Boarding the Queen Mary

Carnival Paradise’s decorative theme is Great Ocean liners of the World (thank you ship’s architect Joe Farcus), so it seems very fitting to spend a pre-cruise overnight on the Queen Mary.

The Queen Mary sits afloat at the Port of Long Beach ... very handy for those embarking on the Carnival ships that dock there. I booked directly through the Queen Mary Web site and found a Park & Sail deal attached to a Deluxe Stateroom with King Size Bed. Sounds fabulous, count me in! I detest paying for parking and will usually try to find ways around it. There are a few other hotels in Long Beach that will babysit the car for free while you cruise. It’s good to check out the deals if you are driving to the port.

We arrived later than we originally wanted to. You see, we had this pressing work deadline that we were feverishly trying to complete. Our vacation initially was to include some pre-cruise fun for a few days in and around Long Beach, but ‘the deadline’ quickly took that over. So, as our Thursday turned to Friday turned to Saturday, we knew those fun days were gone. Not that big of a deal, we had our reservation set and paid for the Queen Mary Sunday. We were leaving then, for sure ... deadline or no deadline. And so we did. We arrived just after dinner. 

Hauling a load of cruise luggage for a one-night hotel stay is funny. Even when packing light ... there can be a lot of pieces. It’s just the way it works. So, here we were late Sunday hauling our ‘necessities’ onboard the Queen Mary. Setting foot onto what was once regarded as the grandest ocean liner ever built; a sea-faring vessel that transported kings, queens and other very important people across the Atlantic, in my loaded down vulnerability I felt like the Beverly Hillbillies.

The Lobby, located on A Deck, was easy to find. We quickly checked in and received a pass key for our Stateroom #449 on B Deck ... one deck below. We have cruised quite often and have stayed in quite a few hotels in our life, so it came to a halting surprise to us that we got completely lost looking for our stateroom on the Queen Mary.

Plodding our way through the infinite hallway watching the room numbers rise ... B301, B315, B331 ... we were confident we would soon reach our room ... B341, dead end. What? We were at the Bow of the ship with not a #400 in sight. So, with plenty of backtracking (and even a few sidetrackings) we found that the stateroom numbering systems begin mid-ship. B301 starts mid-ship and goes forward, while B401 starts mid-ship and goes aft towards the Stern. We were at the wrong end of the boat.

Our stateroom was awesome. There were two Portholes with a sitting area, a flat screen TV, a King size bed and good size bathroom that included a bathtub. Yes, we were sitting in the lap of luxury.

Hello, Rod! Here is my hubby’s review of the Queen Mary bed: “Best. Bed. Ever.” And I concur.

Hey, did you know the Queen Mary is haunted? They have tours available ... but, we decided to create a few ‘ghosts’ of our own!

Yep, that’s me taking stateroom photos. We spent the rest of the evening running around the ship with our cameras (you’ll probably hear this a lot).

Four Days of Paradise: Our Cruise Ship Adventure

This would be a cruise of firsts. Our first porthole cabin, our first try at Your Time Dining, our first experience with Chef’s Table, our first Behind the Fun tour and our first cruise together without any children. I’m excited.

Sometimes the waiting period from booking to cruising seems like an eternity ... 111 days, seriously? Although the anticipation really is a lot of the fun for me.

We booked an ES rate back in April and sent in our FCC (purchased on the Carnival Splendor) for added OBC ... $50 since it’s a short cruise, woo hoo! In the upcoming months we would receive two price drops adding a nice little OBC fund for our adventures. Wow, that’s a lot of acronyms in that sentence. So, for you cruise newbies here’s the key: ES = Early Saver, FCC = Future Cruise Certificate, OBC = Onboard Credit.

Oh, let me introduce myself. I am Robin and I’m traveling with my wonderful hubby, Rod. We have five kids and a couple of cats ... we aren’t too old, but not too young either! We have been working really hard and like most people deserve a lovely three-month vacation ... but, we will gladly accept this shorter trip on the Paradise.

Living on the West Coast, our cruise destination options are somewhat limited. We just don’t have a lot of foreign Islands/Ports hanging around within reach like the East Coast has for a quick getaway. Our Baja Mexico itinerary, though, included a nice mix of port days and at sea days:

Monday — Long Beach - 4:30 p.m. Sail Away!
Tuesday — Catalina Island - 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Wednesday — Ensenada, Mexico - 9 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Thursday — Fun Day at Sea
Friday — Long Beach - 8 a.m.









As I said earlier, the anticipation is a large part of the fun for me. This is where all of the planning and dreaming happens! So, it probably wouldn’t surprise you to know I frequented the Port Cams often just waiting for the day it would be our turn.

The Paradise looked gorgeous sitting next to the Queen Mary when I snagged this shot from the Long Beach Port Cam, just a week before we were to embark. “Hello, lucky people!”

This trip journal will cover our experiences both onboard and off the Carnival Paradise as well as our pre-cruise adventure on the Queen Mary. Please feel free to ask any questions, I’ll be happy to answer them as best as I can.

Oh, I see there is 1 day left to cruise ... so we’d better get started.

Yay! My Kelly Moore camera bag has arrived!

After a long awaited ... wait ... the waiting is finally over (did I mention the wait?). My Kelly Moore camera bag has finally arrived and it is fabulous!

It has been just under three months since I posted my obsession for this designer camera bag (click here for the post). I was looking to add some 'femme pizzazz' to my camera wardrobe. I thought for sure Kelly Moore was the answer ... and she didn't disappoint.

I originally drooled over the B-Hobo bag in black but since changed my mind (a girl's perogative, right?) to the walnut instead. My reasoning?
1) Most of my camera bags are already black AND 2) I wanted a designer bag that wasn't sooooo fussy that I wouldn't feel comfortable schlepping it around. So brown it was.

These choices worked out well (for me) and after a week of using my new bag I can confidently say it was worth the price. Her bags don't come cheap, but then again that 'designer' word was the first clue! They are built well, however, and offer the accessibility I was looking for ... along with the pizzazz.

There are two removable dividers inside so I can section off up to three compartments.

 

As you can see, the compartments are roomy and can fit a lot of camera gear if necessary. My larger 70-200mm lens even fits comfortably in this bag along with my flash, flash cord a modification device and my Macro tubes (of course!) with some room to spare. With some planning, my camera body will fit as well (though I usually just carry that).

Some of the other features I like are the outer pockets.

 

There are two zippered pockets on the front of the bag and a larger one on the back. All of the pockets are lined with the same fabulous fuschia colored lining that is found on the inside of the bag. These pockets can hold anything from extra memory cards, batteries and microfiber cloths to my driver's license, money and lip gloss, making this one great camera bag.

My favorite pocket, though, has to be the cellphone pocket on the outside edge (there is one on each side). I don't usually use pockets made for cellphones because I have found them in the past to be ill-fitted ... making me always stressing about the safety of my phone. This pocket holds my iPhone snugly and securely, yet gives me enough room to whip it out at a moment's notice. Nice! 

I appreciate the attention to detail that was placed in this camera bag.  The antique brass hardware is not only nice looking, but sturdy as well. There is an invisible magnet inside the front flap which allows it to stay securely put without any fuss. The added zipper to the main compartment is a nice touch (security is always a concern for me) and it's especially useful when the flap is pulled back for easy access.

 

Another great feature — the camera bag comes with two straps! A shorter one for hand carrying and a longer one for cross-body wearing. The longer strap also has a shoulder pad for added comfort.

But, the best part of this new Kelly Moore 'B-Hobo' camera bag — it's finally mine and it looks simply delicious on! 

Check out the Kelly Moore Bags at www.kellymoorebag.com to see the different styles, colors and their functionality.