Trekking the Globe with Bill & Mary Ann on the 2017 World Cruise - 126 Days

[Mickb]

Dear Bill and MaryAnn

Your wonderful reporting of your trip around the World has brightened up a very dreary English winter!

Thank you for taking the time to write such insightful and entertaining reports.

Here's to your 2018 world cruise!

Safe journey home

[candbgirl]

Although I hardly post I read every single day. Thank you for your exceptional posts each day. It's been a long winter personally but I knew I had a wonderful report on a beautiful port waiting for me after a difficult day.

 

 

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[josumello]

Although I hardly post I read every single day. Thank you for your exceptional posts each day. It's been a long winter personally but I knew I had a wonderful report on a beautiful port waiting for me after a difficult day.

 

 

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+1

 

I have read your World Cruise reports for the last few years. Very enjoyable. Thank you so much!! Although I have cruised pretty much all over the world I will never be able to do a real world cruise. So wonderful for unto take us along!!

 

Sue

 

 

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[WCB]

Report #132 SanFrancisco, California May 11, 2017 Thursday Partly cloudy & 60 degrees Part #1 Of 2 80 Pictures

 

What a welcoming sight to see……the Golden Gate Bridgeappearing off the coast of San Francisco very early this morning. Captain Fred had announced that he would bepicking up the pilot around 6am, then proceeding under the Golden Gate Bridge around7am. He would not promise that anyonewould be able to see it, because it is not unusual this time of year, to have alow fog, where you cannot even see the upright sections where they connect tothe bay’s floor. So many passengers wereexcited about seeing the bridge, that we were happy to have overcast, and nofog.

 

The bow was already full of early risers by the time we wokeup and joined them. Always good to have a few photos of the end of our longtrip. Once the ship cleared the bridge,we went down to breakfast in the dining room, which had opened at the regularsea day time of 7:30am. Since only 500guests were disembarking today, they kept the time the same. Except for the Lido, which we believe openedup at 6am. We never did dine up there,but have heard many positive comments from friends that had personalized andexcellent service there every day, just like we did in the dining room.

 

The time for us to get off was estimated from 9 to10:15am. By then, the whole ship shouldhave been cleared. The Amsterdam wasdocked by 8:10am, and the first group of expedited guests were called by 8:40am. There must have been many of them, becausethere was a long time that elapsed before the next groups were announced.

 

We always like to watch the actin on the pier, and beingthat this was the very first time we have docked in the new Terminal 27, wewere curious to see how well they performed. One good sign was seeing all of our luggage going off in a ship’sbin. There were several of us from theworld cruise that we getting off today, but we are unsure of the number. We had seven bags, while some other folkscould have had many more.

 

We had expected things to be quite organized in San Francisco,new terminal and all. However, it wasnot. The customs and immigrations areawas fine. Actually better than fine,since the agent we saw was pleasant. Thelines were moving swiftly and well defined like a Disneyland ride.

 

Not so when we went down to the lower level, and had togather our bags to go through the final checkpoint. With four large and heavy duffels, and threesuitcases, we needed a porter. Now inFt. Lauderdale, people lined up to wait their turn for the next availableporter with a trolley. Not so here. No line was forming anywhere, and the HALreps did little to help the passengers needing one. It was whoever could yell the loudest, andgrab the porters first. And that didhappen. We had time, which was a goodthing, because we were not under pressure to get to the airport for instance.

 

When we informed one HAL rep that we had luggage to be shippedFed Ex, she referred to her list, which showed the ship had no people getting offneeding that service. It had beencrossed off on her list. So we quicklyinformed her that there would be several of us that needed to place our thingsin an area for the Fed Ex guys to pick it up. Eventually, we found one lady who seemed to know where we needed to takethe bags. Even the porter seemed to knowwhere they would be stored. This was nota good feeling at this point, but when more folks showed up with their trolleysfull of Fed Ex tagged luggage, we felt better that it was going to work out OK. With Bill’s help, the porter lugged all sevenbags into a room. As we left the area,we hoped we would see the luggage again.

 

By the way, it was much easier in San Diego, where we simplypointed out all of our tagged luggage to be shipped, and left it in place. They moved it later, and it always gotdelivered to our home a few days later. Simple.

 

Saying goodbye is the hard part, and so many of the crewwished us well as we left the ship for the final time. The good thing is that we will be back inearly July for a two week Alaskan voyage, and many of the crew will still beonboard. Made leaving a little easier.

 

We were free to go, so we walked the embarcadero with ournew small HAL world cruise rolled duffels with camera and computer stuff inone, and other treasures, costume jewelry, and let over meds from the trip inthe other. We slowly headed for Pier 39, which turned 39 this year. Gosh, it is hard to imagine that this funcomplex was completed in 1978. Weremember it well when this attraction offered dining, bay cruises, shopping,events, and the best views ever.

