Butchart Gardens

Posted on September 2, 2024 by LBcruiseshipblogger

sign near the entry

Cruises from Seattle to Alaska generally make a stop at Victoria on the way back to fulfill the required foreign port. Most of these are late evening stops from around 6 or 7 pm until Midnight. Quantum of the Seas was scheduled for a bit earlier stop at 5 pm. On previous stops in Victoria we either just went out and walked around town on our own or stayed on the ship, but on Quantum we had booked an excursion to Butchart Gardens. It was a windy, stormy day, but there was a Norwegian ship docked in Victoria when our ship passed by, circled round, and passed by again. A wave splashed over top of the pilot boat as it pulled up to the ship. The pilot made it onboard, but together with the captain decided not to take the ship into port. I had not realized prior that ships ever didn’t make it into Victoria. Quantum is bigger than most ships that go to Alaska, and considering all the things we didn’t do on our cruise it may be too big for that area. Just to make things confusing to people not from the area, Victoria is on Vancouver Island, but Vancouver, the other nearby Canadian cruise port is not. There is also a lesser-known city called Vancouver in Washington State – all named after Captain Vancouver who explored the pacific northwest in the 1790’s.

map of Butchart Gardens

Later we went to Butchart Gardens on our own, taking the Coho ferry across the Strait of Juan de Fuca from Port Angeles to Victoria. We found a hotel right across the street from the ferry dock so did not have to go far with luggage after walking onto the ferry. There are actually 3 hotels just across from the dock and quite a few others in the surrounding area. Victoria’s inner harbour where the ferry stops is right in the heart of the touristy part of town, unlike the cruise ship port which is at Ogden Point on the outskirts of the harbour (spelled the Canadian way).

boar fountain with foal and donkey statues

Butchart Gardens is quite a ways from town, but it is not hard to get there even if you are there without a car. Tour busses are an option, but they cost quite a lot more than the city bus and don’t have as much freedom on the times you can come and go. Taxis are also an option, but the price is quite high for them. The city bus is a good option. It runs about every half hour through a lot of the day. Later in the evening it goes to more like every 40, then 50 minutes. The bus schedule for the garden is somewhat seasonal reflecting the garden’s hours since it stays open later in the summer. There’s also a bus stop close to the nearby butterfly garden if someone should want to go there as well. The bus has a stop right in Butchart Gardens near the entrance. It is bus 75 that stops in the garden, but when the bus is running at times when the garden is closed it skips that stop. It’s a short walk from the bus stop to the entry gates. There’s a ticket booth where people can buy tickets and get maps of the garden. People with pre-purchased tickets can skip that line and go straight to the entry scanners. You can buy tickets at the Visitor’s center in Victoria or online.

sunken garden

In the garden there are pathways leading to a variety of different gardens. The oldest is the sunken garden, built in a former limestone quarry shortly after the mine shut down. The garden now covers 55 acres. It began through the ideas of Jennie Butchart, wife of the owner of the former mine. The gardens are still owned and operated by the family, descendants of the original owner. They no longer live on the premises though. The former estate house is now the dining room that serves afternoon tea in a portion of it and houses offices in the rest. Besides the dining room, food is also available at another restaurant, a coffee shop, and a gelateria so people can spend the day there without going hungry.  Advance reservations are advised for afternoon tea, which can be made online.

fountain at the sunken garden

The sunken garden is the largest of all the gardens there. Most of it is on low ground since all the original rock was mined away, but there’s a lookout in the middle on a pillar of limestone that was not of sufficient quality for them to mine it. At the far end there’s a fountain, which changes if you watch it long enough. It gets taller and shorter and has sprays that twist around each other. When in season there are rhododendrons there among many other plants. A group of garden workers were replacing the flowers in one of the beds while we were there, something they do as needed all around the garden to keep it always looking nice.

even the trash cans have little gardens on top

All of the gardens have multiple flower beds. There are flowers everywhere. Even the trash cans have little gardens on top.

rose carousel

Not far from the sunken garden there’s an indoor carousel. It’s called the Rose Carousel, though it is not in the rose garden. There’s a small fee to ride the carousel. It has hand-carved animals, not all of which are horses. People can choose to ride all sorts of exotic animals on the carousel from big cats to ostriches, a camel, or even an orca among many others. The guy running it said the orca got the most attention though we did not see anyone ride it while we were there. The carousel is near to a pond with a fountain that said it was the fireworks viewing area.

wall lizard

We saw lots of little lizards in the garden. They are cute, but also a non-native invasive species called common wall lizards native to the sunnier regions of southern Europe. When a 60-s era roadside zoo closed down they turned a few lizards loose. Descendants of those lizards now number over half a million. Since these lizards eat bees they can be detrimental to anything requiring bees for pollination. Although some of the area’s animals will eat the lizards, they don’t catch enough of them to curb the population. The garden did have a lot of wild bees so at least the lizards haven’t eaten all of the bees.

dragon fountain

Near to each other on the map, but down separate pathways there’s a dragon fountain and a sturgeon fountain. As the names indicate, one has a dragon in it and the other several fish, though all of them are statues. There were some actual fish in a small pond in the show greenhouse near the entrance. The greenhouse is also home to some giant begonias and other flowers. People can look in through a viewing window, but not go inside.

rose in the rose garden

The rose garden is near the sturgeon fountain and the Dining Room Restaurant. It has many different types of roses, all with little signs saying the name of the rose, who that rose variety is attributed to, and the year it first came out.

the most memorable rose name sign, but unfortunately not in bloom so we didn’t see what Rosie the Riveter rose actually looked like

Not all of them bloom at the same time so only some of the plants had blooms on them. There were also other plants like delphiniums filling in space between roses in some of the gardens.

star pond

The Italian Garden is quite small, occupying a former tennis court behind the Dining Room Restaurant and next to the star pond, a large shallow star-shaped man-made pond.

bridge in the Japanese Garden

The Japanese Garden sits beyond the star pond and is the second biggest of the gardens. It has many pathways and pools winding through mostly shady areas. There’s a little rock garden and lots of interesting little details.

trees in the Japanese garden

On a hot sunny day the Japanese Garden is the place to be since it has a lot of shade.

stepping stones

It also has a pond with stepping stones.

boar scarer fountain

Other interesting features in the Japanese Garden include little bridges, archways, and a funny little bamboo fountain called a boar scarer where water flows into a bit of bamboo until it slaps down on a rock, then pops back up for another go. It does make a noise, but it’s hard to picture that actually scaring a boar since it would probably just get used to it.

cove with boat dock

The back side of the Japanese garden has a gate out to a little cove where people who come to the garden by boat can dock.

tiny teapot Christmas ornaments in the gift shop

Up near the entry area there’s a small waterwheel and a gift shop. There’s also a visitor center and the coffee shop. The gift shop has all sorts of garden themed items as well as ornaments and teacups. It also has some clothing items like hats, shirts, and socks. Quite an array of wall art is available there as well.

 

well at the rose garden

Although it’s not in town, Butchart Gardens is one of Victoria’s biggest attractions.

pond

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Kona, Hawaii Cruise Port

Posted on August 30, 2024 by LBcruiseshipblogger

Noordam in Kona

The city of Kona is on the big island of Hawaii. It sits on the island’s west coast, which is the drier side of the island receiving about 18 inches of rain annually while Hilo on the rainy side of the island gets about 130. The Kona district spans about 2/3 of the island’s west coast. The area includes lots of things including beaches, resorts, coffee farms, shops, restaurants, and historical landmarks. Popular things to do in Kona include snorkeling, diving, sailing, fishing, and wildlife watching for dolphins, rays, and sea turtles. Kona is well known for the coffee grown on its hillsides. Pure Kona coffee is quite pricey.

view of a tender near the dock in Kona from another tender

Kona is a great port for people who haven’t booked anything ahead of time. It’s a tender port. Right at the pier where the tenders come in there’s a booth where people can book all sorts of activities. They have a variety of land and boat tours, including a glass bottom boat or snorkeling.

Kona by the tender pier

The beach right next to the pier is open for swimming and snorkeling with ropes and buoys separating where boats can go and where people can swim so anyone who just wants a beach day doesn’t need to go far at all. There were some pretty good waves going the day we were there, but that didn’t stop people from swimming and snorkeling at that beach.

dog on a boogie board

A couple people even had a little dog riding on a boogie board. It would sometimes jump from one person’s board to the other. They attracted a bit of a crowd to watch, but seemed to be doing it for their own enjoyment rather than as a show because there weren’t any tip jars or other means of collection that would have been there if they’d been buskers.

sunrise on the Noordam

Besides the things that can be booked on the dock, there’s also a hop on hop off bus and options for last minute van or taxi tours. The sign at the booth included parasailing, but the guy at the window said that actually books through the hotel next door.

glass bottom boat in Kona seen through the back window of a tender

People can book a variety of things through outside sources before the cruise, and of course there are shore excursions through the ship as well. Our ship offered a zodiac wildlife tour, Atlantis submarine, zodiac snorkel tour, a couple food tours, a glass bottom boat, coffee farm, and highlights of Kona.

tender platforms on the Noordam

The water was a bit choppy on the day of our visit. Since Kona is a tender port the ship anchors a bit offshore and people are brought to the pier in small boats called tenders. They used the tenders from the ship on this port, which double as lifeboats, but are taller than the ones that are only used as lifeboats and have dual engines rather than just one. The tenders bobbed up and down semi violently at the ship, but not so much at the dock on land. One group on the little dock at the side of the ship got wet feet while waiting to board the tender when a big wave swamped the platform. Lucky for us we were already on the tender and stayed dry. It’s a pretty short ride from the ship to the shore at that port.

we saw dolphins from our balcony

We saw dolphins from the tender on the way back and also from our balcony on the ship in the morning while we were watching them drop the tenders into the water before tender service began. The ones on the way back followed behind the tender. The ones in the morning swam around the area next to the ship for awhile, then went straight for it, dived down under and disappeared, presumably going underneath the ship and out on the other side.

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Ocean Cay Lighthouse Climb

Posted on August 23, 2024 by LBcruiseshipblogger

view of the ship and lighthouse shadow from the top of the lighthouse

At just $10 per person ($9 if booked online pre-cruise), the lighthouse climb on Ocean Cay is the cheapest cruise-ship excursion I’ve ever seen – at least with that as the intentional price. We did once book one for $6.95 on Holland America, but that was because whoever put it on the website put the decimal point in the wrong place on an excursion intended to sell for $69.50. The website allowed the booking at that price and they did honor it onboard after expressing great surprise that we had found it so cheap. It’s not likely it stayed at that price on the website for very long. Unlike the lighthouse climb where $9 or $10 is the actual price, or at least it was at the time of our cruise.

guide pointing out interesting things at the top of the lighthouse

Sometimes an excursion that costs a lot turns out not to be worth nearly that much, but the lighthouse climb on MSC’s private island Ocean Cay, which we booked as an excursion on the Meraviglia was well worth the $10 per person it cost. The views alone would have been worth that, but we had an excellent guide. The quality of the guide can definitely make or break an excursion.

day and night at the Ocean Cay lighthouse

The red-and-white lighthouse stands 100 feet high, the tallest in the Bahamas according to our guide. It’s not solid. The outside somewhat resembles netting only a whole lot more solid. It’s laced with thousands of LED lights as well as spotlights at the top and bottom which produce quite a colorful lighthouse show after dark. What it does not have is an actual navigational light at the top. Apparently it is just for looks rather than function.

lighthouse show

There’s a bar next to the bottom of the lighthouse, which is a popular hangout for island visitors as well as a handy place to wait for the excursion to start. It has lots of tables and other places to sit, some sheltered and some out in the sun.

