Today was our first of many port days. We woke up at 8 to get to breakfast before they closed at 9. At that time, we were sailing into Messina Sicily, accompanied by the pilot boat. We were scheduled to dock at 10. Breakfast was in Lumenae again, and we finally got a window table. yay.
Following that, we headed up to the room to gather our stuff (money, etc). While there, I called our lovely butler and asked him to switch around some reservations - go to Tuscan before Murano. He said he'd take care of it.
For Sicily, we'd booked a tour with some cruise critic friends that included driving to Mt. Etna. We met at a bar at 10:15 and headed out. Our guide, Ignatio (aka Iggy) was waiting for us at the pier, and we headed to his van, and drove out of town.
Our first stop was Savoka, a small arty town, most famous for being a filming location for the Godfather. It hosted the church where Michael Corleone got married. Also we encountered a local resident who as an extra in the movie, played his wife's mother. She still lives there.
We also tasted olive oil and almond cookies and wine. It was good, but not, in my opinion only, as good as the olive oil we get in Napa. We did walk to the church as well.
Back into the van and then off to Mt. Etna. We drove to 6000 feet, stopping on the way at another tasting room. We tried a wide variety of wine, olive oils and honey. We also learned about the honey making process. We thought about buying some, but honestly, it would just probably go bad.
Next we went up to an area at 6000 feet. From there, we could see the actives craters of the volcano. It is the largest active volcano in Europe. At that location there were several restaurants, Also there were several craters which had previously been eruptions. We did walk up to them and peered in, but it was very windy and hard to walk around. Iggys original plan was that we'd have our lunch there (a capresse sandwich and pastry) but it was too windy. So we drove to Taormina, a nearby municipality known for it's views and old churches. We had our lunch and walked the main street which was a lot of shops and old churches. We even watched part of a wedding. Glen and I wandered the streets, looked at the old theatre (probably Roman), and some interesting streets. We thought the two hours we had there were too long, so we stopped at a bar and had some Gelato. It was the messiest ice cream we've ever had, as it was melting pretty continuously. By this time, we had about 20 minutes until our meeting time so we headed to Porto Messina to wait for the others. We'd had two hours, which we thought was about 1/2 hour too long. At about 8 minutes early everyone else, including Iggy arrived and we headed back to Messina and the ship.
When we got to Messina we had time to goto an overlook to see a view of the city, as well as some remnants of old forts, etc. After that, we stopped at the Cathedral that features a clock tower with moving figures, that move at noon. It was, of course well past noon when we got there, so I guess we'll go to You Tube to see it.
Following that we went back to the ship, arriving either before or after the busses, since it was quick to get on the ship.
After a rest, we headed to the theater to see Elysium, which I'd seen on the Equinox. It was pretty much the same, even the lead girls looked similar. The acrobats were very good, the dancers just a touch out of sync. We then headed to the restaurant for dinner. It was packed, with no good location for a table for 2. The hostess said she had a couple of people leaving soon, so suggested we go to Michaels club for a drink, and she'd come and get us when a table was ready. It ended up taking about 40 minutes, but we did get a window table (not sure why I need one at dinner since it's dark out)
Dinner was good, although about midway through our waiter disappeared and someone who seemed to be a maitre'd (but not the restaurant maitre'd) finished up. The service was good, but not as good as the night before - as we left I asked the hostess, and she said that because of the late port, everyone came at the same time. Usually, it's more spread out.
From there, we went to Silent disco. It was packed, but we were able to get headphones right away. The dance floor was packed, so we went over to a seating area with some space and danced a few swings and went back to the room.
My key got demagnetized, so I went down to guest services and had a very nice chat with the agent there. I asked about some of her strangest requests and she gave me one that I have to share.
A guest came down to complain about her room. She said she'd paid for an ocean view, and now didn't have one. The agent asked if she'd moved rooms, and the guest said no. She said that yesterday she'd had an ocean view, but now she just had a view of the port.
I leave you tonight with that one. Today was crazy busy, but I did figure out how to put pictures on cruise critic. I have some on my phone that I will upload tomorrow. At some point, maybe on the sea day, I hope to figure out how to get Glen's pictures to the phone so I can upload some of his much better ones. Good night.
.
Sunday, September 3, 2017
Saturday, September 2, 2017
Where's the driver?
So, at long last it was time to board the ship. WE tried to sleep until 9 am and Glen did. Was up at 7 for a while, but then went back to sleep until the alarm went off. We dressed and packed, and went down for breakfast. After breakfast, it was 10am, and we went up to get the bags and check out.
Our driver was supposed to arrive at 10:15. 10:15 came and went. At about 10:20, I asked the front desk to call the number on the confirmation. She said it didn't work. Slight panic set in, and I emailed the contact. A couple of minutes later I got a text saying the car had broken down and they were sending a new car in 15 minutes. Ok, not what I wanted. About 10:44 I sent another text, and then the driver pulled up. We loaded the bags and away we went. About 1/2 there, he stopped for gas. Then it started pouring with a full out thunderstorm. That didn't delay us much (I was, for grins, running waze on the route) and about 11:45 we pulled into the port (about 40 minutes after I wanted to).
It was still pouring so we waited until he could pull up close to the covered area. He helped us with our bags and then when we went to pay, he couldn't break a 50. Total was 125, and given how late it was, and the gas stop (also he was taking pictures with his phone and such while driving - completely illegal where I live), we didn't want to give a 25 Euro tip. Finally, he found a friend to break it, and we paid him and said good bye.
Next up was to figure out where to put the luggage - there were a bunch of bags out front, and then, inside the building (there was a covered area in front) there was a sign directing those with luggage tags to the right, without to the left. We went to the right, and an authority there told us to go to the left and opened a rope to let us through. We gave our bags to someone who was handing them to the porters and hoped we'd see them again.
Next, trying to get to checkin, the entire way was blocked by bags. I really wish I had a picture to share. Finally we squeezed our way through, and entered the building. We were given what they called an embarkation number - we apparently were in group 91. Hopefully they'd started by now.
As I put my stuff through security, they held the line, because the line to move through the room to check in had extended to security. Glen suggested a sing along while we waited. After a couple of minutes, the line moved and we got in line. It took about 15 minutes, and once we got our room cards they let us go directly onto the shop. I think it took about 30 minutes total.
First stop was Michael's Club. We have a minisuite (called a Sky Suite) and we get some suite privileges, including Michael's Club lounge and the suite restaurant. We went to Michaels to work out our specialty dining with our friends, and just ourselves.
It took a few minutes but we were able to work out Qsine with our friends Adele and Frank for the time they'd selected. It got a bit more complicated for Jo and Alan at the Lawn club because her original reservation had been for the same day as our Qsine, so she changed it online, but the ship never got the message. So I had to call and ask her to come down to Michaels. We got it all straightened out. She mentioned they wanted to try the Porch, but since that's sea food, we passed. The concierge there was happy to help her out. They also let her know that because she's in Aqua, she can use the Concierge class concierge. After that, I booked Murano and Tuscan and we were set. At this point, they announced the rooms were ready, so we said goodby for now and headed to our room.
We dropped our bags, and headed to Luminae for lunch. We had a nice lunch (a few pictures coming soon) and I tried the famed Luminae burger. It was good. After lunch, we did some ship exploration, until time for Muster drill.
At some point, we stopped int the room and met our room steward. He was vary nice. Just before the muster drill our butler stopped by to introduce himself. Since it was just before Muster, we agreed he'd come back later.
Soon the alarm sounded and off we went to the Tuscan grill for Muster. We found some seats, but then noticed they were behind the single screen. There were many people behind the screen, but the crew in the room didn't require them to move to see it. After the video we expected a life jacket demo but nothing, except saying the station leader would take over. Ours just said let us know if you have questions. Then dead silence for about 5-10 minutes. I believe that they were waiting for the bigger muster stations to call out the names of the people who weren't checked off. Then the captain made a brief have fun announcement and we were done. Honestly? This was a total waste of time. In the event of an actual emergency any new cruisers on this ship would have no clue what to do. As many know I mostly sail Princess, and they take their saftely drill very seriously. I felt this ship only did one because they had to, and did as little possible to say they did it. Maybe the Carnival Corp ships take it more seriously because they lost a billion dollar ship in 2012. Off my soapbox now.
After muster, we went to the Cruise Critic sailaway party at the sunset bar. For whatever reason we were on the smoking side, but it was still fun.
At 6, we headed down to unpack and meet our butler. He explained the room lights, and a few other things, and what he could do for us. Anything, apparently.
After that, we dressed for dinner and went to the Grand Foyer to dance to the orchestra. We danced through their set, and then went over to guest relations so Glen could fix his internet package (he'd signed up for the 90 minute plan rather than waiting for his code for unlimited).
We then stopped in Michael's club just to see it when it wasn't packed, and ended up staying for a drink. It was then getting on dinner time. I'd looked at the Blu menu and the appetizers looked good, so I decided to see if we could eat there instead. The host told me probably not since it was very busy. So off we went to Lumenae. we had the same waiter for dinner as lunch, and it was enjoyable and good. During dinner, I got a text from JoEllen that they were at Blu at 8:50 and there was a wait.
We finished dinner just before 10, and since there was nothing interesting going on, we came back here to call it a night.
Our driver was supposed to arrive at 10:15. 10:15 came and went. At about 10:20, I asked the front desk to call the number on the confirmation. She said it didn't work. Slight panic set in, and I emailed the contact. A couple of minutes later I got a text saying the car had broken down and they were sending a new car in 15 minutes. Ok, not what I wanted. About 10:44 I sent another text, and then the driver pulled up. We loaded the bags and away we went. About 1/2 there, he stopped for gas. Then it started pouring with a full out thunderstorm. That didn't delay us much (I was, for grins, running waze on the route) and about 11:45 we pulled into the port (about 40 minutes after I wanted to).
It was still pouring so we waited until he could pull up close to the covered area. He helped us with our bags and then when we went to pay, he couldn't break a 50. Total was 125, and given how late it was, and the gas stop (also he was taking pictures with his phone and such while driving - completely illegal where I live), we didn't want to give a 25 Euro tip. Finally, he found a friend to break it, and we paid him and said good bye.
Next up was to figure out where to put the luggage - there were a bunch of bags out front, and then, inside the building (there was a covered area in front) there was a sign directing those with luggage tags to the right, without to the left. We went to the right, and an authority there told us to go to the left and opened a rope to let us through. We gave our bags to someone who was handing them to the porters and hoped we'd see them again.
Next, trying to get to checkin, the entire way was blocked by bags. I really wish I had a picture to share. Finally we squeezed our way through, and entered the building. We were given what they called an embarkation number - we apparently were in group 91. Hopefully they'd started by now.
As I put my stuff through security, they held the line, because the line to move through the room to check in had extended to security. Glen suggested a sing along while we waited. After a couple of minutes, the line moved and we got in line. It took about 15 minutes, and once we got our room cards they let us go directly onto the shop. I think it took about 30 minutes total.
First stop was Michael's Club. We have a minisuite (called a Sky Suite) and we get some suite privileges, including Michael's Club lounge and the suite restaurant. We went to Michaels to work out our specialty dining with our friends, and just ourselves.
It took a few minutes but we were able to work out Qsine with our friends Adele and Frank for the time they'd selected. It got a bit more complicated for Jo and Alan at the Lawn club because her original reservation had been for the same day as our Qsine, so she changed it online, but the ship never got the message. So I had to call and ask her to come down to Michaels. We got it all straightened out. She mentioned they wanted to try the Porch, but since that's sea food, we passed. The concierge there was happy to help her out. They also let her know that because she's in Aqua, she can use the Concierge class concierge. After that, I booked Murano and Tuscan and we were set. At this point, they announced the rooms were ready, so we said goodby for now and headed to our room.
