The Traveling Steve's

So it’s been a few days since I’ve had a chance to blog.  It’s now day four of our 14 night repositioning cruise from Valparaiso, Chile, to Ft. Lauderdale.  (I’m writing a few posts off-line, so will upload them when I have internet access.) The first two full days have been sea days (plus the first day when we left Valparaiso at 8pm).  Internet is  pre-dial-up speed on the ship so I thought I’d write this offline and upload later.  Photos may or may not upload due to the internet speed.

We had a wonderful one night stay at the Sheraton Valparaiso before boarding the ship. 

We hired a shuttle van to take us to the port, and we didn’t have any issues with all our luggage.  I was so glad to get onboard and finally unpack everything – the joy of cruising!

The last couple of days have been a blast.  We have met many people so far, and are really enjoying our Penthouse accommodations in 6148.  We usually get the port Penthouse 6147 on the Millennium class ships, but took the starboard-side 6148 due to the sun rising in the east and setting in the west; thought it would be nice getting the morning vs the afternoon sun as we sail north.

Dos has enjoyed soaking in the outdoor whirlpool on our 1,100 square foot balcony, while I’ve enjoyed lounging on the recliners, getting a bit of sun, and doing my logic puzzles.

We saw an excellent production show the first formal night, which featured the Best of Broadway songs, with a really talented and high-energy cast.   I also played a game of trivia at the sunset bar with Mindy who I met from Brisbane, Australia, which was fun, and our team won!   A Celebrity pen!  But hey it was something.

We had a slot pull in the casino yesterday.  It was St Patrick’s Day, so DOS and I dressed in our greet clothes.   Everyone of the 32 people in the game put up $15 to play, and we broke even plus one dollar, which the buck went to the winner of the most money won.  It was fun, and at least no one lost any money playing the Wheel of Fortune slots.  DOS actually won third prize, and a T-shirt as he did so well in the slot tournament!

We had dinner the first night in Qsine; a trendy extra-tariff restaurant, where you order you ‘Tapas’- type food via I-Pad.  A bit gimmicky, but it wasn’t my cup of tea.  The portion sizes are small, but I guess the idea is to try lots of different things in small portions.  It would be more fun with a group, and we’re going to try that later on in the cruise.