Philipsburg, St. Maarten

We awoke, alongside the Norwegian Epic in Philipsburg, St. Maarten.  Since this was a full port day, we had ordered room service breakfast the night before.  I wrote in the word berries on my form, and they were there along with all the other goodies.  I love the service and flexibility on Celebrity!

The aforementioned berries, with a ham and cheese omelet, fresh salsa and a chocolatine.  Breakfast of champions!

I ran down and picked up excursion tickets for St. Kitts (the TV wouldn`t let me buy them for some reason) and we slowly got ready to head into town.  The last time we were in St. Maarten we had taken the water ferry from the port to town, but this time we realized it was possible to walk.  So we walked there and back and saw lots of fun stuff along the way.  We shopped a bit, but bought almost nothing. 

Its $13k watches with actual parts of the Titanic or moon dust in them!  Also a gun full of tequila, `Dock Maarten`, a guavaberry colada, and a teeny palm tree.  We read the sign at the Atlas sculpture, but I don't`remember why he`s important. 

 I also took my most successful photograph ever.  Behold.

If there`s some thing wrong with this picture, I don't`want to know. 

Our walk back was even more exciting!  That guavaberry colada was hitting me pretty hard, and when we stopped for water, we noticed the mountain goats partying across the road.  I took a zillion pictures, so there would be this decent one.

Mountain goats, doing the Mountain goat thing. 

And then, there was a butterfly just chilling out on a palm tree.  IN JANUARY. 

I remain in disbelief that I managed to get this shot. 

After all that nature and excitement, we spent the afternoon in the Solarium pool and hot tub, while everyone else was still in port.  Suckers! 

We lazed in the deck, I think I read some of my book (Heads in Beds, read it if you ever stay in hotels) and watched sail away with the ridiculous folks from the Epic.  They definitely had someone late to get back.  And they were trying to start a shouting match across the dock based on the argument ``Our ship is bigger!"  I was not sad to have them sail off in another direction. 

At dinner, I managed to put together a fully Italian meal - caprese salad, pasta fagioli soup, turkey parmigiana and tiramisu. It was all delightful. 

 We followed that up with a trip to the casino and the "Love and Marriage" game show, which was surprisingly hilarious.  Another good day living the Celebrity Life! 

San Juan, Puerto Rico

We wouldn't arrive in San Juan till 3:00pm, so much of the day was like a day at sea.  We got up "early" had breakfast and went to take in the second talk by the handwriting expert, this time, she was showing and discussing the handwriting on notes from famous criminals like OJ Simpson, the Benets and others.  Apparently, there were 55 similarities between the Jon Benet Ramsay note and her mother's handwriting.

After that, we were kind of sleepy, so we went back to the room to "re-wake" up.  We enjoyed the music feature in the shipboard entertainment system, which is powered by Apple and is therefore amazing.  In the music channels they have all sorts of themes and selections.  I highly recommend U2's "Beautiful Day" as a cruising song.

The system also has free and pay per view on demand movies, the ability to see your current cruise bill, order room service and to book excursions.  Also functions as a tv, with some dedicated cruise channels like the Cruise Board Shopping Channel, CNN International and CBS at Sea. 

We motivated ourselves over to Movie Music Trivia at the Ensemble Lounge.  We played with an older gentleman and a couple, and we came in sooooo close.  Second isn't bad though!  The key is definitely to have diversity on the team if you are trying to win these.  We need Ron's superhero movie expertise, and the ability to confidently identify Barbara Streisand movies...oy.

We had late lunch at the Oceanview, a great place to catch the sail in to San Juan. 

One of the views as we arrived in Puerto Rico. 

We ventured into San Juan, and walked up the hill to a spice shop we'd read about online, Spicy Caribee.  It was a great place to pick up treats for our friends back home and to re-stock our at home fresh Caribbean spice supply.

Things we saw in San Juan, lovely architecture, slate blue cobblestones (lots of iron in the ballast on the ships), loose roaming cats, hot sauces, tourist traps etc.

We somehow managed to get back to the ship along with every tour that had come back in time for dinner.  We decided to wait until the line cleared, and that meant we got rained on - briefly, but intensely.  Oh well, at least we cooled off :)



We had come back to the ship early because it was time for my winning facial!  Hooray!  I went up to the salon, only to discover that the lovely lady Kasia who had given us the tour would be doing my treatment.  I think she was more excited about it than I was, which is saying something.  I had a whole bunch of things done including an eye serum pack, and Kasia told me my skin is very very dry. I explained to her what minus 40 degrees Celsius does to your skin, and I promised to think of her every time I moisturized. 

