*OFFICIAL* CC Group Cruise 02/15/2014 Cupid's IV Southern Caribbean - Carnival Breeze

[HeidiHo]

Good morning!

 

We got a little white stuff falling out of the sky yesterday on the beach. It's called sea gull crap!

 

I'd settle for that.

 

I had a long, somewhat stressful day at work yesterday. Everything went fine but it was stressful because our director and HIS boss were coming in so we really had to be on our toes. Our managers get all worked up when they are coming in. I did get a nice compliment from our director though. He said I looked nice and no, it wasn't in any kind of inappropriate way. LOL. It was because of our new uniforms. As of 2 weeks ago we ditched the white shirts and ties for all black shirts and pants with no ties. The dress code for hosts is pretty flexible as long as it's all black and very plain (no lace or ruffles, etc.). I was wearing a black blazer over black shirt. Servers still have to wear collared shirts but they wear black with no ties also.

 

I was exhausted when I got home last night and kind of wanted to just stay in but Dave wanted to go get something quick to eat and then go see a movie so we saw "Identity Thief" with Melissa McCarthy and Jason Bateman. It was hilarious. I'm glad we went. I love Melissa McCarthy. She is so funny.

 

I have to work a little earlier tonight than usual (3:30) so I hope that means I wont have to close.

 

Have a good day. :)

[Flick]

We are having such fog down here that the ships in Tampa couldn't get out as of 10:00 last night! High of 82 today but there may be rain showers which we need. Didn't go see Argo but I did see Lincoln because I'm such a Civil War buff. I usually only go to comedys and other light stuff since I want to be entertained not scared to death.

[momofzeke]

Just got off the Carnival Breeze 2/10/2013, and have booked this cruise for 2/15/2014. Love the ship and the itinerary!

 

Barb and Gary

 

WELCOME, Barb & Gary!! :D Even if you didn't book as part of our official group, you are most welcome here! Please come post often, and we can get to know you before the cruise. We are a fun group, and get together onboard and on shore excursions, so come on and join in the fun! :D You can be a Cupid even if you're not officially part of the group. We welcome everyone!

 

Heidi, glad it went well with the bosses last night. "Identity Thief" looks like a movie I would like a lot.

 

Rick, I agree, I like funny movies, not scary movies. Lincoln is a movie I do want to see, though. I have it coming on Netflix as soon as it is out on DVD next month.

 

Cold here yesterday! It was beautiful & sunny, but the wind was keeping it down in the high 30's - low 40's. Dave and I were going to walk our fields with our measuring wheel to figure out where the center of the pivot (giant sprinkler for irrigating the hay field) will go, but it was just so cold we decided to wait until a better day. Instead, he went through his closet and got rid of 2 giant bags of clothes for Goodwill and 1 bag to throw away. I have already done that, so now between the basement and upstairs we have 8 giant bags to donate.

 

Yesterday was our Mallory's (daughter-in-law) birthday and Greg's (son-her hubby) is in 2 weeks. We are planning a trip to Bend in the next couple weeks so we can go to dinner to celebrate both birthdays. We also want to see other son Brian's new office, which he is moving into this coming weekend. It's a brand new space he had built out to his specifications. He's been in the old location in the meantime, from when another agent had his office there. He is doing really well in his State Farm agency....last week the top 100 in his zone (which is about 4,000 agents) was posted, and he is #62. We are very proud of him, he has been doing great these first 2 months.

 

Have a great week!

Edited February 25, 2013 by momofzeke

[HeidiHo]

Good Morning!

 

Just got off the Carnival Breeze 2/10/2013, and have booked this cruise for 2/15/2014. Love the ship and the itinerary!

 

Barb and Gary

 

Welcome Barb and Gary! We were posting at about the same time yesterday so I didn't see your post until this morning. You'll have to come back and tell us more about the Breeze. what itinerary did you do?

 

Sue - Thanks for posting those FB emoticons this morning. It's good to know how to get them. I like the "poop" one too and I know "oh, poop" is one of your favorite expressions. I've heard you use it many times. LOL

 

The weather is pretty nice here now, for February, that is. It's sunny and in the mid to upper 30's. There's no real cold weather forecast in the near future. The coldest is the upper 20's later this week but I think there is some snow in the forecast. Hopefully the worst of winter is over. I've already noticed that it stays light out quite a bit later now which is nice.

 

Have a great day. :)

[Flick]

Well it looks like we might get some much-needed rain finally. Very overcast and the breeze is freshening.

This afternoon Kay goes for a lap-top lesson at the Lodge, her first. She has been playing around wth it over the weekend but it is Windows 8 and even the young store clerk was concerned that "older people" just don't get it! I will admit it doesn't look as easy as 7. However both of us bristled at his term "older people". If I had one I would have considered throwing my diaper at him! LOL

[Flick]

OMG we just had a tragedy in our house. Kay's boudoir lamp won't work anymore. It was on her Mother's dresser when Kay was a child a long, long time ago in another galaxy!

[momofzeke]

Sue - Thanks for posting those FB emoticons this morning. It's good to know how to get them. I like the "poop" one too and I know "oh, poop" is one of your favorite expressions. I've heard you use it many times. LOL

 

Ha ha ha ha ha! I never really thought about it, but I guess I do say "oh, poop" a lot! hee hee I just thought those emoticons were so cute. You're welcome!

 

Dave and I went to lunch yesterday at our favorite lunch restaurant, a locally owned cafe that has been there for years and years. Our waitress was the daughter of the owner, who we've known forever, since she is the same age and friends with our niece. When it was time for the check, she brought us 2 Hershey Kisses and told us lunch was on her since we are 2 of her favorite customers and she loves having us come in. She is such a sweetie. Course I left her a nice tip, as always...maybe that's why we got the free lunch! :cool:

 

I think I've told you guys that we finally got a well permit to drill an irrigation well and plant and raise more hay after a 5 1/2 year fight with our state water department. The well driller brought the well rig over a week ago and dropped it off, but he hasn't been back. He is coming today to do some paperwork and hopes to start drilling at the end of the week. His mud drilling equipment is on another job and he needs that for ours, so that's why the delay. I'm just anxious to find out if there is really water down there, and how much! That will determine how much hay we plant. We're hoping for 200 acres right now, and possibly more later if there's enough water. We already hay 1600 acres of meadow, so another 200 won't be that much different, although we would do 2 cuttings on that 200 acres and we only cut the meadow 1 time.

 

Rick ~ I don't blame Kay for being a little miffed at that statement! Even if we ARE older, no need to point it out! Rude, much??? :p

 

I'll bet Dave & Bettie are having fun on their cruise right now. Oh, and Ed & Dale are on one too! I could go for some tropical sunshine and foo foo drinks right about now. Lucky bums.

[HeidiHo]

Good Afternoon!

 

Actually, I think 3 of our Cupid's are on cruises this week too. the 3rd one is Stephanie (aka stepha06) is on a cruise too. She doesn't post here often but I have her on FB and see her posts there.

 

I sure wish I was on a cruise right now considering we are having a blizzard right now. It started coming down around 11:00 AM and so far we have a couple of inches and the wind is real bad. I have to work at 4:45 so I hope it slows down by then. I was working at the agency this morning but left shortly after it started.

 

My cat has not stopped meowing at me since I walked in the door 45 minutes ago. She's driving me nuts. She does this at night too and wakes me up. I either have to throw my slipper at her or squirt her with water to get her to stop.

 

Have a good day.

[Flick]

We are dog-sitting a chiwahwah (mexican dog) I don't know how to spell its name. At any rate, his master gets up at 5:00 in the morning and obviously lets him out at that time. Guess who doesn't get up in the "middle of the night"? Fortunately their cruise is only a week and then the dog is back home! Besides we are under strict orders..."no people food what so ever"! Unfortunately they didn't tell the dog...he is underfoot ALL the time looking and begging for food. A real nuisance.....Our dog KNOWS MUCH BETTER than to even think about it....I seriously think this might be the last time we do this....they go on cruises every year and leave their dog with us without even so much as offering to buy us a dinner for our trouble. We are saving them BIG BUCKS to keep him out of the kennel. The problem...they not once have offered to take our dog for any reason!

[HeidiHo]

Good Morning!

 

It's still snowing here. We had about 5 or 6 inches yesterday, then it didn't snow much overnight but it has started again this morning. I don't know if we are supposed to get much accumulation or not.

 

...they go on cruises every year and leave their dog with us without even so much as offering to buy us a dinner for our trouble. We are saving them BIG BUCKS to keep him out of the kennel. The problem...they not once have offered to take our dog for any reason!

