Lunch with Short Vicki, and dinner with RQS

 

No, I didn't order a "Hot Dog" for lunch.  But the menu I had for lunch wasn't what we planned....

- - - - - -

Vicki and I decided to get together today, as this was the only day she could be sure that her schedule and mine would mesh together.  Since I had planned to drive to RQS's place for the weekend, I packed up my stuff the night before and carted it to my car before meeting Vicki in Ardsley.

Ardsley, NY would have been a quaint, maybe picturesque village had the NYS Thruway had not cut through the center of town.  What was once its main street is now divided by the Saw Mill River parkway (which may have had a traffic light controlled intersection with Ardsley road many decades ago), and by the NYS Thruway (built in the 1950's). Ardsley road is routed over both of the two limited access roads now, but addresses on the old Ardsley road still carry the Ardsley road address.  This can be confusing to people not local to the area.

I had just enough time to get to Ardsley, even with the "confusing" route I had to take.   When one exits the Saw Mill River Parkway, one has to take a stub of old Ardsley road away from town to connect with the part of "New" Ardsley road to get into town.  Once one crosses over the highways, one has to make a sharp "U-Turn" to enter the other stub section of "Old" Ardsley road.  At least, parking is free for 3 hours.

When I arrived at the original restaurant, I realized that it would be impossible to eat inside.  So, when Vicki arrived, I suggested that we go across the street to Liebman's, an "Old School" Kosher Deli.  Vicki noted that it would be expensive.  But I was willing to pay for a good lunch - and knew the quality of the food at this place.  We sat down to eat.  I ordered the Matzoh Ball Soup with a half Pastrami sandwich, while Vicki ordered the Kreplach Soup with a half Corned Beef sandwich.  Both were yummy!  There is only one place that better pastrami, and Katz's in Manhattan is a matter of taste.

All too soon, lunch ended, and I was off to RQS's place.  It was hard to believe that I parked right in front of RQS's place by 2 pm.  And this was perfect timing.  Shortly after arriving at RQS's place, we went to the nearby Bodega to pick up food for the evening.  Once back at home, I showed RQS the dress I hoped to wear on Mother's Day (I can never be a mother, for obvious reasons - I only note which Sunday is being referenced.)  She liked how the dress and the shrug worked together, and I'm glad that I went out of my way to pick it up.

It was a long day, and I was glad to take off my dress, leggings, bra, etc.  This will be a weekend that I'm in full Marian presentation, and it's nice to be with someone with whom I can do this. 

A mess to clean, a lunch to enjoy, and some laundry to wash

 

My apartment has always been in one degree of mess or another.  One can say that I've drowned in clutter over the years, and have come out of it with varying degrees of clutter removed from the mess.  Today, I have to clean up some of the mess, meet CCS for lunch, and do some laundry.

- - - - - -

This morning, I was supposed to have a zoom with my niece in London.  I really wasn't in the mood to rush a conversation, nor was I in the mood to be talking too much, when I had a lunch engagement 30 minutes later with CCS.  So, I asked my niece to postpone for a week, and that worked for both of us.

Next, it was getting ready to pick CCS up.  She had some work done on her arm, and she is not able to drive while the arm heals.  So I had to put her address into my phone's GPS so that I could find her place. Once I picked her up, it was off to the restaurant for lunch.  We caught up on a lot of things, the disposition of family autos, her upcoming cruise, the sale of my family homestead and more.  it was a good conversation that had to end too soon.  So, I dropped her off at her place, and rushed back home for an urgently nee bio-break.

When I had the chance, I opened up a package from Kohl's - a new dress had arrived.  I wasn't sure if a 3x would fit me, but it did - the waist wasn't as tight as it could have been on me.  And it will be a very comfortable addition to my wardrobe for this summer.

I ended up taking a nap and woke up as the sun was setting.  Knowing that I was in for the night, I stripped off my makeup and finally prepared to do some laundry.  It was nice to get out as Marian again, and I hope to be able to finally get my nails done soon....

 

 

Bermuda Triangle Cruise 2026 - Sea Day #2 (04/20/26)

Instead of focusing on the nature of a typical sea day on this ship, I will start out by talking about Virgin Voyages' RFID wristlets.  I figured that most of my readers would like to see something different for a change. 

- - - - - -

Three cruise lines I've cruised on have similar technology in place on their ships:

• MSC
• Princess
• Virgin

Of these, I find Princess' use of technology to be the most user friendly, with Virgin coming in a close second.  Why does Princess rank a little higher than Virgin, when Virgin integrates modern technology into every possible touch point with its cruisers?  The answer is simple - Virgin has taken away options that older people might want by forcing people to use its app for everything.

