Activities Around the Ship

North Star. This ride above the ship is by reservation only and you get one trip per cruise. I did not attend since I was sick, a reason to go back.

A view of the ship on North Star.

Selfie extraordinaire.

Control panel. I bet you can guess who took this picture.

Next adventure, Ripcord by IFly. I call it the wind tunnel. I also decided this was not for me but someone needed to take pictures.

Pre-flight.

Jacob entering the chamber.

Jacob's flight.

Michael entering the chamber.

Michael's flight.

Bumper cars! I was most looking forward to this and it was the hardest ticket in town. The line was usually around the whole building and they only ran for 2 hours per day. We finally got on the last day of the cruise at 9:30 in the morning and we got in line 30 minutes early. Jacob declined this event.

The Bahamas

Our first stop in the Bahamas was CocoCay. This is one of Royal Caribbean's Islands. We had to tender over which was a long process. By the time we got to the island it was very busy and we had trouble finding three beach chairs together. It was hot with no shade so it was going to be a short trip.

I thought this sign was so funny.

Our next Island was Nassau which Jacob decided not to got to. Michael and I went to Fort Fincastle which was the highest point on the Island, Bennett's Hill.

Next we went to the Queen's Staircase.

I don't remember what this building was but it reminded me of a southern porch.

Colorful buildings abound even the police station. It was a beautiful day on Nassau; windy and breezy and not too hot. It reminded us not to go to the Caribbean in the summer.

Boarding Day and Kennedy Space Center

                          Boarding day on Anthem of the Seas. New York is in the background.

                              Passing under the Lisbon Bridge was the highlight of sailing.

As you can tell I thought this was really fun.

Other side of the bridge and Jacob consenting to a rare pose.

Coffee lady watched over our room. We thought it a good omen and a nice marker of where our room was located. We cruised for two days before reaching Cape Canaveral, Florida. We did a lot of napping and eating.

The Rocket Garden.

Original Apollo Mission Control Consoles

Saturn V Rocket

Lunar Service Module

SpaceX Building at Cape Canaveral (part of the bus tour).

                                     Boeing Building at Cape Canaveral (part of the bus tour)

Astronaut Hall of Fame Sponsored by Boeing

Fountain at the Entrance of Kennedy Space Center

Can you find the hidden Floridian lizard?

We spent about 4 hours at the Space Center and then went to Sams House at Pine Island. These lizards were the only animals we saw there. I became eaten alive by the mosquito so we did not stay long. Our final stop before heading back to the ship was Ron Jon Surf Shop. We spent quite a bit of time there looking around. Jacob bought some new sun glasses to add to his growing collection. Next stop Bahamas.

New York - The Tenement Museum

Next on Michael's schedule was the Tenement Museum located on the lower east side. We did a guided tour entitled Hard Times. From the website: "Discover how immigrants survived economic depression at 97 Orchard Street between 1863 and 1935. Visit the restored homes of the  German-Jewish Gumpertz family, whose patriarch disappeared during the Panic of 1873, and the Italian-Catholic Baldizzi family, who lived through the Great Depression." 

We were not allowed to take photos inside the building.

After the guided tour we took a walking tour entitled Foods of the Lower East Side. Above photo is Vanessa's Dumplings in which we sampled dumplings.

At the Pickle Guys we sampled Caribbean pickled pineapple. Other foods we tried were pretzels from Schneider's Saloon, cheese from the Essex Street Market, fried plantains from El Castillo de Jagua, bagels and schmeer from Russ & Daughters Cafe. Jacob was a trooper and ate food from each vendor. This was a two hour tour which I thought a bit long but I was also sick by then and was loosing steam. Michael continued with food adventures as we picked up bagels for breakfast the next day and knishes for dinner.

New York - World Trade Center

Our last day in NYC was a busy one. First we went to the World Trade Center.

The new building, One World Trade Center.

One of the memorials. As you can tell from my hair it was a blustery day, they even turned off the fountains due to high winds.

A nice tourist took a photo of all three of us, a rarity for this vacation.

Jacob was impressed with the architecture and took quite a bit of photos on this trip.

World Trade Center Mall.

This was a very modern building which Jacob really liked.

This mall recently opened so not all the locations were filled. Many high-end shops were present including an Apple Store.

Couldn't pass up taking a photo of the JZ line. On to our next destination. This subway station was connected to the mall.