We hope the first couple months of the New Year are off to a good start for you! This winter, we’re doing something entirely different. But does it still include water, warm weather and travel? Of course! We are aboard the m.s. Amsterdam, a 780-ft ship operated by Holland America, for their Grand Voyage circumnavigation cruise. Around the world in 113 days!
We departed January 22 from Ft. Lauderdale and got our sea legs pretty quick, experiencing gale-force winds of 50+ mph for the first two days as we headed toward South America. Everyone aboard was in good company and spirits as we all staggered around the ship, trying to gain our balance in the pitch. Overall, the ship (and passengers) rode the waves pretty well.
Our first stop was to Santa Marta, the second oldest city in Colombia. We had a few hours to explore a very lively center of town that was bustling with locals doing their Saturday shopping among the packed shops and street vendors.
From Colombia, we sailed to the San Blas Islands of Panama, an archipelago comprising approximately 365 islands and cays scattered around an area of about 100 square miles. They lie off the north coast of the Isthmus of Panama, east of the Panama Canal, but facing the Caribbean Sea. The majority of the islands have no inhabitants, but on the larger ones you will find the gentle native people known as the Kuna’s. San Blas is an autonomous territory in Panama and are fully controlled by the native Kuna’s. They are a community of proud people that have their own laws, norms and values that go with their culture, which is totally different than the traditional Panamanian culture. The Kuna’s protect their lands against massive tourism and keep them healthy and beautiful. They are quite happy without running water or electricity. Our first visit to the Kuna’s of San Blas was in 2002, and I’m pleased to report little has changed. Tom and I were in our element, having found some fantastic snorkeling over their healthy coral reefs.
Next, we transited though the 51 miles of the Panama Canal which took about 8 hours. Regarded as one of the greatest engineering accomplishments, it opened in 1914 and still operates using only 5hp motors to swing open the large doors of the 3 sets of locks. Approximately 40 ships transit the canal every day.
From the Canal, we began heading along the South American coastline, visiting Trujillo and Lima, Peru.
Thereafter, we stopped in Arica, Chile. With some of the lowest annual rainfall rates anywhere in the world, Arica and surrounding area is very barren. Several movie productions have taken advantage of the arid, Mars-like landscape.
From Chile, we sail west into the Pacific Ocean for 5 days before arriving Easter Island.
Easter Island (Rapa Nui’), is a very special and mysterious island known for the massive statues called moai. Believed to be carved between 1100-1680 A.D. from their own volcanic rock, it’s an engineering marvel as to how they carved, erected and moved 887 of these statues, strewn around the 63 square mile island.
The following day, we arrived in Pitcairn Island, one of the remotest of the world’s inhabited islands, lying halfway between New Zealand and the Americas. There is more than 3,000 miles of open ocean to separate you from them; a few archipelagos lie to the north; and the southern seas are empty to the ice caps of Antarctica. Pitcairn Island has only 38 inhabitants, most of whom are the descendants from the Mutiny of the Bounty and their Tahitian companions. Pitcairn is approximately 2 miles long and 1 mile wide with the capital Adamstown located just above Bounty Bay.
Since the small bay won’t allow us to disembark, nearly all of the island residents loaded their long boat with their local crafts and honey and came aboard the Amsterdam. They hosted a Powerpoint presentation of their island life and set up a shopping bazaar aboard. I purchased a wooden platter from none other than Andrew Christian, the great-great-great-great grandson of The Bounty’s Master Mate, Fletcher Christian.
That’s a recap of the ports of call visited so far. Now here’s the general overview of the trip and life aboard:
The Voyage
Our journey takes us south, through the Panama Canal, down the west coast of South America, across the South Pacific, around New Zealand and Australia, through Indonesia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, India, Oman, Jordan, transit the Suez Canal, Italy, Spain, Portugal, France, Belgium, Amsterdam, Denmark, Norway, Scotland, Ireland, then back to Ft Lauderdale. A total of 29 countries. Of the 113 days aboard, we will be at sea 55 days.
Our Accommodations
Our interior cabin is approximately 230 square feet, including bathroom, couch, desk, queen bed and closets. No porthole or window, but not missed. Small spaces are very well organized and our cabin is no exception. We are located on the second deck almost all the way forward of the ship, near the anchor. Yes, this is the counterpart of being in steerage, but we couldn’t be happier. To go around the world, I’d settle for a broom closet!
Life Aboard
With all the on-board activities, we are rarely in our compact cabin. A typical sea day would start with an hour or two of exercise; either in their well-appointed fitness facility or fresh-air walking around Deck 3. Following breakfast, there is usually a mid-morning presentation on an upcoming port held in the Mainstage Theater room. The ship also features many guest speakers on a wide variety of interesting topics. There is also daily computer tips, photo enhancement classes, etc., provided in the Microsoft Digital Workshop. After lunch in The Lido, I may join the Watercolor Painting group, while Tom heads out to the aft deck pool to swim, read and watch the sea roll by. I’ll catch up with him there later in the afternoon. Then it’s a quick nap before happy hour, dinner and nightly entertainment. Lots of comedians, magic, musicians, dance troupes, etc. We even watched the Super Bowl at the Mainstage Theater, complete with tail-gating and noise makers. And we are not void of chores…. a weekly visit is made to their coin operated laundry room. Otherwise when in port, the day is spent exploring a wonderous new place!
The Lido (Breakfast, Lunch) 
Dining Room (Dinner) 
Mainstage Theater 
Digital Workshop 
Sea View Pool 
Lido Pool 
m. s. Amsterdam
Our Shipmates
While there are a few folks our age, the average age on board is mid-70’s. And despite a number of canes, walkers, and scooters that are used by those even older, they are a fairly spry elderly group, and very well-travelled. It appears we’ve discovered a new sub culture of these Round-The-World Cruisers. When we first got on board, we thought most of the passengers would be doing this type of grand voyage for the first time (like us). To our surprise, we’ve found that most folks aboard have taken circumnavigation cruises 10, 15, 20+ times! And a lot of them know each other. It’s practically an annual reunion of sorts.
Beyond the 950 passengers, there are also roughly 650 Indonesian (mostly) staff who are incredibly warm and gracious hosts. Very personable and easy to get to know; friendly and eager to speak about their home, kids and country. We interact daily and they’ve become like family.
In fact, now that we’ve been aboard for about a month, the ship has begun to feel more like a community, and less like just fellow passengers and staff.
We were fortunate to receive a rare invitation to tour the Ships Bridge and Command Center:
We’ve now covered a great distance of the Pacific Ocean, and our itinerary will begin to feature more stops from here on out. Over the next few weeks, we’ll be in South Pacific islands of Tahiti, Bora Bora and Tonga. Then onward to New Zealand and Australia. My next chapter will cover our experiences from this upcoming leg of the trip. Meanwhile, if you have any questions, or just want to say Hi, we hope to hear from you soon!
Life in Nautical Miles 