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cruisetravelmama

⚓️Living 6 months per year on cruise ships with my husband @captain_tony_ruggero
📍Currently onboard Discovery Princess 🚢
❤️Mom of twins

This is how cruise ship mooring lines are sent ash This is how cruise ship mooring lines are sent ashore.

Today Discovery Princess is in Juneau, Alaska and docked at the Alaska Steamship Dock.

#howwedoit #discoveryprincess #princesscruises #cruise #crewlife #crew #seafarer
Last night’s production show on Discovery Prince Last night’s production show on Discovery Princess was Rock Opera.

➡️ It was a special performance because this was Guest Tenor Nick Petris’ last show onboard Discovery Princess.

➡️ Nick has been performing on Discovery Princess since 2022 and has just finished his contract.

➡️ Next cruise Discovery Princess will have a new Guest Tenor, stay tuned.

Here are some highlights of last night’s show.

#princesscruises #discoveryprincess #cruise #singers #dancers #entertainment
Will you feel the cruise ship moving in 12-15’ w Will you feel the cruise ship moving in 12-15’ waves?

➡️ Today Discovery Princess is at sea, north to Alaska. 

➡️ Earlier today, the waves/swell was up to 15 feet high.

➡️ You could definitely feel the cruise ship moving today because the waves were coming towards the side of the ship. 

➡️ Last week the waves were only 10-12 feet high, but they were coming from behind us so we didn’t feel the ship moving as much.

💡When booking a cabin, and you are worried about seasickness, try to book a cabin on a lower deck and as close to the midship as possible.

#princesscruises #discoveryprincess #cruise #waves #swell #wavesonwaves #weather #cruiseship #cruiseshiplife
Watch the cruise ship gangway get removed from the Watch the cruise ship gangway get removed from the side of Discovery Princess.

➡️ This gangway is the one used for crew and visitors to come onto the ship. Guests use a different gangway, the larger, enclosed gangway you see in the background.

#cruise #discoveryprincess #princesscruises #portofseattle #seattle #cruiseship #craneoperator #forkliftoperator #cruiseport
Watch how luggage is loaded onto a cruise ship in Watch how luggage is loaded onto a cruise ship in Seattle.

#discoveryprincess #princesscruises #cruise #cruiseship #howitsdone #seattle #portofseattle
It always amazes me how quickly a cruise ship can It always amazes me how quickly a cruise ship can be turned around, from the moment the ship arrives in Seattle to the moment it welcomes its new guests.

➡️ Guests that want to walk off with their own luggage can usually start disembarking around 7am. 

➡️ This is also the time when the crew start offloading luggage that was collected from guests yesterday evening. 

➡️ The luggage is offloaded in cages and brought into the cruise terminal building for guests to collect after they exit the ship.

➡️ Guests are expected to vacate their cabins by 8:30am and the cabin stewards start cleaning, sanitizing, and preparing the cabins for the new cruise guests.

➡️ The empty cages shoreside are then staged and ready to receive luggage from guests that are embarking later.

➡️ The disembarkation process is usually done by about 9:30am.

➡️ Guests typically start embarking close to 10:30am, dropping off their luggage at the baggage drop off, going through security, and then going through the check-in process.

➡️ Guest cabins are usually ready around 1pm and luggage is delivered to the cabins throughout the afternoon.

➡️ While the cruise ship is docked, it receives fuel, food provisions, and other stores.

🚢 Leave your comments if you have any questions about turnaround day.

#princesscruises #discoveryprincess #cruise #cruiseship #cruiselife
Watch the Discovery Princess arrive into Victoria, Watch the Discovery Princess arrive into Victoria, BC with winds gusting up to 40 knots.

➡️ Although the Victoria Pilot was onboard for the arrival, Captain Tony maneuvered and docked the cruise ship.

🚢 Have you been on a cruise ship that had to abort a call due to strong winds?

#princesscruises #discoveryprincess #cruise #victoria #victoriabc #victoriabccanada🇨🇦 #cruiseship #windy #weather
Guest Tenor Nick Petris is coming to the end of hi Guest Tenor Nick Petris is coming to the end of his cruise ship contract onboard Discovery Princess.

🎤 Here’s a short clip of him singing the Aerosmith song, “Dream On”, during the production show, Rock Opera.

#princesscruises #discoveryprincess #cruise #entertainment #singer #singerlife #rockopera
Behind the Scenes: Crew Barber Shop Where do crew Behind the Scenes: Crew Barber Shop

Where do crew (and officers) get their haircut onboard a cruise ship?

➡️ The crew have their own dedicated Barber Shop onboard Discovery Princess.

➡️ Although there isn’t an official cruise ship job as a crew barber, there are always at least a couple of crew members that cut hair as an extra job.

➡️ On Discovery Princess, our Florist, Melvin cuts hair in addition to his regular job as the onboard Florist.

➡️ On other cruise ships we’ve been on, the barbers have been carpenters, helmsmen, and bar stewards.

➡️ Not all cruise ships have their own Crew Barber Shop. On some ships a barber may set up his “shop” in one of the crew corridors or the carpenter shop, or may even come directly to your cabin.

💈 What do you think of Captain Tony’s new haircut? I think Melvin did a great job! 👍

#princesscruises #discoveryprincess #cruise #cruiseship #crewlife #crew #barber #barberlife #barbershop
In Skagway, the walk to the Gold Rush Cemetery and In Skagway, the walk to the Gold Rush Cemetery and Lower Reid Falls is one of my favourite things to do in Skagway, Alaska

➡️ It’s about a 45 minute walk (2 miles) from Downtown Skagway to the Gold Rush Cemetery, then another five minute walk up to Lower Reid Falls.

