Travel to RCL Wonder of the Seas, January 2023
Thursday, January 5, 2023.
After a hectic week of work and trying to get as many things done early for work – so I wouldn’t have to do as much on the cruise – I finally got packed for this trip.
Somehow, I wasn’t thinking, and typed the wrong street number for the Uber. I realized when I saw him pull in 5 houses up the street. Oops!
Other than that, the ride to National Airport (technically Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport) was smooth. JetBlue check-in was pretty smooth, security a PITA, the hike to the terminal endless. We had thought we were way early but it ended up not being that much.
Throughout the airport, they were still playing Christmas music. I guess it was ok since Epiphany isn’t until January 6.
The flight to Orlando was uneventful except that I started a movie I want to finish at home – “Why Didn’t They Ask Evans”
In Hugh Laurie’s clever adaptation of Agatha Christie’s beloved novel, the mysterious death of a stranger prompts amateur detectives Bobby Jones and Frankie Derwent to set out to find the meaning behind the dead man’s final words: “Why didn’t they ask Evans?” Starring Will Poulter and Lucy Boynton.
I have been a huge fan of Hugh Laurie since House, Blackadder and Jeeves and Wooster.
Anyway, we arrived at Orlando Airport and they were also playing Christmas music and had some decorations up. I wonder if there’s a code of some kind which dictates when airports will decorate for holidays and for how long.
After locating our checked bags, we called the GoPort Shuttle. I can’t say enough about this service. They seem to be only in Orlando – they picked us up at the airport, dropped us off at out hotel (Holiday Inn Orlando-International Airport). On Saturday, they picked us up and delivered us to the cruise. When the cruise was over, got us back to the airport.
While we were on the shuttle, someone called from a different terminal bo be picked up, so we circled back – no rush.
This hotel was pretty nice and the room bigger than I thought. There was a refrigerator (I could have brought my Growth Hormone!). There was also a nice pool, hot tub, gym. We never used any of those – but we could have.
The bed must have been really comfortable and/or I was exhausted because I slept 7:13 – unheard of these days.
Friday, January 7, 2023.
We had gone to Florida early so we could do some sightseeing. Um, no.After breakfast at the hotel, Tom was trying to find his back brace. No such luck so he called CVS. It took a long time to get someone to find one and they set it aside for us.
We Ubered with Timothy (from Maine) to CVS. I was stunned that CVS in Orlando, FL, home of Disney, Universal, nearby Cape Canaveral had no t-shirts or sweatshirts! I was a tourist and I needed this stuff. I did get some new earrings so all wasn’t lost.
Tom found a couple possible back braces and took them to the counter where one was set aside for him. That was the one he chose.
After ubering back to the hotel, I immediately lost the back to one of the new earrings. And Tom, of course, found the original back brace so he now has 2.
I took a nap while Tom did laundry.
We walked the street to look at gift shop (still looking for cheesy Orlando t-shirts). There are no sidewalks here. Everything seems to be a ride away. None of their souvenirs were acceptable at a price I would pay so no new clothes from here.
In the hotel before the cruise – I couldn’t figure out what airline they were with but there were more headed to the elevators and some sitting. The tags around the luggage say Azul on them. I haven’t seen stewardesses (cabin attendants?) with hats for a long time.
Saturday, January 7, 2023
Unfortunately, I work up too early not about the excitement of getting on the ship but my knee is killing me. I keep telling myself it would be awful at home, too, but it’s not quite working. LOL
After breakfast, we followed instructions (Imagine that!) and got into the lobby for the GoPort shuttle. they were running 5 busses for 200 people at 5 different ships – all from our hotel. It seemed like we waited for our bus for quite a while, so I was checking Uber availability when our shuttle arrived – and we were off!
Costa Rica, Day Eight: August 22, 2014
A “Rest-Up” Day after Arenal Volcano
We spent a leisurely morning checking the internet and email. In the early afternoon, we got a snorkel trip lined up for Sunday.
Then we set out to find Playa Hermosa. Not too exciting. When we found the beach, an aging hippy materialized from nowhere and demanded money to park on “his beach” so we just left.
When we first came down, I wanted only carryon baggage because our flight times were so tight and there wasn’t much time in New York to get from one terminal to another. I also hate paying checked baggage fees! JetBlue doesn’t have them but our flight from DC to NYC does. So…we didn’t bring some stuff we would normally bring to a place like this, like snorkel, mask and especially fins.
There is no way I will use a snorkel they provide as a loaner. I’m ok with mask and fins but not snorkel. So, we spent the rest of the afternoon in dive shops around looking for two snorkels. The price we paid for those was more than we would have paid for the checked baggage to bring ours from home in. Oh, Well. There was still the time in the airport to consider.
Since it was a boring day, I’ll share some food info…
As I mentioned earlier, beans and rice is the basic variable in almost all Costa Rican cuisine. A typical meal is the casado, the name referring to the eternal “marriage” of its components. Consisting of rice and beans, meat or fish, fried plantains, and a carrot, tomato, and cabbage salad, this basic and well-rounded meal strikes a good nutritional balance.
The plantain, or plántano, is the typical Tico (Costa Rican) snack. It looks like a large banana, but can’t be eaten raw. It is sweet and delicious when fried or baked, and will often accompany most meals. When sliced thinly and deep fried, the plantain becomes a crunchy snack like potato chips.
Arroz is a dish of fried rice which may be offered with chicken (pollo) or shrimp (gambas). For breakfast, it is common to be served a hearty dish of black beans and rice (gallo pinto) seasoned with onions and peppers, accompanied by fried eggs, sour cream, and corn tortillas.