Tag: travel advisor

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The Inaugural Cruise of the Celebrity Ascent

We were fortunate to get to sail on Celebrity Ascent on her Inaugural cruise from Fort Lauderdale in November, 2023. What an awesome ship!! This was the first time we have been on one of their Edge Class ships. Everyone whom we have booked on an Edge class ship told us how wonderful it was, and we can now confirm all of the positive reviews.

Boarding was the best we have ever experienced. A quick picture, scan the QR code, walk onto the ship. As fast and easy as our boarding was, I think it would go very smoothly on a regular voyage. Our cabin cards were waiting for us in a little package outside of our cabin. Very easy boarding! Getting off was just as easy. We carried our bags, so it was just a facial scan at customs, and we were done.

This is a 3,260 guest, double occupancy ship. There are lots and lots of very nice public spaces. The infinite balcony in our stateroom is awesome. More about that later. There are 8 speciality restaurants – Le Voyage Steakhouse, La Grand Bistro which serves French cuisine, Le Petite Chef which has the 3D table animation art form to add to your experience, Raw on 5, a seafood restaurant, The Magic Carpet for nibbles and drinks and dinner in the evenings, The Rooftop Garden Grill, and the Eden Restaurant which is an open kitchen restaurant. There are 4 main dining rooms, all serving the same menu for each meal. The ship also has several other complimentary dining – The  Eden Cafe which offers morning beverages and bites, the Spa Cafe and Juice Bar for healthy cuisine, the Oceanview Cafe which offers made to order breakfast and lunch with an international menu for dinner, Mast Grill for burgers on the top deck with an amazing view. The Retreat (an exclusive area) has 2 restaurants. Ascent has 9 bars, some on the top decks with gorgeous ocean views – a Martini Bar on Deck 3 and the bar on the Magic Carpet.

The Magic Carpet is a great place to sit and gaze at the ocean with a drink. It is a cantilevered, floating platform, surrounded by glass or open areas (except obviously against the ship). It juts out over the ship. It stops at 3 different levels during the day. It stops on the deck in front of the cabanas and becomes a pool deck extension, and it stops at one of the ships main dining rooms to serve as alfresco dining. In the evenings it stops on deck 16 to offer “Dinner on the Edge” dining.

Our cabin was very nice. We entered with bathroom to the right – good size room with a decent shower. Backed up to the bathroom is a large closet with shelves and hanging up space. Then a 3 person couch with desk and shelves across from this. Refrigerator with water on the top. Some shelving and a safe. Then the king size bed with small built in tables on either side with usb ports and drawers.

Our stateroom, as do most of the veranda staterooms, had an infinite balcony. We were interested to see what this was. It was pretty impressive – with the push of a button, the top of the window slides down until you have an area very much like a normal balcony on a ship. But, it is protected so no wind, it’s shady, and you have opened your room up to the outside! It gives more space in the cabin and is useful even when the water isn’t conducive to sitting on the balcony. 

The balcony area can be closed off with panels that can be opened or closed at the touch of a button. A plus on this ship, as far as I am concerned, slightly in front of the window is a black out curtain that rolls up into the ceiling and lowers to the floor, with a switch.

We stopped by our muster station and got that done in about 5 minutes. Our first lunch was at the  Oceanview Cafe, the buffet. There are about 10 huge stations there not counting the dessert and bread stations. Anything you could want almost, even grilled steaks, Mexican station, etc. It was a huge spread!!

We started  our exploration on deck 16 and worked our way down. (Deck 17 is for The Retreat guests.) Deck 16 has part of the jogging track and a hot tub. Deck 15 is the “Resort Deck”. It has the rest of the jogging track, the Rooftop Garden Grill, the Rooftop Garden area, the Sunset Bar, and the Fitness Center. The Fitness Center had lots of equipment.  We stopped at the Sunset Bar, what a fabulous area – several levels, mostly outside areas with a few covered areas, lots of little nooks for privacy or joining a few other couples. Part of it is a Rooftop Garden with lots of greenery. There are several float pools that are cantilevered over the ocean.There are some really neat pluses on this ship – infinity hot tubs look out on the ocean, most with glass panels, there are lifts to get handicapped people into the pools, lots of green spaces with chairs to have some quiet time, lots of lounge chairs under a cover, etc.  

