ESSENTIAL EXPERIENCE 50

Posted by Rai Caluori

Executive Vice President of Fleet Operations

October 4, 2011

The Ocean - It was evening and the vastness of the horizon, the inky night sky and endless sapphire waters made me think, 'this must be what eternity looks like.'

The vast ocean.

He went to sea, to see the sea … yes, I did indeed.
My first 24 years were spent growing or struggling up in the “smoke” as we used to colloquially call it – London. The expectancy of the ‘60s developed into the dreariness of the ‘70s and, after some tough familial experiences, I graduated from University College London with a Bachelor of Science degree in Experimental Psychology (about as useful as an ash tray on a motor bike!). My heart was in entertainment, however (I discovered a talent for singing almost overnight at the age of 16) and I longed to be involved in theatre or in the leisure business. After a couple of years working in various (and some dubious) theatrical productions, I found myself in a Christmas show in Glasgow, of all places, in the dead of winter 1983.
I’m sure you get the picture. Twenty-four years of questionable weather, a challenging family situation with a single mother raising three boys, career confusion … then suddenly fate, being what it is, plucked me from this world and transported me to the world of cruising and to what has become my greatest love – the ocean.
It wasn’t exactly that dramatic, but it was quick. I auditioned and interviewed for a position as Assistant Cruise Director for P&O Princess Cruises in London in March 1984.One month later, I found myself basking in California sunshine in Pasadena rehearsing seven production shows. You can imagine how exciting and life-changing an experience this was for a naïve young man who, with the exception of a few desultory weekend trips to the British “seaside” with an umbrella, had never travelled very much at all.
Now life was starting to change.  I was suddenly in the world of “Starsky and Hutch,” “Charlie’s Angels” and … “The Love Boat.”  Early ‘80s California … heaven!  But the best was yet to come – my first meeting with the ocean.
I boarded the original Love Boat, Pacific Princess, in Acapulco on May 3, 1984, and I will never forget that first departure. Resplendent in my new blue blazer and white pants, I leaned against the railing and watched as Pacific Princess glided away from picturesque Acapulco Bay. It was evening and the vastness of the horizon, the inky night sky and endless sapphire waters made me think, this must be what eternity looks like. Just imagine how I felt. At last, I had found my home and my calling. I spent the next six years working on all of the Princess ships, never tiring of the chattering gulls, the scent of sea spray, the light upon the water at different times of day and the opportunity to meet so many different people brought together by this love of traveling by sea. My life literally changed.
Every journey has a departure point, that moment when you leave the embrace of the familiar and venture toward the unknown. On land, the significance of a departure often passes without notice, weighed down by the draining effects of crowded airports and highway traffic.

Rai and his mother, Jo Jo, aboard Island Princess in Vancouver, 1984.

Not so for journeys that begin at sea. They never fail to fill me with a sense of joy and grand occasion about the majesty of the Earth and the geographic – and personal – voyage to come.
After almost 28 years at Princess, I remain as transfixed by the incredible power and beauty of the Earth’s oceans every time I am fortunate enough to sail onboard, as I was as a young man on his first sea adventure.
I think of myself as a quintessential example of someone who ran away to sea … and stayed.
My sojourn at sea lasted until 1989 when I was asked to work ashore at the Princess Cruises headquarters in Century City, Los Angeles. Despite my reluctance to leave the sea, I was excited by the prospect of joining the corporate side of a burgeoning business. There were new ships coming and I knew I would have the chance to return to the sea many times in the future.
When I think about the many sailings I have taken since starting my shore-based job, the moments that are most profound to me are when the ship is surrounded by water with no shore in sight, no land ahead.
On transatlantic crossings, for example, there is a point where the safety of the home port is further away than the destination ahead. It’s the legendary point of no return, the dividing line between past and future. Whenever I reach that point, all those sayings about living in the moment come to mind and I realize this – finally – is it.
I find a quiet spot to stand on deck and gaze at the wilderness of sea and sky. The ocean stills. There are no sounds but the pulse of sea along stern. I realize even my friends the gulls, who have accompanied the ship since port, have abandoned ship, for they must keep shore within the range of their wings.
For now, the glittering sea is my home. I realize how cathartic it is to stand along the balcony, walk the promenade deck or sit quietly on a steamer chair and fall into this state of serenity. I am truly away.

A gorgeous sunset at sea.

