My Year Away: World Cruise Edition.

First, I went on Sabbatical. Then I Retired. And, now I'm on my first Cruise Around the World!

Monthly Archives: February 2025


by Leave a comment

When Passengers on a World Cruise don’t Go Around the World

I probably should have known this earlier, but when you go on a World Cruise, only some of the people on board are traveling around the whole world with you. Others are onboard for just one or two legs of the voyage. It helps explain why, in the early days of the journey, the common question we heard all over the ship was “How long are you on for?” If the response was anything other than “the whole time,” a long discussion would ensue about travel plans. It seemed to me that the rarest answer was “the whole time.” In other words, a bunch of passengers ended their trip in Sydney while a bunch of passengers began their trip there. The same thing will happen in Singapore in a few days, then Cape Town, and, finally, Athens. While it’s difficult to get accurate numbers, the most common response I have heard from the crew is that about 1,400 passengers are taking some leg of the journey at some time and 600 of those are on “for the whole time.”

And it’s not just the passengers who come and go. For example, about 100 new crew joined the ship in Sydney, which meant about that many left as well. Entertainers also come and go at each stop.

None of this is a big deal, except it is. As I wrote in a post earlier, when we began this cruise on January 4, it seemed like everyone was trying to get organized, figuring out what 124 days on board would look like. It took awhile, but eventually a nice rhythm took hold and everyone seemed to find their place, their community. There was the pickleball community (of course!), the art group, the dance group, the bridge group, the Tai Chi group, the knitting group, you name it. Many entered these communities as newbies and 6 weeks later, emerged as dedicated dancers, knitters, or card players.

But once we arrived in Sydney, all that changed. And to make it even more complicated, with two days in Sydney, life on the ship was already different, but no one really noticed since we were all off the ship galavanting around the beautiful city. Sure, this “coming and going” is a “problem” that isn’t even a real problem, but it’s interesting (and a bit perplexing) nonetheless. For example, I heard one of our dinner friends explain with dismay (well good humored dismay if that’s a thing) that “the Aussies had invaded” a corner in one of the bars where he met friends before dinner. We sympathized because our favorite breakfast table was snatched by a couple who boarded in Sydney. Of course, this is not “the Aussies” fault. How would they even know? Obviously they have as much right to have a drink at the cozy corner or sit where they want to in the Lido as someone who embarked in Fort Lauderdale.

In a few days, we’ll reach Singapore and the whole process will begin again. Three of our favorite pickleball friends will disembark. Even more distressing, one of our dinner stewards is leaving! (Oh the horror!) A lot of people who embarked in Sydney will experience for the first time what it’s like to have everything topsy turvy for a few days. But then things will sort themselves out and a new rhythm will emerge. It probably won’t be better or worse. Just different.

Fortunately, our wonderful room steward, Hendra, is onboard for the whole journey!

We’ll meet new people, we’ll ask how long they’re on board, we’ll help the new pickleball players understand our paddle line up process, and we’ll even be nice to our new dining steward.

Such is the rhythm of a world cruise when it’s not even a world cruise for some!


by 3 Comments

More Than a Necklace

Currently, we are tootle-ing around French Polynesia. At the moment, we are anchored in a bay next to Moorea Island, which is known as one of the the most beautiful islands in the world. I would have to agree. This place is magical. So far, I’d say everything I’ve seen in French Polynesia is pretty other-wordly.

Yesterday, we were in Tahiti. After a number of days sailing across the Pacific, we were looking forward to being docked for awhile and checking out a new-to-us place. Out of the blue, the hubster said “I think you should get a pearl necklace.”

Say what? First, I’m not really a jewelry kind of person. I have my wedding rings that I wear all the time, my grandmother’s wedding ring that I wear all the time, and a silver necklace with a cross that I wear almost all the time. I also have a set of pearls that the hubs bought for me when he was in the Philippines about 25 years ago. I have a bracelet my bestie got me for a milestone birthday. And, that’s it.

Second, Tahitian pearls (the black pearl) are rare, which translates to expensive.

Third, I’m old and I live by the mantra “Collect memories; not things.”

But, still. “I think you should get a pearl necklace. They’re really cool.” So off we went. Shopping. Shopping in Tahiti no less! We are Amazon-shopping kind of people. We do anything to avoid actually going into a store. But, now, we were heading off the ship to go look for a necklace at one of the myriad pearl stores in Papeete.

And so we did. It didn’t take as long as I thought it might because I zeroed in on a beautiful necklace that was a unique, artistic piece of art, and, well, flat out beautiful. I went inside and tried it on. Perfect. Our ship friends walked by, saw us, and chimed in. Again, perfect. But, since it was our very first shop, we decided we should keep looking. A couple of stores later, we knew we weren’t going to find anything we liked better so we went back to the first store. I tired on the necklace again, Gary gave it a two thumbs up, and we bought it. Just like that.

Back on the ship, our friends asked if we had bought “the necklace” and were thrilled when we said yes. A couple of women nearby, overhead the conversation and soon weighed in with congratulations and genuine excitement that Gary had purchased this necklace for me.

I wore it to dinner where we dined on perfect fresh-caught Tahitian Wahoo. As we worked through the different dinner courses (golden pineapple with a balsamic reduction for an appetizer…I mean, c’mon!), I periodically touched my necklace, trying to think about why Gary wanted to me to get it. While drinking a favorite Chardonnay, the sun began to set, and the entire dining room seemed to pause and take in the grandeur of the display. It was like none of us had ever seen a sunset before. It was that spectacular.

The sunset was even better than what this shows. Truly amazing!

After we finished dinner, we stopped by the table of a couple we always talk to on our way out. They noticed my necklace right away and asked about it. They both seem genuinely excited that I had gotten it. We chatted about the amazement of where we were and what we were witnessing.

And that’s when the thoughts all came together for me. We are in French Polynesia, enjoying some of the most breathtaking vistas we have ever seen. We are on a ship with some really great people who have become friends as we journey from one island to another. I’m with the person I have known and loved pretty much my entire life. I am on an adventure of a lifetime. When words fail, a necklace speaks volumes.