Newy Years - 2019 - Day 6

WOW – what a night it was for New Years Eve!! 

Of course we slept in and finally made it to the upper deck and out in a beautiful sun at 10:00am.

It was a little breezy, but simply wonderful to relax on the deck as we headed towards San Juan.

We met our friends on the back of the ship for lunch and sat around talking and eating for about an hour and talking about our next cruises together.

Then we went back up on the deck to await the arrival of the ship in San Juan, which was at 3:30pm.

We are certainly spoiled and blessed as we have been to this island many times; however, it is still an amazing sight cruising into the harbor protected by a gigantic fort!!

Barb has been fighting a very hard cough that she sometimes gets when we cruise and Prednisone usually takes care of it, which she gets with a prescription.  She went to the ship’s doctor and the cost to see the doctor was going to be $140 and then the medicine was going to another $100 for the prescription.  Instead the nurse suggested going to certain pharmacy in town and ask for the prescription.  Guess what – the first pharmacy said no, not without a prescription.  The second one said sure and gave her the prescription for a total cost of $40 with no doctor visit.  Amazing!!!

After the crowds left the ship, we went out and walked around a little bit and came back to the ship for the 7:00pm show which was a production number by the cast and it was very interesting, but not to our liking.

Then we went to eat with everyone and finally to the casino to close out the evening where Ed won big and Barb watched.  Jason started with a $100 bet then – 2 6’s against a 3, next card a 6, then 2 doubles.  Dealer busted!!

We have left San Juan and are sailing toward Tortola.

Night for now.

Our room from the door

From the other end

The fort at the entrance of San Juan

Our Ship - the Edge

Leaving for the afternoon in San Juan

Relaxing in San Juan

New Years – 2019 Day 5

Since we were up very late last night and the clocks were set ahead 1 hour, we slept in today.

It was of course warm; however, it was also very windy but we did find a protected spot on the deck above the pool and stayed out until 12:30pm when we joined everyone in a restaurant which was new to Celebrity on the back of the ship.  It was a fine meal and we sat around until 2.

Then we went to the casino and played in the slot tournament where Barb qualified for the finals and Ed didn’t.  Barb came in 4^th and they only paid 2 places.

We then walked around to see parts of the ship that we hadn’t visited, graphed some snacks from and went back up to the room and sat on our balcony.  We really, really like this ship.

Everything about the ship is a new concept and very over the top.  The top suite costs $25,000 a person!!  It is behind a locked entrance so we can see it.  The pictures make it look amazing.

Our cabin is really an improvement from the previous ships we have been on.  It is bigger, the bath is bigger and the new balcony all make it a beautiful cabin.

At 4:30pm we went to the casino to play a session with Barb and Tim where Ed won nicely and Barb didn’t play.

Tonight is New Years Eve and Chic night so or course we dressed up.  In the past it would have been a tuxedo for Ed, but most men no longer wear them on a cruise ship.

The show in the theater was a production number by the cast and it was very good.

Dinner was in a specialty restaurant (extra cost) called Eden and it was wonderful.

We went to the casino where Ed lost a little and Barb broke even because she didn’t play – but she was a great cheerleader.

Then it was time for the New Year’s celebration and it was fun.

They had 7 different areas with parties and we were at the main one and it was just nuts with hundreds of our new friends dancing, singing and just having a great time.

2018 was a good year and 2019 will be even better.

Night from the last entry in 2018, well actually the first entry in 2019!!

It's Time to go out

The clock struck midnight!!

New Years – 2019 Days 1 – 4

We were supposed to be in Miami on Thursday evening at about 11pm.  Because of the weather, we arrived after midnight.  Then we found out that Ed's suitcase didn’t make it.  They traced it to the terminal and the baggage area but it wasn’t there.  The airport staff said it happens a lot and they were sure it would be there by Friday. 

So, we picked up our rental car and drove to the hotel which was only a short distance away and finally went to bed at about 3:30am.

Then next morning, Deltas web site said that they had found the luggage.  We called and they said it would be delivered to the hotel within 6 hours and at 3pm, it was.

After getting up, we went to our favorite beach down here, Haulover Beach and stayed in the sun for a few hours before heading to a restaurant close to the hotel.

Then we went to downtown Ft. Lauderdale and took a sightseeing boat trip along the canels to see some of the huge mansions that are there - these are the truly rich people!!

After eating, we drove to Sawgrass Mills, a huge discount mall about 20 minutes away as Ed needed to buy a garment bag with wheels.  We found one and asked the store clerk, who was from Columbia where a good local Columbian restaurant was.  He directed us to one close and we had a good meal there, eating some new foods.

Then we came back to the hotel and crashed!!  It had been a long 24 hours.

