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There and Back Again: A Traveler’s Tales

Let me advise any and all of you who might be planning a trip to Disney (and planning to stay at a Disney resort) to avoid the All Star Sports at ALL costs. Between nasty unidentifiable stuff floating in the pool, backs missing off chairs, table tops not attached to the tables, the grassy and shrub areas being completely overgrown, puddles of nasty standing water EVERYWHERE even though it didn’t rain once the whole time we were there, having to wait longer in line for the bus back from Animal Kingdom then I did for any of the rides at Animal Kingdom (no, I’m not kidding)–this resort was absolutely not up to Disney standards. You can stay at the much newer Pop Century for the same price or pay a little extra and stay at one of the moderate resorts, which, trust me, is more than worth it.

Admittedly, the check-in process at the All Star Sports was quick and easy and the cast members we encountered were all friendly and what not; unfortunately this simply did not override the terrible appearance of this resort.

Not that this is quite comparable, but on my 2007 Contiki tour our bus broke down somewhere between Paris, France, and Lucerne, Switzerland. We were stuck for a couple of hours. It made an already very long bus ride that much longer. But what can you do, right? This situation was definitely frustrating, uncomfortable, and a waste of time…but shit happens. Pardon my language.

Per the article linked above, I can only imagine how awful days stuck on a boat without air conditioning, ways to cook food or keep refrigerated food from spoiling, etc. were. Especially during the period of time when the toilets weren’t working! But Carnival obviously tried. They allowed people to sleep on the decks. They had activities–live music, scavenger hunts, trivia contests. They offered free alcohol (although I’m not sure how much alcohol it would take to make me forget about the smell of rotting food, haha).

But what is more important to me is what they are doing for these guests once they arrive safely back in San Diego. Having dealt with the absolute hell that is Norwegian Cruise Line when I was a travel agent (a ship that lost the majority of its power on a Charleston/Bermuda cruise, leaving passengers without air conditioning and the ship without enough propulsion to get the guests to Bermuda on time to actually enjoy the island; also, NCL canceling all but one of the three ships they had in Hawaii and refusing practically any help or compensation for those guests booked who then had to re-book flights and end up with less than stellar rooms on a “similar” cruise), I sincerely applaud Carnival’s offer to these poor guests. Basically, not only are they getting a complete refund and help with getting back to their respective homes–but they are getting an entirely free future cruise as well!

On top of that, because the Splendor’s next cruise had to be canceled as well, Carnival is refunding those passengers–including airfare/transportation costs–and offering them 25% off a future cruise.

I’m sure there will be people  out there–notably the ones that got stuck on the Splendor in the first place, and the ones who have had their upcoming vacation canceled–who will stomp their feet and say that this is not enough. I may not be one of those people, but I respectfully disagree. According to the cruise contract these people signed, Carnival really doesn’t have to do anything. But they are doing something–at least what they should, and in my opinion more–and that’s what counts.

This is according to Travel + Leisure Magazine, but I couldn’t agree more

For some personalized Charleston info from yours truly, check out my blog about The Original Pub Tour of Charleston.

The view from a balcony outside our conference rooms...sigh.

I don’t think there’s any point in me describing the conference I attended. I would say that about 60% of it was helpful to my job; the other 40% of my time would have been better spent lounging by a pool somewhere (at least in my opinion). The Four Seasons is a beautiful hotel, of course, and the conference rooms were comfortable and stocked with plenty of ice water, mints, pads of paper and pens. The food that we had for lunch was delicious both days.

But let me tell you, it absolutely sucked knowing that I was in Vegas, just a few hundred feet from hot sun and cool pools and stocked bars and thousands of slot machines…but I was stuck in a conference. For over nine hours on Monday and for seven hours on Tuesday.

Although it was, admittedly, worth the “free” trip to Vegas ;o)

Dessert samplings from the Bellagio buffet...no wonder I ended up with a stomachache, right?

As for the rest of my free time–by the time I returned from the conference and got changed and freshened up on Monday, both Maria and I were ready for dinner. We had met some friendly gentleman (I’m completely serious) at the pool the day before who had suggested the Bellagio buffet. We arrived around quarter after seven and waited about a half hour to pay and be seated. Sucking up the $30 price tag was hard…but worth it in the end! The only other time I’ve eaten at a dinner buffet in Vegas and felt that I got my money’s worth was at the Rio, but Maria and I were both impressed with the Bellagio buffet. Amazing macaroni and

The usual awesome Bellagio fountains shot...

cheese cups, pretzel rolls, Kobe beef and a huge dessert buffet added up to one hell of a meal.

Unfortunately, my stomach does not take buffets very well. After catching a couple fountain shows in front of the Bellagio, I was forced to retire when we got back to the hotel (it was maybe 9:30 PM–I was not a Vegas champ that night).

The one good thing that came out of such an early night Monday night was that on Tuesday, I finally wasn’t tired! After a slightly shorter conference day, Maria and I grabbed some drinks, did some shopping, and had an okay-at-best dinner at BLT Burger in the

The amazing view from Ghostbar at the Palms

Mirage. Personally, although the food was decent it was so overpriced for the quality that I don’t see myself eating there again. Post dinner we had a couple hours of pre-gaming and getting ready time before our final big night out. Our names were on the lists at Ghostbar and Moon at the Palms, and I was highly impressed with both places. Ghostbar is more of a lounge, but the view was so spectacular that it simply isn’t to be missed. Moon was a big crowded but did have a great DJ that night. The only disappointment was that they closed a bit

Maria and I at Ghostbar on our last night

early, which caused us to catch a cab back to the Strip and hit up Rockhouse at Imperial Palace. This place reminded me of a regular old club here in Greenville, but hey–it was after 3 AM and we were still partying, so I’m not gonna hate ;o)

Thing is, between my four Vegas trips I’ve realized the following: I don’t know if I will EVER go back to a club on the Strip. The best times I’ve had in Vegas have been at off-Strip places–Ghostbar and Moon, of course, and Body English back in September ’08. The clubs on the Strip are too crowded, half the time you have to pay a cover (even as a girl), and the people are mainly hoochied-up 21-year-old girls and douchey men that are on the border of being too old to be drooling over said 21-year-old girls. Moon, on the other hand, had great music, and even though it got crowded the people all seemed in general less slutty and douchey than those that frequent the clubs on the Strip. Lesson seriously learned.

Unfortunately, as the hour got later Rockhouse got…well…a bit too ghetto. We left sometime close to 5 AM and made our way back to the Mirage for a wind-down drink at the bar–only to realize, not much later, that the sun had risen and we had to be at the airport in less than four hours.

Watching the sunrise through the dome over the Mirage lobby bar

Oops.

Still, how awesome to say that we stayed up ’til sunrise in Vegas?

Needless to say, I was tired and hungover when I arrived at the airport later that morning…and my luck, I have never seen the US Air desk at the Vegas airport such a mess! There was a huge line, half of the machines weren’t working, the girl I was in line for disappeared and I was left waiting for thirty minutes while people who had been 20 customers back in the line checked their bags and made their way to the gate…it did not make for a good final morning of my trip. In the end, I had to put my foot down and get a bit nasty with one of the agents in order to get my bag checked, and despite arriving at the airport nearly two hours before my flight they were starting to board when I arrived at the gate! What a nightmare.

Still, I wouldn’t let that ruin my trip! Just goes to show that when you’re flying out of a major airport like Vegas, there’s not really such a thing as being “too early” for your flight. And despite those issues, despite spending a third of my trip in a conference, even despite my stomach ache Monday night…I as usual had an amazing time in Sin City. Although I will say that four nights was a bit of overkill…I’ll continue to keep my Vegas trips to three nights from now on.

Obviously I didn’t pass it up, and here I am…a little more wise to what it’s like to travel to Vegas for a conference. Not that I didn’t have fun–I did. Probably too much fun.

Self-portrait taken at Tao...before we got super annoyed with having to do the "Vegas shuffle"

Because of the time change, despite the fact that registration for the conference began on a Sunday I got to fly out to Vegas on a Saturday. My friend Maria, who lives in San Diego, even met me there–and this was definitely a big part of why I had so much fun, because I can’t imagine it would have been such a blast had I been on my own. We spent our first evening eating at La Salsa (one of my favorite restaurants in Vegas–yes, I know it’s a chain, but the food is good, the margaritas are excellent, and the prices are decent), hanging out at the pool, and then going out to Tao at the Venetian. Which was…well, sort of a mistake. I’ve now been to four on-Strip clubs (Tryst, Pure, Jet, Tao) and three off-Strip clubs (Body English, Ghostbar, Moon), and the off-strip clubs are, on average, far superior…in my opinion. Of course Maria and I had fun at Tao, but the high cover charge coupled with average music, it being far too crowded, and the fact that any time we stopped dancing or walking for more than 30 seconds an employee approached us and told us to “move along” just didn’t make for one of my better nights out in Vegas.

At the Spice Market buffet at Planet Hollywood...look at all our champagne!

Sunday we spent the morning at the pool and then made our way out to have a champagne brunch. At Maria’s suggestion we decided on the one at the Paris–but when we arrived around 12:30 PM, there was a two hour wait! Even she said that wasn’t worth it. We went next door to the Spice Market buffet at Planet Hollywood instead. The wait was still about 45 minutes and the food was average at best, but we definitely drank our money’s worth of champagne

And then it was time for the work to begin. We grabbed a cab down to the Four Seasons and Maria waited in a sitting area while I went to register for the conference. I expected to give my name, get some information, and then have to sit in some sort of meeting for a while–but no! Instead, I gave my name, they handed me a packet of paperwork and said “see you tomorrow”! The whole process took about five minutes. So much for needing to be there on Sunday–not that I was complaining, because this gave me the rest of the afternoon/evening free. I collected Maria and we followed through with our plan to walk back to the Mirage, which would allow us to visit quite a few casinos on the way.

Self-explanatory.

But first–a stop in Mandalay Bay for drinks! Champagne, of course! And after pricing out a bottle at the first “lounge” I approached ($70???) I thought I’d have to give up on this idea…but then we walked by a regular old casino bar, and I decided to try one more time.

Yeah, that same bottle of champagne at this nameless, plain casino bar vs. at the lounge with the awful loud music playing and the stupid one-word name? Only $40. Sold!

So I had my bottle of champagne and we started walking. Our first stop was the Luxor, and we were accosted by an oxygen bar worker. We gave in and bought 20 minutes at the oxygen bar. To be completely honest…I’m not sure exactly how much good it did, but at the same time I’m glad I tried it

Maria and I enjoying the Oxygen Bar at the Luxor

From the Luxor, it was on to Excalibur, then New York New York, Monte Carlo, the new City Center complex, and finally the Bellagio.

My bottle of champagne made it all the way to the Bellagio!

Now, I like the Bellagio…but what happened there on this day completely turned me off. At this point, we’d been walking for…over an hour, at least. My feet hurt, I was hot, and my champagne was warm and the bottle nearly empty. We approached a casino bar, I set the bottle on the bar and sat down. There was one other person sitting at this bar. One. I waited for the bartender to approach, but as I opened my mouth to ask what kind of wine they had available he narrowed his eyes at me and told me that if we were to stay there, he needed to charge me a $35 corkage fee for my champagne!

Now, there are a dozen things I could or should have done–but again, I was hot and tired and yes, a little bit drunk. So instead of doing any of those things, I stood up, took my bottle, mouthed off about how I’d been planning on ordering something but never mind now, and walked away.

At this point we decided to high-tail it back to the hotel, where there was a chilled bottle of wine waiting in our room. We opened it up, poured ourselves cups of it, and headed down to the pool, where we stayed until it closed at 8 PM (which I do.not.get.–it was summer, it stayed light until after 9…just seems a bit ridiculous to force everyone to leave the pool so early).

Our final adventure for the day (because we were both exhausted, and I had to get up early the next morning for a long day at my conference) was dinner at California Pizza Kitchen in the Mirage…and my pear gorgonzola pizza was absolutely delicious!

I collapsed into bed by 10:30, full of yummy pizza, champagne and wine…and two awesome first days in Las Vegas.

To be continued…

The mirage-esque peak in the distance is the best view we got of Mt. McKinley, and I took this picture while we were driving to Denali.

The Great Room at the McKinley Princess is beautiful, and I can only imagine that it offers amazing views of the mountain. Unfortunately, we saw nothing of the sort–it started sprinkling when we were in Talkeetna, and by the time we arrived at the lodge it was downright pouring. We checked into our rooms and headed to the 20,320 Grill for food and drinks. The fare here was delicious, although I will say that it was quite a shock to have to pay for our meal (we’d gotten used to the cruise, what can I say?)! Once finished we went back to the Great Room and drowned our sorrows over the rain with Alaskan beers at the Grizzly Bar.