I feel a kinship with my fellow travelers. My mind drifts and I wonder if the great explorers, the merchant ship captains and immigrants to the New World, feared or favored their points of no return.
Yet every cruise, every journey must come to an end. As exhilarating as it has been, arrivals are beautiful, too.
I have my favorites. The view of the Golden Gate Bridge on the approach to San Francisco is one. The subdued sunlight reflects on the water, enveloping the bridge and the hillside city at its base in an almost tangible glow.
Istanbul is another. The Aegean Sea cascades through the Dardanelles, which funnel into the Sea of Marmara, which connects to the Bosporus and beyond. These saltwater passageways pass through ancient and modern, east and west, reminding me that the water – Earth is almost 71 percent water­­ – connects us all.
My home port of Los Angeles may not rank as one of the most beautiful to visit, but it always brings a rush of happiness as I will soon reunite with family and friends.
Still, before long, I am called to return. As months on land pass by I will be sitting at my desk, phone pinned to ear, eyes scanning email, and find myself dreaming about revisiting the sea – the momentous, magnificent open sea.  I have been honoured and fortunate to have grown up with Princess and my current position enables me to visit our ships often. Despite the challenges of overseeing the operations of 16 ships and planning for our two new ships in 2013 and 2014, I will never tire of the excitement of sailing on a magnificent ship at sea.
I choose to end with a quote from my friend John Maxtone Graham, a world-renowned maritime historian who, with his wife, Mary, spends many days of the year at sea with Princess regaling passengers with a plethora of nautical anecdotes and dramatisations of famous moments in maritime history.

Rai recently on the bridge of Island Princess with Captain Bommarco, left, and Gavin MacLeod, aka "Captain Stubing."

Perhaps the perfect moment of every Atlantic crossing materializes a day or two out of New York or Florida. Cares detached firmly ashore, one is cocooned in a marvelous mid-ocean limbo, rejoicing in a splendidly comfortable and perfect conveyance. The bow rises and falls as day follows languorous day. Ocean breezes caress the decks, there is bouillon at eleven and tea at four, in-between indulgences for the three stupendous dining room meals. There are books to absorb, siestas to surrender to, films and shows to enjoy and, perhaps most rewarding of all, genial fellow passengers with stories and reminiscences to share. Happily, Europe is still several days away.
I have always felt that no adventure awaiting me there ever outweighs the delights of our passage achieving landfall. Perhaps that word says it all – land equates with a fall or lowering of spirits; I disembark with unfailing regret.
In this, our final story, we pay tribute to the ocean – the ultimate essential experience.
Do it … run away to sea … now!

ESSENTIAL EXPERIENCE 49

Posted by Lisa "Rocky" Black

Manager of Reservations Support

From - September 27, 2011

Romance in the City by the Bay - San Francisco, California - There is also something intangible about San Francisco that captures the senses. I think it’s the very light that fills you with emotion.

The iconic Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.

I did not leave my heart in San Francisco, as the old song goes. It came home with me, joined to my new husband as we started our married life together.  San Francisco left something of itself with me in the form of an enduring memory of the wonderful time I spent there on my honeymoon.
Of course, most honeymoons would be described as romantic, but I think that San Francisco meets the criteria in a unique way. A hillside city that tumbles onto a scenic coastline–how could that not inspire romance?
There is also something intangible about San Francisco that captures the senses. I think it’s the very light that fills you with emotion. From the amber glow of the sun on the Golden Gate Bridge at sunset, which warms the senses, to the chilly fog that suddenly sweeps in off the water and makes you want to cuddle close, the city has an ambience that plays to couples.
There’s an adventurous facet to San Francisco that is also romantic. I realize that Alcatraz Island–the famous former prison that was guarded in part by shark-filled waters–and the heart-skipping hills that seem like roller coasters don’t fit most people’s definition of “romantic.” But San Francisco’s daring edge increases your pulse and draws you closer to your partner.
Then, the city’s famous restaurants, waterside parks, walkways and scenic views (the view from the top of the hill at Twin Peaks Boulevard, for one) would bring out the romantic in anyone.
My husband Tom and I celebrated our honeymoon in San Francisco 14 years ago, almost to the day. My mother gave us the trip as a wedding gift. Because Tom runs his own business, we had little time to spare. It was a brief, golden getaway, just three nights, with two spent on a cruise from Vancouver and one in San Francisco. But I think its brevity, its fast, few days, made us appreciate every moment that much more.

Lisa and her husband, Tom, on their wedding day - a week before their honeymoon to San Francisco.