 

Rick - that's pretty inconsiderate. We always put our dog in a kennel but we have wonderful neighbors right across the street who have alway come in and fed our cats whenever we are away. We have always done something for them. sometimes we buy them something on the trip, other times we have given them some sort of gift card. For our last couple of cruises we have taken them out to dinner. It just occurred to me that he next time we travel our 1 kitty that we still have will be all alone. I wonder how she'll handle that. :(

 

Have a great day. :)

[ooulio]

Rick,

I agree with the other person. Sorry forgot name. Sitting at my desk looking at prices. Just hung up with Doug . I just dont understand why it is higher than it was this month for the cruise. I am still thinking. Really loved this ship.

I would tell that guy that you have a few clients and you will be baby sitting their dogs the next time he needs you. I have a baby sittier for my doug. I pay $30 a day. She doesn't let us pick up on Sat or Sunday and charges us for both of those days and Monday. I love watching dogs. Someday I will do that for extra money.

[Flick]

Esther.....No we will not dog sit for this dog. Last night he pee'd on the corner of the sofa. To our knowledge our own dog has not done that! He also constantly begs for food when he doesn't get it at home, so I don't know what his problem is. He seems well adjusted to being here but his habits are not to our liking.

Heidi, saw the picture of Dixon,Il you posted on FB. Just how many sea gulls do you guys have up there??? Of course knowing Northern Illinois I suppose it could be goose poop...

Edited February 27, 2013 by Flick

[HeidiHo]

Heidi, saw the picture of Dixon,Il you posted on FB. Just how many sea gulls do you guys have up there??? Of course knowing Northern Illinois I suppose it could be goose poop...

 

Rick - Actually, that was Schaumburg, Illinois. surprisingly, we actually do have a lot of gulls up here. Just go into any large parking there and they'll be there looking pick through garbage.

[Flick]

Hmmm I don't remember gulls up there but I've been down here in SUNNY Florida for 15 years. I do, however, remember the geese!!!

[momofzeke]

Morning!

 

Cloudy, grey morning here, and windy.

 

Rick ~ wow, sounds like those people with the dog are really taking you for granted and not appreciating you & Kay at all. I don't blame you for saying "no more dog sitting"! We are lucky because we are so isolated here, when we are gone, we close the garage door but leave one of the walk-in doors going into the yard open. Doggie has the run of the fenced yard and garage with the heated bed and automatic feeder. Dave's sister lives up the road, so she comes and checks on the dog. So far, we haven't left overnight since we got Callie, but when we do, she will be fine. Dave's sis also takes the dog for a walk every day. Then when she's gone, we take care of her kitty for her.

 

Esther ~ hope you book with us! :D

[Baest49]

We went to St. Thomas, Antigua, Tortola, and Nassau. Nice!

[HeidiHo]

Good Morning1

 

I think it has finally stopped snowing although it still looks like it could snow at any time. It snowed all day on Tuesday and most of yesterday although we didn't have any real accumulation yesterday and roads were fine, just wet. Can't wait for spring to get here though.

 

What a crazy night last night. We had a huge party of about 90 people and THEY ALL DID SEPARATE CHECKS!!!!!!!!!!! :eek::eek::eek: They made arrangements with management in advance so we knew they were coming and we closed an entire dining room just for them but it was supposed to be 80 people then more like 90 showed up so they overflowed into another dining room. Then the kitchen got so backed up that all the other people that were in the restaurant were not getting their meals in a timely manner. Our GM ended up having to comp a lot of food for the other guests that were unhappy. She was dreading today because even though it was her day off she knew that the director was going to call her at home for an explanation of all the comped food. The whole night was just a nightmare. They really should have just told this organization that they couldn't accommodate them. When you have a group that size you really should just rent a banquet hall. It was some sort of business networking organization. Hopefully tonight will be a normal, quiet night.

 

Rick -yes, the Canada geese are a real problem around here. They will walk through our parks and golf courses in huge flocks and leave their dropping everywhere. Some golf courses have dogs to chase them away. A lot of communities with nice ponds put swans in them because that helps keep the geese away although it doesn't get rid of them entirely. They don't all fly south for the winter anymore either. As long as they have a food source and can find open water they will stick around.

 

Hope everyone has a good day. :)

[ed_k_tx]

Good Afternoon!

 

Actually, I think 3 of our Cupid's are on cruises this week too. the 3rd one is Stephanie (aka stepha06) is on a cruise too. She doesn't post here often but I have her on FB and see her posts there.

 

I sure wish I was on a cruise right now considering we are having a blizzard right now. It started coming down around 11:00 AM and so far we have a couple of inches and the wind is real bad. I have to work at 4:45 so I hope it slows down by then. I was working at the agency this morning but left shortly after it started.