The next morning, as we prepared to board our bus to Denali, things were clearing up a bit…but we still only caught a brief glimpse of the base of Mt. McKinley before making our way to our next stop. Disappointing, yes, and to be completely honest if I’d known that only about 30% of the people who stop at the McKinley Princess really get to see the mountain, I probably wouldn’t have bothered spending the night here at all.

Look, it's 10:45 at night in Denali!

I slept through most of the two-ish hour bus ride to the Denali Princess Lodge, but I do know that our bus driver was informative and not overly so, which was nice. Thankfully, when we arrived at Denali the weather was clear. Clear, but cold. I don’t think it topped 35 degrees at any point that day! We participated in the Natural History tour of Denali and saw plenty of animals (although no bears or wolves or anything quite that interesting) and even went to the Music of Denali show. The food was average at best and the show itself was completely cheesy, so to be perfectly honest if this is the only night one were to spend at the Denali Princess I think a regular restaurant would suffice (considering the dinner show cost).

Steamboat in Fairbanks

The very next morning it was on to Fairbanks! We made a stop in the city to do some sightseeing…but there really isn’t much to see here. After this we were carted over to the river for a steamboat ride, which was definitely much more fun and interesting than walking around the city itself–we got to meet and converse with a woman who is training to run the Iditarod, as well as see some real sled dogs at work (pulling an engine-less ATV, in fact). Very cool.

Once the steamboat trip was through, we

It's midnight in Fairbanks!

were dropped off at our hotel–and this is where some things got severely, err, messed up. Princess had overbooked their Fairbanks lodge and therefore sloughed us off on another local hotel (the Wedgewood Resort), which didn’t really have the amenities that the Princess lodge offered. We walked a couple of blocks to the only restaurant nearby and had an average-at-best Italian dinner and drank away our woes with wine. Following that, most of our trip mates went to bed while a couple of us stayed up until the hotel bar closed, drinking Moosehead and waiting out the 20 hours and 1 second of daylight in Fairbanks.

Although we wanted nothing more than to leave the next day, our flight was later in the afternoon and we therefore lounged in our rooms until we got kicked out, ate a leisurely (but not exactly tasty) breakfast in the hotel’s restaurant, and then hung out in the lobby until they literally practically forced us to “go for a walk”. Seriously, a manager approached us and in no uncertain terms told us that they didn’t allow loitering and then gave us a couple of “options” for nearby “activities”. It apparently didn’t matter that we were waiting to leave for our flight–they did not want us in that lobby.

Needless to say, once we were through the Fairbanks airport and on our flight to Seattle we couldn’t wait to be somewhere that had actual nearby activities. We arrived late that evening and really only had time to catch the public bus from the airport to our hotel, the Renaissance Seattle. This hotel was in the business district and I wouldn’t call it extremely close or convenient to the sites, but it is a beautiful and comfortable place to stay.

They've got crabs! (yeah, I know, Ha. Ha.)

Upon our arrival in Seattle, we came back to the real world when we realized that the Red Sox were in town playing the Mariners! We knew that we couldn’t miss out on this and made plans to see the following night’s game after our day of sightseeing–and sightsee we did! We spent our morning at Pike Place Market (which was as amazing as I’d imagined), our afternoon exploring the Space Needle and surrounding area (although we didn’t go to the top, it seemed just a bit too pricey at the end of such a very long and expensive trip), walked through Pioneer Square (beautiful) that evening, and had dinner and beer at the Pyramid Brewery (yum) before heading across the street to watch the Red Sox lose to the Mariners (sad).

The next morning was an extremely early one, as we had a 6 AM flight back to the east coast. Still, our little taste of Seattle helped us end our trip on a high! Because when it was all said and done, I’m not really sure I was that impressed with our Princess CruiseTour. Don’t get me wrong, we had an awesome time–but considering the cost and what you get for that cost I wouldn’t be the first to say that “a Princess CruiseTour is the only way to see Alaska”.

At Pyramid Brewery, showing off my Curve Ball beer and my ticket to the Red Sox/Mariners game!