Tribute to Cruise Ship Guest Attendants

Did you know that the people in the travel industry have suffered greater ​financial ​losses than any other ​organized ​group during the pandemic?

Thanks for the memories

This article is a ​special tribute ​to the hard working ​cabin and service attendants of the cruise industry. Delightful people who hail from faraway places like Indonesia, Bangladesh, the Philippines, Mexico and Bulgaria.

These ​industrious people are so grateful for work that they spend most of the year away from their loved ones so they can earn a living to support their families thousands of miles away.

Ever behind the scenes

They clean our cabins, wash our clothes, bus our tables, serve our food, take our pictures, and make funny towel animals to amuse us – all the while managing to remain virtually invisible so they do not intrude upon our ocean-going vacation.

Service above self

Cruise ​attendants are generally courteous beyond norms and ready to smile regardless of their personal burdens.  They take a lot of abuse because there are people in this world who give it. They genuinely strive to please those that are placed in their care, week after week, month after month, cruise after cruise.

Waiting to serve

They are home now. Waiting for the end of a pandemic that has severely impacted their dreams.

They are from poor countries and therefore their suffering is greater than those of us from wealthier nations might ever imagine.

There are tens of thousands of these honest and diligent men and women waiting for the cruise industry to get back on its feet.

Awaiting your welcome

While we pray for an end to the pandemic so we can get back to pleasures like world cruising, let’s all look forward to greeting our next stateroom server’s smile and that first “hello, my name is…” and remember when it comes time to tip at the end of the cruise — be generous.

Happy travels!

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Whenever we travel, we are protected by AllianzTravel insurance.

You can plan your trips with Google Maps.

The opinions expressed in our articles are the journalists alone and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any entity.

Copyright © 2021 Visit great vacation destinations with Wayne and Judy Bayliff.

Photos Copyright © 2021 Judy Bayliff.

Returning to the Sea After Covid-19

When you decide you are again ready for a new travel adventure, and you have already tried sky diving, hot air ballooning, and maybe white water rafting – look to the sea, and consider swimming with the sharks.

After you read our story and are raring to go, check out the new entry protocols required by the Islands in the Bahamas. You will find them at the end of this article.

Our personal favorite locations for diving with the sharks are off the beautiful islands of the Bahamas, which are an easy plane ride from the US mainland. We particularly like the island of New Providence which is home to the town of Nassau where 80% of the Bahamians live. At the opposite end of the island from Nassau is Stuart Cove’s Dive Center – one of the very best in the business.

Distinguished divers

Stuart Cove has been involved in the making of many underwater film segments including those from the popular James Bond series, For Your Eyes Only, and Never Say Never Again. Stuart personally certified Sean Connery (who lived in the Bahamas) and Kim Bassinger for their underwater scenes in the latter movie.

Through the years, Stuart has been host to a long list of celebrities and prominent world figures including Diana Princess of Wales, and the Princes William and Harry.

Friendly sharks

Next to the stingrays in the Cayman Islands, the Caribbean Reef Sharks in this part of New Providence waters are probably the closest thing to a trained fish that you will find anywhere on the planet. They are fed regularly by the shark dive tour operators and know exactly when to congregate for feedings.

During a shark feeding, all divers are required to kneel on the bottom in a semi-circle with their arms folded. The divemaster, outfitted in a chain-link suit, kneels in front of the group and dispenses large pieces of fish to the swarming sharks from a bucket via a metal pole. The process is often quite orderly with each shark waiting its turn for a tasty gobble. The rhythmic motion of the feeder and sharks is somewhat reminiscent of a matador finessing a cape across the horns of a passing bull.

Not for everyone 

Organized shark feeding is not without its critics. There are those that believe that any form of unnatural feeding of animals in the wild should be banned. However, we have never observed any behavioral differences between these local sharks and those of the same species in waters where there are no recreational feedings. We hasten to add, however, that we are not naturalists or shark experts.

A thrill like no other

As interesting as shark feedings are to watch, we have the most fun well before the feeding when we swim among the gathering sharks. Their eerie luminescent lime green eyes follow divers as they swim past. They seem to be as curious about humans as we are about them.

Fear dissipates quickly when you swim among sharks and learn to appreciate their grace and beauty.

Pick your sharks carefully

Of course, not all sharks are created equal. The favored Caribbean Reef Shark runs in size from five feet to nine feet, is olive-gray to grayish-brown in color, and is quite inquisitive, but not particularly threatening.

Play it safe and dive with experts

If you decide to try a shark dive holiday, your expectation and affirmation of safety lie in the fact that professional dive tour operators have been dispensing electrifying experiences to eager divers for years – and as far as we know – there have been no tragic consequences.

You need to be a certified SCUBA diver in order to participate in shark dives, but most warm-water resorts – and many cruise ships – offer certification courses that will have you trained and ready for action within a few days.

