Well after leaving Charlotte yesterday evening we tried to land at DFW around 8:00 pm but there were storms. After circling around the airport we had to fly to Houston to refuel. At that time 6 people got off the plane because they didn't think the plane would continue on to DFW. They were renting a car and driving. After refueling they started the engines and closed the doors ready to take off for DFW but the Air Traffic Controllers had put a stop to any planes taking off bound for DFW because there was already a lot of traffic in the sky going to DFW that they needed to clear up first. So we continued to sit on the plane. One minute we were told we were getting ready to leave and then we were told we weren't. At one point we went back to the gate so we could get off the plane. Once they opened the doors we were told if we got off the plane we may not be able to get back on because the plane could leave at any minute and then again it may not. More people got off the plane at that point and almost immediately they closed the doors and we took off. This was around 11:00 pm. It took forever to get to DFW because they had storms they had to fly around.
We finally landed at DFW around 12:30 am.
I AM HOME!
Kotor, Montenegro
Kotor, Montenegro
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
This morning started out a little different. As I mentioned yesterday, we had a car pick us up at 7:45 am to get us to the airport in time for our 11:05 am flight. This meant that we needed to eat breakfast AT 7:30 am. However, they don't start taking calls for breakfast until 7:30 am. I called a few minutes before and it took them forever to bring the breakfast. I asked if they would call us when the car got there and they said we needed to go downstairs because they were probably there. Well guess what -- they weren't there. I called back upstairs and they checked on it for me and they said they would be there in just a minute. He got there around 8:00 am. We figured out that he had been in an accident on the way to get us and that was what made him late. I tried to talk to him in English and he only spoke Italian and I have no idea what he was saying. The traffic was horrific and i was on pins and needles because I was afraid that we weren't going to make it to the airport 2 hours before the flight to check-in and i was imagining all sorts of things. I just knew we were going to get there and they were going to deny us boarding because we were late. Well we got there right at 9:00 am. We were fortunate to be in First Class because we had a separate line which was considerably shorter than all the others.
Following is what we had to do:
1) Check in with one person who who asked us if we had packed our own luggage and if anyone else had control of it.
2) Check in with another person who printed our boarding pass
3) Hand our luggage over to someone else
4) Stand in security line. They gave us a plastic bag to put all electronics in. This included any chargers, cameras, computers, etc. My computer wouldn't fit in it so I just put it in a bin and that worked fine. Of coarse my knee set off the alarm so I had to go in the body scanner.
5) Go downstairs and get on a bus to take us to the terminal
6) We arrived at the terminal and went upstairs and it was a zoo. We were able to go to the First Class lounge so we went there for a little bit.
7) Went to board the flight.
8) I was randomly pulled aside so they could check me and my carry on luggage
9) Go downstairs to get on another bus to ride to the plane
10) Once we got to the plane we had to climb stairs to get on the plane
11) I then found my seat and relaxed the rest of the flight
First class service was good. We got 2 meals that were ok, definitely not the quality we had on Lufthansa in November. I watched 2 movies and some TV programs.
We landed in Charlotte and we were told there were some big flights landing at the same time we were so that we needed to hurry off the plane to get through customs and immigration. We breezed through that part because we beat the other flights down there. Mine and Mary P's luggage were the first off the baggage carousel so we grabbed it and were the first to recheck it -- very easy process.
Then we had to go through security again. We came in at the D concourse and we are leaving at B concourse so we had to walk to the opposite side of the airport to go through security and it was HOT. The security line was very short but of course my knee went off again and they didn't have a body scanner which meant they had to give me a very THOROUGH putdown. I asked the TSA lady if she enjoyed it. Of course I was laughing when I said it and she laughed as well. We are now sitting in the Club waiting until time to board our flight. We board at 5:40 and it is almost 5:00 now so it won't be long. I just hope the weather holds out in Dallas so we can get in without any problems. So far so good. The Rosga's flew home yesterday and got stuck in St Louis overnight and finally made it to Dallas this morning.
I am almost home and I can't wait!
Following is what we had to do:
1) Check in with one person who who asked us if we had packed our own luggage and if anyone else had control of it.
2) Check in with another person who printed our boarding pass
3) Hand our luggage over to someone else
4) Stand in security line. They gave us a plastic bag to put all electronics in. This included any chargers, cameras, computers, etc. My computer wouldn't fit in it so I just put it in a bin and that worked fine. Of coarse my knee set off the alarm so I had to go in the body scanner.
5) Go downstairs and get on a bus to take us to the terminal
6) We arrived at the terminal and went upstairs and it was a zoo. We were able to go to the First Class lounge so we went there for a little bit.
7) Went to board the flight.
8) I was randomly pulled aside so they could check me and my carry on luggage
9) Go downstairs to get on another bus to ride to the plane
10) Once we got to the plane we had to climb stairs to get on the plane
11) I then found my seat and relaxed the rest of the flight
First class service was good. We got 2 meals that were ok, definitely not the quality we had on Lufthansa in November. I watched 2 movies and some TV programs.
We landed in Charlotte and we were told there were some big flights landing at the same time we were so that we needed to hurry off the plane to get through customs and immigration. We breezed through that part because we beat the other flights down there. Mine and Mary P's luggage were the first off the baggage carousel so we grabbed it and were the first to recheck it -- very easy process.
Then we had to go through security again. We came in at the D concourse and we are leaving at B concourse so we had to walk to the opposite side of the airport to go through security and it was HOT. The security line was very short but of course my knee went off again and they didn't have a body scanner which meant they had to give me a very THOROUGH putdown. I asked the TSA lady if she enjoyed it. Of course I was laughing when I said it and she laughed as well. We are now sitting in the Club waiting until time to board our flight. We board at 5:40 and it is almost 5:00 now so it won't be long. I just hope the weather holds out in Dallas so we can get in without any problems. So far so good. The Rosga's flew home yesterday and got stuck in St Louis overnight and finally made it to Dallas this morning.
I am almost home and I can't wait!
Monday, May 23, 2011
Monday, May 23, 2011
Room Service for breakfast -- on time.
Well this was our last day in Rome. We took our time getting up this morning and finally went out around 11:00. Gisseppe the owner of our Bed and Breakfast was here this morning so we got to meet him. It would have been nice if he had been here earlier because the girls that have been working the desk have not been able to answer our questions. We wanted to go on a Hop On Hop Off Bus Tour today. We had been doing research on the internet trying to figure out where to get on the bus (there are several to choose from). We were going to get on the metro and get off one stop down and catch one there -- at the Spanish Steps. He was able to tell us a closer location that was within walking distance.
We got on the bus and rode all the way around (2 hours) and stayed on the bus because we wanted to go back around and go to a restaurant that Krista had told me about. She said to get the Tiramasu because it was the best. We did find the restaurant -- Mimi e Coco with the help of Krista. We hadn't eaten lunch yet so we got Lasagna and Focacia Bread with Tiramasu for dessert. We sat outside because it was nice with a breeze outside and we were afraid it would be hot inside. While we were eating a thunderstorm started up. It poured down but we were able to stay dry. Some guys kept coming by wanting us to buy umbrellas from them but we said no. I figured we would be there long enough that it would stop soon and it did. After we finished, we walked down the street to a taxi stand and got a taxi back to our bed and breakfast.
We are pretty tired after today. It was hot on that bus and it really drained the energy from us. We are resting up for our long plane ride home tomorrow. We are in first class so that should help us some. My knee hasn't really given me any problems on this trip except when I sit for long periods. At least in first class I can elevate my legs which will help. We have requested someone to pick us up at 7:45 am from our bed and breakfast. Our flight leaves at 11:05 am tomorrow morning. We have to change planes in Charlotte and arrive at DFW a little after 8:00 pm.
This has been a good trip but we are ready to be home. After all I have to get ready to go to Alaska with Krista, Chase and Lauren. Krista and I will be leaving June 7 for a 12 day Alaska land tour and Chase and Lauren will be joining us in Seward, Alaska for a 7 day cruise. I hope to have a blog for that trip as well.
Well this was our last day in Rome. We took our time getting up this morning and finally went out around 11:00. Gisseppe the owner of our Bed and Breakfast was here this morning so we got to meet him. It would have been nice if he had been here earlier because the girls that have been working the desk have not been able to answer our questions. We wanted to go on a Hop On Hop Off Bus Tour today. We had been doing research on the internet trying to figure out where to get on the bus (there are several to choose from). We were going to get on the metro and get off one stop down and catch one there -- at the Spanish Steps. He was able to tell us a closer location that was within walking distance.
We got on the bus and rode all the way around (2 hours) and stayed on the bus because we wanted to go back around and go to a restaurant that Krista had told me about. She said to get the Tiramasu because it was the best. We did find the restaurant -- Mimi e Coco with the help of Krista. We hadn't eaten lunch yet so we got Lasagna and Focacia Bread with Tiramasu for dessert. We sat outside because it was nice with a breeze outside and we were afraid it would be hot inside. While we were eating a thunderstorm started up. It poured down but we were able to stay dry. Some guys kept coming by wanting us to buy umbrellas from them but we said no. I figured we would be there long enough that it would stop soon and it did. After we finished, we walked down the street to a taxi stand and got a taxi back to our bed and breakfast.
