Friday, 19 December 2025

Tucson 

I promised one more blog with summary photos from the second part of our cruise, Civitavecchia/Rome to Miami. This blog has been delayed for more than a week because my new computer stopped allowing me to upload photos--and there isn't much point to a blog with photos. But I think I have finally solved the problem, so here goes!

Ajaccio, Corsica, France--Seafront

Alghero, Sardinia, Italy--Old Town

Mahon (Mao), Menorca, Balearic Islands, Spain--View of Upper Town 

Alt Ville, Ibiza, Balearic Islands, Spain--Doing Daily Chores

Cartagena, Spain--Relaxing on a Festive Sunday

Motril, Spain--Restored Municipal Market

Ceuta, Spanish Morocco--Andalusian Architecture

Lisbon, Portugal--Panorama with St George Castle

Days at Sea--Thanksgiving Cake with Alligator

Bermuda--Departing from Royal Naval Dockyards

So LFLatSea retires to the desert after a long and wonderful trip. The photos in the blog are just a selection from the many that I am still busy editing. I apologize for all the errors and typos; I blame them all on the swells at sea.

I wish all my readers a joyous holiday season and happy and healthy 2026. And who knows what next journey you may be invited on before too long.

Tuesday, 9 December 2025
Tucson 

We have been at home in Tucson for a week and we are finally getting out from under the unpacking, the laundry, the mail and email, and all the chores that have accumulated during the six weeks we were traveling. It is so nice to be welcomed home by all our friends at Mountain View Retirement Village, many of whom have kept up with our journey by reading the blog.

Our six weeks of travel sailed by very quickly and we hardly feel that we have been away at all. It will take us some time to come down from the glorious cuisine highs of Seabourn to the more sparse and repetitive diet we have here. But at least we don't have to cook and clean for ourselves.

But LFLatSea has a few more comments--and a lot more photos--to share before shutting down for a good rest.

Tuesday, 2 December 2025
Miami to Tucson 

Last night after our final dinner in the Restaurant, we bid a thankful farewell to our main servers, Bharat and Michiko. No time for dawdling, we hurry back to our suite to finish packing and put our luggage outside our door by 10pm. After that, there isn't much to do other than worry if everything left will fit in our carry-ons, plop into bed, and hope for a good night's sleep. 

This morning, all disembarking passengers must vacate staterooms by 8am. We arise at six and head to the Colonnade for our final breakfast. Klevi is there, as usual, and the three of us have a mutually sad goodbye. Like most crew members, he remains on the Encore for several more months until the end of his present contract. About one-third of passengers will remain as well, continuing their journeys through the Panama Canal eastward to Southeast Asia and beyond.

Unlike on larger ships, where disembarkation is a highly choreographed dance of passengers and crew, the process of leaving the Encore is relaxed and comfortable. No announcements are made, no lines are formed--passengers may depart at their leisure any time between 8 and 9:30am. We have arranged to ride the Seabourn bus to the Miami airport, scheduled to leave at 9:30. Our flight does not leave until after 2pm, so we are in no particular hurry.

Although things go smoothly as we leave the ship, there are a few screw-ups once we descend to the port terminal. We are among the first passengers to exit the ship and there is a wheelchair waiting to take Will down to the baggage claim area. The person pushing the chair helps us get our bags and seats us in the designated area to wait for the bus departure. The gentleman says he will return with the chair when it is time to board the bus--but that is the last time we see him or any other wheelchair pusher for a very long time.

"The first shall be last," as we wait less and less patiently while every piece of luggage and every other passenger disappears from the waiting area. Although a helpful crew member from the Encore frantically calls and calls for a wheelchair, it seems they have all gone for a late breakfast. It gets to be 9:30 and still no wheelchair. The bus is scheduled to leave at 9:30 and some passengers have flights not too long after that time. And we are still waiting, knowing that after a chair finally arrives, we still have to go through customs and immigration before exiting the port.

