- 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
Today will be a sea day for the most part, until we moor around 6pm at Singapore’s Ocean Terminal. Numerous ships were visible all day and in some parts it almost looked as if we were on the maritime equivalent of an interstate highway as steady streams of vessels of all sizes passed us going in the opposite direction while we kept pace with many other ships heading to Singapore.
It was warm and humid on our verandah, but not stifling, and with an air conditioned refuge close at hand we could stand outside for a bit and then pop back inside after a few minutes. The air conditioning in our cabin has worked great all cruise and we have never had any trouble keeping the interior temperature at 72 degrees.
Good Morning Amsterdam’s guest was Barbara the Location Guide instead of the previous night’s entertainer as is the normal custom. With all the travelling done by these entertainers, getting up early for a TV show may be the last thing they want to do and might prefer getting caught up with some sleep.
Barbara is always interesting and she provided a few tidbits and advice for what to do in Singapore. She will be providing commentary as we sail into Singapore this afternoon. Unlike most ports, where your passport is not necessary to go ashore, here in Singapore it is required and we have to pass thru airport style immigration stations coming and going. Based on this, Barbara reminded us to not plan on quick visits to the terminal as you we able to do in Hong Kong or other ports.
I stopped by the Culinary Arts Center to see Guest Chef Pranee Halvorsen demonstrate how to prepare Phad Thai with Tiger Prawns, Tofu, Bean Sprouts and Chinese Chives. I enjoy cooking and love Asian food, but haven’t been too successful recreating many of the Chinese dishes I enjoy. The Phad Thai receipe she shared is posted HERE and I will give it a try when I get back to San Diego.
Pranee Halvorsen demonstrates how to make Phad Thai
One of the special features I believe is available only on Grand Voyages (others correct me if I am wrong) is the noodle cart in the Lido for lunch on sea days. Every day they offer a different type of hot noodle soup, from Pho to Ramen and everything in between. The cart sits near the door to the Lido pool on the starboard side.
When passengers are getting off the ship at the end of their segment, there is a Grand Dollar Redemption opportunity in the Hudson Room. Gene mentioned this morning at Good Morning Amsterdam that they were out of $1 Grand Dollar Bills and that if you redeemed your $1 bills today you would get $100 Grand Dollar credit toward the gift of your choice. Gene also indicated that the prices marked are negotiable and he is willing to haggle.
I have managed to amass $375 Grand Dollars which is enough to get anything they are selling except the Kindle Fire. I think I will hold out till the end and see if they hold a final fire sale.
It was drizzling as Barbara started her narration for our arrival so we stayed in our cabin and watched from our Veranda. We are close to the stern on deck 6 so we can pop out to the deck below the SeaView pool pretty quickly if we want to see something on the other side.
As we closed on the Ocean Terminal, the curved towers of the residential development called Reflections at Keppel Bay were visible right outside our cabin. These buildings range from 24 to 41 stories with over 2 million square feet of living space.
Residential Development “The Reflections at Keppel Bay”
Once we were between Singapore city and Sentosa Island we spun 180 degrees and snugged up against the pier at Harbour Front, bow facing to sea.
MAPS.ME screen shot of our location in Singapore
We had originally planned to go ashore and visit Raffles Hotel this evening. But as the rain persisted and we grew a little more weary, we decided to stay aboard and watch the special encore show by Annie Frances.
About 50 other people joined us in the Queens Lounge, and Annie did not disappoint. Her show was new and was a collection of hits from the 1970’s which was a sweet spot for most everyone in the audience. While the audience was small, it was filled with enthusiastic fans. Her final number “I Am Woman” by Helen Reddy brought down the house and she received an enthusiastic standing ovation.
Annie Frances during her encore show
Annie belts out “I am Woman”
After the show we stopped by the Lido for what we would call in the Navy: “Mid-Rats” which is short for “Midnight Rations” and although Navy food was always pretty good, I have to admit that “Mid Rats” on the Amsterdam beats Mid Rats on most aircraft carriers I deployed aboard.
Thank you for the recipes, I will make the pad ti this week. Great blog!