By Kathy Witt
Special to AllThingsCruise
I consider myself a well-meaning “fashion don’t” so I’m feeling pretty intimidated about boarding Holland America’s Eurodam on July15 to travel with high profile fashionista Oprah Winfrey, along with O, The Oprah Magazine editor-at-large Gayle King, editor-in-chief Lucy Kaylin and style guru and creative director Adam Glassman.
The cruise, roundtrip from Seattle to Juneau, Glacier Bay, Sitka, Ketchikan in Alaska and Victoria, British Columbia, is the first of five such cruises that celebrates Oprah’s year of adventure. These sailings have been designed to inspire all of us to live our best life and uncover our potential.
On this first cruise, Adam is hosting a “Love That!” presentation sponsored by women’s clothing brand Chico’s that will reveal the latest trends during a fashion show. He’ll also provide packing advice, talk about building a cruise wardrobe and answer questions from the audience. Guests can purchase ensembles from the pop-up O Shop on board. For accessories options, jewelry brand Roberto Coin is hosting a trunk show.
By cruise’s end, I hope to step confidently off the ship, redressed from head to toe in the latest styles.
I’m also looking forward to the “Let’s Eat!” presentation hosted by Elettra Wiedemann, author and founder of Impatient Foodie, a blog that pairs “Slow Food ideals with the realities of fast paced, urban life.” Healthy eating while on any cruise ship is a major concern for health-conscious cruisers, myself included, and I can’t wait to learn how to indulge without guilt.
Holland America has five O cruises scheduled, with the next one taking place on Nov. 29 and featuring an 11-day southern Caribbean itinerary. Although Oprah appears for two days only on the July cruise, succeeding cruises all feature O, The Oprah Magazine-inspired activities and presentations by inspirational thought leaders and visionaries from Oprah’s SuperSoul 100, including Grammy Award-winner India.Arie, motivational speaker and fitness evangelist Angela Davis and author and activist Glennon Doyle.
Additionally, the O, The Oprah Magazine–inspired activities on the July cruise will be featured on every North America cruise (Alaska, Bermuda, Canada & New England, the Caribbean, Hawaii, Mexico and Panama Canal), August 2017 through December 2018. These include “Just Breathe,” meditations to begin each day; “O’s Reading Room” with books selected by Oprah, readings and discussions; “Love That!” clothing collections curated by Adam; and “Let’s Eat” presentations.
Clothing and healthy eating advice aside, I’m looking forward to hearing all the inspirational ideas and tips for living my best life.
Kathy Witt
Kathy has loved cruising ever since taking her first one while working as the creative writer for a travel agency in Cincinnati – her first “grown-up” job. She has been writing about cruises ever since. An award-winning lifestyle and travel writer who’s terrified of flying, she nonetheless clocks thousands of air miles every year because there are so many destinations to see and stories to tell.
Kathy has a degree in English Literature and completed coursework at graduate school but never finished because she got a contract to write 18 children’s storybooks for Malaysia’s ESL program. (She did finish those.)
She writes for numerous outlets, including magazines, newspapers and newswires, and has written several books, including Atlanta: A Photographic Portrait and The Secret of the Belles, which led to her getting invited as a guest author to the 70th anniversary re-premiere of the movie, “Gone With the Wind,” and meeting and hanging out with cast members Ann Rutherford, Cammie King Conlon, Mickey Kuhn and Patrick Curtis. She is currently at work on her next book, Secret Cincinnati.
A member of Midwest Travel Journalists Association, Kathy volunteers as the organization’s sites director and was previously MTJA’s newsletter editor.
Heidi, Editor-In-Chief
