One Last Day in the Sun

One Last Day in the Sun Miami Beach, FL

Miami Beach, FL

Today we arrived back in Miami and spent most of the morning disembarking the ship and getting to our hotel in South Beach. We weren’t flying home until the next day, so we had the day to explore.

We had decided we were in no rush to leave the ship, so we actually waited to pack until the morning. We were about ready to leave the ship by 9 am, when we had to be out of our cabins. But then they had to stop the de-boarding for a long time. Apparently, there were too many people in the cruise terminal and the Port Authority makes the cruise ships stop de-boarding when that happens.

So it took us forever to actually get off the boat and through customs. Then it was another short wait to get a taxi to our hotel. It was actually pretty cloudy in Miami, and it was spitting rain. But it was still warm.

We arrived at the hotel about 11 am and thankfully they were able to check us in early. Then we went out to explore South Beach. There’s really not a lot to see. We walked down Ocean Drive, which is right next to the beach. Except that all you could see from the road was sand dunes. But there were lots of cool art deco buildings lining the road. And restaurants with street-side tables. We had lunch at Mangos Tropical Café, which is apparently a pretty happening club at night. But we just sat out on the street.

After lunch we walked out to the beach and then walked all the way down to the south end. It was a long walk and I was the only one that took off my shoes and walked in the water a little. But the sun had decided to come out by this point, so it was very enjoyable.

By the time we got to the end of South Beach, we turned around and walked almost all the way back to the hotel. We found a nice shady bench where we could sit and relax, and it was right in front of some beach volleyball courts. So we just sat for a while, watching the volleyball games and all the people going by. There were many walkers, bikers, skateboarders, and even a couple rollerbladers.

Our next task was to go watch the OSU-Wisconsin basketball game. I had done some research before the trip and found an Irish pub to go to close to our hotel. Unfortunately, it wasn’t very fun because the Buckeyes played badly again and lost. I officially no longer care about March Madness.

But afterwards, we went back to the hotel and Derek found a nearby Cuban restaurant called Eva’s Bistro to go to for dinner. And it was wonderful. I’d never had Cuban food before. So we got a couple of sampler appetizers for everyone to share. I don’t remember what most of the food was called, but it was all really good. The most interesting was the fried green beans. We also had some delicious key lime pie for dessert.

It was pretty late by the time we were done with dinner, but we wanted to go take another walk down Ocean drive, to see it at night. It wasn’t nearly as interesting as I thought it would be. Some of the buildings were lit up, but otherwise it seemed pretty tame.

After that it was very late, and we had to get up early to go to the airport in the morning. So we quickly went to bed.

Finally, a Lazy Day

Finally, a Lazy Day At Sea, Cuba

At Sea, Cuba

Today we had another day at sea and I finally had time to relax. I started the morning by missing a cycling class. Once again, I hadn’t realized the time was changing.

After breakfast we did our daily walk on the Promenade deck. It was more of a stroll again, but we did 7 laps (~2.6 miles).

Then I basically spent the rest of the day laying out in the sun. I was able to find an open lounge chair up on the top deck. It was very warm today, it was supposed to get up to 90 F. But it was also really windy, so it felt really nice in the sun. There’s just something about feeling the sunshine on my face that completely drains my body of all tension.

At lunch I actually stuffed myself for the first time the entire trip. That’s because there was a Bavarian brunch with all sorts of German food. I couldn’t resist. They even had my favorite – kasespaetzle (cheesy noodles).

After lunch Dad and Derek joined me up on the top deck while Mom got a massage. We finally left to go play more trivia at 4:30 pm. It was General Trivia and we won again! This time we got 14 out of 20.

After trivia, I went back to the cabin to blog for a little bit. And then I went to do more laps just before the sun set. Everyone else joined me in time to see the sun set, and we continued walking until it was time for more trivia. I had done another 6.5 laps.

The trivia this time was easy 80’s music trivia, but it actually wasn’t fun at all. There was a different girl leading it and I seriously think she was high on something, laughing and giggling all the time. We were all very annoyed.

Our next task was supper. Everyone else finally decided to join me at the buffet and we got a great seat on the outside deck. We had a great view of the crescent moon right beside Venus, with Jupiter and Orion overhead. And it was pleasantly warm even in the wind.

It was actually pretty late by that point, so we spent the rest of the evening relaxing in the cabin.

Let’s Get This Party Started!

Let's Get This Party Started! Cozumel, Mexico

Cozumel, Mexico

This morning was actually a bad morning. But this afternoon more than made up for it.

We were in port today at Cozumel, Mexico. But we didn’t arrive until 10 am. And our excursion wasn’t until 12:45 PM. So we had a late breakfast and then went to the top decks to watch the ship come into port.

