I just wasn’t feeling it for several days and there are a flood of reasons for that…
Switching out of Vacation Mode – Trying to establish a routine on a 9-month world cruise is no easy task. We worked so hard to get here and deferred almost all fun social activities to get everything done so we could have the freedom to entertain this. So, there was some pent up interest in being around people. There are so many social activities on the calendar now in which you try to involve yourself to meet people and keep your brain active. With the social activities and the meeting of really great and interesting people comes late nights, lack of sleep and a general sense of not yet settling into a routine. We were enjoying a vacation, but in the end, a 9-month journey around the world is no vacation. It needs discipline, sustained energy and lots of ongoing planning to make the most of each short port visit we make. We also need to keep our lives organized and overseen back home and there is plenty to do there.
Diet and Exercise – Key to us coming this journey was eating well (I mean healthy and in support of achieving better health) and staying very active (both on port days and on at sea days). We started out eating breakfast and dinner everyday and mostly forgoing lunch. Very quickly, we have reset to quiet coffee on the balcony on at sea days, salads for lunch and dinner in the main dining room where portion sizes are usually pretty reasonable, and by reasonable, I mean not large. On port days, depending on the schedule, we grab a quick, small breakfast to keep up our energy and sometimes grab a salad when we get back, if hungry. We do tons of walking on port days and spend at least an hour walking the deck when we are at sea. We are averaging at least 7-10km per day and plan to hit the gym regularly in the New Year to work on strength-training.
So, what is the issue?? The key issue I am having with documenting the journey is the fact that I am grappling with my feelings about how others onboard are using this experience to document and market their experience to the world. I have learned only recently that I tend to be a quiet, introverted person who has made a living insisting on pushing myself outside that comfort zone in order to network, lead a team and put others’ interests first. Boundaries have been something that I have needed to establish in order to keep my mental health in tact and to ensure that I do not run around this life in constant exhaustion.
This Royal Caribbean Ultimate World Cruise has turned into a bit of a social media petrie dish and it honestly has been irritating me. As I see reports of the keen media interest back home, I understand the intrigue and wonder at who would possibly do this? My journey to this point has involved incredibly hard work and sacrifice along with extreme personal loss and serious health scares. So, forgive me if those who portray this opportunity as less than a privilege, that was earned through sweat and tears, tend to make me feel embarrassed to be a part of it all. My desire to get introspective and take this long awaited time to work on important projects is being used by others to call attention to themselves, get views and get preferred treatment by Royal Caribbean as they are enjoying a free marketing tool. What I can tell you is that there are many of us who do not fall into the category of wealthy, entitled individuals but rather those who have worked so hard for this moment and choose to not to waste another minute not savoring beautiful, new experiences. So, for me, I try to acknowledge my like-minded counterparts and ignore the rest as much as I can.
I can acknowledge with age and experience comes a different perspective so, unless the social media stars get bored, the constant silly documentation, of the banal details of your shower and makeup to get ready for dinner and what you might be eating today, will continue to be a fact of life for the rest of us. Hopefully it does not continue to alter the quiet enjoyment of this special experience for the rest of us.
So onward… I will promise to commit to documenting our experiences the best I can for both our future enjoyment and to those who are interested in what we are up to as we travel the world in this way.
Since my last blog post, we have been travelling southward and visited some beautiful locales.
Curaçao – After Aruba, we stopped in Willemstad and spent a day on the beautiful island of Curaçao. It was a quiet day of independent exploration on this stunningly pretty island. With pastel-coloured colonial architecture, lots of shopping from high-end brands to souvenir shops and plenty of amazing dining options, we finally added a location to our list of spots we would consider returning to spend more time. After walking the streets and enjoying the views, we spent a couple of hours at the best Peruvian restaurant in town, Ceviche 91. With an incredible oceanfront view from the old fort (which is now interestingly filled with shops and restaurants) and the best Pisco sours we’ve ever enjoyed, this friendly, family-owned and operated restaurant was an absolutely amazing experience. We shared a very fresh mussel appetizer, classic ceviche and lomo saltado. Everything we had was excellent.
As we pulled out of the port that night, a thank-you for our visit, in the form of a surprise fireworks display, was the perfect end to a perfect day!
Bonaire – The next day, we pulled into Kralendijk, Bonaire. With the help of a friend from our hometown, who has owned a property there for 30+ years, we booked a private snorkel tour. At 9am, we were picked up from the end of the pier by Marco from Private Guided Tours Bonaire and headed out to enjoy a beautiful snorkel trip. As we left the cruise port area, we quickly enjoyed the Main Street with shops and restaurants and saw many small boutique hotels, all catering to the vibrant diving and snorkeling visitors who visit the island. After being briefed, we were provided gear and got ready to head out. Once we entered, Marco took us on a very well-guided snorkel where he educated us on everything we saw. Lots of beautiful fish and even a small sea turtle were part of our experience. The water was incredibly salty and so we felt pretty parched and like we had just had a relaxing spa treatment by the end of the it. It was awesome!
After completion of our snorkel, Marco drove us around the island pointing out many interesting spots and showing us some very large homes. Anyone can purchase property in Bonaire, so the population is growing at a rapid rate (from 20,000 to 24,000 since 2020). Evidence of ongoing infrastructure improvement projects were seen as we travelled through.
Once we got back to the ship, we showered and headed to grab a beer at the Schooner Bar and did some research as to where we might head out to grab some lunch. Staying with our Peruvian theme, we decided to head to Las Tres Marias which was about a kilometre and a half away. We were visiting with a lovely couple we had just met and they decided to join us. Thank goodness they were adventurous like us — we walked through some decidedly “off-the-beaten path” areas to arrive at a hole-in-the-wall we could have easily missed.
It appeared we took the establishment by surprise (or maybe we just arrived during siesta) but we did wait quite some time for the food (and an older woman walked through the door so we figured they needed to call in the cook). But it was so worth it! Out came heaping platters of ceviche, rice lomo saltado and papitas fritas. Everything was delicious and I think we absolutely made their day. I headed over to speak to them after we ate and explained to them in Spanish that we were here as part of the World Cruise. They had not heard of it but were to interested to know more. Great value, amazing food and a real taste of the local culture. It could not have been a more special experience. Our new friend concluded the day by asking if we would consider asking them to join us on our next adventure….
A bit long-winded today, but in my next post, I will describe our final visits to finish up our southern Caribbean stops.
You do you Beth! Every perspective is worthwhile and there are many of us anxiously awaiting yours 🙂
And for any of the haters out there, there are literally people who choose to stay on cruises rather than pay for retirement villas in adult communities. In many cases it costs less!