We are pretty tired after today. It was hot on that bus and it really drained the energy from us. We are resting up for our long plane ride home tomorrow. We are in first class so that should help us some. My knee hasn't really given me any problems on this trip except when I sit for long periods. At least in first class I can elevate my legs which will help. We have requested someone to pick us up at 7:45 am from our bed and breakfast. Our flight leaves at 11:05 am tomorrow morning. We have to change planes in Charlotte and arrive at DFW a little after 8:00 pm.
This has been a good trip but we are ready to be home. After all I have to get ready to go to Alaska with Krista, Chase and Lauren. Krista and I will be leaving June 7 for a 12 day Alaska land tour and Chase and Lauren will be joining us in Seward, Alaska for a 7 day cruise. I hope to have a blog for that trip as well.
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Room service for breakfast -- on time.
At our bed and breakfast we fill out our breakfast order the day before and then the next morning we call when we are ready to eat and within 5 minutes they bring it to the room on a trolly. We had corn flakes and chocolate croissant and coffee. It was very good.
We decided to take a taxi to the colosseum this morning because we weren't quite sure about the metro. Well the taxi driver took us so far and then said this is as far as I can go, the colosseum is down there. Well it looked closer than it was and we were tired by the time we got down there. It seemed they were having Race for the Cure today. I thought it was yesterday, but it was today and they had the streets all over the city blocked.
We had a private guide to do our colosseum tour and she was very good. She also toured us at Capitol Hill and the Roman Forum Area. She was very patient with us slow moving old people (except for Pat). The tour took about 3 hours. The elevator in the colosseum was broken so we had to walk the stairs but we did it. After the tour we walked across the street and ate a leisurely lunch discussing our next move. We decided to ride the metro to Trevi Fountain. Well let me tell you that it looked closer on the map and once we got there it was complete chaos. A lot of people! After doing that we wanted to go to the Pantheon and decided to take a taxi. When we got there -- a lot of people. There are lots of people everywhere.
After we finished the Pantheon we decided to take a taxi to our hotel. The Rosga's came along with us to check it out and to rest a bit. They hadn't decided if they were going to take the train back to their hotel or try to get their hotel shuttle which may or may not show up. We have a metro right out our door so when they left (in the rain) they went to the metro to go somewhere. I told them they should go to the Spanish Steps and let Pat climb them. It is only 1 metro stop away from our hotel.
Mary P and I are in for the night. We are both exhausted. Not sure what we will do tomorrow. We may try and do the hop on hop off bus. Hopefully some of these crowds will go away!
At our bed and breakfast we fill out our breakfast order the day before and then the next morning we call when we are ready to eat and within 5 minutes they bring it to the room on a trolly. We had corn flakes and chocolate croissant and coffee. It was very good.
We decided to take a taxi to the colosseum this morning because we weren't quite sure about the metro. Well the taxi driver took us so far and then said this is as far as I can go, the colosseum is down there. Well it looked closer than it was and we were tired by the time we got down there. It seemed they were having Race for the Cure today. I thought it was yesterday, but it was today and they had the streets all over the city blocked.
We had a private guide to do our colosseum tour and she was very good. She also toured us at Capitol Hill and the Roman Forum Area. She was very patient with us slow moving old people (except for Pat). The tour took about 3 hours. The elevator in the colosseum was broken so we had to walk the stairs but we did it. After the tour we walked across the street and ate a leisurely lunch discussing our next move. We decided to ride the metro to Trevi Fountain. Well let me tell you that it looked closer on the map and once we got there it was complete chaos. A lot of people! After doing that we wanted to go to the Pantheon and decided to take a taxi. When we got there -- a lot of people. There are lots of people everywhere.
After we finished the Pantheon we decided to take a taxi to our hotel. The Rosga's came along with us to check it out and to rest a bit. They hadn't decided if they were going to take the train back to their hotel or try to get their hotel shuttle which may or may not show up. We have a metro right out our door so when they left (in the rain) they went to the metro to go somewhere. I told them they should go to the Spanish Steps and let Pat climb them. It is only 1 metro stop away from our hotel.
Mary P and I are in for the night. We are both exhausted. Not sure what we will do tomorrow. We may try and do the hop on hop off bus. Hopefully some of these crowds will go away!
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Last morning on the ship -- room service for breakfast and it was on time.
We had a leisurely morning on the ship. We didn't have to get off right away so we got to take our time. We finally got off around 8:40 am. It was very easy because there was no customs or anything at all to go through. As we walked into the big hall with the luggage, ours was right there. We grabbed the luggage and went out to look for our driver. He was there at 9:00 am sharp - right on time.
As the driver took us to our hotel he tried to explain some of the sights to us but he had very broken English and it sounded more like a tour in Italian to me but he was very nice. We are staying in a Bed & Breakfast which is located in an office building on the 3rd floor. The elevator was so little that both of us couldn't get in it with our luggage at the same time so we had to go up separately. The room wasn't ready yet so they told us to go out and walk around. We went to find something to eat and to rest up. We ordered a pizza and it was absolutely terrible, but by the time we finished it was time to go back to our room. When you walk in the door of the Bed & Breakfast there is a door to walk through that leads to a hall to go to the rooms. There are 5 rooms. I passed by a couple of the rooms that they were cleaning and they were so little so I was pleasantly surprised to see our room. We have a nice size bedroom with 2 beds, a sitting room and a nice bathroom even though the bathroom is small. We filled out our menu for breakfast and they will bring it to us in the morning when we call them and tell them we are ready to eat.
We went back out this evening and went for a walk. I couldn't believe all the people that were out in the middle of the streets walking and we aren't in the center of town (I don't think). We looked down one street and could see the Spanish Steps and it looked like it was solid people. When we were coming in this morning they were putting up some bleachers over there by the Spanish Steps so I don't know if they were having an event or what was going on. We also saw where they were having the Race for the Cure this morning. Our driver said there was 15,000 people participating in it.
Before going back to our room, we found another place to get something to eat and it was almost as good as the place we went to last Saturday when we came into town to see the Vatican.
I am not sure how I am going to do these few days in Rome with all these people but I will make the best of it. We are in for the night now and resting up for our colosseum tour tomorrow morning.
We had a leisurely morning on the ship. We didn't have to get off right away so we got to take our time. We finally got off around 8:40 am. It was very easy because there was no customs or anything at all to go through. As we walked into the big hall with the luggage, ours was right there. We grabbed the luggage and went out to look for our driver. He was there at 9:00 am sharp - right on time.
As the driver took us to our hotel he tried to explain some of the sights to us but he had very broken English and it sounded more like a tour in Italian to me but he was very nice. We are staying in a Bed & Breakfast which is located in an office building on the 3rd floor. The elevator was so little that both of us couldn't get in it with our luggage at the same time so we had to go up separately. The room wasn't ready yet so they told us to go out and walk around. We went to find something to eat and to rest up. We ordered a pizza and it was absolutely terrible, but by the time we finished it was time to go back to our room. When you walk in the door of the Bed & Breakfast there is a door to walk through that leads to a hall to go to the rooms. There are 5 rooms. I passed by a couple of the rooms that they were cleaning and they were so little so I was pleasantly surprised to see our room. We have a nice size bedroom with 2 beds, a sitting room and a nice bathroom even though the bathroom is small. We filled out our menu for breakfast and they will bring it to us in the morning when we call them and tell them we are ready to eat.
We went back out this evening and went for a walk. I couldn't believe all the people that were out in the middle of the streets walking and we aren't in the center of town (I don't think). We looked down one street and could see the Spanish Steps and it looked like it was solid people. When we were coming in this morning they were putting up some bleachers over there by the Spanish Steps so I don't know if they were having an event or what was going on. We also saw where they were having the Race for the Cure this morning. Our driver said there was 15,000 people participating in it.
Before going back to our room, we found another place to get something to eat and it was almost as good as the place we went to last Saturday when we came into town to see the Vatican.
I am not sure how I am going to do these few days in Rome with all these people but I will make the best of it. We are in for the night now and resting up for our colosseum tour tomorrow morning.
Friday, May 20, 2011
Friday, May 20, 2011
Today was the last day on the ship. We have to get off in the morning.
We started out the day with room service for breakfast -- on time.
We had a private tour booked of Sicily and we were to meet them at 8:00 am. The ship wasn't cleared until about 8:15 so we were some of the first off the ship at that time. As soon as we stepped off the ship our guide and driver were waiting for us. We booked this excursion with a company called Share a Shore Excursion in Italy. They had several tours to chose from. We chose the one that we thought we wanted to go on. They drove us to Segusta to see some ruins. We didn't realize that this was going to be a lot of walking. We did walk up to see the first ruin. It was very hot. We knew that we were going to be seeing a lot of ruins in Rome so really didn't want to do a lot of this so we asked them to cut out all of the walking so they modified the tour and we did other things. We went to one village and had coffee and some type of pastry that can be found in Sicily. It had Ricotta Cheese and Chocolate in the middle and it was fried and covered with powdered sugar. It was so good and very inexpensive. We were not in a tourist area and they said that was why the price was so low. A coffee and pastry was only about 2.40 euros.
They took us to several lookouts to see the beautiful views. It was then time for lunch so they took us to a little village -- Scopello. We ate at a restaurant that had outdoor dining overlooking the Mediterranean. It was absolutely gorgeous and so peaceful. I can't even begin to tell you what I ate -- some kind of rice with asparagus and shrimp. It was delicious.
After lunch we went back into Palermo and they took us through the City and showed us the sights. It looked like a neat city. There was a lot of traffic, but we were there when everyone was going home for lunch -- around 2:00 pm. The people drive like lunatics and I haven't ever seen anything quite like it. We were on a 4 lane road with 3 lanes going one way and 1 lane going the other way. We were on the side with 1 lane going the other way and people were in our lane coming straight for us and as they met us, they would move over in their lane. We couldn't figure out what was going on but finally figured out that the lane we were in was for buses and taxis. I guess the car we were in was considered a taxi.
We got back to the ship around 3:00 and it was almost time for bingo. Mary P won! That was nice. After bingo, they had the disembarkation talk telling us what to do tonight about setting our luggage out and getting off the ship in the morning. When that was over, it was almost time for dinner so we went back to the room for a little bit before heading to the dining room. After dinner we went to the casino one last time. I played Wheel of Fortune and hit $75. I kept on playing and finally cashed out $52. As soon as I cashed out, a lady sat down and started playing it and hit $400. Oh well, that's the breaks.
The Final Noordam Superstar competition was tonight and the lady that won was really good. I think she must be in the entertainment business. If she isn't, she should be.
We are now in our room and just about packed and ready to set our suitcases out in the hall. It is all coming to an end. Our hotel is sending someone to pick us up at 9:00 am in the morning. The only plans we have while in Rome is we have a tour of the Colosseum for Sunday morning. Other than that, I don't know what we will do. We may do the Hop On Hop Off Bus or just relax before our flight back on Tuesday morning. We are supposed to have free internet at our hotel so I will try to post from there if I have anything to say.
We started out the day with room service for breakfast -- on time.
We had a private tour booked of Sicily and we were to meet them at 8:00 am. The ship wasn't cleared until about 8:15 so we were some of the first off the ship at that time. As soon as we stepped off the ship our guide and driver were waiting for us. We booked this excursion with a company called Share a Shore Excursion in Italy. They had several tours to chose from. We chose the one that we thought we wanted to go on. They drove us to Segusta to see some ruins. We didn't realize that this was going to be a lot of walking. We did walk up to see the first ruin. It was very hot. We knew that we were going to be seeing a lot of ruins in Rome so really didn't want to do a lot of this so we asked them to cut out all of the walking so they modified the tour and we did other things. We went to one village and had coffee and some type of pastry that can be found in Sicily. It had Ricotta Cheese and Chocolate in the middle and it was fried and covered with powdered sugar. It was so good and very inexpensive. We were not in a tourist area and they said that was why the price was so low. A coffee and pastry was only about 2.40 euros.
They took us to several lookouts to see the beautiful views. It was then time for lunch so they took us to a little village -- Scopello. We ate at a restaurant that had outdoor dining overlooking the Mediterranean. It was absolutely gorgeous and so peaceful. I can't even begin to tell you what I ate -- some kind of rice with asparagus and shrimp. It was delicious.
After lunch we went back into Palermo and they took us through the City and showed us the sights. It looked like a neat city. There was a lot of traffic, but we were there when everyone was going home for lunch -- around 2:00 pm. The people drive like lunatics and I haven't ever seen anything quite like it. We were on a 4 lane road with 3 lanes going one way and 1 lane going the other way. We were on the side with 1 lane going the other way and people were in our lane coming straight for us and as they met us, they would move over in their lane. We couldn't figure out what was going on but finally figured out that the lane we were in was for buses and taxis. I guess the car we were in was considered a taxi.
We got back to the ship around 3:00 and it was almost time for bingo. Mary P won! That was nice. After bingo, they had the disembarkation talk telling us what to do tonight about setting our luggage out and getting off the ship in the morning. When that was over, it was almost time for dinner so we went back to the room for a little bit before heading to the dining room. After dinner we went to the casino one last time. I played Wheel of Fortune and hit $75. I kept on playing and finally cashed out $52. As soon as I cashed out, a lady sat down and started playing it and hit $400. Oh well, that's the breaks.
The Final Noordam Superstar competition was tonight and the lady that won was really good. I think she must be in the entertainment business. If she isn't, she should be.
We are now in our room and just about packed and ready to set our suitcases out in the hall. It is all coming to an end. Our hotel is sending someone to pick us up at 9:00 am in the morning. The only plans we have while in Rome is we have a tour of the Colosseum for Sunday morning. Other than that, I don't know what we will do. We may do the Hop On Hop Off Bus or just relax before our flight back on Tuesday morning. We are supposed to have free internet at our hotel so I will try to post from there if I have anything to say.
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Room service for breakfast -- on time.
As I mentioned yesterday, we are in Tunisia today. This is on the continent of Africa. As we came into port, I was on the balcony watching and there were little fishing boats all around us. As we got closer to the dock, they were outside playing their instruments welcoming us. We had to be in the showroom by 8:20 am to check in for our tour and when we got there the place was packed. There wasn't even any play to sit down. As I was standing there I realized I had left my room key in the room. For those of you that have been on a cruise before, you know that you have to get your room key scanned when you get off the ship so I had to go back to my room and get mine. The showroom is on the very front of the ship and my room is on the very back of the ship. I think I made it to my room and back in about 5 minutes with some time to spare because it was taking them a while to get everyone to their tours. They said they had 600 people on ship tours today. They had sent out information to us telling us that it wasn't safe to go out on your own so people booked the ship tours.
As we drove through different parts of town, it appeared to be dirty and poor. This certainly is not a place I would care to come back to. When we passed any buildings of any importance -- government buildings, embassies, television buildings, etc. there were military personnel outside the buildings with machine guns. They were also surrounded by razor wire and had army tanks. I was really wondering if it was even safe for us to be out. We made a couple of stops. One was a restroom break and a stop for souvenir shopping. It was at Carthage where the ruins were. We hadn't paid for a tour of the ruins so we could only look through the fence. I didn't find any souvenirs to buy. The second stop was at a World War II Cemetery for American Soldiers. We only got to stay there about 15 minutes and i would have liked to stay longer. There are 2,841 buried there (I think this number is correct). They were from U.S. Army and Air Force, U.S. Navy, and U.S. Coast Guard. They had a wall with all of their names, rank and where they were from. They also had some stories and maps on several other walls but i didn't have a chance to read any of it. On my way out, I stopped by the Visitor's Center and signed the book.
When we got back to the ship they let us off at a little village with Duty Free Shops. We just briefly looked in there but didn't buy anything. They also had camels that you could ride. Terry decided to ride one and I got a picture of him. We then went back to the ship for lunch.
Went to bingo but no luck.
Dinner tonight was one of the best I have had in the Vista Dining Room. I had Grilled Salmon with Tomato Broth -- salmon brushed with white miso, garlic, sesame and cilantro, grilled, and served in a spiced tomato broth.
We went to the show in the Vista Lounge and the entertainer was Brett Cave -- a show that blends Elton John & Billy Joel with high energy. He was really good. He played the piano, sang and cracked hilarious jokes. He is from England so had some good jokes about the English.
For our last day on the ship tomorrow we have a full day. We will be in Palermo (Sicily) and have a private excursion booked. We are to meet our guide as soon as the ship is cleared for us to get off. We have to attend the disembarkation meeting at 4:30 pm tomorrow so we have to be back on board before then. '
This is all winding down but we have had a great trip. We get off the ship on Saturday but will be spending 3 nights in Rome before we fly home Tuesday morning.
As I mentioned yesterday, we are in Tunisia today. This is on the continent of Africa. As we came into port, I was on the balcony watching and there were little fishing boats all around us. As we got closer to the dock, they were outside playing their instruments welcoming us. We had to be in the showroom by 8:20 am to check in for our tour and when we got there the place was packed. There wasn't even any play to sit down. As I was standing there I realized I had left my room key in the room. For those of you that have been on a cruise before, you know that you have to get your room key scanned when you get off the ship so I had to go back to my room and get mine. The showroom is on the very front of the ship and my room is on the very back of the ship. I think I made it to my room and back in about 5 minutes with some time to spare because it was taking them a while to get everyone to their tours. They said they had 600 people on ship tours today. They had sent out information to us telling us that it wasn't safe to go out on your own so people booked the ship tours.
As we drove through different parts of town, it appeared to be dirty and poor. This certainly is not a place I would care to come back to. When we passed any buildings of any importance -- government buildings, embassies, television buildings, etc. there were military personnel outside the buildings with machine guns. They were also surrounded by razor wire and had army tanks. I was really wondering if it was even safe for us to be out. We made a couple of stops. One was a restroom break and a stop for souvenir shopping. It was at Carthage where the ruins were. We hadn't paid for a tour of the ruins so we could only look through the fence. I didn't find any souvenirs to buy. The second stop was at a World War II Cemetery for American Soldiers. We only got to stay there about 15 minutes and i would have liked to stay longer. There are 2,841 buried there (I think this number is correct). They were from U.S. Army and Air Force, U.S. Navy, and U.S. Coast Guard. They had a wall with all of their names, rank and where they were from. They also had some stories and maps on several other walls but i didn't have a chance to read any of it. On my way out, I stopped by the Visitor's Center and signed the book.
