I wore my festive Christmas pul over as the usual car service dropped us off at SMF for our flight to Las Vegas.
My mom, Joy, and I are getting a quick drink and snack at the Escape Lounge before our flight to Las Vegas.
I am Executive Elite with National so they had this nice Genesis SUV waiting for us. Since I had a lot of Emerald Club points, I booked a luxury SUV for the time in Vegas.
The next day, we got some Crumbl for Santa before going over to my brother's house. I had a custom note made out also from my nephew.
Speaking of cookie, my nephew loved the Starbucks Snowman cookies we got him too. We loaded him up on sugar those few days during the holidays. LOL.
We let my nephew open one of the gifts on Christmas Eve which is a tradition in our family.
Joy and I are taking a selfie with Aakash here. We had the TSO "Ghosts of Christmas Past" streaming in the background since Joy and I saw them live right after Thanksgiving.
That was the view from our Stay Well room at the Park MGM. I used our new Chase Sapphire Reserve "Edit Hotel Collection" credit for this stay. Our stay was almost free, and we got a $100 dining credit too.
Joy and I headed over to Cosmopolitan via the tram from Park MGM for Christmas Eve Dinner. We are posng by their Christmas tree at Cosmo here.
We enjoyed Christmas Eve dinner at Beauty & Essex at the Cosmopolitan. The outside looks like a pawn shop entrance.
Beauty & Essex is like a speakeasy where the restaurant is disguised behind the "pawn shop."
I got that new velvet dinner jacket recently. Both of us look great! Merry Christmas Eve!
I started off with a $60 pour of Blantons. Vegas is pricey!
The yellowtail crudo and won ton poke was a delicious start to dinner.
These Yuzu lobster roll appetizers were so good also. I got the $15 white Sturgeon cavair supplement on top of mine.
Our waiter recommended the Thai chili prawns also.
I got their beef wellington for my entree. Beef Wellington is one of my favorite dishes.
Dessert was amazing! Every part of these "cherries" were edible including the chocolate stem! The dish is called the Black Forest Cherries.
Dinner was just under $500. That is not bad for Vegas on Christmas Eve!
We drove out to my brother's place bright and early on Christmas morning. The Genesis has good semi-autonomous driving. I was comparing it to the system we have on our Volvo.
I saw my nephew had The Grinch cereal so I tried it on Christmas. The name says it all! It was not good! LOL.
Santa left a nice note and an iPad for my nephew! I guess Crumbl does the trick all the time to get nice gifts!
We got Aakash a lot of gifts, but his main gifts were large amounts of Amazon gift cards. He used them for accessories for his new iPad including the Apple Pencil.
I found a Lego Mario that he did not have so I got him this also.
The tree at the Reserve lobby of the Park MGM looked really cool.
We got a drink at the Alibi Cocktail Lounge at Aria since my brother was running late to Christmas dinner at Din Tai Fung.
The Alibi Cocktail Lounge is a fun place to grab drinks at chill. They had some football on too since there were three NFL games on Christmas.
Cheers & Merry Christmas! I got a the Taiwanese whiskey, Kavlan. My mom is happy at Din Tai Fung!
My nephew likes Din Tai Fung.
His aunt, Joy, also likes Din Tai Fung!
Uncle Anirban also loves Din Tai Fung!
After dinner, we strolled around Aria a little. There is a high end Indian restaurant from the UK called Gymkhana which just opened up and had a cool vintage Rolls Royce outside the restaurant.
Aria had a cool ski gondola theme for their lobby.
We had brunch at the Primrose at Park MGM the next day. I kept thinking about that character Primerose Aberdeen from Hunger Games everytime we walked by this place. LOL.
Another gift my nephew got was a 3D printer so he made me a Trump coin.
Joy and I had dinner with my buddy, Patrick, at Lawry's The Prime Rib on the 26th.
Joy got pictures of the large cut of prime rib that was carved tableside for her grandfather who is 103 and loves steak!
I got a smaller cut for my prime rib since we were heading out for our cruise. So, I needed to watch my calories for the next week! LOL.
On our way to Ft. Lauderdale, we had a layover at Houston Hobby. I had an hour of gaming perks and a snack for each of us at the Gameaway Lounge with Priority Pass.