 

One attraction here that keeps the folks coming are therafts in the marina that hold the famous sea lions, that are drawn here to dineon the rich sea life. They are fun towatch as they fight over spaces on these floating rafts, or chase each otherwhich appears that it is springtime here, and the seals are frisky.

 

One other attraction for us happens to be the Hard Rock Café,where we went for an early lunch. We hadover an hour to enjoy one of the signature cheeseburgers and fries. Recently, this café underwent a remodeling,and it sure looks nice. There is alarger new shop, where we did buy a couple of new city t-shirts. The café itself has been enlarged as well, so now,they have many more chairs and round table tops in the bar area.

 

Around 1pm, our youngest son picked us up right outside theHRC, and with traffic still light, we were on the Bay Bridge within minutes. It was sad to see the ship getting smaller aswe drove away from the bay. We heardthat 540 new guests will board this afternoon, and will sail out at 11pm. Our friends, Alene and Don, stayed on toSeattle, about four more days. They willstop in Vancouver next, where most of the passengers will go home, then therewill be a one day, one night cruise to Seattle. That should be a “party” night, and our buddies will let us know howthat worked out.

 

We were home within the hour, around 2:30pm. Now we finally got to see the slide or theearth movement, that closed our road down for many long weeks. Right now, there is a temporary stop lightwith a five minute wait for one-way traffic to pass. It is anybody’s guess whenthis will be permanently fixed, as it is possible the hill is still moving. As long as it doesn’t move while we aredriving across it.

 

Our work is cut out for us. With all the extra rain this winter, the weeds are incredibly high. And they are not all the grassy weeds. We have a big crop of sticky, thorny stuffthat will need to be taken out soon, before it blooms and re-seeds for the nextseason. Good thing we love gardening. And the best thing we look forward to isseeing our kids and grandkids. Four and ½months of being away is a long time, and takes us at least that long to catchup on everyone’s news during that time.

 

We were kind of hoping that our luggage would arrive in acouple of days, but we got a call that it would be delivered tomorrow,signature required. So much for all the chores we had planned. Whatever, it sure will be nice to sleep inour own bed tonight!

 

Bill & Mary Ann

 

PS Stayed tuned formore…..

 

[ger_77]

Welcome home - and thank you for taking us along with you once more. I feel like I should be helping you with your chores after all the time I've spent with you!

 

Smooth Sailing! :) :) :)

[jig]

I too have read all the years of your could cruises. Thanks.

 

 

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[DeeniEncinitas]

WELCOME HOME!!!!!!

Loved reading your cruise as always!

Denise:)

[WCB]

Greetings fellow readers!

 

In response to some of the comments and questions, we wouldlike to take the time to say many, many thanks. It has been a pleasure being able to share all of our experiences andthoughts on this grand voyage with you all.

 

So, our next cruise will be on the Amsterdam on July 3rd,when we go for 14 days in Alaska. Ithappens to be a 30 year reunion with our travel agency, which began theirbusiness back in 1987. Ten years ago wewere fairly new clients with them, and happened to join their 20thanniversary cruise, 7 days in Alaska. Atthat time, there were 435 of us, many of whom we see every year on worldcruises. A big family for sure.

 

We feel that any outside window room on the Dolphin deck isgood, however, the Main deck (2) is fine if you don’t mind hearing peoplewalking on the lower promenade deck (3). For several years now, we have been located near the forward elevatorson the port side, and have found it convenient, quiet, and almost alwaysoperational as far as plumbing and air-conditioning goes.

 

I (Mary Ann) worked at Mt. Diablo Elementary in Clayton from1979 to 1989, so pegpowell, our paths surely would have crossed. Although I was not a teacher, I was the infamouslunch lady. I continued on in Walnut Creek and Concord until Diablo ViewIntermediate opened up in the early 90’s, proud to say I was the first managerfor 5 years until I retired.

 

Also, thanks for the inside info on the Crystal Symphony. Next year’s re-positioning Panama Canalcruise will be our very first trip with Crystal, but only due to the fact thatthe Amsterdam will be going into a drydock at that time.

 

Rich and Peg: we suredid enjoy cruising with you guys again, especially being able to share portinfo with each other daily. Since weseem to like the same activities (hiking and eating), it is important that youcome back soon to another world cruise.

 

Ellbelle: Now that weare home, we also need to “get a life”, as la-la land is over!

