sun~

I have to agree with big al on a lot of points.

For many years we have only eaten in the speciality restaurants. The food is prepared to order, not several hours in advance like the MDR. Better quality food and better service. The MDR is too noisy and often too bright and can have horrible food.

We were on the Nieuw Amsterdam Jan 18-25 and friends wanted to go to the MDR, we went with them, twice. It was horrible. The food was awful, service slow, and bright enough to perform a operation there. After that, it was back to the speciality restaurants.

The servers have no interest in "getting to know you". Treat them well, don't be difficult and smile. If someone can't ask for that drink or extra green beans at a meal time, only relying on the memory of a waiter, has issues to deal with :rolleyes:

I meet new people on a regular basis in my profession. I am very outgoing. I actually don't like to be trapped at dinner making small talk. And I sure as heck can't hear the person across the table. I am happy to socialize just about anywhere else.

I find the specialty restaurants dirt cheap. We just factor it in to the price of a cruise. I live in a city where a decent lunch without wine is about $24 before tax. So $20 or $30 for a four course meal is a peanuts.

Our very first cruise was on the Norway in 1997. At that time Le Bistro was about it for specialty restaurants. We went one night. After that we were hooked. No more MDR (if we could help it!) for us!

Just a note about the size of the cabin. Most of the cabins in any category will be the smallest of the sizes. The largest size in the same category is a handicapped accessible cabin. So there aren't a huge assortment of sizes out there ;)

As it happens, I have been in mm8149, a friend stayed in that cabin, so I got to go in it a few times over the past three blues cruises.

It is really small. Yep, not enough room to change your mind. No matter what, a side cabin or a 'long' inside cabin, you are only a couple of steps to the door.

I have seen inside mm8159, which is a sideways cabin, it was the same size as the other, just a different furniture placement.

As a usual dweller in 8157 on the Nieuw Amsterdam, I can tell you the 8th deck is a great location for the pools etc. However, these cabins now have been downgraded in categories. 8157 used to be a VA now it is a VF. For a regular snooze cruise, you may hear a little bit of scraping of the chairs on the pool deck. On the chartered Blues Cruise there are two 15' stack of Marshall's directly overhead. In the early morning, I cannot hear any regular chair scraping or anything. Up until 4:30am, the ceiling is pounding.

The minor chair scrapes weren't bothersome. But for many people they are very annoying. So the "upgraded" cabins are preferred by lots of folks.

Hopefully your TA can help you by either sweet talking HAL into giving you a different cabin assignment, or you can pay a little extra and get the cabin you want. Best of luck!

This is for you POA1.

I took this photo of the Eurodam in 2011 while on a helicopter leaving from Antiqua heading to Monseratte.

I can get submarine pics too if you like ;)

I was at the Tropicante last Tuesday.

Tips: get a taxi, don't take a shuttle. The shuttle will stop at every beach club and someone will try to sell you on their club. It got annoying. Take a taxi, it is cheap. If the port isn't busy, you don't have to reserve. Just walk up. If they are booked, no worries the beach clubs are all in a row.

Steve was very nice and we had a nice chat about the local economy, business, housing and the Costa Maya area. He really caters to the day cruise ship visitor.

The food and water were safe here and the bathroom was clean.

Steve told me that sea grass has been an issue, but his staff clean it up every day. The beach was completely clear last week. By late afternoon it was starting to drift in. He said they scoop it up and make like a big compost pile. The water was clear and shallow. I didn't have to go too far to get to deeper water, but then again I am 4'10.5"!

I would go again to the Tropicante in a heartbeat. I was alone that day, my hubby and friends went on an excursion. I felt safe and wasn't hassled by the beach vendors.

Have fun!

Go to the Turquoise Bay Resort. I was there last week. I called for a day pass for four of us. It is a dive resort, so there were divers coming and going throughout the day.

Your wife could have a quiet, safe beach day. No vendors. Lovely staff members, drinks on the beach. The beach is nice, not spectular, but clean. It is more like a big bay on the lake, the water was very calm. The reef is just off shore.

I spoke with Kemberly at the resort. She arranged our pick up from the pier and we went back when it suited us. There is also a lovely receptionist named Yantha that acted as our hostess.

The food was ok, I will trade ok food for pushy beach vendors any day of the week!

I have been on the Zandaam, Masdam, Eurodam(2) and Nieuw Amsterdam (4). I find the ships dark and depressing. Dark ugly colours in the staterooms.

