Baltimore, Bahama Cruise April 20th - April 30th 2022

Another cruise! I think I’m going to like this.  This cruise was to use up some of the future cruise credit that we were given when we had to cancel the Panama Canal 15-day cruise due to the Pandemic. Doug wasn’t keen on another 15-day cruise, so we opted to schedule an Alaska cruise for July 2023.  We were able to split up our cruise credits by using all of Doug’s credits and some of mine for the Alaska cruise, which gave me some additional credit for another cruise.  I hadn’t seen my friend Anita for a while, so I thought she might like to go with me.  The credit worked great!  I was able to use all my credit for the larger portion leaving a more affordable amount for Anita. Win-win for both of us.

We originally scheduled a 7-day round trip cruise leaving Barbados, with several island stops.  We purchased tickets from Seattle to Miami, then to Barbados, then back to Miami and home.  We selected several excursions and were planning on going March 2022.  However, with the pandemic still raging we started thinking about changing plans.  The CDC had a recommendation not to go to some of the islands, Barbados had several health mandates in addition to the cruise line mandates and lastly, American Airlines canceled our flight to Barbados without warning and without giving us additional options.  

We selected several excursions and were planning on going March 2022.  However, with the pandemic still raging we started thinking about changing plans.  The CDC had a recommendation not to go to some of the islands, Barbados had several health mandates in addition to the cruise line mandates and lastly, American Airlines canceled our flight to Barbados without warning and without giving us additional options.   

After reviewing several options, mostly in the Caribbean, we decided on a round trip cruise out of Baltimore with stops in Charleston, Orlando, Perfect Day in Coco Cay (Royal Caribbean’s private island) and Nassau, Bahama’s.  The cruise I had taken in October also went to 3 of those ports (all but Charleston), but I was fine with that.  We booked it for April 2022.

 

We flew to Baltimore on Wednesday, 4/20 and stayed at the Comfort Inn and Suites, Inner Harbor.  Our first order of business was to take our cruise mandated Covid tests.  We purchased the eMed tests from the cruise line so we each took our test verified by a proctor.  Both negative, whew! That’s always a relief. We walked down to the harbor that evening and had dinner at Phillips Seafood, which was great, other than the fact that they had inadvertently given one of our entrées to the wrong person, so we had to wait quite a while.  They offered us free dessert for the mix-up.  Didn’t need it but it was good! 

 

Thursday morning, we got up and took an Uber to Penn Station Baltimore to catch the train to DC.  It was about ½ hour ride to Union Station in DC where we go on the light rail to ride to the National Mall area.  We visited the Smithsonian Castle where we had lunch, and the American History Museum before heading back to Baltimore.  We got back to the hotel after 6.  Anita wanted to purchase a couple bottles of wine to take on the cruise, so we found a liquor store just around the corner from the hotel and next to a pub called the Pour House.  Their menu looked good, so we ate dinner then stopped at the liquor store before walking back to the hotel.

 

Cruise day! We had an 11:00 am check-in so we took an Uber to the cruise terminal, and we were able to get right in line with just a few people in front of us.  Once we checked in, we walked up the long ramps to the ship.  The first thing I noticed was that Enchantment of the Seas was considerably smaller than Oasis of the Seas which I was on in October.  I’m going to break down the descriptions in categories:

Ship 

Enchantment of the Seas.  There really wasn’t a “promenade” deck, however the 4^th, 5^th and 6^th decks were all open in the center.  The 4^th floor was the “Centrum” which was midship. Several events were scheduled daily in the Centrum area, including group games, music, napkin folding, dance classes, etc.  The main dining room was on the 4^th floor forward. The casino, theatre, upper level to the dining room, a bar/lounge and “services” were on the 5^th floor. The shops, Café Latitudes, Schooner Bar, the Spotlight Lounge (nightclub) and the upper theatre were on 6.  The main pools, Solarium, and the Windjammer restaurant were on the 9^th floor.  Deck 10 was the “activity” deck with a rock-climbing wall, a track and other sport options. Our room was on the 3^rd floor, about mid ship.

 

Ports of Call and Excursions

Charleston

I love Charleston! It is such a beautiful city with a lot of rich history and beautiful architecture.  We left the ship to go on a carriage ride.  We spent an hour, and our guide was informative, and funny at times.  After the carriage ride, we walked around town for a while then to the straw market before we got back on the ship.  

 

Orlando

We got off the ship and went on the Ron Jon shuttle.  We spent a little time looking over the famous Ron Jon Surf Shop, then we walked across the street and had the best key lime pie whle we waited for shuttle to take us back to the ship.

 

Perfect Day at Coco Cay

This was a favorite of mine when I went on the cruise with Mary Kaye in October 2021.  This time we opted not to purchase the Coco Club beach excursion, but instead go to beach.  It is one of the less active beaches and we thought it would be a good place to swim, read and just relax.  We found a couple chairs under an umbrella with no trouble at all.  The water was much colder than it was in October, but not so uncomfortable that I didn’t want to go in.  It was a little disappointing as I didn’t expect it to be so cold.  Our lunch was buffet style at the main concession area which had a lot of seating.  Overall, although I really liked the Beach Club last time, this was a great bargain for free!

 

Nassau

Our least favorite port.  We went on a land and sea tour.  Our understanding was we would get a tour of the city, then get on a boat which had windows for viewing under the sea.  When we were picked up our guide didn’t explain anything. We first road to an area where we were dropped off and told to wait.  No explanation.  After 10 minutes in the heat and wondering what was up, another tour bus came in the parking lot.  The driver said to follow him, so he walked us down to a nearby marina where we got on a boat.  No lower level.  He did give us a guided tour of the area and eventually we anchored next to another boat.  Finally, the one we were expecting with all the windows!  We climbed on board that boat and were directed to the lower level.  The upper level had several people waiting to get on to our boat.  Once we started touring the water we were disappointed that it was so murky it was impossible to see anything but a few fish.  Our guide took us to an area where he said there were schools of fish, however even there the fish were not colorful and everything was murky.  Very disappointing.  Eventually we went back to the spot where we had swapped boats, got on the other boat and went back to the marina.  From there we got in a van and had our tour around the city.  We stopped at the Queens Staircase and another spot where there were some vendors, but most people stayed on the bus.  We were ready to go back to the ship.   Note to self:  Next time in Nassau either look for a day pass at one of the hotels, or stay on the ship!

 

Food

We ate in the main dining room every evening including “Dress to Impress” night.  The menu had 5 “classic” choices that were options every night, and 5 specials each night, including starters, entrees, and desserts. The food was always served at the right temperature, and the service was impeccable.  The rest of our meals were at the Windjammer which was “buffet” style with a lot of choices, or continental type food at the Café Latitudes.  The Solarium Park Café on floor 9 had pizza daily.

 

Entertainment

Headliner entertainment varied every night We usually had dinner at 7 and went to the later show.  We enjoyed all the entertainment.  The list of shows and performers: singer Zoe Tyler, comedian George Kanter, comedy duo Alfred and Seymour (hilarious!), and two different shows with the vocal group The Alley Cats (Doo-wop) who were our favorite.  We also watched karaoke throughout the week and the grand finale the last evening.  

 

Once we docked in Baltimore, we had to get off the ship early morning, which is always the case.  Our cruise did not have a Baltimore excursion with airport transfer, as several do, so we opted to go to the airport, even though we had a late afternoon flight.  Although we wanted to spend more time in Baltimore, we didn’t have a way without taking our luggage with us wherever we went.

 

Once we got to the airport, unbeknownst to us, the airport is very small and there wasn’t an Alaska Airlines attendant until almost 4 hours later!  We couldn’t even get through security until then.  So, we found a small area with some tables and chairs, so we went there with our luggage to wait.  Good thing I brought the 5 Crowns game with us.  There were a few restaurants open, so we ate lunch while we waited.

 

We loved our cruise and I can’t wait to cruise again!

Washington DC & NYC, October 2006

Ever since I was able to go to NYC with my friend Carol in June 05 I have wanted to go back. I fell in love with NYC and wanted Doug to experience it with me. We had decided that we would start taking 2 vacations a year if we were able so I was looking into options for going to NYC. We had some timeshare points to use, and I had vacation time at work. Before I got too far into the dreaming/planning stage Doug found out about an annual conference that was going to be in NYC. This particular business conference is one that he goes to every fall. I immediately started planning our trip and we decided that we would fly into DC first, spend several days there, and then take a bus up to NYC. Once in NYC Doug would attend his conference during the day for a few days and we would have the evenings, and a full day and night before and after his conference to site see. We booked a Hampton Inn in Largo, which is outside of DC, but on the metro subway system. We were able to get four nights with Hilton points using the “stretcher” program. Basically, we used about the equivalent of one rooms points if we were to stay downtown. Our room was great, and it was easy to get to the subway and take a 20 minute ride to downtown DC. We arrived at Washington Dulles airport on Tuesday Oct 3rd. We took a Taxi to our hotel and got settled in. Since it was late evening we decided not to go downtown so instead the hotel had a shuttle and offered to take us to a local restaurant. We selected Cracker Barrel which I had been to in GA. They have a great variety and we were both hungry and tired so it was a good place to eat. On Wednesday morning we got up early and headed to the subway to go downtown. We were downtown in about 20 minutes and headed over to the Mall, which includes the Lincoln Memorial on one end, the WW2 Veteran’s Memorial, and the Washington Monument on the other, with the reflecting pond in the middle. We visited the Viet Nam Memorial too, which is in the same area as the others. We had requested and received tickets through our senator to several buildings so we visited the National Archive Building and the US Treasury Building. It was fascinating to see how they make our money… too bad they weren’t giving out samples! We also walked over by the White House and took a few pictures through the fence. We visited the Holocaust Museum which was very moving. It included rooms made up to have you feel as if you were there during that awful time. Aftre visiting the museum we got a bite to eat downtown, then headed back to our hotel. We had a full day and we both were ready to rest. Thursday morning we got up early and headed downtown again, this time to the White House for a scheduled tour. We enjoyed the tour so much. We were able to see several rooms including the ballroom, the blue room, and the main dining room. For security reasons we were unable to bring cameras, or even my purse or backpack. Once we left there we visited the gift store and museum and were able to see much more than we could see on our tour. Since we did not have any of our things with us we headed back to the hotel to pick them up. Once we got back downtown we took the metro to Arlington Cemetery. We were able to see the Kennedy gravesite, as well as the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. We planned to be there to witness the changing of the guard ceremony. After leaving there we got on the metro and rode to Alexandria to meet up with some friends living there. We had a great visit and enjoyed some Thai food. We left there and went back to our hotel later that evening. On Friday morning we headed back downtown and went to the Smithsonian Natural History Museum. They had recently closed the American History Museum for renovation which was frustrating because we both wanted to see that museum. We also went into the Air and Space museum and walked around the Smithsonian grounds and saw the Castle which is the Information Center for the Smithsonian. We walked around town and saw the Ford Theatre where Lincoln was killed and the house across the street where he was taken after he was shot. There is so much history in DC that you can’t possibly take it all in our short stay. Saturday morning we got up and went to the bus station to take our bus to NYC. It was a 4 hour, rainy ride into NY, however once we got there the weather started clear up. We got into town around 1pm and headed to our hotel, the Sheraton in Times Square. Once we got settled we headed to Times Square and then over to Rockefeller Center. where there were ice skaters in the plaza. We bought tickets on the Hop-On Hop-Off tour double-decker bus and headed north. There is just so much to see in NY, and we had such a short time! It is an amazing town with so many skyscrapers, and amazing architecture. We stopped at Trump Tower, Radio City Music Hall and then went north to Central Park and then back to Times Square. Sunday we took the tour bus south and went to Ground Zero and spent quite a bit of time there. I had been here 16 months ago and it had changed quite a bit since then. There were huge plaques along the fence with all the history, and pictures of that awful day in history when our nation was attacked. We walked down to Battery Park where there is a memorial of a sculpture that had for years been on the plaza of the World Trade Center and was damaged during the attacks on 9/11. It was a moving experience. In the late afternoon Doug had to go to a reception for his conference so we headed back to Times Square. After the reception one of his clients was taking a group of us out to dinner. They had chartered a bus for everyone, however it didn’t show up. After some scrambling they got several limos to pick us up and take us to dinner. We headed to the Upper East Side and went to Il Vagabondo, a great Italian restaurant with a rich history. There is a bocce ball court in the restaurant. After a wonderful dinner we took the limos back to our hotel, and from there all who wanted were treated to a late night tour of NY. We once again headed south and actually visited Ground Zero again, and then went across the Brooklyn Bridge and parked across from lower Manhattan at a little park. It was a perfect place to see the lights of the city at night. On Monday I was on my own as Doug was at his conference all day. I wanted to make the best of it so I was up early with my list of places I wanted to go. I wanted to see all I could see in the least amount of time so I was back on the Hop On – Hop Off heading for Uptown. We first went to Uptown Westand among our stops were Lincoln Center, Central Park, and St John Cathedral. I got off at St John’s and went into the cathedral. I then walked up to the Strawberry Fields Memorial which was in memory of John Lennon. The Dakota Apartments where he lived (and was shot) are right across the street on the West Side of Central Park. I got back on the bus and we headed to Harlem and back down the East side of Central Park past the museums and then along 5th Avenue where I got off to check out some of the stores. I stopped at Serendipity for lunch which was really good. I bought the frozen hot chocolate but had to take it with me. After lunch I headed back to the tour bus and went on the Brooklyn Tour which stopped at the South Street Terminal in lower Manhattan, then headed over the Brooklyn Bridge. I didn't get off the bus but it was fun and interesting to hear the history of some of Brooklyn’s historic sites. In the late afternoon I headed back to midtown and Times Square to meet up with Doug for dinner. On Tuesday I was once again on my own and headed town to lower midtown. I checked out the Macy’s which is huge and takes up a full city block and is several stories high. I went down to Canal Street which basically like a flea market however they are selling all kinds of knock off and counterfeit designer watches, bags, etc. I purchased a small medallion with the Tiffany NY icon for $5. I stopped and had lunch in Little Italy then headed over to Chelsea Market which is a collection of shops, restaurants, etc in the old National Biscuit Company Complex. The Food Network is filmed there. In the late afternoon I headed back to meet up with Doug. We had checked out of our hotel that morning because we were moving over to the Waldorf Astoria for our last night in NYC. Doug’s conference was over and so we planned to use some of our Hilton points at the Waldorf. What a beautiful hotel. Unfortunately our pictures did not turn out and do not show the beauty of the hotel. Our intention was to get up early and go over to where they film the Today show but all the walking and late nights must have caught up with me. Or maybe it was the incredibly comfortable bed. Anyway, Doug woke me up at 10:00 so we could start getting ready to check out. Once we got our luggage downstairs we had time to walk for awhile before our airport shuttle showed up. We walked up to the restaurant Soup Kitchen International where the Seinfeld episode with the Soup Nazi was filmed. After a quick bite to eat we started heading back to get our airport shuttle. We started hearing all kinds of sirens and saw lots of fire trucks. After we got on our shuttle we found out that a small plane had run into an apartment building just north of where we were. Later we found out the Yankees pitcher Cory Litle was killed in the accident. It was scary on the ride to the airport when we were only getting bits and pieces of what had happened. We loved our time in NYC and will plan to go back. I think I say that everywhere we go! Hurry up retirement- work is getting in the way of my entertainment!

To see more pictures from this trip, click below