Froufie Breezes across the Atlantic - Nov 3, 2012

[elleangel]

I didn't know I won the award for best decorated towel animals! I'm really really thrilled! Review is awesome! Your pictures turned out really well! I miss you all and tea time and Sasa! :)

[mykindaparty]

saving....

[happy trailer]

"And the ship was actually rocking ever so slightly this evening - enuf to make it noticeable (and for Ruth to make herself seasick by videotaping the waves then watching them in her cabin - she had to take seasick meds - silly girl!)."

 

LOL! I almost forgot about that- it has to be one of the silliest things I've ever done! :p

 

Love, love, loving your review! It's so much fun to be re-living our wonderful cruise!

 

Looking forward to future installments- and to cruising with you again! (Still enjoying that delicious guavaberry honey you gave me- but not for much longer, the jar is almost empty!)

[jubilada]

Thanks so much for the wonderful pics of the Alhambra! I had Noro that day and Allan wouldn't go without me. Even though y'all got soaked, it looked like a great excursion. We hope to go back another time.

 

You are so generous to do this for all of us!

[markadele]

Love the review and Great Pics

[Froufie]

I might be a CC stalker too if I recognized you on a cruise. You crack me up. Just had to mention, love the pics of you and friends in your Breezin across the Atlantic t-shirts, the piggies covered in pennies ( my daughter never misses a chance to pick up a penny), and the poster at your wine tasting/warm bread stop that said La Montana. We are from Montana. Was the poster referring to a wine, a place, or something else that you recall?

 

Glad you are enjoying the reivew - La Montana is actually the name of the winery we visited in Gran Canaria - and it was yummy wine too! :D:D

 

Love the review and Great Pics

 

Thanks - you will love the Breeze - have fun! :)

[Froufie]

I didn't know I won the award for best decorated towel animals! I'm really really thrilled! Review is awesome! Your pictures turned out really well! I miss you all and tea time and Sasa! :)

 

Miss u and love u lots !!!!

 

...and yes there will be a new feature added to the cruise review - the 1st Annual Froufie Cruise awards - you are definitely in the running! :D

[Froufie]

"And the ship was actually rocking ever so slightly this evening - enuf to make it noticeable (and for Ruth to make herself seasick by videotaping the waves then watching them in her cabin - she had to take seasick meds - silly girl!)."

 

LOL! I almost forgot about that- it has to be one of the silliest things I've ever done! :p

 

Love, love, loving your review! It's so much fun to be re-living our wonderful cruise!

 

Looking forward to future installments- and to cruising with you again! (Still enjoying that delicious guavaberry honey you gave me- but not for much longer, the jar is almost empty!)

 

I thought that was so funny I had to add it into the review....and you know what it means when u run out of guavaberry honey? Another visit to St. Maarten is in order to 'restock' the supply! :)

[Froufie]

Thanks so much for the wonderful pics of the Alhambra! I had Noro that day and Allan wouldn't go without me. Even though y'all got soaked, it looked like a great excursion. We hope to go back another time.

 

You are so generous to do this for all of us!

 

You are most welcome - I was just blown away by the beauty of the Alhambra and just couldn't stop taking pics (yes I have more!!!)....despite the rain I am glad I got to visit - hope you get to see it one day too! :)

[jimbri]

Love your review!!! Your photos of The Alhambra are wonderful! Although, I especially like the group photo with the dog - made me smile.

[Froufie]

Love your review!!! Your photos of The Alhambra are wonderful! Although, I especially like the group photo with the dog - made me smile.

 

Thanks so much for your kind words - and yes our 'tourguide' puppy was a welcome addition to the group - very well behaved! :)

[Froufie]

Up again too early (9 am) and off to meet Ruth and Elle for my first Punchliner Comedy Brunch - I had heard mixed things about this and wanted to check it out on my own. I can honestly say I was not impressed - okay the menu is interesting with lots of new stuff - but not many of which I would have at 10 am - so perhaps a visit closer to lunchtime would be in order? As well having a comedian show up once in a while to say a few jokes (not that funny) didn’t add anything to the experience - in fact it was more of an annoyance if anything.

 

Our service was also pretty slow - I had the Eggs Benedict and the churros (with chocolate dipping sauce) - both pretty good.

 

Elle enjoying a 'drink' at brunch!

 

Off to the casino to donate more $$$ then out for some fresh air and sunshine. I couldn’t believe how smooth the ocean was and how warm and lovely it was outside.

