Day 10– January 8, 2010

The pictures are:

At the airport - the pictures will not load - will try later!!
1. Part of the water slide and pool deck.
2. The main pool.
3. Our wait staff.

Today was our last day at sea before arriving in Florida and it was one of the nicest sea days we have ever had. The weather was perfect, little if no wind and the seas were calm.

We had sandwiches from the Deli on our deck chairs and laid out until 1:30pm and then cleaned up and went to the slot tournament. Neither of us qualified so we went back to the cabin and packed. Then it was onto the spa, rested for a little bit and it was finally time for watching people and dinner.

The last dinner is always a little sad. We made new friends and may never see them again – but they were fun for the week and great tablemates.

We went to the comedy club and then onto the casino were we both lost a little. The good news is that we are way up for the trip.

At 1:00 am we said our good bys to the casino staff and went to our cabin for the night.

Tomorrow we get off the ship at 8:30am, pick up our shuttle and fly out of the Orlando Airport. We hope that we can get home with all the bad weather they have been having.

As always, it was good to get away after a hectic holiday season and now we are ready to get back home and onto work.

The Carnival Dream is a wonderful ship and we look forward to sailing on it again sometime.

That’s it for this trip – thanks for reading.

Well I went to send this last night and it was too late, they had cut off the internet at midnight and we were going to be at 2am. So I am sending this from the Orland o Airport. We awoke to 31 degrees outside and raining – welcome to Florida!!

From what we have seen the weather is going to be miserable back home – so here we come, we hope that we can make it home and into our house.

Well we had wonderful on time flights on AirTran. At the airport, Ed went and got the car and took quite a while because of all the snow on the car. After we loaded up, we went and picked up a Pizza and picked up our dog.

Everything was just fine until we got to the house and made it most of the way into the drive; however, we got stuck before we could get to the garage. It was zero out so we unloaded the car and left it in the drift. Ed will plow out tomorrow.

A special thanks to the casino staff of the Carnival Dream - they truly made our trip a wonderful experience.

Until next trip - night from Ed & Barb

That's the blog for this year.

Day 9– January 7, 2010

The pictures are:

1. Ready for formal night.
2. Ed’s usual two shrimp cocktails for dinner.
3. Our nightly towel animal

Wow what a picture perfect day to be at sea and heading home. We are ready to be back, but in the meantime, we took advantage of the sun to work on our tan. We probably spent too much time in the sun, but it felt great. We’ll see how we feel in the morning. Hopefully tomorrow will be the same wonderful weather.

Ed played in the blackjack tournament this afternoon and came in second by only $100! Way to close to miss out on the $500 first place prize, but he didn’t make it. Later Ed did terrible in the casino and Barb broke even.

It was our second formal night again so we left the room early and people watched until going to the early PG show in the comedy club. After dinner, we went to the R-rated show in the comedy club and the comedian was really good. His name is Mark Simmons and he has a great act.

Then it was onto the casino where Ed made up for his loses this afternoon and Barb hit for a nice jackpot and we both left the casino winners for the evening.

Tomorrow is packing and we will be home soon.

Day 8, January 6, 2010

The pictures are:
1. Arriving at St. Maarten.
2. The entrance to Club Orient on Orient Beach.
3. Our ship (back right) and two others.
4. Ed's fillet

The day in Sint Maarten - St. Martin

We forgot to tell you that last night we were joined at our table by Andy, an employee of Carnival’s outside public relations firm. Andy flew to St. Thomas from Miami to join the ship and take some publicity shots for the next four days. He has been on over 60 cruises so we had fun listening to some of his stories last night
Now onto the trip today –

This is one of the prettiest islands in the Caribbean and one of the most unique. One part of the island is Dutch and the other part is French. Were told that this island is the smallest land mass in the world to be shared by two different nations. It is only 37 square miles and one-third is Dutch and two-thirds is French.

The two major things to do here are shopping and going to the beach. We decided on the beach since we had shopped and shopped on St. Thomas.

We docked at the Dutch side and when we left the ship at 10:00am we immediately got a shuttle van to take us to the French side of the island and Orient Beach, a spectacular beach. We had 18 in the van when a mile from the dock the van lost its transmission. The driver flagged down a returning van, we all transferred and we were on our way.

As it was last year, the beach was wonderful. Sorry the only picture that we can show is a picture of their billboard at the entrance, as they don’t allow cameras on the beach.

While walking on the beach, we met the lady who hands out the beads and got to talking to her and it turns out that she and her husband are from Pontiac, IL and ride their motorcycle to Kicks in Towanda and to the Merna Tap on weekend rides. We exchanged e-mail addresses and said we would meet during the spring when they ride down. They stay on the beach every year. They even knew exactly where we lived.

At 2:30pm we went on our last walk down the beach and back, jumped in the water to wash the oil off and found a returning shuttle to take us back to the ship.

We were onboard by 4:00pm and relaxing on our balcony.

