Cruisin

Day One: 

So they take us in a bus to the dock and we unload and proceed through Security. You can imagine the Security is pretty tight but did run very smoothly.

After we had gone through Security, Mish approached a NCL assistant to ask what we do as we are registered in a Suite .......

*blink*

So that is when the really REALLY cool stuff starts. We are ushered through the lines and lines of people to a special room only available to Suite holders. We are then assigned our Concierge and Butler.

We are then taken on board and escorted to our Suites to drop bags and bits and pieces. Your luggage is delivered a few hours later and left outside your door for unpacking OR you can ask the Butler to do it for you. Bruno is our Concierge, Henry is our Butler and David looks after the room. It is a little like magic ..... you go to say have a meal and you come back to find fresh water, fresh cups, bed turned down and made along with fresh coffee for the Super Duper Coffee Machine located in your Suite. 

Oh my goodness.

We were then taken to lunch at one of the resturants available only to Suite holders *laughing madly* and enjoyed an amazing lunch which included a Warmed Brownie that pretty much caused us to swoon.

Down to the Suite to unpack and feel out the lay of the land so to speak. We quickly unpacked ourselves and had a mandatory drill for safety on board the Ship. We then simply stood on our balcony sipping the complimentary Champagne and eating the Chocolate covered strawberries which are delivered every afternoon to our Stateroom. Gorgeous fresh flowers are awaiting you as you enter your Suite.

Oh yeahhhhhhh Seriously Fabulous.

After we had all that done we decided to go to the Italian Resturant from dinner which was so incredibly scrumptious mere words from this Blogger would fail to convey to you the explosion of fabulous sensations which assualted our taste buds.

Finished the evening with a trip to the Casino which as you would know by now is a massive waste of time for Le' Fabulous Family but heaps of fun had along the way.

Day Two:

Oh dear God kill me NOW. Yep .... No Salty Old Sealegged Persons here ... move along nothing to see except me throwing up and feeling very sorry for myself.

We went to bed last night and I was laughing at how the bed rolls and you can feel the movement but DAMN I was NOT laughing this morning.

Mr Fab had to contact Henry our Butler .....actually I just wanted to write .. Henry our Butler ... anyway dear Henry brought down a supply of Sea Sick Pills and I promptly took two and went back to the rolling bed hoping I would not throw up again.

I have to say I am surprised as I always thought of myself as a seaworthy creature but apparently not. There will be no Arrrrhhhhhh Me Heartys and Piraty type shenanigans here.

Tonight we have been invited to a Cocktail Party with the Capitan so I am making sure we are there for sure!!!!!

The Cocktail Party was lovely with some very odd drinks tried and now tested. Down to Cagneys for a Steak dinner which was delicious. Actually all the food so far has been delicious and the really cool thing is I can pretty much do what I want as it all can be fixed when we return home. BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH *slightly manic laugh*

While waiting to go to dinner we were looking out over the whatever the hell it is side of the boat and saw a Mum Whale come up out of the water with her baby. It was AWESOME! 

I mean seriously .... waiting to go to dinner and you see whales???????

*swoonworthy*

We are getting up early in the morning for Day 3 as we will be pulling into port for a day of looking around Ketchikan. We arrived back in our room and spent 5 minutes laughing at the towel creature David had left for us .... he had found Mr Fabs glasses and decided to be a bit creative.

We are already planning our next cruise in a couple of years .... the problem with going Suite Style first time is you are spoiled rotten. We like having our every whim catered to with a smile ......

 Not something we have every day for sure!

See you in a couple of days Fabsters .....

Revamp, Restyle & Be Fabulous!

Smoking in Seattle

Thank you thankyou thankyouverymuch.

 

The Fabulous Greens have left the building. Thankyou Vegas - We love you.

Early start at 4 am and early checkout to ensure we made it to Vegas Airport nice and early in prepration for our flight to Seattle. Checked the bill - as ya do to discover that by lifting up the Indulgence Naughty Kit to show Mr Fab ..... we were charged for the Indulgence Naughty Kit at a total cost of $48.

Ummmmmmm no. 

We went through the rest of the bill with a fine tooth comb not because we are cheap but because DAMN those places slug you at every turn.

