This was a two-part day for us. Part one took us on a morning ride through the rural Irish countryside to the little town of Inistioge and a visit to the magnificent Jerpoint Abbey. Following this was part two of our day - a ride from the ship to the City of Waterford.
The day began overcast, but rain-free. Sitting on the balcony with my morning coffee and the Princess version of an Egg McMuffin, I admired the beautiful Ireland countryside as we pulled into Waterford.
We did not
I had read many tales of missed calls to this port. Because the ship’s need to tender passengers over to the island in sometimes choppy or stormy seas, it is all too common for cruise ships to bypass Guernsey altogether. I am happy to report that the day was mild and sunny, and the ship made it to port, as scheduled. However, some wind and high surf prevailed, making the tender ride a bit choppy.
We watched the tendering process from our balcony and noticed that the tender and ship ha
August 2, 2012 ~ Embarkation on the tiny Ocean Princess was the smoothest we’ve ever experienced. We arrived at approximately 1:00 pm to check in. Our luggage was quickly whisked away, and we were warmly welcomed into the cruise terminal with smiling, happy faces. No lines, friendly staff, and all very fast and efficient, yet leisurely. There were even crew members waiting on board to show us the way to our cabin – not that you we needed help – the ship’s not that big. It was like a scene from “
August 2, 2012 ~ Before leaving the lovely House of Agnes for the 20-minute ride to Dover to meet our cruise ship which would carry us around Ireland & Scotland for the next 8 nights , we took a walk through the old town of Canterbury to Canterbury Cathedral.
If you only have a short time in this beautiful Dickens-like town, this magnificent medieval holy place is truly breathtaking and is a must-see. Dating back to somewhere around 597AD, the cathedral is the seat of the Archbish
Food keeps crew members from fully integrating, perhaps more than any other single thing on the big ships. Access to ‘food from home’ varies dramatically because ‘home’ varies so dramatically. Some cruise lines have more Indian, or eastern European, or Caribbean dishes, depending on the make-up of the crew. International food for crew is the real deal, unlike, say, the food court at the mall, where you get Mexican (Taco Bell), Italian (Sbaro’s), or Chinese (Panda Express), which are utterly Amer
We stood on deck and watched as Ketchikan slowly got smaller and smaller as we pulled farther and farther away. My only complaint about today was that I wished we had more time to spend in what was my current favorite port city of the cruise.
We spent the rest of the beautiful sunny day out on deck, snapping photos and watching for whales. It was so bittersweet knowing that tomorrow was our last stop before returning home to Seattle. We had a full day at sea ahead of us tomorrow as we weren
Just a quick update...I so apologize for not posting in such a long while. For reasons too long to list, I have been distracted from my little blog and from my writing. However...I'll be BACK with a new blog post this Wednesday (tomorrow). I hope you come back and I hope you enjoy!!
I don't know about you, but I'm ready to finish my Alaska adventure...even if it's from the view of my laptop!
See you Wednesday!!
Olympic gold medalist Hope Solo has vindicated what I’ve been saying since I wrote Cruise Confidential. Alas, it did not involve meeting the sexy sports legend, but merely her quote. A highly relevant quote.
“There’s a lot of sex going on,” she stated to ESPN in July. "With a once-in-a-lifetime experience, you want to build memories, whether it's sexual, partying, or on the field. I've seen people having sex right out in the open. On the grass, between buildings, people are getting down and
So on my last blog I told a story about almost missing the ship..
Part 2 is also a true story about about actually missing the ship.
This is one of the craziest stories I have had while traveling. I can say that when it comes to traveling to your ship or a transfer of ships when working for ships the cruise lines will waste a LOT of money.
It all started while I was working on the Carnival Legend. It was a nice ship but the same ports every week can drive you crazy. I asked for a
Missing the ship! This is what all of us Cruisers and Crew all fear.
You will hear in this blog one of the best close call missing the ship experience ever!
Lets start out with a little background info about the ship. If it says back on board at 4:30 it means you need to be back at least in the line to get on ship at that time, and at 5:00 the ship will sail away.
If your missing on the ship they will go into your room and find your passport and give it to the dock agent, and will
I had a question come in about "Ship Life" for crew:
Larry asked, "Do you get days off and how many hrs. a day does the crew work?"
All positions for crew are different, but there is actually 3 different levels of workers on the ship. Crew, Staff, and Officers.
Crew are like cabin stewards, servers, cleaners, and most people you do not see on the ship.
Staff includes entertainment, sales and guest service positions, spa workers, and kids department.
Officers are always t
“Blinded by the light…” That song came immediately to mind when I opened our curtains on the morning we arrived in Ketchikan. After two days of drizzle and overcast skies, it was almost a cornea-burning shock to see the pristine sapphire blue skies and blazing early morning sunshine that greeted us that morning.
