The English story of our cruise, part 5

Freeport, Bahamas  (23^rd March). Excursion:  Beach and Cave

When we arrived in the Bahamas, I expected, that we would visit a very rich and beautiful Caribbean island. I think I was a little prejudiced and my knowledge about the island was not really up to date. On 6 October 2016 the island was hit by the terrible hurricane Matthew. http://www.thebahamasweekly.com

We saw a lot of broken palm trees and also houses without roofs, because the people did not yet have the opportunity or money to repair them.

Recovering nature after the hurricane

Our port of call was in an industrial area, with oil storage tanks, ship-repair yards (Damen from the Netherlands!) and a small shopping centre for tourists.

Cruise terminal Freeport (Bahamas)

The coach, that would bring us to our destination, has had its day. On the outside were iron plates, which covered corrosion spots and the inside was even worse. Some chairs were broken and not suitable to carry people any more and the electric wires of the lighting were visible everywhere and you could touch them.

When we all had found suitable chairs we left and our driver-guide told us about the island and the terrible hurricane.

The name of our excursion was Beach & Cave and it brought us to a mangrove area in the Lucayan National Park. We would visit this area and some caves. After this part we could spend some time on the beach or in the nature reserve area. 

Excursion route Bahamas 'Beach & Cave'

We visited the caves, but our guide skipped the route on the mangrove path, because the day before it was high tide there. We and some others took the path illegally and we fortunately did not get wet feet. The beach was beautiful, but there was only sand and sea.

Entrance Lucayan National Park

Mangrove path in Lucayan National Park 

Mangrove area Lucayan National Park

Beach Lucayan National park

The guide told us that we should stay an hour extra, because he had arranged a restaurant, but this was not part of the plan. Our excursion guide Lina of the Marco Polo arranged a taxi for the people who wanted to go back. When we walked through the mangrove area we saw a racoon, that was very photogenic.

Racoon Lucayan National Park

Back in the port, I found an internet connection and after that it was shopping time.
Later I read in a Bahamian journal on internet, that the Marco Polo, registered in the Bahamas (Nassau), visited Freeport for the first time in her 52 years and that our Captain Morais received people of the Ministry of Tourism. http://www.tourismtoday.com

Antonio Morais, Captain of the Marco Polo & Nuvolari Chotoosingh, Ministry of Tourism GBI

Refuelling before the journey to the Bermuda Triangle

That night we left for Bermuda. Our portholes were covered again, because we expected bad weather. We hoped that it would not be too bad and that we did not disappear in the Bermuda Triangle.

Sea days (24^th -25^th March).

On the 24^th March Dr. Louise Bonner gave a lecture about the scientific  facts of the Bermuda disappearances and it was really interesting.  She argued that scientists claimed there was no prove, that more vessels were lost then elsewhere in the world. She did her own research and concluded, in comparison with other places with heavy traffic, there were more disappearances. This was not a reassuring thought,  because we were sailing in this area. 

Lecture about the Bermuda Triangle

King’s Wharf Bermuda (26^th March) Excursion: Best of Bermuda Island drive

We did not vanish in the triangle and we arrived  in King's Wharf Bermuda safe.

We liked Bermuda, but it is a country of large contrasts. The island knows wealth as well as poverty and corruption.

Route excursion 'Best of Bermuda Island drive'

We did a tour round the island and our driver-guide was a brave, sturdy Afro American woman of 37 years old.

She was very honest about the political situation in her country. She had joined  the ‘Bras for a cause demonstration’ against restricted clinical guidelines for the mammogram breast cancer detection procedure. The women protested by hanging bras outside of the Cabinet building and did not remove them before the law change was off.

'Bras for a cause'

Her mother was the first HIV-victim of the island and she did not rest, before her mother and other poor people got their medicine paid for. HIV still makes a lot of victims in the Caribbean and she gives aids prevention lessons in the schools.

There is also a lot of drugs crime on the island and there are many youth gangs.

The costs of basic food are very high. The guide had  three jobs to be able to take good care for her children.

It is set out in the law, that ones house is clean and neat on the outside. The roofs have to be white  and well painted. If not, there is a heavy fine for this offence.

The island looks really beautiful and rich, but that is only for the few. The mother of movie star Michel Douglas has been born on this island and they both have had houses here. They gave much money to charity.
What struck us in the presentation of our guide was the number of churches.  After each sentence she spoke following: 'and now you can see the church at your right (left) side'. I did research on Internet and counted 91 churches on a surface of 53,2 km² (20.5 sq mi).

My pictures of the island create the image of a paradise, but this paradise is a bridge too far for many inhabitants.

The weather was beautiful, the guide very entertaining  and  despite the real stories, we have had a lovely day.

