Category Archives: Cruises

20240228_T8-C6_DCL-DREAM_Debarkation_Fly-Home

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NOTE:  This post has 11 photos with captions interspersed with narrative.  The photos are in chronological order, but do not always correspond to the closest text.  Photos by me (Brue) taken with a Google Pixel 6 Pro unless otherwise indicated.  (Photos by Linda taken with a Google Pixel 6.)

 

WEDNESDAY 28 February (T8-C6) — Debarkation & Flying Home

 

Cruises always end and, like any vacation trip packed with things to do, there is a sadness at it being over combined with a sense of relief (exhaustion?) that’s it’s done (for now) and the anticipation of returning to “normal” life.  We have always experienced that same combination of emotions at RV rallies, both small and large.

The Disney DREAM is back at the dock at the Disney Cruise terminal in Port Hollywood, Florida.  Looking aft from out stateroom balcony we see the RUBY Princess (Princess Cruise Line) at dock.  (In late January of this year we booked a repositioning and British Isles cruise on the REGAL Princess for April 2025.)

The Disney Dream returned to Port Hollywood early in the morning and was docked by sunrise.  Debarkation is generally less of a hassle than embarkation, which includes the check-in process, but it can also be somewhat abrupt.  One gets the sense of “here’s your hat, what’s your hurry.”  Or, as my parents relayed to us after their visit to Hawaii, where they were presented with leis when stepping off the plane and greeted with “Welcome to Hawaii, enjoy your visit, go home.”  (True story.)

A wider view of the Disney Cruise terminal at Port Hollywood showing some of the activity taking place on the dock prior to debarkation of passengers.  The full length of the RUBY Princess is visible.

Our stateroom on the Disney DREAM looking in from the balcony doorwall.

While Disney tries to make guests feel welcomed everywhere, and at all times, the reality of a cruise ship is that they need ALL guests off the ship as soon as possible so they can “turn it around,” i.e., prepare it for the guests embarking for the next cruise, which usually leaves that same day by late afternoon or early evening.  While guests are getting off the ship, large amounts of trash are being off-loaded, and large quantities of supplies—including food, beverages, and fuel—are being taken on-board.  It’s quite an operation, and I always find it interesting to get a glimpse of it.  For me, at least, seeing these operations does not detract from the “magic” or luxury of the cruise experience.  Indeed, one of the best cruise ship experiences I have had was the “behind the scenes” tour of the Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) JOY on our Panama Canal cruise with Paul and Nancy.  Cruise ships are floating cities and amazing machines, with everything on-board to provide the necessities and comforts of life, including culture and entertainment.  How all of these systems function is fascinating to me.

The “bath” room in our Disney DREAM stateroom, which had an actual bathtub and included a sink.  This made perfect sense as these staterooms can accommodate more than two people, some of whom are often children, and younger children need a bathtub rather than a shower.

We were off the ship at 9 AM, the scheduled time for our debarkation group.  We claimed (found) our checked bags, and then cleared customs (since we had been out of the country).  We used our Trusted Traveler Program (TTP) Global Entry (GE) status for the first time.  (ABIR the entry process was fairly quick and easy, but I don’t recall the process ever being slow or difficult, except when re-entering the USA from Los Algodones, Mexico at a walk-through CBP station.)  Everyone else also got through Customs without any hassle or delay.

The “water closet” in our Disney DREAM stateroom.  Again, it has a sink.  We really liked the two room, dual sink arrangement.  The DREAM was the first ship we’ve been on that had this as part of a regular stateroom (not a suite).

All of our group was flying home from the Fort Lauderdale International Airport, with the Michigan contingent flying home on the same Delta flight.  Marilyn was flying back to St. Louis, Missouri and Katie to the research triangle area of North Carolina.  We proceeded to the Ride Share area of the cruise terminal and called the number for the van shuttle service that transported us from our hotels to the cruise terminal at the beginning of the cruise.

A view of the living room area of our Disney DREAM stateroom.

With regards to the preceding photo; The sofa was very comfortable and, as Disney does in its land-based resorts, the back folded down to make a single bed.  It was NOT a typical pull-out (articulated) sleeper sofa (which tend to be extremely uncomfortable) or a slide-out (trundle) bed.  The desk (left) was also a good size, and the desk chair was reasonably comfortable.  The table was small, but big enough for coffee cups, etc.  It would have been a bit small to dine comfortably, but we never ordered room service or brought food back to our cabin.  We also had two chairs and a table on the balcony.  Linda provides a sense of the scale of the room and the space available to us to move around, which was very adequate.  If our stateroom on the MSC Magnifica had been as nice/comfortable as our DCL DREAM stateroom, we would probably not have cancelled the World Cruise we had booked starting in early January 2025.  Alas, that was not the case.

Our flight back to Michigan was scheduled for early-to-mid afternoon, giving us plenty of time to get to the airport and take care of things there.  It meant we would wait a while for our flight, but better that than rushing to make the gate in time.

A better view of the desk and associated storage in our Disney DREAM stateroom.

At the airport, we self-checked our larger bags and proceeded to the TSA security checkpoint.  This was our second time using TSA Pre-check.  As before, DELTA had also tagged our boarding passes with “Digital ID.”  And, as before, the process was smooth and easy.  We waited for the rest of our party to clear through security and then proceeded to our gate and settled in to wait for our flight.  The timing was such that we got a light lunch well ahead of departure.

We had to vacate our staterooms early so the cabin stewards could start the process of turning them around, but had to wait a while for our scheduled debarkation time.  All of the other guests were in the same situation, and people found places to rest while they waited.  Sadie was a perfect fit for these porthole windows on the promenade deck.  (Photo by Linda)

The flight home was uneventful, the best kind, and we arrived back at Detroit Metropolitan International Airport (DTW) a little ahead of schedule.  (This is usually the case, as I think Delta publishes longer flight times than are required for their flights, giving them some wiggle room to arrive on time even if there are departure delays or weather routing delays.  I suspect that all airlines do this, as they get “dinged” for late arrivals.)

A wider view shows one of the lifeboats hanging above the promenade deck.  (Sadie’s eyes are open.)   Chris is in the chair at the left edge of the frame and some of our suitcases are just visible at the bottom of the frame.  (Photo by Linda)

We arrived at the gate at the DTW McNamara Terminal around 4 PM, patiently took our turn getting off of the plane, and made our way to the baggage claim area, where we retrieved our larger suitcases and then headed to the US Park shuttle area in the attached garage.  The rest of our party were not parked where we were, and made their own arrangements to get home.  Back at the US Park fenced/secure lot, we were dropped off at our truck, paid our bill at the exit gate, and headed for home.  We got home around 6 PM, and it didn’t take long for Cabela (the cat) to appear and come in the house.

Silly Sadie has re-awakened.  I think Chris was ready to go home.  He really enjoyed the cruise, but he has a very demanding job managing a restaurant in Ann Arbor, Michigan and had to check-in regularly to make sure everything was running smoothly in his absence; clearly more difficult and stressful than when he is there in person.  (Photo by Linda)

Linda had stocked microwaveable frozen meals before we left for the cruise to make sure we had something to eat upon our return that was quick and easy to fix.  We unpacked the essentials (technology, medications, toiletries) after diner, but not our clothes.  I like to launder all of our clothing after a trip, but that would happen over the next day or so.

A view of the area where our family hung out waiting to disembark the Disney DREAM.  Considering the number of passengers waiting to get off the ship, we had no problem finding a comfortable, quiet place for all of us to sit and wait.  Brendan grabs a power nap while Madeline uses Shawna’s phone.  Yup, that’s about right.  (Photo by Linda)

Was this family cruise/vacation all that we hoped it would be?  Yes, it was.  Would we do it again?  Absolutely, although we might not pay for (as much of) it as we did this time.  🙂  Cheers!

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20240227_T7-C5_DCL-DREAM_Castaway-Cay_Bahamas

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NOTE:  This post mainly consists of 33 photos with captions.  Photos by me (Bruce) taken with a SONY alpha 6400 or Google Pixel 6 Pro, unless otherwise indicated.  (Photos by Linda taken with a Google Pixel 6.)

 

TUESDAY 27 February (T7-C5) — Castaway Cay; Last Night on the Ship

 

Today was our second, and last, port-of-call.  Like many cruise lines that sail the Bahamas, Disney Cruise Line (DCL) has a private island here.  It’s named Castaway Cay, and we spent most of the day there.  The day started in earnest, however, with the Meet the Princesses event onboard the ship.  Sadie got to meet the four princesses shown in the following eight photos.

 

At age 5, Sadie understood that these were not real princesses, just actresses in costumes.  Or did she?  Here she is in her princess outfit, very much in the moment.  (Photo by Linda)

 

Sadie meets Aurora, who has the same color outfit.  They are obviously having an important conversation.  Like her older sister, Sadie is very comfortable talking to adults.  (Photo by Linda)

 

Sadie possess with Aurora.    (Photo by Linda)

 

Next up was Belle from Beauty and the Beast.    (Photo by Linda)

 

Another photo with Belle.

 

Sadie with Mulan and Commodore Donald Duck (statue, in the background).

 

Another photo with Mulan.    (Photo by Linda)

 

Sadie poses with Rapunzel.  (Photo by Linda)

 

While we were docked at Castaway Cay, some of the crew took the opportunity to deploy and operate some of the life boats.  One is already in the water and another is in the process of being lowered.

 

A closer view of the mechanism for lowering and retrieving the lifeboat.

 

Madeline (L) and her mom (R) on the outside aft section of the Cabanas Buffet.

 

Madeline (L) and Sadie (R) on the outside aft section of the Cabanas Buffet.  Sadie was still eating her breakfast, and didn’t fully appreciate Madeline’s proximity.    (Photo by Linda)

 

Part of Castaway Cay, Bahamas (Disney’s private island) as seen from our stateroom balcony.  (Photo by Linda)

 

The port-side bow of the Disney DREAM with multiple shore lines securing the ship to the dock.  Part of an anchor is visible at the lower right on the frame.

 

A view from the dock looking aft along the port side of the Disney DREAM.

 

The stern of the Disney DREAM as seen from the dock.  Note the large 3-D characters hanging off of the stern on either side of the DREAM emblem.  This is a hallmark of all DCL ships.

 

As shown in this information sign, all of the guest areas on Castaway Cay are to the left of the dock, with most of them located along the shore.  Much of the island is actually not accessible, at least to guests.  The long horizontal yellow line is the centerline of a runway/airstrip which is still used if/when needed.  All guests arrive on cruise ships, however, and there are no overnight guest accommodations on the island.

 

One of the activities on Castaway Cay is a 5K walking/jogging circuit.  Shown here is the sign designating the official starting (and ending ?) point.  We did at least part of the circuit and, ABIR, Meghan and Chris did the entire circuit.

 

I think this is an actual Beechcraft Model 18 twin-engine airplane, or what is left of one.  It’s long decommissioned, of course, but is one of the classic/iconic aircraft in the history of flight, along with planes like the DC-3.  It is, appropriately, displayed adjacent to the airstrip and speaks to the historical commercial use of the island for a long period of time before it was purchased by the Disney Corporation.

 

A display of a DCL anchor and mooring balls somewhere along the 5K walking/jogging circuit.

 

A panorama formed by stitching together (compositing) nine (9) separate images from my SONY a6400 using the Microsoft Image Composite Editor (ICE) software.  The photo is 1920 x 345 pixels, and can be displayed full-size on a suitable display.  This image was taken from the top deck of the observation tower along the 5K walking/jogging circuit.  Most of Castaway Cay looks like this, and is not accessible by guests.

 

Me (Bruce) with some additional decorative/thematic elements along the 5K walking/jogging circuit.  I presume the wood barrel represents the storage and transportation of rum.  (Photo by Linda)

 

One of the shuttlebus-trains on the runway.  As shown in a previous photo of the island map, there is an “adults only” beach area at the far end of the road system, and the farthest point from the dock.  “Adults only” in this case simply means no guests under a certain age.  This is Disney, after all, so nothing risqué going on there.

 

Whether on a cruise ship, or at a Disney resort, being there with younger children, and first-time visitors of any age, lets you experience it through the wonder of their eyes.  While Disney certainly caters to families with younger children, they are also very much aware of their adult guests (who pay for everything) and provide plenty for them to do on their ships and at their ports-of-call.  The one thing that is missing onboard their ships, however, is a casino.  That was just fine with us, but it is something Meghan and Chris would have enjoyed.  Would we do another Disney cruise without out grand-daughters?  Probably.  The ships are nice and provide a nice experience.

 

This photo provides a sense of the size of the runway/airstrip; it’s wide and long and can handle larger aircraft.  The sign at the left says “BEWARE of Low Flying Aircraft.”  It’s decorative in its appearance, but it is an actual warning sign.  Not that aircraft are likely to land here while guests are on the island, but we could imagine that they might, for instance to affect an emergency medical supply or evacuation.  Linda is visible at the right edge of the frame (white hat and towel draped over her shoulder).

 

Another Beechcraft Model 18, underscoring the iconic nature of this aircraft and its importance in the history of commercial aviation and its use in the Caribbean.

 

All of the architecture and décor is suitably Caribbean, as you would expect from Disney.  This building is a gift shop.

 

Another view of the main beach area on Castaway Cay as we walk back to the dock.

 

A marker buoy on display labeled “Castaway Cay.”  I think this is positioned so that it’s one of the first things we passed as we headed down the dock onto the island.  We did not photographer going onto the island, so snapped a shot on the way back to the ship.  I do not know if the Latitude and Longitude are correct for the buoy’s current location.

 

This is a panorama of the main beach area of Castaway Cay.  Notice the absence of people.  It was taken moments before 4 PM, which was probably the “all aboard” time.  One of the things you do not mess around with on a cruise is the all-aboard time.  The image is a composite of three photos from my (Bruce) Google Pixel 6 Pro.  The resolution is 1920 x 548 pixels.

 

A photo of the TV in our stateroom showing 5:00 PM in the upper right of the screen.  The map display shows the location of Castaway Cay, essentially due east of Miami Florida.  The light blue color is the continental shelf, where the water is relatively shallow.  The dark blue is where the continental shelf ends and the ocean depth plummets.  The left side of the screen shows that the ship is located at 26 deg 04 min North latitude, 077 deg 32 min West longitude.

 

Sadie and her mom posing with tonight’s dessert choice, featuring “Mickey ears.”  This is our final dinner meal aboard the Disney DREAM, and our only meal in the Enchanted Garden dining room.  (Photo by Linda)

 

Enough with the photos, lets dig in.

 

I think our final towel art animal was a dog, but you can decide for yourself.  I also think these are my reading glasses, which I must have left out in the room.  Very clever on the part of our cabin steward to make use of them.  (Photo by Linda)

 

One of the things that happens on cruise ships is that you can put your luggage outside your stateroom door the night before you debark, and the stewards will move it to an area of the ship where it is off-loaded to the terminal and set out in a large baggage claim area.  Alternatively, you can keep your bags in your stateroom, and take them with you in the morning.  We have always set out our larger suitcases as it makes debarkation the next morning much easier for us.  The staterooms have to be vacated fairly early, and this way we do not have to take them with us to the buffet for breakfast.  It is important, however, to NOT pack anything in those cases that you turn out to need the next morning, like medications, ID cards (cruise, passport, driver’s license, etc.), wallets/cash, or even the clothes you plan to wear.  We typically each have a smaller, carry-on, suitcase which we do NOT put out or check when flying.  This suitcase has an essential change of clothing, all of our technological gadgets, medications, and any other small items that we cannot afford to lose.

Since we would be flying tomorrow we were allowed to check-in online within 24 hours of our scheduled departure time.  We always do this with our phones, if we can, so we end up with the QR code boarding passes on our phones.  We also take a screen shot of the boarding pass so we don’t have to actually be online to use the airline app to display it.  I do not recall how we managed to get connected, but I suspect we did this while the ship was still at Castaway Cay.

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20240226_T6-C4_DCL_DREAM_At-Sea_Boutiques-n-Pirates

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NOTE:  There are six (6) photos in this post, all taken by Linda using a Google Pixel 6.

(Edited on 13 June 2024 to correct information related to “Dress like a Pirate night.”)

 

MONDAY 26 February (T6-C4) — At-Sea; Bibbidi, Bobbidi, Boutique; & Pirate Day At Sea

The Disney DREAM left Cozumel, Mexico yesterday around dinner time, eastbound for Castaway Cay, Disney’s private island in the Bahamas, with arrival scheduled for early tomorrow morning.  That meant we would again be at sea for almost 36 hours, including all 24 hours of today.  It was also a second full day at sea.  (Note:  We were wearing our pirate t-shirts at dinner last night which, according to our trip planner (Linda) was indeed “Dress Like a Pirate Night”, although we do not have many pirate-related photos.)

Based on the photos I have available, the big event today was Sadie’s visit to the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique.  She had her hair done (including extensions), a manicure, nail polish, and makeup (that included glitter).  She also got a princess outfit and matching accessories.  Tomorrow would be “meet a princess” day, and she had a reserved time for her turn.  The Boutique was a big deal for Sadie, as shown in the following few photos.

 

Sadie already has her princess dress on, with a flower crown and a cape protecting the upper portion, while her stylist applies nail polish.

 

Sadie discusses the finer points of princess styling with her Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo stylist.

 

Thanks to the opposing full-length mirror, Linda’s photo shows the front and back of Sadie’s princess dress and the matching multi-colored hair extensions.

 

Sadie, fully princessed with a matching carry bag and wand.

 

Sadie (left edge of frame) overlooks the main/center lobby of the Disney DREAM.  The costumes being worn by the Disney characters on the balcony appear to all be nautically themed.

 

Nothing to do with Pirate Day, or princesses, but one of the things that often happens on cruise ships is that the cabin stewards, when preparing the room for sleeping, make animal characters out of some of the towels.  We don’t always photograph these, but Linda thought this elephant deserved to be shared with the world, or at least remembered by us.

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20240225_T5-C3_DCL-DREAM_Cozumel-MX_1st-Shore-Ex

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NOTE:  This post contains 30 photos with captions.  Photos taken by me (Bruce) with a Google Pixel 6 Pro unless indicated otherwise.  (Photos by Linda taken with a Google Pixel 6.)

 

SUNDAY 25 February (T5-C3) — Cozumel, Mexico; Shore Excursions

 

Meghan and Chris take in an early morning view of  Cozumel, Mexico from their stateroom balcony; the first time either of them has seen the island (or perhaps any part of Mexico).  Cruise ships do provide good views of ports-of-call.  It’s 7:30 AM, and Meghan already has her morning coffee.

