Discover 7 Continents with Bill & Mary Ann as we sail on the 2012 World Cruise

[Cindy]

I have thoroughly enjoyed every minute of your adventures.:) Although I'm sure you're anxious to get home, I'm sorry to see the cruise postings come to a close!

[azrose]

Don't get off the ship :D What am I going to read everyday and imagine myself on a world cruise too? Thank you so much for sharing!! Have a safe trip back home..

[WCB]

Report # 143 May 12, 2012 Saturday Final Day at Sea

 

Today was sort of a long one, even though our morning was spoken for. We kept our breakfast as light as we could, because at 11:30am, we had been invited to attend a Mariner's brunch in the dining room. Since we did not go to the one on the world cruise, we thought we should go to this one.

 

But first, we were asked to attend a disembarkation talk for those of us who will be leaving the ship in San Diego tomorrow. There are about 300 of us. We pretty much have the talk memorized, but you never know when something might change. So we went at 10am, and shared in the toast with glasses of champagne and mimosas for a cruise well done. Bruce, our cruise director, delivered his usual jokes about not packing our room stewards in the luggage, or pack the clothes we need to wear home, etc.

 

The best advice he gave was to make sure everyone, regardless if they are leaving or going onward, is required to go to the customs and immigrations check early tomorrow morning. Because San Diego will be the first USA port, absolutely everyone has to be seen and cleared. This was a problem last year, when dozens of people decided to sleep in, and failed to appear. Not one person was allowed to get off the ship because of that, and many folks lost their early flights home. Bruce added that if debarkation is delayed due to late comers, they could be fined. Hope his warning works.

 

We also heard that 800 passengers on this trip are non US citizens. It would be our guess that most of them are Canadians, judging by the number of guests we have talked to that come mostly from British Columbia. These folks plus the other nationalities will be cleared by the officials on the ship. We, as US citizens, will be cleared in the terminal. This was different last year, because we did not have to haul our Fed Ex luggage through the line. This time we will have to do that with the help of a man valled Joe B, who works in the San Diego terminal. Once we have cleared customs, we will take our two smaller pieces of luggage to the waiting bus for our transfer to the airport. Luckily, the airport is only a couple of miles away. If all goes according to schedule, we will be flying home by 1:30pm.

 

Anyway, back to the agenda. At 11am, we attended another Mariner event....the medal awarding party held in the Explorers Lounge.

A handful of guests received their bronze (100 days), the silver (300 days), and the gold (500 days). With each announcement of the award, the guests had their photo taken with the Captain and Hotel Manager. Again we were served champagne and mimosas and an assortment of canapes. This affair lasted 1/2 hour.

 

Then brunch started at 11:30am in the dining room. Our small group was led from deck five down to deck four, where we were able to sit wherever we wished in the middle section. Last year, we had assigned seats with Captain Fred and six other longtime guests. This year, there were no officer-hosted tables, not even the Captain. He and Bruce wished us well with another toast of champagne, then they left the room.

 

Brunch for us consisted of a caesar salad, fresh rolls, delicious swiss steak with mashed potatoes and sliced carrots. Dessert was a small serving of bread pudding with a whiskey sauce. During our meal, we each received an HAL tile of the year as a gift. Then by 12:30pm, the dining room opened up for the regular lunch.

 

The rest of the day was used for the final packing. Thinking we were 90% done, it took longer than we expected. Needing to keep the airline bags at under 50 pounds, we had to stash more stuff into the locked duffels. We say this every year, but we need to bring LESS stuff next time we cruise. Granted, we had to pack cold weather clothing this year, including our heavy down jackets. Without Antarctica, we don't need to bundle up. Eventually, we will have this down to a science. At least we don't have the hassle of itemizing everything in each bag, like the Canadians are required to do.

 

We peeked into the showlounge to catch part of the act of the Unexpected Boys, who were unexpectedly still onboard. Their songs this evening were all about Broadway shows, and once again, they filled every seat in the place. Bruce has promised us that next year, more and more acts will be upbeat and modern. They can only do these changes in small steps, then see how it goes.

 

Dinnertime was bittersweet, being that it was our last one for this cruise. It had been slated for a formal evening, which did not thrill us. But for some reason, it was cancelled and put off until the 15th. That was good, because we could wear the clothes were would go home in tomorrow. All the formalwear could be packed, which it was. It was the only night we could get away with wearing jeans to dinner, and no one even lifted an eyebrow.

 

We promise to continue the blog once we get home and have to give our final impressions of this Grand Voyage of 112 days plus.........

 

Until then, we sign off and say thanks for taking the ride with us!

