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Old 12 May 22, 04:30 PM  
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#21
CumbrianKitten
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21st April - Travel Day

After all the issues at Manchester Airport over the past few weeks I wanted to make sure that we arrived in plenty time to get through check-in and security to allow us time to enjoy the lounge. We were flying on the 1:10pm Aer Lingus flight out of T2 to New York, followed by a connection on American Airlines to Miami.

Alarm set for 4am... nope awake and up by 3am. mixture of nerves and excitement. We had another covid test to do to allow us access to the ship that needed to be done 2 days prior to sailing so this was another hurdle to overcome. My irrational fear on contracting Covid causing palpitations for the next half hour was back!

Faffed about making some sarnies to take with us for the journey to the airport as I couldnt face anything so early. its about a 3 hour drive to the airport. DH managed cereal and a yoghurt. No pic as this was boring as it sounds.

Uploaded the neg results knowing wouldnt get a response until after 6am, packed up the car and set off to the Airport.

It was a pretty uneventful drive in the beginning, we stopped at the services to enjoy our sandwiches ham salad with coleslaw and a costa.


We had booked parking with the new Drop & Go at Terminal 3 where you park, leave your key and a bus runs every 15 mins to the terminals, This was really easy to use and I would defo use again. We arrived at 8:30am and unloaded the bags and got on the bus to T2, when we arrived it was dead. There was 2 virgin flights before us, one to Orlando and one to NY so there was a few people queuing at the bag drop. Aer Lingus also had a 11am Orlando flight so we were asked to wait until 9:30am to check in. DH munched on the rest of the sarnies and we checked in no issued and breezed through security.

Had a little look around duty free but nothing piqued my interest so off we went to the lounge 1903. Hit the check in desk and a lovely lady checked us in but warned us it was quite busy at the moment.

well this must be where everyone was and we struggled to find a table, eventually we found one available which was in a side room by the door and i kept gettting knocked so I wasnt to impressed. DH got me a glass of fizz to shut me up!


I heard a couple of the staff talking and it appeared that Singapore Airlines would be calling to gate so they were expecting a mass exodus. I started eyeing up the tables and gathered some things - and sure enough, result! A better table.

So we hunkered down for more drinks and tucked into some breakfast. Here's a few pic of what we tried - I had started before i remembered but I do get better.


More drinks were consumed

and we were last to leave the lounge as our gate was called at around 12:30
they had brought out more food for lunch, sarnies and salads, pot stickers and belly pork but we weren't hungry to try these.

Aer Lingus flight overall was fine, there was an announcement that mask wearing was optional. The food was disgusting. Pretzels OK - Fine, jut pretzels

I asked for the pasta bolognaise, which came with a side of pasta?!

This was pretty much all I ate

DH said the choc pudding was nice, but I wasnt convinced. The butter however did amuse me


Spent the flight watching a few films and playing games and later on they brought another pitiful offering.


I have it written down it was a sweet chilli chicken wrap, again bleugh soggy and wet. The Brownie and coffee were half decent.

soon enough we were coming into NY at around 3;:30pm - an hour ahead of schedule.


there was no queue for immigration and our bags came off the carousel pretty quickly and we headed for the sky train to change terminal for our connection. This is where I found NY to be quite confusing. We needed to print a new boarding card and go to the gate but the machines kept bringing up someone elses details when we put in our AA booking reference. The attendant was no help either and sent us to a manned desk where we were checked in manually. Overall i'm pleased we were early as this process took about an hour to get checked in for the next flight and that was before we did security and go to the gate.

managed to get through and had time for a drink in the bar next to the gate. $26 for 2 Angry Orchard's - a sign of things to come


Boarded the flight to Miami and were delayed 30 mins setting off due to a huge queue of planes waiting to taking off. we were offered complimentary snacks and drinks which were fine to fill in the 3 hours.



landed in Miami at 9:30pm 2:30am our time - feeling it now
collected luggage and ordered an Uber. This is where we had a few issues as they were closing all the main roads around the airport for roadworks so we had to go all around the houses. managed to get to the hotel at 11:05 and quickly checked in to our hotel which was Ocean Reef Suites Miami South beach. Was basic but clean and we were only here the 2 nights so was all we needed.

we headed to the bar over the road for a couple beers and a pizza to share
- managed 2 slices think we were just too tired. Took the rest to go and went to bed at around 12:30am after over 26 hours on the go.

