It's been almost 3 years since I updated this blog...such a fail.  So many trips to blog about...maybe it's time to revive this blog.

Paris & Italy

I officially have Vacation Brain!  2 more months until we head to Paris and Italy!

Dressing for Europe could be a bit tricky--especially during the hot summer.  In my research of what to wear in Europe, I found a lot of don'ts instead-- don't wear sneakers, don't wear t-shirts with logos, don't wear shorts, don't look like a tourist.  However, I think regardless people could still tell if you are a tourist--if not from our clothing, then from our mannerism, or the simple fact that we may look lost.  I'm all about finding that happy medium.

Many churches in Italy will not allow you to enter with bare shoulders or have skirts/shorts that are above knee in length.  I've decided to pack a lot of dresses and keep a light cardign in my handbag.

Since we are going to 4 cities, I want to make sure I pack for mobility.  Which means bringing items that are more versatile.   Instead of bringing a pair of comfortable shoes and a pair of dressy shoes for nighttime, I wanted to find a pair of shoes that combined both.  Also a pair of shoes that I could walk hours in, but would still look nice with my dresses.  I was so happy to find these Cole Haan sandals at Off Fifth for 30% off.   It has Nike Air technology that makes you feel like you are walking on marshmallows.  Not to mention it gives me a bit of a height boost as well.

For this trip I will be bringing my trusty cross-body bag from Marc by Marc Jacob.  Italians loves their leather, so this bag should blend right in.  Also the cross-body bag enables me to be handsfree while touring each city.

This is my first time in Europe so I am very excited!  It's making me forget about my Ocean City trip this weekend and my St. Louis trip coming up in one month. :P

Norwegian Epic

We booked this cruise a week before it sailed.  It was somewhat spontaneous--which is always nice because you don't sit around counting the days until vacation.

Epic was built in 2010 and offers innovative designs and great entertainment.  Instead of hiring Norwegian performers, they contract it out to actual known shows.  This cruise is unlike other Norwegian cruises I've been on.

Cabins

Epic is also unique in the sense that they only offer inside, balcony, and suite cabins.  They do not have outside cabins (rooms with windows).  We booked an inside cabin because we decided to use that extra money towards the shore excursions and shows.  

                                                                                      (you probably can't tell, but the Dark Knight was on)

The room was spacious.  The bathroom set-up was unique.  They had the bathroom on one side and the shower on the other side---both with semi-transparent doors.  The sink was also detached as shown in the picture.  The water would splash out of the sink, so keep your things away from it.

Another thing that annoyed me was the t.v set-up was high--so resolution was hard to see.  Speaking of the TV--what happened to the movie channel?  Usually they would show a series of movies that were not yet released on DVD--but the only movie that was offered was a "favorite movie" channel showing old movies.

Decks

Norwegian has a very nice "Aqua park" area.  I'm not sure if it was because of spring break, but it was really hard to find lounge chairs after 10am.  Also the slides had long lines--but worth the wait.

Epic has 2 bowling areas

 One outdoor theater (only at night)

2-story theater inside

Entertainment

Most of the shows on the Epic was excellent.  The Epic makes you do advance reservations for a majority of their shows.  People would then come early to get good seats.  We came at 9pm for the 10pm Blue Man Group and the line was already down the hall.  But there were plenty of seats in the theater--it's just a matter of where you would like to sit.  I'm not a fan of waiting in line for an hour to see a show I have reservations for. :P

This show is nearly identical to the Blue Man Group I saw in Las Vegas a few years ago.  But it's part of your cruise cost--so why not see it?  They also did a separate behind the blue man group Q&A which was very interesting. 

They also have a contract with The Second City, which is a sketch comedy and improv show.  They were funny and entertaining.  There's a PG-13 version and an adults only show.  Try to catch both.

There were other funny activities that was put together by the cruise director department.  My personal favorite was the "dancing with the cruise staff." I literally laughed so hard I cried.

Then there were shows that you had to pay for (optional).  The first one we did was a mystery lunch show.  This was put together by Second City.  The ticket was 20 dollars a person.  My husband liked the show, but I felt like it would have made no difference to me if I saw it or not.

