Island Princess to Alaska - Sea Day

Today was a sea day and it was packed with activities. We didn’t participate in any of them. Just spent time with our crew member guy and gal, and finally got our gal’s goodie bag delivered. We came to see them so our day revolved around their schedules.

In between the times when we were with him and then with her the most exciting thing happened to me. I just wish I was better prepared for it!

I was sitting at a table in the buffet while hubby was grabbing some food. I had my Cruising with Confidence book on the table because I’ve been proofing it for publishing. (The ebook and audiobook of the second edition have been out for a while, but I’m getting ready to add the print edition.) A lady walked by me, smiled, and stopped and spoke.

“That’s a really good book.”

My only response was, “This one?” and then, “Did you read it?”

And her answer to both was, “Yes”.

Now if I was thinking I would have asked her more about what she liked about the book. I would have said I knew the author. Or I could have really told the truth and said I was the author. But I was so taken aback I didn’t know what to say. I so blew it. Someone had read my book, said it was really good, and I didn’t do or say anything of any substance. Obviously I’m not a good PR person. Guess that’s something I need to work on.

Tonight was formal night. We used to do the dining room for dinners every cruise but after umpteen cruises we prefer grabbing something at the buffet. Rarely do we ever find a time we can’t find much to eat there. I’m a carving station fan so I stick to the beef, chicken, and turkey. Hubby is a soup and salad guy so there are always possibilities for him.

Of course we spent some time at Crooners, too. Although we don’t have to, we typically stay away from the lounges on formal night since we’re not dressed up. But about half the folks were wearing casual clothes so we didn’t feel bad about spending some time there.

Back to the cabin for another early evening. We set the clock back an hour tonight so an extra hour of sleep before we arrive at our first port tomorrow, Icy Strait Point.

Here are today’s Patters. If you'd prefer it in a Google doc you can find it HERE.

Island Princess to Alaska, Embarkation Day

We spent the night right at the pier at the Pan Pacific. In all our visits to Vancouver we’ve never sprung for the expensive hotel, but after a week of bumming it in cheap hotels around Washington we decided to go for it. Plus, we think this might be our last trip here so might as well go out with a bang.

It was so easy to get from the hotel to the port. The hotel took our luggage to the port so all we had left was our backpack and an elevator ride that put us at port level. We left the hotel about 1:00 pm and checked in at the port pretty fast. But as usual, the immigration line was huge and we had quite a wait. Once through there we headed right onto the ship.

We are taking this cruise to see a couple of our favorite crew members. We saw our first gal when she was greeting passengers as they were going onboard. We chatted a bit with her and found out she has been switched from room service to the dining room. Boo hoo. When she was in room service we got to see her every single day. She might be working in the buffet in the morning so we’ll have to check there. We really don’t want to do the dining room at night if we don’t have to. We also saw our guy right away as he was working in Crooners. No alcohol for us – just water – and lots of conversation with him until muster drill.

We are so not impressed with the new muster drill routine. Not having to take lifejackets anymore is great, but the lightheartedness of the presentation and lack of authoritative voice for the directions are putting passengers at risk. We’ve had emergencies on ships before. With this new presentation people will really be panicked – and clueless about what to do – in a real emergency. Those of us who cruise a lot know muster drills should be serious business. I fear it will take another Costa Concordia type incident to shake the cruise industry to where they will focus again on the seriousness of the safety presentation.

No balcony for us this time so after muster we headed up to the buffet for sailaway. The buffet on the Island Princess is at the front of the ship so the views can’t be beat. We stayed there through dinner and boy, it got busy. After a while we headed back to our cabin to pick up the goodie bag we had put together for our Crooner’s guy. We always love the smile on the faces when we deliver the huge bags. After that we headed back to the cabin and called it a night early.

Here are the Princess Patters from today. 

5 Things to do on a Mexican Riviera Cruise

Today we're talking about what to do when visiting the cruise ports on a Mexican Riviera cruise. We'll cover Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan, Cabo San Lucas, Manzanillo, and Ensenada.

The port cities on Mexico's west coast are referred to as the Mexican Riviera. There are a couple dozen cities comprising the Mexican Riviera, but I'll be focusing on the ones most visited by mainstream cruise lines.

1. In Puerto Vallarta, go ziplining through the jungles.

2. In Mazatlan, follow the blue line to Old Mazatlan. Yes, it's a blue line painted right on the road. It helps passengers keep in the safe areas. You'll even find volunteers in blue shirts helping direct tourists. You'll also find food and drink and nice views.

Or make your way to the cliff divers. But a heads up - they will expect to be tipped if you watch.

3. In Cabo San Lucas, go snorkeling. You'll see fish here that aren't present in the Caribbean.

On your way to the snorkel spot your tour guide will most likely make a swing by the Arch so you can snap some photos.

More info on what to do in Cabo San Lucas can be found HERE.

4. Manzanillo is the sailfish capital of the world. 

Check out the giant statue in town.

Then wander the town. Probably the closest place to real Mexico we've been.

5. In Ensenada, head to the fish market. You'll see all kinds of fish. And if you're lucky you'll find a fisherman bringing in his catch - shark! - with a wheelbarrow.

 And then grab some delicious fish tacos at one of the restaurants next to the fish market or at one of the street side stands. So yummy! We won't eat fish tacos anywhere else in the world but in Ensenada.

More info on what to do in Ensenada can be found HERE.

How to Make a Luggage Tag - Tutorial Tuesday

After we had luggage go astray three times in one year (Puerto Vallarta, Iceland, and San Francisco), we went to nothing but carry-ons for our trips. Once we even took a two week trip with nothing but a backpack. (That one was hard.) But now we're back to taking a checked bag and a carry-on, no matter how long the trip. (We share that bag and carry-on.) The only reason we need that much luggage is that we usually have it half full of Cheetos, Kit Kats, Peanut M&Ms, and Oreos. Not for us, but for our cruise ship crew friends we go to visit. It is just as important to us not lose our clothes as it is to not lose their gift bags of goodies.

We need someone from Honduras to get his goodies.
We need someone from India to get his.
We need someone from Nicaragua to get hers.
We need someone from Serbia to get hers.
And we need someone from India to get his. (Along with a baby gift - he's a new daddy.)

Can you tell it's going to be a busy few weeks this year?

So a new luggage tag it is.

Looking for more travel accessory ideas? Check out these projects!

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Find the step-by-step how to tutorial for this homemade fabric luggage tag with vinyl see through window right here: