Occam's Razor

If you want to escape winter this year, it’s not easy. We were one of the lucky ones to escape on one of the few flights allowed out of Bradley International Airport (Hartford CT) Thursday morning. I’ve done a lot of traveling but I can’t recall a flight quite like this one. A Nor’easter was moving up the east coast bringing a ton of snow and high winds. Our original flight Thursday got canceled. We were agile enough to quickly book another Southwest flight that left around 7 AM. To improve our chances, we booked a room at the airport’s Sheraton the night before.

For once luck was with us. Only two commercial flights made it out of Bradley after ours on Thursday. While blizzard conditions mounted outside, a deicing truck gave our aircraft a quick shower. While we left the gate the storm worsened and it became hard to see out the window. When the aircraft made it airborne, the passengers spontaneously applauded. With 4500 flights canceled due to the storm, we were lucky indeed. We even made it into our gate at Tampa International five minutes early. Our connecting flight to Fort Lauderdale was uneventful as well.

You would think that in Florida you might be able to escape winter, but snow had made it as far south as Tallahassee. Tampa was in the forties on our arrival, and Fort Lauderdale was breezy and a bit warmer in the low fifties. This was likely as cold as it was going to get in south Florida all year, but at least there was no snow. There was the occasional report of falling iguanas, who like to inhabit the trees and were literally stunned by the cold weather. Floridians donned their rarely used coats to go outside. Holed up at my sister and brother in law’s house in nearby Hollywood, we too found reason to stay indoors, eat Thai and play endless games of hearts.

Winter proved hard to escape. The cool temperatures and stiff winds continued on Friday but at least it was better than at home where ten inches of new snow hand fallen. Negative temperatures were also in the forecast there, so by comparison the weather seemed balmy. By mid afternoon when we had boarded the MS Westerdam (of the Holland America cruiseline) at the Port Everglades Cruise Terminal, winds had dropped somewhat and temperatures hovered in the mid 60s. Leaving port brought back memories of a similar cruise four years ago from the same port. Aside from the ship (then the Noordam) little had changed.

Back home airports like JFK are still recovering from the storm, as are we. The Nor’easter had effects both north and south. On our overnight trip to the Bahamas it meant eight foot seas and quickly acquiring sea legs. We spent Saturday at Holland America’s private island in the Bahamas, Half Moon Cay. It had changed so little in four years that it didn’t take me long to walk the island and reboard the tender back to the ship. One surprise was to find I had Internet access. We didn’t intend to pay Holland America’s usury rates for its Internet.

The effects of the Nor’easter though just got worse. Moving south Saturday we pushed through the front, which made Friday night’s seas look relatively mild. We were rocking and rolling all night long. Normally I don’t use seasick medicine, but Sunday morning I popped a Bonine just to be proactive. Swells appeared to max out around twelve feet. With our cabin far forward, we could feel the keel bottom against the sea occasionally, making a huge noise. There were also other strange noises that may have been doors on the Promenade shutting from the wind or deck chairs skittering across the deck. By mid morning Sunday the worst of the waves had ebbed as we cut our way through tropical gloom and rain between Haiti and Cuba.

Today (Monday as I write this) feels like the first proper day of our cruise. We are heading south at fifteen knots toward a brief visit at Cartegena, Colombia before going through the Panama Canal on Wednesday. The skies are mostly sunny, the air moist and the feeling is definitely tropical. You can walk around the Promenade and feel like you actually are in the tropics again. We are settling into a cruising routine at last on this lengthy 15-day voyage. On January 20 we should arrive at San Diego where we will finally disembark.

This is our sixth cruise and the first in four years. It is both similar and new. The Westerdam is not much different than the Noordam we were on four years ago. Most cruise ships are similar in both style and layout, so much so that you can usually find your way around without a map. Main stage is forward, Decks 2-4. Dining is way aft, Decks 2-3. The Promenade is on Deck 3, and there is always a Lido deck on Deck 9 with pools, hot tubs, bars serving tropical drinks and an enormous food court open day and night.

It’s impossible to lose weight on a cruise, so the challenge is not to gain weight. Mainly you avoid the food court on the Lido deck as much as possible and eat meals in the Dining Room. Weather permitting you make regular circuits of the Promenade. I’ve walked two miles on the Promenade already today and plan to do two miles more later.

All the cruiselines serve terrific food. One thing I like about Holland America is they serve reasonable portions. In addition, the food arrives so slowly that you partially digest one part of the meal before the second part arrives. Allow two hours or more for dinner in the dining room.

The Westerdam was built in 2004 but is already showing signs of age. You can find rust spots in places, spots they try to hide with coats of paint. Somehow the rust still leaches through the paint. The crew is always busy doing something, but standards may have slipped a bit. I am seeing things I haven’t seen on other cruises, things that amount to annoyances more than complaints, like finding no soap in the soap dispensers in certain public restrooms. Like other cruiselines, there is a lot of surreal happiness from the crew, who of course have orders to always bend over backward to be friendly and helpful.

Still, there is more than a little overt class division among the crew. I have carefully surveyed the dining and cabin crews. They are all Indonesian. Considering they never get a day off and must work at least twelve hours a day, it’s perhaps understandable that Indonesians have these jobs. Then there are the “white” jobs. You probably won’t see an Indonesian behind the desk at Guest Services. Positions like these seem reserved for whites. Speaking of whites, we passengers are overwhelmingly white and overwhelmingly senior. At 60, I am still probably well below the mean passenger age.

It’s a great life while the cruise lasts. Holland American cruises have innovated by adding Lincoln Center Stage, where you can indulge your love of classical music three times a day if you want. The entertainment is a bit less fancy than on other cruise lines, but only snobs will care. Their ships are smaller than most these days, which I find nice because it feels more intimate. Still, there is always something to do here, although the most popular activities tend to be the most passive and involve sitting on deck chairs on the Lido deck in front the pool and ordering tropical drinks.

At least it is far, far away from the bitter cold and snow back in New England. Exotic ports of call await.