San Diego to Montreal in 134 Days

[bennybear]

Yikes! So glad the rough ride is over!  Enjoy New Zealand! 

[richwmn]

March 10^th, 2024 – Akaroa (Christchurch), New Zealand

 

Good morning from an anchorage off Akaroa. We are here and the tenders are in the water, but at 8:20am they haven’t started service yet. It is currently 54°F / 12°C with few clouds. The wind is calm at about 4mph, and the humidity is at 81%.

 

 

Yesterday was a nice day off the ship in Timaru. The locals had a nice market set up where the shuttle let us off which included a display of vintage vehicles. Included was a MG B, a Buick Roadster, and a Suzuki 850 Motorcycle with sidecar. I had an interesting conversation with one of the volunteers for the display since a friend had a MG of the same vintage and I used to own a Suzuki one year newer than the one on display. It was a beautiful day for a walk around the small town.

 

Back on the ship was a lazy day. Enough people were off the ship so that those who were aboard had no lines. It was a very nice day both ashore and aboard the ship.

 

At 4:00pm we had the early trivia session. Since all aboard hadn’t been called yet, it was a small session but good. The 7:00pm session had a ‘Rock & Roll’ theme and stuck to music trivia. As a team, we managed to be the only one to get all the questions right. Although there are currently no prizes awarded, it is still fun to win.

 

The show last night was Maori Tenor Benjamin Makisi. This gentleman is a very good singer and does a very good show. He started off with a song that he introduced as a Maori song of welcome. He then went thru several types of music, and did each well. The show was full of singing with only enough talk to describe what he was singing. I did enjoy the show very much. He will sing again in a few days.

 

 

Today’s activities and meals –

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Coming into Akaora this morning.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Coming into

[richwmn]

March 10^th, 2024 – Wellington, New Zealand

 

Today is another beautiful day in New Zealand. I have been to Wellington twice before and managed to take the same excursion both times, first alone then with a friend. The weather is nice and I’ll go ashore shortly.

 

 

 

Yesterday was another nice day. The tender to the port was a bit long at about 25 minutes, but Akaroa is a nice little town. It is another port that I have visited before, in 2019, and is worth another walk around. It seems like a resort town as it has a nice assortment of restaurants along the waterline.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Back on the ship for the normal day of trivia. Both sessions were nice, with the late session being ‘Broadway’. Only three of us showed up for various reasons, not the best three for this category. We did manage to get twelve points which we believed was a good showing.

 

After the first trivia I went to the Sea View Pool where Sailaway was supposed to be very nice. The staff had set up everything for a sailaway party but due to the chilly weather not many guests showed up so the party consisted of more staff than guests. Those who were there did have a good time and the scenery was great. The party did end around 5:30pm, before the ship actually started moving.

 

 

Then there was the show last night. They were billed as ‘Carpe Idiotus Presents: The Mime and The Musician’. It was an interesting concept but not particularly good. The musician didn’t play much and the mime talked. For the most part, the mime did some movements inside a big round flexible tube. It was mildly entertaining but not really something I would go out of my way to see.

 

 

Today’s activities and menus –

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Cruising-along]

We didn’t care for the show last night either. We rarely leave early from a show (maybe only twice ever) and this was one of those times. 
 

[richwmn]

March 11^th, 2024 – Napier, New Zealand

 

Good morning from Napier. We have been cleared to go ashore and there will be shuttles into town. The last shuttle back to the ship will be 3:45pm.

 

 

 

 

Yesterday was a rather normal day. Two rounds of trivia that went well, nothing going on at sailaway, and a party in the Ocean Bar in the evening. Because of the party, no event was scheduled on the World Stage.

 

In Wellington I stayed aboard the ship. I had two nice visits here in ‘19 and last year and got a lot of things taken care of. With the Gala Night last night, I enjoyed a restful evening.

 

Today’s activities and menus –

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[richwmn]

March 12^th, 2024 – Tauranga, New Zealand

 

We are still a little way from out goal this morning. We are scheduled to be in Tauranga at 10am, in about 45 minutes. The temperature is currently 68°F / 20°C under scattered clouds. There is a slight wind at 3.6mph and the humidity is at 77%. Not a bad day all together.

