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Royal Caribbean - Independence of the Seas - Our REVIEW

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We recently set sail on a 3-day Bahamian cruise aboard Royal Caribbean Cruise Line's Independence of the Seas departing from Port Canaveral, Florida.  Our review is for this specific cruise only. Our boarding time was scheduled for 11:00am on embarkation day so we decided to head down to Florida a day early to avoid missing our cruise.  We stayed at the Hyatt Place Hotel in Titusville, Florida which is about 20-30min from Port Canaveral.  It made for an easy commute to Port Canaveral. Fun Fact: Embarkation is the process of loading a passenger ship    On the morning of our cruise, we left our hotel at 10:00am which turned out to be the perfect time to get us to the boarding station at 11:00am.  As we crossed the Martin Andersen Beachline Expressway, our excitement level went through the roof at seeing the various cruise ships in port.      Our terminal was Terminal 1, which is Royal's main terminal at Port Canaveral.  The signage at the port was good at getting us to the right
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Our Review of Biltmore Estate

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Opened in 1895 after five years of construction, this 178,926 square foot, 250 room private home is an amazing place that everyone should experience.  Biltmore Estate remains privately owned today as a self sufficient estate welcoming guests to tour the amazing house, stay in their amazing inn, purchase their amazing wine and more.

Our latest trip to Biltmore Estate was one to never forget; it was like seeing it for the first time.  We entered through the original 1895 gate house and proceeded up the 3 mile approach road to the house.  After parking in one of the conveniently located lots, we strolled up a short path and through the gate, turned the corner and their she was in all her splendor.  

Our house tour time was not for a few hours so we walked the grounds and explored the Italian Garden, carriage house and even enjoyed lunch at the Stable Café.  The food didn't strike us as "out-of-this-world", but it was enjoyable none the less.  The tour of the house revealed some changes since our last visit several years ago...a more structured path through the house, an upgraded audio experience, and staged manakins dressed in period attire to give the illusion of the presence of the Vanderbilt family living their lives in the house.

We regret not paying the extra expense for the expert guided roof top and backstairs tours.  The main self guided tour, while extensive, only reveals a portion of the house.  You don't truly get the full experience unless you do the other tours.   One pleasant surprise was the metal barricades located along the entry road near the Rampe Douce.  Traffic is no longer allowed to drive up the driveway to the house except for the estate's shuttles taking guests to and from the parking lots and gardens.

The curators of the estate have done an amazing job restoring and maintaining the house and grounds to the look of George Vanderbilt's era.  We can only imagine the time and money it takes to accomplish this task which makes the self sustaining status that much more impressive.

We also headed over to Antler Hill Village which is a another new addition since our last visit.  There were shops and eateries along with the staples like the Farmyard and the classic, Biltmore Winery.  We enjoyed fresh ice cream made on-site.  Don't be fooled by what may appear to be a small quaint place.  Biltmore Estate encompasses 8,000 acres and several miles of roads and has two hotels so you can stay on-site.  When traveling around the property be sure to allow sufficient travel time.  You will also want to wear comfortable shoes because there is a lot of walking.

So if you're ever in the Ashville, North Carolina area and looking for an amazing couple of days, we highly recommend visiting Biltmore Estate.  It's recommended to pre-order your tickets in advance as the early morning house entry times go quickly.  Biltmore controls the number of people and their movement through the house with timed entry.  Also remember there are enough things to do if you want to stretch your visit out a couple days.

Biltmore is one of our most favorite places to visit and we try to go often and we highly suggest you put it on your must see places to visit.  Check out their Facebook page and website for more information.

@BiltmoreEstate        www.biltmore.com

Location: 1 Lodge St, Asheville, NC 28803, USA

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