WELCOME

Welcome to our 2013 World Cruise Blog

We are so very excited to welcome you to our 2013 World Cruise Blog.

Although many of you have followed our travels via our Blogs for several years, some of you are first time visitors to this years Blog.  As background, we began Blogging with our very first World Cruise in 2007.  We decided to Blog so that family and friends could keep abreast of our travels and whereabouts.  The Blog has also served as a nice memory of our travels. 

Fast forward almost five years later, and we have Blogged on nine different voyages each of varying lengths, and most recently over 46,000 visitors clicked on our 2012 World Cruise Blog.

We thought we would begin by sharing  our approach to these Blogs.  

Some of the things you will read and see on the blog:

1.  Lots of photos of food, fellow cruisers, crew members, ourselves, shipboard events, along with buildings, statues, scenery, people and an array of other items whether at sea or on land.

2.  Narratives of our experiences at sea including some repetition of those items that we enjoy, including those daily morning workouts.

3. Background information on ports of call, including some statistics related to population and local economy.

4.  Our thoughts and observations from those glorious days at sea, as well as those wonderful visits to each port of call.

5.  Some typos and grammatical errors because there is just not enough time in the day to reread what we have written or smooth out any rough edges prior to posting each and every entry.  

Some of the things you will not read nor see on the blog:

1.  Gossip or criticism of others.

2.  Emphasis on those few things that might go wrong.

As many of you know, we tend to take the glass is half-full approach which carries over to cruising and travel.   We do this because in the scheme of things we realize that life is relatively short, and we get pleasure by focusing on all of the wonderful events and items that we experience each and everyday on our journey. We realize that we may experience just a few hiccups, but keep in mind these are relatively few and minor.  We also talk about making memories that will last a lifetime, and we would like to remember all of the positive experiences from our adventures and not dwell on the few items that didn't go our way.  We consider ourselves very fortunate (lucky too) to be able to take these journeys.  

To illustrate this point, a few months ago Anne Marie faced some health issues that we dealt with collectively.  This served as yet another reminder that we are far better off by focusing on all of the good that we experience each and every day and it reenforced what truly is important in our day-to-day lives.

3.  Making fun or trashing if you will any of the ports of call we visit.  Sure, we have favorite ports, but in the end we know that most places will have their own identity as they do in our very own country and we know there is beauty to be found in almost each and every place around the world.  Sometimes, you just have to look a little closer but it likely is right in front of your nose if you care to take the time to find it.  While some areas might not be our favorites, we can usually learn something from each and every place we visit.  We do our best to be balanced in our observations of all ports of call. We also remind ourselves that this is part of discovery.  If one doesn't want to see and experience places that are different from their own home towns, travel might not be for them. 

Changes from previous Blogs

We hope you enjoy the new changes we've incorporated into this years Blog.  As we have done since our very first Blog, you will notice some changes from previous Blogs in terms of both format and content.

1.  We have added a new tabs section across the home page. It includes tabs specific to this Blog as well as tabs providing access to our most recent two Blogs.  In some instances, you just click on the tab and then scroll down to view the narrative and photos, and then to get back to the home page click the tab labeled home.  In a few cases such as the tabs that take you to the WC 2011 and 2012 Blogs, and to other sites, to get back to the home page you will need to click the left (back) arrow key of your web browser.

2.  We have added photo streaming for the very first time. The photo streams run automatically one time only.  Afterwards, just click on the arrow key to rerun it.

The first photo stream section is located right beneath the tab section and includes photos from recent cruises and also photos from ports we have visited previously, which are also part of this years itinerary.  We will try to update some of this with current photos taken during this journey.

The second photo stream section is located on the right hand side and is part of our dedication to Captain Glenn Edvardsen.  A larger size version is located towards the bottom of the Blog.

3.  We will attempt to increase the number of photos we post as we realize the old adage that a picture is worth a thousand words applies to all sorts of written communication, including Blogs.

4. For ports that we have visited on prior cruises and land trips,  we will try to contrast our experiences on this journey compared to prior visits.

This Blog will capture highlights, observations, experiences, thoughts and day-to-day happenings over our 85 Day Adventure on the 2013 World Cruise and on the Caribbean voyage that precedes the start of the World Cruise.

This adventure marks our fifth full World Cruise and our sixth World Cruise, all of them with Crystal Cruises.

By the end of this voyage we will have sailed the equivalent of almost two and 1/2 years at sea.

Although we will not visit any new countries this time around, we will visit twenty-two ports of call for the very first time, bringing to 230 the total number of ports we have visited by cruise ship.

We will post a few more times before this journey begins, and also while we are in Miami during our pre-cruise stay so check back every couple of days to see additional posts.  Some of these posts will include the planning that goes into these long voyages.

In the meantime, make yourself at home by exploring our Blogs home page where you will see relevant information about our journey.  This includes links to other sites including a link which will take you to live views from the bridge of the ship. 

We encourage you to post comments and questions.  To do so is very simple.  At the end of any given post you will see a comments area which you just click on.  It will bring you to a screen where you can write a comment and then you will be asked to do a simple word verification.  If you do not have a Google e-mail account just click on anonymous before posting your comments.  We will read each and every comment and do our best to respond to any questions you may have on the subsequent post.

As we have done in the past, we will share a thought for the day for each and every post. 

Today's thought is one of our favorites and relate to travel.

TODAY'S THOUGHT FOR THE DAY............

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do.  So throw off the bowlines.  Sail away from the safe harbor.  Catch the trade winds in your sails.  Explore.  Dream.  Discover."  - Mark Twain

Keith and Anne Marie