 

 

 

Caught some rays before heading to Elle’s cabin for our ‘spa day’. This was planned in advance on the roll call and several ladies were in attendance - with green goop all over our faces....yes pics were taken but alas they cannot be posted in public! LOL

 

I brought along a big platter of cupcakes from the Lido Marketplace buffet and Elle had ordered room service lunch - yes a big ‘cart’ came rolling in with various sandwiches, salads, cookies, cakes and beverages - what fun!

 

 

We ate/rinsed/moisturized and finished just in time for afternoon tea. Yes my ‘boyfriend’ teatime waiter Sasha was there to greet us and make sure we were well taken care of.

 

 

After that I wanted to check out the Serenity area. In regard to seating - I would say during the day the place is pretty busy - but I was pretty lucky on most days finding a seat there. You can check out the ‘special’ yellow serenity towels as well and enjoy drinks and some packaged lunches from the bar. Since it was late afternoon I had no problem finding a lounger and had a nice relaxing time there enjoying my ipod music and the view.

 

 

After that it was some internet time, grabbed a wineglass from the Library Bar (this is where Friends of Bill W. met???) and off to get ready for dinner. (Note: if you need red or white wineglasses they are readily available here on shelves above the ‘wine vending machines’ - you can also ask your room steward, room service or at any bar).

Edited December 21, 2012 by Froufie

[Froufie]

Off to get ready for dinner - it was Ron Pass’ night off so there was a guitar guy there - he was okay and did have a crowd growing - but I much prefer the piano stuff. Silviya made me a lovely orange cosmo with extra cherries so that kept me happy.

 

Then off to the Thrill Theatre with Ruth, Elle, Nancy and Julie - always lots of fun in there - mostly everyone wanted to go with me to hear me scream and laugh and freak out when water spray hit me, and things poked me in the back :)

 

 

Dinner consisted of gravlaks, potage bonne femme, spring chicken and mousse for dessert. And it seems teatime waiter Sasha also works the Blush dining room and night and is now visiting me during dinner much to the amusement of my tablemates and regular wait staff!

 

After dinner it was time for a comedy show - so I grabbed Sue from her table - and up we went 2 flights to the Limelight lounge - where Ruth, Elle, Nancy and Julie had some seats for us. It was pretty funny.

 

Then off to the 10:30 main show in the Ovation where I found tablemates Ursula and Anne waiting for me bringing along a couple of my roll call friends as well! We were very entertained by Brett Cave - piano playing maniac comedian would decribe him perfectly!

 

Back to the casino to lose more money, where I left Sue at her favorite machine. Then off to the cabin where the hanging monkey towel animal scared me half to death! Had my hot chocolate and got to move clocks back one more hour YAAY.

[Froufie]

9 am breakfast on the Lido so I could be ready for our mini golf game. Met up with Ruth, Sue, Julie, Nancy, Linda and Elle. It was great fun with a couple of ladies getting a hole in one. It was quite hot and sunny tho so after that I was ready to get indoors again.

 

 

For lunch today I tried out the Indian Tandoor (back of deck 10 - near the Tides pool) - found it very good - and quite spicy - yes I did have to have a strawberry yogurt cone to cool things off when I was done.

 

Then off to the Serenity deck to relax, work on the tan and listen to my ipod til 2:30 when it was time to go in to change for 3 pm tea.

 

Tea time was not well attended today due to the early seating past guest party taking place at 3:30 pm (my invite said 4:45 pm). Now Sasha had asked about those blinky ship pins and luckily I had found one in my cabin - so I was able to ‘pin’ him with it - and he was quite thrilled!

 

4 pm - and another visit to the Thrill Theatre - this was always a fun activity and many of us purchased the $14.95 unlimited pass. There was a variety of short films that were changed throughout the cruise - yes we saw some twice - but it was still lots of fun.

 

After that it was off to the past guest party in the Ovation theatre - had a couple of funship specials - and some yucky chicken ball things and cold beef stuff - not very yummy in my opinion. We watched the usual video with the clapping for ‘your’ ships however I noticed there was no door prize this time and no sign of Freddy here (or anywhere for that matter - I think he is now a ‘mascot’ of the past?).

 

Edited December 21, 2012 by Froufie

[Froufie]

Usual dinner prep and piano bar visit. Tonight I had the salmon carpaccio, butternut and mango soup, fettucine w/shrimp and marinated strawberries for dessert. Sasha also came by to check on me yet again!

 

 

I did want to see some of the final Playlist Production shows tonight however it was scheduled at the same time as the Liar’s club with John and Calvyn and I didn’t want to miss that - so off Sue and I went, to be joined by Nancy and Julie. We thought it was pretty funny however both Julie and Nancy informed us that the EXACT SAME WORDS and EXACT SAME DEFINITTIONS were used on a previous cruise with John/Calvyn earlier in the year. Well that’s pretty disappointing to hear - you would think they could change things up a bit - I would think there are enuf ‘funny words and definitions’ to keep this fresh and new for those who cruise quite frequently?

 

Off for a walk on the Lido - where they were actually playing Jaws on the big screen and people were actually watching! LOL I grabbed some popcorn to bring back to my cabin - greeted my lastest towel animal buddy, turned the clock back once again - and off to bed for me!

 

Seems the towel animals are having a party of their own again!

 

[Froufie]

So does one get bored with all these days at sea? Does one get tired of just looking out at the blue sky and horizon? Well I sure don’t - I love love love seadays and was hoping to get my fill. The only problem was I was turning into a slug! Yes lazy lazy - the less I did the less I wanted to do - I could just sit there and gaze out forever and ever......so relaxing - and I guess the nice weather did help. The only constant every day seemed to be teatime at 3!

 

We are now literally in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. It is 80 degrees out and we are 1450 miles from Antigua - it is hot and humid out with an occasional burst of rain. I loved looking at that computer map as for days we were just a spot in the middle of a big blue screen!

 

 

Didn’t sleep well last night - lots of tossing and turning but made plans with Sue to go to the punchiner brucnh at 10:00 am - this time the service was excellent. We were far away from the comedian but still heard him and again he wasn’t that funny. Oh well.

 

At 11:30 we decided to attend the Steakhouse cooking demo which was held in the Ovation theatre then off to the Serenity deck with Sue where we sat out til the rain came then found seats under ‘cover’ for a while. At 2:30 back to cabin to change for teatime and was joined by several of my usual teatime buddies.

 

This time when Sasha asked if there was anything he could get me - I did think of something special that I really really wanted - so I batted my eyes at him and said I would so LOVE to have a Breeze Ship on a Stick - that would make me so happy (seeing that there were far and few being given out at trivia games :( )...

 

At 4 pm we all went to Ocean Plaza to try our hand at some trivia games.

 

Then it HAPPENED - I found my ‘extra special machine’ at the Casino. So as you have read I wasn’t having much luck with any of the machines I was playing, but at least I was playing with Carnival $$ so didn’t feel so bad ($500 OBC upon boarding). Anyways I tried a new machine today - the Space Invaders one with the cows in spaceships - and the cows were very good to me - giving me back $315 after a couple of spins! Time to celebrate - finding Sue at one of her machines with her super duper ‘drinks on us’ card - a Miami Vice appears for me! :D

 

Tried to take some sunset pics outside this evening - but too many clouds so I gave up and went inside.

 

[Froufie]

Now I think I mentioned all those ‘handwashing’ reminders ever time there was an announcement? Well I met this woman in the elevator on my way to the piano bar sporting a bandage on her head. She tells me I am the woman that fell (oh?)....and then proceeds to tell me she was supposed to get her stitches out today but the dr was too busy with GASTRO illnesses and that she was told 20 cabins on the ship were currently quarantined! YIKES - so a reminder to all to keep washing your hands and to use the hand sanitizers provided near the dining areas on the ship (they even had a couple of wait staff outside the dining room squirting everyone’s hands as you walked in).

 

Carolyn was not at her regular spot at the Piano Bar, and my Stalker was late this evening, but I found a seat next to my friend Mike, and was later joined by Sue. Ron was his usual excellent self - playing some great ‘oldies’ and broadway show tunes.

 

Tonight’s dinner consisted of salmon cheesecake, duck pot stickers, rock cornish hen and pecan pie with another visit from my ‘boyfriend waiter’ Sasha to make sure all was fine! :)

 

Ken did a great Frank Sinatra rendition of My Way and the waiters entertained us with some gangnam style dancing - pretty funny.

 

Off to the show with tablemates Ursula and Anne to watch the magic comedy of Danny Buckler - which I thought was pretty amazing and quite funny!

 

Wandered about after that - found Anne in the piano bar, and Sherrie in the casino and we chatted a while. Well then I just had to have a goodnight spin with my cow space invaders who rewarded me with another $150! Grabbed some tea on the Lido, back to see my latest towel animal friend and turn those clocks back again! Gotta love those extra hours.

 

[Froufie]

Up super early (6:30am) - can’t sleep - I think all those ‘extra’ hours are messing up my sleep cycle - oh well. Out by 8 am to Ocean Plaza where I find Loretta at a lovely spot outside on the Lanai and I join her for breakfast.

 

Chazz comes by for a chat. Then I am approached by another gentleman - are you Froufie? From Ottawa? Yes - well its’ my ‘email’ buddy Rick from Michigan - yes Rick was a bad boy and was booted off CC but had had already provided his email address so we had corresponded a few times pre-cruise. We were hoping to meet up in Barcelona but alas poor Rick and his buddies were stuck in New York for a couple of days (due to Sandy and cancelled flights) spending one night on a cot in the airport and the 2nd night in a hotel. They had a lovely apartment right next to Sagrada Familia booked but unfortunately did not arrive into BCN until Monday afternoon - well at least they were able to make it onto the ship on Tuesday.

 

So I had what I thought was Rick’s cabin number (as per our roll call) however seems he got an upgrade to a balcony so I apologize to whoever got my note asking them to call me so we could meet up! :D We chatted a bit and made plans to get together later in the cruise.

 

It was now time for the Ropes Course - one of our roll call activities scheduled for 10 am this morning. It was a glorious day as I got harnessed in - handing my camera off to Nancy for pics. Looks like we had more ‘photographers’ than actual ‘participants’. I am glad to say I was brave enuf to try it out - and had to keep reminding myself to stop and check out the great views along the way. Aside from a slight case of rope burn (ya I was holding on for dear life altho I am sure that was not warranted), I was very proud of myself for having completed the course! I noticed several other roll callers were also trying out the course once I was done! Good job!

 

 

 

Map update - look familiar? LOL

 

 

Time to cool off with an 11 am visit to the Thrill Theatre - then hunger struck and I really really wanted to try out Jimmy’s c-side BBQ (now while it says it is available only on seadays I am not sure why it was not available on ALL SEADAYS and was sometimes closed at lunchtime?). So at 12 pm Sue and I were down at the Lanai outside Ocean Plaza - pretty crowded but we found fellow roll callers Kim and Craig and basically invited ourselves to sit at their table!

 

Now I mentioned Ocean Plaza has a continental breakfast in the mornings, however they also serve some lunch items there as well - I believe there is a salad bar there along with some sandiwches/wraps and many were enjoying those. I got in the LONG LINE for Jimmy’s - took about 20 mins to get thru but the food was very yummy - I had some sort of sausage, pulled pork, cole slaw, potato salad, grilled veggies, sweet potatoes and cornbread.

Edited December 21, 2012 by Froufie

[Froufie]

We sat eating and chatting til almost 2:30 when it was almost time to eat yet again at teatime!

 

Today our table consisted of Loretta, Elle, Maryann, Sue, Anne, later being joined by Nancy and Julie - who was selected to play at the Hasbro game show and won a lovely gift certificate!

 

But the HIGHLIGHT of teatime today was Sasha bearing gifts - well a gift - yes he did manage to get me my coveted SHIP ON A STICK!! Wow - good job Sasha - I of course thanked him profusely and many pics of me and my trophy and Sasha were taken to commemorate the occasion. Now I am ashamed to say I did not get the trophy ‘legitimately’ but that’s only because it was so hard to get right???

 

 

 

Off to play some more Trivia, another visit to the Thrill Theatre and then to prep for our 2nd elegant night arriving at the piano bar after 7 pm to enjoy some more music with Ron and the gang.

 

 

Dinner tonight was some sort of mussels dish, thai shrimp soup, eggplant moussaka (okay what’s with the tons of onions and no eggplant? Pretty disappointing), and strawberry variations for dessert.

 

Tonight’s show was hysterical with hypnotist David Knight and several cruisers who became pretty well known after that!

 

I am now exhausted even tho’s its only 11:30 - so off I go to bed!

[Froufie]

Another beautiful day - we really lucked out with this crossing. Seas are smooth, sun is shining and I am up at 7 am cuz I can’t sleep! Off to the Ocean Plaza Lanai to grab a good table and meet up with Sue for some breakfast. Loretta and JP find us there and join us as well.

 

 

 

Then it’s shopping time - I know they had some of the ‘pseudo pandora’ beads for sale - so I wanted to get some for me and my daughter - buy 2 get 1 free (at $14.95 each) - so got 2 sets for myself (including a cruise ship and a rhinestone anchor!) and one for my daughter as well.

 

Met Sue for some sunshine - no spots on Serenity so off to the port side of deck 11 where we found a couple of chairs- but it was super hot and sunny so we only sat out for about 45 mins. There were spots in the shade too if that’s what one preferred.

