Website design By BotEap.comAs a certified travel agent for four decades, an international airline employee, researcher, writer, teacher, and photographer, travel, whether for business or pleasure, has always been an important and integral part of my life. Some 400 voyages to all parts of the world, by road, rail, sea, and air, involved destinations both mundane and exotic. This article focuses on my cruises and voyages around the world.

Website design By BotEap.comMy lifetime cruise program, which spanned the 18-year period from 1991 to 2009, involved 27 voyages on 24 ships operated by 11 cruise lines to 17 regions, 49 countries, and 114 ports of call. During 205 days at sea I sailed almost 60,000 nautical miles. The trips themselves have been subdivided into geographic regions.

Website design By BotEap.comThe east coast of the United States, for example, was covered with both north and south itineraries.

Website design By BotEap.comThe first, with Holland America’s Rotterdam, left New York on a ten-day cruise that took him to Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Maine, and then to Canada, specifically Noa Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Quebec, sailing up the St. Lawrence River to Quebec City and Montreal. The second, with Norwegian Cruise Line’s Norwegian Dawn, followed the east coast on her seven-day voyage to Orlando and Miami in Florida, then changed course further east to Nassau and Freeport in the Bahamas, before returning to her home port.

Website design By BotEap.comThe west coast was also completely covered by sea. Royal Caribbean’s Radiance of the Seas, for example, made its way from San Diego to Vancouver, with ports of call in San Francisco and Astoria, Oregon, before sailing Canadian waters to British Columbia, while Princess Cruise Line’s Regal Princess embarked on her seven-day Alaska Inside Passage itinerary from Vancouver to Juneau, Skagway, Yakutat Bay and Sitka.

Website design By BotEap.comHawaii, in the Pacific, was covered with a multi-island circuit on Norwegian Star, specifically Oahu, the Big Island of Hawaii, Maui and Kuai, before assuming a southerly course toward the three degree north latitude location, nearly equivalent to the equator, of Fanning Island in the Republic of Kiribati, her mandatory foreign port of call.

Website design By BotEap.comIn addition to the Bahamas, Bermuda counted as an Atlantic island destination, in this case, on Carnival’s Pride for a seven-day sailing that included three nights in port for daily sightseeing tours of an equal number of British Isle areas.

Website design By BotEap.comThree Caribbean island cruises, one to the eastern and two to the southern Caribbean, provided considerable coverage there.

Website design By BotEap.comThe first, with the Grand Princess, departed from Port Everglades in Ft. Lauderdale and touched bases on St. Thomas, St. Maarten and Princess Cays, her private island.

Website design By BotEap.comThe second, with Celebrity’s Constellation, sailed from San Juan and traveled to the Dominican Republic, Barbados, Grenada, Antigua and Saint Thomas.

Website design By BotEap.comThe third, with the Caribbean Princess, once again originated from San Juan, but sailed to Aruba, Bonaire, Grenada, Dominica and, for the third time, to St. Thomas.

Website design By BotEap.comTwo Mexican itineraries comprised a one-day itinerary from San Diego to Ensenada on Starlite Cruise Line’s Pacific Star, and the more traditional one-week Sea Princess itinerary, in this case, from Los Angeles to Mexican Riviera destinations Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlán and Cabo San Lucas, reminiscent of the week-long one on The Love Boat television series, which sparked considerable interest in cruising.

Website design By BotEap.comSouth America was circumnavigated with three voyages of 14 days.

Website design By BotEap.comThe first, on the Royal Princess, departed from Ft. Lauderdale and headed to St. Barthelemy, St. Lucia and Barbados in the Caribbean, before venturing to Devil’s Island in French Guiana, crossing the equator and up the Amazon River in Brazil to Santana, Santarem, Boca da Valeria, Parintins and Manaus, covering 3,236 miles.

Website design By BotEap.comThe second, originating in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and operated by Celebrity’s Infinity, eventually found its way around the tip of the continent at Cape Horn, which provided northern access to Darwin’s famous Beagle Channel and the southern entrance to Drake Passage. Their ports of call included Montevideo in Uruguay, Puerto Madryn in Argentina, Port Stanley in the Falkland Islands, Ushuaia in Argentina, and Punta Arenas in Chile. Continuing her journey up the west coast, she crossed the Strait of Magellan and the Chilean fjords, offering a close inspection of the Skua Glacier, before sailing to Puerto Montt and ending up in Valparaíso, both in Chile, completing a 4,070-mile cruise.

Website design By BotEap.comThe third, of equal duration and on the same ship some two years later, left Valparaíso, but called at La Serena and Arica, both in Chile, before continuing on to Callao, Peru, and Manta, Ecuador, in the process crossing the equator. An eastward transit through the Panama Canal took it through the Miraflores Locks, Gatun Lake, Gaillard Cut, and the Gatun Locks, during which time it was subject to an 85-foot change in water level. The last four days of his trip took him to Cartagena, Colombia; Montego Bay, Jamaica; and Ft. Lauderdale, her terminus, completing a 4,505-mile journey.

Website design By BotEap.comAn earlier partial crossing of the Panama Canal, on the Coral Princess, also left Ft. Lauderdale, but called at Ocho Rios and Grand Cayman in the Caribbean, Limón in Costa Rica and Cozumel in Mexico. It only entered the Gatun Locks and rounded the lake of the same name.

