Friday was a bit rainy - good that it was a day at sea. We had lunch at the Windjammer; the staff rolled ice cream carts around the restaurant and did a little gig.
21-second video of the gig:
I made reservations for the
iFly indoor skydiving experience in advance through the Cruise Planner. It was a popular activity as I was unable to find a time that could accommodate all three of us, so my appointment was for 3pm and my parents at 5pm. There was one good thing about having split up; we could take photos and videos of each other.
Since it was a sea day, many events were happening in the SeaPlex, such as bumper cars.
A circus flying trapeze class was offered (10 person maximum, 30 minute session) which sounded fun, but I didn't get a chance to try it. If you got hungry after all that excitement, SeaPlex Dog House was there to serve up an assortment of hot dogs.
22-second video of bumper cars (people were being too nice, not bumping into each other):
It was time for my iFly indoor skydiving experience. You check in at the registration desk, sign a waiver, watch a safety video, get briefed by the guide on what to do (and what not to do), then suit up. There were open cubbies where you put all of your personal belongings - jewelry or items in your pockets were not allowed as they could potentially get sucked into the large fan and cause serious damage. I would recommend you leave all your jewelry (including earrings) in your cabin safe.
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| the guide posed when he saw me take a picture of class in session |
The guide, showing us what to do (1:46 video):
1:14 video of my flight - with my face flapping around like blubber and repeatedly smacking into the glass wall:
Then it was my parents' turn - see the entire sequence of events from start to finish:
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| waiting their turn |
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| in the briefing room |
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| gearing up |
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| helmet fitting |
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Mom's flight - a good example of what to do and what not to do. The guide was great to explain everything and give another go (2:32):
Dad's flight (1:13):
Cool exhibition by the guide (1:04):
All in all, indoor skydiving was a fun (and free!) experience and I'd do it again. It's not scary and you're three or four feet above the ground - no worry of heights or falling too far if things go wrong. Too bad I only scheduled it on the last day of the cruise; I was planning in the case of injury, that it wouldn't ruin the rest of the trip.
Tonight's dinner was at Chic again. The menu changed halfway through the cruise, so we had new selections to choose from. The food was pretty good.
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| beef carpaccio |
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| chicory and pear salad |
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| beef wellington |
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| warm hazelnut chocolate cake |
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Anthem of the Seas returned to Cape Liberty, New Jersey on Saturday morning.
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| cloudy day |
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| my last meal on Anthem |
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Remember I had made a verbal arrangement with the driver on
day 1 of our cruise to pick us up? I wasn't sure if it was really going to happen. While we were going through immigration, cell service was unavailable and by the time we made it out of the terminal, I had 9 voicemail messages from a different driver, wondering what time we would be at the curb, etc. So at least we were going to be picked up! There was a lot of traffic coming into the port, so it took him a while to get to us, but eventually we made it to the airport. If the driver didn't come, we could've easily caught a taxi...no worries.
I redeemed frequent flyer miles on American Airlines for our return flight. Our bags were all checked for free since I carried an American Airlines credit card. (I should say "cards" since I got sign-up bonuses from both banks:
Citibank and
Barclays) I was also able to get us all exit row seating at no charge as our award tickets were of the "AAnytime" type.
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| exit row legroom |
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| coach in-flight menu |
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| can't really play Pokemon at 32,000 ft |
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We took Uber home; we had to walk a bit to a designated rideshare pick-up area to catch our ride.
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| keep walking... |
And so ends our trip to New England and Canada...fall is a lovely time to visit. It would have been even better if we went later in October to see full color, but I'm sure I will be back to the area again. I would highly recommend everyone to take a autumn trip back east to see the leaves change. If you are interested in a cruise like the one we took or any other trip, just ping me and I'd be happy to help!
What is next on the agenda? A trip back to Pennsylvania for Thanksgiving...stay tuned...
(Missed any of the previous days? Use the Trip Index at the top of this page to read the others)
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Another disclaimer: The intention of this blog was to remind Future Me in full detail about where I went and what I did. I could have made it private, but I frequently get questions from family, friends and internet folks about how I planned things, got deals, etc., so instead of repeating the story over and over, I direct them here. If you are offended by anything I say or do, save yourself the discomfort and kindly click away from my blog. Thanks for reading and have a wonderful day!
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