Ports of Call

63 Days and Counting!

Enclosed you will find the Proposed Itinerary for the upcoming Cruise. I say Proposed because over the past few months we have, from time to time, been advised of a change to this document. The reason is not necessarily given but with a little investigation it is not hard to find out the answers. But, as in the case of Venice, the Cruise Line did give the reason because it absolved  them of any type of wrongdoing on the part of the scheduling department. Venice, it seems, has banned all larger Cruise Ships from its harbor. We have been redirected to Raveena, a port just a little south of Venice. This should enable everyone to still visit this City that has every other “canaled” city in the world vying for ‘Second Place’ at best. You’ll never hear anyone calling Venice “The Venice of the (Fill in the Blank)” because it is Venice!

          Anyway, changes have to occur from time to time on a voyage of this length that is planned so far in advance. From changing local regulations (Venice) to weather conditions, to even the possible closing of ports/countries due to the lingering effects of Covid, I’m sure that the Destination/Ports of Call Departments at any of the Cruise Lines is kept quite busy. The only downfall here is when the ONE place that you wanted to really visit has changed. Hopefully that will not happen!

          If it does, there is always another cool place to visit or spend another relaxing day at sea.

          Trying to figure out which Excursions to book in each port has been a daunting task. Mind you, it is fun making these decisions but there have been some changes here also.

          Many of the Tour Operators that the Cruise Industry had developed relationships with over the years did not survive the almost two-year shutdown due to Covid. That means that the thousands of folks who want to disembark in the Port of Exotica to go see the Temple of Incredulous may find that there is, in fact, no room on the bus! This is a constantly evolving situation, and as more and more Tour Operators get up and running, they will add “Buses” as soon as they can. I am sure that the Excursion Desk on board will be the busiest department on the ship, right behind the Art Department!

          Do you know who is the largest Art Dealer in the world?

          Right you are Michelangelo!

          It’s the Park West system of galleries that are operated on most of the major Cruise Lines.

          I don’t get it, but hey, it’s not my dime!

          Anyway, we thought that we had gotten a fairly early start on booking these Port Excursions until we put the computer away for a few weeks, only to log back in and find that quite a few Ports had already been “Booked Up”! I am quite sure that this situation will get somewhat better as we go along. Never-the-less, we hunkered down and finished up the Excursion Booking part of this adventure.

          The problem is not that you need to be on an excursion in every port, quite often the good stuff is right in the city that is close to your port and doing your own ‘Walking Tour’ is quite satisfying. It’s that there are many ports where the berth is not right at the base of the town that one may want to visit. It may require a transfer from the ship to wherever you may want to go. The downfall here is when booking transportation on your own when you get off the ship through another party, is that the cruise line accepts no responsibility for getting you back on board in time for sailing.

          And they will leave without you!

          One of the most entertaining things to do on a cruise is watch the late running folks try and make it back on board before they need to hurl themselves into the harbor and attempt to swim and catch up!

          I kid you not! (except for the hurling into the harbor part!)

          The ship gives you ample warnings and chances to get back on board in time. It’s not that they won’t stay and wait for you, it’s that they can’t stay. These ports are scheduled quite closely and as one ship departs, quite often you can see the next one coming in. Not to mention the fact that your ship is due in the next port at a specific time. So, you can see how adhering to a tight schedule is quite important.

          Hence the Departing on Time rule and the ensuing running of the passengers that may want to test said rule.

          So, About an hour or so before casting off, you may hear on the loudspeakers, “Will Mr. ‘Late Guy’ please call the Operation’s Desk? Since you need to be scanned both off and on the ship, they know exactly who is there and who isn’t. These announcements get a bit more frequent and frantic as the time to leave port gets closer. This is when you want to be on the rail looking down at the dock with your Umbrella Drink in hand.

          You will not be disappointed !

          Keep watching as those announcements keep coming and the ships horn sounds loudly broadcasting the immediate departure of all of your clothes and belongings, and there, running frantically, (usually with packages in hand) is Mr. “Late Guy” watching them pull up the gangway as the ship starts to sail away.

          Once that gangway is up, there’s no going back.

          You are on your own making arrangements to get to the next port. This is why you always have your Passport with you!

