Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Over the last few days we have been at sea.  We were due to anchor at Half Moon Cay in the Bahamas on 3rd January but unfortunately the port was cancelled because of strong winds. It is something that the captain doesn't take lightly - putting lives at risk in order not to disappoint vs putting safety first.

Miami is a turn around port today, before heading out for the South American Grand Voyage.  I got off the ship for a few hours and went by bus into town for a wander.  Unfortunately I have never taken a sailor's mission bus so I was particularly nervous as to where to get dropped off, etc; and so was initially very reluctant to go.  Fortunately the chief engineer's wife was also going into town on the bus so I went with her; and on the way back I teamed up with the HR Manageress.  It was easier than I thought.

I spent a few good hours, having a wander around.  But no - I was good.  I didn't spend much - just picked up 2 packets of M&Ms (next best thing to smarties) and 2 packets of crisps.  Er .. and a bikini because my current one is just about to fall apart!

The Prinsendam is fully loaded and we are now setting off on the South American Grand Voyage - an 80 day cruise.

Sailing Towards Amber Cove, Dominican Republic

We had a bit of a restless night.  Floor 4 of the hotel that we were staying in was a bit noisy, our neighbours especially.  No consideration was spared for tired, travel weary guests.

Our taxi to the port arrived on time and we were dropped off at the terminal after a relatively short drive.  There were 7 cruise ships in port today, 3 of which were Holland America ships: MS Veendam, MS Koningsdam (one of the biggest ships in the fleet) and of course - our much smaller ship, MS Prinsendam.

We were shoved from pillar to post, trying to figure out which entrance of the terminal we should take and no security personnel or terminal officials seeming to know - pointing us in one direction and then being redirected back to where we came from!  Eventually something 'clicked' and we got in through the correct door and went through the usual security checks without any further hassles.  It didn't help because not many crew were embarking nor disembarking due to the festive season coming up and flights/hotel accommodation being expensive - change-overs are kept to a minimum at this time.

There was a delay in the Prinsendam's departure - so many ships - the harbour and the waterways were busy.

It is good to be back on board and to see some familiar faces again.

Our sailing schedule for the holiday cruise is:

Date               Day        Location
21-Dec-2018    Fri          Fort Lauderdale, FL, United States
22-Dec-2018    Sat         At Sea
23-Dec-2018    Sun        Amber Cove (Puerta Plata), Dominican Rep.
24-Dec-2018    Mon       Cap Cana (Punta Cana), Dominican Rep.
25-Dec-2018    Tue        At Sea
26-Dec-2018    Wed       Bridgetown, Barbados, Caribbean
27-Dec-2018    Thu       Scarborough, Tobago, Trinidad & Tobago
28-Dec-2018    Fri         Port Elizabeth, Bequia, St Vincent & the Grenadines, Caribbean
29-Dec-2018    Sat        Fort-de-France, Martinique, Caribbean
30-Dec-2018    Sun       Basse-Terre, Guadeloupe, Caribbean
31-Dec-2018    Mon      Road Town, Tortola, Virgin Islands, Carib.
01-Jan-2019    Tue        At Sea (Atlantic Ocean)
02-Jan-2019    Wed       At Sea
03-Jan-2019    Thu        Half Moon Cay, Bahamas
04-Jan-2019    Fri         Fort Lauderdale, FL, United States

 

Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Cruise end for some.

Yesterday the ship docked at Fort Lauderdale and it was 'all systems go' with everyone on the ship, including crew and staff, having to get off and go through Customs & Immigration. 

The majority of guests were getting off because their cruise had ended but other guests are staying on for the next cruise.  I until the last 15 minutes of the 'leave the ship' deadline.  Unfortunately when I got to the deck level where we were getting off the ship there was a crowd of people also waiting to get off the ship.  I'm not sure what was going on.  There were rumours that there weren't enough Customs & Immigration personnel to cope with the influx of passengers and so, in order to clear the terminal of a huge queue of passengers already there, other passengers were being held back from leaving the ship.  I also heard that there was only 1 official trying to cope with the crew/staff.  Ryan (a "partner on board" - a doc's other half) was also waiting so it was good to have someone to chat to whilst we were waiting.  Eventually someone from off the ship came on board and weaved through the crowd of waiting passengers to advise that there was something wrong with the gangway and was unsafe to use so they were making it safe.  Eh??  I'm not sure whether the story was true or not!  Fortunately it had nothing to do with the ship - it was all to do with the cruise ship terminal's gangway.  So there was more hanging around and waiting. 

