My husband’s & my 10th anniversary is this year, and we decided to celebrate by taking a seven night cruise from New York to Bermuda on the Norwegian Star. I’ve sailed NCL twice, but this will be Dave’s first sailing with any line other than Disney Cruise Line. Before I start the recap of our cruise I should share a couple of items. First, three days before we sailed we received a phone call from the executive office of Norwegian, asking if we would be willing to accept a downgrade from the balcony cabin we booked to an oceanview room. They were willing to bribe us with scads of cash, so much so that it basically made our sailing two passengers for the price of one. We happily accepted, and were relocated to room 5020. The second item would be Hurricane Rafael, which began forming two days before our departure, and was slated to arrive in Bermuda about 18 hours before us. How much affect would Rafael have on our trip? At this point, one could only guess… Also, I apologize for the lack of pictures, but if you want to see some visuals you can check out our trip video here – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z63vrhrweHQ
Sunday, October 14, 2012
Our friend Chuck picked us up at 9am to bring us to the New Haven train station, where we’d be picking up a transfer bus to New York. The bus arrived about twenty minutes late, due to a missing passenger at the New London stop. We used Entertainment Tours, who I have mixed feelings about. On the one hand, it’s great that they won’t leave without you, but it does make for delays for the rest of us that show up on time. Anyway, no big deal, and we’re soon off to New York City. After a long and meandering route through Manhattan, we finally arrive and are dropped off at Pier 88. Pier 88 is a little confusing, as two ships share the same building for customs and then you split off to your respective ships, but it worked very efficiently and we were onboard by about 1:30. By the time we had checked out our stateroom we didn’t really have time to eat lunch in the main dining room, but luckily lots of food was being served up at the poolside barbecue for sailaway. After the mandatory lifeboat drill we met up with a bunch of Cruise Critic people at the Biergarten, and everyone was really nice. Chuck (a different Chuck than the one that brought us to the bus) & Mark brought mardi gras beads for everybody, and we clustered around with cocktails to enjoy the sailaway. This is also where I would meet a couple we would spend a great deal of time with on this cruise, Barbara & Bruce. Nicest people ever!!! After passing the World Trade Center and the Statue of Liberty we decided to hit the casino to cash in our slot play coupons and to enjoy their free rum punch party & raffle. We didn’t win anything, but like my last sailings they gave away a ton of prizes. We followed that up with dinner at Aqua, and then I made a brief stop at Gatsby’s to introduce myself to Aan, a bartender I had read much about online. After spending a week with him I can safely say that his stellar reputation has been well earned. I did attend the Welcome Aboard Show, and by an odd fluke it would be the only show I attended the entire cruise. After the show I paid a quick visit to the casino, and then off to bed fairly early. Sea Day tomorrow!
Monday, October 15, 2012
Dave & I grabbed a quick breakfast in Blue Lagoon, as Dave was schedule to receive an iron and ironing board in the stateroom at 9am (this would be our only issue the entire sailing). While he was waiting I decided to pop over to Adult Arts & Crafts, where we made cruise journals. Shortly after I finished up Dave came to find me to tell me that by 9:30 the iron had not been delivered and he had called guest services to check on it. They confirmed what he had been scheduled for and told him they would follow up with laundry services. The iron was delivered shortly after, but to add insult to injury the crew member who delivered it was rude to him. Since we had our Cruise Critic Meet & Greet scheduled for 11:30 I told him to mention his issue to the hotel director. We arrived at Le Bistro for our meeting a bit early to make sure everything was setup (it was) and we would be there before people started to arrive. The meet & greet was quite nice, and all the officers including Captain Kenneth Harstrom made an appearance. Sean, the hotel director, approached me to make sure everything had been good so far, and I called Dave over to relay his laundry experience. Sean was very apologetic, and to make it up to us offered us free laundry for the rest of the cruise. Very nice of him! After the meet & greet we grabbed lunch in Versailles, and I decided to go see Kenny the Human Jukebox in the Red Lion at 2:15. Dave was going to run through the shops and then meet me there. By a lucky coincidence, the Pub Hop was scheduled to start, also from the Red Lion, at 2pm, and Dave arrived just in time for us to change plans and join the relatively small group of about 40-50. The pub hop would consist of five stops at bars around the ship, each with a cocktail. Unlike the last pub hop I had participated in, this one gave you enough time to finish your drinks, and even stopped for some risqué games along the way. Totally inappropriate for anyone under 21, but truly hilarious if you’re old enough and not easily offended! By the end of the hop we had befriended several couples, one of whom decided to follow the hop by taking the salsa & merengue class, which a few of the rest of us agreed to come watch. Jill & Ox were actually pretty good dancers, despite their intoxication, and we had a blast cheering them on. From there we headed over to the first martini tasting of the sailing, where we were joined by Barbara & Bruce. We had traditional gin, something, something else, and chocolate. It’s all kind of a blur, to be honest, and from there we all attended the VIP cocktail party we were invited to. So much liquor!!! After all of that activity we decided to sop up some of the alcohol with dinner, and we all headed over to Versailles. Lots of conversation and laughs, and a great evening was had by all. Another Sea Day tomorrow!
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Ouch! Is it morning already? Either I’m experiencing a very rare hangover, or equally rare seasickness, or both. Tropical Storm Rafael is scheduled to hit Bermuda today, and we’ll be fairly choppy right up till our arrival there tomorrow morning. A trip to Java Café for some iced cappuccino and a pastry, and I’m good for breakfast. A little later we decide to attend How to Run a Floating Hotel, which is a Q&A session with a few of the officers. Here I learned that in every port the ship must pick up a local pilot, but the only place in the world where the pilot actually assumes command of the ship is in the Panama Canal. Interesting bit of trivia! We had some lunch and then I headed to the Spinnaker Lounge for Battle of the Pans, a sort of cook-off between a couple of the officers and Sharkbait comedy duo. A bit too slapstick for my taste, but most of the crowd seemed to enjoy it. After the show I dropped by the shops to pick up a new cheap watch, since my Made In China $3 waterproof watch kicked the bucket about five minutes after I boarded. Ergo, a $7 Tinkerbell watch with a huge face and a purple band. Ugliest thing ever, but again, only $7, so the cheapest thing available onboard. I donated a bit more to the casino, where I ran into Barbara who had kindly asked the concierge if it would be possible for Dave & I to join she & Bruce at Cagney’s for breakfast and/or lunch (they were suite guests). Monica, the concierge, said that would be no problem, and we made tentative plans to try to hook up for a meal there the next day. Since I was feeling better by this time I decided to do today’s martini tasting. Unfortunately no one ended up joining me, and I made a rather poor attempt of finishing anything. I had hoped Dave would come along and share, but no such luck. Today’s libations were the lemondrop, a peach martini, a berry martini, and then an espresso martini. When I got back to the room I discovered that Sean, the hotel director, had sent us a plate of chocolate-covered strawberries – yummy! Tonight Dave & I dined at Moderno, the Brazilian Churrascaria onboard where they bring skewers upon skewer of meat to your table, and carve off pieces for you. Since I don’t eat meat, I’ll be dining solely from the salad bar. Dave loved everything, and they kindly charged me only half price, so it was a pretty good deal for both of us, and as we dined the Melodic Trio was playing below us in the atrium. We wandered the ship for the rest of the evening, and had a nice mellow night. Bermuda tomorrow!
