Author Archives: LBcruiseshipblogger

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About LBcruiseshipblogger

MyCruiseStories blog tells stories about adventures in cruising on ships big and small. Things to do onboard and in port. Anything connected to cruising. Also food, travel, recipes, towel animals, and the occasional random blog.

Seattle Cruise Ship Ports

Posted on January 27, 2026 by LBcruiseshipblogger

Seattle Seattle is the largest city in Washington State with a population of over 800,000. It’s nickname is the Emerald City due to the abundance of year-round greenery. Washington is called the Evergreen State due to its native evergreen trees. … Continue reading →

Posted in Carnival, Port Cities, Ports of Call, Washington, USA, Luminosa | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Saint Lucia Cruise Port

Posted on January 23, 2026 by LBcruiseshipblogger

Saint Lucia is an independent country, but also a member of the British Commonwealth. It’s a volcanic Caribbean island in the Lesser Antilles with reefs, rainforests, and waterfalls. The capital is Castries, the official language English, and currency the east … Continue reading →

Posted in Caribbean, Enchanted Princess, Ports of Call, Princess | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Food on Viking Skirnir

Posted on January 16, 2026 by LBcruiseshipblogger

Some of the food on our European river cruise on Viking Skirnir was quite good, but some not so much. Partly that’s the food, but sometimes it’s a matter of opinion. For example, the veggie burgers that were on the … Continue reading →

Posted in Cruise Food, Europe, Skirnir, Viking | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Back on Symphony of the Seas

Posted on January 13, 2026 by LBcruiseshipblogger

I was last on Royal Caribbean’s Symphony of the Seas when cruise ships first started sailing again right after covid. At that time there were far less passengers onboard than what the ship can actually carry. Not so much this … Continue reading →

Posted in Caribbean, Royal Caribbean, Symphony of the Seas | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Punta Arenas, Chile Cruise Port

Posted on January 9, 2026 by LBcruiseshipblogger

Punta Arenas, Chile Punta Arenas lies on the Strait of Magellan near the tip of southern Patagonian Chile. It’s often a starting point for those heading to Antarctica. It has a population of over 145,000 and is the coldest coastal … Continue reading →

Posted in Holland America, Oosterdam, Port Cities, Ports of Call, South and Central America | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Cartegena Cruise Port

Posted on January 2, 2026 by LBcruiseshipblogger

Cartagena, Columbia Cartagena’s tourist draws include the 16th century walled old town and its beaches. Temperatures in Cartagena generally stay with lows in the mid to high 70’s F to highs in the high 80’s to low 90’s year-round. Annual … Continue reading →

Posted in Holland America, Nieuw Amsterdam, Port Cities, Ports of Call, South and Central America | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Amsterdam Canal Light Tour

Posted on December 31, 2025 by LBcruiseshipblogger

There are a lot of canal tours available in Amsterdam in a variety of tour boats. We saw a lot of the sort we went on in Copenhagen with the glass tops and sides that hold a whole lot of … Continue reading →

Posted in Day Trips, Europe, Skirnir, Viking | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Nuku Island and Swallow’s Cave Snorkel Excursion

Posted on December 26, 2025 by LBcruiseshipblogger

I was happy to see that Holland America’s information on our transpacific cruise on the Noordam for this excursion from Vava’u, Tonga specified reef-safe sunscreen and that there was no mention of insect repellent. So many snorkel excursion instructions say … Continue reading →

Posted in Holland America, Noordam, Pacific Ocean & Islands, Ports of Call, Shore Excursions | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

European Christmas Decorations

Posted on December 24, 2025 by LBcruiseshipblogger

Throughout the areas in Europe where Christmas markets flourish, those markets provide a lot of festive decoration for the areas where they reside. Some of them get quite creative. Even the market stalls are sometimes festive. Nearly every Christmas market … Continue reading →

Posted in Europe, Port Cities, Ports of Call, Skirnir, Viking | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

Mini Suite on Enchanted Princess

Posted on December 19, 2025 by LBcruiseshipblogger

At close to 300 square feet, a mini suite on Enchanted Princess is much bigger than the standard balcony cabin. There’s a curtain that can be pulled across between the bed and couch areas. That comes in handy if there … Continue reading →

Posted in Enchanted Princess, Princess | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments