Showing posts with label Cruising. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cruising. Show all posts

Sunday, March 8, 2020

A Cruising Update

As a blogger I sometimes write posts and post them right away. Other times I write them and save them to post later when I'm ready. And sometimes I write them and schedule them to be posted on a certain day and time.

Guess I should have been more aware of when yesterday's Ways to Keep Healthy on a Cruise was posting. Bad timing on my part. While I do believe those ways to keep healthy are valid no matter which germs are floating around, the current strain of Coronavirus is a wild card. So much is unknown, and the information out there is changing so fast it's hard to know what to do. Which leads me to an update on how COVID-19 is impacting cruises. Mine included. 

First, we have a dear crew member friend who is on the Grand Princess right now. (He was the one we were supposed to meet up with in Ensenada last month but their ship had to skip the port.) Since we didn't get to see him in Ensenada we were planning on a cruise to see him in May, but that won't be happening now. While the future cruises on the Grand (other than this week's) haven't been cancelled by the cruise line, I wouldn't be surprised if the ship is taken out of circulation for a while. Even if it wasn't, our buddy believes all crew contracts will be cut short and they'll be heading home. After a quarantine, period of course. I've been talking with him every day and I can hear fear in his voice. It's certainly a stressful times for all.

Then today we heard from two other crew members, one on the Royal Princess (the ship we just left) and the Regal Princess. Both ships have crew members who had transferred over from the Grand Princess. (Before anyone knew about COVID-19 on the Grand.) And now both ships are in a holding pattern. The Royal cancelled yesterday's cruise and the Regal cancelled today's. The Royal is empty of passengers and sitting at the dock in San Pedro but the Regal is offshore in Florida with a ship full of passengers needing to disembark. Without knowing what is happening next, it's more stressful times for all.

With everything happening, what did our crew members on those ships and other ships tell us? Again and again, they told us the same thing. Stay away from ships for a while. I gotta say, I trust crew members we've know for years over what I hear on TV or read on the Internet so we're following their advice. 

We're skipping our two cruises on the Star Princess, our two cruises on the Grand Princess, and the one cruise on the Coral Princess. There will be no March-April-May cruises for us this year. Many months ago we had already decided to skip Alaska this season so no June-July-August cruises, either. We're not giving up completely, though. We've gone ahead and booked several cruises for October and November this year. But if when the time comes we have crew members telling us not to go, we won't. 

It's a crazy time in the cruising world right now and things are changing day by day and sometimes hour by hour. We all need to do what we can to reduce risks of exposure, whether we are on a cruise ship or not. Be safe out there, and stay healthy!

Thank you to everyone who has been checking with us to see if we’re okay. We are home now, having left the Royal Princess not too long ago. We’re healthy and happy to be back home for a while.
~D

Saturday, March 7, 2020

5 Ways to Keep Healthy on a Cruise Ship


As a frequent cruiser (88 cruises and counting!) I've picked up my share of germs on ships. Most cruises I come away A-OK. Other times it might be a sniffle or a cough or a good ol' cold. And then there are those times I wind up flu sick. Oh so very sick.

If you cruise enough, it's almost inevitable you'll pick up something at one time or another. You're exposed to new people coming from new places who may or may not use the same preventative measures that you do. You will find fellow passengers licking their fingers just before grabbing the tongs in the buffet. In the elevator you might find another choosing not to cover their cough. Any chance of seeing someone walking out of the bathroom without washing hands and then using the handrail as they go down the stairs? Yep.

While the cruise lines do what they can to encourage healthy practices and sanitize ship surfaces, it's really up to us as passengers to protect ourselves. Here are a few practices you may find helpful for keeping healthy on a cruise ship.

Disclaimer: I am not a medical professional and am not dispensing medical advice. Instead I am sharing those practices I've found to be helpful in reducing my exposure to germs while cruising. This article was written before COVID really took hold, but whether we're talking pre-COVID times or post-COVID, these guidelines still hold true.

1. Wash your hands.
It should go without saying, but you'd be surprised by the number of people who don't wash them. Don't be one of them. Wash those hands thoroughly with soap and water any chance you get and definitely before eating and after using the restroom. And it certainly wouldn't hurt to wash them before using the restroom, either. Just happen to be walking by a sink on your way to somewhere else? Wash those hands!

