LVSue
April 24th, 2011, 11:19 PM
I could swear I posted this on Friday, but there doesn't seem to be any sign of it. So here goes again.
I realize it is a little late for this, but I’ve been tied up with volunteer taxes since I got back—no time to play!
Day -2: Off to the airport for a red-eye to Chicago to meet up with Rhodi!
Day -1: Arrived at 6:00 am to a couple of inches of snow on the ground. Took off after a couple more inches had accumulated and they de-iced the plane with orange gunk. (Met a group later who had a 9:45 flight and got delayed till 4:30—guess we were lucky. Taxied to Embassy Suites (taxi $15 + tip) to discover the room we had reserved last June was not available. While we contemplated our choices, our room miraculously became available. They didn’t seem very organized. Took a little hike to the Harbor Shops center behind the hotel for wine and thank-you cards. Enjoyed “manager’s reception” at the hotel and decided to eat in their restaurant E Spot because the pizza pictures in the lobby and elevator had been beckoning me all day. The pizza was as good as the pix, plus we had some left over for breakfast since we crashed for a long sleep after a long day! (maybe the brandy alexander helped a little)
Day 0: YAY! Boarding day! We took a shuttle from the hotel ($7 pp) and arrived about 12:30. After getting through security, it was pretty quick as suite pax were shuttled into a fast line. Since we had missed breakfast, we went to the Mariner’s lunch in the Vista dining room. Very nice. There was a suite reception at 7:15 in the Neptune Lounge, so we ate dinner a little later than usual. Met up with a great bartender, Rafael, at the Sea View bar. We were to stick with him throughout.
Day 1: Half-Moon Cay. I don’t know what I expected, but it wasn’t this. Nice open-air tenders; circle of shops, etc., kind of a truck shuttle to the BBQ. We did walk down to the beach and put our feet in the water and saw the pirate ship bar and cabanas and a beautiful black rooster. Quite pleasant. Clock forward 1 hour.
Day 2: Sea Day & 1st Formal Night. The weather has been fairly cool, so I don’t feel in a tropical mood yet. The meals have all had tropical flavoring, some added to traditional plates (lamb shanks with mashed yuccas, jasmine rice, mango chicken salad), nothing radical, but quite a change from the Alaska fare we are used to. We both had filet & lobster thermidor, which was a change.
Day 3: Aruba. We had a tour set up with Bully and it was a delight! We saw geckos, iguanas, blue lizards, and a beautiful orange and black bird. We went to a couple of parks with huge rocks that had been pushed up by volcanos in the distant past, one with ancient Indian cave writing, a collapsed natural bridge and a small one still intact, a lovely chapel with the stations of the cross going up the hill to it. We enjoyed our trip immensely, were able to get out and walk several times. Plus we needed to get back a little early, and Bully was fine with that. … Then we went on the Sunset Cruise. I was underwhelmed. A long walk down the quay, a sailboat with benches, a loo you have to back down stairs (no railings) to, no beer, no wine, just rotgut booze, soggy egg rolls, chicken nuggets, empanadas. Definitely not worth it. (or do you really want my opinion?) Had meal in room.
Day 4: Curacao. Decided to take it easy so took the taxi/trolley tour. Took a taxi over bridges and through painted buildings. Took a trolley tour to see the same painted buildings. Did see a nice church and the quad inside the gov’t buildings. It was Sunday and most shops were closed. I think if I had it to do again on a different day, I would take a taxi to the something Arches: shops, restos. Or arrange a private tour.
Day 5: Sea Day/2nd Formal Night. Missed the Panama Canal history lecture at 10:00 AM, but did enjoy the lecture at 2:00 pm, which gave us an idea of what we would see the next day. Clocks back 1 hour, thank goodness! Early Panama Canal viewing tomorrow. For some reason the forward decks on 5/6/7 are supposed to be closed tomorrow. We shall see.
Day 6: Panama Canal. Someone on these boards recommended ordering half coffee/half espresso from room service and that worked pretty well. I think the order evolved into small pot of coffee and a double espresso. Well, deck 7 forward was open, so we went out there to watch the locks and nab a PC roll (just OK IMOP). Then the Gatun Lake Panama Canal Excursion! It was a pretty arduous trip: long, hot, probably the most uncomfortable chairs we have ever sat in. And it took a loooooong time to traverse the canal, partly because a yacht in our upcoming lane ran out of power and had to be towed out, but partly because the locks filling or unfilling is really slow. At any rate, we got back to the ship at 7:00 when it was supposed to leave at 7:00. Good thing it was a ship excursion! Am I glad we did it? I think. Would I do it again? Heck, no! Room service for us tonight, and we set the clocks back an hour, so Puerto Limon won’t come quite so early.
Day 7: Puerto Limon. Met up with Eduardo of Your Lucky Tour at 8:30, but somehow ended up going with someone named Alfredo, which was OK. We had two additional people with us, and were supposed to have two more, but they never showed up. We really enjoyed the Tortuguero canal ride, an hour long in a little boat for about 4 people. We saw monkeys, sloths, blue cranes and white birds of some kind, an alligator and an iguana. It was a very pleasant ride. We saw boats that held more people, but we liked ours better. Then to the banana plantation (which we had asked Eduardo to skip)--very still and therefore hot. Had a little ride around and then back to the ship.
Day 8: At Sea/3rd Formal Night. Mariners’ Luncheon was today, but we skipped it—11:30 is too early for me; I’ve barely eaten breakfast by that time. Supposedly, there were 1500 mariners aboard, so there were three lunches. Tonight was a formal night; we opted for room service. It seems to me that HAL’s “filet” is not the tenderloin one would expect, but a filet-like cut of pretty tough sirloin. We were disappointed on formal nights. I wonder if it’s a way to force us to eat at the Pinnacle if we want a decent cut of meat.
Day 9: Last day, at sea. Suite pax lunch today—Indonesian, in the Pinnacle. One of the cute waitresses commented that she hadn’t seen us in there for breakfast. We told her it was too early! Skipped the Master Chef dinner, and opted for a calm dinner at 7:00 in the Canaletto. The chicken marsala was excellent, very tender and juicy, but the cod putanesco was overdone. I figured it might be.
Day 10: Gotta love that luggage direct! So glad I’m not schlepping my bag today. Unfortunately, as is my wont, I packed my key card, so I had to have a new one printed up. But otherwise, exit went smoothly, and arrived at the airport at 8:00 for my 1:40 flight. I wonder why they are in such a hurry to get rid of luggage direct pax.
As you can tell, not a whole lot of really specific information except for clocks forward/back and formal nights. This was a getaway from the snow for Rhodi, and it was a close one!
I realize it is a little late for this, but I’ve been tied up with volunteer taxes since I got back—no time to play!
Day -2: Off to the airport for a red-eye to Chicago to meet up with Rhodi!
Day -1: Arrived at 6:00 am to a couple of inches of snow on the ground. Took off after a couple more inches had accumulated and they de-iced the plane with orange gunk. (Met a group later who had a 9:45 flight and got delayed till 4:30—guess we were lucky. Taxied to Embassy Suites (taxi $15 + tip) to discover the room we had reserved last June was not available. While we contemplated our choices, our room miraculously became available. They didn’t seem very organized. Took a little hike to the Harbor Shops center behind the hotel for wine and thank-you cards. Enjoyed “manager’s reception” at the hotel and decided to eat in their restaurant E Spot because the pizza pictures in the lobby and elevator had been beckoning me all day. The pizza was as good as the pix, plus we had some left over for breakfast since we crashed for a long sleep after a long day! (maybe the brandy alexander helped a little)
Day 0: YAY! Boarding day! We took a shuttle from the hotel ($7 pp) and arrived about 12:30. After getting through security, it was pretty quick as suite pax were shuttled into a fast line. Since we had missed breakfast, we went to the Mariner’s lunch in the Vista dining room. Very nice. There was a suite reception at 7:15 in the Neptune Lounge, so we ate dinner a little later than usual. Met up with a great bartender, Rafael, at the Sea View bar. We were to stick with him throughout.
Day 1: Half-Moon Cay. I don’t know what I expected, but it wasn’t this. Nice open-air tenders; circle of shops, etc., kind of a truck shuttle to the BBQ. We did walk down to the beach and put our feet in the water and saw the pirate ship bar and cabanas and a beautiful black rooster. Quite pleasant. Clock forward 1 hour.
Day 2: Sea Day & 1st Formal Night. The weather has been fairly cool, so I don’t feel in a tropical mood yet. The meals have all had tropical flavoring, some added to traditional plates (lamb shanks with mashed yuccas, jasmine rice, mango chicken salad), nothing radical, but quite a change from the Alaska fare we are used to. We both had filet & lobster thermidor, which was a change.
Day 3: Aruba. We had a tour set up with Bully and it was a delight! We saw geckos, iguanas, blue lizards, and a beautiful orange and black bird. We went to a couple of parks with huge rocks that had been pushed up by volcanos in the distant past, one with ancient Indian cave writing, a collapsed natural bridge and a small one still intact, a lovely chapel with the stations of the cross going up the hill to it. We enjoyed our trip immensely, were able to get out and walk several times. Plus we needed to get back a little early, and Bully was fine with that. … Then we went on the Sunset Cruise. I was underwhelmed. A long walk down the quay, a sailboat with benches, a loo you have to back down stairs (no railings) to, no beer, no wine, just rotgut booze, soggy egg rolls, chicken nuggets, empanadas. Definitely not worth it. (or do you really want my opinion?) Had meal in room.
Day 4: Curacao. Decided to take it easy so took the taxi/trolley tour. Took a taxi over bridges and through painted buildings. Took a trolley tour to see the same painted buildings. Did see a nice church and the quad inside the gov’t buildings. It was Sunday and most shops were closed. I think if I had it to do again on a different day, I would take a taxi to the something Arches: shops, restos. Or arrange a private tour.
Day 5: Sea Day/2nd Formal Night. Missed the Panama Canal history lecture at 10:00 AM, but did enjoy the lecture at 2:00 pm, which gave us an idea of what we would see the next day. Clocks back 1 hour, thank goodness! Early Panama Canal viewing tomorrow. For some reason the forward decks on 5/6/7 are supposed to be closed tomorrow. We shall see.
Day 6: Panama Canal. Someone on these boards recommended ordering half coffee/half espresso from room service and that worked pretty well. I think the order evolved into small pot of coffee and a double espresso. Well, deck 7 forward was open, so we went out there to watch the locks and nab a PC roll (just OK IMOP). Then the Gatun Lake Panama Canal Excursion! It was a pretty arduous trip: long, hot, probably the most uncomfortable chairs we have ever sat in. And it took a loooooong time to traverse the canal, partly because a yacht in our upcoming lane ran out of power and had to be towed out, but partly because the locks filling or unfilling is really slow. At any rate, we got back to the ship at 7:00 when it was supposed to leave at 7:00. Good thing it was a ship excursion! Am I glad we did it? I think. Would I do it again? Heck, no! Room service for us tonight, and we set the clocks back an hour, so Puerto Limon won’t come quite so early.
Day 7: Puerto Limon. Met up with Eduardo of Your Lucky Tour at 8:30, but somehow ended up going with someone named Alfredo, which was OK. We had two additional people with us, and were supposed to have two more, but they never showed up. We really enjoyed the Tortuguero canal ride, an hour long in a little boat for about 4 people. We saw monkeys, sloths, blue cranes and white birds of some kind, an alligator and an iguana. It was a very pleasant ride. We saw boats that held more people, but we liked ours better. Then to the banana plantation (which we had asked Eduardo to skip)--very still and therefore hot. Had a little ride around and then back to the ship.
Day 8: At Sea/3rd Formal Night. Mariners’ Luncheon was today, but we skipped it—11:30 is too early for me; I’ve barely eaten breakfast by that time. Supposedly, there were 1500 mariners aboard, so there were three lunches. Tonight was a formal night; we opted for room service. It seems to me that HAL’s “filet” is not the tenderloin one would expect, but a filet-like cut of pretty tough sirloin. We were disappointed on formal nights. I wonder if it’s a way to force us to eat at the Pinnacle if we want a decent cut of meat.
Day 9: Last day, at sea. Suite pax lunch today—Indonesian, in the Pinnacle. One of the cute waitresses commented that she hadn’t seen us in there for breakfast. We told her it was too early! Skipped the Master Chef dinner, and opted for a calm dinner at 7:00 in the Canaletto. The chicken marsala was excellent, very tender and juicy, but the cod putanesco was overdone. I figured it might be.
Day 10: Gotta love that luggage direct! So glad I’m not schlepping my bag today. Unfortunately, as is my wont, I packed my key card, so I had to have a new one printed up. But otherwise, exit went smoothly, and arrived at the airport at 8:00 for my 1:40 flight. I wonder why they are in such a hurry to get rid of luggage direct pax.
As you can tell, not a whole lot of really specific information except for clocks forward/back and formal nights. This was a getaway from the snow for Rhodi, and it was a close one!