We dropped our bags, and headed to Luminae for lunch. We had a nice lunch (a few pictures coming soon) and I tried the famed Luminae burger. It was good. After lunch, we did some ship exploration, until time for Muster drill.
At some point, we stopped int the room and met our room steward. He was vary nice. Just before the muster drill our butler stopped by to introduce himself. Since it was just before Muster, we agreed he'd come back later.
Soon the alarm sounded and off we went to the Tuscan grill for Muster. We found some seats, but then noticed they were behind the single screen. There were many people behind the screen, but the crew in the room didn't require them to move to see it. After the video we expected a life jacket demo but nothing, except saying the station leader would take over. Ours just said let us know if you have questions. Then dead silence for about 5-10 minutes. I believe that they were waiting for the bigger muster stations to call out the names of the people who weren't checked off. Then the captain made a brief have fun announcement and we were done. Honestly? This was a total waste of time. In the event of an actual emergency any new cruisers on this ship would have no clue what to do. As many know I mostly sail Princess, and they take their saftely drill very seriously. I felt this ship only did one because they had to, and did as little possible to say they did it. Maybe the Carnival Corp ships take it more seriously because they lost a billion dollar ship in 2012. Off my soapbox now.
After muster, we went to the Cruise Critic sailaway party at the sunset bar. For whatever reason we were on the smoking side, but it was still fun.
At 6, we headed down to unpack and meet our butler. He explained the room lights, and a few other things, and what he could do for us. Anything, apparently.
After that, we dressed for dinner and went to the Grand Foyer to dance to the orchestra. We danced through their set, and then went over to guest relations so Glen could fix his internet package (he'd signed up for the 90 minute plan rather than waiting for his code for unlimited).
We then stopped in Michael's club just to see it when it wasn't packed, and ended up staying for a drink. It was then getting on dinner time. I'd looked at the Blu menu and the appetizers looked good, so I decided to see if we could eat there instead. The host told me probably not since it was very busy. So off we went to Lumenae. we had the same waiter for dinner as lunch, and it was enjoyable and good. During dinner, I got a text from JoEllen that they were at Blu at 8:50 and there was a wait.
We finished dinner just before 10, and since there was nothing interesting going on, we came back here to call it a night.
Friday, September 1, 2017
All roads lead to Rome (at least that's what the signs indicated)
Woo-hoo we're in Rome!
Our flight to Rome was uneventful. Long, but uneventful. I watched Hacksaw Ridge and tried to nap. I may have slept some.
Our flight left Chicago 20 minutes but arrived only one minute late. Processing at the airport was fast, at least when we got there (being at the front of the plane helps) - it took about an hour from pulling into the gate to arriving at our room. We're staying at the Rome Park Marriott, listed as an airport hotel. It turns out that it's about 1/2 way between the airport and the city. They have a shuttle that's 5 Euro per person to the hotel. They recommend booking the shuttle in advance for going back to the airport, but of course we're not doing that. We have a car coming at 10:15 directly to the port.
When I contacted the hotel and asked about the shuttle, I also asked about the easiest way into the city - although both of us have been to Rome before, it seemed a shame to just hang out in a hotel. They also have a bus to the Piazza dei Tribunale - on the Tiber near St. Peter's and the Pantheon. It's 6 E each way, or 10 round trip. We decided to reserve for 6 pm and set up a dinner with some from our roll call.
Once we arrived at the hotel, we got settled, and decided to go in at 4pm instead of 6 pm - after a power nap and showers.
On our way to the Shuttle, we asked the concierge what we should do with a couple of hours to sightsee. He gave what we called a circle tour of 4 sites walking distance from the shuttle. We called it the "place you don't need to go into" tour. We went to the Spanish Steps (got hustled for money but didn't bite), Trevi Fountain (I don't recall being there before, the Pantheon (we did go in - I didn't know it's a church) and Piazza Navone. It took just under two hours and then we had about 90 minutes before our dinner meeting time. We headed to Campo d' Fiore and found the restaurant nearby. We then went back to a bakery we'd seen called Il Forniao. We know it just means the baker, but the font is similar to that of the restaurant chain near us. We had coffees and a bottle of water. I decided I don't really like Evain water, but I'm not sure why.
We still had some time so we wandered a bit more and found a grocery store. Glen needed toothpaste, so we got some. We then decided to go to the hotel next door to the restaurant, which is where our friends were staying, and hange out in the lobby for a half hour.
It was airconditioned and pleasant and after a while JoEllen and Alan came down, and we joined the others for dinner.
It had been a bit of a problem trying to get the dinner reservation, as I'd asked the concierge to call and they couldn't reach them. JoEllen had the American Express concierge call, and they called the hotel next door, which said that the restaurant was closed for vacation through much of September. We made other arrangements, but about three days ago the restaurant confirmed. It came highly recommended, so we were thrilled they were open.
JoEllen and Alan had taken a food tour this morning and the guide said that while one of Rome's specialties is Jewish fried artichokes, they are out of season, so restaurants shouldn't have them. If they do, they are suspect as to their freshness. The guide also said to beware of large menus. This restaurant had both. Oh well.
The food was good, but not great after that. The company, however was fun and we spent about 2 hours enjoying dinner together. We had to catch the 11 pm shuttle back to the hotel, so we said goodbye until tomorrow. We used google maps to get to the shuttle (During our touring we were having fun following the map the hotel gave us, but at night google seemed easier).
We had enough time to stop and take some picutres, and still make the 30 minute shuttle back to the hotel.
And then it was write this, call my mom who's visiting France with my sister (yes, that sister from the Equinox trip), and now to get more than a few hours of sleep - the first time since Monday. I will have some pictures tomorrow.
up next - the ship!
Our flight to Rome was uneventful. Long, but uneventful. I watched Hacksaw Ridge and tried to nap. I may have slept some.
Our flight left Chicago 20 minutes but arrived only one minute late. Processing at the airport was fast, at least when we got there (being at the front of the plane helps) - it took about an hour from pulling into the gate to arriving at our room. We're staying at the Rome Park Marriott, listed as an airport hotel. It turns out that it's about 1/2 way between the airport and the city. They have a shuttle that's 5 Euro per person to the hotel. They recommend booking the shuttle in advance for going back to the airport, but of course we're not doing that. We have a car coming at 10:15 directly to the port.
When I contacted the hotel and asked about the shuttle, I also asked about the easiest way into the city - although both of us have been to Rome before, it seemed a shame to just hang out in a hotel. They also have a bus to the Piazza dei Tribunale - on the Tiber near St. Peter's and the Pantheon. It's 6 E each way, or 10 round trip. We decided to reserve for 6 pm and set up a dinner with some from our roll call.
Once we arrived at the hotel, we got settled, and decided to go in at 4pm instead of 6 pm - after a power nap and showers.
On our way to the Shuttle, we asked the concierge what we should do with a couple of hours to sightsee. He gave what we called a circle tour of 4 sites walking distance from the shuttle. We called it the "place you don't need to go into" tour. We went to the Spanish Steps (got hustled for money but didn't bite), Trevi Fountain (I don't recall being there before, the Pantheon (we did go in - I didn't know it's a church) and Piazza Navone. It took just under two hours and then we had about 90 minutes before our dinner meeting time. We headed to Campo d' Fiore and found the restaurant nearby. We then went back to a bakery we'd seen called Il Forniao. We know it just means the baker, but the font is similar to that of the restaurant chain near us. We had coffees and a bottle of water. I decided I don't really like Evain water, but I'm not sure why.
We still had some time so we wandered a bit more and found a grocery store. Glen needed toothpaste, so we got some. We then decided to go to the hotel next door to the restaurant, which is where our friends were staying, and hange out in the lobby for a half hour.
It was airconditioned and pleasant and after a while JoEllen and Alan came down, and we joined the others for dinner.
It had been a bit of a problem trying to get the dinner reservation, as I'd asked the concierge to call and they couldn't reach them. JoEllen had the American Express concierge call, and they called the hotel next door, which said that the restaurant was closed for vacation through much of September. We made other arrangements, but about three days ago the restaurant confirmed. It came highly recommended, so we were thrilled they were open.
JoEllen and Alan had taken a food tour this morning and the guide said that while one of Rome's specialties is Jewish fried artichokes, they are out of season, so restaurants shouldn't have them. If they do, they are suspect as to their freshness. The guide also said to beware of large menus. This restaurant had both. Oh well.
The food was good, but not great after that. The company, however was fun and we spent about 2 hours enjoying dinner together. We had to catch the 11 pm shuttle back to the hotel, so we said goodbye until tomorrow. We used google maps to get to the shuttle (During our touring we were having fun following the map the hotel gave us, but at night google seemed easier).
We had enough time to stop and take some picutres, and still make the 30 minute shuttle back to the hotel.
And then it was write this, call my mom who's visiting France with my sister (yes, that sister from the Equinox trip), and now to get more than a few hours of sleep - the first time since Monday. I will have some pictures tomorrow.
up next - the ship!
Wednesday, August 30, 2017
The next adventure begins
I'm back on the second of my month apart Celebrity cruise - this time with my husband.
On Friday, we board the Reflection for an eastern Med cruise. I've got both a camera (not just a phone), and a husband with a new camera, so I really will try to both post pictures and post in a timely manner (I don't think he'll run around with a tablemate until 2 am like my sister and I did on the Equinox a few weeks ago).
So where am I now? It's about 11:45 pm and I'm in an airport hotel in San Francisco. The hotel is located right by the runway, and thus every 3 minutes it gets very loud in the outside. It's not the hotel we usually stay at and an experiment with a Starwood property (I'm a Marriott person). So far, pre cruise Starwood is 0 for 2. I usually stay at the Marriott, a couple of miles away, but they were very expensive for tonight.
We leave at 8:30 tomorrow Am, hence the hotel tonight, arriving in Rome via Chicago (so glad I didn't connect through Houston) at about 11:00 am Thursday. I may post from Chicago tomorrow, but hopefully with nothing particularly exciting to report. I'll also bring back my thread on the Princess board if I notice anything new and different. And last but not least, I'll also put this on my blog.
Good night all. Any typos are due to husband distracting me by putting pillows over the computer. Apparently he wants the lights out. Too bad, I had two cups of coffee and one ice tea at dinner.
On Friday, we board the Reflection for an eastern Med cruise. I've got both a camera (not just a phone), and a husband with a new camera, so I really will try to both post pictures and post in a timely manner (I don't think he'll run around with a tablemate until 2 am like my sister and I did on the Equinox a few weeks ago).
So where am I now? It's about 11:45 pm and I'm in an airport hotel in San Francisco. The hotel is located right by the runway, and thus every 3 minutes it gets very loud in the outside. It's not the hotel we usually stay at and an experiment with a Starwood property (I'm a Marriott person). So far, pre cruise Starwood is 0 for 2. I usually stay at the Marriott, a couple of miles away, but they were very expensive for tonight.
We leave at 8:30 tomorrow Am, hence the hotel tonight, arriving in Rome via Chicago (so glad I didn't connect through Houston) at about 11:00 am Thursday. I may post from Chicago tomorrow, but hopefully with nothing particularly exciting to report. I'll also bring back my thread on the Princess board if I notice anything new and different. And last but not least, I'll also put this on my blog.
Good night all. Any typos are due to husband distracting me by putting pillows over the computer. Apparently he wants the lights out. Too bad, I had two cups of coffee and one ice tea at dinner.
Friday, August 18, 2017
Farewell Miami - see you next year
Sadly, it’s debarkation day. We awoke around 7 and were happy to see that our bags were gone. We dressed, packed up and headed to the buffet for a final breakfast, since we’d missed the dining room. Never did make it there for breakfast. It was possibly the busiest place we’d been all week. We finally found a table, and grabbed some food - I had a final eggs benedict and our last really good orange juice. We still had quite a while before our group would be called - we were in group 40 and I think they were up to about 7, so we went to the sky lounge to wait for our number. Our official “meet time” was 9:40 and at about 9:55 they called all the final groups. We headed off the ship into a fairly long line at the bottom of the gangway. It seemed to take a while, although honestly, it was probably more like 10-15 minutes. Once at the bottom of the escalator (which was probably the reason it was slow, it was fairly fast to get through immigration. We then went to the baggage claim, and there were carousels. I’m used to wandering through a section of a warehouse looking at every bag. It didn’t take long to find our bags and head outside.
It took a while to figure out where the rental car pick up was - we never did figure it out. I saw a Budget truck drive by so I ran (as much as I could with suitcases) and found the van past the port area, and at a lunch truck. I asked the drivers if that was our van, and they told me to hop in. I called Beth and once we were on, and they were finished with their snack, it was off to the Budget office.
I’d heard stories of long lines on turn around days, and when we dropped the car on the way in there were lots of people waiting. Since the Equinox was the only ship in, and we were the only ones on the shuttle, there was no wait and the car was ready.
We were flying out of Ft. Lauderdale in the evening so lots of time. First thing we decided to do was visit the Wynwood Walls - an art exhibit of graffiti on building walls - the area was previously warehouses, and now features work by well known street artists. We walked around for about an hour, including a stop at a coffee house. It was very warm, so we left after an hour.
Next stop was the Holocaust Memorial in South Beach. Beth said it gets great don’t miss reviews on trip advisor. If you drive by, you see a sculpture of a hand reaching up, but if you park and go in, you see all the people sculpted with around it, and around the base. If you walk to the center, you walk among the sculptures - very moving. The walls also have panels with victims names - apparently the names are those that were submitted to them.
After that, we decided to head up to Ft. Lauderdale for lunch and then the airport. Several years ago we’d spent Thanksgiving in Ft. Lauderdale, so were familiar with it. We knew the mall there had some good restaurants, so we headed there. We ended up at the Capital Grill having burgers - very good, and better than what we’d had on the ship. From there we went to Starbucks, and put gas in the car. (When we rented they said for 14.00 we could return without gassing up - since we put in about 5.00 worth, we were glad we didn’t do it.
At the airport, we were disappointed we weren’t in the same terminal, so Beth walked me to my security checkpoint, since it was nearer to the rental car return, and we said see you in November. We both then went to our delayed flights.
My first flight was about 20 minutes late, and I had a 55 minute connection in Denver. It looked like the gates would be about 5 apart and we’d only be a few minutes late, so I was told it wouldn’t be a problem, and there were 16 of us connecting to San Francisco. When I arrived in Denver the flight to SF was going to be 30 minutes late - and I think it was just announced, since I was checking constantly while on the first flight. It ended up, by the time left, being almost 2 hours late, and I got home at 2:00 am.
It was a fun trip, and now time to start thinking about my next one - I’ll be back from the Reflection in just under two weeks.
It took a while to figure out where the rental car pick up was - we never did figure it out. I saw a Budget truck drive by so I ran (as much as I could with suitcases) and found the van past the port area, and at a lunch truck. I asked the drivers if that was our van, and they told me to hop in. I called Beth and once we were on, and they were finished with their snack, it was off to the Budget office.
I’d heard stories of long lines on turn around days, and when we dropped the car on the way in there were lots of people waiting. Since the Equinox was the only ship in, and we were the only ones on the shuttle, there was no wait and the car was ready.
We were flying out of Ft. Lauderdale in the evening so lots of time. First thing we decided to do was visit the Wynwood Walls - an art exhibit of graffiti on building walls - the area was previously warehouses, and now features work by well known street artists. We walked around for about an hour, including a stop at a coffee house. It was very warm, so we left after an hour.
Next stop was the Holocaust Memorial in South Beach. Beth said it gets great don’t miss reviews on trip advisor. If you drive by, you see a sculpture of a hand reaching up, but if you park and go in, you see all the people sculpted with around it, and around the base. If you walk to the center, you walk among the sculptures - very moving. The walls also have panels with victims names - apparently the names are those that were submitted to them.
After that, we decided to head up to Ft. Lauderdale for lunch and then the airport. Several years ago we’d spent Thanksgiving in Ft. Lauderdale, so were familiar with it. We knew the mall there had some good restaurants, so we headed there. We ended up at the Capital Grill having burgers - very good, and better than what we’d had on the ship. From there we went to Starbucks, and put gas in the car. (When we rented they said for 14.00 we could return without gassing up - since we put in about 5.00 worth, we were glad we didn’t do it.
At the airport, we were disappointed we weren’t in the same terminal, so Beth walked me to my security checkpoint, since it was nearer to the rental car return, and we said see you in November. We both then went to our delayed flights.
My first flight was about 20 minutes late, and I had a 55 minute connection in Denver. It looked like the gates would be about 5 apart and we’d only be a few minutes late, so I was told it wouldn’t be a problem, and there were 16 of us connecting to San Francisco. When I arrived in Denver the flight to SF was going to be 30 minutes late - and I think it was just announced, since I was checking constantly while on the first flight. It ended up, by the time left, being almost 2 hours late, and I got home at 2:00 am.
It was a fun trip, and now time to start thinking about my next one - I’ll be back from the Reflection in just under two weeks.
Last sea day AKA Cruiseship highway
We decided to sleep in so hit the very late breakfast. There was a decent set of choices, even with what they called late breakfast - no poached eggs (Benedicts) available, but you could still get omelettes, etc. We were there so late that they were setting up lunch, and we happened to see a whole display of gluten free desserts. Two of my nieces have Celiac, so that was very reassuring for Beth.
We then had a sort of do nothing day, until we went to lunch a couple of hours later. We were seated at a 4 top table, and right after we sat down, we noticed that Tom and Michelle, from our St. Martin tour, were walking to a nearby table. We had them join us and we had a very nice and delicious lunch, that lasted a long time.