2. Use hand sanitizer. A lot.
See one, use one!
Cruise ships have hand sanitizer stations all around the ship. Along with handwashing use these sanitizers after holding the handrails, after touching other surfaces, and before and after eating. Even with the abundance of hand sanitizer stations on the ship we still carry our own. We also take our pocket sized sanitizer in port as handwashing facilities may not be available.

3. Keep your distance.
From other people, that is. Heard of social distancing? Leave space between you and the next person whether you are in the theater,
You'll never find a theater this empty so be particular about where you sit.
in any of the dining locations,
 or even when you're in a line getting on or off the ship.
Walk slower or faster if you need to, but leave some space
between you and the next person.
4. Seek out fresh air.
Choose outside spaces over inside spaces whenever possible. Fresh air is always a good thing and is preferable over enclosed spaces.

5. Assume every surface isn't clean.
You know how they place paper towels by the restroom door so you can use the towel to open the handle instead of opening it with your bare hands? Think about other ways you can protect yourself from surfaces that might not be clean. You most likely won't be able to carry paper towels with you everywhere, but you can be mindful of what you're touching. Hand railings and restaurant menus. Door handles, chair backs, and table tops. Even think about your cabin. The steward cleans the surfaces but sometimes the stewards themselves are coming down with something so think about those light switches, telephone receiver, and the TV remote. By assuming everything is not clean, you will find yourself washing your hands, grabbing the hand sanitizer, and spraying your cabin with some disinfectant spray before ever touching your nose, mouth, or eyes.

While these five ways can't guarantee you won't get sick, I have found them to help me in staying well onboard.

Wednesday, February 5, 2020

Off We Go Again

I had no intention of sitting in an airport hotel by LAX right now.

After our amazing month-long cruise on the Sapphire Princess, I was quite content to come home and stay home for a bit. I wanted that cruise to stick in my memory for a while. I wanted to remember the friendly passengers and relaxed atmosphere. The adventurous ports and eye-opening learnings. The empty elevators and quiet pools.

But yet here we go again.

It started with the schedule E pulled out around Christmas time. The baseball schedule. (Seriously, who talks baseball in December? He does.) He was willing to give up a trip to San Diego and another one to New York to make a February Arizona baseball trip happen. And if the man wants a baseball game, you can bet I'm going to try and squeeze a cruise out of the same trip. While I would have preferred Hawaii or the Caribbean, the one he was most comfortable with (meaning less rough water and fewer flights) was one to Mexico. Since we don't do just one cruise, we had to tack on another. And another.

Guess it wound up being good timing on our part. Because wouldn’t you know it, a few minutes before we left for the airport this morning the snow started coming down. Hard and fast. We were more than happy to skedaddle at that point.
The view out the airplane window.
After de-icing. Yep, still snowing.
So after a Boise to Phoenix to LAX flight, (don't think I didn't consider leaving him behind in Phoenix!) here we are, spending the night in an airport hotel before making our way to the cruise port tomorrow. We're heading back to the Royal Princess for a while before we're off to Arizona for Mr. E's baseball trip.

I probably won’t sleep much tonight but I will be back tomorrow from the Royal Princess!

Wednesday, January 15, 2020

AARP's Top 10 Cruise Destinations for 2020

Sometimes I contribute to articles and completely forget about it. This is one of those times. From back in October, here is AARP's top 10 cruise destinations for 2020.

I don't agree with all of them, but that’s okay.  It’s one of the great things about cruising - there are plenty of destinations (and ships) to make us all happy.

Check out the article here:

AARP's Top 10 Cruise Destinations for 2020




Want to read about my adventures in a few of the ports mentioned?
Here you can read about the day in Costa Maya that started like this...
But then turned into a flood day. Now that was an adventure I won't soon forget.

Or check out my top 5 snorkeling spots in the Caribbean. Yep, Bonaire is right there at the top. 

Happy cruising!

Saturday, October 26, 2019

Royal Princess Handicap Accessible Mini Suite Cabin


Interested in knowing what a handicap accessible mini suite cabin looks like on the Royal Princess? This is cabin A433. Pictures are more powerful than words, so here ya go!

I didn't include photos of how the ramp to the balcony engages, but I have photos of that here on my handicap accessible balcony cabin blog post.

Royal Princess Mini Suite Cabin


Interested in knowing what a mini suite cabin looks like on a Princess cruise ship? I've got your photos right here. These specific pictures are from the Royal Princess, cabin A403.  Apologies for the lighting.