2013 - Girls' Weekend on the Enchantment of the Seas - Part I

This year, the cast of characters was me, my friend Jane, and my sister-in-law Amary. The plan: fly to Orlando on the 22nd, check in to the Radisson, enjoy a day at their facilities, then embark on the Enchantment of the Seas for a 3 day cruise to the Bahamas, the following day.

The start was simple enough; Amary and I met Jane at the airport, and flew down to Orlando. The flight was WestJet, and they kept apologizing that the TV's hadn't been installed on the plane, yet. We didn't care, and the flight was fine, although, I think you get a little more room on Air Canada. The flight was a little late taking off ("paper work"). We were met at the airport by our driver, and driven to the Radisson. The ride was fine, and the check-in was a breeze. The pool renovations had already started, so parts were a bit more unsightly than we were accustomed to, and the waterfall was turned off. Aside from that, it was fine.

We had dinner at Thai Thai across the street: they have amazing things like crispy duck and lobster pad thai. They also have really good sushi.

We enjoyed a leisurely evening by the pool, capped off with perfect Irish coffees in the lobby and went to bed.

We spent the morning by the pool after a buffet breakfast, and then headed over to the pier around 11. I really love Royal Caribbean. Breeze through security, practically sprint through check in, and then straight on to the ship, before 11:30.

The Enchantment is a beautiful ship, with many attractive features, and fine entertainment options.  We had a quick look around, and then headed up to the Windjammer for the main lunch option (you could also get roast beef sandwiches in the Solarium, and snacks at the coffee shop), but mostly it was the Wind Jammer. We did find it over-crowded, and would like to suggest over-flow feeding in the main dining room.

Soon after lunch, we could go to our room. We then headed to the Solarium for a nice soak. The pool was a little cold, but it was nice and deep and fairly uncrowded. We had a wonderful woman with a good teacher voice sternly ordering children away. We thanked her. The thing I found amazing was that there were no parents visible for these youngsters.

After that, it was time to get dressed for muster drill. It is incredible to me how people can think it's okay to disobey maritime law, and inconvenience everyone else by forcing them to wait for the "no-shows". There were also a couple of eye-rolling moments where people were at the wrong station for most of the drill, only realizing when it was almost over and we had repeated our muster station number many times, that they were in the wrong place.

We went back to our balcony room for Sail-Away, leaving only briefly for another round, since room service said they would take an improbable amount of time to deliver 3 drinks. I gather the Enchantment's room service department is understaffed, because we tried to order one more time at 11:30 pm, and were informed that, not only would it take an hour, but they would charge us the late night fee because they could not deliver before midnight. We never did get room service. I am thinking this may not be practical on a 3 day cruise.

Dinner was good, and the service was attentive. And after dinner we went to the Welcome Aboard show (entertaining), and the Schooner Bar, for the sing-along piano (so fun).

Kenya Day 9 Part III and Day 10 - The Voyage Home

It was with much sadness and traffic congestion that we entered Nairobi. We were going home, and we were going to miss the beauty of Kenya, and the fantastic coffee. But first, we were scheduled to have dinner at a restaurant specialising in Kenyan cuisine - Amaica.

Us with our guide extraordinaire John

Our happy band of intrepid explorers

Dinner was very good

We can't seem to go anywhere without getting a food boob

Would recommend

After we finished dinner, we headed to the airport. Interesting system they have: you go through security with your luggage, and then check in for your flight. Then you do another security (liquids ban) before going into the lounge to wait for your flight. There are no liquids over 3 ounces allowed in this area, so it is a bit thirsty. Pro-tip: they will announce boarding when they actually mean access to this lounge. Don't hurry. Wait until the boarding time on your ticket. Have a Tusker. Have two. Mmmmm.... Tusker.

Our flight was delayed for three hours, so we really got a good look at this lounge. It was overcrowded, and very noisy since a lot of people did not seem to feel constrained to use their indoor voices. It was often very hard to hear announcements regarding our flight status.

We mostly slept on the flight, and arrived in Charles Degaulle with 5 hours to kill. Part of this was spent going through security (!? - we had just gotten off a plane), where we saw them confiscate people's water bottles and duty free. We then had to find out where are flight home was, and take a shuttle to the correct terminal (at no time leaving the secure area). We were then funnelled through a Duty Free shop (hmmmmm), before arriving in the gate area.

We still had several hours to kill, and I wanted to try the caviar restaurant in the terminal. My mom had kindly given me some Euros to this end. We found the prices inflated and the service appalling, although the caviar and smoked salmon were nice. Andrew's continental breakfast was absurdly expensive and the server threw (literally) his croissant onto his plate as an afterthought.

This is what 39 Euros buys you

13 Euros

We went to a little bar after this to get drinks. Again, the service was off. I do apologize if I got a word wrong, but at least I was trying to speak the language, and it was still comprehensible. But the server was very rude and a simple rum and juice was 15 Euros.

There was, however, one bright spot. The little bakery with the counter service. The drinks were reasonably priced, and the service was friendly. And she didn't make fun of my Canadian high school French.

It was a relief to get on the Air France flight back to Toronto. The service there was friendly and impeccable, and the food was excellent. Did I mention the bread?

Kenya Day 9 Part II - The Maasai Village and the Great Rift Valley

We had the usual stop at the Reserve gate, where insistent vendors tried to get us to open the windows of the truck so they could give us the hard sell. We are sympathetic, but it makes me very uncomfortable, and I knew we were on our way to the village where we would be spending the last of our schillings anyway.

The village was a little different than the Samburu one, with the houses a little more luxurious, and the warriors a little more colourful. After the greeting dances, we were given the tour, shown the fire making demonstration, and introduced to the chief, who was 97 years old.

After this, the women sang for us and we were escorted through the market. I would like to say that the way they handle their "selling to North Americans" is very well done. I never felt pressured, and so was at ease to spend as much as I wanted.

We said our good-byes and headed back on to the road. Lunch this time would be a picnic provided by the hotel. We stopped at a very nice gift shop with a dining area and friendly dogs. The souvenirs in this place made me want to come back as a billionaire. I could have beautifully decorated a very large mansion in that place.

They also had the toilets we are used to, but I thought this was an interesting glimpse into why the guide insisted we couldn't just stop anywhere.

After as much of the lunch as we and the dogs could manage, we were out on the open road again. The scenery was, as always, breathtaking, and some of the views as we passed the Great Rift Valley were staggering. We even stopped at a lookout point for a rest and picture break.

 

This little fellow is a hyrax

 

And we were on our way again, heading towards Nairobi, Paris, and, eventually, home.

Kenya Day 9 Part I - Out of the Mara

Day 9 was to be a busy day for us, but not so busy that we couldn't take time for one last meal with the hippos and crocs. We also took a few last looks and last pictures.

Hippo overlook

Breakfast Hippos

This is where the firepit is at night.

Then, we paid the bill, and headed off an a game drive leading out of the park.

Tourmate Erin decided this should be called "Hakuna Matata"

Just before we left the park, we told John that we needed a rest-stop. He pulled in at the Sarova Mara. Next time, I want to stay here. It looked gorgeous!

 

Shortly after this, we exited the Mara and headed to the Maasai village, but that is a tale for another day.