Coach with the brave driver-guide

Front street, Hamilton

Town hall Georgetown

Bermuda beach

Bermuda beach

Big Bermuda house

Small Bermuda house

One of the 51 churches

Jan in Kings Wharf Bermuda

Sea days (27^th - 30^th March)

The Bahamas were already on our way back. Instead of setting the clock backward, we had to set it forward now. That meant that we had shorter nights.

We had reached the point, that the passengers who did workshops, had to show their results.

On the 30^th of March  the ukulele students gave a very nice concert. They even played a song with 6 different chords. Not bad for people who had never played this instrument before.

Ukulele concert in the Marco Polo Lounge

In the afternoon the Pastry Chef Neil Fernandes showed his capability. There was a chocolate buffet in the Waldorf restaurant. The products were astonishing beautiful. But it was not a nice sight to see some grabbing people with their overfull plates with chocolate and cakes.

Chocolate buffet

Chocolate buffet

Horta, Faial,Azores (31^st  March)

Horta was our last port of call before Bristol. We came nearer to Britain and Europe and had left the Caribbean. We were treated with strong rain showers. 
Faial is a beautiful, volcanic island. We were there before and did not choose for an excursion this time. Finding Internet and not getting wet was the priority. 

Route walk in Horta

Horta, Faial, (Azores)

Dianne and Mieke, yacht club Horta

Horta

Sea days (1^st –  3^rd April)

We had the opportunity to book the Chefs Dinner. The dinner was a real success.

Executive Chef Gopinathan Janaganathan and our table companions in the Columbus Lounge.

The galley

Dinner is ready

On the last day Celia, our art teacher, organised an exhibition on the ship of our best work. We were proud of what she taught us.

Mountain view by Jan

Altun Ha by Jan

Sunset by Mieke

Flowers by Mieke

Bristol-Avonmouth to Bussum, Netherlands (4^th - 5^th April)

We arrived at 14.30 hrs at Bristol Avonmouth. We have travelled 10023 nautical miles with the Marco Polo, 11534 miles or 18563 km. From and to our home town Bussum we count 12338 miles or 19858 kilometres.
The disembarking did not completely run as we hoped it would. Jan and I had to leave the ship in time, because we booked the ferry in Harwich for the same day. However, Roy, Dianne, Jan and I were planned for leaving the ship at 16.00 hrs because our cabins were situated on a lower deck. With a possible delay on the M25 near London, we would never be in time for the ferry.

So we proved to be a real team. We choose to disembark with the express disembarkation. That meant that we had to carry all our luggage, more than a dozen pieces, by ourselves. Once off the ship, you are not allowed to go back. So we worked with two teams. The first team checked out and took the luggage, which the second team handed over. The second team was not checked out yet. The security officer person at the checkout desk was a bit surprised, but he saw that there was no other option and allowed us to cross the line now and then.

When we had gathered all our stuff and had passed customs and the sniffer dogs, Jan went for our car at the long stay parking place. 
Next came the hardest moment of the cruise. We had to say goodbye.

After a sad parting, Dianne and Roy went to Wales and we drove to Harwich and took the ferry home (402 miles, 647 km)

We had a good ride and there were hardly queues. We were in time for our ferry and on the 5^th of April we were back in the Netherlands again after 37 days.

Bristol Avonmouth - Bussum

We look back on one of our best cruises and we have made lovely new friends. 

The end.

The English story of our cruise, part 4

Life on the Marco Polo

In this part, I will tell more about the life on a cruise ship: the sea days, amusement, food and usual daily things.

Our ship, the Marco Polo is built in 1965 as an ocean liner, named Aleksandr Pushkin. It was registered in Russia till 1991. Since then it is registered in the Bahamas (Nassau) and renamed Marco Polo. It is rebuilt in 1993. It is not a big ship, it can accommodate 800 passengers and has 353 crew members.

Marco Polo (stern)

Sea days

The cruise lasted 35 days of which 20 sea days. The longest sea period was the 6 day voyage from  the Azores to St. Maarten.

A lot of people have asked us,whether we do not find it boring to spend so many sea days on the ship. The answer is: No, it is not boring for us and not on the Marco Polo!

First, we love to be at sea and standing on the deck, looking at the waves or spotting whales, dolphins and sometimes birds. 

We love standing on the front deck

We read a lot, solve puzzles and chat with our friends. We walk for approximately 45 minutes our daily rounds on deck 10, to stay in good condition, we go to the painting classes or attend lectures.

The lectures are given by retired university lecturers  or other professionals. There is a varied program: oceanography, geology, photography, archaeology  CSI-forensics, politics and history .

There are also workshops such as Spanish, ukulele, singing, drama, dancing, writing, needlework, photograph and painting. There are bridge drives, jakkolo (table shuffle-board or sjoelbak) games, mini golf and all kinds of quizzes on various moments of the day. 

Lecture of Dr. Louise Bonner in the Marco Polo Lounge

Art class, clockwise: Peter, Richard and Jan

Art class, clockwise: Jan, my place, Dianne, Eve, Richard

The ship has a library, a computer room and a fitness club. For the water-rats there is an outside swimming pool and on the top deck are three whirlpool baths.

