Gluten Free Cruising

Posted on August 17, 2016 by LBcruiseshipblogger
Ruby Princess

view from the Promenade deck

Although we’ve always enjoyed the company of the friends we’ve met at the table on set time dining, when cruising with my husband we usually opt for the anytime, your time, freedom, or whatever a particular cruise line calls their dining program where you can show up anytime within the given hours for dinner. On the Ruby Princess my sisters and I opted for the Anytime Dining program there too. One of the dining rooms served anytime dining through the whole dinner period and another served early seating first and then opened for anytime later while the third dining room did just set time dining with an early and a late seating. Not having the same table or waiters never matters when cruising with my husband, but neither of us has any special dietary needs.

Ruby Princess chicken dinner

this gluten free chicken dinner is on the everyday side of the regular dining room menu

On the first night on the Ruby Princess my sisters and I went to the dining room that opened first for anytime dining, but not right at opening time. When we got there we found out that the wait there was longer than the time until the other dining room upstairs opened for anytime dining so we went there instead, planning to go back to the other one at an earlier time the next day. Since both my sisters are gluten free they asked the waiter what was safe for them to eat. They had a gluten free chicken dinner on the every day side of the menu that is always available, so they both ordered that for the first night.

surf and turf

my sisters ate well with meals like surf & turf

The head waiter came by later with menus for them to choose something for the next night that would then be made gluten free. He said to come back there, but we said we really wanted to eat earlier so had planned on going to the other dining room. He said to come to his dining room 25 minutes after the early seating started and he would take care of us. He meant the time exactly too because when we came a bit earlier just to check in with him he seemed a bit flabbergasted, probably thinking we expected him to seat us right then. We left for a few minutes and came back at the proper time, making sure to always show up at exactly the specified time from then on.

cruise food

crab dinner

Although the ship offered options for the anytime dining, for people on special diets that order their dinner the day ahead the wait crew need to keep track of who orders what and when and where to serve it to them. Because of that, set time dining is a better option for anyone on gluten free or other special needs diets since you have an assigned table there.

snails

one day both sisters tries the escargot

The head waiter took good care of them. He brought the menus around each night and took their orders, then sat us somewhere within the same waiter’s section each night. The timing on when he wanted us to come was because he had to wait until the time passed for the people on set time to arrive if they were coming and then he’d put us at a table where they didn’t show. We had the same table all but one night, so its assigned occupants must have chosen to eat either at the buffet, the 24-hour cafe, or at one of the premium restaurants most nights. It worked out well for us. The start time was good for us and we always got right in at a time when there was never a line since early seating had already started and anytime at that restaurant was still a long way off.

cruise food

lobster was on the menu one night

On the last night we told the head waiter we planned to go to the afternoon tea and skip dinner as the ship stopped in Victoria that night and dinner would run too late. He didn’t seem to want us to go to tea rather than dinner and produced a menu too good to pass up on. He said they were starting dinner early that day since a lot of people would want to get off the ship. He gave us an earlier start time, which was about 15 minutes before the dining room was scheduled to open. Since they had made all dining rooms anytime dining for that night when we got there quite a line had already formed. We worked our way up near the front of the line. Amazingly enough we went quite a ways through the line before anybody already standing there said anything. One of my sisters said we had an appointment and kind of quickly explained on the run about gluten free diets. We got near the front of the line, but had not quite gotten to the check in point yet when the whole line suddenly started pouring in through the door. They must have let in another special needs party and gotten mobbed by an impatient crowd they weren’t ready for following them in because as we got to the door the host told us to run to our usual table before someone else snagged it. We made it to the table and were rewarded with steak dinners for my sisters, turkey for me, and baked Alaska for everyone for dessert because they had made a special gluten free one. We quite enjoyed the food on the Ruby Princess, it was very good.

steak dinner

on the last night they had steak

One day we did go to the tea, but did not make any special arrangements in advance for my sisters. They had just planned to pick whatever they could eat off of what was served and not trouble anyone for special food. The head waiter spotted them there and panicked about them having a reaction if they did that. He said that would never do and had something special brought up from the galley for them. Some people with gluten issues like celiacs are sensitive enough that they will have a reaction if their food touched anything with gluten in it, but while gluten will make my sisters ill, they are not celiacs.

cruise ship dessert

floating islands with vanilla sauce and caramel drizzle

We had breakfast at the buffet most days and they had no trouble finding food they could eat. The one day we had breakfast in the dining room they discovered gluten free pancakes on the standard menu, which one sister ordered and liked quite well.

My older sister discovered a gluten free dessert at the buffet’s late night selection one day early on in the cruise, which she quite enjoyed. After that though we were far from needing anything else to eat, we went up to the late night buffet for 2nd dessert so they could try another new gluten free option since it changed to something different each day.

cruise food - Baked Alaska

Baked Alaska

It’s not possible for any cruise ship to come up with an alternative menu that would serve the needs of everyone with special diets since what a given person can or can’t eat varies so much from one to another. Instead they have the passengers with special needs diets view the next day’s menu each night at dinner and the chef alters the selected meal to fit within that person’s diet. They did this with all the dinner courses, but my sisters never knew what they would get for dessert. They always got something. It was never the same as what the late night buffet had, but was always a version of one of the dining room desserts on the menu that evening. Princess has great food and even people on special diets can eat well onboard. They do ask about that in the registration process so they know before you arrive that you will have special needs.

Copyright My Cruise Stories 2016

 

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How to Fold Towel Ducks

Posted on August 11, 2016 by LBcruiseshipblogger
how to fold a towel duck family

towel ducks

How to Make Towel Ducks

Supplies Needed for Making Towel Ducks

Bath Towel – for large duck

Hand Towel – for small duck

Washcloth – for duckling

Eyes

Towel Duck Folding Instructions

If you want to make a large duck, use a bath towel. If you want to make a small duck use a hand towel. All steps are the same for both sizes.

towel duck step 1

fold corners of long side into a triangle

Lay towel out flat. Fold over top corners along the long side of the towel making a triangular tip.

towel duck step 2

roll both sides to the middle from the folded edges

Roll both sides in as tightly as you can from the pointed tip along the folded sides.

towel duck folding

roll both sides to the center as tightly as you can

Tuck the loose ends in between the rolls on the wide end.

towel duck step 3

tuck the loose ends between the folds

Set towel with rolls down and shape wide end to look like the back end of a duck.

towel duck folding step 4

shape the wide end to look like the tail end of a duck

If you have rolled your towel nice and tight like a cruise ship stateroom steward, fold the narrow end back over the top of the duck body into a S shape for the neck and head and pose as desired.

