Cruise

Morocco: Kindness and Olives

December 17, 2017 by Notourguideneeded Leave a Comment

As part of our cruise in Spain, we headed down the north west part of Africa to the Canary Islands. In the area, the ship stopped off in Casablanca, Morocco. I had mixed emotions. First there isn’t really much to do in Casablanca. Since going, anytime I tell any Moroccan that I went to Casablanca, they consistently look at my funny and say “why?”. Marrakesh is a four hour drive and while we had time, I had no desire to get in a bus and sit for that long. We decided to relax and we would come back another time when we can do Marrakesh right. However, I was excited to be in Morocco and able to check Africa off my continent list.

Things to do in Casablanca

I did extensive research on Casablanca. I had maps, addresses, etc and researched places to eat and things to do. Then on the ship, there was a an advertisement for an excursion that took us to the Mosque and a City tour. At first I was a little annoyed with taking an excursion because I had (thought) I did my research. Well, let me say this… if you think you are just going to walk around Casablanca and check out the sites, you might find yourself very tired, lost and frustrated.

(read more on our cruise here)

I am glad we took the city tour because we had this wonderful woman tour guide. Tours are essentially made or broken by the guide and she was a star! A spunky woman who carried a cane around with her and I swear she was ready to use it.

Anyway, we drove around the city and stopped at the Mosque and a few spots in the city. The Mosque tour was fabulous and was one of the highlights of the whole trip. However the city tour was really just of the city.

Kindness and Olives

As we were walking around the city with the tour guide we were really getting frustrated as it was just a city. I started regretting that we didn’t go to Marrakesh and do some serious shopping. Then we walked in the area of the market where there were tons of vendors selling the most amazing olives I have ever seen. The variety and smell was overwhelming. I was in heaven seeing this.

The currency for Morocco is dirham. We had none. We took the tour because everything was included so we wouldn’t have to exchange money. This area was a proper market where it was cash only.

We asked one of the sellers if they would take credit and he didn’t speak English or Spanish. The tour guide was leaving. The hubs and I really wanted to experience these olives. We showed him Euros. He didn’t take them.

Then this gentleman did something so kind I will never forget it. He grabbed a bag and filled it up with olives for us. We tried to explain that we didn’t have money to pay and he clearly understood. This was his gift to us.

I’ll never forget the experience. Us trying to fully appreciate the culture and he understanding what we wanted. We didn’t need words.

He gave us enough that when we finally found our bus (and a slightly annoyed tour guide) we were able to share the experience with those around us.

And those olives were like nothing I have ever tasted here.

Now, when I think of Casablanca and people ask me “why?” I reply “have you had olives there?”.

NCL Sun – Review of Ship

December 23, 2016 by Notourguideneeded Leave a Comment

Norwegian Sun

In November of 2016 we left Santiago Chile, sailed around the Cape Horn and over to Buenos Aires. With a total of 14 nights, it was an amazing trip! There was so much to see and do. In order for us to really get all we can out of a cruise we like to make sure we stay organized and bring the appropriate items with us to help out. We probably were too prepared and took too many precautions that were not necessary. Hopefully you will find here everything that you need to make your trip spectacular!

Storage

In prior ships, we ran out of space for everything. On this trip I was going to be prepared! We brought the recommended “over the door shoe organizers” that are on every pinterest recommendation. I brought little organizers to hang places. Tons of ziplock bags!

We did not use any of it.

The room has so much storage that there was no need for any of that. Really.

There are six pull out doors, so my husband and I each took three. I only needed two. There is an open cabinet that we stored wine, snacks, etc. Inside the closet are shelves.

Everyone seemed to complain on websites about the space in the bathroom. PLENTY. There was storage above the sink and also inside the shower.

We easily were able to slide our bags under the bed.

My advice: Do not worry about storage.

Ship Layout

This ship is much smaller than any I have ever been on before. If you want to go around the cape of South America, the big ships will not be able to get you there. So, we picked itinerary over ship size.

Personally I like smaller ships. It is easy to get around and you get to know people easier.

