Cruise Summary

Overall, the cruise was a total bust. We knew we weren't on a Disney cruise when we entered the ship and the first thing you saw was a bar. On the public decks (Lido, Promenade and Atlantic), there were bars every 50-75 feet. One positive thing - the casino was tucked off to the side of the ship so you didn't have to walk through it to get anywhere. The food was nothing to write home about at all. Tables were not bused in a timely fashion and floors were not swept. If we had been in port, the ship would have been overrun with seagulls - nature's ultimate scavengers. Dining service was not at all customer oriented. The travel agent for our group had given each of us a bottle of wine. We asked our waiter if we could substitute a bottle of sparkling grape juice or apple juice for the wine. He said he would check and never got back to us. On the Disney line, we not only were served sparkling apple juice, we were given a bottle to take back to our cabin (it's still in the refrigerator - we haven't drunk it yet!). There was only one pool on board and it was maybe half again as big as ours for 2,000 passengers. Obviously, we did not go swimming at all. Smoking was pervasive - the only non-smoking areas were the staterooms and restaurants. Smoking was permitted anywhere on the outside decks. They had ashtrays stacked so that if you wanted to smoke, you simply picked up an ashtray and took it wherever you wanted to smoke. The ship was noisy and dirty. Considering it had just come out of drydock, my expectations were higher. It was very obvious to us that they wanted to attract and keep a totally different clientele than Disney.

There were only 2 stageshows the entire cruise. Both were definitely "R" rated and the PA announcement said if you were easily offended do not attend - the girls were going to have on g-strings. The other 2 nights, they had a stand-up comedian. Again, the announcement said the humor was "R" rated one night and "X" rated the other night. Needless to say, we didn't attend any of the "entertainment."

We will not sail Carnival again nor will we recommend it to anyone. The old adage you get what you pay for was certainly true in this case.

Cruise 4

Tuesday morning we woke up in port at Calica, Mexico. What a disappointment! We were anchored so we could walk off the ship, but it was obviously an industrial port, not a commercial port. Calica itself was 10 miles from the port. Again, Dan did not want to leave the ship and I was in complete agreement. We did leave the ship long enough to take pictures of the ship. As people came back to the ship from going ashore, we knew we had made the right decision. No one had anything good to say about Calica - "dusty, dirty, sleazy" were some of the adjectives used to describe the town. One tour that sounded interesting was a tour of the Mayan ruins. However, people who took this tour said it was 65 miles over Mexican roads each way.

I am so glad we didn't leave the ship. We spent the day walking around the ship, taking pictures of the beautiful, crystal clear aqua water and enjoying the quietness on board. We cast off at 6:00 PM and started heading northeast toward Tampa. The seas were the roughest they had been the entire cruise. It was absolutely impossible to walk a straight line. I felt like a pinball ball - stagger to one side bounce off, stagger to the other side - we were laughing so hard. People were saying they were staggering like drunks but drunks were the only ones who could walk a straight line!

We would be at sea the whole next day. Again, classes would be held from 8:00 - 3:30. Our first class we made cute little gifts that could be used for teachers or someone else you wanted to remember. The second class (which I skipped again) was a holiday organizer. The third class was another album which I finished but I really don't care for it. The last class we made a hostess tray that incorporates an mini album. I finished that after we got home.

In the evening, we had our group farewell party. I had thoroughly enjoyed being with 50 other scrapbookers and I've learned new techniques. Whether I ever use them again is a good question.

I will summarize the cruise in my next entry.

Cruise 3

Monday morning, when we woke up, we were anchored in the bay at Grand Cayman. Since we would need to take a tender from the ship to shore, we opted not to leave the ship. We were also only going to be in port at Grand Cayman for 6 hours. With that short a time frame, we didn't want to risk going ashore and missing the ship. We spent the time walking around the ship and I was able to get quite a bit of studying done.

Monday night and Tuesday night (port days), there were Christmas card classes scheduled. I had never gotten "into" cardmaking and was very interested to learn about cardmaking and get some ideas. We were going to be making 35 cards - 5 each of 7 different styles. They turned out great and I will probably use some of them this year (I had already purchased Christmas cards before we left on the cruise). Julie (our fearless leader/head instructor) also had a make and take page layout for us. Each night, we would complete another section of the layout.

Tuesday morning, when we woke up we were docked at Calica, Mexico. More on this port in the next section.

Cruise 2

Sunday morning I woke up about 7:00 AM (with the help of an alarm clock) and headed to class which started at 8:00. Dan and I figured we would eat after my first class. Classes were scheduled back to back from 8:00 AM to 3:30 PM with an hour for lunch and a 15 minute break between classes. However, our "head instructor" let us know up front that she knew there were other things to do on board and she would not be offended at all if we skipped some of the classes. I wound up skipping the second class both days (it ran from 9:45 - 11:15) so I could have breakfast with Dan. Sunday, our first class was making a darling gingerbread recipe book (see pictures). The second class was making a clock (this was the one I skipped). I did pick up the supplies and hopefully will be starting to make it soon. The third class was making a "Thankful" photo album. I didn't care for this project at all and in fact, still haven't finished it. The last class of the day was making a Christmas page layout (which again I haven't finished or in fact, even started!). Again, I skipped this class to spend time with Dan topside to watch the water go by (we spent all of Sunday traversing the Gulf of Mexico and cruising into the Caribbean Sea). I also spent time studying for Bible study since we were going to disembark at 7:30 Thursday morning and Bible study starts at 9:30. I had arranged for someone else to lead Bible study, but I wanted to be there since it was our last session in this course ("Jesus the One and Only").

The rest of Sunday, we spent topside enjoying cruising and exploring the ship. We went to bed and were rocked to sleep by the motion of the ship plowing through 8-12 foot seas. We were very thankful that neither one of us gets seasick.

