Hygge

I learned a new term today. Actually, it is a Danish word and the concept is Danish, though certainly people in other cultures focus on the good and simple things of life.

Have you heard of hygge before? While it is not easily defined, this article explains its components.

Let's do more hygge this weekend as winter sets in again (going from high of 65 today to high of 35 tomorrow, with snow in between).

Eastern Caribbean Cruise: Ports of Call

Our ports of call on our Eastern Caribbean cruise were: Grand Turk (British West Indies); San Juan, Puerto Rico; St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands (we also made an excursion to St. John); Half Moon Cay, Bahamas. Truthfully, I have no interest in returning to any of them except San Juan. Half Moon Cay would be OK for a day at the beach if the weather was nice.

All of these ports, including Grand Turk, use the US dollar as their official currency and much of the population speaks English. No tricky currency exchanges nor negotiating in another language. Tourism simplified.

The excursion at Grand Turk that I booked through Holland America was canceled 2 weeks before the cruise. It was called a semi-sub where one boarded and watched thru portholes the colorful fish attracted by food put in the water by the crew of the sub. No getting wet, yet seeing the marine life. Most of the other options involved snuba, snorkeling, diving in the crystal clear water around reefs. The bus tours sounded unexciting on a 6-mile island (an old church, a small historical museum, a lighthouse that reviewers described as not worth visiting); and I didn't feel up to operating Skegways or ATVs. I ended up booking through Viator via Trip Advisor an outing that involved snorkeling (which I planned to skip while my husband participated) and a stingray encounter on an uninhabited island. I guess I am glad I did the excursion, but it wasn't what I wanted to do (my now-canceled outing).

Grand Turk is rather unattractive with scrubby vegetation, a few palms, a small shopping district of maybe 8 shops and restaurants near the pier, a nice beach with lounges and umbrellas provided by the cruise lines (which also supply beach towels in one's cabin), and a huge swimming pool in a complex called Margaritaville where people danced in the pool to Jimmy Buffet music while sipping cocktails. We had read on the internet there was free wifi, but it required a password and those I asked seemed unable to provide it. I schlepped back to the ship with my ipad as I didn't plan to take it on the excursion boat. I also was instructed by Viator to confirm my reservation, upon landing, with the boat operator. The directions were somewhat vague and it wasn't until I had walked thru the shopping area and found myself in a parking lot that dead ended that I realized I needed to walk along the beach near the water. A fence around the parking lot blocked access to the beach so I backtracked. My mood wasn't particularly happy after wasting so much time.

Viator said we would go out on a catamaran, stopping several times to snorkel, then head to Gibbs Cay to see and pet the wild stingrays and learn of their habits. It turned out there were only the two of us so the company used a motorboat.

Run at full throttle, we bumped up and down hard on the waves, giving me bruises on my backside. There was no shade for the passengers. The 2 crewmen were extremely helpful and polite, carrying my tote bag to the boat for me so I didn't have to wade through the waves with an awkward load, helping me onto the boat as I climbed the chain-runged hanging ladder, offering water and soda, and even named a few of the small islands we passed. I told the captain before we headed out that I was a poor swimmer and wouldn't be snorkeling. He suggested I try it with a flotation device. I floated alright, but when I tried to breathe through my mouth with the snorkel apparatus in it, I felt like I wasn't getting any air. I realized then why the snorkeling excursions booked thru the cruise ship said people with certain conditions including asthma would be excluded from snorkeling. I bailed out and hauled myself back on the motorboat. My husband was towed around hanging onto a life preserver ring and saw lots of fish.

You could see Gibbs Cay from where we snorkeled. There was a catamaran anchored there, but no interaction with the dozen or so stingrays by the people walking around. We did luck out with our captain. The large female ray really likes him (he offers fish food to attract her), and we and a lady from the catamaran petted her. So slippery feeling. A few facts were offered, but not much, about stingrays.

I found a few shells on the beach. The aqua water is beautiful. Technically we were not yet in the Caribbean, but in the Atlantic.

Upon return to Grand Turk, we cleaned up some and donned clothing over our swim wear in the public bathroom/changing rooms and headed for the ship to shower and get some pizza. I had sunburned my back as that was the one area I had not applied sunscreen. No desire to ever return to Grand Turk.

Another Holland America ship had docked next to our ship. You get a good idea of how huge these ships are when you see people walking on the pier.

The next day we arrived at San Juan, Puerto Rico about 1 p.m. after eating lunch. Our booked excursion was a stop at Castillo San Felipe del Morro, "El Morro", and a walk through the Old City. A bus drove us to the promontory where the fortress sat. We were taken across the street to a museum featuring native populations of the Americas (South, Central, North, and islands and territories).

