The-Inside-Cabin

Here is a link to a table that shows every day of the 2024 cruise and who was on the world stage. Here is a link that shows highlight reels and table of all performers from 2016,2018 and 2020 world cruises Here is link that shows the entertainment from 2023

We are in the World Stage waiting for the final farewell show!

I loved the itinerary! From the Amazon to Asia and Africa! Amazing contrasts. Incredible experiences!

Here is a link to a Video of the Crew Talent Show. Great Performances! Nine acts from the Zuiderdam Crew were featured on the World Stage in the Crew Talent Show on May 9th, 2024. After the show, the guests voted by secret ballot, and with over 600 ballots submitted 1. Christian from guest services .. Go the Distance (First Place) 2. Benja & Terrapon from Thailand dance to a popular song from their homeland 3. Julius a Sommelier & HAL school teacher in the Philippines - sings Journey’s Faithfully with images of his family in the background 4. Paramita, Rusdayani & Arti from Bali - from the dining room (Ochi, Oki & Jeni) - dance in costume to a native song -- Sekar Jagat Dance + one other song - Third Place 5. Richard from the tech department - from the Philippines - sings I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing … But according to the lyrics, he sang Always by Bon Jovi 6. Alif from housekeeping - traditional song 7. Dhesery Balisi has been with HAL for 8 years .. she’s a masseuse from the spa who sings I Have Nothing - Second Place 8. Ipsita from Security - from India .. she danced to several tunes from India 9. Filipino Castanet Dancers - 6 women and 6 men .. La Jota Moncadeña - Castanet Dance

The 2024 World Cruise had amazing entertainers on the World Stage. Here is a 7-minute video with short clips of almost every performance.

The animals escaped from the ZOO! - Well, not exactly. From 7 AM to 9 AM, hundreds of towel animals were displayed around the Lido pool after being assembled by the 53-room stewards over the last several days. The larger animals were assembled in the Laundry on C deck, and the smaller animals were assembled on the spot in the Lido the previous evening. Here are a few pictures,

KENTUCKY DERBY AT SEA MAY 5, 2024 Click "Show More Posts" to show all the links to the other posts for the 2024 World Cruise Show More Posts Ben Sack reveals his masterpiece and we get our Platinum medals after the Kentucky Derby Race by the Lido Pool We are on the final week of our Grand World Voyage. After our return, I will continue to update the blog with reports from many of our wonderful ports. Here are some highlights from yesterday’s sea day. BEN SACK’s WORLD CRUISE DRAWING Artist in residence Ben Sack has been a regular on Holland America World Cruises since 2014. He teaches a very popular drawing class and a little art history at 1 p.m. in the Rolling Stone Lounge. HERE is a link to Ben’s website, where you can learn more about his art. One of the highlights of the cruise is when Ben reveals his 6 x 7 foot (approx) drawing that depicts all the ports we visited on this World Cruise. In the past, Ben revealed the completed drawing in the Crow’s nest, but today at 11 am, he presented the completed drawing on the World Stage. This was a much better venue as there was more room for everyone to be seated. Ben Sack, on the World Stage, as the curtain is raised showing his completed cruise drawing in public for the first time Ben explained how he created the piece and then was able to explain each port’s drawing in detail since the entire piece was enlarged and displayed on a large screen at the back of the stage. An enlargement of his drawing was displayed behind the original, allowing Ben to point out the amazing detail of his creation Ben worked on the drawing in his cabin, which was modified with one wall adapted to be a giant easel, every sea day. This photo shows the drawing after it was completed but before it was taken down. Photo by Ben Sack, with permission. The drawing will be displayed for a few hours each day in the Explorers Lounge, where guests can examine it up close. Judy with Ben in the Explorers lounge. The detail of the drawing is incredible Orders for High-Quality, signed, and numbered reproductions of the drawing are taken onboard and then shipped to your residence after the cruise. DERBY DAY While the 150th Anniversary of the Kentucky Debry was scheduled to run later this evening, we would have our own Derby Day from 1 to 3 pm this afternoon around the Lido Pool. The Zuiderdam Derby was one race with five stick horses, with each horse assigned a member of the entertainment team as its jockey. Guests could “bet” on their favorite horse by visiting each horse’s “stall” which doubled as a bar for a specialty drink. Each Jockey was assigned a number, and guests received a numbered sticker after they visited the stall, signifying their support for that particular horse and jockey. After the race, guests who supported the winning horse/jockey would return to the “stall” and receive a free drink. Jockeys from left to right – Victoria, Lauren, Justin, Jessica and Tomas The horses lined up at the starting line around the pool and moved clockwise around the pool based on the throw of a large single die, moving from one to six spaces at a time. The winning horse had to hit the finish line with an exact roll, which tended to bunch everyone up before one horse hit the number and was declared the winner. Kimberly rolled the die, and Bernie did a marvelous job calling the race. Everyone had a good time. HAT CONTEST After the horse race, about a dozen guests, including yours truly, paraded around the pool wearing their Derby Hats. Last year, my Horse Hat won the contest, but alas, I didn’t cut into the final three this year. Pete and Judy in their Derby Hats MARINER AWARD EVENTS Due to the large number of guests achieving Mariner milestones, the recognition events were spread out over several days. Each event was held in the Crow’s Nest from 4 to 5 pm. The first day was for Presidents Club members and 5 stars who were not receiving a new medal. Over the next several days guests who would be receiving a medal would gather in the Crow’s Nest (about 100 guests each day). Each day was a mix of bronze, silver, gold and platinum medallions. Henk, Judy, Pete and the Captain. We were awarded our Platinum medallion for having 804 sea days. The Medallion program is separate from the Mariner Star program and based only on sea days. No special perks are associated with the medallion program. Here are the requirements for each level: Bronze – 100 days Silver – 300 days Gold – 500 days Platinum – 700 days Presidents Club – 1400 days Days accrued from sailing on heavily discounted cruises e.g. comped casino cruises, travel hosts, etc. don’t count. Here are the President Club Benefits above the 5 Star level (per cruise) that I was able to piece together from various sources. Extra OBC based on length of cruise 10 Specialty Dinners per cruise VIP Check-in Status with Sparkling wine Flowers, wine or beverage credit every 14 days Captains Welcome gift (wine, flowers or equiv) Discounted Internet Package Free laundry and dry cleaning Annual Holiday Gift Special Phone number and email address to contact for help at Holland America in Seattle Priority Tendering (similar to Suite guests) Special Onboard events and parties Quarterly Newsletter WORLD STAGE For the first time anyone can remember, we had guest entertainers repeat during the same cruise. The Fly Rights were here in January, and they are here again for two shows en route back to Fort Lauderdale. MAY THE “FOURTH” BE WITH YOU A special Zuiderdam Star Wars Cake was available in the Lido

