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About this blog

A Personal Cruise & Travel Journal

All posts and photos © Janice Neves/Seven Sea Journeys, CruiseCrazies Authorized Agent

Entries in this blog

A Belize Blunder

It was August of 2003. We were joyfully embarking on our second cruise, this time a 5-day voyage on the cruise ship Imagination, one of Carnival's smaller vessels. After our rookie sailing the previous summer on the Grand Princess, we simply couldn't wait to share our newfound love of the cruise experience with our two daughters, ages 16 and 11, and hoped they would be as thrilled as we were. Our destination would be the Western Caribbean, the ports of Belize and Key West, and two rel
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7

No, I Don't Want to Be a Volunteer From the Audience

In previous posts, I spoke of the personality differences between my husband and myself. David likes to fill every moment of his vacation with all manner of entertainment, where I like to curl up in a quiet corner with a good book or simply sit and watch the world go by. He likes to arise well before dawn, eager and ready to face the day, where I would just as soon roll over and catch a few more hours of precious slumber, maybe have a leisurely breakfast on the balcony – when we’re lucky enough
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6

Trumping the Triumph Travesty

y An engine fire ... a cruise ship dead in the sea without the power to provide the basic of needs. A pleasant ocean escape to the Caribbean becomes a bad cruise to nowhere. Such was the picture on board the Carnival Triumph on its 4-day sailing last week. The unpleasant details of life on board that cruise need not be repeated here. We've all seen the video footage and heard the news reports. When the disabled ship finally reached the dock in Mobile, Alabama, greeted by 200 Carnival p
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6

Common "Cruise-Speak" for New Cruisers

You are getting ready to book your first cruise, but don’t know your “fore” from your “aft”. Have no fear – help is here! Listed below are some common words and phrases – or “cruise-speak” – to help prevent you from sounding like a rookie when discussing cruises with your friends or browsing through the cruise forums. For instance, “On which deck is my stateroom located?” sounds much more cruise savvy than “What floor is my room on?” Some definitions are “by the book”, and others are my own per
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6

The Document Dance ... a Beloved Pre-Cruise Ritual

At last the day has arrived! No, this is not the day when we embark the Grand Princess in San Francisco bound for Alaskan waters, nor is it time to pack our bags and fly to the “City by the Bay” for three days of pre-cruise sight-seeing. But it is a time of equally enthusiastic celebration. It’s the day we do the “document dance”, also sometimes referred to as the "happy dance"! Confused? Just ask any avid cruiser who has ever been part of an on-line cruise community. The “document dance” i
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6

Fort Lauderdale - Beyond the Beach

I had the good fortune to visit some great places and experience new activities while on a recent visit to Fort Lauderdale for an event hosted by the Florida Convention and Visitors Bureau. Many of us who live in colder climates come to Fort Lauderdale for its pristine beaches and charming intercostal waterways. In fact, we had the opportunity to view several beachfront hotel properties in town including Sonesta, the W, Westin and the B Ocean - all of which have their own identity, style and bud
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6

Self-Help for this Cruise Junkie

When I told my husband I would be cruising without him come October, he was less than enthused. We have enjoyed seven previous journeys at sea together, one being with Carnival, another on Norwegian, and the rest with Princess. I was itching to try another line, not because I disliked the other three, but simply because I want to say that I’ve sailed every major cruise line, at least once. David and I discovered cruising fairly late in life, at age 47. Why we waited so long to sail away on
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5

The Good, The Bad & The Ugly - A Week in Mexico 1990

While I was recently perusing the labels of my vast collection of faux leather photo albums, I came across one identified as “Mexico 1990”. As I opened the cover and began viewing the photos, the first thing that struck me was how young and attractive my husband and I were 22 years ago. How time changes us! The second thing that sprung to mind was our encounter with a bat. Not the baseball kind, but the other kind - that nocturnal creature that flies in the night and inspires the likes of Dracul
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4

Share Your Alaskan Cruise Packing Secrets ... Please!

I am so excited, I am beside myself! Our new lightweight luggage has arrived and sits in my living room waiting to be filled with an endless variety of stuff befitting a 10-day Alaskan cruise. As I look at the assortment of wheeled bags in an array of sizes, I realize I went a little overboard in buying 7 pieces. What the heck was I thinking? I needed only a couple of replacements. But, hey - the old stuff was getting - well - old, so why not replace it all, I rationalized to myself. The kids wi
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4

"Mom Moments" from a Mother & Daughter Cruise

My daughter and I just returned from a cruise from New England and Canada aboard the Brilliance of the Seas - or should I say from just Canada, since I already live in New England, and it seems strange to say I returned from a place in which I already live. I thought I would share a few amusing personal cruise episodes, things that my kids fondly refer to as "mom moments." People of a certain age prefer to call them “senior moments”. I've always been a little clumsy and absent minded, but g
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4

New Year - New Un-Resolutions

It's a new year - March, already - and a belated Happy New Year! I hope everyone here at CruiseCrazies is in good health and has at least one cruise on the 2018 horizon!  I'd like to say I made resolutions for the new year, but that would be a lie because I never keep them. However, if I could put together a personal plan - an UN-resulotion, so to speak - it would involve three components: (1) cruise more, (2) cruise more and (3) cruise more ... oh, wait, that's the cruiser in me coming out
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4

Vacation Regrets and What I've Learned

I was cleaning out some old clothes the other day and came across a box of T-shirts, purchased from various past cruises and land trips at a time in my life when I liked wearing T-shirts. Most in the pile were too small and never (or hardly) worn, and should have gone out to the donation collection a long time ago. This re-discovery got me to thinking about small regrets about my vacations past. By regrets, I don’t mean missed flights, excursions gone wrong or hotels from hell, but those me
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4

Another Covid Casualty - Cruise Travel Magazine

I recently heard from a friend and fellow cruiser that Cruise Travel Magazine was ceasing publication as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. I believed her but, of course, I had to go see the news for myself, directly from the source. Sure enough, the magazine's home page contained a single paragraph:  "Due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 virus pandemic, lack of advertising and the current and uncertain future of the cruise industry, we are forced to cease publishing Cruise Travel magazine.
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Counting Down my Top 10 Travel Moments of 2012!

