WriterOnDeck reflects on year at sea, looks to 2024 Grand World Voyage

[WriterOnDeck]

Today seemed like a good day to think about the 10 months I spent cruising on Holland America in 2023. I won't be posting every blog post here (you can follow them with all the photos at www.WriterOnDeck.com), but I'll be updating this thread and glad to answer any questions.

 

Ending 2023 with Reflections on a Year Cruising the World

Day 10, 2023 Holiday Panama Canal Sunfarer

Sunday, Dec. 31, 2023; Caribbean Sea

 

I greeted the last day of 2023 with an hour of precious solitude, sitting alone in the Lido Restaurant on a ship with 2,000 passengers. I accomplished this feat by getting up at 5:15 a.m. and watching the sun rise.

 

As I reflect on my year of living for 10 months on two cruise ships, I know I am blessed. Yes, I have made sacrifices – giving up the stability of a long-term home, missing my friends and family, foregoing the opportunity to do my own laundry and make my bed. OK, not so much that, yet occasionally I do miss cooking.

But oh, what a year it has been! It started with the 2023 Grand World Voyage, when we stressed over passing a covid test to board. It is ending with stress over getting a Brazilian visa for the 2024 Grand World Voyage, which starts on Wednesday. (I’m still waiting for final visa approval.)

 

I’ve sailed to six continents; gone on safari in Africa; shivered in early spring snows in both Norway and Antarctica; basked in the sun and heat of the South Pacific, Africa and the Amazon; bumped into friends in Scotland and the Netherlands and sailed through stunning fjords in Chile, Greenland and Norway. I’ve explored cities from Sydney to Cape Town to Boston, from Amsterdam to Rio to Buenos Aires. I’ve written and published 149 blog posts, with about 111,000 words (enough for a full-size novel) and 2,348 photos.

 

We missed a few ports Madagascar due to a typhoon, Dakar due to riots and tear gas, and the Falkland Islands, Guernsey and Punta del Este for rough seas. We gained a few new ports — Santos, Brazil; Corner Brook, Newfoundland; and Port Canaveral, Fla., giving me an opportunity for an overnight visit with friends I met earlier in the year. I’ve made many new friends on the ships (Zuiderdam and Zaandam), as well as through this blog, including one who took me to breakfast during a stop in Fort Lauderdale.

 

If it weren’t for the friends I see repeatedly on cruises, I doubt I would choose this lifestyle. Many go back six years to my first grand cruise in 2017. Some even back to 2011 and a 45-day cruise to the Mediterranean with my mother. And others I’ve just met, but we quickly become fast friends.

Meanwhile, since I last posted we have visited Willemstad, Curaçao; Cartagena, Colombia; Colon, Panama (following a partial Panama Canal transit to Gatun Lake) and Puerto Limón, Costa Rica.

 

In Cartageña we took a city tour that included a visit to a small fishing village surrounded by high-rise apartments and condos. One fisherman demonstrated the technique of casting the nets.

 

Then we walked through the old city that lies behind thick walls. It is full of vendors and emerald jewelry stores. I had a few minutes to listen to music coming from the church, which reminded me of a similar experience in Tonga in 2020. I thought I might stop for a Colombian coffee, but the only place I could find was Starbucks. Now, I do like Starbucks and frequent it often back in the states. But it just didn’t seem right this time.

 

To return to the ship in Cartageña, you pass through the Port Oasis Eco Park and its up-close encounters with anteaters, monkeys and tropical birds.

 

Our cruise director Kimberly provided an outstanding narration of our canal transit, not only giving us details about the canal and its history, but also about the ships we encountered – their sizes, purposes and planned itineraries. During the few hours we anchored in Gatun Lake, many passengers disembarked on tenders to take shore excursions, later joining us during our brief stop in Colón just outside the canal.

 

After 60-something years without transiting the Panama Canal, I’ve made up for it this year with three visits — and I’ll be back in less than a month for a fourth.

Passing through the whole canal is a great experience, but I would recommend the partial transit for anyone who can’t do the whole thing. It is amazing to see how big ships, with just a foot or two of clearance on each side, rise through the locks and back down.

 

Willemstad is a fun port and easy to explore on your own. We docked next to the floating bridge that connects the two sides of the city. I lucked out with a front-row seat at a waterside cafe and returned to the ship with lots of photographs of street art and the colorful buildings.

[Sea42]

What amazing adventures you've had this year, thank you for sharing them with us. I enjoy your blog so much and look forward to tagging along in the new year.

[wdw1972]

Thank you for continuing to share your blog - it's always very well done! I'm  not sure I could make the sacrifices necessary to cruise for so long (at one time), but kudos to you for making it work! I've got a few more years until retirement, and then I'll definitely find time for more and longer cruises.  

 

Sue/WDW1972

[0106]

Love your blog.  Thanks for linking some of your previous posts. Bon voyage!

[cunnorl]

 Wonderful blog. I really enjoy it. Thanks for taking us along on your amazing journey. 

[albi]

Your blog is so enjoyable!  I look forward to the latest postings!  Have a great World Cruise!  Can’t wait to read all about it!

[canadianbear]

Love reading about all your adventures and sharing them with us.  

[The-Inside-Cabin]

2 hours ago, WriterOnDeck said:

 

After 60-something years without transiting the Panama Canal, I’ve made up for it this year with three visits — and I’ll be back in less than a month for a fourth.

 

Hmmmm...no loitering around the Panama Canal!   See ya soon on the Z!

[dchip]

What a wonderful year! I love your blog. So excited to have several to read every morning for the next 4 months. 
Cheers and Bon Voyage,

Denise

[Niagarawine]

Wonderful blog

[SUESEABE]

Great review of your 2023 and looking forward to following along.  

