Cruising the Middle East

Posted on April 28, 2023 by LBcruiseshipblogger

Lirica in Khasab, Oman

After boarding the MSC Lirica in Trieste, Italy and cruising around the Mediteranean for a bit with a port stop in Croatia, and several in Greece, the ship headed through the Suez Canal, which runs through Egypt.

our ship’s tug and the container ship behind us in the Suez Canal

Cruising through the Suez Canal is a unique experience. It’s mostly a narrow waterway where ships follow one another through in a line, each escorted by a tug. A new part wide enough for two-way traffic allows ships to pass one another in that section, increasing the amount of ships that can pass through the canal in a day. One side of the canal has much more greenery and life than the other, which is mostly desert sand.

waiting to go through customs at the port in Eilat

Our first stop after passing through the Suez Canal was in Eilat Israel, where security is heavy and getting of the ship is a major process. We followed that with a stop the next day just across the bay in Aqaba Jordan, where disembarking is the same as the average port stop. By just across the bay, I mean that literally as we could see the port where we had been the previous day from the ship. From the top of the ship in Aqaba you can see 4 countries. Besides Jordan and Israel, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia are visible in the distance. We did not know this until our guide on the bus to Petra said so and it was dark by the time we got back so we couldn’t look for the landmarks he said were in each of those countries.

the treasury, the most famous rock building in Petra

The guide also said the border between Israel and Jordan used to be closed, but they have a peace treaty now and it’s not that hard to cross between them. Jordan is its own country now, though in the past it was occupied by others including Ottomans and British. Although Arabic is the official language, a lot of people there speak English. Jordan has many sites of historical and religious significance including Petra. Petra is a UNESCO world heritage site and one of the wonders of the world. Even the small portion you have time to see on a cruise ship excursion is amazing.

After Aqaba we had 4 days at sea, during which we found out not only had the crew been going through pirate training while we were at port in Jordan, but there were also pirate protection guards on board who had joined the ship at our first port in Split, Croatia. They were rumored to be from Yugoslavia. All big burly guys, at least the ones we saw.

Each cabin was given a security notice saying that for 6 days we would be traveling through areas considered at risk of piracy and as such we would be under the control and protection of international naval forces. The paper went on to say Blue Code means suspicious vessel spotted, crew members are to start procedures to evacuate open decks. Orange Code means the concern is real and everyone is to leave outside decks immediately. Red Code means there is an emergency and to follow the directions of the trained crew. It also said the outside areas of the promenade deck 6 would be closed for the duration of our time through waters likely to be pirate infested and continuously patrolled by security staff. Balcony lights had to stay off at night and all curtains closed.

map of the Middle East

On all the cruises we’ve taken, this is the first to have piracy warning procedures. Of course it is also our first time sailing past places like Yemen and Somalia. In the event of a pirate attack, hopefully the guards they hire for cruise ships are better than the ones hired by a commercial diving company my son used to work for. When one of their ships was boarded by pirates the so-called guards locked themselves below deck and let the crew get kidnapped. The company did pay the ransom to get them back – and probably looked elsewhere to hire any future guards.

Weather on the sea days was generally clouds and fog with some sun and wind. One day had sun, wind, fog, and rain all within the same hour, though the rain was just a sprinkle. The ports tended to be sunnier. On the second sea day between Jordan and Salalah, Oman, another ship came near and the cruise ship dropped a speed boat which went to the other ship, picked up something, and came back. Normally the only boats that approach cruise ships are tugs going in and out of port, and pilot boats who drop off or pick up the local pilot who guides the ship through the channels leading into and out of ports or through narrow waterways. Another passenger we met who worked out in the gym with the guard crew said he was told the boat picked up guns for the guards, which they would need in case we came across any pirates.

mini golf on the Lirica

Meanwhile with several days of no ports passengers had to entertain themselves onboard. We tried the mini golf, for which you have to sign out one club and ball from staff by the stage in the pool area with your room card so golf equipment was only available during their staffed hours. If each person in the room wants one they have to sign for it individually, you can’t get 2 on the same card. Then you take those to the other end of the ship and up a deck to the course, which has just 7 holes. All the other ships we’ve been on that had mini golf had clubs and balls next to the course for people to use whenever they wanted. The course looked a bit the worse for wear with the astroturf worn out in places, but we still had fun. Some of the holes (which were made from kitchen sink drains) were not firmly in place. One stuck out above the green deflecting balls. The next one someone had used for an ash tray and left cigarette butts in it proving once again no matter where you go people are pigs. (Sorry actual pigs, that’s an insult to you.) Speaking of actual pigs one day they served suckling pig. Poor little babies. They served veal a lot too. Apparently they like eating very young baby animals. Along with organ meats and products of cruelty like foi gras (which is created through force feeding geese as well as being an organ meat), baby animals fall into the category of things I’ll never eat.

we watched the pirate boats from the relaxation area in the spa

The third of four sea days between Jordan and Oman brought us to the choke point where it’s just about 10 miles between Africa and the Arabian Peninsula as the Red Sea transits into the Gulf of Aden. There was a lot of boat traffic through that area. We could see a fleet of tiny boats milling about. These boats had people laying down in them trying to hide. As our ship got close the little fleet went from a near standstill to heading straight towards us at a pretty good speed.

modern day pirate ships look nothing like the pirates of old

They were pirates with ill-intentions. Discouraged from attacking our ship by the armed guards patrolling the promenade deck, they suddenly changed course, passed behind us and went on their way realizing it’s not a good plan to try scaling the side of a ship when you’re looking at the business end of a machine gun. Other than the one group of pirates we just saw normal boat traffic like military boats and cargo ships. Of course with all the curtains on public decks and in cabins required to stay closed after dark who knows what may have shown up then. Well the guards and bridge crew know, but they’d never tell and the passengers just saw the one averted attack in broad daylight.

belly dancer in the dining room

The ship had an Arabian theme going that day with a Pharoh’s visit deck party in the morning and belly dancers in the dining room in the evening for extra entertainment, but the excitement and most talked about subject of the day among passengers was of course the pirates.

relaxing on the back deck

Typical of any cruise ship, the selfish passengers (of which there are a lot) stake out deck chairs with towels they leave there all day whether they plan to sit in that chair for any length of time or not. Even the little back decks on the Lirica had more chairs occupied by towels than by people. You can sit out there for hours and these people never return. We laughed one day when it rained a bit and someone had left a paper book on an unoccupied chair. It got wet, but sadly it didn’t rain enough to do any damage. The owner of said book was not there when we arrived and never returned before we left. Like all the other cruise ships this one had signs saying they will pick up towels and things from unoccupied chairs because saving them is not allowed, but they never actually do.

The ship had some games, activities, dance lessons, exercise classes, trivia, and things scheduled throughout the day. We were told once years ago by crew on the Divina that Europeans generally spend all day out on the top deck, and while a lot of them actually do, there were still a lot of deck chairs occupied by towels rather than people.

The fourth sea day in a row brought wind and waves on a gray day in the Gulf of Aden, which empties into the Arabian Sea – the most wide-open expanse of water we passed through on the middle eastern side of the Suez Canal. The ocean swells meant some movement on the ship, but not enough to bring out barf bags by the elevators or to make people stagger the halls like so many drunks as we have sometimes seen on cruises that passed through rough water.

Themed dinners with like themed late night parties interspersed the cruise to liven things up a bit and have something besides elegant nights to dress up for. This cruise had a carnival night and a white night. Not that many people dressed up for them at dinner and we never went to any deck parties so I have no idea how those turned out. I can’t imagine too big of an attendance though since there never seemed to be many people out and about anywhere when venturing out of the cabin late at night. Having traveled through Europe for 10 days without a lot of luggage before boarding the ship, we barely had anything suitable to wear for formal nights and nothing for any sort of one-use costume.

camel at Wadi Darbat

We had a port stop in Salalah, Oman on a Friday, which is their holy day so a lot of things in town were closed.  The town there is not close to the port. We had a ship’s tour and saw lots of camels. Between Salalah and Muscat we had another sea day. The sky and sea were gray and dreary, but the sea wasn’t too rough and it didn’t rain, at least not during the day anyway. It was warm enough for lounging around on the deck chairs on the back balcony. There were several decks with back balconies all interconnected by stairways and at least some of them had stacks of deck chairs so even if all the chairs already out on the deck were occupied by towels we could always get a chair off the stack and find somewhere to put it.