Another show you have an option to see is Cirque Dreams dinner.  It's 30 dollars for standard seating and 40 dollars for premiere seating.  Nearly all the seats are premiere seating--so if you want the standard price, make the reservation early.  We sat on top, which I liked, because we had an overview of everything going on.  It's somewhat like a mini redacted version of Cirque Du Soleil.  I thought that the show was worth seeing.

(photo credit: cruisediva.blogspot.com )

This is a picture of the "White Hot Party"

Food 

Epic offers 4 freestyle dining areas to eat for free and a few speciality restaurants that have a fee.  Norwegian never disappoints me when it comes to their culinary.

Ports 

  

The first port was St. Maarten.  Orient beach tops very high on my list of the best beaches I've been too.  It's just a gorgeous aquamarine color with white powdery sand.  The island itself is very unique in that it's one island with two countries--Dutch and French.

The second port was St. Thomas, Virgin Islands.  I was really happy here because if you have AT&T, your phone/smart phone worked without any roaming charges.  While laying on the beach, I was able to enjoy 4G instead of the slow internet on the boat.   St. Thomas is a very happening place. We went to Magens Bay where their beach is unusually calm.  It reminded me of a lake--only with gorgeous clear/blue water.

The last port was Nassau, Bahamas.  Since we've been here several times, we decided not to sightsee, but instead decided to go snorkeling.   It was a wonderful experience.

Overall, we enjoyed the Norwegian Epic and would recommend it to anyone who wants to cruise.

Cruising— Packing

My husband and I decided to go on the Norwegian Epic cruise before I start my new job.  There are often times when I went cruising and wished that I had remembered to pack a certain item.   These aren’t items that are deemed a necessity, so often times you can overlook them.  

• Cardigan/pashmina/blazer—If you are like me and easily get cold--then you should consider bringing something warm (yet stylish) to keep yourself from being cold from the ship’s A/C.

•  Pants—for the same reason as above— it gets cold or windy in the evenings, so I like to wear jeans and leggings often.

• Soda/Water—a lot of the cruises allow you to bring your own soda and water.  You should do this as a carry-on (although, I've seen people checked it in too).  Sodas are not free on cruises and they can get quite expensive.  I often like to drink water in the middle of the night, so I keep water in my cabin handy. (please double check with your cruise before you do this).

•  Comfortable shoes—I find myself walking around the ship a lot.  So make sure you pack a pair of nice flats, sandals, pool/beach sandals, and if you really must bring a heel—I recommend a cute wedge.  Also, if you plan on going to the gym or doing high intensity activities while out in port--a pair of sneakers is a good idea as well.

• Hat—your face is delicate and you want to protect it from the sun’s harmful UV light.  One time, I forgot to bring a hat and I came back from the trip with sunspots all over my cheeks. 

• Umbrella— unfortunately, you may not always get ideal weather while in port and it is a good idea to bring an umbrella if the skies look gloomy.

• White outfit— a few of the cruises have parties where the dress code is all white--so you might want to find a fun party outfit to wear. 

Breezes Resort -- Curacao

We decided to go to Curacao for our first wedding anniversary.  Truth be told, I knew very little about this place.  All I knew prior to this trip is that they filmed "The Bachelorette" there.  Curacao is a small island next to Aruba.  It is about 40 miles north of Venezuela. 

It is very diverse in culture.  The people on the island speak Dutch, Portuguese, Spanish, or even a blend of all these languages.  

We stayed at the then all-inclusive Princess Beach Resort and Casino, now called Sunscape Curacao Resort, Spa & Casino.

 lobby

We booked the deluxe garden view.  The room was spacious but it had a water/moldy like smell.  It wasn’t horrible, but it didn’t smell like flowers either. :P  It reminded me of the smell of an indoor pool.  The design and layout of the room was very simple.

Picture credit: expedia

I mainly lounged by the beach.   A little warning about the beach--it went from 4ft deep to 30ft deep (at least it looked that deep to me) quickly.  There were lots of hard rocks and shells in the sand.  If you have swim shoes, wear them.  I managed okay without it, but at times I did manage to hurt myself in a minor way.

There were many pool sections and that was nice.  One of the pools had a swim-up bar, but that was empty, because it reeked of old alcohol. 

They had many activities to keep us occupied.  The resort provided free snorkeling gear daily (tip: get them early b/c they do run out).  There was rock climbing, trapeze, kayaking, pedal boating, and parasailing.  At night they would show movies on the beach.   The movies they showed were more kid-friendly/family movies that have been newly released on DVD, however we still enjoyed it.

Foodwise--nothing really stood out.  Overall, the food was good and decent, but nothing really amazed me.  I give them credit for creating a good atmosphere to eat in.  At breakfast we would eat at their main buffet restaurant.  For lunch we would get food at the grill that was located on the beach.  They had basic food such as hotdogs, hamburgers, fries, and nachos. There were many dinner choices to pick from, such as the Italian restaurant, Japanese hibachi, and a restaurant on the beach.  The dinner by the beach was nice because you would enjoy your dinner as the sun was setting.  Not all of these restaurants open every day.  There’s no reservations needed—it’s a first come first serve.  You can always eat the buffet if the lines get too long or if you want a second dinner. :)  My one complaint is that the cups were tiny.  I would usually ask for two cups at a time. 

The hotel provided free airport transportation.  They also provided free shuttles to the city of Willemstad.   Definitely do this if you have time.  Check out the Queens Bridge and the surrounding shopping areas.  The shuttle dropped us and returned after a few hours to pick us up.  We didn’t spend a long time in the city, so we took a bus back for about 3 dollars a person. 

Overall, it was a nice resort that provided plenty for us to do.  It’s very kid-friendly and would make a nice family vacation.  Don't expect anything over the top and you would be fairly satisfied.

Carnival Ecstasy Cruise -- Bahamas

(please note that there are not many quality pictures of the actual boat because I didn't originally plan on blogging about this cruise)

For my birthday I decided to go on a cruise with my husband, my mom, and my aunt.  We found an extremely affordable 5 day cruise on the Carnival Ecstasy.  The only downside was that one of the stop was the Bahamas, which I've been to numerous times before.   However, the good thing about the Bahamas is that you can always discover something new to do.

My husband and I stayed in a typical outside cabin.  It was cozy and enough room for us.

I loved coming back to my room each night to a folded animal.  By the end of the cruise, I had my own zoo.

Their theater room provided a lot of seating, but I always thought that from the 2nd level, there were many seats that had obstructed views. 

There weren't many dining options to choose from.  You had a waitstaff breakfast (but we could never wake-up in time for that), buffet breakfast, buffet lunch, and seated dining.  Carnival adopted Norwegian's freestyle dining option, which I liked.  I don't like having to rush or wait around to eat, and freestyle enabled us to have dinner on our own watch.

The first port that the cruise stopped at was Key West, Florida.  Key West was unique in the fact that it had an island vibe, but without the phone roaming charges. :)  Key West was walkable--but it was a lot of walking.  There were plenty to see and do.  We decided to check out The Key West Butterfly and Nature Conservatory.  It was interesting and fun to see the butterflies everywhere...however it was only fun for about 20minutes, since it was a small enclosed area.  There was only so much you could do there.

Our next stop was Freeport, Bahamas.  We took a group taxi to the Straw Market and did a little shopping there.  Afterwards we crossed the road in order to get to the public beach. 

Our final stop was Nassau, Bahamas.  This is the main tourist island.  It is alive with shopping and many things to do.  We decided to visit the Ardastra Zoo, Gardens & Conservation Centre.  In order to get there, we walked about 5minutes from our boat and got on a Jitney bus to the zoo-- which cost about $1.50 per person.  From there we walked for another 10 minutues.  My personal favorite was feeding the lory parrots and watching the march of the flamingos.  The zoo is small but had a good variety of animals there.

 

Overall, the entertainment was decent and the food was good.  A honorable mention is that they had stand-up shows which I absolutely loved.   The pool area was average and at times it even felt lacking.  However, you can't expect the Ecstasy to knock your socks off, especially at such an excellent price.  The staff and crew were extremely nice and we felt well provided for.  I had no complaints.  Just remember, you get what you paid for.