Cruise Stories

Cologne Walking Tour

Posted on November 6, 2026 by LBcruiseshipblogger

buildings near the river in Cologne

Cologne, Germany

Cologne is a city on the Rhine River in Germany with a population of over a million people. The town’s major landmark is a twin-spired gothic cathedral. Construction on the cathedral began in 1248, but the final stage wasn’t complete until 1880. Museums in Cologne include a Lindt chocolate museum. There are other museums and an old town area as well as a zoo and botanical garden. Average temperatures range from winter lows in the 30’s F to summer highs in the 70’s F. Winter snows come frequently, but rarely accumulate much. Snow is most common in January. Cologne averages nearly 28 inches of rain annually with just over 180 days of precipitation over 0.1mm. March is generally the driest month and August the wettest. Much of the city was destroyed during World War 2 and a lot of that was razed rather than restored as in some of the previous cities we visited. There are still some old buildings that survived or were rebuilt and an old town area with cobblestone streets near the Rhine River where the river cruise boats dock.

a ship docked in Cologne

Cologne River Cruise Port

Ships in Cologne dock at the edge of the Rhine River, which runs right through town. It’s just a short walk to the gothic cathedral and many stores. Nearby bridges allow easy crossing to the other side of the river and a promenade runs along the riverbank. We were warned to watch out for bicycles and electric scooters on the promenade as those will go speeding by. Supposably they will run into people who get in their way, but we never saw anyone get hit. We were also warned to watch out for pickpockets, but did not run into any of those either.

parrots in a tree

Oddly enough considering the cold climate in Cologne the trees by the river were full of little green parrots. These tropical birds descended from birds imported for zoos, but now live in wild flocks that thrive and multiply despite the cold weather.

street in Cologne

Cologne Walking Tour

In Cologne the included tour for our cruise on Viking Skirnir was a walking tour of the town. For all of the previous tours we had mainly been assigned to group B, with one tour in group A and one in group C. This time we were in group E. The only letter beyond E in Cologne was L, which is the leisure group that does shorter, slower tours for people with walkers, wheelchairs, or other mobility issues.

river view from the Ferris wheel

Guides on our previous tours from this ship had sometimes been overly thorough with their talks, but pretty well kept pace with other guides on the same tour as they moved through whatever area or attraction we were visiting. This one not so much.

The day started out rainy, but the rain did not last too long once the tour started. It was mostly foggy with a few snowflakes and an occasional gust of wind. With temperatures in the mid 40’s F it was warmer than a lot of the previous tours, though definitely not what anyone would call warm. In this port the tour left on foot straight from in front of the ship.

ice skating rink at a Christmas market

Our group started off ahead of most others and made it the couple blocks to the first Christmas Market fairly quickly. There are a lot of Christmas markets in Cologne. We stopped there for awhile while the guide talked about that market and its skating rink, a nearby statue, and whatever else came into her mind before moving on about half a block to the far corner of the same market.

Christmas market

There she started an endless spiel, the only useful information from which being that there is an underground in Cologne from when much of the city was razed after bombings in World War 2 that destroyed a large portion of the city, though not its towering gothic cathedral which survived. She said most access to the underground was closed off, but under the cathedral people could see some of the excavations.

endless view of this corner

Sandwiched in between useless info that pretty much went in one ear and out the other (literally in one ear as everyone wore quietvox boxes with just one earpiece) she mentioned that she had to come up with enough things to say to fill the two hours of our tour. All of the previous tours hadn’t had more than 45 minutes to a maximum of 1.5 hours of walking time so if there were not enough things to see in Cologne to make the tour longer it seemed a bit odd that it would last so long.

Meanwhile as we stood at that corner wondering if we were ever going to move on, all of the other groups from the ship passed us by and went elsewhere. When group L, the leisure group that is supposed to take a slower, shorter tour than everyone else passes you by and disappears out of view that’s when you know for a fact that you got the worst guide.

Cologne Cathedral

We have noticed on ocean cruises when there are tours with more than one bus that the best guide always goes to the first bus and they get less and less accomplished with each subsequent bus. If you get stuck on the last one to leave which we refer to as the straggler’s bus it’s nearly always a horrible guide. Apparently the same goes for getting assigned a group far down the alphabet on a Viking river cruise. At least in this case anyway – minus the bus. People from a different group said they had a great guide.

Cologne Cathedral

After the leisure group went by more time passed. Our guide still droned on and on at the same corner saying nothing of interest, just whatever random things popped into her head. Most had nothing to do with anything to see in that city. We got tired of waiting to go somewhere else and see something. We decided to bail from the group and just walk around on our own, along with another guy from the ship who came with us. Passing through several Christmas markets along the way, we made it to the gothic cathedral. At that time some of the market stalls were just starting to open while others hadn’t opened yet. There was no crowd so it was easy to see what any of the open ones had.

inside the cathedral

The cathedral was massive and had many gorgeous stained-glass windows with intricate details inside. It also had towering pillars as gothic style churches are made to appear as if they are reaching skyward toward the heavens with high pointed arches. The church was not crowded when we went in, but there was a line of people waiting to enter when we came out. As previously mentioned, this UNESCO world heritage site was spared from bombing in World War 2 even though much of the city was destroyed.