On Friday Morning, we went to the beach in the morning and then went to a deli that we had seen on our last trip for lunch.

It was then back to the hotel to clean up and we drove down to the University of Miami to see a basketball game between Miami and Campbell University.  Miami won and it was fun being back on campus after all these years.

We ate at a local Cuban restaurant on the way back to the hotel before going to sleep.

We were up and out of the hotel by 8:30am on Sunday to take the car back and go to the ship.  Ft Lauderdale was expecting to disembark 28,000 people and board another 28,000 so we wanted to get there early to avoid the rush.  We got there very quickly and then actually had to wait for them to open up the ship.

After putting our bags in our room, we walked around looking at this amazing new ship, the Celebrity Edge.  It is amazing and very hard to explain.  The rooms, including the bathroom are bigger and the balcony is very unique.  Instead of doors leading to the balcony, the balcony is part of the room and has a big window overlooking the water.  You push a button and the window comes down ½ ways and that is your balcony.  Very unique and we really like it.

For more about this ship, Google “Celebrity Edge” and see it – a totally new design concept that we really like.

On this trip, we are meeting Jeff and Vera Wurst from New York and Tim and Barb Freeman from Virginia.  We met Jeff and Vera on the back of the ship for lunch at 12:30; however, Time and Barb were stuck in traffic and they didn’t get to the ship until after 1:30pm.  So we all had lunch and sat around and talked about the last year as we hadn’t seen Jeff and Vera since last New Years and Barb and Tim since our October cruise together. 

The comedian for entertainment was not very good.  As Jeff said, the first rule of a comedian is to be funny and he was not!! 

Dinner was ok and then we went to the Casino.  We know Manager, the Host, the Assistant Manager and a number of dealers, so it was great fun saying hi.

We played for a while and both lost just a little.

That’s the basics for our arrival and first day at sea.

Night from the Atlantic – heading south to San Juan

At the U

Barb's favorite Miami player - 5'7" and fantastic!!

Leaving for ths ship

Getting ready for a New Years party

Another mansion

At the Columbian restaurant - sausage, port belly, fried plantains and other fun food for dinner!

The six of us - from the left, Barb, Ed, Vera, Jeff, Tim and Barb

On the balcony ready for the first night on the ship

October 2018 – Day 14

OK – so Key West is our last port and our last day of the cruise.  Ed has been here before but while he was in high school, so that doesn’t really count and Barb has never been here.

We had two cruises cancel Key West so this is the first time we have really been here.

Again, it was about 84 when we arrived and yes, it was hot, hot and very humid.

We had to go through US immigration as this was the first time back in the United States and we did that on the ship before we got off.  The good news is that in Miami tomorrow, we only have to pick up our bags and head for the airport so it should be quick.

Key West is beautiful as 99% of the buildings are in very good repair.  Our ship docked right at the edge of town, so when we got off, we took a 90 minute open air trolley ride throughout Key West and saw all of the highlights.

After the train ride, we walked to Ernest Hemmingway’s home and took a tour of it.  After that, we visited the winter White House made famous by Harry Truman and still available as a vacation home for any President.  It was a very interesting tour as most of the furniture was original to the home.

 

Happy, happy place

Then we ate lunch at a really neat local restaurant which was filled with local people having a party.  We ordered a Mai-Mai grilled sandwich and ½ pound of cold boiled shrimp and what a great lunch.  Then after stuffing ourselves at lunch, Barb spotted a Key Lime Pie store so we had to go in and eat a slice of Key Lime Pie and was it ever good!!

Then we went to the Fisher Maritime Museum.  Fisher was the person who spent 17 years looking for two lost ships and finally found them yielding huge tonnages of gold, silver and copper.  It was an interesting museum

By then and after looking into dozens of tourists shops, it was time to get back on the ship.

We packed and then went to dinner with our friends.  Dinner was good and the show was a singing trio who were pretty good, not great.

Then it was on to the casino for our last night and Barb was even and Ed won a little.  But, the good news is that this was the largest win in a casino that we have ever had – of course thanks to two big jackpots by Barb!!

We had a wonderful trip and met now casino friends, John and Nhu-Anne, friends of Tm and Barb and we hope they will be able to join us again.  Tim and Barb we will see over new years on the new Celebrity ship, the Edge.

Tomorrow we arrive in Miami and we will be home by 5:00pm.

Night and can’t wait to see everyone.  Hope all have enjoyed the blog

Leaving to see Key West

Hemmingway's House

A 6 toe cat!!

Yes it was good

The Trolley

Our Host Iryna and Manager, Josh

October 2018 – Day 13

The good news – Barb is up and feeling fine.  

