A Holiday Addendum

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Happy Holidays to All...

Whether you're cruising or enjoying a cozy holiday at home with friends and family, we wish you Happy Holidays. May 2009 bring us closer to peace in the world.

It's strange how you can sail the same itinerary over and over and then see something new for the first time. After having sailed the Mexican Riviera a number of times, on a family cruise to celebrate my husbands big birthday, we stopped at Mazatlan. Needless to say, my husband played golf. But my grown children and I headed off to Old Mazatlan. I'd always gone to the Golden Zone...hitting all the shops or to Senor Frogs. But this time, we headed over to see the old area and what a treat. Outdoor cafes, the old mercado where my daughter squealed at the sight of a pig's head, the old theater and traditional architecture that was a delight. We stopped for a cookie at the oldest bakery in Mazatlan, strolled through an art museum and capped the day off with my children treating themselves to a massage at a day spa we passed by. It was a wonderful day...and I would highly recommend that next time you're in Mazatlan...skip the Golden Zone and explore the old town.

Share Your Favorite Cruise Memory or Favorite Picture.

We invite you to share your favorite cruise memory...happy, sad, funny, embarassing. So to start things off, I believe my happiest cruise memory and this will sound bizarre was spending my 10th anniversary on the Island Princess. Two days before my husband had done his first parasailing off Puerto Vallarta and I was scared he was going to die...I told him if I spent my 10th anniversary in Acapulco shipping him home, I would kill him myself. But he survived and we spent an interesting anniversary...Invited by our Italian waiter to a local soccer match (long before soccer became popular in America) between the crew and a local team, we were an audience of two in the stands. We cheered. It was a rough and tumble match. The local team prevailed - but the crew appreciated the cheering section. We bounced through the back streets of Acapulco (an eyeopener that most tourists don't see) and headed back to the ship for a more sedate and intimate anniversary dinner. But it was a wonderful experience and a great day! Coming up on 30 years since that day...and wondering where we will be to celebrate #40! Any suggestions? Send them in

Fortress of Solitude

Check out this really interesting website...great pictures and stories.
Fortress of Solitude

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Summer is Upon Us....

Technically Summer begins in a few days, but Summer has come to San Diego with a vengeance....hot, hot, hot. Thankfully, I have a wonderful family cruising this week - all 41 of them...most enjoying their first cruise and I hope they are enjoying the fresh sea air and the cool ocean breezes. How I wish I was cruising this week! How about you?

A "Crystal" Memory

Do you have a "perfect" cruise to remember? I do. A few years ago, we were privileged to host a group on a British Isles cruise aboard the Crystal Symphony. The cruise was fabulous. The food and service, as always, superb. The staff by the far the best we have sailed with on the "seven seas"...but what made it a cruise to remember was the Military Tattoo in Edinburgh, Scotland. Picture a Castle on a hill in the middle of Edinburgh. It is night...the stands are filled. The courtyard of the castle has military bands complete with horses and artillery (in some instances) performing from a variety of countries all over the world. The music was superb. The ambience was incredible...and when the fireworks went off above the Castle...it was sheer bliss. Would recommend Crystal any day of the week...but if you get a chance to experience the Military Tattoo, it will be a memory of a lifetime!

My First Cruise

Well, coming into my 59th year, it seems an eternity since I first set foot on a cruise ship. I was 7 years old, lived in Australia, and my Dad, an American Marine who had met my mother and settled in Australia, decided we should meet our American family...so we took a cruise (about a month crossing the Pacific). For a kid, it was cool. We slept five people in a cabin and I was so disappointed not to get a top bunk. There were two classes on the ship...Tourist and First Class and we were not allowed to mingle. There were NO bathrooms in the cabins...just saltwater showers down the hall along with the toilets. But we had a blast. The crew loved having kids around. We got to enjoy the ship...except for the fact that as kids, we had to eat with the other kids...And it was not the gourmet food we see today. It was typically English fare....nobody was going to gain weight on that cruise. Still, yet when I remember back to that first day on the ship, it seemed so huge and today, now, it would be dwarfed by the megaliners today. How about sharing your first cruise experience?

Welcome To Our Bulletin Board

Welcome. I thought this would be a fun and easy way to share information, memories, and pictures with you and for you to do the same. Let's hope that you find it as interesting and fun to read as I find to write...