Best Shore Excursions

Posted on January 1, 2013 by LBcruiseshipblogger

Happy New Year to Everyone

On New Year’s Day people tend to both look forward to the future and backward to reflect upon the past. Since I don’t have my next cruise planned yet, I’ll stick mainly to reflections on past blogs in this post.

Excellent Shore Excursions

I’ve been on a lot of great shore excursions on the cruises I’ve taken. Here’s a few highlights of some of my favorites.

Cave Tubing in Belize with cavetubing.com

Cave Tubing In Belize

One of the most unique activities ever, my Cave Tubing adventure in Belize remains one of my best shore excursion memories. I’ve never seen this guided float through a cave on an innertube offered anywhere else.

staghorn coral at the Great Barrier Reef

Snorkeling

Sailboat Snorkel Excursion to Tintamarre

I love to snorkel. While the best snorkeling of my life was at Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, I’ve had a lot of fun snorkeling on shore excursions in the Caribbean as well.

One of the best was the Golden Eagle Catamaran Sail and Snorkel on St. Maarten that went out to the nearby island of Tintamarre.

We had another unique and excellent shore excursion on Grand Cayman, where we snorkeled over the USS Kittiwake, the only US Military ship ever sold to a foreign government for use as an artificial reef.

snorkeling at the Kittiwake, Grand Cayman

USS Kittiwake Wreck and Reef Snorkel Excursion

Other Great Excursions

Temple of the Frescoes at Tulum

We can’t snorkel in every port and we do have fun doing other things sometimes. In Cozumel we visited the Mayan Ruins of Tulum, and learned that the Mayans never predicted the end of the earth like so many people thought they did. Just as we replace our calendars every year, theirs eventually ran out – meaning only time to reset the calendar!

the train snakes up the mountain near Skagway

In Skagway, Alaska we rode the White Pass and Yukon Railway. This narrow-gauge railroad was originally built to get would-be gold miners from the port to the gold, but now serves as the most popular excursion in Skagway.

Jamaican Bobsled Roller Coaster

I’m looking forward to writing about the great times we had at our port stops on our most recent transatlantic and Caribbean cruises, and to all the ports I’ll visit in the future. The port stops on our most recent cruise included Ocho Rios Jamaica where we had tons of fun riding the Jamaican Bobsled roller coaster at Mystic Mountain.

Awesome Local Adventures

Traveling allows people to see all sorts of things around the world that they don’t see in their own backyard. Not all trips take people far from home though, and most areas have a lot to see so people can have some great trips close to home as well. I’ve taken some wonderful vacations that did not involve traveling a long distance from home.

pack mules on the trail with Icicle Outfitters

I had the opportunity to take a pack trip into a wilderness area, something I recommend to anyone who loves to ride horses and see beautiful scenery.

White water rafting, Leavenworth to Cashmere

White Water Rafting the Wenatchee River with Alpine Adventures

A white water raft trip provides a fun day with some exciting times and any Twilight fan would enjoy a Twilight Tour in Forks.

Jacob and Edward at the treaty line, Team Forks Twilight Tour

No reflection of my blog would be complete without mentioning towel animals. Here’s one coming up on a future blog – the penguin.

towel penguin

Posted in Randoms, Shore Excursions | Tagged blog, new year, pack trip, photo, shore excursion, snorkel, train, travel, Tulum, Twilight, white water raft | 12 Comments

Accommodations on the Norwegian Pearl

Posted on December 29, 2012 by LBcruiseshipblogger

cruise ship at anchor, Georgetown Grand Cayman

Norwegian Pearl anchored near Grand Cayman

Like any large cruise ship, the Norwegian Pearl has a variety of stateroom categories based on what passengers are willing to pay when choosing their cruise ship accommodations. Budget-minded travelers pick a basic inside cabin. Even among the same sort of rooms prices vary according to the location cabins within the ship.

