- 2023 World Cruise – The Adventure Begins (Post #1)
- The Adventure Begins! – Fort Lauderdale (Post #3)
- At Sea – en route to Falmouth, Jamaica (Post #4)
- Falmouth, Jamaica (Post #5)
- The Tuxedo Junction at Sea (Post #6)
- Puerto Limón (Post#7)
- Zuiderdam and Volendam – side by side – Panama Canal Transit (Post #8)
- Two Faces of Panama (Post #9)
- Library Grand Opening – At Sea (Post #10)
- The Graveyard of Good Intentions (Post #11)
- Something Old and Something New (Post #12)
- The Captain’s Dinner and Zuiderdam Ball (Post #13)
- Mike West “The Ship Guy”- At Sea (Post #14)
- Sunday Brunch – At Sea (Post #15)
- Taming the Towel Animals – At Sea (Post #16)
- The Final Day of our 8th Consecutive Sea Days (Post #17)
- GLAMPING IN NUKU HIVA (Post # 18)
- Sailing the South Pacific (Post #19)
- Island Joy presents Ukuleles in Concert (Post #20)
- Flowers, Pearls and Roulottes in Papeete (Post #21, 21 Jan 2023)
- Moorea Photo Safari (Post #22)
- Snorkeling in the Rain in Raiatea (Post #23)
- Late Sleepers in Uturoa, Raiatea (Post #24)
- Sea Day Brunch and Coloring for Adults (Post #25)
- Horse Racing on the High Seas – Derby Night (Post #26)
- Fashion Show on the High Seas (Post #27)
- 2025 Grand World Voyage – Sneak Peak (Post #28)
- Blow Holes on Tonga (Post #29)
- When is a world cruise a world cruise? (Post #30)
- At Sea – Dr. Karen Woodman, Linguist, Guest Lecturer (Post #31)
- Auckland Yarn Crawl (Post #32)
- Tauranga and a Visit to Hobbiton (Post #33)
- Gisborne Wine Tour (Post #34)
- Windy Wellington (Post #35)
- Let them eat cake on the Tasman Sea (Post #36)
- Sailing the Tasman Sea (Post #37)
- Two Days in Sydney (Post #38)
- Port Arthur, Tasmania (Post #39)
- Hobart, Tasmania (Post #40)
- Valentine’s Day at Sea (Post #41)
- Adelaide, Fringe Festival (Post #42)
- Adelaide – Kangaroos and Germany in South Australia (Post #43)
- Remarkable Rocks on Kangaroo Island (Post #44)
- Fremantle Fat Tuesday and Yarn (Post #45)
- Perth – Swan Valley Wine Tour (Post #46)
- 2020 Grand World Cruise Reflection and Reunion Party (Post #47)
- Slot Pull at Sea (Post #48)
- A valid claim of Bingo (Post #49)
- Indian Ocean Highlights (Post #50)
- Song Writing at Sea with Trevor Knight (Post #51)
- Port Louis, Mauritius (Post #52)
- La Possession, Reunion (Post #53)
- Formal Night Surprise (Post #54)
- Maputo – Hump Port – (Post #55)
- Our Overland Safari Begins!
- Safari Day #1 – Durban, South Africa (Post #56)
- Safari Day #2, Thanda Safari Lodge (Post #57)
- Safari Day #3, Thanda Safari Lodge (Post #58)
- Safari Day #4, Thanda Safari Lodge – Cape Town (Post #59)
- Cape Town – Table Mountain (Post #60)
- Cooking in Cape Town (Post #61)
- Lüderitz, Namibia (Post #62)
- Walvis Bay, Namibia (Post #63)
- At Sea – Enroute to Angola (Post #64)
- Luanda, Angola (Post #65)
- Crossing the Equator at the Prime Meridian (Post #66)
- Abidjan, Ivory Coast – Côte d’Ivoire, (Post #68)
- Banjul, The Gambia (Post #69)
- SNOW DAY IN DAKAR, SENEGAL (Post #70)
- Aprils Fools’ Day at Sea (Post #71)
- Santa Cruz, Tenerife (Post #72)
- Arrecife, Lanzarote, Canarias (Post #73)
- Riding a Camel in Agadir, Morocco (Post #74)
- Casablanca to Marrakech, Morocco (Post #75)
- Tangier, Morocco (Post #76) 7 April 2023
- Malaga, Spain (Post #77) 8 April 2023
- Lisbon, Portugal (Post #79) – 10 April 2023
- A Coruna Spain (Post #80) 12 April 2023
- Holland America Line 150th Anniversary Party in Amsterdam
- Bergen, Norway: Snow, Rain and Sun (26 April 2023)
- Praia da Vitória, Azores (5 May 2023)
A new Captain and we learn more about Project Linus
NEW CAPTAIN INTRODUCED
19 March 2023
Today’s big event was at 7:00 PM when the Cruise and Travel Director, Ian, introduced the new Captain: Frank van der Hoeven, on the World Stage.  Capt Frank spoke for about twenty minutes before offering a toast.  He paid respects to his predecessor, Capt Friso, and acknowledged Capt Mercer as the finest Capt to sail the Grand World Cruises.  Â
PROJECT LINUS
20 March 2023
We are completing our second sea day en route to Angola.
Ian’s guest at Coffee Chat this morning was Marty, who, along with his wife Gail, is leading the Project Linus effort on the Zuiderdam. Project Linus operates throughout the USA, Canada, and the UK and coordinates volunteers who make blankets for critically ill children. You can read more about Project Linus HERE
Project Linus has been a significant volunteer activity on Grand World Voyages for over 15 years. Marty’s first World Cruise was in 2017, his first exposure to Project Linus. The previous Project Linus coordinator, Malvina, could no longer continue cruising, and in 2019 Mary and Gail took over leading Project Linus on the Grand World Cruises.
Getting ready for Project Linus on a World Cruise requires extensive preparation. Marty and Gail used to buy the yarn at retail outlets but now purchase the Caron-branded acrylic yarn directly from the manufacturer, Spinrite. For the 2023 World Cruise, they bought over one million yards of yarn in various colors. Project Linus only accepts blankets made from acrylic yarn as it is easily washable.
The yarn is delivered to their home in Jacksonville, FL, sorted, boxed, and cataloged. They rent a U-Haul truck, load it with over 60 boxes of yarn, and drive to Fort Lauderdale, where it is loaded on the Zuiderdam and stored for retrieval during the cruise.
Every sea day during the cruise, Marty and Gail decide on the quantity and colors required for that day. They are retrieved by crewmembers and delivered to the Ocean Bar, where the yarn is made available to the volunteers – called “Blanketeers”. About 140 passengers, or about 10% of the passengers, have participated in this cruise making blankets. In addition to the Blanketeers, about a dozen volunteers are in a core group who help wind yarn and instruct passengers on how to crochet a blanket. This is the first time for many people to do any needlework. Marty expects the Zuiderdam “Blanketeers” to complete over 800 blankets during this cruise.
Curious? Why the captain switch mid cruise?
The contracts for Captains are now 3 months on 3 months off – apparently Capt Mercer was the last of an exception giving him four months in a row.
Sounds like a great project for the ‘Blanketeers”