 

Bettty45: Thanks foryour nice comments…..maybe we will meet someday. By the way, our window garden performed asexpected, but by the end of April, the sunflowers had done their thing. However, we had been gifted with some houseplantsthat took root in water, and we potted them up in some of the leftover soil. These joined the two plants we were given byfriends to adopt after they left the ship in Ft. Lauderdale.

 

Many thanks to Denise and Howie….so glad to have you assupporters, on the ship as well as online. You know us so well………

 

Sandra and Allen: Glad you caught up with the blog. Always a pleasure to share our adventure with you two.

 

On the 2018 world voyage, we will join the ship in Ft.Lauderdale. There is no stop in SanDiego next year.

 

Ger77: Sure could usesome help with those weeds in our garden…..ha-ha!

 

In general, we are glad to have brought sunshine to parts of the world that is typically gray inthe winter. And we are also happy thatmost everyone was able to locate the blog with the 100’s of photos, thanks toour son who took the time to post them every day.

 

So stay tuned, as we will be organizing our comments on themany changes (good and not so good) we noticed on this world cruise. We will be back…..

 

Bill & Mary Ann

[msmayor]

I love to travel vicariously through the blogs many put together, but yours is by far my most favorite and the one I never miss. Thank you for your generosity of time and effort to bring us along.

[bettty45]

I love to travel vicariously through the blogs many put together, but yours is by far my most favorite and the one I never miss. Thank you for your generosity of time and effort to bring us along.

 

 

 

Thank you for your reply. I look forward to reading you summary of the changes. Also do you know the name of the artist in residence that was on your cruise this time? Beth

 

 

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[tgetz]

I didn't mean as a stop in San Diego but perhaps on the Panama canal cruise before the world cruise. I thought you had done that before. I know you have sailed the cruise after the world cruise several times, and thought you had sailed the cruise before previously.

[dchip]

We enjoyed cruising the world with you again this year. It was a great ride!!

 

We were thrilled to embark the Amsterdam in FLL. Lovely to share sunsets and sail always with you both again.

 

We are reading and enjoying the blog and photos from the Panama Canal cruise each morning. Heading off to PV tomorrow 😜 We will be in touch when we return.

 

Thanks again for all the time you spend on your amazing blog and photography.

 

Cheers, Denise and Howie

[WCB]

To all of our faithful readers of the 2017 World Cruise:

 

As we promised at the end of the world cruise, we are backwith our final thoughts on what we personally experienced as far as changes weencountered along the way. Some were changes for the better, a few havetaken place over the last couple of years, and the majority were newcutbacks. So this report is to state what we presented to the hoteldirector, Henk M, by his invitation, in order for him to explain or attempt tocorrect changes he could do (or not do) while we were in transit. So itis not only a mix of our (and close friends) observances and complaints, but anattempt to keep the HAL brand as close to what we have known and liked for manyyears. And what has kept us all coming back year after year. It isalso an attempt to keep the “grand” in the world cruise.

 

With all this in mind, we realize that the entire cruiseship industry is in competition with each other, and every line has been using“the bean counters” to shave costs one way or another. It is not uniqueto HAL. But it doesn’t mean we have to sit back and accept it all withoutquestion. And it does not only apply to the Amsterdam, as several friendstraveling on the Volendam and Maasdam reported similar negative reactions tothe many changes they saw taking place on those ships as well.

 

So, we will begin with the changes with food and foodrelated activities.

 

The dinner entrees are no longer displayed in the Lido atthe 5:30pm opening. Dessert displays have been missing from La Fontainefor a year now at dinnertime. The reason being that Public Health saysthat the displays do not hold to their quality of the brand standard.

 

There is little decorating on Gala nights in the diningroom. The Coast Guard dictated what can and cannot be done now in theform of decorating. On the first Gala evenings, we had no chair covers,as they were deemed unsanitary. Eventually, these came back to everyformal (gala) night. The waiters were probably happy not to have to putthese on and off anymore. One good thing is that the helium balloons thatonce filled the room on select gala nights have been eliminated. A goodthing because many people took these balloons to tie on their cabin doors,blocking the flow in the hallways on the passenger decks.

 

There is less silverware set at each place setting….onlysupplied upon demand. The answer to this was “standard fleet widenow”. We will see this answer used frequently.

 

There is no Sunday-at-sea brunch set up in the center of LaFontaine dining room. Yes there is a brunch, but only served as orderedfrom a menu at the regular tables. Public Health discontinued this “helpyourself” buffet. Maybe this is a good thing.

 

A new menu appeared for breakfast in the dining room, butmuch the same as the older one. The “upgraded” breakfasts with a chargehad been added to this menu too. We still miss the jam and jelly jarsthat have been gone for two years now. Well, not totally gone, as they areserved in the Pinnacle Grill at breakfast for the deck sevenpassengers. The foil packets that contain less product and arestill hard to open for many folks. Funny thing is that we found thesesame jam jars at every high end hotel we stayed in China.

