After an excellent breakfast – fabulous dim sum, perfect coffee and scrumptious pastries in the mix – we decide to walk the other way along North Point. It’s Sunday morning, and there are lots of joggers and other groups enjoying their day, we’re happy jay-walking where necessary, but it gets quite tedious because there is a lot of roadworks in the area.
So we go inland and return along the King’s Road back to Causeway Bay and then retread the boardwalk we used last night. A lovely way to spend our free hours before our driver arrives to take us across the harbour to Holland America Line’s Westerdam, which we’ve had in sight all morning in the distant haze.
No Seabourn I hear you ask? We’ve not left them, but now they have sold two of our favourite ships, their itineraries are looking a bit more restricted and HAL’s itinerary just suited us this time. I’m sure we will be back, but nothing planned at present.
This is our first visit to the new cruise terminal which is on what was Hong Kong’s old airport. Retaining the name Kai Tak, the runway, almost two miles long has seen extensive redevelopment in recent years and at the far end the Norman Foster designed terminal is huge enough to handle over ten thousand simultaneously arriving passengers, although happily for us not today.
Our frequent-customer status gets us rapidly through the lines and after a much quicker immigration queue we’re soon onboard and climbing from decks one to seven on a staircase we will visit many times over the coming month. Never take the lift is a principle we have adhered to forever, alongside never touch a hand-rail.
Our cabin is the same on Westerdam as most HAL ships, only the latest three have a slightly differently configured bathroom, so we know where everything is and how we will set up our belongings, although no bags are waiting for us yet.
Instead we cross the corridor to meet our concierge ladies Jean and Kristine who will be looking after our every need onboard, and get a light lunch from the lounge buffet as well as a welcome Washington State Chardonnay (Ste Michelle in case you’re wondering, a wonderful estate we often enjoy.)
After lunch we decide to wander the public spaces and refresh our memories, it’s almost six years since we were on this class of ship, in fact cruising New Zealand just as Covid was breaking out all over the world. Point (!) of note, HAL has four ”compass” ships called, unexpectedly, North, South, West and East, but they have Dutch roots and end in “dam” like all their ships. We were on Noordam previously, and have yet to sail Oosterdam or Zuiderdam. In fact they ordered five ships (goodness knows what the last might have been called) but decided they didn’t need her so she was moved to sister-line Cunard and named Queen Victoria which we have also sailed on many years ago with our dear friends Sheila and John.
Our bags have arrived and Mark does all the unpacking whilst I’m writing and wrestling with photos, syncing between devices just a warning of how challenging the internet will become for the next few days, until we’re away from the current jurisdiction.
We are required to do a full lifeboat drill, the first time since pre-covid because local regulations require this. The stupidity of many of our fellow customers is astounding, I really don’t want to be in the same boat as them when it matters!
We’re all invited to sailaway of course, the back deck is the perfect place to watch as Kai Tak shrinks into the distance and we sail clockwise around Hong Kong Island, passing many more enormous residential tower blocks, after which it’s time to go home to shower and dress for dinner.
Before dinner we have two more parties to attend, these are not for everyone though. The first is for our frequent-customer status, those who have a hundred or more days with HAL. We meet a most engaging young(ish) man Clinton who is an airline pilot, and spend our time chatting with him before we move on to our second party, this time because of where our cabin is. We engage with neighbours Kay and Gary who like us are on for the full 28 day circuit back to Hong Kong.
Finally we descend to deck two for dinner. Tonight and for the next few our favourite dining room the Pinnacle Grill is set up as Tamarind, which is HAL’s Asian themed restaurant – on bigger ships it has its own venue, but here it’s just a visitor.
We enjoy tempura prawns, coconut crusted scallops and spicy lamb, alongside a fabulous Washington State Chardonnay (this time Stainless) and a very good Aussie Shiraz.