pipe organ in the cathedral

Like many of the old European churches, this one had a massive pipe organ.

a bit of the excavation you can see for free

Next to the outside of the church a stairway leading to the water closets (AKA restrooms) also led to the entrance to the underground excavations. There was a small bit of it just inside the door, then a tunnel going further inside after which there was a pay station if you wanted to see any more. Not wanting to pay the fee we settled with just seeing the one free bit of excavation, though it would have been nice to see more.

view of Cologne from the Ferris wheel

Making our way back through the markets toward the ship was slow going whether we wanted to look at anything in any of the stalls or not because by then there was a crowd – which would have gotten even worse by the time the tours ended. It was a Saturday, which is a very busy day for Christmas markets.

view of the Ferris wheel from the ship

The ship stayed at that port longer than usual so we went back out again later in the afternoon. Down the promenade a bit from where we docked there was another Christmas market next to the river. The Lindt Museum was there and also a giant Ferris wheel. The market was very crowded and the line for the museum ridiculously long.

waiting to get on the Ferris wheel

We had to fight our way through a solid crowd of people and across a bridge to get anywhere near the entrance to the Ferris wheel, but we finally made it. Once we got there the line wasn’t bad so we didn’t have to wait too long before we got on. It was getting dark while we were on the Ferris Wheel so we got some night shots while we were up there. The view was excellent from the top.

miniature castle

There was a miniature castle at the Christmas market with the Ferris wheel, and a good view of it from the wheel.

Copyright My Cruise Stories 2026

Posted in Europe, Skirnir, Viking | Tagged Cologne, Germany, photos, river cruise, Skirnir, travel, Viking | Leave a comment

Royal Princess After Drydock

Posted on November 1, 2026 by LBcruiseshipblogger

Royal Princess in Cabo (before drydock)

Royal Princess went into drydock at the end of October in 2027. Changes were made during that time to some cabins and to some of the public spaces on the ship.

large balcony with metal wall

Not all of the changes to Royal Princess are physical. Some of the stateroom categories are scheduled for a classification change. None of this is beneficial to the passengers. It’s just a way for the cruiseline to extract more money out of people. The room we had was classified as obstructed view balcony when we booked. It has an oversized balcony with a metal wall instead of plexiglass under the railing. Because of that those few cabins on either side of the front of deck 8 booked for less money. There aren’t very many of them, just 5 on each side of the ship, but it was a great deal for anyone managing to book one since you got a room with a large balcony at a lower price than the ones with the regular sized one. Under the new classification the price for these rooms will increase.

used to be the retreat, now part of the Sanctuary Club

Another change that affects a whole lot more people is the former retreat area. It was a really nice free adults only sundeck with a pool, hot tubs, and pergolas for a bit of shade. It has now joined with the sanctuary in becoming a private area reserved for people who book their new class of sanctuary rooms. The sanctuary area always cost extra, but previously anyone could buy a pass to go there rather than it being reserved just for specific rooms who will of course pay extra for the privilege of using those areas. The once free retreat was one of our favorite hangouts on a previous cruise on this ship. Back then it had some nice shady cabanas people had to pay to use, but now the cabanas are gone. There’s some beach umbrellas scattered about that are new.

sanctuary club sign

The new sanctuary club area was open to all adult passengers during our cruise since sanctuary class wasn’t a thing yet when anyone booked this cruise, however it started out closed to everyone because they didn’t have it ready when we boarded. The part that was originally the retreat opened on the first sea day, but the part that was originally the sanctuary is still under construction. Full suites are all now part of the sanctuary class. Some mini suites are designated as sanctuary on the deck plan, but most are not. The people in sanctuary cabins also have a special dining room just for them and their own line at guest services.

laundries are half the size they used to be

One thing that will benefit a few people is the addition of 6 solo cabins, however this comes at the expense of space that formerly belonged to guest laundries. The ship does still have self-serve laundries available. That is something nice that Princess provides. A lot of cruiselines don’t have any self-serve laundries at all. The ones on Royal Princess once extended all the way through from one hallway to the other, but now they have been reduced to only one side of the ship. Each laundry only had 2 washers and 2 dryers. They had 4 of each when it went all the way across the ship. They could still have 4 in each laundry if they had replaced the current single units with stacking ones, but they didn’t. Besides having the size of the laundries cut in half, some were not open making even less laundry space available on a long cruise where people definitely need them.

bow pool

Some former crew cabins got converted to forward-facing guest cabins. Likely a disappointment to the crew members who previously occupied those cabins. At the start of the cruise a door at the forward end of the hallway on the starboard side of deck 8 had a sign with open times and nothing saying crew only. There’s a pool and a couple hot tubs out there, none of which had any water in them initially, though they did a few days later. Shortly after that the sign with open times was removed because that area is actually supposed to be for the crew, though with the addition of a couple passenger rooms into a hallway that once had a door marked crew only, they removed that door and neglected to put up a new crew only sign anywhere.

