NJ, Bahamas and NYC Oct 2nd-13th, 2021

Oasis of the Seas

Finally, after 3 canceled cruises due to the pandemic, I am ready to go on our long-awaited Bahama cruise.  Mary Kaye and I had planned this cruise over 2 years ago… 

The days leading up to the cruise for me were a little apprehensive.  We were required to take a covid test within 72 hours of departing, however we were leaving the day prior to our cruise.  Additionally, since our cruise was departing on a Sunday, I wasn’t sure how or if we could get the results in time.  Royal Caribbean offered a rapid home test if it was administered via “Telehealth” so we each purchased that with the intent of taking the test on Friday prior to our Saturday flight.  That week I got a little paranoid and didn’t really want to go anywhere or get exposed, so I planned to lay low until Friday morning.  We had waited too long for something to happen now that would cause a delay or the chance of not being able to get on the ship.  Although we had both been vaccinated, it still caused a considerable amount of anxiety for me.

 

October 1st, 2021, Friday morning came, and Mary Kaye came over so we could do the test together.  We had to call into a Telehealth call center, and the tech visually watched us take the test, set it down for 15 minutes, then confirm the results with us.  Of course, we both passed.  Whew!  So, that day was spent picking up last minute things, packing and otherwise getting ready to go.

 

Saturday morning:  Mary Kaye’s husband picked me up about 5:15 am to take us to the airport for our 7:30 am flight.  We had splurged and gotten a 1st class flight, so we were both looking forward to that.  Although I am usually anxious during flying, and will take prescription meds, I opted not to this time.  Once in the air, in our cushy, roomy seats, we ordered Bloody Mary’s which was just what I needed.  Our flight was uneventful, and the time passed quickly.  Soon we were at the Newark airport, and arranged to get to our hotel, the Hampton Inn in Linden, NJ.

 

Our driver was talkative and gave us some tips about the area.  We told him that we would be leaving in the morning on a cruise and that there were two things in the area we wanted to see prior to our cruise.  After looking at google maps and calculating how much time we needed to see both, our driver indicated that he was willing to pick us up and take us on a tour and then to our cruise.  He gave us his number so we could think about it and dropped us off at our hotel.

 

It was close to 5:30 pm NJ time, and both of us were tired and had to decide about dinner.  There really wasn’t anything close enough to our hotel to walk to, so we decided to order from UberEats.  We had a great Italian meal from Amici Ristorante, which we ate in the hotel lobby.  Both of us slept sound and were fresh in the morning for our adventure to begin.

 

Empty Sky Memorial

Sunday: We called our driver from the day before and he picked us up at our hotel.  Our first stop was in Jersey City to view the “Empty Sky 9/11 Memorial”.  

The location was on the waterfront in Jersey City, across from lower Manhattan.  It was two tall cement walls, engraved with names of New Jersey residents lost during the 9/11 attack. The walls were open at the top, about 6 feet apart and several yards long.  As we walked through the solemn “hallway” with names, through the opening at the end we looked out at the exact location where the twin tours once stood.  The 20th anniversary had just passed on 9/11/2021 so there was an increased awareness, and in fact I had heard about the memorials because of the anniversary date.

 

Teardrop Memorial

Our 2nd stop was across town in Bayonne, NJ.  It happened that it was at the same port as the cruise terminal.  This stop was to see the 9/11 memorial commonly called the “The Teardrop”, but actually named “To the Struggle Against World Terrorism”.  This memorial was given to us by the Russian government to honor those lost during the 9/11 attacks and the 1993 World Trade Center attack. 

Once we had seen both memorials, our driver dropped us off at the cruise terminal.

 

After our health screening, showing our negative covid test and vaccination cards and a quick temp check, we were on the ship, the Oasis of the Seas! 

 

Once on board the Oasis of the Sea we had a lot of exploring to do!  It is one of the bigger ships in the Royal Caribbean fleet, with 18 floors.  We were on deck 9 toward the front of the ship.

 

So much to see and do on the ship.  The 15^th floor had the pools and outdoor activities.  It also had the Solarium which was for vaccinated guests only.  There was a nice small pool and hot tub in the Solarium, and plenty of lounge chairs for relaxing and basking in the sun.

 

Deck 8 was an option for getting from one end of the ship to the other, by walking through “Central Park”.  It was open air, with walking paths, music, and lots of green foliage. There was a café with limited choices, and another restaurant which was an additional charge.   Because we had lots of options, we didn’t try any of the premium restaurants.  The library was on this deck too however due to the pandemic there were no books.  It was a nice quiet place to relax.

 

Central Park

Deck 5 was the main deck with shops, a Starbucks, Sorrento’s, and another coffee/cafe.  Deck 6 overlooked 5 and had the Schooner Bar which was a great place to listen to music or play a Sudoku or Trivia challenge.  Deck 4 had the “Boardwalk” with fun places for kids, a carousel, candy store, hot dog stand and arcades.  The casino was also on Deck 4. 

 

There was plenty of entertainment and we reserved our tickets shortly after getting on the ship.  We saw a couple different late-night comics, an Ice show, a water show, with high divers, and the musical “Cats”, which were all entertaining.

 

We ate dinner in the main dining room every night and enjoyed impeccable service from our waiter.  We tried the following places for dinner and lunch and enjoyed them all: The Windjammer was buffet style and open for all three meals. Although buffet, due to health concerns we were served at every station.  There was a vast variety of ethnic foods, it was not hard to find something we liked.  The Solarium Bistro had a smaller selection than the Windjammer, but again plenty of choices. We had a continental breakfast at the Park Café on the 8^th floor in Central Park, and for a quick bite we had pizza at Sorrento’s which was open 24 hrs.  Besides pizza they had a variety of sautéed vegetables including peppers and asparagus. One day for lunch while Mary Kaye was at a spa treatment, I went to the barbeque place on the 15^th floor, which had a surcharge.  I think I spend $11 and had a great meal!

 

We had purchased 3 excursions prior to boarding the ship and enjoyed them all.  On Tuesday we docked at Cape Canaveral, so we took the Ron Jon Shuttle and headed to the Ron Jon Surf shop, one of the biggest surf stores in Cocoa Beach.  We had 2 hours so after taking our time and buying a few things at Ron Jon’s, we walked across the street to the Florida Key Lime Pie Company for some Key Lime pie.  Well, I had Key Lime pie (which was the best ever!) and Mary Kaye had the same but dipped in chocolate.  That didn’t sound good to me, however she assured me it was.  

 

Perfect Day at CocoCay

On Wednesday we docked at Perfect Day at CocoCay, which was Royal Caribbean’s private island.  We had purchased a day with lounge chairs and steak and lobster lunch.  We left the ship around 11 am, and once the tram dropped us off, we selected lounges in the shade, within a short walking distance to the beautiful white sand beach and the warm Atlantic Ocean. There was also an infinity pool which was so relaxing.   The ocean was so warm, which is something I have not experienced before. About 3 pm we made our way to the restaurant and had a steak and lobster lunch before heading back to the ship.  We both considered it the best day of our adventure so far.

 

On Thursday we were docked in Nassau and took a 2-hour city and sights tour.  We were in a comfortable shuttle and our driver told us all about some of the different landmarks and parked for a while for us to check out the local bar (for a quick rum drink), cigar shop (not for us), candy shop and a clothing store.  On our way back to the pier he let us off at the main shopping area where we checked out a few more stores.  We were both tired and there was a considerable amount of walking in the heat, so we left with ambivalent feelings about that excursion.

Welcome to Nassau

 

Colorful Nassau

The remaining days after our excursions were spent relaxing on the ship.  Although the weather had been warm (in the 80’s) most of the time, a storm was brewing so Saturday was cooler and rainy.  Sunday, we were scheduled to leave the ship by 9 am or so, so we went to the main dining room for breakfast then said goodbye (for now!) to our week of cruising.

 

Beautiful Nassau

Sunday after leaving the ship we found a taxi which took us to our hotel, the Hampton Inn Times Square South, which was a W 41^st.  We were not able to check in as it was only about 10 am, so we left our luggage and purchased tickets to ride the Hop On Hop Off bus.  Having done it before I felt it is a good way to see the sights and get a feel for the city layout.  This was my 6^th trip to NYC but Mary Kaye had only been once which was during a conference, so she was not able to see as much as she wanted.

 

Naked Cowboy 

On our way to get on the Hop On, Hop Off bus, our first step into Times Square, we saw the Naked Cowboy!  I had seen him before and had just mentioned that it would be fun to see him.  We stopped at the Tix4tonite booth, but it had a huge line, so we decided to come back to that.  We got on the bus heading for the Downtown route, and although it was cloudy, we grabbed ponchos and headed upstairs. We had fun and opted to stay onboard the whole time, which took about 2 hours.  Near the end of the ride, it started to rain (on with the ponchos!) and became a little windy.  We stayed on until the end, but we were quite wet.  

We headed over to Junior’s for lunch and a chance to dry off.  After a “not too impressive” lunch, we decided to walk back over to the ticket booth to see if there were any available shows for that evening.  There was a matinee showing of Dana H. which was starting in 15 minutes- we were just a quick walk from the theatre, so we decided to go to it.  It was a very interesting one-person show based on a real-life harrowing experience.  It was unique in that the whole account was lip-synced using the actual words from the survivor of the experience, which had been recorded through a series of taped interviews.

After the show we made our way back to our hotel to check in.  Our room was on the 28^th floor with a great view looking south.  For dinner we walked next door to Carnegie Pizza and brought it back to our room.   They have the largest pizzas I had ever seen, so our slice each was a full meal deal!

 

Monday we decided to take the Subway to Battery Park, so we headed to the station right across the street.  First off, steep stairs going to the station, then trying to figure out how to purchase round trip fare made for a not-so-fun beginning.  I have ridden the NYC subway many times and have not had the same issues.  No one around to help so we finally each got a card with a little excess and of course it didn’t work going through the gate!  You need to be quick going through the turnstile, so we wasted a ride or two before we were finally on the subway.   

 

Once we got to Battery Park, we made our way to the line to show our Groupon passes for the Statue of Liberty.  This was Mary Kaye’s 1^st time although I had been a few times.  It still is awe inspiring to see how large she is and to realize the symbolism.  We had a bite to eat and decided to skip Ellis Island this time, so headed back to Battery Park.

Afterward, we could either walk back to the subway, therefore backtracking, or walk up to the 9/11 memorials.  We opted to take a leisurely walk to the memorials.  During my earlier visits I had watch these sacred grounds evolve into what it now is with the Freedom Tower.  I had seen the completed tower in June 2019, but Mary Kaye had never been. It is such a solemn place.  We walked around the grounds and then decided to go to the One World Observatory.  102 floors up, the view is incredible of lower Manhattan.   Prior to taking the ride to the top we walked through hallways of pictures and different media formats commemorating the events of 9/11.  We also paid $15 for a tablet that showed the different buildings, however we both thought that was not a bargain, and was heavy and cumbersome.  

View from the Edge

After the One World Observatory we rode the subway back to Times Square and stopped at our hotel for a while before heading over to Hudson Yards, which was a new mixed-use complex near Chelsea Pier.  We had tickets to go to Edge, which was a triangle platform on the 102 floor, with windows that leaned out.  We weren’t able to get sunset pictures but timed it to be at the top right after sunset.  The view was spectacular, covering most of Manhattan at night.  We both enjoyed the view better than the One World daytime view.  In addition to having the glass leaning out, there was a section that had a glass floor so standing on it we were able to see to the street below.  I had gone to a similar thing in Chicago several years before and found it just as thrilling this time!

Our plan was to have dinner at Hudson Yards, but for some reason most of the restaurants were closed on Sundays and Mondays.  Not sure what that was about.  We finally ordered food from the Shake Shack, which took way too long and was cold when we picked it up.  

 

The day was fun, with a lot of walking (16K+ steps!), so we were both ready to relax once we got back to our hotel.

Glass floor on the Edge

 

Tuesday we decided to ride the Hop On Hop Off again, but this time we wanted to do the Uptown route.  Since the tickets were for both Uptown and Downtown Mary Kaye thought we should do the Downtown again, then the Uptown dropping us off by Rockefeller Center afterward.  Due to traffic, we didn’t even get out of Times Square area for almost an hour, so the total time was much longer than anticipated for the Downtown loop.  We finally got on the Uptown route which took us to the Upper Westside, through Harlem, then down the Upper Eastside.   We got off at the stop closest to Rockefeller Center, and walked to the lower level for lunch at PotBelly.  

 

Mary Kaye had gotten us tickets to the Greg Gutfeld so we needed to be to the Fox News building at 2:30 pm. Our tickets were not guaranteed, and the audience was limited due to Covid 19.  After an hour or so we got in to the “holding” area where we stayed for another 45 minutes or so.  While we were waiting of course they were playing the Fox News live feed.  Finally, we were escorted to the set of the show.  His format is to talk about current political topics and banter with his guests.  The audience was not shown, but we were prompted to whoop and holler and clap.   Although I may have some opposing views, it was a fun show that we both really enjoyed.  

 

After the show we walked over to Grand Central Terminal and had a great Italian meal at Cipriani Dolci’s.

Wednesday we were able to get a late checkout and confirm a ride to the airport.  After packing I walked to Starbucks and brought it back to the hotel while Mary Kaye was finishing her packing.  We got to JFK airport in plenty of time to enjoy the Alaska Airlines lounge prior to our flight.  

 

All in all, a fun, exhausting trip!