TORAÑO Family Cigar Co. Continues To Strengthen It's Team As Jack TORAÑO Joins The Family Business

(Miami, FL) September 29, 2011— Toraño Family Cigar Co. has taken another step to strengthen its team as President Charlie Toraño is proud to announce the hiring of fellow family member Jack Toraño as the Marketing & Customer Relations Manager. Jack Toraño brings along an excellent reputation for customer service, branding, and public relations. The addition of Jack Toraño is the latest in many big moves made by the Toraño Family after taking back their distribution. 

Jack Toraño, a native of Miami, Fl. got his start in the tobacco business when he was employed with Lopez Leaf Tobacco in the early 80’s. With a last name like Toraño it isn’t a surprise that he started his career in the tobacco business, but where he went next is quite an interesting tale. Jack Toraño found himself in Chicago for the last 16 years working along-side his brother Sandy Toraño in a company called Scandal Music.  Scandal Music wrote jingles for television and radio commercials. Jack’s strong sense of branding and marketing in addition to his lively personality allowed him to help create ads with companies such as McDonalds, Nintendo, and was even part of the team that created the very successful “Real Men of Genius” campaign for Bud Light.  A highlight for Jack was when Scandal Music had the privilege of creating music for the Oprah Winfrey Show. Jack’s love of premium cigars brought him back to Miami and into the family business.

Charlie Toraño felt that Jack’s background in advertising and his personable manner made him a perfect fit for the new look and direction of the Toraño Family Cigar Co.  ”Jack is the prodigal son of the Toraño family. It took us 16 years to get him back in Miami”, Charlie Toraño continued,” it’s always a great feeling to work alongside family members as we all carry that same passion for cigars”. 

The past year has been one of great change for the Toraño Family. New logo, new company name, new brands, and new faces round out the positive changes that the company has undergone. Charlie Toraño said,” I feel strongly that we have all the right pieces and persons in place to move Toraño Family Cigar Co. into a position to provide retailers and ultimately our customers with the best cigars and service possible.

Jack Toraño will replace Oliver Hyams who is going to work with his father, Gary Hyams.  “Oliver is a great friend and a fantastic person.  Oliver has been an important member of our team but I, more than most, understand Oliver’s desire to work with his father.  I wish him much success,” said Charlie Toraño.

 

A leader in the cigar industry, Toraño Family Cigar Company is a four generation company currently based in Miami, FL. It enjoys a rich heritage and history in tobacco growing and manufacturing. For more information: www.torano.com. Please also follow Toraño on Facebook: Toraño A family Cigar Company or on Twitter: @TORANOFAMCIGARS.

South Carolina Sit Down no. 15

Click on picture to enlarge.

Perdomo ESV 2002 Maduro Epicure

Perdomo ESV 2002 Maduro Epicure (6x54)

You probably have heard of Perdomo's ESV 1991 selection as it was a huge hit for them. This time Nick Perdomo and crew have chosen an estate crop of tobaccos harvested in 2002 and all grown in Nicaragua. The maduro is a very dark cigar and well made. It feels dense in the hand.

ESV stands for Estate Seleccion Vintage.

Video review HERE.

After the cap was cut the test draw was great. The initial flavors at light up were coffee, citrus, and pepper.

About 1/2 inch in the flavor profile is fairly sweet grapefruit citrus with some raw almonds and nice pepper. The finish was long with raw almonds. I was surprised at this but that's what it was!

At 1 1/2 inch the grapefruit notes are more prominent and the coffee notes are very good. The almond notes are now more of a lightly roasted variety and they are more noticeable. The finish has changed to more of a vanilla flavor. The ash is a nice salt and pepper ash and very tight. The burn is even.

At the midpoint the only thing that has changed is there are vanilla notes on the spice. The finish changes from almond to vanilla. At this point it's back to almond with a little lingering pepper on the finish.

At the point of removing the band the cigar is developing some richness in the spice. The cigar is medium bodied with a tendency of moving toward full bodied. The finish continues to change from vanilla to almond and back to vanilla. At this point it's moving back to vanilla again. The coffee notes continue to be very good.

Wrapping up the cigar I found this to be a very good cigar with nice coffee notes and grapefruit citrus. I would have liked for the cigar to have a little more richness but that was not a deal breaker. Perdomo makes great cigars and they are among my top favorites. This new ESV has all the makings of another Perdomo winner.

Score: 92

Savinelli Dos Compeones Esteliano

Savinelli Dos Compeones Esteliano (4 1/2x48)

The tale of 2 cigars!

This is the new cigar from Savinelli and by any standard it is unusual.

In each box of Dos Campeones will be two different blends. The 'Sixto' and 'Coraje.' Steven Ysidron, CEO of Savinelli, worked on the blends for the Dos Campeones. When he could not decide which blend to move forward with, he decided to use both. When asked to comment on this decision he said, ''We have been in the cigar game for almost 20 years. I have tasted a lot of tobaccos, a lot of blends. I came up with something real special with the Dos Campeones, and couldn't decide which blend could carry the name. I think both blends really embody what Savinelli can bring to the table. I am excited to launch such an innovative line."