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
I got up early and headed out to check my email, when who should I run into in the hallway but Barbara! She had forgotten our room number, but knew we were on deck five and figured she’d do a walk through in the hopes of running into me. She invited me to join her for breakfast, and we called Dave from the internet café to see if he would like to meet us, which he did. So I got to revist my oh-so-delicious French toast from my Alaska cruise (still just as fabulous as I remember it) and Dave got to try out the experience. It’s worth the cost of a suite just for the perk of eating at Cagney’s for breakfast and lunch. Due to the choppy water leftover from Rafael, the ferry to St George wasn’t running, so we decided to pop out to King’s Wharf for a bit. We visited the Glassworks and Rum Cake Factory, as well as the Clayworks and the Clock Tower mall. We also stopped in at Snorkel Park, but the beach was closed for the day. After that it was lunchtime, and we decided to head back to the ship for some eats. Since Barbara was still with us, she invited us to lunch at Cagney’s, which we happily accepted. Dave had the French Dip, and I had the swordfish sandwich, both fantastic. I even managed to enjoy a little espresso brownie for dessert (it comes with a macadamia nut ice cream that is just wonderful). From there we decided to enjoy the pool, since it was fairly quiet on the ship. The water was a bit chilly getting in, but once you were in it was delightful. An afternoon of fun in the sun, and I happened to be dry and dressed just in time for the 4:30 margarita tasting at Moderno, where I would make a bunch of new friends. Before I left the room, however, a plate of crackers & cheese arrived from Monica the concierge. Such nice touches from so many crew members! Only seven of us showed up for the margarita tasting, and they require ten to run it, but the bartender kindly offered to serve us the four included drinks anyway in their lounge area, without the educational segment on the liquors. This was agreeable to all of us, and we were enjoying our first margarita, the traditional lime, in short order. We also had blue (kind of a citrus one), peach & berry, and somewhere during that time Dave decided to come along and keep us company. We were all having such a great time talking and chatting that Franklin & Leonore were running late for their 6pm dinner reservation at Le Bistro. The manager at Moderno happily switched them to 6:30, and shortly after they left Phyllis & Teresa mentioned that they too had reservations at Le Bistro, but for 7pm, and would the rest of us like to join them? Of course we would! We once again called over Moderno’s manager to make the switch, and we were quickly accommodated. We would need to be seated in the wine cellar area, but they would be happy to take care of us. As it happened, Mr Motown was playing in Gatsby’s, directly next to the wine cellar, so we got great music with our dinner. Everyone had a wonderful time, and the food and service were excellent. After dinner we headed up to the pool deck to see the Bermuda Gombey Folkloric Show, which was really neat, and also where we finally met Jimmy, the bartender who had taken such great care of my dad & Sue back in March. What a nice guy! He actually setup a table near the show for us, but we didn’t move quickly enough and someone else snagged it, so we ended up joining Barb & Bruce, who were already seated at a four-top near the stage, and ended up hanging out through the first part of the Bermuda Triangle deck party. Around 11:30 I started yawning so I headed down to the stateroom, and Dave followed a short while later. St George tomorrow we hope!
Thursday, October 18, 2012
We had breakfast in Versailles, and then headed over to St George. On our way off the ship we decided to rent a taxi rather than taking the ferry across. We ended up with a driver named Howard, who we asked to tour us over to St George. He took us on a drive of about two hours, and we stopped at all sorts of neat places along the way. One of our stops was at the world’s smallest drawbridge, where there were so many fish you could pluck them by hand out of the river. We also visited Michael Douglas’ house (his mother was born in Bermuda, so he is a native), as well as Goldie Hawn’s house, called Overboard after her movie. We made a bunch of other little stops along the way, but suffice it to say it was a great tour. In St George we did some browsing, and stopped at the Bermuda Perfumerie for their tour. They actually had a perfume I liked, but not for $120, so I decided to skip it. It had frangipani in it, which is my favorite scent in the world. For lunch we ate at Tavern By The Sea, where I had fantastic conch fritters, and an absolutely gross rum swizzle. Seriously, it was orange, and looked like there was carrot juice in it. Gross! We finished up in St George and took the ferry back to King’s Wharf, about 40 minutes by boat. On our way back to the ship we stopped at the tour kiosk and booked ourselves on the Bermuda Triangle Night cruise for 7:15 that evening. We headed back to the room, where we proceeded to watch Men In Black 3 for the umpteenth time in the stateroom, and while there we ordered pizza. Pizza delivery on the ship is kind of neat. It costs $5 for a large pie delivered anywhere on the ship you would like, regardless of toppings. A pizza delivery guy shows up with it, in a regular pizza box enclosed in the insulated case to keep it warm. The pizza itself isn’t great (the crust is sort of crackery) but it’s fun. After we ate I decided to play a round of Bingo, which I lost, and then we headed back to the dock to meet our night cruise. The tour is a glass-bottom boat that takes you over reefs and a shipwreck, and provides you with unlimited rum swizzles on the return to the dock. It was done well and we thoroughly enjoyed it. A funny side note, I mentioned to the barkeep on the boat about my bad rum swizzle experience at lunch and he said “Orange rum swizzle at Tavern By The Sea? Gunther must have made it. He’s not very good”. Cracked me up! By the time we got back to the ship it was fairly late, and we debated going to the much-talked-about White Hot Party, but in the end we opted to head back to the stateroom. An end to a perfect day in Bermuda!
Friday, October 19, 2012
We still needed to pick up a few gifts to bring home, so we grabbed a quick bite from the buffet and popped out to King’s Wharf. We had to be back on the ship for an 11am bridge tour, so we split up and went to different spots. Dave headed back to the Clock Tower Mall, and I revisited the Glassworks, Rum Cake Factory, & Clayworks, where I talked myself out of purchasing a beautiful vase. We met back on the ship and went to meet at deck 11 forward for our bridge tour. Many of our group opted to skip it, largely due to the timing, but those of us who went were in for a real treat. Since the ship was docked they were able to show us a lot more detail as to how everything operated, and our tour ran for about 40 minutes, followed by a few minutes to wander and take pictures. I’ve done three bridge tours and this, in my opinion, was the best of the three. After our bridge tour we went back to the room to change into bathing suits and headed over to Snorkel Park. Snorkel Park has a $5 cover charge, and then you pay a la carte for your food, drinks, chairs, etc. It adds up quickly. I had a couple of frozen mudslides ($10 each) and Dave discovered the WKD alcopops ($7 each), which tasted like Fanta with kick. The water was pretty chilly so we didn’t go in the surf, but we had a nice time anyway enjoying the sun. We also picked up a plate of conch fritters which, including the auto-gratuity they applied, came out to $16 for six fritters. They were yummy, but very pricey. After we finished up at Snorkel Park, Dave went off to do some more shopping, and I headed back to the ship. As it happened I was back just in time for Mojito Muddling Techniques at Gatsby’s, where I was joined by Barbara & Bruce. Aan did the tasting, and he showed us some really cool bartender tricks, which I caught some of on video. Our flavor selections were traditional mojito, citrus, coconut, and mixed berry. Once the tasting was done I went back to the room to pretty up for our dinner with the officers. While I had been out we received another plate of goodies, this time chocolates with macaroons, as well as the vase I wanted (Dave picked it up for me). I love nice surprises! For the officer’s dinner we were to meet at the Spinnaker Lounge, where we were immediately greeted with champagne while we waited for the others to arrive. For this dinner there would be three tables: the first (our table) would include the Captain, the Chief Engineer, & the Training Specialist. The second included the Staff Captain (second in command) and another officer, and the third included the Cruise Director and another officer. As it turned out, the Captain is quite pleasant with a great sense of humor, and dinner was really enjoyable. Special souvenir menus were given to all who attended, as well as a souvenir photo of the table. After dinner we hit the casino for a bit, and then, after making plans to have breakfast at Cagney’s with Barb & Bruce, headed off to bed.
Saturday, October 20, 2012
We slept in a bit, and then after doing my daily email check, we headed up to Cagney’s for breakfast. Absolutely delicious! I headed back to the casino for a bit, where I had a blast on this candy bar slot machine which kept paying me progressive jackpots. The small was around $8, and I hit it a bunch of time. The medium pot was about $55, and I hit it once. Dave was with me for awhile but then popped back to the room to change and head up to the pool in time for the Tattoo Competition, which ended up being cancelled due to the weather. It wasn’t rainy, but it was significantly overcast and no one was on the pool deck. While he was in the room he heard from our margarita tasting friends Franklin & Leonore, who invited us to their stateroom at 4pm for some wine, which we accepted. I grabbed a veggie burger on the pool deck (MUCH tastier than the kind they serve in the dining room) and then we both popped back down to the casino to cheer on Barb & Bruce in the slot tournament before heading to meet Franklin & Leonore. They came in a close second, and received a bottle of champagne as a consolation prize, and before we left they invited us to join them for a late dinner at Le Bistro, which we accepted. We arrived promptly at 4pm at Franklin & Leonore’s stateroom, where they had thoughtfully ordered a cheese plate and some quiche to go with our choice of white or red wine. We ended up spending a couple of hours there – Franklin does talks on wine, and Leonore does photography as a hobby, so we had a lot to chat about, and they will likely join us at Mohegan Sun in January for Winefest. After saying goodbye to them we headed back to the room to change for dinner, and to kill the hour we had in between I decided to revisit to candy bar slot machine. BIG mistake! It took $30 from me before I decided to give up on it, and then when I got up another woman sat down. I was walking away when I heard screaming and turn around to discover that two pulls after I stood up she won $1100! She was really excited, and I was happy for her, but VERY sad for me that I missed out by such a narrow window. I decided to leave the “bad place” (what I would now call the ship’s casino) and head to Gatsby’s for a cocktail. Gatsby’s is right in front of Le Bistro, so it was the perfect spot to listen to Mr Motown and wait for our friends. They arrived right on time and we were brought back to a table in the main part of the restaurant, and we ended up with the same server Dave & I had earlier in the week, who had done a great job then. Not so hot on our second visit, though, as the meal took over two hours, and to make matters worse, everyone’s meat was overcooked by one level, and my salmon had so much salt on it as to make it inedible. Not sure what happened there, since we had a great experience earlier in the week, but everyone has an off night once in a while. Fortunately we had great company, so it was still a nice outing. After dinner we decided to roam the ship one last time, since we would be disembarking tomorrow morning, and then we headed off to bed. So sad to be going home tomorrow!
Sunday, October 21, 2012
We woke up just early enough to catch our return pass of the World Trade Center all lit up before the sun fully rose. Beautiful! From there I headed to Java Café for one last cappuccino and a pastry. Once Dave got up he decided to grab some food from the buffet (I wasn’t hungry) that we could eat on deck. Brrr – chilly! Since our bus wasn’t scheduled to leave till 1pm we were trying to be the last ones off the ship, hopefully around 10am. Little did we know that the whole disembarkation process would be a bit of a disaster, and we wouldn’t arrive home till 5:30pm that night! Around 9am the announcement was made to please clear your staterooms so the room stewards could begin the turnover process. Now dragging our bags, we checked out the line to leave on deck 7, and were told by Sean the Hotel Director that we may as well wait up on deck 12, as customs had already delayed debarkation twice so far. We headed back up to 12, where we spent the next hour until a zealous window washer on 14 (who couldn’t see us), sprayed us with window cleaner from above. After that we went back down to 7, where Dave chatted with Sean for awhile and I people watched from the Java Café. By 11:15 we started to get concerned so we got in line. A good decision, because we didn’t actually make it through customs for another hour. Craziest backup they had ever seen in the port of New York. Once we got outside we had to wait for the bus, and for added fun the longshoreman were having a lazy day where they didn’t want to walk the length of the bus parking area and were only allowing two buses to park at a time. We managed to find a group of people waiting for the same bus we were, and by 1pm we were starting to get concerned. By 1:30 we were really cranky, and by 2pm when we finally found and boarded the bus we were truly ticked off. Ridiculous backups for no apparent reason! To add insult to injury, the bus hit traffic three separate times on our trip, so we didn’t make it back to New Haven till 5pm. Once there we entered the taxi queue, which moved pretty quickly, and hired a cab to take us home. Hooray, home at last! Fortunately everything had been fine in our absence, and now all that was left was to unpack. Hope you’ve enjoyed reliving the trip with me. I’ll catch you next time!