Things to know:

The gym is quite large. There are two rooms – one with machines and the other open. There are several classes offered (payed and free). I also saw many people who had downloaded workouts and doing them on their ipad.
There are really four sets of elevators. The Atrium has two glass elevator banks. Everyone gravitates to these and it causes them to be slow. However, if you just walk a few feet over there is another set of 6 elevators. Also, note that the atrium elevators only go to 11 and the others go to the 12th floor.
In all the other ships I have been on, the shops are on the floor above the atrium. You basically must go thru the shops to go anywhere. On this ship, the shops are kind of out of the way and you could go the whole trip never seeing them.
They do have a $10 store. The stuff there is all $10 and well, it is all $10. But if you forgot a hat or scarf (or a watch like I did), it is a good place to pick something up.
A little trick I did to remember where things are:
- Observation and bars are on 12
- Food, Pool and Gym are on 11
- Casino and shopping on 7
- Photos and Entertainment are on 6
- Coffee, Restaurants, and Atrium are on 5
Many people did not realize there was an observation deck. I was surprised at how many people who had been on the ship since San Diego had not discovered it. In many other trips, the observation deck is a good place to hang out and watch the seas. Most of the time when we went there, you could not see out of the windows. And even when you could, it is not the very front of the ship (you can walk out in front of the windows). While there is not much observing going on, it is a nice place to relax and they had great music almost every night.
I find it funny that one of the smoking sections is outside of the gym.

Staff

I am not even sure how to begin. The staff of the Sun were the most welcoming, accommodating group that I have ever seen. They went out of their way to make everyone feel at home.

The hotel director runs the ship with style and you can really tell how the team cherishes his leadership. While they are there to make the passengers’ trip an experience, they are also having a good time. There is something magical that happens on the ship when the crew is also enjoying their experience. You don’t want to visit someone’s home when they don’t want to be there… same for a ship!

Concierge

Did you know there is a concierge on the ship? It is a floating hotel, so it makes sense. Did you know they are the most important person you need to get to know?

The concierge made our trip incredible. He gave us inside tips on the excursions, things to see, and places to eat. Anything we needed, we called our concierge from reservations to help with special things.

The concierge service in most ships also has a VIP area for eating. Why is this important? Because you get personalized service and a much better menu. If it was a short cruise, I am not sure if it would be necessary, but a long cruise made this important for us.

The concierge also gets you on and off the ship in the ports. When we went to Stanley people lined up at 8am to get off. It took several hours to anchor (and there was a time when we didn’t think we were going to make it). We went to our room and waited for the captain to say we were ready. Then the concierge took us the back way down and out. That evening we heard everyone complaining about the wait.

I never understood the reason anyone would pay for the upper class accommodations (suites) and now I do. If you can spring for a little more, it is worth the luxury.

Food

I had meals that were out of this world fabulous and some that were just okay. But we never had a meal that was bad. The restaurants will accommodate almost any request you have so do not limit yourself if there is something you truly want.

Main Dining

The main dining rooms now have meals included and meals you can purchase.

A lot of people were complaining that ships are charging for every little thing now and I think some people are annoyed to see any dollar figures at all during the trip. I don’t mind paying for extra, however we did not see the need to pay for food when there was food offered as part of our package. So now you can have lobster every night, but it will cost you.

Specialty Dining

The specialty dining was really nice. We went to the Tepanyaki and Le Bistro. Both were great and I was surprised at how good the French cuisine was! Tepanyaki is always a lot of fun for us, especially when the whole table is having a good time. I also heard that Cagney’s was very good (although we did not eat there I heard from enough sources to feel comfortable saying it’s a good place to eat).

Buffet

The Buffet on this ship is really small but still offers a great variety.

The layout of the ship means that you need to walk through where the food is served to get to certain areas. So while we only ate in the buffet twice, we saw the food daily.

The inside buffet had a section for pasta, deserts, Indian (awesome Chicken curry), stir-fry, a very large salad selection, carving station, hotdogs, burgers, soups, and various other items that changed often.

There was also an outside buffet that seemed to have hotdogs, sandwiches, etc.

Sports Bar

We spent a lot of evenings at the sports bar. Our server there was so nice that we wanted to come back just to visit with him.

Salads, Burgers, Chicken fingers, spinach dip, wings, fish and chips! YUM.

The atmosphere was also nice as the ship was able to get NFL games live and something was always on the several TVs that were in the pub. I also thought that this place had the best view of the sea and we saw several whales while there.

The bar is also nice because it is at the back of the ship so if you want to step outside it is just there. And if you walk up the steps it is the smoking section.

Entertainment

On this particular ship we had tango dancing. The dancers performed a few shows that were quite good. However we were impressed with the dancing lessons (free) that they gave. We learned to tango after three lessons. This was particularly helpful because when we got to Buenos Aires we went to a tango show and could really understand what they were doing.

There is tons to do on the ship: Bingo, lots of dance classes, game shows, variety shows, etc. Always something going on and you should never get bored.

In the evening, my husband and I like to unwind and watch some television before going to bed. Note that you can bring and adapter and your iPad will connect to the TV for movie watching. If you do not want to go this route, you will still have plenty of options as there are many more channels that I have seen on prior ships.

Excursions

I wrote up the ports and our experience in another post. You can find that one HERE.