We finally make the bus without a moment to spare, occupying the last two seats. Things improve when we get to the airport and I won't bore you with the details of our four-hour wait. But our American Airlines first class flight leaves on time at 2:09pm. We arrive at DFW on time as well, where something happens that I have NEVER experienced in all my many travels over many decades:  our arrival gate is right next to our departure gate!

The flight from Dallas to Tucson is uneventful and on time. Claudia, our terrific pre-ordered Uber driver, brings us home shortly after 8pm.

After all this uninteresting text, LFLatSea will add one new photo (from the 1,400 now waiting for editing) from each day of the first half of our trip. The next and final blog will have more photos from the second half of the cruise.

Arrival in Istanbul:

Hired Car Ride from Airport to Hotel

Istanbul Touring:

Thursday:  Sultanhamet Square

Friday:  Boat Ride on the Bosphorus

Saturday:  Galata Tower

Leaving Istanbul:

                              Çanakkale: At the Ruins of Troy                

Izmir:  National Holiday Preparation

Patmos:  The Monastery of St John

Rhodes:  Harbor Fortifications

                                                           Day at Sea:  Seabourn Encore                                                                               

Spetses:  Traditional Homes Along the Waterfront

Athens/Pireaus:  Outside the Acropolis Museum

Nafplion:  Traditional Streetscene

Katolokon:  Stone Bull on Real Grass         

Corfu: Old Town Panorama

Kotor:  Church in the Hills

Brindisi/Lecce: Walking Tour in Old Town Lecce

Day at Sea:  Veranda Suite 730

Lipari:  After the Rain

                                 Naples/Amalfi Coast:  Approaching Amalfi

Civitavecchia/Rome:  Cruiseport

LFLatSea will return with more photos. Thanks for tuning in.

Monday, 1 December 2025
Day at Sea / Sailing to Miami 

Our wonderful 42-day journey is coming to an end as the Encore prepares for tomorrow morning's arrival in Miami. We have been treated royally by everyone at Seabourn. We have many memories and over 1400 photos to sort through during the days and weeks after our return to Tucson. Having Anita and Deb with us for the past three weeks has made everything more enjoyable, especially meal times.

This will probably be LFLatSea's final posting until we are at home and have done all the piles of laundry. We are especially excited about seeing our friends at Mountain View Retirement Village and catching up on all the gossip news we have missed.

There is still much going on aboard the Encore. After lunch on Sunday we attend a special performance by the "Seabourn Six" entertainers in the Grand Salon. Along with the performance there is plenty of caviar and Champagne.

The Head Chef and His Helper Offer Guests Caviar and Crackers While the Audience Awaits the Entertainment

For all 36 days we have been aboard the Encore, a themed tea service has been offered at 4pm in the Observation Lounge at the top of the ship. Today, for the very first (and last) time, I make my way up to Deck 11 to share British High Tea with Anita and Deb.

Our female friends claim they have had too many dainty sandwiches and will not join us for dinner. But with only tonight and tomorrow to savor our evening dinners, Will and I keep our usual time and table.

But Monday (today) soon arrives and it is time to face the unhappy chore of packing. There is more than enough storage space in the large walk-in closet and in cabinets throughout the stateroom, so we are scouring every nook and cranny to make sure we don't leave anything on board. We have checked in for our flights tomorrow. For a small fee Seabourn provides bus service to Miami Airport that will get us there with plenty of time to spare before our 2:09pm American Airlines departure to Dallas/Ft Worth and then on to Tucson, arriving at 7:13pm. Deb flies to Milwaukee, where ten inches of snow awaits, on United Airlines. Anita also flies American to Tucson, but through Phoenix, on different flights than we are taking. Will and I have arranged for Uber to meet us at the airport and to drive us home. 

Just prior to lunch today, the 14 trivia teams meet for a final session. Although my team, "Use It or Lose It," doesn't win any prizes, we do come in a respectable sixth place among the 14 teams.

