Recently I taught on a wonderful quilt cruise for Stitchin Heaven. They do at least 12 such cruises a year, to various locations, and they really know how to do it right!
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| So much to do |
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| Indoor pool as well as outdoor pools |
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| The incredible conference center on Deck 13 with floor to ceiling windows |
We had 58 students and many of them had family members with them. The Alaska itinerary is a family-friendly one and there were lots of multi-generational families on board. About 5000 passengers and 2000 crew sail on the beautiful Royal Caribbean's Ovation of the Seas
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| Deck 13 Balcony Cabin--I am waving to hubby who is on shore in Skagway |
We flew to Seattle the day before, that's essential for cruises in my opinion. The Mediterranean Inn was a good place to stay, near the Space Needle and Pike's Place Market, with lots of restaurants an easy walk from the hotel. The next morning they were superb at shuttling many guests to the port just 10 minutes away. Their rooftop deck had lovely views of the area:
Embarkation was a breeze, we were onboard before our assigned time of 11 am. Staterooms aren't ready until 1 pm so we wandered around the public areas, had lunch in the Windjammer Buffet, and got a sense of the size of the ship. I was most interested in the walking track. On this ship it's on Deck 14, were the pools are, and speed walking was challenging as many people were strolling around waiting to get into their cabins.
I found a better place to walk the next day: Deck 5 where the lifeboats are. No one was out there at 4-6 am, I had the place to myself. I got to see the sunrise each day, glaciers the day we sailed there, ports as we were coming in, and it was delightful to feel alone on a huge ship full of people:
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| I asked a guy who came out early to see the sunrise to take my photo |
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| My glorious view each morning before "work" |
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| My own private walking track |
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| Scenery for miles |
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| This was a chilly morning, hat, gloves, sweatshirt and rain jacket needed |
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| A glacier seen from the Buffet window |
The students came from all over, including a mother/daughter team from Germany. The first day I taught 30 students my project, It's A Puzzle. We had a great day, laughing and learning.
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| My good friend Donna Daniel who got the perfect assigned spot |
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| An alternative layout I suggested |
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| Before the week was over Jeanne had her top completely done |
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| Some of half the cruising quilters Day 1 |
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| Not a bad place to "go to work" |
On port days the classroom was open for free sewing but we didn't have class. So I taught Saturday and Wednesday, 9-4 with an hour out for lunch, Thursday morning and Sunday night I did 3 hours just answering any questions and keeping students happy.
In the evenings my husband and I went to shows, after a great dinner. We were assigned a table for 12 but only had 9--four couples and a student traveling on her own. The food was excellent and the service was even better. We managed one group shot on the second "dress up" night:
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| Junelle our head waiter was GREAT! |
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| My husband with me before that last dinner in the Grande Dining Room |
Our stateroom was a Balcony, I upgraded from an Oceanview teachers are provided as part of the compensation. About 200 square feet, there was LOT of storage, much we never used. The only thing in short supply are outlets--only 3 in the entire cabin. And two USB ports. Bring an extra charger for all those devices.
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| Big storage bins above the bed |
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| Sofa in front of the desk by the balcony, some rooms had the bed over there and sofa near the door |
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| Ample storage in the bathroom |
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| More storage which we didn't use--we each had our own closet on either side of the bed |
The smartest thing I brought were small magnetic hooks--cabin walls on all ships are metal. Exercise clothes, jackets and swimsuits need to dry between wearings and this is the perfect way to do that. I found them on Amazon, 10 for about $6:
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| swimsuits drying using magnetic hooks I brought |
The food was so good. I always say any meal I don't have to plan, shop for, prepare, serve and clean up is a great meal. Not many photos of the food, I just enjoyed it. Because I got my usual 1-2 hour power walk in each day I ate a big breakfast, then a smaller lunch like salad, and the 3 course dinner in the dining room each night. Serving sizes at dinner were reasonable, not massive. We rarely snacked.
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| My usual breakfast |
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| A light lunch in the Solarium Bistro, adults only |
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| My favorite dessert in the Dining Room, Warm Apple Cobbler and ice cream |
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| A light breakfast, oatmeal with Greek yogurt and walnuts, and the best grapefruit ever |
I am often asked what my husband does on these cruises while I am working. There is so much to do onboard he always finds something to do. The night I worked he went to a comedy show. My good friend Donna Daniel and her husband Oscar came on this trip. The men hadn't met before but they have very similar backgrounds. So they would run into each other while Donna and I were in class and sat for hours and talked.
Will also enjoyed shooting pool when he could get a table. He took me there to play one day and found out I was trained by a "pool shark" as a teen, he didn't stand a chance:
While some don't like "dress up" nights, I do, since we rarely get dressed up at home. Here we are the first night:
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| Oscar and Donna Daniel and Will and I |
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| 49 years together |
Most days my clothes were much more casual. Most people were dressed very casually, jeans or shorts, t-shirts, etc. Layering is important in Alaska, I always had my sweater with me. We were blessed with fabulous weather in every port, sunny, 60-70, just perfect:
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| Jeans are always appropriate on a cruise |
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| A little more dressed up for teaching |
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| Perfect travel pants, pull-on knit, I took 3 pair, ideal for air travel too |
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| Another perfect weather day in Juneau |
We did excursions in Sitka, Skagway and Victoria. It's always fun to get off the ship and learn some things about the places we are visiting. In Juneau we stayed onboard so I could swim, the first day I had time for that. We docked about 1 pm, I taught that morning. Being onboard when almost 5000 people get off is great. It was a very relaxing afternoon.
All too soon, the week was coming to a close. Here is the group photo:
The Staff from Stitchin Heaven is so good to work with. Dana, Dawn and Tari kept everything running smoothly and all students happy. The other teacher this cruise was Annette Plog. I enjoyed getting to know her too. I look forward to more cruises with these good people:
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| Dana, Dawn, Annette, me and Tari |
While it is a job, and I do work for real on these cruises, like cleaning, threading and servicing 30 machines both before and after the week teaching, I enjoy it very much. Next year I am doing a 10 day New England/Canada cruise followed immediately with a 5 day Bermuda cruise. The New England cruise is currently Sold Out but there is a WAITLIST. On this past cruise we had a few students who had been on the WAITLIST and got to come. So don't hesitate to get on the waitlist now by calling Stitchin Heaven.
The 5 day cruise to Bermuda is the perfect cruise for those who aren't sure they will like a cruise.
Check out the details HERE The ship leaves Port Liberty in New Jersey Saturday late afternoon. We sail to Bermuda Sunday, dock in Bermuda Monday morning and leave from Bermuda late Tuesday afternoon. The ship is your hotel for those two days, come and go as you please. Wednesday we sail back to New Jersey and Thursday morning it's off we go. A few days to discover the great service and activities on these amazing ships. If you register, be sure to say you learned about this cruise from me.
All in all, I had a great trip. Only two issues: I was up 12 pounds when I came home, much more than the 5-7 I expected. In 10 days at home, I dropped 10 of those, and it took a few more days to get rid of the other 2. I ate with "abandon" and it showed. I know how to get rid of it so I did.
The other downside was I got Covid. One student the first day found out she had Covid. She never returned to class. About 8 of us reported being mildly sick after returning home. I took two days off from walking, never had a fever, just a slight cough and was achy. I got right back to power walking and was fine within a few days. My husband didn't get it, just his usual allergy symptoms. Viruses are out there, we can't avoid them in public. It won't stop me from traveling.
I hope you will consider coming along on a future cruise. Several students knew me from The Quilt Show and took this cruise to be in my class. I love that!
Let's quilt.
Barbara
