jenseib
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Posts posted by jenseib
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23 hours ago, CazV said:
I got on when you got off. Enjoyed reading about the christening and seeing all your photos. I'm going back in 4 weeks 😁
How awesome. My next cruise is on the Joy and I just reserved my shows this morning. My daughter is going with me and we are going to take a more relaxed trip this time and just explore the ports on our own I think. I debated on getting some specialty dining options, but I am not sure yet if I want to spend more money. I'm sure she will want to eat at Cagneys though. She loves the truffle fries. LOL
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22 hours ago, dreadpirate3 said:
Hi! I loved your photos of the private island. We always cruise RCCL so we've been to Coco Cay next door quite a few times.
I look forward to reading your next report.
Thanks for reading! That RCCL island looks fabulous. I hope to some day get to see it.
1 hour ago, Cleo1611 said:Thanks for a great review - we are on the 5 April sailing and have been assigned 9702 which is at the FRONT not forward, but front of the ship - so I was happy to see a sample of what our OV room will look like - we are right beside the larger 9700 OV and you showed a picture of it, as well as the smaller OV. Sounds like you got your 'money's worth' on this cruise.
Oh good. Glad I could help. I would love one of those rooms. I used to shy away from being forward, but I have had a few near the front now and it doesn't bother me one bit.
It was such an awesome experience and I hope to some day get on another christening.
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On 2/1/2020 at 11:28 AM, amelia3171 said:
Long, picture heavy reviews are my favourite, thank you.
3 times on NCL and I've never noticed the cream, will be looking out for it day 1 breakfast this October.
It's really good!
On 2/2/2020 at 8:04 PM, toothy26 said:Loved your review! It was very entertaining. I will be cruising on the Encore in October.
Thanks! I really had a good time
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17 hours ago, brigand13 said:
This has been a really fun read! You've totally made me want to cruise on the Encore if only for the shows! I've heard nothing but good things about Choir of Man and Kinky Boots sounds like a blast! Thanks for the thorough recount of your adventure.
Thanks for reading!
1 hour ago, AKR2011 said:Thanks for the review as always! Enjoy the rest of your winter, and I'll be looking forward to your review of The Joy! 🙂
I'm excited to sail her. I have been working on my flights lately...not impressed with those costs!
28 minutes ago, Arzeena said:Enjoyed the read and the pictures. Thanks for posting.
Thank you
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Nov. 24, 2019, Going Home
I didn’t take too many pictures today. It was the typical “it sucks we have to go home kind of day!”.
We were already in port when we woke up.
I believe I got a quick breakfast and just enjoyed the last of my time on the ship.
We were in no rush to get off and kind of lounged around till it looked like the line wasn’t too bad to get off.
We wound around and went through the arcade.
Wait??? There’s an arcade? Cass laughed and said yes! We walked through it when we boarded too! Hahaha. I was so set on following her to see about dining reservations, etc, that I didn’t take in what we walked through.
We made our way off and through customs and then to find where we could catch an Uber. A new batch of people were getting to arrive to sail on the first official “real” sailing of the Encore.
We made it to the airport easily and I checked in at my terminal and Cass had to walk a little ways to go to hers. We were then going to meet up for lunch. I had a small line, but it wasn’t bad. Once I got my bags checked, the guy kind of stood there waiting for a tip….very obviously. Now I usually give a couple bucks when I check bags in if I see a tip jar, but this seemed like pressure and I quickly set my tickets aside and fumbled for a few bills. I am pretty sure I shoved the tickets in my back pocket…..maybe?
I had a little time till Cass got through her line so I walked around a bit and then used the bathroom and walked a bit more and she arrived at my area and we decided on Margaritaville for lunch.
We got right in and we both ordered the club. If we were smart, we would have shared it as it really is too big for one.
We chatted and enjoyed the last of our time together. We both boxed the rest of our sandwiches up and took them with us. I figured I would eat mine during my layover.
We paid and headed out and I went for my tickets. Hmmm not in my pocket. Looked through my bag…Nope. Shoot! I lost them somewhere. Did they fall out of my pocket while I walked around? In the bathroom? At Margaritaville? I did a swoop around just to check but no sign of them. It wasn’t a huge deal because I could pull up my boarding passes on my phone. However, they bag claim sticker was on one of them. One thing I did see on United’s app was that you could track your bags and the claim number did show up, so I went to that and did a screen shot just to be safe.
We went our separate ways and I took a seat at my gate and read some magazines and listened in on others and people watched. There was a lady standing in line to board before I even arrived and she stood there the whole time! Over an hour!!! Her husband would come and go. I assumed they needed extra help for boarding, but seriously, sit and wait till the call those who need help to come up.
That’s them…first in line!
Boarding started and they got on right away and I waited for my boarding to be called and got in line. I went to my seat, which was a window…..and guess who is in my row? The wife. Now United boarded with window seats first, then middle then aisle. These 2 each had an aisle seat across from each other. When I motioned that this was my row I got a dirty look that she had to stand up. Now I already know she loves to stand….she did it for an hour already. Hahaha. And she had to know that being in an aisle seat she would have to get up to let others on.
This flight was full too. No luck on an empty middle seat this time around. The young lady next to me was tiny though and slept the whole time. It was kind of funny as she would kind of lean on me at times and then realizes it and move to another position.
They also were moving some flight crew and the girl behind me was one of those.
We waited and then they announced that they had some maintenance to do on the plane before we could leave. I am all for a safe plane, but I knew I had a pretty short time between my connections. I texted home to let Claire know that I might not make it and there is a chance I will be on the later flight home.
This was also the lovely weather outside currently.
Finally we pulled out and they said they would try to make up time in the air, but for those with short connections, check your app, because United may have already changed your flight.
I took a look and was listed for my current flight…and the one later (several hours later actually). I asked the girl behind me and she said most likely I would be on the next flight, but they are keeping my spot on the current one too.
I just figured there was nothing I could do about it, so why worry. I was not looking to spend several hours in the airport, but I would live.
