Flying to Boston

Posted on November 12, 2021 by LBcruiseshipblogger

sunset from an airplane

After not having gone anywhere out of my home state since covid started, it was finally time to start traveling again. October brought the first cruise I had booked in a couple years that didn’t get cancelled, preceded by a trip to the northeastern USA. Planes have already stopped keeping the middle seats open and started flying full. Other than the required masks everyone wore, the airports didn’t really seem much different than pre-Covid. They’re pretty crowded and even if you check in on an app, there’s still a visit to the dirty kiosk everyone touches if you want to print out luggage tags or boarding passes.

looking up in Quincy Market, Boston

The airport arrival time has increased from the previously recommended hour early for domestic and 2 for foreign to 2 hours early for domestic and 3 for foreign flights, and that increased time could be needed to get to the gate on time. When checking in for our flight to Boston there was a long line at the regular TSA security check, and a shorter one for pre-check. The three people ahead of us in the pre-check line got to the end for their turn only to have the guy there say that one of them needed to go to the regular line as their ticket did not say pre-check. Apparently they must have not all shown their tickets to the person who checks them on the way in for the one without it to get that far. One of them had already gotten through, the other who had pre-check kept saying they would miss their plane if the one had to go through the other long line, but they can’t send someone through pre-check if their ticket doesn’t say so. Finally they gave up and both went to the other line. They could have saved themselves some time had they looked at the ticket and gone there first, or if the person who is supposed to check them all had caught it. Hopefully they made their plane. We got through without any trouble and got to the gate in plenty of time for our plane.

t-shirt for sale at Quincy Market

Flying out a couple weeks later for my cruise was not so easy. We booked through Alaska, and the first flight was on an Alaska plane, but the second though labeled as an Alaska flight was on an American plane. Perhaps this was the reason the kiosk could not find our flights, but regardless of whether or not that was so, it couldn’t find them. We had to go wait in a long line for a live person, who had no trouble at all finding our flights. She set us up with boarding passes and took our luggage. Then we had to go through security and I did not get pre-check that time so both my sister and I had to wait in the very long regular line. We had gotten to the airport about 2 hours and 15 minutes early and had only 45 minutes left by the time we got through security, which was still plenty of time to get to the gate, but at the old hour early arrival time we’d have missed the plane. Last minute cancellations have plagued a lot of travelers lately, and we were nearly among them when our connecting flight to Miami from Dallas almost didn’t go. It finally took off 2 hours late, much to our relief because if that flight had been cancelled and we couldn’t find another that would get us there in time we’d have missed the first cruise in the last couple years I’ve booked that didn’t get cancelled. These days flying is not nearly as dependable as it used to be. There also were no meals available even for purchase on all but one out of 5 flights, and those only if they were ordered in advance.

carousel in Boston

As we entered the plane to Boston the flight attendants had a basket of disinfecting wipes to hand out to anyone who wanted them. Cleaning the seat and surrounding area before sitting down is a new thing common among quite a lot of passengers whether they brought their own supplies or used the ones the flight attendants gave out. That was the only flight where they handed any wipes out though. All the rest it was bring your own or do without so come prepared if you want your area clean. The planes were definitely not cleaned much if at all between flights. You know that for sure when you find crumbs on the seat and spills on the tray table.

USS Constitution

Another difference was that out of 5 planes I was on recently, only one of them still had screens on the back of the seat ahead of you. The rest you had to use your own phone, which could be connected to in-flight wifi for the movies and things that used to be available on those missing screens.

We had taken an overnight flight, and arrived in Boston around 6am. Not having anywhere else to go, we went to our hotel hoping we could at the very least drop our bags. We got lucky though and they had a room available for us to check in right away, which was pretty awesome since we were there by 7am.

hop on hop off bus in Boston

We stayed at the Marriot Courtyard near Boston Logan Airport for that first night, The room was nice and they have free shuttle service to the airport and subway. There is no free breakfast, but there is a restaurant in the hotel. There aren’t a lot of choices on the menu. They had no gluten free bread at breakfast, but did have gluten free buns available at dinner which was good since the majority of the dinner menu was burgers. Throughout our recent travels we have found that gluten free breads are not as readily available as they were pre-covid and a lot of places that used to offer them can’t currently source any.

horse carriage in Boston

My biggest complaint about this hotel is that you could only opt for heat or cool and could neither adjust their pre-set numbers nor turn the unit off. It was set to heat only if the room got colder than 42 degrees F or cool only if it got above 69 and the room was freezing. I don’t know if the unit in that particular room was broken so those numbers wouldn’t change or if all of them were set that way. It did have arrow buttons where they should have been able to be reset, but pushing those buttons did absolutely nothing – at least in our room anyway. The other bad thing about that room was the outlets of which some didn’t work at all and others only part of the time so it was a bit difficult to charge devices. Perhaps that particular room was available so early because it was a room they don’t use if they don’t have to. There also was only coffee at the coffee maker, no tea. Which may not bother most people, but I never could stand the taste of coffee.

sailboat tour in Boston

There’s a lot to do in Boston, and though we just spent the one night there since we arrived so early we had a full day and fit in a lot of stuff. Boston is a place full of history, having been the site of the Boston Tea Party and other revolutionary acts. Interesting tidbit about the tea party we learned from a sailboat captain, that the actual site of it is now on land. Back in the day they had a very long dock leading out to the harbor where there’s just a short dock now, all the area between having been filled in to increase the amount of land. Some of the historical buildings on the Freedom Trail that are well inland now were near that dock in revolutionary times.

the Freedom Trail goes through a lot of different areas in Boston

Besides the Freedom Trail and historical sites, Boston has other things to see like the bar from the TV series Cheers. Boston is the capital of Massachusetts as well as not only the most heavily populated city in Massachusetts, but in all of New England. It’s one of the oldest cities in the USA having been founded by Puritan settlers in 1630.

