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Day 2: Six Zumba Classes in One Day

Posted on May 1, 2018 by Ching under Travel, Zumba.

Day 2 is the day I took six Zumba classes in one day. Even so, my Apple Watch still logged me under 40,000 steps for the day. I don’t know how people were getting upwards of 50K. Wow! I think this was my best day all week.

I originally planned to take four classes that day (the two that I registered for and the two that I registered Brian for) but, after looking at the schedule, I figured that I could squeeze in two more classes and so I did. LOL.

My first class of the day was Henry Cedeno’s Queen Bey Experience. I had to take a picture of the sticker because it matched my outfit perfectly!

My second class was with Kass Martin and Steve Boedt. I had two amazing classes in a row and was off to a great start!

I ran into the fabulous Chuany Kouloukas, who Brian and I first met on the Zumba cruise a couple of years ago.

My next class was with Ricardo Marmitte and Marcie Benavides where I met these two cuties — Keston Ross and Cody Olafson. They were promoting Keston’s new song that Cody choreographed a routine to. Keston performed the song (and danced too) while Cody led the routine.

Here’s a video that Natasha captured.

By the way, this is the Natasha – the person responsible for that awesome video you just watched. Thank you, Natasha!

My next class was Lindsey Taylor’s Pitbull Party in Star Lounge. It wasn’t part of the original plan for Day 2 but I knew I could fit it in and so I did. I got there early to get a good spot and caught the tail end of Ricardo Carbalho’s class.

I ran into these two Wichita cuties, Tammy and Rina. Every time I saw these two, they were wearing matching outfits. It was so cute!

Here’s a selfie of me with Lindsey. I’m so glad that I found the time to take that class because it was beyond amazing. Star Lounge is probably the crappiest class venue on the ship because you can’t see anything and there’s only a small dance floor and the rest is carpet. Lindsey used that room so well, though. I tried to avoid Star Lounge as much as possible because I get really frustrated when I can’t see what’s going on but I didn’t have that problem at all during Lindsey’s class. She taught from the front, the back, the middle, and the sides. She was everywhere! She used the room more effectively than anyone else who had to teach in there.

My next class after was with Nick Logrea and Steve Boedt. This was another class that wasn’t part of my original schedule for the day but I found the time to squeeze in. I met Nick for the first time on the cruise a couple of years ago and was very impressed so I didn’t want to miss him. And, of course, Steve is always so fabulous.

The best part is Kass was there and so I managed to get a selfie with her. It made Brian slightly jealous. He’d been trying to get a selfie with her for years!

My final class for the day was with Jhon Gonzalez and Anna Marchenko out in the Sports Court. I didn’t like dancing in the Sports Court that much because the floor is kind of grippy and I didn’t feel as comfortable twisting and turning. I felt like I really had to pick up my feet each time. Anyway, that was class number six and, even though, I changed sneakers halfway through the day, the insoles of my shoes were pretty beat down and my feet were killing me. So I left the class with 15 minutes left to spare. I hated doing that but my feet were on fire. I actually questioned how I was going to get through three more days of Zumba.

We had dinner in the fancy dining room with Natasha and, our new Australian friend, Kaveri that night and then went to the party but we didn’t stay late. My feet were killing me and I was honestly worried about how they would feel the next morning. I just wanted to return to the room and put my feet up.

That pretty much sums up Day 2. It was a full day of doing Zumba from morning until night. Check back soon for Day 3!

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Cruise Food

Posted on April 29, 2018 by Ching under Food and Drink, Travel.

I know I promised this post several days ago but it has been super busy. I’m only now getting a break and finally have the opportunity to catch you up.

We managed to round almost everyone up for dinner that first night. From the bottom left: Laurie, Brynden, Ty, Danielle, Natasha, Amanda, Todd, and Melissa.

Here are some pictures of the delicious food we enjoyed that first night.

Dinner on night two was with a smaller group. Just me, Brian, Natasha, our new Australian friend Kaveri, and Colleen and Hannah (a mom and daughter duo from upstate New York). We missed taking a group photo but I remembered to take pictures of all our food.

They gave me extra rice.

Everyone else had a different schedule on day three so Brian and I had a nice romantic dinner, just the two of us.

We got most of the group together for dinner on day four.

Tami and Rina were able to join us but we were missing Missy and Todd and Natasha. Natasha had other things going on. Missy and Todd decided to have dinner earlier that night.

Here are pictures from our final dinner on the ship.

