Jan115

While in San Francisco 3 days pre cruise next July without a car, we are looking into a tour to Muir Woods - anyone have any recommendations?

I'd like to climb aboard the Crazie Welcome Wagon, too - so glad you found us! Please share your experiences, ask questions and join in the conversation with the friendliest cruise community around!

I'd like to climb aboard the Crazie Welcome Wagon, too - so glad you found us! Please share your experiences, ask questions and join in the conversation with the friendliest cruise community around!

As I was making travel plans for an upcoming winter week in the Grand Canyon, and wondering why the blazes we would choose the month of February and risk icy roads and snow to get a glimpse of this natural wonder, my thoughts took me back to one frightening wintry drive on a snow-packed highway in the stately Green Mountains of Vermont. Our daughter, Jenn, was attending a four-year E-game design program at Champlain College in Burlington, Vermont. I had made my semi-annual four-hour drive north to fetch her and her things for the semester break. I always looked forward to the December ride up. It was like a little mini-vacation, with a night or two at the Holiday Inn Express, Christmas shopping at the festive Church Street Marketplace, and perhaps a stroll by beautiful Lake Champlain. It was a very cozy, small-town New England Christmas experience, indeed, including snow-covered hills, crispy cold air and holiday lights illuminating the darkness. For the most part, the weather cooperated on those December trips. Not to say that the weather was perfect. After all, I live in New England, where the saying around here is “If you don’t like the weather now, just wait a minute … .” It was not uncommon on the drive up north to experience a few snow squalls, periods of driving rain or fog in the span of an hour, which would make for some challenging driving, especially through the mountains after dark, but was nothing that my little Hyundai Santa Fe couldn’t handle. Little did I know how badly I would underestimate Mother Nature on the return trip home this particular December weekend. It’s not like I didn’t know snow was predicted. I saw the forecast prior to leaving home and even made a reservation for another night at a hotel just in case we couldn’t make the trip home. On the morning of our scheduled ride home, I watched the local news and weather. Schools were canceled, but the timing of the storm was such that we might beat most of it if we left early. So “Jenn, what do you want to do?”, I asked. She replied, as I knew she would. “I want to go home.” I called my husband at home in Rhode Island. “David, what should I do?” I already knew what his answer would be. “Don’t risk it – stay another night“. I am an indecisive person, and I was torn. Should I listen to my all-knowing and wise husband of 35 years and play it safe, or should I make my daughter happy and take the risk? Jenn and I pondered the question further over breakfast and, for better or worse, decided to make a run for it. Anyone who has traveled I-89 through Vermont knows that it is a long, lonely road, and the exits are few and far between. The plan was to drive from the college and head down I-89 south to the next exit, a fairly short span. From that point, there would be no looking back. If conditions looked too risky by the time we got to the next exit, we’d simply stop and get a room for the night and ride out the storm. We reached the next exit, and although the snow was falling steadily, it didn’t seem too bad. “Hey, we can do this,” I attempted to convince myself, and armed with our trusted cell phones, off we went on our merry way home. We didn’t have to proceed very far to realize we’d made the wrong choice, and by that time we were well past the point of no return. By the time we traveled the long stretch to the next exit for the town of Stowe, the conditions were white-out. There was no one on the road except for enormous SUVs which flew past us like it was just another day, not even batting an eye, I suppose. For me, it was a different story. I was crawling along the snowy, untreated roadway, my knuckles turning white from the death grip of the steering wheel. Oh, why didn’t I buy a four-wheel drive vehicle! To make matters worse, my wipers were caked with ice and snow, making it difficult to navigate. I was driving blindly. Unable to see anything through the windshield, I exited the highway at Stowe, parked on the side of the road and cleaned the wipers and windshield, grateful for the can of de-icer I brought with me. The road was desolate and snow covered, surrounding us with nothing but white. I did not want myself and second-born child stranded here, and I was anxious to hurry up, clean the window and get out of there. Cell phone service was spotty at best. Safely back in the car, we stalled, slipped and slid our way back to the highway and continued on the long, slow mountain trek through the heavy snow, stopping to clean the wipers and windshield several times along the way. Even if we wanted to stop and hunker down in a roadside motor inn, it would require miles of driving down a snowy mountain road to find one, and I wasn’t willing to risk that. To ease our nerves, we loaded the CD player with our favorite tunes and sang along, hoping the time would pass more quickly … or at least I did. I think I recall Jenn sleeping part of the way. It wasn’t until about six hours later, when we reached the Massachusetts border, that we finally got some relief in the form of sleet and rain. I had never been so glad to see road slush in my life! We arrived home safely that evening, at which time my husband gave me a good tongue lashing for putting our lives in such jeopardy, as I expected he would. Looking back, I realized that what we drove through was just normal New England winter weather. It wasn’t even that huge of a snow storm by Vermont standards. We didn’t get hurt, we didn’t get stranded, and we didn’t even drive into a snowbank. The only thing wounded were our nerves. It my not have been a blizzard, but as far as we were concerned, it may as well have been the storm of the century. It was simply the worst stuff I’ve ever had to drive through. Grand Canyon in February? Absolutely! The flights and hotels are booked, and the road-hugging, safe SUV reserved. More importantly, I will have a back-up plan and the company of my husband who is far wiser than me. Source

