My LONG Mardi Gras Story - Take Two! (with FunTimes)

[SenatorsFan]

21 minutes ago, mlshum said:

I love that!  I see that you're way further north than me.  It is very nice to remember those nice warm days during the cold days of winter!

Thanks, yes we get our share of snow and freezing cold weather here. Decorating the tree always brings back memories of sun and fun. 😊

[mlshum]

Big French Key was about a 20-minute ride from the port area.  While we were traveling Edimir pointed out interesting sights and told us history of the island.  He told us that Roatan island was 36 miles long and 3.5 miles wide at the widest point.   He invited questions and was able to answer every question that was thrown at him without hesitation.  He knew his stuff! 

 

Edimir told us about the island

 

American favorites in Roatan, too

 

Shopping center

 

 

We arrived at Big French Key, specifically at the Starfish Beach Club.  It was a beautiful beach.  There were loungers, a bar and a covered dining area that we’d use later.  There were restrooms and a section of lockers.  Edimar told us to get ready to snorkel and to please put all our belongings into Locker #1, which would then be locked.  We both took our snorkel masks with us and Ron took the Go Pro.  Everything else (which wasn’t much!) we put in the locker.

 

We got off the bus and waited here

 

Beautifull beach area

 

Comfortable shaded seating

 

This is where we would be snorkeling

 

 

Beach and our snorkel boat

 

Testing the temperature....perfect!

 

 

We didn’t have to wait long.  Our boat was ready, and we boarded for the short ride to our fist snorkel site.  Our captain was Captain Richard, who I never heard say a word the entire day, the first mate, Kileen, and the crew was rounded out by Antonia and Andres.  Andres was a photographer, and he would be snorkeling with us.  I thought that was a nice touch!  Sometimes, even with the Go Pro, it’s tough to get good pictures.  The day was overcast so the water appeared somewhat cloudy anyway.  The beautiful colors of the coral don’t show up nearly as well without bright sunlight.  I was hoping Andres would get some great pictures.

 

 

(Credit for most of these snorkel pictures goes to Andres and were taken from the pictures we purchased.)

 

The view off the back of our snorkel boat.  Could it be a more perfect day?!?

 

We arrived at our first snorkel site, which was where the starfish were located.  We donned our snorkel gear and fins and prepared to jump into the water.  I had recently gotten a new full face snorkel mask.  I was originally very skeptical of the full-face mask and was not an early adopter.  I always have trouble with snorkel masks because my head is small and it’s tough to find a good fit.  I always bring my own mask and snorkel.  I use a youth mask because it fits my head better.  One of my biggest frustrations is fogging.  I’d tried all the internet suggestions but invariably, I still usually wound up with some fogging. 

 

 

Snorkel selfie!

 

 

My friend from church, Misty, is an avid snorkeler and teaches lifeguard classes.  Earlier this year she had told me she’d tried a specific type of full-face mask with a side snorkel and loved it.  She brought her mask to me so I could try it out because she thought I’d really like it.  I seriously trust her advice, so I thought I’d give it a shot.   She was right!  I go to visit my mom about once a month and my brother, who lives next door, has a small pool.  I took Misty’s mask AND my normal mask and spent some time in the pool trying them out and comparing the two.  She was right!  I could see SO much better, and the fogging was not a problem at all.  The only downside is that it’s very difficult to dive down wearing that type of mask.  It’s very buoyant.  Since I don’t dive much, that wasn’t a problem for me.   I wore it for probably an hour or so in the pool and it worked beautifully.  I came home and immediately ordered one exactly like it.  This was my first time out actually snorkeling with the full-face mask. 

 

 

We all jumped into the water and immediately you could see starfish.  These were not what I was expecting!  I had always believed that starfish were rather small and slim.  That was NOT the case with these starfish.  They were HUGE!  They had to be 8 – 10 inches in diameter and 2 – 4 inches thick.  They were very chunky.  There were a lot of them among the grasses.  We also saw a large lobster.  I was on the lookout for a turtle but to no avail this day.  One couple said they’d seen a ray, but I missed it.  

 

Ron got some fish pictures with the Go Pro

 

Andres got some great starfish pics.  Check out those colors!

 

 

 

We saw a lobster

 

 

 

I always called this brain coral because I don't know it's true name

 

 

 

 

He snapped a picture of me.  My only complaint is that we were required to wear the snorkel vests.  This is pretty common, but they do get in the way a bit.

 

 

After about 30 minutes we got back on board to go to our second site, which was a shipwreck.  We donned masks and fins and jumped in a second time.  This time Edimar was sort of guiding us through the coral to the shipwreck.  There were some places where the coral was fairly close to the top of the water.  He cautioned us about not touching the coral and damaging it.  Also, coral can scratch you up pretty badly, which I learned firsthand on our last trip to Bermuda.  I was quite content to not touch it!  He also cautioned us about trying to dive into the shipwreck but rather stay above it.

 

Shipwreck

 

 

Ron and I getting ready to jump in the water

 

He snapped a pic of Ron and his Go Pro

 

 

More shipwreck

 

Part of the shipwreck is above the water

 

 

The shipwreck was very interesting.  It has been there for many years (around 100, according to Edimar) and the coral was taking over.  It had separated into several pieces over time.  There were a number of fish swimming in the area; more than our first stop.  After swimming around and looking at things for about 30 minutes, it was again time to return to the boat.  We were instructed to go up the side ladder and hand our fins to Kileen before climbing the ladder.  I was last in line, right behind Ron.  Just then, Andres tapped me on the shoulder and asked if I’d like to see something “huge and terrifying”.  I said, “Absolutely!” and followed him over to a large coral formation. 

 

 

The coral formation was probably about 4 – 5 feet wide.  There was a hole in one end.  You could see down into the hole, and it was there that he pointed out a tail.  It took me a minute, but I finally saw it.  We then swam around to the other side of the coral where you could see part of the head.  It was a green moray eel!  A very large one!  It must have been at least 4 feet long, assuming it was completely stretched out under the coral.  If it was curved, then it was even longer.  Unfortunately, I had the Go Pro at that time because I had been trying to learn to use it.  I couldn’t get any pictures of it.  We bought all the photos from Andres in hopes he might have gotten a good picture or two. Turns out, he DID get a photo of the eel.

 

 

The eel!!!  I have no idea how big this guy actually was!

 

 

Back on board we took off masks and fins and started back to the beach.  It was a great snorkel.  I was very happy with my mask, and I’d truly enjoyed seeing all the things I had seen. It was nice to have not fought the fogging an fit of the mask during my snorkel time.

 

Such a good snorkel!

 

Coming back to land

 

 

  I was tired and hungry at this point.  Edimar told us that empanadas were waiting for us back at the beach club.  We would each have two empanadas and had the choice between beef or fish.

 

 

The dining area

 

 

Empanadas were pretty good!

 

We arrived back at the beach.  I got our belongings out of the locker; we found a table and went to get our empanadas.  We both chose the beef option.  I don’t care for fish.  They were very good.  We bought a couple of Diet Pepsi’s at the bar.  It had been a good day.  After eating we found a couple of loungers and pulled out Kindles to read and relax for a bit.

 

My view

 

 

 

 

After about 20 minutes on the beach, the bus arrived, and it was time to go back to port.  We made one more stop along the way at the narrowest point of the island, which was also the highest point on the island.   On one side of the road, you could see the area where we had been snorkeling.  On the other side of the road, you could see the ocean stretching off in that direction.  There was a wide spot where the bus had parked and a couple of small vendor huts.  Since we didn’t need anything and were ready to go back to the ship, we took a couple of pictures and got back on the bus for the ride back to port.  It had been a good day. 

 

Parking at the overlook

 

The view on one side, also the area where we had been snorkeling

 

The view from the other side

 

A few vendors had items available

 

 

When we arrived back in port we boarded Mardi Gras.

 

 

 

  Ron suggested we take a turn down the water slide.  We usually try to do the water slides once while we’re on a cruise.  We usually shoot for a time when we’re already wet and messy.  It isn’t my favorite activity, but it is still fun and if there is a water park, you MUST do at least one of the slides.  I’m pretty sure that’s a rule!  We walked up to the sports deck.  I got a blue mat to do the mat slide.  Ron intended to do the drop slide (orange) but it wasn’t operational at that time.  He instead opted for the yellow body slide.  He still had the Go Pro on his wrist but apparently the slide attendant at the top didn’t notice or didn’t care.  I went down first.  I got out at the bottom and waited for him.  He came down just a few seconds later.  The attendant at the bottom of the slide told him not to bring the Go Pro if he came back.  LOL Unfortunately his pictures didn’t turn out well so we have absolutely no proof any of this happened. 

 

 

It was about 3:30.  Our empanadas had long since worn off and it was still a few hours before dinner so we, again, got a slice of pizza.  This time we went out on deck 8 just outside the pizza and deli section to dry off for a bit.  After finishing our pizza we went to our cabin, cleaned up and settled in to rest a little while before meeting our group for dinner.

 

Back for more later!

 

 

 

[Jenny in TX]

On 10/1/2024 at 6:04 PM, mlshum said:

Now…on with the story!

 

It was time for check-in.  We all planned to “meet” on our group chat a little before midnight so we could, hopefully, all get the earliest possible time and get them all together.  Since this was our first Platinum sailing, I had already checked in.  I didn’t confess that at first.    I took the 10:30 to 11:00 option hoping that would line up pretty well with everyone else.  It worked like a charm!  Everyone got the 10:30 to 11:00 slot and, just like that, check-in was complete.

 

Those two weeks between check-in and leaving must be the two longest weeks of the year.  Can time possibly drag any slower?!?  I had a terrible case of “vacationitis” during my last few workdays.  Seems like work always gets more complicated during that time. Finally, I had successfully shut down my part of the office and it was time to pack.  It isn’t quite vacation yet, but I can see if from here!

 

 

 

September 13th – Travel Day (yes, we flew on Friday the 13th!)

 

Our plan was to leave by 6am for our 11:45 flight out of Charlotte.  I had planned to be up around 4:30 so I’d have plenty of time to get ready.  The alarm when off and I bounded out of bed.  It’s always like Christmas morning for me.  I noticed that Ron had a strange look on his face after looking at his phone.  The conversation went like this:

 

Me:  What?

Him:  I thought we were leaving at 6.

Me:  We are!

Him: Then why did you set the alarm for 5:30?

 

Eeek!!!   Oh no!!!  What have I done!!!!

 

I could have fainted!!  For some unknown reason, I set the alarm AN HOUR LATER than anticipated!  I freaked out!  I was nearly in tears as I ran around trying to get ready.  I just knew I had totally blown it!  Fortunately, my hair didn’t fight back at all that morning, and we’d already packed so loading the car was a quick process.  I threw my last few items in his open carry on and away we went.  We walked out the door at 6:07am.  That has got to be some sort of record for me!

 

 

It was dark when we left Princeton!

 

 

If you live in West Virginia, you know that no on-the-road breakfast counts if it isn’t a biscuit from Tudor’s.  They don’t just serve biscuits…they serve BISCUITS!  They are MASSIVE!  One of my favorite Tudor’s stories is from my son’s father-in-law.  While visiting, he decided to go to a nearby Tudor’s to get breakfast for the four of them.  He ordered two biscuits each, assuming they would be normal sized biscuits.  Mark said when he picked up the bag, he nearly dropped it because of the weight!   He loved the biscuits and never missed a chance to go to Tudor’s when he was visiting Ben, our son, and his daughter, Katherine, in WV.

 

Tudor's biscuits!  I don't allow myself to have them very often, but calories don't count on cruises!

 

On the road!

 

Biscuits acquired, we merged onto I-77 for the trip to Charlotte to meet our friends and catch our plane.  On the way out the door I had asked Ron to not tell anyone about my alarm snafu.  It didn’t take long for it to become funny to me, so I texted Liz to confess and later told everyone.  Steven looked impressed that I managed to get ready in 37 minutes.  Go me!

 

 

We know the way to the airport except for the last couple of turns.  Ron asked me to get his phone and turn on Waze.  I picked up his phone and was confronted with his face ID screen.  I just stuck it over in front of his face so it would see him and magically open.  The only problem with that is he was also driving!   Oops!    I knew he’d be OK!  He did look a little startled, though.

 

We usually fly out of CLT (Charlotte).  In the past few years, they have started doing reservations for long term parking.  It isn’t strictly required, but they won’t guarantee that they will have parking available if you haven’t reserved a spot.  Emory mentioned that fact just a few days before we left.  I had totally forgotten to do that!  We reserved our parking and when we arrived, we were very glad we had made that reservation because the lots were quite full.  The reservation was $12 a day and was well worth it.  Thanks for reminding us, Emory!

 

 

Pulling into CLT

 

 

Don't forget to book parking!!!

 

We made it to the airport, found our parking spot and boarded a shuttle to the terminal.  As we got to the terminal, we ran into Liz and Aaron and Kim and Bobby.  We all headed to the security line together.  I could feel my heart start beating faster.  I often seem to be selected for random searches and such.  I don’t look forward to the TSA lines!

 

 

Waiting for our shuttle...

 

The security lines were relatively long this time.  It took us about 30 minutes to get up to the agent.  Ron was in front of me.  He stepped in front of the camera, and, for whatever reason, it wouldn’t recognize him.  He had to also produce his driver’s license in addition to his passport and try again.  Fortunately, that time, he was allowed to move forward.  I went through without incident.  Go figure!  Step one was successful!   We got in line and started the process…..backpack in tray, shoes in tray, electronics larger than phone in tray, etc.  I had absolutely no problems on this day.  My halo was super shiny, and I sailed right through the process.  Yay!

 

 

This airport has been under construction for YEARS!

 

Liz, however, wasn’t so lucky.  In addition to her backpack and cell phone, she also was carrying a Nintendo Switch.  The first TSA agent told her to put the Switch in her backpack.  She did.  When her bag went through the scanner, she was pulled out of line and they had to take out the Switch for examination.  She was NOT a happy camper!  Maybe just a LITTLE salty.   It only took a few minutes for the process to be complete….and a few minutes longer for her to regain her composure…and we were finally on our way.  Emory and Cami and Steven and Sarah had arrived and made their way through security.   We had time to spare.  Whew!  What a morning it had been!

 

 

Liz.......This is the look of frustration

 

 

 

But after a quick conversation they got it figured out and we were on our way!

 

Since I’d had a biscuit on the way, I wasn’t really hungry, but in my mind, sweets are never a bad idea.  (I have to fight that internal persuasion ALL the time, but not on vacation.)    There is a store in CLT called the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Company.  They had some massive cookies!  I got a butterscotch chip cookie from the case.  We didn’t see any chocolate chip, which is what Ron, Liz and Kim wanted.  Just as we were discussing what to get instead, a gentleman came from the back carrying a tray of chocolate chip cookies that were fresh from the oven.  We’d definitely lucked out!  I would have changed my mind and gotten that, too, if they hadn’t already bagged the butterscotch cookie.  We ate part of the cookie just before we boarded.  Mine was OK.  Ron’s was glorious and delightful.  We shared both cookies over the rest of the day but the one we eventually finished was his chocolate chip cookie.

 

 

Waiting for our plane, munching on delightful cookies!

 

 

 

This is MY tribe!

 

 

 

Our plane is ready

 

Away we go!

 

 

I'll be back to write more tomorrow!!

My brother and sister in law live in WV and we visited this year and had our first Tudor's biscuit!  They were delicious and we ended up grabbing a biscuit on more than one morning!

Looking forward to the rest of your review!

[mlshum]

16 minutes ago, Jenny in TX said:

My brother and sister in law live in WV and we visited this year and had our first Tudor's biscuit!  They were delicious and we ended up grabbing a biscuit on more than one morning!

Looking forward to the rest of your review!

Nothing like a Tudor's biscuit!

 

Thanks so much for reading along!!

 

[ninjacat123]

Hey Michelle could you post a link to the snorkel mask? I always have trouble as well. Thx!!

[mlshum]

17 minutes ago, ninjacat123 said:

Hey Michelle could you post a link to the snorkel mask? I always have trouble as well. Thx!!

Sure!  It's currently on sale on Amazon for less than I paid.  Search for "Seaview 180 V3 Full Face Snorkel Mask" and it should pop right up!

[mlshum]

MEANWHILE...

 

Today was apparently Towel Animal Takeover!  I had thought it would be the next day, which was a Sea Day, but I was mistaken.  Ron and I usually would use the stairs that came up in the middle of the Lido dining area, so we didn't actually go out on deck this morning and I totally missed it.  Boo!  Fortunately, Liz saved me and took a few pictures.  (Liz gets photo credit for the vast majority of these pictures!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

They got off the bus and headed onto the island.  Here's that great photo op!

 

Bobby and Kim

 

I'm not sure who Bobby is waiting for or why but I liked this picture of him.  I will call it "A Study in Patience."  😁

 

 

Liz, Aaron, Sarah, Steven, Cami, Kim and Bobby headed out to meet sloths, monkeys’, macaws and iguanas.  They met their tour guide on the dock and signed waivers that they would not protest…at least not financially….if they were bitten by animals.  They then boarded a bus to go to the animal farm which was about 20 minutes from the port area.  Molly was their tour guide.

 

 

A little crowded in the bus

 

Molly knew a LOT about Roatan Island.  She shared facts about the island during the bus ride.  She shared things like there was only one private power plant on the island and some of the history of the shipwreck that is in the port area.  The shipwreck was always interesting to me, and I’ve wondered about it every time I’ve visited Roatan.

 

According to Molly, the shipwreck is actually the first container ship that was supposed to visit Roatan.  About a mile off the coast, it caught fire.  This was apparently something like 100 years ago. The ship was not allowed to dock due to the fire.  Fortunately, everyone survived the fire, but the ship was a total loss.  As technology improved, they were able to move the shipwreck closer into the port area, so it was not a problem for other ships who needed to dock in Roatan.  Initially, they had hoped to remove it when they were able but as it sat in the port area, the coral began to take over and it became something of a manmade reef.  Now it is an active reef system that is supporting underwater life in the area, so they don’t want to remove it. 

 

The internet has a very different story.  According to the internet, the ship in port is called the M Alexand.  It was originally built in 1951 as a general cargo ship in Germany and was integrated into Zim Israel Lines as part of German war reparations.  In 1965 the ship was renamed to Nausika.  In 1974 it was renamed again Lady Salla and in 1977 it was sold to Honduras and renamed one last time to M Alexand, which is apparently a subspecies of brown rats found in English warehouses in Bristol.  Odd name for a ship!

 

In Honduras the ship transported cement for Cementos Bijao and moved cement that was sold throughout the Caribbean making Honduras a major cement exporter.  In 1981 the ship was headed to Ecuador to deliver 300,000 sacks of cement when it ran into mechanical trouble.  Luey McLaughlin was managing the ship at that time and flew to Ecuador with spare parts.  It was anchored for several weeks in Cristobal (near Nicaragua)  but finally managed to limp its way back to Roatan.  Unfortunately, the ship wound up with broken pipes that wet the bottom layer of the cargo, which was around 2000 sacks of cement.  This sent Honduras into sort of a tailspin.

 

About that time, the Honduran government changed and Suazo Cordoba, who was the new president, took power in 1982.  He didn’t want to help Cementos Bijao out as he had other projects that he considered more important and pressing.  The president of Cementos Bijao wound up in jail because he tried to assassinate the president over the whole thing. 

 

A lot of other political things occurred but ultimately the ship was towed to Dixon Cove, which is now the site of Mahogany Bay cruise port.  At the time, it was simply an uninhabited bay surrounded by mangroves.  The ship was beached with the rear part of the ship sitting in approximately 60 – 70 ft of water.  In the 80’s the US Navy Seals offered to raise the ship as an exercise but never actually got approval for the operation.  The ship has sat there all this time.

 

This photo taken from the internet.  I couldn't find the name of the photographer for photo credit.  I didn't take it!

 

 

Liz DID take this one!

 

These two stories are about as far apart as possible.  I had to wonder if Molly was talking about the shipwreck, that Ron and I had visited because it apparently happened a very long time ago and is definitely becoming a manmade reef.

 

Whichever version is true, both stories are interesting!

 

Anyway….back to our story!  (I feel like I say that a lot from my little “asides”)

 

The group arrived at the location of the animals and were given instructions.  They would first be interacting with sloths.  The instructions included no fast movements, don’t feed them, and no wearing of glasses, hats, hearing aids, jewelry, etc.  Shelves were provided for belongings that could not be taken into the animal enclosure.

 

The workers brought out two sloths.  They would basically “drape” the sloth over each person.  You were not supposed to move while holding a sloth including rocking it like a baby.  Liz said that was the hardest thing because they were very cuddly, and you WANTED to rock them.  It felt natural!  The sloth that she held was named Bon Jovi and he was approximately 6 – 7 years old.  The second sloth was his mother, but Liz did not know her name.

 

Bobby is loved by the animals

 

Sarah looks happy

 

Cami is great but Bobby may be preferred!

 

Kim looks happy

 

Sarah is posing for a pic

 

I don't know what Cami is hiding but Bon Jovi is trying to find out.

 

Steven ALMOST cracked a smile here!

 

 

All of the animals LOVED Bobby.  They would reach for him.  We think pretty highly of him, too, but I never realized he was an animal whisperer!

 

The sloths were taken away and the group was taken into a monkey cage where two monkeys were housed.  Unfortunately, those monkeys weren’t in a mood to interact with anyone that day.  I get it!  I’m sometimes in a mood that I don’t want to interact with anyone either! 

 

The monkey is interested in whatever the guide is putting in Aaron's pocket

 

This one seems pretty content on Liz's shoulder

 

He's really searching that pocket!

 

This monkey seems to have found a happy place on Cami's shoulder

 

They love Bobby!

 

Kim takes a turn with the monkey

 

Sarah is getting a new hairstyle

 

Back to Bobby

 

Peek-a-boo!  There it is!  Steven smiled!

 

They were then taken into a different monkey cage with more monkeys and those monkeys were much more interactive.  In an effort to get the monkeys to interact with people, the worker would put food in shirt pockets or even on someone’s head.  I personally don’t think I would like that, but our group seemed to love it.  Liz said one of the workers brought out a can of Coca-Cola and poured some one her fingers.  The worker told her not only did the monkeys like the can itself (because it was shiny and red), they liked the taste and would lick her fingers, which they did.  Again, the monkeys loved Bobby better than anyone else.

 

Bobby...the animal whisperer

 

They're just going to keep him there.

 

 

After ten to fifteen minutes, the group was taken to the macaw area.  Sarah and Aaron opted to NOT go into the bird enclosure.  All of the birds were at ceiling height and would not come down. 

 

This bird looks down and says, "Nah, not today!"

 

 

It sees Bobby...

 

One of our group suggested that the workers give the fruit to Bobby and, sure enough, the birds came down and one sat on his shoulder. 

 

...and can't resist!

 

They were able to pass the bird around for a while and it sat on Kim’s arm but then it flew away.  This was obviously somehow Kim’s fault.  LOL

 

Bobby tolls the bird down.

 

What a great picture!

 

This one seems to like Steven pretty well, too.  It's maybe because he has flamingos on his shirt.  How can you NOT like someone with flamingos on their shirt?!!

 

This one did take a moment to sit on Kim's arm

 

 

The group went back to the bus and proceeded to the iguana area.  This was where Bobby drew the line.  He didn’t even get off the bus, at least not initially, because he wasn’t interested AT ALL in interacting with iguanas.  While he may be a sloth, monkey or bird whisperer, he wasn’t feeling the reptiles at all.

 

 

A LOT of iguanas!  Liz said you had to be really careful NOT to step on their tails.

 

 

Cami seems sto be popular here

 

Everyone is feeding the iguanas

 

At this point there was a problem with the bus’s air conditioning.  While the group interacted with the iguanas a new bus was sent and a heat crisis was averted.

