Mediterranean Mosaic
12 -25 October 2016

Holland America ms Koningsdam 

Returning to Holland America

Since the disastrous cruise on ms Zuiderdam in April-May, 2015, I have been very reluctant to sail with Holland America again. But given that I had previously enjoyed 14 successful cruises on various HAL ships, and that one person’s protest has little effect on a large and soul-less company, and that I was only denying myself the benefits I had accrued from those many sailings--I have decided to try them again. 

This 12-day round-trip cruise from Rome on 12 October explores popular ports of the western Mediterranean.  I have visited some of these ports on previous trips (Rome, Naples, Palermo, Cadiz, Barcelona), but will enjoy the experience of new ports as well (Cagliari, Gibraltar, Malaga, Cartagena, Valencia).  So the trip is divided evenly between the old and the new.  Repeat visits to Naples and Palermo, in particular, will allow me to see some historical sights that I have missed on previous trips—not to mention the chance to sample the wonderful pizza in Naples.

I will also be experiencing a brand-new ship for the first time. The Koningsdam sailed its maiden cruise just this past April. With 2600 passengers, she is Holland America's largest ship.  For the past several years I have enjoyed sailing on smaller ships, from the 625-passenger Nautica (Oceania) to mid-size ships ranging from 850 passengers (HAL's Prinsendam) to 1200-1500 passengers (Oceania's Riviera and HAL's Veendam, Maasdam, and Zaandam). My early cruises--from 2007 to 2009--were on the somewhat larger HAL ships, the 1900-passenger Oosterdam and the 2100-passenger Eurodam (four cruises on that ship), as well as Dawn Princess.  The two cruises on Cunard ships ranged from Queen Victoria (1900 passengers), to the largest I've sailed, the QM2 (2600 passengers).   Although I have come to appreciate the smaller ships most of all, even the size of the Koningsdam is nowhere near the behemoths of Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Lines that carry 5000-6000 passengers.

Mediterranean Mosaic:  Itinerary

Su  9 Oct 2016   1:46pm   Lv Tucson (TUS) / DL 1240 

                        8:20pm Av Atlanta (ATL) / overnight    

M 10 Oct 2016   3:15pm Lv Atlanta (ATL)  / DL 62 / overnight  

T 11 Oct 2016   7:00am Av Rome (FCO) / overnight

W 12 Oct 2016  10:00am  Lv Rome
11:00am Av Civitavecchia (Port of Rome)  

Day	Date	Port	Arrive	Depart
0	12 Oct 2016	Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy		04:00 PM
1	13 Oct 2016	Naples (Pompeii), Italy	08:00 AM	06:00 PM
2	14 Oct 2016	Palermo, Sicily, Italy	08:00 AM	05:00 PM
3	15 Oct 2016	Cagliari, Sardinia, Italy	08:00 AM	05:00 PM
4	16 Oct 2016	At Sea
5	17 Oct 2016	Gibraltar, British Territory	01:00 PM	11:00 PM
6	18 Oct 2016	Cadiz (Seville), Spain	08:00 AM	06:00 PM
7	19 Oct 2016	Malaga, Spain	08:00 AM	06:00 PM
8	20 Oct 2016	Cartagena, Spain	08:00 AM	04:00 PM
9	21 Oct 2016	Valencia, Spain	07:00 AM	05:00 PM
10	22 Oct 2016	Barcelona, Spain	08:00 AM	11:00 PM
11	23 Oct 2016	At Sea
12	24 Oct 2016	Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy	07:00 AM

M  24 Oct 2016    9:00am   Disembark ms Koningsdam 

                          9:50pm  Lv Rome (FCO)  
                            11:20pm  Av London (LGW) / overnight  

T 25 Oct 2016    1:30om Lv London (LGW) / Norwegian 2645

4:25pm Av Los Angeles (LAX)
                            8:30pm   Lv Los Angeles (LAX)