After lunch, we went to Guest Relations to get Beth’s card replaced yet again (it had demagnetized before lunch, and I noticed people with disembarkation tags. We’d never received anything. So while at the front, I asked about it. We should have received a disembarkation letter and tags, so the agent gave them to me for our preferred time. (Last debarkation time since we weren’t flying out until evening).
After lunch we did a final use the OBC shopping trip (I found some very nice earrings) and then got ready for dinner and, sadly, pack. Originally, Beth had arranged with Manny and Steve that we’d come and get them at 6, and go to the Casino before dinner. The Celebrity Today showed Beauty and the Beast playing at 5:15 and we thought it would be fun to watch the start of that. So on our way, we stopped by their room to let them know we’d meet them in the Casino around 6.
We did watch the first 50 minutes or so of the movie and then headed to the casino, where Steve and Manny were waiting. They said the casino was too dead, so we went to the GastroPub bar. They all ordered drinks from the gastropub, but I went to the Martini bar to get my last Candied Apple Martini (yes, it’s very sweet). Beth and I wanted to see the last of the shows - Life. Manny decided to go with us, and then we talked Steve into it. He said he’d go but only if we sat near an aisle so he could leave early. Deal struck and off we went. We did sit by an aisle, and Steve made it through all but the last number of the show. I felt this was the weakest of the shows. There was minimal costuming and set, and I guess the very vague story line was boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl back, or something like that.
We then went briefly back up to the room to grab pen and paper to exchange contact information and went to our last dinner. We were all there, although many tables seemed to be empty nearby. Steve and Manny had brought a bottle of champagne, so we had several toasts. The best, had to be Beth’s, who toasted that this was the best table she’d ever had on a cruise (remember this is her first cruise). After dinner we bid a fond farewell to our waitstaff (and Manny who decided to go to bed early) and headed back up to the Sunset bar to watch for the meteor shower, which was supposed to peak tonight. We spent time chatting and looking, but all we saw were a lot of cruise ships going every which way. We did, after about an hour, see one, so we gave up and decided to call it a night, since everyone has to be up early.
But first, we headed to the front of the ship to the Sky Lounge where they were doing the second of two instances of Silent Disco. That, if you’ve never been to a Bar or Bat Mitzvah lately, is where participants wear headphones playing music and they dance to it. There are 3 channels so everyone’s dancing to different things. There was a short line to get headphones, so I decided to join it. Although Steve said he thought it could take hours, he decided to join too, as did Beth. We then bid Terry and Claude a fond farewell.
It took only a few minutes to get our headphones, and we joined the party. First step was to order our parting drink from the bar and then we danced. Beth and I found some of our favorite songs that were played at the Susan Koman 3-day (an event we are part of every year) and other songs that I’d love to dance to. After about 45 minutes, we returned the headphones, and head back to our rooms. We bid Steve a fond farewell, put out our bags very late, and made one last trip to Guest Relations to take care of a couple of odds and ends. Thus ends our last full day.
We then had a sort of do nothing day, until we went to lunch a couple of hours later. We were seated at a 4 top table, and right after we sat down, we noticed that Tom and Michelle, from our St. Martin tour, were walking to a nearby table. We had them join us and we had a very nice and delicious lunch, that lasted a long time.
After lunch, we went to Guest Relations to get Beth’s card replaced yet again (it had demagnetized before lunch, and I noticed people with disembarkation tags. We’d never received anything. So while at the front, I asked about it. We should have received a disembarkation letter and tags, so the agent gave them to me for our preferred time. (Last debarkation time since we weren’t flying out until evening).
After lunch we did a final use the OBC shopping trip (I found some very nice earrings) and then got ready for dinner and, sadly, pack. Originally, Beth had arranged with Manny and Steve that we’d come and get them at 6, and go to the Casino before dinner. The Celebrity Today showed Beauty and the Beast playing at 5:15 and we thought it would be fun to watch the start of that. So on our way, we stopped by their room to let them know we’d meet them in the Casino around 6.
We did watch the first 50 minutes or so of the movie and then headed to the casino, where Steve and Manny were waiting. They said the casino was too dead, so we went to the GastroPub bar. They all ordered drinks from the gastropub, but I went to the Martini bar to get my last Candied Apple Martini (yes, it’s very sweet). Beth and I wanted to see the last of the shows - Life. Manny decided to go with us, and then we talked Steve into it. He said he’d go but only if we sat near an aisle so he could leave early. Deal struck and off we went. We did sit by an aisle, and Steve made it through all but the last number of the show. I felt this was the weakest of the shows. There was minimal costuming and set, and I guess the very vague story line was boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl back, or something like that.
We then went briefly back up to the room to grab pen and paper to exchange contact information and went to our last dinner. We were all there, although many tables seemed to be empty nearby. Steve and Manny had brought a bottle of champagne, so we had several toasts. The best, had to be Beth’s, who toasted that this was the best table she’d ever had on a cruise (remember this is her first cruise). After dinner we bid a fond farewell to our waitstaff (and Manny who decided to go to bed early) and headed back up to the Sunset bar to watch for the meteor shower, which was supposed to peak tonight. We spent time chatting and looking, but all we saw were a lot of cruise ships going every which way. We did, after about an hour, see one, so we gave up and decided to call it a night, since everyone has to be up early.
But first, we headed to the front of the ship to the Sky Lounge where they were doing the second of two instances of Silent Disco. That, if you’ve never been to a Bar or Bat Mitzvah lately, is where participants wear headphones playing music and they dance to it. There are 3 channels so everyone’s dancing to different things. There was a short line to get headphones, so I decided to join it. Although Steve said he thought it could take hours, he decided to join too, as did Beth. We then bid Terry and Claude a fond farewell.
It took only a few minutes to get our headphones, and we joined the party. First step was to order our parting drink from the bar and then we danced. Beth and I found some of our favorite songs that were played at the Susan Koman 3-day (an event we are part of every year) and other songs that I’d love to dance to. After about 45 minutes, we returned the headphones, and head back to our rooms. We bid Steve a fond farewell, put out our bags very late, and made one last trip to Guest Relations to take care of a couple of odds and ends. Thus ends our last full day.
Where do those stairs go? Don't go
This was our first of two final sea days, and the first time that we could sleep in a bit since San Juan. We grabbed a late breakfast, and during breakfast heard the days announcements. Up at 11:30 was the Great Equinox cook off - a, what top Chef would call a Quick Fire, cooking challenge between two Marine officers and two hotel officers. We decided to attend that.
Before that, though, we headed to future cruise sales to figure out next year’s trip. Beth has limited time to travel based on her kids schedule and other things, so we worked with the representative to find the perfect cruise - same ship, a week earlier and Western Caribbean.
Then, on to the Cook-off. Each team had similar ingredients, but a different protein - they first introduced the hotel team. They walked over to station 1, and then switched to station 2. Apparently station 1 had salmon and 2 steak - and they decided Marine should do Salmon.
The teams had 15 minutes to make and plate a dish (two plates each). The judge was the food and beverage manager. The clock started and Sara (cruise director) and hotel guy (forget his name) entertained the crowd with jokes and comments about the food and beverage department. They did point out that on the ship, none of the chefs cook, so are probably very out of practice. The marine team had Nina, a security officer from Romania, who apparently cooks a lot at home. They made a salmon with a garlic aioli, with a side of veggies. The hotel team made a steak with veggies and fingerling potatoes. I’m not exactly sure what their preparation was, since the dishes were never described.
The first comment about the steak dish by hotel guy was that the one dish had one extra carrot and the other one extra piece of steak. The hotel team responded by eating them. The tasting was pretty even (and pronounced delicious) but the Marine team won because they had the better plating. As we walked out we could inspect the dishes. We took advantage of that, and spent a few minutes chatting with Sara. We suggested maybe more commentary on what they were making and we also found out about her background. She’s from the Basque part of Spain, and was given English lessons as a child, so that’s why a non-native-English speaker can be a CD. (Every other one I’ve ever has has been from an English speaking country, usually Canada or the UK). She actually has been one of the better ones - spending about 5 minutes each morning explaining the days activities but leaving us alone to do them after that.
Today, we decided to go to the Gastro Bar for lunch. They have a la carte pub menu that looked good. We both decided to order burgers and maybe a side. We thought about truffled fries, but Beth doesn’t like truffles. We agreed that the Cheddar soup sounded good, so we decided to split one although not perhaps, the most obvious choice with burgers. The waiter did warn us that it could take a little while and asked if we wanted the soup first. He also offered to bring the soup first.
After a time (I don’t remember how long it took - not long enough for me to worry about it) he brought two bowls of soup and two burgers. The burgers came with the truffled fries, so he said he’d bring Beth some plain ones. The soup was absolutely delicious - and the burgers were good, but the burgers and the fries, were not very warm. I think the problem is that the food comes from the dining room galley, which is at the back of the dining room. So in addition to the time it takes for the waiter to walk the food through the dining room to the bar, he/she has to go back to check for it. I’d probably do it again, but maybe just get soup and eat the rest of lunch elsewhere.
We then wandered around the shops for a bit, and then got ready for our evening. Since this was Friday night, somebody had set up a Friday night service (Jewish). I know they are passenger hosted, and have always been curious so we decided to go. It was led by a young man from London, and he seemed to know what he was doing. Because there were people from different branches of Judaism, the service was a little different - but I don’t go very often so I can’t be very specific as to what was what. The ship (I assume) provided wine (Manachevitz) and Challah (bread). They only set out about 6 wine glasses, and somebody suggested we all share, but we weren’t exactly up for sharing with strangers. Someone found a stash of wine glasses, so Beth and I shared a bit, and we all shared the bread. Apparently some people dip it in honey so there was exactly one individual package of honey (the size you get with the sugar for coffee and tea). We did speak to the leader afterwards, and it turns out he’s a cantor (singer in the synagogue) and on his honeymoon. There were also prayer books, so I’m thinking the ship has them, since I doubt people bring 10 identical hardcover books on board.
We had about 40 minutes after it ended before dinner, so we decide to walk around for a bit. And at the nearest bar we ran into our stablemates Steve and Manny, so we sat and had a drink with them, and then headed to the dining room for a fun dinner.
Since this was supposed to be the start of the annual meteor shower, we headed up to the rear of the ship to watch for meteors for a while. We hung out there for a while, and then gave up. Terry and Claude (our other stablemates) went to bed, and the rest of us went to the casino. Manny played a bit of slots, with us taking turns pushing the button. It took about 10 minutes to lose 20.00. He played a second game while we watched. Next it was roulette, and Steve talked Beth into playing some roulette.
At this point, I decided that I wanted to change my shoes from heels to sneakers. I went up from the casino on 4 to our room on 10, carrying a bottle of water, a glass of ginger ale and my shoes. Got to the room, and my key had stopped working. So back down to Guest Relations on 3, new key, back up to 10, back down to 4. Did I mention I did all this via stairs? When I returned, Steve was still there with Beth, who’d already played and lost her small chip set. Then we watched Steve play 3 card poker for a bit. Finally, we decided to go back up to the top to see if the meteors had shown up. I’d brought my phone so I could Face Time Glen, so I decided to text since it was getting late his time, and I wanted to let him know I’d try to call. The message didn’t go through, because it was text - I was on the wifi, so I thought it would go through as iMessage. I then tried FaceTime and it said it was awaiting activation. After about 10 minutes of trying, I got a text from Glen (via iMessage) asking if I’m seeing (or saw) the Carnival Magic behind us. I did, and figuring that iMessage, and FaceTime would work, I called him for a bit.
