Cruising into 2024

Credit: Sarah, aka Prof. Cruise
Credit: ProfCruise.com

Day -1, Monday, January 1, 2024, Happy New Year

Is there a better way to head into a new year than onboard a Holland America Lines (HAL) ship? I think not!

My partner, known as the Jazzman, and I took two cruises in 2023: Nieuw Statendam from Port Everglades to the Eastern Caribbean in early January with our neighbors and standard travel partners, Mike and Marilyn; and Alaska Inside Passage from Vancouver to Whittier, and then by train to Denali National Park and Preserve in June, just the two of us. The Alaska cruise was our first going without any pals. And we didn't kill each other!! 😉

So here we are. It's winter break from my pianistic duties at Dana School of Music and Cliffe College of Creative Arts at Youngstown State University in Youngstown, Ohio. And, with two other couples, we're headed to warmer climes!

On New Year's Day, in alternating cold rain and snow flurries, we drive the hour and fifteen minutes from Youngstown, Ohio, to the Crowne Plaza Hotel located six minutes from the Cleveland airport. They offer Park-Sleep-Fly service and have a great shuttle that operates around the clock.

They also have a nice in-house restaurant named Tavolo 72. That night we had the same server, Sandy, who took care of us a year ago when we were headed in the Eastern Caribbean. We drank, we ate, we laughed and reminisced. Then we went back to our rooms. I set my alarm for Tuesday 4:15 a.m. and was asleep by 8:15 p.m. on Monday. Had I made it all the way to being awakened by the alarm, that would have been eight hours.

But, yay for me. When I awoke, sans alarm clock, at 3:45, I felt rested and ready for the day.

Ready for the final step before this long-awaited cruise! 🚢

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