Home again....

Sunday – Monday    

Ft Lauderdale/Halifax

LAND HO!!

I woke around 6am when the ship docked. Our cabin is right in the front (bow) of the ship, directly under the bridge. We even had a small balcony in front of our room, accessible through a door at the end of the hallway. Technically we are in a handicapped accessible room, and were warned that we would be moved if they needed it for someone in a wheelchair, but they didn't. The room was at the end of the hall, so was long and narrow, but had a big bathroom with no raised areas, so that was lovely.

 

 

There is a lot of motion in the front, but once again, I astonished myself by not getting seasick, and found the motion to be very soothing.  It was, however, LOUD!  A couple of times I woke in the middle of the night, thinking we had just hit something. It sounded like a giant sledgehammer hitting the hull. Turns out that it is the sound when we hit waves, side on. Pretty intense, and we did have a couple of rough nights. But I didn't mind it at all. Amazing.

We decided to join Leslie and Davie for a sit down breakfast in the dining room instead of the buffet. We did need to vacate our cabins and bring our carryon luggage with us, and afterward, we just sat in the Promenade and waited to debark. Debarkation was smooth – off the ship, collect the bags, and go through customs. The buses were ready to take us to the airport, so we were there in lots of time. Too much time – the WestJet counters weren't even open when we arrived, so we stood in a loooong line. Cathie had no luck in changing her flight (she was routed through Quebec City, whereas we were flying direct to Toronto. The irony is that she lives in Toronto, and we just needed to change planes there for Halifax. Silly really – we arrived in her home city hours before she did because of that.) The flights were smooth, and I loved the WestJet infamous humour.  Funniest safety talk EVER!

Arrived in Halifax (around 11pm), and were hungry. Oddly enough, all the restaurants, coffee shops, etc. were closed in the airport, even though flights were still landing. And the airport hotel shuttle driver was miserable! Cranky and irritable. He was so bad we lodged a complaint at the hotel. We also discovered no room service, a closed restaurant, and an out-of-service vending machine. Wahhhhhh!!!!  Leslie went to the front desk and somehow persuaded them to part with some breakfast supplies, so we feasted on yogurt, granola bars and orange juice. It worked. 

We crashed soon after and slept until around 7am. Checked out, loaded the car, and headed home. It was a sunny day, and we made good time, getting home mid-afternoon. I had a quick snuggly reunion with the cats (who then decided to give me the cold shoulder for about half an hour), unpacked (with the cats' help), threw on some laundry, ordered a pizza, and just reacquainted myself with my house and my cats.

I loved my trip, and I love to travel, but, ohhhhh, it is lovely to be home again.

The World is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page.

Saint Augustine

Still sailin'....

Saturday – At Sea, closer to Florida....

Up for breakfast, and then no plans at all... just relaxing. There are so many lovely places to just relax here- inside and outside. All the lounges, the promenade for the people watching, the lobby, etc. I'm sure I didn't see half the places where people can go on this ship!

You can tell we are getting closer to Florida. The temperatures are dropping (to high 20s Celsius/ 70s F) and the clouds are increasing. The pools are empty again, and there are lots of chairs available on the decks … perfect weather for me! Was nice just walking around. We had a quick lunch and indulged in the once-a-cruise chocolate extravaganza … Well, Cathie, the chocoholic, indulged, and I nibbled a bit. It was quite overwhelming, but delicious.

We ended up on the mostly deserted Serenity (adults only) deck and enjoyed a few hours of peaceful relaxing. We both brought our e-readers, but ended up reading a bit, and then dozing. It was not exactly chilly, but it was not hot. It had been too hot for me to spend much time on deck prior to this, so it was nice to spend the last day this way.

I ran into Davie inside, on the Promenade (Leslie was napping) when I went for sushi (another afternoon food tradition!). We sat and chatted for a while, and enjoyed the people walking by … including the dozen or so seniors in togas. We never did find out why … but it was pretty funny. I hit some of the shops to stock up on last minute deals on Tshirts, etc., and ran into the 2 ladies from Louisiana.  They were so excited to see me, and couldn't wait to tell me that their meal at the Steakhouse was the best one they ever had!  I'm so glad they went and that they enjoyed it - it's always a bit nerve wracking to recommend something to others.

Then back to the cabin to pack.   The bags needed to be outside the cabin by midnight (they are taken off the ship before we debark) so we just need to keep out a bare minimum of things that will stay in our carryon bags.  And then our last meal in the Chic dining room.  Sigh.  We really liked our wait team – head waiter JR, shy Jose with the silly puzzles, and funny Dewa. We had a small tip for them in an envelope and got hugs from them all when we left for the last time. Davie and Cathi - chocoholics both- usually ordered the warm chocolate melting cake for dessert each night. For some reason, Davie ordered apple pie tonight. Everyone, including the wait staff, stopped and stared at him in shock. Jose brought him his apple pie, as requested, but also brought him the chocolate cake … just because it wasn't right, otherwise! Hahaha! (Yes, he ate them both.)