When we landed, it still showed both flights, but would not let me pull up the boarding pass for either. The flight attendant told me to check in at the desk when I get off and they will get me to the correct spot. And of course I was in the back of the plane. Even if I wanted to do the mad dash, I couldn’t. The “lady” on the aisle was so worried that I wouldn’t make my flight, but I told her it is what it is.
I got off and went to the desk and she typed some info in and said yes, no, yes, no, not sure if you can make it as it’s in a different building and it’s pass boarding time. The lady next to her said, let me see and pulled up something else and said “they are holding the plane for you…run! Ah…ok…where? She directed me to the shuttle and I got on…and waited till it filled. So much for hurrying. Once it took us over to the correct area I hurried to my gate. I let them know I don’t have a physical boarding pass and she had me pull out my ID and printed it and handed it off. Then they said the carryon had to be gate checked. Shoot! I have an expensive camera. They told me to quickly take that out and they would take the suitcase and I could carry the camera bag on.
I then have to head outside to board this plane. Thank God I was not the only one! There were 2 others behind me.
Of course it is super embarrassing when you are one of the last boarding a plane and they all know it was held up because of you….and not to mention…I had no chance to go to the bathroom between flights.
When I sat down, I told my seat mate (only 2 per row on this flight) that I was not technically late, it was my flight and they had told us we would be rescheduled, but when we landed I found out the plane was being held.
I sure felt stupid!
I did text Claire and let her know I was on the flight home! I made it!
Luckily this flight wasn’t too long and soon we were coming back into Detroit!
I had been tracking my bag as well and it made it too! I couldn’t believe it!
When we landed I made my way off and was in no rush to get to the bags. I knew it would take a few minutes. Welcome back to reality! The weather let me know it was definitely not Florida!
Once I got my bag, I texted for my shuttle to take me back to the car park and made my way over there. It came fairly fast and soon I was reunited with my car and on my way home, with a stop at McDonalds to load up on dinner and a much needed diet coke!
I came home to a daughter that missed me and I shared with her some of the treats I had gotten at the christening. She was devouring the macaroons!
And then back to real life and just a few days later I took my husband in for a shoulder replacement, then Thanksgiving, then the Christmas holidays and a January work trip to Universal Orlando…..so yeah…I am still trying to catch up with life! Hahah.
Thanks for reading along!
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We made our way out and Cass noticed the Kinky Boot cast, so I stopped for a selfie.
Cass’s version is better.
The Choir of Man cast was outside waiting so we went to the side that had Mark. We found his picture but it didn’t really look a lot like him.
I crept right in between Mark and the other guy I thought was cute. Hahahaha.
We got back to the room and found some gifts waiting for us.
It was fine oil, salt and balsamic vinegar.
I have tried them at home and they are really good! Cass has limited luggage space and had to move things around to get them home, but I think she managed.
It was our last night, so I decided to go gamble another $20 or so and lost as usual.
I took a few more pictures before I headed back to the room for the night.
And we crashed then. Tomorrow we had to head home. It was just such a short cruise. I was happy to have been part of it all, but it was WAY to short!
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See the good looking guy in the maroon shirt? That’s Mark…he talked to me! Swoon…..
Cass also already noticed that hot looking guy too! Hahaha.
Now see the guy in the previous picture who is kind of bleached out and behind Mark. I totally forget his name, but he and a group of people sat next to me. They did not leave a seat between us and they had plenty of room in the row to do so. That guy was on top of me the whole show! And he was talkative….to the point of annoying. I am friendly, but I don’t need to talk to someone else when my friend is right next to me at a show.
This guy reminded me of my friend’s brother and I thought he was pretty cute too.
So the show starts and I snuck pictures and videos throughout…..Only to find out towards the end that they allowed it! Had I known that I would have taken WAY more!
Choir of Man is basically a group of guys in their Irish bar who sing and dance….kind of the locals of the bar and know everyone. It has a great mix of music and the dancing and stunts are great!
They jump all over and sing and play music. Amazing!!!
This guy came and sat by us as the show was starting and then headed up on stage.
They had some people from the audience come up as well.
This guy tapped dance all around and was good!
This guy was looking for a new love and they asked if anyone wanted to be with him and some lady gets up dancing (and I think drunk) and is waving all over and says yes. He looks at her and says…ahhh no! It was so hysterical.
We then moved on to the Urinal scene.
The show was AMAZING!!!! Probably one of the best cruise line shows I have ever seen. It was so much fun and these guys are talented!!!!
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And this is an inside regular room.
I have actually earned another free cruise through Norwegian and we will be sailing on the Joy this summer. This is the type of room we have been assigned. It’s small, but we will be fine with just the 2 of us. Our room only holds a max of 2, so we shouldn’t have those bunks on the sides of the walls like this room does.
And the bathroom is a nice size too, so that will make a big difference!
This particular room had a different shower and set up.
And another different set up stateroom
I looked out and the Kinky Boots cast were still out there.
I toured all but 1 room on the list. Most look pretty much the same as my room, some without a balcony, but just different locations on the ship. The final room I decided not to look at because it was so far away and up several floors. I was tired!
It was now close to sail away time.
Cass messaged me to go down to the guest services desk as they had some pads of paper and buttons, so I did just that.
And I got wild and ordered a cocktail!
I met back up with Cass then and I was needing a snack. I didn’t eat much on the island and I wanted something before dinner time. My idea was good in theory. We went to the local and I think they forgot about me as it took forever and a reminder from us to actually bring the food.
It was tasty and hit the spot, but it took way too long.
We then watched the beautiful sky as we got ready to sail away.
I think we actually got separated and I went to find Cass and she went to find me and we kept missing each other.
I went on to take some more pictures as I was looking for Cass.
A sunset at sea is one of the most beautiful and peaceful things ever!!!
I think I went and gambled a little to use up that $20 from last night since I never used it!
Then it was time for dinner and we decided on the Manhattan dining room tonight. As we made our way there we noticed the Skyline bar, a place we had not noticed at all yet.
We got seated fast and made our orders.
The food was good again tonight for me.
The dessert was just Meh.
The ice cream was great but the deep fried pockets needed powdered sugar on them.
This wasn’t too bad.
We had reservations for Choir of Man tonight, so Cass ran off to water pick her teeth while I finished up and then we met back up to head to the theatre.
We like the end of a row but all the ones in the location we wanted were full, so we went in a few seats and sat down. We allowed one seat between Cass and the people at the end of the row for personal space.
The cast will come out early and invite the audience up for a beer.
I do like beer and Cass insisted I go up. Twist my arm!
Cheers!
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The water color was just gorgeous!
When we got back, the next tour was waiting to jump in our boats and head over. I am glad we had the first one of the day. I am not sure if the pigs get full or not, but at least we had them super hungry!
This is one of the best excursions I have ever taken. It was a bucketlist thing for me and I enjoyed it so much. I would do it again if I ever get back to Great Stirrup Cay.
We walked back to the main part of the island at our own leisure and I took a few more pictures.
I decided it was time for a Mango Meltdown!
MMMMM!
I found a seat and just enjoyed my drink.
I got to talking to the lady next to me. She had been on the cruise before as an invite and then she won this cruise so she really got to enjoy the ship. She said she was trying different things each time, but this sailing was nicer than the one before.
I went and found some lunch after a bit. I really wanted some potato salad but it wasn’t meant to be. I didn’t think they had much of a selection, but I grabbed a few things and ate.
I ended up only eating a portion of it. I wanted fries or something else and this was not hitting the spot.
I did have a beautiful view though.
I decided to leave then. I didn’t want to swim by myself and I figured I should check in with Cass. Who knows what kind of trouble she is getting herself into! LOL.
I made a potty stop before leaving and the potty lady was hilarious! She was moving people through fast and cracking jokes. She said she had over 5000 people there the other day with 2 ships in port and there just is not time to dog around when you need to move that many people through the bathrooms!
They have 4 tenders, but only 2 were running. I don’t know if they only run 2 per ship or since our sailing had less people they only ran 2.
Back on the ship, I found Cass and we chatted a bit and I got cleaned up and into fresh clothes. She did a lot of exploring today and also swam on the ship I believe.
One of the options they had for this cruise was touring several different types of rooms. I kept meaning to do it, but it’s hard to fit everything in….and rest! I decided I better do it now and get it over with. I knew I would regret it later if I didn’t.
I took a lot of pictures, but I’ll just post a few.
This room was huge and looked over the front of the ship.
The cast of Kinky Boots were out there and they were dancing around and having fun.
This room was similar to ours. Some rooms have the bed when you walk in and others have the couch first.
I believe this is one of the single studio rooms.
It’s perfect for the single traveler or one that is going with family but they only need a room for just themselves.
I tried doing video in these rooms but there was a guy touring on the same route as me and he would talk EVERY single time I would start to video.
They also have a lounge for the single travelers staying in these studios.
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Hello cutie!
I tried to do selfies but with a camera it was hard. I also took a lot of pictures with my finger in it! If you look at my camera roll I have like 20-30 tried selfies. 99% bad!
We spent what felt like a long time in with the pigs, but sadly our time was over and we had to get out and head back up to the deck.
There was an adorable piglet pile right by the deck!
They were now super friendly knowing we may have food.
Those piglets are just sooooo cute!
So as we are all drying off a few pigs started getting frisky down on the shore. We were all laughing hysterically. The guy said to post it to social media hashtagging it “pigporn”.
They told us it really was mostly girl on girl. Hahahaha
Ummmm…someone needs to explain the birds and the bees to these guys.
And look at the little piglets just running around.
It looked so beautiful!
And a few of these guys were all tired out now.
Then it was time to head back down to the boats. The ramp was still really steep, but we made it!
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He then asked for some volunteers and they would have them lay down and sprinkle apple pieces all over them and the pigs would cover them eating the apples. It was hilarious.
This gal is a social media influencer.
I was asked.. ”Do you ever watch MSC videos? Well that’s her” Hmmm. I have never seen one with her in it and I did look when I got home, but still haven’t found any.
Now there were signs saying no cameras in the swimming area. They take pictures to buy I believe. So they kept having us raise a hand with our camera or phone and then he would say put it down and leave it on the table. Then he would ask..”is that what you want to do?” and we would say no! And finally he said…OK then, take those cameras and take tons of pictures and post them on social media! Wooohooooo! This is not normal, but since it was a special sailing they were allowing us to promote their business!
I debated my phone or camera but I decided camera since I knew it was 100% waterproof.
Be prepared for a zillion pig pictures.
We all got a skewer and put apple on it and the pigs would come and snatch it right off. They had a couple guys with baskets of apples in the water so we could refill easily.
They kept reminding us that pigs will be pigs and they have no manners.
If a pig happened to poop in the water you were to call out applesauce and they would come and clean it up right away.
Come get some apple!
Taking pictures of fast moving pigs was not an easy feat!
The pigs had cute “pig names”…like Kevin Bacon and Wilbur.
I believe this one is Kevin Bacon. He was super piggy and made the rounds to everyone quickly.
They then offered to take pictures of everyone like the picture below. I got in line, posed and looked later only to find no picture. I think the guy didn’t know you had to push the button all the way down rather than halfway for it to just focus. UGH!
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I then found cabanas that were ground level.
And a little crab hanging out.
They were doing tours of the upscale area, but I didn’t have time right now. I never did make it back since it was the far side and I didn’t feel like walking all the way back again.
This is where they serve lunch.
I went in search of where to meet for my excursion. It was not clearly labeled.
I ended up asking and they pointed to where to go.
They said they didn’t have a pig sign so to go to the stingray area. When I went there they said to go further down to another flag.
I decided to take a potty break since I still had time and look around a little more.
