Sunday, 28 September 2025

Tucson, Arizona

To My LFLatSea Companions and 

Friends Far and Near:

It has been almost five months since you last heard from LFLatSEA, when I returned from my solo transatlantic cruise followed by one week in London and a few days in New York City. Since then, Will and I have been surviving the hot and almost-rainless summer in Tucson.

But as we hopefully look forward to cooler temperatures this autumn, we have planned a six-week trip starting in about three weeks. We are very excited about this journey, which will fly us to Istanbul for four days, from where we will start a 37-day adventure aboard Seabourn's ms Encore. The first cruise segment takes us from Istanbul to Rome; the second segment takes us from Rome to Miami

You may recall that we previously enjoyed a six-week trip in spring 2024. That journey involved three separate sailings on three different cruise lines. This trip will be much easier since we have only one long flight and we will be sailing back-to-back on the same ship--even staying in the same stateroom for all 37 days. In addition, our good friends--Anita (from Tucson) and Deb (from Milwaukee)-- will board the Encore in Rome and join us for the second part of the cruise to Miami.

Although we will have repeat visits to some ports, we will also be visiting a number of places we have never been, including several small islands in Greece, Italy, and Spain. Because the Encore is a small ship, carrying only 600 passengers, she is able to take us to places larger ships cannot visit.

We begin the trip by flying from Tucson to Los Angeles on Monday, 20 October. On Tuesday afternoon we fly non-stop overnight to Istanbul, where we arrive on Wednesday afternoon after flying 13 hours and ten minutes. Not nearly my longest flight--Los Angeles to Dubai was 15 hours and 55 minutes; Los Angeles to Sydney was 16 hours and 10 minutes.

This trip will be my third and fourth cruise on Seabourn (this trip counts as two cruises in terms of loyalty points, etc.); the second and third for Will. I have sailed on Encore once before, on my very first Seabourn cruise, 19 days from Athens to Dubai in November 2019. For sea-going totals, this trip will be my 37th and 38th cruises, Will's 14th and 15th.

Monday, 20 October

12:00nn lv Tucson (TUS) 

DL 3766 / first class / 1h 44m / Embraer 175 / free flights

1:44pm av Los Angeles (LAX)

Homewood Suites by Hilton LAX / free stay

Tuesday, 21 October

1:40pm lv Los Angeles (LAX) 

TK (Turkish) 180 / business class / 13h 10m / B787-9

Wednesday, 22 October

1:35pm av Istanbul (IST)

Carina Gold Hotel and Restaurant (4 nights)

Thursday-Saturday, 23-25 October

Istanbul 

Sunday, 26 October  

5:00pm lv Istanbul (Galataport)

Seabourn ms Encore:  Jewels of the Adriatic & Aegean (16 nights)  

Veranda Suite 730

Monday, 27 October

8:00am av Canakkale, Turkey

Shore Excursion (L):  Ancient Troy and the Troy Museum

Shore Excursion (W):  Panoramic Canakkale 

6:00pm lv Canakkale

Tuesday, 28 October

8:00am av Izmir, Turkey 

5:00pm lv Izmir

Wednesday, 29 October

8:00am av Patmos, Greece

Shore Excursion:  St John's Patmos

5:00pm lv Patmos

Thursday, 30 October

8:00am av Rhodes, Greece

8:45am Shore Excursion:  Panoramic Rhodes

11:00pm lv Rhodes

Friday, 31 October

Day at Sea

Saturday, 1 November

8:00am av Spetses, Greece

8:30am Shore Excursion:  A Stroll Through Spetses

5:00pm lv Spetses

Sunday, 2 November

7:00am av Piraeus/Athens, Greece

5:00 pm lv Piraeus

Monday, 3 November

8:00am av Nafplion, Greece 

5:00pm lv Nafplion

Tuesday, 4 November

10:00am av Katolokon/Olympia, Greece

6:00pm lv Katolokon

Wednesday, 5 November

8:00am av Corfu, Greece

12:30pm Shore Excursion:  Mon Repos Palace & Old Town

5:00pm lv Corfu

Thursday, 6 November

8:00am av Kotor, Montenegro

9:00am Shore Excursion (L):  Coastal Towns--Sveti Stefan & Budva 

6:00pm lv Kotor

Friday, 7 November

8:00am av Brindisi/Lecce, Italy

9:00am Shore Excursion:  Highlights of Lecce

6:00pm lv Brindisi

Saturday, 8 November

Day at Sea

Sunday, 9 November

8:00am av Lipari, Italy

6:00pm lv Lipari

Monday, 10 November

8:00am av Naples/Pompeii/Amalfi, Italy

8:45am Shore Excursion:  The Amalfi Coast and Sorrento

6:00pm lv Naples

Tuesday, 11 November

7:00am av Civitavecchia/Rome, Italy

5:00pm lv Civitavecchia

Seabourn ms Encore:  Riviera Gems & Atlantic Crossing (21 nights)  

Veranda Suite 730

Wednesday, 12 November

8:00am av Ajaccio, Corsica, France

6:00pm lv Ajaccio

    Thursday, 13 November

8:00am av Alghero, Sardinia, Italy

8:30am Shore Excursion:  A Stroll Through Castelsardo & Sardinian Crafts Market

6:00pm lv Ajaccio

 Friday, 14 November

8:00am av Mahon, Menorca, Spain

9:15am Shore Excursion:  A Walk Through Mahon and Tasty Tapas

6:00pm lv Mahon

Saturday, 15 November

11:30am av Ibiza, Spain

6:30pm lv Ibiza

Sunday, 16 November

8:00am av Cartagena, Spain

6:00pm lv Cartagena

Monday, 17 November

8:00am av Motril/Granada, Spain

6:00pm lv Motril

Tuesday, 18 November

8:00am av Ceuta, Spanish Morocco

9:00am Shore Excursion:  Highlights of Ceuta

6:00pm lv Ceuta

Wednesday, 19 November

Day at Sea

Thursday, 20 November

7:00am av Lisbon, Portugal

5:00pm lv Lisbon

Friday-Thursday, 21-27 November

Days at Sea

Friday, 28 November

2:00pm av Hamilton, Bermuda

Overnight

Saturday, 29 November

1:00pm lv Hamilton

Sunday-Monday, 28 November-1 December

Days at Sea

Tuesday, 2 December

7:00am av Miami

Disembarkation

2:09pm lv Miami (MIA)

AA 2975 / first class / 3h 12m / A321

4:21pm av Dallas-Ft Worth (DFW)

layover 1h 26m

5:47pm lv Dallas-Ft Worth (DFW)

AA 766 / first class / 2h 26m / A321

7:13pm av Tucson (TUS)

Over the next few days LFLatSea will be back with more information about the cruise along with photos of places we have previously visited. So watch your emails for every update.