My very first cruise was in 1995. I was living in Virginia and working at my first academic librarian job, after finishing graduate school, at the University of Michigan. I arrived at The College of William and Mary with my mother. She had been living with me (and my college housemate) in Ann Arbor, after her senior living apartment informed me they could no longer accommodate her, due to the progression of her Alzheimer’s disease.

Two years later, I needed a break from working and being a full time caregiver. So, I booked a three day cruise to the Bahamas for me and mom. On the flight to Miami, I notified the attendant about the Alzheimer’s situation and the flight being my mom’s first one. It was suggested to keep the window shade closed, for the entire flight. As soon as the plane took off, my mom pushed the shade up and looked out the window. She never made a peep and simply enjoyed the flight.

Almost thirty years later, I booked an Alaska cruise with Norwegian Cruise Line. I was traveling around Central America at the time. Honduras was my second to last country. It was hot, in San Pedro Sula. How hot? I decided to skip Belize and booked an Alaskan cruise. During the 2020 pandemic, I lived in Sitka, while serving with AmeriCorps. As cruise luck would have it, Sitka was on the itinerary. Once on the ship, in Seattle, I learned about NCL’s appreciation program for military veterans and enrolled!

After arriving back to Seattle, I headed to Belize and the end of my Central America adventure. Then, I flew to London and made my way to Lillestrøm, in Norway, to wait for the start of my NCL Fiord Cruise. I booked a room in a house, with a shared kitchen and bathroom. It was basically a rental property for men looking for work. The town was amazing! I spent a lot of (free Internet) time in the nearby city library. I also made a trial run to Oslo and figured out how to get from the train station to the bus stop for the cruise terminal. I posted my findings on the Facebook group page for the cruise.

We debarked in Southampton. I headed to London and then flew back stateside. I hit the rails, via Amtrak, for a few weeks. Then I arrived in Los Angeles and hung out at a friend’s place. After having lunch at my favorite restaurant, in Hermosa Beach, they dropped me at the cruise terminal, in San Pedro, for my Mexican Riviera cruise. After arriving back in Los Angeles, I flew to Mexico City. My AirBnB was in a neighbor just outside the popular tourist destinations. It was great. Then, after three weeks of bliss, I flew from Mexico City to London.

While in Mexico City, I booked back to back seven day Northern European Cruises on MSC. I landed at Heathrow and traveled by train to Liverpool. Long story! In 1984, I missed my train and Paul McCartney receiving the city’s Honorary Freedom Award! This time, I booked a full “Beatles in Liverpool” tour. I wasn’t as successful with the International Slavery Museum. It closed, for remodeling, two days before I arrived. Soon it was time to headed down to Southampton. MSC was a hot mess and I loved it. At each port, passengers debarked and embarked. It makes sense. If you’re German, why would you travel to England, rather than embarking at the scheduled stop in Hamburg?

Some American passengers complained about the embarking and disembarking and all the luggage, left in the hallways. As luck would have it, I was upgraded to balcony suite, for both sailing. I really had nothing to complain about. Well, it was a bit too cold to actually sit outside. And, MSC scheduled maintenance work, on the balconies, for both rooms. They made up for it, in my opinion, with a nice note and bottle of champagne. Also, their private cocktail party for the American passengers was really nice.

Back in Southampton, two weeks later, I had two days off, before my next cruise. The NCL Bliss was docked across from the MSC ship, when I arrived from Liverpool. Work was being done, before the returned to Miami. Some of the NCL passengers, sailing back to back, waited out their time by traveling around Europe. Three hundred others booked the fourteen day back to back cruise with MSC. Perhaps that’s why MSC hosted the Cocktail Party? The transatlantic crossing marked my third time cruising on the NCL Bliss.

I flew from Miami to Baltimore and then back to London. From there, I hit the rails, for a few months. I took the Eurostar from London to Paris. Then, hopped on a long distance train to Berlin. I spent a few days in a hotel near Checkpoint Charlie and then had a longer stay in an AirBnB in Köpenick, practicing my “language learning app” German. From there, I took a train to Warsaw and then Kraków. After a week in each city, I moved on to Prague and finally Budapest. To reach Trieste, Italy, the port for my upcoming Mediterranean cruise, I opted for a long distance bus, through Slovenia.

