April 2, 2023
We are home and ever so happy to be off the road. We have been on the go since the 8th of November with only a few days here at home between three major trips. My idea to travel so much was to avoid winter since I hate snow and ice. Well the weather here in Charles Town was as mild as you could hope for and there was no snow and no ice, in fact the neighbors are taking up a fund to send us away next winter since it seems when we are gone the weather is grand!
On the 5th of March we flew to Miami and overnighted at the Intercontinental near the Miami Cruise Terminal. I chose a room that gave us access to the Club Lounge knowing that we would be arriving late and would want to go to the lounge for some snacks and drinks. We arrived at 20:15 only to be told that the lounge closed at 19:00! We are too used to Interconti’s in Europe which keep their lounges open from 10 in the morning until very late at night. We were therefore condemned to dining at their restaurant, which turned out to be a very expensive error. The service was non-existent since all the wait people were focused on one large group of - as our waiter said - "VIP guests." The food was terrible and the prices were outrageous. All in all not a good Miami experience.
The next day was ever so much better with a nice breakfast in the lounge and a pleasant ride to the terminal. We were set to board the Celebrity Summit and had selected a Celebrity Suite which came with a host of perks, not the least of which was the opportunity to pull up to the Retreat check-in desk. We have been on a lot of cruises but we have never had an experience like this. There was a concierge waiting at the curb who checked our names and escorted us into the terminal where we took a private elevator to a private lounge where all the formalities were taken care of in a friendly, relaxed and professional manner. No lines! From there we were escorted onto the ship by Connie, our ship board concierge.
We were really surprised at the excellent quality of the cabin and the restaurant. The Luminae Restaurant is just for Suite Guests and we didn’t have a bad meal in ten days. Colin, Meagan, Valley and Kent joined us on the second five-day cruise and we rocked the boat! It was so grand to have some time away from everything with the kids. Our first stop was Key West and Colin took us on a memory lane tour since he had been stationed there in the Coast Guard. Our tour ended at his favorite restaurant and we had some of the best conch fritters ever, not to mention some mighty tasty rum drinks and local beers.
The ship carries 2300 passengers and 2200 of them were under the age of 25! I had forgotten all about Spring Break which seems to run from the first of Feb to the end of May (or almost that long). Never knew so many college and high school kids had so much disposable income! I’ve seen people wearing more clothes at a nudist colony. I’m told that thong bathing suits, (how can they call them suits?) are "in" but to me it looked more like lots of tanned hams walking around the pool. Again, for the most part we were able to avoid the mobs but I’ll never again take a short cruise during Spring Break. The good part was that almost everyone got off the ship in Cozumel so we had it all to ourselves for one day.
We were home for four days before heading to La Jolla for our time share which we shared with a dear friend and his fiancé. We each had a studio and would meet mostly for meals, which were lots of fun and good times as well as great food. We again marveled at the prices of everything in La Jolla, gas is still $5 a gallon, but you really can’t beat the views and the long lovely walks each morning and afternoon.
So we are home at least until the first of June when we’ll take a car trip somewhere for Cindy’s birthday. Already mowed the lawn and loved it! Good to be in my kitchen and cooking again, and waking up in our own bed seems like a luxury, which we cherish. Ciao for now, Cindy and William