The Eurodam and Nieuw Amsterdam have been charter cruises, so are at full capacity, which according to many posts on this board not true for many of the other HAL ships. At capacity, the ships are very crowded and there are long line ups for awful food in the lido. The leather furniture in the crow's nest is quite ratty looking now.

The public rooms can be small, dark and cramped. The piano bar is awful. Horrible seating and sight lines. The crow's nest is chopped up and as used as sort of multi purpose room with the coffee bar, internet room and the actual crow's nest. If you are looking for a grand atrium, it isn't there, it looks like a dentist's waiting room. The showroom is typical to others on other cruise lines.

Princess certainly has prettier ships. Much brighter with light coloured marble and larger open spaces like the atrium.

I have been on only one RCI ship, and it was gorgeous.

And nonsense about the crew - all cruise lines I have been on have a core group from the Philipines and Indonesia. Most ships now have lots of crew from the eastern European countries, including HAL, even in the bar staff. There were even more women stewards on HAL on my cruise last week on the NA.

If you want upscale, don't bother with the mainstream cruises lines like HAL. Upgrade to something like Seabourn.

Looks like a day for free Wang Wangs! Glad you are home safely

Drat! I forgot to ask for one of those drinks.

We are staying til tomorrow. We always stay the extra day to catch up on sleep after the blues cruise. Thank goodness we did that today!

I am relaxing at the Westin on the beach right now 😄

It sure wasn't a breeze today! The last person to collect their luggage was in the baggage hall at 1pm. I have no idea why they only had 2.5 customs agents on 😉 The custom agent who stamped our passport made a very snide remark to a colleague that came into his booth, he stated the guy in the middle booth did nothing all day LOL! I believe it! What a mess!

I would say the MDR food on HAL and RCI are equally bad.

We just got off the NA and decided to dine with them in the MDR two times. Oh dear. It was awful. Caesar salad with wet lettuce and no dressing, strip loin steak that was 1/4" thick - I kid you not. It was like shoe leather. Wafer thin and tough chicken breast on the sail away BBQ. Super salted sauce on a tiny chicken supreme and even more salt in the French onion soup.

I haven't faired any better on RCI.

So the rest of the week we ate in the pinnacle one night (they really need to bring back some of the old menu items), then three nights in the Tamarind. Yep, I had the yummy pho soup each time.

Holy smokes what a horrendous delay in disembarking the NA today! We were supposed to be the last group departing for 9:45am. We didn't leave the ship til after 12pm. We finally cleared customs about 1:15pm.

I felt sorry for the next group, they were all outside in a huge line. Thank goodness it is very cool today.

I know US customs was not doing a crew customs clearance. We were chatting with crew members while they were waiting for the next group to arrive 😊

They only announced something about the ship being inspected. One of our stops was Honduras. This long delay in boarding happened a couple of years ago on the blues cruise, the previous cruise had stopped in Honduras and gave that as the reason. I guess it must be a place for illegal drug smuggling.

The folks in the long line should be on board now, grumpy, but hopefully with a frothy drink in their hands to cheer them up.

I was grumpy waiting in the looooooonng line up, I just had my frothy drink just now 😄

Poor folks who may have missed flights today 😞

Sandra is onboard and in Tamarind. She will be on next cruise, too.

 

The engine does not appear to be a problem, but I don't know for sure if it has been fixed.

 

The shared tables has been an issue for us, and others, on this cruise. As this is our first Holland America cruise, I don't know if it is typical and/or a change.

I am glad to hear about the engine! Next week we only have 3 ports, Grand Cayman, Roatan and Costa Maya. If any are missed, it is no biggie.

Since the cruise I will be on is a charter, all dining room rules are tossed out the window.

It has been a lovely day here in Fort Lauderdale, time to watch the cruise ships depart, it looks like the Oasis or Allure has just set sail! A Princess ship is right behind. I have to say, we have a great view, we are staying at the W and are 30th floor ocean front. I love to see the sail aways!

I wish there was line on the bill to leave an extra tip! When we cruise, hubby and I consider it "cashless" and like everything on the bill At the end. We eat the specialty restaurants every night and enjoy the service, quieter atmosphere and freshly prepared food.

We have had a three waiters who were real clunkers in PG over the years, but assistants who were great. Overall, I really think the crew there deserves an extra tip.

It is a shame that HAL doesn't recognize that the "no bill" at the end, which has happened about half of the time with us, and no spot to add a bit extra, isn't fair to the hardworking crew. I know there is no provision for the extra tip, but folks who don't go there often won't have any cash with them.

