Fortunately, the weather was great as  we transverse the Panama Canal.  Little humidity and about 80 degrees.  I  walked 4 laps and did some reading outside but this is my 5th time through the canal so I wasn’t glued to the outside as I was my first and second time through.

A very quiet  day.  Trivia is no longer trivia.  I think Bruce (the cruise director) should call it “how can I stump every person in this room” game. 

Don, my cabin is on the port side.  I really don’t have a favorite because you never know which side will show the port or which side will be the noisiest.

This is a story for my friends from the QE2 but others will find it interesting.  I was walking toward the Fort Lauderdale airport carousel and I see a familiar face out of the corner of my eye.  The lady also caught my features out of the corner of her eye.  We turned toward each other and I yelled Leone? And she yelled Judi?  Yes, It was our “secret agent” from Australia.  We could not believe that we met each other like that.  It is a small world.  We had a nice chat albeit a short chat since we were headed to different  places.  She has not changed at all.

There is a man from the QE2 on board and I am hoping he does not recognize me.  Remember the New Jersey retired obnoxious attorney named George who followed me around for half of the cruise?   The one who was going to sue everyone?  Fortunately, every time I was with Mike (John Topping’s brother) and he was near  I would grab Mike’s arm  as if we were an item and finally George stopped following me.

Last night was the Captain’s  cocktail party which was a pretty standard occasion.  Champaign was served and then a crew member or officer joins your table.  Errol, the manager of the casino was our crew member and we, of course, were treated to free wine.  After dinner there was an excellent show.

 Instead of the usual Amsterdam dancers and singers they have hired a dance company and we will have two sets of dancers and singers during the cruise.  They were excellent.  True professionals and the vocalists were much better than the usual singers in this type of a performance.  I thoroughly enjoyed the performance.

I continue to see people I know and tonight I am having cocktails with Peggy in the Ocean Bar before dinner.  Last night I did have a couple of dances but I don’t seem to have the lung capacity for lively numbers but I will try again.  I will have to stick to the slow dances.

I was disappointed that we had a short time in Cartagena since the ship had to be lined up in the Panama Canal or we won’t get through.  That means that I wasn’t able to do my own walkabout in old town as I had planned.  You will recall I have been here before and took the usual tour.  So, I stayed at the port terminal and enjoyed all the birds.  It is mating season here and this male peacock was doing his best to entice the little female.

First Day at Sea

Hi everyone.  I am on board and my cabin is 2620.  At the last minute I received my new cabin from the upgrade fairy.  It is on the main deck midship.  I was very pleased with this development.

However, when there is a cabin change and you have marked your luggage with a different cabin number you do run into some temporary problems.  It was getting  late in the day and no luggage.  I finally walked down to the originally assigned cabin and three of my pieces of luggage were sitting by the door.  Two were the large pieces sent Fedex and one which I had with me at the hotel.  I grabbed that one and unpacked but still no luggage and no cabin boy so I could explain the situation.  I guess I must have looked bemused as a man started talking to me and I told him the situation and over my objections he went down to get the luggage.  I was afraid they would be too heavy.  No worry as he returned and said there were no pieces of luggage there. 

I finally got my luggage at 10:30 pm and worked until 1:30 am unpacking.  Of course, I ran out of hangers so the net morning I found my cabin steward and he brought me 40 more hangers and everything is in order at this time.

It has been a quiet day as everyone adjusts.  Fortunately there is another sea day tomorrow so we can further
unwind.  There are so many familiar faces and so much getting up to date on everyone’s lives.  I will go to cocktail hour tonight and start hearing more.   It is such a pleasure seeing so many old friends.  There are a few faces missing also but that happens at this stage of life.

Our first stop on Tuesday is Cartagena, Columbia and we will probably just take a taxi to old town.  I have been there a couple of times before. 

Stayed tuned as there will be lots more to come.  I have lots more already but I want to get at least this post to you.

Hi everyone.  I thought I would write an update as to where I am in the post cruise planning, packing and preparing.  Monday I should be getting my passport back with the Brazilian visa attached.  I certainly will feel better when I have it in my hot little hands.  Many who were not assigned to the San Francisco visa service have had lots of problems.  My friend Joan was told that her service was not dealing with
Brazil anymore and she had to start over.  I also read on Cruise Critics that there have been many problems. 