What we hadn’t known is that we would be docking ~3 miles from downtown Cozumel. And the only way to get there was by taxi. It looked like there was one bar and a few shops by our dock, and nothing else but hotels.

Everyone else wanted to go ashore as soon as we docked, to see what was there, and maybe get a taxi downtown. So I went along. There was a long line getting off the ship, and It was very hot walking around in the sun. And the shops were the same cheesy souvenir stands we’d seen in Costa Maya, Mexico last year.

We tried for the taxi stand, but the line was really long and none of us really wanted to go anyway. All there would be was more shops and more bars/restaurants. So instead we decided to walk down the street and see what was there. But it was just hotels.

So we walked back to the dock, through the blazing heat. I decided to just go back to the ship until our excursion. So I went to our cabin and blogged. It wasn’t long until everyone else showed up too. We had just enough time to go get some lunch before heading to our excursion.

In retrospect, what I should have done is gotten breakfast and gone and laid at the pool all morning. Then gotten lunch and gone to the excursion.

But our excursion in the afternoon made up for the morning. We were doing a catamaran snorkel, sail, and beach party. As our ticket said, “This is a party tour, not a snorkel tour.” Complete with as much free beer and margaritas as we wanted.

But first we went to snorkel. We just snorkeled offshore, fairly close to the cruise ships. But it was really good snorkeling. Not much of a reef or coral, but the water was really clear and there were lots of pretty fish. It always amazes me how colorful tropical fish can be. There was one in particular that had pretty much every color in the rainbow. And one really small fish covered in neon blue spots.

After we were done snorkeling, the bar opened and the free beer commenced. They were in small cups, of course. We got our first beers and headed up to the top of the catamaran to enjoy the sunshine and the beautiful blue water. But it was really windy and we were headed right into it. So much so that the first few times I tried to drink my beer, the wind made it spill. After that I learned to turn around and put my back to the wind when I wanted to drink.

It was actually pretty awesome, standing in the sun and watching the barren Mexican coastline go by. And the crew members would even come and get us refills as soon as our cups were empty.

After ten miles of sailing we arrived at our “beach party.” We got to go ashore, where there was another open bar, along with beach chairs, hammocks, and a waterslide and trampoline in the water. We first got a beer, of course, and then went out to have fun in the water.

The waterslide was really fun, but it was quite a workout getting up the top. Then we went out to the trampoline. It had a ladder to get to the top, but the bottom rung was above the water. So it was quite a challenge getting onto it as well. When I made it, I actually rolled over on my back and just gasped for air for a while.

Dad and Derek made it up too and hilarity ensued. It was quite amusing watching each other try to keep our balance as we tried to bounce around. Derek and I discovered it was only really fun if we jumped together. That was the only way to really get any height on the jumps. But it was also more unstable. Derek actually used his bounce once to jump off the side and into the water. There were also a couple of contests to see who could stay upright longest, and I must admit that I was the king of the trampoline. But only because Dad crashed into Derek and knocked him down.

I must also admit that the beers may have had something to do with how much we were falling down.

When we’d finally had enough I actually dove off the side of the trampoline and then headed over to do one more waterslide. Then we headed back to shore.

I spent the rest of the time on the beach, laying in a beach chair and enjoying the sunshine on my face. And a beer in my hand, of course. It was the first time the whole cruise I’d actually gotten a chance to sit and really enjoy the sunshine and warm temperatures. But all too soon it was time to get back on the boat and sail back to dock.

The sail back was even more fun, with the beers continuing to flow. And the crew led us in lots of dancing. It was really fun. Although it’s really hard to do the Macarena with a beer in your hand. We even did the electric slide. It was only Mom and I, of course, Dad and Derek watched from the sidelines.

After we got back to the cruise ship, I was so worn out from all the beer and all the fun that I spent the evening in the cabin getting some rest.

Another Day in Paradise

Another Day in Paradise George Town, Cayman Islands

George Town, Cayman Islands

Today we were in port at George Town, Grand Cayman. Mom and I were doing an excursion to Stingray City & a reef snorkel. And Dad & Derek were doing a “Taste of Cayman”, a tour of a rum cake factory, a brewery, and a rum distillery.

We had thought the time was changing an hour back today, so I set my alarm accordingly. Thankfully we still got up pretty early because just after Mom and I finished our breakfast, they announced that it was currently 8:30 am. That was the time we were supposed to be meeting for our excursion. So we ran back to our rooms, where I had thankfully already packed most of my day bag the night before. Then we ran to the theater, where we were supposed to meet. We were only 3 minutes late, and made it just as everyone else was leaving.

There was no dock at Grand Cayman, so we had to take a tender to shore. Then we had to walk to a bus, which drove us over to our boat. Our first stop was Stingray City, a sandbar with waist-deep water that was 20 minutes offshore. It’s an area where fisherman used to stop and throw scraps, so stingrays always congregated there. Now it’s where tourists come to feed the stingrays.

