SHIPS SAILED AND PORTS CALLED ON
1951
June and September:
“MV Georgic” (27,469 tons), built 1932, The Cunard White Star Line: 7 Day North Atlantic crossing, New York to Cork (Cobh), Ireland (June 1951). 7 Day North Atlantic crossing, *Cork (Cobh), Ireland to New York (September 8-16, 1951). Mom, Aunt Anna, Margaret, Neil and Kevin. The last ship built by the White Star Line in Belfast. A one class or tourist class ship which in its day was a grand ship.
1972
“SS Oceanic” (39,241 tons), built 1965, The Home Lines, Italy: 7 Day Bahamas Cruise, New York to Nassau, Bahamas & return (April 1972) The Atlantic & Caribbean. Betty and I, Verna & Larry Daly. A lovely ship, staffed by an all Italian crew..
1981
“SS Doric” (25,320 tons), built 1964, The Home Lines, Italy, formerly the Hanseatic, originally the Shalom: 7 Day Bermuda Cruise, New York to Hamilton, Bermuda & return (September 1981), Atlantic. Enroute ran into tail end of Hurricane. Ann and I, Mario & Ann Maschiandaro, Jim & Patricia Osborne.
1988
“MS Noordam” (33,970 tons), built 1984, Holland America Line: 7 Day Alaskan Cruise, *Vancouver, B.C., Canada to Alaska (*Ketchikan, *Juneau, Skagway, *Glacier Bay & *Sitka) & return (July 1988) Queen Charlotte Sound, the Inside Passage & North Pacific.
Ann and I.
1992
“RMS Queen Elizabeth 2” (70,327 tons), built 1969, The Cunard Line: 8 Day Western Mediterranean Cruise, London & *Southampton, England to *Ibiza & *Barcelona, Spain; *Lisbon, Portugal & return to Southampton (October 23-31, 1992). The English Channel, Bay of Biscay, The North Atlantic, Strait of Gibraltar to the Mediterranean. Ann and I. A beautiful Trans-Atlantic liner that is in need of upgrading.
1993
May:
“MS Song of Norway” (23,005 tons), built 1970, Royal Caribbean Cruise Line: 12 Day Mediterranean Cruise, *Venice, Italy to *Corfu, Greece; *Messina and Tairomino, Sicily; *Civitichichi, Rome, *Livorno, Florence, and Pisa, Italy; *Villefrance, France; Monte Carlo, Monoco; *Palma, Manacor, Caves of Drach, and Porto Cristo, Majorca; *Barcelona and Montserrat, Spain (May 1993), The Adriatic, Ionian, Mediterranean, and Tyrrhenian Seas. Ann and I, Ellen & Pat Domenici. A small ship with small cabins and small public rooms.
September:
“MV Vistafjord” (24,492 tons), built 1973, The Cunard Line: 12 Day European Wine Cruise, London, Maidstone, Canterbury and *Dover, England to *Pauillac, City of Bordeaux, and St. Emilion, France; *Oporto, Guimaraes, Sameiro, Braga, *Lisbon, Sintra, Cascais, and *Funchal, Madeira; Portugal; *Barcelona, Spain. (September 4-15, 1993), The North Atlantic English Channel, Bay of Biscay, Strait of Gibraltar to the Mediterranean. Pre Cruise Location: Two days in Manor House in Lenham, Maidstone, Kent. Ann and I, Tim & Judy Stevens, Jose & Norma Figueroa. One grand ship, with beautiful pubic rooms, great entertainment, and superlative food and service.
1995
“MS Statendam” (55,451 tons), built 1993, Holland America Line: 7 Day Western Caribbean Cruise, Fort Lauderdale, Florida to *Georgetown, Grand Cayman Island, UK; *Ocho Rios, Jamaica; *Playa del Carmen, Tulum (Yucatan Peninsula), and the Island of *Cozumel, Mexico, and return to Fort Lauderdale (December 21-28, 1995), The Atlantic, Strait of Florida, Gulf of Mexico to the Western Caribbean Sea. Ann and I.
Nice ship.
