Photo Gallery Best plates of the voyage Updated whenever the sea Wi-Fi allows

The Best Plates So Far

Our favorite photographs from each phase of the trip, pulled from the daily posts and pasted here in one place. Every plate links back to nothing, it just sits here to be looked at. For the full story behind a picture, click that day in the left-hand ledger.

Alaska · Days 1-9

Cold air, warm coats, and more whales than we expected. These are the plates we kept coming back to from the first nine days.

A wide tidewater glacier face in blue-white ice seen from the bow of a cruise ship, low grey morning cloud above and small chunks of ice floating on dark green water — Day 6, glacier viewing morning. The captain held the ship here for almost an hour and nobody went inside.

Colorful wooden stilt houses along a narrow salmon creek in Ketchikan on a drizzly afternoon, reflections wobbling in the water — Day 3, Creek Street in Ketchikan. It rained the whole time and it did not matter one bit.

A bald eagle perched on a weathered dock piling in Juneau harbor, snow-dusted mountains rising steeply behind in soft afternoon light — Day 4, Juneau. This eagle watched us eat lunch for twenty minutes.

Pacific Coast · Days 10-22

The coats came off somewhere around San Francisco. This stretch had the most sea days, which turned out to mean the most sunsets.

The Golden Gate Bridge passing directly overhead as seen from a cruise ship's top deck at dawn, orange towers cutting through thin fog — Day 12, sailing under the Golden Gate at sunrise. We set alarms for 5:40 a.m. and it was worth it.

The natural stone arch at Cabo San Lucas glowing gold in late afternoon sun, turquoise water breaking white at its base, a small tender boat in the foreground — Day 17, the arch at Cabo from the tender. First truly hot day of the trip.

An enormous open-ocean sunset from the aft deck, the ship's wake stretching in a straight silver line toward a sky banded in orange, pink and deep violet — Day 21, one of four straight sea days. Sunset watching became a family appointment at the aft rail.

A shaded market stall in Puerto Vallarta stacked with bright papier-mâché birds and woven blankets, hard tropical light on the cobblestones outside — Day 19, Puerto Vallarta market. We came home with two of those birds.

Kids mid-cannonball into a bright blue ship pool on a sea day, deck chairs and striped towels around the edge under a cloudless sky — Day 20, pool deck. Sea days are not empty days. This is the proof.

Panama Canal · Days 23-28

The day we planned the whole trip around. We were on deck before breakfast and stayed until the last lock.

A cruise ship rising inside the Panama Canal locks, wet concrete walls close on both sides, an electric locomotive on rails alongside and dense green jungle beyond — Day 25, inside the locks. The walls were close enough to touch from the promenade deck. Nobody touched them.

Bougainvillea spilling over a yellow colonial balcony in Cartagena's old walled city, deep shadows and blazing midday light on the narrow street below — Day 28, old town Cartagena. Every street looked like this. We took two hundred pictures.

Gatún Lake spreading flat and glassy at midday, small forested islands dotting the water and a container ship waiting at anchor in the haze — Day 25, crossing Gatún Lake between lock sets. Quiet, hot, and strange in the best way.

Caribbean · Days 29-37

Seven islands in nine days. The camera roll from this phase is mostly water in colors we did not know water came in.

The candy-colored Dutch waterfront buildings of Willemstad, Curaçao reflected in calm harbor water under a bright blue sky with puffy clouds — Day 31, Willemstad from the pontoon bridge. The whole waterfront looks painted for a parade.

A long empty crescent of pale sand at Grand Anse beach in Grenada, clear shallow turquoise water and a single wooden fishing boat pulled up on shore — Day 33, Grand Anse, Grenada. We had this stretch almost to ourselves until noon.

The twin Piton peaks of St. Lucia rising sheer and green from the sea at golden hour, viewed from the water with the light raking across their slopes — Day 35, sailing past the Pitons at golden hour. The single most photographed hour of the entire voyage, by unanimous family vote.

Charlotte Amalie harbor seen from a hillside overlook on St. Thomas, red roofs stepping down to a bay of layered blues with the cruise ship small at anchor — Day 37, looking down on our ship from the St. Thomas overlook. That tiny white shape has been home for 37 days.

Atlantic · Days 38-41

The last leg: three sea days north to Miami. Fewer ports, but the camera stayed out.

The ship's bow cutting through deep royal-blue Atlantic swells under a huge clear sky, spray catching the sun in bright white bursts — Day 38, open Atlantic. The bluest water of the whole trip, and that is saying something.

Family shoes lined up on a teak deck at dusk on the last night at sea, string lights glowing along the rail and a soft peach horizon behind — Day 40, last night at sea. Nobody wanted to go pack.

"We planned this trip around one day in the canal. It turns out the sea days in between were the part we'll miss."
From the Day 27 journal entry, somewhere between Colón and Cartagena