Home Sweet Home - Final Thoughts

Well, the bags have been unpacked, the laundry has been finished, the mail has been gone through, bills have been paid and put away and there’s some food in the house;  in other words, a couple of weeks later, things are back to “normal” on Robinwood Drive. 

Here are my random thoughts about our World Cruise as the excitement begins to wane….

I won’t take so many clothes, if there’s a next time, because there is so much great shopping to be done. 

Had we arrived in Petra just one day earlier, we would’ve been rained out and, in all likelihood, the tour would’ve been cancelled.

In 111 days, only a slight drizzle in Bermuda, almost not worth mentioning;  no other rain. 

I enjoyed being in dozens of ports in countries we’d never been and still meeting someone we knew – either other passengers or crew!  

I loved waving to people in passing boats, docks, ports and having them wave back. 

It was always a treat to hear about purchases made by crew members at a Walmart.  When every penny counts to so many people, it’s wonderful they can get all the necessities they need at a great price.  Our assistant waiter, Victor, would not take the elevator in Malta, at a cost of 1 Euro but opted, instead, to take a 20-minute walk up a steep hill, because just about every dollar he earned was sent back to his family in the Philippines.  He arrived on the ship in Venice and was most anxious to get to Fort Lauderdale because his shoes were falling apart and needed to go to Ross for Less because they have great prices.  We were very happy to actually see him in the check out line when we arrived at Ross only to find out later that evening that he hadn’t even tried on the two pairs of shoes he selected by size only because he didn’t have the time and had to run back to the ship.  From the way I saw how many passengers treated the crew, they hadn’t a clue of the conditions and circumstances under which the crew live and survive.

On many nights at 10:00 p.m., we were very often the only passengers in the Pacific Lounge ready to dance to whichever duo was playing that evening.  We got to be very friendly with Dan and Elliot of The Cruisetones, who were sweet enough to let me play a little percussion instrument I bought along the way.   I often accepted “homework” to find answers to some obscure trivia question Dan through out there and reported back the following evening. 

I’m thankful for Art and Val for giving us a wonderful tour of Hong Kong during our 2-day visit. 

However, I will not miss the toilet paper on the ship.  Nothing more to say on that subject. 

One of the best things about cruising has always been the opportunity to experience the diversity in cultures, societies, lifestyles, living conditions and people throughout the world which only reinforces my gratitude for having been born in the United States and the incredible freedoms and opportunities we enjoy in this blessed country. 

Michael’s Final Thoughts:  I truly enjoyed the three months of cruising but I’m glad to be home.  One of the unique things about being on a small ship (600 passengers) is you run into the same people day in and day out.  As a result, you get to know them and their qualities – good and bad.  One of the things that still rumbles around in my head is the issue of eating.  It’s amazing to watch people as they load their plates up with tons of food, going back for seconds and thirds, and then leaving an almost full plate of food on the table, only to be thrown away.  I actually heard from more than one waiter that some people wake up in the morning early, have a continental breakfast at 5:00 a.m., buffet breakfast at 6:00 a.m., breakfast in the dining room at 7:30 a.m., lunch buffet at 11:30, light snack (of waffles, ice cream, cookies and milk) at 3:00, 4:00 afternoon tea, 5:15 dinner in the dining room and then a later dinner in the buffet.  Hard to believe, yet, the fitness instructor will tell you the average cruiser gains 7 pounds a week and I have personally seen people grow wider in a short period of time.  Is it any wonder?  Unbelievable. 

Back Home - May 11th

Our trip home was uneventful.  We got up at 6 a.m., showered, I had my usual breakfast in the room having ordered two of the same the day before because on embarkation day, there is no room service.  We went to the Buffet for Michael’s breakfast and said another good-bye to our wonderful waiter, Andrii, who was working the breakfast shift.  We cleared out the room, said our good-bye to Tommy, our cabin steward, and went to the Cabaret Lounge to wait for disembarkation.

