Holland America calls it the Koningsdam Eclipse Cruise but I like to think of it as an elaborate repositioning cruise to get Koningsdam from San Diego where it did Hawaii and Mexico to Vancouver where it will originate Alaska Cruises.
Sometimes I also call it the “Gas to Gas” tour. We start in San Diego and we are staying in the “Gaslamp District” (and was pointedly reminded that it is NOT the “Gaslighting District” although I wonder.) When we arrive in Vancouver we will be staying in “Gastown.”
In between, if we are lucky, we will see a total eclipse of the sun, make two stops in Mexico, 4 in Hawaii and one in Victoria where Suzi and I plan to take tea.
Mostly it’s sea days. It is a long way from the continent to Hawaii. The eclipse and the sea days are what attracted me to this cruise. The ports are an added bonus.
I’ll be blogging along the way. Normally I have more blog posts than days on the cruise because I often find more than one topic of interest for me in a day. We’ll see. Sometimes the posts are essays, sometimes photo galleries. I have no idea what I will be writing about this time because with the press of work I have done no planning except to get some sun safe eclipse glasses.
If you find a topic that interests you, click on the link below.
240403 It Always Starts with the Milk Run (Sitka to San Diego.)
240404 More Neon than Gas Lamp. San Diego
240407 Mexican Lawyers… (Cabo St. Lucas.)
240409 Everything in Beautiful – Mazatlan.
240415 A Sea Interlude, Musical Decks
240416 Pu’uhonua Place of Refuge
240417 Kauai Sail in/Sail out.
240417 Snowbirding Railway Cares. Kauai
240418 Do you take American Dollars?
240419 Hawai’i Calling, Waikiki Beach
230420 Visiting Pele, Don’t Make her Mad.
240420 Hilo’s Lili’uokani Japanese Gardens.
240421 Leaving Hawaii with Memories and a New Captain
240425 A Course Diversion and a Coast Guard rescue.
240429 …and it always ends with the Milk Run
I always post some post cruise codas. Thoughts on the experience.
240501 Is it the “Monsterdam?”
24050 Coda, I really do think this is my final post from this cruise.
Im available to be your chauffeur in the afternoon on the 16th if you are interested. Kalenamac56@gmail.com
Always so much fun following what you and Suzi are doing. Thanks for sharing.
Rich, sounds like a great time. We’d have loved to do this one. Alas, real-world demands dictate otherwise.
Interesting observations from a couple of Cruise Critic posts about how the posters do not like all the sea says on this voyage. One has to wonder if the cruise was court mandated.
If you have time in SD and have not previously done so, I highly recommend a tour of the USS Midway. It’s from the era of the SS US, albeit with a different purpose.
Wishing you clear skies for eclipsing!
John
John, We have left SD without a chance to visit the Midway except to sail by her. They really can’t get to Hawaii in fewer days. They could have stopped in Mexico and gone up the coast with stops in the US and ended in Vancouver under the conditions of the Passenger Vessel Act. One of the reasons we picked this is we love sea days. We need the down time after an intense period at work, and another intense period coming up.