Thundar

Thundar was a hit with everyone he met on the ship. He had a great time where ever he went. His head is stuffed with many great memories and adventures from this 10 day cruise. Here are some of our favorite photos of Thundar. This photo is Thundar with cruise director, Matt.


The photo below if Thundar sitting on the throne in the Lido deck pool

The photo below shows Thundar at on the bar stool at the Lido bar!

This photo is of Thundar looking at all the dam dollars we won at trivia.


Thundar played hard and slept hard. Here he is all tucked in for a good nights sleep.

Towel Animals

We have always heard about
the towel animals that are left on your bed every night during a cruise and we were not disappointed in the variety of animals that surprised us each night.

One night we found Thundar swinging with the monkey!

Rita and Linda attended a towel folding class. If anyone is going to be staying at their homes don't be surprised if you find one of them on your bed.

The Crew

This cruise was such a great experience mainly because of the wonderful crew on the Zuiderdam. Our cabin stewards Heru (photo on left) and Dwi, worked so quickly to always have our room as clean as possible. There were over 800 crew members on the ship. Most of them were from Indonesia or the Philippines. They were so friendly and went out of their way to call us by name and make our trip unforgettable.



The lido resturant staff also went out of their way to call us by our names and help us in any way.
Buddy, Hunky Dory, Dek and many others always greeted us with a small and took time to visit with us and make us feel so welcome. There was always a smile, as you can see in the photo of Buddy on the left.

Two Days at Sea

The final two days of our cruise are being spent at sea sailing from Costa Rica to Ft. Lauderdale. These days are flying by. Our entertainment director, Rita, has us very busy with a full schedule each day. This morning we are waiting for trivia to start at 9 a.m.


Last night we had dinner in our staterooms and then Sharon and Barb went to a movie and Rita and Linda wondered around the ship a bit before starting the packing process. We even made piles of the things we brought and never used. The piles are high as you can see by the photos! We could have made it with one less suitcase, but how is one to know?

After trivia we are going to a session about the disembarkation process and then to a towel folding class. Plans are to go to a movie at 10 p.m. Hopefully we will find sometime to find the pool again and relax a lot before we get off early tomorrow morning. Our bags have to be outside our rooms at 10 p.m. tonight, so hopefully we have all packed correctly and don't pack something we might need tonight or tomorrow.

This will probably be our last blog for this trip. Hopefully you have enjoyed our journey as much as we have. Linda hopes to add the photos when we arrive home, so check back in the next few days and hopefully the photos will be there for you to see.

Have a great day!

On Deck for the Cure

This morning Sharon and Linda participated in the "On Deck for the Cure" 5K walk for cancer research. So far Holland America cruisers have given over $1 million to cancer research!





Rita and Barb were there cheering on all the walkers and holding signs to let everyone know how many laps they had made around the deck. Participants walked 9 laps around the deck for a total of 3 miles.

Many asked why Thundar was not walking. We guess he decided to sleep in this morning. Thundar has made many friends on this cruise and will have lots of great memories.

Coastal Tour and Banana Plantation

While Sharon was zipping through the rain forest; Barb, Rita, Linda and Thundar took a bus tour of the coastal area of Costa Rica and toured a banana plantation. We learned much about how bananas are grown and harvested. Both Del Monte and Dole have big banana plantations on Costa Rica. The photo on the left shows the banana flower and each of the yellow flowers will grow into a banana. We got to taste baby bananas (very short, but sweet bananas)that are mostly eaten just in Costa Rica.

Rita believes that she can write off this trip because of all the food related education she is receiving. Right, Bradley?


Our tour included several stops as the bus driver got out of the bus and used a machete to cut some fruit to show us. We saw papaya, noni fruit, red ginger, star fruit, date palm, and cocoa. The photo on the left is the cocoa plant. We also saw the plant that is used to make Channel #5 cologne.




Our bus also stopped for us
to get out and watch monkeys and sloths in the tree. We were afraid that Thundar was going to chase them after he finished his bananas.


We are just leaving happy hour
for dinner and the Valentine's Day Chocolate Extravaganza. Happy Valentine's Day to everyone! We have all had one great day!!

Ziplining in the Rain Forest

Sharon had the opportunity of a life time, besides having her three children, and ziplined through the Costa Rican Rain Forest and did not kill herself :)
It was an undescribable moment! An 85 year old Grandma was also on the excursion and Sharon's goal is to be able to zipline in 30 years. Sorry, but we have no proof of Sharon as a jungle bird, so we can not say for positive that she was even there!

And Eunice - Sharon is living up to your reputation and just maybe, Rita will have to cart a few of her purchases home in her suitcase (of course for a price!)

Costa Rica

This morning we arrived in Costa Rica about 6:30 a.m. Coming into port we sailed past the island that Christopher Columbus stopped at on one of his journeys to the Americas. We thought maybe it was Gilligan's Island. The weather was hot and humid.

