Here it is - the CRUISE story!
Moms View Message Board: General Discussion: Archive December 2004:
Here it is - the CRUISE story!
WARNING - this is long! LOL
We sailed on the Celebrity Horizon out of Tampa. We drove from New Orleans to Tampa so we could see friends on the way there and on the way back - had dinner with Hal's friend from college in Tampa the night before the cruise left, and spent the afternoon with Kim on the way back home - which was really great! :-)
Anyway....the cruise was wonderful! I had reservations about sailing on an older, smaller ship, but they proved to be unfounded. The personal attention we got was amazing. There were plenty of theater shows and activities and lots of music in various lounges, etc. The food was excellent, the boat was extremely clean, and when they said *formal* night, they meant formal. LOL
The 2nd day on the ship we received an invitation to dine at the Captain's table that night. It was the first formal night of the cruise also. Then we went to the *Broadway* type show afterwards.
The first port we stopped in was Nassau (the Bahamas). We were pretty disappointed because we had booked a *Swim with the Stingrays* shore trip and it was cancelled. We tried booking 2 other shore trips in Nassau and they too were cancelled, due to lack of participation. The majority of the people on this particular cruise were older, retired people, a number of them handicapped, so there weren't a whole lot of people booking water activities. We ended up just milling about Nassau, and had a great time.
The next port was San Juan, we struck out on our own there and literally walked around the city for an entire afternoon. We were exhausted and sore when we got back to the ship so we spent an hour in the whirlpool by the pool.
At some point during the cruise down there we were in some really strong currents that left me feeling pretty queasy for 24 hours or so, but I wasn't the only one - there were quite a few people who felt sick.
At this point, the *memories* begin. The day we were in St. Thomas was DH's birthday. We had scheduled a snorkeling trip on a sailboat that day. There was only one other couple who had booked on the same trip. By coincidence, it was the other guy's birthday too, and he was just a couple years older than DH. We took a bus to the sailboat and headed out to Buck Island for some snorkeling. Problem - the water was ROUGH! By the time we arrived, I was pretty seasick, but after a few minutes I felt well enough and into the water I went. We saw a lot of sea turtles and a lot of beautiful coral and fish. After an hour I started getting really cold. I was literally chilled to the bone and started shaking and couldn't stop, which didn't help my tummy. So back on the boat I went. Then it's time to return to the ship and off we go, headed back to shore, and the water is even rougher. UGH! This tiny little sailboat was bouncing and rolling all over the place. I *knew* what was coming. I tried to take some nausea meds, but 5 minutes later, I knew it was a lost cause. I was embarrassed to death because I was sick on the sailboat. Add this to the fact that it's DH's birthday, and HE is ready to go back to the ship and change clothes, eat lunch, and go into St. Thomas and SHOP. UGH! I sucked it up, took more meds, we went shopping, he got a watch he'd been wanting for several years and he bought me a black coral ring. We went back to the ship and took a nap - it was another formal night.
Next day we had booked another snorkeling trip on St. Maarten, which was to end up as a *beach break* on a private beach. We immediately find there is a problem - we booked online and there was an error - there is no snorkeling on this trip, it's a tour of St. Maarten and THEN we get to the beach. Well, there are 18 of us and they put us into 2 *buses*. OUR bus is overheating - they bring us to a shopping area on the French side of the island and the people there were SO rude. I hated it. Then, we go back to the bus and it's gone! They had taken it away because it wouldn't run and they had to make 2 shuttles to get all of us to the private beach. Once there, we have a barbeque lunch and drinks.
Here's where things get interesting. LOL I went to our beach chairs to get money for drinks from the bar and my swim suit top breaks. Out I fall. At this point I'm embarrassed to death and no one has any safety pins or anything and the guy that runs this place is trying to convince me I can just go topless (it's allowed there) and I'm refusing. I was ready to cry at that point, because it was starting to feel like we were jinxed. Then DH gets this great idea that actually worked and we figured a way to hold my top together so I could go on the beach. From that point on it was sheer heaven. The beach and water were beautiful, the weather was perfect, we walked and found a sponge washed up (which is now part of my *shell* collection!). So what started out as a *not so enjoyable* day ended up being a LOT of fun.