Our guide Marisa

Native tribe of United States

The museum was OK. The trade winds swept over the national park area so though it was in the 80's, it felt quite comfortable, especially in the shade.

 Construction of El Morro started in 1539 and was completed in 1790. Ponce de Leon claimed the island for Spain in 1508. It was the first deep water harbor that ships coming from Africa encountered. Also a major stop for ships carrying gold, silver, and other precious goods from the New World. The country that controlled Puerto Rico, controlled the shipping.

A cemetery sat between this fortress and Castillo San Cristobal, originally with walls along the whole route.

 We toured the upper parts of the fortification. The United States took over Puerto Rico as a territory in 1898 as a result of winning the Spanish-American War. The ramp had steps leading to a middle part of the fortress (42) and another 70 steps to get to the lowest area. Not surprisingly nobody in our group opted to walk down since that meant having to walk back up.

 We stepped inside some of the casements. The cannons and heavy equipment were hauled into the fortress by man-power. No horses were allowed inside as it was feared their manure would foul the water supply. One casement showed what the barracks would have looked like. Hard board beds with little padding.

El Morro was impregnable. This facility was made into a national park in 1949.

Our tour was to end by walking through Old San Juan. We could stay with the group which headed to the pier or go off on our own. We were given a general map. I would have loved to spend more time looking through shops, however, it was almost 4 p.m. when we left El Morro. We had signed up for a flamenco guitar and dance show and were to board the bus at the ship at 4:45. My husband and I did head out on our own looking for the Plaza de Armas. We found it as we walked downhill a bit. A policeman there directed me to nearby Forteleza Street where I wanted to visit a shop that makes Panama hats.

It was warmer away from the promontory. We stopped in another shop/café I had read about on the internet run by ex-pats. I enjoyed a pineapple smoothie, my husband a papaya smoothie. I went down two doors to a small shop and bought my souvenir for our miniature box, a tiled magnet.

I think we could have found our way to the ship terminal, but time was getting short, and we didn't have any idea how long the walk would be. We had noticed taxis queued up around the corner of the plaza and engaged one. The driver got us back through heavy traffic in time to have 10 minutes to use the bathroom and find the meeting place in the terminal for our evening event.

The musician at the show boasted he was once the greatest and best flamenco guitarist in Spain. He was playing in France when he was invited to appear on TV in the United States. He toured around, but eventually moved to Puerto Rico. He played not only flamenco for us, but showed how he could produce almost any class of musical sound on his instrument. He never used a pick.

 This young lady was from Argentina and did the flamenco. She and the other young lady danced several other Latin dances. We missed our cruise ship dining seating because of this show; instead we tried the ship hamburger and French fries spot near the pool. We went to a show; then I ordered chocolate cake from room service which we ate sitting on our stateroom balcony looking out at the lights of the city. This was a good port call, and I would enjoy returning to San Juan.
Our next port was Saint Thomas, VI. We needed to be at our meeting spot for our excursion at 7:45 a.m. We had room service bring us breakfast (omelets with some of those tasty croissants) as the service in the dining room even for breakfast tended to be leisurely.
We boarded a boat for a trip to Saint John where we took a tram tour of the national park deeded over by Laurence Rockefeller. Over half of the island is a nature preserve. Most of the supplies for this island come from Saint Thomas.

 The secluded resorts are expensive, in-season as much as $1000 a night. On our boat ride our guide had pointed out homes of movie stars like Carol Burnette on Saint Thomas. Apparently, the condos, etc. on Saint John are also expensive.

Trunk Bay where some of the folks on our excursion boat went to snorkel and have beach time.

 We instead took the nature tour. Our driver/guide who was native to Saint John went on and on about the medicinal properties of the noni fruit.

 There are very few wooden structures on Saint John. That big blob in the tree is a termite nest.

Pretty flowers, mostly bougainvillea, but this Poinciana stood out.

I bought this hiking stick "badge" at the National Park store. Back at Charlotte Amalie, Saint Thomas, there were lots of shops geared to tourists near the docks. This was the hottest and most humid port we visited, and I soon headed back to the air-conditioned ship. My husband continued on and found a tee-shirt. A lot of the people on cruise ships go to the downtown area to shop for jewelry; a taxi isn't expensive, but I had no interest in that kind of shopping.

Charlotte Amalie was our most picturesque port.

Three port calls in three days, then a full day at sea. Our next stop was Half Moon Cay, Bahamas, an island owned by Carnival which owns Holland America. Fortunately, we were the only ship that day. Here there is no pier; tender boats take you ashore.

