Day 8 – March 3, 2024

 Sometime early in the morning the ship docked at Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic as we slept in.

As we had just been there on our last cruise there was no reason to get off.  It is a very small town with a made for the cruise industry port with lots of little shops, bars and restaurants.  Been there – done that.

Ed had breakfast on the top deck, which is the pool deck and they have each morning a nice breakfast with great service.

At 9:00am the sun was in the low 80’s and very hot with no clouds.

The pool butler had made up our 2-person lounger so basically, we stayed on the deck in the sun until noon.

We had met our casino host 10 years ago when he was a hot on a Celebrity ship so we got special permission to take him to our dining room for lunch.

It was sooo much fun talking to him about everything except the casino. He has a little girl back home and he face timed with her at the table – what fun we had sharing with him.To

After two hours we went back to our room, changed and when back up on the deck until late in the afternoon.

We cleaned up and went to the lounge before the 7:30 pm show.

The show was a comedian/juggle and he was very funny - probably one of the best we have ever seen because he was really, really funny.

After that we had a wonderful dinner and closed out the evening at the casino.

 Tomorrow is a day at sea so we will probably sleep in.

Night as we head towards home.

                                          Snacks in the afternoon at the pool deck

                                        Tonight it is white night for the ship

                                                    Going down stairs to the lounge

                                                      Drinks in the lounge before the show

                                            Sunset outside the lounge

                                    Our butler walking us to the show

                                              Barb having fun on a slot machine

Day 7 – March 3, 2024

 The days so far have been very nice, but today it is realty nice, pure sun and hot – in the lower 80’s when we arrived at the port for San Juan.

As there are a lot of people on this ship, we had our butler escort us through the crowds and onto the pier – such service.

We got off the ship just after it had docked and walked into the old town to have a Mallorca sandwich from the original restaurant, Cafeteria Mallorca.

That’s a bread with ham and cheese, folded over and covered with powered sugar!!  It is hard to describe the taste but it is delicious.  See the picture for a better idea of the sandwich.

After that we walked down the streets of Old Town and back to the ship to have lunch and lay out on the pool deck.

The deck attendant had saved our lounge for us and it was perfect to be in some great sun.

The sun was so directly  overhead and hot we could only stay out for a couple of hours.

After we came back to our cabin in the late afternoon, we cleaned up and went down so that Ed could play in the 2^nd qualifying session of the slot tournament. 

After walking around a little bit, it was time to see the show which was a fun production of dancing to favorite hits of the past.  It was very good.

As always, we closed out the night in the casino and had an enjoyable time.

Tomorrow we will be in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic and we do not plan to get off the ship.

Night after leaving San Juan.

                                                      Ready to go out for the day

                                                At the Mallorca Restaurant

                                            Top sandwich is ham and cheese, bottom one is butter

                                    He has been a waiter here for 37 years!!

                           We were amazed that they had a shop advertising New York and its wines

                                            Barb was in heaven!!

                                        Our ship the MSC Seaside

                                                      The theme is a tropical night

                                                  The side of the ship after dark

Day 6 – March 3, 2024

Today is a day at sea and while the temperature is in the 70’s the wind on the deck was terrible.  The Captain made an announcement that we were at maxspeed, 31 knots in order to make San Juan PR at the correct time, 10:00am which is why it was so windy.

Ed had breakfast and then we walked around the ship to see all the regular areas and the shops.

By then it was time for lunch so we went to the YC dining room for lunch and they had a wonderful selection for lunch.

After lunch, we went to the casino to participate in the preliminary rounds of the slot tournament and the blackjack tournament.  The final qualifying rounds will be on the next sea day as will be the finals.

At the present time, both of us have qualify for the tournament, Barb for slots Ed for blackjack.

If we survive the additional qualifying rounds on Thursday, we will be in the finals.  Wish us luck on Thursday.

Then we went back up on the deck where the wind was not as strong and we found a great space to lay in the sun.

After that, we came back to the cabin San cleaned up and went to the show and then the casino.

The show was a production show by the permeant cast and it was all about the music from the movies and it was a fun, entertaining production.

Then it was back to the casino and we closed our night out at 1:00 am.

Tomorrow is San Juan and we are meeting out butler shortly afger docking to take us off the ship.

Night on the way  to San Juan.

                                                Going out for the day

                    Lunch in th YC dining room with the view outthe front of the ship - 20th floor

                                                        Our lunch - Sea Bass and Pasta

                                    Barb getting ready for a qualifing round of the slot tournament

                                               Going out for the evening

Day 5 – March 3, 2024

We have arrived in Nassau along with 4 other ships from other lines so the port would have about 20,000+ people today!!

While Barb got ready, Ed went to the top deck and the YC pool area where they serve a big breakfast buffet.

The only reason that we got off the ship today was to go to St. Francis Xavier Cathedral, a church we have been to before for Sunday services.  As before they were very welcoming.  

Yes, the port area was very crowded!

It was about a 20-minute walk to the Cathedral and we went to their 11:00am service.

Then we walked back to the ship and had lunch, again on the pool deck.

Of course the weather was nice enough (77) that we sat out on the pool deck for the rest of the afternoon.

The show tonight was a comedy performance and she as very good.

After the show as is our custom, we went to dinner.  We have a picture of the dinner menu and it was a nice meal.

Of course, after dinner we went to the casino.  The casino staff is amazing as they have made us feel very welcome and all points to our making MSC Cruises our favorite cruise line.

Tomorrow we are at sea and we have a slot tournament and a blackjack tournament.

Night from somewhere in the ocean.

c

                                                             Church

                                                          Lunch from buffet on the pool deck

                           The Butler making up a pool lounge for us.  Yes they are spoiling us!!!

                                            

                                                    Just relaxing

                                             Going out for the evening

                                              The dinner menu

 

Day 4 – March 2, 2024

We woke up to another beautiful day in Miami

After eating breakfast, Ed took the rental car a couple of blocks and turned it in and walked back to the hotel.

This was, no question, the best location to rent a car if we were going out of the Port of Miami and the hotel a TownPlace Suites by Marriott.  They had upgraded us to a 1-bedroom suite so it made it very nice.

We were supposed t be able to board the MSC Seaside at 10:00am so we left the hotel in an Uber and arrived at the port just before that time.

For some reason, the ship was delayed so we finally were the first ones on the ship a 10:30am.  The cabin wasn’t ready so they had us all wait in their lounge before we could get into the cabin at 11:00am.

We unpacked our carry-on and went to the pool deck to have lunch.

Just for fun, we walked around all the public decks outride of the Yacht Club j(YC) just to see everything and then back to cabin to unpack our big suitcases which had arrived at our cabin.  The nice thing about the YC is that you also get your bags first.

We sat up on the top deck watching other ships leave the port and then it was time to get ready for the evening.  One of the ships leaving ahead of us was the Icon of the Seas from Royal Caribbean, the largest cruise ship to date!!

On MSC Cruise line, most (5) of the show are production numbers and on our last cruise they were all good.  Tonight’s show was very, very good.

After the show we went to dinner were both of us had Tuna which was quite good.

Then it was onto the casino where to our amazement, our Casino Host Angel was the same host we had on our October cruise in Europa!!

By the time we were done in the casino we had also met some new staff members and this casino promises to be delightful.

Night for now – tomorrow, Nassau.

                                        Ready to go to our ship with the start of a tan also.

                                            Lounch on the YC pool deck

                                        The Icon of the Seas as it left before us.  

                                            First night out

                        The first production show

                               Our bedroom - spacious and very nice.

                                                    The bathroom

                                                       Barb playing slots

Day 3 – March 1, 2024

 We work up a little late again and it was another beautiful day.

We went again to Hallover Beach and stayed on the beach for 3 hours, until 1:00pm.  This was out third day of perfect weather – 80 degrees and just a few clouds.

Then we went up to Surfside to eat at a wonderful Russian/Jewish Restaurant.

The sandwich was a caprese sandwich with all kinds of goodys and oils on it and was one of the best sandwiches we have ever had on a trip. The Mozzarella cheese was wonderful and you couple tell it was fresh.

After eating we went back to the hotel, Ed did some work and then we went down to the University of Miami to watch Miami play baseball against the University of Florida.  Florida was a college world series runner-up last year so everyone expected them to be good and they were.  Miami sadly lost 6 – 3 but the experience of being back on campus was great.

The game was exciting and we had perfect seats, along the first base line, close to home plate in the 4^th row which was the first row of chair seats behind the first 3 rows of box seats.

This was big time baseball and the stadium looked sold out with a capacity o 5,000 people!!  Barb wanted a hot dog and peanuts from the ball park so that was dinner and the hot dogs were great. 

Tomorrow, we board our second MSC cruise and we hope it is as great as a ship as our first cruise with MSC back in October.

Night from Miami and tomorrow from the MSC Seascape at sea.

                                    The restaurant for lunch

                                        Lunch - Caprese with freash Mozzarella and more

                                         Our seats at the ball game

                                    The Miami Touchdown chain - no Ed didn't buy one!!

                                   Barb's much anticipated hot dog at the ballpark

                                            Just park of the crowd at the ballpark

Day 2 – February 29, 2024

 We slept in really late as we have been up almost 24 hours the day before.

We drove to one of our favorite beaches, Hallover Beach north of Miami.

The weather was all we could ever ask for, 80 degrees and just a few clouds.

Of course, Ed sunburned just a little his forehead and Barb just got darker!!

At 2:00pm we decided it was time t go to lunch and so drove down to Surfside and ate at a Kosher restaurant called Carrot and had a wonderful Tuna wrap to share.

Then back in the car driving down to Miami Beach and Lincoln Rd, which is a pedestrian only street for 10 blocks.  We walked the 10 blocks and back before getting in the car and coming back to the hotel.

The shops on Lincoln Road are very expensive.  Barb saw some beautiful slacks she liked and they were $150.  Another store had ad sress she liked and it was $750!  But it was fun walking and seeing all the people.

We changed for dinner and went to Little Havana to eat in a Cuban restaurant called laCamaronera.  If you didn’t know about the place, you would not stop.  We had been there before and as before, dinner was wonderful.  We had fried Plantains, Ceviche, and fresh grilled Mahi-mahi.

By then it was late and time to go back to the hotel and crash for the evening.

Tomorrow is the beach and the University of Miami vs Florida baseball game.

Night from Miami

                                The entrance to Hallover Beach

                                           

                                                Barb on the beach

Resting at Lincoln Rd

                                    The front of the restaurant

                                                            Inside

                                                        Appatizers - Plantains and Ceviche

                                            The main course - fresh grilled Mahi-mahi