I couldn't move ahead to a new year of travel adventures without first looking back on my trip experiences of 2012. Most destinations were new to us, and some were old favorites. All were special and memorable. Therefore, in the tradition of David Letterman, I thought I would take this opportunity to count down my own Top Ten travel moments of the year. Wishing you happy and safe travels in 2013! So here goes - my top 10 favorites of 2012: #10. Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey -
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Stingrays, Horses and Bears ... Oh My!

The dream Alaska cruise is booked, air fare reserved and pre and post-cruise hotel stays arranged. Now comes the hard part - deciding what to see and do when we get to the Last American Frontier. With only a day in Skagway, Ketchikan and Juneau, the choices won't be easy. While I enjoy touring famous cities and landmarks from the comfort and safety of a vehicle, as I grow older and cruise more, I find myself wanting to experience sightseeing in a more active and thrilling way. This is a bi
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3

Cruise vs. Land: A Fight to the Finish

Many of the places on our newly created bucket list involve land destinations, and I recently came to realize this could have serious implications on our quest to see the world before we die from the deck of a cruise ship. We may have to choose one or the other from time to time, dividing our time between land and sea, in order to fit everything in. So I thought I would use this opportunity to stage a different kind of comparison of cruise vacation vs. land vacation - a boxing match of sort
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3

Packing Procrastination

It's Friday - my day off, meaning that I have three full days before the hubby and I fly to Ft. Lauderdale for a CruiseCrazies group cruise leaving for Panama on Tuesday. My packing/to-do list is printed, waiting for items to check off. However, in typical fashion, I am suffering from packing paralysis. I have a lot of loose ends to tie up, laundry to do, and bags to pack, and instead of starting this process, here I sit at the computer writing about it. My middle name begins with "P" - really.
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Why I No Longer Travel By the Seat of My Pants

These days, when it comes to travel, I am a planner. I don’t like surprises. So in order to make an informed decision, every vacation begins with consuming every review and article on every cruise ship and destination, reserving hotels and tours months in advance, and creating a spreadsheet itinerary containing every detail of the trip, reduced to a handy pocket-size guide to refer to when the need arises. I used to create a huge binder with obscene amounts of paper, but thankfully with the adve
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3

Alaska Cruise Highlight ~ A Day in Glacier Bay

This was it, the reason for our cruise to Alaska - to see glaciers before they melt. We were aboard the Grand Princess, on a 11-day cruise which left San Francisco on July 29, 2013. The Captain told us the previous day that the best place to initially observe the glaciers would be port side, and a naturalist from Glacier Bay National Park would be on board to narrate about our wondrous surroundings. We reached Glacier Bay about 6:00 a.m., and as the morning wore on, the skies became s
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20 Signs That You Chose The Wrong Cruise

Think yours was the cruise from hell? Here are some REAL signs you're on a really bad cruise: 1. Upon embarkation, you hear a computer voice calmly announcing that “this ship will self-destruct in 5, 4, 3 ….” 2. The Captain’s name is Jack Sparrow, and he wants to know, “Where’s all the rum gone?” 3. The Atrium resembles a waiting room, with a sofa, folding chairs, and a coffee table containing a copy of “The World’s Biggest Cruise Ship Disasters Ever”. 4. “Stewart”, you’re ca
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My Top 10 Travel Moments of 2014

Another year has gone and it's time, once again, to lay out my annual Top 10 travel experiences of the year. Since the big summer trip for my husband and I this year was a Mediterranean cruise, many of the following favorites are destinations resulting from that 11-night sailing. Here are my top 10 favorites for 2014: #10) Flying First Class. On a selfish whim, I decided to splurge and upgrade our usual economy seats on Aer Lingus between Boston and Rome. Aer Lingus has a bidding system for
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We're Cruising to .... The Grand Canyon

What's my motto? If I can't get there by cruise ship, then I don't want to go. That's not entirely true, though, because Grand Canyon has long been high on our trip bucket list. Obviously, land travel will have to be involved. A trip to Vegas nearly brought us to the Canyon several years ago. As a side trip from the city glitter and hypnotic slots machines, we pondered over a day trip to either Hoover Dam or the Grand Canyon's west rim. Since we felt that traveling all that way to catch jus
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The Cruise is Booked ... Now Fly Me to the Ship!

The Grand Princess ... our floating paradise for 10 days this summer ... has now been repositioned to it's new home port of San Francisco for it's spring and summer itineraries. It would be so cool to drive there to meet our ship. However, let's be realistic. We live on the East Coast. Since a leisurely cross-country drive to the ship is quite out of the question, we'll have to fly. We have two choices - book our preferred flights on our own, independently, or choose a cruise air package wi
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Winging It in Alaska ... "Bear"ly

A cruise to Alaska isn’t about standing at the railing watching the scenery. Don’t get me wrong; you’ll see some amazing scenery from the deck of a cruise ship – wildlife, panoramic vistas and glaciers. No, to really experience Alaska, you’ll need to get off the ship and venture out into the wild and commune with nature. My husband came up with the idea first – a flightseeing trip to see black bears in their natural habitat. I’d seen pictures - tiny planes that fly relatively low and land o
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