shadowmeboy

Stop #1 - Casibari Rock Formations Susan took one for the team and climbed to the top of the Rock. Yes that is the line going up. I stayed down below and took pictures in the garden area The steps Susan was going up. I loved the rocks and cactus! She is making progress! At one point, you have to duck under this rock. Susan said she almost had trouble, so she said I would not have wanted to that part. My picture of the people on the top!

We got on the motor coach for our excursion Aruba's International Airport authentic island cuisine here 😉

Due to when our excursion left, we headed down to The Local for breakfast. The Local Breakfast Menu The Local was really calm this morning! Seasonal Fruit Salad Susan got the Fruit Salad, Oatmeal, and bacon on the side. I got the breakfast sandwich and the oatmeal. No we were not going on the Party Bus Or even those We headed to the theater to await the allotted time for release by the Shore Excursion personnel. Two pet peeves of mine: 1. Shore Excursion personnel who think they wield so much power and demand that you pay attention to them. I enjoy ports where the meet up is on the dock, so you don't have to listen to the redundant monotone of the same information over and over again coupled by by bad jokes. 2. In person Life Boat drills where a housekeeper or other low level power hungry person is in charge of the muster station and wants your undivided attention for way too long. Dude I am on vacation not a College lecture. This is why I enjoy the video muster drill with the simple check-in at the muster station. Ok, rant over, lets resume our regularly scheduled review! Someone is way to excited for this nonsense! Freedom! Welcome to Aruba!

Day 4 - Port #1 December 26th, 2022 Location: Oranjestad, Aruba Good Morning Aruba! They were still getting lines situated Enough looking out at Aruba, it was time to grab our stuff and head down to breakfast.

After the show we went to dinner in the MDR for the special Christmas Dinner. Red Beet Salad Caesar Salad Roasted Turkey Glazed ham to share! Beef Wellington Pumpkin Pie Christmas Log Our excellent server for Christmas Dinner with the tip bag! After dinner we went to the Comedy Show! Comedian Julie Bar was on stage. One of the bands preforming in the Atrium When we got back to the room, our laundry was ready! We sent it out that morning. We called it a night! We had a fun filled Christmas Day. Tomorrow is our first port stop! -- Stopping here till most likely tomorrow

So they were having a special Christmas performance tonight. We got ready for that performance and then headed down to take photos! We love props! One of the hard working Photographers Time for the show! We had good seats! The production show casts and musicians were great! The skit with I want a Hippopotamus for Christmas was really funny! The violinist from Choir of Man was amazing. The lead singer from Kinky Boots was such a great singer. The Nellie Rich Band even got in on the action! They all did an excellent job. I got video but haven't had time to put it together yet.

We finally burnt of the sugar from the cupcakes and headed to lunch in the MDR. As we were sitting at lunch, I started talking with the table next to us. We asked where they were from and they said Sammamish, WA. We were shocked. We told them we were from Washington as well, and we got talking. Let's just say we became good friends over the cruise! Susan had the Nicoise Salad I had the Spinach Caesar I also had a Caprese Salad Susan had the Chicken Parmigiana I got the BLT Sandwich I got a Peanut Butter Cup Cheesecake Susan got the Raspberry Panna Cotta Oh look, more display photos! The figurines are outfitted like the officers! A lot of work went into these displays! We ended up going back to the room and got ready for Laser Tag. Since I needed both hands, I couldn't bring my still camera. But we got video! Both of us wore GoPro's! Susan wore a chest mount, and I wore the head mount.

Look at that smile! She had a blast! Here is the video from the Speedway!

Here they go! There is Susan It was super windy up on the deck.

We headed up to the room. It was a beautiful day to be at Sea! The main reason why we went up was to allow Susan to get proper shoes on. Also to grab the GoPro gear for the next activity. It was time for Susan to go to her Speedway reservation They were running doubles when we got up there. Check-in line Double Go Cart Susan getting ready! Heading to her cart!

Hey I know that person! Chef called up volunteers to try making one of the three types of cupcakes. Susan decided to make the tree. All done! Here she is with her creation! A closer look! The little girl sitting in front of us also got selected. She did an excellent job. another look at Susan's The third victim, I mean volunteer! We had fun! Chef brought premade cupcakes so others could have one! So I indulged! Susan eating the tree! Real romantic there! We had to get a picture with "Santa"

After breakfast, we headed to the Atrium for the Cupcake Decoration Demonstration! The chef started out showing how they made the gingerbread houses that were on both displays. Susan and Mom's house didn't look like that. The chef then started decorating cupcakes. Chef makes several fun cupcakes. He then starts three festive cupcakes. a Christmas tree A poinsettia type cupcake

We headed down to Savor for Christmas Day Breakfast Susan found a duck under the tree as we went into Savor. Fruit Salad with, OMG, Cottage Cheese Strawberry Yogurt Parfait Open-faced smoked salmon bagel Mushroom and Ham Omelet

Look who finally joined me.

Day 3 - Sea Day December 25th, 2022 - Christmas Day Location: Caribbean Sea ESE of Cuba Merry Christmas! Daily A little bit more cloudy today, but still beautiful! I headed out to my spot! Beautiful Sunrise!

Dessert Menu Aunt Josie's Mason Jar Banana Pudding - This is my second favorite dessert in a Jar NCL has! You will see my favorite later in this review. Susan got the Pecan Pie Our server was awesome! We had her a few other times in other venues. We headed to the Social for our Comedy Reservation Tim Homayoon was the Comedian The chocolate outside Coco's! Overall it was a very nice Christmas Eve!

So we went and got ready for pictures. We did the circuit backwards (deck 8 first then deck 6) since we had reservations at Q. This young lady was really cute in the photos she did with her family. Her brother did not like it when the two of them were posed together. This was one of my favorite photos out of our package. Once we were done with the photos, we headed to Q. Outside Menu I couldn't get this photo to edit correctly, so I did it two ways. The top picture, the sign is over exposed while Susan is good, and in the bottom one, the sign is better, but Susan is too dark. I couldn't win on that one. Dinner menu Drink menu I always have loved the red cups. They did such a good job making them look like a red solo cup! Smoked Peach Margarita Wet wipes! We both got the Texas Crab Cakes and the Deviled Eggs The Nelly Rich Band was playing while we were eating! Susan got the pulled pork. I got the brisket. Unfortunately, I was too quick moving the phone and it messed up the exposure in the dark of Q.

Understandable I honestly like the one on the Bliss the best. I haven't sailed the Joy or Getaway to see those though.

I hope you have a wonderful cruise on her. I am assuming its an Alaska itinerary?

I will agree, he was good.

We went and checked out Galaxy Pavilion Personally, I felt Galaxy Pavilion was a waste of space. I would rather have a Spice H2o. We headed back to the compass, I mean Sugarcane!

Next up on the circuit was the Latitudes Party! Officer introductions again! Interesting enough, we sailed with the Captain back in 2017 on the Escape. After the Party, we made our way up to American Diner. Menu Housemade Mozzarella Sticks Honey Mustard Chicken Club Loaded Nachos Look at Susan's face! S'more Chocolate Bar Vanilla Cheesecake We tried...

We headed back to the room to drop off some stuff. Cruise ship in the distance. Unfortunately, I couldn't tell which one. We headed to the Cruise Critic Meet & Greet We talked to Jay again at the Meet & Greet and he asked us where we were eating lunch. We said most likely the MDR or the Local after the the Latitudes party. He said that he was going to make a call and for us to go to American Diner after the Latitudes Party. We were not expecting that and we said thank you!

Rommel Temones - Executive Housekeeper Sarah Mittelstaedt - Guest Service Manager Marjan Stamenkovic - Beverage Manager (If I remember right) Jay Hizon - Restaurant Manager Praveen Mathias - Executive Chef Vikanm Mohindra - Assistant Food & Beverage Director (If I remember right) Charles Fernandes - Food & Beverage Manager (If I remember right) Nomita Rambhunjan - Assistant General Manager Deepak Punla - General Manager

I love how the crew was in the holiday spirit! another view of the fruit carvings After fruit carving was the How To Run a Floating Hotel Q&A Cruise Director Marzena walked us through the ship facts. We had sailed on the Breakaway in April of 2022 with her! She mentioned since we were on a longer cruise over the holidays, they basically ordered double of the 7 day quantities for this cruise. I really wish they would bring back the behind the scenes tour.