 

There will be no more outside deck BBQ’s or Mongoliancookouts such as in the Lido and seaview Pool areas. Public Health andCoast Guard rules out using briquettes on the teak decks. All of the foodoffered needs sneeze guards also. Perhaps, also a good thing safety-wise.

 

There was no custom sandwich maker in the Lido after2pm. Henk re-instated this crew member shortly after we asked. Also, there was no toaster at this station. One was added immediatelywhen we asked.

 

The new plate ware in the dining room is thin, inexpensive,and does not hold the heat well. They break and chip easily. Their designis not compatible with the silver ware, that constantly falls into thefood. The rectangular plates are awkward, and even the waiters say theydo not fit well on their serving stations. Although considered “invogue”, alternatives are being looked at as soon as possible, according toHenk. By the way, the dining room manager, Philip, purchased some newsoup bowls in Hong Kong, we believe. They did help maintain the heat inthe hot soups, despite the fact the broth has to be heated separately in gravybowls now. More work for the waiters.

 

Room service has seen many changes. The breakfast menuhas been altered to fewer items. In addition, if you want a few upgradedentrees, they come with a charge now. The same applies to the lunch anddinner room service menus. There are no free hamburgers on themenu. If you want a burger, they will be delivered from the Dive In Grillfor a charge. Also, there is no more potato salad served on theside. Only potato chips and/or a runny coleslaw is added with sandwiches. The tuna melt and the chef salads are no longer available through roomservice. Speaking of room service, they did their job well on thiscruise.

 

There were a few changes in the bars on the ship such as thebuy one, get one beverage deal. The price went from $1 to $2 for thatsecond beverage. Last year, the folks that frequented the bars during the7 to 8pm slot, had to fight for the drink special. They won then, and nowwe see that this offer has been on the daily itinerary from day one thisyear. See, if no one spoke up, nothing would have happened. Therewas no happy hour after dinner however, but that may have returned to theCrow’s Nest after 9pm upon request.

 

Ever since the Explorations Café was added to the ship, wehad been able to get regular or decaf coffee for free. Now, all thecoffees have a charge to them, as do the special coffees in the diningroom. These were always free in the past. Modern coffee machinesreplaced the older ones, so thus, the charge.

 

Dance hosts had been reduced to three, instead of the usualsix. By popular demand, six more were added towards the end of thecruise. A rumor had circulated that all dance hosts would be eliminatedon future grand voyages, but that may simply be just a rumor.

 

The corkage fee is very high, we think (mostly our friendsthink it is high, as we seldom drink wine). For the first time ever, thecollection table was set up following the x-ray check upon boarding the ship inall ports. Bottles were collected, except those that were purchased whileon a wine tour. In this case, only one bottle per person was allowed, weunderstand.

 

Now for the President’s Club amenity of $40 per person everytwo weeks for a beverage allowance, it has to equal just that and nothing overthat price. So if a bottle of your favorite alcohol is $70 for instance,you pay the difference. Same applies to sodas……we got 17 cans of soda,instead of the 48 cans we used to get. Yes, we were spoiled, but that wasnot our fault.

 

In the same vein, the folks that got two bottles of alcoholfor booking decks six and seven, had to pay extra for their upgraded bottles.Or if the price worked out right, they got one bottle of the good stuff,instead of two.

 

The room key cards have a new look to them. This issimply an observance, as long as they allow you to board the ship and open yourdoor, we are all happy. They do include your Mariner status in onecorner, and may be color-coded to your status.

 

Even though we filled out a form for our personalizedstationery before the trip, it never arrived. Reported as lost in Japan?It never did get delivered to the ship. We discovered that if we askedfor it at the front desk, it would be printed and delivered to our room alongwith envelopes. We asked, and it was printed and delivered by 2pm thatsame day. This will probably not be continued on future cruises, grand ornot.

 

Our room steward left two small HAL note tablets with twoHAL pens in our room. We were told that this duplicates what we canexpect to find in any nice hotel worldwide.

 

Newspapers, such as the NY Times or BBC, etc, are nowavailable only at the front desk, the library, or at the dining room atbreakfast time. We have always gotten the paper delivered under our dooron every cruise we have taken over the years. Always, no questions asked. Now we are being told NO, absolutely no one gets a paper delivered. Wellthat was not exactly true, since all of the folks on deck seven got one. Of course, they deserve a paper delivery since they pay dearly for thosesuites. Understandable. However, we approached the problem with asolution we presented to Gerald, the Mariner Director, and Orlando, thePresident of HAL. Why can’t the paper delivery be made part of our perksfor President’s Club? Orlando agreed and had Gerald authorize Henk todeliver our choice of paper from here on out. Such a fuss over savingpaper, we figured, as “going green” is another thing on HAL’s list ofcutbacks. Saving paper means saving $$$. All of the club members weknow appreciated our effort in restoring that nicety. We have to addanother aspect of getting a “fresh” paper in the morning. During breakfast, wehad seen many people with colds or worse, reading the papers, then returning themto the pile at the entrance. Thus contaminating the followingunsuspecting guests. Who would have thought about viruses and bacteriaspread in such as innocent way? With the viral infection spreading amongthe guests and staff on this trip, you look at everything in a different way.

 

The daily “good evening” cards with a special saying printedon them are no longer left on the bed at night. We only get the timechange cards now. Or if there are world cruise gifts, we get a card withthose. Speaking of gifts, there were way fewer of them compared to pastgrand voyages. Some were useful and good quality, while others werenot. In the old days, we could look forward to getting a gift on everygala night. Not so anymore. Guess it is the thought that counts.

 

There is a new look to the Daily Navigator. It issmaller and has much less info, simplified. But not alwaysaccurate. There have been mistakes, as well, which were corrected alongthe way. All of the ads for ship services have been printed on a singlehalf sheet, included in the daily paper. In addition, a Mobile Navigatorhas been added for those passengers that own cell phones. The daily newsand all other cruise related items have been added to the phone list. Itis good for those who own cell phones, although not all of us do. And theinfo was not always correct as well. Such as all aboard times that werelisted an hour later than actually happened. This was corrected asneeded.

 

First time we ever got a delay of laundry service notice, a fewweeks into the grand voyage. Since most all grand voyages have the highnumber Mariner guests, most everyone gets this wonderful perk of complimentarylaundry. We wondered if there was something that broke in the laundryroom, or was there a shortage of crew members manning the facility? Thereply indicated that there were equipment limitations, as well as a request foradditional staff. With 1200 guests onboard, the volume was hard to managein a 2 day turn around service. It went from 2 days (sometimes same dayservice) to 4 and 5 days of a delay. Eventually, more crew members joinedthe ship, and the problem went away.

 

No more “free” aspirins are given at the front desk, due toa company liable obligation. The cost is $1.90 for two pills. However,sea sick pills are still available for free.

 

There is no “live” band music at sail aways on the aft pooldeck anymore. This stopped two years ago. Fleet wide standard,although may still be re-considered in the future. While we were sailingin the Mediterranean Sea, most all of the sail away parties were held either ondeck three (promenade) or in the closed Lido Pool area. That was due tothe fact the funnels were spewing an unusually messy soot, that stainedclothing and covered the outside decks. So much so, that the soot had tobe swept with brooms.

 

Sit and be fit exercises were discontinued, but re-instatedshortly after he cruise began. Aqua aerobics and walk a mile were addedsometime after Hawaii, due to popular demand.

 

Another explosive decision that made the folks unhappy wasannouncing that the Grand Dollar programs were no longer going to occur as weknow it on the grand voyages. We were actually given a survey to fill outin order to help them figure out a better form of games that would “fit” theage group of the passengers. The prizes that could be purchased with theGrand Dollars would end with this cruise. Furthermore, all of the “money”earned on this trip had to be spent before this cruise ended in April, as thesedollars would not be recognized if saved for the next trip in 2018. Bigchange.

 

Difficult to find Barbara H, the port lecturer, on TV withher port talks. She should have her own dedicated spot, and not cycledwith shore excursion talks, or pitches for DVD sales. This will beconsidered if more stations are added to a new TV system. Which leads usto the condition of the TV’s in our suites on the lower decks. They arelong past needing replacement. We have been told that they are working oncreating another channel, and we also heard that interactive TV’s may be in theworks for this ship. These are LONG overdue, as other ships on otherlines have had these new TV’s for ages now.

 

Gala (formal) nights have been reduced by a lot. Atone time, formal nights were held 25% of the time, with semi-formal another25%. The rest were smart casual. With the new descriptions ofsuggested cruise wear for dinner, it leaves a lot to be desired. Themajority of world cruisers still dress appropriately, while others come with acollared golf shirt on gala night. It’s “legal” and nothing can be said to anyguest now, as long as they do not arrive in swimwear. No kidding.

 

Gala nights that involve the balls in the Queen’s Loungehave been timed poorly to include all of the guests who dine at 8pm. Weare just getting our entrees by 9pm, and seldom finish eating when these dancesbegin around the same time. For that reason, some folks eat elsewhere, ortry to leave their tables halfway through the meal. These balls used tobegin at 10pm. However, we were told…..the majority rules.

