Days 13 thru 15 At Sea
When we went on shore in Nicaragua the ship had to dock out in the harbor and we took tenders to the dock. Tender is what they call the life boats that are carried on board the ship. They have enough for every passenger and all the crew. On the first day in the afternoon we had to meet in a designated area to learn the procedure for rescue in case it would become necessary…including how to don the lifejackets. The tenders each hold about 200 people. In this first picture they are lowering the life boat into the water and the second is showing where the tender is slid into place up at the ceiling for storage.
One of the last days a couple of the chefs gave a fruit carving demonstration. We watched simple fruit being transformed into an array of artistic masterpieces. They were then displayed in the buffets around the ship.
Sue had a facial massage from the Lotus Spa. It felt soooooooooo good UNTIL she had to endure the part where they try to sell their products that they used in the massage. Think it came to over $400 and then they said she should have another massage done towards the end of the cruise cause her face was in such a dry condition! Other things you could have done there include: Men’s anti-aging shave for $95, hot stone massage for $195, warm seaweed massage for $259 and last (that we will list), couples mud rasul for $95. Just in case you don’t know what this is the info describes it; “The most fun 2 people can have in the spa. Lather each other in cleansing mud after a full body scrub.” Be sure to do that the next time you are cruising. The Lotus spa does have a very nice fitness room with all kinds of exercise equipment. Some of it is free but if you want to do pilates or yoga…well there is a $10 fee each time to use it.
Another thing that was very irritating to us was that every time we turned around someone was wanting to take a picture of us. They have a photo department and they sell all those photos. They even post the most recent ones taken on large bulletin boards for EVERYONE to see. We just said no thank you. They also made a video of the entire ship and who knows how many times they caught our picture on that. By now you know we are not keen on having our pictures taken.
One of the popular things they do at the end of the cruise is a Champagne Waterfall. It is at 11:30 at night. The Maitre d creates a tower about 5 feet high with Champaign glasses. When he has it built he begins pouring champagne into the top glass and it cascades down. We stayed up until 11:30 pm to see this and by the time we got to the Atrium where it was held there were so many people there we could not even see it except for an occasional peek between the 2 heads in front of us. All this so they could drink some champagne…yuk. We left and went to bed.
Just had to share some of the funny stuff that goes on around here. We did have a great time on the cruise and are already looking , thinking, and yes, planning on our next one. The ship is lots of fun but what we see and learn on the shore excursions is so exciting. It begins to fulfill all that we don’t know about other cultures and peoples.
Another thing that was very irritating to us was that every time we turned around someone was wanting to take a picture of us. They have a photo department and they sell all those photos. They even post the most recent ones taken on large bulletin boards for EVERYONE to see. We just said no thank you. They also made a video of the entire ship and who knows how many times they caught our picture on that. By now you know we are not keen on having our pictures taken.
One of the popular things they do at the end of the cruise is a Champagne Waterfall. It is at 11:30 at night. The Maitre d creates a tower about 5 feet high with Champaign glasses. When he has it built he begins pouring champagne into the top glass and it cascades down. We stayed up until 11:30 pm to see this and by the time we got to the Atrium where it was held there were so many people there we could not even see it except for an occasional peek between the 2 heads in front of us. All this so they could drink some champagne…yuk. We left and went to bed.
Just had to share some of the funny stuff that goes on around here. We did have a great time on the cruise and are already looking , thinking, and yes, planning on our next one. The ship is lots of fun but what we see and learn on the shore excursions is so exciting. It begins to fulfill all that we don’t know about other cultures and peoples.
