A Short Visit to NYC

 We arrived at New York LaGuardia Airport on time, and were surprised to find that our suitcases were among the first 10 to come out on the carousel. We were in a cab to our downtown hotel in record time - but once we got through the Midtown Tunnel our luck changed. Traffic crawled so slowly on just about every street that it seemed to take us as long to get from the airport to the hotel as it did to fly from Toronto. But we did eventually arrive and settled in for our two night stay.

We had dinner at Ocean Prime, a steak and seafood restaurant we had visited on previous trips to New York, and enjoyed every bite.

My cheese ravioli appetizer

Larry chose ahi tuna

There were steaks as main course, and they were delicious!

A shared dessert - it looks much bigger than it was!

On Thursday we found a diner to have breakfast - Ellen's Stardust at 51st and Broadway. Not being familiar with the place, and obviously also not checking out the reviews on Google Maps, we didn't realize that every meal comes with a floor show. Ellen's is famous for their singing waitstaff. Of course, just about everyone who works in a bar or restaurant in the city is trying to get into showbiz, and these servers all had fantastic voices.

The tables on two levels surround a
catwalk of sorts where the featured servers
end their number.

They certainly serve generous portions!

Multi-tasking at its finest. This server
was completing her table's payment as
her song began, and still got it right.

After that big breakfast, we walked up Broadway and into Central Park where we spent a couple of hours visiting the Pond, the Lake and the area known as the Ramble, ultimately reaching Belvedere Castle. We walked back down Central Park West as we headed back to the hotel.

The Pond

A view of the Lake, where you can rent
rowboats

Belvedere Castle

Once back at the hotel, we learned that there was a big dinner, the annual Al Smith charity function, which supports the Catholic Diocese of New York City. It is apparently a big deal, and in presidential election years, the candidates both attend and put aside their political differences to support the charity.

 We had theatre tickets for the evening and stopped for an early dinner at the Lobby Lounge. A couple dressed in their formal finery sat down at the next table and we got a lot of the information from them - including that Kamala Harris was not going to be there, even though Donald Trump would attend. Our table faced a hallway to a side entrance of the hotel, and we could see that Secret Service personnel seemed to be all over the place. So we waited as long as we could to see if he would show up. No such luck. But we did find some protestors outside the front entrance:

We walked down to the theatre to see 'Once Upon a Mattress' at the Hudson Theatre. This musical was written by Mary Rodgers, daughter of Richard Rodgers, and is a comical take on the Princess and the Pea fairy tale. This new revival stars Sutton Foster, who is currently one of the most sought after Broadway performers. She has a fantastic voice and impeccable comic timing. We loved every minute of the performance.

The curtain call bows. Sutton Foster is the one in the
orange pyjamas.

When we returned to the hotel we shared the elevator with a couple of ladies who were attending the dinner. They decided to take advantage of the time Trump was talking to go back to their room and freshen up.....

On Friday we left for the ship just after 11:00 and got there by 11:20. Our cab pulled up just in time for us to see our friends Jim and Steve emerge from the car in front of us. We were on board by 11:30 and started our round of 'Who's here?'. Many of our favourite staff members had gone home for vacation ahead of the holiday season and 2025 World Cruise, but we did meet up with a lot of the old regulars who welcomed us back with genuine joy.

We had dinner with Jim and Steve, during which we were able to see the Hunter's Moon over the New York Skyline as we sailed out towards Newport, Rhode Island.

There's a little reflection in the glass since I
took this photo through the Dining Room window.