I played Madden 26 on the Xbox One. Cowboys WR Pickens just scored here. LOL. I won two out of three fantasy football leagues this year! One of my winning teams was called "Don't Pick On Pickens."
I got some delicious BBQ at Killen's BBQ at the airport.
I also had use of the massage chair through Priority Pass at Houston Hobby Airport.
We had a nice date night in Dania Beach at Billy's Stone Crab, which is fine dining on the water.
The waiter gave us great service! He even smoked my old fashioned. I like how attentive the wait staff are in states where they rely on tips.
We enjoyed our chilled seafood appetizer which included stone crab claws, lobster, oysters, and shrimp!
My fresh fish dish with shrimp was so good! The fish was stuffed with crab also.
I am not a big key lime pie guy, but the one at Billy's was amazing!
The Christmas decorations at Billy's were beautiful.
We stayed at the Hotel Dello in Dania Beach the night before our cruise. It is a Hilton Tapestry collection property.
We walked down the street from our hotel to find a great coffee shop called Papa's to get my iced Americano.
This was the view of the back of our ship, the Majestic Princess and some other cruise ships in port as we embarked on the ship.
We went up to Lido Deck after getting on board since that is where they had a lot of the restaurants and also pools.
We enjoyed lunch on the ship after we got on board. Our packaged included alcohol, premium desserts, WIFI, sodas, and bottled water too.
Here is my shrimp starter for lunch. Princess is known for the quality of their food as well as the presentation.
I enjoyed my sliced beef tenderloin.
At 1:00, we were allowed into our staterooms. We had a nice balcony stateroom.
Here is a nice selfie on us on the balcony in our state room. A lot of cruises departed that day from Port Everglades.
Our shore excursion tickets were waiting too in our cabin for us.
Room service was included in our package too!
I can get used to this!
We explored the ship after lunch. The atrium still had holiday decorations.
Here is a view of the Lido deck from the higher deck. There was an indoor pool also on the large ship.
We each got two Princess Premium desserts like these loaded sundaes every day of our cruise with our Plus Package.
These sundaes are available in the buffet area. We tried two of the seven that first time!
Here is us getting some sun on the deck and walking off our calories too!
I think we need a Aperol Spritz next! We could get up to fifteen alcoholic drinks each per day with our package.
Cheers!
The Sail Away party was led by the Majestic Princess show cast.
Joy is ready to party at the Sail Away party!
I think I need a drink while I watch football in the cabin! LOL!
Nothing like having alcohol delivered to the room while one watches football!
We had a beautiful view of the sunset from our balcony as we were leaving the Miami area.
We had a set dinner reservation time each night in one of the dining rooms. Our wait staff stayed the same too so they got to know us! The head waitress was from South Africa.
I started with a ceviche and a shrimp cocktail. Also, I watched my scotch or whiskey as well as bottled water and Sprite Zero too.
I asked for sorbet to cleanse my pallet before the main course.
The salmon was decent. I decided to be healthy that first night. LOL.
The desserts were amazing on the ship!
When we were walking around dinner, we saw the cool Gingerbread House display.
I got another Princess Premium sundae after dinner too! Why not! We are on vacation! I also had a lighter dinner with that salmon!
We went to the James Bond Trivia that night. The ship had a lot of Bond related stuff which was cool.
We got some snacks at the 24 hour cafe also that night including a chicken pot pie that was delicious and a slice of one of the premium cakes that was included in our package too!
I liked the mimosa and Bloody Mary bar in the lower deck of the atrium. The drinks were free for us of course.
We are on the deck that has the mini golf course here.
I like watching the wake on these large cruise ships.
The Gulf Of America was beautiful on this trip! People took advantage of the weather on the lounge chairs.
They had pickleball courts too on the ship, but they were booked up pretty fast.
I asked Joy to ordered me a Carajillo when I was working out in the fitness center.
Our package also included two specialty casual meals per person so we decided to do the Ocean Terrace Sushi Bar. This is normally an additional charge.
The sushi was not bad!
We got a lot of desserts to try at the buffet after lunch. Of course, we got another premium sundae!
In the mid afternoon, I tried Alfredo's Slice which is the pizzeria on the Lido Deck. Their pizza was delicious!
We also got a drink at Bellini's bar too in the atrium. I think this was Illegal Mezcal, but who knows! The drinks kept flowing that whole trip!
This was us all dressed up for the formal night.
