- The Journey Begins – The 2018 Grand World Voyage
- Leaving San Diego for Fort Lauderdale
- Arriving in Fort Lauderdale and our first day
- Fort Lauderdale – Day 2
- Day 1 – The Adventure Begins
- Day 2 – Our First Sea Day – Abba Fabulous!
- Day 3, Georgetown, Grand Cayman
- Day 4, At Sea En Route Puerto Limon (San Jose), Costa Rica
- Day 5, Puerto Limon, Costa Rica
- Day 6, Transit the Panama Canal
- Day 7, Fuerte Amador, Panama
- Day 8, At Sea
- Day 9, At Sea
- Day 10, At Sea
- Day 11, At Sea
- Day 12, At Sea
- Day 13, At Sea – Enroute to Nuku Hiva
- Day 14, At Sea, Enroute to Nuku Hiva
- Day 15, At Sea – Enroute to Nuku Hiva
- Day 16, Taiohae, Nuku Hiva, French Polynesia
- Day 17, At Sea
- Day 18, Avatoru, Rangiroa, French Polynesia
- Day 19, Papeete, Tahiti, French Polynesia
- Day 20, Mooera, French Polynesia
- Day 21, Bora Bora, French Polynesia
- Day 22 – At Sea
- Day 23, Avarua, Rarotonga, Cook Islands
- Day 24, At Sea
- Day 25 – Alofi, Niue
- Day 26 – At Sea – Crossed Dateline – Jan 29th GONE!
- Day 27 – At Sea
- Day 28 – At Sea
- Day 29 – Auckland, NZ
- Day 30 – Tauranga – 3 Feb 2018
- Day 31 – Napier
- Day 32, At Sea – Super Bowl Monday
- Day 33, Port Chalmers, Dunedin
- Day 34, Fjordlands National Park – Milford Sound
- Day 35 – At Sea – Enroute Sydney
- Day 36 – At Sea
- Day 37 – Sydney, Australia
- Day 38 – Sydney, Australia
- Day 39 – At Sea
- 2020 World Cruise Possibilities
- Day 40, Hobart, Tasmania
- Day 41, At Sea
- Day 42, At Sea
- Day 43 – Penneshaw, Kangaroo Island
- Day 44 – Adelaide, South Australia
- Day 45 – At Sea
- Day 46 – At Sea
- Day 47 – Albany, Western Australia
- Day 48 – 21 Feb Perth
- Day 49 – Perth Yarn Crawl
- Day 50 – At Sea
- Day 51 – At Sea
- Day 52 – At Sea
- Day 53 – Benoa, Bali
- Day 54 – Benoa – Bali
- Day 55 – At Sea
- Day 56 – At Sea
- Day 57 – At Sea
- Day 58, Puerto Princesa
- Day 59, – At Sea
- Day 60, Manila, Philippines
- Day 61, Manila, Philippines
- Day 62 – At Sea
- Day 63 – Hong Kong
- Day 64, Hong Kong
- Day 65 – At Sea
- Day 66 – At Sea
- Day 67 – Phu My, Vietnam
- Day 68 – Siem Reap (ms Amsterdam at Sea)
- Day 69 – Siem Reap
- 2020 World Cruise – w/detailed dates
- Day 70 – Singapore
- Day 71 – At Sea
- Day 72 – Phuket
- Day 73 – At Sea
- Day 74 – At Sea – Enroute to Sri Lanka
- Day 75 – Columbo, Sri Lanka
- Day 76 – At Sea – Enroute to the Seychelles
- Day 77 – At Sea
- Day 78 – At Sea
- Day 79 – Victoria, Seychelles
- Day 80 – At Sea
- Day 81 – At Sea
- Day 82 – St Denis – Reunion Island
- Day 83 – At Sea
- Day 84 – At Sea
- Day 85 – At Sea
- Day 86 – Maputo – Safari Day 1
- Day 87 – Kambaku River Sands – Safari Day 2
- Day 88 – Kambaku River Sands – Safari Day 3
- Day 89 – Kambaku River Sands – Safari Day 4
- Day 90 – Cape Town, South Africa
- Day 91, Cape Town, South Africa
- Day 92 – At Sea
- Day 93, Walvis Bay, Namibia
- Day 94 – At Sea
- Day 95 – At Sea
- Day 96 -Luanda, Angola
- Day 97 – At Sea
- Day 98 – At Sea
- Day 99 – Crossing the Equator
- Day 100 – At Sea
- Day 101 – At Sea
- Day 102 – Banjul, Gambia
- Day 103 – Dakar, Senegal
- Day 104 – At Sea
- Day 105, Praia – Cape Verde
- Day 106 – At Sea
- Day 107 – At Sea
- Day 108 – At Sea
- Day 109 – At Sea – April 23, 2018
- Day 110 – At Sea
- Day 111 – San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Day 112 – At Sea
- Day 113 – At Sea
- Day 114 – Fort Lauderdale
- 2018 World Cruise Entertainers
Day 24 – At Sea – 27 January
Sea Day
Another sea day was welcome after our long day ashore yesterday.
