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Voyage of the Vikings
Map showing the Voyage of the VikingsWe are in our third summer here in Las Vegas and so far we’ve already had over 30 days of over 100 degrees so we’re ready for some cooler weather. Last year we escaped the heat by traveling to Alaska for a five-week adventure. This year, in celebration of a REALLY BIG BIRTHDAY for Sharon, she chose to knock one particular cruise off of her Bucket-List that she’s been eyeing for some time now: Voyage of the Vikings. Holland America (HAL) offers this cruise once each year, and this season we will be sailing on the ms Rotterdam. It is a 38-day cruise out of Boston, sailing up the east coast of North America, sailing on to Greenland and Iceland, on to Norway, then stopping at Rotterdam in the Netherlands, and returning with stops in Scotland and Ireland and different stops in Iceland, Greenland and Canada before returning to Boston. We’ll be traveling to the East Coast about a week earlier than the cruise.
We booked this cruise over a year ago but It is hard to believe that it is already time to start packing. Sharon is almost done with hers, but I haven’t started yet. I had to get a couple of new suits, and by “new” I mean “bigger”; because, Sharon wasn’t going to put up with any more of my rushing back to the cabin after a gala night dinner to change out of a suit that is too tight to button in the front. The truth be known, I still haven’t lost the weight gained during our last cruise in the Baltic last year. Sharon has done a bit better in that department, declaring several days each week to be “Water Days” and avoiding Ginger Ale or sodas of any type. But, I’m guessing that once we get on the cruise ship she won’t be having many “Water Days”. She truly loved the soda package offered by HAL on our Koningsdam cruise last year where she could tailor her drink to her favorite: Cherry Ginger Ale (and not the diet kind either, which is also an option). However, that option is not available on the Rotterdam.
We’ve had a very busy June with house guests, a trip to California for a wedding, and Sharon’s volunteer work. I’ve also been dealing with getting my mother’s affairs settled after her sudden and untimely death back in March. We’re both so glad that Sharon had the idea to take my mom to Nashville for her birthday at the end of February. She had the time of her life, especially at the Grand Ol’ Opry where they announced her 87
th birthday over the radio. She was grinning from ear to ear; and, she told everyone back at “The Home” after we returned. She lived in her own apartment in an independent living facility in Las Vegas; and, she had made many new and dear friends there. We kiddingly referred to Acacia Springs as “The Home”, and that is how it was identified in my car’s GPS. As part of our pre-trip we will be traveling to New Jersey to bury her next to my dad. We’ll then drive down to Boston and spend 6 days for some sightseeing, visiting with some of Sharon’s cousins, and a trip to Rhode Island to visit a friend Sharon met on her first Antarctica cruise 10 years ago.
We’re all ready for Team Trivia. Sharon checked on Cruise Critic for this cruise last fall and joined the Roll Call at my insistence when they started looking for sign-ups to form Trivia Teams. I guess that beats taking your chance with the first people you meet in the Crow’s Nest. On our last cruise we met our team mates at the Life Boat Drill. The lady talking to us said, “Well, I can check Life-Boat-Drill off my check list. Now all I need is to find two Trivia Teammates.” I chimed in “We’re looking for trivia team mates too!” I claim that she then proceeded to interview us to see if we’d make worthy team mates; though, she later denied that it was an interview. Either way, it worked out pretty well for all involved as we won quite often even getting a few rare perfect scores. I keep a spreadsheet of Trivia Questions from previous cruises along with lists of categories that get asked quite often. The spread sheet is over 2,400 questions and answers. We’re also hoping that this cruise will offer some “Mega Trivia” evening events, and I’m hoping my proficiency with identifying world flags will come in handy again as it did on our Transatlantic cruise 3 years ago (Yes, the world flags are also in my spreadsheet, under a different tab). The current final question in my spread sheet is, Which of Shakespeare’s plays begins with “Who’s There?” If you’re having any trouble answering a HAL Shakespeare question, you can fall back on a rule of thumb that is often successful; but, not always: just answer “Hamlet”. As it turns out, it does work in this case! I also spent some time since our last cruise to read some of Shakespeare’s plays so hopefully that will help this time too. In reviewing some of my questions, I’ve noticed that I will need to brush up on the Double-Oh-Seven category. We started watching the 007 movies but Sharon wasn’t fond of the first one so we never did get thru them as planned.
The itinerary for the cruise part of this trip is:
Date Port 7/18/2018 Boston, Massachusetts, USA
7/19/2018 Bar Harbor, Maine, USA
7/20/2018 Sea Day
7/21/2018 Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada
7/22/2018 Corner Brook, Newfoundland, Canada
7/23/2018 Red Bay, Labrador, Canada
7/24/2018 Sea Day
7/25/2018 Paamiut (Frederikshab), Greenland
7/26/2018 Qaqortoq, Greenland
7/27/2018 Sea Day
7/28/2018 Sea Day
7/29/2018 Reykjavik, Iceland
7/30/2018 Reykjavik, Iceland
7/31/2018 Sea Day
8/1/2018 Sea Day
8/2/2018 Alesund, Norway
8/3/2018 Eidfjord, Norway
8/4/2018 Sea Day
8/5/2018 Rotterdam, The Netherlands
8/6/2018 Rotterdam, The Netherlands
8/7/2018 Sea Day
8/8/2018 Dublin, Ireland
8/9/2018 Dublin, Ireland
8/10/2018 Greenock (Glasgow), Scotland, UK
8/11/2018 Portree (Isle of Skye), Scotland, UK
8/12/2018 Sea Day
8/13/2018 Djupivogur, Iceland
8/14/2018 Akureyri, Iceland
8/15/2018 Isafjordur, Iceland
8/16/2018 Sea Day
8/17/2018 Sea Day
8/18/2018 Nanortalik, Greenland
8/19/2018 Sea Day
8/20/2018 St Anthony, Newfoundland, Canada
8/21/2018 St Johns, Newfoundland, Canada
8/22/2018 Sea Day
8/23/2018 Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
8/24/2018 Sea Day
8/25/2018 Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Next year we’ll head to the South Pacific to celebrate my REALLY BIG BIRTHDAY actually leaving on that day instead of waiting several months as Sharon had to this year.
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James Kratz
non-member comment
Off to a great start!
Hey, John and Sharon! Enjoyed your first blog entry. Sounds like an awesome trip! Wish we were going with you. Oh, Hey! We are going with you!! Looking forward to seeing you on board and meeting up at the Meet & Mingle if now sooner! Safe travels!