There is the Captain of the ship, Gavin, with us on the formal night after we got the champagne fountain started.
People could take turns pouring champagne on the fountain in the atrium.
I liked having the WIFI plan included in our package too since I could monitor my fantasy football championship games. Also, I was able to talk to my friends over text too.
We treated myself to MaCallan 18 Enigma before dinner. For a small upcharge, we could get the premium liquors not in our package.
Our waitress remembered I asked for Stevia the first night for my decaf cappucino so she found some for me at the coffee shop inside the buffet and brought it for me. We tipped her extra!
This was my appetizer for the formal night dinner. It was a seafood medley.
My sorbet course was served after my starters.
The beef wellington was delicious!
Dessert was delicious again! Our waitress put the cream inside the souffle for me.
They had a musical show that night which was a tribute to Mo Town Classics.
We enjoyed the show a lot!
Tuesday was our first port day. We went to the buffet for breakfast before disembarking in Roatan. The pancakes made to order were great.
This is us on the top deck taking in views of the lush tropical island of Roatan as we entered Mahogany Bay, which is where Carnival and Princess cruises dock.
We were greeted by some traditonal island beats. The island was settled by ex slaves from Grand Cayman and other islands so there are lots of African roots on the island.
Roatan is the largest of the Bay Islands of Honduras.
As we made our way around the island, I could tell it was not very developed like I assume Honduras is too. Lots of outdoor shops like these were seen.
The island got its power from one diesel power plant, but they built this large solar plant too since the island has random brown outs. I think they should have built another fossil fuel power plant since they are more reliable!
Our first stop on the excursion we booked was a chocolate factory. Honduras is known for both chocolate and coffee. This lady is making ice cream bars dipped in chocolate!
The chocolate was delicious! I liked the coconut ones.
Our next stop was a West End village where we boarded a semi-submerged boat to see the famous coral reefs of Roatan.
The West End beaches were beautiful!
There were lots of fish by the coral reefs. Roatan is part of the world's second largest barrier reef system that starts up by Belize.
Not a bad place to grab some tacos and take in that beautiful view! The weather was great when we were there.
This was the other side of the island near the capital of Coxen Hole.
We got some fresh coconut water near Coxen Hole.
That was our ship in port with the people on the gondolas going over the bay to the beach area. Joy was too afraid to try that.
There was a sunken ship in Mahagony Bay. In the distance, there were some wind mills too. Once again, I think fossil fuels are more reliable!
That is the beach area at Mahogany Bay at dusk as we were getting ready to depart.
On the other side of the bay one can see the international airport.
The nightly fountain show on the Lido Deck was really good as it was set to music. That night they did a James Bond themes tribute for the show!
The dinner theme was Italian that night. One of the dining room staff is cooking up some delicious pasta appetizer for us here.
The dessert was delicious. I got the tiramisu.
They had a 80s Night party after we took off from Roatan. The live band performed some great music for us.
Once we got to Belize the next day, we were taken off the ship by tender since the ship does not dock in the port in Belize City since the waters are not deep enough.
I got that picture of the Belize sign from the tour bus once we got on our excursion to the Altun Ha Mayan Ruins.
We passed by this shop in Belize City as we left for the ruins. Belikin is the national beer of Belize. I tried it when I was there last time.
We saw lots of iguanas in the mangroves as we headed out of Belize City.
Here are some homes in the villages of Belize. The houses are built higher up to avoid floods and snakes too. All residents of Belize are eligible for land for free from the government to build a house.
Altun Ha is one of a few Mayan cities preserved in Belize. I visited Lamanai last time I was in Belize.
The tourists can climb the pyramids at Altun Ha unlike other Mayan sites.
Here is a nice view of the ruins from higher ground.
We are climbing a smaller pyramid here at Altun Ha.
Here is a nice view from that pyramid that we climbed.
We climbed the taller pyramid also. That was a lot of work!
This is the view from the taller pyramid that we climbed!
We had a local Belizean style lunch after touring Altun Ha nearby at this tropical paradise.
Here is the Belize sign at the port in Belize City.
I got a fresh coconut in Belize City too at the port.
Our ship is anchored in the open sea here in the distance as we headed back on the tender.
There are lots of mangrove islands in Belize. Belize is not really known for beaches.
This is the indoor pool on the ship. I used the hot tub here after we got back from our excursion and had a Blue Hawaiian. LOL.
