Our S2S Adventure - Freedom / Spirit (with pics) - 1/7/23

[Jamman54]

It wasn’t long before the Pilot Boat came alongside to pick up the Pilot…..

 

 

 

This is what is left of the sail away party…..

 

 

 

Once we were a couple miles offshore you could feel the seas getting really rough. I made my way back to the cabin. Patti told me that her luggage had arrived and that she was all done unpacking. I stepped out onto our balcony where you could see that it was getting pretty nautical out there….

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To be continued….

[Jamman54]

Patti and I never get seasick, knock on wood, so our thoughts turned to dinner. We decided that the Deli would be just fine tonight. But first, we would head back to Serenity to catch tonight’s sunset. That’s Miami in the distance…..

 

 

The sun is setting over Miami…..

 

 

Turning around we look up at the waterslides…..

 

 

Looking at the Serenity Pool you can see the water sloshing around pretty good. It’s freezing out here, and yet there are still people in the hot tub…..

 

 

 

 

This poor girl has to stay at her post taking care of the towels…..

 

 

The Serenity Bar is empty. Where did everybody go?

 

 

Walking into the La Playa Grille we noticed it was also virtually deserted. I’m sure the condition of the seas had something to do with it…..

 

 

 

To be continued…..

[Jamman54]

We check out the offerings at the Salad Bar…..

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is one of several Drink Stations…..

 

 

This is the Dessert Station…..

 

 

 

 

 

This is the Seafood Corner. This section is Chopsticks for lunchtime…..

 

 

To be continued…..

[Jamman54]

This is the La Playa Grille Bistro menu. Most of what’s on here was available at the Empire Restaurant (MDR)…..

 

 

Tonight’s Bistro offerings…..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From the Deli I got two grilled ham and cheese sandwiches and fries…..

 

 

Patti got herself a Southwest wrap…..

 

 

Afterwards, Patti went to check out the shops and then back to the cabin. I went to the Alchemy Bar for a couple of Pain Reliefs. The Alchemists for this cruise are Katia, Giovanni, and Alexandra.

 

At 7pm I left the Alchemy Bar and headed to the Versailles Lounge on Deck 1 for the 7:30 Comedy show starring Tim Kaminski. After I had been served my usual Punchliner drink, the announcement was made that this show had been cancelled. Both comedians, the other being Mark Hawkins, would do a Comedy Showcase in the Pharaoh’s Palace Theater at 10pm.

 

I made my way to the Spirit Lobby Bar where I would hang out with Roma for a while…..

 

 

I listened to the Art Shake Trio do their last set, and then the Latin Golden Sound do their first set, before calling it a night. With the ship rocking like it is, I’m going to sleep good tonight!

 

 

 

Coming up next: Our Day at Princess Cay! (Maybe).

[Guest BasicSailor]

Amazingly beautiful.😎

[luvcruzing]

You weren’t kidding when you said it was cold.  I’ve never seen the South Beach beach so bare.  
 

[luvcruzing]

I hope you got a chance to see Tim Kaminski.  I saw him once and thought he was very funny.

[Jamman54]

20 hours ago, luvcruzing said:

You weren’t kidding when you said it was cold.  I’ve never seen the South Beach beach so bare.  
 

 

You are right. I have never seen South Beach so sparse! 

 

20 hours ago, luvcruzing said:

I hope you got a chance to see Tim Kaminski.  I saw him once and thought he was very funny.

 

Yes I did and he was very good! 

[Jamman54]

Day # 12 – (January 15^th) – Princess Cay (8:30am – 4:30pm).

 

We were up to a much warmer sunny day. The seas are a lot calmer than last night, but still a bit bumpy. Here is the view from our balcony looking forward and aft…..

 

 

 

We were treated to a beautiful sunrise this morning…..

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here are today’s “Fun Times”……

 

 

 

Patti puts a few bags of laundry together and gives them to our Room Steward Jay. Our plan for today is to head ashore after the rush, take some pictures, have some lunch and a few drinks, and then come back to the ship. Here is the General Water Shuttle information for our day at Princess Cay…..

 

 

Here is the Priority Water Shuttle information…..

 

 

To be continued…..

[Jamman54]

Around 8am Captain Bovo made the announcement that the sea conditions made the Water Shuttles unsafe to operate, so that our call at Princess Cay was cancelled and we would have a sea day. I would have to agree with his assessment…..

 

 

 

The Captain also said that the port fees would be refunded to our Sail & Sign accounts, and that we would arrive in Grand Turk tomorrow at 9am instead of 11am. That sounds good to me. We are sailing away from Princess Cay….

 

 

Some of the Senior Officers were hanging around Guest Services to help deal with any passenger’s questions or concerns. It seems for the most part, people understood why this port stop was cancelled…..

 

 

 

 

 

Roma is getting the Spirit Lobby Bar ready for action!

 

 

Now that today is now a sea day, Patti and I head up to the Lido for some omelets…..

 

 

To be continued……

[Jamman54]

After filling our bellies, I’m going to head over to the Red Frog Rum Bar for some Thirsty Frog Wheats, and Patti is going to walk around and take some pictures of venues that she missed yesterday.

 

Patti heads to the forward elevator bank, and then heads down to Deck 1 to check out the Versailles Lounge. This is where the Comedy Shows are held…..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is the bar in the back of the lounge where on Spirit Class ships, I watch the shows from…..

 

 

Patti goes down to Deck 0 where the Medical Center is…..

 

 

 

 

To be continued…….

[Jamman54]

Patti heads back up to the Promenade Deck 2 and checks out some of the venues at the front of the ship that she didn’t get to yesterday. She starts with the Monarch’s Card Room. Books and games are available here…….

 

 

 

 

 

Across the way are a Sail & Sign Kiosk and an ATM…..

 

 

Here is the Fountain Café Coffee Bar…..

 

 

 

 

Park West has a table set up nearby…..

 

 

 

 

To be continued……

[Jamman54]

Patti continues on Deck 2 forward. Here is the Red Frog Pub…..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To be continued…..

[luvcruzing]

 

Are those pastries complimentary?

[Jamman54]

Here are some of the Red Frog Pub menus…..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Right next door to the Red Frog Pub is the Skybox Sports Bar…..

 

 

 

 

 

 

To be continued…..

[Jamman54]

1 minute ago, luvcruzing said:

 

Are those pastries complimentary?

 

Yes, these are in the morning. Later on in the day they put out the cakes, chocolate covered strawberries, etc, and these are not. 

 

[Jamman54]

Patti heads up the stairs to Deck 3 to check out the Shanghai Piano Bar…..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Patti has collected some useful information for you…..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To be continued…..

[Jamman54]

This is the Spirit Captain and Team…..

 

 

 

Patti heads aft to the upper level of the Empire Restaurant……

 

 

 

 

They will be serving lunch here today…..

 

 

Patti heads all the way up to Deck 11 to check out the water slides and Water Works…..

 

 

 

 

 

 

To be continued……

[Jamman54]

Patti now heads forward on Deck 10. She takes one look back at the Green Thunder waterslide…..

 

 

She’s looking down at the Dome Pool…….

 

 

She moves forward to the Sun Pool…..

 

 

Patti joins me for a drink at the Red Frog Rum Bar…..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To be continued…..

[Jamman54]

Patti is going to go to Soul Play to do some arts and crafts. On the way she takes another shot of the Dome Pool, and of DJ Dillandro who is spinning the tunes….

 

 

 

 

Patti has made it to Soul Play where they have a huge amount of art supplies…..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Patti has her wooden squares and her paint……

 

 

 

The class is about to begin…..

 

 

Here are Patti’s finished works. Not bad babe!

 

 

Here are some parting words……

 

 

To be continued…..

[Jamman54]

Afterwards, Patti made her way back to the cabin, and shortly thereafter I joined her. We hung out all afternoon just relaxing inside, and on our balcony…..

 

 

 

 

Tonight, we are having dinner at Bonsai Sushi. Here are the food and drink menus…..

 

 

 

 

While we were waiting for our food, Patti took a few pictures around the restaurant…..

 

 

 

 

 

My drink has arrived. I’m having the Sake Sangria. Very tasty!

 

 

To be continued…..

[Jamman54]

Here are Patti and I at Bonsai Sushi…..

 

 

 

We both started with the Miso soup…..

 

 

 

 

Next, Patti had a side salad, and I had the Kakuni…..

 

 

 

For our mains, Patti had the California rolls without wasabi, and I had the Bento box…..

 

 

 

For dessert, we both had the green tea cupcakes…..

 

 

This is our server, Aileen. She is such a sweetheart!

 

 

To be continued…..

[willdra]

On 2/10/2023 at 9:10 AM, Megan_Strick said:

Wildra, when are you cruising again? I miss you!

We will be on the Horizon April 29, and Celebration May 28. Our Oct. cruise is still M.I.A.  ♥️🛳♥️

[Jamman54]

While we were enjoying our dessert at Bonsai Sushi, the Captain’s Toast was beginning in the Spirit Lobby. Our Cruise Director Todd was the host…..

 

 

The Senior Officers lined the stairways……

 

 

 

On the balcony, Captain Ettore Bovo is in the center, with Hotel Director Lars Juel on the left, and Chief Engineer Antonio Bottaro on the right…..

 

 

 

Captain Bovo proposes his toast…..

 

 

The toast being over, the Hot Shots start their set in the Spirit Lobby…..

 

 

 

We decide that this is a good time to pick up our $25 free play in the casino. On the way there we passed the Fun Hub, which is between the Spirit Lobby and the casino…..

 

 

To be continued……

[Jamman54]

I went to the Skybox Sports Bar to watch the end of the Giants / Vikings game…..

 

 

 

 

Patti walked around taking some more pictures. Here she passes the Alchemy Bar where Danilo is playing guitar tunes……

 

 

 

 

Patti heads up to an empty La Playa Grille to grab an ice cream to take back to the cabin…..

 

 

 

She takes this last shot looking down the Spirit Atrium, and then calls it a night…..

 

 

After celebrating the Giants win, I made my way to the Comedy Show starring Mark Hawkins. He was great as always. Afterwards, I went to the Alchemy Bar where Giovanni made me a couple of Pain Reliefs to help get me ready for bed. Here is tonight’s towel animal…..

 

 

Coming up next: Back at Grand Turk and hanging out at Jack’s.