At Sea - Feb 28, 2015

The temperature has dipped and the clouds have rolled in, a good day for the 75% of the departing guests to organize and pack. Last night was a first, something I thought I would never see on a HAL ship - even for the crew on board said this was a first. A spontaneous dance party in the dining room reception area. 

Last night was a formal night which included live music on the balcony in the Rotterdam dining room, for us this was the on board Steel drum player Kenny and he is really very good. He has prerecorded music that he adds his steel drums to, playing everything from Bob Marlin to, Pharrell Williams, Happy, so lots of fun. Well as people were leaving the dining room after dinner they stopped to listen, well then a few more stopped, and then a few more. Some started dancing, then a few more then it was our turn to leave and the atmosphere was so great that we also stopped to dance. Then the dining room stewards became involved and then the Assistant Dining Room managers, followed by the Dining Room Manager. Next in was the Executive Chef, he ended up giving his hat and apron to a guest to wear. Willy from downstairs came up to see what the action was about and could not believe his eyes, this happening in the dining room reception area. Everyone from guests to crew got out their cameras and iPads to record the event as a conga line started going around the dining room. Kenny was trying to stop but everyone kept saying one more, one more. Don't know what time that party ended as we headed to the other show in the main showroom.

A great day and a great night.

Tonight we had an early dinner in the Pinnacle, very nice as usual, again love the location of the Pinnacle on this ship. Delicious Lobster Bisque to start, then a excellent Caesar Salad, followed by Filet Mignon for me and Salmon for Jan. Desert was cheesecake for Jan while I savoured the soufflé - fantastic. For some of you that were with us on the Eurodam cruise out of New York, you may recognize the familiar face of the Pinnacle Manager on board here the Ryndam. We told him that we just bounce around the various HAL ships, his response was so does he, great to see a familiar face. Tomorrow Tampa, probably just wander around and get a few supplies for our next seven days… should be great..

Hope you enjoy our pictures of last night and tonight… 

George Town, Grand Cayman - Feb 27, 2015

Off the east coast of Cuba and northwest of Jamaica you will find the largest of the three Cayman Islands, Grand Cayman. Spanning 22 miles in length, this island offers five districts to discover with plenty of chances to enjoy the culture and catch some warm rays of sunshine. Some have been known to hide some money here in the Grand Caymans as it does house some 600 banks, yes six hundred. For us today it wasn't about money in banks but about banking some sun, internet time and a most enjoyable excursion of a discovery scuba dive. We had a wonderful half day here in the Grand Caymans. 

Earlier in the cruise I had signed up for the discovery dive here in George town only to receive a phone call yesterday morning from HAL having to cancel the program. I was disappointed but knew that could be a chance of happening. Later in the afternoon the phone rang again and once again HAL pulled a rabbit out of the hat and ran the program with just me signed up, amazing, thanks once again HAL and Ingrid at Shore-ex. Coincidently, it was Ingrid that was managing the Shore excursions on the 2013 Grand Voyage when they ran the program and had only me a participant, hmmm. Was this different than the beginner dive in Rangiroa, yes, better or less than, no not really, if was just different. Remember I am still learning this amazing sport, any experience is welcomed. Danni at Don Foster's divers did a great job as my instructor, in fact she had me do some things that Thomas (instructor in Rangiroa) did for me. So it was great, Thomas gave me the basics and had me just enjoy the experience, Danni forced me to think much more down there, she did not weight and unweight me with the vest and had me learn to read the gauges and learn more of the under water communication skills. So you could really call it my second lesson in Scuba. We did start in a pool this time and graduated to the a beach (ladder off the dock) entry into the ocean. After about five minutes of hard pan we saw the shelf drop off and the reef allowing us to descend down to close to 40 feet. We did have one person join us from the ship as a walk in, he was a previous diver but did not bring his certification with him so he had to take the same class as was in. No problem, if anything he may have thought that I could have been a problem as a newbie. After our forty minute dive he was very impressed with how the dive went as was Danni, no problems, no complications, no issues. Great experience and this time I do have photos, yeah. 

Jan jumped on the 10 o'clock tender, did a little walk about, took some picture and then found a cafe with internet, so great. We met up after my dive experience for some more wandering around town before heading back to the ship. No, I did ask her, she did not open up a bank account - or at least that what she told me. lol.

If you are visiting this island there is plenty to do right off the tender dock. Walk over the 50 yards to the Paradise Bar and enjoy the view and free internet, better bring your snorkel gear and jump off the stairs for immediate great snorkelling. Seven mile beach is a four dollar shuttle bus ride away and the town itself has plenty of shopping, restaurants and bars to while away a day. Interested in doing the Atlantis submarine experience, well it is right there as well, right next to the north tender dock.

Hope you enjoy the days pictures…