November Cruise – Day 5

A day at sea and the last day of our cruise. Yes, we both would like to stay on and yes we are both ready to come home!

Going out for lunch

The weather was perfect when we awoke. Ed went for breakfast and saved deck chairs while Barb got up and then we both sat on the deck working on our tans until a little past noon when the clouds started to come it.

So we cleaned up and went to the Grand Buffet and stuffed ourselves for a huge lunch.

At 1:30pm, Ed played in the blackjack tournament and won. (for Jason – Ed was in second place going into the last hand and the leader made a betting mistake which allowed Ed to double down on 16 to win!!)

Then we both played in the slot tournament and while Ed (there is no skill involved) qualified for the finals, he came in third and only the first two places paid money.



A watermelon at the buffett

A few snacks later we headed up to the room to pack. After packing we took a short nap, and then got ready for people watching, dancing, the show, dinner and the casino – a typical night on any ship for us.

The show was a big production number that everyone enjoyed. We had problems last night with our steaks at dinner so tonight the chef cooked us new ones himself and they still weren’t very good – but we had a great time at the table.

This is without a doubt one of the best dinner tables we have ever had. A lawyer and his wife, Jeff and Vera from New York city and a retired lady Rita and her lady friend Sue from Florida. We really hit it off.

Then it was onto the casino to close out the cruise. To make things even better, four of us at our dinner table totally took over a blackjack table each night and we all did well. Also, Barb was our chief cheerleader. That is the first time we have ever had a group working together like we did – it was a wonderful memory. Jeff and Vera will also be on the same ship we are taking starting New Years Eve so that will be fun to see them again.

Ed and his new trophy



We ended our night early because had a good run at the tables and after losing a couple of hands we said good night to our table mates. We ended the trip on the positive side and that is always good.

It is time to call it a night, post the blog and get ready to travel home tomorrow. We miss you all – see you soon.



Kelvin the Casino Manager and Bruce our Host

November Cruise – Day 4

Off the shuttle with two Carnival ships and our ship in the distance

I forgot to tell you about losing power yesterday. We were about 20 minutes from Jamaica and could still see the island when all power went out on the ship – including the engines!! After about a minute, the emergency lighting came on and at least we could see a little. We were on a floor where a number of repair staff came running through and we first thought it was just in the area we were in. It wasn’t until we went out on the deck did we find that it was the entire ship that was out – just a little disconcerting to say the least because we also didn’t know what was going on. The ship was literlly dead in the water.

Barb with a new pet!!

We walked up 6 flights of stairs to our room and then the Cruise Director came on the speaker system to assure everyone that they were fixing the problem and in about 20 the power came on and it gave everyone at dinner something to talk about.

Back to today. As we were up late last night we slept in and got up at 8am. This relaxing is really hard and is causing a severe lack of sleep. Oh well, we will be back to a normal life soon.

Anyway, went we got up, we were anchored outside the town of George Town on the island of Grand Cayman. George Town is the capital and it is famous for its tax haven and has hundreds of banks.

There are also lots and lots of shops as it is a very popular tourist destination.

Even though this is a major cruise ship stop, there are no cruise ship piers on the island so we had to use the ship’s tenders to go from the ship to shore. That’s fun but it is not very convenient to wait for a boat to pick up before you can go ashore.


Watch the teeth

After the boat trip to shore, we walked around looking at shops; however, we didn’t buy anything except a magnet and a Christmas ornament.

Then we walked a couple of blocks to the city bus station and for $2.50 a person, took a city bus straight up the coast to the Turtle Farm. The farm actually breeds turtles in captivity and releases them into the ocean when they are the right age. We saw literally hundreds of turtles, including a number of mature one who had their own beach to lay eggs in the sand. They were all in different size tanks depending on their age. The neat thing is that you could reach right into the tank and pet them or pick them up if you wanted to – that is all but the giant ones





That's our ship

We then walked up a little ways from the Turtle Farm to the Tortuga Rum Cake Bakery and Shop where we sampled the famous Tortuga Rum cake – it is really good.

Then it was back on the local bus for the ride back to the city center and to the pier where we caught the tender back to the ship.

It was now 1:30pm so we ate lunch at the poolside café and stayed out in the sun until 4:00pm and then went to the room to clean up for the rest of the day.


We left the room at 6:30pm to see the show in the lounge. The act tonight was a comedian named Jim McDonald who put on one of the best comedy acts we have ever seen – he was really, really funny.

After the show it was time to look at pictures that the staff had taken of us the night before and purchase the best one.

Dinner was in the regular dining room with the 6 or us. I forgot to mention that the two from Cuba moved to a different table to be with people who spoke Spanish. We are enjoying the company at dinner as we all have the casino in common.

Read for the evening

After dinner we all went to the casino and once again took over a $25 minimum table and played blackjack. We had a very good night in the casino and had a lot of fun with our table. Once again we had a table all to ourselves which is great because everyone knows how to play.

After a run, we left early at 12:30am.

Tomorrow is a day at sea and our last day of the cruise. It has been short but fun.

November Cruise – Day 3

The largest church - notice the vendors!

We finally went to sleep last night at about 2:30am so we were not that interested in getting up early to see the arrival of the ship in Falmouth, Jamaica. By the time we got up the ship was docked.

We eventually left the ship at 10am and walked into the port which is brand new and just opened up this spring. Falmouth is located between Montego Bay and Ocho Rios and at one time was the biggest port in Jamaica. After the demise of the sugar cane industry, the town and port fell into disrepair.

