Valentine's Day Celebrity Cruise TR - Page 10 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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Love all the pics!! We had a great time in the Butterfly Garden in St Maarten, but for some reason I didn't even really know Key West had one. I have only done the Key West stop on 1 cruise and we did the Southernmost Point pic and walked through town (very awesome in many ways but we seemed to be strolling through on a very PDA heavy day which affected my feelings about the view LOL).
Looking forward to trying it again one day as I was definitely underwhelmed.
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I would much prefer to stop at Key West than Nassau as well. I have stopped at Nassau twice and I am not impressed by that place the least
I think a lot of people agree! But Key West doesn't seem to have the space to accommodate so many ships!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Courtney892
Love all the pics!! We had a great time in the Butterfly Garden in St Maarten, but for some reason I didn't even really know Key West had one. I have only done the Key West stop on 1 cruise and we did the Southernmost Point pic and walked through town (very awesome in many ways but we seemed to be strolling through on a very PDA heavy day which affected my feelings about the view LOL).
Looking forward to trying it again one day as I was definitely underwhelmed.
LOL I could see it being a very PDA-heavy town. With all the B&Bs and romantic scenery!
As we worked our way back to the Port, our first mission was to find somewhere to buy a new memory card. We learned there was a CVS mostly on our way back, so we stopped there, grabbed a new memory card, had them open it for us, and were back on our way! From the presentation the previous afternoon we knew there were a few places to stop for free samples, so as we wandered we kept our eyes open for them. Our first stop was the Key West Olive Oil Company.
They have bites of bread out with olive oil and vinegar combos to dip and try, plus you can make your own samples. This stuff was SO GOOD. If you order 6 bottles, shipping is free! Definitely keeping this one in my back pocket for future reference. We enjoyed some samples but weren’t ready to make any purchases and headed back on our way.
Next on the list was Key West Aloe Vera. We enjoyed getting a hand scrub but I had gotten a bunch of bath stuff for Christmas and just didn’t need to purchase any more fancy bath and body products at this time. The stuff did smell amazing and our skin felt lovely the rest of the day from it. Lots of good products!
Finally we headed to a jewelry store which had free pearl earrings. At the rate I lose half a set of earrings, I’ll take free ones anyday! So we stopped through the store which had gorgeous items available, they put jems into oysters to make pearls around and then cut away to create very unique objects. This store also had pirate-type treasure for sale. I ended up buying a pearl tennis bracelet that was more in my price range than some of the others
After our shopping we decided to head back to the ship. If you’ll notice, we didn’t end up getting any Key Lime Pie! I’m still a little sad about that, but we really were hungry for actual lunch and heading back to the ship just seemed like the smarter option. We could always head back out later to get it if we wanted…
Back on board we looked into the lunch options… back to the buffet, AquaSpa Cafe, or $5 each for Bistro on Five. In my pre-cruise research I read that the bistro was a hidden gem and well-worth the $5 fee. It’s a creperie and I do love some crepes! So that’s where we decided to head this lovely afternoon.
We wandered in and actually had to find someone to ask if it was open. There was NO ONE around and the crepe display kitchen wasn’t set up. We were told of course it’s open and come on in, sit anywhere we want!
So we made ourselves comfy by the window and not too far from the kitchen so we could see the action. Everything on the menu sounded SO delicious, so we had a pretty hard time making any decisions.
We finally chose after some recommendations from our server, oh my gosh was this all to DIE FOR. We of course wanted to try more than what we had just ordered, but we decided there was no way we could both eat an entire second crepe. We decided on one to share, and the chef actually made us two mini crepes! Amazing customer service right there!
Mediterranean - Roasted Chicken and Garlic, Sun Dried Tomatoes, Mozzarella and Basil Pesto
Cajun - Spiced Grilled Chicken, Provolone, Pineapple Rice and Lemon Dressing
1/2 Mexicano (with steak) Roasted Yellow Corn, Red Peppers, Scallions, Cheddar Cheese, Cilantro and Chile Dressing
We ended with a dessert crepe, again wonderfully split into two mini ones for us! It was easy to see why people raved about this place and for only $5. We felt so special having the restuarant entirely to ourselves. By the time we finished two other small groups had found their way here, but neither sat in our little front section.
1/2 Italian - Nutella, Banana and Pistachio
Us full of crepe!
We tipped both our server and the chef, honestly such amazing service here. The Chef let us know there would be a crepe-making demo at 2pm and we both just knew we were too tired to make it to that. He gave us the recipe for crepes that they would be handing out there since we wouldn't be making it! After our crepe-feast, we headed back to our room, stopping for a detour at the Future Cruise Sales Desk for some info to look over. We rested and tried to get our energy up for the evening! It wasn’t long before we were heading back out to the Lightning Fast Art Auction!
Another long day for us, so we stopped and got some tea on the way to enjoy while we browsed today’s Art and discussed if there was anything we potentially wanted to buy. I also got a picture of the snack/dessert options at the cafe, although I don’t believe we ate any at this point.
The auction was held right in the little art lobby area, so it was pretty tight and intimate. Cody and I both had our eyes on some things, and the goal was to auction off 60 pieces of art in 60 minutes. Ultimately Cody didn’t end up buying anything, but I got a second piece by the artist I had bought the previous day (this time unframed and to be shipped home!) it was an auction special and I’m still trying to find where I’m going to find room for it in my apartment… but I love it! There was a raffle at the end and Cody won a bracelet, which of course is now mine
After the auction we had another full day behind us and a full night ahead!
Had some catching up to do!!! You guys were quite busy in a good way!!!
Key West is a place I want to visit and hope to someday - it looks beautiful!
Oh - and those crepes!!!! Oy vie!!! Look yummy!!!!
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Oh wow, how cool to have that place to yourselves - and the crepes looked amazing!
It was great and so tasty!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cam22
How cool to have the restaurant to yourselves! Your crepes looked so delicious.
They were! I'd definitely go back there again !
Quote:
Originally Posted by lfredsbo
Had some catching up to do!!! You guys were quite busy in a good way!!!
Key West is a place I want to visit and hope to someday - it looks beautiful!
Oh - and those crepes!!!! Oy vie!!! Look yummy!!!!
With short trips you gotta cram it all in! But we spent a surprising amount of time lounging in the room too! I hope you make it to Key West someday, we LOVED it (and so do our parents actually!)
Quote:
Originally Posted by a_bernard
sounds like you had another wonderful day and this crepe meal sounded delicious
It was wonderful!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Russi01
The crepes looked yummy. Especially the dessert one.
Ohh I loved it! Cody doesn't love Nutella as much as I do, but I would have licked the plate clean!
So back in our room we readied ourselves for our last night in the Main Dining Room, wondering if we’d meet our last remaining tablemates at this final meal. We headed off to the MDR and were once again the first at our table.
Wall heading into the dining room
The view tonight
Selfies while we wait!
We got settled and looked over the menu and Tom and Mary Lou showed up. And I’m thinking this might actually be the night Michael and Max did show up and it was the sea day they ended up staying by the pool through dinner because the next picture is of us non-selfied, and Michael was the one who nicely offered to take our picture each night!
Either way, it was another wonderful meal! Tom and Mary Lou had made it to the Crepe Demonstration that we skipped and said it was wonderful, definitely something we would try a bit harder to get to next time! We enjoyed recounting the trip and discussing our plans post-cruise. Since Tom and Mary Lou were from Buffalo, they were actually having problems getting back home which is what put them on this cruise in the first place, but they were finally going to be able to fly back north after this second go around (they did back to back when their flights got cancelled!)
Us again!
Final bread basket - I was a little disappointed that this was the same every night!
Mozzarella tomato salad type app
Pate?
Oil and vinegar was also an option for breads!
We had a good view of the wine table tonight!
Soup
Pasta dish of the evening (I was getting overwhelmed with all the heavy meals finally!)
Cody’s entree
as the night went on...
Cody’s dessert
Apple Pie a la Mode (off the every night menu!)
After dinner we headed off to the show which was the second big production of the cruise. We were hoping that since this one sounded like it had more of a plot line it would be better. This one started earlier which was nice so we were able to head over right after dinner. We maybe grabbed a drink on the way? But we didn't have much time to spare! Tonight’s show was a spin off on fairy tales, where a bride-to-be got trapped in the Enchanted Forest and had to meet a variety of characters in order to find her finace and ultimately get married.
Here we are waiting for the show!
While our hopes were higher, we were certainly left disappointed once again. The plot held it together slightly better, and the cast can certainly sing. We were once again impressed with the acrobatic duo but let down but the remainder of the dancing, the overall story, and the horrendous costumes. The nighttime shows were the biggest let down of the cruise. And since there’s no movie theater (only Pay Per View in the rooms for movies and one movie channel that cycles through a few too) the entertainment overall was just left lacking. With such a great price point for these cruises, I would see myself splurging on a spa treatment or even a PPV rather than spending time watching the big stage shows on a future sailing.
After the show, we rushed back to our room to get the luggage together and out the door. We made it with about 5 minutes to spare? At some point today we also went back to… FUTURE CRUISE SALES! and… booked another cruise! We opted for the exact same time next year but out of Puerto Rico instead. It’s a 7 night cruise, we have a veranda, and there are five days in port! We also have a Hilton booked pre and post cruise to extend the trip a bit
After another busy day, we hit the hay, we knew it would be time to leave the ship tomorrow and say goodbye to vacation
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Your crepes looked so delicious. 
Deb
But we spent a surprising amount of time lounging in the room too! I hope you make it to Key West someday, we LOVED it (and so do our parents actually!)
We visited Puerto Rico on the Fantasy and we really enjoyed our time there.
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