2023 in our Wake

Cape Town Harbor - View of Table Mountain from our Hotel - Cape Town, South Africa

I PUBLISHED the first post here in September 2022. I love to travel, take pictures, and write. My other blog has been out there for many years but is really intended to be focused on my photography - though it may have become a bit of a travelogue blog too, as travel, cityscape, and street shooting has become a big part of my photography.

Rotterdam, Netherlands

BUT WE cruise. A lot. Indeed, the bulk of our travel is cruising. I didn't want the photography blog to become too much about cruising. But since it is so much fun for us, I absolutely wanted to talk about our cruises. And I thought that if I could tell some stories, insert some humor, post a few pictures, and maybe impart some useful (if mostly anecdotal) information about cruising, somebody out there might find it helpful and/or entertaining. So. Here we are. Its now just a couple days from the end of 2023, and this blog is a little more than a year old. I haven't run out of things to blog about yet. 😁

St. Kitts, West Indies

I HAVE traditionally done a year-end, or year-in-review on my photography blog. I like that tradition, so I will repeat it here. I like to recap what we have done, and also express gratitude for all who have made them so much fun; and to the readers here who may have hung in there (all 5 of you, LOL). There are many people who make the cruises what they are. My wife, who really could have been a travel agent/event coordinator is really central to the fun and success of our cruises. They wouldn't be the same without her careful, thoughtful, and detailed planning! Our friends who join us on the cruises, and the many new friends we make around the world on our cruises also make the cruises fun and memorable. The tourism professionals we work with and meet along the way also deserve huge credit for our great cruises. We have met so many fun, hard-working, interesting and in most cases vital people over the past few years. All the way from the Uber drivers to the TSA professionals, baggage handlers and flight attendants, to our hotel personnel, onshore guides, and others I am sure I am forgetting. They are hard-working and most of them show great enthusiasm for, and knowledge about their jobs. Thank you!

Celebrity Cruise Ship

AND OF course we really have to acknowledge the onboard personnel. Obviously, we are thankful to captain and crew for moving us safely throughout our cruise. But to us, it is the wait staff, bar staff, room attendants (and some of the hidden workers like those in the kitchen, laundry, and maintenance) on the ship that we feel the most benefit from. We have made a few lasting friends among that staff and have never felt they weren't attentive and enthusiastic. Thank all of you folks for making our cruise fun! And those of you reading this - I know gratuities are already included in the cost of the cruise. But if you feel inclined: don't hesitate to tip generously!

Oceania Nautica

2023 WAS an eventful year for us, which included 4 cruises. Each venue was different, and for the first 3, each ship a bit different. That makes it doubly (triply? 😀) interesting. And while we have ships/lines that we tend to favor, it is always fun to try something new.

The Martini Bar on Oceania's Nautica

IN THAT vein, we started the year out in a completely new part of the world, on a completely new-to-us cruise line and ship: The Oceania Nautica - cruising in South Africa. When we go to new places - particularly out of the country - having spent the effort, time, and money to get there, we like to spend some time on the ground in either our originating city, or someplace we have wanted to see, where we can readily get to the starting port (in 2021, we spent a week in London, for example, before boarding a train to Southampton to board our cruise ship). This cruise originated in Cape Town, South Africa. We flew in 3 days in advance of the boarding day, and spent some time seeing things in Cape Town, before the cruise. We stayed right on one of the waterfront areas (not far from the cruise terminal) and moved around, when necessary, by Uber. You can read my recent post: "Cruising South Africa," for a more detailed reporting of this cruise. My conclusion was that a cruise is really not the best way to see South Africa. Most everything (other than Cape Town) is really more land-based.

