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NCL Encore Christening...Are you Drunk?...No I just ate too much Seafood

jenseib

By jenseib,
in Norwegian Cruise Line

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jenseib

jenseib

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Hello! And welcome to my latest trip report!

I am going to keep the introductions to a minimum this time around.  This was a work trip so it was just me and my friend Cass, who also works in the same industry as me.

 

Before I get into the intro, I do have to put a few disclaimers out as I find sometimes people on Cruise Critic don't get the difference of a trip report, versus a ship review.  This is a Trip Report!

It takes me a while to write these up and I use a lot of pictures. If you are wondering why I am writing now when the sailing was 2 months ago...it's because I edit my pictures...and I have a life that comes before that. I actually have it all written in word and started the writing process after I got off the ship, so most is fresh memories, but I can't remember every second of every day.

I talk about my experiences and thoughts, which may not be yours, and that is fine, but this is my experience.

I tell this like a story. Facts are in there, but told in story form.

I cruise Disney a lot, so you will see some references to my thoughts of the differences. 

 

Intro…..The Who

For those that don’t know me, I am Jen. I am a mom to 3 and a grandmother to 3. If you have followed my other reports, you probably know my youngest, Claire, who just turned 15…can you believe that? Claire travels with me usually.

My husband is Skip, a farmer, and he was able to run Claire back and forth from school and her other activities while I was gone, which I was so grateful for.

Cass is a friend of mine and we used to work for the same company and became good friends over the years.  She was the perfect person to join me this trip!

 

49209041978_497c52e230_z.jpgchrist1 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

The What and When

This report is about the Norwegian Encore Inaugural Christening sailing, which took place Nov. 21-23, 2019.

 

The Where

This ship sailed out of Miami and just visited 1 port, Great Stirrup Cay.

 

Disclaimer

I am going to start with a very important disclaimer!  I won this cruise. I did not pay 1 red cent for this cruise or the flight to and from Miami.

This was pretty much all inclusive, with me only having to pay for my prestay hotel and meals that were not on the ship.  That being said….I am going to give my honest opinion of the ship and our adventures. No one is pressuring me to give a great review or to lie about any experiences.

 

Let’s Get This Party Started!!!!!

 

Let’s start by going back to late Sept, 2019. Norwegian announced on one of their webinars that they were going to have something special on one of their facebook pages starting Sept 23.  When that date rolled around, I checked the designated page and saw that they were having a contest.  Each day they were going to post something and we were to respond with a comment, answer, picture, etc and hashtag it.  They would pick several winners the following Monday. These winners would get a spot on the Inaugural Christening sailing.  Well that’s not too hard to do.  It surely never hurts to try.

 

Each day I was faithful and posted. I noticed my friend Cass was also posting as well. We chatted about it and I told her the odds of one of us winning was really good as most days the comments were less than 500…and I had expected them to be in the thousands.  We kind of joked back and forth that if one of us won, we would take the other. 

The only real issue with that idea was that 1. We didn’t know the exact sailing dates for this cruise, but knew it would be in Nov. and  2. Cass’s daughter’s birthday may fall over the sailing. Of course, if Cass won, she would probably want her family to go since it was Kira’s birthday.

I did tell Cass to have positive thoughts and I planned on winning! Hahahaha.

 

The weekend came and the contest was done with. Now we just had to wait……

Monday rolled around and I was busy working, but thought about the contest and check fairly early in the morning to see if they announced the winners yet.  Nope!  Back to work I went.

 

I started chatting with another friend who is in the same industry as I am and we both had some questions about different things and were helping each other.  She then said we might as well talk on the phone to make it easier, so I called her.

One of the first things she asked me was when I was traveling next. I told her I planned on winning a cruise, so it should be soon.  And then I laughed.  She wanted to know how I planned to win a cruise and I told her about the NCL Encore contest as well as 2 or 3 other ones I had entered for other ships/cruise lines.  I told her that the only way to win is to enter, so why not.

We then went on talking about our business and answered questions for each other, gossiped a bit, talked more business, talked about webinars…etc.  We literally now were talking with each other for at least 45 minutes.

As we were talking I started scrolling through facebook and saw this!

 

49209281908_52e369ece8_z.jpgpartners by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

Seven winners!  And my name was the 2nd one on the list!  Holy Cow!!!!!  I interrupted my friend and said…..”I just won a cruise!  Like for real!”  I think she thought I was joking and I told her where to look and I was just stunned!

We finished talking and hung up and I just sat there with my jaw open.  LOL!  Now what?  I had so many questions and I had to wait for an email before I had any clarifications.

 

I messaged Cass and said…..so…you want to go?  At this point we weren’t sure of the dates, how long it was, or really much of anything.  But she said she was going to put feelers out with her family and see if it was doable.

By the end of the afternoon she was already onboard.  How wonderful! She decided to keep it kind of a secret and not tell anyone she was going. Many people asked me who I was bringing and I just said….a friend who shall not be named.  LOL.

 

My family…namely my husband…is much harder to convince about anything. I told him and he thought it was fake and probably a scam. I even showed him the post and he still had his doubts.

 

Later that afternoon I started getting info and the dates, Nov. 21-23.  Of course my husband was supposed to have a shoulder replacement on Nov. 18 and he was not happy I would be leaving so soon after.  In the end, he called his Dr. and rescheduled it for 2 days after I got back.  His Dr said he would be fine without me, but Skip is a worrier and this made him feel better.

 

Now NCL had said all along that we would win a cabin and airfare.  I assumed this meant for 2 as that is how most contests work. I asked my contact if my guest could fly from a different airport and she informed me the air was only for 1 but I was welcomed to bring a guest. I let Cass know so that she could back out if she wanted, but she said she had enough points and would book her own.

 

The planning process was very slow as I had to wait for NCL to give me info and then vouchers for flights and it wasn’t always clear how everything would work.  At first they said I would probably fly in the day of the cruise then later I was told they would give me vouchers for roundtrip air and I could book whatever flight and dates I wanted through United.

We also weren’t sure about what all was included.  Would we still need to pay taxes? Would we need to pay gratuities?

I asked all these questions and found out pretty much everything was included….including unlimited wifi, specialty dining and the drink package! This is getting better and better! We also found out that no one under 21 was supposed to be attending this cruise. So even if I had wanted to, I couldn’t bring Claire.

 

I then received a link with a basic itinerary on the happenings.  This was kind of fun to read and listed some of the things included and gave a basic time line for the Christening.

 

Kelly Clarkson is the God Mother to the Encore, which meant she would be there to christen the ship and it sounded like she would be putting on a small concert as well!  How exciting!

 

I will say that I felt kind of left in the dark at times though. My contact answered my emails in a timely fashion, but the official info and moving forward was so slow.  Rooms would not be given till about 2 weeks before the cruise…and of course I was curious what I would get…and luckily we checked our NCL accounts, because we saw them in there about 2 weeks prior, but the official email didn’t arrive till closer to a week before sailing. We scored and got a balcony room!

 

It took a while for the flight vouchers to come, but finally they did and I had to use United. Of course there were no direct flights on United to Miami and when I looked at all the options, all the flights left at 6 or 6:30 AM.  I just ended up choosing the shortest route there and back so I wouldn’t have to spend all day in an airport.

 

Cass and I looked over hotel options and we decided on the YVE Hotel in Miami. The price with the daily fee was about $150 and that worked for us.  It was basic, but close to the port and to shopping and dining.

 

About a week or 2 after I had won the cruise I got a box in the mail.

 

49209411171_2be5c01da5_z.jpgweekofthanks1 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

How fun!  It was a box full of goodies.

 

49209411106_835ede2d61_z.jpgweekofthanks2 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

I assume all the winners received these boxes.

 

In the meantime, Cass was sailing the NCL Escape about 3 weeks before this cruise.  She went with her brother and it was her first NCL cruise. Sadly, she didn’t have a great experience and I hoped and prayed her time on the Encore would be much better!

 

Finally we had all our ducks in a row…or at least as many as we could muster…and it was time to go!

 

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Nov. 20, 2019 Arriving in Miami

 

The day was here!  Well this day actually started in the middle of the night.  Since my flight was so dang early I had to leave super early to get to the airport and park my car then shuttle to the airport.  Skip passed on taking me to the airport, so I did have to drive and park myself.  I chose the same place we had used when we went to Disneyland last Spring.

 

I was all packed and ready to go.  Because this was a special sailing they were not having porter service and told us to pack in small bags as we would be bringing everything onboard ourselves and running them all through the port security scanners. I tried to pack light, but I could not fit it all in one small bag. I debated just trying for a bigger bag but I worried it wouldn’t fit so I went with 2 small one. Now that I know better….I could have used a larger bag with no issues.

