2023 Grand World Voyage with The Inside Cabin

[meg1021]

14 hours ago, The-Inside-Cabin said:

 The Daily Program is where all the activities are listed.   You can see them all HERE, indexed by date in a table.    
 

Review the zoom replays, especially the general ones.   HERE and HERE

 

Check out the rest of my website as it has much more information, reference items, packing suggestions and a cost calculator.  HERE

 

HERE is a page where you can find highlights  of past cruise entertainers

 

My 3 suggestions 

1). Spend 2 days (minimum) per port researching every port in advance.   Plan your days for each port before you leave.   Don’t be a slave to your plan but have a baseline fr9m which you deviate.  
2).  Know how public transportation and taxis work.  If you have never used taxis or subways - take a short vacation to a big U.S. city and practice using trains,  taxis and buses.   All big city public transit works about the same.  Know how to use your phone to find bus stops and subway stops.  
 

Know how to use your smart phone.   Know how to use UBER.    Know how to make local calls in a different country with a U.S.  cellphone.     Use maps.me or pocket earth and mark places of interest in advance. 
 

3). Participate in your roll call.   Join the photo book.  Meet people in advance online.  
 

Read other blogs - see the links in my signature line below
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks so much for your prompt and well thought out suggestions, and for the links to additional information.  I should probably have added some additional context to my post.  We have taken extended cruises on other cruise lines, and I wholeheartedly agree that researching ports is a must. I also intend to join the roll call, when it's up and running. I know that experienced HAL cruisers will be able to answer questions I have.  In many ports/countries, we are comfortable with trains, subways, and taxis.  In other countries we are not, so we would definitely prefer to use HAL excursions for safety reasons in those ports.  The Zuiderdam 2025 World Cruise that we put a deposit on, has a very compelling itinerary for us.  We were booked on Crystal Cruises 2023 World cruise, which had a very similar itinerary, but unfortunately Crystal went out of business (recently purchased/resurrected by A & K).  Do you have any experience with overland tours that HAL offers?  We've tried twice now to visit Machu Pichu on a cruise (the aforementioned Crystal cruise, and a 49 day South America cruise this past this past Jan/Feb on Oceania, which cancelled stops in Peru, due to political unrest, and destruction of the rail lines going to Machu Pichu).  Perhaps the third time is the charm, and we can visit it on this HAL voyage.  I know that we can do it on our own for less $, but would prefer to book through the cruise line, just in case of unforeseen issues, like we experienced with our recent Oceania cruise.

 

I don't really like to compare cruise lines, because each one has its own strengths/weaknesses, but if you feel that HAL has a particular strength, please share it with me.  Once again thanks for you response.  It is much appreciated!

[meg1021]

14 hours ago, REOVA said:

And be like Pete.....go on the GWC without any expectation and open mind and enjoy the adventures. You will be blessed to not have a prior cruise to compare to which helps in appreciating the Voyage. (But definitely research every port before hand). 

I agree with this!  If you travel with the intention of enjoying yourself, you will!  If you look for deficiencies, you will surely find them, and probably enjoy your experience a lot less.  Having said that, we do expect basic competency in both service and accommodations.  Perfection is not the goal, since it's impossible to achieve.

[zelker]

9 minutes ago, meg1021 said:

I agree with this!  If you travel with the intention of enjoying yourself, you will!  If you look for deficiencies, you will surely find them, and probably enjoy your experience a lot less.  Having said that, we do expect basic competency in both service and accommodations.  Perfection is not the goal, since it's impossible to achieve.

 

Well said!  

[The-Inside-Cabin]

15 minutes ago, meg1021 said:

I also intend to join the roll call, when it's up and running.

The roll call is up and running.

 

 

[The-Inside-Cabin]

50 minutes ago, meg1021 said:

Do you have any experience with overland tours that HAL offers?  

 

 but if you feel that HAL has a particular strength, please share it with me.  Once again thanks for you response.  It is much appreciated!

I don't have any personal experience with HAL overland tours.   However, I have talked to many people who have done HAL overland tours.   While they are usually double or triple the price of what you can do independently, they are always well-run and go first class, all the way.   

