Rags1

They are back in Vegas doing corporate gigs I think. And thank you so much for your kind words! Please give our love to Jay!

Seriously. I really try to be objective and compare apples to apples. But damnit, they just keep getting better!

Quite the travel day! I’m so happy mom is ok. Have a wonderful time on your cruise. Can’t wait to hear all about it

Final sea day was pretty relaxing. Breakfast in the room again. Day was spent packing, lounging at the pool, some casino time and more snacks. The rest of the crew returned to Giovanni’s for dinner while I caught the final performance of Mama Mia. Went down to the boardwalk to say farewell to Lusi. Called it an early evening to get some rest before departure. Jay left some very thoughtful gifts for me on our last night. He had provided gifts to each of the others on their “celebration” day but saved mine for the last night. I’d share pictures but then everyone would expect a Rolex. Up the dreaded departure day to head home. Stacy and I had breakfast in the CK while the others prepared for departure. I dropped by Next Cruise to put a deposit on the “free” casino cruise as did Katie. We all said some tough goodbyes to Putu and Benjie before Jay showed up at 915 to escort us off. We were off the ship in minutes after saying farewell to the best Genie we’ve sailed with. Also said goodbye outside to MO5AIC although we ended up with two of them on the flight to Dallas. Uber to the airport, smooth check in and on time flights. While waiting for our departure I was bored so booked the same room, same ship for September 10, 2023. Had dinner in the Dallas airport where we received a video from Jay with him saying “I’m standing in front of the Aqua Theater where are you guys?”. Landed in Palm Springs at around 930pm and a short drive home to see the animals. All in all it was an awesome vacation. Next I’ll have some random, final thoughts and close this out. Thanks for following along!

Have an awesome time and tell Jay hello from our clan!

Don’t know if you follow this guy. James Van Fleet on facebook

Not sure I follow?

You’re going to love that suite!

After several hours in the room we all went down to a bar on the Promenade for a few more drinks and many more laughs! The founder and leader of the group took me aside to talk. We traded numbers and emails and he seriously told me that Las Vegas is a quick drive from us in Southern California and that they would love to shoot down and do the grand opening of our restaurant. And we chatted again about it as we were leaving the ship. Gracious guy!

In our initial planning with Jay we had asked for a casual dinner in the suite for night 7. Well as you may have read my comment on the blog by @CravingaCruise, we were in for a surprise! Jay arrived with two room service guys with a BUNCH of food. And then guests that only I didn’t know about arrived. Our Headliner entertainers from earlier in the week, MO5AIC. Jay said he set it up because he thought both the group and our family would enjoy being together. And I believe he was right. We dined and drank and laughed for over an hour. I’m not sure how many filets and lobster tails were devoured!We listened to their stories, laughed as they teased each other and answered their questions about us. And then they performed in the living room of the suite. They were casual, laughing and amazing. They sang Don’t Stop Believing for Stacy and her new restaurant, Happy Birthday to Taylor and many others. For around two hours we all just hung out and enjoyed their talents. I was amazed with their interaction with us. I once served in our White House on details for four U.S. Presidents. Later I served on protective details for other high ranking government officials. During those years I had many opportunities to meet and be around many, many entertainers, actors, sports figures and other celebrities. But I have NEVER met anyone who was as down to earth, gracious and humble as these five gentlemen. They were in no hurry to leave the party and we gladly skipped the ventriloquist show to hang out with these guys. They sang and drank in the living room and they sang and drank on the balcony. After the first hour it was like we were old friends. All thanks to Jay!

After a little rest we hosted a small cocktail party in the suite. We had another of Jay’s guests and @Lonnie, his wife and friends who were sailing with Genie Alan up for snacks and drinks. It was a great couple of hours of stories, jokes and laughter! Jay and Alan came by for a visit also. Alan came with a tray of fireball shots. Then a room service young man came with another tray of Fireball shots. Rinse and repeat you know? I’m not saying any Genie or room service dude actually drank any of them they’re just holding those shot glasses for the photos . We all had a blast or as Alan would say, Oohh-La-La!

Day 7 turned out to be by far the best day of the cruise. Maybe even the best day of any cruise I’ve been on. It was a relaxing, casual day at sea. We had breakfast in the room as usual. A little morning pool time for the girls while I explored. And then our first surprise of the day - an invitation to lunch at Izumi with our new best friend Jay. This guy was so fun and pleasant to be with! We spent a good hour or more eating bait and learning about his life. He may or may not have told us of some of his horror story guests. I’ll have more about him later but If you ever have a chance to meet him you’re in for a treat!

Day 6. Breakfast on the balcony as we pulled into Curaçao. Taylor and I were the only ones who went ashore. Jay walked us off and negotiated a great rate for a cab to stay with us and take us on a tour. We first went to Mambo Beach. I know I told you we went there in Aruba but we didn’t. Because Mambo Beach isn’t in Aruba. I might have been drinking that day. Or now. Whatever, we we went there this day! Then it was off to the Queen Emma Bridge. It’s a pretty cool floating bridge with propellers so it can be rotated to allow boats to pass. When Taylor was only 5 we visited on a Disney Cruise and she must have ran across that bridge 15 times with me in pursuit! Thank God she’s calmed down and we only walked across once! Then a little shopping and back to ship. I got off again later and walked to the port shopping area to buy a gift for sweet Lusi in the ice cream shop. Then had a couple, maybe more, Jack Daniels to prepare for Chef’s Table. I have no idea why I went. I’m not a wine person. And I’m not a foodie. I’m a simple steak or hot dog kind of guy. So when you bring me a saucer filled with something that looks like snot and you call it scallops I don’t get too excited. And folks who have enjoyed this event know it’s not a quick meal. But this one…this sucker was four, I say four, hours long! I was nearly ready to swim back to Ft Lauderdale. To add to the excitement I was seated next to some blow hole that just never took a breath but yacked about everything under the sun. I didn’t take pictures of the food but from my description of the scallops was enough. Four hours. The only good thing about the evening was sharing it with @Lonnieand his group.

I forgot to post theses photos on day1. I have a laser at home that I use to make goodies sold at a couple local businesses. I made each of the Genies one as a small gift. Had I known what I know now I would have filled Jay’s and Alan’s with Fireball. Just saying

Day 5 we had breakfast in the room again before arriving in Aruba. We caught a cab for the short ride to Mambo Beach. Very beautiful and very hot and humid. I’m not a big beach guy but the family loves it. So I was a bit surprised that not one of them wore bathing suits or brought towels! We sat at a beach bar and enjoyed the views for a bit. Took a cab back to the port area and made a stop at The Paddock, a bar and restaurant near the ship. @CravingaCruisenote this is where the Genies hang out and eat chicken wings! Then we shopped for the usual T-shirt and other touristy crap. Back on the ship for snacks in the room and time on the balcony. Had dinner at Izumi Hibachi with a wonderful, funny chef. His laughter had us in stitches. I had lobster and shrimp which were both great. Then off to Ice Games which was good. We were seated next to @Lonnieand his friends who were Sailing with Genie Alan. Had a little casino time and called it a night.

Day 4 was at sea. Breakfast in the room and some pool time for the girls. We were scheduled for lunch at Chops but canceled early because it sounded like too much. Plus Jay kept up the never ending “snacks” in the room. I used some quiet time for photos of our amazing room. Dinner was at Giovanni’s followed by Mama Mia. The show was even better than last October!

Hey there! It was our pleasure! What a fun afternoon. You guys are all fun people

And that’s not even the end to the story. I’ll elaborate when I finish my “review.”

That’s an understatement! @CravingaCruise, in my email to Jay before the trip i just said that it’s not the the things we might ask for that make the experience amazing, but it’s the unexpected surprises. He certainly did not disappoint! I just posted this morning that I had problems on board with my IPad so will finish my “Live Blog” as a review now that I’m home. But I’ll share this to give you an idea of his creativity. MO5AIC was our headliner show. I saw them 5 years ago on the Oasis. Our family saw their first show on night 2 and then I returned for the late show. Jay and I both think they are an amazingly talented group. On night 7 we had dinner planned in the suite. When Jay arrived with the food I asked him if he was feeding all of deck 17?? Then the doorbell rings and MO5AIC arrives for dinner. Later Jay said he just felt the group and our family would be a good match for the evening. We had a long wonderful dinner filled with stories and great laughs. And then, armed with drinks, they joked, laughed and performed in the suite for over two hours, including singing Happy Birthday to our youngest and Don’t Stop Believing for Stacy and her new restaurant. It was an amazing night of fun because Jay thought we were a good match. You’re in good hands, trust me.

We’ll it turns out that the “Live” description of this blog was about as successful as putting toothpaste back in the tube! I can’t do this from my phone because my eyes are too old to make that work. And then a few days into the cruise my IPad would not connect to the ships Wi-Fi. After a couple of hours I took it down to the help desk and the nice young man fiddled with it for about a half hour before giving up. I think he’s the same guy responsible for the $18 drink package. But I did take notes and photos so I can finish up with a review of the rest of the trip. I’ll catch up today and tomorrow. Sorry for the delay!

For those wondering how the air conditioning works in this room, this is Taylor during afternoon nap. The AC works like a champ

Seriously! I would have cut these deliveries days ago but we have found some very willing, hard working individuals to assist us putting these spreads to good use! Our party of 5 eats plenty of it, trust me, but our “family” here in the loft has increased in numbers over the past four days

I’ve been trying to catch up here a bit but interject has been wonky today while in Aruba. IPAD won’t connect at all. Just know that there have been several more deliver of food to the room since the last update.

There’s no chance we eat all the cake! But we are finding plenty of volunteers willing to consume some calories

@CravingaCruisei found one still in the wrapper with the website.