-
Transpacific Cruise: Hawaii Hotspots, LA Party Animals, and Where to Next?
Our 30-day transpacific cruise reminded me a bit of our 30 years of marriage, and FYI our anniversary is TODAY –the old married folks say Woo Hoo! (See end of article for info on our upcoming Irish Honeymoon Re-do 30th Anniversary Trip.) On both journeys, there have been constant surprises (Padre turned into a gardener, and onboard we both turned into classical cello groupies! Who knew?), threats to survival (eruptions and Rapid ‘Ōhi’a Death – yikes! – and then there was that time with the circular saw….), and fortunately, plenty of successful teamwork. I shudder to think what life in a tiny cabin must be like for an unhappily married couple…
-
Passenger Categories: Which One Are You? Southern Caribbean, Post #1
I love to people-watch on a cruise ship. Everyone’s away from home in a new environment; so how will they behave? I’ve already met several folks like me: a Planner as opposed to a Show-Up (who just shows up). I booked this cruise almost two years ago, in fact, and have thoroughly researched our seven island destinations: Antigua, Barbados, St. Lucia, Grenada, Aruba, Curacao, and Bonaire. We have a huge map of the Caribbean Islands covering the wall of our cabin, a mini-Christmas tree set up on the desk (Planners think of everything), and I know the best place on board to meet like-minded over-planners (the Cruise Critic Roll Call…
-
Diamond Princess Dilemma: What to Do Onboard for Six Sea Days?
Today is Day 6, and we’re not bored yet. Not even close. One of the best things I’ve amused myself with so far was the Goldilocks Swimming Pool Challenge. It started at 5:30 am and Padre wasn’t invited, since he’s a morning snoozer. We’re opposites in many ways; I’m up at the crack of dawn or before, he sleeps ‘til 8; I’m usually in bed reading by 8 pm (or earlier, no joke). He’s up ‘til midnight watching sports, news, and bad movies. He’s more of an introvert than me in some ways but handles crowds fine, but I dislike crowds and crave quiet. And our opposing preferences usually work…
-
Diamond Princess: How to Find Your Cabin, Coffee, Chocolate….and a Fave Sparkling Swimming Pool
So first things first: Where ARE we? Not in the world, mind you; we know we’re in the Coral Sea sailing along the Great Barrier Reef and on to Darwin (see map). No, it’s more basic than that. Where are we on this ship, and which way to breakfast? You know, the important stuff. So we’re learning school stuff (map locations), ship stuff (the best places to eat, sun, swim), and people stuff (new friends!). And so far, we’re miserable failures when it comes to avoiding all the fabulous food everywhere, including chocolate on the pillow each night. Who knows, maybe tomorrow we’ll stick to the salads – there’s always…
-
Plan, Pack, and Don’t Forget the Relationship
This ship is about to sail. In T-minus two days we toss our bags on the local airport shuttle, and off we go! The months of trip planning had me thinking about travel challenges, and the time when Padre yelled at me on our honeymoon in Ireland. We’d been married two weeks; what do you know about your partner at that stage in the relationship, really? Not much. Now, I’ve lived with the guy for decades and know he’s not a yeller; that’s only if he’s really frustrated, and I’m talking too fast/interrupting him mid-sentence due to stress/panic/exhaustion, or we are working on a complicated problem with lots of unknowns.…
-
Cruise Ships: Favorite Hideouts and Hangouts Onboard
Would these lovers ever see each other again? Was her heart broken, or his? Would she make it up the gangplank before the ship pulled away from the dock? We only learned the answer to that last question (darn), as we played a favorite game in one of our favorite spots on board, called Will They Make It? The game goes like this: After returning from shore excursions, we like to park ourselves by windows looking down on returning passengers hurrying back to the ship. Inevitably, everyone makes it back (you’ll hear the announcements if someone doesn’t) but sometimes there’s drama. In this particular instance, a taxi careened down the…
-
Russia by Cruise Ship: Tours, Kitsch, and Safety Questions
After a once-in-a-lifetime visit to St. Petersburg last year, I was surprised that so many Americans asked me if I felt safe there. Sure I did, except in their subway, where I kept my eye on a clever Russian supposedly reading a book, who was also slyly eying Padre’s pocket. Thievery is rampant in the St. Petersburg subway, our guide warned us. But did I feel safe in Russia everywhere else? Absolutely. St. Petersburg’s travel industry adores tourists, especially our cash. I guarantee that your tour bus will stop at least once at an elaborate souvenir store filled with glowing shelves of tourist kitsch, all just for you, and you’ll…
-
Cruise Critic Guide: The Godfather, the Roll Call, and Us
It all started with Bill’s Valentine’s gift. Bill adores reruns of old Godfather films for some reason. Me, not so much. Bleeding dying bodies riddled with bullets give me nightmares. Bill’s my guy, though, so in the spirit of love I presented him with a homemade gift certificate for a cruise shore excursion. When our cruise ship docked in the port city of Catania, Sicily, we’d visit the iconic Godfather filming sites in person. Great gift, right? Only one problem: I didn’t actually book the tour in February: Lots of time before our September cruise, I thought. When I tried to book the tour in July, oops: Booked solid. Uh…
-
Cruise vs. Independent Travel? Both!
Even though we’re experienced travelers, we’re rather new to cruising. We avoided cruises for years after I spent a miserable seasick night on a cruise ship in the 1990s. Wasn’t fond of the herd mentality thing either, on a 700-passenger Epirotiki cruise ship (how quaint, considering today’s monster cruise ships). I did appreciate how easy it was to get from one Greek island to the next, especially with 25 high school students along for the fun. Back then, we were still young enough to happily haul our bags, drive our own car, and survive near-travel disasters, such as almost missing the last night train out of Lucerne, Switzerland because we…