Did we like the opulent luxury of The Venetian? Yes

Would we go back? No.

We like our coffee and to have a Caraffe delivered to the room was a ridiculous $22.00.  The In House Menu says it is $13 but they add a heap of taxes AND an 18% Gratuity as mentioned in a previous post. I asked them why then did we pay the server and they gave me a long winded account of how the gratuity added was for the maker of the coffee and the person who puts the milk in the jugs and the person who washes the dishes and so on down the line. The tip to the server was entirely up to me and was my choice ......

Ok so arrival at Vegas Airport and we were greeted at Delta Checkin by a really friendly lady who asked did we need anything and did we have our bording passes.

*blink*

So far so good.

We both are literally worried sick about the whole airport process after our last experiences. So to the desk for bag checkin where another nice lady asked us to load the biggest bag so if we needed to rearrange anything we could ........

*double blink*

Down to catch the Tram to Gate 34 which we found quickly and with zero problems. Load the plane and away we go which leads you to me doing this at 30000 feet and we will be arriving in Seattle in about an hour after making up time.

Well done Delta America - Well Done.

Finally sorted out the shuttle bus ..... I am such a wally I forgot to do that bit of the journey. We are staying at The Crowne Plaza Seattle and guys we gotta say a teeny bit disappointed. No smoking of course so we have to go downstairs and outside into a sleazy alley.

Then they informed us we would have to pay for the internet ...... Not included. 

Can I put the points onto my Hotel card? No - Paid for it yes but paid through The Cruise so the Crowne won't give me the points even though they get the money..... *blink*

But hey it is all part of the trip.

Seattle is very industrial and we are enjoying the shabby rusty look of it. Yesterday we had not had anything to eat since the day before so by 4 we were pretty hungry and tired. We walked down to the Market here and dropped into Von's Gustobistro and had what I can honestly say was the BEST pizza I have ever eaten.

Dear God we both swooned and pretty much ate with closed eyes making hmmmmmmmmmmmmm yum noises.

Maybe it was the finishing touch of a drizzle of pure Almond Oil?

We shall daydream of pizza for a very long time

The Smoking in Seattle thing has been quite weird. You literally have to look everywhere before you light up and The Crowne has us going to a sleazy looking downstairs kinda alcove down some concrete steps. We have had some great chats with fellow smokers. The whole thing has me AGAIN thinking about smoking and what it means to be a Pariah.

Yes we smoke. Yes indeed we do. Yup, yeah ok already we do. We have now become literally outcasts. I have been looking at using the Electronic ciggies and I do believe I will BUT I want to do it when I want to do it and not when I am told to do it. Yes it is an addiction and yes it is bad we get that we accept that we know that but geez STOP telling me all the time.

We are always mindful of non smokers and are extrememly polite and courteous to those around us who are non smokers.

Anyway we are now simply waiting for Mish & Mark To arrive as we will have a huge day spending time with them.

Our luggage leaves here at 8 am and then we board the shuttle to the Ship at 10.45am.

Eeeeek how exciting is THIS????? We will try and do at least one post during the cruise to update.

See you all back on dry land Fabsters!

Revamp,Restore & Be Fabulous.

 

Welcome to The Family .......

Today saw us venture out into the blistering Vegas sun and go to The Mob Museum. Mr Fab is a huge fan of the era and shows like The Sopranos so it was kinda a given we had to go.

Ooooooooley Dooley!!!!!

It was BRILLIANT. Well worth the $18 (after using Vegas Nifty Voucher) and took near on 3 hours. The interactive parts were cool as well. I managed to shoot 14 times and killed an Innocent Bystander ...... Now hang on ... he may WELL have been a secret plant who in fact was an International Spy / Drug Runner wanted by Interpol? Maybe? Perhaps?

They even had a section on how The Mob had influenced the Movies and had some great displays with costumes worn by Tony Soprano and things from movies like Casino.

The whole Museum is the Old Courthouse/ Post Office which was fabulous to walk around in and have a look. To enter a lift from the 1930's and walk along corridors which probably saw some very ruthless and unscrupulous people in it's day is quite surreal.

The Tour is well thought out and very well set up with heaps of Fedora wearing people to point you in the right direction should you become lost.