There is an area of shops. I didn’t have any cash with me and I think someone told me they only took cash in those little local stores.
I then went and signed in for my pig excursion.
The cruise before us told us this was the easiest one to get and still had availability even the day of. This cruise it sold out in hours. I heard people talking about trying to get into it and they were told to try to be waitlisted once they got on the island. We had several people waiting here in hopes to be added to the group. We were the first group and if they didn’t make this one they would have to come back each time a new group went and hope to be called.
Also because there was no clear signage, many people went to the stingray tables as told at the excursion desk on the island, so it took a while to get everyone who was signed up to actually be in the right area.
Eventually they did call several extra people to join the group.
We had a long walk to get to the boats that would take us over to the island for the pig swim, but it wasn’t a bad walk.
We boarded a couple of little boats and then they did a roll call. There ended up being 2 extras and they couldn’t figure out how they got with the group but they did allow them to come.
And then we set off for a short boat ride over to Treasure Island.
And soon we arrived.
And pigs were chillaxing.
Now they had a floating dock because of tides and the tide must have been low because going up the ramp was HARD! It was so steep! We made it up but I heard a lot of complaints about it. We then went onto the deck and waited for instructions, though the first one as we arrived was not to go near any pigs till he talked to us further.
There were piglets everywhere and we just wanted to scoop them up and cuddle them!
He then went on with the rules.
We were not to touch the pigs unless they came to us. Especially the little ones. If they got upset they would squeal and let their mamas know they were being bothered and those mamas would not be happy and could charge. And if they were really worried they would let out a noise to the main pig boar. He was basically fenced in on the other side of the island with a big area to roam. He said if he got worried you would see trees moving and falling just like in Jurassic Park as he made his way over to see what was going on. LOL!
To call the pigs, you could make a clicking noise with your tongue. When he did it, all the little pigs came running. It was so darn cute. If you didn’t have food though, they didn’t stick around long.
He then explained how to feed the pigs pieces of apples off a skewer.
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They did have a table set up with waters for everyone and I grabbed one and set out to look around.
There’s our ship!
It’s a beautiful island.
They were setting up an extra spot to serve lunch items.
They have zipline from this lighthouse.
I believe this island just recently won an award for best cruise line island.
My personal opinion though is Castaway Cay is nicer.
I felt that they didn’t have enough beach areas for everyone, especially if 2 ships are in port.
They do have a lot of activities though…..see the people way out there on the paddle boards.
They did have towels on each of the chairs too.
They have a ton of cabanas and all were booked. I think many were for big wigs. I never looked to see if we had an option to get one or not.
I crept up to one to get a few pictures before the guests arrived.
It didn’t appear that their beach was private for them.
Time for a terrible selfie!
As I took a picture of this lunch truck someone told me that they had a picture of the day and you could show it to someone onboard and get a little prize. Today was the lunch truck. I never did do that, but I thought it was a neat idea.
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Nov. 23, 2019, Great Stirrup Cay
Today was our only island day!
I got up and watched as we got closer and closer.
Then I went to get a bite to eat. They have hand washing stations now on their newer ships.
I never once saw a washy washy person, which NCL is famous for. I am not sure if they are doing away with them, or if they just didn’t bring them out this sailing.
I got a plate of food and set down to eat.
With a beautiful view.
After I was done, I decided to take a few pictures.
This is the ice-cream machine. I have no clue if it ever was open or not this sailing.
I went and signed out a towel. This process is odd because you sign it out, but they have bins on the island to throw them in or they take them from your stateroom, so I am not sure how they keep track if you return or not.
This port is a tender port, so we don’t get too close.
And the “other” island.
It really is sooo close!
Another shot of the running track.
Tenders are coming.
This is how you open doors out to the deck. You put your hand there and it turns green and it opens!
Since I had an excursion, my excursion ticket allowed me to get on a tender at any time. Those who didn’t had to get a ticket or wait till they no longer were calling numbers. Cass was just here a few weeks before and she had a heck of a time getting off. There was also another ship in port and she said it was a mess. I believe it took over an hour before she got on her tender and then the island was just too crowded. On top of that, people were smoking everywhere! Even IN the water.
Now I have no issues with anyone that smokes, but I do expect smokers to smoke in designated areas. I do also know that many of these islands do not have the same smoking laws that the US has, but I did see designated smoking areas on the island.
I headed off to catch a tender and it was walk on. I texted Cass and she couldn’t believe how easy I got onto one.
And off we went!
I never was able to get any good shots of the ship from the tender.
Our tender was full and many were crew heading to the island to work.
We go into a little cove type area to get to the island.
Once we got to the island I had to walk around the crew to actually get in to the official area.
I stopped to get this cute picture of this crew member.
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14 hours ago, smrtypnts said:
Thanks! I am not even sure I would know how to go about doing a real blog with a lot of followers. I do have one that I usually post my stuff on after the fact (and terrible at keeping it up) but I am not savvy enough to do it so others can see and follow it.
Maybe I can look into it more if I get some free time ...hahaha
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We wanted to see the comedian tonight so we dashed down and got there early enough to get a seat. However we wanted to stay in the back as we planned to watch Kinky Boots later and would have to leave this show a little early.
The first guy was just ok. He was kind of raunchy and I saw a group of people get up and leave when he was getting a little vulgar. I can handle it, but he really needs to think about what all people will take.
The second guy, who was the main attraction….HILARIOUS!
He was talking about how we would be going to NCL’s island tomorrow and just across the way you are going to see one of the coolest islands ever and wonder why you can’t go to that one instead. (That would be Perfect Day at Coco Cay by Royal Caribbean). He just kept making jokes about it and everyone was laughing.
He did some other funny stuff, and one I remember is talking about where people were from and one guy has like 1/16 Indian or something like that. Then the comedian starts going “1 little, 2 little, 3 little Indians”. Everyone was cracking up. He asked someone who was in her 20’s if she knew the song and she didn’t. He was talking about being politically correct and how the younger generation doesn’t know common things we grew up with….like sitting Indian style, which is now criss cross applesauce. And they don’t know the counting song using Indians….and he asked if we all would like to sing it for her. Heck yeah! So we all sang it….and were laughing so much!
