Destination Expert - What Is My Next Step

I get the question all the time.  "What about your destination expert lecturing on cruise ship?'

I usually answer the same way "I don't know".

After a great year last year on Princess in South America.  I was really excited to have four contracts to present my port lectures.  Three with Celebrity and one with Princess.

Of course all of these have been cancelled due to Covid.  

For now I am waiting - along with all of you.

For those of you who know me, you know I am an emotional person.  I take things to heart.  You can usually read me just by looking at my face.  At first when all this Covid went down I was like.  Forget it!  I am not lecturing anymore!  I was hurt, angry, sad, frustrated.  But now I have settled down and realize those emotion are okay.  I miss cruising, I miss people, I miss sharing my information, I miss helping others.  

So I am anxious to get back into lecturing when cruising starts back up.  Heck I am anxious just to get back on a ship!

I am a firm believer in going after what you want in life and also let destiny have it's path too.

So I am enjoying life.  I am enjoying the moment.  But I do have to say that in the past few weeks I have been wanting to start writing some lectures.   I am going to expand my lecture series to include more than just ports.

Since I really love Canadian history and I live in the Maritimes I am going to focus on that.  I am going to write some lectures about life in the Maritimes, the history, the people.

These lectures are meant for Canada/New England Cruises, especially those that leave from Quebec City.

How many of you know about the Halifax Explosion?  Pier 21 the gateway to Canadian Immigration?  Coal Mining a Hard Life?  Expulsion of the Acadians?  Africaville?  Port Royal the first British Settlement in Canada?  

These are just some of the titles I am working on with rough outlines.  I don't really plan on doing too much until the Fall when the weather starts to turn, but I thought you might be interested.

Dinner at the Lodge - Ice Bar - Why NOT

After some relaxing in the room we headed out to walk around the ski hill.

So quiet.  This is the shoulder season.  Busy time is the Winter and then the Summer.

Check out the snow bank!!

We are dining at the lodge tonight.  It looks lovely and the menu is perfect.

We start with a cocktail.

For our meal I had this amazing risotto with peas and mint.

After dinner we thought we should try out their ice bar.  

Yes you heard me right, an Ice Bar.

It is a Stoli Ice Bar.   We put on goose down parkas.

Andrew from Perth Australia welcomes us in.  It is cold but not too bad - must be the Canadian in me.  

The shot glasses are made of ice too.  Hardest part is holding the shot glasses.

He explains the different vodkas and the different tastes and where they come from. He is very knowledgeable.

We start with the first tasting.  I take Absolute Elite and Bernie has the Crystal Skull.  

Next round is Titos and the Bison.

Then for a flavored vodka I chose the espresso and Bernie got the salted caramel.

At the end we raise our glass in a toast and drink then smash the ice shot glasses.

What fun!  

Thankfully all we have to do is walk down the hall to our room.

Visit to Victoria B.C. and Butchart Gardens

We recently had the opportunity to visit Victoria.  

I know, I know, we live in Vancouver British Columbia so why visit Victoria.  Well a few reasons, but the main reason is we rarely explore our home Province.  Sure we will get on a plane and travel to the other side of the world but travelling in B.C. just is never at the forefront of that list.

Many cruise ships dock in Victoria when visiting Alaska. Mainly because of the Passenger Vessels Services Act and if they were not required to dock at a distant foreign port they would probably skip Victoria completely and that would be a loss.  If you don't know about the PVSA click here for more details.  

Princess ships dock early evening - usually around 7 pm and leave at midnight. This is not a lot of time but I encourage you to get off and explore.  

I have written numerous times about Victoria in my blogs - click here for more information.  

Ships dock at Ogden Point as the harbour in downtown is not deep enough.  Ogden Point is a short distance away but is easily accessible on foot (about 30 min walk) or by shuttle service or taxi.

We were honoured to be invited to partake in the Butterfly and Butchart Gardens tour thru Experience Victoria -- the tour company Princess uses.  

We were greeted by A.J. Singh, Director of Operations, right at the pier and led to the coach and introduced to Joe our driver.  

As we left the pier and travelled through the streets of Victoria, Joe gave a very easy to follow and understand commentary of the sites, the history and beauty of Victoria. We really enjoyed his funny bits about Canada and his story of watering the hanging baskets as a young man.

 

Our first stop was Butterfly Gardens after about a 40 minute drive. At first I was not sure how I would like this but I was pleasantly surprised at how beautiful it was and especially enjoyed the flowers, plants and even the parrots.

We only had a half hour stop here (which was extended because one person was late getting back) as we needed to get to Butchart Gardens as night time was setting in.

Joe provided in depth information about the history of the Butchart family and the gardens and even recommended where we should head to when arriving.

We arrived at Butchart Gardens at 8:30 pm and were given two hours to explore.  We hit the ground running as dusk was just arriving.

Now I had been to Butchart Gardens a very very long time ago - like when I was 5 - needless to say I don't remember it and I was very interested to see the site again.

The gardens are huge - 55 acres! The maps provided were easy to read and the park had numerous easy to follow signs.  Take note that you will be walking a lot, so wear comfortable shoes.  

The gardens do not allow selfie sticks, or smoking. However we encountered both in the gardens.

We proceeded to the Sunken Garden (at Joe's recommendation). It was stunning and the smells from the flowers perfumed our path.  

The paths lead you to hidden gems for the senses. And of course my favorite flower (phlox) was lining many of the paths in the area.

We quickly moved to the Concert Lawn and Stage as the live entertainment happens every day.

In fact it was lovely to listen to the music throughout the gardens as we walked around.  I would of really enjoyed to sit and enjoy the band Grove Kitchen, but we had no time to waste.

Every Saturday there is a fireworks display, but to the sadness of one little boy today was Friday.  

As we made our way to the rose garden and then the Japanese Garden the darkness had settled in and even though we could still enjoy the gardens it was more difficult to really enjoy the full effect.  

Butchart Gardens does have beautiful path lighting, and lights are strategically placed in the flower beds that cast a beautiful glow. 

But by 9:30 it was really hard to see much and we still had an hour until we had to be back on the bus. So we ended up in the coffee shop enjoying ice cream and then the gift store - which is huge - for a souvenir item.

Back at the bus by 10 and everyone was back by 10:10 (scheduled time back was 10:30) so we made our journey back to Ogden Point.  

Joe was great at providing commentary as we drove through Chinatown, the harbour, past the Empress Hotel and the Parliament Buildings.  But because of the darkness all were hard to see and enjoy.

Overall I have to say that a visit to Butchart Gardens is a must if you are heading to Victoria.  However if you are visiting from a cruise ship that docks later, book the tour that only visits the gardens so you can get there right away and therefore have a bit more daylight.

As much as I appreciated seeing the Butterfly Gardens it took away 40 minutes that would of been better spent at the gardens.

If you are visiting Victoria earlier in the day or for a full day definately visit the Gardens and plan for a few hours.  

December 1, 2011 Aruba

December 1 – Aruba

We dock early and lots of people are getting off.  We have been here so many times, it isn’t one of our favorite places but we do need to go ashore for a few items. 

After breakfast we head ashore and head to the local Starbucks and people watch.  Then we head out to get our friend Yvonne her Aloe Vera Body Lotion that is made here.  We first head to the local grocery store but they no longer seem to carry any of the aloe products.  So we head to another store that is very close by and buy it there, still the same price as before $12; however we do notice that some of the stores no longer are carrying it in the tube but in a rounder bottle with a pump and only a few more ounces for $23. 

We are back on board at noon.  We had thought about going to the beach in the after via the bus but once back on board the sun deck was calling and that is where we ended up.  We had lunch up there (Bernie a hamburger and me a slice of 3 cheese pizza and a salad) and then sun tanned and swam until around 3 pm.

Relaxing in the room before dinner, we got our bottle of champagne that a friend (Alice) sent us and enjoying it.  One of the perks of the mini is the bathtub so a long soak is in order.

We decide to head to dinner early, we are at the dining room by 5:45 (earliest meal but I am wanting an early night).  We sit with two other couples and well all I can say is one couple was not nice at all.  You know the type, the ones that know everything, the ones that complain and demand things, the ones that correct everything you say, ones that talk and talk about themselves and never ask you a question.  We had just barely ordered our meal and I wanted to leave the table!  The couple was from New York (thankfully we know that state does have nice people too) and she looked at us and finally asked the only question of the evening “and what state are you from?” I looked at her and said “we aren’t we are from a province, British Columbia” and she with a heavy British accent repeats British Columbia.  Oh my I am thinking, just nod Vickie, smile, be polite, make your Mom proud.  I did well until he commented that this was their eighth cruise and they know all the ins and outs of Princess.  Then I couldn’t hold it any more, I was done with them, I smiled and said “oh you are just new cruisers, we are on our 26^th with Princess”.  That shut him up for a bit.  We excused ourselves before dessert. 

Bernie still wanted dessert so we went up to the Café Caribe for dessert and tea and giggled about our dinner companions.  I feel bad for the other couple, they were very nice and we did enjoy talking with them.

 

The ship is now all decked out with decorations.  There seems to be a Christmas tree everywhere, with bows all over the atrium railings. 

Bernie is still out there, I think he was off to watch a Movies Under the Stars Cowboy and Aliens.  The production show tonight is Motor City. 

