AKR2011

We brought Maple Syrup on Board a couple months ago. Nothing was ever said. I think you're good :)

You can order them extra crispy with the sauce on the side. This is how I think they're the best. The husband and I tested these out in the fall and really enjoyed them this way. Normally, we found them to be too mushy for our liking.

Although this tour was very much stop-and-go like Bonaire, we were able to have plenty of time at all of the stop. We also hit everything that we were supposed to. I had been wanting to see a lighthouse (there was one in Curacao but it was too far), and finally we arrived at one! California Lighthouse:

The California was a ship that wrecked, and the lighthouse was built after in its memory. The sun was not on our side for photos, so Alex insisted that I go to the back and he would shoot me from there:

I may be short, but man, this picture makes me look 2 inches tall! Oh well. I had to find a bathroom, and there is a restaurant there, so that's where I ended up. They charged you a dollar, but Natural Bridge was charging $3, so that seemed like a bargain. I really hate paying just to pee, but I'm not sure how the locals feel about going behind a rock. I also found a cute miniature lighthouse by the bathroom and asked another tourist to get my picture there:

Next up was the Aloe Vera Museum. The tour here was brief, but we learned about how they extract the liquid from the plant:

We then toured the factory where its made and learned about all of their different products. You can't take pictures there, so I don't have any to share. We then had some time to shop in the store before heading back.

The tour ended up being a little over four hours, and I thought it was nice. We took a longer way back, and our guide talked about all of the development on the island. They are growing a lot, and it was nice to see many new things popping up all over the island. We shopped a bit around the island for my souvenirs and then headed back.

Back on the ship, we went back to our room to find this:

They were still trying to make up for that sewage smell! It was a nice treat. We ate these, grabbed some cheese and bread from the Garden Cafe, and headed to 4:00 Trivia. Afterwards, Alex relaxd at the room, and I grabbed a drink and continued by book.

Dinner was at the Venetian, and it was yummy as usual. I think breakfast was really the only poor meal we had there. We enjoyed some drinks and played some Settlers of Catan at O'Sheehan's for a bit. Then it was Cabaret Night at Bliss. The Production Cast was singing Broadway tunes, and they were SO GOOD. They do not get enough credit for their voices in the main shows. These talented singers put on a great show that we really enjoyed. Then we headed to the 9:00 show at the Stardust.

Tonight Second City was performing. Honestly, we have seen their shows before, and these jokes were the same. Still, I laugh at the jokes about the buffet, the announcements, and those loud toilets that aren't actually so bad anymore. We had a good time. Then it was time for one more drink at Gatsby's and bed. We arrived to find a new friend AND notice of an extra hour of sleep:

I need to close this down for the night and will try to continue more tomorrow. This was the point of the cruise that I was really excited for another sea day. Tomorrow would be a great day to relax...

Next up was Alto Vista Chapel. I didn't get any photos there as people were praying, and I didn't think that was appropriate. We only spent about 15 minutes here, and that was fine by me. Natural Bridge was next:

Part of the bridge washed away awhile back, but half is still there. It is a beautiful spot:

Here is what is used to look like:

Lots of people made rock towers for good luck, and I thought they looked cool:

We need another obligatory beach shot:

Day 9:

Today we were in Aruba! I booked a private tour featuring the highlights of the island, and it left at 8:30. Therefore, we went up to the Garden Cafe for a quick breakfast. There we found runny eggs and hard biscuits with gravy :( We munched on other things instead and got off the ship quickly. It was easy to find our tour in the terminal. I had booked through Shore Trips, and it was $39 for 3.5 hours. Not bad. Our first stop was the Casabari Rock Formations:

There were super cool, and you could climb up high. It was like a big playground for kids and adults alike:

I wish this one wasn't so blurry. So cool so climb to the top of one rock and see others on a different one:

Back on the ship, we showered and changed quickly for Sing-Along Night With the Crew! We did this with Richard on The Sun and had a blast! I was not going to miss it. They pass out songbooks, and you sing to a bunch of classics. Lots of crew participate, and it is simply a fun, silly time. The atrium was full of people on all levels:

At the end, there is a big Balloon Drop, where everyone tries to keep them in the air:

I captured a small video but am not sure if you will be able to see it: https://www.amazon.com/clouddrive/share/MGCDYk5mRrpmdKZAe7DthSYFUkWtTzyo5NthwIKP29z?v=grid&ref_=cd_ph_share_link_copy

I am still learning how to post photos and stuff on here, so I do apologize!

After the sing-along, we had a late dinner at Bamboo. I thought it was just okay. I was surprised by how busy it is and how hard it is to get a reservation. It was alright, but nothing special. A nice change, though. We missed the show, "Showdown," because dinner ran late. Instead, we walked a few laps and grabbed some drinks at Gatsby's. Honestly, it was a long, hot day, and we were exhausted anyway. Back at the room, Muzleena must have felt bad for missing our towel animal the night before. She left us two tonight:

At some point in college, I got hooked on this drink called a Funky Cold Medina, and it was bright blue. That was my first encounter with Blue Curacao, a yummy orange liqueur. Since then, I have enjoyed many blue drinks. I had to pose with the sign:

There was an interpretive exhibit area that taught you the history and how the liqueur is made:

The window messed up my shot of Alex behind the bar. He was not as into this part of the day, but was still having a good time:

I really like this sign. It made me think of all the beverages I was consuming on the ship:

These were all of the drinks that the bar made special:

My bartender at home got me hooked on Red Devils awhile back, so I was excited to try one here! the bartender was surprised that I knew the drink and made me a nice strong one for $8:

I was still finishing my drink when I realized that they really were trying to close up. Alex bought me a bottle, and we headed back to the car. There are no laws against drinking in the car, so I drank as he drove back. We made sure to get good directions from the cashier, so it was easy to return the car. Then I did my usual shopping, and we both had a little Internet time. There was really fast, free Wifi in port. That was a nice touch!

At lunch, the goal was local food away from port. We were headed back towards there after to see the Blue Curacao Factory, so we wanted to find food sooner rather than later. This place looked interesting, so we decided to give it a try:

Shawarma Station makes Israeli Food, and it was wuite good! The owner moved to the island from Syria and spent some time talking about starting over on the island and being away from his family. He had a rough life, but was happy to share his culture with us. We wanted to try a variety of things, and the only thing I said that I didn't want was beans. He interpreted that unfortunately as me wanting more American Food. No, not exactly. Alex ended up with a nice plats full of different Israeli Food and I had some yummy chicken...and french fries. I laughed it off, but we honestly just shared everything:

There were actually no beans in any of the food. So strange that my plate was lacking all the other good things, but that's okay. It was a ton of food anyway, and there was no way that we could finish it all. Prices needed to be converted to American, and I was able to use my debit card. With tip, this meal was under $30 :eek:

Bellies full, it was time to get to the Blue Curacao Distillery. It wasn't easy to find, and traffic was getting crazy as it was late in the day. A nice local offered to have us follow him in his car when we finally stopped for directions - so nice these people are! Then, we ere excited to see this:

Here's another photo of that gorgeous view from the mountaintop:

After the hike, we drove to a roadside stand to grab drinks and refresh a little. The wanted to visit Hato Caves. It was pretty easy to drive there from the park, east, then north following the road to the airport. We arrived and saw another couple from our San Juan excursion. They were on a private tour of the island and by themselves. The four of us did the Hato Caves tour together. It was only $8 for the tour, and when we arrived to go in, there were about 50 people coming out. We were lucky to be in such a small group. Our tour guide was great and gave a little leniency with taking photos. There are many places where you cannot take pictures at all, but then there are some that they're only allowed in small tour groups - and that was us! Many of the rocks made awesome faces:

And I just loved the look of these icicle-looking rocks:

Any pictures we attempted to get of ourselves were really dark (flash was not allowed):

It was a nice tour, and definitely a plus to be in a small group. We were happy about this. It took about 45 minutes to go through, and then we were ready to find some food!

*I'm trying Mozilla instead of Chrome. Maybe that will help people see the pictures??? I am confused :confused:*

I'm sorry for not updating sooner. Weekends are my busier time at work, and I need to start saving for that next one. Panama Canal 2019 perhaps???

Day 8:

Today we were in Curacao! I was determined to make the most of our day and had rented a car through Avis. We had breakfast at the Venetian, and then headed out to find our car. Finding Avis was easy, but they seemed to have issues with their computer being down. It took awhile to get our car, despite the fact that I had all of the paperwork with me. They also charged me more than they should have. I booked through a Groupon deal for $50.14 total. They charged me almost $70 :eek:

The entire reason that we rented a car was to hike up to the top of Cristoffel National Park. That is the highest peak on the island and is almost an hour west of port. When I looked into excursions and tours, nothing seemed to go there. You also have to begin hiking before 11am. The car seemed the best option, although we had never done it before.

There is only one road that goes west, and there was a map in the car, so we figured that we didn't need to pay an extra $9 for the GPS. So off we went. Alex asked me which road to go on, and I asked him what road we were on. Oops. There are NO ROAD SIGNS. The signs that we do see are all in Dutch. We were fine with converting miles to kilometers in our heads to find the right speed, but finding the right road proved to be an issue. Finally we found that one highway, and all was good.

We kept getting passed on the road, despite doing 90 at times. Man, these people drive fast! When we arrived at the park, it was actually really simple to get going. The front desk told us that we needed to get started, because it was 10:45. We drove to the trail head (they gave us a map to get there), and started hiking at 11:01. So yes, we broke the rules a little. Nalgenes in hand, we began to hike up the trail.

This was definitely a difficult trail. Most of the trail looked like this:

It was thin, windy, and very steep the entire way up. Alex is a birder, and I tend to be a bit slower, so we actually work well as a hiking team. I go ahead while he looks at birds. Then every 20-30 minutes or so, I drink some water, and he is caught up. We chat about cool things we saw, then continue this way. However, I was running out of water quickly on this hike, and everyone was coming down and telling us to go back. It simply is not safe to hike in the heat there. I went as far as I thought I should, with about a quarter of my water left. I had made it 3/4 of the way up and was quite proud:

Alex made it almost to the top himself. At the point I turned around, the trail became climbing rather than hiking, and he was nervous about possibly falling. While he was climbing, I took a semi-leisurely walk down and enjoyed the beauty of the forest. the island is beautiful, and there was lots to see. I'm not a birder, but I did stop to enjoy them a few times. I went back to the car, turned on the AC, and drank the last of my water. 15 minutes later, Alex was back, out of water, and feeling winded from the climb.

While at the Salt Flats, we were able to take in that amazing ocean:

Man, it is gorgeous! I need to take up Scuba or Snorkeling next time. I was feeling like I missed out. There is so much beautiful coral too:

And we didn't have enough shots of US, so a beach shot seemed necessary:

After the slave huts, we learned that our tour was over :( I asked about the lighthouse, and she pointed it out on her map and said it was too far. I was confused why the tour I booked was not the one that we received. I need to ask more questions next time. This was the second tour on this trip that we were unhappy with, and I blame myself for not getting more details. I seriously cannot wait to book another cruise and do the excursions differently.

We walked around the island a bit after the tour so I could get my ornament and pin. We also grabbed some yummy gelato not too far from port. It was only $3.50 for two scoops, and if you bought it, you could use their fast wifi too. That gelato was SO GOOD. I had dark chocolate mixed with mint, and it was absolutely perfect. Just what I wanted on a hot day.

When we got back to the ship, it was time for 80s Name That Tune Trivia. Now I am an 80s child. I LOVE Journey, Chicago, Cyndi Lauper, Debbie Gibson, Billy Joel, Michael Jackson etc. The songs in this trivia - with the exception on Madonna and Bananarama - were all one hit wonders. Some of them I don't think anyone had heard of. Out of 40 points (points for both songs and artists), I think we had 11. No one was doing well. Oh well.

We had a late reservation for Bamboo and didn't want to eat during tonight's activities, so we stopped by to change it to the next night. After TV Theme Song Trivia (Much better results on this one), we headed to The Venetian instead. I don't remember what we ate, but I know it was pretty good. We were definitely hungry at that point.

That night Dan hosted "The Weakest Think" in Bliss. Alex and I were both chosen to play and had fun with Dan's banter. In the end, it came down to me and one other person. It was rigged in her favor. All of my answers were really horrible puns that he made up. I laughed it off. Everyone won a t-shirt and water bottle, and the winner also won a bottle of champagne. Because I played along nicely with Dan's jokes in the last round, I won a bottle too :D

Tonight's shows were George Solomon at 7:00 and a hypnotist at 9:00. We actually skipped both. We were at dinner during the first one, and we have seen a lot of hypnotists in the past. Instead, we stayed in Bliss for some Karaoke. Always a good time. I tried to bring in the 21st Century with some Taylor Swift! They need some updates though. Rachel Platten's Fight Song would seriously make my day, but it's all good. I just love being there to support everyone and sing a little myself. The liquor was flowing, so I was able to ward off my nerves a bit. Thanks again, Beverage Package ;)

We forgot to change our room sign from "Do Not Disturb" to "Turn Down," so no Towel Animal tonight, but that's alright. In the end, it was a nice day, just not quite the tour we had planned on.

***

I need to head back out, but I will do my best to post more tomorrow.

There were hundreds of flamingos, but because we weren't able to get out, this was all I could capture of them:

We did a planned stopped at Cadushy Distillery to try their yummy liqueurs and learn how they're made. They made a bunch of different ones to represent different Caribbean Islands, and they were yummy.

The distillery had this really cool sign pointing to different places and their distance from the island:

They were sampling the Bonaire variety and explaining how they make it using cactus. The bar let you sample any of the others, and I actually bought the Aruba kind (it is orange-flavored and quite yummy). You can get a mixed drink for just $5 too. A nice plus.

I wish we were able to stop and get out, but we drove past the famous salt flats:

We also saw the old slave huts:

I cannot imagine staying in one of these tiny huts. It was an unbelievable experience to get inside and think about living in one. I was glad that we had at least a few minutes to take in this stop.

Day 7:

Today was another port day - Bonaire! We had a nice long day in Port, and I was excited. Many months before, I booked a full 6 hour tour with Voyager Bonaire. They had offered me both the north and south tour for only $30. And well...When it seems too good to be true it probably is :(

I learned a few lessons about excursions on this trip, and today would be another lesson. Although I booked ahead and was promised a particular tour, we were mixes with others who just showed up, and it was more like 4 hours that 6. We missed Seri Lagu and didn't stop in Rincon (the oldest village) during the northern part. Then in the southern part, we skipped the lighthouse and Sorobon Beach, and we didn't get to stop at the salt flats.

Our guide seemed very rushed. When I asked to stop at one point, she was a bit taken aback and said that she never usually stops there. But she pointed out the spot as an overlook. Why wouldn't we want to stop? We did make some of the planned stops, such as the Thousand Steps:

In Bonaire, you don't have to go far before the water gets really deep, so Scuba Diving is really popular. They have lots of great dive spots, and this one is famous for all of it's steps to get down:

Here is a view from that pretty overlook:

Everything is so naturally beautiful on Bonaire. I was sad to be rushed through. I am understanding more and more why people choose to do things on their own.

Very nice pictures indeed!

I need to get access to my husband's. He's the photographer. But thank you :)

I guess it's all in your taste, our group of 16, age range of 40 to 55 loved Jose and Patti.

 

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That's why I love NCL. Lots of different entertainment for different people :)

Same here--I enjoyed the Neil Diamond Show with them and otherwise they were OK. I was on the same cruise and I am loving your review! it's like reliving it again

 

 

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Thank you! :) We liked the 4 Seasons Tribute and also saw El Gaucho on the last night and wished we had gone to his full show.

FYI we are both over 70 and don't like Jose and Patti either....two nights and that was it for us. Don't understand the following at all.

I'm glad that we're not the only ones :) There is so much other great entertainment on board that it never bothered us. I was especially surprised when they had a matinee and people were really fighting for seats. I was outside doing the Bean Bag toss when people were going in, and it was crazy! :eek:

I'm am so enjoying this Review? It brings back great memories!

Thank you!! :)

I need to head out and will try to post later, if not tomorrow. Thank you all for following and for your patience! :)

Alex found me during the Towel Folding (he knows me so well :)), and we met back up again after I came back from lunch. He had eaten a late breakfast again, so we agreed to do the afternoon challenges together. There was Ring Toss, Goofy Golf, and Bean Bag Toss. I drank a few Manhattans and enjoyed watching everyone play along. We had Sonny again, and he made it enjoyable as usual. We always played these challenges outside The Stardust, which was fine most of the time. On this day there was a 3:00 Neil Diamond show, so that made it a little challenging, but we made do. I remember doing Goofy Golf on The Sun and putting all around the atrium. They don't allow that on The Dawn, which is disappointing. We had a very small space to play in.

I went back to the room quickly and discovered a nice surprise:

Wow, they really do care! :D I thought this was a sweet gesture for the toilet issues, and it made a nice little snack. After this, I did some more reading before Progressive Trivia. We had moved down the ranks to #5, so the pressure was on. Afterwards we decided to see about eating in Bamboo. It was difficult to get in, so we made a reservation for the next day. We went back to O'Sheehan's for some drinks and then headed to Aqua for dinner. I have to say that that I always had a good time at the main dining rooms. The food was sometimes a miss, but mostly it was good, and service was always great. They always offered us drinks from the bar, so we had wine each night. We were also in and out in about an hour each time.

We were thirsty again after dinner, so we headed to Gatsby's for Martinis, and grabbed refills to go on the way to the 9:00 show. I'm pretty sure we had made this beverage package worthwhile by this point of the cruise. I'm not used to drinking this much regularly, and it was nice to try lots of different things without worrying. You don't even have to sign for your drinks. There wasn't much of a line either.

Tonight's show was the Thrillusionist - David DaVinci. He has been living on ships with his wife and 3-year old for years. They are such a cute family and are switching ships and headed to Europe soon. I'm so happy that we were able to see David perform. We really enjoyed his show.

When we arrived back to our room, another surprise awaited us:

Yes, that's right. We had chocolate! This is our first cruise as silver, and I knew that we were supposed to have nightly chocolate but didn't want to make a fuss. Apparently now that they wanted to keep us on their good side with that flooding, they also remembered the chocolate. Another Zika reminder was there too, as well as free bug spray. Yup, they were definitely sucking up now, but that was alright with us. I just hoped that we were done with flooding. Muzleena also ran into us in the hallway and explained that she was using a new Lysol Cleaner for the bathroom. It smelled much better now.

Day 6:

This morning I woke up at 6:30 and was excited to read for a little bit before walking the mile. I turned on the bathroom light, and I got a surprise: The bathroom had flooded again. There was water all over the floor, and it smelled like horrible sewage. With the need to pee, I ran down the hall in my pajamas to the bathroom at O'Sheehan's. When I returned, I turned on the main light and called the front desk. Alex was still in bed, and I apologized, but this needed to be fixed. I threw on some clothes quickly before the plumber and Muzleena knocked on the door again.

Alex got up so Muzleena could do the bathroom, and I went to Guest Services. I'm an easygoing person, but waking up to a flood is not cool. We still have over a week to go. They apologized and explained that the plumbing was re-done in the refurb. I explained that I missed those loud, scary toilets that they used to have on the ships. I never had this problem before. But there was nothing they could do but apologize and promise that it would be cleaned up. I nodded and remembered that I hadn't gotten my ship pin yet. They handed me a couple, and I headed up to the pool deck to grab some eggs and read before my walk.

It was a regular sea day for me from that point on. I walked and tried out a new Fitness Dance Class that replaced Zuma. This was even better than Zumba and probably my favorite one all cruise. I was a sweaty mess after, but they moved Trivia in that room, so when I saw my team, I decided to stay. Then I headed back to the room to shower and change for the day. Guest Services called while I was there and asked about the bathroom. I had to be honest. Yes, Muzleena had cleaned it, and it looked much better, but it still smelled like sewage. I asked if this could be rectified, and they said that they would do what they could.

I went back to my book at Gatsby's with a couple drinks, and then headed to Bean Bag Toss. Then it was lunch at the Venetian, and Towel Folding Demo :D

There are two things that I buy in every port - a Christmas ornament and a pin. I bought these at the Visitor Center at Yunque, so I didn't have the need to shop in port. We went to one of the squares for a little Internet and that was about it. I was frustrated with the tour, and Alex felt bad for picking the first thing he saw, but how could he have really have known? We should have both asked more questions first, and that was our biggest lesson from this. Was it a bad day? Of course not. But definitely not what we expected. Don't promise Old San Juan if you're just going to drop us there and not tell us anything about it. The rainforest part wasn't the best, but I can forgive that.

It was about 2:00, and all aboard was I believe 4:00, but we were hungry. Time to head back for some food. We were surprised to see a line outside to get back onto the ship. Only one gangway was open. By the time we made it back to the ship, it was almost 3:00. This was the worst I have ever seen a port.

Needless to say, we were famished by the time we made it back on board. The Garden Cafe was crazy, but at least they still had food. After this, we played some Goofy Golf, enjoyed drinks with our bartenders at O'Sheehans, and did some Beatles Trivia. This trivia was probably my favorite one. I have two huge fans for parents, so I know just about every song. The thing is, everyone seems to know them too. There were three teams (including us) with perfect scores, plus the bonus. I will say that the music was all the easier songs. I was hoping for some Rocky Raccoon or the Benefit of Mr. Kite - anything challenging really - but Michelle ma Belle seemed to be the biggest challenge. Oh well. Super fun anyway.

We were excited for tonight's show, The Ineffable Two, and we were not disappointed. I have never been to a real cirque show in person and love seeing the ones on ships whenever possible. This duo is so beautiful and incredibly strong. We thoroughly enjoyed the show.

Next up was Bandaoke in Bliss. I like a little Karaoke now and then, so this sounded like fun. All of the music was really old standards, but I give Muz'k Nation some credit for offering us the chance to sing with them as back-up. They had 180 songs to choose from, and I went with some Whitney Houston. That was probably the most recent of choices :D

We were hungry again but didn't want a lot, so we decided to head back to O'Sheehan's. We sat at the bar, attempted to bend a cigarette without breaking it (yet another puzzle from the bartender), and ordered some wings with fries. We had heard great things about the wings and wanted to give them a try. I grew up in Central NY and spent some time in Buffalo, so I like to think that I know what a good chicken wing is. Alex is also picky about his. Unfortunately, we were not impressed. They were on the small side and not crispy at all. Don't get me wrong; they were edible. The sauces were also good, but maybe our expectations were too high? :confused:

After learning how to do the cigarette riddle and finishing our drinks - I think we were doing Moscow Mules, Picso Punches, and Mojitos that night - we decided to retire to bed. Another sea day waited us tomorrow, and we had a new friend too:

Day 5:

We finally arrived at our first port - San Juan!! We were here last in fall of 2013. At that time, we only had 6 hours in Port - I believe 3-9. This time we had a full day, and we were there in the morning. That meant time to do something fun! I looked into different excursions, but was not positive on what we should do by the time the trip rolled around. I also knew that there would be people in port offering rides. My thought was that if the weather was nice, we could catch a ride to Yunque Rainforest and explore on our own. I also thought about a trip to Bacardi. I had gone last time, but Alex had not. However, it used to be free. Now tours are $12.50, and I know that's not a lot to spend, but he wasn't sold on doing it. Alex also wanted a tour of Old San Juan, since the last time he just explored on his own.

We had a leisurely breakfast at The Venetian where Alex had hard, dry pancakes. They were so bad that he threatened to not return there. I had the breakfast croissant, and that was good. Other guests were also complaining about the pancakes. You can't win them all, right? He shook it off, and we got in line to get off the ship. It was an easy walk-off since we had already been docked a little while.

When we got off the ship, sure enough there was a tour guide offering 4 hours of fun for $48 each. He promised a Rainforest Tour followed by Old San Juan. I wasn't so sure, but leave it to Alex to jump at the first thing. He thought this was the best idea ever. When we took our seats on the bus, I was tempted to walk off, and in the end, I wish I did.

When it came to planning our vacation, I did all of it. Alex wanted to be surprised. I didn't leave out a lot of details, but this port was missed. Sure, I had notes on things to do, but I had heard that not all Rainforest tours are great. This one was with Happy Tours, and it didn't make us very happy :(

We drove to the Visitor's Center at the Rainforest where we had beautiful views:

We were there for awhile, and I was dreaming of a walk through the Rainforest. Instead, we drove to an Observation Tower, walked to the top for 10 minutes, and then drove to another location. It didn't seem like we were going into the forest at all. Next up was a roadside waterfall:

There was a lot of construction on the road, so it was difficult to get anywhere. The guide explained that we would be going to a big waterfall next, and this was up a hill in the woods. It was beautiful:

It was a 5 minute walk up some slippery rocks, but a really nice view. There was a woman in platform sandles that couldn't make it all the way up, but the rest of us did. I live in my Crocs Boatshoes, and they worked well for the walk.

After this waterfall, we left the rainforest. Yup, we should have just booked a different tour or done it on our own. Well, at least we had Old San Juan, right???

We arrived in Old San Juan, and the guide said, "okay, this is where the tour ends. You can get off here and walk around, or I can take you back to the ship." Really??? That was it??? We were disappointed that there was no tour, but we didn't want to make a fuss. There were about a dozen of us on this tour, and no one else seemed to complain either. I left thinking lesson learned.

LOVE your writing style! You are inspiring me to do more planned activities on my next cruise. THANK YOU!

Aw, thank you! We like to take it all in and live it up...Then pass out quickly at the end of the day ;)

My parents were on the trip with you. They liked the itinerary but my father was SO disappointed in the food. He's been on the Dawn 7 or 8 times and he said the food was just awful this time around. Breakfast in the Venetian was cold and eggs were runny after waiting an hour. Chicken marsala came with red sauce. Tiny tiny portions in the main dining room. My father never complains about the food on the Dawn so I was in shock. He said the spinach and artichoke dip in O'Sheehan's was still good (used to be in the Blue Lagoon) and that the fish and chips there were good as well. They never eat in the buffet and they ate there quite a bit this last trip because the food in the main dining rooms was so bad. I'm curious what other people thought.

My husband had pancakes in the Venetian one morning that made him not want to go back. But when he did, he thought the French Toast was good. I also found runny eggs in the Garden Buffet, but usually only on port days. very strange, but I remember reading that in another review too. On those days, I just stuck to Eggs Benedict. That's a big treat for me.

Blue Lagoon and O'Sheehan's are very similar. I liked the food for the most part, including the spinch artichoke dip. Alex and I tried the wings that everyone likes so much, but they were not crispy. When we went back, he ordered them again and specifically asked for them crispy. In order to do this, they have to put the sauce on the side. This turned out to be a great option.

I also am not a huge fan of the buffet. I really only went for a quick breakfast before my walks, when we woke up late on port days, or coming back from an island when nothing else was open. I have my go-to food there - Pretzel Bread, fruits and veggies, and a burger or some chicken. Alex liked their Indian food. Overall, I didn't think too much of the food was bad, but there were some disappointments that I'll point out at times.