February – 2018 – Day 6

Another perfect day, 78 degrees, a few clouds and we were up late.  Ed went to exercise and when he was done, we both went up on the deck to lay out in the sun for a few hours before we went to lunch

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After lunch, we went to the casino to play in the blackjack tournament.

Both of us play and it was the first time ever Barb has ever played blackjack and to play in a large money tournament made her very apprehensive and while she played well, she didn’t make it to the finals.

Ed did make it into the finals and they finals were schedule at 10:00pm

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We walked around for a while and then went up to the food deck and brought some snacks back to our room and sat on the balcony relaxing before getting ready for the evening.

We met Brian and Sandi at the show which was a musical production number and while it was probably good, the sound system was up a little too much.

We had a quick dinner so that we could get to the tournament for the finals

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The finals was a typical blackjack tournament format.  There were 7 players and we played 7 hands.  The prize money was $15,000 for 1^st, $5,000 for 2^nd, $2,500 for 3^rd, $1,500 for 4^th, $1,000 for 5^th and then 6^th and 7^th received a $100 each.

Ed was in perfect position going into the final round and he was dealt a 17.  If the dealer would have busted and if Ed would have had a 19 or 20, he would have would 2^nd place.  As it was, he won 4^th place and $1,500.  A disappointment that he wasn’t higher but thankful for $1,500, particularly since this was a free entry tournament.

 

After that excitement, we played a session and Barb lost just a little had Ed had a nice win again

Tomorrow we arrive in San Juan at 3:00pm so we will have part the day to relax on deck.

Night for now and hugs to everyone. 

Lots of snacks to choose from

 

Going out for the evening

4th place with Stephine - the Casino Manager and Angle our Casino Host

February – 2018 – Day 5

The day we start our cruise has arrived and we left the hotel at a bout 9:30am to go get gas and drive to the cruise port.

We rented from Dollar Rent A Car and they have a shuttle station right next to the cruise port.

Today, there were 5 ships in port and we thought it would take a while to get to the ship; however, that was not the case as we dropped off our car, got right on the shuttle and was to the ship and in our cabin by 11:00am.

We went to our cabin and unpacked our carry-ons and went to the food deck to have lunch.

We met our friends from London, Sandi and Brian.  They were a couple that we had met on our Dubai to Singapore cruise and ate with them most night.

We spent a couple of hours eating and catching up on the past year before going back to the cabin to finish unpacking if our luggage had arrived.  Barb’s did, so one down, one to go

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The lifeboat drill was at 3:15pm and they check to make sure everyone is there whether on not you have been on a cruise or not so of course we went.

After the boat drill we went to the casino to meet our Host, Angle and the Manager, Stephanie to hear about the black jack tournament.  We have cruised with them before and they are very nice.

The casino this trip put us in a regular cabin and it was very nice.  The problem was that Brian and Sandi had purchased an Aqua cabin which is a higher level and cost a lot more.  They will not let anyone eat in the Aqua dining room unless they are in Aqua class, so we talked to the Casino Manager and she talked to the Guest Services Manger and they moved us to an Aqua class room.  Lots of extra goodies with this cabin and of course we get to eat in the private dining room for this class with Brian and Sandi.

We met Brian and Sandi at the 7:00pm show and it was a show by the comedian, Michael Paul who was very funny for most of the time – but not all the time.  Still it was a fine show.

Then it was time for dinner and we really enjoyed the restaurant Blu and of course having dinner with Brian and Sandi.  They are well travelled and the same age as we are and are fun to be with.

After dinner we went to the casino and watched a round in the blackjack tournament.  It is being played as they do all their tournament.  You get chips and they deal 7 rounds.  They then take the high 7 players from all the rounds who will play off for the prize money.  The money will range from $15,000 for first place to $1,000 for 7^th .

  

We will play in tournament tomorrow at 2:00pm and if we are lucky enough, the finals are tomorrow night.  I said we because we found out that Barb was also on the list of people eligible to play in the tournament.  So, there will be 98 people total playing.

After that Barb played slots and lost just a little and Ed played blackjack and won 13 hands in a row, right from the first hand, then lost 2 hands and got up for them table with a very nice win for 20 minutes of play!!

That’s all for tonight - it was a great start.

Ready to go out for the evening

The beach at Fort Lauderdale

Barb with her flowers from Ed

February – 2018 – Day 4

We woke up late, but all we had to do today was go to the beach!!

We made it there by 11:30am and for the first day, it was full of people, all enjoying an 80-degree day, and a few clouds.

We stayed on the beach until 3:00pm and drove the 45 minutes back to the hotel.  We couldn’t take pictures on the beach but did take one interesting pictures that we have included below.

Along the way back, we stopped at a grocery market and drug store to get some items to take on the ship. Then it was shower time and we went out for dinner

The town and the beach front in Fort Lauderdale is really crowed as there are 5 cruise ships in port today and probably another 5 ships tomorrow.  That’s about 13 – 15 thousand people extra in town!

Barb wanted an authentic Cuban sandwich, so we drove about 15 minutes to a very local place called Nuevo’s Cubano’s and ate outside as there was no seating inside.  This restaurant has been owned by the same family who started it 238 years ago.  The sandwich we had was very, very good.

