Rare SUESEABE Posted May 11 #651 Share Posted May 11 Thank you for allowing all of us to accompany you on your wonderful journey. Safe travels home. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyingfish123 Posted May 11 #652 Share Posted May 11 Thank you so much for taking me along on your fabulous journey! 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare ski ww Posted May 11 #653 Share Posted May 11 Thanks for posting your pictures & write ups, very interesting, welcome home. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
travelnap Posted May 11 #654 Share Posted May 11 Thanks for taking us all along with you on this voyage. I have enjoyed following your travels. Have a safe trip home. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare The-Inside-Cabin Posted May 11 Author #655 Share Posted May 11 Here is the final 15 minutes of the Farewell toast and crew parade on the world stage. We are at the FLL airport now getting ready to fly to ATL then SAN. I will post the complete "City at Sea" presentation later. 8 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sterling2 Posted May 11 #656 Share Posted May 11 Safe travels home. Thank you for sharing your travels with us. You two clearly define “travelers” as opposed to tourists. Curious how much knitting Judy does on these trips. Thank you. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare The-Inside-Cabin Posted May 11 Author #657 Share Posted May 11 Hi, I brought yarn for several projects. I was able to complete two summer tops in a linen yarn and a cardigan in black lace. They were all on medium sized needles (US 7's & 8's) I also bought some yarn in Singapore and knit a beanie for each of the guys at our dinner table and used the rest of the yarn to knit a scarfette for each of the ladies. - Judy 7 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sterling2 Posted May 11 #658 Share Posted May 11 1 hour ago, The-Inside-Cabin said: Hi, I brought yarn for several projects. I was able to complete two summer tops in a linen yarn and a cardigan in black lace. They were all on medium sized needles (US 7's & 8's) I also bought some yarn in Singapore and knit a beanie for each of the guys at our dinner table and used the rest of the yarn to knit a scarfette for each of the ladies. - Judy Thanks, Judy! Sounds good considering all the tours you two were on. Very impressive!☺️ 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RuthC Posted May 11 #659 Share Posted May 11 Welcome back to dry land that won't get sea splashed overnight! Have a safe flight home. Thank you both so much for letting us ride along with you. Your adventures are fun to join in on, as you get a lot out of your travels. I'm looking forward to reading all about your next cruise! 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LouChamp Posted May 12 #660 Share Posted May 12 Aloha. Please report on your homecoming and how joyful to see the kids and grandkids. Happy Mother’s Day 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare The-Inside-Cabin Posted May 14 Author #661 Share Posted May 14 On 5/11/2024 at 2:51 PM, RuthC said: Welcome back to dry land that won't get sea splashed overnight! Have a safe flight home. Thank you both so much for letting us ride along with you. Your adventures are fun to join in on, as you get a lot out of your travels. I'm looking forward to reading all about your next cruise! Your'e welcome. My next cruise is the 28 day Alaska on the Westerdam. June 7th. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare The-Inside-Cabin Posted May 14 Author #662 Share Posted May 14 On 5/12/2024 at 2:47 AM, LouChamp said: Aloha. Please report on your homecoming and how joyful to see the kids and grandkids. Happy Mother’s Day I will be writing up the last days tomorrow. I had to get the cars smogged, AC fixed and try to start and get unpacked. We don't have any children. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RuthC Posted May 14 #663 Share Posted May 14 25 minutes ago, The-Inside-Cabin said: My next cruise is the 28 day Alaska on the Westerdam. June 7th. Me, too! 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruising Is Bliss Posted May 15 #664 Share Posted May 15 (edited) Thank you for sharing your cruises with us. I really appreciate all the work that goes into doing that. Edited May 15 by Cruising Is Bliss 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LouChamp Posted May 15 #665 Share Posted May 15 10 hours ago, The-Inside-Cabin said: I will be writing up the last days tomorrow. I had to get the cars smogged, AC fixed and try to start and get unpacked. We don't have any children. Aloha. Looking forward to reading your wrap-up. Sorry about the car and the a/c. I understand being away for some time and worrying about the return. The apartment in Manhattan and Honolulu we don’t concern ourselves too much about but the house is always a worry. Nice to see it still standing upon our return but it truly is a first world problem and we are blessed to be able to enjoy them. Welcome home again. When is your next trip? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare The-Inside-Cabin Posted May 17 Author #666 Share Posted May 17 On 5/15/2024 at 2:46 AM, LouChamp said: Welcome home again. When is your next trip? 28 day Alaska - Westerdam - June 9th - Seattle RT 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LouChamp Posted May 17 #667 Share Posted May 17 3 hours ago, The-Inside-Cabin said: 28 day Alaska - Westerdam - June 9th - Seattle RT Aloha. Excellent. A beautiful ship. Enjoy! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meg1021 Posted May 28 #668 Share Posted May 28 On 5/14/2024 at 6:53 PM, The-Inside-Cabin said: I will be writing up the last days tomorrow. I had to get the cars smogged, AC fixed and try to start and get unpacked. We don't have any children. Thanks once again for your detailed posts. I have been following along, since we're booked on the 2025 WC, and this will be our first time sailing on HAL. You provided very good basic information, as well as giving me an idea of the types of onboard activities we can look forward to. You mentioned in one of your posts, that HAL offered a discounted beverage package to World cruisers. Is that a standard offering for the World Cruise? Did they send an email offering, or does your TA inform you about special offers? Enjoy your next cruise, and thanks again. Your positive outlook regarding unexpected issues and changes was much appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare The-Inside-Cabin Posted May 28 Author #669 Share Posted May 28 2 minutes ago, meg1021 said: Thanks once again for your detailed posts. I have been following along, since we're booked on the 2025 WC, and this will be our first time sailing on HAL. You provided very good basic information, as well as giving me an idea of the types of onboard activities we can look forward to. You mentioned in one of your posts, that HAL offered a discounted beverage package to World cruisers. Is that a standard offering for the World Cruise? Did they send an email offering, or does your TA inform you about special offers? Enjoy your next cruise, and thanks again. Your positive outlook regarding unexpected issues and changes was much appreciated. This was the first time they offered a beverage package on a world cruise (to my knowledge). Whether or not they offer it again remains to be seen. The offer appeared on the HAL website as one of the many packages available for purchase. You TA may have some insight if they plan to offer a similar package for 2025. I think the package was available in the October timeframe. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NotLikeBelleRosen,IHope Posted May 28 #670 Share Posted May 28 Thanks so much for reporting on your cruise. Fun and informative (as always), a reader can't ask for more than that! I appreciate, too, the links to other bloggers on your blog. It is nice for someone who can only dream about a world cruise to see different perspectives. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare The-Inside-Cabin Posted June 6 Author #671 Share Posted June 6 WRAPPING UP THE WORLD CRUISE JUNE 6, 2024 Click "Show More Posts" to show all the links to the other posts for the 2024 World Cruise Show More Posts Our 128-day adventure was coming to a close as we arrived in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Here are some of the highlights of the last few days. SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO We cleared Immigration in San Juan and had two final sea days before we arrived in Fort Lauderdale. Clearing Immigration in San Juan speeds up our disembarkation as we won’t have to clear Customs or Immigration in Fort Lauderdale. This sign is at the end of the cruise terminal piers Two bars in San Juan make claims to inventing the Pina Colada. We first went to Barrachinas- less than a mile from the ship. I couldn’t resist getting the souvenir glass. The Caribe Hilton, a few miles from the ship ($20 taxi) sounds like it has a better claim to being the first to serve the Pina Colada. Close-up of the Caribe Hilton Pina Colada – Photo by Kim C. GUEST TALENT SHOW We arrived in San Juan at 2 p.m. Earlier in the day, the Guest Talent Show was presented on the World Stage. Fourteen acts consisting of individuals and groups were ready to go at 11 a.m. Kimberly introduced each act, and the guests performed on the stage, unlike last year when they were forced to stand in the seating area directly in front of the stage. Here is a video with short clips from each performance. FINAL SEA DAYS We spent our final two sea days packing, wrapping up loose ends, and attending several traditional end-of-cruise events. Ray, in the Ocean Bar, is the BEST! CREW TALENT SHOW The highlight of our first sea day after San Juan was the Crew Talent Show. Nine acts from the Zuiderdam Crew were featured on the World Stage in the Crew Talent Show on May 9th, 2024. After the show, the guests voted by secret ballot. Over 600 ballots were submitted. 