Last Updated on 01/07/25 by Rose Palmer
I am very thankful for yet another banner year of travel. For a total of 153 days I experienced destinations in Asia, Europe, the Caribbean, and the US.
This year, I shared my travels with more people than I usually do. I cruised solo, but also took vacations with my husband, with my kids and grandkids, with a girlfriend, and also had a special mother-daughter cruise. Each trip was very memorable in its own way.
My love affair with cruises continued to grow throughout the year as I took to the water in a variety of vessels all across the globe. I cruised on river boats in India, on two different ocean going ships in Japan, a houseboat in Minnesota, a coastal cruise in Norway, two cruises ships in the Caribbean, and a river boat on the Rhine River in Germany.
There were also plenty of car miles, train rides, and airplane flights (33 to be exact). Overall, the trips went as planned with only a couple of minor illnesses along the way. The biggest hassle continues to be flying – but since my husband has still not invented a transporter, there aren’t any other options. My biggest challenge is to pack lighter – my suitcase seems to get heavier with each trip.
I also added a few new countries and locations and a new US National Park to my growing list: Nepal, India, South Korea, Svalbard, Dominica, and Voyageurs National Park, plus a few new Caribbean islands. That gives me a total of 55 countries (UN recognized) and 41 US National Parks.
Once again I am reflecting on this wonderful travel year, sharing the many reflection photos I love to take.
January
Disney World
I was privileged to share my grandsons’ first Walt Disney World experience. I’ll never forget my youngest grandson’s awed expression as we went through the It’s a Small World ride. Or my older grandson’s thrill at riding his first (small) rollercoaster. These are memories I will cherish forever.
February
Park City Utah, Moab Utah, and Telluride Colorado
My husband’s favorite trip is his annual ski trip to Park City, Utah. This year we also combined it with a few days of skiing in Telluride, Colorado. In between, we spent some time in Moab, Utah where we took time to visit Arches and Canyonlands National Parks. Winter is definitely my favorite time to see these beautiful parks – there are no crowds, accommodations are cheaper, it’s not hot, and the lighting for photography is beautiful.
March
After taking Pandaw river cruises in Laos, Vietnam, and Cambodia, I knew that I also wanted to take their river cruises in India and that I wanted to do it during Holi festival. Visiting India has long been a bucket list trip for both my husband and I, and this was the year to do it.
Nepal
We started our trip with a few days in Kathmandu, Nepal. It turned out we were there during the country’s biggest religious holiday, Maha Shivaratri. With the help of a guide, we navigated the crush of human bodies throughout the large temple as thousands celebrated the holy day. One of the most interesting sights was the Pashupatinath Temple Cremation Complex on the banks of the Bagmati River which runs non-stop all year.
India
Our visit in India started with the typical Golden Triangle route: Delhi – Agra (for the Taj Mahal) – Jaipur. As beautiful as the Taj Mahal was, the real highlight was our overnight glamping stay at the Dera Amer Wilderness Camp, an elephant sanctuary outside Jaipur.
From Jaipur we flew to Kolkata to start the first of our Pandaw river cruises, this one on the Lower Ganges. For a week we cruised the river and saw authentic Indian village life up close.
We followed this with a second Pandaw cruise on the Brahmaputra River. The scenery here was less developed and more wild. The highlight was a visit to the Kaziranga National Park where we saw Indian One-Horned Rhinoceros and Indian elephants.
A short third Pandaw cruise took us into the Sundarbans regions in search of the elusive Indian tiger. We did get to see a tiger in the reserve (but sadly not in the wild).
We finished our tour of India with a 3 day houseboat trip along the canals and waterways in the southern Kerala region, a completely different experience than we had up north.
As before, the Pandaw river cruises were wonderful in every way. But, of the many places I have travelled, India took me most outside my comfort zone. The disregard for personal space, the trash everywhere, the constant noise and horn honking, the lack of respect for the rules of the road, these were all very different than the western lifestyle I was used to. It was an assault on all my senses and I was very glad to have the quiet and comfort of the Pandaw boats to retreat to. Still, I am glad I had a chance to experience this unique culture – once.
April
Home
I always make it a point to be home for as much of the month of April as possible. I Love to see all the flowers and trees spring up in my yard and in the many historic public gardens near me.
May and June
Japan and South Korea
I never tire of visiting Japan – it is one of my favorite destinations. In contrast to India, the Japanese culture emphasizes cleanliness and order, and the people are polite and welcoming. I had already visited Japan three times and was very familiar with Tokyo and Kyoto. This time, I wanted to see more off the beaten path locations, and a cruise around Japan and South Korea was just the ticket.
I started with a 10 day cruise with small ship expedition experts Heritage Expeditions. The itinerary started in Osaka and took me to out of the way locations that were culturally and scenically unique. I wrote all about it in my story Japan Off the Beaten Path With Heritage Expeditions.
In between cruises around Japan, I had a week in Tokyo with plenty of time to explore more of this this city’s many unique attractions, including all the different TeamLab digital art and light installations.
I continued my cruising explorations around Japan with two 10 day circumnavigation itineraries on the Diamond Princess. This time, a good friend joined me and we had a ball experiencing the country and the ship to their fullest.
Over the course of six weeks, I got to see locations in Japan that I would not have easily ventured to on my own. This trip continued to increase my already high admiration for this country and its people, and I would happily go back again.
July
Ocean City, NJ
It was a fun long weekend with my kids and grandkids at the beach in Ocean City, NJ. We used to go there with our kids when they were little. It’s a pleasure to now watch as my son and daughter-in-law continue those traditions.
Minnesota
My husband and I planned a last minute trip to “the shores of Gitchee Gumee” (Lake Superior) and the north woods in Minnesota to try and escape the heat and humidity of eastern Pennsylvania.