After that we drove back to the hotel and then walked along the main road in front of the hotel that runs along the beach with the beach on one side of the road and lots of shops on the other side. 

The area was crowded – perfect weather for a great weekend.

Then it was back to the hotel for a good night’s sleep before we board the ship tomorrow.

All-in-all, we have had fun at the beach, done a little sightseeing and ate at some really good restaurants with local food.  If the weather is this good during the cruise, we will be very happy!

Night from our last night in Fort Lauderdale.

Fun on the beach

Ordering the Cuban sandwich

Outside the restaurant

February – 2018 – Day 3

It was another beautiful day in Fort Lauderdale, projected to be 78 degrees by 11am and it was.

We started off the morning with an 8:30am sales presentation by the Marriott Vacation planners about the advantage of spending a lot of money in their time share type of program.  The first hour was kind of fun listening to all the options and then the real fun began when they first told us that the $50,000 package was perfect for us, then the $24,000 package was the way to go, and so on for about ½ an hour.  At the end when they realized we were not going to buy anything, they offered us 5 nights at a resort for $999 with a $300 gift card given back to us.  We still said no and left with a promised $50 gift card for our 2 hours of work!!

We went up to the room quickly and changed clothes and headed for the beach at 11:00am but first we stopped at the really great New York Deli and had what Barb said was one of the best deli sandwiches ever – and it wasn’t costly

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Then we continued to Haulover Beach and spent the rest of the day there, leaving at about 4:30pm.

We drove down thru the main street in Miami Beach and first stopped at the gated island where Cher has her $24 million-dollar home.  The island had a gate and a gate keeper; however, as it was really a “public” street, after seeing our identification and record it, they let us in.  We could only see the top floors of her house, but it was impressive what we could see, as were the rest of the houses on this small island. 

Then we took the causeway to Miami and west to Little Havana, the heart of the Cuban population in Miami.

We had a great dinner consisting of a Cuban chicken stir fry dish, plantains and rice & beans.  We were stuffed when we finished, and the meal was only $13.00 total.  I am not sure anyone in the restaurant on staff spoke any real English – but they knew how to cook their local food.

The main street of Little Havana is about 5 blocks long, so we walked both sides of the streets and stopped at a famous local ice cream shop where we bought a Mango cone and was it ever good.

We also bought some cigars made by Cubans  in a very interesting store and a very interesting owner.

Then we took the 45-minute drive on the expressway back to the hotel and it is now time to say goodnight.

Have a great weekend everyone.

Hugs from Fort Lauderdale

Lunch

A Bar in Little Havana

Buying cigars from our new friend!!

The Mango was great

February 2018 – Day 1 & 2

What a first day we had.   We were to leave Bloomington for Fort Lauderdale via Atlanta and be on the beach by 1pm.  Well that great plan didn’t work out because after we left Bloomington a huge storm hit Atlanta, and everything came to a stop there and we proceeded to circle north of Atlanta out of the storms way.  That lasted for about a ½ hour when Delta made the decision that the storm wasn’t going to stop anytime soon so our plane was diverted to Chattanooga, TN!!

When we landed in Chattanooga, the first gate agent we saw when we came off the plane said she had no idea what was going on and didn’t know the plans.  Then after about ½ hour the crew left as they had been up for their maximum flight time.  Finally, after about an hour we found out that the plane that we were on would leave for Atlanta at 9:00pm which would put us in Atlanta to late to get the last plane to Fort Lauderdale.

To make very long story short, after being booked on 4 flights that were all cancelled, we finally made it out of Chattanooga at 6:00pm.  Then we had to wait for the first available flight to Fort Lauderdale which was at 11:00pm.  That flight was delayed as the crew was late getting in from another city. 

We finally make it to Fort Lauderdale at 1:00am, retrieved our bags and went to the rental car company.

There we found out that they had run out of cars and the only cars that were left were all mini-vans and we could have our pick of any of them.

We picked out a brand new (2,000 miles) Chrysler, complete with nav, a back-up camera, leather and all of the goodies and made it to the hotel quickly, as it is only 15 minutes from the airport.

We checked in, went up to our room - it was a very nice 1-bedroom room, complete with a kitchen and we were in bed by 3:00am and asleep by 3:05am!!!

Our room at the Marriott Beach Place - Fort Lauderdale

Ed was up first and went out in the immediate area and bought Cheerios and milk as this is a vacation resort Marriott and does not have a restaurant.  We finally left the room close to noon and headed for Haulover Beach, our favorite beach in the Ft. Lauderdale/Miami area.

It was with great sadness that we learned this morning that Father Greg lost his battle with cancer and died at 2:35am today.  So sad and he fought an long battle with brain cancer, and we will very much miss him.

We first stpped at one of the top Deli’s in the area and had a great Pastrami sandwich.  Then it was off to the beach for a couple of hours of sun.  78 degrees and hardly a cloud in the sky – a perfect first day in the sun!!

Lunch

We drove back to the hotel, cleaned up and went north 6 miles to a wonderful restaurant where we shared a salmon dinner that was very, very good.

Back to the hotel and we are ready for bed.

Tomorrow will be about the same, just a different couple of restaurants.

Night from Fort Lauderdale!!

New Years – 2018 – Day 9 Barb’s birthday!!!!

New Years – 2018 – Day 9

Barb’s birthday!!!! 

We woke up in the port of St. Kitts, our last port of the cruise and got off the ship at about 9:30am spending the morning walking into the actual town and then also around the huge group of shops at the port.

We first ran into a cute little girl whose birthday was today, the same as Barb’s.  the girl was so amazed that Barb’s birthday was the same, it was fun to see her face light up.

It was funny when we walked into a shop where Ed had purchased the shirt he had on two years ago and the owner recognized the shirt as he also had some new colors this year as well as the very same shirt that Ed was wearing.  He even took Ed’s picture to show his family.

We also bought some Mango Run that tasted really, really, good and was made in St. Kitts and we can’t wait to share it like we did the wine we brought back from the Orient last year!!  We promise it is better.

Barb also bought her scarf and very unusual green and very pretty.  Amazing that she made it the entire trip without buying one until today.

Then we followed our normal routine for this cruise and were back on the ship to have lunch with Jeff & Vera and then up to the deck to be in the sun.

Speaking of scarves – Jeff & Vera brought Barb a very pretty scarf for her birthday and gave it to her at lunch.

After cleaning up we packed as tonight they pick up our luggage as we arrive in San Juan tomorrow for the trip home.  Jeff and Vera are worried because New York airports were closed yesterday but they should be open by Saturday, so they can get home.  Of course, we hope that our flights go also but there are worst places to stay for an extra day than San Juan, so we will see what happens tomorrow.

As we were packing our stateroom attendant came to the room with a couple of birthday gifts for Barb.  One was a birthday cake and the neatest one was a dominos set including 2 decks of cards in a wonderful wooden box.  It said from Guest Relations and the staff but we re sure that it came directly from Camron, the Guest Relations Manager.  He is very high up the management chain, reporting directly to the Hotel Manager who reports directly to the Captain.   We now have a new couple of friends that we look forward to seeing in the future.  The rumor is that he will be on the newest ship, the Edge on its third sailing next Dec 30, the one we will also be on so that will be wonderful.

Then of course we walked around, and people watched before going to the show which was a very good production number from the cast of singers and dances on the ship.

We then met Sara and Cameron, the Guests Relations Manager and Jeff & Vera for dinner to celebrate here birthday in Tucson Grille, the #1 specialty restaurant on the ship.  It is an extra cost, but the casino is paying for it as part of our “perks”.

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Ed was down and Barb hit a nice jackpot so we were down just a little for the entire cruise

Then it was back to the cabin for a short night’s sleep and tomorrow we head home.

It has been a wonderful relaxing cruise and yes kids, your Mom did not walk a lot and she is better today than when she left home.

We hope all is well with the family and can’t wait to be home again.

Love & Hugs to all.

Mom and Ed

                Celebrating Barb's birthday with Jeff, Vera, Sarah and Cameron in Blu Restaurant

Port of St. Kitts

A hug if you buy earrings

Barb & the little girl's birthday today

Trying rum - raining outside - trying more run and yes we bought some!!

Barb and her new scarf

Birthday present and our room steward

Time to go home

New Years – 2018 – Day 8

We sat outside on our balcony when we first got up and wow was it hot and very humid - the first island that was humid like this.  It is still about 85 degrees as it was on the other islands; however, there are no clouds and no pollution in the air.  Of course, we are also closer to the equator.

We left the ship at about 9am to just walk around the port as we have been here before and there was no need to go on any tours.  We ended up also walking into town and just had fun going into a lot of local and also tourist shops.  There was also a beautiful church that we visited.

It is a beautiful French island, but it is also just like the other islands we have seen.  They are just fun to be visiting.

There was a long walk from the edge of the port to the ship; however, they had pedal cabs to take you to and from the ship, which we used.  We got back on the ship in time to relax a little and then meet Jeff & Vera on the back of the ship for lunch.

Then of course we were us on the pool deck in the sun for a couple of hours.  Our tans are not as dark as we have been in the past because we have not been able to use oil as the sun has been too hot.  Today was the first day we used oil.

We also stayed the longest on the deck – 2 ½ hours before going in to clean up.

Next of course was people watching and then the show which was a Beetles Tribute band which easily was the worst performance of the week.  It really was the only show that we didn’t like all week.

Tonight, we said goodbye to the staff in Blu, our nightly restaurant as tomorrow the casino is paying for our dinner in the specialty restaurant called Tuscan Grille.  Tonight Sara, the Guest Relations Manager’s wife joined us and we her and her husband to join us tomorrow night.  Should be fun.

Then it was onto the casino where Barb broke even, and Ed lost – now we are in losing territory with one night to go.  Hopefully it will turn around tomorrow night at the casino.

Night

Our ship from the port

In Martinique we found great French pastries

The local market

WOW - found some rings to buy!!!

Getting a ride back to the ship

Going out for the evening