Sometimes there are demonstrations such as ice carving, folding napkins and towels and others of special skills of the crew.

Whirlpools on the top deck

Ice carving on the pool deck

Pool deck with statue of ballet-dancer Rudolf Nureyev in the background

Folded towels by our cabin steward Melroy

Because we love to take courses, we attended the master course (!) cocktails mixing. We got an extended explanation and demonstration and we received hand-outs to take home. And of course we had to practice drinking the cocktails.The course was a success: we all passed.

Course materials

Professional cocktail mixers

At night there are shows performed in the Marco Polo Lounge or guest acts from magicians or comics. In the other lounges or clubs you can listen to jazz or classical music. And of course there is room to dance and rock and roll in the Scott’s bar.
There are no casinos and no playgrounds for children (children under 16 are not allowed).

Ukulele concert by passengers in the Marco Polo Lounge

Internet and telephone

On the ship is a computer room and here you can use the internet. But it is very expensive. The connection is by satellite and slow. You pay about 1 pound a minute whether you have a connection to the internet or not.

You can also use the satellite telephone connection at sea, that will cost you at least 7 pounds a minute (without the cost of your own provider). When the ship is in a harbour, people (crew and passengers) go ashore and try to call, Skype, send e-mail or use free internet for all kinds of things.

Most of the times we were not the only cruise ship and the internet was overcrowded. There have also been places, where there was no internet or telephone connection at all.

Working on my notebook and smart-phone

Searching for free internet on my smart-phone

I prepared my internet actions, by writing my blog messages in advance. I did not use the computer room. Our cabin was big enough to work in the cabin. I made the parts off-line on my notebook and later in the harbour I tried to post them on the Blogger-site. Sometimes I needed both my smart-phone and notebook to get things organised.

Writing in 'my office' in our cabin

GPS

During our last cruises I have used my Garmin GPSmap 62s. I take it with me on the excursions, so that I can see where we are and where we have been.

It is possible to upload the route on Google Earth and it is very nice to undergo the route when you are at home. Especially, when there is Google Street View available. This was the case in Mexico for example. But unfortunately most visited countries and islands, cannot be seen in Street View.
The combination with Google and Street View is also handy to locate some photo's. The fact is, this smart girl forgot to adjust her smart-phone on GPS and my Canon is to0 old fashioned (EOS 350D).

My Garmin in the coach

Google Earth and Garmin map Chichén Itzá (Mexico)

Google Earth, own picture and Google Street View

During the sea days you have information on your television about the course, speed and position.

Information about the distance to the next destination

Information about the total cruise distance

Food

The cruise fare includes breakfast, lunch, tea time, dinner, coffee (not the specials like cappuccino), tea and (tap)water.
You have to pay for your special drinks such as wine, soft drinks, beer and spirits or you can take a beverage package. With this package most drinks are for free and for some you have to pay a little charge. The package costs you 17 pounds pro person each day, whether you drink or not. We did this on an other cruise and it was not cheaper at all.
On some cruise ships there are special restaurants with specialities where you are charged extra. This is not the case on small ships like the Marco Polo. 

The Marco Polo has two restaurants, the official one, the Waldorf and a self-service restaurant called Marco's. 

The Waldorf has a dress-code for dinner: casual, informal (tie and jacket for the gentlemen) or formal (evening or cocktail dress and for the men dinner jacket). Most days the dress code is informal and on days when you go ashore, casual. On a long journey you have about 4 formal dinners. 

If you don't like the formal or informal dinners, you may choose for the self service restaurant. The food is almost the same.

It is nowhere allowed to wear short pants.When the weather is nice you can choose taking your meal on the pool-deck.

Waldorf restaurant and our (still) empty table

In Marco's self service restaurant

Formal dinner in the Waldorf restaurant

A lot of cruise ships have at  a late night buffet (from 10 p.m.).
The Marco Polo only had  these buffets occasionally (about 4 times).
During long cruises the Pastry Chef offers a chocolate buffet in tea time once .

Chocolate buffet

Chocolate buffet

There is  a new dinner option on the Marco Polo: the Chefs Dinner. You pay extra for a special 8 courses meal in combination with a cocktail party and a visit to the galley. The chef himself does the finishing touch on the served food. Each course is paired with a different wine. 

Menu Chefs Dinner

7 courses of the 8 (not the cheese)

In the galley with the Chef

That was all about the life on a cruise ship and on the Marco Polo in particular. There is a lot to do and to enjoy for people with different interests. However, young people will not like these cruises. The average age of the passengers is a lot higher than our age and the amusement and the way of life will not tempt many young people.
But we have had wonderful days and enjoyed it very much.
The next part (5) will be the last part of the story.

Picture taken at the last formal dinner

To be continued . . .