If you want more information

Check out Stuart Cove’s website at Special Offers – Stuart Coves – Bahamas Dive Shop & Tours. Then read and be ready to comply with the following important government rules.

The Islands of The Bahamas just announced streamlined entry protocols that will enable visitors to better and more seamlessly enjoy a Bahamas vacation experience. For detailed information regarding the new requirements please visit https://www.bahamas.com/pressroom/islands-bahamas-announces-updated-travel-and-entry-protocols.

The short version: Effective 1 November 2020, The Bahamas require all travelers to:

1. Obtain a COVID-19 RT PCR test five (5) days prior to arrival.
2. Apply for a Bahamas Health Travel Visa at travel.gov.bs.
3. For the duration of the visit, complete a daily online health questionnaire for symptom tracking purposes.
4. Take a COVID-19 Rapid Antigen Test on Day 5 of the visit (unless departing on day 5).
5. Always wear a mask and always social distance in public places.

In addition, since 14 November 2020, all visitors are required to opt-in to mandatory COVID-19 health insurance when applying for their Health Travel Visa. The insurance will cover travelers for the duration of their stay in The Bahamas.

Please visit https://www.travel.gov.bs/ for your Health Visa Application and information.

Persons experiencing issues with completing/submitting the travel health visa application should call 1-242-502-0839 or email healthvisa@bahamas.com.

Happy travels!

© 2021 Travels with Wayne and Judy

Photos © Wayne and Judy Bayliff

The Queen Mary Hotel is Open for Business

The Queen Mary has faced many challenges since her keel was laid in 1930. Now she is part of a new effort to beat an unprecedented enemy as she helps the world get back to business. Here’s a little more of her inspiring story:

The great ship Queen Mary has been part of Southern California’s treasures since the City of Long Beach acquired her in 1967. Long Beach then spent several million dollars to prepare her for the waiting public. Her grand California debut was on May 8, 1971.

The Queen Mary is a remarkable floating hotel, complete with 314 comfortable guestrooms and suites – all of which were first class cabins when the mighty Queen sailed the seven seas.

There are also fine restaurants on board, and a splendid gallery of shops and boutiques. Check with the hotel (1-562-435-3510) to determine if and when shops and services will be open during the Corona virus pandemic.

During her days on the North Atlantic, passengers enjoyed an indoor swimming pool.

Many post-WWII brides came to the US in cabins like these

Shipboard activities include several interesting tours and top-notch museum attractions. Unfortunately, all are temporarily suspended during the pandemic.

Your journey begins

Opening the door to a Queen Mary guestroom is like taking an imaginary step back in time. Some of the original metal fans that cooled passengers before the advent of air-conditioning are still affixed to cabin bulkheads. The old salt-water bath fixtures are still present and decorate the seafaring bathrooms.

Each guestroom has updated curtains, beds, and linens to complement original portholes, light fixtures, and paneling. All cabin/guestrooms have been meticulously restored to earlier times.

Some of the interior cabin hardware and wooden furnishings confirm their age – and to nostalgia buffs – that adds to the ambiance. Every piece of furniture has a thousand stories hidden in its historic facing – if only it could talk.

Plan to return for the tours and museums

A walk around the ship is testament that the Queen Mary is the world’s largest art deco museum. Her chambers and passageways are lined with examples of 1930’s art and exotic woods – some no longer available on the world market. Best of all, she exudes the unmistakable aura of the historic times in which she lived — when the abundantly rich, and calamitously poor, worked together to forge a new world.

The Queen Mary at war

We were fortunate that the Winston Churchill Suite was available for our visit. Sir Winston made three crossings on the Queen during World War II. A reliable source confirmed that Mr. Churchill used his suite’s bathtub – partially filled with sand – as a scaled replica to help plan the D-Day landings with members of the Allied staff. To spend time in the very place where such epic discussions took place is a rare honor indeed.

We asked why Winston Churchill did not choose a war ship to cross the Atlantic in those troubled times. “The answer is quite simple. At the time, the Queen Mary was nicknamed the ‘Gray Ghost’ because she was painted completely gray and hard to see, and at 28.5 knots (32.8 mph), she was the fastest ship on the seas.

She was so fast, that she frequently sailed without an escort and out of convoy.”

In general, the Queen played a large part in the outcome of the Second World War. She carried nearly 800,000 troops to the European Theater, and so demoralized the German high command that Adolf Hitler put a price on her head. He would pay the equivalent of $250,000 and award the Iron Cross to the U-boat captain that could find and sink her. Miraculously, she made 72 wartime crossings without an enemy engagement.

After the war, it was business as usual

The Queen Mary was the favorite mode of transportation across the Atlantic for the famous, and the rich and powerful for 30 years. She had three levels of service, i.e., First, Second, and Third class. Each level of service had distinct amenities and separate gathering rooms. First-class passengers were accorded the most space and luxury. The largest room on the was the first-class grand salon, which was three decks high.

Ship’s passengers enjoyed a variety of shops, a two level indoor swimming pool, salon, nursery, library, kennel, and several outdoor deck sports.

A little known story about a great celebrity

One of our favorite post-war stories aboard the Queen involved one lovable and flamboyant Wladziu Valentino Liberace. Liberace was already a famous entertainer in 1956. In that year, he was ticketed in first class and sailed during a difficult New York to Southampton crossing. All on board that particular voyage learned what his friends already knew – Liberace was a warm and generous human being.

The maestro, who was one of the highest paid entertainers in the world during the ’50s, offered to play a free engagement aboard the Queen. The beneficiaries of his kindness were to be the least affluent of his shipmates. He would entertain and play one night, but only for the third-class passengers.

The ship’s crew was ordered to move the grand piano from its prominent position in the first-class parlor to the relatively small and stuffy third-class sitting room. Lee, as he was known to his friends, pulled out all the stops. Everyone present said Liberace’s exalted performance was the highlight of his or her voyage on the Queen Mary. It is reported that all had a grand time – but no one as much as the gracious Liberace himself.

Additional interesting facts and trivia:

• The Queen Mary has a 118-foot beam, and that was too wide for the Panama Canal.
• She is 182 feet tall, which is about seven feet higher than Niagara Falls.
• The Queen is almost twice the tonnage and 136 feet longer than the ill-fated Titanic.
• Her full name is RMS Queen Mary – the RMS stands for Royal Mail Ship.
• In July 1943, she carried 15,740 troops – a standing world record for most passengers on a ship’s voyage.
• The headline entertainer on the Queen’s final passenger voyage in September 1967 was Johnny Mathis.
• The last Master of the Queen Mary was Captain J. Treasure Jones. He eloquently summed up her existence when he said, “She breathed, she had character, she had personality. She was above all else the closest ship ever to be a living being.”

Don’t miss it

When you are ready to travel and are in Southern California, be sure to stay at this unique hotel. Who knows what famous person(s) may have slept in that very cabin. Also, there are reputed to be over 600 ghosts that haunt the famous ship. Perhaps one is awaiting your visit.

If you go

The Queen Mary is located at 1126 Queen’s Highway, in Long Beach, CA 90802. The phone number is 1-562-435-3510. For more information go to http://www.queenmary.com.

Happy travels!

Whenever we travel, we are protected by AllianzTravel insurance.

You can plan your trips with Google Maps.

The opinions expressed in our articles are the journalists alone and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any entity.

© 2020 Travels with Wayne and Judy 

Photos © Judy Bayliff

Cruise Without Waves in April 2020

Are you missing the unbridled freedom of travel and cruising during these long days of lock downs? So are we.

For the common good we must comply with the self-isolation mandates, but Spring is coming and our wanderlust will soon be in full bloom.

Here’s an idea

In addition to challenging games of rug-putt golf, we decided to organize several arm-chair vacations. Think of it as a variation of the “staycation” idea so popular during the last recession.

Like us, we bet you have lots of digitized photos from past vacations and events.

Organize your photos

We have all our photo files on our computer in Google’s Picasa 3. We like the way Picasa organizes photos and have used it for years but unfortunately Google no longer supports it. If you don’t already have your digitized photos on your computer or in the cloud, check the internet for other places and programs to store photos. Make sure whatever program you choose has a “slideshow” feature.

Having taken tens of thousands of pictures during our 15+ years of travel writing, we have now corralled all the digitized photos from each trip and put them under one descriptive file such as “Oahu.”

As an added benefit of the process we have eliminated thousands of redundant images and really spruced up our photo presentations.

We then organized each trip under a category, country, or state destination heading such as “Hawaii,” or “Cruise – Hawaii.”

Sit back and enjoy

Now, when we want to take a virtual “trip” we just select an album like “Cruise – Eastern Europe,” select “slideshow” from the “view” tab, set the display time we prefer for each image, and click “go.” We can pause the slideshow whenever we want to reminisce about a specific image.

For even more fun, we set the slideshow feature to “random sort.” and try to guess where and when each variable photo was taken — stimulates the brain cells.

Memory Lane is a great place to visit when you are house bound. Like Sinatra sang, “It’s oh so nice to go trav’lin’ but it’s so much nicer, yes, it’s so much nicer to come home.”

Happy virtual travels and stay safe. We can get through this.

Note: There are also virtual tours on the internet to visit places you haven’t been. For starters, check out the US National Park Systems website. The parks are physically closed, but not to your computer.

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Whenever we travel, we are protected by AllianzTravel insurance.

You can plan your trips with Google Maps.

The opinions expressed in our articles are the journalists alone and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any entity.

Copyright © 2020 Visit great vacation destinations with Wayne and Judy Bayliff.

Photos Copyright © 2020 Judy Bayliff.

Cruise Food: Is It As Good As It’s Reputed to Be?

Absolutely! We have been cruising for decades in all manner of ships. One thing that has been consistently good throughout is the food. Yes, we have experienced an occasional disappointment along the way, but far too few to mention among the hundreds of wonderful meals we have enjoyed at sea.

