My Literal Getaway

Yep.  As I teased recently, I did jump on a great deal for a cruise over Labor Day weekend.  I booked fairly late in cruise time but was able to get a great balcony (later upgraded to a Mini-Suite) to enjoy by myself..along with 5 different "perks" including drinks, dining, shore excursions, etc.  So I took it.  I know a cruise always seems to reset my world and indeed it did.

This time I cruised on the Norwegian Getaway.  It is a sister ship to my other 2 favorite ships, the Escape and Breakaway so the layout and ship was very familiar to me.  This cruise went to the Western Caribbean - Costa Maya, Harvest Cay, Roatan, and Cozumel.  I had not really planned to get off the ship at all since it is just so hard for me.  So mostly, I was looking for a fun ship to relax and recharge on for a week.  One added bit of excitement is that it is the height of hurricane season so I purchased trip insurance just in case we had trouble but I certainly didn't need it.

I flew into Miami the day before. I scored an upgrade to first class for part of the flight which was really nice.  I was able to get a room at my favorite hotel, the Intercontinental at Biscayne Bay.  I had a lovely room that faced the water so when I woke up in the morning, I saw 2 ships docked...and 1 was mine!! I was anxious to head over to the pier and get on that baby. As a solo traveler, it is really easy to just sort of mix in and push through to board.  And it doesn't hurt that I had my cane.  I got to board with the handicapped people and was probably one of the first 50 people onboard! I had joined a Facebook group for the cruise and a few of us solo traveling ladies decided to meet for lunch at the restaurant onboard.  They were very nice ladies and we enjoyed a leisurely lunch waiting for our cabin to be ready.  By the time we finished eating, we could go to the cabin so I got my carry on stuff unpacked and switched from tennis shoes to flip flops and set out to explore.

We all met up top for an "unofficial" sail away party.  I got my first margarita.  Unfortunately, I really couldn't enjoy the view of sailing out of Miami where we were so I beat feet down to the pool deck for music and a view of the shore and finally out to sea.

Storm clouds the morning we set sail.  View from the hotel.

The Miami Skyline

A little bit of the sail away party by the pool.

My first margarita.  I love these!

That night, I went to the solo gathering to meet the other solos.  Holy solo cruisers!  This was such a gigantic group, we didn't even all fit in the lounge....about 60 active solo members but many more solo travelers not participating in the ship's program!  We met the coordinator for the week and found out the plans for the week.  But no dinner that night which was fine because I made a reservation to go to the Japanese Teppanyaki restaurant for dinner.  It is always a ton of food but really delicious.

The next day, we had a sea day.   I drank a few Margaritas and Martinis the night before so I was a slug and slept in and ordered room service breakfast.  I was slow to get out but we had a Facebook meet and greet.  There was about 120 people there. We also did a shot glass exchange as a means to meet people.  I got Debbie from Kentucky's glass.   That night, I joined the solo group for dinner in the regular dining room.  I participated in the games and music in the Atrium that evening.   I love the games!!

One thing I really love on these ships is they have "Howl at the Moon" which is dueling pianos.   You can request songs and if you share a few bucks with your request, there is a good chance they will play it.  They are fun and very funny and encourage everyone to sing along.  They tease people and it is a generally good time.  This time, one of the guys was pretty crazy.  And they accepted Jager shots from the audience.  I can't believe how many they do in a night.  Anyway, at one point, this happened and I had to snag a photo.

Sometimes, he would sing lyrics in Meows too.  Made me laugh so hard.  I spent many an evening in this venue.

We changed time 4 times on the cruise.  One night was forward, then back the next day but I screwed up in my blurry drunk state and went forward again.  It took me until 2:00 the next day to figure out I was 2 hours off.  I went to breakfast in the buffet and couldn't believe no one had gone ashore.  I even commented to someone.  To me, it was 10:30 and I couldn't believe no one got off yet as I wandered the ship.  At 11:30, I went up to get lunch because it had been a few hours since breakfast.  There was still breakfast food there!!  So I grabbed some bread, bacon, tomatoes and made myself a BLT.  So weird though.  I finally went back to my room for a nap and finally figured out when I woke up that I had the time wrong.  HAHA The bad news is that means I had a bloody mary at probably 7:30 after I ate breakfast.  HAHAHA

So let's talk about where we stopped.  We had 4 stops.  I only got off the ship at one but I can share the photos and tell a little story.

Gotta turn your head.  I don't know why but
this is Costa Maya, Mexico

This one too.  Look at that ocean!  That is what I
love about the Caribbean!!  Look at the storm
clouds though.  The sea was pretty rough even parked

This is how I did Costa Maya.  I went and found a
spot on the ship's waterfront area.  They have couches
and wide decks so you can enjoy the area in peace.

Me with Costa Maya in the background.  Proof I was there.

Harvest Cay, Belize which isn't really Belize.  It is an island before
the mainland that is owned by the cruise lines.  I do love the lighthouse
though.  Many people enjoyed that beach that day and then spent the
rest the cruise with terrible sand flea bites.  Icky!

The other side of the Harvest Cay island where it isn't developed.
Lots of wild jungle stuff.

Our 3rd stop was Roatan, Honduras.  I had been there years ago.
It was great to see it developing since my last visit.

Typical Roatan property on the ocean.  A very poor country and quite
Jungle like.  People here went to see the Monkeys and Sloths at the farm.

Look how cute! This is the pier area.

It wasa pretty easy pier soI decided to get off.  I went to the bar
by the ship as they usually have wifi you can use if you buy food or drink.
 I got a $6 Corona and then found out they don't share their wifi.
 It was fun to get off anyway.  It was really really hot and humid.

And Cozumel.  It rained like crazy this day.  Many people got caught out on
excursions on the ocean in the tropical storm.  Me?  I was on the waterfront
reading and enjoying the rain while staying covered and dry.  I've been to
Cozumel many times and don't mind skipping it.

Another onboard selfie.

Let's talk food for a minute.  I had 4 chances to "specialty dine" and I thoroughly enjoyed each one.  Here is some of the yummy stuff I ate.

This is a wasabi martini.  It has a Lychee garnish!

Surf and Turf at Cagney's steakhouse

Me at Cagney's.  Yep...alone.

This is the volcano nachos at Margaritaville.  I wish the portions
weren't so big because that is ridiculous.  For the cover charge, you get an
appetizer, entree, and dessert.  So this was followed up with a burger
and fries and finished with a Key Lime pie
(which I learned before to get it to go and enjoy later).

I went to the super fancy seafood restaurant.  I got the Grilled Mango lime
shrimp.  I went ahead and had them remove the heads for me
but they will serve them with the heads on if you wish.

This was my chosen side.  I got the tomato, onion, blue cheese salad

I know this is a drink.  It was my new found obsession this trip.
It is called a Daydreamer Daiquiri.  It has lime, cranberry, and peach juice. 
So yummy!  I won't tell you how many of these I drank but it was enough
that the bar staff started getting it ready when they saw me walk up.

Here are some photos from around the ship.

The ship has some areas where the deck hangs over the water and
there is glass to walk on.  Super freaky.

I took this video to watch when I get stressed at home.  There is a

bird drifting  through the sky that I found so relaxing to watch.

Some of the Atrium games.  I got a sore throat at this one.

The captain and first officer.  They were talking about the ship
but  also about the Cuban refugees we picked up in the ocean
the first night!

Some Howl at the Moon fun

Love me some Bob Marley

I made it up to the pool area.

Here are some of the solos from the last night.  This is a rowdy and so fun crowd!


The last day, I signed up for a Wine Lovers Lunch.  Frankly, 6 glasses of wine on the last day is probably not the best idea.  I was  hoping to learn some new wines but I learned some I don't like and needed a nap right after.

 I really had a great time and met some nice people.  Of course, I drank too much and ate too much but I also relaxed and came home totally de-stressed.  And that was the goal....well the well-being.  Not the drinking and eating part although that was fun.

Here are two final photos to share.

This.   This makes me happy.

Home for the past week.  Not my photo...well because I didn't get off the
ship but I loved it and was authorized to borrow it.

We got back to Miami Sunday morning and we all started our way home. Unfortunately, there is a possible hurricane coming in too and many people had a tough time getting out.  I had a bumpy flight to Detroit and then got delayed there due to storms and a mechanical issue.  I was happy to get home at 9:00 Sunday night.  Pooped but happy and fulfilled.

I have more stories and thoughts to share but I will break it up into pieces so watch for more.