What Hurricane?

Our 2009 Cruise aboard Royal Caribbeans Mariner Of The Seas was absolutely perfect in every way.

Bruce Conner and his staff at Sundial Travel took care of every detail to make it a very smooth journey. This is the only group cruise where the travel agent comes along with you to make sure you have things just the way you want them. Bruce even managed to get a perk for us that is just unheard of when the Captain offered a private tour of the ship's bridge! That was just amazing.

Mayor Willis called Bruce to make sure we were all alright when he heard that we were traveling around a hurricane and his mind was set at ease after Bruce explained that the Captain had decided to chart a longer course around the storm swinging in behind it and reversing our ports of call. The closest we came was about 250 miles from the trailing edge of the hurricane at it's weakest spot. Captain Per is one of the youngest cruise ship masters I've met but his previous experience working tankers on the North Sea and his time in the Norwegian Coast Guard came into play in allowing him to correctly judge the course of the storm and save everyone the nasty experience of days of rough seas. His other choice was to take us all north from LA to Oregon. Not our first choice.

The Captain is quite familiar with our part of the world. He didn't get the chance to come to Astoria when Mariner was rerouted earlier in the year but has fond memories of his many trips on a log loader running out of Longview, Washington when he was in his teens. He told me that he got his first drivers licence in Portland and would drive his shipmates around because he was the only one too young to drink in the U.S. He says we have some very odd drinking laws here (with a little smile).

I learned some new things about Mexico on this trip through one of our tour guides in Mazatlan. Alma has lived in that port city her entire life. She is well versed in her country. It's history, it's politics and it's people. She cautioned against making assumptions about what we would see during our tour of the Stone Island area of the city. She said we would see very simple homes built sometimes of materials at hand but she said these people are not poor. They have made a choice to live in a simple manner on the edge of one of Mexico's largest coconut groves on the shores of the Sea of Cortes. As witness to her statement I saw a lot of newer four wheel drive trucks parked next to the largely windowless concrete block shacks we passed along the way.

In the early part of the day children attend school and when the heat of the afternoon comes they go home, many to work along side parents who make a trade of creating items for the tourists that flock there. While it is true that hundreds of children are abandoned to a life on the streets in other parts of Mexico, this is not the case in Mazatlan. These children are not slave labor they are instead part of the family business. Alma told us that there are efforts being made in her country to rescue those street children but many resist after becoming self-sufficient.

We also talked about the issues the country deals with and Alma says it is the corruption that exists at the highest levels. She points out that Mexico is not a poor country and is rich in human resources but that the Government does nothing to provide the education necessary to take Mexico to a higher level which she strongly believes is key. She told me that while many welcomed the progressive attitude of President Fox it turned out that he was ill prepared for the role. She points to education once again. It was an enlightening conversation on a day when we had simply planned to sip Margaritas on a quiet beach and do nothing.

We had terrific traveling companions on this trip. A couple from Newport who are planning to expand their family business into Astoria this year, another young couple from Knappa who are coming into the family business in Astoria and Seaside. Cindy Howe and her Mom and Dad and her sister and brother-in-law. Ron Larson and his wife are always fun to be around. The Cruzans who put up with me. I'm convinced that Tim Gannaway is not only a fine ice skater but can hold forth on any topic you wish to discuss. In all there were 38 in our contingent this year including our Pat Roscoe and her charming sisters and our Bethany Kunde and her family. There is something comforting about having those familiar faces along on a trip. Dinners were an opportunity to get to know a little more about each other and share in some of the best food and wine and excellent service at sea. Most evenings a few of us would gather in the ship connoisseur club to taste fine Port wines, great cigars and then one evening witness Oregon losing to Boise State on a field of BLUE turf. There's just something wrong about that! We missed the fight after the game entirely.

Our next NNB cruise is set earlier in 2010. We always plan something unusual and entertaining. Next year we have selected a cruise that takes us to the top vacation destination in the world. April 23, 2010 we board the Carnival Spirit in Honolulu where we overnight on Oahu then we go to Kauai, then Kona on the Big Island, then Hilo, after that we overnight at Maui then we set sail for Vancouver, British Columbia. This is a transitioning cruise for the Carnival Spirit as she moves from Hawaii to make the Alaska cruise circuit. It is unusual in that it is both a Hawaiian vacation with multiple islands and a transpacific cruise. We'll have more details coming out in a couple of weeks. I hope you'll consider joining us on our biggest adventure yet!