Miracle Chocolate Cake

Posted on July 27, 2013 by LBcruiseshipblogger

great tasting gluten free, lactose free, sugar free cake that's not diet food

No Flour, No Sugar, No Milk, and IT”S NOT DIET

People may wonder about the title of this blog. What’s so miraculous about chocolate cake? It’s pretty common after all. Of course most chocolate cakes are full of things like sugar, butter, and flour. This cake has none of those. It’s actually healthy and nutritious. And it still tastes good and rich and chocolaty. That’s the miracle. It’s gluten free, dairy free, and sugar free. It’s not a diet recipe, no fake chemical sugar substitutes. It does have honey though so diabetics would have to be careful about portion size. Other than that it’s more protein than carbohydrate. It’s also very simple to make. So easy kids could stir it up by themselves.

unbaked cake

Miracle Chocolate Cake Recipe

Ingredients

3/4 cup almond butter

3 eggs

4 tablespoons honey

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

2 tablespoons dark chocolate cocoa powder

Directions

Heat oven to 325 degrees and grease 8-inch square pan. Stir all ingredients in mixing bowl by hand. Bake at 325 degrees Fahrenheit for about 25 – 30 minutes. Cake is done when toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

baked cake – with coconut

Variation

You can add 3/4 cup coconut if desired. Increase baking time to 30 – 35 minutes. For a very moist cake bake it a little less and take it out of the oven before the toothpick comes out clean. Or sprinkle coconut on top before baking and it comes out with a nice toasted coconut topping.

Cake with the Nutella Frosting

Frosting

This cake tastes good as is with no frosting, but people do like frosting. You can use your favorite frosting, or try Nutella straight from the jar which makes a pretty good frosting on its own. Or make this simple Nutella frosting recipe:

1/2 cup Nutella

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 tablespoon coconut or almond milk

Beat all ingredients in small bowl with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy. Because the consistency of Nutella varies with the temperature you may need more or less milk to get the desired thickness of your frosting.

If you are making this cake for someone on a sugar-restricted diet skip the Nutella frosting because if you read the ingredients on the jar, the first one is sugar. Pre-made almond butter from a jar may also have sugar, but if you get it where they have the machine that grinds almonds into almond butter you can eliminate the sugar there.

Nutella

Copyright My Cruise Stories 2013

Posted in recipes | Tagged chocolate cake, dairy free, food, gluten free, gluten free cake, healthy dessert, lactose free, lactose free cake, photos, recipe, sugar free | 22 Comments

The Family Cruise

Posted on July 20, 2013 by LBcruiseshipblogger

Westerdam in Juneau

For years my husband and I have tried to talk my parents into taking a cruise with us. They always said no. Finally my younger sister said I should just give it up as they would never go on a cruise. Figuring she was right, I hadn’t asked them in awhile.

Hanging out on our stateroom balcony in Glacier Bay

Imagine my shock upon receiving an email from my mother saying they had booked a cruise to Alaska on the Holland America Westerdam……..with other relatives. Yup, all booked and done and I wasn’t invited. I did notice my older sister and a single aunt among the people she listed. Correctly assuming the two of them would room together, and assuming this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity due to the extremely slim odds of my parents ever taking a cruise again, I promptly began the attempt to invite myself to room with them.

Why not just book my own room with my husband? While that would have worked well as we could have just booked a room on our own for the same cruise, it did not work this time as he had already made other plans for the week of the family cruise.

trying out the ceramic tile chairs in the thermal suite on the spa tour

Adding yourself onto someone else’s booking is not as easy as it sounds. Apparently the cruise line can’t interfere with a booking done elsewhere, and they had gone through a travel agency. They also had no past cruisers among the original group, and so missed out on the discounts offered to former passengers.

Since none of my usual cruise-booking routes through discount websites or the cruise line would pan out for this trip I called the travel agent the family had used. She set me up as a third in the room, which came at a price break for being an extra person. When the cruise ended, I was pleasantly surprised not to find port fees and taxes on my end-of-the cruise statement. It turned out that those were included in the travel agency price rather than added on at the end as they often are with discount cruises. Definitely something to think about when doing price comparisons in the future.

checking out the balcony

Our total group included 9 people in 4 staterooms, the most I have ever traveled with. I was very glad they allowed me to come, as I got to meet a cousin I hadn’t seen since we were babies, get acquainted with an uncle I didn’t see much growing up, and to visit with another aunt and uncle we rarely see. Of course I was quite happy to finally have the chance to cruise with my parents, and I had a great time with my sister and the aunt we roomed with.

