- 2023 World Cruise – The Adventure Begins (Post #1)
- The Adventure Begins! – Fort Lauderdale (Post #3)
- At Sea – en route to Falmouth, Jamaica (Post #4)
- Falmouth, Jamaica (Post #5)
- The Tuxedo Junction at Sea (Post #6)
- Puerto Limón (Post#7)
- Zuiderdam and Volendam – side by side – Panama Canal Transit (Post #8)
- Two Faces of Panama (Post #9)
- Library Grand Opening – At Sea (Post #10)
- The Graveyard of Good Intentions (Post #11)
- Something Old and Something New (Post #12)
- The Captain’s Dinner and Zuiderdam Ball (Post #13)
- Mike West “The Ship Guy”- At Sea (Post #14)
- Sunday Brunch – At Sea (Post #15)
- Taming the Towel Animals – At Sea (Post #16)
- The Final Day of our 8th Consecutive Sea Days (Post #17)
- GLAMPING IN NUKU HIVA (Post # 18)
- Sailing the South Pacific (Post #19)
- Island Joy presents Ukuleles in Concert (Post #20)
- Flowers, Pearls and Roulottes in Papeete (Post #21, 21 Jan 2023)
- Moorea Photo Safari (Post #22)
- Snorkeling in the Rain in Raiatea (Post #23)
- Late Sleepers in Uturoa, Raiatea (Post #24)
- Sea Day Brunch and Coloring for Adults (Post #25)
- Horse Racing on the High Seas – Derby Night (Post #26)
- Fashion Show on the High Seas (Post #27)
- 2025 Grand World Voyage – Sneak Peak (Post #28)
- Blow Holes on Tonga (Post #29)
- When is a world cruise a world cruise? (Post #30)
- At Sea – Dr. Karen Woodman, Linguist, Guest Lecturer (Post #31)
- Auckland Yarn Crawl (Post #32)
- Tauranga and a Visit to Hobbiton (Post #33)
- Gisborne Wine Tour (Post #34)
- Windy Wellington (Post #35)
- Let them eat cake on the Tasman Sea (Post #36)
- Sailing the Tasman Sea (Post #37)
- Two Days in Sydney (Post #38)
- Port Arthur, Tasmania (Post #39)
- Hobart, Tasmania (Post #40)
- Valentine’s Day at Sea (Post #41)
- Adelaide, Fringe Festival (Post #42)
- Adelaide – Kangaroos and Germany in South Australia (Post #43)
- Remarkable Rocks on Kangaroo Island (Post #44)
- Fremantle Fat Tuesday and Yarn (Post #45)
- Perth – Swan Valley Wine Tour (Post #46)
- 2020 Grand World Cruise Reflection and Reunion Party (Post #47)
- Slot Pull at Sea (Post #48)
- A valid claim of Bingo (Post #49)
- Indian Ocean Highlights (Post #50)
- Song Writing at Sea with Trevor Knight (Post #51)
- Port Louis, Mauritius (Post #52)
- La Possession, Reunion (Post #53)
- Formal Night Surprise (Post #54)
- Maputo – Hump Port – (Post #55)
- Our Overland Safari Begins!
- Safari Day #1 – Durban, South Africa (Post #56)
- Safari Day #2, Thanda Safari Lodge (Post #57)
- Safari Day #3, Thanda Safari Lodge (Post #58)
- Safari Day #4, Thanda Safari Lodge – Cape Town (Post #59)
- Cape Town – Table Mountain (Post #60)
- Cooking in Cape Town (Post #61)
- Lüderitz, Namibia (Post #62)
- Walvis Bay, Namibia (Post #63)
- At Sea – Enroute to Angola (Post #64)
- Luanda, Angola (Post #65)
- Crossing the Equator at the Prime Meridian (Post #66)
- Abidjan, Ivory Coast – Côte d’Ivoire, (Post #68)
- Banjul, The Gambia (Post #69)
- SNOW DAY IN DAKAR, SENEGAL (Post #70)
- Aprils Fools’ Day at Sea (Post #71)
- Santa Cruz, Tenerife (Post #72)
- Arrecife, Lanzarote, Canarias (Post #73)
- Riding a Camel in Agadir, Morocco (Post #74)
- Casablanca to Marrakech, Morocco (Post #75)
- Tangier, Morocco (Post #76) 7 April 2023
- Malaga, Spain (Post #77) 8 April 2023
- Lisbon, Portugal (Post #79) – 10 April 2023
- A Coruna Spain (Post #80) 12 April 2023
- Holland America Line 150th Anniversary Party in Amsterdam
- Bergen, Norway: Snow, Rain and Sun (26 April 2023)
- Praia da Vitória, Azores (5 May 2023)
The Library opens and we celebrate our table’s first birthday
The Library reopened today at 9 am with a ribbon-cutting ceremony hosted by the Cruise and Travel Director, Ian, with the Captain in attendance. The ribbon was cut by the current Entertainment Director, Bienelisa Manalang, who started her career as a Librarian with Holland America in 2015.
Several hundred people were packed around the entrance as the doors open and people filed in to check out the books. The books are checked out on the honor system with a limit of 2 per person.
Ian told me there were 1800 books in the library.
There are only two chairs in the library, and this isn’t a library where you can read your books or lounge, as you could in the past. The Gallery Bar is an underused space that is normally very quiet and is close to the Library.
Table 89 celebrated the first birthday of the cruise, with Cindy getting the honor of being the first to wear the giant foam “It’s My Birthday” hat. We enjoyed the usual Indonesian Birthday song celebrated by the assembled waiters. Here are the lyrics and English translation:
Birthday Song (Bahasa Indonesia)
Panjang umurnya
Panjang umurnya
Panjang umurnya
Serta mulia
Serta mulia
Serta mulia
Birthday Song (English)
Long is his/her age
Long is his/her age
Long is his/her age
And treasured
And treasured
And treasured
Pianist Elliot Finkel was the featured entertainer this evening. He played a variety of classical and popular songs and put on a wonderful show.
Hi Pete! I’m really enjoying your blog and it’s so helpful as we prepare for our 2024 World Cruise. The library looks beautiful – shame about the lack of seating though. Can you tell me where it’s located, and what was there before? Also, do they have a shelf for a paperback exchange? Thanks, Cathy
They have a book exchange area. The library is on deck 3 – across from the Hudson Room – you may see it listed at the Tasman room or the Screening Room.. The Gallery Bar is a very nice lounge and is always EMPTY – use this space as your reading room. Very quiet
What a GREAT day!! We are so excited to hear libraries are coming back–we missed them very much in that we had to bring our own books and left them behind when we disembarked. We were on the Queen Elizabeth this year and they have a two storey library with a librarian and assistant..it was wonderful and we hope Holland will now put libraries on all its ships. THANKS so much.
There isn’t a librarian onboard and the library is more like a bookstore than a library. Keep your expectations low…..sadly
Hi Peter, thanks for the blog post. The library is beautiful and will be a hit on long cruises. We look forward to using it on 2024 World Cruise. Loved your post about Panama. Especially enjoyed the road less traveled perspective. How has the Wi-Fi worked at sea? Anything we can do or bring to enhance Wi-Fi service? Happy sea days.
Wifi is WAY better than ever – Still not like at home – but very useable. Bring a travel router or a laptop so you can share your internet when in your cabin. Get up early – Internet is great at 4 AM
Thank you so much for the library report! Looks like an “it is what it is” situation. Or perhaps “glass half full” for those with the drink package