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Liberty semi-live: Two girlfriends, one vegan, and two drink packages walk on a ship


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Well, it’s about time to get this thing started! I absolutely adore the trip reports/reviews that are full of extra detail and pictures and the nitty gritty. Therefore, I shall strive to provide such.  If you’re looking for a quick rundown, this isn’t the place for you. 

 

I’m Erica, a 31 year old female heading out with my DF (dear friend…is that a thing?). Anyway, heading out with DF (it’s now a thing if it weren’t already) who is 27 and gasp vegan! I always like to say she is a cool vegan though. She doesn’t try to change the way I eat or lecture me or anyone around her. I equally love a good steak and a well-prepared vegan meal. So if you are interested in knowing all about the food options we will be sure to document well! 

 

Also, we got the drink packages. I know around these parts the camp is split into YOU MUST BE ALCOHOLIC TO GET VALUE OUT OF IT to eh, it is convenient and fun. We fall into the latter category. We are eager to enjoy some frozen drinks by the pool and a few Bloody Mary’s in the morning, and also plenty of specialty coffees, smoothies, fresh juices, and bottled water. I’m a water snob people. I grew up and live on the east side of the continental divide (Colorado) and my tap water is essentially fresh snowmelt and it is what I imagine the fountain of youth to taste like, even if it’s properties aren’t quite as magical. So bottled water it is for me on the ship. Anyway, we shall document our package value thoroughly because I am nerdy like that and I know there are those of you who appreciate that as well– you are my people. 

 

So WHERE ARE WE GOING? Well, we depart on the 25thand head to Cozumel, Grand Cayman, and Falmouth. I say semi-live in the heading because we are not purchasing the Voom package. I do however have T-mobile and if the website is to be believed I will have relatively ok speeds while in port. I will update each day as best I can while there. I’m also happy to answer questions if people ask them! 

 

I just got Tapatalk and will try messing around on there a bit before leaving just to practice. Maybe if you’re lucky I’ll show a pic of my sweet puppy (well, 15 months old BUT HE WILL ALWAYS BE MY PUPPY). Actually, he isn’t really my puppy. I’m just raising him. He is a Guide Dog for the Blind in training. He is getting puppy sat by someone in our club and will be thrilled to leave with them and it will only crush me a tiny bit. I digress…

 

Anywho, today I am making last preparations. DF and I head out through Denver to Hobby late tomorrow (Friday) night. We are planning on Ubering to our AirBnB in Galveston. Probably won’t get there until after midnight, which is fine because vacation will have begun! We are leaning towards doing at least a half day at Schlitterbahn on Saturday and then maybe walking to the beach to see the sand castle competition that’s happening there. Our AirBnB is less than a mile away and these land-locked gals are eager to be in or near the water as much as possible. Forecast is for scattered thunderstorms, but we will just be flexible. 

 

I am just about to head out the door to find one more outfit I can wear at night for dinner/drinks/dancing. Then it is off to get my hair cut and back home to iron and roll and pack my clothing. Also gotta get some thread to fix a hole in a pair of my favorite shorts – see I told you this would have a lot of needless details. I do deliver! More needless details to come later today. 

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Singinalot...Please d - I enjoy your reports

I am taking a chance on MSC in Feb 2020.  I have friends who just got back off the Seaside and another couple going Oct 5 this year.  Price was good so we are taking a chance - Out of Miami to the Bahamas/Caribbean.   Finally talked DH in trying a cruise!!

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Phew, today has been a DAY. Got my last bit of shopping done, but seriously ladies can you lead me towards a brand of leggings that isn't see-through or wool? The struggle is real. Also got the thread and my shorts are all patched up! 

 

I'm pretty much done packing besides those last minute items you always throw in minutes before heading out the door. Here is what we are looking like:

 

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Man do I love packing cubes. This is a 24 inch spinner. I have 6 pair of shorts, 8 shirts/tanks, 3 bathing suits, 2 coverups, 4 dresses, 2 light covers, and of course socks/underwear/bras. In addition, I of course have ALL THE SUNSCREEN. Note to self: don't forget to get the back of EVERYTHING when snorkeling like last time. 

 

Think that's it for the night. Tomorrow I've gotta do a little bikini beautification if ya know what I mean, then drop the pup off at sitters, bring the keys to my friend who is checking up on the house and checking mail, and then clean! 

 

Have a wonderful night all! 

 

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36 minutes ago, ResearchObsessed said:

Pretty much done packing! Don't leave for a few hours though and still have to drop this one off at the sitter. He is very bored with me at the moment. 20190823_113554.thumb.jpg.bc0b60e1fa5ba0bfae59f0d00378fa7a.jpg

 

Also, Tapatalk is a bust. It just says loading constantly and never displays any forum. 

Aww what a cutie! I love those Yellow Labs! BTW are you familiar with Woodland Park CO? Lark Burger? My Cousin owns a Gallery Kamruz in downtown Telluride and focuses on photos of Dogs. Her dog Chloe who passed away was the inspiration for inventing the Pet Drivers License in Boulder.


I visited my Cousin Mary in Boulder a  few times and hope to see her in Telluride. If you stop by her Gallery please say her Cousin Daniel sent you! Its wort the trip!  

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Well we made it into Hobby and currently in an Uber heading to Galveston. More to come tomorrow as we are just so tired. Plane landed almost an hour late despite taking off on time. The extra time in the air turning circles, bad turbulence, and avoiding storms did not make this nervous flyer very happy. 

 

Here is our flight. Not exactly direct...

 

https://flightaware.com/live/flight/SWA1593

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Alrighty! It's been a packed full few days. 

 

Yesterday we left Colorado Springs at about 3:15pm to head to Denver to catch our flight. Here we are!

 

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Uneventful drive, though dang Denver traffic is getting obnoxious! Too many people coming in, not enough leaving. Kinda don't blame them. Colorado rocks. 

 

Once at the airport my friend directed us to a gourmet hotdogs place in the B terminal. They had a vegan option for her! She got the veggie dog with green chili and grilled onions. I got a regular Chicago dog. We also got our first vacation adult beverages! Love Colorado beer. Mine is a Left Hand Milk Stout. Friend got the sweet stuff.

 

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So right around the beginning of our second drinks we realized we have both become complete lightweights. We were really feeling it. I say this because then when we went to head to the C terminal to catch out flight we definitely ended up going backwards to A...oops. Exit at A, hop back on in other direction, and got to C. 

 

I've already mentioned this was a no fun flight. It wasn't at all. What I didn't mention is that we ended up in a row with an late 40s man who ended up never stopping talking and invited us out to California to visit him no fewer than a dozen times. He also gave us his business card and tried to get our contact information. It was very weird. I had to feign sending him an email to get him to stop. He followed us all the way to the baggage claim where thank goodness our bags came before his and we were able to escape. 

 

Cue the Uber experience...it was now about 12:15am and maps was showing an arrival to our Air BnN at right around 12:55. Well shortly after being picked up (had to heave our own luggage into the car and arrange it to her specific instruction) this lady pulls off the interstate and says she needs gas. I mean, ok, maybe don't accept a fare to Galveston if you don't have the gas? But no biggie. She then saw this gas station only had premium and declared no way she was paying for that and said she'd find somewhere else. So we head back on the highway and pull off a bit later and head off in a random direction towards gas...or as we found out not so much. She took us down this road for about t minutes before declaring there was no gas and she would try somewhere else. So we get back on the highway and continue on. Luckily 3rd time was the charm, got gas, and headed out. We ended up arriving nearing 1:45am, almost double the amount of time then if the Uber had taken us directly to Galveston. She did not get a tip...

 

Of course once in our AirBnB we crashed hard. More about the place and our day today (Saturday) later tonight. Heading out to an early dinner now. 

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Tomorrow we CRUISE. It is 9:26 and we are hitting the hay so as to be fully rested. Today was quite the day!

 

We started pretty late, with an alarm set at 9am we still only got about 6 hours of sleep after a VERY long day. 

 

We decided to head to a coffee shop at about 10:30 once we were up and moving. About a 20 minute walk to Mod Coffee. It was a great place. They even had vegan zucchini bread that was absolutely delicious! We ended up spotting a man in a group next to us wearing a Colorado Rockies hat so had to see if they were Coloradoans and they were! They even came in on the same flight as us. They headed out on Carnival today. 

 

We walked the 20 minutes back and decided to head to the sand castle competition. It was about 11:30 by the time we got there. It was overcast but of course plenty warm and HUMID. Guys...these Colorado lungs of mine are not gills for crying out loud! Give me 20% less oxygen with no humidity any day. 

 

Our Uber dropped us off at the gate right before the paid parking area and we hiked to the beach. Here are some pics! 20190824_141136.thumb.jpg.7a98dd131b3a9a8ec3b492c2730b5c1c.jpg20190824_124516.thumb.jpg.d8c80e01936ab1d7ff44cda9ee5ca28e.jpg20190824_124243.thumb.jpg.164b65c4731b74d901c80f92db9a4dcf.jpg20190824_124051.thumb.jpg.178e32fd13d9287e7757400668622d69.jpg

 

This was really fun! We walked one way, sat in the sand and enjoyed the water for a while and when walking back they were further along and it was cool to see their progress. 

 

Also, managed to sunburn. Ugh. I know better. It was overcast and I just didn't feel the sun and yeah, totally forgot to get the tops of my feet. Such a rookie move. Also have some very interesting designs on my calves/shins. Not sure how that happened. They're pretty mild and I've applied aloe so hopefully they don't last that long. 

 

Once we had enough we decided to head back. Unfortunately the road to get into the event was backed up by about TWO miles of cars. Tried calling an Uber who promptly dropped us because WHO GOT TIME FOR THAT? Kinda didn't blame him. So we decided to start walking down this road (Apffel Street) and call another Uber. Once they accepted we immediately called him and begged him to stay with us and we'd walk towards him in the line of cars. So we walked about a mile before catching up with our saint of an Uber who sat in event parking traffic 20 minutes while we walked to him. Tipped him very well. 

 

Then it was off to dinner! Went to Mexican food at Taquilo's. Not great, don't recommend. Both service and food was meh. But here are some pics. Fish tacos and spinach enchiladas. 

 

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After this we went and walked The Strand. It was quite fun and a great way to cap off our adventure. Found these little gems too. Christmas ornaments. 20190824_173232.thumb.jpg.9435acbb70ea598d832d08b74587e888.jpg

 

We then Ubered back to our air BnB. I was ready for some zone out time and some Netflix but my DF who is still in her 20s (bless her soul) wanted to go chill at the beach for a bit. I decided a little time spent apart wasn't a bad thing and selflessly agreed to stay glued to my bed eating her Pringles while she went.

 

Once she got back we spent some time packing back up and preparing for the main event tomorrow! Can't wait to board! I'll be sure to update before sail away and then I'll be MIA until Cozumel on Tuesday!

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Hello all, dear friend vegan chiming in! I feel like I have to give a disclaimer. When I travel or eat out as a vegan I usually make an educated guess on what's vegan based off my experiences and cooking knowledge. If it seems helpful, will let staff know I'm vegan but typically I say things like "no cheese, no butter, aka no dairy" and that is easier to understand than "I'm vegan" for a lot of people. I find just saying, "I'm vegan" is met with, "well we have a side salad" even if there is an option that might make a heartier meal (like doing roasted veggies & potatoes cooked in oil). That's what works for me and keeps a vegan life sustainable for ME (7 years strong baby!) But I certainly understand if that's not the type of vegan YOU try to be. #steppingoffthesoapboxnow 

 

If you're vegan and in Denver airport I give the hot dog place (Steve's Snappin' Dogs) an A-. Outside of the airport they'd probably get a C, but it's so nice to see vegan junk food. The green chili was super weak so load the dog up with something else if you go. The onion rings were probably not vegan in hindsight, but I found the place through a vegan blog and the bloggers got the onion rings so I went for it. I didn't confirm with the staff there tho so take that for what it is!

 

Taquilos (in Galveston) really burned my bridge. I told the waitress my no cheese, no sour cream, no dairy spiel and felt like she wasn't quite getting it so I told her I was vegan (which normally I don't feel is necessary). My first plate was covered in a sour cream green sauce (which I know because they had it as a side with the chips they brought to the table), so I had to send it back. I hate that because I feel like it defeats purpose of me not ordering those items. I also think that sour cream sauce was blended into the refried beans but I don't know that for certain. I confirmed no pork fat in the refried beans and thought I was safe. Lessons learned!

 

Mod coffee (in Galveston) was a treat and I would totally go back. In addition to the vegan zucchini bread they had hummus & pita and a hummus veggie wrap in the fridge. 

 

Had a really nice time at the sand castle competition and walking around Galveston. Though imo, I'm not sure I'd find enough to do to stay another full day. Really looking forward to trying all the options on the ship and reporting back! 

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Alrighty people, we are at muster!

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We got up at about 8 and got some coffee and bagels and our AirBnB host was kind enough to offer us transit to port. It was a quick jaunt and before we knew it we dropped our bags off and got through security. This only took about 10 minutes. Unfortunately we were in the waiting area about an hour before being called to board. But then WE WERE OFFICIALLY ON OUR CRUISE!

 

We headed straight to the Windjammer and it wasn't too busy yet. We were able to get our first drinks (Bahama Papa and a Bloody Mary) and full plates of food. Plenty of vegan options! 20190825_122353.thumb.jpg.c485a8107b6f65ac9b294dd5d9d3d8db.jpg 

It was the  right around 1 so we headed to our stateroom and our luggage was spotted sitting along a wall so we took it and headed to our room where we switched to suits and headed to the pool deck!

 

It was raining a bit but that didn't keep us from grabbing a few drinks and snagging some seats inside the Solarium pool. We got to enjoy the pool by ourselves for a bit before another couple joined us and we had a really nice time chatting and using those drink packages! Found out they'll be on the Secret River Tour excursion with us in Cozumel and are looking forward to meeting up with out new friends. 

 

Well, that's it for now! I'll write again while in Cozumel!

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