When I booked this cruise, I expected that most of my sign-in process could be done with a PC interface.  This was far from the case.  I had to use the cell phone app to capture information from my driver's license and my passport - even when I had scanned copies of the same documents I could upload from my PC.  And then, their scans of my driver's license and passport had to be redone just before our cruise, as some glitch in their back office systems rejected what I had previously submitted.

Although I am comfortable with modern technology (though I don't use many of the apps my niece might use), I still prefer a "belt and suspenders" approach where more humans are involved in processes.

- - - - - -

Today, we woke up early (due to RQS receiving a call she had to take), but wandered down for brunch around 11 am.  We waited on a queue for 45 minutes before sitting down to eat.  At this point, I was starving, as my blood sugar level was likely too low for comfort.  Luckily, we were seated by noon, and a nice couple from Canada sat down next to us.  We had a nice conversation on current affairs (including the insanity of our Orange Monster) while eating lunch.  As part of the conversation, I made my TG nature known, and they were curious about it.  I answered a few questions, and it was back to normal.  I hope we see them again before the end of the cruise.

Later on, it was time for dinner.  And tonight, we went to the ship's Korean BBQ.  This was a disappointment for reasons not related to the quality of the place.  Instead, it was a loud and lively environment for dinner at a time I really wanted a quiet, relaxing environment to savor some food.  The people around us were nice, and we enjoyed the conversations over dinner  But the main courses were muddy in flavor, with me not being able to taste much of a difference between beef, pork belly, and octopus served at the table due to the marinade used in its preparation.  At least, we'll remember not to choose this restaurant if on a Virgin ship again. 

 

 

 

 

 

Bermuda Triangle Cruise 2026 - Bermuda Day #1 (04/18/26)

 

Bermuda, at last!  We'll only have 24 hours at this port, but it is a 24 hour period where we can enjoy ourselves on land, as well as pick up a few items we could use at the local store.

But first....

Neither of us wanted to get up this morning, so we slept in until 11 am again.  By the time we were ready to go out of the room, it was lunch time.  So, it was off to the Galley and wait for our food to be delivered.

The Galley was crowded for lunch, so we ended up finding a seat at the rear of the ship.  From the moment we sat down, we could see Bermuda coming up in the distance.  By the time we were done with lunch, we were passing by the parish of St. George (Do I say town? county? What to Bermudians call this subsection of the archipelago?) on our way to the Dockyard area.

We arrived in port at 2:45, and were able to get off the ship at 3:00 pm.  (One catch, we had to stay on "ship time" and not "island time", as Bermuda is in the Atlantic time zone, and the ship remained on Eastern.  Staying in the Dockyard area, we browsed a few shops before returning to the ship.

Once back on the ship, we killed time before making it to the ship's Italian eatery.  We ate way too much food, and all of it was tasty.  (It was not as good as some of our favorite NYC Italian joints.  But then, we live in NYC and have a plethora of great Italian eateries.  So it would be an unfair comparison to consider ranking this place against our favorite eateries.)

It was a good day.  And I'm hoping that the rest of our remaining time in Bermuda will be just as good. 

 

 

 

Bermuda Triangle Cruise 2026 - Sea Day #1 (04/17/26)

 

This is the first full day that we've been on the cruise ship, and the highlights of the day were our meals.  No, this is not anything negative about the ship, its entertainment, or its crew.  It's because we got up very late in the morning, and the high points were lunch and dinner.

But first....

We had our drapes fully closed this morning, and when we woke up naturally, it was about 11:30.  Although we could have had a normal breakfast, we figured it best to skip to a lunch in the Galley (a dining hall which resembles a buffet, save for the fact that your food is served.)  Given that it was "high lunch" time, we sat in a nearby area of a restaurant which turns into a Korean BBQ joint at night.

It took us a while to get service.  However, I figured out why things were running slow, and why we had some problems communicating with our servers - couple us in an area being prepared for evening dining (even though the "flags" identified the area as functionally part of the "Galley") with a staff member who couldn't understand our English, and one would expect a minor misunderstanding.  Even with this, the staff was more than willing to see that our needs were met.  (RQS noted that many of the crew members may have been unhappy to be there, as if things had changed since the days they signed on for their roles.)

After lunch, it was back to the cabin for a while.  I watched TV and added more information to my cruise blog while RQS fell asleep in a hammock.  It was nice NOT to have anything to do.  But none of the ship's activities interested me that much either.  