 

My cat has not stopped meowing at me since I walked in the door 45 minutes ago. She's driving me nuts. She does this at night too and wakes me up. I either have to throw my slipper at her or squirt her with water to get her to stop.

 

Have a good day.

 

I think stepha06 and we are on the same cruise right now. She was posting on the roll call but we missed the meet and greet at sailaway so didn't get a chance to meet.

 

I will say that the FTTF we bought was well worth it IMHO. We arrived at the pier around 11:30 and were onboard in our cabin by 12:00 and our luggage unpacked by 1:30. We also were able to board the first tender today at Grand Cayman which got us to shore in time for some shopping before our tour.

 

Tomorrow is our Bar Hop in Cozumel then one more sea day and back to reality.:(

 

Cruisin Dave has been one day ahead of us but left plenty of fun for everyone.

Ed

Edited March 1, 2013 by ed_k_tx

[ooulio]

We also went on Breeze early Feb. We also went to St Thomas, Antigua, Tortola and nassau. We are still hoping to do this one with you guys. Watching the rates but the new ones are over $3000. We would love to do this one . I loved the ship. I just keep hoping the rates go down. We didn't pay this much for a Category 8c. It is a great ship. I keep checking all the time. Keeping my fingers crossed. We just want a balcony. Suites are just too much for now.

[De-Luxe08]

We also went on Breeze early Feb. We also went to St Thomas, Antigua, Tortola and nassau. We are still hoping to do this one with you guys. Watching the rates but the new ones are over $3000. We would love to do this one . I loved the ship. I just keep hoping the rates go down. We didn't pay this much for a Category 8c. It is a great ship. I keep checking all the time. Keeping my fingers crossed. We just want a balcony. Suites are just too much for now.

 

You are so right about the pricing on this particular cruise. It is the most expensive compared to the same sailings in Jan., Feb. and Mar. We decided to do this one because of the itinerary having been to none of those ports. We are booked in a aft-wrap and it is almost as much as the suite we had on the Breeze this past Jan. We are now contemplating taking our DD, SIL and granddaugther with us on this trip. In checking the pricing it will cost around $3,600 - $3,800 for a regular balcony, which is around $600 more than our aft-wrap. I am waiting for the rest of 2014 itineraries to get published, which they are saying will be the end of Mar. early Apr. At that time, I will decide if it is cheaper to do just another cruise or just book this one for them. I love the Breeze and it will be so much fun for my granddaughter on this ship.

 

Rick - we have taken care of our neighbors dogs, but that consisted of us going across the street and letting them out and feeding them. So much easier than having them move in with us. I feel for you on the dog relieving itself in your house. When we travel, I feel bad asking anyone to babysit for us, so we just board the both of them. It is pretty expensive, but I feel so much better than asking someone to take on that responsibility. I've watched my daughter's dog, but he is not much of a problem since he just sleeps all day and only wants to go out a couple times a day.

 

It has gotten cold again here and we are getting a light snow. Looks live we got around an inch over night. Not much compared to what others have gotten these past few days. Heidi, you seemed to have gotten quite a bit over the past few days. Just kinda kept hanging over IL.

 

My sister and I are going to dinner tonight and then off to the internet cafe to do a little gambling. I have a taste for Bob Evans fiery roast bbq chicken salad. Hopefully, tonight one of us is a little luckier than we have been the past few times we have gone. $20 usually can last us the whole evening but last time the machines weren't so kind.

 

Hope everyone enjoys their day,

 

Donna

[ktravel]

I have began to check on hotel and airlines. If we can take SWest out of Nashville TN, our rate is about $4oo less. We will not be there till around 5ish pm on Friday. Non stop is so much easier. But how much to FLL if you do not want to rent car. Too much hassle

[ooulio]

We stayed last month at Hampton Inn Suites at Downtown Brickell MIami . We loved it You also get a free breakfast . Very nice place. YOu can walk downtown and eat. Not far at all.

[HeidiHo]

Good Morning!

 

I have been hoping to stay at the Holiday Inn at the port but reservations couldn't be made that far out until a couple of days ago. When Feb. 14th was finally opened for booking I tried and it says there are no rooms available. :confused: How could it be booked solid if reservations couldn't be made until a couple of days ago. I wonder if there is some sort of convention in town that booked the entire hotel.

 

I have been very busy this weekend and it's not over yet. i have a busy day planned today to so I have to get going.

