2013: We’ll Be On the Road ~And Going 60!!

In his book, Dark Star Safari, Paul Theroux chronicles his solo trip through Africa taken in celebration of his 60th birthday.  When I read it several years ago, I thought to myself,

“How good it is that a person that old still travels like that. . .”

~~~~~~~

The Scout is already at work planning travel escapades for 2013. He’s been at it for weeks already. . .seems he began sometime during our Winter Road Trip.

Don’t you love this end-of-the-year moment in time when the new, untouched year - only hours away - beckons with possibilities for adventures and travels? 

While the possibilities are endless, the trip The Scout’s currently focused on is the one we will take to celebrate The Scribe’s 60th birthday. 

(The Scribe who is now quick to point out that Paul Theroux wasn’t that old after all! )

Earlier this year I quoted in a post another favorite writer of mine, Frances Mayes, after learning that a couple of our friends were dealing with cancer. By the end of the year, eight of our friends had had their life altered by the disease.  The quote I had used back then still rings true for us:

“Life’s little wake-up calls. (Do they have to be so numerous?) Scroll down the list and start to wail – or shout out Carpe diem.”

Life’s little wake-up calls, Frances called them. She got that right!  Each friend's news was a reminder that hitting  60 is reason to celebrate!

Knock it out of the ballpark.

Dance in the street.

Put your feet up and watch a sunset.

Seize the day.

Pack the bags.

The birthday is six months away, but if all goes as planned the trip in launch in the spring. Will it  rival Paul Theroux’s?   Will it result in a book as his did? It just might! It’s going to rock no matter ~ because this is the year we hit the road – going 60 all the way.

But before we set out to discover all that 2013 holds for us; we want to take a moment to toast each of you’ who have come along on our journeys this past year via TravelnWrite. To you, we raise our glasses and say:

“Thank You!

Carpe Diem!

Happy New Year!

Happy Travels!”

*Photos in order:  Outside Ely, Nevada, Naxos, Greece, on board Carnival Spirit off Mexico's Baja Coast, Waikiki, O’ahu, and somewhere in the Mediterranean on board the Celebrity Constellation.

Dining at Carnival’s “Chef’s Table”

The cooks moved in synchronized precision preparing and handing off  plates to the parade of wait staff who would deliver them to the hundreds of fellow cruisers eating that night in Carnival Spirit’s formal dining room.

We watched the  choreographed movements from the pastry table at one side of the ship’s shining stainless steel galley; a culinary arts gallery, not galley, we thought.  We also sipped a glass of Prosecco, (that white Italian wine with just a bit fewer bubbles than champagne), with our Head Chef Jerry Furtado.

Actually our Chef Jerry only sipped only enough to make a welcome toast to the 13 of us who were embarking on a near three-hour, eight-course gastronomic odyssey known as “The Chef’s Table,” ~ a fine dining experience that surpassed anything we’ve ever experienced on any of our previous cruises.

Our extravaganza began with a tour of the galley, and a private reception there which included a sampling of appetizers with such goodies as: Chorizo and dates, Piquilo Sofrito and Langoustine and Sundried Tomato Jam Fritters. (sorry, photos weren’t allowed in the galley).

Then it was on to our private dining room and a parade of food so delicious that even writing about it now, several weeks later, can make my mouth water.   There is not enough room to show you it all, but here’s a taster:

Our wait staff  hovered throughout the meal to make sure everything was as it should be, asking repeatedly, “Is it to your liking?”





This garlic brioche was too much for my will-power. It was baked in a miniature flower pot. Way too cute and way too tasty. . .I ate it all and they brought another!


The Chef’s Table was launched as a pilot on a few Carnival ships in 2010 and as result of its popularity it is now offered on all 23 ships in the fleet. 

We had been on the ship for only two hours when we learned of the dinner and that there were only a couple of spaces were left. Make note, word is out: this experience is popular!

The cost was $75 per person which included unlimited wine (as if you had room to drink to excess) and included the galley tour and souvenir photo.

The photo above was of the salmon course (which arrived fifth in a series of scrumptious offerings).  What I found most delightful on this plate was the paper thin red rolls standing to the left of the salmon. They were dehydrated beets and the dark speckles on the carrots were a dusting of truffles.