It is illegal to take shells from the Virgin Islands; this island was my only real shot at collecting shells. I found a few new-to-me specimens, all small, but some with pretty pink and yellow stripes. One lady on the beach drew my attention from the sand to see a half rainbow in the sky to the north. I had reserved a clam shell, a half-domed tent-like structure with two lounges. This kept me in the shade most of the time and saved me from sunburn. A tropical BBQ lunch is served on the island in picnic pavilions. Shortly after we returned from lunch to our clam shell, you could see rain streaking the sky headed in our direction. A small squall hit the beach and those not protected by clam shells scrambled away. We waited until the rain stopped, then headed for the tenders to our beautiful ship.

That night (Saturday) we set our watches back an hour. Our first full day at sea we were on Atlantic Standard time, an hour ahead of Fort Lauderdale time, and remained that way until overnight Saturday.

Sunday we had an uneventful flight to Indianapolis. The lady sitting next to me on the plane had been on a Princess cruise. She only got off the ship once to do a little shopping. She spent time at the spa, buying jewelry, in the casino. She had been on many cruises. It was the ship experience she wanted and buying bling. She showed me her $2999 tanzanite and diamond ring she bought for $599. Everybody is different and makes their own cruise experience.

We left Indy wearing heavy winter coats with snow on the ground, but when we came back the snow was all gone and the sun shining.

The Koningsdam was a nice break from reality though.

Eastern Caribbean Cruise: The Ship Experience

I decided to use Blogger's program rather than wait.

Since we have a 40th anniversary approaching, we decided to
celebrate early by splurging on a Caribbean cruise this winter. We are not water/beach activity lovers. Our main desire was to experience the beautiful new cruise ship Koningsdam and be somewhere warm and sunny.


We flew from Indianapolis to Fort Lauderdale Saturday January 28th and spent the night at a Courtyard by Marriott in Plantation, a suburb inland and west of the airport and city. This hotel is close to an open-air shopping mall. We ate at Padrino's, a Cuban restaurant within walking distance. I liked the plantains that came with my dinner, but after trying the yucca my husband chose, I would not recommend that side dish. [But I tasted it because remember I am “filling the well” this year.]

The next morning we awoke to rain (which had been predicted). The hotel served breakfast for a fee. We had hot oatmeal which came with cups of toppings (nuts, brown sugar, and fruit), juice, coffee, and saved the bananas which were included to take with us.
The hotel shuttle to Port Everglades left at 10 a.m. This seemed a bit early since the port service does not allow the cruise lines to open their check-in services until 11 a.m. According to the instructions provided by our AAA travel agent, we could not board the ship until 1 p.m.

However, once at the docks, there were thousands of people milling about in the rain, either disembarking or there for check-in, taxis and vans and cars moving at a snail’s pace, and the fact that our van driver had 4 different cruise lines for drop-offs made for slow progress. There were 8 ships in port that morning but strung out at different docks with cul-de-sacs.

We were the next-to-last passengers delivered from our van. By the time we found room on the luggage carts for our stuff, it was a few minutes after eleven and we walked out of the misty rain right into the Holland America facility. We were scanned similar to what happens at an airport, presented our passports and boarding passes. We stood in line at the check-in counters maybe 10 minutes, after filling out a health questions survey.

At the counter, our pictures were taken and our ID cards issued, the key to everything on the ship dealing with money as well as the access to our stateroom and the required document to disembark and embark at port calls. Usually, we also needed to show our passport to embark again.

I’ve digitally smudged out my name. You will notice that the cabin number is not on the card. When one purchased items, the clerk asked the cabin number and checked it against the computerized system which also had one’s photo to verify the card was not stolen.
Once past the check-in counters where we were given a boarding group number pass, we entered a huge waiting room where hundreds of people already were sitting. Port Everglades provides free wifi and we took advantage of that because we knew the ship wifi was very slow and very costly to access. We also ate our bananas. About 11:20, a lady announced over the sound system that group 1 could board. The waiting area was full. We were group 5. By 11:45, our group was announced. As we boarded the ship our cards were scanned.

Most people went to the Lido buffet for lunch, but because we were Mariners (had cruised with Holland America before) we went to the main dining room where we ate at tables with white cloths and china and ordered from a menu. I never received this tidbit from Holland America. I saw it mentioned on some of the cruise critic internet sites and then emailed Holland America a few days before we left home. I was told that my computer record viewed at the dining room desk would show I was eligible for this lunch. The dining room was serene; I suspect the Lido was crowded and hectic. At noon, an announcement was made that the cabins were ready to occupy. We leisurely headed to the elevators after a nice lunch, went to level 6, Mozart deck. It took a bit of orienting ourselves to discover the starboard side where our verandah balcony stateroom was located mid-ship. Figuring out which direction to go to reach the front of the ship or the back took getting used to. There are labels at the head of the cabin corridors with room number ranges and starboard or port and diagrams near the elevators, but even toward the end of the cruise, I had people asking me on the elevator which direction to get to the main dining room or the Crow’s Nest or elsewhere.

