Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow

Well we got on the plane on time, and everything was looking good. Then the snow storm that was supposed to pass to the north of us hit. It came down so fast and with the freezing temperatures the snow froze on the plane.
So that was our take off delayed. The captain announced that we would have to taxi over to the de-icing pad. Turns out we were ninth in line, so with us all onboard the plane we waited three hours to be de-iced. Then it was up up and away for what turned out to be the fastest transatlantic fight I've ever done. New York JFK to London Heathrow in five hours forty minutes.
On landing we had to go to flight connections for the boarding cards for our rearranged internal flight to Manchester. Our transit through customs and immigration was ok up till I set the alarm of with my belt buckle. Then I almost had to strip down to my undies, while this prick of an immigration officer scanned me with his electronic wand, Maz had been stopped by him too, so that meant we were both in foul moods, lol.
Sheila and Sue both said that we should calm down and forget it, but these immigration pricks think they're God and really piss me off. Then again the girls are right and there's not much you can do about the immigration guys because they always have the upper hand.
Anyway despite that and the problems on the first part of the cruise, we really had a good time, and the second part of the cruise was one of the best we've ever had.

Better weather news!

The weather forecast is looking a little better for Sunday, the expected storm looks like it's going to pass further north, and most of it should miss New York.
So with a bit of luck there should be flights taking off.
I've been in touch with Louise just in case our flight is cancelled, and she's monitoring the situation for us.

Another invitation.

This cruise is full of firsts, yesterday when Sheila and I got back to the cabin, there was an invitation to dinner this time with the hotel director. That's one step down from the Captain.
Before this cruise we'd never had dinner with any of the senior officers. Now we've done it twice on one cruise. The meal was at the Captain's table with a number of other guests, and it was excellent. John Denton the hotel director was an excellent host and kept everyone entertained with his stories.
The meal started about 8.30 and didn't finish till turned 11pm, and in many ways it was better than the meal with the Captain. Not that the Captain's meal was bad because it wasn't it was great, but the meal with John Denton was much more relaxed.

Weather warning!!!

Well we're three days away from the end of the cruise and the weather reports from New York are very bad. There are thousands of flights being cancelled and there are more storms expected for the weekend.
I'm actually watching CNN at moment and they are reporting this as the coldest winter in twenty years.
So it's looking quite likely we'll have to make some arrangements for staying in New York for a few days. I just hope it's not at the airport. Just have to wait and see.

Samana, Dominican Republic.

Yesterday we were at Samana, in the Dominican Republic. We tendered in which I always enjoy, but I'm afraid there's not much of interest there, just the usual trinket stalls along the sea front and a couple of rundown bars.
But the weather was beautiful so we had an enjoyable stroll. I spoke to Eric and Doreen, later and they had done a local tour and they said there was not much of interest to see.

It's all Mr England's fault

God I feel rough this morning. It's all the fault of the concierge barman, by the name of Clive England.
We met him about 4 years ago on the independence and he's from Jamaica and is one of the best barmen we've come across on the cruise ships.
Then again it's not all his fault, as after we finished on the concierge, we all went up for a bite to eat in the Windjammer, then some bright spark suggested we all go back to Jim and Eva's suite for a few more drinks, as we all had spare bottles of wine left.
So that is why I feel like this, but I'm still blaming Clive for starting it all with his great service, lol.

Always a silver lining

The two nights in the hotel were, good, after a typical rccl start with no proper information about how we were to finance our meals etc. Eventually we were told to keep all receipts and submit them to the Miami office. Which is ok but the cruise line really should have supplied the finance up front rather than us having to spend our own money then claim it back. Anyway that aside the stay in the hotel was good it is a typical New York style hotel, with comfortable of a tad small rooms.
We all actually had a brilliant time in NYC. Once again Mazens son, Aiman showed us around. He took us to another brilliant restaurant, this one was in mid town Manhattan, called Hill Country.
A very busy and unusual restaurant, where you order your meat by weight and eat out of the paper it's wrapped in, I know that doesn't sound that good but it's actually brilliant and the food is amazing and the atmosphere is electric.
So what started out as a disappointment with the cruise being cancelled, ended up being a great couple of days in New York.