LetsTryThisPlace

Sandra says we did see it and it looked like it was not damaged at least from what we saw.

I think we may have seen it. I'll check with Sandra tomorrow to confirm. Don't remember the condition of i t so hopefully she remembers.

Now for another food post :) So tonights dinner was a little different then I expected but in a good way. So I always thought My Time Dining was always you and your group get a table to yourselves like a normal restaurant. However, I found out tonight that they also do pairings so we got paired with another couple and made dinner different tonight. So guess what I got extra pictures for you ;) So I got the caesar salad again, everyone else got the Asian style pork tacos and they all agreed it was good. Then the main course came. I got the lamb, Sandra got the steak Diane, the other couple got the chicken parmigiana and the tiger shrimp. For desert Sandra and I got the Tres Leche which was a little different then what we are used to but was still so good. We are on our way to San Jaun now but heard Allure couldn't dock today so worried about us tomorrow. Waves have picked up and is pretty rough already and will get worse around 12/1am we were told. Hoping for the best.

As promised here are some photos from St. Martin. So to start the tour we went to a rental property that had been ruined. We then headed to the national flag pole on the dutch side. The sites you get from this are quite nice. On our way to Maho we stopped at a flipped over boat and say a few others damaged near by. We then worked our way to Maho beach (sorry forgot to take pictures but I did a scope from here you could see). After Maho we went to the French side and worked our way through the French streets to Fort Luis. Really neat place with amazing views. Its crazy how different the island is depending which side including languages. After the fort we went to Friers Bay. The had a small little restaurant to grab a quick lunch. A little warning the food wasn't that good in our opinion and the prices were higher then I expected (5€ [yes the French side is based on the euro] for fries). I couldn't get too many photos here as people were sunbathing topless here. After Frier Bay we went Orient Bay. The tour took us to the clothing optional area so I was not able to take photos here (nor did I want to.....) This is definitely the area that looks like it got hit the hardest. There are a few places open however, many converted shipping containers as temporary bars or shops and others using tents. There were also a few temporary options for the bathroom facilities. Not the perfect solution but is definitely a start. We got back on the ATVs and went back to the start where I visited Great Bay Beach (right near the port and is the many shopping district). These conditions where really good in my opinion. Everything is pretty much operational and even saw a hotel open here. We walked back to the port after getting a new shot glass. One thing I forgot to mention is that if you plan to use bubbles (tour company) then you are best just to confirm with the information desk as there are no actual signs. I would actually recommend this tour to anyone who's up for a nice drive with some wind in your hair.

Yes St. Kitts, it was amazing, the guys were great, the setting and views we mesmerizing. My only complain is it needs more lines lol. They do have a weight limit but there was a little girl who was 7 and had no problem. I took some go pro video I'll have share once I get the time to post it on YouTube. We were at 4 beaches, Maho beach, Frier Bay (not sure spelling on that one) and Orient Bay (the nude side and boy were there some um.....sights..... Lol) and Great Bay Beach. After dinner (maybe after the show) I'll try to do a bit of an update on what I thought about them. I just want to say, do not be afraid to stop here. They have come a long way and shops, bars are all open even if still damaged. We drove around the entire coast and I was surprised how well it looked. Still not perfect but knowing how a cat5 effects you its not bad. Most of the places severely damaged are older buildings that may not have the newer hurricane rating standards. There was a brand new building that actually looked barely touched right next to an older building that was practically destroyed. They are ready to take our money and we are ready to give it to them. Also the ATV tour is something I would highly recommend. It was even weirder in person. Looks like you took an older river boat and slapped some sails on it. Its kind of why I took a picture of it in the first place lol.

So good morning have an early start to our ATV tour in St. Maarten. Just wanted to show a few pictures from zip lining yesterday. Also wanted to share which beers I had in port. So for the beers, I started with the Carib which is their main local beer. It was actually pretty good and reminded me of a Caybrew which is our local beer in Cayman. Very similar in tastes. I bought this at the excursion for $3. I then had the Stag and I thought it was a horrible flavor and have nothing to even compare it to. I'm glad I tried it as that's what I do but I'm also glad I had an extra Carib after (I got 3 for 5 at the port or if you buy a shirt some stores offer free beers with them). Below are just a few photos of the zipline itself. Below are a few photos of the plantation where you start and end the zipline. and lastly some photos of the trip to the plantation in no real order. hope to take some video and photos along the way today.

