Holland American’s Zuiderdam’ via Wikipedia.
By Mike Sweigart
SUWANEE, Ga. | Jules Verne was one of my favorite authors while growing up and one of my favorite books was Around the World in 80 Days…now that was an adventure!
Most recently my wife Meg and I, and two other couples completed a transatlantic crossing …one of my “adventure” travel dreams!
Our cruise was in four legs and the first 28 days were on the Holland America Zuiderdam.
- Leg 1: Sail from Fort Lauderdale to the Azores, Cork, Falmouth and Cornwall, Cherbourg and Normandy (80th D-Day Anniversary), then Bruges and Amsterdam.
- Leg 2: Continue sailing on the Zuiderdam from Amsterdam and then to Kristiansand, Aarhus, Warnemunde/Berlin, Tallin, Helsinki, Stockholm, Visby Island, Roone Island, Keil, Copenhagen, and back to Amsterdam.
- Leg 3: Fly from Amsterdam to Lisbon, Sintra, Fatima, Nazare, and Cascais.
- Leg 4: Fly from Lisbon to Boston to Atlanta.
While planning for the trip, all of us were excited about the upcoming crossing. What will we do during the day? To say we were anxious would be an understatement, for many different reasons. However, we quickly settled in! Life on a cruise ship is as busy or low key as you want it to be. All of us would leave our cabins at 8 a.m. and often not be back until 11 p.m.
In the morning, I would often go to the gym and work out. Others would walk laps around the ship to “get their steps in”, followed with a leisurely breakfast. Afternoons were filled with any number of activities; cooking classes, lectures, travel orientations, movies, and of course dominoes Mexican Train (our group’s mutual game of choice). Evenings started with formal dining followed by live entertainment in the theatre and piano bars and dancing afterwards. I did a wee bit of gambling myself as well.
This cruise was more a means of transportation and less a way to see the scenery. I often looked out over the sea and let thoughts come to me. I thought about the first explorers, pilgrims and immigrants making this journey taking two or three months to cross. They didn’t know where they would land, they didn’t know if they would survive, and they knew they would never return to their homes. For me, I knew the crossing would only be nine days, and I knew that we would return home.
I marveled at the deep blue color of the sea !
I loved that the time zone changes occur one hour per day after midnight, with no more feeling beat up and exhausted when you arrive in Europe like you do with air travel!
My own Travel Tips for you if considering a trip:
- Traveling with friends has always been fun for us. Sometimes we did everything together and sometimes we didn’t. You will have time to share at dinner.
- Cruising means you unpack once until you disembark.
- Cruise ships offer affordable laundry services. Some ships provide do-it-yourself laundry rooms.
- Don’t watch the You-Tube videos people have taken while on their guided tours. It ruins your guided tour.
- Do watch the You-Tube videos created by experienced guides orienting you to the Do’s and Don’ts of your trip.
I may not be sharing anything you haven’t heard before, but I can confirm that you will benefit from these tips. The strongest benefit of extended vacations is the time you get to immerse yourself in a new culture.
Go travel and make your own adventures!
- Have a comment? Click here to send an email.
Follow Us