Immigration was a breeze, no waiting, all our six pieces of big luggage was waiting for us (not including my humongous hand carryon, Michael’s backpack and our two roll-ons), went to the bus for our transfer to LAX and arrived before 10 a.m. to Alaska Airlines.  Of course, we had to pay for two extra pieces of luggage but the flight was on time and all six suitcases came out almost immediately in Seattle.  Our wonderful driver, Jilo, met us, packed up the car and we actually got on the 5:30 ferry which we never expected.  To end the trip home, we got a text from our dear friend, Miss Sherri, who delivered a scrumptious Chicken Caesar Salad with all the fixins’ and a bottle of Prosecco – all waiting for us when we arrived home at 6:15. 

Thursday morning.  I stopped writing yesterday because I couldn’t figure out how I was feeling being home.  I hadn’t felt like we were away at all.  I woke up this morning now realizing how I feel.  When you’re on a cruise – and really it even applies to a short 7-day cruise – you’re treated like royalty.  The hardest decisions I had to make for 111 days were:  What time do I go to the gym?  What do I wear for dinner tonight?  Do we go to the early or late show?  Everything is done for you – your laundry, your bed, your meals.  Everything.  So when I returned home, it was lovely to see my home, but now I’m back to reality and back to the “regular” life. 

Don’t get me wrong.  My reality is spectacular.  I live on a beautiful island in the Pacific Northwest.  I have a terrific husband.  I have a terrific family.  I have a terrific life.  But I will have to make more decisions than I’ve made in the past three and a half months and life will be a lot different …. until our next cruise. 

Michael’s Observations:  Well, yes, I was ready to come home before the end of the cruise;  I missed my La-Z-Boy double recliner and my 14 remote controls.  Because Leona is so efficient, she handles all of the day-to-day mail, meals, finances, shopping, laundry, etc. which leaves only the cleaning to me.  I do miss the comfort of the cruise ship and, in fact, on our way to the airport, I spoke with a fellow passenger who literally has no home.  I asked him, “How are you able to live out of a suitcase (of which he only had one)” to which he replied, “He and his wife have been doing this for some years and really enjoy traveling.”  I thought about this for the rest of the day and had to think that this couple must have tremendous self control in avoiding the purchase of souvenirs, clothing, etc. while they’re traveling.  There’s no way I could ever live out of one suitcase; I could never be happy.  I enjoy having my beautiful home and my beautiful wife. 

Leona’s Reply:  Regarding the passengers who travel full-time:  They’ve exercised some extreme downsizing as far as I’m concerned.  My underwear would take up one suitcase alone!  My job for the summer is to downsize my closet so that I can incorporate all my new purchases and rid myself of the old stuff.  Goodwill, here I come! 

Water, Water and More Water

I know that about 71 percent of the Earth's surface is water-covered, but I never knew there were so many bodies of water.  Yes, of course, I knew there were oceans, seas, rivers, lakes, etc., but when our new cruise buddy, Karlene, started keeping a record of the different bodies of water, I was amazed. 

During our World Cruise, she compiled a list of the bodies of water we sailed through:

Pacific Ocean

Gulf of Cardentaria

Torres Strait

China Sea

Malacca Strait

Singapore Strait

Straits of Johor

Sunda Strait

Lombak Strait

Laccadive Sea

East Vietnam Sea

Songthival River

Tathong Channel

Indian Ocean

Arabian Sea

Gulf oh O Man

Persian Gulf

Strait of Hormuz

Cape al-Hadd in Oman

Grads Bay on Pakistan Iron Border

Gulf of Aden

Red Sea

Bab-Jel-Mandeb Strait

Bab Ickender (Alexander Strait)

Dact-el-Mayun Strait

Molorcca Sea

Andamen Sea

Strait of Tiran

Strait of Gubal

Gulf of Suez

Gulf of Aqaba

Strait of Dubai

Suez Canal

Mediterranean Sea

Ionian Sea

Adriatic Sea

Venetian Lagoon

Gieducca Canal

Gulf of Tarento

Gibraltar Strait

Atlantic Ocean

Sargasso Sea

Unfortunately, she disembarked in Fort Lauderdale, but she asked me to keep track of the remaining segment from Florida to Los Angeles, and these are the bodies of water I could identify:

Strait of Florida

Caribbean Sea

Panama Canal (Gatun Lake)

Acapulco Trench

Bahia de Banderas

Bahama Channel

Bocachica Channel

Gulf of Tehuantepec

Bahia La Paz

Sea of Cortez aka Gulf of California aka Vermilion Sea

San Pedro Bay

Pretty amazing! 

