WE'VE ARRIVED!

We made it!! We had a very smooth flight from Reno -- it was 6 degrees and windy when we left the Peppermill Hotel to take the shuttle to the airport at 5:00 a.m. (brrr!). But I enjoyed watching the scenery below change from snowy mountains, with no clouds, to mountain tops peeking through a blanket of clouds that looked like white cotton candy, to red mountains and valleys that looked like the earth had cracked open in several places, to black hills, to agricultural fields, and on to the cities of Dallas/Forth Worth. After a change of planes we continued on smoothly to our Fort Lauderdale destination where the humidity immediately assaulted us.

The wait to check in to the ship late Wednesday morning seemed endless, and took much longer than we expected. At last we arrived at our temporary home --a double upgrade to a suite (room 028) with a walk in closet and bathroom with two sinks! What a treat, well worth waiting for!

The Prinsendam’s passenger capacity is 850 passengers, and is about half the size of the Rotterdam, but has all the same amenities the larger ship had. It has a cozy feel to it, but we also feel the motion a little more … we’re gradually getting our sea legs, and finding our way around the ship more comfortably.

We hadn’t even unpacked yet and our first scheduled stop was at Holland America’s private resort, Half Moon Cay, on San Salvador Island for a day of sun bathing, snorkeling and a beach BBQ -- but alas! The weather was not kind to us. We awoke to high winds, overcast skies and cold temperatures. It was so rough that the ships couldn’t anchor, and the captain had to maneuver us back and forth while the tenders pitched in the waves making it almost impossible for the passengers to disembark. However several brave souls battled the elements to get out to the beach. As we watched the tenders tossing about in the high swells, our stomachs began to get a bit queasy just from watching the action so we decided that we could probably enjoy our cruise even without setting foot on this beautiful beach ….

No sooner had I set up my internet account when I got an unexpected surprise. Unbeknownst to either of us, friends of ours were on the other Holland America Line ship trying to anchor off the same beach at the same time (the Maasdam) and they were trying to decide if they would brave the waves and try to meet us for lunch!! Unfortunately we weren’t able to connect ….

My next project is to transfer pictures to the laptop -- will work on adding them to the blog text. There’s too much to do on board!!! But we’re having fun!

P.S.

My laptop battery has been causing problems lately so some posts and pictures may not come out correctly. Keep checking!