 

Bill & Mary Ann

[kazu]

Happy Mother's Day Mary Ann:):)

Bill and Mary Ann - it's we who owe you thanks for taking us along with you on your adventure:D

thank you so much for sharing your experiences and taking the time (and money) to bring us along.

A lot of us are going to go through serious withdrawal symptoms. How ironic that today is the final FLL sail a way as well as your final day of cruising.

Safe travels:) We'll look forward to your recap and review and again, thank you:):)

[Bunny 43]

Good morning, Thank you so much for writing about your daily activities abroad your cruise. Have enjoyed reading your posts. Take care and have a safe trip home.

[mrsbuddha123]

Enjoy your Mothers Day! Almost time to unpack all of those bags. Please do continue the blog it has become a part of my morning routine.

[hpf]

Thank you for your wonderful blog. I have enjoyed your travels so much and now I really NEED to go on a world cruise. Too bad I can't convince my DH.

You should soon be getting ready to board your plane for the final lag of your trip. Relax and enjoy this mothers day in the air.

Helen

[NMLady]

Happy Mother's Day. It must be bittersweet for you, to be leaving the ship after so many days aboard. Thank you so much for sharing your journey and adventures with us. I've looked forward each day to reading your journal.

[Oahucruiser]

Loved every post that you made, your impressions of places visited, people that you met and tidbits about the ship. Having done several world cruises with Cunard Line and another coming up, it was really interesting to read about the difference between the two lines. Happy unpacking and being at home.

[ger_77]

Thank you so much; I had a wonderful time.

 

Happy Mother's Day to you, and safe trip home. Till next time . . .

 

Smooth Sailing! :) :) :)

Gerry

[Sissas]

I would also like to thank you for your wonderful blog. You really have a way with words. I really feel like I really am right there with the two of you. Thanks again and Welcome Home!!:);)

[DeepWaterMariner]

Welcome home! I wish you a smooth transition back to the reality of everyday life. Thanks for taking us along on your adventures.

[cruz chic]

Thanks so much for the great read. I can't wait until you do it again. I enjoyed every bit of it.

[alibabacruisers]

Thank you very much Bill and Mary Ann!!! This was the first world cruise blog I followed and I loved it! It was written and flowed well. You had me hooked from the very beginning when you talked of all the planning and preparation you did prior to boarding, i.e., pet food, paying ahead on taxes, scheduling luggage pick-up, etc. I don't know what I will do to fill in my time now with no blog to follow! Thank you once again!!

 

Barbara

[Watson's aunt]

thank you so much letting me travel with out. I am going to miss your posts.

 

 

 

Mary

[WCB]

Report # 144 May 13, 2012 Sunday Debarkation Day

 

Well here we sit at the San Diego Airport, waiting for our flight to San Francisco at 1:30pm. It is 11:30am, and our journey to this point has gone rather well, considering our bad experience from last year. It sure makes a difference when all things go according to the plan more or less.

 

The Amsterdam arrived to the port of San Diego under gray, high foggy skies fairly early. We were up with the chickens, because the dining room breakfast was from 6:30 to 8am. We surely did not want to miss our final excellent meal in there with the wonderful waiters who we have come to know and love. And since we do not know when our next meal would be today, we both ordered omeletes and toast. Heaven forbid, we may miss a meal......At this point of time, that would do us a favor, we think. It's going to be hard to go back to normal (minimal) servings that we are accustomed to at home.

 

Bruce began calling the groups to appear before the customs and immigration officials around 7:15am. This applied to all non US citizens. It took two hours to complete this process for 800 passengers. As expected, there were six passengers who failed to appear at their required time. Bruce called for them by name and room number, and came close to threatening with fines. By 9:45am, the inspection was complete, and the intransit folks were allowed to leave the ship. That included those who were on ship's tours too. This was a good start, because we were ahead of their schedule by 1/2 hour. All the US citizens had to go through customs in the terminal building, including us.

 

We had been walking the promenade deck, watching the pier activity. All the luggage had already gone off, including bags from the 20% of the crew members going home today. The rest of the loading was food and supply related. Holiday or not, these dock workers keep these ships going 24/7.

 

Knowing that our number would be called soon, we headed inside to find the stairwell jammed with people. This is exactly what we are warned not to do. To complicate the matter more, a fire drill was announced by the Captain. Now you had the crew running from all the lower decks, dressed in fire gear, trying to run up the stairs. It was like a zoo. We had no choice but to go to the center of the ship to access our forward-located room.

