Big News! Cruising is Back and Vickie is Onboard As A Lecturer

I can't express in words how excited I am.  Things happen in mysterious ways.  

The other day I got an email from the agency that places cruise ship lecturers stating that Celebrity was looking for some lecturers.

First thing I checked was their mixed dose vaccine policy.  You see here in Canada many people have mixed dose vaccines.  I have two doses of Moderna, but Bernie got his first dose of Pfizer and his second dose is Moderna.  When I checked, Celebrity was not accepting guests with mixed vaccines.  This was Tuesday of last week.

Then Sunday night as I was laying in bed and we had just spent the weekend talking about travel and the possibilities.  But it seemed still far off.  

But as I lay there something told me to check Celebrity's sit again.  I like to believe it was my Mom guiding me.  And YES Celebrity had updated their vaccine requirements to accept mixed doses of Moderna and Pfizer.  

So I got up and went downstairs and sent in my request to apply for those Celebrity trips (3 of them).  My agent quickly responded and welcomed me back and stated he would be putting forth the applicants the next day!  He also stated he expected a quick decision since the sailings were so soon.  Boy he was so right.

The next day, Monday we were busy working the election all day so we had little time to check emails.  But when I got home I had been offered a back to back on Celebrity's Equinox.

Each cruise is a 9 night trip with stops in Nassau, Aruba, Curacao, and Bonaire.  

If you want to join me there are some amazing deals right now.  Our sailings will be October 20 and 29th.  

Antigua Port Lecture

Are you or someone you know sailing into Antigua on a cruise?  Check out my Port Lecture that I presented in February 2019 as Destination Expert on Royal Princess.

Barbados Port Lecture

If you or anyone you know is travelling to Barbados on a cruise have them take a look at my port presentation.

This video was recorded in February 2019.

Back to the Caribbean in January!

For over a decade and a half we have been travelling in the beginning of each year.   For a couple of reasons; Bernie's Birthday falls then, at work it impossible to get Christmas off so going away in January is a good option, and getting away from the rain in Vancouver keeps us sane.

This coming year (Jan 2016) is a little extra special. Bernie turns 60 and for a long time now I have been saying whatever you want to do we will do.  

He has dreamed of going to Peru and seeing Machu Picchu so this is what he said he wanted to do for his 60th.  He started reading, doing research, planning and it seemed like a done deal.

But ever since our experience on the Royal this past year we have been reminiscing about what an amazing trip that was.  We both would say how great it would be to do it again.  Bernie commented recently about how sad he was that we would have to miss it next year.

Then during one of our hikes (where we seem to talk a lot about travelling) Bernie says "I think we should go back to the Royal and the Caribbean in January."  WHAT -- I kept saying are you sure, what about your big trip to Peru.  He keeps saying "I will be just as happy on the Royal, and Peru can wait until later, maybe the Fall or maybe once we retire and we are not limited with scheduling.  We need vacations right now where we can relax and rejuvenate ourselves before heading back to work".  
So we booked three legs starting January 9 till Feb 8.

Jan 9

Jan 19

Jan 29

So this was booked and when Bernie found out that the next sailing was a seven day cruise (actually the two sailing after these are 7 days). He said we should do the first leg and do the Eastern 7 day itinerary that goes to Nassau and St. Maarten.  It has been forever since we were at these two ports and since they usually happen on a 7 day cruise and we tend not to do 7 day voyages in the Caribbean we should do it.  

After some discussion I agreed.  I think I have created a cruise monster.  Seems like the tables have turned and Bernie is the one talking me into cruises.  

We were able to find a great deal on air from Vancouver at around $480 each so that was a good thing.  

Since we have confirmed these voyages, we have informed friends of ours and we have people joining us that we care about on each leg.  Also since booking we both comment that we are happy we made this decision and it was the right one.

To learn more about past trips or ports click on the port labels on the left had side to pull up a list of all blogs where we visited that port.  

Royal Princess Here We Come

Well here we come, but not for another two weeks.  Eight Working day, ten days before we leave.  But who is counting.  Am I the only one who counts down like this. Probably not but I am trying not to obsess.  

Friends at work keep asking "when is your next trip" and we say in two weeks, and then they ask "where to" and we say Caribbean... we don't like to offer up this info cause many of our friends give us a hard time cause we love to travel. We try not to say how long we are going cause then they bug us even more.  

For us travel is a priority and we make choices that enables us to travel like we do.  So when I am working the holidays when everyone else is off I have to keep reminding myself why.  When we have to shuttle each other to and from work cause we only have one car, I have to remind myself why.

Today we got our email with the details of who are Cruise Director is and I am excited cause it is Lisa Ball again.  We sailed with her on the Crown for 7 weeks and she is lovely. Many of my friends comment to us on how much we look alike.  Yeah I can see it, do you?

In this email we also found out that Federico Castro is going to be our Captain Circle Host and we sailed with him on the Caribbean a few years ago.  Federico is from Buenos Aries and is so nice and friendly and helpful.  

We are happy that we will be back with both Lisa and Federico but other than those two we don't know who else is on board.  But one of the fun things is to get on board and then start recognizing crew.

The itinerary is one we have done quite a few times.  We are staying on for a back to back to back (30 days).  Hey I think I can manage the Caribbean for 30 days, or at least I think I can suffer thru it.

this is our first and third leg (note third leg goes to Grand Turk)

second leg, but goes to Grand Turk instead of Princess Cays

Even though we have been to all these places a few times we are looking forward to trying some new things in some of the ports.  But some of the ports we are happy to just do what we have done before.

