Not just any cruise.

This will be the first cruise (sailing with paying guests) for Holland America Line’s brand new ms Rotterdam.

As long-time loyal Mariners, this will be our first time back onboard a Holland America ship since our New Year’s cruise that we sailed on to ring in 2020.

And, we promise to share our experiences here as we can, depending on internet quality levels

Send us your comments or questions about sailing on Holland America’s newest ship, the ms Rotterdam.

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We have not been on a cruise ship since we rang in 2020 on a Caribbean New Year’s cruise. Like many others who love to cruise, we have had six cruises canceled in the last 15 months due to the Covid-19 Pandemic.

When we saw that Viking Ocean Cruises offered “Welcome Back” voyages exclusively for vaccinated guests, we immediately booked the 8-Day Iceland’s Natural Beauty cruise sailing roundtrip out of Reykjavík on the 930-passenger Viking Sky.

This will be our first Viking cruise, and we could not be more excited.

We will be sailing on the Saturday, July 3rd departure, which works well for us because it includes a U.S. Holiday (one less vacation day.) We also found a Friday evening non-stop flight from Denver that arrives in to Reykjavik Saturday morning.

We have visited Iceland before, in 2007, via Holland America’s Northern Europe Transatlantic Cruise with port stops in Akureyri, Isafjordur, and Reykjavik. We are excited to explore those places again, as three additional new-to-us ports.

8-Day Iceland’s Natural Beauty Cruise Itinerary

In one week’s time, this cruise will circumnavigate Iceland, an island of 40,000 sq miles. The Viking Sky will visit six different ports.

What Will an All-Vaccinated Cruise Experience Be Like?

As excited as we are to take this Viking cruise to Iceland, we know this cruise will not be the same as any of our 70+ prior cruises. We know there will be many differences in cruising due to the COVID-19 Global Pandemic.

Specifically, we know to expect these procedures as part of Viking’s Health & Safety Program (and that these may change at any time):

• We will need to complete a digital Health Survey with Viking before we leave home, that may include submitting verification of COVID-19 vaccination status.
• With the Iceland government, we will need to preregister electronically before departure with the from the United States.
• Masks will be required during our time in the Denver and Reykjavík airports, and while on our 7 hour and 25-minute non-stop flight to Iceland, except when eating or drinking
• Once we arrive in the Reykjavik Keflavík International Airport, we will likely have to take a COVID-19 screening test; as long as the test is negative, we are exempt from quarantine.
• Before boarding our ship, Viking may require another quick PCR test as part of the embarkation process. This non-invasive PCR test will be conducted via saliva sample in a plastic tube and processed in a full-scale Viking-dedicated laboratory. We may be asked to wait up to four hours for our test results in a designated waiting area before we can board the ship.
• Viking may require frequent PCR testing throughout our cruise itinerary, which will involve spitting saliva into a labeled test tube in our stateroom.
• We may have to complete brief Health Surveys and have temperature checks daily during our cruise.
• Physical distancing measures will be in place in public areas on board, and face masks may be required for all guests and crew while moving about Viking ships, depending on conditions at time of sailing. Face masks will not be required for guests when seated in dining venues, bars and lounges.
• Due to social distancing, reservations are now required for The Restaurant on Viking’s ocean ships. (As always, dining in Viking’s Specialty restaurants — Manfredi’s Italian and The Chef’s Table — continue to require advance reservations. Table sizes are limited, and we may only be able to dine at a table for two.
• Reservations will not be required at Viking’s casual dining venues, including Mamsen’s, the Aquavit Terrace, the World Café, the Pool Grill, and Viking’s 24-hour room service. Serve-yourself buffet areas will likely be a thing of the past.
• The Spa on Viking will remain open to all guests — but will be by appointment only to ensure proper distancing. Spa staff will wear face masks during treatments.
• Toughest of all — for us — is that we may only be allowed off the ship during shore excursions and will not be able to explore ports on our own before or after the tours. Depending on local regulations, we may have to wear face masks during the tours.

Despite all of this, we are excited to go, and are counting down the days to departure. We will pack our patience and our sense of adventure.

And, we promise to share our experiences here.

Are you ready to resume cruising? Why or why not? Send us your comments or questions.

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While I have been to Haiti twice, I have not experienced the country beyond its beaches at Labadee.

Earlier this week, I received a well-written email on Haiti from Global Ties KC that motivated me to learn more. After going down many internet rabbit holes, here are some of the facts that I found most interesting about Haiti.