Oh So Much To Say About Cruising and Cancelling Last Minute

It has been a while since my last post and so much has happened.

In early March we had booked a back to back on the Sapphire for April 30 and May 7, a seven day Mexican cruise and then a coastal from Los Angeles to Vancouver.  We looked forward to two weeks on the Sapphire and seeing old friends again.  Our roll calls with Cruisecritic.com were very active and lots of events were planned.

Mom and I

Exactly one week prior to leaving we got the call that most hate to get.  My Mom who had been fighting cancer for a while had taken a turn for the worst and was in the hospital and the family was called to be by her side before she passed.  Without hesitation we cancelled the two cruises, the flights and the hotel and made travel arrangements to head to Montreal to be with my family.  We had a week with her in palliative care before she passed on May 5 surrounded by her family.

The cancellation was easy to do, a quick call to our travel agent (Best Price Cruises) and the paper work was done and sadly the penalty was 100% cancellation fee as it was within the fourteen day period.  Thankfully we had travel insurance through our credit card and we were able to make a claim and will be reimbursed for the total costs.  Another big reason to always get insurance.

Somehow we must of felt that our cruise would of been cancelled.  I say this because not a single item was placed in the packing room - you know that space that you start to collect stuff for the trip.  Not a single item.  And that is just not like us.  We didn't even organize a single excursion in any of the ports for the entire fourteen days.

Of course because we cancelled we lost 100% which included two future cruise credits each which was disappointing but understandable.  When I mentioned this to my travel agent that we wish we had those future cruise credits as we wanted to book a back to back for Dec and would have to wait till the fall after we sailed again.  She said let me see what Princess says.  After she spoke to them and explained the situation they said it would be no problem to buy two future cruise credits for this one time only.  So nice and appreciated and the day after we booked the back to back 20 days on the Emerald for Dec.  Thank you Princess this is why we are loyal to you.

We may have lost a two week holiday but we were blessed to spend the last few days with Mom.  Rest in Peace Mom - Marie Paule Fugere April 3 1941 - May 5 2011.

Vickie

October 4 - Vancouver - All Aboard

Today is the day! We board the Island Princess for our second cruise thru the Panama Canal.





Again we booked thru Best Prices Cruises, and again their price just couldn't be beat. I can highly recommend them. As you read prior, this cruise was booked sort of last minute. Two months ago as we relaxed on our weekend I went and checked the prices and the cost for flight home and well we felt we couldn't pass it up. We booked in a lowest balcony guarantee as that was all we could get. About five days before sailing we got a cabin assignment, we were upgraded from a BG category to a BD category, our cabin was B716.

Joining us on this cruise will be Shelley and Rob, and their friends Laurie and Jim.

Rob arranged a limo to drive us all to the pier. We were picked up shortly after noon and got to the pier around 1 pm.

After our last experience at the pier in May and the long line ups, we knew this time would be different as the Island was the only ship in port. From the minute we got out of the limo to when we got into our room I think it was only 15 minutes!


Since this cruise was sold as the entire 17 day voyage to Fort Lauderdale, but also as a two day repositioning cruise to San Francisco many were just doing the two day port. I would guess that about 75% were doing just the two day portion and therefore luggage was minimal and that allowed our bags to be delivered in RECORD time to our cabin. We were maybe in our cabin for 20 minutes when our bags arrived. We quickly unpacked and then went for something to eat.

Bernie remembered as he passed the ice cream bar that ice cream is free, so here he is getting his first of many ice cream cones.

Up to the Sun deck to watch the sailaway. The band Revolution was playing and the dancing began.

We ordered our drinks and took in the beautiful scenery.

This cruise will take us to San Francisco, Cabo San Lucas, Puntarenas Costa Rica, Panama City, Panama Canal, Cartegena Columbia and Aruba then back to Fort Lauderdale where we will fly home. Lots of relaxing sea days to spend with friends and my honey.

This waiter was hilarious, he comes out spinning the tray and showing off his talents, only to discover that it is glued onto the tray. The weather was a little cool, you definitely needed a sweater, but then again it is October.

But check out these young girls in the whirlpool. The other pool had a guy in it who had a beer in one hand and a ice cream cone in the other. Now that is dedication.

That night we decide to head to dinner in the dining room, but check out this sunset first.

We head down to the dining room for 7:30 but the line up is so long for anytime. I think everyone who is doing the two day cruise has anytime dining. Bernie tells us to hold on as he heads up to the traditional dining room. He comes back and says we are in for 8 as there are tables available. While dining we see a retired driver at the table next to us, Al and his wife are doing the entire 17 days too.

It is an early night for us and we head back to the cabin around 10:30 and hit the hay, dreaming of the next 16 days of pure bliss.