When we got back to the ship they let us off at a little village with Duty Free Shops. We just briefly looked in there but didn't buy anything. They also had camels that you could ride. Terry decided to ride one and I got a picture of him. We then went back to the ship for lunch.
Went to bingo but no luck.
Dinner tonight was one of the best I have had in the Vista Dining Room. I had Grilled Salmon with Tomato Broth -- salmon brushed with white miso, garlic, sesame and cilantro, grilled, and served in a spiced tomato broth.
We went to the show in the Vista Lounge and the entertainer was Brett Cave -- a show that blends Elton John & Billy Joel with high energy. He was really good. He played the piano, sang and cracked hilarious jokes. He is from England so had some good jokes about the English.
For our last day on the ship tomorrow we have a full day. We will be in Palermo (Sicily) and have a private excursion booked. We are to meet our guide as soon as the ship is cleared for us to get off. We have to attend the disembarkation meeting at 4:30 pm tomorrow so we have to be back on board before then. '
This is all winding down but we have had a great trip. We get off the ship on Saturday but will be spending 3 nights in Rome before we fly home Tuesday morning.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Today is all about food…….
This is a sea day so we slept in a little later because there was no place that we needed to be except to eat breakfast.
We met Pat & Terry at the Pinnacle Grill for breakfast at 9:00 am. The food was good as it has always been there. When we finished breakfast it was almost time for 11:00 am bingo but we did have a little time to kill in the casino. I played the $1 Wheel of Fortune machine and hit $100. That was nice and Mary P won $120 in the Wild Cherry $1 slots. We didn't have any luck at bingo. I was the first one at bingo to get down to 1 number on the last game but someone else won.
After bingo it was time for lunch. They were having the Mariner's Luncheon today. I always enjoy going to these because this is the only time they serve quiche and it is delicious. We have not finished lunch and we are just waiting until time to go to dinner. We are going to the Pinnacle Grill tonight for their special dinner they have once during the cruise -- Le Cirque. I have never been to it before and am looking forward to it.
The first Noordam Superstars is tonight and we will go to that also, but our friend Tony told us he didn't sign up to compete in it. There are some pretty good singers on this cruise so it should be good.
Tonight is formal night. We were invited to a cocktail party with the Captain tonight but did not attend.
The Le Cirque meal at the Pinnacle Grill was delicious. They started out with an appetizer with goose liver and this was the only part that I did not care for. This was followed by a salad with lobster and a corn soup which were both very good. Mary P, Pat and I had the halibut for the main entree and it was so tender and tasty. The serving was so big I was unable to finish it. Terry got the prime rib and said it was good but he tasted Pat's halibut and he said that next time he would probably get that. For dessert they had 3 things to choose from -- creme brulee, chocolate soufflé, and 3 kinds of sorbet. We couldn't decide what to get so Mary P, Pat and I each got both the creme brulee and chocolate soufflé. The creme brulee was the best. Terry had both the creme brulee and the 3 kinds of sorbet and I think he liked the creme brulee as well.
Tomorrow we get an hour back. Of course they will probably just take it back from us again the next day. We will be in Tunisia. We have booked an excursion through the ship which is mainly riding around on a bus and looking out the window. We normally don't like excursions like that, but we felt safer that way.
This is a sea day so we slept in a little later because there was no place that we needed to be except to eat breakfast.
We met Pat & Terry at the Pinnacle Grill for breakfast at 9:00 am. The food was good as it has always been there. When we finished breakfast it was almost time for 11:00 am bingo but we did have a little time to kill in the casino. I played the $1 Wheel of Fortune machine and hit $100. That was nice and Mary P won $120 in the Wild Cherry $1 slots. We didn't have any luck at bingo. I was the first one at bingo to get down to 1 number on the last game but someone else won.
After bingo it was time for lunch. They were having the Mariner's Luncheon today. I always enjoy going to these because this is the only time they serve quiche and it is delicious. We have not finished lunch and we are just waiting until time to go to dinner. We are going to the Pinnacle Grill tonight for their special dinner they have once during the cruise -- Le Cirque. I have never been to it before and am looking forward to it.
The first Noordam Superstars is tonight and we will go to that also, but our friend Tony told us he didn't sign up to compete in it. There are some pretty good singers on this cruise so it should be good.
Tonight is formal night. We were invited to a cocktail party with the Captain tonight but did not attend.
The Le Cirque meal at the Pinnacle Grill was delicious. They started out with an appetizer with goose liver and this was the only part that I did not care for. This was followed by a salad with lobster and a corn soup which were both very good. Mary P, Pat and I had the halibut for the main entree and it was so tender and tasty. The serving was so big I was unable to finish it. Terry got the prime rib and said it was good but he tasted Pat's halibut and he said that next time he would probably get that. For dessert they had 3 things to choose from -- creme brulee, chocolate soufflé, and 3 kinds of sorbet. We couldn't decide what to get so Mary P, Pat and I each got both the creme brulee and chocolate soufflé. The creme brulee was the best. Terry had both the creme brulee and the 3 kinds of sorbet and I think he liked the creme brulee as well.
Tomorrow we get an hour back. Of course they will probably just take it back from us again the next day. We will be in Tunisia. We have booked an excursion through the ship which is mainly riding around on a bus and looking out the window. We normally don't like excursions like that, but we felt safer that way.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Room service for breakfast -- on time.
This morning was a lazy morning. We are in Barcelona until 10:00 pm tonight and didn't have any tours scheduled so we stayed in. We decided to eat lunch in the Pinnacle Grill at 12:30 pm and then go in to town when we finished eating. The 2 things that Pat wanted to do was walk through the Gothic area and go to the Picasso Museum. Mary P and I wanted to walk down La Ramblas and Terry didn't care what he did.
After lunch we hopped in a cab which was cheaper than taking the port shuttle since there were 4 of us and had it to take us to La Ramblas. We walked through there for a while before turning to the Gothic area. On the way through the Gothic area we found a Starbucks so ducked in there for a quick Starbucks fix. This is something Pat has wanted to do since she got on this cruise. We then proceeded through the Gothic area and ended up at the Picasso Museum. For those of you who know me, I know nothing about Picasso but thought it was something I should do. Of course as soon as we got there a school group came in and a group of Japanese were there also. We spent about an hour in the museum and then hopped in a cab and came back to the ship. It is almost time for dinner.
There is no show tonight but they are having bingo at 9:00 pm so Mary P and I will go to that. Other than that we have nothing planned.
I found a free internet connection here in port. Thank you HANGAR.
This morning was a lazy morning. We are in Barcelona until 10:00 pm tonight and didn't have any tours scheduled so we stayed in. We decided to eat lunch in the Pinnacle Grill at 12:30 pm and then go in to town when we finished eating. The 2 things that Pat wanted to do was walk through the Gothic area and go to the Picasso Museum. Mary P and I wanted to walk down La Ramblas and Terry didn't care what he did.
After lunch we hopped in a cab which was cheaper than taking the port shuttle since there were 4 of us and had it to take us to La Ramblas. We walked through there for a while before turning to the Gothic area. On the way through the Gothic area we found a Starbucks so ducked in there for a quick Starbucks fix. This is something Pat has wanted to do since she got on this cruise. We then proceeded through the Gothic area and ended up at the Picasso Museum. For those of you who know me, I know nothing about Picasso but thought it was something I should do. Of course as soon as we got there a school group came in and a group of Japanese were there also. We spent about an hour in the museum and then hopped in a cab and came back to the ship. It is almost time for dinner.
There is no show tonight but they are having bingo at 9:00 pm so Mary P and I will go to that. Other than that we have nothing planned.
I found a free internet connection here in port. Thank you HANGAR.
Monday, May 16, 2011
Monday, May 16, 2011
This morning we ordered room service for breakfast between 6:30 am and 7:00 am. As you know it has always been either early or on time. Well today was quite different. We never got it. At 5 after 7 we called and inquired about where our breakfast was and they said it should be on its way. By 7:20 we still hadn't received it so we called and told them to forget about our order and we walked up to the Neptune Lounge and got something to eat and took it back to our room. We had an early tour this morning and had to tender in so we didn't have time to wait. At dinner we mentioned this to the Assistant Dining Room Manager as he made his rounds through talking to us and he made a note of it and was going to check on it because he said he was in charge of room service and said that he would make sure we got special treatment tomorrow and that if he didn't have an order from us he would call and wake us up in the morning to see what we wanted to eat. Well we got back to our room after the shows tonight and our Cabin Attendant didn't leave us a card to hang on our door for breakfast so we are trying to get someone to bring one to us.
This morning we arrived in Cannes, France and as I mentioned we had to tender in to port. The seas were calm and since we had a ship sponsored excursion we got one of the first tenders over. Our tour today was to Grasse, France and St. Paul de Vence, France. In Grasse we visited a perfume factory and went on a tour to see how perfume is made and then we had the chance to purchase some perfume. I thought it was pretty pricey so didn't buy anything. St Paul de Vence was another medieval village similar to Eze. There was a lot of walking involved so Mary P and I decided not to trek to the top like we did in Eze. We stayed down below and walked around and looked. There were a lot of art galleries. Pat and Terry went all the way to the top. Mary P and I found a bench to sit on in the shade and as we were getting ready to walk to the bus we looked up and Pat and Terry were coming around the corner. Poor Terry could hardly walk! We all walked to the bus together and were ready to go back to the ship.
Once back to the pier we decided to walk into Cannes to see if we could see any celebrities at the film festival that was going on. We found the red carpet and took pictures but there were no celebrities there. There were tons of people there and we saw lots of people set up with the cameras. Some people on our ship said they saw Brad Pitt and we told them we had seen him in Monte Carlo the other day.
Cannes is amazing with all the HUGE yachts that were there. We saw one that even had a helicopter on it. We later found out that it belonged to Paul Allen from Microsoft. When we went on our tour out of Monte Carlo the other day, our tour guide also showed us where Paul Allen's house was. It was near Nice I believe. One of our friends on the ship told us that he saw Johnny Depp's yacht and he described it to us. We saw one that we thought it might be but aren't sure. There was another huge yacht that belonged to some king. They said everything was gold plated inside the yacht and and there was 77 crew on board.
We finally made it back to the ship around 3:00 so grabbed a hamburger on the Lido Deck. After eating that we went to Bingo and I won the first game. There weren't many people there so it only paid $75 but that is better than nothing. After Bingo we looked at some of the yachts again and then got ready for dinner.
After dinner we went to the show. Jeff Stevenson, a British Comedian, was the show tonight. I don't remember when I had laughed so hard. He was really funny. In fact Pat & Terry liked him so much they went to see his 10:00 show also.
They had karaoke tonight. There were a lot of good people to sing this time. I am not sure when the Noordam Superstars will be but am looking forward to it.
Tomorrow we will be in Barcelona again. I'm not sure what we will do but we will be there from 9:00 am until 10:00 pm so there is no need to rush off the ship. We will have all day to go out there. I think they said there are 3 other ships in port with us tomorrow so it may be crowded.
This morning we arrived in Cannes, France and as I mentioned we had to tender in to port. The seas were calm and since we had a ship sponsored excursion we got one of the first tenders over. Our tour today was to Grasse, France and St. Paul de Vence, France. In Grasse we visited a perfume factory and went on a tour to see how perfume is made and then we had the chance to purchase some perfume. I thought it was pretty pricey so didn't buy anything. St Paul de Vence was another medieval village similar to Eze. There was a lot of walking involved so Mary P and I decided not to trek to the top like we did in Eze. We stayed down below and walked around and looked. There were a lot of art galleries. Pat and Terry went all the way to the top. Mary P and I found a bench to sit on in the shade and as we were getting ready to walk to the bus we looked up and Pat and Terry were coming around the corner. Poor Terry could hardly walk! We all walked to the bus together and were ready to go back to the ship.
Once back to the pier we decided to walk into Cannes to see if we could see any celebrities at the film festival that was going on. We found the red carpet and took pictures but there were no celebrities there. There were tons of people there and we saw lots of people set up with the cameras. Some people on our ship said they saw Brad Pitt and we told them we had seen him in Monte Carlo the other day.
Cannes is amazing with all the HUGE yachts that were there. We saw one that even had a helicopter on it. We later found out that it belonged to Paul Allen from Microsoft. When we went on our tour out of Monte Carlo the other day, our tour guide also showed us where Paul Allen's house was. It was near Nice I believe. One of our friends on the ship told us that he saw Johnny Depp's yacht and he described it to us. We saw one that we thought it might be but aren't sure. There was another huge yacht that belonged to some king. They said everything was gold plated inside the yacht and and there was 77 crew on board.
We finally made it back to the ship around 3:00 so grabbed a hamburger on the Lido Deck. After eating that we went to Bingo and I won the first game. There weren't many people there so it only paid $75 but that is better than nothing. After Bingo we looked at some of the yachts again and then got ready for dinner.
After dinner we went to the show. Jeff Stevenson, a British Comedian, was the show tonight. I don't remember when I had laughed so hard. He was really funny. In fact Pat & Terry liked him so much they went to see his 10:00 show also.
They had karaoke tonight. There were a lot of good people to sing this time. I am not sure when the Noordam Superstars will be but am looking forward to it.
Tomorrow we will be in Barcelona again. I'm not sure what we will do but we will be there from 9:00 am until 10:00 pm so there is no need to rush off the ship. We will have all day to go out there. I think they said there are 3 other ships in port with us tomorrow so it may be crowded.
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Last night we went to dinner at our usual table. There were many new people as about 1300 people got off the ship in Rome and more got on the ship for a 7 day cruise. There were 600 of us that stayed on from the previous cruise. I think we have our waiters trained now. We had been drinking so much ice tea that they had to constantly refill our glasses. Mary P asked them to give us our own pitcher of tea. Last night when we got to the dining room, not only did they have ice tea for each of us, we had a pitcher of ice tea in the middle of the table!
During dinner, we discussed our tour we have booked for Tunisia. It is an 8 hour tour with lots of walking and steps. It also included going to some museums and going to the market. I was kind of uneasy about going to the market area. They had given us a note that it was not safe to go off on our own in Tunisia and we should stay with the ship. We decided to cancel it and book a 4 hour tour which is mainly touring on a bus with stops for photos and it also visits a World War II cemetery. After dinner we tried to go to the Neptune Lounge to get them to change out our tour but forgot that they were having a welcome aboard reception with the Captain and we didn't want to go to that. We then tried to go to the shore excursions desk but they were closed for the night.
They had one game of bingo for $500 for free so we got Pat and Terry to go with us. I thought Terry was going to win. He got down to needing 2 numbers but someone else won. We didn't stay for the show but decided to call it a night since we had an early morning.
This morning we had room service once more and it was on time.
We will be in Santa Margherita Ligure (Portofino), Italy today.
Change of schedule. We were to tender this morning into Santa Margherita. I watched as we were near Santa Margherita and all of a sudden the Captain turned and went another direction. I wasn't really sure what was happening but did say that it might be rough tendering because the water was pretty choppy. Well the Captain came on the speaker and said that we couldn't safely tender into Santa Margherita so we were going to another port and they would be announcing later what they were doing about the shore excursions. Our shore excursion was to be on a boat to a small fishing village. Well we weren't too excited about doing that. Our new port was Genova, Italy. We were pulled in to port by tug boats. It was pouring down rain and the wind was blowing pretty hard, however we didn't have to tender, we were docking. They soon announced the changes in shore excursions and ours was cancelled and they added a walking tour. We weren't too excited about walking in the rain so we decided to just spend the day relaxing on the ship. I went by the spa to see if they had any spa specials for the day. They always have specials when in port and they told me they didn't have anything today so I went back to the room and worked on my pictures.
At noon we all went to the dining room and ate. It was beginning to clear up so Pat, Terry and I decided to walk into town and see what it was all about. We found a restaurant where we went in to get coffee. Of course they didn't speak very much English and we didn't speak Italian. They asked if we wanted to eat and we said no, so they took our table cloth off our table. Terry asked if they had coffee and they said yes. He told them we wanted coffee with milk and they looked at him like he was an alien. Then Pat asked if they had Latte and they said yes so she told them we wanted 3 lattes. The waitress wandered off and someone else came and asked us what we wanted. She said that latte in Italian meant milk. Pat finally told them we wanted cafe latte and they understood that. When Terry told them we wanted a check, they made him get up and come to the cash register. As we left the restaurant and were standing outside, 3 police officers came out of the restaurant. I hadn't seen them when we were inside but they were carrying machine guns……….
We didn't know where to go then and Pat said that there should be something to go see about Christopher Columbus because he was born there so we looked on the map and found a Christopher Columbus monument not far from our ship. We walked there and took a picture and then went back to the ship. By that time it was very hot outside but the wind was still blowing pretty good.
When I got back to the room I told Mary P what all we had done since she hadn't gone with us and then it was time for bingo. We went to bingo and didn't win. Dinner will be soon and tonight is formal night. the show is something we saw last cruise so we will probably skip it. We will probably go make a donation to the casino but we have another early day tomorrow.
I know I mentioned our friend Tony from the first part of the cruise. He is back on this part of the cruise and playing bingo with us again. He mentioned to us that he had won a lot of money in the casino playing slots. At the first part of the cruise he won $1400 and last Friday night we won $6700 on $5 slots. Well I would never win on $5 slots because I would never spend that much but it sure is tempting……………..
They have extended our port time and all aboard time is 7:00 pm but we don't plan on going out anymore. We are getting ready to go to Cannes, France tomorrow and maybe see some more celebrities there for the film festival.
During dinner, we discussed our tour we have booked for Tunisia. It is an 8 hour tour with lots of walking and steps. It also included going to some museums and going to the market. I was kind of uneasy about going to the market area. They had given us a note that it was not safe to go off on our own in Tunisia and we should stay with the ship. We decided to cancel it and book a 4 hour tour which is mainly touring on a bus with stops for photos and it also visits a World War II cemetery. After dinner we tried to go to the Neptune Lounge to get them to change out our tour but forgot that they were having a welcome aboard reception with the Captain and we didn't want to go to that. We then tried to go to the shore excursions desk but they were closed for the night.
They had one game of bingo for $500 for free so we got Pat and Terry to go with us. I thought Terry was going to win. He got down to needing 2 numbers but someone else won. We didn't stay for the show but decided to call it a night since we had an early morning.
This morning we had room service once more and it was on time.
We will be in Santa Margherita Ligure (Portofino), Italy today.
Change of schedule. We were to tender this morning into Santa Margherita. I watched as we were near Santa Margherita and all of a sudden the Captain turned and went another direction. I wasn't really sure what was happening but did say that it might be rough tendering because the water was pretty choppy. Well the Captain came on the speaker and said that we couldn't safely tender into Santa Margherita so we were going to another port and they would be announcing later what they were doing about the shore excursions. Our shore excursion was to be on a boat to a small fishing village. Well we weren't too excited about doing that. Our new port was Genova, Italy. We were pulled in to port by tug boats. It was pouring down rain and the wind was blowing pretty hard, however we didn't have to tender, we were docking. They soon announced the changes in shore excursions and ours was cancelled and they added a walking tour. We weren't too excited about walking in the rain so we decided to just spend the day relaxing on the ship. I went by the spa to see if they had any spa specials for the day. They always have specials when in port and they told me they didn't have anything today so I went back to the room and worked on my pictures.
At noon we all went to the dining room and ate. It was beginning to clear up so Pat, Terry and I decided to walk into town and see what it was all about. We found a restaurant where we went in to get coffee. Of course they didn't speak very much English and we didn't speak Italian. They asked if we wanted to eat and we said no, so they took our table cloth off our table. Terry asked if they had coffee and they said yes. He told them we wanted coffee with milk and they looked at him like he was an alien. Then Pat asked if they had Latte and they said yes so she told them we wanted 3 lattes. The waitress wandered off and someone else came and asked us what we wanted. She said that latte in Italian meant milk. Pat finally told them we wanted cafe latte and they understood that. When Terry told them we wanted a check, they made him get up and come to the cash register. As we left the restaurant and were standing outside, 3 police officers came out of the restaurant. I hadn't seen them when we were inside but they were carrying machine guns……….
We didn't know where to go then and Pat said that there should be something to go see about Christopher Columbus because he was born there so we looked on the map and found a Christopher Columbus monument not far from our ship. We walked there and took a picture and then went back to the ship. By that time it was very hot outside but the wind was still blowing pretty good.
When I got back to the room I told Mary P what all we had done since she hadn't gone with us and then it was time for bingo. We went to bingo and didn't win. Dinner will be soon and tonight is formal night. the show is something we saw last cruise so we will probably skip it. We will probably go make a donation to the casino but we have another early day tomorrow.
I know I mentioned our friend Tony from the first part of the cruise. He is back on this part of the cruise and playing bingo with us again. He mentioned to us that he had won a lot of money in the casino playing slots. At the first part of the cruise he won $1400 and last Friday night we won $6700 on $5 slots. Well I would never win on $5 slots because I would never spend that much but it sure is tempting……………..
They have extended our port time and all aboard time is 7:00 pm but we don't plan on going out anymore. We are getting ready to go to Cannes, France tomorrow and maybe see some more celebrities there for the film festival.
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Room Service for breakfast -- on time.
This was an early day and very tiring. Our driver picked us up at 7:30 am and we drove to Rome from Civitavecchia this morning. It took us a little over an hour to get there. Our reservations at the Vatican weren't until 9:30 am so our driver drove us around a little until our guide arrived. Our guide was Peppe. He was the same guide that Krista and her friends had over spring break. When we arrived there, the lines were terrible but we didn't have to wait in line because we had pre-purchased our tickets. He took us to the Vatican Museum, Sistine Chapel and St Peter's Basilica. It was very tiring but interesting. Since I am not Catholic, I am sure I didn't appreciate it as others may. This tour took a little over 2 hours. After the tour he took us across the shop to a gift shop where we could use the restroom and buy something if we were interested. I didn't take a lot of pictures because I didn't think I could do them justice so I purchased a book at the gift shop.
We were tired and hungry after the tour so our driver took us to a restaurant in the neighborhood where he lived. Mary P and I shared a 4 cheese pizza and some wine. I also ordered some fried mozzarella for the table. Pat was drinking coffee and she said it was good so I had a cup of coffee also. Actually it was a glass of hot coffee. I had to use my napkin to pick it up because it was so hot. After lunch we asked the driver to take us by the colosseum so we could see where the metro station was there. We have a tour scheduled there next Sunday and wanted to know where we needed to go.
On the way back to the port everyone went to sleep except for me and I was wide awake. I was nervous we would get back to the ship late because the driver said that sometime on Saturday the traffic was bad and it could take as long as 2 hours to get back because people went to the beach on the weekends. No worries -- we got back 30 minutes before all aboard time.
They are having the lifeboat drill at 4:00 pm which we don't have to go to this time so we are relaxing in our room. At 5:15 pm we are going to the spa to see if we can win something this time. The show tonight should be a repeat of the first night of our cruise. We have an early day tomorrow so we will probably just relax tonight after dinner.
This was an early day and very tiring. Our driver picked us up at 7:30 am and we drove to Rome from Civitavecchia this morning. It took us a little over an hour to get there. Our reservations at the Vatican weren't until 9:30 am so our driver drove us around a little until our guide arrived. Our guide was Peppe. He was the same guide that Krista and her friends had over spring break. When we arrived there, the lines were terrible but we didn't have to wait in line because we had pre-purchased our tickets. He took us to the Vatican Museum, Sistine Chapel and St Peter's Basilica. It was very tiring but interesting. Since I am not Catholic, I am sure I didn't appreciate it as others may. This tour took a little over 2 hours. After the tour he took us across the shop to a gift shop where we could use the restroom and buy something if we were interested. I didn't take a lot of pictures because I didn't think I could do them justice so I purchased a book at the gift shop.
We were tired and hungry after the tour so our driver took us to a restaurant in the neighborhood where he lived. Mary P and I shared a 4 cheese pizza and some wine. I also ordered some fried mozzarella for the table. Pat was drinking coffee and she said it was good so I had a cup of coffee also. Actually it was a glass of hot coffee. I had to use my napkin to pick it up because it was so hot. After lunch we asked the driver to take us by the colosseum so we could see where the metro station was there. We have a tour scheduled there next Sunday and wanted to know where we needed to go.
On the way back to the port everyone went to sleep except for me and I was wide awake. I was nervous we would get back to the ship late because the driver said that sometime on Saturday the traffic was bad and it could take as long as 2 hours to get back because people went to the beach on the weekends. No worries -- we got back 30 minutes before all aboard time.
They are having the lifeboat drill at 4:00 pm which we don't have to go to this time so we are relaxing in our room. At 5:15 pm we are going to the spa to see if we can win something this time. The show tonight should be a repeat of the first night of our cruise. We have an early day tomorrow so we will probably just relax tonight after dinner.
Friday, May 13, 2011
Friday, May 13, 2011
Room Service for breakfast -- on time.
This morning we arrived in Monte Carlo, Monaco. We stood on the balcony and watched as we arrived to port. It was very beautiful.
We had a private guide to pick us up at the pier to take us on a private tour. At first she drove us through Monaco on the way to Nice. The roads were really narrow and I don't think I would want to drive there. There is so much money in this area and the views are breathtaking. She drove us on top of a mountain and showed us where Elton John's house was. We couldn't see in because it had hedges all around it, but when we drove to the other side of the mountain we could see it from down below.
When we got to Nice, France we got out of the car and took a walk through the markets. They had all sorts of flowers at pretty reasonable prices. They also had a food market that we walked through. We stopped at one stall that had dried fruit and we got to taste all different kinds. It was very good. We got there a little before 1:00 pm and the food market part closed at 1:00. They moved everything out and set up tables in place of it for the restaurants. We stopped and ate at a restaurant there. I had a sandwich. It was 2 slices of bread with ham in the middle and the top of the bread toasted with cheese on it. It was good. I took a picture of it and will post later.
She got dessert for us at a pastry shop. One thing was bread with chocolate in it and the other thing was a square with powdered sugar on top and inside it had pine nuts, swiss chard, and raisins. These were both tasty.
After lunch we strolled along the beach for a bit and then continued our drive around town. We then went to Eze, France. This was a medieval village on top of a mountain. She was able to drive us to the top so we didn't have to walk as far but it was quite steep walking through the village. She said only about 20 people still lived there. Where people had moved out they had changed it to hotel rooms. We climbed to the top and has some magnificent views. We saw the people from our ship coming on tours and they had to walk up the mountain because the buses couldn't get up there where she took us.
We then went back to Monte Carlo where we went inside the Grand Casino and gambled there. You would not believe all the expensive cars that were parked out front! While we were inside gambling she bought us another treat. It was some kind of pastry. It was small like the mini desserts that Starbucks has now. It was pink with a white filling (like a moon pie only smaller). It was very good and refreshing. I couldn't figure out the taste and she said it was rose and it did taste exactly like a rose smelled. By that time it was time to go back to the ship and as we were leaving the Grand Casino area we saw Brad Pitt walking across the street. We were not sure if he was in the area because the Grand Prix was going to be there soon or because he was in the area for the Cannes Film Festival. We will be going to Cannes on Monday I believe. Maybe we will see more stars then.
They had the Master Chef's Dinner at night in the Dining Room and they served Baked Alaska. The show was a combination of 2 of the entertainers we had earlier in the week. The final Noordam superstar was tonight and we were not happy with the results, but oh well it was all in fun.
We have an early day tomorrow. We will be in Rome. Our driver will be picking us up at 7:30 am. We will be having a tour of the Vatican and a quick drive around Rome before returning to the ship. All aboard will be 4:00 pm.
I hope you all are enjoying reading this and looking at the pictures. Unfortunately since we are spending so much time in port I have not had as much time as I would like to get the pictures ready to put on the blog.
This morning we arrived in Monte Carlo, Monaco. We stood on the balcony and watched as we arrived to port. It was very beautiful.
We had a private guide to pick us up at the pier to take us on a private tour. At first she drove us through Monaco on the way to Nice. The roads were really narrow and I don't think I would want to drive there. There is so much money in this area and the views are breathtaking. She drove us on top of a mountain and showed us where Elton John's house was. We couldn't see in because it had hedges all around it, but when we drove to the other side of the mountain we could see it from down below.
When we got to Nice, France we got out of the car and took a walk through the markets. They had all sorts of flowers at pretty reasonable prices. They also had a food market that we walked through. We stopped at one stall that had dried fruit and we got to taste all different kinds. It was very good. We got there a little before 1:00 pm and the food market part closed at 1:00. They moved everything out and set up tables in place of it for the restaurants. We stopped and ate at a restaurant there. I had a sandwich. It was 2 slices of bread with ham in the middle and the top of the bread toasted with cheese on it. It was good. I took a picture of it and will post later.
She got dessert for us at a pastry shop. One thing was bread with chocolate in it and the other thing was a square with powdered sugar on top and inside it had pine nuts, swiss chard, and raisins. These were both tasty.
After lunch we strolled along the beach for a bit and then continued our drive around town. We then went to Eze, France. This was a medieval village on top of a mountain. She was able to drive us to the top so we didn't have to walk as far but it was quite steep walking through the village. She said only about 20 people still lived there. Where people had moved out they had changed it to hotel rooms. We climbed to the top and has some magnificent views. We saw the people from our ship coming on tours and they had to walk up the mountain because the buses couldn't get up there where she took us.
We then went back to Monte Carlo where we went inside the Grand Casino and gambled there. You would not believe all the expensive cars that were parked out front! While we were inside gambling she bought us another treat. It was some kind of pastry. It was small like the mini desserts that Starbucks has now. It was pink with a white filling (like a moon pie only smaller). It was very good and refreshing. I couldn't figure out the taste and she said it was rose and it did taste exactly like a rose smelled. By that time it was time to go back to the ship and as we were leaving the Grand Casino area we saw Brad Pitt walking across the street. We were not sure if he was in the area because the Grand Prix was going to be there soon or because he was in the area for the Cannes Film Festival. We will be going to Cannes on Monday I believe. Maybe we will see more stars then.
They had the Master Chef's Dinner at night in the Dining Room and they served Baked Alaska. The show was a combination of 2 of the entertainers we had earlier in the week. The final Noordam superstar was tonight and we were not happy with the results, but oh well it was all in fun.
We have an early day tomorrow. We will be in Rome. Our driver will be picking us up at 7:30 am. We will be having a tour of the Vatican and a quick drive around Rome before returning to the ship. All aboard will be 4:00 pm.
I hope you all are enjoying reading this and looking at the pictures. Unfortunately since we are spending so much time in port I have not had as much time as I would like to get the pictures ready to put on the blog.
Thursday, May 12, 2011
Thursday, May 12, 2011
Room Service for breakfast -- on time.
This morning we had an early tour -- Gaudi's Barcelona. We saw some of the same things that we saw yesterday on our private tour but did get to go inside La Familia Sagrada (Holy Family) Church. The church is not yet finished and has been under construction for 120 years or so. On November 7, 2010 (I was in Barcelona then) the church was solemnly dedicated and declared a basilica by the Holy Father Benedict XVI and became a holy place open for worship.to They don't have regular Mass -- only special occasions.
We went back to Guell Park and saw some other parts of the park that we didn't see yesterday.
It was only a 4 hour tour but still very tiring and when we got back to the ship at 12:30 we went straight to the Vista Dining Room and had lunch. We then came back and took a short nap until time for Bingo. They also sold raffle tickets for a chance to win a free 7 day cruise. We both bought raffle tickets but neither one of us won. We didn't win at Bingo either. That was a total waste of an hour. By the time bingo was over we were leaving port so we went out on our balcony and watched as we sailed away. The Eurodam was in port today so I waved to those on board as we sailed away.
We then decided to go to the Hydrotherapy Pool to relax. After we got out of the pool we tried to relax on the ceramic recliners and they were all full.
Tonight is formal night and nobody was in the mood to dress up so we are all having room service. If it is nice enough we will eat on the balcony. It is 5:30 pm here and we just placed out order and they said it would be here in 45 minutes.
The show tonight is the one I didn't go to the other night -- Opera Interludes. I am planning on going to the 8:00 pm show and sitting in the balcony since I am not dressing up for formal night.
Tomorrow we will be in Monte Carlo. We have a private tour booked there. Our tour guide will take us to the French Riveria and we will finish up going into the casino in Monte Carlo. We don't dock until 10:00 am so we won't have to get going as early tomorrow.
This morning we had an early tour -- Gaudi's Barcelona. We saw some of the same things that we saw yesterday on our private tour but did get to go inside La Familia Sagrada (Holy Family) Church. The church is not yet finished and has been under construction for 120 years or so. On November 7, 2010 (I was in Barcelona then) the church was solemnly dedicated and declared a basilica by the Holy Father Benedict XVI and became a holy place open for worship.to They don't have regular Mass -- only special occasions.
We went back to Guell Park and saw some other parts of the park that we didn't see yesterday.
It was only a 4 hour tour but still very tiring and when we got back to the ship at 12:30 we went straight to the Vista Dining Room and had lunch. We then came back and took a short nap until time for Bingo. They also sold raffle tickets for a chance to win a free 7 day cruise. We both bought raffle tickets but neither one of us won. We didn't win at Bingo either. That was a total waste of an hour. By the time bingo was over we were leaving port so we went out on our balcony and watched as we sailed away. The Eurodam was in port today so I waved to those on board as we sailed away.
We then decided to go to the Hydrotherapy Pool to relax. After we got out of the pool we tried to relax on the ceramic recliners and they were all full.
Tonight is formal night and nobody was in the mood to dress up so we are all having room service. If it is nice enough we will eat on the balcony. It is 5:30 pm here and we just placed out order and they said it would be here in 45 minutes.
The show tonight is the one I didn't go to the other night -- Opera Interludes. I am planning on going to the 8:00 pm show and sitting in the balcony since I am not dressing up for formal night.
Tomorrow we will be in Monte Carlo. We have a private tour booked there. Our tour guide will take us to the French Riveria and we will finish up going into the casino in Monte Carlo. We don't dock until 10:00 am so we won't have to get going as early tomorrow.
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Room service for breakfast -- on time.
Today we had a tour that began at 8:30 am. As soon as we were off the ship we met up with our guide Ellie and driver Nelson. Ellie was great. She was from California but had lived in Barcelona for the past 15 years. She has family in Spain and the US. We were with her for 8 hours and she showed us so many things. We drove by all the places used in the 1992 Olympics that were held in Barcelona. We drove down Las Ramblas but it was early in the morning and there wasn't much going on yet but we were able to get an idea of what it was all about. After a quick tour in Barcelona, we drove out to the Monastery at Monserrat. There were lots of people there but we still got to see a lot and she was good to explain to us in detail what we were seeing. We got to go in the Basilica and look around. This is where the Boys Choir sings daily at 1:00 and we were able to hear part of their concert. I think they only sing 15 minutes but it was standing room only so we left after 1 song. We also stood in line to see the Black Madonna and I posted a picture of Terry with it.
After leaving Montserrat, we went back into Barcelona and drove through some neighborhoods and then she took us to look at some of Gaudi's works. I knew nothing about Gaudi before this trip but he was really very interesting and his works are amazing. One of the main places she took us was Guell Park which he designed. I think I put a few of pictures out there that I took there also.
We also went to La Familia Segrada. We got to see the outside only and she took us to all sides to explain all of the sculptures on each side. Tomorrow we are going on a ship's excursion and we will get to go inside La Familia Segrada for a brief tour.
We got back to the ship at about 4:45 pm which gave us just time to go back on the ship and grab a bite to eat (we hadn't eaten all day). We had reservations to see a Flamenco Show at 7:30 pm. The reservations were for the show and drinks only. We could have opted for dinner but it was pretty pricey so we just chose the drinks. The dancers were good and very passionate about what they were doing.
We are now back to the ship and have another full day tomorrow in Barcelona.