Fair Winds and Following Seas

[ozcruizer]

I enjoy reading your blogs so much. All the best for what could be a rather different world cruise this time.

[SUESEABE]

Happy New Year Jo!

[ski ww]

Sounds like you had a very busy & interesting 2023 and looks like 2024 is getting off to a good start. I'll be watching your sail away to start your New Year. Fair winds & smooth seas.

[LouChamp]

Aloha. A happy and blessed New Year to you and your family. I subscribe to your newsletter and enjoy your style of writing.  As you requested I do have some questions.  We have been blessed to travel the world by land and sea and at time on long voyages but not w world cruise and divide our time between NY and Honolulu. Missing the family for four months precludes such a long voyage. How do you handle that? Also, it would seem all is well unless an unexpected medical issue may arise. How do you handle doctors etc?  Having been on a few long voyages, I have noticed little factions develop amongst passengers. What has been your experiences and observations? How do you handle the braggadocio wearing their days traveled and status aboard?  I hope with all due respect you don’t find these questions too intrusive but rather matters that I do not find discussed online. The logistics about taxes, prescriptions, mail are not my concerns and are regularly discussed. I wish you all good health and loads of fun!

[WriterOnDeck]

43 minutes ago, LouChamp said:

Aloha. A happy and blessed New Year to you and your family. I subscribe to your newsletter and enjoy your style of writing.  As you requested I do have some questions.  We have been blessed to travel the world by land and sea and at time on long voyages but not w world cruise and divide our time between NY and Honolulu. Missing the family for four months precludes such a long voyage. How do you handle that? Also, it would seem all is well unless an unexpected medical issue may arise. How do you handle doctors etc?  Having been on a few long voyages, I have noticed little factions develop amongst passengers. What has been your experiences and observations? How do you handle the braggadocio wearing their days traveled and status aboard?  I hope with all due respect you don’t find these questions too intrusive but rather matters that I do not find discussed online. The logistics about taxes, prescriptions, mail are not my concerns and are regularly discussed. I wish you all good health and loads of fun!

What interesting questions! I'll save a few to answer in blogs. But regarding family, I come from a small one. No kids myself, just two nephews and a grand-nephew, whom I don't see much less than when I'm "at home." And two sisters, both of whom will be cruising with me for three cruises in 2024.

 

Fortunately, I haven't had major medical issues while traveling. I did fracture my kneecap last spring, but was able to heal while on the ship. I'm sure my dentist wishes I came more often. I bought a waterpik to improve dental hygiene. And was fortunate to be on land last summer when I needed a root canal.

 

[WriterOnDeck]

Of course, it was hot and humid at Devil's Island, French Guiana.

 

Retracing Steps of Prisoners on Notorious Devil’s Island

https://www.writerondeck.com/2024/01/11/retracing-steps-of-prisoners-on-notorious-devils-island/

[bcummin]

Your blog is most enjoyable.  Thank you.

An easy way to keep cooler is to use a wet washcloth.  Fold it in fourths lengthwise and place it on the back of your neck.  Let your camera strap keep it in place.  Your water bottle can keep it wet, if needed.

Enjoy this adventure.

Barbara

[WriterOnDeck]

The latest blog!

 

Fishing for Notorious Piranha Along the Amazon River

Posted on January 19, 2024 by Jo Johnston

Days 13 & 14, 2024 Grand World Voyage

Monday and Tuesday, Jan. 15-16, 2024; Parintins and Santarém, Brazil

I’ve always believed that success in fishing is mostly a matter of luck. After today I think experience must play a role. As we all were dropping lines with raw meat on a hook into a small tributary, it was mostly the boat’s crew who caught the piranhas.

 

(Continued at https://www.writerondeck.com/2024/01/19/fishing-for-notorious-piranha-along-the-amazon-river/)

[St Pete Cruiser]

Thanks for posting your experiences on board the Z's!  I really grew to like the Zaandam after being back onboard over the holidays.  If you had to choose, which ship would be your preference?

[WriterOnDeck]

17 hours ago, St Pete Cruiser said:

Thanks for posting your experiences on board the Z's!  I really grew to like the Zaandam after being back onboard over the holidays.  If you had to choose, which ship would be your preference?

It would be hard -- there are things I like about each one. I'm considering writing a blog about that. I like the smaller size of the Zaandam, its cabins with more storage and its use of the Crow's Nest with its dance floor. I like the music venues on the Zuiderdam and its no-smoking policy in the casino, to name a few things that pop into mind.

[WriterOnDeck]

We’re Having a Grand Time Aboard the Zuiderdam

 

Day 22, 2024 Grand World Voyage

Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2024; Panama Canal

 

If this cruise gets any more “grand,” it may be the death of me.

If it’s not a port day with lots to see and do, it’s a party or special event aboard the Zuiderdam. There’s hardly any time to catch my breath (or catch up on blogging).

 

(continue reading and see the photographs of all the parties at www.WriterOnDeck.com)

[Sea42]

3 hours ago, WriterOnDeck said:

We’re Having a Grand Time Aboard the Zuiderdam

 

Day 22, 2024 Grand World Voyage

Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2024; Panama Canal

 

If this cruise gets any more “grand,” it may be the death of me.

If it’s not a port day with lots to see and do, it’s a party or special event aboard the Zuiderdam. There’s hardly any time to catch my breath (or catch up on blogging).

 

(continue reading and see the photographs of all the parties at www.WriterOnDeck.com)

I love it when I get an email showing your latest post. Thanks so much for sharing your journeys.