O’Malley’s Irish Pub

Rumor on the internet prior to the drydock had the Vines Wine Bar getting renovated into O’Malley’s Irish Pub, though nothing official from Princess showed that as happening and in fact some posts denied that it would. None of their official deck plans showed it, even the ones for cruises at future times. It did indeed happen though. The former Vines is now O’Malley’s. A lot of the deck plans including those on Princess’ website still showed it as Vines last I looked, though the deck plans in the onboard information on the app for this cruise did show it as O’Malley’s.

door panel

Boarding day was quite unimpressive for a ship where everything should have been in good working order considering it just came out of drydock. Or at least that’s what we expected, though some other people have said the cruiselines just use drydock to make changes planned well in advance rather than fixing anything regardless of how badly things need fixing. We got to our cabin and found that our medallions would not open the door, though they did work fine for scanning onto the ship or into the muster station or if we wanted to buy something. After an hour in line at guest services we finally made it to the desk and were issued key cards. Having the medallions so you don’t have to use key cards is one of Princess’ best features so that was a disappointment. More than 3/4 of the cabins in our hallway did not show names in the little panel by the door that first day, indicating that medallions did not work to open any of those rooms either. Needless to say guest services was a nightmare of lines all day. Later they got the panels to show the names which gave most people access to their rooms, but our medallions still wouldn’t open the door for a couple more days until someone came out to fix the individual panel to that cabin.

app

Medallions weren’t the only thing not working right. The ship’s app has issues as well. Off ship as long as I don’t log out when done using it at home I never have to log in, it just opens. Once onboard it logged itself out and then said my login info was wrong even though it’s the same login info that worked on the app before and still works on my computer. It let me login once with the booking number, then logged itself out and said that was wrong too when trying to log back in. It also logged John out of his normal login so he had to login with the booking number as well. It logged itself out after each use requiring a new login every time Soon the booking number didn’t work either, but logging in with the room number did. Mine stayed logged in longer that way, but logged itself out and was inaccessible when we were off the ship and his continued to log itself out after each use. Updating the app was supposed to fix that problem, but didn’t.

leaky cabin doorway

We were lucky that our main issue was the medallions not working to open the door for the first couple days compared some other guests’ problems. Some have no working AC in their cabins and this cruise is through a hot climate. More than one room flooded and I ran into a couple ladies wandering the ship in the middle of the night with pillows looking for a place to sleep because their cabin smelled so musty it made them physically sick. Our bathroom smelled a bit musty on boarding day and like sewage after that, but at least the smell is confined to the bathroom and not permeating our entire cabin. One cabin had a bucket in the doorway with water dripping from a pipe above. That was not the only leak. Sitting in a seat at the theater I first thought someone walking by spilled something on me, but then got another splash with nobody near and realized it came from the ceiling. After standing up to find another place to sit I noticed the seat was wet as well. A couple other seats in that area also had leaks above them and I got dripped on once while walking through the casino. The buffet sprang a leak too with several buckets sprawling nearly all the way across one of the aisles.

directional panel

There were also issues with some of the directional signs by the elevators which were dark sometimes and frozen to one screen at other times when people are supposed to be able to use those to locate things on any deck. When working they are quite useful.

elevator bay carpet

The carpet in our room was clean, but didn’t look new. Some people said they thought the ones in their cabins looked new. The ones in the cabin hallways looked the same as the last time we were on Royal Princess about 10 months prior, but the ones in the elevator bays looked new.

giant hole above the casino where there used to be a stairway

The thing that I hoped they would do most during the drydock was to remove the stairway from the casino to the shops and fill in the giant hole that served as a chimney for smoke to spread to the rest of the ship from the casino on the last cruise we took on Royal Princess. They did remove the stairway so they could fit in more slot machines, but left the giant hole. That turned out not to matter on this cruise though because they very wisely switched the smoking casino from the big wide open one to the smaller fully enclosed one so they can now keep the smoke contained within the smoking area. Hopefully that’s a permanent change and not just for this cruise. Once it gets to Australia there won’t be any indoor smoking as long as it is sailing from there because Australia does not allow indoor smoking on any cruises sailing from their ports.

new suite lounge

More changes to the ship this drydock included removing the library that used to have games as well as books. Now their daily schedule has times people can get books or games from one of the dining rooms instead of having a dedicated library where they can get those at any time. The internet room no longer exists. They also converted a space that used to be a wedding chapel which was open to anyone and a concierge for the suites into a fancy and really nice lounge for suite guests only. It even has one of those fancy coffee machines that makes all sorts of different coffees. A great addition for people in suites, but a loss of a public space for everyone else. Probably not a space a whole lot of people used much, but we did once host a duck exchange in the wedding chapel on Enchanted Princess.

Bellini’s

Bellini’s appears to have new carpeting and furniture, and there’s a new bar next to the International Cafe called Good Spirits at Sea.

hallway by Princess Live

Other changes included the finish to some of the walls in the hallways. It’s now very shiny by Princess Live (a theater and bar/coffee bar) and the furniture in the hallways of that area is new and different. There are also changes to the wall finish and new furniture in the adjoining area, and the photo shop was relocated.

gluten free muffins

As is usual on Princess, the food is good. Princess has one of the best buffets at sea with quite a variety of different food. On this cruise even their gluten free muffins were really good. They actually looked and tasted like real muffins and were nice and soft like a muffin should be. On past Princess cruises while most of the food was good, the gluten free muffins resembled hockey pucks in looks and were not much better in taste or texture so it was nice to have good ones this time. Hopefully that is a change to their recipe rather than just someone on this particular ship that knows how to bake gluten free food.

