- 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
Today is the final day of our Grand World Cruise and it has exceeded all my expectations. We will be continuing on thru the Panama Canal and disembark in our home town of San Diego. We have 16 days to decompress as we enjoy what used to be a long cruise, but now seems quite short.
The Grand World Cruise is one of the handful of Grand Voyages that HAL offers every year. Others are the Grand Asia, Grand South America and Grand Mediterranean. We have learned that these Grand Voyages are truly special and are a step above the normally high standards on any HAL cruise. To use an airline analogy, think of a normal cruise as being in Business Class and a Grand Voyage being in First Class. Grand Voyages have better food, more enrichment activities, more lecturers, more and better parties, better entertainment, better room service and on and on.
I like to think of a World Cruise as a blank canvas on which you, with the assistance of HAL, will create a beautiful picture of adventures and memories. A world cruise has many elements to help you create your picture. There is the wonderful food, other passengers, great entertainment, enrichment activities, mindless fun and games, Bridge, a great casino, and specialty restaurants. How you mix and match this wonderful palette of activities to create your world cruise memories is up to you. More on this later.
This morning was the Walk for the Cure on the Promenade Deck. There were about 75-100 people taking part at one point or another. The weather was perfect, calm seas – a beautiful day. Most people were strolling but there were a few power walkers and everyone was smiling as they enjoyed the beautiful morning.
As I returned to my cabin after the Walk for the Cure, I noticed the first wave of suitcases in the hallway. They would be a constant presence all day as everyone, except 33 of us, was busy spending most of their morning packing.
Island Magic performed a matinee show this afternoon and once again they astounded the audience with their great music and great smiles. It’s always fun to watch entertainers who obviously enjoy what they are doing.
The final show of the cruise featured all of the HAL entertainers, with the singers in the production show, Debby Bacon from the Piano Bar, Adagio from the Explorers Lounge, The Neptunes from the Ocean Bar and Oasis from the Crow’s nest. The Queens lounge was about 80% full. The show was outstanding and they received a well-deserved, enthusiastic standing ovation.
Our final dinner was another hit with a wide variety of choices. Our favorite dessert, The Cappuccino Bomb, was on the menu and most of us ordered one. After dinner, we all posed for one final picture and bid farewell with a final series of hugs and vows that table 52 will return for the 2018 World Cruise. Our time at dinner was always something we looked forward to each day. We were very fortunate to have a table of like-minded people who all got alone very well.
After dinner we stopped by the Casino and played a final round of Black Jack and Texas Hold’em. The regulars in the casino all became fast friends and after our final Hold’em game there was another round of hugs as we all bid farewell.
Our Tablemate, Susan, was a Crow’s Nest regular so we stopped by to see her and check out the late night action. We joined a handful of people sitting around the bar reminiscing about our past four months when Show Host Erin stopped by and asked if we had any request for the final song tonight and what would also be the final song of the cruise. We asked if she had In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida by Iron Butterfly. She queued up the song and the familiar opening soon filled the room and Judy and I took to the dance floor for our world cruise farewell dance to this 60’s classic! Oh what a day.
This entry was posted in 2016 Grand World Voyage, Sea Day
Thank you Pete & Judy! I admire your zest for life, and really appreciate your commitment and generosity in creating this vehicle for taking us all along with you! I am a fan.
Thanks. Happy to hear you are enjoying the blog
I enjoyed traveling along. Thank you
For the past couple weeks I have been reading your World Cruise blog. It has been very informative and entertaing. It has been like reading a very good book. Thank you Sir for sharing your experiences aboard the cruise. I look forward to reading your next World Cruise blog. Once again , thank you very much for sharing and the thank you for your service in the Navy.
Glad you are enjoying the blog. I will be live blogging my first AMTRAK trip later this month.
That’s wonderful. I’m almost finished this wonderful book. Looking forward to the next one. Thanks