Cruise tales from local residents

[Editor’s note: This week we bring you two first-person accounts of life on a cruise ship, one about Stephanie White-Newton’s cruise written by Sharon Jennings, and another cruise story from Rose Mabus she wrote herself.]

Stephanie’s story

Stephanie and her family experienced their first cruise in 2010 when friends invited them to join them on a cruise. The friends had already been on a cruise and knew Stephanie family would enjoy the adventure. They did and have been cruising ever since. To date they have been on 15 cruises and have another one planned in January.

“We always travel with family and/or friends with one exception, when her and her husband Bob went together,” she said. “Our first cruise was out of San Juan Puerto Rico. We went to six different islands including St. Lucia and Barbados.”

One of Stephanie’s favorite cruises was eight days on Carnival Magic.

“We went to Aruba and Curacao. While in Curacao, we went snorkeling with sea turtles. It was awesome! But really, I can’t say I haven’t liked any cruise I’ve been on.”

Among Stephanie’s favorite activities on board ship are going to deck parties, evening shows and people watching. Playing cards on the deck with their friends also ranks high on her list of fun things to do.

“I love traveling, seeing beautiful places and trying new things,” said Stephanie who said they have only traveled on the Carnival Cruise Line. They enjoy traveling with friends and have had anywhere from two others to 33 in their group.

“It’s more fun to cruise with friends. We have a lot of different friends that we cruise with. Our closest friends are from Missouri.”

When asked if she had any special memories, she replied, “just going with friends and family. I loved it when all four of our boys used to cruise with us. And when our granddaughters started going.”

“Most of the cruises we go on are seven days, but we have been on eight day, five days and four-day cruises,” said Stephanie, adding “Seven or eight days are my favorite.”

Stephaine suggests, if you aren’t sure if you would like to go on a cruise, try a four or five day one first. Take motion sickness pills, just in case. She added, “Avoid going if you are a complainer, don’t like crowds or have no patience!”

“Rude people”, answered Stephanie, when asked what her least favorite thing was when on a cruise. “I don’t like rude people! We have seen ‘entitled’ cruisers treat the crew members rudely and I always go out of my way to be nice, compliment them, call them by name and tell them ‘thank you’ for their hard work. I can’t think of any bad experiences I’ve had, but I’m pretty easy going and thankful to be able to go.”

When Stephanie was asked about the food available she said, “I can always find something to eat. There are usually eight or nine restaurants on board. Most are included in the with the price of the cruise. Some cost. Like I said before, if you are a complainer or picky maybe you shouldn’t go.”

“I have never felt unsafe on a cruise. The biggest misconception is that you can fall off the ship. It is impossible!!!” Stephanie emphasized, “Unless you are doing something you shouldn’t be!”

Stephanie said, other than feeling a bit queasy a few times she has never been seasick.

“Most of the time, you can’t tell you are moving. We have had a few rocky days while at sea, but not terrible. This is why we cruise in January. It is cheaper and there are less storms. Fall is hurricane season.”

As far as meeting any “celebrities” on board, the closest they came was meeting Vince Vance twice, once on each of two different cruises. He is the guy who wrote, “All I Want for Christmas is You,” sung by Mariah Carey. “He was an interesting fellow. Look him up and you will see what I mean!” explained Stephanie.

“We stayed in an ocean view room with a window and a balcony. The balcony is our favorite. If you want to save money you can do an inside room. It is the cheapest, but it has no windows.”

If you are interested in taking a cruise, Stephanie said she has an amazing PVP (Personal Vacation Planner) who works for Carnival Cruise and can help you pick the perfect cruise. “And I’m also open to questions,” added Stephanie.

A final word of advice from Stephanie: “Always travel to the port a day or two before! You would hate to be late because of flights or accidents and watch the ship leave you. It does happen.”

Rose’s story

My first cruise was part of a time share trip, where the time share people try to talk you into buying a time share. It was just an overnight cruise from around Cape Canaveral to the Bahamas. It was pretty small and old for a cruise ship. I went with two cousins, and we had a room with a bunk and another bed. I was not impressed with the ship, but I loved the Bahamas and the beautiful blue waters of the Caribbean. I got to snorkel for the first time and loved that too!

I have been on at least 10 cruises. The rest of my cruises were all on Holland America. I always went with one of my cousins from Oregon. Later, another one of my cousins, from my hometown, New Hampton, started going with us. Most of my cruises were in the Caribbean, but I did do a land and sea cruise in Alaska and I also did a cruise that went on the St. Lawrence Seaway from Montreal and ended in Boston.

We always enjoyed the Holland America cruises. Most of the people were our age. Since most of the people were our age, there wasn’t a lot of rowdy noise at night. The food was delicious. The entertainment in the show lounge was very good and there was a good mix, from singers and dancers, to comedians, to magic acts. My favorite was a steel drum band, called Island Magic. They played everything from Phantom of the Opera and other Broadway musicals to John Denver tunes. The Holland America ships also had a piano bar. They had an excellent pianist who played the grand piano.

They handed out the words to songs and everyone could sing along. We usually went to the piano lounge after the show lounge. They also had a jazz club and a club that played rock music for the younger people on board. They had a movie theater where they showed a different movie every day. They offered lots of classes you could take, like computer classes, and photography classes. They offered tai chi and water aerobics, a gym where you could work out, two swimming pools, and a basketball court on the top deck. There was also a casino for those who like to gamble.

My favorite thing about a cruise is going on a snorkeling shore cruise. I have gone on snorkeling excursions where we got to swim with sting rays. The people leading the excursion would dive for conch (medium to large sized sea snails) before we got to the island or sandbar where the sting rays were. Of course, the sting rays knew that the boat was going to stop and they would get conch to eat. We would wade out. The guys would feed the sting rays conch and they would be swimming all around us. You could feel them brush your legs when they swam past you.

My very favorite thing that I did on a cruise was to swim with the dolphins. That was on the island of Bonaire. My cousin and I went to a park where they had trained dolphins in pools. We put on wet suits and got into the pool with the dolphins two at a time. The trainers showed what kind of hand motions to make to get the dolphins to do a trick. If you held out both of your arms and had your back to the dolphins, the dolphins would swim by you. You would grab their fins and they would pull you through the water. My favorite water animals are dolphins, so I really enjoyed the experience. My least favorite thing about a cruise is that I always had to fly to get there. Our Caribbean cruises always left from Fort Lauderdale.

If you are going to take a cruise in the Caribbean, be sure to take along sunscreen. You have to take your passport, and if you go to a shore excursion, make sure to get back to the ship on time because they will leave without you if you don’t. We did have some rocky seas one time. It didn’t really bother me, other than it made me walk a little crooked down the hallways of the ship. My one cousin stayed in the cabin and took Dramamine that evening. I have never felt unsafe on a Holland America cruise.

On the cruise I went on to the Panama Canal, my cousin had to leave the cruise at the first port we went to because a niece had died in a car accident. So, I ended up alone for the rest of the cruise. I made friends with another lady. She and I met for Happy Hour and went to some of the Show lounge shows together. I enjoyed that cruise, but not as much as when I had a friend along to share everything with.

On my land and sea trip to Alaska, we did the land part first. We went on a cruise down the Chena River and got to see sled dogs where they were being trained. They pull a 4-wheeler during the summer for their training. We stopped at a replica of an Eskimo village. Young Alaskans showed us how they had a garden and kept their meat in a small building that was accessed by a ladder. That was to keep the bears from getting into the meat. They also showed how they caught and dried salmon. And one girl modeled a beautiful coat made from white animal furs with beading. I think it was called a coat of the sun.

On the cruise part of the trip, we went through Glacier Bay. Holland America had a native Alaskan come on board and speak using a sound system that could be heard all over the ship to tell us about what we would see. She told us to look at some of the ice floes to see if there was a baby seal on the floe. She said that the mother seal would put the baby on the ice floe and go to hunt for food. Sure enough, we did see a baby seal on an ice floe! We also got to see some glaciers calving, which is when some of the ice breaks off and falls into the sea. It was a very beautiful experience!

We usually stayed in an interior room, because those were the most inexpensive, and with all the activities to do on the ship and the shore excursions, you don’t spend that much time in your room anyway. We did get upgraded to a room with a balcony once. It was nice to sit out on the balcony and watch the water.

After reading about all the amenities available on a cruise maybe people will be inclined to plan a vacation aboard a ship. You must admit it sounds tempting!