 

Evening entertainment seemed to be received well, althoughwe did not attend all of the time. We did notice that there was only one“famous” performer this cruise, and not two. That also applies to famouslecturers and writers such as Paul Theroux, who joined us last year. Wehad no “head-liners” this year.

 

The current Port Guide Booklets we get now have outdatedmaps and info. For instance, recommended restaurants in some ports givedirections to places that open only after 5 or 6pm, when we leave the port at4pm. Some shops and stores have long since gone out of business, but arestill in their port descriptions.

 

Now for the positive things we noticed. There is abrand new Orange Book in our rooms with everything we need to know while on theAmsterdam. It also includes the room service menu.

 

You no longer have to take a soiled (already stained) beachtowel as you leave the ship on a swim/beach tour. And they are no longer available. Everyone has a new extra-long blue and white striped beach towel in your roomto use anywhere you wish….on the ship or on an excursion. However, if youdo not bring it back to your room, you will be charged somewhere around $25 forthem. And if you like them, you can purchase one for the same price totake home with you. Much better idea, we think.

 

There are new chair pads for the teak lounges on the lowerpromenade deck, as well as new padded chairs in the Lido Pool area and theSeaview Pool area.

 

The Mobile Navigator is useful for those with cell phones.

 

The offer of 100 extra minutes for free with purchasing the1000 minute package has returned, as long as it was bought prior to leaving onthe voyage.

 

The new Daily Navigator is easier to read with the adsgone. It has been suggested that it would be nice to list TV movie timeson that paper as well. It might appear on the Mobile Navigator in thefuture. Yes, it is on the TV guide, but some of the start times are approximate.

 

Wine packages at a reduced price were offered prior to thecruise. Towards the end of the cruise, we noticed that the beveragedepartment was offering a good deal on a three bottle package in case peoplewere running out of their original bottles. This may have already been anoffer on past cruises, but we just noticed the ad on this one.

 

The food on this trip was excellent, as was the service fromthe most incredible crew on the Seven Seas. The same goes for the roomstewards and the front desk staff, and all of the officers running this ship.

 

These are some things we observed.

 

At one time, the crew members, specifically the waiters androom stewards, were handpicked for the entire duration of the grandvoyage. The only reason they had to leave was usually due to illness witha family member or themselves. They were present for the whole trip, and notcoming and going like they do now. Many guests did not like havingchanges with their room stewards or waiters, who they got to know andlove. Somehow, in the past, the contracts were up after the grand cruisewas over. We were also informed that there has been problems with visasbeing granted for the Indonesian crew. And this might mean a possiblechange in the area where future crew members will be signed on. Thailandhas been mentioned as one of those countries to hire new staff.

 

At many times during the entire grand voyage, over-the-toprepair work was in progress on the lower promenade deck. Not the usualsmall repairs, but major work that closed the deck for the walkers. Wewere not alone with the feeling that the ship was being repaired for futurecruises, and not the grand voyage. Several of our “deck” friends whospend the major part of their day in the teak lounges were fumigated with paintfumes, or subject to breathing dust from paint grinding. Yes, this workis necessary, but the staff needs to keep in mind that this is a grand voyage,and perhaps the work should have been completed prior to this voyage.

 

Grand World Voyages on the Amsterdam should have fixedseating times to make life easier for the crew. It might be consideredfor the next world cruise, as we are being told that it is completely soldout., and accommodating the early seating and anytime guests will pose aproblem. To make all of the cruises “the same”, as has been told to us,is not always the best idea on every cruise. Especially not the Grands.

 

The Wajang Theater was taken over by a travel group on someafternoons with a private (paid?) session for their members. Thateliminated the afternoon movie on sea days that many people liked to attend. With many complaints, we think they may have compromised on this one.

 

The ship’s photographers tended to be disruptive with theirset-up in the Atrium on two levels, as well as in the La Fontaine diningroom. They pretty much blocked the entry from the forward elevators withtheir “staging” areas. Many people had to sneak around them to go todinner. Also during disembarking at every port, they pressured the folksinto taking photos, even if they said no thanks. Are they on a quotabasis?

 

Gratuities were raised at the end of the Panama Canalrepositioning cruise. They went up $1 per person for every category.

 

Overall, we feel that HAL has become reactive and notproactive. These changes took place all at once, and we feel that theywould address the complaints when and if they were made. Like testing thewaters, so to speak. From what we heard, many of the experiencedtravelers did speak up and loudly.