 

The first stop on our shore excursion was San Gervasio, an important Mayan archeological site managed by CozumelParks.  This racoon-like mammal is a Coati (Nasua narica, AKA coatimundi).  It is native to Mexico and Central America and belongs to the Procyonidae family, which also includes raccoons.  (Photo by Linda)

When we arrived this morning, around sunrise, at the downtown cruise port/dock for the island of Cozumel, Mexico, we had been at sea for over 36 hours since leaving the Disney cruise terminal in Port Hollywood late in the afternoon of Friday, February 25th.  We had a great time on the ship while at sea, but Cozumel was the first of only two ports-of-call for this cruise, and we were all looking forward to going ashore.  Linda had signed all of us up for a shore excursion that lasted about six (6) hours and included three different venues/experiences.  We had to be off the ship and at the meeting point by a certain time, so we all got an early start to our day and had breakfast in the Cabana buffet.  Based on our apparel at dinner, it was also (apparently) “dress like a pirate” day.  Additional details about the day are in the captions for each photo.

 

Madeline, Sadie, and Shawna (mom) at the entrance station to the San Gervasio archeological site.  (Note the boot on Madeline’s left foot.  She injured it not long before the cruise, but it did not slow her down.)  This site has the remnants of a large village that was one of the centers of pre-European Mayan culture.  (Photo by Linda)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another photo of the Coatimundi.  It did not seem to be fazed in the least by the large group of people passing by and stopping to take its picture.  (Photo by Linda)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As soon as we reached the first ruin in San Gervasio, we encountered Iguanas and other lizards.  Things like Coatimundi and Iguanas underscored that we were someplace very different from where we live.    (Photo by Linda)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The remains of a fairly large structure.  The roof is a modern construction to help preserve the underlying stone work, but something like this might have covered the original building when in use.  Wood and palm fronds, however, do not survive the ravages of time.    (Photo by Linda)

 

This photo of an elevated platform provides a sense of the number and size of stones that had to be quarried and moved for its construction.

 

The base of another ruin and its modern protective roof.

 

For most of our time at the San Gervasio Mayan Village, we were on a guided/narrated tour.  The tour guide explained what archeologist think each of the buildings were used for, but I had no way to capture that information for later recall.

 

I do remember that this was one of the entrance gates to the Village.  Note the road/path leading up to the gate from the forest in the center-right of the frame.

 

I don’t know if the Iguana pictured here understands or appreciates the historical significance of the stones on which it is sunning itself, but it certainly picked a good spot, and seems unconcerned about the many human guests to the site.  (Photo by Linda)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Over many years, this tree took root and grew around a crumbled part of what remains of this building.  The modern roof was constructed around the tree.

 

Remnants of yet another building at San Gervasio.

 

 

One of the stone walkways that connect the various buildings at the San Gervasio archeological site.  Note the drainage ditches along each edge.  When the Mayan Village was inhabited, archeologists claim the space between the stones was filled with something like a limestone grout, resulting in a smooth surface that would have been easy to walk on, and permitted the use of wheeled carts.

 

Another Iguana photo because … well, just because we find them fascinating.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A map of the San Gervasio archeological site with all of the buildings identified.

 

 

This map highlights the Mayan Areas of Cozumel, Mexico in a darker green color.  The next photo indicates that San Gervasio is the highlighted area near Acalán.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is a photo of a map that shows the full extent of the island of Cozumel, Mexico, its location relative to the rest of Mexico (just off the coast of the Yucatan peninsula), and the location of the San Gervasio archeological park.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The second venue on our Cozumel shore excursion was The Mayan Cacao Company, located at the Playa Mia Grand Beach Park.  Shown here is the entrance sign.  Note the Macaw on the perch, upper right, which is protected by a thatched roof.  (Photo by Linda)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A closer view of the entrance sign and greeter macaw at The Mayan Cacao Company.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Like San Gervasio, this was also an educational experience.  This display is about cacao beans as a form of currency, and how it compared to other things that served the same purpose.  (From my Money and Banking course at the University of Missouri – Columbia, “Money is anything that acts as a store of value and a medium of exchange.”)

 

Part of the Mayan Cacao experience was a demonstration of the processing cacao beans to make “hot chocolate.”  This was followed by a tasting.  (It was not sweet, but it was very tasty.)  (Photo by Linda)

 

For the third and final venue/experience of our Cozumel shore excursion, we got to hang out at the Playa Mia Grand Beach Park.  I believe this park is open to the public but has an admission charge.   Besides an extensive beachfront with lounge chairs, umbrellas, and cabanas, the park included some play structures in the water as well as food and beverage stations.  Brendan and Sadie are in the foreground with their backs to the shore/camera.  Katie brought her snorkeling gear, and was already out in the water somewhere.  (I think Brendan and Sadie might be looking in that direction, but they might just be eyeing the large play structure in the water.)    (Photo by Linda)

 

The seating/sunning area at Playa Mia Beach Resort in front of where I happened to be sitting.  (I am not a “sun bunny,” and require shade in places like this.)

 

 

L-2-R; Katie, Linda, and Marilyn with what I think is the Disney WISH in the background, tied up at the dock for the Punta Langosta Cruise Terminal.  There is another cruise terminal down the coast toward Playa Mia Grand Beach Park that is used by Carnival and other cruise lines.

 

The sign welcoming us to the Punta Langosta port area.  It is the closest cruise terminal to the main/downtown area of Cozumel City.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pirate Sadie with buccaneer Ama (Linda) at dinner in the Animators Palate, the second of our three dining rooms.  (Friday and Saturday we were in the Royal Palace dining room, Deck 3 midship; Sunday and Monday we were in the Animator’s Palate dining room on Deck 3 aft, and Tuesday we were in the Enchanted Garden dining room, Deck 2 midship.)  This restaurant had amazing visual technology.  (Photo by Linda)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

L-2-R; Madeline, Meghan, and Marilyn at our dinner table in the Animators Palate dining room.  We had a table for 10 every evening for dinner, and it was always table number 81; our waiter and assistant waiter moved with us when we changed dining venues.  Our dining time was always 6 PM (first seating).  Linda selected this time because Sadie was only 5 years old, and it allowed members of our group to seek out various entertainment venues after dinner and still get to bed at reasonable times.  (Photo by Linda)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pirate Brendan and his buccaneer dad (me, Bruce, Apa, grandpa, etc.) in the Animators Palate dining room on the Disney DREAM.  (Photo by Linda)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shawna and Brendan share a moment while we wait to order dinner.  Our children both have wonderful spouses and our three grand-daughters are a delight.  We are very fond, and proud, of all of them; they are all a great source of joy in our lives.  (Photo by Linda)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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20240224_T4-C2_DCL-DREAM_A-Marvel-Day-at-Sea

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NOTE:  There are seven (7) photos in this post.  Photos by me (Bruce) taken with a Google Pixel 6 Pro unless otherwise indicated.  (Photos by Linda taken with a Google Pixel 6.)

 

SATURDAY 24 February (T4-C2) — A Marvel(ous) Day At Sea

 

Today, I was up earlier than I intended to be.  I thought my phone said 6 something, but it was actually 5 something.  I was tired of lying down anyway, so I got up and finished working a Multi-Sudoku puzzle.  It was still dark, and Linda was still asleep, so I worked on drafts of the blog posts for this trip/cruise.  At some point I heard voices outside.  Brendan, Shawna, and Sadie were on the balcony along with Meghan.  Meghan gets up very early and had already been out to get coffee.  Madeline joined the group shortly thereafter.  This is the first cruise we’ve been on with family/friends in adjacent cabins.  Yesterday, we had our cabin steward open the dividers between the four balconies so we could visit easily.  It was a nice arrangement.  We had a brief discussion about breakfast but failed to coordinate a plan.  Other than meeting for dinner every evening, our group took a “freestyle” approach to the cruise, which was great for everyone.

Sadie sits in a large, blue, throne-like chair by one of the two impressive mosaics with themes related to fairytales (prince/princess) that ended up in animated Disney features.  The mosaics were located in one of the elevator/stairwell lobbies on one of the decks, but I don’t recall which one.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sadie in the other (red) throne-like chair by the other mosaic.

It was Marvel Day at Sea, so we got dressed with our Guardians of the Galaxy t-shirts and went to Cabana’s (the buffet) for breakfast.  We thought our son’s family was also headed there, but we somehow missed them while walking around looking at food.  Our son saw us go by, however, and found us to let us know where they were sitting.

 

 

Breakfast at the Cabana’s buffet offered a lot of choices, and we all found something that we liked.  The things I chose were well-prepared and tasty.  While both of us appreciate the finer dining in the restaurants, neither of us object to the buffet food, and appreciate the convenience of many hours of availability with the attendant flexibility to eat when you want, and choose from a broad selection of food offerings.

Chris and his daughter, Katie, at one of the shuffleboard courts on the exterior promenade deck.  (Photo by Linda)

 

Meghan and Chris at the same shuffleboard court.  Chris is sporting his “Star Lord” t-shirt for Marvel Day At Sea.  (Photo by Linda)

Today was Marvel Day At Sea, and there were many special activities taking place around the ship.  These included photo opportunities with official costumed “crew” members.  Perhaps surprisingly, we did not get photos of any of these events.  While that might seem strange in retrospect, the members of our party who were most excited about the day where our daughter, her husband, and his daughter.  I don’t recall specifically what Linda and I did all day, nor do I recall what Marilyn or our son and his family did today, nor would I even know if they off doing things on their own.  What I do know, is that Madeline had already become very comfortable with the “Edge Club,” a dedicated/staffed space for guests ages 11 – 13.  At age 11, she places a high value on any independence she can negotiate.

 

Sadie with her great-aunt, Marilyn.  Sadie is seriously focused on whatever Marilyn is showing her on the phone.  Based on Sadie’s attire, it appears that she went swimming today.  Not surprising; if there’s water available, Sadie is usually in it.  (Photo by Linda)

The Disney Cruise Line (DCL) app includes a messaging feature that allows guests to message one another without purchasing a “Internet” package.  The feature requires guests to establish connections, so Linda took care of linking her phone with at least one phone from each of the other cabins in our group.

Fairly quickly, Madeline took possession of her mom’s phone and accomplished her number one goal for the cruise; to be allowed to roam around the ship on her own as well as come and go from the Edge Club at will.  This actually worked out very well, and she made several friends her age.  ABIR, Sadie continued the who-dun-it game with her mom and/or dad.

 

Yes, Sadie is using crayons on the white linen tablecloth at dinner.  But it was okay.  Our assistant waiter, Trevor, was the first to do this at dinner last night as he set a puzzle for Sadie (and the rest of us) to solve.  After that, it was “game on” for the remainder of the cruise!  (Photo by Linda)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In addition to well-prepared and tasty dishes, dinner was always nicely presented.  This photo is typical of how desserts were plated.

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NOTE:  There are 13 photos in this post.  Photos by me (Bruce) taken with a Google Pixel 6 Pro unless otherwise indicated.  (Photos by Linda taken with a Google Pixel 6.)  Photos are chronological and captioned, but are interspersed with some narrative.

 

FRIDAY 23 February (T3-C1) — Disney Cruise Line (DCL) DREAM, Embarkation and Sail Away

 

It’s around 1 PM; we are all on the ship and busy doing things.  Meghan helps Sadie figure out how to play the who-dun-it/discovery game while Marilyn looks on.  Clues were hidden in electronic pictures.  Displaying a game badge would “open” (change) the picture and reveal a clue.  (Photo by Linda)

I was up early and met up with our daughter (Meghan) in the elevator on our way to get coffee.  I rarely get to chat with her alone, and enjoyed a relaxed conversation over coffee.  Linda joined us a bit later.  Meghan eventually took coffee and muffins back to her room for Chris.  Linda and I got breakfast and chatted until she went back to our room to take a shower.  I returned to our room after finishing my meal, got my shower, and got dressed for the day.  We then repacked our suitcases before Linda went back to the lobby to join Meghan, and others, who were having breakfast.

 

 

 

 

Brendan helps Sadie with the who-dun-it game in the lobby of the ship with the Golden Mickey statue in the background.  Having been to Walt Disney World several times, the look and feel of the interior of the ship was familiar and pleasing.  (Photo by Linda)

Everything up to this point had been fairly routine travel—planes, taxis (ride shares), and hotels, with some walking thrown in, either to find food or just because—but with a certain added anticipation of things to come.  Today started in the usual way, but was soon new and different for most of our party.  Indeed, even for us, as we had never sailed on a Disney cruise ship and so had not experienced a ship with soooo many children.  Not that we have never been with large numbers of children; we presumed that it would be similar to the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World, and there is a certain positive energy associated with so many children having such a good time.  Indeed, it even seems to bring out the child in many of adults.

 

 

 

It didn’t take long to discover the self-serve soft-serve ice cream station on one of the upper/open-air decks.  This turned out to popular with everyone in our party and, apparently, most of the other guests on the ship.  L-2-R:  Meghan, Sadie, and Brendan.  (Photo by Linda)

When we arrived at the Hyatt Place hotel on Wednesday, we signed up for a shuttle to take the six of us staying here to the port at noon today.  We did not get a shuttle at exactly that time, but they were scheduled to arrive at the hotel approximately every 10 minutes.  It was at most a 10-minute ride to the port, and only that long because of traffic, so we were still there ahead of the 1 PM check-in time for us (the rest of the group had 1:15 check-in times).  It turned out that these assigned times didn’t mean much.  We dropped our checked luggage with the porters at the curb and then walked some distance into the cruise terminal building.  But the line moved along at a reasonable pace, and various adults took turns keeping Sadie occupied, which is the key to a happy life.

 

Linda on the main top deck. (There are additional small decks at the front and rear of the ship.)  Camera is pointed aft.  The enclosed water-slide is prominent, with the main swimming pool to the right and down one deck.

Looking forward, the large screen on the forward exhaust stack tower, indicates that the ship is “Sailing Away.”  “Sail Away” is a big, festive deal on cruise ships.  Many guests gather on the upper/open decks, while others go out on their stateroom balconies, to watch the ship pull away from the dock and head out to sea.  In some ports, there are crowds on-shore waving to the ship.  The time-stamp on this photo is 4:29 PM, but I don’t think the ship has left the dock yet.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Two other cruise ships are visible from the port side of the ship.  ABIR, the larger one is a Royale Caribbean ship (emblem on the lower rear hull).  The smaller one was from one of the luxury or ultra-luxury cruise lines, but I don’t recall which one.  Note that our ship is in its berth bow first, with the dock on the other/starboard side.  Our ship had to back out of its berth and make a 180-degree turn (pirouette) before heading out to sea.  The maneuver was precisely and smoothly executed.  The maneuver was very smoothly and precisely executed.

 

Soon enough we were all checked in and were headed onto the ship a bit before 1 PM.  There were a couple of things about the check-in that were different from our previous experience.  For one, they did NOT issue us our cruise cards and said they would be waiting for us by our cabin doors.  For another, they checked every page of our passports, at least for the adults.  I asked why and was told “because there are children on board” but the boarding agent could/would not tell me anymore.  Our presumption is that there must be something in passports for individuals who are not allowed to be around children.  Further research, however, did not provide any additional information.

 

A view looking NNE of the Intra-Coastal Waterway (ICW) and a bridge to a barrier island, as seen from the starboard rear upper deck of the Disney DREAM.

Some of the adult members of our travel party, L-2-R: Chris, Marilyn, Meghan, Linda, and me (Bruce).  Not shown are Brendan, Shawna, Katie and the munchkins (Madeline and Sadie).  I do not know who took the photo with Linda’s phone.  The previous photo was taken around 4:33 PM and this one was taken around 5:22 PM.  This and the next photo indicate that the ship is backing out of its berth.  Thus, logic tells me that we must have departed at 5 PM (cruise ships tend to keep a tight schedule) or we departed at 6 PM and all of my photos are off by one hour (but I don’t think so), or we departed at 4 PM and I have no idea what’s going on.

Our staterooms (on Deck 9) would not be available until 1:30, so some of the adults went with Sadie on an exploration to solve a “crime” while I stayed with Madeline, who needed to sit and get off her injured foot.  (She strained or stressed a growth plate in her left foot a week ago while ice skating, and got fitted with a boot yesterday morning before flying to Fort Lauderdale.)  DCL uses a system to control room access that we had not seen before.  When Madeline and I tried to use an elevator to go from Deck 5 to Deck 9 around 1:20 PM, it would not open the doors at Deck 9.  Clever Disney.

 

The Disney DREAM is definitely underway as it has backed out of its berth into the Intra-Coastal Waterway (ICW) where it backed around to port (behind the camera) into a “turning pool” and swung around to point into the channel leading to the sea, as shown here.  Cruise ships have both bow and stern thrusters, smaller propellers in tunnels that go through the ship sideways.  Besides moving the front or rear of the ship to the left or right, their coordinated use can move the ship sideways, such as towards/away from a dock, or turn it around its mid-point, such as it will do here.  Many cruise ships, especially newer ones, also have “Azipods,” a steerable propeller  mechanism, for propulsion rather than aft-facing propellers and one or more rudders.

 

Our first dinner together in the Royale Palace dining room aboard the DCL DREAM.  We had a table for 10 every evening for dinner.  Our table number was 81, and remained so for all of our dinner meals, regardless of which dining room we were in.  Shown here is our son’s family, L-2-R:  Shawna, Brendan, Sadie, and Madeline.  I think Sadie was just tired, not unhappy, as she really enjoyed the cruise.  (Photo by Linda)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

L-2-R:  Cousins Madeline and Katie at the dinner table.  (Photo by Linda)

Once in our room, we scoped out the available storage and started unpacking.  Our balcony stateroom had plenty of storage; hanging closets, drawers, and shelves.  It also had the usual safe, and our wallets and passports went in there right away.  We used to turn our cell phones off and put them in the safe as well, but these days we put them in airplane mode (to turn off the cellular radio) and turn on the wi-fi radio to connect to the ship’s wi-fi system.  On the DREAM, this allowed us to use the Disney Cruise Line Navigator app, which was our access to any/all information about the ship’s activities, including menus for the restaurants, reservations (if needed), and our account.  (Most cruise ships now operate this way, so you really cannot go on a cruise these days without a smartphone.)

Linda poses with a statue of “Captain Duck” in the main lobby of the Disney DREAM.  Or perhaps it was “Commodore Duck”?  (I presume this is Donald Duck.  I have no idea what the name of the statue is, if it even has one.  Nor do I know the context of this particular outfit.)

 

 

 

We watched the safety information on the TV in our stateroom.  At 4 PM we went to our assigned assembly station (DCL does not call them muster stations) for the mandatory safety check-in and presentation.  Unlike our other recent cruises, where our muster station was on an outside deck near the lifeboats, we were seated in the large Walt Disney Theater.

 

 

 

 

 

Marvel Day at Sea was still to come, but this display was already up, and Chris is a big fan of the Marvel series.  Disney has a way of bringing out the kid in all of us.

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THURSDAY 22 February (T2) — The family arrives for the cruise

Katie (our 20-something grand-daughter) arrived from North Carolina ahead of the rest of the family, made her way to the Hyatt Place (via Uber?), and checked-in to the room she was sharing with Marilyn.  We were all hungry so we took her to Carrabba’s for dinner.

Marilyn arrived later from St. Louis, Missouri and waited for our son (Brendan) and daughter (Meghan) and their families to arrive from Michigan.  Once everyone was at the Ft. Lauderdale International Airport, they got a cab to take them to their respective hotels.

Katie, Marilyn, and Meghan/Chris all stayed at the same hotel we were in.  Brendan and his family stayed at the nearby Embassy Suites as they got a room that would sleep all four of them.

Marilyn, Meghan, and Chris had not had dinner, so we walked to the nearby Publix supermarket where they pickup up ready-to-eat sandwiches and chips and brought them back to the hotel.  We sat in the breakfast room, which had a high table for six, and chatted while they ate.  Brendan’s clan made their own arrangements for dinner.  ABIR (or learned the next day) they had pizza.

Everyone arrived safely, and with all of their luggage, which were the main things.  (When traveling by air, we always try to arrive enough ahead of whatever we will be doing to allow time to go shopping in the event that we need to replace the contents of a lost piece of checked luggage.)  Air travel is always a bit exhausting, but there was a palpable sense of excitement in the air as everyone was genuinely looking forward to the cruise.

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WEDNESDAY 21 February (T1) — A Family Cruise is just around the corner

Our cruise on the Disney DREAM was set for departure on Friday, 23 February at 3 PM EDT.  We like to be in the vicinity of a cruise port somewhat ahead of time, so Linda booked a flight for mid-morning today.  Delta Airlines again, of course, as Delta has a major hub at Detroit Metropolitan (Wayne County) International Airport (DTW) and can get us non-stop to many places in the USA.

We were up at 6 AM, got dressed, set the thermostats on HOLD at lower than usual temperatures, and loaded out luggage into the F-150.  We were going to take Linda’s Honda HR/V, but she got a recall notice yesterday for a possible fuel pump problem.  We could not afford having the problem occur enroute to the airport, so we took the truck.  We left at 6:45 AM and arrived at the US Park facility, adjacent to the airport property, about an hour later.  The shuttle was coming down our aisle as we parked and picked us up along with several other customers.  We were at the drop-off point in the garage attached to the main (McNamara) terminal by 8:15 AM, well ahead of our 10:20 AM departure.

We normally roll our bags into the terminal, print the luggage tags for the two larger bags, attach them to the bags and then get in the self-tagged luggage drop-off line, which is usually long and understaffed.  Before crossing into the terminal, however, we noticed a DELTA self-tagged luggage drop counter in the garage.  It was staffed, and there was no line, so we figured we would try it.  There were about eight kiosks for printing the luggage tags, so we took care of that in short order.  There was a short line at the drop-off counter by then, so we joined the queue.  It did not take long for it to be our turn, and in no time our bags were checked.  The agent asked if we wanted paper boarding passes, so we said “yes”; it never hurts to have a backup.  A good start to our trip.

The next step in the process was clearing through the TSA checkpoint.  We had “checked in” for the flight online yesterday and had our electronic boarding passes on our phones.  This was the first time we would go through a TSA checkpoint since we qualified for the Trusted Traveler Program (TTP) and got our Global Entry (GE) cards from the Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) branch of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).  We noticed that the boarding passes said “TSA Pre-check” and also said “Digital ID.”  We knew what the first one meant, but we were not sure about the second.

We went to the TSA Pre-check area, showed our boarding passes, and walked right in.  No line.  We were directed to the left where an agent had us stand in front of a camera lens, and then waved us through; no need to show our passport, license, boarding pass, or any other additional ID.  We were motioned towards a scanner lane with no line, set our small carry-on cases and a few personal effects (glasses, belt for me because of the buckle, phone with holder (metal clips), and keys) into a tub on the conveyor and walked through the scanner.  There were no issues and we were through; all without having to remove our shoes!  This was our easiest airport entry ever; more than worth the time and cost to get the TTP/GE program/card (the cost of which was reimbursed by AMEX/DELTA).  All-in-all a much better and less stressful experience than the last time we were here earlier this year.

And with that, there was nothing else to do except wait to board the aircraft.  We always travel with our iPads, which we use for a wide variety of things, such as:  reading, streaming, games/puzzles, research, maps, checking on weather, or logging in to subscribed services, including checking-in when appropriate.  For travel, however, we usually do the final check-in on our phones so that we have the boarding pass / QR code immediately available.  To make sure it is also immediately accessible, we take a screen shot so we don’t have to (rely on) use the app or website.  Sometimes we also bring actual books, but usually avoid the added weight and bulk in our luggage.

Frankly, commercial air travel is not very comfortable nor is it much fun.  I say that as a licensed private pilot.  Most of the seating is too small (narrow) and too crowded together (front-to-back).  Sure, comfort class (if you can get it) and first class (if you can afford it) provide a bit more room, but we choose to spend our money on things like cruises that are slightly less ephemeral.  The dumbest thing about the passenger aviation industry, however, is the way they load the aircraft.

IMHO, aircraft with a single loading door near the front, should be loaded from the rear to the front.  The first people on are the ones seated in the last row.  No “running the gauntlet” and bumping into other passengers to get to our seat.  If the first-class passengers don’t want to mingle with everyone else, create a separate, enclosed waiting area for them.  EVERYONE is limited to one carry-on item that does not exceed the allowed size so that it will absolutely fit in the overhead pin BY THEIR SEAT.  That way, everyone is guaranteed to have a place for their carry-on bag BY THEIR SEAT.  A second small item that will fit under the seat in front is fine with me.

Now that I’ve had my say, I will regain some perspective and acknowledge that, in the end, the only thing that really matters is that the plane takes off and lands safely without any incidents, such as rude/disorderly passengers, or doors that blow off mid-flight.  As for our flight, all’s well that ends well, which ours’ did.

The rest of the family booked flights for the following day.  Once we deplaned at FTL, we headed to baggage claim, retrieved our two checked roller bags, and then headed outside to find the ride-share area.  We booked an Uber, and in short order we were picked up and on our way to the Hyatt Place hotel near Port Hollywood.  We are still relatively new to using Uber, but so far it has worked well for us.

I don’t recall if our room was ready when we arrived at the hotel, but if not, we did not have to wait very long.  Given the price, the room was nothing special, but it was fine for us.  And it had a mini-fridge, which meant we could get keep some beverages cold and/or store any leftovers from meals we ate out.  Besides, we knew ahead of time that the price had more to do with a location that is convenient to both the airport and the cruise port than with the accommodations themselves.

The first two cruises we ever took (2012 and 2013), on the MSC Poetia, sailed from Port Hollywood, Florida.  I suspect a lot of construction has taken place since then, and there was certainly construction ongoing in the area, but neither of us had any specific recollections of the Port to serve as a comparison.

The hotel was a comfortable/safe walking distance to a major shopping area that included a Publix supermarket and several restaurants.  We wanted to stretch our legs anyway, so we went in search of dinner.  ABIR, we ended up at a Poke’ Bowl place and had tasty meals.  We then stopped at the Publix and bought some beverages and perhaps some snacks, but I’m not sure about the latter.

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NOTE:  There are no photos for this post.

 

TUESDAY 20 February (T0) — A Last Minute Thing

By 8 PM, we were basically fully packed and settled in to watch TV before going to bed at bit earlier than usual as, and we wanted to get a good night’s sleep in advance of our flight to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida tomorrow morning.  But there always seem to be last minute things, and this time it involved the cat’s feeder or, more specifically, the wooden enclosure I built back in August 2023, to house her automatic feeder.  A critter, which turned out to be a raccoon, had been clawing and/or biting the opening where the food drops into a metal bowl, trying to get to the feeder itself.  I decided at the last minute (11 PM) that I needed to reinforce that area before we left.

I made a quick trip to the barn to fetch tools, screws, and see what wood scraps I might have.  I found a couple pieces of 5/8” plywood left over from the original housing project.  They were the same width as the front panel; perfect.  A little drilling, dry fitting, and attaching these pieces to the front with screws, and I was satisfied that the critter would at least be delayed from succeeding until we got home.  So much for getting to bed early and relaxed.  I think that the housing is going to need a metal sheathing at some point in the future.  That point, however, will be when the daytime temperatures are more pleasant for doing this kind of work.

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NOTE:  This post contains four (4) photos.  First photo taken by me (Bruce) with a Google Pixel 6 Pro.  (All other photos taken by Linda with a Google Pixel 6.)

 

01-19 February 2024 — Preparing for another cruise

Cabella (the cat) has several places around the house that she likes to sleep but, when available, this is her favorite.

I suppose the first thing of note about this month, but not the most important, was my birthday; seven decades and change, and still counting.  Not bad for a guy my height and weight.  I am still in generally good health and feeling good about our active retirement, which is what really matters.  Happy birthday to me.

From the moment Linda had booked the cabins, preparations had been on-going for our upcoming Disney DREAM cruise.  Research was done, and shore excursions were booked.  Our daughter (Meghan) is an excellent and enthusiastic researcher, and she dug in.  Our 5-night cruise included a “Marvel Day at Sea” and a “Pirates Day,” all of which required some kind of suitable attire (or costume) in order to be a full participant in the events of those days.  She also learned that it was common practice to “decorate” cabin doors.  The doors are steel, and the decorations need to be magnetic, but it turned out that such decorations and widely and easily available.  The group ended up agreeing on custom t-shirts, one for Marvel Day and one for Pirates Day.  We each got our own color for each shirt, but the same designs.  (We did something similar a few years ago the first time with did Walt Disney World with Paul and Nancy.)

Linda and Diane try to get-together and walk once a week.  Weather permitting, they meet at Kensington Metro Park.  This image from February 9 clearly shows that the lake was still mostly covered in ice.  (Photo by Linda)

Of the ten of us going on this cruise, only Linda, her sister (Sr. Marilyn), and myself had ever been on a cruise.  Linda and I tried to provide useful/helpful specific information about packing, luggage, embarkation, etc. without overloading everyone.  Each family or individual was on their own to make flight arrangements to/from Fort Lauderdale International Airport, as well as hotel arrangements, but they were all experienced travelers, including the three grand-daughters.

 

 

I got this MURDLE (Murder Puzzles) book for my birthday from our friend Kate,.  Linda and I were at one of our local Panera locations, and I took the book with me to work some of the puzzles.  (Photo by Linda)

 

Linda booked us into the Hyatt Place hotel about 1/2 mile from the Disney cruise terminal at Port Everglades in Hollywood, Florida (Fort Lauderdale area) and shared that location with everyone else.  Our daughter and her husband, his daughter (Katie), and Linda’s sister also stayed there.  Our son and his family made a reservation at the nearby Embassy Suites as they were able to get a room that would comfortably accommodate all four of them.

 

 

 

 

Sadie at home being Sadie a few days before the Disney cruise. (Photo by Linda)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And that’s about all there is to say about everyday life while getting ready to go a trip.

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NOTE:  There is one (1) photo in this post taken by Linda with a Google Pixel 6.)

 

MONDAY 15 January 2024 — A test cruise on the MSC Magnifica (4 of 4), Return to Miami and home.

We took many more photos on this brief cruise than I have used in these blog posts, but they were mostly for our own documentation in support of a decision-making process.  During the cruise, we had not yet decided to cancel the World Cruise but were actively discussing the pros and cons of doing the trip on this ship with this cruise line.  It came as something of a surprise to us that we made that decision while sitting in the Miami International Airport waiting to fly home.  After letting Paul and Nancy know our decision, we called our travel agent before we even got on the jet.  But then, once it was clear that we did not want to do this trip on this ship, there was no reason to wait.  If nothing else, we had a significant deposit on file, and the sooner we got it back the better.

Apparently someone at the Miami International Airport has a sense of humor.  This waste basket had two separate holes, one marked “Waste” and the other “Recycle.”  Note, however, that the can contains no divider and has a single bag where everything goes.  (Photo by Linda)

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NOTE:  There are 16 photos in this post.  Photos by me (Bruce) taken with a SONY a6400 or Google Pixel 6 Pro, unless otherwise indicated.  (Photos by Linda taken with a Google Pixel 6.)

 

SUNDAY 14 January 2024 — A test cruise on the MSC Magnifica (3 of 4), Ocean Cay

A panoramic view (Google Pixel 6 Pro panorama mode) of Ocean Cay taken from our stateroom balcony on the MSC Magnifica.

A composite of 8 images (SONE alpha 6400) forms a panoramic view of Ocean Cay, MSC private island in the Bahamas.  Photo composited with Microsoft Image Composite Editor.

A view of one of the elevator lobbies in the MSC Magnifica provides a sense of the “style” of the public areas of the interior.  I took very few photos of the interior of the ship, in part because I wanted to respect the privacy of our fellow passengers.

L-2-R, Nancy, Linda, and Paul on Ocean Cay, Bahamas.  The island was originally the site of mining operation.  MSC has rehabilitated it, creating both a marine reserve and pleasant place for their guests.

A map of Ocean Cay.

The MSC Magnifica as seen from Ocean Cay.  (Photo by Linda)

Another (better?) view of the Magnifica from Ocean Cay.

One more view of the MSC Magnifica from Ocean Cay.

L-2-R, me (Bruce), Nancy, and Paul.  We were not able to snag a cabana, but found these lounge chairs unoccupied.  (Photo by Linda)

Part of the coastline of Ocean Cay.  I recall that the day was pleasant but, as this photo shows, it was overcast.  Those are not mutually exclusive ideas.  (I am not a sun bunny.)

Not exactly the MSC Magnifica, but technically Linda is still in an MSC boat.

I (Bruce) try the same ship on for size.  (Photo by Linda)

Another view of the MSC Magnifica as seen from Ocean Cay.

Dramatic weather often makes for interesting photos.  Ocean Cay, Bahamas.

The lighthouse on Ocean Cay as a “Disney like” illumination system that is used to put on a light show just before a ship departs from the island.  We took videos of the show, but I don’t post videos here because of the large file sizes.

A view of the central lobby of the MSC Magnifica.  The interior décor of MSC ships is a somewhat glitzy “over-the-top Italian.”  I’m not saying it isn’t attractive, it’s just not really our style.  That was not a factor, however, in our decision to cancel our World Cruise booking on this ship.  Indeed, we found the ship, service, food, and entertainment acceptable given the price.

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NOTE:  There are 13 photos in this post.  Photos by me (Bruce) taken with a SONY a6400 or Google Pixel 6 Pro unless otherwise indicated.  (Photos by Linda taken with a Google Pixel 6.)

 

SATURDAY 13 January 2024 — A test cruise on the MSC Magnifica (2 of 3), Nassau, Bahamas

We sailed overnight and arrived at Nassau, Bahamas early this morning.  The MSC Magnifica is tied up at the dock with guests going ashore (including us, obviously).

A composite image of the lobby of the British Colonial hotel in downtown Nassau, Bahamas.

The area near the port in Nassau, Bahamas has a quintessentially Caribbean look.

An outdoor “mall” of little shops near the cruise port in Nassau, Bahamas.  Linda is in the lower right corner (white shirt) walking away from the camera.

The MSC Magnifica in the Cruise Port in Nassau, Bahamas with two more cruise ships behind it.  The Disney WISH is just behind the Magnifica.  The ship in the background is a Royale Caribbean vessel.

We did not spend very much time in Nassau, as we explored it when we were here in 2012 &/or 2013 and not much had appeared to change since then.  Following are a couple of views of our stateroom.  We had the room next to the room we booked for the World Cruise in 2025.  Paul and Nancy were in the same suite that they booked for the World Cruise.

Our stateroom as seen from the balcony doorwall looking towards the door to the hallway.  Closet to the left and bathroom to the right.

Our stateroom as it appears when coming into the room.  Beyond the queen-size bed is a desk (on the left) and 2-seat sleeper-sofa.  There’s a hassock under the desk and a small table in front of the sofa, and two chairs on the balcony (which stay out there).  The sofa was so uncomfortable that we could not sit on it for more than a few minutes.  Although this was not our stateroom for the World Cruise, it was next to it, and we had no reason to believe that the sofa in that stateroom was any better.  This ended up being the deal-breaker for the World Cruise.  Paul and Nancy were equally unimpressed with their suite.

Pulling away from the cruise port in Nassau, Bahamas shortly after 5 PM.  (Photo by Linda)

Linda on the starboard promenade as the Disney WISH backs out of its berth at the cruise port in Nassau, Bahamas.

Every cruise line has a logo or emblem that they display on each of their ships.  MSC’s emblem is patterned after the compass rose.  I believe MSC stands for Mediterranean Shipping Company, or did at one time.  MSC is a major shipping company, headquartered in Switzerland, but I think the MSC Cruise Line division operates out of Genoa, Italy.  We often see their pale-yellow shipping containers.

A view of the starboard bow of the Disney WISH with the Royale Caribbean ship sailing away behind it.

I think this is another Royale Caribbean ship leaving Nassau, Bahamas ahead of us.

The MSC Magnifica leaving the dock at the cruise port in Nassau, Bahamas.  This is a view of the dock from the stern of the MSC Magnifica.

After a pleasant enough day in Nassau, Bahamas our ship set sail at 6 PM for an overnight trip to MSC’s private island, Ocean Cay.

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NOTE:  There are two (2) photos in this post.  Photos by me (Bruce) taken with a Google Pixel 6 Pro unless otherwise indicated.  (Photos by Linda taken with a Google Pixel 6.)

