Cruiser Formerly Known As Cheapo Dad's Trip Report on Odyssey of the Seas Sailing to A Minus B Plus C Plus H Islands

[Biker19]

1 hour ago, Abowsi1516 said:

Something happened to my account and I gave up trying to fix it and ended up creating a new username/account.

The admins might be able to merge them. 

[harryfat1]

22 hours ago, perfect match said:

Your trip through Grand Central Station brought back a lot of memories. DH is originally from Brooklyn and spent a lot of time in Manhattan so he knows the city well.

 

We were living in CT and used to take the New Haven rail line into the city to see his mom. That ended 20 years ago when we moved to Florida. Things have certainly changed since then! For most of our trips we used paper tickets for the NHRR into the city and tokens for the subway ride out to Brooklyn. We finally started to use Metro Cards about a year or so before we moved to Florida. I think he may still have a token or two that were left over when we switched to the Metro cards. Fortunately for me DH knew his way around so all I had to do was follow him around. Grand Central looks very familiar in some ways, but very different in others. I’m looking forward to seeing more of the city through your eyes. 

Yeah, Grand Central is iconic in the NYC landmark.  Many movies have been made using the place as a backdrop.

 

We would be going back to Grand Central later on during the trip to explore the area but we were in a hurry to get to the hotel ASAP on day 1 as the weather app said rain was coming after 8 PM.  Since we dragged the suitcases a few blocks, it wouldn't be ideal to do it in the rain/thunderstorm.

 

As you have seen from my NYC itinerary, I signed up for several walking tours as I prefer to know every area’s history that I’m visiting.  So I will be seeing things slightly differently than a local resident.

 

[harryfat1]

7 hours ago, Abowsi1516 said:

Thanks for your response! Actually I've been on CC for years with a couple thousand posts but drifted away before COVID. Something happened to my account and I gave up trying to fix it and ended up creating a new username/account. The itinerary looks great!

 

Haha, yeah, I know the feeling of “starting over”.  Eons ago, I was a CC member using the regular “Harryfat” as the screen name. 

 

This was back in the 1990’s when I was using AOL and dial-up 54K modem to access the Internet.  Anyone who remembers those days is OLD as the current age of young kids will look at you with a blank stare if you refer to dial-up modems.  “You’ve Got Mail…” – click on the like button if you remember hearing this phrase from the old days…

 

Anyway, I left CC after the boys were born and didn’t come back until later when planning a cruise with them but I couldn’t access my old CC account as I had set it up with my old AOL email that I no longer had access to.  Back then AOL charged a monthly fee to use their email system. 

 

So I had to create a new account – Harryfat1 (dang, we accountants are a creative bunch, aren’t we to come up with this original screen name?) in order to post on CC back in 2005 when I rejoined.

 

I know, more history that nobody cares about…

 

5 hours ago, Biker19 said:

The admins might be able to merge them. 

 

Huh. Interesting. I wonder if they can retrieve my history from the 1990s.  But I don’t think I posted much back then.

[harryfat1]

Onward with NYC trip report.

 

After getting the food, we made a stop at a 24-hour grocery store 2 blocks from the hotel to get a few gallons of water to use for the next few days.

 

A couple of pictures of the Rockefeller Center area on the way back.

 

 

 

 

 

So here is the food as we brought them back to the hotel room to eat.  We all got the chicken and lamb combo over rice. At less than $10/box, this is a bargain food in NYC – not counting the $1.50 slice of pizza at the various sites.

 

 

 

 

I liked the food as it was flavorful and you get a lot of food for the money (did I mention I’m cheap?).

 

With the kitchen area, we made some hot tea to go with the dinner so that’s one huge benefit of having a kitchen area.  

 

Then we unpacked and took a shower and called it a day as we finally arrived in NYC.

 

This concludes day 1 of the NYC trip report.

[harryfat1]

Day 2 – June 27 (Midtown NYC)

 

Here’s the complimentary breakfast area where we would be every morning eating our breakfast before heading out.  Not gourmet food by any means but plenty of food to fill the stomach without having to go out to a café nearby daily to buy breakfast.

 

 

 

 

 

After breakfast, it was time to head out to see Midtown Manhattan in the daylight.

 

 

 

[harryfat1]

So as I mentioned in the beginning, we were in NYC for 9 nights and the regular subway pass is only valid for 7 days so for 2 days we will not be using the subway.  Today is one of those non-subway days as we planned the various activities around the hotel that are all within walking range (although every person’s definition of walkable is different). 

 

The first item on the agenda is a big one as we hit the ground running in booking the observation deck at Summit One.  NYC has like 5 observation decks and this is the newest one.  It’s easily an Instammger’s dream spot as you can fill your Instagram pages (or a CC trip report) just with one visit.

 

The Summit is located within an 11-minute walk from the hotel as you grow in appreciation of staying in Midtown with its close access to many big-name attractions.

