March 23, 2007

Cruise Log #4

It’s 9:00am on our last day. We’re currently anchored off the coast of Princess Cays in the Bahamas. We’ll enjoy a day of beach, volleyball, snorkeling, etc… Not much else to do on this island.

Tomorrow morning we’ll be back in Ft. Lauderdale. We’ll have to do some creative packing if we’re ever going to get our stuff off this boat. The other challenge will be finding a way to call for our ride. Mom left her phone on for the entire cruise and the batteries are dead. I guess we’ll figure that out when we get ashore (probably around 9:00am).

Yesterday was a sail day. We sailed past Havana and the Florida Keys on up to Deerfield beach before turning east. We enjoyed many onboard activities: Basketball, trivia, candyland, shuffleboard, gym, tour of the galley, etc….. Always plenty to do.

Tonight I’ll dump everybody’s cruise pictures/video into my laptop. I’m looking forward to making some “Cruise Videos” over my spring break in two weeks.

Signing off from the Bahamas,

Scott

March 22, 2007

Cruise Log #3

Cruise Log #3

Today is a “sea day” so no ports to explore. We’re on our way to Princess Cay; our private island in the Bahamas. Ah, relax relax relax…..

Yesterday in Cozumel was fantastic. We woke at a reasonable hour, local time, as we pulled into dock next to Carnival Cruise Lines. I just have to say, I’m so happy with our Princess boat….It’s definitely got the best people, elegance, and activities. Carvival seems to be a big “party” boat with TONS of kids, Hollad America is for the Senior Citizens, Royal Caribbean wouldn’t be too bad, but I like our boat better. It’s just been a GREAT experience. Anyway, back to the day:

We walked ashore and there was so much shopping to look at. Everybody wants you to look at their stuff. “Amigo, for you a good price”, “Amigo, buy a braclet for the lady”, “Senior, please give me a Mexican minute”, “You’re just looking, I’m just selling” etc etc…. It was fun, they all expect you to negotiate for everything, and they all claim to be getting ripped off when you don’t budge. The also have a little sulk that they do when you finally settle on a price to make your deal seem like you’re taking them to the cleaners. It really was fun.

Our Segway excursion was great. We went out behind a building to a military troop carrier. I instantly started wondering if we were going to be on CNN as kidnapped Americans. We drove 10 minutes down the “highway” (a narrow road) to the Segway office. We received a brief 3 minute instruction on how to operate and maneuver… then we got our keys and jumped on. Now, Disney makes you practice for an hour before you can even leave the Segway room… these guys have us cruising down the highway after 5 minutes. We cruised down to the beach to a private pool/estate and changed into our snorkel gear.

Snorkeling was so fun. Crystal Clear water, lots of colorful fish, and reefs to look at. Our dive master would bring out some fish food and get the fish to swim all around us…. WOW! After, we washed up and Segwayed back to our office. Back to spend the evening shopping and dining on the ship.

Speaking of dining; Our party of 12 has dined with Robert, our waiter, each night at 5:45. He’s a riot and makes us all feel like royalty. Last night he picked up on the fact that we were all eating Alaskan king crab legs so he kept bringing out plates of crab legs whether we ordered them or not. There was food enough for a small country on our table…but we managed somehow. Robert entertains, takes care of us…including the kids, and makes sure we get the royal treatment. Last night he was hiding in the curtains behind our table when we arrived….we’ll see what he does tonight.

Wish you were here…. I’ll write more later,

Scott

March 21, 2007

Cruise Log #2

OK, I'm gonna be brief (I'm charged by the minute here):

Cruising ROCKS!!! So much to do, AWESOME FOOD, and everything you need is always taken care of for you.
Our day in Ocho Rios Jamacia was a monsoon. It rained and rained....but it was GREAT! We went up into the mountains to the rainforest and used our Zipline cables to fly down the mountain through the canopy. At the bottom, we followed a raging river back to out bus. Along the way we saw so many beautiful flowers, trees, and animals (peacocks, hummingbirds, etc..)
Yesturday was Grand Caymon. Very different since it's a British commonwealth. The water was a super bright aquamarine blue. Our snorkel trip was cancelled due to choppy seas, but our bicycle tour went all over the island....including Hell. I've got some great pictures to share when I get back.
We'll be in Cozumel in about 30 mins. I can see the entire Mexican coast from my window. Today we'll be riding Segways along the beach and snorkeling. I've got my sunblock on so LET THE DAYS ACTIVITIES BEGIN!!!

CHEERS!!!!

March 19, 2007

Cruise #1

Wawa Wheewa, Cruising is the life. From the moment we stepped on the boat, we've been given the royal treatment. Our stateroom is VERY nice: Two beds, plenty of closet space, and best of all.....a BEAUTIFUL balcony with plenty of outdoor furniture. In fact, I'm composing this message from our balcony with my feet propped up and open sea as far as the eye can see. The other side of our ship has had a view of the Cuban mountains all day. Anyway, back to our experiences..... We got to our cabin and met up with Steve. He guided us to Rhonda's location.... she and the kids were shocked to see us on the boat. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

At dinner we had fun reading the fancy menu. What exactly does Zuppa Inglesis Ice Cream taste like anyway? So instead of trying to decide we ordered EVERYTHING (why not...It's FREE). Wow, they really know how to feed you on this cruise. The rest of the evening was spent exploring the boat with mom. We're gonna have so much fun.

The next day (day 2) I woke around 7 and walked out to the balcony. We had slept with the door wide open and the sea was so calm and blue. We went up for buffett breakfast (another great meal) and off to the spa for mom's massage appointment. I got her a 50 minute stone massage for her birthday. While she did that, I went to mid-ship and watched as two amazing chefs made fruit carving art. When mom joined back up with me she was a whole new person: so relaxed and happy. I'm looking forward to my massage tomorrow morning.

Cruising is an event planned affair. I was a little slow to catch on here. At breakfast I learned that all the others in our party were signed up for different classes/sessions. Even my plan to use the tredmills was put on hold when I found out you needed to sign up ahead of time. Tango lessons, trivia, yoga classes.... I was missing it. Around noon, Steve and Rhonda found me and we went to play trivia. Now I see how planned it really is.
I've got to get going soon. In 30 minutes I need to be showered, dressed in my formalwear, and in Steve/Rhonda's room for a group picture. Then it's off to dinner. I see that there are show this evening at the theaters and ballroom danciing.... sounds like a plan to me.

That's all for now..... I'll write again soon,
Scott

March 09, 2007

Going Postal


Kudos to the post office..... I think this is the best idea they've had EVER!!!.