Cruising - Postcard Jar | A blog about midlife travel

Steve and Ann’s guide to the ultimate Caribbean cruise

While informative and true, we want you to know that this post was written as an entry for Celebrity Cruises Ultimate Caribbean Cruise Itinerary...

Five things that made our first-ever Carnival Cruise so much fun

When you quit your job after 21 years, the first thing you want to do is get away and have fun. That's why the morning after my last day as a middle...

Cruising the Caribbean: St. Maarten

I've always loved airplanes and flying, so I was really looking forward to our stop in St. Maarten. Situated at the end of the runway of St....

Five things we’re NOT looking forward to on our next cruise

As you may have heard from our Facebook "LIVE" event, we are headed to Europe for a Baltic cruise this summer. While there are tons of things we're...

Steve and Ann’s guide to the ultimate Caribbean cruise

by Ann | Jun 28, 2018 | Caribbean, Cruising, Feature Cruising

While informative and true, we want you to know that this post was written as an entry for Celebrity Cruises Ultimate Caribbean Cruise Itinerary contest. Winners of the contest receive a cash prize, social media recognition, and a guest post on the Celebrity Cruises...

Our swim in Cenote Ik Kil in Mexico

by Steve | Feb 22, 2018 | Cruising, Experiences, Feature Experiences, The World, Where we've been

I had no idea what a cenote was before our cruise to Mexico. In fact, I don't even think I'd ever even heard the word. But I signed up to swim in one, anyway, because travel is about adventure, right? After leaving Chichén Itzá, we made a short drive over to Cenote Ik...

Our first wonder of the world: Chichén Itzá

by Steve | Feb 19, 2018 | Caribbean, Cruising, Feature The World, The World, Where we've been

It may surprise you that despite spending most of my career as a public school administrator, I was actually an anthropology major in college. Yes, that's right, I majored in anthropology and am not ashamed to admit that I'm an archaeology geek. I loved the semesters...

Five things that made our first-ever Carnival Cruise so much fun

by Steve | Feb 5, 2018 | Cruising, Experiences, Feature Cruising, Feature Travel, Travel

When you quit your job after 21 years, the first thing you want to do is get away and have fun. That's why the morning after my last day as a middle school principal, we were in the car headed south to the Port of Galveston for our first-ever Carnival Cruise. While we...

21 things to do on sea days

by Steve | Mar 21, 2017 | Cruising, Tips & Tricks

We often hear from people who tell us they would never want to take a cruise because they think they'd get bored. Somehow, the thought of a day at sea takes them back to their childhood, stuck in the middle of the backseat of their parents' car for the entire...

Following our hearts to St. Kitts

by Ann | Mar 11, 2017 | Caribbean, Cruising, Experiences, Family, Feature Caribbean, Feature The World, The World, Where we've been

Two years ago, I had never even heard of St. Kitts. Then, in August 2015, two incredible young men from this small island in the Caribbean stepped into our lives and into our hearts. We met Michael and Josiah their first week in Crete when they came to our church one...

Cruising the Caribbean: St. Maarten

by Steve | Jan 21, 2017 | Caribbean, Cruising, Experiences, Feature Caribbean, Feature Cruising, The World, Where we've been

I've always loved airplanes and flying, so I was really looking forward to our stop in St. Maarten. Situated at the end of the runway of St. Maarten's Airport sits Maho Beach, a wonderful spot to take in some rays and bob in the waters of the Caribbean Sea. It is also...

Cruising the Caribbean: St. Lucia

by Ann | Jan 16, 2017 | Caribbean, Cruising, Experiences, Feature Caribbean, The World, Where we've been

I have been to tropical places. I've admired the lush forests and gazed at the blue waters. But nothing could have prepared me for the for sights and sounds above the treetops in St. Lucia. The second port of call on our Caribbean Christmas cruise was this incredible...

Cruising the Caribbean: Barbados

by Steve | Jan 11, 2017 | Caribbean, Cruising, Feature Caribbean, The World, Where we've been

The first stop on our Caribbean cruise on the Celebrity Summit was the island nation of Barbados. Twenty one miles long by 14 miles wide, Barbados is home to nearly 300,000 people if there are not ships in town. Our ship was one of about five docked there that day,...

Celebrating Christmas at sea

by Ann | Jan 10, 2017 | Cruising, Feature Holidays, Holidays, Real Life, The World

Christmas has always been a really important time for me. I love preparing for and celebrating the birth of my Savior, giving and receiving gifts, singing Christmas carols, and spending time with family and friends. So, it was't easy for me to agree to taking a family...

Good things come in small packages

by Ann | Jan 10, 2017 | Cruising, Holidays

I love giving people gifts. I truly enjoy picking out just the right things, wrapping them in color-coordinated paper, and tying them up with fancy bows and name tags. I couldn't imagine Christmas morning without the joy of watching my family unwrap presents. So,...

Christmas in the Caribbean: Puerto Rico

by Steve | Jan 5, 2017 | Cruising, USA, Where we've been

I never sleep well the night before we fly out early for vacation. The combination of the excitement for the trip, along with a worry that I will sleep through my alarm and miss the flight, often conspire to give me a short night with lots of waking moments wondering...

Five things we’re NOT looking forward to on our next cruise

by Steve | Jun 12, 2016 | Cruising, Experiences, Feature Cruising

As you may have heard from our Facebook "LIVE" event, we are headed to Europe for a Baltic cruise this summer. While there are tons of things we're looking forward to (i.e. visiting the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia; exploring Stockholm, Sweden; and...

Postcards from Alaska

by Ann | Dec 3, 2015 | Cruising

We were just thrilled when Steve's parents decided to go on their very first cruise together earlier this year to beautiful Alaska. Steve's dad had been reluctant to try cruising for many years, so when he suggested he might be willing to "look into it," Gayle didn't...

A memorable European vacation

by Ann | Jul 25, 2015 | Cruising, Italy, The World, Where we've been

Last fall, our college-aged daughter, Meghan, shared with us that she was interested in doing a summer study abroad in Spain. Since she is a Spanish major (as was Steve), we thought this was a great opportunity and encouraged her to apply. Once she was accepted and...

We’ll toast to that!

by Ann | Jun 19, 2015 | Cruising

National Martini Day is apparently celebrated each year on June 19. I tried to research this holiday and was unable to find the creator or origin of National Martini Day -- but that's not going to stop us from toasting it! While we aren't big drinkers, on the...

A new view of Key West

by Steve | Apr 9, 2015 | Cruising, Feature USA, USA, Where we've been

I'm one of the lucky ones. My grandparents spent winters in the Florida Keys so I've been to Key West many times. I have seen the drag queen lowered in her giant shoe at midnight on New Year's Eve. I've sipped beers in Sloppy Joe's, Captain Tony's and even the Hog's...

Travel Tip #4 – When cruising, book the spa on port days.

by Steve | Aug 6, 2014 | Cruising, Tips & Tricks, USA

I'm not ashamed to admit that I enjoy a trip to the spa. I know a lot of men think the spa is "unmanly" but they only think that because they've never been there. Once you get a good, deep tissue massage with hot rocks, you'll put your pride aside and realize that the...

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