By this time, it was getting on 2:30 am, so we decided to go to bed. Steve decided he was hungry, so we stopped by the buffet. On the way, we noticed a crew door open with stairs. Steve suggested that we go down and find the crew bar. Beth and I said no. On arriving at the buffet, we found nothing there. This surprised me, since it was a cruise ship, you’d think there would be food 24x7. Apparently you could order from room service, but after 11pm, there’s a delivery charge. We gave up and went to bed.
Before that, though, we headed to future cruise sales to figure out next year’s trip. Beth has limited time to travel based on her kids schedule and other things, so we worked with the representative to find the perfect cruise - same ship, a week earlier and Western Caribbean.
Then, on to the Cook-off. Each team had similar ingredients, but a different protein - they first introduced the hotel team. They walked over to station 1, and then switched to station 2. Apparently station 1 had salmon and 2 steak - and they decided Marine should do Salmon.
The teams had 15 minutes to make and plate a dish (two plates each). The judge was the food and beverage manager. The clock started and Sara (cruise director) and hotel guy (forget his name) entertained the crowd with jokes and comments about the food and beverage department. They did point out that on the ship, none of the chefs cook, so are probably very out of practice. The marine team had Nina, a security officer from Romania, who apparently cooks a lot at home. They made a salmon with a garlic aioli, with a side of veggies. The hotel team made a steak with veggies and fingerling potatoes. I’m not exactly sure what their preparation was, since the dishes were never described.
The first comment about the steak dish by hotel guy was that the one dish had one extra carrot and the other one extra piece of steak. The hotel team responded by eating them. The tasting was pretty even (and pronounced delicious) but the Marine team won because they had the better plating. As we walked out we could inspect the dishes. We took advantage of that, and spent a few minutes chatting with Sara. We suggested maybe more commentary on what they were making and we also found out about her background. She’s from the Basque part of Spain, and was given English lessons as a child, so that’s why a non-native-English speaker can be a CD. (Every other one I’ve ever has has been from an English speaking country, usually Canada or the UK). She actually has been one of the better ones - spending about 5 minutes each morning explaining the days activities but leaving us alone to do them after that.
Today, we decided to go to the Gastro Bar for lunch. They have a la carte pub menu that looked good. We both decided to order burgers and maybe a side. We thought about truffled fries, but Beth doesn’t like truffles. We agreed that the Cheddar soup sounded good, so we decided to split one although not perhaps, the most obvious choice with burgers. The waiter did warn us that it could take a little while and asked if we wanted the soup first. He also offered to bring the soup first.
After a time (I don’t remember how long it took - not long enough for me to worry about it) he brought two bowls of soup and two burgers. The burgers came with the truffled fries, so he said he’d bring Beth some plain ones. The soup was absolutely delicious - and the burgers were good, but the burgers and the fries, were not very warm. I think the problem is that the food comes from the dining room galley, which is at the back of the dining room. So in addition to the time it takes for the waiter to walk the food through the dining room to the bar, he/she has to go back to check for it. I’d probably do it again, but maybe just get soup and eat the rest of lunch elsewhere.
We then wandered around the shops for a bit, and then got ready for our evening. Since this was Friday night, somebody had set up a Friday night service (Jewish). I know they are passenger hosted, and have always been curious so we decided to go. It was led by a young man from London, and he seemed to know what he was doing. Because there were people from different branches of Judaism, the service was a little different - but I don’t go very often so I can’t be very specific as to what was what. The ship (I assume) provided wine (Manachevitz) and Challah (bread). They only set out about 6 wine glasses, and somebody suggested we all share, but we weren’t exactly up for sharing with strangers. Someone found a stash of wine glasses, so Beth and I shared a bit, and we all shared the bread. Apparently some people dip it in honey so there was exactly one individual package of honey (the size you get with the sugar for coffee and tea). We did speak to the leader afterwards, and it turns out he’s a cantor (singer in the synagogue) and on his honeymoon. There were also prayer books, so I’m thinking the ship has them, since I doubt people bring 10 identical hardcover books on board.
We had about 40 minutes after it ended before dinner, so we decide to walk around for a bit. And at the nearest bar we ran into our stablemates Steve and Manny, so we sat and had a drink with them, and then headed to the dining room for a fun dinner.
Since this was supposed to be the start of the annual meteor shower, we headed up to the rear of the ship to watch for meteors for a while. We hung out there for a while, and then gave up. Terry and Claude (our other stablemates) went to bed, and the rest of us went to the casino. Manny played a bit of slots, with us taking turns pushing the button. It took about 10 minutes to lose 20.00. He played a second game while we watched. Next it was roulette, and Steve talked Beth into playing some roulette.
At this point, I decided that I wanted to change my shoes from heels to sneakers. I went up from the casino on 4 to our room on 10, carrying a bottle of water, a glass of ginger ale and my shoes. Got to the room, and my key had stopped working. So back down to Guest Relations on 3, new key, back up to 10, back down to 4. Did I mention I did all this via stairs? When I returned, Steve was still there with Beth, who’d already played and lost her small chip set. Then we watched Steve play 3 card poker for a bit. Finally, we decided to go back up to the top to see if the meteors had shown up. I’d brought my phone so I could Face Time Glen, so I decided to text since it was getting late his time, and I wanted to let him know I’d try to call. The message didn’t go through, because it was text - I was on the wifi, so I thought it would go through as iMessage. I then tried FaceTime and it said it was awaiting activation. After about 10 minutes of trying, I got a text from Glen (via iMessage) asking if I’m seeing (or saw) the Carnival Magic behind us. I did, and figuring that iMessage, and FaceTime would work, I called him for a bit.
By this time, it was getting on 2:30 am, so we decided to go to bed. Steve decided he was hungry, so we stopped by the buffet. On the way, we noticed a crew door open with stairs. Steve suggested that we go down and find the crew bar. Beth and I said no. On arriving at the buffet, we found nothing there. This surprised me, since it was a cruise ship, you’d think there would be food 24x7. Apparently you could order from room service, but after 11pm, there’s a delivery charge. We gave up and went to bed.
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