The whole experience was very manufactured. The sandbar was roughly a big circle, and when we arrived there were boats moored all around the outside. Each boat had a “guide” that would find a stingray and bring it over for everyone to feed. I got to hold a piece of squid in my hand and wait for the guide to bring the stingray. Then I put my hand under the stingray and it sucked it into its mouth. It felt like a vacuum cleaner. Pretty cool.

Then we got to stand around and wait while everyone got their picture taken with the stingray. There were three poses: holding the stingray, kissing the stingray, and having the stingray put on your back. Not really what I’d call very fun. But Mom bought our pictures and we got them on a CD.

But it was still a very cool experience, mostly because the water was so beautiful. It was great just enjoying the warm sunshine and sparkling blue waves.

Then we went over to a nearby reef to go snorkeling. It wasn’t really much of a reef, just a low spot in the sand where there was a lot of soft coral. And some fish. Not that many. But it was fun. I hadn’t seen soft corals in a long time and they had a few sea fans, which are my favorite.

When I got back to the boat I realized that they had been throwing bait off the back, so I got to see some huge schools of fish. I guess that’s why there weren’t many fish in the reef.

On the way back to shore, I just stood at the side of the boat enjoying the view. There’s just something about being on the open water, with the wind in my face and the boat rocking over the waves. Very peaceful.

After we took another bus ride back to town, we were supposed to meet Dad & Derek at Del Sol. But they weren’t there, and we were pretty sure they would have gotten back before us. But we still took turns waiting there while the other went up and down the street looking for them.

We finally gave up and thought about just going back to the boat for lunch. But I thought it would be more fun to find someplace to have a beer and some food. So we went to a restaurant called Breezes. And it was a great decision. They had a local beer called Caybrew that was really good. And we shared some conch fritters, which were amazing, and a great pasta with rose (“ro-zay”) sauce. It’s my favorite type of pasta, and not many restaurants have it. We also had a great view of the cruise ship out in the harbor.

When we got back to the boat we decided to immediately take showers to get the salt water off of us. And by the time we were done, Dad & Derek had showed up. They had been at a local bar, just off the main street.

We had another quiet evening. We watched the boat leave port again and then I had a short rest because I was exhausted. Everyone else had a very long nap, but I went out to do laps around the promenade deck. It was just before sunset and it was a beautiful one, with clouds just above the horizon. So I took a long break to watch that. And then I did some more laps. I ended up doing a total of 9 laps, which is ~3.4 miles.

When I decided to stop walking, I noticed that there was a very thin crescent moon getting fairly close to the horizon. So I just stood out on deck and watched it for a long time. There was also another cruise ship right next to us that had followed us from Grand Cayman and was passing us. It was very serene.

I finally went back to the cabin just before another round of trivia was supposed to start, to see if anyone was awake and wanted to go. I think I pretty much woke everyone up, but they all came. It was another round of music trivia, where they play 5 seconds of a song and we had to guess title and artist. We did even better this time, getting a score of 21 out of 40. And I actually contributed more with a Madonna song, the “Macarena”, and a Shakira song.

After trivia, everyone else went to the main dining room for dinner. But I wasn’t that hungry after our big lunch on Grand Cayman. I happened to notice there was a Duke-Florida St basketball game on ESPN, so I just went to the buffet and went to a bar to watch the game. It was a pretty good game, but Duke unfortunately won. I always like to root for the underdog.

The family came to find me after the game was over, and we walked around the upper decks of the boat a while. There were two more cruise ships that were passing us now. Then we had another early night. We keep tiring ourselves out with all our excursions!

P.S. In case you don’t know the reference, today’s blog title is also the title of a Phil Collins song

Free at last!

Free at last! Ocho Rios, Jamaica

Ocho Rios, Jamaica

Today we finally had our first day in port at Ocho Rios, Jamaica. We were all really glad to get off the ship. We were doing a two-part shore excursion. First we were headed to ride a bobsled, and then we were going to Dunn’s River Falls.

Mystic Mountain Bobsled

The bobsled was actually pretty awesome. Mainly because we were allowed to go at our own pace and enjoy the whole facility. Plus, it wasn’t that crowded. So first we got to ride a chair lift to the top of a nearby ridge. And that was really fun and relaxing, seeing all the exotic trees and views of the cruise ship and shoreline.

At the top we were welcomed by some Jamaican drummers and dancers. Then the two female dancers came over to Mom and I and pulled us over to dance with them. There may have been some booty-shaking involved. And there may or may not have been a video taken. But it was very fun. And it put a huge smile on my face.

We quickly got in line for the bobsled. Which wasn’t really a bobsled. It was actually very similar to a luge ride in Europe. There was a track that went down the ridge, through a tunnel of trees. And there were “bobsled” cars that went down the track. You could go solo or attach two together. And there was a lever that allowed you to control the speed. Forward to go and back to brake.

I went solo, of course, after a bit of a wait. We had arrived with a whole busload of fellow cruise passengers, and there was a long gap between bobsledders. Once I finally got to go, I was surprised at how fun it was. Way more exciting than a luge and really fast! I didn’t have to worry about spilling out the side, so I didn’t brake at all. Until the bottom, of course. But I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it. I’ve been to Cedar Point so many times that it really takes a lot to get my adrenaline pumping. But it was. I haven’t smiled that big in a long time. Once at the bottom, we actually got to ride the bobsled back up the mountain.

Then we stayed at the top to enjoy the other attractions, which we were not aware of beforehand. But they had an infinity pool and a big waterslide. And the view was incredible. We were on top of a ridge with a great view of the Jamaican coastline and the bay where our cruise ship was docked. We stayed quite a while, just hanging out in the pool and going down the waterslide. I’d never been in an infinity pool before, and it really was quite spectacular. I also hadn’t been on a waterslide in a very long time and it was really fun.

Before we left, my brother and I decided to go down the bobsled one more time. We had to pay extra, of course. But it was worth it. And this time we hooked our bobsleds together because the guides told us it would be faster. And it was.

We got to ride the chairlift back down the ridge. It was an interesting chair lift because normally the up and down chairs are right next to each other. But this one had the up chairs on top and the down chairs directly underneath. Once at the bottom we caught a shuttle bus that took us over the Dunn’s River Falls.

Dunn’s River Falls

So Dunn’s River Falls is supposedly the most famous tourist attraction in Ocho Rios, and I believe it. There were tons of people there. The whole reason to go is to actually climb up the falls. It’s more like a series of waterfalls, cascading down the rocks to the ocean 1,000 feet below. I had pictured in my head that the climb would be up the rocks. But the climb was actually through the water the whole time too.

We had to be led up the falls by a guide, and we actually started at the beach. We were forced to hold hands in a long chain, and I somehow got picked to be the first in the chain. So I had the guide leading me up the falls the entire time. It was nice because I could see exactly where he was stepping. There were many places where there was a hidden step up or down to a pool of water. There were quite a few big steps, and a couple of places where we had to use our hands to get up the rocks.

It was really quite fun when we were actually moving. But there were so many people there, that we spent about half the time just waiting to move. Plus there was a videographer with us, so that they could try to get us to buy a DVD at the end. And he filmed each person in our group at a couple different places. At one relatively deep pool, they had each of us fall backwards into the water. And there was another spot where we could do a short waterslide down a smooth rock. Very fun.

We also got to learn a couple of typical Jamaican phrases. Instead of saying “yes”, you say “yeah man” (pronounced “yaw mahn”). The videographer had us say that one a lot. The other phrase we learned is “no problem,” which is apparently the Jamaican national philosophy.

All in all, the waterfall climb was worth it. Very unique experience.

The Rest of the Day

We took a shuttle bus back to the cruise ship, but we had one more task for the day. We went and found a place to have a Red Stripe. It’s a Jamaican beer that you can get in the US, but it seemed fitting that we should have one while we were actually in Jamaica.

So we found a place close by that had an outside patio and a guy playing the steel drums. It was interesting watching the street vendors walk by. One guy had a steel cart that he was using to roast peanuts. It was powered by a wood fire. Another guy had a cart with coconuts, complete with a machete to chop with.

On the way back to the cruise ship my brother got conned into buying some street art. Granted, a pair of really cool red stripe-themed wood carvings. But there were quite a few pushy street vendors in Jamaica. People come up to you with necklaces, telling you they’re free and putting them around your neck. And then asking for “donations.” Or trying to shake your hand, or ask you a question. Any way to get your attention and get you to buy something. It wasn’t as bad as it sounds. They weren’t everywhere. And all you had to do was either ignore them or say no thank you and they would go away. It didn’t make me feel uncomfortable at all.

Once we were back on the ship our next task was to get some food. It was almost 4 pm and we hadn’t eaten all day. So we went up to the buffet to get a “snack”, which really turned into a full meal. I hadn’t even been that hungry, but when I started eating I discovered I was starving.

The evening was pretty uneventful. We watched the boat undock from Ocho Rios and sail away. Then I spent a lot of time sitting on the promenade deck blogging. I skipped dinner in the main dining room because of our late “snack” and just got a few things from the buffet. Then we watched another comedy show. This time it was skits and improv from Second City. It was okay, but not great.

So much for relaxation

So much for relaxation At Sea, Cuba

At Sea, Cuba

Today was a much more typical day at sea on a cruise ship. Which means – busy!

I’m sure it’s probably not that interesting to most of you, so I’ll summarize:

Morning

– Cycling class – It was just as intense as yesterday. And it made me not feel as bad about eating so much at dinner last night.

· Latin dance class – Mom and I learned the meringue, the bochata, and the salsa. All were super fun and super easy. It also did not require partners, which was great.

· Daily walk on the promenade deck. We only did 3 laps today and it was more of a stroll than a walk. My legs were tired after two days in a row of cycling.

· Watched an art auction. It was actually really interesting seeing all the different artwork and hearing about all the artists. Some of it I really liked. We saw a couple of paintings go for $11,000 and $13,000. One had a starting bid of $52,000 but no one took it.

Afternoon

· Sat in some lounge chairs on the promenade deck while blogging/reading. It was thankfully much warmer out today and pleasant to sit outside in the shade.

· General trivia in the night club. And we won! Dad came up with a few good answers and I managed to pull some physics out of the back of my head. Don’t ask me to explain who Max Plank was, but he was the answer. We ended up getting 11 out of 20.

· More blogging/reading in the outside dining area. Couldn’t find any other quiet chairs/bar areas.

· Tap dancing class – Mom and I learned a whole 45 second tap routine, with poses and jazz hands and everything! It was really fun. I think my body somehow remembered the two years of tap I took as a 5 & 6 year old.

Beer Tasting

I know I said I would summarize, but the beer tasting was really fun and I learned a lot. So I’ll go into more detail.

We got to taste 5 beers, none of which I actually liked:

1. Amstel light – A lager that had no taste at all.

2. Pilsner Urquell – I do like this beer, but only fresh from the Czech Republic. This was actually the first Pilsner ever made. It was made in the town of Pilsen, which is how pilsners got their name.

3. Bass Ale – This was the best of the bunch, but a little bitter for my taste. Maybe if I had a full glass I would like it better.

4. Francis Conner – a wheat beer that I’d never heard of before.

5. Guinness – I do also like this beer, but only fresh from Ireland.

And now on to the learning:

· There are two main types of beer – lagers and ales. Lagers are referred to as bottom-fermented because they require cold temperatures. Ales are referred to as top-fermented because they require exposure to oxygen and warm temperatures.

· There are four ingredients to beer:

1. Water – 90% of beer, so the quality of the water is very important to the quality and taste of the beer. Lagers are better made with hard water and ales are better made with soft water. Or vice versa, I can’t remember which.

2. Barley – American beers actually use more rice than barley. This is what weakens the beer taste, making “light” beer.

3. Hops – creates the “bitter-beer” flavor

4. Yeast – converts sugars in the barley into alcohol and carbon dioxide.

· We played some trivia during the tasting and learned a couple interesting facts:

o A long time ago (i.e. I don’t remember exactly when), in a factory far far away, there was a worker’s strike. And the few people left tried to follow the recipe for making the beer. But they didn’t get it quite right. The beer was so bad, that when it was shipped to restaurants they just drained it into the gutters. But once the strike was over, the beer company decided to keep making this beer and just repackage it. As Michelob.

o The most expensive beer in the world is sold for $52 a bottle. It is made from a recipe found on a tablet in Nefertiti’s tomb in Egypt. The name of the beer is Tutankhamen.

· Learned a couple good jokes as well:

o There was a beer convention in the UK and some of the beer company representatives decided to go to a pub for a beer. One was from Annheiser Busch, one from Coors, and one from Guinness. The guy from Annheiser Busch asked for the “King of Beers” and was handed a Budweiser. The guy from Coors asked for a silver bullet, and got a Coors. The guy from Guinness then ordered a water. The others gasped in shock, asking why he had not ordered a beer. So the Guinness guy replied that if they weren’t going to have a beer, he wasn’t either.

o Why is American beer like making love in a canoe? Because it’s f-ing close to water. (Very true statement)

We were actually really bad at the trivia. We only got 1 out of 10 right. There were two teams tied at the lead with 4 correct answers. So to decide the winner, they had a representative from each team chug a 16 ounce beer. And the first one to finish won. It was quite amusing. One of them actually chugged the entire thing in one go.

Evening

· Dinner was just okay again. I had some great mushroom ravioli in a cheese sauce, but it was hard to really enjoy with only three raviolis.

· Watched the Ohio State basketball game vs. Illinois. One of the bars had ESPN on two TV’s, so we just hung out and watched in disappointment again. Even though they won handily, they still had a lot of sloppy play and stupid shots. It’s hard to watch a team falter that you know has so much potential.

Bedtime

So I didn’t really get much time to relax today. But that was okay because I had a lot of fun. And I think I physically exhausted myself with all the cycling, dancing, and walking. So we had an early night tonight.

…and Norwegian Rolls

…and Norwegian Rolls Great Stirrup Cay, Bahamas

Great Stirrup Cay, Bahamas

This morning I was very good and got up early to go to the gym. I did two classes, one short with your basic strength exercises, and one longer cycling class. I hadn’t done a cycling class in a long time and I had forgotten how much I like them. It’s a great workout. It was weird, though, at one point I felt the boat rolling even while I was on the bike.

Afterwards, I overheard a comment in the elevator about someone not going ashore today. But I didn’t think anything of it. We were supposed to be in port today at Great Stirrup Cay, in the Bahamas. It’s a private island owned by Norwegian. We were supposed to take tenders to get to shore (they’re small boats that take us from the cruise ship to the port, when the harbor isn’t deep enough for a cruise ship to dock).

So I went to meet the rest of the family and I noticed that the boat was rocking and rolling pretty significantly. I was surprised. I don’t think it ever did that on our cruise last year. I found the family on the back of the boat and started to admire the view of the island. It looked beautiful with a big sandy beach and bright blue water. Except that there was obviously lots of construction going on, because there were lots of big piles of sand.

That’s when I got the news. We weren’t going to shore today. They had made an announcement while I was in the gym. Apparently a cold front had moved through overnight and the water was too rough for the tenders to make it safely to shore. That’s when I noticed the huge waves crashing on the beach. All we had planned to do today was go snorkeling and walk around the island. But there was no way I wanted to snorkel in those waves.

So I understood the reasoning, but was still disappointed. Now we were going to have two days in a row of just being on the boat. And unlike the rest of my family, I had not read the reviews of our cruise. Because several had mentioned the possibility this day at shore being canceled. So I wasn’t prepared.

I tried to relieve my disappointment by going to lay out by the pool, normally one of my favorite activities on a cruise. But that was also everyone else’s idea. I was barely able to find an open lounge chair. And it was all the way on top of the boat, where everyone was crammed together like sardines.

At first I enjoyed the sunshine. But I had forgotten my head phones to listen to music, so it wasn’t very relaxing. And then the wind picked up when the boat left the island and headed out to sea. Did I mention the cold front? It was only supposed to get up to 68 F today. I know that sounds great to everyone in Seattle and Ohio. But if you’re trying to lay out, and it’s really windy, and the sun keeps going in and out of clouds, that translates to cold. So I didn’t stay very long.

The family was supposed to come get me when they were ready for lunch. So I was pretty much forced to go hang out by the pool and watch a male booty-shaking contest. At first I was kind of horrified, but then it turned out to be pretty funny. The announcer had to keep telling one of the contestants to, um, pull up his shorts in the back.

I was feeling pretty bored by this point. It seemed like they didn’t have as many interesting activities as the other cruises I’ve been on. But maybe that was just because it wasn’t supposed to be a day at sea today.

After lunch we went to the night club for some music trivia. It was actually pretty fun. They played the first 5 seconds of a song and we had to guess the title and artist. We actually did pretty good with 18 points out of a possible 40 (the winners had 20).

Our next time-filler of the day was a walk around the promenade deck. We did four laps again. But it was annoying because they had closed one section to do some work on one of the lifeboats. So once a lap, we had to detour inside the ship and get stuck behind people walking really slowly.

We wandered around for a while after that and managed to actually find an open table by the pools (they have one for kids and one for adults). So Dad and I decided to go swimming. We were both surprised to find that it was a saltwater pool. And the water was pretty chilly. That’s probably why barely anyone was swimming, and yet the hot tubs were packed full. So we managed to get a spot in the hot tubs when someone else left. The warmth felt wonderful.

That’s when the complimentary rum punch party started. It was really cool, all the waiters came around with trays full of rum punch. It obviously had very little rum in it, but still tasted very good.

We met some interesting people in the hot tub. One woman was coincidentally from Bellevue, WA (that’s where I work, for those of you in Ohio). She was staying in “The Haven”, the fancy area of the ship that had two-bedroom suites. And their own private swimming pool. Apparantly there was a Victoria Secret model staying there as well. They also got to eat their breakfast and lunch in the fancy steak restaurant, rather than the lunch buffet like the rest of us commoners.

We also met a mother and daughter from Galena, OH where my parents live. For those of you in Seattle, it’s a very small town about a half hour north of Columbus. And it turns out the mother knew a lot of the same people as my mom. It’s weird how it’s such a small world sometimes.

After we tired of the hot tubbing, we didn’t really have much else to do. So we decided to go have a beer! We went to the one bar that has draft beer, but ended up sitting in the piano lounge because the chairs were more comfortable. And they just happened to have a “Name That Tune” contest a little while later, so we decided we might as well play. We were actually not very successful at all. Most of the songs I recognized, but it was really hard to place them just being played on the piano.

Afterwards, I noticed that sun was just about set. So we went outside to watch. It was actually really beautiful, lots of high clouds that turned pink.

Our next task was dinner. It was unfortunately just good tonight, not great. Nowhere near as amazing as the previous day. But I decided I really like the main dining room on the ship. It feels kind of like eating in the middle of a European palace.

After dinner we wanted to go see a Comedian, so we just went up to the lounge where he would be and hung out for a while. It was a good thing because it got really crowded by the time he started. So we had really good seats. The comedian’s name was Darrell Joyce and he was coincidentally from Columbus. He started off really good, making fun of the people using their cell phones on the boat like they’d never heard of roaming charges. And talking about his parents. But then he focused on your standard relationship jokes, which I don’t like much because they’re all about stereotypes I don’t believe in.

Anyway, by the time the comedy was finally over it was getting late. So we took a quick stroll across the top decks to look at the stars. And then we headed back to the cabins to relax before bed. We were happy to find a towel animal tonight. These are similar to origami, except that you use towels to make animal shapes. It was one of the things we liked best about Holland America. But we hadn’t gotten one the first night on Norwegian. So we assumed we just wouldn’t. But tonight we had a cute elephant waiting for us in our room. A great way to end the day.

Norwegian Rocks!

Norwegian Rocks! Miami, FL

Miami, FL

We got up this morning, had some breakfast, and then had time to blog before leaving for the cruise ship. We took a taxi, which was only $30 from our hotel near the airport. Interestingly, our hotel was right across the street from Burger King’s corporate headquarters.

The taxi ride was actually pretty fun. It was great just seeing the sunshine, blue skies, and all the palm trees everywhere. Then we had some great views of downtown Miami. We went by a new baseball stadium that the Marlins will start using this year for the first time. It was quite impressive. We also went by the Miami Heat basketball stadium. We all grumbled about it being where Lebron plays.

We got to the cruise ship about 11:30 am and dropped off our bags right by the curb before waiting in some really long lines. First outside, where it was increasingly becoming very warm. It was supposed to be 85 F in Miami today. Then we got inside and went through security before waiting in another even slower line to get checked in. We all agreed that the cruise terminals in Seattle and Tampa were much more efficient. Or maybe we just weren’t used to being on such a big boat.

It was a wonderful feeling when we finally crossed the gangway and onto the boat. They actually had a red carpet laid out on the outside deck, to lead us to the entryway. Accompanied by people in Mexican-themed costumes and lots of smiles. Oh, and we got the first of what will likely be many “Washy-washy, happy-happy” greetings, as we were forced to sanitize our hands.

It was about 1 pm by the time we got on the boat, so we headed straight for the lunch buffet. It looked like pretty standard fare, but I was happy to see bratwurst and got one. I was good and only had one dessert – a very cinnamon-y apple pie.

Our next task was to go explore the ship. It was our first time on a Norwegian cruise, so at first it felt strange to be on a completely new boat. But it was actually laid out fairly similarly to the Holland America boats. Except that the décor was much different. The colors were brighter and everything was festive and fun. It made me smile just walking around

We walked around all the upper decks, which had some great views of Miami and South Beach. It really is a beautiful city. We also stopped at the fitness center and did a tour of the spa, where they tried to sell us on all of their treatments. Then we went to see all the dining areas, bars, and lounges. There was even a nightclub complete with plush beds and dragon-carved pillars.

By the time we were done exploring it was time for the mandatory safety drill. We had to go outside on the promenade deck, which has a walkway that wraps all the way around the ship. We had a great view, but our feet were pretty tired from all our exploring. So it felt a little like torture having to stand there for a half hour.

Afterwards we went up to a bar overlooking the pool area and sat to have a few beers. Finally, we could relax and feel like we were cruising.

Our next task was dinner. We went to the main dining room, which was decorated pretty fancy. But in a good way. We actually got a four-person table. It was nice. On Holland America you pretty much always have to share a table. And the food was incredible. Probably one of the best meals I’ve ever had. Seriously. I’m still in shock. For my appetizer I had a garlic polenta cake with a basil tomato sauce. The sauce was just amazing. My entrée was a beef loin with mushrooms and gravy, and it too was incredible. But the best was the dessert. We all had key lime pie and it was kind of mind-blowing, it was that good. I’m glad we weren’t offered seconds because I was already very full, but probably would have had another one.

After dinner we went to do some walking on the promenade deck, so that we could somewhat justify our dinner. We did 4 laps (1 mile = 2 and 2/3 laps). By that time it was 8:30 pm, so I spent the rest of the night blogging and relaxing.

So all in all, even though it was a tiring day mostly filled with waiting and exploring, I already like Norwegian ~10 times better than Holland America. I probably had more fun in this one afternoon/evening than the entire 7 day cruise last year.

Flying coach with the coach.

