Norwegian Sky – Ship Tour

We had the privilege of touring the Norwegian Sky before it traveled to Cuba.

Norwegian Sky was built in 1999 and served as Sky until 2004 when it was overhauled and renamed Pride of Aloha. For four years she sailed the Hawaiian islands as a U.S.-flagged and crewed ship. When she reverted to her original name and was re-flagged to the Bahamas Norwegian wisely kept her beautiful Hawaiian themed decorations. A 2013 refurbishment and good maintenance has kept Sky looking good. Continue reading Norwegian Sky – Ship Tour

Royal Caribbean’s Adventure of the Seas – Ship Tour

Dueling Waterslides (Typhoon and Cyclone)
Dueling Waterslides (Typhoon and Cyclone)

We recently got a chance to tour the newly renovated Royal Caribbean’s Adventure of the Seas.  The main public areas have all been upgraded.  Including the Perfect Storm Sports deck adding a Flowrider, Dueling Waterslides (Typhoon and Cyclone) and Adventure Dunes Putt Putt Golf course.  Continue reading Royal Caribbean’s Adventure of the Seas – Ship Tour

Walt Disney World – Ohana Dinner Feast Review

Ohana signThe Ohana at Walt Disney World’s Polynesian Village Resort is a table service restaurant located on the second floor facing the Seven Seas Lagoon. All the food at Walt Disney World is expensive so is it worth while to splurge with table service? On our last visit (more here) we decided to celebrate a birthday with dinner at Ohana. We looked at several other restaurants but the menu and atmosphere interested us. We did make a reservation. None were available online for the dates we were on property so I called and talked to an agent. They found us a table and while the 8:30 p.m. time was later than we normally eat it worked out fine. Continue reading Walt Disney World – Ohana Dinner Feast Review

Walt Disney World – the Cabins at Disney’s Fort Wilderness

Fort Wilderness at Walt Disney WorldWe love trying out different Disney Resorts. Staying on property is always fun and offers great benefits like free parking and Extra Magic Hours (Each day of the week, resort guests can enter a park one hour earlier or stay in a park up to two hours later than normal park operating hours.) As Florida Resident Annual Passholders we are often able to get special discounts on rooms. For this trip of three nights we chose the Cabins at Disney’s Fort Wilderness. Continue reading Walt Disney World – the Cabins at Disney’s Fort Wilderness

Hawaii – Uncruise – Night Snorkel with Manta Ray

(Blog by Sandra Merwin)

One of the best excursions UnCruise included was a night time snorkel with Manta Rays off the coast of Maui.

Night SnorkelThey provided full wet suites for this one because of the length of time we were going to be in the water and that the water was a little cooler after dark. After a light dinner our guide for the dive, Ian, came aboard and talked to us about Manta Rays. Manta Rays eat plankton, tiny little organisms floating in the ocean. This dive is done at night because lights are used to attract Night Snorkel with Manta Raysthe plankton, which attracts the Manta Ray. The Manta Rays swim up and barrel roll with their mouth open to scoop up the plankton in order to eat.  The Reef Manta Ray we saw are black and white with wing spans of 9 feet – 14 feet.  Manta Rays are uniquely identified by the markings on the belly of the Ray. Very much like the Fluke coloration of a Humpback whale uniquely identifies a specific whale.  In order to view the Manta Rays feeding, a surf board is outfitted with rope loops for each person to hold on to while they have snorkel gear and the surf board is pulled along by the guide.

Manta Ray doing a barrel rollWhile we were snorkeling the guide was able to identify 8 different Manta Rays by coloration.  The largest Manta Ray is “Big Bertha” who has a wing span of 14 feet.  Normally the guide says she does not barrel roll to feed.  While we were there viewing Big Bertha did come out and barrel roll to feed for us.  The guide saw about 2 – 3 other Manta Rays which did not display their coloration so they were not identified by name.

Hawaii UnCruise – Molokai Island

Mokulele AirOur cruise started from Molokai, which required we fly from Honolulu where we had arrived the day before. We flew over on Mokulele Airlines,  in a 9-passenger Cessna Grand Caravan.  The flight was short, comfortable and had truly beautiful views. Once on Molokai, Uncruise Adventures picked us up at the airport and took us to Hotel Molokai to gather all the passengers before we went on our first expedition then boarded the ship. Continue reading Hawaii UnCruise – Molokai Island

Hawaii Cruise – No an UnCruise

According to the cruise industry the average cruise ship today is over 950 feet long and accommodate about 2,900 people. Using the industry standard of two people per cabin that is 1,450 cabins. Now picture a cruise ship that is 145 feet long with 18 cabins and 36 passengers. That is UnCruise Adventures’ Safari Explorer.

UnCruise Safari Explorer
UnCruise Safari Explorer

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Continue reading Hawaii Cruise – No an UnCruise

Hawaii Cruise – Cabin B14

Cabin doorWelcome to cabin B14

We spent a week in cabin B14 on UnCruise Adventures’ Safari Explorer. The category for this cabin is “Master” and it is the standard sized Double cabin on board. Nine or half of the cabins are this category. Let’s take a look at the cabin. (Click on the pictures if you want to see a larger version. Then use the back button to continue reading.) Continue reading Hawaii Cruise – Cabin B14