Website design By BotEap.comOff the west coast of South America, specifically Ecuador, a five-day, four-night Galapagos cruise on the smaller Corinthian involved ports of call at San Cristóbal, Tower, Bartolomé, Santiago, Santa Fe and Santa Crux, her two daily shore expeditions requiring a barefoot plunge into the warm, crystal-clear water from the tenders and a subsequent hike and wade to the beach to reach the bridge.

Website design By BotEap.comThe North American and European continents were connected with three transatlantic crossings between New York and Southampton on Cunard’s famous Queen Elizabeth 2 and Queen Mary 2 liners, one eastbound and the other two westbound for the ultimate in opulence in travel. They all passed the Statue of Liberty, entered Newfoundland’s choppy Grand Banks, and sailed up the Solent to Southampton, sometimes in reverse order, depending on the voyage; address.

Website design By BotEap.comEurope was extensively covered by cruises from north to south.

Website design By BotEap.comA circumnavigation of the British Isles on the Golden Princess, for example, proceeded from Southampton to Dublin in Ireland, Hollyhead in Wales, Belfast in Northern Ireland, Greenock in Scotland, Kirkwall in the Orkney Islands, South Queensferry, serving Edinburgh in Scotland and back to Southampton, England.

Website design By BotEap.comThe Norwegian fjords were accessed, on Celebrity’s Century, through Olden, Flam, Alesund and Bergen, an itinerary that included the impressive North Fjord, the Jostedal glacier, the largest in Europe, and the Sognefjorden, the longest on the continent, after a departure from Amsterdam.

Website design By BotEap.comAn excerpt from my Cruise Log captured the experience.

Website design By BotEap.com“Century left the Sognefjorden, once more turning north and rounding the North Sea overnight. Approaching Alesund, her third port of call during the early morning hours, she docked to starboard at the mirror-reflecting silver harbor at 07:30 between the low, deep-green hills on her left side, over which loomed dirty-white clouds like ethereal mist and the Norwegian terraced houses with gables and turrets of the city to its right, characterized the area.

Website design By BotEap.comScandinavia was also covered with a cruise from Copenhagen on the Crown Princess, calling at Nyshaven in Sweden and Helsinki in Finland, before continuing on to St Petersburg in Russia. Although she docked in Oslo, Norway, at the end of her sailing, she returned via the Baltics of Estonia and Poland.

Website design By BotEap.comAn Iberian sailing from Southampton on the Sea Princess paralleled the west coast of Europe after docking on the island of Guernsey, and then headed for La Rochelle in France and Vigo in Spain.

Website design By BotEap.comThe eastern and western sides of the Mediterranean were also covered by cruise ships.

Website design By BotEap.comThe first, on Royal Caribbean’s Splendor of the Seas, departed from Barcelona and called at bases in Marseille and Nice in France, Monaco and Florence, Pisa, Capri and Sorrento in Italy.

Website design By BotEap.comThe latter, with Celebrity’s Galaxy, sailed to Greece and Turkey, and the Greek islands of Santorini and Mykonos from Rome.

Website design By BotEap.comFinally, a 3,374-mile sailing on the Costa Fortuna involved ports of call in Barcelona before continuing across the Strait of Gibraltar, a bridge between the European and African continents, to Casablanca in Morocco, where it then turned the South Atlantic to Santa Cruz on Tenerife in the Canary Islands and Funchal on Madeira. Her return brought him to Malaga on Spain’s sunny Costa del Sol.

Website design By BotEap.comThese cruises and voyages offered new approaches to destinations already visited, along with many new ones. Like self-contained floating cities, his mega-ships, sometimes holding populations of 7,000 passengers and crew members, brought multicolored sunsets, tranquility to the soul, and islands, cities, and countries that appeared outside my stateroom window or balcony almost every morning. During the days at sea, I took advantage of a hundred lectures and courses, as many live performances at night, and as many shore excursions when in port. The countless buffets and sit-down meals are almost unfathomable, but three examples have been cited.

Website design By BotEap.com“Breakfast in the Splendor of the Seas King and I Dining included orange juice, fried eggs, bacon, roasted tomatoes, hash browns and croissants.”

Website design By BotEap.com“Afternoon tea, on the Queen Mary 2, was a British tradition and a delicious intermittence between lunch and dinner served at all Cunard crossings. It was served today in the Queen’s Room, which was the largest ballroom at sea with an arched ceiling, two crystal chandeliers, a blue and gold velvet curtain over the orchestra stage, a 1,225-square-foot dance floor, a live harpist, and small round tables.” It consisted of egg, ham and cheese, cucumber, tomato, beef, and seafood sandwiches, scones with cream and jam, and strawberry cream tarts.

Website design By BotEap.com“Dinner was served at Infinity’s SS United States restaurant just after leaving the Panama Canal, an elegant dining room inspired by the SS United States ocean liner with a real ship’s etched glass panel, formally ornate tables, and porthole windows. The chosen “Exeptionel Menu,” a six-course tasting of their signature dishes, included Riesling white wine from Germany; chicken roll with sun-dried tomatoes and pine nuts; a light, creamy soup tomato, red pepper and mozzarella with peste or; baked goat cheese soufflé served with red pepper coulis and a triangle of olive toast; passion fruit and white rum granite; grilled sea bass fillet served with dried tomatoes, fresh herbs, pistachio and olive oil on grilled Mediterranean vegetables; selection of cheeses with walnut bread, celery, apple slices, walnuts and grapes; chocolate souffle with sauce English vanilla; coffee and petit fours”