Royal Caribbean, the parent company of Celebrity Cruise Line decided that all the other ports in Jamaica were becoming too crowed so they build their own port in Falmouth.

There were lots of shops in the port that were open and there were also a number of sidewalk vendors selling Jamaican products.

A local wood carver

We then took an open-air trolley about the town of Falmouth and with that tour decided that other than main road to the center of town and the town square, we were not interested in going anywhere else. They didn’t even have a public beach in town and it is very, very poor and rundown. Most of the tours from the ship left the town and headed for either Montego Bay or Ocho Rios but we have been there so we stayed in town. There were also a lot of people who stayed on the ship because they had heard a lot of stories about crime and drugs in Jamaica. We felt very safe and there was a huge police presence in town and on the dock.

We shopped for awhile in town and found a supermarket for some Pepsi for Ed and a coffee-rum-milk type liqueur for Barb that was made in Jamaica and they do not sell Kahula on the island.


The dinner salad at the Olympic



We were back to the ship at about 1pm, ate on the ship and then laid out working on our tan.

We could only lay out for about 1 ½ hours because the sun is very direct. Then it was back to the room to shower and catch up on some of our lost sleep from last night.

We then headed to the lounge to listen to listen to music, dance and people watch. Then it was back to the room to dress for dinner. Before dinner we went to the main show. It was a comedian, guitar player and juggler and he was not very good.

Dinner tonight was by ourselves in their specialty restaurant called The Olympic, named after a 1936 luxury liner and this is a reproduction of its dining room. While it is an extra charge to eat in The Olympic, it was well worth the experience.

Desert



After dinner, we headed to the casino and didn’t do that well but had a lot of fun with three people from our dinner table who are also here compliments of the Blue Chip Club.

We left the casino a 1:00am and tomorrow we arrive in Grand Cayman Island.



Night from the middle of the ocean somewhere!!







November 2011 Cruise – Day 2

Barb in the slot tournament

We awoke cruising south towards Jamaica. Ed was up at 8, and went to breakfast and Barb was up shortly afterwards and joined him on the deck.

The sky was clear, in the low 80’s with only a few clouds so we sat out working on our tans until Noon. Wow – what a way to relax.

Then it was time to get cleaned up and get some lunch.

After lunch, we went to the casino for the 1:30pm blackjack tournament.

There weren’t a lot of entries like on Carnival ships so both Barb and Ed entered. Ed qualified but didn’t win.

Then at 3:00pm both Barb and Ed played in the slot tournament and Ed again qualified for the finals but he didn’t win. Oh well, there is one more set of tournaments on our last sea day and we will try again.
Then it was time to walk around and have some snacks and back to the room to take a short nap – remember naps are good!!!

After dressing for dinner we had our pictures taken and then went to the main lounge to dance and people watch. We had a good dinner, went to a really good show and then onto the casino.


Our favorite snack place



Neither Ed no Barb had any luck tonight so we finally went back to the room at 1:44am

The only problem with this ship is that there is no internet in the cabin so when the blog is ready; Ed has to go to the computer center to enter it.

Well night from our second night – tomorrow Jamaica.


On our waery to dinn







November 2011 Cruise - Day 1

Here we go -

Our Room

This was not a planned cruise but through the Celebrity Blue Chip Casino Club, they offered us this cruise for free and we just couldn't pass it up.

We left Bloomington on AirTran at 6:45am and were to Ft. Lauderdale by Noon. Celebrity had a shuttle bus to the ship which was docked in Miami so we took it to save renting a car or taking a cab.

Check-in was smooth and we were in our cabin by 2pm.

We explored the ship and as it is the same class as the Summit we were on last year, it is easy to find everything.

Miami Beach as we were leaving

It is a lot nicer when you can relax a couple of days before heading to the ship but we didn't feel we could take off the extra days this time.


We sailed from Miami at 4:30pm and that was fun watching the ship sail out of the harbor and into the Atlantic.


We had an invite to a casino party at 5pm to meet the casino staff and that was fun meeting and talking with them in a more social setting as the party was outside the casino in a private area.

By the time the party was over, our luggage came and so we unpacked. It is amazing how much clothes we have for just a 5 day cruise. But, as Barb says, you can never have enough shoes on a trip!!!
Following is our iteneary:
         Day 1 - Miami, Florida 4:30 PM
         Day 2 - At Sea
         Day 3 - Falmouth, Jamaica - Docked 9:00 AM 6:00 PM
         Day 4 - George Town, Grand Cayman - Tendered 8:00 AM 4:00 PM
         Day 5 - At Sea
         Day 6 - Miami, Florida 7:00 AM

So it will be a very quick trip and should be very relaxing.

After that we walked around more of the ship to see what it was like. Even though it is going into dry-dock to refurbish it in April, it is in really good condition.


The show was before dinner this time and we went and enjoyed it and it was good to sit for awhile. Then it was off to dinner to meet our new tablemates. It looks like it will be a good table, with people from New York, Miami and Cuba.

After dinner we went to the casino where Ed got off to a really good start. Also, the Assistant Casino Manager who is also the Lead Pit Boss was on our last Celebrity cruise so it was fun talking to him.

After Ed’s run, we decided that we had been up long enough for the first day and went to the room to go to bed. Tomorrow is a day at sea and we need some good relaxation time.

This is the first time we have left home and boarded a ship the same day and probably the last time we will do it – it is just too exhausting, but a day at sea will help catch up.a

It is a lot nicer when you can relax a couple of days before heading to the ship but we didn't feel we could take off the extra days this time.

Don't forget, you can click on any picture to make it bigger.


Night from the ocean!!