dance cruising

The Nieuw Statendam is an elegant ship and it's a pleasure to walk around and observe the design and the decor. She is the second in the new Pinnacle Class of Holland America cruise ships. The first was the Koningsdam. The Nieuw Statendam has been in service for about a year and the third ship the Ryndam is due to launch in 2021.

Between unpacking and waiting for the Emergency Drill on embarkation day, I took a quick walk from D at the aft of the ship (my preferred location actually) to the A stairs. The Queen Mary is so long it is almost 300 steps. My fit-bit loves this life on board. She sends me congratulatory messages when I reach 10,000 steps and then tells me I am an overachiever when I am 6,000 steps over that. Guess I should re-define my goals.

As Executive Chef on the Ruby Princess, Chef Amadeo is responsible for 260 personnel, of whom 200 are cooks, who prepare 16,000 dishes every day. No- that is not a typo! Think 3000 guests, over 1000 staff, and at least 3 meals a day. An early riser, chef makes his rounds of the many food venues around the ships before meeting with the 29 chefs who supervise the various kitchens, including his Chef de Cuisine and 5 Sous chefs. They review dishes and meal services from the day before to get feedback and hear of any issues, and then review the menus for the current day. Chef Amadeo graciously agreed to take time from his busy schedule to chat briefly with me.

On my previous South Pacific Dance Cruise we journeyed from Hawaii to French Polynesia. I flew home from Papeete the day we docked in Tahiti and had no opportunity to see around the island. This time I planned to spend  a couple of days in Tahiti before boarding the Ocean Princess to sail in the reverse direction - Tahiti to Honolulu. This would give me time to actually see something of the island of Tahiti.

Two years ago I cruised from Honolulu to Tahiti with Dancers at Sea, on the Pacific Princess - South Pacific Dance Cruise.  To reverse the cruise that I did in November 2009, I decided to dance in the New Year of 2012, on board the Ocean Princess, this time journeying from Tahiti to Honolulu.

For 11 days as 2011 gives way to 2012, I am cruising from Tahiti to Honolulu on the Ocean Princess, with  my dance-crazy friends from the Dancers at Sea travel group. My vacation begins with an overnight in Honolulu and a flight to Tahiti where I will stay a few nights at the Intercontinental Resort before the cruise.