It's been a long time since we loaded up the car for a trip. And we're going on a cruise! Well, kinda...
It's been well over a year since we've left the state of Michigan together on vacation.
I've been able to travel a little bit for work but when was the last time you flew?
January of 2020 when we went on the Carnival Sunrise. Our Sunrise cruise. Now, we are
kind of doing some cruises on this vacation. What are we doing? We're doing a sunset
cruise from Clearwater and we are doing a Calypso Queen Tropical Party Buffet cruise.
All right, so it's not the cruises we're used to but we're going to get some palm trees,
we're going to get some ocean air and it's going to take us about three and a half hours to get
to Tampa Bay. But that's the beauty of video, you don't have to wait.
Welcome to Florida!
"Open Road" by Firework Festival playing
So this quick trip just for the weekend to Florida, it's about a little bit of fun in the
sun, getting away from Michigan for the first time in a long time for the two of us together. And we're
gonna, we're gonna have some fun. Don't have any huge plans. Like Stephanie said, we're gonna do
those, those couple short little cruises and that's gonna be fun. We're gonna take you along with us.
But right now we're gonna have some lunch at Frenchy's Rockaway Grill in Clearwater.
Hey guys, so we're here at Frenchy's Rockaway Grill and you know we haven't been cruising for
the past year and that obviously sucks but one thing that has been good this past year
is the community that we built online. We've made lots of new friends through Facebook, through
Marco Polo, through YouTube. And sometimes you actually get to meet those guys before you get
on a cruise, and that's what happened today. These guys are actually supposed to be on the Mardi Gras
right now, right. They actually said that they're happier to be here with us.
But it's the Bowens' from "That's Cruise Life" Say hi guys! What's going on, guys?
All right so we've got, we got our food here. I got the grouper. Sorry, it's chow time. Gotta go.
If you like Hulk Hogan, you gotta come check out Hogan's Hangout in the shop here in Clearwater, Florida.
Cruise World, brother (spoken as Hulk Hogan)
We're gonna start boarding at this time, guys. Make sure you're with your entire group please.
Once you step up I'll sign you in so if you guys want to come forward. Once you're onboard the bar is open right away. So do you guys prefer the top or the bottom? You don't know that about the Bowens?
How are you doing? Doing well. We're from the YouTube channel The Cruise World, (that's so cool) and this is the first
cruise we've been on in over a year. (No way) We're pretty excited. Well welcome aboard.
This isn't, isn't quite the cruise ships we're used to, but it's gonna be a good time we're gonna have fun.
So as you can see behind me the sun is about to set.
You know, it's a little different than being on a big cruise ship but it's still beautiful.
It's setting over the Gulf of Mexico and it's a wondrous sight.
We had a great time on this sunset cruise and spending the day with Jay and Michelle from "That's Cruise Life."
Man we got a, we got a busy day ahead of us tomorrow, too. We're doing a lunch
buffet cruise on what's it called? The Calypso Queen. The Calypso Queen. So i think we're
heading back into shore right now. We're going to call it a night but we'll see you tomorrow.
All right, so it's another brand new beautiful day. We're back down here
at Clearwater Beach and what are we doing today?
We are doing a Calypso Queen Tropical Party Buffet Lunch cruise. All right you had me at "buffet" but you hooked me at "cruise."
All right so we're gonna take another look at the Clearwater Beach and
then we're gonna head over to the boat. Sound good? Sounds good. We'll see you there.
That was the first proper buffet I've had in well over a year since the pandemic
started, but they did it the right way. They required masks while you were at the buffet
and they gave you plastic gloves. A new pair every time you went up,
so it felt perfectly safe. The food was good. The Calypso Queen I give it an A+
All right, so we just had a very nice lunch buffet cruise on the Calypso Queen.
Yes we did. And now we're off to Siesta Key.
Hey guys, before we head to Siesta Key just a little helpful hint for anyone. Parking over here in Clearwater and St Pete's is a nightmare.
You can download this Park Mobile app. You put your license plate information in it,
you can pay for your parking that way based on zones. If you want to stay on the beach or
wherever you're at longer, you can, you can add time from your phone. i think it's in
12 minute increments and it's really helpful so you don't have to rush back to your vehicle.
One thing about us is we collect way too much.
True story. It is true, but one of the things we really do like to collect are
Hard Rock shot glasses and and the pins. So it wouldn't be a completed trip to Tampa
without hitting the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino so we can get some of that swag. So we're gonna get some
lunch here and then unfortunately I think we're really close to calling this a completed vacation.
All right so now we're at Siesta Key Beach, it's here in Sarasota, Florida.
On our way over we actually stopped off at Lido Beach because
it's the lido, but i gotta tell you it's not nearly as nice as the lido deck because
there's more shells on that beach than I have ever seen and I mean it goes on and on all the
way, almost all the way to the parking lot. Really hurt my little feet, so we're back over here to
Siesta Key Beach and this beach actually looks to be one of the most accessible beaches that we
have been to in our stop here in Florida. They got a ramp all the way down that looks like
wheelchair accessible or carts or scooters if you need to. All the way down to the beach
so Steph and I are gonna go down and check it out and just walk along the beach and enjoy the day.
Oh this is, this sand is much better than
Lido Beach. What do you think? Feels like walking in powdered sugar. That's not a bad thing
So we just left Siesta Key Beach, which in our opinion, I think you would agree
that our favorite beach of the weekend, yes? Oh absolutely. Yeah, so between all the accessibility,
the fine sand it's just, it was a great way to cap off our weekend.
You know, Florida is a beautiful place, that's for sure. Can't wait to be here full time.
This is the part of that vacation that nobody likes.
We've got to check out of the hotel and head to the airport and go back home.
On a cruise it really hits home the night before disembarkation when you're walking through the
halls and you see everybody's luggage out. And that's when you know the vacation is almost over.
But with every vacation comes a lot of memories and they can never take those away from us.
And that's why we do what we do on YouTube, because we like to share it with everyone. So as we get closer
to a return to cruising, we just want to say how much we appreciate all of your views. Remember to
please hit that subscribe button, share this video with your friends and family, and if you enjoyed
our little trip to Florida hit the thumbs up. Life is short, cruising is fun! We'll see you next time.