It's over. We can't believe it, but it's over. What seemed like it would take forever since it was going to be such a long trip is over in a heartbeat. Now, it is time to reinsert ourselves back into a normal life where they don't give you fresh towels when you ask, they don't have amazing meals ready for you three times a day, and more often if you want, where they happily pour whatever you want to drink, where they warmly greet you by name with a genuine smile.
Lucky for us, we have many friends and a beautiful place to live that will ease that transition.
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| We had to get our own breakfast this morning - the horror! |
Here's a look at our trip, by the numbers.
- Days: 163
- Intentional cruises: 2
- We initially booked the World Cruise + Viking Homelands
- Actual cruises: 3
- Scenic Scandinavia allowed Arlona to see many of the ports she missed while in isolation
- Port days: 90
- Sea days: 73
- Ports: 63
- Countries: 28
- Continents: 5
- We missed Australia & Antarctica
- Statute miles sailed: 43,357
- Steps taken: 1,023,429
- Miles walked: 581
- UNESCO World Heritage sites visited: 33
- Buses ridden in: 84
- Captains: 4
- To be fair, there were two actual captains, but each did two sections
- Cruise Directors: 4
- General Managers: 3
- Trivia questions answered: 1,275
- Questions answered correctly: Somewhat fewer :-)
- Hours of bridge lessons: 75 - we're now qualified beginners
- Calories consumed: I believe a number that large would crash a server somewhere
- Pounds gained - Arlona: 0 - seriously - I don't know how she does it
- Pounds gained - Garry: 12 - I made up for Arlona
- Quarantine nights: 9 - they all sucked
- Rooms occupied: 3 - our original room that had issues, our final room, and Arlona's isolation room
- Ounces of saliva donated: 12 each - yup, we each could have filled a beer bottle
- Photos taken: 13,500, give or take - obviously not all were blog-worthy
- Blogs written about the trip: 166 - 2 pre-trip, 163 on the trip, 1 wrap-up
- Hours spent processing photos and writing: 500, plus or minus
- Blog views since sailing: 311,000 - dang - I should have monetized it! Seriously, I was stunned when I looked at that - and readers came from all over: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, Spain, Bulgaria, New Zealand, Ireland, Sweden, France, Netherlands, Portugal, Peru, Norway, Mexico, Malaysia, Czechia, Iceland, Cayman Islands, Other
We get questions about the cruise all the time. The two most popular are:
- What was your favorite place/sights?
- Would you consider doing it again?
I'll address the second one first. Never, or so we thought. Why would someone do a trip like this more than once? Seriously? Now that we have done it, we get it. It isn't a normal cruise experience. You spend four to five months with the same people. You get to know them. You share experiences. Now, our attitude has changed and we definitely would consider another world cruise. The issue we have is that world cruises typically sail in December/January for four to five months. Those are exactly the same months that are the best time to be in Central Florida, where we live. In addition, we miss an entire season with our snowbird friends. So who knows...we just might do it again.
As for favorite places/sights, here's a quick list of the highlights:
- Most beautiful
- Chilean fjords - this wasn't on the agenda and weather forced this diversion - talk about a happy accident
- Most moving: Israel
- Jerusalem, Western Wall, Galilee, River Jordan, Capernaum, Church of the Beatitudes- wow
- Biggest surprises
- Petra Jordan, Giza Pyramids, Croatia, Montenegro, and the people of Saudi Arabia
- Unexpected benefits
- The many, many hours we spent in the World Cafe, after we had eaten, just spending time and enjoying a glass of wine with some terrific people
To all the readers out there, all I can say is, "wow". I started this blog so we could remember our travels and so friends and family could follow along. I started posting in social media groups about the cruise, and did I mention, "wow"?
To the hundreds of you all out there who posted kind comments, and expressed concern for Arlona's well-being while dealing with COVID on the ship, we offer our sincere gratitude. The news loves to share stories about humanity's failings, but you all demonstrated humanity's strengths - compassion, concern, and caring. We value you all.
To my "editors" that pointed out incorrect statements, or misspellings and such - thanks! I strive to be correct. Sometimes, I was steered in the wrong direction by tour guides that believed facts were open to their interpretation. Other times, I made incorrect assumptions about things I had seen, and experts that are much smarter than I am pointed those out. And when I was working hard to get a post done before I passed out at the end of a really busy day, two people, in particular, pointed out my misspellings or grammar errors so I could fix them. (Arlona & Cindy - I'm talking about you)
And finally, to the handful of folks that took exception that I was posting daily information about a world cruise on forums that have "World Cruise" in the title...you do know that if you don't like something, you don't have to read it, right? :-)
So with all that, I am signing off for this absolutely amazing trip. Thanks to Viking for making it amazing, and thanks to you all for making me feel like writing all this wasn't a waste of time. Until our next trip, which is coming on Princess on July 2...cheers!
Garry,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your informative and entertaining blog posts about your world cruise and follow-on cruises. Living vicariously through your words was most rewarding.
If you do another world cruise I hope to follow your future posts.
Wonderful job - I enjoyed every word you wrote, every photo you shared. Looking forward to your future cruises! I don't know either how Arlona didn't gain weight on that cruise! I felt myself gaining just looking at your food photos! You did well limiting it to 12 pounds ;-)
ReplyDeleteThank you for your faithfulness to do this blog EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. It is highly unlikely that I will have the opportunity to do a world cruise, but through your blog I got a glimpse of what it would be like. Great job!
ReplyDeleteI’m really going to miss your posts which have been part of my daily routine since early in your WC. Thoroughly enjoyed your insightful comments and wonderful pictures - great job. Got started because we will be on the Star later this month for the Homelands cruise. Thank you for sharing your adventures.
ReplyDeleteGary, loved your blog. Thanks,
DeleteThank you for an excellent Blog. Bon Voyage on your Princess Cruise in July --will follow along!
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed the posts! You might want to consider memorializing things....https://blogbooker.com/
ReplyDeleteThanks, I'll check it out.
DeleteGary thank you for your dedication with these blogs. While I have many similar photos, your commentaries make the memories much more vivid. Happy travels!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for these blogs - I loved reading them! I have a few last questions if and when you feel like answering them: What was your favorite thing you ate on your cruise (or a few favorite meals)? Would you do a world cruise with Viking again or try a different cruise line? How does Viking compare to other cruise ships / lines you've been on in the past? Thank you so much for all you did!
ReplyDeleteWhat was your favorite thing you ate on your cruise (or a few favorite meals)?
DeleteTomahawk steaks are great as is the Bisteca steak in Manfredi's, the crab legs offered every night on the World Cafe are always good - just a lot of good food.
Would you do a world cruise with Viking again or try a different cruise line?
We would do it again on Viking, but would consider other lines as well, depending on the officering.
How does Viking compare to other cruise ships / lines you've been on in the past?
They are all different. Viking caters to an older clientele and focuses on lectures and enrichment whereas other cruise lines focus more on larger scale entertainment and active excursions.
Sorry the end of your thread had to endure the ugly comments. I requested that they be removed and they have been, though you had a very nice response.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the support, and no worries. Not sure who that was. We never had any interaction on the ship that I was aware of. I feel bad that they have such an unhappy life.. All the best.
DeleteI’m really going to miss your daily updates from around the world!
ReplyDeleteReally enjoyed your perspective on this cruise and the places you visited.
ReplyDeleteWe were actually on the Ft Lauderdale to LA portion of your trip & have enjoyed following the rest of your journey. Thanks for taking the time to share your experiences.
ReplyDeleteI have so enjoyed sharing your travels. Your writing style and your sense of humour meant you avoided simply providing a travelogue and, instead, told a story. What am I to do without my daily read!?
ReplyDeleteI'm finally through reading all your posts and want to thank you again. I admire your self-discipline (despite the 12 pounds!) in managing a daily posting. I couldn't even manage to sign on to read them daily and did it in big gulps. What a wonderful record you've made of your trip. Where are you off to on Princess and will you blog? All the best to you both.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the kind words. The Princess cruise is a 7-day, Princess Cay, St. Thomas, St. Kitts. We're out of time on 2020 credits so it was use or lose, so we're using. :-) And yes, that will be the start of my next blog posts. :-)
DeleteI so loved reading every day. Thank you so much for the wonderful effort!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comments! The new chapter begins this week as we leave on a seven-day Princess cruise on Saturday! :-)
DeleteGary and Arlona, hope after all this time that this reaches you.
ReplyDeleteWe thoroughly enjoyed following you throughout this wonderful journey. We are booked on the '23/24 World Cruise and would very much like to check out some excursion related questions with you. If you feel so inclined could you please email me at wc2324@outlook.com.
Warren Eversfield