- How Much Does it Cost to Go on a World Cruise? Part 3 – Onboard Spending and Calculator
- 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 2 – Pre and Post Cruise Expenses
- Amazing end of cruise video!
- How much does it cost to go on a world cruise? Part 1
- PACKING FOR A WORLD CRUISE
- That’s Entertainment!
- Opening the Package! What is inside?
- Day 132, San Diego, California
- Day 131, Sailing toward San Diego, California
- Day 130, Sailing toward San Diego, California
- Day 129, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
- Day 128, Sailing toward Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
- Day 127, Huatulco, Mexico
- Subscribe to this blog! – Check box at bottom of this page
- Day 126, Puerto Chiapas, Mexico
- Day 125, Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala
- Day 124, Corinto, Nicaragua
- Day 123, Puntarenas, Costa Rica
- Day 122, Sailing toward Puntarenas, Costa Rica
- Day 121, Transiting the Panama Canal
- Day 120, Cartagena, Colombia
- Day 119, Sailing towards Cartagena
- Day 118, Sailing towards Cartagena
- Day 117, Half Moon Cay, Bahamas
- Day 116, Fort Lauderdale, Florida
- Day 115, April 29, Sailing toward Fort Lauderdale
- Day 114, April 28, Sailing toward Fort Lauderdale
- Day 113, Sailing toward Fort Lauderdale
- Day 112, April 26, Sailing toward Fort Lauderdale
- Day 111, Sailing toward Fort Lauderdale
- Day 110, Sailing toward Fort Lauderdale
- Day 109, Sailing toward Fort Lauderdale
- Day 108, Funchal, Portugal
- Day 107, Sailing toward Funchal, Portugal
- Day 106, Cadiz, Spain
- Day 105, Sailing toward Cadiz
- Day 104, Barcelona, Spain
- Day 103, Monte Carlo, Monaco
- Day 102, Livorno, Italy
- Menus and On Locations updated…more posts coming soon
- Day 101, Civitavecchia, Italy
- Day 100, Sailing toward Civitavecchia, Italy
- Day 99, Katakolon, Greece
- Day 98, Piraeus (Athens,) Greece
- Day 97, Sailing toward Piraeus, Greece
- Day 96, Ashdod, Israel
- Day 95, Haifa, Israel
- Day 94, Transiting the Suez Canal
- Day 93, Sailing toward the Suez Canal
- Day 92, Al’Aqabah, Jordan
- Day 91, Sailing toward Al’Aqabah, Jordan
- Day 90, Sailing toward Al’Aqabah, Jordan
- Day 89, Sailing toward Al’Aqabah, Jordan
- Day 88, Sailing toward Al’Aqabah, Jordan
- Day 87, Salalah, Oman
- Day 86, Sailing toward Salalah, Oman
- Day 85, Muscat, Oman
- Day 84, Sailing toward Muscat
- Day 83, Dubai, UAE
- Day 82, Dubai, UAE
- Day 81, New Delhi to Dubai
- Day 80, New Delhi, India (Ship sailing toward Dubai)
- Day 79, Agra, India (Ship sailing toward Dubai)
- Day 78, Agra, India (Ship sailing toward Dubai)
- Day 77, Colombo, Sri Lanka to New Delhi, India
- Day 76, Colombo, Sri Lanka
- Day 75, Hambantota, Sri Lanka
- Day 74, Sailing toward Hambantota, Sri Lanka
- Day 73, Sailing toward Hambantota, Sri Lanka
- Day 72, Phuket, Thailand
- Day 71, Sailing toward Phuket, Thailand
- Day 70, Singapore
- Day 69, Singapore
- Day 68, Singapore
- Day 67, Sailing toward Singapore
- Day 66; Siem Reap to Sihanoukville – while Amsterdam is moored at Sihanoukville
- Day 65, Siem Reap, Cambodia, Ms Amsterdam sailing toward Sihanoukville
- Day 64. Phu My, Vietnam
- Day 63, Sailing toward Phu My, Vietnam
- Day 62, Da Nang, Viet Nam
- Day 61, Da Nang, Vietnam
- Day 60, Sailing toward Da Nang
- Day 59, Hong Kong
- Day 58, Hong Kong
- Day 57, Hong Kong
- Day 56, Sailing toward Hong Kong
- Day 55, Sailing toward Hong Kong
- Day 54, Sailing toward Hong Kong
- Day 53, Sailing toward Hong Kong
- Day 52, Jakarta, Indonesia
- Day 51, Semarang, Java, Indonesia
- Day 50, Sailing towards Semarang, Indonesia
- Day 49, Benoa, Bali, Indonesia
- Day 48, Sailing toward Benoa, Indonesia
- Day 47, Sailing toward Benoa, Indonesia
- Day 46, Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia
- Day 45, Sailing towards Darwin, Australia
- Day 44, Sailing towards Darwin, Australia
- Day 43, Sailing towards Darwin, Australia
- Day 42, Cairns, Australia
- Day 41, Townsville, Australia
- Day 40, Sailing towards Townsville
- Day 39, Sailing towards Townsville
- Day 38, Sailing towards Townsville
- Day 37, Sydney, Australia
- Day 36, Sydney, Australia
- Day 35, Sailing toward Sydney Australia
- Day 34, Melbourne, Australia
- Day 33, Sailing toward Melbourne
- Day 32, Sailing toward Melbourne
- Day 31, Sailing toward Melbourne, Australia
- Day 30, Picton New Zealand
- Day 29, Sailing toward Picton, New Zealand
- Day 28, Auckland, New Zealand
- Day 27, Waitangi (Bay of Islands) New Zealand
- Day 26, Sailing towards Waitangi
- Day 25, Sailing towards Waitangi
- Day 24, Sailing towards Waitangi
- Day 23, Sailing toward Waitangi, New Zealand
- Day 22, Avatiu, Rarotonga
- Day 21, Sailing toward Avatiu, Rarotonga
- Day 20, Moorea, French Polynesia
- Day 19, Papeete, Tahiti and taking the ferry to Mo’orea
- Day 18 – Avatoru, Rangiroa
- Day 17, Sailing toward Avatoru
- Day 16, Taiohae, Nuku Hiva, French Polynesia
- Day 15, Sailing toward Nuku Hiva
- Day 14, Sailing towards Nuku Hiva
- Day 13, Sailing towards Nuku Hiva
- Day 12 – Sailing towards Nuku Hiva
- Day 11 – Sailing towards Nuku Hiva
- Day 10, At Sea – Enroute Nuku Hiva
- Day 9 – At Sea enroute to Nuku Hiva
- Day 8 – At Sea enroute to Nuku Hiva
- Day 7 – Fuerte Amador, Panama
- Day 6- Cruising the Panama Canal
- Day 5 – Puerto Limon, Costa Rica
- Day 4 – At Sea Enroute to Costa Rica
- Day 3 – Cruising the Carribean
- Day 2 – At Sea – Enroute Costa Rica
- Day 1- The Grand Voyage Begins! 115 Days
- Day D-1 Arriving in Fort Lauderdale
- Day D-2 Leaving Imperial Beach, California
It’s definitely cooler as we continue north toward San Diego. Some deck motion has returned, although nothing like some of the days crossing the Atlantic or in the Tasman Sea near Australia.
There was another “Walk for the Cure” this morning, but we were hunkered down in our cabin packing all morning and didn’t get a chance to get to the promenade deck to see how many people were participating.
Since we live in San Diego, we decided to forgo our FEDEX shipping option and take all of our bags with us and directly home. We have a driver service we have been using for years and we told him to bring his biggest SUV as we will have about 13 bags and boxes, plus carryon. If everything doesn’t fit, we will have to get a cab to follow us home with the rest of the bags. We only live about 30 minutes from the Cruise Terminal, so we can afford to be squished in for such a short trip and hold some bags on our lap if necessary.
I took a break to catch the Location Guide, Wallis’s port lecture on San Diego. Even though we live here, I was interested in hearing how she would cover the city we are so familiar with. She did an outstanding job and her talk reminded me that San Diego is one of the best cruise ports in the world. A modern, exciting city, and many tourist sites within easy walking distance or accessible using the many public transportation options.