Inside Cabin on Norwegian Pearl

Passengers who would like to see outside, or at least have some natural light without breaking the bank can book a porthole or window room with an obstructed view. These rooms offer a bit more space than the inside rooms. Rooms with unobstructed views come with a higher price for the better view. Cruise ships all price the rooms this way.

porthole room with drop down bunk on wall

ocean view cabin

Some people would like not to just see the outdoors, but to have a bit of outdoor space to call their own. Balconies come in quite handy not just as a private place to sit, but also as a place to find great photo ops at odd times of the day (such as sunrises). They also come in handy as a place to put wet things when returning from the beach or pool. The showers do have a small clothesline for that as well.

balcony cabin

mini-suite

Guests who want not only more space, but also more luxury can book a suite. The Pearl has some really sweet suites, each one bigger and fancier than the last. An option that families or two or more couples traveling together might want to consider rather than booking separate rooms is booking a suite together. When booking more than two guests in the same room you often get a discount on the price for all of the extra people and many of the suites sleep up to 6 or even 8 guests. The Garden Villa has over 4000 square feet, bigger than most people’s homes. The suites come with a lot of extras, but the price may be less booking separate or connecting staterooms.

suite on Norwegian Pearl

Booking one of the suites on Norwegian creates the opportunity for a very special vacation. The pampering starts before you even board the ship. At the check-in area in the port you bypass the crowds and enter the room marked VIP. There enjoy refreshments while waiting for your ship card. If it isn’t time to board the ship yet, you then wait in a special VIP area away from the crowd. Once the ship gets cleared, the VIPs board first. On board they take the VIP group to a special lounge where you meet the concierge available to suite guests and find out about the special daily breakfast and lunch program for VIPs. Then enjoy an embarkation lunch at the steak house while other passengers eat at the buffet.

extra bedroom in 2-bedroom villa has couch that folds down to bed, drop down bed on wall, and private bathroom with shower

living room area of 2 bedroom villa

master bedroom of 2 bedroom villa

It doesn’t end there. VIP’s get priority boarding on tenders whenever the ship stops at a tender port. The mini-suites are located on the highest deck with regular staterooms, and don’t include the VIP privlidges. The Pearl has some smaller penthouse suites on the lower decks as well. The suites on the pearl get much bigger and fancier than that once you pass through the locked door into the exclusive suite area on the upper decks. Guests in the bigger suites also have butler service. Some suites on the Pearl have hot tubs. Suites may also come with private areas of the sundeck with hammocks.

indoor pool and hot tub with couches draped in harem fashion

Another amenity for suite guests in the Haven area includes an indoor pool and hot tub with furnishings reminiscent of something out of a harem, and a private buffet. Privacy for suite guests is insured as other passengers can’t even get through the locked door into the suite area. They can’t get to the suites by elevator either as it requires the use of a key card to get to the higher decks where the suites are located.

deck 15 has just 2 rooms, the Black Pearl and Golden Pearl, or Owner;s Suites

another view of the over 1000 square foot Pearl suite

Regardless of the chosen accommodations, whether inside room, suite, or anything in between, all passengers can take advantage services of a Norwegian personal cruise consultant to help with all their booking needs.

bathroom of the Garden Villa Suite

Living room of Garden Villa suite. This suite sleeps 8 and has a grand piano

The advantage of working with a Personal Cruise Consultant direct from Norwegian Cruise Line rather than online travel sites or a travel agent is a promise of excellent customized service in planning your Freestyle Vacation. Cruise consultants build a relationship with guests that includes finding answers to all your questions even if it means taking their time to research the answer for you. As a complimentary “Live” extension of the web site, your Personal Cruise Consultant can advise you of new itineraries, unadvertised specials and promotions, and make sure the cabin selected fits your personal needs. You rate is also protected by the “Best Price Guarantee.” These highly trained consultants represent only Norwegian Cruise Line, giving them the most in-depth knowledge of their products which they love to share with guests!

suite area private sundeck

If you are considering a cruise with NCL, you can contact Personal Cruise Consultant Kimberley Bennett at: 1.877.416.9722 ext. 4478, Direct Line: 954.514.4478, or klbennett@ncl.com. She will be happy to help you with all your cruising needs.

