Monday, May 3, 2010

Getting acclimated....

It has been an interesting few days since I arrived home.... Gone is the ship I called home for so long, off to other places with other people. I have been quite busy, taxes, appointments, house chores and catching up with friends. It really does feel good to be back.... The overall voyage was pretty good. There were great moments with some less than stellar moments squeezed in from time to time. The crew on the ms Amsterdam were fabulous..... Captain Olav was tremendous, Captain Fred was OK.... The food was pretty good but lacked a bit of creativity from time to time (at least along my conservative tastes). My biggest disappointment food wise was the Carnival Corp decision to go to some crappy ice cream brand called Luke's... horrible aftertaste. The itinerary was great except for the World Voyage section which was difficult because we were sailing east and losing hours. That really had a negative effect on many people. That coupled with the itinerary for the World having a huge amount of time where we were in colder climates just didn't work for me. I will never do another World Voyage like that one. I really enjoyed the Grand Australia, New Zealand and South Pacific Voyage... no wonder, it was warm. I am planning on taking next year's World Voyage and the next and the next and so on.... that is as long as my health holds up. One of the best parts of the voyage remains the people, crew & guests alike. Highlights included my first trip to Alaska, swimming with sharks in Bora Bora, the Galapagos Islands, Antarctica, Iguazu Falls, Safari in South Africa, Bangkok, Beijing & the Great Wall, Mt Fuji and all the great people along the way....

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thanks for all the effort on this blog. It is a delightful read and very much appreciated. Your photos are world class. Looking forward to your next journey.

Anonymous said...

Hi Jeff
Thank you for sharing your voyages. I hope your health lasts forever, as I have really enjoyed all of your trips. When you know the dates of your next cruise, please share. I'll continue to check in to see what is new.
Once again, thank you for taking the time to share.

Louise

Mr AC said...

Your Health...
- You don't smoke
- You don't drink (diet coke doesn't count)
- You don't have kids (hmmm)
- You don't have to answer to anyone on board. The AC.
- Your the youngest on board I bet.

Keep me posted Bud and enjoy it...

PS: For those that don't know my wife is AC which stands for "automatic corrector".

Anonymous said...

Hi Jeff...Bob and I went today and bought an underwater camera for next years Asia/Aust.(Great Barrier Reef) Trip. Should have had one for last year on the So.Pacific,Aust.,NZ trip.

I'm glad to see swimming with sharks in Bora Bora was a highlight for you too. As Patrick said to me before I went in to swim with you and the sharks...."your bucket list". So in I went.


Hope all goes well for you in the next few months before the World'11

Take care, Rosemary Manning (Bob too)

Anonymous said...

Hi Jeff!

Welcome back home! Thanks for the recap, along with some overall thoughts. It's always nice and interesting to hear, especially from a well-seasoned traveller such as yourself.

I too hope your health and strength lasts for a VERY long time... so that you can continue to venture on these grand adventures and also give us more opportunities to enjoy and learn about the world via your fantastic voyages. Thanks again and enjoy your time back with family and friends!