getting ready to climb the lighthouse

Once the group gathered at the bottom of the lighthouse the guide had people leave excess belongings like backpacks and beach bags on a handy ledge as they were too bulky for the climb, and safe there as the lighthouse is gated off and people are only allowed inside the fence for the tour. Next she asked if anyone was afraid of heights and made sure the guy that said yes was next to her for the whole way up. He did not have any problems along the way so either he handled his fears well or wasn’t bothered by the climb. Or just said he was scared so he could go first.

stairway up and down

A spiral staircase winds up the center of the lighthouse with 165 steps to the top. Along the way there are a couple platforms that circle around the inside of the lighthouse with 2 viewpoint openings each so people only have to walk up a third of the steps before stopping for a bit. Of course everyone whips out their phones or cameras at the stops. The guide gave us plenty of time for people to take all the photos they wanted from each viewpoint. She even took photos of everyone who wanted one of themselves along with the view.

viewpoint window

At each stop the guide gave people time to take their own photos, then took photos of anyone who wanted them, then spent a bit of time sharing information about the lighthouse, Ocean Cay, or neighboring islands and cays. Cay, quay, or key are usually all pronounced key. Keys and cays are small coral-based islands where a quay is a manmade wharf.

view from the lighthouse

Even from the foot of the lighthouse there’s some pretty spectacular views of the ship, island, and sea. The view only gets better the farther up you go. You can see more and more of the island until the whole thing comes into view. From the top you can see quite a distance in all directions. The guide pointed out which way to the nearest islands, the closest occupied one being Bimini. There’s a beach on the island called Bimini Beach because the next thing after it across over 20 miles of ocean is Bimini.

Lighthouse Beach

Ocean Cay was once an industrial sand mine, which created the island through dredging. MSC purchased the island in 2015. They cleaned up the industrial waste and planted grass and trees on what was a bare pile of sand. The surrounding waters have been classified as a marine reserve so fishing is not allowed in the area, nor is removing shells or rocks or anything else from the beach. They recycle everything on the island including food waste, which is used for fertilizer.

island view from the top

The biggest structure on the island is apartments for the workers who live there. Most of the cruise ship private islands we’ve been to are mainly staffed by crew from the ship, but this one had over 100 residents, all of whom work for MSC. The guide said she was lucky enough to have a private apartment, which meant she could have family come to visit sometimes. Workers who share apartments with another worker aren’t allowed to do that. She said plans were in the works for more apartments so all of the crew who live and work there will eventually have private residences. She also mentioned them all having homes elsewhere so they must rotate workers somewhat like the crew on the ship does. She said they are well paid and in the event of a hurricane MSC evacuates them off the island. The majority of them are from other islands in the Bahamas, but some come from other countries as well.

ship, dock, and lighthouse show

She said MSC had planted coral on a nearby tiny islet called Brown Cay, where they take snorkel excursions, but there wasn’t any coral at any of the beaches where we went on Ocean Cay. Perhaps offspring of the coral planted at the nearby islet will settle there in the future, which would in turn attract more fish and greatly improve the snorkeling from the small populations of tiny juvenile fish that are mainly what live there now.

guide at a viewpoint on the way up

The guide did say there is a turtle nesting site on the island, and that they put the baby turtles into the island’s lagoon to eat the jellyfish that like to congregate there. Whether either the turtles or jellyfish stick around long I can’t say because she didn’t mention it.

posing between spotlights at the top

The views get better with each section of the lighthouse climbed. At the top the viewing platform is open all the way around, other than the backside of spotlights within the otherwise open area every few feet. The view is still fantastic though. You can see the ship, the island, and the open ocean as well as nearby islands.

looking down on a school of fish from the top of the lighthouse

You can also see to the bottom of the water next to the lighthouse. We could see a school of fish just inside the shark fence at the beach closest to the ship, which is called Lighthouse Beach. Those were bigger than any of the fish I had seen at the other beaches we went to on the island. Our guide said they feed those fish so that explains why the big ones hang around there. She said they are friendly and that is the best snorkeling spot on the island so I went out there early the next morning since our ship overnighted there. Those fish will follow you around if you swim into their area. Probably hoping for food, but I didn’t have anything for them. The rest of the area around the lighthouse other than the swimming beach behind the shark net is reef that is not open for swimming or snorkeling. I don’t know if there is any living coral there.

down the stairs

Climbing the lighthouse kind of reminded me of climbing the Leaning Tower of Pisa, which also had a circular stairway, viewpoint stops along the way, and an open area at the top. Both were also an easier climb than the amount of stairs they have makes it sound like they would be. The lighthouse stairway was steeper and narrower – and metal rather than stone. The views were of course quite different, though awesome from either place.

end of the tour at the bottom of the stairs

Once everyone has all the time they want at the top the whole group goes back down together, which is done in one go without stops like on the way up. We hadn’t thought to bring money out to the island as you can buy things there with your key card, but luckily I happened to have a $20 bill in my camera case because the guide deserved a good tip and we were the only ones from the whole group who gave her anything. A lot of people probably don’t think about tips until they come down and then of course it is too late if you haven’t got any money with you. She was thrilled with our tip, saying it was the biggest one anyone had ever given her.