Around 6:00, we went to the ship's tasting restaurant, the Test Kitchen.  For those unfamiliar with this class of dining, diners will be served a series of small, artistic dishes with exquisite presentation.  In our case, there was only 2 options: Omnivore or Vegetarian/Vegan.  We chose Omnivore, and loved the dishes.  It was hard to believe that 5 small dishes could fill us up this much.  Sadly, I could not describe these dishes, as the preparation was complex, and too many elements involved in each dish for me to remember the dishes properly.

Would I go there again?  Yup - our next visit is coming up in a few days.  And we're looking forward to it! 

The last co-op board meeting of the month

 

There's an old saying about business meetings: They are places where minutes are taken and hours are lost.  Well, tonight I lost over 4 hours to a board meeting I didn't want to attend.  And the clocks in the picture above are as tired as I am.

- - - - - -

When I finally got moving today, I was as tired as the above clocks.  I guess it was what I ate - lots of starch the night before, and more starch the next day.  (I usually make some pasta with canned chicken and mix in some mayo to make everything edible for an American palate.)  So, I wasn't ready until 1 pm to go out of the house for my last time as Marian for the next two weeks.  As I was going out the door, the president of the co-op called and we talked about some of the night's applications to purchase that we had on our docket.  (I caught an error that our managing agent should have caught.)  After the call, I finally had a chance to go out the door for a few hours.

I decided to go to Costco to walk around and buy a few things, none of which needed refrigeration.  On the way home, I stopped at the Golden Arches for a fish sandwich, then proceeded to the supermarket to pick up dinner for tonight, and lunch for tomorrow.

Once I was finally home, I reluctantly changed back into Mario for the board meeting, and then spent over 4 hours getting to know applicants to purchase apartments, review current financial status, and to make plans for future meetings.  (Even now, I can only say a few limited things about what goes on in private.)  Finally, at 9:45 pm, the meeting was over, and I could finally relax. 

Lunch with DS (a short post)

 

Although RQS is coming up today, I only want to discuss two things: Lunch with DS and a chat with my brother.  (I can always chat about RQS later on in another post.)

- - - - - -

We scheduled lunch for 12:30.  So I had to set reminders to make sure that I'd be well on my way to getting showered, made up and dressed before noon.  Unlike cisgender women, I always feel a need to apply makeup, as my face will otherwise look sort of masculine.  The less people notice these facial features, the better.  But I digress.

On the way down to White Plains, TCL called me up.  She lost one of her car keys the other day, and now the second key fob broke.  Although she has a valet key, it didn't do her much good sitting back at home.  Luckily, she has a neighbor who could be counted on to get into her house, find TCL's keys, and bring them to her to get her car home.  TCL still doesn't know what she wants from car keys and the fob, but I'd bet that she's going to cheap out, and only duet the valet key, and not pay for a replacement key fob which would allow her to open the car's trunk, as well as to open doors remotely.

I arrived at the diner around 12:30 and met DS.  Both of us enjoyed lunch, and caught up on what's happening in each other's lives.  Although I can't say she's doing well, she has been taking on gigs to pay the bills, and had a little extra for lunch today.  Hopefully, we'll be able to get together more often, and I mentioned that I'd like to have her come with me to one of the "20 at 20" off Broadway shows during their last week.  But that's only if I make the effort to go myself.   It's always nice to have female friends to do things with.... 

Game night was cancelled, and I was too tired to go into NYC to see a play.

 

What does Jumbo the Elephant have in common with an Off-Broadway show?  The answer is that both were meant to entertain people in NYC.

- - - - - -

When the day started, I had two things on the docket: Lunch with Maria, and Game night in Yonkers.  There was one problem that would cause me problems today - I didn't go to sleep until 4 am.  (I stayed up an extra 30 minutes to write yesterday's blog entry.)  So I knew I'd need more sleep during the day to recharge my batteries.

Waking up (but not getting out of bed) around 7 am, I unsuccessfully tried to fall back to sleep for another 1-2 hours before getting up.  Around 10:30, I got out of bed and started getting ready for the day.  By 12:30, I was in Cold Spring and was on time to meet Maria.  We talked about her family, including her new grandson, and issues she's been dealing with for a while.  Of course, I had a bit to say as well.  Sadly, she had to fetch her other grand kids at school, or we could have chatted longer.

Next, it was home to take a nap before going to game night.  Around 5:00, I received a text to let me know that game night was cancelled for the night.  Murder Mouth (their dog) didn't have a sitter for the evening, and he couldn't be trusted around people.  If I had known this earlier, I could have made a 7:00 performance of  Amazing Sex Life of Rabbits in NYC.  Sadly, this was not the case, and I ended up doing a load of laundry instead.

