… to sleep in their own bed in Germantown, Maryland …

… after this epic trip-of-a-lifetime, which was packed with thrills, sights, sounds, smells, exotic experiences, and new friends. We travelled 37,086 nautical miles, visited all 7 continents, sailed in 4 of the 5 oceans (missing only the Arctic Ocean), made 37 ports of call, and experienced 36 clock changes during this 112-day cruise. We left home with 8 suitcases shipped by FedEx and took 4 more with us for our pre-cruise trip to Florida. We returned home having shipped 12 suitcases and one carpet with FedEx, and taking an additional 6 small suitcases with us on the flight from Ft. Lauderdale. This may seem excessive, but several fellow travelers easily surpassed us. We really weren’t sure what to bring; after all, we were traveling in weather from Antarctica to the equatorial tropics and everything in between, and had events ranging from beach outings to formal dinners and balls. I brought things I didn’t ever wear or use. Below, some of our suitcases, ready to go, with Kohbir, our cabin steward.

Along the way, we also found which things are really useful when traveling:

Clothespins, which can be used for so many things, from keeping the drapes tightly closed against the morning sun, to hanging bathing suits in the shower, to closing snack bags securely;

3M Command hooks of various sizes, which we used to decorate our cabin as we acquired souvenirs;

Office supplies, including pens, sharpies, scotch tape, ruler, hole punch, stapler, paper clips, file folders, etc., mostly used to organize the avalanche of papers distributed by the ship each day;

Hanging jewelry and shoe organizers which fit in the closet and held a lot of small items so they could be easily located;

Swimways collapsible swim chairs, in which we spent many happy hours floating in the pool and the ocean.

It’s good to be home, with our family and friends whom we have dearly missed for the last four months. Being home also gives us the chance to finally digest everything we have seen; we didn’t have enough time between ports for that to happen en route. It will be illuminating to reflect on the places and things we saw, and the people we met.

And we will begin to plan our next great adventure…