 |
| Author | Post |
|---|
ristallnight
Super Cruiser
back to top
|
Posted: Mon Feb 18th, 2008 07:17 pm | 1st Post |
|
Let’s see, where do I start?? The flight to Newark was great…we had an empty plane with an aisle to every person. That made for a relaxing start to a wonderful vacation. Taking the shuttle to the Marriott Hotel was easy. The first evening was spent in the hotel.
The second day we had plans to meet an OGGer that had to change plans and was not able to cruise with the group---Jim, aka Shoreguy. He was willing to come pick us up to go to dinner, but Dave wanted to drive to Princeton and hence we rented a car. We met Jim for dinner at his favorite place—The Redwoods, where everyone knows him. After some drinks and a nice dinner, we headed back to the hotel.
On Wednesday Jim had to travel into New York City for work, so he kindly offered to drive us to the pier. But he had ulterior motives; we were to hand-carry a bottle of Dom Perignon onboard for the newlyweds. As many of you know, some things were changed at the port, now you go through security before checking in. It really was simple getting on the ship, going through security with the Dom Perignon was easy…no questions asked, no corkage fee asked for and I carried it in my arms. The only draw back was the pier staff not knowing what to do with the wedding guests that were cruising! After finally checking in, we went to sit with Deb and Win and wait for the other guest and most importantly, the bride and groom. Then we were escorted on board. As others arrived, we had enough time to drop off our carryon bags in our cabin and grab a bite in the Garden Café before heading to the Chapel for the wedding.
Sharon had a very sweet surprise as we entered the cabin… it was decorated with Happy Birthday streamers and balloons by Sanja, Claudio, Ryan and John who had been tipped off by Dave during our TA in December.
What a fun time at the wedding, especially when Pattie said “demotion”, we knew the cruise was heading for a fun time with the DOGG’s. A wonderful reception was given by Joe and Greenie and the drinks flowed freely with many toasts and wonderful words said by all.
Dinners were had at Tequila’s, Cagneys, Teppanyaki, La Cuchina. Our dinner at Le Bistro with Deb and Win was good with the food but the forgetting of a cake and song was disappointing. But that was made up for at Cagneys. We went to dinner one night and thanks to Sanja, we had an elegant table by the windows overlooking the pool area. When we ordered dessert, what a surprise! We had an anniversary cake delivered with the wait staff surrounding us singing Let Me Call You Sweetheart. When that was finished, one of the crew put an Ipod on our table with our favorite Unchained Melody playing and we were encouraged by all to stand and dance in the romantic Cagneys, which we did. What a wonderful evening we had.
Gathering at Spinnakers with some of the OGGs was always a delight. Having fun with dancing, singing, and the antics of Julie, Que and George made the evenings/nights truly memorable. Closing the place at 1-2am and then heading to the Blue Lagoon was a challenge for me as some can attest to. But we had fun, enjoyed the company of friends and made many great memories (if I can remember them). And OOHHH the hash brown potatoes are fabulous.
We had planned on two ship sponsored excursions with one private one. Alas, our planned ship excursion at St Thomas was a flop. For some reason, the excursion people did not have their act together and we cancelled after finding out their ride to the jeeps was totaling lacking in planning. We decided to head back to the ship and talk to Claudio. Thanks to his encouragement, we did write up the excursion and they reimbursed us the cost. The ship’s excursion in Barbados was a treat for Dave. He wanted to see the Concorde, so off we go. It was truly an amazing plane. It was small inside with the seats about the same as coach in today’s planes. But the service more than made up for the smallness. Our private excursion was to have been the Pineapple resort with the rest of the gang, but we cancelled that and stayed on the ship and enjoyed the spa area.
Being introduced to Martini’s at the end of the cruise just might have saved me from liver failure. I stuck to my tequila until the last day when I decided to try a martini while Dave was at the beer tasting.
The Casino was okay for us. We broke close to even and did not spend more than we planned. Dave played mostly table and had fun learning and winning. Slots were okay, not the best but not the worst.
VIP disembarking was a mess. Claudio did a great job getting us down to the luggage area. If people would just follow instructions… The loss of one cart of luggage created havoc for some including us. And not having porters around made some people upset and assuming things that were not true. We were hoping for an NCL sponsored tour of New York that last day, but they do not have any in New York. The remaining unpleasant day was spent at Newark airport waiting for our flight. It was delayed with a mechanical check. We only had two flights heading for home that day, one at noon and the other at 5:30pm. We could have made the noon flight but it was booked solid. The only thing that kept us sane was texting with our friends.
Thanks to all the OGGs for a great cruise and to NCL for again providing a Freestyle cruising experience that made for many memories. We do feel for the staff and crew this week, they are cruising with 800 children on board.
Until next time--Oct, 2008, Jewel to New England for colors.
____________________
Dave
The mockingbird can change its tune 37 times in 7 minutes. Politicians regard this ability with awe. (copied)
SPIRIT 1 nighter - Oct 2008
JEWEL - New England - Oct 2008
GEM - Caribbean - Feb 4, 2009
|
ristallnight
Super Cruiser
back to top
|
Posted: Mon Feb 18th, 2008 10:31 pm | 2nd Post |
|
Sharon had a great surprise waiting in the cabin.
http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2559071680101622462ULaJqH?vhost=good-times
____________________
Dave
The mockingbird can change its tune 37 times in 7 minutes. Politicians regard this ability with awe. (copied)
SPIRIT 1 nighter - Oct 2008
JEWEL - New England - Oct 2008
GEM - Caribbean - Feb 4, 2009
|
Catnip
Charter Member
back to top
|
Posted: Tue Feb 19th, 2008 12:10 am | 3rd Post |
|
Great review!!!!!!!!! 
And I loved your pic of Concorde!!!!! it brought back happy memories! My DH and I were llucky enough to have flown on Concorde twice. It was totally awesome!
____________________
33 previous cruises..
Next up: Celebrity Solstice 1-09/Jewel of the Seas 3-09/ QM 2 11-09/ Queen Victoria 1/10
**Triangles Are For Losers!**
When only cops have guns, it's called a "police state"
|
hstrybuf
Founders
| Joined: | Sat Jun 17th, 2006 |
| Location: | Kansas |
| Posts: | 21180 |
| Status: |
Offline
|
back to top
|
Posted: Tue Feb 19th, 2008 01:17 am | 4th Post |
|
Thanks Dave! Too bad about St. Thomas.  I just started looking at your pictures and will have to take the time to see the rest. Hope Sharon had a great birthday!
____________________
Deb
"In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock." - Thomas Jefferson
My pics: http://community.webshots.com/user/hstrycrsr
|
AD Peterson
Frequent Cruiser
| Joined: | Sun Jul 22nd, 2007 |
| Location: | Boomer Sooner |
| Posts: | 978 |
| Status: |
Offline
|
back to top
|
Posted: Wed Feb 20th, 2008 12:18 am | 5th Post |
|
Great Review!!
Everything but the tequila sounded great.
Last edited on Wed Feb 20th, 2008 12:19 am by AD Peterson
____________________
Future Cruises:
NCL Pearl May 2008
RCCL Liberty of Seas Oct 08
NCL Pearl April 2009
|
Current time is 11:14 pm | |
|
|
|
|
