A Cruise Evolution

 Saturday, January 13, 2024

This is the story of our 2024 winter travels and this one photo explains WHY we were planning the trip. Below is what we were experiencing in SW Minnesota on January 13, 2024. Understand now why I felt the need to go SOMEWHERE warm?

But first lets back up. Almost a year ago today I posted about our plans for a 2023 winter getaway. The idea was to leave cold and snowy Minnesota and head someplace warm. And that is what we did. Unfortunately winter didn't get the memo that it was time to end when we returned home and the cold and snow carried on, and on, and on. I knew then that a mid-winter break for 2024 was a MUST if I was to maintain my sanity.

When Holland America started filling my email inbox with "special private fare" offers one in particular caught my eye...a round trip 35-day cruise to the South Pacific from San Diego. Leaving in mid-February, this cruise would be the perfect escape for the worst part of winter. It didn't take much to convince Bob that we should go, and I booked it.

Koningsdam 35-Day Hawaii/South Pacific Cruise

However within a few weeks, life started happening and the thought of being at sea in such a remote part of the world away from our family just didn't sound like such a good plan. The uneasy feeling just wouldn't go away and I was convinced that God was sending me a message...so we cancelled.

But I didn't want to give up on going SOMEPLACE warm so I came up with the idea of spending a month in the beautiful city of Antigua, Guatemala. Known as the city of "eternal spring" the weather would be perfect. Even better, we have missionary friends that live there that we could spend time with and have as a resource to navigate the language and cultural differences we would encounter.

We visited the beautiful colonial city of Antigua in 2018 and again on our Panama Canal cruise in 2023.

Bob had even started training to do the strenuous overnight hike up Volcan de Fuego (Fire Volcano)

An Air BnB apartment was reserved and flights were booked. BUT THEN...our friends had a change of plans and were going to be in the U.S. for the entire time we had planned to be in Antigua. AND THEN...the airlines changed our flight times so that our connection in Atlanta would be pretty much impossible and there weren't any great alternatives. All of a sudden the month in Antigua wasn't sounding so appealing. And the idea of shopping in the local market and cooking our own meals for a month that previously had seemed fun and adventurous now felt like it was going to be hard work. At this point I had quit anticipating the trip and was wishing we were going on a cruise instead.

So why not cruise?? A little researching found that the cruise on the Holland America Koningsdam just before the 35-day South Pacific itinerary had some really good pricing. Also round trip out of San Diego, the 18-day cruise would visit several of the islands in Hawaii. Once I got the idea, the plan came together pretty quickly. The airline e-credits from our cancelled Guatemala trip would easily pay for the flights to San Diego (and also flights for another upcoming cruise...stay tuned!) The apartment could be cancelled with no penalties and our trip insurance could be transferred to the new trip. So in late November of 2023 we did a complete turn-about and booked an 18-day cruise to Hawaii!!

Koningsdam 18-Day Hawaii Cruise

Normally we don't book cruises so close to the sailing date, but I dove into the planning and felt confident that we had made the right choice. 

Come sail along with us as I begin sharing my daily blog posts from the trip.