Hemingway Home, Key West, Florida

Due to the fact I wrote a review on Tripadvisor.com on the Hemingway House in Key West, Florida; I'm posting pictures I haven't posted before. To my surprise, the only pictures I took in Key West were of the Hemingway House. I'll rectify that when I go back this coming January with my totally awesome Aunt Marge, Uncle Dave and possibly my travel friend Harvey.

Concerning the pictures, the first is of 6 photos taken of Ernest Hemingway at different ages in his life starting when he was a baby and progressing to when he was an old man. The second is of the dining room in the house. The third is of a bedroom. On the bed, you can see 1 of the 40 cats that roam the house. I believe this one is one of the famous 6 toed cats. According to the guide who showed my group around the house, Hemingway opposed having cats because he knew once you get one cat, you'll get more. One of Hemingway's fishing buddies however changed his mind when he told him that 6 toed cats were good luck.

Concerning Key West, I really enjoyed it. It's small but, there is a lot to see there including the Hemingway House, mini White House and the Mel Fisher museum. I'm really looking forward to going back.

In regards to my last September cruises, after the Majesty of the Seas left Key West, we sailed back to Miami where sadly it was time to leave. Thanks to being members of Royal Caribbean's Crown & Anchor program (their frequent cruiser program), I was one of the first ones off the boat. When a cruise is over, I don't like hanging around. I want to get moving even if it means I hang around at the airport. I was glad to get off the ship and on my way. I got my suitcase and processed through customs and immigration. As I had a pre-paid transfer to the airport, I took my suitcase to the airport bus, handed it to the driver and boarded the bus. At Miami International, my travel friend Harvey and I would fly to Atlanta where we would go our separate ways.

Majesty of the Seas Cruises Review

Sadly, I got back this past Friday from my 2 cruises on Royal Caribbean's Majesty of the Seas. I had a great time. My only complaint would be I wish the cruises were longer. The 3 night and 4 night cruises would be good for people who can't take much time off (I met 1 such person during my 2nd cruise) or can't afford a longer cruise.

The ship itself is in excellent shape. I couldn't find anything wrong with her. I saw a number of times where it's crew performed maintenance on her while I cruised. The ship's crew is excellent. My room attendant did a fine job both cruises. The food was very good and plentiful. I had to show willpower and limit myself to just 1 plate every meal in the Windjammer Café. I particularly enjoyed the Coca Cola Freestyle machines. They particularly rocked. I enjoyed many a glass of PowerAde and liked being able to try out various Coca Cola products I'd never tried before. I didn't watch any of the free shows so, I don't have any idea if they're any good or not. The ship's shops were fine though I didn't really check them out. I'm not into shopping though I did buy myself a ship's magnet and some pens to show I'd sailed on her. The ship's Wi-Fi was unreliable. Twice, I couldn't connect at all and twice, I got bumped off it after I connected. Also, it's more expensive then on other Royal Caribbean ships. I'll be posting a separate blog entry where I'll list the prices for its Wi-Fi. The ship has a nice little gym with 12 aerobicycles, 6 treadmills, 1 rowing machines, various weight machines and a small floor where they hold yoga, pilates and stretching classes. I don't know if they do Zumba. I never met the gym director though I did read his bio and, it sounds like he is very competent. I thought it cool that he's from South Africa. I haven't forgotten Pumba, one of the ladies who works in Grandeur of the Seas spa. She's from South Africa and, she is totally awesome! The ship has a spa but, I didn't try it this time due to its prices. They're not cheap and, I needed to watch the bucks this time.

In regards to the ports of call, I thought they were pretty good. Coco Cay  is a nice resort. They have some pretty beaches and offer snorkeling, scuba diving, jet ski riding and parasailing. You can also take a ride on a glass bottom boat. I did that and, I really enjoyed it. They offer a nature walk where they tell you of Bahamian bush medicine. I found it interesting and funny. Funny in that all the medicines apparently had to taste bitter in order to work. You couldn't add sugar to make them taste better. Lastly, Royal Caribbean holds a lunch bar-b-que buffet every time it stops there. I found it a decent buffet. All passengers have to be tendered to Coco Cay. Royal Caribbean has 5 small boats at the island that can ferry/tender people to the island. Their crews were very competent. There are a few Bahamian gift shops on the island where you can buy various Bahamian souvenirs.

Nassau, Bahamas is nice. I did a very good city tour where I got to visit 2 forts, the Queen's staircase and a couple other locations. The Queen's staircase stood out as it's very pretty with a very neat waterfall and plants along the walkway. The other excursion I did was the Discover Atlantis tour. The tour guide for the tour was outstanding. She was funny and know her stuff about the resort. The resort itself is impressive and worth checking out though I don't have any desire to stay there. It strikes me as too pricey. It has a special suite that costs a whopping $25,000 a night with a minimum of a 4 night stay! Supposedly, there is a 6 month waiting list to stay in it. One downside I saw was there were a lot of Bahamians that had their hands out for tips. Some of them were really absurd in my opinion. After I'd finished my Discover Atlantis tour, we had a 15 minute bus ride back to the cruise ship terminal. The driver didn't hesitate to ask for a tip. In my opinion, he hadn't done squat to deserve one versus the outstanding tour guide at Atlantis. Also, I found some Bahamians curt. I visited the Hard Rock Café gift shop there and, they weren't very friendly. I was glad to get my t-shirt and get out of there.

Key West, Florida was very nice. Some of the homes there are stunning with some huge prices to match. It has a lot of history. I did a walking tour of Ernest Hemingway's home and Sloppy Joe's. The guide for the tour was very good. He had lots of interesting information, was friendly and helpful. The tour of Hemingway's home was awesome. A guide at the home gave the tour. She really knew her stuff. I'd highly recommend this tour. It was fascinating. I wouldn't mind going back to Key West some time and seeing some of the sights I didn't have time for this visit.

Miami, Florida was nice. I did a hop on hop off tour there which was good. The location where we got on the bus was convenient as it's at the Bayside Marketplace which is within walking distance of the cruise ship terminal (2 miles I think).

Overall, the 2 cruises were very nice. I would recommend them if you can't get a lot of time off or are short on funds but, you want to do a cruise. Otherwise, I'd recommend you do a longer cruise so, you get the real cruise experience. The 2 short cruises were more party cruises in my opinion which was a little irksome.

September 2013 Majesty of the Seas Cruises

I don't know if I posted anything on my September Majesty of the Seas cruises. On September 20th, I'll get to sail on Royal Caribbean's Majesty of the Seas ship. It'll be the first time I'll get to sail on their Sovereign class. The Sovereign class was at one time, the largest cruise ships in the world. Incredibly, they're now the smallest class in the Royal Caribbean fleet. Royal Caribbean transferred out Majesty's sister ship Monarch of the Seas and, I suspect Royal Caribbean will do the same in time to Majesty. It should be fun exploring the ship like it was on Splendour of the Seas last November.

There are other firsts for me with the 2 cruises. These will be the 2 shortest cruises I'll have ever done. The first is 3 nights; the second is 4 nights. I'll get to visit the Bahamas for the first time. I'll make port in Nassau, Bahamas and Royal Caribbean's private island Coco Cay, Bahamas both cruises. Also, I'll visit Key West, Florida for the first time. I'll sail out of Miami, Florida's cruise ship terminal for the first time. It looks like it has a nice cruise ship terminal. It'll be my first cruises as an Crown & Anchor Emerald member. I made that level thanks to my April/May cruises on Grandeur of the Seas.

Another plus is the ship has a Coca Cola Freestyle machine. I've already paid for my unlimited soda packages and, it looks like you pay a little premium for them on the Majesty. But, you get over 100 more choices with the machines. According to information I saw posted on the unofficial Royal Caribbean blog, only folks who buy the unlimited soda packages can use the machines. The soda cups has chips in them that tell a reader on the machine the cup owner has a valid unlimited soda package.

So stay tuned for more cruise updates. I'll make sure I take lots of pictures to post on here. I plan to post some more of things I got to see in Bermuda. I took some decent pictures of the Chapel Royal in St. George and St. Catherine's Fort (you pass it when you sail into Bermuda).

Enchantment of the Seas Re-positioning

I think I posted recently that I didn't know where Royal Caribbean's Enchantment of the Seas was going to go once Grandeur of the Seas took its place in Baltimore, Maryland in April 2013. This morning, I received an email from Royal Caribbean's Crown & Anchor Society (their frequent cruiser program). As luck would have it, they let people know what new cruises will be available on the Enchantment of the Seas. On April 13, 2013, Enchantment of the Seas will do a special 12 day cruise where it departs Baltimore and makes port at Philipsburg, St. Maarten; Basseterre, St. Kitts; Oranjestad, Aruba; Willemstad, Curacao and Labadee, Haiti. At the end of the cruise, it'll arrive at its new home port of Port Canaveral, Florida. Once it arrives there, it'll do 3 and 4 day cruises to the Bahamas. Presumably, later in the year, it'll receive its refit though I haven't seen any word on that yet. That's the latest (for what its worth) per Royal Caribbean on the Enchantment of the Seas (Source: Royal Caribbean website). Happy travels all!

Genesis Class Ships

I found out some more information on the Royal Caribbean Project Genesis ships. Royal Caribbean held a contest to name the 2 new class ships the winning names were Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas (Source: http://www.oasisoftheseas.com/releases/052308_Oasis_of_the_Seas.pdf). The ship class will be called Oasis. The new class of ship will be the largest cruise ship class in the world. It will accomodate 5,400 passengers, have 16 decks and 2,700 staterooms (Source: http://www.oasisoftheseas.com/releases/052308_Oasis_of_the_Seas.pdf). The class will be nearly half again the tonnage of Royal Caribbean's Voyager class (220,000 tons versus 138,000 tons). The Oasis of the Seas will be based at Port Everglades which is just outside Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Currently, Royal Caribbean features cruises to the Eastern and Western Caribbean from Port Everglades (Source: Royal Caribbean 2008-2009 Caribbean Vacation Planner). The Oasis of the Seas is due to start service in late 2009 and with its sister ship joining it at Port Everglades in 2010 (Source:

http://www.oasisoftheseas.com/releases/052308_Oasis_of_the_Seas.pdf).

This should be one impressive ship though I can't imagine trying to fill all those cabins. I suspect there will be some good prices on cruises on these ships. From what I've seen, you get a better deal on Royal Caribbean's larger ships than you do on the smaller ones.

Diving in Puerto Rico

I called Karen Vega at Caribe Aquatic Adventures in San Juan, Puerto Rico today. I wanted to pay in advance for the two refresher dives I need to do before I go on my Southern Caribbean cruise. By paying in advance, I'll have fewer charge card bills when I get back from the cruise. I haven't forgotten my Globus Australia tour where I was paying for it 3 months after the tour. If you can pay for various things in advance on a cruise or tour, I'd recommend you do the same. It really does things nicer when you get back from your trip.

The diving part of the cruise will be interesting it that it'll be the first time I'll take my diving equipment on a trip. Also, I've never dived in the Caribbean. I remember diving out of Destin, Florida. We'd get people who had dived in the Caribbean. They would whine about our 20 foot visibility. It seems in the Caribbean, it isn't uncommon to have 60 foot plus visibility. I can only guess that the waters there don't get stirred up like they do in the Gulf of Mexico.

I've heard the sea life is supposedly spectacular. I plan to take the cheap underwater camera I bought in Australia so I can try to take some underwater photos. We'll see how that works out. If they turn out nice, I'll post a few here.