Bev and I returned last night from a blow-out trip from Philly on CE/Harrah's dime last night ... took advantage of 2010 7* annual trip benefit with a 3 night stay at Caesars LV Mar 23-26, doing a blow-out 7* Celebration Dinner for 2 at Eiffel Tower Restaurant, Paris the night of 3/24, seeing Beatles' Love from prime seats 3/25 (covered with RC's courtesy of host), transferring 3/26 to LV for a 7-night Mex "Riviera" sailing on NCL Star.
Caesars served up a top-flight stay in one of their Junior Suites in Palace Tower (the room with the fabled bathrooms, adjoined by a romantic shower stall with twin heads, w/ jacuzzi), overlooking the pools.
Weather was on the cool side and we didn't explore the pool area (plenty of time for sun and water on the upcoming cruise).
It was our first stay in this room and it was a delight. But our favorite room remains the roomier Augustus Tower rooms on the end overlooking the Bellagio fountains. (Interestingly, the rep in the 7* lounge suggested we check out the Forum Tower suites next visit, indicating we wouldn't be disappointed.)
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Play was limited to about 2000 base RC's on the 9/5 JB SP. Absorbed a $1200 loss. I'm embarrassed by the light play, in the face of such a bounty. But absent a good play promotion, it was all I was comfortable putting through on the paytable.
Took advantage of a break on our last full day to put some introductory play across the way at Cosmopolitan. Had time for a modest 4000 points ... not very impressive, but pleased to only incur a $150 loss in putting it through.
Found the casino to be very inviting ... hope to return for a stay.
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The feast of the trip was the tasting menu at Paris, augmented by an additional Champagne and Pate course. We had previously dined here Jan 2, '03 and had doubts that this meal would live up to that remarkable event. Service and food were both over the top and quickly allayed those concerns (as did the remarkable view of the Bellagio fountains ... we were delighted to find that they've reconfigured the window-side "2 tops" so that each chair is now angled toward the window).
A satisfactory first night dinner at Payard in Caesars, and final nights munch at the Bar in Bradley Ogden rounded out the dinner fare this trip. Breakfast/lunch fare was courtesy of buffet coupons ... we did Caesars twice, but was much more impressed with the selections found on the third shot at Planet Hollywood.
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Beatles Love proved to be quite the memorable show. Lighter in tone than some of the more complex Cirque efforts, the music is the obvious highlight, with delightfully choreographed acrobatics and theatrics.
We had 6th row seats, which I judge to be a strong choice for the show. It seemed that the front row seating that juts into the staging is a little too close to take all the action in.
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The cruise was our 5th NCL sailing. Ship was quite familiar, with very modest twists vs. other NCL ships.
One disappointment was to find that there were cabins located above our upgrade on Deck 11 (we pay up for a mini-suite for the comfort of the modest added space and curtain that separates the sofa from the bed -- permitting me to nap while Bev reads). There were "Family Suites" on this ship on 12, and a steady pounding on the ceiling the first afternoon alerted us to a full complement above. Fortunately, they quieted down significantly for the balance of the sailing. (There was a larger than usual number of families with younger children this cruise, taking advantage of school breaks.)
The itinerary was more limited than most of our NCL cruises to date, with only 3 ports of call. Due to reports of incidental violence, the stop at Matzalan was canceled, with 2 consecutive stops at Cabo San Lucas scheduled instead. (We stayed on ship the first day, taking advantage of the quieter ship, as we did with the last port of Puerto Vallarta -- where we had vacationed a week in November.)
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All in all, a thoroughly relaxing, heaven-sent holiday!
- Harry
