Yes, we are back onboard a Holland America Ship, the Westerdam. HAL has offered for the very first time this itinerary to Japan under the branding of “Legendary”. So does that make it more than a collector cruise (back to back) or is it a Grand Voyage Lite, we shall see. We are currently a week into our 51 days and so far, pretty good.
This year we celebrate our 25th Wedding Anniversary, hooray for us. 25 years ago Jan and I enjoyed our first HAL cruise on the Rotterdam cruising out of Venice and into the Mediterranean visiting Greece and Turkey. Our original plan was to repeat this itinerary but with all the current troubles in the Holy Lands (part of our original for the cruise was had originally booked), the revised itinerary changed to many ports we had recently visited much which caused us to cancel and look at other options. It was at that time we saw this “Legendary” Voyage to Japan from Vancouver ending in Seattle, hmm. Further inquiries into this voyage led us to a decision to book. With only days before our embarkation we were offered a paid upgrade to a Signature Suite, after doing the math and the additional amenities we went for it. We are now located about 2/3rds of way down from the front of the ship (so in a sweet spot for comfort) with a much larger suite and massive balcony - larger than the one in our condo, lol.
Embarkation took all of 20 minutes, which for Vancouver is unheard of, so great. I also opted for the special Anniversary Package which warmly welcomed us to our stateroom with many decorations - nicer than I had imagined it was going to be. Minutes after stepping into our suite our luggage arrived giving us plenty of time to unpack before the 3,4 and 5 star welcoming party. In many ways this was very near a Grand Voyage experience with drinks included and the amount of guests and crew we have got to know over the many years. In short, this has the makings of a great cruise experience.
Some pics of our first few days, including a wonderful Anniversary celebration in the dining room… Hope you enjoy…
Happy Anniversary to us.
Heading towards the Lions Gate Bridge
Lighthouse Park in West Vancouver
Mariner Welcome Party - Cheers
With a fellow cruiser of over 10 years, Tom Mullen, a true gentleman
With George, Beverage Director
Captain’s Cruise Toast
Anniversary Dinner in the Main Dining Room…
We also celebrated with a 75 minute couples Deep Tissue Massage. Pro tip. Book whatever you can online at least 3 days before your cruise. We booked the massage at a 30% discount and the wifi package at a 20% discount.
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