Regal Recap: Valentine's cruise on The Love Boat

[MrSchwump]

I have to say, I have a lot of respect for those folks who do the "live from..." posts. I thought about doing that, but it really cuts into your drinking, eating and napping time.

 

This is a recap of our trip with some observations and opinions. Feel free to ask any questions.

 

We had a great time aboard the Regal Princess for a 7-day cruise from 2/14 to 2/21. We have cruised 3 times previously with Princess and after going on 2 Carnival cruises we decided to come back to Princess. We’re glad we did and it was well worth whatever small price difference there was.

 

We sailed out of Ft. Lauderdale and the itinerary included stops at Princess Cay, St. Thomas and St. Martin with 3 days at sea.

 

We flew from Cincinnati to Ft. Lauderdale on a Delta flight we booked through Princesses EZAir. They were cheaper than any other online reservation service by $50 per person.

 

We arrived on Saturday, 1 day prior to our departure and stayed at the Rodeway Inn, which is on Hwy 84, just west of the airport. This hotel offers a free shuttle from the airport to the hotel and from the hotel to Port Everglades. After landing and collecting our luggage we waited about 30 minutes for the shuttle to pick us up. It was a short 10-minute ride to the hotel.

 

This was a nice, basic budget hotel, all we needed for pre-cruise accommodations. There was a bit of a line at check-in. The place seemed full of cruisers and the front desk was busy from the time we arrived at 1pm until we went to sleep around 10.

 

I reserved the room via Bookit.com and got a rate that was cheaper than I saw for the same property on other websites. It was far cheaper than properties closer to the beaches and the cruise terminal. It was not a fancy resort hotel by any means but it was clean, comfortable, and convenient and it seemed like it was in a perfectly safe area.

 

The property itself is probably 30 years old but well maintained. It’s a 2 story, exterior corridor property with the building surrounding a central courtyard when a decent sized pool is located.

 

Our room was a basic room with 2 queen beds. Everything worked just fine and while it showed a little wear it was well maintained and it good shape.

We ate dinner that evening at the Marina 84 restaurant on-site, which offered typical sports bar fare. Next morning we did the complimentary breakfast buffet. It was okay, nothing to get excited or to complain about. It was filling.

 

The shuttle actually left a little earlier than expected and we were at Port Everglades by 10:15. They don’t open the doors until 11a and there was already a long line. My wife, who had bad knees from marathon running, took a seat on a bench and a Princess employee asked her if she had trouble standing. When she said she did, he told us to go to the special assistance area and she could avoid standing and waiting in line if she was okay with using a wheel chair. At 11 they came for everyone waiting and a group of us were wheeled through and were on board by 11:40. This is a really nice service they offer and it saved my wife a good deal of pain and discomfort. Plus we were on board super early!

 

Our cabin was an interior on Emerald deck, #8. We were 1 floor above the Princess Live studio. I was concerned about noise but on 1 or 2 nights when we turned in while there were still things going on down there, we never heard a thing.

 

Our cabin was E533, which was like every other interior cabin we’ve had on Princess or Carnival, except this room had 2 Pullman bunk mounted on the wall on either side of the queen bed. This made getting into an out of bed a chore since you could not stand up straight next to the bed. I banged by shoulder and head a couple of times when I forgot they were there. I will definitely check next time I book an interior to be certain that the cabin does not have these Pullman bunks. They were a pain….literally!

 

Princess has made a big upgrade in the TVs on their ships. Our first Princess cruise was on the Crown and had about a 15” TV. This room had a 36-40” flat screen. The on demand movies seemed to mirror what was showing on MUTS, plus there were other on demand videos and TV shows available, including every single episode of Love Boat. If you are a fan of bad 70’s TV, as it am, this is a gold mine! Charo, Robert Reed, Eric Estrada, Mackenzie Phillips, Elaine Joyce; it just doesn’t get any better than that!

 

This cabin was located between the Aft and Amidships elevators. The Laundromat was just down the hall too. It was a pretty convenient location. Prior to booking I’d read the complaints about lack of stairs amidships. This did turn out to be an annoyance. Typically, we would just take the stairs down the 2 flights to get to the dining room or other public areas but we had no choice but to take the elevator. For the muster drill they do open up the crew stairway. It would be really nice if they made a change in a future remodel and opened those up for passenger use.

 

One other note, our room steward was Vinton and he did an excellent job all week.

[TSM AND JP]

Thank you for your review. What was your favourite part of the ship, and what did you do in the various ports?

[riclop]

Thanks for the review.

[MrSchwump]

There is more to come. This was part one.

[TSM AND JP]

There is more to come. This was part one.

 

Great. Thank you!

[sunsetbeachgal]

Great review! Like you, I can't get enough of old tv, and really enjoy The Love Boat reruns! We sailed on the Coral a few weeks ago, and boy did I miss the interactive TV on the Regal and Royal!

Edited February 25, 2016 by sunsetbeachgal

[Pmorton3360]

Glad to see the Rodeway was good enough. Booked on Hotwire and some reviews are bad. I get there st 8:00 so don't really need much.

Edited February 25, 2016 by Pmorton3360

[georgiavol]

I have to say, I have a lot of respect for those folks who do the "live from..." posts. I thought about doing that, but it really cuts into your drinking, eating and napping time.

 

My kind of guy....

[MrSchwump]

Glad to see the Rodeway was good enough. Booked on Hotwire and some reviews are bad. I get there st 8:00 so don't really need much.

 

I would compare the Rodeway FLL to a very nice Red Roof Inn. Everything worked, the manager was very visible, asking how things were. The staff all seemed hard working and friendly. Don't worry if you forget something because they have just about anything you could have forgotten. They even sell liquor and wine there.

 

The pool area and courtyard are very nice. The Miami Boat Show was on when we were there so hotel rates were through the roof. This place was perfect for what we needed.

 

My only complaint would be, there are no restaurants or stores within an easy walking distance. Lots of boatyards and marinas and an office complex, but as I said, it seemed like a safe and quiet area.

[Colo Cruiser]

Thanks for the comments.

[TracieABD]

Thanks for the review! I love, love, love the Royal- such a fun ship.

[KirkNC]

Thanks for your report.

[MrSchwump]

We thought the food and especially the service in the dining rooms and around the buffet area were much better than Carnival. I have to say, I would give the edge to Carnival in dining room food. I’m just not an epicurean and don’t appreciate the nuances of fine dining. The Princess MDR food is a little “high-tone” for my taste. I am a fan of more simple fare. The Curtis Stone selections seemed to stay the same all week. There was a pork roast that I tried and liked. They did have the traditional shrimp cocktail and the every popular Love Boat Dream for dessert. Everything we had there was good but I found I had a hard time finding something that looked appealing whereas on Carnival, I had a hard time deciding what to have.

 

As such, we ate at the buffet 3 nights. The buffet selection is much better than on Carnival in both quality and variety. The Carnival buffet is largely self-service. You have to get your own drinks and they’re very slow to clear used dinnerware. On the Regal, at breakfast, lunch and dinner there are servers there to take drink orders, clear used plates, etc. There were a lot of choices of food and salads in the buffet for all 3 meals.

 

We did not eat in any of the specialty restaurants while on board. We did enjoy the selections at the International Café and chose it for breakfast a few days when we just wanted something quick and simple. We did eat at Alfredo’s as soon as we got on board as we’d heard people rave about it. It was okay but I was not knocked out. The pizza on the Lido deck near the pool was as good as ever.

 

The ship itself is beautiful. We have previously sailed on the Crown and Caribbean Princess so this ship was a little newer and bigger. It was very nicely decorated. The Piazza area was much larger than on the other ships.

One of my main complaints is, moving about the ship is not easy. There are several places that “you can’t get to from here”. Not without going up or down or having to navigate in a circuitous manner. There is no way to get from the Terrace Pool at the stern to the Retreat Pool without either cutting through the Horizon Court or going up some stairs. Going through the buffet means you have to put a shirt and shoes on which is something I like to avoid doing on vacation.

 

The lack of an amidships passenger staircase was more of a hassle than I expected. Other ships we’ve been on have color-coded carpet on the floors with staterooms that tell you if it’s the even or odd numbered side. Not on the Regal. The Regal has the least useful Promenade deck I’ve seen. Not only does it not go all the way around the ship, it gets very narrow going forward and is generally not very inviting. I have never had a harder time finding my way around a ship than I did on the Regal. Again, a beautiful ship, but I had a hard time figuring out where I was and how to get where I wanted to go.

 

We purchased the Soda and More package. Since neither of us are coffee drinkers, Coke or Diet Coke is our caffeine source of choice. It seemed that in the past you would still have to sign a check when you got a soft drink. We didn’t do that at all this time. At just over $8.00 a day per person, it’s a good deal.

 

We enjoyed the “and More” part as well. My wife liked getting hot chocolate in the evening at the International Café. We also made good use of the mocktails that you could get from any bar. We did sneak our own booze on board. I won’t say how in case the prying eyes of The Man see this. A virgin Pina Colada or a Key West Cooler with a dash of rum added was just right! Our room steward Vinton was great about keeping the ice bucket full so I enjoyed an Elijah Craig on the rocks every evening. I know we saved a couple hundred bucks by doing this.

 

A great deal that is offered is the daily Second Drink for a Dollar special in the Crooner’s Lounge. From 3p to 4p you pay regular price for the first drink and you can get another of the same drink for a dollar. I picked up several cans of Coors Light, 2 for $6.95, a much better deal than in the buckets!

 

I thought all the barstaff was very good. The alcohol selection was definitely better than on Carnival. There was a huge variety of Scotch, both blended and single malt. There were all sorts of brandy and liqueurs available. I think the bourbon selection was a little light but I brought my own so it didn’t bother me.

 

One last note on the subject of drinks; the iced tea is STRONG! I normally drink unsweetened tea, no lemon. I had to add sugar to the tea on the ship. It’s good, but dark and strong. I had no trouble staying awake!

[hehny]

Was on the same cruise, had a great time and your post brings back memories. Had cruised before on Royal and was prepared for lack of stairs so it didn't bother us.

 

Food is subjective. I enjoyed Princess, but I like fancy food. We tried the specialty restaurants and thought they were excellent. The dining room and buffet were quite good.

 

The only complaint I had was the constant shopping activities. It seemed a bit overkill. How many times could effy offer champagne and a prize drawing? But that's just a minor quibble, nothing to disturb the cruise itself.

 

Glad you enjoyed yourself! Look forward to the rest!

[MrSchwump]

I agree on the shopping promotion. Enough already! The worst was the daily harangue about the Art auction. Honest to god, the only way 95% of that stuff could have been any more low brow was if it were on velvet.

[Colo Cruiser]

We thought the food and especially the service in the dining rooms and around the buffet area were much better than Carnival. I have to say, I would give the edge to Carnival in dining room food. I’m just not an epicurean and don’t appreciate the nuances of fine dining. The Princess MDR food is a little “high-tone” for my taste. I am a fan of more simple fare. The Curtis Stone selections seemed to stay the same all week. There was a pork roast that I tried and liked. They did have the traditional shrimp cocktail and the every popular Love Boat Dream for dessert. Everything we had there was good but I found I had a hard time finding something that looked appealing whereas on Carnival, I had a hard time deciding what to have.

 

As such, we ate at the buffet 3 nights. The buffet selection is much better than on Carnival in both quality and variety. The Carnival buffet is largely self-service. You have to get your own drinks and they’re very slow to clear used dinnerware. On the Regal, at breakfast, lunch and dinner there are servers there to take drink orders, clear used plates, etc. There were a lot of choices of food and salads in the buffet for all 3 meals.

 

We did not eat in any of the specialty restaurants while on board. We did enjoy the selections at the International Café and chose it for breakfast a few days when we just wanted something quick and simple. We did eat at Alfredo’s as soon as we got on board as we’d heard people rave about it. It was okay but I was not knocked out. The pizza on the Lido deck near the pool was as good as ever.

 

The ship itself is beautiful. We have previously sailed on the Crown and Caribbean Princess so this ship was a little newer and bigger. It was very nicely decorated. The Piazza area was much larger than on the other ships.

One of my main complaints is, moving about the ship is not easy. There are several places that “you can’t get to from here”. Not without going up or down or having to navigate in a circuitous manner. There is no way to get from the Terrace Pool at the stern to the Retreat Pool without either cutting through the Horizon Court or going up some stairs. Going through the buffet means you have to put a shirt and shoes on which is something I like to avoid doing on vacation.

 

The lack of an amidships passenger staircase was more of a hassle than I expected. Other ships we’ve been on have color-coded carpet on the floors with staterooms that tell you if it’s the even or odd numbered side. Not on the Regal. The Regal has the least useful Promenade deck I’ve seen. Not only does it not go all the way around the ship, it gets very narrow going forward and is generally not very inviting. I have never had a harder time finding my way around a ship than I did on the Regal. Again, a beautiful ship, but I had a hard time figuring out where I was and how to get where I wanted to go.

 

We purchased the Soda and More package. Since neither of us are coffee drinkers, Coke or Diet Coke is our caffeine source of choice. It seemed that in the past you would still have to sign a check when you got a soft drink. We didn’t do that at all this time. At just over $8.00 a day per person, it’s a good deal.

 

We enjoyed the “and More” part as well. My wife liked getting hot chocolate in the evening at the International Café. We also made good use of the mocktails that you could get from any bar. We did sneak our own booze on board. I won’t say how in case the prying eyes of The Man see this. A virgin Pina Colada or a Key West Cooler with a dash of rum added was just right! Our room steward Vinton was great about keeping the ice bucket full so I enjoyed an Elijah Craig on the rocks every evening. I know we saved a couple hundred bucks by doing this.

 

A great deal that is offered is the daily Second Drink for a Dollar special in the Crooner’s Lounge. From 3p to 4p you pay regular price for the first drink and you can get another of the same drink for a dollar. I picked up several cans of Coors Light, 2 for $6.95, a much better deal than in the buckets!

 

I thought all the barstaff was very good. The alcohol selection was definitely better than on Carnival. There was a huge variety of Scotch, both blended and single malt. There were all sorts of brandy and liqueurs available. I think the bourbon selection was a little light but I brought my own so it didn’t bother me.

 

One last note on the subject of drinks; the iced tea is STRONG! I normally drink unsweetened tea, no lemon. I had to add sugar to the tea on the ship. It’s good, but dark and strong. I had no trouble staying awake!

 

 

If you don't like the MDR then I don't think you will like the actual Share restaurant.

Check out the comments from Pescado Amarillo on her blog as they just went to Share on the Emerald.

 

http://www.pescadoamarillo.blogspot.com/

[Woobstr112G]

OP;

 

Thanks for taking the time to post your comments.....:):):)

 

Bob

[Keith1010]

Very thorough report.

Keith

[GUT2407]

Great.

[GUT2407]

Is there more?

[Clarea]

Thanks for the report.

[Mom33]

The ship itself is beautiful. We have previously sailed on the Crown and Caribbean Princess so this ship was a little newer and bigger. It was very nicely decorated. The Piazza area was much larger than on the other ships.

One of my main complaints is, moving about the ship is not easy. There are several places that “you can’t get to from here”. Not without going up or down or having to navigate in a circuitous manner. There is no way to get from the Terrace Pool at the stern to the Retreat Pool without either cutting through the Horizon Court or going up some stairs. Going through the buffet means you have to put a shirt and shoes on which is something I like to avoid doing on vacation.

 

The lack of an amidships passenger staircase was more of a hassle than I expected. Other ships we’ve been on have color-coded carpet on the floors with staterooms that tell you if it’s the even or odd numbered side. Not on the Regal. The Regal has the least useful Promenade deck I’ve seen. Not only does it not go all the way around the ship, it gets very narrow going forward and is generally not very inviting. I have never had a harder time finding my way around a ship than I did on the Regal. Again, a beautiful ship, but I had a hard time figuring out where I was and how to get where I wanted to go.

 

!

 

I know boarding a new and unfamiliar ship can be confusing, but Princess always gives a pocket map and key card to you when you check in. We have used it many times in the past to help us navigate the ship.

 

There is an elevator by the Terrace pool you can use to avoid stairs and without walking through Horizon Court.

 

Although you found the Promenade to be uninviting, we loved the ability to sit in full padded teak loungers on the wide expanse of the aft area of the Promenade on both sides of the ship. We also enjoyed the sitting area outside mid- ship. As for walking the Promenade, we may do it once a cruise, so it did not hinder our enjoyment of the Regal. We used the exercise track instead.

 

Thanks for sharing your experience. :D

[JF - retired RRT]

I agree on the shopping promotion. Enough already! The worst was the daily harangue about the Art auction. Honest to god, the only way 95% of that stuff could have been any more low brow was if it were on velvet.

I thought they were on velvet...how very disappointing:rolleyes:

[MrSchwump]

We liked that this itinerary offered 3 days at sea. We enjoy not having to be anywhere and not having to get dressed. The majority of our days were spent at the Retreat pool near the front of the ship. As advertised, it is adults only. I didn’t see any children ever venture into this area. There weren’t a lot of kids on this cruise but there were some due to the winter break that’s common in the northeastern states.

 

I thought the pool itself was very nice with easy access via a staircase that leads into the water. The water was a bit cool so a quick dip was all it took if you got too hot from laying in the sun. The 2 hot tubs were always in use. Overall I thought this area was just about the right size. It did fill up at prime sunning hours but if you got there by 10a it was not a problem getting a chair.

The Retreat bar was always busy but they gave great service and the bartenders were great.

 

The chair hogs are present but seemed to be more of a problem at the main pool area. We never went there; too loud and too crowded. I think one thing Princess could do to minimize this problem would be to restrict the towels. At many all-inclusive resorts we’ve been to, you get 1 beach towel per guest. If it gets wet or dirty, you turn it in for a new one. You can just grab extras. On the ship there seemed to be no limit to the number of towels you could have. There were always 2 in the room but there were carts or stations at every lounging area with oodles of towels for the taking. This allowed people to put a couple here; a couple there and pretty soon 1 person had chairs saved at every pool! On our last Carnival cruise they were vigilant about putting a sticker on your towel with a 30-minute warning and if no one was there after the time was up, your stuff was at the closest bar.

 

We also spent some time at the Terrace Pool at the stern of the ship. I affectionately called this “The Smoke Pit with the Burn Outs” as this was the smoking area. My wife is a non-smoker and I don’t like the smell of cigarettes and we never smelled smoke unless we walked by someone who was smoking. Surprisingly, this area was less windy than at the Retreat pool. I don’t know what it was but the wind really whipped around the foremast of the ship and swirled around the Retreat pool. The Terrace area had a light, steady breeze but I never felt like I was in danger of losing my hat like I was at the Retreat pool.

 

There does seem to be some confusion about cigar smoking and as one who enjoys a premium cigar I was concerned. In past Princess cruises you could smoke anything legal on any open deck, starboard side. In the Princess Patter the first day it said that cigars and pipes could only be smoked in the Churchill lounge. That place is like a mortuary, dark, drab and no fun. I was pleasantly surprised to find other cigar smokers and even one guy with a pipe at the Terrace pool area. I heard livelier, engaging chatter in this area amongst the smokers than I did anywhere else on the ship. I heard a man from Tennessee and a guy from Staten Island having a conversation about issues of the day. There really is a nice camaraderie that exists among people who are shunned and looked down upon by the rest of the world.

 

We were very pleased, overall, with the quality of entertainment that the Regal Princess offered. We went to shows, dance venues, all over the ship and really enjoyed most of what was available.

 

The “house band” was Rhapsody, primarily an R&B group, which had a great lead singer. They seemed to be everywhere, morning noon and night. There was s steel drum guy who played a lot. The pianist in Crooners was a little different that I’d see in other Crooners settings on other ships. On the Crown and the Caribbean Princess, they seemed livelier, engaging the crowd in a lively back and forth that seemed boisterous at times. The lady playing piano on the Regal didn’t seem to go for a lot of raucous banter and maintained a more dignified, if not a little bit stuffy, persona.

 

We went to see a comedian the first night in the Vista Lounge. I think his name was Tommy Skavitt and he was billed as the “Life Coach to the Stars”. He offered up some goofy self-help observations and ideas. His character seemed to be a combination of Andrew Dice Clay and Norm Crosby. He was slightly arrogant and was always messing up the meaning and pronunciation of words. He really wasn’t very funny so we left part way through his set.

On the last couple days of the cruise they brought a comedy magician on board, Christopher James. He was great. I would pay to see him. He was funny, had great ad libs in his audience participation bits. He did 2 shows and both were really entertaining. I guess he works mainly out of Branson Missouri, which makes him about the only reason I’d be interested in visiting there. I can’t recommend him enough!

 

We saw Spectacular and Fiera in the theater and both were very good shows. Probably the most entertaining and well-done cruise ship shows I’ve seen. The staging and production values were very well done, not unlike what you’d see in a national touring company of a Broadway show. The theater does fill up fast so I’d plan on getting there at least 15 minutes early.

 

In celebration of the 50th anniversary of Princess they had a 50th anniversary balloon drop one night, which was a lot of fun. We caught the tail end of the champagne waterfall where Commodore Romano introduced the officers and other principals of the ship. He did seem to be a very nice man and was probably the most friendly and welcoming ship’s master we’ve sailed with.

They had a nice event on Sunday night, which was Valentine’s Day. The Commodore performed a mass vow renewal in the piazza. There must have been a hundred couples there and everyone exchanged vows with their partner. Afterwards Martyn Moss, the cruise director read a poem appropriate to the ceremony. We’ve sailed on Valentine’s Day on other occasions but this was the first such event we’ve seen and it was a very nice touch.

 

One last point, I was pleasantly surprised at the great deal I got from Princess when I called about ordering flowers. I wanted to surprise my wife with a dozen roses and didn’t know if the cruise line offered them or if I’d have to call a florist and have them delivered to the ship. Princess does have a few different floral arrangements available and I paid about the same for this bouquet as I did the first time we celebrated Valentine’s Day, 30 years earlier! It was about half of what I’d expected to pay. Thanks, Love Boat!

[MrSchwump]

We had visited the 3 ports of call so we had no big plans other than to head to the beach.

 

The first stop was Princess Cay. It was a little overcast so we waited until well after breakfast to head down to get in the queue for the tender to shore. It was a little gray and iffy looking but we thought what the heck. Once we got ashore we found a chair on the beach. My wife stuck a toe in the water and pronounced it “very fresh” which means cold to me. Then it started to sprinkle. Then it started to rain, so we made a dash back to the tender and headed back to the ship. The rain stopped and the sun came out but we were fine with our decision.

 

After a day at sea our next stop was St. Thomas. Off the ship, picture with people in costume at the foot of the gangplank and into a taxi to Magen’s Bay. We have never been there before and since it’s supposed to be one of the world’s most beautiful beaches we thought, why not?

 

It was pretty warm in St. Thomas that day so we were glad that we got seats inside with the driver where it was air-conditioned. It’s about a 20-minute drive from Havensight to Magen’s Bay. Cab fare was $8.00 per person each way. Once at the beach there is a $5.00 a head fee for entry.

 

The driver told us that since it was a school day, he’d recommend we leave by 2:30 lest we get stuck in slow traffic heading back to the ship. He said he’d be back at 2:00 for anyone who wanted to go back then.

 

There is a beach bar and grill there as well as a sundry shop and chair rental place. Two lounge chairs were $15 for the day. They charge you $25 and if you bring them back, you get a $10.00 refund. Some enterprising individuals were subletting their chairs to people who came late and avoided having to schlep them back to the place where you picked them up. Not a bad idea!

We didn’t buy any food but it looked like typical short order grilled food, a little pricey but not bad. I think I saw $9.00 for a cheeseburger? Beer was about $5.00 and a Coke was $3.00.

 

It is a beautiful beach! It’s a sandy crescent at the end of a long inlet with houses dotting the hillside. I’m sure it’s some of the island’s prime real estate. There was very little surf and the water was very smooth. Lots of people were paddle boarding and kayaking and this looked like a great spot to try that out.

The beach was very crowded at the end where the facilities are but virtually empty at the other end.

 

We met up with our driver at 2 and headed back to town. There is a ton of shopping at Havensight. We were there a couple of years ago and it seems like they have everything that downtown has, merchandise-wise. Some of the older downtown buildings do have some charm about them. We’re not big shoppers so we got right back on the boat.

 

The next day we were at St. Martin. Same drill, picture with Pirates, find a taxi and off to the beach. We think Orient Beach is just about the prettiest stretch of sand we’ve been to. The fare depends on how many are in your taxi. We got into a van with a group of people and it was only $8.00 per person each way. I think if you’re in a car with 4 people, it’s $20 each.

 

Our driver took us to the Kon-Tiki Beach Club, which is just about in the center. It was a nice place with a large deck area with couches, a big bar and small boutique. They did have food there but again, we didn’t order anything. It was definitely pricier than on St. Thomas, although the beer was a better deal. Four dollars, US, for a Presidente and $2.50 for a Coke. The chair rental was more at $15 per person but they had thick cushions and you got an umbrella. I want to say last time we were there we paid $16 for 2 chairs and an umbrella plus got a couple of drink coupons too, but we didn’t feel like bargain hunting so we plopped down and started relaxing.

 

Orient Beach is very busy with jet skis, parasailing, etc. They even had one of those water jet powered hoverboard things where you could attempt to lift up out of the water and float several feed above the waves. It was fun to watch people crash doing that. There were kite surfers, topless chicks, men in banana hammock swimsuits and drunk Americans tumbling ass over teakettle in the surf. No end to the entertainment!

 

We hadn't made a plan to meet our original driver as there are so many taxis coming and going. When we were ready to head back we just gathered up our stuff and waited in the parking area. In just a few minutes we found a van with a full load of people heading back to Phillipsburg.