Another Sun 3/18 - 3/25 report

[jaylb31]

Day 8 Continued: The End

 

I know, I know, after you get off the ship the review is supposed to end, but you're also not supposed to blather on about mundane details and I already did that. Anyway, the NCL bus to the airport seemed to go much more quickly than it had on the way to the ship, less traffic, and we arrived by 10:15 or so. We got all of our bags and stopped at the Air Tran self-check in to get our seats. However, the flight did not leave until 8 p.m. so we could not check our bags and even if we could have I would not want to because they would probably end up in Chicago hours before we did and do that lonely circle around the conveyor belt. Yes, the 8 p.m. flight seems like bad planning, but in what turned out to be a very fortunate coincidence my girlfriend's friends from college, twin sisters, were in the Ft. Lauderdale area that afternoon. We had already made plans to rent a car ($30 for the day) from E-Z which I had never heard of but they were fine. The rental car companies are all in one building at the Ft. Lauderdale airport which is probably a good idea but it didn't seem to keep the lines down, especially at Enterprise where the wait looked very long. A young boy was practically passed out on the floor and paramedics came and helped him which provided a nice spectacle for those bored with the line. I found it kind of funny that even the paramedics in Ft. Lauderdale wear sunglasses during the action and look like actors, or at least these guys did, but I guess when you live in the Midwest you get used to a lot of frump.

 

We pulled off in the rental and did a bit of exploring in Ft. Lauderdale since the twins were not scheduled to arrive in town until 1:30 or 2 p.m. After some driving around we settled on a strip of restaurants on Las Olmas and ended up eating at the Floridian which seems like more of a late night diner than a Saturday lunch spot but it was good.

 

After lunch we went to meet the twins at the Crowne Plaza in Sunrise, Florida, which is just west of Fort Lauderdale but took a while as we were not close to the highway. After a brief stop at the hotel (which seemed nice but probably kind of far for cruisers) we followed the tour bus to the stadium. What tour bus? What stadium? Well, the twins are backup singers for Natalie Cole so we went to watch their sound check for that night's concert at the Bank Atlantic Arena (home of the NHL's Florida Panthers). This was a fun experience because the arena was mostly deserted and it was interesting being on the floor (no ice of course). After Natalie Cole did her thing for a while we drove back to return the rental car and check our bags for the flight.

 

Again, probably not wise to ever take a flight that is scheduled to land around midnight. At least it was on time though, both the connecting flight to Atlanta and our flight into Chicago Midway. By the time the slow Midway luggage came out it was nearly 1 a.m. CST. The hotel where we had stayed pre-cruise could not locate their shuttle (??) so they arranged for a cab to pick us up, which they paid for. We arrived at the hotel around 1:20 a.m. to find very cold temperatures and a hotel full of drunken wedding partiers. We cut through the boisterous hallways to the back lot where the car was parked and I threw the luggage into the trunk and back seat but noticed something was wrong.

 

Okay, back to the very beginning of this review, I said I went out around 3 a.m. the morning of the cruise and found that key card between the seats? Well, in my sleep haze I must have forgotten to turn off the overhead lamp because the missing element when I opened the car door was a light. The battery, less than 2 months old, was completely and utterly dead. Hmmm. Will this be a murder-suicide or just a murder? Depends on if my girlfriend spares her own life. No, we walk all the way back around the hotel because of course the back door requires a key and the desk clerk was very, very helpful giving us a jump. He even drove up on the grass because the car was parked head first (good tip, don't do that for long stays) between two other long term parkers. Then there was the matter of the two hour drive back home, which after the search for cables, the other car, and someone to drive it, meant that we got home around 4 a.m. Despite this last bump in the road we had a great cruise and enjoyed ourselves 100% of the time. The only negative thing I can say is that after my first cruise I thought I would not want to cruise with any other line but now we are considering others, though NCL would still be my first choice.

 

Next: nothing :)

[newmexicoNita]

Day 8 Continued: The End

 

I know, I know, after you get off the ship the review is supposed to end, but you're also not supposed to blather on about mundane details and I already did that. Anyway, the NCL bus to the airport seemed to go much more quickly than it had on the way to the ship, less traffic, and we arrived by 10:15 or so. We got all of our bags and stopped at the Air Tran self-check in to get our seats. However, the flight did not leave until 8 p.m. so we could not check our bags and even if we could have I would not want to because they would probably end up in Chicago hours before we did and do that lonely circle around the conveyor belt. Yes, the 8 p.m. flight seems like bad planning, but in what turned out to be a very fortunate coincidence my girlfriend's friends from college, twin sisters, were in the Ft. Lauderdale area that afternoon. We had already made plans to rent a car ($30 for the day) from E-Z which I had never heard of but they were fine. The rental car companies are all in one building at the Ft. Lauderdale airport which is probably a good idea but it didn't seem to keep the lines down, especially at Enterprise where the wait looked very long. A young boy was practically passed out on the floor and paramedics came and helped him which provided a nice spectacle for those bored with the line. I found it kind of funny that even the paramedics in Ft. Lauderdale wear sunglasses during the action and look like actors, or at least these guys did, but I guess when you live in the Midwest you get used to a lot of frump.

 

We pulled off in the rental and did a bit of exploring in Ft. Lauderdale since the twins were not scheduled to arrive in town until 1:30 or 2 p.m. After some driving around we settled on a strip of restaurants on Las Olmas and ended up eating at the Floridian which seems like more of a late night diner than a Saturday lunch spot but it was good.

 

After lunch we went to meet the twins at the Crowne Plaza in Sunrise, Florida, which is just west of Fort Lauderdale but took a while as we were not close to the highway. After a brief stop at the hotel (which seemed nice but probably kind of far for cruisers) we followed the tour bus to the stadium. What tour bus? What stadium? Well, the twins are backup singers for Natalie Cole so we went to watch their sound check for that night's concert at the Bank Atlantic Arena (home of the NHL's Florida Panthers). This was a fun experience because the arena was mostly deserted and it was interesting being on the floor (no ice of course). After Natalie Cole did her thing for a while we drove back to return the rental car and check our bags for the flight.

 

Again, probably not wise to ever take a flight that is scheduled to land around midnight. At least it was on time though, both the connecting flight to Atlanta and our flight into Chicago Midway. By the time the slow Midway luggage came out it was nearly 1 a.m. CST. The hotel where we had stayed pre-cruise could not locate their shuttle (??) so they arranged for a cab to pick us up, which they paid for. We arrived at the hotel around 1:20 a.m. to find very cold temperatures and a hotel full of drunken wedding partiers. We cut through the boisterous hallways to the back lot where the car was parked and I threw the luggage into the trunk and back seat but noticed something was wrong.

 

Okay, back to the very beginning of this review, I said I went out around 3 a.m. the morning of the cruise and found that key card between the seats? Well, in my sleep haze I must have forgotten to turn off the overhead lamp because the missing element when I opened the car door was a light. The battery, less than 2 months old, was completely and utterly dead. Hmmm. Will this be a murder-suicide or just a murder? Depends on if my girlfriend spares her own life. No, we walk all the way back around the hotel because of course the back door requires a key and the desk clerk was very, very helpful giving us a jump. He even drove up on the grass because the car was parked head first (good tip, don't do that for long stays) between two other long term parkers. Then there was the matter of the two hour drive back home, which after the search for cables, the other car, and someone to drive it, meant that we got home around 4 a.m. Despite this last bump in the road we had a great cruise and enjoyed ourselves 100% of the time. The only negative thing I can say is that after my first cruise I thought I would not want to cruise with any other line but now we are considering others, though NCL would still be my first choice.

 

Next: nothing :)

thanks for the wonderful review: as for your last statement: just a thought here; no cruise is ever quite like the first or at least not for a long time. As for trying other lines, I think variety is the spice of life as the saying goes, but free style alone will probably bring you back to NCL. We do try other lines, being a TA I almost have to; yet there is nothing quite like NCL. NMnita

[mondello]

Hi Jay, Thank you for the most hilarious, interesting and entertaining review. We were on the Costa Magica 3/5-3/12 (E. Caribbean) and had a great time. I was checking out freestyle cruising on the NCL board and found your review. Thank you for all the laughs!

[newmexicoNita]

Jay, a great bar bill. This is more like what we usually have; of course, like you, we have a bottle in the cabin which does help keep the cost down. NMNita