Cabin Crawl on Carnival Luminosa

Posted on October 16, 2026 by LBcruiseshipblogger

doors to a couple of the cabins on the tour

Our Pacific crossing on Carnival Luminosa from Seattle to Sydney had a lot of sea days so we organized a cabin crawl through the facebook page for that cruise.  There were 16 cabins that signed up for it, but only 12 of them showed up for the event. We had quite a variety of cabins to see so it was enough to make an interesting tour.

the towel animal zoo was the highlight of cabin 4245

Before the cruise and at the beginning of it before the scheduled day of the event it was available for people to sign up. After collecting the cabin numbers of all the participants I located their rooms on a printout of the ship’s deck plans and then mapped out the most logical route. We had been to one cabin crawl before that had no organization or route plan which ended up both with way too many people since they hadn’t limited it only to people who offered up their cabins, and random wanderings through the ship since they hadn’t organized a route prior to the event. That one took a long time to get so many extra people through cabins since only so many can fit inside at once. Eventually half the people wandered off and left the rest behind with no idea what room was supposed to be next.

standard balcony cabin 4245

I wanted my cabin crawl to go more smoothly so attendance was limited to those who offered up their cabins for the tour and the route was planned in advance. After mapping out where the cabins were located I walked from one to another through the ship with what looked like the best route from looking at the plans, but it didn’t turn out to work. I changed the route and found one that worked. Some later cabin additions worked into the original route, but I did have to change it a bit to fit in one of them. The day before the event the route was finalized and the event closed to any more entries. The route was planned to have as little walking back and forth across the ship as possible, which meant taking advantage of elevators and stairs to see cabins in the same part of the ship, but on different floors rather than walking from one to another on opposite ends of each deck.

standard balcony, cabin 4245

Not having been on the Luminosa before, the meeting place was picked from the deck plan rather than any knowledge of the ship, but it worked out meeting at Java Blue, the ship’s coffee bar. There we let the people attending know where their cabin fell in the order and the route we would take around the ship.  Java Blue is on deck 3 forward and going anywhere but the front stairs/elevators would mean taking a long walk through a crowded hallway with shops so we went up one floor and visited 3 cabins on deck 4.

4292 inside cabin with window

4245 near the front, 4292 on the way to the middle and the third 4307 near the middle. The first was a standard balcony cabin, the second an obstructed view cabin behind a lifeboat.

what you see from the window in cabin 4292

On most cruise lines these rooms book as an ocean view obstructed cabin, but on Carnival they book as inside with a window.

4307 balcony cabin

The third was an extended balcony cabin which had a larger than normal balcony. Some of the cabins on the tour were quite near elevator bays, which some people pick purposely. We’ve generally tried to be farther away from them to avoid hearing elevator noise at night, but on this ship ours was practically in the elevator bay and we didn’t hear them. Cabins near elevators were very handy for the cabin crawl.

oceanview cabin 1295

Having reached the middle of the ship we went to others in that area, first going down to deck 1 for 1295, our one and only oceanview cabin – which was one of the ones conveniently located near the elevator. From there the planned route was to a cabin near the middle elevators on deck 5, but that was one of the no-shows so we skipped that deck and went on up to deck 8 where a scheduled suite near that same set of elevators was also a no-show.

spa inside cabin 8247

Deck 8 had the most walking of the tour. From the center we went up to the front to see 8247, an inside spa cabin and 8203, a spa suite. Anything booked in the spa category gets use of the thermal suite included with their booking along with some other perks.

cruise ducks

The steward was cleaning the spa suite when we got there so we went on to the next one on the list – 8224 – our cabin, which was a spa balcony cabin around the corner from the spa suite.  We had peanut butter cups provided for refreshments in our cabin and its most interesting feature to the group was our collection of found ducks lined up on the counter, many of which came from the duck mailbox. (A duck mailbox is a little mailbox people put outside of their cabin for other people to trade ducks.)

spa suite 8203

By the time everyone cycled through our cabin cleaning in the spa suite was finished so we backtracked around the front end of the ship back to 8203 and saw it. It ended up being the only suite on the tour so everyone was happy to see it. Besides getting to see a bunch of different cabins, in a cabin crawl you also get to see the interesting things some people do with their rooms. In this suite they mounted a movie projector on the ceiling and turned one wall into a screen.

balcony to spa suite 8203

The room and balcony were both larger than standard cabins, and the bathroom around twice as big with a jetted tub instead of just a shower. After everyone went through it was back around the front again to the other side, going past ours since it had already been visited.

bathroom in spa suite 8203

The walk down our side of deck 8 ended up long between stops because besides backtracking to the suite, one of the other no-shows was a suite near the middle of that side so there was nothing more to see until reaching balcony cabin 8366 near the back of the ship.

flooded balcony cabin 8366

That cabin had flooded due to a broken pipe above the balcony. There was no standing water at the time of the tour, but it had come in from outside and rose to about 3 inches deep in the cabin and deeper still on the balcony. That one had upturned furniture and was in the process of working on drying out, but the occupants were told there was not another cabin available to move to so they had to live in it that way. One would hope Carnival either offered them a free cruise with an upgrade to a suite or reimbursed them so they got this one for free. Better both, but what are the odds.

8401 aft balcony cabin

From there it was a short walk around the corner to aft balcony cabin 8401, which did not flood. This cabin had 3 occupants so the couch was made up as a bed.

aft extended balcony 8401

Balconies on the back of the ship are larger than normal and they have a nice view of the ship’s wake. The cabin’s occupants said they don’t hear any engine noise, which could be a worry booking a cabin at the very back. They were Australians and handed out fuzzy little koalas to everyone on the tour. I left a duck in each cabin so tour participants each got both a duck and a koala.

6350 angled balcony cabin

After that cabin we went to the rear elevator bay. Most times when we changed decks some people took elevators and others stairs so we met in the elevator bay once everyone had arrived. When we went from deck 1 all the way to 8 everyone took the elevator, but it took several of them to fit everyone so people either had to wait for an elevator at the bottom or wait for the rest of the group at the top.

6350 angled balcony

The next cabin on the tour was 6350 on deck 6, not far from the elevator bay. This one had an angled balcony so though it was classified as a balcony cabin it was something new and different to see. There was a pod of dolphins out in the ocean that someone spotted from that balcony so that was an unexpected bonus.

view from the angled balcony room 6350

We skipped the next scheduled stop for a cabin near that elevator bay on deck 5 as that was the 4th no-show and went on to deck 4 for the last two cabins on the tour. Both of those were quite nice.

cabin 4348 accessible inside with window – behind a lifeboat

Cabin 4348 is an accessible cabin so it was quite large. It had 2 large windows and a partial sea view. The bathroom was about as big as one in a suite with a roll-in shower with fold-down bench since it is an accessible cabin.

