LIVE From The Flower Power Cruise: Peace, Love & Rock & Roll On The Infinity

[vtcruising]

Background:

We are so excited to be headed on the 4th annual Flower Power Cruise. This will be our third one - we enjoyed the other two so much that we had to come back this year. On the previous two FPC's we had an amazing time being with 2000 mostly like-minded people. These cruises are a celebration of the 60's music and the culture of the "Love Generation."

 

Most people were 50’s-70’s (must be > 18 to book), although there were some were in their 20's-40's who were thoroughly enjoying the cruise - some came with parents and some came on their own because they loved the music of the 60's and 70's. Even the usual Muzak background music was 60’s and 70’s music, which was like a balm to my soul. Almost everyone was singing along in the hallways and elevators because we all knew every word of the songs. The staff commented on how much they liked the music too and heard it in the crew quarters as well. Everyone talked about the peace and love onboard – there seemed to be more patience and helpfulness among the guests than usual – a sense of community.

 

The line-up this year:

 

 

 

 

Cruise Itinerary on the Infinity:

 

  

We left Vermont yesterday and headed to Fort Lauderdale for a couple days prior to the cruise. Luckily there were no impending snowstorms so we flew without any issues. We flew Delta this time and had good flights. I was a bit nervous about the flights and airport because I had a hamstring tear a few weeks ago and a relapse last week, where it was difficult to walk. I even thought of staying home and sending my DH alone at one point. By Wednesday, the pain had improved some and I decided to go - I'm glad I did because everything went well. I upgraded to Comfort + so that I had plenty of room to do my PT exercises and elevate it, when needed. The connection at JFK went well, with our plane's gate near the shuttle to the next flight gate. I brought my special cane, in case needed (I decorated it for the Flower Power Cruise). 🙂

 

 

We are staying at the Riverside Hotel on Las Olas Blvd. It is the FPC hotel so is starting to fill with hippies this afternoon! What a great place this is!  Besides being very friendly and comfortable, it is a beautiful 80 year old hotel, with many of the old features maintained.  Lots of Art Deco touches and lovely art.

 

   

 

Our room is large, with couch and chair and good-sized dining table and chairs. The furniture is older, but comfortable. We slept like babies last night.  The balcony is long and wraps around the corner where we can see the ships in port. Harmony was the only one out there today.  The balcony also has a table that can be used for dining and comfortable chairs. The view, which I thought would just be a city view, actually includes the New River. We can see boats going up and down the river (? canal), including the Water Taxi, which stops beside the hotel. There is also a river walk out there. It has been fun watching all the action.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Port View:

 

 

For lunch, we went to the Boathouse Restaurant, which is across the road from the hotel. It is on the waterfront and has great  view of the boats passing by and wonderful food and drink! I enjoyed my crab cake and my DH had the mahi mahi sandwich. Both were excellent!

 

 

 

Nice view of the waterway (the sun did finally come out!):

 

 

 

 

The pool was a lovely place to go in the afternoon.

 

 

We had dinner at the Wild Sea Oyster Bar and Grille in the hotel on the terrace. It was happy hour from 5-7 so got 1/2 price drinks and East Coast oysters. DH was very happy with his platters of raw oysters. I stuck with cooked food. I had the seafood chowder, which was decadent and corvina (a very nice white fish) that was beautifully prepared and DH had the black bass, which was reportedly delicious. We were stuffed so decided to go for house-made gelato for dessert. Wow! I was just going to cleanse my palette so we got one dish and two spoons. It was so good! There was live music there during dinner and eating on the terrace made for great people watching.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We ended the evening at Preston's Lounge (in the hotel) for drinks, with piano music and a pretty bar:

 

 

 

 

My DH was looking at this suit in a hotel shop for Chic Night (including the blue suede shoes): 😉

 

 

We headed back to the room and enjoyed our balcony view once more:

 

 

Today we are taking it easy before the next 7 fast-paced days of music and fun. We ordered room service and had really good breakfast wraps (1 between the two of us would have sufficed and already decided to do that tomorrow). We are really enjoying the balcony and it felt good to sit outside sipping tea and enjoying the view. We are eating at Indigo tonight (also within the hotel) where they will have live music - a Motown theme. We love this place!!

View of the river this morning:

 

What a difference a day makes - the sun is amazing. A lovely, relaxing afternoon!!

The DH is headed to CVS to get our two bottles of wine. They gave us the number of a liquor store that will deliver wine here for free (what a great idea), but he needs to go to CVS anyway.

 

 

 

We are so looking forward to boarding the Infinity tomorrow. We will be in AQ 1106. We have only been in the way aft AQ on M Class (over the bar), so will be a bit different. We won't have the great balcony, but it was meant to be since I will be very close to the elevator. 🙂  We are looking forward to seeing our buddies that we met on the FPC last year. We have been texting ever since - they are in Blu as well so will be dining with them much of the time. It's funny, but Blu was pretty empty last year - I think people would rather eat in the MDR or OVC, so good for us! We had a back window table every night last year and extremely attentive service. I hope they don't discover how good Blu is this year! 😉  I did book Le Petite Chef (I know I said I would never do it again), but this menu looks so much better than the Edge (it's the original one) so booked it to have a change of pace.  I'm not sure if we will do Tuscan or not - we have had some great experiences in Tuscan and some not so great ones over the years.

 

Be sure to throw out your Infinity or FPC questions. It sounds like the WiFi might be spotty from recent reports, but I will try to report in between the music and festivities. Peace and love to Cruise Critic readers!! ✌

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 29, 2019 by vtcruising

[helen haywood]

We stayed at the Riverside Hotel once.  Our canopied bed had a mirrored top!  A first for me!

 

Love the start of your review and looking forward to reading the rest!

[vtcruising]

5 minutes ago, helen haywood said:

We stayed at the Riverside Hotel once.  Our canopied bed had a mirrored top!  A first for me!

 

Love the start of your review and looking forward to reading the rest!

Wow, we didn't get one of those beds!  We are definitely coming back - maybe I can request one! 😉

 

 

[FlorenceItaly]

The Riverside Hotel is our very favorite hotel in Ft. Lauderdale.    Also, the Happy Hour at the Golden Lyon Pub(onsite )is wonderful!

 

Looking forward to following along.  Thank you for posting.  Have a fabulous cruise.

[MizDemeanor]

Have a very Groovy Time!!!

[vtcruising]

3 minutes ago, FlorenceItaly said:

The Riverside Hotel is our very favorite hotel in Ft. Lauderdale.    Also, the Happy Hour at the Golden Lyon Pub(onsite )is wonderful!

 

Looking forward to following along.  Thank you for posting.  Have a fabulous cruise.

Oh, we might just head to the Golden Lyon right now! Then we will have hit all the bars and restaurants. 🙂 Thanks for the tip!

[vtcruising]

1 minute ago, MizDemeanor said:

Have a very Groovy Time!!!

It's going to be cool, man! 😎

[FlorenceItaly]

4 minutes ago, vtcruising said:

Oh, we might just head to the Golden Lyon right now! Then we will have hit all the bars and restaurants. 🙂 Thanks for the tip!

They have some appetizer specials too.  Happy Hour 4-7, so hurry!  You won't be sorry.  You can even sit on the patio, if you like.

[Travelicious]

Oh, man, I didn't know this was a thing.  I want to go!

[parrothead33]

Looking forward to another great vtcruising review.  Have a wonderful cruise.

[Silkroad]

I'm sorry your injury took a bad turn (I've been there) but I love the way you've decorated your cane. Nice music lineup. I hope you have a great time! Can't wait to see your magical mystery tour unfold😎

[vtcruising]

9 minutes ago, Travelicious said:

Oh, man, I didn't know this was a thing.  I want to go!

I'll post the info for next year later! 🙂

[vtcruising]

8 minutes ago, Silkroad said:

I'm sorry your injury took a bad turn (I've been there) but I love the way you've decorated your cane. Nice music lineup. I hope you have a great time! Can't wait to see your magical mystery tour unfold😎

Thanks!!

[CaveCreekTraveler]

Looking forward to your review, we're hoping to book for next year.

[julia]

This sounds like soooo much fun!  I have already googled FPC2020... great itinerary & lineup!

Thanks for sharing, and looking forward to hearing all about your cruise!

[Freestyle Cruiser]

 

Hi Vt

Jim and I are following too! Hope you have great weather and calm seas. 

Get ready to rock and roll.  🥁🎸🎹🎧🎼

Peace 🌸

[vtcruising]

1 minute ago, Freestyle Cruiser said:

 

Hi Vt

Jim and I are following too! Hope you have great weather and calm seas. 

Get ready to rock and roll.  🥁🎸🎹🎧🎼

Peace 🌸

We will toast you guys!!🌈

 

 

[vtcruising]

13 minutes ago, julia said:

This sounds like soooo much fun!  I have already googled FPC2020... great itinerary & lineup!

Thanks for sharing, and looking forward to hearing all about your cruise!

Hope you can go next year!

[CaveCreekTraveler]

1 minute ago, vtcruising said:

Hope you can go next year!

I'm on the presale list so hoping. Would you recommend a veranda or to the better cabins still get all the perks?

[vtcruising]

30 minutes ago, FlorenceItaly said:

They have some appetizer specials too.  Happy Hour 4-7, so hurry!  You won't be sorry.  You can even sit on the patio, if you like.

Okay, are you happy now? Yummy!!

[FlorenceItaly]

Just now, vtcruising said:

Okay, are you happy now? Yummy!!

YAY!!!  Wish I was there.  We have the same taste in cocktails!

[first mate]

I'm excited to read your review.  We want to go next year.  Are you going to wear 60s' clothing?

 

[vtcruising]

9 minutes ago, FlorenceItaly said:

YAY!!!  Wish I was there.  We have the same taste in cocktails!

Whoa! That was amazing! Gotta go back!!😀

[Freestyle Cruiser]

 

Wow, never been there, but the Riverside looks awesome. Nice summary!

We’ll have to try it. 😍

 

 

[vtcruising]

13 minutes ago, CaveCreekTraveler said:

I'm on the presale list so hoping. Would you recommend a veranda or to the better cabins still get all the perks?

Lots of tie dye!!! And daisies in my hair!!