Norwegian Pearl goes all out for suite guests

hammocks on private sundeck for suite guests

Cabins on other cruise ships: Arcadia, Breeze, Breeze odd cabins, Divina, Ecstasy, Infinity, Legend, Liberty, Ruby Princess, 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 2012

Posted in Norwegian, Pearl, Shipboard Life | Tagged cruise, cruise consultant, cruise ship, cruise ship cabins, Norwegian Pearl, photos, stateroom, suite, travel | 10 Comments

Easy Chocolate Pistachio Cream Pie

Posted on December 25, 2012 by LBcruiseshipblogger

chocolate pistachio pie in coconut graham cracker pie shell

Chocolate Pistachio Cream Pie

Everyone’s heard the phrase Easy as Pie, right? Of course not all pies are all that easy to make. Apple pie, for instance, takes quite some time just to core and peel all the apples. This pie however really is simple to make, yet fancy enough to serve to guests.

Chocolate Pistachio Cream Pie

Baked Graham Cracker Coconut Pie Crust

Coconut Graham Cracker Crust

14 Graham Cracker Squares (7 whole graham crackers)

1 cup flaked coconut

1/4 cup melted butter

Turn the graham crackers into crumbs. A rolling pin works great for that, but use whatever method you prefer. Mix the graham cracker crumbs with the coconut and melted butter in a bowl. Pour into a 9 inch pie pan and press into the bottom and sides until it turns from a mountain into a pie-pan shape. Bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit (190 degrees c) for 8 minutes.

Chocolate and Pistachio pudding

Chocolate & Pistachio Filling

Chocolate Filling

1 large box (5.9 oz/167g) chocolate fudge instant pudding

2 cups cold milk

Pistachio Filling

1 small box (3.4oz/96g) pistachio instant pudding

1 1/3 cups cold milk

While the pie crust bakes, mix each pudding separately in its own bowl. The milk is less than the package will call for to make pudding because the filling needs to be thicker for pie. Put the puddings in the refrigerator to chill while the pie crust cools once it comes out of the oven. For a firmer pie filling, use the pudding mix that requires cooking instead of the instant, but still reduce the amount of milk added.

Put Chocolate Pudding into Pie Shell

After everything has cooled/chilled for 20-30 minutes, scoop the chocolate filling into the pie crust and spread it evenly around. Put it in the refrigerator to chill.

Spoon the pistachio pudding over the chocolate

About 15 minutes later take the pie back out and spoon the pistachio pudding in blobs all over the top. Cover as much surface area as possible to reduce the amount of spreading needed and keep the two pudding flavors from getting mixed together. Spread the top bits of the blobs together to make it evenly distributed around the whole pie. Chill before serving.

Garnish Pie With Grated Dark Chocolate

To garnish, grate dark chocolate over the pie. For a fancier slice of pie to serve to guests, wait to garnish until serving. Top each piece individually with whipped cream, then grate the dark chocolate on it. If desired add a few shelled pistachios and a small piece of dark chocolate.

Slice of Chocolate Pistachio Cream Pie Garnished with Grated Dark Chocolate

Merry Christmas from My Cruise Stories and the towel grinch

Copyright My Cruise Stories 2012

Posted in recipes | Tagged chocolate, coconut pie crust, cooking, dessert, easy recipes, pie, pudding pie | 5 Comments

One Night in Barcelona

Posted on December 22, 2012 by LBcruiseshipblogger

Hotel del Mar, Barcelona Spain

Our transatlantic cruise for the new Carnival Breeze’s maiden voyage to America began in Barcelona, Spain. While we would have liked more time to explore the area, we had just one night in Barcelona.

Graveyard chiseled into solid rock on hillside in Barcelona

On our cab ride to the hotel we saw a where the graves had all been dug into solid rock on a nearly vertical surface. The tombs and crosses covering the entire face of the cliff sparkled in the sunshine.

beach on the Mediterranean Sea near our hotel in Barcelona

We flew into Spain via Germany on Lufthansa. Our first plane left early, our second plane left late. We had just a couple hours of daylight to walk around the area near the Hotel del Mar where we spent the night not far from the cruise ship docks. Walking toward the water, we saw a sign that said Barceloneta, which is the name of the neighborhood where we stayed.

tiny truck in Barcelona

How many clowns can Spaniards fit into one of these?

tiny car

The area had all sorts of interesting transportation. We saw one little mini-truck parked at the curb plugged into a solar charging station. Other little mini-trucks bustled around making deliveries. Many people had tiny cars as well, some only big enough to squeeze in 1or 2 people.

