Cruise With Christine Pappin

Friday, June 12, 2015

#FriFotos Takes to the Roads - Helsinki

#FriFotos Theme: #ROADS

Our next stop on our Baltic Cruise features several cobblestone roads. This was another destination that could easily be toured on our own via a walking tour.

Third in a Series of Posts

If you are just joining us, we are reflecting on our Celebrity Constellation Baltic Cruise with a series of articles showing the countries we visited featuring their #Roads in order to share tweets on the weekly #FriFotos photo forum. For those of you not familiar with the forum, it is hosted by @EpsteinTravels @TravelDesigned @CharlesYap. The theme is revealed every Tuesday 12pm ET. Recently, @spencerspellman joined the team as a permanent co-host. We co-hosted one week late last year and continue to contribute with images from our archives whenever possible.

On the Road - Helsinki

Helsinki is the capital and largest city of Finland. Located on the shores of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea, it's closest neighbors are Tallinn, Estonia, Stockholm, Sweden, and St. Petersburg, Russia.

Helsinki is Finland's major political, educational, financial, cultural, and research center as well as one of northern Europe's major cities.

As with many of its neighbors, Helsinki's public transportation still uses trolleys with overhead wires seen in many parts of the city. In the image above, you'll notice that there are also bike paths along the major #roads as well.

If you like Travel & Photography join us each Friday!

Follow #FriFotos on Twitter and Facebook

Follow us on Twitter: @ChrisPappinMCC Pinterest: CruiseWithChris Pappin and Facebook: CruiseWithChris Pappin Cruises Inc

What #Roads have you traveled?

There is still time to share your pictures on #FriFotos. If you don't have any to share at this time, check out what others are posting. This forum is a great way to explore the world from the comforts of your chair.

#FriFotos Takes to the Roads - Helsingborg

#FriFotos Theme: #ROADS

During our Baltic Cruise onboard Celebrity Constellation, we visited many port cities and toured them on our own. We would either use Hop-on-Hop-off-Bus tours, use a ship shuttle to get to town, or in some cases, just walk from the ship.

Second in a Series of Posts

Whenever possible we post some of our images which satisfy the weekly theme on #FriFotos. This week is no exception. This series of posts will focus on just a few of the #Roads we have traveled.

For those that don't know: #FriFotos is a weekly photo forum by @EpsteinTravels @TravelDesigned @CharlesYap. Theme is revealed every Tuesday 12pm ET. Recently, @spencerspellman joined the team as a permanent co-host. We even had the chance to co-host one week late last year.

On the Road - Helsingborg

Helsingborg is one of the oldest cities of what is now Sweden. This coastal port city is the closet Swedish city to Denmark. Historic Helsingborg's many old buildings include stone-built churches and a 600 year old medieval fortress in the city center. We were able to walk here from our ship.

The following view was from the medieval fortress and shows the old buildings lining this main road.

If you like Travel & Photography join us each Friday!

Follow #FriFotos on Twitter and Facebook

Follow us on Twitter: @ChrisPappinMCC Pinterest: CruiseWithChris Pappin and Facebook: CruiseWithChris Pappin Cruises Inc

What #Roads have you traveled?

Tuesday, June 9, 2015

Donald Duck Day 2015

Donald Duck Day

Donald Duck Day commemorates the debut appearance of Donald Duck on June 9th 1934, when he was featured in the Silly Symphony cartoon The Wise Little Hen.

Today Donald Duck turns 81, but he never looks a day older. Happy Birthday old fella - thanks for all the years of memories.

Disney cartoons have been a part of the lives of millions of childhoods and will continue to be for many a generations to come. Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto, Daisy and quick-tempered Donald make up the classic Disney gang.

You'll typically see Donald dressed in a sailor shirt with a flat cap, red bow-tie, and no pants! The statue on the right was captured at Walt Disney World theme park, Magic Kingdom.
He looks pretty good in bronze too, don't you think.

Donald Takes to the Water

It makes sense that you'd see Donald Duck at sea. The image on the left was seen onboad Disney Cruise Line ship Disney Dream. Donald was among the characters greeting passengers during the welcome aboard show by the main pool area.

The Magic of Disney at Sea

Walt Disney World

"It All Started With a Mouse" but this loveable duck has certainly captured the hearts of children of all ages since 1934. You can immerse yourself in the wonderful world of Walt Disney at one of the theme parks, at the movie theater, or onboard one of Disney's ships. We can help you plan two of the three. Check out the links above to get an idea of how you could become a part of the magic.