The salmon was followed by a course called Wagyu, slow stewed short ribs and the dinner finished with the plate pictured to the side, simply titled, “Chef in a Candy Shop”.

Each morsel was mouth-watering, including all those little morsels tucked between the wafers. By the time we got to this course I was in a near coma- state from overeating. . .I sampled half these ‘tasties’ wishing I had just a bit more room.


Should you find yourself on a Carnival cruise in the future we would wholeheartedly recommend signing up – early! -- for The Chef’s Table. You won’t be disappointed.  I can tell you that meal alone is reason enough for me to take another Carnival cruise.

Note:  Google has changed its format and I am on the road, bear with me if the spacing and flow of this post is jumbled.

Carnival Spirit: The Inside Story

Our cruise tales from the Carnival Spirit continue with a tour of some of our favorite on-board places . . . the ‘inside story', you might say.

It was our second sailing on this ship that stretches 960 feet in length (about the size of three American football fields) and 106 feet in width. When completely full – as it was on our cruise – the total guests number 2,124.

Now, more than a decade old and recently renovated, it sports some new ‘fun ship’ features, yet it retains many we remembered from our earlier cruise.




We loved the light fixtures and the seat backs in the Artist’s Lobby. Located in mid-ship we often strolled through it on our way to the Empire Restaurant.


The Empire Restaurant, the main dining room, is -- as is the case with most present-day cruise ships -- enormous. It takes 45 teams of three people – to serve dinner to guests that fill this elegant two-story venue each night.  There are two set-mealtimes and 'any-time' dining options, so the place is a continual hub of activity. (I’ll tell you about one of our culinary adventures on board in a future post.)



At the opposite end of the ship is the equally enormous two-story theatre, the Pharaoh’s Palace. The eye-popping motif remained as we recalled it being the first time we sailed this ship.



The Lobby was always one of the liveliest places on the ship as there was always some musical entertainment or other activity and  guests were always gathered at the circular bar.

The best way to get an overview of it was to ride the glass elevators.  This shot should give you an idea of the height of our ship as well.



Our balcony cabin was located toward the front of the ship, not far from elevators and stairways – one of our preferred locations on a ship.
Spending time on our own balcony is one of our favorite parts of cruising.  (Balcony rooms do cost more than inside rooms that have no windows or views but we think the cost difference is worth it.)

What about you?  What is your favorite part of cruising?

In the “Spirit” of Spring Break ~ American-style

College has obviously been too many decades ago for these two travelers. Because it didn’t cross our minds that our five-day cruise to Cabo San Lucas would take place during a time traditionally known as “Spring Break” in the United States.

While Spring Break can fall at different times in March and April depending on the school; it is a week when those with young children can enjoy family travel and when college students can get as far away from school and families as possible as they seek sun and fun. . .



It would therefore make sense for large numbers of both groups to be on our ship, the Carnival Spirit.  The company’s known for sailing “Fun Ships”.

And so they came, by the hundreds, it seemed. Families with eager wee ones and giggling gaggles of scantily clad girls with suitcases the size of steamer trunks. Groups of young guys in similar abbreviated duds were drawn to those girls like magnets.








And speaking of magnets, as we entered the Cabo marina from the small tenders that brought us from the ship, one business in particular drew the college students  like a magnet. It was standing room only at Senor Frog’s, a place that played party tunes at the highest decibels making it hard to resist its pull. (Notice the foot-tall glass the young man in the right hand corner is holding!)


On Celebrity and Holland America cruises we are often the ‘youngsters’ – that wasn’t the case with his cruise.


Don’t get me wrong. . .we found it delightful atmosphere. In fact, it was a good reminder that with the right “Spirit” . . .fun can be had ~ no matter what your age.

Los Colores de Cabo ~ The Colors of Cabo

We are sailing the Carnival Spirit towards the United States on this Travel Photo Thursday.  We’ve spent two days at Cabo San Lucas on the southern tip of Mexico’s Baja Peninsula. 

It was our first- but now, definitely not our last — trip  to this area that we’ve dubbed “Scottsdale by the Sea” because the leather-brown landscape and surrounding hills remind us of Arizona.

Cabo’s colors livened the muted desert tans:



This corner in the Marina flea market doubled as an ‘internet cafe’and a souvenir shop.




Even the trees were in bloom; blossoms in bright orange intensified against a cloudless blue sky.



