The End of Another Week in Paradise

040518 – 040618

Yesterday was a sea day and we did nothing but lounge about. I thought I’d go to the casino and give them back some of the money I won, so that’s what we did!

As we made our way north-ish from St Thomas the water was that dark blue I love and I spent quite a bit of time staring at it and contemplating life! No actually, I played a game of group TV trivia by the pool. (Our team missed one of fifteen….sigh) Then I read my book and pretty much did a lot of nothing. Perfect sea day!!!

It was the second formal or ‘gala’ night and surf and turf was on the menu! They did have five or six other entrees but steak and lobster for this girl! It was delicious. The steak was very tender and cooked perfectly and the lobster was a decent size and also cooked just right. We all enjoyed the dinner very much.

We finally managed to get to the BB King Lounge for a show. The performers were amazing. They did a lot of old Motown tunes and people were up on the dance floor having a great time. Although I must say, some people should watch themselves in a mirror before taking their moves public. The shows are just the right length – about an hour and they perform several shows a night. This is actually the only show we attended—we even missed the comedian the other night.

We were up quite late despite an early arrival to Half Moon Cay—the private island. First—Wow, just wow! We tendered in from the ship and the process was very organized. We went over about 9:30am.

I had rented a clamshell and a couple of loungers as I knew I would not make it all day in that sun. It was well worth it too. The sun shined all day. And that water………..you know how I feel about ‘that water’ and it was here too. All those gorgeous shades of turquoise and blue.

The island is a nice size and the people were fairly spread out along the long crescent-shaped beach—the most concentrated area being closest to the tender boats and a little water area for the kids. We were down about two-thirds of the way.

They were renting little sailboats, paddleboards and those big-wheeled pedal powered things. Plus bikes for rent as well as snorkeling equipment and those floating mats for the water.

There were also excursions for purchase and of course, several bars serving alcohol. I had a couple of BBCs—Bailey’s Banana Coladas. Decadent!!!!  They also had waiters patrolling the area offering bar service. There was food there also but we didn’t have anything so I don’t know if there was a charge for that or not.

We spent our time shuffling back and forth from water to lounge chairs. It was HOT but the water actually took your breath for a minute or two until you got used to it. I don’t think I’ve ever encountered water that cold in the Caribbean. Once you were in for a few minutes though, it was just refreshing and so clear you could see your toenail polish!

Again………that water

One of the Bars

Tonight we are having dinner at the steakhouse. I’m very excited to try it. I’m told the food is over the top great. I’ll let you know!

Well, the Pinnacle Grill was amazing. The setting was amazing. Very posh and upscale. The Caesar salad was mixed at the Table. I had the Alaskan King Crab Legs, Kolton had the filet and Betzi had the Halibut with Shrimp Scampi. I could not even finish my crab legs, there were so many. I did have a bite of the steak and it was very good. Dessert was over the top. Betzi and I had the Grand Marnier Volcano Cake with ice cream and Kolton had the Raspberry Cheesecake.

Words don’t do it justice so here are a few photos.

The Charger Plate

 The Fresh Flowers on the Table

Salmon Tartar

 Cesaer Salad

King Crab Legs

Raspberry Cheesecake

 Grand Marnier Lava Cake

Petit Fours

After dinner and a walk around the ship, we went to the Casino where my beloved 3 Card Poker table was closed. So, I played some blackjack and quickly got tired of the idiot at the end of the table that was doing things like splitting 10s or taking the dealer’s bust card. UGH I colored up and was up $21-a win I guess. LOL

We had placed our luggage outside the room earlier and when we got back, they had already taken it.

Debarkation was very easy and very civilized. You could wait in your room or a public area until you color and number were called. And guess what? EVERYONE listened! There were no lines snaking down the hallways and people crowding the atrium. It was great. We were off the ship in a few minutes and made our way to the warehouse where our luggage was waiting for us.

I flagged down a porter, he loaded our luggage, took us through the very short porter line and we were outside in 5 minutes. He wheeled our luggage over to the Uber area and I gave him $15. Less than 10 minutes later we were on our way to the Crowne in Ft. Lauderdale. Easy Peasy!  I highly encourage you to make use of the porters.

I will post a summary of my overall impression of the ship, but it’s 7:16 and time for dinner. 

And now, it's 10:39 and we need to get to bed--alarms are set for 4. We have a 7am flight. I'll finish after I get home and add the rest of the pictures.

TTFN
jilly