Vangrizz

My thoughts were caught by the mountain of food entering the suite while I was blogging and also distracted by the fact that I was ravenous and wondering How Could That Possibly Be, which caused me to forget to add some visual bling to the last post.
My focus is now back to its laser sharpness having had breakfast and a couple of bellinis.  I did ask they they ease up on the amount of food.  I hate to see waste. 
Here are some shots from yesterday and a few from this morning:

Yesterday was our stop in Cozumel. We were going to Paradise Beach, so we took our time getting ready and ate breakfast in the MDR. We got off the ship around 9:30am and caught a taxi for 5 to the beach. It's $17 for a cab for 4, $21 for 5 people. We went all inclusive again, but it wasn't worth it this time. The kids didn't eat near as much as last time, and somehow the grown ups didn't drink as much either. We spent most of our time at the pool and everyone had a great time. Around 2:00pm we made our way back to the ship, and got ready for the evening.
We had an appointment with Next Cruise at 4:30 pm but no other plans. Mimi's going on another cruise with us! We booked the 7 day on Jewel from Galveston to Key West, Nassau, and Cocoa Cay. For DH and my date-cation we went with something that worked better with DH work schedule. We're taking a 4 day on Enchantment from Galveston to Cozumel. We'll drive down on Sunday, embark on Memorial Day, disembark that Friday which he also has off work. He only has to take 3 days off, so it was a winner for us.
After that we went to the suite lounge where it was starting to get a little rocky again as soon as we pulled away from the dock. We went to the Windjammer and we were all stumbling around too much. DH helped MIL get her plate while the kids and I found a table. By the time they got back with her food, DS was feeling queasy. I took him back to the room. The rest of the family decided they didn't want to eat anything, so they were just a few minutes behind us. DD and I ordered grilled cheese sandwiches from room service, and everyone went to bed early again. 
The first picture is the full moon peeking out from behind the clouds as the sun is rising on the other side of the ship.

With that we were back at the entrance from the sea.  Pictures simply don't do Milford Sound justice.





Our local pilot departed the ship.



For those keeping score we ended the day at 16°C or 61°F but in the strong sun it didn't feel cold.

Obligatory time lapse of Milford Sound.
We had a strong wind blowing down Milford Sound.  So strong on the way out it moved my phone as it recorded the time lapse.  

With our Sounds complete it was time to make our way back to Oz.
That turned into a 9pm sunset this far South at this time of year.

I keep waiting for "The line was short so I hopped in the North Star" but it hasn't happened yet. Is it a very popular attraction on this cruise?
Loving the photos from ship level though, and thrilled that you get to do Milford Sound. Can't wait to see the pictures of that!

Milford Sound
When I booked this cruise I was focused on the port of calls.  The fact that we might also visit the sounds was an added bonus.  Little did I know the sounds would be the highlight of the cruise with Milford Sound leading the way.  Milford Sound is worth the price of admission alone.   
At a distance you can't see the entrance.  Milford Sound is an inlet where we go on, turn around and come back out the same way.  In that respect it's similar to Endicott Arm in Alaska.




Like Doubtful Sound there are high mountains on each side.  However the terrain in Milford Sound is much more dramatic.

Hi all, this is my first time live blogging (gonna be honest not sure if it will be 100% live) but I enjoy everyone’s blogs so much that I thought I would contribute. 
 
Who is going: this cruise involves myself (f 22), my mother Bobbi (I know better than to share her age), her partner Suzanne, my younger sister Breanna (19) and a family friend Chantale. The five of us have 3 rooms booked all across the ship in 3 different room categories as we like our space. My sister and I in a boardwalk balcony 10329, my mom and her partner in a ocean view balcony and Chantale in a Central Park view interior. 
 
Where to: port Canaveral (Feb. 16), Perfect Day at Coco Cay (February 17), sea day, Costa Maya (February 19), Roatan (February 20), Cozumel (February 21), sea day. 
 
precruise: we are all flying out on different flights due to schedules but I leave tomorrow evening and have a red eye from Canada to Orlando arriving very early Wednesday morning. We have a large villa rented as we enjoy our space (as said before) and cooking our own breakfast versus a hotel breakfast. We have 2 days at Disney booked magic kingdom on Thursday and animal kingdom on Friday and have plans for enjoying TGI Friday’s (a favourite to us with the nearest one being over an 8 hour drive from us) and some shopping. 
 
that’s it for now I will add excursion plans and some pictures tomorrow! 

At some point the Captain came on with news of Mlford Sound.  It's a go! 
We are to be the first large ship allowed back in since it was closed from the flooding.
Scheduled for a 4pm arrival we have a few hours of downtime on our way up the coast.








Our progress...

 

Unfortunately, I cannot avoid church nor can I endorse this solution... I’m the pastor!!! ? 
Seriously I am not that concerned about the coronavirus.  The washy-washy guys have trained us well.  I am more concerned about the overreaction to the outbreak - screenings at airports and cruise ports, quarantine procedures, delays, cancellations, etc.  

I have seen this before where the app insists that checkin is always a day away while the website is active for checkin.  I have been successful using the app after forcing a refresh of sorts. In my case, selected a future sailing and then went back to the trip in question and checkin was working fine.

Dinner last night is a bit of a long story. I had been in contact with Jorge, the suite concierge, before the cruise about setting up a couple of surprises for Mimi's birthday. We ordered her some chocolate covered strawberries, and because we were planning on eating in the MDR the whole cruise, he was going to have the wait staff sing her happy birthday on night 1 which was her actual birthday. When we stopped in the suite lounge on night one, Jorge waited until MIL went to look at the food and came over to me to say he had confirmed her surprise song in the MDR. He looked so excited - like my son when we talk about Christmas! Well...it didn't happen. Somewhere there was a breakdown in communication. It really wasn't a big deal as she wasn't expecting it, and she was having a wonderful time. I mentioned it to him brfore we left the ship on day 3, and I emphasized that we were fine that it didn't happen, we just wanted him to be aware that somewhere the wires got crossed. He was so upset and said it was unacceptable (my DH'S favorite saying at the office when someone doesn't meet their commitments) and that he would fix the issue. Again, not a big deal. He called last night saying how embarrassed he was and offered us all complimentary dinner at Chops. We're in! He stopped by during the meal with a bottle of champagne, and then our head waiter stopped by with one of the gifts and gear cakes and had the waiters at Chops sing to my MIL. We thought all of this was above and beyond, and we went to bed with very happy tummies. ?

We're actually on Enchantment out of Galveston. I think Grandeur is somewhere along the east coast right now? Baltimore maybe?
I'm not sure what her secret is, but everytime I have gambled with her, she has won...maybe I'm her lucky charm!

It's hard to capture in pictures or words but perhaps this time lapse better represents the experience.
 

The open sea appeared in the distance.





 
 

After a 2+ week delay, the next vlog is here! We visited Perfect Day at CocoCay on the second day of our cruise. ROYAL CARIBBEAN | HARMONY OF THE SEAS: PERFECT DAY AT COCOCAY!

Day 8 continued...
Kind of a gray dull day but the sea was amazing to watch from my balcony.  It's quite mesmerizing.  I used the day to catch up on this thread.  My Royal excursion for Dunedin was automatically refunded.

Tonight live from the Ed Sullivan Royal Theater... The Australian Beatles!






Very good and quite enjoyable.

Day 8 - Dunedin Sea Day 
I had a feeling based on prior announcements we wouldn't make Dunedin.  Morning confirmed that.


Given our position well off shore at this hour I knew we wouldn't be visiting Dunedin on this day.

This is perfect.  We never made it to the South Island of New Zealand.  This is actually pretty ideal.  Now I have full and legal justification to book another cruise to New Zealand.
We slowed our speed and took the windy swell under a nice gentle speed.  Eventually our pilot for the sounds approached and we turned to shelter the pilot boat from the wind.


The turn gave those on the port side a nice view of the coast.



I'm time shifting here.  Captain Ryan recorded a video that was put on RCTV later on this day.  I'm cheating by throwing it in here.  
I always appreciate when the Master of the vessel takes the time to explain in detail why we had to skip a port.  

The channel into the port is very narrow and not a simple straight line.  That makes it complex for a large ship (or any ship) to navigate safely in strong winds.

And so we will slowly continue our way towards the sounds for tomorrow.

Next stop was in the city so back down the hill with some more commentary  by our driver.
Wellington is known for its winds.  Today is a calm day by Wellington standards.  Our driver tells us sometimes this sidewalk can be challenging for pedestrians and even vehicles on the road can struggle in the winds. 

To maximize land use they have resorted to building houses on the steep hills but with no roads to the houses they have improvised and added private cable cars.  Ran out of milk?  Back in a jiffy after a cable car ride.  Don't want any visitors?  Cut the power to the cable car.  I'm guessing door to door salespeople don't do very well in Wellington.

Sand isn't natural here so they imported some to create a city beach.

Just pulled in to labadee!

We were able to get a beach lounger from the wait list so we will be heading there after breakfast!

Unfortunately the rest yesterday just got rockier and rockier. We got ready for dinner, stumbled out of the cabin, and headed toward the suite lounge when my shoe broke. Fortunately I had another pair back in the suite, so I hobbled back and changed them. I caught up with the family in the concierge lounge where I promptly downed my lemon drop. Big mistake. We were running a little behind,  so after just a few minutes in the lounge, we rushed off to our dinner reservation. We figured pictures after the meal. We all sat down, and the waiters both asked us how we were all doing with the waves...come to think of it, the dining room was really empty for 6PM. I left as soon as my appetizer was set before me, and everyone else came straight back after dinner. I didn't get formal night pictures of the family. ? Oh well, there will be a lot more photo opportunities. We were all in bed with bellies full dramamine before 8:30PM. 
This morning is much better. Here's today's sunrise. Let day 3 in Costa Maya begin!

See, I subscribe to The Andromeda Theory approach to disease prevention. Drink so much wine and beer that my blood pH is too far off base to support bacterial / viral life.

I want to gamble with your MIL! A couple more wins and the next cruise is on her!

Back to the ship.  Somewhere along the way a guide mentioned that wood is a major export for New Zealand.  China is a large consumer.  The joke is that it goes away as trees and comes back as furniture made in China.

You can see why this is a technical port requiring tugs in and out.  We had to back into that sheltered area and reach the dock by the white buildings on the left.  

Sailing down the coast we had some great scenery as the evening passed.

No farmland is complete without some...

Did I mention this region has a lot of wineries?



We continued our drive in the countryside to the sights of Te Meta Peak range.


More rivers at low levels.


Beehives in the foreground.

Stunning views for a bus ride.