Happy National Margarita Day – Belated

According to most Spanish-to-English dictionaries, “Cinco de Mayo” roughly translates to “Who offers a crap about Keith’s birthday?” The holiday officially commemorates the victory of the Mexican army over French forces in the 1862 Battle of Puebla on (you guessed it) the 5th of May! If you want your birthday back, Keith, the best place to live would be Mexico, since Cinco de Mayo may be the only national holiday that is observed when people of an entirely different nation choose to go to ChiChi’s instead of Applebees for happy hour. Also known as “Mexican Independence Day” by drunk Americans who are wrong, this holiday is about as significant to Mexican culture as the human race is to the universe at large. While Mexico’s Independence Day is one of that country’s biggest national holidays, Cinco De Mayo exists primarily so that Americans can finish the barroom fistfights that got broken up by the police on St Patrick’s Day. In fact, there’s a good chance that more people in Mexico celebrate “Some Dude Named Keith’s Birthday” on May 5th than they do Cinco de Mayo. If you’re going to stay in America, Keith, you’d better get used to celebrating your birthday by drinking watered down margaritas until the ghosts of those brave Mexican soldiers of 1862 appear before you and say, “Gracias, Gringo, for sharing your birthday with the respectful recognition of our brave victory, and double-gracias for wearing that plastic novelty sombrero you threw up in earlier.” Feliz Cumpleanos, Keith.

Perfect cruise. Wish I was going with you. Key West-I would just walk around and see the town. It’s rather quaint and the excursions there seem to be very expensive. But if you have money, I might take a tour excursion there but the town itself is so cute with hundreds of stores so you might just wander around.

Buy a pie and some limeade, eat some cronch fritters, walk the dock. They have tons of street vendors–selling pictures, painted christmas ornaments, performing acrobats and magicians. If you can, get a seat for the sunset. You can either be in a big group right on the pier or you can go back on your ship and have a drink, but Key West sunsets are amazing.

Cozumel is my favorite cruise destination. I could spend a week there. If you bring snorkel stuff with you, take a cab to the National Park. It’s called Chankanaab National Park. It’s just a few miles away from the port and has some of the best snorkeling on the isle. I took a shore excursion to the park (my husband left his snorkel stuff at home) and we did a clear bottom kayaking and snorkel tour, then had a margarita. thought it was the best shore excursion and had chairs right on the shoreline. it looked just like the Corona commercials.

Belize is a very poor area and if you can only afford to go on one shore excursion do it here. Near the port is like a flea market, and nothing much else. The area is so poor they swarm you when you get off the boat. I took a shore excursion to the Xunantunich Mayan Ruins. They are the best preserved Mayan ruins so if you are going to see any of them, see these. It took the whole day to do it, as its on the border overlooking Guatemala and Honduras. But it was awesome.

Advice on what to bring: lots of one dollar bills. if you buy anything from Belize, it will be cheap and they won’t have change. Bring something with sleeves since you may get burned at the ruins (no shade). Underwater camera of course for snorkeling. Go to the art auction. Wait til the last day to go to the ship spa as often you can get good deals. Go to all the buffets and try to eat at more than just the dining room and Lido deck (there are probably 20 places to eat on the ship and I never make it to more than just the Lido deck for lunch). Is it your first cruise or just your first cruise to Western Caribbean? Email me if you have any questions on what to bring.

No real advice, just enjoy yourself. Relax. Tour the ship first thing. Book your shore excursions first thing or online. During those first few hours (if you can board at noon, between noon and 2), a lot of the best shore excursions will fill up so if there is a great one that you are really into book it first. You can always book other ones later if you want. Never be late–the ship will leave you.

I love this cruise and you will have a blast. Happy Cruising!

