During the eighth year of work (after working seven full, consecutive years), our full-time civil engineers, land surveyors, community planners and water/wastewater engineers are eligible for paid sabbaticals. This benefit includes 22 consecutive business days off plus approval on a discretionary bonus up to $2,000. The bonus can be applied to flight, lodging and other approved trip expenses. In January/February, Danny Miller spent part of his sabbatical on an ocean cruise. Here’s Danny’s sabbatical journey.
Danny Miller, Baseline CAD Technician
Sabbatical Destination: Norwegian Cruise Line – Bahamas, Jamaica, and Cayman Islands
Unique Point: Second half of the day brought us to a giant ski lift that took us to the top of the mountain where we began our Jamaican bobsled careers. It was truly a beautiful and exciting experience that was super fun!
Field Report: It was a fantastic trip! We flew to Orlando, Florida and boarded our Norwegian Cruise ship at Port Canaveral. From there, we set sail on our 7-day, Caribbean cruise with the Bahamas, Jamaica, and the Cayman Islands as our destinations.
- Day 1 – Was an on ocean day where we explored everything the ship had to offer and enjoyed our special Hibachi dinner.
- Day 2 – We immediately spurred into action and explored Nassau and its Aquaventure water park. Once there, we sled down the famous Mayan water slide and swam with dolphins. Although the weather wasn’t the best the whole trip, we couldn’t do as much as we wanted, but it was still a blast.
- Day 3 – Another ocean day where we furthered our ship adventures and ended with a nice dinner and cirque show combo that was incredible!
- Day 4 – We arrived in Jamaica where we began our day with a river and waterfall hike. Second half of the day brought us to a giant ski lift that took us to the top of the mountain where our Jamaican bobsled careers began. It was truly a beautiful and exciting experience that was super fun!
- Day 5 – Was kind of a bummer. The weather got so bad that our excursion to the Cayman Islands was canceled. It turned into an ocean day where we truly just bummed out and ate our hearts out.
- Day 6 – Was yet another ocean day, ending with a nice Mongolian chophouse-type dinner, which was fantastic!
- Day 7 – We went back to the Bahamas and to Norwegian’s personal island there called Great Stirrup Cay. We finally got some nice weather, and of course it was our last land day!We hung out on the beach mostly but finished the excursion swimming with stingrays. That night we got into our last big dinner buffet and watched some dueling piano shows. By the time we woke up the next morning, we were back in Florida and began the long, and I mean long, journey back home.
It was super awesome, much needed, and a once-in-a-lifetime deal!