Our luggage did not arrive until several hours later so we decided to explore the ship. At 3:30 there was a life boat mustering drill. We were to go to the Queens Lounge. Because it was raining, they did not take us outside to our specific boat. They scanned everybody's cards; if you did not show up for the practice, they had the right to disembark you without compensation.

Koningsdam is Holland America’s biggest ship, with 2600 passengers. One of the couples on our hotel shuttle was going on the Allure of the Seas with almost 6000 passengers;  too big for my tastes. Things have changed since our cruise to Alaska almost 20 years ago. Most of the cabins have balconies; we had a small bathroom but a big shower; flat-screen TVs; there are specialty restaurants (for a surcharge); no more midnight buffets (the Lido closes at 10 p.m.); hand sanitizer dispensers throughout the ship; a special handwashing machine in the Lido, very limited smoking areas to name a few. The dress code for the dining room has been relaxed some; no shorts, flip-flops, t-shirts at dinner. We saw two couples turned away because the men wore shorts so it was enforced except the first night when the man next to us had shorts but a collared shirt (the requirement for men). Holland America is considered somewhat stuffy compared to some other cruise lines who do not have dress codes.

Holland America has two gala nights when the passengers are expected to dress up. Traditionally, men have worn suits or even tuxes (no longer required). The specialty restaurants also have this gala dress code. I knew from my internet reading, that the gala nites are usually the days at sea. I didn’t learn this until I had already booked a reservation at the Tamarind restaurant though. We missed the dining room gala nite Monday as we were at the restaurant instead. We saw one couple in the Tamarind in a tux and formal ball gown; many men in suits. I suspect the European cruises have dressier clientele; in the Caribbean there is a more laid-back ambiance.

I wore this shell/jacket top to the Asian Tamarind restaurant as I thought it had a slight Oriental look. I had a pair of dressy black pants and sling-back black shoes.

The sparkly silver threads running through my top.

For the dining room gala nite, I wore the pants, a lacy pullover top, and used a beaded sequined large scarf as a stole. I also wore my dangly Dallas rhinestone earrings. I am sure ladies had diamonds and other real jewels, but I did not, and felt fine.

Food is a big deal on cruise ships. Not always the highest quality, but plenty of choices. Holland America has pretty good food. I was disappointed in the eggs Benedict and in the creme brulee. I tried some “different” items (cold blueberry soup for example), and the menu certainly had some unusual dishes besides standard classics. I think my favorite dining room items were the brisket at the Mariners champagne lunch and a rhubarb tart one evening. The chocolate cake we ordered from room service was delicious, though maybe sitting on our balcony in the moonlight enhanced it. The breakfast pastries, especially the croissants were very good, too.

In some ways, the cruise was too short—too short to try all of the goodies on the buffet and the grilled deli sandwiches which looked so good at the NY Deli and Pizza station next to the swimming pool. We did have personal pizzas, hamburgers and fries, gelato near the Lido pool. On Friday’s gala nite, the surf and turf was very good; I traded my lobster (of which I am not a fan) for my husband’s filet of beef. Our assistant steward was startled when he offered to pour more drawn butter on the lobster to see I no longer had lobster. Generally, I found the hot soups to be too salty. Rather than balance bowls of hot soup on a tray, the bowl had all of the ingredients except the broth/liquid inside, and the waiter poured the liquid from a small pitcher after setting the bowl in front of the guest. The main course portions were also small, but one could have unlimited starters and multiple desserts. Or go to the Lido and graze some more.

The decor theme of the Koningsdam is music. All of the decks are named for composers. The entertainment venues were strung along a corridor called Music Walk. The decorations included musical instruments, the dining room had arches reminiscent of a harp as did the 3-story atrium.

  

The Atrium

Display between the elevators on the Crow’s Nest level

We were assigned table 209 on the upper level of the 2-levels dining room for early seating. There was a flexible option, but people often were given a pager and had to wait awhile for a table.

Table 209; Rendy was the main waiter. Holland America uses mostly Indonesian crew, a result of its colonization of that part of the world. Somebody told me that the bar keepers were Filipino, but since we didn’t use the bars I don’t know. I do think the sommelier at our table was Filipino. I wonder if most Indonesians are Muslims at least nominally; Islam bans alcohol so perhaps they were not conversant with mixing drinks and selecting wines, lacked the expertise?

