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Journey with Bill & Mary Ann on the Amsterdam's 2016 Grand World Voyage - 114 days +

WCB

By WCB,
in Holland America Line

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RMLincoln

RMLincoln

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Welcome home Mary Ann and Bill and many thanks for another wonder filled account of your travels. We have booked Tales of the South Pacific for September departure San Diego, may cross paths with you on that and hope to say thank you in person. Blessings, m--

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WCB "Live from...." Rare

WCB

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Report # 136 Sailing Towards San Diego, California May 15, 2016 Sunday Partly cloudy & 89 degrees (no way)

 

Before we go out in the morning, we usually check the temperature outside on the TV to see how close it will be to the daily newsletter. Today we estimate they were off by close to 30 degrees. More like 61, not 89 degrees. Ever since leaving Puerto Vallarta, it has gotten quite chilly…..a sharp contrast to the hot and muggy Mexican climate we experienced. This will probably be what can be expected from here to Seattle. Definitely cloudy skies, choppy waters, and deepening swells. Typical Pacific Ocean springtime weather.

 

It did work out well with the folks who participated in the “On Deck for a Cause”, the non-competitive 5k fundraiser supporting cancer associations. It began at 9am, and was well-attended. Some of the walkers did not read the “non-competitive” part of the message, as they roller-balled around the promenade deck, ending around folks keeping pace with the music. Anyway, with a $20 donation, you received a t-shirt and a wristband with a value of $4. Since it was cold and windy, you had to keep a good pace to stay warm.

 

Today we finished the last of the packing, separating the few things we could not take on the flight home. All of the six bags to be shipped were marked with the Fed Ex tags. Later in the day, we got the HAL tags to be attached, but they turned out to be the wrong color. Naturally, we did not find out until they were all filled out with our names and address, etc. A rep from the front desk called and said they were sending the new color tags (blue), and we were told to destroy the other ones. We understand that our luggage will go direct to the Fed Ex trucks, and we should not have to schlep them through the customs and immigrations line. Sounds like a plan to us. Now we just have to hope that everyone complies with the notice we got warning that no guests will be allowed to leave the ship in San Diego until all non-US citizens have passed through immigrations check on the ship.

 

Wish we were going to be in San Diego long enough to enjoy it, but we will be flying out by 1:30pm. For those staying on until either Vancouver or Seattle could go and listen to Wallis’ talk about the fun city. Or you could have attended the guest speaker’s talk on whaling on the Pacific coast.

 

There was another kitchen tour for the folks to see where 12,000 meals are prepared daily. And for those interested in art, there was a Thomas Kincade Inventory Clearance Sale. Supposedly some were going for up to 75% off.

 

We went to lunch in the dining room for the last time this trip. The new guy at the podium (Wuhyu) accidently gave our table away. Not that it made a huge difference, but we had a good time teasing our former dinner waiter that he gave our table away on his first day. We still had the same waiters, who always take care of us. The deck seven group was having an Indonesian lunch on deck five. We could see the wait staff from the Pinnacle Grill all dressed in Indonesian clothes for the occasion. Nice touch.

 

Before going back to our room full of luggage, we took a brisk walk outside. Still very little sun appeared, and it seemed even colder than this morning. The deck was about empty. We heard that 500 people will be leaving tomorrow like us, so many must be packing today as well.

 

We watched a movie, Frontera, which turned out to be pretty good. And we were much more comfortable in our room and out of the wind. Later we went to deck five to see what the ship’s stores were selling. There was nothing outstanding as far as we could see. We did sit across from the Ocean Bar, listening to the music, while visiting with passerby guests.

 

Dinnertime came at 8pm, our last one this cruise. One of us had the turkey dinner, and the other had weinerschnitzel. Both were excellent, but could have been warmer. There sure has been a problem with serving our entrees hot ever since the introduction of these new plates. Talking to other guests, we heard they are having the same problem. Hope this is resolved soon.

 

Showtime was Jacqueline Roche, an international virtuoso violinist, who played a mix of classical, jazz, movie themes, and gypsy music. Since we will have to start early tomorrow, we missed the show this evening.

 

The luggage had to be put out in the hall by midnight. We had it out by 10pm, and it was a good thing only a few folks were leaving. That left lots of space for the six pieces to fit. Next time we write, we should be home.

 

Stay tuned, as we plan to summarize both cruises of 131 days, probably about the longest we have sailed.

 

Bill & Mary Ann

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NMLady

NMLady

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Thank you for once again sharing your journey with us. And for also making your blog available with its awesome photos. It has been great to take the world cruise and your land tours with you. Thank you for taking the time to share.

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