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***LIVE*** From the Epic Transactlantic

SuiteCruiser

By SuiteCruiser,
in Norwegian Cruise Line

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SuiteCruiser

SuiteCruiser

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Day 3 continued

 

I went back to O'Sheehan's for dinner, the wings were great, better than the ones I had last year. *

 

I headed back to the tables for a little bit, then off to Headliners for Howl at the Moon, dueling pianos. Craig had mentioned he'd be there, so I thought I'd join him, *at the door I ran into Ian, so sat with him and a couple of friends. Had a blast, the piano players were fantastic, lots of fun sing-a-longs. *Really talented people. For those who have never been, they have 3 entertainers, who are all funny and a bit raunchy, and two play at a time, so there's no breaks, they just rotate out all night.We then headed to Shakers *for a couple of drinks and a chance to chat where it was a little quieter, then I headed back to my room, around midnight as I was due for an early night. The guys headed off to Bliss "for one drink" which probably meant another late night for them.

 

......

 

Woke earlier today, read for a bit and headed to Taste for lunch. Had the chicken noodle soup and the club sandwich and enjoyed both. Onto the tables where I met a few of my table friends and went off to afternoon trivia with them. We did okay, but had a lot of fun.*

 

Back to the tables and then onto the last bit of the Studio Lounge Happy Hour for visiting.*

 

Weather has been cold, rainy and windy, so I've not been able to go back to Posh. Tomorrow we hit the Azores, and I have a tour booked at 8:30, so I need to behave tonight and go to bed at a decent hour. *Tomorrow is all about wine and volcanoes, so it should be fun.

 

Thanks for reading :)

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coka

coka

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I am LOVING your review! Thanks for taking us across the ocean for the ride. If possible, the next time in Bliss, could you try a dance in the cage? I would enjoy reading a report on that. Actually, I would enjoy reading more how many men and you at one tome can fit into one of those cages...lol

 

coka

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SuiteCruiser

SuiteCruiser

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I am LOVING your review! Thanks for taking us across the ocean for the ride. If possible, the next time in Bliss, could you try a dance in the cage? I would enjoy reading a report on that. Actually, I would enjoy reading more how many men and you at one tome can fit into one of those cages...lol

 

coka

 

OMG, too funny! I will see what I can do!

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SuiteCruiser

SuiteCruiser

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Thanks for your entertaining review! I am having a great read! I have been fascinated with the Azores for a long time, so looking forward to hearing about your tour. Have a great day tomorrow! :)

 

Thanks! I will let you know how it is, I'm really excited to go there too!

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boopsahoy

boopsahoy

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Day 3 continued

 

I went back to O'Sheehan's for dinner, the wings were great, better than the ones I had last year. *

 

I headed back to the tables for a little bit, then off to Headliners for Howl at the Moon, dueling pianos. Craig had mentioned he'd be there, so I thought I'd join him, *at the door I ran into Ian, so sat with him and a couple of friends. Had a blast, the piano players were fantastic, lots of fun sing-a-longs. *Really talented people. For those who have never been, they have 3 entertainers, who are all funny and a bit raunchy, and two play at a time, so there's no breaks, they just rotate out all night.We then headed to Shakers *for a couple of drinks and a chance to chat where it was a little quieter, then I headed back to my room, around midnight as I was due for an early night. The guys headed off to Bliss "for one drink" which probably meant another late night for them.

 

......

 

Woke earlier today, read for a bit and headed to Taste for lunch. Had the chicken noodle soup and the club sandwich and enjoyed both. Onto the tables where I met a few of my table friends and went off to afternoon trivia with them. We did okay, but had a lot of fun.*

 

Back to the tables and then onto the last bit of the Studio Lounge Happy Hour for visiting.*

 

Weather has been cold, rainy and windy, so I've not been able to go back to Posh. Tomorrow we hit the Azores, and I have a tour booked at 8:30, so I need to behave tonight and go to bed at a decent hour. *Tomorrow is all about wine and volcanoes, so it should be fun.

 

Thanks for reading :)

 

 

Wine and volcanos sounds like a fun day!

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SuiteCruiser

SuiteCruiser

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Day 5

 

Last evening was quiet, I had dinner at O'Sheehan's and it was an early night. Much fun and hilarity at the Ultimate Texas Hold 'me table, as the usual suspects were out in full force. Once again, NCL has a great casino staff which makes for fun play at the tables. When I arrived, Heidi presented me with a Swiss chocolate bar, which I thought was really kind. I enjoy playing with her and her son. Found out she's 76, and I hope I have half ofthe sparkle that she does 30 years from now.

 

It was an early and quiet night for me, in the cabin by 11:00 and asleep by 11:30. At around 1:00 I woke up and couldn't go back to sleep until at least 3:00. I was exhausted at 7:30 when the alarm went off. I looked out the "window" which is my TV tuned to the bridge cam, and see that it is dry and a little sun is poking through. The temperature on the navigation channel says 66 F. I decided to wear my jean jacket in case I needed it, and boy was I glad I did!

 

I'm not a breakfast eater, but thought I should have something before I left. I didn't relish the idea of the buffet half an hour before the tours all met thought it would be a zoo. Then I remembered about the Studio Lounge. I hadn't stopped by there for food yet, but walked all of 30 feet and found coffee, *juice and pastries, so that was perfect.

 

We all met in the Epic Lounge and my tour was the second one called. It was the *Sete Cidades Village and Wine Tasting. Most of the crowd got up when it was called. We had 5 full coaches doing the tour!*

 

We drove through the countryside, rarely losing sight of the ocean. Beautiful lush mountains with hydrangea-lined roads. Almost the entire drive for the two and a half hours was on hydrangea and Japanese cedar lined roads, just gorgeous.*

 

I have been taking photos, and I promise I will try and upload them when I get back. I'm trying to conserve my Internet minutes while still updating daily.

 

We stopped quite a few times to take photos, we stopped at the Village of Sete Cidades, which is a good thing, or the tour name would be misleading ;) . My highlight happened here, I was wandering up to the store to look for souvenirs (with no luck) and on the way, I passed a backyard where a stuffed toy horse was lying on it's side chained with a collar. He didn't look very happy, but I laughed out loud when I saw it. On the way back, the little horse was upright, at a bucket of water, looking much perkier. I went to take a photo and the young 3 or 4 year old "farmer" came out in jeans and wellies to make sure the horse was well. I got a sweet picture of him looking after his toy horse and hope to post it later.

 

We drove across the bridge that separates the Azores famous Blue and Green lakes, which honestly today looked more like different shades of grey (not that kind, ladies!) and onto Lago de Santiago. I hope it's spelled correctly as I'm reading it from the map while my studio lights do their changing light show, which makes it more difficult to read, but so much more fun! Lago de Santiago is truly a green lake, not like the aforementioned Green lake. It's beautiful and you can only see it from above, it's not really accessible, so it's very natural and definitely green. *The air here is very humid, there was a significant breeze and I was chilly even in my jean jacket, so I'm glad I didn't just listen to the 66F, which we Canadians would normally consider balmy.

 

We stopped at the "King's View" for a photo of the Green and Blue lakes, which are still grey, and another stop for a view of both the north and south coasts from a lovely vantage point.*

 

We headed back to the terminal which is where the wine and cheese portion of the tour happens. I think most of us expected it to happen on a farm out in the green countryside, but it happened within a few feet of the ship. I tried a red and a white, both we're really nice light wines, and our group was the first to arrive, so was able to try a few pieces of their cheese before the crowds took over, and they were all excellent. *Nothing like a nice red wine with a flavorful cheese.*

 

I headed back to the ship, had a quick bite in O'Sheehan's, ran into another CC friend which was great and then I had a lovely afternoon snooze with my belly full of fish and chips.

 

As I write this, the announcements looking for 3 passengers are being repeated. Seriously. It's 5 sea days until our next stop and 3 people can't manage to get back on board on time. I do normally like to watch "the show" from my balcony.The people running for their lives to get back on board before we pull out. *This is the main reason I went with NCL tours for this cruise. If you're in the Med, you can hop on a train often to catch the ship at the next port. Not too many airlines fly to "somewhere at sea".

 

I may try Second City tonight. I really loved Howl at the Moon, they share a venue, so they won't be on tonight. I'm now heading to the Studio Lounge for happy hour.

 

Thanks again for the lovely comments, so glad to have you along for the trip :)

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Ajkcruiser

Ajkcruiser

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Soooo keeping you company on this "Live" blog....to the point that I find myself thinking....where would they be now????

 

Keep enjoying your journey.....the temperatures here at home just went up to 20c/68 as I type this......hoping is not our Indian Summer :)... as you would imagine,,,lots of shorts and sweat shirts on the streets.

 

 

AJ

 

Day 5

 

Last evening was quiet, I had dinner at O'Sheehan's and it was an early night. Much fun and hilarity at the Ultimate Texas Hold 'me table, as the usual suspects were out in full force. Once again, NCL has a great casino staff which makes for fun play at the tables. When I arrived, Heidi presented me with a Swiss chocolate bar, which I thought was really kind. I enjoy playing with her and her son. Found out she's 76, and I hope I have half ofthe sparkle that she does 30 years from now.

 

It was an early and quiet night for me, in the cabin by 11:00 and asleep by 11:30. At around 1:00 I woke up and couldn't go back to sleep until at least 3:00. I was exhausted at 7:30 when the alarm went off. I looked out the "window" which is my TV tuned to the bridge cam, and see that it is dry and a little sun is poking through. The temperature on the navigation channel says 66 F. I decided to wear my jean jacket in case I needed it, and boy was I glad I did!

 

I'm not a breakfast eater, but thought I should have something before I left. I didn't relish the idea of the buffet half an hour before the tours all met thought it would be a zoo. Then I remembered about the Studio Lounge. I hadn't stopped by there for food yet, but walked all of 30 feet and found coffee, *juice and pastries, so that was perfect.

 

We all met in the Epic Lounge and my tour was the second one called. It was the *Sete Cidades Village and Wine Tasting. Most of the crowd got up when it was called. We had 5 full coaches doing the tour!*

 

We drove through the countryside, rarely losing sight of the ocean. Beautiful lush mountains with hydrangea-lined roads. Almost the entire drive for the two and a half hours was on hydrangea and Japanese cedar lined roads, just gorgeous.*

 

I have been taking photos, and I promise I will try and upload them when I get back. I'm trying to conserve my Internet minutes while still updating daily.

 

We stopped quite a few times to take photos, we stopped at the Village of Sete Cidades, which is a good thing, or the tour name would be misleading ;) . My highlight happened here, I was wandering up to the store to look for souvenirs (with no luck) and on the way, I passed a backyard where a stuffed toy horse was lying on it's side chained with a collar. He didn't look very happy, but I laughed out loud when I saw it. On the way back, the little horse was upright, at a bucket of water, looking much perkier. I went to take a photo and the young 3 or 4 year old "farmer" came out in jeans and wellies to make sure the horse was well. I got a sweet picture of him looking after his toy horse and hope to post it later.

 

We drove across the bridge that separates the Azores famous Blue and Green lakes, which honestly today looked more like different shades of grey (not that kind, ladies!) and onto Lago de Santiago. I hope it's spelled correctly as I'm reading it from the map while my studio lights do their changing light show, which makes it more difficult to read, but so much more fun! Lago de Santiago is truly a green lake, not like the aforementioned Green lake. It's beautiful and you can only see it from above, it's not really accessible, so it's very natural and definitely green. *The air here is very humid, there was a significant breeze and I was chilly even in my jean jacket, so I'm glad I didn't just listen to the 66F, which we Canadians would normally consider balmy.

 

We stopped at the "King's View" for a photo of the Green and Blue lakes, which are still grey, and another stop for a view of both the north and south coasts from a lovely vantage point.*

 

We headed back to the terminal which is where the wine and cheese portion of the tour happens. I think most of us expected it to happen on a farm out in the green countryside, but it happened within a few feet of the ship. I tried a red and a white, both we're really nice light wines, and our group was the first to arrive, so was able to try a few pieces of their cheese before the crowds took over, and they were all excellent. *Nothing like a nice red wine with a flavorful cheese.*

 

I headed back to the ship, had a quick bite in O'Sheehan's, ran into another CC friend which was great and then I had a lovely afternoon snooze with my belly full of fish and chips.

 

As I write this, the announcements looking for 3 passengers are being repeated. Seriously. It's 5 sea days until our next stop and 3 people can't manage to get back on board on time. I do normally like to watch "the show" from my balcony.The people running for their lives to get back on board before we pull out. *This is the main reason I went with NCL tours for this cruise. If you're in the Med, you can hop on a train often to catch the ship at the next port. Not too many airlines fly to "somewhere at sea".

 

I may try Second City tonight. I really loved Howl at the Moon, they share a venue, so they won't be on tonight. I'm now heading to the Studio Lounge for happy hour.

 

Thanks again for the lovely comments, so glad to have you along for the trip :)

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cruitenn

cruitenn

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Thanks for sharing your solo TA cruise with us. Love your wit and sense of humor (humour :D). I am enjoying the read and feel like I am cruising with you.

 

We also just got back to cruising last week after an 18 month hiatus while my DH got treatments and surgery. He is much better now and we celebrate and take each day as a gift.

 

Enjoy the rest of your cruise!!!

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SuiteCruiser

SuiteCruiser

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Wow, thanks for your kind comments :) Good health is to be celebrated for sure, glad to hear of people on the other side of cancer and other serious health issues. I'm also glad I'm not boring you all with all of my detail.

 

Day5-6

 

Ian came by and asked me to join the Studio folks for dinner at Moderno. He promised to stop by the casino and grab me when it was the right time. Alan came by in the meantime and I taught him how to play 3 card poker, where he won quite a bit, then onto UTH. *I was up a bit, and Ian arrived to take me to dinner and Alan went off to Le Bistro.

 

There were 11 of us at Moderno, a nice group and dinner was great. I skipped the salad bar to make sure I could try most of the meats. It was really good, better than the Star in August.*

 

Afterwards Ian and I head to the casino, he's there to watch me play UTH. I see Alan at the Let it Ride table and he comes over. Apparently he finished dinner first and when he couldn't find me in the casino, he had me PAGED. *How's that for a sign I spend too much time there?? Hilarious.

 

We played for a few hours, he walked away with 6x what he started with, and with 3x thanks to a four of a kind and a bunch of other nice cards :)

 

I popped into Bliss on my way back to my cabin, but it was quiet, and onto bed around 1:00.*

 

Slept in again, and now I'm up at Posh. Several people I know are up here, so been visiting, then just had my lunch at my chair. As I type this, I was just invited to a private Ice Bar visit tomorrow by some friends up here, it will be a riot, a great, fun, group of people.

 

The seas are like glass, which is amazing mid Atlantic, and the captain tells us none of the storms are going to affect us. I hope it's not too bad for Florida.*

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SuiteCruiser

SuiteCruiser

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Storm is due to miss Florida and hit the NorthEast, so Miami should be fine when you get there.

 

The East Coast is bracing for a bad one, though.

 

Thanks for the update, hope it isn't too bad for the East coast. I've heard it's a really strong system. My thoughts are with everyone there.

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SuiteCruiser

SuiteCruiser

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After an afternoon at Posh, headed back to UTH with the regulars and Alan came by and joined in. He invited me to join the four of them for dinner at Le Bistro, which sounded great.

 

I headed back to the cabin for a bit, then got ready for dinner. I decided to throw on a dress, and prettied myself up a bit.

 

Dinner was fantastic, the wine was flowing, the food was great. I had the mushroom soup, the escargot and the filet, which is what I always have at Le Bistro (why mess with perfection?) and it was really great. Brian, Kath, Scott and Alan welcomed me into their family and I feel so blessed. I told them about my life, my great family,even my health struggles that are now behind me, and it was wonderful to have Scott, a Neo-Natal ICU doctor, fill in parts to explain it all to them. He was very kind, and sad to have heard of all of my struggles. *

 

Alan told me that from the moment he met me it was obvious that I was full of life and now he knows why. Scott added that Alan had actually told him that shortly after we'd met. Very, very kind, and such fun people and I'm lucky to know them all.

 

At the end of dinner I wasn't allowed to pay my share, Alan had taken the bill for us and they had bought a wine package so it was a real gift.*

 

We went back to the tables for a little while, but could see it wasn't going our way, so packed it in early. I headed to Bliss for a few minutes, chatted with a few friends there, and headed to bed. It was 12:00 when I arrived, and we now have four 25 hour days in a row, so set my watch back again and it became a really early night :)

 

I'm heading to taste for lunch today, and I don't have any other plans yet other than the ice bar at 7:30.*

 

It's raining as we came across a new weather system, but hopefully it will clear up. We had a fair bit of motion overnight as the glassy seas turned to 3m waves, but I like a bit of rock and roll, so it's all good.

 

Thanks again for reading, I scan the comments when I log on, but am trying to conserve my minutes, so if I don't respond directly to a comment, please know that I do appreciate them and that I'm smiling when I read them. Sometimes it's at Posh, and I look like an idiot, but that's okay, you're all worth it :)

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Twinkstarr

Twinkstarr

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Sounds like you are having fun.

 

We are celebrating today as our next door neighbor's son is finally home today from his successful bone marrow transplant.

 

It has been a tough year at our elementary school, as he and another friend of my son were both diagnosed with cancer within 2 weeks of each other. The other one was able to start school on time this fall and seems to be doing well.

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SuiteCruiser

SuiteCruiser

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Sounds like you are having fun.

 

We are celebrating today as our next door neighbor's son is finally home today from his successful bone marrow transplant.

 

It has been a tough year at our elementary school, as he and another friend of my son were both diagnosed with cancer within 2 weeks of each other. The other one was able to start school on time this fall and seems to be doing well.

 

That's great news! Sorry the poor kids had to go through all of it in the first place. Heart breaking.

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SuiteCruiser

SuiteCruiser

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Quiet day reading and some time at the tables. Lunch at Taste where I had the penne Alfredo which was good.

 

Met everyone at O'Sheehan's for drinks and snacks before the Ice Bar and then on upstairs to get our gloves and ponchos. I think there ended up being 14 of us. Angie who organized it and myself and 12 guys. It was really fun, lots of photos and great drinks.*

 

From there we went to Manhattan for dinner, just 8 of us. I had the tempura fried mushrooms which were amazing, and the beef stroganoff which was just okay. We shared a couple of bottles of wine and I then headed to the tables. I hit 3 card poker, then roulette and then let it ride. I had Chad with me, one of the guys, and I was teaching him how to play at all three games. I didn't win a single hand, or hit a single number, so I knew it was time to give up. we bumped into Scott, Alan was back in the cabin feeling not feeling great, and he came with us to Bliss.

 

There were a bunch of people we knew there so hung out a bit. Scott wandered around and came back to check that I was okay alone and I said, don't worry, I know him, him, him, him and him over there :) A friend from the CC roll call and Facebook group came by and introduced herself so we chatted for a long time, and then she was heading out and Scott came back to say he felt like playing some poker, so we went back to the casino. At 3:00. In the morning. With a lot of drinks in us.

 

We ran into another friend, Eric and watched him play 3 card for a bit, then they re-opened the hold 'me table for half an hour, so we played and I made about $40.*

 

Scott went to get food, and Eric and I continued to play until his husband came and the 3 of us went to O'Sheehan's for food, ran into John, another of the group of guys, so the 4 of us ate and had a great time.

 

I got back to the cabin just before 4:00, set my watch back another hour and slept until my alarm went off. *I woke up with a clear head (shocking!) and a sore throat, ugh.*

 

I had the Cruise Critic luncheon at noon at Taste, which was nice. I'm sure there were well over a hundred people there. It was a pre-set menu, but I asked them to just bring me chicken noodle soup as I watched others eating crab cakes, filet mignon and scallops.*

 

I didn't even stay through dessert as my sinuses started aching, so headed back to the room, took a pill and slept for another five hours. My sore throat is gone, my sinuses are clear and I think I might go and upgrade my chicken noodle soup for O'Sheehan's chicken pot pie. I think tonight will be an early night.

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DGP1111

DGP1111

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Glad to read there is still plenty of good times happening onboard. :)

Enjoy!!!

Have you visited Shakers yet during this sailing?? If so, can you give some feedback about the quality of the bartender(s) there -- Thanks!!

 

.

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