The SAS family extends far and wide, and with each voyage it grows. By the time we returned after finishing pastries in Copenhagen, our student life family was already managing embarkation. Welcomed with the best hugs and a quick review of the day, it was as always, good to be home. Voyagers queued at the gangway to go through security, then get their COVID tests. Leaving family behind was always hard, so we were happy to welcome back those who had been quarantined in Greenock and especially excited for the return of 13 students who, due to visa issues, had to disembark in France and stay in Andorra while we traveled through Scotland.  We had been thrilled to cross paths with crew members who were on shore leave in Copenhagen, and we traded stories in the spa with Shruti and Karin and in the Lilli Marleen with Dexter. By now we were efficient and well-practiced, so COVID testing went smoothly and after the last voyagers went through the line, we celebrated our first time ever with zero positive cases!

Captain Kostas delayed our departure until early the next morning so we could sail by daylight under the spectacular Øresund Bridge connecting Denmark and Sweden, and we immersed ourselves in meetings preparing for Stockholm. Like Copenhagen, all COVID restrictions had been lifted in Sweden. However, Germany, where the voyage would end, maintained strict testing and quarantine requirements. We discussed our path forward and brainstormed ways to motivate voyagers to continue to follow COVID protocols.

Classes met, and evenings were filled with activities. A special group of student friends had won a night in the Chappy at the shipboard auction, and they invited some staculty to join them for a “black tie” affair. What a joy to share this time with them as Foster bellied up to the bar and Ava and Emily belted lyrics to Stephen’s piano accompaniment.

Our comms team kept busy with Brooke working on the end of voyage video and Zach juggling busy schedules and unpredictable weather to capture group photos that had been delayed due to quarantine and diversions. Whether watching the entire ship’s crew pose on Deck 9, acting silly with the RDs using a life preserver photo prop, or chanting “proud to be a CSU Ram” before the home school pic, I took my own mental snapshots. Knowing our time together was fleeting, I hoped to capture the depth of feelings of love and family to save in my memories.

The highlight of this leg was the Crew Talent Show performed twice on two nights to accommodate social distancing. From the engine room to the deck crew, housing and dining staff to admin, crew members had been practicing behind the scenes for weeks. Though this traditional event is held as a fundraiser for the crew welfare fund, it was clear that it was a labor of love that allowed them to shared parts of themselves beyond their roles on the ship. It was awesome to see their smiling faces as they had permission to be on stage without masks! Tom and Angelu awed the audience with elaborate winged costumes for their Filipino Dinagyang festival ritual, as did Chandra who performed an elegant Nepalese dance. Jeremiah sang beautifully. Edwin entertained with a hilarious lip sync rendition of “Learn to Love Again” by Pink, and Chael brought all the performers together as he shared a moving message of love and community. Voyagers erupted when our cabin stewards and waiters took their pool bar moves to the next level singing and dancing. Bidding wars for paintings by Perry, Karin, and Elvin ensued and Mike Mann, emcee extraordinaire, made us laugh and cry as we set a record in money raised for our dedicated, hard-working, and immensely talented crew family.

Over the next days, Abba songs filled the Union during Global Studies and Pre-port, and it felt impossible not to dance. The early morning approach to Sweden was the most beautiful yet as the ship weaved for miles and hours through the Stockholm Archipelago. The landscape of fishing cabins tucked in among pine trees was reminiscent of the boundary waters in northern Minnesota. Some of the passages were so narrow, I could almost reach out and touch lingering patches of snow. With our bags packed, Mom, Chris and I anxiously anticipated a family adventure that had been years in the making.