Disney World – Animal Kingdom

Posted on June 9, 2017 by LBcruiseshipblogger

posing at the entryway to Animal Kingdom

Unlike the rest of Disney World where the animals are all characters, animation, or wild visitors – like birds or squirrels dropping in, Animal Kingdom has actual live animals as a planned part of their exhibits. Of course it’s still very Disney with plenty of animals of the character or animated variety. Animal Kingdom has the regular sort of theme park rides, but it also has jungle adventures.

animals on the animal trek

Animal Kingdom is divided up into several different lands. The Africa part had a jungle trek trail with views of a variety of animals like tigers, water buffalo, and all sorts of birds including a bunch in a walk-through aviary.

Kilimanjaro Safari ride was in actual trucks

Africa also had the Kilimanjaro Safari on an open-sided jungle truck through animal habitats where visitors can see real live zebras, giraffes, elephants, and other animals. One of the elephants had a tiny baby, but it did not get close enough for a photo.

elephant on the safari

The animals on the safari wandered freely through their habitat. Every now and then the truck passed through gates between habitats for different types of animals. Though the gates are open, they all had things to keep animals from passing through that felt like bumpy terrain to trucks driving over. One place had a bridge that appeared questionable, obviously part of the ride since the guides made a point of acting like it was scary to cross. Not that Disney World would ever let anything get into poor repair because of the liability, but if it somehow did happen they would not point it out.

Florida has lots of alligators and some of them live in Animal Kingdom’s safari

Some of the animals roam freely through the areas where the trucks drive, but the more dangerous ones like alligators or hippos have walls around them.

monkeying around at Disney World

The Asia area had live monkeys in a habitat in the middle of the main walkway area of the park. We saw them on the way to one of the park’s most popular rides – the Everest Expedition roller coaster. This ride has a minimum height requirement of 44 inches. Portions of the line go through indoor areas with displays about yeti, and the yeti does make an appearance during the ride.

Disney’s Mt. Everest houses the Expedition Everest roller coaster

Try and get fast passes for the safari and the Everest roller coaster, and if you can’t get the fast passes do those two as early as possible before the lines build up because they tend to have the longest lines in the Animal Kingdom. Dinosaur was a distant third on the amount of wait time required during our visit there. Most of the rest of Animal Kingdom’s attractions did not have long lines during our visit. Of course during peak season everything probably has long lines and some things that may normally have long lines were closed for refurbishment.

new World of Avatar – Pandora at Animal Kingdom (internet photo)

While we were there construction was going on for the new Pandora – The World of Avatar exhibit. This section just opened a couple weeks ago, so most likely that is where the longest lines are now. The main attractions in Pandora are a special effects flight ride and a river journey.

TriceraTop Spin ride

Dinosaur is in the DinoLand section of the park which also includes a giant dinosaur statue and a roller coaster called Primeval Whirl which looked fun, but had a minimum height which was too tall for either of the grandkids at 48 inches so we didn’t go on it. The Triceratop Spin there is like Dumbo from the Magic Kingdom without the overly long line other than the ride cars are dinosaurs rather than elephants.

on the Dinosaur ride

The ride just called Dinosaur puts visitors on an expedition through time in a failed attempt to capture a dinosaur before the meteor arrives. Minimum height is 40 inches for this ride. The darkness and dinosaurs may seem scary to some small children.

The Tree-ater – showpiece of Animal Kingdom housing the It’s Tough to Be a Bug show

Attractions at the Animal Kingdom include shows as well as rides. One called It’s Tough To Be A Bug is inside of the large artificial rainforest tree dominating that section of the park. First show we’ve ever seen in a tree-ater. Make sure all the kids sit in their own seats rather than on someone’s lap so they get all the special effects in this show.

Hannah brushing sheep at the petting farm

There’s also the Wildlife Express train out to Rafiki’s Planet Watch, an area with a petting farm, live animal shows, and a view into a lab and veterinary office. There’s lots of conservation information along the walkway as well as some monkeys and other endangered animals on display. Animals in the petting farm area have ropes they can pass under if they want to go where people aren’t allowed.

rhino on the safari

Being Disney there are plenty of places in the Animal Kingdom to shop, eat, or meet Disney characters.

the kids loved this fountain

Throughout the park we found random things you pass by that kids can enjoy like drums they can play or a fountain where sticking a hand or finger in it changes where the water goes. Speaking of fountains, there are drinking fountains near every bathroom in all of the Disney World parks.

giraffe on the Kilimanjaro Safari

Animal Kingdom was the least crowded of the 4 parks during our visit there. It’s possible that could have changed due to the new Avatar Land, but I would guess that Epcot and the Magic Kingdom probably remain more popular. The best way to know where to avoid the crowds is putting the Disney World app on your smart phone during a visit there. Besides letting you book fast passes and listing wait times for rides, the app can also do things like show park maps and give directions from where you are to where you want to go.

Cruising to Tauranga

cruise ship from the beach at Mount Maunganui

Arcadia in Tauranga

The cruise ship port at Tauranga in New Zealand’s Bay of Plenty sits about 4 miles outside of the city center. When we stopped there on the P&O Arcadia they had a free shuttle that would take passengers for the short ride to town. There was plenty to do within walking distance of the port for anyone who came with no prior plans or excursions booked.

view of Mount Maunganui from the ship’s stern

The cruise pier sat near the small town area of Mount Maunganui, the mountain itself looming large in the view off the stern.

ice cream shop at the pier

The smaller town was once independent of Tauranga, but was absorbed by the city after completion of a bridge between the two and is now officially a part of Tauranga. Besides the small shops you can see from the port area, Mount Maunganui also has a large shopping mall. The area is a popular vacation spot.

sailboats and other fun things for rent

A sand bar connects the mainland to the mountain – a lava dome created through an upwelling of lava several million years ago. There’s a great harbor beach running along the sandbar from near the ship to the mountain. People can swim there, rent kayaks, paddle boards, or sailboats, or walk the boardwalk to the mountain and hike to the top. Unseen from the port, the other side of the sandbar has an ocean beach popular with surfers. There’s a little ice cream shop at the end of the beach closest to the ship with a variety of unique flavors to choose from.

beachside boardwalk to the mountain

Lots of passengers from our ship hiked up the mountain. From bottom to top of the mountain some said they made it in under half an hour, others said it took much longer. All agreed the view from the top was spectacular.

Arcadia from the kayak

We walked down the beach and rented a kayak after we got back from our excursion to the Hobbiton movie set. We paddled out fairly close to the ship and took some photos.

Tauranga Shore Excursions

cruise ship passengers on the Hobbiton tour wait to see inside the open hobbit hole

Tauranga also had some interesting and unique shore excursions available for those passengers who wanted to book one. We took the one to Hobbiton, the movie set for the Shire in Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit.

Pohutu Geyser in Whakarewarewa thermal valley – internet photo

There are a number of geothermal features near Tauranga. Our ship offered a tour of Rotorua and the thermal valley and another geothermal tour to a place called Wao-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland. Other excursions included Maori Heritage tours and Highlights of Tauranga.

Mount Maunganui from a dock near the ship – and seagulls

Copyright My Cruise Stories 2017

Posted in Arcadia, New Zealand, P&O, Ports of Call | Tagged cruise, Mount Mauganui, New Zealand, photos, ports, Tauranga, Tauranga cruise port, travel | 2 Comments

Carnival Vista Family Harbor Cabins

Posted on May 26, 2017 by LBcruiseshipblogger

Family Harbor on the Vista

Carnival’s newest ship, the Vista, has two new stateroom categories not found on any of their previous ships. The Havana cabins are for passengers 12 and older and include exclusive daytime use of a pool and deck area. Family Harbor has some cabins that hold up to 5 people and comes with entry to the exclusive Family Harbor lounge, concierge service, and other perks beneficial to families with young children such as a night of free babysitting at Night Owls and free meals for kids at the premium restaurants.

nautical flag themed bedding

Family Harbor is found at the back of deck 2. Cabins and hallways in the Family Harbor area have a nautical decor exclusive to that area of the ship.

nautical flag letter chart

Pillows and bedding have nautical flag letter symbols. In addition to letters of the alphabet, nautical flags also have other meanings. Some, like diver down, signal what you are doing. Others like yes or no are used for communication with passing vessels. Some are signals for help.

inside cabin 2423 holds just 2 passengers, but some have drop-down bunks and hold up to 4

Like any area of the ship, the least expensive way to get into Family Harbor is with an inside cabin. Inside cabins hold two to four passengers, with the majority accommodating 3 or 4. All cabins in the Family Harbor area include the perks exclusive to that area, which means they cost more than similar cabins without extra perks.

Deck Plans Carnival Vista Deck 2 (click photo for larger image)

There are a couple fully accessible interior cabins that hold up to 3 passengers and some interior cabins have connecting doors to the cabin next to them. There are two sets of connecting cabins that hold 3 passengers each and two sets that hold 2 passengers each. Interior cabins don’t have a lot of space so passengers booking these for a family will likely appreciate the use of the Family Harbor Lounge.

deluxe oceanview cabin 2420 holds a maximum of 4 passengers

For more space and a view, Family Harbor has oceanview rooms that hold two to four passengers and deluxe oceanview cabins for three to five. Two beds are standard in each room. The extra beds come in the form of drop down bunks that fold out of the ceiling and a couch that converts into a bed.

deluxe oceanview cabin 2418 holds 5 passengers

The majority of the oceanview cabins hold 3 people, though there are several – mostly accessible – cabins that hold just two and one that holds 4. The deluxe oceanview cabins mostly hold 4 or 5 people, but there are a couple just for 3. You can put less people in a cabin than the maximum that it holds, but not more.

deluxe ocean view cabins and Family Harbor suites have an extra partial bathroom with tub and sink

The deluxe oceanview cabins have an extra partial bathroom with a tub and sink, which comes in handy when you have four or five passengers staying in the same room.

cove balcony cabin 2419 sleeps 4

There are just 4 balcony cabins in the Family Harbor area. These are all cove balconies, hold 4 passengers, and have a connecting door to a suite. The connecting suites hold 5 people each so a total of 9 could book into these pairs of cabins. The interior space of the cove balcony cabins is less than in the oceanview cabins because the balcony occupies part of the space allotted to that cabin. Cove balconies are wrapped in a metal shell with watertight doors into the cabin and an open windowlike view from the balcony to the sea, which is fairly near since these cabins are located on deck 2. Balconies on higher decks are more open with just a plexiglass barrier across the seaside edge.

look up from this suite cove balcony to see the lifeboats, down to see the water

Connecting doors stay locked between cabins if unrelated parties book the two that connect, but if families or other people traveling together have booked both cabins the doors are unlocked so they have inside access from one cabin to the next without going out into the hallway. Cabins without connecting doors are preferable if available when you are not sailing with the people next door because you can hear your neighbors more through the door than through a solid wall.

people can order cabin decorations like these in suite 2417

Suites in the Family Harbor area have balconies half again as long as the cove balcony cabins, and the cabin itself is also that much wider making it more spacious. The suites also have the extra partial bathroom with a tub like the deluxe oceanview rooms. Each suite has a maximum passenger limit of 4 or 5 people.

Family Harbor Lounge

Maximum passenger limits per cabin are the same with or without a portable crib because even though a crib means extra bed space could be available, the baby counts as a person for lifeboat space. Maximum passengers allowed on board is limited by the lifeboat capacity so not all rooms on the ship can be booked up to the maximum allowable capacity of people for that room at the same time and extra people over the stated limit for that room are not allowed. A ship could be booked full and still have a few empty cabins if the lifeboat capacity is reached before all the cabins are full.

snacks area in the Family Harbor Lounge

The Family Harbor Lounge is only open to passengers booked into Family Harbor cabins. It is open 24 hours a day. The lounge has breakfast and snacks available daily.

tables in the Family Harbor Lounge

It has concierge service, computers, video games, and family movies as well as a selection of board games to keep kids and families entertained.

sitting area in the Family Harbor Lounge

For more blogs about cabins on the Vista see Vista Cabins or Havana Cabins.

hallway decor in the Family Harbor area

For a complete list of blogs about cabins on other ships see My Cruise Stories Ships and Cabins page.

Copyright My Cruise Stories 2017

Posted in Carnival, Vista | Tagged #familyharborcabins, #nauticalflagletterchart, accommodations, cabins, Carnival, cruise, Family Harbor, nautical flag alphabet chart, photos, Staterooms, travel, Vista | Leave a comment

Is Your Sunscreen Reef Safe? Deter Natural Mineral Sunscreen Is!

Posted on May 19, 2017 by LBcruiseshipblogger

Snorkeling at Australia’s Great Barrier Reef

Coral reefs worldwide are in decline. Along with the nutrients released by glaciers, which are currently receding at an alarming rate, corals are at the bottom of the food chain, the basis of all life on the planet. Which means their decline should be of concern to everyone – so of course should be the overall health of the planet, but unfortunately to many it’s not. Some of the worst offenders are governments of countries who could do the most to help if they cared to.

Shipwreck in Bermuda provides structure for coral and other sealife

At least some countries care about coral. On a recent visit to Bermuda our local guide on a snorkel excursion mentioned how they have a lot of protections for the coral there. It has declined only 11%. Which sounds bad unless you are aware that Caribbean corals are at around an 80% decline. There’s not a lot each individual can do to stop rising ocean temperatures, changes in the PH balance, water pollution, storms, overfishing, fertilizer runoff, and other things that harm coral, but there are a few things everyone can do. First of all don’t touch the coral you encounter. Also never litter. Besides fouling the land, things people carelessly toss aside often end up in the sea. Just as important, especially when in tropical areas, do everything you can to protect the coral. Unfortunately the mass-marketed sunscreens that most people use are oil and/or chemical based. Just one drop of chemicals widely used in sunscreen like oxybenzone in an area larger than several olympic sized swimming pools is enough to deform coral cells and kill their larvae. Other damaging chemicals include octocrylene, 4MBC, butylparaben and octinoxate. Chemicals used in the average sunscreen bleach the coral and oils smother it. Even some natural oils – those that work as insecticides – can kill coral. You don’t even need to go to the beach to do harm because the wrong sort of sunscreen can make its way to the ocean through the sewer systems when washed off.

soft coral in the Philippines

Luckily there are some companies making biodegradable reef-safe mineral based sunscreens. The best thing about these is that their active ingredients of zinc oxide and titanium dioxide are what dermatologists recommend most to prevent skin cancer because they actually create a physical barrier to block harmful rays. This protects skin far better than the chemical based sunscreens most people use. The ingredients are far more important than the SPF factor in providing cancer protection so while protecting the environment you also better protect yourself.

Deter reef safe sunscreen

One such company making not only reef safe sunscreen, but also other environmentally friendly products is Deter. Besides being mineral based and reef friendly, their non-greasy hypoallergenic fragrance free child-safe sunscreen also has skin care ingredients including carrot and green tea antioxidants, aloe vera and emollient rich natural oils from soybean, sunflower, almond, sesame, and cocoa butter that are not the sort that harm coral like lavender, tea tree, or jojoba oils can.

Deter and Alba Botanical out of the package

The Deter lotion is not as thick as the three I tried last year. It is closer to the consistency of ordinary sunscreens and rubs in just as quickly and easily as the Alba Botanica, which was the easiest to apply of the ones I tried previously. Once on it has a lighter feel on the skin than the other brands I’ve tried. You really don’t notice that it is there. It does not give a specific amount of time for water resistance before the need to reapply, just saying to repply after swimming where the others all gave a time. When asked about this, the company said that according to the FDA sunscreens are given only ratings of 40 or 80 minutes resistance which they earn through testing. This one has not been tested so the amount of time it actually lasts in the water is unknown, though I have noticed that mineral sunscreens tend to last longer than any of the others. The fact that the times given on the package are assigned through passing expensive government testing rather than the actual time a sunscreen lasts explains why the mineral sunscreens last longer in the water than regular ones with the same rating. Regardless of the rating, it’s always a good idea to reapply sunscreen after leaving the water.

coral near Bird Island, Antigua

I was quite surprised when sunscreen from a company that makes environmentally friendly products arrived in a box of styrofoam packing peanuts. Hopefully the peanuts were recycled from something shipped to them and they were just trying to keep them out of the landfill. (It happens. I re-use the air pillows and bubble wrap my packages come in on things I ship out.)

You probably won’t find coral safe sunscreens in the average store, but they are available online. I haven’t had a chance to try Deter at a beach or for snorkeling yet, but the ease of spreading it on and the light skin feel make it great for everyday use to protect from sunburn and skin cancer. The price is significantly lower than mineral sunscreen from the dermatologist’s office and comparable to other reef-safe brands.

Deter Reef Safe Sunscreen

Posted in Product Reviews | Tagged best skin cancer protection, coral safe sunscreen, environmentally friendly products, environmentally friendly sunscreen, mineral sunscreen, reef safe sunscreen | Leave a comment

Things to do On Celebrity Infinity

Posted on May 12, 2017 by LBcruiseshipblogger

Sometimes people gather by the railing to watch the scenery go by

What is there to do on a cruise ship? A lot. All the large cruise ships of the major lines are like floating resorts with all sorts of things to keep passengers entertained when they aren’t off roaming around at port stops.

the dining room serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner

First of all there’s food. Food in the dining room, food in the buffet, food in the specialty restaurants, coffee shops, outside grills, and a variety of other places on any given ship where food might be found. For a really fun meal on Celebrity try their very unique Qsine.

drinks on ice

And if that’s not enough there’s always room service. Of course the ships all have bars. Inside bars, outside bars, poolside bars. If you want drinks on board you don’t have to look too hard or go too far to find them. The major ships all have pools, hot tubs and casinos too.

chicken crepe at Bistro on Five where crepes were the specialty and you could watch them get made

And food. Did I mention food? Eating is a big part of cruising for many of the passengers on board. Want to go shopping? The onboard shops open every day when ships aren’t in port. How about a trip to the spa? The spa stays open even in port. Cruise ship spas offer a variety of things from massages to facials, haircuts, manicures, and even acupuncture and other treatments.

pools and loungers on the Lido deck

Celebrity Infinity has lots of deck chairs all around the outer decks. Whether you like sun or shade, a place where you can people watch in the center of things or a quiet corner for relaxing or reading, you can find a deck chair that suits your needs.

Infinity has a free indoor spa-type pool

Want a deck chair that’s not outside? Infinity has those too, all around the thalassotherapy pool in the adults only solarium. Speaking of that pool, besides being inside it has racks to sit on over bubble jets and water fountains – things often found only in spa pools people pay extra to use, but on the Infinity the thalassotherapy pool is free. The solarium also contains the AquqSpa cafe which serves healthy alternatives to breakfast and lunch and always has jugs of lemon, lime, or orange water available.

free texas hold’em poker tournament final table

Besides all the usual casino games, the Infinity’s smoke free casino offered both poker and blackjack tournaments for free during the course of our cruise. Passengers competed through several rounds to make the final table and finalists played a passenger vs officer round where bystanders could bet on whether a guest or officer would win. A ticket drawn from the winning side’s bucket netted a lucky passenger an awesome prize. Better in fact than what the tournament winner got, even if that winner was a passenger. All players who made the final table got t-shirts too.

theater on Celebrity Infinity

Each night brought shows to the theater. They had some Las Vegas style production shows with the onboard cast, but many nights guest entertainers put on spectacular shows above and beyond the expected cruise ship entertainment. They also had resident aerialists who put on quite a show whenever they performed – usually as a small portion of some of the nighttime shows, but one afternoon they had a show of their own. The theater is a great source of entertainment in the daytime too with guest speakers and other presentations.

one night Infinity had ice carving

Other lounges and meeting rooms about the ship also play host to a variety of seminars or activities. Whether it’s dancing, fitness, health, music, technology, or wine you’ll probably find an event or activity to suit. Like most ships there’s also art auctions, which with the right auctioneer can be pretty entertaining even if you have no intention of buying any art. Besides the daily activities, during the course of the cruise they sometimes have special events.

Infinity’s own game show with audience participation

Checking the daily newsletter, Infinity Today, shows a full schedule of activities where each hour brings more options than any one person could ever attend. Fun and games come in choices from the more sedate trivia or bingo to active games like beanbag toss.

watching the ship go under the Golden Gate bridge in the setting sun

While there are plenty of scheduled events to keep passengers entertained all day, people can also entertain themselves quite easily on a cruise ship.

odd or ugly statues seem to be a requirement of cruise ship decor

If you’re easily amused sometimes it’s fun to wander about on a cruise ship and wonder what they were thinking when they chose their art.

see where all the food comes from on the galley tour

Get a peek at what goes on behind the scenes on Celebrity’s free galley tour.

rooftop terrace photo from Celebrity’s website

New since our cruise, the Infinity now has a rooftop terrace with outdoor movies and snacks.

Top Chef on Celebrity Infinity

One day on our cruise the Infinity had a Top Chef competition – with passengers selected from the audience to do the cooking and the judging.

Some onboard activities are pretty standard throughout the cruise ship industry, but others vary from line to line, ship to ship, or even day to day. One thing is for sure though, when on board a cruise ship there is always something fun to do.

Copyright My Cruise Stories 2017

Posted in Celebrity, Infinity, Shipboard Life | Tagged Celebrity Infinity, cruise ship entertainment, fun, photos, travel, vacation, What is there to do on a cruise ship? Things to do on a cruise ship | 2 Comments

A Princess in Victoria

Posted on May 5, 2017 by LBcruiseshipblogger

Ruby Princess in Victoria

Ships that cruise round trip from Seattle to Alaska all make a brief evening stop in Victoria on the way back. Victoria sits on the south end of Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. While it is a touristy town with lots to see and do, the cruise ships generally don’t come early enough or stay long enough to take advantage of all Victoria has to offer. Why bother to stop there at all since the stops are so brief?

little horse carriages roam the streets of Victoria looking for passengers

Ships stop in Victoria because Canada is not the USA. Unless the ship is registered in the USA which they normally are not, it can’t do a completely domestic cruise in the USA. It has to stop in at least one foreign port. Ships that cruise to Alaska from Vancouver B.C. do not have this problem since Vancouver is in Canada. It is not however on Vancouver Island, but on the mainland nearby. There is also a city called Vancouver in Washington State, but it does not have a cruise ship port. There was once an early explorer named Captain Vancouver sailing around the area and all these places are named after him.

Ruby Princess had different special chocolate desserts each day

Ruby Princess arrived in Victoria around dinner time. Dinner on a cruise ship can be a lengthy affair and some people’s scheduled meal time would have meant choosing between dinner and the port. To counteract this they started dinner a bit early that day and made all dining rooms Anytime Dining for that evening. Which meant a lot of people lining up at the door before it opened. Our original plan had been to go to afternoon tea and skip the dinner, but the head waiter who did a wonderful job of looking after my gluten-free sisters did not seem to want us to do that. He said that night’s meal was too good to pass up and that he would let us in a bit early before the official earlier dinner time of the day. Things did not go quite as planned when the mob rushed the dining room as soon as they cracked a door open to let the special needs diners in before the scheduled opening time. They looked at us apologetically and said to run to the table. We did manage to get to our usual table before anyone else took it and had a fine meal with time to go explore the port.

blurry picture of the tally-ho taken through a rainy bus window

We had booked an excursion, but before the cruise started we were notified that it had been canceled and did not book anything else in its place. I had seen the tally-ho horse carriages in the port area on a previous cruise and we thought it might be fun to take one into town, but it turned out they were all there to take passengers booked on an excursion. None were available just as transportation to town.

building in Victoria

On my last visit taking a taxi cost less with several people than the shuttle, but this time the shuttle was fairly cheap and the ticket was good for round trip so we went with that. I’ve heard it’s not a bad walk, but we would have needed to skip dinner to have time to walk to town and have hopes that anything might still be open. That is one advantage of a booked excursion, some things that close earlier to the general public do allow them in.

no chocolates today, the shop is closed

The shuttle let us out not quite in the area with the Empress Hotel and the Parliament Buildings, which are something most tourists like to see. It was not too far to walk there from the shuttle stop. The late hour saved one of my sisters some money because she would have gotten something at her favorite chocolate shop when we walked past it if it had been open. A lot of the souvenir shops stayed open, but the little specialty shops were more likely to be closed.

Empress Hotel

We pretty much just wandered around town for a bit, and through the Empress and its rose garden.

gardens at the Empress

The Empress has gone through some recent renovations and for a time I was wondering when they would get around to replacing the threadbare carpet running through the hallways until I realized what looked like a severely worn-out carpet was actually just a printed pattern. Sometimes you have to wonder what people were thinking when they choose their decor.

Pearl in Victoria, docked next to Ruby Princess

We had not seen another ship at any of our ports through this entire cruise up until Victoria. It was our last port and by then more ships had started to arrive for the season. Some stopped there. We had one of Holland America’s ships on one side of us, and the Norwegian Pearl on the other. I always like spotting the Pearl since it is the ship on the banner of my blog due to a random photo and the fact that I like its paint job.

totem pole by the inner harbour in Victoria

Arriving in Victoria by Princess ship revived an old song from a commercial that tends to rattle around in my head when Victoria and princesses combine. Before the Victoria Clippers of today there was a ship called the Princess Marguerite that made daily sailings from Seattle to Victoria. Their commercial played frequently on TV with a song that went: Take a Princess to sea, take a princess to sea, have a crumpet and tea, have a crumpet and tea. She’s fun aboard – all the way, sail away for the day, hey,hey, hey – let’s go to Victoria on the Princess Marguerite. I don’t think they had anything to do with Princess cruise line, but it’s still a ship called princess going to Victoria. I never sailed on that one or the Victoria Clipper for that matter. The only ship I’ve sailed on that served crumpets was a British ship, the P&O Arcadia, where you could get crumpets at afternoon tea in the dining room. P&O is tied into Princess closely enough that if you sail on P&O the cruise counts toward your loyalty points on Princess.

Parliament Building in Victoria

I didn’t have anything much to say about Victoria from this particular trip since we didn’t do much, but there’s more about that charming city in these other blogs from Victoria:

Craigdarroch Castle

Victoria Harbour Ferries

A Quick Stop in Victoria

Copyright My Cruise Stories 2017

Posted in Canada, Ports of Call, Princess, Ruby Princess | Tagged BC, British Columbia, Canada, cruise, photos, port stops, travel, Vancouver Island, Victoria, Victoria cruise port | Leave a comment

runDisney

Posted on April 28, 2017 by LBcruiseshipblogger

Disney Fantasy and Norwegian Epic from a cove balcony on Carnival Magic at Port Canaveral

Usually cruising involves a ship, but sometimes people cruise along on their own two feet. Sometimes those very feet take their people into races, and whether literally or officially, races can be a challenge.

typical Disney World – kids and Cinderella’s Castle

Disney World brings up images of rides, castles, princesses, and most of all happy families and children having fun. Most people probably have no idea Disney also sponsors marathons and other races. I would never have known if my daughter and her family hadn’t made plans to come to America from Australia where they live to participate in the Walt Disney World Marathon at Disney World. Of course when that was over we took time for a cruise on the Carnival Magic, sailing out of Port Canaveral which is the closest port to Orlando.

Aaron jumping over the finish line at Epcot

RUN DISNEY

runDisney includes a variety of events throughout the year with some taking place at Disney World in Florida and others at Disneyland in California. Some events include full marathons plus other races. Other events top out at a half marathon. Races go through Disney parks. Disney characters may be spotted along the way and some participants run dressed as characters. Participants get t-shirts and finishers get medals. The marathon at Disney World is one of their biggest events including both half and full marathons as well as other races. Some participants continue on after the marathons are over to another 5k race out on Disney’s Castaway Cay – but they have to take a specific cruise on a Disney ship to get there.

tired near the end of the marathon

Our daughter ran the full marathon, which was her first full marathon and at 26.2 miles about 6 miles farther than she’d ever run before. Her husband signed on for the Dopey Challenge, which included both the full and half marathons as well as 5k and 10k races. There’s also a Goofy challenge for the half and full marathons. The kids each did one of the children’s races. Age groups for kid’s races started with the diaper derby which barely has to cross the finish line and then 100, 200 and 400 meter races for younger kids with each successive age group running a bit farther. The mile is open to any kids 13 and under who can run that far.

posers at ESPN – before they ran any races

Small children can run with their parents, and for those who don’t there’s a corral at the end where the parent has to have the claim strip that matches the child’s number to retrieve them so no child can leave the pen without a parent and no adult can enter the pen without the claim strip or leave with a child unless the child they take with them matches the number that they have.

kid’s races – Daniel crosses the finish line first and Hannah running the mile

The short races run in waves with one following after the other in fairly quick succession. Daniel won his wave in the 200 meter with a personal best and although Hannah was young enough she could have done the 400 meter, she chose the mile instead and made a personal best on her time while crossing the finish line about the middle of the pack – ahead of a lot of kids bigger than her. The boy who crossed first was about twice her size and finished the mile in less than 6 minutes (5:39)

race shirts - not really free since you pay to enter the race

runDisney shirts

Each race in the runDisney marathon weekend has it’s own unique medal. Participants all get a shirt for each race they entered when they pick up their numbers and everyone who finishes within the allowed time gets a medal. The 2-race Goofy Challenge comes with 3 medals and the 4-race Dopey Challenge with 6 as well as a shirt for each race entered plus one for the challenge. Top finishers earn money as well, but most people run for their own personal reasons with no chance or thoughts of winning. Some even walk the marathon, which is allowed as long as they finish within the maximum time.

Hannah crosses the Mickey Mile finish line wearing a Minnie Mouse skirt

Disney characters are a big part of each race and participants can stop for photos with them along the race route. They may not want to wait in line for that, but there are other photo ops along the way and if they choose to buy their photos the race package is combined with any photos they have taken in the park. Race photos are identified through their number bibs which are equipped with tracking and park photos through scanning their cards or wristbands.

posing with medals at ESPN

Most races started and finished at Epcot, but kid’s races and number pick-ups were at ESPN. Getting there is easiest when staying in a Disney resort, but those who aren’t could take the bus from Disney World to Pop Century Resort and then one from there to ESPN. Cabs are also available, but uber gets you there just as quickly and costs less. Uber or cabs also work for getting to the races from off-site hotels which don’t run shuttles nearly that early. We used uber quite a bit around Orlando.

Sheri has a Minnie Mouse skirt too

Safety is always a concern. The half marathon got cancelled due to lightning on a rainy, stormy day. Quite a disappointment to any runners entered in that race. All the runners still get their medals, but those in the Dopey or Goofy challenges don’t get the satisfaction or bragging rights of actually completing all their races. Some participants ran on their own to put in the mileage when the weather cleared enough, but they don’t get any official times or the experience of seeing the Disney characters along the way. Entrants were given a choice of park passes or vouchers for merchandise as a refund for their entry fees.

marathon finishers with medals

There was a program to get updates on a runner’s progress through the marathon. People could get alerts through facebook, email, or texts. While helpful to a point, the updates weren’t frequent enough to really know what time a runner would arrive at a specific point. When they do get there odds are quite a few others will pass by at the same time. Runners wearing something that stands out from everyone else certainly makes them easier to spot in a crowd while those wearing the race shirts they were given blend into the multitude. It’s not all that easy for the runners to spot family in the crowd either. We had signs, but just small ones made last minute with colored pens and computer paper and they almost missed us. We didn’t see a lot of encouragement signs at Disney World, but apparently it’s a thing at other races – at least in Australia anyway.

running through Epcot’s world showcase

Runners had to walk some distance both to the starting line and back to the parking lot from the finish line. It took quite awhile for them to collect their medals and come out of the finish area.

runDisney Dopey Challenge medals – one for each race plus Goofy and Dopey

The runDisney marathon brought about 70,000 people to the area, which of course made not just Disney World, but also nearby parks like Universal far more crowded than they would be during what otherwise would be the off season when all the kids have gone back to school after Christmas break. The best day we had there for getting on rides was the day the half marathon got cancelled. The crowds didn’t show up in the miserable weather so the lines were shorter than any of the other days. Plus they let people in before the park officially opened that day so we got on a couple rides that usually had long waits before any lines had a chance to get started.

If I had it to do over again I’d enter the 5k or 10k. Maybe both in case one got cancelled. It doesn’t matter if you can’t run that far, it’s OK to walk. Plus if you stop for photos with the characters you can rest a bit while waiting in line. This experience did inspire me to start running. Unless Sheri and Aaron do the Disney thing again I may never enter a race, but I can run a full 5k now without stopping. Which isn’t much to a marathon runner, but a lot farther than I ever could before. I was on the track team in High School, but only as a sprinter mainly doing 100 or 200 meters with the max at 400, which seemed quite far to me then. By the time we see the kids again I might even be up to running a full 10k.

Copyright My Cruise Stories 2017

Posted in Port City Side Trips, Randoms, USA | Tagged cancelled race, Disney, Disney World, Dopey Challenge, kid's races, Marathon, race, runDisney | 2 Comments

Hobbiton, New Zealand

Posted on April 21, 2017 by LBcruiseshipblogger

Arcadia in Tauranga, New Zealand

Hobbiton

sign at the trail leading into Hobbiton

When our cruise on the P&O Arcadia stopped in Tauranga, New Zealand, one of the shore excursions offered went to Hobbiton, the film set for the Shire where the Hobbits lived in the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit movies.

flower in Hobbiton

The bus ride from the cruise dock took about an hour through beautiful countryside with rolling hills covered in grassy fields. Near to town most had cows or horses, but once out into the country we started seeing the many sheep New Zealand is famous for. The country has way more sheep than people. In spite of that, and the fact that the set was built on a sheep farm, they imported sheep for the movie because they wanted a more rugged looking variety than the sort that already lived there.

trail through Hobbiton

The spaces in between farms and small stands of wild bush held Jurassic looking trees. Some looked like the fern trees we had previously seen in Australia’s Blue Mountains. Others resembled pine trees, only bigger and shaped more like a deciduous tree. Nearer the lowlands there were also some that looked something like miniature palms. The bus driver mentioned one area that held acres of wild bush where people could hike and camp. He said New Zealand has none of the poisonous snakes or spiders found in Australia so their bush country is much safer to hike through.

what's inside the hobbit holes on the movie set

not much inside the open hobbit hole

After reaching Hobbiton the bus pulled into the parking lot, or car park as they are known in Australia and New Zealand. We arrived a bit early and the tour guide wasn’t ready so they let people browse through the gift shop for a bit. Once the guide came the bus moved on while the guide explained how the film people had scouted the land on the Alexander’s 1250 acre sheep and beef farm near Matamata. When they came back knocking on the door to ask about filming Lord of the Rings there the owner replied with “Lord of the What?”

stairway leading up to Bag End

The youngest son had read the books and told his dad. “Sign, it’s a gold mine.” He now runs the tourist operation while his older brother runs the farm. That knock on the door must have been like winning the lottery for the Alexander family living there.

the tree on top of Bag End looks real

Great care was taken through all the details of Hobbiton. They have 39 hobbit holes, all with working electric lights. Bag End where Bilbo and Frodo Baggins lived sits at the top of a hill, the biggest of the hobbit holes there. The large oak tree on top of Bag end was cut down nearby and wired with artificial leaves for the filming of Lord of the Rings. Since The Hobbit story took place 60 years earlier they replaced it with a smaller, younger looking tree of steel and silicon construction.

mill and bridge across the lake from hobbit holes

The mill and bridge were originally made from scaffolding, plywood, and polystyrene, but in the 2-year reconstruction of Hobbiton for The Hobbit they used permanent materials and now keep the 12-acre set maintained. It took just 12 days to film the Hobbit trilogy.

vegetable patch between hobbit holes

In between The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit the movie set sat empty and abandoned. It was only after filming The Hobbit trilogy that it became a tourist attraction.

hobbit hole behind flowers

During the tour we walked through the set where hobbit holes dot the hillside. Each one is staged with different things out front. One had jars of honey, another painting supplies, and yet another had fish hanging to dry. All had little gardens with flowers and round doors and windows.

cozy home for a hobbit

Some had clotheslines with their little laundry hanging out to dry. Between the hobbit holes some areas had vegetable gardens. One area had fruit trees which the guide said were actually apple trees, but for the movie they hung artificial plums on the trees for a 5-second scene. Mostly the pathways wound their way between the hobbit holes, but here and there a path crossed over a bridge.

Sam’s home on Bagshot Row

Near the end of the hobbit holes we came to a group of 3 called Bagshot Row. The one with a yellow door belonged to Sam in the Lord of the Rings.

The Green Dragon Inn is a fully functional restaurant

After making our way through the hobbit’s living areas we crossed the big stone bridge past the mill. The mill had a working waterwheel. The Green Dragon Inn sat on the other side of the bridge and everyone on our tour was given a complementary beverage of their choice.

bar inside the Green Dragon

Options included several beers or non-alcoholic ginger beer. Outside behind the inn under canvas pavilions cruise ship passengers were also each given a large scone and a dessert where options included coconut covered cake squares called lamingtons, a regional favorite we first discovered at the airport in Fiji on a previous vacation and later saw in Australia.

hobbit hole

Cruise ship passengers can book the tour on their ship. Visitors to Matamata or Rotorua can catch tour busses there. People can also drive to the farm on their own. Hobbiton is just one of 20 sites New Zealand has scattered around the country where different scenes from the movies were filmed.

Posted in Arcadia, New Zealand, P&O, Ports of Call, Shore Excursions | Tagged cruise, fun, Hobbiton, Hobbiton movie set, Lord of the Rings, New Zealand, photos, Tauranga cruise port, The Hobbit, things to do in Tauranga, travel | 5 Comments

How to Fold a Towel Bear

Posted on April 14, 2017 by LBcruiseshipblogger

towel bear on Carnival Vista

Supplies Needed to Make a Towel Bear

1 Bath towel

1 Hand towel

Eyes – eyes can be paper, felt, googly eyes, or whatever you have that works

Use white towels to make a polar bear, black towels to make a black bear, or brown towels to make a grizzly bear.

How to Fold a Towel Bear Body

fold over long sides of towel, then fold over short ends

Lay the bath towel out flat. Fold both long sides over several inches. Fold over ends of both short sides.

rolling both short ends to the center

Roll both short ends to center.

after rolling both ends to the center fold at the middle with these rolls on the outside

Fold rolled towel in half with rolls to the outside.

set the folded towel bear body with one roll on top of the other

Set folded towel with one roll on top the other. Set aside and make the bear’s head.

How to Make a Towel Bear Head

fold the hand towel in half short way across the center

Lay the hand towel out flat. Fold in half short way across center.

fold down corners from center of folded end

From the center of the folded edge, fold corners to center making two triangles on a towel with a pointed end.

flip towel over so folds are underneath, then turn up straight end

Turn towel over so folds are on underside then fold over straight edge.

fold the straight end over two more times

Roll folded straight edge 2 more times for a total of three folds on that end. At this point it should have the point sticking out beyond the rolls and the folds from the edges of the triangle folds that were turned to the underside sticking up at the back of the roll.

fold at the center with the rolled part on the outside

Fold in half at center with roll to the outside to form head.

