Tag Archives: travel

Seattle Cruise Ship Ports

Seattle Seattle is the largest city in Washington State with a population of over 800,000. It’s nickname is the Emerald City due to the abundance of year-round greenery. Washington is called the Evergreen State due to its native evergreen trees. … Continue reading

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Saint Lucia Cruise Port

Saint Lucia is an independent country, but also a member of the British Commonwealth. It’s a volcanic Caribbean island in the Lesser Antilles with reefs, rainforests, and waterfalls. The capital is Castries, the official language English, and currency the east … Continue reading

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Back on Symphony of the Seas

I was last on Royal Caribbean’s Symphony of the Seas when cruise ships first started sailing again right after covid. At that time there were far less passengers onboard than what the ship can actually carry. Not so much this … Continue reading

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Punta Arenas, Chile Cruise Port

Punta Arenas, Chile Punta Arenas lies on the Strait of Magellan near the tip of southern Patagonian Chile. It’s often a starting point for those heading to Antarctica. It has a population of over 145,000 and is the coldest coastal … Continue reading

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Cartegena Cruise Port

Cartagena, Columbia Cartagena’s tourist draws include the 16th century walled old town and its beaches. Temperatures in Cartagena generally stay with lows in the mid to high 70’s F to highs in the high 80’s to low 90’s year-round. Annual … Continue reading

Posted in Holland America, Nieuw Amsterdam, Port Cities, Ports of Call, South and Central America | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Amsterdam Canal Light Tour

There are a lot of canal tours available in Amsterdam in a variety of tour boats. We saw a lot of the sort we went on in Copenhagen with the glass tops and sides that hold a whole lot of … Continue reading

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Nuku Island and Swallow’s Cave Snorkel Excursion

I was happy to see that Holland America’s information on our transpacific cruise on the Noordam for this excursion from Vava’u, Tonga specified reef-safe sunscreen and that there was no mention of insect repellent. So many snorkel excursion instructions say … Continue reading

Posted in Holland America, Noordam, Pacific Ocean & Islands, Ports of Call, Shore Excursions | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

European Christmas Decorations

Throughout the areas in Europe where Christmas markets flourish, those markets provide a lot of festive decoration for the areas where they reside. Some of them get quite creative. Even the market stalls are sometimes festive. Nearly every Christmas market … Continue reading

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Mini Suite on Enchanted Princess

At close to 300 square feet, a mini suite on Enchanted Princess is much bigger than the standard balcony cabin. There’s a curtain that can be pulled across between the bed and couch areas. That comes in handy if there … Continue reading

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Hits and Misses on Holland America Zaandam

Hits Holland America Zaandam had lots of random seating near windows. Well maybe not so random as it’s mostly actually in bars or other venues, but still plenty of places to sit and watch the scenery go by. The Crows … Continue reading

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