Thursday, April 16, 2012

Another day of packing and getting ready for the long trip home. 

Jim & Pat invited us down to their Condo for a drink then we went to Lobster Shanty for dinner. I got the New England Haddock dinner and was disappointed this time...it was quite dry and not as enjoyable as last time I ate there...that's what happens, sometimes you just don't get a good meal..next time it will probably be fabulous again! who knows??

Jim & Pat have decided to leave in the morning instead of staying their full stay.....their complex is undergoing extensive renovations and with all the jack-hammering and banging vibrating throughout the building, it makes for poor relaxing vacation conditions. 

We said our good-byes, they'll be stopping to visit Family on their way home and will arrive the same day we expect to....on Friday the 4th...

Friday, April 27th 2012

Happy Birthday Amy...hope you have a wonderful day!

A leisurely day in Lala land...had a pedicure and did a few errands..
Guy went to lunch with a few of his buddies down at Rusty's, while Carolyn F and I lunched outside by the pool at Ron Jon's.  Then changed and went down for a swim and Carolyn joined me by the pool until 5PM....then actually had to go up to the Condo and fix dinner!!! Imagine that....we've been dining out what seems like every day lately, so eating at home was a treat (kinda)...cleaning out the fridge and freezer and found Spag. sauce and meatballs, so made for a quick little dinner.

Joe came up from downstairs and he and Guy chatted outside on the bench for a couple of hours while I played "Words with Friends" and watched HGTV.

Relaxing day, just waiting for the days to go by before we head back to Maine.

 

 We have been watching the last minute cruise deals online for the past few months and finally saw one we couldn't pass up...it was for a 7 night Western Caribbean Cruise on Norwegian Sun...we have never cruised this line and its right here in the Port, so decided to book it. A couple of days before we were sailing, we got a phone call asking us if we would be interested in upgrading to a Suite..."How Much?" was the first question answered and after hearing the answer, decided why not?  Little did we realize that we would be treated as VIP'S....

 Arlyn and Marie dropped us off and off we went inside to register.
Once we were inside, we were escorted into the VIP lounge and then into the VIP Dining room where we had lunch and glass of wine.

 Then we went up to the 8th deck, opened our door and were blown away with our Suite! 

 then into the bathroom, where there was a walk-in closet...

                                             amazing double sink ......

                                        separate shower and toilet area.....

                                                         vanity

                                                     jaquzzi tub

                               and then a pair of scales?????  why????

                                            flowers were delivered.........

                                     along with a bottle of champagne...

                                           here's to a great cruise!

 and then a plate of snacks arrive....oh, now I understand why those scales are there......

                             we were right in the middle of the bow of the ship....

     the new Disney Fantasy Ship's maiden voyage was this afternoon
  and there was a celebration at Jetty Park...we left the Port first so missed
                                                    all the fan fare! 

 

just as we were coming down the canal, a rainstorm blew over so our

departure was not as grand as we had hoped it would be.

We enjoyed our first dinner, eating Lobster (sadly, not from Maine)

and then sat in the VIP section of the theatre to watch the evening show.

Our bed was comfy and we're excited to be on our way to our adventure in the Caribbean.....

Sunday at Sea

 Sunday we had the entire day to just wander the ship and enjoy!

Forget about trying to get to use a pool or the hot tub as they were totally filled by kids of all ages.....

so we decided to take in a cooking demo.....

 guess who volunteered to help make the Lobster dish?

                                               it was delicious!
the rest of the day we investigated the ship and attended a seminar on "Lower Back Pain"....now doesn't that sound exciting?  Actually, it was very informative....Isn't getting older, grand?

     Our afternoon snack were the biggest and most delicious strawberries!

         Dinner photo....and then to the show, which we thoroughly enjoyed....

            this little guy was sitting on our bed awaiting our return.....

another cruise ship was sailing the same route tonight...

as we settled down for a good nights sleep, the music started below and continued until 2AM....all we could hear (and feel) was the base...BOOM BOOM BOOM....

Monday/Cozumel

 Began the day with having breakfast in our suite this morning....

 as we left the ship,we saw this Super Yacht tied up on the other side of the pier to us....

 It is named "Attessa IV"....amazing ship....Guy was drooling all over himself.
Google it, you will be totally in awe when you see the inside of this vessel.....

 there is always a photographer lurking in the shadows when you are on a cruise....As we walked around Cozumel, I started feeling like something was in my eye and after an hour I was in so much pain, we had to go back to the ship and down to the infirmary.  A $140.00 later, I had been examined by the Ship's Dr. and "given" some drops with instructions to not wear my contacts for 2 days!  Never found out what happened, but it did thankfully, get better.

 that evening, we had dinner at the Japaneese Steak House "the Teppanyaki"
it was the best meal we ate aboard the ship..

look what was peeping out of our bedding that night....

Tuesday/ Grand Cayman Islands

 it was a beautiful day when we pulled into Grand Cayman Island.  Our scheduled tour wasn't until 3PM, so we took the 1st tender in and roamed around the town, ending up in Margaritaville, where we had a beer, watching the scene around us.

 how many of these kids will end up with a hangover in the morning?

 walked by a School where uniformed children were out playing in the yard.

 can't believe how many Jewlery stores there are in the area....

 got on the (un-airconditioned) tour bus and ended up in Hell...literally...

  Hell is a very small little town, that has it's own Post Office and Surprise! a couple of gift shops.....

 we stopped by here to "sample" rum cakes and of course, another gift shop!

 then a turtle farm...where they keep hundreds of turtles...

 they aren't as strict here on the Islands about Turtle preservation as they are in the US....some  of these are doomed for turtle soup and shells sold for jewelry etc...

 Surprise! another gift shop to visit at the Turtle Farm!

 on the whole, we were really disappointed in this tour...it was mostly stopping so we could purchase souveniers along the way......

an addition to our growning little towel zoo awaited us when we got back from dinner and the show...it was "Shout" which was excellent!