Coraje is Latin for 'Courage.' This is a strong blend cigar and is not for the weak hearted smoker. Only the strong, the brave, the courageous will attempt to smoke this cigar.

Sixto is Latin for 'Sixth.' This cigar is the sixth blend that Steven Ysidron has worked on. He believes that in each blend he has learned how to make the next better. He promises that this blend has been his best work so far.
This will be an interesting review since there are two different cigars in each box. I will review them separately and score them accordingly in this blog post. There will also be a separate video review for each.


Dos Compeones is available in the following sizes:

Apice: 6x54
Centurian: 5x52
Trabajador: 4x56
Esteliano: 4 1/2x48 (being reviewed today)


Dos Compeones Coraje Esteliano (4 1/2x48)

Factory: Esteli
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano
Filler: Vintage Nicaraguan
Binder: Nicaraguan


Video review HERE.

A dark brown cigar that when smells spicy and peppery even before it's lit. The test draw was very good. The initial flavors were leather, cinnamon, and lots of pepper. The cigar tastes full bodied at light up.

After a few minutes I can definitely say it's full bodied. There are nice notes of orange citrus with cinnamon mixed in with a ton of black pepper. The finish is sweet with raw almonds and vanilla with lingering pepper.

About 3/4 inch in the flavors have settled into rich orange citrus which is wine-like, cinnamon, and subtle raw almonds at the end of the spice. The finish is long with raw almonds and some richness. There is (again) a ton of black pepper on both ends, especially on the spice.

At about the midpoint the rich wine-like orange notes have taken the lead. The cinnamon is secondary. The almond notes have disappeared. The finish has taken on the rich orange notes with almonds.

I removed the band and the only negative I have to say about the cigar is I would like the finish to be a little richer. There are no changes in the flavors at this point.

At the end of the cigar it wraps up with a rich, orange citrus with wine-like characteristics, cinnamon on the back end, and lots of pepper. The finish is long with orange citrus and pepper. If the cigar had a richer finish it would have scored a little higher. Nevertheless, it receives a nice score.

Score: 92




Now, on to the Sixto...

Dos Compeones Sixto Esteliano (4 1/2x48)

Factory: Esteli
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano
Filler: Vintage Nicaraguan
Binder: Nicaraguan


Video review HERE.

This cigar looks very similar to the Coraje except for the band. I believe the same tobaccos were used in each but in different amounts.

If you will remember, Steve had this to say about the Sixto:

Sixto is Latin for 'Sixth.' This cigar is the sixth blend that Steven Ysidron has worked on. He believes that in each blend he has learned how to make the next better. He promises that this blend has been his best work so far.

So...let's see!

The test draw was very good. At light up the flavors were cinnamon and pepper. I let it sit for a minute.

This cigar is starting off different from the Coraje. There are sweet orange notes and light roasted almond notes with nice pepper. There is not quite as much pepper in this cigar. The finish is long with vanilla and lingering pepper.

This cigar is not quite as full bodied as the Coraje. The orange citrus and lightly roasted almonds are almost dead event; a 50-50 split. The burn is very even and the ash is tight. I am only about 3/4 inch in at this point.

At the midpoint there are coffee notes that have appeared. The orange notes are the leader with the almond notes more subtle at this point. It appears that they used more ligero in the Coraje than this cigar. The coffee notes appear to be taking the place of the almond notes.

At the end of the cigar it wrapped up with nice orange notes with coffee. There is some richness in the orange notes at the end. The pepper remained good. The finish remained good. I feel this cigar is a tick lower than the Coraje. This was a very enjoyable cigar, however.

Score: 91


So there you have it. Two different blends of the same cigar in the same box. Sample each at your local shop and decide if you want a box. Both are very good cigars with the Coraje being very full bodied and the Sixto being full bodied. The flavors are different in each. Steven Ysidron has developed 2 very good blends in these cigars. These are the most full bodied of any Savinelli cigar I've sampled. The Dos Compeones should do well for Savinelli.

Savinelli Special Selection 2006

Savinelli Speciall Selection 2006 Robusto (5 1/2 x 50)

Factory: Oliva
Wrapper: Ecuador
Filler: Vintage 2006 Nicaraguan
Binder: Nicaragua


Available sizes:
Magnum, 6x60
Figurado, 5 1/2x54
Torpedo, 6 1/2x54
Robusto, 5 1/2x50 (being reviewed today)

Video review HERE.

The first thing that jumps out at me is these cigars are made in the Oliva Factory. This cigar is one that was introduced at this year's IPCPR. The ingredients look interesting enough to make me think this should be a good cigar.

The cigar is triple capped. The test draw was very good. The initial flavors at light up were vanilla, citrus and pepper. I let it sit for a minute.