 

Waiting for a new bus

 

 

There were LOTS of iguanas of all sizes and ages.  There was even a baby iguana!  They were all loose and you had to be very careful not to step on their tails.  Surprisingly enough, they do not move quickly.  You could pet them.  Liz said they felt like a football. 

 

 

Kim decides to pet the iguana

 

After interacting with the animals, the group did a little shopping at the Macaw Container Market.  Interestingly enough, the stores and restaurants were at least partially in shipping containers.  Kim got a sloth hat and Liz got a magnet.  One of the businesses was the Roatan Chocolate Factory, which they toured.  They were able to try a lot of chocolates during the tour.  The market even had a steakhouse! 

 

 

Kim looks so cute in her sloth hat!

 

 

The tour was complete.  The group returned to the bus and headed back to the ship. 

 

Back on the bus.

 

Ron and I arrived back from our snorkel excursion close to the same time.

 

I'll be back later to finish out this day.

 

 

[mikayla73]

On 10/4/2024 at 6:40 PM, mlshum said:

Everyone in our group was scheduled for the Carnival Kitchen pasta class later that morning.  Ron and I had done a couple of Carnival Kitchen

classes and had really enjoyed them.  We were anxious to do it again!

When did you guys sign up for the class? Before cruising, in the terminal, once on the ship? 

 

We also collect magnets and I love your idea about organizing them by year! It's too late for me for that, but I like it!

 

And one kind of shoes are you wearing for the race? They look cool and comfortable for walking.

[mlshum]

9 minutes ago, mikayla73 said:

When did you guys sign up for the class? Before cruising, in the terminal, once on the ship? 

 

We also collect magnets and I love your idea about organizing them by year! It's too late for me for that, but I like it!

 

And one kind of shoes are you wearing for the race? They look cool and comfortable for walking.

We signed up for our class well before the cruise under “speciality dining”.  Some of the classes fill up pretty quickly and we knew we wanted to do it so we were watching and booked as soon as it went up.

 

It took me a while to figure out the years, too.  We spent a lot of time going through pics to figure out where and when.  Lol

 

I got the shoes at Shoe Carnival on the clearance rack a few years ago.  They are Nautica brand.  I love them!

[mikayla73]

Thank you!

[mlshum]

1 minute ago, mikayla73 said:

Thank you!

You're very welcome and thanks so much for taking time to read along!

[mlshum]

We got back on the ship and found our towel animal for the day waiting.

 

 

 

After messaging back and forth with our group, we decided that this would be a good night to go to Guy’s Pig and Anchor.  We all met there.  It was, as always, really good.  There was, as usual, way too much food to finish.  I had pork and brisket with mac and cheese and fries for the sides.  I don’t remember what Ron had.

 

This picture of Guy's Pig and Anchor was taken a little earlier while it was still light outside.

 

 

Liz had the Mississippi Mud Cake (I think that's what it is called)

 

 

  I opted to pay a little extra and get the brownie and ice cream dessert.  It was SO good.  It was also SO huge!  Everyone seemed to enjoy our dinner at Pig and Anchor.

 

This was the best dessert of the week for me!

 

 

This was Deal or No Deal night.  Right after dinner we went straight to Grand Central to buy cards and get a good seat.  I know some people prefer the production shows and I like those, too, but I also very much enjoy the interactive game shows.  I bought the single card for $25.  You could also buy two cards for $40 or three cards for $50.  We all bought our cards and settled in for a fairly long wait.  At that point we realized that they were advertising on the screen that they were testing an electronic card option, and you could have SIX digital cards on your phone for $60.  That’s double the number of cards for only $10 more.  I wish we’d known that before we bought cards since it wasn’t advertised anywhere else.  All cards are good for both games.  To be fair, I would have still only bought one card because I’m a cheapskate.

 

 

My one little card

 

 

It was time for the game to begin.  The number flashed up on the screen and TWO people came forward.  Oops!  One had a physical card, and one had the digital card.  Unfortunately, they both DID have the same number.  Looks like that digital card system needs a little more work!  They somehow determined which person was supposed to be the contestant and she went on stage.  I’m sure the other person was really frustrated.  I know I would have been.  I have no idea how they determined which one was the correct contestant.

 

We are settled in for the game to begin

 

 

The game started.  I have played this game before and won as much as a casino package.  I have played the game before and didn’t make a single match.  It’s fun either way but I was hoping to win at least SOMETHING.  I made one match early in the game.  All my friends were also making matches.  Kim was trying to figure out how many matches she had made on one card because she was playing three cards at one time.  She thought she had made several matches but wasn’t sure they were all on the same card.  Most everyone in our group, including me, won a Bingo package that game.  Kim however, won $200!  We didn’t realize it at first but when the name flashed on the screen as a $200 winner, we realized it was indeed true.  The $200 was credited to her account in just a few minutes.  I do appreciate how fast they paid out!  The second game was pretty uneventful for me, and I didn’t win anything.

 

 

I was in shock, didn't realize it was happening and didn't get a picture of Kim's name up on the screen.  Ugh!

 

 

The first round ended but another was going to start later that evening.  Most of us decided to stay on for another turn.  Emory and Cami decided to go to Broadway Beats instead.  Ron read his Kindle.  The rest of us were getting cards and getting ready to play again.  I, again, got only the one card.  I liked the physical card better than the electronic card.  Some of our group got the $60 six card deal. 

 

Getting ready for the second game.

 

The game started again.  None of us won anything major this time.  Sarah and I both won another Bingo card, Liz won two bingo packages, and Liz/Aaron, Bobby and Steven won casino credit.  Bobby actually won casino credit in two different games.  All in all, we had a great evening.  It was fun!

 

Final tally if I’ve got this right….Me – two bingo games.  Liz – three bingo games and a casino credit (not sure if that was her or Aaron who won the casino credit.  There’s debate about who did it, folio numbers, etc.  It’s complicated…and a little sketchy if you ask me!).  Kim – two bingo games,  casino credit (I think) and $200.  Sarah – two bingo games.  Steven – one bingo and casino credit.  Bobby – two bingo games and casino credit and finally Cami – who won casino credit, which turned into MUCH more.  (Foreshadowing again!)

 

 

Kim also wound up with scratchers, which she scratched the next day.  I don't think she won anything on those.

 

After the games, everyone went their separate ways.  Ron and I went up on deck for a while.  I love the look of the water at night.  I also enjoy scanning the horizon for lights from either ships or land.  Ron and I strolled around a while and decided to call it a night. 

 

Love that wake view!

 

The moon was gorgeous!

 

As it says in the King James version “the evening and the morning were the 5th day”.  LOL

 

I'll be back later to start into our second Sea Day.

 

 

[erstreet2017]

27 minutes ago, mlshum said:

We got back on the ship and found our towel animal for the day waiting.

 

 

 

After messaging back and forth with our group, we decided that this would be a good night to go to Guy’s Pig and Anchor.  We all met there.  It was, as always, really good.  There was, as usual, way too much food to finish.  I had pork and brisket with mac and cheese and fries for the sides.  I don’t remember what Ron had.

 

This picture of Guy's Pig and Anchor was taken a little earlier while it was still light outside.

 

 

Liz had the Mississippi Mud Cake (I think that's what it is called)

 

 

  I opted to pay a little extra and get the brownie and ice cream dessert.  It was SO good.  It was also SO huge!  Everyone seemed to enjoy our dinner at Pig and Anchor.

 

This was the best dessert of the week for me!

 

 

This was Deal or No Deal night.  Right after dinner we went straight to Grand Central to buy cards and get a good seat.  I know some people prefer the production shows and I like those, too, but I also very much enjoy the interactive game shows.  I bought the single card for $25.  You could also buy two cards for $40 or three cards for $50.  We all bought our cards and settled in for a fairly long wait.  At that point we realized that they were advertising on the screen that they were testing an electronic card option, and you could have SIX digital cards on your phone for $60.  That’s double the number of cards for only $10 more.  I wish we’d known that before we bought cards since it wasn’t advertised anywhere else.  All cards are good for both games.  To be fair, I would have still only bought one card because I’m a cheapskate.

 

 

My one little card

 

 

It was time for the game to begin.  The number flashed up on the screen and TWO people came forward.  Oops!  One had a physical card, and one had the digital card.  Unfortunately, they both DID have the same number.  Looks like that digital card system needs a little more work!  They somehow determined which person was supposed to be the contestant and she went on stage.  I’m sure the other person was really frustrated.  I know I would have been.  I have no idea how they determined which one was the correct contestant.

 

We are settled in for the game to begin

 

 

The game started.  I have played this game before and won as much as a casino package.  I have played the game before and didn’t make a single match.  It’s fun either way but I was hoping to win at least SOMETHING.  I made one match early in the game.  All my friends were also making matches.  Kim was trying to figure out how many matches she had made on one card because she was playing three cards at one time.  She thought she had made several matches but wasn’t sure they were all on the same card.  Most everyone in our group, including me, won a Bingo package that game.  Kim however, won $200!  We didn’t realize it at first but when the name flashed on the screen as a $200 winner, we realized it was indeed true.  The $200 was credited to her account in just a few minutes.  I do appreciate how fast they paid out!  The second game was pretty uneventful for me, and I didn’t win anything.

 

 

I was in shock, didn't realize it was happening and didn't get a picture of Kim's name up on the screen.  Ugh!

 

 

The first round ended but another was going to start later that evening.  Most of us decided to stay on for another turn.  Emory and Cami decided to go to Broadway Beats instead.  Ron read his Kindle.  The rest of us were getting cards and getting ready to play again.  I, again, got only the one card.  I liked the physical card better than the electronic card.  Some of our group got the $60 six card deal. 

 

Getting ready for the second game.

 

The game started again.  None of us won anything major this time.  Sarah and I both won another Bingo card, Liz won two bingo packages, and Liz/Aaron, Bobby and Steven won casino credit.  Bobby actually won casino credit in two different games.  All in all, we had a great evening.  It was fun!

 

Final tally if I’ve got this right….Me – two bingo games.  Liz – three bingo games and a casino credit (not sure if that was her or Aaron who won the casino credit.  There’s debate about who did it, folio numbers, etc.  It’s complicated…and a little sketchy if you ask me!).  Kim – two bingo games,  casino credit (I think) and $200.  Sarah – two bingo games.  Steven – one bingo and casino credit.  Bobby – two bingo games and casino credit and finally Cami – who won casino credit, which turned into MUCH more.  (Foreshadowing again!)

 

 

Kim also wound up with scratchers, which she scratched the next day.  I don't think she won anything on those.

 

After the games, everyone went their separate ways.  Ron and I went up on deck for a while.  I love the look of the water at night.  I also enjoy scanning the horizon for lights from either ships or land.  Ron and I strolled around a while and decided to call it a night. 

 

Love that wake view!

 

The moon was gorgeous!

 

As it says in the King James version “the evening and the morning were the 5th day”.  LOL

 

I'll be back later to start into our second Sea Day.

 

 

Excuse me ma’am, it was ME and I lost all the casino money 😂

[mlshum]

48 minutes ago, erstreet2017 said:

Excuse me ma’am, it was ME and I lost all the casino money 😂

Hmm.......I seem to remember a conversation about someone using someone else's folio number and all.  BUT the important thing is that the credit was used wisel.......wait.....never mind that last part.  😄

[mlshum]

Sept 19th – Sea Day (Talk Like a Pirate Day)

 

Arrrgh and greetings, Matey’s!  It was Talk Like a Pirate Day!

 

Here are the Fun Times for the day.

 

 

 

I slept in and didn’t get up until about 8:30. That’s what you do on a Sea Day isn’t it?  We decided it was time to get beignets at Emeril’s. 

 

Our towel animal for the day...pretty sure it's a snail.

 

 

Most of our group went to Sea Day Brunch but we were hoping to catch a couple of morning trivia games, so we opted for the shorter route to beignet Heaven.  I love the beignets!  They are puffy clouds of powdery, sugary goodness.  I had, however, forgotten how BIG they were!  Ron and I each ordered beignets and we should have just split an order.  Oh well..maybe I’ll remember next time.  Maybe not.  Who knows?

 

 

Sugary, powdered perfection!

 

 

After breakfast we went to play pirate trivia.  We always enjoy playing trivia games on cruises.  This cruise didn’t seem to have as many trivia games.  Liz said several games were played while we were in port.  At any rate, this is one of our favorite Sea Day activities so off we went. 

 

Waiting for trivia to start

 

 

In honor of Talk Like a Pirate Day, the first round was pirate trivia.  We quickly realized we know basically NOTHING about pirates.  There were some folks in that room who were pirate experts.  I was impressed!  The second game was called Actor’s Trash. 

 

These people KNOW their pirates!

 

Steven, Sarah and Liz showed up around that time and we played that game.  Again, not a great game for me but it was fun.  A little later Emory, Cami and Aaron arrived.  The next game was Wheely Big Trivia, and it is Carnival’s version of a combination of Trivial Pursuit or Cranium played with teams.  Perfect!  Our team was assembled and ready to go.  There were about six teams playing if I recall. 

 

The game is played by taking turns spinning two wheels.  The outer wheel determines the category, and the inner wheel determines the difficulty.  There were questions of general knowledge trivia, physical challenges, drawing, etc.  I don’t remember all the categories.  All the teams answered the questions but if the team who had spun the category got it right, only they got the point.  If they missed it, every team who got it right got a point.

 

 

Here's the wheel

 

Steven takes a spin

 

 

 Each team had six plastic ships in different colors.  The point system consisted of placing the correct color ship that correlated with the question in a prominent location.  Each ship was worth one point.  The winner was the first to get to six points (get all of their ships out of “dry dock”) or the team with the most points at the end of an hour.  It was a lot of fun and we ended up winning that game.  We all won a Carnival medallion.

 

 

Our "ships" waiting to be taken out of "dry dock".

 

We had three "points" by the end of the game.

 

Our winning team!

 

We won medals!

 

 

We split up after that and went different ways.  Steven and Aaron went back to the casino.  Ron, Liz, Cami, Emory and I went to Chibang for lunch.  Although I’ve been on a couple of Excel class ships, this was my first trip to Chibang. 

 

 

 

Loving the dragon!

 

 

It was pretty good!  I had the pollo bowl and Ron had the Asian bowl.  I had asked for them not to include beans in mine, but they apparently forgot.  Fortunately, there wasn’t too much and I still enjoyed the dish.  Everyone enjoyed the food and the company.

 

Our seats had a beautiful view!

 

Liz

 

Decisions....

 

 

My bowl

 

Cami

 

 

Ron's bowl

 

 

After lunch Ron and I went up to the Sports Square to play a little mini-golf.  While we were playing, a crew member came around to everyone and asked if they’d like to participate in a hole in one tournament.  I’m terrible at golf but we agreed, especially when we learned it was simply one shot on one hole that was totally random.  The selected hole had sort of Plinko board on the back side that the ball rolled through.  There was no way to control where the ball would land.  We played along with another couple and a few other people.  The other couple each won one of the rounds.  It was a lot of fun!  I had read about the hole in one tournaments in the Fun Times before but this was the first time we’d tried it out.  We’ll probably do that again

sometime.

He considers the hole

 

 

Winners of the "Hole in One Tournament"

 

I hit the ball during the tournament.  Not great success.

 

 

After the tournament, we went back to our personal game.  In an unusual turn of events, I actually won the game.  That doesn’t happen very often!  I should probably note that we enjoy playing what we term as “vicious, killer mini golf” with our adult children.  We have two adult sons and a daughter-in-law.  We don’t get together often but when we do, mini golf is often involved.   Katherine is just as competitive and engaged in these game as our sons, Ben and Andrew, so it’s always a big event when we get to play.  We started our own yearly tournament when Ben was about 11 and Andrew was around 14 and it continues to this day.  (They’re all in their 30’s now.)  We will buy some sort of plastic souvenir cup from wherever we are and everyone must sign their name in Sharpie.  Sometimes the winner is from the number of games won but we have also played a cumulative score.  Anyway, it goes without saying that I’ve never won the cup on my own.  Maybe my luck is changing, and this is my year!

 

I won!  This is an app I downloaded on my phone to keep score during our golf games.

 

 

After the tournament, we met Liz and Sara at the Havana bar to do a Pirate Treasure Scavenger Hunt.  We were given clues that led to various locations around the ship.  These locations had pictures of various types of pirate treasure…gold, silver, jewels and the like.  We only had thirty minutes to find the locations and write down the specific locations on our game card.  This game was surprisingly well attended!  We ran around like crazy people for thirty minutes and made it back to the Havana Bar area in time.  The host checked our list and wrote a number on the back.  He put that number in a drawing.  Everyone who made it back in time with the correct answers went into the drawing.  We made it back about five minutes before the end of the game.  By that time Aaron and Steven had given up in the casino for a while a came to the Havana Bar to meet us.  We sat around talking for a while.  We ultimately didn’t win but it was a fun game.

 

Havana Bar - Aaron

 

Havana Bar

 

Waiting to see if we won

 

Harry Potter trivia was being played in the Brass Magnolia right after our scavenger hunt.  Liz is really REALLY good at Harry Potter trivia.  I have read the books and watched the movies but many of the minute details are lost on me.  As usually happens, there were a LOT of people playing.  At the end of 20 questions, Liz and five other people had perfect scores.  All six people went up front and were given a harder than average question.  Liz and one other gentleman got it right.  Those two were then given an extremely hard question that neither got right.  Liz had the right numbers but the wrong mathematical functions.  They were both given a solid gold plastic ship on a stick.  Way to go, Liz!

 

 

A well-attended game in Brass Magnolia

 

Liz is one of the finalists

 

It's down to Liz and one other guy.  Think!!!

 

 

They face off..

 

She gives her final answer

 

She wins a coveted "solid gold plastic ship on a stick"!

 

That's my girl!!

 

 

A pirate duck in honor of the day!

 

I'll be back later to HOPEFULLY get the rest of this day posted

 

 

[ARcruisin2]

I'm really enjoying your review.

thank you for taking the time to tell your cruise story 🙂

[mlshum]

7 minutes ago, ARcruisin2 said:

I'm really enjoying your review.

thank you for taking the time to tell your cruise story 🙂

Thank you so much for reading along! I appreciate you!  I’m trying to get everything posted by tomorrow evening if possible!

[mlshum]

By this time, it was afternoon.  After a quick consultation, Ron and I, along with Liz, Aaron, Steven and Sarah, decided to go get closed toe shoes and meet at the ropes course.  This is one of those non-negotiable items and we always take a pair of closed toe shoes for this very reason.  You are simply not allowed to do the ropes course without them, and you cannot do it barefoot.

 

Waiting in line for harnesses

 

Ron and I always enjoy the ropes courses on the ships.  The courses on the Excel class ships are especially fun because they have a zip line portion and a “walk the plank” portion.  We went around the course a couple of times before calling it quits.  Unfortunately, Ron wasn’t allowed to take the Go Pro, so we don’t have any photos other than the photo while we were waiting to get into harnesses.  They told him if he had a chest strap (I think) he could use it.  I predict that Santa might bring him that for Christmas if he’s a good boy.

 

 

Quick ice cream is always a good idea!  Ron prefers a cup...

 

...and Liz prefers a cone.

 

It was late afternoon when we finished at the ropes course, and it was time to go get ready for dinner.  This was the second Elegant Night.  This time the girls were going to have a picture made.  We found a nice backdrop and took a perfectly nice picture.  I have such beautiful friends!  The best thing is they are as beautiful inside as they are outwardly.   There was even a place reserved for Lucinda in the picture.  Next time she will be with us!  Sarah and Steven got a few pictures of the two of them.  They turned out SO well!  She is absolutely stunning anyway so how could the picture be anything other than wonderful!

 

Aren't my friends beautiful?!?!? .  See the hole where Lucinda is supposed to be??

 

Liz fixed it for me.  Still....it's a poor substitute for the REAL Lucinda so we will readdress this at a later date!

 

I stole this photo from Sarah's posts.  I thought she looked so beautiful I had to include it!

 

 

We rejoined the guys at Fortune Teller to wait for our table to be ready.  It was probably around 6:30 by this time.  This would be the first time we would have a long wait for our table.  We waited for about 40 minutes and were finally notified that our table was ready, and they would hold it for ten minutes.  We went to the dining room where we waited an additional 20 minutes for our table that was supposed to have been ready in ten minutes.  Finally, after slightly more than an hour, we were seated.

 

Entertainment at the Fortune Teller Bar.

 

 

This is one of my favorite meals in the main dining room.  I had the prime rib, walnut and spinach salad and chocolate melting cake.  Emory suggested we try peanut butter with the melting cake.  I was skeptical at first but decided to give it a try.  It was SO good!  I will definitely order that with my melting cake from now on.

 

Walnut spinach salad and some kind of soup that I don't remember.

 

Prime rib

 

 

Kim demonstrating her prime rib?

 

Lots of lobsters

 

Chocolate melting cake with peanut butter.  This was really good!

 

We agreed that we’d like to see the new show Voodoo Moon.  I stopped at the restroom on the way to the show.  When I went in, someone was locked in the stall with the automatic door.  They had apparently been in there a while and maintenance was on the way.  I had tried the stalls with automatic door once and that was enough.  I have avoided it ever since.  This has strengthened my resolve NOT to use them!  I’m fine with the main door being an automatic door but that’s as far as I’m comfortable.  I don’t know how long it took to get that poor person out but however long it took was definitely TOO long!

 

Grand Central was already full.  Not only could we not find seats together, we could not find seats AT ALL!  Instead, we went to the main theatre for Rock Revolution. 

 

 

 

Waiting for the show to start

 

 

Aaron was exhaused!

 

The show as pretty good.  All of the songs were from the late 60’s.  I was around at that time but only a couple of years old.  You have to fast forward to the mid to late 70’s and 80’s before you get into MY music.  This show gave Kim a migraine headache, so she turned in afterwards.  Cami and Sarah were going to the Glow Party.  I was torn.  I was very tired, but I also wanted to go to the Glow Party.  Tired eventually won and we headed back to our cabin for the night.

 

 

I'll be back tomorrow to wrap up our last Sea Day!

 

[mamiamjo]

Hi Michelle, Thanks for posting your review. Just caught up, looks like you guys had a wonderful time! 🙂

 

[mlshum]

55 minutes ago, mamiamjo said:

Hi Michelle, Thanks for posting your review. Just caught up, looks like you guys had a wonderful time! 🙂

 

Thanks for reading!  Yes, we had an awesome time and can’t wait to do it again!

[mlshum]

Sept 20th – Last Sea Day

 

How is it possible that a week passed so quickly!?!  This always seems to happen. We were up to our last day.  After that it would be time to go back to work and normal life.  These glistening, rosy, happy, perfect weeks are just too short!

 

Here is the Fun Times for the day...

 

 

 

 

Since it was our last day, we were determined to make the most of it and do the things we still hadn’t done.  We headed up to Big Chicken for breakfast and sat down to figure out our plan for the day.  In just a few minutes, Liz showed up.

 

I love that this is called a "Bok Bok Box"  I like clever names!  I always thought a kid's meal at Chick-fil-A should be called a "Moo Meal"  but I digress....

 

 

  We decided that we needed to ride Bolt.  The day before there were no times available on the app.  We did have a work around plan in mind if the same were to happen on this day.  On one of our cruises, the app wasn’t showing any times for Bolt and Ron had simply walked up to the attendant and asked.  They said that there were definitely time slots available even if it wasn’t showing up in the app and would “right now” be good?  Since that worked before, it was going to be out back up plan on this day as well.

 

 

Just for good measure, here's our "Get off our ship" heart.  Boo....

 

After breakfast we checked the app and, sure enough, there were a lot of available times listed.  Perfect!  We booked the 10am time slot and grabbed a couple of deck chairs to wait.  After a little while.  Aaron showed up.  It was a beautiful day.  The temperature was perfect that morning.  The water was glassy and calm.  It was gorgeous.