Tom and I both grew up in Los Angeles’ San Fernando Valley.  We married in Valencia, Calif., in a joyful celebration, but due to business commitments, we had to wait a week for our honeymoon so we were anxious to go.
There are variations in vacation styles. There’s the adventurous vacation, which would most certainly describe my husband’s style, and then there’s the more refined, which sums up my preferred method. Tom is all about Harley rides and motorhomes. I, being introduced to cruising by my parents years before, appreciate the comforts of a vacation at sea.
Our honeymoon was definitely more my style, but Tom has more than made up for that in the intervening years, as I have spent many days touring the southwest on the back of a motorcycle!
It was a charmed trip. Our flight to Vancouver was unexpectedly upgraded to first class; I remember enjoying champagne on the flight north. A limousine whisked us from the airport to the ship, and once we were on board Regal Princess the purser, Sue, had a surprise in store: another upgrade to a coveted balcony cabin, where champagne on ice and chilled shrimp awaited.
Our two days on the ship were relaxing and fun. The Pacific Northwest coastline is absolutely beautiful, but nothing topped approaching San Francisco by sea. The Golden Gate Bridge, said to be one of the most photographed sights on earth, links San Francisco to picturesque Marin County. Sailing underneath this beautiful, deep-red bridge heightened our anticipation of the city to come.

A San Francisco cable car with Alcatraz in the background.

While some ports drop you off miles from town, in San Francisco you dock at the busy Embarcadero, near the nexus of Fisherman’s Wharf. This is a touristy spot for sure, but it has its signature experiences. For one, the sea lions lazing along the pier, seemingly oblivious to the busy waterway behind them and the multitudes of camera-toting visitors in front of them, are a blast to watch. The seafood stalls along the wharf, selling freshly caught crab and shrimp cocktails, are pure San Francisco, too.
We hopped into another limo and headed to our hotel, the venerable St. Francis, a city landmark with a dramatic, marble-pillared lobby, located on Union Square. To get there from the wharf, we traversed a series of steep hills, skirting Nob Hill and Chinatown, just two of San Francisco’s eclectic neighborhoods.
With just a day to spend, Tom and I quickly checked into our suite and returned to the city streets. We took a cable car back to Fisherman’s Wharf and had lunch at Scoma’s, a longstanding, family-run seafood place on the water. The New England-style clam chowder was fantastic and the pier-side table offered incredible views of the bay.
We walked off lunch by heading to Ghirardelli Square, the former site of the Ghirardelli chocolate factory and now a pretty place to shop, dine or have a drink. The square is located near a cable car hub, so we caught one for another precipitous ride back up the hill to Union Square.  Our time in San Francisco wouldn’t have been complete without a cab ride up Telegraph Hill to Coit Tower and down the winding, crooked Lombard Street that runs through stately Russian Hill.

Another view of the Golden Gate Bridge.

The next morning we were on our way to the airport and back to work and reality. It was a whirlwind honeymoon for sure, but the perfect wedding gift, enjoyable down to the second.
Over the ensuing 14 years, Tom’s and my vacation preferences remain the same. He likes quick, rugged, three-day bike vacations, while I love to travel the world by cruise ship, now with our 12-year-old daughter, Emily. Marriage definitely requires compromise.
Reminding myself to pursue my more adventurous mother’s philosophy of life–to die living rather than live as if you were dying–I cautiously board the back of the Harley and speed off for desert overnights. In turn, Tom also takes quick domestic cruises with Emily and me when his business allows.
We haven’t returned to San Francisco since our honeymoon, but it occurs to me that a bike ride along the Pacific Coast and into San Francisco is a vacation that could only delight both of our vacation styles. There’s always our 15th anniversary to plan.

ESSENTIAL EXPERIENCE 48

Posted by Vicki Cohen

Cabin Inventory Specialist

September 20, 2011

Trekking to the Hidden Temple City - Angkor Wat, Cambodia - As I wandered among the extensive bas-reliefs portraying everything from conquests to everyday life, I tried to imagine what it was like to be in Angkor Wat during its prime a thousand years ago.

Vicki, right, and her friend, Mindy, stand in front of Angor Wat, along with her mom's bear and trip mascot Teddy.

It made perfect sense to my traveling companions and me that, during a cruise to Antarctica, we were deciding on our next journey—a tropical adventure.
As our cruise ship skirted the coldest place on earth—itself a destination for the bucket list—we talked excitedly about one day going to Cambodia’s long-hidden temple city, Angkor Wat.
I have explored many far-flung places with my friends Mindy, Randy and Kathy—China, Tibet, Machu Picchu and more.  We travel well together because we share the same philosophy about travel: to journey far and wide, to go deep into the countries we visit, and to get as close as possible to the locals and their lives as they’d allow.
That was our goal when we ventured to Cambodia last April.  Cambodia’s incredible, moat-ringed temple of Angkor Wat was our primary destination although the country itself, so different from our own, was of great interest, too.  As we flew into the capital city of Phnom Penh, where we would stay for a few days before heading to the Angkor region, I checked my hand luggage for Teddy.
We were joined by a special guest, one of my mom’s teddy bears.  Mom had passed away only two months before and this was my way of remembering her and the annual cruise we took.  She also loved to travel, so perhaps she passed along the travel bug to me.  On my more exotic trips she enjoyed reliving my experiences through the photos I’d share with her.  Now, Teddy was part of the team.  He was our special mascot and tribute to my mom.
It was not quite the rainy season, and Phnom Penh was very hot.  Clearly, motorbikes were the preferred mode of transportation—they were everywhere.  The food was a delicious blend of French colonial and traditional local.  For breakfast, our hotel served exceptional croissants and baguettes alongside the typical rice congee, with dried fish, pickled vegetables and salted eggs.  There is also an Indian influence to Cambodian food evident in the flavorful curries.