Next port was Tortola and we again had booked snorkeling there. There were 18 people on our boat on this trip. This time I was smart and took a Dramamine BEFORE we left. LOL Once again, the water was incredibly blue and clear and the sights were amazing. There were caves we could snorkel in, which of course, we flocked to, because we'd never done this before. Unfortunately, this trip too had it's down side. DH was stung 4 times by jellyfish in the cave. He wasn't the only one - about half of our group got stung. I was scared to death though, because before we realized it was jellyfish stings that were causing the tingling and such, I thought he was having another heart attack. Everything was fine though, and we had a great time.
We had a few sea days both before and after our final port, Key West. We had gotten very friendly with a retired couple, and a mother and daughter who were the same age as Jen and me, who were also invited to the Captain's table dinner, so we spent our sea days hanging out with them. We all got up to see sunrises together and hung out by the pool together and had a great time.
We had a final treat when leaving Key West. The entire group who was at the Captain's table dinner received an invitation for a bridge tour. We got to be up in the bridge as the boat was leaving Key West. The view was incredible! That really was one of the highlights of the cruise. We saw a number of dolphin around the ship as we were leaving the port.
The *party* band played by the pool every day, and upon leaving every port there was a *sail away* party at the pool. Lots of games going on too, and DH and I won the 60's music trivia quiz, which was actually a lot of 70's music. LOL
I really hated to come home. In spite of all the little things that seemed to go wrong, it was honestly the best vacation of my life. We made some new friends and were totally spoiled on the ship. We ate like piggies and I gained 7 lbs. and DH gained 10 lbs.!
OH - I also drank my first martini last week! LOl I'm not a big drinker, but the specialty martinis on this ship were DEE-licious!
I haven't even started on my pics yet, it will probably be tomorrow before I get to that. I'll post some as soon as I can.
Oh Karen, sounds like you had a blast, and you deserved it! Now I really want to go on a cruise. I can't wait to see pictures.
What a great trip! I'm so glad you had such a great time. There always seem to be a few "rough patches" but as long as the overall memories are great, it's all worth it. I can't wait to see pictures but make sure you get enough rest now that you are home.
Wow it sounds wonderful, even if you did have a few gliches. Glad you had a good time and glad you made it back safely. Can't wait to see pictures.
Glad you had a great time!! And those glitches always seem to make for the best best memories and certainly the best stories.
Oh, I'm so envious! Glad you had a great time, despite the adventures. LOLed when I read about your bathing suit top breaking! OMG! I would have died! How in the world did you fix that?!
Sounds like you had a good time, despite all the mess ups! Can't wait to see pics
I wanna know how you fix the bathing suit top too!
Trina, DH used one of these plastic *cable tie* thingies that was used to secure a pipe to a gutter! ROFL! It worked, he just slipped it through both sides of the the back of the top and *locked* it and cut the excess off.
I was TOTALLY embarrassed - and *I* don't embarrass easily at all.
I'd do the entire 2 weeks again in a heartbeat! :-)
I'm so glad you had a wonderful time! You DEFINITELY deserve it!!! LOL about the bathing suit top also - I would have cried  I can't believe he suggested you go topless! ROFL
Can't wait to see the pics!!!!!!!
Forgot to mention a few things - On DH's birthday, I arranged for a birthday cake for him and all the waiters sang Happy Birthday to him at dinner. He was a great sport about it too.
I wanted to take our waiter home with us - he was just adorable, and I loved his accent and the twinkle in his eyes when he smiled. He was SUCH a sweetie!!
And on the last formal night, there was a Grand Buffet where they allowed 30 minutes to gawk and take photos before anyone ate anything. THAT was incredible too. I took a lot of pics of the food and the ice carvings. We also watched an ice carving by the pool earlier that day.
There were daily art auctions but we're clueless regarding auctions so we mostly checked out the daily art and *wished* for it. LOL There were several Peter Max pieces and some others I would kill for.