 

49146503938_3330512b5e_z.jpgluggage by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

I believe I left the house around 2 AM and made good time and soon was at the parking garage and dropping my car off. The shuttle had just arrived and I hopped on and off we went. I was making good time and arrived at the airport before the desk opened, but I didn’t have to wait too long.  I got the one bag checked in and then went through TSA precheck on off to my gate.

 

My first flight was short and actually a smaller plane.  My connection was at Dulles, my first time ever being there.  I grabbed some donuts and had a snack and soon it was time to board the next flight.

 

49154196316_6733116835_z.jpgair1 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

Score…the middle seat was open!

 

I had downloaded the first Captain America movie to watch on my ipad and about halfway there I decided to turn it on. I was pretty tired so I had tried to doze the first half of the flight…but it is hard for me to sleep sitting up.

 

And then the view came…….

 

49154196181_a7b7582cce_z.jpgair3 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

We were coming in!

 

49153695983_058cbbc5c3_z.jpgair4 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49153695883_00eb027554_z.jpgair5 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

I kept my eyes open for a glimpse of the Encore.  She had done a short sailing the 17th to the 20th.  It was a sailing like ours…for Travel Agents, Social Media Influencers, Media and NCL people.  She got into port this morning and would stay in port all day, hosting some events for locals.

 

49154402202_818d0873f5_z.jpgair6 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

There she is….and do you see that small ship behind her?  Let me give you another look.

 

49153695768_1858d278bf_z.jpgair7 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

That’s the Disney Magic! It looks so small behind the Encore.  I posted this picture on facebook and people commented on how the Magic looked like a Dingy being pulled behind the Encore!  Hahahaha.

 

As we came in I tried spotting my hotel.

 

49154402107_13d2a9e391_z.jpgair8 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

Even now I can’t tell if it is in the picture or not. It probably is in that cluster of taller buildings towards the top of this picture.

 

And we landed! I gathered my things, headed off the plane, got my luggage and got an Uber to the hotel.  I priced both Uber and Lyft as Lyft almost always comes up cheaper for me, but this time Uber was always cheaper.  I want to say the ride was around $20 with a tip, give or take.

 

My driver was super nice and I told him it had been at least 17 years since I was last in Miami and he said a lot of these buildings were not even here then.  He was super nice and it was nice chatting with him.

 

Right as we were getting close to the YVE I saw the Holiday Inn, which is a very popular hotel that cruisers stay at. It was literally about a block away from the YVE.

 

49166049537_9300834e2d_z.jpgmiami1 by Jenseib, on Flickr 

 

I went in and let them know I had arrived and asked about getting a room early. I was so tired and wanted to nap.  This hotel charges for early check in. I asked what the cost was and she said $50 and I cringed…but she said she would do it for $30. I am going to assume $30 is probably the going rate and they try to charge 50 for any sucker willing to pay.  I was Ok with 30. I wanted my room. I was tired and hungry and I just wanted a spot to leave my stuff and then nap eventually.

 

I handed over the credit card to pay the fee and the resort fee and off to my room I went.

 

This hotel does not have many windows, but our room did have a very small one that looked out the front.

 

49133530088_5e869605f3_z.jpgyve1 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

The room is pretty basic, with 2 double beds, but for one night it was perfectly fine.

 

49133529568_f0e8f40b0f_z.jpgyve2 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49134017941_13b1dacbc4_z.jpgyve3 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49134017926_5c3f7d1595_z.jpgyve4 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49134017906_bdedc96c16_z.jpgyve5 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

The bathroom was pretty tiny, but again, for one night, it would work.

 

49133529948_2a38829ee6_z.jpgyve9 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49134695668_a41fd6293d_z.jpgyve27 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

I wish it had more counter space.

 

49134209767_9ab2659649_z.jpgyve8 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49134209357_0c3bd78cbf_z.jpgyve7 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49133529978_1ea93240bc_z.jpgyve6 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49134017801_fb9a3d537c_z.jpgyve10 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49135379202_163e886ea5_z.jpgyve25 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49135182766_94659408e4_z.jpgyve26 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

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I gave my phone a little charge and changed into shorts and headed out to find some food.

 

49134017746_445887c173_z.jpgyve11 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49134209337_739ce3c4ba_z.jpgyve12 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49134017711_7e7d17d2cf_z.jpgyve13 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

Ahhh Florida Palms.

 

49134209597_50eb96cbcc_z.jpgyve14 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

Bayfront Park was across the Boulevard, so I headed that way.  It was close but the way the walk signs were set, you could only make it across one section at a time and the light seemed to take forever to switch.

 

49198338198_770fe6880f_z.jpgmiami16 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

I finally made it and walked towards the marketplace.

 

49165814996_5f14656cfe_z.jpgmiami2 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

There were a lot of shops and dining options. I walked around a bit to see what they had before I decided what I wanted to eat.

 

49199035502_7b75dc00ce_z.jpgmiami17 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

I see some ships!

 

49199035217_d7d0b22ffc_z.jpgmiami23 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

Look at that blue water!!!!

 

49199035412_1d3e0cfc20_z.jpgmiami19 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

And the ships again.  This was about the best view I was going to get of them from here.

 

49165814716_20dfc96e6e_z.jpgmiami5 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49198337988_ccfb4405f7_z.jpgmiami20 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49199035337_27cb3b405e_z.jpgmiami21 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

I looked at menus of a few places and decided on eating at Tradewinds.  I was in the mood for a burger and ended up getting 3 sliders.

 

49198337903_5e89b716c9_z.jpgmiami22 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

They were really good and I scarfed them down, paid my bill, and headed off again.

 

They have a lot of Miami boat tours going out here so I stopped and did some people watching for a bit. If I had not been so tired I would have probably looked into doing one, but I just knew I wouldn’t make it today.

 

49198831801_80bf2c2af9_z.jpgmiami24 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

The Hard Rock off in the distance.  Cass and I had talked about possibly eating here tonight.

 

49198831691_18010d0342_z.jpgmiami25 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

I headed back toward the YVE and noticed they were putting up this Christmas tree. They had a ton of boxes out and each box held a section.

 

49165814766_8c8c3d7008_z.jpgmiami4 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49165814871_ffb429d264_z.jpgmiami3 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

I then walked back to the hotel.

 

49135182861_45ef813173_z.jpgyve28 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49134695598_41f8646f44_z.jpgyve29 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49134017626_59fbbb74c1_z.jpgyve15 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49133529773_1d1cd3ec89_z.jpgyve16 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

The Holiday Inn is down this way.

 

49199880993_5e23af5ca4_z.jpgmiami26 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49200373396_4f5b38f56a_z.jpgMiami27 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49135379082_522d6e9ff3_z.jpgyve30 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

The lobby of the hotel is kind of funky but I liked it.

 

49134209492_c592c2c636_z.jpgyve17 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49134209437_cd2520fe97_z.jpgyve18 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49133529603_9f5c198cd7_z.jpgyve19 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49133529473_08611bc55f_z.jpgyve20 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49135379292_abcbe760a8_z.jpgyve21 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49135182771_7c9ed78711_z.jpgyve22 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

I headed back to my room, set my alarm for a few hours later and crashed!  The walls must be thin because it sounded like someone was having a party out in the hall.  It didn’t get too bad, but if it had lasted much longer I probably would have went to the door and opened it and looked out with one of my death stares. 

That being said, I got a good nap and felt refreshed when I woke up a few hours later.

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After the nap I woke up and refreshed a bit, brushing my teeth and fixing my hair a bit.

I still had quite some time till Cass would arrive and I decided to head off for a walk and explore the local area.  First on my list was to buy some chapstick. I almost always have a ton a tubes with me when I travel since things tend to be dry, but I changed to a new bag as my personal item for my carry on this trip and I guess I never transferred the chapstick over.

There was a CVS right across the street, so I headed there and looked around and found a tube.  I am not a fan of actual chapstick as we have a local lady who makes her own and it is FANTASTIC!  But this would due in a pinch.

 

I then decided to take a walk around the area and take a few pictures here and there….Something to kill time.

I tried to see if I could find a spot to see the ports and the ships better, but there were too many things in the way and I didn’t want to walk any further away.

 

49200373351_2a2ddd0fd5_z.jpgmiami28 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

I walked through the park area and just enjoyed the warm weather.

 

49199880848_9b0f987609_z.jpgmiami29 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49199880803_5dacdceca2_z.jpgmiami30 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

I could see a peek of the Magic in this pic along with the Encore. 

 

49200719841_7b6dc148ae_z.jpgmiami31 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49200229318_39c8447453_z.jpgmiami32 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49200719641_a684f9b0bb_z.jpgmiami33 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

A selfie….that looks horrid!  I should have put my sunglasses one to hide my eyes!

 

49198237438_0ed1191a87_z.jpgmiami6 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

I wondered if this is where they were building the new NCL terminal, but I am not for sure. It was hard to tell things from this far away.

 

49198731406_4b385e3734_z.jpgmiami7 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

I walked along for a while and it was pretty but I guess I put the camera/phone away for a bit and headed back over to the marketplace to find a snack and explore a bit more.  I was going to have dinner with Cass once she arrived but I was already a bit hungry now.

 

I went through some of the shops and found a gelato place and tasted a few samples and then decided on 2 flavors for my small cup.

 

49198338378_0c17a66bd8_z.jpgmiami12 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

I know one was peanut butter something or other but I can’t remember the other one.

 

I sat down and listened to some music that was playing and ate my gelato and just did some people watching….Ok…I was getting bored.  I couldn’t wait for Cass to arrive.  She had messaged me a few times and in between her 2 flights and she had said her first flight was running late so she had next to no time to get to her next gate….but she would be here soon and that made me happy!

 

I walked back to the hotel then and passed the Christmas tree they had been working on.  A lot more was assembled but it still wasn’t finished yet.

 

49198832371_8391dfdd79_z.jpgmiami13 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49198237358_8d5f12c2ff_z.jpgmiami8 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

It was starting to turn dusk…which happens early in Nov, so some of the buildings were starting to light up and they looked pretty.

 

49198731301_99e3235236_z.jpgmiami9 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

I headed back to the room and scanned the TV channels but I was truly just bored. I can be a loner at times, but I had enough alone time for the day.

I remembered that the hotel had given me a free drink coupon to use.  Cass doesn’t drink at all (and I don’t really drink much either), so I thought I would go sit in the neat looking lobby area and get a drink and wait.

 

The restaurant and bar was being redone, so they had a makeshift bar out in the lobby and I ordered a whisky sour.  He started making it and then said he ran out of the sour mix and added more whisky.  EEK!  He told me to taste it and he could add some seven up to it. After I got done coughing and gagging, I had him add 7 up.

It still wasn’t very good, but it was free so I didn’t complain too much.  After I drank it down a bit more, I went back up to him to put more 7 up in it.  It was better, but not great and I just sipped it.

 

49147194562_1834f102a2_z.jpgyve31 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

I texted with Claire a bit and asked how her day went and she wanted to know about mine as well.  Cass then messaged that she had landed and was getting into her Uber.

 

So I waited and waited (the clock seemed to tick very slowly now) and then when I finished my drink I went out the front to wait for Cass.

 

She then messaged me she was here. Um ..wait…where?  I am out front and you are not here.  She got dropped off at the side door and came in that way.  AHHHH!  So I headed in and greeted her and gave her a hug!  It was so wonderful to see her again.

 

We headed up to the room and got her settled in. I had a small gift for her and she gave me this gorgeous bracelet and charms that she bought on her NCL Escape cruise.  (I have worn it at home now several times, including Christmas Eve!).

 

She was ready to eat (I don’t think she usually eats much on her travel days) so we headed off across the street.  We had discussed prior that Chilis or Hard Rock were both options we would like and we decided tonight to go to Hard Rock as that is not a place we can normally visit at home. (Though I am not sure if she has a Chilis where she lives either).

 

I had scoped it out earlier in the day and she had been there before many years ago, so between the 2 of us we found our way. What was odd was the store is on the first floor but the restaurant was upstairs….but no signs telling you that.  I only guessed that it was there because I saw someone coming down the hidden staircase earlier in the day when I had scoped the place out.

 

We were seated right away and made our drink and food orders. As usual, I ordered way too much food.

 

I got the Margarita flat bread and onion rings.

 

Have a little pizza with your tomatoes?

 

49200229148_3a070c021e_z.jpgmiami34 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

We totally laughed at how many tomatoes were on this.

 

49200719526_a287ecdd25_z.jpgmiami35 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

I think Cass got a burger?…gosh I can’t remember for sure now.

 

49200937987_ffc501550b_z.jpgmiami36 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49198731256_18d11910c9_z.jpgmiami10 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

The food was good and hit the spot.  Much better than my last visit to a Hard Rock, which was in San Juan, and the food was less than stellar.

 

We chatted all during our meal and caught up and Cass said that this trip, even after just a few hours into it, was already way better than her whole cruise on the Escape last month.  LOL!  So glad she was having fun.

 

Cass told me her friend who had just sailed the Encore said excursions on Great Stirrup Cay were also included.  AWESOME.  I actually wanted to try for the swimming with the pigs excursion and now that it was free, I wanted it even more!

 

49198832466_252e103e6d_z.jpgmiami11 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

When the bill came, Cass insisted on paying.  I don’t know why she felt the need to do that, but it was super nice…and Thanks Cass!!!!!!!!

 

We looked at some of the memorabilia as we left.

 

As a teen I was a huge Michael Jackson fan, so I had to get a picture of this.

 

49198337733_90f1bfaf61_z.jpgmiami14 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

And then we headed out and made our way back to the hotel.

 

49198338253_d2a827e017_z.jpgmiami15 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

Our hotel is really pretty at night all lit up.

 

49146989956_b0e60e3fa0_z.jpgyve33 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49146990026_f593df11b8_z.jpgyve32 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49135182941_78fd58eb00_z.jpgyve24 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

We headed back to our room and discussed our plans for the morning.  We wanted to arrive early.  Cass was thinking earlier than I was. She had a friend on the cruise before and got some intel from her and she said arriving early was a good idea.  We went with that plan.

 

I think we were both tired because I don’t remember talking too late before both of us falling asleep.

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1 hour ago, AKR2011 said:

I always look forward to your reviews. Thank you for for posting! Do you have another adventure with Claire and Skip planned?

Thanks!

We don't have a family one planned at this point.  We all went to Disneyland last year, but Skip isn't much of a traveler.

I do have a cruise for Claire and I on the Joy this summer.  I am hoping to cruise on Disney sometime this year as my oldest daughter wants to take her little ones on one, but that's up in the air right now.

 

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19 hours ago, tallnthensome said:

Holy smokes ......................................................................................................................

 

🔥

 

14 hours ago, SenatorsFan said:

Lucky you to win the cruise. I'm looking forward to more details. 😀

Heather

 

I was so shocked! And excited!

 

 

13 hours ago, Gershep said:

What a great experience to win a free cruise. Following your report and hoping you have some Kelly Clarkson pictures.

 

I took a ton of her!  

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13 hours ago, Lorey2007 said:

Looking forward to your trip report.

 

 

Thanks for joining!

 

11 hours ago, ncklhaus said:

Congratulations on winning the cruise! Looking forward to reading more.

 

 

It was pretty exciting!

 

9 hours ago, smrtypnts said:

great trip report so far; thoroughly enjoying it

 

 

Thanks!

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Nov. 21, 2019, Boarding the Encore

 

Today was the day!  It’s always an exciting day when you are going to board a cruise ship! Today was even a little more exciting because not many people had even been on this ship yet and everything was brand new.  In the past, the newest ship I have ever been on was the Disney Dream, which I sailed about 2 months after she was christened. 

 

We got up and showered and I ran over to Starbucks and got myself a pastry and juice (I don’t do coffee) and headed back to the hotel.  We finished getting ready and made sure we had everything and then headed down to get an Uber.  I texted the guy where we were standing on the side of the hotel, thinking that would be the easiest for him to pick us up and then head to the port, but he came from a different way and we ended up having to go across the street to get to him, but it all worked out fine.

 

There were a lot of ships in port today, but we only had eyes for one.

 

49209722407_eaf5846b61_z.jpginaug48 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49209722347_3a63c48566_z.jpginaug49 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

We got dropped off and then headed to the terminal doors.  There was already a line, but it wasn’t too bad yet.  Then they announced that everyone who were in odd floor cabins were to be at door B.  Hunh?  UGH!  That was us!  So we went with the herd over to the B doors and got back in line.

 

49301949292_7272c6f18b_z.jpgcass8 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

We went up the ramp that went around the side and several people tried to get others to follow suit instead of dragging bags up the steps, but evidently not all people are very smart!

 

49209015223_705cb487ec_z.jpginaug50 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

Finally the doors opened and we made our way through the stampede!  Of course people were trying to go up the steps when the people on the ramp had been there longer, and we just shoved our way in.  This is War!  Hahaha

 

We made our way through the security lines and scanned our bags.  I could have easily fit a full size bag in and I wished I had brought one big one instead of 2 small ones.  There were some people that looked like they packed for weeks…but maybe they had? I mean this might not have been their only destination, perhaps they went to some beaches or another cruise (I know some actually did) and added on to this wonderful opportunity.

 

49301953552_193ba2d70f_z.jpginaug180 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49301949257_9323998d9f_z.jpgcass9 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

We got in line to get checked in and it wasn’t too bad yet.