Ankor Wat Temple.

Then we traveled from bustling modern to the ancient and mysterious, as we boarded a bus from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap, the gateway to the Angkor region.  Here we were met by a guide who proved to be an Angkor expert and prepared us for the many incredible wonders we would soon experience.
Angkor Wat was built in the early 12th century, originally as a Hindu shrine, but gradually became Buddhist as the monarchs adopted the new religion.  It took four hundred years to complete and this complex, which is regarded as the world’s largest religious building, was the center of the Khmer civilization for centuries.  However, it was largely abandoned and hidden by the forest when the Khmer monarchy built a new capital city in Phnom Penh.  The site was rediscovered by the West in the mid-19th century by French explorer Henri Mouhot.  By the turn of the 20th century, worldwide curiosity had built a thriving tourist trade.
Unfortunately years of civil war and hardships under the Khmer Rouge regime from the 1970s through the 1990s made the country difficult to visit, and Angkor Wat lay off the tourist routes until recent years.  But now this amazing place is once again on “must see” lists and has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Vicki, Teddy and Mindy at Banteay Kdei Temple, in the Ankor Wat complex.

In the two days we were there, my travel group and I eagerly covered as much territory as possible.  In addition to Angkor Wat, we visited the ancient city of Angkor Thom, the gemlike Banteay Srei and the mysterious and lovely jungle temple of Ta Prohm.
The visit involved a lot of walking and explaining by the guide.  Every step of the way, mascot Teddy was in my arms or travel pack.  The temperatures must have been approaching 100 degrees, so it took some stamina, too.  But to my intrepid travel team, it was all worth it.
Angkor Wat was reclaimed from the jungle and today still seems to emerge as a surprise on the landscape. First there is tumbling green foliage, then the giant moat that buffers Angkor Wat, then Angkor Wat itself, topped by five carved towers.
The temple is covered in stunning carvings that tell the story of wars, royalty and the gods so integral to the region.  We were free to walk through the compound and study the amazing carvings, but with so many stories depicted on the sandstone walls, it would take a lifetime to absorb them all.  As I wandered among the extensive bas-reliefs portraying everything from conquests to everyday life, I tried to imagine what it was like to be in Angkor Wat during its prime a thousand years ago.
Our guide also took us to Angkor Thom, an ancient, gated city that served as a capital and royal home at one time, and from there to Ta Prohm, another nearby temple.  The desolation is beautiful here.  Banyan trees engulf buildings; roots drape over walls and grasp hold of roofs.  The sculpted temples are cocooned by jungle, very much the way parts of Angkor Wat itself were in the 19th century.
These scenes are a great reminder of how remote this area became.  But lately these locations have also been starring in the movies—if you saw “Lara Croft: Tomb Raider,” you saw Ta Prohm and Angkor Thom.
Out of all the carvings our group noticed in the Angkor region, one at Ta Prohm stands out the most.  It is a representation of a stegosaurus.  Even the guide was stumped.  Were there creatures like that in the Angkor of 900 years ago or was this a mythological beast of some kind?  Nobody knows.

Vicki, Mindy and Teddy at Baneay Srei Temple.

Banteay Srei, an even older temple than Angkor Wat, also stunned our group.  This 10th century “jewel of Khmer art” features more dramatic carvings, for sure, but its impact really comes from its red sandstone that creates such a contrast with the green of the jungle.
The beauty was unbelievable.  As is our custom, we all took many pictures that we’d email to each other later.  Everyone made sure that Teddy was in photos taken of me.
These ancient wonders opened our eyes to a long-ago civilization, but my visit to Cambodia also made me appreciate the strength of the people of today.  One of our bus drivers told us the story of how she survived the genocide of the 1970s as a 17-year-old and spent 14 years in a Vietnamese refugee camp.  It was stories such as these that made us realize how much this land has gone through, and appreciate how much history lay behind the friendly people who helped us on our journey.
I also felt lucky to have taken this journey with my dear travel friends—and we even met some potential new members of our group during our Angkor Wat adventure.  Like- minded souls, our potential group of six (seven counting Teddy) are talking about visiting Borneo or Eastern Europe.
Until that day comes, we’re still reliving the amazing images and experiences of Angkor Wat and one of my most memorable “bucket list” experiences.  And I’m glad Teddy has been initiated into my travel circle.  He’s my reminder that my mom still travels with me.

