Conlon Travel Blog

Our first port of call into Alaska is at Juneau. The largest city in the USA in terms of land size, Juneau has no roads in or out of the city. A cruise ship is one of two obvious ways to reach Juneau. [...]

When looking for a place to stay the night before a cruise in Seattle. There are a few things you may want to keep in mind and look for.

1. Does the hotel have breakfast? (one last meal before hitting the all you can eat foods on the ship is very important)

2. Does the hotel have transportation to the cruise?

3. Is there enough activities within walking distance to keep you occupied the night before?

4. Are there any stores nearby so that you can pick up the item you forgot to pack on the cruise.

5. Is the hotel affordable and clean? [...]

Care to guess where our travels took us last month, and you only get one guess.  It was summer time and the air temperature was 46 degrees and the water temperature was 40 degrees. Ice bergs, seals, whales and other types of wildlife were everywhere. Even in the rain you could sense God’s beautiful creation all around us.

If you are looking for a vacation where you can just relax and do nothing, then this may not be the trip for you. This is for the person seeking adventure into untouched landscapes. It is so awesome to view God’s creation almost as it was before man came into the picture. Every turn of the corner you could anticipate a surprise from a whale surfacing to beautiful glaciers carving its way through mountains.

I will be spend the next few blogs reviewing the port of calls for this vacation as well as a review of the hotel used the night before sailing away.  Please share your comments and insights into this adventure.

With all the technology we have in the world, life is supposed to be easier, but I see the world as very fast paced.  With work, school, extra curricular activities, sports, facebook, family,  grocery shopping,  laundry, we get so caught up in the fast paced world that sometimes we wish that we could escape, even if only for a week. I have found that temporary escape in travel, particularly on a cruise ship. On a cruise you can be attended to as though you are a celebrity or royalty. Don’t believe me… come check it out. [...]

Do you know what the most frequent question asked me about cruising by first time cruisers?  Need a hint? I’m sure you’ve heard this after you are 500 miles away from home, “I can’t believe we forgot . . .”.   The question “What do I pack for the trip?” is a valid question. I remember my first cruise and I was trying to figure out if I needed formal wear, soap & shampoo and all the other little things you need for a cruise. I did not know anyone that had cruised before and so went in blindfolded and learned some things about cruising.

With some help from research on the internet and some past experience as well as input from fellow cruisers we came up with this “Cruise Packing Guidelines”.  I do emphasis “Guidelines” as every person and destination is different. You can visit our Cruise Packing Website and even download a packing list doc. for your personal use.

A packing list eliminates the panic of last-second packing, serves as a handy guide for repacking at the end of the trip, and helps ensure that nothing important will be forgotten. The worst possible time to be considering what to take on a trip is while you are packing for that trip!

I invite your packing comments to share with others.

Now that you have had a brief review of a Bahamas cruise, I would like to share a little on pre cruise lodging. Our stay in Miami was at the Days Inn Airport North. If you are looking for something clean, large rooms, and breakfast this would not be your place of choice. What we were looking for was an inexpensive place to sleep and complimentary shuttle service from the airport. For those planning to cruise this hotel offers a complimentary shuttle to the cruise port. That alone made this location worth the stay. [...]

Part of our cruise to the Bahamas, we were treated to a day at NCL’s private island Great Stirrup Cay. This is a treat for those that want the white sandy beaches and a safe swimming environment that you can snorkel or relax in the water. [...]

Have you been following my recent travel blogs? If so you would know that we have arrived at the main attraction… the Atlantis Resort. The view of the resort coming into the port is breathtaking so make sure you have your cameras ready. The strip of land between the lighthouse and the resort has no roads and is home to many celebrities as your water taxi guide will point out.

So if you are not staying at the resort, what is it that you can expect to do? [...]

For those that are following my recent travel blog posts, our next port of call for the Bahama cruise is Nassau. This is a popular port of call with many things to do including the FUN resort of Atlantis which we will look at in my next post. [...]

What did you do this Spring Break?  Not trying to be original, we hopped on board the NCL Sky for a mini cruise to the Bahamas. Having never been to the Bahamas we were not sure what to expect. Here are some ideas to help you on your next journey to the Bahamas. [...]