Boston duck parked by the aquarium theater

Some of the many things to do in Boston include harbor tours, whale watching, harbor walk, horse carriage rides, duck tours, aquarium, riverboat tours, hop on hop off  bus tours, trolley tours, historical tours, museums, and shopping.

subway in Boston

Boston has a great subway system. Lines of different colors go to different places, but there are stations where more than one line stop so you can transfer to a different line and get to where you want to go even if the one nearest you doesn’t go directly there.

subway station at Boston Common

At the end of the trip we came back to Boston and spent a night at the Hyatt Regency Boston Harbor, which is literally right next to the airport. From our room we could see a bit of the harbor off to the side, but the main view straight out the window was of the airport where we could watch planes taking off and landing. Off to the other side we could see the taxi queue where rows and rows of taxis lined up before getting sent off to pick up incoming airline passengers. This hotel must have had some pretty good soundproofing as we didn’t really hear the planes much in spite of how close they were. The same can not be said for the one where I stayed in Seattle with my sister the night before flying out to Miami for our cruise.

Copyright My Cruise Stories 2021
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Muscat, Oman Cruise Ship Port

Posted on November 5, 2021 by LBcruiseshipblogger

coming into port in Muscat

MUSCAT, OMAN

view residences above a little cove near Muscat

Oman’s capital and largest city sits on the Gulf of Oman surrounded by mountains and desert. The climate is hot and arid with hot summers and warm winters. Annual rainfall is about 4 inches. Arabic is the predominant language, but there are people who speak English and a number of other languages.

roadside decor

Muscat has lots of traditional architecture, but also modern skyscrapers and upscale malls. There are 16th century Portuguese forts and the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque that holds 20,000 people. Alcohol consumption is not allowed in public. Currency in Oman is the Rial. It takes $2.60 USD to equal 1 Omani Rial.

fort by the harbor in Muscat

MUSCAT CRUISE PORT

Lirica coming into port near Aida Prima

The port is near the old-town area. It’s an industrial port with container ships so walking through the port is prohibited, but free shuttles take passengers to the gates and Mutrah is walkable from there. Shuttles may also drop people off at Mutrah souk, a traditional market. Dress conservatively as this is a traditional Arab country. Taxis are available at the port gates, and maybe a HOHO bus. They ran on cruise ship days pre-covid, but hop on hop off bus service got suspended due to the pandemic and is currently still suspended until further notice. There is wifi in the terminal building, but it is not always open.

view of the city from the port

The Corniche is a 4-mile long seaside walkway with access to one of Muscat’s main tourist attractions, the Mutrah Souk. A souk is a market, and this is a large one with numerous alleys winding through the market stalls. It’s one of the oldest souks in Oman having been there for about 200 years. Al Jalali Fort is visible on a hillside across the harbor.

fancy light post in Muscat

If you are coming into Oman by cruise ship you may not need a visa even if the country you are from is generally required to have one. We had 3 ports in Oman on our cruise on the MSC Lirica. At each one people were given landing cards as they exited the ship, which substituted for visas for cruise ship passengers who are just coming ashore for a few hours. The cards were collected upon return to the vessel. If you do need a visa to visit Oman, be sure to get it from the official Oman Royal Police evisa website because the price if you get it directly from them is a fraction of what it costs through visa assist sites.

Sultan’s Palace

THINGS TO DO IN MUSCAT

flowers near the Muscat Opera House

Old town, Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque (to enter the Grand Mosque conservative dress is required including covering ankles, wrists, neck, head, and most of face for women. Open 9-11am)  Mutrah souk, museums, Muscat Corniche (seaside promenade), dolphin watching cruise, beaches (Qurum Beach allows western style swimming suits), scuba diving, forts (Muttrah fort is open to the public), hotels (you can go inside even if you aren’t staying there. Some have restaurants or beaches.) Al Qurum Park (greenery in an otherwise desert landscape) Sultan’s palace (outside views only), water activities (tours available for diving, snorkeling, wake boarding, dolphin watching, or rent kayaks or jet skis).

Oman

Copyright My Cruise Stories 2021
Posted in Lirica, Middle East, MSC, Port Cities, Ports of Call | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Gluten Free Nutella Sandwich Cookies

Posted on October 29, 2021 by LBcruiseshipblogger
Nutella Sandwich Cookies

Ingredients

1 stick butter (1/2 cup) softened

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla

1 1/4 cups all purpose gluten free flour (I used Namaste)

1/4 cup cornstarch

1/8 teaspoon salt

2-5 tablespoons milk

almond flour

Instructions

Heat oven to 375 degrees and line cookie sheet with parchment paper

Cream butter, sugar, and vanilla together in mixing bowl. Add all purpose flour, cornstarch, and salt. Stir in by hand. Add one tablespoon of milk and stir. If dough is still too dry and floury add another tablespoon milk and stir again, repeating until flour has blended into the dough.

Put a pile of almond flour on a piece of waxed or parchment paper. Pat a small ball of dough down on the almond flour, then flip it over so almond flour coats the top and the bottom of the ball sits in the pile of almond flour. Pat down and flip, repeating several times until the dough is fairly flat. Adding almond flour to top and bottom as needed, cover with a second piece of waxed or parchment paper and roll until very thin. Cut rounds of dough with a small glass or cut shapes with cookie cutter as desired. Using almond flour for this prevents the cookie from becoming tough and floury as it tends to with other flours, especially if you use coarsely ground almond flour.

