songbird1329

Today was Cozumel, tomorrow is a sea day. I’ll update later.

Collecting more than a few tickets

To be honest, my boyfriend turned to me and said “what did we just see?”

We had dinner in the Tuscan Grill tonight. Overall we’ve been happy with the main dining room, but wanted to try something different. I had chicken parmesan, he had veal Marsala. Both were excellent. That glass of champagne when we entered the theater tonight was a nice touch. The show … well, it was billed as “Soundtracks”, but there were a lot of songs I simply didn’t recognize. After the way they chose music for the Broadway cabaret (to appeal to a wider audience), I would have expected to hear more familiar music. Still, it was high energy, lots of singing and dancing. I especially loved the James Bond tribute. I’ve noticed that most of the passengers did make the effort to dress up tonight, some more so than others. I saw several men in tuxedos, and I saw one lady in a gorgeous evening gown. But most people just took it up a few notches from “smart casual”. there is some anxiety among the passengers about what happens when the cruise ends on Friday. Most of us have to fly home from Tampa, and we are all concerned about the potential for bad weather delaying our flights. Lounging on our balcony tonight. PSA — just because you can’t see the folks on the next balcony does not mean you are actually alone. Yes, I heard every word of your “private” conversation … my hair and I are now engaged in the battle of the frizz, and the frizz is winning. ‘Beach hair, don’t care” only goes so far. mañana en Mexico.

I agree with you on the show. Very talented cast, but the choice of music … after they deliberately chose songs for the Broadway show that would appeal to a wider audience, I really expected to hear a lot of movie music that sounds familiar.

Today was a sea day. We slept in and had a late breakfast in the buffet, I actually put on a bathing suit and enjoyed the pool deck. The Thelasotherapy pool worked wonders on my bad knees and aching back. also played a few rounds of trivia in the reflections lounge. Tonight is “evening chic”, our second and final one for this cruise. We’re planning to go to the early show in the main theater. We have a late reservation for Tuscan Grill.

this little guy was trying to steal a drink in the aviary.

A daily

Tonight the main stage entertainment was Attraction, a Hungarian troop that won Britain’s Got Talent and competed on America’s Got Talent. Their act consists of music, dance and puppetry, all done with black lighting and other lighting effects. Very enjoyable. We went to the early show, the theater was pretty full but we were still able to find seats. we've been happy with the service in the main dining room. We had one mishap the other night, where both the sommelier and our waiter took my boyfriend’s cocktail order but somehow the bartender didn’t make the drink. The sommelier knows by now that the only wine I order is Prosecco. we are both trivia nuts, so the odds are you’ll find us in the Reflections lounge any time the staff schedules trivia there,

If I can pry it out of my boyfriend’s hands I will post a daily. But I’ve seen morning and evening stretch scheduled every day, and at least one yoga class every day as well as meditation.

You got better photos than I did. it was definitely an adventure though, wasn’t it? Glad they held the ship for us,

I didn’t have a problem getting change in dollars, but I can see where that might be a problem.

Going back to Panama…this is what it looks like when the locks are opening.

Costa Rica. we took an excursion to the Veragua rain forest. An hour bus ride each way. It’s a walking tour. At the very beginning of the tour you are asked “stairs or no stairs?” And you’re advised that you will jot see the waterfall if you opt for “no stairs”. this is definitely a tour for adults, children will be bored. It’s a good tour for experiencing the rain forest and learning about ecology. But if you’re expecting to see a lot of wildlife, you may be disappointed. The only sloth we saw was when we were in the bus, it was hanging in a tree by the road. we did see an interesting collection of frogs, snakes and butterflies. And we saw a few hummingbirds. The best part of the day was the gondola ride. You travel 1,000 feet down the mountain. Then you visit either the river or the waterfall before taking the gondola back to your starting point. we opted for the stairs. It’s 175 stairs up to the waterfall, and the stairway is steep. I thought I could do it, but gave up after the first stairway when my back and knees started to complain. My significant other was winded when he came back from the waterfall. He says it was nice. at the of the tour we were given what one guide called “lunch” but another referred to as a “snack”. There was a sandwich with some sort of cold cuts and cheese, fresh fruit (papaya, watermelon and pineapple) and fruit punch. overall not a bad tour, but certainly not for everyone.

Indeed. Today in Panama we learned why anyone with anxiety about missing the ship should book their excursion through Celebrity. 155 passengers held up the ship for 90 minutes. And we were among the 155. We had an all-day excursion. We expected to be the first people off the ship and the last to return. Our day began with a bus ride from Colon to Gatun Lake, where we boarded a ferry and sailed through the canal to the Gulf of Panama. “All aboard” was at 5:30, but we didn’t get off the ferry until 5:30, and still had to travel all the way back to Colon. Fortunately they held the ship for us. was it worth it? We thought so. The drive to the lake was scenic and the guide well informed. The canal is magnificent, traveling through the locks is amazing. but we were at the mercy of the Panama Canal Authority, so we experienced a few delays…which is why we got back so late. The lunch they served on board was … adequate. Chicken tenders, some pasta, salad, veggies, bologna sandwiches, cookies. Coca cola with sugar, not corn syrup. But, alas, no diet soda. and after we’d cruised the lake, eaten lunch, had our pictures taken and gone through the first of the three locks, the afternoon started to drag. very easy tour, no walking involved, and I’m glad we did it, our late arrival meant we opted for dinner in the buffet so that we could see tonight’s show. It was a production show, Broadway cabaret. We’re Broadway fans and liked the show. They rely very heavily on jukebox musicals and movies that were adapted to the Broadway stage. I would have preferred more songs written for Broadway. Though I did enjoy the Les Miz medley. Tomorrow we attack the Costa Rican rainforest.

Fortress de San Felipe

Our second tour in Cartagena took us to the Fortress of San Felipe. Here’s where I ran into a problem. The fortress is at the top of a hill. You have to walk up two very steep ramps to get to the building. I have a bad back and bad knees, and that first ramp killed me. Our guide was kind enough to find me a place to sit while the rest of the tour continued on. the views from the first landing are amazing, you can see the Old City. I’m told the views are even better further up. I had no problems with the rest of the excursion, a walking tour of the Old City. We saw the Church of St. Peter Claver and the Palace of the Inquisition. There was a christening going on when we visited the church. We also stopped at the Dungeons to shop for local crafts, and I got to practice my high school Spanish. No hard sell here, but the vendors really want your business. On this tour you are surrounded by Colombian colonial history, the government is making every effort to preserve the Old City. Unfortunately there is also an over abundance of street peddlers, who make our NYC peddlers look like amateurs. Our tour guide prepped us on what to expect. My two phrases of the day? “Gracias, no” and more forcefully “No tengo dinero.” Be careful when choosing a tour. One couple on our tour had seen the church and the Palace of the InQuisition on their tour the first day.

So, our excursion in Grand Cayman… We’re the type to go on tours involving history or nature. We don’t snorkel and we don’t really like the beach. (Well, he doesn’t like the beach …) this was our third visit to this island. Our tour took us to a semi-sub called the Nautilus, where we saw coral reefs, shipwrecks and fish. Lots of fish — our tour operator donned scuba gear and actually fed the fish. The bus made a short stop at the beach — very beautiful — and another short stop at a store that sells rum, rum cake, etc. (free samples, of course) before we visited Hell. The rock formations are intriguing, and I love the merchandise. Overall nice couple of hours, but nothing too exciting. We did two tours in Cartagena. Our first day was the trip to the National Aviary. We are New Yorkers and have a membership at the Bronx Zoo, so it’s hard to impress us. But we were impressed. The tour takes you through all five of Colombia’s environmental zones. The path is easy to navigate (one member of our tour actually used a rollator/walker). Our guide was very knowledgeable about the various species. I loved the parrots, the peacocks, the flamingos, the iguanas…the condor was impressive. As ggo85 mentioned, all the tours return to an area of the port which contained a small aviary, some souvenir stores, etc. On the first day we were told you have to walk through this area to get to the walkway back to the ship — it’s a short walk, but they also run shuttle buses. (On our second day the tour guide pointed out vehicles that could take us directly back to the ship, bypassing the aviary.). The aviary has flamingos, parrots, peacocks, an anteater, some monkeys …

I’m a few days behind ggo85, who is also on this cruise, but I’m finding that I agree with them on some points and disagree on others. Except for the first night, we have had dinner in the main dining room every night. We have anytime dining, usually eat early, and have never had a significant wait for a table. The only foods we have not liked so far have been the seafood bisque and the eggplant caviar; both were too salty. We enjoyed lunch at the buffet most days, except when we got burgers at the pool grill. I am a New Yorker, thoroughly spoiled by Broadway and all the live entertainment the city has to offer. and I am thoroughly enjoying the shows in board. Loved Lenny Schmidt, I think I’ve seen him on Comedy Central. Really enjoyed James Humphreys’ singing, he has an amazing voice. Also enjoyed singer Janine Valentine. The adult show, Elyria, was … interesting. The ship feels full but not crowded. Even though the crew is only at 80% we never have an issue getting someone’s attention. Between the excursions and on board activities I’ve really been too busy to post. I’ll try to update more frequently.

I agree, when I said “no gracias”, the vendors left me alone. I’m a seasoned New Yorker who has to deal with this stuff in Times Square. There are a lot more vendors in Cartagena, but if you are firm they leave you alone,

Our first day of the cruise was a sea day. I unfortunately felt ill and spent most of the day in our cabin. Significant other played trivia all morning (the first of many trivia games), had lunch from the buffet, and took the Behind the Scenes tour. We’ve done similar tours on Carnival and Royal Caribbean, and he wanted to compare. He found out that the ship is near capacity with 1980 passengers (but it does not feel crowded at all!) but only at 80% when it comes to staffing. We had dinner in the main dining room. Service was wonderful. I thoroughly enjoyed the shrimp scampi. Entertainment in the main theater was a production show featuring rock music — the Kinks, Queen, The Who, Rod Stewart, AC/DC, Bon Jovi. I especially liked the acrobats.

I think I am going to call this the “Alta Cocker” cruise. If you know Yiddish you’re laughing right now. The passengers are mostly over 50, very few younger people, almost no children. (My significant other and I are in our 60’s.). I’d expect more kids next cruise, when school is out. First night, we had dinner at Le Petite Chef. I really enjoyed the animations. Our menu included braised short ribs and a strawberry Chantilly napoleon. Service was excellent. The main theater show was comedic juggler Aaron Bonk. We’ve seen him at the New York Renaissance Faire, so we knew he’d be good. He will be on several Celebrity and Royal Caribbean cruises this winter, so if you have a chance to see him … yes, he’s good.

Basic wifi is a real issue. If you want to access this site during your cruise, you need the premium wifi. I finally upgraded last night, so my review will be semi live. we booked our flights through Celebrity, flew down on the 8th and stayed with friends who live in Tampa. Flight was on Delta, very full plane, no issues. Boarding was quick and easy. Room was ready when we boarded. Some of our luggage was delivered before dinner, the rest after dinner. I will tell more shortly.

We are also on this cruise. I finally caved in and bought high speed internet, I could not access this site with basic internet. I won’t hijack your thread, but I will also be doing a review now that I am able.

It’s the little things. We are on the Constellation on the 12th and I’m so excited for the cruise. But what put me over the top? Yesterday they posted some of the acts that will perform in the main theater. And I recognized the name of one of the performers. I catch his act every summer at the Renaissance Faire. You mean I get to spend 11 nights in the Caribbean AND I also get see Aaron Bonk? icing on the cake.