Of course not everyone is able to roll their towels tightly like the stewards do. I broke my arm at the elbow joint a couple years ago and have a bit of nerve damage down into the fingers. Things could have been a lot worse since it healed better than expected and nobody else notices the arm is not quite normal. There are however some things I can no longer do and rolling towels tightly is one of them. Thus the necessity for other ways of making animals, which are also useful for anyone who is not an expert towel folder.

cheater tips for poor towel folders

if the duck head and neck don’t stay put flatten them with a book

If you are unable to roll the towel tight enough for the neck and head to stay posed, fold them back into an S shape and put a heavy book on top. Leave book for several hours to overnight and the head and neck will stay up when you remove the book.

making a towel duck

the neck needs to curve back a bit to hold up the head

Once the head and neck are posed, place eyes on the head. Use google eyes if you have some, if not make eyes from felt or paper. If the eyes do not stay on their own use double stick tape to keep them in place.

Towel Duckling Folding Instructions

washcloth animal folding

fold edge over to turn a square into a rectangle

Lay washcloth out flat. Fold bottom edge of washcloth up 2 or 3 inches to make a rectangle instead of a square.

folding a washcloth into a duckling

fold corners down into a triangle same as with duck towels

Fold down the top corners and continue following the same instructions used for the larger ducks.

making towel ducks

towel ducks

For more towel animal folding instructions visit My Cruise Stories Towel Animal Page.

how to fold a towel duck

towel duck

Copyright My Cruise Stories 2016
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Chile – Viña del Mar

Posted on August 5, 2016 by LBcruiseshipblogger
Vina del Mar, Chile

Tour Bus at beach parking lot in Vina del Mar

­When cruising out of Valparaiso as we did on the P&O Arcadia, if you fly into Chile you land at Santiago. From there you need to find transportation for the 70 mile trip out to the coast. Cabs are pretty pricey for that distance as are the private cars for hire that are another option. The public bus is cheap, but stations may not be convenient to where you need to go so a cab ride to and from bus stations may still be a necessity. We stayed a couple nights at the Doubletree by Hilton Hotel in a nice area of Santiago before venturing to Valparaiso and found an additional option for the journey. Hotels in Santiago can set their guests up on day tours with tour operators in the area, which has more than one company providing tours. Options include city tours, winery tours, a visit to the Andes Mountains, or a day trip to Valparaiso, which would likely also include a tour of nearby Viña del Mar.

flower

flower in Vina del Mar

Most people finish the tour with a return trip to Santiago, but if you want to stay in Valparasio they can put your luggage in the luggage area under the bus and drop you near your hotel at the end of the tour. Some other people on our tour (who were also on our cruise) had a hotel near the square where the bus made its final stop. The tour guide walked them to their hotel while the rest of the people had free time to wander the area. Ours was not as close to a tour stop, but the road they took when they were ready to head out of town went right by it so they made a brief stop to let us out by our hotel. That worked out quite well for us. We saved money on transportation since the tour was cheaper than a cab, and got the tour as a bonus over just a ride there.

historic buildings

old church in Vina del Mar

On the way to the coast our guide gave us all sorts of information about Chile, the most interesting of which was that it has the most earthquakes and volcanoes of anywhere in the world. The Pacific ring of fire passes through a lot of countries on both ends of the ocean and while all the world’s tectonic plates shift some, this is the most active area. It creates volcanoes as well as causing earthquakes which is why a considerable amount of the earth’s volcanic and earthquake activity take place in Pacific coastal countries. He also said Chile has lots of tourists from Brazil and Japan so in addition to their native Spanish, people who speak Portuguese (as they do in Brazil), Japanese, or English are in demand in Chile’s tourist industry.

tree flowers

flower on a tree near the casino

The bus passed through a tunnel into a valley and then later through another tunnel into the next valley. Another feature of a lot of Pacific coastal areas like Chile is having a coastal mountain range and a taller inland range so we had to pass through (or under) the coastal range before reaching the sea. Each valley is in a lower altitude as you get closer to the sea, and each has its own weather patterns. Casa Blanca Valley is the coldest and a place with numerous wineries producing white wines. After leaving sunny Santiago we went through fog in that valley.

park in Vina del Mar

Park and Historic Building

At the coast we first went to Viña del Mar. There we walked through a park and then stopped to take photos at the former home of a famous writer we’d never heard of called Pablo Neruda, probably now long dead. A train runs between Viña del Mar and Valparaiso so people staying at either city have easy access to the other. The train has a stop near the port building where you go to check in before boarding a cruise ship. The two towns are close enough you really can’t tell where the borderline of one ends and the other begins, but it is a long walk from the tourist areas of one to the other. There is a seaside pathway so those who want to walk can. It would be quite a scenic journey.

beach in Vina del Mar

You would never know from this picture that some waves were huge that day

The bus stopped at a beach. Nobody was allowed in the water due to excessively high waves that day, but at that stop we could walk on the beach and take photos. Though some waves towered above the height of anyone standing near the water, in photos it just looked like people at the beach and not impressive at all.

wheels and pedals

fun for rent

In the main part of town they had everything near the water closed off including an entire park between the sidewalk and the beach. Nobody could even get close enough to see the water there. Rental riding toys along the sidewalk next to the park probably would stay in the park when it is open. The park had trails where kids could ride them instead of having to maneuver bikes and pedal cars through sidewalk crowds as they had to that day. Some kids painted pictures on little stands along the sidewalk, something we saw again at a park in Valparaiso so it may be a popular pastime there.

easels for rent?

kids painting

The tour guide gave us a couple lunch options, an expensive seafood restaurant in an old castle or a nearly as expensive buffet at a casino. We got out near the castle, the farthest stop from where the bus would park in the casino lot. We skipped the restaurant and went for a photo safari instead. That area had a sea view sidewalk and lots of rocks for the waves to splash impressively over.

castles on both sides of the street

Waves splashing over the rocks. The castle at the right edge of the photo was the lunch stop.

Of course none of the biggest waves ever came when we had cameras out no matter how long we stood there waiting for them. The really big ones came either before we got close enough or after we gave up waiting. The castle with the restaurant was across the street from another castle by the sea called Castillo Wulff, which had a sign on a locked gate saying it was closed for renovations so no tours available.

old German style castle

Castillo Wulff

We did get some shots of water splashing over rocks and running through a sea arch in the castle before walking to the bus meeting point at the casino. It was a nice walk back to the bus down the seaside walkway. One building resembled a boat. The path turned inland alongside an inlet of some sort and over a bridge. Near the casino we saw a horse and buggy ride staging area where some of the waiting horses munched happily away at hay or whatever was inside the feed bags they wore on their heads.

putting on the feed bags

horses taking a break

We saw some other people from our tour group walking down the sidewalk who had also bypassed the expensive lunches. Rather than skipping lunch entirely as we did, they had gone across the street where they could find a cheap lunch at fast food places. On the sidewalk near the casino we also ran across some beggars and a couple ladies trying to hand out sprigs of rosemary.

giant tree

tree near the flower clock

We were forewarned about rosemary ladies before a previous cruise from Spain and had come across them in Malaga so we knew better than to let them within reach of us. Rosemary ladies are known to either pick your pockets if you let them close enough or demand money if you take the rosemary they offer. At least that’s what they do in Spain so we didn’t take any chances and kept our distance from them in Chile as well.

it actually tells time

Reloj de Flores

We had a quick photo stop at a street corner near a garden with flowers planted into a giant working clock called Reloj de Flores before heading off to Valparaiso for the rest of the tour.

Things to do in Viña del Mar

Beaches are one of Viña del Mar’s biggest attractions with tourists and surfers flocking there each summer. Also popular is the Quinta Vergara Amphitheater for summer concerts and an international song festival. The casino is also an attraction, not only for the games, but for the building itself as one of the oldest casinos in South America having been built in the 1930’s. The city also has parks, museums, historic buildings, and sand dunes. One of their museums has one of Easter Island’s moai statues out front, something I wish I had known while we were there because I would have liked to see that.

Copyright My Cruise Stories 2016
Posted in Arcadia, Day Trips, P&O, Port City Side Trips | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

The Ever-Growing Van Tour in Puerto Vallarta

Posted on July 29, 2016 by LBcruiseshipblogger
Mexico

Infinity in Puerto Vallarta

Sailing into Puerto Vallarta, we had an excellent view from the Constellation Lounge on Celebrity Infinity. From a distance we could see Carnival Miracle already docked there. The other side of the little inlet across from the other ship looked just big enough to hold a cruise ship. The ship headed bow to the dock and when it looked just feet away began to spin the back end around so it would end up docked facing outward rather than having to back out when time came to leave.

church figurines

one of the alcoves in Our Lady of Guadalupe church

As the ship turned we could see a little channel with a bunch of small boats docked on one side. In between a few ships moored to buoys the bow of a newly sunken boat poked out of the water. What we could see of this boat looked pristine white so it could not have been partially submerged for long. Meanwhile the Infinity’s bow narrowly cleared a couple boats that looked like they probably belonged to the navy at a dock next to the cruise pier. The ship completed its turn and slipped into position at the dock seemingly with the ease of a child turning a toy ship around, a testament to our captain who had completed a similar spin at the beginning of our voyage in the crowded waters at San Francisco where numerous small boats seemed determined to cross the pathway of the ship as it attempted to move.

almost private tables

terrace at a jungle restaurant

We got off the ship without any definite plans, but passed on the offers of tours of the area for $25 each. We had not yet gotten out of the parking lot before we were offered a 1-hour tour for $10.

view sidewalk

Malecon beachside walkway through the touristy area of town

Unlike the $10 private boat tour in Cabo, this one headed back toward the ship first to pick up more people the driver said he had waiting. As soon as they got in it suddenly became a 3-hour tour for $20. For $10 he said he could let us off in old town where we could catch a cab back to the ship for $3 each, but we decided to stay on and do the full tour.

one of many

sculpture on the Malecon

The driver/guide was quite interesting. He talked about how though Puerto Vallarta does have an ever-increasing population of American and Canadian retirees, it is still mainly the familias, by which he meant families of Mexicans who have lived in the area for generations. He said Puerto Vallarta is safe for tourists because the families want their town to stay safe and will report anything bad to the authorities immediately, not giving the drug cartels any chance to gain a foothold in the area. Tourism provides jobs and a good income for a lot of locals and many of them have very nice homes. In the surrounding area people still fish and farm as they have for generations. The homes in the little fishing village we drove through did not look nearly as nice as the ones in Puerto Vallarta.

Our Lady of Guadelupe

Church with a crown

We arrived in old town, and he let everyone out to see the Cathedral of Our Lady of Guadalupe. This cathedral uniquely has a crown on top, for to be a queen one needs a crown. The cathedral, he said, marks the line that divides the touristy area from the old-town area where locals shop, eat, and hang out. For genuine Mexican food and mariachi bands our guide recommended visiting the local’s area.

very ornate

Inside Our Lady of Guadalupe cathedral

Though the cathedral has a sign saying you can’t go inside wearing shorts, our guide said the locals really don’t mind so long as people are quiet and men take off their hats as a sign of respect. We went just far enough inside the door to take some photos of the inside and took some of the outside while walking the block down to the Malecon to meet our van. The Malecon is a beachside walkway for tourists. Besides the ocean views it has different sculptures at each block and plenty of nearby shops.

great sea view

view from El Set restaurant

Back in the van we drove out of town and stopped for a nice view of the sea from the balcony of a restaurant where people could use the facilities or buy a refreshing drink. Pretty much everywhere we stopped had something people could buy. Whether these places belong to friends or family of the driver, or perhaps sponsor van tours to bring in customers I don’t know, but would guess there must be some sort of connection there.

things to see in Puerto Vallarta

Islands or rocks?

The next stop had a view of a couple either very large rocks or very small islands just offshore, each with a sea cave running completely through it. The guide said it was a good snorkeling place, but no snorkel boats or people were there at that time. There was however a little open air market under a large canvas roof right by where we parked where people had t-shirts and jewelry and things for sale.

places to stay in Puerto Vallarta

resort on the beach

One roadside stop had just a bit of sidewalk next to the parking area with a view of the sea. It overlooked a beachside hotel, but for once had nothing for sale there. The Sierra Madre  Mountains ring Banderas Bay like a horseshoe, protecting Puerta Vallarta and the surrounding areas from hurricanes. These mountains gather the moisture from the summer rains that keeps the tropical forests green year round. The rainy season lasts through September, but it was sunny during our visit. The rains come mainly at night our guide said, and sure enough as the ship set out to sea that evening we had rain and lightning.

looks abandoned

playground at the jungle restaurant

Next the guide said he would take us into the rainforest. We left the cobblestone paving in some places for gravel roads. Bright orange flowers lined much of the roadside. We parked in a gravel lot next to banana and avocado trees.

jungle play area

rope swing in the jungle

A forest path brought us to an old playground and then a river with a massive rope swing and a number of sandbags which the guide said people use to make a pool in the river on Sundays. A stone stairway led up to quite a nice open air restaurant in the jungle with little roofed areas with a few tables each on different terraces leading up to the main restaurant area.

tequila factory

guy at the tequila place explains how they make it

Next stop we learned how Tequila is made. The blue agave plants they use take 7 years for the root resembling a large pineapple to mature. They first cook the agave roots and then distill the liquid they obtain three times. They had a clear tequila that came straight from the distillery and amber-colored tequila aged in barrels for different amounts of time. The longer the aging period the smoother drinking tequila they obtain. A few people tried the offered samples and the guy who worked there had some along with them saying how much he loved his job as he got to taste the samples with every tour.

free shots

tequila tasting area

The last stop was near a flea market and other shops in the old town area. By this time our 3-hour tour had grown to about 5 hours, but the price stayed at $20 each. The rest of the people in the van wanted to stay and look around the shops or have a drink. We were not interested in shopping for souvenirs or trinkets or drinking. The first formal night was coming soon and my husband had forgotten to pack a dress shirt and wanted to make sure he’d have time to buy one so we took a cab to the shops across the street from the ship.

popular eatery

front entrance to the jungle restaurant

Copyright My Cruise Stories 2016
Posted in Celebrity, Infinity, Mexico, Port Cities, Ports of Call | Tagged , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Back to Belize for More Cave Tubing

Posted on July 22, 2016 by LBcruiseshipblogger
cruise ship at anchor

Splendor in Belize

In the past I have always heard that if you don’t book something in Belize, then there is nothing there to do. On our first visit there were just a few stores at the port. People who had done more exploring beyond the port said they didn’t find much. We had only gone just outside the port to meet our bus for a cave tubing adventure. Several years later we came back to Belize and found that has changed over time.

cave wall

Inside the Cave

We had a snorkel excursion booked, but when we went the meeting place Carnival Splendor listed on our ticket we found out it got canceled. Some other people we met on the ship had arranged an adventure with cave-tubing.com, the same outfit my research last time led me to. John missed out last time, opting for a fishing excursion he didn’t enjoy and I liked the cave tubing so much I was happy to go again so we went looking for our friends in hopes they hadn’t left the ship yet. We caught up with them just before they got off the ship so they let us join in with them.

Belize City

Shops at the Tender Port in Belize

As the tender docked, I didn’t recognize anything on the shore at all. It looked like a completely different port. Where once just a string of small local souvenir stores stood, they have now added many of the usual cruise port shops. There’s also food available and at least one bar right in the tender port area. As we walked up the dock we saw something else we hadn’t seen on the last visit – people with signs for random tours at the pier, including one for snorkeling. We did not stop to see how much they cost.

cave tubing

rock formation inside the cave

We followed our friends through the pier and out the terminal where she had arranged to meet with the cave-tubing.com people. They were waiting just outside the exit from the terminal. There were also a few locals selling things like handmade costume jewelry and wood carvings. The bus showed up shortly. On the way to the park we went first through the rich area of town with fancy homes for people like doctors, lawyers, and “street pharmacists,” and on through the poorer area where many locals live. Our guide mentioned the bridges donated by Canada and China.

light and greenerey

at one place in the cave there is a hole to the outside

The guide said the 2-lane road through the countryside that took us the 30-some miles to the park is the only highway that goes through a graveyard. It had tombs nearly to the edge of the road on both sides. On the way there they handed out little taster cups and gave anyone who wanted it a taste of their locally made cashew wine.

park building

Building at the Park

Just before we reached the park the bus stopped to let off anyone who wanted to ride ATV’s through the jungle, which included the friends we came with, though we did not go to the ATV’s with them. After they got off the bus continued on to the Caves Branch Archaeological Reserve. They got the zipliners out first and on to the ziplines. Everyone else was given a chance to change clothes, use the restroom, or briefly look through the new shops that stood where once there were just a few small booths with locals selling things, though there were still some locals with their wares set up under a roofed area near the restrooms, which looked the same as before. We did the zip line on our first visit there, but this time went with the cave tubing only.

river tubing

We floated the river back to the rope while some people from other vendors had to get out of the river just outside of the cave

Hardhats were still available but not required, though we did see people from a different vender wearing some. Unlike last time when life jackets were optional, this time they said we all had to wear them. They also handed out head lamps, a light on straps to wear on your head so as to see things in the totally dark cave. On my last visit there we carried yellow tubes with us as we set out on the path to the cave, but this time blue tubes with backrests awaited us at the river near the mouth of the cave.

crossing the creek

river crossing to get to the trail to the caves

Everyone comes and goes on the same bus whether they do one, two, or all three of the tours they offer (cave tubing, zip line, and ATV.) Our first time there the guides mentioned having their ways of keeping everyone busy whether they did one option or more. It turns out they have long and short paths to the cave entrance. Last time we took the short path, which has 3 river crossings. This time we took the long path as we had just one activity to do. The long path had just one river crossing at the start of the hike where a rope across the river gives people something to hold onto as they cross if they want to. The rope also has other uses.  It marks the end of the river float and the stairway to get out at the end of the tour and serves as something of marker after a rain – the caves close when the water rises higher than the rope.

this tree has some nuts

Cohune Palm

The long path passed through a dry cave. It also had signs on some of the native fauna, such as mahogany and a cohune palm. The nuts of the cohune palm gave rise to the phrase big cohunas. Along the way the guides pointed out various trees that had medicinal uses for the bark or leaves.

almost ready to go

getting people loaded on tubes to get ready to go into the cave

When we reached the river’s edge a large pile of tubes awaited us. We came with a group of 30 people our friend had organized, plus a few others on the bus not with our friend’s bunch. They gave people a chance to swim if they wanted while they got the tubes organized. Instead of tucking feet under the person on the tube ahead’s arms to hold a string of tubes together as we had last time, now they have the tubes lashed together with ropes. The people not with our large group set off first and the rest of us went through the cave together in strings of 8 tubes each. Our string had one guide the whole time and a second who helped her part of the way. While we all got set up on tubes the people who had done the ATV ride and also wanted to cave tube arrived from the short trail to join the group.

cave waterfall

waterfall in the cave

On the way through the cave we saw a variety of formations and an area with bats on the ceiling. They took us into a chamber with a waterfall, which we did not see last time when we were on more of an express tour before ziplining. We went past the place where the outside comes in – light and greenery through a hole in the top of the cave, something the guide called a sinkhole and said was a sacred place to the Maya.

river float

floating the river after the cave

The river flowed through the cave and back out into the sunshine. We floated on down the river to the starting/ending point, which makes it a nice long ride, unlike if we had to get out right after the cave like the ship’s tours do. Along the way throughout the downriver journey both in and out of the cave we sometimes heard the call of “butts up,” which means a rock or shallow spot that you need to raise your rear out of the water to avoid hitting.

free lunch

tiki hut

Once everyone got out of the water we went back to the bus. It went a short distance back to the tiki hut where the ATV riders got out on the way to the cave. This time everyone got out for a chicken tamale lunch. They also had restrooms there, good for anyone who didn’t have time to use the ones at the park.

cave tubing

guides pulling the tubes through the cave

Cave tubing is lots of fun whether you have done it before or not. John was glad to get a chance to go since he had heard me talking about how much fun I’d had doing it for several years now. He enjoyed it too. It’s still one of my all-time favorite shore excursions and well worth doing again. Once again cave-tubing.com returned us to the pier in plenty of time to get back to the ship and enough to spare for anyone who wanted to shop a bit. It’s easy to book with them. Just go to their website and make arrangements if your ship has a port of call in Belize. They’ll meet you at the pier and there’s no worries about the money if for some reason your ship misses that port because you don’t pay until the bus ride back. Bring cash, with enough extra to tip the hard-working crew and to buy drinks, t-shirts, wine, or whatever at the lunch stop. They happily accept US dollars.

cave tubing is fun

cave tubers in the cave

Using cave-tubing.com rather than booking through the ship saves you money, gives you a longer ride, and supports local Belzians who have years of experience in the cave. This company has been in business over 15 years and the owner and all employees are local to the area. They have an award of 5 star excellence from Trip Advisor based on reviews from people who have taken the tour. They understand cruise ship schedules and return you to the ship on time. The ship’s tour is done through a Jamaican company.

Copyright My Cruise Stories 2016
Posted in Caribbean, Carnival, Ports of Call, Shore Excursions, Splendor | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Food on Holland America Veendam

Posted on July 15, 2016 by LBcruiseshipblogger
Holland America Veendam

Veendam in Sydney, Nova Scotia

Food on a cruise ship is always plentiful and almost always available. Like most cruise ships, the Holland America Veendam has a number of food choices each meal. For breakfast passengers can fill out the handy card in the room, hang it on the door, and have room service served at the chosen time. (At least that’s how it’s supposed to work. We tried that once on the Veendam and the food never came, but the filled-out card returned to haunt us every day even after throwing it in the garbage can.) I’m not sure why we got the card back in the evening rather than breakfast that morning, but the system probably worked for other people as it has for me in the past on other ships.

cruise ship food

chocolate cake – dining room dessert

Other breakfast options include the dining room or the Lido buffet. Dining room breakfasts are good, but can take awhile and this cruise had port stops every day but one so we chose the quicker Lido buffet for our daily breakfast. It has lots of choices including omlettes made while you wait (pick this option only when the line is short if you are in a hurry or don’t like long waits.) They had a variety of hot and cold food selections and my favorite, the almost never crowded station serving eggs Benedict which they made fresh right there.

cruise food

Even the sugar-free desserts are fancy

Lunchtime also had options from a sit-down meal in the dining room to a variety of options on the Lido. I pretty much stuck with the Lido salad bar for lunches this cruise. They also had deli sandwiches, hot lunches, a burger stand and taco bar. For later eaters the burger stand and taco bar stayed open past the closing of the regular buffet, and the pizza stand opened for the afternoon at 2pm. They also had excellent daily dessert choices and ice cream cones or sundaes.

afternoon tea

biscuit with jam and cream, fruit tart, and egg salad sandwich at afternoon tea

Holland America has great afternoon teas, some days with themes varying from cupcakes to High Tea and other days traditional English tea treats. Tea is served with hot water in individual little silver pots and a selection of teas to choose from. People can ask for coffee if they wish.