 

If seeing Machu Pichu is essential, I would go there on a separate land vacation.   We used COLTUR Travel for our Machu Pichu trip, and they put together a great package for us.  You could probably set up an entire Machu Pichu experience from the USA for the same price as the HAL overland price alone.   Remember, when you book an overland off the ship, you are paying for five days of the cruise you won't be using, which increases the effective price of your overland.    The price for the Machu Pichu overland advertised on the 2023 Grand SA was about $3900 per person.  I think it was ultimately canceled, regardless..

 

HAL's strength is the individual customer service of the crew.  I have sailed Seabourn, Crystal, Viking, and more - HAL is the best.     

 

 

Edited May 6, 2023 by The-Inside-Cabin

[REOVA]

37 minutes ago, meg1021 said:

I agree with this!  If you travel with the intention of enjoying yourself, you will!  If you look for deficiencies, you will surely find them, and probably enjoy your experience a lot less.  Having said that, we do expect basic competency in both service and accommodations.  Perfection is not the goal, since it's impossible to achieve.

You won't be disappointed. However the problem with doing a HAL Grand Voyage is it does spoil you when doing a regular HAL cruise. Whether it's meeting/seeing people (some that sail every year) for 4 months or the "extras" HAL includes on these, it's a unique experience. 

[The-Inside-Cabin]

We are attending the Mariners luncheon.   Very nice menu.  
 

we also got our 150th anniversary tiles!

soup

 

Beef Brisket

 

Seafood Mixed Grill

 

Crème Brûlée 

 

Tile

 

Presty and Judy 

[SJSULIBRARIAN]

Do you know if HAL will be giving out the 150th Anniversary titles on any cruise during this year?

[BetsyS.]

Pete and Judy - Thanks for all your detailed reporting, beautiful pictures, menus,

and schedules of activities.  I have friends that I met on cruises in 1973 and 2002.

I wish you all the best for the coming week and safe travels home! 😊

Betsy

 

[seaoma]

1 hour ago, SJSULIBRARIAN said:

Do you know if HAL will be giving out the 150th Anniversary titles on any cruise during this year?

 

We did a Caribbean Cruise on NA in March and were given the Anniversary tiles.

[Lido deck main]

Pete, thank you very much for the enjoyable, information loaded blog. On my next cruise in September I will request to sit at table 89 one night and have a drink and a meal in your honour and toast to you (and the rest of the gang).

[Hogladyrider]

Pete this is the BEST cruise review ever!  Absolutely love your positive attitude all the way around no matter what comes your way.

 

I have thoroughly enjoyed following along.  I think it helps to follow several reviews and get different perspectives as we all travel differently.

 

Enjoy the remaining time on your cruise, sorry to see it come to an end for sure.  Will watch for future reviews.

[Ottawa traveller]

 

3 hours ago, SJSULIBRARIAN said:

Do you know if HAL will be giving out the 150th Anniversary titles on any cruise during this year?

We got them on the Westerdam in Japan last month.

[The-Inside-Cabin]

PRAIA DA VITÓRIA, AZORES

MAY 5, 2023

We enjoy home cooked food and local wine on a beautiful island in the North Atlantic Ocean

Terceira Island is one of the most beautiful and diverse islands in the Azores, a Portuguese archipelago located in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.  We arrived around 7 am at a commercial port and were cleared a little before 8 am.  The area around the ship was an open area that was mostly empty.   While there wasn’t any prohibition about walking out of the port, the nearest town was Praia da Vitória, about 2.5 miles away without much in between.  The ship offered a free shuttle bus to Praia da Vitória.

The town of Praia da Vitoria is on the left, showing the location of the shuttle bus drop-off spot. The ship location detail is on the right.

 

Five of us from Table 89 booked an all-day excursion with Pro Island Tours called “Wines & Moonshines”  for €500 total (€100 pp).    More HERE

While Pro Island Tours uses 4-wheel drive Land Rover Defender “jeeps”, none of the places we traveled to today required 4-wheel drive.  The Land Rover has a total of 7 seats.  Two front seats (one for the driver/guide) , three spots on the bench seat behind the front seats, and two seats facing each other in the back.

