Final Day 11-7-14

I woke up and had to go to the bathroom.  I opened the drapes to peek out and saw the full moon on our side of the ship.  I ran in the dark to get my camera and by the time I got back it had gone behind the clouds…never to be seen again.  I went back to sleep. 

We went to breakfast and then we went through the shops and I talked to the lady in the watch shop about exchanging one of the two I bought.  I saw one in the window I thought I liked better but when I got back to the cabin and looked at the one I bought, I decided to keep it.  Now onto to packing.  Debbie was already into the process when I returned.  As we both started, we wondered how we managed to have all of this stuff in here and out of sight for the most part.  Wow.

We visited with the other girls at lunch and went to look at the pictures we had taken throughout the cruise.  More packing and onto dinner.  How we got ready in the space that was left in the cabin I don’t know.  Edwin gave us wine and appetizer cheese plates and was there at the end with his hand out waiting for us to give him a tip…unbelievable really.  We went to the Centrum to watch Patty perform in “Thriller”.  They dressed them up and put on makeup.  It was very cute and fun and Patty was great!  She made the most out of this cruise doing everything she could.  Kay, Judy and I were silly before Thriller dancing to the band in the Centrum.

The music on the cruise has been good.  The first cruise we had a guitarist who was amazing and it was so nice having a cocktail and listening to him.  In the Centrum/Atrium they rotated it with a pianist and two violinists who were awesome and then a general cruise/dance type music with a singer. 

We visited the casino and only Jim and Joanne were there as everyone else was packing.  We only stayed for a short while and went back to finish our packing and put the luggage out.  Although we are all sick of the food after 20 or 13 days depending on when you got on, we hated to see it come to an end.  We had such a good time with the girls and can’t wait to plan another.

All packed, luggage out, tired now.  We went out on the balcony and can definitely tell the air is cooler the closer we get.  The Captain said we would pick up the pilot at 2:30 AM and should pass under the Sunshine Skyway Bridge at approximately 3:15 to 3:45 AM if we wanted to get up and see it….I’ll pass.  We were alongside at 6 AM.  Debbie and I had late flights so we were able to visit with most of the girls in Windjammer waiting for our luggage number to be called.  It really went pretty smooth and after a long day of travel we all made it home safely although a bit tired.

I would like to thank my travel agent and best friend Debbie for another fun cruise and lots of fun and laughs.  You are the best friend a gal could ever have!  I have to thank Kay and Judy for being the best and most fun neighbors we could have ever asked for.  Carol and Sharon for our pre dinner fun and all the girls for fun and laughs during dinners and at our golf outing.

Thanks to my friend Dave for always reading my ramblings and musings...Carol always reads too but she was with me this time.    I was happy to be home and in my own bed.

The end of another fun cruise.  This is my favorite picture of both cruises besides our Halloween photo....

 

Sea Day 11-6-14

We met Judy and Kay in the Windjammer for breakfast .  After breakfast Kay and I headed to the shops to look at the sale items.  The T shirts were on the pool deck so we went back up to look there.  Kay said she wanted to see the Sexy Man contest by the pool so we stayed and watched that.  We decided the old women they chose to judge were more disgusting than the men they chose for the contest.  We left and went to the Park Café which is in the Solarium.  After critiquing the area that had obvious design flaws with the hot tubs overflowing anytime someone sat in them onto the deck making for hazardous walking to the plastic plants they have decorated the entire area with that must have been with the ship when it was built 12 years ago since they are no longer green but have turned an unusual shade of blue from being bleached in the sun.  We feel it is our job as experienced cruisers to point out these things to you.

We had a great time laughing at lunch.  I must bring up some of our sayings for this cruise…….guess what is on the buffet today?  Mashed potatoes and gravy.  Every day without fail on the whole 20 days.  The other was discussion of what it means when you say “she (you) have such a pretty face”……ah so you should lose some weight.  That was also the joke of the cruise since one of our cruisers said that one of her relatives had actually said just that to her.  Do they think we are oblivious to our situation that they should inform us what we need to do?  Anyway, we made light of it anyway and had some good laughs.  The other thing is my increasing knowledge that my hearing is failing.  There have been many laughs over that but the best was when I was coming out of the bathroom and Debbie was listening to the Captain’s noon report..  I heard him say something about a new baby.  I said to Debbie “what did he say about a new baby?  She was bent over laughing saying he said it would be in the mid 80’s”.  Ok then.  We also used “Linda honey, you’re not listening to me” (from the video of the little kid pleading with his mother) and “We’re living in a fool’s paradise” (from the Swiffer commercial).  All in all we found lots of things to make us laugh…and Kay and I a reason to sing.

One of our members, Patty, had a bout with breast cancer and is still being treated with chemo.  She made the cruise with us and participated in all the dance lessons they had.  Tonight was the “flash mob” that she had practiced for and we all went to the Centrum to watch her after dinner.  She did great and it was very cute.  Good job Patty!

Debbie had another good day in the casino and I on the other hand didn’t.  With the sinus/cold/bronchitis thing I have been battling, the smoke in there just made my breathing and coughing worse.  Geez, really glad I don’t do that anymore!  But now that few people do it anymore, it is very noticeable when you are around people that do.  We have enjoyed the people we met in the casino at the 3 card poker table.  Two couples both from Massachusetts and a guy from Maine generally made up our table each night.  They were tons of fun and we laughed a lot.  The one guy Jimmy was a hoot.  There was a full moon tonight which we could see from the dining room illuminating the water…it was beautiful.  I went back to the cabin after dinner to get the camera to take some photos.  When I got to the table and sat down, Jimmy wanted to know where I was and I told him taking pictures of the full moon….he said “you don’t have a moon over your house”?   We all laughed a lot.  One night when Debbie left, we all sang Goodnight Debbie to the tune of Goodnight Ladies and then burst out laughing again.  What fun.  We would also run into Carol Calvin and Sharon Templeton from our group who liked to play Caribbean Poker.

The full moon was beautiful tonight and made it seem so bright outside. 

Sea Day 11-5-14

We were awake and looked out and it was gray skies and white caps.  We could see that as we head north the clouds are breaking up and it cleared before lunch and turned into a beautiful day.  We went to the dining room for breakfast because we are all tired of the food, choices and view by now so we opted for something different.  It was pleasant and we talked with the other two couples that we seated with us.  It is hard to believe that after 18 days on this ship there are people we have never seen before but there are.  We enjoyed talking with new people.  After breakfast Debbie and I went to play slots for a while and we all had a spa appointments..Judy, Kay, Debbie and I got a special the other day so we got them to take us all at 1 PM.  It was a relaxing massage and I had to laugh when the girls was asking if I was stressed or had tension.  I told her no, that I was retired, had no husband and my children were grown so I have no reason to be stressed or have tension.  That basically stopped the discussion of what products I would need to take care of my problems.  After the treatment, I met Debbie at the desk and she was talking to the acupuncture guy who was doing a “talk” on acupuncture.  Debbie wanted to stay so we did.  He said it was too late to cure my cold on the ship because it was too far progressed but he could help Debbie. He put needles in our heads and Debbie said she felt relaxed or “heavy” as soon as he did it.  He put one in my head and I didn’t feel relaxed and I am already heavy so that was where it ended.  I came back to shower and Debbie went to the casino.

 

We went to Giavonni’s again last night for dinner and unlike the last time we were there, we had issues.  Our first courses were fine and Carol, Sharon, Kay, Judy, Debbie and I enjoyed it.  It got crowded very fast and the service went down immediately.  It took forever to get them to clear the appetizer dishes from the table and a good 40 minutes before our main courses arrived.  Then again we waited for them to clear the table and before the dessert cart came.  Dessert was served and nobody was asked if they wanted coffee or tea with it and again we waited to have him take our Sea Pass to put the charge on.  What started out nicely ended on a bad note.  We got there at 6:30 PM and the 9 PM show had already started when we got there.  The comedian was not very funny and made a show out of bad mouthing Carnival.  I find it distasteful for anyone to trash another line regardless of who they are.    Debbie and I went to play 3 card after the show since we are turning the clocks back an hour tonight.  Debbie again had another straight flush and was winning every hand…I on the other hand could not win anything.  I was also knocked out of the slot tournament yesterday so ended our day.

Aruba

Lots of puffy clouds over the island as we approached this morning.  I say this morning but I think it is 20 miles from Curacao to Aruba so basically when we got out the sea yesterday, we kind of just sat in one spot for hours.  We could see the lights from Curacao for hours. 

