Our Only Trip to Las Vegas

Author: Dolphins
Date of Trip: April 2006

We normally cruise out of New York and hate flying, but we had never been to Las Vegas so we thought we had to try it once. We got a non-stop flight from Islip, NY to Las Vegas which didn’t improve our opinion of flying (no meals, TV or movies).

The Bellagio Hotel
Upon recommendations of friends, we booked the Bellagio Hotel which was the best thing about our trip. We had previously request a lakeview room so we could see the famous fountains of Bellagio and we were very fortunate to have a 15th floor room overlooking the fountains which gave us a spectacular show every night with accompanying music on our room TV. The man who choreographed those fountains to some great music was truly a genius and we never tired of watching them. We also had a great view of the Eiffel Tower at the Paris Hotel across the strip. The Bellagio is an elegant hotel with a beautiful pool area of five swimming pools in an attractive garden setting where we spent every morning. Their lobby with the glass flowered ceilings and the exceptional conservatory garden were without equal anywhere on the strip.

Their buffets were also the best and we were fortunate to receive a line pass as there were always long lines outside the Bellagio buffets for all meals. We are not gamblers so spent almost no time in the many smoky casinos but we toured the strip visiting almost all the famous hotels. The only ones that impressed us at all were the Venetian and Ceasar’s Palace but they still couldn’t compare to Bellagio.

Activities in Vegas
We had tickets for Celene Dion’s show at Ceasar’s on Easter Sunday night but she was sick and cancelled. We did catch the fabulous Cirque du Soleil “O” at the Bellagio and it was well worth the high ticket price as you could see where the money went. We were not impressed with the erupting volcano outside the Mirage or the silly pirate show outside of Treasure Island or Steve Wynn’s new hotel (how can he top his Bellagio). We took an excursion to Hoover Dam and a boat ride on Lake Mead and it was a wonderful respite from the crowds on the strip (Easter week).

Final Thoughts
All in all, except for the Bellagio, we were not to impressed with Las Vegas and doubt we will fly there again. It reminded us of that old Peggy Lee song, “Is That All There Is.” It was good to get back home and return to cruising vacations out of New York. Hopefully, this was our last flight.