Overview

All and all I enjoyed the ship, the staff, the food, the entertainment and the itinerary very much. It is not the giant ships with slides and such, but I was not wanting that. My goal was to go down and see the penguins and we needed a small ship to get there. If you want a great crew in a smaller ship, the Norwegian Sun is the way to go.

Towel NCL SUn Cruise — All the towel animals were so cute!

Photo of the Atrium, NCL SUN — Photo of the Atrium – note it was always full

la cuchina, NCL SUn — Hubs and I having breakfast

NCL Cruise Sun — Event in the main dining area

For other cruises read more here: Spain and Alaska.

For the link to what we did in each port, and my recommendations, click HERE.

Disclosure of Material Connection: This is a “sponsored post.” The company who sponsored it compensated me via a cash payment, gift, or something else of value to write it. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Things to Know about the South American Cruise Ports

December 12, 2016 by Notourguideneeded 2 Comments

It can be intimidating to book a cruise in another country, much less another continent. We just got back from our South American Cruise and I have written up our experiences in each port to help your trip be a little less hectic and hopefully save you time and money. Where are my South American Cruise Tips and Review, including things you may want to know before going.

Why This Cruise?

As you may know, we spend Thanksgiving/my birthday somewhere in South America. I am almost done with the entire continent and could go back to many of the places over and over. Some places I am good with seeing just once.

This year we decided, after much deliberation, on taking a cruise from Chile around the bottom and up to Buenos Aires. We researched driving or flying and I really wanted to go to the Falkland Islands to see the penguins there. Yes, penguins are all over South America, but I have always wanted to go to Stanley. You cannot easily get there without a ship excursion. Plus, flying around South America on limited vacation time was not appealing.

It just so happened there was a great itinerary from NCL for 14 days (you can’t really do this in a shorter time) around Thanksgiving, so off we went!

Santiago (Valparaiso), Chile

If you are not familiar with cruising, it sometimes is a little confusing as to where you are actually going verse the actual city unless you are familiar with that area. We decided to go on this cruise a month or so before the date so I did not have a lot of time to research it. Here is the thing.. Valparaiso is about a two hour cab ride from Santiago. Everyone told us it was an hour except for the hotel staff, who said two. It took us almost two hours. It is not a bad ride at all and just be prepared.

So remember: if you fly into Santiago, you still need to drive two ours to get on the ship.

We decided to fly in the night before our trip and stay in Santiago. We stayed at the Courtyard thinking we just needed a place to sleep and use the least amount of points. I was blown away at this hotel. The lobby is above a garage so at first we were skeptical, but that is just the set up. You walk in and it is nicer than some Renaissance that I have stayed. Definitely stay here if you are spending the night.

In order to see the city we decided to take the easy hop on hop off bus. Whatever you decide to do in Santiago, DO NOT TAKE THE HOP ON BUS. Traffic is so bad in the city that there were some points where we were not moving at all. The itinerary is strange too as you basically go way out of the way for the mall and then there are a bunch of stops all close to each other. Take a cab from where ever you are into the city.

Things you need to know about getting on the ship in Santiago (Valparaiso), Chile

The embarkation process for getting on the ship was very different than I’ve ever experienced so I want to make sure you are prepared.

You arrive at the port and if needed check your bags. We only had carry on so we proceeded to the building. There we had to fill out papers stating that we were not sick. Then you queue up. Normally this is where they give you the cards, info, etc but this line they just checked identification and gave you a number. That number was your group to get on a bus. Yes, a bus.

We get on the bus and it starts driving through the port. I was confused as to when we were going to be processed. The drive was literally through the port where the cargo containers are. You know on movies where they are chasing people through the cargo containers? It was weird and had I known the process probably a little less concerning.

We arrived at the ship from the bus ride and then get on the ship. Um, what is happening, when are we going to be processed? We walk through inside and are ushered to the dining area where we are processed there.

Because the ship moves in and out of Chilean territory the passports must be reviewed several times along the trip. They ask to keep your passports to streamline this process. My husband and I were not comfortable with this process and worked with the manager there to ensure our needs were met. She did a fabulous job at helping us with the process. If you have any doubts or concerns, talk to the manager as they are so helpful.

The Ports

It might help you to review the regions of Chile as we move through the different ports. This is a good guide to start.

Puerto Montt, Chile

Puerto Montt is the capital of Los Lagos (The Lake) district of Chile. This district is known for .. you guessed it! .. Lakes!

You will need to tender off the ship to the port (take a small boat). It is not a bad ride and they have the process pretty well organized.

