New Years – 2018 – Day 4

Beautiful St. Thomas and again temperatures in the 80’s.  We are blessed.

We had not plans so we got off the ship at about 9am and walked into the shopping area by the pier.

We were at a new port in St. Thomas that is exclusively Royal Caribbean’s or which Celebrity is part, so we did not know what to expect.  After looking around and not finding anything very interesting, we took a jitney into the main town.

We explored it for a while and then took a jitney back to the ship.

At this time it was 11:30am so we went up onto the deck for some sun.

At 12:30pm we met Jeff and Vera on the back of the ship for lunch.  Several years ago before we knew them, they had met a casino manager who had been promoted and is now the Guest Relations Manager for this ship.  His wife and 2 children are with him over the holidays and they all joined us for lunch.

Then it was back up to the deck for more sun until about 3:30pm when it started to rain a little so we went to the cabin to clean up and get ready for the New Years Eve celebration.  

Tonight, for New Year’s Eve, everyone was in a party mood, so it was just really a lot of fun.

We went to the 7pm show before dinner and it was a cast production number that was very good.

Then we went to our restaurant called Blu for dinner and had a great dinner with Jeff & Vera.

Of course, next was the casino where Ed did very well and Barb broke even so it was a very good night in the casino.

New Years Eve was amazing.  It looked like the entire ship, which is over 2,000 people were jammed onto the pool decks for the New Years party which started at 11:30pm.  There was also a full moon out and it was a fun way to celebrate New Year’s.  Then probably 5 minutes after midnight, it started to rain so we headed down to the casino to wish the staff a happy new year’s also.

Tomorrow is a sea day and it will be fun just relaxing around the ship

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Bye the way, the pictures are not a good as we would like them as the photo editing program that I used is not available now that I updated browsers.  Sorry about that.

To all our family – please know we are thinking of you all and have a Happy, Happy New Year to one and all.  Hugs and Love – Mom and Ed.

Just have to shop here!!

Our ship

Getting ready for some sun - note the lotion on the knees.  Too hot for oil yet.

Ready to party on New Year's Eve

New Years – 2018 – Day 3

After a good night sleep, we woke up at 8am and went out for breakfast to the local café that we had eaten breakfast the day before.  Such a neat place and not another tourist in the place.

Then we went back to the hotel room and finished packing, contacted an Uber car and made our way to the ship.  What would have been a $12 cab fare was only $3.39 on Uber – what a wonderful service.

We got to the ship the earliest we had ever, and we were the 8^th and 9^th people in line.  They opened the doors at 11pm.  We were in our room and dropped off our luggage and were up on deck 10 waiting for Jeff and Vera.  They showed up at about Noon and we spent the next hour talking and eating.

Then back to the room to change and up on the sun deck we went for a couple of hours in beautiful hot (86 degrees) sun. 

When we got back to our cabin our luggage was outside our door, we unpacked cleaned up and went to the casino to meet our host, Andrea, whom we had never met.  Seems like a nice person.

The fire drill was at 7:45pm and after that we met Jeff and Vera in Blu, the restaurant for the group of rooms we were in.  The casino had upgraded us, so we are on the top floor in the category Aqua which get us access to the wonderful restaurant called BLE.

We had a good meal and then went to the show which tonight was a comedian who was very funny.

After the show we went to the casino where Ed lost just a little and Barb broke even. 

All-in-all a fun day.

Tomorrow we arrive in St. Thomas for the day.  Stay warm everyone.

The local diner for breakfast

Packed and ready to board the ship

Lunch with Jeff & Vera on the back of the ship

New Years 2018 – Day 2

We got up late and Barb go ready while Ed went to the gym.   We did get a complimentary breakfast at a Courtyard, so we walked about ½ block of a local restaurant and had a good breakfast for little money.

Then we took the local bus for 35 cents each to the main area of Old San Juan.   An Uber was going to be $6 and a taxi $9.  Then bus got us there in 10 minutes!

We then spent the morning walking around Old San Juan shopping at stores we had been to before and seeing how the town survived the hurricane.  Basically, the small local stores who did not have enough money saved up before the storm have closed, remodeled and it their places were brand new shops and a lot were high end shops – totally different from what was there before.  Lots of building still empty but the town looked pretty good with a lot of new paint.

Barb bought some shoes, a skirt and several items so it was a fun day.  We also ate at the famous restaurant that has Mallorca’s, which is a sweet bread with cheese, ham and toasted then topped with powdered sugar!!!  Just fun to eat and not very expensive.

Late in the afternoon we took the bus back to the hotel and dropped off our packages.  Then we walked to the hotel with the biggest casino on the island, the Sheraton at the convention center.  Wow – what a neat hotel with an amazing infinity pool on the 4^th floor.  As this is now a Marriott property, this is where we will stay if we ever come back to San Juan.  Ed played in the casino and started with a bank of $60 and we walked out 15 minutes later with $125.  A good start on gambling for the cruise!!

As it was getting late, we took an Uber car back to the hotel get ready for the evening.

We took an Uber car to La Placita, the #1 entertainment area in San Juan which is at the site of a market and is only open on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights.  

We have visited the market there a number of years ago, but had never been there at night when they close the market, open the bars and restaurants and bring out the music and everyone dances.  It was really, really a lot of fun.

We met Jeff and Vera there and ate dinner at a local restaurant surrounding the entertainment area.

We got to La Placida at 7:30pm and made reservations at 3 different places with all 3 having a waiting time of about an hour.  At about 8:30pm we finally found Jeff and Vera.  They had tried to call us, but we were not getting a signal, so we didn’t know they were there – but it all worked out.

The place was jammed with people.   We have never been to a place this busy with this many people outside in the streets surrounding the market all with a drink in their hand!!

Every one of the 17 – 20 restaurants had a waiting list also.  Jeff said the place made Bourbon Street look like the Vatican!!

We ate at a wonderful neat restaurant that specialized in fish.  We shared a number of appetizers and the main course was a 2-pound Red Snapper that we shared.   We ate from 8:30pm to 11:30pm and when we left the restaurant, the place was even busier!! 

To get a Uber car, we had to walk about 1/3 of a mile to a place without people and cars.  The Uber car arrived quickly, and we were back at the hotel right at midnight – a wonderful day and a great evening.

We have taken 3 Uber cars today for a total cost of $17.50 and two bus rides for a total of $1.40 and had three wonderful meals at true Puerto Rico restaurants. 

Night for tonight and tomorrow we board the ship.

Barb likes to look into open windows

Lunch - Ed's Mallorca

Buying another Christmas oarnament

Barb's purchases for today

New Years - 2018 - Day 1

New Years - 2018 - Day 1

The day started with the temperature below zero at our house at 3:30am when we got up. 

We quickly had breakfast, took showers and left for the airport at 4:30am for a 6:00am flight to Atlanta and then on to San Juan.

We knew the connections in Atlanta were going to be close and the schedule said there was a 49 minute time between arrival and departure.  Of course, they start boarding 30 minutes before.  So, the boarding was to begin at 9:01am and we were to arrive 2 concourses over at 9:02am.

When we were late by 29 minutes in taking off we thought we would never make connections – guess what – we made it.

Basically, we made it to the plane and about 5 – 10 minutes later they closed the door.

The flight to San Juan was 3 ½ hours so Ed watched Dunkirk and Barb slept.

After retrieving our luggage, we took a taxi to the hotel, except the car driver took us to the wrong one, adding about 30 minutes.  The neat thing was that we had a nice tour getting to the correct hotel.

You can for sure tell that there is a lot of hurricane damage; however, it was not as bad as we thought it would be.

After checking in we walked around to look at restaurants and on advice of the desk clerk went to a local place that he said he ate at.  No question, it was a local’s restaurant and we enjoyed it.  We had rice and beans, chicken in a fried plantain (banana) bowl and then another dish we don’t know what it was, but it was good.

After dinner we checked out the gym and went to our room to get a good night sleep.

Night from San Juan

In our living room of the hotel - ready to go out

Dinner - Rice and Beans at top, left is Chicken in a Plantain bowl with lettuce and on the right is Fried ??

Videos from the October 2017 Cruise - Paris, London, Spain, Portugul and Canary Islands