 

 

Yesterday was Napier, a nice little town which has retained an Art Deco personality. I was in Napier in 2019, and it doesn’t seem to have changed too much. There is a shuttle from the ship that drops us at the information center on the beach, or continues on to their aquarium. The ride is short and scenic. Lining the beach on both sides of the information center are beautiful gardens. Yesterday was a particularly nice day for walking.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Getting back to the ship was the typical two sessions of trivia. We did fine on the first. The second had a theme of ‘Casino’ and we were not expecting to get many right. We surprised ourselves with a total of 14 points out of 17, but we lost the tie breaker.

 

The show last night was another installment of the ‘Grand Voyage Repertory Company’ called ‘Dreams’. It was again a fast moving show that seemed to be over quickly. The lead female singer was featured and showed her range and control. The dancers also provided a good background to the singers. The show was very good and the cast seemed to be having a good time.

 

 

After the show ended I moved to the Ocean Bar and listened to that group until they took a break. This is also a very good group and they put on a show that the audience enjoyed. They feature a lead female singer, and a pianist that also sings. When they finished their set, I walked back to the Piano Bar but was not impressed with the two song fragments I stayed for. I moved to the Crows Nest but nothing happening there. I went back to the Ocean Bar and listened to that band for a few more songs. All in all, a very good evening.

 

I slept in a bit this morning and had a late breakfast. We should be close to the port now, it does sound like it.

 

Today’s activities and menus.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 11 by richwmn

[richwmn]

March 13^th, 2024 – Auckland, New Zealand (Day 1 of 2)

 

We are in position in Auckland and should receive clearance to go ashore shortly. This will be my third visit to Auckland, the first being a simple ride from the ship to the airport, followed by last year on the World Cruise. We have two days here this time. It looks to be another nice day.

 

 

 

Yesterday was a very nice visit to Tauranga. As with several other ports on this cruise it was my third visit to this city. For my first visit, I took a tour. Last year I had a nice walk along the waterfront to the city and back. It was my intention this year to do the same thing. While walking toward the city I ran into a couple friends from the ship and had a nice time talking to them on the way to the city. We reached the trail that went around the mountain and they asked me to join them, so I did. We had a very nice time taking a very scenic route around the base. When we completed that, we walked thru the city on the way back to the ship. I ended up walking a little less than 4 miles and had a very good day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Back to the ship and a light, late lunch, and then trivia. We had the typical two sessions, both of which we did well at. The second session had a theme of ‘History’ which was very broad. In both cases, we were one off the winners.

 

On the World Stage last night we were treated to a second performance by Benjamin Makisi. As I mentioned before he has a very good voice and is well trained. He has a very good stage presence. He puts on a very good show and was well received by the audience.

 

 

Today’s activities and menus

 

[MaryBethV]

What an amazing journey (so far)! Thank you so much for taking the time and effort to take us along. Following!

[RobTheGob]

On 2/16/2024 at 10:31 AM, scluvsrain said:

We've booked 2704 on main deck which is far aft.  Hoping it will be quiet?  Not sure what's down below us and if there is a back door at end of corridor to the back of the ship?

 

Thanks for any info you could provide.  😄

 

The public sections of the aft decks are one of my fav parts of these ships. We had a DD cabin on the Amsterdam (now sold) and loved that we could get all the way from deck 2 to the Seaview Pool without going to the main stairs/elevators (there are stairs towards the back of deck 3 that go up and past the MDR to deck 6).

 

We recently booked a cabin in the same location on the Zaandam and I’m really looking forward to the experience…

[richwmn]

March 14^th, 2024 – Auckland, New Zealand (Day 2)

 

We are in Auckland for the second day. It is a nice day again, with a small chance of rain later today. Later today we will begin our trek back to San Diego.

 

 

Yesterday I got off the ship and went around the city on the Auckland Express, a Hop On Hop Off bus. While there are two routes advertised, in reality there seems to be only one. That may be different at other times, but I was on the same bus last year and had the same experience. The bus runs the ‘Red’ route to a point, then announces a change to the ‘Blue’ route until a return to that same point, where it changes back to the ‘Red’ route and returns us to the first stop downtown. It is then a short walk back to the ship.

 

 

 

 

After exiting the bus I went across the street to a cell phone store and bought the first case I have ever had. That covered the last of the New Zealand money that I had, and I headed back to the ship. Another late, light lunch and an enjoyable day back.

 

At 4:00pm we did well on the early session of trivia. The late session showed pictures of different breeds of dogs for us to identify. We missed three, while the winner got all answers correct.

 

After trivia it was time to ‘Experience the Richness of Maori Culture’. This was a group of nine local people who showed us in talk, song, and dance something about the Maori and their experience in New Zealand. It was a very good show and provided some interesting information.

 

 

 

 

After the show, it seemed that the ship wasn’t very active due to the number of people ashore for the evening. Speaking of people, I was told a couple of days ago that the ship has 1,050 guests aboard. I had also been told earlier that 36 left and 50 arrived in Sydney, so it seems that we have had a little over 1,000 guests the entire cruise. Since the lower berth capacity is 1,432 we are well below full. From a cabin standpoint, there are quite a few solo cruisers aboard so it that respect the ship is closer to being full.

 

Today’s activities and menus –

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[richwmn]

March 15^th, 2024 – Watangi (Bay of Islands), New Zealand

 

A little late getting started with this today. I had to spend some time cleaning up my laptop this morning. It is currently 64°F / 18°C here under scattered clouds with winds at 11 mph and 94% humidity. Not a bad day for a tender ride.

 

 

Yesterday we had a changeover in the Hotel General Manager. Leoni left us and our new HGM is Florin Dragomir from Baia Mare, Romania. He has been with HAL for 16 years but has been in the cruise industry for 24 starting as an Assistant Waiter.

 

Sunset Last night

 

 

So yesterday I pretty much stayed to myself. It was just something I needed. I didn’t attend either trivia but I did attend the show last night. It was ‘The Physical Comedy of James Lamont’ and was pretty good. He started out on a unicycle, then did some juggling and some other physical stunts. He used two staff members, Effron and Coné, in a couple of his stunts, including having Coné on his shoulders then getting on the unicycle and juggling a bit. It was a good act and somewhat funny.

 

 

Today we are just outside Watangi and it looks to be a nice area. The weather is very nice, and a good day for going ashore or staying on the ship. The tender ride appears to be rather long, so right now I am considering staying on the ship.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The ship is doing fine, the staff is attentive as always, and this has been another very good experience. Here are today’s activities and menus.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 14 by richwmn

[WriterOnDeck]

Rich, you'll love Florin! He was the HGM on the Grand South America/Antarctica a few months ago and is one of the best! Very friendly and outgoing. Keep enjoying your cruise -- and I hope you went ashore in Waitangi. It's beautiful, interesting and very historical. Too bad we missed the port when I sailed on the Westerdam in 2022 with you.

[ATC]

Florin was on the Zaandam last spring and was great. Ask him about his Uber ride with the Captain in Cape Town.

[oakridger]

As @WriterOnDeck mentioned, I hope you went to Paihia/Waitangi!  It's a nice area and cute town.  I wanted to go to the Treaty Grounds, but it was closing in 15 minutes when I got there......next time!

 

~Nancy

Edited March 15 by oakridger

[richwmn]

March 16^th, 2024 – at sea, destination Nukuʻalofa, Tongatapu, Tonga

 

Yesterday we continued on our record of wonderful weather days on this cruise. Just as we got underway yesterday it started to sprinkle a little bit, but not enough to get us off the aft pool deck. The current temperature is 73° / 23°C, with a humidity of 75% under overcast skies. The wind is currently at about 15mph. The ship is proceeding NE at 19 knots.

 

As I mentioned yesterday, I decided to stay on the ship yesterday. I got a lot of little things taken care of. Being away from home for long periods lets some things pile up, and everything worked out. I did make it to both trivia sessions last night and my team did fine. Like most days, we didn’t win but we are always close. The theme for the late session was ‘Famous Artists’ Instruments’ and it was overall difficult.

 

The show in the World Stage last night was ‘Celtic Gra Show’, a celebration of Celtic music and dance featuring Rebecca Harkin from Ireland and her band, consisting of a piano player, a fiddle player, and a dancer. The show was very good, she has a good voice and selection of music.

 

Today’s activities and menus –

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[richwmn]

March 17^th, 2024 – at sea, destination Nukuʻalofa, Tongatapu, Tonga

 

Good morning from another beautiful day aboard Volendam. It is already St. Patricks Day aboard the ship! We are currently heading Northeast at 15 knots on the way to Tonga. On the outside areas of the ship it is 77°F / 25°C with a humidity of 79%. The sky is overcast and the winds are at 25mph.

 

 

Yesterday was a very nice day at sea. As I think I mentioned in the past, I fall into a routine when I am aboard a ship, particularly on a sea day. I usually wake up at the same time each day, followed by an early breakfast. After breakfast I check Cruise Critic and then do this entry.

 

Yesterday we had something a bit different. I was made aware that there were several people aboard that are also on my next cruise, the Majestic Japan cruise in September / October. I set up a quick M&G which happened at 1pm yesterday. I turned in a list of about 20 to the ship that they sent notices to, but somewhere around 40 people showed up. We had a good time placing faces to names seen on either Cruise Critic or Facebook. We kept it going for the full hour.

 

The late session of trivia was at the normal 7pm, and the theme was ‘Riddles’. We were given a riddle and asked to provide the solution. It was very interesting, and we did very well. Of course, we came up just a bit short.

 

Last night the show on the World Stage was again ‘James Lamont, Physical Comedy’. It was again some juggling and then some information about his past. It was mildly interesting and he didn’t seem totally at ease on the stage.

 

 

After I left the World Stage I listened to Kat the cocktail pianist for a few minutes. The Dance Band was scheduled to begin a set at 8pm so I went up there to check them out, only to find that they had just started a break. I proceeded back to the World Stage for a few more minutes, then called it a night.

 

Today’s activities and menus

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[cruzingnut]

@richwmn, I've been following the blogs of people on this cruise.  We were going on but had to cancel it but i do have some friends onboard.  One is coming with us on the Japan cruise so I gave her a heads up.  I'm hoping she was able to attend; nice idea to have that get together!

 

Linda R.

[richwmn]

March 18^th, 2024 – Nukuʻalofa, Tongatapu, Tonga

 

It is now afternoon and I have already been out for a bit. Unfortunately, we finally lost our streak of good days out. I did walk out and just after I left the ship it started a drizzly rain. I stayed out in it for a while, but headed back early. Luckily I had a good visit here last year.

 

 

 

Yesterday was a nice relaxing day at sea. My normal trivia group did fine, didn’t win but came close in both sessions. The late session was questions about New Zealand.

 

A couple of nice things from yesterday. In the Ocean Bar at 3pm HAL hosted a veterans meeting. If I’m not mistaken, there have been several but this is the first one I stopped by for. It was a large group and several HAL Officers were present.

 

Last night the World Stage was dark. Instead we had a St. Patrick’s Day Party in the Crows Nest. It began at 8pm and when I went up around 8:15 there was still a receiving line consisting of eight or ten Officers and Staff. There was a good crowd with the Ocean Bar Band performing and lots of people dancing. There was one couple that didn’t seem to realize that others were on the floor and took up a big area. Everyone seemed to be having a good time.

 

Today’s activities and menu –

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tonga

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[richwmn]

March 19^th, 2024 – at sea, destination Avatiu, Rarotonga, Cook Islands

 

Good morning from Volendam and the first March 19^th. Tomorrow will also be March 19^th as we cross the International Date Line sometime today. We are currently headed almost due east at 13 knots on our way to Avatiu. Aboard Volendam the temperature is 81°F / 27°C with light rain. The wind is about 7mph and the humidity is listed at 86%.

 

 

Yesterday was a nice day in Tonga. I went out fairly early and tried to get a couple of things done without success. The weather was a slow drizzling rain and I got pretty wet while walking so I headed back to the ship. Since this was a repeat port and I had a good tour last year, I wasn’t unhappy.

 

When I got back aboard the ship I called T-Mobile to try to get my problem solved, but Tonga just wasn’t going to happen. I have requested an appointment with the ship’s IT director but I don’t think it will help.

 

So, the rest of the day aboard ship was pretty good. The early trivia session was as normal, we didn’t win but were close. The evening session was very different. It was a visual trivia, pictures of ports and we were supposed to identify the port. The twist was that the Captain, his wife, and the Hotel Director were a team. About half the ports we had to identify were from this trip, the rest were fairly well known. Of course, the Captain’s team won, and I believe only missed one question.

 

The show last night was the ‘Grand Voyage Repertory Company’ doing ‘At The Hop’. The music was good, well performed, and each of the singers got the spotlight. The dances seemed appropriate to the music and each couple was highlighted. It was a very good evening in the World Stage.

 

 

I did listen to Kat, the cocktail pianist, and the Ocean Bar Band for a bit last night and both were putting on good shows and had a nice audience.

 

Today’s activities and menus –

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 18 by richwmn

[richwmn]

March 19^th, 2024 – at sea, destination Avatiu, Rarotonga, Cook Islands (part 2)

 

Today is our second March 19^th, we crossed the International Date Line. We are moving East at 15knots headed toward the Cook Islands. On the outer decks it is currently raining, but lightly. The temperature is 81°F / 27°C with a humidity of 88% and winds at 12mph.

 

 

 

Yesterday we crossed the date line and changed time zones so we went back 23 hours. We are now in the same time zone as Hawai’i and the Aleutian Islands. At least we are on the same day as the US.

 

Yesterday was a very lazy day at sea. I don’t tend to go to the lectures so I don’t comment on them. I will say that many people I talk to seem to be very happy with them. I did go to one of the Tech Talks and while the information was reasonable, it wasn’t anything that I didn’t already know. In addition, like most Tech type presentations, it seemed to almost be a sales pitch for a small set of products that are no better or worse that other competing products.

 

The early trivia session as always was general knowledge. We had a good crowd and Dani presented a good set of questions. Before she started she said that since today was also March 19^th, the questions would be the same today. We will see shortly if that is true. The evening trivia session was themed ‘Geography’. I expected it to be mostly maps or map outlines that we were to identify. It wasn’t. Instead we had questions about cities or areas and had to identify them. It was actually very good, and we did well.

 

After the evening trivia session I proceeded to the World Stage. The act last night was ‘The Power of Music by Andy Bunger’. This gentleman did a very nice show involving several instruments, including Drums, Marimba, Flute, and others. It was a good show with an interesting choice of songs. Mostly it was instrumental, but he did sing one song near the end of the show.

 

It looks like we are about 18 days from the end of this Grand Australia and New Zealand cruise. We have two interesting overnight stays coming up and six sea days for the final run into San Diego.

 

Today’s activities and meals –

 

I am not able to load images right now, maybe later

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 19 by richwmn

[richwmn]

This morning's Position

 

Last night's entertainer

 

 

Activities

 

 

 

Meals

 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 19 by richwmn

[kazu]

On 3/13/2024 at 4:34 PM, richwmn said:

Speaking of people, I was told a couple of days ago that the ship has 1,050 guests aboard. I had also been told earlier that 36 left and 50 arrived in Sydney, so it seems that we have had a little over 1,000 guests the entire cruise. Since the lower berth capacity is 1,432 we are well below full. From a cabin standpoint, there are quite a few solo cruisers aboard so it that respect the ship is closer to being full.

 

The segment from FLL to Mtl is sold out, Rich - so I suspect despite some solo cruisers you may find it a bit more full.

 

thanks for you great posts 🙂 

[cruising sister]

Good afternoon, just add to Rich’s comments.  The lectures have been great. The Cruise Director talks have been excellent. The tech guy is hilarious and very helpful. I have never felt like it was a sales pitch.  I wish I had started them earlier. I can’t comment on the shows as I have only attended a few. I am sad we are on the way home.  It seems real now that we are on the same day.

[richwmn]

March 2^th, 2024 – Avatiu, Rarotonga, Cook Islands

 

Well it a little after 8am and the Captain has already announced that the seas are too rough coupled with harbor master instructions so we will not be visiting Cook Island. He is going to circle the island and then head toward Bora Bora. The temperature is currently 81°F / 27°C around the ship with few clouds. The winds are about 3.5mph and the humidity is 94%.

 

 

Yesterday was a nice day around the ship. Both trivia sessions went well, the evening was titled ‘Math’. It was math facts rather than actually solving math problems. Some of the questions were:

When is pi day?

What is the segment opposite the right angle called?

What is the smallest perfect number?

We missed the perfect number, but got the rest and missed by one point again.

 

The show last night was a surprise. I thought I recognized the name and hadn’t been overly impressed with the performer in the past. The name of the program was ‘David Copperfield not the Illusionist But the Unusualist’. He was billed in the advance brochure as a comedian. It ended up to be a very good show. He sang, with a good voice. He told a few jokes, and they were funny enough. He also interacted with the audience and was good with that as well. I had really expected to only stay a few minutes, but the show was good and I stayed until the end. I hope his next show is as good.

 

 

Today’s activities and meals –

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[richwmn]

15 hours ago, cruising sister said:

I have never felt like it was a sales pitch.

Maybe 'sales pitch' is not the right phrase. Perhaps 'validating a choice you already made' is better.

 

Where I find a problem with most tech presentations is that they only concern themselves with the most popular programs/apps/services. For each, there are many alternatives, which are not usually talked about, and if mentioned by an audience member get brushed aside.

 

I mentioned before that I did attend one Tech presentation. My first problem with it was that the subject was changed without notice. The presenter did not seem to be prepared for the subject he chose.