Monday, March 2, 2026    Auckland, New Zealand

After two months at sea, I was in dire need of a place to shop and Auckland was going to be it. I headed off to Chemists Warehouse, where I managed to spend $NZ300 on miscellaneous essentials, like Rogaine, Collagen, etc.  Old bods require a lot of upkeep. I met Travis Kienholz near the checkout and we hooked up for my next stop, which was The Occidental, where I was leading a group for dinner at night.  When Travis heard they had oysters, he knew that was where he was having lunch.  We ambled over there and firmed up the evening’s two tables to one big one that the Internet had not let me book.  Then we sat outside and ordered oysters on the half shell.  Oh, yes:

They were perfect and so were the fries that went with them.  I keep coming back to this place because it never disappoints.  Travis was in thrall.  He restrained himself nicely because we were coming back.  I went back to the ship and Travis went off in search of a second hand book store he had heard of.  He likes buying lots of books and leaving the good ones in the on board library.  Works for me.  I like reading from the on board library.  At five o’clock our little DV group met at our desk on Deck 3 and we made off for Occidental again.  It didn’t hurt that green lipped mussels were on sale on Mondays, because that’s what we wanted.  They came steamed and grilled, with various sauces and they were wonderful.  We were one very happy little group.

Tuesday, March 3, 2026    Auckland, New Zealand – DV Shore Excursion day

 We had a Distinctive Voyages Shore Excursion to the Auckland Museum today.  The cultural performance is excellent and moving.

Wednesday, March 4, 2026         Waitangi, New Zealand

I stayed on board and worked.  I have seen all Waitangi has to offer.  Don’t miss it, if you go, but I needed to work.

I’m having, at my own expense, a dinner in the Pinnacle for my Distinctive Speakers, tomorrow night.  I was bold enough to invite the Captain and today, I got this:

Please be advised that the captain will be joining the dinner with your group.

Very cool. 

Thursday, March 5, 2026

At 10:30 am, there was a meeting at our desk for everyone who is going to Madama Butterfly at the Sydney Opera House.  They picked up the hard copies of their tickets from me and exchanged coordinates.  They can figure out where to meet, or not before the show, and I am suggesting the cloakroom bear the exit afterwards to share taxis back to the ship, go find a bar or restaurant, whatever.

In the evening, I hosted the “Speakers’ Dinner” in the Pinnacle.  This usually happens more towards the end of the cruise, but we know who all the speakers are and Skip Pratt is getting off in Sydney, so he and Jan would miss it if we waited.  Captain Rens Van Eeerten came and he is totally delightful.  All of the speakers, Skip, Dee Wescott, Larry Suttton, Paula and Norm Radder were delighted with the event.  It went right through the entertainment and the Captain stayed right with us. I invited Travis Kienholz for the technical support he had given us and Pat Gustafson invited herself.   There was no way she was going to be left alone at our table while this was going on.

And…she got her prize picture with the captain:

Friday, March 6, 2026       at Sea

Through all of this period, I have been WhatsApp chatting, and actually talking, to my clients on the Maharajahs Express, in India.  The war in Iran casting a pall over their trip of a life time.  They are trying to enjoy a very enjoyable trip, while wondering how they will get home.  Emirates is not cancelling flights through Dubai.  They are doing all they can to make that experience better, but they aren’t cancelling it.  I research alternate routes, like through Singapore, which would be fun, but prohibitively expensive.  My clients are hanging it, figuring Emirates aren’t going to put them in real danger. It’s still scary. Four days to flight time.

I finalized arrangements with the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia for day 2 in Sydney and packed to get off with Pat for our adventure in Sydney. 

Saturday, March 7, 2026             Sydney, Australia

Pat’s son Mark had come up with the brilliant idea that we should stay at the Four Seasons Hotel in downtown Sydney.  The people we were meeting for dinner, Helen Pakchung and Nick Hamilton-Kane seconded that, because it was a short walk from the restaurant we had all settled on, Mr Wong.  So, we got off the ship as soon as we could, which was around nine, hopped into a taxi and were checking in before 10.  You can never get your room that early, but it didn’t matter to us, we had plans.  We were taking a ferry ride to the Zoo.  Easy to do and promised to be fun. 

The ferry was even closer to the hotel than we had dared hope and in its path was the Copenhagen Gelato place, of which I had fond memories.  That, for sure on the way back. We boarded the ferry without incident and got this picture that proves how good the Four Seasons idea was.  It’s the brown sandstone shorter high rise right in the middle of the picture.  I may never stay anywhere else in Sydney.

When we got off at Toronga, there was a bus to take, up to the entrance of the park.  We were meant to walk down, visiting various animals on the way.  That was a little more challenge than we were up for, but these Australians are clever and they located the food courts smack in the middle of the zoo, just when we thought we couldn’t take another step.  A fish and chips lunch, with a couple of Cokes did wonders for us.  There weren’t a whole lot of animals, but all the Aussie favorites were represented.  This is my prize:

We made our way back to the ferry, and to the Copenhagen gelato, which was as good as I remembered it.  Then it was back to the hotel to relax and freshen up for dinner.  After a little nap, I had occasion to toss something in the trash and found out we had this view, from our waste paper basket:

It doesn’t get better than that in Sydney, unless you are on a cruise ship docked at The Rocks.  We were happy campers. 

Helen and Nick are friends from my Hong Kong days and I always enjoy their company when I am in Sydney.  I was starved for Chinese food, after two months on board, so we chose Mr Wong, a trendy Chinese place.  Sure enough, I have a picture of the food, that I took myself but none of our cameras seem to contain the picture the waiter took of our group.  He must not have pressed hard enough.

That is luscious looking food, though.  It’s hard to talk in restaurants these days, though, so we tried to continue in the hotel bar.  We hated the music there and they wouldn’t do anything about it, even though we were just about the only people in the place.  We went across the street, where it wasn’t quite as bad and it was a lovely night.

Sunday, March 8

Whenever there’s a good yacht club in town, and it fits the schedule, I invite my DV people there for a meal. I was also really anxious to meet “Mini-Me” Dee Wescott’s daughter.  Ten of us went to CYCA for brunch.  CYCA stands for Cruising yacht Club of Australia and it is the home of the famous, in sailing circles, Sydney to Hobart race.  You’d think I would have a picture, and I should do but the Uber came too fast and all I have is the set-up.