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The Things We Didn’t Do

Posted on August 16, 2024 by LBcruiseshipblogger

Quantum of the Seas in Juneau

There’s always things on a cruise that you don’t do, whether it’s stuff you aren’t interested in or stuff you just didn’t get around to doing. On Royal Caribbean’s large ships like Quantum of the Seas there’s even more stuff to do or not do than on smaller ships without such a broad range of activities. Since this was a cruise to Alaska we pretty much figured beforehand that nobody would want to use the flowrider, and none of us did. It’s fun on cruises to warm climates and some people on the ship did go on it, but there was just no motivation there for any of us to give it a go. We also never went into the casino when it was open. The ship’s website, app, and even the daily newsletters onboard said that the casino was non-smoking, but all of them neglected to mention that was only for cruises out of Australia. Jennifer mentioned wanting to try the rock-climbing wall, but never got around to actually doing it. The last time I tried one was on the Explorer of the Seas and I wasn’t even halfway up before the arm that I once broke inside the elbow joint started putting up a major protest. I made it to the top out of sheer determination. That whole arm was shaking by the time I came down so I never had the desire to try it again. It’s not damaged enough that anyone else would ever notice, but I haven’t quite got full range of motion with it and there’s some permanent nerve damage and loss of manual dexterity.

random people on the rock-climbing wall

Before the cruise we’d thought we might all try the escape room the website said the ship had, but never saw it listed anywhere in the daily activities. It may be something they sometimes run in the SeaPlex which has a variety of different activities scheduled at various times. The only thing any of us tried there was bumper cars, which was fun. They had laser tag and some other games there sometimes, but we never went to any of that. Whether they never had the escape room that cruise or we just didn’t look at the schedule thoroughly enough to find it I’ll never know.

the frame added to a random pro photo out on the deck in Endicott Arm says Dawes Glacier, but the ship turned around before it got there so we didn’t actually make it that far

Our cruise was scheduled to see Dawes Glacier at the end of Endicott Arm, but the ship turned around long before actually reaching the glacier. They never made any announcements or anything about it so people were left to think the ship was heading toward the glacier until figuring out for themselves that it wasn’t.

Skagway street car

There’s also things not on the ship that end up not happening. Cruise itineraries are never set in stone. They’re subject to getting changed before the cruise ever starts, or last minute due to circumstances like weather. Our original itinerary included a stop at Skagway where we had booked the one and only excursion all 6 of our group planned to do together on the entire cruise. It was a bus tour in vehicles that looked in the photos like large yellow versions of an old-time car. The itinerary got changed shortly before the cruise started due to a landslide covering one of the docks in Skagway. We ended up going to Sitka instead.

Butchart Garden

That wasn’t the only port we ended up not visiting. As we approached Victoria waves washed over top of the pilot boat, though the pilot still managed to make it onboard. Between him and the captain they decided it was not safe to bring the ship into the dock so we missed that port. Four of the six of us had booked a tour to Butchart Gardens, which also included a stop at a butterfly garden so we missed out on that. Up until then I didn’t realize ships ever missed the stop in Victoria. It’s the required non-USA port for most Alaska cruises that are round trip from Seattle. Perhaps our ship was either given a weather exception or sailed far enough into Canadian waters to satisfy the requirement.

butterfly garden

We did get off the ship and do something at our port stops, but fun as it would be, dogsledding was not one of them. It starts with a helicopter ride to a glacier where there’s snow enough for that activity, and anything involving a helicopter is never cheap. Dogsledding is one of the most expensive excursions offered in Alaska. However we have photos that make it look as if we did go dogsledding. One night they had a greenscreen photo stand with a big box where they posed people and then after they get done with those photos you’re suddenly in a dogsled instead of standing behind a box on a ship.

dogsledding without dogs or a sled or even any snow

We didn’t eat at any of the specialty restaurants either, but in the same location as the dogsled photos on a different night they had a booth set up in a giant chair outside of Wonderland and the photos from that day make it look as if we ate there. Especially since it happened to be formal night so we were all dressed up in those pictures.

Wonderland

Ships generally offer so many different options to choose from that most people will not do more things than they do of all the things available, but what you do or don’t do onboard is by choice. Having the itinerary changed before the cruise starts or missing a port is not. Missed ports are usually due to weather, but we have occasionally missed one because someone onboard had a medical emergency. Once a long time ago we missed a port because a ship’s backup generator didn’t pass inspection so it left the embarkation port a day late after waiting for a portable one – which it never needed to use, but rules are rules. The first day after that ship left port we overheard someone ask why we had to miss a port day instead of a sea day. Apparently they had no understanding of travel time or how long it takes to get from one port to another.

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Honolulu Scavenger Hunt

Posted on August 9, 2024 by LBcruiseshipblogger

Noordam in Honolulu

We didn’t have anything in particular we wanted to see or do in Honolulu, and the prices on most tours and activities seemed pretty high there so we booked a scavenger hunt through Vacations to Go. Other than the time we got an excursion in China for $6.95 each I think this was the cheapest excursion we’ve found at $30 for both of us, though more people could have come along without paying any more had we been with more people since one fee covered the whole group.

Aloha Tower

This was a totally online tour with instructions for where to set up the account at Urban Adventures pre-cruise and then to log into it at the port. They had options for either Honolulu or Waikiki, but since a taxi or Uber to Waikiki and back probably would have cost more than what we paid for the tour we picked Honolulu which we could walk to right off the ship.

this sign held the information for the first clue

It started at the Aloha Tower, which is less than a kilometer away from the cruise ship dock. What used to be a shopping center around the tower is mainly a university now, but there are still a few shops and restaurants there. Also an awesome ship view from the end of the wharf by the tower. Last time we went to Honolulu on a cruise we watched a Mexican navy sailing ship come into port. It docked by the Aloha tower and opened up for tours.  It was the exact same ship I had seen in Seattle once before. This time there were a couple Japanese ships docked there. They were not open for tours.

flower

The quest started with logging in by the Aloha tower and then finding information from a sign and then some nearby bricks, which was then each used to solve the puzzle for that place, after which you get a clue as to where to go next. The first one seemed to lead to a nearby dry fountain.

old maritime museum building

Some of the places were easy to find, like the marine center next to the Aloha Tower, which was closed the last time we were there and still is. It just wanted a color from that building to solve the next clue.

clues found here

That resulted in a short walk to a statue, followed by another short walk to the next statue. That one seemed to have impossible clues since the first clue for the location we were currently at spelled out a word that turned out to be the same exact word on a street sign just across the street, yet the site said it was the wrong answer.

