In July, we boarded the beautiful Norwegian Epic for the inaugural sailing. Touted as “Vegas at Sea”, this ship is definitely worth seeing!
Stepping onto the ship is a little like walking into a trendy boutique hotel. I was impressed that the décor was less glitz and more contemporary retro. Picture a lot of what was popular in the ‘70s with a very hip twist.
We spent the first three hours onboard taking part in a fun scavenger hunt set up for travel agents to get familiar with the ship. We visited several different categories of staterooms, many of the specialty restaurants, the amazing spa, the water park, one of the two bowling alleys onboard and just about every other major “wow” feature on the ship.
While the ship is currently the second largest cruise ship in the world, the experience of walking onboard is somewhat cozy. The ships’ design creates such an intimate feeling within each area or restaurant you encounter, it is easy to forget that the ship is equivalent to three football fields in length.
The room we stayed in was a New Wave balcony stateroom, made to accommodate up to 3 people. While it was certainly a beautiful room, it is the focus of my only concern with the ship: a shower, sink and toilet that are essentially inside the stateroom. Yes, you read that correctly.
As soon as you enter the room, there are two smoky-glassed areas on either side, one is the shower and one is the toilet. Step a few more feet into the room and you’ll reach the bathroom sink right before the closet begins. While there is a privacy curtain you can pull closed to separate the room from these areas, it does not keep out light and sound. There is little opportunity for getting ready in the morning without waking your cabin mates, or even to retain any sense of modesty while you do so.
If I were to go on the Epic again, I would definitely consider one of the Villas – a suite complex that includes a variety of rooms on two private decks at the top of the ship. This area is only accessible by private elevator and has a courtyard with pool, two hot tubs, gym, saunas, sundeck and a restaurant and bar. Guests in this area also get a butler and a concierge to cater to their every need. What a great way to enjoy all the benefits of a large ship with the ability to retreat to the equivalent of a boutique hotel.
If I were traveling solo, I would also consider the Epic for the Studio Complex – an area with 128 “studios” or 100 sq. ft. rooms that don’t require you to pay a single supplement. The rooms are well thought out and could easily accommodate a single traveler (or two who know each other well) for a lengthy stay. As with the Villas, these rooms have private key card access to the Studios Lounge: a private place to meet friends, have coffee and mingle with others.
Even though our cabin wasn’t stellar, the dining options were. With NCL’s freestyle cruising, you can eat when you want and where you want. Although they do have 2 dining rooms, there are also over 20 restaurants with various cuisines to dine in. (Some of these charge a service fee.) We ate in both main dining rooms (The Manhattan Room and Taste), where the food was excellent and the atmosphere was much less dining room and much more upscale restaurant. In addition, we ate at Teppanyaki (Japanese Hibachi), which I think we translated to “delicious”, and the Garden Café (indoor grill), which had a great selection and quality for a buffet.
At night, we were faced with so many choices, it was hard to decide what to do. While a few of the entertainment venues charge a service fee, many do not. We ended up going to Howl at the Moon the first night and having so much fun, we didn’t realize it was 1:30 am until we left. On the second night, we saw Blue Man Group, which is certainly worth the price of admission!
If you are worried about being bored on a cruise ship, think again. The Epic not only has an aqua park onboard, but also the first bowling alley at sea. If these aren’t to your taste, you can take a swing in the batting cage, try your footing on the climbing wall or the climbing cage (called the Spider Web), or maybe do something really wild like sit and read a book by the pool.
Whatever your interests are, if you enjoy cruising, this is a ship to experience. Families and groups would work well and be well entertained, but the Epic would make for a nice honeymoon, too. To learn more about the Epic, visit http://www.epic.ncl.com/. Just be prepared to say, “Wow!”
Sun Travel Blog
Hearst Castle April 2009
Europe has castles that kings and knights once ruled, but California has................Hearst Castle.
Hearst Castle is one place to see! It is located near San Simeon,CA, on a hilltop overlooking the Pacific Ocean,halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco.
You have take a bus ride 5 miles up to the buildings, the same route Hearst and his guest once traveled. It was once owned by William Randolph Hearst who was a wealthy publisher that bought or founded national magazines such as Good Housekeeping and Cosmopolitain. He married and had 5 sons. Patty Hearst is his granddaughter.
