A couple of parishioners stopped me this morning saying that they read my blog last night regarding my cruises of the past and my fascination with Royal Caribbean’s classes of ships. The question came up, “So, just where have your cruised over the years?” That made me think, because there have been several of them. So, here goes:
I sailed with Holland America (Westerdam) on a transatlantic cruise from Civitavecchia (Rome’s port) to Fort Lauderdale.
I sailed with Cunard on the Queen Elizabeth II from Acapulco to Hawaii. (That was a cruise in memory of my dad. He so wanted to cruise with me to Hawaii to see Pearl Harbor once more before he died and never made it. I went to remember/honor him.)
I sailed on Princess and Holland America to Alaska. I still think Alaska has had some of the most beautiful sights.
I sailed on Disney on a transatlantic as well as an Eastern Caribbean Cruise. I’ve also sailed Disney on a Bahamas cruise and a repositioning cruise from Los Angeles to Port Canaveral through the Panama Canal.
I sailed on Royal Caribbean on transatlantic cruises as well as Bahamas cruises.
I’ve sailed on Princess and Holland America through the Panama Canal. My favorite memory was on Princess with my dad. He looked down at the canal from our huge ship, the Dawn Princess, and said, I don’t remember the canal looking so small when I went through it during the war. I looked at him and started laughing. He looked at me and said, “What?!” I replied, “When you were in the war, your were looking up at the canal walls from a tiny destroyer. Now you’re looking down from the twelfth deck of a floating hotel.” He looked and said, “Oh, yeah. That would have something to do with it.” and started laughing.
I will be doing my first Canada/New England cruise next fall and am really looking forward to that. My bucket list cruise, though? I really want to do a Norwegian Fjord cruise some September. I understand that is the best time not only to view the fjords but also to see the Northern lights. Hey, one can dream, right?
My favorites, though, are the transatlantic cruises. I am not as much a “port person” as I am an ocean person. Some cruisers do so in order to stop and visit as many ports as possible. I just like to sit on my balcony, read, and watch the ocean go by. That, or enjoy the amenities of the ship, the on board shows, et cetera. To be able to do so for twelve days or so is really an incredible experience.
If you have never gone on a cruise, I would recommend one. They are not as costly as you would think, especially with all that is included. However, if you have never gone on one before and want to try one, I would really recommend at three day or four day cruise. You want to try one out to see if you are going to get seasick. Attempting a transatlantic cruise and having seven days of nothing but open seas might be too much for you if you cannot stand the motion.