What do families do when they get together at dinner….take photos!

With that many people we didn’t manage to get everyone in the same place at the same time other than sometimes at dinner, but we did see different people randomly throughout the voyage as well as including as many as wanted to come on some of the shore excursions we took.

visiting Glacier Gardens in Juneau

I am very grateful that I got this chance to spend time with my extended family, and that we spent that time having a wonderful Alaskan vacation on a very nice cruise ship.

Posted in Alaska, Holland America, Randoms, Westerdam | Tagged cruise, family, family vacation, life, photos, travel, vacation | 13 Comments

Food on the Norwegian Pearl

Posted on July 13, 2013 by LBcruiseshipblogger

Norwegian Pearl

If there’s one thing cruise ships have in abundance, it’s definitely food. Food can be found in all sorts of places and all manner of ways. A passenger could spend their entire cruise eating if they wanted to, moving from one food venue to another. Cruise ships have dining rooms with multi-course meals, buffets, room service and usually some sort of 24-hour food venue, all at no extra charge. And if that’s not enough, there’s late night buffets and the special eateries that cost a bit extra.

La Cucina Italian Restaurant on Norwegian Pearl

Norwegian‘s free style cruising includes even more dining options than the average ship. A number of them do cost a bit extra, but after having eaten at several of the places with a surcharge on a variety of ships I’ve always found them worth the price. I used to wonder why anyone would spend money to have a meal on a ship with so much good food to chose from at no extra charge, but actually trying some of the fancier eateries changed my mind.

my favorite cruise ship breakfast – Eggs Benedict

The Pearl has two main dining rooms. Passengers can choose to eat in either or neither, whatever suits them. We had a couple meals at the Summer Palace, the more formal of the two. It sits at the stern of the ship with great views through large picture windows. It had good service and good food.

Winter….I mean Summer Palace

I did think Winter Palace would have made a better name for it though. Not only was it decorated in Christmas colors, the temperature in the room was downright frosty. On the plus side they had plenty of tables so people on our cruise always got right in with no waiting.

Spaghetti Carbonara at Indigo

The other dining room, called Indigo, is smaller and less formal. Although since jeans and a t-shirt would more than meet the requirements for Norwegian’s minimal dress code even at the “formal” dining room, dressing for dinner really shouldn’t be a problem at either place. Indigo kept the temperature of the room at a far more comfortable level than the Summer Palace.

Dinner Time! (main course)

That was my reason for preferring it to the Summer Palace, as they served the same food. Other people also seemed to like Indigo better, since often they had a wait to get in for dinner. Our pager always went off in under half an hour though so the waits were not too bad.

Kid’s Cafe in the Garden Buffet

Another option for free meals on the Pearl was the Garden Cafe Buffet. Entering the buffet meant holding out your hands for the “Happy, happy, washy, washy” crew to spray them with hand sanitizer. Once inside a number of different stations offered quite a variety of food. Some came up from the main galley, but a lot got prepared right there at the station where they served it. We especially enjoyed the made-to-order turkey and veggie burgers. One night the buffet served an excellent late-night chocolate buffet.

Blue Lagoon Cafe – open 24 hours

The Blue Lagoon 24-hour cafe also offered food at no extra charge, and daytime room service came free as well.

Poolside Barbecue

Other free food included BBQ served lunch daily at Topsider’s Grill by the pool, and the Great Outdoors Bar served complimentary buffet food with outdoor seating. On our behind-the-scenes tour we saw a pig roasting in the galley for a Bavarian themed lunch at the Great Outdoors. For yet another free outdoor dining choice, passengers could try the Sky High Bar & Grill above the pool.

outdoor specialty buffet on Norwegian Pearl

breads at the Bavarian Buffet, Great Outdoors

The choices for pay-extra eateries seemed limitless. We gave Teppanyaki – where your dinner is the show – a try and loved it. Not just the food, but the whole grilling and knife trick experience. Chefs there cook with a flair right at the guests’ table, which mostly consists of a very large grill.