The Panama Canal

The alarms went off at 4:30 a.m. this morning. We didn't want to miss a minute of this journey through the Panama Canal. We sat on our decks and watched all the ships in the sea waiting their turn to get to the other side of the ocean. About 5:30 a.m. they opened the door to the deck on the front of the ship on 7th floor and we went out there to get a first hand view of the ship going through the canal. We didn't get through the canal until almost 9 a.m. Thanks to my cousin Peg, for watching us go through the canal. We ordered breakfast in our rooms, but didn't really have much time before we had to leave for our onshore excursions.




Rita and Sharon took a long bus ride and then a ride in a clay canoe to an Indian Village where they spent the day.





Barb and Linda had breakfast in the Atlantic Ocean and lunch in the Pacific Ocean as they took a ferry to go through the locks that took us out to the Pacific Ocean. We got to do some shopping today too, so we were all excited. We enjoyed our day onshore. We are very tired from the heat and humidity, but anxious for our onshore excursions in Costa Rica tomorrow. Sharon is going ziplining and the rest are going to a banana plantaion and on a bus ride to learn more about this country

Our Roles on this Cruise

By this time we have spent five days together aboard the Zuiderdam and have each taken on the roles that best suits us. They are:
Rita - Entertainment
Barb - Relaxation
Sharon - Jewelry Shopping
Linda - Technology and Photographer

We sure are glad that we have this roles defined and now know what we are doing - or what is expected of us!

Correction to Panama Canal Link

We should have known that we couldn't remember something and have given you the wrong link to the Panama Canal web cam for tomorrows cruise through the canal.

If you are interested in watching our ship go through the canal they tell us that you can go to www.pancanal.com (Webcams/Gatun Locks) and watch as the Zuiderdam sails through the locks. Sorry we sent the wrong link last time. Be sure and watch if you are up between 5:30 - 8 a.m. eastern time on Friday.

The Panama Canal on Friday

We are all very excited about Friday and getting to sail through the panama canal. They gave us a note yesterday that said friends and family could watch us as we sailed through. www.panamacanal.com (We are pretty sure that this is the link, but we forgot to bring the paper with us. We will post again, if it is wrong.) We are on the Zuiderdam and will be sailing through the Gatun Locks. We think that we start going through about 5:30 a.m. eastern time, but it does take several hours to actually get through them.

If you are up at that time of the day, be sure and check it out!

At Sea Day

Today is Thursday and we have a day at sea. We got up around 5:30 a.m. and sat on the deck until we went for our walk about 6:45 a.m. Rita actually combed her hair this morning. None of us have spent much time primping, including Barb. Barb is enjoying the relaxation time she is having and is just layed back and enjoying the ride! Sharon thought she should have a shower this morning while Rita and Linda thought they would wait until we are done laying in the sun. What a life!!!



The schedule for the day includes, walking, breakfast, laying on the lawn chairs for an hour in the morning, an hour in the early afternoon and an hour in the later afternoon, playing trivia, attending 4 p.m. happy hour and attending the evening show. Another exhausting day! As you can see, Thundar enjoys happy hour, too and has really taken a liking to the mango and strawberry daiquiri's.

Trivia

For the past two days we have met in the Crow's Nest lounge where teams of up to 6 people play trivia. There are probably about 12 teams playing each day. We have a lady from Indiana that has joined us each day while her husband plays bingo.

Here are some of the trivia questions:
1. What is a pregnant goldfish called?
2. What is a group of hummingbirds called?
3. How many hearts does an octupus have? (Rita actually knew this!)
4. Name the seven deadly sins.
5. How much liquid can a human bladder hold?

As you can see, the questions didn't come easy to us, but we sure had fun. We will give you the answers in another blog. We will be at Trivia again at 1 p.m.

The trivia answers are:
1. twit
2. charm
3. three
4. pride, lust, sloth, gluttony, greed, wrath and envy
5. 1 pint

A Day in Curacao

On Wednesday we spent the day on the island of Curacao. It is a beautiful lush island where the locals told us that they have had an abundance of rainfall this year so they are not looking forward to hurricane season. After breakfast in our staterooms we walked on shore. We had to walk across a floating bridge to get to the shopping district of the town. This bridge is moved to the side to let ships in and out of the harbor.

We exercised our consumer decision making skills
again as we walked from open market to open market
and in and out of stores. We even found a McDonald's and made a stop there to get something to drink.


There were several fishermen cleaning and selling fresh fish along the harbor.

