Memoir, Travelogue, Love Story

Discovering cruising (thanks to Linda) has been one of the great joys of my life. So fascinated was I that I documented one particular cruise in the form of a books. It is available on Amazon.com. If you are willing to read it and write a review, I will send you a free print copy, valued at $9.95. Write to me at robertferre@retiredgonecruising.com.

CRUISE NOTES

Click on the links below for a description of our cruises.

Nieuw Amsterdam
Nieuw Amsterdam for two weeks in the Caribbean, combining east and west. See my extensive photo essay (click on ship's name). This will be the last cruise I document.

Caribbean Princess
Caribbean Princess, February, 2015, verbal description, no photos.

Crown Princess, August, 2014, one week up Alaska's inside passage, from Seattle.

Navigator of the Seas
Navigator of the Seas, February, 2014, for a week-long cruise in the Caribbean to Jamaica, Grand Caymen, and Cozumel. Click ship title for extensive photographs and videos. I had a book signing on board for Cruise of the Heart.

Crown Princess
Crown Princess from Venice to Galveston, December, 2012 (20 days).

Rhapsody of the Seas
Rhapsody of the Seas from Sydney, Australia, to Honolulu, HI, April, 2012 (17 days).

Holland American Line, one week cruise in the Caribbean

Mariner of the Seas from Rome to Galveston, November, 2011. This is the cruise described in my cruise book. For photos, see: www.cruiseoftheheart.com.

Princess Cruise Line, two weeks cruising from L. A. to Hawaii and back

Our honeymoon cruises, one week each, on the Queen Mary 2

My first cruise, on Voyager of the Seas

MY OTHER WEBSITES

www.cruiseoftheheart.com
Website for the book of the same name.

www.labyrinth-enterprises.com
My labyrinth website, reflecting my work for two decades as a labyrinth artists. Also the publisher of my books.

www.robertferre.com
My personal website.

www.robertferre.com/blog
My public blog--coming soon.

LINKS

My cruise book has many links to maritime sites of various kinds, including live cams, articles, history, photographs and more. I have added those links here as a resource to those who visit this page. See Links.

Half Moon Cay (Bahamas). Who needs water when you have a rope hammock?

WELCOME TO OUR WEBSITE

We're Robert Ferre and Linda Ricketts. Now retired, our favorite pastime is cruising. Our budget is modest, but our enjoyment and appreciation -- of both cruising and each other -- know no bounds. Robert is the webmaster here, so we're keeping things pretty elemental. When you read the pronoun "I" in some of the writing, it refers to Robert. You can contact him at robertferre@retiredgonecrising.com or via his personal website: www.robertferre.com.

UPDATES

January, 2016: It's been a while since the last update
We've been cruising. See the extensive photo essay of our recent two-week cruise on the Nieuw Amsterdam (Holland America Line) in the left column.

March, 2014: Finally, Back to Cruising
After a year of no cruises, we have several planned for 2014. Meanwhile, book publicity has stalled.

October, 2013: Cruise of the Heart is published!
It took longer than I had intended because I did so much of the design work and formatting myself.

March, 2013: Book progress
My first cruise book is almost ready to publish.

December, 2012: Transatlantic cruise from Venice to Galveston
We completed the 20-day cruise on Crown Princess, December 2-22. We loved Venice. See our two reports:
Our three days in Venice: Venice Postcard
About the cruise: Crown Princess.

April, 2012: Cruise from Australia to Hawai'i
Good on 'ya. mate. Having spent two months in Australia, we decided at the last minute to take a cruise back to the United States.

November, 2011: Our soon to be famous cruise
We completed the transatlatic cruise that is the basis for Cruise of the Heart.

September, 2011
I have one message: Let's go cruising. There is no convert more enthusiastic than a new one -- which would describe me, talking about the joy of going on cruises. Why did it take me 65 years to discover it?

Notes from a cruise ship anywhere.
Water. Everywhere. That's what we love.

No Further Updates

This website was going to be part of my growing credentials as a travel writer specializing in cruises. But it's too much work. I'd rather be working on my book writing. I'm still working on becoming a lecturer on cruise ships. If that comes to fruition, I will announce it here. Otherwise, the January 2016 update and the photo essay on our most recent Caribbean cruise will be the last posts for this website.