Report on the Legacy Cruise to Hawaii

I just returned home from a great vacation. In the past three weeks, I took a cruise to Hawaii and then spent a few additional days on Oahu. Kicking off the trip in high style, I spent nearly two weeks on a cruise ship with a group of delightful genealogists.

Millennia Corporation produces the popular Legacy Family Tree software for Windows systems. The company also holds an annual cruise for genealogists, and this year it was a cruise from Vancouver, British Columbia, to the Hawaiian Islands. This year was my first time with the Legacy folks, and I must say that I enjoyed the trip immensely.

More than one hundred genealogists sailed from Vancouver on board the Carnival Spirit, an 88,000-ton ship with room for 2,124 passengers plus a crew of 950. That's a total of 3,074 souls on board, and I think the ship was at maximum capacity. We departed in balmy autumn weather from Vancouver, British Columbia, spent six days at sea, and then took another six days to visit various islands in Hawaii.

The stops included Kona, Nawiliwili (on the island of Kauai), Lahaina (on the island of Maui), Kahului (also on Maui), Hilo, and eventually arriving in Honolulu. Every morning we awoke to find ourselves in a different port with plenty of shore excursions available.

One of the highlights of my trip was a helicopter tour of the island of Kauai with its 4,000-foot cliffs. The flight even flew into the crater of the now-extinct Olokele Volcano, the wettest spot on earth. The sight of more than a dozen tropical waterfalls at one time was beauty beyond description. You can find more info about the Kauai helicopter tour at http://www.bluehawaiian.com/KauaiTours.html.

I also enjoyed the first few days at sea as we sailed across the Pacific with no land in sight. Those days were spent in seminars and presentations of genealogy-related topics. In previous years, the Legacy cruises had focused almost solely on Legacy-specific topics, such as how to use the more advanced features of the program, as well as presentations aimed at those who were new to the program. This year's cruise was expanded to include other genealogy-related presentations while still including the Legacy-specific presentations. Indeed, I made several presentations to the group about wikis, various technology devices, DNA, and even the use of GPS devices for genealogical purposes.

Other presentations that were not specific to Legacy included:

• "Ensuring a Proper Foundation" by Geoff Rasmussen
• "Documentation! Genealogy Without Documentation is Mythology" by Jim Terry

Of course, lots of Legacy-specific presentations were also offered, including:

• "Ready, Set, Go!" - the dozen or so steps a professional takes when beginning to work with a new Legacy database, by Geoff Rasmussen
• "The Foundation for Success: Chronologies!" by Geoff Rasmussen
• "Legacy Companion Software" by Jim Terry
• "Reporting with Legacy; Sharing information Electronically" by Geoff Rasmussen
• "Potpourri - Questions and Answers" by Dave Berdan, Ken McGinnis, Geoff Rasmussen and Jim Terry.

One item that grabbed everyone's attention was a sneak preview of some of the features to be included in the upcoming version 7 of Legacy Family Tree. No availability date has yet been announced although it is obvious that the product is close to being ready. It should become available within a very few months.

In short, the Legacy cruise proved to be a powerful combination: beautiful scenery, luxurious accommodations, great food, interesting seminars. and the company of more than 100 genealogists.

To Dave Berdan, Ken McGinnis. and all the other great folks at the Millennia Corporation, I'd like to say, "Thanks for a great time."

If you would like to join a future Legacy cruise, you'll be delighted to hear that they are planning an even more ambitious cruise next year. The 2008 cruise will be earlier in the year, starting on July 16, 2008. in Dover, England, a short bus ride from London. The cruise will include stops in Copenhagen, Denmark; Warnemuende Berlin, Germany; St. Petersburg, Russia; Helsinki, Finland; Tallinn, Estonia; Stockholm, Sweden, and then back to London. The presentations will probably be as good and as varied as this year's events. You can learn more about the 2008 Legacy cruise at: http://www.legacyfamilytree.com/CruiseInfo_2008.asp.

I would also like to thank my hosts on the last few days of my trip to Oahu: Bill and Martha Reamy. Some of you may recognize their names as they are the editors of the Maryland Genealogical Society's quarterly BULLETIN and are well-known authorities on genealogical records in Maryland. They have co-edited many books about Maryland genealogy sources. You two were super hosts, and it was great seeing you again.

Comments

[Ann Andersen]

The helicopter tour of Kauai is a "must see" for any trip to Hawaii. It is awe inspiring! Hope you bought the video-we have looked at it many times since our return several years ago. Ann Andersen

[Dick Eastman]

I have the video of my helicopter tour and have shown it to one other person, so far. She's now ready to go to Kauai so that she can take the same tour!

- Dick Eastman

[Donna Eggleston]

I too attended the Legacy Cruise and ditto to everything Dick has said! The highlight of my trip was also on the island of Kauai. I went horseback riding on the beach at Poipu. www.cjmstables.com
We rode for almost 2 hours and saw Hawaii as it use to be. There were 10 of us from someone who had never been on a horse before to someone who owned their own horse. I can now cross this off my list of things to do before I die. I highly recommend this side excursion. I also highly recommend the Legacy Cruise. I have attended all of the National Conferences and this is really a novel way to expand your genealogy knowledge.