- Day D-2 Leaving Imperial Beach, California
- Day D-1 Arriving in Fort Lauderdale
- Day 1- The Grand Voyage Begins! 115 Days
- Day 2 – At Sea – Enroute Costa Rica
- Day 3 – Cruising the Carribean
- Day 4 – At Sea Enroute to Costa Rica
- Day 5 – Puerto Limon, Costa Rica
- Day 6- Cruising the Panama Canal
- Day 7 – Fuerte Amador, Panama
- Day 8 – At Sea enroute to Nuku Hiva
- Day 9 – At Sea enroute to Nuku Hiva
- Day 10, At Sea – Enroute Nuku Hiva
- Day 11 – Sailing towards Nuku Hiva
- Day 12 – Sailing towards Nuku Hiva
- Day 13, Sailing towards Nuku Hiva
- Day 14, Sailing towards Nuku Hiva
- Day 15, Sailing toward Nuku Hiva
- Day 16, Taiohae, Nuku Hiva, French Polynesia
- Day 17, Sailing toward Avatoru
- Day 18 – Avatoru, Rangiroa
- Day 19, Papeete, Tahiti and taking the ferry to Mo’orea
- Day 20, Moorea, French Polynesia
- Day 21, Sailing toward Avatiu, Rarotonga
- Day 22, Avatiu, Rarotonga
- Day 23, Sailing toward Waitangi, New Zealand
- Day 24, Sailing towards Waitangi
- Day 25, Sailing towards Waitangi
- Day 26, Sailing towards Waitangi
- Day 27, Waitangi (Bay of Islands) New Zealand
- Day 28, Auckland, New Zealand
- Day 29, Sailing toward Picton, New Zealand
- Day 30, Picton New Zealand
- Day 31, Sailing toward Melbourne, Australia
- Day 32, Sailing toward Melbourne
- Day 33, Sailing toward Melbourne
- Day 34, Melbourne, Australia
- Day 35, Sailing toward Sydney Australia
- Day 36, Sydney, Australia
- Day 37, Sydney, Australia
- Day 38, Sailing towards Townsville
- Day 39, Sailing towards Townsville
- Day 40, Sailing towards Townsville
- Day 41, Townsville, Australia
- Day 42, Cairns, Australia
- Day 43, Sailing towards Darwin, Australia
- Day 44, Sailing towards Darwin, Australia
- Day 45, Sailing towards Darwin, Australia
- Day 46, Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia
- Day 47, Sailing toward Benoa, Indonesia
- Day 48, Sailing toward Benoa, Indonesia
- Day 49, Benoa, Bali, Indonesia
- Day 50, Sailing towards Semarang, Indonesia
- Day 51, Semarang, Java, Indonesia
- Day 52, Jakarta, Indonesia
- Day 53, Sailing toward Hong Kong
- Day 54, Sailing toward Hong Kong
- Day 55, Sailing toward Hong Kong
- Day 56, Sailing toward Hong Kong
- Day 57, Hong Kong
- Day 58, Hong Kong
- Day 59, Hong Kong
- Day 60, Sailing toward Da Nang
- Day 61, Da Nang, Vietnam
- Day 62, Da Nang, Viet Nam
- Day 63, Sailing toward Phu My, Vietnam
- Day 64. Phu My, Vietnam
- Day 65, Siem Reap, Cambodia, Ms Amsterdam sailing toward Sihanoukville
- Day 66; Siem Reap to Sihanoukville – while Amsterdam is moored at Sihanoukville
- Day 67, Sailing toward Singapore
- Day 68, Singapore
- Day 69, Singapore
- Day 70, Singapore
- Day 71, Sailing toward Phuket, Thailand
- Day 72, Phuket, Thailand
- Day 73, Sailing toward Hambantota, Sri Lanka
- Day 74, Sailing toward Hambantota, Sri Lanka
- Day 75, Hambantota, Sri Lanka
- Day 76, Colombo, Sri Lanka
- Day 77, Colombo, Sri Lanka to New Delhi, India
- Day 78, Agra, India (Ship sailing toward Dubai)
- Day 79, Agra, India (Ship sailing toward Dubai)
- Day 80, New Delhi, India (Ship sailing toward Dubai)
- Day 81, New Delhi to Dubai
- Day 82, Dubai, UAE
- Day 83, Dubai, UAE
- Day 84, Sailing toward Muscat
- Day 85, Muscat, Oman
- Day 86, Sailing toward Salalah, Oman
- Day 87, Salalah, Oman
- Day 88, Sailing toward Al’Aqabah, Jordan
- Day 89, Sailing toward Al’Aqabah, Jordan
- Day 90, Sailing toward Al’Aqabah, Jordan
- Day 91, Sailing toward Al’Aqabah, Jordan
- Day 92, Al’Aqabah, Jordan
- Day 93, Sailing toward the Suez Canal
- Day 94, Transiting the Suez Canal
- Day 95, Haifa, Israel
- Day 96, Ashdod, Israel
- Day 97, Sailing toward Piraeus, Greece
- Day 98, Piraeus (Athens,) Greece
- Day 99, Katakolon, Greece
- Day 100, Sailing toward Civitavecchia, Italy
- Day 101, Civitavecchia, Italy
- Menus and On Locations updated…more posts coming soon
- Day 102, Livorno, Italy
- Day 103, Monte Carlo, Monaco
- Day 104, Barcelona, Spain
- Day 105, Sailing toward Cadiz
- Day 106, Cadiz, Spain
- Day 107, Sailing toward Funchal, Portugal
- Day 108, Funchal, Portugal
- Day 109, Sailing toward Fort Lauderdale
- Day 110, Sailing toward Fort Lauderdale
- Day 111, Sailing toward Fort Lauderdale
- Day 112, April 26, Sailing toward Fort Lauderdale
- Day 113, Sailing toward Fort Lauderdale
- Day 114, April 28, Sailing toward Fort Lauderdale
- Day 115, April 29, Sailing toward Fort Lauderdale
- Day 116, Fort Lauderdale, Florida
- Day 117, Half Moon Cay, Bahamas
- Day 118, Sailing towards Cartagena
- Day 119, Sailing towards Cartagena
- Day 120, Cartagena, Colombia
- Day 121, Transiting the Panama Canal
- Day 122, Sailing toward Puntarenas, Costa Rica
- Day 123, Puntarenas, Costa Rica
- Day 124, Corinto, Nicaragua
- Day 125, Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala
- Day 126, Puerto Chiapas, Mexico
- Subscribe to this blog! – Check box at bottom of this page
- Day 127, Huatulco, Mexico
- Day 128, Sailing toward Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
- Day 129, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
- Day 130, Sailing toward San Diego, California
- Day 131, Sailing toward San Diego, California
- Day 132, San Diego, California
- Opening the Package! What is inside?
- That’s Entertainment!
- PACKING FOR A WORLD CRUISE
- How much does it cost to go on a world cruise? Part 1
- Amazing end of cruise video!
- How much does it cost to go on a world cruise? Part 2 – Pre and Post Cruise Expenses
- Holland America SELLS OUT 2017 World Cruise Inside Cabins – Segments still avail for less the $5,000 per cabin!
- How Much Does it Cost to Go on a World Cruise? Part 3 – Onboard Spending and Calculator
Out last port of the world cruise is behind us and we have now started our 7 sea days until we arrive in Fort Lauderdale. We will be continuing on to San Diego along with 33 other world cruisers.
So while others are getting their disembarkation questionnaires we have been spared that final form for a couple more weeks.
The ship continues to move constantly as we plough thru the Atlantic swell – fortunately neither Judy or I are prone toward seasickness so the deck motion isn’t impacting us very much.
The four members of Abba Fab were the guests at Good Morning Amsterdam this morning. They were the first guests of the cruise who actually plugged their own appearance during the final minutes of their show the night before. We have learned that all guest entertainers future bookings on HAL depends in a large part on passenger surveys so everything they can do to help create passenger goodwill only help people remember them fondly during survey time.
Abba Fab was formed in Phoenix to help two of the members drive more business into their struggling restaurant. Their act turned out to be so successful they have been able to form another Abba Fab which tours independently. They also developed a business as an agent for other guest entertainers to find them work in Branson, MO, and other land venues to help them stay busy during their time ashore.
The first art auction was this morning in the Explorers Lounge. They had about 20 people register and after a 30 minute introduction to art and the benefits of buying art on ships they started the auction. I didn’t register, but you could have as much champagne as you could stand if you were anywhere in the area. The Explorers Lounge was completely filled with art so the Crafters Group was moved to the Crow’s Nest.
They started the auction with art that had a starting price of over $5000. Each piece was briefly described and then the auctioneer announced the starting price. If there wasn’t any interest, he gaveled the piece off the stage on brought up the next piece. I watched for about 20 minutes and not a single person said a word the entire time, but the champagne continued to flow. I suspect that this was really a practice run to work out the kinks in moving the art on and off the stage before they hit the prime market starting April 30 with the Panama Canal Cruise.
As I left the area, I noticed the future cruise consultants staring at their computers trying to concentrate during the steady banter of auction chatter only 40 feet away.
The main event for today was the Indonesia Crew Show. Scheduled for 3pm and we arrived at 2pm to get a good seat. There were probably 20 people there already. While it may seem crazy to get to someplace so early it’s really not so bad because for the most part people will be either knitting or reading somewhere else so you can just as easily knit or read in the comfort of the Queens lounge as anywhere else. It’s not as if you have to take off work to get there early.
The show consisted of 8 separate acts that were all pretty good. No one will be mistaken for a guest entertainer, but we all enjoyed their energy and enthusiasm. Everyone on the stage and in the audience had a good time and many of the skits were humorous and performed slightly tongue in cheek.
Before dinner, at 7:15, there was a special Spotlight show by the two amazing artists who make up Adiago. They normally only play to small audiences in the Explorers Lounge. Due to popular demand, Gene gave them a slot on the main stage for a spotlight show. They played in front of the HAL band and put on an amazing show. For those who have ever travelled to Prague, you can’t walk 50 feet without having a chance to see a string quartet, trio or something. These guys were fantastic and were every bit as good as anything we saw during our visit to Prague a few years back.
After another wonderful meal, I had the Fresh Catch Hake Sautéed in Olive Oil and Judy enjoyed the Beer Braised Pork Shank, we all headed back to the Queens Lounge for a wonderful performance by Grammy Nominated Jazz Pianist Judy Carmichael.
Judy Carmichael was spectacular and if you like Jazz you will love Judy Carmichael – don’t miss her if you have a chance.
She has a great voice and plays a mean piano. A wonderful entertainer.
This entry was posted in 2016 Grand World Voyage, Sea Day
