Travel Rewind : Punta Cana Day 4 Gnat Dance. .. Beat it .. Scram ..Sunday Sept 22 2014

Hola! 

Today was a turn down day .. Continue to make breakfast at the very end .. Then headed to the beach . 


We were at the beach all day .. Till 6pm when it started to rain ... Walked back to the villa .. Changed .. Then headed to dinner .

It's American night in the buffet and it's the first nigh that the food isn't saturated in salt ! Food was actually good . 

After dinner we chilled in the open air lobby .. And FINALLY I connected to the awful wifee to use my free hr . We get a free hr a day but I hasn't worked and we been here since Thursday . 

We listened to a live band .. And played one of my favorite song by Mark Anthony .. 

And we drank .. Mama Juana ! After we headed to the casino .. Which is a whole in the wall .. I skipped playing but my compadres didn't ... No one won.. REALLY?  

The club was next and the Cupid shuffle to a Latin beat was interesting ... Video to come later .... 

How the day goes so fast is beyond me ... 

It's now almost 2am and I'm still up will be struggling I'm sure in the morning for breakfast which ends at 10am... 

No plans except beach and the Michael Jackson show . We do have a specialty restaurant reservation late ... 

Why beat it scram ? It's a saying my bestie has but the darn Gnats need to beat it scram as they are eating up my legs!!!

Adios!

Travel Rewind : Punta Cana : Day 3 Mama Juana ..or Marijuana?

Greetings ! It's day 3 and we are in serious turn down mode . Breakfast at the buffet ... It's the best meal of the day for me since it's not full of sal ! (Salt ) 

Did I mention that Tonya and Maria got us sucked into the darn timeshare presentation yesterday ? So we had an appointment at noon.. 

Trying to make breakfast in the morning by 10 has been a feat... Buffet ends then . We have decided to get massages the last day .. And so today will be the beach later ... 

Still trying to connect to the darn free wifee ...so we go to hear the hour presentation ... And see the property .. Turns out I'm not interested at all we get if a tshirt and free time in the hydrotherapy ... 

We decide to use the hydrotherapy the last day as well ... 

By this time it's feeling like 100 degrees and we finished the timeshare presentation.. Needed to hit up the shops ..it was almost 2:30.. We were gonna go to the pool.. But instead we went to Buffet and I grabbed salad . I swear this food is so darn salty ..... But the drink of the day .. And a local favorite a waiter brought us out was called Mama Juana. It's a liqueur and sounds awfully like ....

So.. No beach today .., tomorrow right after breakfast . 

Dinner was early ..at 6pm and we had Japanese . Not a person who worked in the house was Japanese ... Yet the food Was good! It was reminiscent of Bennehanna's. 

After dinner we went to the show .. Yes there's a theatre called the Tropicana.. It was Disco night .. 

I've never laughed so hard .. The dancers had on Saturday Night Fever costumes . There was a Beegees , Sylvester , Kool and the Gang and Donner Summer medley ... 

But the kicker was the Village People .. I was howling because the fireman had on a candy strip outfit !!!  We were laughing so hard we couldn't breathe!!! By the way the firemen didn't have a candied stripped outfit right? I seem to have forgotten..as we are all singing YMCA!

The dancers were awful !!! But the more I watched it reminded me of the cruise shows .. But they are much better .. 

My phone was dead so I'm waiting on pics from friends ... 

Monday night however is Michael Jackson .. I can't wait .. 

The party continued to a show for Miss Bahia.. With games that picked the winner ... 

The club and casino were open both which I skipped .. Tomorrow is another day ...

Adios!  

2014 Travel Rewind! Day 1 Turn Down for what ? No Really ... Thursday 9/18/2014 Travel Blog - Punta Cana...

9-18 headed to the airport and arrive at 630am. 

Flight scheduled to leave at 815 delayed until 855

Take off direct flight smooth and comfy . 

Deplane down stairs and it's hot !!  

Board buses to the terminal and it's hot! Very tropical ! And greeted by music ! Sounds like my neighbors! 

If you didn't know I am the minority in my Minority neighborhood ! I've been told I can pass for Dominican .. And so it starts at the airport .. I'm not vain but as a big girl the asset I have is my eyes . There are no shortage of Dominican men stopping me .. And I'm by myself waiting for bestie's flight to land ... 

I am constantly reminded that America is not all there is . This is the first time for me to DR and a first land based vacation in over 10 years ! 

The airport is several thatched huts and what I immediately notice is no cell phones.. So I check and I can't get global service.. Which I paid for .. 

Bestie arrives and we head to our hotel .. Correction out property . The Bahia Grand Principe is several properties that all look alike ... And as we learn this evening not every jitney goes where we need to ! 

By time we get to the property immediately we are greeted with Dominican women dancing . The lobby is huge and outside ... It's humid ..bestie upgraded us and we were VIP status . Woo hoo! I love traveling with friends who share similar like. 

We are told we get an hour free wifee in the lobby but try to get it to work ..we did have a free cocktail reception 15 min of free wifee time in the AC ..each day . 

We get our packets and I notice how truly big the property is! We need a jitney to go everywhere !

Our rooms are heading in the direction of the beach .. That's all I know . By the time we get in the jitney and get to out rooms it's 3pm and we've missed lunch . We are at an all inclusive . Luckily for is we have free room service ! We order and pass out . By the time we awoke it was almost 7 ! Jitney back to hotel lobby only to find we got off at another hotel ! 

Finally at our lobby we go back and we dranking !

After the free 15 min of wifee (wifi but I took to calling it wife as that  was how it was pronounced in Europe and I thought it was catchy!)  we walk the path to and find the buffet . It was decent ... 

Seems they love a salt shaker here ! Good way salty .. Wondering where the adobo and Sazon is ... 

After dinner we head to the theatre after watching the free disco show in out lobby .. 

But we find the theatre and nothing going on .... Oh well.. 

So we hop on the jitney and head back to out villa ... 

Villa living is great ... We think .. But  nothing is close by ... 

We chat drink and discuss the days events but alas a full day of traveling has us knocked out !  

Mas Mañana !  Adios!

Day 6 Sea Day ... Banana Lemonchello ..Banana Lemonchello

Greetings ! So we are out to sea today heading home and after getting up around 9am we make a mad dash for seats pool side .  So much for that . I knew they would be gone . So instead we are by the pink polar bear and blocked sun . Better than nothing . It's hot hot hot !  We had sun until about 2pm  and then was blocked by the Polar Bear and I think Life boats . I can't seem to add the pics to the blog from my phone . I'll have to add them when I get home . I must be doing something incorrectly ?

Anyway, sad to know in just 24 hours, I won't be out here in a bathing suit since I hear it's not that warm up north . I purchased  the internet package for 2 days that's actually cheap so I can post my blogs . 

I really enjoyed my social media break. I'm thinking  I need to do this more often . 

Today was lazy. Headed inside for lunch and some lemonchello. Yes it's for old folks .. or Italians -they always drink it . I like it . LOL  I've always liked Lemoncello but after my trip to Italy and the Amalfi Coast where it's actually made , I drink it on vacation . It's not like I order it out at home .. Ever. 

I seem to be walking a lot on this trip and sleeping hasn't been  part of the itinerary. So I took a much needed nap .

We went to see another awful production called Sonic Oddessy . Well at least Mama Mia was good ... As I mentioned yesterday everyone has several jobs . Why was the cast of Mama Mia the stars of Sonic Odyssey? There was a time they would perform and leave the ship to hop on the next ship . It seems now they are staying on board doing all the shows ...everybody got three jobs on this ship.

As we head to dinner, another mass confusion at the front of one of the many lines to distinguish those with reservations and those without . 

Shame on you if you didn't pay attention and book your restaurants in advance . Everywhere seems to have a wait . Except the one restaurant specifically designed for Grande suites. That restaurant look empty everytime we  pass it. 

We are Currently eating dinner at a beautiful restaurant called  Le Grande . The service was slow and once again I feel let down for the meal . 

I'm exhausted and decide to head to bed while my sister and bestie go for drinks and gamble . Neither which I want to do anymore . Detox . Detox. Detox. 

Exercises, heat and ice for knee and then bed . 

Lawd the two of them come back just as I was falling asleep loud and laughing . They have accused the bartender Eric of cocktail fraud !!! ROFL . It seems it was making smoothies last night their drinks were so thick ! And my sis brought her darn banana with her again !! This time she took the banana from the Windjammer at breakfast so she can have Eric make her a cocktail with it . SMH .

 I know I'll be out late tomorrow night since its our last night. I'll also hit the casino since I haven't been yet . 

I feel sorry for whoever is in the cabin next to us ..LOL although I can't hear anything next door . Perhaps the cabins are built thicker ...

Until tomorrow ! 

Ciao! 

Day 5 Can't believe we are almost done?

It's Coco Cay day and I'm not leaving the ship . Haven't been pool side yet . Saw the weather at home and thought I need every drop of sun and heat today since the next several days are out to sea ... Hope I get all day tomorrow to be in the sun and heat too . 

Up at 9am this morning . Breakfast and now pool side .  Sis fell and I was nervous . Glad she didn't hurt herself . 

The North Star is amazing and sis and bestie are going to get on . I didn't  want to get on for some reason. Must climb down stairs.  So I'm good videoing it . Now would be the time while the line is short  though. It's like the London Eye and can go around and is about 300 ft in the air above the top deck. Apparently it moves over water too when not in port . 

I have some great pics of them and no I didn't get on . I don't want be that high in the air . 

My Spa appointment is at 1:45pm. I'll review the spa separately but I'm getting a hot stone massage :) After, I intend to come back out here and chill poolside . 

Sandra who did my hot stone massage was excellent ! Had me snoring ! I feel so much better ! It's my first massage since the accident . After my massage I went back pool side and passed out . 

I seriously hated to get up to go to the Crown and Anchor party but I'll be Diamond after this cruise ! Woo woo! It's RC's way of thanking many for being Loyal to Royal . Champagne and cocktails flowing . 

I left early to book my next cruise ... I'll be back in 2 years leaving from Florida  on the new ship Harmony of the Seas. I'm really liking leaving from NJ though . My sis booked for next year . I don't think I can we will see. That's leaving from NJ Anthem of the Seas .  

Back at the Bionic Bar and off we go to see a show ..

The comedian was funny as all hell .  He was a ventriloquist and been laughing ever since .

Dinner was excellent at Chops Grille . All the cruises we've been on and we've never been here . I'm not a steak eater so I had lobster. ..it's a specialty restaurant . 

I can't even tell you what the show Starwater was about.  I'm like WTH ? Back to the bar I go ... 

Only to go to Boleros and find a reggae band here ? Ok .. All the black and white folk who know Bob Marley are here. They done run out the Spanish folks. LOL . We stay and sway to old classic reggae . Cover songs of Bob Marley . Just like I said . 

We close the bar down again with our favorite bartender Eric .  I need to make up the next 2 days I'm behind my alcohol totals .ugh . It's what makes the package worthwhile . I simply can't drink like I used to . That's a good thing . 

We missed Quest apparently . It's the craziest thing aboard this ship . Grown folk running and acting a fool . It's fun though . 

It's a semi late night ..1:00am . And what's next ? Ice and heat the knee then exercises. 

My trip is speeding by .. More tomorrow .. We are out to sea the next two days . Need to make it pool side tomorrow .. The closer we get up north .. The colder it is .. Where is my coat again? 

Ciao !

Day 4 : I'm bring my bananas ..I'll bring mine too !

Day 4

I'm bringing my banana..and I'll bringing mine too !

Good morning ! Good Afternoon!

It's 11:15am and I'm just waking up from a much needed good night of sleep finally ! Ship wasn't rocking so much last night .

Late night in Boleros.. Closed the place down ! Our waiter Eric is so nice and his drinks are heavenly !

He's going on to China when the ship leaves NJ at the end of May . I think he's the first person we've asked that says he was going .

It's interesting to watch a ship in transition . Can't say that I've noticed this before ... Staff are being trained . And I'm noticing a lack of concern (?) is that the right word ? Maybe nonchalance about some .

But they are working double time . They all seemed hurried , rushed and generally pleasant .. But tired . Like they can't keep pace . This is a hard life . Kudos to our current cabin Steward Rownena and former Cabin Steward Nicole because it feels like they care 😄

Our last cabin steward Nicole on Liberty of The Seas is working this ship on deck 11 and we had the chance to meet up with her for a brief minute yesterday . It was nice seeing her . Social Media definitely connects you in ways never before . She's not going to China . She'll remain here and we might even see her on our next cruise !

Sitting on my balcony now while bestie is in the shower. Did I say my sister Big Momma got her own cabin ? She's so spoiled lol. Then so am I cause I'm not liking that I'm not in a suite . No choice on this cruise ...they were sold out 2 years ago when we booked ! Yeah I'm a suite snob.

We will in all likely book our next cruise before we leave this ship for 2 years from now .

I love the water .. It's calming and reflective and gives me a sense of peace .

Grateful that my knee is doing wonderful and I'm sure all this walking is great for it .

The swelling each night is down right ugly but my regime is the same .. Exercises morning and night .. Heat, ice and elevate at night . No water how much alcohol ... Lol

So we seem to have missed breakfast today . Oh well . I prefer breakfast but there's a couple of restaurants that are free that we haven't hit yet for lunch and I'm craving a salad . That's a good thing right ?

I so wanted to live blog this trip but didn't have enough time yesterday to post days 1,2,3 .

I can't imagine how long you need in theme parks anymore since the lines are so long . Express passes cost more loot and we were in the park 6 hours yesterday and did exactly 3 things . Still psyched about my wand ! We didn't get on either Harry Potter ride . Honestly not enough time .

We don't arrive in the Bahamas until 2pm . The captain must be doing a slow crawl from Florida ....

Let me get dressed and continue this later ..

Lunch at Divinely Decadence pool side by the Solarium. Not much to rave about and it used to be a paid restaurant .

Pool side and dranking .. and of course they have no bananas . At some point a man hears us and we are laughing and getting at Eric since he has no bananas . My sis wants a banana daquiri . Next they we know the guy comes back with a banana for her ! And now we are laughing about bananas . LOL .

At some point we will get off to buy alcohol in Bahamas . We've docked and are her till 11:30pm .

After several pina coladas we head to shore .. Only to buy alcohol . Specifically white Henny since we can't get it home . Why is it almost 4:00pm when we get off the ship ? Where did the day go ? Truth is it was almost noon by time we made it to eat lunch .

Eating a snack now and dinner is at 9:15 at one of the specialty restaurants .

One thing I noticed is you can't eat all day on this ship . Bestie says to give staff a break but I seriously doubt that was motivation. Room service is no longer free at night and the cage promenade closes at 3am. Just an observation .

After my snack went to lie down and it's time for dinner . I'm tired . My legs hurt . I've done really good but my knee and ankle are a hot mess right now.

I'm sure we will wind up at Boleros tonight .. But now feeling like I want any alcohol .

Tomorrow is a pool day . Till 1:45pm which I have my spa and then I'll go back out .

Dinner tonight is at Silk a Pan Asian restaurant and frankly by far the best looking restaurant so far .


Well...

Not impressed at all ... Family style ? And what if this isn't what I wanted .

Something is entirely wrong when the they bring out food Before you order it . What about bestie with food allergies ? SMH.

I left the restaurant thinking I need sleep .

I left bestie and sis and headed to the stateroom not feeling well at all . Too much alcohol and food .

Did my exercises and heat and ice my knee and off to bed I went .

More tomorrow ...

Day 3: Winggardem Nerveosa ...

Day 3 - Harry Potter here we come ! Winggardem Nerveosa...

Pre-Dawn

Last night was rough .. Sea sick for the first time ever . OMG . I thought it was too much alcohol . LOL .

The seas were rough and I really never experienced this before . I always travel with Dramamine and this time I didn't . Made it through the night and bestie got sick too .

We were both much better when we made it to the calm waters of Florida and it's beautiful ! 83 degrees ! Yay!

My hands are raw with all the Purell all over the ship . Last week norovirus broke out on the ship and this week ... The cleanest place ever ! You have to wash your hands everywhere and then use Purell . Not complaining at all . But my poor hands are already dry ...

We arrive at Port Canerval at 1:00pm . Our tour bus leaves at 1:30pm it's an hour to Universal . The Park hopper pass is expensive for 1 day but we have only one goal to see Harry Potter! So we are going to Universal and Islands of Adventure . I'm a fan and I haven't been to the park ! Lines lines lines ! Thanks to my co-worker Patti who's here all the time for the park layout ! You can spent too much time walking the wrong direction here!

We start at Universal and go though Diagon Alley ! I'm such a kid ! Only walked though and took loads of pics since the lines for the shops were so long. But the fire breathing dragon on top of Gringotts bank ! That scared the bejesus out of us ! LOL The heat was intense !!

After spending so little time there we go next door to Kings Cross Station and actually board the Hogwarts Express train that goes to Islands of Adventure . The train was worth the experience ! You simply have to give props to Disney ! They have a way of making everything come to life !

Then the dreaded rain showers that always happen midday in Florida and went to the Three Broomsticks for lunch. I did start to get a bit nervous as the cobblestones are slippery when wet . And no I didn't bring my umbrella or a jacket .

For all my HP fans , I brought a wand and a quill ! It was great to see all of the kids dressed like The movies !

I had fun and I'm grateful my knee held up .I did use the cane on the way back since I was really tired by then .

Six hours in the park and we did only HP. I don't know how folks stay in the park all day and do lines . This is madness . And lots of grandparents doing these long lines with the kids .

Boarded the bus back at 8:00pm and posted pics today and wanted to get the blog posts done . Oh well .

No formal dinner reservations tonight so we are in Cafe Promenade eating sandwiches .

Sail away is at 11:00pm .We arrive in Bahamas tomorrow at 2pm .

I plan to sleep late tomorrow too :)

We are at the Boleros Bar .. Will make it back to the Bionic Bar tomorrow ...

Can you say I'm sleepy and my knee is tired ? Heat and ice and exercises tonight ...

Bon Voyage!