We hope that you enjoy these videos from our trip

Barb and Ed

Breakfast at the Renaissance Paris Arch de Triomphe

Waiting for Mark & Nigel at a pastry shop in Paris

Having lunch in Paris

Barb and Ed at the Cathedral of Noter Dame - 1

Barb and Ed at the Cathedral of Noter Dame - 2

Barb and Ed at the Cathedral of Noter Dame - 3

On the train to London

At the St Pancras Renaissance Hotel in London

The Chambers Lounge at the St Pancras Renaissance Hotel

Breakfast at St Pancras, London

Fun in the subway in London

Barb & Ed at the cruise port in Madeira

Eating out in Maderia with Jeff and Vera

A local fishing village on Madeira

Eating lunch by the sea at the fishing village

At the Celebrity Theater

At the Celebrity Eclipse theater - 2

At the pool of the Celebrity Eclipse

Riding the tram in Tenerife, Canary Islands

In San Cristobal, Portugal

In Vigo, Spain

Barb and Ed At the Rock show at Celebrity's theater

The buffet on the Celebrity Eclipse

The pool of the Celebrity Eclipse

October 2017 Cruise - Days 3 - to the end of the cruise

Day 3, Sat, Oct 14

Our computer went down last night therefore we are writing this blog from home after the entire wonderful trip.

We met Mark and Nigel at noon and had a great lunch at a local restaurant.  Then we walked about Paris with them and they showed us the sights that a tourist would not know about and it was really fun.  They even took us to their flat.  No question, we could like there for an entire month and not get tired of their Paris. 

After our walking tour, we went back to the hotel to change clothes and then took the subway back to meet Mark & Nigel for dinner.  They took us to a beautiful local restaurant where we spent the next several hours eating, talking and just having a wonderful time.

Lunch in Paris

Breakfast at the Marriott

Day 4, Sun, Oct 15 - Paris until late night

Before we met Mark and Nigel in the morning, we went to the Cathedral of Noter Dame and went to mass there.  It was in French, but it didn't matter - it was very moving to be in such a great Cathedral for church in Paris.  

The entry to Make and Nigel's home in Paris

The Catherdal of Noter Dame

After another wonderful lunch the for of us rented bikes and biked for a couple of hours in Paris, mostly along the River Seine!!  For our trip to London by train through the Chunnel, we were to meet Mark and Nigel at 5:30pm at the crooked house outside the train station.  We took an Uber car there as it was ½ the cost of a London taxi and when we arrive, the Uber driver helped us carry out luggage across the busy street right to our meeting place.

Mark and Nigel were right on time and helped us get though all of the customs, etc. and right up to the business lounge where we able to drink and snack until it was time to board the train for the trip to London.  We had been given a bottle of Champaign by the Marriott so we brought it with us and Mark and Nigel brought sandwiches.  Mark went to open the bottle and it popped and sent Champaign over us and the people in the seats across the aisle.  Not much spray and it was just so much fun when the cork really popped loudly!!

The trip was 2 hours long and we had fun just eating and talking.

More pictures from Paris

                                                                  A local grocery store

\Right outside our hotel

A birthday surprise from the hotel

A great lunch with Nigel and Mark

Bicycling along the Seine

Dinner on the train to London

Arriving in London - When we arrived at the train station, Mark and Nigel helped us with our luggage right to the hotel, which was inside the train stations. 

Words cannot describe the fun and friendship that we felt with Mark and Nigel.  These are two people who we met on a cruise, enjoyed being with them and they invited us to join them at their weekend home in Paris.  What an unforgettable experience - Thanks forever Mark and Nigel!!!

It is impossible to describe this train station it is so beautiful as is the hotel which is inside the station, the St. Pancras Renaissance Hotel.  Please go the the web site http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/lonpr-st-pancras-renaissance-hotel-london/ and the train station will also show in the pictures.  It is an amazing place.

We are requested an upgrade to the Executive floor and also a high floor as always and this time and they said they did not have a room in the Executive floor but did upgrade to a room higher than we paid for.  When we went to the room, we were very disappointed as it was small and on the first floor but it was late; we were tired and just left it. 

Later that evening when we took Barb’s big suitcase down for have a wheel fixed, the front desk manager asked us how we liked the room and we said not very well in a nice way.  About 15 minutes later he said he had found us a room that we would like and WOW what a room!!  It was the Harwood Suite, with a living room, bedroom and bath.  Words really not describe the room and I hope the pictures do.  It measured 2,300 sq ft which is bigger than our house!!  If you go to the hotels web site and look at the Chambers Suites you will see what we mean by big.

The Train Station and Hotel

Outside our hotel on the way to the subway

Kensington Palace

Inside the Tower of London Bridge

The hotel entrnace

Time to tour the town

A snack at Burrough Market

The living room of our hotel

Day 5, Mon, Oct 16- London

After waking up and having breakfast in the Chambers Lounge we took off walking to a computer store in London to see if they could work on Ed’s computer as it had gone down and wouldn’t charge.  We found the store; however, since it wasn’t an English purchased computer, they couldn’t work on it.  As we had been to several places, we finally gave up on getting the computer fixed and would not be able to do the blog.

