Ms Amsterdam World Cruise 2013 - Perth to Manila

Wed 27 February 2013

Today is the first of 3 sea days as we head north from Fremantle to Bali. 

After brekkie I went to the travel information talk on Bali which was well presented. I stayed in the theatre for the following talk on Hong Kong by a guest speaker which was excellent.

Yesterday Stein Kruse the CEO of HAL boarded the ship for the next few days until Bali. OMG it is like royalty is on board with the officers and crew running around making sure is shipshape. Some of the old dears are dying to meet him. For them they can’t wait for tomorrow’s Mariner Appreciation Day cocktail party he will host in the hope they may shake his hand or even be able to speak to him.

Judi and I had lunch at the Seaview bar and then I had a 3 hour nanna nap.

I went up to the Crows Nest for happy hour and chatted with Dick a very interesting bloke from San Diego. We were hoping to see the green flash with the sunset but unfortunately it was a little too cloudy.

I was invited up to Joan’s cabin for pre dinner drinks with Judi and Peter prior to going to the Canaletto (Italian) restaurant. We had a great meal with fantastic service.

I finished up the night having a Wang Wang with Judi at Larry’s bar. I was in bed by 10 pm.

Thursday 28 February 2013

Well another calm sea day and it looks like we will have no effects from Cyclone Rusty that crossed the North West coast yesterday. We have passed some oil rigs as we head north off the WA coast on out way to Bali.

I met up with Judi for brekkie and then went back to the cabin to catch with emails and update this blog.

I watched the movie Silver Linings Playbook on the Galaxy Tab before having the customary bloody Mary. After a quick lunch I retired for a nanna nap.

 It was a formal night with drinks in the theatre hosted by the big bawana Stein Kruse before dinner. Raymond (asst Bar Manager) met us at the theatre entrance and ushered us up to the front row seats. Wine for dinner was also free, so even the non drinkers were drinking and the dining room was a very noisy place.

I called it an early night and was in bed before 10.30 pm.

Fri 1 March 2013

It is another sea day on the way to Bali with calm seas. I was up early for brekkie with Judi Joan and Richard.

The Lido pool area is a hive of activity as they are constructing an Indonesian market and village for tomorrow nights party. I had a relaxed morning before having a late lunch in the Lido.

I spent the afternoon having a nanna nap and playing free cell on the laptop. I am having no alcohol today before the 7pm happy hour.

I usually do not eat Barra away from Cairns however at dinner I had Barramundi and it was perfect and our cheeky waiter told me it was so good because it was not from Cairns. We had a full table last night as Fran joined us to fill our empty chair.

Tomorrow we will be in Benoa Bali and four of us are meeting up and will hire a van and driver for the day so we can have a good look around.

Fri 2 March 2013

It was a magical warm humid tropical morning as we came into the port of Benoa Bali, with the sights, sounds and smells of the local area. We were given a great welcome with local music and dancers on the wharf.

I set out with Fran, Joan, Dianne and Peter with our first mission to hire a van and driver. This was so easy as a guy came up to us and for $30 each he would show us around. Our driver spoke very good English so off we set out to the mountain town of Ubud where we checked out a batik factory. Which was interesting but the products were very expensive.

We then drove on through the rice paddies and Fran suggested we call in to the nearby Four Seasons Hotel for a drink and to check it out. Well we were treated like Royalty and driven in a golf cart down to the lounge area with its specular mountain views and over looking a creek. I will let the photos do the talking.

After an hour there we set off again in our van to go down to Kuta as I wanted to see the memorial to the innocent victims of the Bali bombing in 2002.

Then we drove back to the port where there were some markets set up and for Aus$20 I bought a very nice batik shirt, 2 genuine fake Rolex watches and 2 caps.  Great buying I thought.

Well the big party was on up in the Lido and the whole place was transformed into an Indonesian market place.

 What a fantastic night we had and to top it off the drinks were on the house. Wow you should have seen the non drinkers going for the top shelf spirits.  

Congrats to all concerned for creating this fantastic atmosphere.

Sat 3 March 2013

I went up to join Judi for brekkie and then came back to the cabin for an early nanna nap as it is a sea day today.

