Pearl Island, Bahamas

We took the Pearl Island Beach Escape excursion after Royal Caribbean Anthem of the Seas had docked in Bahamas, 11/2/2022

The ferry ride from the pier to the Pearl Island is short and relaxing. This small private island is quiet and beautiful, and we enjoyed the sun, the beach, and the swim. However, the so-called Bahamian lunch has nothing to brag about.

Blue Lagoon Island, Bahamas

Excursion from Bahamas Cruise, Norwegian Getaway, 3/2022

Blue Lagoon Island (also known as Salt Cay) is just three miles northeast of Nassau, Bahamas. I took the BLUE LAGOON ISLAND BEACH DAY excursion and had a very relaxed day on the island.

We boarded a ferry right off the pier where our ship is docked. The 25-minute short cruise through Nassau’s harbor is very relaxing. This beautiful private island offers everything for a relaxing day. One can swim in the clear blue water, snorkel right off the beach and see coral reefs teeming with tropical fish, lounge on the beaches surrounded by coconut palm trees, and walk through lush vegetation that is the habitat for nesting birds, and stroll to the marine park to view sea lions and dolphins.

Great Stirrup Cay, Bahamas

Norwegian’s own priviate island in the Bahamas. It’s a beautiful island, with a lot of things to do, such as swimming, snorkling, zipline…

To get to the island, we have to be tendered over. If there’s strong wind, the cruise line will likely cancel this port of call. Luckily on my Bahama’s cruise, the weather was great with a lot of sunshine.

Royal Caribbean’s private island, Perfect Day Cocoa Cay is next to Norwegian’s priviate island, but has built its own pier, no tender needed

Western Caribbean Cruise

14-Day Caribbean Cruise, 1/5-1/19/2020 Norwegian Bliss

8 ports of call perfect weather
lots of fun

Port Canaveral, Orlando, FL; Great Stirrup Cay, Bahamas (NCL private island); Ocho Rios, Jamaica; George Town, Cayman Islands; Roatan, Bay Islands, Honduras; Harvest Caye, Belize (NCL private island); Costa Maya, Mexico; Cozumel, Mexico.

Back to the ship from Great Stirrup Cay

We climbed the 600-feet world-famous Dunn’s River Falls in Ocho Rios, Jamaica

Ship Back in Seattle

Saturday morning, Norwegian Joy returned to Seattle.  We are off the ship and on our way to the airport to fly back to New York. We had a great trip.

Bye bye, Seattle & Norwegian Joy

Butchart Gardens

We took an excursion to the beautiful Butchart Gardens in Victoria, B.C., Canada, the last port of call of the Alaska cruise. We took a picture by the Sunken Garden. It also has a Japanese garden, rose garden, Italian garden…

Skagway, Alaska

We arrived in Skagway, Alaska. It’s home to gold-rush-era buildings, now preserved as part of the Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park. It is exciting to ride the White Pass Scenic Railroad vintage trains past the steep Chilkoot trail offering sweeping mountain views.

Salmon Hatchery

Alaska is the salmon capital of the world. After visiting Glacier Gardens, the bus took us to Macaulay Salmon Hatchery. The employees there introduced us to the hatchery operations and the life cycle of pacific salmons. It was fascinating to learn about the salmon spawning process.

Mendenhall Glacier

Juneau is called “Alaska’s peak experience,” due to its unparalleled glacier viewing. Al and I went to see the majestic Mendenhall Glacier that lies 12 miles outside Juneau.


Our cruise ship is taking us close to the glaciers in Juneau, but the floating icebergs everywhere made it risky and captain decided to turn the ship around, not going further.