Place cookies on prepared pan. They don’t rise or spread so they don’t need a lot of space between them. Bake at 375 degrees until cookies brown around the edges, about 7-9 minutes. Cool completely.

Put a blob of nutella on the bottom of one cookie place bottom of a second cookie on top. Gently squish cookies together so nutella spreads to the edges.

Cookies should turn out crispy. If they are chewy instead they are either too thick or underbaked.

Other filling options include peanut butter, frosting, or melted chocolate if nutella isn’t your thing. I like using it to frost things because it is delicious and less unhealthy than actual frosting.

It is not necessary to chill the dough before rolling. It is actually preferable not to as chilled dough is more likely to end up with air pockets in the baked cookies. 

Copyright My Cruise Stories 2021

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Shanghai Cruise Ship Port

Posted on October 22, 2021 by LBcruiseshipblogger

view of Shanghai from the Westerdam

Shanghai

Shanghai is China’s largest city as well as a global financial hub and the place where our 4-week Canada to China cruise came to an end. The city’s population exceeds 24 million. The Chinese characters that make up the city’s name together mean upon-the-sea. Shanghai has a 4-season climate with hot humid summers and cold damp winters, often with freezing temperatures at night and very little snow. Spring is often wet while fall is generally sunny and dry. Public transportation includes trains, busses, ferries, and taxis as well as the cruise port and an international airport.

ships disappearing into the smog near the port in Shanghai

Getting Shanghaied back in the 1800’s meant people might get knocked out (usually by alcohol or drugs) only to wake up and find themselves on a boat to China where they had been recruited as crew whether they liked it or not. Unlike today’s large cruise ships with stabilizers, those old wooden sailing vessels would pitch and roll in rough seas, often making seasickness a problem. Being a major shipping port, these unwilling sailors often ended up in Shanghai. Acupuncture has been practiced in China for centuries, and there is a pressure point on the ear that can ease seasickness, hence the penchant of pirates for earrings – often more than one since they may not have found the right spot on the first try. Currently the term Shanghaied means getting tricked into doing some sort of work for someone.

scooters in a narrow alleyway in Shanghai

Probably the most dangerous thing in modern day Shanghai aside from pollution is the crazy scooter drivers. They’re not only dangerous to pedestrians, but also to themselves. They ride in streets with the traffic, against the traffic, and often right through red lights and crowded crosswalks. They also ride on the sidewalks. The scooters are pretty quiet so you don’t always hear them coming up behind you. Scooter riders often neglect to turn their lights on when riding after dark to save the power lights take to run. People park their scooters everywhere. Sometimes the sidewalk is so thick with scooters that there is no room on the sidewalk for anyone to walk so the pedestrians end up in the street along with cars, scooters, and bikes. In spite of all that we did not see any accidents while walking around in Shanghai and we did a lot of walking in the several days we spent there.

parked scooters taking up the whole sidewalk so people have to walk in the street

Chinese people do have some disgusting habits. Some of them spit all over the sidewalks and even on the floors inside sometimes. Something to do with a belief that phlegm must be expelled immediately. They also let their young children pee anywhere. Not just on the sidewalks outside either. We were at a restaurant in a tourist area when a little boy had to go. Instead of taking him to the bathroom like normal people his parents had him pee in a garbage can right at their table in a room full of other people having lunch. In another tourist area, which had restrooms, we saw someone have a little girl go on an open riverbank next to the pathway rather than taking her to a nearby toilet.

night cruise from the Bund

Shanghai Cruise Port

Shanghai’s original cruise port located at the Bund, which in itself is a tourist destination, holds only smaller cruise ships, but the new port farther down the river about 15 miles north of the city holds larger ships. While visiting China normally requires a visa, those passing through Shanghai in 144 hours or less and not visiting anywhere else in China may not need one depending on where they are from. The new port can accommodate up to 3 large cruise ships at the same time. Taxis are readily available at the port. The advice to avoid over-priced unlicensed scam taxis by getting into the official taxi line for a registered taxi may or not work. We walked a long way to get to the official taxi line rather than taking the nearby unlicensed cabs and even there the driver did not turn the meter on and overcharged for the ride into town.

inside the long hallway to get out of the cruise terminal in Shanghai

Disembarking from the Westerdam meant quite a long walk through the terminal, with frequent stops to wait in line for the next line. The official taxi stand was quite a distance from where our ship disembarked, though nearer to some of the other berths. We were approached several times along the way by someone asking where we were going in hopes of steering us to their scam taxi. The licensed ones won’t approach anyone, they just pull into the taxi line, though as we found out having a license doesn’t mean they won’t still scam you. The taxi line had people coming from two different directions because Quantum of the Seas was disembarking that day too with a much shorter walk to the taxi stand and port exit than we had.

cruise port view from the ship in Shanghai

The port shuttle into town was only for people with no luggage (those staying onboard for the next cruise) and even they were recommended by the shore excursion staff to take a taxi because the drive to where it let people off was so far they figured it could take people an hour of wait time before boarding the shuttle since it would take the busses a long time to go to town and back.

canal boat in Zhuijiajao

Things to do in Shanghai

Being a very large city, Shanghai has many options of things for tourists to do. It has museums, parks and gardens, temples, and towers.  There are a couple ancient cities turned tourist attractions somewhat near to Shanghai. One is called Zhujiajiao, which has canals with pole-boat rides somewhat like Venice, though neither the boats nor architecture is the same as that found in Italy. The World Financial Center building is one of the largest buildings in the world, but the Shanghai Tower is even bigger. Shanghai’s Pudong district has 3 tall towers with viewing areas for visitors.

bus tour map of Shanghai

You can ride the 270mph maglev train or go shopping. There are shows to see, food to eat, museums, tall buildings with observation areas on high floors, massages, and more. There are hop-on-hop-off buses from more than one company. The hotel gave us a map from the Bus B tours, which has 3 different routes included in one price, but we saw more busses from one called City Tours around town. We didn’t go on either, but the map was useful.

Shanghai subway routes map

Subways are cheap and have stations listed in English as well as ticket machines where you can choose a language before purchasing the ticket so you know what you are getting. Some stations sell all day passes, but not all of them. You have to pay attention to where you enter the subway station if you want to find the same street on the way out. Most of the subway stations are huge, with multiple exits. A lot of them have shopping areas, some have entire malls.

sweets in a shop window

Street signs are also in English as well as Chinese. Massages are readily available and cheaper if you get them somewhere other than a hotel. Even less from a place not on a main tourist street than one in a prime location. They have everything from foot to whole body massages, and some will offer a variety of styles such as Swedish, Japanese, or Chinese.

night view from the Bund

The Bund has boat rides along the river, a ferry across, and a tourist ride that goes under the river. There are walkways along the riverside and eateries, and in the evening light shows on lots of the buildings.

Gucheng Park near the Bund

There are a lot of things within walking distance of the Bund including several parks.

Nanjing Street

Nanjing Street is a famous tourist area with lots of shops and the world’s biggest Starbucks.

smoggy view of tall buildings in the Pudong district across the water from the Bund

Copyright My Cruise Stories 2021
Posted in China, Holland America, Port Cities, Ports of Call, Westerdam | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Royal Princess Hits and Misses

Posted on October 15, 2021 by LBcruiseshipblogger

Royal Princess in Seattle

Hits and Misses  on the Royal Princess

Hits and misses are usually my opinion of what I did and didn’t like on a cruise, but this time I have some input from one of my sisters as well. As usual these are a matter of opinion and not everyone who sails that ship will agree since different people like different things.

HITS

The ship itself is quite nice. It’s easy to get around, classy, and tastefully decorated with a variety of options for things to do. Staff and crew were always polite and helpful.

The gym is open 24 hours a day. They post open hours of 6am-10pm, but that is the time it is staffed. The door is always unlocked and passengers can use the equipment any time of day or night.

relaxing in the enclave

The spa has a nice thermal suite called the Enclave. We often take the spa tour on boarding day to determine if that ship’s spa is worthy of paying the extra for the thermal package, and on Royal Princess we decided it was. There is a dry sauna and a couple of steam rooms, a pool with several water features including a rack to sit on and enjoy the jets, heated ceramic benches, and a couple little waterbeds.

almost all the seats in the Royal Princess theater are good seats

Royal Princess has a well-designed theater with no view blocking poles holding up a balcony and most of the seats in the theater are good seats where you have a nice view of the stage.

The showers in the gym and spa locker rooms have rain shower heads.

medallions replace key cards on the Royal Princess

Medalions are used instead of key cards. They have all the functions of a key card like opening the cabin door and charging onboard purchases, but they have additional useful features and some just for fun things. They are also waterproof, which would come in quite useful on an itinerary with beaches or snorkeling opportunities.

surf & turf

The food was good and the staff is quite accommodating for special diets. Besides the standard of ordering dinner on the previous night so the meals can be adjusted to fit people’s individual dietary needs, our waiter brought us off-menu deserts on nights where nothing from the menu fit our needs. Specialty foods are a bit harder to find on the breakfast buffet, but gluten free items are available if you ask where to find them.

Inside smoking is mostly confined to a fully-enclosed cigar lounge which keeps the smoke contained.

The outside smoking area is at the back end of the ship where people don’t inadvertently walk through it.

bar overlooking the piazza

At the past guest party besides having a little stage show, they gave out drink certificates good for any bar anytime during the cruise.

San Diego port photo

They had good photographers who allowed the line of people exiting the ship to move freely by staying out of the way of people disembarking. They were there and available for anyone who wanted photos, but didn’t stuff up the line trying to stop people who didn’t want their photo taken.

Gluten free desserts were always available at the little cafe in the piazza and at the late night buffet.

people dancing in the piazza

There was always a variety of daily activities in the piazza.

seawalk on the Royal Princess

The ship had a skywalk which was a little walkway with a glass floor. It curved out from the side of the ship so the sea was visible through the floor.

self-serve passenger laundry

Royal Princess has self serve guest laundries, which are always a good thing to have on cruise ships.

MISSES

almost onboard

After showing a boarding time of 1:00pm for over a year from when we booked until a couple weeks before the cruise, they sent an email saying they had staggered boarding by decks and we were to get on at 2:30, which was the very last time slot on the list. The ship was scheduled to sail at 4 which means all aboard would be 3:00 so we would barely get on the ship in time for the muster drill. 1pm was already a pretty late start time for boarding. In those days you could get on most ships in time to have lunch onboard. It was just the email they sent about boarding that was a miss though. The actual boarding process was quick and efficient, done first come first served, and we were onboard by 11:30am. This was before Covid. There’s a lot of hoops to jump through before you even get to the dock now.

after having our ship’s excursion in San Diego cancelled, we took a hop on hop off trolley tour

You can pre-book excursions online before cruises, but apparently with Princess that doesn’t mean you can actually take that excursion. We booked one that was cancelled just before the cruise with no notification whatsoever from Princess. I only knew they cancelled it because I received a refund notice from PayPal, whom I had used to pay for it. Upon calling Princess they said they list all excursions a port has to offer and then cancel the ones that aren’t actually available for that sailing. If that is actually true and not just what one random person answering the phone said it seems like a way to make some very unhappy guests when they could instead just list excursions that are actually available for that cruise so people only book ones they can actually take.

one of 4 unconnected deck sections that are all Royal Princess has for an outside promenade deck

The outside promenade deck does not go all the way around the ship. There’s really not much in the way of an outside promenade deck at all – just a small bit something like a big balcony at each end on each side. So there’s no promenade deck to walk or jog around for those who enjoy doing so (and that’s always quite a lot of people.) Also nowhere where people can position themselves for the exact view they want because the top decks have obstructions.

There’s no dry place to put your things in the gym and spa showers, no washclothes in gym or spa locker rooms, and no hairdryer in the gym locker room. It takes nearly a whole shower to get hot water in gym locker room which makes it hard to enjoy the rainshower. There are no private dressing rooms in gym or spa locker rooms, and some people take up lockers for the entire trip instead of just while they are at the gym even though there are nowhere near enough lockers for every passenger. There’s no indicator on the taps in the locker room showers for which direction to go for hot or cold and since it takes so long for the water to get warm until you’ve used it you have no way to know.

ship art in a public area

As is often the case on cruise ships, the inside areas of the ship were on the chilly side.

Some features of the medallion are useful yet creepy – like the find your shipmates feature which is useful if you want to locate someone, but creepy in that it shows you are being tracked wherever you go on the ship.

Instead of having separate shampoo and conditioner in the showers they had one bottle of a combined shampoo/conditioner, which is just not usable for most women, especially if their hair has any length to it.

balcony cabin

There are no oceanview cabins. None at all on the entire ship. So cabin options are inside, balcony, or suite. Balcony cabins and suites do of course have a view of the ocean, but at a higher price than a room with just a window.

forward view of the Golden Gate Bridge

There are no unobstructed forward facing viewpoints anywhere on the ship.

The directional signs for the rooms in the hallways on either side of the elevator bays/stairwells had microscopic numbers so small that we had to actually walk into the hallway to see whether they were odd or even. The deck numbers were not all that large or obvious either so it could have used better signage.

shops and casino on Royal Princess

The casino smelled of smoke, and smoking may actually be allowed in there at times.

Water was often too cold in the spa thermal suite (enclave) pool – and the rack in the pool was situated about 5 inches too high to really get properly submersed when sitting on it. Of the 4 fancy showers in the thermal suite area, only one was consistently warm. The spa was not on the same deck or even the same end of the ship as the gym that also had issues with getting any hot water in the showers there. So hot water seemed to be an issue in several areas of this ship – though not in our cabin where the shower consistently had hot water right away.

life ring on the Royal Princess

Overall we found quite a lot to like about the Royal Princess. It had more hits than misses and we thoroughly enjoyed our cruise.

Copyright My Cruise Stories 2021

 

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Salalah, Oman 4×4 Tour

Posted on October 8, 2021 by LBcruiseshipblogger

MSC Lirica approaching Salalah

MSC Lirica glided into Salalah, Oman as the desert view gave way to giant cranes at the container port where the ship docked.  The ship’s thrusters thundered, moving it slowly sideways as the ship neared the dock – aided as always when coming into port by a tug.

4×4 car tour parked near Taqah

We came in on a Friday, which is the holy day in Islamic countries. Not much is likely to be open in town and we did not know about the possibility of local van tours so we booked an excursion through the ship called Wadi Off Road. We expected something that went through sandy expanses of nothingness to Bedouin type camps, but instead the tour took us mostly to developed places with pavement other than a trek through some desert roads that were made up of more rocks than sand. That bit did have some serious ups and downs over the hills, but nothing remote or exciting. We did not go anywhere that we needed 4-wheel drive to get to. You never know what sort of vehicle you will get for a 4×4 tour. We’ve had everything from jeeps to open-sided trucks to a jungle bus in the past. This time it was a fleet of nice new-looking 4×4 cars.

view of Taqah

We first went to a seaside overlook near Taqah, with clifftop views of the town and the sea. There was a slight bit of off-roading to get to that one. Besides great views it had lots of giant dragonflies, but they were too fast to catch a photo of them. Not far from there our next stop brought us to a view across a bay to the walls around the ruins of an ancient castle said to be the home of the Queen of Sheba on the opposite cliff.

distant view of the palace of the Queen of Sheba

We could see people over there, but the viewpoint was the closest our tour got to it. We stood on a cliff high above the sea, the ruins equally high on the other side. In ancient times it was a bustling sea port. A sand bar now separates that bay from the open sea. Without access to the sea for ships it became a quiet place for birds to call home.

school in Salalah that our guide said Sultan Qaboos built

During the tour our guide talked about his country as well as the things we would see. He had high praise for Sultan Qaboos. Over his 5 decades of rule the sultan used his country’s oil wealth to transform Oman from an isolated poverty stricken country with just 6 miles of paved roads where slavery was still legal into a stable and prosperous nation. The sultan worked hard to improve the lives of his people and strived to maintain peace and neutrality with other nations. If our guide was any indication of general public opinion, the people loved him. We would pass by things like schools or hospitals and he would say Sultan Qaboos had built that for the people. (Sultan Qaboos has since died so they have a different sultan now.)

