Thursday - January 12, 2023
This was our first cruise since February, 2020. We had cancelled three cruises because of Covid and were very excited to finally be cruising again. We had booked a room at the WinGate Airport Hotel because our flight left very early in the morning. We had planned on leaving Prairie Grove around 4:00 pm before visiting Mom at her new place of residence, Magnolia Place. However, Mike got a call from Sam just before noon telling him that he needed to go to a realty office in Bentonville to sign some papers so that Juanita's house could be listed on the market. We ate lunch, finished packing, and left home about 1:00 pm. We stopped on the way to Bentonville to visit Mom. She was doing well, taking part in a craft activity. It was sad that she had to be moved from The Meadows, but her mental and physical condition had deteriorated so much that we had no choice. Magnolia Place is a memory care facility and seems to be the right place for Mom at this stage in her life. After visiting Mom we drove to Bentonville, Mike signed the papers, and we got take out baked potatoes from McAlisters to take to the hotel. We got to the hotel around 4:00 pm, arranged to ride the shuttle in the morning, and for our car to be parked there while we are on our cruise. Right before I went to sleep I got a notification that our flight was delayed by 25 minutes. We could have slept later, but had already arranged for the shuttle.
Friday - January 13, 2023 Flights to Fort Lauderdale
We got up at 5:15 am, gathered our bags, and were downstairs for breakfast by 5:30 am. The breakfast was really good. We caught the 6:00 am shuttle to the airport and our plane took off at 7:40 am, just a little later than originally scheduled. We got to our layover in Charlotte with plenty of time to spare and were able to share a sandwich for lunch before boarding our next flight. Once on we were on board, the flight was delayed because the plane had a computer glitch that had to be reset. It made us a little nervous to be flying on a plane that had that happen just before take-off. The flight was just fine, however, and we arrived in Fort Lauderdale by 3:30 pm. We took a taxi to the Fort Lauderdale Downtown - Las Olas Fairfield Inn and Suites and were checked in by 5:00 pm. We stayed here the last time we took a cruise out of Fort Lauderdale and liked the location which was about two blocks from Las Olas. We walked to the American Social Sports Bar on Las Olas for dinner. We shared a Beyond Burger and fries and each had a couple of drinks. It was very good and the price was reasonable. After dinner we walked back to the hotel and called it a night. We were really tired from the travel day and were ready for our cruise.
Saturday - January 14, 2023 Embarkation Day
Because we were so tired from everything going on the previous two days, we both slept in. We got up just in time to eat breakfast at the hotel. We both took showers and got everything ready to check out of the hotel by noon. After checking out, we ordered a Lyft ride to Port Everglades to embark on the MS Rotterdam. This ship is only a year old and is the largest of the Holland America ships. We did not have a lot of confidence in our Lyft driver, I had to keep showing him how to get to the cruise terminal for our ship. We got to the terminal for the Rotterdam by 12:40 pm. There were long lines for the embarkation, but everything moved very quickly and efficiently. They had a machine that our passport was put in while we faced the camera of the machine for identification. We didn't have to wait for our room key because that was delivered to our room. We were in room 4176 which was an obstructed verandah room. The room itself was very nice and the view was not really too obstructed. However, we did find out later that this room was just above the BB King Blues Club so was very loud until after midnight most nights.
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| Glad to be starting on a cruise |
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| Mike enjoyed the balcony |
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| The bed and entry of our room |
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View to the balcony - the lifeboat only obstructed a small
amount of the view |
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| Leaving Fort Lauderdale |
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| View of the Fort Lauderdale beach as we head out of port |
After leaving our backpacks in our room we went to The Lido Market for lunch. I was glad to see that everything was still being served by cruise workers. The lunch we had was good, but The Lido was very crowded. After lunch we walked the ship, went to our muster check in spot, and watched the safety video in our room. This is something that has changed because of Covid, they no longer have everyone go to a muster station at the same time for a safety demonstration. It is much nicer this way. We unpacked our bags before going to the Ocean Bar for pre-dinner drinks. We ate dinner in the Main Dining Room. They seated us at a table for two, which was fine, but we do enjoy meeting other people. Our dinner was good, but Mike was not able to eat much of his roast beef. He has started having trouble when eating beef. After dinner we went to the Rolling Stone Rock Room and the Billboard on Board until 9:45. We went back to our room planning to go to bed, but the music was too loud. We did enjoy sitting out on the balcony.
Sunday - January 15, 2023 Half Moon Cay
We both slept in and had coffee and breakfast delivered to our room. We got off the ship at Half Moon Cay around 9:30 am. We had planned to try out our new snorkel masks, but it was too cool a day to get in the water so we just walked around on the trails on the island. It was still an enjoyable day because Half Moon Cay is so pretty. We ate lunch at the barbecue on the island. It was not very good. If fact, Mike couldn't eat his hamburger because it was so rare. I shared my burger with him since mine was large and well done.
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| View of the Rotterdam from Half Moon Cay |
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| On the beach on Half Moon Cay |
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| The far side of Half Moon Cay |
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| A beautiful sunset |
We got back on the ship at 12:30 pm and went to The Lido to get soft serve ice cream cones. After that we went back to our room and had a long nap. We got dressed up for our dinner in The Tamarind restaurant. This was a very good dinner, probably our favorite the entire cruise. Mike had a scallop starter, then lamb chops, and a white chocolate cheese cake for dessert. I had the lobster/shrimp potstickers starter, shrimp tempura, and passion fruit cloud for dessert. After dinner we went to the World Stage and watched the dancers. They were very good, but we enjoyed the piano bar at the Billboard on Board better. We had drinks at the Billboard on Board while listening to music. We went to our room after 11:30 pm. We decided that if it was going to loud in our room until midnight, we might as well stay up listening to the music in the bars. This was a very good day.
Monday - January 16, 2023 Sea Day
Clocks were moved up one hour to Atlantic Standard Time over night. I got up at 8:45 am and went to the Lido for coffee and breakfast. When I was finished eating I got Mike a bran muffin and a cup of coffee to take back to the room. After Mike got up and dressed we walked around on the ship and sat in the Crow's Nest watching the views.
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| A sailboat I saw while on our balcony. |
We went to the New York Deli and Pizza for lunch and got a pizza with white sauce, sausage, ham, mushrooms, and olives to share. This was a very good pizza and we plan to get another one before our trip is over. After lunch we went back to our room and sat on the balcony before taking a nap. We got dressed and went to the Rolling Stone Rock Room Bar for pre-dinner wine and beer. We had dinner in the Main Dining Room. I had seafood deviled eggs, parmesan chicken, and whiskey chocolate torte and Mike had a cesear salad, spaghetti and meatballs, and whiskey chocolate torte. This was a very good meal. We have noticed that the meals are not quite as good as they used to be, but are still good. After dinner we went to the World Stage to watch the comedian. He was very funny and we enjoyed the show. After the World Stage we sat at the BB King stage area and watched a 'game show' that some of the crew put on. It was a lot of fun also. We ended our night sitting in the Bill Board on Board bar area listening to the piano performers. They were the best performers we have ever heard on a cruise ship. We both had gin and tonics while we sat here. At 11:00 pm we went to our room and called it a night. We really enjoyed our sea day.
Tuesday - January 17, 2023 Charlotte-Amalie, St. Thomas
We both slept in this morning, then had breakfast delivered to our room. We got off of the ship around 10:45 am and walked into town. It was about a 1 1/2 mile walk to downtown with most of the walk being by the water. It was a beautiful day for a walk. We weren't impressed with the downtown area. There were mainly jewelry stores and a few souvenir shops. We got a taxi back to the ship. The taxi was an open air vehicle with room to seat around 20 people. The driver took the long way back to the ship, but the ride was enjoyable and it was a flat rate, so didn't matter.