After a half inch the flavors were orange citrus with vanilla with lightly roasted almonds. There was nice pepper but not overwhelming. The finish was one of sweet rich vanilla and some lingering pepper. It's early and the cigar should change.

At the one inch point the orange notes are now rich and sweet. The vanilla is still there and the roasted almonds are still on the tail end of the spice. The finish is a nice sweet vanilla with some lingering pepper. This was the only cigar like this I had to review so these comments are from my first time smoking this cigar.

Just past the midpoint there are no changes. The cigar is very consistent.

At the end of the cigar the story is it is very consistent. It changed very little, if at all, throughout the smoke. The cigar is medium bodied. The finish also remained the same. This cigar is very rich and tasty. I enjoyed this cigar quite a bit!

Score: 93

Tatuaje Fausto FT140 Robusto Extra

Tatuaje Fausto FT140 Robusto Extra (5 1/2 x 52)

Country of Origin: Nicaragua
Wrapper: Habano Ecuador
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Length: 5 1/2"
Ring: 52
Box Count: 25

Video revie HERE.
This is a dark brown cigar and well made. The cigar is triple capped. This cigar was debuted at this year's IPCPR. Some had called this Pete Johnson's best creation. Pete's cigars are made at the My Father Cigar Factory in Esteli, Nicaragua.

The test draw was effortless. The initial flavors are a ton of black pepper. There are subtle sweet notes and espresso notes. There are some cinnamon notes and roasted almond notes. There are no citrus notes at his point. The cigar burns very evenly. The finish is rather short with roasted almonds and pepper.

About 2 1/2 inches in the flavors were cinnamon and light vanilla notes. There is a hint of orange citrus but just a hint. The pepper is overwhelming. It is the main flavor and it's hard to get past it to define any other flavors. The finish is one of vanilla and it is getting longer. The almond notes have pretty much disappeared. The cigar is very full bodied.

At the point where I removed the band the cigar has not had any significant changes. After  having several of  Pete's cigars I found this cigar to be among the most peppery. The finish is definitely vanilla at this point.

At the end of the cigar I wrapped it up like this; this cigar is quite peppery. The main flavors are black pepper, cinnamon and vanilla.  The finish is one of vanilla and pepper.  I did not find this cigar to be Pete's best but it is a good cigar. Tatuaje lovers should like this cigar.

Score: 89

Tampa cigar maker still on a roll at age 87

When we arrived in Tampa the day before our Carnival Legend cruise we had lunch at Columbia Restaurant. Before having lunch we stopped in their gift shop/cigar shop.

-
My intention of going to Ybor City was to visit as many cigar shops as possible and to pick up the locally made cigars. Columbia Restaurant had such cigars which are handrolled by 87 year old Antonio Riverol. Below is an article that appeared in The Tampa Tribune on Mr. Riverol.

Here is a picture of me with Yenisey Diaz of Columbia Restaurant Gift Shop in front of Mr. Riverol's rolling table.

By JOSÉ PATIÑO GIRONA | The Tampa Tribune
Published: September 16, 2011

TAMPA --
Every weekday morning 87-year-old Antonio Riverol gets in his 1998 Buick Park Avenue and drives 12 miles from his Tampa home to his job as a cigar roller in Ybor City – where 100 years ago the thriving industry helped put the city on the map.

Along the way, Riverol stops at a West Tampa bakery to get an espresso and buys a lottery ticket at a nearby gas station before arriving at the Columbia Restaurant gift shop, where he's worked for more than a dozen years.

"I've never thought of retiring for no reason in the world," said Riverol, who is fluent in Spanish and speaks limited English. "While I'm working I keep busy."

Riverol learned to roll cigars as a teenager in 1940 in Ciego de Ávila, Cuba, and it has been a part of his life ever since. He's worked both full time and part time as a roller in Cuba and in Tampa.

"I never wanted to lose the rhythm of cigar rolling," Riverol said. "I always enjoyed it and one always earned something."

The opportunity to earn money is what first attracted him to cigar rolling, said Riverol, raising his left hand and rubbing his fingers together. Neither his parents nor any other close relatives practiced the craft.

He became an apprentice at a tobacco factory owned by a family friend in his hometown. A master roller in the factory taught him but gave him a hard time as Riverol learned the craft. After three years as an apprentice, he became a "professional roller" in 1943.

Riverol later worked at a tobacco factory outside his hometown. After a few years, he became a postman because it offered a slightly hire wage and stability. He later moved to Havana, where he worked a modest government job.

At night and on weekends, however, he continued to roll cigars.

He emigrated from Cuba to Tampa in March 1958, less than a year before Fidel Castro took political control of the island nation. His wife and two sons arrived in September of that year.

He rolled cigars while searching for more stable work in Tampa. He later worked assisting a welder who repaired ships at the Port of Tampa, and then became a radiology assistant technician and a technician with several doctors at University Community Hospital, retiring in the 1980s.

But the night and weekend cigar rolling rarely ceased, said his son, Arturo Riverol.

"He is a hell of a worker; that old man has more stamina than me," said Arturo Riverol, who is 71 and retired as a head custodian from Tampa's Jefferson High School.

Antonio Riverol, whose wife died a few years ago, lives with his son Arturo. His other son lives in Miami.

Besides rolling cigars, his passions are watching the Tampa Bay Rays on television and "Sabado Gigante," a Saturday night variety show on Univision that is popular with Spanish speakers.

Arturo Riverol said he's tried to discourage his dad from driving, but that his father doesn't want to stop getting behind the wheel or working.

"I don't want him to get rusty," Arturo Riverol said.

At the Columbia Restaurant gift shop, Riverol sits and works at a wooden cigar roller table from about 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday. The shop, 2103 E. 7th Ave., sells cigars, decorative plates and glasses, spices, recipe books and souvenirs from one of Tampa's most recognized restaurants.

Ana Espinosa, who works retail sales in the gift shop, has spent six years with Riverol in the store. They have traveled together to cigar shows and she has seen firsthand his work ethic over the years. He eats lunch by 12:30 p.m. and rarely misses a day of work, she said.

"I think it's a wonderful thing," Espinosa said. "He is allowing people to see what Ybor City was all about and what created Ybor City."

She said Riverol has tried to teach her how to hand roll cigars, but that it looks a lot easier than it is.

"It's a very precise art," she said. "If you don't do it exactly the right way then it won't work at all."

Riverol is an old school cigar roller who has "excellent precision," Espinosa said.

To make the tip of the cigar, for instance, Riverol uses the existing tobacco leaf wrapper and forms the end of the cigar by hand. The newer generation of cigar rollers create the tip of the cigar by cutting out a separate tobacco leaf and securing it with corn starch and water, Espinosa said.

"That is the part I don't think I'll be able to actually master," said Espinosa, 28. "There are times that I watch him I can't even understand how he does it."

Despite his knowledge of cigars, Riverol isn't a consumer. If he has smoked more than five cigars over his lifetime, that would have been too many, he said. They are too strong, so he prefers cigarettes, he said.

"I've smoked them just to taste them, that is all," Riverol said.

It's the craft, rather, that remains the lure for him.

"I'll keep doing the task while I can," he said. "I'll continue striking the iron until I can't any longer."

General Cigar Announces Sherwin Seltzer’s Retirement

Richmond, VA—General Cigar announces today that industry veteran Sherwin Seltzer will retire at the end of October, thus concluding a storied career spanning more than half a century in the premium cigar category.

“There comes a time when you have to stop and do something else. I’ve had a great run in this business but at this stage in my life, I want to devote my time to Iris, my wife of 51 years, and my children and grandchildren,” comments Seltzer, who will continue to serve as General Cigar’s vice president of trade development until October 31.

Dan Carr, president of General Cigar remarks, “Sherwin is one of those people you meet in life and never forget. He has a great sense of humor and always makes people feel at ease. Because of this, he made great contributions to General Cigar, particularly in developing relationships with our trade partners and in acting as a mentor to people in all areas of the business. While we will all miss working with Sherwin, we consider him family and look forward to hearing about his adventures during retirement.”

Sherwin began his career in the industry in 1956, working for Brown Williamson, a cigarette company, before joining Faber, Coe and Gregg, best known for importing Cuban cigars to the U.S. After a stint in California, during which time he launched Faber’s national products division, Sherwin returned to New York in 1978 to work for Joel Sherman of Nat Sherman & Company.

In 1980, Sherwin joined Villazon & Company, maker of iconic Honduran brands such as Punch®, Hoyo de Monterrey® and Excalibur®, and was quickly promoted to vice president of sales and marketing, working with Danny Blumenthal and Frank Llaneza. When General Cigar acquired Villazon in 1996, Sherwin’s career flourished. He worked hand in hand with industry icons including Edgar Cullman, Daniel Nuñez and Benji Menendez. He ultimately concentrated on sales and trade development, an entrepreneurial position which allowed him to focus on trade relations and channel expansion.

Sherwin remembers, “When General Cigar acquired Villazon, it was a turning point in my career. Edgar Cullman was like a godfather to me and together with his son Edgar and grandson David Danziger, they developed what I feel are the best brands in the industry. They also built a tremendous foundation for today’s General Cigar Company.”

Sherwin feels he’s leaving the company at the right time. “I have complete confidence in Dan Carr. He’s a terrific guy, and I know he’s going to keep moving the business forward to even bigger and better things. He has also developed a really talented management team, along with great people in the factories, and in sales and marketing. I’m retiring knowing that the company will continue to be the best in the business.”

When asked what advice he would give to someone who wants to enter the cigar business, Sherwin simply answers, “Get a job with General Cigar.”

About General Cigar

General Cigar Co. Inc., a division of Scandinavian Tobacco Group, manufactures and markets handcrafted cigars for the premium market. Committed to delivering cigars of the finest quality, General Cigar’s skilled artisans produce Macanudo®, Cohiba®,  La Gloria Cubana®, CAO, Partagas®, Punch®, Hoyo de Monterrey®, Excalibur® and several other leading premium brands in the company’s Dominican, Honduran and Nicaraguan factories.