Puerto Montt is nothing more than a small city. Where you really want to go is Puerto Varas, which is a short bus ride up. Walk from the pier to the bus station, which is about a 10 minute walk. You will pass a craft store if you want to buy handmade items. The bus station has a few stores for buying water and there is a toilet but you must pay.

The bus is more of a large van, and there will be more locals than tourists. They will drop you off in front of the casino in Puerto Varas.

I recommend taking in the sites and walking around Puerto Varas. We stopped at a restaurant for lunch and had a wonderful meal with a great view.

My Activity Recommendation: Walk Around the Town, Enjoy the View

Reference Sites:

The Chile Specialists

Map of Chile

Chile Lake District Puerto Montt Roses — Puerto Montt is known for its beautiful roses.

Chile Lake District Puerto Montt — Chile Lake District

Puerto Chacabuco, Chile

As we docked in Chacabuco I quickly realized that the rumors were true – it is magnificent. The lakes, the snow peaked Andes, it is truly nature’s gem.

Many people we knew just took a car into the town of Aysen which is about 20 minutes from port. Some others went horseback riding and said it was “the most amazing scenery ever”.

We are not much for excursions as we like to do it ourselves, but we were curious of going into the Patagonian area. It was a two hour ride and with our time limit of getting back on the boat we thought we should be safe and take the excursion.

The bus ride was pretty but for two hours a bit long. We rode up to the Rio Simpson National Reserve, and the Rio Simpson, and there were so many other people that we really did not get to experience it well. There was nothing really spectacular or magical on what we saw, so I am not sure why anyone would take this tour.

We stopped at a waterfall that is famous in the area for having an apparition of the Blessed Mary. Being Catholic, I thought this was odd that I hadn’t heard of this waterfall (I drag my husband to all kind of holy sites). I also thought it was odd that if Mary had appeared there would have been more than just a few candles at the site. I have spent significant time trying to find more information on it and have been unsuccessful. However, there is a waterfall near the Sanctuary of St. Sebastian that would have been interesting to see.

If you do know what this waterfall is, please send me a message or put it in the comment section below.

My Recommendation: Walk Around the town of Aysen. There will be cars at the port you can take. (Or do the horseback ride, but I can only recommend that based on what others said).

Cruise Strait of Magellan

I learned so much on this cruise about geography, sailing, history. Here is some information:

The Strait of Magellan is not straight! It is more like a “w” shape. See Map
Five ships started out sailing. One wrecked and another the crew overthrew the captain and headed back to Spain.
In 1520 only three ships went through the strait.
Magellan made it from Spain all the way thru South America to the Philippines.
While in the Philippines, Magellan lead an attack with the locals and was killed in battle.
Magellan had a slave, Enrique of Malacca, who continued the voyage around the world so that the remaining crew would accomplish their destiny.

Other resources:

History Channel on Magellan

Punta Arenas, Chile

Punta Arenas has one of the best historical museums on the region. People said they spent hours in there, and I guess you could but you really only need about 1-2 hours tops.

The main city has enough little shops to keep you busy. There are especially a lot of shops for Antarctica as this is one of the main points of entry to the continent.

The area of Punta Arenas is the end of the South American “Continent”, meaning everything south of it is not accessible without a boat (they are islands). In 1987 Pope John Paul II visited South America, and in his honor there is a cross signifying where we preached at the “end of the earth”. You can read more about his visit here.

Some people went on a private excursion to see the penguins and thought it was fabulous. Please note that there have been times when people go to see the penguins and cannot get back because of the tides, so be careful.

My Recommendation: Walk Around Punta Arenas. Lots of little shops and handmade crafts. Definitely go to the museum.

End of Earth Punta Arenas — You can see the Cross at the top of the “End of the Earth”. This spot marks the end of the South American Continent. South of this are islands.

Cruise Beagle Channel

In the morning before arriving in Ushuaia, we cruised down the Beagle Channel.

The Beagle Channel, the Strait of Magellan and the Drake Passage are the only three waterways between the Pacific and Atlantic Ocean in the southern hemisphere. map

The Strait of Magellan runs at 53.7302° S, 70.8288° W while the Beagle Channel runs to the tip of the continent at 54.8899° S, 67.8349° W.

The body of water is named after the first ship to pass, the HM Beagle. This ship happened to have Charles Darwin onboard, as a crew member, not yet famous.

In the Beagle Channel there are five main glaciers. They are very nice to see, but you need to awaken around 6am and stand out in the cold. If you are taking this cruise to see the glaciers there are several groups in Ushuaia that will take you up to see one off the ship.

One of the five glaciers we saw in Beagle Channel

Ushuaia

I was surprised at how much I enjoyed Ushuaia. I would like to go back on another trip and just spend time there.