Our Cabin - May 10th

Well, as we were packing up all our "stuff," we took a picture of the map we had hanging on our cabin wall for the past 3 1/2 months to track our voyage around the world.  Also, we displayed each of the magnets we bought along the way. 

Leona and Mentalist, Alex Crow

Again, I was selected not once, but twice, by mentalist, Alex Crow, to come up and assist with his performance.  

The first time was with fellow passenger, Ted, when we were given each a book and told to select a page and a word on that page.  I selected the word "photographer" and Alex Crow did, indeed, come up with the word both I and Ted selected.  Amazing 

 
The next act was to determine who was lying.  We were asked to take a ball out of a bag.  There were five white ones and one black one.  Alex was to determine who has the black one.  Each one of us was to answer his questions as if we had the black one (even though we were holding a white one).  Only one of us would be telling the truth.  Sure enough, he eliminated all of us who were lying and correctly determined the person who was telling the truth and holding the black one.  Amazing, once again!  

 

Michael and Comedy Magician Nick Nikolas

When you sit in the front row, you know you're going to get picked.  I wasn't there that evening because I wasn't feeling well, but, friends, Lori and Tri, were nice enough to take a lot of pictures of Michael.  

 

 

 

Leona and Kuba: Multi-Instrumentalist

Almost every night on the cruise, we enjoyed live entertainment - be it singers, dancers, instrumentalists, production shows, comedians, jugglers, etc.  One of the more interesting entertainers was a young man from Poland named Kuba, who was billed as a "multi-instrumentalist."  You can check out his website at http://kubavibes.com/world-class-international-multi-instrumentalist/

He played very unusual instruments including a vibraphone, a theremin and a kalimba.  

He invited someone from the audience who wanted to play the vibraphone and I readily volunteered.  Here's my debut playing this wonderful instrument:  

We love the Midsomer Mysteries and we were thrilled when we discovered that Kuba actually played the "theremin" which is the instrument that is used for the theme song for the series.  Anyone who is familiar with Midsomer Mysteries will recognize this song immediately.  

Michael and Donna Campbell

When you're on a small ship, there's lots of opportunities to be part of the entertainment.  Michael and another passenger, Jerry, were brought up on stage by Donna Campbell - "Rags to Rhinestones, The Dolly Parton Story" back on February 9th.

We weren't regularly bringing our camera to the show but one of the gals we met from Arkansas, Jan, videoed it on her phone and then Michael copied it on to his camera.  

La Paz - May 8th

Las Paz would be the second port in Mexico and our last port before returning to Los Angeles on Wednesday, the 11^th, and complete our trip around the world.  Hard to believe – 111 days, 35 countries, six continents --- we’re almost home.

The city of La Paz was about a 30-45 minute bus ride from the port and ran on what is commonly known as “Mexican time” which means there’s no schedule – you show up and when the bus shows up it might leave then and it might not.  We decided not to make the trip because, it being Sunday, most things would be closed anyway.

There were tents at the port set up with souvenirs and, except for a belt which had the buckle Michael was looking for, we couldn’t even find a magnet for a reasonable price.  The guy wanted 100 pesos and I said, “$8” and he said “yes” and I walked.  He didn’t offer it for less and I really didn’t need it because I already had a magnet from Mexico.

Michael’s Observations:   After 3 ½ months of traveling, I just didn’t have any interest in boarding a Mexican bus to head into the city center, La Paz,  so I don’t really have anymore to add. 

Puerto Vallarta - May 6th

Neither Michael nor I are great fans of Mexico but we are fans of shopping and Michael found a wonderful store that sold hand-painted cotton clothing online, Suscesos Art-Wear Boutique.  A quick google search once we got to the port gave us the address and a quick look on our handy little map told us that the store wasn’t too far away. 

Just across from where we docked was a large mall, The Galleria, a Walmart, Costco and Sam’s Club.  Say what you will about Walmart, but we love Walmart as does the crew.  It is always a treat for the crew when there’s a Walmart nearby and it’s always fun to hear about the bargains they got.  For example, one of our waiters, Mae, was extremely excited about not only her new black shoes, but also the identical pair she bought in pink, six pairs of pantyhose, hair coloring and other essentials, all for the amazing price of $35!  She was ecstatic.  It’s always a disappointment when a crew member isn’t able to get off the ship for a quick trip to the local Walmart.   We’d actually planned on going ourselves after our shopping just to see fellow passengers and crew members but we never made it. 

After breakfast, we negotiated a price with taxi driver Raul Peña to take us to the hand-painted cotton boutique, drop us off, wait for a half hour, and then bring us back to the port.  No problem.  It’s always a good thing when Michael is able to use his Spanish – though not very often during this World Cruise, I might add.  Anyway, we got to the boutique and the clothing was exquisite.  The woman who owned the store, Irena, and the artist who was there as well, were both very gracious and friendly, and I was happy to help the economy by buying a few beautiful tops – even if Michael had to extend Raul’s waiting time by another half hour. 

On our way back to the port, we asked Raul to drop us off at a restaurant near the port, close enough to the ship so we could walk back.  He recommended El Bucañero, where we ordered margaritas – plain for Michael and peach for me.  You have to realize that I had one glass of wine during the entire cruise so when the waiter, David, served me my margarita, my eyes widened like saucers because the glass was the size of a small fishbowl.  But the taste…. oh my….it was absolutely wonderful!  I can’t say the same about the food – it was just ok – (our local Mexican restaurant, Los Cazadores is, by far, the best Mexican food I’ve ever eaten anywhere).  

While enjoying the early afternoon, music was playing over their system and a song came on which I didn’t recognize but absolutely loved.  I asked the waiter if this song was on a radio station or a CD and he said CD.  He proceeded to climb up on a chair and played it back.  Michael used his Shazam app to identify the song which turned out to be Bob Sinclar’s “Love Generation.”  Now the song is playing for the second time and I’m not the only one dancing in my chair;  I look over and the bartender and a couple of waiters are moving to the music as well.  Needless to say, David got back up on the chair and started the song over for a third time.  By this time, the peach margarita, completely gone but not forgotten, got me up off the chair and, how should I say, “encouraged” someone to dance with me – not that I really need a peach margarita to want to dance.  Our waiter, David, was kind enough to comply and, with limited space in the restaurant, we danced to “Love Generation.”  What a pleasant afternoon.

Walking back to the ship, humming that great tune, we decided we really like Puerto Vallarta and wouldn’t mind coming back – so long as the cruise ship was nearby. 

Michael’s Observations:   I found Puerto Vallarta to be a lovely city, friendly people, clean environment and, most importantly, a feeling of safety everywhere.  Speaking with our cab driver, Raul, he told us the government is very conscious of keeping the drug trafficking violence away from their city and it really shows that they are doing their best to encourage tourism.  I definitely recommend Puerto Vallarta as a wonderful vacation area.   While shopping at Sucesos, I had a chance to speak to a local resident for about twenty minutes and she definitely verified that it was a very safe city.  She, herself, lived there for over 20 years, enjoying the peace and quiet and the safety it provides both to its residents and tourists. 

Leona's Debut Hula Performance

During our voyage from Los Angeles to Honolulu, we had a wonderful Hawaiian couple on board, Tui and Maile, who taught ukelele and hula.  On January 31st, the passengers, who participated in the classes, performed for the rest of us.  Afterwards, members of the group brought up on stage members from the audience to participate in a hula number.  The lovely gal on my right, Marie, with whom we became friends (and her husband, Frank), brought me up on stage.  Here's my debut hula performance.  

Puerto Quepos, Costa Rica – May 2nd

Puerto Quepos is located in Puntarenas province, the largest province in Costa Rica, situated in the western part of the country and covering most of Costa Rica’s Pacific coast. 

It was extremely hot and humid as well as being a tender port, and Michael and I just did not feel like venturing out that day.  As a result, we have absolutely nothing to say. 

That evening, however, we were fortunate to have “The Master Gauchos” onboard, Hilario and Hayley, an unbelievable husband and wife act.  Gorgeous and talented – a winning combination.   They did it all – they tangoed, she hand balanced and they both were masters at using bolas.  Extraordinary and one of the best acts we’ve seen on the World Cruise.  https://www.backstage.com/hilariocabral/

Michael’s Observations:  I just looked over and he’s sound asleep.