4348 decorated the inside of their cabin

Besides having more than the normal amount of space, the occupants had decorated the inside making it look more luxurious than the average cabin.

the door on the right won a door decorating contest

They also had decorated the outside of their cabin door so well it won a door decorating contest.

balcony cabin 4425

4425, the last cabin on the tour, had a huge balcony, but books as a standard balcony cabin. That one had room enough on the balcony for everyone to watch the dolphins for a bit since they were still out there. Everywhere else on the ship the even numbered cabins are on the port side (left) and the odd-numbered cabins on the right side (starboard) with it changing from even to odd at the middle of the row going across the back of the ship. Being an odd-numbered cabin people started crossing to the other side when passing by an elevator bay and had to be called back because on that one deck the odd-numbered cabins not only cover the entire stern row, but also several cabins closest to the back on the port side, which probably confuses people when they first board the ship and can’t find their cabin on the side where all the other odd-numbered cabins are. Making that one quite odd indeed.

giant balcony on Cabin 4425

Cabin crawls are a good way for people to have a chance to see what other cabins on the ship besides their own look like and everyone enjoyed it. They definitely work better with the participants limited to the people who offer up their cabins for the tour and with an organized route.

Copyright My Cruise Stories 2026
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Carnival Miracle

Posted on October 13, 2026 by LBcruiseshipblogger

Miracle in the Strait of Juan de Fuca

Carnival Miracle is a Spirit Class ship, one of Carnivals older, smaller ships making it perfect for Alaskan cruises. Small ships do better there since the larger ones are less likely to be able to navigate through the bergy bits on the way to see glaciers in narrow channels. Also apparently less likely to make it into some ports since the only time we ever missed Victoria was on Quantum of the Seas, which is the largest ship we’ve sailed to Alaska on – and there was a smaller ship in port that day seemingly unbothered by the weather and rough seas of the day. Quantum also did not make it down to the glacier at the end of Endicott Arm whereas all of the smaller ships we’ve sailed there on made it to the end without any difficulties.

atrium bar on deck 2 – the atrium is open all the way to the top of the ship

The Miracle was built in Finland and launched in 2004 It is 963 feet long, 106 feet wide, and at double occupancy holds 2124 passengers with a crew of just over 900. The ship has 12 decks and 1062 staterooms. It was built during the era when Joe Farcus was the decor designer of Carnival’s ships.

hiding a duck

True to that era it has some wild decor with lots of nooks and crannies to hide ducks in.

hallway art

The theme is supposed to be famous fictional icons, which is most noticeable in the hallways on cabin decks.

inappropriate artwork in the dining room and on a door to a stairway leading to the kid’s clubs

A lot of the public areas display artwork that is inappropriate for a ship intended for families with children. A door to a stairway leading to the kid’s clubs has a naked woman on it. There’s also some inappropriate bordering on pornographic art in the dining room. Even the columns in the theater are topped with statues of bare-breasted women with their hands up as if they are holding up the ceiling.

she’s a bit too casual

Some of the newer ships have gone to digital displays for the photos they take of passengers with hopes of getting people to buy them, but the Miracle still had the old-fashioned display of actual photographs, all of which end up in the trash if unsold. When the photo area is open the display cases are open to show the pictures, but when it is closed the cases are closed and show the same sort artwork found around the ship. The heading for whatever type of photos are displayed in that section still shows above the case when it is closed though. I was amused by the one labeled Cruise Casual above a painting of a lady that was definitely dressed way too casual since she lacked any clothing at all.

Gatsby’s Garden indoor promenade around the bow

The Miracle has a couple of waterslides, a basketball court, mini-golf, and a walkway around the ship on deck 10. The outdoor promenade deck on deck 3 goes around the sides and back of the ship. At the front it is indoors and called Gatsby’s Garden. The indoor walkway around the bow area is unique to the Spirit class ships. The hallways there have chairs and tables that are quiet and not usually crowded.

Miracle in Seattle

Walking around the ship on boarding day I came across a sign next to what is normally a smoking area out on one of the upper decks that said NO SMOKING, BUNKERING IN PROGRESS. Next to it a whole line of people sat in the chairs there puffing away. Apparently their nicotine fixes were more important to them than whether or not the ship blew up should a spark catch in the vapors while the ship was fueling. Not only is that against ship rules, maritime laws and port safety guidelines completely ban smoking anywhere other than safe approved rooms while bunkering fuel.

dome over the central Lido pool

The ship has a forward outdoor pool and hot tub, a pool in a central area with a dome that can enclose it in cold climates or inclement weather or open when sailing in warmer climates, and another outdoor pool and hot tub on the Serenity deck at the back of the ship. Nearly everything in the Serenity area is out in the open with no shade or shelter from wind and weather, other than some seating near the bar which is under the deck above. The outdoor movie screen is in the domed area making it usable regardless of the weather. Also Guy’s burgers, Blue Iguana Mexican food, Red Frog Rum Bar, Blue Iguana Tequila Bar, and the ice cream station reside within the domed area.

balcony cabin 7123

Rooms are pretty standard size for Carnival ships. Ours had only one outlet, but it did have some USB ports in the lamps on the nightstands. Storage space was plentiful. It included 3 closets, 2 with a hanging bar and one with shelves, 4 drawers, and a little cabinet with a couple shelves. The safe had its own cupboard under the TV rather than taking up closet space. The nightstands each had a little cubby inside and the bathroom had a set of 3 shelves on each end of the mirror. The drawback of an older ship is the constant airflow in the cabin that can’t be shut off so you can hear it all night.

extended balcony

We took this cruise with my husband’s sister and her husband. They booked it quite awhile after we did, but conveniently ended up with a room directly below ours, 2 decks down. Theirs had an extended balcony so they could step out beyond where the standard balconies end and we could talk to them from our balcony.

inside the funnel at the top of the atrium, which is also in the steakhouse

Cabins are found on deck 1 and decks 4-8. Some of these decks also have public areas and most cabin decks have a self-serve launderette. Deck 1 has the Mad Hatter’s Ball, which is actually a theater style lounge at the front and Chef’s Table near the back, which is a very pricey pay-extra eatery. Decks 2 and 3 are all public areas. The main theater extends upward in the bow from deck 2-4 and the kid’s clubs are at the front of decks 4 and 5. The bridge is at the front of deck 9.

part of the mini golf course

Besides the pools, buffet, spa, and fitness, deck 9 has outdoor walkways on top of the bridge wings where people can get a view from a bit beyond the width of the rest of the ship. Deck 10 has more of the fitness area as well as the teen space, steakhouse, and outdoor walkway. Deck 11 has the mini golf course at the front, the second level of the steakhouse in the middle, and the waterslides at the back. Deck 12 doesn’t have much of anything.

Blue Iguana Tequila Bar

The ship has numerous bars with some on all of the public decks. It has a coffee bar on deck 2 that also serves upscale tea or hot chocolate. The coffee bar can get a long line in the morning, but the main atrium bar also serves morning coffee though it opens later than the coffee bar does. Once the atrium bar opens it’s the place to go to get fancy coffee or tea without waiting in a long line because a lot of people don’t know they can get it there. People can get plain coffee, tea, or hot chocolate out of the machines at the buffet.

coffee bar

There’s a safety video playing on the cabin TV when entering the room while it is at the dock on boarding day. One of the things it says is to prevent illness don’t touch your mouth after touching anything on the ship without washing your hands first. Which makes sense, but then they allow smoking in the casino which besides spreading second-hand smoke throughout the ship, also means people touch slot machines, cards, dice, and gaming chips that everyone else touches, then touch their cigarettes, put those in their mouths, touch their mouths, and then touch all those things everyone else touches. So it’s a bit hypocritical that by allowing smoking in the area of the ship where the most people touch the most things that other people touch they are encouraging and allowing the exact thing they warned people not to do in the safety video.

Alchemy Bar

That was not the only hypocritical thing on boarding day. Before people get on the ship they confiscate bottled water from everyone saying that single-use plastic bottles are not allowed onboard. They had a big bin of water bottles from unused to partly gone that they had taken from people who could have used them when going to shore at our port stops whether unopened or refilled. When arriving in our cabin, just as in all of the others, there were two plastic bottles of water with tags saying it cost $4.50 each to use them. These are of a size too large to pack around when going ashore. Later they brough even bigger ones to the room that could be used for free. So apparently single use plastic water bottles are allowed, but only if the ship provides them and they are too big to be practical. Really only good for using in the room, which already has cups and a sink. People are afraid to drink the water from the bathroom tap, but it is the same water they serve in the dining room.

cornhole

Daily activities in the Fun Times included trivia and other games, shows, port talks, movies, and a lot of activities or lectures intended to get people to buy stuff. There’s also a lot of things people can do on their own including pools, hot tubs, the fitness center, basketball court, mini golf, water slides, ping pong, and pub games. Also hiding and hunting for ducks.

duck mailboxes at a door and a hallway with lots of duck mailboxes

There’s a duck machine in the arcade for people who didn’t bring any or need more. We saw more duck mailboxes on this ship than we have seen on any other one, but unfortunately the deck with the most mailboxes also had a raider who kept taking all of the ducks without ever leaving any in trade. That pretty much ruins it for everyone else since the whole point of mailboxes is for duck trading. People who want to take without giving should stick to hunting the ducks people hide around the ship because that is what those are for. Someone eventually even took a couple mailboxes which are definitely not there for the taking. Neither are people’s door decorations or magnets, some of which also disappeared from various doors on this cruise.

sunrise at sea

Food on this ship was pretty good. Carnival has a gluten free dinner menu for the dining room in the app so people don’t even have to pre-order for that. There is also a vegan menu in the app. Besides the buffet and dining room, free food could also be found at Blue Iguana and Guy’s Burgers. Premium eateries – that is those that cost extra – included the steakhouse. chef’s table, coffee bar (donuts and cupcakes as well as the drinks there), and wings and seafood at the buffet.

serenity and slides

Carnival Miracle

On the last night we were talking to the people at the next table over from us at dinner. They were from Texas. The ship happened to be in the Strait of Juan de Fuca that runs between Washington State’s Olympic Peninsula and Canada’s Vancouver Island. It was close to Port Angeles on the Washington side at the time, but soon turned to head across the strait toward Victoria. We mentioned living not far from where we were and happy that we could take a ferry to this cruise rather than having to fly. One of them got a surprised look and said, “You took a ferry all the way from Alaska?” The ship had a port stop in Victoria that evening and was due to arrive back at the port in Seattle the next morning, but we still had to explain to them that we were no longer in Alaska. For the record, you actually can take an Alaska ferry from Alaska to Washington State, but they go to Bellingham rather than Seattle.

Overall we had a good cruise. We like the smaller less-crowded ships.

Copyright My Cruise Stories 2026
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Mahogany Bay Cruise Port

Posted on October 9, 2026 by LBcruiseshipblogger

Mahogany Bay sign

Majestic Princess docked overnight at Mahogany Bay Cruise Port in Roatan, Honduras. We had a long excursion not booked through the ship on the first day where we went to a sloth and monkey sanctuary and then horseback riding and snorkeling. It was nice having no worries about not getting back to port on time. There was an 11:00pm curfew after which the gangway would be closed until 6am the next morning. Anyone not making it back to the ship before then would have to spend the night onshore, but they wouldn’t miss the boat. This port belongs to Carnival Corporation so only ships within Carnival’s brands dock there. The rest dock at Roatan’s other cruise port in Coxen Hole.

ships in Mahogany Bay

Roatan is the largest of the Bay Islands, sitting off the coast of mainland Honduras. It’s a long narrow island at 59 kilometers long and less than 8 wide. The island is a popular tourist destination and has an international airport as well as the two cruise ports. Coxen Hole is the biggest town and the capitol of the Bay Islands. A lot of people there speak English because the area was once claimed as a British territory. Other languages like Spanish and a couple native dialects are also spoken there. Temperatures are mainly in the 70’s and 80’s F (20’s and 30’s C) year-round with a tropical rainforest climate and more rain in the winter than in the summer.

duty free shop at the dock

On our second day in Roatan we stayed at the port. In the early morning it poured down rain so we waited until the rain stopped to leave the ship. The sun came out for awhile, then it got a bit cloudy, but didn’t rain again while we were there. Like many cruise ship ports you have to walk through a duty-free store when getting on or off the ship.

port décor

The port was a lot busier than I remember from a previous visit. There was only one ship then, and I don’t recall the dock holding any more than that at the time. It holds two now. Star Princess came in after us on the first day and Carnival Jubilee came to port on our second day there. We had the back slot. Those two ships had the front dock, which is the one visible from the beach so ships at that dock get all the good ship photos. The ship at the back dock is the first to arrive and the last to leave because the ship at the front dock blocks the back dock.

little shops at the port

It felt like there were more shops at the port than on our previous visit, and the entrance to the beach walkway and skyride were not as prominent as they were then. Both are to the right of where the main pathway comes up from the dock, whereas most of the shops are to the left. We did discover a shortcut to the beach on a gravel nature path which has access behind the duty-free store.

chocolate shop

There are a lot of shops selling clothes, jewelry, and souvenirs. There’s a big bar near where the pathway comes up from the ships. At the far end of the shopping area out near the taxi stand there’s a pavilion with booths for more local sorts of things where there might be some less expensive things than in the other shops, some of which were on the pricey side. We found a chocolate shop there selling locally made chocolate, which was not cheap. They had free samples and it tasted quite good.

walkway and skyride to the beach

We took the skyride on our first visit to that port back when it only cost $5 and discovered that it’s much faster to take the main walking path. It costs a lot more than $5 now. The time we rode it we watched a guy walking slowly with a cane get to the beach a whole lot faster than the skyride did. On the way back in a downpour it got stuck and quit running for an hour while we sat there in the rain so we had no desire to ride it again, though you can get some good photos from there. It’s officially called the Magical Flying Beach Chair, but we did not find it to be all that magical.

hammock on the pathway to the beach

There are a couple hammocks along the pathway, which people made use of as there was nearly always someone laying on them when we walked by. These are the sort of hammock made out of what looks like a gym mat rather than the woven variety. There are also some benches along the main walkway and access to the gravel nature walk trail that has the shortcut to the beach from behind the duty-free store. The gravel trail also has a wooden swing chair if you take the path that passes by it, and a viewpoint to the ships – mainly the one on the front dock.

massage hut on the beach

There are shops, bars, and restaurants on the beach, and outside showers for rinsing off salt water and sand. The beach on the side nearest the ships is very crowded, but if you take the path behind the private cabanas to the other side there is a small bit of beach with beach chairs that is not as crowded as the main part. There were far more buildings on the beach than I remembered from the previous visit. A whole row of them lines the beach from the access trail to the other end.

