According to the cruise industry the average cruise ship today is over 950 feet long and accommodate about 2,900 people. Using the industry standard of two people per cabin that is 1,450 cabins. Now picture a cruise ship that is 145 feet long with 18 cabins and 36 passengers. That is UnCruise Adventures’ Safari Explorer.
Welcome to cabin B14
We spent a week in cabin B14 on UnCruise Adventures’ Safari Explorer. The category for this cabin is “Master” and it is the standard sized Double cabin on board. Nine or half of the cabins are this category. Let’s take a look at the cabin. (Click on the pictures if you want to see a larger version. Then use the back button to continue reading.) Continue reading Hawaii Cruise – Cabin B14
Hawaii, is an incredible destination for a cruise vacation. Hawaii has six major tropical islands you could visit: Kauai, Oahu, Molokai, Lanai, Maui, and Hawaii Island.
The most common way to cruise Hawaii is on Norwegian Cruise Line’s Pride of America. This ship was partly built in the United States and is flagged in the United States, so unlike foreign flagged ships, it can sail from US port to US port without having to go to a foreign port. It sails Hawaiian waters year around. Other cruise lines have ships visit Hawaii several times a year, usually while re-positioning to or from Asia or Alaska. Continue reading Hawaii Cruise – Intro
I have been on a lot of cruises. Most have been in the Caribbean but a few have been in other areas. I have cruised the Northeast coast of the USA and Canada and taken a Scandinavian cruise. But my family and I have cruised Alaska twice. Both times we chose Royal Caribbean International. The first time we were cruising with two small children and “Adventure Ocean,” RCI children’s program, was the deciding factor then. Our second cruise was a celebration of our younger daughter’s high school graduation and she picked the cruise and invited her Grandmother’s to join us. So our group totaled eight people ranging in age from 18 to 87 and everyone had a great cruise. Take a look at the pictures below to see some of what we did and think about how much fun your family would have on their own Alaskan cruise. Then contact us about booking yours.
A trip to Alaska is all about great scenery and wildlife. So far I have cruised Alaska twice and both times the focus on what we wanted to do has been see this beautiful land. So when you visit Alaska don’t miss the White Pass & Yukon Route Railroad. This historic narrow gauge railroad runs from Skagway, Alaska to Whitepass, the capital of the Canadian territory of Yukon. Built in 1899 in a project considered so impossible that it is now a International Historic Civil Engineering Landmark. When you ride this train you see why the project was so daunting. Most people spend their time staring out the windows or standing on the outside platforms between the cars taking pictures of the spectacular sites.
You board the train right at the pier and some of the cars are wheel chair accessible. Several different excursions are offered by most cruise companies. So based on how much time you want to spend on the train you can ride half way to White Pass where the train turns around and returns to Skagway, ride all the way to White Pass and back without stopping, or ride to White Pass for lunch and some shopping. You have to take your Passport for that one because White Pass is in Canada. Decide which one you want to take and book it before you leave home, as this is an excursion that fills up.
Vickie Travelz
Tip #1 Bring some money to tip the luggage porters when arriving at the port.
Tip #2 They are going to take your picture, alot. It starts before you board the ship. You do not have to participate but you should. Just smile and let them snap your picture, it is part of the experience. Every night you can go look for your pictures and toss the bad ones in the trash.
Tip #3. Budget some money for pictures. There are lots of photographers on board and they are good at their job. You will want to buy a picture or two or twenty.
Tip #4 Bring a corkscrew and a bottle opener. On a Carnival cruise, you are allowed to carry-on one bottle of wine per person, good idea if you like wine, but if you forget the corkscrew you will be taking it home with you. You can purchase a bucket of beer that holds 4 iced beers. You can carry it anywhere on the ship with you. But, you cannot open the beer without a bottle opener.
Tip #5 Bring sunscreen, bug spray and aspirin. You might not need it but it is worth the space in the luggage if you do.
Tip #6 Don’t bring any clothes that are even the tiniest bit snug. They wont fit after the 1st or 2nd day. The amount and variety of food, drink and dessert available while in relax mode guarantees at least an extra pound or two. Hot chocolate & BLTs via room service is a family favorite.
Tip #7 If you are a photographer at heart, bring your camera. My daughter is a natural photographer and captures some amazing pictures with her phone but I need the camera to help me take some nice pictures. I can’t capture the vibrant colors with my phone.
Tip #8 If watching people drink alcohol bothers you, consider a different vacation. You can still have fun on a cruise if you don’t drink alcohol but there are bars everywhere and people drinking everywhere. They give out free mimosas when you attend a 10 a.m. seminar. Drinking is an all day activity for some.
Tip #9 Bring walking shoes. You will be walking all over the ship. Up the stairs, down the stairs, front of the ship, back of the ship. You will have beautiful calves at the end of the cruise if you never take the elevator.
Tip #10. Ladies, bring the heels for dressing up at night but be prepared to leave them in the stateroom. Walking in heels on a ship is a bit different than walking on land in heels. Also, your legs might hurt from walking all day or you might just be in a flip flop mood.
Vickie Travelz
I waited until the last day to pack.
We are leaving in the morning and I have many items laid out to put into the suitcase and I am pretty excited to try out my new packing cubes so look for a post on that experiment soon.
I remembered that one of my students gave me an amazon gift card and I wanted to be sure to get some new books on my kindle before we left — I plan to sit on the deck in the sunshine with my book and my beverage and just relax. I am looking forward to it. I was pretty excited to be able to purchase some books from my wish list but it took me over an hour to choose which ones to purchase – what is wrong with me?
I have had several kindles over the years and I have to say that the touch screen, backlit e-reader is my favorite. I can read without the light on and my husband is quite appreciative of that. My dad was even nice enough to purchase the one without the ads, I mean “special offers”.
I am off to charge my kindle and test out my new packing cubes!