24 Additional Interesting Facts to Know about Haiti

1. Haiti is a small country with a large population. As you can see on the map above, Haiti covers a slightly smaller area than the U.S. state of Maryland. When comparing populations however, 5.2 million more people live in Haiti than live in Maryland.

2. With an estimated population of 11.2 million in 2021, Haiti is the most populous country in the Caribbean.

3. The city of Port-au-Prince is Haiti’s capital as well as its largest city with an estimated 2.84 million residents in 2021.

4. Incorporated in 1749 when Haiti was under French colonial rule, Port-au-Prince has always been the country’s hub of economic activity. The city lies on the coast of Gulf of Gonâve, which acts as a natural harbor.

5. The Musée du Panthéon National Haïtien (National Pantheon Museum) in Port-au-Prince opened in 1983. The museum features exhibits on Haitian history and culture, and includes a section dedicated to the heroes of Haiti’s independence.

The museum also contains a 13 ft. rusty anchor, said to be salvaged from the Santa Maria, Christopher Columbus’s ship when he discovered Haiti in 1492.

6. Haiti’s second largest city Cap-Haïtien, with a population of 190,000, is located on the country’s north coast.

7. Most tourists visit Haiti via Royal Caribbean International’s Labadee beach resort compound that is six miles northwest of Cap-Haitien. This private resort — leased by RCI — has generated the largest proportion of tourist revenue to Haiti since 1986. The resort employs hundreds of local residents and pays the Haitian government a significant head tax for every cruise ship visitor.

8. In addition to its mainland, several offshore islands are part of Haiti. Tortuga Island is located off Haiti’s northern coast. Gonâve, Haiti’s largest island, sits near the middle of the Gulf of Gonâve, while the Cayemites — a pair of islands are north of Pestel. Île à Vache (Cow Island) is located off Haiti’s southwest coast.

9. Most interestingly, Haiti claims La Navasse (Navassa Island) which is subject to an ongoing territorial dispute between Haiti and the United States.

10. Navassa Island is located 40 nautical miles southwest of mainland Haiti. In 1857, when Haiti was a French colony, Navassa was claimed by the United States under the Guano Islands Act. Between 1865 and 1898, a U.S. company mined more than a million tons of bird guano for fertilizer from Navassa.

11. Navassa Island is designated as one of the United States Minor Outlying Islands. It is also considered one of the 14 U.S. territories.  Since 1999, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has jurisdiction over Navassa Island, managing it as a National Wildlife Refuge.

12. From 1659 to 1804 — while it was a French colony — Haiti was called Saint-Domingue.

13. On January 1, 1804, Jean-Jacques Dessalines proclaimed the Haitian Declaration of Independence, marking the end of 13-year long Haitian Revolution with France. The declaration marked Haiti’s becoming the first independent Black nation in the Western Hemisphere, and the only successful slave revolution in history.

14. Only two copies of the original printed Haitian Declaration of Independence exist today; remarkably, they were both discovered in 2010 and 2011 in the United Kingdom’s National Archives by Julia Gaffield, a Duke University graduate student. They are currently held by The National Archives, Kew, outside of London.

15. Haitians spend the first two days of each year celebrating Haitian Independence Day with dancing, music, and soup joumou. While Haiti was under French colonial rule, African slaves were forced to cultivate pumpkin squash and make the soup for their masters but were specially forbidden from eating it.

16. On Jan. 1, 1804, the first thing Haitians did to celebrate their newfound independence was to sing, dance and eat the formerly forbidden “soup joumou.” While the recipe varies from family to family, it generally includes pumpkin, calabaza or other squash, marinated beef or chicken, onions, peppers and herbs, plus an assortment of other vegetables and pasta.

17. Haitians also mark special occasions by drinking cremas (or kremas,) the celebration drink of Haiti that has a creamy milkshake-like consistency. Made with a combination of condensed and evaporated milk, plus cream of coconut, cremas is flavored with nutmeg, cinnamon, vanilla, and lime juice. Then, cremas is made “festive” with the addition of clairin, a clear, moonshine-like liquor made in Haiti’s rural areas. 

18. Alternatively, some cremas recipes call for the world-renown Barbancourt rum, produced in Haiti since 1862. 

19. Commissioned in 1805 by Henri Christophe and completed in 1820, 20,000 former slaves built Haiti’s Citadelle Laferrière atop the 3,000 ft Bonnet a L’Eveque mountain. The Citadel’s location provided an optimal vantage point to see and thwart potential invaders.

