Icewind's Ramblings

What is it about cruising that has made this one of the most popular vacations for the last several years? The growth rate of this industry and the addition of new ships being added to the fleet each year show the value of this getaway. It seems more destinations are added, the cruise lines do a great job of changing or adding to their list of itineraries. It may be an Alaskan cruise or one to the several Caribbean locations that are the most popular. For those with plenty of time the longer crossings are available across the Atlantic or Pacific Oceans . There are Mediterranean voyages that have ports of call to many wonderful places full of rich history and cultural experiences. We booked our cruise this year with our friends Scott and Kim. We started planning almost a year ago which was a departure from the normal time of year we would normally vacation. Our normal time is during our winter months of either February or March. During those long dark winter nights ...

Before I get into the details of the cruise and share some pictures I wanted to post this . . . it is a look at going on a cruise and the trials and tribulations that come with it. I saw this after my last cruise and I think it was on the cruise critic website. Enjoy. Heavenly Father, look down on us your humble, obedient cruising servants . . . who are doomed to cruise this earth . . . taking photographs, mailing postcards . . . buying those silly souvenirs only to eat ourselves silly while walking around muggy Caribbean islands in drip-dry underwear. We beseech you, our Lord, to give us non-stop flights, to see that our planes are not hijacked . . . our luggage is not lost . . . our overweight baggage goes unnoticed, and that there are no hurricanes anywhere on the planet during our chosen cruise week. Protect us from zealous Immigrations Officers who swear our "certified copies of our birth certificates" are forged . . . from suspicious Customs Inspectors who in...

Home sweet home . . . I’ve been away a bit for a well needed vacation which I will post some of the events and pictures in the next few days but I wanted to give a quick hello and let everyone know we are back. I left and it was still green here but we had a couple of days with termination dust (early snow) on the mountains, but upon our return the trees below the plane on landing was a sea of yellow. I guess summer is gone . . . our brief fall looks to be almost over as with the autumn winds blowing this wonderful color everywhere will again be quickly gone replaced by the white of winter. When traveling away from Alaska I’m reminded of why I headed north from the heat and humidity of the southland so many years ago. Vacation time is usually a quest for warmer weather and the tropical breezes of the Caribbean . I always look forward to getting away for short breaks from my Alaskan home but it seems I am reminded fairly quickly of why I enjoy living in a place that w...