Grand Mosque in Muscat, Oman

In Muscat we found a cheap taxi-van tour with 4 other people that took us around to see some sights, starting with a giant mosque. We didn’t have any specific plans when we got off the ship and hadn’t really planned to go in any mosques. While I had brought a scarf just in case I needed it for anything, I did not have long sleeves which meant not mosque-appropriate clothing. Outside the mosque under a sign saying not to sell or rent clothes, there was a guy renting stuff out of the trunk of his car so I got something with long sleeves and one of the other ladies from our van got a scarf so we were allowed inside.

dhow boat in Khasab, Oman

Khasab was our last port in Oman, my favorite one there, and one of the best on the entire cruise because the dhow boat tour we took was unique and excellent. The boat had carpets and cushions instead of furniture and it was quite a relaxing ride through the fjords. We saw some dolphins and made a stop for snorkeling. Also attempted some fishing, but nobody caught anything.

Burj Khalifa in Dubai

We had 2 days to spend in Dubai, UAE. The ship overnighted there, and our plane home wasn’t until 2:30am the morning of the day after disembarkation. The first day it rained a bit in the morning, then cleared up, We visited Atlantis Hotel, a souk, Burj Al Arab, and Global Village. The second day the rain dumped buckets in the morning and the trip into town felt more like the uber was driving in rivers than in roads. We put our luggage in storage at Dubai Mall and spent time there and in Burj Kalifa, the world’s tallest building.

Copyright My Cruise Stories 2023

camels at Petra

More Blogs About the Middle East

Cruising the Suez Canal, Eilat Israel cruise port, Snorkeling in Eilat, Aqaba Jordan cruise port, Petra, Salalah Oman cruise port, Salalah 4×4 tour, Muscat Oman cruise port,  Muscat van tour, Khasab Oman cruise port, Khasab dhow excursion, Exploring Khasab, Dubai Cruise Port, Exploring Dubai, Dubai Global Village, Dubai Burj Kalifa, Dubai Mall

Posted in Lirica, Middle East, MSC | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Pelican Peak Zip Line Saint Martin

Posted on April 21, 2023 by LBcruiseshipblogger

view of Wonder from the top of Pelican Peak in St Martin

Scanning through shore excursions offered and other info while looking for something to do in Saint Martin, I came across an excursion to Pelican Peak Zip Line. On a previous visit we’d tried to get to Rainforest Adventures on the French side of the island, but none of the taxis from the stand at the port wanted to go there. Somebody suggested we might find a taxi in town, but besides the fact that we were the 4th of 4 ships arriving that day and space in that zipline went by first come first serve, we figured considering how hard it was to find a ride to get there we might not be able to get one back, and probably would be too late to get on the zip line anyway so we did something else that day instead.

trail to the viewpoint

I’d never heard of another zip line on the island until this trip, but that’s because Pelican Peak is a relatively new attraction. Pelican Peak is within walking distance of the cruise port, and they book through the ship. You can also book it directly through the zipline’s website or through outside sources if you want to take a taxi or walk there and find it on your own. Booking through the ship they provide transportation from the port, which was in an open jungle buggy type truck. There weren’t a lot of people in our group, probably about 10, the rest of them quite a lot younger than we are.

viewpoint at the top of Pelican Peak

The transport brought us to the bottom of the zip line where they suited everyone up with a harness that not only attaches to the zip line, it also makes a sort of chair to sit in on the way down. They had lockers there for anyone who had things that couldn’t go with them down the ride, which was big beach bags and backpacks. People were allowed to keep their cameras and they even provided net bags that attached to the vest where people could put their phones to keep them safe and insure they not get dropped on the mountain on the way down – as long as they were left in the bag. Taking it out would definitely risk a drop. We thought it was kind of crazy that the tiny little zip line on the ship didn’t allow so much as a watch on a wrist or room key card in a pocket while the one going down a whole mountainside let people keep their hats and all their jewelry on and take things with them. I suppose that could be because on the ship there are people wandering around the boardwalk below the zipline and they’re afraid of things falling on their heads, whereas the mountainside is covered in trees so you’d lose your stuff, but it wouldn’t fall on anyone.

top of the zipline

After everyone was harnessed up and ready we boarded the jungle bus again for a hairy ride on a narrow winding road up the mountain. The guide narrated things about the area, the island, and historical facts on the way up. The truck stopped near several short trails on top of the mountain. The first and shortest went to a viewpoint of a lagoon that used to be a salt pond. The second went up higher to a viewpoint of the harbor and the cruise ships at the dock. The third went down a bit to the entrance to the zipline.

people on 2 of the 4 ziplines

They had 4 lines running next to each other, but only 3 were in use that day. They let people go with their own group so most went in pairs rather than send 3 every time and split up people who were together, though if people had wanted to go separately to take photos or videos of each other they could have gone alone or in a trio with an unrelated pair. Some of the people in our group took videos of the people before or after them and then shared the videos they took with each other after the ride.

getting people ready for their ride

When it’s your turn to go the workers clip your harness to the line. It’s a hands-free ride with a series of springs to stop you when you reach the bottom. At least hands-free in that you don’t use your hand to stop yourself at the end of the line. There was a handle to hold onto. I haven’t actually seen the old-fashioned sort of zipline where you kept a gloved hand over the line to stop yourself with in many years, though we thought the hands-free stop was quite a clever invention the first time we ever saw one.

two people with sails coming in for a landing

The workers added a sail to some people to slow their descent. John was given a sail and I was not, but he still went down quite a lot faster than I did. There are giant heavy-duty springs at the bottom which stopped me with a little tap, but most of the others flew into it squishing it up tight and crossing over a bit of a gap between the building we landed on and the structure holding the end of the lines, then bounced back beyond the building before coming forward again into a landing on top of the building.

the back of John’s sail is way ahead of me

It was fun, though probably more so for the people who went faster. Speed of descent depends on both weather and body weight. From the description we were given it sounded like we would fly down the mountain so fast there would be no time for pictures, but about halfway down I decided to pull out my camera since I was traveling at a more leisurely pace. I had put a neck strap on it before going to the zip line that morning so there was no chance of dropping it. The camera case was also on a neck strap so it was just a matter of digging that out from under the harness.

view on the way down

After landing there are stairs going down from the roof where people land back to where we suited up at the beginning. We left the gear on the roof and the workers brought it down for use by another group. Other people were awaiting instructions when we went down. Besides being a bigger group than ours, there was also one couple who looked older than we are.

springs at the end

Once everyone was done they took us back to the cruise ship dock. One couple had started out walking because they didn’t know how long the wait would be, but they hadn’t got far before the truck caught up to them and stopped to see if they wanted a ride so they got in knowing that the truck would get them back to the port a lot faster than their feet would.

Copyright My Cruise Stories 2023
Posted in Caribbean, Ports of Call, Royal Caribbean, Shore Excursions, Wonder of the Seas | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Cruise Ship Cabins on MSC Meraviglia

Posted on April 14, 2023 by LBcruiseshipblogger

Meraviglia at Ocean Cay

Besides offering a variety of suites and staterooms, MSC also has some choice available in the level of service, which of course costs more with each level of improvement. Not all options are available with every room category. Suites all have Aurea, the highest level, which is not an option for inside or ocean view staterooms who can choose only from the two lower levels, Bella or Fantastica. Balcony cabins on the other hand have the option of choosing from all three. All categories earn loyalty points. MSC also has a program where people who have previously cruised on other lines can match their loyalty status from another line on MSC even when booking their first cruise with them.

Levels of Service

inside studio cabin

Bella is available with the guaranteed staterooms standard cruise package where you just get a category guarantee and don’t choose your own stateroom. These often end up with the least desirable (and therefore least expensive) cabins such as balconies with metal fronts rather than glass, obstructed ocean views, or cabins located at the extreme front or back of the ship or in noisy areas such as near a nightclub. There is a fee to make any changes to your booking such as relocating to a different cabin, and your seating preferences as to early or late dining are given last priority. No free room service any time of day. Bella service includes all standard cruise amenities like dining room or buffet meals, shows, use of the ship’s facilities like the pool, gym, and kids clubs for passengers with kids.

standard size balcony

Advantages for picking Fantastica instead of Bella include priority over Bella guests for dining room seating preferences, better cabin locations, choose your own cabin rather than having one assigned, you can make cabin changes without paying a fee, one free option to change the cruise date or destination as long as it is done at least a month prior to sailing, free room service at breakfast, and a 20% discount on pre-paid specialty dining packages. Bathrobes are not provided in the cabin, but we cruised at this level and one was delivered to my cabin on request. Washcloths aren’t provided in the staterooms either so if you want any you have to ask for those as well.

yacht club deluxe suite

Aurea guests have priority boarding and exclusive areas of the ship (generally a sundeck and solarium) that are not open to other guests. Bathrobes and slippers are provided in the cabin along with a pillow menu so you can choose your preferred pillow rather than just using whatever they provide. This level includes a welcome package of goodies in the cabin on departure day. Aurea guests get first priority on dining room seating times and the option of my choice dining where they can eat at any time within the specified open time for the dining room rather than having a specific seating time. Other levels do not have the anytime dining option on MSC. As well as the 20% off pre-paid specialty dining packages, Aurea guests also get 24-hour free room service delivery (the food is not free other than the free breakfast items, just the delivery). Also 40% off a pre-paid spa package or 10% off spa services purchased onboard. Aurea balcony cabins are in prime locations. Guests in the Yacht Club receive extra perks on top of the Aurea perks.

Cabins

balcony cabin with bunks

Amenities for all cabin types include two beds that can be pushed together for one king-sized bed, a closet, a bathroom with shower or tub, interactive TV, telephone, safe, and a refrigerator stocked with costly minibar items, which the steward can remove if you just want to use it for a refrigerator. In-room wi-fi is available if you purchase an internet package. Most rooms have a sofa, which in some can be converted to a bed. Some rooms have bunks or connecting doors to the next cabin. Studio and junior cabins just have a chair rather than a sofa.

balcony cabin

Balcony cabins come with the options of Deluxe Balcony Aurea, Premium Balcony, Deluxe Balcony with Partial View, and Studio Balcony with Deluxe Balcony Aurea being the largest and most expensive and Studio Balcony the smallest and cheapest among the balcony cabins – all of which of have an oceanside veranda. Studio balcony cabins are only 129 square feet while the premium balcony cabins are up to 237 square feet, and deluxe are 183. Balconies range from 43 to 151 square feet. When a size range is given within any individual stateroom category on cruise ships the largest ones are generally the accessible cabins.

ocean view cabin

Ocean View cabins include Premium Ocean View, Deluxe Ocean View, Junior Ocean View, and Junior Ocean View with obstructed views. Sizes range from 129 square feet for the junior cabins, which is the same as balcony or interior studio cabins to 237 feet for premium cabins. Deluxe ocean view rooms are about 172 square feet.

inside cabin

Interior cabins come in Deluxe Interior or Studio. Deluxe range from 183 to 237 square feet, the larger of which are accessible cabins. At 129 square feet, interior studio cabins are the cheapest accommodations onboard. Good for solo or really budget conscious travelers or people who don’t do much other than sleep, shower, and change clothes in their cabin.

Suites

bedroom of grand suite with whirlpool

The Aurea suites are some of the nicest accommodations onboard as they come with large balconies and private hot tubs. These come in two sizes, the Grand Suite Aurea with terrace and whirlpool which is about 420 square feet with a balcony of about 388 square feet and the Premium Suite Aurea at 291 square feet with a balcony of about 280 – 323 square feet. These rooms have a sitting area separate from the bedroom that includes a double sofa bed.

Yacht Club

yacht club dining room

Yacht Club guests have cabins in a locked off area where other guests can’t go, referred to by MSC as a ship within a ship. Areas exclusive to yacht club guests only include a pool and sundeck, their own dining room, and a bar in the yacht club area where drinks are free. These rooms all have complimentary wi-fi. One of the front elevators is usually marked as exclusively for the use of yacht club guests and doesn’t stop to pick people up on other decks. Inside cabins in the yacht club are no bigger than some of the cabins elsewhere onboard yet can be nearly as expensive as suites that are not in the yacht club. The price just goes up from there.

duplex suite

The biggest, fanciest, and most expensive suites onboard are the Duplex suites with whirlpool. These two-story suites feature a main floor with open living and dining room and a sofa that converts to a double bed as well as a bathroom with a shower. The top floor houses a master bedroom with the usual two single beds that can be pushed together for a king bed, two walk-in closets, and a bathroom with a bathtub. These 635 square foot suites have 248 square foot balconies.

royal suite

The Royal Suite is a close second at 603 square feet with a 129 square foot balcony. Its balcony includes a dining area as well as a private whirlpool. This suite has a living room area separate from the bedroom, a walk-in closet, and a bathtub in the bathroom.

deluxe suite

Deluxe Suites are 280-312 square feet with balconies from 54-161 square feet. The large balconies come with forward-facing suites on deck 15. These suites have the sitting area next to the bed resembling an oversized version of the standard cabins.

yacht club lounge

Though they are called suites, the interior rooms in the yacht club are more like standard cabins than suites at just 183 square feet. What people are paying the big bucks for with these rooms is all the perks and amenities that come with being in the yacht club rather than the room itself.

yacht club pool

Copyright My Cruise Stories 2023
Posted in Meraviglia, MSC | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Garmin Solar Instinct Watch Review

Posted on April 7, 2023 by LBcruiseshipblogger

Garmin Instinct Solar

This watch has way more functions than I’ll ever use since I just want something to track time and distance on my runs. The only improvements I really needed from my previous watch, which was so ancient they don’t even make it anymore, were longer battery life and waterproof. My old one tracked time and distance just fine, but on long hikes the battery would run out and it couldn’t be used for anything like snorkeling. It worked fine for years, but when it started deleting runs before I could even save them into Strava it was time for a new one. The Garmin Instinct Solar has a battery life of 24 days just used as a watch, or 30 hours on GPS. If you use some of the other functions that will shorten it. Being solar it can charge itself up in sunlight so that can add some to the battery life.

back of the box

It’s waterproof to a depth of 100 meters, so no problem if you go out in pouring rain, and snorkeling would never involve that sort of depth so fine for anything I’d do.

new in the box

It comes with minimal instructions, but there are both written instructions and videos available online for a lot more details on how to set things and what it can do. There are some YouTube videos that are a lot more informative than Garmin’s official instructions.

garmin watch

The first run I tried it on the trail run setting in a hilly park and it did all sorts of vertical calculations and gave me a pace of 4-5 minutes per kilometer, which is faster than I could ever run even on flat ground without my dog slowing me down and she was with me that day. At the end of a course I’ve ran many times and know to be 10k it said I’d gone 14k, so definitely not reliable in that mode. It was so far off on the distance that Strava didn’t even display a course map for that run like it usually does. I don’t know if that is a fault in my watch or with the programming in all of them. Mine was supposed to be new in the box, but already had files in it from a couple years prior to my purchase so I suspect someone may have bought it previously and returned it – for inaccurate tracking perhaps?