Land Rover Defender

 

Our guide and driver, Carolina, met us a little before 9 am, and we were on our way.  Born and raised on Terceira Island, Carolina was very friendly and knowledgeable.

Here is the description of our tour from their website:

Wines & Moonshines 

Taste local Wines and Moonshines

The trip is made comfortably in jeeps suitably equipped for the purpose and able to take you to places you did not even imagine existed. We personalize your tour to your likes; we bring you to the most important look-out places, go off-road to see some gorgeous sites, then we bring you to a beautiful location where you will have lunch in a relax atmosphere, you can walk around enjoying a glass of wine or beer if you like to, while we prepare your food, during lunch you always have wine or beer available to you, after lunch we do some tasting of our local homemade moonshines, then we continue seeing beautiful places in the Island where very few can bring you, you will get to see the Island on the outside and from the inside. We will bring you to as many places as possible to give you a very good idea of the Island of Terceira. On the wines and moonshines tour, we will bring you to see where the vines are grown the old fashion way and why this local white wine “verdelho” is so unique.

We headed off on a clockwise circumnavigation of the 18-mile-wide island and would make several stops before we arrived at our lunch stop around 1 pm.

The blue line marks our route today. We traveled clockwise

 

MIRADOURO DA SERRA CUME

Our first stop was Miradouro da Serra do Cume, a viewpoint over 1700 feet above sea level that overlooks Terceira’s interior.  The wind was fierce, and the skies overcast, so the view wasn’t as spectacular as it would be on a nicer day, but it was still pretty good.

This is the viewing platform for the Miradouro da Serra do Cume lookout

 

As we continued down the hill, we stopped to look at some Holstein cows munching on the grass near the road.

The fields are partitioned to control the cow’s grazing

I didn’t expect to see bananas growing on Terceira, but we stopped and wandered thru a small banana farm.  We are used to seeing bananas in Central America, which is much hotter, so it was unexpected to see them growing in a much cooler climate.

The banana farm was protected on all sides by high plantings to shield the bananas from the wind

 

SPLIT ROCK

Ilhéus das Cabras, or Goat Island, is about a mile south of the main island and is more commonly known as Split Island.  We stopped for a few minutes for pictures of the island, walked along a black sand beach, and enjoyed the excellent views.  The weather was improving, and the coast wasn’t as windy.

Ilhéus das Cabras, or Goat Island – aka Split Rock There is a big Bull Festival every August/September

 

MONTE BRASIL PENINSULA

Our next stop was the Monte Brasil Peninsula, the viewpoint located about 1500 feet above the historic city of Angra do Heroísmo, which has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage site.  This charming city has picturesque streets lined with colorful buildings and stunning architecture.  The view of Angra do Heroísmo from Monte Brasil Peninsula is spectacular.  Near the viewpoint is a statue of Afonso VI, the second king of Portugal, who was exiled to Terceira for seven years after his brother had him declared incapable of ruling.

Angra do Heroísmo Afonso VI, the second king of Portugal

 

Once again, we turned inland, enjoying the countryside’s vibrant colors, lush green forests, and fields dotted with brightly colored houses and churches.  We stopped at Lagoa das Patas, or Duck Lake, for about 15 minutes and enjoyed the idyllic setting and, not surprisingly, watched ducks as they wandered to and fro.

Judy and Pete at Duck Lake Of course, there were plenty of ducks at Duck Lake

 

LUNCH AT MATA DE SERRETA

Mata de Serreta is a Forest Recreation Reserve complete with covered picnic areas.  This is where we met other Pro Island Tours staff who had prepared our lunch.  We enjoyed local wine, cheese, meats, and bread as we discussed what we had seen and learned more about life in the Azores and Terceira.

We enjoyed these appetizers while waiting for the main course

 

Our main course was a delicious beef stew, chicken, pork and tongue, salad, and rice.

Home-made beef stew Brad is getting ready to dig into the main course

 

For dessert, we enjoyed a Queijada da Dona Amélia, which is quite literally fit for a queen. This hallmark dessert earned its name as a tribute to Queen Amélia, who was offered the sweets on her first royal visit to the island in 1901.  You can find the recipe HERE

Queijada da Dona Amélia

 

Everything was delicious, and home-cooked food is always a treat.

