January 29, 2025
Needless to say, 2024 was full of challenges for us. However, ever the optimist, we believe that 2025 is going to be better. So until we are told otherwise, we are going to continue to travel as much as possible.
We will start this year with a 12-day partial Panama Canal cruise. It is a very similar route to the one we took in 2018 – coincidentally – the first one we took after a serious health scare that year. The full-transit from Ft. Lauderdale to Seattle that we tried to take in 2024 was cancelled before it got started.
One difference this year from 2018 is that we are sailing on the Holland America (HAL) Rotterdam VII, the newest Pinnacle Class ship. Because of its size, we will be using the newer, larger canal locks that were completed in 2016. I was fascinated going through the old locks in 2018. It’ll be interesting to compare the different experiences.
We are also looking forward to some warm weather. The many days of below-freezing temperatures here have gotten on our last nerve. I promise I won’t even complain about the humidity wreaking havoc on my hair if we can just get some warmth.
No snorkeling this trip but we do have three tours scheduled – one in Aruba, one in Colombia, and one in Costa Rica. Fingers crossed that the weather is nice for each one of them.
So now is the time to finish packing our bags, gather our documents, and make our way to Florida for the first adventure of the new year.
Fingers crossed.
