Random thoughts from the sea
Day -7, Grand World Voyage 2020 Saturday, Dec. 28, 2019, Dallas “Welcome home.” In just seven days, I expect to see that greeting on Holland America’s MS Amsterdam as I board for my longest cruise to date – the 128-day 2020 Grand World Cruise. The ship should feel like home
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Between Cruises Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2019, Chicago Suitcases and half-packed boxes fill my tiny apartment in Chicago. After spending the warm weather months of nearly three years here, I’m heading head back to my native Texas. With all the cruising I have planned for 2020 and 2021, it doesn’t make
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Between Cruises Saturday, Oct. 19, 2019, Chicago When I cruised through Asia and the South Pacific last fall, I captured my memories in sketches instead of photographs. I did the same on my recent Voyage of the Vikings cruise. So I asked myself, why not compile a sketchbook of my
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Day -81, 2020 World Cruise Monday, Oct. 14, 2019, Chicago If you are cruising for a week in the Caribbean or Alaska, you hardly need a port plan. The Caribbean offers sun, sand, shopping and rum. Alaska has the natural beauty of glaciers, mountains, wildlife and the sea. Sign up
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Day -84, 2020 World Cruise Friday, Oct. 11, 2019, Chicago This week I finally nailed down planning for my upcoming 128-day world cruise. I’ve put in dozens of hours over the past few months researching the 48 ports, 35 of which are new to me. Some, like our African ports,
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Friday, Sept. 27, 2019, Between Cruises Hill Street Blues fans will remember the line Sgt. Phil Esterhaus used to end his morning briefing: Hey, Let’s Be Careful Out There. (If you don’t remember it, check the Google machine.) No one who goes on a cruise wants to worry about being
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Post Cruise, Voyage of the Vikings 2019 Friday, Sept. 20, 2019, At Home In my last blog post, I promised to report on what I forgot to pack on my recent 35-day Voyage of the Vikings. The short answer is “nothing.” At the most, I might have switched out a
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Day 35, Voyage of the Vikings 2019 Monday, Sept.2, 2019, At Sea If the Zuiderdam passengers and crew had needed rescuing while in the waters off Greenland, it could have taken five days. That’s the estimated time till rescue for a ship of our size in those waters. Capt. Bart
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Day 34, Voyage of the Vikings 2019 Sunday, Sept.1, 2019, Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is sunny with temperatures in the 70s. In other words, perfect weather. We figure we are due after more than our share of storms and cold rainy ports on this trip. Of course, we did sign
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Dorian isn’t the only storm in the Atlantic. Post tropical storm Erin is sweeping up the Canadian Maritimes, and today it caused our second missed port of this 35-day cruise. The entrance to St. John’s, Newfoundland, is a narrow channel, and with winds of 35 knots and worsening during the
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