Join Pete and Judy on their FIRST World Cruise on the Amsterdam

[The-Inside-Cabin]

Day 54, Sailing toward Hong Kong

 

Heavier seas continue to rock the ship as we continue north toward Hong Kong. They are not as bad as we experienced in the Tasman Sea, but while there is much more motion than normal, the stabilizers are keeping the roll in check and we are only experiencing the rise and fall of the bow and stern.

 

Good Morning Amsterdam was my first event of the day. The guest was Pingxin Xu who player the Hammer Dulcimer last evening. He explained that his Father insisted that he start to learn the instrument when he was only six years old. Growing up in China, learning an instrument would allow one to compete for additional educational opportunities in China and help avoid being relegated to factory work. Pingxin Xu has lived in Toronto for the last 17 years.

 

 

Barbara provided an interesting overview of what we can expect in Hong Kong. This will be our longest port visit – 3 days and 2 nights. We will be moored at the Ocean Terminal which is the best possible cruise ship location. Judy and I will be venturing out independently and I am still working out the details of what we plan to see and do. We have both been here several times, years ago, when we lived in Japan and could travel easily throughout Asia.

 

Immediately following Barbara was the lecture by Hong Kong Expert Dr Ping-Wing Kam who continued his Hong Kong lecture series with an overview of the current issues facing Hong Kong today and their relationship with China.

 

Today is Sunday which means another Brunch in the main dining room. I usually wander thru to see what they are offering and one of these Sundays we will have to skip our normal breakfast and sample the Sunday Brunch. While they were serving brunch on deck 4 I was able to get preview of the decorations for the all-white dinner theme on deck 5.

 

 

Judy made a decorative magnet in this afternoon’s Arts & Crafts while I played in the Texas Hold’em tournament and won for the 3rd consecutive time. My good luck continued on the Blackjack table. This continues to be a very good cruise for me in the casino.

 

There was only a single show today at 7:15 pm since the All White After Party would follow dinner in the Crow’s Nest starting at 9pm. Comedian Paul Adams and Spanish guitarist Vincenzo split the 45 minute block. They each turned in fantastic encore performances to a house that was 90% full.

 

Tonight was a Gala night with an all-white theme and the vast majority of guests dressed in all white or wore more white than normal. The dining room was decorated in all white, and the waiters wore white vests with white hats. Dinner choices included prime rib and king crab legs. I couldn’t decide so I selected both and they were both delicious with the prime rib being especially tasty. Our table was hosted by one of the ships officers, 3rd Officer Steven B, who shared some of his experiences on the high seas and the training and qualifications required for a successful career with Holland America. He provided an update on Tender 9 – They are still waiting for one of the drive shafts to be delivered before they can complete repairs. We only have one more Tender port – Monte Carlo on April 17th

 

 

The Crow’s nest was about ½ full with a full dance floor as people danced to the live band Oasis. The drinks were at happy hour prices and they had a very tempting looking cake along with pizza for folks to munch on.

 

 

More on the blog at http://www.theinsidecabin.com

Edited February 28, 2016 by The-Inside-Cabin

[Lizzie68]

Great photos. I haven't heard of an All White party before, we had the Black and White Ball - perhaps it replaces that? I would be hard-pressed to find some all white clothes.:o

[The-Inside-Cabin]

We will be going to the Pinnacle Grill tonight for our dinner with the Captain. Full report later. Everyone on the full cruise is invited to one of these

[erewhon]

Enjoy your dinner with Captain Mercer.

[stargazers]

Do they let you know about special nights like this before you leave home? I am not familiar with 'white nights'.

 

Thanks! This trip is on our bucket list. :)

Kristy

[Scrapnana]

Pingxin Xu also performed on the 2014 QE world cruise (must be popular with Carnival Corp.). Just like you, I had never heard of a hammer dulcimer before but was captivated by the music he could make on it.

 

Thanks for telling us about the crossing the line ceremony on navy ships. As entertaining as it is on a cruise ship, it must really make for an event on a navy ship (especially if you are a shellback).

 

Love the details you give up in your posts. The prime rib and crab legs made me hungry!

 

Taking the time to answer questions is much appreciated.

 

Have you been to Macau? Friends visited there and had a wonderful time (they had visited HK numerous times before and wanted something a little different).

 

Once again, thanks for taking us along!

[jig]

Macau is an excellent side trip from HK. The boats leave just a few blocks from the term up canton road. When you get off you need to get a bus to the historic center. If you go, make sure the bus is going the right direction.

No better view then from the lobby lounge in the intercontinental hotel. The glass windows almost act as a magnifier.

If you go to the peak take a taxi up as the tram lines can be very long. Better going down.

Also the men's room at the top of the peninsula hotel has the best rest room view in the world. Not uncommon for a woman to go in. For the view, of course.

[The-Inside-Cabin]

Do they let you know about special nights like this before you leave home? I am not familiar with 'white nights'.

 

Thanks! This trip is on our bucket list. :)

Kristy

 

 

Yes, they give you a list of all special events before you leave so you plan ahead. You can see a copy of what they gave us on my blog http://www.theinsidecabin.com under the world cruise activities tab..