ESSENTIAL EXPERIENCE 47

Posted by Judy Bliss

District Sales Manager

From - September 13, 2011

The Great Love of My Life - The Interior of Alaska - Denali National Park has its own rhythm of movement that changes with the seasons and has influenced my life in one way or another with each subsequent visit. Closest to my heart, my Alaska story leads to love.

Judy, with her 25-pound King salmon, on the Gulkana River in Alaska.

Alaska was at the top of my bucket list for as long as I can remember.  My father had fostered my love of wildlife and wilderness during my childhood in Pennsylvania, and I expected that Alaska would hold an abundance of both.  Well, I was right. In 1983, at the age of 28, I followed my dream to visit Alaska and cruised from Vancouver to Whittier.
The untouched, spectacular beauty of Alaska deeply impressed me, and as my flight home from Anchorage took off over the snow-capped Wrangell-St. Elias mountain range, my fate was sealed.  I knew with absolute certainty that I would come back to this place.  I had not seen Mt. McKinley, the tallest mountain in North America.  I wondered, though, how I would afford to return.
Two months later I began my first day of employment as a district sales manager with Princess Cruises, where I would have the opportunity to share my knowledge of and enthusiasm for Alaska.  And, since we offer land tours into the interior of Alaska, I knew one day I’d be able to see Mt. McKinley.
It was three years and one month later when I finally set my eyes on this great 20,320-foot mountain, the centerpiece of Denali National Park and Preserve.  The mountain was named after President William McKinley in 1897, but most locals refer to it by its native Athabaskan name:  Denali, meaning “the high one.”
In 1913, a four-man team led by Harry Karstens (who later became the park’s first superintendent) reached the summit of Denali.  Harry’s team included Walter Harper, an Alaskan native, and he was the first man to set foot on the summit.  Since then, more than 16,000 climbers have reached the summit and twice as many have attempted the climb but turned back.  When I first saw the mountain, I knew that I’d never climb it but I’d never tire of gazing up at its majesty.

Denali, the tallest mountain in North America, standing at 20,320 feet.

Denali National Park and Preserve encompasses 6 million acres of forest, taiga, tundra, glaciers, rock and snow.  It’s also home to a healthy population of grizzly bears, black bears, caribou, moose and Dall sheep.  The park has its own rhythm of movement that changes with the seasons and has influenced my life in one way or another with each subsequent visit.
Closest to my heart, my Alaska story leads to love.  As my passion for this place increased over the years, I have the 49th state to thank for introducing me to my husband, Barry, also a lover of the “Great Land.”
I was doing the online dating game when I came across his profile picture.  Before I noticed his handsome face I was drawn to the backdrop of his photo, which was a glacial terrain.  I immediately asked him, “Was this photo taken in Alaska?”  That question and his “yes” response opened a dialogue that resulted in our marriage.  He had also visited Alaska and longed to return.
So, it was fitting that we honeymooned in the interior of Alaska, visiting three of our lodges – Copper River Princess Wilderness Lodge to fish for salmon; Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge so we could visit the park and see Mt. McKinley; and Kenai Princess Wilderness Lodge, to experience the Kenai Fjords.

Judy and her husband, Barry, on their honeymoon at the Kenai Princess Wilderness Lodge.

First, we visited the Copper River Princess Wilderness Lodge near Copper Center, where we fished for King salmon on the Gulkana River.  As luck would have it, I got a bite — a big bite!  I caught a 40-inch, 25-pound King that neither my husband nor the outfitter would help me reel in so in the end when I landed the huge fish, I’d truly caught it all by myself!
Our next stop was the Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge, just moments away from the entrance to Denali National Park.  Although I’d been there before, this time we’d travel all the way to the end of the park’s 92-mile road in Kantishna.  This roundtrip excursion would take 12 hours as we passed through the most pristine wilderness in our National Park System.  Our guide drew us into the heart of Alaska with knowledge and insight that only 25 years of experience could foster.  My husband had insisted upon bringing a heavy, high-powered pair of binoculars that, I reminded him, would have to be carried in our hand luggage.  But as we focused in on bears frolicking in the underbrush and Dall sheep scaling the craggy cliffs, I was thrilled.

Wonder Lake, at the end of the road to Kantishna in Denali National Park & Preserve.

The animals were second only to the moment when we turned the corner at the end of the road in Kantishna to gaze at Wonder Lake.  I recognized the view from the famous Ansel Adams shot of the reflection of Denali in the lake.  As we left the park that evening, we were tired but filled with the certainty of knowing this vast wilderness would always remain just that.
It’s a gigantic park and 400,000 people have the opportunity to visit it every year.  Due to the genius of the National Park System, guides driving school buses carry us all in, teach us to understand and appreciate what we’re seeing, and carry us back out to our own worlds with lighter hearts and broader minds.
What could top a King catch and an inspiring day in Denali?  Yet another of Alaska’s national parks: Kenai Fjords National Park.
We took off from the Kenai Princess Wilderness Lodge, located at the end of the Kenai Peninsula, to head for one of our nation’s few water-based national parks.  This park is abundant with spectacular scenery, glaciers and every type of marine wildlife Alaska has to offer, including sea otters, puffins, seals, dolphins  and, of course, whales.

Humpback whales engaging in cooperative feeding in the Kenai Fjords.

The highlight of the day was observing whales engaging in cooperative feeding, an activity that had never before been recorded by scientists in this area.  The naturalist commentating from the bridge explained that this activity was accomplished by several humpback whales working together.  One whale creates a bubble screen that confuses and immobilizes the fish. Then, all together, the other whales dive through the bubbles with mouths open to scoop up the fish.  We saw four whales jump into the air with their mouths open!  We left the boat mesmerized, a little sunburned and once again deeply moved by Alaska’s natural wonders.
In most men’s wallets you’ll find nice posed pictures of their wives.  My husband carries a picture of me with my King.  No one could argue that we’re a match made in heaven — our relationship was sparked by a place that could easily be considered heaven on earth.
Following my bucket-list dream influenced my whole life.  It led me to a rewarding career and a wonderful husband. What will you miss if you don’t pursue your bucket list?

ESSENTIAL EXPERIENCE 46

Posted by Generoso Mazzone

Maitre d’Hotel, Ruby Princess

From - September 6, 2011

Savoring Flavorful Hong Kong - Hong Kong - Hong Kong stands out in my memory as an incredible place that opened my eyes to how wonderfully food can be prepared, presented and, most of all, enjoyed.

Hong Kong Harbor at Night

As someone who travels for a living, I have favorite destinations on every continent. But if you asked me which place out of all that I have seen is at the top of my list, I would have to say Hong Kong.
It’s been 23 years since I’ve visited Hong Kong … an eternity! But it stands out in my memory as an incredible place that opened my eyes to how wonderfully food can be prepared, presented and, most of all, enjoyed. Hong Kong — Chinese but with a blend of British influence, that thrilling mix of East and West – offers the full spectrum of experiences. It encompasses the highest levels of luxury and the simplest basics of life, all in a small space about the size of Rhode Island in the U.S.
I first traveled to Hong Kong in 1988 on the original Sea Princess, one of my favorite ships. At the time, I was 29, the youngest head waiter on board. I already had worked in the sophisticated restaurants of London and been with Princess for six years.
I thought I was a seasoned traveler, but the approach to Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbor was so breathtaking, so stunning and unique, I immediately realized that the world still had surprises in store for me. The view of towering skyscrapers above and simple houseboats below, the high and the low, had my head nodding up and down, just trying to take it all in.
I was lucky. Sea Princess was going into dry dock in Hong Kong for 10 days of refurbishment and renovations. This would give me the time to carefully explore this wonder before me.
I looked around the harbor. It was crowded with small houseboats, where people actually lived. You could see them, peeling vegetables, washing clothes, eating rice and fish. Where I am from in Acqui Terme in Italy, and in every other waterside place that I had been, people lived along the river not on it. In Hong Kong, people lived and worked on the water itself.
In addition to houseboats and cruise ships, the waterfront was crowded with container ships, tankers, ferries and yachts, plus water taxis zipping all around. It was a busy place.

The glowing neon of a Hong Kong street

I couldn’t wait to go ashore and start exploring. I walked off the gangway and turned around. I could barely see Sea Princess anymore; she was now completely covered by boiler-suited workers, who were hanging by ropes, industrious as ants, cleaning and repainting the vessel. It was unbelievable.
On a typical cruise, crew don’t have much time to spend ashore. We are lucky if we can take a few hours to sightsee during the day and at night we are typically at sea. I think for that reason, experiencing Hong Kong at night was particularly special to me.
The first dinner I had in Hong Kong was on November 8, my birthday.  A passenger, an older woman who had sailed with Sea Princess for almost two months and remained with us during dry dock, invited me and two other crew members out for my birthday at a lovely restaurant at the Sheraton Hotel. She was quite wealthy and enjoyed the good life – I remember she had two cabins, one for her and another for her wardrobe. She wanted to order the Chateau Lafite-Rothschild 1959, in honor of the year of my birth, but we had to settle for the 1965 vintage. What a great wine!
The next evening, the ship’s maître d’ invited me and the two other head waiters out for dinner. He wanted us to experience the level of service he remembered from a previous visit. We went to Hugo, a French restaurant legendary for table-side preparations. It’s still there today. Caesar salad is one thing, but I had never before seen lobster bisque prepared at table. Nor have I since, I should add. I couldn’t take my eyes off the waiter as he sautéed the onions, then added the lobster stock, lobster meat, cream and cognac.
From Hugo, we rented a taxi boat and took a tour of the bay of Hong Kong. What a magnificent sight it was to see the lighted skyline of Hong Kong reflected upon the dark water, to sail alongside houseboats and see families stop to wave as they cooked their dinners and put their children to bed.

Hong Kong's floating restaurants

I had another great meal at the floating restaurant, Jumbo. The restaurant took up several decks of a huge boat. One deck seemed to be entirely reserved for glass tanks filled with live fish, shellfish and crustaceans. It was heaven for a fish lover like me — choose what you desire and it comes back cooked to perfection.  We wound up calling the establishment “Jumbo Shrimp” because the shrimp they served were enormous.
As wonderful as these meals were, nothing compared to the unique exploration of the senses that is a Hong Kong street market. There were many to explore—the Stanley Market, Temple Street Night Market, Ladies Market and Jade Market, selling clothing, electronics, fabric and gems. Of course, my favorites were the food markets. Ordinary citizens crowded by the stalls for fish, meat, fruit and vegetables. The smell of spices, tropical fruit and flowers lingered in the humid air.
Then there were the street vendors at their carts selling delicious treats of dim sum, grilled seafood, rice dishes, fried tofu and more. Hardly anyone spoke English, so my crewmates and I communicated by pointing and gesticulating … you know, the way Italians speak. People were screaming and yelling, all different kinds of food were cooking in the open air. Hong Kong markets are a feast for every sense.

Food for sale at a Hong Kong market

Hong Kong goes from high to low at a turn of a corner. I went from the cacophony of the market to the next street, where luxury skyscrapers stood. I will never forget sitting in a coffee shop at 3 a.m. I counted more Rolls Royces on the streets of Hong Kong at that early hour than I ever did in London.
In addition to amazing meals, no trip to Hong Kong is complete without a custom-made suit. The maître d’ took me to a tailor and a shoemaker he knew of, where I purchased a bespoke cashmere jacket, trousers, shirt and shoes. The speed of the process, taking just a few days from selecting fabrics and measurements to fittings to completion, was impressive.  Months later, when I showed my friends at home my new tailored apparel, they could not believe the quality and the inexpensive cost. The craftsmanship was on par with anything I could find in Italy. I still have the cashmere jacket from that visit more than two decades ago. It has held up beautifully over time.
In addition to my wardrobe additions, I have another memento of Hong Kong. It is a little statuette of a wild boar, my Chinese zodiac sign, which the maître d’ bought at an antique store for my birthday. I keep it on my desk at home as a reminder of this amazing place.
Before we knew it, the industrious Chinese workers had Sea Princess refurbished and ready to sail. They had given me enough time to fall in love with the place. I had seen Hong Kong by day and early dawn. I had seen five-star luxury as well as everyday family life at the street markets and on the houseboats. While I have been all over Asia, I can honestly say I have never seen anything as incredible as Hong Kong.
But of course the memories that linger most from my time in Hong Kong are the flavors and aromas that opened my senses to the wonderful ways in which a meal can enhance the travel experience – something I try to remember every day.

ESSENTIAL EXPERIENCE 45

Posted by Cindy Botelho

National Accounts Manager

From - August 30, 2011

Enveloped by the Magic of a Bygone Empire - Prague, Czech Republic - But Prague is magical, and it has a way of distracting you from life’s daily concerns.

Cindy in Prague in 2001.

It’s rare that a business trip leads to magical travel memories.  Usually you could be anywhere, tucked away in meeting rooms.  But Prague was the exception for me, and remains a special discovery to this day.
I was just appointed National Accounts Manager and was traveling to Budapest and Prague, two jewels of Eastern Europe, for an industry conference.  My days in Budapest flew by in hotel conference rooms, just as you’d expect.  But then we traveled to Prague, and it turned out to be a place that would envelop me in history, and its gracious, old-world charm and urban beauty would inspire and surprise me.
I was not prepared to step back in time but that is what it felt like entering the Old Town section of Prague, where my hotel, a converted convent, was located. The cobblestone streets, the beautiful Old Town Square ringed with majestic buildings and then the bridge–the Charles Bridge–that would become the center point of Prague for me and the catalyst for a cascade of emotions I did not expect to experience on a business trip.
But Prague is magical, and it has a way of distracting you from life’s daily concerns.