cruise ship premium food - cruise ship sushi

Sushi Bar at the Lotus Garden

With an eatery to meet pretty much any taste or desire for a particular type of food, the Pearl had quite a variety of premium places to choose from. They had Cagney’s Steakhouse, which served breakfast and lunch complimentary to suite guests and VIP’s as well as being open to everyone for dinner for a fee. In addition to the Japanese food at Teppanyaki, the Pearl had many other choices for ethnic food with varying fees at La Cucina Italian, Le Bistro French, Lotus Garden Asian (which also has an a la carte sushi bar), and Moderno Churrascaria Brazillian.

specialty restaurants on Norwegian Pearl

Moderno Churrascaria

In case all that isn’t enough they also had pizza delivery available to passenger cabins 24/7 for $5.

mmmm dessert!

Posted in Cruise Food, Norwegian, Pearl, Shipboard Life | Tagged cruise, cruise ship food, dining venues, eat, food, photos, travel | 10 Comments

Grand Canary Island – Island Tour

Posted on July 6, 2013 by LBcruiseshipblogger

Las Palmas on Grand Canary Island in a storm

Storm Over Las Palmas, Grand Canary Island

Long before our transatlantic cruise on Carnival Breeze began, we booked an all-day Island Exploration tour for the day our ship docked at Las Palmas, Grand Canary Island. This tour said an all-terrain vehicle would take us to visit two volcanic craters and to visit places where tourists don’t normally go. On board, the shore excursion booklet said that vans would take this tour places where busses can’t go.

Carnival Breeze in Las Palmas, Grand Canary Island

We were to see two volcanic craters and the highest point of the island, have lunch at a castle, and visit a museum and a cave. However we did not look at the paper until we got back, so when we saw the waiting vans as we exited the Carnival Breeze, we initially thought they would take us somewhere to board an all-terrain vehicle (expecting something similar to the jungle bus from Australia.)

vans going down the mountain after the weather cleared up in the lowlands

We were given stickers with the number 8 on them in the lounge on the ship, so we boarded van number 8. Our group actually had only 6 vans, of which ours ran in the middle of the group. The lowest numbers had gone to passengers on a different tour. The vans zipped through the city in a line, while an Englishman in the first one gave commentary that came over a speaker into the rest of the group. We thought for the majority of the tour that our driver did not speak English as he did not say a word until it was nearly over.

White rock that the original island natives considered a special sacred type place

As the vans snaked up the mountain in the pouring rain, the guide explained how it rarely ever rains on Gran Canaria (the Spanish spelling of Grand Canary, as the Canary Islands belong to Spain.) The island has many reservoirs to catch what rain does fall for watering a thirsty island. Prickly pear cactus and agave grow wild on the steep hillsides between the steep winding roads. He also mentioned a leaf discoloration on some plants caused by an infestation of beetles which they harvest and turn into food coloring. So if you see red food color made of carmine or cochineal extract on the list of ingredients of your food, it may have come from bug juice. Which is at least natural. It could be worse, some red dyes are petroleum based.

According to Live Science, the bugs are not beetles at all, but a species considered a “true bug,” called cochineals. If it weren’t for the fact that some people are allergic to it, the dye ingredients would just be listed as natural. Cochineals are harvested mainly in Peru and the Canary Islands on plantations of prickly pear cacti, the bugs’ preferred host. About 70,000 insects are needed to produce a pound of dye.

As the altitude grew ever higher, the vegetation changed mainly to pine trees. In this very dry climate, the pine trees developed a unique system of obtaining water. Instead of drinking through their roots like other pine trees, the Canary Island pines have the longest needles of any pine tree in the world and use them to extract moisture from the air.

Approach to the lookout for Bandama Crater where we saw nothing but rain and fog.

We reached Bandama crater, enshrouded in mist and clouds. We exited the vans, but through the rain and clouds did not get the views or photo opportunities our position high on the mountain would have provided on a nicer day. On the way there and back we drove past Bandama Golf Course, the first golf course built in all of Spanish territory.

I was quite glad to see a golf course up in the mountains rather than by the sea where run-off from all the fertilizers and things used to keep it green harm sea life. The guide said it is quite expensive to play golf there because of the amount of water needed to keep it green on an island where rain comes so infrequently. While we would have preferred it not rain during our visit, locals are probably quite happy to see rain whenever they can get it.