 

Every menu and on location guide is posted as well.

[The-Inside-Cabin]

Pingxin Xu also performed on the 2014 QE world cruise (must be popular with Carnival Corp.). Just like you, I had never heard of a hammer dulcimer before but was captivated by the music he could make on it.

 

 

 

Thanks for telling us about the crossing the line ceremony on navy ships. As entertaining as it is on a cruise ship, it must really make for an event on a navy ship (especially if you are a shellback).

 

 

 

Love the details you give up in your posts. The prime rib and crab legs made me hungry!

 

 

 

Taking the time to answer questions is much appreciated.

 

 

 

Have you been to Macau? Friends visited there and had a wonderful time (they had visited HK numerous times before and wanted something a little different).

 

 

 

Once again, thanks for taking us along!

 

 

I was in Macau back in 1991.....we will be staying in Hong Kong this trip since we haven't been to HK since 1991 when we lived in Japan.

[The-Inside-Cabin]

Macau is an excellent side trip from HK. The boats leave just a few blocks from the term up canton road. When you get off you need to get a bus to the historic center. If you go, make sure the bus is going the right direction.

No better view then from the lobby lounge in the intercontinental hotel. The glass windows almost act as a magnifier.

If you go to the peak take a taxi up as the tram lines can be very long. Better going down.

Also the men's room at the top of the peninsula hotel has the best rest room view in the world. Not uncommon for a woman to go in. For the view, of course.

 

 

Thanks for the tip on the rest room view and the Victoria Tram!

[The-Inside-Cabin]

Wonderful time at the Captains dinner....full report later with next daily update...

[The-Inside-Cabin]

Duplicate

Edited February 29, 2016 by The-Inside-Cabin

[TiogaCruiser]

In the White Dinner picture, is that a Filipino Barong you are wearing?

Edited February 29, 2016 by TiogaCruiser

[cl.klink]

I am finally caught up on all these posts. Whew.

 

Enjoying feeling as if I'm with you.

 

Sure makes me want to do a world cruise. Now I need to either get rich enough to quit my job or wait till I can retire.

 

- Joel

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[The-Inside-Cabin]

In the White Dinner picture, is that a Filipino Barong you are wearing?

 

 

Yes it is.....bought on the web before I left

[The-Inside-Cabin]

I am finally caught up on all these posts. Whew.

 

Enjoying feeling as if I'm with you.

 

Sure makes me want to do a world cruise. Now I need to either get rich enough to quit my job or wait till I can retire.

 

- Joel

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

 

You will find menus and more on the blog. The blog is also indexed by date and location . Want to see the post for Melbourne? Go the the map on the blogs first page click on the marker fir Melbourne.

[sallycruiser06]

Glad to see you are enjoying your trip!

I have a small request...hopefully it will not be too annoying.

Has the date and itinerary for the 2018 world Cruise been released yet? I am a little behind in my reading and am anxiously awaiting news on same.

Many thanks

Suzanne

[KirkNC]

Great photos. I haven't heard of an All White party before, we had the Black and White Ball - perhaps it replaces that? I would be hard-pressed to find some all white clothes.:o

 

It's even harder for men as white pants went out with the 80's. Not sure what we will do with this night next year.

[SilvertoGold]

Yes it is.....bought on the web before I left

 

I really like how it looks! Excellent idea for a Gala Night!

[jig]

Temple street night market. Stanley market on Hong Kong island. That's best gotten to by taxi from the star ferry term. Shame you didn't get a Chinese visa. You could have taken the high speed rail to canton. 2 hours.

[cwn]

Just want to tell you how much I am enjoying your posts. We have done two round the world trips..one in 2009 and one in 2015 (both combined 2 or 3 cruises with several land segments) and posted a live blog for each. So I know how much time it takes!

 

You will be so glad you did this though! Not only does it give pleasure to lots of us readers, but it really helps you remember all the wonderful details on such a "sensory overload" kind of trip!

 

I know you probably have plans already for Hong Kong since you have been there before some time back. You will be amazed at the changes since your last visit! We were when we went back in 2009 and it had only been 5 years since our last visit!

 

Just want to past along something we did in 2009 that was a bit different and lots of fun. We were in Hong Kong for two days at the end of our time on a segment of Princesses 2009 world cruise and the beginning of a land segment of our rtw trip. It gave us a chance to see some of the old way of life that is fast disappearing from Hong Kong. You can see our pictures along with the report at:

http://www.aroundtheworldin132days.blogspot.com click on March, then March 15, Day 66 in the Archives on the right side of the page.

 

In case you don't want to waste internet time going to the blog here is the post:

"We get some guidance from the concierge as to some of the outlying islands and elect to make a trip over to Cheung Chau Island. This is a densely populated island where many of the people still cling to the old traditions. Our ferry tickets, from Central on Hong Kong, cost us $64HKD ($8.25US) total for one way. The trip takes 30 minutes through the various islands that are all part of Hong Kong.

 

The ferry is packed with locals going to the Island for fun on a Sunday afternoon. We arrive at 1:30PM and plan to take the 3:00PM ferry back. We stroll along the quayside in the Sunday crowds. Families from the island and from Hong Kong and Kowloon make this a place for an outing and the quayside restaurants are doing a big business.

 

At many of them, you can pick your lunch out of the tanks and have it cooked to order. The smells are delicious but the crowds are large and we do have a ferry to catch so we pass on eating.

 

Along the quay by the harbor crowded with many colorful fishing boats and on one street behind it, you can buy pretty much anything necessary for life. The dried seafood is pretty to see and interesting to contemplate as to its uses. It must be good because they are selling tons of it as we watch. There are live fish markets also and we see many people buying the very fresh fish.

 

We catch our 3:00PM ferry and head back to Hong Kong and on to Kowloon. We are back in the hotel (Intercontinental) by 4:00PM and head to the Club Floor for a bite to eat before splitting up to do a bit of shopping in the New World Center, adjacent to the hotel".

 

Have a great time in Hong Kong! Thanks again for your Blog!

 

Our 2015 blog is here for any one that might be interested. We did 1 segment on the QE world cruise. 1 segment of the QM2 world cruise and a QM2 TA connected by 2 land segments to get rtw.

http://www.rtw50thanniversary.blogspot.com

Edited February 29, 2016 by cwn

[The-Inside-Cabin]

Glad to see you are enjoying your trip!

 

I have a small request...hopefully it will not be too annoying.

 

Has the date and itinerary for the 2018 world Cruise been released yet? I am a little behind in my reading and am anxiously awaiting news on same.

 

Many thanks

 

Suzanne

 

 

No, not yet....we are supposed to find out before we return

[The-Inside-Cabin]

Just want to tell you how much I am enjoying your posts. We have done two round the world trips..one in 2009 and one in 2015 (both combined 2 or 3 cruises with several land segments) and posted a live blog for each. So I know how much time it takes!

 

 

 

You will be so glad you did this though! Not only does it give pleasure to lots of us readers, but it really helps you remember all the wonderful details on such a "sensory overload" kind of trip!

 

 

 

I know you probably have plans already for Hong Kong since you have been there before some time back. You will be amazed at the changes since your last visit! We were when we went back in 2009 and it had only been 5 years since our last visit!

 

 

 

Just want to past along something we did in 2009 that was a bit different and lots of fun. We were in Hong Kong for two days at the end of our time on a segment of Princesses 2009 world cruise and the beginning of a land segment of our rtw trip. It gave us a chance to see some of the old way of life that is fast disappearing from Hong Kong. You can see our pictures along with the report at:

 

http://www.aroundtheworldin132days.blogspot.com click on March, then March 15, Day 66 in the Archives on the right side of the page.

 

 

 

In case you don't want to waste internet time going to the blog here is the post:

 

"We get some guidance from the concierge as to some of the outlying islands and elect to make a trip over to Cheung Chau Island. This is a densely populated island where many of the people still cling to the old traditions. Our ferry tickets, from Central on Hong Kong, cost us $64HKD ($8.25US) total for one way. The trip takes 30 minutes through the various islands that are all part of Hong Kong.

 

 

 

The ferry is packed with locals going to the Island for fun on a Sunday afternoon. We arrive at 1:30PM and plan to take the 3:00PM ferry back. We stroll along the quayside in the Sunday crowds. Families from the island and from Hong Kong and Kowloon make this a place for an outing and the quayside restaurants are doing a big business.

 

 

 

At many of them, you can pick your lunch out of the tanks and have it cooked to order. The smells are delicious but the crowds are large and we do have a ferry to catch so we pass on eating.

 

 

 

Along the quay by the harbor crowded with many colorful fishing boats and on one street behind it, you can buy pretty much anything necessary for life. The dried seafood is pretty to see and interesting to contemplate as to its uses. It must be good because they are selling tons of it as we watch. There are live fish markets also and we see many people buying the very fresh fish.

 

 

 

We catch our 3:00PM ferry and head back to Hong Kong and on to Kowloon. We are back in the hotel (Intercontinental) by 4:00PM and head to the Club Floor for a bite to eat before splitting up to do a bit of shopping in the New World Center, adjacent to the hotel".

 

 

 

Have a great time in Hong Kong! Thanks again for your Blog!

 

 

 

Our 2015 blog is here for any one that might be interested. We did 1 segment on the QE world cruise. 1 segment of the QM2 world cruise and a QM2 TA connected by 2 land segments to get rtw.

 

http://www.rtw50thanniversary.blogspot.com

 

 

Thanks for the tips and the links. I will check them out!

 

Pete

[The-Inside-Cabin]

Temple street night market. Stanley market on Hong Kong island. That's best gotten to by taxi from the star ferry term. Shame you didn't get a Chinese visa. You could have taken the high speed rail to canton. 2 hours.

 

 

I have a Chinese VISA, but there is enough to keep me busy in Hong Kong for this trip. Thanks for the suggestion!

[The-Inside-Cabin]

Great photos. I haven't heard of an All White party before, we had the Black and White Ball - perhaps it replaces that? I would be hard-pressed to find some all white clothes.:o

 

 

They also had a black and SILVER ball. Photos on the blog - Jan13th

 

Check eBay for good deals on all white formal stuff.