Travel The World with Bill & Mary Ann HAL's Grand World Voyage 2007

[crocus2]

Bill and MaryAnn--wonder if we can meet you in Clayton to get a first-hand report on the world cruise you've just completed. We are booked on the 2008 cruise. jebjl@aol.com Is Chubby Humble's steak house still in Clayton?

[WCB]

Report # 87 4-29-07 Sunday Last Day at Sea

 

Today the weather has improved to the point that it is hot, and a lot more humid. The Amsterdam must be closer than we think to Florida, since the plan to arrive at Ft. Lauderdale has been moved to 12 am this evening. If that would make debarking easier, then it is fine with us to get there early. We shall see!

 

After our usual morning walk and breakfast in the dining room, we spent the morning finishing the packing and bag tagging. Ukam, our super room steward, gave us the green light to put our bags out in the hallway early. Pretty soon, no one will be able to walk down the hallways, since we all have so many suitcases and boxes going home!

 

Before lunch, we visited with our pool buddies for the last time. We re all trying to enjoy the last of the rays before heading home. And good news, the pools are full of water again. It figures, because our swimsuits are packed away!

 

Exercise classes, including tai chi, dance class, outdoor games, trivia, slot tournaments, and card games were happening all day. We think that most of the world cruisers are too busy packing to participate this last day. So, we left it to the newbies to carry on.

 

At dinner tonight, one nice couple stopped by to tell us that we had been voted the most exciting table of the whole cruise. Now that was a compliment, we think. Either that, or he was saying that we were too loud and were having too much fun. Either way, that was fine with us! It was sad to have to say goodbye, but for many of the passengers, they will be returning for the special 50th anniversary cruise in 2008. And that's just about eight months away. Gosh, by the time they put all of their clothes away, they will be packing them again!

 

Our last supper that we ordered was a turkey dinner. They gave us enough for four people! Well, that will be our lasting memory of being stuffed (just like the turkey!) for the last time this cruise. We're afraid it's going to be lean cuisine when we get home! And we will really miss our waiters, who gave us excellent service for 105 days!

 

After dinner, we walked the promenade deck, watching our approach to the Florida coastline. Many other people had the same idea, and we were able to say goodbye to so many friends, especially Gloria and Ken. Hope to see them again on another trip!

 

We were finally docked by 11:30pm. Hope we can sleep, since we have gotten very used to being rocked to sleep by the ocean waves. We will miss that too.

 

Bill & Mary Ann

[WCB]

Hello fellow readers!

 

We are home safely after an uneventful flight from Florida! Thank you all so much for the praise.........it was our pleasure!

 

Our memories and pictures will drive us back to the South Pacific next November!

 

Crocus2 - We have never heard of Chubby Humble's steak restaurant. The Pioneer Inn used to be the best steakhouse, but it is long gone.

 

More reports will be following, so if there are questions, you are all welcome to fire away!

 

Bill & Mary Ann

[scaaty]

Welcome Home,

 

I want to add my thanks for taking us along on the world cruise:D I've been having cruise withdrawal just from not having your post to read:eek:

 

Glad you made it home safely. Am looking forward to any pictures you'll be posting.

 

Thanks again!

[LadyFurn]

I get all teary-eyed just thinking about you leaving that ship after 105 days! I know you will miss those waiters and room stewards but I bet your bathroom looks mighty large! Thanks from me also for a great report! Cindy:rolleyes:

[OldCodger73]

Bill and Mary Ann, thanks for your great trip report; it was almost like being there. There'll be a big void on the boards until you take your next trip. Maybe Grumpy or the Ides of March will be sailing soon and help fill the empty space the completion of your cruise leaves.

[kryos]

But the most sobering sight that will forever be implanted in our memories, was Ground Zero, where the twin Towers of the World Trade Center were deliberately and tragically toppled on September 11, 2001.

You bring back a recent memory I had almost forgotten about. I got off the Veendam in Brooklyn the same day you were docked in New York. A van service picked me up for the trip home to Philadelphia, and then had to travel to the Manhatten pier to pick up another rider ... someone from your cruise. As we headed into Manhattan, the van driver directed our attention to an area of the waterfront. "That's ground zero," he observed. For some crazy reason, looking out at that area ... thinking of all the innocent souls who perished there on September 11, 2001 ... I couldn't control myself and I just started to cry. It was the first time I had seen the area in person.

 

Others in the van must have felt just as emotional, because no one said a word to me. A woman sitting beside me just quietly handed me a Kleenix.

 

New York will never be the same to me since 9-11. Where before I thought of it as a fun and exciting place, now it just evokes memories of an unspeakable tragedy.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[alsas]

Welcome home! Just finished reading your blog amazing job you both did and we know how much work it took you to do each day,thank you I will forward this to our kids and all the history and sights that we did not get to do they can see it through your eyes. Having done 2005 World which was wonderful,and thinking how would 2007 compare, we would say 2007 was the best. Now it is back to reality, which is not all bad, but always looking forward to the next trip. Know we will meet up again on some DAM ship. Best wishes Alsas

[Ella2]

Welcome home!

 

I can't tell you how many people I have directed this thread, to get a taste of what cruising around the world is really like. THANK YOU for taking us along on your fantastic journey; I have been riveted by your reports ever since I discovered them, and hope to live vicariously through you on your future world cruises. :)

[HotRoot]

I would just like to add my thank you for your wonderful reports. Our dream is to take a world cruise in seven years to celebrate my husband's retirement. I just completed copying all of your reports into a word document and have printed them off to start a book. I am hopeful you have inspired others to continue reports for the next 6 years. I promise to cover the 2014 world cruise!

 

Thank you!

[WCB]

Report # 88 4-30-07 Monday Ft. Lauderdale, Florida

 

Well, the day of disembarkation has come. And we have a feeling that the day is going to be a long one.

 

The day's information was limited to each cabin getting an approximate debarking time. There was no letter of progression of tag colors and numbers, just a 10:30am call time for us with brown # 5 tags. With a domestic flight time of 2:35pm to San Francisco, we think we will have ample time to ride from here to the Miami airport, and have a little time to spare.

 

The first thing we did at 7 am, was to proceed to the front desk to get the remainder of our shipboard money back. This was owed to us from cancelled shore excursions that we had pre-booked with HAL and CSI. This was the first time we ever had money coming back. We owed nothing to our credit card! A miracle!!

 

A long line had already formed by the Pinnacle Grill for guests to pay their tax on the overage of the custom's allowance. Later on, this was going to become a problem.

 

We met our friend Bob and shared a table for breakfast. Having a good view of the harbor, we noticed one huge aircraft carrier slip into the harbor, followed by another naval ship. We heard that there was a special naval exercise scheduled for this morning, and that was why we had to dock early last night. Numerous police boats with blue lights flashing, were keeping all boat traffic away from the naval ships. It was interesting to watch the security at work.

 

We still had one hour of computer time left, so we used it to catch up on e-mails, and read the current Cruise Critic news. We had also heard that there was an accident on the major freeways near the Bay Bridge in Oakland. A tanker carrying 8600 gallons of gasoline had crashed and was on fire, causing the overpass to collapse. This was not good, because that was our route to get home! Since we had no e-mail from our son, Bill, we figured he knew of a way around the disaster. We'll just have to be patient and find out when we get to San Francisco.

 

The time for group calling was not happening. It appeared that many passengers had to appear at the customs desk, that thought they did not have to, if you get our drift. Therefore, the debarking times were delayed over an hour. This is most stressful with people who have early flight times, especially when we have to be at the airports two or more hours ahead of time. With the customs finally completed, the groups were called to go off of the ship by 10:45am. But not just a few at a time like normally. They called six groups all at once. We knew that by the time we were called, there would be bedlam in the terminal. And, yes, that is just what we found. It's funny how we thought back to a conversation we had with a friendly elderly lady earlier in the morning. She remarked that once we stepped off of the gangplank, the party was over! And she was so right!

 

Even though there were carts alongside of the terminal building, we were not allowed to use them to collect our luggage. No, we had to line up and wait for a porter. The line must have had two hundred people in it continuously. There seemed to be a lack of porters, and it was probably due to the fact that the Voyager was also debarking at the same time. Passengers were quite upset, since some knew for sure that they would miss their flights. And it was frustrating when we knew that all we would take to the airport were our two handcarrys each, and nothing else. It was still required for us to collect our 16 bags, have two porters load them on handtrucks, and go through the customs checkpoint, luggage and all. While the porters were stacking our things on the carts, one lady offered them money to come back to her, instead of going to the next in line. They promised that they would, to our surprise. We guess "money talks" here. Anyway, we finally got through the checkpoint at noon.

 

At that point, all we had to do was unload the luggage at the IPS truck. Nothing was signed, no receipt was given, just nothing. We hope we see these bags again! We were free now to find our limo, and get to the Miami airport. There seemed to be some confusion with the Holland reps as to our ride. Since the girls at the front desk had collected our transfer vouchers, we had nothing to show these reps that we had a limo ride to Miami. Oh no, we hope we are not stuck with the Greyhound bus again!!! The rep could not find her supervisor, so she made the decision to give us the next limo, which was fine with us. We were on our way by 12:30pm, and luckily, there was little traffic.

 

Our AA flight at 2:35 pm was on time. Good news. The check-in at the first class area was a breeze. Going through the security towards to terminals was a bit backed up. They only had to send two of our bags through twice. And this time, we did not have to empty everything out at the side desk. We did have to take our shoes off, which we don't remember doing the last time we flew out of Miami.

 

We waited in the Admirals Lounge, which was very nice. They offered showers, upgraded bathrooms, coffee, tea, and snacks, and a bar with comfortable couches and chairs. We stayed there until it was time to board the plane.

 

The airplane was a 757, and it was full. Our seats in first class were wonderful...............lots of legroom. The food was good too. We had our choice of cocktails, champagne, sodas, and/or water. Warm mixed nut followed, with a shrimp appetizer, a salad, and a roll next. We had our choice of beef or a veggie ravioli, and finally dessert of ice cream sundaes. Ghirardelli chocolates and a warm cookies were served later. The movie, Casino Royale, kept us entertained until we landed in San Francisco around 5 pm Pacific time. It had to be one of the smoothest flights we have had in a long time, due to pleasant springtime weather. It was even warm in the city as we walked out of the baggage claim area.

 

Bill, our eldest, was there in less than 10 minutes, having kept track of our flight on his computer. The ride home was not as bad as we anticipated. The freeway was shut down where the accident had occurred, but the detour around the mess was well marked. Because the news coverage had warned the commuters of long waits, the freeways were almost empty. We were back in Clayton before dark, since we stopped for dinner on the way home.

 

And so ends our journey! Our luggage is due to arrive next week, so we have plenty of time to relax before then. And having utilized the laundry service we prepurchased, everything will be coming home clean!

 

Until the next trip,

 

Goodbye to all!

 

PS We will be following up with a ship and itinerary critique shortly!

 

Bill & Mary Ann

[TedC]

Mary Ann and Bll,

 

Thank you so much or letting us tag along on your wonderful journey - and we're glad you arrived back home safely and with a minimum of hassle.

 

We were on the FLL to SYD segment and it was very interesting to learn about what happended after we left.

 

Thanks, again

[RuthC]

I've gotten so used to touring around the world with you. Thank you for letting me share your journey. It was a a lovely ride while it lasted. :)

[seaair100]

May I just add my voice to the many, to say thanks and thanks for your wonderfully entertaining log. Dee

[candbgirl]

I am so sorry the trip is over. Thank you for taking all of us along with you. I have so enjoyed your posts.

[DeltaBC]

We are very happy to read that you had a great trip home .It finishes the trip off on a good note.Waiting to read the summery of your thoughts on the trip. They must be good as you are thinking of the next time you sail.

Iris

[blue whale]

Hello,

Since returning from world 07, we have been swamped by mail, laundry, and all those catch up tasks required after having been away from home for three and one half months. But we are gradually getting back to normal.

 

We have had time to read only about half of Bill and Mary Ann's posting. What a super job they have done to share their experiences with everyone at CC! Theirs must have been a labor of love, for we saw them on many evenings before supper in the library working at their computer.

 

As we think about our trip, we keep remarking how fortunate we were to be part of this "dream of discovery." So few people in this world will ever have the opportunity we have had, and we are so thankful for the privilege.

 

Yes, we were fascinated by our ports of call. We probably took fewer tours than B and MA, for in some instances we had been to the port previously and preferred to walk around.

 

We also did not realize the ease of taking local transportation. For example, in America Samoa, we climbed on a local bus. The driver took us to the end of his route—way out on the island—and then turned around the bus to head back to the port. He told us that he had to stop on the way to pick up his daughter at kindergarten, and would we mind. Would we mind? We hopped off the bus (there was only one other couple from the ship, and no one else) and headed into the school. We saw teachers and children and well-decorated classrooms, and got a splendid welcome. On the way back, too, the driver stopped at a general supermarket, and again we climbed off to pick up some odds and ends. We passed all the important sites—the flower pot (a big rock protruding from the sea), etc. But the best was just the kindergarten. The cost was 2 dollars per person round trip, and we gave a couple of more dollars to the kindergartner. The other couple bought the child an ice cream at our supermarket stop. A fabulous experience! We are going to do more of this kind of informal traveling on our next trip.

 

Another blessing was the group of people we met. Cruise critic is wonderful. We met and enjoyed the greatest people, and we know that we will keep in contact with some for years. Mr. Kafa, the beverage manager, was wonderful, too; he sent out invitations to all our CC gatherings and he always came by to check that everything was going well. Thank you!

 

We absolutely loved our trip—the ports, the ship, the friendly passengers, the sincere staff.

 

Hello, Teresa. Hello, Iris.

 

Blue Whale

[Mary Ellen]

I want to add our thanks for taking us 'along' on your cruise. I've been 'cutting & pasting' your reports into a Word doc for DH to read at his convenience. It is now 123 pages - and that is just your reports and maybe a handful of CC'er comments/questions that he would also enjoy.

 

Many, many thanks - Mary Ellen & Karl

[Rstamper]

We are going on the Amsterdam next week for short cruise. My husband wants to take is laptop. Can he use it in our room and are there any other places he can use it to check his email?

 

Also can you make some suggests on what to try for dinner - entree, appetizers, and dessert?

 

Thanks,

Rstamper

[WCB]

Thank you all for your positive comments! That helped to keep us writing, especially when we had so many ports so close together.

 

Dorothy and George,

You deserve the highest compliments from all of the Cruise Critic members that were able to join the group You did the finest job of getting us together, and hosting our lively meetings!! Thank you both!

 

We found that the most comfortable places on the ship to use our laptop were in the internet room/library, and the atrium lounge across from the Ocrean Bar. We did not have wi-fi in our suite, and do not know if anyone did.

 

As for the cuisine, we think that the menu choices may be different on the world cruises. We did travel on the Maasdam last summer, and found that the food on the world cruise was much better (especially, the beef). You just have to try it all to make your own decision!

PS We never had a bad dessert!

 

Bill & Mary Ann

[lkmamom]

I have so enjoyed reading your trip reports! Thanks for taking all of us along.

 

Funny story, my husband just called and said,,, you will never believe who I just saw in the office ( he is a cardiologist). A couple that came in for a check up. The gentleman's cholesterol and blood sugar was a tad high and my husband questioned them about any recent changes. They told him that they had just returned from a world cruise and had been everywhere. After my husband had a good chuckle (because he was thinking of me) he told the guy, say no more I understand! Sounds like it was a fabulous cruise and now after we get our one and only off to college I am hoping we will share that same experiance!

 

Thanks again for sharing:)

Linda

[WCB]

Hello all,

 

We finally received our 16 bags, all in one piece! This was a wonderful service, and well worth the extra money we spent for the balcony room.

 

With all of our paperwork back, we will be compiling our comments as well as the gift list from HAL.

 

Bill & Mary Ann

[nobbync]

Hi Bill & Mary Ann,

 

I just wanted to say thanks so much for taking us all on the trip with you. It was the best cruise review I read on here and I looked forward to it everyday. I read it from the start and enjoyed every moment of it. You gave me a good history lesson on each of the ports/cities you visited and you threw in just a touch of gossip to really make it interesting.... :D Hope someday to be able to make one of these but for now I have to settle for the shorter ones and follow threads like yours. Welcome back and glad it went well.

 

THANK YOU!

Nobby

[WCB]

Here is the complete list of gifts we received on the 2007 world cruise. We'll just list each item, but keep in mind that we got two of each. Most all of these gifts had the dated logo for this world cruise, and were given every three to five days for 105 days.

 

1. A book, Easter Island, A Novel, by Jennifer Vanderbes (received prior to the cruise)

 

2. HAL canvas bag

 

3. A journal (baby blue, the color of many gifts for this particular trip)

 

4. Multi game set in a case

 

5. HAL pen - for the journal

 

6. Dual time clock

 

7. Terry cloth slippers

 

8. Leather roomkey holder

 

9. Wooden shoe horn

 

10. Framed Royal Goedewaagen tile with the first segment on it

 

11. A box of Valentine's Day candies (Leonidas)

 

12. HAL large tote bag

 

13. Ionic Breeze Personal Air Purifier

 

14. World cruise pin

 

15. Small coaster Blue Delft tile

 

16. Rosenthal coffee mug with Hong Kong design

 

17. Large duffel suitcase with wheels

 

18. Framed RG tile with the second segment on it

 

19. Wrap around towel kimono

 

20. Stuffed elephant

 

21. Blue collar golf shirt

 

22. Universal plug adaptor kit

 

23. Box of vintage HAL cards and envelopes

 

24. World cruise refrigerator magnet

 

25. The Complete Pyramids book

 

26. Game of tic-tac-toe

 

27. Silver napkin ring from Captain's dinner

 

28. Framed RG tile with the third segment

 

29. Plate commemorating Dubrovnik - meeting of the two ships

 

30. Set of drop-stops for wine bottles

 

31. Two luggage tags

 

32. Two luggage straps

 

33. Framed RG tile with the last segment on it

 

34. Six world cruise postcards and personalized stationery

 

35. A large fruit bowl with the world cruise itinerary mapped out on it - Royal Goedewaagen

 

 

We 're still working on our final summary, and it will be coming soon...................

 

Mary Ann & Bill

[RuthC]

Ya gotta luv that one of the Grand Cruise pillow gifts is a duffle bag to stash the rest of the loot in. :D

On mine (so long ago) we also had some nice soft gifts with which to pad the more fragile ones. We had bathrobes and huge bath sheet size towels.

I don't remember you posting this---did you get special pillow chocolates some nights? More of a truffle-type chocolate? The very memory starts my mouth watering. ;)