Back home.....

So, here I am back home again….  It’s been exciting, sailing over 6 months during a pandemic is a bit different but it was great…  Knowing what I know now, I would do it all over again.  As we traveled, I had to constantly remind myself that we are still very deep into this pandemic.  Given the current state of affairs, our entire trip was centered on risk management in a world filled with unknowns…  the best approach for us was to take a very conservative approach and not venture far from the US.  So, we ended up with a solution involved 3 ships…Three ships, moving from one to the other on the same day, just grab your bags and move into a new ship...  And that’s exactly how it went…  smooth as silk. The voyages began on 10 October when I boarded the ms Koningsdam for weekly California Coast and Mexico cruises.  I had been invited to cut the ribbon to officially open the Koningsdam to begin sailing again after a pause in operations for 19 months.  The Scott sisters joined a week later.  Then, on January 2^nd, we move over to my beloved Zuiderdam for three 14-day Panama Canal Voyages from San Diego to Ft. Lauderdale, and back again.  We ended up in Ft. Lauderdale on February 13^th where we grab our bags, once again, and move to Holland America’s newest ship the ms Rotterdam.  Was it the greatest itinerary in the world, maybe not but in this pandemic world, it was just perfect for us.  On each ship, I was so proud of the way the Holland America Team handled getting back to having guests onboard.  Was everything perfect, maybe not but given all the challenges that the cruise industry faced over the last couple of years, I give them the highest marks possible.  We have encountered so many friends along the way, both guests and crew and made countless new friends along the way.  I have only been home for a couple oof days and am already having withdrawals not seeing my wonderful friends that are part of the Holland America Team.  From Captain Timmers on down, they were all magnificent.  That sentiment equally applied to the Zuiderdam and Koningsdam….  All Ann, Cathy and myself have to say about our wonderful journey is “Job well done”!.  It was so good, in October of this year, we are going to take a similar path.  We will board the Nieuw Statendam in October until mid-January in the Caribbean, seamlessly move over to the Rotterdam until mid-April, again in the Caribbean and then head home for a couple of weeks to repack and join the Zuiderdam for 71 days sailing to Europe and back with wonderful stops in Norway, the Polar cap, Ireland, Scotland, England, Greenland and Iceland to name a few…  It will be another grand adventure with the best team on the high seas, Holland America Line….  I’m excited already!  Holland America Line is just the best….

Key West, Florida...

Here we are back in Key West…  We cleared Immigration early this morning and I headed out…  I went ashore to explore Key West for a bit, keeping in mind that there was packing to do, heading toward Mallory Square, home to shops, restaurants, and many of the islands most popular attractions. Then I started my trek down Duval Street…  I kept walking and made my way for my standard visit to the Southernmost USA Buoy.  Since it’s close by, I also stopped for a look at the Lighthouse.  It was a nice laid-back day, site-seeing and shopping.  I returned to the ship and spent the afternoon in the Retreat…it was a another very hot, steamy day in Key West.  I went in around 2:00 to do the blog and get to the packing…  It’s been quite a journey, more about that after I get home…