If you don’t know the song, then here it is. This is a jazzier version…but you get the idea.
It was a lot of fun and I hated that we had to leave a few minutes early.
We arrived at the theatre and checked in and then found seats near the front.
They had a ton of reserved seating and probably half of it never was filled.
The show was fun and had a lot of catchy tunes. In my opinion it was a little too long. I believe it was 2 hours, maybe a bit more. For a cruise ship show, that is long. There were a few slower parts and I think they could have taken some of it out to shorten it.
Now this show is about Drag Queens. I have no issue with the topic, but I have read some people are upset with this show and topic and that it is not family friendly. I would take my daughter, but she just turned 15. I probably would have taken her when she was younger, but it just depends on your family style.
So early in the show I asked Cass how many did she think were girls verses guys dressed up in drag. She said all were girls except the main one. I told her no, I am pretty sure at least half were guys…but some were so beautiful, it really was hard to tell. As the show went on, we eliminated more and more and by the end we concluded the “Drag Queen group” were all really guys!
No pictures during the show, but I snap them when they come out to bow.
And our cruise director came out to talk. I don’t remember his name and I rarely saw him this whole cruise.
We had gone to the late show, so it was late tonight. We slowly made our way to exit but in no rush to be swarmed with crowds.
I think we actually went up the outer side and got out pretty quickly.
I had planned to take my $20 to gamble tonight, but it was too late and I was too tired.
We decided to call it a night.
Today was just a sea day and this is the route we went….actually I think this was taken right before we got to the island tomorrow, but you get the idea.
The sailing before us complained how rough the seas were the whole time. They also had a bit cooler weather. I guess people were getting sick. For us, it was like floating on glass. We putted along slowly and had really no waves and it was easy to forget you are on a moving ship. It was one of the smoothest cruises I have ever been on.
I guessed we totally lucked out!
Tonight we were too tired to stay up and talk. We had one more day of fun tomorrow and I was super excited about my upcoming excursion!
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Today was going to be the Seafood Buffet. We had seen pictures of this from the previous specialty sailings and I was all in! It was not having the normal offerings that they do for a regular cruise. This was going to be the good stuff!
Cass doesn’t really eat seafood, so she was coming with me for moral support.
We headed down and it was already crowded. I got in line at the first pod and had to wait for quite a bit. I should have gone down to one of the other ones further in and I am sure the line would have gone faster. Cass went and got a table.
It was all decorated.
A lady came up and asked if the crabs were still moving. Hunh? She said they were walking around a little earlier and trying to escape the display. OMG…I thought it was all just plastic décor but it was real and they weren’t even dead yet when they made it up!
Then I started to smell a fishy smell. Like rotting fish. One fish further down the line of décor had its eye hanging out. That’s enough to make you sick.
The smell was getting pretty bad and I actually thought about skipping out. I was also having migraines this trip and some made me nauseous to begin with and this wasn’t helping. I stayed in line though. I would never have a chance to eat a seafood buffet like this again in my life!
There was lobster, snow crab, king crab….to name a few.
I also lost a lot of pictures from this time period, but luckily I posted several to Instagram and Facebook and could find them there.
It was delicious! It is a lot of work eating crab, but yum yum yum. I think I went back and grabbed more crab, but some things I only took a bite. I tried a lot but I had my favorites.
Desserts!
After I was rolling out, we were going to go to the American Diner for Cass to have lunch. When we got there it was closed! Bummer! I was going to get some fries or something to try.
Oh well, we decided on the Local then and went and got a table.
We ordered the pretzels with cheese.
Sadly, they weren’t good. The cheese sauce was weird and the pretzels were just not flavorful.
I noticed on the menu they had a grilled cheese with tomato. I mentioned to Cass that I thought it was weird and Skip (my husband) is the only person I know who has ever talked about that and wanted one. I guess he’s not so odd after all. I was a bit surprised when Cass ordered it.
When it arrived, Cass said, this isn’t what I ordered. I was puzzled and said yes, grilled cheese with tomato. Then she realized her mistake. She thought it was grilled cheese with tomato soup! Hahahahaha!
She tried it and was not impressed. I believe she ordered something else then, that was better, but not great.
I got dessert and this cheesecake was devine!
I also got a drink with my snacks. I can’t remember the name but it had citrus juices, including grapefruit juice, if I remember correctly.
It was tasty. Not something I would order often, but it was still good. I like drinks that taste like punch, if I can taste liquor than I usually don’t like it.
We now were full…or at least I was…and the migraine was going strong, so we headed back to the room to chill out. I decided to take a little nap and hope that my head would be a little better after that. I set my alarm and went out. I got a cat nap but woke up feeling awful. Head was still pounding, and I was super nauseous. It felt like the citrus drink had mixed wrong with everything in my stomach….aka the seafood!
I told Cass I was going to get some fresh air out on the balcony. I just knew that would make me feel better. I stumbled out and plopped on a chair, leaving the door open. (I always have a fear of being locked out).
This is when I met one of our neighbors. As soon as I sat down I realized I was facing the wrong way. The sun was beating right in my eyes! I then hear the neighbor on his balcony and he goes “I hear you! Where are you? I know you are out here!” He is looking up and down and to the other side, but not at towards me, but I piped up and said “I’m over here”.
He then introduces himself and starts talking. I am sitting cocked over in the chair with my hand over my eyes to block the sun. He is talking away and I just feel awful and my head is pounding, but I was being polite and talking to him. He was nice, just caught me at a bad moment.
