Easy Dream Vacations

Nassau is one hot town, especially in July.  It was another steamy day on the trip, one that makes sailing in January fell much better.  We had been in Nassau before and had no real plans other than a walk through the shopping area and of course the straw market.    The locals were not as anxious to take us for cab rides as last time we were in town.  They do offer many forms of transportation here including    scooters, cabs, vans, horse drawn buggies,  and a water shuttle to the Atlantis resort area.    We opted to use our feet and just head down town.  We checked out a few shops looking for a visor for Kathy and surprisingly could not find one, not even in the straw market.     The straw market if you have not been there is sort of a flea market with all the typical tourist goods, but they also have a huge selection of Coach Purses.    It would be interesting to know if these coach purses are authentic, they seem to be but not being an expert and with the drastic drop in price it makes me suspicious.    We made a quick stop in Senior Frogs for a cool drink and it was quick as the prices did not make us feel very welcome.    A beer was over five dollars.  Those cold beers in St. Marten and Cozumel sound so good right about now.  We thoroughly enjoyed shopping in the jewelry stores, they have great air conditioning!    We did manage to go through the down town area mostly window shopping, the town square had some beautiful landscaping.      They had a plant there that had a unique scent.   I wish someone had been around to ask but with it being Sunday the place was pretty deserted.   We will be back in a few days while on our NCL cruise, hope we find someone to ask then.    We headed back to the ship, the pool sounded like great place to spend the afternoon.   Our final night on the Majesty came too quick, 3 night cruises are probably a bit short compared to what we are used to.  This evening we took in the show in the Chorus Line Theater, it was better than the juggler from the night before but I do have to say that it was not one of the better shows I have seen on a ship.  It was a musical tribute but it just lacked something, not sure if it was the limited size of the stage, the lighting, or the dances and singers.  Hopefully our next Royal Caribbean cruise will have that which was missing in this show.  Off to bed our cabin to pack and get ready for our next cruise! 

Filed under : Caribbean, Cruises, Destinations, Royal Caribbean, Travel Review

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We woke to a beautiful sunrise, the only problem is that the sun was between the ocean and the clouds.  Yes we had a cloudy start on this day and as soon as the sun rose high enough to get above the clouds and it was the last time we saw it on this day.   We started our morning with breakfast in the Windjammer Marketplace.  They had both sections of the buffet open this morning so we found our food and had a table near the front windows of the Café.  By this time we were anchored off shore of Royal Caribbean’s private island Coco Cay.    As we ate we watched the ships crew use cranes to load a tender with supplies for the island. The ship was anchored off shore and tenders are used to take guests and supplies ashore from the ship.   Breakfast at the buffet was good but with the multiple buffet stations not all of my food stayed as warm as I would have liked by the time I made it through the stations and to our table.  If you’re interested in more information on the pros and cons we found on the Majesty of the Seas make sure and read my final blog entry on this cruise as it will be a review of the ship and services on board.  After breakfast we packed up and headed to the island.   We took the elevator down to deck one in a smooth and orderly fashion we were on the tender for the 10 minute ride to Coco Cay.  There were three or 4 tenders taking guests back and forth all day between the island and the ship.  Once on Coco Cay we found our way to the shopping area were we found that overall prices were high.  The shops were locals selling all the typical tourist items t-shirts, cover ups, picture frames, etc..  As we headed over to the beach side of the island it felt as though we were at some water park or Walt Disney park.    The island was very clean, almost too clean and too modern as it was built for the cruise ship guests.  But that is just my opinion as I prefer a feel of history and culture on the islands.  The beach area had plenty of beach chairs, if you were lucky there were also some hammocks hanging between trees. There seemed to be an abundance of activities, many of which were excursions that had a fee.  The swimming and snorkeling areas had life guards and looked very clean and inviting.  We had no problems finding some chairs  on the beach but not long after we sat down we decided to get back to the ship as it was starting to sprinkle and looked like a good storm coming in. The fact that the lifeguards had the water activities closed also made it an easy decision to head back on board.   Before you get back on the tenders you have to have you items scanned and once back at the ship as usual your Seapass card is scanned so they know you are back on board.  Back on board we dropped our bags off in our stateroom and headed for the Sun deck, nope it is not called the “Lido” deck on Royal Caribbean.  We found some chairs, kicked backed and relaxed.  The rain moved in so we had to find somewhere covered and nap time began.  After lunch the weather looked a bit better so we decided to try the island again.  We had pre-rented foam float mats on board the ship so we pick up one for Kathy and I headed over to the snorkel shack to pick up the mandatory snorkel vest and take their quick orientation.   Kathy relaxed on the beach and I headed out snorkeling.  Snorkeling was good on the island. There were many different fish, including sting rays as well as a few sunken objects and some man made reef structures. I headed out to the far sign of the bay and was lucky enough to find the two airplanes they had in the water.  I was happy with the snorkeling and was surprised at the water clarity despite the weather we had experienced.  Come back and visit our photo gallery to see the underwater pictures I took with the disposable camera.  I sure I hope the turn out as the fish were beautiful.  Over all the island was nice, had some good views but one thing I could have passed on seeing was the guy in the Speedos he should not even been wearing shorts with his build!  Why some of the guys think they need to wear them is beyond me.

Back on board the Majesty we dressed for our formal night, although we dressed casual which was perfectly acceptable.  We had a good dinner with a main course of beef filet  and a wonderful soufflé for dessert. After dinner we headed to the theatre for our second show.  Being formal night I though it may be a nice Las Vegas style show but was disappointed when it was a juggler who drew more laughs with his corny jokes than he did with his juggling. 

The highlight of the evening was the deck party and dance.  The offered up a buffet bext to the pool which featured some ice sculptures including one that was carved during the party.  The buffet had some good appetizers, fresh fruit, a chocolate fruit fondue setup, an ice cream sundae table and other fabulous desserts.  The activity staff along with a DJ did a great job getting the crowd going and everyone seemed to have a great time.  It was a late night so we will be sleeping in tomorrow morning.  Good night.

Filed under : Caribbean, Cruises, Royal Caribbean, Travel Review

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Morning came pretty quick after our 1 a.m. dinner at Bennigans.  The good part was we were still full and did not need breakfast.  We slept very well at the Holiday Inn, great beds and pillows!  As promised the hotel was ready to take us to the port at 11:00 a.m.  A quick 15 minute ride and we were at the port.  A few other guests joined us on the shuttle to be dropped off at the Carnival Inspiration and a few minutes later we arrived at the Royal Caribbean terminal.  Our baggage was off loaded and in we went.  There were no lines at all so we were at the check-in counter immediately.  Check in was very smooth and very quickly we were on board the Majesty of the Seas.    We did get a nice little surprise at check in, we were moved from our original stateroom, and inside room on deck 5 to stateroom on deck 9.  We headed to the Windjammer Marketplace buffet, we were surprised at the size of the café, we were used to much larger buffet areas on all the prior cruises we had been on.  They had a nice selection, pasta, Mediterranean, Mexican, Asian, carved roast beef, soups, salads, and desserts.  The food was good and there were no long lines considering the smaller area, but we do need to keep in mind that the Majesty is a smaller ship.  The usual drinks, coffee, tea, iced tea, lemon aide and so on were  available.   After lunch we walked around the ship exploring the different areas.  We found all the different dining options, Johnny Rockets Burgers (there is a $4.95 cover fee for Rockets),

Sorrento’s Pizza, the Compass Deli, the coffee shop (which has some very nice looking specialty ice creams)   and the main dining rooms the Starlight Dining room.  We opted to try the “My Time” dining option for our evening meals. With this option you can either walk up to the main dining room when you want dinner or make reservations daily as to when you would prefer to east that day. They do suggest that you make reservations so as to not have to wait if the area dedicated to “My Time”  happens to  be full when you arrive,  Reservations can be made by phone from your stateroom or at the Head Waiter’s station, we chose 6:00 for today.

Staterooms on the ship were not available for guests until 1:00 so that the time we headed to the room we had been upgraded to on deck 9 forward.  We were very happy when we opened the door and saw that we had been upgraded to an ocean view room as well as the largest stateroom short or a suite we had ever seen. As it turns out the room is handicap accessible, so it was huge, almost twice the size of previous cabins we had been in.  The room was nicely furnished however it fell short when it came to closet space as well as storage areas in the bathroom.  There were no shelves in the bathroom as we have become used to, so we had to find other places for things such as contact solutions, medications, etc..  The room did have 2 nice windows, they let it daylight and gave you a view off of the port side of the ship. 

Off for more exploration!  We headed to the kids area to see what the offered. They had one area for the younger kids (ages 3-11) and they also had a teen area.  They offered nice programs and for the younger kids they gave out pagers to the parents.  We headed to the Spa for a tour and to signup for a drawing.  The spa had some very nice treatments but they were all out of range for our budget.  We signed up for the drawing and continued our ship exploration.

 The pools looked very inviting as it was very humid on this Florida summer day. We opted for our first drinks instead of the pool.   Kathy had her Miami Vice and me my Mojito.  Kathy was not too impressed with her Miami Vice and the price was a bit steep at $9.95.  My mojito was perfect and the price of $5.95 was what we had seen on previous cruises.  The drinks went down all too good in the humid Florida air.  Before we knew it was time for the Muster Drill.  Royal Caribbean was a bit more organized than previous cruises we have been on, they actually looked at your SeaPass card and checked you off when you arrived at you drill station. The nice part was you did not have to wear or even bring your life jacket to the drill.  This was great as the Florida heat and humidity continued to increase.  The drill was pretty short and by the time it was completed the ship was under way.  We stood and waived to those on shore as we set sail.  It was also fun watching the Coast Guard boats that were escorting the cruise ships as we left port.  Those guys seemed to be having too much fun as they flew around in those quick boats they had.  But we must thank them as we know it is not all fun and games providing that protection for us.  Thanks Guys and Gals of the U.S. Coast Guard!  Make sure to visit us on Facebook to watch some of the videos we took, (give us a week or so to get them processed and uploaded).  We headed back to the spa for the prize drawing, they gave away many prizes and I even won one, a foot and ankle massage,  Kathy is going to enjoy that!

The six o’clock dinner bell came pretty quick so we headed to the room to freshen up and then headed to the Starlight dinning room.  Dinner and the service was good, we had chosen a table for 2, which seemed a bit odd when we sat down.  We are used to being with a large group so a table for 2 was a pleasant change for Kathy and me to spend dining together.  Our waiters did a great job but it was a bit different that normal as they seemed to not have the time for entertaining us with their usual humor and talent.  In the past the service and even more the fun that we had with our waiters was something we really enjoyed, let’s see what day 2 brings.

After dinner we gave away a few dollars at the casino and then went to the Chorus Line theatre for the nightly show.  Tonight’s show was a comedian, Miguel Washington from

Atlanta.  He was very good we enjoyed some good laughs.  We did some window shopping at the shops on the ship and then turned in for the night.

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We started our trip today, looking forward to getting away for a week as well as seeing some new ships and cruise lines we have never inspected or sailed on. More on that later in the week,  on to Day One, Travel Day.

All I can say is be very careful with connecting flights.  We made our connections but some of the air fare deals that are be being sold have some very short layovers.  We had flights from Milwaukee to Memphis and then Memphis to Miami.  The layover was supposed to be 30 minutes, no problem.  They didn’t say that included boarding time.  Out flight from Milwaukee landed in Memphis on time at 6:50. Our flight to Miami started boarding at 6:50.  We had to rush, the gates were in the same terminal but had almost 40 gates between them.  We made it, but we really wondered about the luggage.  After all the running we ended up leaving 20 minutes late, seems they were waiting for some luggage from connecting flights to be loaded.  Probably was our luggage, yes it met us in Miami, so all was well.  The flights, they were ok, the first flight from Milwaukee hit some strong turbulence, there were even people throwing there arms up in the air as if they were in a roller coaster, “6 Flags, more Fun!” as the commercial says.  The changes in the air industry just amaze me though.  We purchased tickets on Northwest Airlines, now part of Delta, the flight from Milwaukee was operated by Compass Air, the flight between Memphis and Miami was operated by Northwest but they served us Delta cookies.  Can’t complain too much though, for $74 we made it to Miami.  

We arrived in Miami, picked up our luggage and were off to the Holiday Inn Miami Airport.  We normally stay downtown Miami near Bayside Market but opted to try out the offer of free shuttle service as well as a better price.  The Holiday Inn Airport had a rate that was almost half the cost of the downtown hotels. Their check in service was awesome, very friendly and efficient. As priority Club members we also were given a welcome package of snacks and a coupon for a free drink.  They have a free shuttle that runs every half hour between airport and hotel and they also offer a free shuttle to the port of Miami.  The hotel lacks the activities that you have in downtown Miami although they did offer shuttle service to local restaurants.  We took advantage of the shuttle and had a light night (or should I say early morning) dinner at Bennigan’s. Thank goodness Bennigan’s was open 24 hours, we were pretty hungry and the Priority Club snacks were just not what we had in mind for dinner.  Goodnight.

Filed under : Cruises, Destinations, Norwegian, Royal Caribbean, Travel Information, Travel Review, United States

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The Carnival Valor was the 5^th Carnival Cruise ship we had been on.  The Valor is a beautiful ship, the decor was just that much better than the previous ships we had been on that it stood out in my mind as one of the most beautiful in the Carnival fleet.  I am not going to try and describe it as I would not do it justice.  I will however suggest that you listen to the podcast that one of our group members has put together and published on the internet.  You can fine the podcast by going to his website using the following link.  http://www.chuckchat.com/technorama/?p=929

The Valor was also the cleanest and best maintained ship I had been on. A reason for this could have been the fact that she was just in dry dock for ongoing maintenance and upgrades.  The crew did a wonderful job keeping the ship spotless. The carpets in all areas of the ship were kept looking like new.  It seemed like they were constantly cleaning the carpets, the railings, and everything else on the ship. Our rooms were not much different than other balcony rooms we had been in on past cruises.  Plenty of room and comfortable.  I’m not sure if it is just the ship rocking you into a tranquil sleep or if it really is the Carnival bedding but I have to say that we never sleep as good as we do while on a Carnival ship.  Last year I order a set of Carnival Collection pillows for Kathy’s birthday just to bring part of that comfort home to us. 

Our dining room staff did a great job, they were very good in providing service and were friendly as well.  They did fall short of the personality and entertainment that the waiters we had on our first cruise provided.  But I will not hold that against them.  On our first cruise our head waiter Mariam and his assistant Klaudia were just out standing. 

Mariam                           Klaudia

If anyone knows what ship Mariam and Klaudia are on let us know.  I would take a cruise on that ship just because they were that good!  The food on the Valor was great as usual, but I would have to say it may have been a few notches better than the previous Carnival ships we were on.  I had maybe one of the best filets I ever ate on the Valor.  It was served in the main dining room and cooked perfectly.  The Valor had a reservations only dining room, Scarlett’s Steak House but it  had an additional charge per person. To be honest with as good as the food was in all of the other dining options I see no reason to visit Scarlett’s.  The Valor had the buffet and grills like most of the other Carnival ships and they also had a seafood restaurant, named “Fish and Chips”.  It was on deck 10 above Rosie’s restaurant. 

The bar staff also did a great job. I have to say that there were few times when I was thirsty.  On previous cruises there had actually seemed to be a shortage of bar waiters in certain areas but the Valor seemed to have all bases covered.  The only issue I had was with the drink pricing, it did not seem consistent from bar to bar. 

The Vegas style shows on the Valor were new and exciting. I am glad to see that Carnival is putting some effort into their shows. The shows from year to year seemed to never change so this was a pleasant surprise. Two young men, Eli and Teknyc from G- force added a great break dancing routine to the second Vegas Style show, these 2 guys were out standing.  After the main show they also put on a small show of their own at the lobby bar.  You don’t want to miss these guys if you have the chance to see them. 

For no particular reason we did not use the spa facilities, jacuzzis or pools on the Valor.  Guess we were just too busy having a good time.

Other entertainment on the valor included the Carnival Seaside Theatre, the big screen on the Lido deck. 

 They used the big screen day and night, during the day they had different uses including movies and the presidential inauguration one day.  At night they had movies playing on the Lido deck and served pop corn as well.. Some guests brought quilts from their cabins grabbed a deck chair and had a cozy evening under the stars watching a movie.  There were also roaming magicians on the Promenade deck trying to see if they were quick enough to keep you from know how their magic worked.  There was always something going on, there is no reason anyone should have been bored on the Valor!  One nice surprise for me was that they had wifi internet access basically everywhere on the ship, even in your cabins.  Unfortunately I was so busy that these blog entries that were supposed to be published daily are now finally being completed almost a month after the cruise.  So the wifi access was nice but the sun and fun were just that much better!

There were some nice changes in procedures on the Valor and I hope they have been carried over to the other ships in the fleet.  One being that when tenders were needed to get to land you had to first get tickets, actually stickers with a number on them.  You would get them on the Promenade deck near the casino.  This procedure seemed to greatly reduce the congestion getting on the tenders.  Over all I would give the Valor a 4.5 on a scale from 1-5.

  Captain Pierluigi Barrile and his staff did a fantastic job! 

We hope to again sail on the Valor.

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