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.

Exploring Shimizu

We had just a short amount of time to spend onshore in our port stop in Shimizu, Japan. Holland America Westerdam had a brief port stop there mainly for the views of Mount Fuji, which can be seen from the … Continue reading

Posted in Holland America, Japan, Port Cities, Ports of Call, Westerdam | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

How to Fold a Towel Owl

The Towel Owl is a My Cruise Stories original towel animal. It’s cute, stands on its own, and not too hard to make. Supplies Needed to make a Towel Owl 1 bath towel 2 hand towels eyes and feet 1 … Continue reading

Posted in Towel Animals | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Aquarium Bar in Cozumel

Cozumel is full of little beach bars near the cruise ports. Most ships also offer a wide variety of shore excursions both on the island and on the mainland. When we stopped there on Holland America Veendam we walked around … Continue reading

Posted in Caribbean, Holland America, Mexico, Ports of Call, Veendam | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Cruise Ship Cabins on Royal Princess

Cabin categories are pretty much the same from ship to ship. Except when they’re not. Most ships have inside cabins, oceanview cabins, balcony cabins, and suites. Of course there are usually further divisions within some or all of those categories, … Continue reading

Posted in Princess, Royal Princess | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Décor on Explorer of the Seas

For anyone new to sailing on Royal Caribbean, Explorer of the Seas definitely stands out above the average cruise ship. The most notable difference is found at the center of the interior of the ship. Standard cruise ships tend to … Continue reading

Posted in Explorer of the Seas, Royal Caribbean | Tagged , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Hits and Misses on Carnival Vista

When Carnival’s ship called Vista first launched, it was not just a new ship, but the first ship of a whole new class – the Vista class of course. Vista is full of firsts. Some firsts for Carnival, some firsts … Continue reading

Posted in Carnival, Vista | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 18 Comments

Shimizu, Japan Cruise Ship Port

The port of Shimizu is located between Tokyo and Osaka. With Mount Fuji looming large in the background, views from the port are spectacular on clear days. Fuji is a registered UNESCO World Heritage Site. A nearby pine tree grove … Continue reading

Posted in Holland America, Japan, Port Cities, Ports of Call, Westerdam | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Boarding the Royal Princess

Princess did a couple things prior to our cruise that made me think if there are other lines offering the itinerary I want I’d sail with somebody else next time. We booked this cruise over a year in advance and … Continue reading

Posted in Port Cities, Princess, Royal Princess, USA | Tagged , , , , , , | 9 Comments

North Pacific Crossing

We started our journey on the Amtrak Cascades train from Washington State into Vancouver B.C. on a rainy day. The train was full of people traveling to various cruise ships, some for that day and some for the next. One … Continue reading

Posted in Alaska, Canada, Holland America, Japan, Pacific Ocean & Islands, Shipboard Life, Westerdam | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Lifou Cruise Ship Port

Lifou Cruise Ship Port Cruise ships visiting Lifou anchor offshore and tender passengers to the island. Lifou is the biggest of New Caledonia‘s Loyalty Islands. Our tenders from Royal Caribbean Explorer of the Seas landed at a barge on the … Continue reading

Posted in Explorer of the Seas, Pacific Ocean & Islands, Ports of Call, Royal Caribbean | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments