Carnival Cruise Has A New Ship With Old Traditions

The Carnival Breeze is coming soon! That's the newest addition to the Carnival fleet of cruise ships. It's scheduled to be ready for sailing by June 2012. They are still working on the ship while it is in wet dock. The interior design work will begin soon. What I find fascinating about cruise ships is the old ceremonial practices that are still part of modern sailing. For instance for Carnival Breeze there was a coin ceremony which is an ancient seafaring tradition. A custom made coin, which symbolizes good fortune, gets welded to the upper deck. This is to bring together the shipbuilders and Carnival Cruise Line.

I'll be posting more about the features of the ship as it gets closer to it's sailing date.

I've been on a cruise and it was a wonderful experience. Sometimes just sitting out on the deck and watching the endless horizon was special, so peaceful and relaxing. I've become so interested in the engineering and history of the ships and sailing ever since.

Been cruising? Feel free to comment below and share your experience.

 

Sondra Carpenter

Pack Your Bags Travel

http://PackYourBagsTravelNow.com

Riding Cable Cars In San Francisco

When I lived in the Bay Area of California one of the things I really enjoyed was riding the San Francisco cable cars. I'm sure you've seen many movies with the famous panoramic scene of the Powell-Mason cable car where it seems almost perched at the top of Russian Hill. You can see the magnificent view all around of the Pacific. Breathtaking! And yes...people do actually hang on the sides from the poles! San Francisco is very easy to get around by public transit, which is recommended particularly if you're not accustomed to driving up and down very steep hills. Currently the charge for riding the cable cars is $5.00, but you can also purchase day passes called Passports. They provide unlimited travel on different modes of transit in addition to the cable cars.

To visit The San Francisco Cable Car site click here. There are 3 cable car lines, 2 that go to different parts of Fisherman's Wharf. The other goes through downtown, east to west. So go through them all, there's a lot going on in San Francisco. Check out this site for 20 things to see and do while you're there. 

Been to this amazing city yet? Feel free to comment below on what you enjoy about San Francisco!

Happy Travels,

Sondra Carpenter

Pack Your Bags Travel

http://PackYourBagsTravelNow.com

Tip For Shopping In The Caribbean Markets

One of my favorite activities in the Caribbean (other than spending time on the beach, of course) is shopping in the crafts markets. I love checking out the beautifully handcrafted items available. I've seen so many items offered from intricately woven baskets, scarves, hand carved wooden statues, original paintings from local artists, hats, and jewelry boxes just to name a few. 

What's important to remember, though, is that by touching something and picking it up you're actually indicating to the seller that you're an interested buyer. That's the way the bartering system works in the Caribbean handicraft and produce markets. So unless you're sure that you're ready to make a purchase, look but don't touch! You don't want to cause confusion in the marketplace. If you have questions, just ask the sellers, they'll go out of their way to help you. So look around and have fun, but know how to play the bartering game!

One of my favorite purchases from a Caribbean marketplace is from Negril, Jamaica. It's a small brightly colored painting of people taking a break after harvesting fruit. After some bargaining I got it for $20.00 USD. The bargaining process is part of the fun for me.

Want to share your story about your special find at a crafts market? Feel free to comment below on what you bought, where you got it and how much you paid.

Happy Shopping!

Sondra Carpenter

Pack Your Bags Travel

http://PackYourBagsTravelNow.com

September 11 Memorial and Museum

In commemoration of the lives lost and resurgence of the City of New York, the September 11 Memorial and Museum was created. It will be dedicated on September 11, 2011, which is the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. On September 12, 2011 the museum will be open to the public. Click here to visit their site.

Even before a memorial was built, no one would ever forget the horrible events of September 11, 2001 and how it affected this country.

I narrowly missed being a casualty as I used to work on Wall Street and regularly saw the Twin Towers during my work day as a systems engineer. My job was to go out to different brokerage firms to support and troubleshoot their trading software. My contract ended in July 2001. If I was still on assignment for another month and a half it's very likely I may have been injured or much worse. Initially I was upset about losing my job, but obviously things happen for a reason. Fortunately I was home in Philadelphia during that time. I watched the constant replay of the unbelievably frightening images on television. But later I found out that some of my former colleagues were not so lucky.

Despite this tragedy America and its citizens are resilient. We have forged a collective strength that perseveres beyond the pain and horror of the unimaginable.

Feel free to leave comments here about where you were when you first heard about the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001.

Sondra Carpenter
Pack Your Bags Travel
http://PackYourBagsTravelNow.com