We met the girls for breakfast and suggested they get a cab to the Holiday Inn to go to the beach today.  They left and Debbie and I went out for a walk and shopped a bit then went to the Crystal Casino in downtown.  We had a great time playing penny slots for three hours.  Debbie was up some when we left and I broke even ….doesn’t get any better.  We walked back to the cruise terminal and Debbie wanted to buy some wifi time so that she could text Andy and I went back to the ship and met Judy for lunch.  The other girls were back from the beach.  They said they had a great time and the choice of recommendations we made worked out great so all was well.   We all went back to shower and sail away which was at 5 PM.  We were late leaving and we couldn’t figure out why until we got to dinner. Carol said they could see a couple with what appeared to be carry-on luggage and a woman from the port on the phone.  Carol said the door opens on the ship and an officer gets off and talks with them.  Carol said it was a heated discussion then the officer got on his phone and she said another officer showed up.  She said this continued and they were looking at some papers the couple seemed to be showing them.  She said by the time it ended there were about 8 officers out there and they denied the couple boarding with much yelling between them and the officers got back on, closed the door and we left.  Boarding denied.  We have no idea who they were or what the scoop was but we will do our best to find out.

Aruba in sight

Marriott Surf Club in distance

Divi Phoenix

The Paddock is a local favorite and used to have free Wifi.
They have a sign now that says "We do not have free Wifi...
talk to each other"  ok then, we will.

The Renassiance Hotel

Time shares are part of Renassiance

Jet had just landed before we left.

 

We went to dinner.  Debbie’s was cold again but she decided not to cause a scene….she should have.  When they brought dessert the Assistant Head Waiter, Edwin,  came walking up to the table and asked which one of us was Deborah Cawdrey and Carol Calvin.  He should have known Debbie’s name since we have talked with him about the food before but nonetheless Debbie raises her hand.  He proceeded to tell her that she had turned in a suggestion regarding the crowded tables in the dining room and went on the make it out like she was complaining and got him in trouble.  It was rude and inappropriate for him to discuss the suggestion questionnaire that RCL solicited in front of the other girls as well as the surrounding tables.  Debbie was furious as was I and we came back to the cabin and did not go to the show or casino last night.  Being under the weather with this sinus thing, I took meds and went to sleep since there is absolutely nothing but CNN World on the TV in English….except the travel log we watched from the 1960’s. 

The end.

Curacao 11-3-14

We woke up to beautiful skies in Curacao.  This is the only one of the ABC islands that I have not been to.  We go to Aruba frequently, I went to Bonaire a few years ago and today I finally made it to Curacao.  This island is the biggest of the 3 and much more industrialized.  I was really surprised as to how developed it is here over Aruba.  You don’t see the dirt roads at all like in Aruba and there is much more of the Dutch feel here than even in Aruba.  The downtown area with its pedestrian  bridge that crosses the canal and opens and closes for ships looks just like Amsterdam.  I wish I could post the photos now so that you could see them.  We snagged a taxi driver who had a van and was willing to take just us on a tour of the island.  He actually was very good and we all enjoyed the tour.  I got to see Andrew Jones’ house…he was a star for the Atlanta Braves and was from here.  The house was quite nice by the standards here overlooking the Caribbean Sea.  We visited the Curacao liquor factory, the floating market, the fort, saw the refinery (Venezuela influence) and rather large.  My dad worked in a refinery and I was used to seeing the stacks where they burn the excess and the smell.  I loved the architecture here and took many photos of the restorations currently going on.  Its nice to see a country interested in keeping their heritage alive.

Columbian Embassy

Foot bridge across the canal..it moves to let the ships pass

Very European with the sidewalk cafes

Floating market

Reception for a boutique hotel

Wedding Cake House

Curacao Liquor Factory

We had fun with this

90% of the island is Catholic..we passed this church

Debbie and Kay stayed in town to shop more while the driver brought Judy, Sharon and I back.  We walked through the shops here and got back on the ship for lunch.  Debbie and Kay joined us up there too.  We are trying to take advantage of the Curacao free wifi before we leave in a half hour or so.  It is also fun sitting out here watching the late people running back down the pier.  The captain said in his announcement this morning that “you should be back by 4:30 PM if you want to sail with the vessel to Aruba”.  He likes to leave promptly and generally does so.  We have to note also that there have been at least one ambulance at every port we have been to and today was no exception.  In Barbados it was a heart attack, today it was a 77 year old lady who fell on lido deck yesterday and broke her hip.  She is being flown back to Boston today.

Andrew Jones' House

He was home---or someone was.

The view from his house

Other houses in his neighborhood

The colors on these houses near the center of town were all different colors.
The tour driver said it was for when they were too drunk to remember their
house numbers so the would say they lived in the green one or the blue one!

Another view of the pedestrian bridge

 

Tomorrow is Aruba, then 3 sea days and we are in Tampa…it is hard to believe that we are coming to the end of the journey.