1. Christian from guest services sang .. Go the Distance (First Place) 2. Benja & Terrapon from Thailand danced to a popular song from their homeland 3. Julius, a Sommelier & HAL school teacher in the Philippines, – sings Journey’s Faithfully with images of his family in the background 4. Paramita, Rusdayani & Arti, from Bali – from the dining room (Ochi, Oki & Jeni) – dance in costume to a native song — Sekar Jagat Dance and one other song – Third Place 5. Richard from the tech department – from the Philippines – sings I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing 6. Alif from housekeeping – traditional song 7. Dhesery Balisi has been with HAL for 8 years .. she’s a masseuse from the spa who sings I Have Nothing – Second Place 8. Ipsita from Security – from India .. she danced to several tunes from India 9. Filipino Castanet Dancers – 6 women and 6 men .. La Jota Moncadeña – Castanet Dance FAREWELL PRESENTATION The highlight of our final sea day was the Farewell Presentation on the World Stage. This consisted of the City and Sea Presentation, hosted by Cruise and Travel Director Kimberly Wells, followed by the crewmember parade. Hundreds of crewmembers from all the departments filled the stage with the sounds of Sister Sledge’s “We Are Family” playing in the background. While waiting for the presentation, they showed a slide show featuring photographs from the entire cruise. They also played the entertainer highlight reel I put together, shown below. PACKING Many people start packing on the transatlantic crossing and finish by the time they go to dinner on the last day. We aren’t in that group and are usually up past Midnight on the final evening. Before the cruise, we sent eight suitcases and one box with Luggage Forward. We could fit everything into the eight suitcases and didn’t need the box. We ended up checking 5 bags on our flight home. One tip Judy uses to get a little more in each suitcase is to let the suitcase stand up for a couple hours after the initial packing which allows the contents to settle opening up some more space at the top. Amazing room stewards – Prio and Yudi Our bags in the hallway – ready to go! LUGGAGE FORWARD Luggage Forward is convenient now that you don’t have to retrieve your bags in the terminal and carry them through Customs yourself. While waiting for the crew talent show to start, Kimberly announced a glitch with the luggage forward service over the PA system. The preprinted luggage tags never made it onto the ship due to an “unfortunate incident” in San Juan. The exact nature of the “unfortunate incident” was never disclosed but I speculate that the rep had them stolen from his hotel or rental car. Guests in Neptune suites would get tags reprinted but there were too many for everyone else, so we were given special paper tags with our name to attach to our luggage. Luggage Forward would attach the real UPS tag in the warehouse ashore. We put Air Tags in all our bags, which helped give us peace of mind that everything was moving in our direction. NOTE: As I write this on 21 May, we now know that all our bags were tagged and are moving in the UPS system. The “unfortunate incident” added another five days to our luggage return time. BIRTHDAY DINNER On our last evening’s dinner, Table 89 celebrated our final birthday of the cruise, and we retired the Big Hat. The Hat was starting to get a little yellow after two years, and our waiters said they would put it to good use on the next cruise when they expected hundreds of children onboard with plenty of Birthdays. Tonight’s menu was labeled “All-Time Favorites” and included Surf and Turf, Escargot, and more. You can download the menu HERE. Table 89’s Final Birthday Dinner Our waiter, Andi, assisted by Al Rey and Denny, was outstanding and enhanced our cruise experience. We always select fixed seating, so we have the same waiters every evening, which enhances our dining room experience. Great waiters make a great cruise – Denny and Andi were the best! LEAVING THE SHIP FOR THE LAST TIME Unlike almost every other cruise line, Holland America allows you to stay in your cabin until you are ready to leave the ship. This makes your final day more pleasant as you don’t have to wander around the public areas until your debarkation time. Most people tend to leave their rooms early anyway, so there are plenty of empty cabins to keep the room stewards busy until everyone is gone by 9:30 am. The ship didn’t assign debarkation times. Everyone selected their own time by visiting a kiosk by the front desk and selecting a colored baggage tag corresponding to their desired debarkation time. We had a late flight and selected the