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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
First Puerto Vallarta of the Mexican Riviera seaso First Puerto Vallarta of the Mexican Riviera season ➡️ Cruise ship lines are passed to dock workers on a small boat which are then brought to a bollard in the harbour.
Free shuttle in Mazatlan to cruise terminal ➡️ I Free shuttle in Mazatlan to cruise terminal ➡️ If your cruise ship is docked in Mazatlan, this is the transportation you will take to get from the cruise ship to the cruise terminal. ➡️ The Mazatlan docks are in an active commercial port and shipping area. Guests and crew are not permitted to walk to the cruise terminal from the ship. ➡️ These open air trams run continuously throughout the day. ➡️ However, if you are on a ship’s organized shore excursion, many tour buses pick up directly at the ship, but then drop you off on the outside of the cruise terminal shopping area.
Discovery Princess’ day in Cabo San Lucas ➡️ Dis Discovery Princess’ day in Cabo San Lucas ➡️ Discovery Princess avoided Hurricane Rachel and was still able to visit Cabo San Lucas today. ➡️ The port of Cabo San Lucas had been closed due to the hurricane and the heavy swell in the harbour, but thankfully it reopened today. ➡️ Today, Discovery Princess was the only cruise ship in port, since Virgin’s Brilliant Lady had cancelled their call today. ➡️ Having only one ship at anchor today in Cabo meant that the water shuttle service went quicker than usual and there were far fewer guests in the port as well. ➡️ I wonder if the guests of Discovery Princess understand how lucky they were to be able to make it into port today, be the only cruise ship, and have amazing weather, too!
The port side of the cruise ship is the best view The port side of the cruise ship is the best view of the arch and Lover’s Beach as the ship arrives at the anchorage. ➡️ If you don’t have a port side balcony, head up to the open decks to get a great view of the coast line from the port side.
Mexican Riviera cruise sunset before being in Cabo Mexican Riviera cruise sunset before being in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico tomorrow ➡️ We quickly took a video of the sunset from our balcony before heading down to the Piazza for the Champagne Waterfall, Captain’s Welcome Onboard Party. ➡️ Although the port of Cabo San Lucas was closed yesterday and today, it will be reopened tomorrow.
Viva La Musica highlights from last night on Disco Viva La Musica highlights from last night on Discovery Princess as this cast performs their final show on Discovery Princess. 💃🕺It’s time for this cast to go on vacation! Discovery Princess is the third cruise ship of their “triple. They started on the Sky Princess, then the Enchanted, and finally ended on Discovery Princess. 💃🕺They did about six months onboard each ship with only a few weeks between ships. They will now have the chance to enjoy a vacation. 💃🕺It was great to watch them perform every week and get to know so many of them on a personal level.
Golden Gate Bridge at sunrise on Discovery Princes Golden Gate Bridge at sunrise on Discovery Princess ➡️ This morning Discovery Princess cruised under the Golden Gate Bridge at 7:00am ➡️ Would you wake up early to watch your cruise ship go under the bridge or would you want the extra sleep for you spend the day exploring San Francisco?
Last Rock Opera for this cast on Discovery Princes Last Rock Opera for this cast on Discovery Princess 💃🕺This week is the last cruise onboard for this cast. Last night they closed their Rock Opera production show and later this cruise they will perform their last Spotlight Bar and Viva La Musica shows. 🕺💃Which is your favourite production show?
Pre/Post Cruise Activity in Vancouver ➡️ False Cr Pre/Post Cruise Activity in Vancouver ➡️ False Creek Ferries is Granville Island’s original ferry service, serving False Creek since 1982. ➡️ False Creek Ferries operates a fleet of 20 little blue and white boats, holding between 12 and 20 passengers, depending on the specific boat class. ➡️ A popular route is from Sunset Beach Dock to the Granville Island Dock which takes about two minutes. The boats seem to come every four minutes or less. That route costs $4.25 one way. ➡️ The Sunset Beach Dock is located at the end of Thurlow Street which is about a 30 minute walk from Canada Place. ➡️ False Creek Ferries has nine stops along False Creek including Olympic Village (Science World), David Lam Park, and the Maritime Museum in Kitsilano. ➡️ An all day, hop on hop off, unlimited ticket costs $22. You can pay on the boat, cash or card, directly with the operator. The all day ticket can also be purchased online. ✅ Save this post for the 2027 Alaska season if you are cruising from Vancouver, Canada.
Best halibut tacos in Alaska is at Deckhand Dave’s Best halibut tacos in Alaska is at Deckhand Dave’s in Juneau. This is not an ad. ➡️ Seriously! Deckhand Dave’s is our favourite place in all of Alaska to go for lunch. ➡️ Tony always gets the halibut and chips and I always get the halibut tacos. ➡️ Deckhand Dave’s is locally owned and operated by David McCasland, a former commercial fisherman who used to work on fishing boats in Alaska. ➡️ Dave first opened his first food truck in 2016 and in 2019 the business expanded and he opened the food truck park on South Franklin Street. ➡️ Today Deckhand Dave’s food truck park is a casual tent-covered outdoor courtyard area with reasonably priced seafood and drinks. ➡️ My favourite is the beer-battered halibut tacos served on soft corn tortillas with red cabbage slaw, fresh pico de gallo, cilantro, and Mexican crema 🧑‍🍳💋 ➡️ For three tacos it’s $21 and halibut and chips is $28. ➡️ Save this post for the next time you cruise Alaska. ➡️ Looking forward to the 2027 Alaska season already 😀.
Don’t drop Monico! Farewell Party on Discovery Pri Don’t drop Monico! Farewell Party on Discovery Princess was extra special today ➡️ Rooms Division Manager (aka: Executive Housekeeper) Monico is retiring after 31 years with Princess Cruises. ➡️ Tony and I first met Monico on the Dawn Princess in 2001. We were all much younger then, lol. ➡️ He is well loved by his team and anyone that has ever worked with him. He will be missed as a part of the Discovery Princess family. ➡️ Happy Retirement Monico! We will miss you.
Goodbye Alaska! This is the last sea day of Discov Goodbye Alaska! This is the last sea day of Discovery Princess’ Alaska season. ➡️ According to @captain_tony_ruggero the waves today are about 12 feet (3.5 metres) with wind speed of 30 knots. ➡️ This video was taken from Deck 14 of the cruise ship, so the perspective is very deceiving in the video. Many of you will for sure comment that the waves aren’t 12 feet high, lol. ➡️ Tomorrow we’ll be in Vancouver for our turnaround day and starting of our repositioning cruise. ➡️ The repositioning cruise will take us down the west coast, stopping in San Francisco, San Diego, and Santa Barbara, before ending in Los Angeles.
Working on a cruise ship benefits ➡️ When a Prin Working on a cruise ship benefits ➡️ When a Princess Cruises cruise ship docks in Skagway, Alaska, there is an entertainment program called Puppies in the Piazza. ➡️ Cruise staff work with @redington_mushing to prepare the puppies to go “on stage” and meet the guests. Backstage the cruise staff need to play with the puppies and also make sure the puppies take a nap before introducing them to the guests. ➡️ The Puppies in the Piazza event is exclusive to Princess Cruises ships in Alaska. ➡️ How would you feel if playing and holding puppies was part of your job description?
Glacier flight-seeing cruise ship excursion in Jun Glacier flight-seeing cruise ship excursion in Juneau Alaska ➡️ Yesterday was the Discovery Princess’ last call in Juneau for the 2026 Alaska cruise season and I was excited to be going on the Taku Lodge Feast and 5-Glacier Seaplane Discovery tour. ➡️ I had organized this tour directly with Wings Airways because this experience was for my social media content and I wanted to deal directly with their marketing team. (However, you can book this directly with your cruise ship). ➡️ Unfortunately, my tour, which was the 3:30 tour, had to be cancelled due to the risk of bad weather approaching the area. ➡️ Wings Airways describes “bad weather” as fog, low clouds, and shifting winds. Their pilots are highly experienced and will make the decision to not fly if it isn’t safe. But also, they won’t fly if it isn’t going to be a quality tour. ➡️ However, the tour that left Juneau at 1:30pm still needed to be picked up at Taku Lodge. ➡️ I was offered the opportunity to fly up to the Lodge with one of the pilots, Logan, in order to pick up the guests. ➡️ I had the choice of any of the empty 10 seats on the De Havilland Otter seaplane or the “co-pilot” seat. Guess which one I chose 😀? ➡️ Each seat on the plane has a window seat and gets a headset which you can listen to the recorded continuous narration throughout the flight describing the mountain and glacier views. ➡️ The flight offers views of five glaciers that flow from the Juneau Icefield: Norris, Taku, Hole-in-the-Wall, East Twin, and West Twin. ➡️ Logan landed the plane in the Taku River (didn’t even feel the plane land 👏👏👏) and docked in front of the Taku Lodge. ➡️ The guests got back on the plane, talking about how great the meal was and the fact that they saw a couple of bears around the property. ➡️ Hopefully next Alaska season I will be able to make it up to the Taku Lodge again, but this time for the feast and to see the bears. 🤞 Thank you Wings Airways!
Plane spotting in Juneau, Alaska ➡️ Wings Airways Plane spotting in Juneau, Alaska ➡️ Wings Airways has been flying cruise ship guests to the glaciers from Juneau’s sea plane base for more than thirty years. ➡️ Wings Airways has a fleet of De Havilland Otter floatplanes. Their 10-passenger planes feature a window at each seat. ➡️ Their docks are just in front of the Historic Merchant Wharf downtown (aka: the big blue building), steps from the cruise ship docks. Their store is also in this building, along with the popular restaurant, Hangar on the Wharf. ➡️ Tony and I have always enjoyed sitting on the patio of The Hangar (great halibut and chips) and watching the float planes come in and out of the harbour. ➡️ In fact, this is my 20th season cruising in Alaska and today I finally had the opportunity to take a tour with Wings Airways. ➡️ Follow along for my upcoming reels highlighting my flying experience with Wings Airways.
