RCI Harmony of the Seas - January 2019
Ostensibly to see our nephew Kyle perform on his third contract with RCI, we signed up for an early January escape to Florida port of Ft. Lauderdale to again experience life on a massive floating hotel. Yet, unexpectedly towards the waning months of his contract, Kyle got let off early to take up his fourth contract on an even newer ship (Symphony) to which we said, no worries, we'll miss ya but we'll be having too good a time to complain ..lol... and that about sums up our trip. RCI always delivers an energetic agenda, with good food, great shows, lively bands (Bolero & Dazzles), it was a great way start off the new year!
First off , we caught up with Kyle in his training center before he sailed, a day before we boarded :) 
Strike a pose for RCI dancers ;)
We rented a boat to get us around the waterways of Ft Lauderdale - Tom getting a dress rehearsal of what retirement life may be like
electric scooters are ubiquitous - strewn all around 
Dazzles a great venue for ballroom dancing on formal nights...
don't miss the Abyss huge slide off the back of the ship ...makes you feel like 5 again..lol
Took an excursion to Amiga Is off the coast of Labadee - the small enclave hosted a yoga retreat... others snorkeled or lazed like lizards
@ Blue Hole in Jamaica encore! We'd had such a blast Jan '17 ...returned for a longer stay and swam & dove into more turquoise pools - the park was much more extensive than time allowed on our last visit .. this time we savored the natural beauty of this unspoiled series of pristine waterways .... our guide even challenged us to snake our bodies through the narrowest tunnel you can imagine and then shove yourselves thru an opening no more than a foot and a half tall to emerge from the otherside ...all the while being pelted by a rush of cascading waterfall
...it was like being birthed anew!!!
On our ride back to ship ..Irie...mon...'given world events ..got no choice but follow B Maher's cue ...light it up!'
At Rio Secreto - National Geographic research center cave exploration
Casual nights for salsa, rumba, cha cha & bachata @ hot vibes from Bolero...
Winter Caribbean interlude with Serenade of the Seas - Jan 2018
It was the coldest day in Ft Lauderdale since Dec 2010 - a mere 39dgrF. But we're not perturbed,
got to Fl day before the 2018 North America's 'bomb cyclone' blizzard that slammed into town & 
@ Nevis we took a ferry excursion after ship docked in St. Kitts for a tour of Alexander Hamilton's birthplace. From ignoble birth to founding father, Hamilton's life story is truly inspiring. His mother escaped an abusive marriage prior to meeting his father James Hamilton a Scottish trader and had Alexander out of wedlock. Orphaned at a young age, he nevertheless impressed the St. Croix mercantile employers who pooled resources to further his education in America where he became General Washington's aid-de-camp and was the major author of the Federalist papers
Montpelier plantation inn tour - The ‘boutique’ plantation inn offers eight bungalows and 17 guest rooms and has its own private beach, ‘Pinney’s’, 10 minutes away. The estate goes back to 1687 and the inn has been run by the Hoffman family since 2002. It also boasts a function room in an old sugar mill.
Second past sugar plantation we visited was the Golden Rock Inn - fabulous gardens - if ever one needs to do a land resort stay - these are great boutiques choices on Nevis
after the short ferry ride in St. Croix to a harbor beach off main town of Christiansted
St. Maarten Philipsburg
After dinner dancing at Viking Crown lounge
Anthem of the Seas - October 2017
An autumn New England melody .....a nostalgic return to foggy shores &boarded the spanking new RCI cruise ship to visit our talented dancing nephew
Best raw clams ...sooo yummmy !!!Union oyster house of Boston fame - serving guests since 1826 amoung the oldest restaurants in US
Introducing our friends to this charming St. Saviour's church of Bar Harbor - this time a docent was on hand to explain all its rich historic tales
Painting by Peter Gough who hails from Nova Scotia born in 1947. His paintings are imbued with a luminosity that transcends realism ..'the magic lies in the essence of light'
"We Will Rock You!" fantastic broadway show (Queens)
Finishing off our cruise in New York - took in Madame Tussauds - mega laughs 😉😜😝
Our last visit to the Big Apple was back in October 2013, after the Crystal Symphony docked... this time we only stayed the day & checked our luggages by a retail shop in time square - found them via online vertex.com - new appsharing economy ..lol
'New York was no mere city. It was instead an infinitely romantic notion, the mysterious nexus of all love and money and power, the shining and perishable dream itself'
- Joan Didion
As true today as it was then... if not just more so
