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Explorer | Feb 7-16, 2020 | First Time To ABC Islands!


MO & LO on the go!

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Well that was an experience getting to the port...

We signed up for the shuttle service from the hotel but someone jumped on our spot.  The staff did not stop the people from doing this so we sat at the hotel for another 30-45 minutes.  When the driver came back he picked us up and we then went to a different hotel and picked up a van full of Norwegian Cruise passengers.  We went there first and dropped all them off.  Then he said he was going to pick up more people to bring back.  We sat for a bit at a gate but no one came so he drove to our dock and then stopped.  He came over to the door and opened it and we asked if this was our spot to which he said it was.  It’s been a strange morning getting here.....but WE MADE IT.  It was about a 2 hour adventure to get to the port!

In regards to the coronavirus stuff, we did not notice anything different other than that they asked more questions about where we had been and who we had been with but other than that we did not see anything different (but we did get there later than normal as mentioned above).

Here was security...not too bad

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We went to the diamond/diamond plus line and had about 12 couples in from of us.  Then we looked at the platinum/emerald line and there was 1 couple!  We should have payed better attention to the lines!35092763-6DC0-43CB-B900-03C2E0DCA5D7.jpeg.b87fbb903a11e58d8a82a61e56b2c6f1.jpeg

Check in was a breeze and took no time at all.  Walked right on the ship with no real wait!6F6478DA-4EE4-4EB8-A0BE-AEA518A82BAB.jpeg.9c662745bc8f0d1c2aa06138324cfff1.jpeg

We went straight to the shore excursion desk to try and get a bed-thingy for labadee but they were sold out!  We are number 1 on the wait list!  He said we might be able to get 1 since people book 2 since they don’t realize that 1 reservation is for 2 people.

 

more to come soon....we did our usual rounds and then sat at the “mouth-jammer”! 

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20 hours ago, VegasFella said:

::: Following your LIVE BLOG!! ::::

It sounds like you're off to a pretty good start.  Way to go!  By the way, great idea for bringing an extra (empty)

suitcase.  Love the last photo of the ocean from the Balcony!  I'm sure it feels warmer than 12 degrees in Minn., lol.

 

Thanks!

I think there’s a snowstorm there now so this is WAY better! ? 

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18 hours ago, JLMoran said:

Even on very short cruises, formal night is typically Day 2 / the first Sea Day.

Hope that you're feeling better after a good night's rest, and enjoying your day at sea.

We must just not have noticed from all the fun ? 

Thanks, Starting to feel a bit better!  I got hit pretty hard!

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We are back on the ship after a nice day in Labadee!  We loved beach lounger for 2 and would highly recommend one!

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This was our view from the chairs!  Outstanding!

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It was a very windy day and got worse as it went on.  We only saw the parasails for a short time in the morning and then it must have been too windy.  Lots of whitecaps!

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We took a little walk around and got this shot back towards the main area

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All good things must come to an end...unfortunately!  So walked back to the ship and now hanging out in the solarium for a bit and then dinner!

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We just love these days at the private stops!  So relaxing and low key!  Especially when home just got about 6” of snow!  Haha!

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1 hour ago, MO & LO on the go! said:

Just saw this and made us both smile huge...
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Only good thing about this snow storm was it hit on Sunday morning and was done snowing by noon. Its a light fluffy snow, so it was easier to clean up after.  Labadee looks very relaxing after spending the morning shoveling and snow blowing

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16 hours ago, Srp431 said:

Only good thing about this snow storm was it hit on Sunday morning and was done snowing by noon. Its a light fluffy snow, so it was easier to clean up after.  Labadee looks very relaxing after spending the morning shoveling and snow blowing

We will take the warm Caribbean sun and ocean any day over the snow!!! ? 

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Never got to the pictures of the ship since my phone died...oh well there’s still 4.5 more days for that!

So instead I’ll cover today....Bonaire!  

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We docked about 9am and were cleared by about 930.  We first had to go to the theater for the start of our excursion.


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We did the Bonaire land and sea excursion through Royal Caribbean.  Great experience with small group size!  We had less than 12 people for the entire day!!!  We first went on the “sea” portion so we took a little ride to the sail boat.

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Once we were all on the sail boat we went for a ride to our snorkel spot.

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The snorkeling was awesome and the water was very clear!  Bonaire is a great place for snorkel and scuba!

After the “sea” time was over we went to a lunch spot where we all were provided with a burger and fries.  Not bad...  

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After lunch we then took the “land” portion of the excursion which was a drive around the island in this big Mercedes Benz off road vehicle!  It was open air in the back with a cover for shade.  We drove around and got information on the island and saw LOTS of the island!  We stopped a few times for pictures where I got this..

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This was on the slightly more expensive of the excursions but we LOVED the small group size where we could enjoy ourselves!  We hate the snorkeling where everyone is kicking each other in the head because it’s sooooo cramped with people! It was an ALL DAY adventure so not much time to walk around once we were done.

On a “never seen that before” note....as we were walking on the ship standing on the bridge from the pier to the ship where security scans your sea pass card the lady in front of us dropped her card in the water.  You can see those cards WAYYYYYY down if anyone was interested to know! ?  

gotta get ready for dinner quick...that’s it for now but have more to cover about yesterday still (including the casino winnings ?)

 

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Real quick post about the casino.  For those that are part of the Crown and Anchor we all know the free pulls in the casino on their special machine where you really don't win anything other than maybe a T-shirt if you're lucky........

Well they apparently changed the program recently and now you get "cash" to spend on any machine you want!  Since we are diamond level we apparently get $6.  I do not know the other level amounts, sorry.  Well we picked a machine and Lisa sat down to go first.  She ended up winning 58 cents!!!  Then it was my turn.  I sat down and hit the button.  BAM!!!!!  $51!!!!!!  I hit the cash out button and we ran to the cashier to collect!!!  Love this new program!!!  Way better than the 3 free spins on their crappy machine!  The cashier said she has seen someone win as much as $200 off the free spins!  I have a picture of me flashing the cash but not available to post here.  Ill try to get it on here for fun ? 

Bedtime soon since we have a long day in Aruba tomorrow!  We are in port from 830am to 830pm!  We are doing the trikes so that should be a lot of fun!  

Until tomorrow everyone!  Thanks for following!

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4 minutes ago, Brobbins246 said:

How was the water temp for snorkeling?  I'll be snorkeling there next April, which I assume will be a little warmer than February, but I'm a wimp about anything cooler than luke warm bath water.  Want to be mentally prepared. ? 

I think its about 80 some degrees!  I jumped right in and had no shock at all.....NOTHING like jumping in the water in Minnesota ? !  You will LOVE the water!  Enjoy!  The snorkeling is outstanding (if that's what you're doing)!

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9 minutes ago, MO & LO on the go! said:

I think its about 80 some degrees!  I jumped right in and had no shock at all.....NOTHING like jumping in the water in Minnesota ? !  You will LOVE the water!  Enjoy!  The snorkeling is outstanding (if that's what you're doing)!

Thank you!  I'm from Michigan so I've been in my share of cold lake temps.  The Gulf of Mexico off the FL Panhandle surprised me once for being cold in April, so good to know a few latitudes to the south will help.  Enjoy the rest of your week!!!

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Ok trying to keep up to date here!  So much going on with port stops!

Today was Aruba and we did the Aruba Trikes!  We got this Idea from this forum!  That was fun and nothing like anything we’ve done before (never driven in a foreign country)!9E72AA5F-6492-4C55-8474-AE5ACCFBBFE5.jpeg.b41238e2a4086ce916df4ab7ca49d9ee.jpeg
 

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After the trikes we did a little shopping and walking around
D4611B2D-A9F6-4075-90E9-BCA3E4DC52C7.jpeg.68160695e7b11cd30d5a7ed1aaffa313.jpegbut after being in the sun and riding around for several hours we were exhausted and just headed back to the ship.  Of course we went to the “mouth jammer”!  I haven’t posted food pictures but thought I’d post my nachos!  This ship has them for every meal!!!

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We just hung out the rest of the day and enjoyed the weather and views from the ship!  Tonight it is going to be -16 with a -35 or more windchill at home so this feels extra awesome! ?

Just a couple shots from the ship of the island.  Top one was from our seat in the windjammer and the bottom from one of the upper decks.

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We went to the dining room tonight, as usual.  Just wanted to comment that it was more than half empty since all aboard was not until 830 (our dinner is 530) so it was very peaceful and quiet.  We actually got to talk with our staff since they weren’t running around trying to keep up.  That was nice!

Tomorrow will be Curacao!  We have a laid back tour of the cave and then mambo beach to chill!  It our earliest all aboard of the cruise (430) so we will be back early!

So far between Bonaire and Aruba our favorite is Bonaire so we will see what Curacao brings tomorrow!

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So our day in Curacao is ending.  We are relaxing a bit before shower and getting ready for dinner.  Again, today was hato caves and mambo beach.  The caves were neat but it’s really a once and done thing.  I would say of all the things we did on this cruise we both rate it at the bottom (but we did some really great stuff).  
 

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I do not know why it keeps uploading us upside down!!!  I tried reloading the image in several times with no luck so...sorry ...you will have to stand on your head to see it right! ?

After the caves we continued the island tour and ended at Mambo Beach!

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This was very nice.  Small little area for swimming and hanging out.  We all got one of the lounge chairs you see!  Nice little 1.5 hour swim and chill out time!  When we were done here we got a continued tour back to the ship.  
 

Once at the ship we dropped our stuff off and walked to the city.  This was VERY nice!  One of the best ports so far in regards to walking distance stuff!

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Of course we checked out the floating bridge and even watched it open and close.  Pretty neat to see

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Again I don’t understand why all the pictures of us upload upside down!!!!  UGH!

So during our shopping we tried some blue Curacao liquor and chocolate Curacao liquor.  Chocolate wins HANDS DOWN!  We bought both though because the bottle are cool!  Along with a sampler pack of all of the bottles because they just look cool!  Probably won’t really drink all of it, except for the chocolate!  I forgot to take pictures before the ship took them from us.  I’ll take some either at home or when we are in Miami.  
 

So that’s a quick update for now.  Gotta get in the shower for dinner now!  It’s a Royal Caribbean singers and dancers show tonight and then “love and marriage”.  

 

 

 

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Quick morning post on this First of two sea days.  We went to the windjammer for breakfast and saw this happened sometime last night!
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i looked at it and can’t tell what caused it to shatter.  We have never seen that before on a ship!  Good thing dry dock is coming very soon!

 

EDIT: so apparently we haven’t been very observant!  The broken window happened a few months ago!  We just noticed it this morning for some reason even though we are here everyday!  Hahaha oooppss!

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Well we finally got time to walk around the ship and take pictures!

Starting with the diamond lounge

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This is an outside seating area for the diamond lounge overlooking the basketball court.  It’s awesome they have a special area outside on this ship!0A344980-8278-41F2-870E-98FCACE59979.jpeg.2efde695e1b362db6090159d6b10cf75.jpeg

This is what area above over looks and at this moment there was a Zumba class going on there!

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Here are some pool deck pictures.  Notice the one side is closed...out suspicion is because we are doing some rocking today.

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The arcade

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This is a mesmerizing machine that has moving golf balls and just constantly keeps doing stuff.  So much fun to watch

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Of course Johnny Rockets

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This is the computer area with an opening in the middle looking down to the library

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The community board in the library where you can post any meeting or meetup you are looking for.  Looks like a few people were looking for game players

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Here where we are going after lunch!  NEXT CRUISE!  Never miss that on a cruise! ?

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And here are several promenade pictures.  Notice the one area has Valentine decorations!

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And lastly the casino

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This is the floor entering the casino.  Pretty cool 3D

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and a quick shot of the rougher seas

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Ok that’s it for now but we will have some more a bit later!  Tonight is formal night (as expected on Valentines Day) and lobster ? night!  My favorite night of the entire cruise for dinner!!!

We are going to go walk around and film some of the ship now.  See y’all soon!

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Just wanted to post a funny story.  We were getting the drinks In the diamond lounge pictured a couple posts up and a couple sat down with us and started chatting.  They asked us “if we cruise often” and we all got a chuckle out of that! She realized what she asked and said “oh wait you are in the diamond lounge so you must”!  

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Today is the last sea day and last full day of the cruise ?.  Not a whole lot planned today.  We are taking the diamond and above level entertainment tour (which we have never done before) this morning.  Today is also the tshirt sale day so we are hitting that up!  We plan on some mini golf this afternoon too!  

If there is anything anyone wants to see please let us know and we will try to get it posted.  Only a few more cruises for this ship before dry dock (and it needs it)!

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58 minutes ago, MO & LO on the go! said:

Today is the last sea day and last full day of the cruise ?.  Not a whole lot planned today.  We are taking the diamond and above level entertainment tour (which we have never done before) this morning.  Today is also the tshirt sale day so we are hitting that up!  We plan on some mini golf this afternoon too!  

If there is anything anyone wants to see please let us know and we will try to get it posted.  Only a few more cruises for this ship before dry dock (and it needs it)!

Love the t-shirt sale, one of my favorite things to on the last sea day. I sometime wish they have cheaper sweatshirts or long sleeve t-shirts for sale as well

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2 hours ago, Srp431 said:

Love the t-shirt sale, one of my favorite things to on the last sea day. I sometime wish they have cheaper sweatshirts or long sleeve t-shirts for sale as well

That would be nice, especially for us snowbirds!  And apparently EVERYONE else on the ship likes the sale too!  The line took 45 minutes to get through!

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Oh no!  Last nachos on board until January 2021!  ?
 

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and if anyone has the chance for this pizza it’s called “carnivore”....it is delicious!  They only had it a few days of the 9 nights but when they did you would want to grab a piece!  YUM!

 

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On 2/7/2020 at 9:50 AM, Sweety said:

Following. I lived in Minneapolis for 18 months. Your dogs are beautiful. I am a coward, I let my husband take the dogs to the kennel. The sad eyes are too much for me. I was on Explorer this past holiday season. The ship is beautiful. Please tell Sharita in the Windjammer hello.

I found her.  She was in the area blocked off before lunch started.  I went in after they opened it and she was gone.  I saw her another time but didn’t have my phone.  I’ll keep trying.

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Quick update for getting off the ship...customs and border protection have been overwhelmed apparently so they have stopped people getting off the ship since about 8:00-8:30 this morning.  The ship is still filled with people!  It’s 10:00 and they have only gotten to number 5 for tags.  We are number 21!  Long way to go

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1 minute ago, MO & LO on the go! said:

Quick update for getting off the ship...customs and border protection have been overwhelmed apparently so they have stopped people getting off the ship since about 8:00-8:30 this morning.  The ship is still filled with people!  It’s 10:00 and they have only gotten to number 5 for tags.  We are number 21!  Long way to go

wow, I've never experiences anything like this in all our cruises. Hopefully, you don't have a early flight

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2 minutes ago, Srp431 said:

wow, I've never experiences anything like this in all our cruises. Hopefully, you don't have a early flight

We haven’t experienced this ever either!  It is very strange!  Our fight isn’t until Tuesday so we have plenty of time ?.  We are hanging out in Miami for a couple days once we get off the ship.

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