Last night, many singers and dancers from the various venues came together on the World Stage to showcase their incredible talents. This was billed as the Zuiderdam Variety Show. Here is the lineup. - Don’t Go Breaking My Heart / George & Lina - Billboard on Board - Don’t Rain On My Parade / Rachel - Cast Singer - Always & Forever / Tyree - Rolling Stone Lounge - Goodbye Yellow Brick Road / Kiana - Cast Singer - Just the Way You Are / George - Billboard on Board - interpretive dance to Don't Stop Me Now - Justin - Asst Cruise Director - Anthem (from ABBA’s Chess) / Phillip - Entertainment Director - New York, New York / Cole - Cast Singer - Oh! Darling / Lina - Billboard on Board - If I Can Dream (Elvis) / Bernie - Tech Manager - Dancin' Fool — singers & dancers .. dancers .. Abigail & Kristen, Alexai & Ethan .. singers .. Cole, Michael, Rachel & Kiana

We arrived Mindelo - leaving today at 3 PM Our complimentary wine and cheese sailaway is today. Taking a HAL tour today

We had our second-to-last Formal night. The theme was Night In Hollywood. The Rolling Stone lounge was turned into a Hollywood Premiere red carpet. The hallway outside was lined with Walk of Fame Stars and a Hollywood Sign. Guests could create their own star by drawing one with a Sharpie. The Hollywood Sign - on Deck 2! The Zuiderdam Walk of Fame! Lots of glitz and glamour all around! Our Formal Portrait from the Ship's photographers Our table was hosted by Chief Engineer Wilco - great conversation! Here is the excerpt from the daily program Tonights Menu HERE

We know many people who sail on inside cabins exclusively without an issue. Insides vary in size and certain ones can be pretty roomy. @sandiego1 gives a great answer above. I think if you are happy with insides on two week cruises you will be ok on longer cruises.

The Sandwich Island tour should be an easy challenge. There were three or more operators selling tours for about $135 each.

