Hitch a Ride with Bill & Mary Ann on Holland America's 2018 World Cruise - 113 days +

[WCB]

Report #140 Day atSea May 23, 2018 Wednesday Partly cloudy & 60 degrees

 

 

There is no doubt that we have entered the part of thePacific Ocean where the temps are cool, and the weather not so nice for sunbathing. The morning view was dismal, asthe skies appeared different shades of gray. The breeze had a bite to it as we did our laps today. The crew has been busy scrubbing, vacuuming,and painting the gutters and railings. Now that the worst of the mess has been cleaned up with the lanai roomchange-over, it is starting to look presentable. We do know that every lanai cabin has the newwalk-in showers, but as far as the rest of the passenger decks, we are notsure.

 

During breakfast, we had an interesting conversation withAgung, our former waiter/turned head waiter. He mentioned that the Sunday brunch willhappen on every cruise over 14 days fleet wide. That is, of course, if that Sunday happens tofall on a sea day. Today there was aspecial fish lunch in the dining room, with most every item containing sometype of fish or crustacean. Only thedesserts were fish-free. Not to ourtastes, lunch would be Dive In Grill for us.

 

For most of the day, we noticed that people stayed insideeither reading in the new comfortable library, playing games and bridge in theHudson Room, or relaxing in the public areas of the ship. The puzzle table is still in the library, andis always full of folks having fun with it.

 

The most exercise many people got was chasing the littleball at the ping pong table. Despite thecooler temps around the walk around deck, the Lido Pool area was warm enoughfor swimming and some sun bathing. Thesun did finally peek out after 2pm, though there was not a lot of heat in it.

 

The final folkloric Mexican dance took place in the LidoPool at noontime. More than likely, theywill be leaving the ship in San Francisco. Then it will be everything Alaska.

 

Have you ever heard of Loteria? Guess it is the Mexican form of bingo, andwas free to play in the Wajang Theaterat 2pm. The movie, Black Panther, wasshown at 3,6, and 9pm.

 

It appears that the liquor shop has gotten a lot morecustomers now that we are approaching the end of this cruise. Duty free and 2 for 1 prices might boosttheir sales, as many passengers seem inclined to buy before they leave theship.

 

It was a 2 movie day for us with “Dough” and “Murder on the OrientExpress”. Both were very good.

 

Dinner was in the dining room once again, where we had soupsof cheese tortellini and dos frijoles. Entreesof coq a vin and medium rare sliced beef were perfect. We saved a smidgen ofroom for dessert.

 

At 9pm, there was a Call My Bluff game show, where a panelof storytellers (usually staff) present the folks with off the walldefinitions. Most are obscure words thatcan potentially have many different meanings. Most times, they are not what you would expect. So it is up to theviewers to decide who is lying, and who is telling the truth. If we had wanted to go to this venue, wewould have had to eat really fast.

 

The Mainstage featured an encore variety show with DaleGonyea and Matt Disero, both promising all new shows.

 

Tomorrow will be a busy day with the port of SanFrancisco. It will start early with azero clearance of all passengers and crew before 10:30am. Once checked through, we will be able to enjoyour day as “tourists” in our very own city.

 

Bill & Mary Ann

[MLA]

Report #140 Day atSea May 23, 2018 Wednesday Partly cloudy & 60 degrees

 

 

 

 

 

There is no doubt that we have entered the part of thePacific Ocean where the temps are cool, and the weather not so nice for sunbathing. The morning view was dismal, asthe skies appeared different shades of gray. The breeze had a bite to it as we did our laps today. The crew has been busy scrubbing, vacuuming,and painting the gutters and railings. Now that the worst of the mess has been cleaned up with the lanai roomchange-over, it is starting to look presentable. We do know that every lanai cabin has the newwalk-in showers, but as far as the rest of the passenger decks, we are notsure.

 

 

 

During breakfast, we had an interesting conversation withAgung, our former waiter/turned head waiter. He mentioned that the Sunday brunch willhappen on every cruise over 14 days fleet wide. That is, of course, if that Sunday happens tofall on a sea day. Today there was aspecial fish lunch in the dining room, with most every item containing sometype of fish or crustacean. Only thedesserts were fish-free. Not to ourtastes, lunch would be Dive In Grill for us.