Deck 14 has the Mast Grill, ll Secondo Bacio (a coffee bar and fresh squeezed juices), the Oceanview Cafe (the awesome buffet), the Spa, the Solarium which is an adult only pool and lounge area, SEA Thermal Suite, Spa Cafe and Juice Bar, and where the Magic Carpet was at the time. There is also the Main pool with a terraced deck. It has a huge silver octopus on one end of the deck, very nice.

Decks 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 were all cabins. Deck 6 was mostly cabins but also the Eden Restaurant which is multilevel. Deck 5 is the Theater (multilevel), The Club (a hub of activities and social interaction, morning, noon, and night), the Steakhouse, The Club, Shops, more of the Eden Restaurant, The Eden Bar, Raw on 5 Restaurant and the Grand Plaza which is multilevel.

Deck 4 had more of the Grand Plaza (this is really a nice space, multilevel and great places to sit), the rest of the Theater and the Eden Restaurant, Le Grand Bistro Restaurant, Cypress Restaurant and the Cosmopolitan Restaurant, where we ate our dinners. The Casino is also on this deck.  Deck 3 had some staterooms, the rest of the Theater and the Grand Plaza, the Martini Bar, Tuscan Restaurant, Normandie Restaurant and Camp at Sea for the kids. Deck 2 was where the Magic Carpet goes for passengers getting to the tender boats and the medical facility.

There are no water slides, etc. for the kids. There is a Camp at Sea group for 13-17 year olds, one for 10-12, one for 6-9 and 3-5 if they are potty trained. The programs look like most cruise ship programs but they do use Stem Programs (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics). The are also autism friendly. They base their programs on the interest of the children participating on the cruise, so it changes a little with each cruise.

The shows in the Theater were done twice a night – 7:30 and 9:30. The first night, the show was “Bridges”. The daily happenings paper said it was “a celebration of human connection set against the backdrop of some of the world’s most iconic bridges from London to Venice, New York, San Francisco and Sydney, featuring a scenic bridge as the centerpiece that transports the audience to breathtaking locations.” It was a well done musical.

The second night was “Awakening” which is “a captivating, sensory experience taking you on an eye opening journey through a showcase of surreal dreams, awakening your sensed to explore a world where anything is possible”. Not something we enjoyed but lots of people really liked it. I think our biggest issue was with how dangerously loud the sound was. I measured over 117db at one point. They have another show – Residency which is a Las Vegas style music show. We didn’t get to see that one.

We didn’t use the Casino but it was large. It is non-smoking which I thought was unusual but great. They have over 200 slot machines and 150 game tables.

I was amazed at the choices at the Oceanview Cafe. Breakfast was everything you could think of plus stations for cook to order food. They even had my favorite – sausage gravy and biscuits and grits. One lunch buffet had one station (out of the 10 or so) with only seafood – lobster, shrimp (boiled, fried, grilled, etc.), crab legs and more!! It was awesome!! We ate suppers in one of the main dining room, the Cosmopolitan. The food and choices were great! Each main dining room has the same menu.

Everyone was friendly, nice and very service oriented. We couldn’t have had better service in the restaurants, bars, shops, or anywhere. It was an awesome, great experience!!

Celebrity has a party on board called “Shine the Night”. You were to wear a metallic outfit if you had one for a party on the Resort Deck. Lots of music and some surprise music performances. It was fun!  There were also several places that had music and  dance floor. There was a piano bar, game show of trivia, lots bar tastings, lots of music options, art shows, shop options, spa options, pickleball, dance, yoga and other fitness option classes, live music, wine and liquor tastings, dance parties, comedy shows, All the activities you find on most cruise ships with their own spin. 