 

Have a great day. :)

[momofzeke]

Heidi ~ dang, the Holiday Inn at the port is the hotel we were planning to stay at too. It was so convenient when we sailed out of Miami a few years ago. I may give them a call to see if calling can scare up a room, but otherwise I guess I'd better start looking for hotels. Have you looked into any others?

 

Well, my weekend hasn't been great. Started out feeling fine Friday morning, took Callie on a 3 mile walk and then helped Dave feed the calves. But we discovered a dead steer in the lot...no idea what happened to him. Then I went out with Dave for a lesson on driving the new tractor so I could drag meadow. It was bumpy and I hit my head and then bumping along riding "shotgun" cramped into a small space beside the seat did not sit well after hitting my head....got nauseated and had to get out and walk back to the pickup while he finished up the round around the field. He had to take me home, I felt terrible.

 

I think it must have been a bit of a flu bug rather than just hitting my head because I still felt bad yesterday all day. Yesterday my tummy was ok but my ears, throat and head felt bad and I was very weak. Layed around all day in my jammies. Feel better today, but still not ready to get out and about too much. I'm waiting to see if I feel good enough to drag meadow or not. I've only been up for about an hour (7:30 am here right now) so hoping to feel better as the morning goes along.

 

Getting back to my bad Friday, to top the day off after losing a calf and bumping my head and feeling sick the rest of the day.....I was sending an email to my sis Friday evening and the cat was bugging me and walking around on my desk. I finally picked him up to put him on the floor and he scratched me right above my lip and it hurt like a sucker!

 

I haven't looked into any flights for Miami yet either. Last time we sailed out of Miami, we took Southwest into FLL and hired a car to drive us to Miami, then he picked us up after the cruise and took us back to Ft. Lauderdale. Kind of a hassle though. I am hoping to fly right into MIA this time. The driver was real nice, but I had told him we wouldn't be off the ship until at least 9 am and he was calling me at 8 am to see where we were, he was already there waiting for us! HELLO??! We can't get off until they LET us off! He didn't seem to understand that we couldn't just walk off the ship any time we felt like it and go straight to the car. I think it was around 9:30 when we got off and got our luggage and through customs and everything. I don't think we'll do that again.

[De-Luxe08]

Heidi ~ dang, the Holiday Inn at the port is the hotel we were planning to stay at too. It was so convenient when we sailed out of Miami a few years ago. I may give them a call to see if calling can scare up a room, but otherwise I guess I'd better start looking for hotels. Have you looked into any others?

 

 

I haven't looked into any flights for Miami yet either. Last time we sailed out of Miami, we took Southwest into FLL and hired a car to drive us to Miami, then he picked us up after the cruise and took us back to Ft. Lauderdale. Kind of a hassle though. I am hoping to fly right into MIA this time. The driver was real nice, but I had told him we wouldn't be off the ship until at least 9 am and he was calling me at 8 am to see where we were, he was already there waiting for us! HELLO??! We can't get off until they LET us off! He didn't seem to understand that we couldn't just walk off the ship any time we felt like it and go straight to the car. I think it was around 9:30 when we got off and got our luggage and through customs and everything. I don't think we'll do that again.

 

This is where we would like to stay also. When we stayed there this past Jan., they gave me a card to call when bookings open, which I was told would be sometime in March. They also said depending upon how many would like to stay, they might be able to do a group booking with some type of discounted rate. Now not sure if what they told me was correct about there books not being open for next Feb. until March. Probably should try and call to see what is up.

 

Tried checking air fare, but flights aren't open past the first of Feb. I tried to get an idea by checking rates for the later part of Jan. and they are about the same as what I just paid for this Jan., still pretty high, in the range of about $1,000 - $1,100 for 2. We flew into Miami but out of FLL. We used SAS shuttle to get us from ship to FLL. They were wonderful and it was only $15 pp. If airfare is cheaper into/out of FLL, I would definitely use SAS again.

 

I went back and checked my notes from when we first started booking this cruise. A regular balcony was running around $2,600.00. Now the Early Saver rate is a little over $3,000 and the only deck you can book is Vista. Not sure if the other rates allow you to book another deck or not. Guess I should call and find out, so I can decide if my family will be going with us or if we will just take them on a different cruise. Looks like the Dream will still be sailing out of Port Canaveral in the later part of 2014, but will be going to some of the same ports as the Breeze. Curious to know what the Breeze's schedule is for the later part of 2014. I wanted to take them in Oct./Nov. but hubby seems to want to take them on this one. Guess it will all come down to numbers.

 

Hope everyone enjoyed their Sunday.

 

Donna