I started off New Year's Eve with some Macklowe Kentucky Gold whiskey which was a premium upgrade.
We enjoyed the live music at the Crown Bar after I got my premium whiskey. They were playing James Bond themes!
Joy and I are ready to party and bring in 2026, but first we had to go to dinner!
That was the New Year's Eve Dinner menu!
I started off my NYE dinner with lobster bisque.
I got a crab cake next. Yes, we only drank bottled water on the cruise. Joy and I do not trust tap water anywhere even at home!
I got the filet mignon and lobster tail surf and turf for dinner. On the side is a 12 year old scotch too!
The Baked Alaska was delicious!
We got party favors after dinner.
They had a nice countdown on the Lido Deck with a DJ.
Happy New Year!
We continued the party on the lower deck of the atrium after the countdown!
We went on an excursion through Viator in Cozumel the next day. I had to get another fresh coconut after spotting this stand on our tour.
One of our stops was at the Mayan Experience which was a short show with music and fire dancing.
The guy ate fire. Crazy!
Of course, they had tequila tasting there too since they want to sell us gringos their local tequila.
We checked out some of the great beaches on the eastern side of the island also on the excursion.
The waters were amazing!
Cozumel is in the Caribbean also.
I could not resist writing Trump 2028 on Mexican sand! LOL. The Monroe Doctrine gives us authority to intervene in Mexico too!
The San Martin Beach was very nice as well.
I love the white sand beaches with the teal waters of the Caribbean! The water was warm!
They drove us around the island in that Lincoln Navigator for our excursion.
We enjoyed a delicious Mexican seafood lunch on our excursion too right by the beach. I got the fish fajitas.
That is a coati which is like a raccoon. It was wondering around the restaurant but was harmless.
We were taken to a private beach club after lunch to enjoy some more time in that warm Caribbean water.
The views were amazing from my lounge chair!
That was my view!
That is our ship in port at the Costa Maya Cruise Terminal in Cozumel.
Our wait staff had our usual beverages waiting for us again at the table for dinner.
That was my starter. It was pretty good.
I tried the Indian meal that night, but I got some grilled chicken on the side also.
I got some Illegal Mezcal when I got back on the ship before dinner since we were in Mexico after all. What the heck! I got a scotch too!
They had a juggler that night in the show room.
Joy and I had a spin class on our last Sea Day. Our package included two fitness classes.
I worked out in the gym again after the spin class like I did every day on our cruise. The view was amazing.
My reward for burning all those calories was a carajillo again!
We went to the buffet after we had lunch at the sushi place again. The pastry chefs were had at work creating amazing cakes for us to try!
We got another premium sundae too! This one had the lollipop on top!
The juggler from the night before we performing in the atrium later that day too.
I got some Johnny Walker Blue Label to start out my evening that day. One of my friends earlier commented how the bartender like the old guy from Gremlins who sold Gizmo to the dad. LOL.
I enjoyed my Johnny Walker Blue as we did some people watching. Earlier that day, I got a nice massage too so I am even more relaxed than usual!
This was my dinner. I loved this take on jambalaya!
Dessert was great too! This was another version of a Baked Alaska. My decaf cappuccino was served promptly too. I got some port also to go with my dessert.
Some of the dining staff danced around in what is called the "Parade of the Baked Alaska" for us.
The show that night was called Fiera. It was a romantic story around a fairground with lots of modern music.
I enjoyed Fiera a lot!
After getting back to Port Everglades, we went to the Ft. Lauderdale Airport to get a rental car so we could explore Palm Beach. They gave us a Traverse.
The Traverse was really roomy and had large display monitors.
I wanted to visit Mar-A-Lago, but President Trump was there to deliver a national address after we captured the narco terrorist dictator Maduro that morning in Venezuela. That tower is part of Mar-A-Lago.
The neighborhood across from Mar-A-Lago was a historic upscale area. Joy and I walked around the area near the water.
Afterwards, we drove to downtown West Palm Beach for lunch. Bradley's is a famous restaurant near the water front.
We had a nice view of the water from our table.
We went to a Farmer's Market in West Palm Beach also.
The water front is very scenic. Florida is so much nicer than California!
Downtown West Palm Beach is very clean and safe!
We enjoyed a nice seafood dinner in Dania Beach before our flight back home.
