Escape From Miami - Kinda, Sorta "Live From" - October 7-14, 2017

[POA1]

Back to the Cozumel Bar Hop...

 

The tour lasts just around 5 hours. It takes about 30 minutes to cross the island to the windward side. You have approximately an hour at each of the four bars. The tour includes a welcome shot at each bar. The shots are mixed drinks, none of which is terribly strong. They're all fairly sweet. (See previous post for link to the shots.)

 

Your tour cost includes air conditioned transportation on a very nice mini bus. The driver stays with the bus at each stop, so your things are safe and secure. You also get a souvenir t-shirt, or in our case, Huskerchick gets two. The cost of $57/pp is very reasonable and a great value.

 

Our tour guide, Colleen, has been with the company for six years and moved to Mexico from Vancouver, BC when she was 19. Now, after 24 years, she holds dual Canadian and Mexican citizenship. We found her to be warm, friendly, engaging and knowledgeable.

 

As I mentioned earlier, this was DBIL's and DSIL's third time on this tour. It was their second time with Colleen as guide.

 

At each stop, you can purchase food and drink in addition to your welcome shot. Unless you are a drinking machine, you can probably get by on $25 to $50 pp for your additional food and drink.

 

All the bars are right on the ocean, so you'll be able to take some good photos. We'll post ours post cruise. I've got to resize the photos and we need to head out to the Sugarcane Mojito Bar for our pre dinner warm up drill.

[POA1]

Pre-game Mojitos:

 

Traditional (me), Raspberry Guava (my better half)

 

[sjnyc323]

Pre-game Mojitos:

 

Traditional (me), Raspberry Guava (my better half)

 

 

 

 

Yum

 

 

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[POA1]

Glad to hear that you like the Mule, it is my absolute go to drink of choice!! But the key to a very good mule is the Ginger Beer - I have actually tried Cock N Bull Ginger Beer and its pretty good, FeverTree is also a great one.

 

 

Any idea which brand of Ginger beer is used?

 

The Department of Cocktail Adjunct Research (Late Night Division) has reported in. The ginger beer is Gosling's.

[POA1]

This question comes from Frank Sanbeens of Boring, Oregon. Frank wants to know, "Did you go to the Glow Party? And, if you did, what were people wearing?"

 

 

Excellent question, Frank!

 

 

Yes, we went. The Freestyle Daily recommends that you wear white or neon. Remember this as you're packing for the cruise. Also remember to keep your Glow Party outfit clean because the party is on the second to last night of the cruise.

 

 

There was a fair amount of white, which looks good under the black lights. There was also some neon, but white ruled the night. We all had neon clothes from our side gig as a Bananarama & Fun Boy Three cover band. After about a half hour, my brother-in-law and I made a quick dash back to the room to change into our M.C. Hammer pants.

 

 

I also purchased a 12 pack of Cyalume industrial grade glow sticks from Amazon. They're made in the USA and are a higher quality than some of the cut rate glow sticks out there. They last 8 -12 hours, with the strongest glow for the first four hours. If you crack them in time for the glow party, they should outlast just about all the revelers. These sticks have a hook for hanging, so you can wear them if you have a lanyard. The cost was less than $15 for a dozen assorted sticks.

 

 

 

 

 

Amazon has a whole slew of glow party supplies, including necklaces, glasses, hats, etc. You can find them here:Amazon Glow Party Supplies

[Krazy Kruizers]

That bar hop tour in Cozumel sounds great. My only problem is I don't like sweet drinks.

Great reporting.

[POA1]

 

Today is our last real day on the ship - and it's a sea day. Huskerchick and I enjoy having our last day on the ship be a day without port stops. It allows us to fully relax and enjoy the final day of our vacation. We're a little torn as to what to do with ourselves today.

 

It's our final opportunity to ride the water slides and play on the ropes course. It's also our last chance to play the tiny version of miniature golf. There's a cupcake decorating demo this morning as well as country line dancing class. If only I had availed myself of all these dance education opportunities.... I could be Lord of the Dance by now.

 

There's a Riedel Wine Glass Tasting this afternoon. We have a pretty extensive set of Riedel at home, even some of the less common ones, like Sauternes and Port glasses. I'll be honest with you though. It never occurred to us to taste the glasses. At $60+ per stem, that would be an expensive snack. Maybe they mean wine tasting with Riedel glasses. That makes more sense. Unlike specialty dancing, I have a lot of experience with tasting wine from Riedel stemware.

 

Dinner tonight is in La Cucina. Huskerchick plans to complete her survey of specialty restaurant signature cocktails this evening. La Cucina’s were the ones she was least looking forward to – but the quest for understanding must go on – even if both drinks are based on Italian herbal liqueurs. I honestly have no idea which one she is going to pick. I’ll probably try the other one, just for the symmetry of the thing. She is, however, looking forward to the Limoncello at the meal’s end. I’m going with grappa because I hate my innards.

[1ANGELCAT]

Has Poohby-Joe enjoyed his cruise and he get his cabana day in ?

 

 

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[POA1]

We lost our hour last night, so we're now back on EDST and in sync with the east coast of the USA. Because of the time change, we wound up missing my hard stop at 2:00 AM. We made it to last call at the Tobacco Road Bar and then decided to squeeze in a late night feeding at O'Sheehans. DW had the Korean Chicken Wings which she reported as being - and I quote - "Meh." I had the Shepherd's Pie which was fine.

 

When our alarm went off at 7:30 AM, Huskerchick asked for an extension so that she could complete her sleep study. It's the last day and we have nothing specific planned, so I turned off the alarm clock and decided to grant her the extra time she needs to complete her work.

 

Bayamo was excellent - both in terms of food and service. The only strange thing is that we started off with one server and then wound up having him tell us that he was finishing up and was going to hand us off to someone else. This was at 8:00 PM. His replacement was equally good and everything went off without a hitch. (That's kind of a rarity this week.)

 

DW and I are planning to treat her dad to Pincho y Tapas for lunch at noon. He's not exactly grasping the tapas concept, so we're just going to take the reins and do the ordering. We'll let him pick things if something strikes his fancy, but we'll manage the ordering and pacing. The other nice thing about today's lunch is that we'll have the opportunity to give more money to NCL. I'm sure they'll like it.

 

The RADIUS server for the onboard Interwebs was really congested this morning, so it took longer than expected to log in via computer. I was switching between my phone and the PC, so I need to log out on the phone and log in on my laptop. I suppose a lot of people are using their Internet access to complete their travel plans or they just need to burn off their allotted minutes.

[POA1]

The Drink of the Day is the Mai Tai: Brugal Afiejo Rum, Almond Syrup, Fresh Lime, Pineapple Juice, and Cinnamon.

 

 

The Mai Tai was invented by Victor Bergeron, owner of Trader Vic's in 1944.* The traditional Mai Tai recipe calls for 1 oz of amber rum from Martinique, 1 oz of Jamaican dark rum, 1 oz of lime juice, 1/2 oz of orgeat syrup (almond), 1/2 oz of Cointreau, and a mint garnish. You also use a float of dark rum. Our research team couldn't find a recipe that matches the one used for the Drink of the Day. (This must be another one of those Freestyle things.)

 

 

We've always been big fans of the Mai Tai. It is our official pre-flight drink whenever we travel to Hawaii. Little known fact: The first class flight attendants secretly want you to have several Mai Tais while the plane is boarding. This helps to build morale for the people who board after the first class cabin. (In situations where the plane doesn't board from the front, you'll want to get up from your seat, go the the divider curtain, and exclaim, "These Mai Tais are outstanding! Keep 'em coming!" It really cheers people up.)

 

*- There's some controversy as Don Beach of Don The Beachcomber's in Hollywood also lays claim to inventing the cocktail. However, if you try the two recipes, like we did out of sheer intellectual pursuit, you'll find that what you normally think of as a Mai Tai is much closer to the Trader Vic's version. In case you care - and I'm sure you do - here's the Mai Tai Recipe from Don The Beachcomber's.

[SSMcruises]

The Department of Cocktail Adjunct Research (Late Night Division) has reported in. The ginger beer is Gosling's.

 

THANK YOU Department of Cocktail Adjunct Research ! Of course, finding Goslings in Canada will be near impossible. 29 days and our Escape will begin!

[POA1]

Most of our evening meals were taken in the Escape's extra charge specialty restaurants. That meant that I would not have a chance to scan each night's menu. I typed up a letter to the restaurant manager before I left home, asking for copies of the menus so that I could scan them. I dropped the letter, with a memory stick in the envelope, at the front desk, on day two. The memory stick is in case they were able to provide electronic copies of the menus, which would save me the trouble of scanning everything. (Holland America gave me digital copies for my reviews for the last few years.) I realized that there was a chance that I wouldn't get electronic copies. I also realized that the worst case scenario would be that I would be sacrificing a memory stick.

 

It's now the last day of the cruise. Not only have I not gotten copies of the menus, I haven't received any communication whatsoever regarding the menus.

 

Nothing.

 

That's a little unexpected. I thought perhaps a phone call would be possible or something. Oh well. The National Institute of Cheer buys memory sticks in bulk, so it's not really a cost issue.

 

So, we're on to Plan B. The Department of Scanning Things will set off to visit the restaurants on board today.

[POA1]

Every night, I tell our party that, "We have a hard stop at 2:00 AM." Everyone looks at me like I'm "not quite right." While this is probably true, we did wind up missing our hard stop last night.

 

Huskerchick has written off breakfast and accused me of "typing too loud." You'd think I was using a manual typewriter* where the keys go clackety-clack and a bell chimes at the end of the line. I'm was using a laptop, in the dark, with only the keyboard backlight to guide me. So, I switched over to my phone. It's quieter and peace has been restored.

 

*- Kids, the manual typewriter is a real thing. Ask grandma or grandpa. While you're at it, ask about playing 78s on the Victrola.

[POA1]

THANK YOU Department of Cocktail Adjunct Research ! Of course, finding Goslings in Canada will be near impossible. 29 days and our Escape will begin!

Always happy to help a fellow scientist! Gosling's runs a little sweet. If you think of Canada Dry ginger ale with a little more of a bite, you would be pretty close to the taste of Gosling's.

 

Quick question: Is it just called Dry Ginger Ale in Canada? Or do they call it back ginger ale sort of like back bacon is what we in the States call Canadian Bacon?

[Tommy3putts]

I’m doing my own solo independent research project. Do you have a Department of Redundancy Department?

[POA1]

I’m doing my own solo independent research project. Do you have a Department of Redundancy Department?

We used to, but they've been rolled in to the Tautology Subdivision.

[POA1]

If you happen to be dining in either of Jose Garces' restaurants on the ship, you'll want to avail yourself of the excellent wine list. I think that all of the wines by the glass are included on the UBP. The list for Bayamo and Pincho y Tapas is identical - and it's much stronger than the regular wine list. I have the full list, along with tasting notes and ratings on my computer. I'll post it post cruise because I need to refrain from that loud typing at the moment.

[POA1]

We're back up to full strength. It's amazing what a little extra sleep can do a person's mood. :D

 

We're going to be taking DFIL to lunch in an hour at Pincho y Tapas. Then the Department Of Scanning Things (Running Around Division) has to get busy.

 

The Department of Evidence Collection's Photography Working Subcommittee also has a full day scheduled.

[POA1]

I just received a call from the Restaurant Manager. He's graciously going to send up paper copies of the menus for the Department of Scanning Things (Sitting Division)

 

Yay!

[POA1]

I just received the menu package. Now I feel bad. Heartfelt, handwritten thank you card ready to go. I'll drop it off later.

[SSMcruises]

I just received a call from the Restaurant Manager. He's graciously going to send up paper copies of the menus for the Department of Scanning Things (Sitting Division)

 

Yay!

 

Is the Department of Coincidences (Cruise Critic Reviews) opening an investigation? You post at 8 am that you havent heard or received anything, and voila, by 1 pm you have it all. Hmmmmmm, hope NCL is also enjoying your review as much as we all are!

Edited October 13, 2017 by SSMcruises

[SSMcruises]

Quick question: Is it just called Dry Ginger Ale in Canada? Or do they call it back ginger ale sort of like back bacon is what we in the States call Canadian Bacon?

 

The funny thing is that it is mostly referred to as ginger ale, except when its Canada Dry, and then people say 'Ill have a Canada Dry"

 

What you call Canadian Bacon is Peameal Bacon or back bacon.

 

Now I wonder, is a Jamaican Patty just a patty when in Jamaica......

[luvcruzing]

Is the Department of Coincidences (Cruise Critic Reviews) opening an investigation? You post at 8 am that you havent heard or received anything, and voila, by 1 pm you have it all. Hmmmmmm, hope NCL is also enjoying your review as much as we all are!

 

I was thinking the same thing.

[POA1]

We had lunch at Pincho y Tapas. My photo opportunity consists of this:

 

[POA1]

Lunch was excellent, by the way.