 

FRIDAY 12 January 2024 — A test cruise on the MSC Magnifica (1/3), Embarkation & Sail Away

A subtitle for this post would be “Planes, Trains, and Automobiles” (but not in that order).  As mentioned in the previous post, back in February 2023 Linda and Nancy found an “around the world” cruise on MSC for what seemed to be a very good price.  The World Cruise was scheduled to depart Genoa, Italy on 6 January 2025, head west across the Atlantic Ocean to Brazil and take 116 nights to circumnavigate the globe.  Much of the trip would be south of equator, eventually coming up the Suez Canal into the eastern Mediterranean Sea and back Genoa.  The itinerary included 50 ports-of-call spread across 21 countries.  We have never been south of the equator, and this seemed like a unique opportunity to visit places me might likely never get to otherwise.  And the price seemed really fair—almost too good to be true—but it would only be a bargain if it was truly “value for money.”

Reviews of MSC from sources like Cruise Critic, and Gary Bembridge’s Tips for Travelers Youtube channel were mixed, so we had our concerns about basic cruise things like food, service, and entertainment.  But top of your list was whether we would enjoy being on this ship for that long, and especially whether our staterooms would have adequate storage and comfortable seating.  The later, we have learned in limited but recent cruising experience, is not a given.

Sometime in the intervening months, Linda found that the Magnifica was doing a 3-night round-trip sailing, January 12-15, 2024 from the Port of Miami to Nassau, Bahamas, and back.  The cruise started on a Friday and returned on Monday, which meant it was going to be a bit of a “party cruise,” but that was not really relevant to us.  We wanted to check out the general condition of the ship, especially the staterooms, as well as the food, entertainment, and service.

The Miami Cruise Port is about a 4-hour drive from Polk City, Florida.  Rather than spend that much time in a car, and pay quite a bit for parking at the Port, Nancy and Paul had decided to take the relatively new high-speed rail from Orlando to Miami, which meant we were going to take it as well.  The Orlando International Airport was about a 1-hour drive from Paul and Nancy’s house and had convenient parking dedicated to the train.  The parking was under roof and reasonably priced, at least compared to the cost of parking at the Port.  We all purchased our tickets well in advance and had reserved seats.

We enjoyed taking the train, which allowed us to relax and doodle on our iPads (or read).  The end of the line terminal in Miami was walking distance from the Cruise Port, so we decided to walk there with our roller bags rather than hail a cab or call an Uber/Lyft.  That turned out not to be our best decision of the trip; it was a warm, sunny day, and we found the most direct route blocked by construction.  We ended up walking a bit father than we originally planned, but we got there, so all’s well that ends well, I suppose.

I distinctly remember that embarkation was relatively smooth but, ABIR, we had to wait a bit to get into our staterooms.  This is not uncommon, and we found a lounge to sit in while we waited.  (Drinks are always available immediately upon embarkation.)

 

Sail Away was at 6 PM.  A few minutes later, the Magnifica pulls away from the MSC Terminal at the Port of Miami.  The view is from our starboard side stateroom balcony.  ABIR, we were on Deck 9, just above the lifeboats (obviously).  (Photo by Linda)

 

Looking back at the Miami skyline with sunset well underway.  The ship has cleared all of the buildings but has not yet cleared the breakwater.  (Photo by Linda)

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Note:  There are four (4) photos in this post.  Photos taken by me (Bruce) with Google Pixel 6 Pro unless otherwise indicated.  (Photos by Linda taken with a Google Pixel 6.)

 

SATURDAY 06 – THURSDAY 11 January 2024 — A quick trip to Florida in advance of a short cruise

Back in February 2023, we were waiting for a couple of days before boarding the NCL Joy for our trip with Paul and Nancy from Los Angeles , California to Miami, Florida via the Panama Canal.  While Paula and I were our buying some beverages, Linda and Nancy found an “around the world” cruise on the MSC Magnifica for what seemed to be a very good price.  Paul and Nancy had never sailed with MSC, but we had on two previous occasions (2012 and 2013).  We were on the MSC Poetia both times and had a good experience each time.  These were the first cruises we were ever on, and they were special Holistic Holiday at Sea programs organized by Taste of Health out of Miami, Florida.  The program featured plant-based food and provided its own ingredients, executive chef and assistants to supervise the regular kitchen workers.  It was basically a floating educational experience.  As best we could recall, the ship was very nice, the service was fine, and the staterooms were comfortable.  Indeed, we had a waiter who was outstanding!  We did not, however, have any experience with the usual ship food or entertainment, nor had we signed up for any shore excursions.  It had also been 10 years since with sailed with MSC, so there was a lot we did not know about what it would be like to be a regular passenger on one of their ships.

The world cruise was scheduled to depart Genoa, Italy on 6 January 2025 and take 116 nights to circumnavigate the globe back to Genoa, much of the trip south of equator.  Sailing west from Genoa through the western Mediterranean Sea and the Strait of Gibraltar into the Atlantic Ocean, the itinerary went to South America, around Cape Horn, and up the west side of South America before heading off to French Polynesia and points west, with stops in New Zeeland, Australia, and Malaysia, eventually coming up the Suez Canal into the eastern Mediterranean Sea and back Genoa.  21 countries and 50 ports-of-call.

We have never been south of the equator, and this seemed like a unique opportunity to visit places me might likely never get to otherwise.  And the price seemed really fair—almost too good to be true—but even “value for money” involves money, and it was enough money that we had our concerns about whether we would be comfortable and enjoy being on this ship for this long.

Sometime in the intervening months, Linda found that the MSC Magnifica was doing a 3-night round-trip sailing on January 11-13, 2024 from the Port of Miami to Nassau, Bahamas, and back.  The cruise started on a Friday afternoon and returned on Monday early morning.  The timing meant it was going to be a bit of a “party cruise” as people local to the area could take Friday afternoon and Monday off from work and go to the Bahamas on a big cruise ship.  That was not really relevant to us, however, as we wanted to check out the general condition of the ship, especially the staterooms, as well as the food, entertainment, and service.

On January 6th we flew into Tampa – St. Petersburg International Airport, where Paul and Nancy picked us up and drove us to their new home in the Mount Olive Shores North (MSON, pronounced “Moe-son” or “Moe-sen”) development in Polk City, Florida.  MOSN is an RV community that includes several lakes.  Some of the lots are just RV pads, with perhaps a small storage shed and/or a gazebo, while others lots have large homes with carports or garages for maximum-size Class A RVs.  This fenced/gated community has a strong HOA.  The homes and properties all have a certain look, albeit a nice one, and are all well-maintained.  Class A motorhomes and large 5th wheel travel trailers have to be under cover or inside while smaller motorhomes must be inside (out of sight).  Travel trailers are not permitted.

We were familiar with the Polk City area and MOSN, having wintered three times at the LeLynn RV Park and visited Paul and Nancy at MOSN when they had their previous Winnebago Tour motorhome on a lot there for one winter, and again when they had the American Coach Eagle motorhome on a different lot there.  But this was our first opportunity to see the lakeside house/property they had purchased.

 

L-2-R:  Paul, Nancy, and me (Bruce).  In the central plaza at Disney Springs.  The stairs to the closest parking garage are to the left.  (Photo by Linda)

We spent five (5) nights at Paul and Nancy’s home.  We had just spent all of November with them at Luxury RV Resort in Gulf Shores, Alabama, but it was nice to see them again.  As usually happens when we are together, Nancy and Linda did joint menu planning and took turns as chef and sous chef.  Paul and I did our part, and ate whatever we were served.

 

Almost every store at Disney Springs is interesting.  Some are unusual, and a few are amazing.  The M&M Store, was all three!

But first on the list of things to do was a visit to Disney Springs.  When we get together with Paul and Nancy in this area, we always visit Disney Springs at least once.  Once turned out to be all the time we had for this visit, but we did manage to find some things at the Marvel Studios store for our cruise in February on the Disney Cruise Line DREAM.  After all, the cruise included a “Marvel Day at Sea” and a “Pirates Day” themed events.  We had dinner there, somewhere close to the Cirque de Soleil building, but I don’t recall exactly where or what we had to eat.

 

L-2-R:  Paul, Linda, and Nancy pose in front of the Sorcerer Mickey LEGO statute in front of the Disney Springs LEGO store.  The Sorcerer’s Apprentice is still my all-time favorite Disney animation, but I grew up involved in classical music, so …

Marty and Pat, our friends and fellow Great Lakes Converted Coaches (GLCC) and Converted Coach Owners (CCO) members from Michigan, were at LeLynn again this year, so we arranged to have them over to Paul and Nancy’s one evening for dinner.  It was great to see them, and everyone seemed to enjoy the evening.  Our GLCC friends from northern Indiana, Pat and Vickie, were also in the area, staying at Walt Disney World’s Fort Wilderness campground resort, as they do every January (and have for quite some time).  We drove up there one day to visit with them.

 

 

 

 

 

The LEGO Store at Disney Springs has an amazing outdoor display of life-size and greater-than-life-size, figures.  Star Wars is heavily represented in this collection, but this serpent in the water has always been a favorite of mine.

Those are the highlights of these six (6) days; a bit of running around and socializing, with plenty of time to eat, relax by the lake, watch Morning Joe, and chat about RVing and cruising and being (mostly) retired.

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Note:  This post contains three (3) photos, all taken by Linda with a Google Pixel 6.

 

MONDAY 25 December 2023 — A Christmas Surprise

Although we do not celebrate Christmas (Easter, etc.) as religious holidays, we have always gathered as a family, if possible, on these days.  Since Madeline came into the world 11 years ago, it has been the family tradition to gather at her parent’s house (our son and daughter-in-law) on Christmas day.  The tradition has always been to have some form of breakfast meal before opening gifts.  That meal has occasionally involved some serious cooking, but more recently has been fruit and bagels with lots of choices of things to put on the bagels.

 

The family at the breakfast table, minus Linda (who is taking the photo).  L-2-R, Chris, Meghan, Madeline, Brendan, Shawna, Sadie and me (Bruce).  Marilyn’s right arm is visible in the lower left of the frame.  Note that Brendan’s family is sporting matching holiday pajamas.

 

Madeline poses in front of the Christmas tree, which is surrounded by wrapped gifts.

Christmas is still a big deal for the two youngest grand-daughters, as the previous photos show, but this Christmas held a special surprise; the revealing of the family cruise in late February 2024 on the Disney Crise Line ship DREAM.  The moment was met with the anticipated squeals of delight.

The girls were, understandably, very excited, especially the 11-year-old (Madeline) who exclaimed (in a high-pitched, excited voice) “I finally get to go on a cruise.”  This seemed to imply that she was “finally” getting to do something that she felt she deserved to do but had somehow been arbitrarily and unfairly denied the experience.  And she was very much aware that Linda and I (Ama and Apa to Sadie) had been on a couple of cruises recently and obviously had enjoyed the experience.  But she had been to Walt Disney World three times and had a very tangible understanding of what it meant to be doing something “Disney.”  We also knew she had been hoping to go a cruise someday (sooner rather than later) and we were pleased at her obvious excitement, and that we were able to make this happen sooner rather than later.

The itinerary was western Caribbean, including Cozumel, but that was not an important detail at this stage.  This was going to be all about the cruise, which would include a “Marvel Day at Sea” and a “Pirate Day.”  Arrrgh, matey.

 

Sadie takes her turn in front of the Christmas tree and gifts.

The 5-year-old (Sadie) was also very excited, of course, especially when she understood that whatever else this experience might be about, it was going to be a Disney-based family outing that included her parents, sister, and everyone else in the room, plus her cousin Katie, who was not able to make it home from North Carolina for the holidays.

Linda had booked the cruise, in consultation with all of the affected adults, and we were covering the cost of the four adjacent staterooms and the shore excursions, with everyone responsible for their own transportation and hotel costs.  So, it was really a big Christmas present for everyone, including us.  There will be blog posts on this family adventure sometime in the spring of 2024.

 

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Note:  There are 3 photos in this post, all taken by me (Bruce) on a Google Pixel 6 Pro.

 

SUNDAY 03 – SATURDAY 16 December 2023 — Getting back into home life

 

Sunday, December 3rd, 2023 — Getting the house back online.

When we are away from the house for more than a few days, I deactivate or adjust various things:

  1. I deactivate the water softener and chlorinator/filter by unplugging the AC power adapters.  The coin batteries remain in the controllers, but when the signal for a regeneration cycle, the motorized valves cannot respond.  Thus, nothing happens.
  2. I also turn off the UPS units for most of the electronics in the house. The exceptions are the one in the basement that powers the Xfinity gateway/WiFi-router and network switch, and the one by Linda’s desk in the kitchen, which powers the network switch that the whole-house generator communication module is plugged into.
  3. I also shut off the circuit breakers that feed the RV electrical outlets in our driveway.
  4. We might set some mechanical clock timers to control a couple of lights.
  5. We set all of the thermostats down and place them in a HOLD condition. (The thermostat in the workshop of the barn is set to maintain a temperature above freezing in the storeroom above it.)

Thus, one of the first things I have to do upon our return is reverse all of this.  I plug the water softener and chlorinator/filter back in, and will also typically initiate a regeneration cycle on one of them.  Which one depends on their remaining water treatment capacity.  UPS units are turned back on and electronics are powered up.  Thermostats are returned to the automatic/programmed operation, and light timers are put back in the switched position.  The RV outlet by the driveway in front of the house obviously gets turned on.

Apparently I have the (annoying) habit of laundering EVERYTHING upon our return from a trip.  In the case of RV travel, that includes towels and bedding in addition to clothes; sometimes even jackets, if I feel they need it.  This does not happen, however, in one day.  For one, it’s too much stuff that would take too much time and, for another, that much laundry at one go would overload the septic system.  And nobody wants that.  I suspect that I started on this task today, moving everything to the basement, sorting it, and selecting a load or two to start.

 

Monday, December 4th, 2023 — Chores, Chores, and more Chores

Whatever else we did today, I suspect that I spent part of it continuing to do the laundry.  I don’t mind doing the laundry, in fact I somewhat enjoy it.  In any event, it has to be done and Linda handles the kitchen pretty much by herself, so this duty falls to me.  It’s also likely that I powered up my laptop computer, downloaded e-mails, and started copying photos from our various devices to our NAS.

 

Tuesday, December 5th, 2023 — Winterizing the Airstream Flying Cloud travel trailer

I do not recall why I waited, but according to our calendar I winterized the Airstream travel trailer today.  My best guess as to why I waited a few days was that I had too much else to do on Sunday and Monday immediately after returning home, but it’s also possible that the weather today was more amenable.  Whatever the case, absent any other information to the contrary, I will just have to accept that today was the day for this task.  This is not one of my favorite RV maintenance tasks, but it is what it is and it has to be done, as the RV portion of our barn is not climate-controlled.  Actually, they main thing I really don’t like is having to do it in the cold.

 

This is a photo of the internals of the thermostat in the shop portion of the barn.  I don’t recall why I photographed it, but I obviously removed the cover to check something.  As it turned out, it is wired correctly, and it works just fine.

For the rest of this time period, we attended to various things.  I obviously put the Airstream travel trailer back in the barn once it was winterized.  Linda had a routine medical appointment, did some child-care for the two younger grand-daughters, resumed walking with her friend, Diane.  She also did some accounting work for the bakery, and booked shore excursions for the Disney Cruise Line DREAM in late February of next year.  (NOTE:  The two youngest grand-daughters did NOT know about this cruise yet, but I did not upload this post until May 2024.)

We also had two different HVAC service companies at the house; Lakeside Service takes care of our BOSCH hot-water baseboard heating system, and Schutz Heating & Cooling takes care of our Mitsubishi-Trane Heat Pump system, which they installed.  We had dinner with friends (and fellow Prevost converted motorcoach owners), Chuck and Barbara, and with our friend, Kate.  We also opened up our Boondockers Welcome site to accommodate a special request from a couple who had stayed with us before.  They needed a place to camp for a few nights while they took care of some medical issues at the University of Michigan Hospital.  It turns out that we are one of the few good options for this situation, and we have had other RVers stay here for the same reason.

 

Saturday, December 16th, 2023 — Cloning, ham radio, and a concert

Earlier in the week, I took the 1 TB Samsung 870 EVO SSD (solid state drive) out of my ASUS laptop computer and tried to clone it to a 2 TB version of the same drive.  I wasn’t sure I had done it correctly, so I arranged to go over to Mike’s house (W8XH, from SLAARC, the South Lyon Area Amateur Radio Club).  He did the clone of my original HDD to the 1 TB SSD a few years ago and used his equipment to do this one.  While I was there, I had a chance to look at some amateur (ham) radio gear that was for sale and for which he was acting as custodian.

 

This Kenwood transceiver caught my eye, but I was equally interested in the HP Signal Generator underneath it.  Ultimately, I had to pass on buying anything as I am not currently active enough in the hobby to justify buying more equipment.

In the evening, we attended the Holiday “Pops” (popular music) concert of the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra (AASO) at Hill Auditorium on the University of Michigan – Ann Arbor main campus.  The orchestra was good, but our main reason for being there was the Ann Arbor Youth Chorus standing behind the orchestra in the photo below.

 

The AASO and AAYC in concert.  Our middle grand-daughter, Mads, is in the last row, 6th from the left.  She was still 10 on this date, but would turn 11 a week later.

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NOTE:  This post has three (3) photographs with captions and some narrative.  Photos by Linda taken with a Google Pixel 6.

 

SATURDAY 16 September to TUESDAY 26 September, 2023 — At home between trips

Life returned to “normal” for a few weeks following our Alaska—Hawaii cruise.  That meant walks in the park for Linda as well as accounting work for the bakery, and chores around the house for both of us.  One of those chores was getting our Airstream Flying Cloud 27 Front-Bed Twin travel trailer ready for some Fall travel.

We were no sooner home from our Alaska-Hawaii cruise on the NCL SPIRIT, however, when Linda got the idea that it might be nice to get the whole family to take a cruise together.  That sounded good to me and the obvious choice was, of course, Disney Cruise Line.  The obvious time would be university spring break 2024, both for the two university professors (our son and his wife), as well as our son-in-law, who manages a restaurant in Ann Arbor, Michigan (where things slow down a bit during spring break).  The two youngest grand-daughters would miss a little school, but they are both excellent students and would not miss anything that could not be made up quickly and easily.  Linda’s sister is essentially retired with a fairly flexible schedule, but eldest grand-daughter (Katie) would have to take a few days off of work.  Presuming everyone wanted to go, and could make it, there would be 10 of us!

By September 27, Linda had gotten a commitment from everyone for a 5-night cruise on the Disney DREAM, departing Port Everglades in Hollywood (Fort Lauderdale), Florida on February 23, 2024 and returning there on Wednesday, February 28.  She booked four (4) adjacent staterooms which could be connected in pairs and would allow all four (4) balconies to be opened to make one large gathering space.  Of the ten of us, only myself, Linda, and her sister had cruised before, so this would be a totally new experience for everyone else.  We were very excited about this, but did not reveal it to the two youngest grand-daughters until Christmas Day, at which point they were 5 and 11 years old.