 

 

 

For most of the day, we noticed that people stayed insideeither reading in the new comfortable library, playing games and bridge in theHudson Room, or relaxing in the public areas of the ship. The puzzle table is still in the library, andis always full of folks having fun with it.

 

 

 

The most exercise many people got was chasing the littleball at the ping pong table. Despite thecooler temps around the walk around deck, the Lido Pool area was warm enoughfor swimming and some sun bathing. Thesun did finally peek out after 2pm, though there was not a lot of heat in it.

 

 

 

The final folkloric Mexican dance took place in the LidoPool at noontime. More than likely, theywill be leaving the ship in San Francisco. Then it will be everything Alaska.

 

 

 

Have you ever heard of Loteria? Guess it is the Mexican form of bingo, andwas free to play in the Wajang Theaterat 2pm. The movie, Black Panther, wasshown at 3,6, and 9pm.

 

 

 

It appears that the liquor shop has gotten a lot morecustomers now that we are approaching the end of this cruise. Duty free and 2 for 1 prices might boosttheir sales, as many passengers seem inclined to buy before they leave theship.

 

 

 

It was a 2 movie day for us with “Dough” and “Murder on the OrientExpress”. Both were very good.

 

 

 

Dinner was in the dining room once again, where we had soupsof cheese tortellini and dos frijoles. Entreesof coq a vin and medium rare sliced beef were perfect. We saved a smidgen ofroom for dessert.

 

 

 

At 9pm, there was a Call My Bluff game show, where a panelof storytellers (usually staff) present the folks with off the walldefinitions. Most are obscure words thatcan potentially have many different meanings. Most times, they are not what you would expect. So it is up to theviewers to decide who is lying, and who is telling the truth. If we had wanted to go to this venue, wewould have had to eat really fast.

 

 

 

The Mainstage featured an encore variety show with DaleGonyea and Matt Disero, both promising all new shows.

 

 

 

Tomorrow will be a busy day with the port of SanFrancisco. It will start early with azero clearance of all passengers and crew before 10:30am. Once checked through, we will be able to enjoyour day as “tourists” in our very own city.

 

 

 

Bill & Mary Ann

 

 

 

Have enjoyed reading your posts. Thanks! Curious: Do you never go the shows? Did you go on past trips and just got tired of them?

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[WCB]

Report #141 SanFrancisco, California May 24, 2018 Thursday Partly cloudy & 60 degrees Part #1 Of 4 80 Pictures

 

The Amsterdam sailed towards San Francisco and the famousGolden Gate Bridge around 6:30am. As wehave had the privilege of entering the bay many times on cruise ships, wepassed on the idea of going outside to view it. For one thing, it was too cold and it was tooearly. But we did wake up in time towatch the scenic sail in from our room window. What we expected to see were the headlands of Marin County, some cliffswith lighthouses, birds, and perhaps a few sea lions. What we did not expect to see were whales….butwe did, two of them in fact. Theyappeared so suddenly, even the EXC narrator, Kelly, did not spot them when wedid. First we saw the familiar dorsalfins, followed by the blow, and the flukes as they dove. There is a tour that you can book in the portarea for whale-watching. During theseason, you might see gray, blue, or more than likely, the humpbackwhales. That excursion runs about $45for 2 – 2 ½ hours. So to see thesewhales now, was quite a plus. It was aone-time thing, as they disappeared once we were under the bridge.

 

Lucky for everyone, there was fog, but it was high, mixedwith heavy clouds. At least the GoldenGate, which is really red/orange, wasvisible, as was the downtown and pier area. The ship was alongside and docked at Pier 27 by 8am.

 

The City by the Bay, as it is called by some, is near anddear to our hearts, since we were born and raised here. Even re-locating to the East Bay to get more seasonalweather and less fog, we still consider it home. It was, for the most part, for one of us, whocommuted the Bay Bridge for over 40 years for work. We can agree that San Francisco is the secondmost densely populated city after New York City. And the traffic proves it, as it can be abear.

 

Going back to its beginnings in the late 18th century,the city grew with the Gold Rush. Beinglocated within the ring of fire of the massive Pacific Ocean, a devastatingearthquake and fire leveled the city in 1906. It became a way of life for us,growing up as kids. We experienced morethan our share of big quakes, even as recent as 1989.

