Our last port of call on this cruise was Key West, Florida. Before we could leave the ship, we had to clear immigration. United States Border authorities came on board and set up a check stations in various meeting rooms. They were not as thorough as they would normally be. The whole process only took about five minutes. Since we had docked at the Naval Pier and not right downtown, Old Town Trolley was providing a shuttle.
We walked around for a little bit before having an early lunch at Caroline’s Cafe. We have been to Key West quite a few times but we wanted to do something different. Karen found Key Lime Bike Tours ($42 USD / person) on TripAdvisor. Now I know what you are thinking, me on a bike. What is great about this tour is that it is slow speed. A lot of people mentioned in their reviews on TripAdvisor that the tour was too slow for them. That means it is the perfect speed for me. The bikes had nice wide seats, a basket and a cute little bell.
We were very lucky that our tour guide today was none other than the owner Christopher. The other great thing was that there was only five of us in total. We started our tour at noon and it was supposed to last until 2:30pm. We did. It roll back into the bike shop until 4pm. With Christopher conducting the tour, he gave us a more personal tour than we would have received.
During the four hours, we biked through all of the highlights on Key West … Mallory Square, Southernmost Point, Key West Lighthouse, Ernest Hemingway House, Harry S. Truman Little White House and Duval Street. We would bike for about five minutes and then we would stop and Christopher would give us details/history of where we had stopped. Christopher has great stories and great knowledge about Key West. I wasn’t really steady on the bike at first but as the tour progressed, I got more comfortable. We will see tomorrow morning if I will be able to move at all since I can’t remember the last time I rode a bike.
After all that peddling, we decided to reward ourselves with a slice of Key West’s famous Key Lime Pie before heading back to the ship on one of the last trolleys. We made our way to Deck 10 to enjoy a Key West sunset as we sailed away.
We thought we should enjoy our last dinner on the ship in the Manhattan Dining Room. Tonight was the Master Chefs International Dinner. Appetizers … Vietnamese Spring Roll with Chicken and Brie in Crispy Phyllo with Apple-Cranberry Chutney. Entrees … Orecchiette with Italian Sausage and Escarole and Lebanese Lamb Shank. Desserts … The “Big Apple” Cheesecake and Kiwi and Passion Fruit Pavlova.
We relaxed back in the room before heading out to the Showroom At Sea for the Dancing with the Stars at sea finale. The premise is the same as the TV show except for it is passengers instead of B grade stars dancing with the Nieuw Amsterdam production cast. I could not believe how talented the passengers were. The passengers were picked from a dance class that was held. After that, each passenger practiced with their professional for only half an hour. Just incredible.
We came back and had to pack up our suitcases since they needed to be out by midnight. And now the end of another cruise is upon us.
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