Although conditions on the ship haven’t been as perfect as we expected we’re still having a great cruise.

Copyright My Cruise Stories 2026

Posted in Princess, Royal Princess, Shipboard Life | Tagged after drydock, cruise, photos, Royal Princess, Royal Princess after drydock, travel | Leave a comment

Exploring Sydney

Posted on October 31, 2026 by LBcruiseshipblogger

Sydney Harbour Bridge and a harbour ferry

After our cruises on Carnival Luminosa and Carnival Splendor we stayed about a week with our daughter’s family in Australia. One day we went into Sydney with Hannah, who skipped school that day, or as they call it in Australia she wagged it. Australia has convenient public transportation with a network of trains, busses, ferries, and light rail. They all have a tap on tap off system for which people can buy single use tickets from machines at the stops, use the system’s opal cards which can be topped up at those machines or online if they run low on funds, or if you have a phone or bank card with tap to pay you can just use that. The enforcers that occasionally show up to check whether or not people paid can scan any of those things to see if people onboard have paid for their ride. There’s a big fine if you don’t pay. We saw them on a train once and on the light rail once in less than a week so they are definitely out there checking.

flower in the secret garden

We took the train into Sydney and just over the harbor bridge to the Milson’s Point Station. From there we walked to Wendy’s Secret Garden.

stairway in the secret garden

This garden was built by Wendy Whitley after her artist husband died. Her house and several others are in a quiet little area sandwiched between Clark Park, the harbor, and the garden. The garden runs along a hillside above the harbor not far from Luna Park.

table and chairs in the secret garden

It has some pretty large trees among the plants and trails and lots of little picnic tables. At the bottom there’s a fenced train yard between the garden and a pathway running alongside of the harbor.

antique sewing machine in the secret garden

There are some random things in the garden too.

bush turkey in the secret garden

Wild turkeys make the garden their home. These are Australian brush turkeys, commonly called bush turkeys. They were once food for aboriginals and early settlers, but are now a protected species because they were nearly wiped out in the 1930’s due to overhunting.

bridge view from the garden

The jacarandas were in bloom so we saw purple flowering trees everywhere. There was a nice view from the secret garden with the bridge and a jacaranda.

Luna Park

It’s a short walk along the waterfront from the secret garden to Luna Park, an amusement park by the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

view of Sydney Harbour Bridge from the waterfront path

There are great views of Sydney’s famous bridge and opera house from that area. It’s a different view of it since it’s on the opposite side of the bridge from Circular Quay where cruise ships come in.

Crown Princess in Circular Quay

We took a little ferry from a stop by Luna Park that goes to Circular Quay where there was a Princess ship in port. The ferries also go other places. It only cost $2 to ride the ferry so that’s a really cheap way to take a tour of the harbor. One of the stops had an excellent view where the opera house was centered under the bridge.

view of the bridge and opera house from the ferry

From the ferry we also saw a Disney ship at Sydney’s other cruise port, White Bay, which is not close to anything. It’s much nicer when the ship docks at the Overseas Terminal at Circular Quay, which is close to all sorts of things including trains, ferries, a botanical park, the opera house, the bridge, a historical area called the rocks, and stops for the hop on hop off bus.

random building not too far from the Barangaroo ferry stop

We got off the ferry at Barangaroo. From there you can walk along the edge of the harbor to places that include a museum and an aquarium. There were a lot of restaurants near the ferry stop.

view from the Pyrmont Bridge

We walked past all that to the Pyrmont Bridge in Darling Harbor, over that bridge, and on to the Sydney Fish Market. We could have just walked along the waterfront. We could see the museum and aquarium from the ferry stop. We did not see the fish market though. Google maps sent us on a long detour route by road so we didn’t realize how close it was until passing by where we could see the aquarium and museum from the bridge. There was a light rail stop somewhere near where we got off the ferry for another option in getting to the fish market, but we didn’t look for it.

Sydney Fish Market

The fish market was housed in an old building, but there was a new one under construction nearby with the move planned for not long after our visit.

definitely not buying that

The fish market had fish and other seafood people could buy to take home, but it also had a lot of restaurants. Mainly fish or seafood restaurants, but there was also a bakery, deli, and fruit stand. The bakery sold sandwiches as well as baked goods and the fruit stand had all sorts of fruit-based desserts as well as fresh fruit, smoothies, juice, and acai bowls. We had lunch there, but nobody ate fish. John had a sandwich, I had a fruit smoothie, and Hannah had an acai bowl. The smoothies from the fruit stand are made with real fruit, not sugary syrup.

emperor puffs

From there we took the light rail to Paddy’s Market, which is across the street from China Town. We picked up some Emperor Puffs in China town, which Daniel had requested since he had a test that day and was unable to wag school and come with us. Those are made hot and fresh behind a little window and are sort of a small cream puff with a custardy filling. Best eaten hot, but still good later.

bar at Paddy’s Market

Paddy’s Market had a new big bar taking up a lot of space in the middle and not so may stalls as when we had been there in the past, but it still had a selection of produce and a bunch of little stands selling clothes, souvenirs, phone cases, jewelry, and other sorts of things you find at haymarkets. It also had some large decor in the form of old trucks.

truck in Paddy’s Market

From there we took the light rail to Central station and returned on the train. It’s quite easy to get around Sydney and the surrounding area without a car since they have such a good public transportation system. They were the first in the world to have a tap to pay system where you could use your own phone or bank card on public transportation.