After a late lunch I went to a lady guest speaker’s very interesting and entertaining talk on her visit to Tibet and meeting the Dali Lama.

The internet was hopeless today and after many tries I gave up so I hope to send this update tomorrow when we visit the port of Ujung Pandang.

The evening dinner was excellent and filled with heaps of laughter and after dinner I called it an early night and was in bed by 10 pm.

Monday 4 March 2013

We arrived at Ujung Padang (Maassar) just after dawn and it became very apparent this was a 3^rd world city very quickly and that was just looking at it from the ship whilst having brekkie. 

I met up with Peter, Dianne, Fran and Cecilia at 9.30 am to go and hire a van to take us sight seeing for the day. It was clear the transport was run by the local Mafia anyway we settled on a price and got a nice driver but when we got in the van we realised his English was as good as my Indonesian and he could only say Good Morning etc.

Anyway he had a good air-conditioned van and we set of to the old fishing port area and saw them drying little fish on the road. We elected not to leave the van there because of the heat and the unsafe feeling to be walking around there.

Then we went to the Old Dutch fort and it was pleasant enough to look around however the consent annoyance of the poor folk trying to sell their trinkets and souvenirs.

 After a 30 minute walk around in the heat we asked the driver to take us to a hotel overlooking the beach so we could cool off and have a drink. After heaps of sign language he took us to a nice local resort built out over the harbour inlet however it was not open for business.  We returned to the van and had the driver phone Mr Mafia boss to we could talk to him and he could get the driver to take us to an international air conditioned hotel.

So off we went again in the hectic traffic dodging all the motor scouters with up to 5 family members hanging on to one another.

We arrived at a very posh hotel and were ushered in to the lounge and served by a lovely young lady who spoke very good English. We ordered the local Bintang beer and this hotel did not stock it so the lovely young lady went out to a local grog shop to buy some for us. We spent a very relaxing 90 minutes there with free internet.

On return to the dock Mr Mafia wanted to snatch the money from me for the trip, I refused to give it to him and insisted I give it to the driver direct as Dianne and I had thrown a few extra to tip the driver. Overall it was a great adventure but two of our group did not enjoy the day because of the inconveniences of the heat and the non English speaking driver…. Well why leave North America if they didn’t want to experience other cultures and ways of life.

I had a late lunch back on the ship followed by a fantastic hot shower and a beaut nanna nap before going up for sail away happy hour in the Crows Nest.

After a great but exhausting day I had room service and was in bed by 9 pm.

Tuesday 5 March 2013

Today dawned as an overcast day at sea as we leave Indonesian waters and head towards the Philippines.  I met up with Judi and Richard for brekkie.

The King Neptune celebrations were held late morning for crossing the equator which was the usual fun.

I had a late lunch in the Lido and then had the usual nanna nap before the Crows Nest Happy hour. 

It was a formal ‘under the sea’ theme night for dinner and the dining room looked great with all the decorations. I wore a lounge suit as part of my protest on the number of formal nights. We had the 2^nd Engineer as the Officer at our table so the discussions were great but some wanted to complain about plumbing problems. OMG I don’t know why some folk will not give these guys a break and let them enjoy the meal. No wonder he couldn’t get away from the table fast enough after the meal.

I then adjourned to Larry’s bar for a night cap where I met the Pilipino Quarantine Officer who is also a Doctor that was on the ship from Bali to assist with the clearance for our arrival in the Philippines in a few days time. We had a great conversation.

I made it to bed a little after mid night.

Wed 6 March 2013

I did brekkie with Judi and Richard in the Lido and then came down to the cabin to shower and get ready for another sea day.

I went to the talk on future ports in the morning and after lunch I had a nanna nap.

After dinner I joined the Doctor in the Crows Nest for a few drinks so it was another mid night before I got to bed.

Thurs 7 March 2013

I awoke at 6.30 as we were entering the port of Puerto Princesa (Palawan) Philippines on a warm sunny tropical day. I went up to meet Judi and Richard for brekkie in the Lido. Down on the wharf music and dancers was being preformed to welcome the ship.