A picture is worth a thousand words so enjoy a small assortment of our images of mouth-watering vittles from just four family cruise lines, i.e., Carnival, Celebrity, Holland America, and Princess.

Yes, even breakfast is special.

Our hats off to the thousands of creative chefs and servers that make the dining experience at sea so unforgettable.

Bon Appetit!

Breakfast cereal at home never looks like this.

And special kudos to our favorite Italian Executive Chef Ottavio Bellesi of Princess Cruise Lines

Cruise lines — thank you for the memories!

Happy Travels

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Whenever we travel, we are protected by AllianzTravel insurance.

You can plan your trips with Google Maps.

The opinions expressed in our articles are the journalists alone and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any entity.

Copyright © 2020 Visit great vacation destinations with Wayne and Judy Bayliff.

Photos Copyright © 2020 Judy Bayliff. Final image courtesy of Princess Cruise Lines.

Best Places to Stay for Oregon Ocean Views: Heceta Lighthouse Bed and Breakfast

What lover of the sea doesn’t like a lighthouse? Artistic sentinels of the past and present that conjure up thoughts of tumultuous seas and shipwrecks along craggy coasts. For some, a lighthouse may bring visions of a peaceful life with the siren call of gulls and foghorns. Adventure to some, serenity to others. Who lived such a life and how did they live it? There’s a great way to find out, if only for a day or two.

Stay at a historic lighthouse bed and breakfast

There are not many American lighthouses with guest facilities, but there are a few. One of the best is the often-photographed Heceta Lighthouse near Florence, Oregon.  The old lighthouse keeper’s home is just a few minute’s walk from the lighthouse and is now a thriving B&B with one of the most scenic outlooks of the rugged Oregon coast.

A brief history

In 1891 President Benjamin Harrison reserved a coastal headland known as Heceta Head, in Lane County, Oregon, for the sole use of a lighthouse, which was subsequently constructed and dedicated three years later.

The lighthouse boasts a 1.2 million candle power light — the most powerful on the Oregon coast. It can be seen from far out at sea, and also, from various points along US-101.

The last keeper left when the giant light was automated in 1963. Thereafter, the keeper’s notably unique residence went vacant.

The house on the left was razed in 1940, the one remaining was put on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.

Twenty-two years later in 1995, Lane County opened the building for tours and a six guestroom B&B. What a wonderful idea!

We had the privilege of spending two nights in the Mariner II guestroom at the Heceta Lighthouse Bed and Breakfast.

Our room was one of three with an en-suite bath. If you would enjoy traveling back in time to the early days of lighthouse keeping, this is a place you will not want to miss.

Painstakingly furnished with period antiques, the vintage Queen Ann style keeper’s house is a giant step back to the late 1800s.

The house is reputed to be haunted, and the setting is perfect for the phenomenon, but alas, we did not see any apparitions.

The view from our room was inspiring. The windows were like a powerful lens through which our expectations of the beauty of the rugged Oregon coastline became a reality.

 

A stay at the Keeper’s home includes a house tour, lighthouse tour, wine and cheese social, and a gourmet breakfast. All worth the price of admission.

 

See the lighthouse in daylight and after dark

It’s a brief walk from the keeper’s house to the lighthouse atop the craggy knoll.

There is also a cliff trail that rises above the lighthouse.

The view from that vantage point invites your gaze over the shimmering ocean and the southern aspect of the Siuslaw National Forest and its rocky shoreline.

A flashlight is provided in every guestroom in the inn, along with encouragement to climb the easy trail after dark.

At night the lighthouse is showcased in the dramatic glow of its illuminated Fresnel lens, which tirelessly scans the sea under the gaze of a million stars.

Do not miss breakfast

Original innkeepers Mike and Carol Korgan are both certified executive chefs. They are retired now, but their successors have upheld the tradition of fine dining at the house.

A seven-course day-opening meal awaits each guest. At this table, delicious food keeps coming until every guest is fully nourished and satisfied.

Accompanied by rousing coffees and teas, the multi-plate tapas style breakfast was a great way to start the day. The experience was further enhanced by the congeniality of our fellow guests.

Our recommendation

For those heading to Oregon and ready for an authentic 19th-century lighthouse keeper’s experience accompanied by a gourmet-envy seven-course breakfast, we think you will enjoy the Heceta Head Lighthouse B&B. Learn more about it here.

Because this vintage B&Bs has very few guestrooms, be sure to make reservations several weeks in advance to avoid disappointment.

If you go

The Heceta Lighthouse is located just off US-101 on the central Oregon coast and 12 miles north of Florence, Oregon.

Portland is the nearest major airport, and Eugene is a good choice as the closest regional airport that has direct service to cities like Seattle, San Francisco, and Denver.

Happy travels!

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“Get out there, but be prepared.”

Whenever we travel, we are protected by Allianz Travel Insurance.

You can plan your trips with Google Maps.

The opinions expressed in our articles are the journalists alone and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any entity.

© Travels with Wayne and Judy Bayliff

Photos © Judy Bayliff. Vintage photo provided by Heceta Lighthouse.

Royal Caribbean Brings You Kusadasi and Ephesus

If you are sailing on Royal Caribbean and one of your ports of call is Kusadasi, Turkey, be sure to take the shore excursion to Ephesus. You will be delighted that you did.

Ephesus was a Greek city founded approximately 3,000 years ago in Asia Minor in what is now western Turkey.  A visit to Ephesus gives the imaginative global traveler a sense of what life was like in the golden age of Greece and Rome.

The rise and fall of a great city

In the time of Christ, the now uninhabited city of Ephesus was a thriving seaport. It is now almost 6 miles inland from the Aegean Sea. Centuries of silting has completely closed off Ephesus from the coast.

However, back in the second century AD, Ephesus was the largest city in Roman Asia, and its population ranked fourth behind Rome, Alexandria, and Antioch. Its decline took a thousand years, and when the Crusaders entered Ephesus in 1300, the once great seaport was little more than a small mosquito infested village on a marshy plain. The city was totally abandoned about the time that Columbus made his voyage to America.

The deserting people of Ephesus left behind the largest collection of Roman ruins east of the Mediterranean.

As one walks through the vast remains of vanished glory, it is hard to imagine that only about 15% of this enormous city has been excavated.

A leader in its time

Because Ephesus was an early citadel of women’s rights, the ancient city’s society was considered quite avant-garde for the region. Mark Anthony and Cleopatra made a trip to Ephesus in 33 BC. On the darker side, from 100 BC to 100 AD, Ephesus was the capital of a flourishing slave trade.

Legend also has it that the first commercial brothel was introduced to the public in Ephesus, as were public restrooms.

There were apparently few private moments in the public toilets of the day, as evidenced by the photo.

There are three especially significant ruins among the hundreds in Ephesus. The Library of Celsus, the Temple of Artemis, and the Grand Theater of Ephesus.

The Library of Celsus

A world recognized icon that was built by the son of the Roman governor of Asia to honor his father in 117 AD. The Library of Celsus is an excellent example of how the Greeks influenced Roman public architecture for the period. The library is thought to have housed more than 12,000 written scrolls. The interior and its contents were destroyed during a Gothic invasion in 262 AD. Only the exterior of the library survived.

The Temple of Artemis

One of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. History records that the Temple of Artemis was constructed over an earlier Bronze Age temple ruin in 550 BC. It took 125 years to build. After surviving for almost two centuries, it was destroyed in 356 BC – on the very day that Alexander the Great was born. It was rebuilt to even greater glory before being destroyed yet again in 262 AD by the Goths.

There are few visible remains of the once great temple, with little more than one lonely column to mark the site. However, standing near the excavation invites the mind to imagine the enormity and magnificence of the once great ancient structure.

The Grand Theater of Ephesus

The Grand Theater seated 25,000 spectators and was the largest outdoor amphitheater of its kind in the ancient world.

It was the site of popular Greek plays and games, as well as Gladiator exhibitions in the later Roman era.

Ephesus is a historian’s delight, a photographer’s joy, and an architect’s text book. All visitors are awed by the imagery and magnitude of what was once a grand city of shining marble and untold riches. Ephesus is definitely worth a place on the global traveler’s bucket list.

If you go

Tours of Ephesus leave from all major Turkish cities and ports, and comfortable accommodations are readily available throughout the region.

Ephesus is located approximately 13 miles from the Turkish port city of Kusadasi, which plays host to many cruise ships. The Adnan Menderes Airport, in Izmir is about 35 miles north of Ephesus. Everything at the Izmir airport is very expensive, so buy all your sundries before you arrive.

Happy travels!

*************************************

“Get out there, but be prepared.”

Whenever we travel, we are protected by AllianzTravel insurance.

You can plan your trips with Google Maps.

The opinions expressed in our articles are the journalists’ alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any entity.

Copyright © 2019 Visit great vacation destinations with Wayne and Judy Bayliff

Photos Copyright © 2019 Judy Bayliff

Cruising to Mexico Where Much of the Fun is Getting There

It’s been a rainy winter at our home on the Oregon coast, so we decided to hunt for some sun and sand on the western coast of Mexico.

There’s a lot of ways to get to the famous Mexican Riviera. We decided on a Princess Cruise, and we are so glad we did.

Our cruise featured a total of ten wonderful days of relaxation – first aboard the Grand Princess and then in the warm sun of four exciting south of the border ports – Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlán, Manzanillo, and Cabo San Lucas.

Our ship was the Grand Princess, and our cruise departed from San Francisco, always a nostalgic bonus for two ex-San Franciscans.