 

Linda tries to walk at least once a week with her friend, Diane.  Weather permitting, they usually walk at Kensington Metro Park as it is located between their respective homes, but otherwise at 12 Oaks Mall in NOVI.  They often see Sandhill Cranes and other wildlife, like the Great Blue Heron shown here.   (Interesting factoid:  the city of NOVI (“know – vie”) was named for the NO VI (number six) stop on the stagecoach trail from Detroit Michigan to Lansing Michigan (the State Capital).

 

Me (Bruce) on the roof of our Airstream travel trailer.  Unlike the bus, I very rarely get up on the trailer roof; there isn’t much room to walk around and I have to be careful to only put pressure on the ribs of the structure.

 

Fall was definitely here by the 25th of the month.  Our Crimson King Norway Maple tree has a lot of leaves, which it generously shares with our rear deck each year starting around this time.

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Note:  This is the 16th of 16 posts about our 21-day trip that included a 17-day (16-night) cruise on the Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) ship SPIRIT from Vancouver, British Columbia north along the inside passage to Sitka, Alaska, and then across the North Pacific Ocean to the Hawaiian Islands, before ending in Honolulu, Oahu.  This post has 13 photographs with captions and some narrative.  Photos by me (Bruce) taken with SONY alpha 6400 or Google Pixel 6 Pro unless otherwise indicated.  (Photos by Linda taken with a Google Pixel 6.)

 

FRIDAY 15 September 2023 — (T20-21,C17) Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii and home

This was the 20th day of our trip, and the 17th and final day of our cruise.  We arrived in the early morning hours at the cruise port in Honolulu, Oahu, our final port-of-call in the Hawaiian Islands.  (It was a 21-day trip in total, as we would not arrive back at our home in Michigan until the following day, but I cover a few highlights of that at the end of this post.)

On the last day of a cruise, passengers must disembark fairly early in the day so the crew can “turn the ship around” and get it ready for the next set of passengers, who will start their embarkation by late morning.  When leaving from and returning to ports in the continental USA, we can usually arrange flights back to Michigan that allow us plenty of time to get to the airport without having to wait too long to board our plane after getting there.  In the case of this cruise, however, the most “reasonable” flight we could book departed at around 5 PM local time.  That meant we had to figure out what to do during the day, which included what to do with our luggage, a not insignificant issue.

The easiest solution was to book a motorcoach shore excursion that included transportation to the Honolulu International Airport, with our luggage safely stored onboard the motorcoach until we were dropped off at our terminal.  Yes, pre- and post-cruise shore excursions are a “thing,” as are pre- and post-tour transportation options.  Actually, any service a cruise line can provide, or product they can sell, to extract a bit more money from their customers is a thing.  In this case, however, it was an excellent option for us.  Although we had been to Pearl Harbor on our last visit to Hawaii, it was the shore excursion that best met the needs of passengers, like us, with flights departing after 3 PM local time.  And so, we went to Pearl Harbor.

Although still very much an active military base, the Pearl Harbor National Memorial is an interesting, historically important, and somber place that draws some 2 Million visitors every year.  Perhaps we were just tired from the cruise, but it seemed like half of those people were there today, or perhaps just half of the people from our cruise ship.  They weren’t, of course, but the place did seem crowed.  Since we had already seen many of the major sites that make up the National Memorial, we were not motivated to spend more money beyond our entrance fee just to stand in lines and deal with crowds to try to see them again.  We decided to just stroll the grounds instead, read placards, take a few photos, and find something to eat.  Our biggest problem was finding someplace to sit (at all, never mind comfortable) and stay out of the sun.  As we’ve gotten older, however, I think we’ve gotten better at just quietly “passing the time” when we find ourselves in situations that require it, or at least benefit from adopting that attitude.

Here are a few photos from that day, followed by an epilogue to wrap up our 21-day trip.

 

Our ship was already at the dock when I took this photo around 6 AM local time.

 

I am always interested in structures, machines, etc.  Shown here is a service ramp that has already been deployed from the terminal to the ship.

 

The famous Diamond Head (extinct volcano) at the far east end of Waikiki Beach, backlit by the sunrise around 6:30 AM.

 

Another view looking towards Diamond Head, which is towards the right edge of the frame at the horizon, showing some of the skyscrapers in this part of Honolulu.  These could be hotels, apartment/condos, or office buildings.  (Photo by Linda)

 

Since we had to disembark early, we were up and dressed early to get a bite to eat and have one last stroll around the ship.  At ~6:30 AM we had the walking track on Deck 13 (ABIR) to ourselves.  The pool has been covered with netting to keep people out, or catch anyone who might fall in.

 

A panorama composited from five (5) images of the harbor off the port side of the ship.

 

Another early morning photo from the starboard side walking track with the harbor behind Bruce.  (Photo by Linda)

 

Yes, this is a photo of the TV screen in our stateroom.

Regarding the above photo, the left side of the screen clearly shows the time to be 17:01 UTC and the upper right corner shows the time to be 07:01 (local) establishing the 10-hour time difference between Honolulu and Greenwich, England (where Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) and UTC are usually the same).

UTC (Universal Time Coordinated) is a time standard that never changes (no daylight savings time nonsense), while GMT is a time zone, in which Greenwich, England is located.  We live in the Eastern Time zone (EST or EDT, depending on the time of year), which is UTC minus 5 this time of year (Daylight savings time was still in effect in the USA).  By the time we arrived back in Michigan, our plane (and us) had been in six (6) time zones over ~ 9-1/2 hours in the air.

The screen also shows our position at 21 degrees 18.12 minutes North Latitude and 157 degrees 51.92 minutes West Longitude.  Linda captured an image (not shown here) of the lower left corner of the screen indicating that our total distance traveled (in the ship) was 4,502 nautical miles (5,180.8 statute miles).  The flight distance from DTW (Detroit) to YVR (Vancouver) is ~1,959 miles, and the flight distance from HNL (Honolulu) to DTW (Detroit) is ~ 4,475 miles.  Thus, the total distance traveled on this trip, not including excursions, was ~ 11,614 statute miles, or ~553 miles per day on average.

 

Welcome to the Pearl Harbor National Memorial, which includes Memorials for the USS Arizona, USS Oklahoma, and USS Utah, all lost on the December 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor.

 

An anchor that was salvaged from the USS Arizona.

 

The low white building with the curved roof is the USS Arizona Memorial.  It straddles the ship in its final resting place and has a glass floor, allowing visitors to view the remains of part of the ship.  We visited this Memorial on our previous visit.  (Photo by Linda)

 

A circular courtyard that surrounds a relief map of Pearl Harbor, and has plaques with the names of the lost, provided some place to sit and contemplate the events of the day that pulled the USA into World Ward II.  (Photo by Linda)

 

A broader view of the grounds at the Pearl Harbor National Memorial.  The USS Arizona Memorial is visible at the left edge of the frame.  The site is beautifully maintained, as you would expect, and is accessible for those visitors with mobility issues.  I think the exception is the submarine tour, as it involves climbing stairs and, ABIR, ladders.  We toured the submarine on our previous visit to the National Memorial.

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Epilogue (T20-21) — Friday evening 15 September & Saturday 16 September

With our drop-off at the Honolulu International Airport around 3 PM, our NCL SPIRIT cruise was officially concluded.  We were no longer “cruisers,” just ordinary travelers waiting to fly home.  The drop-off point was a “back” entrance to the terminal and it was a bit confusing at first figuring out where to go once we were inside.  But we figured it out in short enough order, and began the process of checking our two larger suitcases, clearing through the TSA checkpoint, finding our gate, and waiting to be called to board the airplane.  The airport was busy;  the Hawaiian Islands are a popular tourist destination, and Honolulu International Airport is the major way most people arrive and depart.

Time zones are fascinating, and while travel across them can be interesting, it can also be challenging, especially as regards sleeping.  (As noted in several posts, I’ve also had an issue merging photos from three different devices in correct chronological sequence.  This has been due to different devices using different time references when naming and tagging image files.)  ABIR, our Delta Airlines flight was scheduled to depart at around 5 PM Honolulu time.  At 5 PM in Honolulu, it was already 10 PM in Detroit, Michigan, and within a couple of hours of taking off, it was Saturday, 16 September at home.

We had an approximately 4,500-mile trip ahead of us at an average (air) speed of ~500 mph, so roughly a 9-hour flight plus a 30-minute allowance for ground operations (takeoff and landing combined).  The actual time, gate-to-gate, could have been more or less depending on prevailing wind speeds and directions at flight altitude (which tend to be from west to east, so a favorable tailwind), or the need to detour around severe weather.  That put our estimated time of arrival at Detroit Metropolitan Airport (DTW) at 6:30 AM local time.  Realistically, that meant we should be off the plane, luggage collected, and ready for pickup by around 7:30 AM, but I no longer recall exactly what time we reached the gate.  Early, in any event, but not hugely inconvenient for our son, who lives about 30 minutes from the airport, and had agreed to fetch us upon our arrival.

As with past cruises, we had one of our children take us to the airport and pick us up upon our return.  That has usually been our daughter, but for this trip it was our son.  We drove our F-150 to his house on departure day and he chauffeured us from/to there.  Part of the reason for this, was that he and his wife wanted to get the truck “detailed” while we were away.  They had borrowed it during the summer, along with the Airstream travel trailer, to use for a family vacation and wanted to get it cleaned up as a “thank you” for letting them use it.  We did not expect them to do this, of course, but we were not going to say “no” either.  They also live closer to the airport than our daughter does.

Back at his house the rest of the family was awake, so we got to see our two youngest grand-daughters and tell everyone a little bit about our trip.  We eventually left for home and arrived to find Cabella (the cat who is not our cat, or so we say) waiting for us, even though she had lived outside for the entire duration of our trip.  (She is an outside cat who has become an outside/inside cat while we are trying to figure out how to take care of her in a way that works for her and us.)  Our neighbor, Mike, had kept an eye on the house (and the cat) while we were away, making sure she had water and refilling her automatic food feeder as needed.

I always like to launder all of the clothes we have had with us on any trip (short or long), but that was a task that would wait until tomorrow and get spread over a couple of days so as not to overload the septic system (or me).  What could not wait, was putting the water treatment system back in full operation.  I shut it off whenever we are gone for more than few days so the tanks do not regenerate, which puts a lot of water into the sump.  I recall that we talked about stopping at a Panera to get something to eat, but I don’t recall what we actually did for lunch or dinner.  I suspect we found something to eat for dinner in our refrigerator and/or panty as Linda usually plans for that when we go on shorter trips.  We had, after all, eaten out every meal for the last 21 days.  For longer trips, we try to use up any fresh food before we leave.

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Note:  This is the 15th of 16 posts about our 21-day trip that included a 17-day (16-night) cruise on the Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) ship SPIRIT from Vancouver, British Columbia to Honolulu, Oahu.  This post has 20 photographs with captions and some narrative.  Photos taken by me (Bruce) with a SONY alpha 6400 or Google Pixel 6 Pro unless otherwise indicated.  (Photos by Linda taken with a Google Pixel 6.)

 

THURSDAY 14 September 2023 — (T19,C16) Hilo, Hawai’i, Hawaii and Mona Kea

This was the 19th day of our trip, and the 16th day of our cruise and saw us arrive in the cruise port at Hilo, Hawai’i (the Big Island), Hawaii (the State of).  Our main activity was a shore excursion that stopped at Rainbow Falls Lookout before taking us to the observatories atop Mona Kea (also spelled “Muanakea”).

At 13,803 feet (4,207.3 m) AMSL, which is also its “wet prominence,” the summit of Mona Kea (Muanakea) is the highest point of land in the Hawaiian Islands, and the second highest island mountain summit on earth.  From Wikipedia:  “Because the Hawaiian Islands slope deep into the ocean, Mauna Kea has a dry prominence of 9,330 m (30,610 ft) (it’s height if the ocean was “drained” of water. This dry prominence is taller than Mount Everest’s height above sea level of 8,848.86 m (29,032 ft), so Everest would have to include whole continents in its foothills to exceed Mauna Kea’s dry prominence. …”  The highest summit on an island is Puncak Jaya in New Guinea, Indonesia, which stands at an impressive elevation of 4,884 meters (16,024 feet) above mean sea level.

 

Our first view of Hawai’i (the Big Island) and Mona Kea.  This panoramic photo is a composite of five (5) images.  Mona Loa is just visible at the left edge of the frame.

 

Sunrise lights up Mona Kea as the NCL SPIRIT slowly motors towards the cruise port in Hilo, Hawai’i, Hawaii.  The photo is 900×678 pixels and can be viewed at full-resolution on compatible devices.  (Photo by Linda)

 

A selfie at Rainbow Falls Overlook in Hilo, Hawai’i, HI.

 

A flower along the trail at Rainbow Falls Overlook.  (Photo by Linda)

 

We always try to take a photo of signs to identify where we are.  If we can get a photo with a clock in it, so much the better as it helps me time sync photos to local time.  (Photo by Linda)

 

Rainbow Fall in Hilo, Hawai’i, HI.

 

I’m holding grand-daughter Sadie’s “Apa and Ama” artwork to mark our location at the Mona Kea ranger station / store (the building behind me).  We are already at/above the level of the clouds.

 

The Mona Kea ranger station/store/museum with our tour van in the front parking lot.  From a web search:  “The Onizuka Center for International Astronomy Visitor Information Station (VIS) on Maunakea is open every day of the year from 9am to 9pm.  Located at the 9,200 foot (2,804 meter) level, they provide health, safety, and other information about Maunakea along with access control.  The road up the mountain is open to any/all visitors up this building.  Beyond this point, permission is needed and a 4-wheel drive vehicle is required.  Our tour van met both of those criteria.

 

The VIS has a store with various Mona Kea and astronomy related merchandise.  It is also a small museum focused on telescopes and other things astronomical.

 

One of the radio telescopes on top of Mona Kea.  (Photo by Linda)

 

The National Radio Astronomy Observatory is a joint operation of several universities under the auspices of the National Science Foundation.

 

Our tour guide presents information on the various rocks that make up Mona Kea.  (Photo by Linda)

 

Our tour guide had a Mauna Kea (Mona Kea) sign for photo ops for his customers.  Linda is holding grand-daughter Sadie’s “Apa and Ama” artwork.  (Photo taken with Linda’s phone, but obviously taken by someone else, probably our tour guide.)

 

A panoramic view of several telescopes made using the panorama feature of the Pixel 6 Pro.   This photo file is 1080×271 pixels and can be viewed at full-resolution on compatible devices.

 

This is a composite of two (2) images, showing several different types of telescopes on Mona Kea, how they are situated, and the road(s) that are used to access them.  Not all of the telescopes have a 360-degree clear view of the horizon.  They are situated based on available real estate and what part of the sky they need to be able to see.

 

By now it should be obvious that we were there, but here’s another selfie, just to prove the point.

 

The same two observatories as the previous photo without us in the frame.

 

This panorama is a composite of eight (8) images.  The photo file is 1920×363 pixels, so there is a lot of detail that can be seen on a device with appropriate screen resolution.  There are at least 15 telescopes of various kinds visible in the image, along with a portion of the amazing road system that winds up to and around the observatories and support buildings.

 

Last, but not least, a photo of the actual summit of Mona Kea, several hundred feet above where we are standing, and higher than the highest observatory on the mountain.  Why?  Because the summit is a sacred site to indigenous Hawaiians that is used for special ceremonies throughout the year.  As such, it is not open to the public at any time.

 

We are back on the ship in the theater at the conclusion of the evening’s entertainment at ~10:15 PM.  If was the final ensemble performance of the cruise and featured most of the performers who had entertained us throughout the last couple of weeks.  The performances were of a high enough caliber that we were always entertained.  This final performance was over, so cameras where very evident as passengers tried to capture the celebratory moment.  I took this photo to provide some context for the look of the theater.

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Note:  This is the 14th of 16 posts about our 21-day trip that included a 17-day (16-night) cruise on the Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) ship SPIRIT from Vancouver, British Columbia to Honolulu, Oahu.  This post has 20 photographs with captions and some narrative.  Photos by me (Bruce) using a SONY alpha 6400 or Google Pixel 6 Pro unless otherwise indicated.  (Photos by Linda taken with a Google Pixel 6.)

 

WEDNESDAY 13 September 2023 — (T18,C15) Kahului, Maui, Hawaii

Our ship arrived in the harbor at Kahului, Maui early this morning.  As was well-reported in the news, Maui had recently suffered a devastating fire in and around Lahaina.  This obviously impacted some of the planned shore excursions, but we did not detect anyone being upset about changes in planned offerings.  Indeed, tourists were being encouraged to visit Maui and support the local economy, but the Lahaina area was obviously off limits.  Any disappointment for cruise passengers was inconsequential compared to the loss and suffering of the impacted islanders.

Our main activity today was a shore excursion with “Hike Maui” east along the first portion of “the road to Hana.”  We were transported in vans and had an excellent tour guide.  There was a lot of walking, but it was mostly easy and it was nice to get off the ship and use our legs to walk around town and in the woods.

 

The NCL SPIRIT approaches Kahului, Maui, Hawaii at sunrise.  (Photo by Linda)

 

Linda soaks up the sunrise as it floods the port side of the ship inbound to Kahului, Maui.

 

The mountains loom behind Kahului, Maui and make their own weather, as mountains are want to do.

 

This sign says it all:  “Aloha, Welcome to Kahului, Maui, Hawaii” with the NCL SPIRIT in the background.  We enjoyed our time on this ship.  It’s the smallest ship in the NCL fleet, but it’s still pretty big.

 

I hold Sadie’s “Apa and Ama” artwork by a large map of Maui, Hawaii.  Notice how the island resembles a person in lying on their side with the head at the upper left and facing down and slightly left.  The cruise port at Kahului is in the curve of the neck on the back (north/upper) side.  Most of the head is high mountains.  The town of Lahaina, which suffered the worst of the recent fire, is more or less directly opposite Kahului on the other side of the central mountains.  Travel to that area was not allowed, of course, as the area is still recovering and rebuilding.  (Photo by Linda)

 

From a web search:  Maui is an island formed by two volcanoes: Haleakala and Mauna Kahalawai. Haleakala is a 10,000 foot shield volcano that means “House of the Sun” and had its recent eruptions between 1480 and 1600.  Maui is an island formed by two volcanoes: Haleakala and Mauna Kahalawai. Haleakala is a 10,000 foot shield volcano that means “House of the Sun” and had its recent eruptions between 1480 and 160012. Mauna Kahalawai is an eroded shield volcano also known as the West Maui Mountains (the “head”) that last erupted 320,000 years ago. Maui does not have any active volcanoes, unlike Hawaiʻi Island, which has two of the world’s most active volcanoes: Kīlauea and Maunaloa.

