Days 88-89, April 3-4: “What does a dipsomaniac crave?” Bruce, the Amsterdam’s cruise director, was not making intriguing cocktail party conversation, but was testing the general knowledge of upwards of 100 passengers who had gathered in the ship’s Ocean Bar for one of two daily team trivia competitions on sea days (one is usually held… read more of “Cruise Diary: Games…”
*This post was sent in several days ago and inadvertently delayed. April 1, 2012: The seas have been flat calm since we departed Mumbai, the sun has been shining and our guests are happy to have a few sea-days after our calls on the west coast of India. We are making for the Bab El… read more of “Around the World…”
Day 87, April 2: During our Grand World Voyage on the Amsterdam, we could send our taste buds on a holiday to Manhattan – so we did! We made reservations at a Le Cirque evening at the Amsterdam’s intimate alternative restaurant, the Pinnacle Grill. We had enjoyed a lovely, non-themed, dinner at this very special… read more of “Cruise Diary:…”
Days 84, 85, 86/ March 30, March 31, April 1: After an ambitious three-night/four-day overland excursion that took us from our first port of call in India, Mangalore, to the Taj Mahal, the Pink City of Jaipur and Mumbai, we felt we could really use some serious relaxation! We found it at the Amsterdam’s Greenhouse… read more of “Cruise Diary: I…”
Days 80-83, March 26-29: The early morning sun shone delicately through a thin haze that was reminiscent of the veil of an exotic dancer. I took it as a good omen. We were riding on an express train from Delhi to Agra – our destination: India’s iconic Taj Mahal. The Taj had been on our… read more of “Cruise Diary: The…”
Day 79, March 25: Here’s a riddle: what is the most intelligent animal? Why, the crab, of course, because it carries its home with it wherever it goes! There is no place like home – particularly when you travel for nearly four months around the world as we are doing on our Grand Voyage. On… read more of “Cruise Diary:…”
Captain Jonathan Mercer March 28, 2012: Our passages up the coast of India have been busy. Apart from the coastal trade shipping, there have been vast amounts of fishing vessels. Every coastal community seems to have a fleet of these boats, ranging from reasonably large, in the 9-10 metre range, (28 feet or so), to… read more of “Around the World…”
Day 78, March 24: After getting a big gulp of what Henry David Thoreau called “the tonic of wildness” while riding an elephant through a jungle trail in Phuket, Thailand, and afterwards enjoying two relaxing days at sea, we arrived at Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka, formerly known as Ceylon, located just off the… read more of “Cruise Diary: The…”