In addition, the company cultivates proprietary tobacco which is used exclusively in its blends. General Cigar also operates Club Macanudo®, a cigar bar in New York City. Based in Richmond, VA, General Cigar sells through tobacconists nationwide and also exports select products to 62 countries. For more information, please visit www.cigarworld.com.

® Punch, Hoyo de Monterrey, Excalibur, Macanudo, Cohiba La Gloria Cubana, Partagas, and Club Macanudo are registered trademarks of General Cigar Co. Inc.

Carnival Legend cruise 2011

This is a VERY long post on our Carnival Legend cruise. It is full of good info and a detailed account of our trip. If you only have about 10 minutes you may want to take a look at the video I made combining still pictures with video. It is a quick version of our trip but not nearly as detailed as the blog post below.

To see the video go HERE.



We started our trip by leaving the office on Friday, September 2nd around 3pm and headed to Brunswick, Georgia to stay for the night. This was about half way to Tampa and left us with only a 4 hour ride on Saturday morning. We arrived in Tampa around noon and headed straight to 7th Avenue where a lot of cigar shops are located.

Our first stop was La Herencia de Cuba.

While there we met Juan Carlos, store manager.

I picked up some of their cigars and one of them was their Rameriz Cigar, which was one I had not tried yet.


After our visit there we walked up to Columbia Restaurant for some lunch. Before going into the restaurant we stopped in the gift shop/cigar shop.

They roll their own cigars there and they are handrolled by 87 year old Antonio Riverol who was not there that day since it was a Saturday. I picked up a few of their cigars to try. While there I met Yenisey Diaz. Here I am with her.

Columbia Restaurant is a beautiful place. Here are a few pics.

After a wonderful lunch our next stop was Ybor Cigars Plus. They had a roller in the window of their shop and she was rolling some nice looking barber pole cigars. I picked up one as well as another cigar.

The view of 7th Avenue as we walked.

Our final stop of the day (still on 7th Avenue) was King Corona Cigars.

While there I met the owner Don Barco. He actually recognized me when I entered the shop and called me over! We sat around for about an hour and a half exchanging cigar stories and laughs. Don was a gracious host and gave me one of his namesake cigars to smoke while we were there. The Don Barco is a very nice cigar which I enjoyed quite a bit so I decided to pick up several of every size they come in. Thanks to Don for making us feel so welcome.

Here is a pic of us with Don (next to Connie) and his close friend who is always in the shop.

He has a very big shop with a complete bar. Here are pics of the humidor (sliding glass doors) and the bar.

We programed our Garmin with the address of the Airport Courtyard Hilton and headed over. It was a fairly short trip. Vicki Lewis, who is also on the cruise with us, set up that hotel since she is a Hilton Rewards member and got us fantastic rates! The room with tax was about $94 a night and we got to leave our car there during the cruise. We had to pay for a shuttle service to get to and from the port but that was only about $34. Parking at the port would have been about $120 so in essence we got to stay the night for free, or thereabouts.

Early Saturday morning we headed out to the port. We were all anxious to get to the ship. We arrived around 10:45 or so and as you can imagine there were people everywhere! Getting through the baggage drop off and upstairs to the Carnival desk was easy. We waited for our turn to board the ship. We were on board and eating lunch on the lido deck by 11:45. Not bad at all.

Here are some pics of the ship shortly after we boarded. It's about as empty as it would be for that week!

One thing I should point out is cigar smoking is allowed on the PORT side (left) of deck 9; not starboard as stated elsewhere on Carnival's site. The ship is definitely laid out for smoking on the port side. You can also smoke cigars in Satchmo's Jazz Club, port side of deck 9, and on your balcony. That's it!


There are 2 pools on the lido deck.  They are separated by a bar area. Here are the 2 pools.

The famous Whale's Tail. Carnival had to modify the tail on the Legend in order for it to fit under the Tampa bridge. In a later pic you will see how it differs from the normal Whale's Tail when we are docked next to the Ecstasy in Cozumel.

This Whale's Tail is also different because it has glass panels. These panels are transparent and offer sunlight to the Supper Club below.

See the restaurant tables through the glass?

We stayed on deck 9 most of the afternoon until our room was ready.

At 4:30 we went to the Cruise Critic Meet and  Greet put on by Cindy, aka Cyn7, and it was great! We met so many wonderful people. We continued to enjoy their company throughout the entire cruise! Thank you Cindy for putting that together. Everyone should do that; it's a lot of fun. We had about 60 people attend too!

Our group of 6 had decided to change our original dinner time from 8:15 pm to 6:00 pm. After contacting the Maitre'D he agreed to move us. Connie and I decided to sit out tonight's 6:00 pm dinner in order to watch the ship go under the bridge. Here we are approaching the bridge.

The moment we passed under the bridge. We cleared it by 6' or so.

After our dinner on the lido deck we decided to take a look at Satchmo's Jazz Club, where cigars are allowed.

Day 2, Monday, September 5th, 2011
Day at Sea

The next day was a sea day. People really came out and enjoyed the beautiful weather, including us!

One of the cigars I had that day was a Graycliff Grand Cru. The wind made it tough to enjoy it but I did! You can see the result of the wind on the foot.

Monday night was our first night in the Truffles dining room. Here's Connie sitting next to a huge round window where we could watch the ocean go by.

The decor in the Truffles dining room was very nice. The lighting was quite different. It comprised of hundreds of bottles that had the necks twisted into a decorative pattern.

Once we were back in our room for the afternoon we had a phone call. Connie answered the phone and then handed the phone to me. On the other end of the phone there was the unmistakable Scottish voice of Wee Jimmy! I had become Facebook friends with Wee Jimmy and he asked that once we were on board I go to Guest Services and have them notify him with our room number. I did and that's why he called today. He said he wanted to meet up at Satchmo's at 10:30 tonight. So, after dinner we headed over to Satchmo's and waited for Wee Jimmy.

The cigar of choice for the occasion was an Opus X Power Ranger.

Wee Jimmy arrived around 10:45. He stays quite busy on board, as you can imagine.

A few minutes after he arrived he went to the bar for a couple waters. That's about all I drank on the entire cruise and it's Wee Jimmy's drink of choice also. Connie decide to do a little dancing.

While Wee Jimmy was getting his water and Connie was dancing I was approached by a young lady who began to talk to me as if she recognized me. To this point about 10 people had stopped me and said "hey, you're cigar dude", my screen name on Cruise Critic. I assumed she was another who had recognized me as I could hardly hear anything she said. The band was quite loud! Then, when she laid 2 Fuente Don Carlos cigars on the table I realized it was Liana Fuente! I learned she was on the same cruise as us through Facebook notes to each other. We agreed to meet but I had not seen her on board up to this point. It was quite exciting to meet her! She is the daughter of Carlos Fuente, Jr. Everyone in the cigar world knows of Fuente cigars. What a coincidence; I was having a Fuente Opus X Power Ranger too! Liana was very bubbly and happy. She hugged us several times and expressed how happy she was to meet us. She even danced with Wee Jimmy and Connie! We agreed to meet up another night too. It was quite an honor to meet her. I loved the fact that she was so down to earth and friendly.

The night wore on and we finally gave in to sleep. Here is one of the unique towel animals that our room steward made. This is tonight's version.

At this point I must point out one very important thing about our room location. The room number was 8187 which is on the Panarama Deck. It is very convenient to the Lido Deck as our room is only one deck below it. But, I noticed that you can hear the workers as they roll various carts over the pool area and food areas. When they roll across the tile floors it sounds like a train rolling down the tracks! Now, it's not horrible but it's worth pointing out. I looked at it as white noise. When you're laying in bed at night you notice it the most. The noises are not constant but when they roll over the floor you know it. The fact that we were so close to the lido deck made the minor noise problem less important. If you stay in 8187 or any nearby room you will hear this noise, just be aware of it.



Day 3, Tuesday, September 6th, 2011
Today's port: Cozumel, Mexico

We were docked at the southernmost of the 3 Cozumel piers. Also in dock today was the Carnival Ecstasy. We actually were ready to leave the ship but were held up to allow the Ecstasy to pull in to dock. Here are the two ships next to each other.

The first order of business was to take a taxi into town to find the new La Casa del Habano that opened earlier this year. Well, we found it easily but it did not open until a few hours later! At least we found it. We decided to come back after we went to Paradise Beach. Here is how the LCDH appears from the street.

So, out to Paradise Beach we went. There were some reports on Cruise Critic that Paradise Beach had gone downhill. I was surprised to read this as I remember it as a great place and now they have a brand new pool and bar area. I was quite anxious to see the condition of the place. Upon arriving I met Guillermo Cerda, one of the managers. I had notified them that we would be there on Tuesday. I am a fan of theirs on Facebook, so notifying them was easy. I expressed to Guillermo that there were reports about their facility that were negative. He was aware of those reports and asked me to let him know of anything I found that was in need of attention. Well, I could have not been more relieved to find what I did. The grounds, facilities, and pool were spectacular. The reports were obviously the work of someone trying to bad mouth Paradise Beach. But don't take my word for it; take a look at the pics and you tell me!

They were continually sweeping the beach of seaweed and trash. It was very clean.

The "toys" appeared to be in great shape.

Connie enjoyed walking the beach.

Take a look at the manicured grounds.

The new pool area is great!

The famous parrots that live at the resort are so colorful. They almost don't look real!

After hanging out on the beach for awhile we decided to head over to the pool to cool off before lunch.

It was soon lunch time, so we walked over to the restaurant. Connie loves her guacamole and chips!

After lunch it was back to the pool. Remember those Don Carlos cigars I told you about? Liana had given me 2 last night. Here is one being enjoyed!