 

We went on a shore excursion with “Hike Maui.”  Our first stop was the town of Paia.  From a web search:  Pā’ia is  a census-designated place on Maui, Hawaii with a population of 2,470 as of the 2020 census.  It is home to several restaurants, art galleries, surf shops and other tourist-oriented businesses. It was formerly home to the Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Mill from 1880 to 2000.  Pā’ia is the first town on the Hana Highway when heading eastbound towards Hana.  It was cute, inviting, and very walkable.  “Surf shops” were much in evidence.

 

We came across a ukelele shop while strolling around downtown Paia.  Yes, Ukuleles really are a thing in the Hawaiian Islands, and this shop had a lot of them!  They were all exquisite instruments whose craftsmanship was obvious, and are sold to customers all over the world.  They ranged in price quite a bit but some of them were, as you might expect, very expensive.

 

The front façade of the Mele Ukulele shop.  I had a nice conversation with the owner, as much about photography and cameras (he was also a SONY shooter) as about ukuleles and living on tropical paradise island.

 

“Hike Maui” has taken us to a bamboo grove.  Much of the bamboo was very tall, as shown in the next photo.  The tour provided water and a light lunch, which was appreciated.

 

The tour guide used Linda’s Pixel 6 to take this photo in which we are dwarfed by a stand of bamboo.  It was nice to have a photo of the two of us that wasn’t a selfie.  (Photo by Linda, sort of)

 

The plant life in Hawaii is remarkable; unique, diverse, beautiful and fragile (to outside negative influences).

 

Our tour guide stops to explain some plant life along the trail.  (Photo by Linda)

 

I just liked this plant, photographically:  An interesting backlit pattern in contrasting shades of green.

 

We pause on our way to the waterfall and wading pool for photo op.  (Photo by Linda’s phone, but someone else obviously took the photo.)

 

On part of a hike to a small waterfall and swimming hole we had to go through this tunnel of twisted branches.  This was one of just many interesting things that were part of the hike.

 

We always appreciate good signposts to help us get where we need to go.

 

This view seemed to be quintessentially Maui; a rugged coast with a white sand beach set off by beautiful blue and green water and a blue sky with some puffy clouds.  If you look carefully at the white sand beach, you will also see a large gathering of very large sea turtles.

 

A zoomed in view of a section of the beach showing the very large sea turtles resting on the sand.  This section of the beach was closed off and posted “No Admittance” but we saw people ignoring that, both from land and from the sea.  (Photo by Linda)

 

I included this photo to show that Hawaiians’ also have a sense of humor.

 

We are back on the ship and having diner around 7:30 PM.  We did not do specialty dining very often, but we got two dinner meals as part of our fare, so we apparently used our second one this evening to dine at Teppanyaki, the Japanese table side grill.  The food was excellent and the chef was very entertaining.  (Photo by Linda)

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Note:  This is the 13th of 16 posts about our 21-day trip that included a 17-day (16-night) cruise on the Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) ship SPIRIT from Vancouver, British Columbia to Honolulu, Oahu.  This post has 4 photographs with captions and some narrative.  Photos were taken by me (Bruce) using a SONY alpha 6400 or Google Pixel 6 Pro unless otherwise indicated.  (Photos by Linda taken with a Google Pixel 6.)

 

TUESDAY 12 September 2023 — (T17,C14) At-Sea from Nawiliwili, Kauai to Kahului, Maui, Hawaiian Islands

Our ship spent last night at the dock in Nawiliwili.  This allowed for extended time ashore, although we did not avail ourselves of that opportunity as we already had a long day ashore.  We departed Nawiliwili late morning, so there might have been some morning shore excursions today.  If so, we did not sign up for one.   Our next port-of-call was Kahului, Maui with arrival scheduled for early tomorrow morning.  As such, this would essentially be a partial sea day with an overnight sail and early morning arrival, as usual.

 

A last look at the harbor in Nawiliwili, Kauai, Hawaii as the NCL SPIRIT moves away from the dock.

 

One last look at Kauai before going to lunch and settling in for the overnight cruise to Maui.  (Photo by Linda)

 

A 2-image composite photo of this evening’s sunset.  (It’s been post-processed to bring out some of the color.  I hope I didn’t overdo it.)

 

Based on the timestamp (05:39 on the 13th, so ~ 7:40 PM today), we had dinner a bit later than usual this evening.  This photo indicates that we dined at “Onda by Scarpetta,” the Italian specialty restaurant on the NCL SPIRIT.  Linda seems pleased with what has been set in front of her.  ABWR, the meal was excellent, as it has been with every specialty restaurant meal we have had on NCL ships (the main dining rooms food has also been quite good).  I think we went to the late performance in the theater afterwards, but photos/videos are not allowed during performances (even though we always see people taking them).  Not that I would take them anyway; we go there to relax and be entertained.

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Note:  This is the 12th of 16 posts about our 21-day trip that included a 17-day (16-night) cruise on the Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) ship SPIRIT from Vancouver, British Columbia to Honolulu, Oahu.  This post has 26 photographs with captions and some narrative.  I think I finally figured out the file naming/numbering scheme used on the Google Pixel 6 / 6 Pro phones and how to relate that to the EXIF date/time stamps on the phone and SONY a6400 photos.  Which is to say, the photos in this post should be in the correct chronological order and I know what time of day (local) they were taken.  Photos taken by me (Bruce) using a SONY alpha 6400 or Google Pixel 6 Pro unless otherwise indicated.  (Photos by Linda taken with a Google Pixel 6.)

 

MONDAY 11 September 2023 — (T16,C13) Nawiliwili, Kauai, Hawaii and McBryde National Tropical Botanical Garden.

After spending five (5) nights, four (4) full days, and part of two (2) other days crossing the North Pacific Ocean, we finally sighted land early this morning.  It was the 16th day of our trip, and the 13th day of our cruise.  By 6:30 AM we were making our way into the harbor at Nawiliwili, Kauai, Hawaii, but we sighted land well before that.  Although I had been to Hawaii once before, and Linda had been here twice, It would be our first visit to this island, as well as to Maui, and we were excited to see them.

Our main activity today was a shore excursion to the McBryde National Tropical Botanical Garden (McBryde Garden or MNTBG), with a stop along the seashore on the way there.  Our guide for the tour of the Garden was a former director of the facility.  It was obvious that he really knew his stuff, and still had a great passion for all things botanical.

 

The NCL SPIRIT enters the harbor at Nawiliwili, Kauai, Hawaii.  (Photo by Linda)

 

A golf course at the entrance to the Nawiliwili, Kauai harbor.  Almost makes me want to take up golf.  Nope.

 

The “Apa and Ama were here” photo from the harbor at Nawiliwili with the marina and mountains behind.  (Photo by Linda)

 

A scenic stop along the coast on our drive to McBryde Garden.

 

Another photo from the scenic stop, looking in the other direction up the coast.  (Photo by Linda)

 

Life seems to be everywhere in the Hawaiian Islands.  (Photo by Linda)

 

Another scenic stop, this time after entering the McBryde National Tropical Botanical Garden property.  (Photo by Linda)

 

The contrast of colors and textures caught my eye.  MNTPG.

 

An interesting flowering plant at the MNTBG.

 

There are small frogs on the Lilley pads at MNTBG.  (This photo is 900×600 pixels.  Click to view full size on an appropriate device.)

 

This fruit was larger than appears (the leaves were really big!).  MNTBG.

 

We don’t see plants like this back in Michigan, except in greenhouse environments.  MNTBG.  (Photo by Linda)

 

The variety of green plant leaves provides a nice backdrop for the very colorful flowers at the MNTBG.  (Photo by Linda)

 

Our guide for the McBryde Garden tour was a former director of the NTBG.  He was very knowledgeable, and clearly still had a deep passion for plants and for the Garden.  Here he is cutting up a large piece of fruit, which grows there, so we can all try a piece.

 

A “walled” garden space at MNTBG, with the walls made of plants.

 

Another interesting plant at MNTBG.

 

And yet another interesting plant in flower at MNTBG.

 

Much of McBryde Garden had a very natural look and feel.  There were places, such as this courtyard, that were clearly designed and built to provide architectural elements within the landscape.  The wavy structure down the center of the photo carries running water.

 

Every now and then we have to stop and take a selfie.  We are not very good at it, but it’s required, you know.  MNTBG.  (Photo by Linda)

 

A different view of the same end of the courtyard showing the statue and bench.  The “walls” of this courtyard are plant material again.  MNTBG.

 

These very large trees had amazing, exposed root systems.  For a sense of scale, the little blue patch at the center of the base is me in my blue Columbia shirt.  (Photo by Linda)

 

Linda stands by a different tree (same species) as the previous photo.  MNTBG.

 

We encountered quite a few chickens on Kauai, including here at McBryde Garden.  The egg-shaped rocks among the roots are referred to as “dinosaur eggs.”  (Photo by Linda)

 

The green leaves with white dots caught my eye, and reminded me of “candy dots” that I would peel off of a paper backing as a child.  A quick Google search revealed that they are still very much available.  MNTBG.

 

This map of McBryde Garden should probably have come first, but we came across it at the end of our tour.  As shown, a small river (creek, stream) runs through the full length of the property.

 

One last flower photo as we wrap up at McBryde Garden.

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Note:  This is the 11th of 16 posts about our 21-day trip that included a 17-day (16-night) cruise on the Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) ship SPIRIT from Vancouver, British Columbia to Honolulu, Oahu.  This post has six (6) photographs with captions and some narrative.  Photos were taken by me (Bruce) using a SONY alpha 6400 or Google Pixel 6 Pro unless otherwise noted.  (Photos by Linda were taken with a Google Pixel 6.)

 

WEDNESDAY 06 – SUNDAY 10 September 2023 — (T11-15,C8-12) At Sea on the North Pacific Ocean, and a Death at Sea (not one us)

The NCL SPIRIT departed Sitka, Alaska late yesterday afternoon and headed out into the open ocean for what would be our first of five (5) nights crossing the North Pacific Ocean to Kauai, Hawaii.  Once out of sight of land, we would be at sea for all or part of six (6) days, and not see land it again until the morning of Monday, 11 September, when we were scheduled to arrive in the port at Nawiliwili, Kauai, Hawaii.

Our main reason for doing this cruise was to see southeast coastal Alaska for the first time and make a return visit to the Hawaiian Islands, but this time on a cruise ship.  Another reason for doing this cruise was that we had originally booked the same cruise on the same ship for June 2025, but with the itinerary starting in Hawaii and ending in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.  That cruise was canceled by NCL, but Linda found this one in time to book a balcony stateroom in an acceptable location on the ship.

Another reason for doing this cruise at this time, as opposed to some unspecified future date, was to see how we would do spending extended days at sea.  Early in 2023 Linda (and Nancy) had booked a 4-month world cruise, starting in early January 2025, on the MSC Magnifica and we wanted to determine if we would be okay with extended sea days while we still had time to cancel that booking and get a full refund of our deposit.

I can report that we were fine being on the open ocean, out of sight of land and even other marine traffic, for an extended time.  We were favored with good weather, which probably helped, but we have been on cruise ships in less-than-ideal conditions, so we already knew we could handle that, at least for 48 hours.  While ports-of-call are usually new places to visit, with lots of opportunities for new, interesting, and even exciting experiences, cruise ships are fundamentally floating cities, with all of the necessities of life, i.e., housekeeping, interior climate control, food–water–sanitation, and lots of activities and amenities such as: entertainment, games, lectures, libraries, music venues, exercise rooms and classes, casinos and, of course, bars and lounges.  (I borrowed a book on the Bauhaus and managed to read it during the cruise.)  And shopping (lots of shopping).  Most ships have a walking track or promenade, so we could stroll there as an alternative to walking the shop and restaurant decks.  And we had our stateroom where we could relax, read, work puzzles, or just rest.  Without the hustle and bustle of going ashore and being part of shore excursions, we found our days at sea quite relaxing.  When the weather was amenable, we could sit on our private balcony, or go enjoy coffee in a more public, but still relaxing area of the ship.  Indeed, for many people, us included, the ship itself is an enjoyable experience.

What we did not do is “document” our time at sea, in part because the only things that change about the ocean are the weather and waves.  Sunrise and sunset are especially nice times, of course, and we hoped to see amazing stars at night.  But we knew from our Panama Canal cruise that the sky might be obscured by clouds, and the outside lighting on cruise ships never really turns off (presumably for visibility and safety) so the “dark sky” experience is elusive to non-existent.  It was also difficult to get photos that did not include other guests, especially their faces.  But at its core, while photography is a pleasurable hobby, it can be a bit of work, we just wanted to relax.

 

Following are a few photos to give you a sense of our time at sea on the North Pacific Ocean.

 

On our third full day at sea, Linda relaxes on our balcony with a book as the ship glides along under fair weather.  These large cruise ships are very stable and move smoothly through the water, all while traveling at 20 – 22 knots.

 

Linda pauses by the walking track for a photo.

 

A selfie sitting in the main theater waiting for the second show of the evening’s entertainment.  We got there early to get good seats, thus the empty seats behind us.

 

A panoramic composite of 8 images showing storm clouds brewing on the horizon at sunset.  I “enhanced” this photo in post-processing to bring out some of the colors (artistic license) but hopefully have not overdone it.

 

In spite of relatively good weather, we did have occasional rainclouds.  As shown here, we were treated to a double rainbow one day.  (Again, I have also used my artistic license to “enhance” this photo in post-processing to bring out the rainbows.  Again, hopefully have not overdone it.

 

This is the book I checked out of the ship’s library.  Though small, the library had a (perhaps surprisingly) good collection of “serious” books like this one, especially on travel and art.  People using the library as a game room were quiet and respectful of others who might be reading.  It was a small, but wonderful alternative place to the larger public spaces to spend some time without feeling cooped up in our stateroom.  (Note:  There is no reason to feel cooped up in a cruise ship cabin.  The ship is a floating city that operates 24 hours a day with massive amounts of deck square footage.)

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Epilogue — A Death at Sea

The most unexpected thing that happened during our entire trip/cruise was that the women in one of the cabins next to ours passed away while the ship was crossing the North Pacific Ocean.  We were only aware of this because we heard conversation in the hallway one morning around sunrise and opened the door to see what was going on.  The husband was talking to some crew members, and told us that she had taken ill in their cabin a day earlier and was moved to the medical center but died during the night.

Yes, cruise ships have medical centers.  I think the one on the NCL SPIRIT is typical of cruise ships of this class; a small medical center with two doctors and a nurse/technician, lab equipment including an X-Ray machine, and a small pharmacy.  Apparently this woman already had breathing and other health issues (asthma or COPD, but I don’t recall exactly) and was quickly diagnosed with CoVID-19 as well.  We chatted with the husband (listened, mostly) during the next couple of days.  He was very impressed with the care and skill of the entire crew, especially the medical staff as they worked to treat her, but she lapsed into a comma and passed away before the ship could reach Nawiliwili, Kauai, Hawaii and we were too far from land for an aero medivac.  The command staff gave him access to a phone so he could call relatives with the sad news and call someone in Nawiliwili, Kauai, Hawaii to make arrangements for the transfer of her body to shore and transportation home (lower 48 states in the USA).

It turns out that cruise ships also have a mortuary because, as it turns out, deaths do occur at sea on cruise ships.  Not many, but it does happen.  I decided to do some light research (web search) on the subject and found the following from TouristSecrets.com:

“The Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) reports that the mortality rate on cruises is considerably lower than on land-based vacations or other modes of transportation.  It is estimated that the annual mortality rate on cruise ships ranges between 0.14 and 0.25 deaths per 100,000 passengers.”   That’s 1.4 to 2.5 deaths per 1,000,000 passenger bookings, or roughly “1 in a million.”  This can also be expressed as 0.000014 to 0.000025 deaths per 100 passengers, which is 0.0014% to 0.0025%.  Any way you look at it, these are very low numbers or probabilities.  So, on a cruise ship with 3,000 guests and 1,500 crew (4,500 total people) the percentage chance of someone dying is 0.0063% to 0.0113% (to 4 decimal places).  But these are not random (roll of the dice) probabilities because people don’t just die on cruise ships for no reason anymore than they do on land.

Here is what I found (courtesy of Bing AI):

On average, approximately 200 people meet their fate aboard cruise ships each year (out of multiple millions of passenger bookings).  While the majority of these deaths result from natural causes, there are instances of accidents, suicides, and even murders.  Here are some key points about cruise ship deaths:

  1. Natural Causes: Most onboard deaths occur due to natural causes. These include health-related issues, age-related factors, and pre-existing conditions.  However, not all cruise lines and countries consistently share their death statistics, so the actual number may be higher than reported.
  2. Accidents: Accidental deaths can happen on cruise ships. These may involve slips, falls, or other unforeseen incidents.  Accidents can occur both at sea and while the ship is docked.  (Cruise ships are constantly moving when underway, and even when docked, and movement can be significant in really bad weather.  These ships also have a LOT of stairs, although elevators provide access to all guest floors.  Anyone with balance/stability/walking issues should be mindful of these factors.)
  3. Murders: While incredibly rare, cruise ship murders do occur. These are usually committed by someone the victim knows, often during heated arguments or due to a history of abuse. Guns are strictly prohibited on cruise ships, so most murders involve stabbings or pushing victims overboard.

I would add suicide to the list.  Again, very rare, but they do occur.  Remember that these incidents represent an incredibly small fraction of the millions of passenger bookings each year. The overall risk remains (extremely) low, but serve as a reminder that it’s essential to be aware of health and and safety measures/protocols while at sea.  And there is some comfort, I suppose, in knowing that cruise ships are prepared to deal with these situations.

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20230905_T10-C7_Sitka-AK

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Note:  This is the 10th of 16 posts about our 21-day trip that included a 17-day (16-night) cruise on the Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) ship SPIRIT from Vancouver, British Columbia to Honolulu, Oahu.  This post has 21 photographs with captions and some narrative.  All photos were taken by me (Bruce) using a SONY alpha 6400 or Google Pixel 6 Pro unless otherwise indicated.  (Photos by Linda were taken using a Google Pixel 6.)