Hey. Jamaica is beautiful. Things to try:
1. Climb Blue Mountain; Reich Falls;Eat Jerk Pork (Portland)
2. Climb Dunns River Falls (St. Ann)
3. Caribbean Surfing Competition- July 6-18 (Yallahs, St. Thomas)
4. Paul Bogle Statue- National Hero (St.Thomas)
5. Bob Marley Museum (Kingston)
6. Art: Barrignton Watson Museum; Institute Of Jamaica (Kingston)
7. Food: Cuddies(New Kingston)Shellfish-Hellshire, St,Catherine)
8. Swim with Dolphins (Dolphins Cove- Montego Bay)
9. Doctor’s Cave(Montego Bay) Green Grotto Cave (St. Ann)
10. Raving: Margarita Ville (Montego Bay); The Quad (New Kingston)
11. 5 Star Hotels: Holiday Inn; Half Moon (Montego Bay)

Shows
http://www.lasvegasadvisor.com/shows.cfm

Nightlife
http://www.lasvegasadvisor.com/part.cfm

Restaurnats & Buffets
http://www.lasvegasadvisor.com/eat.cfm

Activities & Attractions
http://www.vegas.com/attractions
http://www.lasvegasadvisor.com/activities.cfm

Public transportation – this one can save you a small fortune if you learn which to use and when. > especially the free hotel shuttles.
http://www.lasvegasadvisor.com/transportation.cfm

The best shows – IMO
Mystere – Treasure Island
“Ka” – MGM
“O” – Bellagio

Best inexpensive shows
Mac King – Harrah’s
Dirk Arthur – Tropicana

Best Shopping
Forum Shops at Caesars Palace >far and away the best
Miracle Mile – Planet Hollywood
Grand Canal Shoppes – Venetian
Fashion Show Mall

Bargain Shopping
Premium Outlet Mall – I-15 & Charleston
Primm Outlet Mall >free tours

Best of the free spectacles
Fountains of Bellagio
Fremont Street Experience
Masquerade Show in the Sky – Rio
Volcano/White Tigers – Mirage
Lion Habitat – MGM

Awesome view
Top of the Stratosphere Tower – Just before & after sunset
Top of the Eiffel Tower

Must see hotel/casino – in order
Caesars Palace
Venetian
Luxor
Bellagio
Wynn

Best “value” buffets
Main Street Station – L,D
Boulder Station – B,L,D
Orleans – L,D
Palace Station – B,L,D
Fremont Seafood Buffet – Sun/Tue/Fri
Fiesta Henderson – L
LV Hilton – D

Best buffets – Money no option
Sterling Brunch – Bally’s
Champaigne Brunch – Circus Circus
Bellagio – D
Wynn – D
Paris – B

My fav restaurants – for value
Pullman Grille – Main Street Station
Prime Rib Loft – Orleans
The Range – Harrah’s
Billy Bob’s – Sam’s Town

Fav brew pub
Triple 7 – Main Street Station – the $7 prime rib dinner(served after 4pm) is a heck of a deal >It says 8oz on the menu, don’t believe it, this is a huge piece of excellent prime rib. I eat this one all the time. Don’t order the “large” unless you’re an NFL lineman or have the appetite of one lol – $1 16 oz house brews after midnight

Best sports book – & it’s not even close
LV Hilton

Best place for inexpensive drinks
Casino Royale – $1 margaritas & Michelob
Slots-A-Fun – $1.25 primium beer & 1/2lb hot dogs

Best “low roller” gambling
for little nicke(.05c) video poker – The Las Vegas Hilton, 27 9/6 JOB machines in their sports book – 36 or so at the quarter level

Craps – Casino Royale – $3 with 20x odds or $5 with 100x odds >The Westin Casuarina has happy hour from 5p-10p on weekdays, and you can play craps for $1. This one is within easy walking distance, of the strip(East on Flamingo).

A nice place to play low limit table games is the Orleans –

Day trip
Grand Canyon – long day
Mt. Charleston – Toiyabe National Forest – only 35 miles North of LV –

That should keep you busy for a day or two.

~Jack~

According to most Spanish-to-English dictionaries, “Cinco de Mayo” roughly translates to “Who offers a crap about Keith’s birthday?” The holiday officially commemorates the victory of the Mexican army over French forces in the 1862 Battle of Puebla on (you guessed it) the 5th of May! If you want your birthday back, Keith, the best place to live would be Mexico, since Cinco de Mayo may be the only national holiday that is observed when people of an entirely different nation choose to go to ChiChi’s instead of Applebees for happy hour. Also known as “Mexican Independence Day” by drunk Americans who are wrong, this holiday is about as significant to Mexican culture as the human race is to the universe at large. While Mexico’s Independence Day is one of that country’s biggest national holidays, Cinco De Mayo exists primarily so that Americans can finish the barroom fistfights that got broken up by the police on St Patrick’s Day. In fact, there’s a good chance that more people in Mexico celebrate “Some Dude Named Keith’s Birthday” on May 5th than they do Cinco de Mayo. If you’re going to stay in America, Keith, you’d better get used to celebrating your birthday by drinking watered down margaritas until the ghosts of those brave Mexican soldiers of 1862 appear before you and say, “Gracias, Gringo, for sharing your birthday with the respectful recognition of our brave victory, and double-gracias for wearing that plastic novelty sombrero you threw up in earlier.” Feliz Cumpleanos, Keith.

If you are up to trying local foods… I will start with three beverages. One is a beer called Cusquena… it is like the bud light of Peru. The second is a Pisco Sour, which is a source of national pride. The drink is made of a liquor made in Peru along with other ingredients and could be compared to a margarita. They will be offered to you everywhere. Also… you must try Matte De Coca Hot Tea. It is a fantastic cure for altitude sickness and will be routinely offered to you if you are traveling to the highlands like Maccu Piccu or Cuzco. A common Peruvian dish is Guinea Pig. It is called Cuy. I am an American that lived in Peru for a while, and it took me a while to build up the nerve to eat it. To this day, Cuy continues to be a major part of the diet in Peru and Bolivia, particularly in the Andes Mountains highlands, where they are an important source of protein and a mainstay of Andean folk medicine. Hope this helps. I would be happy to answer any other questions.

Perfect cruise. Wish I was going with you. Key West-I would just walk around and see the town. It’s rather quaint and the excursions there seem to be very expensive. But if you have money, I might take a tour excursion there but the town itself is so cute with hundreds of stores so you might just wander around.

Buy a pie and some limeade, eat some cronch fritters, walk the dock. They have tons of street vendors–selling pictures, painted christmas ornaments, performing acrobats and magicians. If you can, get a seat for the sunset. You can either be in a big group right on the pier or you can go back on your ship and have a drink, but Key West sunsets are amazing.

Cozumel is my favorite cruise destination. I could spend a week there. If you bring snorkel stuff with you, take a cab to the National Park. It’s called Chankanaab National Park. It’s just a few miles away from the port and has some of the best snorkeling on the isle. I took a shore excursion to the park (my husband left his snorkel stuff at home) and we did a clear bottom kayaking and snorkel tour, then had a margarita. thought it was the best shore excursion and had chairs right on the shoreline. it looked just like the Corona commercials.

Belize is a very poor area and if you can only afford to go on one shore excursion do it here. Near the port is like a flea market, and nothing much else. The area is so poor they swarm you when you get off the boat. I took a shore excursion to the Xunantunich Mayan Ruins. They are the best preserved Mayan ruins so if you are going to see any of them, see these. It took the whole day to do it, as its on the border overlooking Guatemala and Honduras. But it was awesome.

Advice on what to bring: lots of one dollar bills. if you buy anything from Belize, it will be cheap and they won’t have change. Bring something with sleeves since you may get burned at the ruins (no shade). Underwater camera of course for snorkeling. Go to the art auction. Wait til the last day to go to the ship spa as often you can get good deals. Go to all the buffets and try to eat at more than just the dining room and Lido deck (there are probably 20 places to eat on the ship and I never make it to more than just the Lido deck for lunch). Is it your first cruise or just your first cruise to Western Caribbean? Email me if you have any questions on what to bring.

No real advice, just enjoy yourself. Relax. Tour the ship first thing. Book your shore excursions first thing or online. During those first few hours (if you can board at noon, between noon and 2), a lot of the best shore excursions will fill up so if there is a great one that you are really into book it first. You can always book other ones later if you want. Never be late–the ship will leave you.

I love this cruise and you will have a blast. Happy Cruising!