 

 

I will never get tired of this view!

 

It looked a little cloudy through the glass.

 

Ahh....much better!

 

 

When it was almost time, we headed up to Bolt.  Kim and Bobby met us up there.  Kim wanted to ride but Bobby decided to take pictures instead.  Ron and I went first.  Bolt is always fun.  It’s a little pricey but how often do you get to ride a roller coaster on a cruise ship?  The cost is $15 per person for two laps.  The last part of the track is weird.  As you’re coming back onto the platform, the car slows down and you’re tipped at an angle.  It’s somewhat uncomfortable to hold on and it feels like you could fall if you don’t.  I wish that track was just a little flatter when they slow you down! 

 

 

I don't have photos of Ron and I and this is all I have of Liz.

 

Aaron gets ready  You have to understand, Aaron is a motorcycle guy, specifically a Harley.  He HAS to check out the controls!  There aren't many.  Basically, there's a "boost" button and a place to hold on.

 

He's ready to go!  When you're getting ready to take off, you roll forward and there is a traffic light.  Red....yellow...green...GO!

 

He takes off!

 

 

 

In the meantime, Kim is loading.

 

This may be my favorite "Kim picture" of the trip!

 

That pitch coming back into the starting point is rougher than it looks!

 

The look of determination...or terror...not sure which.

 

One last thing you need to know about Bolt…there are weight limits.  You will be required to step on a scale and get either a red light or a green light.  I don’t know exactly how many pounds it will accept.  It is a two-person car so both people combined have to be within the weight limit for the entire car.  If you’re over or if you’re concerned, you can ride by yourself.   If you just WANT to ride by yourself, you can do that, too.   It’s a fairly safe bet that nearly everyone who wants to ride will be allowed to do so.  Watch the app for open times and if none are available, ask an attendant.  The worst they can say is “no”!

 

 

Sarah rode Bolt a little later in the day.

 

 

 

 

The Deal or No Deal bingo card pick-up began in Grand Central at 10:30. After we’d all ridden Bolt, we decided to go on down and pick up our Bingo cards.  A few of us bought extra cards but, all in all, we’d came out of Deal of No Deal with several cards between us.

 

The card pick-up was surprisingly fast.  I remember sometimes when picking up bingo cards, there’s a huge line and a long wait.  That wasn’t the case in this instance.  It might have been for purchases outside Deal or No Deal.  I didn’t see that line.  I don’t know if it is because the Deal or No Deal bingo cards seemed to be handled separately, because they sold cards at different times throughout the day or some other reason.  Whatever the reason, I was grateful that I didn’t have to stand in the long line.

 

It was nearing lunch time, and the discussion began about where to go for lunch.  This was it.  Our last day.  We’d all had such a good experience at Cucina before AND because we wanted to hit the main dining room for jerk pork and Baked Alaska on this night, we decided to get Italian.

 

Most of our group had the lasagna.

 

 

I always like Cucina.  I always like Italian.  They had mozzarella sticks on the menu as an appetizer this time.  I had noticed they were missing from the main dining room menu, so I was glad they were still available at Cucina.  Ron and I both got the lasagna.  It was, as always, very good.  Right after lunch it was time to go to Bingo.

 

Almost time for Bingo

 

 

I am not a huge bingo fan.  I wanted to play because most of my people were playing and because I’d won the free cards but to say I was excited wouldn’t be totally accurate.  I’d just had a large lunch, and I was going to be sitting still for a while, so I expected to be a little sleepy.  Thankfully, that wasn’t the case.

 

Most of our people opted to come to play Bingo.

 

Bingo was held in the main theatre.  Three games were to be played, and we had three cards all on one long paper for each game.  As we went into the theatre, there was a box with extra wide clipboards.  Nice!  That’s very helpful!  We got our clipboards and found seats.  As usual, quite a few people were playing.

 

 

Time to start

 

The bingo host started through the instructions.  One of the things she said, and something I had never considered, was that you COULDN’T tear your three cards apart for the same game and share with others.  You could separate the three games, but not the three cards for a single game.  That had actually never occurred to me before.  Apparently, it is a popular thing to do because several people were given replacement cards at that time.

 

So much sass....

 

 

The first two games were traditional bingo.  The first game was one very quickly.  The second game took a little longer.  The third game was the $5000 Jackpot bingo game.  This is the most popular game.  In that game, you had to cover every space on the card and, in order to win the jackpot portion of the game, it had to occur within 49 calls.  This game is always the longest of the three, for obvious reasons. 

 

I was playing six cards and Liz was playing nine.  As the game went on, she was doing really well on one of her cards.  We got to 42 calls, and she only needed to cover three spots!  Is this possible?  I’ve never seen anyone win the jackpot before and it would be most awesome if it were her!!  They kept calling numbers.  She kept waiting.  They never called another of her numbers.  The jackpot was going, going, gone and shortly after, the game was won by someone else.  It was exciting for a while!

Liz's cards

 

 

I'll be back later today to continue, and hopefully finish, this story!

 

 

[mlshum]

So, as Paul Harvey would say, here is "The rest of the story"....

 

 

Emory had found a few loungers up on Serenity so Ron, Liz, Cami, Sarah and I headed that direction.  Steven and Aaron were back in the casino making a last-ditch effort to reclaim some of what they’d lost.

 

Speaking of the casino and our luckiness in general, our group as a whole had a pretty good cruise.  I’d already told you about Kim’s win of $200 in Deal or No Deal.  Bobby turned his $30 Deal or No Deal casino credit into $145, Kim turned her credit into $450 and Cami was the big winner when she won $900 on her Deal or No Deal credit!  Amazing!

 

Cami is headed in to do as much damage as possible!

 

Cami and Kim collectively came out with over $1350!

 

Here she is, dropping the hammer!  😄

 

Unfortunately, our most avid players, Aaron and Steven, we’re so lucky. 

 

So….anyway….we were on Serenity reading and just enjoying our last day.  We could not have asked for better weather on this cruise.  It was absolutely beautiful.  Ron told me that he had checked us in for our flight home.  It really dawned on me at that moment that it really was over.  That’s always so sad!

 

As I mentioned earlier, this cruise was the first Platinum cruise for Ron and myself.  We had received invitations to the Platinum/Diamond party a day or two before and we’d invited Liz and Aaron to go with us.  The party was starting at 4:30.

 

 

 

We left Serenity to go get cleaned up for the party.  I really didn’t know what to expect from this gathering.  There were quite a few people in line when we got to the theatre where it was being held.  As you went through the door, there were drink options.  Ron and I both got a soda and Liz and Aaron both got a rum punch. 

 

A gentleman was singing and playing guitar as people were coming in and being seated.

 

 

The cruise director, T.J., was the emcee for the event.  There seemed to be quite a few people in the theatre.  The officers came on stage and the captain gave a brief speech.  They then began to recognize the oldest and youngest Diamond and Platinum guests.  The youngest was Platinum and he was 16 years old.  The oldest was Diamond and he was 88 years old.  One man was recognized for having been on a Carnival ship for more than 2500 days.  Wow!  That’s more than 7 years!  I’m seriously impressed.  They need a whole additional level for people like him and I’d hope he would get a lot of special treatment!  He has definitely put a lot of his personal money into their pockets!

 

T.J. starts the event

 

The senior officers

 

 

They then played a video of all the various ships in the fleet, both old and new.  T.J. told us about some of the upcoming new ships.  I already knew that Carnival had ordered three new, larger, Icon sized ships.  According to T.J., these ships were going to be around 8000 guests.  Those are massive ships!  I’ll look forward to trying those out since I do like the larger ships best.  There were also two ships that would be transferring from P&O (I think!) to Carnival.

 

T. J. also mentioned that he was doing the summer season in 2025 on the Spirit in Alaska.  It looks like we will sail with him again because we are booked on the Spirit in August 2025 to celebrate our 40th anniversary.  It will be our first trip to Alaska and we’re very excited!