Copyright My Cruise Stories 2026

Posted in Australia, Day Trips, Port Cities | Tagged Australia, ferries, Paddy's Market, Secret Garden, Sydney | 1 Comment

Port Stanley, Falkland Islands

Posted on October 30, 2026 by LBcruiseshipblogger

view of the Oosterdam from Yorke Bay

Stanley, Falkland Islands

The Falkland Islands are self-governed, however they are a British overseas territory so the language is English. Money is the Falkland pound, which is of the same value as British pounds. US dollars are accepted, as are cards. At the time of our visit it took $1.25 in USD to equal one FKP but with the decline of the US dollar vs foreign currencies it now takes $1.32 USD to equal one FKP. Do not try to use Argentinian money in the Falklands. There are still hard feelings between the Falklands and Argentina due to the Falklands war in 1982. Neither country wants to see anything from the other. We were advised not to wear anything light blue or white while visiting the Falklands since those are the colors of the Argentinian flag.

hop on hop off bus

The islanders refer to their country as the Falkland Islands, as do English speaking countries. Some Spanish speaking countries call them Islas Malvinas. Stanley is the capital and only city in the Falklands. Phone and Wi-Fi service are specific to locals only so cruise ship passengers can’t get Wi-Fi on their devices there.

ducks in the water next to a waterfront trail

Average monthly temperatures range from around 9 °C (48 °F) in January and February to around 2 °C (36 °F) in June and July, corresponding with summer and winter. Since the Falklands are in the southern hemisphere the seasons are reversed from what people living in the northern hemisphere are accustomed to. The maximum temperature reached is around 24 °C (75 °F) in January, and the minimum is −5 °C (23 °F) in July. Annual rainfall is about 25 inches (630mm). There is some fleeting snowfall in the winter.

gift shop in the visitor center at the port

The Falkland Islands carry no national debt. Instead they wait until they can afford any new infrastructure before building anything, which mean it can take awhile to get things done.

tenders at the dock

Stanley Cruise Port

Port Stanly is a tender port. Ships anchor out in the bay with a view of the island, but not of the tender pier. Tenders arrive at a floating dock with a ramp up to the pier. There is a visitor’s center on shore by the dock. Inside there is a gift shop and information booth. Outside it had an old fashioned red British telephone booth with a working phone. There were more of them around the town. The visitor’s center also had restrooms.

visitor’s center at the port

Out in front of the visitor’s center there were a line of little booths with people offering last minute tours. Some of these tours went to Yorke Bay Beach. Penguins live there so people who want to see penguins but were unable to book a penguin tour through the ship may be able to get one on shore. We visited Stanley from Holland America Oosterdam, which spent enough time in port that we were able to take a ship’s tour, a last-minute tour from the port, and still have time to walk along the waterfront and visit some of the town’s attractions.

gentoo penguins at Yorke Bay

The penguins at Yorke Bay beach live in sand dunes. It’s a long walk through the dunes to see them. Especially from the hop on hop off bus where people have to walk up the long gravel road to the dunes before walking through the dunes. Taxi tours will take people much closer to a parking lot at the edge of the dunes, but you still have to walk on trails through the sand to see any penguins. You will get closer to the penguins with less walking on a cruise ship tour. At least on one the one that goes to Bluff Cove. I can’t say for any others for sure.

sea lions on a dock

The dock next to where the tenders came in had sea lions sleeping on it when we first got there, but they were gone when we went back to the ship.

information booth in the visitor center at the port

Things to do in Stanley

There are things to see and do within walking distance of the tender pier. There are a couple of pubs just uphill from the dock, and a restaurant within walking distance to the right. There are several gift shops and a grocery store within walking distance. If you go into the grocery store and see a long line at the cash register at the front of the store, go to the back. There are a couple more registers and some self-pay stations at the back that had no line at all while we were there – and there were about 30 people in line at the front.

Cannon at Victory Green

We were given a map of local attractions on the Holland America Oosterdam for our port stop there. Turning right from walking the dock facing shore then walking along the water from the pier takes you to most of them. Only the graveyard was to the left. Of the things listed on the map, all were right on the road closest to the waterfront except the government house, which was up a hill.