pedicabs by the beach in Barcelona

older style pedicabs near a main road

Pedal power ruled with all sorts of crazy vehicles people could get rides in. We also saw places to rent bikes or scooters. Some of the policia (cops) even rode scooters. They probably need the tiny trucks and cars to fit down the very narrow streets in some areas. People just did not plan for modern vehicles when they built many of the area’s buildings centuries ago.

skyride

If we had more time we could have taken a hop-on hop-off double decker bus tour around the city and seen a lot more, but we did not have enough time to complete the tour before they closed for the night. We could see a sky ride going and walked to it just to find it full for the day and about to close so we didn’t get to ride that either.

cafe next to the boardwalk on the beach

Many little outdoor cafes lined the street, some with fancy silver set out at the tables and patrons dressed in nice clothes. Others sold burgers or ice cream and did not have customers dressed in their finery.

fire-breathing dragon sandcastle

A boardwalk ran along the edge of the beautiful beach, with sidewalk cafes every hundred feet or so. A bike path also passed by the beach as well as along the road we had initially walked down on. The beggers in Barcelona have gotten quite creative. Although we did not make it to see any real castles, walking along the beach we saw all sorts of fancy sand castles, even a fire breathing dragon. Each of the sculptors had a box sitting beside the path for passers-by to throw coins in.

old building

The neighborhood we stayed in did have some old buildings with interesting architecture. We set out without our jackets in the sunshine. We hadn’t gone far before feeling a bit of a breeze as we neared the water. As the sun dropped lower in the sky the chill of night began to set in. Spain in November turned out not so warm as we expected.

A Very Brief History of Barcelona

Barcelona’s history goes back centuries, with the area occupied over a couple hundred years BC. Various invaders over the eons brought in the influence of their own cultures, still seen in the architecture of the old buildings remaining today. Power of the ruling class came and went over time and periodically plagues, wars, or invaders decimated the economy and sometimes the population. Currently Barcelona is the second most populous city in Spain and the capitol of the Catalonia region. Three quarters of the Catalans and an eighth of the general population of Spain call the greater Barcelona region home.

Boardwalk along the beach

Things to Do In Barcelona

Barcelona has a lot of attractions. Its most famous landmarks include the Sargrada Familia church and the monastery at Montserrat.

Some of Carnival’s tours in Barcelona include transfers to or from the ship for passengers boarding or disembarking there.

Posted in Breeze, Carnival, Europe | Tagged Barcelona, photos, Spain, transatlantic cruise, travel | 6 Comments

2012 Blog Of The Year Award

Posted on December 21, 2012 by LBcruiseshipblogger

To commemorate the past year in blogging, The Thought Palette has created a Blog of the Year 2012 award. Thank you to Nicole of NMNPHX for nominating my blog.

Blog of the Year Award 1 star jpeg

The complete rules and details of this award are available at The Thought Palette, along with a series of badges with one to six stars. Add a star for each nomination you receive up to six.

The ‘rules’ for this award are simple:

1 Select the blog(s) you think deserve the ‘Blog of the Year 2012’ Award

2 Write a blog post and tell us about the blog(s) you have chosen – there’s no minimum or maximum number of blogs required – and ‘present’ them with their award.

3 Please include a link back to this page ‘Blog of the Year 2012’ Award – http://thethoughtpalette.co.uk/our-awards/blog-of-the-year-2012-award/ and include these ‘rules’ in your post (please don’t alter the rules or the badges!)

4 Let the blog(s) you have chosen know that you have given them this award and share the ‘rules’ with them

5 You can now also join our Facebook group – click ‘like’ on this page ‘Blog of the Year 2012’ Award Facebook group and then you can share your blog with an even wider audience

6 As a winner of the award – please add a link back to the blog that presented you with the award – and then proudly display the award on your blog and sidebar … and start collecting stars…

My Nominations

First, I’m going to return the nomination back to NMNPHX because that’s the most awarding blog I know. Nicole even has her own spotlight award she awards to other blogs each month, so I think she deserves another star.

I’m also nominating Our Adventure in Croatia. Most people never even think about Croatia, or possibly don’t even know it exists. In this blog, read all about the adventures of a couple who bought a vacation home there. In the process learn all about a different country. It opened my eyes to a new place to consider visiting someday.

Cindy Knoke of The Leisurely Life is a retiree living in a place she calls the Holler where she has wildlife cams. She writes about a variety of things and posts some nice photos. She also receives a nomination.

My last nomination goes to sharechair, who keeps readers informed about new things in the technological world with Everyday Technology for Everyday Folks.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged award, blog, blog awards, blog of the year | 8 Comments

It’s All About the Pearl

Posted on December 15, 2012 by LBcruiseshipblogger

Norwegian Pearl and Holland America Rhyndam

Ships in Ketchikan, my original photo of the Pearl

It all started with a random picture. An Alaskan wilderness small-ship cruise I once took on the Safari Quest ended in Ketchikan on a beautiful sunny fall day. Strolling through town, camera in hand, I just happened to glance at the cruise ship dock and thought a couple ships sitting there looked picture perfect. So I took the perfect picture. Perfect for me anyway. I had just started writing this cruise ship blog, and the photo I took that day of the Norwegian Pearl and Holland America Rhyndam ended up as the banner on the top of my blog. Norwegian has such colorful ships and the Pearl is an especially pretty one. Very photogenic too. Cut from that photo, the Pearl is also my profile picture on facebook and wordpress gravatar.

At the time I had never sailed on either ship. I had sailed with both Holland America (on the Oosterdam) and Norwegian (on the Sun) at that point, but never the Pearl or the Rhyndam.

Norwegian Pearl

About a year ago we spotted the Pearl in Grand Cayman while cruising on Carnival Liberty. Quite excited to spot my banner ship I took pictures of course, but none turned out as nice as my original one from Ketchikan. On this year’s cruise the Pearl stopped in Grand Cayman along with Carnival Magic, Holland America Nieuw Amsterdam, Royal Caribbean Freedom of the Seas, and the Coral Princess.

Pearl at Great Stirrup Cay

The Coral Princess looked tiny in the Caribbean next to so many larger ships and the Pearl, which is bigger than the Sun, was not one of the bigger ships in the area either. Quite a change from the cruise I took in Alaska on the Sun where we often spotted the Coral Princess in port where it and the Sun seemed like the biggest ships there at that time. Funny thing about that trip, it turns out the current captain on the Pearl was also the captain of the Sun when I sailed on it.

Pearl in Jamaica

Shortly after last year’s trip, John booked us for the trip we took this fall. We started with a transatlantic on Carnival’s Breeze, a ship so new it was not even built yet at the time we planned our trip. He figured we’d already be in Miami at the end of that cruise so we might as well spend a week cruising around the Caribbean. We love Caribbean cruises. We booked on the Jewel. I thought at least it was a sister ship to the Pearl so I would get some idea of the design of it on the inside, though the decor varies even among sister ships.

Pearl in Jamaica

After a couple months or so we got a notification from Norwegian that our trip had gotten switched from the Jewel to the Pearl. I felt quite elated at that news, finally a chance to sail on the ship that has graced the banner of my blog since nearly the beginning of its existence. (The blog’s existence that is, the Pearl launched in 2006.)

fish carpet in halls between staterooms

Norwegian Pearl is just as beautiful on the inside as she is on the outside. Ornate ceilings and fancy decorated walls give way to brightly colored whimsical carpets. In the hallways to the passenger rooms tropical fish adorn the carpets. The areas near elevators have plain blue, making them quite easy to spot from down the hall due to the lack of fish.

Throughout the ship as one public space gives way to another, the décor changes, never leaving any doubt as to where one area ends and another begins even when walking through a line of three bars in a row. Each area has its own carpet, most brightly colored and decorated with cheerful patterns.

It’s not just the ship that makes a cruise on the Pearl special. The very friendly crew seem quite happy with their jobs and more than willing to do whatever they can to give passengers a wonderful vacation. The ship gets top ratings on health inspections and safety too.

Pearl Model in Bridge Viewing Room

The Pearl had something I have not seen on ships I sailed on previously. Just behind the bridge it has a viewing room with windows into the bridge so any passenger can come and watch the bridge crew at work whenever they want. That room also contained a large size model of the Pearl.

Norwegian Pearl Christmas Tree Ornament

At the gift shop I got my own tiny ship. A Christmas ornament Pearl to add to my collection of cruise ship Christmas tree ornaments. I try to get an ornament of each ship that I sail on. I’m missing both the Holland America ships though. I don’t know whether Holland America doesn’t have them, or if they were just out of them on both the Oosterdam and the Westerdam when I took those cruises.

Posted in Norwegian, Pearl | Tagged cruise ship, cruise ship Christmas ornament, Norwegian Pearl, photos, travel | 12 Comments

Cruise Ship Safety Drill

Posted on December 8, 2012 by LBcruiseshipblogger

Continue reading →

Posted in Breeze, Carnival, Norwegian, Pearl, Shipboard Life | Tagged cruise ship safety, cruise ships, muster stations, safety, safety drill | 12 Comments

How to Make a Towel Dinosaur

Posted on December 1, 2012 by LBcruiseshipblogger

towel dinosaur

Supplies Needed to Make a Towel Dinosaur

1. One bath towel

2. Two hand towels

3. Eyes and any other desired embellishments

How to Fold a Towel Dinosaur

roll both sides to middle from short ends

Start with the bath towel, and make the standard towel animal body, same as the dog, pig, or most of the other towel animals. Roll both ends to the middle from the short sides.

fold rolled towel in half with rolls to the outside and pull tips out of ends

Fold in half with rolls to the outside and pull the tips out of each roll.

pull tips from ends of rolls until it pulls into animal body

standard towel animal body

Hold the tips of the two rolls from the same end of the towel in one hand and the tips of the two rolls from the other end of the towel in the other hand. Pull all four at the same time until the rolls pull out into the four legs of an animal body.

hang hand towel on a hook

rolled towel on hook

Take the two hand towels, and one at a time and hang the center on a peg or hold it under your chin.

dinosaur head or tail

Tightly roll both sides at the same time so that the rolls come to a point at the end on the hook or under your chin, just like rolling the towels for the cat’s head.

put the head and tail towels between the leg rolls of the body towel

Turn the dinosaur body over so the rolled parts in the middle are on the top. Insert the two hand towels into the middle of the body between the rolls with one pointing out on each side.

fold the leg rolls over the head and tail towels while flipping dinosaur over and into a seated position

Turn over and set body into a seated position.

Raise the neck and shape and position head and tail. Use front legs to support neck. Decorate as desired.

Raise neck and shape head as desired. You may need to make some adjustments in the position of the head and neck towel and the front legs to get it to stand up.

finished towel dinosaur

Decorate as desired. I used googly eyes and a pipe cleaner to decorate mine. Bits of felt, cloth, or paper work fine for eyes too.

Then next animal in this cruise ship towel animal folding series is the towel bear.

towel bear

For more towel animals, please visit My Cruise Stories Towel Animal Page.

Posted in Towel Animals | Tagged cruise ship towel animals, dinosaur, how to, photos, towel animal folding instructions, towel art, towel origami | 3 Comments

Lilla Rose – The Perfect Hair Clip for Cruises

Posted on November 28, 2012 by LBcruiseshipblogger

flexi clips - the cruise ship hair saver

shore excursion – Palma de Mallorca, Spain

I first discovered the Lilla Rose flexi clips last summer when my daughter wrote a review about them on her blog, Mommy Adventures, which no longer exists. While her story involved keeping her baby from pulling her hair, I thought what a perfect hair clip for cruises. After adding a comment to that effect to her blog, her sponsor Linda Menke contacted me to see if I would like to review these wonderful clips on a cruise.

Lilla Rose keeps hair put on a windy cruise ship deck

At the time I had months to go until my next cruise. She sent me a few clips and I tried them out at work, home, camping, horseback riding, Twilight tour, pretty much everywhere I went. I loved the clips so I bought more. I tried out several different sizes. My first review involved wearing them just about everywhere, and I still do.

Lilla Rose in the cruise ship hot tub

For the official styles I use a small or extra small, but I tend to prefer just winding my hair into a messy bun, and for that I use a medium. Don’t blame the clips for my lack of talent in making hair styles in the photos, the clips hold things exactly as I put them and if there’s any ends sticking out, it started out that way. My messy buns tend to be….well messy. But they are very quick and easy to make. Actually so are the official styles.