The show in the Victoriana tonight was a talent impression show by cruise passengers. It was really good- they had been practicing for days. The guy who did James Brown was great, as was the Elvis. Cruise Director Jacques was a hysterical Dolly Parton, and his 2 assistants were a very bad Sonny and Cher duo – we were in stitches.

And then, it was all over. We went to the lobby to listen to the live music there for a while, but debarking was going to start very early, so we turned in. Hard to believe, but it's all done...

Food frenzy:

Breakfast : scrambled eggs, bacon, keilbasa, fruit

Lunch : tacos

             Dessert : Chocolate extravaganza

Supper : fettucine with mushrooms (appetizer)

               Mac 'n' cheese with apple smoked bacon and chicken breast

               Dessert : Grand Marnier souffle

Cat capers :

No problems. Daily email reports all fine on the eastern front.

Sail and sea...

Friday – Sea Day

After 4 busy ports in 4 days, it was very nice to have a relaxing sea day today. Well, sort of relaxing … I ended up doing a lot more than I expected!

Breakfast first, of course. And then, for something completely different, Cathie and I went to a towel animal course. A what, you ask? Carnival Cruise Lines is renowned for its adorable towel animals that the cabin stewards make and leave on the beds each night) along with the pillow chocolates, of course. I'm afraid I didn't have much luck in moving the critters off my bed each night, usually causing their heads to fall off or having their bodies unravel. Sad, really, prompting my cabin mate to shake her head and sadly remark that some people just shouldn't have animals. LOL! So, we took a seminar in how to make them (or repair them, as the case may be). Cathie was a natural, and plunked down some money for the book with step by step instructions ($$ went to St Jude's Children's Hospital). My elephant was a dead ringer for an aardvark, and my frog was a fabulous Yoda. Sigh. My dog, however, was pretty good (see the pic ... the sunglasses were a nice touch, don't you think?  LOL!! )

Afterwards, I wandered down to the Park West art gallery for a talk on what to look for when collecting art for investment (right after I win the lottery!), and a quick seminar on a few artists (Romero Britto – whom I love-, Peter Max, etc.) Spent some time wandering and looking at some fabulous works (Kinkade, Britto, and a whole lot more that I didn't recognize but liked), and sipping on the free champagne they were handing out.

Met up with Cathie for lunch, and we hit the buffet (Italian theme) for a yummy meal. I headed back to the art gallery for the auction (and yes, more free champagne!) I was smart enough not to register (was a bit worried that an absent minded cheek scratch might cost me a few thousand dollars), but I enjoyed watching the auction. Prices ranged from less than $100 to more than $40,000 … but it was fun.

Met up with Cathie at the Posh Restaurant at 3pm for “high tea”. It's the first time we did it (it's held daily) and it was fun. We were all seated at long tables and served delicate nibblies (cucumber sandwiches, smoked salmon, etc.) and- of course- tea. We were seated with two lovely ladies from Louisiana who were having a girls cruise, and having a blast. They had reservations for the Steakhouse but were having second thoughts, so we convinced them to go and try it. There's a wonderful lounge, called the Habana, with latino décor, deep leather chairs, and a very quiet atmosphere (when there isn't a band playing, of course!). What a nice place to just hang and relax and chat for a while.

Time for a quick nap and then met up with everyone for supper. It was elegant night, so a nice chance to dress up and look good. Another wonderful meal with too much food, good conversation, and being serenaded by the waiters (and the very talented maitre d'). Totally stuffed, but managed to toddle off to the Victoriana for a fabulous, stand on your feet and sing tribute to the Beatles. It was really well done, and just kept the crowd singing and waving. I was totally energized after that, so while Cathie headed back to the cabin to go to bed, I wandered to the lobby for more music for an hour or so. I mysteriously found myself meandering past the late night buffet on the way back to the cabin … gee, how did THAT happen? LOL!

Food fests:

Breakfast : French toast, maple syrup, bacon, fresh fruit, OJ

Lunch : Italian buffet 

Supper : Cream of broccoli soup

                Broiled salmon, rice, veggies,

                Baked alaska

Late night snack : olives, cheese, calazone

Kitty updates : All continues to go well. Dexter is behaving (!) and Astrophe is great.

Last full day of the cruise tomorrow. This went by far too quickly!!