 

It has not put a dent in the tourist department, as it hasbeen stated that San Francisco ranks 35th out of the 100 topdestinations in the world. Among thethings to see and do, there were seven tours offered from shoreexcursions. Scenic SF took in theEmbarcadero, the bridge, Golden Gate Park, the Japanese Tea Garden, De YoungMuseum, the Academy of Sciences, and Twin Peaks. A lot to do in 5 ½ hours. Then there is Alcatraz, the maximum securityFederal Bureau of Prisons since 1934. Although it has been closed for many years, it is a most popularsite. Unless you booked the tour withHAL, you would not have the chance to see where Al Capone, the Birdman ofAlcatraz, or George, Machine gun, Kelly spent their years behind bars. We saw a sign posted saying the next availableboat tour there would be next Wednesday. Oh well, there is always the Cable Car, which you can ride up SanFrancisco’s famous hills. And there isthe Ho-Ho bus, which gives you a full day of stops for $55. Finally, you can rent a bike starting at $30for the day.

 

Going out of town, there were trips to Sausalito, MuirWoods, and Sonoma wine country….all heading across the Golden Gate Bridge. Good luck getting back on time for the shipto leave at 5pm. Turned out that one waslate in arriving.

 

But first, we all had to see the US Customs and BorderProtection Officials in the cruise terminal. We had a face-to-passport inspection that only required ourpassports. No forms had to filled out,and nothing had to be declared. Maybethat is because this was not a designated segment and no one was officiallygetting off. Actually, there were a fewthat did leave, but they had to pay the full fare to Seattle anyway. We chose not to do that.

 

Last night, we had been given the letter S for thisinspection. We had the choice of goingoff first, starting at 8:30am, or waiting until 10am. Since we planned to meet our youngest son at11am at Pier 39, we waited until 9:30am to leave. We had been given permission to take off one pieceof luggage to hand over to him. That waywe will only have two bags to bring home from Seattle. And both well under 50 pounds, we hope.

 

Funny thing revealed itself when we lined up in the newterminal for the check. One group was goingto the right, and it was a very long line. When we were asked if we were US citizens, we were directed to theleft. There were a total of six of us,whereas, there were hundreds of non US citizens…..we guess, mostlyCanadian. Of course, many more USnatives could have gone through ahead of us, but somehow we doubt it.

 

Free for the day, we made our way slowly to Pier 39,stopping to take photos of the bay andthe city as we went up the scenic Embarcadero. Even at this time of the morning, the streets were full of people,mostly tourists like us. A number ofyoung kids were on field trips to the Aquarium at Pier 39. This upcoming weekend is a holiday, MemorialDay (Monday actually), but many take off three or four days before it.

 

Making our way to the side where the sea lions fight forspace on the floating rafts, we were amused at their antics. They are such huge animals, but powerfulswimmers in the water. Obviously, thereis a major food supply for them, since they must have topped the scales athundreds, even thousands of pounds.

 

With 50 specialty shops and 16 full-service restaurants,this popular venue is a fun destination in itself. Notonly that, this is the best spot to take photos of Alcatraz Island, AngelIsland, and both major bridges, the GoldenGate and the Bay Bridge.

 

Our choice for lunch today was the Hard Rock Café. Good thing we met our son when it opened, sincewhen the doors did open, a flood of guests came in with priorreservations. This group, which includedmany teen-agers, about filled the bar area where we had taken seats. If we had come at noontime, we would have hadto wait to get a table. Who knew? Anyway, we had a wonderful visit, catching upon 5 months-worth of family news. Butthe best news was that nothing seems to have broken at our home, or no treeshave fallen in our absence. And the road that took one year to be repaired,due to a slide, is still operating. Thehour went by all too fast, as it was a work day, and our son had to continuewith his day. We will be home in acouple of days, and it will be great to see the family and grandkids onceagain.

 

After lunch, we walked to Fisherman’s Wharf, which wascrowded with tourists and locals as well. Crabs and lobsters were being cooked in the big boiling pots of saltedwater, putting the fishy aroma in the air for a mile surrounding thewharf. If you like the shrimp, crab, andlobster sandwiches, then you would be in heaven here. Most all of the famous seaside restaurantsare here too.

