Vibes from Vancouver

The Sickness

Jeff and I are ailing! We are just as sick as we can be. This week we are in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, for Cruise3Sixty. Cruise3Sixty is a trade show and training conference at the Vancouver Convention Center/Cruise Terminal. As close as we are to the ships, we sadly remain ‘shore locked’. Even though we get to actually get on some of the ships, alas, they make us get off just a few hours later. It is truly crushing us to be this close to cruising and not be participating.

To earn our first level of certification from the Cruises Lines International Association, we have to inspect 5 ships, take 1 short and 1 long cruise, and complete coursework requirements. Right now, Jeff is aboard Holland America’s Volendam to do a ship inspection. The inspection entails a tour of the ship and an incredible meal in the main dining room. Later in the week he will be inspecting Holland America’s Ryndam. I will be inspecting the Sapphire Princess on Saturday and the Celebrity Mercury on Sunday. As you probably have surmised, all these ships are Alaska bound this time of year.

I hope to use our time together (my writing, your reading) to give you updates on our ship inspections, news from the world of cruising, and pictures that we take of the beautiful cruise ships coming in and going out of Vancouver Harbor.

So here’s today’s update: It’s wet! Living in Colorado has spoiled me with so many gorgeous, sunny days. Here, we are wearing raincoats, carrying umbrellas, and traveling through tunnels every chance we get. (Not sewer tunnels, mind you, but ones built for keeping wimpy tourists like me dry.)

Once Jeff gets back, I’ll post some of the pictures he takes aboard the Volendam and maybe some of all the wet stuff falling from the sky.

So stay tuned!

The Life of an Extraordinary Lady, Part 5

. . . spent 8 long years. Tropical weather was very hard on the once exquisite beauty. After these 8 years, she was rescued by a German sea captain who had practice at bringing old, dilapidated ships back to life. He very gingerly took his ailing patient, who by now had reclaimed her old name, Sea Cloud, back to his homeland where he sailed her into the harbor at Hamburg before thousands of cheering people. It was now 1978. Sea Cloud would spend her rehabilitation in the very capable hands of ship builders in Kiel, where she had been brought into the world so long ago. It seemed she had come home for a rebirth.

Eight months later, she reappeared, in all her original beauty and stateliness. In 1979, she became the flagship for the Hansa Cruise Company and their Sea Cloud Cruises.

So believe it or not, after being a luxury yacht, a floating embassy, a wartime weather station, an ocean going school, an unwanted eyesore, and who knows what else, Sea Cloud is back as a luxury sailing ship.

If you would like to experience this beautiful work of sailing art, and if you have about $20,000, you and your loved one can experience all Marjorie Merriweather Post Huffton Davis intended for Sea Cloud to be. That price will buy you a week in Marjorie’s own suite . For history like this, that’s not a bad deal.

For more information on Sea Cloud and her adventures, visit www.seacloud.com

For more in depth research, check out these resources:

http://www.travellady.com/articles/article-seacloud.html

Sea Cloud: A Living Legend, by Kurt Grobeker

My thanks to the writers of these fine sources that tell Sea Cloud’s amazing story.

A Toe in the Blog Water

Being a Baby Boomer has its advantages.

• I remember Elvis.
• I got to see a PG rated version of Saturday Night Fever.
• I have actually bought penny candy for a penny.
• The Brady Bunch and The Partridge Family were Friday night staples at my house BEFORE they were syndicated. (And wasn't that David Cassidy groovy!)
• My family took a vacation to Walt Disney World just after it opened.

It also has its disadvantages. Here are a few examples:

• Old lady glasses for reading
• Reflux
• Jumping up and down is no longer an activity done without forethought and 'preparation'.

And, the most relevant disadvantage, my brain has a hard time understanding new technology.

Hence this first post on the Legacy Family Travel blog.

Did it go anywhere? Did anybody read it? You tell me!

My hope is that Jeff and I will be able to keep you updated on the latest family-friendly vacation options, the newest cruise ships and itineraries, the most innovative hotels and resorts for family travel, and other travel information that you may find interesting.

For the first real blog, I have a fascinating history lesson for you. But first I need to make sure I know what I'm doing. (at least sort of)

In the famous words of Winnie the Pooh: Hellllooooooo? Anybody home?