It proves we were there, but that’s all it does. The Uber dropped Dee and Anne back at their hotel, Pat at the Four Seasons, and me back at the ship.  Pat didn’t fly out until 9:30pm, but the hotel let her spend time by its pool, and between that and the lounge at the airport, she was all set. We got welcome letters out for Anne Bitonti and Lou Ann Powell.  I had a little rest and got back into the rhythm of the ship, dinner in the Dining Room, with Anne replacing Pat at the table, and the World Stage, where John Milligan sang and played the piano.

Monday, March 9, 2026     At Sea

In my copious free time, I am working on my Hong Kong talk.  I created it 14 years ago, and it needs updating every time I give it.  Restaurants and bars close, the harbour gets filled in and the technology changes everything.  I lived there 35 years ago.  It seems like yesterday.  One of my people offered to help me with a digital map that wouldn’t require your phone to have the internet out there on the street, but it was just too complicated for me and my technology.  I’ll just send everybody to the HKTB for a paper map, while they are buying their Octopus card.  Dinner at the table was fun, Angie Narayan was on the World Stage and I liked her a lot.  I was delighted to meet the artist in residence, Ben Sack, after the show.  He had just boarded, with his mum, this time.  We go back all the way to 2012.

Tuesday, March 10, 2026

This is the day my clients fly from Mumbai to San Francisco, with a stop in Dubai.  Tripit keeps me posted on flight delays and I got five messages from them, reporting delays of ten minutes here, twenty minutes there.  Finally the plane took off and everyone could breathe.

Ben Sack and his mother, Kathy, came to dinner with us and we went to a Production Show on the World Stage.  I love those.

Saturday, February 21, 2026       Papeete, French Polynesia

We had our DV Shore Excursion, Tahiti Culture, in Papeete today. I think we skipped Paul Gaugin’s home.  That was a drive by, but our tour guide, Ganu, was indigenous and he was excellent, not to mention gorgeous. He brought the stories to life. I got my best picture at Vaipahi Tropical Gardens.

The bar scene at the end was chaotic at first but sorted itself out and everyone ended up with the drink they wanted, and some people two of them.  The “sunset” was still a couple of hours away, though, and the awnings were down in the venue because the light and heat would have been unbearable, had they been left up. A re-think might be in order, but our lovely group didn’t complain, and seemed to be enjoying each others’ company.

We got back to the ship in plenty of time to enjoy the sunset there, and about ten of us headed out for the food trucks.  It wasn’t the party scene it once was but we enjoyed feeding the local pussycat and the dessert crepe was really yummy.  We got back in time for the cultural show on board, which was excellent and eye candy for old broads.

Sunday, February 22, 2026         Moorea

Joanne curated this day off the Internet and it was a pretty good one.  There was a free shuttle to a little restaurant on an Island.  It was called Coco Beach Restaurant.  The shuttle was a van and an outrigger. It was a nice sporty ride to the island and a bit of a surprise when we had to get out in the water and wade to shore.  My beach shoes weren’t quite a match for the sharp rocks, but I had help and all was well.  The setting was idyllic and the food was very good.  Dee had poisson cru marinated in coconut milk, I had tuna tartare with avocado and shared some with Pat because her salad wasn’t the best choice, and Joanne enjoyed a fishburger.

Joanne went in the water a bit.  I tried but there were just too many sharp rocks and I was too big of a wuss.  This getting old is nasty. But, we do what we can and this was one pretty good day. On the boat ride back, we passed what used to my dream accommodation.  More than half of them are boarded up now.  Tahitian tourism has either fallen off a lot or these just weren’t sustainable.

We got back, tired and happy, cleaned up, went to the Sea View Bar for sailaway, had dinner and saw the comedian on the World Stage, Simon Palomares.  I did find him funny.

Monday, February 23, 2026         Bora Bora, French Polynesia

Bloody Mary’s is closed for renovations and the hotels aren’t doing nice lunches with beach time anymore, there was a newsletter due, and I had a talk to prepare for Hong Kong, so I just stayed on board and worked. I didn’t even go to the show.

Tuesday, February 24, 2026        At Sea

Web got Newsletter Number 8 out today.  It was full of good stuff.  Akos Laki, a Hungarian saxophonist, whom Dee and I know well, was at the table and there was another good production show on stage.

Wednesday, February 25, 2026    At Sea

I put in more work on the disadvantaged segment people case, worked on my HK talk and at 3:30pm, toddled off to the Wajang Theatre where Skip was getting set up for his talk at four o’clock on the SR-71, the fastest operational airplane the U.S. Air Force ever had. A good 50 people attended and 18 of our DV people came to dinner.  Daniel Thompson was on stage with a Johnny Cash tribute and he was excellent.

Thursday, February 26. 2026       At Sea – Crossing the Date Line

Crossing the Dateline means there will be no tomorrow.  There will however be a next day, so don’t panic.  I worked on all the stuff I work on, including Newsletter No 9, which was coming out November 28 and that was now tomorrow. Simon Palomares, the comedian, was good again.

Saturday, February 28, 2026

Akos Laki and his sax were on stage and he was very, very good.

Sunday, March 1, 2026               At Sea

It will be Auckland tomorrow and Sydney in 5 more days.  We’ll have farewell letters, welcome letters and a newsletter to get out and I am planning an overnight with Pat in Sydney before she flies back to California and I sail the rest of the way around the Pacific. People are signing up for our evening at the Occidental Pub in Auckland.  I am sure Elvon is smiling on his cloud because he started this one and it’s become a real favorite. Pat and I played Bridge as usual and Daniel Thompson was on stage again, with more “Country Gentlemen”.  I liked him better when he was all Johnny Cash.

Wednesday, February 11, 2026    At Sea

This is the first of four sea days, during which I used to accomplish a lot of logging and blogging, but I can’t seem to find time to do any of that between office hours and Bridge and just running the DV. 

We put together and delivered Newsletter 11.  There was a block party at 4 o’clock and I managed a half-hour of it.  It’s always fun.  It was quiet at the table and Mike Lynche was the vocalist on the world stage, pretty good, nothing special.

Thursday, February 12, 2026  At Sea

We sailed from Santiago, Chile, with new passengers. 

We had Linda and Bob Eckert to dinner at the table.  David and Dawn were on the World Stage and it was a most interesting act.  He plays what appears to be an electronic xylophone but it does a lot more.  He calls it a Xylosynth and it was captivating.  Google “David Meyer – xy” and that will bring him up.  It’s classical music, mixed with rock and funk and very high energy.  While he was blowing me away with his act, his looks and mannerisms were for all the world those of John Sidorchuk, my cousin, and Joanne’s husband. That just made it more fun.  Joanne wasn’t there but Dee stayed and invited David and Dawn to dinner, which pleased me enormously. Do not miss them if you are ever on a ship with them.  They are fascinating.