One thing I can't express is how wonderful the entire staff on the ship was. Everyone was genuinely friendly and happy and helpful all of the time. I cannot remember even one person who did not smile and speak to us. And the most impressive thing was that each waiter and/or bartender you encountered remembered your name and what you like to drink, or how you like your coffee, etc., after just one time. Celebrity has a *motto* - that goes something like *Thank you for allowing us to treat you famously*. And they did. :-)
What was your waiter's name Karen? We fell in love with our waiter also, Gabriel. I'm SO glad you had fun. Don't feel bad about the Art auctions. I'll email you about that company.
Glad to hear you enjoyed the trip. Ouch with the jelly fish! Sounds like the worst part.
So funny with the guy chasing you and saying that you can go in the water without your top!
Bea, our waiter was Daniel, he's from Poland, and he was absolutely the sweetest guy ever!
Something else you all may get a kick out of:
For several days onboard we ordered room service for breakfast. Well, the menu was a *bit* misleading. For instance: you order 2 coffees, you get 2 POTS of coffee. DH wanted french toast fingers - the menu said *french toast FINGER* - he ordered 2, and 2 plates FULL of it arrived. Menu said *scrambled EGG*, so I ordered 2 and 2 plates full of scrambled EGGS arrived. The first morning, TWO full trays of breakfast arrived. It was enough food for 5 or 6 people! Very funny, and very embarrassing!
It took us 2 or 3 days to get the hang of the room service menu, and by the time we did, we had discovered the Belgian Waffles at the grill opposite the pool deck. Yummy!!!!!!
I had some trouble with my camera onboard, I couldn't get it to charge so I had to be frugal with the batteries. We also went to a photo workshop onboard, and although there were a few people who were impressed with the woman who gave it, I found her incredibly rude, gruff and unapproachable, so we didn't go to any of her other workshops.
The 7 lbs. I gained is now down to 5, so I figured the first 2 were water weight, and the 5 lbs. is the true weight gain I have to deal with! LOL
The whirlpool on the pool deck was totally relaxing. Heated to *just* the right temp, large enough for a number of people, and never too crowded for us. I think we enjoyed that as much as anything onboard the ship.
The first day onboard we took a spa tour and there were a number of massages, etc. that I would have loved to have, but those things are pricey on cruise ships, so we passed on that. But if you ever cruise and have a couple hundred bucks to just blow on any old thing, I'd recommend a massage rather than dropping it in the casino.
Sounds like quite an adventure, Karen! LOL! I'm glad you enjoyed yourselves! It's in the teens here today with the windchill, so your story came at just the right time! BTW-I'll be bringing safety pins with me on our trip! LOL!;)
ROFL Eve - I was thinking the same thing! Next time I go to the beach or swimming, I'm going to put safety pins in my purse.
Or, Amy, how about a scarf to tie around your chest like all the girls on Survivor do? LOL!
Sounds like a great time!!
Sounds like you had a wonderful time Karen.Can`t wait to see your pictures !
SOunds like a lot of fun Karen! I'm glad your laid back enough to not let a few rough patches ruin your vacation! It sounds like a blast and a great adventure!
Any photos of your swimsuit experience, Karen? LOL
The bathing suit story cracked me up. I am glad that you got it fixed. I am also glad that you had sooo much fun.
Karen,
I am so glad you had a wonderful time. Wouldn't it have been funny if you took his advice and gone topless!! LOL I think your hubby might have died!
Amy/Eve - I specifically went out and bought safety pins and a sewing kit to take with me but I didn't take any safety pins on that shore trip. You can be sure though, that I brought some every time I got off the ship after that!!!
Eve, put safety pins on your list, NOW! LOL
Sounds like a wonderful vacation, Karen!!
LOL about the top. When we were honeymooning in the Caribbean, we went snorkeling around one of the small islands. Stephen almost had a heart attack when he saw a big set of boobs swim by. LOL He couldn't believe it! There was a ship of tourists from Europe, and everyone on it was topless. Even way back then when I was nice and think I wouldn't have even considered it!!
Glad it all turned out well. I could use a vacation.
|
Members
