The Grand World Voyage is full of exciting, interesting and exotic ports of call. In fact, during the 113-day journey ms Amsterdam will call at 38 ports across five continents.

In addition to cities like Cape Town, South Africa; Sydney, Australia; and Hong Kong, China; one of the most anticipated visits was to Easter Island, and remote island 2,300 miles off the west coast of Chile. It’s a call that can sometimes be illusive, but on the 2014 Grand World Voyage the ship made a successful call, much to the delight of guests … and Captain Mercer!

Here’s an inside look at Easter Island through the eyes and camera of Captain Mercer, Future Cruise Consultant Joanne Gardner and guest Jan Yetke.

Captain Mercer, Jan. 21, Easter Island:

Yes! We made it! The weather, after 2 previous awful calls, has been perfect. We still had a moderate swell of course, however that comes with the territory here. Guests and some of the crew have had an adventure and one more item can be crossed of their ‘Bucket List’.

I took a jaunt ashore for this blog, photos are a necessity, I probably had more photos taken of me than I took myself though. :) The inevitable stalls greet you on the quay, trinkets and of course, miniature moai. We have tents and ice-cold water and lemonade close to hand, a welcome relief from the blazing sun. Many guests choose to go to the National Park, where the moai are, others wander along the coast in the cooler breeze and take in the sights of the town and its restaurants.

It has been weird, traveling west to Easter Island, but not changing clocks because the island, being Chilean, stays on Chilean time, even though it’s over 2,000 miles to the west.

To see the post on Captain Mercer’s own blog, click HERE.

Future Cruise Consultant Joanne:
One of my bucket list items has been checked off – Easter Island. I will tell you that it exceeded my expectations by leaps and bounds. With Easter Island I had a picture of what I thought it would look like but the island geography was way more interesting than I expected and there is a certain feel to it that can’t quite be explained. Anakena Beach is spectacular and the sand can be compared to our Half Moon Cay, powder white, plus it has moais! It’s a lovely area to come and relax with the residents of the island.

I would return to the island for a land stay if the opportunity ever presented itself because there is a lot to explore, like the volcano craters which I did not do and multiple hiking trails. The islanders are very friendly and accommodating and it would be fun to really interact with them on an extended basis.

Guest Jan Yetke:
We made it!!!! Being able to stop at Easter Island is always a question mark since it totally depends on the weather and sea conditions. When we dropped anchor and I went on our balcony to survey the situation, I saw all the breaking waves on shore and figured there was no way we would be able to stay. But fortunately I was totally wrong. According to Barbara Haenni, the port specialist on these cruises, this was the most beautiful weather day she had ever seen here. It stayed beautiful all day!!!!

We stopped to have a drink and snack at a restaurant on their outdoor seating area along the waterfront. At the restaurant we happened upon two of the guest entertainers – Rick Starr who is a standup comedian (very funny) who we love, and Romany who is a female magician from England who we have not seen perform yet or ever in the past. It was really fun to meet her.

Jan, left, with Romany and Rick.

This is a volcanic island with three volcanoes which are all dormant now. The rocks we saw and picked up to look at are of many different varieties – some hard black volcanic, some very light reddish volcanic, some very dense volcanic type, one that looked like a shell covered in volcanic ash type. All very different and very interesting.

Have you visited Easter Island? Guest “leucadia” took the Mystical Moai Statues & Highlights Tour and loved it:

This was a fantastic tour. Easter Island was one of the main reasons we took the cruise. It was beyond my imagination. Well worth the money.

If you want to follow the Grand World Voyage in photos, be sure to visit Holland America Line’s “Around the World in 2014” Pinterest board.

What’s the most remote place you’ve visited on a Holland America Line cruise? Tell us in the comments below!