On Saturday, we started a leisurely drive to Miami. We took the back roads through the Everglades stopping in Everglades City for lunch and at Clyde Butcher’s Gallery. Butcher’s black and white portraits of the Everglades are really incredible. We were lucky enough to meet him and he signed a couple prints we purchased.
I even tried taking some photos inspired by him:
It made the drive a lot longer, but I think it was worth it.
We finally made it to the Intercontinental Miami – right on the Bay. It’s a great hotel. We had a very windy drink by the pool.
It was the best Cucumber Collins I have ever had! Worth having to hold onto everything in sight to survive the wind.
We had 7:30 pm reservations at Gloria Estefan’s Bongos Cuban Café. It was a little farther from the hotel than I had thought and we had to cross a major road and walk around the American Airlines Arena. The place was empty when we got there, but the hostess gave us an attitude when we asked for a booth instead of a table. Service was slow so we decided to order a pitcher of margaritas while we tried to figure out the menu. They were the worst margaritas we have ever had. They tasted like Crystal Light Margarita mix. We promptly asked for our check and left. We went to Bayside and found a great restaurant – Los Ranchos. We had some of the best steaks we have ever had. Though – stay away from their sangria. We walked back to the hotel with a little stop by the playground.
Sunday – Let's GO
I woke up at 5 am – too excited about the cruise so I watched all the cruise ships pull in. We left for the port at 10:30 am. We arrived, but something had gone wrong on the last cruise and they weren’t allowing anyone to board. We had purchased Faster to Fun so we could be among the first groups to board. I am so glad we did because when they finally started letting people onboard around 12:45 pm – it was nice to be in the second group getting on. We rushed to the Red Frog Pub. Carnival posts a picture of the first people in the Red Frog Pub each week on their facebook page. Glenn wanted to have the honor and.. WE WERE!
It was very exciting. We got two free beers. After that, we headed up to the Lido deck to get some food. I love the Tandoori near the aft pool. The Indian flavors are really good. Glenn got a Guy Fierari Burger – those are also awesome!
We went to our rooms. We upgraded to a Spa Cabin so we could have access to the steam rooms and whirlpool.
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| Part of the Steam Rooms at the Spa |
The price to upgrade was less than getting a pass for the week. It pays to be a travel agent! We watched Sailaway from the Red Frog Pub as we sampled all their mojitos. Before dinner, we had cocktails at the Piano Bar.
The bartender there made terrific martinis – my favorite had a sour rim so it tasted like a sour patch kid! The highlight of dinner for me was the sweet and sour shrimp.
After dinner, we went to karaoke. Glenn sang an awesome rendition of Bad, Bad Leroy Brown. Then they had Superstar Live – where he got to sing Sweet Caroline with a live band.
It was so cool!! We ended the night at the Red Frog Pub.
Monday – Sea Day
We started the day with breakfast in the room and then a trip to the Spa. Glenn worked out while I took a nap. We headed down to trivia – Useless Facts. After trivia, we met up for brunch. They had a great bloody mary bar outside the dining room.
The highlight of brunch was the jerk bacon . It was so good! Glenn had some very good steak and eggs. In the afternoon, we WON TV Theme Trivia!!
A ship trophy was our prize. We spent the rest of the afternoon up on deck. Glenn tested out the slide and we watched the Hairy Chest competition. Then it was time for Food and Drink trivia and we won again! We went to the tea party- which I love! Then back to Lido Deck. Sky, a guitar player, was playing and singing and it was so nice to lay out and enjoy the music. We hit the piano bar before dinner.
The highlight from dinner was the carbonara, greek salad and stuffed mushrooms. After dinner, we really enjoyed the Motor City show.
The stage is awesome – it moves, opens and has huge screens that project images for the different parts of the show. We went to Jason Blanchard’s comedy show which was moderately funny. A lot of parental humor that was lost on us. We had a fun time at the casino and then called it a night.
