There are about three times during the year when I really crave the ocean, especially if I haven’t been anywhere near a coast for a few months. It’s kind of like being a salmon, only backwards, because instead of wanting to return to a river I feel this crazy need to hear the surf, smell the salt, and see a wide open horizon. It starts in early spring/late winter, before the trees have really leafed out and the warm weather hits. If I ignore it, I get it again in mid-summer when the air gets stagnant. And then it doesn’t hit until November. I can’t explain it, but the older I get, the worse it gets.
Living in California made it easy to satisfy this craving. Before I retired from my corporate job, there was often a good reason to go to San Francisco on a business trip. During the spring and fall we liked to camp on the north coast, only a five hour drive from home. And for the last 7 years we’ve gone to the Caribbean or Mexico at least once, sometimes twice, and took a cruise to Alaska. And then there was Japan…
Okay, that paints a picture of a pretty spoilt middle-aged woman. But it explains why I was looking at cruise advertisements in January. The problem was that I saw lots of trips I’d love to take but now that we’re on a fixed income it’s much harder to justify the expense.
Still, I was able to get through January, but by the end of February I was dying. Not literally, of course; I just needed some ocean time. Our last visit was in July – to Florida – and it wasn’t like I got a lot of beach time while we were there. So I started looking harder for a deal.
Ta da! Holland America was offering a 10 night Panama Canal cruise that was so cheap I would’ve been a fool to pass it up. At least that’s what I told myself. I wasn’t crazy about the other ports of call, but Panama has been on my bucket list since at least 2015, when I’d planned a trip there but we ended up going to Japan instead. And what was really cool was that the cruise started in a week!
I calculated a rough figure for the total trip, checked with the Budget Meister (my husband) and booked the cruise that night. The internet really makes it too easy to impulse spend.
A few days later we left for our two day car drive to Fort Lauderdale. There’s nothing like the feeling of excitement I get from anticipating an adventure. Two days of driving does tend to quelch it a little bit, but still…this was going to be a trip for the bucket list! The Panama Canal! I felt really good about the excursions we chose, and to top it off we were going to be in a room with a balcony!
Honestly, that’s the only way to go on a cruise ship.
This was our fifth cruise, ever, and our first time with Holland America. Before I start sharing some of my experiences I would like to make clear that I am not a cruise addict. I’ve met people who haven’t been off a cruise ship in a few years, and I’ve met people who claim they’ve been on 20 or more cruises. I like cruising, but it’s not the only way I want to travel.
The first time we tried it was in 2009 with the entire family. Royal Caribbean, Western Caribbean, 7 days. It was fun, but the ship was overwhelming and I didn’t really feel comfortable in the crowds. They had far too many kids and single young people on board. My sons, as usual, spent very little time outside the cabin. But it was a good first cruise experience as well as a nice introduction to Caribbean touring.
Our next three cruises were on Norwegian. Alaska, Mexican Riviera and Southern Caribbean; varying lengths. Two were on the Jewel; one was on the Sun. Two were balcony rooms and one was an inside cabin. I love NCL. I like their activities, their food, and the crews that I’ve sailed with. I’ve never had a problem with my cabin or anything else that I’ve encountered on the ship. And the ages of the passengers are more in line with my lifestyle: multigenerational families, couples and some retired folks sprinkled with a handful of singles.
In contrast, my first impression of Holland America was that, at age 53, I was going to be one of the younger crowd. The first day’s emergency drill was challenging because of all the walkers and wheelchairs we had to negotiate to get out to the deck. I have no idea how so many disabled people would get off the boat in a real emergency, but HAL must have it covered since it appears they’re targeting the Geritol group. Consequently, the activities are designed for the older generation. Whereas NCL might have a lunch-time pool contest, HAL has cooking shows. They didn’t put on a barbeque, and seating for the movie filled up an hour prior to the show.
Maybe I’m just sensitive to it now that I’m retired. But I got tired of hearing about how I’m too young to know any better, regardless of the topic of conversation. And I heard that a lot on this cruise. So much so that I started avoiding the dining room because I didn’t want to share a table with another person who talked at me the way I used to talk at 20-somethings. I don’t do that anymore; it’s just plain rude regardless of what your age is.
The food, however, was excellent both in the dining room and the buffet. And we had free room service, which we took full advantage of. Cocktails were reasonably priced at $8 to $10 each, but they also had martini tasting every night that cost $15 for 3 drinks and a 2-for-1 happy hour on sea nights. My only complaint was the ship itself, which I’ll talk about later. I think I still prefer NCL, but if it weren’t for the age of the crowd and the problems we had with the room, HAL would rate right up there in my book.
My intent is to start my next post with an overview of the ship, then follow with a blog on each of the ports. I guess I don’t need to say that this was my personal experience on a particular cruise and that it may not be typical of every HAL cruise or ship. Like anything else in life, you just don’t know how good or bad something is unless you experience it yourself.
originally posted at annettezimmerman.com