1996
“MV Marco Polo” (22,080 tons), built 1965, The Orient Line, formerly the Soviet built ice breaker and spy ship Alexander Pushkin: 8 Day Greece & Turkey Cruise, Athens, Corinth & Corinth Canal, and *Nauplion; the Islands of *Mykonos, *Santorini, Crete (*Heraklion), and *Rhodes, Cruising Mt. Athos, Greece; *Kusadasi, Ephesus, Selcuk, *Cannakelle, Gallopoli, Troy, and *Istanbul, Turkey (May 11-18, 1996), The Mediterranean, Agean & Dardanells, Sea of Marmora, & Bosporus. Pre & Post Cruise Ports: Two days in Athens and two days in Istanbul. Ann and I, Tim & Judy Stevens, Jim & Bonnie Montero. Not a bad ship but not great either.
1997
“MTS Odysseus” (9,821 tons), built 1962, Royal Olympic Cruises, formerly the Aquamarine, formerly the Marco Polo, originally the Princesa Isabel: 12 Day South American Cruise; *Rio de Janeiro, *Santos, and *Florianapolis (Island of St. Catherina), Brazil; *Montevideo and *Punta del Este, Uruguay; Puerto Madryn and Cruising the Valdes Peninsula (Patagonia), *Mar del Plata and *Buenos Aires, Argentina (December 22, 1997 to January 3, 1998), The South Atlantic, the Rio de la Plata (River Plate), the Argentine Sea, the Golfo Nuevo. Pre & Post Cruise Ports: Two days in Rio de Janeiro and four days in Buenos Aires. A very small ship but with decent sized cabins. Ann and I, Jose & Norma Figueroa. Note: Met William H. Miller! Father Jack King married Ann and I in the Catholic Church!!
1998
“MS Rotterdam” (62,000 tons), built 1997, maiden year voyage and new flagship of the Holland America Line: 12 Day Scandinavia & Russia Cruise; London and *Dover, England; *Oslo, Norway; *Arhus, Silkeborg, (Mid-Jutland) and *Copenhagen, Denmark; *Warnemunde (Rostock), and Berlin, (Local TV Interview on the new Berlin, after the wall), Germany; *Kalmar and *Stockholm, Sweden; *Helsinki, Finland; and *St. Petersburg (formerly Leningrad), Petrodvorets, and Pushkin, Russia (August 22 to September 3, 1998), The English Channel, the North Sea, The Oslo Fjord, the Baltic Sea, and the Gulf of Finland. Post Cruise Port: Four days in Copenhagen. Ann and I, Tim & Judy Stevens, Tom & Margaret Kapinos. A very nice ship.
1999
February:
“MV Black Watch” (28,492 tons), built 1972, Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines, formerly the Star Odyssey, formerly the Windward, originally the Royal Viking Star: 14 Day Middle East & Mediterranean Cruise: Flight to Amman, and stays in Petra, and Wadi Rum, and *Aqaba, Jordan; off Elat, Israel; Around Sinai Peninsula, off Port Suez and Port Said, *Alexandria, Cairo and Giza, Egypt; *Valleta, Mosta and Mdina, Malta; *Malaga and Granada (Alhambra), Spain; *Lisbon and Setubal, Portugal; and *Dover, England. (February 26 to March 14, 1999), The Gulf of Aqaba, the Red Sea, the Gulf of Suez, the Suez Canal, the Southern Mediterranean, the Mediterranean, the Strait of Gibraltar, the North Atlantic, Bay of Biscay, and the English Channel. Pre-Cruise Stay: Two days in Petra and Wadi Rum, Jordan. Ann and I. A well proportioned ship with very graceful lines. Good shows with a great cruise director. Note: Met Frank O. Braynard!
