Thursday, February 28, 2013

Day 160 At Sea

The hot sunny days continue here on the ms Amsterdam…..   It was so hot that I came in early which is pretty unusual for me.  The Mariner Appreciation Days continued with a cocktail party in the evening.  It was a very nice evening.  It felt pretty special sitting in an area reserved for the President Club members.  I am looking forward to our next stop in Bali, one of my favorites.  It is especially nice since many Indonesian crew members will get to visit with their families….

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Day 159 At Sea

Today was a wonderful day at sea….  The weather was very hot and sunny.  Spent the day poolside with a fair amount of time in the pool.  Tonight was a very special evening.  I was invited to dinner in the Pinnacle Grill with Stein Kruse, President & CEO of Holland America Line for induction into the President’s Club.  The President’s Club is a fairly exclusive group of people who have sailed for over 1400 days with Holland America.  There are a total of 46 people in this club.  The evening was just wonderful, great food and wonderful dinner companions.  In addition to Stein and his wife Linda, we were joined by Captain Mercer and his wife Karen and Gerald Bernhoft, the head of the Mariner Program.  It was a grand evening…..  what an honor!

 

 

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Day 158 Freemante & Perth, Australia

Had a wonderful day visiting with my friends Paul & Sylvia today…..  It is such a treat to visit them here in Perth.  I wish the ship would come here more often.  We dropped Corrine off in Perth this morning so she could go shopping and we drove through the Swan Valley which is wine country.  It was a lovely drive as we headed out of town.  We made our way to Caversham Wildlife Park which was out in Whiteman Park.  It is always nice to visit wildlife parks in Australia…  love being up close to the animals.  We then headed back to town and picked up Corrine and drove back to Freemantle.  We spent some time walking around Freemantle and had some lunch.  Then it was back to the ship where we said our goodbyes and off we went as the ship sailed away to our next port….  Bali!  A thousand thanks to Paul & Sylvia for being such great hosts…..