Flying coach with the coach. Seattle, WA

Seattle, WA

I had a fairly uneventful, but long day of travel today. My flight left Seattle at 10:20 am so I thankfully didn’t have to get up super early. It was raining, of course.

The only eventful part of the day took place as I was standing in the boarding area, waiting for my row to be called. A man walked in front of me that looked very familiar. Like I had seen the face on the television before. But he looked like an ordinary guy in jeans, tennis shoes, and jacket.

As I was trying to place the face I suddenly realized that he looked like Pete Carroll. He’s the former USC head football coach, back when they used to win national championships every other year. And then left amid much scandal. He’s now the head coach of the Seattle Seahawks. The first leg of my flight was to LA, so it made sense that he might be on the flight.

But I still wasn’t sure. He was obviously waiting with the rest of us coach-class travelers to get on the plane. I guess I assumed someone like that would be flying first class. Plus, he looked so normal. And not as tall as I would have expected. Not much taller than me. So I got out my phone and googled his picture. It really did look like him.

I ended up boarding right in front of him. But I still wasn’t sure of my ID. He was travelling with a female companion, who I assumed was his wife. When I got to my seat I had the idea to google a picture of “Pete Carroll’s wife.” And it did indeed look like the woman. So I was pretty sure at that point.

Very cool. My first real celebrity sighting on a plane. Except for the time in Hawaii when we were on a plane with the Plain White T’s. Except that we’d never heard of them at the time, and it was just before they became famous for their song “Hey There Delilah.”

So the flight to LA was pretty boring. I was very tired. But it was cool seeing LA as we flew in. I got to see the big “Hollywood” sign at the top of the Hollywood Hills. And got a great close-up view of downtown LA as we turned to go back to the airport.

After we landed, I was surprised when I had to take a shuttle bus to a different terminal for my connecting flight to Miami. My first flight was on Alaska Airlines and the second was on American. Most airports have some kind of automated shuttle system, but they told us on the plane to go to Gate 39 for the shuttle bus if we needed to connect to American.

When I got to Gate 39, there was just a sign saying “Shuttle Bus” and a bunch of people sitting in chairs. It felt really weird. I didn’t know what I was supposed to do. So I just stood around. Pretty soon a lady with a walky-talky came out asking if anyone needed to go to American. I raised my hand, so she told me to go out this side door and show the guy my boarding pass. So I did, and they guy escorted me outside and down some stairs to a waiting bus.

Then we proceeded to take a pretty long drive around the airport. It all felt really strange. Almost like I was outside the “security zone” of the airport. I was a little worried that they wouldn’t let me back in. But it was actually really interesting. We went by the coast guard hanger where they had several coast guard helicopters. That’s probably the reason for the “Helicopter Crossing” sign that we passed. Then we were actually driving right next to a runway where planes were taking off.

Thankfully when we got to the American terminal I went right inside and had just enough time to get a sandwich and eat it before boarding my next flight.

The flight to Miami was an incredibly long 4.5 hours. I was too tired to read or even want to watch the couple of movies I had downloaded on iTunes. So I actually watched the in flight movie. It was called “The Big Year” and it was about a bird-watching contest. I’d never heard of it before but it had Jack Black, Steve Martin, and Luke Wilson as the birding competitors. I really couldn’t believe what prompted anyone to make a movie about bird watching. I mean, I enjoy bird watching. But there’s not really a lot of drama to it. I think it was supposed to be a comedy, but I didn’t find it very funny. At least it was interesting enough to keep my mind occupied.

I was very excited when we finally got close to Florida, because I was very ready to be done travelling. It was dark out by that point so I could see the coastline as we flew in from the Gulf of Mexico. There were a lot of lights and it reminded me of Tampa Bay, where I had flown into last year for another Caribbean Cruise. And then the pilot announced that we were just going over the Tampa area.

We actually turned to go south along the western coast of Florida before turning east towards Miami. It was really cool because I could see both coasts of Florida at the same time. There were lots of lights along both edges and just darkness in between. Because the only thing in between is the Everglades. I even saw the whole Tamiami, the highway that goes directly west from Miami over to the other side of Florida. I’d driven it before on one of my spring break trips to Florida.

After I landed in Miami, it took forever to get to baggage claim and get my bag. The airport was really crowded. Probably lots of other cruise passengers.

Then I called the hotel to get their free shuttle. When I stepped outside it was warm! And humid! I always forget what humidity feels like. I think I will not be wearing my hair down for the next 7 days.

I was really glad to finally get to the hotel and see everyone else. We stayed up a while talking, and got beers from the lobby. I had a “Presidente”, a pilsner from the Dominican Republic.

We ended up going to bed just after midnight, which is 9 pm Seattle time. But I was so tired I fell asleep really quickly.

P.S. I’m not sure how often I’ll be update the blog after we’re on the boat. So don’t expect more entries anytime soon.