Day 5 - Sunday, October 20

We set our alarm so that the 4 of us could go to church at 8am.  Barb had been told by the hotel that the 8am mass was in English; however, when we got there we found out that it was in Spanish.  We stayed anyway!!

After church we walked the 3 blocks back to the hotel and had breakfast.

Then Ed took the rental car back and at 11:30am we met Barb & Tim and took cab to the ship.

Boarding was quick and we were eating up in dining room by 12:30pm.  We then spent the next couple of hours walking around the ship from the top floor down seeing all that the ship had to offer.  Barb and Tim had not been on this ship either so it was fun discovering the ship

.

After relaxing, it was time to go to the VIP lounge for a couple of drinks before going to dinner.

Dinner and the service were great.

Next we went to the show which featured a comic who was really, really funny and following the show we all went to the casino where Ed was even after an hour and Barb lost a little.

By now it is 12:30am so writing the blog before going to bed – enjoy everyone

Night

Leaving the Marriott

Barb and her flowers

Day 4 - Saturday, October 19

Another beautiful day in San Juan – 88 and clear when we woke up.

We had breakfast with Tim and Barb and then while Tim stayed at the hotel to work, the three of us went on a driving tour of Puerto Rico.

We headed south to the city of Ponce, the second largest city on the island.  The route took us over the “mountains” in the center of the island and the road was very, very winding but it was fun.  Also, the scenery was awesome with all the houses built on the sides of the mountains.

We also traveled thru the town at the highest point on the island.  Most of the homes were built right on a ridge with maybe 10’ of back yard. 

After getting to Ponce and heading north back towards San Juan, we found a very small city with a great center square and so we parked to walk around.  We walked into a church which turned out to be Baptist and watched some kids practice singing and the kids and adults welcomed us to visit.  One of them suggested a local restaurant so we went there for lunch and it was great.  Great food, great service and a great setting.

After we left the restaurant, we travelled down the mountain in a major rain storm so we had to go very, very slow.

We finally made it back to San Juan at 5:00pm after driving lots of miles all day, but it was fun. 

We changed for dinner and Barb and Tim came up to our room to have Champaign on our balcony.

Then we went to a local restaurant that we had found a couple of days ago to have a wonderful 2 ½ hour dinner.

After dinner we walked back to the hotel and played a session in the casino where Barb lost a little and Ed won so we are up a little bit after playing 4 days n San Juan – a great start.

We then packed to be ready tomorrow to head to the ship after going to a local Catholic church a few blocks away.

Night from San Juan and tomorrow it will be from the ship – The Freedom Of The Seas.

A house on the edge of a ridge

Lunch - all local, all freashly made

The Baptist Church in town

It really is a dollar store!!

Inside the dollar store

Day 3 – day, Friday, October 18

The morning today was just for relaxing on the beach and then meeting Barb & Tim Freeman, our friends from DC who will be arriving this afternoon.

We slept in and woke up at 8am – what a wonderful start to the day and the weather was beautiful.  This time a few clouds but very hot and humid – a perfect day to go to the beach.

We first ate breakfast together and what a wonderful complimentary breakfast they served us, which was only because of our Marriott awards status.  Normally it would be $34 for the two of us.  It sure pays to stay at Marriott properties.

Then it was time to just relax on the beach and do nothing until Barb and Tim arrived at about 2:30pm.  There room was not ready so we went to the beach restaurant and had lunch and caught up on each other’s lives.

When they left to check-in, we spent more time at the pool before going up to the room to get ready for dinner.

Tim was not feeling well so he did not join us for dinner which was in the entertainment district called La Palcita – lots of bars and restaurants and just a big party on Friday night.

Barb had the salmon and Ed had a Red Snapper – served whole.

After dinner we walked around and people watched before taking a Uber back to the hotel.

Then we played a session with Barbara Freeman joining Ed at blackjack where Ed won and Barb lost a little.

It was fun seeing Barb and Tim and we will enjoy their company over the time of the cruise.

Night from San Juan

Great Pool

Dinner 

Dinner

Days 1 & 2- October 2019 Cruse

Day 1 – Wednesday, October 16

You never know about the weather in October and when we left Bloomington at 6am for Atlanta and San Juan everything looked clear and it was.

 

In Atlanta we only had enough time to walk from our landing concourse to our departure gate and we literally walked right onto the plane.

We arrived at about 1:30pm (88 degrees) and there was no problem getting the luggage, getting a car and we were in our room probably by 2:30pm to unpack quickly. 

We are staying at the Marriott Resort & Stellaris Casino, right on the ocean.  This is a Marriott that we have stayed at many times and we really like it and the staff is always wonderful.  When we were here last year, we couldn’t stay here as they were too damaged from the 2017 hurricane.  The resort looked beautiful.

They upgraded our room to the 10^th floor and a corner room two large balconies overlooking the ocean.

We had contacted the Senior Executive Secretary about a month ago to book our room as we had asked her to match a cheaper Marriott’s rates that we had originally booked away from the ocean.  She did so and it saved us about $100 a day!

We took the time to say hi to her and it was so much fun to talk about all the times we had been here.

She told us for the first week of the hurricane she was at the hotel and did not know for a week whether or not her daughter was even alive as there was no communication ability!!  Can’t imagine what this island has gone thru.

We took a quick walk to a local restaurant and had a great lunch before going back to the hotel and then to the pool to get some sun.

For dinner we walked east from the hotel to a restaurant that we had found and basically had Purtorician Tappas.  They were really good.

Then it was back to the hotel and a session in the casino where both of us lost a little.

Finally, it was 10pm and we slept until 8am the next morning – we really needed it!!

Day 2 Thursday, Oct 17 –

Yes, it was 8am when we woke up and went to have breakfast and it looked like it would be another beautiful day. 

After a good breakfast, we took an Uber to Dollar Rental and picked up a car that we had rented for the next 3 days.  About an hour out of town towards the east coast, we stopped at a McDonalds to get a tea for Barb.  The staff did not understand what she meant by half sweet and half regular so she ended up with a Diet Coke!

Around noon stopped at this roadside stand that had a lot of locals eating there.  There was not one there that spoke English; however a customer did and helped us order as the only thing that we recognized was chicken and then there was also rice.  We ended up eating a great lunch and actually ate with the couple and their daughter who had helped us order.  There had met on-line 20 years ago and now have 5 kids.  He was from Pennsylvania she is from Puerto Rico.  We had a wonderful time talking to them. 

We then spent the next couple of hours driving around the eastern part of the island and it really wasn’t that much fun. 

Then it was back to the hotel where Ed worked on a problem with the Corvette Adventures web site shopping cart before going out to eat at about 7pm

We found a wonderful Porto Rican restaurant again and had a great meal.

Then it was back to the hotel to go to the casino where Ed made up his losses and then a little and Barb lost just a little again - $20.  But, it was fun.

Night from San Juan around midnight.

The view from our balcony

First evening out

McDonalds - trying to order tea

Lunch out in the country

Videos from our trip to Cuba - March 2019

Videos from our trip to Cuba - March, 2019

At the Tropicana Cabaret show

More from the Tropicana Cabaret

A hotel in Havana

Barb and Ed on a rooftop in Havana

At the Marriott Miami Airport prior to the Celebrity Cruise

The Hog Fish Bar and Grill, Key West, FL

Day 14 - Spring Miami - Cuba - 2019

Our last day on the cruise and we are sailing towards Tampa.  It was very windy and cold outside during the night and while the sun is out first thing in the morning, the wind made it cold and not nice enough to gout on the deck.

Barb went to a presentation about the future of Cuba from the Cuban host and worked in the cabin.

After Barb’s presentation, we went to the slot tournament and then to lun

Lunch was a mad house because while it is bright and sunny out, it is actually cold and windy so we have not been out on the deck at all.

Following lunch we went back to the casino to see how we were doing in the slot tournament and we failed to qualify for the finals.

So, we went back to the cabin to pack.  

We have had a fun cruise on Carnival.  Would we go back on them, probably not.  The people were not as professional, the casino was small and overall the entire ship is a step below Celebrity.  We don’t mean to sound like snobs but we will always choose Celebrity over Carnival.

We went to a party for Diamond and Platinum members sat 5:00pm with free drinks and appetizers and it was nice.

Then we saw the show which was a show called “Epic Rock” and it did and was very good.  The one thing that we did like about Carnival was the quality of their shows – they were very good and this was one of the best ever.

Dinner tonight was one of the best and of course you always remember the last and they did an excellent job.  We said good bye to our friends from this cruise.  Nice people, but they will not be our life-long friends.

Then we went to a late night comedy show and the performer was really funny.

We were not going to the casino tonight as we wanted to protect the nice size lead that we have rather than taking the chance on losing some of it; however, there was no will power so we went anyway.

The good news is that on net we were ahead tonight with Barb losing a little and Ed having a nice win which puts this cruise among the best ever in terms of net winnings!!!

At 11:30pm we went to see another comedians late night performance and he was just ok.  Then we went to the casino for a midnight drawing for a free cruise.   They drew 4 names until someone was picked who was in the casino – it wasn’t us.

Then back to the cabin for final packing and a short nights sleep.

Tomorrow we fly out of Tampa at 11:45am and arrive in Bloomington at 4:53pm so that is a perfect connection and we are soooo looking forward to being home with our family (and dogs)!

See you there.

Hugs from Mom and Ed

Going out for the day

Going out for our last evening of the cruise

Day 13 - - Spring Miami - Cuba - 2019

We woke up late, had breakfast and when up on the deck for sun before lunch.

After lunch we went to the casino where both us attempted to qualify for the final table.  Ed qualified and came very close to winning; however, not close enough.

Then we walked around before getting ready for the evening.

Dinner was very good and then we went to the casino.

There was no one to play with so we went to the comedy club and listened to another comic

 

Following that we went to the casino where Barb broke event and Ed had his first lost on Carnival.

Time for bed as it is after midnight and tomorrow is our last full day before heading home.

No question, we are ready to be home and see the family.

Going out for the evening