Views from our table. We did sit on level one for breakfast and lunch.

The arches which were meant to evoke a harp, but most people felt they looked like sitting inside whale skeleton bones.

I was surprised that the dining room often was not open for lunch on port days. It was also closed to the “public” on the two full sea days as there were two Mariner Lunches hosted on those days. However, the Lido buffet was always available as well as the hamburger /hot dog place and the deli/pizza place plus you could order room service any time, though a more limited menu. Alcoholic beverages, sodas, and gelato were fee-based. We were lucky that we had $75 of ship credit as a gift from AAA and that we don’t imbibe cocktails so the money went far. Alcohol is served throughout the ship with several bars and drink service at the shows and at the swimming pools and spa.

The Lido buffet had food stations on both sides of the center core, with seating starboard and port. You could also carry the food to the pool area where there were two fast-food options and tables to sit.

Plentiful food choices: stir-fry, sandwiches, pastries, ice cream, cookies, pudding, cake, breads, salads, casseroles, for breakfast pancakes, waffles, cereal, yogurt, fruit, scrambled eggs and on and on. The server dished up most items and handed to you; cleanliness and hygiene definitely a concern.

Good views from the Lido deck up on the 9th level.

A unique eating venue was the Dutch Cafe to the side of the atrium. A lot of people ordered specialty coffees to go, but it had breakfast sandwiches, desserts, quiche, pickled herring, sandwiches all based on Dutch cuisine. The servers were young people from the Netherlands. My husband and I split a piece of apple pie for a coffee break one day. We also ate lunch here one day. It overlooked the promenade deck; one was reminded by the exercising walkers that there was a way to get rid of all of these calories.

The public restrooms had cloth towels. There was a paper towel dispenser next to the door with a sign to use to open the door, then toss in receptacle. The welcome aboard information encouraged people to use their own bathrooms but of course there were times when a public facility came in handy.

I did feel Holland America fell a little short on day activities. There were special sales on the Lido deck and in the jewelry stores. Spa specials. Cocktail specials and get-togethers on the Sun Deck and at the Lido pool area. Basketball courts, a track (which my husband, an early riser used in the morning). A casino.There were 2 craft sessions but on days we were away on excursions. Bingo for $25 for 5 cards. None of these appealed to me. Fortunately, I am a reader, and found a few quiet spots as well as sitting on my balcony.

I did take the kitchen tour. I also walked the promenade a few times as well as sunning on a chaise lounge on the Sun Deck.

Plating charts so things were dished up with flair each time.

I attended a session at the Culinary Center (which also was a restaurant in the evening, farm to table style) where the chief baker showed us how to make a few items and offered samples and recipes. He got up at 2 a.m. every morning to bake with his assistants bread and yeast-based food for 2600 passengers and over 1000 crew. There was a vegetable carving demo I skipped.

There was a demo on how to fold the towels and washcloths into “animals”. I didn’t attend, but kids would enjoy. Every evening our cabin steward left us chocolates, the announcement sheets for the next day, and a creature (fish, turtle, seal, etc.) made out of folded linens with two jiggly eyes resting in the right place.

Of course, there were two swimming pools which I never used. LOL

The big screen with the design hanging above the Lido pool area was used for movies. We almost went one night (free popcorn provided), but ended up watching a movie in our cabin.

There were lots of evening choices. We especially enjoyed the string quartet and piano playing classical music, sometimes featuring one composer, at the Lincoln Center Stage.

The B.B. King Blues shows in the Queen’s Lounge were rousing and entertaining.

This became a disco dance floor at 11 p.m., but we were never up that late. This is also where afternoon tea was served, but it lasted 30 minutes, and the reviews were that you could get yummy things at the Lido that were better.

A huge auditorium at the rear of the ship had a comedian, a juggler who was really a comedy routine, BBC presentations about nature, a song and dance show with a surround-screen background that was impressive. I didn’t much like the comedian, but the other shows were good.

This is the Koningsdam’s inaugural year. She started in Europe, moving to the Caribbean in October. She is the direction that Holland America is moving, and I probably got a little spoiled. I had no sea sickness, but then we had calm seas and only a little rain the first afternoon and evening out of Fort Lauderdale. I would cruise on her any time, but probably not on the itinerary to the Eastern Caribbean. At our Mariner lunch, we shared the table with another couple who had sailed on Holland America once before; on the Koningsdam in Europe. They returned. So would I.

The Delft tile we received as a gift at the Mariner Champagne Lunch; really special as it indicates this is the inaugural season for the Koningsdam.