It’s been more than a year since I’ve written.  Life has gone on here at home with some highs and lows.  Our daughter was married, received her PhD from UNC, and got a teaching position at a university.  Those were good things.  A few health issues were worrisome but seem to have settled down now.

Dr. Katie & Stan on graduation day at UNC

We’re a month away from our next cruise on the Seabourn Quest.  It occurred to me the other day that we will be travelling almost exactly 30 years to the day from our first cruise on the M/V Sunviking.  Back then I had avidly watched “The Love Boat” and when we boarded the Sunviking in Barbados I expected to see a cabin like those I’d seen on the TV show.  It was a little shock to see our teeny-tiny inside cabin with its fixed twin beds and postage stamp bathroom.  Nonetheless we had a great time and so began our  cruising.  We sailed another three times on the old Sunviking  - in the Caribbean, through the Panama Canal and in Asia.  She was a lovely ship despite not having the amenities people expect today. 

After sailing on many larger ships we’re trying something more like the first ship.  The Quest is only a little larger than the Sunviking but it carries far fewer passengers and has more to offer.  When we began cruising only a few ships had balconies whereas now most ships have many cabins with them.  Dining on the Sunviking was in one dining room with fixed seating.  Entertainment venues were limited and there was no casino.  There were four slot machines outside the entrance to the dining room.  I remember being chewed out by a lady who was evidently playing all of them at once  and I dared to try and put a quarter in one.

That first cruise we sailed from Barbados to Miami.  The cruise line routed us with a night in Miami on our way down.  I remember vividly the flight to Barbados because we were several hours late leaving from Miami and our flight down took many unexpected and unexplained twists and turns.  We later learned that it was because the flight path was altered so as we flew over the Caribbean we wouldn’t see the invasion fleet gathering for the invasion of Grenada.  Back in those days there were no TV’s with satellite news or internet service onboard.  Our news came in a mimeographed sheet slipped under the door each night with a few headlines.  When we arrived in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and went to the fort of El Morro we saw the flag at half mast.  We asked the Park Ranger why and he told us it was in memory of the people lost in the bombing of the Marine Corps Barracks in Beirut.  Two days later while we were still at sea the invasion of Grenada occurred and we had no clue about either while on the ship. Times have certainly changed since now there are 24 hour news channels and internet connections available.  It’s nice being able to stay in touch, but I’m not sure that there isn’t something to be said for getting away completely as you could do back then.

Well, this year we’re flying to Barcelona (one of our favorite cities).  We’ll spend a few nights there and board the Seabourn Quest for a transatlantic cruise ending in Rio de Janeiro.  Almost all our ports are new to both of us so it will be an adventure.  One exciting thing I found when I did some research is that we’ll be off the coast of Africa on the day when there is a solar eclipse and we’ll be in prime viewing area for it.  I think that will be an interesting thing to see and I hope we have a picture perfect day so it will be clearly visible.  We’ll post as we go along.  Until then…

Seabourn Quest