I snuck a few pics in the treatment room - so may products!  And yes, they hit that tiny chime/cymbals when your treatment is done.  Its adorable. 

With my radiant skin we set forth for dinner - we had Select Dining, which was very nice for not having a plan, but sometimes challenging to figure out where to go when and in terms of not having any say over your table placement. This was the night we got the best table going - way in the back corner, with fantastic service.   I said the word double, and ended up with double clam linguine.  The waiter explained its Buy One Get One Free, this week only (with a wink).

So many clams!

Finally, we went to see Steve Caoutte.  He was a blast.  Best ship`s comedian I`ve encountered so far.  He was great at working the crowd, and he got his trick of warning people about being late to pay off.  It was super.

If he plays near you, go see this guy.  He`s great. 

A Lovely Day At Sea

The waffle is smeared with orange butter. Those roasted tomatoes are delish!

Cruise day 2 started with breakfast at the buffet, known as the Oceanview Cafe.  We sat outside enjoying the view of the wake and the horizon. 

Also early that morning I put my new quick drying top coat to the test and rocked out a cruise themed manicure. While it was drying we went and lazed in one of the amazing lounge cubbies in the Solarium.  Ron read, and I invented a new cruise game - using the waves as visualizer for the music your listening to.  Its a great way to enjoy an hour or two sailing by. 

Why yes, the accent nail is the Celebrity Logo.

Much of the rest of the day was spent at various shipboard activities.  I couldn't resist the shopping talk.  Not much has changed in Carribbean port shopping.  Except, they have a new watch where you can change the gemstones at the touch of a button! 

Its all the same watch!  I don't even want to know how much this runs. 

Ron and I both went to see the Celebrity Life Speaker who specialized in handwriting analysis.  We learned about the tilt of your writing and what your t's mean about you.  So be careful next time you hand us a note!

I hit the 4:00pm Zumba class with Linell - super exciting when the ship is rocking and rolling :)  The class aligned nicely with everyone abandoning the pool for the evening, so I went for a post-Zumba hot tub and then got ready for formal night. 

We all met up at Cellar Masters to select our wine for the evening from their huge collection of enomatic machines. 

The first one I tried, and definitely my favourite of the whole week. 

We went for dinner, and enjoyed the special touches on the formal night meal - including a champagne sorbet.  

A lovely way to cleanse the palate. 

It was super busy at the casino, so we went to take in the Captain's toast and the ensuing show, Centre Stage.  It definitely took a few minutes to get going, but if you like musicals this has lots of fun - it led with a trifecta of Oz based songs from the Wiz, the Wizard of Oz and Wicked, but my favourite was definitely the number from Nine - be Italian everyone!  Still humming along I toddled off to bed to rest up for San Juan!

Cruise Day!!

Is there a better day than the one where you get on the ship?  I can't imagine one!  We had a light breakfast (one of the tips we've learned in our cruising career), called the cab and were among the first at the port! 

I call this one "Luggage Tetris"

We breezed through the embarkation, even though Ron forgot to print our papers.  Knowing the buffet would be hopping, we hit Bistro on Five for a lunch of their delightful crepes :) 

We took Ron Sr. and Wanda for a tour of the gorgeous ship, which felt just like home for us, having been on one of its sister ships the Eclipse two years ago. There are a few key differences - the Hot Glass Studio is replaced with a restaurant, there's a new chill out zone on deck 7, new electronic tables in Game On, an Art Studio and a bunch of new cabins.  We joined in a spa tour, checked out the new features and by the time we finished our tour, rooms were ready. 

We zoned out in our room for a bit, and next thing you knew it was sailaway!  We headed down to Ron and Wanda's fully aft "Sunset Veranda" cabin, for the optimum views. 

Bye Bye Miami!  Note: jetskiiers on the bottom left, and a Coast Guard vessel with like a four foot long gun bottom right.

Wanda and ran up to the gym (the only time I saw it this trip) for the draw from the spa tour.  And I won!!!  An Elemis facial - more on that later! 

For Christmas, Ron and Wanda had gotten us reservations at one of the specialty restaurants, Qsine.  Sorry, not dinner, a culinary journey.  And what a journey it was!  It all starts with the iPad based menu! 

You make your order by creating a favourites list. 

The meal was fantastic.  Way too much food, but also fantastic.  Everything was served in creative ways, and the items were all well executed and interesting.  Ron and I were both big fans of the crab and the shrimp, but it was all tasty and all fun!

Disco Shrimp, Spring Rolls, Crab Cake and its sauces, Curries on a tree, Mini-Chinese Buffet, M's Favourites (mediterrean delights), something else yummy and stabbable bread. 

Of course, they also had dessert a Qsine.  We didn't think we could eat any more, but of course, we found a way.  We wanted to get a good deal for Wanda's investment! 

The dessert menu cube, a surprise dessert, a basket of donuts and sauces and the rest are all from the decorate your own cupcake array! 

After that glorious meal, we weren't quite ready for bed, so Ron and I caught the late show featuring a few of the acts that would be around for the week a great guy on guitar, an actually funny comedian and the awesome acapella group: These Guys.  We actually followed the acapella dudes for their set in the Ensemble Lounge before toddling off to bed ready for a day at sea. 

Shop til you Drop!

We had another day in Florida before we hit the ship.  We all slept in and didn't even get breakfast til noon, as we were still full from the night before. 

A few views from our walk to breakfast.

We made our way up to the Lincoln Road Mall, a pedestrian shopping area in the heart of South Beach.  I was excited because I got to shop in some stores I've only ever seen on the internets - CB2 (vintage/modern Crate and Barrel!), Anthropologie (did you know they carry housewares?), Dylan's Candy Bar, a Nespresso cafe and even Tesla showroom. 

Clockwise from top left: A crazy plate from Anthropologie, the candy tree at Dylan's, a wide array of pillows that go with our condo at CB2, Ron testing out the gigantic touchscreen in the Tesla

The highlight of the shopping area was definitely the lady with the teeny dog out for a walk!  Apparently this little chihuahua was for sale - $400!  Sweet deal! 

This dog was impossibly small and made me miss Hippo.

After our shopping adventure we enjoyed the Essex House social hour and then headed out for dinner.  We read some interesting (scammy) things about the very touristy Ocean Drive and decided to head in the opposite direction to the Eleventh Street Diner - which was featured on Diners, Drive Ins and Dives, and I can see why! 

A truly fantastic turkey platter, featured on the Food Network!

Towards the end of our dinner, things got a little...um, exciting? Scary? Interesting?  I'm still not sure I have the right words for this one.  We saw a very serious police take down, from front row seats on the deck of the diner.  Within moments, there were at least 10 police cars there - which was comforting after a few scary minutes!  After things cleared up, we headed out, with an interesting story up our sleeves. 

There was no way to get a picture of ALL the lights.

We headed to Walgreen's for a few last minute cruise supplies and then did our final re-packing for the cruise! 

Winter Getaway - to South Beach and Beyond!

In the fall, Ron's parents sent a note that they had booked a cruise and said, hey do you guys want to come along? I think we all know how that turned out :)  So, about two weeks ago, in minus 40 (that's pretty much the same in farenheit and celcius) we headed to the airport without our coats, bound for Miami and the newest cruise ship in the world, the Celebrity Reflection.

Exciting and new!

Our travel was uneventful, with highlights including a crazy expensive lunch at the airport in TO, and not having to pick up our bags to get through customs (they have some sort of magical new system), and lots of knitting on the plane.  When I first saw the white sand beaches and palm trees, I nearly teared up I was so excited.  Our cab driver from the airport was great and he was telling us how palm trees die from the cold, and he says if one of them go, he'll be next :)

We settled in to the Essex House Hotel.  This is a pretty neat old place, with the classic South Beach art deco architecture (we saw the tour come through a few times!) and its partnered with a crazy party hotel next door called the Clevelander.  For example, the Clevelander features 80oz beer towers for happy hour.  Our bellman explained that they have one pool for swimming, and one pool for partying.  I like they way these guys think!!!

A few views from the various party balconies at the Clevelander.

We had made arrangements to take Ron's parents out for their birthday dinner (both are born in January) at the Yardbird.  It was a bit of a hike, but worth every step!  This was some incredible food.  The fried green tomatoes were the best appetizer I've ever eaten (topped with house made pimemto cheese, pork belly and tomato jam) and the whole meal was, as Ron's dad reported: delishamundo!

Everything was served family style, and everything was tasty!

We managed to walk all they way back and got to see South Beach's famous Art Deco neon lights.  After a bit of foot soothing (those sandals had been away a while!) we were off to sleep. 

So much pink neon!  Just for me!