          Our Itinerary is as follows. You will notice that since it is January, we will be heading south! A fair amount of time is spent in the Southern Hemisphere (where it is Summer) and /or around the Equator and Tropics where it makes no never mind anyway!

          Please let us know which priceless artifacts you would like us to pick up for you from these exotic ports and we will order them from Amazon before we depart!

Day & Date	Destination	Duration
Thu, 01/05/23	+View Details
Thu, 01/05/23	Ft. Lauderdale, Florida View general port information Check In Begins At 12:30	– 3:00pm
Fri, 01/06/23	At Sea
Sat, 01/07/23	At Sea
Sun, 01/08/23	Cartagena, Colombia	7:00am – 3:00pm
Mon, 01/09/23	Panama Canal Full Transit Historic Locks Scenic Cruising	6:00am – 4:30pm
Tue, 01/10/23	At Sea
Wed, 01/11/23	Puntarenas, Costa Rica	7:00am – 7:00pm
Thu, 01/12/23	San Juan Del Sur, Nicaragua Water Shuttle Required wheelchair Access Limited	7:00am – 6:00pm
Fri, 01/13/23	At Sea
Sat, 01/14/23	Huatulco, Mexico	8:00am – 5:00pm
Sun, 01/15/23	At Sea
Mon, 01/16/23	Puerto Vallarta, Mexico	8:00am – 5:00pm
Tue, 01/17/23	At Sea
Wed, 01/18/23	At Sea
Thu, 01/19/23	Los Angeles, California Ship @ Port Of San Pedro check In Begins At 12:30	7:00am – 3:00pm
Fri, 01/20/23	At Sea
Sat, 01/21/23	At Sea
Sun, 01/22/23	At Sea
Mon, 01/23/23	At Sea
Tue, 01/24/23	Honolulu, Hawaii	9:00am – 11:00pm
Wed, 01/25/23	Kauai (nawiliwili), Hawaii	8:00am – 5:00pm
Thu, 01/26/23	At Sea
Fri, 01/27/23	At Sea
Sat, 01/28/23	At Sea
Sun, 01/29/23	At Sea
Mon, 01/30/23	At Sea
Tue, 01/31/23	Tahiti (Papeete), French Polynesia Departs After Midnight overnight	7:00am
Wed, 02/01/23	Tahiti (Papeete), French Polynesia	– 4:00am
Wed, 02/01/23	Moorea, French Polynesia Water Shuttle Required wheelchair Access Limited	8:00am – 5:00pm
Thu, 02/02/23	At Sea
Fri, 02/03/23	At Sea
Sat, 02/04/23	Pago Pago, American Samoa	9:00am – 6:00pm
Sun, 02/05/23	At Sea
Mon, 02/06/23	Cross International Date Line Cross Int’L Dateline	12:00pm – 1:00pm
Wed, 02/08/23	At Sea
Thu, 02/09/23	Bay Of Islands, New Zealand Water Shuttle Required wheelchair Access Limited	8:00am – 6:00pm
Fri, 02/10/23	Auckland, New Zealand	6:30am – 6:00pm
Sat, 02/11/23	Tauranga, New Zealand	6:15am – 7:45pm
Sun, 02/12/23	At Sea
Mon, 02/13/23	Picton, New Zealand	7:00am – 6:00pm
Tue, 02/14/23	Wellington, New Zealand	7:00am – 5:00pm
Wed, 02/15/23	New Plymouth, New Zealand	7:00am – 5:00pm
Thu, 02/16/23	At Sea
Fri, 02/17/23	At Sea
Sat, 02/18/23	Sydney, Australia Check In Starts At 12:00pm	7:00am – 9:00pm
Sun, 02/19/23	At Sea
Mon, 02/20/23	Moreton Island, Australia Water Shuttle Required wheelchair Access Limited	7:00am – 6:00pm
Tue, 02/21/23	At Sea
Wed, 02/22/23	Airlie Beach, Australia Water Shuttle Required wheelchair Access Limited	7:00am – 4:00pm
Thu, 02/23/23	Cairns, Australia	10:00am – 8:00pm
