Dirk has safely joined Oosterdam in Trieste. And H. is at his mom's until we leave for Rome, so I am footloose and fancy free for the next 10 days or so.
I just walked back from the local library where I was kindly issued a visitor's library card - this makes me super happy! Kids were everywhere, signing up for summer reading programs and doing a lego craft; the librarian apologized for how busy it was, but I was thrilled to see young people loving the magic of the library.
Here's how the week looked and some thoughts about preparing for a cruise vacation.
Travel
Are you a planner or do you wing it?
You have probably guessed that I am pretty solidly in the planner camp, with the idea that my planning & knowledge better equip me to pivot and adapt as needed, becuase, as we all know, things happen. When it comes to a cruise vacation - planning, pacing and port load can all have a significant impact on your experience.
Planning: What are you hoping to see, taste or experience in each port and how can you make that happen? What are you wanting to spend to make that happen?
Pacing: Itineraries such as my upcoming Mediterannean one are chock-a-block with port day after port day of incredible places. How do you make sure you have enough steam to see, taste and experience all you identified in your planning?
Port Load: This has two components: Emotional and physical. Emotionally, how important is this particular place to you? And physically, how many other ships are going to be in port with you and how many others are likely going to want to see, taste and experience the same as you?
Much comes to personal preference and choice.
For planning - maybe you want to see the big sites, maybe you have a thing for caves, golf, lighthouses, beaches, coffee, pizza or what have you. Maybe you want to explore on your own or hire a private guide. Maybe you want to be part of an organized excursion. Maybe you want to see what a local taxi driver can offer you for the day. I was always slightly surprised by guests who (presumably) spend quite a bit of money for their cruise and airfare only to arrive and ask "what is there to do in [insert port city]?" Fair enough question for less-traveled or less-famous places, but also (presumably) when you book a cruise that goes to, say, Rome, Naples, Livorno, Venice, Barcelona - you have some idea of what those places are about. Also, if the statue of David is a must see for you, don't book a cruise that goes to Livorno on a Monday, because the Gallery of the Academy of Florence is closed on Mondays....you're welcome.
Which leads to pacing. Some pacing is decided for you: Sundays and Mondays. Siesta. The structure of itineraries (pattern and timing of port and sea days). Tendering. But other pacing is up to you - are you all go, go, go or do you need some down time? How much walking or sitting? What is the climate like? And how do you feel about sun, heat, cold and rain? Do you want/need food and beverage breaks? And do those traveling with you have the same expectations?
Which leads to port load. Physically, you have no control over how many other ships are going to be in port with your ship. You can do some research to figure this out (either before or after you book your cruise - more on this later). This can affect some pacing - e.g. if you know when the big sites are likely to be busy, you may choose to go at another time, which could impact the structure your day ashore differently. Some ports can absorb thousands of folks coming in for the day. Other ports (Santorini and Dubrovnik come to mind) can get VERY busy.
For me, how much go, go, go is very related to my emotional port load. We can call this the Christina Port Classification System, loosely defined as follows:
Mona Lisa Ports: Ports with big ticket sites. La Sagrada Familia, The Vatican, The Colosseum, Pompei, Ephesus.
One or Two Trick Pony Ports: Ports that have one or two sites or experiences that are the key attraction(s). Katakolon for Olympia. Gibraltar for The Rock and Barbary macaques.
Nice/Catch My Breath Ports: Ports that don't ncessarily have the Mona Lisas, but are pleasant and have a variety of other interesting attractions and I don't feel as much FMO pressure if I don't maximize my time here. Rhodes, Split, Portofino.
Bucket List/Highly Emotional Ports or Port-Specific Activities: The often times rare, "I only booked this cruise because...." ports (which, by the way, is never a good idea). By nature, this is HIGHLY personalized. Over the years, guests have spoken of the Falklands, Easter Island, Alexandria, flightseeing and landing on glaciers, sport fishing in the Baja, etc.
Why are We Coming Here? Ports: These are rare, but do happen. Sometimes there is a port on the itinerary that has no appeal to you whatsoever. Again, highly personalized. I like to give every stop a go at least once or twice, but sometimes you just find the places you really don't connect with.
So, for example, looking at our upcoming cruise: I am traveling with a teenager who either hasn't been to these places or went as a small child. And I also need to get some research done for a future project. So, for this particular cruise, I am thinking:
Naples - Mona Lisa + Port Load (for Pompei)
Sea day
Santorini - Bucket List + Port Load + tendering
Iraklion - One trick pony or nice
Athens - Mona Lisa + Port Load (for Acropolis)
Kusdasi - Mona Lisa + Port Load (for Ephesus)
Nafplion - Two trick pony/nice
Argostoli - new one to me - nice?
Corfu - nice
Kotor - nice
The cruise starts off with some heavy hitters and then eases up. So what are our next steps? We have the gist of all but Argostoli. As Dirk and I want this to be a memorable cruise for Harrison, we think certain sites and experiences are important but we also recognize that a lot of it will come down to Harrison's pacing and preferences.
Whew. I feel like I had a lot on my chest there. I promise to come back to tendering, websites for figuring out port load and Santorini as I think they are important.
Meantime, for the other stuff!
Wellness Round Up
Nutrition: Sunday was a big day in the kitchen, which I love.
Sunday morning we usually do pancakes and this week we did sheet pan pancakes, which is a time saver, but feels like a cross between pancakes, and well, cake (try again).
I have had this recipe for spinach "sushi" rolls from some cookbook I think I collected in New Zealand. I have always wanted to make it and finally had the time. It was a definitey try again!
We also had peaches in the market for the first time this summer, so I was excited to make Mrs. Rose's peach pie recipe (family favorite keeper).
Dinner was black bean/sweet potato tacos with wheat tortillas and Greek yoghurt for sour cream (keeper).
Apart from Sunday, the theme of the week was trying to eat healthy, balancing store convenience with cooking and using up fridge items.
(Store) quiche and homemade salad & dressing (keeper)
BLT plus avocado & hummus on sourdough (keeper)
Nasi Goreng with homemade peanut sauce - Dirk's night to cook (keeper)
Thai vegetable soup - made this one up with frozen chicken stock, leftover veggies, lemongrass & coconut milk (essentially a keeper, just no formal recipe)
Crepes (keeper)
Hydration: Full Pitcher - every day but Sunday (which was a 3/4 Pitcher day)
Sleep & Stress; According to Fitbit, LOL, I generally slept between 6.5 -7.5 hours and my sleep scores were 77-72-82-78-75-80-78, which are all in the fair to good category. Bottom line though - I have felt rested and ready for each day.
Movement: This week was my final week of Aerial Fitness class at Mission Studios. The beginner course is ongoing, so when I return in the fall, I can pick up from where I left. I was super impressed by my supportive teachers and fellow classmates who are very generous of spirit and have a go-for-it attitude.
I also completed week 2 of Couch to 5K.
Four days I hit over 10,00 steps.
So, I am getting ready to head to the Med, which is my happy place. Good friend Christine Kesteloo, who is also a Spouse Onboard (also with a Dutch husband) and also a former Cruise Director, is just joining Koningsdam for a few months of Alaska, which is her happy place. Christine is a jewelry designer and video blog queen - to learn more about the Alaska part of the world and to see her work, visit her YouTube and Tiktok spaces.
That's it for now. Bon Voyage & Bon Appétit!
Updated August 25, 2024
Cover photo attribution: O H 237, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
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