It didn’t take long

We pointed our car south on scenic Hwy 101, and within a few days, we were standing atop the uppermost deck of the Grand Princess as she glided under the Golden Gate Bridge. Click here to watch and listen to the excitement.

The ship’s horn was blaring, the automobiles on the bridge were honking, and hundreds of excited passengers were waving their arms and cheering. What a thrilling exit from everyone’s favorite City by the Bay.

What to write about

We knew we wanted to write about this vacation, but what aspects would our readers enjoy most. Hmmm.

There are thousands of travel articles written about each of the ports-of-call we would visit on our cruise. Type the word “Mazatlán” in Google Search, and you will get over 130 million results in .62 seconds – how do they do that!

So, rather than add to the mountain of available information about the ports of the Mexican Riviera, we will instead share our views on why we think cruising is the best way to get there.

Here are some reasons to take a cruise

“Unpack once to see the world.” A favorite reason – it’s easy. No packing and unpacking as you move from place to place on vacation.

A cruise ship can be a vacation destination.  You might be surprised at how many seasoned cruisers never get off the ship for the entire cruise. To these devoted folks, the cruise itinerary is far less important than being on a favorite ship or cruise line. Everything they look for in a great vacation is right there on board.

Cruising is a great way to visit places you have never been before. Port stops are usually just long enough to get a flavor for a locale. Think of it as Visit 101. If you find a place you like, you can fly back when you have more time to explore it in-depth.

Binge or budget

Cruise lines cater to every wallet and expectation. Like an airplane, everyone on a cruise ship gets to the destination at the same time. However, the cost of a ticket on either mode of travel depends greatly on where you are on board. On a cruise ship you have four options, inside cabin with no window, outside cabin with window, outside cabin with a balcony, or an outside suite with extra room and a balcony.

Something to think about

It is possible that a budget cruise vacation with all the food you can eat – plus entertainment and other bennies, might very well be less expensive than just the cost of daily meals in a nice hotel restaurant on land.

Free stuff

Of course, everyone knows there is a lot of free stuff on a cruise – well, not really, but it feels that way after you have paid for your ticket. Food is free and available all over the ship. Yes, it is very easy to overindulge. Think of the temptation as a good test of your inner strength.

Entertainment is also free, and has improved dramatically over the years. Shipboard theaters are comfortable, and live musical productions are first-rate and on a par with the finest Vegas hotels.

The swimming pools are a great place to lounge, the library to read and relax, seminars at sea to learn – all for free.

High seas internet

It wasn’t long ago that it was expensive and an ordeal to get internet service on board a cruise ship. We are happy to report that things have improved greatly – at least on Princess.

There were three internet plans to choose from on our voyage. None were overly expensive, and the connections were commendable throughout the trip. We had a choice of guest computers in the Internet Lounge, or we could use our own devices from just about anywhere on the ship.

Cruising with electronics

There is one improvement we would ask of cruise ship designers. Please add more electrical outlets for guest use. The balcony staterooms on the Grand Princess have a total of 3 easily accessible outlets – but not all are usable at the same time if your devices have large plugs.

Here’s a little secret. If you look closely behind the TV in most cabins, you will find an open outlet. Not easy to access, but it’s there.

Tip: We always travel with a small travel surge protector/extension cord. Ours is a GE #14015 available from Amazon for about $15. It has three outlets and 2 USB rapid charging ports. There’s even a handy cord-wrap feature. Ideal, and problem solved.

Dining options

Princess has anytime dining or fixed reservation dining in the main dining rooms. We chose the fixed reservation early sitting because we like to eat early, and have ample time to get to the theater for the first show of the live productions.

We got to sit at the same table every night. Luckily, it was a window table and we could watch the waves go by as we waited for our 4-course dinners to begin.

At a fixed reservation table, you are served by the same team every night. In our case it was Sandra and Sarai, both from Mexico – so in addition to excellent service, we had the best tourist tips for all the ports of call.

Our wait team was backed up by our Head Waiter who hailed from Turkey. Everyone says that, “Our dining room team is the best,” but ours really was! They knew the menu, and their recommendations were always spot on. Never an empty water-glass or a crumb on the table. Three great personalities that after 10 days felt like part of our family. Can’t offer a better compliment than that.

Dress

Dress codes for the main dining rooms are much more lenient than a decade ago, but still a little stricter than for the truly casual dining venues on board. On land we would call it “Smart-Casual.”

Depending on the length of the cruise, there will be one or more formal nights in the main dining rooms. These dress-up dinners are opportunities for the ladies and gents to strut their finer stuff. One of these nights is usually when that savory lobster entrée is on the menu.

If you prefer to eat in shorts and flip-flops the entire trip, you will always be welcome for any meal at the Horizon Buffet, or at any of the poolside food stations serving delicious pizza, hot dogs, hamburgers, ice cream cones, etc.

The Horizon Buffet is a casual restaurant with everything from American comfort food to exotic international dishes. At times it can be difficult to find an unoccupied table, but just ask anyone that has empty chairs if you can join them. We have never heard “no” for an answer.

