9.3.22 Disney Fantasy

 We couldn't resist a reduced rate sailing on the Disney Fantasy. We were both very curious that it would like as adults. The evening meals were much better than we remembered and we really enjoyed the experience at both specialty restaurants. 

January 2022: Norwegian Dawn

 January 2, 2022 Embarkation

The transfer arrived right on time at 10:30 am. We headed to the port. They had set up testing in a parking lot. It was run by CVS. It was the best setup we've seen. They had stations with two people - one registering and one who watched you swab yourself. Then, you got a card with a time your results would be ready. We tested at 11:18 am and had 11:38 am written on our card. If you got your text with the results, you could raise your hand and they would give you a bracelet. Then, every 10 minutes, he'd go into the testing area and make sure they had notified everyone who tested positive in that 10-minute group. He'd say "Anyone with result times 11:40 am or earlier." And walk around and give everyone their bracelets. We got our bracelets 

November 2021: Seven Night Cruise on Norwegian Breakaway

 November 21, 2021

After breakfast at the hotel, we headed to the port. We dropped off the luggage and walked to the Marriott for testing. It took about 90 minutes for the whole process. We had a glitch with my mom's test that was very stressful. We all got our test results and 15 minutes later, she still didn't have hers. Then, a person came out and called her number over the microphone. We all freaked a little. Turns out it was just a glitch with her registration. She was negative and we went on our way.

We were escorted up to the Haven to meet the concierge. Then, we headed to American Diner for lunch. It's included for Haven guests at embarkation. I love the lobster sliders.

 Glenn liked the milkshake. 

The spinach salad was also good. After lunch, we checked in at our muster station and enjoyed some cocktails at the Haven bar. We headed to our cabin. 

We went up to the Sun Deck to watch sailaway. It was delayed by an hour, but we did get to enjoy a little sailing down the Mississippi as the sun was setting.

Dinner was in the Haven. We met a fun couple from Pennsylvania and invited them to join us. After dinner, Glenn and I had a cocktail at the very empty Prime Meridian bar and called it a night.

November 22, 2021 - Sea Day
We had avocado toast for breakfast and then spent the morning on the Haven Sun Deck. We met my parents for lunch in the Haven. We enjoyed the mega ships presentation and tried to watch the Yes/No game but it was terrible so we headed to the Waterfront. We got cocktails at the Sail and Sustain bar. John Tan, our server, gave us all the details on how the cocktails use what used to be waste. The watermelon twist was our favorite. We watched sunset from the balcony and Glenn spotted some dolphins. We met the Captain and had dinner in the Haven. We enjoyed the comedy show and stopped by to say hi to Jerome at Prime Meridian bar.

November 23, 2021 Cozumel, Mexico
I worked for a couple hours since Verizon works in Cozumel. Glenn had breakfast with my parent. We headed out in the Playa Mia Mexican cuisine cooking class. It was terrific. 

One of the best cooking classes I've taken. After a little chaos at the beginning, it was well organized and interesting. Plus the food we made was delicious: shrimp sopa with a tomato chipotle sauce, grouper with a tamarind sauce, and caramelized plantains with a chocolate tequila sauce.

 We came back and went to the Haven for dinner. The Haven restaurant has been a bit rough this trip. It's like eating in the middle of a fire drill. I think they will get a little better organized nas they sail more. We went to Six the musical. I wasn't sure what to expect, but it was terrific. It's about Henry VIII's six wives. The stars were incredible. I love that Norwegian has full Broadway shows.

After the show, we listened to the piano player's Elton John / Billy Joel set. He definitely chose the sleepy songs, but we still had fun.

November 24, 2021 Roatan, Honduras
My Mom, Glenn and I had breakfast in the Haven while Dad got a pedicure. We also enjoyed the bacon bourbon Bloody Mary. We walked around a bit and just relaxed most of the day. We had a delicious dinner at Ocean Blue. Then we went to the Comedy Magician. He was not great. We needed the night enjoying some fancy cocktails at the Haven bar.

November 25, 2021 Harvest Caye, Belize 
Happy Thanksgiving from Belize It was pouring rain when we docked at Harvest Caye. We waited it out in the Haven lounge chatting with Elizabeth and Rich. It cleared and we enjoyed a couple hours at the pool. 

It's a great complex and I also enjoyed the Butterfly House.

  We came back for lunch in the Haven. Then we took a nap and finished watching The Jungle Cruise. Dinner was in the Haven. They had a special Thanksgiving plate that was very good. The Concierge took us down to Syd Norman's Pour House so we could get in before it opened. 

The band did a tribute to Fleetwood Mac's Rumours album. It was incredible. Then, we went to see the comedians in the theater. This is how my Dad and Glenn greeted my Mom and I. 

November 26, 2021 Costa Maya, Mexico
I worked in the morning as Glenn tried out O'Sheenans for breakfast. He had a very good breakfast sandwich. It was a bit rainy, but we decided to explore Costa Maya anyway. I have taken excursions from the port, but never walked around. It is a nice area with a pool, small beach, shops, restaurants, and a swim with a dolphin experience. We had lunch in the Haven. We watched the Ironman competition, watched Deal or No Deal, and lost movie kiss Trivia. 

Dinner was at Ocean Blue again.

 It was really good. Then, we went to see Burn the Floor. The dancing was amazing. Glenn then had a very fun night hitting bonuses in the casino.

November 27, 2021 Sea Day

We had the delicious breakfast sandwiches at O'Sheenans for breakfast. But the coffee was terrible so we headed up to the Haven for French press goodness. We listened to the Captain and Chief Engineer answer questions. We had a fun run at the slot machines.  Then, we tried about Shanghai Noodle Bar. The pot stickers and lo mein noodles were good. We had second lunch in the Haven and I was thrilled to see Norwegian's signature pretzel rolls in the basket. We played Deal or No Deal. I went upstairs to work Then, we headed to Prime Meridian bar. Jerome made us a cocktail he'd been working on with Fireball, pineapple juice, and ginger beer. It was surprisingly good. We played and lost trivia and then went to the Haven for a favorites dinner. We decided the best food on the trip had been the Haven crab cakes, Ocean Blue scallops and pork belly appetizer and Haven beet salad. After dinner, we had one last Haven cocktail and headed to bed. 

November 28, 2021 

We had late afternoon flights so we took the ship's tour of New Orleans with drop off at the airport. The guide did a great job covering the highlights. We got to have some beignets, visit a cemetery, learn more about the levee system, and the history of New Orleans. And then, off to the airport. 

August 2021: Carnival Magic

 We took advantage of a great deal ($119 per person for a balcony cabin) and headed out on the Carnival Magic departing August 30th. 

Before we left, we decided we would stay on the ship as not to complicate our hopeful entry into Greece a week later. 

We had a great time enjoying the Alchemy Bar at night and the Tides bar during the day. 

We were also pretty excited to see the Caribbean Wheat in cans. It's been so much to watch Carnival's beer program evolve since our first chat with Colin Presby during the inaugural season of the Carnival Vista's onboard brewery. I recall him saying he had no way to serve beer outside the brewery Now these recipes are being canned and delivered to ships fleetwide. 

SeaDay brunch is always a favorite meal because I love their Salmon superfoods entree. 

We had a bit of delay in Amber Cove. The Health authorities did not clear the ship for disembarkation until after 2:30 pm. Then, only vaccinated passengers could disembark and they had to stay in the port area. We did spot some overwater cabanas we may want to try out on a future visit since we did not get off the ship. 

During out stop in Bimini, we found a great spot to relax on deck and enjoy the view. 

We finally won a ship on stick trophy during one of the last trivia - Trash Can Trivia  - on the last night. 

Overall, a great cruise. 

2020 January Celebrity Summit Southern Caribbean

 One of my favorite cruises is the Southern Caribbean itinerary on the Celebrity Summit so it's the perfect way to start the year. We flew to San Juan and spent the night at the Caribe Hilton. 

We had a little trouble finding a good spot for dinner. A lot of the restaurants were closed. Earthquakes were happening on the other side of the island. We felt a slight tremor the evening before the cruise. We ended up at a food court that was not excellent. Things improved greatly once we boarded the cruise. 

We decided to change things up and we booked an ocean view cabin instead of a balcony. We ended up loving it because it was one deck up from where we'd exit and enter on port days. It made everything so easy. We love starting a Celebrity cruise with lunch at the sushi restaurant. 

Sailaway from San Juan is always gorgeous. We watched a lot of sail-aways on the cruise from Captain's Club happy hour in the Reflection Lounge. 

One of my favorite onboard activities is the Silent Disco. 

The reason I love this itinerary so much is that you wake up each morning on a different island. Our first port of call was St Thomas. We decided to stay on the ship because we'd just been there in December on the Encore. Our second stop was Antigua. I used the opportunity to tour the Royalton Antigua - a great family all inclusive resort. 

Our next port of call was Martinique. I've never been to Martinique so we took an island tour through the cruise line. We visited a rum distillery, a history prison that was almost wiped out by a volcanic eruption, and then took a boat ride back along the coast. 

In St Lucia, we had a lovely day at BodyHoliday. We filmed a resort tour, had lunch, and they even treated us to a massage. 

In Barbados, we toured Turtle Beach and Sandals Barbados and Royal Barbados. It was a nightmare trying to get a cab there. Next time, I'll line up a private transfer like I did at the other ports. 

In Grenada, we decided to stay on the ship. We've been there a couple times. We just enjoyed the view. 

My first visit to St Vincent. It's a developing port of call with great outdoor hiking excursions. We ended up just walking around the downtown and enjoying a couple beers. 

In St Marten,  we filmed a resort tour of the new Secrets  St Marten. 

This cruise, we ate most of our meals at the buffet so we could sit outside each evening either watching sailaway or enjoying the guitar player that played each evening. We spent a lot of our time onboard at the pool bar - so much fun. 

3.3.19 - 3.11.18 Crown Princess

Glenn and I met our friends Tom and Margaret on the Crown Princess or an 8 night cruise. The weather was perfect. The ship was a bit rocky. We had terrific service and great food except for the night at Sabatin's, the Italian restaurant. That was terrible. We had a great nightly routine of the wine bar, the Platinum lounge, and then off to dinner. We saw a terrific show about magic.

In St Kitts, we spent the day at Reggae Beach. In Grand Turk, we went snorkeling. In St Thomas, we decided to stay on the ship since I worked most of the morning. In Antigua, we toured Sandals Grande Antigua.

We loved the large balcony. I think it's the most time I've spent on a balcony. The trip was so relaxing.

I loved all the activities on the ship. We took part in an escape room. They had fun deck parties with an amazing band. The Love Boat themed deck party was awesome. The ballooon drop in the atrium was so much fun. They recreate the Voice competition complete with swiveling chairs. We never won trivia, but we tried a lot. I loved watching the movies on deck. They bring out these chair pads with pillows and offer popcorn and blankets. I saw Battle of the Sexes and The Greatest Showman. 

Reggae beach 

St Thomas 

Our nightly stop in the Platinum happy hour