I didn’t take pictures of the food buffet at Windjammer but those were delicious also. Each day was a different theme and there was something for everyone. They also had some nice displays up there with fruit carvings and all.

We always went to dinner in the Sapphire Dining Room, though, so we missed all of the dinner upstairs. It would have been far quicker to eat at the buffet but the food in the dining room is tons better.

Anyway, that’s all for now. I won’t promise when the new post will be up because it might be another busy week for me. Until next time!

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Day 1: Boarding Day

Posted on April 23, 2018 by Ching under Travel, Zumba.

Sunday, boarding day, was a little overcast but it didn’t keep us from seeing our cruise ship from our hotel window. The emails we received were a bit confusing. One email said boarding would start at 11:00 AM, while another email said we couldn’t board until 2:30 PM. Since we didn’t expect to be able to board the ship until 11 at the earliest, Brian and I decided to have a leisurely breakfast at the hotel restaurant. We were just lollygagging after breakfast and walked around, enjoying the view, and taking a bunch of pictures.

The sun finally started to come out and I got this nice panoramic of the marina.

We had so much to kill after breakfast that Brian actually had time to lounge around and watch TV. It wasn’t until we started seeing posts about people waiting in line to board and getting on the ship that we decided it was probably time to head on over to the port. Some people were posting about the boarding and others were asking how long the lines were, etc.

Brian thought it would be funny to reply back that we can see the line from our hotel. We had a good chuckle but didn’t actually do it.

We weren’t sure what kind of view we would have next time so we took one last selfie with our amazing view before taking off.

Our hotel is super close to the Port of Miami so we were there in no time flat. As luck would have it, we ran into some friends (Natasha and Amanda) at the check in.

Here’s a pic of the four of us in the waiting area.

Danielle and Ty were ahead of us. We probably could have joined them but we didn’t want to cut in front of everyone. Also, I don’t think there was enough room for all four of us to slide in. I figured it was only a matter of time before we were all together aboard the ship anyway.

Just for grins, I took a selfie with the port employee who was in charge of making sure the boarding process was organized and safe. She was doing a great job.

Here’s a selfie of me and a Filipina friend I made at ZINCON a couple of years back. She goes by Missy Belle on Facebook. She went on the cruise this year too.

Speaking of Missy, I ran into my friend Missy at the lunch buffet at Windjammer. We were so lucky that we even ran into each other. The lunch buffet was so crowded (because people were hungry and our staterooms wouldn’t be ready until 1:30 PM so there was nowhere else to go) and there was hardly any place to sit.

It was either hang out at Windjammer or hang out at one of the bars which, incidentally, is where we found the rest of our crew.

Missy and Todd (and almost everyone else) wore their matching shirts. These two looked so cute, I just had to take a picture of them!

But you know what’s even cuter? These guys — (from left) Rony, Rodrigo, and Benjamin. I took multiple sessions from these guys throughout the week so this is just a bit of foreshadowing of things to come.

Brian and I took a quick selfie with Miami as the backdrop before we sailed away. Not really the best picture since we took it from Windjammer instead of from one of the upper/viewing decks.

Here’s a selfie with the other half of our group. I love that so many people from Wichita went on the cruise this year.

It took a while but we were finally able to get into our room. This picture depicts the view from our room. We decided to go up a category and get a cabin overlooking the promenade instead of just getting a regular interior cabin. Ours is still considered an interior cabin but it seemed to offer a bit more space because of the window seat. It’s not that much more space, though.

We got to check out Natasha and Amanda’s (they were roomies this year) balcony cabin and it was definitely more spacious. Brian and I have decided that, next year, it’s going to be balcony or bust. Plus, if we all get side-by-side balcony rooms next year, we can remove the partitions and we can have one extended balcony which will be super fun. Party time!

This is a picture of all our stickers. I wised up and signed Brian up for different sessions than me so I could use both of our stickers and get into double the classes.

Each day I would take a picture of the “Cruise Compass” so I knew exactly what was happening without having to carry around the daily newsletter with me. The highlight of the evening was the “Sail Away” party at the main pool with FUSE ODG, Armando & Heidy, DJ Precise, and DJ Francis.

I also took a picture of the Zumba schedules each day for the same reason. All of the classes on the first day were first come, first served.

I ran into Amanda again on my way to my first session.

I called Missy to see what class she was hitting first and we actually both picked Marcie’s class. Brynden, Natasha, and Amada decided to take the same first class also. Except, I was the nerdiest of the bunch and got their first but that meant I got us all in the front row.