➡️ Discovery Princess docks at the Railroad Aft Dock this season which means all guests and crew must walk through the covered walkway and then take a shuttle bus to the small boat harbour area (2-3 minute shuttle ride).

➡️ From the place where the shuttle drops you off, to the downtown area, is about a 10 minute walk.

➡️ About halfway from downtown to the Gold Rush Cemetery, you will pass the White  Pass Railway train yards.

➡️ Other options to get to the Gold Rush Cemetery are with the Smart Bus Shuttle ($5 each way), rent a bicycle, or take a ship’s organized tour.

#princesscruises #discoveryprincess #skagway #skagwayalaska #alaska #walks #hikes #cruise #cruisealaska
Spotlight Bar reopened last night on Discovery Pri Spotlight Bar reopened last night on Discovery Princess.

Here are a few highlights of this incredible production show.
The Puppies in the Piazza is a hugely popular even The Puppies in the Piazza is a hugely popular event on the Princess Cruises ships in Skagway. Today, Iditarod champion, Ryan Redington brought two of his puppies (Cliff and Norm) onboard Discovery Princess.

For about an hour before the puppies are brought into the Piazza for the guests to take pictures of them, it is the job of the cruise staff to play with the puppies.

I was very lucky to have the opportunity to go “backstage” and help the cruise staff with this very difficult task, 😂.

#cruise #cruiseship #puppies #iditarod #princesscruises #discoveryprincess #alaska #skagway #skagwayalaska
The port of Skagway welcomes up to four large crui The port of Skagway welcomes up to four large cruise ships per day during the summer Alaska season. And today, there are four ships docked here.

➡️ The four docks are called Railroad Dock Aft, Railroad Dock Forward, Ore Dock, and Broadway Dock.

🚢 Discovery Princess (RRA)
🚢 Noordam (RRF)
🚢 Quantum of the Seas (ORE)
🚢 Disney Wonder (BRD)

➡️ Have you been to Skagway, Alaska?

#skagway #skagwayalaska #discoveryprincess #princesscruises #hollandamericaline #royalcaribbean #disneycruiseline
The Gold Creek Flume Trail in Juneau, Alaska is an The Gold Creek Flume Trail in Juneau, Alaska is an easy walk on a tree-lined boardwalk.

➡️ According to the All Trails app, it is about 1.4 miles out and back (but this doesn’t include the 2 miles it takes to get to the trailhead from where the cruise ship is docked).

➡️ The easiest way to get to the trail is to take Basin Road. 

➡️ An alternate route is to start from the end of Evergreen Ave and walk to Basin Road (which is the route I took in the video).

#cruise #hikes #walks #juneau #juneaualaska #alaska #naturewalks #naturewalk
Have you seen the Northern Lights on a cruise? On Have you seen the Northern Lights on a cruise?

On May 14, 2025 at around 1am, the Northern Lights were visible from Discovery Princess. 

The Captain made an announcement in guest cabins, in case anyone wanted to see them.

Would you want to be woken up in the middle of the night by an announcement about Northern Lights?

#discoveryprincess #cruise #northernlights #alaska
Watch the Captain wave from the Bridge, as Discove Watch the Captain wave from the Bridge, as Discovery Princess prepares for departure from Ketchikan, Alaska.

#princesscruises #discoveryprincess #cruise #ketchikan #ketchikanalaska #cruiseship
What to expect from the weather in Ketchikan, Alas What to expect from the weather in Ketchikan, Alaska?

➡️ Although it rained a little bit in the morning, this afternoon it was partly sunny in Ketchikan.

➡️ Ketchikan is nicknamed the rain capital of Alaska and they have a Rain Gauge in downtown Ketchikan to keep track of the yearly rainfall.

➡️ So it’s always appreciated when the sun comes out here.

🚢 All aboard time is 2:30pm today, and there are already many people coming back onboard at 1pm, as seen in this video.

#cruise #ketchikan #sunnyday #ketchikanalaska #alaska
Today Discovery Princess experienced 12’ to 15’ waves with 30 kt winds (35 miles/hr) on our sea day north to Alaska.

🚢 It’s interesting to notice the different perspectives of the wave/swell direction. Looking over the bow of the cruise ship is completely different than looking over the port side of the ship.

🚢 The waves don’t look like much when viewing them from Deck 14, but I can assure you they are 12-15 feet in height.

🚢 Strangely enough, you can barely feel the ship move, especially on the lower decks.

#discoveryprinces #princesscruises #cruise #waves #wavesonwaves #swell #seaday
Check how quick the weather can change on an Alask Check how quick the weather can change on an Alaska cruise!

#princesscruises #discoveryprincess #cruise #weather #northtoalaska #alaskacruise
What to pack for an Alaska Cruise: If you are cru What to pack for an Alaska Cruise:

If you are cruising in Alaska, you need to be prepared for all weather conditions when you are packing for your vacation. 

Here are a few things to make sure you pack for your Alaska cruise:

✅ Goretex/waterproof rain jacket
✅ A heavy fleece to wear under a rain jacket on cold, wet days or on it’s own when it’s cold and dry.
✅ Hat for rainy weather and possibly a winter hat for extra cold days
✅ Sturdy walking shoes (waterproof hiking shoes or trail running shoes are great options)
✅ Gym clothes for the onboard fitness center
✅ Bathing suit for hot tubs and pools 
✅ Shorts in case the weather is warm
✅ Something dressy if you want to dress up on formal night or the “dress to impress” night

🚢Please leave a comment if you have any specific questions about what to pack for your Alaska cruise.
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