Iolani Palace

Then it showed a picture of a building with two full stories topped by a small third story at the center and asked what had been added or removed in the picture compared to the actual building, which had an additional small story with a clock on it. Neither clock nor story were the right answer though, they wanted window. That additional story did have windows, but that’s not really what stood out about it. The answer to the next puzzle said to exit to the rear, which we took to be the rear of the building, but apparently they actually just meant turn around and go across the street – where the sign with the answer to the first puzzle was that their site insisted was wrong.

also Iolani Palace

That took us to the capitol building, but we couldn’t be bothered to look for the statue there and went back to the ship without finishing the quest. I guess we would not make good contestants for the Amazing Race. Then again if it was for money perhaps my husband would have worn better walking shoes and not gotten so cranky about the whole thing. I mainly booked it to get him off the ship and I guess he really meant it when he said he didn’t want to get off there since he got grumpier and grumpier at each stop and said he wasn’t having any fun, which made the whole thing not fun for me either. Not to mention we’d used his phone so I couldn’t finish on my own if he left with that phone.

fence art at the capitol

My advice to anyone trying this quest besides wearing good walking shoes is make sure that the phone you use belongs to someone who actually wants to do the quest, and who also is a good speller because it’s frustrating when you keep telling someone to change a letter and they say it doesn’t matter, yet the site keeps saying the answer is wrong until they finally give up and spell the word correctly. Little things like capitol, not capital because only one of those is a building and it does matter if you want it to accept your answer. It’s a good way to see some things near the ship that you might not otherwise know are there, but best done with people who actually want to do it. As it turned out I would have had more fun by myself where I could have finished the quest.

egret

My whole point in doing the scavenger hunt was just to get off the ship and walk around and see something. We did manage to do that so in that way it was a success. We saw some nice scenery, pretty flowers, interesting architecture, and even a bit of wildlife along the way. Also lots of statues and some interesting buildings we would not have found otherwise.

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Posted in Holland America, Noordam, Pacific Ocean & Islands, Port Cities, Ports of Call, USA | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Baths at Virgin Gorda

Posted on August 2, 2024 by LBcruiseshipblogger

Tortola in the wake of the ferry to Virgin Gorda

When visiting Tortola as a cruise port stop the Baths at Virgin Gorda is a popular place to see. It is a unique experience not found in other ports. Virgin Gorda is another of the British Virgin Islands, a short ferry ride away from Tortola.

Baths at Virgin Gorda

At the baths large boulders of volcanic origin haphazardly piled on one another create a labyrinth of sandy trails and seawater pools of varying depths. Small to tiny fish swim about in some of the pools, individually or in schools. Some of the boulders surrounding these pools are as large as 40 feet in diameter.

narrow gap

The name baths seems to refer to all the various pools, but it’s actually short for batholith – a large mass of intrusive igneous rock which means rock originating from magma (molten rock). The boulders there are granite, which is a type of igneous rock.

first pool you get to from the trail down to the baths

This series of small pools and rock caves was created by molten rock seeping into previously existing volcanic rock layers without reaching the surface. Slow cooling formed a hard crystal granite layer which shrank and cracked into blocks. These were exposed when the softer volcanic rock above eroded away. Weathering rounded the corners of the boulders into their current shapes.

sailboats moored outside of the baths

While most people approach the Baths from land, they can be accessed from the sea in calm weather conditions. There are mooring buoys and a dingy dock line available for those who come by private boat. Some people swim in from their boats when the weather and sea conditions allow. Cruise ship passengers from Tortola can either arrive through a ship’s excursion where the ferry leaves right from the cruise port or go into town and take the public ferry to get there on their own. It is best to make ferry reservations in advance.

ferry at the dock in Virgin Gorda

The ferries stop at a small pier on Virgin Gorda that is not near anything. A fleet of open-sided busses waited to take us to the Baths when our ferry arrived. These are the standard transportation to and from the baths and coincide their schedules with the ferries.

open sided bus takes people from the ferry dock to the baths

We went by excursion rather than on our own because when googling the ferry schedule from the ship it only showed one ferry whose times did not coincide with our ship’s schedule to allow enough time to go there. There are actually at least 2 ferries and the other one would have given us plenty of time had we seen its schedule. There may be a third ferry, which at least existed previously according to someone who went there on their own from a cruise ship before, but there were only two ferry schedules posted at the dock at the time of our visit. Or maybe the third ferry is the one that does the ship’s excursions.

view from the shelter at the top of the baths

The Baths are a national park of the British Virgin Islands. At the top of a hill there’s a restroom and a shelter where groups can gather near where the busses stop. Facilities at the top of the baths include a restaurant, bar, pool, and shops as well as great views.

map of the trails at the baths

A sandy trail leads down towards the baths. At the start of the trail a sign shows a map of the one-way loop route to and from the baths. It’s a one-way route to prevent pile-ups of people going one way having to wait for others going the other way to get through narrow gaps, steep stairways, or rope-on-rock crossings while going through the baths. You still have to wait if there are people in front of you, but they are all going the same direction.

excursion group on the trail

Part of the trail is surrounded in vegetation, some of it tall spiny cactus. Other areas offer views of the water.

giant cactus on the trail to the baths

When you come to a fork in the path, the left fork is the easy route straight to the beach at Devil’s Bay. The right fork goes to the Baths. If you go there on a cruise ship excursion they will take the easy path, spend some time on that beach, then go through the baths to another beach. The first beach has no amenities, but the second one does.

sign on the trail

The guide on our excursion allowed us to bail from the group and take the trail directly to the baths. We had no desire to spend time on the beach and preferred to have more time to explore the baths. The pathway down leads to a variety of pools. There are lots of side trails into dead-end pools, all of which are worth exploring.

trail sign

Besides having more time to spend in the baths rather than on a beach, splitting off from the group allowed us to go down the rest of the trail to get there at our own pace rather than the excruciatingly slow pace the excursion group was taking.

