Breaking away to New York and Bermuda with walking difficulties

[fabnfortysomething]

OK so this will be a long day by day review including pre and post cruise stay in New York with particular emphasis on how someone with walking difficulties coped.

 

A bit of background:

Our daughter wanted a trip to New York for her 21st birthday and we decided to add on a cruise to Bermuda with the Breakaway[our 23 year old son was interested in New York but not the cruise so we left him at home!]

I am slightly older than my cruisecritic name suggests[the hazard of picking a name that reflects when you joined cruise critic] I am a self confessed obsessive planner and build up to the holiday itself is part of the fun]

Husband is the one with walking difficulties-attacked by Rheumatoid arthritis in his forties he now has 2 metal hips and a dodgy left ankle which is the main cause of his walking difficulties.

If you're old enough you may remember the 70's tv series about Steve Austin-the 6 billion dollar man as it was called in the UK. Well his "bionics" have probably cost about 6 thousand so from now on will refer to him as "6"

 

Our trip started with a trip from our local airport where we had arranged wheelchair assistance to help with the connections through London Heathrow and New York JFK.

6's metal hips always set off the metal detectors at airport security which results in a frisking for him so I usually go through first and can then collect up his belt shoes cane etc while he becomes better acquainted with the security staff. However this time my bags caused a problem as I had forgotten my Kindle was an electrical device and so didn't take it out my bag. So Daughter D was left to collect her dads stuff while I grovelled in apology-she found this funny but retribution was at hand!

 

The wheelchair assistance through Heathrow went smoothly -essential as terminal 5 is a maze!

There was a guy with manual wheelchair waiting just off the plane and he whisked us through to our connection to New York. D was carrying her dads carry on luggage as well as her own when she was stopped at the security gate for a random search[told you retribution was coming!]

This meant both bags had to be searched and had to explain the refrigerated bag containing her dads injectable medication for his arthritis. However it was all done very professionally and courteoulys and we were soon through and pre boarded the plane.

 

This was just as well as hadn't had time to assist 6 with his flight socks-he has a device which enables him to put on his own normal socks but compression socks require my help.

So I'm trying to get these socks on him in the cramped confines of economy class seats and trying to not block the aisleway for oncoming passengers-

The flight of 7 hours was uneventful and wheelchair assistance again waiting when disembarking in New York. We were fast tracked through US residents passport control which meant we were able to avoid the long lines for UK visitors.

 

I had pre booked an airport transfer through New York Fun Tours and was concerned that at $170 this might be an expensive indulgence. However our driver Adel was waiting outside baggage claim with a sign with my name on and he led us to a comfortable new SUV. The traffic into New York was very heavy and it took 1 1/2 hours but Adel gave us an informative tour on the way and took us through Queens to avoid worst of traffic.

 

Our hotel was the Holiday Inn Midtown 57th street which was paid for 3 nights with reward points which included vouchers for breakfast. The hotel has been recently refurbished but some parts remain original and that lets the hotel down-eg elevators shabby and dented, room doors not replaced and bathroom fittings the original

 

With the time difference the wave of tiredness hit and we dozed for a while but then awoke and couldn't get back to sleep-at least 6 and I couldn't-D was out like a light

 

We decided to go for a nightcap in the hotel bar which was very comfortable and welcoming and very friendly staff. A couple of drinks later it was back to bed and ready to start to explore New York the next day

Edited September 5, 2013 by fabnfortysomething

[fabnfortysomething]

So we were awake early and tried to put our stuff into the room safe which wasn't working. We informed front desk on way to breakfast and they sent someone to fix it-he managed to open it but wasn't locking securely-typing in any random number would open it.We again informed front desk who offered us a change of room or to use their safety deposit boxes behind the front desk. Unfortunately too small for electronic devices such as ipad and kindles. As we would need our passports for ID there was no point in storing them

 

We had a 9.30 tour of New York booked and had to get to Grey line office 1 1/2 Avenues and 10 streets away.In view of terrible traffic a taxi wasn't going to get us anywhere fast and 6 decided he could manage the distance. It was a 4 hour highlights tour and the woman at Greyline tried to upsell us to the 6 hour including lunch for an extra $20 but we declined .Our tickets were for the English Portuguese tour but all tours were leaving same time so there was a large group of people packed in together. When the group around us started to move we went with the flow but did note they were all speaking German-yup we'd been directed to the wrong group!

 

Redirected to a small group of 2 English speakers and 3 Portuguese we were going to be a private tour of 8! Our guide Richie joined us-an eccentric individual with long hair and almost as wide as he was tall-he was great. He 's a qualified chef who describes himself as a gourmall as opposed to gourmet-ie he enjoys lots of food!

 

He disappeared for a few minutes to round up one of his favourite drivers and an open topped HOHO bus for our group of 8! The traffic was very bad but by being on the top of the bus he could see congestion ahead and suggest side detours to the driver and he could show us "his city". The tour was well over 4 hours and included stops at Battery park to view statue Of Liberty and a stop to either tour inside a church or grab lunch. Despite signs on the bus saying no food or drink he suggested grabbing a snack and bringing it back to continue with the tour.The local deli was frequented by local hospital workers so took that as a recommendation. We got slices of pizza which were huge and pretty cheap!

 

We kept passing full HOHO buses who looked over at us as if to say how did you manage that quiet bus? Our guide also had to explain to people at bus stops it was a private tour and no not even your VIP front of line pass will get you on!

The tour guide made the trip-if we'd been on the originally advertised luxury coach with 50 other people it wouldn't have been half as much fun. The only downside was those seats are hard!

 

I then discovered I had been bitten all over my legs-there had been heavy rain for a few days and the tree branches were low and kept hitting the top of the open top bus.I think this must have disturbed the mosquitos nesting in them and they weren't happy-thing is I was the only one bitten!

 

D and I searched out a local pharmacy for anti itch cream and insect repellent while 6 headed back to the hotel . Unfortunately he was unable to gain access to the room as the latch had caught. Remember I said the hotel had been refurbished but the doors were the old original ones well they should have replaced these at the time. The maintenance man turned up and got us into the room and adjusted the door so wouldn't happen again

 

that evening we had another tour booked called the Ride which was leaving from the Times square area.6 said he would be OK to walk but the last few streets before Times Square he was getting slower and the crowds heavier so he was getting jostled-should have got a taxi! We had to exchange a voucher for actual tickets but the address wasn't clear-if they'd just said next to Madame Tussauds we would have found it straight away.

 

The ride consists of an oversized coach with 3 rows seats set sideways along the bus with large windows and transparent roof to get views of the outside. It's a tourist attraction itself judging by the reaction of passers by. It's 1 1/2 hours of travelling around central Manhattan and viewing street theatre set up for our benefit along the way.2 young hosts within the bus keep the party going and the finale is singing along to a rousing chorus of New York New York

8.30 tour ended and got off the bus and hailed my first yellow cab back to the hotel

We had burgers and drinks in the hotel bar then off to bed and rest my poor mosquito bitten legs-I counted 9 angry raised lumps on 1 leg and 1 on the other!

Edited September 5, 2013 by fabnfortysomething

[fabnfortysomething]

Ok so 6 and I are a right pair this morning-my bites are red and itching and his ankle is protesting the efforts of the previous day

We decided to have a short walk around the local area-Central park South entrance at Columbus circle is very close.

 

D and I then decided to make use of the hotel rooftop pool for a couple of hours[with a protective scarf over my legs to protect from the sun]

 

The pair of us had tickets for Kinky Boots at 2pm -I bought them online via last minute and as this was just before it won the Tony award got a good price for the best tickets available at time of booking-would actually find out exactly where when picked tickets up from box office

We had difficulty finding the theatre as the wrong address was on the booking confirmation .However when we got there we found we had stalls tickets 11 rows back-yes great seats!!!

 

Or at least they would have been if 2 giants hadn't been sat directly in front of us-to add insult to injury the woman had big hair!!

This meant we had to keep moving our heads to see some of action on stage which probably had a knock on effect to those seated behind us!

The play was great but bit surreal watching a play set in Midlands of England on Broadway New York!

Shall we say the English accents were a bit suspect!!

 

The walk back to the hotel was a fast one as 6 wasn't interested in going to the theatre so had left him to rest up at the hotel.The hot temperatures combined with the blood circulating from the fast walk meant by the time got back to the hotel my bites had blistered. D went to get ice from the machine down the hall to make an ice pack but that caused the blisters to burst-sent her out to the local pharmacy for antiseptic spray and plasters-what a look!

 

We had made plans to join friends from Bayonne who we met on a previous cruise at Delmonicos restaurant but they had a virus so had to cancel-we decided to keep the reservation for the 3 of us

 

and then we had our first negative experience of a Yellow Cab driver.

We flagged down a taxi outside the hotel-the driver spoke little English and had never heard of Delmonicos-really the oldest restaurant in Manhattan and you've never taken people there?

Fortunately we had the address so he tapped it into the sat nav app of his I phone

even so he seemed very unsure of where he was going and $25 meter fare later he pulled up outside the restaurant and grumbled about size of tip-should have taken it back and reported his badge number!

To confirm our suspicions the return taxi fare was only $20

 

Back at the hotel we headed to the bar where the waitress recognised us from the night before! There was a wedding reception going on in the conference room next door so there were occasional influxes of intoxicated people in full evening dress-very entertaining!

 

D went to the bar to buy her first legal drink in the US[in the UK she has been able to drink legally for 3 years] Somewhat to her disappointment she wasn't asked for ID-that jet lag having its effect on your looks darling!

 

OK bed time cos cruise starts tomorrow

Edited September 5, 2013 by fabnfortysomething
spelling mistakes

[VickiD59]

Great start...can't wait to read more :)

[bmlovell]

I enjoy you sense of humor throughout the review . Keep it coming I know it's a lot of work but we appreciate it:D

[jessicak76]

Really like this thread. I too have walking difficulties and am eager to hear more.

 

How was his balance on the moving ship? Any comment on slippery floors?

 

Thanks! :)

[Medtech2]

What was your opinion of "The Ride"?

[jdvmd]

Thanks for sharing!

[dtiger]

Thoroughly enjoying your review, can't wait to read more of your adventures.

[fabnfortysomething]

Really like this thread. I too have walking difficulties and am eager to hear more.

 

How was his balance on the moving ship? Any comment on slippery floors?

 

Thanks! :)

 

his balance on ship sometimes better than on dry land!

probably due to being able to avoid crowds on board and so less risk being jostled

 

as for slippery floors avoid pool area if at all possible

didn't notice a problem anywhere else

[fabnfortysomething]

What was your opinion of "The Ride"?

 

the Ride was great fun-recommend highly

 

it runs throughout the day but the 7pm we took in late august went from daylight to dark throughout the 1 1/2 hours so that gave it a bit more variety

[Highboy90]

Nice read. Looking forward to the rest Lyn. :)

[fabnfortysomething]

OK time to pack, including what seems to be half of a pharmacy store to treat my mossie bites

The balance is now tipping,2 metal hips and a bad ankle pale into insignificance next to the discomfort I was going through[and didn't I let D and 6 know it!]

 

Short taxi ride to pier,drop off bags and headed in

a lady seeing his cane directed us to special assistance where fast tracked through security.This was our first time as gold lattitudes members so headed for that short queue and checked in to get key cards.

By this time it was 11am and an announcement was made that would start boarding those with numbers 1 and 3-we had 3 so off we headed.

 

We've learned from experience to head for a main restaurant for embarkation lunch as the buffet is usually a scrum.Savor was due to open at 12 so we left 6 sitting in the couches just outside while D and I went to explore.

 

we had upgraded to an aft balcony after hearing of small standard balconies and with 3 of us we wanted room to enjoy.I justified the extra expense by forgoing Vibe and spa so didn't head to guest services to get limited vibe passes.We did however head to the spa-just to check it out-guess what we ended up getting spa passes for both of us as it was very very nice!

We then rejoined 6 for a leisurely lunch in Savor and pondered the next question as to whether to go for the unlimited beverage package[uBP] at $49 per person per day

Originally I'd thought would be hard to justify but noted wine by the glass had increased in price from previous cruises so also checked out whether the wine package would make sense.

there was also a slightly cheaper version at $44 which included beer wine and soft drinks but no spirits or cocktails

The deciding factor was our daughter who is a cocktail fan and in view of number of sea days thought would give UBP a go.

 

12.30 they announced cabins were ready so headed to our deck 9 aft balcony.There were several envelopes on the bed confirming the meet and greet and invitations to lattitudes parties and a couple of surprises.These were a VIP invitation to Captains cocktail party in the Haven on Monday night and a letter saying had been allocated a concierge and just to ring if needed anything. These were perks granted by the ship for being the meet and greet co ordinator. I've now organised 3-the first on the Epic was no special treatment,2nd on the Spirit we got treats such as chocolate covered strawberries each afternoon but these were the best so far. It does vary ship by ship and it's not guaranteed but was much appreciated.

 

We checked out the aft balcony which was about the size of the cabin itself-3/4 of it was covered and the front part open to sun so best of both worlds. However there were only 2 chairs and a small table out there so looked a bit barren. I had intended to ask the cabin steward if loungers could be provided but hey let's check out this concierge perk. I rang and introduced myself and requested loungers-10 minutes later they arrived and the balcony now looked much more hospitable. That was the only use we made of the concierge. We had reservations for Burn the Floor and Rock of Ages but the only show she could escort us to for priority seating was Cirque which we didn't intend to see.

 

6 wandered off to explore and start usage of UBP while D and I sat in the sun on the balcony and watch the activities on the water. We then set off to find 6 and sure enough found him in O'Sheehans bar. It was then time for muster-good start headed forward rather than aft to Manhattan restaurant. The fishes swimming forward on the hallway carpets are very useful but doesn't help in main areas of ship!

 

We headed for a bar to get drinks for sailaway on our balcony and I decided to try a cocktail-Tequila sunrise for me,Sex on the Beach for D and a bottle of Heineken for 6.

Sailaway was supposed to be 4pm but was actually 4.40

views from the aft of the New York skyline were fantastic-we were able to take in views from both sides as we headed down the Hudson and out to open sea.

 

Cases arrived so unpacked and then D and I decided after that exertion we needed our first spa session.

We passed the pool area on the way and wow was that frantic!

 

We had reservations for Burn the Floor that night-high energy dancing and singing and well recommended.

We had a quick meal in the buffet then a drink in O Sheehans where could overlook the atrium where battle of the sexes was going on-stayed for a while then headed for somewhere quieter.

We ended up in Shakers bar listening to the pianist/singer-this turned out to be our haunt of choice each night

 

OK time to call it a night

Edited September 6, 2013 by fabnfortysomething

[NYcruzzer]

It was a pleasure meeting you and your family at the M & G. Hope you folks had as great a cruise as we did.

[Godiva830]

Love reading about your experience on the Breakaway. It was great meeting you at the meet n greet and captains cocktail party :) thanks for organizing a great M&G. Your hubby is hilarious lol

[Bars7816]

Bless you for using paragraphs!! :) Great read.

[fabnfortysomething]

Bless you for using paragraphs!! :) Great read.

LOL yes isn't it annoying when theres just a blurred mass of words!

[fabnfortysomething]

Nice read. Looking forward to the rest Lyn. :)

 

great to meet you-reading your review too

[fabnfortysomething]

It was a pleasure meeting you and your family at the M & G. Hope you folks had as great a cruise as we did.

 

we certainly had a great time-want to do it again but reality dawns back to work Monday

[fabnfortysomething]

Love reading about your experience on the Breakaway. It was great meeting you at the meet n greet and captains cocktail party :) thanks for organizing a great M&G. Your hubby is hilarious lol

 

was great to meet you too-thanks again for volunteering your cabin for the crawl

 

yeah hubby is hilarious-usually at my expense-still planning revenge for that pregnancy photo from 21 years ago!!!

[cruisebear84]

Great review so far! Happy you enjoyed your first few days in NYC. Looking forward to more :)

[fabnfortysomething]

We chose cooked breakfast in O Sheehans which was an easy way to start the day and then we headed for the spa raffle-didn't win unfortunately. However whilst sat there a woman opposite commented on how bad my mossie bites looked and had I been to the medical centre!

Actually they were starting to feel a lot better so was wondering if anyone had seen them the previous day would they have let me on the ship without checking I wasn't carrying an infectious disease!

 

Outside our room the floor supervisor greeted us and asked how everything was going. I suggested that as we were volunteering our cabin for a cabin crawl later that morning could the room be made up before then. It was done promptly so the only excuse for a less than pristine room was our own junk.

Then time to relax on those loungers for a while listening to the sound of the waves and watching the wake-heaven.

 

Then it was time to head for Cagneys to prepare for the meet and greet.A fellow roll caller J was already there with as promised "goodies" for the kids-thank you again if you're reading this

 

2 other crew members were there to assist and asked us to get everyone to fill in an NCL attendance sheet-not sure if anyone noticed any benefits from this.I'd made out sticky name labels in preparation but once everyone turned up it took the 3 of us to keep the check in rolling!

There were 111 people on the roll call who expressed an interest in attending and over 60 turned up. Bearing in mind expect a drop out rate because people forget or get caught up elsewhere it was certainly the busiest meet and greet I've attended.

 

8-9 senior staff turned up including the captain. Cruise Director Dan did a fantastic job-he introduced each member of staff and then stayed for an extra 30 minutes answering questions from the group.

 

11.30 Dan left and handed over the mike to me[it was needed with such a big group] I explained there would be a cabin crawl starting at 12 for those interested in joining in and then I handed over the mike to 6.

 

6 is considering a second career as a stand up comedian[at my expense]

As an ice breaker he said he would be passing the mike around each group to introduce themselves and why they were there on Breakaway-in our case our daughter wanted a trip to New York for her 21st birthday and was anyone interested in seeing a picture of mother and daughter 21 years ago?-he had a photo of me hugely pregnant and showing off the bump!!!!!!

 

He was wearing a Man of Steel emblazoned t shirt bought on sale from local supermarket and this was appropriate as he had 2 metal hips.

He then blew my cover of fabnfortysomething as being no longer historically accurate and told everyone my year of birth!!

 

After these little "surprises" another roll caller said at his turn at the mike that as he was in an aft balcony close to ours his self appointed task for the cruise was to be on alert for "man overboard" if I decided to get my revenge!

 

About 20 people stayed to join in the cabin crawl. This is an excuse to be nosy and check out other cabin types. It purely depends on the generosity of fellow roll callers volunteering their cabins for strangers to trail through and many many thanks to the 5 others who did this. I'd printed out some cards with the order based on the most logical way to get from deck 8 to 14 but it was still a long walk and 6 retired to the bar.

 

The 6 cabin types were as follows with comments from their owners on how they found them

 

deck 8 mini suite with large balcony. This had a larger walk in shower than standard cabins and about double balcony size. However it was exposed from above and there were some issues with litter being dropped from above

 

deck 9 aft balcony[ours] As mentioned before the balcony is about the same size as the cabin-deck 9 aft are the largest followed by deck 12.Most of the balcony is covered which gives great protection if raining but there is sunning available at the front part-we loved this balcony

as to the room we had the bed away from balcony and near the closet which has been reported to be a less favourable set up but we found no problems

 

studio cabin-the room is compact and the "window" into the hallway is more a mood light but for 1 person looked spacious enough. Of course the access to the communal 2 story studio lounge is the key attraction and did seem to do the trick of getting single people together as we saw the owner of this cabin several times around the ship in a group of people

 

spa mini suite deck 14.This room was similar in set up to the first viewed but had a regular small balcony. The main attraction was of course included access to the spa[note not adjacent to it-involves a walk]

 

Haven Spa Suite deck 14 This room was gorgeous with more luxurious furnishings and a bathtub in the room! Balcony was small but with 2 padded chairs. It was not located in the Haven courtyard but had access to it. The owners said they preferred being away from the courtyard as it gave them more privacy-the Courtyard could get a bit noisy and crowded[well 6o suites have access to it]

 

as the touring group broke up surprise surprise we found 6 in O Sheehans bar. We had lunch there and decided I needed a glass of wine-well it had been a hard morning!

D decided she would continue making her way through the cocktail list and 6 had a glass of Stella

 

D and I decided to spend the afternoon sunning ourselves on the balcony but first made a call to report loose toilet seat in the bathroom and someone was there to fix it within 10 minutes. The contact cards the staff give out at meet and greet with head of departments phone numbers are well worth hanging on to.As they say they prefer to hear about problems at the time and have a chance to fix it not hear about it later in a negative review on cruise critic

Also the cabin steward reporting something may not get the same sense of urgency.[and 6 falling off a loose toilet seat would not be a good idea for his joints!]

 

Having had enough sun it was time for our daily spa fix where we bumped into several people from the mornings meet and greet

 

About 4 o clock we headed back to the room for shower and shaded rest on balcony and realised a pack of Hyenas had landed on the balcony next door. This was the first time we'd noticed anyone there and fortunately they spent most of their time elsewhere otherwise our little space of heaven could have been ruined. They spent about an hour out there having room service playing music and generally being annoying. Have you ever noticed that the people with the least interesting things to say have to yell at each other across a small space?

 

Tonight was Norwegian Night Out previously known as dress up or not night.D wanted a family portrait done and we also had our invites for the Captains VIP party so D and I changed into pretty dresses and 6 into chinos and short sleeved shirt

 

We made our way to deck 16 to the Haven entrance and congregated with about 20 other people who had been designated as VIPs for the evening.6.45 a crew member opened the door to let us plebs into the inner sanctum. Our family had been invited as I had organised the meet and greet but I don't know what other criteria was used to establish VIP status

 

There was a reception line with Captain and other senior staff-Sean Wurmhoeringer the hotel director-a very tall grey haired gentleman recognised us as "cruise criticers" and we kept bumping into him throughout the cruise and he always made a point of greeting us

 

The rest of the people there were suite guests but this was my chance to be really nosy and check out what is so special about the Haven courtyard

we'd entered through a lounge area into the pool area which had 2 pools, padded loungers and set on 2 levels with a retractable sunroof. It was very attractive but could see that with 60 suites having access to this area if you had inconsiderate people there it could ruin the atmosphere as has been reported in a couple of reviews.

 

This was a chance to mingle but noted most people tended to stick with people they knew. We were taking photos of each other and a couple offered to take our family photo after which we got to chatting and comparing issues getting children through university in UK versus USA.

We also bumped into the couple from the meet and greet who had volunteered their Haven spa suite for the cabin crawl. They had treated themselves to the suite as she was celebrating her 40th birthday. Now this is a lady who is truly fabnforty-she could have claimed to be 30 and no one would have questioned her.

 

7.30 the party dispersed and we headed down to the atrium for photos. There was a long line but seemed to move OK.A large group ahead of us though didn't want just the 1 group photo but kept breaking off into sub groups. D is a Mathematics undergraduate and I asked her how many different permutations could there be for possible groupings and would we get our photo taken before midnight?

 

Eventually they finished and we stepped forward for 3 different poses and then off to dinner.

We decided to try the Manhattan room and at 8pm were seated immediately. However service was slow -they were quick to take order but it was a 20-25 minute wait between courses. We passed on dessert and headed to Shakers bar to while away the rest of the evening listening to music and people watching-the ice bar was just opposite and it was fun watching people getting dressed up in insulated capes and seeing how long they lasted inside.

 

The young waiter was very attentive and obviously had a crush on D

.He looked about 15 but we later found out he was in fact 25!

The piano player went on his break and D decided to call it a night-was going to join her but pianist returned so decided to stay a bit longer.

The waiter was broken hearted to find D had gone but rallied valiantly and kept our drinks flowing the rest of the night. The UBP works in the waiters favour as the more attentive they are the higher their part of the auto gratuity so we found over the next few days he was anticipating the next drink before had finished present one.

 

OK off to bed

Edited September 7, 2013 by fabnfortysomething
Spelling

[Godiva830]

We also bumped into the couple from the meet and greet who had volunteered their Haven spa suite for the cabin crawl. They had treated themselves to the suite as she was celebrating her 40th birthday. Now this is a lady who is truly fabnforty-she could have claimed to be 30 and no one would have questioned her.

 

Thanks for the compliments Lynn! :)

[fabnfortysomething]

the clocks had been moved forward an hour night before

 

We headed for the garden café for breakfast as fancied some fruit as opposed to a cooked breakfast

6 then headed for a 10am technical presentation by the senior engineering crew. D and I headed for spice H2O for some rays-it was slightly overcast but pleasant to sit out

ordered coke to drink and the bar waiter tried to persuade us to try a cocktail-not at 10-30am!

 

Lunchtime we found 6 in O Sheehans about to watch the towel folding demo. Had fish and chips but noted was getting indigestion and feeling very tired. D and I went to the spa where I went to sleep for an hour!

D woke me to say the sun had come out and we should head for our balcony to sunbathe .I stretched out on the lounger and slept for another 2 hours.

 

When awoke it was time to get ready for Rock of Ages. We'd seen it in Londons West End and also seen the film so was looking forward to it-it was pretty faithful to the stage play.

Went to the garden café afterwards but just couldn't face anything to eat-we headed to Shakers bar and had a soft drink-poor use of UBP for me today but just wasn't feeling right.

D and I had 9.30 reservations for the ice bar-the last thing 6 wanted was cold temperatures as it is true arthritic joints suffer in cold weather

 

I pulled myself round and pulled on some of his long socks to cover my legs and posed with D for the fetching photo in the insulated cape. Unfortunately should not have worn a skirt cos there was quite a draft!!

 

We walked into what looked like an industrial meat cold storage unit decorated with ice structures and chairs made of ice with fake fur rugs on them[which didn't provide any insulation from the ice below!

The barmaid was standing there with a big grin on her face as if to say wonder how long you latest group of suckers will last?

 

Actually we lasted 20 minutes.2 other couples from the meet and greet were in there and we chatted and took each others photos. The cover charge includes 2 drinks coupons each

The inside of the glass was ice so when you sipped from it the heat of your mouth melted the rim!

I tried a yellow cab which consisted of vodka peach and orange juice-couldn't taste the vodka which I'm not keen on anyway but ended up giving half that drink and the other coupon to D

So it was a surreal experience and I can now say been there done that

 

Out of the ice bar I decided at 10pm to call it a night and left D and 6 to continue making their way through the cocktail list and make up for my shortfall in the UBP

I dozed for a couple of hours till they came in just before midnight. They had been to Howl at the Moon where 6 found a lookalike in one of the piano players. He had long hair and a beard and called out heres a tribute to the "other jesus man" and played a bit of Led Zepellin!

 

Then at midnight an awful racket started up with the whole cabin floor vibrating!

We had picked deck 9 as should have been quiet and as we looked in the freestyle daily we couldn't find anything listed that would account for this noise late at night. We looked out back of balcony but no noise coming from Vibe several floors above-anyway the noise was coming from below. We worked out the Manhattan room was 2 floors below on deck 7 but the central part rose to 2 stories and that was where the party was

6 has an app on his phone which showed the decibel level to be 70-80 but the main annoyance was the vibration due to the bass.

D went storming off to Guest services to complain whereas I got the contact card from the meet and greet and rang the main man. Within 10 minutes someone was at the door and agreed there was a problem. We did soon notice a reduction in bass and with help of ear plugs managed to sleep

We found out later it was a staff party going on from 12-2am

 

The next day we got a phone message apologising for this one off event and thanks for bringing it to their attention. we got a complimentary meal for 3 of us in either la Cucina or Le Bistro with bottle of wine as an apology

Thanks NCL for this but please bear in mind for future guests -we don't begrudge the staff a party but find a suitable venue for such a late night event!

[fabnfortysomething]

OK there will now be radio silence for a few days as real life beckons and heading for a work meeting for a few days-will continue review on return