20. A UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1982, the Citadelle Laferrière is Haiti’s most visited tourist site, even though the visit requires going up a 7-mile stone path, which requires hiking or riding on a horse during the last third of the trail.

21. Haiti produces half of the world’s supply of vetiver, a root plant used to make luxury perfumes, essential oils, and fragrances.

22. Haiti’s electricity supply is intermittent, which spells big trouble for hospitals that require continuous power to operate. To solve this problem when building a new teaching hospital in Haiti, Partners in Health incorporated 1,800 solar panels into the design of the 205,000-square foot, 300-bed Hopital Universitaire de Mirebalais. The University Hospital, located 30 miles north of Port-au-Prince, is the world’s largest solar-powered hospital.  

23. Actress Garcelle Beauvais – best known for her leading roles in NYPD Blue, The Jamie Foxx Show, and, since 2020, The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills — was born in Saint-Marc, Haiti in 1966. At age seven Beauvais moved to the United States with her mother and her six elder siblings: settling in Peabody, Massachusetts.

In 1988, at age 19, Beauvais appeared one of her first film roles as the royal rose bearer in Eddie Murphy’s Coming to America. More than 30 years later, she reprised her role in the 2021 sequel, Coming 2 America.

Beauvais also co-hosts the daytime talk show The Real alongside Adrienne Bailon, Loni Love, and Jeannie Mai. In 2013, the Motion Picture Association of Haiti recognized Beauvais with an honorary award.

24. John James Audubon, who painted, catalogued, and described the birds of North America was born in Les Cayes, Saint-Domingue (later Haiti) on April 26, 1785. He spent most of his childhood in France. Audubon emigrated to the United States as a young man.

Audubon combined interests in art and ornithology to make a complete pictorial record of all the bird species of North America. His major work, a color-plate book entitled The Birds of America (1827–1839), is considered one of the finest ornithological works ever completed.

Audubon is the namesake of the National Audubon Society.

What interesting fact about Haiti can you add to this list?

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The Westin Denver International Airport is the only hotel connected directly to the airport, which is located 25 miles east of downtown Denver, Colorado where we live.

Heading to the airport the night before an early flight makes a 6 am departure significantly less stressful.

Staying at this Westin hotel means a 3-minute walk to the security checkpoint, rather than trying to get a Lyft or Uber at 4 a.m. the morning before an early flight.

Enjoy the Art

Thanks to Denver’s 0.1 percent sales tax for arts and culture and generous donors, you will see works of art throughout the Westin Denver International Airport Hotel and the attached RTD Transit Center. The collection consists of 40 existing pieces, joined by six new works of art at the Westin hotel and RTD transit center.

This is one of two live “plant walls” located in the Westin lobby on Level 6, near the check-in area.

The Westin Denver Airport hotel is 14 floors high, with 484 guest rooms and 35 suites. The hotel also has 37,500 square-feet of meeting space including two ballrooms.

A Look Inside A King Room

The first thing we do after we check into a hotel room is to take a photo of our room number on the key card holder or outside the hotel room.

Having a photo of your room number is handy when you cannot remember which room is yours.

During our last two stays at the Westin at the Denver Airport, we have been assigned the same King room on two different floors: Room #1472 and Room #1372.

This is the first view when you enter room #1472 at the Westin Denver Airport Hotel. (Since COVID-19, the rooms have been “stripped” of books, papers, and nice but non-essential items such as a decor pillow on the chair.)

All the hotel windows are triple-paned, essential for soundproofing at an airport hotel. These King bed rooms are 400 square feet.

The rooms feature Westin’s plush “Heavenly” beds, which we find are relaxing and help us to get a good night’s sleep.

This is the view of room #1472 looking towards the door. The closets have ample storage space.

The bathroom is standard except for a fabulous rain head shower.

I like the signature “Heavenly” spa bath products with a relaxing scent.

There is an in-room coffee maker and a mini-refrigerator.

We also like the hotel’s Grill and Vine restaurant for a quick dinner or a glass of wine and snack.

While we have not used it, the Westin at the Denver International Airport offers an 1,800 square ft. fitness center outfitted with numerous cardio machines.

There is also a heated indoor swimming pool and a hot tub.

The Westin is the only hotel at the Denver International Airport — without a long shuttle ride. This lack of competition means room rates can be expensive — usually starting from $179 to $229 per night.

If you are using Marriott Bonvoy Rewards, this hotel is a Category 6, requiring 40,000 to 60,000 points per night.

Have you stayed at the Westin Denver International Airport Hotel? How was your experience?

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