Cindy standing on the Charles Bridge.

Shorty after checking into our hotel, whose simple rooms, creamy plaster walls and quiet hallways were in themselves a journey back in time (reminding me of my Catholic high school rooms at Mt. St. Ursula in New York), I joined my traveling companions for a walk through Old Town.
Old Town was founded around the 9^th century on the Vltava River and was an important marketplace and military meeting ground. Five hundred years later, Charles IV founded the new town across the river. That certainly put things in perspective for me — the “new” part of town was established in the 1300s!  Spanning the river between the old and “new” is the majestic Charles Bridge, commissioned by the same Charles IV.
That first afternoon my group and I wandered around Old Town and got our bearings before heading to the Charles Bridge. By day, it abounds with life–musicians, groups of young people hanging out and shopkeepers at their kiosks crowded its expanse. I found it to be a joyful, happy place and enjoyed watching the cross-section of humanity congregating along the busy pedestrian bridge.
The bridge is beautiful, with 16 arches gracefully leaping across the Vltava. Its 516-meter span is guarded by alternating lamp posts and statues–30 in all–of saints both popular and obscure, and various representations of the Madonna and Christ.
But the architectural impact of the bridge was somewhat overshadowed by the noisy crowds who flock to it by day. Later that evening, after dinner, we returned to walk the bridge and by night, it imparts a completely different feeling. The Charles Bridge whisked my imagination back in time, to Prague’s past as a Gothic citadel, a crown jewel of the Holy Roman Empire, a seat of the Hapsburg dynasty.

Cindy and her colleague, Anthony Viciana, exploring Prague.

As I crossed the bridge, it was quiet and the river was still. Indeed a dark mist was rising off the Vltava and the cloudy day had turned to foggy night. The bridge was mostly empty and the statues stood sentinel, softly lit by their neighboring lamps. My imagination could not help but seize upon the vampire books and Gothic novels I had read. Stopping to admire the statues–St. Jude, St. Vitus, St. John the Baptist, then the most famous one, The Crucifix and Calvary, with its towering cross–brought to mind the often tragic lives of the saints depicted on the bridge and the story of the crucifixion.
A sensation of Gothic mystery, the distant past and deep spirituality emerged in me. The bridge at night is a monumental experience. I did not expect to feel such a range of emotions.
The next morning, Prague was to unexpectedly capture my emotions once again. We visited Josefov, or the Jewish quarter, which takes up a quadrant of Old Town. In Josefov are numerous synagogues, a town hall and an old Jewish cemetery. There is some dispute about when this cemetery was established; some say 1439, the date on the oldest tombstone, while others estimate that Jews were buried there as many as 1000 years earlier. In any case, the cemetery is crowded with 12,000 tombstones, layered one against the other, as lack of space meant that land was filled and graves were layered one upon the other.
Prague’s Jews certainly faced more than their share of suffering. During the middle ages, pogroms terrorized the community. Centuries later, the Holocaust and Nazi occupation did much the same.

Cindy with Prague Castle in the background.

Walking through Josefov, you could feel the anguish that occurred there, as if its inhabitants were reaching out to you, to remind you to never forget their suffering. It was another unexpected moment of spiritual connection in Prague. Whether you are Jewish or not, Josefov will take hold of you and remind you to be grateful for what you have and to never forget the lessons of the past.
Luckily, most of Prague’s historic structures were untouched by World War II and Soviet occupation. It was remarkable to walk the cobblestone streets and see a city that looked much the same as it did centuries before.
Prague brought me back in time but I’d be remiss to not mention the liveliness of the city. I had a fantastic time with my group dining out and trying some of the city’s renowned beer. The night before I was to leave, I had a blast at a massive nightclub near the Charles Bridge. I kept a flyer from the place and the slogan still makes me smile. The four-story club was billed as “The Biggest Music Club in Middle Europe.”
After a few hours of fun, I returned to my converted convent for a few hours’ sleep before an early flight home.
That visit was in the spring of 2001, more than a decade ago. While I have been to many great European cities, some revered for spiritual sites both ancient and modern (Rome, Barcelona, Venice and Athens come to mind), none have resonated with me as deeply as Prague.
While some sites, such as Josefov, brought forth great sadness, others, especially the Charles Bridge by night, elicited spiritual joy. The greater message of Prague, and perhaps life itself, is to learn from history and live with feeling. The sublime and the sorrowful, the historic and the lively reside in Prague, all connected by the venerable Charles Bridge.