 

That's when our number, yellow 2, was called to debark. Before we went to breakfast, we had done the final sweep through the drawers and cabinets and were ready to go. And by the time we went upstairs to deck two, the stairwell had cleared of people, and was moving, although slowly. It was sad to say goodbye to the nice security gals and guys that kept us safe throughout this cruise. They have been about the friendliest group we have had.

 

We successfully found Joe B, our contact for the Fed Ex bags. He advised us to get a porter, find our stuff, load it, then haul it through the customs line. There was no way the nice porter could have lifted those duffel bags on his own, even though he said he could. Bill helped and he was glad for it. The walk to the customs line was short, and the customs check was even shorter. Expecting to be scrutinized, the agent collected our declaration, and did not even look at our passports. Go figure........ We had been prepared to pay the extra duty on our purchases onboard, which was custom-made clothing. However, one of the girls at the front desk had told us that only the Signature shops and Merabella report sales over $800. Since our purchase was from the Hong Kong tailors, it apparently was not reported. We had declared the overage on the form, but it was ignored, so we were happy campers.

 

The duffels were off-loaded at Joe's office, where he said it would be stored until tomorrow, Monday, then shipped via Fed Ex. Now all we had to do was get our 2 pieces of luggage to the waiting bus, and relax until we left the pier shortly afterwards. We arrived to the airport at 11am, with a swift check-in. Our luggage was under 50 pounds($50. charge), so we know our new hand scale worked well. And here we are, where we began writing, still waiting for our flight.

 

Well, we're back home safely!! All went well with the flight, with one exception. When we arrived early at SFO, there was no one to hook up the exit walkway. It's a Sunday and Mothers Day, so we think they were short-staffed. Everyone was remarkably patient, and after a 20 minute wait, we were free to go. Our luggage beat us to the turnstile for a change.

 

Our oldest son picked us up 20 minutes later and as expected, the traffic got heavy near downtown until it was stop-and-go. Not a surprise. It gave us all a chance to catch up on the last four months of happenings. It was also nice to see the progress on the new part of the Bay Bridge.

 

Figuring there would be no chance to get a table at one of our favorite restaurants on the way home, we decided to give it a try. Luckily, there were a few empty tables near the bar, so we indulged in ordering our favorite salads. Gosh we missed those while we were away. Simple food, but so good. We were home by 7pm to find we will have a lot of cleaning up to do in the following weeks.

 

Once we are back to somewhat normal routine, we will do a summary of this Grand Voyage.

 

Thanks for coming along with us once again.

 

Bill & Mary Ann

[trikeman]

Glad you made it home safe but, still sad it's over. I hope some day to make it on a world cruise. If I don't at least reading your posts is almost like being there.

 

Thanks again.

[Aussie Gal]

Mary Ann and Bill,

 

I have loved each day reading your wonderful reports from all around the world. It is often hard to come to the end of a voyage or trip when it is finally finished especially after having such a great time, but at least you have next year's World Voyage to look forward to and already it is only 7 or so months away.

 

Also, it is wonderful to return home to catch up on family and friends and in your case enjoy the coming summer. Whereas if we went away at the same time as you, we would be returning to winter which is not such a happy prospect.

 

Thanks for writing so well each day and I am already looking forward to reading about your next World trip in January 2013.

 

Jennie

[snookymom]

Thanks for taking me along on another fabulous world cruise. I have learned so much from you. :D

[Kiwi Kruzer]

Welcome Home and many thanks for all the newsy reports of your adventures on Amsterdam.

[seafun]

So glad to hear you're home safe and sound. (And I'm sure the luggage will be arriving soon, with many treasures that will fire up wonderful memories.)

You have a very large number of grateful followers -- myself included of course -- again this year.

Thank you for the many lessons you have shared, the beautiful pictures you have painted, and the memories you have allowed us to be part of...

Best of luck for a smooth re-entry into "real life" and all the best to you! :D

[1of4]

Wow, what a trip! Can't thank you enough for your daily reports. It gave me something to look forward to each dark weekday morning once I made it through the snow, ice and cold. It must be good to get back to the City by the Bay after seeing such wonderful sights.

[CtheW0rld]

thanks for the effort it took to post this blog. i really enjoyed each and every post (as i have for the few years you have been doing this).

[chasinraynbowz]

Welcome home!!! I have read your daily reports with my coffee each morning and I have thoroughly enjoyed them!! I will miss you... lol!!!

 

Glad you made it home safe and sound!! Can't wait to read your summary!

[StartrainDD]

Mary Ann and Bill: Thank you so much for taking us along on your incredible journey. I've read along each day and enjoyed it immensely. I'm sure you will enjoy being home and getting your grounds back in order! Thanks again!