snorkel dock

From that far end there is also a dock. Out at the end of the dock there are platforms with ladders into the sea where people can access the water for snorkeling. The best snorkeling is outside of the swimming area. One guy we talked to on the dock said he had left the area where most people snorkel near the dock and swam along the reef parallel to the beach for a ways and found much better snorkeling there, though that would be something only for strong swimmers who are comfortable with swimming far from the access point, and best done with at least one other person since there would not be anyone else in the vicinity if there were any problems.

walkway behind the private cabanas on the beach

A small section of the beach near the far end is roped off for the people who rent the private cabanas, but the area near the dock is available from shore as well as access to the dock itself. There was snorkel gear available for rent on the beach for anyone who doesn’t have their own.

rows of beach chairs on the main beach

There are many rows of beach chairs on the beach, mostly on the main side between the ships and the private cabanas, but with two ships in port the majority of them do fill up. We were able to find one to drop our stuff on while we went for a swim.

beach at the cruise port

For people who do excursions through outside sources rather than through the ship, those are accessed by walking through the shopping area, out the taxi stand, up a hill to the security gate, out that gate, and down a bit of a hill to where there are a whole lot of people with signs waiting to meet up with whoever booked their excursions.

swing chair on the nature trail

There was a sign at the port for a hop on hop off bus which would give people who had nothing else booked something to do, but other than having seen the sign I don’t know anything about it other than briefly overhearing in passing someone say they had taken it as a last-minute thing. Google said it costs about $20-$25 (which will of course increase as time passes). Google also said it goes to the west end, West Bay Beach, Coxen Hole, chocolate and rum factories, shops, and French Harbor.

ambulance on the dock

When it was time for us to leave both ships were preparing to go, but someone on the Carnival ship needed a medical evacuation so we had to wait until the ambulance came and went since we couldn’t leave until the other ship got out of the way.

Copyright My Cruise Stories 2026
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Food on Royal Princess

Posted on October 6, 2026 by LBcruiseshipblogger

pork dinner

Like all of the ships from major cruiselines, Royal Princess has some pay-extra restaurants and others that are included in the cruise fare with dining rooms and a buffet as the main included eateries. Unlike most ships, this one won an award for its cuisine. It was named the World’s Best Culinary Cruise Ship for 2025 by the World Culinary Awards. This award was voted on by industry experts, the culinary community, and consumers with the ship’s pay-extra eateries as the main focus of the award.

dining room

There are 3 dining rooms on Royal Princess. The Allegro Dining Room at the back of deck 6 has set time dining where passengers have the same time, table, and waitstaff each night. Concerto dining room at the center of deck 6 offers flexible dining where guests can make reservations for different times on different days and some anytime dining for walk-in guests. Symphony dining room at the back of deck 5 offers walk-in anytime dining in one door and dining with reservations in the other.

baked Alaska in the dining room

We were assigned to the Symphony dining room on this ship and had no problem getting a table as walk-ins. Sometimes it was quicker to get a table if requesting a shared table, but service was faster if we had one with just the two of us. At least at dinner anyway. We tried one breakfast in the dining room and the service was pretty slow and the food not any better than what was available at the buffet with less options.

every day chicken dinner

The dining room food was generally good at dinner with some items offered daily and others changing each night. Speed of service varied, generally significantly slower at shared tables even if nobody ordered extra items. If anyone ordered more than one thing in any of the three courses that really slowed things down for the entire table.

Valentine’s Day donuts at the buffet

Royal Princess has a very extensive buffet near the back of deck 16. It has two sections with hot food lines with a room in between that has pastries in the morning and desserts at lunch and dinner. They also sell specialty coffees in that room, and make waffles there at breakfast.

gluten free dessert from the buffet

In addition to regular pastries and desserts people could also find gluten free, sugar free, and vegan items there. One of the hot food lines had gluten free pancakes, waffles, French toast and other things in the morning. The gluten free donut holes found outside of the pastry room were one of their best gluten free baked goods.

salad from the buffet salad bar

The forward part of the buffet is called Horizon Bistro while the part closer to the back is called Horizon Court, though it all seems like parts of the same place. Some of the hot food lines will have the same items as each other while others have different ones. At dinner the buffet has theme nights with different cuisines each night.

cake day at the buffet

At the last day’s lunch the buffet served both sushi and fancy cakes so it was very crowded. There was quite a variety of different cake options to choose from. There was a very long line for both.

Trident Grill

The buffet opens out into the pool area, which has ice cream on the starboard side near the doorway into the buffet. Past the pools on the forward end of the pool deck there is a pizza stand called Prego Pizzeria on the port side and a grill with hamburgers and hot dogs at the Trident Grill on the other. Both of these are free eateries. The pizza was very good for cruise ship pizza, one of the best we’ve had on a cruise ship.

bar/coffee bar at Princess Live

The International Cafe sits at one side of deck 5 at the lowest level of the central piazza. It has a coffee bar that serves specialty coffee, tea, and hot chocolate which costs extra as well as pastries and sandwiches that are free. Specialty hot drinks are also sold at Princess Live Cafe on deck 7, and in the morning at the gelato shop across the piazza from the International Cafe. Those places don’t get a long line like the International Cafe does, but also don’t serve food. Well at least not breakfast food. Later in the day the gelato shop sells gelato.

steakhouse & bar

Royal Princess has several pay-extra restaurants.  We found the free food both good and plentiful and did not try any of the restaurants with an extra charge. Their steakhouse is called Crown Grill. It is located toward the back of deck 7. Alfredos on the starboard side of the central piazza on deck 6 is a sit-down pizza restaurant. It also cost extra so it doesn’t get a lot of business since people can go up to the pizza stand on the Lido deck and get pizza for free. Ocean Terrace Seafood Bar sits at the forward end of the piazza on deck 7. It is a very small pay-extra eatery serving sushi, sashimi, and ceviche. The other pay-extra restaurant is Sabatini’s Italian Trattoria, an upscale eatery across from guest services on deck 5. Room services or ordering anywhere onboard through the Princess app are additional ways to obtain food for a fee. There is a limited free room service breakfast menu on a door hanger that people can put out the night before. Once per cruise there’s a special (and expensive) chef’s table dinner.

Crooner’s Bar

Royal Princess has many bars. Several of them sit around the 3 levels of the piazza on decks 5, 6, and 7 – Vines Wine Bar, Bellinis, and Crooners. Deck 5 also has Good Spirits at Sea next to the International Cafe, deck 6 has the Double Down bar at the casino, and deck 7 has a bar at Princess Live, the Wheelhouse Bar by the Crown Grill, and a bar in the Vista Lounge at the back of the ship. There’s also some bars on upper decks. The Lido deck (deck 16) has the Seaview Bar and the Mermaid’s Tail bar in the central pool area, and the Outrigger Bar at the back of the ship. Deck 17 has the Retreat Bar in the adults only Retreat area near the front of the ship. That area also has hot tubs, a pool, and deck chairs.

dessert from the dining room

Copyright My Cruise Stories 2026
Posted in Cruise Food, Princess, Royal Princess | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Circular Quay

Posted on October 2, 2026 by LBcruiseshipblogger

Noordam in Sydney

Circular Quay in Sydney, Australia is not just a tourist hub. It’s also home to the Overseas Passenger Terminal where the luckier of cruise ship passengers to Sydney dock. Sydney has another terminal called White Bay which is not close to anything. Sailing into Circular Quay is a great way to get a view of two of Sydney’s most famous icons – the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge. Once the ship docks you can also see both icons of the city from the ship.