Tomorrow a day in Miami
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Old 12 May 22, 05:11 PM  
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#22
ClaireNJ
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Great travel day, I love your hair
Shame about the plane food, who has pasta for starter & a pasta main
Those 2 Ciders were so expensive but it was the airport 😳
We love Miami so can’t wait for some pics 😎💕
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Old 12 May 22, 06:43 PM  
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#23
CumbrianKitten
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22nd April - Day in Miami

Managed to sleep until 6am. I was wrapped up like a little snuggle big as the air con was positioned right on my feet. With a little faffing DH sorted this out for me.

I forgot to mention that we had managed to stop at Walgreens for a few room snacks. You know, you always need room snacks! However we couldn’t buy any beer after 8pm which we thought strange but there is a enforced rule in Miami. So only snacks were bought.

We had booked this hotel as it offered a continental breakfast which didn’t start until 6am so I tucked into the goldfish crackers and nibbled on the left over pizza


We had been watching the news and weren’t expecting the best weather in Miami it had been showing windy with a high chance of showers. But we’ve been to Miami on a few occasions and knew it would be hot regardless but wouldn’t be swimming weather. We actually got married here in 2017 awww 🥰 here a little pic


So we decide to go for a wander for an hour before we eat breakfast. It was extremely windy! We walked around south beach for a while then headed back.

The breakfast was a take away back to your room as you had a mini kitchen. However we didn’t realise there was a tray in your room to take with you to carry it all.
Me ‘where’s the tray? Why does everyone have a tray? I can’t see a tray! WHERE IS THE TRAY?
We ended up like one of them tight folk in Tesco who won’t pay for a bag and has everything packed under their chin! Think Gus from Cinderella! 😂
We learned for the next day!

Food offering were mainly carbs, pastries, croissants, waffles and different breads. Was yoghurt, cereal and fruit too.

So we carried our offering piled high under our chins and using our toes like monkey feet! We made it back to the room where I toasted bagels and we had a decent breakfast.


Breakfast done the weather seemed to be picking up so we got showered and dressed and decided we would walk across to the mainland. Mainly Bayside it’s a tourist area with lots of shops and bars just somewhere to wander and enjoy the atmosphere. Plus we enjoy walking across the islands looking at the amazing multi million pound mansions that adorn the waterfront.

Love the police cars 🚔 we seen outside the town hall

Found a wierd doll shop! I can’t believe people buy these. I mean they give Chucky a run for their money! Are people buying these!? If they are I never want to meet them!

So by this point was getting really
Hot so we decided a cocktail was in order with a bit of people watching. We went to a bar at
The side and ordered a rum runner and a mango margarita

These were lovely and refreshing and we noticed once we ordered people seen our drinks and the place filled up.
It was after lunch now and DH felt hungry and suggested we went for some food. I wasn’t too hungry so agreed to share something.

We went to Hooters! Which is not Hooters! Hooters is gone! No more Hooters! 😭 Black something it was called. I can’t remember….. it was not Hooters!
Anyway a chicken, bacon ranch sandwich with fries (chips) who cares!? Was ordered.

Nothing to shout about. Needs more ranch. ‘Why didn’t you ask I had you say’?
Well I’m British, I like to complain behind your back and tell you everything is lovely then judge for the foreseeable! It’s what we do!
So carry on with the day, had to faff about getting an Uber back to the hotel. Wi-Fi was crap in bayside so stole it from a nearby hotel. Headed to walgreens AGAIN for some booze as it was 2pm. Loved the fridges

Got a few cans and went to the hotel feeling a little tired.
After a power nap 😴 the weather was a lot better so we headed to the beach

Afterward we walked up to Espanolia way and then up to Collins ave we ended up in a bar on Ocean Drive watching some basketball playoffs having some drinks.
Feeling overtired headed to bed not really interested in food. Tomorrow Cruise Time!
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Old 13 May 22, 02:17 PM  
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KarenG
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Wow you really didn’t like the Aer Lingus food! Can’t wait for my first flight with them in a few months now 😂

Miami looking great (LOVE your hair!) except for the creepy dolls 😱 😱
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Old 13 May 22, 03:09 PM  
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CumbrianKitten
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Originally Posted by KarenG View Post
Wow you really didn’t like the Aer Lingus food! Can’t wait for my first flight with them in a few months now 😂

Miami looking great (LOVE your hair!) except for the creepy dolls 😱 😱
Thank you - please take a sandwich! i'm not even a fussy eater either lol!
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Old 13 May 22, 05:30 PM  
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Loving your report so far ...apart from the creepy dolls which I'll be having nightmares about later !
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Old 13 May 22, 05:47 PM  
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#27
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23 April - Cruising Day 1 and DH Birthday 🥳

Today was the day I had been so excited about since learning we had been upgraded to Yacht Club for this cruise. We’ve been on 2 Caribbean cruises previously, one with Norwegian and one with Royal Caribbean. We had enjoyed both and we’re excited to be back on a cruise ship.
It had been announced earlier in the year that our sailing was the first MSC cruise that required all guest over the age of 5 to be fully vaccinated and masks were no longer mandatory in public areas. We were happy about this as we wanted this holiday to feel as pre-pandemic as possible but it also felt like safety was still being considered.
I will note that crew wore masks at all times and we rarely saw any (other than entertainment staff) without one.
There was plenty safety measure in place with tables distanced but we had seen previously seats covered over so no one could us them, this had now gone.

So anyway - we were awake at 4am! I mean wide awake, it was still dark outside so we put the TV on and checked up on the local news and weather. I love watching American news! I live in a Rural part of England where the only stories to break into BBC news from my area are one of a local woman calling RSPCA because there was a snake on her garden. Turns out was little boy from next doors rubber snake.
In her defence she said she seen it move 😂

I digress as usual! Snacked on cheesy goldfish and the remainder of the pizza until 8am.
Then dutifully took the tray to the reception for similar offering to yesterday so I won’t bore you with same pictures.

We decided to go for a little walk and set off to the port around 10am as we knew being Yacht Club you can board when you want. Ordered an Uber and off we went. Managed to snap the ship on the way over the causeway
.

Funny thing happened. Well I thought it was DH not so much 😝
We knew we needed to go to the white tent to check in however the Uber dropped us at the terminal so the baggage handlers came straight over to take out bags. The guy says ‘oh, you’re Yacht Club. You need to be over at the white tent’.
I said thanks and he looked at me then looked at DH and said! ‘She your daughter?’ I burst out laughing and said no. He said ‘Wo man, you must have some money’ again I laughed and DH said No. there’s just under 10 years between us but it had me tickled all day.

We checked in no worries had vaccination status, ESTA and covid test checked and we were escorted to a waiting area in the terminal with juice and snacks and there were a team of butlers handing out your key cards and bracelets


We waited about 20 mins then we’re escorted in groups through the final security checks and then up to the private Yacht Club lounge where they were there with a selection of drinks for you to choose. We both got the martini special which was potent at 10:45am

For the next hour or so we just enjoyed the ambiance and had a few more drinks and some bar snacks before our rooms were ready.

Checked out the Yacht Club pool deck which was beautiful 😍


Then finally to our room before exploring more of the ship




Had a couple more drinks and snacks and wowed over the super yachts as we sailed away from Miami.


Always take this pic as it where we got married aww 🥰


We returned to the room to shower and change for dinner. We watched the sun set on the balcony which was lovely.

Ready for a pre dinner G&T we perused the menu.


I went for the Trio of Salmon, Tuna Steak and Apple crumble.


The salmon was a nice light starter but the Tuna was delish. Cooked amazing and so tender. The apple desert was nice but I couldn’t finish it. Ice cream was divine.

DH had Duck and Turkey terrine, filet mignon and the tiramisu



He said that the terrine was a bit tasteless but enjoyed the rest.

So far so good! We decided to chill in the room for a while and fell asleep after all the Sun, drinks and food lol 😂

Tomorrow is a sea day so more exploring and food and drink 🍹
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Old 13 May 22, 05:51 PM  
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ClaireNJ
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Oh WOW your room looks lovely
As does the ship
I’m thinking I’d definitely have that apple crumble & tiramisù too
As I’m a dessert person
Enjoy it all
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Old 14 May 22, 10:21 AM  
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KarenG
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Wow that all looks amazing!
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Old 14 May 22, 04:27 PM  
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#30
CumbrianKitten
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Originally Posted by sotagals View Post
Loving your report so far ...apart from the creepy dolls which I'll be having nightmares about later !
I can’t believe they sell any! Who would want that in their home!?! Scared me to death!
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