Introduction: Why I Booked An Inside Cabin On The Bliss I often select an inside for two reasons, cost being the most obvious one. Insides are the least expensive option, meaning I can cruise more often. It’s sort of a quantity versus quality trade-off for me, although I’m actually of the opinion that you don’t sacrifice much quality booking inside cabins, even for Alaska (you may disagree – many do). Second, if there’s one thing I love almost as much as cruising and dessert, it’s sleep. And I never sleep better than I do in a pitch black inside cabin on a cruise ship. In fact, I’d probably s ..read more

Introduction The purpose of this post is threefold. First, it serves as a not-so-humble brag. Second, I hope it will give renewed optimism to those who fear that bargain-basement cruise fares are a wistful memory. And third, I intend to share the secrets of how I scored such a low cruise fare with the intention that others might do the same. Because there’s nothing I love more than sharing my passion for cruising with others (except for actually cruising of course. And dessert.)! First, the particulars. Did you really pay $50 for a 7-night solo cruise to Alaska? Yes! Well actually, no. My out ..read more

If you hear “Charlie” called out in a stern tone on land it’s probably to get the attention of a misbehaving human or pet. Same goes for “Oscar” (although you might also be asking after your favorite hot dog brand at the market). “Bravo” is usually shouted out on land to indicate enthusiastic approval following a musical or theater performance. And “Delta” is most often heard as an announcement at the airport in reference to a particular flight: “Delta flight 443 is now boarding through door number 6.” While all those words are fairly innocuous on land (sure, tell that to Charlie), they mean ..read more

Introduction By way of a quick introduction, I’m Sarah, also known as “Prof. Cruise.” I retired after 10 years as a college professor to pursue my passion for cruising, moving across the country to Seattle where I now live downtown and within a five minute walk of the NCL cruise terminal at Pier 66. My passion for cruising is only equaled by my love for Alaska. I’ve cruised there so many times locals now wave to me, ask me to take in their mail when they travel, and flag me down to see if they can borrow a cup of sugar to which I reply, “you know I don’t actually live here, right?” I’ve cruise ..read more

These Bliss menus were collected on a 2024 Alaska itinerary and should give you a very good idea of what to expect. While the menus are generally the same on every 7-night cruise, double check once onboard as there may be slight variations to the menus depending on your particular itinerary and available items and prices do occasionally change. INDEX (jump to): Bliss Main Dining Room (MDR) Menus Breakfast menu Lunch menu Dinner menu Kids menu Bliss Fast Casual Restaurants The Local American Diner menu Bliss Room Service Menus Breakfast room service menuAll-day room service menu Bliss Specialt ..read more

“Dive-In Movies” are one of the things I love most about cruising on Carnival. So if you’re booked on a Carnival cruise for May, be sure to grab a bag of popcorn (note there is a $4 charge for popcorn), some buffet desserts and a beverage, pull up a lounger, and enjoy a flick at sea! Here are the movies that will be shown on the large outdoor screens on Carnival cruises for the last week of April and May 2024. Note that not every movie will be shown on every sailing. To see when specific movies are playing on your sailing, check your daily printed Fun Times schedule or the Carnival HUB app. C ..read more

“Dive-In Movies” are one of the things I love most about cruising on Carnival. So if you’re booked on a Carnival cruise for May, be sure to grab a bag of popcorn (note there is a $4 charge for popcorn), some buffet desserts and a beverage, pull up a lounger, and enjoy a flick at sea! Here are the movies that will be shown on the large outdoor screens on Carnival cruises for the last week of April and May 2024. Note that not every movie will be shown on every sailing. To see when specific movies are playing on your sailing, check your daily printed Fun Times schedule or the Carnival HUB app. C ..read more

Introduction While I actually don’t recommend Princess cruisers utilize onboard spa services and have dedicated a whole article to why, I know the spa is an important part of cruising for many. The purpose of this post is to provide a price list for Princess spa services so you’ll know how much to budget for any desired treatments and to offer some tips for how to get the most for your money. Princess Spa Prices and Services Note that while this price list is fairly standard fleet-wide and current as of the date of posting, exact services and prices may vary slightly from ship to ship and pri ..read more

If you’re sailing on the Carnival Jubilee you may have questions like: How much is my favorite beer/wine/cocktail/soda on the Jubilee? Which beers/wines/cocktails/sodas are available on the Jubilee? How much is specialty coffee on the Jubilee? Which bars are on the Jubilee? Is the Cheers package worth it on the Jubilee? You’re in the right place! Below you’ll find all the bar and drink menus for the Jubilee. You can use them to see what’s available, how much various beverages cost, and determine if Cheers is worth it by doing a rough calculation of how much money you’d likely spend each day ..read more

Introduction Ours was cabin 5609 located on deck 5 midship. And by “our,” I mean my mom and I. This was a bucket list extended family cruise taking place over two holidays and a birthday and in total we booked three cabins, two interiors and one club balcony. My mom drew the short straw and had to share one of the inside cabins with me. I kept arguing that it could have been worse, that she could have been in with the 10 year-old who believes that showering more than once a week is an unspeakable burden or his father who believes sleeping past 4am is excessively lazy. Still, 16-nights in a ti ..read more