Tag Archives: Holland America

July 11, 2018 · 5:35 am

54 Days at Sea — Sinop, Turkey

Sinop panorama

It is with regret that I must report that the ship we took on this voyage, Holland America’s “Elegant Explorer” the M.S. Prinsendam, was recently sold to German cruise line Phoenix Reisen. The ship has been leased back by Holland America and will cruise with that line until July 1, 2019, and which time it will become part of the Phoenix Reisen fleet. Anyone who has taken a Grand Voyage segment on this ship is going to certainly miss her. Alongside M.S. Prinsendam this day in port was the Kristina Regina, now retired and serving as a museum/hotel in Finland as the M.S. Bore.

M.S. Prinsendam in Sinop, Turkey

Former cruise ship Kristina Regina, now known as the M.S. Bore

The next stop aboard this wonderful ship during our 54-day Grand Voyage cruise was Sinop, Turkey. The history here reaches back some 2,500 years, for Sinop has been a port to both the Greek and Roman empires.

Sinop as seen from M.S. Prinsendam’s Crow’s Nest lounge

Fortunately this day the weather held, and I was able to get nicer images than I did in Trabzon the day before:

Sinop

Sinop, Turkey

Sinop Pazaryeri (Farmer’s Market)

Sinop

Sinop, Turkey

I’ll be presenting a bit more on Sinop next Monday, as well as publishing some favorite shots of both Trabzon and Sinop in this week’s Fun Photo Friday.

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Filed under Photography, R. Doug Wicker, travel, vacation

Tagged as Holland America, MS Prinsendam, photography, R. Doug Wicker, Sinop, travel, travel photography, Turkey, vacation

July 9, 2018 · 5:35 am

54 Days at Sea — Trabzon, Turkey

Trabzon, Turkey

M.S. Prinsendam arrived at the Turkish Black Sea port of Trabzon on April 21, the day after bidding farewell from Batumi, Georgia. The day was cloudy with intermittent rain, so I didn’t get a whole lot of photography in that day. Even the views from the port were a bit uninspiring:

Trabzon, Turkey

And here’s a view of the town taken from the decks of the M.S. Prinsendam:

Trabzon, Turkey

Off the ship and walking the streets we found this pedestrian shopping area:

Trabzon, Turkey

A interesting place for shoppers was the Avrupali Pazari (Russian Bazaar), although a far cry from the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul:

Russian Bazaar, Trabzon

Of course, it wouldn’t be Turkey without a gold outlet:

Trabzon gold

In Trabzon is a statue of the first president of Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, who is also known as the founder of the Republic of Turkey (1923) following the defeat and eventual dissolution of the Ottoman Empire (1922).

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk

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Tagged as Holland America, MS Prinsendam, photography, R. Doug Wicker, Trabzon, travel, travel photography, Turkey, vacation

July 6, 2018 · 5:35 am

Fun Photo Friday — 54 Days at Sea; Batumi Favorites

Reflections in Batumi Waters

Batumi is a really fun place to explore with a camera. There is just so much to see, colors to capture, and compositions to frame. As such, you’ll notice that today I have considerably more photographic favorites in today’s Fun Photo Friday. Enjoy!