Back in October, Lyle and I set out on an ocean cruise. We sailed from Seattle, Washington, to Sydney, Australia. This wasn’t our first cruise experience, but at 23 days it certainly was our longest.
When
we expressed to friends our intention to book this trans-Pacific
crossing, we were frequently asked two questions:
1) Did we think that
23 days with about half of them at sea, be too long?
2) Did I think
that a long ocean voyage would be a worthwhile experience for someone
who is blind or partially sighted?
My answer to both questions is the
same. It all depends on your expectations.
For
us, this particular cruise was all that we anticipated and hoped for. We
were both tired after my two recent surgeries. Life on board the ship
meant that I hadn’t needed to cook a meal, wash a dish, make a bed, or
do any housework. It was a great way to rest and recuperate.
The
evening entertainment was great. We heard three different comedians, a
variety of singers with different styles, a saxophonist, and an
absolutely fantastic classical pianist. It was also a good mix of
daytime activities and programs - dance lessons, wine tasting, lessons
on origami folding and other arts and crafts, cooking demonstrations,
trivia competitions, and the list goes on. There seemed to be something
for everyone whether they were sighted or not. There were also two
swimming pools, a fitness center, an outdoor walking track, and a pickle
ball court. We didn’t participate in everything, but chose the ones
most interesting to us.
Then of course, there
were the ports of call. The prettiest of these had to be Easu, part of
the Loyalty Islands in New Caledonia. At Easu, the ship anchored in the
bay and passengers were tendered in lifeboats across to the pier on the
shore. There are two pictures with this post. The first was taken from
our balcony looking across to the dock, a small beach to the left. The
second was taken from the shore looking back to our Holland America
ship.
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| Looking from the balcony at a small boat and beach |
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| At the harbour looking at the ship |
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