So we took the subway back to the hotel, left the computer there and took another subway to Kensington Palace to see a display of the clothes and life of Princess Diana which was very interesting.  She was very tiny and Barb could have worn her clothes.

Following that we walked back up to the subway and took it to the London Tower Bridge where we had a personal guided 1 ½ tour of the bridge on how it was built and its history.  It was a very fascinating tour. 

After that we walked along the water front and the sky was a very unusual because of a hurricane in the north and also sand blowing in from the Sarah desert.  It was beautiful

Back we went to the hotel to clean up and meet Mark & Nigel for dinner in their neighborhood.  It was a wonderful dinner and afterwards we walked for about an hour, including visiting their home.  What a wonderful time we had with them over the past several days.  Barb and I had Avocado and Shrimp appetizer and a main dish of seared tuna and it was amazing.  Mark and Nigel each had a whole Sea Bass.  Mark and Nigel were very enjoyable to be around and they really taught us a lot about Paris and London and we were honored to be with them for the long weekend.  After the walk we said our final goodbye for this trip and went back to the hotel and crashed for the evening.  

Day 6, Tues, Oct 17 – London

We had a good night’s sleep and woke up slowly and ate breakfast in the Chambers Club and walked to the subway.  We had only one destination in mind, Burroughs Market, one of the all-time great food markets and eating destinations in London and we had been to it on each of our former trips.  Also, Barb wanted to buy a new Burroughs Market burlap bag to use for grocery shopping.  Prior to going into the market, we also visited the oldest Gothic Church in England and it was beautiful.

We took the subway to Burroughs Market, walked around, bought a market bag for Barb and ate before leaving to go back to the hotel.  We took an Uber car to the station where a tall muscular guard carried our bags into the station.  The station did not have carts to put bags on so the guard told me to go to the train masters office which I did.   We ended up having a wonderful lady driving a big “tram” as she called it, take our bags directly to our train before anyone boarded, put the bags onboard and stayed around and talked with us until it was time for everyone else to board the train – what a delight.

She took us on her tram to the train

Loaded and ready to go

We were on the train to visit more friends, Maurice & Astrid’s who we had also met on a cruise for an overnight stay at their house.  The train ride was about 1 hour long and when we arrived at the station, two passengers took part of our luggage and carried them into the station where Maurice was waiting for us.  We piled our entire luggage into his Mercedes and we drove to their home.

What a delight to see Maurice and Astrid once again as the last time had been on a European cruise in 2010.  They were wonderful and their house really, nice.  We had time to relax with them until dinner time when they had invited a neighbor couple to join us for a wonderful 3 hour dinner.

It was so much fun, just sitting around the dinner table and their living room taking about travelling and catching up on a very old friendship.

Tea with Astrid

The dinner table is set

Day 7, Wed, Oct 18

We woke up to the smells of a very English breakfast being cooked by Astrid & Maurice and it was really, really good, including having crumpets!!  They even had a crumpet holder – very proper British!!!  Maurice and Ed walked to the corner grocery store to buy some Pepsi for the trip.  This could have been anywhere in the US, except we were walking in England – we are so blessed.  By 11:00am, it was time for us to say goodbye to Astrid and for Maurice to take us 1 hour south to board the Celebrity Eclipse.  It was sad saying goodbye and we certainly hope that we will be able to see them in the future. 

Again, words cannot describe the love and friendship we felt between us.  It is simply amazing to think that we met this couple 7 years ago on a cruise and here we are once again with them and in their home.  We have said it before and we will say it again - Barb and I are truly blessed to enjoy this experience.  A long life and good health to Astrid and Maurice - they are what you would picuture as the perfect, proper British couple and we are so fortunate to know them.

Astrid and Maurice at breakfast

Barb with Crumpets

Checking in was a breeze and by 1:00pm we were on the back of the ship having lunch with our friends from New York City, Jeff and Vera.  Our last cruise with them was the 2016 July 4^th cruise to Bermuda.  It was fun catching up and going over our plans for the next 10 days.   Basically, we planned to eat, play blackjack, sightsee, eat and do it all over again.

Champaign upon boarding the ship

Leaving England - a typical sky for England

So, after lunch we went back to the cabin, unpacked and then went casino floor and found out to our surprise that Dee was going to be our Casino Host and her boyfriend, Duane was the Casino Manager – what fun to find them on this ship.  As the casino was not yet open, we spent a lot of time catching up on old times.  Most recently, Dee was on the Celebrity Infinity when we were in South America.  We also found out that a number of the supervisors and dealers had been on previous ships with us.  It was going to be fun in the casino.  Then we went to the show which was ok, and then to the casino were Barb hit a small jackpot to start the cruise and Ed lost a little.  It is great starting out with a net win for our first night on the ship.

Our first night out on the ship

Day 8, Thu, Oct 19 - At Sea

We woke up to a cold and raining England day which everyone expected.  The good news is that we were heading south to warmer weather and sunny skies.  We had breakfast, Ed exercised and then we walked around the deck and did basically nothing until lunch which we had at the main buffet with Jeff and Vera.  The buffet was very crowed as you could not sit outside in the cold weather.  

Then we went to play in the blackjack tournament; however, it wasn’t held as there were not enough players.  So we played a casino session and neither of us won.  Later on, we watched the dance band in the foyer and then went to the show where a comedian performed who wasn’t all that good. 

Afternoon snack

Next was dinner which was good, especially the service from the waiter and we made sure that we could have that same table each night.  Then into the casino where Barb won because she didn’t play and Ed lost a little.  We were in bed by midnight and hoped to see sun the next day.

Day 9, Fri, Oct 20 - At Sea 

At sea

For our second day at sea and the weather was warmer, but not warm enough to sit outside on the deck – what a bummer.  Ed exercised, had breakfast and then we simply walked around.  We had lunch with Jeff and Verna in the main dining room which was the first time we did lunch in the dining room like this on any cruise, but we had lots of time to spare.

Then we went to the casino where Barb broke even and Ed lost a little.    We all went to the Rock ‘n Roll production show and while it was a little too loud, it was a good show.  Dinner was of course good and then we went to the casino were we both did well.

Day 10, Sat, Oct 21 – Overnight at Funchal (Madeira), Portugal

Ed woke up early, before dawn and ate breakfast and went to the gym.   The sun was out and we were eager to get off the ship finally as we were docking in Maderia, Portugal at 1:00pm.  What a difference 24 hours made as far as the weather was concerned. 

Arriving

The four of us took a cab into the main town and walked to a restaurant in an old castle area that Jeff and Vera had found and had a great lunch. 

Where we ate lunch

Lunch

Lunch

Lunch

Lunch

Lunch

and more lunch!!!  WOW what a meal we had

Then we walked through the old port town where we were to meet a guide at 4:00pm; however, he did not show up.  When we called him, he said out tour had been scheduled for 10:00am the next day.  We had confirmation that it was this day; however, he was not there so there was nothing we could do.

Jeff and Vera had made arrangements for eating Tapas and drinking wine at a winery in town and we did that at 7pm, then went to the casino in town where we all lost a little.  

Tappas - just a snack before dinner

More snacks

and more that we all shared before dinner

Then we went to a great restaurant that Jeff and Vera had found through a contact they had met in New York who knew the manager.  He met us and proceeded to bring us more food then we could even eat – but we ate as much as we could and it was some wonderful food from Portugal  

This was one of the dinner fishes!!

               

Day 11, Sun, Oct 22 - Funchal (Madeira), Portugal

For our second day in Madeira we went into the city for our walking tour at 10am and spend the next 2 hours waling around the city and enjoying hearing about its history – it was a good tour.  After that we all took a taxi to a local finish village about 30 minutes away and had a great lunch.  We took a cab back to the ship at 3 and immediately changed into our swimming suits and went up to the sun deck to sit in the sun – wow did that feel good just relaxing on the deck.

Starting our walking tour

Walking the streets

Of course Barb needs a scraff

We went the show, which was a mini-cabaret show of the singers from the cast, then had dinner at a specialty restaurant with Jeff and Vera called Tuscan and it was very good, plus the fee was paid for by the casino.  Then we went to the casino where we both won and were both up for the trip so it was a great feeling to be ahead.   

Day 12, Mon, Oct 23 - Tenerife, Canary Islands

We are now in the Canary Islands which are only less than 200 miles from the coast of Africa and Morocco and it is now very warm.  We took a guided tour of this town for a couple of hours and then since we only had about 4 hours left before sailing, Jeff and Vera went to a local restaurant and we took a ½ hour tram ride up to the top of the mountain to a small town called San Cristobel that was build in the 1500’s.  We had lunch there, walked about and then took the tram back and boarded the ship in time for it to sail away to the next island.

