Ireland Cruise: Less Than 30 Days To Go

We are now well under the 30-day mark and have officially checked in for our upcoming cruise.  You know what that means?  I must continue to wait.  

Whomp:Whomp  

The hardest part is the amount of workdays that stand in the way of vacation.  I’ll have to find creative ways to pass the time.

 

The excursions have been booked and plans pre- and post-cruise have been mapped out.  We recently booked a table for Afternoon Tea at Brigit’s Bakery in London for the day we arrive.  We had to shuffle our museum plans since we don’t feel we will have enough time after we make our way from the airport to the hotel via the Underground.  Instead of feeling rushed, we will hang around London and take in some sights.  I’ve wanted to experience high tea and looked at where/when we might be able to squeeze it in.  Brigit’s Bakery runs a double decker bus tour with afternoon tea which sounded enticing.  Instead, I like the flexibility of going to the bakery and we get to drink out of real teacups.  It will be so much fun. 

 

The bakery is in the Covenant Garden theatre district.  I’ve been toying want to see Choir of Man again since I caught their show on NCL Encore when we cruised to Alaska with my parents.  I still enjoy listening to the soundtrack and have such fond memories of the show.  I consulted with The Hubs, and we booked the show.  I figure I’m going to be attending plenty of museums with him he an endure one night of theater.  Who knows, maybe he will like it too.

 

I am looking forward to cruising NCL Star, a smaller ship with from a complex layout than newer ships.  The atrium is what excites me the most.  It is beautiful!

We have reservations at three specialty dining venues.  First up is Cagney’s Steakhouse, my favorite.  This cruise will also try the Italian restaurant, La Cucina, and the French restaurant, Le Bistro.  These dining venues have been offered on our other cruises and I am excited to try them.  The included restaurant, O’Sheehan’s Bar & Grill is always a good place to eat and open 24 hours.  I’ve been chatting with several members I’ve met on the Facebook group so I suspect we will have some gatherings here. 

You know I have the drink package and I am all about the bars & lounges!  There is a Sugarcane Mojito Bar on board, which we tried on NCL Encore.  This one is smaller, with reduced hours, and not as easy to get to as the bigger ships but I am excited to enjoy their delicious mojitos again.   The other bar I am looking forward to visiting is Proof Whiskey Bar, which I suspect will be like the other whiskey bars on other ships with a different name.  Oh boy.  When we sailed on NCL Sun, my first time with the drink package, I love every drink I tried at the Windjammer.  I expect to frequent Spike H2O as some of the Facebook group members also enjoy that area.  The one place I have not tried is the Gatsby’s Champagne Bar so I might have to put that on my list this cruise and see what drinks they have to offer.

The smaller ships do not have much for entertainment so I am not sure what all might pique our interest.  At this point we have reserved an 8:30pm dining time and we are in port for almost 12 hours each day.  The purpose behind late dining is to hopefully make it some of the theme nights on board.  It always feels so late and usually I’m too tired.  We have plans to check out the Bliss Ultra Lounge for music and dancing a few nights too.

I mean really, we will be on vacation so there is never a bad day on vacation!