Monday, 13 July 2015
Afternoon Delight
Over the weekend, a friend and I decided to got to Basho Cafe for lunch. Originally, we had wanted to hike to Mystery Lake on Mt. Seymour but seeing that the forecast was going postal on us, we decided we'd save that for another day and just have lunch in the area. I've passed by Basho Cafe many times, but it always seemed to get lost in the numerous coffee shops and bakeries on Hastings street. So when my friend suggested it, naturally, I said yes in a heartbeat. Basho is a family run Japanese style cafe, with coffee, of course, lots of cute and unique sweets, and also a few heavier menu items for lunch. We shared a tuna tataki salad (which was literally the best I've had), a homemade buttered toast and an afternoon set, which consisted of an iced latte and a few sweets. It's definitely a neighbourhood spot I would visit again.
Saturday, 11 July 2015
Headings Towards Our Oasis
Only 125 days until embarkation on the Oasis of the Seas! This cruise has been in the works for almost a year now, and we are finally heading towards the homestretch. I guess the actual homestretch would begin when we are able to make dining and show reservations, but that won't be until October. So for now, I can start planning out the minor details, such as booking our flights, finding a hotel, and of course, creating a packing list. In true "me" fashion, I will be making a list of outfits to wear for the 7 days of cruising. I call this part the pre-planning.
Now I had previously written about booking a cruise for the Anthem on the Seas while I was onboard the Splendour of the Seas. We booked while we were still on the ship for the extra onboard credit, however, we were still on the fence about this cruise due to the hefty price of $4500 for a balcony stateroom. When we came home, we noticed a great deal on Royal Caribbean's website. The Oasis of the Seas was going for an incredibly low price (this was later on proved to be a glitch, but we were honoured the deal). With the Vow-to-Wow sale still on, we decided to transfer our booking for an earlier sailing date and for a more familiar ship, the Oasis of the Seas. We had been on her sister ship, the Allure of the Seas, and had a wonderful time. And since it is a bigger ship, we figured the destination could be the ship itself. So just like that, our cruise was moved up 6 months.
One thing I'm definitely looking forward to are the comedy nights. We really missed that on our last cruise on the Splendour. Smaller boats do not have comedy shows and we were really disappointed with that. We also missed wandering around, and getting lost in Central Park. We are also excited about the new restaurants (Sabor!) and new stores (Kate Spade!) that were added to the Oasis last year to enhance the experience.
An interesting thing that popped up during our cruise research was the purchase of on-board credit (OBC) for Canadian cruisers. Our dollar is very high right now, making it extremely expensive to purchase anything in USD, but Royal Caribbean is offering a 10% exchange rate for OBC purchases prior to sailing. I'm not sure how long this promotion will last, or if it is a promotion at all, but I took this opportunity to purchase $300 USD for myself and the boyfriend for $330 CDN. If I have any cash leftover at the end of the month, I will definitely purchase more OBC. This will save us a lot of money from either exchanging the money ourselves or charging it to our credit cards at the end of our trip. We are essentially paying for our expenses in advance.
So while our embarkation date nears, I shall continue planning our packing list and reading cruise reviews to keep the excitement brewing. I am so excited about this cruise and I can't wait to share the all the details!
Now I had previously written about booking a cruise for the Anthem on the Seas while I was onboard the Splendour of the Seas. We booked while we were still on the ship for the extra onboard credit, however, we were still on the fence about this cruise due to the hefty price of $4500 for a balcony stateroom. When we came home, we noticed a great deal on Royal Caribbean's website. The Oasis of the Seas was going for an incredibly low price (this was later on proved to be a glitch, but we were honoured the deal). With the Vow-to-Wow sale still on, we decided to transfer our booking for an earlier sailing date and for a more familiar ship, the Oasis of the Seas. We had been on her sister ship, the Allure of the Seas, and had a wonderful time. And since it is a bigger ship, we figured the destination could be the ship itself. So just like that, our cruise was moved up 6 months.
One thing I'm definitely looking forward to are the comedy nights. We really missed that on our last cruise on the Splendour. Smaller boats do not have comedy shows and we were really disappointed with that. We also missed wandering around, and getting lost in Central Park. We are also excited about the new restaurants (Sabor!) and new stores (Kate Spade!) that were added to the Oasis last year to enhance the experience.
An interesting thing that popped up during our cruise research was the purchase of on-board credit (OBC) for Canadian cruisers. Our dollar is very high right now, making it extremely expensive to purchase anything in USD, but Royal Caribbean is offering a 10% exchange rate for OBC purchases prior to sailing. I'm not sure how long this promotion will last, or if it is a promotion at all, but I took this opportunity to purchase $300 USD for myself and the boyfriend for $330 CDN. If I have any cash leftover at the end of the month, I will definitely purchase more OBC. This will save us a lot of money from either exchanging the money ourselves or charging it to our credit cards at the end of our trip. We are essentially paying for our expenses in advance.
So while our embarkation date nears, I shall continue planning our packing list and reading cruise reviews to keep the excitement brewing. I am so excited about this cruise and I can't wait to share the all the details!
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