Last look at the Radiance Of The Seas
It is now day 8, and it is check-out day, goodbye day, and time to leave the Radiance Of The Seas. It is Friday, May 18, 2012. The ship had arrived at Seward, our arrival dock at 4am. We had got our numbers to put on our luggage the night before, the numbers are really important. The following picture of the ever helpful Cruise Compass will give you an idea of what I mean. You could get a number such as 5, 6, 20 and 21 that had a departure time of 6am, or be slightly more lucky if you are booked on a cruise tour like us – our number was 82, and our departure time was 9am. This of course, gave us more time in the morning. The last numbers were scheduled to be called at approximately 9:30 am.
Cruise Compass on Radiance Of The Seas
The last few pictures I took of the ship were these:
Excuse this picture as it is not the best, I used my camcorder again, and it was major clean-up day for the Radiance Of The Seas staff, so I had to take the picture while they were in the midst of their cleaning.
Seward, Alaska
The games room – Seven Hearts – I never even got the chance to sit in this room.
Seven Hearts, Radiance Of The Seas
This is the centre of the mid-area that overlooks the Centrum and can be seen from all the floors just about. Quite a design!
Centrum, Radiance Of The Seas
Centrum, Radiance Of The Seas
Centrum, Radiance Of The Seas
Colorful Royal Caribbean Logo, Radiance Of The Seas
Seward viewed from inside Radiance Of The Seas
Radiance Of The Seas
I snuck a look at an ocean-view cabin on my way out.
Ocean-view cabin, Radiance Of The Seas
It is bitter-sweet leaving a ship when it’s the end of the cruise. However, the nice part of this journey is that even though one adventure is over, the other one is just about to begin, as now it is time for the cruise tour. Our bus will take us from Seward today to the Sea Life Centre, and then drop us off so that we can take a boat tour on Kenai Fjords Explorer, and have a chance to view whales, otters and sea lions, etc. Later, we will take the Wilderness Express train to Girdwood, where we will stop the night at Hotel Alyeska. I will write up on that part of the journey soon. Thank you for reading.
Wildlife Pictures Taken in Alaska
Here are some of my pictures of wildlife taken in Alaska after the completion of the recent Radiance Of The Seas cruise in May, 2012. On May 18, 2012 our cruise ship finished the 7 day cruise in Seward, Alaska and we got on our post cruise tour, which was hosted by Royal Caribbean. There’s a difference between shore excursions and cruise tours. The excursions allow you to see the ports that the ship visits, while the cruise tours allows you to see more of a particular area or country better. For example, our cruise tour started in Seward, and then we went to Girdwood, Talkeetna, Mount McKinley, Denali Park, and Fairbanks. By way of the cruise tour, we were allowed into the wilds of Alaska.
This particular post is not in sequential order of the cruise tour visits, as I mainly wanted to show the wildlife viewing opportunities. This Grizzly Bear was an amazing sight to see, and was out in the wilds of Denali Park, which was part of our 4 Day cruise tour hosted by Royal Caribbean. However, personally, I prefer the Black Bear that I saw at a Nature Reserve. I just love bears, and I guess Black Bears are one of my favorites, along with koala bears. There is a lot of history behind Denali Park, and we really need to treasure places that are out there that protect wild animals, and also allow us to view them as safely as possible.
Grizzly Bear in Denali Park
Black Bear – Alaska
Black Bear – Alaska
I’m not very good with certain animals, does anyone know if this is moose or bison?
Moose or Bison, Alaska
Animals in Alaska
Caribou of Alaska
Not really wild life, but just had to include this picture here:
Dogs of Alaska – Anchorage
Birds of Alaska – Denali Park
Dall Sheep of Alaska
Dall Sheep scattering up mountains
Dall Sheep, Alaska
Birds of Alaska
Sea Otters of Alaska
Well, if I can’t tell the difference between bison and moose, I also can’t tell the difference between sea lions and seals. This second picture (below) was taken at the Alaska Sea Life Center in Seward, Alaska where the cruise ship docked at the end of the 7 day cruise. It was easier to see the sea life closer in this setting than it was in the wild in the picture above which was taken when we were on a boat tour with Kenai Fjords Tours on the same day after the cruise had finished. Both these excursions were part of our 4 day cruise tour, which had just got started from Seward.
