We've been invited to hang out with Riley in Alabama to await the birth of her younger brother around Thanksgiving. We can't turn that down so we traded our November Oceania Transatlantic cruise for another cruise at a more convenient time.
We don't leave for a couple of weeks so we're just starting to think about the details of our first cruise on Royal Caribbean, a Transatlantic crossing on the Jewel of The Seas.
August 29 at 8:25 a.m. we fly SEA-ORD on UA #958, connecting to ORD-LHR UA #928, arriving at 8:25 a.m. August 30. From there we'll make our way to Harwich, in time to set sail September 2 at 5:00 p.m.
Ports along the way include Le Havre (Paris) and Cherbourg France, Cork Ireland and Belfast Northern Island, Reykjavik Iceland, and our destination port, Boston Massachusetts early September 14.
We've already seen the Jewel in the distance, most recently on our recent Baltic cruise, and we're surprised that a ship featuring its own rock-climbing wall holds "only" 2500 passengers. We'll be sure to carry a map with us for the first few days.
Since we managed to find our way around the magnificent Queen Mary II a few years ago we're not too worried. Besides, on a cruise ship you may get lost but you'll never starve.
Kathy and Brian
Two retired educators alternating joyfully between seeing the world and enjoying our eight grandchildren (in order of birth), Jake, Avery, Taegan, Lily, Peyton, Riley, Blane, and Jace.
Kathy and Brian met in the clarinet section of the University of California (Santa Barbara) Symphony Orchestra several decades ago.
Brian's Western Canadian roots and Kathy's Colorado ties resulted in their making beautiful music together along with producing a cross-border crop of descendants.
Kathy spent a year studying in Vienna at the Institute for European Studies and the University of Vienna.
Brian started the school band program in Hope, British Columbia, and later became the high school's vice-principal for 6 years and subsequently principal for 15 years before retiring in 2001.
Kathy, in between raising our three children, taught kindergarten and first grade, middle school, and high school - mathematics, computer studies, ESL, and her first love, band, before retiring in 2001.
We enjoy sharing our travel experiences and providing the odd travel tip to friends, relatives, and visitors.