CALHETA DOS BISCOITOS

After an hour, we moved on to our final stop: Calheta dos Biscoitos, a small pebbly beach in Biscoitos.  Biscoitos consists of pools surrounded by irregular configurations of black lava rocks resulting from volcanic eruptions, protected from the Atlantic Ocean by a rocky breakwater.

The rocky breakwater protects Calheta dos Biscoitos from the Ocean. Biscoitos consists of natural pools

 

The beach was empty as it was cool, windy, and early in the season.  Based on the size of the parking lot, this place would get crowded with excellent weather.

Table 89 at the end of the excursion. Our guide and driver, Carolina, is on the far right.

 

WINE AND CHEESE SAIL AWAY

Back on the ship, we enjoyed our final SailAway around the Lido Pool, complete with complimentary wine and some fantastic cheeses.  The event was well attended, and the weather cooperated as we celebrated our departure from the Azores.

Henk was manning a wine serving station. Big pours only! There were two cheese stations, one on each side of the pool. HAL Servers are the best!

TOM CROSBIE

Tom Crosbie was the featured entertainer on the World Stage.   He displayed a fantastic talent for solving Rubiks cubes which was surprisingly entertaining, and we enjoyed his show.

 

Edited May 8, 2023 by The-Inside-Cabin

[The-Inside-Cabin]

Here are a few highlights from our first of six sea days as we head back to Fort Lauderdale

 

Henk was the guest at Coffee Chat and discussed that the Hotel GMs, Cruise and Travel Directors, and Entertainment Directors from the Zuiderdam, Zaandam, and Volendam will meet with executives from Holland America Headquarters in Seattle on May 12th in Montreal to discuss the lesson's learned on the Grand Voyages conducted since the restart. 

 

President's Club, Pinnacle and Neptune Suite guests were invited to a "Rijsttafel" luncheon in the Main Dining Room.    The food was excellent and we had a wonderful time.

Here is the invitation

 

The Menu

 

Some of the crew were wearing colorful costumes at the door,

Salad Course

 

Main Course

 

Rice pudding dessert

 

Artist in residence, Ben Sack, unveiled the original ink drawing commemorating the 2023 Grand World Voyage in the Crow's Nest.  

Ben Sack

 

Pianist and Vocalist Lisa Harman performed on the World Stage

 

Lisa Harman

 

 

Edited May 8, 2023 by The-Inside-Cabin

[The-Inside-Cabin]

Last night we attended the BARN DANCE in the Rolling Stone Lounge

 

Here was the description from the Daily Program

 

"BARN DANCE
Join us in our yeee-haaa `barn' for family-folks easy Country-
Western line-dancing wearin' your best Denim, Boots, Bangles or
Heels. Our own `stones' will put out of good-ole music to match,
so come ya'll and have some fun, ya hear!"

 

Judy, Pete and Pam

The Band

 

Everyone had a great time

 

 

 

[julia]

So, Pete.... truthfully, are you looking forward to getting back home, or would you rather have a few more weeks (or months) onboard?!  Inquiring minds want to know... 😅

[Hogladyrider]

@The-Inside-Cabin....Pete I have to comment that you and your fellow cruisers have certainly seemed to make the "best" of the changes that have happened to cruising post covid.

 

I am following several other reviews on this cruise line and I am really surprised at the negativity.

 

For me any day I can be on a ship is better than not being on a ship.  

 

I am surprised that folks do not realize that our entire society and world has changed since COVID. 

 

When we cruise in January I do not expect our experience to be the same a pre Covid, but we will have a great time because we are cruising.

 

Your review has been very informative and refreshing and it give cruising a look at the "glass half full" outlook which unfortunately many are viewing it the other way.

 

All businesses have changed and had to regroup.  Thank you for all you have done in providing us with a FABULOUS review of your world cruise.  I am sorry to see it come to an end.  Safe travels home.