We had such a great time in Marcie’s class. I even met someone with an October birthday (it was kind of an ice breaker that Marcie had us do) and she happened to be wearing leggings that matched my shirt.

Marcie’s class was fabulous but they were having problems with the sound system. The fuse kept blowing for some reason. We were interrupted several times. Also, when it was our turn to rotate to the back, it wasn’t as fun for me because I couldn’t see anything. We initially thought we would stay in Star Lounge for the next session which was Steve Boedt’s masterclass but then decided we didn’t want to put up with the sound issues and lack of visibility so we went to Studio B (the ice rink) to dance with Rony and Cat instead.

By the time we got there, the floor was already full so we were relegated to the sides. Tammy and Rina got decent spots on the dance floor though.

The nice thing about Studio B is that you’re not out in the sun and the stage is elevated so it’s easier to see what’s going on. It’s definitely one of my favorite class venues on the ship. You still want to get there early to get a good spot on the floor, though. Because even though I could see well from the sidelines, we were dancing on carpet and there wasn’t much room to dance. We had to really improvise.

I’m not sure how we managed to do it but we were actually able to get almost everyone together for dinner that first night. We were only missing Tammy and Rina. Already, the trip was off to a great start!

Here’s a picture of the fabulous “Sail Away Party” from our favorite viewing area. Brian and I were enjoying the concert by ourselves (and I think a couple of others) when Danielle, Ty, Brynden, and Laurie showed up. They had no idea we were up there but had the same idea as us about going to the tallest vantage point.

Great minds think alike!

Brian and I were too tired to hit the late night disco (from 11 PM to 3 AM) at the Cosmopolitan. We hung out with the group and did a bit of exploring after the party but then we turned in. I had an early start the next morning.

BTW, I took a ton of food pictures so check back tomorrow for a post that talks about all the eating we did. I did a lot of Zumba but definitely did not miss any meals. Until next time!

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Pre-Cruise in Miami

Posted on April 21, 2018 by Ching under Travel.

Brian and I weren’t sure if we were going to get him the unlimited alcoholic beverage package on the ship so our first stop in Miami was the Publix down the street from our hotel. We got Brian two bottles of his favorite wine, Apothic Red, to take aboard the ship. The rules stated only two bottles of wine per stateroom but they weren’t being very strict so I probably could have taken two more bottles of wine myself too. Although, as it turns out, we didn’t need them because Brian ended up getting the unlimited drink package on the ship.

After we completed our wine mission, the next order of business was to get something to eat. We were both starving and we hadn’t eaten lunch yet. We knew we wanted to have dinner in South Beach because I wanted to show Brian the beach while we were there. He’d never been to Miami before. I got to check it out when I was in Florida on a work trip a couple of years ago. We had dinner at Larios on the Beach (Gloria Estefan’s restaurant) and then walked across the street to dip our toes in the ocean. Anyway, I thought he would find it interesting.

We didn’t have a specific restaurant in mind so we had our Lyft (Lyft prices were half what Uber was charging so we decided to use Lyft the entire time we were in Florida, with the exception of our ride from the airport to the hotel because taxis were more convenient and readily available at the airport) drop us off at CJ’s Crab Shack. We walked up and down the strip. Everyone had some kind of happy hour special they were promoting. In the end, we ended up walking back to CJ’s because they had crabs (which I was craving) and a nice patio area for people-watching.

Brian had a really interesting way of describing South Beach. He said it’s a lot like Vegas but more naked. LOL. It’s true. There were people milling about everywhere, walking up and down the sidewalk and even the streets. The cars could barely move in Ocean Drive. I can’t imagine having to drive in that mayhem on a regular basis. (This is why we didn’t bother renting a car. Neither of us wanted to drive.)

The people weren’t your average people either. Most were really fit and, though some were not as fit, everyone was overflowing with self-confidence. Many people didn’t bother with coverups. They just walked up and down in their bikinis or speedos with no shirt, sarong, or any kind of coverup. Which isn’t too unusual if your swimsuit is covering all of your butt, but some people were wearing dental floss. These people were not shy at all.

As for me, I just watched in amusement as people walked by — some clothed, some not fully clothed — while drinking my 40 oz. Miami Vice drink in a CJ’s Crab Shack souvenir tumbler. We watched this one guy clad only in a pair of very tiny, very tight swim trunks walk up and down. He was upset about something, but I couldn’t make out enough of the conversation to figure out what. Something about not being able to check into their hotel because he didn’t have his credit card. Anyway, a little bit later, he’s back and unloading bags off the back of a car stopped in the middle of Ocean Drive traffic.

“That explains why he’s walking around naked,” I told Brian. “He didn’t have his luggage.” We both busted up laughing. Walking around naked is so South Beach!

Here’s a picture of Brian’s food. He’s not much for seafood.

This is mine. Gotta eat crab when you’re at a crab shack!

The crab photographed well but it was kind of dry. I’ve gotten spoiled of late since I’ve been eating crab at Jax Fish House and Oyster Bar in Kansas City and they have pretty good crab there.

We wanted an excuse to linger and continue people watching so we ordered this giant dessert. Well, truthfully, it’s because I have no will power and I love chocolate cake. It was pretty good.

Brian helped a little bit but I ate most of it.

While we were eating, this guy parked his very gold car next to us. It was a huge hit. I lost count of how many people stopped to take pictures and selfies with it. Apparently, gold is the new black. It’s huge in South Beach.

After eating all of that food, we were so stuffed that we decided to walk it off at the beach. There were a ton of people there.

This panoramic photo doesn’t do it justice.

At least it’s a pretty wide beach and, even though there were so many people, there was plenty of room for everyone. Anyway, we walked up and down the beach, not very far. It wasn’t look before Brian had had enough. We both woke up at 2 AM that day for our early flight so we were pooped. I really wanted to join the rest of the Wichita folks for dinner and dancing later that night but we were too exhausted. Brian specially. We decided to just lay low and hang out at our hotel for the rest of the evening and turn in early.

Next time I’ll tell you about boarding and our first day on the cruise. Check back tomorrow. Until then, have a fabulous weekend!

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Miami Marriott Biscayne Bay

Posted on April 19, 2018 by Ching under Travel.

I’m so grateful for all of my Marriott points. Brian and I got to stay at a very nice hotel in Florida, close to the Port of Miami, before and after our cruise. It didn’t cost us anything since I had enough points to cover both stays.

Here are some pictures of the room that we got the night before our cruise.

The room itself wasn’t anything fancy but that view was spectacular.

We loved the view so much we had to selfie in front of our window.

Check out this view!

Here’s a view of the marina just outside our hotel.

From our window we could see the Venetian Causeway (closest) and MacArthur Causeway (further one) and the Port of Miami.

The Venetian Causeway is closest to our hotel and is one of the ways you can get to South Beach. Except, sometimes traffic gets really backed up when the bridge (a double-leaf bascule bridge) is open for the larger boats to pass through.

Brian and I did some exploring around the hotel on that first day. Here’s a view of the marina from the hotel terrace.

Oh, and I found a ping pong table but had no one to play with.

We also found a giant connect four game.

And a giant chess board.

It was a pretty quiet Saturday night at the hotel.

Not a soul in sight at the pool.

The hotel gym is on the same level as the pool with a nice view of the marina.

The next morning we woke up to see our ship at the port.

This giant Adirondack chair was on the terrace right outside the hotel restaurant so, of course, we had to take a pic of me in it.

Pictures of our yummy pre-cruise breakfast…

We took some selfies out on the restaurant patio after breakfast before heading up to our room for a quickie Facebook Live video.

We took yet another selfie with our fabulous 31st floor view as the backdrop when we got back to our room. Then we did our Facebook Live.

Here’s the quickie FB Live video from that morning.

When we got back to the Marriott after our cruise we got a room on the 23rd floor. Not as high as our top floor room from before, but it actually had a balcony and better view. We could see bay and city views from our room.

This is a view of the bay.

Here are some pics of the city view.

Here’s the view at night, with the bay on the left and the city on the right.

Here’s a pic of the bay at sunrise.

And the marina beneath our room at sunrise.

Here’s our messy room.

Because of my rewards status, we also got free breakfast in the mornings. Here are some pictures of the nice breakfast buffet at the hotel restaurant each morning.

This is the omelet station where you can also get fresh pancakes and waffles.

I didn’t have pancakes or waffles but I kind of wish I had because I really wanted to try the rum-infused maple syrup.

All sorts of breakfast foods — regular and cheesy potatoes, bacon, sausage etc.

Fruit on the left, cereal bar and breads on the right.

All sorts of breads and pastries.

Fruit and smoked salmon.

My breakfast.

After we ate our breakfast, we got some pics of the beautiful sunrise.

We really enjoyed our stay at the Miami Marriott Biscayne Bay. It’s a beautiful hotel and the location is perfect. Next post we’ll tell you about the exploring that we did on our first night in Miami and our visit to South Beach.