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Christmas Family Cruise a Magical Experience

Posted on January 2, 2024January 3, 2024 by Jo Johnston

Day 12, 2023 Holiday Panama Canal Sunfarer Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2024; Bimini, Bahamas As we pack up from this holiday cruise – nephews Zan and Colton to return to work; sisters Elaine, Eloise and me to change staterooms for the next cruise – I’m struck by some of the differences

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2023 Caribbean Holiday
10 comments

Ending 2023 with Reflections on a Year Cruising the World

Posted on December 31, 2023 by Jo Johnston

Day 10, 2023 Holiday Panama Canal Sunfarer Sunday, Dec. 31, 2023; Caribbean Sea I greeted the last day of 2023 with an hour of precious solitude, sitting alone in the Lido Restaurant on a ship with 2,000 passengers. I accomplished this feat by getting up at 5:15 a.m. and watching

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2023 Caribbean Holiday
20 comments

Loving My First Christmas at Sea with the Family

Posted on December 25, 2023 by Jo Johnston

Day 3, 2023 Holiday Panama Canal Sunfarer Monday, Dec. 25, 2023; Christmas Day in the Caribbean Sea Merry Christmas! It’s early Christmas morning and I’m in my happy place – the Crow’s Nest – enjoying a morning latte before too many passengers get up. (Yes, I do have multiple happy

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2023 Caribbean Holiday, Cruises
18 comments

Wrapping up One Cruise; Prepping for Another

Posted on December 23, 2023December 23, 2023 by Jo Johnston

Between Cruises Tuesday, Dec. 19, 2023; Fort Lauderdale, Florida I hadn’t planned another blog post about my 73-day Grand South America & Antarctica cruise, but several friends on board urged me on. Who knew so many people who are on the cruise with me are reading a blog about this

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2023 Grand South America/Antarctica, Between Cruises
20 comments

Lazy Days Exploring Familiar Caribbean Ports

Posted on December 18, 2023 by Jo Johnston

Day 71, 2023 Grand South America and Antarctica Saturday, Dec.16, 2023; San Juan, Puerto Rico Eighty-four days after I left my sister’s home to join Holland America’s ms Zaandam in Montreal, I arrived this morning at our last port of this journey around South America. After today we will have

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2023 Grand South America/Antarctica
2 comments

Relaxing Barbados Tour Followed By Frustrating Visa Process

Posted on December 14, 2023 by Jo Johnston

Day 68, 2023 Grand South America and Antarctica Wednesday, Dec. 13, 2023; Bridgetown, Barbados Suddenly, the atmosphere has shifted on the MS Zaandam. We know our days on this cruise will be coming to an end, with just about a week left. I think it was the transition into the

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2023 Grand World Voyage
9 comments

Traipsing in Heat Through Former French Penal Colony

Posted on December 11, 2023 by Jo Johnston

Day 65, 2023 Grand South America and Antarctica Sunday, Dec. 10, 2023; Devil’s Island, French Guiana We are at Devils Island today, and appropriately, it’s hot as hell. I didn’t check the temperature, but on land it felt like the hottest day so far. It’s hard to remember that just

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2023 Grand South America/Antarctica
10 comments

Have I Mentioned that Brazilians Like Their Beaches?

Posted on December 9, 2023 by Jo Johnston

Day 62, 2023 Grand South America and Antarctica Thursday, Dec. 7, 2023; Alter do Chao, Brazil Sand, sand, sand. Alter do Chao is known for its beaches, and when the Amazon River is at record low levels, the beaches multiply. Today’s port is near Santarém, where we stopped five days

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2023 Grand South America/Antarctica
6 comments

Manaus: Far From a Remote Outpost On the Amazon River

Posted on December 8, 2023December 9, 2023 by Jo Johnston

Day 60, 2023 Grand South America and Antarctica Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2023; Manaus, Brazil. After cruising about a thousand miles up the Amazon River, I was surprised by the city of Manaus. I expected a sleepy river town, dominated by an opera house seeming out of place. Instead, I found

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2023 Grand South America/Antarctica
4 comments

High-Energy Festival Interrupts Serenity of Amazon River

Posted on December 5, 2023 by Jo Johnston

Day 58, 2023 Grand South America and Antarctica Sunday, Dec. 3, 2023; Parintins, Brazil It’s all about the Boi-Bombá in Parintins. Each summer thousands travel here for this folklore song and dance festival, older than Carnival and one of the largest festivals in Brazil. As we are not here in

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2023 Grand South America/Antarctica
6 comments

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