Next, we went to the highest point on the island. As the vans pulled into the stop, I noticed a dog chasing the last one. If they think about the Canary Islands at all, most people associate them with little yellow songbirds. In actual fact, they were named after the dogs that once ran wild there (canis – canines.) The natural assumption that Grand Canary is the biggest of the Canary Islands is also false, as it ranks only third in size. Gran Canaria translates literally to big dog area. The aforementioned songbirds were later named after the island, and some do live there.

The dog I saw had a different look to it then regular dog breeds so I figured it to be one of the Canary Island dogs. It vanished from sight before I got a chance to get a picture of it. Through heavy winds driving the rain sideways, I did get some pictures of the pine trees. I entered one in the on-board photo contest. It didn’t win, but they make a nice 8×10 photo of all the entries and let the contestants keep them, so I got it a frame to hang it on the wall in my house.

Highest Point of Grand Canary Island in a storm

There’s probably nothing technically right about this photo, but I held my ground while getting frozen and soaked in driving wind and pouring rain to take it at the highest point of Grand Canary and I like it. It’s now framed and hanging on the wall in my living room.

My husband entered photos that he thought had a chance to win and his made the finals, but they are not photos we’d want to display in our home. I entered photos I’d want to hang win or lose so I got a couple nice pictures for free. (My other entry was a sunrise.) The winner got a larger copy of their photo as their prize, so I saw no point to entering something not wall worthy.

We made a brief stop in a small town. Spanish speaking passengers could buy saffron at the pu

small mountain town on Grand Canary

blic market there for very cheap. Our Spanish is limited more to a few useful phrases like “Donde esta el bano?” (Where’s the bathroom?) and a few things better not mentioned. The stop was too short for haggling between people who don’t understand one another, so we skipped buying saffron there, being more interested in not getting left behind in the boon toolies on our last port stop before crossing the ocean.

Cafe on a mountain on Grand Canary Island

Later we stopped at a small café in the mountains. We got a large package of Canarian saffron there for next to nothing. Locals consider it “tourist prices” because the local markets have it for less, but we got it far cheaper than most people would ever dream of finding it for. Saffron comes from part of a particular type of crocus flower and it takes 50,000 to 75,000 of them to make a pound of the world’s most expensive spice.

view high on a mountain on Grand Canary Island

misty view with a rainbow

We had photo stop at a scenic overlook on the mountain road. With the peaks of the mountains still in the clouds, we never did get the views we might have seen, but we did see some rainbows, interesting rock formations, and some towns down in the valleys.

museum of interesting artifacts

As we came down from the mountains, the weather got warmer and sunnier. Viewpoints now looked both up and down, with the ups showing the mountaintops still in the clouds. In a cute little town we stopped at a museum made of stones. Being Sunday, it wasn’t open, but someone came along eventually to unlock the door. Inside it had interesting light fixtures made of natural objects as well as an eclectic collection of items ranging from stones and bones to no-longer-living birds, sealife, and artifacts. Outside the building’s archways lemon trees and giant cactus grew along the stone paths through its small garden.

camel farm

We stopped for lunch at a camel farm where they had a number of camels saddled up for rides, though we did not see anyone riding them. We had a hearty lunch with choice of soup or salad and pork or fish. We didn’t mind eating at a camel farm rather than a castle, but there was a person in our group allergic to camels who was quite unhappy about that and everyone would have liked to see the castle even if we didn’t eat there.

town in the lowlands on Grand Canary

After lunch we returned to town and back to the ship. One of the benefits of booking a shore excursion through the cruise line is that the ship will wait for you even if you return past the all-aboard time, which we did even though we had not gone to all the stops listed on the tour.

People on their balconies clapped when our vans pulled up, though late as we arrived a few other people straggled in later still, lucky that the ship got delayed by our tour. One person came running down the dock not only after the gangway got pulled in, but actually after the ship had begun to pull away from the dock. Arriving that late usually means watching the ship sail away without you and finding your own transportation to the next port. Our captain had a kind heart knowing that getting left behind there meant five days and an ocean to cross before the next port, and he knew he could safely get back to the dock so he did return to pick up the last straggler.

shore excursion back after all aboard timell

Hurry up and get on the ship before it leaves

Normally ships only wait for their own tours, and if the boat has left the dock the passenger is out of luck. That last straggler should feel very thankful that the captain so kindly returned for him. With 5 days and an ocean between ports catching up to the ship would have gotten very expensive had he missed the boat. Odds are security had already checked the safe in his room for his passport, as Carnival will have someone meet their missing passengers at the dock and help them make arrangements to catch the ship at the next port. Usually the next port is not so far away in time or distance though.