  10:00pm Av Tucson (TUS)

*****

Spoiler alert:  watch for news of another up-coming cruise--I will be returning to Oceania Cruises in November.  Will and I, along with our friends Anita and Deb, will sail from Lisbon to Rio de Janeiro on Oceania's 1200-passenger ms Marina for 16 days from 21 November to 7 December, 2016.  With added travel time, three nights in Lisbon, and two additional nights in Rio, the entire trip will last 23 days.   This schedule will give me just under three weeks between when I return from Rome and depart for Lisbon. Besides resting, paying bills, and doing laundry, I will use some of that time to prepare the blog for the Lisbon-Rio cruise.

*****

I will start regular postings for the Koningsdam cruise after I leave Tucson on 9 October. 

24 September 2016
Welcome Back to LFLatSEA

It has been a while since my last posting of 21 April 2016, when I returned from my spectacular cruise from Hong Kong to Mumbai, followed by 11 days in Northern India.  I had waited a very long time to visit India (at the age of 69), and now I can't wait to return to see other parts of that fabulous country.  But I am now ready to announce my next cruise, after describing a brief diversion to Southern California.

3-6 July 2016

Carlsbad-By-The Sea, California

My only trip since last April has been four days/three nights in Carlsbad-by-the-Sea, CA, with my good friend Anita.  Although we were not on a cruise, we were close enough to the sea for the trip to qualify for inclusion in the blog.  We stayed at a Hilton Time Share Hotel and Condominium (with much thanks to Anita for taking care of that arrangement).

Carlsbad is one of many picturesque communities that line the Pacific shore north of San Diego. It takes about seven hours to drive from Tucson to San Diego, mostly on freeway through the Arizona desert.  There isn't much novelty as you speed through the northern edges of the Sonora and Mojave Deserts, but once I-8 crosses the state line into California, the scenery changes dramatically as the highway climbs and dips over a series of mountain passes.  At one point, we are so close to the Mexican border that we can actually see the "wall."  At another point the curves are so tight that eastbound traffic ends up on the left side of westbound traffic, instead of the usual configuration. The contrasting scenery of sand dunes and mountains is much more interesting than the flatness of Arizona's desert.  When we drive over the first range of California mountains, the temperature plunges to the seventies and remains there for the rest of our holiday time. In Tucson and southern Arizona, the thermometer hovers close to 110 degrees at this time of the year.

We enjoy several days at the resort (including 4th of July fireworks), visiting the local seaside towns and indulging in some hearty meals--primarily Italian and seafood.  Anita also enjoys a half-day visit to the nearby Premium Outlets Mall, with a large number of very high-class stores that you won't find at other outlets.  We wander through some of the beachside towns and see many sunset views over the Pacific.

Pacific Ocean, Carlsbad-by-the-Sea

On our last afternoon we take the freeway down to San Diego to visit Point Loma, location of a US Navy base and the Cabrillo National Monument.  From the high point of the Monument we have 360-degree views over the city of San Diego, the harbor, the Navy base, and the Pacific Ocean.  Point Loma is also home to a military cemetery where lines of white crosses against the background of green grass and blue water are reminders of both the violence of war and the tranquility of death.  We also get to watch a Navy submarine as it sails from San Diego out into the Pacific Ocean.

Pacific Ocean, Point Loma, San Diego

                                                     

We drive back to Tucson on Wednesday, 6 July, following the same route in reverse, except for a detour into the mountains to the town of Julian, the apple pie capital of California, where we purchase a few edible souvenirs to take home.

Julian, CA

***

Preparing for My Next Cruise:

12-24 October 2016

Holland America's ms Koningsdam

Western Mediterranean

Roundtrip Rome

Be on the watch for the next blog entry which will give details of my next cruise, only two weeks away.  I will be sailing for 12 days on Holland America's newest ship (maiden voyage April 2016), visiting several familiar ports as well as several new ones.