Europe
here we come again. After the wonderful time in Florida this past
winter, we are headed back to the Princess cruise line. We are
looking forward to this trip not only for the 21 day crossing but
some places that we have not visited before. This will be our first
cruise on the Caribbean Princess although it is similar is design to
the Ruby Crown and Diamond which we have sailed on in the past. It
does have the little food bar in the atrium which is where we like to
gather for daily tea and mall meals .
As
the map shows, we will board in Houston and then head to Fort
Lauderdale. We decided to try leaving from Houston as a change of
pace. We have been there on a previous crossing. We are wondering
if the ship will be “empty” for the short run to Florida. We
have only booked one ship tour. After doing the research and having
been to some of these places before we are content to explore on our
own. After Florida we stop in Bermuda, a place we visited years ago.
Then the long crossing to the home of the Beatles – Liverpool. We
have been once before but there is plenty for us to do there. A stop
in Wales (new for us) before the port at Hamburg Germany. This was
one of the reasons for this trip as we get a change to go to Berlin.
We have never been before. The tour from the ship last about 13
hours! Finally we stop in Havre (Normandy). We have been to
Normandy a few time but we have never visited the city.
As
you can see from the itinerary, this cruise has plenty of sea days
and we are looking forward to the crossing as a chance to just “be”
after the very active winter.
This
is the first time we will fly both ways from Detroit. We leave early
Sunday morning so we will spend the night in Detroit near the
airport. Then it will be off to Houston non stop on Delta. Our
return will be on co-share Delta/Virgin Air non stop from London to
Detroit which will shorten the return travel time. No waiting in
Washington for a few hours! The 2 bags are almost packed and we are
ready to go. After this trip we will have over 300 days on Princess
ships (stuck in a rut?) but now that we attained Elite status we can
hardly pass up the perks. It is the free laundry! Anyone that
has cruised will appreciate what a luxury this is. It means that you
do not need to pack as many clothes. The mini bar, free internet
(basically) and wine tasting are also nice.
At
the bottom of each post is a small icon that looks like an envelop.
If you open it, you should be able to send us an email directly to my
gmail address from the post. If you have a gmail account I think
that you can leave a message on the blog. One of the perks on this
cruise as mentioned is the “free” internet minutes that we are
allotted. So we will continue to get emails as long as the service
holds up. It is always nice to read the comments of people interested
in our travels. More Later!