 

Continuing on, we passed by the Hyde Street Pier with thehistoric ships, The Cannery, the swim club at Aquatic Park, and GhirardelliSquare on the hillside. This area is chock-full of souvenir shops andsmall places to buy lunch on the run. One of those places was Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream, so we had to treatourselves with a couple of scoops of their specialty ice creams. Eleven dollars for a single scoop cup, andone small sugar cone. Wow, remember thedays when we got a huge cone for 10 cents? Never see that again…..

 

All aboard was at 4:30pm, so we figured we better start back. It was almost drizzling with drifting fog at GhirardelliSquare, but as we neared Pier 39, it had passed over. We would not see any sign of the sun untilthe ship was leaving after 5pm.

 

Funny that just a couple of days ago, we were having a hardtime cooling off in Cabo San Lucas, and today, we needed to turn the heat up toget warm in our room. Working on photos,we went up to deck nine around 4:30pm to get ready for the sail out of the bay. By now, some of the overcast was clearing, asit usually does, and there was hope that we would get some good shots as wesailed back under the bridge.

 

Once the ropes were dropped, Captain Fred backed out, thenturned the ship around. This time wewould go around the north side of Alcatraz on the way out. With the sun behind us, the views were waybetter than this morning. Most everyonethat came outside to watch this were dressed for it. Despite the warmer clothing, it barely keptthe chill from penetrating the bones. People coming from the bow to the back pool said they couldn’t take thatcutting wind up front.

 

We lasted until the ship was well off shore and heading in anortherly direction. Keeping a sharp eye out for some whalesightings, we saw none. Perhaps we mightget lucky as we sail the coast of Oregon and Washington on our way towardsVictoria. We expect the weather and theseas to remain cool and slightly rough. It seems to always be this way for this stretch.

 

It wasn’t until dinnertime, that we “defrosted” in ourroom. We had reservations in thePinnacle Grill tonight. For a change, wetried the spicy tomato lemongrass chicken soup. It did help warm us up, but it also filled us up. Caesar salad, no anchovy, followed withentrees of grilled lamb chops, and one small filet mignon. French fries with that special aioli dip,sauted mushrooms ,and ½ baked potato filled our plates. Saved a bit of room for one scoop of vanillaice cream and two scoops of Cherry Garcia without the Baked Alaska. We inquired about the biscotti cookies theyused to serve with coffee, and Desi, one of our cute waitresses, said she wouldfind us some. And she did, although theywere not the thinly-sliced ones we used to get, but bigger slices, soft andfull of ground almonds. As we seldom touch the gourmandises candies,these cookies are far better and not so sweet.

 

The entertainment in the Mainstage was a vocalist and comedyimpressionist Tricia Kelly. She had ahigh-energy musical performance full of laughs and surprises. The majority of folks attended the first showat 8pm, but due to such a long invigorating day spent in San Francisco, thesecond show was lightly attended.

 

Tomorrow will be our final full day at sea, and a most busyone onboard.

 

Bill & Mary Ann

[cruises42]

There is a thread saying that HAL is disbanding all the singers and dancers. Have you heard anything about that?

[WCB]

Report # 142 Day atSea May 25, 2018 Friday Partly cloudy & 61 degrees

 

Last night, we had been hand-delivered an invitation for theGrand opening of the new ArtLink Galleries. Apparently, it is the replacement for the previous art vendors, ParkWest. During the entire world cruise, wedo not remember that there were any art auctions. So when we boarded for this re-positioningcruise, we did realize that Park West was nowhere to be seen. So today at 5pm, there was a ribbon cuttingceremony with sparkling wine and the officers. What we did not realize, was that we had been invited to be the “ribbon-cutters”as we were the only President’s Club members onboard the ship. Not really comfortable with that job, we gaveour thanks for the honor, but decided to pass it over to someone else. We let them know before 8am today, so theywould have time to choose someone else for the honors.

 

After a light breakfast, we went outside for a walk. It was invigorating to say the least. No way was it 61 degrees with the way thewind was blowing. Even the deck crew hadon their woolen hats as they sanded, painted, and cleaned up the lowerpromenade deck. You always get thefeeling that things are being prepared for the next group of passengers. But the longer we have traveled on ships, werealize that this work is ongoing all of the time.