We boarded the ship about 12:30 p.m. We spent the afternoon laying in the lounge chairs on the lido deck and then played trivia at 3:30. We aren't very good, but we have fun and we get "dam" dollars for playing.We didn't feel like going to the big dining room for dinner last night so we just ate in the Lido cafe and then went to the 8 p.m. show. They had some awesome steel drum players from Trinadad. It was a great show. We were all exhausted from the heat and humidity of the day so we were in bed a little after 9 last night. I know... it is pathetic!

Ice Sculptures, Pool Party and Indonesia Crew Show

On Tuesday evening Barb went to the movie "The Secret Life of Bees," The rest of us went to the demonstration of making an ice sculpture. We watched in awe as two chefs each created a beautiful work of art out of a 300 pound block of ice. One made a swan and the other an eagle.





Following the demonstration we all attended the Pool Party on the Lido Deck. There was music and a "few" pastries for us to choose from...just a few. The choices never seemed to end. There were even fruit kabobs and chocolate fountains!

Thundar even danced in the conga line!




At 11:15 p.m. (9:15 p.m. back in ND) we watch the Indonesia crew members put on a wonderful show highlighting their customs and music. This is the latest we have stayed up so far. There is just so much to do in one day that it is hard to choose.





We have docked in Curacao for the day. It is a very colorful country. As we were sailing into the dock we could hear roosters crowing as the sun was coming up.





Breakfast is being delivered to our room.We think everyone should go on at least one cruise in their lifetime. It is a wonderful experience. We have all even forgot about work.

Day at Aruba

Our ship docked in Aruba about 12 noon on Tuesday. Before getting off the ship we played trivia in the Crow's Nest Lounge about 10 a.m. We didn't win, but we did each get a "dam" dollar for participating. The one thing that surprised us about Aruba was the number of cactus on the island. It was a beautiful island with lots of colors and it was a beautiful day with temps in the upper 80's.

Linda purchased a "Ticket to Paradise" and spent the day on the beach at de Palm Island where she tried to snorkel. If only she knew how to swim and wasn't so afraid of the water. She spent most of the day walking along the beach in the white powder sand. She met up with a couple from Alabama and a lady from New Jersey who took very good care of her.

Rita, Barb, and Sharon spent the day working on their consumer decision making skills as they checked out many of the shops in Aruba. They came back with several purchases. They tried on jewelry that was 1/2 price, but at $2000 they didn't think that was much of a deal. Katie, your mom found something for you, too! It was a great day!

Sorry No Photos Yet

Linda is just bummed because she has been unable to upload photos from the ships computers or her own laptop to put into this blog. We have taken some great photos and look forward to sharing them with everyone. We will keep trying to upload them each day, but at 40 cents a minute for internet, we don't waste a lot of time when it doesn't work.

A Day at Sea

Our third day on the ship is being spent on the sea. What a beautiful day! We have been lounging by the Lido Deck pool listening to some great music. The water is beautiful and very smooth.

This morning Sharon and Rita competed in the Hole in One golf tournament. Neither of them made it but we sure had a great time watching everyone compete. There were actually some holes-in-one made during the tournament.

From there we went to the Lido deck for lunch. We told Linda we were going outside to eat. She went where she thought was outside and the other three of us went the other way. Needless to say, Linda ate lunch by herself, but didn't mind because she had a great view. We did eventually meet up again.

Just an hour ago we sailed past the island of Haiti. It must have been the rocky side because we really didn't see anything but hills.

Tonight is our first formal night, so we will be getting all dressed up! Should be a fun night. We have dinner reservations for 5:30 and then off to the evening show at 8.

Tomorrow we are in Aruba from 12 noon until 10 p.m. We are looking forward to our adventures around the island.

Off to sit on our decks and enjoy the view before getting ready for the night! We are having a blast!

There are Two for Each of Us

After a great night sleep, Sharon and Linda went for their morning walk. Three laps around the deck equals one mile. We made four laps this morning.

The day is warmer and more humid than in the past. There was no air in our rooms so we decide to go to breakfast. In the elevator we met two gentlemen. One commented to the other "there are two for each of us." Our first meeting with men who maybe eligible! Flirting lessons didn't work. :(

At breakfast our server, Buddy, greeted us by name. It is hard to imagine how they can remember names from one day to the next with over 1800 passengers on board. He told us that he has been working here for 12 years and he looks real young. He works for 9 months and then has 3 months off when he goes home to see his family. He and our room stewart are so friendly and always smiling.

Our Pink Cabana

We had reserved a pink cabana for our stay at Half Moon Cay. What a fun day we had as we lounged around and walked along the beach hunting for sea shells. We discovered that hunting for seashells is addicting! We didn't find any big ones, but we did find some beautiful ones.




Sharon and Rita tried to find
some fish when they went snorkeling, but no fish were to be found.





It was a beautiful sunny day on the island as we enjoyed watching the beautiful shades of blue in the water. It was just like the postcards of the caribbean.







As you can see by the photos Thundar also had a great time on Half Moon Cay!