pool at the baths

We spent nearly all of the time that the main excursion group spent at the first beach wandering through all sorts of nooks and crannies in the baths rather than just going straight through on the main trail as the excursion group did. We only arrived at the beach a few minutes before the main group got there so we had considerably more time to see a lot more of the baths than we would have staying with the group. They missed so much going straight through without exploring any of the pools and dead-end trails.

little waterfall between two pools

In a narrow gap between two small pools a tiny waterfall switched directions each time a wave went in or out.

stairway on the trail through the baths

Some parts of the path are sandy trails, often uneven and sometimes full of protruding portions of rock. Others areas pass through pools. Some places require climbing up or down stairways, ducking under overhanging rocks, or using a rope to navigate a slippery rock. One steep stairway is best taken going backwards or so the sign next to it recommends.

rope assisted rock crossing

We found one side trail through a very small triangular opening in a rock that led into a pool. A crab scuttled up a rock on the side of that pool. It was much bigger than a beach crab, but not as big as the ones people eat. A circular path brought us back to where we’d started without having to go back through the tiny opening again.

bridge over and through rocks in the baths

There are a lot of different side trails that veer off the main pathway through the baths. Some lead to pools, others to dry sandy caves, but all are worth exploring. After all when going there to see the baths might as well see all of it rather than just hurrying through on the main trail and spending time on the beach when you can go to beaches on any island.

big pool at the baths

Most of the pools through the baths are pretty small, but some of them are kind of big. The bigger ones are generally out in the open rather than surrounded by rocks in a cave.

dry cave at the baths

The last big pool before the exit has some fairly deep areas and an opening into another smaller pool. Parts of these pools are fairly deep, but most people go to the baths with the intention of getting wet. There was some sand at the edge of the pool where some people left their belongings before going for a swim there. An offshoot nearby led to a dry cave.

beach beyond the exit from the baths

The baths exit onto a beach with restrooms and a little beach bar. There are signs at the exit saying that opening is exit only, and other signs saying not to climb on the boulders at the side of the beach.

beach bar

A trail from that beach leads straight back up to the parking area without going back through the baths. It’s a shorter and more direct trail than the long winding one leading down. There are stairways in the steeper parts.

pool with a view

This is a place like no other. It’s well worth seeing. It’s something unique and different that you won’t find at any other port. I’d highly recommend it for anyone who likes quirks of nature and doesn’t have any balance or mobility issues. When visiting the baths water shoes are the ideal footwear. It’s best not to bring or wear anything that can’t get wet because everything probably will. Also bring as little as possible and try to carry everything hands free as you may need your hands for navigating through some areas of the baths.

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Décor on MSC Meraviglia

Posted on July 26, 2024 by LBcruiseshipblogger

Swarovski crystal stairway

The décor on MSC Meraviglia was mostly tasteful. It kind of looked to be generally going for understated elegance.  The centerpiece is the crystal stairway in the atrium, and the highlighted feature the video ceiling over the promenade, reminiscent of Freemont Street in Las Vegas. Swarovski crystal stairways are a thing with MSC. The Meraviglia had a double one going several levels through the atrium. The Divina had them too.

odd sculptures weren’t everywhere on Meraviglia, but could be found in some places

Ugly or odd sculptures or statues seem to be a requirement on most cruise ships. On some ships they are everywhere. Some of the other cruise ship décor can be pretty weird too. Celebrity Constellation was one of the strangest of all with stairway art consisting of weeds, blobs, and childish looking sculptures including ear worms. There was also a statue on the Constellation that looked like the covid virus, though it existed long before covid. Carnival Splendor was pretty far out there in its décor too with pink dots everywhere, a dining room ceiling that looked like fried eggs, a stairway railing that looked like hamburger buns, and a painting in an elevator we dubbed naked toilet man. Meraviglia didn’t have any of that, though a few odd sculptures and ugly statues could be found when looking for them.

Alhambra

All of the decks had names as well as numbers. The were named after various locations around the world like the Grand Canyon, Kilimanjaro, Machu Picchu, or Petra. Our cabin was on a deck called Alhambra, which was one of the few named after something I had not previously heard of. It’s a fort in Granada, Andalusia, Spain. The word means the red house and it is one of the 7 wonders of the Muslim world. Each deck had several pictures of the place that the deck was named after near the stairways and elevators. There was no elevator button for deck 17, but it did have one for deck 13. American ships usually have no deck 13, but in Italy 17 is the bad luck number so Meraviglia jumped straight from deck 16 to 18, skipping deck 17. Meraviglia means wonder in Italian.

elevator bay sculpture

The front stairway had sculptures in the elevator bay as well as the location pictures.

stairway boats

The landings between decks on stairways had pictures of boats. Sometimes one big one and sometimes two smaller ones. They were all the same style of picture, but each with different boats.

dining room

The ship had three dining rooms. Ours was all done in red and white.

walls of glasses

The other two dining rooms had walls of glass at the entrance, one full of bottles of wine and the other of glasses.

walkway into the casino

Other places on the ship had decorative entryways as well, like the casino with a card-themed entrance. The ship had a lot of space taken up with wide hallways that only served as the entrance to one place.

rock grotto spa

Public spaces each had their own individual décor that was different from anywhere else on the ship. The spa looked like a rock grotto.

Anchor Pub

The Anchor Pub had barrel tables on the walkway outside and a large mural at the end of the hall with a real bicycle sitting next to an old-fashioned lamppost.

fishy buffet

The buffet had quite a variety of fishy wall paintings.

glass sculpture

An open area with lots of chairs had a glass sculpture hanging over an area with no floor where you could look down and see the deck below – or look out the 2-deck-high window to enjoy a view of the sea or whatever else was out there like sunsets, scenery, or ports.

atrium

The atrium opened up 4 decks high with twisty sculptures running down to a piano at the bottom, flanked by the crystal stairways. Meraviglia is a pretty large ship with something different to see everywhere you go onboard.

dome show

The video ceiling dome over the promenade area, which was called the galleria on the Meraviglia, mostly displayed still pictures of all sorts of things from cloudy skies to colorful patterns or even photos of people walking by, but several times a day they had dome shows where moving videos played across the dome.