On two of our nights, we ventured into one of the two specialty restaurants aboard the Grand Princess. There is an extra charge to eat at a specialty restaurant, but to celebrate an occasion, or pamper your palate, they are well worth the extra expense.

The specialty restaurants aboard Princess are the Sabatini Italian Restaurant and the Crown Grill Steakhouse. We have some great pics of our gourmet experiences aboard the Grand Princess, but we’ll save them for another story.

More to come

There is so much to write about a fantastic cruise. So we will end here with a promise of future articles describing our delightful spa treatments, luck in the casino, movies under the stars, beverage packages, bar services, room services, and our experience at the specialty restaurants.

We also look forward to telling you about the fun and nostalgic Princess welcome aboard program, our thoughts on the virtual end to sea-sickness, and the updated changes to the safety procedures on board Princess Cruises.

Ready to cruise?

For more information check out Princess.com

Happy travels!

*************************************

“Get out there, but be prepared.”

Whenever we travel, we are protected by AllianzTravel insurance.

You can plan your trips with Google Maps.

The opinions expressed in our articles are the journalists’ alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any entity.

Copyright © 2019 Visit great vacation destinations with Wayne and Judy Bayliff

Photos Copyright © 2019 Judy Bayliff

Princess Cruise Ships: What Makes Them Sparkle

We recently took a Princess cruise to the Mexican Riviera on the Grand Princess. This was our third sailing on the Grand since she was commissioned in 1998. You might wonder, after 20 years of service and tens of thousands of passengers, how does Princess keep her looking fresh and appealing to prospective guests.

We interviewed the Captain and Hotel General Manager, and along with inquiring about their work we asked some questions about the age of the Grand Princess.

Meet the Captain

The present Master of the Grand Princess is Captain John Harry Smith. Captain Smith started his career at sea as a deck hand on an oil tanker. He worked his way up the ranks and has been with the Princess Cruise Line since 2007.

In our years as travel photojournalists we have interviewed many ship’s Masters. Captain Smith manifests the same professionalism and confidence that we have learned to expect from all the members of his highly trained and respected vocation.

On the subject of maintaining older ships in the Princess fleet, Captain Smith commented, “Having an inspired crew, and paying attention to details when it comes to cleanliness and appearance gives any ship vitality. Constant and vigilant maintenance allows older ships to remain seaworthy and popular among new and repeat guests.” To that end, each Princess ship is removed from service every three years, and the Grand Princess is next in line.

In March 2019, the Grand Princess will enter dry dock in Portland, Oregon for repairs, maintenance, improvements, and inspections. She will be worked over from stem to stern, top to bottom, inside and out, by 1000 contractors from around the world. The work will be performed 24-hours per day, and the workers will live aboard the ship. Service will be provided by the ship’s regular hospitality crew during the entire process. All the work and numerous inspections will take just 13 days. Now that’s precision planning!

We asked the Hotel General Manager

While the Captain is responsible for literally everything, his primary areas of concentration are guest and ship safety, navigation, operations, and the environment. The Captain puts great trust in the person who is directly charged with keeping the passengers happy, i.e., the Hotel General Manager. The HGM is responsible for all guest services, including dining, entertainment, and housekeeping. Helmut Leikauf is the Hotel General Manager aboard the Grand Princess.

There’s a ratio of about 2 guests to 1 crewmember on board a Princess ship. Approximately 900 of the 1100 hundred crew aboard the Grand Princess are guest-centric and report to the hotel organization. The HGM is an important officer indeed.

Mr. Leikauf fits the profile of his job, perfectly. He hails from Austria, a country noted for its prestigious hotel schools. Helmut is the epitome of what one expects at the top echelon of a first class hotel – on land or sea.  He is gracious, gregarious, and exacting, and his leadership by example is evident throughout the ship. He offered, “A happy crew makes for happy guests.”

We asked Mr. Leikauf about how long a ship might expect to be part of the Princess fleet. His answer was that such decisions are way above his pay grade, but he did offer that the Princess’ head office is highly focused on an excellent guest cruise experience. In his opinion, “There will be a place for any ship that continues to uphold and perform to Princess high standards, and remains popular with the guests.”

We recommend this cruise 

Our ten day cruise to Mexico exceeded our expectations. The Grand Princess performed like the great ship she is, and the attentive officers and crew made it an exceptional vacation.

We will write about other aspects of our Princess cruise to the Mexican Riviera in future articles.

Our next cruise will be to Hawaii or Alaska, and since it will depart from San Francisco, it will be on the renovated Grand Princess. We look forward to being aboard one of our favorite ships once again, and seeing her new “sparkle.”

For more information

Contact your favorite travel agent or Princess Cruises directly.

Happy travels.

*************************************

“Get out there, but be prepared.”

Whenever we travel, we are protected by AllianzTravel insurance.

You can plan your trips with Google Maps.

The opinions expressed in our articles are the journalists’ alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any entity.

Copyright © 2019 Visit great vacation destinations with Wayne and Judy Bayliff

Photos Copyright © 2019 Judy Bayliff

A Visit to Québec and the Empress of Ireland: A Titanic Size Catastrophe Forgotten in History

Visiting Québec this summer? Consider a stop at the Canadian national historic landmark Pointe-au-Pére. It deserves a spot on your itinerary.

Favoring all destinations that involve water, we were drawn to Pointe-au-Pére’s nautical attractions –  the Empress of Ireland Pavilion, Pointe-au-Pére Lighthouse, and the HMCS Onondaga – a Royal Canadian Navy submarine. We were particularly moved by the story and exhibit of the Empress of Ireland.

The tragic fate of the Empress of Ireland

The Empress of Ireland Pavilion houses a museum that opened in 2000 and contains a creative recounting of the history of Canada’s worst maritime disaster that took place just off the nearby headlands.

In heavy fog, in the early hours of May 29, 1914 the luxury liner RMS Empress of Ireland was struck amidships by a steamship hauling coal up the St. Lawrence River. The steamer was fixed with an icebreaker bow that tore a 14-foot hole in the Empress. She sank in just 14 minutes. There were 1,477 passengers aboard the ill-fated liner – only 465 survived the frigid waters of the St. Lawrence.

Lost in history

Even though the loss of life on the Empress of Ireland was in a league with that of the Titanic and Lusitania, the sinking of the Empress remains relatively unknown. Here are some reasons.

The Titanic was a celebrity ship on her maiden voyage on the prestigious route between New York and London. There were many famous people aboard and her builders had bragged that the Titanic was unsinkable. After hitting an iceberg, she sank on April 15, 1912.

The Lusitania had the distinction of being torpedoed by a German submarine on May 7, 1915, just under a year after the Empress tragedy. The Lusitania incident eventually led to the United States entering World War I.

The Empress of Ireland was on a routine run across the Atlantic from Québec City to Liverpool – not a particularly prestigious route. There were no famous millionaires aboard, and apparently the loss of 1,012 ordinary lives was not remarkable at a time when tens of thousands were dying on the battlefields of Europe. The Empress tragedy was literally pushed from the front pages of every newspaper.

Notwithstanding the lack of notoriety at the time, the Empress sinking was one of the world’s biggest civilian losses of life at sea.

To this very day, there are over 600 bodies entombed in the twisted wreck of the Empress – just 130 feet below the surface of the icy cold waters of the swift St. Lawrence River.

The detailed exhibits in the Pavilion are full of artifacts recovered from the ship. In addition, a dramatic film presentation documents the events leading up to the sinking.

Pointe-au-Pére Lighthouse

Had it not been for the early dark hour and fog, the Empress of Ireland accident could have been visible from the Pointe-au-Pére Lighthouse. Built in 1909, at 108 feet the lighthouse is the second tallest in Canada.

The lighthouse is constructed of concrete with eight buttresses that support a central tower with 128 steps to the top.

The light was deactivated in 1975, and it, along with the adjoining lighthouse keeper’s house, is now open to the public.

The keeper’s lodge is a “Museum of the Sea,” in which there are several interesting exhibits about navigation on the St. Lawrence River.

Visit the submarine

The HMCS Onondaga Attack Submarine was part of the Canadian Navy’s prestigious Atlantic Maritime Forces for over 30 years. She was decommissioned in 2000, and is now permanently docked at Pointe-au-Pére. The Onondaga is the only military submarine on public display in Canada.

Visiting the Onondaga is an excellent opportunity to tour a modern submarine, which is quite different from the mostly WWII vintage boats that are open to the public in other parts of the world.

If you go

Pointe-au-Pére is located in the Bas-Saint-Laurent region of the Québec Maritime. It is the traditional starting point for the scenic Gaspésie Tour known for outstanding landscapes, charming inns, and delicious foods including succulent lamb, artisan cheeses, and maple victuals.

This national historic site lies three and one half hours northeast of Québec City. Drive along the south shore of the St. Lawrence on Route 132. Your destination is just 15 minutes east of Rimouski.

We recommend vacationing in the Quebec Maritime

Lucky is the family that gets to vacation in Québec and explore its history and many natural wonders. This beautiful eco-friendly province of Canada is a photographer’s dream that has adventures around every turn in the road. We like spending quality-time in The Maritime, and we think you will too. For more information about what the Québec Maritime has to offer, check out their website: http://quebecmaritime.ca. Take special note of their unique self-guided tours.

Happy travels!

*************************************

“Get out there, but be prepared.”

Whenever we travel, we are protected by Allianz Global Assist travel insurance.

You can plan your trips with Google Maps.

The opinions expressed in our articles are the journalists’ alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any entity.

Copyright © 2018 Visit great vacation destinations with Wayne and Judy Bayliff

Photos Copyright © 2018 Judy Bayliff