Thanks guys :) we should be going again later tonight. I also have a few photos from today that I'll try to get resized and written up :). Two things, Ziplines were amazing only complaint is there should be more lines lol. Second thing I can confirm gigsky sim works and actually did a pretty good job. I did get some go pro videos that I hope turned out lol. Will post those when I get a chance. I have to say its nice being in a warmer area that's temps are much closer to cayman. Ft. Lauderdale was just way to cold. @JLMoran in Cayman we get many Nor'easters this time of year and causes a lot of rough conditions which causes us to get missed.

Not so far, all our ports are docked so we should be in the clear. I am sure some excursions may be cancelled though, although we don't have any water related ones so we will be fine. Being in St. Kitts now all seems well.

So I did a much better job tonight on my photos lol. The pools were mostly all closed but the solarium due to bad weather today. Ice skating was also cancelled. I heard it was so bad that on some of the smaller ships it tossed people out of bed. I can tell you as large as freedom is, its still getting tossed pretty good and makes you walk as if you were drunk lol. They whole ship has been creaking like crazy. We saw The Las Vegas Tenors and they sounded great. They even got people up and dancing to a love song. They did a great performance. Walking around the promenade I noticed an Izume express. Didn't expect it but they had sushi in to go containers. Pretty interesting. For dinner we hit up the MDR again. Here is the menu for today. To start I got the ceaser salad which was good and Sandra got the seafood cake which she said had good flavor but was on the dry side. Next I had the steak (which I ended up getting a second order of), first one was perfect but second one seemed a little tough in parts, and from what our waiter told us it wasn't the only item they had complaints of tonight (maybe a new chef or something different tonight). Sandra got the chicken cordon bleu which she says was not very good and only took a few bites of. For desert I ordered only one tonight lol, I got the chocolate cookie that was served with ice cream and I would compare it to the taste and texture of the outer shell of a lava cake (which is one of my favorite deserts) and even though wasn't exactly cookie like to me was still very good. Sandra tried to avoid sugar and got lemon panna cotta with strawberry sauce and she thought it was pretty good. When we got back to our room we found this little guy :) Also for reference is today's menu for sabor Now I'm going to try and catch the end of the 70s party. Although might have a better view from our room.

@accio7 @joost and I have met up so far. Haven't met @homa0605 yet but hopefully we will. We ended up going to the silent party which was great fun. My camera wasn't great but here is a shot I got from there. And a view down to the pool deck. This afternoon we hit up Sabor for our lunch and I must say it was pretty good. They first brought out the chips and they are very tasty and warm. Sandra then had the calamari which she really enjoyed. We found that only one entrée is included but the waitress brought us an extra to share. We went with tacos. Sandra went with the shrimp taco that she said was amazing. I ordered the beef short ribs taco and pulled pork taco. The short ribs were alright but no were near as amazing as the pulled pork. I would highly recommend the pulled pork and Sandra would also recommend the shrimp tacos. (Beef Short Rib Taco) (Pulled Pork Taco) (Shrimp tacos) We did order sides but I wasn't able to get to them because I was so full. They then brought out the desert but told me I couldn't have it because of my allergies and they weren't safe. They then brought me fruit which was so not the same. Sandra's favorite was the banana chocolate chiming changa. 2nd was the churro which was in the same bowl. Her 3rd favorite was the chocolate crapes. She did not like the coffee con leche, but she's not a coffee drinker. She also didn't like the coconut flan. For last nights dinner we went the mdr. I forgot to take pictures of everything but the main course lol. (Still getting used to this) We went without reservations even though it was formal night because we were going a little later and funny enough our line was shorter then the reservation line so it was actually a good thing. So first up, they brought me sourdough bread off the bat because of my allergies and boy was it good bread, I could have just kept eating it lol. Sandra ordered the lobster bisque which she said was really good. I ordered the French onion soup and it was not my type of food but that's fine I save room for desert. For our main course we both picked them same thing which was the beef tenderloin with mashed potato, gravy and asparagus, this was amazing. After we finished that I had some coffee and Sandra had some tea before moving to desert. I ordered both the apple pie and the strawberry cheesecake and Sandra had an apple pie. They were both great except for the apple pie having like 2 raisins in it which made absolutely no sense. We also had an amazing ice show last night. The main theme was freedom (wonder where they thought of that). There were some times when the boat shifted you thought they may not make it and although they looked like they had to make a quick adjustment they did it well. @joost and I asked the bartender about adding alcohol and only paying the difference and they confirmed at least at his bar. I think it may also depend on the bartender but most should be able to do it. To end my post here are some photos of the windjammer.

It was on the cruise planner under entertainment and activities. For the price it was well worth it.

Not sure what type of room 9516 is but this is the bath room in our room.

Good morning all, I have to say the mystery dinner was amazing. I'll be doing a more detailed review when I get some free time. They kept the wine coming which was all included, food was amazing and I got a special desert because of my allergies and it was amazing. I must confess I was so hungry when the entrées came around I forgot to take pictures. It all started at On Air served some type of rose sparkling wine as the show started. Then they moved us up to Giovanni's to eat. They brought out pickled vegetables, cheese some meat and bread and some greens for the antipasti. When then had the choose of 3 dishes for the appetizer, beef carpaccio, another was the Mozzarella Di Bufalo which was cheese, tomato and arugula, it was supposed to come with a pesto sauce but Sandra didn't get it because it had nuts. The last one was the soup of the day which was the most amazing minestrone soup I have ever eaten. For the entrées there was the Gnocchi Al Gorgonzola which was Gorgonzola with creamed spinach. Gamberetti Alla Ligure which was grilled prawns, cherry tomato's, garlic butter and a potato purée. Lastly, the Filetto Di Manzo Rustico which was a filet mignon with roasted garlic potato purée and barolo sauce but I swear the whole room got the filet mignon It was absolutely amazing. Between entrées and desert they offered us some coffee. Then for desert, Sandra got the chocolate cake, and I was given a little cup dish of some type of strawberry over cream and some type of lime moose thing. I would say both reminded me of cheesecake filling. The lime was so good I ask for more and they brought me 2 more dishes of it. The other dishes were the Tiramisu and ice cream and sorbet. The show skits run between each of your meals so you get a good little break to let it settle lol.

So on board now. Got in around 3:15 after running around doing last minute shopping (we do not shop much at home as its expensive). Only really took us 15/20 minutes to go through security and check in. It was pretty much empty as everyone was already on board. Did a scope and now waiting for muster drill to begin. Will check in later. i will be checking probably later today or tomorrow :) they gave us a discount token and Sandra isn't wanting alcohol yet so will see how the day goes. Will post more

So as a crazy day unwinds and I am getting ready for bed thought I would do a little pre-cruise update. Flew Southwest for the first time and must say I'm really impressed. I was a little sceptical of the whole boarding procedure but turned out alright. The plane was probably around 75-80% full and a lot of spaces between people. The landing was very hard however, and then you heard the captain come on the speakers with "opps" made everyone laugh. We finally ended up going to buffalo wild wings (one of my favs when we get away) thought I would start with some food pictures even if not from the cruise. I had wings with a mix of sweet BBQ sauce and spicy garlic sauce. I washed it down with an IPA the had advertised (not my most favorite IPA). My next post will be on the ship tomorrow (well technically later today).

If you have sensitive skin like me do not use their soap.

Think its too late for me

I'm probably the only one to have any status and its only Gold so not sure if they would honour that. We don't tend to go to the same chains in regards to hotels and normally take our local airline carry (except now that Southwest is here ).

How much is a single picture?

I guess I would be an "influencer" by definition and so would anyone who works sales. This the part that is the grey area and really depends on the real honesty of the person. Some work just off YouTube/Patreon/ other support network, where as others have sponsor who they advertise for on their network (not directly connected to item being influenced). Now you do have those who aren't honest and are paid by the companies and normally those you can spot. Now there is a difference between being paid to influence then getting a sample to try in hopes you like it. I am hoping this is what MSC did, tell a bunch of them "hey, come on our ship free of charge and we hope you review and hope you enjoy." Now getting into influencing is a whole nother story.

According to the post above, they think a mechanical issue. But sounds like still no real confirmation. Go into your settings and edit and you will see the box to edit your signature.

I'm glad I'm going on a tour then and should only be there for a few minutes.

I haven't found a good one that accepts people from out of North America but the site sponsor is https://mei-travel.com/home?apid=RCL You would be best to call to do it. But double check making a mock reservation before you proceed.

Wow, didn't know they had cards, sounds like they discovered it wasn't really worth it.

It reminds me of Cayman after Ivan. We focused on Utilities and Homes. A lot of people were doing work outside their normal scope just to help get things back the way they were. We didn't have any tourism for probably around 4 months. The only thing that saved us is the buildings on the water are mostly new, hurricane cat3 rated so most of the work was more cosmetic then complete rebuilds. We did lose some good places (some still are waiting on insurance claims and some just processed a year or so ago and this was 2004). I am sure they would be working maybe just not how they were, for all we know the cafe owners/cooks could be the ones making those sandwiches.