Dinner tonight is very special. The cruise line has a supper club that only serves a few each night in a “5-star, world class” atmosphere. There is an extra change to eat in this room and it is called The Chef’s Art Steakhouse. We were very lucky in that Claudia, one of the supervisors in the Casino and our host on a previous cruise comped us to diner.

It lived up to its reputation; the food and service were top of the line. Ed had a 9oz fillet which was cooked to perfection and almost melted in his mouth. Barb had the surf and turf and it also was excellent.

Then we went to the comedy club and the new comedian who just came on the ship was really, really funny. His name was Mark Simmons and he is from Chicago. His bio said that he had a starring roll in Barbershop and Barbershop II, the movies.

Then a great night in the casino and it is time for bed. We are heading for home and the next two days are at sea.

Night for now.

Day 7 – January 5, 2010

The pictures are:
1. Two ships already docked, we’re going into the vacant space.
2. Barb and the owners of Chalet D’or Jewelers.

St. Thomas was on the horizon when we woke up and it was interesting watching this big ship maneuver into the harbor. We came straight into the harbor and made basically a right turn into the dock. These modern ships that don’t have rudders are amazing to watch turning and even moving sideways.

We were able to leave the ship at 10:00 am and we immediately hopped onto a shuttle for the short ride into town. Barb bought a purse at the straw market – I think that this is the year of the purse.

We went into a lot of shops and it is amazing how high the prices were for gold jewelry because of the current price of gold.

Finally we made it to our favorite shop, Chalet D’or Jewelers and Barb purchased a set of earrings that match her square diamond necklace. As she only wanted one earring, they made the other one into a ring for her – they really look nice. Then as we were waiting for the ring to be sized, she found another ring she liked – so we bought it also.

By the time that we finished, the shop was closing for the evening and the owner was kind enough to give us a ride directly to the ship. As we drove, she talked about her arranged marriage with her husband and it turned into quite a love story. They have now been married for 40 years!

The evening was the usual – we went to the spa, watched people on the promenade deck, had a delightful dinner, saw a great stage production and finished the night having fun in the casino. Almost the entire casino staff came over and wished Barb a happy birthday.

Tomorrow it is St. Martins and the beach.

Day 6, January 4, 2010

The pictures are:
1. Barb in the slot tournament.
2. Our nightly towel animal

For the first time ever on a cruise in the Caribbean, we woke up to a cloudy and rainy day and it stayed that way all day long.

We picked up pictures and did a little shopping in the morning and then ate lunch in the dinning room instead of the buffet or sandwich lines and ate too much.

We tried the slot tournament but did qualify and did plan a session in the casino was really good. Later in day we went to the spa and just relaxed.

They changed our show time to before dinner so we went there and it was a juggler, comedian who was not very good. We left early to make the comedy club show and that comedian was really, really funny. He did a routine on State Farm that he said he could not do in the United States because when he did it, he received a legal cease and desist letter from State Farm.

Dinner was excellent as always and then it was on to the casino where we both did well.

Tomorrow is St. Thomas and Barb’s birthday – just what she wanted, all those jewelry stores as a gift!!

Day 5 – January 3, 2010

The pictures are:
1. Barb with friends.

2. Feeding a parrott an apple.
3. Dressed for the evening

Well we woke up to a beautiful Nassau in the Bahamas and we were finally worm and could wear shorts. It was a lovely 78 degrees and a little overcast, but just fine.

As we went sleep at 2, we didn’t get up until 8 and were off the ship by 9. We have a limited time on the island because we h ad to be back on the ship by 1:30pm so we opted to go to the islands zoo called Adastra Gardens Zoo. We took the local bus and it dropped us a short walk to the Zoo. The garden animals represented a wide variety of over 300 types were a wide variety of the Bahamas’ natural inhabitants. They also had a lot of Pink Flamingos that you can get really close to as you can see by the picture of Barb.

Then it was a bus ride back to town and shopping in the local straw market. The special this day were lots and lots of purses – amazing though, Barb didn’t buy any!!

We ate lunch on the ship and then got some sun on the adult’s deck for a couple of hours before Barb went for her spa treatment – a wonderful birthday gift from the kids.

Barb came back from the spa and said it was wonderful – thanks again to the kids for the gift.

The evening was formal and we went out early to watch the people, had a nice dinner and did well in the casino.

Tomorrow is a day at sea and we are looking forward to working on our tan in 80 degree weather.

Night for now.

Day 4 – January 2, 2010

The pictures are:
1. Leaving the hotel.
2. The spa tour.
3. First lunch on the ship.
4. Barb’s flowers from Ed, Kahula and fruit basket from the casino.

Well we woke up to a beautiful, clear Florida sky; however, the temperature was only 43 this morning. By the time we left for the cruise ship, it was up to 50 – that’s still cold for Florida but it sure beats the temperature in Illinois!

We dropped the convertible off and they gave us a ride to the ship. Check-in was absolutely perfect. We walked in via the VIP line, were greeted, given our room key and we went right in as they called our group just as we got our key.

We first checked out our dinner table assignment and it looked great, downstairs with a table for 6.

