excellence" program, how much it was costing, what it included, etc - same info that's on the website.

No word on any new ships after the final vista class (Noordam) enters service in 2006, but on the Rotterdam cruise the captain did say HAL was going back to the smaller ships and not planning any more the size of this one. After the reception I went back and joined our group at the pool. Jeffrey & Jeannie had gone to the brunch for suite passengers, and Cindy & Bill's family had arrived to take their spot on the chairs. We just had the best time - the time flew by and I was having so much fun I never even opened the book I got from the library. Guess I'll just return it today and not bother, since the cruise is almost over. They did pool games and Bill and Eric joined in - their team won. They did a diving for spoons game, a wet t-shirt contest (very clean - not dirty), and belly flop contest. Bill's not a heavy guy but he scored a perfect 10 on his belly flop! I left after that and decided to see Cybille at the spa.

It was around 2pm at that point, and I'd been out by the pool since around 8:30 except for the 30 minutes at the reception. Cybille was working at the desk and brought me into the hydrotherapy spa room. It's a great big jacuzzi, but the water is sea water. The jets move all around in there, so it's not just bubbling in the same spot like in a regular jacuzzi. There are 2 faucets where water pours out really hard, which people let hit their back or neck or whatever. I tried it and it was so hard my bathing suit bottom starting coming off - so that was the end of that for me! I did enjoy the jets though - and this would be quite a nice place to relax with someone special! Eventually I got out and showered off - then found Cybille and she brought me to the steam rooms. I've never been in one, and to me they're just hot - not appealing at all. I went into the aromatherapy steam room first, and talked to the guy in there & his wife. I didn't last long - being hot isn't my thing. On their advice I did try the regular steam room, but didn't last long enough to even sit down - that was brutal!!! Instead, I sat on these funky stone or tile recliners they have in their facing the wall of window looking out at the ocean. I didn't realize it, but these things are heated - it's like sitting on a hot stone, and it felt really nice. They've got a fountain in there, so you hear trickling water and soothing music - it's very relaxing. A little before 3 I went back to the cabin to rinse out my swimsuit, threw some clothes on and went upstairs for the 3:15 dessert extravaganza.

I wasn't hungry, especially since I'd eaten a slice of pizza around 1:30 - but I wanted to see it if the line didn't scare me away. First I returned the library book, then I went to the Vista Dining Room for the dessert thing. The line was out the door, as expected, but it was far longer when I left. The extravaganza is not nearly as impressive as what they do on the other HAL ships (non-vista class), but it's still nice. They had the Champagne Strings playing - they play classical music during dinner and then afterwards in the Explorer's Lounge each evening. Most people ate their desserts there, but I took mine back to the cabin. I tried a small piece of a chocolate mousse cake, part of a nut topping decoration from another cake, and a little chocolate round thing that wasn't anything special. I also got some chocolate dipped strawberries but put them in the minibar fridge because I was too full to eat them. The luggage tags & debarkation material had arrived, so I looked that over. I think I'll skip putting my luggage out and just carry it off myself since I don't have more than I can handle. That way I avoid the search for my bags, too. I got a high debarkation number, so it looks like I may be one of the last to be called off the ship, which I'm not happy about. Debarkation goes from 8:45 until about 10:30. I decided I had nothing to lose by asking, so I went to the front desk to see if they could give me an earlier number.

They were very accommodating and asked me what time I wanted to leave and gave me a number that would be in the first group of people to be called! I thanked the girl and went back to the cabin to update the report. At this point it was 4pm, and I truly did NOT want to jog today. Primarily it was the heavy wind - all I could see out the window was whitecaps everywhere! However, I felt I should do something, so I went up to the promenade to try just walking for a while. It was so windy they had the midship doors closed. The forward & aft doors are a bit more sheltered, and would be easier to manage in high winds. I did my mile, doing it in 14 minutes despite the wind. Once that was done I managed to get a door open to get back inside the ship. I literally had to brace myself against the other door with one leg while I yanked the door open as hard as I could! I had no place I had to be until 6:45, which was just over 2 hours away. So, I hung out in the cabin & just relaxed. I thought about getting online but I knew I'd want to do that at the end of the day, so I waited.

Tonight's the last formal night, so after showering I got ready for the evening. Tonight I'm wearing a short black velvet dress with sparkly stuff on the top. Sally's also wearing black velvet, so she was relieved to not be the only one. Around 6:30 I went up to the Pinnacle Grill and got a glass of the riesling - most of it went into the fridge for later, though. I picked up a couple of empty champagne glasses from the Atrium Bar and went up to Jeffrey & Jeanne's suite at 6:45. As suite guests they'd ordered hors d'oeuvres - fried shrimp, great almond chicken tenders, fried jalapenos, and a big tray of cold canapes. It was way more food than we needed, but we enjoyed it. They also had pralines & chocolate covered raspberries from Trader Joes - man, were those great! We had a couple of bottles of champagne, looked around the suite, and had a lot of laughs. We took pictures, including me laid across the laps of the 3 guys, and then the 4 women in bed together! We were having a blast, though - just good silly fun. So much for HAL being a stuffy ship .

Their suite was next door to the penthouse, and Jeffrey mentioned there was a private jacuzzi on that balcony. I responded that it was small - just a single person jacuzzi, which sorta defeated the purpose, and Chuck pointed out that I just needed to know how to position myself & my partner, lol! He was right - we all got a few laughs over that one . Just before 8 we headed down to dinner - I was not hungry at all at that point! Dee wasn't at dinner tonight, so it was me, Hal, Michael, Harriet & Diana. I only ordered an entrée - the chicken breast over some spicy penne pasta. It was excellent, and I ate about half. They had a double petite filet mignon but I don't usually eat beef & knew there was a good chance I'd be having a big piece of meat next Thursday, so I opted for chicken tonight. Everyone else had shrimp cocktail, escargot, soup, salads, and an entrée. I did try a bite of venison - not bad. We had a great time at dinner - we're all so thankful we got a good bunch of table mates! I left before the baked Alaska parade, since I don't eat the crap anyway and wasn't hungry for anything else. It was only 9:45, so that gave me time to update the report and get to the Queen's Lounge early to get a seat for the 10:15 adult comedy show rather than waiting for my scheduled show at 11:45. The main show is the other production show, featuring costumes designed by Bob Mackie. As I recall, the costumes were great but the show wasn't as good as the other one, so I planned to skip it in favor of getting online to do some email. This day has positively flown by! My tile was waiting for me on my bed - HAL repeat cruisers get a tile as a thank you gift. Since I've cruised the Zuiderdam before I already have 2 of this one, but that's ok. It's got a picture of the ship and the year it entered service (2002). I took my glass of riesling and went up to the Queen's Lounge and filled out my comment card while waiting for the comedy show by Tom Drake. They'd filled the dance floor with folding chairs, and it was still standing room only. He started talking about one of the perks of his job being he gets to sleep with the cruise director, which I thought was a strange thing to say until he admitted they're married! Anyway, his show was excellent - and downright filthy by HAL standards but that's ok . Sometimes it's good to be dirty!

The show ended around 11 or so, and I headed to the internet café for a while. Overall this was one of the best days yet! These Cruise Critic friends are fabulous, and have made the entire cruise for me! It's like we've known each other forever, and it's so much fun. The time by the pool was great, and I'm nice & dark now - with 1 more day to go. The party in Jeffrey & Jeanne's suite was a lot of fun too, and it was nice being all dressed up with everyone. It was really nice of Cybille to invite me into the hydrotherapy spa today - it's not something I'd do traveling myself or with Sheila, but it sure would be a nice little splurge on a romantic trip

DAY 7 FRIDAY MAY 21, 2004:  Plan: Half Moon Cay Actual: Rather than staying on the ship, today will be my last day spent with the Cruise Critic friends - including attending their wedding vow renewals. Next time I do a solo HAL cruise I can always stay on board. I'd set the alarm for 6, and got up then. I'd actually woken up earlier, feeling somewhat queazy - no doubt from the mix of wine & champagne the past 2 nights. No more champagne for me tonight, and even my riesling doesn't sound good at this point! I got dressed, swung by the dining room to see tonight's menu, then went to the promenade deck. I walked a little, then jogged my mile (11 minutes), then walked some more. Once back inside I decided to get breakfast now thinking it might be good to put something in my stomach. Today was lemon danish day, so I got one of those and a mini croissant. Once I got back to the cabin I made some of my cappuccino to have with the breakfast, and just relaxed in my window until it was time for the 7:30 body sculpt class. The class was great - we used weights instead of the resistance bands and my 200 daily bicep curls on each arm (with an 8-lb weight) paid off - I handled these little weights with no huffing & puffing like Jane Fonda was doing ! After the class I stopped to thank Cybille for yesterday, then went to the cabin to get changed into my swimsuit. The gang was meeting by the front office (just down the hall from me) at 8:30, and we had priority tender passes so we got to go to the head of the line to get off the ship rather than waiting for our turn - yay! I'm not going to lie - it's damn good to bypass the waiting, lol! I grabbed one of those raspberry coffee drinks before we left, but this time the person didn't put it through the blender. It still tasted very good, but tomorrow I'll specify I want it blended.

Everyone was there when I returned, so we got on the next tender to Half Moon Cay. Nobody else in the group had been here before, and they were completely blown away by how gorgeous it is. The sand is like talcum powder, and Chuck was yelling that we'd better not snort it all while we're here, lol! The water was gorgeous - it's no surprise this island consistently wins "Best Island" among the ones owned by cruise lines. Disney has a nice one, but it's 2nd best compared to this one in just about every way - except for access since they don't have to tender. Chuck/Sally & Jeffrey/Jeanne had rented the things that provide shade to 2 chairs each, so we got them together and set up camp a short ways down the beach. Cindy & Bill had bought a couple of the unlimited drink cards, so they kept us all full of beers and rum runners all day long! We did a bunch of group photos at first, since the scene was so gorgeous, and then settled down to some drinking, talking & lots of laughing. Jeffrey had brought some wine and food (candy from Trader Joe's), so we nibbled on that, too. We went into the water and enjoyed goofing around in there for a while, and then it was time for the vow renewals. The women still had no clue it was going to happen! We decided to "take a walk" as a group, since Jeffrey needed to mail some post cards before lunch . Chuck slipped me his camera, and of course I had mine. When we got to the chapel there was a priest inside and it was set with flowers and some champagne & hors d'oeuvres on the back table. One of the guys said "let's go look inside", and when we were at the entrance each guy knelt down on one knee and asked his wife if she'd marry him again - it was so sweet!! I was there as a surrogate - if any of the women had said no, I'd have been honeymooning tonight, and if they'd all said no I'd have been one busy bride, lol! I was also Jeffrey's best man, Cindy's maid of honor, and Chuck's photographer/special friend.

The ceremony was short but very nice, with each couple saying their vows, and a few tears being shed. After the ceremony a steward served the champagne & hors d'oeuvres - some yummy stuff, including giant strawberries with whipped cream! There were also shrimp, caviar, great goat cheese like in the Pinnacle Grill, and something that might have been salmon. The assistant cruise director and a helper worked the event, and were amazed to hear our story of just meeting on the internet before the cruise. Each wedding couple received a gift bag with a big photo album & certificate, plus a silver frame. The ship's photographer was there as well. It was such a wonderful experience, and one I'll always remember and be grateful to have been a part of. They were thanking me for being there, but I thought they deserved my thanks! After the wedding we did go mail Jeffrey's postcards, then went to find lunch (also known as "the reception"). We were announcing that everyone on the island was our guest - lunch at the reception was on us, lol!

I led the way to the lunch pavilion, with Bill shouting that if I got them lost they were going to vote me off the island! I found it, and the food was excellent - ribs, chicken, mahi mahi, burgers, hot dogs, veggie burger, chili, salads, & some basic desserts. We met a couple who'd been married just last Sunday and were hating their cruise - one complaint after another. I don't know - I think if I'd been married only 6 days and was on a cruise I wouldn't have too much to complain about . You can't please some people, I guess! After lunch we went back into the water and posed for more pictures. We had the 4 women trying to make more cleavage on the raft (didn't help me ), and the guys doing muscle poses. Bill kept bringing rum runners out - and I floated around on a raft for a while until the others towed me in to shore (Driving Ms. Sue). All in all it was a perfect day - and we're talking about doing a Hawaii cruise together in 3 years. None of us want this one to end! We decided to try to eat together at the Pinnacle Grill tonight since it's our last night. Around 2:30 we headed back to get in line for a tender back to the ship. I did some packing, but since I'm going to carry my luggage off in the morning I don't have to finish until then. Otherwise, I'd have to have it outside my door by 2 a.m. to be picked up by HAL. I took a shower, and then called Sally to see if we'd been able to get into the Pinnacle - but it was fully booked for tonight.

Today's movie was Win a Date With Tad Hamilton, which sounded cute - so I went to see the 5pm showing. I brought a cup of my own cappuccino with me, since for some reason I was feeling hungry. I guess other than parts of some rum runners all I had today was a single rib, a small brownie, and a mediocre chocolate chip cookie. The movie was cute - not worth buying a ticket for in my opinion, but a pleasant diversion while on a cruise. After the movie I ran back to the cabin to dress for the evening (casual wear - long floral tank dress) before meeting the others at 7 in the Ocean Bar. I made a quick stop at the shops to buy a pair of nice HAL mugs with the Zuiderdam on one side, then dropped those off in my cabin. We met at the Ocean Bar, and ordered drinks (cosmopolitan for me - not in the mood for wine). We sat around talking, and exchanged email and physical addresses. At 8 some of us had to go to dinner, but we weren't ready to say goodbye just yet so we agreed to meet at 10 in the Crow's Nest. At dinner everyone was there, and there was a lot on the menu that I liked. I had the chicken tender appetizer (3 bite-size chunks, but very good) and the creamy chilled pineapple & banana soup. The soup was wonderful! I skipped the salad and the entrée, instead having the appetizer tomato & mozzarella thing. That was nowhere near as good as I'm used to elsewhere, but at least I wasn't stuffing myself with an entrée. For dessert I had the chocolate pots de crème, which is good but not nearly as good as Chef Gordon makes in Hilton Head (10 more months to wait for that one )! Overall it was a good final meal together, except it seemed to take forever. Everyone else had several courses, so I spent a lot of time sitting & talking but not eating. If not for the chocolate I would have left earlier, since I was really wanting to get online for email! Finally we were done and I said my goodbyes to everyone at the table, leaving just a few minutes before 10. Next stop - the Crow's Nest up on deck 10.

We all gathered for one last time together this trip, and Hal from my dinner table stopped by as well to congratulate Sally & Chuck on their vow renewal. He's such a sweet man - but earlier he surprised me by going on about how I was darker than him in the photo he bought of our table at the 2nd formal night. That didn't make any sense, so finally I asked him if he was African-American, and he said yes. I laughed, and told him anytime he needed a photo of himself with a white person who's darker than him to let me know . All too soon the evening was winding down - some people needed to pack, I had email to do, etc. We said our goodbyes - lots of hugs & kisses all around. Chuck asked Sally if they couldn't just take me home with them . He's been my special sweetie - he's a big gruff softie of a teddy bear who's completely still in love with Sally after 25 years. We'd pretend a little like we had something going on, lol. I hated leaving - these people have been wonderful, and I'll miss not seeing them each day. I stopped at the internet café and used up all but 3 of my remaining minutes. Doing the internet plan was a good thing this trip, as I felt the need to stay in touch with my "real world" more than I normally do on a cruise! I finished up around midnight and went back to the cabin. Since I'm not putting my luggage out I was able to wait until morning to finish putting the last items in the suitcase. I finished up today's report, and did some reading before going to bed. Today was such a GREAT day! It was busy from 6am until midnight, but it was so wonderful. The highlight was definitely spending the day on Half Moon Cay with everyone, and being a part of their vow renewal ceremony. It's so nice to see such happily married couples, and men who are so thoughtful & romantic!