Opera House

Circular Quay is pretty much shaped like 3 sides of a square or maybe a rectangle. The bridge sits out at the end of one side and the opera house out at the end of the other. The ship docks on the side with the bridge.

Sydney Harbour Bridge

Whether disembarking, just there for a port stop, or not even coming from a ship at all, there are lots of transportation options from Circular Quay. If you’re getting off the ship once you have left the building and start heading toward the far end of the quay you first walk past the taxi line.

ferries

The water edge of the end of the quay between the two sides is lined with a whole bunch of different ferries and water taxis. Water taxis take you where you need to go. The ferries have regularly scheduled visits to places like Taronga Zoo, Watsons Bay, Manly, Shark Island, Lane Cove River, Clifton Gardens and Darling Harbour. There are also boats there that take people out on boat tours and day cruises, some of which may include lunch or dinner as well as sight-seeing. Between May and November there are also whale-watching cruises. The ferries are part of Sydney’s public transportation system and the fare is cheap.

Circular Quay

You don’t have to take a ferry or taxi to go anywhere though. On the land side of that end behind the ferries there’s also a train station. This stop is on the city circle line, which also stops at Central Station. From Central you can catch a train to the airport, out to Sydney’s suburbs, to the Blue Mountains, or even an interstate train to other areas of Australia. The hop on hop off bus stops near the opera house so you can take a tour around town that way as well. The trains and ferries have a tap to pay system where you can just use any bank card that has a tap feature rather than having to buy a ticket or special card to ride them.

botanical garden

pathway through the botanical garden

Besides the opera house and the bridge, there are lots of other tourist attractions in the immediate area. There’s a free botanical garden on the side near the opera house, and Sydney’s oldest area called The Rocks is on the bridge side. Centerpoint Tower is just over a kilometer away, and there are other things within walking distance to see there as well.

Luna Park

There are museums and restaurants at Circular Quay as well as in nearby areas like The Rocks. Luna Park sits under the far side of the bridge. Overall there is way more to see and do at or near Circular Quay than a person could do in one day.

Copyright My Cruise Stories 2026
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Koblenz, Germany

Posted on September 25, 2026 by LBcruiseshipblogger

colorfully lighted building in Koblenz

Koblenz, Germany

Koblenz, Germany sits on the banks of the Rhine River where it joins with its tributary, the Moselle. The name originates from the Latin word for confluence and the town’s name was spelled with a c as the first letter before 1926. It has a population of over 124,000. Koblenz was originally a Roman town founded in 9 BCE. The oldest building in town is the Basilica of St. Castor built in 836. The city was heavily bombed in WW2 and rebuilt afterword, but still has an old town and castles. Four mountain ranges can be seen from the city. It also has vineyards and forests. Average temperatures range from winter lows of about 30°F (-1°C) to summer highs of about 77°F (25°C). The temperature rarely dips below 17°F (-8°C) or rises above 89°F (32°C). Snow may fall from November through March. January is usually the coldest month and July the warmest. Average annual rainfall is between 9 and 10 inches, usually falling on a total of about 136 days throughout the year. Average annual snowfall is less than 3 inches, falling about 19-20 days out of the year – not all in a row. Castles are the main tourist attraction besides watching the Moselle flow into the Rhine, but there are also churches and other historic buildings. The city has statues and monuments too. There is a statue of mischevious boys with one perched on the fountain that intermittently spits water on passersby. The place where the two rivers meet is called the German Corner and has a massive statue of Kaiser Wilhelm I on a horse. The original was built in 1897. It was destroyed in World War 2. A copy built in 1993 now sits in its place.

two Viking ships in Koblenz

Koblenz River Cruise Port

Before reaching the actual stop in Koblenz, Viking Skirner made a brief stop to let people out to board busses up to nearby Marksburg Castle. While people toured the castle the ship moved onto Koblenz and passengers arrived by bus after the castle tour. The port in Koblenz is right in town. Our ship was docked next to another Viking ship under a cable car running from that side of the river up to a fort on a hill on the other side. We had to walk through the other ship to get to and from ours.

cable car

Round trip rides without exiting the tram car were an option as well as getting off at the top to see the fort or a Christmas garden. Shops and other things in town were an easy walk from the ship since the town came all the way to the river’s edge. The gondola entry was just steps away from where our ship docked. The walk from the busses that brought us there from the castle was farther since the road ended at the riverside a short distance from our ship where we had to walk past a couple other ships to get to ours.

view of Koblenz from the cable car

Since it was the dead of winter when days are short and we had spent most of that one in scenic sailing past castles on the Rhine before visiting Marksburg castle our time in Koblenz was spent in the dark. Of course it’s a city so dark doesn’t mean you can’t see anything because there are lights.

little train at the Christmas market in Koblenz, Germany

We walked to a Christmas market that wasn’t too far from the ship. It was a very small one, but it had a feature that we didn’t see at any other Christmas markets. There was a little train going around a Christmas tree in the center of the market square, just big enough for very small children to ride.

view of the Ehrenbreitstein Fortress in red lights on the hillside on the other side of the river

After visiting the market we took a ride on the cable car. It was pretty convenient since the entry on that side of the river was right by where our ship docked. The 16 gondolas that make up the ride have glass panels around all sides for a fantastic view as you cross the Rhine River up to the Ehrenbreitstein Fortress high on a hill on the other side.

Ships docked on the Rhine in Koblenz – the red light is a cable car

Of course since we went across in the dark our view was just of the lights of the city, the cable cars, and our ship (and others) docked alongside the riverbank. The fortress at the top is the second largest preserves fortress in Europe. It has restaurants, gardens, viewing platforms, museums, and multimedia exhibits on the fort’s history as well as other topics. Tours are available there, but we stayed in the cable car and just rode it round trip up the hill and then back down.

Copyright My Cruise Stories 2026
Posted in Europe, Skirnir, Viking | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Cruising Antarctica

Posted on September 18, 2026 by LBcruiseshipblogger

Antarctica

Our Antarctic cruise on Holland America Oosterdam spent 4 days cruising the Antarctic Peninsula. At the start we were given a map of the planned route for the time we spent there. The cruise was much longer, 4 days is just the time spent in Antarctica.

planned Antarctic route

Planned routes don’t always turn out as actual routes on any cruise, especially in a place like Antarctica. Weather, ice, or other factors can affect where you go.

Palmer Station

On the first day we stopped at Palmer Station and brought some people aboard from there. The station has zodiacs, one of which dropped off the visiting crew. This is a United States research station that has been there since 1968.

ice retreat at Palmer Station

They spent several hours onboard and gave a lecture about their station at two different times because there’s not enough space in the theater for everyone to go there at the same time. One of the things they showed in their lecture was how much the ice has retreated from the land by the station over the years.

image of Palmer Station shown at the lecture

There were some Adélie penguins on the ice near the station, but from the ship they just looked like little black specks. There are a lot of big ice bergs and some small bergy bits floating around the area. The station is quite large with multiple buildings.