October:
“TSS Sky Princess” (46,314 tons), built 1984, Princess Cruises (P&O Lines), formerly Sitmar’s Fairsky for a 11/16 Day China and Orient Cruise Cruise/Tour Program: *Kowloon and Hong Kong, *Shanghai (Suzhous and Wuxi), by rail. China; *Nagasaki, Simabarra, and Mount Fujen, Japan; *Inchon, the DMZ (38th Parallel, 3rd Tunnel), and Seoul, South Korea; *Dalian (Local TV Interview), *Xingang/Tianjin, Beijing (Peking) and Xi’an, China (October 20 to November 4, 1999), The South China Sea, the Taiwan Strait, the East China Sea, the Yangtze and Haungpo Rivers, the Korea Strait, the Yellow Sea and the Bay of Bo Hai. Pre-Cruise Port: Four days in Kowloon, Hong Kong. Post-Cruise Port Land/Fly Tours: Three nights in Beijing, and one in Xi’an, before flying home from Beijing over Mongolia & Siberia into Northern Alaska. Ann and I. Note: Met Robert F. Marx!
2000
January:
“MS Noordam” (33,970 tons), built 1984, Holland America Line, for a 16 Day Panama Canal and South America Explorer Cruise out of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, bound for Valparaiso, Chile with stops at *Georgetown, Grand Cayman Island, UK; *San Blas Islands, the Panama Canal, *Balboa, and Panama City, Panama; *Manta and Quito, Equador; *Callao, Lima, *General San Martin, (Pisco) Paracas National Park, and Ica, Peru; *Arica, and Naranto, *Coquimbo, and La Serena, *Valparaiso, Vina del Mar, and Santiago, Chile. (January 2 to January 21, 2000). Pre-Cruise Port: Fort Lauderdale for one day. Post Cruise Port: Santiago for three days before flying home. The North Atlantic Ocean, the Straits of Florida, the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean Sea, the Panama Canal, the North Pacific Ocean, crossing the Equator, and South Pacific Ocean, Paracas Bay. Ann, and I, and Justin Mark.
February-March-April:
“TSS Sky Princess”, (46,314 tons), built 1984, Princess Cruises (P&0 Lines), her final voyage as Sky Princess for Princess, to become Pacific Sky for P&O in Sydney; originally Sitmar’s Fairsky, for a 33-Day (Two 16-Day Cruises) New Zealand, Australia and Southeast Asia Cruise out of Auckland, New Zealand, bound for Bangkok, Thailland. Port calls at *Auckland, Devonport, Hamilton, Otorohanga, and Waitomo, *Bay of Islands, Paihia, and Russell, *Mt. Maunganui/Tauranga, Te Puke, and Rotorua, *Wellington, (all North Island); *Lytellton, Christchurch, Sheffield and Arthur’s Pass, *Port Chalmers (Otago Harbor), and Dunedin, *Fjordland National Park: Doubtful, Dusky and Milford Sounds, (all South Island), New Zealand;
*Hobart, Sorrell, and Port Arthur (Island of Tasmania), *Melbourne (Victoria), *Sydney (New South Wales), *Brisbane, *Cid Harbour (Great Barrier Reef), Airlie Beach on Hamilton Island (Whitsundy Islands), *Cairns, Smithfield and Kuranda (Queensland), all Australia. *Padangbai, Amlapura, Klungkung, Besakih and Kehen Temples (Island of Bali), *Semerang, Borobudor, and Javajakarta (Island of Java), all Indonesia; *Singapore, Republic of Singapore, *Phu My (Vung Tau) and Saigon, Vietnam; *Liam Chang (Siam Seaport) and Bangkok, Thailand. (February 26 to April 11, 2000) Pre-Cruise Port: Auckland for four days. Post-Cruise Ports: Bangkok for three days and Tokyo (including Nikko), Japan, for four days. The South Pacific Ocean, the Tasman and Coral Seas, the Great Barrier Reef Inside Passage, the Torres Strait, the Gulf of Carpentaria, the Arrafura and Timor Seas, the Indian Ocean, the Java Sea, crossing the Equator, the North Pacific Ocean, the South China Sea and the Gulf of Thailand. Ann and I. Cameras: Nikon N60 with the Sigma 24-70mm and the Nikkor 28mm lens plus the Rollei Prego 145.