 

We are in total agreement with our longtime friends who saidthat in the past, NO was never an answer when asked about changes in theproduct. Although we are not being closed out on everything, we areclosed out in most of the changes we stated here. Bottom line, the answercame back as fleet wide decision, keeping to the brand, public health and coastguard rules, or going “green”. Bottom line, HAL is saving money,while still striving to deliver a “premium” lifestyle. And they do have theright to do so. We do hope to see that the premium style remainsand not slip to a “standard” experience. And we all agree that it is nottoo much to ask.

 

And will we be back on another DAM voyage? You can beton it! And we hope that the GRAND remains in it for everyone.

 

Bill & Mary Ann

[The-Inside-Cabin]

Thanks for the great summary. Looking forward to seeing you on 2018.

 

Pete

[bay guy]

I wanted to thank you for your excellent posts here. I have read them all because my wife and I are booked for the FLL to Hong Kong leg of the 2018 WC and I wanted to get an idea of what to expect and prepare for since that will be our longest cruise we have ever taken.

 

I greatly appreciate your honest summary of the changes you have noted on HAL. This will be our first HAL cruise in about 30 years but we have noted changes similar to what you outlined in this most recent post on all of the other lines we have sailed with. While the "glory days" of cruising may have passed, you still expect a certain level of service on a cruise that differentiates it from a hotel stay vacation.

[SilvertoGold]

Very interesting, readable and informative review. Thank for taking the time to do this summary and, of course, for the daily thread posting.

 

Concerning the NYTimes: the Rotterdam delivers many of the non-America versions on a daily basis to stateroom mailboxes. We had trouble finding the Canadian and the second time we asked for a copy at the Front Desk they said they would deliver it and they did every day for the remaining 27 days of this cruise. We saw copies of the Dutch, German and Spanish News also delivered. Different ships, different procedures?

[jaxonboy]

Thanks.

 

We too have noticed a "dumbing" down of the Grand Voyage experience. 2012 World, 2014 World, 2016 Grand Med, a steady decline as you detail. On the longer Voyages, the amenities or lack of become apparent. We enjoy ourselves on these long ocean Voyages.

 

The crew is a reason to stick around.

 

We enjoy an afternoon sea day movie from time to time in the Wajang, so I hope there will not be a group taking over the room.

 

We will pay the balance this week and take the Amsterdam around this big blue marble once more.

 

As you say, it is their company to run as they see fit, but it is our money we can spend how we see fit.

 

We had the same experience of the Promenade teak deck extreme maintenance on the Grand Med. Weeks of sanding and smelly sealers. I wrote about it in the final evaluation and was told they would advise the ship of my comment.

[ON cruiser]

Hello Mary Ann and Bill, once again this year, I really enjoyed your evocative description of daily ship-board life during a long voyage. Thanks for taking the time and effort (and money!) to do this. Since I doubt I will ever do such a long trip, your description of your travels, especially when you go on safari, etc., are really fascinating--and you write so beautifully!

 

The above description of the "changes" and your summary about them is also interesting. As HAL cruisers since 2001, we have noticed with sadness many of the items you describe. Frankly, my appetite for a "grand" world cruise is less given all the cut-backs, and I am somewhat surprised that the 2018 world cruise is sold out. Yet the final payment point has not yet arrived and that will tell the tale.

 

I guess that, so long as people are willing to pay the fare and go, with the ship being sold out, that is people voting with their feet, so to speak. Management will view that as acceptance of these changes. The "golden age" of cruising is seemingly gone. Yet, to see the world (or a lot of it) at one go, may still be a good value by ship, at least for some.

 

I look forward to your blog next year (and for whatever other trips you have upcoming) and thanks again for taking us along! In the meantime, enjoy catching up with friends and family at home!!

[JamesEM]

Enjoyed your reports and photos once again, I first sail on the Oosterdam and my last Holland cruise was on the New Amsterdam, the amount of cut backs were amazing.

[MMDown Under]

Thank you Bill and Mary Ann for commenting on changes taking place on Amsterdam's World Cruise.

 

With World Cruises being sold out, why is it acceptable for repairs, which inconvenience paying passengers, to be on going during the World Cruise? Since when did this become acceptable? I wouldn't stay in a hotel where repairs were taking place. This seems to be a problem on Maasdam as well as Amsterdam, both ships I wanted to cruise on, because of their smaller size and interesting itineraries. To me, it is not a minor annoyance, which can be ignored, and is a real turnoff.

 

If they are not careful, they will kill the goose which laid the golden egg! Once World Cruises are no longer "special", passengers will not pay a premium to cruise on them, and make their own better value "world cruise".