Palmer Station crew

It is located on Anvers Island, the only U.S. station on the continent located north of the Antarctic Circle. The station supports science year-round and accommodates about 20 people in the winter and up to 44 during their summer. Only about 8 or 10 of them came aboard the Oosterdam.

zodiac crew waving at the people on the Oosterdam on their way back to Palmer Station after dropping off some visitors

Once the guests were onboard the ship left the area to do some scenic sailing before returning the people to their research station later in the day. They took back a bit of fresh produce from the ship, a real treat for people living so remotely that they only have fresh things when a supply ship (or cruise ship) comes in.

land in the ice

Antarctica is not just ice in this area. There is a lot of bare rock, some with lichen and moss growing on it. The station itself is on bare rock, though there are mountains and ice sheets very nearby. The bay around the station has ice along the rocky parts as well as ice bergs and bergy bits. We sailed into Lemaire Channel, which was announced as one of the most scenic areas of the cruise. It had snow-covered mountains with abrupt edges at the waterline where icebergs calved off.

penguin rookery and trail

There were lots of dirty patches with little trails leading up the mountains in the places where penguins live. The dirty patches are caused by penguin poop and their many treks up the mountain make the little trails. The penguins looked like little specs in the snow. Later we saw some swimming closer to the ship. Some people also spotted whales.

iceberg

Cruise ships normally travel toward their next destination during the night unless they are docking for an overnight in a port. The first night in Antarctica our ship drifted with the icebergs with people on watch to make sure we didn’t hit or get hit by anything rather than trying to sail anywhere among the icebergs and bergy bits in the dark. Since it was summer in the far south the night was very short with just a few hours between sunset and sunrise.

swimming penguin

On day two of our Antarctic Adventure we saw a humpback whale out the window at breakfast, then three penguins swimming along right next to the ship from the balcony in our cabin on the way to Curvervill Island. Penguins swim under the water and then pop out above the water before diving back in and swimming underneath again. They can swim very fast when they want to. Fast enough to keep up with the ship at the speed it sailed there.

penguin rookery with gentoo penguin inset

At the island we got close enough to a gentoo penguin rookery to see, hear, and smell the penguins. The penguin rookeries there smelled very strongly of penguin poop. It doesn’t break down very fast in such a cold climate.  The area was a quite scenic with water so clear you could see the blue ice of the icebergs under the water as well as the white ice on the surface.

misty mountain and ice

Far from being nothing but ice, the Antarctic Peninsula has huge mountains of snow-covered rock towering over the sea, often with abrupt edges along the water’s edge where icebergs calve off. Here and there bare rock pokes out of the snow along the sides of what otherwise would appear to be nothing but a huge mountain of ice.

Antarctic scenery

There is also more life than most people expect, not just the things that live in the sea, but also in the moss and lichens visible on what would otherwise be bare rock – sometimes even on just a bit of rock poking out of the snow. There is of course a whole lot of totally bare rock without anything growing on it there as well.

iceberg

Weather in Antarctica can change abruptly whether because a system moved in or because the ship sailed a short distance into different weather. Clear views become misty to just plain white, and even though it’s summer it often snows lightly for a bit. Although more isolated than the rest of the planet, Antarctica is not as isolated as people think. Besides all of the research stations various countries have on land, during the summer season there are many boats in the sea. You may not see many of them, but if you have some sort of navigation app that shows all of the ships in the area there are a lot.

icebergs by a penguin rookery

Our next spot on the Antarctic itinerary was a visit to Dallman Bay, which was all about wildlife. It’s a protected marine environment and an important site for studies on how the warming ocean effects Antarctica’s wildlife. We saw fin whales there and more penguins.

tabular iceberg in front of the ship

Then the ship came upon a large tabular iceberg. Or at least the largest iceberg we had seen so far this journey. It was 60 meters high and longer than the ship is wide. Tabular icebergs are quite square on the edges, and like all icebergs the part you see is only about 10% of the berg because the rest of it is underwater. Large as it was, apparently it was small for that sort if iceberg as they are the ones that break off of the ever-shrinking Antarctic ice shelf.

unknown whale tail and swimming penguins with fin whales inset

The last scheduled stop for the day was Charlotte Bay. There was too much ice to venture in too far, but we found curious whales near the entrance to the bay that kept everyone entertained spy hopping and working their way closer and closer to the boat. They surfaced often and one even waved a fin at the entranced crowd. They did not say what sort of whales these were. Maybe fin whales like we had seen earlier or maybe not.

snow on the deck

The third day we sailed into Hope Bay. In the early morning the sky was full of mist and fog. Visibility was poor and the outside decks had a dusting of snow. Later after sailing into Hope Bay the weather cleared.

tabular icebergs

We passed by and were surrounded in many large tabular icebergs. Definitely not a good sign for the ice shelf that they come from.

Adalie penguins on ice

There were also lots of bergy bits floating around. At first it was just ice, then a big one floated by with a lone penguin on it. Later just about all of them had penguins. Sometimes a big berg with just one bird and sometimes a small one covered in them. Also big ones with many and small ones with few. These adorable Adélie penguins hop on and off of the bergy bits with ease.

Esperanza Station

The ship stopped near the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula within sight of Esperanza Station, which belongs to Argentina. Over 50 people live there year-round including entire families. It has been there since 1953 and has its own radio station. There are 43 buildings powered by 4 generators. It’s in Hope Bay and esperanza means hope in Spanish.

watching the scenery from the thermal suite in the spa

We were surrounded in beautiful scenery with snow covered mountains, huge ice bergs, and many bergy bits. Most of the bergy bits had penguins on them. Humpback whales were feeding off the bow.

whale fin

Penguins flocked to the water where the whales were. Probably in search of an easy meal from the fish disturbed during whale feeding. Thousands of penguins make a lot of noise, but at least there was no smell since they were all in the water or on bergy bits rather than on land at a rookery.

Antarctic scenery

After sitting in that spot for awhile we passed by Esperanza Station, which is next to the rookery were all those penguins come from. The ship passed through a narrow gap with land very close on both sides. We could definitely smell penguins from there. It got misty and cloudy again for awhile, then cleared up. Weather changes frequently and sometimes suddenly there. The scenery is beautiful with lots of ice bergs and snowcapped glacial mountains with abrupt edges along the water where ice bergs calve into the sea.

ships in the bay at King George Island

Our last day in Antarctica was scheduled for a visit to Elephant Island where we were to arrive in the morning. Cruise ship itineraries are always subject to change. Instead the ship diverted to King George Island in the South Shetland Islands to evacuate two passengers for medical reasons. The evacuation was a slow process. The ship sat in the bay for quite some time before a zodiac arrived from the Chilean base onshore. It came with a boatload of people, all but two of which went inside from the little dock that folds out from the side of the ship. Two stayed with the zodiac along with 3 ship’s crew on the dock. Eventually one of the patients came out. The one wrapped in a blanket was the only way to tell it was the patient as they did come out under their own power rather than carried or rolled on a stretcher. The zodiac left with about half the people it came with and the one patient. The captain announced that it would return for the other one and it would be 45 minutes to an hour before the ship could get underway again. We were asked not to take photos or videos of this zodiac or any of the evacuation procedure.

