I often get asked when is the best time to book a cruise by readers for cheap cruises. The answer varies by the person and their needs but unless you are traveling with a group or have a specific itinerary or date, I always suggest waiting for wave season or booking right when they release an itinerary. Wave Season is a magical time between January and March (hmmm usually when people are receiving tax returns) where cruise lines and travel agents can offer the very best in promotions and prices. Seriously, it’s the time when you can get the best deals particulary on sailings in the next year. We are talking free perks such as onboard credit and upgrades! It’s unlikely you will find a better deal on price any other time of year.

It’s also a time where many people are looking to buy cruises because of the dreary winter weather and the need to get some sun! It’s the most popular time of year to purchase a cruise vacation. I can’t think of a more fabulous way to spend my tax return. The best way to get a good deal is talk to a travel agent specialiizing in cruises or sign up for your favorite cruiseline’s email alerts. Have a cruise coming up? Tell us about it! We are going on a mediterannean cruise in October!

Officers at the Bridge

This is the Bridge where the Captain spends most of his time. The bridge serves as the navigational, command and control center of the ship.

Navigational Map at the Bridge

View of the Bridge while arriving at port.

View of controls at the Bridge.

Here are some pictures of the engine control room. There are over 5000 alarms in the engine control room. The engine stretches the entire length of the ship filling up 10 compartments. The ship is equipped with backups for everything including backups for the bridge with phones, radios, backup generators etc.

Engine Control Room

Gauges and garlic in the engine control room.

Did you know that cruise ships are superstitious? Apparently having garlic in the engine control room is a good omen or something. I never could get a straight answer on that.

More engine control room

Laundry is something that is often overlooked when it comes to a cruise vacation. Mainly because you are on vacation and you don’t have to think about it! But you got to wonder… a cruise ship has got to produce a lot of dirty laundry what with all the sheets, table cloths, napkins, towels, etc. And how big does this laundry room have to be to take care of all this laundry? On average a cruise ship does about twenty loads of laundry a day. This doesn’t sound like a lot but when you factor in the the fact that one load of laundry can be up to 250 pounds- that’s an intense washing machine. That means about 5,000 pounds of laundry a day.

One intense washing machine.

Laundry press for sheets and table cloths.

Crew uniforms fresh from the dry cleaners.

Did you know that most cruises have a dry cleaning service available aboard? It’s fast, easy, pretty inexpensive and you don’t have to worry about losing your ticket because they will deliver it right to your cabin.

Cooks in the kitchen preparing food.

On average a person on a cruise ship will gain a pound per day. That means if you go on a seven day cruise you should expect to come home about seven pounds heavier. Now you know why I was trying so hard to lose five pounds before my vacation. And we can owe it all to these guys- the chefs and cooks for preparing all that delicious food. Oh and all the excessive trips to the buffets before and after dinner.

Lots of plates.

More food preparation.

You’re probably thinking… man when I go on a cruise I stuff my face silly! How much food does a cruise ship go through? Well on average a cruise ship will go through 400-800 eggs a day, 200 pounds of strawberries, 82 pounds of cookies, 1,000 pounds of potatoes, 25 gallons of ice cream, and 6,895 liters of milk. Safe to say that’s a lot of food. The most popular ingredients used on the ship are flour, garlic, onion and salt. Most food is picked up at your original place of embarkation but they pick up fresh fish along the way.

One last tidbit of information before we say adieu- You know one of the best parts of any cruise? The outstanding service you receive from the international (and national) crew. Aboard the Celebrity Mercury there were over 55 nationalities represented and over 800 crew members aboard. So remember to take a look at their name tag and take a look at where they are from.

I hope these pictures and accompanying information helped satisfy your craving for a look behind the scenes of a cruise ship.

Sunset in the Inside Passage, Alaska

Last week we had the pleasure of forgetting our everyday world and enjoying an honest to goodness vacation. Sure we travel quite often, more so than the average couple with a baby, but I wouldn’t really classify them as vacations. They are still work dealing with all the rental cars, hotels, food, and sightseeing. It’s exhausting. But this time we just enjoyed each other’s company and the beautiful world around us.

It’s true that this wasn’t our first time to Alaska. And it most definitely won’t be our last.  As much as I love Hawaii, I think Alaska may have it beat as our favorite place to visit (I guess it’s only fair I give Hawaii another shot).  Anyways, we boarded our Celebrity Cruise and we were treated…well like celebrities! The staff was the most friendly, the service excellent and have I mentioned the food yet? Pretty much amazing! All my foodie friends are going to die when we post our Eating Around series from this cruise.

Anyways, here are of the highlights from this vacation:

This was our ship, the Celebrity Mercury.

We boarded our ship in Vancouver, BC on Sunday and we were just so excited. The first day of your cruise is the best because the promise of the week ahead of you is the best feeling.

Hubbard Glacier

We had a stateroom with a balcony which is a MUST for an Alaskan cruise. Plus it made a world of a difference having a baby, we could be outside enjoying the scenery while she was napping. If we hadn’t had a balcony we would have missed this beautiful glacier. The hubbard glacier is huge- six miles wide! It was the highlight of the trip for me. Absolutely breathtaking.

Delicious treats onboard Celebrity Mercury.

Suffice it to say we stuffed our faces silly on this cruise. As you should on any cruise. However we came back and had each only gained 3 or 4 pounds. My last cruise was a 3 day cruise and I gained 5 pounds. I guess I held back a little this time! We enjoyed world class dining aboard our cruise. A post about that will come later.

Mount Roberts Tram, Juneau, AK

One of our port cities was Juneau. We opted to take the tram up to Mount Roberts to see the view of the city and watch a movie about the Tlingit people. The movie was amazing but unfortunately the view not as great, since it was extremely cloudy. It was still very much beautiful.

Creek Street, Ketchikan, AK

We didn’t do any shore excursions because we had BabyTravels with us and played things by ear. We were very laid back which made all the difference. When we got off the ship in Ketchikan (which turned out to be my favorite port) we walked a couple of blocks to Creek Street. An area that is connected entirely by boardwalks.

Hilarye and BabyTravels

This is BabyTravels and me on formal night. Everyone onboard was in love with her, especially the crew. We had to allow at least 20 minutes extra for anywhere we went because people would stop us to talk and play.

Can you tell we had an amazing time? It was hard to leave. Alaska is a place I will visit over and over again. There is something so pure about it’s beauty and so refreshing. It’s awe inspiring. In fact, words cannot even describe it. You’ll just have to expirience it for yourself and I really hope that you do. Have you booked your cruise yet?

* Celebrity Cruises hosted us on their cruise. However all reviews of the ship remain unbiased towards that.

2) Gone tanning: I was whiter than snow on my cruise so instead of tanning, I was focused on not burning and getting my foundation tan. It would have been nice to have the base tan out of the way and been able to come back to show off a sweet dark complexion in January in Utah

3) Bought a cute sundress to wear on the ports: I forgot to do that and so I was stuck wearing capri pants and shirts while other women looked so comfortable in their flowing dresses

4) Bought sunscreen: I bought it on the cruise ship and it cost three times as much had I bought it at a grocery store

5) Remembered my sunglasses: It hurt to squint the whole time and I never found any cute enough to buy

This was my first ever cruise- and I promise you that it will in no way be my last. We loved our cruise so much we put down a deposit for our next. It’s human nature to be wary of the unknown and so that is why I wonder why a lot of people who have never been on cruises don’t go while most cruisers have been multiple times. Look for a post by early next week on tips for first time cruisers where I give a healthy mix of my own tips and tips from a seasoned professional: Norwegian Sky Hotel Director Fillipo Bertuzzi.

For now here is a picture recap of my cruise. I hope you enjoy the pictures and know that I had the best time of my life. Cruising is the best way to truly relax on a vacation because you don’t worry about meals, traveling or money. You just kick back and enjoy the experience. I loved the freestyle experience of Norwegian Cruise Line and don’t think I’ll be able to do it any other way.

The pool on our cruise ship

View of Miami from the ship

Cruise ship in Nassau

Bahemian bus in Nassau

Taken at Christ Church Cathedral in Nassau

Christ Church Cathedral in Nassau

The Atlantis Resort in Nassau

The Norwegian Sky (our cruise ship)

*as always photo credit goes to the lovely Reid Fuller

I just wanted to let you know I will be unable to update my blog for the next few days. Right now as we speak, my ship is departing from the port on it’s way to the Bahamas.  In case you didn’t know the picture is of my ship. I will be relaxing by the pool enjoying a pina colada and thinking of you. Of course I will be taking great notes, video, and pictures of this excursion to share with you- my best friends.  I hope you enjoy your weekend and find it relaxing and wonderful.

Love,

@travelgirl521

We will be staying the night in Atlanta on the 22 and then taking an early flight to Miami on the 23rd

Possibly do some sight seeing in Miami during the day and board our ship around 2 pm. The ship departs at 5:00 pm. We will be doing a video boat tour, and then eating and lounging by the pool.

We will arrive at Nassau on the 24th where we will be taking a taxi over to the Sheraton for a property tour to do a honeymoon destination post, then the pirate museum and hanging out at the beach. Our boat departs at 6 pm.

On the 25th we will be porting at the Great Stirrup Bay which is Norwegian Cruise Line’s own private island. Our plan is to snorkel and visit the lighthouse and take tons of gorgeous pictures.

Then sadly because all good things must come to an end on Monday we will be heading back to reality. Our boat docks at 8 am and we will likely be taking an early flight out.

My goals for this trip will be some very quality blog posts, a nice tan, a few extra pounds, and a good time with my husband. I’ve heard great things about Norwegian Cruise Line and I have no other experiences to compare to- so it should be awesome! If you have been on this cruise or these ports and have recommendations on what we do, or tips on cruises- please let me know!

This will be our first cruise ever- that’s right we are both cruising virgins, so any tips, facts or comments would be appreciated.

photo credit goes to Norwegian Cruise Lines

I stumbled across this article on MSNBC that I found pretty interesting regarding cruising that I wanted to share. It is about overcrowdings of cruise ports and how it affects the overall travel experience. They make a pretty good point because the peak travel season is during the summer and it should be something to be made aware of. That’s why my personal peak traveling time is during the spring/fall and winter. This is because I believe that in order to get the best experience of a new place you need to be able to see and do many different things, and if it is too crowded then it puts a damper on being able to pick up the culture and beauty of your new surroundings. That and honestly I find myself being inpatient in large crowds.

Back to the article, I can’t imagine paying so much money for a cruise that you expect to be so relaxing, romantic, fun for the kids, and then you get off at a port into a new place and it’s so crowded you can’t even do anything! Just an FYI for those of you who may be planning a cruising trip in the future, something to keep in mind at least.