From Tourist to Traveler

We have arrived on the beautifully refurbished MS Amsterdam (which completed a $150M dry dock just a few months ago) and are enjoying our first full day at sea...now just off the Northern coast of Cuba...headed to Santa Marta Columbia. The seas are moderate in spite of gale force winds...and we’re still getting our sea legs which usually takes a few days.

The trip from St. George had its moments...last minute airline notification that the flight would be significantly delayed, causing us to miss our connection, rebooking another flight out of Las Vegas, a rushed drive to LAS (thanks to Craig’s brother Stu!), a cab ride to our Ft. Lauderdale hotel at midnight in a traditional cab (driver couldn’t speak English and handed us his cellphone to key in an address so he could follow the map) in contrast to using Uber the following morning to the ship which was professional and easy.

Embarkation onto the ship was fast and easy...less than 10 minutes...and in no time we were in our beautiful stateroom...7022. The sailway party was first class and we began reconnecting with friends from our last Grand World Voyage...like Celeste , Christel, and Henk. It feels like home.

After nearly 2 years of planning, we’re finally underway! Our goal on this journey is to graduate from just being a tourist...to being a traveler.