The Cruise 1

Okay - we got to the Port of Tampa and boarded the ship. As soon as we boarded the ship, we knew we weren't on a Disney cruise. The atrium was all done in black marble and decorated with neon tube lights in red, green and blue - very gaudy, very Las Vegas-ish (is there such a word?). Besides the black marble and neon, the first thing we saw was a bar in the middle of the atrium. You can't avoid seeing it. Apparently that is the way they wanted it because there was a line waiting to be served. We made our way down to our stateroom which was very nice. The ship had just come out of dry dock and all of the staterooms had been refurbished. After we unpacked some, we headed up to the restaurant deck (Lido) to see if we could find something to eat. When we got there, it was another reminder we weren't on a Disney cruise. Most of the tables had dirty dishes sitting on them and the floors looked like people had taken plates and dumped them upside down on the floor - not an auspicious beginning at all. We managed to find a clean table and sat down and ate. The food was okay - definitely nothing to write home about. After the requisite muster drill, it was time to cast off so we went topside to watch. We thoroughly enjoyed sailing out through Tampa Bay. We never realized what a busy port Tampa was. We thought we might reach the Sunshine Skyway Bridge in about an hour, but it actually took us 2-1/2 hours to sail under the bridge and get out into the Gulf. By now, we were hungry again so we went and found something to eat. During the cruise, we ate mostly at The Brasserie which offers buffet service for all three meals.

After eating, we had a check-in meeting with the scrapbooking group we were traveling with. We found out that there were about 60 in our group. Julie (our leader) divided us into 4 groups for classes. Most of the women traveling were traveling with girlfriends. Only a few had their husbands along. After the meeting, we went topside to watch the water go by (one of our favorite parts of cruising!) and then headed to bed as I had class at 8:00 AM the next morning.

Catching Up

It seems like forever since I've blogged and it has been - 16 days to be precise! Monday, the 5th, we took Aunti Vi to the doctor. He was thrilled with her condition. He said he wasn't going to do anything - she was doing just fine! Just keep doing whatever she's doing. The only medication she's on is a heart medication that costs $5 a month. Her prior doctor (up in Chiefland) was prescribing one medication on top of another - Aunti Vi would complain about a side effect from the medication she was on and her doctor would prescribe something else to counter the side effect. When we moved down here her medications were costing over $600 a month!

Monday evening, I had a nominating team meeting at church. It was a long meeting and I got home about 10:15.

Tuesday, the 6th, we finished up the Gulf Coast Holiday Shop Hop. We had already done 7 of the scrapbook stores that were within a 75 mile radius of Bradenton last week. We still had the 6 stores down in Fort Myers and Cape Coral to finish, which we did getting home about 6:00.

Wednesday, the 7th, was our normal - shopping with Aunti Vi in the afternoon and choir in the evening. Thursday, again was normal - Bible study morning and evening.

Friday was quiet during the day, just normal stuff. Friday night we went to hear The Raleigh Ringers - a handbell group from Raleigh, NC. The concert was phenomenal! Eric and Sarah went with us. After the concert, we went to Sam Seltzer's Steakhouse one of our favorite restaurants.

Saturday morning we got up and headed to the Port of Tampa. We got there about 12:45and checked in and boarded the ship.

I'll close this post for now and get to the cruise in the next post.

Weekly Update

I can tell our schedule has been quiet. I've had nothing to write about for a week!! Last Saturday we drove over to Sanford to visit Rick and Csilla and watch Taylor ride in her first equestrian competition Sunday morning. In her dressage outfit, she looked so grown-up. She was entered in 2 events - walking around the ring and then a "trail ride." In the first event, she went around the show ring and showed proper riding posture and control of her horse "Little Bit." In the second event, she had to lean down, unhook the corral gate, walk her horse over logs, get mail out of a mailbox, put it back in the mailbox and then walk over a wooden "bridge" to finish. Taylor was entered in the special needs class as she still has "side walkers" and also someone holding a lead rope in case "Little Bit" decides to do something unexpected. Taylor placed 4th in the first event and received an honorable mention in the second event. It was definitely fun and watching Taylor interact with "Little Bit" was wonderful! It also gave Taylor a taste of equestrian competition. I also wanted to include a picture of Ashley since she is growing up much too fast!

Monday and Tuesday were quiet days. Just normal stuff - laundry, errands, etc. Wednesday was also our normal schedule (shopping, choir) as was Thursday (Bible study morning and evening). Friday, we drove about 150 miles participating in the first annual Gulfcoast Holiday Shop Hop(gulfcoastholidayshophop.com). 13 scrapbook stores from Bradenton south to Naples are participating. It's fun seeing how different independent scrapbook stores can be.

Saturday Rick and Csilla and the girls came over. Rick wanted to go to a seashell shop near us to pick out some seashells. He is planning on combining them with his woodturning and making Christmas ornaments and nightlights. He does beautiful work and I can't wait to see what creations he comes up with. This weekend was also probably the last time they would be in the pool until spring as the air temps are getting too cool to swim. The pool is still 88 degrees but the air chills you as soon as you get out (the air is about 75 degrees). They left today about 1:30.

Tomorrow we're taking Aunti Vi to the doctor for her 6 month check-up. Tuesday we're going to visit the last 6 scrapbook stores in the Shop Hop as it is the only day we have free this week. Wednesday again is our normal, Thursday is normal and then Friday we'll be packing for the cruise and going to the Raleigh Ringers concert (www.rr.org) in Sarasota. Saturday we sail away for a week.

Well, that brings everything up to date. I'm sure I'll have a lot to write about when we get back from the cruise. I will be keeping a journal while we're gone.