Christ Church Cathedral

The first thing on the map is Christ Church, which you can see from the port. It is the southernmost Anglican Cathedral. According to the info provided by the ship it is just a tenth of a mile from the port and is known for its stained glass, pipe organ, historic memorabilia and iconic whalebone arch.

whalebone arch

The whalebone arch sits in the churchyard and is made from whale jawbones. These jawbones are gigantic as the arch towers over any person standing under it.

mizzen mast at Victory Green

The next place on the map is quite close at about a fifth of a mile from the port. It’s called Victory Green and is a World War 2 memorial made up of things on the grass next to the water. It has some cannons pointed toward the bay. If there are any ships anchored out there you might be able to take a photo looking like a cannon is aiming at them. The featured item in that park is the Mizzen Mast of the 1843 ship SS Great Britain.

Saint Mary’s Church

At just under a third of a mile, St. Mary’s Church is not much farther. This one is a catholic church. It is smaller than the other church and was built in 1899.

Stanley Post Office

The Philatelic Bureau is across the street from the church, in the same building as the post office. The blurb on the ship’s map says there is a unique collection of rare stamps from the Falkland Islands, Antarctica, and South Georgia there.

wildlife exhibit at the museum

Next comes the Falklands Island Museum at about 4/10ths of a mile from the dock. It’s behind the building that is right next to the sidewalk. The first building down from the sidewalk is restrooms with a museum sign. The museum is just past that heading toward the water. There are a few large exhibits outside – an anchor, a propeller, and a giant harpoon. A row of shops and a café sit along the water’s edge. It is free to go inside the museum.

exhibit in the Antarctic room

The museum has exhibits of historic items of daily use as well as maritime exhibits, natural history displays, a display about animals native to the area, and an Antarctic room with a life-size model of a historic cabin. As with attractions everywhere, this museum exits through a gift shop. A pretty small one, but still a gift shop.

Stanley war memorial

The map says the government house is a historic residence for governors since 1845 with lush gardens, architectural revisions, and a significant role during the 1982 occupation. We didn’t walk up the hill to see it. The last thing on the map from the cruise ship was the Falklands War Memorial built through public effort commemorating the British soldiers and Falkland citizens who died in the 1982 war. It was fairly close to where you would turn to go up to the government house.

monument

Beyond that there’s a World War 1 monument, a towering structure with different figures on each side of the tower as well as on top.

solar system sculpture

Walking a little farther brings you to a solar system sculpture and a view of the remains of a shipwreck out in the water.

waterfront walkway

The solar system sculpture sits next to a pathway running along the water’s edge while the rest of the things were next to the road closest to the water other than the world war 1 memorial which was kind of in between. The pathway goes on farther for anyone looking for a longer walk.

Magellanic penguin

The water next to the pathway was very shallow and clear when we were there. We saw one lone Magellanic penguin in the water right next to the path. Also some ducks that dived under the water and were totally visible while swimming there. We were happy to see the penguin as we had not seen one of that type yet. It was the only Magellanic penguin we saw on the whole trip. We saw lots of gentoo and Adélie penguins in Antartica and king and gentoo at Bluff Cove and Yorke Beach, but just the one Magellanic penguin.

Copyright My Cruise Stories 2026

Posted in Holland America, Oosterdam, Port Cities, Ports of Call | Tagged cruise, Falkland Islands, Holland America, Oosterdam, photos, Stanley cruise port, travel | Leave a comment

Puerto Vallarta Boat Tour

Posted on October 23, 2026 by LBcruiseshipblogger

Puerto Vallarta beach and Malecon

Puerto Vallarta

Puerto Vallarta sits on Mexico’s Pacific coast in the state of Jalisco. It was once a very popular cruise ship port when a lot of ships did Mexican Riveria cruises. At one point most of the ships that sailed Alaska in the summer went to Mexico in the winter, but around 2015 Puerto Vallarta and other ports on that itinerary lost favor due to civil unrest and criminal violence. Cruise lines turned to other wintertime destinations. Following covid when all sailings stopped for a time, ships began to return to Puerto Vallarta and other former destinations. Puerto Vallarta is resuming its status as a resort town with investments in tourism infrastructure and attempts to increase safety. Although Mexico uses the peso, both US and Canadian dollars are widely accepted at tourist-oriented places in Puerto Vallarta. Many people there speak English as well as Spanish, especially those working in the tourist industry.

pelicans on a boat anchored in Puerto Vallarta

Puerto Vallarta has a tropical climate with dry winters and rainy summers. The average daily high temperature is 86 °F (30 °C); average daily low temperature is 70 °F (21 °C); average daily humidity is 75%. The best time to visit is during the dry season from November to April. Average temperatures during that time period range from lows in the mid-60s to highs in the low 80s Fahrenheit (18°C to 28°C).

Holland America Nieuw Amsterdam in Puerto Vallarta

Puerto Vallarta Cruise Port

Ships dock fairly close to town. There’s a duty-free store and some other shops at the port and shuttles to take people downtown. Water based excursions leave from the port rather than getting bussed elsewhere. Taxis and Ubers are generally readily available for those who want a ride to a beach resort that offers day passes or to other destinations they want to explore on their own. There are some things within walking distance including a marina, a beach, some shops, a mall, and a Walmart. For those who don’t mind a long walk the Malecon is slightly over 5 kilometers (just over 3 miles) away. It’s a 12-block seaside boardwalk with tourist activities and entertainment including art sculptures, bars, restaurants, street vendors and performers. Or they can just take the free shuttle since it is in the downtown area.