Like most countries, housing in Oman varied from areas that looked like slums to richer developments lined with mansions, and everything in between. The guide said the people living in the mansions often had multiple wives, but the lower income people could only afford one.

camel at Wadi Darbat

Our trek to the next stop at Wadi Darbat was on paved roads. Camels were everywhere. Some of them were friendly. At the bottom there was a small food shack with restrooms our guide described as 1-star, but they were really more like a negative 10, and that’s being generous. You know the restroom is disgusting when the Chinese style squat toilet is the best choice available – because you don’t need to touch anything with a squat toilet and the place was way too filthy to even consider using the hover over technique on the one with a seat. Bringing your own toilet paper is always a good plan when traveling in unknown places. This was not the first place we’ve been to that didn’t provide any – and in this particular place even if it had people would have been better off not touching it.

camels in Wadi Darbat

There were trails up to a very small cave in the rock, and more trails down to a river with camels all along the bank. They went about their business unbothered by the group of tourists in their midst. Our guide said all of the camels belonged to one family, and pointed out the house where they lived as we drove past it. There were camels of all ages and sizes. Some of the big female camels had netting or covers over their udders, presumably to keep their offspring away either because it was weaning time or to limit the time they are allowed to nurse so the mother could be milked.

Waterfall in Wadi Darbat

On the way out of the wadi we stopped briefly to see a small waterfall. It was just a short hike down a steep small trail from where the car parked to the stream.

Ain Hamran

Next we went to a place called Ain Hamran with large trees, flowers, birds. While we were there a herd of goats came down one of the surrounding hills to go to the spring at the bottom for a drink. The water there ran through cement lined ducts into a cement pond. The guide said that area was a popular picnic spot for the locals, but it was fairly deserted other than our tour group while we were there. Between there and the next stop we went off-road through the desert. Well off the paved road anyway. It was a rough rocky desert road with lots of steep ups and downs. Far from a 4×4 only road though. The local van tours went through there just as easily as the 4-wheel drives.

small cave by the parking lot at Ain Razat

Our last stop was at Ain Razat with a natural spring and a cave. The guide just said we were going to a cave. He stopped the car and everyone got out. There was a pond surrounded in trees at one end of the parking lot and a cave on a little hill above it. We went up to the little cave, which was just an unimpressive hole in a rock that maybe people are living in or maybe they were just picnicking there.

The main cave at Ain Razat

Back in the car as we left the parking lot and started down the road we saw a stairway going up a hill on the other side of the street – with a cave entrance at the top. We had apparently missed the main attraction, which could not be seen from the parking lot through the trees. Too bad the guide didn’t mention we needed to leave the area and go across the street because the cave we were there to see was not the cave we could see from there. I love caves, particularly the sort full of stalactites and stalagmites. I looked for photos online to see what we had missed and from them it appeared this cave was just a sort of room with a view, but I still would have liked to see it. Nobody from our car went up there, but a few of the other guides must have been more specific since some of the other people did find it. Not all of them though as there were enough people hanging around the parking lot area not to notice that others had left.

inside the main cave at Ain Razat (internet photo)

After that we went back to the ship. The cars must have been required to stay in line according to the number they were assigned because when our driver passed some of the other cars from our tour he got a phone call following which he slowed down until some of the others passed and we fell into our original place in line.

bay near Taqah with the entrance blocked by a sand bar

In spite of a 4×4 not actually being necessary and missing the cave, we did enjoy the tour. We got to see quite a lot of the area and learned interesting things from the guide.

Copyright My Cruise Stories 2021

 

Posted in Lirica, Middle East, MSC, Ports of Call, Shore Excursions | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Advantages and Disadvantages of a Do-It-Yourself Cruise

Posted on October 1, 2021 by LBcruiseshipblogger
small private boat vs cruise ship

Taking a cruise on your own rather than booking passage on a cruise ship requires access to a boat – and at least one person who knows how to operate it. Owning your own boat is of course the easiest way if you happen to have one, and boat rentals are available for those who don’t have any boat, the right sort of boat, or a boat available in the location where they want to cruise. Once boat access is secured, the cruise is yours to plan.

you can bring pets on your own boat

Advantages of cruising on your own

You can plan your own itinerary. You can stay as long as you like in each stop and the boat will never leave without you. You can choose your own food and eat it whenever you like so long as the boat you are on has a sufficient means of storing and cooking the food. There’s nobody on board but you and your own party of people so you can do what you want when you want. You can wear what you want and don’t need a variety of clothes for attending different events. You can bring your pets along if you want to. You never have to wait in line for anything.

Carnival Vista
There’s lots to do on a cruise ship

Advantages of booking passage on a cruise ship

Cruises of various lengths are available from many ports with stops in many places. You aren’t responsible for any work throughout the voyage. If you want something to eat or drink you just go get it. There’s lots to do onboard too since cruise ships are basically floating resorts. Cruise ships have a much broader range of places they can go and can get there more quickly than smaller boats. Somebody else does all the cooking and cleaning and entertainment is provided for you in a variety of forms. The ship is large enough that there are a variety of places to go.

private boats are often small and have no crew

Disadvantages of cruising on your own

You have to do all the work yourself. There’s nobody to make your meals or do the cleaning for you. Somebody has to drive the boat. Smaller boats don’t generally have much to do while underway other than just sit. Nobody plans entertainment for you. Unless you have a big yacht, there’s not a lot of space to put things so there’s a limit to what you can bring.

cruise ships can get crowded

Disadvantages of booking passage on a cruise ship

Port stays are limited to the amount of time scheduled by the cruise line. If you don’t make it back to the ship on time it will leave without you. Itineraries are determined by someone else. There are a lot of strangers on the ship with you. Some places can get crowded and you may have to wait in line for some things – like getting on and off the ship. Onboard events you may wish to attend are per the ship’s schedule rather than at your convenience. You have to leave your pets at home.

Sasebo, Japan
cruise ships sail to exotic places – like this one in Japan

Overall, while it’s fun to go out in a smaller boat on your own, you can see and do a lot more and travel greater distances on a cruise ship.