 

Off for some lunch at 1 pm : hot dog from the deli, then salad and potatoes from the buffet with some creme caramel for dessert.

 

Then of course 3 pm teatime - we were all pretty excited about tomorrow when we hit land - I have been to Antigua before but was so looking forward to some beach time and having my toes in the sand!

 

We were talking about the 2 medical emergencies we were aware of (man with broken hip and a woman - not sure what the problem was?) and that they would be the first off in Antigua.

 

Now one of the downsides of being on such a long cruise and being in the middle of the ocean is that satellite TV is spotty at best - with most of the major networks disappearing as we sailed along - and of course news coverage and availability was practically nil.

 

We were somewhat aware of what was going on in Israel at the time and Ruth being from Israel was of course super concerned and was in constant contact with the Purser’s desk in regard to phone calls home and internet usage - I understand they were most understanding and helpful (while John was not!).

 

Sue had again arranged Friday night services in the Limelight and when I got there the mood was quite sombre and Ruth looked visibly upset - I was then informed by Alan that Jerusalem had been bombed and Ruth’s husband had to take refuge in a bomb shelter - I broke down and started crying and had to leave the room.

 

I can’t even imagine in my wildest dreams being on a cruise and worrying about bombs being launched back home - we need to all remember how lucky we are to live for the most part in peace - not having to think about such things.

 

Ruth spoke at the service providing all the information she had- what a dose of reality to find out what was going on in the world outisde! We did get thru the service with wine and challah again kindly provided by Carnival. We all chatted a bit afterwards as I tried to recover as the Steakhouse was planned for tonight with Sue, Nancy and Julie (thanks to Julie for waving that platinum card and getting us a reservation!).

[Froufie]

Now I had emailed my ex-husband about his possibility of ‘knowing’ the Stalker (given she knew his full name) since he was on the Magic TA last year and I wondered if this was someone he had befriended? After a few emails and descriptions didn’t sound like anyone he knew and yes I told him dh was unaware of this at the time.

 

Tonight four of us were having dinner at the steakhouse (me, Sue, Nancy and Julie) so at 7 pm we met up at the Piano bar which is located just across from the Fahrenheit 555 Steakhouse for some pre-dinner entertainment. Dinner was of course excellent as was the service - and yes I got to try out some of my Russian with the wait staff. And we had a great laugh at the offer of prune ice cream for dessert! (Really what were they thinking?).

 

 

 

My favorite - Lobster Bisque!!!

 

 

 

[Froufie]

 

 

 

Now back to the Internet where all hell has broken loose - yup blame the ex-husband! (What an idiot) - seems like my 26 yr old son happened to call his dad who happened to mention some stalker - my son texts my husband/his stepdad - and now we have a ‘broken telephone’ situation.

 

I have an email from my husband marked URGENT - BE CAREFUL - telling me my son texted him about some man following me on the ship, stalking me and posting about this on Cruise Critic!!! Wow - what a story! (And I should immediately contact the purser’s desk, lock my door, etc).

 

So seems like everyone was freaking out now. Emailed son - tell him he should have checked with me first - nothing like that was going on (ya well dad freaked me out!). Emailed ex-husband telling him exactly what I thought of him...(what an idiot!). Not only emailed home but did some facetime in my cabin as well so EVERYONE could see me and verify I was fine and wasn’t being stalked/attacked/followed - sheesh! Thankfully had lots of IT minutes with which to fight these, and any other imminent, ‘fires’! Good night!

 

Land ho!

[maryann2]

 

 

After that it was some internet time, grabbed a wineglass from the Library Bar (this is where Friends of Bill W. met???) and off to get ready for dinner. (Note: if you need red or white wineglasses they are readily available here on shelves above the ‘wine vending machines’ - you can also ask your room steward, room service or at any bar).

 

I didn't realise that this was the meeting place for Friends of Bill W.:eek:

[nwcruiselover]

Froufie, I'm enjoying this immensely! Thanks so much for bringing the cruise memories back so vividly. Believe it or not, it was one month ago today that we all got off the Breeze in Miami. Nancy

[Froufie]

I didn't realise that this was the meeting place for Friends of Bill W.:eek:

 

Yes both Sue and I found that a bit odd? :rolleyes::eek:

 

Froufie, I'm enjoying this immensely! Thanks so much for bringing the cruise memories back so vividly. Believe it or not, it was one month ago today that we all got off the Breeze in Miami. Nancy

 

Wow - you're right - it's our one month anniversary! I can't believe it was that long ago already!:(