Rare scubacruiserx2 Posted January 1, 2023 Author #226 Share Posted January 1, 2023 We feel like the best way to get to know our guides better is having a meal together . We don't think that Esther had been to West Deck so we asked her to make reservations . We wanted to try a number of local dishes so we ordered and ate family style . And with the orders in there was time to take a couple pics 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare scubacruiserx2 Posted January 1, 2023 Author #227 Share Posted January 1, 2023 We spotted these on the roof Since Esther lives with her mom we wanted to send food home for them . But it was another great job by Esther and we hope to see her and Aruba soon and we would highly recommend her . It was now time to sail off finally North this time 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare scubacruiserx2 Posted January 1, 2023 Author #228 Share Posted January 1, 2023 (edited) Before we could head North we have to sail rapidly South parallel to the island past the cruise port , airport and the Hooiberg before heading out to sea and then turning North and sailing parallel to the island again , this time North . The port where we were and the Tradewinds ship is The West End where we ate The flights had to wait as we raced past the airport The Hooiberg ( Haystack) is 540' tall https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hooiberg#:~:text=Hooiberg is a 165 m,virtually anywhere on the island.&text=The Dutch word hooiberg%2C literally,resemble a stack of hay. The Southern refineries , no longer in use As we moved away from the island we passed a couple of offshore oil rigs And a final pass of the cruise port Next up will be the Cellar Masters Dinner Edited January 1, 2023 by scubacruiserx2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oakridger Posted January 2, 2023 #229 Share Posted January 2, 2023 I really need to go on this itinerary again after I get my new knee! I see how much I missed out on in the ports because I can't walk very far. I'm planning on being good to go by next year! ~Nancy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hogladyrider Posted January 2, 2023 #230 Share Posted January 2, 2023 3 hours ago, oakridger said: I really need to go on this itinerary again after I get my new knee! I see how much I missed out on in the ports because I can't walk very far. I'm planning on being good to go by next year! ~Nancy Just got a new knee Nov 7th. Best of luck to you in your new knee. It is a journey! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare scubacruiserx2 Posted January 2, 2023 Author #231 Share Posted January 2, 2023 3 hours ago, Hogladyrider said: Just got a new knee Nov 7th. Best of luck to you in your new knee. It is a journey! Best wishes with the new hardware ladies . We have heard that a lot of the pain goes away after the surgery and rehab . Pat fell on her knee a couple of weeks before a transatlantic cruise and we had to cancel . It was a comminuted fracture in 3 pieces requiring screws , wires and a brace that required rigidity for months until the Patella fused . She's been recommended a new knee but the Doctor is using injections and would like to wait a little longer as long as the pain doesn't get too bad . 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare scubacruiserx2 Posted January 2, 2023 Author #232 Share Posted January 2, 2023 (edited) Usually HAL markets their special events pretty well but we didn't read or hear anything about this dinner but the manager in the Tamarind told us . We were late comers so we were glad that we made the cut . When we met in the Tamarind Bar it was SRO and they dragged a couple of round tables in the aisle and chairs over to the small tables . It felt like they oversold the event and I think it may have been the first time that we remember something like this . After filling our glasses they moved another couple across from us . Flaming the drinks It was very cozy as we filled all of the seats at Canaletto and the menus came out . Edited January 2, 2023 by scubacruiserx2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare scubacruiserx2 Posted January 2, 2023 Author #233 Share Posted January 2, 2023 It was nice to have a couple of relaxing days at sea before HMC so we laid low most of the day with dinner at the Tamarind . The food selection and service is almost always fantastic . And after dinner we headed up front to watch Unity perform some Billy Joel music They didn't perform my favorite Billy Joel song We didn't start the Fire until the after party at Music walk which was way too crowded for our enjoyment . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare scubacruiserx2 Posted January 3, 2023 Author #234 Share Posted January 3, 2023 Sunday October 23 we were up early at for a rainbow , breakfast and the group meeting at 9 . The Nieuw Amsterdam mural on the way to lunch We have done it before but we know that you can order afternoon tea in a Neptune Suite so we invited the group of 13 to our room for afternoon tea and snacks . We haven't seen so much food for a group since our youngest daughter got married on a cruise ship ! We were glad that we had some food saver bags for those who wanted to save some for later . In this photo was 2 of the ladies that we left in Costa Rica . The rest of the group 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare scubacruiserx2 Posted January 3, 2023 Author #235 Share Posted January 3, 2023 The Sunday Dinner special in the Canaletto is Chicken Parm And the entertainment was freely given 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oakridger Posted January 4, 2023 #236 Share Posted January 4, 2023 That musician from BB King on the trombone was a character! It made it really fun when he was so happy and shared the fun spirit with everyone he encountered! I spoke with him briefly in Canaletto too. My favorite is Osso Bucco on the Monday special there. ~Nancy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare scubacruiserx2 Posted January 4, 2023 Author #237 Share Posted January 4, 2023 3 hours ago, oakridger said: That musician from BB King on the trombone was a character! It made it really fun when he was so happy and shared the fun spirit with everyone he encountered! I spoke with him briefly in Canaletto too. My favorite is Osso Bucco on the Monday special there. ~Nancy We like the Osso Bucco as well and wind up splitting it because it was so large . We also saw the Saxophone guy perform a Happy Birthday there . It seems like the the BB King's musicians like Canaletto . 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare scubacruiserx2 Posted January 4, 2023 Author #238 Share Posted January 4, 2023 Monday October 24th found us having breakfast when we received the morning announcements about going ashore . We were in no hurry to get to the island and waited a bit until the crowd thinned before going ashore We had booked the Lobster lunch as our only plan . And to take some photos also . The tenders here were more roomy , safer and more open which was much nicer that being squeezed into the orange boats . 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare albingirl Posted January 4, 2023 #239 Share Posted January 4, 2023 11 minutes ago, scubacruiserx2 said: Monday October 24th found us having breakfast when we received the morning announcements about going ashore . We were in no hurry to get to the island and waited a bit until the crowd thinned before going ashore We had booked the Lobster lunch as our only plan . And to take some photos also . The tenders here were more roomy , safer and more open which was much nicer that being squeezed into the orange boats . Always a great blog from you. Enjoying it very much. Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare scubacruiserx2 Posted January 4, 2023 Author #240 Share Posted January 4, 2023 6 hours ago, albingirl said: Always a great blog from you. Enjoying it very much. Thank you. Thank you very much and we're glad that you are enjoying it . 🙂😊 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare scubacruiserx2 Posted January 4, 2023 Author #241 Share Posted January 4, 2023 We wandered down the beach a little enjoying the view and looking for the Lobster Shack . We had bought our lunch tickets the night before in the Canaletto but when we showed up we were told that we didn't have reservations so no lobster . Fortunately Weman who was managing the Canaletto recognized us and corrected the issue on the spot . It was quite breezy and the fancy paper plate tried to blow away . The wooden utensils may be eco friendly but they didn't cut it . 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare scubacruiserx2 Posted January 4, 2023 Author #242 Share Posted January 4, 2023 We returned to the ship after lunch to pack a little . HAL would be moving us again to a different room in the morning and we would be meeting our oldest grandson for the next cruise . It was his 20th birthday present . 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare scubacruiserx2 Posted January 5, 2023 Author #243 Share Posted January 5, 2023 While we were ashore the guys did a nice job of cleaning so we took some photos of the cabin which we submitted to HALfacts yesterday . 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare scubacruiserx2 Posted January 5, 2023 Author #244 Share Posted January 5, 2023 Some HMC outtakes This boat brought the food to the island to feed all of the hungry and thirsty people 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare scubacruiserx2 Posted January 5, 2023 Author #245 Share Posted January 5, 2023 We wanted to watch our last sunset at sea on this cruise so we ordered dinner for delivery 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare scubacruiserx2 Posted January 6, 2023 Author #246 Share Posted January 6, 2023 (edited) Good morning Port Everglades The last time that we were in transit was in Vancouver but we had a guide and left the port for a tour . This time it was a turn around to board for our next cruise . All of the in transit people met in BB Kings and there were about 25 of us . After about 15 - 20 minutes we headed out together Whether disembarking or embarking there's a long hall to walk The line for the eye scan . We had to swipe our old cards before we left the ship and had been given our new cards which we swiped when we reboarded . The agents and scanners were in the distance and the scanning process only took a couple of seconds . They had a line of chairs for us and after zeroing the ship we reboarded about 20 minutes later . It was much more easy and quick compared to Vancouver 😊🙂 Edited January 6, 2023 by scubacruiserx2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare scubacruiserx2 Posted January 6, 2023 Author #247 Share Posted January 6, 2023 It was our grandson's 1st cruise on HAL so we wanted him to enjoy the suite life and it was only $100 for him to go for the week . We and he really wanted to go to Grand Turk where his best friends mom is from and still has family there . We wanted to SCUBA with him and there's a nice place there to eat . When we booked it we had to pay in full and the schedule was a day at sea , Grand Turk , HMC , Nassau and back the next day . About a month later HAL eliminated Grand Turk and rescheduled the trip with Key West taking it's place on day 1 . After we began the cruise in Vancouver we realized that when we folded out the sofa sleeper that it would mean at 6' 3'' Tyler's feet would be touching ours and that we would be on different schedules . So we canceled his stay in our room and got him the room next door where we could open his balcony to join ours . We went to our room first which was the same room that we had for Alaska . The clothes were hanging in the closet and we emptied our bags to put things away . We were in 5188 and he in 5182 . Our room was still in the cleaning process as there was a gift for the cabin attendant so we went and looked at our Tyler's room . Tyler's room A shower only - no small tub as in other class ships We headed down to lunch in the MDR 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oakridger Posted January 7, 2023 #248 Share Posted January 7, 2023 I'm sure everyone was much more comfortable in separate rooms.....especially with a 6'3" young man! Two bathrooms is always good also!! ~Nancy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare scubacruiserx2 Posted January 7, 2023 Author #249 Share Posted January 7, 2023 7 hours ago, oakridger said: I'm sure everyone was much more comfortable in separate rooms.....especially with a 6'3" young man! Two bathrooms is always good also!! ~Nancy It worked out great . Just as we finished lunch we went down to meet him at the port and he had just cleared and was boarding as we met . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare scubacruiserx2 Posted January 7, 2023 Author #250 Share Posted January 7, 2023 We had a little free time before we ate lunch and met Tyler so we shot some photos of an empty ship waiting to go . A Sellabration at the Lido Pool We used to park at this lot but we prefer to park off site and they have a van deliver us to and from the ship The ladies in the Neptune Lounge had heard about Tyler so we introduced them before returning to our interconnecting rooms now that Tyler's balcony divider was open Time for our sail away at 1500 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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