Jackie Sheckler Finch fell in love with cruising 35 years ago when she rode the magnificent Mississippi Queen riverboat in its inaugural 1976 voyage. A newspaper reporter, photographer and travel writer, Jackie has cruised on large and small vessels on numerous rivers and oceans. Read more...
When I took my first cruise on the magnificent Mississippi Queen in 1976, the entertainment was mostly a jazz band, ragtime piano player and powerful-voiced female singer. We were thrilled with the music on our riverboat cruise. Years passed, of course, and now I am cruising on one of the biggest cruise ships ever made – the mighty Royal Caribbean Symphony of the Seas. Therefore, the entertainment must be so much larger, grander, varied and breathtaking. It …
A gentle ocean breeze wafts through his office as Mario Salcedo takes time away from his computer work to chat with me. The sound of seagulls diving for dinner echoes in the distance. Ocean air? Seagulls? What kind of office does Mario have? Well, it certainly is not a typical office. And Mario is not a typical financial advisor. Although he is working away, Mario is actually on a cruise ship – the Royal Caribbean Symphony of …
For her 25th wedding anniversary celebration, Lauren Evans of Miami pictured herself sitting on the balcony of a ship stateroom, perhaps reading the newest Nora Roberts novel. She and her husband would enjoy leisurely restaurant meals, strolls on a beautiful island beach and Broadway-style shows in the evening. Her husband, Larry Evans, on the other hand, was looking forward to rock climbing, swimming, ice skating, zip lining, surfing and maybe even boogie boarding. Then he would be …
A reader asked me to describe my stateroom on my Royal Caribbean Symphony of the Seas cruise. So here goes. My stateroom is 326 on Deck 7. My cruise key card, which looks like a credit card, was waiting in a sealed envelope in a slot next to my stateroom door when I boarded the ship. No need to stand in line at the cruise terminal to wait my turn to pick up a key. By the …
Not even a mask could disguise the smile on his face. “Because of you, we have a job,” says Kadek, the assistant waiter on my Royal Caribbean Symphony of the Seas cruise. “We are so happy to be back.” That sentiment was repeated over and over on my seven-night Eastern Caribbean cruise. “We are so excited to be back doing what we love,” says Cruise Director Brian Leavitt. Of course, I am excited to be cruising on …
What a delicious looking candy apple. Scrumptiously juicy. Gloriously red. Covered in tempting caramel. The sweetness seems ready to melt in your mouth. Ah, but this is a Walt Disney apple. Most people are aware of what that means. Yep, this is the poison caramel apple used in the 2007 Disney film Enchanted. And we know what happened to the beautiful young lady who took a bite of the poisoned fruit in that fairy tale. However, this …
I don’t know how they do it. When I walk up to the entrance of Metropolitan restaurant on the Celebrity Millennium, the host in charge of seating knows that I would like to sit at a window seat. When I sit down, waiter Sugianto knows I am going to order a ginger ale and a big glass of ice water. He even knows my name, for goodness sake, and he remembers where I live. That info came …
I was wrong. And I’m so glad I was. For some reason, I thought entertainment on my Celebrity Millennium cruise might be curtailed a bit. I figured Celebrity Cruises might want to save some money by cutting back on shipboard entertainment. Or maybe COVID might have made it difficult to find entertainers for our seven-night Alaska cruise. Neither concern happened. My Millennium cruise has as much – or even more – excellent entertainment as I’ve enjoyed on …
Entering my stateroom for the first time is always fun on a cruise. I had seen pictures of my room on the Celebrity Millennium website but it is even more lovely in person. Easy access, too. My cruise key card, which looks like a credit card, was waiting in a sealed envelope in a slot above my stateroom door when I boarded the ship. No need to stand in line at the cruise terminal to wait my …
Ship Captain Ioannis Kasimatis said it simplest and best. “Welcome back. We missed you.” That message has been repeated more times than I can count on my seven-night Alaska Dawes Glacier Cruise aboard the Celebrity Millennium. I have seen the welcoming words printed on multiple signs, on the daily cabin newsletter, on a sugar-decorated chocolate cake and even hand painted on a rocky hillside. And passengers agree that we have missed cruising and are quite happy to …
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