Marietas Islands

Ship’s Excursions offered in Puerto Vallarta from Holland America Nieuw Amsterdam included: Beach Resort, Best of Puerto Vallarta, Walking tour, Dolphin encounter, mountain retreat, sea lion encounter, dolphin swim, luxury sailing, sight seeing tours, tequila tasting, zipline, and snorkeling. We took the Whales, Wild Dolphins & Marietas Islands Snorkeling tour. We were not there during the right season for whale sightings.

Whales, Wild Dolphins & Marietas Islands Snorkeling

Cruise Ship Excursion Description:

TOP 3 REASONS TO BOOK

Banderas Bay’s profusion of nature and sea life

A catamaran cruise to the Marietas Islands

Snorkeling, kayaking and paddleboarding

ABOUT THE EXCURSION

Banderas Bay offers a sanctuary for a great profusion of nature and sea life. A motorized catamaran carries you out to the sheltered waters of the Marietas Islands — an ideal habitat for year-round dolphin encounters. These friendly, adorable mammals like nothing more than to swim alongside the boat and show off their athletic prowess.

The catamaran will stop long enough to allow you to explore the rocky caverns and archways of Marietas Island. Snorkeling, kayaking and paddleboarding gear is provided, or you can take an eco-tour around the islands.

Humpback whales are regularly sighted in the bay from December through March, leaping out of the water or noisily slapping their enormous tails on the surface. Keep an eye out for giant manta rays, sea turtles and multi-colored fish as well.

Lunch is served on board the boat.

Notes:

Tour operates approximately mid-December through April. Wear your swimsuit under your clothing; bring a towel, reef-safe/biodegradable sunscreen (no other kind is allowed in the water), light clothing to act as a full cover-up for further protection from the sun, and a hat. Swim at your own risk. Guests with a heart condition are not allowed to participate. Waiver must be signed and medical conditions disclosed. Wildlife sightings are likely but are not guaranteed. You will not swim or snorkel with wild dolphins on this tour. You will not land on the islands. Tour does not operate on Mondays.

Nieuw Amsterdam at the dock

Actual Excursion

It was nice that the instructions said to use reef-safe sunscreen only. It brings awareness to people who didn’t know that chemical sunscreens are harmful as well as protecting the places we visit on that tour. It used to be difficult to find reef-safe sunscreens, but now they are more likely to be available along with other sunscreens in stores. When we were in Hawaii reef-safe was the only type they had. Unlike cruise ship shops where I’ve only once seen any even though ships bring thousands of people into vulnerable areas daily.

on the tour boat

Our Whales, Wild Dolphins, and Marietas Islands Snorkeling tour met on the pier 15 minutes after the ship’s scheduled docking time of 7am for a 7:30 departure, which was a reschedule from the original 8am departure. After disembarking the ship people were told to go stand in the area of the port building marked with the letter B. It didn’t take long for a large group to arrive. It did take a bit longer before anyone came to scan key cards or phone tickets or to move us on to the next place leaving people to wonder why reschedule to an earlier time for people just to stand there waiting for something to happen. Meanwhile random locals came by with a blue macaw who sat on people’s arms for photos, though they didn’t seem to actually make any effort to sell those photos to anyone or even mention how to purchase them should anyone want to buy one. They were promoting some sort of charity.

excursion catamaran

Eventually we exited through a gate and walked a short distance to a small empty pier next to our ship. The catamaran was supposed to be there waiting for us, but it had gotten stopped because a Princess ship came in. It had to wait for that ship to dock before it was allowed into the port area. Finally it arrived. It was pretty big for an excursion catamaran, but luckily not full so people had space enough move around to other areas of the ship to take photos rather than being stuck wherever they first sat. Nobody had to spend the whole voyage out in the sun in the uncovered seats if they didn’t want to.

bird flying by the tour boat

On the way out to the island, which was a 22-mile journey, we were given instructions and snorkel equipment. Also life jackets, which were required for all water sports. When snorkeling I don’t even like using a deflated snorkel vest, let alone a life jacket. I find warm salt water quite buoyant and have far more difficulty diving under the surface than floating on top even without the use of any floatation devices, though that is not the case for everyone. Usually I bring my own snorkel gear, but since Linda isn’t that into snorkeling and had never tried kayaking we made that our priority, with paddleboarding second if we could do more than one thing since neither of us had ever tried to paddleboard. With snorkeling as a third option on this tour I didn’t bother bringing my own gear, which worked out for the best since we didn’t snorkel.

dolphins

Shortly after leaving the dock the crew passed out orange juice, coffee, and pastries to anyone who wanted any of those things while heading out to an area where dolphins feed. After traveling for some distance we came upon some bottlenose dolphins. The main guy who did all the talking said there are several dolphin species in the area, but those were the only ones we saw. After jumping around near the boat a bit the dolphins moved on and so did we. We also saw some turtles several different times during the tour, but none close enough for a photo.