Friday, February 13, 2026     At Sea 

Our Distinguished Speakers today were a couple who had circumvented the earth in a 35-foot sailboat, named “Real Time”.  They lived on it from 1988-1997.  The dinghy was “Online”.  Can you tell they were both programmers?  They set off from San Francisco and barely made Australia in what became their first talk.  The audiences loved it and wanted more.  There were more than 50 people in the room.  At least 25 of them were DV people, 19 of whom came to dinner afterwards in the dining room. The entertainment were called Supernova Duo and what they did was a Fleetwood Mac tribute.

Saturday, February 14, 2026     At Sea 

It was an ordinary work and Bridge day, but David and Dawn came to our table for dinner and were positively delightful. 

We missed Pablo Bendersky on the stage, we were having so much fun.  He’s good too, though.

Sunday, February 15, 2026     Easter Island

It was a gorgeous day on Easter Island and Joanne and I went on a good HAL shore excursion to see the moai up close and personal. I’ll let the pictures tell this one:

It doesn’t get better on Easter Island.  This is at least my fourth time there, but we couldn’t dock, twice, and I just walked around the third time.  This is a place where it really pays to take the excursion.  Pablo Bendersky came to dinner at the table and was a most charming and interesting guest.

Monday, February 16. 2026

I have clients enjoying the Maharajahs’ Express in India at the moment and flying home March 10, on Emirates through Dubai.  They contacted me to start looking at alternatives. Irina Guskova entertained us with her violin.

Tuesday, February 17, 2026        At Sea on Mardi Gras

Here it is Mardi Gras, and the first day of the Chinese New Year, all at the same time.  Kung Hei Fat Choy and Happy New Year of the Horse.  Just in time to feed on pancakes and sober up for lent.  It happens.  It was another pretty ordinary work day, with Bridge in the afternoon, like all sea days.  I know I am over a month late.  It’s all I can do to keep up with the stuff that needs to be done and pronto.  I do let myself relax every night.  My happy hours in the Crows’ Nest have been mostly solitary rest time for me. 

Our dinner guest was Willie Ames, one of the enrichment speakers.  He was the most entertaining dinner guest yet.  The man is an old Cruise Director for Regent and Oceania, a Hollywood stuntman, saw stardom and infamy, got shot out of cannons, etc.  You name it, this guy has done it and can he ever tell a story.  Now he makes a career of going around on ships, talking about whatever he thinks will interest the group.   If he doesn’t know anything about it, he just googles himself up a presentation.  Amazing, and a lot of fun.  Big Mike Lynche was on the World Stage again and I enjoyed him.

Wednesday, February 18, 2026             Scenic Cruising Pitcairn Island

And you had to wonder what that meant.  We can’t get off on Pitcairn Island, but it comes to us.  A large contingent of residents pulls their long boat alongside and boards us.  Some of them lecture aboard and they sell a goods to us from stalls set up around the swimming pool.   In 2016, I bought a cheeseboard, in the shape of a whale, by Brad Christian, age 13.  I went looking for him, or another relative.  That would pretty much include the whole island, as they are pretty much all descended from Fletcher Christian, of Mutiny on the Bounty fame.  Sure enough, I found one Andrew Christian, who is a cousin.  He told me Brad was 23 now, living in New Zealand, and had a girlfriend.  They both looked swell in the picture Andrew had on his phone.  I bought a nut bowl, made by Andrew, of mirowood.  It’s very smooth and slick but ‘mirowood’ doesn’t google well.  I wouldn’t say it came from a tree native to Pitcairn Island.  I didn’t buy any T-shirts, either.  The ship pays the islanders to entertain us, and they certainly make money selling T-shirts and trinkets.  They take back a lot of it in kind.  Their longboat goes back laden with food and drink, especially drink.

David and Dawn were back on stage and this time we made sure Joanne saw them.   She saw some resemblance to her husband , but was not as struck by it as I was.  I get it.  She knows him better.

Thursday, February 19, 2026

We had an appointment with one of our people at the desk.  He had volunteered to be a Distinctive Speaker and we wanted to hear what he would have to say.  We were sorry, but we were afraid we couldn’t take this one.  Afraid was the right word. He wasn’t selling anything.  He was merely planning to discuss financial planning and some of the options.  He said he could explain Bitcoin, which I have never understood.  He said it was a scary thing but he believed there was one brand of it you could trust.  We weren’t going to risk someone losing millions of dollars and suing DV because they heard it from one of our Distinctive Speakers.  We respectfully, but firmly, declined his kind offer.

Then we printed and delivered another Newsletter. Pablo Bendersky was on the world stage with a piano concert.  I like him a lot and I love a piano.

Friday, February 20, 2026

I found out where the ship would be docked in Hong Kong, so I could start preparing my talk.  The Supernova Duo were on stage and they were good again.

Sunday, February 1, 2026 – Antarctic Experience

The Captain woke us up to muster for an up close and personal encounter with an iceberg.  I rolled over.  The picture is Joanne’s.

When I did get up, I decided this was the day I was going off my intermittent fasting for Eggs Benedict and were they ever good.  I ate with Joanne, and Peter and Sue Ann from the next table at dinner.  Then Joanne and I went to the bow for a better view and hot chocolate.  All good.  I spent the rest of the day with Pat in the Crow’s Nest.  The view was too good to play Bridge.  In a strange twist, we received a photo from Palmer Station: 

Monday, February 2, 2026 – At Sea

We are having a wonderful time in the Crow’s Nest.  I am getting to work on my Logs and Blogs, while socializing and catching the odd commentary on passing icebergs, ice floes full of penguins and the like.  I realize these missives are unlike those of many travelers, who actually take the learning experience seriously and try to pass the knowledge on.  I just sail along and live my life, running my business, serving my clients and my passengers aboard, playing Bridge, having lovely meals that I don’t have to cook, and taking in the live entertainment, almost every night.  It’s a great life and I am falling behind, trying to record that which is probably not of that much interest.  So I am going to start paring this down, if I can.  I am over 20 days behind as I type this.

Tuesday, February 3, – Drake passage and Cape Horn

Of course the log part for DV continues. It got sad today.  One of my people came to tell me that her mother, who’s 95, can’t walk at all anymore.  They would be getting off the ship in Ushuia for medical evaluation and might be shipped home.  The lady is otherwise healthy, and the ship has loaned her a wheelchair.

The show was good a variety splash of the last four headliners.

Wednesday, February 4, Ushuaia, Argentina, Beagle Channel, Glacier Alley

We were only in Ushuia from 7:00am until 2:00pm.  I got off, walked around but everything was closed until about noon.  I had a beer and a couple of very good empanadas and then met ten of my DV people in the line for the tender back to the ship. 

