I will soon be heading out on the longest cruise of my life. Well, the longest so far. Perhaps in a couple years I’ll go on cruises that are even longer.
I am really excited about this cruise — for several reasons. Most of the cruises I have been on have been as a speaker. That alone is exciting, of course, but traveling as a regular guest is special enough. There are many theme nights, such as Casino Royale, a Masquerade Ball, an Orange Night (to celebrate the Dutch history), and a Biergarten day, among others. Our schedule includes 20+ countries, several multiple ports in countries, and a lot of sea days.
I am taking along a new “Learning French” program with the plan that I will be learning French every day. Why? Well, with 40+ sea days, there will be a lot of time that we’re 100% on the ship. While I will be partaking in some activities, I also need something else to occupy my time and my mind. Also, we do visit some countries where French is spoken, and I am spending a month in France in 2024 in the Bordeaux Region. And finally, who really needs a reason to learn French?
My current plan (remember, I haven’t even left home yet) is to post something at least every other day. While there is WiFi on the ship, its signal quality might be sketchy at times. The posts on sea days might not be as exciting as when we’re ashore in the Canary Islands (I don’t think there are actually any canaries there); visiting the Seychelles, or Madagascar. But I hope to make each post entertaining; maybe even enough so that you’ll want to head out on a cruise!
For now, Au revoir!
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Happy Travels — Thanks for reading!
Stuart Gustafson, America’s International Travel Expert®