birds on an island – mostly pelicans and boobies

The Marietas Islands are a sanctuary for birds so people aren’t allowed on the islands. They can be in the water next to them, though the marine species living there are protected too so touching anything in the water including rocks is off limits.

different sorts of birds of the area

As the boat circled around an island we learned about birds who live there. Mostly several species of boobies including blue footed ones. Also some about island history where they had once been used to test bombs. Prior to being protected people camped there and someone left without making sure to fully put out their campfire, which burned nearly all of the grasses on that island killing most of the nesting boobies and their eggs and chicks.

dive boat

We passed by a roped off area with people in the water whom we were told had been visiting a secret beach accessed through a cave in the rock. He did not say if they were actually allowed on that beach or just go through the rock to look at it since it is on an island where people aren’t supposed to go. There are also a lot of underwater caves in the area that certified divers can visit.

sea cave – not the one where people were diving

The boat stopped after settling on a place to snorkel. There were already some people from the Princess ship in the water there. Just as people from our boat were getting ready to go in, the Princess people hurried back to the boat they came on, desperate to get out of the water. It turned out hundreds of stinging jellyfish had just arrived on the current so we left since nobody wanted to snorkel with a bunch of stinging jellyfish.

avian escort

Other possible snorkeling sites near those islands also had jellyfish so we headed back to Puerto Vallarta. Along the way we saw several sea turtles and had an escort of birds. It started out with a mix of species, but eventually was just seagulls. They had one there called a laughing seagull, but there was another kind as well so the ones following our boat could have been either (or both).

tour boat anchored

Along the way they opened the bar with margaritas and rum punch, and served watermelon and cantaloupe. We stopped near a beach with a lot of high-rise buildings that were most likely hotels. Once the boat stopped they served lunch, which had sandwich fixins, green salad, pasta salad, potato salad, and cheesecake. People were allowed to snorkel there. That place also had some jellyfish, but not nearly as many so some people went snorkeling. Nobody stayed out long and when they got back on the boat some said that the water was kind of murky and had a warm top layer, but cold underneath.

kayak and paddleboard

Meanwhile the crew pulled a few kayaks and a paddleboard out from a hatch in the boat deck. Not a lot so apparently they expected most people to snorkel. We got into a kayak and paddled a couple laps around our boat and two others anchored next to it. It was fun. A different sort of kayak being open all across the top rather than just having holes for people to slip into. It wasn’t as comfortable to sit in as the other sort, but it glided through the water easily.

Linda in front of me in the Kayak

We went back after a couple circuits so someone else could have a turn. We didn’t try the paddleboard. There weren’t enough of them for very many people to try plus we didn’t want to risk falling off into jellyfish-infested waters.

cathedral and Malecon

After spending some time there we headed back to the port. First we had some scenic cruising past Puerto Vallarta’s Malecon and downtown area. Then the crew put on a lively show with different rock songs and costumes of the groups the songs came from.

crew show on the tour boat

Although the watersports didn’t go as planned due to jellyfish swarms it was still a fun excursion with lots of wildlife viewing, an entertaining crew, and a nice boat ride with drinks and lunch included. Even if nobody had managed to get off the boat for any watersports the crew still would have made it an enjoyable experience.

Copyright My Cruise Stories 2026

Posted in Holland America, Mexico, Nieuw Amsterdam, Ports of Call, Shore Excursions | Tagged boat tour, cruise, Holland America, Mexico, Nieow Amsterdam, photos, Puerto Vallarta, travel | Leave a comment

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

Posted in Carnival, Luminosa, Shipboard Life | Tagged Carnival, cruise, cruise ship cabins, Luminosa, photos, travel | Leave a comment

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.

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.

Posted in Carnival, Miracle | Tagged Carnival, cruise, cruise ship, Miracle, photos, travel | Leave a comment

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.

Posted in Caribbean, Majestic Princess, Ports of Call, Princess | Tagged cruise, Honduras, Mahogany Bay cruise port, photos, Roatan, travel | Leave a comment

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

Posted in Cruise Food, Princess, Royal Princess | Tagged cruise, cruise food, photos, Royal Princess, travel | 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.

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.

Posted in Australia, Holland America, Noordam, Port Cities, Ports of Call | Tagged Australia, Circular Quay, cruise, photos, Sydney, travel | Leave a comment

Cologne, Germany

Cologne River Cruise Port

Cologne Walking Tour

Copyright My Cruise Stories 2026

Copyright My Cruise Stories 2026

Copyright My Cruise Stories 2026

Stanley, Falkland Islands

Stanley Cruise Port

Things to do in Stanley

Copyright My Cruise Stories 2026

Puerto Vallarta

Puerto Vallarta Cruise Port

Whales, Wild Dolphins & Marietas Islands Snorkeling

Cruise Ship Excursion Description:

Actual Excursion

Copyright My Cruise Stories 2026

Copyright My Cruise Stories 2026

Copyright My Cruise Stories 2026

Copyright My Cruise Stories 2026

Copyright My Cruise Stories 2026

Copyright My Cruise Stories 2026

Recent Posts

Categories

Google Translate

Archives

Blog Stats

Email Subscription