9-17 CB Review Part 1

[pamwinn]

PORTS OF CALL# 3: Grand Cayman. Anyway, it was still a great day, and, of course, I was watching my "diet", so I had a great salad at the buffet with Ranch-lite dressing. Then, I had several pieces of pizza and a couple of frothy something-or-others with rum in them.

 

That is EXACTLY the same diet I go on when cruising. :p

[imsulin2]

Doncha just love it!!!!:D

[imsulin2]

PORTS OF CALL #4: Ocho Rios, Jamaica. I realized early on that this port would not be anyone's favorite. I've docked in Montego Bay a few times, but this was my first time at Ocho Rios. I've been to Dunn's River before, so was not looking to book any excursions. (In fact, I didn't book any excursions during this cruise! Just did my own thing.) I've also stayed at a couple of all-inclusives in Negril, so I considered myself fairly "aware" of things like JUTA and pushy sales people and the "Ganja" thing. I'm glad we had a full day there, though! One of the important things on my agenda was to buy T -shirts for the 25 mentally handicapped clients I work with in a residential facility. I was going to get them in St. Thomas....but! It's a long haul from the ship to the "main part" of Ocho Rios, where the Island Village shopping center is off to the right. Well, I am not going to pay ten bucks a pop for 25 freaking T-shirts!! So, I found a very nice local "yeah, mon" and offered him $5.00 to take me to a more "local" locale to buy my T-shirts. He said he would take me to his "cousin's" shop off to the left. It was hotter than Hellck, but I followed him along a twisty/windy path in the back of some hotels. Well, his first "cousin's" stand wanted $5.00 apiece for T-shirts that I didn't think were very great, and didn't have the sizes I needed. So...off to his second "cousin's" stand. It was even worse, and his "cousin" tried to sell me the infamous Ganja. Mr. "yeah, mon" yelled at him in the Jamaican patois, so he backed off. Finally, we arrived at his third "cousin's" stand, and he had exactly what I needed! By this time, I had sweated along for a couple of miles, and was just about ready to collapse. A complimentary Red Stripe brought me back to my senses, though! It took an hour or so to get all the right sizes (from L to XL to XXL to XXXL to XXXXL), but I got them, and they were very nice! Most were embroidered, and I got them for $3.00 each. I also got another complimentary Red Stripe for my journey back to the ship, and Mr. "yeah, mon" carried my two heavy bags as far as he was allowed to go, and I gave him another $5.00. Dumped the T-shirts in my cabin, got off the ship again, and made a bee-line to Margaritaville! Well, I've been to more than a couple of these Jimmy Buffet places (just for the dining, mind you), and I was so hot and sweaty that I immediately headed for the pool and tore off my clothes! I did pause for a minute to ask myself if I was just wearing underwear, or if I had the ugly black bathing suit on. Thank God it was the ugly suit! Jumped in the pool and sat on a stool and ordered....ice water! (Gotcha!) The pool water felt so luxurious that I decided to celebrate with another Red Stripe. Ahem. $4.00 each. Ah!! My credit card! Had an absolute blast there for the rest of the day! The DJ was very, very good, and since our ship was the only one in port that day, everyone there was from the CB. He really had the place jumping!! Oops - I forgot to eat lunch!! No problem, mon! I'm pretty sure I got back to the ship, too. Anyway, it was another great day for me and I loved it! A lot of passengers didn't get off the ship, which is probably a good thing, since it was SRO at Margaritaville!

 

[imsulin2]

DEBARKATION: This actually went very smoothly! I was given white-2 luggage tags, but was surprised that the time for leaving bags in the hallway was so early! No one seemed to know the exact time, and I couldn't find it in the Patters, so my bags were out about 8:30 p.m. - well after other bags were out. I am already sad to be leaving such a wonderful time, but was dirt-tired, and fell asleep quickly. In the morning, I actually missed the bad coffee and stale croissant!! I left my cabin to go to the Central Atrium area (didn't have far to walk), and went to get the complimentary coffee. There is one lady in front of me, who actually cut in front of me, so I picked up a cup and waited my turn. Does this lady get a cup of coffee? Hell, no!! She proceeds to fill eight cups of coffee, and then signals to her buddies who have scattered themselves around the Atrium to help her carry them. Oh, wait!! Each cup has to be creamed and sugared, and no one bothers to throw the empty packets into the trash! Good example of rude passengers! By the time she and her entourage had finished, the only thing left was de-caf, so I helped myself, and threw their trash away. I decided to sit in the Casino, which was much cooler, and not very crowded. So, several of us are commiserating the end of our cruise, and this (very nice) guy comes in to await his own debarkation, because he's booked on a B2B and has to re-enter! After the rest of us spit on him and called him profane names, we had a great time waiting for our colors to be called. We were totally jealous of this guy, and he was a very good sport! The colors were called at about 8:45 a.m., and by 9:15, mine were called. Found my luggage fairly quickly, and was greeted by...the Taxi brigade! At least a million taxi drivers were shouting, "Only $14.00 per person, lady, to the FLL airport!" Over-and-over-and-over, etc. I found a guy who charged by meter, and it read $11.00 when we arrived at the Delta terminal, so I gladly tipped him five bucks. Ate a Philly cheesesteak and read my book while waiting. Flight to Atlanta was uneventful, and I was home by 5:00 p.m after the drive, facing dirty cruise laundry and unhappy cats who immediately attacked my luggage with their sharp little kitty paws. It's a week later, and I am still unpacking!

 

[Crazsea]

I feel like I just finished a good book, but I want more!! Thank you for YOUR great review and the thoroughly enjoyable way you presented it!

When's your next cruise imsulin2?LOL:D

[ingeegirl]

Thanks so much for the great review - really enjoyed the details and humor.