21 - 10/22/2021 - Half Moon Cay & Beyond

Today was our last full day on this cruise.  Overnight the ship had cruised at low speed and by 8am was back in an anchorage position.  In reality, once again we were held in place by the rear azipods and the front bow thrusters which are coupled to a GPS.  We got up at our customary time and had a good breakfast.  Today there would be a BBQ on the island, but first, we needed to find the new snorkeling area. 

 

We caught a tender to shore and then started walking north towards the horse corrals.  We had previously been up  here on a previous visit, so it wasn't unfamiliar territory.  Once we reached the horse corrals, we turned left and walked down to the beach.  At the beach we turned right and headed up the beach towards what looked like a favorable snorkeling site.  The sand here is white and extremely fine.  It was also very sunny and warm.  It was, therefore, very important to walk in the firm sand near the water's edge to conserve energy.  As we approached to possible snorkeling site, there was a WARNING sign that said not to proceed further.  I could see dark shadows out in the water indicating that there might be a reef or rock formations that would potentially harbor schools of fish.  A couple of fellows from the ship then arrived with snorkeling gear including fins and life vests (we had neither).  Then donned their gear and swam out and gave it the "thumbs up".  Angela continued to be apprehensive about going in the water out of fear of an undertow.  I was taking my clues from her as she's a better swimmer than me.  About this time, here come Bob who we met snorkeling yesterday.  He assesses the situation, dons his gear, and heads on out.  By this time, I'm ready to head out with or without Angela.  So I don my snorkeling gear, fasten my GoPro camera to my wrist, and head out into the clear blue water.  The first part is pretty white sand with no fish and then I spot the reef.  I swim over to it and there are all kinds of colorful small fish.  Bob and I continue to snorkel around the reef and I shoot a number of short movies.  Eventually I head back to shore and share my excitement about finding the fish.  Bob joined us and we assembled our belongings and headed back to the main area for the BBQ.  It was about a 30 minute walk and we chatted along the way.

 

The BBQ was wonderful and my main course was BBQ'd beef short ribs.   The nourishment was refreshing and we were among the last ones served.  Bob headed back to the ship while Angela and I did a little shopping and found a memorable postcard to add to our door collection.  We have posted post cards from each location on our stateroom door to remind us of our various stops and to differentiate our door from the others in the hallway.  We caught the next to the last tender (just after 2pm) back to the ship where we watched the sail away preparations.  The Captain gave the last announcement about the sailing this afternoon and evening and soon we were headed northwest to Fort Lauderdale on this last leg of  our cruise.  About an hour later it started raining and it was a tropical deluge!

 

For our dinner this last evening we chose to eat in the Tamarind which is our favorite onboard restaurant.  And this completed the bookends of our dining experiences on board.  When we left Seattle, our first meal was in the Tamarind and the second was in the Nami.  21 days later, we ate our next to last meal in the Nami; and we ate our last meal in the Tamarind.  Truly they were bookends to a nice cruise.

 

After dinner we went to the final Main Stage performance which was a repeat of Humanity by the One Step Dance Company.  We then returned to our room and finished packing and placed our stuffed suitcases outside the room for overnight pickup.  As 5 star Mariners, we had the option of departing as late as 9:30 in the morning.  We sent a message to our friend, Larry, who was planning to meet us in the morning and did one final visit to the 9th floor aft deck to see what other ships were around us.  With the help of a marine tracking app, I could identify many cruise ships that were around us.  Some were heading our direction; others the opposite direction and still others were in slow out of service movement.  It had been a nice cruise to come back to cruising.  Our cruise director, Valerie, reminded us tonight that we had set three records on this cruise:  We were the longest cruise since the pause in operations.  We were the first major cruise ship with paying passengers to transit the Panama Canal.  And last, we were the first Holland America ship to visit Half Moon Cay and we were able to stay for 2 days.

 

Tomorrow, we’ll disembark, meet up with our friend, spend some time with him, and then catch a 6:30pm flight back to Seattle.

 

And just like that, our 21 day cruise was over.  At this time, we now have to wait until next August for our next one which will be a 24 day cruise to two islands we've never been to.  Stay tuned for that one and more if they develop.

 

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