last possible time which was 9 am to 9:30 am. The ship arrived and was cleared in Port Everglades at 6:55 am. Guests who didn’t have any luggage handled by the ship could leave immediately. The first group, Purple One, was called at 7:12 am. Subsequent colors were called every 10 minutes until 9 am when they announced that every color had been called and it was time for everyone to head ashore. As we headed down the gangway we spotted the numerous baggage cages on the dock waiting to be processed thru the Customs and Border Patrol mobile unit before being loaded into the Luggage Forward’s 40 foot tractor/trailer. Luggage cages filled with bags for Luggage Forward. They all get scanned by customs in the truck before getting loaded into the trailer. We were off the ship around 9:15 a.m. At the end of the gangway, we said goodbye to the officers: Hotel GM Henk and his wife, Christel, Cruise and Travel Director Kimberly, Guest Relations Manager Maja, and Food and Beverage Manager George. Being one of the last people to leave the ship makes your bags easier to find. Porters were in short supply, but we could fasten our Tach Luggage together and roll it out of the terminal ourselves without assistance. The Tach Luggage is great – fasten them together and roll them out independently. CUSTOMS Since we cleared Immigration in San Juan, we didn’t have to stop for any clearance here. A single customs agent was sitting in his booth, but he waved us through without asking any questions. If you have something to declare, you must seek out the Customs people on your own. Once we left the terminal, a small table staffed by Security would return all items confiscated during the cruise. This is where we retrieved the chef’s knife we bought in Tokyo. Nancy Grace, the amazing Arts and Crafts instructor, outside the terminal heading home with boxes of tools and left over supplies. She started the cruise with over twice the number of boxes you see here. THE LAST MILE Taxis are easy to find outside the terminal, and we quickly went to the FLL airport. I recommend taking a cab instead of the HAL transfer because the HAL transfer will probably drop you off between terminals at FLL, which will require you to walk a couple of hundred yards to your terminal or take the shuttle bus to other terminals. We found out later that several people who took the combined excursion with airport transfer were disappointed that they were dropped off between terminals and then discovered that luggage carts or porters were unavailable. BACK HOME Our flight to San Diego via Atlanta was uneventful. Everything was on time, and we walked in our Condo at 9 pm. Living in a condo simplifies things as we don’t have any yardwork or exterior maintenance. The refrigerator was empty but was working fine. We turned on the icemaker and hot water heater. We removed the plastic wrap covering the toilets; their level was almost normal. The HVAC wasn’t cooling correctly, and we need to replace it. I disconnected the batteries on our cars, and after reconnecting the batteries, they started immediately. Our neighbor collected our mail, but we would go through that big pile in the next few days. The cruise was now complete – we were back home. I will write up my final thoughts soon. After that I will continue to write up the various ports that I didn’t cover during the cruise. Many people use my posts has a reference and completing a detailed port visit post takes more time than was available during the cruise on many occasions. One more post coming to finish the cruise 6 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LouChamp Posted June 6 #672 Share Posted June 6 Aloha Glad you made it home safely and all is well. Yes condo living is easier with less worries than a house. The condos in Hawaii Florida and Manhattan are worry free but the house on Long Island while in good shape requires coddling lol. All the best! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cunnorl Posted June 6 #673 Share Posted June 6 Thank You, Thank you for a great and informative report. Have learned many things from your posts and as I look forward to our first WC in 2025, they will all come in handy. Be safe and I look forward to your final report. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
no-name-at-all Posted June 6 #674 Share Posted June 6 Pete, what are we all going to do without you on the 2025 World??? Your help has been invaluable to all of us — even we seasoned world travelers. Looking forward to cruising with you in 26……..(assuming they get rid of smoking in the casino on the Volendam🤞) Bonita and Lenny Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LouChamp Posted June 6 #675 Share Posted June 6 Aloha. Just heard you are not sailing on the 25WC! Is that true if I may ask? Is all ok? Regards Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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