As you get off the boat there are a ton of little shops where you can buy various souvenirs, candy, water, etc. Even if you do not want to go into town, this is a nice little stop.

You can take your passport with you and for $2, they will stamp it with an “End of the World” stamp.

From there, you walk into the town and decide what to do. There are many options and we could have just hung around the city had we not been in Tierra del Fuego!

We hired a cab to take us to to take us up to the park and it was the best option for us. We got out there before any of the buses, so we were alone in most of our stops. The final stop was an overlook and there were tons of buses. So many that at some point our driver told us to walk through the field of grass and he’d meet us later around the corner. So, yes, I walked through the field. With the geese and their poop. But the view was worth it!

After returning we found a nice pub that served local beer.

My Recommendation:

Get off the ship and you will see a ton of taxis. Get one to take you up to Tierra Del Fugo. Negotiate in amount of time spent. Ours we made four stops, which was basically what all of the private tours were doing too. Granted the private tours gave you a run down on what was in each area, but when you enter the park they will give you brochures.

Once you finish with your cab, have him drop you off somewhere to eat. Make sure you take into account the time as we finished our ride around 2pm and places were closing at 3.

Go over to Cafe Banana and have some local Patagonia brew. The place is friendly and I could have stayed there all day.

Lots of information available about Antarctica.

Ushuia Penguins — In Ushuia you can buy all kinds of things!

What do you do when in a field of geese in Tierra Del Fuego National Park? You take photos!!

Fin Del Mundo Tierra Del Fuego National Park — This is considered the “End of the Earth” and you can purchase specific stamps, books, etc in this guy’s shop.

Cape Horn

Cape Horn, or Cabo de Hornos, is named after the city of Hoorn in the Netherlands. Yep, the Netherlands.

The cruising around Cape Horn is really something to experience. The Cape is where the Drake Passage (Antartic Route), the Pacific and Atlantic waters collide.

There were many sailor traditions such as you could wear a gold earring as you passed the cape, and passing around both sides meant you could put your feet on the table during dinner.

The ship had a tradition to pour “holy water” of all three seas on the passengers. People lined up to have the water was poured on them. The ice, cold water. We declined and stayed warm.

Stanley, Falkland Islands

The main reason I wanted to do this cruise was for Stanley. I will have a dedicated write up about it as there was so much information.

The main point for this though is to go to Lagoon Bluff, you must do it via NCL. The owner only works with tour ships, nothing private. I am glad we signed up for it for a few reasons:

It took the captain three hours to anchor (we found out later we never actually anchored). Many private tours were cancelled. NCL rescheduled our tour so we were still able to go with plenty of time.
People that went alone saw penguins.. from a distance.
The people that run Lagoon Bluff were awesome. Our driver was fabulous. The penguins were incredible.

My Activity Recommendation: Hands down do Bluff Cove Lagoon Penguin Tour. You can only get there via your cruise, so do not fall for any private tours.

Stanley Falkland Islands — This is the main road in Stanley.

Stanley, Falkland Islands, Road — Road in Stanley. So peaceful nothingness.

Sea Cabbage Café Falkand Island — At the Sea Cabbage Cafe, they have a delight of pastries. Don’t try to ask for just one, she wasn’t having any of that! I think we tried one of everything and it was delish!!

Falkland Islands Sea Cabbage cafe — Sea Cabbage Cafe and shop. We got some great take aways in the shop.

Bluff Cove Lagoon Gentoo Penguin Tour — Gentoo Penguins

Stanley, Falkland Islands, Penguin, Buff Cove — The lonely Penguin. As his friends were swimming in the ocean this one was waiting on the beach for them (that is my version of the story)

Falkland, Penguins, Lagoon Bluff — Gentoo Penguin warming up its chicks!

Bluff Cove Lagoon Penguins Gentoo — You can see on this tour, you can get quite close to the penguins.

Bluff Cove, Gentoo — When you go to Bluff Cove, you must take a 4×4 to the penguins. It was a great ride!

Puerto Madryn, Argentina

Puerto Madryn is home to the largest Penguin Rookery, Punta Tombo.

Given we had just had an incredible experience with the penguins in the Falklands, I was hesitant to go to the rookery to see more. But I am glad we did because the experiences are vastly different. The Falklands was freezing and the penguins were clustered together. Punta Tombo was very hot and the penguins were scattered like squirrels at the park!

My recommendation: If you want to see penguins, the tour to Punta Tombo is worth the trip. Given it is a two hour ride there and back, we decided to stay with NCL tours just to be safe. Others went on their own and did not have a problem but we really liked our guide on the NCL tour.

Penguins in Punta Tombo Nature Reserve, Argentina — Look under the bridge!!

Penguins in Punta Tombo Nature Reserve, Argentina. Puerto Madryn — Penguins walking in the reserve

Montevideo, Uruguay

Montevideo is a typical South American city. There is the port, the square, with the Cathedral and an avenue of shopping. I felt so at home in Montevideo and yet there was nothing really to do. We did not need to go shopping, and we were not interested in crafts. So, we found a place to sit outside and people watched.

The Uruguayans are known for very large sandwiches. Ridiculous amounts of ham, cheese, egg, fries. We did not dare have one, but they looked yummy.

My recommendation: Walk around the city and explore on your own. The cathedral is worth a visit. On your way back, stop off at the market near the port that is full of restaurants. Food is being cooked on a grill in front of you and it is delish!

Montevideo Sandich — Montevideo Sandwich

Buenos Aires, Argentina

I enjoyed Buenos Aires a great deal and wish we would have stayed more than one day there.

We were able to hit the highlights of the city and enjoy some tango on our last night in South America.

Overall

The trip was a success. I would highly recommend this itinerary to anyone who loves nature, adventure or wants some peace and relaxation.

I will write up more about the ship itself in another post.

If you want to add your thoughts please do so in the comments below.

For other cruises read more here: Spain and Alaska.

Disclosure of Material Connection: This is a “sponsored post.” The company who sponsored it compensated me via a cash payment, gift, or something else of value to write it. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Things to Know when taking a Cruise in Spain and Morocco

April 11, 2016 by Notourguideneeded 1 Comment

First, Why this Cruise?

My husband’s family is Venezuelan by way of Canary Islands. My dad and I had talked about going to Morocco for a while. I was sitting in a hotel room in New Orleans watching my husband sleep, when I got an email from NCL.. “Cruise Special” (or something like that). I started looking and oh boy! For $700 we could have a 10 day cruise from Barcelona, to Canary Islands and Morocco. Let’s do this! Within hours it was an easy decision. It’s also easy to plan a vacation while you are on down time of another vacation. This is why ships have the big discounts if you book your trip while still on board. They get you when you are all in a good mood and forgetting about your light bill… but I digress.

This time, we decided to invite the family so my parents, cousin and us went. I have not laughed so much in 10 days than I did then! I highly recommend that if you need a family get away, a cruise is the way to go. Then you can do things together but also independent when you need alone time. I can’t wait to do another one… but now for our recap…

Barcelona

We started the trip in Barcelona. We got there a full day earlier so we could see a little bit and then get on the ship. This also helps because then you aren’t worried about rushing to make a flight.

We stayed at Andante Hotel and I would definitely return. The front desk guys were great and even called to make us last minute reservations. The rooms were big, clean and modern. It was just walking distance from everything we needed.

I have been to Barcelona before so we were tour guides for my family. I love showing people around and showing them the sites.

Places in Barcelona not to miss:

La Rambla – I know it is touristy, but there is always a good show going on and places to buy things. You can walk up and down for hours seeing new things and the walk is free!
La Boqueria – Never in my life have I ever seen so many colors in one place. And the smells of meat and cheese and candy, oh my! And they like to give samples. Yum! 🙂

Getting to the ship…

We got up the next day and headed down to the coast. Everyone said you can walk.

Do not walk.

After piling into two cabs, we were so happy we didn’t walk. We saw people with their luggage – it didn’t look fun at all. If you flew halfway around the globe to cruise and you want to save $10 on a cab, perhaps you can find something closer to home?

So, on the ship we went. I talked a lot on the Alaska cruise about the importance of the balcony rooms. Again, if you can, spend a little money. It isn’t as important to have a balcony as it was Alaska, but it was very nice. It’s not like out in the Caribbean where it is water and that is it;there are a few things to see along the way that you might want to have a view. Coming into the ports were nice and as we crossed the strait, although it was dark, was peaceful.

view from the balcony

this is our room — This was our room. I am standing next to a chair so it is small, but it worked fine for us.

Here is where we went (not in any order):

Casablanca (Morocco)

First thing is the money situation. They are not in the EU, so no euros! You are only in the city for less than a day. If you exchange money there is a process that is rather complicated. The excursions have worked out a deal with markets to take euros. Yeah, yeah you aren’t getting the full market appeal, but the point of cruise ports is to sample the culture. If you want to really get into it stay awhile, otherwise just go with the flow.

That being said, do make sure you count your money. We were almost overcharged several times (they see tourists coming!).

Now the best part… The Mosque.

I must admit that I have never been inside a Mosque or know anything about it. I was a little embarrassed when I realized how little I know about the Muslim culture in general. Our tour guide was a wonderful, progressive woman. She taught us about the washing before prayer, the traditions etc. As we would walk/drive along, she would point out random things like, “you see that chair, that is for if I get tired, but I don’t need it now”. Anyway, there is sort of a line to get into the Mosque and there is only a window of time to do it. You must go with a tour, although if you decide to ignore my advice and go alone, you can get into a tour onsite.

You take off your shoes and put them in a bag to carry with you. Know this ahead of time just in case you have a hole in your sock or something.

Then the guide walked us through the building. I have a tremendous amount of photos, so if you want to see more, contact me. It was truly an amazing structure. I have seen many cathedrals and other architecture masterpieces, but this is at the top of the list. I was in awe.

Let me also address the “women”. A few people told me that Casablanca was a very modern city and women could wear/do whatever we do here in the states. That may be so, but I did not see it. I saw many cafes with only men. Most non-tourists were covered. I would not have been comfortable walking alone, but maybe after a while you get used to it.

It is also good to note that the actual city is quite far from the ship. As much as I hate to say it, this is a place that you probably do need a guide to help you navigate.

Arrecife (Lanzarote) (Canary Islands)

Have you ever ridden a camel in the desert?? I have! But if you already have, you know it is a bit organized. They won’t let you take off and run them or anything. But it is still very cool.

Santa Cruz de Tenerife (Canary Islands)

This was one of my favorite stops. We wanted to go to Teide National Park and you really need to take a tour or drive yourself. We opted for the tour because there were five of us and we wanted to maximize the time rather than our usually getting lost.

The tour guide was beyond fabulous. One of the reasons we don’t like tours is because you are stuck with the guide’s itinerary. Our guide was flexible, showing us where we could see additional things.

We stopped to see the Finger of God. That was so neat to see the rock formations.

Then we headed to Teide National Park where we stood in the freezing wind and saw incredible views of the park and the volcano. I am so glad we opted for this because it was truly amazing.

Funchal (Madeira)

There is not a lot of major things to see in Funchal, so we opted to just take the hop on hop off bus and that was a good deal. Then we stopped off at a wonderful bakery/cafe. The waiter was just so funny and helped us with the menu and to pick out all our grand pastries! Funchal was a good place to see, but not a lot of spectacular sites other than at the piers.

Granada (Malaga) (Spain)

The second reason my husband wanted to go on this cruise was not to see Granada, but to take a bus to Alhambra. Many people know Alhambra, they just don’t realize they do. Remember in grade school when you were learning about Columbus and how we went to Queen Isabella for money to sail the ships around the world? He asked for the money in Alhambra!

There is a rich history of Catholic overtaking of the Moors at Alhambra. I wish we would have had more time to really study what was going on at the time. Read on it before you go so you are familiar with all of the stories.

There are guides everywhere, and if you can find a way to rent a car, you should. However, we took a bus because it is about an hour drive each way.

On a side note, here is a good write up of Columbus from the History Channel.

We decided to do the round trip back to Barcelona, and that let us have additional time in the city. From there, we parted ways with the family and my hubs and I took a quick flight to Paris to celebrate Christmas. But that is another story….

Alaska Cruise

April 8, 2016 by Notourguideneeded 4 Comments

Alaska.

Just go. Don’t even think about it. I hesitated and it is by far one of the best trips I have taken. It seems to be best seen, at least for your first trip, by cruise so you can experience it all. If you are not one for cold weather (me!) the cruise is great because you go out and do excursions and then you hop into your room, or the thermal spa.

Yes, I said thermal spa. If you are an experienced cruiser, you know what I am talking about and you are smiling right now thinking of the warm benches or the sea salt baths. BUT, if you are new to cruising like I was, you have no idea what is in store. I will write another post specifically about thermal spas, but let me just say it is a must. Especially in freezing Alaska.

Now, the hubs and I like to spend our money wisely and we weren’t too sure if we would like a cruise (we did) or Alaska (we did). Norwegian Cruises had a special where we could be in a balcony room for something really cheap. We decided to give it a try. We left for Alaska the first week of May. The bears weren’t even out yet it was so cold.

Getting there and logistics

There are many options for this cruise. You can start or stop in Vancouver, Seattle, or many other places. We opted for the most variety and chose to get to Vancouver a few days early, enjoy ourselves, and then return via Seattle with a day to see that city.

I would not go on this cruise in anything less than a balcony room. The view is amazing but one of the best parts of the trip was watching the whales from our balcony. The captain would announce which side of the ship the whales were on and we saw plenty. If you splurge in any area, it is this. It is worth giving up any excursion. Plus you are at sea for a few days and you still have great views.

We thought (maybe like you are now) that we could get an inside cabin and then just go to the main area. One, that is what everyone else thinks too. Two, there isn’t enough room for everyone to see. Three, it is probably going to be cold. In our case it was very cold. So, having the balcony, I could wrap myself in a blanket and sit outside fine.

Different ships and ports do things different, so keep that in mind.

Excursions

You have to remember that you are going to small towns. Depending on what time of year you go, there may not be many options of things to do. That might be okay with you and maybe not. I’m listing below things we did, and wish we did. However, Alaska is so pretty that I am not sure you could go wrong with anything if you had the right attitude.

Vancouver

I had always heard that Vancouver was fun, but it is on my list of places that I would like to return to someday. A few places that you should probably check out:

The Capilano Suspension Bridge is super cool. I wasn’t that familiar and I wish we had planned to spend more time there. I could have spent a full day walking around and we only budgeted about 4 hours. (4 hours is enough, I was just greedy :)). Check out the link above and if you don’t do anything else go there. There are lots of tree houses and tons of interactive things. Get the passport if they still have them and play the game of getting stamps. You are on vacation, you can be a child too!
I know that some people really dig the whales, but you are about to go to the middle of the sea, where you will most likely see whales for free. Choose wisely. If you must see whales, go for it. If you are thinking that is just something neat, make sure you have done the bridge before you spend the money on the whales.
The Olympic Cauldron. It’s there. Take a photo. Move along.
Stanley Park is great if the weather is good. We drove around it but it was much to cold for us to enjoy the park.

Juneau

This little town of 33,000 is only reachable by boat or plane. It is a popular spot for vacation because it does have a lot to offer. The main one is the dog sledding that will put you back several hundred dollars. I wanted to go but was torn to pay that kind of money. The universe decided for me, as it was a late Spring and everything was still frozen. We opted to take a photography whale watching excursion and a stop over at the glacier. Not disappointed with either of these.

First, we stopped off at the glacier.

and then we saw it…

The guide said it was one mile from where we were standing. That is how big the glacier is!!

You can read more about the glacier from the visitor center, and I highly recommend you check it out.

One thing I do wish we had time for was to walk on the glacier. I thought it was kind of a dumb idea sitting in my kitchen researching excursions. “Walk on a chunk of ice.. who wants to do that?” I thought. Well, now I do. After seeing the glacier in all its glory, I wanted to walk on that sucker. It’s not like you can just walk up to it either, so one for next time! (Plus, we saw a lot of whales off our balcony, but there was no guarantee of that).

Then we were off to check out the whales!

Now, I had never been on a whale watching tour before. What do they do to get the whales? Do they feed them? Well, they have spotters. And the whales are pretty habitual so the boat drivers talk to each other and then they follow the whales around. You don’t want to get too close because the boats are small and the whales are huge. It was freezing and raining, but it was super cool to be outside with the nature and seeing the whales.

Then we did something I wasn’t expecting. We went to see eagles. Now, after being in Alaska for a few days, I learned that eagles are everywhere, but early on the trip this was just amazing. (there are many eagle watching tours. think about this when booking one. there is no guarantee that you will see an eagle on your own, but based on what we saw, I’d be surprised).

Ketchikan

We stopped in at the Totem Heritage center. It’s a good stop and very interesting history. Not long but a good deal to see.

There is lots of shopping and little craft stores. I bought myself a wooden owl there.

The big thing is to go fishing, but if you aren’t into that, the city gives enough to do just walking around.

The city has a lot of history and it is well documented. It was once the seen of a red-light district and you can take a very cheesy, but good tour of the house.

Skagway

Skagway is a VERY small town. Unlike Ketchikan, there weren’t that many shops. Most people took the train up to the Yukon to see the beautiful scenery. Not us. We did it like they did during the gold rush – we rode horses!

They are very accommodating and even if you have never been on a horse, you will be okay. They do not let you go free with the horse and there is always someone around to help. I highly recommend this tour!

There were many muddy parts but the horses didn't mind! — There were many muddy parts but the horses didn’t mind!

Glacier Bay

As I said earlier, get yourself a balcony room if you can. For the main part of glacier bay, we did go to the outside of the ship because the ice was calfing (why can’t they just say dropping??).

Seattle

We only had a day in Seattle, but we got to see the highlights.

This is the famous public market. It was impressive!

The big thing at the public market is the flowers. They are beautiful and everywhere to buy!

Again, the trip was great, and I would go again if other people were going too. Or maybe if there was a sale. Or to see the bears, because it was too cold when we were there. Or maybe to so salmon fishing..

Check out some other blogs that talk about Alaska and the parts that I didn’t go: