Travel planning has come a long way, baby! Nowadays, you can plan your entire vacation from the comfort of your home. Simply log on to your favorite travel websites and book hotels, airfare, cruises and entire vacations. The same goes for cruise excursions.
When you book a cruise, whether through the cruise line, a local travel agent or a big internet agency, you’re given a reservation number. Simply log on to the cruise line’s website, key in your reservation number, and your now in contro
Happy Monday, everyone! How are ya cruising this week? I hope with smooth seas and cruisetacular weather! So let's get back to the story telling. I saw a few comments asking when I would get back to sharing some funny stories from the high seas and your wish is my command! This story comes from the 4th of July sailing I did on Norwegian Sky from Miami to the Bahamas last month.
Okay, I just woke up. Had breakfast (I didn't have to fight anyone for a cinnamon roll... this time - haha), got m
Most cruise ships restrict access to the bridge. In this post-9/11 world, you don't want just anyone traipsing up there and playing with the controls. One would think such restrictions equate a higher level of on-sight security and maybe, just maybe, a higher level of discipline and professionalism. I'm happy to relate that such is not always the case. My first visit to a ship's bridge in an official capacity revealed an entirely different scene than I had predicted. I was ordered to report to t
This was it, the reason for our cruise to Alaska - to see glaciers before they melt. We were aboard the Grand Princess, on a 11-day cruise which left San Francisco on July 29, 2013.
The Captain told us the previous day that the best place to initially observe the glaciers would be port side, and a naturalist from Glacier Bay National Park would be on board to narrate about our wondrous surroundings.
We reached Glacier Bay about 6:00 a.m., and as the morning wore on, the skies became s
This is a big area where my husband and I differ – especially on a cruise day at sea. He is up early, out the cabin door and ready to see and do everything there is aboard the ship. I, on the other hand, like to linger over a cup of coffee in my cabin, sit out on the balcony (if I am lucky enough to have afforded one) and watch the world go by. I am in no particular hurry to do anything.
So while we attend shows together, hang out side-by-side by the pool for a little while before attendin
Over the past few months, many of you have asked, "Shon, when can I sail with you?" I'm no genie, but your wish is my command? Here's your chance to sail with me in 2014 right from my backyard on Grandeur of the Seas! We'll be sailing to one of my favorite destinations: Bermuda! I hand-picked this special 7 day/6 night cruise that's been dubbed as the "Bermuda's Grandeur with Shon" cruise! The cruise departs on Friday, September 12, 2014 and returns on Thursday, September 18, 2014! I know the we
July 26, 2013 ~ The day finally arrived!
Our long-awaited weekend in San Francisco was about to begin, followed by a 10-night round-trip cruise aboard the Grand Princess to Alaska's inside passage, with stops at Juneau, Skagway, Ketchikan and Victoria, Canada. The icing on the cake would be beautiful Glacier Bay! Once again, David and I would be joined by my brother, Norm and wife, Dana.
We found them to be great cruise buddies last summer sailing around the British Isles
When it comes to cruising, many of you know I have no issues just letting it all hang out. Well, I do put my belt on to suck some of it in, but when it comes to deck parties and night-life on the high seas you can bet your bottom dollar that yours truly, his whistle and party crew will be in the house ready to BAA-RING DA NOISE! A conversation I had with a fan inspired this post and I hope the words I shared with her would also encourage you to jump out of your comfort zone and live life to the
My husband really loves me. I know this because he accepts me with all the crazy ideas that come out of my head. Being from Texas, we have always cruised out of Galveston. We (really meaning I) decided we should do something different and cruise out of Florida for our summer cruise this past year. New cruise ship… New ports… New city to discover... Sounds perfect!
We’re goin’ to Miami! Woo Hoo!
There was just one small problem. My husband has never flown. Never set foot on a plane or a
Heeeeeeey, everyone! How have y'all been? Wow, okay, so I haven't blogged here in nearly a month and many of you probably want to know why, right? I promise I haven't been on hiatus again. I have been a little busy this summer... more so than I was planning. I've been on 4 cruises doing a little to much twancing and I think I hit a burn out fuse and am trying to replug it in.
If you follow me on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook, then you've had a front row seat to the back, to back, to back,
Hey everyone! This is my first blog here and I am super excited!! I stumbled across this site by chance and loved it! I hope my blogs will offer you some valuable tips as well as some fun entertainment.
I have never been a writer… nor thought I ever would be. I am a small town Texas girl who fell in love with cruising. The first time I saw the ocean, a magical calm came over me -- and it has been calling my name ever since. I can’t break that spell. Going to the ocean is my escape. I am by
I think the entire cruising universe is aware by now that I can’t stay ashore for too long, once the ship’s start calling I have to answer! With that said I thought now would be a good time to let you know about my next adventure!
At the end of August I will be boarding MSC Opera for a 10-night European itinerary. Our ports of call are Ijmuiden, St Peter Port, Vigo, Lisbon, Bilbao and Le Havre. Quite an interesting selection if I do say so myself.
I am quite excited about this cruise.
San Francisco, Alaska and Grand Princess, here we come!
I am getting a jump on reviewing this trip - our 2013 summer vacation - less than two days before departure. Tomorrow, I'll be busy double-checking and triple-checking my CruiseCrazies packing list to make sure I have everything covered and probably will be too exhausted to do much of anything else, let alone write.
The idea - and I'm probably over my head on this one - is to write a day-by-day review of our experiences along the
Finally! We’re down to the final days before our long-awaited Alaskan cruise. As much as I would love to spend the time daydreaming about glaciers and wild animals, I am busy with final preparations – last minute shopping, packing and confirming of reservations. If that weren’t enough, there are other necessary pre-vacation tasks to attend to in order to avoid coming home to chaos and a mountain of projects.
Don’t overlook the chores and responsibilities that need to be completed before yo
World Circumnavigation, those two words together send thousands of images shooting through my mind all at the same time. It’s like a race across the globe in a split second without even leaving my chair.
For me a world cruise will be the ultimate experience, it’s my life’s goal I suppose you could say. I one day hope I am lucky enough (and wealthy enough) to embark on a voyage that would see me at sea for several months and taking in some of the best destinations our planet has to offer.
Unless you have personally designed your own luggage or purchased a uniquely different set from a retailer, your luggage probably looks like mine – ordinary black, green or blue - basic and functional. Claiming your luggage on the bag carousel or in the cruise port terminal can be confusing, and it’s easy to walk away with someone else’s stuff when all the bags look alike.
Make your luggage stand out and easier to spot in the endless sea of bags. You don’t have to be an artist to individual
Have you ever noticed that after a cruise, especially if it is a long one, you struggle to get back into the simple things we do day in day out in life?
Like making the bed, such a chore to do again when someone has done it for you for several weeks yet you managed perfectly fine for the last however many years before boarding the ship. There are so many little things that become mammoth tasks you just can’t seem to face anymore. Being “looked after” for a few weeks really does make you app
When cruising to destinations near or far, chances are you’ll want to see parks, museums, historic buildings, castles and other popular attractions in your ports of call. While shore excursions with the cruise lines include tickets to must-see city sites, you may want to visit on your own and will need to purchase tickets for what you came to experience. When you only have so much time in port, you don’t want to waste it in line waiting for tickets. So plan ahead – and this is especially critica
I am so excited, I am beside myself! Our new lightweight luggage has arrived and sits in my living room waiting to be filled with an endless variety of stuff befitting a 10-day Alaskan cruise. As I look at the assortment of wheeled bags in an array of sizes, I realize I went a little overboard in buying 7 pieces. What the heck was I thinking? I needed only a couple of replacements. But, hey - the old stuff was getting - well - old, so why not replace it all, I rationalized to myself. The kids wi
There are many relationships we have in life that help us become the greatest individuals we can be. Sometimes it's a close friend that pushes us to go after a job we're on the fence about, a personal trainer who believes you can when you're ready to throw in the towel or even a sibling giving that "mark the calender because you'll never hear me say these words about you ever again" speech that shocks us all. But there is one relationship that is better than anything - the bond between a father
"All my bags are packed, I'm ready to go..." So sings the trio Peter, Paul & Mary in the classic '70's song. Like all of us who traveled in those days, I'd venture a guess they had no worries about the weight, content or amount of luggage they toured around with. Back then there were few luggage fees. No 3-1-1 rule. No bare feet through security, and no pat downs. We just packed our bags, checked in as many as we wanted within reason, didn't give much thought to what we carried on the plane,
So have y'all been keeping tabs on what's been going down here at the Port of Baltimore between Carnival Cruise Line and the EPA? Well let me bring you up to speed: D-R-A-M-A! Before I give y'all the 411, let me just plug a personal anecdote in. Is that okay? Alright, so a few weeks ago I began looking at cruises to Bermuda from Baltimore (since it's only 15 minutes from my driveway). I was hopeful that Carnival would send Carnival Pride back to Bermuda... but when I pulled up her sailing schedu