Lilla Rose down the waterslide

By the time I set out for my cruise I had quite a collection of Lilla Rose flexi clips. I also brought the headband Linda sent me for the original review. I’ve found the flexi clips quite as useful on the cruise ship as they are in everyday life. When I want to dress up, such as for formal nights, I wear the fancy beaded ones with dangles. For more active adventures like the water slides on the Carnival Breeze I tend to pick the ones without the danglies.

getting ready for dinner in Lilla Rose headband

I pretty much wore the flexi clips from morning to night every day of the cruise. I even went on an all-day shore excursion that went from windy, rainy mountains to a camel farm, and all sorts of sights in between and wore the same clip to dinner back on the ship without having to readjust it or anything.

I wore the headband to dinner a couple nights too. It is easy to use and keeps my ears from sticking out through my hair as well as adding a bit of bling to my outfit.

lilla rose, the hair clip for all occasions

formal night in the dining room

I will definitely consider my Lilla Rose flexi clips as essential items whenever I pack for future cruises, just as they have become essential in my day-to-day life.

Shore Excursion, Grand Canary Island

The Caribbean has a lot of sunshine, so often a hat is needed to shade the eyes. Even so, the flexi clip is still useful. On the Norwegian Pearl I sometimes used the flexi clip on a pony tail through the hat.

wearing flexi clips on pony tail through a hat

flexi clips even work with a hat

The flexi-clips are also great for the holiday season. Whether as something for yourself to wear to holiday parties, or as a gift item, almost anyone could use one this time of year. The flexi clips also work great as scarf clips. A matching set of two of the same clip in different sizes for hair and scarf makes a wonderful Christmas present.

getting ready for formal night

For a chance to get your very own flexi clip for free enter the giveaway on this blog by leaving a comment about which flexi clip you would like to win. That’s all you have to do to enter, just leave a comment. The winner will be drawn randomly from all the comments.

same style, 3 different sizes

You can see all the styles and and sizes available on Linda’s Lilla Rose website. Just click the shop now link on the website and then click the product category you want to see. For flexi clip sizing info or how to use them click this link. Click this link for videos. Linda also has a Lilla Rose facebook page.

The giveaway winner will be announced on this blog on December 8th. It is the winner’s responsibility to contact Linda Menke at cliptomania@ymail.com. to redeem their prize, so if you leave a comment be sure to return to this blog on the 8th or 9th to see if you won. People from anywhere in the world are welcome to leave comments, however if the winner lives outside of the USA they may need to pay for the shipping. People outside the US, Canada, or Mexico may also purchase the Lilla Rose merchandise by contacting Linda at the email address given above.

This giveaway is sponsored by independent Lilla Rose consultant Linda Menke. The winner may pick any item worth $16 or less from the Lilla Rose website. She will mail the winner’s prize directly to them.

exercising on the jogging track on top the ship in the sunrise

For bonus entries into the giveaway, like Linda’s facebook page, like My Cruise Stories facebook page, watch the styling videos, or share this review on your facebook page. Write an additional comment on this blog for each thing that you do and each one will count as a bonus entry. One entry per comment, so make sure to leave separate comments for each entry.

Lilla Rose flexi clips in different sizes

Lilla Rose flexi clip size comparison

The Winner Of the Lilla Rose Giveaway Is……..

As of the evening of December 8th, day of the giveaway drawing I have 24 comments. Each comment is an entry in the drawing, so after writing the numbers 1-24 on a piece of paper, tearing them all into individual bits, folding them in half, and stirring them up in a pile I drew out #16. Counting down to comment number 16 the lucky winner of a Free Lilla Rose hair clip is (drumroll please) Lacey Long!

Lacey, be sure to contact Linda Menke at cliptomania@ymail.com to collect your prize. In her comments, Lacey said she liked the purple stone cluster flexi clip.

If you left a comment and did not win, never fear, Linda has a special deal for you too. For the next 3 days all NEW Lilla Rose customers who purchase three items from www.lillarose.biz/cliptomania receive a FREE item up to $16 in value. To redeem the free item, e-mail Independent Consultant, Linda Menke, at cliptomania@ymail.com with your Customer Number and the item number and description of your FREE item ($16 and under). Your FREE item will be mailed to you within 2-3 weeks. If you live outside of the US, Canada, or Mexico then order from Linda directly through her email instead of on the website by following the directions in the paragraph below.

If you live outside the US, Canada, or Mexico, you can still order some great Lilla Rose Hair Jewelry. Just e-mail your order using item numbers or descriptions to the sponsor of this Giveaway, Independent Consultant Linda Menke at cliptomania@ymail.com. She will calculate shipping costs, use PayPal to send you an invoice and will ship your items directly to you!

Posted in Product Reviews | Tagged cruise, flexi clip, free stuff, giveaway, hair clip, Lilla Rose, photos | 28 Comments

Carnival Breeze Ship Decor

Posted on November 24, 2012 by LBcruiseshipblogger

The aft deck has several groupings of wicker furniture with red umbrellas

Most cruise ships portray an image of opulent elegance in the majority of their interior decorating. The brand new Carnival Breeze has a whole new look. Now that it is in America, it home ports in Miami for Caribbean cruises. So it is only fitting that the decor on most of the ship sports a Caribbean casual look.

lido deck lights

Some of the lights onboard, like the ones in the Lido Marketplace Buffet area, are designed so the light they cast resembles sunlight filtering through palm trees. The seating area has a very beachy look complete with umbrellas and trees.

Lido deck eating area

Up one floor from the main Lido Deck, the Cucina del Capitano pasta restaurant has a look of old world Italy.

light at the main entrance to Cucina del Capitano

The hallways between passenger cabins have a variety of scenes from a Caribbean island paradise. Even the doors have a new look about them.

door to passenger cabin

The atrium has a much more casual look than most ships. It has a bandstand on top of the bar, and colorful floating lanterns in the open area by the glass elevators. The open area is smaller than on most vessels.

atrium on Carnival Breeze

The colorful lanterns look quite different when viewed from above, below, or beside them.

looking down at the atrium lights

atrium lights looking up

atrium lights from about the middle

The Ocean Plaza area on deck 5 has a casual inviting look. People enjoy hanging out there for things like trivia contests, dance lessons, and music from bands.

Ocean Plaza area on deck 5

The Ovation Theater also has a more casual look than the main theater on most ships. It has a design repeated throughout the carpet, curtain, and even the lights on the walls.

Ovation Theater curtain

I think it is supposed to be some sort of flower, but it makes me think of brooms. The sort witches ride in stories like Harry Potter. I heard other people commenting that it reminded them of upside down bells.

Lights on the walls in the Ovation Theater. The ceiling has some of the same shape lights.

The open and inviting look of most of the ship carries though to the full service sushi bar. Sushi here comes with a bit of extra cost.

Bonsai Sushi Bar on Carnival Breeze

The main dining rooms manage to maintain an elegant, yet relaxed look without the ornate scrollwork normally adorning the walls in formal cruise ship restaurants.

Sapphire Restaurant

Blush Restaurant

The casual elegance continues in the decor of the Fahrenheit 555 steak house. This extra charge restaurant also includes an open galley where guests can watch the chef cook their meal.

a new style of casual elegance in cruise ship decor

Fahrenheit 555 steak house

The Red Frog Pub decor is the epitomy of Caribbean casual with palm trees and nautical adornments of all sorts. It serves great food too, hot fresh and made to order for a very nominal fee. The Red Frog Pub sits on deck 5, not to be confused with the Red Frog Rum Bar on the Lido.

Red Frog Pub

Deck 5 also has a lanai which runs around the whole outside of the ship. On sea days, Fat Jimmy’s BBQ serves excellent pulled pork sandwiches and other barbeque fare under the yellow umbrellas. No extra fee there.

port side of the lanai on deck 5

Kids need their space even on vacation. On the Breeze the teens will find it in Club O2 with a dance floor where the lights change color.

dance floor in Club O2 changes colors

The spa uses pastel colors in soothing shades to help with the relaxed atmosphere.

Carnival Breeze Spa

Outside in the Sport Square area on top of the ship bright colors emphasize fun.

Sport square has pool and foosball tables and mini golf

Posted in Breeze, Carnival, Shipboard Life | Tagged Carnival Breeze, cruise, cruise ship decor, photos, travel | 9 Comments

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