Saturday, April 30, 2011

I will try to pick up each day where I left off the day before. 

We went to the High Royal Tea yesterday afternoon and got a snack before dinner.  When you go to these things they always seat you with someone else.  This time we were all going around the table introducing ourselves.  I said I was Mary from Texas and then Mary P said she was Mary from Texas.  The woman sitting next to Mary P looked puzzled and asked her if we were traveling together.  She said yes we were.  She then said well did you plan that?  Mary P said no we didn't plan to each have the name Mary.  That got a good laugh.  I don't know if the woman knew what a dumb question that was.  I told Mary P we should make up a story and tell them that our Mothers were sisters and their mother's name was Mary so they each named us after their mother and to make things even more complicated, our mother's had married brothers so we each had to the same name.  Of course you all know that is not true but it could be a good comeback to questions like that.  We have had people ask us before if we were sisters.  Now really, sisters named the same thing.  I don't think so.

Last night was formal night so we all got dressed up in our finest and we sat down at our table 16.  The curtains were closed along that window but the people behind us opened theirs so we opened ours and everyone else along that side followed and opened theirs as well.  It wasn't long until our waiter came and asked us to close our curtains because the sun was shining in their eyes.  Terry told him to tell them to put their sunglasses on.  Before thinking about what we were doing, Pat and I closed the curtains then to be mad we were sitting there at our table by the window but we couldn't look out.  We were going to request they move us to the opposite side of the dining room but instead when the Dining Room Manager came by to speak to us, Mary P told him what had happened and he promptly went over and opened the curtains up for us.  Somehow I don't think that will happen again.

At the end of dinner they brought everyone a glass of champagne.  Yesterday Carnival Corporation (Holland America is owned by Carnival) launched it's 100th ship -- Carnival Magic.  They were having a champagne toast on all 100 of their ships throughout the world which would be 227,000 guests doing this.  After we finished with the toast and dessert -- Strawberry Cheesecake -- yum, we went to the Captain's Welcome Toast in the Vista showroom.  After that, we got to see the show with Clint Holmes.  I didn't know what to expect, but I must say, this has to be one of the best shows I have ever seen.  In fact it was so good, we went back to his 10:00 show and it was even better than the 8:00 show.  If any of you ever get a chance to see him, I highly recommend it.

We also went to see the Marriage Game Show which is always funny.

They had the Royal Ball in the Crow's Nest so we went to check it out.  Everyone was dancing and having a good time.  We sat and watched for a while and then around 11:30 pm decide to retire for the night. I don't ever stay up this late!

This morning we ate breakfast at the Pinnacle Grill again.  Mary P and I went by ourselves and they tried to seat us in a small booth away from the world.  I asked them to give us a table by the window.  I don't think they liked it, but they did.

At 9:30 am they had a coffee chat with the Cruise Director and Clint Holmes.  This was very good also.  We learned a little bit more about Clint.  He said his mother was a white British opera singer and his dad was  a black American jazz singer and then went on to say that made him "confused" and then laughed.  His father was in the service during World War II and met his mother when he saw her perform for the troops.  His father passed away 10 years ago but his mother is 95 years old and lives in Las Vegas.

We didn't lose any time last night, but they changed the clocks at 2:00pm to 3:00 pm.  I like this much better than doing it during the night.

Dinner was good tonight, especially the desserts.  They had key lime pie and I asked for a big piece so they brought me 2 pieces.  I figured that was ok since I just had a Blackened Chicken Caesar Salad for dinner.

The show tonight was the singers and dancers.  This was another new show that I had not seen and I enjoyed it. 

The casino was not as friendly today as it was the first day.  I ran into Dan Scrivner tonight and he said he got a Royal Flush the first night and won $1100.  Some people have all the luck!

Friday, April 29, 2011

After we sailed away last night we went to dinner which was very good.  I think we are going to like our servers -- Bambang and Richard.  There was a mix-up on the table we were supposed to be dining at.  We had requested Table 22 because we had eaten there on several other cruises and it was sort of in a corner away from all the action.  Holland America had confirmed the table prior to sailing.  At the advice of our wonderful travel agent, we took a copy of the e-mail that Holland America Shipboard Services had sent confirming the table.  When we checked in, we were assigned to Table 16 -- only a few tables down but not our choice.  We immediately went to ask why we didn't get our confirmed table showing them the e-mail.  They were perplexed as they said they had never gotten the request.  They said that there was a large group traveling together that had our table.  They did say that they would explain to them that we should have that table and we could have it starting tonight.  We had been on another cruise with this group and they were quite loud so we didn't want to be in a table in the middle of their group (thinking they would probably hate us for making them move), we agreed to keep Table 16.  It really turned out to be not as bad as we thought it would be.  The Maitr'd (sp?) kept apologizing to us.  He did tell us at dinner that what had happened was that we initially had been assigned Table 22 but when they had the request from "Travel with Alan", they had given them the table and moved us down.  He then brought a bottle of wine to our table.  Since Pat and Terry didn't want any, Mary P and I got it all to ourselves.  We didn't drink it all so they are saving it for us until tonight.  Pat and Terry got Cappuccino Coffee.

After dinner, we stopped by and looked at the pictures we had taken when we boarded and as usual, mine was not that good.  We got a good laugh because when we were looking at the pictures there were 2 ladies looking at the pictures and making up captions for different pictures.  We started listening to what they were saying and they picked out Pat and Terry's pictures and said "Look at me, I brought my granddaughter with me"  Then they moved on to my picture and said "I refuse to look that way".  We then approached them and told them those were our pictures that they just put captions with.  We all got a good laugh.  They introduced themselves to us.  They are from Mountain Home, Arkansas.  I told them I had just been to a wedding in Fayetteville last weekend, and they said they both had taught school in the Fayetteville schools before they retired. 

We stopped by the casino for our daily contribution.  I actually cashed out $182.00 so I am ahead at this point.  The casino is open 24 hours a day until May 7th.  That is a first because they usually close down at night.  I guess they are trying to make all the money they can during the crossing.

The show was the normal Welcome Aboard Show which I for some reason had never seen.  It was entertaining and funny.  Tonight Clint Holmes is going to perform.  For those of you that don't know who he is, he was Three Times Entertainer of the Year in Las Vegas.  I am really looking forward to the show.

We lost an hour of time last night so now there is a 2 hour time difference from Dallas.  Mary P woke up very early to watch the Royal Wedding and she woke me up to watch as they were taking their vows.  We didn't get to watch very long because we were meeting the Rosga's at the Pinnacle Grill at 8:00 am for breakfast.  We had a leisurely breakfast and had a table by the window and watch the rain and lightning.  The rain let up and it is warm outside and the sun is coming out.  Mary P and I went to the Hydrotherapy Pool at the spa to try and get the soreness out of our muscles.  We spent 2 hours there so feel much better.  Our cabin is at the aft so we have a long way to walk to get to anything on the ship except for the food which is directly below us.

Around 12:30 we tried to go eat lunch in the Vista Dining Room and they told us they were full and there would be an hour wait.  Not really sure how that was going to work because they were only open until 1:00.  They suggested we go to the Lido to get something to eat.  Instead we went to the Neptune Lounge to get a snack -- I had cookies.  High Royal Tea is at 3:00 so we will wait and get something to eat then, bingo at 4:00 and dinner at 5:45.

I almost forgot.  I ran into a former co-worker on board -- Dan Scrivner and his wife.  One of the last times I was in Las Vegas I ran into him there also.

Thursday, April 28, 2011

We are on the ship! We got to the port shortly before noon today. There was a shirt line to go through security. The alarm didn't even go off as I went through with my new knee. We were able to get into our cabins as soon as we boarded. After checking out the room we went straight to the dining room for lunch. You know we can't miss a meal! When we finished lunch our luggage had already been delivered to our room so I am already unpacked.

The lifeboat drill was at 4:00 and wasn't bad at all -- very short. We are now resting up in our room before going to the spa for their drawing. Hopefully we will all win something. We also purchased our Internet minutes that I will begin using tomorrow. I am posting this from my phone.

It is 4:30 pm now and only an hour until dinner -- wonder what I will eat.

I hope you all enjoy following us along on our adventures as we sail across the Atlantic Ocean.

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

We left DFW this morning on a 5:20 am flight.  Not really sure why we booked one this early, but we did. This meant having to get up at 1:00 am to make the flight.  The flight was uneventful and we finally got to Ft. Lauderdale around noon.  We called for the hotel shuttle to come pick us up.  It only took them 20 minutes to get there but it was so hot outside.  Once we got to the hotel, we were able to check in quickly and went to the room and rested up.  We are right across the street from a mall so we went over there to the fast food court to get something to eat and do some shopping.  We also needed to go to Target which was just across the street (we thought).  We purchased our Diet Dr Peppers to take on the cruise (3-12 packs) and almost passed out carrying them back to the hotel!  We rested up some more and then the Rosga's finally made it to the hotel.  They had a rental car so we all went to dinner at Sweet Tomatoes.  It was so good!  We are now waiting for American Idol and Survivor to start.  Not really sure which one we are going to watch.  It probably doesn't make any difference because I am going to sleep through them anyway. 

We have reservations for the hotel shuttle to take us to the port at 11:00 am tomorrow.  I will be so glad to get on the ship so we can relax.  We need to rest up a lot at the beginning of the cruise because the last part of the cruise we have excursions booked almost every day.  We will be very busy.

I am signing off for today.  Maybe I will have some pictures of the ship tomorrow.

Monday, April 25, 2011

Only 3 more days until I board the wonderful ms Noordam and so many things that I still need to do.  I haven't even started to pack and my flight to Ft Lauderdale leaves Wednesday morning at 5:20 am. 

This is one of my favorite ships and I am so looking forward to this cruise.  A lot of new places to see and things to do.  We have a lot of exciting excursions planned.  As before, I will try to post on a daily basis.  Of course it all depends on internet availability. 

There s a link on the right side listing our itinerary and also a link for the pictures.  I hope I don't have problems posting the pictures like before.  If I don't get them posted during the cruise, I have free internet when I get to Rome so I can certainly post them at that time.

Follow us along, and enjoy the ride.............