There was an Australian Film Crew doing something there and the lady in the Shop said Ohhh there are some more Aussies.

The chap looked at me ( I did recognise him kinda sorta?) and I said Gidday ... as ya do.

He just grunted a gidday back and I thought Geez love .... friendly much?

We decided to have a walk around the Older section of Vegas. Not as swish as uptown but sooooo interesting. Around Freemont Street and the really old Casinos. We even tried one of the All You Can Eat Buffets that do still actually exisit and for a grand total of $20 we had a scrumptious meal. I even tried my very first Cherry Pie...... delicious.

We then spent the rest of the day making sure we had the trip to the Airport Sorted and boarding passes done. I am literally in terror at the thought of Las Vegas Airport after the horrific time we had experienced before with United. This time we are flying Delta as we decided to stay with Virgin or Virgin affiliates. The lady here at the Hotel was brilliant and we have even checked our luggage and paid what needed to be paid. Remember people - Travel in the US means you have to pay for your suitcases on every flight.

All in all we have a blast back here in Vegas and yes indeed we will come again on our next trip to the US. We are thinking 3 years and the New York side with a trip to Vegas after our normal trip to Iowa. 

We didnt win a sausage but you know what? Thats ok.

We tell ourselves we are lucky in life and not gambling ........... *blink* 

On to Seattle before we pick up the Cruise Ship on Saturday  morning. We are super excited as it is something neither one of us thought we would ever do.

We will be travelling with Mish & Mark. Ok Fabsters let me introduce you to our friends.

Mish & Mark - here are The Fab Readers. Fab Readers - Mish & Mark.

Those of you who have been following our ramblings for awhile will know I met Mish years ago online and we became friends. Yeah yeah odd to be sure but that is just the way it is. We met them face to face after years of internetting and we have yet to have a dull moment. It turned out to be very serendipitous that Mark & Mr Fab get on famously so a WIN / WIN all round.

It is good when life turns out to be easy peasy and wonderful.

On to the next leg of the mighty Fabulous Adventure. Remember we will be out of range sailing in Alaska somewhere or other ...... as ya do.

We will catch up when we can Fabsters and make sure you .....

Revamp, Restore & Be Fabulous!

Rockin Out In Vegas ...... Oh Yeah!

Change of plans today. We decided to wander down to the Palazzo Theatre and find out about Rock of Ages. We purchased our tickets ...... and because we joined the Venetian Club Grazie, we were automatically upgraded to the better seats at no charge!

Woohoooooooo YEAHHHHHHH BONUS! So bottom line on our first Real Vegas Comp was we paid $69 plus taxes *rolls eyes and wonders why not just bloody well put the tax on for goodness sake* anyway we got the $120 tickets for $69. Gotta love that yes?

The show was sensational and by the end we were up with everyone else rockin out to the music from the 80's. 

Absolutely loved it!

We also decided to go for a walk back to The Canal Shops as we had to take some pictures for you of the SERIOUS amazing roof? Yep a roof ... you did read correctly. They have painted the inside of the roof to resemble a blue sky.

I thought when I read about it ... *shrug meh* probably looks dodgy?

Nope. Looks real and at one stage I was absolutely convinced the clouds were moving.....that is the illusion you get when you look back across The Plaza.

We wandered about just looking in these serious stores full of shiny, bright and sparkly glittery things. We were mesmerised by everything and even Mr Fab was quite stunned by the glam handbags and even Mens ties with glitter ......

As ya do.

We walked around for ages and came across one of those Sellers who reckon they can cure everything. Well this one was the most lovely Russian girl and it was one of those postive/ negative Ion bracelets. Well lets cut a long story short ... Mr Tight As A Fish Bottom did end up buying a bracelet because the bloody thing actually worked???????

Yep indeed it did. He has been wearing it now ( it is a very manly bracelet so don't anyone worry) for about 8 hours and he said the pain in his shoulder - which he has had for many many years - was feeling better than it had in a very long time.

He says the pain has diminished to the point he can move his shoulder??????

I have to admit I was sceptical it would work and also in shock that he actually purchased it.

We then decided that because Rock of Ages started at 8 and went through to after 10 we might have a Princess Nap to ensure we were in top form to enjoy the show.