cruise food

Quail from a special chef’s night

The Veendam dining room serves such delicious food it’s hard to tear yourself away at dinnertime to try anything else, but if you take a night off to go to the upscale Pinnacle Grill when they have their regular menu the food there is so superb it’s worth whatever you missed in the dining room to try it. Other dinner options include pizza or the Lido buffet and each night a section of the Lido transforms into Canaletto, an Italian restaurant. Pinnacle Grill and Caneletto have surcharges, but everything else is included in the price of the cruise.

pork chop dinner

Pork Chop at the Pinnacle Grill

Everything in Pinnacle Grill is upscale from the décor to the dishes to the food and service. They even have a little tool to clean the crumbs off the tablecloth between each course. People each picked a main dish which came just to them, and a side which came in a serving dish with enough for the whole table so everyone got to try a variety of things. Desserts were individual.

fancy food

cake and gelato at Canaletto

Canaletto also served most items in the family style manner so diners could try more things. Dessert options included several flavors of gelato, and swapping out the vanilla gelato that came with the chocolate cake for pistachio meant a chance to try both the chocolate cake and the pistachio gelato rather than choosing between the two. (Both tasted very good.)

seafood special

shrimp and halibut at Pinnacle Grill

Food on the Veendam was the best I have ever had on a cruise ship. Perhaps it was the chef or the galley crew on the ship at the time I sailed or perhaps that ship always excels. I don’t know the answer to that, just that during my time on the ship we had extremely excellent meals.

Copyright My Cruise Stories 2016
Posted in Cruise Food, Holland America, Veendam | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Carnival Breeze Fahrenheit 555 Steakhouse

Posted on July 8, 2016 by LBcruiseshipblogger
Carnival cruise ship

Carnival Breeze

Most cruise ships have premium restaurants where passengers can have special food different from what is served in the dining room or buffet if they are willing to pay the fee. These fees can range from next to nothing to quite a lot depending on the ship and the restaurant. Carnival Breeze has 4. At the Red Frog Pub the Pub Grub is cooked fresh right there and costs just $3.33 per food item or $2.22 for their very delicious icky sticky coconut cake. Their food includes things like grouper (fish) fingers, pulled pork or beef sliders, and coconut shrimp among other things. The Breeze also has Cucina del Capitano, an Italian restaurant with a free pasta bar at lunch and fancier Italian food for $15 per person at dinner and a sushi place where sushi can be purchased in varying quantities. The premium upscale restaurant on the Breeze is their steakhouse, Fahrenheit 555.

upscale dining

Steakhouse Menu

Passengers can choose one of the steakhouse meats on the dinner menu in the dining room for $20, or they can book a table at Fahrenheit 555 and have the whole steakhouse experience for $35.

not my thing

the raw lobster and caviar thing

The waiter comes by with a display of the meats offered for dinner and talks a bit about how each is cooked. The meal includes 4 courses, an appetizer, salad, main, and dessert. Before the appetizer you order comes they bring an extra unexpected little morsel out for people to try. They gave John tomato soup and me some sort of raw lobster and caviar thing so we traded because I don’t eat anything raw that didn’t come from a plant. The soup tasted quite good and he liked the seafood thing.

fancy cruise food

spinach and bacon salad with surprise mushroom center

For appetizers I had lobster bisque and he had French onion soup. The lobster bisque was the sort where the bowl starts out with bits of things and no liquid and the waiter pours the soup around it. The onion soup came in a fancy bowl on a stand and was different from what the main dining room serves. For salad we both had the baby spinach, which has mushrooms hidden in the center of the spinach pile and a bit of bacon on top.

fancy lobster

lobster dinner in the steakhouse

We chose lobster tails for our main course. They come halved and stacked on top of their garlic mashed potatoes. Menu options include a selection of lots of side dishes people can add to their meal. We ordered some not realizing the lobster came with potatoes and ended up with way too much food.

try several desserts

Chocolate Sampler

For dessert he got the chocolate sampler, 4 little pots of different fancy little chocolate desserts. I had the cheesecake, which was delicious, but far too big to eat the whole thing even though the waiter called my gigantic slice a small piece.

a giant tiny piece

cheesecake

The food at the steakhouse tasted quite good and they also provide an enjoyable dining experience.

Copyright My Cruise Stories 2016

 

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Very Easy Ice Cream Cake

Posted on July 4, 2016 by LBcruiseshipblogger
easy ice cream cake

ice cream cake decorated for the 4th of July with m&m flag

Just how easy is this ice cream cake? So easy you can make it with one hand. I know because I did just that once – made one while I had a broken arm. This scrumptious dessert can be tailored to fit any diet. For a rich decadent dessert use premium ice cream. Adjust the recipe to special diets with sugar free or low fat products. Use dairy free ice cream or gluten free cookies if needed. There’s only 3 ingredients, so pick products that meet your needs. Two standard size ice cream containers fill a 10-inch diameter springform pan so if your pan is bigger or smaller you will need to adjust the amount of ice cream. The final product only tastes as good as the ingredients used, so pick ice cream and cookies that you like.

Ice Cream Cake

Ingredients

Two 1.5 – 2 quart size cartons of ice cream, each carton a different flavor. Use types that are consistent throughout the carton, not the sort with sauce running through it or more than one kind of ice cream in the same container.

Crushed Cookies – enough to make a thin layer covering ice cream

1 jar hot fudge sauce

Directions

Set one carton of ice cream on the counter to thaw.  Let it sit until soft enough to spread without letting it melt.  This`will take about 15 – 30 minutes depending on room temperature and hardness of ice cream.

While waiting for the ice cream to thaw you can do the next two steps.

Line bottom of 10-inch diameter springform pan with parchment paper.

Crush cookies into small crumbles bigger than crumbs. The easiest way is to spread out a piece of wax paper to pile the cookies on and then roll them into crumbles with a rolling pin.

When the ice cream softens around the edges of the carton stir it so the consistency stays even throughout.

When thawed ice cream reaches an easily spreadable consistency spread it evenly over the parchment paper lining the bottom of the springform pan.

