Last May we checked a huge destination item off our travel bucket list: an Alaskan cruise. We left hot and humid Houston for cold (to us) and rainy Seattle, and spent 48 sleepless hours exploring Seattle before our 7-day cruise to Ketchikan, Juneau, and Skagway in Alaska, and Victoria, British Columbia in Canada. […]
Cruises
Carry-On Wine Corkscrew: A Travel Necessity
Those who spend any time with me know that I always have a corkscrew on me (emergency wine drinking, duh). And because I got tired of buying a corkscrew whenever I got to my destination when traveling, I now always pack a special TSA-compliant corkscrew that doesn’t need to be checked and won’t be confiscated […]
I’ve Run Everywhere, Man: Vacation Running
I would’ve never considered running on vacation…but gelato happens, so I suppose one must find a balance. I’ve been a runner for about two years. Even though I love my city (Houston), I travel as much as possible. Staying trained for races is what led me to run that one time in London, which opened up […]
A Dirty Souvenir for Dogs: You Travel, They Sniff
Meet Ginger, Tegan, and Amelia: our fur babies. Jetting off to the Mediterranean for two weeks might seem glamorous, but leaving these loveable/kissable/derpy faces behind for that long was really difficult. If we could’ve brought them along with us, we would’ve. Instead, we brought them with us in spirit, and we brought back something a […]
Alaskan Cruise: Wine Tastings on Ruby Princess
Maybe I’m just a wino, but one of the things we do during the First 24 Hours on a Cruise Ship is look for wine tastings. This is a great way to taste the available wines on the ship without committing to a full bottle (or glass). When we cruised Ruby Princess from Seattle to […]
First 24 Hours on a Cruise Ship: Do’s and Don’ts
Cruises can be overwhelming for first timers and long-timer cruisers. There’s so much to see, do, buy, eat, drink…so how do you decide what to do first and how long until you feel like you’re on vacation? For me, I get my sea legs within about four hours of embarkation. From years of cruising everywhere […]
Cruise Tips: Planning and Packing
So you booked a cruise! YAY!! Now what? Whether it’s your first cruise or you’re twentieth, I’m sharing a few tips that I’ve learned through the years of cruising everywhere from Alaska to the Caribbean & Bahamas to the British Isles & Mediterranean. I’ve sailed on Carnival, Norwegian, and Princess many many many times and […]
Move Over Cruise Lanyards, Bracelets are the New Chic
Cruise tip: if lanyards aren’t your thing, maybe a beaded bracelet could be. The bracelet option is convenient for getting on and off the cruise ship, stylish for handing to the bartender after ordering a sidecar, and compact enough to throw in a small clutch when not wearing. I’m not trying to reinvent the wheel […]
Mediterranean Cruise on Norwegian Jade (Part 2: Turkey)
Continued from Mediterranean Cruise on Norwegian Jade (Part 1: Sea Days, Greece, Italy) We arrived in Turkey without any expectations and were blown away by the exotic beauty and history! Similar in culture to what we had seen in Greece, but still wildly different. Our first exposure to Turkey was in Izmir (for Ephesus), […]
Mediterranean Cruise on Norwegian Jade (Part 1: Sea Days, Greece, Italy)
Continued from Under the Tuscan Winter Sky After one last panini in Rome, our shuttle took us about 40 minutes to Civitavecchia to board Norwegian Jade for a 10-day cruise around the Mediterranean. We would stop in two cities in Greece, two cities in Turkey, and one city in Italy before returning to Rome. […]