 

49209502386_e927499ffb_z.jpginaug47 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49209722192_85d70969af_z.jpginaug54 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

Once we were checked in they handed us a packet and we headed off to wait for our turn to board.

 

49301250423_e5bb778f9e_z.jpgcass7 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49301949402_68a42d222a_z.jpgcass6 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

We just kept going, not really sure where to go. They asked if we wanted a picture as they were free this time around, but neither of us wanted one.

 

49209722062_034d193dd6_z.jpginaug57 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49209721997_f8c018d219_z.jpginaug58 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49301250538_14e024aa75_z.jpgcass5 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

We found a seat in the terminal and waited.  Cass said if we could connect to the ships wifi we could probably book things like specialty dining, shows, extras, and excursions.  We did so and were able to book just the shows.  We got Kinky Boots and Choir of Man.  Nothing else would allow us to book, so we decided we would try onboard.

 

I had been told that some people were already assigned specialty dining, but they had about 35% of the reservations still left to book onboard.  I also know from reading in cruise groups that those on the sailing before ours were able to book as soon as they got onboard, so we were bound and determined to do just that!

 

As we sat there I asked Cass what she was holding.

 

49209502006_8afe6ab6ed_z.jpginaug55 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

Where the heck did you get that?  She said when we were coming up, there was a guy standing there holding them. She said he just stood there and she asked him if we needed one and he said yes!  Thank goodness she was on the ball.  I did see some people totally missed it and had to go back and of course now got a later boarding number.

 

We opened the packet up and looked at our goodies.

 

49209502436_467c0cecff_z.jpginaug46 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

I had read that on the previous cruise, only the lead passenger got the lanyard and nice little case as well as the commemorative Encore card.  This time around, EVERYONE got one.  Cass doesn’t like lanyards and I told her she should sell it on Ebay.  People in facebook groups wanted them and she could have probably made a pretty penny!  I think she actually took it home for her daughter.

 

This area was not used but it was probably for concierge…at least that’s my guess.

 

49209722267_84445dd801_z.jpginaug52 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

Now my favorite cruise line is Disney. I have sailed from Port Canaveral several times and their terminal is nice.  I have also sailed Disney out of other ports and most are just OK with a warehouse feel.  I have also sailed NCL a few times and have seen nice ports and not so nice ports.  NCL is building a new one which should be open later this year and it is supposed to be very nice.  I didn’t think this terminal was too bad. I like Disney’s better, but this wasn’t bad…..except the way the chairs are lined up.  It was like a maze and crowded. They need a better layout.

 

49209502101_ff5dc91347_z.jpginaug53 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

We started to see people line up and we decided we should probably head that way too.  Many people in line were boarding groups 3 and 4. Um…we have 1, so we kind of pushed our way forward till we found others that had a 1 as well.

 

Once boarding was started, they called groups 1 ….and 2!  Wait!  No fair!!!!!  We went with the herd and it was really hard to move.  There was just a blob of people that had to narrow down to get through a little door. It was a mess!

We then filtered in to another area where we would now blend in with the people from the A side of the terminal. UGH!

 

In the end, Cass and I were towards the very end of the 1 and 2 boarding groups. Not what we planned, but there was nothing we could do about it.

 

We scanned in and headed up the gangway and boarded the ship.

 

Now again, since I sail Disney quite a bit, I like to compare how things are done.  Disney’s boarding process at Port Canaveral is much better, though you still get people standing in front and in the way, just hoping their number 36 boarding number is going to be called after group 1. Hahaha.  But in San Juan is was quite a cluster muffin and people were getting darn right nasty at that terminal.

The boarding process was chaos too.

On NCL, you usually board on the outside deck and then move on down and into the ship.  With Disney, at most ports you get on the ship directly into the atrium, so your first look is Wow!

 

We made our way through quickly and I just followed Cass. She was semi familiar with the layout since she had just been on the Escape about 2 weeks prior.  We headed to the touch screens to try and make some show and dining reservations….and they didn’t work.  We later found out that on boarding day, the touch screens do not work on the deck you board as they want people to keep moving and not stop at them and block others. We went to another floor and got some to work.  No dining options were available at all.

We did get Swimming with pigs (actually I can’t remember if I was able to get that in the terminal or if I got it on the ship) and the go-carts and laser tag for tonight.  Score! 

 

In all the fluster, the first picture I took on the ship was this.

 

49209721942_661902d35f_z.jpginaug59 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

It’s just spot with some seating and I did see people chilling out there during the cruise.

 

Word was spreading that you should go to the dining venue or the box office to get a reservation, so we split up and headed off to try.  Cass had no luck.  I had to wait a bit and they said no dining reservations for this cruise….just like the previous cruise. Which we knew was wrong. We both had been in groups where others said they got them as soon as they boarded.

It was so frustrating.  The lady I talked to even called to double check and was told no.  Of course, for all I know, she could have pretended to call someone just to make me happy. Grrr!  I even showed her the email I got that said dining would be open to book when we boarded, but that didn’t matter.

Well nothing we could do about it and we would keep looking and trying.

 

Since the ship had stayed in port the night before, our rooms were ready and I was ready to get rid of these stupid suitcases I had been towing all around the ship.  We headed to our room

 

The room size really wasn’t too bad.  Again, I sail Disney more often and their rooms are larger than most cruise lines.  This wasn’t too bad, but definitely narrower. 

 

49223400337_bb8082a784_z.jpginaug71 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49223400187_5068476e78_z.jpginaug72 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

I believe Cass made a note to have the beds separated into twins…..but seriously. Look how much room there is. There was literally about 5-6 inches between the beds when they turned them into twins. Hahaha

 

49222693468_564dabbb5c_z.jpginaug73 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

Cass claimed the closet and the bed on that side.  When you make the beds into twins, that bed is right up against the closet so you lose the bottom half basically.

 

This is the couch and also a twin bed.  That’s the mattress!  On DCL they flip it around and a nice comfy mattress comes out. Not here.  This was it! And I laid on it just to test and it was HARD!  Hopefully after a little use it gets a bit softer.

 

49209501736_9577a984e8_z.jpginaug60 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

We took pictures around the room before we messed it up.  And once we took a picture of this coffee maker…into the closet it went. We both hate coffee and it’s just taking up precious space for us.

 

49223078411_b2bafa573a_z.jpginaug61 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

One thing I didn’t like about the TV is that it didn’t pull out. It does swivel, but I like it when they pull out so you can make it look at one side of the room versus the other.

 

49223301772_d2a7b07ef2_z.jpginaug62 by Jenseib, on Flickr 

 

We rarely watched it anyways this trip and when we did it was to see where we were and things like that.

 

This could be used as a coffee table and I think the basket opened and you could put stuff in there…but I might be wrong on that…..  Or use it as the seat to the desk. I did like this. It kind of multi-tasked and saved space.

 

49222594198_f4d97036e6_z.jpginaug63 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

The hair dryer was just OK. Not strong enough to my liking but I have used worse.

 

The mini bar was locked.

 

49223301702_db0f5f72da_z.jpginaug64 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

I don’t even know why that is a thing on a ship.  I would like to just use the fridge to put my own stuff in…like if I had bought water onboard, etc.

 

Overall it’s a very nice room. 

 

49223399417_1aa806a181_z.jpginaug74 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

It would be nice if they put a curtain up to divide the room in half.  If you have kids going to sleep, that would be a nice way to keep it a bit quieter on their side and also keep light out.

 

Our balcony was small, but it was still nice to have!

 

49223400097_2432c2686c_z.jpginaug75 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

We had 2 chairs and a table and currently our view was of Miami!

 

49222593808_1412cc8741_z.jpginaug65 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

Now the balconies below us….WOW!

 

49223400017_9f4841fa17_z.jpginaug76 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49223177291_71a98c39c6_z.jpginaug77 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

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And I can’t forget about the bathroom.

Now, again, on DCL, they have the split bathroom for most rooms and that is the best thing since sliced bread…..but I was very impressed with this bathroom.

 

49223177246_3a47d6c4cd_z.jpginaug78 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

It was very spacious for a cruise room bathroom and I loved the shower.  The door makes a world of difference! I hate those shower curtains that want to have an intimate relationship with you!  The door gives me my personal space!

 

They had shampoo and body wash…no conditioner.  The shampoo may have been an all in one….but homey don’t play that.

 

49222693168_f0f20309cd_z.jpginaug79 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

I actually have my cosmetology license and one thing we learned in school was that you cannot wash and condition at the same time. It just isn’t possible….and those shampoos are typically full of crap…..many including wax to tame your hair.

 

49222693113_7df8c25379_z.jpginaug80 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

The shower nozzle was a little weird. It would not sit right where you could just stand under to rinse…at least for me. It kind of tilted to the side a bit.  I always took it off and just rinsed that way.

Cass said on the Escape, her brother would leave the nozzle in a way that when she turned the water on, she would get a face full of water.  I hope I didn’t leave it that way…and sorry if I did!

 

49223078216_6f403ff8bb_z.jpginaug66 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

Now this is the smartest thing EVER!!!!  Hand soap at the sink.

 

49223177076_ee47fbe060_z.jpginaug81 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

I always brink pump soap on all my trips because I can’t stand washing my hands with bar soap.  This was ingenious!

 

49223399617_1714304d93_z.jpginaug82 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

And glasses right there too!  Again…don’t you hate that when you want to rinse your mouth out after brushing your teeth and you have to go search the room for a glass?  Or if you bring one in, every time the stateroom hosts comes in they clean the glass and put it back in the room.  Hello!  I brought the glass in there for a reason!

 

49222692903_456e0e336f_z.jpginaug83 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

2 hooks in the bathroom, but really they need more. There cannot be too many hooks in a room or bathroom.  The shower did have a small clothes line too though.

 

I will say this is one of the best cruise ship bathrooms.  It was really done well.  Now I will say, like most other cruise lines, there is not a real plug in there.  I don’t get why they don’t put one in?  Many people need to plug something in in the bathroom.  My case in point…Cass uses a water pick.  She HAS to use it because she has braces currently.  She did get an extension cord from guest services to use when she needed to water pick away.  But it stretched all the way from the desk to the bathroom.  Not really smart.

 

We did have 2 bottles of water in our room as well. I am not sure if this is the norm or if this was just because it was a special cruise.  When I emptied my water and was too lazy to go get another one, I did fill it in the bathroom sink and the tap water was fine. I am super fussy with tap water and it was perfectly good.

 

49222692803_ffe85c0951_z.jpginaug84 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

And the Encore is the first ship to use these plant based water bottles.  I thought they were fine, but I heard some complain it gave a weird taste.  I had no issues.

 

By the beds, there are light switches for the lamp, but they also have usb ports to charge your phone or whatever you need with an usb.

 

49235371903_f570017666_z.jpginaug91 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

On the outside of the door, there was a room number and it had lights that lit up. The switches for this was just inside the door.

 

49269637247_b2f2def51c_z.jpgsea48 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

If you wanted your room made up, you just clicked that and it light up next to your number.  If you did not want to be disturbed, then you clicked that button. 

 

49206932947_89d61a392a_z.jpginaug7 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

My guess is the at home button lights up when you have the light card pushed down and activated, though I never tested this theory.

 

……And then, just like many new ships, they had the slot that needs a card to activate the lights in your room.  I brought a card for this purpose, but it had one in already. I am not sure if they are in all rooms for all cruises, or if it was just in there for this cruise.

 

49269637287_11e445c177_z.jpgsea47 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

Now it was time to get some lunch! We headed off to the buffet to see what we could find.

 

49250303858_bac3e47cba_z.jpginaug165 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

I wondered by the dessert case first. They were gorgeous.

 

49223399357_7d63285bfe_z.jpginaug85 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49223301512_89a8115ac2_z.jpginaug67 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49222593958_fcc15bde28_z.jpginaug68 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49222593893_241e3a841b_z.jpginaug69 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49223077921_7ed946fc03_z.jpginaug70 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49353109396_bef2921f50_z.jpginaug101 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49352655918_87d7dc6ac8_z.jpginaug102 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49352655823_8eb8532d95_z.jpginaug103 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49352655768_dacb1101e8_z.jpginaug104 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

I then headed off and got a plate and a few items.

 

49206869192_b2d92304bc_z.jpginaug1 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49353319267_95b8574cf0_z.jpginaug105 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49353109091_d326e5faac_z.jpginaug106 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

The meat was delicious.  Some of the best I have ever had on a ship.  Disney has a carving station for meat like this, but sadly, it usually doesn’t taste that great. This was awesome!

 

Since we had a free drink package, I also went to the bar and got my favorite NCL drink….a Mango Meltdown.  This is the best drink ever!

 

49235372343_7e24343c8e_z.jpginaug86 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

After we had our main meal, Cass and I went and got an array of desserts to try.  Sadly, most were not too good.  More show than flavor.

 

49235842536_c181e48793_z.jpginaug100 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49235371968_01b07308b4_z.jpginaug99 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

I liked this one. Maybe it would be better with some vanilla ice-cream though.

 

49236070352_42eb510e67_z.jpginaug87 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

The cheesecake was good and so was the assorted brittle, but the pink thing was pretty nasty.

 

49206167858_9eef1d1073_z.jpginaug2 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49235372298_2bd175d53e_z.jpginaug88 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49236070287_a7e4a78c41_z.jpginaug89 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49236070237_584120f963_z.jpginaug90 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

Now just to remind you…our cruise was a special cruise, so a lot of the food we had offered to us throughout the cruise is not always offered during regular sailings.

 

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After lunch I did a little exploring.

 

There are many specialty dining options that also have tables outside on deck 8.

 

49206654546_867c706e2d_z.jpginaug3 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49206654516_b715bbf47f_z.jpginaug4 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

None were ever used during out cruise.

 

49206868877_6d9d43d152_z.jpginaug5 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

They also had some comfy seating areas on this deck and I think I took pictures of those later.

 

49244052097_49fb1378e6_z.jpginaug124 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

For those who are smokers, deck 8 is where to go. They have a glassed in room on the port side, aft, on deck 8.  This room has been talked about in many groups and it really is a joke.  I know I took a picture of it at some point and will post it when I come across it. 

The room basically has no ventilation and you could see the waft of smoke coming out when the door opened.  You don’t even need to smoke when entering…You can just go in and breathe and be good!  Hahahah.  It’s small and narrow and has stools for seating.  It’s just not set up well and I understand why many smokers are upset with it.

The other smoking option is in the casino. There is a special closed off room for smokers in there, but you are supposed to be actively gambling in order to smoke in there.

 

Back to the room we went.  Follow the fishies.  They swim towards the front of the ship, so if you are unsure which way you are going, the fish will tell you.

 

49206933007_8650d7db56_z.jpginaug6 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

I think we did a little unpacking and then headed out to get Cass an extension cord at Guest Services.  As she waited, I walked around and took a few pictures.

 

49206932882_e22ed68b4f_z.jpginaug8 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49206717861_20ef3b3e6b_z.jpginaug9 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49206932767_08e58e8b5e_z.jpginaug10 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49206932492_3bf2f38628_z.jpginaug11 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49206932712_a3e423c10c_z.jpginaug13 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49206231618_65115aa412_z.jpginaug14 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49206231578_84c7e87d5a_z.jpginaug15 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49206932632_6cb947d415_z.jpginaug16 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49206231528_8bd774bf4d_z.jpginaug17 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49206231478_c9de7a6138_z.jpginaug18 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49206717691_894e386d83_z.jpginaug19 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

It’s a really big area, but what I find odd is the chandelier is not here.  It’s a little further back.

 

49206932477_acfbd29703_z.jpginaug20 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49208493971_ac7a0a4829_z.jpginaug33 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

They were taking pictures over here and I went and got one while I waited.  It was emailed to me. It was one of those little videos that go back and forth and I looked totally stupid!

 

49208009603_05e7d6de7a_z.jpginaug34 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

The atrium area with the chandelier is just down this way.

 

49208009463_b2271b7a23_z.jpginaug35 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

And here it is in all its splendid glory.  ….Cough… cough…..

 

49208494181_657a597e57_z.jpginaug30 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

We had been watching groups post pictures of this thing…which does change colors…and we kept thinking it had to be wrapped in bubble wrap for the transatlantic crossing.  Then we thought maybe it was still wrapped from NYC to Miami.  Nope!  It’s really meant to be that hideous!  I will say it looks better in person….but not by much.  I have lots of pictures that I will share with you over the course of the review.  I was trying to like it…but they made that hard to do!

 

49208494071_0bd1f7b277_z.jpginaug32 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

The stairs however were gorgeous!

 

49208009758_a6834661db_z.jpginaug31 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

These sculpture things were kind of strange.  They looked different from above.

 

49209609862_d473d3a26f_z.jpginaug36 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

The art gallery is that way, aft. I don’t think I ever really stopped to look at it much.

 

49208904143_2640f67f0e_z.jpginaug37 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49244051867_89b73bb259_z.jpginaug128 by Jenseib, on Flickr

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The Social would have the comedy shows.  We didn’t have to make reservations, but I have heard for regular sailings some shows do need them.

 

49208904118_2cb2ba3444_z.jpginaug38 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

Inside it had a main room and then some side rooms, which I thought was kind of weird.

 

49209390601_4771cf3c7a_z.jpginaug44 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49209390471_f9a8cee874_z.jpginaug45 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49244052312_9cfb139340_z.jpginaug119 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

One of the side rooms.

 

49243836476_18942ccb3e_z.jpginaug120 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49243836041_c48a336f43_z.jpginaug121 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

And here is the other one.

 

49244052192_9eb56ba913_z.jpginaug122 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49243836366_b763241308_z.jpginaug123 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49243364933_b41b1d849c_z.jpginaug125 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49244051962_7f0dd0477b_z.jpginaug126 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

It definitely was not big enough.  The one show we went to was super crowded and our sailing wasn’t even full.

 

49208010113_6e09105b9a_z.jpginaug25 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

Coco’s is an ice-cream shop with an upcharge. The pictures of the offerings looked great, but when I read descriptions I was disappointed. It had a lot of chocolate and other flavor ice-cream and I am a vanilla girl.

 

49209609462_6793502bdd_z.jpginaug39 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49208904093_3da1862863_z.jpginaug40 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49208494306_7ed2220b92_z.jpginaug28 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49208009863_ce23f8accc_z.jpginaug29 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49209609677_e8c986975d_z.jpginaug41 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49209390736_0f7ff103bf_z.jpginaug42 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

The lights were neat!

 

49209609532_939365decd_z.jpginaug43 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

A straight up look at the chandelier.  I really was trying to find a good angle.

 

49208009998_7582b3ce06_z.jpginaug27 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

It’s red now!

 

49208712282_80844fd3af_z.jpginaug26 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49235843071_2f5eca08fe_z.jpginaug92 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

I think this was some sort of art in the area.

 

49243835981_1da1e10af3_z.jpginaug127 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

I believe Cass had gone to waterpick her teeth so I walked around in this area and went up and down checking out the offerings.

 

This was Teppanyaki.

 

49235842846_e9235749f3_z.jpginaug97 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49244051797_d0255a1999_z.jpginaug129 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49244051667_08a755eb63_z.jpginaug130 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49244698962_6d96ffcbf2_z.jpginaug132 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

 I looked out the porthole and took a picture of where the Christening festivities would be tonight.

 

49244698072_b63266d613_z.jpginaug133 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49208712387_d030ce8d2f_z.jpginaug24 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49236070172_b3642cb828_z.jpginaug93 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49235842976_02fbce0f8e_z.jpginaug94 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

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Some servers in there told me Kelly Clarkson was out there and kept pointing. I could not see her.

 

49236070102_96c08c0669_z.jpginaug95 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

This was the only view I could get with my camera but I basically saw the back of her head. She was being interviewed and they were primping her too.

 

49236070087_2382ca3d40_z.jpginaug96 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

She then moved on and went up a ramp and the one lady told me she was coming onboard now. 

 

I left then and looked around some more.

 

Savor and Taste are 2 of the 3 main dining rooms.  We ate at one tonight…I think it was Taste, but I could be wrong. They all serve the same food.

 

49321983788_c0b062029d_z.jpgcass2 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

There is a bar between the 2.

 

49244484721_8e358697ee_z.jpginaug134 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49321983823_f8d35c7924_z.jpgcass1 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49208010213_bdc826b2cd_z.jpginaug23 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49244698837_ceaf3fc0b9_z.jpginaug135 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

687 is this whole area.  These are the decks that all these places are on.  I honestly still had a hard time remembering which had what on which floor.

 

49244484626_73e1e7e39f_z.jpginaug136 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

I believe this light fixture was in the elevator bank. I thought it was pretty cool.

 

49208712497_aa48e36929_z.jpginaug22 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

And there is that little seating area again.

 

49244698717_4214af7383_z.jpginaug137 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

So I was standing near the elevators and stairs and someone said “Kelly is one floor below us right now doing an interview”.  Cool.  I could hear her talk and was kind of a stalker for a bit just waiting for a glimpse.  This is what I got through the mirror. LOL

 

49244013623_f8984ab3b4_z.jpginaug138 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

A couple of guys said they try going down but were told to go back up.

 

I waited around the area a bit in hopes of a glimpse and then went to the bathroom while I waited since it was right there.  Then it seemed a bit quieter after I came out so I decided to head down and look at the kids clubs on that level and maybe get lucky.

 

I believe this is the teen one.  They kept asking me if I had anyone to sign up, which I thought was odd as it said no kids were allowed on this cruise.  We did end up seeing some kids though later.  Some were right down the hall from us.  I am not sure if the parents were someone special or not but there were definitely kids on this cruise.

 

49352655498_7a2fbc70a1_z.jpginaug109 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49353318972_8c421eb84e_z.jpginaug110 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49353108791_3ef0279548_z.jpginaug111 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49352655393_daa4539d49_z.jpginaug112 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

After I checked this club out I headed out towards the other ones and was stopped.  They said there were interviews going on around the corner and I would have to wait.  OK, I’ll come back and look later…..spoiler…I never made it back.  This cruise was too short to do everything I wanted to.

 

Cass and I had messaged each other a few times and we kept missing each other.  I went outside for a bit to have some nice air.  Coming from Ohio in Nov, this was wonderful!

 

49352655613_248181aefe_c.jpgInaug107 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

I found Cass and it was close to Muster Drill time now.

 

49353319067_6831983c4e_z.jpginaug108 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

We were in the Local for our station, which was perfect!  We figured we would go early and hopefully find a seat.

 

Now the Local is an area with bars and seats and also food that you can order that is included with the price of your cruise.

On some other ships it is call O’Sheehan’s.   On the Escape it is called O’Sheehan’s.  Cass would talk about it and she would say “O’she HENS”. I busted up laughing the first time she said it. 

Now before you think I am mean…..I say so many names of places wrong. I do it ALL the time.  Cass always busts out laughing at my incorrect pronunciations of things.  FINALLY….FINALLY…I got to correct her on one.  She would say it sometimes and then correct herself and that was just as funny.  It really is hard to say something the right way after thinking it was pronounced a different way.  I’ll be the first to admit that I still say things wrong that she has told me how to correctly say it.  It’s hard to change!

 

49235842801_1d8d6c5c43_z.jpginaug98 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

We arrived early and found a spot and gabbed and gabbed.  Good thing we got there early as people were crowded all over by the time it started.

We were both pretty thirsty and I know you really aren’t supposed to eat or drink while the drill goes on, but it hadn’t started yet and a server walked by and we asked if we could get some water and he brought us some!  I was so happy!  I really had been thirsty.  It made sitting there for that time much better.

 

 

After the drill was over we took our time as we didn’t want to get caught in the rush of people.

Typically sail away happens not long after, but it was actually scheduled for midnight tonight because of the festivities.

 

This piece of …art??? …Was hanging down from the floor above. I got a picture of it from below and I know I have a picture of it from the floor above somewhere too.

 

49352655293_b43932ed1e_z.jpginaug114 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49352655243_550482c779_z.jpginaug115 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

I think Cass went to look around at something and I took pictures.

 

This is the photo gallery area.

 

49244484521_7569042b84_z.jpginaug139 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49244013543_2f046fefaf_z.jpginaug140 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49244483706_04cb6da493_z.jpginaug141 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49244013498_d52c9f28be_z.jpginaug142 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49208009548_48c9722fc0_z.jpginaug21 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

The shops were all closed today.  There were set up much different than my last NCL cruise, which was on the Jewel.  This is a nicer set up but I didn’t think they had a lot to offer.

 

49244484336_a81b59346e_z.jpginaug143 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

I believe Cass headed to do something  and I went off on my own a bit.

I found the picture of the smoking room, so I must have taken it then.  As you can see it’s pretty narrow and small.

 

49352655353_6c19ec62f5_z.jpginaug113 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

One guy walked in and said “I am so jealous of this box for smokers. I am going to complain and hope to get a box for non- smokers with fake bars on the windows too”.  It was so hilarious the way he said it!

 

Here are the comfy chairs and couches on deck 8.

 

49244484286_91dd07caf2_z.jpginaug144 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

Cass said that on the Escape there were families that would take over areas of these and never leave.  They would be totally stretched out and would not allow others to sit.  She sat on them later in the cruise and said now she understood why.  They were great!

 

49244013373_d7c72172e8_z.jpginaug145 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

Another view of the light fixture.

 

49244698367_b3a7f84232_z.jpginaug147 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

And the dangling art from the floor above.

 

49243836791_44d86c36fc_z.jpginaug116 by Jenseib, on Flickr

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I now tried to look at some of the specialty dining venues. I never made it to all of them and some I walked by the outside but never got pictures.

 

This is Cellars I believe, which is a wine bar if memory serves me right.

 

49244013148_6547f0ac0b_z.jpginaug148 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

A lot of places had signs like this each day.  With so many special people onboard they had a lot of private functions.

 

49244013088_8c58b9f233_z.jpginaug149 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49244698227_1bf4ff3d39_z.jpginaug150 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

This is NCL’s new restaurant, Onda.  I hear it’s great, but it wasn’t meant to be for us.

 

49244699017_2f2a21beba_z.jpginaug131 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49244483806_950232ceac_z.jpginaug151 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49244012808_d1637c266d_z.jpginaug152 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

Back to the room!  Follow the fishes!  One thing I did not like was the narrow halls. The doorways indented in and if someone was walking towards you, one would have to duck into a doorway to let the other pass.  Luckily, we didn’t have to put bags in the hall this trip, but I can’t imagine how people can easily get down the hall if bags are all sitting along the walls.

 

49244052417_d378f0b43e_z.jpginaug117 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49243836596_6960d4ebc7_z.jpginaug118 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

Our event was going to start soon.  We chilled in the room a bit and got dressed into a little bit dressier clothes.  Cass said she did read on one of our handouts that they did not want people to wear shorts to this.

 

We enjoyed our balcony a bit.  My pictures came out super overexposed and I tried to fix them as best I could.

 

49310935992_fca7e72bd7_z.jpgmiami37 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49310733311_1bbfd3fdb4_z.jpgmiami38 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49310935817_b203412a52_z.jpgmiami39 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49310233758_2c06a3ba8d_z.jpgmiami40 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49310233638_0e077ac22d_z.jpgmiami41 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

We decided to head down and join the crowds.

 

49310461542_81a5d56fe0_z.jpgkelly81 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

Lots was going on already

 

49310258321_0a82b07a34_z.jpgkelly82 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

They had little snacks for us too.

 

49310258231_01ba1bde81_z.jpgkelly83 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

I forced Cass to get a picture.  Neither of us like our picture taken, but we had to have at least 1 together.

 

49209041978_497c52e230_z.jpgchrist1 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

The countdown till show time!

 

49310461412_0882e727ae_z.jpgkelly84 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

I had hoped to livestream some of the event but the wifi didn’t work well once we went into the building and my data was horrid in there too.  I did take a few video snippets here and there and I will post some as we go. I will also include some youtube videos by others if you are interested in seeing how some of the events went.

 

We got some drinks.

 

49310258126_95b1c93887_z.jpgkelly85 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

 

 

And headed in to find some seats. We found more treats and made a stop for those too.

 

49310258091_e766a1a923_z.jpgkelly86 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49310037151_40ba1885af_z.jpgkelly79 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

We decided to sit in the middle that had a large walkway aisle so we wouldn’t be cramped.  The chairs were tiny and lined up all next to each other. We took up 3 or 4 between the 2 of us so we would have room.  I noticed a lot of people did that too.

 

49310241102_8ffdd0e39e_z.jpgkelly80 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

The lady with the green poof hair…Very nice lady…but her poof was in all my pictures.  Hahahaah

 

49310373573_8414299f0a_z.jpgkelly87 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

They had a few rows of upstairs seating as well.

 

49310873116_0754366341_z.jpgkelly88 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49310873051_77f40e705d_z.jpgkelly90 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49310373408_4d6cb6a7cc_z.jpgkelly91 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

I had a glass of champagne.

 

49309535738_233aebafeb_z.jpgkelly78 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

I headed out to get a bottle of water before it started and took a little video then too.  Just an FYI…I am the world’s worst videoer!

 

 

 

It was loud but fun.

 

 

 

  The show started with Choir of Man.  They gave us a preview of their act.  I will tell you now, the actual show is one of the best I have ever seen on a cruise ship.  It is so much fun!  Cass had seen it on the Escape and she had been raving about it and said we must see it.  Even before she had gone, I had watched some videos and knew it was something I would love.

 

 

 

49310037261_eb9e1c5413_c.jpgkelly77 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49310241512_0e637c2480_c.jpgkelly76 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49310037431_cdccae27fc_z.jpgkelly75 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

It was a great way to start the event!

 

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There were a lot of speakers at this event…after all it was a Christening of a brand new ship.  Elvis Duran and Froggy are Godparents to another ship…which if memory serves me right, is the Bliss.

 

They came out to speak a bit.

 

49311075712_03c41b3a83_z.jpgkelly92 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

Honestly, I have heard of them, but they mean nothing to me.  I believe they have a radio show in New York, but as far as I know, the rest of the world doesn’t know who they are.

 

They seem like very nice gentleman though.

 

49310372578_b82bafbb49_z.jpgkelly93 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49310373273_8fd1424ba9_z.jpgkelly94 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

Then Andy Stuart came out!  Yay!!!!!!!!!

 

49311075642_44b58489a9_z.jpgkelly95 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

Andy is a big wig….but is leaving NCL this year. Most everyone LOVES Andy. He seems like the nicest guy.

 

49311075642_44b58489a9_z.jpgkelly95 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49310872781_dcfbaaac27_z.jpgkelly96 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

 

 

49310242117_03c736ba57_z.jpgkelly67 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

 

 

I could listen to him all day long!  Love that accent!

 

And then Harry Sommer came out. He is taking Andy’s place.  I am just having a hard time liking him. He seems really nice but he has really big shoes to fill and I do wish him luck. I think he is going to get a lot of comparisons to Andy though for quite a while.

 

49311075512_2f0c7fd40f_z.jpgkelly97 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

And then Frank Del Rio came out. He’s the top dog with NCL.

 

49310872696_a0a55d4008_z.jpgkelly98 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49307230477_af55ac448c_z.jpgkelly56 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

And then we had a blessing of the ship.

 

49307026911_ce9fa1e304_z.jpgkelly57 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49311075442_7b786c7a33_z.jpgkelly99 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49307026881_f5b58421ce_z.jpgkelly58 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

The screen in the background would flash to all sorts of things and I thought this Miami one was pretty.

 

49311075422_e97ace3c46_z.jpgkelly100 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49306528893_cabb366ea0_z.jpgkelly59 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

Elvis and Froggy were like the MC’s of the event, so they came out often to introduce things or talk.

 

49306528843_a32d2a8bea_z.jpgkelly60 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49311075382_ab167644d7_z.jpgkelly101 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

This The Mayor of Miami, Carlos Gimenez..

 

49310872461_61652edb9d_z.jpgkelly102 by Jenseib, on Flickr

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Now it was time for a little more entertainment.  Kinky Boots is the show for this ship and they performed one song from this show.

 

49310872406_1f372f4801_z.jpgkelly103 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49311075162_6e984822fc_z.jpgkelly104 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49311074947_8712f54cb5_z.jpgkelly105 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49307045686_8063455c8b_z.jpgkelly61 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49307248922_05aed0e76b_z.jpgkelly62 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

Aren’t they beautiful?  I will tell you more on this later…..

 

49311088426_1c375513cc_z.jpgkelly106 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49311088331_f56bf850a6_z.jpgkelly107 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49311287782_069f72a2d1_z.jpgkelly108 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49307045576_3eddaf2310_z.jpgkelly63 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49311287717_28625bb9a1_z.jpgkelly109 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49311287662_1b23399313_z.jpgkelly111 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49311287522_3dba15492d_z.jpgkelly113 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49310588043_0a523fec2b_z.jpgkelly114 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49307045511_c08dfd89b4_z.jpgkelly64 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49310587973_fe0397da11_z.jpgkelly115 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49311287352_fb5b96902f_z.jpgkelly117 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

Now if you don’t know what Kinky Boots is about, I’ll give a quick explanation.  There is a young guy who takes over his father’s boring shoe company.  He’s losing money and is thinking of shutting it down.  He meets a drag queen and together they come up for an idea for boots for basically drag queens…”kinky boots”.  Of course they have their ups and downs and there are some fun songs and dances…So now when we actually go to see this show in full, you have an idea what we are watching!

 

Of course when Elvis and Froggy came back out, there was a pair of Kinky Boots being worn.

 

49309536333_d6f38f41ed_z.jpgkelly69 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

We then were introduced to the most important man on this ship….the Captain!

 

49311287237_664e09971d_z.jpgkelly119 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49309536233_fd38faa86c_z.jpgkelly70 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49310037766_a1e34cd730_z.jpgkelly71 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

Now for some fun.  They were looking for the champagne bottle. Andy to the rescue!  He took off on one of the go-carts and raced around Miami to retrieve the champagne bottle (all on the screen) and then he arrived on stage to deliver it!

 

49311287157_a18192f75e_z.jpgkelly122 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49311087671_a4b14cb7b8_z.jpgkelly123 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

 

 

They invited the big families up then to the stage.

 

49310587663_0faa410f43_z.jpgkelly124 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49310037741_6d43e4dfd3_z.jpgkelly72 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

And now it was time for the Godmother!!!!

 

 

 

49311087516_0bb285f0ac_z.jpgkelly126 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49309536103_ba253d137f_z.jpgkelly73 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49301885021_2b4741fb69_z.jpgkelly55 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49311286932_c4ca3d239c_z.jpgkelly127 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

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She wanted to be referred to as a “fairy” Godmother!  LOL!

 

49310587368_a7baa7e4a8_z.jpgkelly128 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49310587293_728315ecde_z.jpgkelly129 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49310587138_841a532402_z.jpgkelly130 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49312249923_172bd64e85_z.jpgkelly131 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

She was disappointed that she couldn’t actually crack the champagne bottle onto the ship. The down side is with us all being inside we didn’t actually see the bottle crack on the ship. It was on the screens.  Bummer!

 

49312249893_48831f2486_z.jpgkelly132 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

The ship is now officially Christened!  Yay!  This was such a cool experience to be part of. I was so happy to be able to attend this event.

 

It now turned dark and we waited a bit and figured that Kelly would be out soon to sing. 

 

 

 

Nope!  It was these dancing light guys.

 

49312249793_55fb531e9f_z.jpgkelly133 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49312955237_f908c47b50_z.jpgkelly134 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

 

 

49312955227_03e5e9af38_z.jpgkelly135 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

Then Elvis and gang came out to talk a bit more and Kelly must have been not ready yet because it was clear they were making up stuff to talk about while we waited. It was kind of funny.

 

Then she finally came back out for a concert!

 

 

 

49123638728_24056db656_z.jpgkelly1 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49124323032_b3cb764d49_z.jpgkelly2 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49312747436_1cdafd23c1_z.jpgkelly137 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49312249568_548a2e6ca0_z.jpgkelly138 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49312747356_9e010ebf48_z.jpgkelly139 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49124322947_6816587c5e_z.jpgkelly3 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49124322897_c37c694a57_z.jpgkelly4 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49124134181_53cb84c70c_z.jpgkelly5 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49301397313_03326e6c2a_z.jpgkelly45 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49125174136_9e83126d47_z.jpgkelly6 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

 

 

49125356267_57e91080f9_z.jpgkelly7 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

I used to play the trombone, so I always love taking pictures of others who do.

 

49124680223_b6116f0461_z.jpgkelly8 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49124680193_5df135daa2_z.jpgkelly9 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49125356177_25b76c7962_z.jpgkelly10 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49125455652_0a1e0c84f2_z.jpgkelly11 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49301885456_48a8bc51a9_z.jpgkelly47 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49301397563_5637075672_z.jpgkelly48 by Jenseib, on Flickr

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jenseib

jenseib

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Hey hey hey…..just walk away!!!!

 

 

 

49301886381_00024d74e1_z.jpgkelly33 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49125272946_974292d628_z.jpgkelly13 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49124780238_ee9101da59_z.jpgkelly14 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49124780198_f433dafaf7_z.jpgkelly15 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49125455202_ec718ca30e_z.jpgkelly16 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

Yes, I took a ton of pictures, but I had my zoom lens so I was taking advantage of it.

 

49124779843_e8dd35282f_z.jpgkelly22 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49124780173_fed755dc0e_z.jpgkelly17 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49125272876_53070e0ecc_z.jpgkelly18 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49124780123_fe69c8af25_z.jpgkelly20 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49125272736_57a1fd922c_z.jpgkelly21 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

The Choir of Man and Kinky Boots cast members came out to join the fun in the audience.

 

49312798131_a0007b26c5_z.jpgkelly142 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49125272711_a0a5deaf89_z.jpgkelly23 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49125272681_fbc60b27cf_z.jpgkelly24 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49301886306_1f6d766946_z.jpgkelly34 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49124780003_d215cf5503_z.jpgkelly26 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49124779943_f21db993aa_z.jpgkelly28 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

I think she sees me!

 

49125272536_4b04d831af_z.jpgkelly29 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

They threw out lighted balls and everyone was batting them around!

 

49312300603_5bdc7c5f90_z.jpgkelly144 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49312300558_d36a513813_z.jpgkelly145 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

I had one come right at me and I batted it at the last second.

 

 

 

That’s the main guy from Kinky Boots.

 

49301398613_9b430a0ff0_z.jpgkelly31 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49312797856_e5a8e617bf_z.jpgkelly146 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49301398183_967ee8092a_z.jpgkelly38 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

 

 

 

 

49313006497_485c4806be_z.jpgkelly148 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49301885856_5a2acdec42_z.jpgkelly40 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49313006402_f6c865c8cb_z.jpgkelly150 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49301397993_3b4ae759bd_z.jpgkelly41 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

And then it was over. It was super cool and fun!

 

 

49302099977_86dc05c0b9_z.jpgkelly42 by Jenseib, on Flickr\\

 

This is Norwegians video of the events of the night.  It’s very nice and shows it all in a nice condensed way!  The best parts start at about 11:33 in the video.

 

 

 

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We waited a while as we didn’t want to travel with the stampede of people getting on the ship.  When calmed down a bit we moved out.

 

49301885606_f8a7cfd61d_z.jpgkelly43 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49301885501_7328b0c150_z.jpgkelly46 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49301885266_e7ac7c0c28_z.jpgkelly51 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49302099582_c4d6c9c3c5_z.jpgkelly49 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49302099542_f08cd6ffa7_z.jpgkelly50 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

 

Back on the ship…another look at that light fixture…and sculpture below.

 

49324949427_b7846fe824_z.jpginaug182 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49324250068_fdc041e6ef_z.jpginaug183 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

Cass ran to the room and I went off for a few minutes and caught the new MSC Meraviglia.  I talked to a few people who just got off her that morning and they said it was a beautiful ship, but MSC does things a little differently and they preferred NCL.

 

49324949317_d493349469_z.jpginaug184 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49324733216_073d363888_z.jpginaug185 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49324949297_7eb48aa93a_z.jpginaug186 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

I met up with Cass and we headed to dinner.  We went to Taste….I think…it was Taste or Savor, but I don’t remember which one now.

 

We had a cozy table just for the 2 of us.  Cass is like me, neither of us wanted to dine with strangers.  I know some people like that, but it’s not for us.

 

NCL has the best rolls. 

 

49324733626_c2233d7ca1_z.jpginaug187 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

They had a very limited menu tonight with just a few items. Again, this is not a normal menu for this ship.

 

49324949212_f898d163e7_z.jpginaug188 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

I went with the shrimp cocktail for an appetizer and it was yummy.

 

49324249883_c394f9a6e7_z.jpginaug189 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

And we both got surf and turf as our entrees.

 

49324249838_4791e2181f_z.jpginaug190 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

Cass doesn’t like “surf” so I ate hers too.  It was the best lobster I have had on any cruise ship.  It had so much flavor.  My meat was also fabulous but Cass said hers was just ok.

 

49324249818_031702c16c_z.jpginaug191 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

We watched these 2 ladies the whole meal. They barely spoke a word to each other the whole time. They would look at their plate, out the window, around the dining room. We wondered if they were strangers or if they had a fight.

 

49324733346_99775897da_z.jpginaug192 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

When they got up to leave they both started talking to each other, so they knew each other.  And they chatted the whole way out.  Then we saw them a few times around the ship and they were always chatting away with each other.  We had to laugh. We have no clue why they gave each other the silent treatment the whole meal.

 

I don’t remember if this way my dessert or Cass’?  I actually can’t remember if I even ordered any. I’m thinking I was too full after 2 lobsters.

 

49324733286_46c4b607a7_z.jpginaug193 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

It had the gross gel stuff that some of the DCL desserts have and I always peal it off.

 

After dinner, Cass went to water pick her teeth and then I joined her a bit later and changed to comfy clothes.  We then did some more exploring.  I am going to add right here, that even though we looked at a lot of the ship, there were areas I never went to. Sorry…it was a big ship and a short cruise…and between all the meals…I just didn’t have time! Hahahaah

 

We went to the Galaxy Pavilion which has virtual reality things in there.  Virtual Reality tends to make me sick, so I had no interest in trying it out.

 

49324948982_3d35060481_z.jpginaug194 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49324733176_f7b15aab14_z.jpginaug195 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49327539391_93dd5eaa82_z.jpginaug196 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

Cass did this one day and she said it was just OK. She’s done much better ones.  I have read in groups that others think it is great. So it probably depends on what experiences you have had before this.

 

49327061563_0ff1e99835_z.jpginaug197 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

We walked by the American Diner.  This was a place I wanted to try but it never worked out for me.  Cass did get there once.

 

49327539266_5ed6e8f118_z.jpginaug198 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49327758422_c2af245b70_z.jpginaug199 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49327539191_f94f9605e1_z.jpginaug200 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

We went and checked out the go-carts.

 

49327061368_48ec7b68f8_z.jpginaug201 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49327061298_087c3909f1_z.jpginaug202 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

49327061218_f8638bf3cd_z.jpginaug203 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

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