Traveller's Itch
Trip Start
Jan 27, 2002
1
5
Trip End
Feb 10, 2002
Fergus, Ontario, Canada
Sunday, January 27, 2002
It occurred to me that I wanted to get a BIG bang outta my travel buck ~ without exhausting myself with all the planning and prep that goes into travelling with someone like me. Don't get me wrong, I'm a GREAT travel buddy (if I don't say so myself) but I always need to be moving and snooping ~ and that kind of travel requires effort... and research... and well ~ it can be exhausting before even starting when you have a full time job, family responsibilities and such.
So... I decided that a cruise would be the way to go. Why not? I had been on one before with my husband and we enjoyed it. Cruising can be expensive since you're at their mercy as far as cost goes... but hell, they also take care of all the tours and hand pick popular destinations based on what the public demands ~ and the biggest bonus, was that for a very short vacation period, they can jam a whole lot of experiences into you if you embrace it AND they take care of the driving by getting you there! For me, there was an added bonus ~ I grew up on the shores of Georgian Bay ~ and water was in my blood. The thought of travelling at an aquatic pace on a ship thrilled me to bits.
Then ~ who to go with?
It just so happened that I began chatting with my good buddy Dorothy (I call her Dot) from work ~ and she jumped at the chance to travel together. I couldn't have been more thrilled.
I made my way to the travel agency and scoffed any brochure they had about Cruises. After pouring over the contents for days, I came upon the Festival line and discovered that the ship European Vision was to make it's maiden voyage ~ a brand new ship! It was huge... luxurious... clean... and the route planned included 12 island destinations over a 2 week period. Not to mention, the actual islands we would be visiting were in the south-eastern Caribbean ~ exactly where I hoped to travel.
Sure, it was expensive ~ and after a slight hesitation from Dot to travel 2 weeks instead of 1, she agreed and lickety split, I booked us in!
Our room # was 8060 ~ and it was an Inside room... if you've never sailed ~ these are the cheap seats. We booked here to save money ~ but it would have been nice to splurge a little extra to get a porthole window or 2 in our room (as I had had when I cruised with Wayne) ~ because when it was lights out, IT WAS LIGHTS OUT!!! It was so friggin' dark, I couldn't see my finger in front of my nose!!!
The European Vision was a HUGE ship ~ so we experienced very little motion while at sea ~ it was like a floating rock. There were many Europeans on board our cruise and subsequently all ship announcements were made in 5 languages ~ English, French, Spanish, German and Italian every single time... By the end of the second week ~ this really got on my nerves.
Anyway ~ Dorothy and I had planned to make the most of this trip and experience as much of the destinations as the ports of call would permit. We were on an adventure!
Comments
So you slept in a cave and were transported from Island to Island in luxury - guess Greece would not work for you as some of the ferries don't even have cabins and you have to drive your own mo-ped!
Sounds like fun once you get past paying for it!