Bittersweet Goodbye to Dear Friends After 124 Days Circling the Globe

Day 124 +2, 2025 Grand World Voyage

Saturday, May 10, 2025; Plano, Texas.

When I woke up last night, I tried to remember whether today would be a port day and, if so, what port. Sadly, I eventually realized I was in a Plano hotel room, not still at sea. I can’t even say I was home, as I’m only on land for a few weeks before returning “home” to a ship.

I wonder if ending a long cruise would be any easier without the travel hassles involved. I can’t complain – my travel went smoothly, despite wrangling several bags through two airports and a rental car facility. The government’s TSA went through one of my checked bags (probably the several bottles of gin I packed), which was unsettling to discover, but I think the only damage was the lost pull to the zipper. On my to-do list is to look into sturdier luggage (or pack lighter).

Our last two sea days were packed, even if our luggage wasn’t yet. Capt. Frank sat for the traditional Captain’s Q&A, and as we have gotten to know him and his wife Alexandra over three world cruises now, the questions were more about their lives than about the ship.

Of course, Hotel General Manager Henk Mensink was the focus of the last few days, as he completes his final world cruise (after more than 20). Thursday night’s World Stage entertainment started as a music show …

… but became a “surprise” farewell for Henk and his wife Christel. Many of us contributed images to the multimedia show, complete with video messages from some world cruise regulars who weren’t on board.

The real surprise was Capt. Frank van der Hoeven, who sang a custom rendition of “My Way” to Henk. I’ve put my full video of Capt. “Sinatra” (minus the opening that I missed) on YouTube, but here’s a sample:

Thursday morning Cruise and Travel Director Kimberly Wells recapped our whole voyage, port-by-port and party-by-party. Henk shared a few last words, followed by a tearful farewell from virtually the whole crew.

Everywhere you looked for the last days people were taking selfies and saying goodbye to friends among the passengers and crew. Angelica has served my drinks on at least three cruises and is usually the first person I greet when coming aboard. I’ll miss my morning coffee from the wonderful team, but I’ll see Barista Regina when she boards the Nieuw Statendam this fall. Alice and Ferry are the best morning team in the Lido.

We had one last of the many “food truck” events by the Lido pool, where crates full of world cruise decorations were waiting to be offloaded into storage until next January. I joined Alan and Sharon for one last Pinnacle Grill dinner.

Part of our early morning Crow’s Nest team gathered one last time yesterday as we grabbed cups of coffee before leaving the ship.

In a Holland America tradition, a team of crew members and senior officers line the hallway in the terminal to say their final goodbyes. I was prepared with camera in hand to get a video memory.

What were my favorite memories of this voyage? While making my CBS Morning News debut and returning to some favorite ports (Lima, Easter Island, Cape Town and Malta come immediately to mind), my best memories are of discovering more of this world with old and new friends who shared the journey — our beginning-of-the-cruise reunion, seeing my sisters at the Grand Meetup and drone show in Barcelona, celebrating a significant birthday, and April Fooling a good friend at home. I can’t wait for next year!