Now I am thinking time for bed. We are both sleeping like babies in our massive King Bed and soft pillows. The Mob Museum and The Monorail is on the agenda for our last day and then back to pack and get ready for the next leg of our latest Fabulous Adventure.

Remember to 

Revamp, Restore & Stay Fabulous

Becoming Howard Hughes

Today is a day of wandering about and just Vegasing..........That is where you amble along with no destination in mind.

I had talked Mr Fab into a visit to the Vegas Pandora store to add to the Travel Pandora. We are very aware of making our suitcases too heavy so we tend to stick to T Shirts and Pandora beads as our Touristy Souvenir stuff. The title of todays Blog is an ode to Mr F who has become a certified Germafobe. He washes his hands with Anticeptic wash everytime he can and there are little dispensers of the stuff all over the Casinos and Hotels so he is constantly using them. I can't as it burns my hands to much but he seems to be happier. He is DETERMINED not to get sick this trip!

So first of all downstairs for the complimentary breaky at The Venetian and once fortified ...... The Strip.

Must pause here to tell you about poor Mr F and the stress he is experiencing with the attire ... no wait ... I should say the LACK of attire on the young girls here for the Music thingy. Last night in the Lifts batch of kooky gals literally had him looking at the roof the whole time but todays I am pretty sure he will have a cricked neck for a week.

I had to gently take his arm and lead him away as he continued to blink for about .... ohhhhh maybe 10 minutes?

The funniest thing is he literally SQUIRMS as he turns back to me after looking. He then blusters and blathers for a full 5 minutes and I just look at him with my Bland Face.

Can pretty much guarentee he treats me like a Precious Glass Princess for a few hours and I could probably ask for anything and get it.

*serene smile*

Not that I would ever take advantage of a situation like that ......... *another serene smile*

The interesting thing is that I honestly dont care what people wear or dont wear. Be who you are and do it well I say. Do NOT apoligise for being ... well you. What I dont get is when these girls who are wearing a G String ... yes a G String ....... with a fluffy midriff top and matching fluffy boots ........

*pause so you can digest that*  

... when those girls get upset when one of the boys has a grab or a feel. 

Honey ... you dont want to be grabbed? Probably be a better idea to wear underpants or ... maybe even shorts? Or Pants? Or skirt?

I have actually never seen people walk around with bare bottoms........

Mr Fab was ruminating on the possiblility that there was a Women Of The Night Annual Convention in Town?

Ok back to our Day. Headed first to The South Outlets as it is insane hot and it is all inside! BONUS!  I was pretty darn happy to find another Fossil Purse I love as much as my current one and Mr Fab wanted a new pair of Levi Jeans.

He found the perfect pair and they even fit his cute little legs so no taking up required! Again ... BONUS!

We walked past a shop selling T Shirts .... in vegas ..... *blink* and Mr Fab simply HAD to have this little one for his Granddaughter who will probably be the most indulged little girl on the planet.

How Fabulous is that????????

After the Outlets we decided to go to The Luxor and see the Titanic Exhibition. I have been fascinated by the story for many years so was very keen to see this. The cost of entry is $35.00 but we had our trusty nifty Vegas Coupon Book and I have no problems cutting out coupons. We saved $5.00 on each entry ticket so we had to pleased with that. The Exhibit is seriously AMAZING and incredibly sad. I found the smaller things like someones shoes or a pair of glasses were the most powerful. There is even a section of The Titanic which was raised from over 2 miles down and is on loan, along with all the other pieces, to The Luxor for 10 years. 

That section was powerful just in itself 

It appears that they will have to salvage as much as they can in the next 10 years because the seawater & corrosion will literally make this mighty ship dissapear.

There is still debris scattered for up to a mile across the ocean bed so the race is on to salvage as much as they can.

We saw The Staircase and I am here to tell you Fabsters that the ever wonderful Mr Fab is the only person on the planet who has not seen the movie so he just looked at it blankly as I tried to explain what a feature it was in the movie.

They gave us a Boarding Pass as we entered and at the very end you could check to see if you lived or died. Mr F in second class was dead but I lived and was a First Class Passenger.

There were so many stories and so much to see. Very enjoyable and I would recommend this in a heartbeat.

Probably not the best exhibition to visit when you are going on a cruise in 5 days?

Back to The Venetian for a rest and a coffee along with a White Chocolate Sugar Cookie the size of a dinner plate which I am pretty sure I passed out in sheer bliss after the first bite.

Once rested we decided to go have a look at The Canals and shops upstairs and it was seriously SERIOUSLY gobsmackingly fabulous!

Time for another coffee and a bit of a rest after another huge day. Tomorrow is The Mob Museum which we are both looking forward to.

Sleep tight Fabsters and remember ..........

Restore, Revamp & Stay Fabulous

Hello Fabulous Las Vegas ......... We have returned.

We love Vegas.  Just sayin .......

We set out early and stopped about halfway for some breaky and Gas. *lol I love saying Gas*. A homeless Chap approached Mr Fab and asked him if he could buy a cigarette. Mr Fab just handed him the half empty packet and said: 

" No mate you take them"

The chap just blinked at him and said he wanted to pay and Mr Fab said No way mate you just take them.

Every now and then he does these things and it makes me remember how seriously Fabulous he is so he will probably get a few days where I dont want to slap him silly.

A 6 hour drive to one of our favorite cities with a requisite stop at The Fabulous Sign. Simply cannot drive past and NOT stop now can we?????

We were here 2 years ago when we were married at The Bellagio ( You can check that out in our previous American Blog). We had a great time but both of us became very sick. Just the Flu but WOW what a Flu. This time prior to leaving we had Flu shots and I have been taking Horseradish and Garlic every day. So far so good and we both feel great.

This time we managed to get an AMAZING deal at The Venetian. Terrific price for 4 days and an American Breakfast included.

Ohhhhh yeah and thankyou very much.

We arrived about 4 pm and I had been telling Mr Fab about the $20 Tip Trick. I found it online and have done some research via Mr Google on how you do it and does it work.

The idea is to wrap a $20 bill around your credit card and inside your Passport as you hand it to the Check In person and ask in a polite voice:

" Do you have any complimentary Upgrades available please?"

The Clerk will then check to see if they can remove your Resort Fees or maybe a higher room with a view?

It apparently works 9 times out of ten.........

You will also apparently get your $20 back should there be no upgrades ... OR ...no upgrades and they keep the $20.

Did it work for us?

Well no. I said to Mr Fab we may well be the one in 10 it doesnt work with. It appears there is a convention in Town some Music thingy and the hotel is booked solid. We did get our $20 back.

We came up to the room after finding a Bell Hop as it was a full 7 minute walk to The Palazzo Tower from the desk.

So we put the keycard into the swish entry along the swisher corridor and opened the door of Room Number #9-833 .................

*blinkblinkblinkblinkblinkblinkblinkblink*

I have no words.........

*More Blinking.........*

*binking blinking*

*Still blinking*

Dear God Fabsters. Talk about luxury on top of luxury on top of luxury.

Mr Fab wants to try the Complimentry Upgrade thing again tomorrow when we go down to do some looking around. Bless him when he gets a bee in his bonnet..........

We have just ordered a pot of deliciously scrumptious coffee and a Juice to refresh and then down to have a bit of a walk and finding some food!!!!

Seriously???? Oh yeahhhhhhhhh

*swoonworthy*

Bloody hell people. I am impressed. I will update tomorrow on Mr Fab and his Bee in The Bonnet Getting an Upgrade.

We miss you and remember......

Revamp, Restore & Stay Fabulous

Midway

Hola and Gidday on this Gorgeous Californian morning that greets us as we wander down for the complimentary breaky at The Best Western American Inn San Diego right on the border of Mexico.

I was thinking this morning about the Light switches and toilets here and discovered it still takes time to get used to the fact it is all back to front. I was trying to turn the light on half asleep and again had to stop and actually think about the fact they turn on ... up.

It does my head in how the toilets flush upwards and not down like ours...... think about it Fabsters ... UP not down. So the water swirls UP toward you not down ........ UP people ....... UP.

I cant even discuss it .......

Back to our gorgeous Californian Day. We slept well after watching a bit of Spanish TV last night. I must have been vaguely sleepy because I decided to give Mr Fab a running translation on the Spanish language shows. I finished up on a roll I couldnt stop including inflections and hand movements....

We both ended up rolling about laughing in our fabulous huge queen seperate beds .....

Where was I? Oh yes ... Let our day begin and it was HUGE!!! Ok ok I will wait for you to go grab a refreshing beverage or a cuppa ......

*tapping*

Ready?

Set up our Sat Nav for our first destination .... The Midway. Mr Fab is serious excited and I am happy to wander along and take all the pictures and videos he requires. The bonus is it is insane stupid mesmerisingly interesting. Remember I have the attention span of a Gerbil so it must be pretty darn good to hold me.

Prior to starting our Tour we sat on a bench and I was pooed on by some bird or other. I remember reading somwhere it is good luck to be pooed on by a bird .......

My Bag was none the worse for wear and it only managed to land on my arm so I am thinking going to Vegas ..... ? Maybe Good Luck???? 

What do you think?

At least I can say I have been Pooed on in San Diego USA.

Back to The Midway.

It was really quite amazing and we ended up spending over 4 hours in total wandering around and looking at everything. Mr Fab saw the Flight Simulator Ride and I said :

Me: Do you want to try the Flight Simulator Ride?

Mr Fab: Nah.... no I dont want to ... noooo nahhhh ohhhhh welll maybe we could? ... naahhh no we wont.

I have been down this road so many times I just stood there till he eventually arrived at the :

Mr: Fab: OH HELL YES I WANT TO.

Me: *serene smile*

The cost of going through the Midway is $20 so I figured it was ok to spend $16 on The Flight Simulator.

So in we go and Mr Fab decides I am the Pilot and he is the Gunner. I thought it was a ride for goodness sake that you sit in and it does ridey type stuff all by itself but apparently YOU the PILOT control what happens in the bloody thing.

How did we discover this dear readers? 

When we were both upside down and screaming

Mr Fab & Me: WE HAVE TO STEER THE BLOODY THING 

Mr Fab: GEAR STICK GEAR STICK MOVE IT MOVE IT

Me: IS IT ME?????????

Mr Fab: YES ITS YOU MUNGBEAN MOOOOOOOOVE THE GEAR STICK

Me: *breathe breathe*

I finally got the hang of it and not soon enough as hanging upside down in a small box held in only by a harness is not something I want to repeat any time soon ....

I did not crash and managed to arrive back at the landing strip with only one minor tip to the side which made me feel vaguely queasy.

We then did the Island Tour which includes the Navigation, Chart Rooms and Bridge. That was super cool and very interesting.

I noticed as I was looking out one of the Portholes that they also have a statue in the Park across the way to commemorate The Kiss. You remember the one in Times Square?

We spent quite a bit of time out on the Flight Deck as Mr Fab was seriously fascinated. I sat on a bench and tried to NOT be listening to an old Navy chap discuss some stories from Vietnam with his Grandson. I was doing great till I laughed out loud at one of his funnier stories!

I took some pictures of some of the old working parts of The Ship. They may not really mean anything to anyone but I just think they were kinda cool to look at.

Last part was the quarters and Mess Deck. 

We took a drive down to The Gaslight Quarter then decided we would head out to Coronado.

Ohhhhh my. I really just wanted to go have a look because Mish had told me it was her home town and how much she loved it. I gotta tell you Fabsters ... I would live there in a heartbeat ......... I would need a cool 1.4 Million to buy one of the houses I fell in love with ..........  HOWEVER ...........Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh yeah ..........loved it. Dexter would be able to go with us everywhere as Dogs are encouraged here. You can sit and have a meal outside and have your dog with you on a lead. 

*Blissful sigh*

The houses and architecture are amazing and it has a real laid back small town feel. Think Amity in Jaws and that is what it looked like to us. That small American Town holiday kinda feel. We had a scrumptious meal at The Irish Pub ... and again we have to get used to the size of the meals as we ended up leaving heaps on our plates. Last time we simply went halves in most things as there was no waste!!!!

Executive Fabulous Family Decision made to go back to doing that.

A really enjoyable day all round. Mr Fab is in bed and snoring beside me as he is completely shattered. I have made another cuppa and think I might try and find some more Spanish TV shows I can amuse myself with.

Revamp, Restore & Stay Fabulous