Sailing away on the Norwegian Epic {part 3}

We're onboard the Norwegian Epic, and ready to hit the open waters. Catch up on part 1 of my review here, and part 2 here.

Some people choose a cruise based on the ports of call they'll be visiting. I prefer to choose based on the ship and onboard amenities, but our ports of call on the Epic were pretty, well, Epic. We were on an Eastern Caribbean itinerary which sailed out of Miami to St. Martaan, St. Thomas, and Nassau. This was a 7 day cruise, so we had 3 sea days as well.

Here are some of the highlights of our excursions:

St. Martaan (or St. Martin depending on which side of the island you're on)
We chose the Ultimate Island Tour & Explorer Cruise excursion offered by NCL. This was a relaxing way to see both the Dutch and French sides of the island, and learn a lot of history about the island. Our tour guide on the bus ride was Cecilia. She had a heavy accent and I felt like I was comprehending her in slow motion. I had to really slow down and listen to everything she said so I could understand her. She was very knowledgeable and had a great sense of humor.

View from where our ship was docked

Bus tour

After about 20 minutes on the bus with Cecilia, we boarded our Explorer cruise. As soon as we stepped foot on the boat, the dark skies welcomed us with heavy rain and wind. What a nightmare! We were able to grab chairs on the top deck, which was covered, and rum punch to warm us up. Did I mention that the boat has unlimited rum punch? I think I might have had 3 glasses before we reached Marigot.

The sun came out shortly after the Explorer left the dock. Whew!

Gorgeous Marigot area

We were dropped off for an hour in Marigot. This was a marina shopping area on the French side of the island. Well if I can't be in Paris this year, I was going to soak up being in a French territory! The merchants accepted Euros and all spoke perfect French. Even the handwriting was very French - I loved looking at all of the menu boards.

French handwriting, French cuisine = I'm in France! 

We opted to eat lunch instead of shopping. We ended up with a crepe and a pizza. Even after 3 days of all you can eat pizza onboard the Epic, I was craving pizza for some reason. Both dishes were good, but a little pricey after factoring in the Euro to US Dollar conversion.

Jambon, fromage, and oeuf crepe

Margherita pizza

After our hour flew by, we were back on the bus with Cecilia to return back to our ship. We had the option of being dropped off in the shopping area, but we chose to return to our home away from home on the Epic.

St. Thomas

St. Thomas was pretty darn close to paradise. You know those images with the crystal blue water and the palm trees? Yep, that's where we were. We chose the St. John Champagne Catamaran Sail and Snorkel offered by NCL. This was the highest rated excursion offered for our itinerary and all of the reviews I found online were good as well. Plus, it had "champagne" in the name, so I knew it had to be good!

We had a short ride to the dock where we were greeted by our catamaran crew. We saw a boat docked in the marina that was from St. Petersburg, Florida. What a small world! I had to get a picture of that!

When we were leaving we actually saw Mr. and Mrs. Mango Man on their boat. We told them we were also from St. Petersburg. The Mango's had been docked in St. Thomas for 3 months and they were getting ready to head out to the British Virgin Islands. This is where I almost had my Chris Gardner moment, "What do you do and how do you do it?"

The scenery on the ride to our near private island, St. John, was beautiful. We arrived at the snorkeling destination and had an hour or two to explore. I am not a snorkeler, so we headed to the beach and enjoyed the water. You could almost see your feet through the water, it was that clear.

Before we knew it, we headed back onboard our catamaran for some drinks and snacks. Being bummed about leaving the island was made better with unlimited champagne and rum punch. How many rum punches could we drink before we headed back onboard the Epic? Not enough :)

Bye bye St. John! 

Fueling up

Nassau
We actually decided to stay onboard the Epic instead of doing an excursion in Nassau. I've been to Nassau 3 times on cruises and never gotten off of the boat there. Either I am really missing out or I'm not missing much at all.

Stay tuned for part 4 of my vacation recap - featuring all of the onboard features of the Epic!

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Papa Murphy's Pizza

It's a bird, it's a plane, it's... pizza?! Papa Murphy's Pizza is making it rain pizza on Thursday February 7th at 6pm. YOU are invited to join Papa Murphy's for this event, where goodies will be tossed down to guests from a hot air balloon. Prizes include gift cards, pizza, and party packages. A few lucky guests may also win free pizza for a year. This fun and family friendly event will take place on the USF Golf Course at 3801 North 46th Street in Tampa.

Papa Murphy's is opening a new location in Tampa at 5383 Ehrlich Road, Suite 105. A portion of all proceeds at this store from Thursday February 7th-14th will be donated to Williams Syndrome Association, to help send local children to a music therapy camp.

Fresh pizzas baked at home

So what is Papa Murphy's? Fresh take and bake pizzas. Stop by a Papa Murphy's on your way home from work, order a pizza, and pop it in the oven when you get home. No more greasy delivery pizza or frost bit freezer pizzas! The best part is that the pizzas are made to order and completely customizable. Papa Murphy's uses only fresh ingredients, and your pizzas will be made right in front of you. Check out the Papa Murphy's menu here.

Which pizza from the Papa Murphy's menu would you like to try?

The Heart Baker - available for Valentine's Day

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Cappy's Pizzeria - St. Pete

Last week, when trying to decide where to meet for dinner with a friend (hey, AJ!), Cappy's came up as a suggestion. After hearing many rave reviews of Cappy's, I jumped at the opportunity to try it.

Cappy's Pizzeria was founded in 1995, and currently has 4 locations: St. Pete, Brandon/Riverview, South Tampa, and Seminole Heights. We met at the St. Pete location at 2900 1st Avenue North. Upon entering, the aroma of fresh baked pizza greets you like a warm hug. The location does too - it has a homey feel, not that of a busy restaurant. (Note - we were there on a weekend...YMMV on weekends!)

Seat yourself or sign in

I knew I liked the place when I saw that every table was outfitted with Trivial Pursuit cards. Have some fun while waiting for your pizza to be baked! Then I saw the menus... old record covers. Pretty cool, right? This place really has a vibe of being at a friends home.

The menu

Have some fun while waiting for your pizza

We started with a small greek salad to share ($4.95). This salad was enough for 3 people! It was served family style. The dressing had a sweet greek taste. The salad was outfitted with fresh black olives, peperoncinis, cucumber, diced green pepper, and topped with a generous sprinkling of feta. While Cappy's is a pizza place, the greek salad was better than I've had at local greek restaurants.

Greek salad

We ordered a medium Chicago style pizza that has 6 slices. Our deep dish pizza was topped with pepperoni, mushrooms, and black olives. Then, it was covered with chunky tomato sauce. Where else can you get fresh Chicago style pizza like this in St. Pete? I took the leftovers home and it reheated very well!

So good I forgot to take the picture

I did not see a dessert menu, so I am not sure if desserts are offered at Cappy's. We did not have any room for dessert, but a homemade tiramisu, cannoli, or bowl of gelato would have been the perfect ending to a perfect meal.

I am happy I've now been to Cappy's, and can rave to others about it. Next time you want a casual meal in a laid back environment, you know where to go!

PS: Cappy's WON Best Pizza in Creative Loafing's 2012 Best of the Bay awards!

Check out Cappy's on Urbanspoon

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