Big News Drops

Passengers and crew alike descend gangways like a herd of hungry beasts on missions to Walmart, in search of provisions for our week of sea days ahead. While others like us get a late start, and perhaps also more interested in wandering El malecón, cabin mailboxes quietly receive a set of papers. Instead of routine program updates, or reminders to set our clocks back, this daily event would change our course in more ways than one. Anticipating inevitable impact from conflict in the Red Sea and a part of our world that rarely has known peace, surprise could come to no one.

Change does not come easily for most people but it is an unavoidable reality of life. We learn Zuiderdam will turn southwest and make way for Africa, reducing our total port count by six. We will alter the last third of our voyage to avoid unnecessary risk. A decision informed by experts, executives, and engineers, we are afforded a tactical luxury of which our seafaring predecessors couldn’t have dreamed. Yet-to-be-determined is how many will choose to depart early, maybe prematurely. With plans in limbo, temple trips torpedoed, and rendezvous arrangements rescinded, heartfelt frustration is understandable. Yet for us, the adventure continues. Lands and latitudes new to us call upon our desire to explore. Distant ports we are disappointed to miss remain ready for our arrival another day. For now, there is a circumnavigation to complete.Read more