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| Georgina & Humberto
encounter the moai on Easter Island with the Amsterdam at
anchor off Hanga Roa |
by Georgina Cruz
April 2014: “We do not remember
days, we remember moments,” Italian poet Cesare Pavese once
observed. A Grand World Voyage, like Holland America’s 2014 113-day
Treasures of the World circumnavigation of the planet (Jan. 4
through April 28) from which we have just returned, yields many, oh,
so many “moments to remember,” to borrow from the song’s lyrics by
The Four Lads.
Here are just some notable ones:
•
Boarding the 62,735-ton, 1,380-guest Amsterdam in Fort
Lauderdale for the Grand World Voyage and meeting fellow
passengers (many of them veterans of several world cruises, who
ask you if you too “are going around”). Enjoying a welcome
aboard toast with champagne flutes, sail-away festivities up on
deck and a send-off with banners, bells and whistles by
residents of condos lining the Port Everglades’ channel. What a
moment, all the while dreaming of the adventures to come. “It’s like having the whole world at
your fingertips,” as our port guide, Barbara, exclaimed. And
what a joy to think of 113 days with no cleaning, no cooking, and
no chores (as four-star Mariner Society members, HAL’s loyalty
program for passengers who have completed 200 days on HAL’s
ships, we get unlimited complimentary laundry service too!).
• Admiring luminous blue morphos at the Butterfly Garden and the
hiking trails in the Veragua Rainforest & Adventure near Puerto
Limon, Costa Rica. And taking the park’s aerial tram to spot
monkeys and sloths in the forest canopy.
• Enjoying an archeological day in Lima, Peru, a
shipboard-bought tour with visits to two pyramid temples, the huaca pucllana and the huaca huallamarca, with such highlights
as a small museum with pottery from the ancient Lima people and
a mummy, and an enclosure with llamas. Climbing the steep ramp
(similar to those of Mayan pyramids) to the top of one of the
pyramids, the huaca pucllana, rewarded us with a panoramic view
of the city.
• Standing face-to-big-face on Easter Island. Easter Island (or
Rapa Nui or Isla de Pascua as it is also called) has national
parks filled with the world-famous moai, ancient Polynesian
statues that may have been part of a cult to honor ancestors.
The often-photographed “big heads” are part of full-body statues
that have been buried up to the neck by the elements and other
factors throughout the centuries.
• Feeling at
home on the Amsterdam. A drydock before the world
cruise refreshed the public spaces and staterooms. One note,
however, though the 14-year-old Amsterdam’s interiors are
graciously adorned with fine furnishings, art and fresh flowers,
during the world cruise, particularly the first half of the
voyage, there were various leaks from ceilings in stairwells,
the Lido, and the entrance to the show lounge, and pails to
catch the water while the leaks awaited fixing marred the look
of interiors. Also, a new Internet system had been introduced
that had glitches. A handpicked staff shone, however, catering
to passengers’ needs and presenting some of the most varied
menus at sea... shrimp cocktail, Caesar salad, surf and turf, and
chocolate avalanche cake, anyone? Firman and Joseph, our dining
room stewards from Indonesia, offered attentive, friendly
service –remembering, for example, that we prefer olive oil and
vinegar for our salads. Our cabin stewards, Yanto and Dwi, also
from Indonesia, kept our oceanview cabin spotless and stocked
with Elemis toiletries and fresh fruit. In addition to
chocolates, we were pampered with occasional pillow gifts
throughout the voyage including wheeled carry-on luggage,
Tiffany mugs with a map of the world, and a logo tote filled
with goodies such as a travel journal, mini-bag with practical
necessities like lip balm, hand-sanitizer and band-aids, all perfect
for our explorations ashore.
• Spending days at thatched-roof overwater bungalows in French
Polynesia. Our bungalow at the Pearl Resort & Spa in Moorea had
steps leading from its deck into the crystal-clear,
coral-and-tropical-fish-filled lagoon. We also spent an idyllic
day at the Four Seasons Bora Bora on a “motu”
(white-sand-fringed islet) in this island’s breathtaking lagoon.
Steps on the terraces of bungalows take to the warm embrace of
the water for swimming and snorkeling. And we feasted on
Polynesian specialties for lunch with fresh seafood and fruits
at both resorts.
• Standing at the Amsterdam’s bow for the arrivals at Sydney,
Australia and Hong Kong, China, two of the world’s most scenic
ports and counting our blessings as we watched the iconic sights
go by: the Opera House and Harbor Bridge in Sydney; skyscrapers,
ferries and sampans (traditional boats) in Hong Kong. Then
exploring each port via the convenient hop-on/hop-off tourist
bus in each city. To fortify us at each narrated early morning,
port entrance stewards went around bearing juice, coffee and
rolls.
• Marveling at the eye-popping architecture of Singapore,
including the “ship”-topped towers of its Marina Bay complex,
riding the Singapore Flyer’s observation wheel and sipping a
Singapore Sling at Raffles, where the world-famous drink was
invented.
• Spending time with baby elephants that have lost their mothers
at the Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage in a coconut plantation
three hours from Colombo in Sri Lanka. Watching babies being fed
bottles of milk and watching them take long baths with the rest
of the Asian elephant herd was another unforgettable moment.
• Going on safari to the Aquila Private Game Reserve out of Cape
Town, South Africa. Spotting a herd of zebras and such diverse
fauna as wildebeest, white rhinos, lions, and elephants in this
reserve two hours from Cape Town further fed our sense of
adventure.
• Enjoying talks by distinguished lecturers including Desmond
Tutu, former archbishop of Cape Town and advocate of civil
rights. Enrichment programs and entertainment on a world cruise
are taken up a notch when compared to shorter voyages. And with
Holland America’s new “On Location” programs, focus is on
cultural shows, like a Peruvian folkloric troupe that came
onboard and a Tahiti group who put on a show and conducted
crafts lessons and ukulele and conch blowing classes, among
other activities, as well as additional presentations that
deepen understanding of destinations. The cruise staff also
organized trivia quizzes, classic cruise games like
golf-putting, shuffleboard and bean-bag toss, and other pastimes
including varied entertainment and holiday celebrations
(Valentines’ Day, Mardi Gras, St. Patrick’s Day and Easter all
fell during our voyage and were marked with a Valentine’s Ball,
Mardi Gras party and buffet with entertainment on deck, St.
Patrick’s Day pub crawl and party, and an Easter brunch with the
Easter bunny, of course).
• Touring the apricot-colored sands of the Namibian desert with
enormous dunes that look like pyramids, including roaring dunes
that produce a roaring sound when the sand slides on itself.
What a moment!
• Feeling the sense of accomplishment at completing this “Holy
Grail” of travel: a true circumnavigation of the planet. There
is no other moment like sighting the beginning/ending point of a
grand world voyage, in our case, Fort Lauderdale, as the
circumnavigation concludes.
IF YOU GO: Holland America’s Amsterdam
will feature a 114-day Grand World Voyage, a circumnavigation
from Fort Lauderdale in 2015. Fares start at $19,999 per person,
double. Visit hollandamerica.com. Other cruise lines that
typically feature world cruises include Crystal
(crystalcruises.com), Cunard
(cunard.com), Oceania (this
line’s first world cruise is slated for 2015,
(oceaniacruises.com), Princess
(princess.com), Seabourn
(seabourn.com ) and Silversea (silversea.com).
