Oct. 17, 2011 Cruising on the Atlantic Ocean

We had a rather windy day cruising on the Atlantic on our way to Fort Laudadale. It was so windy that all the outside decks were closed off to the passengers. So we had a quiet indoor day. We attended a very interesting lecture on the Bermuda Triangle and the scientific proof of why all those planes and ship disappeared without a trace. We planned to read our books but met such interesting people that we spent most of the day just chatting. Last night we saw a great night show. The musical group, the Horizons performed and even I with my limited music knowledge enjoyed them. They came from Motown that is located in Detroit. So they were sort of like family to us from Windsor. Dorothy with all her musical knowledge thorouthly enjoyed them.

We have quickly adopted to ship life and are thoroughly enjoying ourselves. I tried to upload pictures yesterday and with the slowness of the internet connection, I am not going to be able to put pictures on the web until I get to a place with faster internet connection.

We just love this sea life and are enjoying ourselves.

The pool on the Lido Deck (11th floor)

Wake from the ship

Sunset on the 2nd day

October 16, 2011 - Start of our Cruise to South America.

With our tight schedule today we had no problem in getting on our ship in New York. We left our place at 7 am got to the Detroit Airport ahead of time and our plane left on time. We arrived in New York 20 minutes ahead of schedule and were met by the Holland American representative. We were on board the ship in our cabin by 1 PM. Not bad with the tight schedule we had and all the connections we had to make.

We left New York on time at 4.45 PM and had a beautiful trip down the Hudson out to sea. We got some great pictures of downtown New York but because of the problems I am having with this computer, I am not going to try again to upload them at this time. We have a very nice cabin and last night we had a great sleep as the ship rocked us to sleep.

Our cruise ship, the Veendam at dock in New York

Dorothy and Con on the 14th floor deck in New York waiting for undocking.

Undocking on the west side of New York and east side of Hudson River

Former US aircraft carrier is now a museum

The tall and famous Empire State Building

Building under construction to replace the former Twin Towers

The southern part of Manhattan near Wall Street

Statue of Liberty

Verrazano-Narrows Bridge between Staten Island and New York

Beautiful sunset on the first day

October 16 at New York, New York

Our taxi came to pick us up at 7 AM to take us to the Detroit Airport. We has some delay as the Detroit Tunnel to Detroit was closed as they were holding a marathon run from Detroit, over the bridge and then onto the Detroit Windsor Tunnel. When we reached the bridge to cross 2 lanes were blocked for the runners and one lane was open. There was a long line up to get over the bridge. However the traffic started to move and we got over to the Customs. Luckily the Customs officer cleared us quickly. We saw the runners coming over the bridge, lead by a number of bicycles.

Our flight to New York was on time leaving and arrived in New York 20 minutes ahead of schedule. At the baggage area we met our Holland American representive. Our bus ride through New York was real slow even though it was Sunday. Checking in our cruise ship, the Veendam was fast. Yes our trip that morning was no issue even though we has a problem in Windsor because of the marathon run

Landing at New York,

New York just before landing

A view of New York just before landing

Tomorrow morning we will be leaving for South America

After months of preparation and anticipation, finally we will be leaving tomorrow for our trip to South America. Our taxi to the Detroit Airport will be picking us up at 7 AM for a flight to New York at 10 AM. In New York we will be met by a limo that is to take us to the Holland America Line, ship, the Veendam. We are scheduled to leave New York at 4.45 PM. If all these tight connection go smoothly we should be off on our 37 day cruise to South America. I hope that I will have no problems in operating this blog from the ship so that I can share this trip with you. I plan to take photos to make this blog more interesting for you to follow.

The next update will be from the ship on the way to our first port of call that is Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Last Immunization Shots and Prescriptions for Our Trip

Yesterday we had our last appointment with the Travel and Immunization Clinic in Windsor. We had our second Hepatitis A&B shot. The Third and last Hepatitus A&B shot is to be received on March 4, 2012. Also I asked if they had the new flu shot for this year and they said that they just received it and I could have the shot if I wanted it. The nurse told me that I was the second one that she had given the new flu shot to since they had received their supply of the new flu shots. Dorothy could not get her flu shot as she had to take 2 shots that morning and a third could not be administered to her.

In addition to the shots we got the prescriptions for Dukoral that was to prevent catching ecoli and  antobiotics for severe Diarrhea treatment that we pray and hope that we never have to use. After getting these prescriptions, we took one of the Dukoral treatments and have to take the 2nd treatment in a weeks time.