I did get an advanced list of all the special nights and themes even though I have not actually received the whole package but that should come next week.  There are 21 special theme nights and 19 of those are formal and 4 of the formal nights are balls.  So, I have tried to prepare for those nights but that is a lot.  Last world cruise I was on there were only 16 formal nights.

I picked up my traveler checks but I am having problems getting my doc to order 4 months of prescriptions filled at one time so the pharmacist can get a vacation ok from the insurance company.  There is always some sort of problem and that is mine.

Everything I am taking is in one room and in a couple of weeks I will pack my cases.  Luggage pickup is December 28th.  I will be leaving the house on January 2nd and will stay at the La Quinta Inn by the airport.  My plane leaves at 7:30 am so I will have to leave the hotel around 5:30 am.

 So the next time I post I will probably be on the ship unless something comes up before that.

Helloooo out there.  I am still in this world and have not passed on to the next yet.  I am feeling fine, my voice is about 90% normal and I will gladly take that, and the only remaining problem is the post thoracotomy pain syndrome and even that is better.  I will have cataracts removed next month but that is just great.  Mot of you will recall that I am constantly taking my glasses off to look glamorous and then I can’t see a thing and I lose my glasses.  I will only need glasses for reading.  The other plus is that I have met my co-pay and  the surgeries will not cost me a dime.

Only two and a half more months give or take a couple of days and I am really getting excited.  My luggage is out on my bed in a guest bedroom (I call this room my packing  room.)  I have all the clothes I need and everything I might take is in the closet in that room.  Nothing more to buy except when I get to Florida I will get some of the bigger items like hair spray and mouth wash.  It is so nice that CSI  provides  a bus that  takes us to a drug store and a grocery store so we can pick up those items the day before we board.
the ship.

I have chosen my tours that I will take with CSI but I never book HAL tours until I am on board and close to the day of that the tour I want to take.

So, I am now waiting for the visa information and , of course, the package so I will know what to pack for formal nights.

HAL did transfer my $800 shipboard credit from the Prinsendam to the Amsterdam so I will have a hefty credit in my account.  I believe it will be about $1,500   I can easily spend that during the cruise.Check in from time to time as I will post again when I get the package.

My manicurist told me I was one tough old bird before I went under the knife and I have to say it takes a tough bird to go through this type of surgery. I am alive and anxious to start driving my new car. I will be able to get out tomorrow on my own.

I was a week in the ICU and over a week in CCU. I did have complications such as defibrillation (which is not unusual) and cannot speak above a whisper at this time. Losing my voice box made it difficult to cough which is part of recovery. I am getting speech therapy and as soon as I am able to cross the Narrows Bridge I will have voice therapy. I am making progress and do believe I will have full capacity to return to my wise cracking ways.

There is no way I will be able to meet the ship so I will just have to look forward to the 2013 WC. This is disappointing but I am completely free of cancer at this time. My luggage certainly must have enjoyed the veranda suite upgrade.

Thank you all for your prayers, thoughts, telephone calls and emails. They brightened my days and obviously brought me through this difficult time.

I have delayed this post as long as I could; not just because I didn't want to post this news but I didn't have anything definitive until last Friday.

When the emergency room xrayed my neck after the accident they spotted a tumor on the upper part of my left lung. After a biopsy and collapsed lung with a shunt until it filled again, a PT scan, and MRI of my brain, they now believe I have a small tumor, a stage one cancer. Last Friday I went through preop and as the ship is sailing away from Fort Lauderdale, I will be undergoing surgery. My Oncologist and Surgeon are both optimistic of a successful outcome and I hope to fly and meet the ship in two weeks. My doc says three weeks but we will see. You all know me and I would rather be sailing than land locked.

I would appreciate all your prayers and good karma. I like to cover all basis.

By the way, my luggage is enjoying the upgrade I received. I had it shipped as scheduled. I have been assigned Cabin 210 which is a small veranda suite.