My favorite musician - Oceania Nautica

OUR CRUISE ship was another new experience for us. Oceania is a subsidiary of Norwegian Cruise Lines (NCL) and is sold as their "luxury" division. A few of the ships are much smaller than our accustomed ships. The Nautica has a capacity of 670 passengers (compared with the Celebrity ships with capacity of between 2,500 and 3,000 passengers). There are only 10 full decks compared to Celebrity Apex's 16 decks. The ship length is just under 600 feet, compared with Apex's 1000 feet. Everything was smaller. The standard balcony staterooms (our normal fare) were cramped. The bathroom was so small that it was difficult to move around in. The pool was perhaps smaller than our pool at our home. Public spaces were better, but still small in comparison to what we are accustomed to. We didn't find our "premium drink package" up to the same standards as Celebrity's. Otherwise, the ship was very nice, and very nicely appointed. The food was excellent for the most part (see my commentary on the specialty restaurant ironies in the main post linked above though). We liked it. I have liked every cruise we have been on. As far as entertainment there was less of it than we would have liked. There were also less lounges/bars than we are used to. For my wife, especially, I think she found there wasn't enough to keep her fully entertained. They do have some nice touches, including some very good educational programming. But the cost of this cruise - for essentially the same level accommodations - was nearly 3X the cost of our normal Celebrity Cruise. For those reasons, we cannot agree that it slots in as a "luxury" cruise. We were with a group and had our own programming much of the time. That was really the only motivator for booking this one. We probably wouldn't do it again unless there was some draw other than the ship or the cruise line itself. We know Oceania has some larger and more modern ships. And we know they have their own loyal following. That's why, as my someone near and dear to me is fond of saying: "God made both white milk and chocolate milk."

Fort DeFrance, Martinique

IN FEBRUARY, I cruised solo (due to some "family logistics" issues) for the first (and I hope last) time, on the Celebrity Equinox. Launched in 2009 and updated in 2019, the ship is one of the "Solstice" class ships and is the 2nd in a series of 5 such ships built between 2008 and 2012. My personal favorite, "Reflection" was the last in the class, in 2012. I had not been on Equinox, but it was familiar to me based on 5 prior cruises on the Reflection. A very traditional feeling cruise ship, with the Celebrities "signature" ice-topped martini bar in the center of the action on one of the main public area decks (discontinued in favor of a much more upscale and elegant martini bar on the Edge Class ships - many have lamented that change, but many others have embraced it), the Equinox was a great ship for an extended cruise into the southern Caribbean.

Castries, St. Lucia

WE STOPPED on 5 different islands, all in the Lesser Antilles, and pretty much enjoyed a typical Caribbean experience, with warm, sunny weather, good food, plenty to drink, and great entertainment.

Akureyi, Iceland - Celebrity Apex

FOR OUR penultimate 2023 cruise, our great and very fun friends, Bruce and Joyce joined us on the Celebrity Apex for a cruise to Iceland and then back to the U.K. This was our second cruise on the Apex (and we board it tomorrow for the third voyage) Along with two on the sister-ship/class-namesake, Edge, that makes 5 cruises on the Edge Class Celebrity ships. Even with a fond spot in my heart for the Reflection, we have come really like and appreciate these newer ships. They have great amenities, including spacious, modern rooms and bathrooms, and large, airy feeling public spaces. They have changed up the "main dining room" concept, splitting the space into 4 separate restaurants, each with its own (Italian, French, Greek, and "cosmopolitan" - whatever that means - themes. You can have an assigned seat and time in any one of them, but we have found their "anytime" dining program to be much more convenient. It lets us set the approximate time we want to eat, change the mix of our party if we wish, and eat in whichever one we want to do that evening. Though the ship recommends making reservations, most of the time we have had excellent luck just walking in - or making the reservation the same day. I don't think we have ever waited more than 10 minutes, and often there is no wait at all. The specialty restaurants are a bit different and may be different from ship to ship within the class.

Akureyri, Iceland

MY FAVORITE outdoor spot on the ship is the Sunset Bar Cigar/smoking area. That space on the Solstice ships was nice, inviting, and for the most part, well thought out. On the Edge ships they have taken it up a notch. Though I miss the intimate atmosphere of the old, sunken oval Sunset Bar, the new space is really more accommodating. They have allocated on side (the starboard) of the ship with some nice open areas for seating. It is, of course, outdoors, and weather will play a part. That's where the Edge class ships have done a nice job, in my view, of a "nod" to the smokers on board. There are two additional areas on the ship that will accommodate cigar smokers. One is a little-known, mezzanine area on the pool deck just beyond the pool bar. It is covered and partly sheltered, so there is a refuge from rain and high winds. The third area is on Deck 6, again on the starboard side of the ship, adjacent to the fancy new bar and specialty restaurant, Eden. The space is quite small, but we have been able to take refuge there on a couple occasions to smoke a cigar. On this trip, Bruce and I - both cigar smokers - spent a lot of time on the mezzanine deck. The Iceland portion of this cruise was the coldest weather I have ever experienced out at sea. We have made it a vow not to ever book a cruise in a potential cold-weather spot again.

Isafjordur, Iceland

SOMETIME AFTER booking this cruise, which was originally a round-trip out of Amsterdam, the deal changed with Celebrity and Amsterdam. We didn't know at the time why. There has never been any official explanation by Celebrity. But I have read that Amsterdam has more traffic from tourism - by plane, train, and ship - than they can really handle. It is known that in addition to dumping 2000 -6000 cruise passengers at a time, cruise ships can do damage to the harbors. The city of Amsterdam (after our cruise) has now voted to exclude cruise ships from docking in their main harbor, which houses a pretty nice cruise terminal. I suspect they will continue to berth River Cruise ships, as they are a major hub for that. That personally saddens us (but we surely understand) We found Amsterdam to be on of the most convenient pre and post cruise cities we have ever been in. The main Cruise Terminal is within walking distance to the main rail station, as well as very convenient to the tram line. Our hotel (the Popular Amsterdam Movenpick) was immediately adjacent to the cruise terminal. We found it one of the most convenient places to board and depart a cruise ship we had ever been to.

Llingvollum National Park - Reykjavik, Iceland

THIS TIME, though, we began and terminated in nearby Rotterdam. We actually found that to be almost as convenient. We found a hotel directly across from the main rail station, from which we could travel on large rail (too other major spots like Schiphol Airport, Amsterdam, and den Hague), or the city's very good tram system. We did a very short taxi ride to the cruise port on the day we left. As we always do, we came into Rotterdam before the day of our departure. This time, because we had kind of seen most of what we wanted to see during a couple different trips to Amsterdam, we only came in one day early. But we made the most of it, with a couple really fun and informative tours of Rotterdam, which turned out to be a great city! If, as I expect will be the case, your cruises in the future are based in Rotterdam instead of Amsterdam, I highly encourage you to spend a couple days in Rotterdam.

Rotterdam turned out to be a great city!

RETURNING, WE did the same thing, staying the night after we got off the ship. That gave us another day. While on the Apex, we met a woman from Rotterdam who happened to work in one of the retail establishments at Kinderjyk, a "park" with old windmills. I had wanted to visit the one in Amsterdam, but timing hadn't worked out. It turns out that this one was probably better, and was very easy to access. We took one of the river "taxi" boats. I felt like we ticked off a "bucket list" item.

Kinderjyk, Netherlands

WE HAVE done 3 cruises in the same year a couple times. Never 4. And this one is probably really cheating. 😀 But I guess it counts as a 2023 cruise. And also a 2024 cruise. A two-fer! Tomorrow, we board (maybe first time we have done the same ship twice in the same year) the Apex yet again, this time for a New Year's cruise in the Caribbean. I have already described the ship. This time, our friends Paul and Linda (who you have read about if you have followed here) will be joining us. We have a great time together and we are really looking forward to this one. It has been several years since we have been able to travel together.

ALL IN all, our 2023 in cruising was a pretty good year, with almost all new places, great company, and fun ships. We have had good fortune. I want to again wish everyone who reads here a Happy and prosperous New Year. We have 2024 cruises scheduled, with a possible third to come. There will be more blogging in 2024. See you on the other side!