JamieLogical's March 19 Summit Sailing

[dgoz]

What is the Whisper game?

[Laurab23]

How are your patches working out? I ordered some for my May cruise.

 

Laura

[misha1]

2 hours ago, JamieLogical said:

 

We are on the September 2 sailing.

Ah, we are Sept 9th.  Sorry we will miss you

[JamieLogical]

3 hours ago, dgoz said:

What is the Whisper game?

It's a game where there are two teams. They line up and everyone puts on headphones that are piping through loud music. The first person in line takes off their headphones and is given a word or a phrase, that the have to mouth to the next person in line. That person has to try to lip-read the phrase and then pass it along to the next person. It can be hilarious when people get it wrong and super impressive when people get it right. The most impressive last night was "I Love Eggs". It got through the full chain of people I scathed. By then there had already been a few miserable fails like "I am a tomato" turning into "I am a cheap ho"....

[JamieLogical]

I just realized I didn't post my drink log from yesterday!

 

3/21

Day's Drinks: Mimosa x3, Giant Mimosa x2, Americano with Bailey's, Rum Mule x3, Vodka Sour

[cluso]

2 hours ago, JamieLogical said:

It's a game where there are two teams. They line up and everyone puts on headphones that are piping through loud music. The first person in line takes off their headphones and is given a word or a phrase, that the have to mouth to the next person in line. That person has to try to lip-read the phrase and then pass it along to the next person. It can be hilarious when people get it wrong and super impressive when people get it right. The most impressive last night was "I Love Eggs". It got through the full chain of people I scathed. By then there had already been a few miserable fails like "I am a tomato" turning into "I am a cheap ho"....

 

Sounds like the new version of the old "telephone" game.

[zitsky]

1 hour ago, JamieLogical said:

I just realized I didn't post my drink log from yesterday!

 

3/21

Day's Drinks: Mimosa x3, Giant Mimosa x2, Americano with Bailey's, Rum Mule x3, Vodka Sour

Americano.  Everyone seems to like the coffee in Cafe Al Bacio rather than the buffet coffee?

[DaKahuna]

3 minutes ago, zitsky said:

Americano.  Everyone seems to like the coffee in Cafe Al Bacio rather than the buffet coffee?

That is because the coffee in the buffet is not that good. 
not to mention you get the coffee in one place and the Bailey’s in another place in the OVC.  Whereas if you go to Cafe Al Bacio it’s ‘one stop shopping.’

 

[Woody14]

2 hours ago, JamieLogical said:

I just realized I didn't post my drink log from yesterday!

 

3/21

Day's Drinks: Mimosa x3, Giant Mimosa x2, Americano with Bailey's, Rum Mule x3, Vodka Sour

practical question are you writing them down as you go?   do you have to look them up in your account?

 

[JamieLogical]

7 hours ago, Woody14 said:

practical question are you writing them down as you go?   do you have to look them up in your account?

 

I am keeping a log as I go. I don't think they appear anywhere in my account.

[JamieLogical]

3/22

 

Yesterday was one of those perfect cruise days that makes you wish that you could just cruise forever.

 

I had the room service set to arrive a half hour earlier than normal (6:30-7:00, instead of 7:00-7:30). We were already docked in Puerto Plata, but I got to watch the Norwegian Encore arrive and dock next to us while I had my coffee and ate my croissant.

 

My husband and I had been scheduled to sail on the Encore's inaugural transatlantic back in November of 2019, but we canceled after they changed the itinerary from an 11-day from Southampton to Miami to a 9-day from Southampton to NYC. We had no interested in 9 days in the norther Atlantic in November....

 

Anyway, we have sailed many times on the Escape and Bliss, which are the Encore's sister ships, so I was familiar with the layout and location of everything. I was briefly confused by a woman sitting along a bar behind a window that I didn't remember being there and then I realized that is the new, enclosed smoking area on Deck 8. It looked awkward. Just a glassed in section of the otherwise open deck with a bar along the glass so smokers could sit there and look out at the ocean from their little fishbowl. Also, the hull art of the Encore is every bit as hideous in real life as it was in the renderings when it was being built.

 

After my coffee, I was in a bit of a rush to get showered and dressed and get my notes typed up from the previous day. Ended up forgetting my watch and my 360 camera on my way out the door after applying my sunscreen.

 

My excursion ticket said to meet at the end of the pier. It did not mention the fact that the pier is about a mile long. So, I was really moving quickly to make my 8:10 meeting time. I managed to get there at 8:07 and they told me I was early! It was another 15 minutes or so before everyone else arrived. I need not have hurried! But I took the opportunity to eat the Clif Bar I had brought with me since I didn't have time for a proper breakfast.

 

Our tour guide was a man calling himself "Papa Felix" and he was quite a character. It was clear he was full of pride for his country. He talked at length about the history, economy, education, and healthcare. He also missed his calling as a Peleton instructor, as he was always telling us "andele, andele" as we slowed down to take pictures or walk carefully on slick, uneven ground.

 

The tour took us up the mountain by bus, which was an adventurous drive. Like every Caribbean island I have been to, drivers do not appear to value their lives, especially those on motorcycles and mopeds. They drive like complete maniacs and it is an endless mystery to me that there are hundreds dead every day from it.

 

The road up the mountain was quite rough in spots, and incredibly steep. It was very impressive our bus made it up. We were told the elevation was 800 meters. At the top there was a beautiful park/botanical garden that we got to hike through a bit. It had rained in the early morning, so the walkways were slick. I was very worried about someone slipping as we climbed up and down, but we all made it, even one woman with a bad knee and one woman with a sprained ankle. Felix, our taskmaster, kept us moving briskly.

 

After exploring the park, we took the cable car back down the mountain. It was quite crowded and I didn't get a very good spot, but I did my best to take some pictures.

 

At the bottom, we were met by our bus driver, Edgar, again and he took us into town for some shopping. Specifically, we were taken to a jewely store that sells amber and larimar, the official stones of Dominican Republic. We were taught how to spot real and fake amber and shown some pieces of jewelry, then let loose in the store to receive the hard sell. Felix must get some kind of commission, because he was pushing me hard to buy some earrings and a ring.

 

From there we went to "Umbrella Street" where we visited a coffee shop that sold organic Dominican coffee and chocolate. Again, we received a little presentation from one of the shop workers about the process of growing coffee and coco. I ended up buying a bag of coffee beans.

 

We then visited and alleyway that is painted pink in honor of a woman who was an advocate for breast cancer patients. I wish we had gotten a little more time there to read and learn about her.

 

We also stopped at the central park across from the government buildings where there were a few statues. We go almost no time there to take pictures. I think I only got one.

 

We finished up the tour at a fort that was built in 1502. It's the only fort in Puerto Plata, built to fend off pirates. This time, we were given all of about 30 seconds to hop off the bus, take a photo or two, and get back on. No time at all to explore.

 

Then it was back to the pier where I explored the newly built port area with it's cute shops and a collection of exotic birds. It was quite pretty, but as I was very hot and hungry by this time, I decided to take the long walk down the pier, back to the ship for some air conditioning and lunch.

 

I had lunch in the buffet, my favorite mix of "Latin" and Indian food. I even had a bit of ice cream! Then it was time to change out of my sweaty clothes and take a much-needed nap.

 

After my nap, I got dressed for the day and headed to Cafe al Bacio for my afternoon coffee. To my delight, Anna was playing there.

 

As e began to sail away, I decided to head up to the Sky Lounge to see what was so tough about navigating away from the pier, since the Escape had gotten stuck about a week ago. I didn't see anything obvious, but what do I know?

 

I then headed to the Sunset Bar to watch more of the sail away and listen to some live music. To my surprise, "The Ways", the live duo who were playing there, were a group that I knew as the "Rippy Dippy Duo" from my November Summit sailing. Apparently they have changed their name a couple of times since then, but they were fantastic! It was seriously like they went into my phone and downloaded my playlist. They played The Beatles, The Monkees, Willy Nelson, Buddy Holly, Paul Simon, and Tom Petty. All favorites of mine! Sail away from Puerto Plata was beautiful and the music made it all the more enjoyable. It was one of those perfect moments you can only have on a cruise.

 

After the sail away, I briefly stopped by Cellar Masters for a French 77 and to catch a little of the Diamond Duo, then it was off to Blu for everyone's favorite night, Lobster Night! For me, it was m favorite night, because it was another Blue Cheese Soufflé night! I, of course had that, along with the lobster tail, and I decided to try the Angus Beef Stuffed Shells, which actually turned out to be manicotti, but they were quite good. Glad I gave them a try. Instead of a second serving of Blue Cheese Soufflé for dessert, this time I had a small scoop of Eight O'clock Ice Cream.

 

After dinner, it was off the the Rendezvous Lounge for the Majority Rules gameshow. It was pretty entertaining, even though I didn't participate. A couple of the bartenders and I pretended to be our own team and came up with our own answers. I met a younger couple at the bar and got them to try the bartender's attempt at a Mr. Worldwide, which was pretty good, if just a little over sweet with a little too much strawberry puree.

 

I then headed to the casino to lose some money before the main theater show for the evening, Legends. It was great! It was four guys doing a huge range of music. They started with The Beatles, but ended up with Bruno Mars and a whole bunch of stuff in between. It was very enjoyable and the crowd was really into it, which always adds to the fun.

 

After the show, I lost the rest of my daily budget in the casino and headed up to Late Night Snack. It was a really enjoyable day all around.

[JamieLogical]

3/22

 

Docked in Puerto Plata:

 

 

 

The pier area where I waited for my tour:

 

 

A bus like the one our tour was in:

 

Bus ride up the mountain:

 

 

 

 

The park at the top of the mountain:

 

View from the top... can you see our ships down there?

 

Christ the Redeemer statue:

 

A few of the hundreds of photos I took of plants:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

More views from the top of the mountain:

 

 

 

A bridge that we passed by on our hike:

 

Views from the building the cable car left from:

 

Views from the cable car:

 

 

 

 

 

Umbrella Street:

 

The pink alley and a statue of the woman it honors:

 

 

Central park:

 

The fort built in 1502:

 

 

The new pier area with it's exotic birds, bars, and shops:

 

 

 

 

 

A view of the fort from the pier on my way back to the ship:

 

The Summit:

 

Lunch:

 

 

Cafe al Bacio:

 

 

Sail away from the Sky Lounge:

 

 

Sail away from the Sunset Bar:

 

 

 

 

 

Diamond Duo:

 

Dinner in Blu:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Majority Rules gameshow in Rendezvous Lounge:

 

Legends in the Main Theater:

 

 

 

 

Late Night Snack:

Edited March 23, 2022 by JamieLogical

[Ferry_Watcher]

You do like your pizza and slices of cheese!  ;  )

[JamieLogical]

8 minutes ago, Ferry_Watcher said:

You do like your pizza and slices of cheese!  ;  )

 

They are perfect for soaking up the alcohol! Which reminds me....

 

[JamieLogical]

Day's Drinks: Americano with Bailey's, Mojito, Mango Meltdown, French 77 x4, Mr. Worldwide x2

[Woody14]

3 hours ago, JamieLogical said:

I am keeping a log as I go. I don't think they appear anywhere in my account.

Well then big props to you for tracking that after a couple of French77's I would forget to count.🤪

 

Second this is good news so my wife won't be able to know how many drinks I really had in a day 🤑

[padgman1]

Enjoying your day-by-day review...

 

What is the heavenly-looking slice of cake next to your coffee from Cafe al Bacio???

[Chrissi3010]

1 hour ago, JamieLogical said:

Day's Drinks: Americano with Bailey's, Mojito, Mango Meltdown, French 77 x4, Mr. Worldwide x2

What was the drink you posted before the picture of Diamond Duo? Yellow and red....

[JamieLogical]

6 minutes ago, padgman1 said:

Enjoying your day-by-day review...

 

What is the heavenly-looking slice of cake next to your coffee from Cafe al Bacio???

That was some chocolate cake with white chocolate frosting they had as their special.

[JamieLogical]

1 minute ago, Chrissi3010 said:

What was the drink you posted before the picture of Diamond Duo? Yellow and red....

That is what I have heard called a Mango Meltdown on NCL. It's strawberry puree, mango, and rum.

[Purplsmurf]

2 hours ago, JamieLogical said:

3/22

 

Yesterday was one of those perfect cruise days that makes you wish that you could just cruise forever.

 

I had the room service set to arrive a half hour earlier than normal (6:30-7:00, instead of 7:00-7:30). We were already docked in Puerto Plata, but I got to watch the Norwegian Encore arrive and dock next to us while I had my coffee and ate my croissant.

 

My husband and I had been scheduled to sail on the Encore's inaugural transatlantic back in November of 2019, but we canceled after they changed the itinerary from an 11-day from Southampton to Miami to a 9-day from Southampton to NYC. We had no interested in 9 days in the norther Atlantic in November....

 

Anyway, we have sailed many times on the Escape and Bliss, which are the Encore's sister ships, so I was familiar with the layout and location of everything. I was briefly confused by a woman sitting along a bar behind a window that I didn't remember being there and then I realized that is the new, enclosed smoking area on Deck 8. It looked awkward. Just a glassed in section of the otherwise open deck with a bar along the glass so smokers could sit there and look out at the ocean from their little fishbowl. Also, the hull art of the Encore is every bit as hideous in real life as it was in the renderings when it was being built.

 

After my coffee, I was in a bit of a rush to get showered and dressed and get my notes typed up from the previous day. Ended up forgetting my watch and my 360 camera on my way out the door after applying my sunscreen.

 

My excursion ticket said to meet at the end of the pier. It did not mention the fact that the pier is about a mile long. So, I was really moving quickly to make my 8:10 meeting time. I managed to get there at 8:07 and they told me I was early! It was another 15 minutes or so before everyone else arrived. I need not have hurried! But I took the opportunity to eat the Clif Bar I had brought with me since I didn't have time for a proper breakfast.

 

Our tour guide was a man calling himself "Papa Felix" and he was quite a character. It was clear he was full of pride for his country. He talked at length about the history, economy, education, and healthcare. He also missed his calling as a Peleton instructor, as he was always telling us "andele, andele" as we slowed down to take pictures or walk carefully on slick, uneven ground.

 

The tour took us up the mountain by bus, which was an adventurous drive. Like every Caribbean island I have been to, drivers do not appear to value their lives, especially those on motorcycles and mopeds. They drive like complete maniacs and it is an endless mystery to me that there are hundreds dead every day from it.

 

The road up the mountain was quite rough in spots, and incredibly steep. It was very impressive our bus made it up. We were told the elevation was 800 meters. At the top there was a beautiful park/botanical garden that we got to hike through a bit. It had rained in the early morning, so the walkways were slick. I was very worried about someone slipping as we climbed up and down, but we all made it, even one woman with a bad knee and one woman with a sprained ankle. Felix, our taskmaster, kept us moving briskly.

 

After exploring the park, we took the cable car back down the mountain. It was quite crowded and I didn't get a very good spot, but I did my best to take some pictures.

 

At the bottom, we were met by our bus driver, Edgar, again and he took us into town for some shopping. Specifically, we were taken to a jewely store that sells amber and larimar, the official stones of Dominican Republic. We were taught how to spot real and fake amber and shown some pieces of jewelry, then let loose in the store to receive the hard sell. Felix must get some kind of commission, because he was pushing me hard to buy some earrings and a ring.

 

From there we went to "Umbrella Street" where we visited a coffee shop that sold organic Dominican coffee and chocolate. Again, we received a little presentation from one of the shop workers about the process of growing coffee and coco. I ended up buying a bag of coffee beans.

 

We then visited and alleyway that is painted pink in honor of a woman who was an advocate for breast cancer patients. I wish we had gotten a little more time there to read and learn about her.

 

We also stopped at the central park across from the government buildings where there were a few statues. We go almost no time there to take pictures. I think I only got one.

 

We finished up the tour at a fort that was built in 1502. It's the only fort in Puerto Plata, built to fend off pirates. This time, we were given all of about 30 seconds to hop off the bus, take a photo or two, and get back on. No time at all to explore.

 

Then it was back to the pier where I explored the newly built port area with it's cute shops and a collection of exotic birds. It was quite pretty, but as I was very hot and hungry by this time, I decided to take the long walk down the pier, back to the ship for some air conditioning and lunch.

 

I had lunch in the buffet, my favorite mix of "Latin" and Indian food. I even had a bit of ice cream! Then it was time to change out of my sweaty clothes and take a much-needed nap.

 

After my nap, I got dressed for the day and headed to Cafe al Bacio for my afternoon coffee. To my delight, Anna was playing there.

 

As e began to sail away, I decided to head up to the Sky Lounge to see what was so tough about navigating away from the pier, since the Escape had gotten stuck about a week ago. I didn't see anything obvious, but what do I know?

 

I then headed to the Sunset Bar to watch more of the sail away and listen to some live music. To my surprise, "The Ways", the live duo who were playing there, were a group that I knew as the "Rippy Dippy Duo" from my November Summit sailing. Apparently they have changed their name a couple of times since then, but they were fantastic! It was seriously like they went into my phone and downloaded my playlist. They played The Beatles, The Monkees, Willy Nelson, Buddy Holly, Paul Simon, and Tom Petty. All favorites of mine! Sail away from Puerto Plata was beautiful and the music made it all the more enjoyable. It was one of those perfect moments you can only have on a cruise.

 

After the sail away, I briefly stopped by Cellar Masters for a French 77 and to catch a little of the Diamond Duo, then it was off to Blu for everyone's favorite night, Lobster Night! For me, it was m favorite night, because it was another Blue Cheese Soufflé night! I, of course had that, along with the lobster tail, and I decided to try the Angus Beef Stuffed Shells, which actually turned out to be manicotti, but they were quite good. Glad I gave them a try. Instead of a second serving of Blue Cheese Soufflé for dessert, this time I had a small scoop of Eight O'clock Ice Cream.

 

After dinner, it was off the the Rendezvous Lounge for the Majority Rules gameshow. It was pretty entertaining, even though I didn't participate. A couple of the bartenders and I pretended to be our own team and came up with our own answers. I met a younger couple at the bar and got them to try the bartender's attempt at a Mr. Worldwide, which was pretty good, if just a little over sweet with a little too much strawberry puree.

 

I then headed to the casino to lose some money before the main theater show for the evening, Legends. It was great! It was four guys doing a huge range of music. They started with The Beatles, but ended up with Bruno Mars and a whole bunch of stuff in between. It was very enjoyable and the crowd was really into it, which always adds to the fun.

 

After the show, I lost the rest of my daily budget in the casino and headed up to Late Night Snack. It was a really enjoyable day all around.

I believe the group was Legacy, not Legends. We met them on our cruise in December. Justin and Tracy are always there and the two others seem to change. We spent a lot of time with Justin and Tracy. We met them Sunday night and they didn’t perform until Thursday so we hung out with them every night. Great guys and great performance! We are hoping to catch them in the US soon. They were supposed to perform in Chicago on NYE (Justin is from Chicago), but Covid had other plans so they had to cancel. So glad you were able to see them perform!

[JamieLogical]

4 minutes ago, Purplsmurf said:

I believe the group was Legacy, not Legends. We met them on our cruise in December. Justin and Tracy are always there and the two others seem to change. We spent a lot of time with Justin and Tracy. We met them Sunday night and they didn’t perform until Thursday so we hung out with them every night. Great guys and great performance! We are hoping to catch them in the US soon. They were supposed to perform in Chicago on NYE (Justin is from Chicago), but Covid had other plans so they had to cancel. So glad you were able to see them perform!

You are right! I went back through the planner from yesterday and they are, in fact, called Legacy! Too late to amend my original posts.

[Laurab23]

So they are still selling lorimar jewelry? 25 years ago in ports they were urging us to buy it because it was getting scarce. LOL

 

Laura

[DCPIV]

5 hours ago, JamieLogical said:

French 77 x4

 

Is a French 77 a version of the French 75 but with a li'l sumpin' extra? 😀

[JamieLogical]

40 minutes ago, DCPIV said:

 

Is a French 77 a version of the French 75 but with a li'l sumpin' extra? 😀

 

It is St. Germain, lemon juice, and prosecco.