As I am writing these posts some five (5) months after our trip, I have struggled with getting the correct local time stamp for each photo and thus establishing the correct time sequence for images within a post.  The issue is the intermixing of photos from two Pixel smartphones with photos from a Sony a6400 ILC camera while shooting in different time zones far removed from home.  I think I have the photos in this post in the correct order, but have avoided making any reference in the captions to the time of day an image was captured.

 

TUESDAY 05 September 2023 — (T10,C7) Sitka, AK

This was day 10 or our trip, day 7 or our cruise, and our final stop in Alaska before crossing the North Pacific Ocean to the Hawaiian Islands.  We arrived in the Sitka harbor early this morning.  The weather was hazy upon arrival, but quickly gave way to blue skies with nice puffy clouds over the surrounding mountains.  It was just cool enough to require a light jacket, which made for wonderful conditions to walk around the town and go on a guided shore excursion with a very good local guide.

Sitka is a fascinating city with a history that placed it at the center of a crossroads of cultures.  The area around Sitka has been the traditional home of the Tlingit people for thousands of years, and they are still here.  The Russians arrived in 1804 and forcibly established a colony with Sitka (New Archangel) as its Capital.  It later became the Capital of American Alaska when the Russians sold the territory to the United States in 1867.

The Tlingit maintain a vibrant culture here with a performance center in the style of a traditional community clan house; offerings include song and dance.  Traditional art abounds in the Center and various art galleries, as well as the many intricately carved totem poles in the National Park peninsula.  Russian influence is evident in the onion domed Cathedral of St. Michael and the Russian Bishop’s House, as well as the Russian Cemetery and the names of places, buildings, and streets.  Russian dance is performed in town by the New Archangel dancers, while Summer music festivals celebrate Jazz as well as other musical traditions.

Paraphrased from Wikipedia:  Sitka is a unified city-borough in the southeast portion of the U.S. state of Alaska. It was under Russian rule from 1799 to 1867.  The city is situated on the west side of Baranof Island and the south half of Chichagof Island in the Alexander Archipelago of the Pacific Ocean.  As of the 2020 census, Sitka had a population of 8,458, making it the fifth-most populated city in the state.   Although the City of Sitka is located on a two small islands, the borough encompasses a vast area.  According to the United States Census Bureau, the city-borough is the largest incorporated municipality by area in the U.S., with a total area of 4,811 square miles (12,460.4 sq km ), of which 2,870 square miles (7,400 sq km ) is land and 1,941 square miles (5,030 sq km ), comprising 40.3%, is water.

We enjoyed our short time in Sitka, as we did in Ketchikan, Juneau, and Skagway, but we sensed that we would enjoy returning here for a longer visit and the opportunity to explore the area more thoroughly.

 

This photo is from the day before around 4 PM as the ship was departing from Skagway.  (Photo by Linda)

 

We had slightly hazy weather for our arrival in the Sitka area, and the best scenery was to the ESE, into the sun.

 

After playing around with this photo for a while in post -processing, I decided it looked best as a black & white image.  (I got my first camera when I was 16 and started out shooting with B&W film and learning how to develop it and make prints using a darkroom that belonged to my parent’s best friends.  It still appeals to me.)

 

We were “anchored out” during our time in Sitka.  (It was never clear to me if this was due to a lack of adequate dockage for a ship our size, or a limited amount of such dockage that was already occupied by another ship or ships.)  A fuel ship prepares to come along side and refuel the SPIRIT in advance of our crossing the North Pacific Ocean.  (The fuel ship is not a barge as it is under its own power.)  (Photo by Linda)

 

As the NCL SPIRIT was anchored out, we had to tender in to the Sitka marina.  Shortly after disembarking from the tender, we were greeted by this very helpful sign with highlights marked on a map of the main downtown area.

 

I never tire of views where mountains meet the water.  This was captured from near the Sitka marina looking out towards our ship, which is just visible center frame where the mountains and water meet.

 

The “Welcome to Sitka” sign seemed like a good place to take a “Apa and Ama are here” photo for grand-daughter Sadie.  We tried to remember to take a photo in each place we visited and text them to her parents so she could follow our travels.  (Photo by Linda)

 

Linda holds the Apa and Ama artwork for another “we are here” photo.  This one is in Totem Square with the Sitka Pioneers Home in the background.  It might look like a hotel, but it’s actually an assisted living complex; one of the nicest we had ever seen (at least form the outside).

 

On June 14, 1879 the U.S.S. Jamestown (a sailing ship of war) arrived in the waters near Sitka to relieve the U.S.S. Alaska, and eventually moored near where this sign now stands.  From 1879 to 1881, she was the official seat of government for the Alaska District.  The Jamestown was relieved in August 1881 by the U.S.S Wachusett (a steam ship of war), which continued as the seat of government for the District of Alaska until the Civil Government was finally established by the Organic Act of 1884.

 

Our shore excursion today included a visit to the Sitka National Historical Park (aka Totem Park).

 

Our visit to Sitka NHP included a walk in the woods.  The tour guide (left) and Linda (right) are sporting their Tilley hats.  Linda’s lightweight hoodie says “Travel Park Connect.”  This was the motto of the RVillage social media platform.  I have one too.  It was a great idea and good platform for RVers that was very popular but did not survive.

 

While walking through Totem Park, we got to stop at a small footbridge over the Indian River, an active Salmon run.  Although not really visible in this photo (I couldn’t get a good one) the stream was thick with salmon swimming against the current, presumably trying to reach their spawning grounds.  It was quite a sight.  As I mentioned in a previous post, when I think of Alaska I think of Grizzly Bears, Bald Eagles, and Salmon.  I would add to that Eskimos and other indigenous people, totem poles, Polar Bears, Moose, Elk, Caribou, Whales, Bush planes/pilots, and oil production.

 

A shed at Sikta NHP / Totem Park where totem poles are repaired and restored.  (Photo by Linda)

 

This panorama of the Historic Campus of the Sika Fine Arts Camp is a composite of seven images.  The image is 1920 x 270 pixels; clicking on it will display it full size on a device with a suitable monitor.

 

The Sheldon Jackson Museum, founded in 1888, houses an exceptional collection of Alaska Native ethnographic material gathered by Presbyterian missionary and General Agent of Education for Alaska, the Rev. Dr. Sheldon Jackson.  It was purchased by the State of Alaska in 1985.

 

This charming and well-maintained building is St. Peter’s By The Sea Episcopal Church.  It was established on Thanksgiving Day in 1896, the same year the Klondike Gold Rush began.

 

The Russian Bishop’s House is now part of Sitka National Historical Park.  Given that Alaska was Russian territory for 68 years before being sold to the USA, it was not surprising to see Russian influences everywhere, including in the names of islands, streets, buildings and, of course, churches.  Next photo please.

 

Paraphrased from Wikipedia:  St. Michael’s Cathedral, also known as the Cathedral of St. Michael the Archangel, is a cathedral of the Orthodox Church in America, Diocese of Alaska, in Sitka, Alaska. The earliest Orthodox cathedral in the New World, it was built in the nineteenth century, when Alaska was under the control of Russia.  After 1872, the cathedral came under the control of the Diocese of Alaska.  It had been a National Historic Landmark since 1962, notable as an important legacy of Russian influence in North America and Southeast Alaska in particular.  An accidental fire destroyed the cathedral during the night of January 2, 1966, but it was subsequently rebuilt.  The new building’s green domes and golden crosses are a prominent landmark in Sitka.  Some of the icons date to the mid-17th century; two icons are by Vladimir Borovikovsky.

 

Our shore excursion guided walking tour ended atop Castle Hill.  Looking northeast, the green domes and golden crosses of the Orthodox Cathedral are visible  through the trees.

 

A view (probably from Castle Hill) of the mountains, and the east end of the harbor, south of Sitka, Alaska.  (Photo by Linda)

 

We departed Sitka Harbor in the late afternoon / early evening and were greeted by this spouting whale and fishing boat.  Fishing boats were numerous in the harbor and marina.  This was the last time we would see land until the morning of Monday 11 September when we arrived at the port in Nawiliwili, Kauai, Hawaii.

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20230904_T9-C6_Skagway-AK

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Note:  This is the 9th of 16 posts about our 21-day trip that included a 17-day (16-night) cruise on the Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) ship SPIRIT from Vancouver, British Columbia to Honolulu, Oahu.  This post has 27 photographs with captions and some narrative.  All photos taken by me (Bruce) using a SONY alpha 6400 or Google Pixel 6 Pro unless otherwise indicated.  (Photos by Linda taken with a Google Pixel 6.)

 

MONDAY 04 September 2023 — (T9,C6) Skagway, AK — Miners Camp, Bar & Brothel, White Pass & Yukon Railroad

This was day 9 or our trip and day 6 of our cruise.  We had three shore experiences, but they were booked as one shore excursion that provided transportation between venues and ensured we met the starting times for each one, including getting back to the ship on time.

The excursion(s) started with a bus ride to the Liarsville Gold Rush Trail Camp & Salmon Bake, a private reproduction gold mining camp.  It was nicely done, but only provided a sanitized glimpse at what life must have been like during the Klondike gold rush period, which started in 1896.  The “camp” we experienced was certainly much cleaner than the reality of a by-gone era of fortune-seeking in the Alaskan wilderness.  Our visit to the camp included panning for gold (we didn’t get any), a show in the Hippodrome (which was very good), and a buffet lunch (with LOTS of salmon on offer along with lots of side dishes).

Back in town, we toured the Red Onion Saloon and Brothel.  It was a brothel in its day, but is now a museum (of course), although the saloon is still a functioning bar.  Again, a somewhat “sanitized” glimpse, but a glimpse nonetheless, into another aspect of frontier life in the Klondike Gold Rush era.

Our third experience, and one of the highlights of our entire trip, was a ride on the White Pass and Yukon Railway from Skagway, AK through White Pass Summit (mm 20.4) and ending in Fraser, British Columbia (mm 27.7). The return trip to Skagway was by motorcoach, which is much faster than the return trip by train, but also gave us different views.

Paraphrased from Wikipedia (and other sources):  The White Pass and Yukon Railway was completed in 1900.  The 3-foot “narrow gauge” railway extended from Skagway, Alaska to Whitehorse in the Yukon Territory of Canada, a distance of 177 km (~ 110 miles).  It was built in two sections; the first from Skagway, AK north to Carcross, BC (67.5 mi) and the other from Whitehorse, YT south to Carcross (42.9 mi).

When first built, the railway transported would-be miners, equipment, and supplies to the gold fields in the Yukon Territory, as well as points along the route.  It continued to service mines all along the route until metal prices collapsed and the railway closed on October 7, 1982.  The route reopened from Skagway to White Pass Summit in 1988 (20.4 mi) for tourist traffic only, to Fraser, BC in 1989 (an additional 7.3 mi for a total of 27.7 mi) and then to Bennett, BC in 1992 (another 12.9 mi for a total of 40.6 mi).  The reopening from Skagway north was at the urging, and with the active support, of the cruise line industry, which was already calling on Skagway and saw the potential for a unique onshore experience.  (The parent company of Carnival Cruise Lines is a major stakeholder in the current railroad operations.)

The hope has always existed that the entire route would reopen someday.  A train from Skagway, AK reached Carcross Station, YT in 1997 for the “Ton of Gold Centennial Celebration,” a distance of 67.5 miles (~110 km), and this is the currently active portion of the original line.  On October 10, 1997 a special passenger train (invitation only) ran from Carcross Station to Whitehorse, affirming that the rails were still intact and usable.

Here are some highlights of our day in photos and captions:

 

The entrance to Liarsville Gold Rush Trail Camp.  The “camp” is mostly based on tents displaying various aspects of camp life in the Klondike Gold Rush era.  “Rustic” permanent buildings on-site house a store, restrooms, and the Hippodrome entertainment venue.

 

Our Liarsville location photo for grand-daughter Sadie with her Apa and Ama artworks.  (Photo by Linda)

 

Signs to the most important places in the Liarsville camp (top-to-bottom): General Store, Brothel, and Restrooms.  (Photo by Linda)

 

The Liarsville Hippodrome; a covered entertainment venue (that would not have been part of an 1897 Gold Rush camp).  (Photo by Linda)

 

The young (to us) entertainers were very good.  (Photo by Linda)

 

Linda pans for gold.  (She didn’t find any.)

 

The Liarsville experience included a salmon bake luncheon.  Shown here is the Cookhouse.  It was here for tourists and employees and would not have been part of an authentic tent camp.

 

A view of the “back-room bar” at the Red Onion Saloon and Brothel.  The “madam” serves drinks to our tour group and “explains” the operation of the establishment.  The “rooms” are upstairs and we got to tour that area as well.

 

A massive snowblower used to clear the White Pass & Yukon Railway tracks.  My research indicated that it still works, and is still used, and is quite a sight to see in operation.  (Photo by Linda)

 

A rare selfie of the two of us.  We are in our Pullman-style train car as the train starts its journey up to White Pass Summit and Fraser, BC.  (Photo by Linda)

 

A view from of the left side of the train from in-between two of the passenger cars.  The views were constantly changing, and always amazing, but not always easy to capture from a moving platform with limited choices of shooting angle (and lots of other passengers also trying to take photos).  (Photo by Linda)

 

This a composite of two images that Linda shot with her phone.  The Coastal Range are some serious mountains.  (Photo by Linda)

 

The train approaches one of several trestle bridges that span deep gorges.  The construction of this rail line was quite a feat of engineering and labor.  (Photo by Linda)

 

In the area around White Pass Summit, the highest surrounding peaks are in the 6000 to 7000 ft AMSL category.  The highest peak anywhere near Skagway is Mt. Fairweather.  Located 89 miles to the SW of town, near the ocean coast, it rises to 15,325 ft AMSL.  It is part of a range with numerous peaks in the 10K, 11K, and 12K foot ASL categories, and must be quite a sight to see from the ocean.  (Photo by Linda)

 

Mountains, mountains everywhere, with snow still present in the highest elevations.  (Photo by Linda)

 

The WP&YR uses several different types of diesel-electric locomotives, and still operates a couple of steam engine locomotives.  Our locomotives were black with a red horizontal stripe, but I have been unable to identify the exact model.

 

If this photo is of the maintenance yard, it is out of order.  The sequence number (assigned by the camera), however, indicates that it is in the correct order, so I’m not sure what is being shown here, but I have included it anyway.

 

A view of our passenger car from the rear as Linda (closest person to the camera on the right) enjoys the scenery.

 

Somewhere along the White Pass & Yukon Route (the image has been manipulated, obviously).

 

Well, this is obviously a view from Rocky Point, which is mm 6.9, so we still had most of the trip ahead of us.  The day was obviously cloudy, but the views were spectacular nonetheless.

 

A jagged peak towers into the clouds.  Like I said earlier, the Coastal Ranges are serious mountains.

 

Our train crosses a gorge and disappears into a tunnel.  There are only two tunnels on the WP&YR route, Tunnel Mountain at mm 16.0 and a newer one (1969) at mm 18.8.  I was unable to determine which one this was after the fact.

 

The end of our train as it is about to cross a trestle bridge over a gorge and follow the rest of the train into a tunnel.

 

Distant views.

 

White Pass Summit and the monument marking the boarder between Alaska (USA) and British Columbia (Canada).  The Summit at White Pass is 2,864 ft AMSL.  The train starts in Skagway a few feet above sea level and climbs ~ 140 feet per mile traveled, on average.  That’s a 2.65% grade, on average.

 

The (old) North West Mounted Police (NWMP) station.  I think this was right after crossing into British Columbia, but I’m not sure of the exact location.

 

Our train ride ended in Fraser, British Columbia, where we cleared Canadian Customs before boarding a motorcoach for the return trip to Skagway via the Klondike Highway.

…

 

20230903_T8-C5_Juneau-AK

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Note:  This is the 8th of 16 posts about our 21-day trip that included a 17-day (16-night) cruise on the Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) ship SPIRIT from Vancouver, British Columbia to Honolulu, Oahu.  This post has 23 photographs with captions and some narrative.  All photos taken by me (Bruce) with a SONY alpha 6400 or Google Pixel 6 Pro unless otherwise indicated.  (Photos by Linda taken with a Google Pixel 6.)

 

SUNDAY 03 September 2023 — (T8,C5) Juneau (AK); Glaciers, Gardens, and Hatcheries

This was day 8 of our travels and day 5 of the cruise.  We signed up for a shore excursion to that included the Mendenhall Glacier, Glacier Gardens Rainforest Adventure (GGRA) (a private botanical garden and Yard Doctor Nursery), and the Macauley Salmon Hatchery.  The shore excursion started early and took most of the morning.

The Mendenhall Glacier is located in the Tongass National Forest.  Access is controlled and limited and, for whatever reason, our tour bus did have access today, so we only got to see the glacier from a distance.  Disappointing, certainly, but not the end of the world as we had just seen Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve yesterday.  We returned to the dock by noon and then walked around downtown Juneau, which is Alaska’s state capital.

 

Our tour bus stopped at a parking area that allowed us to walk north along a trail on the west side of the Mendenhall River, where I spotted this flower.

 

A stretch of the Mendenhall River, flowing strongly.  The Mendenhall Glacier is visible center frame just above the trees.  (Photo by Linda)

 

Glacier Gardens (GGRA) is known for their “upside down” trees.  Steve and Cindy Bowhay created this place, with the Rainforest Adventure opening in 1998.  Located within the Tongass National Forest, GGRA is a temperate rainforest environment.  The upside-down trees are just that; the lower portion of large trees and their root ball, inverted and stuck in the ground.  The top of the root ball is then used as a planter.  They are unique and delightful, with a wonderful variety of flowers and shrubs.

 

The GGRA Adventure involved climbing a small mountain through a dense forest in open-sided vehicles (shown later).  The road is constructed of logs in many places, with no shoulder and steep drop-offs in places.  There is a log curb, however, as shown in this photo, and our driver seemed to take safety seriously.  (Photo by Linda)

 

Another view of the road as seen from below.  The GGRA gardens were beautiful, and the views from the summit outstanding, but the road was an attraction in its own right, at least for those who are curious about such things (like me).  (Photo by Linda)

 

A view to the west (I think) from the summit of GGRA.  (Photo by Linda)

 

The extended wheelbase “vans” used to transport guests on the road to/from the summit of GGRA.

 

A small waterfall/feature at GGRA.  (Photo by Linda)

 

This planting bed at GGR caught our eyes.

 

A closer view of an interesting plant at GGRA.

