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Travel The World with Bill & Mary Ann HAL's Grand World Voyage 2007

WCB

By WCB,
in Holland America Line

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WCB "Live from...." Rare

WCB

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Report # 50 3-14-07 - 3-16-07 Wednesday - Friday Three Days at Sea

 

Ahhhh, we have three glorious days at sea now before we arrive to Cochin, India. We have 1869 miles to sail northwesterly towards India, with an average speed of 18 knots. We plan on spending a lot time walking, and relaxing by the pool. It's the best place to catch up on ship gossip!!

 

The weather remained partly cloudy, but the further we traveled away from Malaysia, we actually saw blue skies. The temperature has been around a comfortable 80 degrees, with a nice breeze. And the pool water has been a refreshing 84 degrees. Perfect!

 

We have booked a four day three night tour to the Taj Mahal, Delhi, and Agra with our travel group. There will be three buses of about 70 of us, including our hosts, Ellen and Heather from Seattle. Ellen has had two meetings so far , with the majority of details printed out for us. With tight airline restrictions, it will be a challenge to pack conservatively for this short trip. But we have three days to figure it out! We have also begun taking medication for anti-malarial protection, only because we are going so far inland.

 

New speakers have joined the ship namely, Pat Pearson, an author on personal development, and Sarah Edington, a professional cook and author of several food books. Since it has been so warm outside, many people take refuge in the Queen's Lounge to listen to the talks.

 

New talent shows are Nick McCullock, a Neil Diamond impersonator, and Larry "Link" Linkin, a clarinet player who appeared in Carnegie Hall, etc. Reports on these shows will be forthcoming when we talk to our tablemates.

 

Dinnertime on Wednesday was the formal "Speakeasy Festivities". All the decorations were in the 1920's Prohibition theme. The dining room captains, the waiters, and their assistants were dressed in "zoot suits" and tophats. They all looked like gangsters from the "Untouchables", the movie and TV show several years ago. The most fun part was the clever menu with items like...............the six most wanted appetizers, Al Capone's firecracker shrimp, Don Carlo's soup, and jailhouse salad. The entrees everyone was whispering about were Staten Island Joe's wiener Schnitzel, John Gotti's turkey with CRIMEberry sauce, and 1 count to 10 sirloin steak ( suggestion from the Cotton Club). Desserts were (only if you know the password), peach pie with a bullet of ice cream, Big Frank's mano crepes, and Jimmy the Weasel's cheesecake sampler. The flambe was Joseph Bonanno's bananas foster. Someone in the menu planning department has a marvelous sense of humor!!

 

Port talks continues with Barbara about Cochin and Marmagao. We are disappointed to be missing these new ports, but the attractive pricing on the Taj Mahal trip won out in the end.

 

We cannot believe that we are on the 60th day onboard the Amsterdam! It's true that time flies when you are having fun! All the passengers have fallen into their daily routines, where we pretty much know where everyone will be at any given time. At 11 am, we have a "meeting of the minds" with our pool buddies. We've been comparing the trips Holland is offering and the one we are doing with CSI. So far, it looks like we are doing the same itinerary with 5 star hotels for half the price. And it appears that we are much better informed with the trip details compared to Holland's trip. We all have had many questions in regards to flying details (what we can carry on the plane, and what needs to be checked). We are confident that we will receive these answers well before we leave the ship tomorrow. The Holland folks have told our friend Jeff, that they will let him know about airport rules when they actually get there. He is not a happy camper with the tour office, since he has booked several of the overland tours, and is now finding out that he is paying way too much. Maybe we have a future CSI inductee!! He really took a ribbing from our pool group when we brought out our special travel packs for the tour. It will be interesting to compare notes when we are all back on March 20th! We hope he has an equally successful tour.

 

Having completed our packing for tomorrow, we can relax. Actually it was more of a magic act on how much can you fit in one small roll on bag?? You'd be surprised!! We hope it will be easier to search for one bag, instead of two! We'll see.............

 

Tonight, we are invited to a special "70th" birthday party for our tablemate, Woody. They have reserved one side of the Crow's Nest from 7 to 8. Should be fun. We'll have to remember to bring the whistles and bubbles left from our last party! And we wonder why they call our table the "rowdy ones"!!

 

Well, we're signing off for a few days until we get back on Tuesday, March 20th. Hope to come back with lots of adventures to tell you all about. Wish us luck!!!

 

 

Bill & Mary Ann

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Mary Ellen

Mary Ellen

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HI,

Please email me name of CSI--

I 'think' what you are asking for is the name of the TA WCB used, often abbreviated as CSI. You'll often see their ad at the top of the HAL forum. They have been advertising the 'sneak peek' of the Cunard Queen Victoria. They are Cruise Specialists Inc. - just click on that ad (there are others who also advertise, make sure it is CSI's ad).
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Grumpy1

Grumpy1

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Went through the whole website looking for CSI and couldn't find it. Do you know what city they are located in? Thanks. I am certainly enjoying this blog. It has been fascinating!

Just take those initials, add seattle and make a dotcom out of it:)

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sfocruiser

sfocruiser

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The rules of the boards prohibit talking about specific travel agencies...therefore the subtlety.

 

If there are Rules how does a statement like
"Just take those initials, add seattle and make a dotcom out of it"
or
"You'll often see their ad at the top of the HAL forum... They are Cruise Specialists Inc. "
make it any more acceptable. Either you allow the solicitation of Travel Agents or you don't. If the discussion of travel agents is not allowed or considered fair, then if you going to recommend a travel agent at least do it via PM not in the open forum.

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sfocruiser

sfocruiser

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Get up on the wrong side of the bed?

 

Ha!... naw I wrote this late last night maybe I needed the rest. My point is I would love lace my posts with "atta boys" about my TA (XYZ threw me the best party, XYZ left me the greatest gift) but I refrain as that what makes this forum so balanced and credible. Its only natural to want to broadcast the great treatment you receive, whether it’s from a TA, Cruise Line, or Tour Operator, but in the case of TA's the guidelines are clear (for good reason). This is really something the moderators should be doing, as I'm sure this is not an intentional, but more a desire to have others get the same great experience you had.

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ger_77

ger_77

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Okay, I'm curious about the "theft" and the passengers who were disembarked because of it. Was the theft on shore, or did it happen onboard from other passenger cabins? I can't imagine people on a world cruise stealing from others - it boggles my little mind!

 

Smooth Sailing! :) :) :)

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DFD1

DFD1

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I too am curious about the theft problem. It seems like such an unlikely problem on a world cruise. Please share whatever additional information you have about it.

 

Thank you again for your incredibly interestisng reports. They are great fun to read and are really instructive.

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SDHALFAN

SDHALFAN

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I got back a couple of weeks ago from the first half of the ms Amsterdam's GWV (I got back two weeks ago from today and I can't believe that the time has flown by so quickly - but I digress): you have to understand that this is all conjecture but the rumors were fairly rampant and it seems that there was indeed some truth to them.

 

On the first half of the cruise at least two people were disembarked because of stealing from the Onboard Shops. You know how they always have those "sales" with tons of merchandise on tables outside the various shops? Well, apparently a couple of people just helped themselves to the merchandise and "forgot" to pay for it. What had all of us wondering was why they just took the merchandise and didn't take the box that the merchandise came in? That empty box would be a dead give away in the first place wouldn't it? Apparently the people involved also didn't realise that there are security cameras all over the ship - for all sorts of reasons, and I for one am glad that they do have those cameras in place - my personal security is important to me:D .

 

The second theft situation may well have some validity since an officer, and I have absolutely no idea which one, did tell one of my shipmates that a "lady" apparently fell in love with the cutlery in The Pinnacle Grill and helped herself to quite a few table settings. She was confronted (those "Big Brother" cameras again?) and was escorted to her cabin where it was found that she had at least 100 pieces of the cutlery in her possesion. She and her travelling companion were also disembarked at the next port of call.

 

There were all sorts of rumors going around, also concerning possible theft from other passengers, and who knows what the truth is but it does seem fairly sure that at least four people were disembarked on the cruise from Fort Lauderdale to Hong Kong.

 

I have to agree, and it was also wondered about onboard ship: why, if you spend all that money on a GWV, would you need to steal anything at all? Certainly these sad people have far more problems than we can understand.

 

I have no idea whatsoever about the latest theft reports and I also look forward to hearing from Mary Ann and Bill when they get back from the Taj Mahal all about their wonderful trip, oh yes: and those thefts.

 

Valerie:)

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COBRAJUDY

COBRAJUDY

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Bill and Mary Ann

This is just a note to say how much I have enjoyed the reports on your trip. Our 50th is June first of this year and since we did not make your cruise we signed up for 2008. We will be looking forward to your next report.

John & Marge

Indian Harbour Beach, FL:)

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DFD1

DFD1

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This thread is one of the best ever for the boards. It is so interesting, comprehensive and great fun to read.

 

I really appreciate all the effort Bill and Mary Ann have put in to share their adventure in such a generous way.

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WCB "Live from...." Rare

WCB

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Greetings fellow readers!!

 

We're baaaackkk!!! As soon as we can, we will post reports! Had a great trip to the Taj Mahal, and the ride from Delhi to Agra was enlightening, to say the least!

 

As for the stealing reports, we do not have the details, so sorry. Will investigate further if we can.

 

Thanks for all the wonderful comments!

 

Bill & Mary Ann

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May4

May4

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Thank you, as my dear dad likes to say, from the tip of my toes to the top of my head, for these wonderful reports.

 

I suspect that it is nice for you to be home again, to catch up on the news from friends and family, sleep in your own home, raid the 'fridge, etc.

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Old As Dirt Mom

Old As Dirt Mom

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Thank you, as my dear dad likes to say, from the tip of my toes to the top of my head, for these wonderful reports.

 

I suspect that it is nice for you to be home again, to catch up on the news from friends and family, sleep in your own home, raid the 'fridge, etc.

 

Hi May4:

 

I just have to say I always enjoy your sense of humor and your posts....:)

 

To the best of my knowledge, Bill and Mary Ann are not actually "home" yet; they just got back from a 3-day land tour in India, and have now returned to the Amsterdam, their "home away from home". They still have about another month of the Grand World Voyage to go, lucky us!:)

 

Karin

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