April:
“MS Regal Princess” (71,800 tons), built 1991, Princess Cruises (P&O Lines), for a 12 Day Pacific Islands Cruise, out of Honolulu, (Island of Oahu) Hawaii, bound for Papeete, Tahiti. Port Calls at *Lahaina (Island of Maui), *Nawiliwili and Kapaa (Island of Kaui), and *Hilo (Island of Hawaii or Big Island), all Hawaii, U.S.A.; *London, Island of Kirimati or Christmas Island, Republic of Kiribati, *Vaitape/Vaitape Bay (Island of Bora Bora),*Papetoai/Opunohu Bay (Island of Moorea), and *Papeete and Faaa (Island of Tahiti), all French Polynesia. (April 11 to 26, 2000) Pre-Cruise Port: Honolulu for three days. Post Cruise Port: Papeete (Faaa) for three days. The North Pacific, crossing the Equator and South Pacific Ocean. Ann and I. Camera: Nikon N60 with Sigma 24-70mm lens.
October:
“MV Nordic Empress” (48,563 tons), built 1990, Royal Caribbean International, for a 8 Day Re-positioning Cruise, out of New York City to San, Juan, Puerto Rico. Port Calls at *Royal Navy Dockyard (Kings Wharf), Ireland North; St. George, and Hamilton, Bermuda. *Charlotte Amalie, and Mountain Top, St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands; and *San Juan, Puerto Rico, U.S. (October 22 to 30, 2000) North Atlantic to Caribbean. Ann and I. Contax T2 with 200 Speed Film.
2001
June:
“MS Royal Princess” (44,348 tons), built 1984, Princess Cruises (P&O Lines), for a 12 Day Western Europe/Iberia Voyage, out of Southampton, England bound for Southampton, England. Port Calls at *Santurce and Bilbao, Spain; *Le Verdon-sur-Mer, Pauillac and Medoc/Bordeaux Region, France; *Greenock, Glasgow and Edinburgh, Scotland, U.K., *Dublin, Bray, Dalkey, Sandycove, & Dun Laoghaire, *Cobh, Crosshaven, & Myrtleville, Ireland; *Falmouth, England; *Le Havre, France; *Amsterdam, The Netherlands; *Zeebrugge and Brugge, Belgium. (June 16 to 28, 2001). Pre-Cruise Port: London, England, for one day. The English Channel, Bay of Biscay (North Atlantic), Gulf of Gascony, Celtic Sea, The Irish Sea, St. George’s Channel, and the North Sea. Dennis, Sr., & Dennis, Jr. Camera: Rollei Prego 145 (800 & 400 Speed Film).
August:
“SS Norway” (76,049 tons), built 1961, Norwegian Cruise Lines, formerly the French Line’s (Compagnie Generale Transatlantique) SS France, for a 7 day Farewell Eastern Caribbean Cruise to and from Miami. Port calls at *Phillispsburg, St. Martin, Netherlands Antilles; Marigot, St. Marteen, French West Indies; *St. John, and *Charlotte Amalie, in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, and *Great Stirrup Cay, Bahamas. (August 26 to September 2, 2001). Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea. Ann and I. Camera: Nikon N60 with Sigma 24-70 mm lens that mal-functioned, and Olympus Stylus Epic. The very last of the great transatlantic liners that sailed between Europe and New York in the 1960’s as the French liner France.
December:
“MV Crystal Harmony” (49,400 tons), built 1990, Crystal Cruises (NYK Lines-Japan), for a 9 day Circle Caribbean Cruise to and from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Port Calls at *Road Town, Tortola, British Virgin Islands; *St. Johns, and English Harbor (Nelson’s Dockyard), Republic of Antigua; Phillispsburg, *St. Martin, Netherlands Antilles, and Marigot, St. Marteen, French West Indies; and *Charmotte Amalie and Mountain Top, in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. (December 14-22, 2001). Atlantic Ocean (Bahamas Channel), Caribbean Sea. Ann and I. A lovely ship. Camera: Contax T2 with Kodak 200 Speed Film.
2002
September-October:
“MS Prinsendam”, (38,000 tons), built 1988, her maiden year voyage for Holland-America Line, formerly the Seabourn Line’s MS Seabourn Sun, originally the Royal Vikings Line’s MS Royal Viking Sun, for an eighteen day South and East Africa voyage from Cape Town, South Africa bound for Mombasa, Kenya. Port Calls at *Cape Town (Constantia, Cape of Good Hope, Clifton Bay, Bantry Bay, Champs Bay, Hout Bay, Oceanview, Stellenbosch, Fronschook, Hermanus, Simon Town, Gordon’s Bay, !Cape Agulhas!); *Durban; and *Richards Bay (KwaZula-Natal, and Shakaland), South Africa. *La Possession and Saint Denis, Isle de Reunion-(French), and *Port Louis, Republic of Mauritius (the Mascarene Islands), Isle de Tromelin (French Weather Station); *Hell-ville, (Nose-Be), Madagascar, *Moroni, Islamic Republic of Comoros, *Zanzibar (Island of Zanzibar), in Tanzania, *Mombasa, Masai Mara (the Great Rift Valley), and Narobi), Kenya; Zurich, Switzerland. (September 21 to October 18, 2002). South Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, Mozambique Channel. Pre-Cruise Port: Cape Town for five days. Post-Cruise: Mombasa for one day, the Masai Mara (Intrepids Safari Camp), for four days and one day in Narobi. !Passed the Southernmost tip of the continent of Africa at 8PM, on Friday evening, September 27th. Ann and I. Camera: Nikon N80 with Tamron 24-135mm lens, and Nikon 70-210mm lens, using Kodak 200, 400 and 800 Speed Film (the 800 all on Safari). A beautiful mid-sized ship. Met Laurel and Steve.
2003
January:
“Star Princess” (108,977 tons), built 2002, Princess Cruises (P&O Lines), her maiden year voyage, for a 7 day Mexican Riviera Voyage, from Los Angeles to Los Angeles, with port calls at *Puerto Vallarta, *Mazatlan, *Cabo San Lucas and Cabo San Jose (Baja California), Mexico. (January 4-11, 2003). Pacific Ocean, Sea of Cortez. Ann and I, Neil and Grace, Margaret and Tom, and Kevin and Barbara. Camera: Contax T2 using Kodak 400 Speed Film.
May:
“Clara Schumann” (built 1991), Viking Cruise Lines. A river boat cruise for six days on the River Elbe, from Madgeburg, Germany to Decin, Chech Republic. Stops at Dessau, Worlitz, Wittenburg, Torgau, Meissen, and Dresden. Pre-Cruise: Berlin for two days. Post-Cruise: Prague for two days. Tim and Judy Stevens. Camera: Nikon N80 with one fixed lens, the Nikon Nikkor 28mm (f 2.8) using Fuji 400 Speed Film.
2004
October:
“RMS Queen Mary 2”, (151,400 tons), built 2004, The Cunard Line (Carnival). Six day North Atlantic crossing from New York to Southampton, England. October. Her maiden year voyage and presently the largest transatlantic ocean liner afloat, and will remain so for some time. Post Cruise: London for six days at the Royal Horseguards Hotel. North Atlantic and English Channel. Margaret and Tom, Neil and Grace, Kevin and Barbara. Vantage Travel. Contax T2 using Kodak 400 H.D. film.
2006
January:
“Enchantment of the Seas”, (81,500 tons), built 1997, Lengthened by 73 feet in May/June 2005, Royal Caribbean International. Six day Western Caribbean Cruise to and from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. January 16th to the 21st. Note: This ship is the largest cruise ship to have been lengthened to date. Ports of Call: *Key West, Florida; *Cozumel, Mexico; *Belize City, Ladyville, and Altun Ha (Mayan Settlement), Belize. Lovely ship and excellent food and service. Ann and I, and Robert and Mary O. Olympus Stylus using Kodak 400 H.D.
September-October:
“GTS Constellation”, (90,280 tons), built 2002, one of Celebrity Cruise Line’s four Millennium Class ships. Gas Turbine System. Celebrity Cruise Lines, a division of Carnival Cruise Corporation. Twelve day cruise to and from Port Liberty in Bayonne, New Jersey (New York Harbor), from September 24th to October 5th. Ports of Call: *Boston, Massachusetts; *Portland, Cape Elizabeth (Portland Head Light), Kennebunkport, *Bar Harbor, Cadillac Mountain (Acadia National Park), Maine; *St. Johns, New Brunswick; *Halifax, and Peggy’s Cove, Nova Scotia; *Quebec City, Isle of Orleans, and Saguenay River, Quebec, Canada. Atlantic Ocean, Bay of Fundy, Laurentian Channel, Gulf of St. Lawrence, St. Lawrence River, Saguenay River. Beautiful ship with outside elevators and lovely public rooms including the Main Dining Room (the San Marco), and great shows. Margaret and Thomas, Ann and I. Olympus Stylus using Kodak 400 H.D.
2007
March:
“MV Lirica”, (58,600 tons), built 2003, MSC Cruises (Mediterranean Shipping Company, Italy). 12-Day Eastern Carribean Cruise to and from Port Everglades (Fort Lauderdale), Florida. March 5th to the 16th. Ports of Call: *San Juan, Puerto Rico; *Phillipsburg, the island of St. Martin, Netherlands Antilles, and Marigot, St. Marteen, French West Indies; *St. Georges, Republic of Grenada; *Bridgetown, Republic of Barbados; *Fort of France, and Soucier (Sp), the Island of Martinique, France; *Road Town, the island of Tortola, British Virgin Islands; *Cayo Levantado (Samana), Dominican Republic. The Lirica is mid size by today’s standards, with about 1,500 passengers. A lovely ship with beautifully appointed public rooms. No promenade deck to sit out on however, and the deck chairs were terrible. Great food, service and entertainment. Good value for the money. Bob and Mary O, Dave and Janice Atherton. Olympus Stylus using Kodak HD 400. Note: Met Father Jack King who married Ann and I, on the Odyessus in December 1997. He is now 81 years old, still going strong.
2008
February
“MV Journey”, (30,277 tons), built 2000, Azamara Cruises, a division of Celebrity Cruises, formerly the Renaissance Line’s “MV Renaissance VI”. 18-Day South America and Antarctica Cruise to and from Buenos Aires, Argentina. February 9th to the 27th. Ports of Call: *Port Stanley, Falkland Islands (Las Malvinas), UK; Elephant Island, Antarctic Sound, Paradise Bay, Flandres Bay, Lemaire Channel, Deception Island, and Melchoir Island, the continent of Antarctica; *Ushuaia, and Emerald Bay, Argentina; Cape Horn and *Punta Arenas, Chile, *Puerto Madryn, Gaiman, Point Loma, Argentina; *Punta Del Este, and *Montevideo, Uruguay, and *Buenos Aires, Argentina. Post Cruise: Four days in Buenos, Aires. 22 Days in all. Ann and I. Cameras used: Sony Digital DSC-V3 with 2GB of memory, Contax T2 using Kodak 400 HD Film, and Olympus Stylus using Kodak 400 HD Film. South Atlantic Ocean, Scotia Sea, Bransfield Strait, Gerlache Strait, Antarctic Sound, Paradise Bay, Flandres Bay, Lemaire Channel, Drake Passage, Cape Horn, Beagle Channel, Strait of Magellan, and Pacific Ocean. Notes: A fantastic voyage on an outstanding ship with only 650 passengers. Great Captain, superlative service and food, and great shows, and an outstanding Captain.
2009
February
“MS Zuiderdam” (82,000 tons), built December 2002, Holland-America Line, the first of the line’s Vista Class ships. 10-Day Southern Caribbean and Panama Canal Cruise. February 27th to March 9th, Fort Lauderdale to Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Port Calls at *Half Moon Cay, Bahamas; *Oranjestad, Aruba, and *Willemstad, Curacao, Netherlands Antilles; *Panama Canal (Gatun Locks and Gatun Lake), and *Cristobal/Colon, Panama; *Puerto Limon, and Liverpool (Veragua Rain Forest), Costa Rica. Camera: Sony Digital DSC-V3 with 2GB of memory. Ann and I, Beverly and Harry Scovin, Rita and John Cheetham. The Caribbean Sea, Florida Straits, Panama Canal. Notes: Great food and service, a great table by the rear windows, plus a great promenade deck, but the ship was a bit too big and busy (almost two thousand passengers) for my taste, the public rooms too public (including the Crow’s Nest, although two-for-one drinks and appetizers were served), and the entertainment was so-so; otherwise a great cruise.
August
“MV Tahitian Princess” (30,277 tons), built 1999, Princess Cruises, formerly the Renaissance Line’s “MV Renaissance IV”, soon to be renamed the “Ocean Princess”. 18-Day Top of the World Explorer Cruise, August 12th to August 30th, Dover, England to New York. Port Calls at *Dover, England; *Dublin, Ireland; *Greenock, Glasgow and Edinburgh, Scotland; *Torshavn, and Nivik, the Faroe Islands, Denmark; *Seydisfjordur, and *Reykjavik, Iceland; *Prince Christian Sound, and *Qaqortoq, Greenland, Denmark; *Saint Pierre et Miquelon (off the coast of Newfoundland), France; *Sydney (Cape Breton Island), Nova Scotia, Canada; and then *New York, New York, USA. Pre-cruise stay: Two days in London. Ann and I. This ship is identical to Azamara Cruises’ Journey, with some 680 passengers but the service or shows were not as good. The food was excellent however, and the Captain did a great job of keeping everyone informed when he expected a severe weather change. The last day at sea between Boston and New York, we ran into the tail end of Hurricane Don, and it was quite rough, but nothing that we have not experienced before. Flight to Newark and then London going, and flight from LaGuardia to Fort Meyers with a change in Charlotte coming home. The English Channel, the Irish Sea, the North Sea, Cape Farewell, the North Atlantic Ocean, the Labrador Sea, the Grand Banks. Sony A300 Digital SLR Camera with a Tamron 18-250 mm lens. 4GB of memory.
2010
August-September
“MV Pacific Princess”, (30,227 tons), built 1999, Princess Cruises (sister ship to the Tahitian Princess (now Ocean Princess), and Azamara’s Journey), formerly the Renaissance Line’s “MV Renaissance V”, 12-Day Holy Land Cruise, August 31st to September 12th. From Rome (*Civitavecchia) to Athens (*Piraeus) with port calls at *Sorrento, Italy; *Patmos, Greece; *Kusadasi, Turkey; *Haifa, Israel: Nazareth (the Church of the Annunciation), Cana, Sea of Galilee (Church of the Mount of the Beatitudes, Tabgha (Church of the Multiplication of Loaves and the Fishes), Capernaum, Golan Heights, Yardenit (Baptisms in the River Jordan), the West Bank, Bethlehem (Church of the Nativity, Saint Catherine’s Church), Jerusalem (Mount of Olives, Church of the Garden of Gethsemane, the Golden Gate, Church of the Sepulcher, the Wailing Wall, the Armenian, Muslim, and Jewish Quarters), *Ashdod, Israel; *Port Said, and *Alexandria, Egypt; *Santorini with sister ship Ocean Princess), and *Piraeus, Greece. Note: Overnight stay at hotel in Jerusalem. Pre-cruise stay: Rome, for one day. The Med Sea, the Ionian Sea, the Aegean Sea. Ann and I. Sony A300 Digital SLR Camera with a Tamron 18-250 mm lens with 4GB of memory. Beautiful weather each and every day with exceptionally calm seas. Lovely small ship, (688 passengers), good captain and crew with outstanding food and service, but the shows were so-so. Flight from Savannah to Newark, Newark to Rome. Return, flight from Athens (10 hours) to Newark, Newark to Savannah.
*Ports of Call. Note: Total of 31 voyages on twenty-eight different ships.
Land Tours:
England (any number of times)
France (Bordeaux, Le Havre, Paulliac, St. Emilion, Paris, Caen, Arrowmances, Normandy, Versailles)
Canada: Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Vancouver, Toronto.
Italy (any number of times)
Ireland and Northern Ireland (any number of times)
Germany, Austria and Switzerland
Europe (Austria, Chech Republic, Slovkia, Poland, Hungary. Slovenia, Crotia, Boznia, Serbia-Montenegro (now independent Republic of Montenegro).
Mexico (Cabo San Lucas, San Jose (Baja), Cozumel, Playa del Carmen, Tulum, Mazatlan, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico City, Ciudad Juarez, and Tijuana).