Wine and Spirits Travel

  I’ve done a CI Living TV segment , three stories, and nine blogs on my Princess cruise and there are a few more articles to come, but I wanted to put together a summary for all of those thinking about going on a cruise to Alaska. Here’s a breakdown of my opinions: The Ship I have always preferred small ships and my previous two cruises on American Cruise Lines and Seabourn were just that. Alaska didn’t work out with those, and I was anxious to give Princess a try. A mega ship was out of the question, but the Royal Princess, a mid-sized ship with about 3,500 guests, seemed doable. It turned out to be just that. The ship was spread out enough that I never felt crowded, and we didn’t really wait for much (except at the Gelato Shop where there was always a big line). The only times I wished I was on a smaller boat was when we were waiting a long time for an elevator. The embarkation and debarkation went better than any of the other large ships I have been on. The Cabin We had cabin

After a week on the Royal Princess, it was time to leave. Sometimes I am anxious to get off a ship—especially in hot weather when my only escape is a too cold ship. This was not the case during our voyage to Alaska. Everything had gone pretty much according to plan and Princess Cruises had treated us very well. We had to get up very early to have breakfast and get the last of our carry-on packed up and ready to be off by about 9:00 am. We had decided, instead of rushing to the airport, we’d take an 11:30 pm flight home and explore more of Seattle. The Hilton Motif had generously agreed to let us spend the day and have dinner before heading to the airport. I had taken advantage of Seattle’s excellent Port Valet program , so we didn’t have to worry about our luggage.   Brittany and I went to the dining room for our final breakfast. The food and service were as good as usual, even though it was clear the staff needed to get everything turned around quickly for the arriving passe

Brittany and I had traveled to a lot of places, but we were getting ready for our most exciting adventure ever. We were heading on a cruise to Alaska. This was to be Brittany’s first cruise and my first trip to the 49 th state – which actually was the 50 th state I would be visiting, therefore completing the United States. It was the most planned trip I ever took. I put a lot of time into every detail. The fact that I was traveling in a mobility scooter made it a little more challenging, but everyone I spoke to in advance was very helpful. The cruise we had chosen was roundtrip from Seattle, Washington. I had been to Seattle three times before and it was a city I really loved. I didn’t want to just have it be a jumping point to get on the ship, especially since Brittany had never been there. I worked with the Visit Seattle team to plan out a trip that would have us see a lot, without a lot of transportation, both before and after the cruise. I usually fly out of Champaign, b

It’s been a crazy year trying to organize my work life and my health. I got tired (as I’m sure my readers have) of apologizing for not getting things done. It was time to streamline and not attempt to do more than I physically can, only to apologize when I don’t get it done! I’ve been doing this blog for 14 years. I haven’t continued the way I’d like to and it’s not because I don’t consider it a priority. I’m only able to work part time now and I need to make sure I earn money during those hours. I no longer want this blog to suffer so I’ve given up my time in the others, the most notable of which is Spiritstraveler . That column was all about products I discovered. The problem was that it took a lot of time and earned very little money. I will still be doing some product reports, but it will only be on things I’m really interested in and you’ll see them floated here, on my Pinterest , and in my social media (@Spiritstraveler on everything). I will not be updating the Spirit

​ Happy New Year! The last few years have been different for everyone around the world. This is especially true for those in the travel industry. I’ve stayed pretty close to home.     I do not travel as much as I used to anyway.  I’m now looking for more accessible locations and needed to be cautious since I have autoimmune issues.    I’ve been using the time at home to train Teddy, so there will be a lot of pet friendly trips in the future! I’ll be catching up on previous travel soon. With everything I’ve learned since getting my first dog since I was a child, I decided to write a book.  12 Things You Must Know About Raising A Puppy  will be out this spring. It’s filled with tips, stories, and hope. I’ll be posting when it’s out.   As for 2022 travel, I have some fun stuff coming up, including a very unusual cruise.    If you’d like to know more about my health issues, read through my  Medium   page (there are some interesting travel stories there too).   Best, Marcia