This steamer hit the spot at Tark's in Dania Beach!
We departed
Sacramento on December 23rd for our holiday adventures with our first
stop in Las Vegas. After some of the usual snacks and drinks in
the Escape Lounge at SMF, we had our short flight into LAS.
National had a luxury SUV waiting for us in their featured cars
section. As an Executive Elite member, I can normally pick any
car in the Executive aisle, but I had lots of points to redeem since I
had a rental car for months before my new company car arrived so I
booked a luxury SUV. The Genesis SUV was decent, but it lacked a
moonroof. Yeah, I know. The Roys have lots of first world
problems as usual. LOL. At least, it had the heated
steering wheel since I am spoiled to have that in my Volvo and company
car! We saw my nephew that night before we checked into Luxor for
the night. Luxor offered us a few comped nights during Christmas,
but we only stayed there the first night. The VIP check in agent
even comped our resort fee too since I have status with MGM Rewards.
The next day, we enjoyed lunch at Twin Peaks before getting some Crumbl for Santa's visit to my nephew on Christmas Eve. Our Twin Peaks girl had a special Mrs. Claus outfit. LOL. We hung out with my nephew and let him open one gift on Christmas Eve since that is a tradition in our family. My Chase Sapphire Reserve card reently added a bunch of new benefits including a $500 annual credit to the Edit Collection of hotels so we used the credit we got for two nights at the Park MGM in a Stay Well room. Our package even included a $100 dining credit. So, we checked into the Park MGM after our visit with my nephew. That night, we had dinner reservations at Beauty & Essex inside the Cosmopolitan. Joy and I took the tram from MGM all the way to Cosmo. Beauty & Essex looks like a pawn shop from the outside. We enjoyed our $500 Christmas Eve dinner there. Their bourbon selection was not as good as other Vegas restaurants we have been to, but their food was amazing! I loved the white sturgeon caviar that was added to my lobster roll appetizer. Their beef wellington was amazing! However, we loved our dessert!
We woke up early on Christmas to go over to my brother's place so we could watch Aakash open his Christmas gifts. He had a box of Grinch cereal so I decided to try that for breakfast, but it was not good. I guess the Grinch is not the best name for a cereal too. LOL. Aakash got an Ipad too from Santa. We gave him a lot of Amazon gift cards in addition to some other items like a Mario Lego set. That night, we all went to Din Tai Fung for dinner.
The next day, we hung out with Aakash some more before we took off to Lawry's The Prime Rib to have dinner with a high school buddy of mine. We stayed at the Hilton Spark near the airport that night since we had a 5:05 AM flight to Ft. Lauderdale via Houston Hobby. In Houston, we had some Priority Pass benefits we were able to use including an hour in the gaming lounge with a snack and beverage. I ended up playing Madden 26 on Xbox which inspired me to later get a Nintendo Switch 2 from my company's reward's site when I got back from this trip. My company gives us lots of reward points to buy gifts. I love pharma! We also used the massage chairs with my Priority Pass benefits. I got some delicious Texas BBQ also in Houston before we left for Florida.
In Ft. Lauderdale, I booked a Hilton Tapestry collection hotel, the Hotel Dello in Dania Beach which is close to the airport and Port Everglades where we departed from on our cruise. That night, we had a great date night in Dania Beach at Billy's Stone Crab since we were craving stone crab! We were so impressed with the amazing service from our wait staff as well as the food! California restaurants often lack good service even at fine dining establishments.