Copyright My Cruise Stories 2021

Posted in Randoms, Shipboard Life, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Salalah, Oman Cruise Port

Posted on September 24, 2021 by LBcruiseshipblogger

MSC Lirica in Salalah, Oman

SALALAH, OMAN

Salalah is in southern Oman, the capital of Oman’s Dhofar region. It is greener than most of the Arabian peninsula due to the summer rains called khareef or summer monsoons and is known for banana plantations, Arabian Sea beaches and waters teeming with sea life. The Khareef monsoon season runs from the end of July through the beginning of September. Its transformation of the desert terrain into a lush green landscape with seasonal waterfalls brings about the annual tourism festival from July 15 – August 31. It is Oman’s second largest city as well as the largest in its province of Dhofar. Some vegetables as well as fruits like coconuts and bananas can grow in this region so the city has lots of gardens.

a line of trucks passed slowly under a large crane, which placed a container from a ship on each truck

Although it is a desert climate, summers are cooler here than in the northern and inland regions of Oman and more temperate than most Arabian countries. Arabic is the official language, and English the most-spoken of foreign languages. Tourism and shipping are important to the area’s economy. Currency is the Omani rial. 1 rial is worth $2.60 USD.

flowering tree

The climate is subtropical with palm trees and coconut, banana, and papaya plantations. The main tourist season is during the rainy summer when people flee the heat in other Arab nations to visit Salalah’s cooler and greener area. Friday is their holy day with the work week running from Sunday through Thursday. A lot of places are closed on Friday. The wadis of the area fill with water and are a green oasis with year-round springs, unlike wadis in other areas that are like a dry wash or arroyo except when it rains.

MSC Lirica approaches the dock in Salalah, Oman, assisted by a tug

SALALAH CRUISE PORT

Cruise ships dock at the container port outside the city. It’s an industrial area in the desert. Shuttles take you to the port exit as walking through the port is prohibited in container ports. Taxis are available there for the 15 minute ride into town, but can be expensive as they are not metered so the cost is negotiated. Some will take US dollars. It is too far to walk so getting to the city on your own requires a taxi.

a row of containers marked the boundry of where passengers were allowed to walk in the port

Most websites recommend taking a ship’s excursion at this port so we booked a 4×4 tour. Some other people we met on the ship found local van tours that went to the same places. Excursions picked people up right at the port, and the local van tours were there as well. I don’t know how the price compared at this port. We did run into ports on this cruise where the local tours actually cost more than the ship’s tours, but at most ports they were less, which is generally the case.

view of the ruins of the palace of the Queen of Sheba from across a bay

THINGS TO DO IN SALALAH

The Frankincense Land Museum, part of the Al Balid Archaeological Site, recounts the city’s maritime history and role in the spice trade. Scuba diving and bird watching are popular. There are historical ruins in neighboring areas including ruins rumored to be the palace of the Queen of Sheba, and the final resting place of the biblical prophet Job. The sultan’s palace can be admired from afar, and there is a glitzy new mosque. Groves of fragrant frankincense trees are a popular attraction, but they are a ways out of town. Arabic architecture and tree-lined streets make Salalah a prettier city than many in desert lands.

Oman coast

Oman has beaches too – one of the most popular is Al Mughsayl Beach with a long stretch of sand and lovely scenery. An associated attraction is Marneef Cave, where you can see water spouting from rock formations if the tides are wild enough. If you want an area where you can wear western swimsuits, try the Corniche, which also has plenty of places to eat nearby. Some beaches along the coastline are largely empty due to clothing restrictions and a dangerous undertow. Al Hafah Souq is a popular market 3k from the city with many traditional products including frankincense, clothing, and jewelry.

when it’s prayer time, it’s prayer time, even if you are a guide in the middle of a tour

Oman is a conservative and traditional country. Tourists need to keep that in mind and dress accordingly – with women keeping knees and shoulders covered as well as everything in between. Bathing suits are worn only on beaches and even there should be covered in a t-shirt or at least be a 1-piece with shorts over it. Boxer style suits for men as well, no speedos. Not that anyone ever wants to see someone in a speedo.

camel at Wadi Darbat

There are lots of camels wandering about freely in Oman. Huge herds may all belong to the same family.

frankincense trees (Bosweillia) in Oman (internet photo)

Frankincense trees grow in area’s high rock strewn mountains. Historically frankincense was an important commodity and export for the area, though it is now mainly used locally for medicinal purposes and perfume. Frankincense is also used to make incense and essential oils. It is rumored to heal or treat asthma, cancer and arthritis as well as improving oral health and gut function. The most common reference to frankincense for many people in the modern world is as one of the gifts from the wise men to baby Jesus. Frankincense is made from the resin of the Boswellia tree. It has a woody, spicy smell and can be inhaled, absorbed through the skin, steeped into a tea or taken as a supplement.

Copyright My Cruise Stories 2021
Posted in Lirica, Middle East, MSC, Port Cities, Ports of Call | 2 Comments

Curses, Cancelled Again!

Posted on September 17, 2021 by LBcruiseshipblogger

Symphony of the Seas (internet photo)

Just after booking a hotel near the airport for an early morning flight to Florida for a Caribbean cruise, when I went to forward the info to my sister who is traveling with me I found a very scary email indeed. Newly delivered to my inbox. Cruise Cancellation Notice, the subject line said. Oh no, not again! That means 3 of the last 4 cruises I’ve had booked got cancelled. Upon reading the notice, I discovered it was not for this fall’s weeklong Caribbean cruise on Royal Caribbean Symphony of the Seas with my sisters, but rather for the monthlong Asia cruise on Holland America Noordam my husband and I had booked for later in the winter. So far the Caribbean cruise is still on. Fingers crossed it stays that way.

