- 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
The final approach to San Diego always brings back fond memories from my days in the Navy as I have entered this harbor on ships dozens of times over the years.
Allow me to indulge myself with my favorite memory of a San Diego arrival.
It was the summer of 1991 and I was on the USS Midway(CV 41). We were about 15 miles from Pt Loma heading into San Diego which would be the final time this carrier would steam under her own power. The Midway was returning to the US after being homeported in Japan for years. She would be decommissioned in San Diego and then towed to the inactive shipyard in Washington state before being returned to San Diego where she is now on display as a museum ship.
We were getting ready to “man the rail”, which is where sailors line the perimeter of the ship all wearing dress uniforms, for the final time as we entered San Diego Harbor. NOTE: Below is a photo that shows the Midway as we “manned the rail” when in Pearl Harbor on the way back to California.
The Midway was going to take one final sprint before we entered the harbor. So as thousands of sailors stood on the flight deck, and we were surrounded by small pleasure boats, the Captain ordered “All Ahead FULL” and within seconds the valves deep within the ship were opened wide and high pressure steam rushed through the turbines which turned the Midway’s 4 large screws faster and faster until we were going 33 knots, leaving a wake over 1 mile long. The small boats following us tried to keep pace, but they all faded behind as the Midway roared over the waves with all her flags stiff and the crew holding their hats. We only kept this pace for a few minutes before we reduced our speed so that we could pick up the Pilot for our final sail-in thru San Diego Bay.
Our final morning of our final day started off cool and overcast which is typical for San Diego in May. People who live here refer to the weather in May and June as “May Gray” and “June Gloom”, but that is only for those people spoiled by year round wonderful weather. Even though a San Diego May morning may start off as “Gray”, by the afternoon the weather is usually spectacular as it is most days.
I was up at 5:30 to try at catch a glimpse of our condo as we passed by Imperial Beach, but we were too far away and it was still too dark to see anything other than a sea of indistinguishable lights on the coast. The border fence between San Diego and Mexico was easily visible as it is well lit and appears as a straight line of lights from the coast running inland to as far as you can see.
We were scheduled to moor at the San Diego Cruise Terminal around 7 am and then it would take a couple hours to clear the ship, so we weren’t expecting to start disembarking until around 9am.
Being able to sleep in or relax on your final cruise day is one of the benefits of sailing on Holland America. Many other cruise lines require you vacate your cabin by 8 am and then wander the public areas until you are allowed to leave this ship. Having a full, hot, room service breakfast on your final morning is also something you won’t find available on many other cruise lines.
Once we were moored at 7 am they started calling all the Non USA citizens to the Dining room on Deck 5 to clear USA immigration. No one would be allowed to leave the ship until everyone was seen by US Immigration Agents. About every 10 minutes they would announce a number which represented another group of passengers that should proceed to the dining room for processing. Progress was slow and they were still calling numbers at 9:30 when they started the Coast Guard Inspection which required all crew members to participate – even the cabin stewards rushed to their emergency stations wearing their life jackets. So all the familiar drill announcements were now competing with the announcements for passengers to go to see immigration officials.
I learned later that there only 3 agents to start processing the ship, and after a bit a few more arrived, but the ship was hoping to have 8 agents from the beginning. To make matters worse, almost ½ the ship were non USA passengers (600 people) that had to be processed which was twice the number they normally see on these West Coast cruises.
At 9:45 there were only 3 cabins left to process and they started calling out their names asking them to proceed immediately to immigration as they were now holding up the entire ship. Fifteen minutes later Gene announced the ship was cleared and they started calling the familiar baggage ticket colors and the passengers began to stream off the ship.
We asked to be in the last group, and we were told that we could expect to leave around 10:30. Based on the delays so far, I expected we would be delayed as well, and we were, but only by 9 minutes. After they called our color, Purple 3, we gathered our carry-on bags and headed down to Deck 2 forward to leave the ship for the final time.
The ship was connected to the terminal’s second floor with a jet way type bridge and we took the elevator down to the first floor. Our 13 bags were fairly close to one another. We found a porter quickly and she started to load the bags onto her cart. She ran out of room and had to call over another porter. We almost filled up his cart as well.
With our two porters pushing our two luggage carts we headed to the single immigration and customs agent. While the porters were pushing our bags thru a separate lane, the immigration officer glanced at our passports, took our customs declaration and waved us thru. We didn’t exchange any words and I am not sure he even glanced at our two luggage carts. I suspect that our luggage already had been visited by the dogs and our names reviewed in advance so at this point there wasn’t much screening left to do.
Our porters left us in the parking lot where the private drivers can pick up their passengers and we called our driver to let him know we were ready. We weren’t sure our driver’s SUV would be large enough to hold all our bags, but his Ford Expedition, held our bags easily and we were soon on our way back to our condo in Imperial Beach.
Twenty-five minutes later we arrived at our condo – Home Sweet Home!
Living in a condo makes it easier to leave for extended periods of times, but we still had one of our neighbors keep an eye on our place and drive our cars every so often.
Our electric bill is electronic and I wondered why it was much lower for the last month – well when I opened our refrigerator, instead of feeling a rush of cold air, I was hit by a warm moldy smell. The refrigerator had quit working at least a month ago. Fortunately, we left it 95% empty, so there wasn’t much left to decay, but what little there was, was making a foul smell. The Refrigerator was 13 years old, so we will be buying a new one this week. For our next world cruise, I will probably completely empty the refrigerator and leave it unplugged with the doors open.
One of ours cars batteries also gave up the ghost – it was over 5 years old – so I will have to go battery shopping tomorrow.
Now that we were settled, it was time to head to North Island Naval Air Station to watch the Amsterdam sail out of San Diego Bay – WITHOUT US!!!
A few minutes before 4 we arrived at the fishing pier on the Naval Air Station which would give us a great view of the ship as she sailed by.
Right on cue, we saw the smoke stacks of the Amsterdam over the trees and nearby buildings as she started to sail toward the open ocean. As she passed by we took our final “Jazz Hands” photo and waved goodbye to everyone at the SailAway.
Hopping in our car, we headed out to Coronado Beach and watched as she cleared the channel and started her turn to the North and a summer of sailing Alaska.
Our world cruise was officially over.
We had the time of our lives.
Stay tuned to this space for more post cruise insight, videos and other postings and tips regarding world cruising.
This entry was posted in 2016 Grand World Voyage, California, North America, San Diego, USA
Welcome home, shipmate! And thank you for the best travel blog ever!
Nick Sabalos, CDR, USN (Ret) — a SWO stationed out of San Diego for 17 years of my career.
Thanks Nick, Appreciate the kind words
I was one of the (I assume many) silent but loyal readers that followed your blog every day. Thank you for your texts, and welcome home.
Thank you so much for sharing your incredible journey! My son (13) is a huge history buff. This summer we will be visiting California and the highlight of the trip for him will be visiting the USS Midway. I will tell him about your service and we will think of you when we are on the flight deck!
Thanks for your great blog. It was like being there!
It has been such a pleasure following along on your world cruise. What a trip of a lifetime! Thanks again for letting me “travel” with you!
Yes- best blog ever. Thanks for taking us along. Cheers
Thank you so much for your wonderful blog have followed it almost every day – so glad you enjoyed my hometown Sydney.
Thanks you so much for taking us on this journey with you. So sad is is over but look forward to your follow up posts and future trip reports!
Moored. Shift colors. Now set the inport watch. Welcome home Pete and Judy!
On Deck Section 3………….
Welcome home Pete and Judy.
all the best,
Erik
Thanks for sharing your experience. The blog is really nice and your journey is incredible.
a great tale. thanks very much