The view from the pool deck looking towards the beach. As you can see it's a short walk.

We absolutely loved Paradise Beach. I can highly recommend it when you're in Cozumel. One of the great things about it is you "pay as you go" instead of having a large lump sum all inclusive price. Since I don't drink much it's quite a bit less expensive for us to do it this way. There is no admission fee either. The prices were reasonable for everything. Great place. We loved it. There was nothing I would change about Paradise Beach, except that I be there more often!


So, after several hours at Paradise Beach it's back into town we go. By now the LCDH should be open, and it was, much to my excitement. The shop is very easy to find. It is directly across the street from the tenders that go back and forth to Play del Carmen. It is upstairs above Fat Tuesday's. The entrance is on the side of the building. Simply take the stairs on the right of the picture below.

Shop manager, Michael Gillardin.

The famous Cohiba Behike's. No, I didn't buy this box!

Me with Michael. When we left Paradise Beach I put my shirt on backwards. Can you tell?

There was a government meeting going on in the dining room while we were there so we decided to sit outside on the deck.

The huge Mexican flag as seen from the LCDH deck.

View from the deck looking toward the water. The water taxi/tenders are just to the left of this picture.

View from Connie's vantage point looking down to the shopping area.

Once the meeting was over I went inside to get some pics of the restaurant. You can still see Connie sitting on the deck in the left of the picture.

It was getting close to time to board the ship so off we went. We thanked Michael for his hospitality. The shop was great!



Remember earlier when I mentioned that the Legend's Whale's Tail was modified to fit under the bridge? Here is a pic of the Legend's tail and the Ecstasy's tail. See the difference? The Legend is on the left.

With us having early dining it is a short wait from the time we re board the ship until dinner time. After dinner we came back to the room to change into something more casual. Once inside we found a surprise waiting for us!

The card said it was from John Heald and Wee Jimmy! How very thoughtful and nice! Champagne and chocolate covered strawberries with bow ties! We were blown away! Tonight is the first ever Cigars Under the Stars, which I learned from Wee Jimmy is being held in my honor! Cool! John Heald holds them on his ship and I asked him if the Legend has them. He contacted Wee Jimmy and guess what, it's happening on the Legend! I was quite honored that they are holding the first one for me. They listed the event in the Fun Times for today as one of the top 10 things to do on board! Nice!

The event was from 10 pm until midnight. Here are pics of the event. I heard there were 30 people in attendance! Not bad for the first one and very little advertising!

Liana Fuente with her date, Emil.

Liana was so nice and friendly! She even brought some cigars for the attendees! That was quite a nice surprise! Thank you Liana for being there and attending our event!

We ended the event around 12:30! Very late night for us! Off to bed; we have Belize tomorrow!




Day 4, Wednesday, September 7th, 2011
Today's port: Belize City, Belize

It was a little drizzly when we arrived in Belize. This is a tender port so we headed down to the boarding area to wait for our number to be called to board a tender. We didn't wait long. The tenders are large and hold several hundred people. The ride to the dock is about 25 minutes. Once we arrived we headed to the Wet Lizard to meet our transportation to Caye Caulker. We decided to spend the day there and experience a small island.

We finally boarded the boat for Caye Caulker. The ride over was 45 minutes long! Ouch! Anyway, here's Vicki and Marge who decided to go with us.

As you arrive at the dock in Caye Caulker you see a true small island town.

The pathway into town took us through a grave yard!

Various shots around town. Notice the streets are not paved.

Social Security Office. Notice the hours of operation in the pic below.

Golf carts are everywhere. We did not see a regular car or truck anywhere while we were there.

The Lazy Lizard has seen better days! But...it's still in operation. Check around back.

The famous "Split".

The back side of the Lazy Lizard! Get your drinks here!

We decided to take a taxi back to the front of the island for lunch. It was reasonable and a great experience. We boarded the golf cart-taxi and away we went!

After lunch it was time to take the 45 minute ride back to the Belize dock and then board the tender back to the ship. In all we spent about 2 1/2 hours on little boats today!

Vicki had also set up a dinner at the Golden Fleece supper club. Reservations were at 6 pm. Here are pics of the inside of the restaurant. Also, you can see the glass panels that adorn the Whale's Tail above. Notice the reddish hue everything has under the glass area.

Our table in the distance.

Our table!

I'm normally not a food-picture guy but take a look at this fruit cocktail!

After dinner, which was great, I took this picture of the lower level of the atrium. It's seven decks below! Don't fall!

After dinner we typically went to the lido deck for cigars then off to bed.




Day 5, Thursday, September 8th, 2011
Today's port: Roatan, Honduras


When we arrived in Roatan it was absolutely pouring rain! It came down sideways! We bought 2 rain ponchos and decided to brave the elements. We made out way to the taxi area in hopes to find a car waiting for us. I had communicated with Kevin Miller, owner of the Roatan LCDH, and he told me he would have someone meet us and take us over to the new cigar shop location. Unfortunately I never saw anyone waiting for us so we decided to go over to Coxen Hole and see if the shop was open. The driver told us that since no ship was in dock at that port facility the shops would not be open but I wanted to go see anyway. He took us on a very scenic drive over to Coxen Hole. Here are some pics from the highest point on Roatan.