Then we went up to the Lido deck and had a full lunch and explored the ship. It is built like the rest of the Carnival ships but with some nice additions.

Then we went back up to our deck which is adjacent to the spa and had a tour or the spa – wow is it neat. It is the largest afloat at 27,000 square feet and it occupies two decks of the ship, right in front. As we had booked a spa stateroom, we get free use of the spa whenever we want.

The kids gave Barb a birthday gift certificate for a facial and a massage so we booked that for tomorrow – she should really enjoy it. We spent the next several hours walking and sitting in the different areas watching the people. By 4 our luggage had arrived and we unpacked it all – that is always fun and we were able to fit everything in.

We had our pictures taken (of course) and then went to dinner. We had a round table for 6; however one couple didn’t show up. The couple that did eat with us seemed really nice. They are from Port Orange Florida and this is their 100th cruise!! They have their own travel agency called Jim 'n' Janet Morgan and they are at
JnJ.Morgan@gmail.com.

The opening show was fun and so was the casino. We spent some time with Claudia, who was our host on the cruise to the Balkins two years ago. She is now a shift supervisor.

Time to crash and tomorrow is Nassau.

Day 3 – January 1, 2010

The pictures are:

1. On our way shopping.
2. Barb now wants a new PT.
3. The deli for lunch.

We woke up late to a very overcast day with rain starting to come down. So, we did what anyone would do in this situation – we went shopping, shopping and more shopping. What a way to start 2010.

We left at 10 and got back a 5 and went to the two largest malls in the area. In between, we ate at a little locally owned deli.

Dinner was a gourmet meal at the Waffle House and then we went to the new George Clooney movie, Up in the Air. It is the first time that Barb and I have been to a movie since Tom Hanks in The Castaway. We may not go to a lot of movies but we can say that this is a very depressing movie with a few funny lines. We should have seen something else.

We have had fun in Cocoa Beach but we wouldn’t want to vacation here, it is just a way station on the way to a cruise.

Tomorrow we head for the new Carnival Dream and it should be fun. This ship is 1004 feet long and is 158 feet wide. That is over 3 football fields long! The Dream has 13 guest decks and can accommodate 3646 passengers. This will be the largest cruise ship we have ever been on and it is brand new.

Day 2 - December 31, 2009

The pictures are:
1. Part of the Rocket Garden.
2. A “little” alligator. He thinks that the bus is his meals on wheels!
3. One of the space capsules.
4. The Vehicle Assembly Building. The stripes on the flag are each 8’ wide.
5. Part of the cargo for a future space shuttle being assembled.

We awoke to partly cloudy skies and it was going to be 70 so it looked like it was going to be a good day to go to the Kennedy Space Center.

We arrived at Kennedy at 9:00 am just as they were opening and timed it right for a walking tour of the Rocket Garden. These are actual rockets of the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo programs. Just amazing that the early rockets were made to deliver a bomb and instead these delivered a person(s) into space. It was also incredible to realize how small the capsules were. The first two seat capsule was described as being in a small bath tub with a close friend. One of them orbited the earth for 14 days and they basically could not even stretch their legs out – it was fascinating to see these rockets and capsules.

We then boarded a bus for a two hour tour of the Space Center. As there were no rockets or shuttles being launched, we were able to drive around and see the entire facility. We saw the actual launch sites up close and all of the major buildings that play a part in the launchings of the space program, then and now. We saw the vehicle assembly building, the final stop before the space shuttle rolls out to the launch pad. We could not see inside this enormous building but did see outside the tractor that takes the shuttle to the launch pad. The size of everything is just huge, very huge. This building’s base covers 8 acres and is 525 feet tall. The doors on either side are 456 feet high and it is one of the largest buildings in the world! We also saw the external fuel tank for the shuttle sitting on a boat a few yards away waiting to be moved to the assembly building as a shuttle mission is schedule to go up next week.

The Space Center complex is on 140,000 thousands acres and only a few thousand acres are used. As we traveled from stop to stop it was neat to see all the wildlife there. We were told by our guide that they estimate that there are over 5,000 alligators on the property and we saw at least 15 while we were traveling. And they were close and not behind any fencing of barriers. When the bus driver would see one, he would slow the bus down to a crawl and they were within 10 feet of the bus. All of the buildings had chain link fencing around them that curved at the top to keep the alligators from climbing over the fence!

It was amazing how close we were able to get to view things. We were taken into the building that assembles all of the components that are being sent up to complete the construction of the International Space Station. They allow viewing from the second story inside a glassed in walkway.

We finished the day with two IMAX films, the last being a film showing the construction of the International Space Station. The films were in 3-D and they were great.

This trip is a must see for anyone who visits Florida to see what the United States and others has accomplished. This is a real, up close and personal experience. The people who have accomplished what has been done in space are truly American heroes.

Dinner was at Milliken’s Reef one on the many fish restaurants on the waterfront overlooking Port Canaveral and that was our New Years Eve – a really fun day.