I met up with Larry and 2 of his cousins he had invited on board to visit the ship at the Lido bar about 10.30am. There was a Local TV crew filming the ships facilities so I was filmed at the bar with Larry’s cousins.  We then left the ship were we were picked up by more cousins in a mini bus and proceeded to a local restaurant for lunch. There were 15 of us in total and I was the only non Filipino in the place and what a great time we had.  It was an honour and a privilege for me to share this time with these very friendly and welcoming folk.

After the meal one of Larry’s cousins drove us back to the ship in his 3 wheel motor bike which was a great experience. The town was very clean and the atmosphere was very friendly. On returning to the ship I quickly had a shower and then went out to the markets to check out the souvenir bargains as the farewell entertainment was being set up on the wharf. It was unfortunate time did not allow me to also take up the Quarantine Doctor’s kind invitation to visit his house where he had a party for the crew.  

Boy oh boy the locals put on a great concert for us as we departed this great town. Everyone I met back on board had commented on how much they had enjoyed their visit to Puerto Princesa.

I had a few drinks and then had an early night with a room service meal. I was asleep before 8.30 pm.

Fri 8 March 2013

Today is a calm rainy restful day at sea and we crossed the Equator with the usual King Neptune ceremony being conducted around the Lido pool.

I had a nanna nap after a few Bloody Marys and lunch. Happy hour at the Crows nest was the usual fun.

Because tomorrow will be a big day in Manila most of the troops had an early night. I called it a night about 11pm.

Sat 9 March 2013

The ship was entering the port of Manila when I awoke. I quickly had a shower and went up to the Lido to meet Judi and Richard for brekkie. We overlooked the wharf where a mighty active concert of dancers was preforming to the sounds of steel drums. Wow you should have seen these young folk, they made me feel exhausted just watching them.

I went ashore with Helen and we were greeted with bead neck laces and colourful straw hats as we waited for the shuttle into the Robinson Mall in the city.

On arrival we went into Starbucks for a coffee and as Helen is a smoker we had to sit outside. A gent was at a table by himself and he invited us to join him as there were no other tables free. He then went in bought us coffee and would not accept any payment. 

He was a nice bloke on holidays from Saudi Arabia and we spent about 30 minutes with him before entering the mall.

I bought another t shirt with ‘If you change nothing.. nothing will change’ so with this expensive $3.00 purchase we set out to look around. After an hour or so we got the shuttle back to the ship.

I was impressed with Manila as it is a very modern clean city and the traffic was very hectic as we toured around.

I was met and was photographed with many of the crew and their wives and children that had come on board for the day to see where daddy or mummy works. My friend Larry introduced me to his wife, mother and other members of his family. It was such a fantastic day to see all these young families enjoying themselves but it was tears when it was time for them to leave the ship.

There was another great performance by a marching singing band on the wharf for the ships departure. We then sailed out into Manila bay to anchor so that we could see the fireworks competition which for tonight was between Holland and Italy.

 I was so lucky as I have a port side veranda and was able to invite some friends from the starboard side over to watch with me.

After a most enjoyable day in Manila I called it an early night just after the fireworks ended.

 Sunday 10 March 2013

I was up early showered and shaved and then in the Lido for brekkie with Judi, its amazing how fit and well I feel after an early night. As today is a very calm sea day I went to the last talk on Hong Kong in the theatre and as I was feeling relaxed I dozed off for about 20 minutes and when I woke up I noticed the Captain was 2 seats away from me which was a bit embarrassing so I hope I didn’t snore.

I went up to the lido for the usual 2 Bloody Marys and then had a fantastic yummy stir fry lunch followed by a nanna nap.

Tonight I went to dinner with Helen in the Canaletto Italian restaurant as she will leave the cruise tomorrow in Hong Kong.

In fact there are a couple hundred getting off after this segment and I understand the ship will be full when we leave Hong Kong for Cape Town the next segment.

We had a great meal and then went up to the Crows Nest to say goodbye to some of the other folk leaving then it was down to Larry’s bar for a night cap.

This morning I was presented with a beautiful Filipino polo shirt by Larry that his wife had bought as a gift for me. I proudly wore it to dinner and so many commented on it.