 

Today was the Mariner Society Ceremony in the Mainstage,deck four. A limited number ofpassengers were present, which we assume were the higher numbered dayguests. We had been invited 15 minutesahead of the 10:30am opening time, so we could be seated first. Not a problem, since we were the only ones in our category. A nice table for two had been set withflowers in the very front, dead center. Captain Eversen and hotel director, Norbert, were the medal award hosts. A small amount of people would get the bronzeand silver medallions. One gentleman got some oohs and aahs when they announcedhe was a platinum medal holder. Last, but not least, we were called to thefront to have our photo taken with the officers. When cruise director Jai said we had over 2000days, we did get a big applause, as well as some pretty big stares. And that’s why we seldom admit to beingPresident’s Club members unless we are asked.

 

We and the new awardees were escorted to the lower diningroom for brunch. None of the tables werehosted, so we got to sit at our everyday breakfast and lunch table for two. Two flutes of sparkling wine were waiting forus, although Manny, our favorite wine steward, offered us our choice ofcocktails. Nice, but we declined. Themenu was a choice of a fish appetizer or cheddar cheese chowder. Mains were beef pot roast, plaice fish, orasparagus red rice cakes. We chose the beef. A berry meringue tart was the dessert, accompanied with petit fours,coffee, and tea.

 

There was still photo work to be finished from yesterday, aswell as the report, so that’s how we spent some of the afternoon. Also watched a good movie about four retiredguys that robbed a bank called Going in Style. Not a new movie, we have only seen bits and pieces of it That’s what nice with the new interactive TV’son the other newer HAL ships. How niceis it to watch newer flics at any time you wish, and even pause them tocontinue later. They have our vote.

 

We are guessing that most folks are beginning to pack. We are. With only two suitcases to fill, it should be easy. We also heard that up to 70 or 80 people willbe leaving the cruise in Victoria tomorrow. Makes sense if they live on Vancouver Island. Another thing we spotted were some newpassengers that must have boarded in San Francisco, replacing the ones thatleft there. They’ll be on a three daycruise.

 

Tonight was the final gala evening, although you would notknow it at one nearby table, where two young fellows, college-age, woret-shirts. At least they left thebaseball caps back in their cabin. Yes,we were surprised that nothing was said to them. Oh well, such is life. We enjoyed our meal, and just before we wereabout to leave, there was a mini paradeof chefs through the dining room. That’sas good as it gets to replacing the festive Baked Alaska parade we used to havein the old days. Hard to continue thatsince the open-seating concept took over a few years ago.

 

 

Jesse Kazemek played a mean guitar with a tribute to the Beatlestonight in the Mainstage. Nice to seesome new musicians entertaining the folks.

 

We should arrive to the city of Victoria tomorrow by1pm. Another nice place to visit.

 

Bill & Mary Ann

[WCB]

Report #143 Victoria, British Columbia, Canada May 27, 2018 Saturday Partly cloudy & 61 degrees Part #1 Of 3 Sail-In 73 Pictures

 

Today was fabulous…..the weather looked promising, althoughstill chilly, the sun was peeking out of the dismal gray clouds. After breakfast, we used the little time wehad left to finish packing. No matterhow we tried, the bags were still a tad bit over-weight. The only option was to clear out the almostempty toiletries, or papers, or things that can easily be replaced. As long as we didn’t buy anything else intown today, we should be OK.

 

Still having some shipboard credit to spend, we went back tothe shops to see what we could purchase that did not weigh a lot. One of us hadbeen looking at a watch, which we compared-shopped online. Knowing it could be bought for far less thanwhat the ship was asking, we inquired about their price-matching guarantee. A little reluctant to get into details, onlyone of the younger sales fellows was willing to explain it to us. The bottom line was that it appeared we wouldhave pay their price, then put in a request for the difference when we got home,if we could document the lower price. Weimmediately thought yeah, good luck with that. If anyone has done this sort of bargaining after-the-fact, we sure wouldlike to hear about it.

 

Earlier in the morning, we had received a call from one ofthe front desk girls reminding us that we had ship board credit to spend. The big surprise was that almost half of thecredit was cashable, which we did not know. In the first week of this cruise, we had inquired about this very samesubject. How much of our credit wascashable, and how much was use-it-or-lose -it. We were told none of it was cashable. So naturally, we went right down to see the girl and get our cash. No questions asked. Next time, we shall go right to the source,and ask the purser, who knows all of these details.