Our day in Takoradi - I took the shuttle bus to the circular market, which is still under construction. I did a one-mile loop around the side streets. No one takes dollars, and there are no money changers nearby—one ATM is 1/4 mile away. My advice is to take a tour of this port. We bought fabric in this shop last year - we had a guide who helped with changing money - No dollars and no money changers - no credit cards - no sale. I poked my head in this restaurant - More street vendors in town Back on the pier - a nice selection of vendors - all of them took dollars - do your shopping here. We did our 20-minute bridge tour - nice Orange Party tonight had a huge turnout - Fun! Drink Domino is a standard performance on HAL Bar Hops

Yes - Here is a snippet - I can't find more - the website isn't cooperating Here is an old thread with more

WALVIS BAY AND SANDWICH HARBOR, NAMIBIA APRIL 28, 2024 We slip into Walvis Bay shrouded with heavy fog and travel to Sandwich Harbor over the dunes. The ship was cleared at 8:30, and we left immediately as we had an 8:30 pick-up time for our private tour to Sandwich Harbor. Still foggy as we walked down the pier at 8:30 AM Usually, in Walvis Bay, a shuttle bus is provided to the Dunes Mall and the Waterfront area, which has some restaurants. Today, we learned that the shuttle would only go to the Dunes Mall. If you want to walk to the waterfront area, it’s a little less than a mile. If you haven’t booked a tour here, you will always find tour operators selling tours at the end of the pier. SANDWICH HARBOR TOURS Sandwich Harbor, about 25 miles south of Walvis Bay, is a very popular destination. The trip requires using four-wheel-drive vehicles, and if the tide is low, you can have a great time running on the smooth sand. Otherwise, you will have to go up and down the dunes away from the beach and may not have enough time for the round trip. There are several companies offering tours. We chose the half-day option for $135 with Sandwich Dune Tours – HERE. HAL offers the identical tour for about $500. In 2023, the HAL tour was $229. If you are interested in this tour, you may be able to use the HAL best price guarantee. I asked onboard about the reason for the huge price difference, and they didn’t have a good explanation. The Sandwich Dune Tour is listed as starting at 8 AM, and since we arrived at 8 AM, this may have been a problem. But the company assured me they would pick us up at the pier at 8:30 and wait if necessary. They were very responsive to emails, and I recommend using them. Our driver was waiting for us, with my name on a sign. We piled into his Toyota Fortuner 4 x 4 and headed off to their nearby office, where we were joined by another guest from the ship. There would be three guests in our Fortuner and four in the other. Here is a video of our excursion HEADING SOUTH TO SANDWICH HARBOR Our two Fortuners headed south, and after a few miles, we drove off the road and onto the sand of the Namib-Naukluft National Park. We stopped to let the air out of our tires, reducing the pressure from 29 PSI to 11 PSI. This increased the surface area of the tires, increasing traction and improving ride quality and handling. When we started, the tide was low, which allowed us to drive on the smoother sand above the surf and make good time. After a few miles, we stopped to take some pictures and use an outhouse toilet—this would be the only toilet on the trip. We stopped at the entrance to the park We continued south until the sand dunes met the sea where we turned inland and climbed up the dunes until we reached the summit with an amazing view of Sandwich Harbor to the south. Our driver ran up the dune during one of our stops – no one else followed We were trailing many other tours, including the seven vehicles on the HAL tour, which were already on the summit when we arrived. They left after a few minutes, and we were all alone. Walking up to the summit Heading back to our vehicles Sandwich Harbor Heading back down, we swooped down one dune and then back up another, where we stopped for our mid-morning snack. The snack turned out to be an elaborate mini buffet with sparkling wine, beer, and soft drinks, along with chicken tenders, ribs, fish, red velvet cake, and more. This “snack” was far more elaborate than we expected There were 7 guests and 2 drivers in our two vehicles We spotted the vehicles in other tours below on the beach HEADING BACK TO WALVIS BAY After about 10 minutes, we headed back north; this time, we drove up and down the steep dunes. Our driver, Hans, would stop at the top of one dune, then accelerate down, slaloming across the sand into the valley while picking up enough speed to carry us up on the other side, where we would stop and repeat down the next dune. We probably did this ten times on the way back before we ran out of dunes and were back on the beach. The water was closer this time as we raced back toward Walvis Bay. The various vehicles tend to follow the same line through the dunes. After we were back in Walvis Bay, we headed over to Flamingo Beach, where we spent a few minutes observing the flamingos and taking some pictures. The flamingos are within a few miles of the port