The next morning, we found a local coffee shop to get my iced Americano before we took a taxi to Port Everglades for our New Year's cruise! The Majestic Princess took us to Roatan, Belize, and Cozumel on this six night cruise. I booked a balcony stateroom also. This was my first time on Princess, and I thought they were way nicer than Carnival. We got these medallions which allowed us entry to our stateroom as well as let us order food and drink to our exact location on the ship. If we moved, the wait staff found us! After getting on the ship, we had lunch in one of the dining rooms since the staterooms were not ready yet. At 1:00 PM, the stateroom was ready. The porters brought our luggage to the state rooms. The Princess Plus package we upgraded to gave us a drink package which included 15 alcoholic drinks per person per day, soda, bottled water, specialty coffees, and smoothies. Also, our package gave us two premium desserts per day per person which included the $18 sundaes. Our tips were included in the package. Also, we got WIFI, two fitness classes per day, and two casual specialty dining. Joy enjoyed our Sail Away party with the dancing and music. I really liked our stateroom since the balcony offered great views especially as we sailed past Miami. The room service and on demand food and beverage delivery was included too in our package. So, I ordered a scotch as I watched football in my stateroom after we departed Port Everglades. The WIFI allowed me to stay in touch with my friends too. I am sure after going through all the photos, a detailed summary of the cruise might be too long so I will summarize everything below with key highlights:
1. Our wait staff was the same every night at dinner. Our lead waitress was from South Africa. She was very attentive. After I asked her Stevia the first night for my decaf cappucino, she got some for me at the buffet and brought it down to the dining room the next night. She also noticed what drinks we liked at the table such as bottled spring water for me and sparkling for Joy in addition to Sprite Zero for me. So, she would have those waiting for us every night.
2. The Princess Premium Desserts were great! We tried all seven specialty sundaes! They also had premium cakes we could try. There was a 24 hour cafe in the atrium.
3. The fitness center was large and clean. We had our fitness class in that area in a special studio. Joy and I did a spin class there.
4. The guests on this ship were way more behaved and mannered than people who take Carnival often.
5. Princess had a lot of James Bond themed events like a trivia event and played Bond music in the lounges and also for the special fountain show one night.
6. Roatan was tropical and lush, but it was not as developed as other Caribbean islands since it is part of Honduras.
7. The excursion in Belize was fun. Climbing the Mayan pyramids in Altun Ha was a lot of work. I was sore the next day. LOL.
8. New Year's Eve was great on the ship! We got surf and turf as a dinner option as well as Baked Alaska for dessert! Yum! We partied on the Lido Deck and Atrium Deck!
9. I was able to upgrade to high end scotches like Macallan 18 Enigma for a small fee. They had Illegal Mezcal too!
10. The beaches in Cozumel are very beautiful! The water was still warm!
11. The Sea Days were not boring. We enjoyed great food and drink. They also had great Vegas style shows!
12. Princess is a great cruise line. I also did not get sea sick on this cruise unlike past cruises. Having a cabin in the middle of the ship and on a higher deck helps with that!
We had almost a day in Florida when we got back before our flight home so we rented a car to go to Palm Beach. I wanted to check out Mar-A-Lago since I am a Trump supporter. The President was in Mar-A-Lago that day so we could not really close, but we saw the tower from across the water. West Palm Beach is so nice and has a lot of money! California is nothing compared to Florida! We saw some of the most pricest cars which we do not see in California. Having no state income tax helps with that! Joy and I both love the Great State of Florida!
The next day, we enjoyed lunch at Twin Peaks before getting some Crumbl for Santa's visit to my nephew on Christmas Eve. Our Twin Peaks girl had a special Mrs. Claus outfit. LOL. We hung out with my nephew and let him open one gift on Christmas Eve since that is a tradition in our family. My Chase Sapphire Reserve card reently added a bunch of new benefits including a $500 annual credit to the Edit Collection of hotels so we used the credit we got for two nights at the Park MGM in a Stay Well room. Our package even included a $100 dining credit. So, we checked into the Park MGM after our visit with my nephew. That night, we had dinner reservations at Beauty & Essex inside the Cosmopolitan. Joy and I took the tram from MGM all the way to Cosmo. Beauty & Essex looks like a pawn shop from the outside. We enjoyed our $500 Christmas Eve dinner there. Their bourbon selection was not as good as other Vegas restaurants we have been to, but their food was amazing! I loved the white sturgeon caviar that was added to my lobster roll appetizer. Their beef wellington was amazing! However, we loved our dessert!
We woke up early on Christmas to go over to my brother's place so we could watch Aakash open his Christmas gifts. He had a box of Grinch cereal so I decided to try that for breakfast, but it was not good. I guess the Grinch is not the best name for a cereal too. LOL. Aakash got an Ipad too from Santa. We gave him a lot of Amazon gift cards in addition to some other items like a Mario Lego set. That night, we all went to Din Tai Fung for dinner.