Although I would have enjoyed seeing the play, I didn't feel like I had the energy to go into the city and back today.  At least, there will be other plays I can see in the next 2 weeks. 

Lunch with a friend, and an aborted evening plan.

 

Today, I had only one thing on the docket - lunch with MSJ.   We always have a good time in our monthly meetings, but today would be a little different.  There was a little too much noise in the restaurant for me to hear anything.

But first....

I woke up to the morning sun when I'd have rather have stayed asleep.  After some time futzing with the computer and watching videos, it was time for me to get dressed and get ready to go down the hill to meet MSJ.  As usual, I wore my usual winter garb - a dress over leggings.  And I was at the restaurant at 1 pm.

It was unusually noisy in the restaurant, as several people were talking loudly to people sitting at a nearby table.  I had a hard time hearing my friend, and had to ask her to repeat herself a few times.  We talked about many things: politics, her family, my family, and my cruise related website.  She gave me a few ideas for improvement, several of which I will seek to implement in a future version of the site.

After lunch, I went home to nap - and overslept.  The idea of trekking into NYC for an off-Broadway play was squashed by the nap.  Then, my brother called - we were on the line for 2 hours.  So I ended up going to the diner for dinner, when all I wanted was a couple of pizza slices from the nearby (now closed for the night) pizzeria.  At least, I was able to enjoy some fish and chips.

Lunch with Short Vicki

 

It's been ages since I last saw "Short" Vicki.  (RQS and I call her that, to avoid confusion with the other Vicki in my life.)  Today was a last minute planned lunch, fitting it into her hectic schedule.

- - - - - -

I had to get up early today, so that I could meet Vicki in Tarrytown for lunch.  Given that I had leftover baked ziti in the ice box, I wasn't in the mood to have Italian again.  So, I chose a Greek place we both enjoy, and arranged to meet her by 11:30.  My alarms were set to waken me early, and I was up and moving by 9:30.

Having showered, shaved and made up my face, I was able to get out the door shortly after 11:00.  This would give me barely enough time to make it to Tarrytown by 11:30.  But I needn't have worried - Vicki was running late (caught in "flow" state with what she was doing) and was glad that I texted her, as she may have forgotten our lunch date.  While I waited, everyone treated me as the female as I was presenting. It's always nice to be treated as a woman - there are certain simple, polite niceties which women experience that I always enjoy. 

One thing about Vicki - she always seems to have a smile on her face.  This brightened up my day when she entered the restaurant.  We caught up on things - her trips (past and present), her family, current affairs, and issues affecting her family.  Our lunch was way too short, as both of us had things to do afterwards.  So, around 1:30, we left the restaurant, hoping we'll get together soon.

My next stop was back at my apartment, where I proceeded to work on a spreadsheet for my other blog.  It's not perfect, but it will give a person an idea of what one's real cost will be for a particular cruise, including optimizations made possible by judicious package purchases.

At a certain point, I decided to make a run to BJ's, and burn off a gift card I've had since before Xmas.  Other than gas, this was not an expensive trip, as the sunk money part of it (the gift card) was money already spent that needed to be used soon.

- - - - - -

Once I had finished work on the spreadsheet, I stored it away, and set up a zoom with our Texas friends for next week.  On the whole, it was a good day. 

 

 

Lunch with CCS, Laundry, and a Living Spreadsheet.

 

There was only one "Must Do" and one "Should Do" item on the docket today: Lunch with CCS, and Laundry.  And, believe it or not, I took care of both things.  But, doing laundry threw me a curve ball - one of the dresses I was to launder was labeled "Hand Wash, Dry Flat."  And this made me wonder about two other dresses from Universal Standard that found their way into my laundry basket.

- - - - - -

I woke up early enough to catch part of "Morning Joe" on the vidiot box. But it took me another couple of hours to get dressed and drive to the Italian restaurant in town to meet CCS.  When I got dressed, I put on a tunic dress over leggings, as I couldn't justify a dress with hosiery on a slightly rainy winter's day.  And, I got to the restaurant before CCS for a change.  During lunch, we talked about family events, our upcoming cruises, and politics - the usual stuff.   And, all too soon, lunch had to end.  Both of us had leftovers to eat another day.  So we scheduled our March lunch, and went our separate ways.

After lunch, I drove to Briarcliff Manor in the vain hope that I might stumble into the acquaintance I met at last night's meetup.  Of course, I did not stumble into her.  I guess she may have realized that I couldn't be the travel partner she seemed to desperately want.  (I also wonder if she wanted me as a lesbian partner.  But that's another reason I had to tell her that I have a long term partner in RQS)   Since she did not try to contact me, I'll write her off until the next time (if there is one) I stumble into her.