Heading on the NA tomorrow on the LRBC! I can't wait to have my fave soup in the Tamarind

 

More engine checks were being done today. We have not been informed of any change in itinerary. Terrible odour through the ventilation system today when they were working on things, but not all I can smell is grilled food (something I have never smelled before in the cabin).

 

There are no more issues so far with code red, and I have not heard of people becoming ill. There have been some issues with the toilets, but that, I think, is related to passengers flushing things that should not be flushed.

 

Service is still great by the crew. For some reason, the dining is not as good. Food is lukewarm instead of hot, and the Open Seating dining is not working well. We are being "forced" to join others at larger tables, or can "choose" to dine elsewhere.

 

It is almost like I am on two different ships. Regardless, our group of four are having a great time.

I am glad to hear you are having. Good time 😊

I sure hope that engine is fixed, billowing black smoke when there are more than 1000 on the back deck would be devastating on the blues cruise. The toile issues in the past were not from folks putting things in that shouldn't have been there, there was a significant number that were broken down when we boarded the ship and never got repaired.

The cold food was very typical on the last NA cruise.

When you are with friends having a good time, that is wonderful! Enjoy the last couple of days 😀

I board on Sunday on the LRBC charter. I hope things are fully operational. I also hope that the ship is now fully cleaned after the code red last week.

It was bad enough on the 2013 and 2014 LRBC that many, many of the public toilets were broken all week. There certainly has been maintenance issues in the past with the NA :(

Hopefully there will be an update from Mariners again.

No, I don't believe what is handed out in the cruise log is always accurate. I will ask on January 18th on my upcoming charter.

 

 

 

Why would you not believe facts a crew member gives you. The crews information is far more accurate than anything you would read on forums

Terry

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

 

You must have misunderstood. I am going to ask for the exact numbers when I am on board on the 18th.

 

I agree there is are things that are posted these boards that are less than accurate ;)

 

The amount/number of passengers and crew you'll find listed on your cruise log delivered to your cabin on the last night of your voyage is taken directly from the SOLAS report prepared for the last port prior to arrival back at the "turnaround port". There is no "fudging" of numbers here and no "conspiracy theory" at work! Those numbers are accurate!

No, I don't believe what is handed out in the cruise log is always accurate. I will ask on January 18th on my upcoming charter.

On the 2014 LRBC charter the cruise log listed the ship with the number of passengers given on the Nieuw Amsterdam official stats. It absolutely wasn't true for the LRBC charter. Every single cabin is sold, many, many at full capacity of 4 persons per cabin. There is only one person that I know of that travels in as a single. The charter is just too expensive (it is about $2700 pp for a low end balcony cabin, so at $5400 for 7 days for a single, it is just too expensive for most). I had heard there were about 2500 passengers on board, not the 2100 as listed on the cruise log. I will check to see what is accurate!

Further, they're all mentioned as 213-379 sq. ft. That's a HUGE variation.

 

Where can I find which class of stateroom is which size, with which size balcony?

The only balcony cabins that are 379sqft are the wheelchair accessable cabins, even then, there may only be a couple that are that size. All the rest are at the 213sqft size.

I hope that helps!

 

....... the operator instructed us that this was a 10 to 15 minute stop. When we returned within the time window, imagine our surprise watching him drive off without us! A mild panic set in and we asked a guy selling something at the stop if he knew the driver (Brandon) but he didn’t.....

 

About 7 or 8 minutes later the driver finally returned and proceeded to blame us for returning late to the bus – which we were not. When we re-boarded the bus, passengers around us told us they noticed we weren’t there and tried to convince the driver we were missing.

OK, I guess I am reading this differently than other folks. Sounds to me like all the other passengers where in the bus when you got on. So, this says to me that you were LATE and everyone else was on the bus. If you were the only ones who missed the bus (this is what it seems like to me according to your post) and no one else did, maybe it is time to buy a new watch.

It also depends if you are going to be gone for long port days.

My husband felt it was worth it. He would get a couple of coffees in the morning, beers and DOD in the afternoon, and cocktails in the evening. It was pretty hard to drink the swill that is the house wine on HAL.

I used it for bottles of water and cocktails. It probably wasn't worth it for me. We go on a chartered cruise with fewer port days (2.5 or 3 on a 7 day) and we have stayed on board at the odd port. We also are up from 9am to 4am (or later? earlier?) so it is more of a week long party.

