Deb in Cali

My Mom and I were on the NCL Wind quite a few years back. With the anytime dining, we had some okay fellow diners and some really great tablemates. Then we had the unfortunate experience to meet with 2 sisters and their husbands. During the meal, the one sister complained about everything that was served to her. The last straw was during dessert. My mother and the complainer both ordered the same thing. The complainer went ballistic that my mother's piece of pie was larger than hers. Needless to say from that point forward, we avoided that group like the plague.

On our first cruise to Alaska, at the omelet station, I asked for mushrooms in my omelet. The poor guy was freaked out that he had run out of mushrooms and had to go get some. It took a few minutes, but it was all good. The poor guy apologized so many times. I finally told him, it was fine, that, "As long as I didn't have to buy it, prep it, cook it, and then clean it up I was a happy camper". That finally brought a smile to him. I feel so sorry for the staff when they are terrified to have even the slighted thing go wrong. :(

I have flown in helicopters in Alaska and Hawaii. I have also flown in a small plane several times. The helicopters have a smoother flight than a small plane. Planes can experience wind shear or gusts that can blow you around. I prefer a helicopter over a small plane. But did have a good time flying flying in a sea plane out to see the bears during our time in Ketchikan.

I'm definitely thankful. Cruising is my favorite way of traveling, I can't describe how excited I am since I'm going on another cruise on Saturday! Ahh! Kind of off topic, but my friends get annoyed whenever a cruise gets close because I just get so giddy. I'm saving up money to bring a few of said friends with me on a cruise for when I turn 16, and hopefully they'll get to love cruising the same way everybody on here loves it.

 

Another thing to add to the list...

 

-The excitement a cruiser feels when you board in just a few days!

Oh my you aren't even 16 yet????

Yep, I am there, the week after you, but to Alaska.

Another fun thing is going with someone who is one their first cruise. You get to experience the "first cruise" adventure through their eyes. Just remind those friends on their giddy excitement when they are going to go on a cruise. I think that the second cruise is even better than the first because you know what to look forward to such as the sailaway party or the dining experience.

And, am I the only one who likes the muster station drill? Nothing says "you're on a cruise" to me more than being herded into a lounge for a safety briefing. :D

 

I think I mentioned mentioned almost everything! :P Hope you guys don't mind a long first post!

No I think that the muster drill is part of the cruise experience. I like to take pictures of us in our muster gear.

That was a great first post. You are very lucky kid. You have been on a lot more cruises than most people. But it looks like you have figured that out and are very appreciative that your parents are giving you these wonderful adventures.

Shuttlebug,

Thank you so much for posting your pictures. It is obvious that you have provided much information to many of us on this thread. I just loved your pictures and your commentary.

I am so sorry to hear about your soggy camera. Hopefully it is an easy repair and is not causing you to make it a disposable camera. I have heard that others have saved their cell phones by putting it into a container of rice which will wick the moisture away from the electronic components. That may be worth a try as a last ditch effort.

I am serious about my previous invite to come to Yosemite and or Sequoia. I love to show off "my parks". There are worthy of a several day visit. I try to go up to Yosemite at least 2 or 3 times a year. I get cranky if I don't get my fix of waterfalls, sheer rock cliffs and big trees.

The water is so high this year that Yosemite just opened the Merced River for rafting only a week ago. A few days ago my neighbor went up with her adult sons for a bike ride and an afternoon raft trip down the river in Yosemite Valley. The problem with riding a bike in Yosemite Vally is that people are so busy looking at all of the scenery that they forget to watch where they are going.

Deb

Shutterbug,

If you think that the trees in Stanley Park are big, then you need to come to visit me. I will take you to Mariposa Grove in Yosemite or to the Giant Forest in Sequoia. "My trees" will make them look like babies. I am serious, I live one hour from Yosemite to the North and one hour from Sequoia to the East. I also know of some secret pockets of Sequoias that only the locals know about.

Your photos are wonderful. I don't think that I want to hear about the demise of the camera that has taken these awesome pictures. I hope that you had insurance on it, so that you can go right out and buy another one. Many people can take a decent picture, but you have a special gift. Both of my brothers are professional photographers.

Deb

Thank you so much for your review and especially your pictures. You take great pictures. Only 33 more days before our cruise to Alaska on the Pearl.

I love Vancouver and have it on my bucket list to cruise out of there on another Alaska cruise.

I can't wait to see the remainder of your pictures. I will be looking at this thread almost daily to get my Alaska cruise fix.

I don't get a rash but it is a bit of a family Joke now that a couple of days into a cruise my ankles/ legs etc... Seem to swell up ! Really bizarre !!

That might be due to an increase in sodium intake from the change in your diet.

This is an odd one...

Every single cruise I have taken, by day 5 or 6 at the latest I develop what looks like a heat rash....typically only on my chest. I used to think it was indeed a heat rash due to sun and sweat and/or excessive sunscreen, but on our Christmas cruise, the weather really wasn't that hot (there was definitely no excessive sweating etc) and yet - there was my day 5 rash - right on schedule.

 

Eliminating the heat factor, I'm left thinking that maybe I'm sensitive to the water on board. I assume it is heavily treated, so perhaps after a few days it begins to not agree with me. The other possibility is the soap, but I've never had any kind of reaction to other "hotel" soaps so I think it's probably less likely to be that. Has anyone else experienced this strange phenomenon? :o I'd love to be able to figure it out and avoid it but so far no dice. I usually use some cortizone cream when it "arrives" but it's rather pointless because it never goes away until a few days after I'm home.

Since the rash is only on your chest and I am going to assume that you are a male. Based on that assumption and that most males don't wear nightwear on their chest area it might be the laundry detergent that the ship uses.

I usually get giddy when I can do the document dance. But this time I think that it will be graduation, then doubled when the documents arrive. :D

Muster drill, I have to fight down the urge to yell, Dress Right Dress.

I hadn't thought of that, but yeah it fits don't it. :D

A swim up bar. At least, not on the cruises I've been on.

I think that the NCL Wind had one.

This thread makes me want to start packing.

I agree with many:

The donk of the S&S card

Muster drill

Hearing the blast of the horn

Feeling the thruster push the ship away from the dock

Sail away party w/ a fruity drink

Exploring the ship

Having the very large dinner menu handed to me

Sleeping in

No cooking, cleaning, or any other housework stuff

Our next cruise will be our first balcony I look forward to watching the sea

We will also be cruising with my BFF and her DH they are 1st timers, so it

will be fun to experience it again as a first timer through their eyes. :p

Deb

This is more of a good idea than something to bring. When we have to drive to a cruise port or to LAX we always go in the day before. This of course means that suitcases have to be hauled to and from the car which can be a huge hassle.

When we flew to Tahiti with 2 small kids years ago my Mom and I came up with a game plan of packing a pre trip suitcase just for that segment of the trip. The suitcases for the main part of the trip stay neat and pretty. I purchase all new items such as toothbrushes, toothpaste, deoderant,ect for the main suitcases. Then the dirty clothes and extra stuff from the pre-trip stay back with the car.

On our trip we had my MIL, my BIL, DH, myself and 2 small kids. We get to the hotel near LAX and my MIL had my poor DH hauling 3 HUGE suitcases to her room because she needed it all. :D She was so disorganized that she wasn't sure what things were in each suitcase. Of course she just had to have her stuff first and right NOW!

When DH got down to the car he looked overwhelmed as he started grabbing the rest of the suitcases. I stopped and told him that we only needed the one medium sized suitcase. He looked at me like I was nuts, but was more than happy to comply. I got a big kiss for being so organized inspite of the fact that I was packing for 4 and MIL was packing for 1.

There was only one or two items that had to be packed in one of the main suitcases for the flight, my DH shaver and a pair of shoes. Everything else was ready to go or was to stay in the car.

I never thought of putting personal info and cruise info on the kindle. I think I'll put our imprtant numbers, flight info, etc. on. What other information would you suggest puting on a kindle to take along on a cruise?