The Really Nice Folks Who Tolerated My Wrong Answers for Ten Days of Team Trivia

We get most of our packing done in the afternoon so we take a pre-dinner break to attend the Crew Appreciation and Passenger Farewell Party on the open pool deck. This is the fourth Farewell Party I have attended, previously bidding goodbye to passengers at Athens, Rome, and Lisbon. Today has been the only day of bright sunshine and warm weather since we left Lisbon ten days ago, so it is a pleasure to enjoy live music, drinks, and international snacks on the open deck.

By the way, the music on this trip has been excellent. The two house bands, guest performers, and company singers have all performed at various times across all the bars and lounges on the ship. It's too bad that the acoustics in the Grand Salon, where the major shows take place, are not very good.

It's also the final chance for a good photo of Klevi (the Armenian), who has been a guardian angel for us for the entire cruise from Istanbul. For the first segment, from Istanbul to Rome, Klevi and Bharat (from Hyderabad in southern India), served our dinners at a table for two in the Restaurant (main dining room). After Rome, all the servers were assigned to different partners and different tables. Now the four of us managed to continue to dine with Bharat, but with his new partner, Michiko.

Klevi, however, continued to watch over and help Will and me wherever he saw us on the ship:  in the Colonnade for other meals, in the bars and clubs, and almost everywhere else. He really made our lives as travelers safe and happy. And, to top it all, he is the best-looking man on the Encore.

So with Klevi's smiling face, LFLatSea is ready to sail into port for the final time of this exciting adventure. But the blog will be back for a few more reports and photos from this trip . . . and who knows what new adventure awaits in the future. . . .

Saturday, 29 November 2025
Departing from Bermuda 

This past Thursday, the Encore celebrated the holiday with a "Thanksgiving Market Dinner" in the Colonnade. Fresh roasted turkey with more side dishes than I could ever imagine are offered on buffet service. As usual there is also a large and varied display of desserts of every taste and kind.

We arrive in Bermuda a little ahead of schedule at noon on Friday. As I mentioned in the previous blog we are docked at the Royal Naval Dockyards at the very western end of Bermuda. As I have discussed in an earlier blog, Bermuda is actually a series of small islands connected by bridges and causeways rather than a single land mass as it is portrayed on maps. We were supposed to dock in the capital city of Hamilton, but because of inclement weather and iffy sea conditions we are re-routed to the safer port at the Dockyards.

Will and I have visited Bermuda several times. I have stopped at the Dockyards on more than one transatlantic cruise, and Will and I spent two days at the northeastern end, in the town of St George, for two days while on an Oceania cruise from Miami to New York by the way of several Caribbean islands. On that trip we enjoyed a tour that took us to all the high spots of Bermuda, including Hamilton.

In the spring and summer season, the Dockyards are full of tourists shopping and visiting the 18th-century structures that housed supplies and maintenance for the British navy. Today, at the very end of the tourist season, there are very few visitors, even with two cruise ships docked overnight, the Seabourn Encore and the Silversea Silver Ray. In fact, the place looks and feels rather dismal under dark skies and, on Friday, intermittent showers. The rain has ceased today (Saturday), but it is still windy and damp.

Yesterday, I spent a couple of hours visiting the shops in the Clocktower Mall. Most of the shops have already posted "closing for the winter" signs, and, after the two cruise ships leave, they will lock their doors until March of next year. Today, Will and I venture off the ship in the morning to explore other shops and some of the architectural remains of the British navy. 

Formerly the Governor's Mansion, Now a History Museum 

Three Views of the "Victualling Yards," Where the British Navy Stored Food and Supplies

The Encore sails at 1pm and all passengers have to be on board by 12:30. The Silver Ray will follow us soon afterward. The final sail away party of our 37 days of cruising begins just as we leave the port.

Really Great House Band and Singers, with Ross--the Over-Energetic Cruise Director-- in the White T-shirt

Scenes as We Sail from Bermuda