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Port Stop in Juneau

Posted on July 19, 2024 by LBcruiseshipblogger

view of distant ships in Juneau from the whale statue

One of the port stops on our Alaskan cruise on Quantum of the Seas was in Juneau. All of the excursions offered there were pretty expensive. The last time I’d been there you could find pretty much anything you wanted to do available at the little booths by the dock for less than what ships excursions cost so we figured to just go see what we could find once we got onshore.

waiting for the glacier bus by the tram

I’d always thought the dock right at the base of the Mount Roberts Tram belonged to Holland America because every previous trip I’ve made to Juneau it was always only Holland America ships that ever docked there. I was quite surprised that our Royal Caribbean ship stopped at that dock, and right next to it one from Seaborne. Considering the size of the Quantum, something very small like a Seaborne ship is probably all else that would fit with it at the dock, but even more surprising was that the Volendam, a Holland America ship, was in town that day and got no dock at all. It had to tender. There were 6 ships total in port. Princess has a dock just down the way from the one at the center of town where we were. Whether they are the only ones to use it or not I don’t know, but when we docked there once on a Princess ship everything on and near that dock said Princess on it. The third dock in Juneau is about a mile from town, which is a walkable distance for many people, but there are shuttles for people docked out there who don’t want to or can’t walk to town.

booths on the dock in Juneau

There are a row of booths right at the dock so they are pretty much the first thing you come to when you get off the ship. Each of the in-town docks has their own set of booths. I’d imagine the out-of-town dock has them as well, but can’t say for sure since the only time I’ve ever been to that one was too long ago to have any idea what is there now. There weren’t any then, but I don’t think there were any at the Holland America dock back then either and the Princess dock wasn’t even built yet.

trolley style bus stopped by the whale statue

The last time I had been to Juneau was pre-covid and at that time those little booths offered pretty much anything the ship’s shore excursions offered, only for a better price. This time the only options were whale watching (expensive), busses to the glacier, or a city tour with glacier which was really just a bus to the glacier with narration about things it drove past on the way there. The only extra stop it made was at a whale statue on the way back. Either everything else was already full before we got there since we were the 5th of 6 ships to arrive, or they weren’t offering as anywhere near as much as they did pre-covid.

Mount Roberts tram in the lower tram stop

We didn’t have anything better to do so we booked the one that was supposed to be a city tour and glacier visit. We’d all been out to Mendenhall Glacier before, but if there had actually been a city tour it would have been something new. Just mentioning things they drove past on the way to the glacier really wasn’t anything new since the regular glacier bus did that too when we took it once before. So the whale statue was the only new thing we hadn’t seen on a previous trip there.

under the Mt Roberts tram

The busses loaded by the Mt. Roberts tram base. We watched the tram go up and down a few times while waiting for the bus. It used to be really cheap to take that tram, but like everything else it costs a whole lot more now. Our bus for this tour was a trolley which is usually used just for city tours that weren’t running that day so they used it for city/glacier tours. At least it looked like a trolley, but it was really just a bus in a trolley suit.

visitors center at Mendenhall Glacier

Mendenhall Glacier’s visitor center has viewpoints for looking at the glacier, a short film, a gift shop, some exhibits, and some trails.

some of the trails near the visitor center have a fee now

Most trails are free, but a sign in the bus shelter said that a couple of them have a fee now. Since we didn’t see that until we were done there we wouldn’t have known about the fee if we’d gone on those trails unless there was something on the trail about it.

trail by the visitors center

There’s a paved trail leading out to the waterfall and closer views of the glacier below the main visitor center near the parking area.

glacier viewing platform at Mendenhall Glacier visitors center

All the bus stops in the parking area at the visitor’s center had animal names. The farthest one from the visitor’s center was called bear and had a first-come-first served bus that our driver said our tour tickets would work for if we wanted to either leave before the hour and a half time we were given there was up, or to stay later so we assumed that one was for the stragglers that didn’t make their regular bus for any of the different ones that go there. Our tour bus stopped at the one named goat, as did some other tour bus companies, but there was at least one other stop where some busses went.

Mendenhall Glacier 2023

As expected, the glacier was smaller than it had been the last time we were there since like most glaciers on the planet that one is receding.

the glacier and waterfall aren’t even close to each other now

There’s a waterfall separate from the glacier that came out of the face of it at one point, and a big hole in a rock not far from the visitor’s center where that water landed, but it is nowhere near there now. Earlier than that Mendenhall Lake didn’t even exist as the glacier itself went beyond where the lake is now.

icebergs in Mendenhall Lake

The glacier has retreated about 2.5 miles from its farthest point in the mid 1700’s. About 1.75 miles of that since 1929 when Mendenhall Lake was created. Between 1999 and 2022 it retreated 4,600 feet. It has retreated over 160 feet annually for the last couple decades.

kayaks by the glacier

We saw some kayaks paddling around between the little ice bergs near the glacier and thought Mel and Jen might be out there since they had done a kayaking excursion at that port, but it turned out to be a different tour as theirs had not gone near the glacier.

posing with the whale

We caught our regular tour bus back. The stop at the whale statue was a short one, just long enough for people to go out and take photos. It was getting kind of cold by then anyway. The weather prediction for the day had been showers, but we got lucky with just a few light sprinkles off and on.

new building in Juneau

Other than the tram the area next to the ships was mainly shops and a few bars and restaurants. New buildings since our last visit included a big parking garage and a new block of the same stores found at pretty much all cruise ship ports.