 

 

You can scour the Internet to find third-party sellers for all the NYC sites.  There are also NYC “passes” that you can buy if you plan to see many of the sights that are available on the pass and in theory those can save you some money. 

 

I did more cost analysis than I care to admit (can you spell E-X-C-E-L?) in comparing the costs of all the passes (more than 6 different ones) versus buying them separately at the various discount vendors. 

 

In the end, I decided to do them a la carte as it worked out better for what we wanted to see but in theory, you can save some money if you select the right NYC tourist pass that fits your itinerary.

[harryfat1]

As with all things NYC, it was time to stand in line for the queue.  You make reservations at the 30-minute mark (i.e. 10/10:30/11/11:30) to go in as they try to space out the long lines.

 

The first thing to do at the queue is to get the plastic cover for your shoes as the whole area is covered in glass and they don’t want your shoes/heels to damage the mirrors.  So everyone is forced to have these shoe coverings on.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then the second accessory they issue is sunglasses.  With the sun shining on all the mornings.s you will have problems seeing at certain parts of the observation deck from the glare so the sunglasses are given out to protect your eyes.  Almost felt like I’m on a Disney/Universal ride where they issue you 3D glasses for the ride.

 

They also take a picture of you with an overhead camera to be superimposed over a virtual background later.

 

Then the last thing you need to do is stand in front of the 3D facial imagining monitor for the software to generate a 3D photo of you that you will see later as well they issue each person a wrist tag with a specific QR code to ID who you are.

 

 

OK.  All the prep work is done. Time to get in line and go up to 91^st floor. Your eardrums will likely pop as you are whisked up in a speedy elevator that takes you up in about 43 seconds.

[harryfat1]

You come out in some funky-colored corridor (actual colors. Not photoshopped by me) and then BAM – the bright lights hit you.

 

 

WOW!

 

 

 

You have mirrors above/below you.  Clear floor-to-ceiling glass window to see the NYC skyline. Immediate sensor overload as you don’t know whether to look up/down/sideways.  Not sure where/how to take the pictures of the surroundings.  On top of that, it’s super bright with the sunshine as you put on the sunglasses they issued you.

 

Not to mention they play some weird mechanical music in the background as they try to stimulate every sense in your body.  The only thing missing is the smell.  Maybe that’s the next iteration

 

[harryfat1]

Don’t come here if you are hung over from a party the night before as this will be torture for you.

 

One more item of note – DO NOT wear a dress/skirt coming here as the floor has mirrors that are reflected everywhere such that your undergarments can easily be seen by others.  Wear pants or shorts…

 

We are not fashionable people so we really don’t know where to stand/how to pose but you can see many younger people are much more experienced in posing for their Instagram/social media pages than us.

 

Oh, yeah, there’s the million-dollar view outside as well.  From the 91^st floor, you can see a 360 degree of Manhattan and the other NYC boroughs but it's hard to look outside when you are tripping out in the mirror world.

 

 

 

 

 

Selfie Time with the sunglasses they provided...

 

 

 

Somewhere in the back of my head, I'm thinking this is the modern-day drug-free clean version of the Jefferson Airplane song:

 

 

[harryfat1]

 

 

 

Empire State Building

 

 

Selfie with the ceiling mirror reflection

 

 

Family selfie with circular mirror ceiling

 

[harryfat1]

 

 

Here is the picture of another observation deck called the Edge.  Their draw is the platform sticks out to the side of the building and the people stand outside over the edge of the building with a glass bottom.  We didn’t go to that one as the Summit is more interesting for us.

 

 

When zoomed in, you can see there are people out on the observation deck out there as we are looking at them looking at us.

 

 

More NYC scenery

 

 

If you have a fear of heights, don't sit next to the window as it's a long way down

 

[harryfat1]

 

 

 

[harryfat1]

After that, it was time to move on to the next stage in going one floor up to the 92^nd floor.  Some silver cloud looking artwork. 

 

Call me dumb if you will, but I just “don’t get” modern art.  

 

It looks nice but not really sure it’s that sophisticated/difficult peace to make that any 10-year-old can draw in free hand, but that’s just my undereducated opinion…

 

 

 

 

 

[rncruiser]

3 hours ago, harryfat1 said:

 

Haha, yeah, I know the feeling of “starting over”.  Eons ago, I was a CC member using the regular “Harryfat” as the screen name. 

 

This was back in the 1990’s when I was using AOL and dial-up 54K modem to access the Internet.  Anyone who remembers those days is OLD as the current age of young kids will look at you with a blank stare if you refer to dial-up modems.  “You’ve Got Mail…” – click on the like button if you remember hearing this phrase from the old days…

 

Anyway, I left CC after the boys were born and didn’t come back until later when planning a cruise with them but I couldn’t access my old CC account as I had set it up with my old AOL email that I no longer had access to.  Back then AOL charged a monthly fee to use their email system. 

 

 

I’m surprised you couldn’t access your old AOL account. My husband stopped using his many years ago. According to AOL they close your account if you don’t access it for 90 days. Or at least that was what they said way back when. About a year ago I was curious and tried to access it and sure enough it is still there and had hundreds of unread emails in it. 