After a long day yesterday where she slept a lot of hours, Barb and Ed spent the morning on the deck suning.  Then we had lunch on the back of the ship with our friends before returning to be out in the sun.

We came in at 3:00pm to clean up and go to the casino for an afternoon session where Ed had a good win and Barb had a huge win because she played the same machine she won on two days ago and again hit the top jackpot!!!

After taking a deep breath, we went up to the room and changed clothes and went to the show which was a big production number that we had seen before but it was good and fun entertainment.

Then it was time to go to our restaurant and we had a fine meal, only one dinner to go and that is tomorrow and the cruise is done.

After dinner we went to the casino where Ed was up and Barb tried her slot machine again and it did not pay off and she lost a little; however, she was still up for the day as she had a great second jackpot earlier in the day!!

We finished in the casino in time to go to the theater to hear the comedian who we loved before give his late night adult routine and again, he was very, very funny.

We set the clocks back tonight so that will help our sleep.

Night - on the way to Key West tomorrow.

All-in all and amazing day!!

Going out for the evening - with a great tan!!

Barbara likes chocolates

Getting paid again!!!

WOW - 2 in a row

This is what a jackpot looks like

What fun we have had on the cruise with our friends.
John and Nhw-Anne Brady and Tim and Barb Freeman

October 2018 – Day 12

Our second to last day at sea and it is a wonderful day.  Again 85 degrees during the day and 80 at night as we head towards Key West.

After breakfast, Ed went out on the deck in the sun and waited for Barb to come out.  In checking on her, she was not feeling well and she said that she had gotten sick in the middle of the night.  Barb stayed in the cabin all day.  It looks like the sushi that we ate last night did not agree with her.

Ed and the rest of the group played in the afternoon slot tournament and nobody won.  Then Ed played a session at Blackjack and lost a little.

Our casino host, Iryna, gave us her grandmother’s remedy which was a little vinegar and water followed by eating black bread and it seemed to have a good effect.

Barb did not leave the cabin and at this time, she is feeling better so tomorrow she should be just fine.  It was a case of too much “strange” food for her.

Ed went to the show and then ate in the buffet as our friends had already eaten and then took some food down to Barb.

Ed went to the casino alone and had maybe the biggest single session blackjack win he has had in a lot of years, winning 15 out of 16 hands including some nice doubles and splits!!

The good news is that Barb is feeling better and we are nicely ahead in the casino and there is no bad news!

Sorry no other pictures since Barb was not up and about today - but she will be tomorrow/

Tomorrow is another day at sea and we hope a wonderful day.

Night

Now that's a great nights winnings!!

October 2018 – Day 11

Today we arrived in Bonaire which is 86miles east of Aruba and 30 miles from Curacao and again the weather was hot, hot at a high of 83.   The sun is also very, very intense as it is almost straight overhead and we are not complaining, just stating the facts!!

Today was a fun day except we had to get off the ship by 7:30am with our friends as that is when our tour was to begin.

We met out tour guide, Connie outside the pier and had a 4 hour tour of the island.  We saw some interesting areas of the island, but basically it told us the only reason people come to this island is to scuba diver and snorkel.  We spent about 1 hour going around the south part of the island and seeing the Cargil salt flats where they produce thousands of tons of salt for water softeners every year.  An amazing process, yet very simple.

We also visited some original slave houses for slaves who worked in the salt flats a long time ago.

A very small island, very few people (20,000) and nothing to see or do, but it was interesting and we were with friends.

Following the 4 hour tour we walked a little in the small tourist area by the ship and then boarded at about 12:30pm and ate on the ship with everyone.

At 1:30pm we went up on deck and stayed out in the sun until late in the afternoon and watched as the ship sailed for Key West, FL, two days away.

We met our friends for our usual 4:30pm afternoon casino session and Ed won a little and Barb hit a big jackpot on the slot machine she has been playing all cruise.  Then she hit the same machine for $150!!

WOW - a great afternoon in the casino!!

At night, instead of eating with our friends, we were taken out to dinner by our Casino Host to a specialty restaurant called Sushi on Five and we had a great meal and enjoyed her company.

After dinner we went to the show which was a singing show about musicals on Broadway and the singers were very good.

In the casino Ed won and Barb of course had a big win!!!!

It was great day for us in the casino and a fun day seeing Bonaire.

Tomorrow is a day at sea so it should very relaxing.

Night from the ocean and we are heading north towards Key West and home.

Ging out last night

Leaving for a day on Bonaire

Original slave housing for the salt mining operation

The salt flats

A beach dive shop and restaurant

An Ospery

Downtown Bonaire

Barb with the slot tech and our Casino Host Iryna

The jackpot

Getting paid by casino management

Windsurfing area on Bonaire

                                                            A major scuba diving area