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Welcome, bjkissel! See you around!

This is interesting. For a long time, millennials have been viewed as “kids”, but the earliest millennials are now in their forties and some of them are even grandparents! Generations used to be defined in blocks of 30 years or more; now there’s a new “generation” every 5-10 years. Mr. Bayley is right, people are people, they want their families to be happy and healthy. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

One of the favorite things about cruising is the ports you’ll visit, the sights you’ll see, and the new experiences you’ll gain. To access the ports and all the fun, your ship will either dock right there portside, where guests can walk right off the ship, or it will “tender” passengers to shore in small boats while the ship is anchored off shore. It’s important to know the difference so you can plan ahead, especially if you have something special planned in port. Going ashore from the Dock is preferred because all that’s required is a walk off the ship when the Captain announces you’re clear to go. Quick and simple. Tendering, on the other hand, takes some time, and in most cases, there is a schedule or ticket process so that all passengers aren’t heading to the tender boats at the same time. Some tender operations are wheelchair and disability friendly, some are difficult or impossible. If you fall in one of these categories, it’s important to check your itinerary for any ports that require tendering and whether or not they can accommodate mobility issues. If you are meeting an independent excursion at a set time, be sure you allow time to tender ashore so you’re tour doesn’t take off without you. Consult the cruise line or your travel agent for specifics related to your itinerary.

A Facebook favorite!????

Just saw the rest of your pictures here, Jan...fabulous...and I see that you did bring a journal. Your review was excellent. Thanks again for the review and wonderful pictures.

Fabulous review, Jan...great information about everything. Have done the Panama Canal on Celebrity, back a few years. It is definitely a "must do." Don't know how you got your great review up so fast. You must be extremely organized, or took along a journal to write and remember everything, which still means very organized. I really wished I had done that with past cruises. I did bring home some of the daily papers that had dates and ports and some of the entertainment for the day, but, can't really find them now...think some of them are in a full drawer that is the bottom drawer...will have to see if Marc can get it open for me sometime...I'm sure I will be surprised on the things I have saved...LOL Thanks so much for sharing with us.

This week’s tip from my CruiseCrazies blog: Know in advance whether your ship will dock or tender. READ MORE

Welcome back (though you were here way before my time)! It’s great to see CruiseCrazies members returning. Now don’t be a stranger!

Bordeaux was also traditional? Ha - I did not know that. I guess they did some mixing and matching!

My first cruise was in 1979. It was on the SS Carnivale. I was a new widow, and only a few months till I turned 30, when my first husband died from a car accident, in 1977. My mom wanted me to come with her and my step-dad, and some friends, on a Caribbean cruise. I had been watching, "The Love Boat" and was crazy about that show, and about going on a cruise, so I said yes. My in-laws were very happy to have their granddaughter come and stay with them for a week...she was 5-years-old then. When I first stepped onboard the ship and got to walk around a bit I was a little disappointed at first since it didn't seem like on the Love Boat...haha. Also, we had to check in for our dining tables back then. I was told I had to sit at a long table behind my parents and friends and I could not figure out why they didn't let me sit with whom I came with. So, I was a little upset at first about that...later on I realized why they did that. The table that I sat at had a lot of single gals, and it was fun getting to know everyone, and sometimes we would go up to the disco together. They were younger than I was, and after just losing my husband I felt that I was way older than they were and I was not looking to have fun, but just enjoy the cruise. I really did have fun with them, but, still went into the ports with my parents and their friends. The ship was an older one, but I grew to really like it. In one area it had a closed in promenade which was nice on hot or windy days, but also was great to be outside and walking around the whole ship. After that cruise I really had a love for cruising, and the sea. Our ports were St. Thomas, Puerto Rico, St. Croix, and Samana, Dominican Republic. Funny little story...got a little pickled the night before we came into Samana. Totally didn't want to get up early and go on shore, but knew that I would. Didn't want to miss seeing everything. My mom came and said that I had better go, or else...haha She was actually funny about it and was "the best mom ever." She just didn't want me to miss going into port. We took the bus into port and there was only one place that we stopped, and I got off the bus and was so sick from drinking too much the night before that I felt dizzy and nauseated. I just sat there and didn't even care if they left without me...LOL One really nice lady from the bus, and ship, came by me and thought that I was sea sick, and she gave me a sea-sick chewable...it was amazing since by late afternoon I was feeling great...LOL I learned a lesson on my very first cruise...don't drink too much, and don't drink late at night if you want to get up early for the ports...the times after that that I went cruising I only had a pina colada in the afternoon, or one drink before dinner. Learned my lesson. Fell hopelessly in love with cruising back then, and have been on 10 cruises all together. It would have been 12, but had to cancel two cruises, one when my beloved mother had her heart attack, and one when my dear hubby fell out of a tree that he was cutting on and broke his foot. Ya...he doesn't climb trees anymore...LOL

WELCOME BACK, @eagleforest!

Love it all! Great Job, Jason! Thank you!

All excellent tips - especially the part about pre-planning time in port. While some are perfect for just walking around and exploring, others have cultural and historical significance and really require some planning ahead and even reservations to get into the museum or attraction you have your heart set on seeing.

I agree with all of the above - especially a bunch of dollar bills for tipping. Beverages? Not so much. I bring a refillable water bottle. Lugging all that soda is too cumbersome and a pain in the !#@&!!

Oh yeah, we need to bring the mega bottle of Tums to handle all that food!?

August 2002, 20th Anniversary Cruise (Wish I had started cruising much sooner!) Grand Princess (Princess remains my favorite cruise line to this day!) Western Caribbean (Cozumel, Grand Cayman, etc.) First Reaction on Boarding:

This is awesome, Jason, and so user friendly! I look forward to using all the new features, and I hope everyone else does, as well. You've done a great job - Bravo!?

As part of the NEW and ENHANCED CruiseCrazies (read more here), our brand new logo has launched today. The focus on designing this logo was to keep it warm, simple and crisp while maintaining the shades of blue we have used for our nearly 19 years of existence! Yes, you read that right .. As of this summer we'll have been online for 19 years. Read our history here. Two versions of the logo were created - To fit different formatting needs - However you'll notice they're very similar. Enjoy!

Viking Jarl ~ July 1, 2018 ~ We just couldn’t pass up a good deal on this wonderful river cruise! We’ve done this itinerary before, so we’re looking forward to exploring the ports on our own this time, rather than with the included tours. Plus, we’ll be going to Munich for a couple days post-cruise!

Sounds wonderful...would love to hear about the Viking river cruises. Always see the adds that look so inviting. What are the ports besides Munich?

Jan, hope your last day was memorable. The weather here has been gorgeous in South FL so hopefully it will be the same when you dock in the morning. As much as it may not be a thrill to return to the 'real world' ... at least you'll have the re-launch of our site to look forward to upon your return .. which is set for Monday, Apr 23. Yes, you read that right! It's FULL STEAM AHEAD!

Thanks all for the well wishes! After our cruise we head to Siesta Key for 3 weeks on the beach!

Day 8: Sea Day. We’re making our way to our last port of Ocho Rios, Jamaica. In the meantime, I’m going to spend my day doing a whole lot of nothing, what sea days are intended for. Here is the sunrise taken a few moments ago from our balcony - a corner balcony on the hump, facing forward, mid ship. Couldn’t ask for a better location!

Just booked the Viking Sun for New Years Cruise 2018/19.

I find it interesting that the ships advertise "shows" but not the cost to see the show. Sorry that you paid so much. As for your review, thank you for being honest. Ecstasy is an older ship and is made for the 3 and 4 night cruises. I agree that bigger is not always better. I'm surprised that you had such a bad experience, but you are not letting that interfere with your love of cruising.

Since having cruised Norwegian "Freestyle" quite a bit in the past couple of years, I've started leaving the dress-up duds at home when I cruise. My husband and I cruised on Princess last week, and my husband left his sport coat at home. So we thought we'd see if we could still gain entry to the dining room anyway. Were we denied entry because my husband had no tie and jacket? Nope! Was he the only one without a jacket? Nope! I'm not offering any apology for shirking the rules, but rather Just making a point showing that cruise lines are less about enforcing formal dress these days. Which brings me to the question: Do you still take part in formal nights on board? If so, what's your style of attire?

Great review, Jan. I was wondering if anyone else smelled that stench sometimes. I also smelled it in The Solarium. Also, the Bordeaux Dining Room is also a traditional dining room. That's where we had our set table every night. They must use both dining rooms for anytime and traditional dining.

I took Emergen-C, Airborne, and every other cold prevention under the sun this time to ward off germs. Didn't do any good. I was sneezing and hacking from day 3 all the way through the cruise. I hope they sterilized the cabin when we vacated it on Friday.?

Hmmmm ... maybe that explains the bomb-sniffing dogs at FLL when we were checking in for our flight home on Friday.