Presidente Eduardo Frei Montalva base on King George Island

People were brought the Chilean base because it has a 1,300m long airstrip where a plane would come later that day to take the evacuees to a hospital in Chile. The base is called Presidente Eduardo Frei Montalva. It’s permanently occupied. Its airstrip provides a lifeline for personnel and supplies for many other Antarctic bases and research stations. The two medical evacuees were the only people from our ship to set foot on land in Antarctica, but I’m sure they wished they hadn’t as their medical situation would have to be pretty dire to evacuate them there.

lighthouse near the Chilean base

This was the second place on this cruise we went to that is not on a normal cruise ship schedule and where even the captain and crew had not been before. The first was cruising through some unnamed scenic fjords in Chile while evading a windstorm earlier in the cruise before the ship went to Antarctica.

Elephant Island

We finally made what had been the intended destination for the day at Elephant Island in the early evening. Conditions were windy and stormy with fairly high seas, fog, and a bit of snow. Much of Elephant Island was invisible in a fog bank, but we did see a bit when we first got there and we got close enough at Point Wild to see where Ernest Shackleton’s ill-fated Endurance expedition ended up.

Point Wild

After having been trapped in the ice in the Weddell Sea for 11 months their ship broke up and sank so the 28 men escaped in 3 lifeboats eventually making landfall on Elephant Island after having floated on an iceberg for 5 months. Knowing rescue was unlikely a few of them set out in one of the boats for a 800-mile journey to a whaling station on South Georgia Island. The 22 men left behind used the two remaining lifeboats overturned for shelter and lived on penguins and seals with a small blubber burning stove for 4 1/2 months awaiting rescue.

statue on Elephant Island (and penguins)

There is a statue there of Captain Luis Pardo who eventually rescued them in 1916 after Shackleton’s several failed attempts. We followed the route of Shackleton’s lifeboats along the coast of Elephant Island. Although visibility was poor due to our stormy conditions and high winds we were told it was worse when they arrived.

map of our actual journey

After passing Point Wild our ship turned north and headed toward our next stop at Port Stanley in the Falkland Islands with the Antarctica part of the journey finished.

Copyright My Cruise Stories 2026

 

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Fishing in Cabo

Posted on September 15, 2026 by LBcruiseshipblogger

Carnival Radiance anchored near Land’s end in Cabo San Lucas

When our Mexican cruise on Carnival Radiance had a port stop in Cabo San Lucas, John got together with a friend who happened to be vacationing there at the same time to go fishing. I opted for a snorkel excursion instead because I’d rather look at fish than catch them. This blog is his fishing story.

Cabo San Lucas, a Fishing Destination

By John B

Cruises that stop at Cabo San Lucas Mexico offer some of the best sport fishing
opportunities in the world. Deep blue waters are close by and take just minutes to
reach from the marina allowing more fishing time. Anglers may choose to go for
marlin, sailfish, dorado, tuna or wahoo offshore, or choose a nearshore
experience. Nearshore fishing is by far the most affordable option and offers
excellent fishing for roosterfish, jacks and other nearshore species.

panga crew

Our cruise stopped at Cabo at the same time a good friend, Sydnee, happened to
be vacationing at a local resort. Since my wife, Lois, had chosen a snorkel excursion (because he was fishing and I didn’t want to) and I had pre-booked a local panga for a half day fishing adventure I invited Sydnee to join me. Prior to the cruise I researched several fishing companies and settled on Sushi Time Charters. The half day aboard the panga
cost just $300, a bargain in my book. This price included gear, ice chest with ice,
licenses and bait for two anglers aboard a 24-foot panga for five hours.

shore tenders picking up passengers from the ship

Since all ships visiting Cabo must anchor and tender passengers to the port, I
made sure to get an early tender ticket to make sure to meet Sydnee on time
ashore. And keep in mind, this fishing adventure was not booked through the ship
so time management is critical to be on time for the private panga charter as well
as not missing the last tender back to the ship.

whale tail

After connecting with Sydnee, we met up with the Sushi Time Charters representative,
Juan Carlos. After handshakes he led us to our waiting panga crewed with a
captain and first mate. We boarded quickly and headed out past the Cape, rounded
the corner and headed a short distance to the fishing grounds. The captain wanted
to try for close in marlin first, and began trolling baits behind the boat. It was
obvious this must be the hotspot as several larger sportfishing boats were trolling
throughout the area. As a welcome bonus, several humpback whales gave us a
show, making this a combo fishing and whale watching trip.

Sydnee and the needlefish

Sydnee caught the first fish, a long, toothy needlefish that she kept. When asked about keeping fish, the captain explained about a fish processor in the marina who for a nominal fee would fillet and vacuum seal our catch. Since Sydnee was staying at a local resort with access to a freezer, she could easily freeze her catch and fly it home with her. Most cruise ship anglers would catch and release their catch and not have the ability to get their catch home.

John and a roosterfish

After an hour of trying for marlin and dorado, I asked the captain to switch to rooster fishing along the beach. Rooster fishing in Cabo is spectacular and super fun. Anglers hold the rod baited with a small baitfish trolled 50 to 100 feet behind the boat. Keeping a sharp eye on your bait is key as these strong fighting sport fish expose their fins as they attack
the bait from behind. Once hooked they fight like a fish three or four times their
size. Their fins resemble a big rooster’s tail feathers and explain their creative
name.

Sydnee and a roosterfish

I caught the first roosterfish and thoroughly enjoyed the fight. Sydnee caught the
second roosterfish and giggled with glee while fighting the fish. A couple times
both of our baits had roosterfish fins chasing our baits at the same time. We both
caught a couple of roosters and clicked a couple quick pictures before safely releasing them.

John and jack crevalle

We were trolling along a very steep beach in front of an under-construction resort
when something slammed my bait nearly yanking the rod from by hands. Wow I
thought as the fish pulled line from a tight drag, this must be a monster roosterfish.
A few minutes later a 30-pound Jack Crevalle appeared which explained the crazy
strong fight. We kept this fish because I had previously tried it while in Costa Rica
and liked the taste. Jack Crevalle has a stronger fishy taste but still good to eat
when properly cooked. After landing the jack we decided to end the trip a little early
as we both had caught several fish and we still needed to get the fish to the
processor.

this fish does not look happy

Overall, this was an incredible trip for a super reasonable price. I highly
recommend a private fishing trip in Cabo San Lucas. Sushi Time Charters can be
reached at sushitimefishing.com or email them at sushitimefishing@gmail.com.