Eventually everyone else on the ship could get off and head to Customs & Immigration.  There was quite a long queue and the whole processing took quite a while because of the lack of staff.  I felt sorry for the crew because they seemed to be taking ages.  The chap that processed my documents had a face like a thunderclap.  There was no greeting or hello or anything.  All he said was 'fingers on the pad' - for fingerprinting - and that was it.  When I left I stopped turned back to look at him, smiled 'sweetly' and said 'thank you and have a great day'!!; and fled.  I felt like saying that if he didn't like his job or people - pack it in!  I know dealing with people can be tedious but a smile or some sort of greeting can go a long way.  Yes, nobody likes the customs and immigration process but it has to be done.  So put a smile on your dial everyone!

Crew could get back on the ship but non-revenue passengers and guests couldn't.  The ship had to be cleared and there had to be "zero count" which can take a while.  Guests who are staying on for the next cruise either took a taxi or bus into town; or went on a tour.  I hung around outside the terminal and got free WiFi.  It was nice to catch up on a few WhatApp messages and also I had a quick telephone call with my younger sister in South Africa.  The sound quality of the call wasn't that brilliant because noise around and about the cruise terminal but it was still good to hear her voice.

Eventually I rejoined the ship.  But that was a mission.  I went through the normal terminal entrance but was told I was crew and so I had to go through the crew entrance.  I explained that I was not a crew member but a non-revenue passenger and I was on the guest/passenger manifest even though I do have what looks like a crew ID card.  The lady at the door relented and allowed me in but further in the terminal I was stopped by a security official who checked my name against his list and said I was not on the passenger list.  I said I had to be because I wasn't a crew member.  To cut a long story short, I ended up going outside the terminal and to the crew entrance.  They allowed me to go through but I heard later that an earlier non-revenue passenger had been sent from pillar to post until she was let through.

Life goes on!

Heading up to Charleston.

An update on what happened to the hospital beds.  The ship's staff hadn't heard back from any hospitals that they had messaged as to whether they could make use of 3 secondhand hospital beds that the infirmary were getting rid of so the beds were going to be taken off as rubbish/scrap metal.  It turns out that the beds were in fact salvaged and ended up at a children's hospital either in Cartagena, Columbia.  Apparently if they had accepted the secondhand beds as a gift from the ship - the hospital would have had to pay import duty!  So hence going down the route of scrap metal, not paying fees, and salvaging the beds.  Brilliant idea.

Charleston is the the Maasdam's next port of call.

PHOTOGRAPHS

Fort Lauderdale

Looking back as we head out along the channel to the Atlantic Ocean

 

 

 

 Ship's infirmary beds for the children's hospital

Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Fort Lauderdale - view from the ship

Yesterday was a sea day so I made use of the time to catch up on my blog and also start sorting through photographs and uploading them as well.

Most guests are staying on the ship but some were disembarking.  Unfortunately there had to be zero count (in other words the ship had to be empty of guests) on board at some stage in the morning and so we had to get off in order to go through customs and immigration even if we weren’t disembarking.  Fortunately the whole thing was done in a nice systematic way.  Everyone was given a specific time slot during which to exit the ship and head to border control so at least the terminal wasn’t heaving.  Crew had its own border control queue.  I could have clobbered the lass who dealt with me at the customs desk – such a rude, sour-faced woman.  Not even a smile or greeting …  I wished I could have asked her why on earth she stays in a job that she seems to detest. 

Once we were through customs and immigration I took time to sit down and read while waiting until I could board the Maasdam again.  Some guests took taxis into town; others looked for free Wi-Fi around the terminal or sat down to read.  In time word got around where there was free Wi-Fi and I followed the ‘hungry for Wi-Fi’ guests.  It turned out that the exit after border control was just a side entrance and we would not being going back to the ship that way.  There was a main entrance to the terminal was around the corner and also where the Wi-Fi was.  Just as well I didn’t hang around at the wrong entrance!  Eventually we were allowed to board the ship.

After lunch I had a bit of a nap and woke up after the Maasdam had set sail towards New York. 

Tonight we are going to meet up with some officers in the main dining room for dinner.  One of the officers is going to be giving us a talk about the battle of Jutland.  I’m looking forward to it, having heard one of his previous dinner talks sometime last month.  He would make a good history lecturer.

Tomorrow is another day …

Photographs - Views from the Maasdam