We won't be hanging Santa on the tree this year.
Have your holiday traditions changed due to divorce, death of a family member, long distance move or having to share your son or daughter with new in-laws? Will you be alone this Christmas? Don’t sit at home moping over what used to be — plan a new baby boomer tradition. That’s what Alan and I will be doing when we set sail on the Silversea ship, Silver Cloud, for our second cruise through the Panama Canal.
Starting in San Diego, California, we’ll spend 16 luxurious days on the sea before ending our boomer adventure in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. The Silver Cloud will be calling on the Mexican ports of Ensenada, Cabo San Lucas and Acapulco before moving on to Puntarenas, Costa Rica; a Panama Canal transit, San Blas Island, Panama; and Cartagena, Colombia.
Although the cruise has 8 sea days (Yes!), this boomer journey isn’t about lounging on a deck chair by the pool, although we’ll be doing a little of that. But you’re much more likely to find us exercising in the gym, walking on deck, attending lectures or dancing the night away. And Silversea is offering plenty of active excursions to keep us busy, including four-wheeling adventures, zip-lining and kayaking as well as cultural explorations.
Have you ever wondered what Christmas Eve and Christmas Day are like on a ship? I’m anticipating a festive look when we board the Silver Cloud. Stay tuned because Alan will be taking photos to accompany my blog posts about celebrating the holidays at sea.
I’ll also be crossing off an item on my bucket list. Experiencing a gala New Year’s Eve night on a cruise ship has been on my list for a long time. Our usual New Year’s celebration involves a low-key night at a friend’s house. Not this year. Dinner, dancing and champagne toasts are in our future and I can hardly wait. Alan has packed his white dinner jacket and I found a couple of sparkly Chico’s items, so we’re ready for the big night. Will Chico’s dressy separates be formal enough on Silversea? I’m wondering that myself. One reason I prefer them for formal nights is the flexibility of mixing and matching, which lightens my packing load. Add sparkly earrings and fancy shoes and I’m all set.
What will we think of the all-inclusive 296-passenger Silver Cloud? It’s the smallest ship that Alan and I have sailed on since our very first cruise, which was on the 186-passenger Song of Flower, formerly part of the Regent Seven Seas line. Our Silver Cloud Veranda Suite is very much like the suites we’ve experienced on Regent and Seabourn that include a private balcony (a must for us), full-sized bath and separate sitting area.
Look for photos and short reports about the cruise at the My Itchy Travel Feet page on Facebook plus tweet updates on Twitter (hashtag #silverseacruise). Be sure to stop by to see how our cruise is going.
Have you sailed on a holiday cruise? Post a comment to share your experience. Alan and I think we might have found a new Christmas tradition.
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Twitter: travelnwrite
December 20, 2011 at 10:08 am
Your post brought back memories of our last SilverSea cruise from Venice to Venice with stops in Croatia, Montenegro and Greece. I had fretted about whether my Chico’s ‘dressy’ stuff was fancy enough for that cruise line. Silly me, I need not have worried. . .British Air lost our luggage and we became known on board as ‘the people from Seattle without clothes’. We would have purchased new stuff, but each stop held the promise of our suitcases being there for us. They finally arrived on day 7 of the 8 day cruise. I wore my Chico’s finery that night and drew applause from my fellow passengers.
As for holiday cruises, we just spent Thanksgiving on the Celebrity Constellation — it was great!
Jackie Smith recently posted..Beyond the Podium–Speakers at Sea
Sounds fun to have ready made entertainment for New Year – in our house it’s always a last minute arrangement of teaming up with whichever friends and neighbours are available
Heather on her travels recently posted..There’s much more to Munich than the beer!
Twitter: DonnaLHull
January 10, 2012 at 7:59 am
It was a fun way to celebrate New Year’s Eve at least once in our lives.
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