We enjoyed this excursion even though it did not quite match up to our expectations, but felt the price was too high for what we got considering we missed several things the tour should have included. We have learned over time that the excursions don’t always match up to the hype. This one could have improved through better organization. At all the small stops we lost time because the drivers and guide all gave people different amounts of time for how long they planned to stay there, and the vans all tended to move after we got out of them. So nobody knew when exactly to get back, and then had to find either the right van or even the entire group of vans after they did.

odd things in the museum included the light fixtures

If the museum had been open when we got there, and lunch (which the guide called ahead and ordered) ready upon arrival we could have saved time in those places as well. Then perhaps we might have had time to visit the cave we were supposed to see. It turned out that the lunch stop was at a camel farm instead of a castle because of the large size of our group. If we had time for camel rides that would have been fun, but we did not. I’m not sure if we ever went by the second volcanic crater either. If we did we didn’t stop for photos, which probably would not have been good anyway since the mountain tops remained in the rainclouds all day and if it was anywhere near the first one we probably couldn’t have seen it anyway due to the weather.

cave house entrance seen with high powered camera lens

Missing out on the cave on that particular island was a big loss because to this day some of the island’s inhabitants live in cave houses, and we missed seeing one. The guide had talked about seeing a cave house on the way to lunch, but did not mention it again afterword while heading straight back to the ship past the all-aboard time.

After mentioning these discrepancies to the shore excursion desk on Carnival Breeze, they said they would ask that the wording in the description get changed to include the lunch stop at any places it might go, which may depend on the size of the group. It has already changed to vans rather than all terrain vehicles. Even though the tour is ran by an outside vendor they also kindly refunded us $25 each since we did not complete the tour.

Posted in Breeze, Carnival, Europe, Ports of Call, Shore Excursions | Tagged cruise, dogs, Europe, Grand Canary, island tour, photos, transatlantic, travel | 8 Comments

Accomodations on Holland America Westerdam

Posted on June 29, 2013 by LBcruiseshipblogger

Westedam in Sitka

The Holland America Westerdam has a variety of rooms available to suit the budgetary needs of all their passengers. Those who prefer to spend as little as possible on their room can book an inside room. The inside rooms on the Westerdam are quite nice and for an inside room quite spacious as well with some open floorspace and couches that wrap around a corner. Inside rooms come with a basic bathroom and shower.

Inside rooms on the Westerdam are pretty nice

For people who prefer not to spend any more than necessary on their room, yet would like to have some natural light, rooms with obstructed views are an affordable way to go. These rooms have a window, which may be partly or fully blocked by a life boat. A little more money spent for the room upgrades the window to one with a full view.

Verandah rooms give passengers their own outside space

Verandah rooms allow passengers a full view and a bit of private outdoor space with their small decks. These rooms cost more than inside or window rooms, but still save money over suites and they have bathtubs.

Superior Suite adds more space

The suite category starts with the superior suites. These are more spacious than the regular balcony rooms. With suites, the balconies get larger too. These suites also come with double sinks, jetted tubs, and telephone concierge service.

Book a Neptune Suite and you can come in here – Neptune Lounge

Passengers who like more space, use of the Neptune lounge, and VIP boarding can book the Neptune suites. Extra perks like free laundry service come with the extra money spent to book a suite.

Neptune Suite

Neptune suites include double sinks, whirlpool tubs, separate showers in the bathroom and a good sized balcony. The Neptune Lounge includes personalized concierge service among its amenities. Guests of Neptune suites also have priority tender service among the extras included with a suite.