DAY 8 SATURDAY MAY 22, 2004:

Plan: Breakfast, Disembark Actual: I woke up around 6:15, and we were just pulling into Ft Lauderdale. I could see other ships in the distance even though it wasn't quite daylight yet. I'd thought about going for one last jog, depending on whether I was up early enough to do that and then shower & eat before being let off the ship at approximately 8:45. However, laziness won out today - no jogging! I packed up the rest of my stuff (except for the evening clothes), got dressed, and then decided to go walk around the promenade deck for some mild exercise. The marathon training plan calls for Saturday to be the day "off" from training, so not jogging was perfectly fine. We'll see what excuse I have Monday - Wednesday in Tallahassee this week . I walked a mile, the only person out on deck except for a few crew members making phone calls or performing maintenance work. From there I went up to the Lido and picked up a mini croissant and mini raspberry danish for breakfast, bringing them back to the cabin. Unlike Disney, on debarkation day a full breakfast buffet is served - just like any other day. The last day didn't seem like the time to start with a big hot breakfast, and it's sad to think it'll be 18 months before I'm back for these great mini-danish again! I returned to the cabin & Subi had just finished making the bed for the next set of passengers.

On HAL you can stay in your cabin until your number is called to leave the ship, but the stewards do appreciate getting a head start on their cleaning once they know you're up. When I was walking I realized I'd need to get my car out of the garage, so I found the parking ticket and pulled it out of the suitcase! I'm not sure which level I parked on, but have it narrowed down to 2. It feels like it was so long ago! I went up to the Windstar Café and got one of the raspberry cream frozen latte things, and brought that back down to enjoy with my breakfast. Time will be precious these next several days, so I used this free time to work on the wrapping up of this trip report. Finally around 8:45 they started calling numbers to disembark, and my number was called shortly after that. It was nice not having to go search for my luggage - I simply walked out of the terminal and into the parking garage, paid my $84 (ouch!) parking fee and began the drive home, arriving before noon as planned. SUMMARY: Simply stated, this was the absolute best cruise I've done yet, and one that will make it very difficult for other cruises to match! The key ingredient was the people I met - and they're all saying the same thing. We were strangers last Saturday but feel like lifelong friends at this point (actually, by mid-week). I do hope we're able to do a reunion cruise, whether it's the big one to Hawaii or another Caribbean cruise on HAL. Being on the Zuiderdam for a 2nd time had it's benefits, in that I already knew the ship. Of course, on HAL I already know all the ships because HAL smartly keeps the same basic layout so you're not feeling lost on your next cruise. After having been on the Rotterdam just 2 months ago it was obvious the vista class ships do not match the others, but they're still very nice ships and anyone who hasn't sailed HAL before should be quite impressed.

The demographic on board was definitely vista class rather than traditional HAL, meaning younger than normal. Surprisingly (& thankfully) there were not many kids. I saw a few families dealing with young kids or babies - but that was so rare they really stood out. I never saw kids in the dining room or the shows, which is exactly how I like it. I'm assuming the small group of kids were busy enjoying Club HAL and eating during the early dinner, but I don't think I'd need both hands if I was using my fingers to count how many kids of all ages I saw on board. The entertainment generally was very good, and I enjoy the entertainment here much more than the shows on Disney. Disney does a great production show, but so does HAL - and HAL's theater is more sophisticated (rivaled only by theaters on Broadway and in Las Vegas), seating is much better & more intimate, and it's not the same syrupy family fare (good even for pre-schoolers) being shown cruise after cruise year after year. I enjoyed one production show enough to see it again this cruise, even though it had been less than a year since