The ship was very pretty. The colors were subdued with tan, white and black with red and blue accents. No in your face purple, orange, etc. Very subdued and nice. They were just starting to decorate for Christmas too, which I loved. The “elves” came during the night and did gorgeous greenery with white lights and red decorations on railings, beautiful trees, etc. It was starting to look a lot like Christmas!

This ship has brothers as co-captains. One of the things the ship did for us was to take us out in the life boats and go around the ship for pictures, I’m sure they don’t usually do that, but they did for us. It was wonderful! The life boats have individual seats for passengers, which was nice. One of the captains was piloting one of the life boats, He was driving around in figure 8’s, racing the other boat, and just generally having a good time, as did all of the passengers.

We really enjoyed the trip and seeing the ship. We will be going on more Celebrity cruises, especially the Edge Class.

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Passau, Germany – December 13th & 14th, 2022

Passau is known as “the city of the three rivers” and founded more than 2,000 years ago, Passau is one of the oldest cities in Bavaria. 

We had about a 10 minute bus ride to the downtown area from our docking area. Our tour this morning was a walking tour which was fine but there was a pretty steep hill in town and we went up and down it twice.  We first walked to a church  where we had a talk about making gingerbread, tasted the 3 kinds of gingerbread and watched how to make an evergreen wreath with candles. It was cold outside but it was slightly warmer in the church. 

In Germany, the head “master” gingerbread person used to be able to do it with a 4 year level but now it was that plus 4 more years of training, plus 3 years apprenticeship plus another 4 months to learn about opening a business, etc. Until then, you can’t open your own business for gingerbread in Germany. You have to pass several different tests and if you can’t pass them in 3 tries, you can never open your own business unless you partner with a master who had passed it all.

They used to always be partnered with a candlemaker because they used the same wooden molds. Today, they don’t do that because the gingerbread isn’t made in the same molds. He told us there are three kinds of gingerbread, First kind they sweetened with honey, second with molasses, and now they sweeten with sugar and lots of spices. Each has its points and is softer depending on the sweeter – honey, molasses, or sugar. We got to sample each kind.

Being right on three river, there are occasional floods. There is a building near the river that they mark where the floods come up to and the years they had the floods. The last flood they had was in 2013 and it was their deepest – 10.04 feet! That flooded the bottom floor of any building near the rivers.

Saint Stephen’s Cathedral in Passau has the largest Catholic church organ in the world and the largest organ in Europe. It has 17,974 pipes and 233 registers. It is beautiful to listen to. The last time we were in Passau, they had a concert there every afternoon at 4 PM. We were really looking forward to hearing it again. Unfortunately, the city is having problems finding people who know how to play this beautiful organ and they have discontinued the daily concerts. They only have 7 people who know how to play it. We did get to hear a lady practicing several pieces as we were in the cathedral. The city is offering scholarships, etc. trying to entice more people to learn how to play that organ.

Their Christmas Market was at the top of the hill so we only had to walk down one more time to get to the bus. When we got back to the ship, they were gave us a warm wine punch which was very good.

The next day it was back to the real world! Bags put by 5 AM and our bus to the airport left the ship at 7 AM. They did have the dining room open very early for breakfast so at least we started with a good meal.

The flight home would have challenged a saint but that is for another time. Suffice it to say, we will have second thoughts about airline trips in winter.

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Viking Danube Christmas Markets Cruise 2022

Prior to COVID, we had scheduled this cruise on the Danube from Budapest to Passau in December of 2020 with four other couples, Of course that got side lined, and over the next two years we lost two couples, so it was just the six of us going. Shot and Pam Shuler, Beth and Dennis Trammel, and us.

This was our second Christmas Markets river cruise. The first one we did in 2017 from Amsterdam to Basel Switzerland on the Rhine River. That was a fabulous experience, and we wanted to do the same thing on the Danube.