I used the afternoon to write Farewell Letters, with comment cards, to five people in three cabins and welcome letters for the two cabins who would be boarding in San Antonio.  Sebastian Fucci was on the main stage and he’s very good.

Thursday, February 5, Punta Arenas, Chile, Strait of Magellan

Pat and I walked out in Punta Arenas, just looking for a local bar or something.  We met Toya, on her way back, who recommended Sara Braun House, which is a museum.  We walked through the main square, which was lovely and where a busker had attracted a small crowd. There was a dearth of bars in the vicinity but Sara Braun house had one, and it was lovely.

We had a nice empanada lunch there and caught a cab to take us around for an hour or so.  Our driver was young and very sweet.   He didn’t have much English but that was OK.  The last place he took us was the cemetery, which we think we would have enjoyed if it hadn’t been for them doing a cremation just as we arrived.  The thick, foul smelling smoke chased us right back to the car. In all fairness, it was 5PM.

Back on board, Newsletter 5 got delivered and the pianist, Sebastian Fucci came to dinner. I just loved him.  He doesn’t eat his vegetables either.  He has read studies that say they have very little nutritional value.  We can survive nicely on meat and potatoes.  Yes!!!  We just got to the show in time for 15 minutes of Mariana Mazu.

Friday, February 6, Scenic Cruising, Amalia or Brujo Gia

Our 95 year old who can’t walk will be disembarking and going home.  The doc on board will start the claim on their HAL CPP Platinum.  I spent an hour with them going over the insurance claim(s) they will be making

Then I went to the Front Desk to order flowers for Dee’s 45^th Wedding Anniversary, from Wells and me, and made up cards to go with them.  I have a few nice pictures from past cruises.

The Chinese on Board decided to celebrate Chinese New Year early because some of them were disembarking in Santiago and the Hsiaos invited Joanne and me.  It was a blast, with good Chinese food and karaoke, and an appearance by the captain:

Saturday, February 7, 2026   At Sea

It was another work day for me, DV work, client work.   Skip Pratt gave his Distinctive Speakers talk on the U2 Spyplane at 4:00pm.  Over 60 people showed up, 22 of them ours, and our 22 came to dinner in the Dining Room.   It’s a nice way to build camaraderie. A lot of us went to the early show, which was Mariana Mazu and Sebastian Fucci.  I do like him a lot.

Sunday, February 8, 2026  Puerto Montt, Chile

Puerto Montt is a tender Port and I didn’t even bother going out.  I don’t think I missed much.  There are 3 cabins disembarking on February 10, so I wrote and distributed Farewell letters.  It was Super Bowl night on board.

Monday, February 9, 2026

My computer looked like it might have a virus, so I shut it down, uninstalled Chrome and Adobe which were referenced in the virus.  Reinstalling Adobe was a large pain because I had to take the free trial, which I will cancel before they start charging me in 7 days.  Chrome, I am living without for a while.  It makes you mad but I can’t be too careful out here at sea. The Grand World Voyage Band did a Santana tribute and it was excellent.

Tuesday, February 10, 2026        Santiago or San Antonio, Chile  

It’s wine country so our intrepid Napa Valley girls went wine tasting, with our wine-loving friends from a cruise about ten years ago.  We had a lovely time, bought some wine and thoroughly enjoyed the lunch and folk dancing:   

It was also a turn-around day and we acquired 2 new cabins.  Our mother and daughter were Medically Debarked and we hoped to see them back at night.  That didn’t happen, but their cabin was not released.  We have a hope of getting them back.

To top it all off, it was Dee’s 45^th wedding anniversary, so we invited Toya and Bob to come join us at the table to celebrate.  There were some nice table pictures taken but none of them landed on my camera so you’ll have to be content with the centerpiece I got for Dee.  The ship does do a good job  with flowers.  This pretty centerpiece, in the care of our stewards, Alice and Amin, lasted a good 10 days.

Saturday, January 24, 2024 – Montevideo, Uruguay

Montevideo is one of my favorite ports, but I just couldn’t go out again.  I was tired and there was plenty of office work to catch up on. The World Stage entertainment was outstanding:  May Roman & Williams Malpezzi, a couple of dancers, their training rooted in ballet, but creative modern dance, their specialty.  They took us through a lot of genres and were just wonderful to watch.

Sunday, January 25, 2026 – At Sea

No one came to the desk.  I started catching up

On logging and blogging and Pat and I played Bridge and cane 2^nd N-S again.  Lifford Shillingford was on the World Stage singing jazz and blues, and I like that.

Monday, January 26, 2026 – At Sea

Toya stopped by the desk while I was transferring photos with my USB cable and was happy to learn how to do that.  It was quite a busy day at the desk. We went to the preview Antarctica presentation on the World stage and met the HAL presenters, Ian and Vonda. We also got the captain’s take on the weather we would face in Antarctica and Joanne was a tad rattled by his predictions.

Dee was at a President’s Club Dinner and so Joanne got to eat in the Lido with her younger friends and Pat and I went to the Lido for a delicious stir-fry and a chicken pot pie.  We just chatted away right through the entertainment.

Tuesday, January 27, 2026 – Port Stanley, Falkland Islands

It was a bright, sunshiny day in the Falkland Island, unlike the rest of the times I have been here.  A lot of people went off on penguin viewing tours and were mostly disappointed.  Dee, with her experience, chose wisely and was on one of the last Bluff Point, penguin tours.  It’s a private operation and the owners are getting too old to want to keep it going.   Me, I just went into town to be able to say I had set foot in the Falklands.  I met up with Barbara Zion and Toya and we offed in search of a good British Pub lunch.  The place is pretty bleak, as to architecture, and the signage such that’s even hard to tell the pubs.  We ended up in the Victory Bar, which didn’t have much identification, but this sign gave us a bit of a clue:

Husbands, shmusbands, this is our kind of place.  We three girls went in and had the best fish and chips ever.  I guess they have no trouble getting fresh fish.  The local beer was good, too.  I counted seven DV people in the place.  I also made the acquaintance of a bubbly fellow passenger, who is giving away fairy threads as blessings.  I’ll be her next blessed recipient.

Back on board, there was a production show, called “Songbirds” a tribute to the female songwriters of our time.  Good, as usual.

 Wednesday, January 28, At Sea

This is our last regular sea day before the Antarctic Experience, and it’s rough weather.  Joanne spent the day in bed, with green apples and peanut butter, as the ship made headway through the waves.  We rolled for a few hours and then the captain was proud to announce that that was over, but we would be pitching for another five hours or so.  Joanne was not much comforted. Pat, Dee and I had no trouble at all.  Pat and I continue to do well at Bridge.  We are consistently coming second-N-S.  Sometimes it’s a 2-3 tie.  I don’t think we’ll ever catch the two guys who come first.  They are about 20 percentage points in front of us.

The World Stage entertainer, Doc Dixon, had to compete with “A night of Music” and the music won.  We loved the ad for it at the entrance to the dining room: 

When we started out at 9:30pm, all the venues were done, except the Ocean Bar.  Tells you a bit about the ship’s population, that. There wasn’t a seat in the Ocean Bar, so I gave up and went to bed. Tells you a bit about me, too, I guess.

Thursday, January 29, 2026 – Antarctic Experience

Everyone got into position for some Antarctic wildlife viewing, even though it was raining and still pretty rough. Joanne stayed in bed, I manned the desk and no one came. Then I went to meet Gina in the Crow’s Nest and got my fairy threads, while watching for anything.  Gina is a very sweet, interesting person, a sailor, at one point, but she prefers power boats.  She is spreading joy in her part of the world, which happens to be this ship for now.  I, for one, am very joyful. 

The weather kept improving as to wind and water, but you still couldn’t see anything. I spent most of the day in the Crow’s Nest, working on my logs and blogs and ready to view.  There was no view.  The captain got on the blower to tell us there were penguins swimming off the starboard side but it was so foggy you could barely see them – or anything else.  That lasted all day.  I got a lot of work done.

Linda McMillan and Bob Eckert joined me for Happy Hour and had dinner at the table with us.  They are good company.  We need to plan some adventures.  Lifford Shillingford was on the World Stage again but we didn’t get up from the table in time.

Friday, January 30, 2026 – Antarctic Experience

And this is the big wildlife viewing day, and I am writing this from the Crow’s Nest, all caught up.  And what a day it is.  The weather is bright and sunny and the wildlife is out playing.  We are seeing spritzes from whales and penguins, a tail of a whale and a sea lion lolling on an ice floe.  At least I am told we are seeing all that stuff.

Cougarville Island – finally saw penguins, lots and lots of them.  I couldn’t believe how close to shore this big ship got. It doubtless has to do with the fact that it’s a perfectly calm day, so the underwater cameras can keep us safe.  We got so close you could see the penguins with the naked eye. Our onboard naturalist says they come back here every year looking for their mates, they call and call and if that doesn’t work after a few days, they just waddle off and find another mate.  Sort of like us.  The Dance Duo of May Roman and Williams Malpezzi were on the World Stage and they are true eye candy in many genres.  We are trying to figure out if they are an actual couple.  They keep the mystery.

Saturday, January 31, 2026 – Antarctic Experience

Nobody came to the desk.  I haven’t figured out whether these days are Sea Days or not, as they are titled “Antarctic Experience” and everyone is going around in toques and puffer jackets.  Pat and I played Bridge and didn’t do as well.

We had a wonderful time at dinner with May and Roman.  We have new friends now and we still don’t know if they will ever get married, but they sure are having fun.  We learned a lot more about the training regimen of professional dancers and I have new found respect for my late lovely friend, Pat Finot.

Thursday, January 15, 2026 – Recife, Brazil

I decided to skip Recife and try to get caught up.  I have been there at least three times before.  I really need some new clothes, but they will have to wait a bit.  Dee went to the prison market, where I scored last year and she came back with at least one nice dress. 

I worked on my own client stuff, including our tour of Iguazu Falls, coming up, and went to sailaway from Recife around 4:30PM.  It was a beautiful sailaway and we took some lovely pictures.  Then I went to dinner and enjoyed Isabel Commandeur on the World Stage again.

Friday, January 16 – at sea

We were back at the desk and a few people came.  Two of them were old computer programmers, like me, but smarter.  They taught me how to use a cable to transfer photos to my phone, since that game had changed on me.  A German Canadian stopped to chat.  He finds the other Canadians he meets to be standoffish.  I disagreed but his theory is that’s because I’m from Quebec.  I wonder.

Oi Brazil had a huge pool party this night, which I hear was a great success. 

Saturday, January 17  At Sea

Larry Sutton gave his talk and book reading.  He had given us the story of how he became a deep sea diver for the Navy, at a Distinctive Speakers talk on the 2023 World.  That reinforced what his teachers had told him 60 years ago, and he wrote a book.  Larry is a very funny storyteller and amused us with a chapter called “The Condom Conundrum”, just before our venue was to host Saturday evening mass.  Fourteen people came to dinner afterward.  There was a production show on the World Stage and we made the early show for once.

Sunday, January 18 – Rio de Janiero

I didn’t go out in Rio as I had some client work to do, before we left on our trip to Iguazu Falls.  It was a bucket list item and would be fun to compare with Niagara Falls, which I had had occasion to visit last June.  I worked and I packed, had dinner and went to Oi Brazil’s fabulous show on the World Stage.  Pure eye candy.

Monday, January 19 – Rio de Janiero

I left Joanne to mind the store on the ship.  It’s wonderful to have a competent co-host, so I could go play with my friends at Iguazu Falls. 

The trouble with all overland trips is the air travel.  We weren’t flying out until 1:35 pm, but that meant meeting up around 10 am on board.  Our group consisted of two little groups, who had bought our tours from SITA, an Indian Tour company that I had used and liked before in South America.  Go figger.  We processed through the terminal and found ourselves a couple of taxis, one for Dee, Pat and Helen and one for Toya and Bob. Three out of five of us had booked wheelchairs, which was enough that the other two, Toya and Helen, got to enjoy the perks, like quick security processing and early boarding.  We also got to huff and puff a very long run through a couple of terminals. It’s still hurry up and wait, because the plane goes when it goes.  We got airport food to eat, which, in Brazil, were pasteles.  They are empanadas in Argentina.  No difference. Not great quality.

The plane was on time.  It was a three-hour flight and Roberto was at the airport to meet us with a van. We stayed at the Doubletree in Foz do Iguazu, a very nice hotel, with a beautiful pool, and good food. Roberto picked us up at 7:45 for a dinner and Dance show at Rafrain.  This we could have done without.  It was a buffet for about a thousand people, with a dance show.  The food was decent, but buffets for a thousand aren’t my cup or tea, or anything else.  After Oi! Brazil, the dance show wasn’t much either.  It was a disappointing evening but at least Roberto got us out of there before people started running for the twenty tour buses. 

   Tuesday, January 20 – Iguassu Falls – Argentinian side

We gave ourselves a late start.  There were two hikes out to the falls to do, at over a kilometer each way.  We figured we wouldn’t do more than one of them, anyway.  Toya and Bob met Meri around 8:00am.  Dee, Pat and Helen set out at the crack of 9:30 am.  There was a long line at the border crossing into Argentina, so we probably didn’t actually start our trek to the falls until about 11:30am.  I never looked at my watch until hours later.  It was an interesting walk because much of it was over water on aluminum bridges.  About a third of the way in, we met Bob coming out.  Toya was still at the falls, mesmerized.  It was a very long walk, and took all we had, but it was worth it. 

We then had a buffet lunch by weight in the park cafeteria and it was back across the border and home to the Doubletree.  The five of us met for dinner in the hotel’s restaurant, not wanting to take another step.

I was also delighted to have Joanne back on the ship.  When I got an email that told me we had two new cabins,  I just forwarded it to her and asked her to do the necessary to try to get them on to the shore excursion, which was now in just a couple of days.  Hopefully HAL was already on side.

Wednesday, January 21, 2026 – Iguazu Falls – Brazil side

We had a plane to catch this afternoon and the Brazil side of the falls to see first, so we mustered for 8:00am.  The Brazil side was a lot easier on our old bods.  We could use our van, a little choo choo train, a Jeep, an elevator and a golf cart to get us from one viewing platform to the next and lunch.  All good.  The pictures were good, some are Robertos, some are Dee’s. 

Dee took one look at the zodiacs and decided she didn’t want any part of them.  She didn’t want to get soaked.  She just wanted to take pictures.  So, she and Roberto took the “dry boat”, which, he promised, would deliver and it did.  Pat and Helen went for the adventure, suitably clad in the HAL provided poncho.  It looked very professional:

And it let in buckets of water.  The water came straight at us, taking our breath away and running down our chins and necks, straight through the valley between our titties to pool under our butts.  It was nice warm water on an even warmer day, so no great discomfort, just a bit of terror.  Everyone on the boat screamed at the top of their lungs, when the boat banked sharply and the rail went into the water.  Everyone but Pat, that is.  She was laughing her head off.  Sometimes I think Pat’s laugh is like a cat’s purr – all purpose.  She sure sounded like she was having fun, though. 

We came out of that soaked to the skin, and we had a plane to catch after lunch. So we ate outside at the weigh-it cafeteria in this park, and kept presenting our wettest part to the sun.  Miraculously, by the time it was time to set out for the airport, we were dry enough. 

The border was easier in the afternoon, and we made it with plenty of time.  Dinner was another empanada affair, and this one wasn’t as good as Rio’s.  Oh well.  Another bucket list item checked off.

By the time we checked in to the Alvear Palace Hotel, it was past our bed time but we had lovely, luxurious beds to get into. 

Thursday, January 22, 2026 – Buenos Aires

While I caught up with my emails, Pat and Dee had the $65 breakfast in the Orangerie of the Alvear Palace.  I was informed it looked better than it tasted but the surroundings were worth the price of admission.  The Orangerie is a natural atrium and the morning sun was pouring into it.  I collected them there at 9:45 am to meet Soledad at 10.  Solé had been our tour guide in 2018. She’s a friend if Eilat’s, and now, of mine.  Dee passed on the tour in favor of a massage at the hotel.

Solé’s sister Inez was our driver and we were just going for a very relaxed tour.  Pat and Toya were all destroyed from yesterday’s boat ride, aching in every joint.  I am trying to figure out why it didn’t happen to me, too, and I am crediting Miranda Esmond-White’s Essentrics exercise program.  We drove around a bunch, poked around an antiques market, and had a typical Argentine pastry and a submarino in a café.  That’s a bar of chocolate that you melt in a cup of hot milk, DIY hot chocolate.

When we got back to the hotel around two, Pat went to rest her achy body.  Dee and I went to Rambla, a bar about a block from the hotel, tucked away on a side street.  We ate on the street, because the weather was perfect.  The food was good and generous and the large beer I ordered, sure was.

I am used to a small beer being a 10 oz glass, and a large beer being a pint.  This puppy was a litre.  I thought I’d never finish it, but Dee and I got talking and by and by, the beer was gone.  When I got back to the room, Pat had gone off exploring.  I lay down for a few minutes and woke up an hour and a half later.  Pat was beginning to worry about me.  I don’t usually do that sort of thing.  Then I told her about the beer.

We had a wonderful dinner with Eilat at Elena, the grill in the Four Seasons Hotel.  Toya and Bob got there early and had the best time in the Pony Bar, where the waiters wear livery and everything has a horsey theme.  The food was excellent and the price wasn’t over the top.  I would highly recommend it to you, if you are looking for a place to eat in Buenos Aires.  Eilat is good company, too.  It’s always great to see her.

Friday, January 23, 2026 – Buenos Aires

We were up at the crack of dawn, because we had a bus to meet, not to mention a ship, later.  The bus was for our DV Shore Excursion, and we really could not miss it.  It had become two buses, with the addition of the four new people, and that was very fine with me and all the participants.  They love the luxury of spreading out in a bus.

It was a nice, though unexceptional city tour.  Only the last two stops in la Boca, were actually worth stopping at.  A walk through a park to see an unexceptional rose garden doesn’t cut it.  We all have roses in our gardens at home.  I didn’t make that up.  I heard it from a guest.  The Opera House stop was boring, too.  It would have been great if we could have got in.  Evita’s grave would have been nice, too.  People are still talking about that.  Lunch was good but there were serious logistics problems.  There weren’t enough waiters and they didn’t speak English.  Neither did the menu.  The tour guides acted as interpreters, but when you have 43 people arriving at once and the menu is in Spanish only, you have a serious bottleneck.  A few people figured out how to do it with Google translate on their phones, and I was glad of the lesson for the future, but I would have preferred our tour to go more smoothly.  The last stop in La Boca, was the best:

 It was interesting to walk around and had a nice shop, where we felt safe. We got back to the terminal, went through customs & immigration and were glad to be back home aboard the Volendam.

Sunday, January 11, 2026 At Sea – Crossing the Equator

The day you cross the equator for the first time is an experience and this was Joanne’s first time.  The ship used the comedian, Paul Adams, as King Neptune and he was a hoot.  They made the usual mess of the crew first timers, dubbed “polliwogs” and then pronounced them “shellbacks”.  They left the passengers alone, which pleased Joanne.  She took this picture:

At Office hour, we got a nice offer from a couple, who had sailed around the world on a Cal 35 from 1988 to 1997, and had a bunch of pictures and stories to tell.  We’ll do it.

