 |
| Author | Post |
|---|
Mr_Pete
Snarky
| Joined: | Thu Jun 22nd, 2006 |
| Location: | New York USA |
| Posts: | 1000 |
| Status: |
Offline
|
back to top
|
Posted: Wed Aug 22nd, 2007 07:11 pm | 1st Post |
|
http://travel.webshots.com/slideshow/560329996JDWOlE;jsessionid=abcuTO2BKMwBJ-aCnXosr
Review may follow
____________________
Next up:
BOSTON
|
BAMA X 2
Teeny Bopper
| Joined: | Mon Jun 26th, 2006 |
| Location: | Deep Dixie |
| Posts: | 9557 |
| Status: |
Offline
|
back to top
|
Posted: Wed Aug 22nd, 2007 07:14 pm | 2nd Post |
|
| Nice Pics Pete! Cute Daughter! Like my Daughter she seems to love the camera!
____________________
Island Time Travel
http://www.islandtt.com
|
Family Man
Super Cruiser
back to top
|
Posted: Wed Aug 22nd, 2007 07:21 pm | 3rd Post |
|
Great slide show Pete! Thanks for sharing. I agree with BAMA, your daughter likes to ham it up. She is a cutie.
I hope to see a review.
____________________
Tim
Cruise Planners/American Express
Future:
Celebrity Infinity to Alaska 5/22/09
RCI Mariner OTS 6/21/09
? to Canada/New England 9/09
Past:
6 RCI, 1 Princess, 2 Carnival & 1 NCL
|
Cubechick
Funnel Deck Cruiser
| Joined: | Sat Jul 21st, 2007 |
| Location: | The Burrow |
| Posts: | 630 |
| Status: |
Offline
|
back to top
|
Posted: Wed Aug 22nd, 2007 07:33 pm | 4th Post |
|
8/12/97??? Wouldn't a review be a bit out dated at this point?
Nice pictures!
Yay! The date in the topic changed (just so people don't think I was a nutter thinking that this was for a 1997 cruise!)
Last edited on Thu Aug 23rd, 2007 01:20 am by Cubechick
____________________
"The early bird gets the worm. Yet, it is the second mouse that gets the cheese."
Next up:
NCL Gem 1/14/09 (formerly Jade cruise)
NCL Pearl 6/7/09 Alaska at last!!!!!
|
Adios
Charter Member
| Joined: | Fri Jun 16th, 2006 |
| Location: | |
| Posts: | 2699 |
| Status: |
Offline
|
back to top
|
Posted: Wed Aug 22nd, 2007 11:20 pm | 5th Post |
|
| Nice pics Pete.
|
Family Man
Super Cruiser
back to top
|
Posted: Thu Aug 23rd, 2007 01:04 am | 6th Post |
|
Family Man wrote: I hope to see a review.
I just found it on CC. Good job so far. Keep it coming.
____________________
Tim
Cruise Planners/American Express
Future:
Celebrity Infinity to Alaska 5/22/09
RCI Mariner OTS 6/21/09
? to Canada/New England 9/09
Past:
6 RCI, 1 Princess, 2 Carnival & 1 NCL
|
hstrybuf
Founders
| Joined: | Sat Jun 17th, 2006 |
| Location: | Kansas |
| Posts: | 21180 |
| Status: |
Offline
|
back to top
|
Posted: Fri Aug 24th, 2007 04:31 pm | 7th Post |
|
Loved the pics Pete! You're looking good!  Your little doll is so cute! Wish her a Happy Birthday for me!
____________________
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
|
Catnip
Charter Member
back to top
|
Posted: Fri Aug 24th, 2007 07:20 pm | 8th Post |
|
Great pic, Pete!! I really like the one of her alone on that white background. She looks so grown up in the pic!!!!!
____________________
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"
|
leet44
Habitual Cruiser 2500+
| Joined: | Mon Jan 22nd, 2007 |
| Location: | New Jersey USA |
| Posts: | 4589 |
| Status: |
Offline
|
back to top
|
Posted: Fri Aug 24th, 2007 08:19 pm | 9th Post |
|
Love the pictures.Your DD is a doll:smiley:
Can't wait till we go in Oct
____________________
Lee
|
ruthiegoofie
Charter Member
| Joined: | Sun Jun 18th, 2006 |
| Location: | Naples, Florida |
| Posts: | 36 |
| Status: |
Offline
|
back to top
|
Posted: Sat Aug 25th, 2007 02:31 am | 10th Post |
|
| Nice pics! Do you have a review?
