Norwegian EPIC, No Longer In a Studio - Nassau, Bahamas

So, it was cold and drizzly in Nassau. And in Miami when we pulled in. So, I put on a jacket. Now I am in Fort Lauderdale and it's about 75f and blue sky, and basically a perfect day. I'm going to skip ahead for a minute, so bear with me. I have a choice on nonstops with Virgin from FLL to LAX - 10am or 7pm. I could *probably* make the 10am, but I am always nervous to leave that early, because that would be the one time there is a problem debarking. So, I take the 7pm flight, but then have hours and hours to kill. So, I usually get a shuttle to the airport, check my bags and grab a cab to the beach in Fort Lauderdale for a few hours and cab back. This shuttle company my friend found is so AWESOME, he actually dropped as at the
beach, is keeping our bags in his van, and will be back for us at 4pm. So, MAJOR shout out to MJS SHUTTLE. If you book your Miami or Fort Lauderdale cruise thru me, he will totally be the new preferred provider. Especially if you have unusual schedules, like a red-eye in and a late flight out.

Anyway, so, back to the Bahamas. Like I said earlier - rainy and cold. But I did get up to the EPIC Club for breakfast finally, and had my Crab Cakes Benedict. And then bopped around the ship. And then went back to EPIC Club for Lunch. The Flounder Milanese was fabuloso. After lunch I headed to town with Michele (or "1L" as I sometimes think of her [I know a bunch of michele/michelle/michille/mychel types, and fortunately no two of them spell it the same, so I think "1L" and "2L", and "with an I" etc...]). Anyway, so, me and Rich got off the ship, ran thru the terminal and two stores across the street, and managed to accomplish a day's shopping in about 20 minutes. Cuz, we're guys. I think the line to get back in the terminal took longer than the actual shopping. Got back aboard and Michele was missing a kid. So those two went one way to look for her, and I, The World's Greatest Uncle, went the right way and found the kid in a minute or less. Cuz that's how good I am.
Honestly I am having a hard time remembering anything from then til I went dinner at LeBistro, on Richard. Joined by Crickett. Had the lobster finally. Definitely worth the upcharge. This is real lobster, succulent and sweet, in a nice buttery sauce, with diced artichoke and a couple of little potato somethings. Also ran into Steve Metzger. Steve has been a waiter with NCL for quite some time, and was, at least for a while, the only American waiter in the fleet (not counting NCLA in Hawaii, where the whole staff is pretty much American). I first met him on the Norwegian Star, and the last time I saw him he was stoked to have been chosen to open the EPIC. Told me all about how he'd be going to France for training and sea trials, etc. Except when I went on the pre-inaugural, he wasn't there. Mike Guida, the ACD at that time (and one of the
staffers featured on Undercover Boss), and also a former Star staffer told me he had gone to the Norwegian Sun in order to stay with his wife. But now they are both on the EPIC, and he still sounded pretty stoked to be there. This is one of the nice things about staying loyal to a particular line - you get to know some of the employees. Not just the HD's and Captains, but the day to day front line staff that are the ones who make a difference. And when you get to know them and follow them from ship to ship, they really CAN make a difference. I am not saying we would not have gotten exemplary service in any case, but it was clear that when our servers found we knew Steve, they treated us with that extra little bit, you know?
So, after dinner I bopped around lookinf for something to do til QUEST. A little karaoke, a little casino, a little break out on the balcony...like that.Finally it was time for the Quest. We were about 15 people and had to split into 2 qroups. We won. I would say more, but, you know what happens on the ship, stays on the ship. So, yeah...my team won. And then I hung out in Bliss for a couple hours, with a few of the diehards. Danced Gangnam Style for about 30 seconds. Watched the rest of them acking up on the dance floor, and at 2 am WENT TO BED. It's been a long and pretty good week, over all. Which probably sounds weird for a guy whose father just died a couple days ago, but, you know - life is for the living, and it does go on. I will deal with all that other shit Monday~!

I will have wifi on the flight home, so I should get the debarking day and recap post done and posted this evening...but right now, it is just too nice a day to sit at a computer.  Think I will eat some buffalo shrimp and take a walk down A1A,  before I have to head to the airport.
Have a great weekend, y'all