Since leaving Sydney, I must admit, my mind has not completely left our ship and all of you, our beloved guests. What an incredible trip that was! I’m sure you’re now back in the swing of things...but hopefully like me, still basking in the afterglow of our Down Under cruise. Having had some time to look back at it all, I'm finally getting the full picture of what we created together...and I couldn’t be more grateful, proud and happy.

I believe this was our very best cruise to date—and that’s ALL because of you and the magic you brought to this experience--we hope you had the time of your life...I know I sure did. :)

There certainly was no shortage of highly memorable moments happening ALL over the Noordam—from Tommy Davidson’s opening night set to Bebe Winans’ stirring Gospel show...the Summer Horns reunion on Red Night...Maysa and Candy Dulfer’s amazing Women Of Soul Tribute to Aretha for Ladies Night; Our All-Star Stevie Wonder Spectacular...all the incredible young artists who we saw completely stun our audiences with their talent...not to mention our special guests, the incomparable Tower Of Power and their jaw dropping show in Melbourne! Add to that, all the wonderful panel discussions, One On One’s, jam sessions, pool parties, Spaghettini At Sea events, the cool happenings at Rick’s Cafe and Peter White’s Pub, our guest talent show, the four beautiful days in port...the list goes on and on! When all was said and done, we had the biggest line up of talent and the most number of programmed events in our history.

And collectively, we did a lot of good too, raising nearly $200,000 for The Starlight Children’s Foundation through your amazing generosity of spirit. WOW!

As you know, it's so rare these days to get this many people moving in one direction of unity, love and mutual support. But that's what we created on that ship, and I feel so blessed to have been part of it. It was a week of pure positivity, and I for one, will never forget it.

Again, on behalf of Redwood Travel partners, The Captain and Crew of Holland American’s ms Noordam, all the artists, musicians, staff and production crew, THANK YOU for the most wonderful, unforgettable week together in Australia!!

With much love and gratitude, always,