Top with enough crushed cookies to cover ice cream surface. Gently press the cookie layer into the ice cream layer, just enough that they stick well in the ice cream, but not enough to distort the flatness of the top of the ice cream layer.

Freeze until solid – an hour or two.

Thaw second carton of ice cream just as with the first one and spread over cookie layer when ready.

Freeze several hours or overnight.

Heat hot fudge sauce just enough to make it spreadable. You don’t want it hot like it would be for eating a hot fudge sundae because you don’t want the ice cream to melt. Spread quickly and carefully over ice cream. Try not to let any ice cream melt into the sauce.

Freeze – a little or a lot depending on decoration choice. It at least needs to immediately get into the freezer long enough to chill the hot fudge so it doesn’t melt the ice cream underneath.

Decorate if desired. With the right decorations this makes a great holiday treat or birthday cake. Other decorating options include topping with finely chopped nuts or coconut.

If you want to decorate with candies, nuts, or anything that needs to stick in the hot fudge just let it freeze 10 or 15 minutes between putting the sauce on and adding the decorations. If you want to decorate with frosting let it freeze completely before decorating.

Freeze after decorating.

Remove springform sides from pan, cut cake and serve. Run a hot knife around the edge of the pan before taking the side off for easier removal.

easy ice cream cake

ice cream cake made with chocolate truffle ice cream, chocolate chip ice cream, oreo cookies, and hot fudge sauce. Topped with m&m’s.

Copyright My Cruise Stories 2016
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Cruise Ship Cabins on Ruby Princess

Posted on July 1, 2016 by LBcruiseshipblogger
cruise ship veranda

balcony to R749, aft facing premium balcony cabin

Like all the major cruise ships, Ruby Princess has an array of staterooms to choose from ranging from the smallest, least expensive inside cabins to the biggest fanciest suites and everything in between. There’s something for everyone whether it means cruising in luxury or cruising for the lowest possible price.

welcome to the suite

entrance to penthouse suite R411

Besides the extra space suites come with perks including priority boarding, a special line at guest services, and nicer amenities in the room.

cruise ship suite balcony

Suites have better balcony furniture and bigger balconies. room R402

While some ships have all sorts of oddly-shaped rooms of varying sizes near corners, most rooms on the Ruby Princess are standard size for their category, with the accessible rooms running at the large end of the size range.

covered balcony

balcony to cabin R747 is bigger than normal with lots of sheltered space

If you scout the deck plans thoroughly you can find a few larger than average oceanview rooms near the bow on the plaza deck and a small row of oceanview obstructed rooms at the bow of the Lido deck that vary quite a bit in size. Some decks have larger verandas than others. A couple rooms near the stern of the Rivera deck have particularly large balconies.

larger than normal interior cabin

Rotated interior cabin R507 has open space on the other side of the shelves from where the picture was taken – and Captain Stubing from the Love Boat TV show on the TV in the mirror

There are also a few larger than average interior rooms that are rotated the opposite direction of most cabins, mainly on the Rivera deck.

accessible bathroom

ADA cabin bathroom has large roll-in shower

Standard rooms have showers and most suites have tubs. Hand soap and hand lotion are provided and the showers have dispensers with bodywash and a combo shampoo/conditioner. Accessible rooms of all types have larger than average bathrooms with roll-in showers that have handrails and fold-down seats. Standard room amenities include a refrigerator, television with satellite TV, hair dryer, safe, phone, and daily cleaning and turn-down service with a chocolate for each person in the room every night. Rather than the usual single outlet found on a lot of ships, our cabin had 3.

ADA interior cabin

ADA cabin A312 is more spacious than the average interior cabin allowing room to maneuver wheelchairs or scooters

Interior cabins provide all the basics a passenger needs. A place to sleep, somewhere to keep your things, and of course a bathroom.

ocean view obstructed cabin

ocean view obstructed room E520 has peek-a-boo view between life boats

If you want some natural light, a bit bigger room, and yet would like to keep the cost down try an oceanview room. The lowest in the price range are in the obstructed view category.

ocean view cabin

ocean view cabin P230 has a full window view

The staterooms with a full view still cost considerably less than balcony cabins. Ocean view rooms are often found on decks too low for balconies which means great close-up views of the water. Rooming on the lower decks also makes a good way to avoid crowds since you are often going down when the majority of other passengers are going up and are usually close to the exit deck in ports.

stateroom with balcony

balcony cabin R306

Balcony cabins provide a bit of private outdoor space. If your cruise takes you somewhere scenic it’s nice to have a place to go where you can see the scenery without jostling for space among the crowd in public areas. The sliding door also provides a larger view area than the windows in the oceanview rooms.

cruise ship mini suite

mini suite D302

Mini-suites with their larger rooms and bigger balconies are a step up from balcony cabins without paying the price of a full suit.

premium cruise ship suite

premium suite room L106

Those who really want to cruise in luxury will find it in the suites. Ruby Princess has quite a variety of different suites.

accessible cruise ship suite

ADA penthouse suite room R415

Although all the suites are larger than other cabins, there are still some ADA suites with the extra-wide doors and ADA bathrooms with the roll-in shower rather than the tub that comes standard in other suites.

cruise ship suite

Family Suite D106 is quite a large room on its own

adding more space to a cruise ship cabin

connecting door between family suite D106 and extra bedroom D102

Ruby Princess has a couple family suites which have a full suite with sitting and sleeping areas plus a connecting door into an extra bedroom with beds, bunks, and another bathroom.

bunks in cruise ship cabins make more passengers an option

ocean view obstructed cabin E520 with one bunk in use and one not

Try not to book a room that holds more people than you actually have in your group because the bunks are of the old style that fold down from the wall rather than the newer sort that fold down out of the ceiling so they stick out into the room somewhat even when folded up.

launderette

self-serve laundry on Ruby Princess

Decks with cabins all have launderettes, which cost $3 each for the washer and dryer. You can iron your clothes for free. Carpets running down the halls between passenger cabins have red boarders on the port side where all the even numbered cabins are and blue boarders on the starboard side with odd numbered cabins so knowing which way to turn from the elevator or stairs is quite easy.