 

The rest of the credit went towards some nice jewelry thatweighed next to nothing, and a couple of t-shirts. We left a total of 27 cents in the account. In the old days, this amount would be sentback to our credit card on file. Theshops closed at 12 noon today, since we would arrive to Victoria by 1pm.

 

Bundled up, we headed for deck six forward, and watched thesail into the harbor. Hoping to see someorcas, we never did. But we did see somegulls and some pretty fantastic mountain peaks full of snow. As the ship got closer to the pier, a pilotboat came out to us. We could also seeanother ship was already docked. It hada big X on the stack, so we knew it was a Celebrity ship. Turned out it was the Infinity, a ship wetraveled to Alaska about 9 years ago.

 

The Amsterdam was alongside and docked before 1pm, althoughwe were not cleared until 1:20pm. Thesun was out, and the skies had turned blue. Could not have been better.

 

There were 9 tours offered here today from 2 to 4 hours,costing $40 to $120. Two of them went toButchart Gardens, a wonderful park that is over 100 years old. The other excursions were city tours, some ofwhich included high tea. Also offered,was a shuttle bus service that would run round trips to downtown for $13. Or you could have purchased this ride righton the pier. Nice idea for those who wished to go to dinner later this evening, as the all aboard time was10:30pm.

 

Named for Queen Victoria in the late 1800’s, Victoria is oneof the oldest cities in the Pacific Northwest. It has the second oldest Chinatown, with the one in San Francisco beingthe first. Most impressive are theBritish Parliament Buildings and Legislature built in 1897. The Fairmont Empress Hotel is also abeautiful landmark. Appropriatelynick-named the City of Gardens, Victoria has a population of 78,055 (2006)English and French-speaking people. Mostfriendly, we can say too.

 

We noticed there was something called an “express lunch” inthe dining room from 12 to 1pm. The menuwas far different than what we are used to seeing. We were told that the format and the selectionswill be different for the upcoming Alaska runs. We would learn more later on.

 

We took off before 2pm, and headed towards town. Following the signs towards downtown, we sawthe heliport where helicopters were landing while we were docking. Passing by the Canada Coast Guard, Fisherman’sWharf, and historic Teahouses, we made our way past the copper-domed ParliamentBuildings and the Legislature. What asight to behold. Located right on theInner Harbor, the Fairmont Empress Hotel is another iconic sight built in1908.

 

We stopped many times to take photos of not only thebuildings, flowers, gardens, and hotels, but also the horse-drawn carriagesthat circled this historic area.

 

Walking through the beautiful Empress Hotel, we made our wayup Government Street, passing many shops and cafes along the way. We ended up at Earl’s, a fun restaurant andbar where we knew we could get great pizza and draft beers. Crowded, we did find the perfect table withthe high stools we prefer. And evenbetter, it was happy hour with meal deals as well. We ordered two pale ales and three types of 8inch pizzas. Gosh they were good. We even saved a little room for a dessert ofNew York cheesecake with a strawberry drizzle. Excellent, and perfect to share. We left around 5pm.

 

Taking our time walking back, we took in the activity on theharbor front with all of the tourists enjoying a Saturday afternoon. Many folks were heading out to restaurantsand bars, all dressed for the occasion. Itsure seemed a lot more crowded with people as the afternoon wore on. But unknown to us, another ship had arrivedin the harbor…..the NCL Pearl. It hadtaken the spot of the Celebrity ship. Thenas we got within eye shot of the piers, another ship, the Emerald Princess waspulling in. Sure must be good forthe local businesses and tourist sites.

 

We decided to take a different path on the way back,avoiding the crowds on Belleville Street. This pathway took us around the waterline, past the ferries and smallboat harbor to the Laurel Point Park. Many benches lined this scenic viewing area of the Inner Harbor. Watching the seaplanes take off and land wascool, as the little water taxis criss-crossed the waters as well.

 

Just as we popped back up to the main street, we spotted avery large raccoon running across the road from Fisherman’s Wharf. There is a small park where the mudflats usedto be, so that’s where this critter makes his home.

 

That’s when the most remarkable thing happened as we roundedthe turn where the Coast Guard is located. Suddenly a car took a left turn into the parking lot, and out came acouple that we had met on this world cruise. They had intended to cruise the entire trip, but it was cut short due tothe wife’s illness. Sadly, they had toleave in Perth, Australia. Now what arethe odds that they would spot us as they were on their way home, which happenedto be right out of the downtown area? Unbelievable,but so nice to visit with them. Gave usa chance to fill them in with the part of the trip they had missed. We wished them well, and we all agreed thatwe are now believers of fate. Feelingbetter now, they already have plans to cruise in the near future, but probablyon a Princess ship, where they admitted they felt the most comfortable. We talked about our chance meeting all theway back to the ship.

 

Dinnertime came quickly, as we worked on photos andreports. Originally, we had intended togo to the Pinnacle Grill, but changed our minds when we realized that this wouldbe our last evening with our waiters, especially Slam. He has taken care of us for 5 months now, andwe did want to say a proper good bye. Hehas one more week for the first Alaska run, then he goes home too. Judging from his ear-to-ear smile, he isready to leave too.

 

As we mentioned earlier, the format on the menu hadchanged. All of the regular celebritychefs from different areas are featured on one page, followed with a section forstarters, salads, and soups. Mains arethe next group, with desserts listed last. Everything is on one menu, which is ordered all at once. This will continue through the Alaskacruises, according to Philip. He addedthat when the grand voyages begin, the regular menu will come back. We sure hope so. Too many changes too fast for us. By the way,the usual alternates, although not listed, were still available. Saying goodbye as always hard, but we will beback, and we hope our favorite waiters will also be back on the 2019 World Cruise.

 

A big screen movie, The Post, was being shown in theMainstage. Again, at least the third orfourth time since we have been on the ship. Which was fine, because it was more important to put our luggage outside(before midnight), and get to bed early. Tomorrow will be a busy one for sure.

 

Bill & Mary Ann

[bcnvcanada]

Thank you so much for providing us with travel enjoyment these

past five months. We know that it does take time and effort to post. Yours detailed reports, and pictures of the world have given us an

insight into world travel. We have been able to us several of your

wonderful hints in our travels.

We can't hardly wait until you travel again.

Safe travel and again THANKS

[cunnorl]

Thank you for taking us along on this wonderful journey!

Safe travels home and will look forward to your next voyage.

[Oahucruiser]

As with every other year, I have enjoyed every post you've made. Such great detail, photos, information, humor and reviews of so many places. Thank you for taking so much of your time to do this each year. We've been on 5 world cruises and would never have found the time to do what you do every day. Very impressive!

[Love the beach]

Thank you once again for taking us along....it has been a real treat!

[Gaga3]

I have thoroughly enjoyed this trip through your eyes! The posts and the photos have been great. Each day I found myself waiting for the next installment. Can’t wait for your next adventure! Thanks again for taking us along......

[ON cruiser]

Thanks, Bill and Mary Ann, for the wonderful blog. You allowed me to travel vicariously around the world, and then through the Panama Canal. Your taking your time to post is most kind, and you write so well!

 

Hopefully your disembark and flight home was uneventful; and you found your home in a good state of repair. When time allows, please let us know how your last day went, as well as if you have any final thoughts from this cruise about HAL, and the various changes--good, bad or indifferent.

 

Enjoy your summer!

[Wehwalt]

I also want to say thank you. I was on part of your voyage (though we never knowingly met) and I've enjoyed having your perspective on everything. I hope to meet you in 2020, when I plan to do at least part of the world voyage.

[WCB]

Report # 144 Cominghome…..finally May 27, 2018 Sunday Partly cloudy & 75 degrees

 

All good things must come to an end, right? Well, the day has finally arrived that wemust go home and leave our “ship family” behind. We have to admit that they have spoiled uswith their excellent service and friendliness. And that’s why we end up coming back to HALtime after time. Now the work at homeand catching up with friends and family will keep us busy for months to come. But it is so worth it.

 

Our day began early at 5am. The two pieces of luggage went out last night, so we just had our carryons to finish arranging. We figured bythe end of the day, we’ll both have gorilla arms lugging heavy hand bags. As much as you try to keep them light, it is impossible.

 

For the first time since we went on the African safari, wegrabbed a couple of yogurts and orange juices in the Lido. It was not crowded there at 6am. Since we were due to go off at 8am, we couldnot take a chance with a full breakfast in the dining room.

 

Today our flight was early at 11:15am. Purchasing HAL transfers to the airport, wewere the first group called off after the expedited folks, who packed their fewsuitcases off. The luggage was justbeing arranged in the terminal, so we had to wait until they released us tolocate it. To add to the confusion, theEmerald Princess was also off-loading their passengers. Their numbers were far greater than ours. It appeared they were combining the bus transferswith both ships. Since our names werenot on a list, we assume they knew we prepaid for this transfer according tothe color of our luggage tags. No oneasked for any vouchers, which we had none anyway.

 

Since today was a Sunday, and a holiday weekend, there wasnot a lot of traffic. The airport isreally not that far, but we do know how traffic jams can make a short tripimpossibly long. Not today. We had a very chatty driver who even toldjokes on the way.

 

Once at the domestic airport, we were able to go directly toa small Delta desk to check in. It was located a few yards from the bus drop. So nice, since we would not have to lug theluggage all the way to the main terminal. A good reason to remember to use Delta out of Seattle when we can. Also, we were a little overweight on thebags, but it went unnoticed, thankfully.

 

We also got TSA pre-check, which is always a plus. When we went through security, it appearedthat everyone got this perk, as that line was the longest. The only thing we did not have to do was takeoff our shoes, or empty the computer out of the bag. One of us was directed to the xray machine,just by random. No problems passing, butdelayed a bit getting the other bags back. Had the other one of us not been there to watch it, the stuff would havebeen left unattended long enough for something to disappear.

 

It seemed to take forever to locate the gate, which happenedto be down one level. Seems that we wereflying a little bitty commuter plane, or that’s what the terminal agentsaid. This would be like the smallplanes we flew while in Africa. About 40of us waited in a small room, then found out the flight was delayed for unknownreasons. But only by 15 minutes.

 

Then it was announced for all of us to board a bus for aride to the plane on the tarmac. OK, butonce we got in the bus, the agent come back out and said we all had to get off,and go back inside. We thought we heardwhispers of a sheared pin in the landing gear. Good grief……..do we really want to be on that plane?

 

So back inside we went for another 10 minutes, and werepeated the drill the second time. Butnow we were driven all the way around the airport to the commuter planes. It was little itty bitty one, but it did looknew. The story now was that the aircrafthad to be towed here for us to board it. In other words, they had no parking place for it.

 

The flight was smooth and quick. We landed in SFO about ½ hour late, but inone piece. By the time we got to the baggagecarousel, our two pieces had just come out. And our driver was there with a card and our name on it. Perfect. Following her, we ended up in the parkinggarage, and we were on our way.

 

Traffic was not bad at all, since we had flown in earlier thanwe normally do. And it was Sunday, abetter day for traffic.

 

We pulled into our driveway before 4pm, and it felt like wehad just left. Hard to believe five months had flown by since we last lefthere. Yes, there will be work to cleaneverything up to our liking, but really, all looked pretty good to us.

 

Our biggest problem would be…..what’s for dinner? Certainly not something we can order from amenu. And life goes on…..

 

Many thanks for all the encouragement you gave us along thejourney. Once again, it has been a pleasuresharing our “diary” with you all. And ifall goes according to plan, we will be back in the fall. So stay tuned…..

 

Bill & Mary Ann

[Kween Karen]

Thanks again for sharing your adventure. I look forward to chatting on the 2019 World!

[ger_77]

Welcome Home! With the greatest of thanks for taking us along on another of your adventures.

Smooth Sailing! :) :) :)

[MountHal]

Thank you so much for sharing your incredible trip. I enjoyed each entry. I look forward to "travelling" with you both next year .

[albi]

Once again, thanks for taking all of us along on your journey!

 

 

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[Martezz]

Thanks Bill and Mary Ann for my almost daily cruise newspaper.. I really enjoyed your reports.

 

 

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[josumello]

I have enjoyed each and everyone of your trip reports over the last few years. Thanks for taking us along.

 

 

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[bennybear]

Thanks for taking us along! Loved your safari pics!

[roses313]

A great big "Thank You"!

[JamesEM]

Enjoyed following along, looking forward to your next adventure.

[Flyingfish]

I've got my spot! And ready to go in the fall. Thanks again for all you two do making this trip so enjoyable for us all.

[travelholics]

Thanks Bill and Mary Ann, I have looked forward to reading of your adventures every morning this winter/spring and will tune in again when you return to the seas. Enjoy your summer and spending time with all your family.