Explorer of the Seas - 15 Oct - 13 Nov 2026
Updated: Sep 23
WATCH THE JOURNEY BEGIN
This introduction film previews the next chapter of A Life Well Explored.
The Adventure Begins Long Before the Ship Sails
When people see the photographs from a cruise, they usually see the beautiful part—the ship, the ports, the sunsets, the meals, the people, and the places that become memories. What they do not always see are the months of planning that happen before I ever step aboard. For me, this Explorer of the Seas adventure has already been underway for a long time.
A journey from Venice across Europe, through the Mediterranean, across the Atlantic, to Bermuda, and finally back to the United States does not come together by accident. It takes patience, organization, flexibility, and a surprising amount of logistical support. I have spent months turning dozens of separate details into one continuous journey, and there is still something satisfying about watching all of those pieces slowly fall into place.
Months of Planning
The planning began with the big decisions: the cruise dates, the route, the flights, the hotel in Venice, the transfer to Ravenna, and the three back-to-back Explorer of the Seas cruise segments that will carry me through October and into November. Those are the obvious parts. Then come the details behind the details—the reservations, confirmation numbers, check-in windows, luggage arrangements, travel documents, emergency information, insurance, transportation contacts, dining plans, and the simple question that seems to follow every travel decision: What have I forgotten?
I have learned through years of travel that a long trip becomes much more enjoyable when the difficult decisions are made before leaving home. I would rather spend my time in Venice looking at the light on the water than wondering how I am getting to Ravenna the next morning. I would rather be photographing a port arrival than trying to find a missing confirmation email. Good preparation gives me the freedom to be present once the journey begins.
Getting from Home to the Ship
Even reaching Explorer of the Seas requires its own small expedition. The trip begins with air travel from Washington Dulles through Newark and on to Venice. After arriving in Italy, I will have time in Venice before embarkation, which means coordinating the hotel, luggage, local transportation, planned activities, meals, and enough recovery time to adjust to the time change.
Then comes one of the most important logistical links in the entire trip: getting from Venice to the cruise terminal at Porto Corsini in Ravenna. That transfer has required careful coordination because Venice is not a place where you simply walk outside the hotel and load everything into a car. The plan begins by water, with a private water taxi from the hotel pier to Piazzale Roma, followed by a private vehicle for the drive to Ravenna. It is a good example of how travel logistics can become part of the adventure itself.
Three Cruises, One Continuous Journey
This is not a single ordinary cruise reservation. I am traveling on three consecutive Explorer of the Seas segments, and my goal has been to make them feel like one uninterrupted voyage. That means making sure the reservations are properly linked, the check-in information is correct for each segment, the same cabin arrangements remain in place whenever possible, and the cruise line has consistent passport, emergency-contact, payment, and dining information.
The ideal outcome is that all of this work becomes invisible once I am aboard. I do not want to spend the voyage solving administrative problems that could have been handled in September. I want the paperwork to disappear into the background so the actual journey can take center stage.
Preparing to Photograph the Story
My camera equipment adds another layer of preparation because I am not traveling simply to see these places. I am traveling to document them. I have been thinking in advance about the visual story I want to bring home: Venice and Ravenna, Dubrovnik and Santorini, Athens and Split, Sicily, Naples and Rome, Provence, Barcelona, Mallorca, Cartagena, Bermuda, the Atlantic crossing, and life aboard the ship itself.
That means checking cameras, lenses, batteries, memory cards, chargers, adapters, the laptop, the external SSD, cables, and backup systems. I am also preparing the digital side of the journey before departure so that the photographs do not become an organizational problem later. My plan is simple: photograph deliberately, back up every day, and never allow an important image to exist in only one place.
I have also built a photography mission for the voyage. I want the grand establishing photographs, but I also want the details—the first light in a port, a quiet street away from the crowd, a plate of food that tells something about a place, a crew member at work, the ship arriving before sunrise, an unexpected conversation, and one photograph from each destination that captures how the day actually felt.
The Quiet Logistics Nobody Sees
Some of the most important preparation is the least glamorous. I have been reviewing travel documents, making sure medication will last for the entire trip with extra days for delays, preparing insurance and emergency information, organizing copies of important records, and making sure essential items stay with me rather than disappearing into checked luggage.
There is clothing to think through for changing temperatures and different settings, European power adapters to test, software to update, passwords to confirm, offline maps to download, and devices to prepare for international travel. There are also the folders—digital and physical—that keep airline, hotel, cruise, transfer, insurance, passport, excursion, and emergency information in one place.
None of these individual tasks feels especially dramatic. Together, however, they are what make a complicated journey manageable.
Why the Preparation Matters to Me
I do not see all of this planning as something separate from the adventure. In many ways, it is the opening chapter. The anticipation begins when the itinerary first appears on the calendar. Every reservation confirmed, every folder organized, every piece of camera equipment checked, and every logistical problem solved brings the journey a little closer.
There is also a certain pleasure in being prepared. I know that travel will always have surprises. Flights change. Weather changes. Plans move. Ships adjust itineraries. That is part of traveling. The purpose of preparation is not to eliminate the unexpected; it is to give me enough structure that I can respond to the unexpected without losing the joy of the journey.
Almost Time to Go
Now the adventure is beginning to feel real. What started months ago as dates on a calendar has become airline tickets, hotel arrangements, transfer plans, cruise documents, camera checklists, clothing laid out, digital folders organized, and a growing sense of anticipation.
Soon, all of this planning will give way to the part I enjoy most: stepping out into the world, camera in hand, ready to see what happens next.
Explorer of the Seas will be the center of the journey, but the real story will be everything that happens around it—the places, the people, the photographs, the unexpected moments, and the memories that cannot be planned in advance.
That is the adventure I am preparing for. And, as always, I invite you to come along.
Come Travel the World With Me.
Journey Journal — Follow the Voyage Day by Day
This page is the central hub for my Explorer of the Seas 2026 journey. Follow the story day by day as I travel from home to Venice, across Europe and the Mediterranean, across the Atlantic, to Bermuda and home.
New daily stories will be added here as the journey unfolds.
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