More Blogs About Juneau

Cruise Ship Port, Zipline, Glacier Gardens, Juneau, River Raft, Mendenhall Glacier 2013, Mendenhall Glacier 2016, Mount Roberts Tramway, Mount Roberts Tram on a Stormy Day, At the Top of Mount Roberts Tram

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Honolulu Cruise Port

Posted on July 12, 2024 by LBcruiseshipblogger

Noordam in Honolulu

In Honolulu the ship docks within walking distance of a variety of things to do. It’s just under a kilometer to the Aloha Tower, where there’s great views of the cruise ship from the end of the pier. On the way there we saw the Waikiki trolley go by. There are a number of statues and historical buildings within walking distance of the ship. People can also get transportation out to Waikiki or other area attractions if they’d rather go there. City busses are the cheapest way to travel for those wanting to go farther than their own feet can take them. Faster and more direct but higher priced service is available from Uber, Lyft, or taxis.

bikes for rent, bus, and trolley

The Waikiki trolley doesn’t go to the port, but we saw it in a couple places not far from there so it’s also a possibility for transportation to more distant places if people don’t mind walking a bit to find it. We also saw a bunch of bikes for rent alongside of a road so people who like to get around by bike could have that option as well, again if they didn’t mind walking out of the port a bit to find them.

Iolani Palace

Chinatown is just over a mile and a half away. Iolani Palace is just under a mile and a half from the port. There are lots of little shops near the dock, and it’s just under 2 miles to Ala Moana Center, the world’s largest open air shopping center.

Diamond Head

Diamond Head is just over 5 miles away by road and can be reached by bus in slightly under half an hour. There is a small entry fee to get into the park, and a trail there for hiking in the crater. The hike is less than a mile each way, but the trail is steep and uneven.

Waikiki Beach

It’s about 3 and a half miles from the cruise port to Wakiki Beach so it is within walking distance for those who don’t mind a bit of a hike, but most will either take the bus, taxi, or other transportation to get there.

Pearl Harbor

Pearl Harbor is 9 miles away. Lots of excursions go there. You can get there on your own, but it’s expensive to get there unless you take the bus. If you want to be sure to see things like the Arizona Memorial making reservations in advance is recommended.

shuttle at the port

The port building was mostly wide-open space, with some sort of ship on display in front of many folding chairs. There were not any last-minute tours right at the port, but there was a free shopping shuttle to town. The port itself didn’t have much to offer, but it’s a quick walk from the ship out to the street.

flower in Honolulu

Excursions from the ship included several different tour options to Pearl Harbor, the Atlantis submarine (which we saw getting towed out of port from our balcony on its way to wherever they start the tour), a Polynesian cultural center, a tour out to the north shore of Oahu, a rainforest walk, tour of diamond head, a visit to a valley for a history tour, a bus tour around the island, a hop on hop off bus, or a scenic drive.

Japanese ship docked near the Aloha tower

People can also book things through outside sources before the cruise. There are lots of options of things to do there, but for specific activities mostly if you make your plans in advance.

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Tortola Cruise Port

Posted on July 5, 2024 by LBcruiseshipblogger

ships in Tortola

Tortola is the largest and most populated of the British Virgin Islands. It’s also the home of Road Town, the capital of the BVI. Beaches and watersports are the main tourist attractions. The island also has places of historic interest including a windmill, a fort, and museums including a sugar works museum. Although the island is British, currency is the US dollar because the British Virgin Islands are closely associated with the US Virgin Islands. Average temperatures are in the 80’s F and rainfall is about 43 inches annually.

two ships at the dock in Tortola

The port at Tortola has a dock that can hold two ships. Straight off the dock there’s an area of shops right at the port. A lot of the standard cruise ship shops you find in most ports are present, but there are also some local shops not found elsewhere.

just off the dock

The dock area is fenced off with security for only ship people to go onto the dock. Once you are on the other side of the fence there’s an information booth and all the shops. There’s also space for shore excursions to gather and a platform for taking photos of the ship with a giant colorful BVI (for British Virgin Islands).

shops at Tortola cruise port

The port area was sort of like a little mini city with little streets full of shops criss-crossing for several blocks. Some streets looked as if cars could go there, but none did.

row of booths

There were bars and eateries as well as shops and a row of little open-sided booths along the waterfront.

bandstand at the port

At the end of the port area just before the taxi stand a bandstand under a canvas cover had a band with live music playing next to a public restroom.

local rums at a shop in the port

There were several liquor shops among the local offerings. Besides standard brands found everywhere, shops in the Caribbean often carry locally made brands of rum that may be both better and cheaper than better known brands. Also some with crazy names.

things to do sign near the taxi stand

Signs around the port area indicate which way to go to find things like taxis or the way to go to get into town. People holding signs offered last minute tours. A sign posted on a wall near the taxi/bus stand listed all sorts of things to do and how much each cost. The closest beach is about 5 miles from the port.

one of many pools in the Baths at Virgin Gorda

The Baths at Virgin Gorda is a popular place to visit from Tortola. Virgin Gorda is a nearby island and the baths are unique seaside rock formations with pools. You can walk or take a taxi to town where there are ferries to Virgin Gorda. From there people can take a bus out to the baths. You can also get there on a shore excursion where the boat ride starts right from the port and busses await at the ferry dock in Virgin Gorda. Whether getting there on your own or through an excursion, the baths are different from anything you will see anywhere else and well worth a visit. If going on your own it’s best to check the ferry schedules ahead of time and book your ferry ride in advance.

view of Tortola from Enchanted Princess

Excursions offered from the Enchanted Princess in Tortola were: Best of Tortola (panoramic scenic drive, beach, & shopping); Coast to Coast Scenic Drive & Pusser’s Landing; North Shore Coast Scenic Drive & Pusser’s Landing; Cane Garden Bay Beach Break & Scenic Drive; Cane Garden Bay Beach Break; Scenic Island Cruise & Pusser’s Landing; The Baths at Virgin Gorda & Beach; Jost Van Dyke Island Beach Break & Scenic Cruise; and Snorkel, Swim, Beach & Scenic Cruise. A lot of these excursions go to Pusser’s Landing which is apparently a popular wharfside pub at a marina according to google.

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