1/26 Liberty Retailer Therapy 3.0 – Trip n Ship

[BSQ]

Cheers Program

 

Obviously I took plenty of pictures of my drinks. Most aren't labeled because I enjoyed watching the gears turn in Miro's brain when I would say make me something with...

 

The drink I enjoyed the most that was made for me was when I asked Gabor to make me something with Tequila, a little spicy, not real fruity.

 

I ended up with a pink drink made with Don Julio Anejo (yum), and chili infused vodka. Muy spicy!

 

 

We did not get the Cheers Program. Some of our friends did, but BubbaQ and I went back and forth on this for a few days as well as revisited it once again the first day on the ship. Calculators in hand (yeah we're nerds) we just couldn't hit a break even point. At the end of the cruise I added up all our beverage purchases, including the Bottomless Bubbles we both got, and we didn't touch the cost of what the Cheers Program would have cost us.

 

Monday Morning Quarterbacking, we still think we made the right decision. For how we drink, we didn't think we would have had many more dinks than we did. As long as it is offered, we'll probably evaluate this each time we sail together.

 

There were a good number of people that did have the Cheers Card, and as some folks on this forum seem to insist it would do ... create a bunch of drunken behavior, that could not be further from the truth. Had I not known it existed, and had I not seen people ordering and showing their card, I would not have thought it any different than any other cruise I've been on.

 

I'll take a break from the cocktails and move on to Food. There'll be more cocktails, I haven't even touched upon the Mixology Class. :D

[BSQ]

Continuing on with the food on board

 

I'll just be brief here because it seems kind of pointless with out pictures to accompany it. So ...

 

My one food porn picture, FruitLoop French Toast at the Punchliner Comedy Brunch:

 

Got that out of the way, let's continue, shall we?

 

Blue Iguana Cantina - Lunch, Very Good. Conclusion: not sure why we didn't eat here more often.

 

Guy's Burger Joint - mixed reviews. First time very dry, second time delish. Conculsion: go when they are busy, don't accept a burger that has been sitting.

 

Silver Olympian Dining Room -

 

We needed a little something after all those martinis on an empty stomach. : )

 

MDR service was excellent, food a bit bland. Menu selection was either so-so or I've gotten really picky. Desserts - the night I had a scoop of vanilla ice cream and orange sherbet was the best. Conclusion: I could do with out the strobe light effect while the waiters are dancing, it gave me a headache. I didn't have to cook or clean up so it was wonderful.

 

Lido buffet - perfectly fine. Lines moved well, selection was decent. Ate here for breakfast a couple times and dinner once. BubbaQ was surprised that the dinner selections mirrored the MDR menu. Conclusions: I was surprised too, is that the way it usually is?

 

Punchliner Comedy Brunch - not very good. unusually long wait to be seated, service so-so, menu is trying to hard to be quirky. (see frootloop picture ... looked good on paper, but was a miss with the person who ordered it). We did not use our drink coupons. I'm OK with the idea of a brunch, but I'd rather see a combination of the old breakfast/lunch items. I have no opinion about the commedian performing. It didn't make or break my experience.

 

Pizza: inconsistient. BubbaQ usually went to get pizza, and he did not like the waiting, especially when they were busy. He liked it better when they already had some cooked. If I had ever actually gotten the pizza myself, I probvably would have shared his opinion. I'm on the fence though, I liked knowing it was freshly made, but I did miss the salad selections back there. Conclusion: we likey.

 

Deli: Can't really mess up a sandwich. I had the Bagel/Smoked Salmon sandwich from here and it was good. I think we also had them make some grilled cheese sandwiches a couple times (Grilled Ham & Cheese, no ham). I did get BubbaQ a hotdog from here one day and his conclusion, he missed the grilled hotdogs from the aft pool area grill. (His experience was on the Freedom 2 years ago). Conclusion: we likey, there was never a line when we went (weird, I know).

 

Fish & Chips: Did not try. Line moved too slow for me, I went up to just get some fries. Conclusion: timing is everything with this one.

 

Steakhouse: we ate here the last night with our whole group of friends. Good meal, nice wine selections, but really this night was all about friendship. Service was excellent. Conclusion: very good, though the cowz still aren't speaking to us. :eek:

 

Ice Cream/ FroYo: BubbaQ renewed his relationship with the Ice Cream Machines, though I am happy to report this year he paid attention to which was Ice Cream and Which was FroYo. Conclusion: I am pleased with the progress Mr. Observant has made.

 

Room Service: we used room service once, the morning we were arriving in Belize. They came a few minutes earlier than the window I'd selected, and go figure it was the exact moment I was in the bathroom. They called the room to let us know they tried to deliver, then came back. Kudos for delivery into a dark room. They followed up with a call to make sure verything was OK. It was, and we enjoyed our continental breakfasts. Conclusions: the only reason we don't use this more is I don't like to commit to a wake up time.

 

I think that's all the food, did I miss anything?

[BSQ]

Forgot one ...

Taste Bar - we tried the items offered a couple times and thought it was a nice idea. We didn't miss the sushi bar being there at all (we're not sushi people).

[BSQ]

Let's move on to the Ports of Call since I actually have pictures from those.

 

COZUMEL

 

Ah Mexico. The beautiful turquoise beaches and white-ish, sandy beaches. BubbaQ and I love the Yucatan. we enjoy the people, the sites and the food. This was my third trip to Cozumel via cruise ship. Today's plan - shop for Tequila, Vanilla and have lunch someplace local. Prior to arriving we saw that we were going to be the only ship in port on this day. I knew this could either be a good thing or a bad thing given our shopping plans. It definitely worked against us.

 

Anyway, we caught a cab from the pier to Los Cinco Soles in town. $8. What I thought was odd is we did not have our own taxi. Instead we were instructed to get in a van, and 4 other people joined us that were going someplace else. I double checked with the driver to make sure he knew where we were going. All is well.

 

Tequila shopping begins. we browsed LCS, and then made our way down Av. Melgar trying to wander in and out of shops. Although we made our way off the ship at our leisure, there weren't many people wandering about, we were the lone shoppers on the far end of this avenue. And that's when the bombardment from the shop folks started. They were pretty aggressive in trying to get us into their shops. Please don't even try to justify it, I am a seasoned shopper and quite used to the practices on Cozumel and other tourist areas within the Yucatan. I speak enough spanish to get by. There were maybe 4 shops that were not overly aggressive and we did make purchases in 3 of those. Coincidence? I think not.

 

By the time we got to La Fiesta (near starbucks) we'd had enough. We decided to take a cab back to LCS to make our final purchases. It was the same price to get back to LCS from here as it was to go from the Pier. I have a low opinion of the Taxi Union in Mexico and I'll leave it at that. While we had walked this far, we decided to use a taxi because BubbaQ's ankel was hurting. When I guy actually admits something hurts, it usually means it hurts bad. Back to LCS we went, bought our Xtabentun (if you want a local souvenir, we recommend this), and then sat a bit along the sea to enjoy the warm sun, people watch and avoid the shop people. We really wanted a yucatan meal but in the end we were so worn down from our shopping experience we did something totally out of character for us ...

 

We returned to the ship for lunch. :( Changed into our suits and BubbaQ stuck his foot into the cold pool on board.

 

If you really want to relive it with me, you can look for my Cozumel rant in the Trip Advisor Coz forum. I use the same screen name over there.

 

It was overcast and rained a couple times. My pictures don't show all the sparkle from the glitter on everything as the island is getting ready for Carnivale.

 

Here's a few pics from our day here ...

 

View from deck 10

 

Some of Aft's relatives

 

Along Avienda Rafael Melgar

 

 

 

 

 

This experience saddened me. I truly do enjoy this area, and now understand why many people don't leave the ship or go to one of the tourist beach clubs. I do encourage you to get off the ship and venture to the wild side of the island. It is truly beautiful.

 

Oh the reason being the only ship in port was good is things weren't crowded. The downside was prices were inflated and we often got the excuse business is slow, there's only one ship in port. Perhaps I have no sympathy since I've seen slow business post 9/11 and post Wilma. Shopkeepers while struggling did not try to take advantage of the tourists back then.

[BSQ]

Welcome to Belize!

 

This was our favorite port of the trip. Here we booked a Carnival Excursion to:

 

 

This is a tender port and the seas were a little rough. You really had to time the jump from ship to tender boat. It's a pretty ride into port and we have no bad opinions about tendering here. I guess it helps to know it will take a while to get off the ship and to port.

 

I've read many unfavorable comments about Belize, and I get it seeing the area surrounding the port. It's not much to look out, and seems a bit run down and skeezy. But once outside the port area, I'll let my pictures speak for themselves, I thought it was quite lovely.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[BSQ]

This is one of the longest excursions you can take in Belize. We did it through the ship for that reason - also there was little savings in going with a private vendor. Of the Mayan Ruins in the area, I really wanted to go to go to Lamanai, but did not want to risk a private excursion since it was even farther than Xunantunich. Together we have visited Chichen Itza and Ek Balam, and I've also been to Coba, Tulum and El Rey.

 

I do recommend this tour. It took about 1 1/2 hours to get to the site, but along the way our tour guide gave us a lot of information and pointed out interesting things the whole time. Once of the bus we boarded a hand crank ferry to cross the river, and reboarded into small vans to get to the ruins site.

 

It's a walk of about 200 yards to get ot the actual ruins, and it is a steep hill. They do offer to drive via a van anyone with walking limitations. Some of the odler folks opted to walk and later complained that had they known how steep is was they would have ridden. For that reason, I am mentioning it here. Although he was slightly hobbled, BubbaQ had no issue with the walk.

 

Now to let the pictures tell the story...

 

Crossing the river...

 

 

 

[BSQ]

El Castillo (main structure)

 

 

 

Ball Court (built in Yucatan rather than Belizian style)

[Golfman3436]

Your experience in Cozumel is like my wife's last time we were there. I had wanted to go downtown but last time we were there I walked away from her to make a phone call and multiple sales people grabbed her by the arm and tried to pull her into their shops to look at their wares.

 

We went straight to Chankanaab this time and spent the day there...she had a great time.

 

Side Note:

 

Sorry we never really stopped to formally say Hi to everyone...though we did "ninja" meet up with you bsq as we have a similar "hobby"...we take Java (our stuffed ferret) on our vacations with us :)

[BSQ]

BubbaQ and I did wander off on our own and saw a few more things than the actual tour. The ballcourt is one of those things. It was only mentioned in passing.

 

We were able to scramble over most of the structures, and that I have to admit is fun, though I don't think being able to climb a pyramid makes or breaks a trip to any of the archeological ruins site.

 

what BubbaQ and I liked about this tour is we thought our guide on site was very knowledgeable. We enjoy both the lore, artistry and engineering of the Maya. Our guide did a good job of sharing the story with us.

 

While the group was climbing El Castillo, I spent some time talking with our guide about the differences in the Belize structures we were seeing vs those in Quintana Roo that we had visited. Ceremonial vs residental structures and more detail about the ball court which I found fascinating.

 

Another thing I liked about the site ... No mosquitos! I was prepared to be eated alive. When we were told we would not need bug spray I was skeptical. I had brought some but opted not to use it. Happy to report no bites. I am a mosquito magnet usually. YMMV at other times of the year.

 

we saw a lot in the time we were there. In hind site I wished I would have wandered into the information building just at the top of the hill. Looked like there was some good information in there that we missed out on. The structures at this site aren't set up for self guided wandering. Other sites I have been do have a sign explaining the structure, how it was used, and it's significance.

 

There were maybe 4 groups of tours while we were here. At no time did the tours overlap at the structures. I liked that it wasn't very crowded. It made me feel like I was seeing something truly special that many people would never know.

 

Soon enough it was time to get back on the bus. At this point our tour guide made it a point to tell us we had to be mindful of the time in order to get back to the ship in time. Next up would be lunch at a local spot. I don't remember the name of the place, but we had a lunch of rice with beans, cole slaw, and bbq chicken (mayan style BBQ with achiote ... YUM!). We both declared lunch very good, and enjoyed some icy cold beer ...

 

Come time to go, most people went with the tour guides recommendation to try the ice cream. My friends and I ... I'm sure this won't surprise you, opted to bring on another round of beer.

 

 

The remaining ride back to port was quite. We were tired and ready for naps. Upon arrive we had time for a quick bathroom stop and soon were in line for the Tender. We were the last tender back at just before 6pm.

 

I don't know all the details but someone did miss the Ship at this port. They caught up with us later on at sea.

 

Conclusions: This Carnival Tour was totally worth it. Don't be afraid of the travel time to get to things in Belize. The countryside is diverse and beautiful. BubbaQ and I proceeded to look at vacation properties upon our return. (dreamers that we are).

[BSQ]

Welcome to Roatan!

 

After the walking in Cozumel followed by the long excursion in Belize, this was planned to be a beach day at Mahogany Bay (unlike us not to explore outside the ship area). When we started this cruise BubbaQ ankel looked like a tennis ball, by now it was more softball size. the less walking around the better.

 

Walking off the ship we ran into Mr & Mrs Jeffy294 who informed us the beach was beyond crowded and they could not find chairs. The conquest was in port with is today. This news bummed us out, but we were really looking forward to spending the day on the beach and were determined to do so even if we had to plop our butts in the sand right at the shore.

 

To limit the walk, we bought tickets for the flying chairs. Personally I think they charge too much for this. $24 dollars later, we were in line to be whisked away. Note, BubbaQ and I both hate wrist bands when we are going to be sunning. I attached mine to my beachbag, and although I tried to tell them BubbaQ and I would always be riding together, they made him wear his. he attached it to the ties at the waist of his swim trunks. Yay! If you don't like heights, you may want to skip this lil ride.

 

 

 

 

We kept starting and stopping along the way ... during one of the stops we were joking with these folks...

 

 

[Straitlover]

Love the review so far!

 

In the future, if you need to stay near RDU, try the Cambria Suites. I stayed there in December. I thought our room was great!!!! The indoor pool is not much bigger than a bathtub :D, but it felt great.

 

We will be flying RDU - FLL Labor Day weekend on SW, too. Unfortunately, we have no direct flights.

[BSQ]

The beaches did seem crowded, but on the chairs we could see it wasn't as crowded the further way you got from the entrance. When we arrived at the beach (maybe 11:30) our plan was to head to the farthest end and just go from there.

 

We spotted three chairs, one in the middle had a water bottle on it. we took the two empty ones, then decided to move the water bottle over so we could sit together. Not 2 minutes after we sat the group next to us all left and as we looked around, there were actually chairs a plenty.

 

 

We sat for only a short time then headed into the water. Cold at first, but quite nice after you got used to it. I didn't like that it was pretty murky, but as I got father away from the people the water got clearer. Even further out it was beautiful, but standing in sea grass creeps both of us out. Water shoes would have been good here.

 

We enjoyed our time in the water and laid in the sun. all to soon we decided to ride the chairs back and check out the port area shops. We bought some coffee and chocolate, and didn't really see anything else that struck our fancy. We did see a cow mask we liked, but when it comes to cow things, if they don't have two, we usually pass on the purchase so we don't have to figure out who gets to take it home. :rolleyes:

 

I wish our tie in this port would have been a little longer. We would have enjoyed more time on the beach. Of course it could be argued if we would have gotten our butts out of bed earlier we would have had more time. we liked not having a schedule, it's just not the best strategy on a cruise with limited time in ports.

 

Conclusion: I'd be OK with returning to this port. I would like to venture out next time though.

[BSQ]

Welcome to Grand Cayman!

 

By Grand Cayman BubbaQ's hoof, err foot, was really painful and combine the injury swelling with being on a ship swelling and well, if you saw it, it just looked uncomfortable. He was a trooper and I'll give him that.

 

Grand Cayman we booked a Carnival Tour, Explore Cayman by Land & Sea. On this tour we were to get a tour of the island, visit the turtle farm, rumcake factory, Hell and go on a semisubmersible submarine. Our tour could also be called the Bill from Canada excursion.

 

I will say upfront I hated this tour and do not recommend it. Part of my dislike was because of ol Bill from Canada. BubbaQ who is usually more even keeled than I, thinks we didn't like it simply because we strayed too far from what we like to do.

 

For me, this was what one might imagine when they think of (but have never taken) an organize tour from a cruise ship. In short it was one of my worst nightmares realized. I can't even spin a version sugarcoated enough to make it pass Carnival's review screening on their website. I'll try to be fair, but I can't guarnatee it.

 

This was to be a "Three Hour Tour" haha I know you just sang that in your head. We know how one famous three hour tour ended, that mightshould have been my clue.

 

Grand Cayman is a tender port ...

 

The waters were much calmer than in Belize and getting onto the tender was fairly uneventful. It was a nice ride into port. This was quite the popular tour and we ended up with 3 or 4 bus loads of people. 120 if you're trying to do the math, give or take one or two.

 

we took this tour hoping to see the island and learn about it, and because we both had a really stressful 2012, we wanted to get our passport stamped in Hell.

 

So we begin seeing the island.

 

 

I was behind the driver so I don't have many pictures from the driving around portion. I was a bit disappointed that our tour guide basically pointed out everything on the island that is similar to the US. (fast food places, hotel chains), I would have rather liked to hear what was unique bout the island, and that may have been on the agenda, but then Ol Bill from Canada started in with the questions.

 

Don't get me wrong, questions are good. OBC was sitting shotgun, and he may have forgotten he was on a tour with 39 other people. He carried on a conversation with the tour guide all about the things they have in Canada. Apparently personalized license plates aren't common in Canada, cause OBC went on and on about this. As long as OBC was talking to him, the tour guide wasn't talking to us. OBC's wife tried to shush him a couple times, but it fell on deaf ears.

 

Bet you didn't know they have hotels, banks and fast food places in Canada. :rolleyes: BubbaQ says I shouldn't be so hard on OBC, but I thought it was quite rude.

 

First stop Hell. we were here for 15 minutes at most.

 

 

 

There were 4 or 5 ships in port with us, and every cruise line seemed to have a version of this tour. It would have been nice if they coordinated amongst themselves varying the stops. Hell was well, Hell. Very crowded. We wandered off on our own in order to get these pictures. I had asked the tour guide about getting our passport stamped, and he did find out for me where I could do that. That was quite nice of him and I cannot lose sight of that through all my bitterness and disappointment.

 

You can get your passport stamped here for a donation at any of the cash registers at the gift ship. Provided you can actually make your way through the gift shop. It was shoulder to shoulder people. Two passport stamps, and we were out of there. That was all the time we had, time to get back on the bus ... but first we have to wait for OBC and wife to get back. The driver had to hunt them down.

[michelle1836]

woo hoo! thanks for posting the review!! I think we are definitely going to do the same excursion in Belize. is lunch included with the price?

[BSQ]

Next Stop Rum Cake Factory, Rum and Cake tasting. This sealed it, I was on the wrong kind of tour. As I stood in the little shop I said to BubbaQ, this is my version of Hell. they offered one sample of rum - banana. I didn't even see a cake sample. It was so crowded and noisy you literally could not move. We worked our way to the samples, tried it, meh, and deemed the place skippable. I could not get out of there fast enough. Instead we went outside and took some pictures.

 

well flump, I can't get the image hosting site rotation to save on this one. Just turn your head. It was pretty at this look out and a welcome relief from the chaos inside the Rum Factory Stop.

 

 

15 minutes tops here, and we had to reboard the bus to head to the next destination ... the Turtle Farm yay!

 

It took us longer to board the bus and unload at the turtle farm than it would have taken to just walk over there. Whatever. Let's keep going.

 

 

 

 

We liked this portion of the tour. Mainly because we got away from OBC and wandered off on our own, staying only just within earshot of our tourguide or someone else's guide.

 

You do get to hold small turtles and that is nice. BubbaQ and I think we would have liked to have snorkeled here and definitely would have liked a leisurely lunch here ...

 

 

[BSQ]

after the turtles we were instructed to head to the gift shop. We roamed just a little bit

 

 

 

 

There were some nice prints in the gift shop. We did buy a cookbook and received a free gift for spending $10. It was a small bag of shells. I'm OK with this.

 

Back on to the bus, OBC continuing to monopolize the tour guide so we really hear nohting about the island, and on to the underwater portion of our tour.

[BSQ]

 

This would fill up after the second bus arrived. Pictures from the underwater portion. The camera I was using didn't have an underwater mode so everything is quite blue. We saw a lot of stuff and that was good.

 

 

 

 

what we actually saw, I couldn't tell you. The guide on this portion played up the whole pirate thing. It was really hard to understand him with the whole pirate accent schtick going on. This was the longest portion of the tour.

 

Afterwards back on the bus for a short ride to the pier and drop off point. We had a couple hours before the last tender, so BubbaQ and I tried to turn this day around.

[BSQ]

We set out to have a local lunch. It took us a while to find something, but just when we were getting ready to turn around we decided to try the Paradise Bar and Grill. It smelled good, so off we went.

 

we had a seat overlooking the water, destressed (me) and joked and talked about what went wrong with the tour and what we would do differently.

 

Give me a beer and plop me by the ocean and even I can't stay pissed off for long.

 

 

 

 

Lunch was really good here. We both had fresh seafood dishes, served with rice n beans, coleslaw, and plaintains. Mine was cooked cayman style, BubbaQ's something spicy. We enjoyed the sea breezes and looking out at the water. OBC became something to just chuckle over.

 

What we would do differently. We did like the potential we saw in Grand Cayman. BubbaQ thought we would have been better off renting a car. Me not so much cause I always am the driver when we visit foreign areas. The two things we wanted to see, we saw. Hell and the Turtle Farm. We probably should have done a private tour (or driven) to just those two spots. We imagined the side of the island we didn't go to away from port was probably much nicer. As for the tour itself, OBC aside, I felt it was overpriced for what we did. It was very rushed and most of the stops were way too crowded. We learned nothing bout the island, which was a disappointment as well.

 

This is a tour that would probably be good for someone with limited mobility (though getting on the sub might prove to be challenging), and if you only wanted a highlight of every stop. It you wanted to actually linger, it is not the tour for you. This is the first Carnival Tour I've done where I've come away saying NEVER AGAIN. YMMV.

[BSQ]

Your experience in Cozumel is like my wife's last time we were there. I had wanted to go downtown but last time we were there I walked away from her to make a phone call and multiple sales people grabbed her by the arm and tried to pull her into their shops to look at their wares.

 

We went straight to Chankanaab this time and spent the day there...she had a great time.

 

Side Note:

 

Sorry we never really stopped to formally say Hi to everyone...though we did "ninja" meet up with you bsq as we have a similar "hobby"...we take Java (our stuffed ferret) on our vacations with us :)

 

Oh! That was you!! I remember Java at the Alchemy bar. We also saw y'all taking pictures with him. I couldn't get BubbaQ to do a formal picture with the cowz. Glad we got to chat a little bit!

[TakeMeAway1001]

Thanks again for doing the review, love your sense of humor! I keep thinking of an On-board Credit when you mention Bill, lol. We too have had our share of fellow tourists who somehow think they're on a solo tour and don't stop talking making it virtually impossible to hear anything worthwhile.

[BSQ]

woo hoo! thanks for posting the review!! I think we are definitely going to do the same excursion in Belize. is lunch included with the price?

 

Yes, lunch was included. It was the chicken, rice n beans and salad and a bottle of soda. Beer was extra at $2 each. Also included, they had these bag things of water that you could take in with you. (equal to a small bottle of water, less garbage to haul out).

[BSQ]

Hi Karl!

 

Karl with a K was our Cruise Director. Third time on the ship, third time with Karl. As CD's go, I happen to think he's one of the best. Deck Parties are always fun when Karl is around. He's very visible on the ship, approachable and always takes the time to stop and chat. Conclusion: I like Uncle Karl, even if he never sends Christmas cards. (sometimes I write for my own amusement ... a few people will get this joke).

 

Me & BubbaQ at the Blue Iguana Fiesta

 

Red's Caribbean Deck Party

 

 

Trivia Champs Again!

as a group we participated in Super Trivia. BubbaQ and I bailed on the middle day, but in the end Red Solo Cup DOMINATED! Froofie, you were with us in spirit as we did have a question about Canada that because of you we all knew the answer. (Lacrosse!)

 

our prizes varied, Mrs Vacruizer scored an inflatable palm tree! Here's a pic of me with my prize ...

 

 

Serenity Deck

This was a nice place to get away. We spend some time up here after one of the ports, but usually it was too windy to fully enjoy.

 

Punchliner Comedy ClubWas ok. This of course depends on the comedians. I usually enjoy comedy. We saw two of the four comedians, one was funny one so-so. This is obviously the luck of the draw. Still worth checking out each cruise.

ShowsWe did go to the welcome aboard show, one production show (sorry I can't remember which one ... the first one if that helps LOL) and we saw Edge perform which was also good.

[BSQ]

Mixology Class

 

We both signed up for this. I had heard good things about it on my last cruise and I do enjoy a good Martini. Miro would be our instructor today. We had a full class taking up every seat in the front row of the Alchemy Bar. This is at least a 2 hour class. We were unaware of this, and thought it was only going to be an hour. Normally not a problem except this was the night we would be having dinner early in the steakhouse. :eek:

 

I really liked this activity. It was about $15 and you received 2 mini martinis during class and a card good for one full size martini afterwards. You also received a diploma.

 

Miro gave us a lot of information and we did actually learn alot. we tried our hand at using the shaker. Separating the two parts is easier said than done! We also got to try our hand at flaming an orange peel. I did quite well. One lady's artificial fingernail caught fire. (Shame, he nails were really cool)

 

We were given tonic water to cleanse our pallets between martinis. This really did make a difference in the taste.

 

 

 

A cucumber martini in the making ...

 

Muddling the cucumbers, tools and proper technique explained. (That's vanessa in the background, the third excellent bartender when they got busy)

 

 

ahhh. One of the few ways BubbaQ likes his vegetables.

[BSQ]

 

 

Once we were back home we found ourselves looking up some of the ingredients Miro and Gabor talked about that were in our drinks, and may or may not have made some purchases for our home bars. We've got plans for refreshing martinis out by the pool this summer.

 

that's the thing about cocktails, for us it's not about getting hammered. It's simply a social thing with good conversations all around. I find the atmosphere at the Alchemy Bar relaxing and inviting. Even when it is super busy, but that may be because we were always there. Gabor and Miro are both very talented and mixing up what's on the menu as well as creating something to suit your mood of the moment.

 

They also make your water look just a bit more special ... Cocktails, it's all about the Sexy.

 

 

My diploma will hang in my bar area ... soon as I get it framed.

[BSQ]

Debarkation and Beyond

 

We threw our stuff into our suitcases after dinner and then flipped a coin between the Legends Show or the Alchemy Bar. You can guess where we ended up.

 

 

:( The trip is coming to a close. We had zone 1 debark tags as part of Faster to the Fun. Our flight wasn't until 2pm so we took our time getting off the ship. BubbaQ and I went to the coffee shop for a little good morning eye opener.

 

 

And had arranged to meet up with the rest of our group here before leaving.

As a group, it was cheaper and easier to take the carnival shuttle to FLL, so eventually we made our way down and out through customs to the shuttle buses. It was painless and at $30 a person I was OK with the price. Debarkation went smoothly, we said our good bye's to Karl, and headed off the ship. Customs was busy, but it didn't take an inordinate amount of time to get through the lines.

 

The bus made two stops at FLL. Off we got at the first stop. BubbaQ and I used the skycap to check our luggage and told the rest of the group we'd see them at the gate. Traveling in a group, we know the best plan is to not move together in a pack, but to plan for meet ups because yes, you will get separated.

 

To say FLL was a zoo is an understatement. we arrived just before noon. Along with every other person on the 4 ships at port everglades. Apparently FLL must not have connected the dots and realized the ships come into port every week. They had TWO people working security. eventually they added more, but it took us a solid hour to get through the line. Maybe a little longer actually. Once our documents were checked we were waived over to a relatively short line. Except that someone in front of us must not fly very much. they proceeded to pull every electronic item out of their bag. Strike that, not just electronics, electric. every cord and cable. Finally someone stepped in and told him he needn't do that. Once through security we were right at our gate. The rest of the crew showed up shortly afterwards.

 

After the debacle on the RDU-FLL flight we immediately all paid the $10 for priority boarding. Moving us into the A group, and yet the vacruizers still got split between groups. Boarding went better there were far fewer chair hogs on this flight, and overall it was uneventful.

 

BubbaQ and I enjoyed a cocktail as we braced ourselves for re-entry to life.

 

 

2 hours later we were in Raleigh and saying our good byes.

 

So, at the beginning ofd this story I'd mentioned I'd booked a park and fly rate at a local hotel. When I called to have them pick us up, they said they did not have a shuttle available. WTH? I had to give them the time we would be arriving when I scheduled us to use it a week ago. Instead they were going to send a taxi. Um OK. We waited where we were told. I may or may not have had a run in with an inconsiderate smoker who threw his half smoked cigarette to the ground, crushed it and left it. I told him to pick it up. Then he asked me if he should pick up all the cigarette butts. I told him to go right a head. He asked me why I didn't pick them up and I simply said "I don't smoke, have a nice day." That happens to be a pet peeve of mine. I don't mind smokers in general, BubbaQ used to be one. But inconsiderate smokers irritate to living heck out of me.

 

Anyway, after waiting for some time, and freezing (it's windy and we have no coats), we decide to just pay for a taxi to get back to the hotel. this didn't really piss me off, but if they are going to offer a service I thought I'd pop in and chat with the manager to see what was what. No manager on duty. and so that leads to my not recommending this hotel.

 

20 minutes later we were back at BubbaQ's reliving our cruise through our pictures, talking bout the good and bad, and talking about where our next vacations might take us.