Live from Island Princess - Lewie Style

[2ndCitySue]

Hi, I'm Lewie, a 31 yr. old cruiser. When I was 8, I suffered a traumatic brain injury in a car accident, so my Aunt Sue is typing my impressions of the cruise for me.

 

Yesterday we boarded ship in Ft. Lauderdale and are bound for the Panama Canal. It was a long but rewarding trip to embark on this journey as two pilgrims discovering new lands, at least for us!

 

We stayed at the Comfort Inn and had a good dinner at the Moonlit Diner. I treated my Aunt to dinner for $30, which came from the $35/day budget I am sticking to. I fell in love with our waitress, Gina, and the food was good to boot. If you go to Ft. Lauderdale, I highly recommend the Moonlit Diner.

 

Day 1

 

We are sailing toward Aruba today. We were treated to a view of Cuba on the starboard side. Our new friend Johnny had binoculars and was able to point out mountains, trees, and villages to us. If you make this trip, be sure to bring your binoc's. I'm glad to report that nobody has gone overboard yet. We love the Island Princess.

 

Let me tell you a little bit about the budgeting system we set up for me. Yvette at the front desk prints my charges, and each morning I pay my expenses from the day before. I get a paid receipt and put them in a pile on a shelf in our cabin. That way I take responsibility for my spending, but my Aunt can just glance at my receipts without bugging me. When my money is gone, it is gone so I'm making every effort to stay within my $35 budget. Right now I hear the Horizon Court calling my name for lunch, so I with say goodbye for now. See you tomorrow.

[cw2go]

Following your journey :)

[partybarbie]

I love the Island Princess. I'm glad you have a great aunt to travel with and help you out with the typing. Keep posting. I will be on the Island in March and would love to hear of your adventures.

[Arlened236]

Hi Lewie...I am looking forward to your review, we will be on the Island Princess in March. Hope you are enjoying your cruise...thanks to your Aunt for helping you write your observations of your cruise.

Arlene in Chicago too.

[melody hounddog]

Looking forward to following along! Have a great trip!

[BroncoLvrs]

Hi Lewie,

 

Looking forward to your impressions. My husband and I are sailing on the Island when you return :)

 

We watched the Island go out yesterday and noticed it was a couple of hours late departing. Did they mention why?

[kellor]

What a fun journey this will be for you and your Aunt ~ thank you for taking us along!

[Happy2cruise]

You will love the Panama Canal!! We did it twice on the Coral Princess, the sister ship of the Island. Looking forward to your posts and wishing you a fantastic cruise.

 

Almost forgot, we have eaten at the Moonlight Diner and agree with you, the food and service were good...nice way to start a cruise:)

[MustangGT]

Happy Sailing Lewie! Island Princess is a wonderful ship! We sailed Alaska and the Panama Canal on the Island. You are in for a real treat! Can't wait to hear more about your cruise! Thanks to Aunt Sue for helping to share your journey!

I like your budget idea!

[JSWalk]

Hi Lewie,

 

I am looking forward to your "Live from posts on the Island". We sailed on her through the canal in 2010. It was my favorite cruise yet. I hope you and your Aunt enjoy it as much as we did.

[Orangefan]

Hi, I'm Lewie, a 31 yr. old cruiser. When I was 8, I suffered a traumatic brain injury in a car accident, so my Aunt Sue is typing my impressions of the cruise for me.

 

Yesterday we boarded ship in Ft. Lauderdale and are bound for the Panama Canal. It was a long but rewarding trip to embark on this journey as two pilgrims discovering new lands, at least for us!

 

We stayed at the Comfort Inn and had a good dinner at the Moonlit Diner. I treated my Aunt to dinner for $30, which came from the $35/day budget I am sticking to. I fell in love with our waitress, Gina, and the food was good to boot. If you go to Ft. Lauderdale, I highly recommend the Moonlit Diner.

 

Day 1

 

We are sailing toward Aruba today. We were treated to a view of Cuba on the starboard side. Our new friend Johnny had binoculars and was able to point out mountains, trees, and villages to us. If you make this trip, be sure to bring your binoc's. I'm glad to report that nobody has gone overboard yet. We love the Island Princess.

 

Let me tell you a little bit about the budgeting system we set up for me. Yvette at the front desk prints my charges, and each morning I pay my expenses from the day before. I get a paid receipt and put them in a pile on a shelf in our cabin. That way I take responsibility for my spending, but my Aunt can just glance at my receipts without bugging me. When my money is gone, it is gone so I'm making every effort to stay within my $35 budget. Right now I hear the Horizon Court calling my name for lunch, so I with say goodbye for now. See you tomorrow.

 

 

 

Lewie, Thank you for doing this live report. I will be on the Coral through the Canal Dec 7th. I am anxious to hear about the weather you are encountering especially when you hit the rain forests of the Panama Canal.

Thanks,

Sali

[windsor26]

Happy sailing Lewie I am looking forward to your impressions of the Panama canal as my husband wants to do this cruise as soon as we can.

Well done sticking to a budget you are very sensible and I hope everything works out well for you.:):)

[DrivesLikeMario]

Enjoying reading your posts! Please continue!

 

If only everyone was that diligent about sticking to their budget - you're a great example to others! :)

[RNGALNG]

I'm following you too, Lewie! It looks like along with your voyage, you will be also learning to manage a budget! Good for you! Too many of our young generation don't know how to do that! You must have a wonderful aunt too!!!

 

In Aruba, I found great bargains in the pagoda type huts along the water's edge. It was fun to find trinkets to take home from my travels for little cost. You will find lots of street vendors in Costa Rica as well.

 

I can't wait to read of your adventures! Have a great cruise!

[satxdiver]

Happy sailing Lewie and we look forward to hearing about your trip. We were on the Island from San Francisco to Port Everglades arriving there October 10. Your cruise will be the Island going back through the canal to LA. We did have binoculars along and did see Cuba as we passed it but most of the time it was at night so you saw a lot more than we did.

 

I hope you have fun in Aruba. It is an interesting island and has a lot of things to do. Cartagena is really historic so I hope you get to see a lot there.

 

Happy sailing. You have a really great aunt.

[CI66774]

Have a wonderful cruise! Looking forward to your observations! :)

[erin6494]

Hope you have a wonderful cruise, Lewie! We will be on the Coral in a few weeks and will be excited to sail with you before to learn all about it, thank you for taking us along (and thanks Aunt Sue for typing it!)

 

Erin

[2ndCitySue]

Day 3

 

Today, I want to share my observations of my friends aboard the Island Princess.

 

Yesterday, I wasn't feeling well. I was helped by two Lido staffers and my cabin steward, Ruell. They were warm and helpful and made me feel better due to their kindness. On my first night aboard, a kind passenger helped me find my room because I didn't have my room member set in my mind yet. He took me to the Purser's desk so I could obtain my room number and then walked me up to the room.

 

My friends Jerry and Johnny have eaten with us twice in the Lido. Jerry is very sweet to me and she cuts my food for me when I need help. As I have already discussed, Johnny points out interesting information about the ship's route. I met them on the bus to the ship and made fast friends with them.

 

I have met lots of other helpful people too. I really like the people of the Island Princess!

 

Janice- We were 2 hrs. Late in embarking due to stabilizer repair. She's riding smoothly so it was a success.

 

We are on track to reach Aruba tomorrow.

[BroncoLvrs]

Lewie and Sue,

 

Thank you for your posts. I am glad to hear you are feeling better. I will be praying for you throughout your cruise.

 

Enjoy Aruba!

[TravlGrl]

Thanks for your live review. I've got two good friends on this sailing also, so your review helps me envision what they're up to as well. Keep it coming. :)

[windsor26]

It is lovely to make friends early Hope you are feeling 100% soon

[2ndCitySue]

Day 4 - Aruba

 

Today we set foot on land again, in Aruba! The weather was awesome, sunny and hot. The people were warm and friendly. Sali I will continue posting you on the weather throughout the journey.

 

We shopped at the market with the pagoda huts, as suggested by RNGALNG. Thanks for the tip because I bought everything I wanted without breaking the bank. One of the kind merchants gave me a conch shell as a gift. I bought my niece Mianna a cute doll, my Aunt Sue a change purse she took a fancy to, and most importantly I bought myself a Bob Marley tee shirt that I'll be putting on in the morning to wear on deck.