The next day, we hung out with Aakash some more before we took off to Lawry's The Prime Rib to have dinner with a high school buddy of mine. We stayed at the Hilton Spark near the airport that night since we had a 5:05 AM flight to Ft. Lauderdale via Houston Hobby. In Houston, we had some Priority Pass benefits we were able to use including an hour in the gaming lounge with a snack and beverage. I ended up playing Madden 26 on Xbox which inspired me to later get a Nintendo Switch 2 from my company's reward's site when I got back from this trip. My company gives us lots of reward points to buy gifts. I love pharma! We also used the massage chairs with my Priority Pass benefits. I got some delicious Texas BBQ also in Houston before we left for Florida.
In Ft. Lauderdale, I booked a Hilton Tapestry collection hotel, the Hotel Dello in Dania Beach which is close to the airport and Port Everglades where we departed from on our cruise. That night, we had a great date night in Dania Beach at Billy's Stone Crab since we were craving stone crab! We were so impressed with the amazing service from our wait staff as well as the food! California restaurants often lack good service even at fine dining establishments.
The next morning, we found a local coffee shop to get my iced Americano before we took a taxi to Port Everglades for our New Year's cruise! The Majestic Princess took us to Roatan, Belize, and Cozumel on this six night cruise. I booked a balcony stateroom also. This was my first time on Princess, and I thought they were way nicer than Carnival. We got these medallions which allowed us entry to our stateroom as well as let us order food and drink to our exact location on the ship. If we moved, the wait staff found us! After getting on the ship, we had lunch in one of the dining rooms since the staterooms were not ready yet. At 1:00 PM, the stateroom was ready. The porters brought our luggage to the state rooms. The Princess Plus package we upgraded to gave us a drink package which included 15 alcoholic drinks per person per day, soda, bottled water, specialty coffees, and smoothies. Also, our package gave us two premium desserts per day per person which included the $18 sundaes. Our tips were included in the package. Also, we got WIFI, two fitness classes per day, and two casual specialty dining. Joy enjoyed our Sail Away party with the dancing and music. I really liked our stateroom since the balcony offered great views especially as we sailed past Miami. The room service and on demand food and beverage delivery was included too in our package. So, I ordered a scotch as I watched football in my stateroom after we departed Port Everglades. The WIFI allowed me to stay in touch with my friends too. I am sure after going through all the photos, a detailed summary of the cruise might be too long so I will summarize everything below with key highlights:
1. Our wait staff was the same every night at dinner. Our lead waitress was from South Africa. She was very attentive. After I asked her Stevia the first night for my decaf cappucino, she got some for me at the buffet and brought it down to the dining room the next night. She also noticed what drinks we liked at the table such as bottled spring water for me and sparkling for Joy in addition to Sprite Zero for me. So, she would have those waiting for us every night.
2. The Princess Premium Desserts were great! We tried all seven specialty sundaes! They also had premium cakes we could try. There was a 24 hour cafe in the atrium.
3. The fitness center was large and clean. We had our fitness class in that area in a special studio. Joy and I did a spin class there.
4. The guests on this ship were way more behaved and mannered than people who take Carnival often.
5. Princess had a lot of James Bond themed events like a trivia event and played Bond music in the lounges and also for the special fountain show one night.
6. Roatan was tropical and lush, but it was not as developed as other Caribbean islands since it is part of Honduras.
7. The excursion in Belize was fun. Climbing the Mayan pyramids in Altun Ha was a lot of work. I was sore the next day. LOL.
8. New Year's Eve was great on the ship! We got surf and turf as a dinner option as well as Baked Alaska for dessert! Yum! We partied on the Lido Deck and Atrium Deck!
9. I was able to upgrade to high end scotches like Macallan 18 Enigma for a small fee. They had Illegal Mezcal too!
10. The beaches in Cozumel are very beautiful! The water was still warm!
11. The Sea Days were not boring. We enjoyed great food and drink. They also had great Vegas style shows!
12. Princess is a great cruise line. I also did not get sea sick on this cruise unlike past cruises. Having a cabin in the middle of the ship and on a higher deck helps with that!
We had almost a day in Florida when we got back before our flight home so we rented a car to go to Palm Beach. I wanted to check out Mar-A-Lago since I am a Trump supporter. The President was in Mar-A-Lago that day so we could not really close, but we saw the tower from across the water. West Palm Beach is so nice and has a lot of money! California is nothing compared to Florida! We saw some of the most pricest cars which we do not see in California. Having no state income tax helps with that! Joy and I both love the Great State of Florida!