Fri, 02/24/23	At Sea
Sat, 02/25/23	At Sea
Sun, 02/26/23	At Sea
Mon, 02/27/23	Darwin, Australia	8:00am – 10:00pm
Tue, 02/28/23	At Sea
Wed, 03/01/23	At Sea
Thu, 03/02/23	Komodo Island, Indonesia Water Shuttle Required wheelchair Access Limited	7:00am – 5:00pm
Fri, 03/03/23	At Sea
Sat, 03/04/23	At Sea
Sun, 03/05/23	Singapore	9:00am – 10:00pm
Mon, 03/06/23	At Sea
Tue, 03/07/23	Langkawi, Malaysia	7:00am – 6:00pm
Wed, 03/08/23	Phuket, Thailand Water Shuttle Required wheelchair Access Limited	7:00am – 5:00pm
Thu, 03/09/23	At Sea
Fri, 03/10/23	At Sea
Sat, 03/11/23	Colombo, Sri Lanka	7:00am – 7:00pm
Sun, 03/12/23	At Sea
Mon, 03/13/23	At Sea
Tue, 03/14/23	At Sea
Wed, 03/15/23	At Sea
Thu, 03/16/23	Dubai, United Arab Emirates Overnight check-In Begins At 1:00pm	7:00am
Fri, 03/17/23	Dubai, United Arab Emirates	– 2:00pm
Sat, 03/18/23	Muscat (mina Qaboos), Oman	9:00am – 6:00pm
Sun, 03/19/23	At Sea
Mon, 03/20/23	At Sea
Tue, 03/21/23	At Sea
Wed, 03/22/23	At Sea
Thu, 03/23/23	At Sea
Fri, 03/24/23	Aqaba (Petra), Jordan	7:00am – 11:00pm
Sat, 03/25/23	Transit The Suez Canal, Egypt Scenic Cruising overnight	5:00pm
Sun, 03/26/23	Transit The Suez Canal, Egypt Scenic Cruising	– 5:00pm
Mon, 03/27/23	Jerusalem/Bethlehem (Ashdod), Israel	7:00am – 8:00pm
Tue, 03/28/23	At Sea
Wed, 03/29/23	Kusadasi, Turkey (for Ephesus)	8:00am – 5:00pm
Thu, 03/30/23	Gythion (for Sparta), Greece Water Shuttle Required wheelchair Access Limited	9:00am – 5:00pm
Fri, 03/31/23	At Sea
Sat, 04/01/23	Ravenna, Italy Overnight	8:00am
Sun, 04/02/23	Ravenna, Italy Check-In Begins At 1:00pm	– 10:00pm
Mon, 04/03/23	Ljubljana (Koper), Slovenia	8:00am – 6:00pm
Tue, 04/04/23	Split, Croatia	8:00am – 6:00pm
Wed, 04/05/23	Kotor, Montenegro Water Shuttle Required wheelchair Access Limited	7:00am – 5:00pm
Thu, 04/06/23	At Sea
Fri, 04/07/23	Valletta, Malta	7:00am – 9:00pm
Sat, 04/08/23	Sicily (Catania), Italy	7:00am – 5:00pm
Sun, 04/09/23	Sorrento, Italy (for Capri & Pompeii) Water Shuttle Required wheelchair Access Limited	7:00am – 8:00pm
Mon, 04/10/23	Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy	7:00am – 7:00pm
Tue, 04/11/23	Villefranche, France Water Shuttle Required wheelchair Access Limited	8:00am – 7:00pm
Wed, 04/12/23	Marseille (Provence), France	8:00am – 6:00pm
Thu, 04/13/23	Barcelona, Spain	8:00am – 10:00pm
Fri, 04/14/23	At Sea
Sat, 04/15/23	Malaga, Spain	7:00am – 6:00pm
Sun, 04/16/23	Casablanca, Morocco (for Marrakech)	8:00am – 10:00pm
Mon, 04/17/23	At Sea
Tue, 04/18/23	Lanzarote (Arrecife), Canary Islands	7:00am – 5:00pm
Wed, 04/19/23	La Palma, Canary Islands, Spain	7:00am – 5:00pm
Thu, 04/20/23	At Sea
Fri, 04/21/23	At Sea
Sat, 04/22/23	At Sea
Sun, 04/23/23	At Sea
Mon, 04/24/23	At Sea
Tue, 04/25/23	At Sea
Wed, 04/26/23	At Sea
Thu, 04/27/23	Ft. Lauderdale, Florida View general port information	7:00am
Thu, 04/27/23	Fort Lauderdale