Once I was back home, I started work on my spreadsheet of cruising costs.  Finally, with enough experimentation, I was able to get the computation down for one of the nine cruise lines.  While doing this, I had two baskets (should have been three) of laundry in the washer and dryer.  So, after everything, this was a very productive day.

And now, back to my everyday life

 

I dropped RQS off at the station today for her trip home.  She'll have 3 days to run her errands (and me the same) before she returns here this weekend.  

- - - - - -

There are only so many current events videos I can watch before getting sick thinking of the Orange Monster and what he's doing to this country.  So, I limit my consumption of political news.  I wish I could filter out the damage the monster is doing to this world, so that I could focus on everyday events that occur in the NYC region (fires, building collapses, murders, subway derailments and other disasters that affect a small number of people in my region.)   To contrast a NYC view of things vs. the rest of the world's views, I suggest looking at a case of suicide via subway train during rush hour.  To outsiders, we'd be mourning the tragic loss of a human life.  To New Yorkers, we're getting pissed off that some jerk has screwed up thousands of commutes at the worst possible time - if the person wanted to off himself, the least he could have done is to wait until after rush hour AND have the good taste do it where it wouldn't affect anyone's commute.  (One needs a certain sense of callousness to live in this city.)

I got up around 8 am, and let RQS sleep until 10:30 am.  Around noon, I started getting showered and dressed, so that RQS could make a 1:30 pm train.  Although I was thinking of doing a couple of loads of laundry today, I decided to make a run over to Target and pick up a few things I'd need over time.  Sadly, the route that I'd normally take home was closed off to me (and to all) as the failure of a bridge over the nearby railroad tracks prevented me from taking my usual route home.

Arriving home, I decided to contact a friend and schedule a lunch get-together.  Although her schedule was a little tight, we found a convenient lunch date, and scheduled something for this week.  And then, I decided to rest for the remainder of the day, giving up any plans to go out again.  So, off with the makeup and outside clothes, and on with my jammies, and I could go to bed any time I want. 

- - - - - - 

Tomorrow will be a "Fat Tuesday" meetup, and I hope all goes right.  I think I'll wear a nice dress for the evening, and get some use out of it this season. 

I'm not going to do everything all at once.

 

I'm not going to do everything all at once.  That's a lesson that can be overwhelming to most people, as they look at the big picture before breaking it up into little, more manageable tasks that need to be done.  In the case of my other blog, I have to rebuild and rewrite all text from scratch, including my impressions which were lost to a typo.  So, expect me to keep you informed of my progress over the next few days.

- - - - - -

Unlike yesterday, I was able to wake up around 6 am.  However, I did it on (maybe) 4 hours of sleep.  So, I knew that I'd be tired later in the day - and I was. For many people, if they have to go to the toilet in the middle of the night (or early in the morning), they usually fall back to sleep once they relieve themselves.  As for me, the movement needed to get to the toilet is just enough to bring myself to full consciousness, and knock my sleep/wake cycle out of whack.  So, when RQS got up, she saw me semi-conscious on the sofa.

Once I woke up again, I knew that I would need another nap.  Around 2 pm, I drove RQS to the station for her return home, and then I picked lunch at Mickey D's.  (Sadly, there were no places serving what would fit my food cravings, so I had to settle for a fish sandwich.)  Arriving home, it was time to nap - and I didn't get up again until 6 pm.

- - - - - -

Now that I was awake, it was time to sort out my mail, and start work on the travel blog again.  At least, all my photos were still safe on blogger, and I could use some of what I wrote for this blog as tools to refresh my memory of the cruise I took in November/December. 

A trip into NYC for a Sample Sale

 

As you can see, I've written this post about 2 weeks before you see it.  Today, I decided to take a trip into NYC to see what Universal Standard had for sale, and whether there was something I'd find worth buying.  But I wasn't sure if I'd bother to go into NYC today, as the temperature was 15 degrees Fahrenheit with a light breeze.  BRRRR! 

- - - - - -

When I got up this morning, I could feel the cold coming through the windows.  There is only so much that can be done to heat up an apartment when the weather is this cold.  Yet, around 10:30, I decided to get showered and dressed, and made it to the station with 20 minutes to spare.  

The train made it to Manhattan by 12:45, and I was at the pop-up store before 1:30.  One catch - there were 4 storefronts with the same numbered address, each with a different letter to identify their places in the building.  (e.g.: 262-A, 262-B, 262-C, and 262-D)  But once I found the place, it was easy for me to go through the racks.  Sadly, I only found one garment worth buying.  But that was OK.

Next, it was off to find something to eat.  I found a bagel shop on the corner, and ordered a sausage, egg and cheese sandwich on a poppy bagel. Add a can of soda to that, and guess what I spent - roughly $20.  I could have gotten the same in my neck of the woods for half the price.  But I was hungry, and wanted something to fill my stomach.

Finally, it was back to Grand Central and a wait for RQS.  She arrived around 3:30, and we were home by 5:00.

Now to try on my new dress.... 

RQS had to go home today

 

It's been a long time since I went to the theater with the above ceiling fixture.  It felt like RQS was here for a long enough time for her to become a fixture here.  (And that made me feel good.  I wish she could be here even longer.)

- - - - - -

Unfortunately, RQS had to go home today.  She had a doctor's appointment in the city, and I had a lunch appointment with CCS up here.  We both got up early, and I got showered and dressed in my cold weather outfit - tunic dress, leggings, all covered by a stadium coat for warmth.  RQS was a little surprised that I owned a woman's stadium coat for cold weather, when she bought be a men's stadium coat for Christmes.  But I always make sure that I wear solely female clothes when presenting as Marian, and male clothes when presenting as Mario.

Around 11:30, I dropped RQS off at the station, and had 90 minutes to kill.  So I went to the bookstore to kill that time.  When I got there, the first thing I did was to fix a zipper malfunction with my coat.  And then, I went and read some magazines for an hour.  After that, I drove to Starbucks to get something to drink, as I was falling out due to lacking enough sleep.  Then, I killed some more time before meeting CCS at the restaurant where we had lunch.

Neither CCS nor I had a lot to say today, but we both enjoyed seeing each other. The food at this place was very good, and I was surprised about how good the hamburger I had tasted today.  We left the restaurant at 3 pm, and I went home for the day.  Arriving home, I sat on the sofa and fell asleep for a couple of hours.  And then I was awake, watching videos for the rest of the evening.

Florida/Bahamas Cruise 2025 - Sea Day #4 (01/11/26)

 

The day started off with us going to our last, non-rushed breakfast at the ship's main dining room.  Nothing special for me, as I ordered the usual: OJ, Eggs Benedict, a Fruit Cup, and Coffee.  (I'd order Scrambled Eggs off the ship, but I've been burnt before with powdered eggs - and I hate them, no matter where they are served.) 

On the way back from breakfast, we saw that the ship's atrium was packed with people enjoying a dumb entertainment - Twenty Questions, where someone from the ship is trying to figure out what is on screen in back of her.  I'm not knocking this, as much as the two of us have experienced better onboard activities on other lines, such as Princess and Cunard.  So, we headed back to the cabin to relax and watch the vidiot box (TV).

Yesterday, I sent out most of my dirty laundry to get cleaned.  Although it should be delivered by 6 pm, I was looking for it well before then, so that I could get a head start on packing - as RQS did before me.  While she was doing that, I kept working on my travel blog, editing pictures and moving them to my laptop for posting with the current entry.   

- - - - - -

We returned from our last lunch on the ship, and guess what?  Laundry had been delivered, and my trousers and shirts had been hung up in the closet.  I haven't yet seen any charges to my account, so I wonder - did the second bag cost me anything?  Well, several hours later, just before going to dinner, I checked again - and there was no charge!  Maybe I got lucky. 

On our way to dinner, we stopped by the Inch of Gold stand and had a nice char with a lady called KD (from Jamaica). We talked of our cruises, and how she gets to spend port days.  I noted that she must love it when the ship makes port in Bermuda, and then she noted how a stop in Quebec City is just as good for her.  And then, we went to the main dining room - and were surprised by a decent meal!  (Remember, when we ate here last, we were upset by everything.)  Although the meal was not as good as that in the specialty restaurants, we enjoyed it much more - and were glad to have eaten there.

Finally, it was time to go back to the room and finish potting out our bags for pickup tomorrow at the pier. This was the greatest reminder that we'll be back in the real world tomorrow morning. 

Florida/Bahamas Cruise 2025 - Nassau, Bahamas (01/09/26)

 

Nassau, Bahamas.  It's another of those "Almost No There, There" places which tend to be popular for beach related activities.  Unlike most islands in the Caribbean, this island has no fort.  Instead it has a shopping district near the piers, as well as beaches a short cab ride away.  Yet, it is one of the largest ports in the Western Hemisphere, being able to handle 7 cruise ships at the same time.  As long as there is a nice beach and good weather, people will love ports like Nassau.  And if I were a warm weather person, I might love this port as well.