I had always wanted to try houseboating in Voyageurs National Park, and this seemed like the perfect time to give this a try. After spending a few days at a cabin on Lake Superior, we rented a small houseboat for 5 days and meandered our way through the lakes in Voyageurs.
This turned out to be one of the most relaxing and pleasant vacations we’ve ever had. My husband fished, we cruised the lake, went swimming, and had campfires with s’mores at secluded campsites. Mostly, we just enjoyed the scenery which was pristine and totally unspoiled. It was like going backpacking deep in the woods but a lot more comfortable with beds, showers, and a kitchen.
August
Norway
At the end of August I flew to Oslo, Norway, and then on to the island of Svalbard to start an 8 day cruise with Hurtigruten. I was taking one of the Signature Journeys on the flagship MS Trollfjord that took me from Svalbard down to Bergen with interesting coastal stops along the way.
With a maximum of only 500 passengers (though our cruise had about 350), I really enjoyed this medium sized vessel. The atmosphere on board was quiet and very low key, which really appealed to me. The scenery took center stage, but the food on board was also quite remarkable. I would gladly take more cruises with Hurtigruten in the future.
September
Norway
After my cruise, my husband met me in Oslo for the start of a month long road trip throughout Norway. We started in Oslo and worked our way west and north, exploring towns, fjords, mountain passes, and the coastline.
Photographically, Norway was a jackpot for reflection photos.
In Trondheim, we traded the car for a train as we made our way north past the Arctic Circle to Bodo, where we rented another car and headed to the Lofoten Islands and points further north.
We explored northern Norway, staying put in one location for a few nights at a time to increase our chances of seeing the Northern Lights. And see them we did, in all their glory at a couple of different locations.
Norway was truly a stunningly beautiful country (though very expensive) that I would be happy to go back to again.
October
Svalbard
From mainland Norway we flew on to Svalbard where we spent three days discovering the unique culture of the northernmost settlement in the world before heading back home.
November
Caribbean
In November I took some “me time” with a two week cruise on the Enchanted Princess. It was a repositioning cruise from New York to Fort Lauderdale, with a lot of the sea days that I love along with a few Caribbean port stops. It was a very relaxing two weeks with plenty of time to write, watch movies, read, and just get spoiled.
In Fort Lauderdale, my daughter joined me for a week on the brand new Sun Princess. 30 years after taking my first Princess cruise with my mother, I was doing a Princess cruise with my daughter. What a treat to share wonderful meals, musical performances, and beach time with my daughter before she moves 700 miles away.
December
I was thrilled to be invited on a media trip with Riverside Luxury Cruises to experience the Christmas markets along the Rhine River. I grew up with German Christmas traditions and have long wanted to experience the authentic German Christmas markets.
The cruise on the Riverside Debussy was wonderful and defined the word luxury in every sense. The ship was beautiful, the service was extremely attentive, and the food was fabulous.
Netherlands
The cruise started in Amsterdam, so my husband and I chose to spend a few days exploring the city before the departure. As pretty as the city of Rembrandt and Van Gogh is in the warmer months, this time of year it was drab and raining – every day.
Germany
Our Rhine River Christmas Market cruise took us to Duisburg, Dusseldorf, Rudesheim, Manheim, and Mainz, where we discovered some of each town’s highlights along with the local Christmas markets. We also enjoyed a day of cruising through the Rhine River Gorge with all its scenic castles and vineyards.
Professional achievements
For the seventh year in a row, my content was recognised with 4 more awards by the North American Travel Journalists Association (1 silver, 2 bronzes, and an Honorable Mention).
Besides writing and updating content for this blog (not as much as I had hoped), I’ve also become a regular contributor to the website SheBuysTravel.com. All my stories for SheBuysTravel.com have been syndicated to 26+ McClatchy newspapers throughout the US, including major markets like Miami (Miami Herald), Fort Worth (Fort Worth Star-Telegram), and Kansas City (Kansas City Star).
With help from the ladies at BigBlendRadioandTV.com, in November I also started my own monthly podcast channel, Quiltripping Travel With Rose. Every second Thursday at 7 PM, my podcast will go live and will be available via Spotify, Apple, Amazon, Audible, and other major podcast sources. Each month I’ll be sharing stories from my travels and cruises to inspire others.
2024 was not a good year for quilting
Despite having 7 months at home this year, my sewing room has been rather lonely. I had many good intentions and started a few new projects, but only finished one quick and easy Christmas panel quilt and a Norwegian inspired table runner.
I did have fun taking a number of textile related workshops while I was in Japan. My favorite was learning how to make Temari balls, traditional Japanese embroidered balls. I also picked up a new hobby – sashiko embroidery. I like this because it is easy and very portable which means I can take it with me on flights, cruises, and car rides.
After many, many years, I found out that I still remember how to knit. The Hurtigruten cruise offered a knitting class to make a traditional Norwegian hat which was fun to work on while I was travelling throughout Norway.
Final thoughts
It amazes me how quickly another year has passed. With each year, the luggage seems to get just a little bit heavier, the long haul flights get a little harder, and the jet lag takes a little longer to get over. But, as long as my health holds out, I will continue to travel as much as I can – because there is no guarantee on what tomorrow will bring.
So what’s planned for 2025? My husband and I have a few bucket list trips we are thinking about taking, and of course, I am hoping to do lots more cruising again. I have some ideas for part of the year and then I’ll see where the rest of the year takes me.
I want to end with a big thank you to the brands that worked with me this year and put their trust in my writing and photography: Heritage Expeditions, Hurtigruten, Princess Cruises, and Riverside Luxury Cruises. I enjoyed all my trips with each one and heartily recommend them all.
Finally, a big thank you to everyone that continues to read and enjoy my content.
Wishing you safe travels in the coming year.
Rose