On a set 5k course marked for a yearly race I tried it in walk mode and it was dead on with its accuracy for the distance there, but that was all flat ground. The next day I tried it in run mode rather than trail run mode in a hilly park on a route I take regularly and know to be 5k. The overall time and distance were accurate, but the pace it showed along the way had moments where it showed a pace above or below the actual pace, though it did average out to the correct one in the end.

watch display while running showing pace, time spent running, and distance traveled. Also heart rate in the little circle.

My next test was to do a run with this watch and the old one, one on each arm to see how they compared. My reason for replacing the old one was because when I went to record my runs in Strava all of a sudden they were not there in the activities. First just the one day’s run was missing, then the entire activity file was blank, the watch having deleted all prior runs as well as that day’s. It would still record and save walks, but not runs so it was time for a replacement. Why it recorded walks and not runs is a mystery since it just tracked time and distance and did not have separate settings for different activities like the new one does. It did still work while on the run though so I could compare how it tracked a run vs the new one. As it turned out, the new one clocks in each kilometer at about 0.03 sooner than the old one, which probably puts it pretty close to dead on accurate. I know the old one took just over a kilometer to record one since it never made it quite to 5k on the two 5k races I ran with it. Those were both measured courses that would be dead on accurate at 5k. The pace function was still somewhat erratic reading faster in some locations and slower in others while my actual speed remained fairly constant, but it averaged out to pretty much the same per k as the old one displayed at each kilometer completed. The speed increases and decreases it showed were at the same locations it showed them previously so perhaps it has something to do with the GPS signal there. Particularly a loop that the old watch always said my time was slower than normal on where the new one showed a pace quite slower than what it showed on the main trail regardless of actual speed. It consistently paces slower in more heavily wooded areas and faster in more open areas. Whether this is because the trees interfere with the GPS signal or because the woodsy trails tend to have more twists and turns where it may only be tracking a straight line rather than actual distance covered or some other reason I can’t say since I don’t know. My best guess is probably both. Over time I have noticed that the pace will change by as much as several minutes per kilometer when going into or out of trees or around a corner to a different direction. The overall time and distance seem accurate, but the current pace could be anywhere from what it actually says to a several minutes per k faster or slower so that feature is not really helpful.

The battery life seems to take off one day per 30-40 minutes while running on GPS. For a watch that is supposed to have 24 days just as a watch or 30 hours in GPS mode it should go more than an hour per each day of battery life in GPS mode, and I am not intentionally using any other features that would run it down more quickly, though there does seem to be other things running like the heart rate monitor. I also run mostly on forested trails so there isn’t really any sunlight to charge it up along the way at all, but if that is supposed to extend it beyond the 30 hours than it should still make it slightly over an hour for each day of battery life even without sunlight. It definitely has way more battery life than my old one which never lasted more than a few hours, but it does not seem to have as much as claimed while using GPS, though that may be due to the fact that it does seem to be running more things than I actually set it for and I never bothered to research how to shut them off.

This watch usually finds its location faster than my old one did. Most of the time it finds it almost immediately, but there have been a few times even when at the same location as the previous use that it took awhile. It also charges faster than the old one when plugged in. The solar thing seems to extend the battery life a bit rather than to actually charge it up, but then again I’ve never had it out in any real hot sun or sat it anywhere in direct sunlight for any length of time.

after a run in between hitting buttons for save and done it displays stats from the run

One day when unplugging it after it had partially charged it suddenly jumped up to saying it was 100% charged. It remained displaying a full charge for several days and through a couple runs. Looking it up online showed that to be a common enough occurrence with this type of watch to have multiple postings on how to fix the problem. The advice was to reset the watch back to factory start, and the info on how to do so can easily be googled. It starts with turning the watch off, for which instructions can also be found. One of them mentioned that the solar Garmin instinct will still charge in the sun even when off, which can be useful if someone is out somewhere sunny with nowhere to charge their watch when the battery gets low. As for the battery life indicator staying at full, mine went down just from turning the watch off and back on again without actually resetting it, and it continued to work with the battery life indicator going down daily and after use like normal. It also continued working normally after the next charging without having to reset it so starting with just turning it off and then back on might be the way to go for that issue and only moving on to resetting if that doesn’t solve the problem. Especially since after I’d already fixed mine I found some other people online saying either to let it run out of battery on its own or to turn it off and on like I had rather than resetting it to solve the problem.

It’s done a few other odd things from time to time as well. Every now and then the word GOAL pops up in a circle to tell me I have achieved some sort of goal in distance traveled that I never set it for. One day while driving down the road exerting no energy at all it sounded an alarm of sorts and told me my heart rate was skyrocketing. I never set it to track my heart rate, but it will pop up with that during runs sometimes, though it always thinks it is fine then. I’m not sure how it tracks this as I never run with the watch directly touching my skin. I have no heart or blood pressure problems to ever have an incident where my heart rate would actually skyrocket to a dangerous level even during exercise so that little outburst from the watch made no sense at all. It was not in any sort of tracking mode at the time either, just regular clock mode so it’s not like it thought I was running faster than humanly possible or anything. It did that again once when I stopped the car and reached out the window to pick up my mail from the mailbox. That time it stayed in alarm mode until I plugged it in for recharging.

coral seen while snorkeling in Costa Maya , Mexico

I tried it in open water mode while snorkeling on a recent Caribbean cruise. It sat at 0 for quite awhile, but eventually gave an amount of meters swam. After being in salt water I soaked it in fresh water along with my waterproof camera, which came with instructions to do so for about 15 minutes after being in the salt. Of course following that it needs to be completely dry before plugging the cord into it for charging or anything. Crazy thing is after having to swim for ages before it went above 0 for the distance in the water, when I put it in open water mode on dry land to take a photo it started adding distance right away even though it wasn’t actually moving.

watch face in open water mode

While the pacing on this watch has always been somewhat erratic, the overall time and distance is normally accurate. One day on a run it experienced some sort of glitch or perhaps had difficulty accessing the satellite or something. The pacing that day was more erratic than usual, ranging from displaying as fast as 4.25 minutes per kilometer which I am not even capable of to over 18 minutes per kilometer, which is slower than my standard walk speed. I was running fairly consistently at about 7 and a half minutes per kilometer the whole time. When I got to the point on the trail where it should have said I’d gone 1 kilometer it only displayed 0.70. Later I ran a couple loops around a trail that is just about right at half a k and it only added 0.40 k for each loop. The last mile of that run it went back to recording the distance dead on and has been accurate ever since so that seemed to be just a one-time thing.

Strange occurrences aside, it is generally a good watch and with its long battery life it has never run out of battery and shut down on me like my old one did sometimes on long hikes. It has way more features than my old one did though, and even that one had more than I ever used. There are 5 buttons around the edges of the watch and since it has considerably more than 5 features each button or combination of buttons does a variety of things so accidently touching one can bring up unwanted features – which may be completely unknown if you only investigated the ones you might actually use when first acquiring the watch.

I don’t know if the quirks I’ve experienced with my watch are inherent to all of these watches, or if mine has these issues because it was a reject. I bought it as a new watch from a bicycling site that sold them for considerably cheaper than buying direct from Garmin so it is possible that site was selling previously returned watches as new, especially in light of the fact that it came with files already recorded in it. Someone had to have made those files either as a test or because they used it a few times before returning it.

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Posted in Product Reviews | 1 Comment

No Day in CocoCay

Posted on March 31, 2023 by LBcruiseshipblogger

sunrise at sea

On a cruise billed with “Perfect Day in CocoCay” as the featured port stop, we were looking forward to our visit there, which was the last scheduled port in our itinerary on Royal Caribbean Symphony of the Seas. It was the only port on our schedule where I hadn’t been, and I always like to see new places. Everything was new to my sister Barbara, who had not previously been to the Caribbean, but a having beach day was the thing she wanted to do most on our trip and that was the ideal place for it.