Then he looks at me and says “Are you Drunk?” hahahaha.. “No, I just have the sun right in my eyes and it’s hard to see you” and my thought in my head was …no, I ate too much seafood! He says, “well why are you sitting in that chair, move to the other so the sun isn’t bothering you. So I did and he kept talking. I felt rude with my back to him. Then he brings his wife out and introduces her and again, I try to look around to see her but it’s impossible with the beating sun. We chat a bit, both of us are invited to a cocktail party this afternoon. She is getting dressed up for it, and I planned to go in jean shorts. They finally leave and I don’t feel any better with all the effort to be polite and make small talk.
I walked back in the room and Cass is totally laughing that he asked me if I was drunk. She couldn’t believe he asked such a thing. And if I had been, what business was it of his? LOL!!!!
I still felt awful and decided the only way to feel better was to throw up. I headed into the bathroom….and after a while succeeded in that task. This is the first cruise I have ever gotten sick and thrown up…and it wasn’t from alcohol or sea sickness….it was too much seafood! But I am sure the migraines had a lot to do with it too.
I told Cass what I did and she was shocked ….and kind of laughing too. But I did feel better.
I do have nausea meds for the migraines, but that was sitting at home on my kitchen counter, so you know….that did me no good!
At some point today, Cass said she found Cagney’s reservations on the app and booked it. Yippee!
After a bit of resting and chatting, I decided I better go to this cocktail party. I had been specially invited and I should at least go for a little bit.
It was held in the observation lounge, towards the front of the ship on the port side.
There were tons of people talking and laughing and mingling and drinking. There were some super dressed up and some like me in just cruise day clothes.
I didn’t recognize anyone there. I had met various people so far and talked to them, but I didn’t spot a single one now. I just found a seat and plopped down and watched the view.
I did sip on a glass of champagne, but otherwise it was pretty boring. A couple other, out of place ladies, sat down by me and we all twiddled our thumbs. They did have a speaker and he mostly congratulated people I didn’t know.
After I spent what I figured was enough time I headed back to the room. It would have been different if I knew others, but I did not and I just wasn’t feeling it.
Back at the room, we watched the beautiful sun set.
My neighbor and his wife were not back yet, but I never did see them at the party either.
I watched the sun dip lower and lower.
For this next picture I said it looked like we were on Tatuine because it looked like 2 suns going down.
It was time to make our way to Cagneys. Again, to remind you all, they were telling us we could not make dining reservations this cruise. I talked to others who said they were given hard times as well but some said if you stood your ground and bugged them, they may give in.
We headed off to check in and there was no record of our reservation. Of course it didn’t show up on the app, but it did show on our TV screen. I even said I would go take a picture and she kept saying they had all reservations filled and an event would be going on taking all tables. I believe our reservation was for 5:30. We weren’t the only ones there either. There were several that had 5:30 reservations and were turned away.
One group just kept on them and finally they said they would make room for them. It wasn’t too hard….since the dining room was empty! So I said what about us and they kind of went with the spiel of it being full for the night. I kind of just let them know that I saw no one there and we would be quick….and basically wasn’t going to leave till we had been seated and ate!
She then asks for our room number again and takes us to a seat. Yippee!
Now before I go on with the food, I want to say that we were there probably just over an hour or so. At 5:30, I believe just us and the other group was seated. At 6, I think 1 or 2 tables were seated. At 6:30, I don’t think anyone was seated. That’s it! The restaurant was EMPTY. We could see a section set up for a large party, but they had to have come at 7 or later. Why aren’t they seating people????? Why turn them away?
Our waitress was very nice and she brought over rolls and took our orders.
I believe I got the lobster bisque.
It wasn’t like bisque I have had before and wasn’t that great, so I only ate a bit.
Cass got her tomato soup that she had wanted for lunch!
We both got the filet.
And the garlic au gratin potatoes.
The food was awesome! But I was still worried about my stomach and only at a small portion. I wish I could have eaten more, but I just wanted to be sure I could handle it.
Cass got dessert and I passed.
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We walked down the Manhattan room.
Of course a private function was going to start, but I took a peek in anyways.
It has a very different feel than the other 2 dining rooms.
And a little more exploring.
Le Bistro. Cass said it was located at a different spot on the Encore.
This sign directed you towards the American Diner. I thought it looked pretty cool.
This is the running trail around the ship. It’s kind of weird as it runs around through lounge chairs.
The top outside decks are kind of set up a bit strange because each thing takes up space. They are great things like the speedway, water slides and laser tag, but it leaves very little room for pools and lounging in the sun.
The pool has some strange sculptures too.
There are 2 pools but only one is deep. Cass said the other is like 2 ft deep or something like that.
Not much pool space for the amount of people this ship holds.
They did have hot tubs as well and I believe kids can go in these too.
There were bars at each end of the pool deck too.
We were walking around and Cass, who is always good with noticing things, says “There’s Andy!” Now Cass hates to have her picture taken and I am not a fan, but I sure as heck won’t miss a chance with Andy! I handed her my camera and after he was done talking to someone else, I asked if I could get a picture with him.
He was very nice and I did some small chatting with him and told him we would miss him when he left, but I didn’t want to keep him. Also, a few years ago at a convention, my friends and I saw Adolfo from Carnival out, and we asked for a pic with him…and when we got done there was a line up. I am sure he was thrilled about that! Hahaha.
Here’s my Adolfo picture for a few years back. We did it at the Carnival booth and they printed them out right there and gave a little frame.
We headed back to the room for a bit. I wanted to drop off the big camera and we waited a little bit for lunch. I saw a big ship out in the distance.
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Cass and I were playing with taking pictures of the chandelier. It was white, but it would come out blue on our phones and even somewhat on my cameras. I used photoshop to try and get it back to white. Throughout the day you will see we kept taking pictures as we went by it.
As you go up the steps, you can literally touch the light. It is like a hard plastic with bumps….though it really looks like bubble wrap, with snaps on it. Really strange.
There are 2 rumors going around about what it is to represent. One is that it is supposed to be like roses. …..I don’t see it, except maybe when it turns red. The other is that it is to represent ocean trash and make you aware to keep the oceans clean. Well, it does look like trash to me! Hahaha!
Really though, I can’t believe they approved this!
Ocean Blue is an upcharge dining option. I would have loved to have tried this, but it wasn’t meant to be.
The casino!
It was kind of laid out different than other ships I have been on. It was in the 678 area and just all around the floor and some machines are randomly here or there. It wasn’t an actual casino room. There was a closed off room though for the smokers with machines in there too.
This is the guest services area again. We wanted to peak in on Starbucks to see how crowded it was.
We didn’t want anything, just curious. It was busy ALL the time.
We moved on then and walked by Q BBQ. I have heard mixed things about this place.
Some say it’s fantastic, but I hear more people say it’s not too good and generic bbq. I never went inside to look but I think Cass did at another time.
Food Republic.
Now this picture of offerings….it looks like playdough.
I am hoping the food really doesn’t come out like that. I like sushi, but this looked odd to me.
Out on deck 8, if you look up you can see the slide.
I never saw this gelato place open and there was a bakery that I never saw open either.
Now this is the time I lost some phone pictures. Cass and I went to the back of the ship and just enjoyed the view and stood on the see through glass.
I lost my picture, but here is the one Cass took.
I believe there was a window looking down at the Manhattan room (one of the main dining rooms) from there and we looked down. I am pretty sure I snapped a picture and it is forever lost!
We lingered here a while and then went to the front of the ship to the observation lounged to just chill….and have a snack.
I got another Mango Meltdown. MMMM! They are so tasty.
We moved on then. This is the hallway towards Cagneys and Los Lobos.
The A-List bar is between them.
Cagney’s is the one place I would always recommend. Sooooo good!
Los Lobos is getting mixed reviews currently.
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Nov. 22, 2019, Day at Sea
I will put a disclaimer out now. I recently got a new phone…. after this cruise. I tried to transfer the pics off the phone I used on the cruise to my computer and my computer is past its prime and it was having issues. I tried to back up the pictures to the cloud as well and it kept stalling out. I thought since I transferred pics to my computer, I would be ok just deleting a bunch…..I’m sure you know where I am going. Yep, many pictures didn’t make it to the computer and now are lost forever! I still have a bunch of pictures from this day, but I am missing many and I may have gaps in the day that I now can’t remember what we did without the picture trigger.
Cass wanted to watch the sunrise, and I am not sure if she actually made it or not. I know she set her alarm each day and I told her to wake me, but she let me sleep and so I think I missed most of the sunrises on this short cruise.
We headed off to breakfast. The last NCL cruise I was on was on the Jewel. I remember that the whipped cream was the best stuff ever! It was super sugary and just delicious! I was hoping it still would be like that this time around.
It did not disappoint!
When it comes to cruise ship breakfast I pretty much have the same thing daily. I get a waffle or pancake (or both), sausage, and a hash brown type item or any combination of the above. Sometimes I get a donut as well if it is offered. I did try the bacon this time because it looked fairly crispy and I like super crispy bacon.
After we were done filling ourselves up, Cass went to water pick and I walked around.
We had laughed about these signs on the floor. Don’t dance on the bacon is my interpretation.
Today they were offering classes and talks by some of the big wigs onboard. The original schedule I had gotten didn’t look to bad and I thought I might try to do one of the talks. They changed the time once onboard and I just couldn’t go that early and sit in a theatre with 100’s of people that early in the day. I was told from several that they learned no new information, so it really wasn’t all that great, except that they went to a live talk rather than watching it online.
I decided it was time to take some pictures around the ship…except that I didn’t get too far and got distracted.
This bar was popular. In the evenings I could hear music (often a live entertainer) and people singing along.
There was a photo booth in this bar too. I forget if I looked at the price or not, but I do know I heard it was kind of expensive for a novelty thing.
This is Maltings Whiskey Bar. This was more midship in the 678 area.
There was some unusual art around the ship.
This is that hangy thing again.
The Mojito bar, Sugar Cane.
I have never had a mojito and I kept saying I will get one this cruise to give it a try. After all, I wasn’t paying for it, so now is the time to do it. It never worked out. I went once to get one and it was one bartender and the area was busy and I just wanted to grab it to take with me. I had no time to wait, and other times it was closed when I thought about it. So it never happened.
And the lovely light fixture. Hahahaha
The shops were open so I went to look. On the outside in the hallway they had Encore themed items. This was the only area that had anything I was interested in.
I ended up getting 2 t-shirts, a magnet and a Christmas ornament. I think that’s all I bought. I did get a discount on Encore themed items being that I was silver.
I didn’t get this shirt, but it was cute.
Cass met up with me and we looked around in the stores. She asked if they had the charm bracelets like she bought for me when she sailed the Escape but no one seemed to know what she was talking about, so I will take that as a no.
We did some more looking around.
The Cavern is there where the Beatles cover band plays.
We never made it to this show, but someone told me that each night they played a different era of Beatles music and had the look to go with that era. Actually, one lady told me each band was different when they changed eras too. It wasn’t the same guys every night.
I hear this is extremely popular and you better arrive early if you want a chance to see it.
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We then just walked around a bit and people watched.
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Cass wanted to show me the observation lounge so we headed that way.
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I guess they sometimes have snacks out here, but I rarely saw any anywhere in the lounge. They did have some basic breakfast items in the morning though.
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There were a few monitors around the ship to show where the ship was.
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The lounge is HUGE. It takes quite a bit of each side and meets in the front.
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Another snack area. This one did have snacks out every so often.
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And a bar right up front too.
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Cass went off and I lingered a little more and found a model of the ship.
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I thought I took more pictures…maybe not? Or maybe I did another day.
I headed back to the room and grabbed a 20 and told Cass I was going to go gamble. I am horrible, but I do like to play the slots. Since I know I am bad, I rarely will spend more than $20- 30 per day. It’s basically a donation when it comes to my skills.
It didn’t take long and I was back in the room. Cass laughed at how fast my $20 went.
We were beat and so tired and went to bed…except I think we kept chatting and laughing till after midnight. It was so much fun though!
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Then it was time to go to the back of the ship to our laser tag appointment.
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We were early and there wasn’t a session going on yet, so we asked if we could go in and take some pictures. I only got night pictures here, but I believe Cass came back and got day ones another day.
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The theme is Atlantis and I’m still not real sure what a serpent has to do with Atlantis.
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It was then time to strap up and get our guns. We had to watch a quick video and then we were given a few more instructions and let loose.
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We had a lot of fun, but it was way too short. They had a score board that went with your gun number. Mine did not match…because if it was me, my gun was not functioning. Oh well….we had a lot of fun.
Next up was our go-cart ride.
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We still had time I believe, so took a few pictures.
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It looks so pretty all lit up.
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This band was playing good music.
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We went to check in and were told no phones, cameras or anything on us. And they would not let us leave it on the ledge (though others had). Cass pointed that out and he said he wants to put a stop to that right now. UGH! He acted like he might have a little too much power in his own mind.
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We scuttled off to our room to drop off everything. Our beds had been turned into twins and we had a few goodies waiting for us.
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Of course our room is forward and the race track is aft, so we made the trek back and then got assigned to our cars.
I will give you my experience, but I want to let you know that Cass LOVED it.
I am not a tiny person, but I fit in the seat, I just felt cramped with the way my legs were in. Then they handed me a helmet and I told them it didn’t fit. He told me it would and slammed it back on my head and started pushing. I yanked it and said NO it doesn’t fit. You can push all you want but it’s not the size of my head. They brought me another which fit perfectly.
Once we took off I was one of the first cars. Cass passed me immediately. She was whizzing all over the place. My car didn’t seem to have the speed that others did. Could be my weight (though there were some big guys in some of these) or I just had a dud. I have heard people can shoot your car from the side and it will make it go faster. I guess I never got that speed boost.
Then turning…..no power steering and my arms were dying by the end. And it had a ton of turns.
Over all…I am glad I did it, but it’s not for me. It was too much work and my arms hurt for 2 days after from it.
We then rushed back to our room to get out phones and we heard booms….are we moving? We weren’t supposed to leave till midnight and fireworks were scheduled for 11 I think. We knew we would cut it close for fireworks but we were surprised to be moving.
We quickly headed up to see that yes we were moving and fireworks were going off.
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They didn’t time it right. They had a barge on each side putting off fireworks but we were so far back and with the front of the ship so big, it was impossible to see it very well. They should had started them a little later.
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I tried to take some video of it.
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They were better than Disney’s but then again, they shoot them right off the ship. At one time I swore I heard pirate music.
Even though they started them too soon, it was super cool and we felt special!
We then kind of chilled and listened to music.
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And took pictures of Miami as we sailed away.
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We waited a while as we didn’t want to travel with the stampede of people getting on the ship. When calmed down a bit we moved out.
Back on the ship…another look at that light fixture…and sculpture below.
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Cass ran to the room and I went off for a few minutes and caught the new MSC Meraviglia. I talked to a few people who just got off her that morning and they said it was a beautiful ship, but MSC does things a little differently and they preferred NCL.
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I met up with Cass and we headed to dinner. We went to Taste….I think…it was Taste or Savor, but I don’t remember which one now.
We had a cozy table just for the 2 of us. Cass is like me, neither of us wanted to dine with strangers. I know some people like that, but it’s not for us.
NCL has the best rolls.
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They had a very limited menu tonight with just a few items. Again, this is not a normal menu for this ship.
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I went with the shrimp cocktail for an appetizer and it was yummy.
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And we both got surf and turf as our entrees.
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Cass doesn’t like “surf” so I ate hers too. It was the best lobster I have had on any cruise ship. It had so much flavor. My meat was also fabulous but Cass said hers was just ok.
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We watched these 2 ladies the whole meal. They barely spoke a word to each other the whole time. They would look at their plate, out the window, around the dining room. We wondered if they were strangers or if they had a fight.
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When they got up to leave they both started talking to each other, so they knew each other. And they chatted the whole way out. Then we saw them a few times around the ship and they were always chatting away with each other. We had to laugh. We have no clue why they gave each other the silent treatment the whole meal.
I don’t remember if this way my dessert or Cass’? I actually can’t remember if I even ordered any. I’m thinking I was too full after 2 lobsters.
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It had the gross gel stuff that some of the DCL desserts have and I always peal it off.
After dinner, Cass went to water pick her teeth and then I joined her a bit later and changed to comfy clothes. We then did some more exploring. I am going to add right here, that even though we looked at a lot of the ship, there were areas I never went to. Sorry…it was a big ship and a short cruise…and between all the meals…I just didn’t have time! Hahahaah
We went to the Galaxy Pavilion which has virtual reality things in there. Virtual Reality tends to make me sick, so I had no interest in trying it out.
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Cass did this one day and she said it was just OK. She’s done much better ones. I have read in groups that others think it is great. So it probably depends on what experiences you have had before this.
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We walked by the American Diner. This was a place I wanted to try but it never worked out for me. Cass did get there once.
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We went and checked out the go-carts.
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Hey hey hey…..just walk away!!!!
Yes, I took a ton of pictures, but I had my zoom lens so I was taking advantage of it.
The Choir of Man and Kinky Boots cast members came out to join the fun in the audience.
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I think she sees me!
They threw out lighted balls and everyone was batting them around!
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I had one come right at me and I batted it at the last second.
That’s the main guy from Kinky Boots.
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And then it was over. It was super cool and fun!
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This is Norwegians video of the events of the night. It’s very nice and shows it all in a nice condensed way! The best parts start at about 11:33 in the video.
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NCL Encore Christening...Are you Drunk?...No I just ate too much Seafood
in Norwegian Cruise Line
Posted
no I have used Valet Connections. So far they have always had the best price, which is most important to me. We find it a good spot too, so we just use them now.