Report #139 Final Summary Of The 2020 Grand World Voyage December 8, 2020

As we promised, here is a wrap-up of the "almost" 2020 Grand World Voyage.  We had sailed 80 days into the trip, when, as you all know, it was abruptly cancelled.  That happened at the end of March, and like a bad dream, we were all booted off of the Amsterdam in Western Australia.  It would be a matter of days when the borders between the Australian states were closing, as well as a stop to international air travel.  With the help of our travel agent and our wonderful hosts onboard, we had secured Qantas air tickets, first class, from Perth to Sydney, Sydney to Los Angeles, then LA to SF via American Air.  It has been many years since we have flown that far, and due to medical and physical issues, we felt it wise to upgrade our tickets.  After all, we had insurance and the promise from HAL that most of our incurred expenses would be covered.  Well, not quite,  as it turned out.

Little did we know that this would be the final time we would see the Amsterdam, our home away from home.  She and three of her sister ships were quickly sold weeks after all cruising was suspended around the world.  Since most of us left the ship with only a minimum of luggage, the remainder of it remained onboard.  Assuming it would be off-loaded and delivered to everyone by mid May, was not in the cards.  The luggage would end up taking a mysterious voyage for months before it was allowed to be loaded into shipping containers and put on a cargo ship.  Even the cargo ship was not going directly to America, so off it went for a spree through Asia.  Would we ever see it again, everyone asked?

There were many good things about being home in late spring.  But it came with a price.  Now we were close distance-wise to family and friends, but due to Covid 19, we have been unable to see them in person.  It was 100% agreed to remain safe keeping that distance.  This was an invisible demon that was taking down many people worldwide, and not to be underestimated.  This has remained constant to this day, and even become worse as the year rolls on.  Thank goodness for emails and phones, although, we still do not own a cell phone.

So what began as polite inquiries regarding promised compensation from both HAL and our travel insurance, became a mini-battle for several months.  And aren't we all weary of hearing so many pre-recorded excuses of why every recovery process is so slow?  So eventually we sorted out what HAL would compensate (which was not a whole lot), and the rest might be picked up by travel insurance.  Now that could have been touchy, since many companies had a pandemic clause where they did not pay anything.  Lucky for us, we had not chosen one of the companies.  We sent in all of the required documents with copies of travel charges, many of which, got lost in the shuffle.  We might mention here to be sure to keep track of everything you send, and never let the original copies go.  We estimate it took three attempts to get it all straight and accepted on the other end.  Long story short, it was all there and all we needed to do was wait…patiently. 

While waiting patiently, we kept busy with mostly our regular routine….daily walks, all meals at home, house and garden  work…..good for the soul. It was nice to have the time to do it all.  Normally the urgency of completing projects was tied to future travel dates,  which came along fairly quickly.  Sure is difficult to undo the urge to prepare way ahead.  Well that ended up applying to regular shopping runs, where stocking up on essentials became part of our monthly jobs. Never would we have dreamt that we would be masked and socially distancing just going food shopping. Now it is a daily routine regardless of where we go.  Makes one look at the world in a whole new light, doesn't it? 

Complicating the summer, we lived through wildfires, one of the first to start evacuated us briefly.  Living with the extreme smoky conditions had to be the worst. Next came the power outages due to low humidity, extremely hot temperatures, and wind.  We learned how to extend the life of our freezers by making large ice containers, which saved all of the food.  Then all of the lay-offs and closures of businesses, along with hurricanes and flooding nationwide, the virus spread just made everything worse.  And politics?  Well, we won't even go there, since it only raises our blood pressure even  more.

In good time, our efforts for re-imbursements came through.  HAL settled with our claim, and refunded most of our travel expenses.  But only part of the first class air.  We knew that there was a cap on what they would pay so we were pleasantly surprised when our other insurance covered more of it.  We had booked a South African safari out of Durban and back to Cape Town, which was covered 100%, air and lodging.  Luckily, we had included coverage for that side trip with the travel insurance. And we have to admit, HAL did the right thing by offering a generous future cruise credit for the 2021 Grand World Voyage.  By taking the 125% credit, we booked that cruise and only owed the port charges.  Of course, it was put off until 2022 now, due to the nasty virus.  With the extra future cruise credit, we repeatedly booked cruises, which have been cancelled, namely the Koningsdam, Volendam, and Zuiderdam.  Eventually, some of these trips will stick, especially with the promise of the Covid 19 vaccine looming in the near future.

So all that was left was the traveling luggage.  Following its progress, it eventually arrived to Florida in late August, but due to delays, we did not see it until late October.  It had been on its own adventure for seven months, which by some accounts, should have earned it a standing with the Mariner's Society.  Three of the duffels did sustain some damage, but for the most part, the contents were OK.  For sure, it was wrinkled like we have never seen, with some odd inexplicable stains on some clothing.  Being that the duffels were on the heavy side, we believe they may have been on the bottom of the pile for months on end.  But they did arrive together, and unopened, by the way.  Nothing was missing, thank goodness.  Now we are taking our time putting it away, and seriously trying to downsize what we really need to take in the future. 

Hard to believe Thanksgiving is past us, and the Christmas and New Year's holidays are creeping up on us.  And they sure are unlike any other holiday we have ever experienced.

Here's hoping that 2021 brings everyone a healthy and happy year, whether travel or staying at home. And more than ever, we realize how lucky we have been to have traveled the far corners of the earth with so many friends over the years.  So, with that in mind, we hope to be back doing  what we love….sailing the Seven Seas.

 

Bill & Mary Ann