And Dawes Glacier ➡️ Not all cruise ships make it And Dawes Glacier ➡️ Not all cruise ships make it into Endicott Arm and Dawes Glacier, even if it’s on their itinerary. ➡️ Factors such as restricted visibility (fog), ice concentration, and wind can occasionally make it unsafe to make the passage and therefore it can be cancelled. ➡️ Today Discovery Princess was able to make it into Endicott Arm and all the way down to Dawes Glacier. ➡️ Although Endicott Arm is always spectacular, I have to admit that Dawes Glacier is underwhelming when comparing it to Hubbard, Margerie, or Johns Hopkins. ➡️ What do you think of Dawes Glacier? Do you have a favourite glacier?
Important info for your next Alaska cruise, that w Important info for your next Alaska cruise, that will help make your disembarkation in Vancouver go smoothly. ➡️ Good news is that the disembarkation process in Vancouver is less chaotic than the embarkation process, as long as you are prepared. ➡️ Firstly, make sure that all your luggage is tagged properly when you put it outside of your cabin, the night before disembarking. This includes having the correct luggage tags on your bag corresponding to the time you disembark. ➡️ Guests are disembarked at varying times of the morning, according to their luggage tag (colour and number). Luggage is placed in the terminal building ready for you to collect, grouped by luggage tag colour and number. ➡️ When disembarking in Canada, make sure you also have the CBSA Customs Declaration form completed before getting off the ship to save time. ➡️ When disembarking it is basically a walk through, all on the same level. There is no immigration, you just have to give your completed Declaration Form to an officer as you exit the secured area. ➡️ The next step is getting out of the terminal. Follow signs based on the transportation you are taking. ➡️ If you have a prepaid cruise transfer, you will stay to the right (Doors E, F, G) and queue up for the airport buses. ➡️ Private transfers are through Door D on the left, but this doesn’t include Ubers. For Ubers, you must exit to the street level for a pick up. ➡️ If you are heading to a nearby hotel, want a taxi or Uber, follow signs that say Exit to City. Walk past all the airport buses and walk up the ramp to exit the cruise terminal to the street level. (This can be an awkward walk uphill when walking with suitcases). ➡️ Taxis line up outside of the cruise terminal, close to where the entrance of Waterfront metro station is. ✅ Leave a comment if you have any questions about the embarkation process in Vancouver.
Important info if you have an Alaska cruise booked Important info if you have an Alaska cruise booked for 2027. ➡️ Embarkation in Vancouver is known for being confusing and chaotic. Understanding the process can help you plan your day. ➡️ Firstly, unless you are one of the first guests to embark the cruise ship, you will most likely encounter long lines at embarkation and security. ➡️ After you have dropped off your bags, you will enter the cruise terminal which is on the lower level of Canada Place, in the underground. ➡️ To check-in, all passengers (for all cruise ships in port) need to go upstairs first via an escalator. FYI there is only one elevator and expect it to be very crowded. ➡️ There will be signage directing you to the appropriate check-in area for your ship. ➡️ For Princess Cruises’ passengers, you should have already uploaded all your info into the Princess app online (prior to arriving at the port) to make the check-in process quicker. ➡️ However, even if you have your medallions and are classified as “Green Lane”, there can still be a lot of standing in a line and waiting. ➡️ Once you have completed the checked in, you will have to go back downstairs again in order to proceed through security. ➡️ All guests from all ships will be going through the same lines for security. ➡️ However, if you are in a wheelchair or you are in transit, stay to the left of the main security line and look for the sign that says crew and visitors. All those groups share the same security line. ➡️ Once you finish with security, now you’ll need to go through US Customs/Immigration. US and Canadian passport holders are directed to one line and all other passport holders are directed to another line. ➡️ Canada Place uses biometrics. However, you may be flagged to go to secondary screening and present your passport to an official. ➡️ After US immigration, you then follow the signs to the ship you are cruising on. ❌ Keep in mind that once you have embarked the ship, it’s not convenient to go back ashore. If you wanted to go back ashore, you would need to go through the security and immigration inspection again. ✅ Leave a comment if you have any questions about the embarkation process in Vancouver.
Discovery Princess sounded the Love Boat horn sayi Discovery Princess sounded the Love Boat horn saying goodbye to Ketchikan, Alaska until 2027. ➡️ This morning I got off the ship when we first arrived at 6:30am. I love to walk around the town and Creek Street first thing in the morning and enjoy how peaceful and quiet it is. ➡️ I had hoped to see a bear on the Creek before the crowds came ashore, but no luck this morning. ➡️ Discovery Princess will be back in Ketchikan, Alaska on May 13, 2027.
Last Alaska cruise of 2026 ➡️ Today we were in Va Last Alaska cruise of 2026 ➡️ Today we were in Vancouver and it was our last turnaround day of the Alaska season. ➡️ Our next time in Vancouver (next Saturday) will be the start of our California Coastal cruise as we reposition to the Mexican Riviera.
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