"In October 1993 ... we took a cruise up the Danube to visit Melk Abbey. ... On the upper deck, there was a gathering going on between US astronauts and Russian cosmonauts. ... At one point, the late M. Scott Carpenter, one of the original Mercury Seven astronauts, pointed to my Super 8 movie camera and asked, "Excuse me, may I ask what that is? ..."
-- excerpt from Ada Green's letter
Every passenger and crew member will be tested for COVID-19 each day, using a noninvasive, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) saliva test, during the maiden voyages of the Viking Venus, the newest oceangoing ship of Viking Cruises (855/338-4546, www.viking.com). In English waters, the three 8-day cruises (available for UK residents only) are scheduled for May and June 2021.
The cruise line Virgin Voyages (www.virginvoyages.com) announced on March 16 that it would require all passengers and crew to be vaccinated before boarding one of its ships.
Photo submitted by Katherine Shindel
"I bought this necklace and earrings from this very talented woman in Nuku'alofa, Tonga, in February 2020. (South Seas pearls are cheaper than Tahitian pearls.) I can't imagine all the hours she put into it."
Dear Globetrotter:
Welcome to the 541st issue of your monthly worldwide travel magazine, “yours” because it is largely comprised of letters, articles and photographs submitted by you and your fellow subscribers.
"My wife, Eileen, and I left Charlotte, North Carolina, on March 12, 2020, flying to Quito, Ecuador, via Miami to join a cruise to the Galápagos Islands ... .
"Upon arriving in Quito, and because of COVID-19, passengers were greeted by airport staff in full hazmat suits checking our temperature and handing out health questionnaires, all before we entered the country."
(excerpt from John Leach's letter)
Canada announced on Feb. 4 that it would ban ships carrying 100 or more passengers from its territorial waters until March 1, 2022. In addition, boats carrying more than 12 people are banned from Arctic waters. (This does not include boats operated for pleasure or hunting/fishing by Arctic residents.)
The ban includes the Canadian portions of the Great Lakes and waters around Puget Sound, which means that cruises to Alaska cannot leave from or return to Seattle.
Friends urged, “If you loved Africa and Antarctica, you’ll love the Galápagos!” So, after much research, I found a cruise that fit my criteria. The 10-day “Galápagos Aboard National Geographic Endeavour II,” with Lindblad Expeditions (New York, NY; 800/397-3348, www.expeditions.com), was an expedition of a lifetime.
I departed Orlando, Florida, on Oct. 26, 2019, and met my cruise companions at the comfortable Hilton Colon Guayaquil in Ecuador.