Stay tuned to see what we do in each port and what is new and what we have done before.  I will try and be as helpful and descriptive as I can be with regards to tours, locations, fares etc.  But if you have a question just post a comment at the bottom of the blog and I will respond when I can.  

So back to work and getting ready, what to bring and not bring.  We still haven't decided whether or not we will bring formal wear.  One thing for sure we will be bringing along our snorkel gear and our water floats.  One great thing about these itineraries is that they focus around us being in the water and pure relaxation.

We have quite a few things to do around the house before we head out.  Once again our friend is going to be staying at our place while we are away.  She is a student at a college that is walking distance to our home so staying here is a help for her while she is in her third year of nursing. Plus this gives her a bit of a chance to be independent.

So back to my countdown... I hope you follow along on our voyage.  And if you are going to be on board stop me and say hi.  Lets plan on drinks or maybe a lunch.

Planning for Future Cruises - Care to Join Us?

The one downside of doing such a large cruise this year is that it used up almost all of our vacation time this year.  So what is a girl to do?  But plan a future cruise.

We really missed the Caribbean this year so I discussed with Bernie, do we go back next year?

The one good thing is that the Royal will be doing the 10 day itinerary instead of the Crown.  Now is that good or bad, well I guess it depends who you ask.  

We haven't been on her and I really want to see her, but there are some things I will miss from the Emerald (Skywalkers, Oustide cabins, wrap around promenade, oh and the Explorer's Lounge).  But there are quite a few things that I am looking forward to on the Royal (Champagne Bar, Fondue dinners, the aft area of the ship, the bigger showers, the new Live Theater, the larger Horizon Court and well a ton of other things).

Bernie's birthday is the 18th of January so it is a given we have to be away then.  But the ship is scheduled to leave on the 18th, so it looks like it will be our embarkation day.

We have now booked the highest inside guarantee on the Royal for a back to back to back.  Thirty Days again!  We talked about twenty but we knew that we would be disappointed if we had only twenty so we thought lets do it for thirty.  This is why we have to book an inside, we just can't justify the added costs for the balcony.  If we booked a balcony for twenty days it would actually cost more than the thirty days in the inside.  

We are also excited because we will get to see so many of our friends again.  On each sailing we will have friends we know on board.  

So if you are interested in joining us, look into the January 18, January 28 and the February 7th cruises on the Royal.

Ports include:  Princess Cays, St. Thomas, St. Lucia, Barbados, Grenada, Bonaire, Aruba, St. Kitts, Dominica, Antigua, and Grand Turk.

Curacao - January 20

We knew that today was going to be a beach day. We met up with Janie and Tim and we grabbed a taxi to Kon Tiki Beach. The price was $5 per person and once there we met up with Brian, Nancy, Donna and Lawrence.







The beach was beautiful even though the skies were a little overcast but after a few rain drops the sun came out and it got very very hot.








Bernie & I went snorkeling and here are some shots with our new underwater camera. Man it was hard looking thu a mask thru the camera and then trying to find the fish.

We hung out here until around 1 pm and then headed back into town. We just walked around town for a bit.

We didn't make it over the floating bridge as it was open and we thought heck that must be a sign so we walked thru the less busy part of town.




Some of these buildings were in need of some repairs. Check out how they are bracing this one. We didn't walk down that road, just in case!

We went to get a coffee right near the port and ran into some of the workers from the ship. SMILE.

Interesting name for a restaurant, you wouldn't believe all the Chinese Food restaurants in the Caribbean.

And then just before we get back on the ship, a quick picture in front of it and "boy are my feet tired"

January 17 and 18 - Sea Days on the Grand Princess

Oh what a feeling to wake and realize you are onboard a beautiful ship and it is just the begining. We got dressed and were excited because today is the day that we had our formal meet and greet.

Sea days are one of our favorite things about cruising. And every day you can find us in the coffee bar enjoying a latte and tea and not to mention a few little treats.

Thanks to Brian for organizing the meet and greet in Skywalker's and many of the officers attended. Silly me I forgot my camera.

We tried to get some sun up on the deck but the winds were so strong that you couldn't rest comfortably. Many shoes, blankets and books were blown all around the deck.

Here is our cabin steward Joel I have to say he is the best steward we have ever had.

On the 18th we got up and I quickly kissed my hubby and wished him a happy birthday. Our cabin door was decorated with baloons.

Later in the day we headed up to the top deck and the beautiful Sanctuary. For $10 for half a day you get a wonderful lounge chair, refreshing water, high end towels, personalized wait staff and peace and quiet.

Unfortunately the weather changed and a storm came and and we were advised we may want to go undercover. About 20 minutes later the staff at the Sanctuary came over and gave us coupons for another visit to the Sanctuary for free as the with the weather there was no way they could stay open. So down we go to the cabin and a relaxing afternoon and getting ready for Bernie's Birthday dinner.

Tonight we meet up with Colin/Gwenda, Gail/Luis, Vera/Ken for dinner to celebrate another year. Lots of laughs, great company and great food, oh and tonight is the night we meet Julianne our favorite waiter.

Gwenda and Colin

Vera and Ken

Vickie and Bernie

That evening we went to see one of the comedians and we laughed our head off with Gail and Luis