How about important phone numbers that may not be in your cell phone? I always carry a printout of my address book when we travel. That way if there is some emergency back home I have any and all number to contact family, friends, doctors, etc.

We took the sky train to the Amtrak station after our cruise. It was a great experience. Felt like the Disneyland monorail system had made it up to Vancouver.

:p

Do you know anything about NCL Star cabin 9522? Is it under the anchor?

My mom and I sailed on the NCL Wind in 06. We didn't bring an alarm clock on the cruise. I thought that there would be one on board, but wasn't. We were wondering if we were going to oversleep on port days. 4 of our 6 ports were tender ports. Not to worry, the anchor let us know that it was time to get up :p. The first time was a bit of a shock, but then we started expecting it. We would know that we had "arrived".

Just remember our men and women out to sea on an aircraft carrier. Those that are assigned sleeping quarters under the flight deck don't get much sleep when the squadrons are flying. They hear can hear the catapult launch and the planes literally slam onto the deck when landing. :cool: DH has been on one of those "cruises".

 

I did time in Fresno.....back in the 80's and early 90's. Any chance you know Peter Robertson and/or Victor Kral?

BEAV I don't know them. Sorry.

The reason that we are staying near the airport is due to parking. We have a cruise/drive package that will allow us to keep our car at the hotel for our 11 day cruise. They take us to the ship in the morning after a buffet breakfast. The price that we are paying for the hotel is about the same price at the parking at the pier.

Okay City by the Bay people, please help me out here.

I am sailing on the Regal to Alaska on June 7th. We will be in S.F. on the 6th for a fun night on the town. We are staying in a hotel by the airport but would like to have dinner downtown.

Is there a way to take the BART into downtown and then grab a cable car down California street to Van Ness? Also do they have a pass system that you can purchase that allows you to ride the BART, cable cars and the muni?

If so where can you purchase them and how much are they?

Thanks for any insight.

Deb

We tried late on our last cruise and it was a diaster for us. If I wanted to have a cup of coffee with dessert or a chocolate dessert then I am up half the night. Two nights of the last cruise I couldn't go to sleep until 3 AM. The dessert and or coffee will give me that added boast to dance part of the night away. If I choose a dessert based on what I can eat and don't have coffee then I feel like I have been cheated This way I can eat and drink what I want, and go to bed by midnight. Then I can be active the next day to enjoy the port or the activiites on the ship.

We also discovered that after the late dinner the shows were full by the time we were able to get to them. I think that some of the first seating guests would watch the show twice or go out of the deck for a while before heading to the second seating for the shows.

I laughed so hard...it took me about 15 minutes before I could compose myself to tell th eothers...also this man got a $500 fine from the pier itself,and a $1500 fine from RCCL...

At that point I think that it would have been cheaper to fly home.

Cacrew,

How fun to plan a surprise cruise. My suggestion would be to make a card a day on your computer with hints about his birthday. On the first one tell him that he will be on a boat. He won't get suspecious with that comment at first. The second day tell him that he is going to see whales. Hmmm He "already" knows that due to his past celebrations. Then tell him that the boat is going to be a bit bigger. Perhaps he wil think that you have made other arrangements for a different whale trip or the group that you have been going with has bought a new boat. I would keep it up for a few days to catch his interest, but keep it to the "information" that applies to both adventures. Finally I would start dropping hints that perhaps this is not going to be the regular adventure like a sleeping bag and tent are not necessary for this trip. If he thinks that you are going to stay in a nice hotel perhaps you can pull it off with him finding out the day of the cruise. You can request that he pack some nice clothes for a dinner in a nice resturant.

Have fun.

Deb

I have started a thread about books on Alaska in the Alaska section for those of us cruising the frozen North.

This is a great thread idea. My youngest son LOVES oreo cookies. :p That would be a great little gift for him. But keep the suggestions coming. I would be a bad mother if I brought him back a package of oreo cookies. :eek: