Royal Caribbean Cruisers -- How Are Things Where You Are? (was "Routine" ​ 😁 ​day in lockdown... how was yours?)

[bobmacliberty]

11 minutes ago, Sea Dog said:

Today is the day. The final Sea Dog  and wife Linda's retirement party. It should be a blast with lot's of people. It will be at a bar downtown KC that was a block from our old station building. We spent a lot of time there over the years and know the 2 generations of owners. Linda and I got engaged there and Joe the owner provided the bar at our wedding reception. Good people. I'll post a couple of pictures later.

 

Got two slide shows that will be showing in the background. One of my career and the other of our cruise. The cruise slideshow is over 10 minutes long. Haven't made the final count I but I know I shot over a thousand pictures.

 

Have a great time!  Sounds like the perfect place for your celebration.

[island lady]

18 hours ago, bobmacliberty said:

I've been off CC for a few days while we visited Key West.  I tried posting once but had problems posting from my phone and just decided to wait until getting home.  I'm now caught up with this thread.  I'll make a few posts about Key West...sort of like a mini review...but have a few other things to get done first.  I'll just summarize by saying happy that we went, had a good time, may or may not go again (one and done?), absolutely will NEVER drive there again.

 

LOL...try driving down with a 36 foot "land yacht" towing a Jeep through the nightmare traffic!!  😮 

Not a fun thing...hence when we did it...was early on a Sunday morning.  Drivers are crazy through Miami.  

[island lady]

17 hours ago, mo&fran said:

We hardly ever use I95. Trips to the seaport or airport, we use a car service.

 

Spending 4 months in Maine this last summer, checked into having our little SUV shipped up there on a car service truck transport.   Car Train only goes to Washington DC, so that was out (left the worst to still drive through).

 

Rented a long term rental with Budget from Bangor Maine for the 4 months.  It was cheaper than having my SUV shipped up (plus the worry it would come with).   The rental was brand new, smelled good, nice Honda SUV, very comfortable...and easy peasy.  

 

Doing that again next summer.  

[island lady]

16 hours ago, bobmacliberty said:

Quick summary of our Key West trip before I go into more detail.  We left last Sunday morning.  We took our time driving from Amelia Island to the Key Largo Bay Marriott Beach resort.  We stayed there 1 night and then headed to Key West on Monday morning.  We stayed 3 nights in Key West at the Orchid Key Inn on Duval Street.  We checked out and drove Thursday morning from Key West to the Miami airport for our Global Entry interview, then drove another 2 hours to a Hampton Inn in Port St. Lucie.  We stayed there last night and made the remaining 4 hour drive home today.

 

Driving down, we stopped after a couple of hours at the Daytona Beach Buc-ee's.  This was our first Buc-ee's experience.  I think Buc-ee's are just a southern thing so for those not familiar, it's a massive gas station/restaurant/grocery/home goods/clothing store.  If I counted correctly, there are 104 gas pumps (with cars waiting) and the men's room had 14 urinals/12 stalls (I think...didn't want to stare and point while trying to count).  We bought some of their famous beef jerky and chocolate covered almonds to go with a couple of cups of coffee.  The jerky was delicious.

 

This must be Buc-ee (the beaver?):

 

 

We planned to drive away from I-95 and head out to one of the little beach towns along the coast for lunch, but decided that would add too much time to the trip and ended up grabbing a quick lunch at a McDonald's somewhere (can't even remember where).  Since it was Sunday, we were able to listen to the Bills win on Satellite radio.  Listening to football is a great way to make time go by in a car.  Our GPS eventually told us to take the Florida Turnpike which initially seemed like a big mistake as we went from 3 fairly open lanes on I-95 to 2 crowded lanes on the Turnpike.  That eventually cleared up and looking at how crowded I-95 became (according to Google Maps), the Turnpike was the right call.  I purchased a SunPass which allowed Florida to take money from me at very high speeds.

 

We made it to the Key Largo Marriott right around 5pm.  You can tell that it's a little on the older side but still in good shape.  It would seem like a nice place to spend more than just a night, especially if the weather were good.  There's a beach area, a restaurant, an on-site place to take boat/jet ski tours, and a nice pool area.  We ate dinner at The Fish House in Key Largo, which a lot of people recommend as a "must do" place when driving the Keys.  We were not disappointed.  I had the Mahi Mahi Black and Bleu (really delicious if you like the taste of blue cheese, which I do) and Micheline has the Hogfish Matecumbe, which she loved.  We originally planned to have a drink at the Caribbean Club about .5 miles from the hotel with live music, but we were tired and settled for a drink in the hotel tiki bar.  

 

 

Love love the Fish House!!   We would stay in the Land Yacht at John Pennekamp state park.  Simple to ride our bicycles to lunch there....plus one of my favorite stores next door...The Sandal Factory.  🙂 

[Momof3gurlz]

23 minutes ago, Sea Dog said:

 

We are going to drive to Galveston for our Oct. cruise and I want to go to Buc-ee's to see what it's all about. I've heard so much about it. What do you recommend food wise to get. I hear they have some good stuff.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I can personally recommend the Brisket Breakfast Burrito 👍👍

[mafig]

2 minutes ago, island lady said:

 

...plus one of my favorite stores next door...The Sandal Factory.  🙂 

 

👍

[Sea Dog]

3 minutes ago, Momof3gurlz said:

I can personally recommend the Brisket Breakfast Burrito 👍👍

I've heard about that one. I need to try it.

[bobmacliberty]

We picked a great day for our sunset sail.  Monday was too cloudy for a good sunset.  Wednesday was completely overcast and drizzling a little at sunset.  Tuesday was perfect.  We were on a 70 foot catamaran that has plenty of room for everyone to spread out.  There was a large central covered area with a bar, plenty of seating, a place for a guitar player, and steps down to 2 heads.  If you wanted sun, you could walk around the entire upper area of the boat. 

 

We boarded at 4:00 with music and open bar starting immediately, and pull away from the dock at 4:30.  There was a decent amount of wind so they raised the main sail.  Sunset was at 5:38 so we had enough time to cruise past Sunset Key and Mallory Square before going back and forth where we'd have a great view of the sun hitting the water.  I kept things simple by drinking their rum punch, which wasn't too strong.  After 45 minutes of open bar, the musician had the boat singing and dancing, and the sun started it's show.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[davekathy]

22 minutes ago, Sea Dog said:

...of our cruise. The cruise slideshow is over 10 minutes long. Haven't made the final count I but I know I shot over a thousand pictures.

Once all your friends see the pictures from your cruise you just may find yourself employed again. This time as a TA. 😉🍻

[George C]

4 minutes ago, bobmacliberty said:

We picked a great day for our sunset sail.  Monday was too cloudy for a good sunset.  Wednesday was completely overcast and drizzling a little at sunset.  Tuesday was perfect.  We were on a 70 foot catamaran that has plenty of room for everyone to spread out.  There was a large central covered area with a bar, plenty of seating, a place for a guitar player, and steps down to 2 heads.  If you wanted sun, you could walk around the entire upper area of the boat. 

 

We boarded at 4:00 with music and open bar starting immediately, and pull away from the dock at 4:30.  There was a decent amount of wind so they raised the main sail.  Sunset was at 5:38 so we had enough time to cruise past Sunset Key and Mallory Square before going back and forth where we'd have a great view of the sun hitting the water.  I kept things simple by drinking their rum punch, which wasn't too strong.  After 45 minutes of open bar, the musician had the boat singing and dancing, and the sun started it's show.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fantastic pictures 

[island lady]

Just finished packing for our week long stay near Orlando.  Resort very close to "the land of the mouse", but we won't be going there.  The last time we went it was totally nuts with people, wouldn't want to go during a holiday...will be much worse!!  😮 

 

Just a place to have room to cook turkey dinner, spend time together, and have my little sister and bro in law have their own bedroom and bathroom to stay the nights.  When they come to our house, our second bedroom is converted to our office...no place to say.  😞 She is doing the Covid tests for us on Friday, to have it ready to show on Sunday for Harmony. 

 

Will have just one day back home to unpack and repack for our B2B on Harmony.  Soooo looking forward to finally getting on a ship again!  🙂 

[Sea Dog]

9 minutes ago, bobmacliberty said:

We picked a great day for our sunset sail.   We were on a 70 foot catamaran that has plenty of room for everyone to spread out. 

 

 

Wow Those are beautiful pictures. 70 foot Cat that's nice. Got any more pictures of it. That's pretty big for a catamaran isn't it?

 

 

7 minutes ago, davekathy said:

Once all your friends see the pictures from your cruise you just may find yourself employed again. This time as a TA. 😉🍻

 

Hmmmm you got me thinking?

[davekathy]

Just now, Sea Dog said:

 

Hmmmm you got me thinking?

No ,no, don't do it. I was just kidding. 😁 Enjoy your well deserved retirement. If you're like most of us you do all the leg work for your cruises and just call the cruise line or a TA and give them all the details. 

[bobmacliberty]

The appetizers on the sunset sail were fine...little cups with humus and veggies, bread and fish dip, and shrimp.  They weren't enough however for a meal so off we went to the Half Shell Raw Bar.  It's a great place if you like really fresh fish in an unpretentious environment (although I guess that describes most of Key West).  We ordered a mix of several things including stone crab, mussels, shrimp, and oysters.  It was delicious.

 

After dinner, we created our own sort of bar crawl back down Duval to our hotel.  First stop was Sloppy Joe's.  We were a little disappointed.  The musician was good and the place had a decent atmosphere, but it was clearly full of drunk tourists.  Micheline ordered a vodka tonic that tasted terrible.  When she mentioned it to the bartender, he put a little of the fountain soda water in a cup and sure enough, it tasted bad.  I wonder when they last cleaned those fountain line?

 

We continued down Duval stopping at Irish Kevin's and Willie T's.  We liked Willie T's, mostly because they had a good guitar player.  Willie T's "schtick" is hanging one dollar bills all around the bar:

 

Chris, the bartender at our hotel bar, told us about a few local bars that he liked.  One was called Point 5, on the second floor above a restaurant called Nine One Five.  It's not well advertised and you have to almost know where it is.  You go up the outdoor steps on the side of the Nine One Five building and it has a smallish indoor bar are and an outside deck with tables overlooking Duval.  We sat at the bar and had a great conversation with a few people who primarily live elsewhere but also own property in Key West and go there frequently.  They were surprised that we knew about the pace.  The bartender made a fantastic Manhattan (for @Sea Dog, properly served straight up in a chilled martini glass) and might have also poured a couple of Basil Hayden's on the rocks.  It was a short walk across the street from there to our hotel.  Tuesday was a long but fun day.

[bobmacliberty]

23 minutes ago, Sea Dog said:

Wow Those are beautiful pictures. 70 foot Cat that's nice. Got any more pictures of it. That's pretty big for a catamaran isn't it?

 

I didn't spend a lot of time taking pictures of the boat itself.  I wish I had.  I was more focused on the sunset.  Here a a couple more from my camera roll.

 

 

 

[grapau27]

36 minutes ago, bobmacliberty said:

We picked a great day for our sunset sail.  Monday was too cloudy for a good sunset.  Wednesday was completely overcast and drizzling a little at sunset.  Tuesday was perfect.  We were on a 70 foot catamaran that has plenty of room for everyone to spread out.  There was a large central covered area with a bar, plenty of seating, a place for a guitar player, and steps down to 2 heads.  If you wanted sun, you could walk around the entire upper area of the boat. 

 

We boarded at 4:00 with music and open bar starting immediately, and pull away from the dock at 4:30.  There was a decent amount of wind so they raised the main sail.  Sunset was at 5:38 so we had enough time to cruise past Sunset Key and Mallory Square before going back and forth where we'd have a great view of the sun hitting the water.  I kept things simple by drinking their rum punch, which wasn't too strong.  After 45 minutes of open bar, the musician had the boat singing and dancing, and the sun started it's show.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lovely photos.

[dani negreanu]

9 minutes ago, davekathy said:

If you're like most of us you do all the leg work for your cruises and just your TA and give her all the details. 

 

👍  including the cabin # 😉

[Ocean Boy]

@bobmacliberty i'm really enjoying your Key West review!

[dani negreanu]

@singinalot

 

Crystal, how is your mom doing?

[akcruz]

@bobmacliberty great pictures, brings back great memories.  We stayed at the Southermost Hotel and rented bikes while there. A woman I worked with was a regular to KW and gave me a few of those local places to go to.  Of course we hit the big names but the smaller places were great. Want to go back at some point but haven't figured out when yet, hopefully they are still there and we remember where theyare.  Your pics are moving it back higher on our list!

[Luckynana]

6 hours ago, lenquixote66 said:

The brother of a guy I worked with was an Extra in Godfather I.Everyone in his Staten Island neighborhood saw him in the movie and it made him feel great .

 

 

The Bandleader at our Wedding was one of the guys in the band during Don Corleone's daughters' Wedding.  Jim used to do side work (carpentry, etc).  The house and property for Don Corleone in the movie was one of the homes that Jim did work on. Also, Jack Demyan, coowner of the Hofbrau (one of our hangouts back in the late 60's) was in the movie, as many Staten Islander's were.  Many of the people in the movie ate at the Hofbrau (I guess that's how Jack Demyan wound a small part in the movie).  

Marietta, did you hang out at the Hofbrau?

[Luckynana]

5 hours ago, Arzeena said:

We did 3 days in Key West, a really long time ago and stayed at the Casa Marina. I liked that place a lot.
(After that we have been several times on cruise ships).

Would love to do a drive down again. And would love to try and fit in the Dry Tortugas during a longer stay. Have been thinking about it a lot. Key West has its charm!
I remember there used to be a ferry from Fort Meyers (?) to KW.

Yes, Arzeena.  Ferry from Marco Island.   I do believe Ft. Myers also;  I know definitely Marco, since my SIL took it the last time she was in Naples.  My friends and I have thought about taking the ferry, but someone I know had really rough water when she went.  Something for me to think about.  Of course, I always have my Sea Bands if needed!😁

[Luckynana]

4 hours ago, bobmacliberty said:

 After 45 minutes of open bar, the musician had the boat singing and dancing, and the sun started it's show.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pictures are stunning, Bob!  You can never have enough Sunset pictures!!!

Great job on your review.

[Luckynana]

4 hours ago, island lady said:

 

Just a place to have room to cook turkey dinner, spend time together, and have my little sister and bro in law have their own bedroom and bathroom to stay the nights.  When they come to our house, our second bedroom is converted to our office...no place to say.  😞 She is doing the Covid tests for us on Friday, to have it ready to show on Sunday for Harmony. 

 

Will have just one day back home to unpack and repack for our B2B on Harmony.  Soooo looking forward to finally getting on a ship again!  🙂 

All good stuff, Pat!!!!🥰

[Luckynana]

5 hours ago, Sea Dog said:

Today is the day. The final Sea Dog  and wife Linda's retirement party. It should be a blast with lot's of people. It will be at a bar downtown KC that was a block from our old station building. We spent a lot of time there over the years and know the 2 generations of owners. Linda and I got engaged there and Joe the owner provided the bar at our wedding reception. Good people. I'll post a couple of pictures later.

Sounds like a wonderful and memorable evening for you and Linda, Greg!  I know you'll both ❤️enjoy it to the fullest!!!!