 

Proof that I was here at GGRA.  (Photo by Linda)

 

Proof that Linda was also here at GGRA.  (Photo by Bruce using Linda’s Pixel 6.)

 

The landscaping at GGRA really was something.  This cascading stream looked very natural.  Glacier Gardens is not just a tourist attraction; is also a nursery and landscaping service for the greater Juneau area.

 

Our shore excursion concluded with a stop at the Macauley Salmon Hatchery (MSH), located northwest of Juneau on the Gastineau Channel.  Fishing in general, and salmon in particular, is a big industry in Alaska, of course, and there are many hatcheries and processing plants in the state.  The MSH is a working facility that is also open to the public for tours.  It was a great way to end our shore excursion.

 

The salmon run at MSH looking northwest.  The Gastineau Channel is to the left.  The tide was out and the water level was very low.

 

There were quite a variety of fish and crustaceans in the tanks at MSH.  I selected this photo because I thought it was an interesting composition.

 

The official (?) “Welcome to Juneau” sign.  We had, in fact, felt very welcomed everywhere we had been on this trip thus far.  (Photo by Linda)

 

We were not looking for it, but managed to stumble across the City Hall building for the “City and Borough” of Juneau.  The distinction must be important or the sign would not have mentioned it.  I wonder if the locals divide up into “townies” and “boroughies”?  And I wonder if “boroughies” is even a word?  (MS Word spell check doesn’t think so.)

 

I don’t recall what the significance of this building was, if indeed it had any special significance.  I photographed it because I liked its design and materials, and it had a cool totem pole.

 

This statue was in the plaza that is part of the State Capital complex, which included the Capitol, of course.  When I think of Alaska I think of many things, but especially Bald Eagles, Grizzly Bears, and Salmon.  This statue had two of those three, so …

 

We took this to be the main food/shopping street in Juneau, or at least typical of the retail sector in town.  Some of the shops and eateries might have been a bit more upscale, but not all of them, and the look/feel of the place was still very much coastal Alaska.  (Note:  The timestamp on this photo matches the time on the clock in the photo.  I love it when that happens.)

 

Like all of the coastal cites we visited, Juneau occupies land between the water and steep, high terrain.  Much of the city is built on the lower, flatter areas, when possible, but the land rises quickly and steeply as you move away from the water, and we saw plenty of structures up on the slopes that appeared to be mostly residences.  This staircase is very steep and long, and leads up to a building at the top that might be visible in this photograph.  (Photo by Linda)

 

Linda relaxes in our stateroom after spending the better part of 5+ hours ashore.  The ship in the background is the Seven Seas Explorer from the Regent Seven Seas Cruise Line.  It is one of their two new Explorer Class ships, the other being the Seven Seas Splendor.  ALL staterooms on ALL Regent Seven Seas ships are “suites” and come with butler service.  Regent Seven Seas offers a luxury cruise experience and tends to be more inclusive than most other lines, but with a fare to match.  In spite of being upscale, it is our understanding that these ships are quite relaxed, with freestyle dining, for instance.  They also tend to be mostly adult oriented, lacking some of the “entertainment” attractions on more family and “younger cruiser”-oriented lines.  I think we would enjoy this (or a similar) cruise line, if not for the cost.  (Winning a big lottery might chance that equation.)

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20230902_T7-C4_Glacier-Bay-NPP-AK

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Note:  This is the 7th of 16 posts about our 20-day trip that included a 16-night cruise on the Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) ship SPIRIT from Vancouver, British Columbia north along the inside passage to Sitka, Alaska, and then across the North Pacific Ocean to the Hawaiian Islands, before ending in Honolulu, Oahu.  This post has 10 photographs with captions and some narrative.  Photos by me (Bruce) taken with SONY alpha 6400 or Google Pixel 6 Pro unless otherwise indicated.  (Photos by Linda taken with Google Pixel 6.)

 

SATURDAY 02 September 2023 — (T7,C4) Cruising Glacier Bay National Park & Preserve, Alaska

This was day 7 of our travels and day 4 of the cruise.  Our destination for today was Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve (GBNP&P).  We had an early departure from the port at Ketchikan yesterday, as it was a long sail from there to the Bay and our itinerary was planned to give us as much sailing time in the Bay as possible.  We anticipated that this would be one of the scenic highlights of our entire trip, and it was, in spite of less-than-ideal weather conditions.  The weather also made photography a bit more challenging, but I think we did okay.

Glacier Bay is a National Park & Preserve, so ships (cruise and otherwise) cannot just sail in as they please.  Access is controlled and cruise ships, in particular, have to book entrance for their itineraries well in advance.  They also have to stop near the entrance of the Bay and pick up a National Park Service Ranger/Historian, who remains on-board until the ship leaves the boundaries of the park/preserve.  The Park employee does double duty, both explaining on the P.A. system what the passengers are seeing, as well as (I suspect) “advising” the Captain about conditions in the Park so no harm comes to the ship or the Park.  Not a harbor pilot, of course, but an official Park presence for sure.  The Park employee is returned to their base as the ship exits the Park.

 

Our first large glacier appears on the port (left) side of the ship as it works its way north into Glacier Bay.  (Photo by Linda.)

 

Our APA and AMA “proof we were here photo for GBNP&P.  (Photo by Bruce using Linda’s phone.)

 

There were great views in every direction all of the time.  This photo is looking forward from the forward lounge.  The large glass windows distort the exposure and color.  I’ve corrected it as best I can.  (This image is 1200×675 pixels.  Clicking on it will display it full-resolution on a device with a sufficient screen resolution.)

 

The exposure on this photo was so bad I could not correct it.  I wanted to use it as it’s a nice shot of Linda and shows the forward observation lounge.  I adjusted it to make it “artsy.”

 

This is the same basic view as the previous two photos with an attempt at natural color corrections.  Some of the forward observation lounge windows are visible along with a few passengers for scale.

 

Winding our way around headlands as we sailed deeper into the Bay was exciting as we (literally) never knew what was around the next corner (even though we had a map of GBNP&P).  (Photo by Linda.)

 

Linda caught an especially nice photo of this headland with higher mountains behind.  I think this photo captures just how rugged GBNP&P is.  (Photo by Linda.)

 

The end of the Bay, ABIR.  The day started out overcast and grey, with weak light.  By later in the afternoon, the clouds had opened up a bit to let in light and reveal blue skies.  (This image is 1080×608 pixels, and can be displayed at full-resolution on an appropriate device by clicking on the image.)

 

Linda on the pool deck (13, ABIR) with mountains looming in the background, relatively close to the ship.  The experience of seeing the Park from a cruise ship was grand.

 

The land comes down to meet the sea as we sail south out of GBNP&P.  I liked the way this green island stood out against the somewhat monochromatic mountains and clouds.  (This image is 1200×628 pixels.  You know what to do.)

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20230901_T6-C3_Ketchikan-AK

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Note:  This is the 6th of 16 posts about our 21-day trip that included a 17-day (16-night) cruise on the Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) ship SPIRIT from Vancouver, British Columbia Honolulu, Oahu.  This post has 14 photographs with captions and some narrative.  Photos taken by me (Bruce) with SONY alpha 6400 or Google Pixel 6 Pro unless otherwise indicated.  (Photo by Linda taken with Google Pixel 6.)

 

FRIDAY 01 September 2023 — (T6,C3) Ketchikan, Alaska and Totem Bight State Historical Park

 

This was day 6 of our travels and day 3 of the cruise.  I’m not sure what time we arrived at Ketchikan, Alaska, but our first photos, taken from our balcony, appear to be from 6 AM local time.  If so, we were up early and dressed for the arrival.  The embarkation “sail away” is always a big deal, but we especially like arriving in a new port-of-call.  Cruise ships often arrive in ports very early in the morning to give their guests as much time as possible to go ashore (and spend money on shore excursions).  Departure is typically anywhere from mid-afternoon to early evening, depending on the distance/time to the next port.  These ships are able to set and course and speed and maintain it with considerable precision, so they have very accurate ETAs as a rule.   After a few photos, I presume we went in search of breakfast somewhere on the ship.

 

Proof of Arrival for grand-daughter Sadie.  The pony on the left (of the photo) is labeled “APA” (Grandpa Bruce) and the other one is labeled “AMA” (Grandma Linda).  (Photo by Linda)

 

We were docked starboard side in, so we had a view of most of Ketchikan from our stateroom balcony.  Most of the town is nestled between some small mountains and the water, and has an extensive waterfront.  This is a composite image of 4 photographs.

 

We booked a shore excursion to Totem Bight State Historical Park (TBSHP), which took up the late morning.  As we stepped ashore to gather by our tour bus, we were aware that this was the first time we had set foot on Alaskan soil.

One of things we noticed on the Coastal Alaska portion of this cruise was that many of the tour bus drivers/guides and venue guides were relatively young.  In conversation, we discovered that many of them were from Brigham Young University (Utah) and were here working seasonal jobs.  The reason is that BU has a semester schedule that makes it possible for students to take jobs in places like Alaska at times of the year when they are needed.  They also have a training program for tourist industry work, and many companies recruit from there as a result.  We were impressed that these relatively young folks had gotten their CDL-B (Commercial Driver’s License – Passenger Bus).

 

An information board on arrival at TBSHP.

 

A totem pole at the entrance into TBSHP.

 

The lovely, wooded entrance path into TBSHP.

 

The Lodge House at TBSHP.  Our tour guide provides scale for the carved figures that support the massive beams that support the rafter beams for the roof.

 

The Lodge House at TBSHP viewed from the entrance end.

 

A view of the Lodge House at TBSHP from the side, with several totem poles visible.

 

 

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A view of the Lodge House at TBSHP from the side, with several totem poles visible.

 

Another interesting totem pole as we were exiting the TBSHP.

 

Upon return to the cruise ship dock, we walked the town for a while before returning to our ship well ahead of “all on board” time.

 

A view of one of the streets in Ketchikan.  Ketchikan was a neat little town, but busy with tourists and vehicles and difficult to photograph in an interesting or meaningful way.

 

This photo is from mid-afternoon, not long after leaving the dock in Ketchikan.  Seven images were composited to form this panoramic photograph.

 

 

These ships are part of the Alaska Marine Highway System, which is headquartered in Ketchikan, Alaska.  There is a major dry dock facility just out of frame to the left with a ship in it for repairs.

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20230831_T5-C2_At-Sea on the Inside-Passage

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Note:  This is the 5th of 16 posts about our 21-day trip that included a 17-day (16-night) cruise on the Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) ship SPIRIT from Vancouver, British Columbia to Honolulu, Oahu.  This post does not have any photographs.

THURSDAY 31 August 2023 — (T5,C2) At Sea in the southern Inside Passage

This was the fifth day of our trip, and the second day of our cruise.  We left the cruise terminal in Vancouver, BC yesterday at approximately 3 PM local time and were scheduled to arrive in Ketchikan, Alaska early on the morning of September 1st.  That meant today was a “sea day.“  We had sailed overnight last night and would sail through the overnight hours again tonight—approximately 37 hours in total—before reaching Ketchikan, Alaska.  We tend to sleep well on cruise ships, perhaps surprisingly, as we are in an unfamiliar space with unfamiliar noises and sleeping on a mattress and pillows that are not our own.  Linda attributes this to the gentle movement of the ship (in nice weather) and perhaps the faint sound of water flowing as the ship glides through the ocean.

This cruise was going to have more sea days than most 2-week cruises as we would be crossing the North Pacific Ocean (NPO) from Sitka, Alaska to Nawiliwili, Kauai (Hawaiian Islands), a 5-night journey that would take five full days and parts of two others.  But this sea day was in the southern end of the famous “inside passage,” a route up the coast of British Columbia and Alaska that winds its way between the mainland to the east and the plethora of islands to the west.  As a route, it is more protected and (presumably) more scenic than the “outside passage” but, I presume, also trickier to navigate.  It’s not really optional, however, as the major cities here are mostly located on the mainland coast.  Going from outside to inside and back would add many, many nautical miles and hours to the journey and therefore $$$ to the cost of such cruises.  I presume it is also more scenic, with something to see on both sides of the ship most of the time.  An Alaskan coastal cruise is not just about epic scenery, however; it also about history, culture, and adventure, so the ships have to go to the cities if guests want to visit them which, of course, they do.

The weather was overcast and hazy during our initial passage, so we did not have any good photo opportunities until our arrival in Ketchikan.  Which was fine.  Sea days are a wonderful time to explore the ship in greater depth as well as just relax and enjoy the motion of the ship and the world floating by, if only ephemeral glimpses of land through the mist.  I found a book on the Bauhaus in the ship’s library, and spent some relaxing time reading it over the duration of the cruise.

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20230830_T4-C1_NCL-SPIRIT Embarkation and Sail-Away

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Note:  This is the 4th of 16 posts about our 21-day trip that included a 17-dat (16-night) cruise on the Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) ship SPIRIT from Vancouver, British Columbia to Honolulu, Oahu.  This post consists of 13 photos with captions and some narrative.  Photos taken by me (Bruce) with SONY alpha 6400 and Google Pixel 6 Pro unless otherwise indicated.  (Photos by Linda taken with Google Pixel 6.)

 

WEDNESDAY 30 August 2023 — (T4,C1)  NCL SPIRIT Embarkation & Sail-Away, Le Bistro French Restaurant

Today was the fourth day of our trip, and the first day of our “Ice & Fire” cruise on the NCL cruise ship SPIRIT.  Embarkation was at the cruise terminal at the Port of Vancouver, which we had visited during the last couple of days to make sure we knew where it was and how to get in as pedestrians.  Given that it was only ~0.5 miles from our hotel, which did not have a shuttle service, we walked to the cruise port with our roller bag suitcases rather than take a cab or Uber.  I’ve mentioned previously that central/downtown Vancouver is a very walkable city, at least in nice weather.

Embarkation was relatively easy.  We checked our larger bags, and took our smaller ones on-board with us rather than leave them for the porters to deliver.  We had to wait for a while to gain access to our stateroom but once we did, we dropped off our bags and explored the ship.  We would naturally do this anyway, as there isn’t much else to (other than drink or swim) while all of the guests are being embarked, but we have also discovered that this is one of the “tips” that is widely shared on Youtube cruising channels.

We made an assumption that the scenery going up the inside passage might be better on the starboard (mainland) side of the ship, so we booked a balcony cabin on that side (the right when facing forward towards the bow).  We chose a room on Deck 9 near the fore-aft center of the ship.  This deck was high enough to have a good view and a near optimal location to minimize the effect of the ship’s movement by being near the ships center of gravity.  This minimizes both roll (side-to-side, worse the higher up you are) and pitch (fore-to-aft, worse the closer you are to the bow or the stern).  (The most movement is felt high up at either end of a ship.)

 

I hold two “cards” that our 4-year-old grand-daughter made.  We tried to photograph them each place that we visited and share the photos with her.  This photo was taken around 10 AM local time near the bow as the ship was docked “bow in” such that the bow was close to shore and the buildings of central downtown Vancouver, BC.  (Photo by Linda)

After getting to our room, we explored the ship for a bit and then had some lunch in the café (buffet).

 

This photo was taken from the forward lounge (the bow of the ship is visible).  The “sails” to the right of the ship are on the roof the terminal, which also houses Canada Place.  The upper deck by the sails is publicly accessible and affords a great, close-up view of docked cruise ships.

 

This photo is a view of the rear of the ship with the small swimming pool surrounded by lounge chairs arranged on stadium tiers.  The land in the background is North Vancouver on the other side of the harbor.

 

A rare photo of me on an upper/rear deck above the rear swimming pool looking towards the exit from the harbor and the bridge to North Vancouver.  (Photo by Linda)

 

Departure was scheduled for mid-late afternoon local time, and the ship started to move away from the dock around 3 PM, ABIR (and as evidenced by my photos).  We had a lovely cruise out of the Vancouver harbor, with lots of seaplane activity, something we don’t see much at home.  We watched the scenery go by for quite a while, but eventually went to dinner.

 

The ship has left the dock, and is making a backing turn.  This and the next three (3) photos were taken from the upper forward lounge though large plate glass windows.  This resulted in reflections and a heavy blue cast to the images, which I tried to correct.  Notice how the cruise terminal juts out like the bow of a ship, which was the architectural intent.

 

Another view of the Port of Vancouver Cruise Terminal.  The ship-like appearance is even more apparent here, with the “sails” flying above the building.

 

The ship is bringing the bow around towards the harbor entrance with the Vancouver skyline visible to port (left).

 

From Wikipedia:  “The Lions Gate Bridge, opened in 1938 and officially known as the First Narrows Bridge, is a suspension bridge that crosses the first narrows Burrard Inlet and connects the City of Vancouver, British Columbia, to the North Shore municipalities of the District of North Vancouver, the City of North Vancouver, and West Vancouver.”

 

The entrance/exit from the harbor is underneath a bridge (center of the frame) that connects Vancouver (left) and to the North Shores municipalities (right).

 

The ship is about to pass under the Lion’s Gate Bridge that connects Vancouver (left) to the North Shores municipalities (right).  The bridge marks (symbolically) the boundary of Vancouver harbor with the larger Pacific ocean.

 

Once the ship was out of the harbor and underway we eventually went to dinner.  Dining on NCL ships is “freestyle,” which means we did not have an assigned dining room, time, or table.  This is not true with all cruise lines, but it’s something we like and will look for on future cruises, regardless of the cruise line.  On this occasion, however, we had booked a table at Le Bistro, the specialty French restaurant.  I think we got two specialty restaurant meals as part of our cruise fare, and Linda thought it would be nice to use one of for our embarkation dinner, and she was right (of course).  We booked a 7:45 PM seating.  The setting was lovely and the food was amazing.

 

Linda models our table at Le Bistro, with lots of glasses waiting to be filled.

 

Our salad.  I think it had artichokes, but whatever it was, it was amazing.

 

I pose with what I presume was the main course.  Whatever it was, it was also amazing, because our recollection is that everything about this meal was amazing.  (Photo by Linda)

 

The Le Bistro dinner menu for this evening.  The reality of cruise ship dining is that we have to become vegetarians (or pescatarians) as true vegan options are very limited to non-existent, unless we only eat salad from the café/buffet venue.  (Photo by Linda)

 

Sometime during the day, and certainly before we went to sleep for the night, we unpacked our suitcases and found a storage place for everything.  We appreciated that the empty suitcases fit neatly under the bed and did not take up valuable closet or floor space.  Had they been a few inches thicker, they might not have fit.  Something to keep in mind for future cruises.

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