No disrespect to Peter Max and his artwork on the Breakaway, but I like this much better. It is more subtle and I like colors and the theme.

Makes me wish I lived in Florida!

Apparently, some people are more receptive to powers of suggestion than others. My husband is not shy about performing in public, but I doubt even he would undertake something so ridiculous in a normal state of mind. :)

Hi Mandy, Nice career change. Retirement I assume? Nice job to retire, too, if that's the case. Enjoy!

Roger, Enjoyed your review and your fantastic photos. Thanks for sharing! My daughter and her husband did the same itinerary on this ship in July. They had a great time, though did not enjoy Carnival as much as Princess, the only line they sailed previously. However, they did LOVE old San Juan and the southern Caribbean islands.

I'd like to climb aboard the Crazie Welcome Wagon, too - so glad you found us! Please share your experiences, ask questions and join in the conversation with the friendliest cruise community around!

I'd like to climb aboard the Crazie Welcome Wagon, too - so glad you found us! Please share your experiences, ask questions and join in the conversation with the friendliest cruise community around!

I'd like to climb aboard the Crazie Welcome Wagon, too - so glad you found us! Please share your experiences, ask questions and join in the conversation with the friendliest cruise community around!

I'd like to climb aboard the Crazie Welcome Wagon, too - so glad you found us! Please share your experiences, ask questions and join in the conversation with the friendliest cruise community around!

I'd like to climb aboard the Crazie Welcome Wagon, too - so glad you found us! Please share your experiences, ask questions and join in the conversation with the friendliest cruise community around!

I'd like to climb aboard the Crazie Welcome Wagon, too - so glad you found us! Please share your experiences, ask questions and join in the conversation with the friendliest cruise community around!

I'd like to climb aboard the Crazie Welcome Wagon, too - so glad you found us! Please share your experiences, ask questions and join in the conversation with the friendliest cruise community around!

I just read an article from USA Today Travel that Norwegian Breakaway, which will be based year round in NYC, will be adding NY City style hot dog carts - three of them. How cool is that! http://www.usatoday.com/story/cruiselog/2012/11/29/norwegian-breakaway-sabrett-hot-dog-carts/1735139/ To make the experience even more New York authentic, I think they should add a roasting chestnut cart, too. Edit: Just noticed Jason already posted this news. I'm late, as always!

Reputation ???? Not sure what it means, but I have a number, which means it can't be all bad. Click on a screen name and a neat little profile box appears for that user.

Enjoyable reading - I think we all can identify. My weaknesses are desserts, pizza and the entire International Cafe on Princess ... oh my!