Assembling the Towel Bear

assembled towel bear

Place head into center of folded body. Close body over the neck and position as desired.

finished towel polar bear

Add eyes and any other desired decorations to finish the bear.

More Towel Bears:

Original Towel Bear

one towel teddy bear

One Towel Teddy Bear

Original Towel Bear

For other towel animals visit My Cruise Stories Towel Animal Page.

Posted in Towel Animals | Tagged cruise ship towel bear, easy towel bear, free towel animal folding instructions, how to make towel animals, new towel bear, towel animals, towel art, towel bear, towel origami, towel polar bear | Leave a comment

Rhodes, Greece

Posted on April 7, 2017 by LBcruiseshipblogger

Carnival Vista in Rhodes, Greece

Carnival Vista docked a short walk from the old town walled city in Rhodes, Greece. Rhodes is a great port for just getting off the ship and doing things on your own. We didn’t get far on the walk to town before coming across a hop on hop off bus. This bus makes a loop around the touristy area of the island. It goes up to the acropolis and along a hilltop road with a panoramic view of the sea from both sides of the road. We could see the ship from up there. The bus goes down to a public beach where some people got off to spend the day. Then it went into the old town area. Old town has lots of gates in and out of the city’s wall and all sorts of old structures including a castle. You can also walk along the waterfront outside the city gates.

Hop On Hop Off bus in Rhodes, Greece

Greece is a great place for tourists because a lot of things there don’t cost much. The hop on hop off bus cost just 12 euros each. Its route wasn’t as long as in some places, but it did have a pretty good island tour with some good viewpoints along the way and stops at several places with things to see or do.

ruins of temple columns at Rhodes Acropolis – in scaffolding like many European ruins

Athens isn’t the only place in Greece with an acropolis, though it is the most famous one. An acropolis is a citadel built on elevated ground, which is where ancient Greeks liked to build their temples. We got off the bus to see the one in Rhodes. There’s not a lot left of the temple structure and what there is had scaffolding around it. Scaffolding around ancient things seemed pretty common around the areas of Europe we visited throughout this cruise.

looking down on the Olympic stadium

The acropolis in Rhodes doesn’t look like much from the bus, but if you get off there the area has enough to see to keep occupied until the next bus comes by. There’s a good portion of an ancient Olympic stadium down in a hollow besides the few columns from a temple up on the hilltop.

this building has restrooms and a pictorial display of various ancient sports

It’s nowhere near as impressive as the acropolis in Athens, but still worth getting off the bus for. In the building with the bathrooms there’s a little alcove with all sorts of pictures and information about early Greek sports. Besides running they also had things like wrestling, boxing, discus throwing, and swimming. One thing all these sports had in common in the drawings – the participants were all male – and naked.

semi-sub in Rhodes, Greece

We got off the bus again a couple stops before old town in a little touristy area by the waterfront. There we found the Poseidon semi-sub, advertised on a sign for 10 euros each. Since we were first to sign up for the next ride they let us on for 5. Way less than semi sub excursions cost in the Caribbean. We walked around the area a bit before time for the semi sub ride.

inside the semi-sub

With everyone up top the boat took a tour around the harbor and near to the cruise ship before having everyone go into the underwater windowed area below the deck. At first it went slowly along with fish and seagrass in view. A large school of small fish followed the semi-sub, accustomed to having a good feed when it stops for the diver show. A semi-sub is a boat with an underwater viewing chamber. It does not submerge like a true submarine.

diver from the semi sub

Unfortunately we sat on the right and most of the action happened on the left. The diver did get around to our side eventually, but before he got in the water all the fish stayed on the other side, which was also where they dropped food in. After swimming around the boat with the school of fish the diver found a lobster and brought that by the windows. Then he came by with a GoPro camera and took photos of the people inside – available free on facebook several days later.

gate into the old-town walled city

Once the boat started moving some people went back up and some stayed down below watching underwater scenery for awhile until it got going too fast to see any fish.

ruins of the Church of the Virgin of the Burgh, a 14th century church inside the old walled city on Rhodes – with Vista photo bombing in an arch in the wall on the left side of the picture

From there it was a very short walk to the next stop at old town and not far after that back to the ship. There were things to see along the shore so we didn’t bother getting back on the bus. The wall has quite a few gates. You can get back to the ship along the shore outside of the gates or through town inside. There are windmills in the area where we got off, a lighthouse closer to the ship, and a castle up on a hill. We were three stops away from where we got on by the ship and it was not too long of a walk from there. Anyone without mobility issues could see a lot just by walking around old town without any transportation beyond their own two feet.

church in old town Rhodes

Posted in Carnival, Europe, Ports of Call, Vista | Tagged cruise, Europe, fun, Greece, hop on hop off bus, Mediterranean, photos, Rhodes, Rhodes cruise ship port, semi-sub, travel, vacation | 1 Comment

Cruise Stories

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Tauranga Shore Excursions

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Carnival Vista Family Harbor Cabins

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Is Your Sunscreen Reef Safe? Deter Natural Mineral Sunscreen Is!

Things to do On Celebrity Infinity

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A Princess in Victoria

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runDisney

RUN DISNEY

Copyright My Cruise Stories 2017

Hobbiton, New Zealand

Hobbiton

Copyright My Cruise Stories 2017

How to Fold a Towel Bear

Supplies Needed to Make a Towel Bear

How to Fold a Towel Bear Body

How to Make a Towel Bear Head

Assembling the Towel Bear

More Towel Bears:

Rhodes, Greece

Copyright My Cruise Stories 2017

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