Reflections On a World Cruise

June 10, 2023

We finished our grand adventure about a month ago. The last thirty days have been an adjustment time for us full of ups and downs and, also, a time of reflection.

Our trip home was smooth. We docked in Los Angeles, flew to Seattle, and were met at the airport by Don and Laura (my brother and sister-in-law) and spent a couple of days with them. We celebrated birthdays and had a great time visiting and winding down.

We also reunited with our dog, Charlie. We could see that his age was definitely showing after being apart for 4 months. He was almost 17 years old and we could see he was nearing the end of his life. Charlie was having a hard time walking and was becoming incontinent and we made the incredibly hard decision to let go of him. The next Saturday we took him to the vet and said goodbye. There is a big empty spot in our household and in our hearts.

Since that awful week waiting to take Charlie to the vet, we have reconnected with our wonderful friends here in Newport. We’ve laughed and cried together, caught up on everyone’s news, and settled into real life. As I write this, Brian is hiking with a friend in the hills behind our house.

One thing that folks want to know about our trip was what our favorite stops were and would be do a world cruise again. Our answers are the same: there was not a favorite port (all of them were interesting in their own way) and, yes, we would go again with caveats. It would have to be a cruise without any two week “party”segments like those that occurred at the start and the end of our cruise. I call them “party” segments because the culture is so different.

I found that the world cruise portion of the trip was very laid back. People went about their days on board much like they would have at home. Some people worked on board which became a struggle when the internet was poor. However, it could be done. Some people attended all the activities on board while others just chilled out. People met for drinks, played cards and just visited. We were on for the long haul looking forward to our next adventure ashore.

People on the two week portions, understandably, wanted to get the most out of their vacations. There was much more hustle and bustle, more activities were added to the daily schedule (like art auctions), and it was hard to find a quiet place anywhere on board. I do not begrudge people enjoying their hard earned vacations, but it did put a damper on ours.

All that said, we enjoyed our cruise immensely. It was worth every penny (and a lot of them were spent!) and we came back having our lives changed.

We discovered that children are the same everywhere. They ran around temples, laughed in schoolyards, whined at their parents, and smiled the biggest smiles you’ve ever seen.

We were reminded, in every country, that Covid had a devastating effect on the economy and people’s lives. Family and friends were lost. The tourism industry shut down. People were happy to see tourists coming back and spending much needed money again.

We learned about political and social problems in every country. Now, when we read the news, we have a better understanding of what is going on in the world. It isn’t pretty and I’m including the United States in that.

We remembered how much fun it is to meet people from different cultures and walks of life. I felt like a sponge trying to soak up as much information as possible.

We realized how lucky we are to be able to have a roof over our heads and funds to pay for all our basic needs. That is certainly not the same everywhere else in the world. We’re lucky to live in a democracy and how precious that is.

We, unfortunately, learned that there really are ugly Americans. There were times we were ashamed to be in their company. Humility and an open mind will serve you well when traveling.

We learned that there are people who are never happy. They look for the worst in everything. We learned to go where they weren’t.

Most of all, we learned that a trip like this is what you make it. How lucky we were to get to travel completely around the world! No, we didn’t get to make every port. No, the ship was not all shiny and new. Yes, the food did get monotonous. Yes, we did make wonderful, lifetime friends. Yes, we’d do it all again in a heartbeat!

Now that we’re home we’re looking forward to more adventures. We’re taking a land/cruise tour of Alaska in August with Celebrity cruise line. That will be one more state off our “States in the US We Haven’t Been To” list. We’re going to Las Vegas with friends in September for a couple of days. We’re leaving on Monday to drive back to South Dakota to visit Brian’s family. We’re beginning to plan a trip to Scotland.

Will this blog continue? Perhaps. I have enjoyed keeping a journal, of sorts, and sharing it. We’ll see what the future brings!