Coffee Chat
I went down to the Explorer’s lounge around 9 AM to watch Hyperion Knight practice before his interview with Hamish at the 9:30 Coffee Chat. One of the many features I enjoy about cruising in general and Grand Voyages in particular, is the variety of outstanding live performances available. A special bonus is the opportunity to talk with artists afterwards and gain a greater appreciation for their incredible talents.
Hyperion played for about 20 minutes, only stopping when it was time for the crew to set up for the 9:30 show.
Hamish always does a wonderful job interviewing his guests on Coffee Chat. He asks the questions that are on everyone’s mind and then gives the guests plenty of time to expand on their answers.
Hyperion showed talent for the piano when he was a small boy and received a lot of support from his family while growing up. He ultimately attended the Julliard School where he was able to hone his talent. After graduation, he discovered that earning a living as a musician required perseverance and a willingness to adapt to what the market was will to pay for. His first job was with a restaurant associated with the Cleveland Clinic where he played with some string instruments in almost an Adagio type of setup. It was here that he realized that he needed to expand his range to include more popular tunes that the audience was always requesting. He still practices 6 hours daily to stay sharp and work on new material.
After a few years of honing his skills in satisfying audiences, he had an opportunity to work as a substitute for an ill cruise ship pianist on short notice. Years later, Hyperion is a fixture on Holland America and other cruise lines in addition to maintaining a busy schedule playing with orchestras ashore.
Texas Hold’em
Playing the morning Texas Hold’em games requires you to arrive at the Casino cage 40 minutes in advance. I arrive when they are open and take whatever games are is left, which is the 3:00 PM game and sometimes the game at 1:30 PM. I played twice today, finishing in the money once.
Knitting
Not playing in the morning Texas Hold’em game gave me more time to work on my knitting. I did about 8 rows today – slowing progressing toward finishing my first ball of yarn.
Afternoon around the ship
Judy and I met for lunch by the pool, where I enjoyed a bowl of Hot and Sour soup and some sushi while Judy continues to get her turkey and provolone panini.
There wasn’t any drawing class today because the Wajang theatre, which is also America’s Test Kitchen, was being used for a baking class for the children in Club HAL. This allowed Judy to get to crafts 30 minutes early which she discovered wasn’t really early at all, as most people are now getting to the craft area, which is in the Lido Market, port side, aft, a full 2 hours early to eat lunch and then linger until class starts. Nevertheless she did manage to snare one of the available crafts which involved making a paper bead and stringing it on a bracelet.
Pub Trivia at 5 PM continues to be a lot of fun, but we have never finished in the top tier.
Dinner
Dinner continues to be amazing. The selections are always outstanding and the service is incredible. We are seated at a 10 top but still manage to finish by 9:30 and only stay longer when we choose to linger over coffee or tea.
Queen’s Lounge
Frank King was the headliner in the Queen’s Lounge this evening. I have seen dozens of cruise ship comedians over the years and he in one of the best. He show is titled “Comedy and Conversation” with Frank King which set the expectation that he would engage with the audience more than you might expect from a comedian. The house lights stayed up as the show opened which was a sure sign that audience participation is sure to follow.
Much to my pleasant surprise, Frank didn’t wander into the tired terrain of commenting on the size of the late-night show nor calling out audience members who wandered in a few minutes late. Instead he launched into a very timely series of jokes commenting on the recent situation aboard regarding tender tickets and how he may be in the middle of a black market selling tender tickets from his stateroom. His other observations about cruise ship life and life in general was refreshingly original and quite funny. On the few occasions he engaged with an audience member he skillfully elicited numerous humorous interactions without insulting anyone or resorting to other gimmicks. He concluded his show with an amusing narration of a slide show showing various signs that he as accumulated over the years.
Frank King is an outstanding comedian. If you have the chance to catch his show – it is a must see.
Here is the LINK to Frank King’s website
This entry was posted in 2018 Grand World Voyage, Sea Day