Sea Creatures of Alaska
The boat tour had been really enjoyable and we actually saw whales – I think I have got video coverage of it – too hard to get on camera. Denali Park is also an extremely important experience. So, as you can see if there is any one reason to go to Alaska (other than the mountains, the snow, and the ice) – guess what it is? It’s for the wildlife! Go just to see the wildlife, and you won’t be disappointed.
Travel And Make A Difference
Travel and Make A Difference!
Choose any cruise destination of your choice, and as long as the cruise is at least 6 days in length, I will personally donate $50 per cabin booked to two of my favorite organizations: Be The Match and CARE. The $50 will be comprised of a $25 donation per cabin booked to Be The Match and $25 to CARE, upon the conclusion of the cruise.
All bookings must be personally made with me – Davinder Kaur – to qualify for this promotion, so the next time you wish to consider booking a cruise, please consider booking with Davinder Kaur at http://www.likecruises.com and you will “Travel, and Make a Difference”.
About Be The Match
Thousands of patients hope for a bone marrow donor who can make their life-saving transplant possible. They depend on people like you. You have the power to save a life. Take the first step today. The Be The Match website can be found at http://www.bethematch.org or http://www.marrow.org
If you are South Asian, you should check out Asians for Miracle Matches (A3M), a recruitment center of the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) and their Be The Match Registry. The Be The Match Registry brings millions of people together to help save lives. Thousands of patients with leukemia and other life-threatening diseases depend on the Be The Match registry to find a match to save their life. While South Asians are just as likely to be in need of a donor, South Asians make up a very small part of the Registry. Davinder would like South Asians to take a moment to register online at http://www.a3mhope.org
Please “Be The Match”, register online, join today, and save a life!
I am on the Be The Match registry, and hope to be a match some day. It takes just a moment to make a difference, you could be the one, and you could save a life. Please take a moment, and register today.
Be The Match
About CARE
CARE is a leading humanitarian organization fighting global poverty. They place a special focus on working alongside poor women because, equipped with the proper resources, women have the power to help whole families and entire communities escape poverty. Women are at the heart of CARE’s community-based efforts to improve basic education, prevent the spread of disease, increase acccess to clean water and sanitation, expand economic opportunity and protect natural resources. CARE also delivers emergency aid to survivors of war and natural disasters, and helps people rebuild their lives. Join today by visiting http://www.care.org
CARE
This post is also on my website at this link: Travel & Make A Difference
Beautiful San Diego
I have decided to start a page where I will add my favorite pictures of San Diego from time to time. It’s no secret that San Diego is one of the best places to live in the world – it’s a tropical paradise with palm trees, the ocean, Legoland, San Diego Zoo, Sea World, Balboa Park, Del Mar Racetrack and Fairgrounds, and so many beautiful places to visit. On this page you will find from time to time new additions (might be old pictures or new ones). Of course, my favorite place in the San Diego area is the Hotel Del in Coronado.
If you don’t live in the San Diego area, but would like to visit, please feel free to contact me and I would be happy to recommend or book a hotel for you, and to recommend local attractions as well as restaurants.
Cornonado, and the Hotel Del (a must see in San Diego). Marilyn Monroe shot one of her movies here, and many famous people have stayed here, as well as Presidents.
Hotel Del, Coronado – San Diego
Hotel Del, Coronado
Sunset at Hotel Del, Coronado
Hotel Del, Coronado
Ocean at Hotel Del, Coronado
The swimming pool at the Hotel Del
Swimming Pool at the Hotel Del, Coronado
It’s so tropical at the Hotel Del
Palm Trees Swaying At The Hotel Del
Some pictures taken at the San Diego Zoo on December 18, 2011.
Orangutan – San Diego Zoo
Koala – San Diego Zoo
These are my three kids at the Zoo last Christmas in 2011.
Cultural Arts Performance at Neurosciences Institute Auditorium, in La Jolla on December 9, 2011
Cultural Arts – San Diego
Hungry for pastries? Try Champagne Bakery in Del Mar – love their Napoleons, and Jesuite pastries.
Champagne Bakery, Del Mar Highlands Shopping Centre, San Diego
You don’t have to go to Las Vegas to find casino’s – we have plenty of them here in San Diego. Sycuan is only 35 minutes away.
Sycuan Casino, San Diego
Great place to visit for the day is the Flower Fields which is in Carlsbad, close to Legoland:
Flower Fields, Carlsbad – San Diego
Balboa Park, December, 2011
Spreckels Pavilion – the scene of the amazing Holiday Tree that opens up to display a nativity scene that is inside the tree. This tree is magical, and changes colors!
Spreckels Pavilion, Balboa Park, San Diego
We have the wonderful Race Track, which has a Grand Opening Day every year which draws thousands of people from all over the country. There is a hats contest, and a big celebration feel to the day. Opening Day this year is scheduled to be July 18, 2012.
Del Mar Racetrack, San Diego
Another one of my favorite hotels in San Diego is the Manchester Grand Hyatt. This overlooks the San Diego Bay, and is a stunning hotel
Manchester Grand Hyatt Hotel, San Diego
Even though I live here now, I am still a tourist in San Diego – it is a very beautiful place.
Please note, these following links are the additions that I was referring to in the post, where you will see more of my pictures of San Diego: Incredible San Diego – La Jolla and Some Places You’ll Want To Escape To
Why I Started a Blog In The First Place?
Why I Started a Blog In The First Place?
I started this blog because Apple forced me to reorganize. I had two websites that I had designed myself – http://www.bindicruises.com and http://www.luchaniktravel.com – and the second can be explained really easily as to what happened to it – I forwarded that to point to my new CruiseOne website, but the previous material on it is no longer visible to anyone. Some of that as well as the content on Bindi Cruises needs to be moved – so that is why I am here.
Apple used to host my content and still does with Mobile Me until June 30, 2012, but since they switched to ICloud, they won’t be hosting it any more, and I didn’t want to find a new way to create my web pages.
My Bindi Cruise website will no longer be accessible and I have to find a way to get all my pictures and posts off both my sites (I still have blogs on the luchaniktravel site that I need to put somewhere else), and that is why you may find me blogging away and not making sense – I switched between Alaska to Carnival Splendor and Mexico, and I’m not even done with Alaska yet. So, I figured I would try and cut and paste from I-Web which is what I just did with the Carnival Splendor review – it was on my luchaniktravel site.
Blogging is a lot of work, and uploading pictures takes all day. I don’t know how you all do it. I want to be more efficient with what I am doing, can anyone please let me know if there is a way to copy an entire page, complete with the pictures from I-Web? Right now, it looks as though my pictures can’t be cut and pasted, they have to be uploaded. If you have any suggestions, I would love to hear them. A little word to Apple – before you reorganize next time – please think about people like me who have to completely reorganize because of your reorganization – what was wrong with Mobile Me anyway?
Thanks,
Davinder
Review of the Carnival Splendor
Luchanik Travel & Cruises had so much fun on the Carnival Splendor on the July 17th seven day cruise to the Mexican Riviera. This cruise definitely was not boring, especially as Hurricane Dora just had to follow us along our journey, and threatened to crash into our path. However, with the skillful handling of Carnival Cruise Lines, and a little bit of an itinerary change – we stayed safe, and still saw all the ports we were supposed to visit. Instead of visiting Cabo San Lucas two days in a row, and Puerto Vallarta on the day after, it was determined that Puerto Vallarta should be sandwiched in between Cabo San Lucas to avoid the hurricane as the Captain had word from Miami and knew where the hurricane was headed.
Hurricane Dora affected our group, as we had the El Morocco Lounge booked on Wednesday afternoon at 4pm for refreshments for our group, as well as a rehearsal for our dance team – UCSD Zor, one of the top Bollywood dance teams in the USA. Due to the itinerary change, the rehearsal was rescheduled to Thursday. Luchanik Travel & Cruises cultural division called Bindi Cruises (http://www.bindicruises.com) provided complimentary cultural entertainment for the entire Bindi Group, as well as some lucky people on the Splendor, who got to see the entertainment that really should have been a private event. Normally, when you book a cruise, you only get the entertainment (public event) provided by the cruise line, and this does not usually include cultural entertainment. We think it is important for people to be exposed to other cultures and wanted people to enjoy the Bollywood and Bhangra performances by UCSD Zor. The performances went ahead as scheduled at 2:30 to 4:30 pm on Friday in the El Morocco Lounge and Saturday in the Red Carpet Disco. Video clips of the performances are available on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/luchaniktravel . More photos will be posted later.
Restaurants
The Splendor is an amazing ship. The food was plentiful, there were so many options to choose from – The Lido for buffet style dining; the Gold Pearl, or Black Pearl for sit-down service; the Tandoor on Deck 9 for Indian buffet style eating; the Pizzeria; a Rotisserie; and a specialty restaurant – which I believe is a Steak Restaurant – did not visit that one though. Sometimes we had breakfast in the Lido Dining Room, which is buffet style and sometimes we ate in the Gold Pearl Dining Room where breakfast was available from 8am to 10am. We had our dinner every evening in the Gold Pearl at 6pm. During a cruise, you have the choice of early dining – usually at 6pm – or late dining at around 8:15 pm. This is reserved dining, and the earlier you book, the better…… as you have a higher chance of getting the seating that you request. If you book too late, and want an earlier seating, you could be subject to being on a wait list. There is also “Any Time” seating between 6pm to 9:45 pm, however, this is not recommended as you might have to wait for a while for a table to become available, it is just nicer having a reserved table and time.
Food
Our group had Indian food every evening in the Gold Pearl, however, we were free to change it to the regular menu in the event that we saw something we liked – some members of our group did that, and enjoyed salmon, lobster, shrimp, sushi and even snails (Escargot) one night! What is really nice about the Gold Pearl Dining Room and the staff there, is that you can ask for as many dishes as you like, extra ice-cream for the kids or even for a second or third dessert, and the waiters will bring it for you with a smile on their face. The same also applied to the meals, if we felt like salmon in addition to Indian food, the staff were very accommodating, and it was no problem.
The desserts were good in the Gold Pearl, especially the Bread and Butter Pudding, the Warm Chocolate Cake (melted chocolate sponge), and the Espresso Cake – this was was my favorite! On cruise ships, drinks such as soda are not included, so at dinner, we were limited to lemonade, milk or water for the kids. The lemonade was quite sweet, a little too sweet actually! We were also able to get Indian tea for our group, which was really nice, and really can make you feel at home.
Cabins
The cabins are quite small, but this is nothing unusual as most cabins on cruises are approximately the same size for Interior cabins, which is what we booked. Interior cabins probably are sufficient for just two occupants, but we had four in our cabin, so that is probably why they appeared to be even smaller! Our cabin had a double bed, and two bunk beds on either side. We regularly bumped our heads into the bunk beds as we forgot they were hanging over on each end of the double bed. However, the cabins were always clean and tidy, and housekeeping did an outstanding job bringing fresh towels whenever they were needed (without us having to even ask!)
Swimming Pools
There were plenty of swimming pools, with the main pool being on the Lido Deck which is Deck 9, same as the Tandoor Deck. There is also a huge outdoor TV screen on the Lido Deck, so you could be in the pool, and watch the TV at the same time. In the evening, the Lido Deck looked spectacular when all the little lights were on. There was also an adults only pool, a kid’s pool, a Splash Area for the kids, a Twister Water Slide and various jacuzzi’s that were scattered around.
Gym and Spa
The gym and Spa are both on Deck 11. There are plenty of treadmills, bikes, and other machines to work of all those calories. Carnival also provides classes such as yoga, and nutrition classes, at a cost of $12 each session. The Spa was a luxury that I did not take advantage of unfortunately, but I did see the Member’s Area, where you could pay something like $268 and soak in a giant hot-tub.
Suggestions for Carnival
Three suggestions – the first suggestion is that Carnival really needs to provide vegetable samosas for Indian people who travel with them. The Tandoor on Deck 9 (Lido Deck) provided only beef samosas and beef is against the religion of many Indian people. Also, needless to say – if you provide an appetizer that is an Indian appetizer – you should not offend the people of that region and insult them by putting something in the food that they love, and that they will not be able to eat! The second suggestion is that Carnival really needs to put changing tables in the public bathrooms and make the cruise more family friendly by doing so. It was a struggle once or twice changing my two year old in the bathrooms. The third suggestion is that they really need to provide more beverages for kids, and the lemonade needs to have less sugar!
Summary
We had a great time on the cruise, and I would definitely recommend the Splendor to anyone wishing to take a cruise. Carnival is very family oriented, and the Splendor is a beautiful cruise ship. I would not hesitate to go on this ship again.
If you would like to book the Carnival Splendor, please contact me and I would be happy to assist you.
Carnival Splendor
Carnival Splendor lobby
Balcony Cabin on Carnival Splendor
Lobby of the Carnival Splendor
The main swimming pool of the Carnival Splendor
More photographs can be viewed at https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.248969871794696.70400.182290738462610&type=3
My ship inspection video of Carnival Splendor made prior to the cruise can be found here: Carnival Splendor Ship Inspection
luchanik 