Noordam (internet photo)

Upon reading the notice, it was not quite as bad as it initially seemed. The cruise wasn’t cancelled entirely – just postponed for a year. We’re still booked for now. Next year’s cruise has the same itinerary, but not the same ship. It’s on the Westerdam (heavy sigh). Not that there’s anything wrong with the Westerdam, it’s a nice ship and all, but no matter where we go on Holland America we can’t ever seem to get on any ship other than the Oosterdam, Westerdam, and Veendam. Even if the Noordam is a sister ship of the Oosterdam and Westerdam, I was really looking forward to sailing on a different one of their ships for a change.

old and new centerpieces to the Westerdam's atrium

Westerdam’s old and new atrium centerpeices

It’s not that we keep going to the same places all the time. We’ve gone all over on Holland America. We just always end up on the same ships. John and I took the Oosterdam to Mexico long before I started blogging, and then I sailed on it again many years later to Alaska with other relatives, at which time the odd cow print décor that had been there on the first voyage was gone – and not missed one bit. The Veendam took me on a New England cruise with some aunts and an uncle, and later to Cuba with John. As for the Westerdam, that’s the ship we’ve spent the most time on of any having been to the Caribbean, Alaska, across the Pacific, and around Japan and China on it. (I must say I liked its older décor much better than the modernized version. It did not have any cow print like the Oosterdam’s early décor, but did have a lovely crystal ship in the atrium that was replaced by an ugly squiggle. Their new minimalist modern furniture in some public places was not very comfortable either.)

cruise ship in Alaska

Westedam in Sitka

We’re giving another Caribbean cruise try this winter – a shorter cruise leaving out of an American port seems more likely to actually sail. We even found one with a stop in Bonaire, one of the few Caribbean ports we have not yet been to.

Copyright My Cruise Stories 2021
Posted in Holland America, Randoms, Uncategorized | Tagged | 7 Comments

Friday Harbor

Posted on September 10, 2021 by LBcruiseshipblogger
our boat at the fuel dock in Friday Harbor

Arrival at Friday Harbor on San Juan Island in Washington State’s San Juan Islands usually comes by state ferry. San Juan Island is one of 4 islands on the ferry route from Anacortes, the others being Orcas, Lopez, and Shaw. Private boats frequent the marina at Friday Harbor as well as San Juan Island’s other marina in Roche Harbor. Seasonal passenger ferries from several mainland cities also make stops in Friday Harbor. Small planes land at the airport within walking distance of town, and people may also arrive by seaplane. Million dollar homes dot the shoreline on the way to the dock, but after arriving the quaint buildings along the main street of the town are far older and smaller.

there’s a little tiny park area at the top of the stairs to the fuel dock

Friday Harbor has a population of over 2000 people, is the county seat of San Juan County, and the only incorporated city in all of the San Juan Islands. The climate is temperate, with less than 30 inches of annual rainfall. November is generally the wettest month and July the driest. The town covers about 2 square miles and sits just above the port with the main shopping area close to the marina and ferry dock.

road to the ferry dock

Early settlers made a living mainly through fishing, farming, or lime production. The current population depends more on tourism, real estate and construction. Island residents also include retirees, artists, and people who work online as well as government jobs, and those who work in schools, shops, restaurants, and the various places available for people to stay when they come to visit the island.

old buildings in Friday Harbor

Friday Harbor never lost its early pioneer buildings to a fire or other disaster as many other west coast seaports did so it still has some buildings dating back all the way to the 1880’s. Sometimes people think they see ghosts in some of the old buildings, and guided ghost walk tours are occasionally available.

entrance to the dock going out to the fuel dock in the marina

Places to stay on the island include hotels, BnB’s or vacation rentals, resorts, and camping. Friday Harbor has a whale museum, historical museum, and several art museums. From the harbor people can go kayaking or take whale watching or sailing tours.

shops in Friday Harbor

Shops include plenty of touristy fare as well as ordinary things a grocery store and a pharmacy. A variety of restaurants interspersed between the shops keep visitors to the town well fed. There’s even a chocolate & wine shop that offers after dinner tastings by reservation.

shops along the main street

Beyond Friday Harbor there’s more to do on the rest of the island. It has state and county parks, hiking trails, lighthouses, and historical sites. Places to visit include a lavender farm and alpaca farm. The island also has wineries and breweries.

Piper on a log at the beach

About 5 years ago I got my current dog, Piper at an animal shelter in Friday Harbor. (That is not a muzzle on her nose, it is the noseband of a gentle leader, which works something like a horse halter.) She’d been returned enough times that they called about a week after we got her wondering when we’d be bringing her back, but we still have her. 

approaching the fuel dock in the Friday Harbor marina

We most recently visited Friday Harbor as a brief fuel stop during a trip by private boat to nearby Decatur Island. The marina in Friday Harbor is full service with a fuel dock. Since we were there during the pandemic masks were required both at the dock and in town. While the boat was getting fueled I took a quick trip into town to the grocery store for chapstick, but didn’t have time to do much looking around. Piper stayed on the boat, but a lot of other people walking around town had dogs. The people all wore masks. Had circumstances been different we might have stayed to look around a bit or maybe have lunch, but at that time we wanted to go somewhere less populated and went to Odlin County Park on Lopez Island for a picnic instead. We also came to Friday Harbor once on an UnCruise – which was a small-ship cruise to places the big ships don’t go.

Copyright My Cruise Stories 2021

Posted in USA, Washington | Tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments