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.

Snorkeling With Whales

Posted on December 20, 2024 by LBcruiseshipblogger

Our trans-Pacific cruise on Holland America Noordam made an overnight stop in Tahiti. We had no set plans on the day we arrived, so we took a last-minute island tour that was available through locals at the port. For the … Continue reading →

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

Antigua Cruise Port

Posted on December 13, 2024 by LBcruiseshipblogger

Antigua is a coral-reefed Caribbean island in the Leeward islands of the Lesser Antillies. Despite the spelling, it is pronounced An-tee- ga as if there were no u. English is the official language. The climate is warm, tropical, and drier … Continue reading →

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

Zaandam Cabins

Posted on December 6, 2024 by LBcruiseshipblogger

Standard cabins on most cruise ships include inside, ocean view, balcony, and suite, often with variations within each category – especially the suites. On the Zaandam, one of those categories is missing. That is balcony cabins. On this ship balconies … Continue reading →

Posted in Holland America, Shipboard Life, Zaandam | 2 Comments

Shows on Enchanted Princess

Posted on November 29, 2024 by LBcruiseshipblogger

The main theater on Enchanted Princess has no balcony like most cruise ship theaters. The seating nearest the stage has no slope to it so if you are down near the front, but not in the very front the view … Continue reading →

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Afternoon Tea at Butchart Gardens

Posted on November 28, 2024 by LBcruiseshipblogger

Butchart Gardens is a sprawling public garden on Canada’s Vancouver Island north of Victoria. People with cruise ship port stops in Victoria usually have a variety of excursions to Butchart Gardens among the excursions offered for Victoria. It may be … Continue reading →

Posted in Canada, Day Trips, Port City Side Trips, Randoms | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

The Photo Package

Posted on November 22, 2024 by LBcruiseshipblogger

As far as posing for pictures goes, cruising with my sisters is quite the opposite of cruising with my husband. When it’s just the two of us we avoid photographers like the plague, but when cruising with my sisters we … Continue reading →

Posted in Alaska, Quantum of the Seas, Royal Caribbean, Shipboard Life | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Other Christmas Island

Posted on November 15, 2024 by LBcruiseshipblogger

Christmas island is most known for the annual breeding migration of its red crabs, which occurs each summer as the crabs take 4-5 weeks to migrate to their spawning grounds. This happens during what residents of the northern hemisphere would … Continue reading →

Posted in Holland America, Noordam, Pacific Ocean & Islands | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Saint Kitts Island Tour

Posted on November 8, 2024 by LBcruiseshipblogger

We hadn’t made any pre-cruise plans for the Saint Kitts port stop on our Caribbean cruise on the Enchanted Princess. One of the couples we had dinner with said their daughter and son-in-law lived on a sailboat and would be … Continue reading →

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

Juneau Whale Watching

Posted on November 1, 2024 by LBcruiseshipblogger

On the way to Juneau, Holland America Zaandam was scheduled to visit Tracy Arm. This is the third Alaska cruise I’ve taken that was scheduled to go into Tracy Arm. Besides being later in the season than the first two, … Continue reading →

Posted in Alaska, Day Trips, Holland America, Port Cities, Ports of Call, USA, Zaandam | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Halloween on the Noordam

Posted on October 31, 2024 by LBcruiseshipblogger

Our 34-day pacific crossing on Holland America Noordam from San Diego to Sydney didn’t originally include Halloween. Not because of the time of year, but because of the timing of crossing the international dateline.  This cruise actually crossed the international … Continue reading →

Posted in Holland America, Noordam, Shipboard Life | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments