Travelicious

We are staying at the Comfort Hotel at the airport. From reviews, I can’t say it is good, but very basic. Our flight is at 6:30 a.m. the following morning, so proximity is most important to us for this stay.

Back in the land of the living, but still a super lazy day. Basically, we at breakfast in Hudson’s, walked around a while to give our room steward time to make the rounds, only to return to find out I touched “do not disturb” instead of “make up room.” We were sending out the first load of laundry today, so left again to make sure it was collected. We were hoping for a light lunch at Indulge, but every table was taken before they even opened for lunch. We went to the local for what turned out to be a not so light lunch: wrangler burger and Reuben. I also had a Moscow Mule. I saw the last half of Elvis a couple of night ago. It was coming on when we got back to the room, so decided to watch the beginning. Then promptly fell asleep. Dinner was Los Lobos, where they’ve changed the recipe for the chili relleno. Not it is stuffed with quinoa instead of cheese. I like quinoa, but not what I expected. Anyway, it was lots of food and we are stuffed. We each had 2 margaritas, and a decaf cafe Mexicano. I forgot to take photos of the mains before we dug in. A couple of days ago, Pookie mentioned that one of her crowns was loose. This is one she just had redone a month ago. We joked that she should stay away from corn on the cob. So tonight she had the corn cut off the cob, and the crown still came off during dinner. Guess we’ll try to find a dentist in Reykjavik to glue it back on. It is way too early in the trip for this. Fret not, Dear Readers. Despite have a few drinks, I’m not going to the casino and am done for the night. Hopefully we can try Indulge tomorrow.

After the Meet and Greet we had lunch in Hudson’s, then explored more of the ship. It is a beautiful ship, though a bit confusing to get around. We are very familiar with the Away ships, and this is nothing like those. We had dinner at Palomar. I agree with those who have posted that it is not really that good, especially when compared to Onda. Pookie’s assessment was, “I mean, it’s not disgusting.” We have another reservation here later in the cruise. I’m going to change it. She had the Mediterranean salad, which was probably the best part of the meal. I had grilled octopus. We shared the whole fish for two, some kind of potatoes and asparagus. We skipped dessert. Like a big dummy, I decided to get a Sidecar and go to the casino. That Sidecar wasn’t my only drink. I don’t know what time I headed back to the room, but there weren’t many people around as I was leaving the casino. Must have been really late, which I don’t ordinarily do. We were in Halifax today. I did get up, showered and we went out for lunch in town. Pookie had a burger and I had gnocchi. I wasn’t well, though, and came straight back to bed, where I’ve been ever since. Pookie brought some pizza from the buffet, and now I’m starting to feel human again. At least I got that out of the way and the lesson will stick for a while. I’ll be back to normal tomorrow.

Well, someone over indulged last night and is spending the day in bed. If you guessed me, you are correct. Will update here tomorrow.

She is very sweet!

Just popping in for a quick update. We had a great turnout from members as well as officers. Even the captain made an appearance. But the highlight was getting to meet the folks from our roll call at last. Many didn’t put their CC names on the name tags, so I wasn’t sure who they were and didn’t get to talk to everyone, but did meet two Cruise Critic famous people, @mking8288 and @Sugar Magnolia, along with a host of others.

We had a 12:00 - 12:30 check-in time, and arrived at the pier about 12:05 to find that what appeared to be thousands paid no attention to the numerous emails and texts warning to arrive no sooner than noon. I’m pretty sure most of them were not scheduled for 12-12:30. Bottom line was that we stood in line outside for 2 hours. It was a bit chilly, but that is much preferred to bring hot. We finally moved in to a very long line for security. Once we were through security, we were able to skip the long check-in line and head to the Latitudes Priority section with no waiting. We stepped onto the ship right at 2:50, and immediately spotted Penrose Bar. Obviously we wouldn’t get our traditional sit down embarkation day lunch, so we e ordered our first drinks. I had a cosmo and then a Monkey Business, which is pre-made and on tap. It has Screwball whiskey in it and is very tasty. Okay, I’m really not very good at this, as I keep forgetting to take pictures. No photos of yesterday’s drinks, or our cabin before we junked it up. Sorry! I would have forgotten dinner photos if Pookie hadn’t reminded me. Anyway, we were allowed to get into our cabin at some point - I’m guessing a little after 4:00. All luggage was in the hallway. We spotted ours and drug them to the room, got unpacked, and rested for a few minutes before heading to dinner. We had a 5:30 reservation at Onda, which we decided to keep even though we d not be outside for sail away. It was SO good, even the bread! We will go back during this cruise. I can’t remember all the names of what we ordered, except the creamy polenta. This came with a mushrooms in a gravy, which is mixed in with the polenta. We absolutely loved this! Pookie had a pasta with seafood, and I had a ravioli with ricotta and other good stuff to make a great tasting filling. I’ll have to get a photo of the menu next time so I can remember the names. Honestly, after just standing so long yesterday, I was in pain and worn out. Walking is much easier on the body than standing. I decided to call it a day and retired to the cabin. Pookie went back out for another drink or 2. Luckily, I was still awake when she returned so I could remind her to turn off her cellular data and put the phone in airplane mode. Today is the Meet and Greet. It will be nice to finally see our roll call friends. I will probably not post again until tomorrow, as I’m going to use the free internet minutes for a couple of days before purchasing the unlimited package.

We could not have asked for better weather during our time in NY! It was mostly cool and crisp, with a bit of cold and then warming in the sun. Perfect walkabout weather, and no worries of sweating. We're patiently waiting in the room for time to summon the Uber. We've received no less than 10 texts and emails over the last week reminding us not to show up before noon. I wonder if that means we should get there early. 🙃 I suspect, with the late arrival times, everyone will get there at noon even if their check-in time is 3:00. Good times!

@mking8288 sadly, I have not been able to keep up with your live since getting to NYC. Maybe I can catch up over the sea days.

Have a great cruise!

Just shy of 35 miles over 4 days. Signing off until tomorrow.

We decided to walk to the Empire State building after a bit of a rest. When we arrived and were pointed to the entrance for those wanting to go to the top, we headed that way. There was a small line, and a guard-type person providing tickets. She said $44 per person. We said, "Nope." After all, we could get almost 2 cocktails each (okay - 1.5 cocktails) almost anywhere in Manhattan for that price! Made the block and hit the subway to get back to the hotel. We stopped in long enough to get ourselves on the "waitlist" for 2 coming to Crab House. By the time we arrived, there was no waiting and we were taken to a table. Before we left, I saw that I had received a text from Crab House saying, "Dear [Travelicious], we regret to inform you that due to your no-show, we will move on to the next customer in line . . . ." Almost immediately upon being seated, a waiter dropped off a sizzling tray of scallops and poured what I assume to be a butter mixture on top. We thought it was a "welcome" greeting, but soon realized they brought it to the wrong table. Too late! Crab House is a "buffet," but not in the traditional sense. You choose from a list, and it is freshly prepared. And you keep choosing until you are stuffed silly or until 2 hours elapse. We chose the former. No way we could keep eating for 2 hours. If anyone at the table chooses the lobster selections offset on the bottom left, the price is $115 pp. If not, it is $80 pp. We figured the latter was enough, and we also each had a mai tai. That I remember, we had the lobster cake, lobster ball, edamame, spring roll, snow crab legs, blue crab with cajun butter sauce (too much trouble for too little reward), spicy shrimp (terrific!), shrimp garlic noodle, and crispy flounder. Not all are pictured. Not all was ordered at once. We ordered a few things, and the waiter would come get the menu we marked on. After the food was delivered, a new menu was provided. We enjoyed the food, and declared this meal and the Mexican food from last night were superior to the steakhouse on Tuesday night. Satisfied and then some, we happily waddled the 7 blocks back to our hotel.

Thanks! We got in. Report to come.

The plan for tomorrow is to have a late breakfast (10ish or so) at Ole and Steen, for which we were also provided a 10% discount by the hotel. Our check-in time is 12:00, so we'll catch an Uber around 11:45. One of my credit cards offers a $15 per month Uber credit which, living in the middle of nowhere next door to chicken houses, mostly goes unused.

We started out a little after 9:00 this morning. We headed to the subway to catch the B train to Cathedral Parkway with the plan to see the upper part of the park and then cut through to the Upper East Side. Upon arrival, prior to entering the park, we checked out the Fredrick Douglass monument: We then headed into the northwest corner of the park. The main goal was to see the Reservoir and Belevedere Castle. It was a much more pleasant area and walk than the southern portion we visited on Tuesday. Less crowded, and more beautiful. At the Reservoir, we observed the cutest little black and white ducks that I have never seen before. They were smaller than regular ducks, and kept diving down under the water. I had to Google them when we got back to the hotel. They are called Buffleheads. Most of you may know that, but I didn't. I thought they kind of reminded me of tiny penguins. Not a great photo, but here you go (along with female counterparts): Also saw a goose just resting very close to the railing, not at all disturbed by us being within 10 feet. He seemed to tell us, "Mind your business!" The first below is over the Reservoir, and the second is over the turtle pond from Belvedere Castle. After exiting the park at 79th, we went in search of coffee. This took us just past Lexington, so we decided to walk back toward our hotel at 48th and Lexington, and to look for possible places to eat dinner along the way. We are going to try for Crab House, which takes reservations only for groups of 4 or more. We'll try to go around 5:00 or shortly thereafter, and maybe we'll be able to get in. Though the way people line up for food around here at all hours of the day, you never know. If that falls through, there is a Thai place a few blocks away we'll try. Good to have a back-up plan. The hotel we are staying at gave us a card for a complimentary "flight" of chocolates at Neuhaus. We stopped by there on the way back. The worker said a "flight" meant we could each sample one piece, but we could get 10% off whatever we chose to buy. I informed the worker that two pieces is not a flight, but that a flight generally consists of 5. He didn't buy it, apparently having never tried a flight of beer, whiskey or martinis. Anyhoo, we both had one piece. The prices, even with a 10% discount, were quite outrageous, but we decided to get one large bar for a bit under $10. He gave us a "gift" consisting of 2 pieces of dark chocolate and 2 pieces of milk chocolate. I would preferred my other 3 pieces of the specialty chocolates to complete my flight. We are now back at the hotel for a bit of a rest. This despite the fact that we have walked only 6 miles today. Guess we are getting lazy as we prepare for embarkation tomorrow.

It really wasn’t so bad. We still had a great day, just had to make a few adjustments.

We may party hard, but not well into the night! 🥱

Thanks. We were using Google Maps, and it has been quite helpful. Still, the buses headed back to Manhattan from Brighton Beach were quite limited. We knew it would work out. Just needed a bit of patience.

Q was what we needed. It all worked out eventually. We haven’t been to any of the upper parts of Manhattan yet, so will do that tomorrow.

Having eaten way too much, and being slightly miserable, we stopped at the hotel bar for a sambuca. Now relaxing in the room and calling it a day. The feet, calves, shins and hips are feeling it.

We weren’t sure where to eat, but looked for places as we made our way back to the hotel. There was a Mexican place we have been eyeing, and ultimately decided to go there. Y’all. It was so good! Maybe the best Mexican we’ve had. Pookie had the burria tacos and I had the enchiladas de queso with mole sauce. We each had a margarita.

I forgot that we stopped along the way for a drink. Pookie had a spicy margarita, and I had a pomegranate martini.

We stopped back by one of the restaurants and split a lobster roll and a beer. The lobster roll was the cold variety. It was good, but I prefer hot. Anyway, it was only enough for a few bites each. On the advice of other CCers, we walked on down to Brighton Beach and the in a block to check out some of the Russian neighborhood and businesses. It wasn’t long before we were ready to head back to Manhattan. Since it was still early, we were thinking of going to the upper part of Central Park, as we didn’t make it that far on Tuesday. The plan was to explore Little Italy and eat at Katz tomorrow. But, alas, plans changed due to necessity. We entered the subway station near Brighton Beach only to find out that no trains had run in some time. We were told there must be a problem. We later heard there was a fire somewhere along the line, though I didn’t find out exactly where. We decided to find somewhere to sit down and have a drink while we figured it out. We couldn’t seem to find such a place while looking, though I’m sure there are plenty around. Instead, we found a shady spot to try to figure out how to get back to Manhattan. It appeared a bus would be along in about 30 minutes, so we found the bus stop and began the wait. I looked up something else, and when I put to info back in Google maps that particular bus option had disappeared. So we weren’t sure if it was coming. I checked out the price of Uber, which was $101. We decided to wait another 10 minutes to see if the bus was going to come, and if not we’d bite the bullet and summon an Uber. A few minutes later, we heard an overhead noise and Pookie said, “Is that the train?” Sure enough! We headed up to the subway station and asked the attendant to make sure before paying to pass through the turnstiles. He said only Uptown was running. Perfect! We hopped on and made a new plan to get off at Canal Street and go ahead with the things we had planned for tomorrow in the lower East side. Not being hungry yet, we wondered toward Little Italy. OMG! The aromas were fantastic, and we would have eaten there if I didn’t have my mind set on Katz. Before long, we were winding through Chinatown before heading on to Katz. By now, it was getting a bit warm, and the layers we had on for the quite cold morning were starting to come off. Pookie was getting tired, which is kind of surprising considering she used to walk 15 miles per day for work. But that was before the middle of last September when she fell and broke her shoulder, which kept her out on worker’s comp until retirement. Anyhoo, we finally made it to Katz only to find a line about half a block long. No thanks! No telling how long that would take. So we found the nearest subway station that would get us back to Midtown.

Whew! What a day! I woke up around 5:00 this morning, having slept well. Pookie decided to play games on her phone during the night for at least 2 hours, so she was conked out while I was up making coffee, getting showered, etc. I decided to try to find Mama Jo’s Breakfast Cart, thinking if I brought back food the wonderful aroma would arouse Pookie. I found what appeared to be a popular cart, but about a block from where Google tells me Mama Jo’s should be (but wasn’t). I got us both an egg, cheese and meat roll and a cup of coffee. No photos because, you know, I often forget to take pics before scarfing it down. Sure enough, arriving back at the room Pookie woke up and prepared to eat. The sandwiches were huge, and I should have just gotten one to split. Neither of us could eat much over half. We usually drink black coffee, but the cart personnel did not ask. It had creamer and was lightly sweetened. It was nice though. After 2 days, we are getting our bearings on navigating the subway system. I actually made a plan before getting breakfast this morning, so we set shortly after breakfast. It took a bit over an hour to make it to Coney Island Beach. Most of the restaurants on the boardwalk were beginning to open, and the rides were in operation without passengers when we first arrived. There were people around, but it was not at all crowded - a first since arriving in NY. I was a little surprised that there wasn’t more to it. After we walked past the boardwalk restaurants and carnival rides, we walked onto the pier, and that was about it.

It was still great. Could really taste the garlic. This was the only burnt crust piece of my half.