Captain America Sleeping Bag
Cruise Vacation is a sampler of several exotic locations
Tom Cruise or not to cruise – that is a question that many of our friends in middle age are doing. Most people think that cruising or intentions are a bunch of young people 24 / 7 parts, or seniors enjoying their golden years.
The truth is that most cruises fall somewhere in between, although there are cruise lines and destinations known to attract the young or the very old. We just got back from our second trip to Holland America Line – this time for the western Caribbean – and we found both cruises have a knowledge of the young, a bit of the old, but a lot of people like us who were in the middle.
When friends ask us whether they should try a cruise, we say by all means. We cruise as a kind of sampling of holiday – a week or 10 days where you get to experience multiple destinations and decide which ones you think you like to visit for a period Vacation whole. The downside for us is that we often feel like we'd like to spend more time on a port when it is time to leave.
But consider advantages. With the cruise, you never have to unpack your bags once more, while the change destinations before their eyes. With most cruise lines, meals are no muss, no-fuss, always cooked and ready for you to eat when you're hungry – and when you're not. Meals usually are covered in your fare, although alcoholic beverages are extra. Most onboard activities are covered and only tours cost extra. Dinner arrangements general put it in situations where it is easy to find new friends.
Our most recent cruise was on the Veendam from Tampa, Florida, visiting Cozumel, Mexico, Montego Bay, Jamaica and Grand Cayman Island. This itinerary of seven days was about the right combination of lead-time – one day a destination – and cruising. The Veendam produces a program each days outlining the myriad of activities that are available to passengers. The line-up is impressive – class spa, yoga classes, cooking classes, classes, shopping, art seminars, numerous games and recreational activities, live entertainment, high-quality theaters, bars and restaurants – and even Catholic Mass
Of special note to parents who have children, Holland America Line makes Club Hal available for passengers who want to leave their children to grade school pre-adolescents. This was a hit with our seven year old who enjoyed games and crafts but especially liked the idea of making new friends aboard their age. There is a meeting separately and the program area for teens.
On the Veendam, our "triple" stateroom gave us a pair of single beds and a sofa for our daughter to sleep. With lots of closet and drawer space, a couple of hundred square feet does not seem particularly small. We do not have a balcony – or balcony off – but will with just a window saved us about $ 500 per week.
Despite a balcony is a great repercussion in private life, read a book and watch the sea pass, we find an excellent replacement for Veendam: Deck 6. This is the platform walking outdoors which is lined with a single row of deck chairs perfect for watching the scenery. It is also where we made our daily walk – about four times to walk a mile.
Days in port can be pre-programmed for the purchase of tours, as boating, diving and various excursions. We did a snorkeling adventure – on the submarine "Nautilus" in Grand Cayman, which eventually be a very special way of seeing the abundant fish life in George Town Bay – but generally prefer to have no definite schedule for our days in port. Our preference is to just walk in the city on their own, taking taxis and local buses as needed to see sights that have already read about.
As you might expect, great beaches and warm water pool and snorkeling were plentiful in all three of these destinations. But each had its own flavor and attractions destination they especially enjoyed destinations such as the Harbour Street Craft Market in Montego Bay – where he loved to know local merchants and vendors – and Cozumel Chankanaab National Park, where there abundance of sandy beaches, giant iguanas on the loose and even a pool where visitors can swim with dolphins. On Grand Cayman Island, found the perfect snorkeling beach at Seven Mile Beach – ideal because the water was clean, the fish abundant and dispersed people.
Back on the Veendam, the food was prepared in general to a high level and that usually ate breakfast and lunch in the Lido restaurant and cafeteria-style dinner in the dining room of Rotterdam. There were three formal evenings – that is, everyone starts to dress for dinner – with all other meals remaining casual. Interestingly, we heard some older passengers complaining they were too cafeteria dining, not rather formal – though probably still would have preferred less formal dining. It is difficult to please everyone all the time.
With Holland America Line, there a fee of $ 10 every day to bring down the flight attendant, waiters and others who helped him during his stay on the ship. Frankly we were glad to pay him – The service was as good as any hotel we have visited umpteen stars, always cheerful and responsive. For decades, Holland America Line has recruited the majority of workers ship from Indonesia and the Philippines – to the point of creating training facilities in these areas – and seems to be a great marriage. workers from second and third generation are happy to follow in the footsteps of their parents and Holland America Line remains the highest score in the category of passenger service.
One thing that our friends, is sometimes wonder about this whole thing about people getting sick while cruising. In fact, with news appearing over time about the illness aboard cruise ships – Including a very recent episode of a ship from San Diego-based – it is natural that prospective passengers want to know if it will be safe at sea. Television, newspapers and internet jump on the story and you can almost feel the air being squeezed out of the industry, cruise lines try to unring the bell of negative publicity.
In this most recent cruise, we spent some time with the captain and his executive team to talk about the precautions that the staff of Holland America Line (and certainly more lines cruising) take to prevent an outbreak of gastrointestinal illness. The captain and his team explained that, since the virus appears, it is very difficult and time consuming to purify an entire ship. And so Holland America Line for some time has undertaken a proactive policy battle – which they call a "Code Yellow" alert "- which encourages passengers to wash their hands frequently and avoid physical contact with other passengers. The Veendam greeting, the captain said – Playing only half – is touching elbows, not shake hands.
Indeed, even before stepping aboard the Veendam, we had been instructed to wash hands with one of dozens of packages Purell placed around the vessel. Every time we eat, the packages were at the ready. And we notice rails aboard the ship was clean and polished, many times a day just to avoid transferring germs.
AT A GLANCE
WHERE: Veendam Holland America Line is currently cruising from Tampa, Florida. That particular trip included destinations in the western Caribbean.
WHAT: Cruise, the Caribbean, Mexican Rivera or anywhere else in the world is becoming increasingly popular among baby-boomers who enjoy the comfort and convenience.
WHEN: Any time of year, depending on your destination. Cruise lines usually ships re-position to take advantage of the interest of passengers increased to certain destinations during certain seasons.
WHY: Cruising, in a word, it is convenient. Today ships are so large, there are many activities to keep you busy. Cruising is also a way for you to destinations several examples in a short trip without having to pack and unpack bags at each stop ..
HOW: For more information on Holland America Line cruises, 877-SAIL-HAL www.hollandamerica.com phone or visit.
About the Author
Cary Ordway is a syndicated travel writer. His company publishes CaliforniaWeekend.com which focuses on California getaways, and NorthwestTravelAdvisor.com covering Washington travel, as well as getaways in Oregon, Idaho, Montana and British Columbia.