“What to pack on a cruise”? When you’re bringing along the little cruisers!!!

Since I started a group on facebook called “Cruising Carnival with Kids” I get asked a lot about what to pack on a cruise when taking little ones along.  Well, since it comes up so frequently I decided to put together a list.  Feel free to print it out and add to it to personalize for your own cruise/vacation!!! Continue reading ““What to pack on a cruise”? When you’re bringing along the little cruisers!!!”

Carnival Magic Review (Cruise + Friends = MAGIC!!!)

 

Thanks for stopping by to check out my most recent cruise review. This time we sailed on the Carnival Magic out of Port Canaveral, Florida and what made this cruise particularly “Magical” was that we were cruising with our dear friends, The Saunders Family. Here is a little background on this cruise with the Asmus family trio (Sharon, Jamie, and Matthew)….We had planned this cruise over a year ago with our longtime friends.  We met the Saunders family on the Carnival Valor in March of 2006.  We cruised back then with  2 of our older daughters Melissa and Brittany and it was Matthew’s 1st cruise, he was 13 months old.  We were very nervous when we saw that our dinner table was for 10 people.  We had never been seated with others before and all kinds of thoughts were running through our heads about who these people would be.  The Saunders family consists of Marti, EJ and they have three daughters which are now Samantha 22 and twins Sydney and Sarah that are 18.  We ended up enjoying their company so much at dinner that by the end of the week we decided to spend our last port day in St. Maarten together at the beach.  We had so much fun and have continued our friendship over the years with daily text messages, etc…We also continue to cruise together every couple of years.  Now that the kids are getting older we are hoping to cruise together more frequently.  This was our 10th year anniversary cruise from when we met as well as the twins graduation cruise so we had big plans for a lot of memories and there were a few good ones to put in the books…..We originally were booked on the Breeze but with the repositioning of some ships we changed to the Magic which we were also all on together 3 years ago.  We were excited to hear that the Magic went in for dry dock and came out with the 2.0 upgrades along with the new Pig & Anchor which I might add was amazing.  We were stopping at 4 ports, Amber Cove which was new for us, St. Thomas, San Juan, and Grand Turk with 2 sea days.  So on to my story/review…. Continue reading “Carnival Magic Review (Cruise + Friends = MAGIC!!!)”

FAMILY FUN ATTRACTIONS IN SAN JUAN

Vacationing with children can be stressful at times but with the right planning and mix of activities, it can make traveling with the kids much easier and very enjoyable.  Here is a list of kid friendly attractions to help you in your planning.

 

Paseo de la Princesa
Paseo de la Princesa

This is a promenade that runs along the walls of the city between the Bay and the Gate areas.  It has many large shade trees that line the area.  On the weekends you can see many different artists and vendors selling their works.  It is a great place to let kids buy inexpensive souvenirs.  There are also musicians around to entertain.  There is a beautiful view of the bay where 11111217_10204661311748173_6145240512363965696_nyou can see the different vessels at sea sailing by. 

 

 

El Morro
El Morro

Castillo San Felipe de Morro is a 16th century fortress built and named after King Phillip II of Spain.  It was built to guard the entrance to San Juan Bay.  Construction of the fort started in 1540 and took 49 years to build.  It is a maze of barracks, tunnels, outposts, lookouts, dungeons, vaults, and ramps to explore.  Inside the fort there is a museum with a video display.  The esplanade is great place for a picnic and flying kites. Continue reading “FAMILY FUN ATTRACTIONS IN SAN JUAN”

Vista completes final sea trials…

             Carnival Vista successfully completes final sea trials…

Earlier this week the Carnival Vista successfully completed its final sea trials in the Adriatic Sea. The Vista’s navigation, technical and mechanical systems were all thoroughly tested.

The Vista is currently at Italy’s Fincantieri shipyard finalizing its construction. The ship will offer the 2.0 upgrades along with some new exciting features including a cycling in mid air called skyRide, the 1st IMAX theatre at sea, a Kaleid-o-slide water slide (455 ft long), family harbor staterooms and more.

The Carnival Vista will hold 3,954 passengers. It will set sail on its inaugural cruise May 1, 2016 from Trieste. It will then run 8-13 day Mediterranean cruises from Barcelona and Athens. In November the Vista will then reposition to New York briefly before heading to Miami later in the month which will then become her home port where she will be visiting Caribbean itineraries.

Sharon Asmus  Vista

 

Carnival Freedom Review, February 2016

 

Carnival Freedom

Our 1st Blogger’s Cruise & Matthew Turns Platinum

February 20-27, 2016

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My goal of starting a blog is to share some of my adventures while doing what I love to do, which as you know by now is cruising…but ironically, our most recent cruise was one of the least adventuresome cruises we have ever taken, and it turned out to be one of our best cruises ever. As with any vacation, the planning and researching is part of the fun, and getting ready to take our first “Bloggers Cruise” made things all the more exciting. We were lucky to be part of the group of about 700 or so people that would get to interact with Carnival’s Brand Ambassador, John Heald and to be part of his planned festivities throughout the week. I’ve enjoyed following John on Facebook and laughing along with him each day as he shares the good and the bad of his very important role with Carnival. Continue reading “Carnival Freedom Review, February 2016”

Welcome to my blog, Sharon at Sea Travel

First things first….I love to travel and my favorite way is by cruise ship!!!  For years I spent my vacations on dry land, but always dreamt of going on a cruise.  Finally, I was able to experience my first cruise on the Carnival Elation with my husband in 2002….and since then we have been lucky enough to have experienced 60+ cruises.  Most of our children are grown and on their own so that allows myself, my husband Jamie, and our 2 youngest still at home to cruise and travel on a regular basis.  We as a family have been on many ships and have traveled to many destinations and love talking about all of them.  So this is my outlet to share our experiences while cruising and traveling as well as share all of our tips and tricks on traveling to many destinations by land and by sea.  You will not only find written articles and reviews on destinations and products but I will also share our many travel vlogs from our YouTube channel www.youtube.com/sharonatseatravel where we focus on relatable information for our viewers on traveling and cruising around the world, full of family friendly tips and tricks as we bring you along with us throughout our journeys. 

After having a 20 year nursing career, my passion for travel took over and not only did I start a YouTube channel with my family to share our travel adventures but  I made the decision to make a career change and bring even more travel into our lives, by taking it a little further and with the proper training becoming a travel agent and starting my own travel business. Our family is extremely passionate about travel and cruising and I enjoy helping others plan their perfect dream vacations. If you are looking for anyone to help you plan your dream cruise or vacation, I would love to help you.  I can be reached through email at sharonatsea@gmail.com or via message at www.facebook.com/sharonatseatravel/

Sharon at Sea Travel is a travel company where we not only assist with booking vacations but share our tips and tricks on travel, bring you travel related entertainment, and promote reputable travel companies through our videos and social media groups to assist you with the knowledge to plan a memorable fun filled safe vacation.

Happy Cruising & Safe Travels!!!

www.youtube.com/sharonatseatravel