The river cruising experience is so laid back, with just 80 or so couples on the boat. It’s very easy to meet people and make new friends. Then there is gliding along the most iconic rivers of Europe with fine dining, superb service, on a beautiful boat. The Christmas Markets just make it that much more special.

As a starter, click to view a short video of the journey, then look at the details of each city along the Danube

So journey with us as we depart Budapest and sail upriver on the Danube towards Passau Germany on an eight day voyage of exploration and discovery.

Budapest, Hungary
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US Christmas Traditions

I love Christmas!! It is my favorite holiday! Not just the religious aspect, I love the decorations, family time, food, and fellowship of this time of the year.

Today, most Americans blend religious and secular customs with their own family traditions, often incorporating food, decorations and rituals from places they or their ancestors once called home. Roast turkey and ham are popular for Christmas dinner throughout the country, but depending on the region, so are tamales, roast goose with red cabbage, crawfish jambalaya, roast pork or “seven fishes” seafood salad.

Using mistletoe inside began because of the healing properties of the herb. Since it blossoms even in the coldest winter, the Celtic Druids began to look at it as a symbol of vivacity. The association between mistletoe and fertility/vitality strengthened through the Middle Ages and became part of Christmas. Kissing under the mistletoe began in England where men could sneak a kiss from any woman standing under the mistletoe. Any refusal was considered bad luck

The nativity scene of Jesus’ birth was begun by St. Francis of Assisi who created an original living nativity around 1223 in a cave in Grecio, Italy. He created it to help his followers better understand the birth of Jesus. At the time, plays were a common way for the church to help people learn scriptures. The nativity scene typically has at least Mary, Joseph and Jesus. Shepherds, sheep, angels, donkey, ox, and the Magi (Three Wisemen) and their camels

Advent is a religious event that has been celebrated since the 4th century. It is a four-week period that starts on the Sunday closest to the November 30 feast day of St. Andrew the Apostle to prepare for Christmas. It is a celebration of the coming of Christ.

Advent is 4 weeks and represented in the church with a wreath made of a circle of evergreen branches to symbolize eternal life. There are 4 candles in a circle on the wreath. Each week a new candle is lit. The candles all represents something different. The first candle is The Candle of Hope representing God’s people shining in a dark place and the hope we have in Jesus. The second candle is the Candle of Peace, representing the old testament prophets and the peace we find in Jesus. Third is the Candle of Love, representing John the Baptist and the love we have for Christ. the last candle is the Candle of Joy, representing Mary, the mother of Jesus and the joy we find in Jesus. In the center if the circle is the Christ Candle, lit on Christmas Day. It represents the birth of Christ and reminds us Jesus is the light of the world and if we follow Him, we will never walk in darkness, but have the true light of life.

The Advent calendar was possibly created in the 19th century by a housewife who was tired of being asked when Christmas would come. The 24 openings have a picture or small gift for each day beginning December 1. Some towns have entire buildings and celebrations around opening of each window.

Yule logs are a tradition that is said to predate Christianity. As part of the winter solstice celebrations, Gaels and Celts burned logs decorated with holly, ivy and pinecones to cleanse themselves of the past year and welcome the new one. Europe had much ado about the Yule log for many years with different ways of ensuring the burning of the log for the 12 Days of Christmas. Today the yule log is usually a log shaped dessert, very tasty.

The tradition of leaving milk and cookies for Santa Claus is a tradition which dates back to ancient Norse mythology. Odin, the Norse god, had an eight legged horse named Sleipnir. Kids would leave treats for Sleipnir hoping to get treats in return. This tradition became popular in the US during the Great Depression when parents tried to impress upon kids the importance of being grateful for anything they were lucky enough to receive for Christmas.

Evergreen fir trees are universal winter decorations. They were used as a reminder that spring would come again; the Romans placed them around temples to honor Saturn, the god of agriculture. In the 16th century, German Christians brought the trees inside their homes as a symbol of everlasting life.

Germany started the Christmas tree tradition as we now know it in the 16th century when devout Christians brought decorated trees into their homes. Decorations for these trees were made by hand. Trees were decorated with berries, popcorn and nuts to feed the birds and the custom continued with indoor trees.

Martin Luther is said to be the first person to put lights on a Christmas tree. Legend has it that he was walking through a forest one night and was moved by the beautiful stars shining through the trees. When he got went home, he recreated what he saw for his family by putting a tree in their living room and placing lighted candles on its branches.

The first president to set up a Christmas tree in the White House was Franklin Pierce, and the first president to establish the National Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony on the White House lawn was Calvin Coolidge.

Christmas Caroling was begun in Europe thousands of years ago before the establishment of Christmas when it was a celebration of the Winter Solstice. The word carol means dance or song of praise and joy. Christmas carols were possible first written in Latin in the 4th and 5th centuries.

Carol singing has come and gone but was revived to include singing at home, church and on the street as well as in plays since the 1800s The first printed publication of Christmas music helped widen interest in carols. It was published in 1833 and included “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen “, “The First Noel”, “I Saw Three Ships”, and “Hark! The Herald Angles Sing”. Almost all Christmas carols have some part of the Christmas theme, whether the birth of Jesus or the celebrations of the season (snow, sleigh rides, etc.).

Each carol has an interesting history. “Silent Night” was thought to have been written n Christmas Eve for the midnight mass in Orberndorf, Austria in 1818. Two priests adapted a poem and introduced it at their service despite their church organ being broken.

“Joy to the World” contains Christian imagery/. Its lyrics originate in the Old Testament in a 1719 translation of the Psalms of David, melody crafted in the 19th century.

The first version of”O Tannenbaum”, “O Christmas Tree”, originated in Germany, maybe as early as the 16th century. This carol pays homage to a universal symbol of Christmas, an evergreen tree.

“Santa Claus is Coming to Town” was written by Haven Gillespie in 1934 just after he learned his brother had died. On the subway ride home, remembering his childhood with his brother and his mother’s warning that Santa was watching, he composed the song and had a composer wrote the music.

“Deck the Halls” dates back to the 16th century Wales where its melody and many of the lyrics were from a New Year Eve song. Undergoing several changes such as “fill the meadcup, drain the barrel” to “don we now our gay apparel”, the current version became popular in 1887.

“Jingle Bells” was originally written in the 1850s in Savannah, Georgia. Called “The One Horse Open Sleigh” was a celebration of Thanksgiving. The song was renamed in 1857 and is as we know it today. The song made history in 1965 when it became the first song broadcast in space. The crew of Gemini 6, following reports of seeing Santa Claus, did an improvised version using bells and a harmonica they had snuck on board.

Christmas Pickle – If there’s a pickle among your snowman, angel and reindeer ornaments, you’re likely taking part in the American tradition of hiding the green ornament on the tree, so that the first child to find it gets an extra gift, or has good luck for the following year. The practice’s origins are a bit murky (or should that be briny?), but, it’s likely it grew from a Woolworths marketing gimmick from the late 1800s, when the retailer received imported German ornaments shaped like a pickle and needed a sales pitch.

Candy Canes – Candy canes can be devoured as a treat or hung on the tree as decoration. They date back to 1670 in Cologne, Germany. The most popular account is that a choirmaster wished to quiet the children in his church, Cologne Cathedral, during their yearly Living Creche tradition each Christmas Eve. He reportedly commissioned a local candy maker to create what he referred to as sweet sticks for the children. He specified that they should have a crook at the top of each stick, to remind the children of the shepherds who visited the baby Jesus. He also specified that he should use the color white to teach the children about Christianity and remind them of Jesus’ sinless life. This trend caught on quickly and spread throughout Europe where other congregations began to hand out the candy canes during nativity plays.

The red and white peppermint sticks arrived in the US in 1847, when a German-Swedish immigrant in Wooster, Ohio placed them on a tree. By the 1950s, an automated candy cane making machine was invented. Candy canes are the number 1 selling non chocolate candy during December.

We have so many great Christmas traditions! Many families develop their own traditions to become part of the family story. It’s a great way to connect our family together and to the world. Wouldn’t it be fun to try a different tradition from somewhere in the world and see if that fits your celebration? It’s an easy internet search.

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Planning your Land Vacation

Are you planning to travel and see the sights? Is it overwhelming to plan the trip? There are options. You can do a guided tour, an escorted tour, or you can use a packaged plan or do it on your own. It depends on your travel preference and the amount of time you can spend planning.

Escorted Tours are the easiest. You pick out a tour from one of the many vendors and everything else is taken care of. They are typically conducted by an expert travel director who takes care of every detail for you, from beginning to end. They normally include flights, hotels, any transportation needs, most meals and sightseeing. Most are done mostly using a bus. However, some have bicycling, boats, etc., depending on where you are going. Most have at least one incredible experience that you never thought of doing and all have amazing itineraries.

Guided Tours are similar but are less regimented. They are usually lead by a local expert who will only escort you on some of the activities. Some meals, accommodations and sightseeing are usually included. There will be someone available to answer any questions, but they will not lead all the excursions. This is great for people who want some freedom during their tour but still want the services of a guide.

An Independent Travel Package is just what it says, independent. The trip is planned for you with lots of free time to explore on your own but you are not set into doing specific things. There is usually a local person available to answer questions and suggest sightseeing, restaurants and activities – much like a concierge at a hotel. This is ideal for  you if you like to set your own pace. The research and planning is done by the Tour Company who can make reservations, obtain sightseeing tickets, etc. and be available for questions, but you can do the sightseeing at your own pace.

Or you can plan your one trip from start to finish. So, decide which is more your travel style and go explore!

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Eating on Cruise Ships

Eating on Cruise Ships

Gone are the days of huge piles of food at the buffet line and the midnight buffet. But that doesn’t mean you will go hungry on a cruise ship! There are lots of choices and you can get as much as you want most of the time. For example, in the main dining rooms, you can order whatever you would like. You can order two appetizers, two main entrees, and three desserts if you want – you aren’t limited to one. And there are venues open except for the wee hours of the morning. It may be pizza or a grill, but you can eat almost anytime.

Most lines still offer free room service. Some have a service charge for the service. Check your daily newsletter or in room menu for pricing and/or service charge. Having breakfast in your room sitting on your balcony is a nice way to start the day!

Speaking of breakfast, you can get lots of choices on the buffet, but all the cruise lines also have at least one restaurant open for breakfast for a nice sit down meal. Some of them have two or three other venues open for breakfast. That is also in your daily newsletter

Specialty dining is a good option for the first night on the cruise. It is easier to get the time you want and some cruise lines give discounts or wine for the first night diners. 

Do you like ice cream? Most cruise lines have soft serve ice cream on the Lido Deck or the buffet lines. Speciality ice cream often comes with a charge, but soft serve is free. Check each area that serves soft serve, there are often different flavors at different locations.

A sit down restaurant is a good alternative the day of embarkation. Instead of braving the mob, ask a crew member or check the daily newsletter to find out which restaurants are open. Then sit and enjoy having someone bring you your choices.

The main dining room menus are planned out for a week and you can look at them in advance. Visit the front desk and ask to see the menus. You can pick which meals you want to eat in the main dining room and which meals you want to go to an alternate dining venue.

Alert: gaining weight on a seven day cruise is normal. Don’t be surprised if you do!

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Christmas Markets River Cruise

European Christmas Markets are amazing!! The decorations, ornaments, presents, food, gluhwein, and more are in almost every town in Europe! What an awesome way to get in the Christmas spirit. This is one of our many pictures. Call us to book your fabulous Christmas Market Cruise today!