CocoCay from the ship as we passed it by

CocoCay is Royal Caribbean’s private island in the Bahamas. It sits about 55 miles north of Nassau in the Berry Islands and is also known as Little Stirrup Cay. Activities abound in a variety of sections. Captain Jill’s Galleon near the arrival plaza is a water playground for small kids. You can take a zipline across the harbor, go on waterslides, hang out at one of a variety of beaches, or stop for lunch or a quick snack. At least you can if your ship actually stops at the island. Unfortunately for us it was a stormy day and our captain didn’t feel it was safe to dock. Probably wouldn’t be the best beach day with wind, big waves, high seas, and clouds or even rain instead of sunshine anyway.

dock to CocoCay (internet photo)

While there are some free things to do on the island, it is full of things that cost extra. Thrill waterpark offers 6 waterslides and the biggest wave pool in the Caribbean. For people who want a more relaxing day on the island, Cocoa Beach Club has an exclusive private beach with beachside or floating cabanas, infinity pool, beach chairs, clubhouse, and upscale dining for those who want to pay the price to go there. Or get the best view around with a trip 450 feet up into the air on Up, Up and Away, a tethered balloon. People book these things in advance, but if the ship doesn’t stop on the island they get a refund. Even if the ship does dock there for the day some things like the balloon and zip line may not open if it is too windy for them to be safe.

even from a distance you can see the waterslides and balloon

There are free things to do on the island too. Oasis Lagoon is the largest freshwater pool in the Caribbean. It has swim-to islands and a swim-up bar. Different coves within the pool offer different things. One has a kid-friendly sloped entry area. For a new and different experience duck below the surface to hear the underwater music. Hungry folks can find a complimentary burger, hot dog, or salad at the nearby snack shack. Cabanas with concierge service are available for an additional fee because even in the otherwise free areas there are ways for the cruise line to extract extra money. Like bars where people line up to buy drinks.

zipline and other fun stuff (internet photo)

Chill Island is the place to go for snorkeling, jet skis, or barbecue. Go paddleboarding or lounge on the beach. Cabanas and beach beds are available for an extra charge and snorkel gear available for rent if you don’t have your own. South Beach has volleyball, basketball, snorkeling, and a snack shack. The ever-present cabanas are available there too for those looking for an upgrade. Of course there’s food and bars to be found around the island. Most of the food is complimentary, but some is pay-extra.

passing by CocoCay on a stormy day

Had we made it to the island we would have ended up at South Beach or Chill Island, and perhaps spent a bit of time in Oasis Lagoon as well. I’d have wanted somewhere to go snorkeling, and Barbara would have been looking for a nice beach chair. Linda would have been there too, doing whatever struck her fancy. Instead of our much-anticipated beach day we just saw the island in passing as the ship sailed by while the captain made his decision not to stop. The island next to it also looked like a cruise ship private island, probably Norwegian’s Great Stirrup Cay since that island is close by. There was no sign of any ships there that day either.

Royal Caribbean’s map of CocoCay

I had another chance to see this island. After our January 2022 cruise on Serenade of the Seas out of Tampa got cancelled John booked a replacement on Wonder of the Seas for the next fall, which other than the starting port had the same itinerary as the one I took on Symphony with my sisters. The weather was enough better to actually make it to the island that time, but still not ideal for a beach day and some things weren’t open. I once ran into someone who said they’d taken 3 cruises that were supposed to stop at CocoCay and none had made it, so either that person had extremely bad luck or bad weather happens frequently at that island. My luck with the weather on that island wasn’t the greatest either, though it must work out for some people. They probably wouldn’t build all that on an island that never had good weather.

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Posted in Caribbean, Royal Caribbean, Symphony of the Seas | 3 Comments

Jay Peak Resort

Posted on March 24, 2023 by LBcruiseshipblogger

Jay Peak behind the resort on a clear day

Jay Peak Resort sits on the side of a mountain with Jay Peak looming above – sometimes. The peak with an elevation of 3,862 feet can go from fully visible to shrouded in fog in a matter of minutes. Jay Peak sits about 5 miles from the Canadian border in Vermont’s Green Mountains.

main part of the hotel

The main hotel complex has a hotel at each end. Jay Peak Hotel includes an indoor waterpark and conference center. A corridor leads to shops, restaurants, and a tram that goes up to the top of the mountain, with another smaller hotel on the other side of the tram station. You can get from one end to the other without ever going outside, handy for a ski lodge in winter. There are ski lifts near the tram base as well as in other locations around the property. A skating arena sits next to Jay Peak Hotel, and a golf course across the road below it, complete with clubhouse and restaurant. There’s also facilities for weddings.

bridge on a Nordic trail

The trail system includes Nordic ski trails as well as hiking and biking trails, though the hiking and biking trails are not well marked.

the trails just have little numbers, while the ski runs have signs

The ski runs work well as trails when there’s no snow so if you just want to hike around on the mountain and don’t really care where you go it’s easy to find your way back down whether you find the official hiking trails or not since there’s almost always a ski run somewhere nearby. Although mainly a ski resort, it is open year-round. Hours and days of operation of some facilities may be limited during the off season though.

condos by the mountain trails

Many condos and vacation homes cluster between this hotel complex and another hotel on the other side of it all. A movie theater sits next to that hotel. Neither that hotel nor the theater were open while we were there.

attached hotel on the other side of the tram

We went to Jay Peak Resort in October. Our room in the main hotel was booked well in advance in the cheapest style of room that they had, which turned out to be one king bed in a larger-than-average hotel room. It had a nightstand on either side, a closet, and a sort of combo desk/dresser that had a chair on one end with open space underneath and a TV over drawers on the other. There was an ironing board with iron and a hairdryer. It had a Keurig with coffee pods only and no tea available for the asking. No refrigerator or microwave. The bathroom was pretty spacious and the room itself had quite a lot of extra floorspace near the entry.

trail on the mountain

During our stay the hotel seemed mostly deserted. We saw very few other people around the place. I often wandered the halls throughout the entire resort without ever seeing another person. Once I saw a couple people walking a dog when I had hiked on trails far up the mountain, but they were not from the resort. Possibly from one of the vacation homes closer to that area of the trails. One afternoon 3 vans topped with bikes showed up at the resort with a group that spend one night there and left the next morning.

fog on the peak

It’s quite a large hotel so it probably gets a lot more business during the winter ski season.  John talked to another person there who had booked last minute and got a really nice suite for less than we’d paid for the cheap room, which in itself would normally indicate lots of available space to fill due to supply and demand – prices go down when you need to fill the rooms, up when there aren’t many available.

we could see the skating rink from our window

The 2nd floor room they gave us happened to be right next to some sort of giant machinery sticking out of a roof from the green part of the building over a conference center that was only 1 story high. Probably something to do with the heating/cooling system. It ran day and night making all kinds of racket. Like a furnace or air conditioner running constantly. Outside you could hear it from the distance of at least a couple city blocks away. From inside it sounded a lot like the furnace in the room being constantly on, though it rarely actually was. While this may not bother most people, I’m a light sleeper and always turn off any sort of heating or cooling system at night because I can’t sleep with it running.

place for outdoor weddings

After a sleepless night (for me, John slept fine) we asked if we could change rooms the next morning. At that time they said all rooms were either occupied or dirty and they would know later at 4pm. After not having cleaned our room that day we figured it was because they didn’t want to clean it before and after moving, but then when we went down to ask after 4 they said sorry all the rooms are full. Seriously, if the rooms were all full one would expect to see other people around the hallways sometimes and for things around the hotel to be open, though none of the shops or any of the restaurants within the main hotel complex ever were. They had guest laundries available on several floors. I did a load of laundry and besides not seeing anyone on the way to or from the guest laundry – which wasn’t even on our floor – I had to turn on the lights when I got there and nobody else came in the whole time. They never did let us change rooms and I never got much sleep during our stay there. They never did clean the room during our stay either. Whether that was due to not wanting to enter occupied rooms because of covid, not having enough staff to clean them other than between guests, or just their usual policy we will never know.

at the top of the peak

Clean towels were available at the front desk for the asking. There were also maps of the resort’s trails there for the taking, though the maps for hikers and bikers didn’t show the ski runs and most of the signs you come across up on the peak are for ski runs rather than trails so that would have been useful information for knowing where you were on the mountain. Getting back to the resort was easy enough following a ski run down, but more trail signs and ski run info on the map would have made finding or staying on hiking trails rather than ski runs a lot more possible.

tram to the top of the mountain

The skating rink, indoor water park, tram, shops, and restaurants had very limited off-season hours on certain days, mainly just the weekend and the movie theater none at all, though the theater being closed could have been a covid thing since a lot of things were still closed due to covid during the time we were there. Nothing much was open during our stay so we never had the opportunity to see much of what the resort had to offer. The little general store opened on the same day as the tram, which was good since that was where the tickets were sold. None of the other shops or any of the restaurants at the main hotel opened while we were there, nor the water park or skating rink which only had weekend hours. The golf course was open and we did see a few people using it.

golf course

The golf course restaurant next to the wedding tent was open sometimes while we were there, but of all the restaurants at the resort it was the only one that was. The tram to the top of the mountain opened on our last full day there after having been closed for the rest of our stay. That turned out to be the nicest day weatherwise so taking it up to the top of the mountain that day worked out well for us. While the first couple days had been cloudy, that day had bright sunshine so the views from the top were excellent.

view of the resort from up on the mountain

This would be a great place to stay when everything is open since there would be a variety of fun things to do. We enjoyed it anyway, though if you happen to go to Vermont and spend much time outside in nature be sure to check for ticks as soon as you go inside because they do have the sort that spreads Lyme disease there and if you get one you want to remove it before it has been there long enough to have any possibility of making you sick.

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Cedar Camp #6

Posted on March 17, 2023 by LBcruiseshipblogger

Cedar Camp No 6

When choosing Lake Crescent as a destination in Olympic National Park because it is one of the few places with accommodations in the park, it was a bit of a disappointment when I went to book about a month and a half before our planned visit only to find everything already full. It’s a big lake and there’s a main lodge in one area of the lake and a log cabin resort in another, but neither had anything available for the two nights I wanted to stay. Nearby Lake Sutherland wasn’t much better with the only Airbnb’s available for the days I wanted costing over $300 per night for a whole lot more house than 2 people would need. Luckily there are other Airbnb’s in the area. There was also a camp full of fancy tents with beds in them for a pretty good price, but those sites came with outdoor kitchens which would be fine in nice weather, but not knowing in advance what the weather would be we wanted fully indoor lodgings. A good choice since it did rain some while we were there.

inside the cabin at Cedar Camp 6

On Airbnb I found a cozy little cabin near to the tiny town of Joyce, which is fairly close to the park. This little cabin, called Cedar Camp Number 6, was a nice size for 2 people. It has one main room with a kitchen area, table, a couple places to sit, and a bunk bed in one corner. The bunk has a queen lower and single upper. There was also another bed underneath which was either a trundle or a separate bed that could be pulled out and put elsewhere. I don’t know which because we didn’t pull it out to see. With my mother and I the two main bunks were sufficient. Besides the main room there was also a decent size bathroom with a pretty big shower. It did lack a wall hook for hanging clothing while in the shower though.

kitchen

The kitchen had a full-sized refrigerator, small stove, microwave, and a sink. The table had room for 2, but could have been pulled out from the wall and the other leaf raised to make room for more with a larger group. There was no dishwasher, internet, or TV. The theme of the decor was logging, which ties into the name. Whether there was actually a logging camp at that location or not I have no idea, but there was definitely logging in the area. The nearby Spruce Railroad Trail was once a logging railway. Decor included several old logging photos.

cabin porch

A comfortable rocking chair sat next to the kitchen table, and an oversized chair by the bed. We did not use the cabin’s small wood stove. It also had a baseboard heater, though the control for it was inconveniently located behind the top bunk. They did have signs to help people locate it, as it would be unlikely anyone would find it otherwise.

cribbage stump

A large stump sat between the doorway and a porch with some furniture where people could sit outside if they wanted. The stump had a cribbage board carved into it. Cribbage is one of those games like backgammon that I used to play years ago, but no longer remember how. Not that I couldn’t look it up online if I really wanted to know. There were also some other games on a shelf in the cabin. A short distance from the cabin there was a firepit and some outdoor furniture.

blackberry salad at the Blackberry Cafe

The cabin is in a rural residential area, a second dwelling in the owner’s yard. It’s just a short drive to Joyce, which is a very small town, but it does have a few stores and a restaurant called Blackberry Cafe. We had lunch there on the way home the day we checked out. The menu is mainly burgers, but there were a few other things. I got the blackberry salad, which was probably about 3 times larger than the salad I had at Crescent Lake Lodge for lunch the day we arrived for just a few bucks more. It came with a nice blackberry vinaigrette.

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Symphony vs Wonder

Posted on March 10, 2023 by LBcruiseshipblogger

stern of Wonder of the Seas

Wonder of the Seas and Symphony of the Seas have a lot in common both being Oasis class ships in Royal Caribbean’s fleet as well as currently the biggest and second biggest cruise ships in the world. They have some differences as well, some in the ship design itself and others in onboard experience. Of course part of the difference in my onboard experience stems from sailing on Symphony during the time when Covid kept passenger occupancy at a far lower level than the ship’s capacity, and a year later on Wonder after the restrictions had lifted. The lack of crowds wasn’t the only reason I preferred Symphany though.

stern of Symphony of the Seas

The layout of the two ships is quite similar with each having a variety of areas Royal refers to as neighborhoods. Symphany has 7 neighborhoods – boardwalk, pool and sports zone, central park, royal promenade, entertainment place, youth zone, and vitality spa and fitness. Wonder adds one more with the suite class neighborhood, for suite guests only. Other than the youth zone which has places just for kids, the rest are open to everyone.

Central Park on Wonder

When booking on Symphony there wasn’t much difference in price between an ocean view balcony and an interior one in the boardwalk or central park. When booking Wonder the price difference was huge. We had balconies on both ships, with ocean view on Symphony and central park on Wonder. We weren’t sure how much we would like that interior balcony overlooking a garden rather than the sea, but we actually loved it. You don’t get the ocean view, but even when it rained nothing beyond the railing ever got wet. It was fully shaded more often than an ocean facing balcony. Either they improved their sound proofing between building Symphony and Wonder or they put more effort into sound proofing interior balcony cabins because our room on Symphony was near the back and we could hear the aqua show inside the cabin, but with the door shut on Wonder we couldn’t hear the band on the pool deck not far above us or anything else from the outside at all. I do still like ocean view balconies, just was surprised at how much we liked the other one as well.

the photo does not do this delicious gluten and dairy free Grand Marnier Souffle justice

The food was no comparison. We were quite surprised to find next to nothing specifically gluten free available at the buffet on Wonder when all the Royal ships we’d sailed on previously had a whole gluten free section in their buffets. Gluten free muffins were available for the asking at the bread station in Wonder’s buffet at breakfast, but besides having a whole gluten free section in their buffet, Symphony would make gluten free pancakes when asked for them at breakfast. With the gluten free section there was also no worry about whether things that are gluten free themselves had anything with gluten added into them. In the dining room Symphony made all sorts of fancy gluten and dairy free desserts for us, including a Grand Marnier souffle, whereas on Wonder they said pretty much any gluten free dessert was impossible to make. Both ships would make alterations to the main dishes to accommodate special diets that included breading or sauces rather than just leaving things off as we have experienced elsewhere. I don’t know if the changes are a new thing with Royal or if it was just who was in charge of the food on Wonder at the time of our sailing, but am hoping it was just the one chef and not a new cost-cutting thing across the fleet. The 24-hour cafe on the promenade always had several gluten-free treats to choose from on Symphony, but the one on Wonder never had any.

El Loco Fresh on Symphony’s pool deck

The buffet seemed smaller on Wonder, though they look similar in size when comparing the deck plans of one ship to the other. They’re not in the same location or even on the same deck. The layout of the two ships is not identical. The buffet is not the only thing that is not in the same place on both ships. We enjoyed the free solarium bistro on Wonder, where on Symphony it was never open any time we wanted to try it. It’s possible they just didn’t open it that cruise because of the reduced amount of passengers onboard, or maybe the hours were just so short we always missed it. On Symphony our go-to lunch spot was El Loco Fresh, their free Mexican eatery, but the line there on Wonder was ridiculously long so we only ate there once when we had lunch late enough for the line to have dissipated. The deck plans for the two ships are similar, but besides not everything being in the same location each ship has some features that the other doesn’t have.

piano stairs on Symphony of the Seas

Symphony had piano stairs that made music when walked on near the buffet, which we enjoyed quite a lot. If nobody else was on the stairs you could make the song go faster or slower by your speed on the stairway. I really missed them on Wonder which had none. Both ships had the same waterslides, zip line, and 10-deck dry slides. Symphony had two flowriders while Wonder had a kid’s play area in place of the second one. There was only ever one flowrider open while we were on Symphony, but there were a lot of things not open all that much due to their being less than a third of the passengers the ship can hold so they might use both when the ship is full. On Wonder if the flowrider line got too long they put a divider down the middle so they could get through the line twice as quickly which meant a shorter wait, but only use of half the space when your turn finally came.

slide entrance at the top of the Ultimate Abyss on Wonder

Both ships had 10-deck dry slides called the Ultimate Abyss at the back with the slides ending on the boardwalk near the aquatheater. The slides were the same on both ships. The aquatheaters were similar except Symphony’s had something that looked like sails around the outside of it while Wonder had a more solid looking structure surrounding its outer edge. Both ships had aqua shows and ice shows, but they were not the same exact show.

waterslides on Wonder of the Seas

Although both ships had the same three waterslides, Symphony had something there that Wonder did not. Symphony had cubbies under the slides near the entrance where people could put their things without hogging up chairs they aren’t actually using just to have somewhere to put their stuff. That is something I’ve always thought every ship should have at every water venue since towels often occupy more chairs than people do. It was quite disappointing to see that Wonder, which is a newer ship, was missing that feature. Good ideas and useful features like that should definitely be included on future ships rather than dropped. The only ship where I had previously seen towel cubbies was near a pool on MSC Divina. Not that people wouldn’t use towels to save chairs they aren’t currently using anyway, but at least people who only wanted to use the slide, pool, or whatever would have somewhere to put their things without taking up even more chairs they’re not sitting in.

drone lights at the ice show on Symphony

The ice show on Symphony started with a fleet of drone lights, but Wonder’s did not. Both had lots of skating and an ice-skating aerialist. The water shows both included diving from various levels interspersed with other elements of the show and a pool that was sometimes deep, sometimes shallow, and sometimes not even a pool. On Wonder we discovered that you could get a better view of the aqua show from the rock wall platforms than from its actual theater seating. There’s not room for many people there, but you can get there before the show starts because there are entrances from either a stairway up from the running track or a doorway at the end of the cabin hallway on deck 7.

best cruise ship track ever

Both ships have the best running track I’ve ever seen on a ship. The outside promenade deck is set up as a track with a walking lane and a running lane, markers for distance covered if you start at the marked start and charts that say how many laps equals what distance. Along the way there’s encouraging and entertaining signs. There are water fountains beside the track, but like every drinking fountain everywhere since covid they were turned off while we were there.

Wonder’s Golden Room tiny non-smoking casino

Wonder had a tiny casino called the Golden Room that was non-smoking, which Symphony didn’t have. It also had sliding glass doors on the main casino, but since they opened when anyone walked by inside or outside the casino rather than just if somebody wanted to actually go in or out they probably let out nearly as much smoke as the lack of doors on Symphony, at least during busy times like dinner when the elevator bays between the casino and dining room entrance were always crowded.

zip line

Overall either ship has lots to do and provides a fun vacation. Although Wonder is actually slightly larger, Symphony felt roomier in some areas. That could have been due either to the variations in the layout or the fact that there were a whole lot less people onboard. We were somewhat disappointed with the food on Wonder. We had great expectations for it after having a chef that went over the top to please the guests on Symphony so in the end I liked Symphony better. Other than the starting port our itinerary was the same for both ships.

gangway to board Wonder of the Seas

The boarding process was not good on either ship. On Symphony we were sent to a line in the port building that nobody was ever allowed out of by the person controlling who got to go up to the next available desk so the only way out of it was to make a run for a nearby desk that opened up when that person wasn’t looking. Meanwhile every other line cleared and refilled several times before any one group ever made it out of our line. Had they not had that person there people would have all just gone to the desk in front of their line when the people ahead of them had finished. On the Wonder the ship boarded late due to coast guard inspections and once the lines outside the port building finally started moving new arrivals were let through straight off the bus after the line for the first boarding time had cleared while everyone who had been standing outside in the other lines waiting for ages long past their scheduled boarding times had to stand there even longer watching people who just got there go right in.

Royal Caribbean’s map of CocoCay

We missed the port stop at CocoCay on Symphony due to bad weather, but did make it there on Wonder. The weather wasn’t the best for a beach day on a private island that time either though.

solarium on Symphony of the Seas

Both ships had an adults-only solarium, which is generally our favorite hang-out and a feature we really enjoy. It’s a free area that is better than the spa areas that you have to pay for on some ships. The solarium has hot tubs and deck chairs in a glassed-in enclosure with no smoking allowed. The sea views are nice and there’s protection from the sun and wind found on open decks. On Symphony and Wonder the solarium had its own bar and towel station as well as the bistro. I would definitely enjoy another cruise on either of these ships.

Copyright My Cruise Stories 2023
Posted in Royal Caribbean, Symphony of the Seas, Wonder of the Seas | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Nassau

Posted on March 3, 2023 by LBcruiseshipblogger

Meraviglia in Nassau

Nassau is the largest city in the Bahamas and also the capital. There are over 700 islands in the Bahamas, but only about 30 are inhabited by people. The majority of those live in Nassau, which is located on New Providence Island. It is not the biggest island, actually coming in at only 12th in size. Summers are generally warm and wet with temperatures in the 80’s to 90’s Fahrenheit. Winters are dryer with temperatures in the 70’s to 80’s. The city was originally founded by British colonialists and some colorful historic buildings still remain from that era. Nearby Paradise Island is connected by bridges and is the home of the famous Atlantis resort. Currency is the Bahamian dollar, which is equal to the US dollar. US dollars are readily accepted there.

building in Nassau

Nassau is the busiest cruise port in the Bahamas. A lot of cruise lines have their own private islands in the Bahamas so itineraries going to those islands may include a stop at Nassau as well. Up to 7 ships can dock in Nassau at the same time. The docks empty into a street full of local shops, bars, and restaurants. The port is undergoing construction to add a new terminal building and retail space. Once that is finished it will probably turn into just another canned cruise port with all the same stores that all the other cruise ports have, likely putting some of those little local shops, bars, and restaurants out of business. People are always advised to bring their ID as well as their cruise card with them when leaving the ship, and Nassau was one of the few ports we’ve visited that actually ask to see that ID before they let you back into the port area to return to the ship.

straw market

As with any cruise port people can book excursions through the ship or other sources. There’s also things to do within walking distance of the dock, or taxis for those who don’t want to walk. Many local businesses sit just outside the port including the straw market, which has many booths where locals sell quite a variety of handmade products.

view of Atlantis from the ship

The Atlantis hotel is about a half hour walk away according to google maps. Day passes are available to buy online for anyone who wants to enjoy the resort’s water park and other attractions during their visit.

pirate bench at Graycliff

Graycliff hotel is just uphill of the port, about a 15-minute walk from the ship. It has a small chocolate factory that has chocolate making tours and a winery across the street that also has tours. These can be pre-booked through outside sources before the cruise.

old church in Nassau

About a 10 minute walk along the coast from the port leads to Margaritaville Beach Resort, and another 10 minutes past that to Junkanoo Beach, a popular beach for cruise ship passengers since it is the closest public beach to walk to.

Queen’s Staircase

There are other things within walking distance of the port as well. There are several historical forts. Fort Fincastle and the Queen’s Staircase next to it are about a 15-minute walk from the port. There’s a small charge to go inside the fort. It’s not very big, but offers a great view of the cruise dock. A row of booths where locals sell souvenirs line the lane next to the fort and an ice cream truck with the music playing and everything drove by while we were there, something I haven’t seen since I was a kid. The fort and staircase are both historical. Fort Montagu is a bit farther at about a 45 minute walk from the port.

Ardastra Garden & Wildlife

Ardastra Gardens & Wildlife Conservation Center is about a half hour’s walk from the port. It’s a small zoo with a lot of flamingos and some other birds and animals. There’s not a separate botanical garden, just plants between the animal exhibits, of which some have identifying signs. At $20 at the time of our visit the price to get in was kind of high compared to the number of things they had to see so we just thought of it as a donation to their animal rescue. There is another garden called Nassau Botanical Gardens nearby. It is a former quarry for Fort Charlotte and sits just behind the fort.

sign to various attractions

Other things to do include a pirate museum that is about a 7-minute walk from the port, Parliament Square which is only 2 minutes away, Pompey Square at a 7-minute walk, an art gallery 13 minutes walk from the ship, and a distillery at a 15-minute walk, and Fort Charlotte at 29 minutes away. Walk times are per google maps and start from the port exit so it’s a bit longer from the actual ship.

Hill Street

Copyright My Cruise Stories 2023
Posted in Caribbean, Meraviglia, MSC, Port Cities, Ports of Call | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Food on Celebrity Constellation

Posted on February 24, 2023 by LBcruiseshipblogger

tea at Café al Bacio

Dining room food on Celebrity Constellation was generally quite good – at least mine was – and the waiters very attentive. It was really nice that the menu for the whole cruise is in the app so you can see if there are any nights where nothing thrills you if you want to pick a night to go to a specialty restaurant or just have dinner at the buffet.

pork chop with surprise breading

They do like to unnecessarily bread some of the meats though, and the fact that it is breaded may not be mentioned on the menu. For some reason while my dinners were usually top notch, they seemed to have a problem with overcooking John’s main, particularly seafood. Other than lobster or maybe shrimp I don’t generally order seafood so we thought seafood was the problem until one formal night when we both ordered Duck à l’Orange and broiled lobster.

the good duck

My duck was great. The color was a nice golden brown and it was cooked just right. His was very dark, shrunken, and leathery like jerky. So it wasn’t a seafood issue, it was just his food. The maître d’ was appalled that meal made it out into the dining room. The waiters were always apologetic and offered to get him something else, but with the other courses and mine usually big enough to share he never wanted to wait for another meal. The lobster was good that night so he had that and some of my tasty duck.

buffet desserts on an Italian themed night

We ate dinner at the buffet a few times. One advantage there is you can see what the food looks like before asking for anything.

Le Petite Chef making bouillabaisse

Our best meal of the cruise was at one of the ship’s premium restaurants, Qsine. The last  time we were on Celebrity, Qsine had an extensive menu of creative foods. They’ve completely changed the concept there now. You get a 4 course meal with one main menu and one alternative menu, of which you can pick each course from either. The food is quite good, but what makes the restaurant special now is that it is part meal, part entertainment. At each course a tiny cartoon chef makes the main menu item right on your plate. This includes things like catching fish and lobster wrangling. After the show the waitstaff serves each person the item they actually ordered for that course. It’s still called Qsine, but it’s also called Le Petite Chef.

gelato

We did not try any of the other specialty restaurants onboard, but the ship also offers a Tuscan Grill serving upscale Italian food and Sushi on Five with sushi and other Japanese favorites. Other food venues included small cafes at the spa and solarium, pastries, desserts, and gelato at the coffee bar, and a poolside grill. People staying in suites or Aquaclass cabins had their own separate dining rooms, but since we were not in those accommodations we never went there. Some items at the spa, solarium, and coffee bar were complimentary, others cost extra. The pool grill was complimentary, same as the dining room and buffet.

chocolate lava cake in the dining room

Room service was also an option, which we used a couple mornings with early port stops. They had a small complimentary breakfast menu which people could leave on the door the night before. There was also a room service menu for paid items. One of those early port mornings I ordered cereal through the complimentary room service. The order arrived on time with everything we had asked for, and two bundles of silverware wrapped in napkins – one for each of us. When unwrapped, each napkin contained a knife and a fork. There was no spoon included with the silverware, nor anywhere else on the tray. We called to ask for one and a guy showed up with 2 more wrapped bundles of knives and forks –  still no spoon. On the third try they finally brought two spoons. (We gave him a tip because it wasn’t his fault). That made one spoon to use and one to stash for the next early port morning, although the next time they actually brought a spoon for the cereal so it wasn’t needed.

gluten free desserts at the buffet

Ever been on a cruise ship where tables at the buffet are scarce and you can hardly get one to save your life? Not on this cruise. With just 700 passengers onboard there were open tables everywhere, no problem. It’s normally breakfast and lunch that are an issue, dinner at the buffet is mostly an uncrowded affair since the majority go to the dining room. Dinner at the buffet on this ship was a ghost town. Have any table you want. There was nobody else in sight from our table. The food was good with lots of different options. Other people did straggle through so they had some other business, but no lines or crowds and what few there were sat in different sections.

desserts at the buffet

Besides a variety of salads, sides, and main dishes, there was a whole dessert station for gluten free desserts and another bigger one with regular desserts. Plus the ice cream and cookie station was open and there’s always one dairy free sorbet there and some really delicious gluten free macaroons. (Macaroons are normally gluten free regardless of whether it is the coconut version like these or the French sandwich cookie style made from almond flour which is actually spelled macaron.) The buffet did not make gluten free pancakes at the waffle station like some ships do, but they did have gluten free bread available at one station for toast. Gluten free pancakes were available in the dining room at breakfast.

ice cream and cookies at the buffet

The delicious macaroons found in the buffet were also available at other places on the ship, and the coffee bar had some gluten free muffins. It also had a bunch of other pastries. The food there is free, but the specialty coffee, tea, or hot chocolate costs extra. It is mostly included with a beverage package, but some types of alcohol cost extra if you want to add a shot and don’t have a premium package. The gelato costs extra, but if you have previously sailed with Celebrity you get a scoop for free. We never buy the beverage package because the amount you have to drink to get your money’s worth is more per day than we’d likely drink for the entire cruise, but on this particular cruise a basic beverage package had been included in the fare – which usually means a ridiculously expensive fare, but this one was on sale for cheap. When I asked for a bit of amaretto in a hot chocolate at the coffee bar, the barista said that wasn’t included in the basic drink package so it would cost $1, but if I wanted to upgrade my package for $10 per day I wouldn’t have to pay that dollar. Somehow paying $10 per day for the rest of the cruise to save $1 on something I might have once or twice during the entire cruise made no sense whatsoever so I just paid the dollar.

pastries and desserts at the coffee bar

If you order tea at the coffee bar to go it comes in a paper cup, but if you order it for there it comes with a fancy tea pot and a biscuit in the English sense where it’s really a cookie.

Copyright My Cruise Stories 2023

 

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