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We both got up late, taking advantage of the port day by letting the mobs rush to eat and take their shore excursions.  Around 9:45 am, we went to the only open onboard restaurant to have breakfast, and it was there that I found that I forgot my room key.  Although breakfast was good, I couldn't help but think of the room key. So, we hoofed it back to the cabin after breakfast and found that my room key was not with my lanyard.  AARGH!  This meant another trek to guest services to get a new card key cut.

Eventually, both RQS and I made it back to the cabin, made sure that both of our cards worked and then RQS went out for her constitutional while I stayed inside and worked on this blog.  Sometimes, two people who care for each other need some alone time - and this was our time to be alone for the day.

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Lunchtime came, and we went back to the one restaurant open on the ship on port days, O'Sheehan's.  As we expected, lunch was forgettable.  Afterwards, we went back to the cabin so that RQS could pick up a few things for her alone time.  I stayed in the cabin to work on my blogs, and to experiment with multiple image displays on a single row in blogger.  Although I finally got things right, I still don't like what I'll have to do to make the blogs work right.

Once that was done, I started the check-in process for my next cruise.  Virgin Voyages doesn't make it easy for us geriatric old-timers - virtually everything has to be done via their mobile device app, and it's easy to screw up some of the data entry.  At least, I know what RQS will need to do when she starts her check-in process.

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Finally, it was time for dinner.  We went to the ship's Italian restaurant and were totally underwhelmed.  None of the dishes had any flavor.  The Calamari was forgettable, the Pork Scaloppini was missing something special, and the Italian Cheesecake tasted like it came from a boxed mix.  In the future, we will avoid this specialty restaurant on other NCL ships. 

 

Florida/Bahamas Cruise 2025 - Great Stirrup Cay, Bahamas (01/08/26)

 

Great Stirrup Cay - NCL's private island.  The last time I was here, I declined to set foot on the island because it was a tender port.  And I did the right thing, as choppy weather was getting in the way of tenders returning people to the ship.

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We arrived at the island early in the morning.  The ship emptied out while we went to breakfast on the ship. That meant the ship was quiet and peaceful for a change, and we enjoyed it.  Breakfast was pleasant, as we didn't have to wait to be seated, nor did we have to be worried about overworked wait staff giving shoddy breakfast service.  Normally, we might not have roused ourselves out of bed until noon.  But we were hungry, and the mechanical staff had to visit our room again for a third time to fix the problem with our toilet not flushing correctly.  So, after breakfast, we killed time in the main atrium and gave staff a chance to make up our cabin, and fix the problem with the toilet without us getting in the way.

We came back to a room with a working toilet (Thank God!) and relaxed for a while before going to the buffet for a late lunch.  Again, we killed a little time, as we had an early dinner at the Hibachi restaurant. There's not much to say about this place, save that the food was tasty and plentiful.  I've seen the Hibachi show way too many times to be impressed by it, and I'm glad that we didn't get stuck eating 3 specialty meals in this place.

After dinner, it was off to the ship's theater to see a show we saw on one of our trips on this ship - the Broadway Cabaret.  Unlike the last show we saw in this theater, we enjoyed it - even though we had seen it before.   The ship's singers and musicians were at the top of their game, and we stayed to the closing number.  (We left during the number, as we both needed bio-breaks.)  And then we were done for the night. 

 

Florida/Bahamas Cruise 2025 - Sea Day #2 (01/06/26)

 

Up again at 8:00 am could become a short term habit for us.  Unfortunately, this hasn't made it possible for us to be served quickly in the main dining room.

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We made it to the dining room at 9:15 am, knowing that we'd have to wait a little.  After standing on line to reach the restaurant's reception desk, we took a pager and walked to a nearby sitting area to await the buzzer.  About 20 minutes later, we walked back to the restaurant, and we were seated without waiting.  However, the restaurant is supposed to close itself off to new diners at 9:30 am, so everyone seated afterward might be affected by the pre-lunch preparations that start at the end of breakfast service.

Well, it took over 15 minutes for us to even be noticed by wait staff, and that was only because I had to flag someone down.  This server noted that things were busy today, and that they were having trouble handling the volume of cruisers wanting a served breakfast.  (I feel that NCL is skimping on staff at all levels, but that's a topic I'll cover elsewhere.)  Our order was eventually taken, and we were waiting until after 10:00 am for our food to come.  (We were thinking of skipping out and going to the buffet, as service was that slow.)  When it came, my Eggs Benedict were missing.  It took another 10 minutes (or more) for them to come.  By the time they came, staff had already started to clear the tables and cleared off the coffee creamers before we were finished with our coffee, and then they cleared the butter pats off the table before I had finished buttering my toast.  This was not a good omen for future visits.

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Lunch was at the ship's "American Diner" venue, and I made a big mistake before going here - I forgot to bring my sweater.  If the place had a good windbreak, I'd have enjoyed dining here.  RQS had a freshly grilled burger here, while I had the fish sandwich.  Both were done well, and were very tasty.  Would I eat here again?  Only on a warm and calm sunny day, as this venue is open to gusty winds that can bring in unpleasant weather.

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Around 7:00 pm, we headed to the ship's theater to see a musical revue.  The ship's musicians and dancers performed a show centered around British Pop Music which became popular in the US, with songs from groups like the Beatles, the Who, David Bowie, Elton John, and the Spice Girls.  There was a little something for everyone in the music, but the dancing left a bit to be desired.

Sadly, we left the theater early, as we had 8:00 dinner reservations at the ship's Mediterranean restaurant.  (Think of Greek Seafood.)  Both of us loved our meals, but I wish portion size was larger - the octopus appetizer was the best I've ever had, as it was flavorful, tender, but not chewy! (Too bad I couldn't get a dinner sized portion of the dish.)

All too soon, reality hit us and we went back to our cabin after missing half of the comedy show.  We were in for the night, and will need to see if we can make reservations for the Noodle Bar tomorrow. 

 

Florida/Bahamas Cruise 2025 - Embarkation Day (01/04/26)

 

The alarms rang at 8:00 am, but didn't wake either of us up.  I had already been awake since 6:00 am, and couldn't get back to sleep, while RQS simply hit the snooze bar for another 30 minutes.

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When we finally started to move, I took my shower first and went out the door to pick up breakfast.  One of the delis that I'd usually go to as Mario was closed (unusual for a Sunday morning), so I went to another one nearby.  After finishing our breakfasts, we carted our bags downstairs and waited for our taxi.

Arriving at the local train station, we were a little surprised by how the change in railroad fares would affect us.  No longer could we buy a senior round-trip ticket good for use one day, and for a return several days later.  We now have to buy tickets before each leg of our trips, as they only offer single day use "unlimited" trips.  (Yeah, right.  Who wants to go back and forth into and out of New York City in one day?)  As a result of the fare change, we now have to plan our arrival time at the train station more carefully, so that we don't miss a train because we didn't allocate enough time to buy our tickets.

Once at Grand Central, we took a cab to the cruise terminal, and were on the ship in less than 20 minutes.  Unlike our last cruise, this ship felt crowded.  It didn't help that many cabins weren't ready for occupancy until after 2:00 pm.  This meant that most of the venues where one could sit down were crowded, without any room for newcomers.

Once on the ship, we checked in at our muster station (no problem, as it was right by the elevator bank we needed to use to get to our cabin.)  But we didn't expect the amount of walking we'd have to do between the elevator bank and our cabin.  (We were so far forward, that if we went much further, we'd be on the bow of the ship.)  We dumped our carry-on luggage in the cabin (even though it wasn't officially open for us to do so) and went to arrange for our 5 specialty dining meals.  (We got 3 due to the length of this cruise, plus another 2 due to my loyalty status with the cruise line.)  Although there was a long line to book specialty dining, we got slots in each of the restaurants on the ship, and had one of our favorites booked for this evening.

Having taken care of the time sensitive stuff, it was time to get lunch.  Unfortunately, cabins were not yet officially available to cruisers, so no one was giving up any space in the buffet.  I figured that with a little searching, that we'd find a spot - but I was wrong.  I ended up putting a full plate of food down in a public place for someone else to clean, and then proceeded to another restaurant for lunch.  We were told that we'd have to wait for 45 minutes, which caused us to go to our cabin for 30 more minutes (again, the cabins weren't officially available yet) before returning to the restaurant for pub food. 

Now that we were done for the afternoon, it was back to the cabin to rest for a couple hours.  Just before 6:00 pm, we went to the ship's French Bistro for dinner.  As expected, the food was yummy.  Nothing in the menu has changed in 2 years, and that was good enough for RQS and me.  If one goes to this restaurant, go hungry - I had a 16 ounce pork chop, and couldn't finish it!  The food was good and filling, and worth going out of one's way to eat there.

After dinner, we went back to the room to relax for the evening.  Being sleep deprived, it made sense for me to finally be able to rest with no time pressures.