 

I love Bob Marley because he does spiritual Rastafarian music. I really like his song, "One Love."

 

Let me tell you more about me. My name Lewis comes from my Irish Grandpa. I was actually born Luis due to my Puerto Rican roots. I was adopted when I was two years old. My Mom is Irish, as was my Grandmother by birth. My Dad's family is German. This lineage helped me to become a stubborn Latin lover.

 

Tomorrow I will report from the locks of the Panama Canal. Stay tuned, and thanks for following me on this journey.

[MustangGT]

So glad you enjoyed Aruba! Can't wait to hear about your trip through the Panama Canal! Be sure to move around the ship to see how things work from different perspectives. The forward and aft open areas on Baja and Caribe deck are great - not everyone knows about them!

[RNGALNG]

Day 4 - Aruba

 

Today we set foot on land again, in Aruba! The weather was awesome, sunny and hot. The people were warm and friendly. Sali I will continue posting you on the weather throughout the journey.

 

We shopped at the market with the pagoda huts, as suggested by RNGALNG. Thanks for the tip because I bought everything I wanted without breaking the bank. One of the kind merchants gave me a conch shell as a gift. I bought my niece Mianna a cute doll, my Aunt Sue a change purse she took a fancy to, and most importantly I bought myself a Bob Marley tee shirt that I'll be putting on in the morning to wear on deck.

 

I love Bob Marley because he does spiritual Rastafarian music. I really like his song, "One Love."

 

Let me tell you more about me. My name Lewis comes from my Irish Grandpa. I was actually born Luis due to my Puerto Rican roots. I was adopted when I was two years old. My Mom is Irish, as was my Grandmother by birth. My Dad's family is German. This lineage helped me to become a stubborn Latin lover.

 

Tomorrow I will report from the locks of the Panama Canal. Stay tuned, and thanks for following me on this journey.

 

 

So happy you found some fun things to being home on Aruba! I loved doing my trinket shopping there! We will get another chance this winter on a cruise and can't wait!

 

I hope you saved some money for Costa Rica as they have small individual craft booths at the end of the dock where you can find even more inexpensive things to add to your trinkets! You can barter with them too to try and get the cost down. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't!

 

Can't wait to hear about your next stop. Cartagena. We found this stop very warm. I liked the tour we went on but did not like that the people selling things on the streets came right up and into your face. At every stop on the tour, it was the same t-shirts, jewelry, hats, and what ever else. Just different people selling. I like my space! Stay close to your aunt if you get off the ship!

[2ndCitySue]

Day 5 - Cartagena, Columbia

 

You are stuck with Aunt Sue telling you about our magical day in Cartagena. Lewie is busy running around the ship as the Mayor of The Island Princess. I hope we didn't confuse you yesterday about going through the canal locks today. Both of us had a "brain fart" (to use a Lewie-ism) and got our days mixed up. We do the locks tomorrow.

 

Today we took a Cartagena tour with the famous Dora of Cruise Critic fame. There were 10 CC'ers on the mini-bus and we were majestically transported back in time to see the many splendid historical sites in this lovely sea port on the Caribbean Sea. Our guide Mercedes was highly knowledgeable and a delightful woman.

 

We started with La Popa Monastery, a 17th Century monestary atop a hill with a panoramic view of the city. It is dedicated in honor of Our Lady of Castillo and is world reknown because soon-to -be Saint Pope John II visited there and the faithful flocked there in multitudes. It was an inspirational stop for a believer like me.

 

We also visited the Castle of San Felipe, a fortress built by the Spanish for protection against pirates while shipping gold out to Europe. Naturally, it was high on a hill and I was proud to struggle to the top. My sweet nephew, Lewie, said that he wanted to help me up and he took my hand and helped me up the final summit. He is my sweet love bug and Godson.

 

We ended the tour by walking through the Old City which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was a very colorful European style city. Lewie bargained impressively for some hand painted mirrors and was fortunate enough to meet the artist. We both bought Columbian Coffee at a mini-mart at bargain prices.

 

Stay tuned for more tonight when Lewie is available.