 

After the party was over, we found the rest of our group in Fortune Teller and Emory checked us in for our last dinner together of the cruise.  <sniff, sniff>  The wait wasn’t very long at all.

 

The wait staff came to take orders.  A lot of laughing and joking was going on around me.  I had one of those surreal moments where I felt kind of removed from everything and just wanted to mentally capture that moment with my dearest friends.  I don’t know why that struck me so, but it did.  As I looked around at all of these people, I thought about how much richer my life was because they were in it.  I wished for the millionth time that Derrick and Lucinda were with us, and I thanked God for the millionth that Steven and Sarah had joined us.  It was a special private moment for me.  I know I’m not articulating the feeling very well but it was impactful for me.

 

Emory stares contemplatively out of the window

 

He just realized he had been "caught".

 

 

The server was standing beside me, so I realized it was my turn to order.  I go the cheese plate as a starter, the jerk pork chop as the entrée and baked Alaska for dessert.  Ron had the same except his starter was minestrone. 

 

Love that baked Alaska!

 

Dinner seemed very leisurely that night.  We seemed to linger longer than our other dinners.  It was a good time to just enjoy the company of “my” people.

 

The sun was going down.  Ron and had started toward the Lido deck when Aaron messaged everyone that there was an amazing sunset view of Miami.  He was absolutely right!  We took a detour to the cabin for the new camera and managed to capture these pictures.  Absolutely gorgeous.  Nobody paints with vibrant colors like God.  Way to go, God!

 

Sunset over Miami

 

Beautiful wake view

 

 

Gorgeous sunset

 

Miami

 

Miami

 

 

 

 

We stayed up on deck for a while.  It was hard to let it go that night.  Finally, we headed down to Java Blue so Ron could get a milkshake.  The messages were flying as most of our group had returned to their rooms to pack and were planning to meet up on Lido to watch “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes”.  It was originally my intention to join them but by the time I finished packing and putting luggage out, the movie had already started.  I’d seen it a couple of times, so I just stayed put.  The cruise was over.  It was time to go home.

 

 

Sept 21st – Debarkation

 

We had chosen a 9am debarkation in our digital debark and our shuttle was supposed to pick us up at 10am. 

 

 

Debarkation morning is always kind of a flurry of activity.  We were up pretty early.  We had set our luggage out the night before but still have one carry on and our backpacks.  We showered, dressed, threw a few things in the carry on and headed up to Lido for breakfast.  When we finished, we stopped back by our room for those last few items and went downstairs to find a place to wait.

 

We had been told that we could wait on deck 7 or 8 and on the Lido deck.  Ron and I found a long open bench seat on deck 7, same place we’d watched the Lovin’ Vegas show  in Grand Central and sent a message to our friends.  We settled in to wait.  One by one they started arriving all except for Emory and Cami.  They were a little behind the rest of us and would meet us at the shuttle. 

 

 

We're waiting...

 

 

The debarkation process was progressing faster than expected.  Around 8:45 they were already calling our zone number.  Huh!  That didn’t take long!  Before long we were heading off the ship and into the terminal.

 

 

The debarkation line was moving pretty quickly

 

Debarkation can be a little confusing sometimes.  Some of the people tell you to have your passport in hand.  Some of the people tell you that you won’t need it due to facial recognition.  I’ve seen it go both ways but typically it isn’t necessary with the facial recognition.  I do think it would be helpful if all the workers who were moving this process along would give the same information to everyone.

 

We basically walked right off the ship after joining the line and into the terminal.  There really was no waiting.  In the terminal we went to our zone numbers and easily found our luggage.  We moved into the line for facial recognition and that only took a few minutes.  We were outside a little before 9am!  Emory and Cami weren’t far behind us. 

 

We crossed the street in front of the terminal and found the representative for Cocoa Beach Shuttles.   The first representative told us the shuttles were “first come, first serve” and the second told us to find a place to wait until 10am.  Turns out they were sending a smaller van just for our group since there were ten of us.  We moved over out of the way and stood around talking for the next hour.  I had hoped that our shuttle driver might possibly be able to come a little earlier, but I feel sure he was busy transporting people to and from their various stops.  We had requested that we be taken to the airport instead of the hotel.  Initially, we were going back to the hotel first because Derrick and Lucinda would need to get their vehicle.  Since they didn’t get to come, we might as well go straight to the airport.

 

Now we wait again.  Kim took a "seat".

 

Ron and I

 

Aaron, Sarah, Steven and Liz

 

Bobby

 

Emory and Cami joined us

 

Sarah and Kim

 

Aaron and Emory

 

 

Cocoa Beach Shuttles came and went.  10am arrived but our shuttle didn’t.  I was starting to get a little concerned.  Our flight was a little after 1pm, the drive to the airport was 45 minutes and we also had to get through security.  We still had time to make it but not a lot of extra.  At 10:10 the shuttle arrived.

 

Finally....our ride!

 

We boarded our “private” shuttle with two other people.  They were very nice, and we were happy to share.

 

I tried for a pouting pic, but I was unsuccessful because I was laughing too hard.

 

Cami tried but didn't have much more success that I did.

 

I did a little better on the plane.

 

Kim and Bobby did a LOT better when they got to their car!

 

Already the talk about our next group cruise was swirling.  “Where?” and “When?” being the two considerations.  Bobby and Derrick have been tasked with coming up with some good options.   Bobby is really interested in the new Celebration Key so that may be a consideration.  Whatever they choose will be good!

 

 

The ride back to the airport was quiet.  Some went to sleep.  We were all tired but happy after such a wonderful week.

 

We went through the normal routine at the airport.  None of it took too long.  No huge problems, thankfully.  We had time to get a quick bite of lunch and go to our gate.  We arrived at the gate about 30 minutes prior to boarding.  It all worked out just fine.

 

Our ride home.

 

After boarding, we realized that Matthew McConauhey was the pilot.  The pilot came on the intercom system and said, “All right, all right, all right!” just like Matthew McConauhey.   He then proceeded to tell us that we’d be in Honolulu in two hours.  That sounds pretty OK with me!  It was nice to have a little humor.  

On the tarmack

 

And just like that, Orlando falls away into the distance.

 

 

The flight was uneventful, and we landed safely in Charlotte right on time.  We claimed our baggage, hugged and went our separate ways.

 

Since arriving home, we've all been busy and some of it has been rough.  A dear friend of ours has went through a really rough time that affected us all.  Steven had to go back out of the country with his job and won't be home for three months. 

 

The guys, minus Ron, got together to give Steven a good send-off

 

Ron was out working during the beginning of the storm and missed the lunch.

 

Hurricane Helene actually hit our part of West Virginia, which is unusual,  and did a little damage.  Bobby, Kim, Steven and Sarah were without power for a few days.  Compared to the folks in NC (and other areas), we were very, very blessed that we mainly had downed trees, flooding and power outages.  Aaron even had surgery on his hand to cure his carpel tunnel syndrome! 

 

Aaron is finished with surgery and waiting to be released

 

I think the cure for all of this may be another cruise.  Even if it isn't the solution, i definitely won't hurt and we should certainlty try!

 

 

So, this is where this particular Story ends, but the stories that will be told and experienced by our little group will continue for years to come.   I don’t know exactly when or where.  I just know that once your friends have become family, there’s no turning back….and I wouldn’t want to if I could! 

 

Until next time, my Cruise Critic peeps!!

 

 

[we b cruzin]

Thank you for allowing us to go along with you and your group on your fabulous cruise!!! I have thoroughly enjoyed it and it has made me even more excited to go on our next cruise. But, I will have to wait, it is not until May 2025.

[TROY9173]

Thanks for the good post and review.  Would you be able to repost Day 5, 6, 7 & Fun times.  The info is blurry and can't be read. The other days look good and are very clear.  Thanks.

[mlshum]

1 hour ago, we b cruzin said:

Thank you for allowing us to go along with you and your group on your fabulous cruise!!! I have thoroughly enjoyed it and it has made me even more excited to go on our next cruise. But, I will have to wait, it is not until May 2025.

Thanks so much for following along and for your kind words!  My next one, as of now, isn’t until Aug 2025, so I feel your pain!  lol