Cafe table clothes and chairs were fiestas of brilliant colors
.
    Fushia colored bougainvilla blossoms lined driveways and filled pots along the sprawling marina.

For more photos from around the world, visit Budget Travelers Sandbox, the host of Travel Photo Thursday. And I’ll have more cruise tales coming in future posts.

Carnival Spirit: What a Difference a Day Makes!

The weather forecast for San Diego called for rain.

Not a good way to start a five day cruise that we booked because we needed sun.

We thought our forecaster was off base when Sunday morning we arrived at the cruise terminal under blue skies. There was a strong wind and it chilled to the bone but it wasn’t raining.  That was a good thing. My ‘carefree’ wind-blown hairdo illustrates the wind power (and yes I was holding the rail to fend off some of the stronger gusts).

We were bundled up but determined the strong cold wind wouldn’t dampen our spirits.

But by the time we set sail at 4:30 we not only had wind, but rain as well. This is my shot of leaving San Diego:




The decks were nearly deserted. . .of course many were closed:




It was beginning to look like we might have made a mistake in picking this cruise.  One of the ship’s photographers told us, “I’ve sailed two cruises out of San Diego recently and they were warm and we had blue skies.  . . .Can you believe this?!”   No, we couldn’t.

But as we continued south the sea calmed and by today I am happy to report the Carnival Fun Ship Spirit is back:

And guess what?  It is Spring Break!  And not every college student goes to Florida. . .we’ve got a thousand or more of them on board with us.  I’ll tell you more of those stories as the week goes on. . .  for now I’m off to sun tan. . .

Ole’! We are going to a ‘Carnival’. . .

. . . a Carnival cruise ship, that is.

The upcoming trip was prompted in part by the recent wet, dreary Pacific Northwest weather and in part by taking advantage of some of the great cruise fares currently available. 

An article in the Seattle Times newspaper about our weather, summed it up by saying, “Rain, rain, and, more rain. Then a new front moves in with - guess what – more rain!”

The day that article appeared I received some photos I’d requested from the cruise line for use here until until I could take my own.

We looked out our living room window . . . and then at the photos:



Hmmm, bare-feet, sun-tan oil. . .we started counting the days until we set sail for Cabo San Lucas where the temperatures are in the 80’s. 

We likely will not – at least I won’t be - -using this water slide, one of the new features on the ship since we last sailed on it five years ago.  But I sure will be found on one of those chaise lounges pictured above with a good book in hand.



Joel, the researcher of this vagabonding duo, found a good price not long ago on this five-day getaway.  There are any number of good deals to be had right now so if you’ve got a cruise on your bucket list, you might want to do some shopping.

Just one example of the other deals we found was a seven-night Mediterranean cruise departing from and returning to Malaga, Spain in May on Royal Caribbean, and the price of a balcony room was only $444, per person – several hundred dollars less than an ocean view room on the same ship. 

Had it fit in our travel schedule, we would have nabbed it.

Click on this link, Travelnwrite’s Deal Finder, page for links to some of Joel’s favorite travel shopping sites.

Getting into the “Spirit” of Cruising

On a Sunday in the not-too-distant future, we’ll be setting sail from San Diego, California on our old friend, Carnival Spirit.  In all, our five-day cruise will give us two days at sea and two days to explore Cabo San Lucas on Mexico’s Baja Peninsula.

It will be a rather quick trip, compared to a cruise we took on this same ship five years ago.  That one took us as far south as Acapulco on Mexico’s western coast.  This one will provide what we are seeking: a shot of sea and sun – a change from our slate-gray Pacific Northwest.  An added bonus is Cabo; we've never been there so plan to do some exploring during our short stay.

This trip is one of those that one minute wasn't on our radar and the next minute it was, thanks to a last-minute travel deal we couldn’t pass up – our favorite kind of travel.

Joel's travel bug was roused by the cruise price he saw in an email we received from Travel Zoo . We made a quick call to our cruise specialists at CruCon Cruise Outlet who offered the same good rate, so we booked with them.

Since our 2007 cruise, the ship has undergone some major renovations in preparation for its repositioning later this year to Australia. 

Our first day at sea we’ll log a few miles on the pedometer just exploring on board and getting into the Spirit of this 88,500 ton ‘Fun Ship” that carries 2,124 passengers.