Tuesday – Grand Turk
Our snorkeling excursion was cancelled so we tried to make it a beach day and ended up at Margaritaville instead.
Big mistake. The drinks were incredibly expensive so after about an hour we called it and went back to the ship. We scored some great loungers on the serendity deck and enjoyed some down time. I read and Glenn explored more of the ship. Then we went to play more trivia and Win Lose or Draw. They had a party for returning guests that was actually really fun. After that, we went to the Red Frog Pub to hear Sky play the guitar. We saw the evening show – The Edge – a very funny juggler. Of course, cocktails at the Piano Bar then dinner. The highlight of dinner was the short ribs. That evening was the deck party and I had a BLAST!! I was dancing up a storm because they taught us all these crazy line dances. It was so much fun!
Wednesday – Ocho rios
The morning started on deck with breakfast. The crew had made a ton of towel animals and placed them on all the lounge chairs. It was very cool. Glenn and I had the breakfast burritos from the Blue Iguana. They are so good, but the huevos rancheros are even better. My favorite breakfast! We went to the Spa and then go ready to dock in Ochos Rios. We did the cooking class excursion. It was a lot of fun. It takes place in an old plantation house near the coast. The views are beautiful.
We had a fun tour of the plantation before the class. The biggest issue with the class was timing. Our tour started at 11:00 am. We didn’t eat until 3:30pm. I had a serious food emergency. Glenn was even starting to fade!
When we finally got to eat – it was really good: Jerk Chicken, Coconut Shrimp, a fried dough they call Festival, a steam green called callaloo that is like collard greens, and banana fritters.
The chef used coconut powder in the recipe and we definitely want to try that at home. It gives the coconut flavor without the heaviness of the coconut milk we have at home. Tonight we tried out the Atrium bar – Anna made a great drink. She went on break and another bartender made us two drinks that were so bad we left them sitting on the bar and walked away. Good thing our trusty bartender Adi was working at the Piano Bar. The highlight from dinner was the Asian chicken tenders, Oysters Rockefeller, Filet and short ribs. We found the fish to be consistently overcooked and the red meat to be consistently good. This was a big surprise to us since usually on cruises it is the reverse. After dinner, Sky took over the piano bar and we had a rocking good time!
It was awesome! I earned the nickname Martini Mama. Everyone was singing along, making jokes. It was a fantastic fun night!
Thursday – Sea Day
Another Sea Day and the line up was pretty much the same for us: Blue Igana for breakfast, Spa, Trivia, Brunch, Tea Party, Listen to the guitar player by the pool, drinks, then dinner. Tonight’s dinner was the at Steakhouse. The escargots were awesome!
They were served in little brioches. SO TASTY!! We all had different steaks- but I thought Glenn’s New York Strip Steak was the best! For lunch, We did try out the BBQ that is only open on Sea Days. It was delicious! The sausage and pork were very good. After dinner, we watched the Latin Nights show which was a lot of fun. Then we sang along with Sky in the Red Frog Pub.
Friday – Nassau
Today we headed to Sandals – Nassau. We had gotten day passes. I really liked the resort – it had some great pools. It had a loud pool and a quiet pool.
We spent part of the day at each. They have a pizzeria right by the pools so we ordered a couple pizzas – the veggie one and the BBQ scallops one were both good. Glenn and Tom went to a wine tasting they said was interesting. Then we spent the rest of the time enjoying the swim up bar. Then it was time to head back and pack up. I took a nap on deck while Glenn listened to the guitar player. We headed to dinner. The highlight of dinner was the arugula and mint salad. We decided to make it an early night.
Saturday – Embarkation was quick and easy. We hopped in the car and headed back to Tampa.
Overall – This is one of my favorite cruises to date. The deck party and night with Sky at the piano bar were so much fun. Those nights are the reason I love cruising! We visited two new islands and I really enjoyed checking out a new place. I liked the Breeze a lot and highly recommend the Spa Cabins – having such close access to those steam rooms is awesome!
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