Copyright My Cruise Stories 2026
Posted in Carnival, Day Trips, Guest Blogs, Mexico, Port Cities, Ports of Call, Radiance | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Shows on Holland America Niew Amsterdam

Posted on September 11, 2026 by LBcruiseshipblogger

Nieuw Amsterdam in Puerto Vallarta

Like most cruises the nightly shows on Holland America Nieuw Amsterdam were a mix of production shows with the ship’s cast and other shows with guest performers. Being a longer cruise there was a higher percentage of guest performers than you would find on a short cruise. The cast usually has 2 or 3 shows per cruise so if it’s a short cruise you don’t need a whole lot of other shows, but the longer the cruise is the more guest performers are required. We did not go to the show every night, but we did go to some of them. Some of the shows we skipped were because it didn’t sound that interesting and others because we just didn’t feel like going that night or had something else we wanted to do instead.

first production show

The first night’s show was called Humanity. It was the same show we saw on our last cruise on the Oosterdam. Cruise ship production shows in the past were generally uniqie to a particular ship, but apparently now Holland America has what they call the One Step Dance Company performing on various ships of theirs rather than the song and dance crew they used to have. The dance group had no singers. They had one show later in the cruise which had a singing part and they borrowed one of the ship’s lounge singers for that. There were 6 performers in the dance troupe. One of the male dancers was injured sometime during the show, but nobody in the audience knew it until the end when only 5 of the 6 dancers came out for accolades at the end of the show,

impressionist singer

The next show that we went to was a girl who did impressions of other singers and performed some of their songs. We thought we had really good seats because we had a full view of the stage, but soon wished we were sitting somewhere that blocked the top of it since there was an obnoxious bright white spotlight that kept aiming at the audience periodically and blinding us whenever she sang so we spent a lot of that show with our eyes closed. After that we made sure to sit in an area where the top of the stage where those lights were was blocked by structure in the theater so we could actually watch the shows without getting blinded by a spotlight in our eyes.

Cello the cellist

The next day’s show was a cellist whose last name was aptly Cello – or at least her stage name anyway. She actually played some rock songs on the cello and not just all classical music – with help from the ship’s back-up band.

production show

Somewhere along the line we went to the second production show. There were only 2 male performers that night so the injured one was still out. That particular show had parts involving each dancer dancing in a different colored spotlight. The lighting was obviously pre-programmed because there was one empty color whenever they did that where the missing dancer should have been.

theater show

Another of their guest performances came from a group called The Divos. They were billed as a Latin singing trio, though they tried to insert some comedy into their performance as well. The next one after that was a guitarist, but we didn’t go to that show.

last production show

Following that they had the third production show of the cruise. The female dancers each stood out in their own way, but the males were the type who just sort of blended in and could have been anyone so we weren’t sure if the third male dancer at this show was the original one who had been injured and was now back or if they had replaced him at one of the port stops with a new guy.

pianist

One night the show was a piano player. Or at least he appeared to be playing the piano. The background music was so loud we really couldn’t hear the piano at all for the most part so he could have just been wiggling his fingers above the keys for all anyone knew. Definitely would have been a better show if they had left out the background music and just had the piano.

Later there was either another guitar player or maybe the one we didn’t go to the other time did another show. Sometimes the guest performers do stay on the ship long enough to do two shows. He was supposed to be a guitar player anyway. He spent a lot more time talking than actually playing the guitar so if it was the same guy we definitely didn’t miss anything by not going to his show the first time around.

comedy magician

The next show was a comedy magician. Comedy and magicians can both be kind of hit and miss as to whether the show is worth watching or not. Sometimes they are really good. sometimes OK, and other times really awful. This one was pretty entertaining.

The last show that we went to was a singing group. They were not memorable for being either good or bad, just kind of there.

Copyright My Cruise Stories 2026
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Visiting Australia’s Blue Mountains with Locals

Posted on September 7, 2026 by LBcruiseshipblogger

view from Hassans Walls

While visiting with our daughter and her and family in Australia one day a couple of the extended family took us out for the day while Sheri’s immediate family were all at work or school. We went up to the Blue Mountains, but to places locals know and tourists don’t always go. Not that the touristy places are bad because they are great, but it’s nice to see some lesser known and uncrowded places too. We’ve already seen main tourist attractions like Katoomba with Scenic World and the Three Sisters as well as Jenolan Caves, which are the major tourist attractions there. Not to mention a previous visit to another way out of the way spot at Glowworm Tunnel.

Blue Mountains Botanical Garden

We set off up the mountain toward Lithgow on back roads to avoid traffic on the highway. One hill is called Bell Bird Hill, or at least that’s what the locals call it because of the birds that live there who make a sound like the ringing of a bell. We have heard them before, but none were talking this visit.

view from a terrace at the visitor’s center cafe at Blue Mountains Botanical Garden

We made a stop at a lookout point where we could see all the way to Sydney. Smoke in the distance came from a small bush fire in the grass at Londonderry, which had burned about 65 hectacres. It is near Penrith, but not in the area of it where we have gone. The previous day’s record heat of about 100 degrees F and high winds left dozens of small bush fires burning around the state with about 10 still going the next day. Besides the distant fire, the other bad thing at that lookout was all the garbage people had thrown over the railing even though there were garbage cans at each end of the small viewpoint. I don’t know what is wrong with people that think they need to throw their garbage everywhere, but it certainly happens in most areas of the world.

shade canopy tree

We made a short stop at Blue Mountains Botanical Garden at Mt. Tomah, which would be a nice place to spend more time and explore. It has quite a lot of gardens and a visitor’s center with a little gift shop with some interesting merchandise and a little café. The terrace out back of the café has a view looking down the mountain and across a valley to more mountains. The shade roof of that terrace is made from branches of live trees growing up from the sides of the terrace and spreading out through a structure above.

echidna

We took some country lanes and dirt roads out to where we had seen some emus in the wild on a previous visit, but didn’t spot any emus this time. We did see a couple camels in a cow pasture, but they were too far from the road for photos. On a little dirt road we saw an echidna running along the side of the road and stopped to take some photos of it. It did not want anyone to see its face and kept that hidden other than too brief of a glimpse to get a photo, but we did at least get some echidna pictures. Apparently it is rare to spot one in the wild so getting to see that was a real treat.

main walkway at Hassans Walls

We made a view stop at Hassans Wall, which has a little picnic shelter and some viewpoints. It is the highest lookout in the region. The main walkway is a fully fenced paved walkway out to a viewpoint with a picnic table and views overlooking the surrounding area.

where the main pathway used to go out farther

From there you can see a fence where it used to go out farther, but they have made it more contained in order to keep people from jumping off to commit suicide which was a problem in the past, though if somebody really wanted to climb over it they could. From that path you can also see a fence by a smaller less obvious path that isn’t as noticeable from the parking lot as the main one.

parallel paths on the small trail

The smaller less obvious path is a natural trail that looks like it was partly made from water rushing over stone. Part of it has couple of little parallel paths that are both stone and dirt with sort of natural stairsteps in some of the stone. They join together and lead out to a rocky prominence with a little hole in it.

hole in a big rock

If you go through the little hole you end up in a small cave with a big view. It has a fence across the view side which would otherwise be a direct opening to a very long way down for anyone who took one step too many. The inside of the little cave had a lot of graffiti. People have no respect for nature.

coming into the cave

From inside the cave you can see the paved pathway if you look off to one side.

view of the main pathway from the cave

We had lunch at a little Chinese café in Lithgow. It’s a nice clean town now, but in the past it was a coal mining and railroad town choking in coal smoke. The oldest houses are small, but there are bigger newer ones.

view from the cave

Other interesting things near Lithgow include the zigzag railway, once a mining track, but now a tourist attraction with steam trains, Blast Furnace Park which was once a steel production facility, and Black Fellows Hands Reserve which has aboriginal rock art believed to be thousands of years old. Lithgow also has some museums. Lithgow is the last stop for Sydney’s electric passenger trains Blue Mountain line. There are trains that go farther, but not the electric trains that serve Sydney and its suburbs.

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