The nurse at the Travel Clinic also gave us an International Certificate of Vaccination for Yellow Fever. Surprising this is a yellow card and is required for entrance into certain South American countries. We also got a booklet on our Travel Immunization Record that we have had our shots for Typhoid, Yellow Fever, Hepatitas A&B, Tetnus and the most recent Flu Shot. We have now received all the shots recommended for our travels to South America that will be commencing in less than 2 weeks. Yes, we are excited about going on our 37 day cruise to South America. This is to start on October 16 with a  10 AM morning flight to New York where we will be catching our Holland American Line ship, the Veendam. The ship is scheduled to leave New York at 4.45 PM on the same day.

Information from the Travel and Immunization Clinic

In all the previous travels that we have made, we never went to the Travel and Immunization Clinic before any of our trips. We went this time because our doctor told us that he was not able to provide us with the necessary immuniztion shots as they have to be now obtained from the Travel Clinic in Windsor. We were were surprised with the details that had to be given to the nurse in the clinic so that she could determine what immunization we should have for our trip to South America. She prepared a lot of information about the hazards that we could face on such a trip and what precautions we should be taking to avoid getting into trouble on our trip. I have gone over all the information that she has given us to read and am really surprised to learn so much about the diseases, food and water problems that we could encounter. I love to swim and was very surprised at the hazards in swimming in fresh water in South America as well as swimming in the sea where I thought that the salt water is usually safe to swim in. This has been a real learning experience for me.

I also obtained from the Travel Clinic, the web site where Canadians travelling abroad should register their travel plans with the Canadian Government before leaving on their trip abroad. This registration would enable the government to assist a person in case of an emergency abroad or to inform a person of an emergency at home. I have already registered our trip with the Canadian Government and do hope that they will not have to become involved in any event with us. Also I obtained from the Travel Clinic, the Canadian Government web site that gives warnings about travel in any country in the world. I checked the first country that we are visiting and was surprised about the warning that the Government had listed on visits to that country. This was very useful information to be aware of.

Previous to this trip, I had always made my reservations through a travel agent and had expected a travel agent to tell me any travel problems that I should be aware of. I am glad that our doctor sent us to the Travel Clinic as it has made me more aware of all the items that I should be aware of on a trip that we are about to take in less than 4 weeks time.

Immunization necessary for a trip to South America

For any extensive trip that we make, there is always a lot of anticipation and preparation. We are going through this phase now. We received our tickets from the shipping line, and we were advised to see our physician for any immunization that is required. Before seeing our physician, I checked with the web to see what was being recommended there for immunization. for South America.They simply advised that we should have shots for Hepatitis A&B, Yellow Fever, Typhoid and Rabies if we will be in contact with animals.

I phoned our physician and asked to have these shots and was told that they do not give these shots and that I should go to the Windsor Travel and Immunization Clinic. They gave me a phone number to call. When I phoned, I was told that I would have to make an appointment which I did for both of us on Monday, 22nd of August. When we went for the appointment, the nurse had to know precisely all the places that we would be visiting and the dates and time of all our shore excursions. She also had to know details of our past medical history. She took all this imformation and inputted this information into a special program on her computer. Being interested in computer programs, I asked if I could access this program on my computer. She said this is a special program that was quite costly to buy for their travel clinic. As my wife, Dorothy had another appointment, we could not wait till the nurse imputted all the information into the computer and rescheduled another visit yesterday ie Friday 2nd of September for our necessary shots.

On the second visit the nurse had prepared a lot of information on each country that we planed to visit and all the diseases that could be picked up in the different areas in each country. She gave us a copy of what she found on each country. She recommended that we have shots for Hepatitis A&B, Yellow Fever and Typhoid. She did not recommend Rabies shots as they require a series of shots and could be hard on the body to take. However she did suggest that we verify if the ship we are on can give treatment for Rabies. Otherwise we would have to be immediately flown back to Canada or the USA. She also gave us medication that we should take before our trip and if we may have diarrhea during our trip.

Now these shots are not covered by our Ontario Hospital Insurance Plan (OHIP) so we had to pay for these shots. This amounted to $670.00 for the both of us. These shots were once paid by our medical insurance but now are not included in our plan. I guess the Government reasoned that if we had the money to pay for a trip to another country, we could afford to pay for the immuniztion that was necessary.