In previous posts, I spoke of the personality differences between my husband and myself. David likes to fill every moment of his vacation with all manner of entertainment, where I like to curl up in a quiet corner with a good book or simply sit and watch the world go by. He likes to arise well before dawn, eager and ready to face the day, where I would just as soon roll over and catch a few more hours of precious slumber, maybe have a leisurely breakfast on the balcony – when we’re lucky enough to have a balcony. For the most part, it works. He goes out at 5:00 a.m. to conquer the world, and I happily go back to sleep or relax with a Folger’s moment, mesmerized by the sea. He goes to the ship’s art auction, swigs the free cheap bubbly, and lays down money for some piece of art I probably won’t like, while I relocate myself to a poolside deck chair and continue what I came on a cruise to do in the first place – absolutely nothing! For the most part, this arrangement works very well – content to go off and do our own thing for a time and come together later over a drink, when he talks about the money he lost in the casino, and I discuss the variety of swimwear, the movie showing on the big screen, or the overabundance of chair hogs. However, when it comes to picking a seat to watch an onboard show, there’s no sucharrangement. He wants to be where the actions is. I want to watch from a safe, comfortable distance away. We can’t exactly part ways at a show, so we enter the lounge or theater, and to my horror, he makes a beeline for the front row. I hate the front row! I prefer to remain anonymous and blend in with the crowd. I don’t want to risk becoming volunteer fodder to amuse an audience – no, thank you. I suppose I could move a few rows back and pretend to not know him, but that would be just plain mean. So I trail reluctantly behind him and shrink down as far as I am able in my seat in the hopes that I won’t be noticed. I plead with him one last time … really, we can see the show just fine back there, a safe distance away. Nope, not good enough. Only the front row will do. Doesn’t he realize that he’s going to be picked? Yes, of course he does – that’s the plan. My husband is a target. Some people wave and shout “pick me … Oh, please pick me!” David doesn’t have to. Maybe it’s his larger-than-life persona. Maybe it’s his fearless, confident demeanor or the way he stands out in a crowd. Maybe it’s the beard or the large balding head. Or a combination of the above. Whatever it is, it’s going to get him up on that stage. I guaranty if there is a shortage of hands, he’s going to be the guy to save the moment, and there goes my anonymity. One memorable performance was the time he volunteered – yes, volunteered – to be the subject of a hypnotist, whose name escapes me, on board a Princess ship 10 years ago. I wish I still had the video, because it was a sight to behold. There was my husband, on stage, in a trance under the belief that he was none other than … Garth Brooks! I couldn’t believe my eyes … or my ears. He was in a trance of sorts, belting out some off-the-cuff country song, making it up as he went. The audience went wild. Little did they know that not only is David not a fan of country music, he had never even heard of Garth Brooks. If that weren’t entertaining enough, there was the time when my darling husband was crowned “Mr. Grand Princess”. Oh my. Let me stress that this was not a volunteer gig. This time, he was the guy who stood out in the crowd. Oh, God, I thought … here comes the assistant cruise director … she’s coming for him. Oh no, not again. It was a cheesy guy version of a Miss America pageant, and the contestants were a wide assortment of age, shapes and sizes, ranging from young, lean and buff to old, chunky and flabby. Let me just say that the winner was not young, lean or very buff – but he was a good sport, and I wouldn’t trade him for any other Mr. Princess, grand or otherwise. It’s all very fuzzy now, but I think I remember a parade, a cardboard crown, and a lot of wild, inebriated people. It was all good fun – 10 years ago, anyway. Source

I'd like to climb aboard the Crazie Welcome Wagon, too - so glad you found us! Please share your experiences, ask questions and join in the conversation with the friendliest cruise community around!

I'd like to climb aboard the Crazie Welcome Wagon, too - so glad you found us! Please share your experiences, ask questions and join in the conversation with the friendliest cruise community around!

I'd like to climb aboard the Crazie Welcome Wagon, too - so glad you found us! Please share your experiences, ask questions and join in the conversation with the friendliest cruise community around!

I like dressing up, at least for one night. However, I can see how the ever-increasing bag fees the airlines are imposing is putting a crimp in our dress-up clothes! I manage to find ways to save space when packing my clothes, but when you're a guy with a tux or jacket, it's a little more difficult to pack light. On our cruise to Ireland and Scotland, I did think about leaving the dressy stuff at home and going totally business casual, but my husband wouldn't hear of it. It was tough, but we managed to get the stuff all in one bag despite Virgin Atlantic's ridiculous weight limits.

Hi, Zalina - I'd like to climb aboard the Crazie Welcome Wagon, too - so glad you found us! Please share your experiences, ask questions and join in the conversation with the friendliest cruise community around!