My first thought of Ketchikan? Storybook! This was quite possibly the quaintest town I’d ever had the pleasure of laying eyes on. I couldn’t wait to see what she had in store for us
I worked on cruise ships for 2 years and I have hung out with a lot of guests in that time. I always hear stories about how they sneak their alcohol on the cruise ship. I always perk up and ask "how?" They always were reluctant to tell me because they though I would turn them in, and I would always assure them its out of my own curiosity because everyone does it a little different, some work, some do not... Here are the do's and dont's to sneak alcohol on cruise ships.
Know that most cruise
It hit me this morning that our cruise was more than halfway over. This amazing and wonderful surprise of a vacation has gone from something that I was almost dreading to begin, to something that I most certainly dread being over. While it was obvious that I had come to love cruising accidentally, it was with total certainty that I knew I would do this again as soon as was possible. It wasn’t just the amazing Alaska scenery that had wiggled its way into my vacation-loving heart; it was also the
I'm Back!
After signing off the Carnival Magic in Barcelona in September, I traveled the States bringing the Vacation to the people. I have been performing all over the States and heading to Europe and Australia soon. I decided it was time to share more inside information with cruising, for all the new and old cruisers and people looking to work on ships. I love to help guests on which itineraries and excursions on ports, whether they should do them or not or how to save money in the proces
By the time we woke up the next morning, we had already been docked in Skagway for two hours. Knowing we couldn’t pick up our car until noon, we really had no reason to rush out of bed. When I flung the curtains back that morning, I was a little disappointed to be greeted by overcast skies. I then corrected myself, with a firm shake of the head, “Overcast skies…really? I’m in Alaska, baby! Who cares if the sky is a little cloudy?!” The man on the balcony next to me was a little alarmed to hear m
Still. That’s the first thing that came to mind when I woke up early that next morning. Totally and completely still. Excitedly I threw back the covers and ran out onto our balcony. I felt like I was on sensory overload when I saw what was waiting for me behind the closed curtains. The ship was gliding slowly and silently through a narrow passage and the breathtakingly scenic shore almost looked close enough to reach out and touch. The early morning sunlight was glowing a beautiful gold off the
My very first sea day! I was so excited to get up and explore this gorgeous ship some more. I woke up that first morning, though, to the strangest sensation. It felt like the bed was sliding across the floor…back and forth, back and forth. It took a few seconds before realization finally dawned on me, “Ohhhhhhh. Now I can feel it moving.” I remembered the itinerary map showed that the ship had to go out and around Vancouver Island after leaving Seattle, and now it was all making perfect sense. I
I just wanted to take a break from cruise-related things to wish my amazing sister, Laurie, a very happy birthday!!
Last night Laurie got the greatest present a mom could get...the news that her son's one year post cancer treatment scans came back NED...no evidence of disease...no cancer...ALL CLEAR! Jack is still cancer free!!!
Happy birthday to you, Laurie!! You are one amazing mom and sister. Happy NED to Jackers! We love you! What a present you gave your mommy!
Happy Friday to all
I literally saw every single hour pass on the hotel alarm clock display. I couldn’t sleep, I was too excited. Too nervous, too anxious, too ohmygoshthisisreallyhappening sort of excited. I finally couldn’t stand it any longer and decided to start getting ready about 6:00 am. Hey, a girl needs her time to get her face on. I have to confess that I changed my outfit twice and my shoes three times. I really wanted to look sophisticated and cruise-y, without looking like the scared-witless newbie tha
“Boarding has now begun for all first class passengers heading to Seattle.”
I looked again at my boarding pass which clearly still read, “Coach.” I honestly kept expecting to see it magically change to “First Class,” but alas, it never did. Oh well, a girl can dream.
I’d never imagined myself taking a cruise, much less planning for one. Yet here I was, waiting for our group to be called to board the flight which will take us to Seattle. The past six weeks have been a blur. Between the
I set the phone back in its cradle and with a sigh of irritation I leaned back in my chair. The custom shower tile was going to be late…even later than it already was. Delays are a part of custom home building, but this particular job has had hiccup after hiccup, and frankly this little gem of good news is not going to be received well by my client. Deciding to put off that impending phone call for just another moment, I instead began opening up the mail. Bill…bill…bill…junk…bill…junk…big manila
Just back from Borneo. Was it a good trip - absolutely!
I saw lots of pygmy elephants, orangutans and proboscis monkeys while travelling upstream or on jungle hikes. My daughter and I stayed at many different places, though the Borneo Rainforest Lodge in Danum Valley was a knockout.
The food was just sensational, the accommodation in stand along chalets accessed from a boardwalk just lovely and the guides were all expert in their knowledge of the flora and fauna to be found there. Sadl