[albi]

Thank you so much for taking your loyal followers on the world cruise!  We enjoyed every posting and certainly value your very positive attitude.  We can’t wait for your next adventure!  
On a personal note, you and Judy help those  of us not able to join you, experience the world through your eyes!  What a voyage it has been!

 

[The-Inside-Cabin]

2 hours ago, julia said:

So, Pete.... truthfully, are you looking forward to getting back home, or would you rather have a few more weeks (or months) onboard?!  Inquiring minds want to know... 😅

I am ready to get back home and recharge.   I have found that 4 months is about the right number for us.  

[gadabout60]

2 hours ago, Hogladyrider said:

@The-Inside-Cabin....Pete I have to comment that you and your fellow cruisers have certainly seemed to make the "best" of the changes that have happened to cruising post covid.

 

I am following several other reviews on this cruise line and I am really surprised at the negativity.

 

For me any day I can be on a ship is better than not being on a ship.  

 

I am surprised that folks do not realize that our entire society and world has changed since COVID. 

 

When we cruise in January I do not expect our experience to be the same a pre Covid, but we will have a great time because we are cruising.

 

Your review has been very informative and refreshing and it give cruising a look at the "glass half full" outlook which unfortunately many are viewing it the other way.

 

All businesses have changed and had to regroup.  Thank you for all you have done in providing us with a FABULOUS review of your world cruise.  I am sorry to see it come to an end.  Safe travels home.

I totally agree with this.  You really seem to make the most of every day - both in port and at sea. I love how you embrace the local culture and get a feel for your ports by trying to meet locals and eating the local food etc

Other cruisers do seem stuck in the past and reflect too much on little changes or lack of  pillow gifts. I don’t think they understand how much debt some cruise lines have.

Thank you for your blogs and your positive attitude 

 

[The-Inside-Cabin]

2 hours ago, gadabout60 said:

I totally agree with this.  You really seem to make the most of every day - both in port and at sea. I love how you embrace the local culture and get a feel for your ports by trying to meet locals and eating the local food etc

Other cruisers do seem stuck in the past and reflect too much on little changes or lack of  pillow gifts. I don’t think they understand how much debt some cruise lines have.

Thank you for your blogs and your positive attitude 

 

My best cruise is always my current cruise - until my next cruise, that is....😀

[REOVA]

2 hours ago, gadabout60 said:

I totally agree with this.  You really seem to make the most of every day - both in port and at sea. I love how you embrace the local culture and get a feel for your ports by trying to meet locals and eating the local food etc

Other cruisers do seem stuck in the past and reflect too much on little changes or lack of  pillow gifts. I don’t think they understand how much debt some cruise lines have.

Thank you for your blogs and your positive attitude 

 

Actually this occurs no matter what year. You would be surprised to hear the number of people that do this cruise every year and find something to complain about, even 5 years ago. Some of them don't even get off the ship because they've "seen" the port before. As Pete has provided in his blogs, crusing is about seeking and exploring new areas of the World. The World is small but there is always something new to experience if you make the effort. "Make the best use of what is in your power, and take the rest as it happens."

Epictetus 

[The-Inside-Cabin]

The big event yesterday was the final slot pull of the cruise - 25 of us spent $15.00   We ended up with $7.25 each!   Yeah!   Table 89 was well represented

 

25 people waiting their turn

 

Pam hits a winner!

 

John gets a winner!

 

Susan gets a close call

 

Pete comes up empty!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Sea42]

14 hours ago, gadabout60 said:

I totally agree with this.  You really seem to make the most of every day - both in port and at sea. I love how you embrace the local culture and get a feel for your ports by trying to meet locals and eating the local food etc

Other cruisers do seem stuck in the past and reflect too much on little changes or lack of  pillow gifts. I don’t think they understand how much debt some cruise lines have.

Thank you for your blogs and your positive attitude 

 

I so agree with what you're saying. I've been following 4 other blogs for this cruise and it is very interesting reading the different views of the same cruise. My favorite, besides Pete's of course, is Debra's, who is on the ship with her teenage daughter:

https://livevicariouslythroughdebra.com/

She has such a refreshingly positive attitude, it is a joy to read each morning.