Saturday, June 6, 2015

D-Day Then and Now 71 Years Later

D-Day Landing - Arnhem (Groesbeek) - Liberation Museum

71^st Anniversary

D-Day

June 6, 2015

On June 6, 1944, D-Day, my father landed on Omaha Beach in Normandy, France. He never spoke much about that day, other than to say that his tank had sunk, he had been rescued, and was redeployed. He was in his early 20s at the time.

Today marks another anniversary of D-Day, the day that the allied troops stormed the beaches of Normandy to begin to take back Europe. The generation that fought that battle are slowly fading away, leaving only written accounts in their place.

My father is among those who are no longer with us. He and his comrades live on in our hearts as we honor them today during the commemoration of D-Day and the Battle of Normandy. On the occasion of the 71^st Anniversary, many surviving soldiers have gathered to participate in various events.

Retracing History

My parents went back to Normandy many years later for the 40^th anniversary observance. He visited the grave of his commanding officer in the American Cemetery (shown to the left). Despite all his bravery, that sight moved him to tears. My husband and I returned to Omaha Beach and several historic sites in Normandy, France for the 60^th anniversary.

This was a very moving experience for us as well and it brought to life events which until then was just something we read about in history books.

That trip was in conjunction with a 12 Night British Isles / Norwegian Fjords cruise. We arranged for a private tour with a local guide during which we walked on the beaches, visited all four of the cemeteries and other memorial sites.

Normandy Then & Now

The benefit of using a local guide was that we not only visited the various sites, but were also provided historical background, through images from 1944 so that we could experience Normandy in a totally different way.

Must See Sites

Our guide picked us from our ship in LeHarve early in the morning and returned us there in early evening. He could have gone longer, but we were tired and decided to return to the ship instead of having dinner in Honfleur.

71st Anniversary Links:

71st anniversary of D-Day and the Battle of Normandy

71^st Anniversary Events - National D-Day Memorial

More Coverage on Twitter 70eNormandie @ChrisPappinMCC

Powerful interactive exhibit on #DDay and #Normandy Invasion from @USNatArchives & @Google is available here: http://goo.gl/ANKFra #DDay70

Explore artifacts, oral histories, and more from The National WWII Museum D-Day: http://bit.ly/DDAY70

In honor of this Anniversary of D-Day, we have updated links in our previous blog articles and also gathered all our photo albums on a Shutterfly Share Page.

Read More on our Blog:

Normandy, France - Retracing History

Our tour started with visits to all three cemeteries:

The British Cemetery (Bayuex War Cemetary)
Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial
German Cemetery (La Cambe German Cemetery)

Normandy, France - Retracing History (Part 2)

Not far from Normandy Beaches we stopped at:

Le Grand Bunker Museum
Pegasus Bridge

Normandy, France - Retracing History (Part 3)

We concluded our Normandy visit with three destinations:
St Mere Eglise
Pointe du Hoc
Honfleur, France

D-Day 6 June 1944

The beaches were quiet the day we visited the Normandy Beaches unlike the early morning hours in 1944. I encourage you to include a visit to Normandy should your cruise call in LeHavre, France. Bring the entire family, especially children, so that they can bring history to life.

The Landing Zones:

Utah beach Pointe du Hoc Omaha beach Gold beach Juno beach Sword beach

Some More D-Day References on the Web

Normandie Mémoire
National D-Day Mermorial Foundation
Previous D-Day Posts

Tuesday, June 2, 2015

Cruising During Hurricane Season

What happens if there's a hurricane predicted at the time of my cruise?

Cruise lines try to avoid operating any ship in the vicinity of a tropical system and they monitor the progress of these storms very closely. If there is potential threat to any of their guests or ships, the itinerary may be altered to try to avoid any interaction with the storm or any affected areas.

Cruise lines will notify Travel Agencies and the public about any itinerary changes. We will post updates on tropical storms in blog posts. RSS links to NOAA advisories are also included in the left navigation pane and our Hurricane Zone tab.

As we saw during the various Flu outbreaks, Health and Safety is the prime concern for each cruise line. As always, my recommendation is for you to purchase travel insurance, so that you may obtain the necessary assistance should the need arise.

See where ships are relative to tropical storms

Interactive tracking map (real-time ship tracking)

BE PREPARED CHECKLIST

Monitor hurricane warnings before cruise
Activate cell phone international roaming if necessary
Make sure cruise line and travel agent have current contact information
Make sure airline has current contact information
Setup flight notifications with airline if possible
Share your itinerary with family and friends
Review your travel insurance policy for potential coverages
Call travel insurance provider to answer any questions about coverage
Provide emergency contact information to cruise line, travel agent, and airline
Keep passport, credit card, and necessary medication with you while in port
If you have a balcony cabin, put all personal articles away
Follow instructions given by ship's personnel

Enjoy your cruise vacation - rest assured that the cruise line will do everything to make your cruise enjoyable and safe.

It may be necessary for the cruise line to deviate from original published itinerary - this is their right under the contract rules. You want them to do this so that you are safe. Don't be upset if port changes are made - just make the best of your cruise vacation. I always say that any day on a cruise is better than a day at home.

Not the storm you are looking for? Click Image or Here

Related Blog Posts & Links

Monday, June 1, 2015

Blanca is Second Tropical Storm in East Pacific

Other images: 5-Day track off – 3-Day track off – 3-Day track on – Interactive

HURRICANE BLANCA

Tropical Depression Two-E formed Sunday, well south of southwest Mexico. It has already become the second tropical storm of the East Pacific 2015 Hurricane Season and it is expected to grow in strength quickly becoming the second hurricane.

Blanca is a category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale.

NHC issuing advisories on Hurricane BLANCA

(June 1)

The National Hurricane Center is issuing advisories on category 4
Hurricane Andres, located several hundred miles southwest of the
southern tip of the Baja California peninsula, and on Tropical
Storm Blanca, located a few hundred miles south-southwest of
Zihuatanejo, Mexico.

Not the storm you are looking for?  Click Image or Here

Full coverage of this, and all tropical storms, can be found on our Hurricane Zone page. There are RSS feeds from the National Hurricane Center posted there giving you up to the minute information. For storms that impact cruises, we will bring you information on those details as well. Please bookmark that page for further reference during the Hurricane Season which runs now through November 30th.

HURRICANE BLANCA	...BLANCA WEAKENS TO A DEPRESSION...
WIND:	near 140 mph (220 km/h) with higher gusts
WATCHES/ WARNINGS:	...ALL WATCHES AND WARNINGS DISCONTINUED... A Hurricane Watch is in effect for... * Cabo San Lucas to Santa Fe A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for... * Loreto to Puerto San Andresito, including Cabo San Lucas A Tropical Storm Watch is in effect for... * North of Puerto San Andresito to Punta Abreojos * North of Loreto to Mulege
SHIP IMPACT:	Carnival Miracle altered itinerary traded a sea day for a call on Ensenada on Sunday changed Monday's overnight in Cabo San Lucas to Wednesday cancelled call to Puerto Vallarta on Wednesday

A Tropical Storm Warning means that tropical storm conditions are
expected somewhere within the warning area within 36 hours.

A Tropical Storm Watch means that tropical storm conditions are
possible within the watch area, generally within 48 hours.
Storm Archive Graphics Archive

NHC ACTIVE STORMS (CLICK HERE)

Real-Time Cruise Ship Tracking

MORE INFORMATION ABOUT HURRICANES (CLICK HERE)

HAZARDS AFFECTING LAND

SURF: Swells generated by Blanca will begin affecting portions of
the coast of southwestern Mexico during the next couple of days.
These swells are likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip
current conditions. Please consult products from your local weather
office.

HISTORICAL STORM NOTES

530 PM CDT SUN MAY 31 2015

...NEW TROPICAL DEPRESSION FORMS WELL SOUTH OF SOUTHWESTERN
MEXICO...

1000 AM CDT MON JUN 01 2015

...TROPICAL STORM BLANCA FORMS...
...EXPECTED TO STRENGTHEN QUICKLY...

400 PM CDT TUE JUN 02 2015

...BLANCA BECOMES A HURRICANE...
...FURTHER STRENGTHENING EXPECTED...

1000 AM CDT WED JUN 03 2015

...BLANCA REACHES 130 MPH WINDS...

300 PM MDT FRI JUN 05 2015

...AIR FORCE HURRICANE HUNTER PLANE FINDS BLANCA WITH 90-MPH
WINDS...

The Government of Mexico has issued a Tropical Storm Watch for the
southern Baja California peninsula from La Paz to Santa Fe,
including Cabo San Lucas.

300 PM MDT MON JUN 08 2015

...BLANCA WEAKENS TO A DEPRESSION...
...ALL WATCHES AND WARNINGS DISCONTINUED...