accessible cruise ship cabins

ADA suite on right has significantly wider door then standard suite on left

ADA (Americans with disabilities) cabins are available in all the basic categories – inside, oceanview, balcony, and suite. These cabins are usually the largest among each room type and feature wider doors and specially equipped bathrooms.

cruise ship suite

Cabin R402, the Princess Cays Penthouse Suite

Within the basic categories, some split into more divisions – ocean view obstructed and ocean view, balcony and premium balcony, and numerous suite categories including mini suite, vista suite, penthouse suite, premium suite, family suite and owner’s suite. There are also sub categories within each category division where the price varies a bit due to the location of that particular room on the ship. In general on all ships and cruise lines, rooms on higher decks usually cost more, as do rooms toward the center of each deck. So usually the best price within each type of room is found near the bow or stern on the lowest deck where that type of room is available. Except of course the rooms actually on the stern, which are often premium balcony rooms with extra large balconies and a view of the ship’s wake.

Accommodations on other ships: Arcadia, Breeze, Breeze odd rooms, Divina, Ecstasy, Infinity, Legend, Liberty, Pearl, Splendor, Veendam, Westerdam, Wilderness Adventurer

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

Copyright My Cruise Stories 2016
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Cozumel Beaches On Your Own – Sky Reef

Posted on June 27, 2016 by LBcruiseshipblogger
cruise ship in Cozumel

Ecstasy from Sky Reef in Cozumel

Cozumel is always one of my favorite ports. The beautiful aqua blue water in some areas stays so clear you can see the bottom even when fairly deep. The second largest coral reef in the world, the Meso American Reef, starts there and runs all the way to Honduras. Some of the area’s most popular activities include snorkeling and scuba diving. Lounging on beaches is also a popular pastime. From Cozumel you can take a ferry to Playa del Carmen on the mainland. On all our previous visits to Cozumel we did shore excursions from the ship. Each one different, but excellent. Two of them took us to the mainland. One visiting the Mayan ruins in Tulum and the other cave snorkeling. The others stayed on the island. We went snorkeling on Palancar Reef with a beach stop at Playa Mia. Another time we rode the Atlantis Submarine, a real submarine that submerges over 100 feet below the surface. Grand Cayman is the only other place I know of that has one, though many ports including Cozumel have semi-subs.

beach bar

Sky Reef from under the beach umbrellas

On our port stop at Cozumel on Carnival Ecstasy we decided to take it easy and just go to a beach for shore snorkeling and relaxing. Cozumel has quite a few little places along the shore where people can hang out for a beach day. Most offer either ala carte or all-inclusive services with food and drinks. The one I’d heard mentioned most is Mr. Sanchos, but our cab driver said the snorkeling is better at Sky Reef. We went there instead and met some other people who said they had asked to go to the Money Bar and their driver told them this was a better place too so some of the cabbies are probably in cahoots with the place, or getting paid to bring people there. It worked out well for us because the snorkeling was pretty good for shore snorkeling and this place was probably a lot more quiet and peaceful and less crowded than the better known places. It’s a great place to go if you want a relaxing beach day with some snorkeling and you don’t want to spend too much money. Some places charge just to go there. Sky Reef did not and the cab fare was a few bucks less than to anywhere else.

beach bar

Sea view and a worker cleaning out seaweed from the after effects of a hurricane

Several rows of beach chairs with little tables and big umbrellas lined the beach in front of a double palapa topped building housing a bar and restaurant. A dock with stairs into the water led out to the beach, but if you go there be careful on the underwater stairs as they can get slippery. On the day of our visit floating seaweed covered the first few yards of water closest to shore, remnants of a recent hurricane. Workers from the place stayed busy clearing it out of the water while we were there, probably a thankless task for awhile as more likely floats in daily until everything clears up from the storm. Under and beyond the seaweed the water was clear. Cozumel normally has water so clear you can often see the bottom while out in a boat. Little fish swam in large schools near shore. Farther out the fish got bigger and the amount of fish smaller. Rocks and holes on the sea floor made structure where coral and fish concentrated.

under the sea

fish at Sky Reef

I’ve used my trusty lumix underwater camera for years. This time I tried out my new Olympus camera underwater for the first time. I tried it on a few different settings throughout the trip and saw quite a difference in the photos depending on which setting I used. The ones that look better while taking the photo aren’t necessarily the ones that look clearest in the finished product. I didn’t go through any of the photos until I got home though so what I took through this set of cruises is what I get and I’ll have to experiment more with it next trip.

under the sea in Cozumel

fan coral at Sky Reef

I could snorkel all day if limiting UV exposure wasn’t a necessity, but it is so I just stayed out for awhile and then made use of a shady beach chair and ordered a virgin mango daiquiri. The cab ride over was $13 for two people. If you have your own gear the snorkeling is free, but when spending a beach day in a place with no cover charge a person should buy something. They had snorkel gear for rent and massages available for a whole lot less than what the ship’s spa charges.

underwater photo

fish at Sky Reef

It was a nice place to spend the day. When we were ready to go they called a cab for us and while we waited we looked around the restaurant area a bit. Several people sat at tables eating Mexican food and at one end of the room two large parrots sat on a perch waiting for someone to pay for a picture with them. Along one side of the room a table displayed jewelry for sale. The cab ride back also cost $13, so overall a pretty cheap day on shore.

cuttlefish

Cuttlefish at Sky Reef

I found out recently that the oil in most sunscreens can kill coral. For this trip I tried mineral based coral safe sunscreen. You probably won’t find any among the major brands in the average store. If a sunscreen doesn’t say biodegradeable then it is not coral safe. You can google it and find places that sell them online. If you have a local store that sells things like herbal remedies or organic products they might have it too. These mineral based sunscreens actually protect you better from future skin cancer than the oil-based chemical sunscreens people normally use so you can do both your skin and the sea life a favor by finding a coral safe product before swimming in tropical oceans.

Copyright My Cruise Stories 2016
Posted in Caribbean, Carnival, Ecstasy, Mexico, Ports of Call | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments