Take Me Back is a phrase my friend Heidi and I have spoken to each other several times since we sailed on a Princess Cruise a few years ago. We have such fond memories from our cruise, from the food and friends to the destinations we were taken to during our 4 days onboard. Memories of a lifetime!

Princess Cruises recently announced that one of their newest, most elegant ships – the Royal Princess – will be setting sail on the West Coast from Los Angeles for the first time in 2019. The ship’s itineraries will include sails to the Mexican Riviera, California Coast, Hawaii, and Alaska.

If you didn’t already know (or could have guessed), the Royal Princess was officially named in 2013 by a real life princess – Her Royal Highness, Catherine, The Duchess of Cambridge.

The California and West Coasts

Something that always impressed me about Princess Cruises is their attention to detail when it comes to selecting ports and experiences to offer their travelers.

One of the stops on our West Coast cruise was in Santa Barbara. Being from Florida, I haven’t spent a lot of time on the West Coast so this cruise was especially enticing for me because of its destinations. Seeing another side of the country with all the comforts of cruising was a highlight of my experience.

Santa Barbara is absolutely beautiful and rightfully earns the reference as the “American Riviera”. Boats, mountains and palm trees greet us as we take tenders from the cruise ship into the port, it’s a welcoming sight to see.

One of the excursions offered while in Santa Barbara was a wine tasting experience at a family owned local winery. An opportunity to experience wine country is always something I look forward to and this excursion did not disappoint. The winery we spent the afternoon at was Fess Parker Winery where we tasted a sampling of wines paired with the most amazing menu of food cooked by a local chef.

This wine tasting excursion was one of the most memorable parts of my cruise. It was such a treat to be completely immersed into the scenery, the wine and the food for an afternoon.

Additional stops on the Royal Princess along the West Coast include Cabo San Lucas, San Fransisco and Vancouver. Vancouver has always been on my travel bucket list!

Beautiful view of Vancouver skyline with Stanley Park at sunset, British Columbia, Canada.

The Royal Princess

This month, the Royal Princess will undergo a multimillion dollar program of refurbishments, including upgraded luxury beds as well as new equipment in their spa and gym. Their Camp Discovery Youth and Teen Centers will welcome new experiences for younger travelers.

Check out this incredible overwater SeaWalk on the Royal Princess – a 60-foot long glass walkway standing 128 feet above the ocean!

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Disclosure: This Smoked Salmon Frittata recipe post was inspired by and created in partnership with Princess Cruises.

Working out with a friend makes exercising so much more enjoyable, at least for me it does. I don’t normally have the opportunity to work out with friends (although, the trainers at my gym are my friends so I guess I do work out with friends every day). Recently when I was cruising with my dear friend Heidi, we made a promise to each other that we would get up every morning and get some exercise in. I was so happy to have someone on the same page as me, as well as someone who would make sure I got out of bed and got moving, even when I didn’t really want to.

The running deck was the perfect place to start our mornings. It wasn’t overly crowded, but there were a few walkers, runners and coffee drinkers enjoying the fresh morning air and peaceful ocean view.

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This post is part of a series sponsored by Princess Cruises.

One of the many fun parts of cruising is the getting off the ship to explore whatever destination your ship docks at. The West Coast Getaway Princess Cruise I sailed on earlier this fall hugged the California Coast and took us to Santa Barbara and Ensenada wine country. I am smitten with wine country and loved seeing new (to me) places and of course experience their food and wine.

One of our ports during our cruise was Santa Barbara. Santa Barbara is just north of Los Angeles and commonly referred to as the “American Riviera”. How enticing does that sound? We docked off shore and took tenders into the port where there were plenty of boats (big and small), people, mountains and palm trees surrounding us.

Really gorgeous. The sky was perfectly blue for us that day as we drove through Santa Barbara and into the Santa Ynez Valley on our wine tasting excursion to family owned Fess Parker Winery where we would be spending the afternoon enjoying local wine and food.

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It’s hard to believe that I was actually sailing along the California Coast just a little over a month ago. Oh what I would give to be back on the Ruby Princess enjoying food, friends and adult beverages like one of these Pomegranate Rum Cocktails inspired by the Love Boat’s famous bartender, Isaac. With Florida weather still creeping into the 90s (um…yea, it’s November), my husband and I were able to enjoy these cocktails on our back patio over the weekend – not exactly the same as cruising but definitely helped us feel like we were escaping for about 10 minutes.

A fun fact I learned while cruising with Princess Cruises is that one of my favorite childhood shows, Love Boat, was actually filmed on their cruise line. Any other Love Boat fans out there? (I realized quickly while on our cruise that age played a big part in even knowing what the Love Boat was!)

One of the many things that made our Princess Cruise extra special was that Jill Whelan, who played the Captain’s daughter Vicki, was on board as their Celebrations Ambassador. She mingled with cruise guests, hosted special events and joined our group on excursions – talk about fun! Jill was so personable and it was a treat to get to know her as well as hear about her personal Love Boat experience (she was just a young girl when she was on the show).

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I know what you are thinking, of all things for me to come home from my cruise obsessed with, it’s this Bircher Muesli, right? Not the mango margaritas, seafood dinners and chocolate journeys desserts I indulged in on the Ruby Princess, but a breakfast I found on the breakfast buffet – this is what I feel the need to share with you immediately. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, even when you’re cruising. Humor me please.

Typically I’m an egg for breakfast girl, but when I stumbled onto the section of the breakfast bar that was holding bowls of Bircher muesli, dried fruits and plenty of nuts I was instantly intrigued. What in the world is Bircher Muesli anyway? That’s what I was wondering! It’s basically overnight oats (or what I sometimes call refrigerator oats, but a little different and invented by the Swiss physician, Maximilian Bircher-Benner (a bonus history lesson for you!). I go on an overnight oats kicks every now and then and needless to say, I’ve been on one since I got home from my Princess Cruise a few weeks ago.

I can not express enough how generally impressed I was with the food on our cruise. When I remember cruising with my husband and parents back in the day, I definitely remember food, but I remember the quantity of it more so than the quality. My friend (and plus one) Heidi and I both ate breakfast and a couple of lunches in the main buffet area and we commented more than once on the selection of food items that were being served. You know how I am with my salad so of course I was seeking out the salad bar on the very first day. Guys, I was loving my salads all week long, especially with whatever fish or sandwich they were serving nearby. I really tried to keep things light (when I could!) and the variety of food and dining really made it possible.

Just a sampling of the many many food items I had while on the ship…

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Two weeks ago, I had the opportunity to travel across the country to board a boat and cruise along the California Coast with friends. Pinch me right? I can’t tell you how incredibly grateful I am for opportunities like this, and that I can call it work. It is not something I imagined at all when I started this blog over 7 years ago.

I’ve partnered up with Princess Cruises over the next couple of months to share with you my 4-day getaway on the Ruby Princess along the West Coast. We boarded our ship in Los Angeles, sailed to Santa Barbara where we spent the day at Fess Creek Winery and were then off to Ensenada, Mexico where we experienced incredible local Baja California food, wine and culture.

Ahhh…take me back.

I hadn’t been on a cruise in over 11 years before this one. 11 years! Since I live in Florida, it’s pretty convenient to cruise off our coast and venture into the Caribbean even for just a few days. One of the things that excited me about this Princess Cruise itinerary was definitely the change of scenery. Don’t get me wrong, I love the beaches and the Caribbean but to experience a different part of our country like this was pretty amazing. Seeing mountains off in the distance, beyond all the water, was a such a magnificent sight – it is hard to truly share in photos.

Can we talk about the food and wine now?

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