Early snack

In San Cristobol

Original billboards

A town street

The local street sweeper

Lunch

We just had to try ice cream in every port!!

 The show was a singer/comedian who was pretty good, dinner was good and Barb and Ed had their biggest night so far in the casino so it was a great day in the Canary Islands.

Day 13, Tues, Oct 24 - Lanzarote, Canary Islands

We go up at 7am as we had just docked to go into town to figure out what to do as there looked like there was not much to do in this small island.  It looked like a moonscape and it is a very volcanic island with black sand/ground everywhere.   We took the shuttle to the edge of the pier and walked into the main town.  We had a wonderful time, just walking around.  Barb found a great shoe store – she needed shoes – and we just enjoyed being there.  Finally we headed back to the ship as it was to sail at 2:00pm.  On the way we found a great little sidewalk restaurant and we had sea bass and an order of anchovies in olive oil – just a fun lunch.

The little fishing port

Have to buy shoes

A snack

Lunch of Sardines in olive oil

Blackened Tuna

 We were back on the ship by 1 and went up to the sun deck and got some great sun for a couple of hours.  Back to the cabin and cleaned up and went to the casino where Barb was down a little and Ed had one of his biggest, quickest wins ever walking away with $1,600 in chips!!    All –in-all a really nice day particularly when we were not expecting much for this day.

Love those chips!!!

Day 14, Wed, Oct 25 – At Sea

A great day at sea – Ed exercised, ate breakfast and then we laid out on the deck, ate lunch, played a casino session, saw a magic show, ate dinner, and then went to the casino – a very predictable day at sea in warm weather.

Cruising the coast

Day 15, Thur, Oct 26 – Vigo, Spain

As we were to arrive at 11:00am, Ed exercised and ate breakfast while Barb slept in.  We had a walking tour organized for Noon and we were first off the ship and up the hill to meet our guide at Noon with Jeff and Vera.  Another couple Joe and Danielle from the ship joined us.  Joe and Danielle have been living and working in London for the past three years and have a cute 4 year old son, Joey.  They are about to move back to the US and have bought a home in St. Charles.  A very nice couple who we had met playing blackjack in the casino.  When we got to the meeting point we realized that we had been to this island in the past.  Still, we went on the tour and it was just fine. Without a lot of time, we found a place for lunch where no one spoke any English, but the food was fine and then we boarded the ship in time for it to sail from Vigo at 5pm.

Heading to our tour with Vera, Danielle Barb, Joe and Jeff

The view from a fort

A food court in the middle

A local market

Walking down the street

Just a street in the old town

Snacks on the ship

Dinner was with our Host Dee and Duane the Casino Manager as their guest in the specialty restaurant Tuscan again and we had a good time for 2 ½ hours eating. laughing and renewing old friendships – it was a fun time.  It was the first time we have ever had dinner on a ship with just the Host and Manager and we felt very privileged to do so.  The show afterwards was a singer who was ok and then we went to the casino where Barb was down a little and Ed was even.  They had a prize drawing and Barb won a very nice bracelet.

Day 16, Fri, Oct 27 – At Sea

As we feared, we were now close to England and the weather was terrible.

We slept in, Ed exercised and then came back to the cabin were we snoozed in until time to go eat lunch with Jeff and Vera at the main buffet where we spent a couple of hours with them just slowly eating.  We went to our room and then to the casino where we were both up nicely.  The show was a Cirque type of show and it was very good.  Our last dinner on ship was quite good and then we went to the casino where we played our longest time, 2 hours and Barb lost just a little and Ed broke even.  We are up very nicely for the trip and one of our better casino runs.  We hugged a lot of the casino staff and said our goodbyes to them and went to bed on the last night of a wonderful cruise.

The Casino Manager Duane and Dee our Casino Host - what great fun we had in one of the best casinos at sea!!

There is no question that the highlights were the visits with old friends, Mark and Nigel and then Astrid and Maurice and we will always be grateful for their sharing their world with us.

Then of course what a fun time we had on the cruise with Jeff and Vera and in 60 days we shall be back cruising with them again.

Day 17, Sat,  Oct 28 –

We arrived at Southampton and were off the ship be 8am to meet our driver with Jeff and Vera for the ride to the London airport.

The flights on Delta were very good and we were home by 11:00pm to a very cold house.  But it was a great trip and good to be home.