We dealt with a HAL problem and took a few sign ups, got the tipping list for our Cocktail Party,  made up the envelopes and gave them to the sommelier, who was delighted.  I had put them in Chinese red and gold LaiSee packets and they looked swell.

Pat and I played Bridge again and this time we came in the top 3 N-S and earned a third of a master point. Imagine that.

A couple of  our people came to our table for dinner, and we saw Isabel Commandeur on the world stage.  We waited, after the show, and invited her and her boyfriend to dinner, shamelessly dropping Nancy Gustafson’s name as our Opera Singer connection. 

Monday, January 12,        Icoaraci (Belem), Brazil

I was getting behind in my correspondence, paperwork, logging and blogging , so I took the morning to work. Around 12:30pm, Dee and I went out in Icoaraci.  I couldn’t resist taking a picture of this old boat, still in the water:

We didn’t think we’d have time to go to Belem, but the onshore shorex staff were sure we could do it and seemed to really want us to go.  Maybe it wasn’t safe to walk around Icoaraci.

We drove past the saddest real estate I had ever seen, and I have seen a lot of third world countries.  This was really bad.  But when we got to Belem, they had a few nice modern buildings to browse, and some entertainment.  As usual, I just wanted some good local food and thoroughly enjoyed the Pasteles with Guarana, a soft drink found only in Brazil and a favorite of Dee’s.:

There was a local market to go to, but we didn’t have time and it turned out to be a good thing.  When we got back, Pat told us she had seen a lady in front of her pushed to the ground, and her HAL tote bag ripped from her.  Pat turned right around and went back to the bus. So much for that shopping day.

Joanne went on a shore excursion up the Amazon and had a wonderful day.  This is the real estate she saw:

And sailaway was very nice.  Paul Adams was on the World Stage after dinner, and we all enjoyed him.

Tuesday, January 13, 2026   At Sea

We met with our contact from Shorex to give her an updated count and discuss how Pat, Dee and I were going to rejoin our tour in Buenos Aires, after Iguassu Falls.  We weren’t going to be able to board a ship that docks at 8:00am for an 8:00am meeting.  Ships let all the tours off the ship before they let anyone come on.  We will have full coordinates for our bus so we will be on board before our group even leaves the ship. 

Pat and I managed to squeeze another game of Duplicate Bridge in and won another quarter of a master point. We had dinner on the balcony of Dee’s Neptune Suite, to discuss our tour to Iguassu Falls, just the four of us.  We felt very special and Joanne talked us through the whole thing so we know what we are doing. It looks great.

Wednesday, January 14 – At Sea

I did some work for one of my DV people, greeted a few more at the Desk, and did some work for a travel client. Pat and I played Bridge again and did not finish with any master points.  Oh dear.  I had a cruise to sell to keep me busy until dinnertime, and what a dinner.

We had such a wonderful dinner with Isabel Commandeur and her boyfriend, Ralph, that we talked right through the show.  They are Dutch and I’m now Facebook friends with Isabel.  If she’s in Amsterdam, when I go in the fall of 2027, we’ll get together. That’ll be a Rhine River Cruise.  Watch for it to appear in my signature.

Monday, January 5, 2026   At Sea

The guy in the Vista Suite woke up liking it just fine. So Joanne and I will be staying in our Ocean View Host Cabin.  We started unpacking. We got a call from a travel agent in the group, saying she would come to all the shore excursions, except Papeete because she would be off the ship from February 10 to 28 and would we please take care to call her client, also in the group,  during that time, whenever we needed him to be somewhere, because he doesn’t read English.

We went to our desk at 10am.  A few people stopped by to accept our excursions.  Toya and Bob Howard came to schmooze a bit and volunteer to help.  They are old cruise buddies and she is now a DV Host.  I worked on my cocktail party speech.

At 2:00pm, we met with Shore Excursions and worked out how we would proceed.  Our cocktail party was at 5:00pm, which conflicts with early dining.  Only one cabin did not come.  Joanne and Toya got their pictures for us to learn names and make birthday cards, when necessary. After I spoke, I passed the microphone around and identified a couple of Distinctive Speakers, while everyone was enjoying learning about everyone else.  Nice group. We finished off having drinks and dinner with the Suttons.  Larry was a Distinctive Speaker with Dee in 2023, so we were old friends.  Chloe Lowry was on the World Stage.

Tuesday, January 6, 2026  At Sea

Busy day at the desk.  We saw a lot of our nice people.  I updated the manifest with all those who were coming to our shore excursions, and there were many.  I sent it in for printing and for Shore Excursions to have.  Joanne picked it up and delivered to Shorex while The next order of business was to write and deliver Newsletter No 1, which follows this day.  I write, Joanne delivers, works well, happy of the help.

Chloe Lowry stood us up for dinner.  Then we went to the show on the World Stage, which was the MidAtlantic Men, again.

Wednesday, January 7, 2026  At Sea

We got a lot of bookings for our speaker and dinner tonight.  I made a booking for Madama Butterfly at the Sydney Opera House on March 7.  I got him a nice seat as he is a single.  He used to be a pretty important Music Director and he came to the Sydney Opera House with me in 2023.  

We had serious technical problems getting Dee’s presentation underway.  It was a slide show called “What you See under the Sea” and she didn’t have a HDMi port on the computer she brought.  It was different from the one she had used in 2023, and an Apple.  HAL supplied us with a tech, but he moved on to the next job before we solved it.  I brought in a computer with a HDMi port, but it was a PC, not a MACOne of  sour guests stepped up to the plate.  He had a USB drive formatted for Apple.  My computer wasn’t too happy with that but our tech found the conversion software, and eventually we were up and running.  By this time HAL’s tech was long gone and no one could find the controls for the house lights.  I eventually found the Pinnacle Grill manager across the way, and he got the lights off for us.  Luckily Dee knows her subject matter so well, she can present in the dark.  We’ll need a podium light for the next time we have slides.

18 people came for dinner.  I poured wine from my wine cellar package to compensate for the technical difficulties.  Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. Chloe Lowry was back on stage and we went.

Thursday, January 8, 2026  Bridgetown, Barbados

I made and delivered a birthday card to Nita Starr.  It’s a good thing her TA wrote

 me about it, because Kumar has yet to get back to me on my request for all birthdays that fall on the cruise. Dee and I went out in Bridgetown looking for markets and food.  We got going too late but it was fine.  We got a taxi for an hour for $20 each and had it take us for some good local food. I do have a stipulation.  I want it fresh cooked, not sitting over maybe hot water waiting to be sold.  The first place was just that, so we had him move us to Pelican Island, which the official desk in the terminal had recommended.  I got a super grilled marlin steak lunch, with grilled potatoes, cooked to  order, piping hot.  You can’t get sick that way, no matter how grungy the place is.  This one had only locals in it, but they looked like business people.  Perfect. 

Our hour was almost up by the time I had eaten, and Dee hadn’t liked the looks of the shops in town, so we had our driver take us quickly back to the terminal.  He wasn’t happy that we didn’t extend, but we weren’t happy he took us to the wrong kind of

lunch first.  The comedian, Paul Adams, was on the World Stage, and, as always, he was a hoot.  He’s slimmer and has a girlfriend, too.

Friday, January 9, 2026  At Sea

At sea again, at the desk, again.  Saw a few clients, met with Shore Excursions, the usual.  One wanted help rounding up the Jewish people to support the rabbi, who she likes a lot. Best Rabbi since Arthur Starr.

We got Newsletter #2 printed and Joanne delivered it, while I played Bridge with Pat. It’s Duplicate, and Pat is very conflict averse.  We had the Director called on us.  Two hands later the opponents made a mistake and I let them know I could have called the director on them, but that I didn’t do that sort of thing.  Fast forward a few days and these guys are sweet as pie.

The Production Company was on the World Stage – love that.

Saturday, January 10, 2026  Devil’s Island, French Guiana

We just sailed past Devil’s Island.  They are doing renovations on some system or other and the hotel( probably not a Ritz)  that the pilot would have stayed in is closed.  So, no pilot, no stop.  We couldn’t come within three miles of the place.  Our captain, Rens von Eerten, is not happy.  He has the expertise to bring the ship in but no pilot, no Devil’s Island.  C’est la merde, mais c’est la vie.

We had office hours.  Pat and I played Bridge again, with a better result than the first time.  She’s liking it.

The Gold Strings Duo, a couple of gorgeous gals with violins, were on the World Stage. All good.

Friday, January 3, continued

We got to the hotel without a hitch and met up with Dee and Aileen at Kelly’s landing for some of the best fried calamari and lobster roll I have ever had.  Good price, too, and best to be sharing with good friends.

Saturday, January 3, 2026 – Fort Lauderdale

It was still dark when I first woke up in the Hilton Marina Fort Lauderdale.  There was a strange looking building across from our window.  It had two columns of cobalt blue lights, probably ten stories high.  I noted it and rolled over.  When we got up I asked Joanne if she knew what it was.  She said she thought it was likely the Princess building.  She knew they had one somewhere around here.  I took a closer look and sure enough, there was the Princess logo – on a smokestack.  It was no building but the Star Princess, itself, the third Star Princess.  Launched in October, 2025, she carries 4300 passengers and 1500 crew. And from the rear, our balcony view, she looks like this:

We got up, got our FedEx delivery, had our welcome letters printed, collated them with the six shore excursion flyers and put them into their packets.   So nice to have help.  I called a couple of friends in the area and made our dinner plans.  Then we went out to load up on lotions, potions and sundries that don’t fit and are not permitted in carry-on, anyway. On the way back to our hotel from the drug store, we passed the real Princess building, and got back to our room just in time to see the Star Princess sail away

.

She IS the size of a building. The thing to her right definitely IS one.

Pat Gustafson’s plane got in to Fort Lauderdale pretty much on time, but no Pat arrived.  She wasn’t communicating by text, as she was keeping her phone open for an UBER driver who never showed up and then cancelled.  Maybe he went to the wrong place or whatever.  She did get the odd email through, so we weren’t quite panicked.  When a new UBER finally delivered her to us, she was exhausted and starving.  We met her at the door of the Hilton, she checked in, Joanne whisked her luggage to her room, near ours in the second building, and we were off to the Boatyard in the Quay shopping centre, pretty much next door, but we took a taxi.  We weren’t going to walk Pat another step.

Dinner at the Boatyard, outdoors by the water, was just what we all needed.  We just had a whole bunch of appetizers and a glass of wine and went to bed happy.

Sunday, January 4, 2026 – Fort Lauderdale

We got up, got our acts, and our luggage together, found a shared “third-party shuttle” and were on the Volendam and settled in our rooms by 1PM.  Ordering Pat a wheelchair helped.  I have sailed with Captain Rens before.  He’s great.

 Joanne and I made our meeting with Kumar, the Group Events Coordinator by 2:00PM, but he was still working in the terminal and we had to wait until 3:00PM to meet him.  When we did there were a lot of discrepancies between our manifests, and we would have to meet again at 6:00pm, but there were also a lot of packets that were OK and could be delivered.  We delivered them together, Joanne doing a good ¾ of them and me starting the phone calls as soon as I had a few people that I could call.  That went well and we got about 80% of the people called or seen before it was time for dinner at 7:30pm.  The delivering took a lot longer because we knocked on every door and chatted up anybody who was there.  It saves the phone call and is actually fun.  I landed a repeater from 2023, who almost traded cabins with us to get our walk-in shower.  His was a suite, though, and after sleeping in it one night, he came to his senses and kept it, with its balcony and jacuzzi.

We have a good few repeaters.  The Taiwanese were jumping up and down to see us.  They don’t speak English, so in 2023, I had been sending the newsletters to their son, in Vancouver, who would then talk to them and make sure they got to all the events.  They still don’t speak English but are downright delightful and we’re chatting on Google translate.  We have a total of eight repeaters.

We had dinner with Dee Wescott, and Pat, who get on famously. We have a table for 8 and will be inviting people.   The Mid-Atlantic Boys were on the Main Stage and were pretty good.

For those of you who might cross paths with us in some port or other, or just for the curious, Here’s our itinerary:

With less than three weeks between cruises, including Christmas and New Year’s, I’ve been busy, and more than a little stressed.  When everything came together, and it was still 2025, I started sleeping well again.  This morning I got up, had a leisurely Jacuzzi, spent a half hour stretching with Miranda Esmonde-White, made my last call to a supplier, called a taxi and went to the airport.  Everything is easy when you have a partner, and mine was meeting me there.  Meet Joanne Sidorchuk

Joanne is my cousin by marriage, one of those nice people I spend my holidays with, and whatever summer days I can.  She and her husband John, who was my dentist before he retired this year, live just west of Cornwall, on Moulinette Island, with boats and water toys, like a SeaDoo, at their dock.  Joanne used to be in charge of personnel, at the hospital in Brockville, so she knows how to herd cats, a key requirement for this job. We’ve been working together for a couple of months now, and it’s going great.  Now we’re going away together on our first hosting job.  Nothing like diving right in.  It’s going to be 135 days. 

And, yes, what you see there is ALL of our luggage.