The Penthouse suite is so big it doesn’t all fit in the picture

The penthouse suit brings all the comforts of home, with more room than some apartments. It has a separate bedroom, and an extra bed that folds out of the wall in the living room just under the huge flat-screen TV.

accomodating extra passengers in a suite

there’s a bed hiding in these cabinets

It includes a dining room, butler’s pantry, guest bathroom, and master bath with gold sinks, large whirlpool tub and separate shower. The penthouse has an expansive balcony with a private hot tub.

book the penthouse and this balcony could be yours

the Penthouse has an expansive balcony

private hot tub on Penthouse balcony

Sometimes passengers have more than two people in the same room. To accommodate three or four guests, some rooms have a couch that folds out into a bed and/or a bed that folds down from the ceiling.

bunk drops from ceiling

I sailed on the Westerdam with three people in a verandah room, in the type where the couch folds down for a bed. The room steward made the couch into a bed each night and folded it back into a couch for us each morning. There wasn’t a lot of floorspace with the bed folded down, but it only stayed that way for the night. The room had three closets, a few drawers, and a cupboard over the couch-bed, so we all found space to put our things.

bathroom in the penthouse

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

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

Copyright My Cruise Stories 2013

Posted in Holland America, Shipboard Life, Westerdam | Tagged cabin, cruise, cruise ship cabins, Holland America, room, rooms on cruise ship, stateroom, suite, travel, Westerdam | 12 Comments

You Can Do Your Own Laundry On A Cruise

Posted on June 22, 2013 by LBcruiseshipblogger

Carnival cruise ship docked at Grand Turk

Carnival Liberty

Can I do my own laundry on a cruise? Passengers-to-be often wonder about that in these days of limited luggage for airline travel. Particularly when taking longer voyages. Cruise lines do offer laundry service where the crew will do the passenger’s laundry – for a fee, and not a small one either.

Passengers probably don’t have this much laundry

Most ships have a tiny clothesline in the shower so a bit of handwashing can hang there – if the line space is not already taken up with swimsuits drying from a trip to the beach, a dip in the pool or hot tub, or perhaps an afternoon’s fun on the waterslides.

laundry room sign on the Liberty

For short cruises most people can pack enough clothes to meet their needs, but on longer voyages clean clothes may run out partway through. Luckily for us we have taken our longest trips on Carnival. We took a back-to-back Eastern & Western Caribbean cruise on the Liberty, and a transatlantic voyage on the Breeze. On both these vacations we made use of the laundrette.

you would never find the laundrette without the tiny sign

Carnival Breeze Laundrette sign

Carnival has laundrettes on all of their ships, something their passengers truly appreciate. On the Liberty each passenger deck had its own laundrette with several coin-operated washers and dryers each. Only one washer worked on our deck, but the deck above housed most of the suites. Suite guests tended to send laundry out to the crew, plus their washers all worked, so I never had any trouble finding a washer open one floor up.

it's nice to be able to wash your own clothes on a cruise ship

only the middle washer worked on the Liberty

On the Breeze, Carnival’s newest ship, only a few decks had full laundrettes with washers and dryers operated not by coins, but by the sail & sign card that works as room key and shipboard credit card. The rest of the decks just had ironing rooms. On a transatlantic voyage this tended to cause a back-up of people waiting for washing machines, especially since they locked the laundrettes up at night.

new technology - use the sail & sign card to run the washing machines

no coins needed to use the washers & dryers on Carnival Breeze

Our deck had a full laundrette, poorly located next to the suites where the guests were least likely to use them and most likely to complain about the noise. And complain they did, which resulted in the laundrettes having shorter hours and longer lines…..and more noise because people waiting out in the hall for the door to open in the morning tend to talk.

soap and fabric softner vending machine on cruise ship

you don’t even need to bring laundry soap

I only hope this reduction in laundry facilities is an not indicator that Carnival has plans of phasing them out like most of the rest of the cruise lines have done. Judging by the amount of people who use them, a large percentage of the passengers appreciate having the option to do their own laundry during the cruise rather than paying the exorbitant fees to have the crew wash it for them. We greatly appreciated the laundrette on the Breeze in spite of having to wait to use it.

I recently sailed on the Holland America Veendam and was rather surprised to see that it had 3 launderettes onboard as I had not seen one on cruise lines other than Carnival previously. My prior cruises on Holland America were on the Oosterdam and Westerdam which did not have the launderettes, but the Veendam is a different ship class so perhaps some of their other smaller ships have them as well.

Some other lines such as Princess, Cunard, and P&O also have self-serve laundries on at least some of their ships. On P&O Arcadia use of the washers and dryers was free.

Posted in Breeze, Carnival, Liberty, Shipboard Life | Tagged Carnival, cruise, laundrette, laundry, laundry on a cruise ship, travel | 11 Comments

Dunn’s River Falls

Posted on June 15, 2013 by LBcruiseshipblogger

Dunn’s River Falls, Ocho Rios, Jamaica

Dunn’s River Falls

As the most popular tourist attraction in Ocho Rios Jamaica, Dunn’s River Falls attracts a crowd. A really large crowd. We found the amount of people at the falls detrimental to actually enjoying the falls. People climb the falls in large groups. It takes about 45 minutes to make the climb, but only because of the large groups. On their own a person could probably scramble up the falls in about 10 minutes.

A group of people ready to climb the falls

Climbers start at the bottom like a sea of humanity flowing upriver reminiscent of a school of salmon at spawning time. Unlike spawning salmon, the waterfall climbers live to tell the tale. Each relatively large group made their way upstream to the next pool, where the guides would entertain them as they delayed the group awhile waiting for other groups further upstream to clear the way. Once moving, they seemed to travel fairly quickly in a line while traversing the next section of the falls, only to bunch up again as they reached another pool.

We opted to stay on the sidelines and film as climbing in a bunch like that just really didn’t appeal to us. This attraction seemed too crowded and commercialized to actually be much fun. A man who had climbed the falls confirmed this on the bus ride back to the ship. They also seemed somewhat unorganized. Even though we had pre-paid and did not plan to climb the falls we had to wait nearly as long at the gate for someone to lead us inside as the amount of time we spent there once we finally got in. It also cost the same to get in whether you climb the falls or not.

the end of the climb at Dunn's River Falls

A sign at the exit point of the falls congratulates waterfall climbers

After leaving the waterfall, the path to the exit passes through an area filled with booths where locals sell their crafts. At nearly every booth a person steps out aggressively trying to get passers by to stop and make a purchase, all the while claiming to be low or no pressure and different from the rest.

crowds of people climbing Dunns River Falls

Groups of people herded up the falls like cattle

Unless this waterfall is something you really want to see, or climbing one is on your bucket list, my recommendation for Jamaica is to skip this and find something less crowded, like Mystic Mountain where we had lots of fun. The waterfall was beautiful. Without the crowds it would have been a nice place, but that many people just doesn’t make for peaceful co-existence with nature.

Ocho Rios

The name Ocho Rios, which means Eight Rivers in Spanish, seems a bit misleading since the area does not actually have eight rivers. Once a fishing village, the town now makes its money from tourists. People come to see the falls, for scuba diving and other water sports and recreational opportunities, or because their cruise ship stops there.

fora brief moment in time the waterfall had almost no people in view

Looking down from the top of Dunn’s River Falls

Christopher Columbus landed many places along the Jamaican coast, but Columbus Park in Ocho Rios may have been his first stop there. Europeans brought slavery and disease to the Taino population who lived there at the time. The Spaniards settled the island, only to lose control to the British after a series of wars.

Flowers growing at the edge of the falls

Like many Caribbean islands, European colonists settled in Jamaica, using slave labor to man their sugar plantations and warring with other European countries. After numerous uprisings, the slaves were finally granted their freedom. Jamaica however did not gain freedom from Great Britain until 1962.

Things to Do in Ocho Rios

Cruise ships have quite a selection of shore excursions in Ocho Rios, many of which can include a stop at Dunn’s River Falls like our excursion from the Norwegian Pearl did. Besides Mystic Mountain, and the Bobsled Roller Coaster there, other excursions offered in Ocho Rios include a variety of ATV tours, a number of different choices that include either a dolphin swim or dolphin or shark encounter, horseback riding and various watercraft ranging from inner tubes to bamboo rafts to jet boats. Other options include zip lines, caves, beaches or a visit to the birthplace and final resting grounds of Bob Marley.

Other things to do in Ocho Rios include visits to gardens, parks, or museums. Shopping for local crafts or visiting swimming areas inland as well as beaches are also popular pastimes for visitors to the area. Scuba diving and snorkeling also entertain visitors to the area.

Mystic Mountain

Sometimes you save money doing things on your own rather than booking shore excursions through the cruise ship and sometimes you don’t. We intended to make our own way to Mystic Mountain to ride the Jamaican Bobsled Roller Coaster when the Norwegian Pearl docked in Ocho Rios, Jamaica. We did not book the excursion in advance on the ship thinking that we would save a significant amount of money if we got there on our own.

Scenery on the trail to the Sky Explorer tram

After disembarking the ship we found someone from Mystic Mountain operating tours from the cruise ship dock. Our options included booking directly with them, booking through the ship (which we could do right there at the dock) or walking to the attraction and buying the tickets there. Booking through the ship saved a few dollars over booking the tour directly through Mystic Mountain. Both included transportation there and back. Walking would only save the bus fare, which was $10 on Mystic Mountain’s tour or slightly less through the ship. They said the walk would take about 45 minutes. The distance the bus traveled before arriving seemed closer to a 20 minute walk, although that is just a guess. Either way it would not be worth the pittance saved, especially considering sections of the road had nowhere for people to walk.

Bridge on the trail to the tram

Mystic Mountain offers several options. Guests board the Sky Explorer tram at the bottom of the mountain. It’s not optional as it provides transportation to the other attractions at the top of the mountain. Most people buy a ticket that includes a ride on the Jamaican Bobsled Roller Coaster as well as the Sky Explorer. Once at the top people can buy additional rides on the bobsled in increments of 2, 3, or 5 rides, with 5 the best deal on the price. Anyone who did not have an initial ride ticket when they came up can purchase the 5 ride ticket at the top. The other option is a zip line. Mystic Mountain also has a Tranopy tour that includes all three – Sky Explorer, bobsled, and zip line.

zip line platform at Mystic Mountain

Cruise ships may offer combinations that include the bobsled ride and a visit to Dunn’s River Falls. If the ship doesn’t offer the Tranopy option, passengers wishing to do that can book it online or with the tour guide at the dock. We would have liked to try the zip line, but opted to skip it because we found the cost more than we cared to spend.

Sky Explorer Tram

After disembarking the bus at the Mystic Mountain entrance, we stopped at a nearby building where employees fitted everyone with wristbands indicating which attractions they had paid for. A short scenic trail through flowering plants and over a bridge near a small waterfall led us to the lower tram station.

approaching the upper tram station

The ride on the Sky Explorer takes a bit of time and offers several views of the ships in port along the way. A splash of purple flowers adorned the top of one tree we passed, probably one of the sort of rain forest plants that live in the trees rather than part of the tree itself. Here and there along the forest floor large red blooms reached skyward toward the light. The tram covered quite a distance, all of it quite scenic whether traveling through the rainforest or high enough above it for ocean views.

At the top of Mystic Mountain

There’s lots to see and do on Mystic Mountain

The top of the mountain has other attractions in addition to the bobsled and zip line. People can spend as much time as they like in the free attractions. These include a hummingbird garden, butterfly garden, and the infinity pool.

View from Infinity Pool, with Bobsled and slide

The pool has a waterslide as well as an awesome view of the cruise ship docks and close-up view of the Jamaican Bobsled Roller Coaster Ride. The mountaintop also has a restaurant and some shops.

riding on the Jamacian Bobsled roller coaster

Jamaican Bobsled roller coaster runs through the rainforest

The bobsled, inspired by the Jamaican bobsled team that once competed in the winter Olympics, doesn’t actually slide down a mountain of snow. This Jamaican Bobsled Roller Coaster Ride runs through the jungle on a roller coaster style track. Unlike traditional roller coasters, the sled driver can control their speed on the track. Riders may opt to go alone or to hook two or more sleds together, with the front person controlling the speed for the entire group.

We had a great time at Mystic Mountain. Everything flowed smoothly even with two ships in port that day. The lines never got too long for the bobsled or the sky explorer. People enjoyed the pool and slide, but neither had a crowd.

Jamaican Bobsled roller coaster through the rainforest

Jamaican Bobsled roller coaster ride, woo-hoo!

We enjoyed our initial ride on the bobsled enough to buy a 5 ride ticket so we could ride it some more. They do allow more than one person to share rides on the same 5-ride ticket. Sharing that cost less than buying separate 2 or 3 ride tickets.

hummingbird at Mystic Mountain

We also spent some time taking photos in the hummingbird garden. Much as we would have liked to stay at Mystic Mountain longer, we had paid to see the area’s most popular attraction – Dunn’s River Falls – as well. We had to take the tram back down the mountain while we still had time to go there. We didn’t have time to see the butterfly garden, though we did see a butterfly with the hummingbirds. If we had the chance to do it over we would spend our whole time in port at Ocho Rios enjoying all that Mystic Mountain has to offer and skip Dunn’s River Falls.

Butterfly in the Hummingbird Garden

spiders hanging from a palm tree

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