Random thoughts from the sea
Day 2, Grand World Voyage Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2023; Caribbean Sea. Welcome Home! That’s how Holland America greets cruisers on its grand voyages, and it is nice to see it hasn’t changed. Embarkation day is always hectic, and this one was no exception. But even so, boarding the Zuiderdam did
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Day -2, Grand World Voyage Sunday, Jan. 1, 2023; Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA. The reunions have begun! I planted myself in the Fort Lauderdale hotel lobby early this morning and — as I suspected — started seeing familiar faces. Some had just flown to Florida on red-eye flights. Others were
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Day 51, South Pacific, Australia and New Zealand Cruise Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2022; Tasman Sea. Of course I put off my packing until the very end. And it was made much the harder by our rough passage through the Tasman Sea between New Zealand and Australia. At one point the
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Day 49, South Pacific, Australia and New Zealand Cruise Sunday, Nov. 20, 2022; Auckland, North Island, New Zealand. The original itinerary for this cruise had us spending a day in Auckland before going to the Bay of Islands, making a smooth northerly transit up the coast of New Zealand’s North
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Days 46-48, South Pacific, Australia and New Zealand Cruise Thursday-Saturday, Nov. 17-19, 2022; Gisborne and Tauranga, North Island, New Zealand. After a flurry of new-to-me New Zealand ports since leaving Sydney more than a week ago, I’m back in familiar territory. I’ve been to some northern New Zealand cities and
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Day 45, South Pacific, Australia and New Zealand Cruise Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2022; Napier, North Island, New Zealand. As we neared the top of the hill, our driver said, “If you are really quiet, we might be lucky and see a gannet.” We crested the hill and thousands of very
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Days 43 and 44, South Pacific, Australia and New Zealand Cruise Monday and Tuesday, Nov. 14-15, 2022; Wellington, North Island, New Zealand. There are so many things I know little about, and World War I is one of those subjects. So, the amazing exhibit on the 1915 campaign at Gallipoli
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Day 42, South Pacific, Australia and New Zealand Cruise Sunday, Nov. 13, 2022; Lyttelton/Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand. Of course I remember reading about the destruction in the Christchurch area of New Zealand caused by earthquakes in 2010 and 2011. I was interested in seeing the aftermath. But – duh
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Day 41, South Pacific, Australia and New Zealand Cruise Saturday, Nov. 12, 2022; Port Chalmers/Dunedin, South Island, New Zealand. As I was just about to publish this post, some news broke. The Majestic Princess, with 4,600 guests and crew, docked in Sydney this morning after a cruise to New Zealand
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Day 40, South Pacific, Australia and New Zealand Cruise Friday, Nov. 11, 2022; Milford Sound, South Island, New Zealand. Today’s destination is acclaimed to be New Zealand’s most famous tourist destination, a world’s top travel destination and the eighth Wonder of the World (the latter according to Rudyard Kipling). And
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