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.

3 Island Tour in Venice

We spent three days in Venice prior to boarding the MSC Lirica. We had enough time to wander around and see things, and to take a gondola ride. On our last full day in Venice we booked a 3 island … Continue reading

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The Great Wall of China

Considering the distance from Tianjin port to Beijing, we booked a ship’s excursion to see the Great Wall. This all-day excursion started with a visit to the Summer Palace with a lunch stop at a jade factory between there and … Continue reading

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Aqaba, Jordan Cruise Port

AQABA, JORDAN Aqaba is Jordan’s only seaport and the largest city in the Gulf of Aqaba in the Red Sea. It is a free-trade zone with lower taxes than the rest of the country. People from elsewhere in Jordan don’t … Continue reading

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Cabins at Decatur Head

Decatur Island is a private island in Washington State’s San Juan Islands. There isn’t much public land, but it does have a public boat ramp and the beaches are mostly state property. There isn’t much access for anyone who isn’t … Continue reading

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Seabrook

Years ago while my kids were growing up, we used to take our horses to the ocean every summer. We stayed in Ocean City at a little RV park about a block from the ocean. Up a very small hill … Continue reading

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A Couple Days in Vancouver

VANCOUVER BC Vancouver BC has a popular cruise ship port with ships sailing mainly to Alaska docking there throughout the season. The port, called Canada Place, is a tourist attraction in itself as well as a cruise port. It’s also … Continue reading

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Coral Beach in Eilat, Israel

Eilat Isreal sits at the edge of the Negev desert, directly across an inlet from Aqaba, Jordan. MSC Lirica docked in the port next to giant cranes used for unloading the container ships that usually dock there. The port’s parking … Continue reading

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Decatur Head

Decatur Head sits on the east side of Decatur Island, connected to the main island by a gravel road and a stretch of beach, which makes it a tombolo. Its rocky hill rises about 200 feet above sea level. James … Continue reading

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Venice

Our last train ride on our pre-cruise trip through Europe before boarding the MSC Lirica went from Innsbruck to Venice via a change of train in Verona Porta Nuova. Luckily it was a long train because it was quite crowded. … Continue reading

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Summer Palace in Beijing

Excursion information from Holland America gives this history of the Summer Palace: Built during the Qing Dynasty and surrounded by grounds laid out by Emperor Qianlong as a place of retirement for his mother, this summer residence took on special … Continue reading

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