On July 07, I ended my Amtrak Rail Pass journey with a 46 hour and 29 minute ride from Chicago to Miami.  I took a short travel break and booked a hotel for three days. Then, I headed to the Port of Miami for the first of two NCL cruises. My godson’s parents joined me, on the NCL Escape. For them, it was their first Norwegian Cruise Line experience. It was my 13th. Their cruise was just OK. My cruise was a nightmare. Go figure!

As the first cruise, at a new loyalty level, I was really looking forward to the trip. First, I always travel solo. On this particular cruise, I would have company and be able to show off “my” Norwegian. I was given a regular inside cabin with both beds pushed together as one. There was no extra fee. Norwegian eliminated single supplement fees years ago and newer ships offer Studio Staterooms with a separate lounge.

My room on the NCL Escape was a hot mess. It was located just off a side hallway, near the morning staging area for housekeeping staff. I entered the room and found the phone off the hook, with the headset turned sideways. Next, I spotted two clothing tags, under the bed. The room safe was locked. My last straw was the used toothbrush and bottle of mouthwash, in the closet. I called Guest Services.

Shortly afterwards, a supervisor knocked on the cabin door. He apologized and promised to personally clean my room each day. He then said he would send a bottle of champagne, for me and my godson’s parents. I never saw this man again. My room wasn’t cleaned and there were no bottles of champagne … for days! My laundry was also not picked up. This new NCL loyalty level absolutely sucked!

I decided to just stay onboard the NCL Escape for the full seven days. I didn’t purchase a thing. Once we arrived back to Miami, I was the first person off and through customs. I exited the terminal, crossed the street, and got into a taxi. I was at the Brightline train station nine minutes before an earlier train was scheduled to depart. I quickly changed my ticket, raced through screening, and made it to my seat.

I had to be aboard NCL Prima (my birthday cruise) by 4:00 pm. My Uber driver told me to stay at the Brightline station (rather than taking the tram to the Orlando Airport). My race to the ship was now officially starting. Turned out, I had nothing to worry about. I arrived at 2:00 pm. Once onboard, I waited for the all clear to enter my room, in the Solo Suite area of the ship.

When my big day came around, my cabin attendant decorated my room. I was also give a note to present at dinner. After the meal, a very large slice of “Happy Birthday” cake appeared. During the cruise, I attended the military veterans event and the reception for Latitudes Rewards members. Added to all that, this was my first Dinner with Officers.

In 2020, after being evacuated from Peace Corps Ethiopia, I signed up for Peace Corps Response. It’s a program for returned Peace Corps volunteers. You can serve as little as three months or the maximum of one year. I applied for a library position in Jamaica. Unfortunately, the start date kept changing, due to the pandemic. So, six years later, I was happy to finally arrive in Jamaica.

Seeing that this was my birthday cruise, I treated myself to a seven day pass in the Thermal Suite. It was the perfect way to spend turning 70. There was hardly ever anyone there and I was there morning, noon, and night. The thermal suite is quite large, with two pools, lots of sauna rooms, and a relaxation area with heated stone loungers, along with other chairs.

The highlight of my birthday cruise happened on the last full day. I finally left the spa long enough to discover the Indulge Food Hall. It’s a “food street” concept on the eighth floor. One of the stations was the Q Texas Smokehouse. It’s a specialty restaurant on the NCL Bliss. On Prima, I was able to get any four items for free! Hello fried okra!

Had I discovered the food stations earlier, NCL would have had to roll me off that ship. Fried okra and my own version of The Amazing Race, what a perfect way to turn 70 years old! XOXO —GGT