We were continuing to pack throughout the day so we ordered in room dining for lunch. A very good hamburger and a grilled chicken sandwich. We love the in-room dining option and used it every day for breakfast, but only occasionally for lunch. While we know you can have anything off the MDR menus delivered to your room if you order during meal hours, we have never taken advantage of this option.
I played my last Texas Hold’em game for the cruise – with my record of 7 wins, 9 second places (16 in the money finishes) out of 46 total games. I had a great time in the Casino and left with more money than I started with – always a good thing.
Final Texas Hold’em game
Judy and I played our last round of Bingo this afternoon. There was a huge turnout and the final jackpot was almost $500. About double what you usually see for Bingo. One person won the “four corner” game – where you must match the number on each the four corners of your card – after only 5 calls – only one more than necessary. Wow!
Joey pulling a lottery ticket for a free cruise before the BINGO game
After Bingo it was back to the room to finish packing. We would have used FEDEX from Fort Lauderdale to ship some of our stuff home, but since we were in transit, we were not allowed to ship anything from that port.
The more we packed, the more it seemed stuff was appearing out of the “wood work” – but right before dinner, we managed to get some bags out in the hallway and could start to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Here is shot of some of our first bags in the hallway. Any guesses as to what the long item is? More on that in later posts.
What is that long thing?
Our final dinner was wonderful as were the previous 130 or so. Our tablemate Brad arranged for us to have a special Indonesian Entrée called “Billy Ketchup”. Not sure if this is spelled correctly, but it was a spicy beef/pork and shrimp dish that we were told is quite popular with the crew and in Indonesia. Of the 8 people at the table, 5 of us decided to give it a try – and I found it quite delicious and look forward to having it again in the future. Any insight as to the origin or correct spelling appreciated.
International violinist, Jacqueline Roche, would be the final entertainer for our cruise. She was outstanding and we particularly like her final number which was a medley of songs from “West Side Story”.
Jacqueline Roche was the final performer for our cruise
Jacqueline Roche play a medley of West Side Story hits
After the show, we said our final good byes to the wonderful Casino staff and headed back to our cabin to finish packing. We asked for the last possible debarkation time which is expected to be around 10 am. We love the fact that HAL lets you sleep in on your final day and stay in your cabin till you are ready to leave the ship.
Our final bag hit the hallway at 1am and we were finally done!
I would like to give big SHOUT OUT to my wife Judy for editing every post and taking 95% of all the pictures!
Very much enjoyed cruising around the world with you both. Excellent photography and I really appreciated that you did not whine about the little things that can go wrong – too many blogs become negative. Looking forward to your next cruise! What is planned?
Thank you so much Pete & Judy for the best blog ever !!! We feel so lucky that we found your blog and that we were able to “cruise” with you around our wonderful world !!! Thanks again and all the best to you both.
Thanks so much for the time and effort, not to say the expense, you put in on your blog. We read it daily from your departure date. You did a great job!
Erik and Diane
Thanks for letting us ride along – what a great trip!!
Thank you both for yr blog..looked forward to it every day.
Enjoy being home now. hope you can sail agin soon.
Thanks!
Thanks so much for a fantastic blog of your adventures. The effort you have put into it to give such a comprehensive report of your cruise is amazing.
I’ll be referring back to it when I start planning for my world cruise, hopefully HAL in 2018.
Having traveled with you on two segments of the world cruise, we found the blog especially on point. It also helped us manage our own cruise withdrawal post Ft. Lauderdale. You helped cement great memories of people and places that hopefully we never forget.
Thank you.
It was great to meet you. Glad you are enjoying the blog!
Hi Pete & Judy: Have been enjoying the blog. I couldn’t help but laugh when you were talking about stuff coming out of the woodwork… of course the rest of us had that same thought on April 29th!
Hugs to you both,
Cruisins (don’t like Billy Joel) Susan
Thanks Susan, We miss you!
Nice job Pete and Judy!!