The English major in me loved being in the town where Joyce began writing Ulysses. Our embarkation was in Trieste, because large cruise ships are no longer allowed to dock in Venice. Trieste is the coffee capital of Italy. Who knew? I booked a hotel near the city center and then went around on the local Hop on Hop off bus to see all the sights. I wasn’t the only early arrival for the cruise. I met up with a small group of people, from our Facebook group, for a sunset Meet and Greet, at the pier. We could hardly wait to visit Slovenia, Croatia, Montenegro, Malta, Greece, Sicily, and then end back in Italy.

After disembarking from the ship, I walked from the Civitavecchia cruise terminal to the train station and headed to Rome. I booked a hotel near Vatican City and joined the crowds waiting for the selection of a new Pope! The nearby shops were selling a lot of Pope Francis Memorabilia. Saint Peter’s Basilica was full of tourists and I noticed the strong police presence, near the entrance, along with photographers, reporters, and film crews all on standby. Unfortunately, I flew to Istanbul the day before white smoke rose above the Basilica.

My flight landed on the Asian side of Istanbul and my hotel was, of course, on the Europe side. Luckily, I had seen a YouTube video about getting from the one airport to the other, by bus. I knew where to exit the airport, what the bus looked like, and how to get to the little side road to find it. I opted to just chill in Arnavutköy, rather than being a tourist in Istanbul. I’m so happy I did! It felt like I was back in the Peace Corps, doing community integration and learning my way around town. The highlight was finding the Black & White Cafe, a block from my hotel.

And, speaking of the Peace Corps, …. I arrived in Armenia, very late at night or early in the morning, depending on how you look at it. I booked the airport car service, provided by my hotel. I practically lived at the IBIS hotel, in Yerevan, when I was a Peace Corps volunteer in Armenia. My site was closest to the capital and Peace Corps Armenia allowed volunteers to leave site, each Friday, after 2:00 pm. We had to return before sundown on Sunday. On this most recent trip back, I arrived in time to attend the swearing in ceremony for the next cohort of volunteers.

I flew from Yerevan to London. From there, I flew to Iceland for my connecting flight back to the USA. Before traveling to New York City, for my NCL Caribbean cruise, I made flights to Ohio, North Carolina, Las Vegas, and back to North Carolina. I then traveled by train to Washington DC, Chicago, and finally a short train ride to Minneapolis. After visiting friends, I returned, by train, to Washington DC, in time for the arrival of ICE agents and the National Guard. I booked a hotel near Union Station. I worked at the National Archives and Records Administration, after completing my first graduate degree, in 1990. What I was seeing now did not remind me of home.

My final train ride was from WDC to New York City. I booked a hotel in Hell’s Kitchen, near the Manhattan Cruise Terminal. My next NCL cruise was scheduled to visit Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, the British Virgin Islands, and Bermuda. Due to Hurricane Erin, we sat in New York City for three days. All passengers had to check in, but were free to come and go, the first two days. Passengers were given a $200.00 credit, for our troubles, but the funds had to be used during the cruise. On day three, we moved into the New York bay and couldn’t leave the ship. The following day, we sailed to the Bahamas, for two days of unplanned stops, and then Bermuda. The next stop was New York.

Once off the ship, I flew back to Las Vegas. My dental work fell through, but the flight and two day hotel stay was already booked. Next. I took an early morning flight to Los Angeles. My next cruise is a repositioning one, leaving from Vancouver, Canada. My final cruise for 2025, will take me through (or near) the Panama Canal. Last year, I visited both ends of the canal, in Panama City and Colón. So, my fingers are crossed that I will sail through the canal. But … after sitting at the Manhattan Cruise Terminal for two days and then a third day in the New York City Harbor, I’m ready for anything.

It’s been a busy year. I would like to do a few more long distance trips on Amtrak, between the October cruise and the final one in December. There’s a new Chicago to Miami route. So, I could go from Vancouver to Miami, getting from the one cruise to the other! Watch this space! XOXO—GGT