[JamesEM]

Looks like a miniature golf course on steroids to me.   

[rncruiser]

2 hours ago, harryfat1 said:

After that, it was time to move on to the next stage in going one floor up to the 92^nd floor.  Some silver cloud looking artwork. 

 

Call me dumb if you will, but I just “don’t get” modern art.  

 

It looks nice but not really sure it’s that sophisticated/difficult peace to make that any 10-year-old can draw in free hand, but that’s just my undereducated opinion…

 

 

 

 

 

I have to agree with you about modern art. Here’s a couple of pictures I took at the Tate n in London. I would love to know how these are considered museum-worthy. 

[rncruiser]

Now I know why I don’t usually add photos to my comments. I really don’t know how to upload them properly. 

[NHProud]

Thank you so much ! Always a pleasure reading your posts and your photos are outstanding.

[Biker19]

On 7/15/2024 at 10:24 PM, harryfat1 said:

Nevertheless, it was impressive to see a long line at 9:30 PM waiting for food when there were other food carts on every other block in Midtown.

Their line is usually much shorter for lunch.

[harryfat1]

18 hours ago, rncruiser said:

I’m surprised you couldn’t access your old AOL account. My husband stopped using his many years ago. According to AOL they close your account if you don’t access it for 90 days. Or at least that was what they said way back when. About a year ago I was curious and tried to access it and sure enough it is still there and had hundreds of unread emails in it. 

Back in the old days, AOL charged like $20/month (probably $70 in current money) to have access to their website/email account.  To gain access back to the account at that time, AOL would have charged me $20/month to access my old email account. 

 

Sorry to say, but CC access is not worth $20 to me if the alternative is just to create a new account since I wasn’t too concerned about accessing old email as I had created other email accounts by then and outgrew the obsolete AOL business model.

[harryfat1]

18 hours ago, rncruiser said:

I have to agree with you about modern art. Here’s a couple of pictures I took at the Tate n in London. I would love to know how these are considered museum-worthy. 

It must be the special way the artwork was shredded.  Not just anyone off the street can shred an artwork like a professional. 

 

It must be done by an artist who has special insights about life that we can’t comprehend to rip out specific sections just at the exact area (or after he/she had too much to drink and went off on a tantrum…) 🤪

 

[harryfat1]

11 hours ago, Biker19 said:

Their line is usually much shorter for lunch.

I seldom see any lines at the other food carts.  Just these guys as social media has hyped them up to “must visit” status.

 

Per Yelp, they start doing business at 6 PM and close shop near the crack of dawn at 5 AM so they are not available at lunch:

 

https://www.yelp.com/biz/adels-famous-halal-food-new-york?sort_by=date_desc

 

 

 

The various reviews will talk about the long wait time in line as word of mouth (social media) has spread the news to come here for the best halal food in town.

 

We didn’t try other Halal food carts to compare quality/quantity to Adel’s.  We just went there on day 1 as it was one of the few places opened late in the night near walking distance to the hotel and I wanted to “feel the crowd” of NYC after landing to be in line with the masses at 10 PM. 

 

You can't get this type of vibe at FLL or any other US city. 

 

I mapped out a couple of other Halal foods within 3 blocks of Adel’s in case we were too tired/raining too hard to want to stand in line for 45+ minutes for dinner at 10 PM but we decided to do Adel's as after the rain, the line wasn't as bad as other videos have mentioned.

 

Over 1 million views on the reviews of various halal food carts in NYC in this video.  Adel's was mentioned here:

 

 

 

 

One of the many YouTube videos showing the long lines. Could be all the dumb tourists going there to stand in line to be with other dumb tourists as we all bought into the hype... 

 

 

[Biker19]

8 minutes ago, harryfat1 said:

Per Yelp, they start doing business at 6 PM and close shop near the crack of dawn at 5 AM so they are not available at lunch

I got them confused with another popular truck (actually they have a couple) a couple of blocks away. 
 

Biker, who has stayed in the area many times in September for work. 

[harryfat1]

1 hour ago, Biker19 said:

I got them confused with another popular truck (actually they have a couple) a couple of blocks away. 
 

Biker, who has stayed in the area many times in September for work. 

Maybe you are thinking of the Halal Guys?  They guys are the OG of the Halal Food craze.

 

They fit the 4-block walk that you referenced:

 

 

 

The reviews on the Halal Guys have been mixed lately as supposedly they have "Gone Corporate" in franchising their product and are less devoted to the OG quality.

 

I don't know as I only ate at Adel's.  Here is one YouTube video review of the Halal Guys:

 

 

Harry, who has only eaten at one Halal food cart, trying to sound educated on this topic but really has no clue in sounding like a dumb tourist....

[Biker19]

2 minutes ago, harryfat1 said:

Maybe you are thinking of the Halal Guys? 

Yes, it was convenient to the Hilton there.