My husband liked it since he knew how much we spent during the week. The jury is out for our upcoming LRBC cruise on January 18th.

jaguarstyper - as an fyi we are members of the Ottawa Jaguar Club, we have two kitties. '88 XJSC in grenadier red and a '95 X300 in sage green

You could also consider the Bayshore.

 

It is not at Canada Place but is a very short cab ride away. It has a unique waterfront location and is beside Stanley Park. The Pan Pacific and the Bayshore are our favourites. Failing that, the Sylvia is very different. Located at English Bay...on the other side of Stanley Park.

The Westin Bayshore. We stayed there for our September 29th cruise on the NCL Sun.

The Westin Bayshore is on the walking trail to Stanley Park, and close to the shops. There are great views. The sea planes take off right in front of the hotel. We really enjoyed staying there (and we stay for free so it makes it even nicer LOL).

It took just about 5 minutes by cab to get to Canada Place.

It was lovely to meet you Barb! You sure have a lot of knowledge about NCL ships. I do hope we cross paths again!

Whiterose:....

 

Sun~, ...thanks but what happens if the ship is going down at 3:00 a.m. ? :)

Then you would get a page. Or notice the ship listing to one side. I wouldn't be tough to figure out.

Thanks for the report from your cruise. Your comment about the noise in the dining rooms makes me wonder if we could ask to eat (free of charge) in the speciality dining rooms as a way of providing "communication access" as required by the ADA. Just daydreaming but it would be nice to actually be able to have a conversation over dinner.

Seriously? Give your head a shake on that comment. Cough up for the speciality restaurant like the rest of us.

You can always order room service and eat in your cabin.

I have been so busy since I have been back, so better late than never!

It was our first time on the Sun. Fantastic staff and crew! I have to say that Ligaya Dagasdas the Group Service Coordinator and Dan Dyer the F & B Director were outstanding in making both cruises a wonderful experience. I know I want to let the NCL main office know, maybe someone can tell me who to contact.

Sorry no photos at the moment :(

It's a bit long....

NCL Sun Review September 29 – October 4 2014 and Blues Cruise October 4 – 11th

We arrived in Vancouver a couple of days before the cruise and stayed at the Westin Bayshore. It was close to the cruise port with easy access to Stanley Park and amenities. It was raining on embarkation day, but at the port we entered a covered parking area, so we were not out in the elements at all.

I wondered why NCL mentioned in the documents to arrive at noon for a 4pm departure. We had to clear US Customs at the cruise port, which can take a couple of hours. It only took a short while, thank goodness. We then breezed through security. Within a short time we were on board the Sun.

We had booked the 5 day cruise from Vancouver to Alaska, then we would be on for the next leg, the 7 day fully chartered Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise.

We decided to explore the ship and had a good wander around. Areas of the ship are worn and some carpets needed to be replaced. This is to be expected, the ship is 13 years old. The ship seemed to be in good condition, I am sure it will get exterior work done before it reaches Tampa. The long, wet season in Alaska doesn’t help with getting exterior work done.

We had 0007 balcony cabin on the 10th deck for the 5 day cruise, we switched to 0056 balcony cabin, also on the 10th deck, for the Blues Cruise. Both cabins were fine. They were clean and well organized. We weren’t fond of the bathrooms, those darn circular showers! We had had the same darn showers on the Caribbean Princess, so I knew I had to rest my leg on the toilet lid when I wanted to shave my legs. The shower curtain was just a little *too* friendly for my liking!

The cabin stewards, Jogie (0007) and Rhonda (0056) did a wonderful job and were great at helping with our extra requests. I liked that the balcony’s had balusters instead of Plexiglas, I could really see the ocean!

We had purchased to Ultimate Dining Package for both legs of the trip. We gave up eating in the main dining rooms a few years ago. I am not a fan of banquet food, I like the quieter atmosphere of the smaller dining rooms and I like my meals freshly prepared. As a side note, I have some hearing difficulties and the loud din in the dining room makes me a little crazy.

We ate at all the speciality dining rooms. We really enjoyed La Cucina (it has a regular, nothing fancy menu) as it was easy for me to carry on a conversation. The service was very good overall. The food was tasty. My hubby really enjoyed the pasta with hot sausage. My fave was the spaghetti carbonara and the uber yummy chocolate torte. Yum! We had three dinners there over the course of the 12 days.

We had three dinners in Cagney’s. The steaks were very good. I am puzzled as to why they individually serve the sides in small containers. If it was family style, ok. But otherwise, just put things on the plate! We tried most of the sides, and they ranged from OK (baked potato) to really tasty (potato gratin). I think the ambiance could be improved with this room. Turn down the horrible Lawrence Welk music and put down some tablecloths. Serviced ranged from excellent to ok. When it was busy, they were definitely thrown off a bit. Overall it was a very positive experience.

We had two meals at Moderno for dinner. OMG! Definitely pace yourself! I eat only lean beef and chicken, so I only had a few things. Hubby tried everything! I had to roll him out of there. The meats that I had were moist, tender and flavourful. Hubby enjoyed everything he ate. The sides are typical for this type of restaurant, a small salad bar with things like veggies, cheeses, salamis, breads, soups etc. Everything was fresh and tasty.

We went to Le Bistro twice. It is a lovely spot. Great for a romantic evening, or an intimate evening with friends. This is not a spot for children. It isn’t. There was a couple with a howling baby there on the 1st leg of our cruise. It is a small restaurant. Folks are there for a quiet evening out. Just sayin’.

We went to Teppanyaki twice. Once on the 5 day – it was pretty much fully booked the entire week. On the Blues cruise, there was a fair amount of availability, folks want to watch the shows rather than have a fixed dining time. Both times the food was very good and the chefs were entertaining. Overall, two very good evenings!

There were several areas to eat breakfast and lunch. The main dining room, the cafeteria (garden café?), the great outdoors and Moderno. We tended to eat in Moderno or the Great Outdoors. I really liked the pasta station for lunch or getting salad and fruit in the small stations. There isn’t a huge selection in the smaller venues, but the main cafeteria had quite a lot of selections. There was a good variety of Indian vegetarian dishes. The food was hot and replaced frequently. There were several pool side BBQ’s over the course of the full 12 days. For those who complained about the “lack of selection” should just travel with their personal chef the next time they cruise ;)

The staff were outstanding! We attended the meet and greet for the first leg of the cruise. Several of the ship’s officers were in attendance. Brian Walters, the Hotel director, Dan Dyer the Food and Beverage Director, Denton Liang the head chef, Ligaya Dagasdas the Group Services Coordinator, Edgar Horiandor the head housekeeper, Gary Bryan, the Restaurant manager and Winchester Barrack the Beverage manager. The cruise director Richard Matic was everywhere (holy smokes he has energy!) to be found on the 5 day portion of the cruise. I can’t stress enough how good the staff and crew were on the Sun. Hats off to Mr. Brian Walters for running a happy ship. I thought it was great when Mr. Walters donned a cook’s cap and helped serve at the poolside BBQ, he was dancing and swaying to some awesome blues under the hot sun on the blues cruise. He is a hands on guy!

The meet and greet was on the 5 day portion of the cruise. Thanks to Barb (Wildcatllamas) who arranged the meet and greet. This is a great opportunity folks! Show up to the meet and greet. On the chartered cruise we do not do meet and greets. So my fellow blues cruisers (John and Delberta) on the first leg took advantage and stayed afterwards to have a little chat with Brian Walters and Dan Dyer. It was great to let them know of the some of the challenges that they would face the following week. It is a completely different cruiser on a chartered cruise, many will never set foot on a “snooze cruise”.

Ligaya Dagasdas was wonderful in setting up our FB/Chatboard/CC group get together. She kindly arranged juice, water and coffee with lots of cake for our group. We had a get together at Champs bar on deck 12. We were hanging out in the heat watching the stage and dance floor being set up.

On the 5 day portion of the cruise, our friends John and Delberta had dinner with Dan Dyer the F&B Director (with Barb Wildcatllamas too!) and as a little surprise, Dan offered to take them on a behind the scenes tour. I begged to come along, and he said yes! WOW! We got into the galley for the main dining room, all the provisioning areas. I was surprised to see all the boxes of exactly the same stuff that we would have a home. Andy Boy vegetables, fresh eggs, fresh meats that are butchered on site, fresh fruit and eggs etc. The bake shop makes just about everything fresh every day, including the hamburger rolls. The cake and pastry area was baking lots of lovely cakes and goodies yummy. We saw Dan’s quarters (an outside cabin with a port hole, it was surprisingly large), the crew and officer’s messes, the crew lounge, the recycling and garbage areas. It was wonderful to see behind the scenes!

The entertainment on the 5 day cruise had lots of singers and dancers with a band. Not really my cup of tea, but most of the passengers on board were having loads of fun J There was a comedian, Noodles and some Gaucho guy who did a comedy act.

The 7 day cruise on the LRBC cruise had this line up:

· , Taj Mahal Trio, Bassekou Kouyate & Deva Mahal w/ Fredericks Brown

· 
Los Lobos

· Eric Burdon & the Animals

· 
Elvin Bishop w/ Special Guest Roy Gaines

· 
The Lowrider Band

· 
Legendary Rhythm & Blues Revue w/ Tommy Castro Band, Magic Dick, Ronnie Baker Brooks, Deanna Bogart

· 
Royal Southern Brotherhood w/ Guest Bart Walker

· Ruthie Foster

· 
Tommy Castro & the Painkillers

· 
Ronnie Baker Brooks (7-piece band)

· 
Janiva Magness

· 
The Mannish Boys Revue w/ Curtis Salgado, Lloyd Jones, Sugaray Rayford, Kid Ramos, Steve Freund

· 
Trampled Under Foot

· Bernard Allison

· 
Johnny Rawls Soul Revue

· 
Colin James (Canada)

· 
Curtis Salgado / Lloyd Jones Duo

· 
Doug MacLeod

· 
Carolyn Wonderland

· 
California Honeydrops

· 
Dennis Jones

· 
The 44′s

· 
Eden Brent (Piano Bar Host)

· 
Leon Blue (Piano Bar Host)

· Deanna Bogart (Piano Bar Host)

· 
Scottie Miller (Piano Bar Host)

· 
Steve Willis (Piano Bar Host)

· Tim Williams (’14 Blues Foundation IBC Winner)

· Randy Oxford (Jam Host)

· Teresa James (Surprise Guest)

So it is fair to say that any regular cruise ship entertainment will never stack up to us blues cruisers. The staff and crew on the Sun were out listening to the music until all hours. It was funny when a staff member in the salon referred to the music schedule as her “dancing schedule” J The F & B Director Dan Dyer is a HUGE fan of Eric Burdon. Dan was thrilled to meet him! Eric Burdon got lots of special treatment from Dan J right down to his very own NCL badge that had “Eric Burdon UK” with a Union Jack on it J Dan told me that he also did a behind the scene tour for the artists as well. Someone caught part of the tour on their phone

The venues on the Sun for the LRBC bands were fantastic. The best pool deck set up! The large pool was covered and had a dance floor put on it (steel beams and posts for support, so no worries there!) and the smaller pool was kept open all week. The main show lounge was good, but a bit too chilly for me. The observation lounge was great. Lots of comfortable chairs and great bar service! The piano bar was always packed, lots of great jams happening with whatever musicians showed up. The surprise was the atrium became the wee hours jam area. The California Honeydrops seemed to love that location for a bit of a party at 4am. Mike Zito sat in just about everywhere and my favourite, Colin James was jamming all over the ship. I think Bernard Allison cloned himself, cos I saw him everywhere. There were some really special moments on board. Ruthie Foster singing her heart out in honour of Sista’ Monica who had just passed. Not a dry eye to be found. The astonishing Carolyn Wonderland surprising us with every set, showing the depth of her talent. The Low Rider band coming on stage, and telling us they would play anything anyone wanted to hear LOL! Royal Southern Brotherhood scorching the stage every time they played. Colin James giving is high energy shows leaving everyone breathless after each set. What a week! It was a hot sultry day in Mazatlán; we got back to the ship early. Soul legend Johnny Rawls was playing on the pool deck. We were all swaying to the music in the hot sun with a cold beverage. Just perfect.

My hubby and I had a wonderful time. We treated the cruises as two completely different experiences. The 5 day was relaxing and fun. We spend time with our friends. We all rested and enjoyed the low key ports of Seattle and Astoria. I would do this again in a heartbeat.

Our 7 day Blues cruise was a blast! It definitely takes a few days to recover from lack of sleep and over indulgence of alcohol and rich food. It was wonderful to catch up with friends from past blues cruises and check out the awesome line up. Ports are very much secondary on a blues cruise. We did not get off the ship in Cabo (we have been there on land vacations), we saw a bit in Mazatlán, and just enjoyed the beach and amenities at the Westin in Puerto Vallarta (I have been there on a land vacay as well). Probably half the folks on the blues cruise did not leave the ship the whole week. Port days are a day to sleep.

Well, it is off get organized for the next LRBC in January…..It is on a ship in the Caribbean. East? West? Who knows? who cares! It’s the lineup that is important!