The estate is a mixture of old historical and antique pieces such as paintings, tapestries, and sculptures. The oldest work of art, a lion-faced Egyptian godess of war and battle, dates back to 1350-1200 B.C. The earliest painting at San Simeon dates back to the beginning of the fourteen century, Madonna and Child.
It is one of the most sophisticated guided tours in the country, with 4 guided tours in all. I had the pleasure of taking 2 tours while visiting my son, Larry........a total of 5 hrs. It is hard to imagine construction began in 1919 and continued
through 1947. The castle features 56 bedrooms, 61 bathrooms on 127 acres of gardens, terrace, pools,pottery, silver, furniture and armour. The estate also has its own billiard room, movie theature with projection roon, tennis courts, a mile-and-a -half pergola, airfield and its own private fire department and once housed its own private zoo!! The total square footage exceeds 90,000 sq.ft.
The dining room is decorated with huge banners from the 18th and 19th centuries and the ceiling has 15 life size panels representing 12 saints, 2 coats of arms and the Virgin Mary. The Harry Potter movie was designed around this room.
My favorite part was the indoor pool which is located underneath the tennis court. It is decorated with 8 Roman statues and 1 inch blue mosiac tiles on every surface of the pool, walls and ceiling and 24K gold inlay hammered into delicate Venetian glass tiles.. It was styled after Roman baths from 21-17 A.D.
Some of the guests that stayed at Hearst Castle were Charlie Chaplin, Gary Cooper, Cary Grant, Howard Hughes, Amelia Earhart and Charles Lindbergh.
There are also special tours for those who have difficulty walking or standing for long periods. Wheelchairs can be borrowed at no extra charge.
Tour tickes can be purshased on line, or at the ticket office. There is a gift shop, historical exhibits,and food and beverage service located in the complex. It is open for daily tours, except Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years Day.
Karen CdeBaca, Support
Hearst Castle is one place to see! It is located near San Simeon,CA, on a hilltop overlooking the Pacific Ocean,halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco.
You have take a bus ride 5 miles up to the buildings, the same route Hearst and his guest once traveled. It was once owned by William Randolph Hearst who was a wealthy publisher that bought or founded national magazines such as Good Housekeeping and Cosmopolitain. He married and had 5 sons. Patty Hearst is his granddaughter.
The estate is a mixture of old historical and antique pieces such as paintings, tapestries, and sculptures. The oldest work of art, a lion-faced Egyptian godess of war and battle, dates back to 1350-1200 B.C. The earliest painting at San Simeon dates back to the beginning of the fourteen century, Madonna and Child.
It is one of the most sophisticated guided tours in the country, with 4 guided tours in all. I had the pleasure of taking 2 tours while visiting my son, Larry........a total of 5 hrs. It is hard to imagine construction began in 1919 and continued
through 1947. The castle features 56 bedrooms, 61 bathrooms on 127 acres of gardens, terrace, pools,pottery, silver, furniture and armour. The estate also has its own billiard room, movie theature with projection roon, tennis courts, a mile-and-a -half pergola, airfield and its own private fire department and once housed its own private zoo!! The total square footage exceeds 90,000 sq.ft.
The dining room is decorated with huge banners from the 18th and 19th centuries and the ceiling has 15 life size panels representing 12 saints, 2 coats of arms and the Virgin Mary. The Harry Potter movie was designed around this room.
My favorite part was the indoor pool which is located underneath the tennis court. It is decorated with 8 Roman statues and 1 inch blue mosiac tiles on every surface of the pool, walls and ceiling and 24K gold inlay hammered into delicate Venetian glass tiles.. It was styled after Roman baths from 21-17 A.D.
Some of the guests that stayed at Hearst Castle were Charlie Chaplin, Gary Cooper, Cary Grant, Howard Hughes, Amelia Earhart and Charles Lindbergh.
There are also special tours for those who have difficulty walking or standing for long periods. Wheelchairs can be borrowed at no extra charge.
Tour tickes can be purshased on line, or at the ticket office. There is a gift shop, historical exhibits,and food and beverage service located in the complex. It is open for daily tours, except Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years Day.
Karen CdeBaca, Support
Posted by
Sun Travel
Weekend Golf May 2009
Last weekend, 12 couples went up to Elephant Butte for a weekend of golf at the new Tierra del Rio Golf Course. It is absolutely beautiful. Had dinner at the famous LOS ARCOS STEAK HOUSE. Women who don't play can go to the Sierra Grande Lodge and Spa for the day. Lodging can be at the Elephant Butte Inn or the Comfort Inn.
Another popular golf spots for groups is TUBAC Resort south of Tucson. It is in the green valley area north of Nogalas. Beautiful setting in the trees with individual casitas and two deliciious restaurants.
Barbara Hyatt, Golf Specialist
Another popular golf spots for groups is TUBAC Resort south of Tucson. It is in the green valley area north of Nogalas. Beautiful setting in the trees with individual casitas and two deliciious restaurants.
Barbara Hyatt, Golf Specialist
Posted by
Sun Travel
Carnival Splendor March 2009
Carnival Splendor- 2 day cruise to Nowhere
I’m sure the Carnival Splendor will be referred as called “the pink ship” from now on. I’m not a decorator and don’t have the different names for names of pink on the tip of my tongue but the Splendor has quite a bit of them. I really hadn’t noticed the color throughout the ship until someone mentioned it to me.
I was invited by Carnival on a Cruise to nowhere on the Carnival Splendor. We had to meet the ship in San Francisco after she had sailed for 45 days from Europe around Cape Horn. We over nighted in San Francisco and stayed at the Marriot Fisherman’s Wharf. The Marriott is located walking distance from Fisherman’s Wharf and just a short walk to the Cruise ship terminal. The Wharf area is full of shops and restaurants. Crabs were being steamed from one restaurant to another as you walked along the Wharf area. The shops were full of curios and everything else a tourist could want. We found the Walgreens in the area carried souvenirs and everything else. The shopping was great and the best one was when we went inside the “ French Silk” shop on Jones Street. The shop’s owner Mr. Lucky had many beautiful and unique silk shawls and tops. He said some were designed by his wife. The best part was when he said he could lower the prices! I knew immediately we could haggle and went for it! Most of the purchases we made were at least 1/3 of the ticketed price. There was a jewelry store next door and they were also discounting 70%!
On the ship we were assigned an inside cabin on the second deck. It was roomy and had lots of storage space. The bathrooms were typical of a cruise ship bathroom. It was a little larger than some of the ones I have been in. The inside cabin on the 2nd deck turned out to be a blessing in disguise. We had 1 day and night of strong winds and waves.
I had to get up several times during the night to keep the wooden hangers in the closets from clanging inside the closet because of the ships movement. The captain did a great job of keeping the ship from rolling during dinner. And speaking of dinner, everything was great! The food and the presentations were excellent. The menu choices were varied and had something for everyone. The ship has 2 dining rooms, the Gold and the Black Pearl. Yes it has these giant pearls everywhere. The service was smooth and friendly.
The show area was in 3 levels and all the seats were good, well except for the ones behind the poles. The last evening the show was fast and furious and it ended with pyrotechnics coming out of the guitars the ZZ top wannabes had. We got to meet the new Carnival President and Ceo Gerry Cahill and his VP’s . And , my most favorite Cruise Director John Heald officiated.
Overall I give the ship and experience a thumbs up. The Carnival Splendor will be sailing from San Diego to do the Mexican Riviera. It was a lot of fun, and that’s all you expect from Carnival, with its dancing waiters and singing Maitre D’s. The ship holds 3000 passenger.
The reason it had to go around South America was because it did not fit thru the Panama Canal. One last thing to mention, they have an awesome Spa. Best I have seen anywhere. You can have anything from Turkish Baths to his and hers massages! The Spa even provided teeth whitening services.
Lucy Lorea, Travel Consultant
I’m sure the Carnival Splendor will be referred as called “the pink ship” from now on. I’m not a decorator and don’t have the different names for names of pink on the tip of my tongue but the Splendor has quite a bit of them. I really hadn’t noticed the color throughout the ship until someone mentioned it to me.
I was invited by Carnival on a Cruise to nowhere on the Carnival Splendor. We had to meet the ship in San Francisco after she had sailed for 45 days from Europe around Cape Horn. We over nighted in San Francisco and stayed at the Marriot Fisherman’s Wharf. The Marriott is located walking distance from Fisherman’s Wharf and just a short walk to the Cruise ship terminal. The Wharf area is full of shops and restaurants. Crabs were being steamed from one restaurant to another as you walked along the Wharf area. The shops were full of curios and everything else a tourist could want. We found the Walgreens in the area carried souvenirs and everything else. The shopping was great and the best one was when we went inside the “ French Silk” shop on Jones Street. The shop’s owner Mr. Lucky had many beautiful and unique silk shawls and tops. He said some were designed by his wife. The best part was when he said he could lower the prices! I knew immediately we could haggle and went for it! Most of the purchases we made were at least 1/3 of the ticketed price. There was a jewelry store next door and they were also discounting 70%!
On the ship we were assigned an inside cabin on the second deck. It was roomy and had lots of storage space. The bathrooms were typical of a cruise ship bathroom. It was a little larger than some of the ones I have been in. The inside cabin on the 2nd deck turned out to be a blessing in disguise. We had 1 day and night of strong winds and waves.
I had to get up several times during the night to keep the wooden hangers in the closets from clanging inside the closet because of the ships movement. The captain did a great job of keeping the ship from rolling during dinner. And speaking of dinner, everything was great! The food and the presentations were excellent. The menu choices were varied and had something for everyone. The ship has 2 dining rooms, the Gold and the Black Pearl. Yes it has these giant pearls everywhere. The service was smooth and friendly.
The show area was in 3 levels and all the seats were good, well except for the ones behind the poles. The last evening the show was fast and furious and it ended with pyrotechnics coming out of the guitars the ZZ top wannabes had. We got to meet the new Carnival President and Ceo Gerry Cahill and his VP’s . And , my most favorite Cruise Director John Heald officiated.
Overall I give the ship and experience a thumbs up. The Carnival Splendor will be sailing from San Diego to do the Mexican Riviera. It was a lot of fun, and that’s all you expect from Carnival, with its dancing waiters and singing Maitre D’s. The ship holds 3000 passenger.
The reason it had to go around South America was because it did not fit thru the Panama Canal. One last thing to mention, they have an awesome Spa. Best I have seen anywhere. You can have anything from Turkish Baths to his and hers massages! The Spa even provided teeth whitening services.
Lucy Lorea, Travel Consultant
Posted by
Sun Travel
San Antonio April 2009
New York City has MOMA, but San Antonio has SAMA. The San Antonio Museum of Art is one place to see. The museum is housed in the former Lone Star Brewery Company building.
The museum maintains a collection of more the 25,000 objects representing cultures from around the world. SAMA offers important permanent collections of Egyptian, Greek and Roman antiquities, Asian art, Latin American art American paintings and contemporary art. www.samuseum.org
We went to see the John Hernandez: Zoe’s Room , exhibit. He is a friend of my sister Ana and Zoe is his young daughter. It is a cross between a psychedelic drug induced experience and the best memories of your sweet childhood.
SAMA houses ancient art you can only see at the bigger museums. For those persons unable to travel to New York, London or Paris this is a great choice. I was taken back by the Asian art wing. They had pieces from just about every ancient Chinese dynasty even the shoes worn by the concubines that had their feet bound.
My other favorite stop in San Antonio is Lulu’s Café. This café is off Main street infront of the Luby’s. They have the best chicken fried steak around. They are opened 24 hours expect Saturdays. You can order the “Sheriff:” and split it between two hungry persons! It’s a real steak with awesome gravy. They also have the biggest cinnamon rolls you have ever seen!
Lucy Lorea, Travel Consultant
The museum maintains a collection of more the 25,000 objects representing cultures from around the world. SAMA offers important permanent collections of Egyptian, Greek and Roman antiquities, Asian art, Latin American art American paintings and contemporary art. www.samuseum.org
We went to see the John Hernandez: Zoe’s Room , exhibit. He is a friend of my sister Ana and Zoe is his young daughter. It is a cross between a psychedelic drug induced experience and the best memories of your sweet childhood.
SAMA houses ancient art you can only see at the bigger museums. For those persons unable to travel to New York, London or Paris this is a great choice. I was taken back by the Asian art wing. They had pieces from just about every ancient Chinese dynasty even the shoes worn by the concubines that had their feet bound.
My other favorite stop in San Antonio is Lulu’s Café. This café is off Main street infront of the Luby’s. They have the best chicken fried steak around. They are opened 24 hours expect Saturdays. You can order the “Sheriff:” and split it between two hungry persons! It’s a real steak with awesome gravy. They also have the biggest cinnamon rolls you have ever seen!
Lucy Lorea, Travel Consultant
Posted by
Sun Travel
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)