<p>What a way to end 2017 and to start 2018 &#8211; with a cruise holiday in the Caribbean.</p>
<h2>Flying #AmericanAirlines to New York</h2>
<p>Leaving Brussels on British Airways and continuing on American Airlines to New York turned out to be a very smooth ride&#8230; Due to the excellent ConciergeKey service, we got a private transfer from T5 to T3 where we could wait in the First Class lounge. Food selections were very good but the general inside could do with a make-over (think Flagship Chicago as an example which is a phenomenal lounge)On board, the new AA Business Class is really comfortable. The service was outstanding but special kudo&#8217;s for the food &#8211; I ordered a NLML (No Lactose MeaL) and it was delicious. Arriving in New York terminal 8 was a breeze and we were through security in less than 15 minutes. Actually we were so quick that we had to wait for our luggage&#8230;</p>
<h2>Flying #Delta to San Juan</h2>
<p>Perfect check-in, security check and a great lounge (we have American Express Platinum cards that get us into the lounge). Plane was well on time and we had gotten upgraded to First (Platinum Delta card). Service on board was OK (full flight) but the meal was not at all &#8211; first of all the tray had yoghurt, cream cheese and a bagel (none of which is lactose free). On Delta you can only order non-lactose by ordering basically a vegan meal which is fine with me. However, what I got was a cooked out vegetable tray that had no taste and the above mentioned which wasn&#8217;t lactose-free. Shame on you Delta for never getting this right (this is like my 8th flight where it isn&#8217;t done properly). Such a pity for an airline that seems to be getting most things quite right.</p>
<p><img src="https://www.theroadsitravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/img_0028.jpg" class="wp-image-76 size-full" height="4032" width="3024"><img src="https://www.theroadsitravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/img_0027.jpg" class="wp-image-77 size-full" height="3024" width="4032"></p>
<h2>Celebrity Cruise on Summit</h2>
<p>Once again we are sailing with #Celebrity and the delightful Captain Kate (the first female captain on large cruise ships). This time we booked AquaClass and we are on deck 11. So far it has been flawless and we have hardly gone off the ship since we have been to the Caribbean several times. The weather has been great and we left San Juan for Charlotte Amalie continuing on with a day at sea (January 1st), followed by Grenada, and Barbados today.</p>
<p><img src="https://www.theroadsitravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/img_0051_facetune_02-01-2018-13-21-06.jpg" class="wp-image-78 size-full" height="3088" width="2320"><img src="https://www.theroadsitravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/img_0052.jpg" class="size-full wp-image-79" height="1536" width="2048"></p>
<p>Year-end was great on board with several parties and moods going on aboard.</p>
<p><img src="https://www.theroadsitravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/img_0044.jpg" class="size-full wp-image-83" height="3024" width="4032"></p>
<p><img src="https://www.theroadsitravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/img_0042_facetune_01-01-2018-10-04-05.jpg" class="size-full wp-image-80" height="3088" width="2320">The food in Blu (AquaClass) is phenomenal and worth the upgrade to AquaClass by itself. <img src="https://www.theroadsitravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/img_0058_facetune_02-01-2018-22-16-27.jpg" class="size-full wp-image-81" height="3140" width="2089">We have had the ship to ourselves quite a lot as people go out and visit. For those of you wondering, Captain Kate is moving on to the Equinox so we are wishing her all the best and hope to see her on one of our next trips. Stay tuned for the rest of the update and enjoy some of the pictures&#8230;.</p>
<p><img src="https://www.theroadsitravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/img_0033_facetune_30-12-2017-21-35-33.jpg" class="wp-image-82 size-full" height="2320" width="3088"></p>