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Paradise Hill Sky Lift - we went on this the last time we
were here |
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| Walk way by the water |
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| Another view by the water |
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| Government building |
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| Downtown Charlotte-Amalie |
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| Entertainment at the port |
After getting back to the port area, we walked to a grocery store to get some snacks for our room. We ate lunch in the Lido then went back to our room to rest. About 5:00 pm we went to the Rolling Stone Rock Room bar for our pre-dinner drinks. We really enjoyed visiting with Geraldine, the bartender at this bar. She was good to make us special drinks that were not on the menu. We ate dinner in the Main Dining Room before going back to the bar area. Geraldine made me a "Coral Drop Martini". It was really good, not too strong and not too sweet. Mike got a Manhattan made with Bullet Whiskey and 2 cherries. We went to the BB King Stage and listened to the band for one set. While there I ordered another Coral Drop, but it was not the same. It was sweeter and had a sugared rim. I ended up not even drinking it and went to the RSRR bar and got Geraldine to make me a Coral Drop. We went to our room early, 9:45 pm, because we had to get up early the next day for an excursion. This was another really nice day.
Wednesday - January 18, 2023 Philipsburg, St. Maarten
We had breakfast in our room at 7:30 am and were ready to get off the ship at 8:15 am. We had booked an excursion to the Rockland Estate with a chairlift to the top of a mountain. The tour bus drove through Philipsburg and pretty much straight to the estate. This is an old slave plantation that was bought by the descendants of a freed slave. The estate didn't have much other than a small museum, a restaurant, the chairlift, an intertube ride down the mountain, and a large zipline. Mike and I only rode the chair lift up to the top and back down. While waiting on our turn for the lift we saw a very large male iguana that was displaying as well as a large number of white butterflies on some flowering bushes. This was a pretty area. It rained just a little bit while we were waiting on the lift, but not enough to get us very wet.
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| Walkway up to the museum at the Rockland Estate |
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| First section of the chair lift up the mountain |
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| Chairlift and iguana |
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| Close up of iguana displaying for us |
We rode the two section lift to the very top of the mountain and walked up a few flights of stairs to the top of the viewing platform. The views up here were very pretty. We also were able to see some people getting on and riding the zipline down to the bottom.
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| Mike enjoying the views at the top |
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| On the top platform |
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| Mary with views in background |
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| View from the top |
We rode the chairlift back down to the bottom of the mountain. The lift took about 25 minutes each way, which was okay because the scenery was nice to look at. On the way back down we even saw some wild monkeys in the trees on the mountain slope.
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| On the top section of the lift |
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| View from the bottom part of the lift |
We were back on the ship by 1:00 pm and went to the NY Deli where we each got a reuben for lunch. Mike got a turkey reuben and I got a traditional reuben. They were both very good. We got soft serve ice cream for dessert then went to our room for a while to rest. About 5:00 pm we got drinks before dinner (I always got a glass of chardonnay and Mike a beer or two). We ate in the Main Dining Room again, but this time were seated with five other people. We really enjoyed having others to talk to. Two women were from London and one was from Canada. After dinner we sat at the BBonB and listened to the music while having our Coral Drop and Manhattan. We were back in our room by 10:15 pm. This was a very good day.
Thursday - January 19, 2023 Fort de France, Martinique
We got up at 7:30 am and had breakfast in our room so we would be ready to get on our Jardin Ballata and St. Pierre excursion at 8:30 am. We boarded the bus and rode about 30 minutes to a church at the top of Fort de France. We had about 30 minutes to view the church and views and to use the bathroom. After getting back on the bus we had a wait because a couple of members of the tour never showed back up.
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| View of the Fort de France port from our balcony |
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| View of rainforest from the church |
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| The church |
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| Dome inside the church |
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| Banana Tree |
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| Waiting on the bus |
After getting back on the road, it took about 30 minutes to get to Jardin Ballata. This was the primary reason that Mike and I booked this tour and when we got there we were informed that we would only have 40 minutes here. Everyone on the excursion was not happy with this, but we all made the best of it. The gardens were very pretty with lots of hiking trails. We managed to quickly do about 1/3 of the trails. We did enjoy seeing the hummingbirds at the feeders.
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| Flowers at the garden |
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| A unique palm tree |
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| Mike at an overlook in the garden |
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| Another flower |
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| Mary at Jardin Ballata |
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| Immature bananas |
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| View of Jardin Ballata |
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| A water lily |
After leaving the gardens we rode for over an hour through the rain forest and mountains of Martinique to the town of St. Pierre. The main attraction here was a small museum about a volcano that erupted a couple of hundred years ago. Mike and I just walked around and viewed the scenery. The ride back to the cruise port was pretty since it went along the coast.
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| View of mountain while on ride to St. Pierre |
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| Rain Forest view |
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| View of Caribbean at St. Pierre |
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| Another St. Pierre view |
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| View of Rotterdam at cruise port |
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| Old fort in Fort de France |
We arrived back at the ship around 2:00 pm and ate lunch at the Lido before going back to our room to rest. Around 5:00 pm we got ready, went for our normal pre-dinner drinks, then ate dinner in the Main Dining Room. Once again we were able to sit with other guests - a couple from England, and a couple from Canada. We really enjoyed the company at dinner. We sat next to the couple from England a few times at the Billboard on Board piano bar. The music at the piano bar was great as usual this evening. We were back in our room around 11:00 pm. Even with the long bus ride this was an enjoyable day and we did get to see a large part of Martinique.
Friday - January 20, 2023 Bridgetown, Barbados
We had breakfast in our room, but I forgot to order the milk for our cereal so breakfast wasn't very good. We got ready and caught the bus for our Catamaran and Snorkel excursion. The ride to the catamaran only took about 10 minutes so was much better already that yesterday's excursion. The catamaran had about 40 guests on board and 6 workers. The workers were excellent. The best we've ever had on an excursion. The catamaran motored for about 20 minutes to a sunken barge for our first snorkeling. The water was rough with pretty stiff winds. Everyone had to wear a snorkel vest which was good. Mike tried to snorkel, but had trouble immediately so I helped him back to the boat with some help from another guest. I was able to join the snorkeling after I was sure Mike was okay. The snorkeling was good with a lot of colorful fish. I did have trouble getting back to the boat because of the current and the wind. After a bit I finally made it back on board. At the second snorkel site Mike just stayed on board. I was sorry that he did not feel comfortable trying to snorkel. I snorkeled and was able to see a couple of sting rays, some tarpon, and lots of colorful, tropical fish. However, we didn't see any green sea turtles which was what we most wanted to see. Even without that the snorkeling was really enjoyable for me.
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| Mike on the catamaran - we sat inside out of the sun. |
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| View out the front of the boat |
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| Mary on the catamaran |
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| Snorkeling at the second stop |
After our second and last snorkel, the workers opened up the bar and served lunch. Mike and I both had a couple of the Carib beers which we really enjoyed. Lunch was macaroni and cheese, cole slaw, grilled chicken, and rice with vegetables. It was really good. The boat docked close to a beach and a lot of guests went swimming, but Mike and I just stayed on board the boat. We really enjoyed sailing on the catamaran.
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| Swimming beach |
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| Another view of the beach area |
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| Front of the catamaran |
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| Workers serving drinks and food |
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| Mary enjoying the sunny day! |
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| Another view inside the boat |
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| A beautiful day |
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| View of the Rotterdam as the catamaran headed back to dock. |
When we got back to the Rotterdam around 3:00 pm, Mike and I went to our room and rested for a while before taking showers and getting ready for dinner. We had drinks at our normal bar, with our normal bartender, and dinner in the Main Dining Room. Once again, we had to sit at a table for two on the upper level. We enjoy being on the upper level of the dining room, but miss getting to have dinner with other guests. After dinner we went back to the RSRR bar. Geraldine fixed me a sour apple martini and Mike a Manhattan. The sour apple martini was delicious, not too sweet. We sat by the piano bar and listened to the excellent music then headed back to our room around 11:00 pm. This was the best day yet! We had so much fun on the catamaran.
Saturday - January 21, 2023 Castries, St. Lucia
We both slept in then went to the Lido for breakfast. We disembarked the ship at 10:30 am and walked one mile to the Central Market of Castries. It was very interesting with many booths for fresh fruits and vegetables. We walked back and got back on the ship at 12:30 pm. We were ready for an easier day since we had done three days of excursions in a row.
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| Entrance to the town |
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| We walked around the water to the area shown |
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| The Central Market |
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| The Rotterdam next to a military ship |
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| Statue we saw during our walk |
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| A pretty garden |
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| Mary by "Beethoven" on our deck not far from our room |
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The Atrium - this could also be silver
depending on the lighting |
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| Mike by some art next to the elevators |
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| Mike resting in the Crow's Nest |
After I was finished snorkeling, Mike and I both got a Carib Beer and lounged in the sun until it was time to return to the ship. We spent a total of 3 1/2 hours at the beach. I thought I had done a good job of applying sunscreen, but obviously missed the top of my thighs because I got a sunburn there. The bus stopped briefly on the way back to the ship at Timothy's Hill which is on a hill overlooking both the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea. There were pretty views here.
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| View from Timothy Hill |
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| Another view |
We got back to the ship at 2:00 pm and went to the Lido to get sandwiches and ice cream for lunch in the Lido. After lunch we napped then got ready for our drinks before dinner. We ate in the MDR as usual then went to the BB King Stage for a show afterward. This was a good, last day on an island. We really enjoyed the day at the beach.Monday - January 23, 2023 Sea Day
I got up at 7:00 am and went to the Grand Dutch Cafe and got a cafe latte. I wish I would have discovered the coffee here earlier. It was included with our drink package, the cafe was just one deck below our cabin, and the coffee was the best we had on the ship. I ate breakfast at the Lido then got Mike a cafe latte and muffin from the GDC. He might get used to coffee and breakfast delivered to the room. After breakfast we walked a couple of laps on the promenade deck, went to the library to look at the books, then spent time at the Crow's Nest. For lunch we got another pizza from the NY Deli and Pizza. After lunch we went to the room for a nap then spent time walking up and down the stairs looking at all the art work and taking pictures.
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| Some of the art |
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| The Lido Pool |
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| More art |
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| Zebra made of trash |
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| Main Dining Room |
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| Rolling Stone Rock Room Bar |
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| Rolling Stone Rock Room Stage |
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| Piano Bar at Billboard on Board |
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| Stairs up to the casino |
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| Our room |
We went back to our room and got ready for the second Gala Night. We had our normal drinks then ate in the MDR. Once again we had a table for two on the upper level. We both had shrimp cocktail, duck breast with beets and tangerine sauce, and chocolate lava cake.
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| Ready for Gala Night |
We went back to our room and sat on the balcony for a while before going to the RSRR bar for drinks. Mike got his normal Manhattan and Geraldine fixed me a Melon Midori. It was just okay. I'll go back to either the sour apple martini or coral drop martini. We sat in the BB on B for two sets of songs then went back to our room. Once there we sat on the balcony until about midnight. This was a nice, relaxing day.
Sunday - January 24, 2023 Sea Day
The last day of the cruise. We have really enjoyed this itinerary. The clocks were moved back one hour so I woke up at 6:30 am. I went to the GDC for a cafe latte then came back to the room and sat on the balcony while I drank it. It was a beautiful morning.
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| Nice view from the balcony |
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| A second view |
I ate breakfast in the Lido then brought Mike a cafe latte and a muffin from the GDC back to the room. After finishing our breakfasts and getting dressed, we walked two laps on the promenade then sat in the Crow's Nest until time for lunch. I got a salad and Mike got a sandwich in the Lido for lunch. And, of course, we had soft serve ice cream cones for dessert. After lunch we went back to our room, took a nap, then packed our bags. We had to set our checked luggage outside our room by midnight. We got ready for dinner and went to the RSRR bar. However, the bar was closed for a private event. We did manage to talk to Geraldine, give her a tip, and thank her for all the special attention. We got drinks at the Ocean Bar then had an appointment with a future cruise specialist. We booked a 10 day cruise in the Mediterranean from Barcelona to Athens for September, 2024. That will give us plenty of time to pay it off. We ate dinner at the Pinnacle Grill. The dinner was excellent. I had crab cakes, scallops, and creme brûlée. Mike had shrimp cocktail, scallops, and chocolate souffle. When we were finished with our meal our waiter brought us some truffles to take with us. After dinner we went back to our room for a while before going to the Billboard on Board one last time and get one more coral drop and Manhattan. The music was great as usual. We got back to our room around 11:00 pm and put our bags outside our room. This was another good day.
Monday - January 25, 2023 Disembarkation and Fort Lauderdale
I got up early, got dressed, and sat on the balcony. I watched the sunrise as the ship moved into Port Everglades. It was a nice sunrise. Mike got up by 7:00 am, got dressed, and we finished packing our backpacks. We left the room and went to the MDR for breakfast. Breakfast there was only okay. We didn't even get our bacon we had ordered. We sat in the Ocean Bar area until we could disembark at 9:15 am. While sitting there, Mike turned his phone back on since we were back in the US. Sam had texted a couple of days earlier that Juanita's house had already sold. Closing will be February 8. That didn't take long! Disembarkation was easy.
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| Moving into Port Evergaldes |
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| Beautiful sunrise |
We took a taxi to the Embassy Inn and Suites Downtown Las Olas. We checked in and put our luggage in a room until our hotel room was ready. We walked on Las Olas for 1 1/2 miles to a park by the river. We sat there for about an hour then walked to the Gran Forino Restaurant for lunch. We ate here three years ago and liked it, however, this time it wasn't so good. We both got a chicken Caesar salad and a diet coke and the bill was $70. Ridiculous!
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| View of river from the park |
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| Another view of the river |
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| Mike enjoying the nice day in the park |
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| Large tree we sat under |
While we were eating I got notified that our room was ready so after lunch we walked back to our room. We spent the afternoon relaxing in our room before going back to the American Social Sports Bar for dinner. We both got two drinks and shared a Beyond Burger and fries and the bill was only $50. Much better than our lunch - better deal and better service. We went back to our room and had an early night so that we would be ready to get up early for our flight.
Tuesday - January 26, 2023 Flight Home
We got up at 6:30 am, got dressed, gathered all of our belongings, and went down to breakfast. The breakfast at this hotel was pretty good. We ordered a Lyft ride and left the hotel at 7:30 am and made it to the airport by 7:45 am. Our flight was on time leaving at 9:00 am. We had a layover in Dallas of about one hour. We got lunch at a McDonald's close to our gate. The chicken sandwiches were not good. This flight was also on time and we arrived at XNA at 2:30 pm. The hotel shuttle picked us up and took us to our car. It had snowed about 8 inches here a couple of days earlier and there was still quite a bit of snow on the ground. However, all of the roads were cleared. We stopped at the Farmington Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market to get grocieres before heading home. We were a little concerned that the road to our house would be snow covered, but the road crews had plowed the road. Yea! Our driveway was covered in snow, but I didn't have any trouble making it up. Quite a difference in weather from where we had been. We were glad to be home after a very enjoyable trip.
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| Snow in the yard |
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| Snow and a small tree fell. |