____________________
Cruised NCL 12 times, RCI 5 times, CCL 5 times, and Costa 6 times
|
Mr_Pete
Snarky
| Joined: | Thu Jun 22nd, 2006 |
| Location: | New York USA |
| Posts: | 1000 |
| Status: |
Offline
|
back to top
|
Posted: Sun Aug 26th, 2007 05:15 pm | 11th Post |
|
OK I got the ROYAL hint!
Booked this cruise immediately following our last visit to Bermuda last summer. Finding our D1 a bit too small then, we booked a JS.
EMBARKATION:
I took my own advice and got to the terminal about 11:00. Lots of people were surprisingly still leaving the ship.
Check in was pretty empty as well, and we were quickly processed.
We were handed a boarding pass with the number 16 on it. We found that the waiting room was pretty active. Lots of 10's to 15's had all the seats.
We did not get on board until 12:50. Being it was 'that close" to 1:00, we figured we'd give it a shot and try to make it to our rooms. So up to deck 9 we went, and found someone prying the fire door open.......from our side. We figured we'd follow. We were greeted by someone on the other side that pointed us to our cabin. NICE!
Opened the stateroom door, and we were QUITE pleased. Plenty of room for the three of us. A little longer balcony (although, still cave like), a walk in closet, and a tub! No tranporter room energizer pad! Not sure why there was still a ashtray full of dirty Winstons on the shelf on the balcony, but I figured Muxiplux just missed it.
Onward to the Windjammer. Ship still looked stunning, some wear and tear here and there by the cabin areas, but the public rooms looked magnificent.
Who do we run into, but our waiter from our first cruise. Nice to talk to someone amongst a sea of strangers early on, and I was looking forward to our meet and greet.
Once again, that first day buffet fare was blah, but I still filled my plate, and left a burger behind.
It's amazing the hoopla they create going under the VNB, but I still love it every time. We always try not to miss going out OR in.
Dinners lasted unnaturally long, as we always seemed to be waiting for something. In fact, the whole 5 days, our servers were just the pits. Dinner was never shorter than 2 hours, and we always seemed to be the last ones in the dining room.
And then there was the food. We did not care for it this time. Not sure if I had set my expectations low last time, but this time, everything was either bland or seasoned improperly. I was insulted at last nights dinner, when I've seen better turkey in a Swanson's aluminum pan with cobbler. So I basically ordered two entrees each night and picked from both.
Disappointment really set in when I found out our cruise director was not going to be Alan Brooks. We had Dave something. But he was good. I was just hoping for Alan. We really enjoyed him last year.
Had a comedian for first night entertainment. We were amused as he picked DD as part of his act from the audience.
Day 2 started with a stroll to the Cafe Promenade to fill my cup with coffee, and made my way to the Lido pool. Had my Compass to read the goings on, and set up two chairs to get comfortable for the day. What I saw next STUNNED me.
THEY HAVE CHAIR HOG POLICE!!!!!
Everyone that was coming along to dump and set up their stuff was promptly attacked like flies by men in yellow vests to cease and desist. I watched this for a long while, as I found it more amusing than my Compass.
For the ones they "missed", they appeared to be timing empty sets of chairs, and then scooped up the stuff and took it away.
But then it dawned on me that my two were no where to be seen (they were sleeping), and I needed to get some SPF 50. So I asked a yellow jacket how long I had to get my sunscreen. I thought I was making a HA HA, and he retorts "5 MINUTES".
I eventually got to start reading, and it hit me that I forgot about the dreaded repeat cruise. Last last and first RCCL cruise everything was fresh, as I had seen the same Carnival shows sometimes over and over.
As soon as I saw "FAST FORWARD" listed, I knew I was in trouble.
Formal dinner was that night, and I think I had the Fillet of Beef. It was alright, but I think it could have fit on a Ritz crackers. I was glad I ordered a backup.
Well, the production show was the same, and even had one of the featured singers from last year. And I could SWEAR one of the leads was lip synching.
We retired before midnight, as Bermuda was our next stop in the morning.
Day 3, I woke up just in time to see us approaching Bermuda from the east end, passing St. George. There was already a ship docked there, but couldn't make it out. I've yet to make it to this side of the island, so it was nice to see some of it from deck 12. It's amazing how close you sail to shore, and I wonder why we sometimes come in this way.
I made my way to the bow by the time we got to Dockside, and was thrilled when it appeared we were going to dock bow south, starboard to port. I like facing the bay from our room (although best was an aft room facing south for three days on my first trip there).
I had purchased our bus passes the night before, so we made our way to the bus and to Horseshoe Bay. DD was disappointed as the hair braiders are no longer there.
Ended up with a GORGEOUS day at the beach. DD discovered snorling, so we spent a good deal of time out by the rocks looking for all the pretty feeshes.
We returned to the ship for a quick pool swim and then showers.
Tuesday night dinner, I noticed something odd other than the food. They were allowing people in shorts into the dining room. Personally, I would love to wear shorts on a casual night, but they state they are not permitted.
After dinner, we went to the Dockyard Festival. It opened with some pirate show advertising a local restaurant. IT WAS PAINFUL TO WATCH, and it really set the mood for the rest of the shows that followed. The poor guys really had to work to get the crowd back. The NOT A VENTRILOQUIST show started out on a low note, but ended up pretty good with the audience participation part.
The juggler was pretty good, and his wit was good trying to overcome the less than stellar crowd.
Got a kick out of a salsa demo on the stage, where DD was suddenly place forward by the instructor, she she just started doing a solo. Got a good round of applause from the audience. She loved every minute of it.
Back on board, there was a buffet served up on deck in the pool area. I was still way too bloated from dinner.
Last time, getting off the ship, I didn't feel I found everything to be found (including the disco!)
So, this year, I made sure to make an appointment to see the Ocean Lab, found that the disco was The Chamber, (yet never saw it in action), and tried to explore every nook and crannie when time allowed. Also tried to get my bearings on the Royal Promenade, making sure I knew the Cafe Promenade was in the front, and the pursers desk was aft. Made it a bit easier when looking for that cup o' java in the morning.
Ocean Lab was interesting, although they tried to beef it up a little. Didn't know it was the only one on board a cruise ship in the world (or so they said).
Skipped the Ice Show to my regret, but wanted to worship the Lido deck that much more. 5 day cruises are just TOO short.
On Wednesday, we returned to Horseshoe, and then returned to Dockside to find the "HAIRBRAIDERS". They were right in the breezeway into Snorkle Park, and DD got her head done. I was having a coronary being they didn't start her till 3:45, and we had to be back on board by 4:30.
We made it just in time.
It was this day that I told Muxiplux that I still had a full ashtray of cigarettes on my balcony.
Sailaway from Bermuda was bittersweet. The weather was SO great (someone said we hit 90 on Wednesday), that I watched ourselves pull away, and then headed to the room to pop a bottle of champagne.
Once again, we found 2 days there was just TOO short, but felt better as we have already started talking about returning next year.
We had our ‘lobster” dinner, and made our way to the show lounge to see Vibeology. Regretted one more time missing the Quest. Maybe I’ll get there the third time around.
Last day at sea, I didn’t rush to get to the pool, but the hour time change made me get there sooner than later anyway. Again, another great day. This would have been the time to have seen the ice show, but as I wrote earlier, the weather was JUST TOO NICE (the NE summer has been a bit strange, and continues to be cool).
Final show was a comedian Jeff Jena. Again, he was struggling. I think the NY/NJ crowd was a hard sell. He made me “young dad’ in his routine, and if he hadn’t, I probably would have left.
There were also an acrobat team, and then the normal FAREWELL show, which includes the highlights of all the passengers who have gotten on videotape during the course of the cruise. And finally, the bringing out of everyone who’s someone on board. This part always chokes me up, no matter how many times I’ve cruised.
Hate the final night of packing, but we made it short and sweet.
Somewhere over the night, we must have encountered fog, so the familiar sound of the Victory foghorn from last month returned to plague me. Thank God, the seahorses did not!
DW also says there was some lightning “show, but I missed it.
Debarkation took a little longer than I like. We had our breakfast, and then made our way to the pool. We were called somewhere around 10:30, but were in the car and driving within 10 minutes.
Overall, a great cruise, with some stumbling blocks. We have already discussed sailing the Explorer again, but am looking at alternatives.
____________________
Next up:
BOSTON
|
hstrybuf
Founders
| Joined: | Sat Jun 17th, 2006 |
| Location: | Kansas |
| Posts: | 21180 |
| Status: |
Offline
|
back to top
|
Posted: Mon Aug 27th, 2007 12:40 am | 12th Post |
|
| Thanks Pete! As I read along I was trying to imagine it through your eyes, especially your DD up on stage doing a solo. I'm glad to hear the somebody has chair hog police! LOL! Now that you've added the review, I'm going to move this over to the review section.
____________________
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
|
Current time is 11:26 pm | |
|
|
|
|
