I was the first person to sign up for a three-year cruise. Here’s why
I am a former flight attendant with a passion for travel. My motto in life has always been to experience, learn and then grow. When I heard about a round-the-world cruise taking in 135 countries and docking at 375 destinations, I thought it was the perfect opportunity to live my values. I was the first person to sign up.
That may sound like a surprising decision, but I’ve never been one for a nine-to-five life. I retired in 1989, and since then have spent my days travelling. I’ve been on long trips before: I spent two and half months journeying from Mongolia to Jordan. But this will be the longest by far. It doesn’t faze me – once I embark on a trip, I could go on for ever. Despite spending decades in airports around the world, I don’t like them. Life onboard cruise ships, like Life at Sea’s MV Gemini, offers an opportunity to see the world without the threat of flight cancellations and long queues.
We’ll be stopping in Singapore, Shanghai, Seychelles, the Maldives, Mexico and the Caribbean. Our stay in Alaska is quite extensive. We’ll visit Guam, Indonesia and South Korea, too. I’ve already seen about 50% of the places on our itinerary, but Life at Sea will give me an opportunity to visit all those places that I would never be able to get to myself – a tiny island off the coast of Colombia, for example, that I never knew existed.
I’m looking forward to seeing Namibia. I have been to other African countries, but never there. In 1989, I was in Seychelles. The island I stayed on doesn’t exist any more. I’m looking forward to going back to see how the region has changed, and talking to the people about their experiences. I was in Bali in 1973, another region that has experienced tremendous change over a period of decades. But
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