Ripheus

For dessert, I'm having the chocolate tart. DW is having the cheesecake.

For Dinner , I'm having the duck cavatelli. DW is having the vegetable udon.

The bread is so good at Luminae, that it's already gone. The amuse bouche was a cracker stuffed with goat cheese. Very tasty. For wine tonight, DW is having Mer Soleil chardonnay. I'm having the St. Francis Pinot Noir.

We have Le Grande Bistro booked for tomorrow afternoon!

Well, we're under way now. DW has been doing a fantastic job keeping you all updated. Service in Luminae was, predictably, exceptional but slow. It will get better over the next couple of days. DW has been very patient with me. I normally walk pretty slowly, but my foot is not allowing me to go faster than a crawl... At least it keeps DW entertained. The ship was very warm when we boarded. Apparently, they were doing something to the IT to upgrade it. AC is cranked all over the ship now, so it's a lot more comfortable. Our butler, Simi, is going to be terrific. She's very sharp and unbelievably helpful. We're changing up our tipping strategy this go around, so we have her about half what we're planning on giving her upfront and will disburse the rest over the course of the week. Pic of DW for attention...

We're up and on our way to the port! DW looks as beautiful as ever and my foot is feeling a bit better (at least less swollen). Today is gonna be an awesome day.

We finally made it to Florida. Had a very long wait for our Uber and then a very fast drive to our night at the Renaissance - Plantation. We're wrapping up for the night but will be back to document embarkation tomorrow.

Baby shower done and a pre-flight drink before we're off to DCA.

Last sales meeting is done. Breakfast has been eaten. All that's left to do is double check our bags, play with the pups a bit, water the orchids, and go to a baby shower. Then we're off to the airport! Lots more pictures incoming!

Our anticipation has, I think, reached peak level. Both DW and I are (almost) all packed. Pups are pampered. And the work week is done. Or so I thought. As it turns out, I have to go to a sales meeting tomorrow morning and work up a proposal or two (or five) before I can really start to enjoy my time off. But that's how sales goes, especially for landscapers in the midst of an early Spring. The only thing keeping my anticipation and excitement in check is my absolute exhaustion from getting work things done before I go away. DW, it seems, has the same - though her excitement is still a bit more palpable than my own.

All out at the moment. Actually just finished it tonight so I'd have an empty bottle for the batched Manhattan. For the money, it's a very good bourbon.

Oh, and I almost forgot, I taught DW how to play the game Gloom. It's a fun little card type game that is easy to pack and fun to play.

Well, today was a doozy. Work was busy from 630am all the way through about 430pm. And on top of me being away next week, we're now anticipating 1.5-2" of rain on Friday. Meetings and crew walkthroughs will have to wait until the 13th. On the plus side, what a beautiful day it was to spend (mostly) outside! This evening was another step in our pre-vacation ritual. We typically give a few friends of ours some batched cocktails. This time, DW made a wonderful Manhattan to share with one of my clients, and she also made a great Bloody Mary. Here are some pics of the Bloody Mary making process - which took about an hour and a half - and the finished product. Fortunately, it's only two more work days before we're away, and I can't wait.

One day closer to sail away, and it's time to start packing. DW and I spent about an hour getting everything except toiletries, shoes, and unmentionables into just one suitcase. To celebrate our non-procrastination, we cracked upon the bottle of Celebrity Vintages we stowed away from our first honeymoon.

It is! We just recently joined this winery after quitting another winery that was a bit far for us. We've enjoyed it so far, and really enjoy their 50% off case prices.

Our dogs are smaller than 25lbs, so they're technically cats....

The work week before a cruise, or any vacation for that matter, is strange. There's so much excitement and anticipation...but we also have to work. 😭 The weather here in Northern Virginia has not made our wait any easier either. It was nearly 80 on Thursday. It snowed Saturday. And today was chilly and rainy. I work as a landscaper, so the ever changing weather likely affects my work schedule more than most people's. With the rain today and another inclement day likely later this week, I fully expect that I'll be doing a bit of work during the cruise. I think it will be a good experiment to see if I can make it work. DW works in an office and will, fortunately, not need to bring any work with her. Now DW and I are back to acclimating our livers to cruise life....

We had been thinking about just booking the S3, but someone snagged it before we made a final decision on this cruise. Our TA suggested we do a guarantee, which was a little less than even the S3. We rolled the dice. We were shocked that we were assigned an AS. The first room we were assigned was pretty much the most forward we could possibly be. A few days later we were moved to an AS a bit closer to the elevators. I'm not sure whey they moved us again after assigning the room, but we'll take it. The room we moved from became bookable a day or so later for almost twice what we paid. We feel incredibly lucky and a more than a bit grateful.

Congratulations and Happy Birthday! DW and I look forward to meeting you both!

DW @Moochiand I will be embarking on honeymoon #2 one week from today. We'll be in a Aqua Sky Suite that we booked a little a month or so ago as a suite guarantee. (We were really aiming at getting a magic carpet sky suite but happened to get lucky, I think.) Throughout this week, I'll give the occasional update on our struggles to pack and all the work that we do to make cruising possible for us. We'll be staying in Fort Lauderdale the night before, so I'm sure there will be some shenanigans to post about too. To get things started, DW and I are enjoying a bottle or two at a local winery we recently joined. We had been doing dry February but we thought our livers wouldn't be happy if we went from zero to sixty in no time flat. So we're easing into drinking again over the last week until embarking. If you have any questions at any time, please do ask. If I can give an answer, I will.

DW and I were on the Millie in December. There was no draft beer at all. If you get to know Marren in Cellar Masters (and maybe give her a nice tip), she may share access to some bottled/canned beers/wines that aren't on the official lists. She also is, by far, the best bartender on the ship. The whiskey tastings that I think you're referring to are held in either the liquor shop or the watch shop. The liquor tasting is thimble sized. The tasting at the watch store is a little better, but they only serve you if you're legitimately interested in buying a rolex, breitling, or TAG. There are opportunities to get a free glass or two of bubbly around the ship, but the availability of other free options is very limited/non-existent. Also the Woodford night is a promotion in the casino; there is not free Woodford for everyone.

It was a little of both. We definitely took our time. At the same time, the tasting menu and accompanying wine service takes a while to work through. We could have probably left around 830 or so, but we tried all of the desserts and had after dinner drinks too.

I second this suggestion. Marmalade may have been the best dinner I've ever had. DW and I went there before our last cruise, and we couldn't have picked a better place. Dinner started at 515 but we didn't end up leaving until around 10. If I were to ever go back, I'd want to go as early as possible, if for no other reason than to savor all they have to offer. The staff there was very lovely too. They really went (far) out of their way to make our dinner and intimate and special experience. By the time we finished dinner, I think we had met the owner, the chefs, at least of the kitchen staff, and most of the waiters and waitresses. It is a bit pricey, but it should be on everyone's "must visit" list when in San Juan.

This is interesting. It hadn't occurred to me before to try using my Pixel as a hotspot to share my connection. I may need to try this out soon.

Glass bottles are all 12oz, but Red Stripe has that short fat bottle. As far as I know, no koozie holds Red Stripe well. Newcastle also has an oddly shaped 12oz bottle, but I think it should fit in most bottle koozies. Coors Light (and the very tasty spring water) is in 16oz aluminum bottles. Not sure about Budweiser; didn't see anyone drinking it. I've also seen a couple references to Ketel One Spritz and Topo Chico Seltzer, too, on the menus for an upcoming Beyond sailing. So they may have 12oz slim cans.