[Hawka]

thank you Bill and Mary totally enjoyed your trip

[WCB]

For those who are interested, this is the response wereceived from the Office of the President of HAL in regards to our final reportof the changes we noticed while sailing on this year’s world cruise. In our opinion, their comments are no moreand no less than what we expected to hear.

 

If their promise to share our comments with the appropriatedepartment heads for consideration, then perhaps we did our job well. Time will tell…..

 

Bill & Mary Ann

 

 

May 23, 2017

Thank you for contacting Mr. Orlando Ashford regarding your2017 ms Amsterdam Grand World Voyage. Mr. Ashford has reviewed yourfeedback and as President’s Club members, has asked me to respond directly toyou on his behalf.

 

It is always important for a company such as ours to knowthe areas in which we are meeting and exceeding guest expectations and thoseareas in which additional attention or change is needed. We greatly appreciate yourtime in bringing to our attention the constructive comments and suggestionsgiven only for our benefit; especially knowing that as long time cruisers withour line, you have experienced many changes throughout the years. Weacknowledge that, especially on long voyages that attract many long-timeMariners such as the Grand World Voyage, our Mariners do appreciate thelong-standing traditions Holland America Line is known for. While we do work tokeep many of these traditions alive, we also work to offer variety and freshnew alternatives that keep our sailings evolving.

 

It is important to note that our cruisers have a wide rangeof interests and abilities and we do strive to offer something for everyone *and understand that some of our offerings do not fit the needs of some;however, feedback is important in choosing what aspects are embraced by most.We have compiled your detailed comments and shared them with the variousmembers of senior management as they constantly work to improve upon the serviceswe offer in all aspects of a guest’ssailing.

 

Thank you again for contacting us. On behalf of Mr. Ashford,we look forward to welcoming you aboard another sailing very soon. Until then,we wish you all the best.

 

Kind regards,

Daphney

Special Advisor

Office of the President

[bettty45]

For those who are interested, this is the response wereceived from the Office of the President of HAL in regards to our final reportof the changes we noticed while sailing on this year’s world cruise. In our opinion, their comments are no moreand no less than what we expected to hear.

 

 

 

If their promise to share our comments with the appropriatedepartment heads for consideration, then perhaps we did our job well. Time will tell…..

 

 

 

Bill & Mary Ann

 

 

 

 

 

May 23, 2017

 

Thank you for contacting Mr. Orlando Ashford regarding your2017 ms Amsterdam Grand World Voyage. Mr. Ashford has reviewed yourfeedback and as President’s Club members, has asked me to respond directly toyou on his behalf.

 

 

 

It is always important for a company such as ours to knowthe areas in which we are meeting and exceeding guest expectations and thoseareas in which additional attention or change is needed. We greatly appreciate yourtime in bringing to our attention the constructive comments and suggestionsgiven only for our benefit; especially knowing that as long time cruisers withour line, you have experienced many changes throughout the years. Weacknowledge that, especially on long voyages that attract many long-timeMariners such as the Grand World Voyage, our Mariners do appreciate thelong-standing traditions Holland America Line is known for. While we do work tokeep many of these traditions alive, we also work to offer variety and freshnew alternatives that keep our sailings evolving.

 

 

 

It is important to note that our cruisers have a wide rangeof interests and abilities and we do strive to offer something for everyone *and understand that some of our offerings do not fit the needs of some;however, feedback is important in choosing what aspects are embraced by most.We have compiled your detailed comments and shared them with the variousmembers of senior management as they constantly work to improve upon the serviceswe offer in all aspects of a guest’ssailing.

 

 

 

Thank you again for contacting us. On behalf of Mr. Ashford,we look forward to welcoming you aboard another sailing very soon. Until then,we wish you all the best.

 

 

 

Kind regards,

 

Daphney

 

Special Advisor

 

Office of the President

 

 

 

It would be great if you would get a response on the particular items at some point and not just a response saying they got your letter.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[puddles'n splashes]

It is interesting that a letter from his office had so many typos such as two or three words running together without any spacing!

We all recognize "form letters". While it is appropriate that they respond, it is disappointing the letter is almost patronizing.

Thank you Bill and Mary Ann for all your blogs, photos, and comments. The are truly appreciated.

Regards,

Puddles' splashes

[WriterOnDeck]

It is interesting that a letter from his office had so many typos such as two or three words running together without any spacing!

We all recognize "form letters". While it is appropriate that they respond' date=' it is disappointing the letter is almost patronizing.

Thank you Bill and Mary Ann for all your blogs, photos, and comments. The are truly appreciated.

Regards,

Puddles' splashes[/quote']

 

The missing spaces are not from HAL, but a quirk of this website when we use cut and paste.