Well, the cab driver was right, the shops were closed. We looked for the LCDH but could not find the new shop anywhere. I was quite disappointed but realize that things happen, so we went back to Mahogany Beach for the remainder of the day. It was quite busy. It's an easy walk from the ship. You could take a chair lift over if you wanted but it was $12 for a day pass so, we passed!

This picture shows how close the ship is to the beach.

Roatan was a short day. We left the dock at 3 pm. We had some time to unwind before dinner. The ship was full of beautiful pictures. Here is just one that was in a stairwell.

Connie wanted to try the Happy Frog beer which is a Carnival brew. It is a draft beer and it's dark. She enjoyed it very much.

After some cigars we turned in. Tomorrow is Grand Caymen!




Day 6, Friday, September 9th, 2011
Today's port: Grand Caymen


Grand Caymen is another tender port. The ship anchors very close to the dock so the tender in was very short. Here Connie waits to board the tender.

Here's a pic of the island from the ship.

The Carnival Legend as seen from the tender.

Just after we left the tender.

The first stop was the La Casa del  Habano. We found it pretty quickly.

Inside we met Wallace, store manager.

Wallace with us.

I picked up several sticks as well as a box of Partagas Serie D no. 4. I asked Wallace to keep them until we got back from Royal Palms resort. We caught a taxi out to Seven Mile Beach and Royal Palms Resort.

The water was simply beautiful!

There was a nice bar.

As well as a short order restaurant.

The cigar of the day was a PSD4. I had purchased a single from Wallace to go along with the box.

When it was time to leave Royal Palms it began to sprinkle a little. By the time we were on the taxi it was pouring! We timed that out great! It continued to rain until we got back to the tender port. We asked the taxi driver to take us over to the cigar shop and he did. That saved us from getting soaked! Once back in the cigar shop I took a couple pics of their humidor.

The rain stopped and we walked back to the tender spot. After a short ride back to the ship I had a San Cristobal robusto on the balcony.

A couple more pics of Grand Caymen from our balcony.

A beautiful sunset as seen from our balcony.

After dinner I decided to have one of the cigars I purchased in the Cozumel LCDH. Tonight's choice, the Partagas Serie D Especial.

Before we left the cabin to head to the lido deck for our cigars I snapped this pic of tonight's towel animal. That's a pretty good job!!!

The Partagas is well underway.

Connie had a Montecristo.

Tomorrow will be a chance to sleep in a little as it's another day at sea.



Day 7, Saturday, September 10th, 2011
Day at sea.


Sunrise over Cuba (in the far distance!)

Sleepy head!

After breakfast and a couple hours on the outside decks soaking up the Caribbean sun I decided today would be a good day to take some random shots of the ship. The light was good and I had the time.

I actually went to the gym 4 times on this cruise. So much for taking time off! The ship had a very nice gym and good equipment. It was quite unusual. It had 4 different levels with equipment on all 4 levels. Here are some pics of the gym and the hot tub in the middle of the gym on the lower level.

As I said before, the ship had artwork everywhere. Here is a sample inside one of the elevators.

And here is another piece in a stairwell.

The Enchanted Forest. A nice place to get away and sit while you watch the sea go by.

The Atrium. Notice how the daylight turns everything a reddish hue as it beams through the Whale's Tail.

There are urns EVERYWHERE!

This is the Serenity Deck. A beautiful spot in the back of the ship for adults only. It's a good place to get away from the kids and lounge in cushy recliners. Unfortunately they do not allow smoking here so I did not spend any time lounging. I passed through to get some pics but that's it. It looks great!

The huge slide just above the Serenity Deck.

I received another call from Wee Jimmy telling me to be at the Firefox Lounge at 5pm. We went and the event was the Farewell Party. The band played and the drinks flowed; free drinks!

Me with Wee Jimmy.

Since the Farewell Party was at 5 pm we had time to go there before the last dinner on board. Here is our entire table.

After dinner there was time for more cigars. This is the last cigar of the cruise, a Trinidad.

We were off the ship on Sunday Morning around 10 am. This is much later than the other ships. We met our shuttle back to the Airport Courtyard Marriott and headed home. Approximately 8 hours later we were there.

If you recall, I purchased a box of PSD4's in Grand Caymen. Here there are!

As you can tell they are quite young but that's ok. They're still mine!!!!


Also, here is another Partagas that I picked up in Cozumel. It's a Salomone and it's amazing looking!

Well, that's it. Another spectacular trip. Connie and I had a great time. Thanks to John Heald and Wee Jimmy for helping make this an unforgettable vacation. I hope to meet John some day and have a cigar with him. The Carnival Legend is a beautiful ship and I can easily see why people sail her over and over.