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Another Epic trip as the Solo Fashionista goes Stateside!

lara_lox

By lara_lox,
in Norwegian Cruise Line

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lara_lox

lara_lox

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Day 9 – At Sea, Action Packed Fun

 

Today was our final sea day and for once I really made the most of what the Epic has to offer. I went to the Garden Café for breakfast where I had some fruit then a made-to-order omelette. I love the way that the buffet has options such as this, as well as the ready prepared food. Once again I went to sit down in La Cucina where as always there was plenty of space. Then it was up to deck 18 for sunbathing the morning away.

 

My group had arranged to meet up for lunch to try out the Noodle Bar. This is priced a la carte, with each item costing between $3-5. There are little pads when you sit down and you mark which dishes you would like then the chefs prepare them in front of you. I had steamed pot stickers then a pork and noodle broth with bok choi. However we all mixed and matched a bit, so I was able to try most things. I think my favourite was the special fried rice, which was really good.

 

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After lunch we headed to O’Sheehans for bowling. As we were a large group, we wanted two lanes next to each other but we still only had to wait for about 20 minutes. It was $5 per person and each person got 10 goes I think, which was plenty of time to have a good game without getting bored. Well all I can say is that bowling is really not one of my skills! After constantly rolling every single ball into the gutter without fail, Cheryle went and had them put the barriers up for my turns! I was still rubbish though… but it was a lot of fun trying and we all had a good time.

 

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I then want and lay outside in Spice H2O for half an hour before it was time for the Movie Trivia Quiz. I don’t think I was much help but both our teams did well and laughed a lot doing so. By now we had worked up an appetite again so we went for a snack at O’Sheehans. We initially sat on the pub side but no-one came to take our order so we moved to the other, main dining, side. There was also only one guy behind the bar and it took ages for me to a drink. It wasn’t his fault but the pub was really understaffed at that point for some reason. I much prefered the relaxed atmosphere of the pub side, with it’s comfy sofas looking out to sea, but I rarely spent any time here because it was hard to get served there. I made a huge mess eating some slightly soggy buffalo wings before we headed down to the solo meeting where I had a glass or two of wine. As we were there, Vianey was on the look out for a guy to participate in the Dating Game which was being held that night. She happened upon Delwyn, who was wearing a t-shirt that said ‘Sex Instructor. First lesson free’! and persuaded him he had to take part and wear that t-shirt!

 

I went to get ready for the evening as I knew tonight was the White Hot Party I had planned my outfit accordingly and wore a white t-shirt, cropped beige trousers and my gold heels and accessories.

 

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We met at Headliners to see Delwyn’s moment of fame! He doesn’t drink wine so he found where we were sitting to kindly give me his complimentary glass of fizz. The premise of the show was that three potential suitors sit behind a screen and the person on the other side asks questions for them to answer, to help them decide which person they like the sound of and choose to date. It was a girl’s turn to pick first and the show was ok, but what you would expect, with standard corny answers to the questions. However Delwyn and the girl he ended up picking, Janey, stole the show when it was their turn! They were hilarious, keeping us all entertained with their banter and risqué questions and answers. After the show Janey joined us for a late dinner at Taste and shared with us the bottle of champagne they had won. I had a crab cake starter, which was the best food I had in the main dining rooms all week. I could have eaten ten of them! Then I had eggplant parmesan for my main course. This was nice but very salty. The service in the restaurant was much quicker tonight, maybe because we ate very late due to seeing the Dating Game.

 

It was then time for the White Hot Party outside at Spice H2O. I loved the last WHP I went to and this one certainly didn’t disappoint. It was very windy but that didn’t stop us dancing the night away, taking over one of the tiered levels rather than cramming ourselves onto the busy dance floor. After a while were glad of the wind because it kept us from getting too hot from all the dancing! Anyone who likes to dance or party mustn’t miss this event, it’s so much fun.

 

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Once it began to quieten down out on deck, we moved inside to Bliss to carry on the party there for a while. We all ended up finishing the night getting tea and water in the Studio Lounge. A game of Trivial Pursuit began but I was too tired to concentrate so I headed to bed at about 3am, the latest night I had.

 

(I always check with people that they are happy for me to use pictures with them in – that’s why there is occasionally a face blanked out if someone didn’t want me to.)

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lara_lox

lara_lox

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Day 10 – Nassau, Last Day booooo

 

We weren’t due to dock in Nassau until about midday so this morning I slept in a bit until I was woken by a tanoy announcement. Breakfast was at O’Sheehan’s, where I had the Country Platter, which was very good. Then I went up to the comfy area of the quiet zone on deck 18 and sunbathed on one of the padded loungers, with a great view as the ship pulled into dock. Everyone was lining the railings ready to run off as soon as we arrived, where as I figured it would be better to wait half an hour for some of the crowds to abate.

 

I met my friends and we went into Nassau. We walked to Junkanoo beach, which took about 15 minutes. The beach was far prettier than I had expected, as many people don’t seem to like Nassau and say what a dump it is. There were a lot of local vendors/tour guides lining the entrance/exit to the port who were really persistent, but we just kept walking, firmly but politely telling them we weren’t interested.

 

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Once at the beach we found ourselves a nice spot to lounge in for a few hours. The sand was fairly rocky but once I cleared myself a spot I was fine. We had a lovely afternoon sunbathing and playing in the sea. The guys though it would be funny to see how far they could throw me into the sea. It turns out pretty far, I laughed so hard I nearly drowned! We got jerk chicken and beers from one of the stalls on the beach for $8 each before heading to Senor Frogs because D and I had never been there so wanted to check it out. We got some cocktails (which weren’t as good as the ones on ship) and laughed at all the drunken people. Some people had obviously walked straight there to the bar as soon as they had left the ship and were definitely worse for the wear. It was the party atmosphere I had expected from what I had read. D and I left the guys there in favour of a far superior Strawberry Daiquiri in the hot tub at Spice back onboard. We chilled out there as dusk fell, then I went to start packing, sob!

 

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For my last night I wore a casual black and blue patterned sundress with black heels.

 

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I have never been to Le Bistro but have heard such good things that I suggested we eat there for a special last night meal. Lucky Michael got to dine with four ladies as a result! We were given a small complimentary Amuse Bouche of smoked salmon pate as we looked at the menus. I had the mussels to start followed by duck. The food was fantastic and lived up to the hype. I also tried some of the escargot starter and the vegetable stack main course. For dessert I had crème brulee, which I love, and we shared a chocolate fondue which was messy but fun! We all agreed the whole meal was delicious and worth every penny of the $20 cover charge. My mouth is watering just thinking about it…

 

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I left to dinner go to pay off some of my on-board account. I wasn’t sure how many dollars I would need, especially because I spent some time in Miami before the cruise, so I took plenty just in case. But because I didn’t actually spend very much in the end, I had decided to put what was left towards my cruise account. I was very pleased to find it covered my entire account as I actually spent less than I had budgeted for.

 

Another legendary event I have never seen on a cruise is the Quest game show, so we met up with our friends at Bliss to see this. It turns out everyone participates in the adult themed scavenger hunt, which is certainly not for the shy or easily offended! It involved a number of ‘tasks’ like a man wearing women’s shoes, a lady doing the splits, and showing tattoos and tan lines. We were right at the back of the venue so our group’s participation involved us having to either sprint across the room or vaulting a railing in front of our table! It was very silly and fun and we took some hilarious (but embarrassing photos) that I have had to promise not to share on here! After Quest it was the Ship ‘n’ Males! This was only an ok show and nothing too lewd, with various crew members performing dances as different characters. The performers did try hard though and it was fairly entertaining.

 

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We all went back to the Studio Lounge to say our goodbyes, which was horrible, I had met some fantastic people who I just didn’t want to leave. These people made my cruise for me and I feel like I’ve made some friends for life. I miss them so much now that I’m home and we have all been in touch over the last week. For those of you who are wondering, there was no romance for me this holiday! That’s not to say I didn’t meet some great guys, but I’m not a one-off type of girl and unfortunately everyone lives miles and miles away from me in the US. Maybe I will just have to move over there! Anyway, after saying goodbye, I went to finish packing and try to get some sleep as I had a very long day ahead of me tomorrow.

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lara_lox

lara_lox

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Thank you so much to everyone for reading and for your comments.

 

The way I see it, my job funds my adventures! Why work hard to make money if we don't enjoy spending it?

 

As for how much I eat, let's just say I go to the gym a LOT at home and work out hard to combat all the food! In fact that reminds me, I really need to get back into the gym now, hmmmm.

 

With only a post or two left in this review now I'm starting to feel all nostalgic, in writing I've be able to relive my incredible week. I want to go back...

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kollegekreed

kollegekreed

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Your review is amazing. Quite the promotion for those studio cabins. The pictures of your shipmates look like you have known eachother for years and best friends. Who would have known you can meet like minded fun people cruising solo.

 

So cool!

 

As one of the "mates" I can say by day 2 I felt like I had known these people my entire life. It was a great experience!

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iheartbda

iheartbda

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Lara, your reviews are always so much fun and it's plain to see why. You always seem to have such a great time and it looks like you have an easy time making friends.

 

One teeny tiny inconsequential thing....your pumps look like they're too big. How do you keep them on your feet without them flopping at the heels?

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