Today we had a tour that began at 8:30 am. As soon as we were off the ship we met up with our guide Ellie and driver Nelson. Ellie was great. She was from California but had lived in Barcelona for the past 15 years. She has family in Spain and the US. We were with her for 8 hours and she showed us so many things. We drove by all the places used in the 1992 Olympics that were held in Barcelona. We drove down Las Ramblas but it was early in the morning and there wasn't much going on yet but we were able to get an idea of what it was all about. After a quick tour in Barcelona, we drove out to the Monastery at Monserrat. There were lots of people there but we still got to see a lot and she was good to explain to us in detail what we were seeing. We got to go in the Basilica and look around. This is where the Boys Choir sings daily at 1:00 and we were able to hear part of their concert. I think they only sing 15 minutes but it was standing room only so we left after 1 song. We also stood in line to see the Black Madonna and I posted a picture of Terry with it.
After leaving Montserrat, we went back into Barcelona and drove through some neighborhoods and then she took us to look at some of Gaudi's works. I knew nothing about Gaudi before this trip but he was really very interesting and his works are amazing. One of the main places she took us was Guell Park which he designed. I think I put a few of pictures out there that I took there also.
We also went to La Familia Segrada. We got to see the outside only and she took us to all sides to explain all of the sculptures on each side. Tomorrow we are going on a ship's excursion and we will get to go inside La Familia Segrada for a brief tour.
We got back to the ship at about 4:45 pm which gave us just time to go back on the ship and grab a bite to eat (we hadn't eaten all day). We had reservations to see a Flamenco Show at 7:30 pm. The reservations were for the show and drinks only. We could have opted for dinner but it was pretty pricey so we just chose the drinks. The dancers were good and very passionate about what they were doing.
We are now back to the ship and have another full day tomorrow in Barcelona.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
We skipped the show last night. Pat & Terry went and they said it was a group named Opera Interludes that sang opera songs and that they were very good. This is the first show I have missed and wished I had seen them. I could have gone to the 10:00 show but was too tired after such a long day. We did go to the Noordam Superstars and our friend Tony didn't get in the finals. I think a big part of the audience was shocked. I wish I had made a video of his performance so I could share it with you all.
I didn't say much about my tour yesterday and I remembered a few things that I saw. One of the things that we saw was that there are people that live in cave houses. Their houses are built into the side of the mountain and they live there. They said that there are some people that will open up their homes for people to come in and tour. I would have liked to see one of them if there had been more time. There were also lots of orange trees and olive trees growing all over the place. They also said they have the only dessert in Europe there and more than 250 westerns had been made there because it is similar to Arizona. Not really sure why they wouldn't just make the movies in Arizona but that is what they said.
Today we were in Valencia. We didn't dock until 1:00 pm so we had the morning on the ship. We started out with room service breakfast (on time) and then went to the hydrotherapy pool. It really felt good because my muscles were really sore from yesterday. At 11:00 am we went to play bingo and I WON $322! That was really a nice way to start the day off. After bingo we went to the Lido to grab a quick bite before leaving for our shore excursion.
Our excursion today was Valencia & San Jose Caves. We drove for about an hour to some caves. This is what the brochure says -- Saint Joseph's Underground River is located in the town of Vall d'Uxio, inside the Natural Park of Sierra Espadan. It is the most important tourist point in the area. The cave was inhabited from more than 15,000 years ago (Upper Palaeolithic) as can be confirmed for the cave paintings and the rest that it contains. Journey to the center of the earth, gliding along the still waters of Europe's longest navigable underground river.
We walked into the cave and we got into little boats that were oared through the water by a boatman. We tried to get ours to sing to us but he said he couldn't sing. There were 14 of us in each boat. It was really quiet going through the caves. We weren't allowed to take pictures inside (unless you could hide taking them from the boatman). After we went a little ways, we had to get out of the boats and walk through the dry part of the cave. At that point I took pictures because there wasn't anyone there watching me and I put my camera up once we got back in the boats. It was interesting, but at times we had to duck our heads to keep from hitting them on rocks.
After we finished our ride we got to take a quick look around the shops. I purchased a book on the caves so I could read up on them more. We then drove back to Valencia where we had a city tour. They took us to old town Valencia and we got off the bus and had 20 minutes to spend there. Our tour guide told us about a Valencia drink that was non-alcoholic and showed us where to get it. I don't remember what it was called but it was made with water, nuts and sugar. We all got a cup of it and it was very good.
We then got back on our bus and saw more of the City. We drove by their soccer stadium and a Bullring. We also saw several structures that Santiago Calitrava designed (not sure if I spelled his last name correctly). This is the one that has designed the bridge for Dallas.
When we got back to the ship, we had to put our things through a security scanner by the port authority. Somebody said they were looking for weapons. We then had to go through a scanner on the ship. This is the first time they have done this. There were tons of ford cars and trucks there at the pier. They said one of Ford's largest plants was in Valencia.
Tonight we had to eat in the Lido since we got back too late for our dinner time in the Main Dining Room. We then went to the show -- Garin Bader -- who has played at Carnegie Hall and the London Palladium. We was really good. He mixed his magic in with his piano tunes. After the show we went to the game show "Call My Bluff" which is always funny.
We are now getting ready to call it a day since we will be in Barcelona tomorrow. It will be a full day. We have a private tour booked. They are to pick us up at 8:30 am and we will get a Barcelona Highlights tour and then they are taking us to Monteserrat which is out of town a little ways. Then at night we are going back into town to see a Flamenco Show.
I didn't say much about my tour yesterday and I remembered a few things that I saw. One of the things that we saw was that there are people that live in cave houses. Their houses are built into the side of the mountain and they live there. They said that there are some people that will open up their homes for people to come in and tour. I would have liked to see one of them if there had been more time. There were also lots of orange trees and olive trees growing all over the place. They also said they have the only dessert in Europe there and more than 250 westerns had been made there because it is similar to Arizona. Not really sure why they wouldn't just make the movies in Arizona but that is what they said.
Today we were in Valencia. We didn't dock until 1:00 pm so we had the morning on the ship. We started out with room service breakfast (on time) and then went to the hydrotherapy pool. It really felt good because my muscles were really sore from yesterday. At 11:00 am we went to play bingo and I WON $322! That was really a nice way to start the day off. After bingo we went to the Lido to grab a quick bite before leaving for our shore excursion.
Our excursion today was Valencia & San Jose Caves. We drove for about an hour to some caves. This is what the brochure says -- Saint Joseph's Underground River is located in the town of Vall d'Uxio, inside the Natural Park of Sierra Espadan. It is the most important tourist point in the area. The cave was inhabited from more than 15,000 years ago (Upper Palaeolithic) as can be confirmed for the cave paintings and the rest that it contains. Journey to the center of the earth, gliding along the still waters of Europe's longest navigable underground river.
We walked into the cave and we got into little boats that were oared through the water by a boatman. We tried to get ours to sing to us but he said he couldn't sing. There were 14 of us in each boat. It was really quiet going through the caves. We weren't allowed to take pictures inside (unless you could hide taking them from the boatman). After we went a little ways, we had to get out of the boats and walk through the dry part of the cave. At that point I took pictures because there wasn't anyone there watching me and I put my camera up once we got back in the boats. It was interesting, but at times we had to duck our heads to keep from hitting them on rocks.
After we finished our ride we got to take a quick look around the shops. I purchased a book on the caves so I could read up on them more. We then drove back to Valencia where we had a city tour. They took us to old town Valencia and we got off the bus and had 20 minutes to spend there. Our tour guide told us about a Valencia drink that was non-alcoholic and showed us where to get it. I don't remember what it was called but it was made with water, nuts and sugar. We all got a cup of it and it was very good.
We then got back on our bus and saw more of the City. We drove by their soccer stadium and a Bullring. We also saw several structures that Santiago Calitrava designed (not sure if I spelled his last name correctly). This is the one that has designed the bridge for Dallas.
When we got back to the ship, we had to put our things through a security scanner by the port authority. Somebody said they were looking for weapons. We then had to go through a scanner on the ship. This is the first time they have done this. There were tons of ford cars and trucks there at the pier. They said one of Ford's largest plants was in Valencia.
Tonight we had to eat in the Lido since we got back too late for our dinner time in the Main Dining Room. We then went to the show -- Garin Bader -- who has played at Carnegie Hall and the London Palladium. We was really good. He mixed his magic in with his piano tunes. After the show we went to the game show "Call My Bluff" which is always funny.
We are now getting ready to call it a day since we will be in Barcelona tomorrow. It will be a full day. We have a private tour booked. They are to pick us up at 8:30 am and we will get a Barcelona Highlights tour and then they are taking us to Monteserrat which is out of town a little ways. Then at night we are going back into town to see a Flamenco Show.
Monday, May 9, 2011
Monday, May 9, 2011
Room service for breakfast -- 15 minutes early
Our tour to Alhambra in Granada, Spain started at 9:30 am. Like I said yesterday, it was a 2.5 hour bus ride up there and back. It didn't seem to take too long getting there because our guide was narrating and showing us things. On the ride back she told us to take a siesta which was good because we were absolutely exhausted. The gardens at the palace were so pretty and smelled so good. Since we had such a short time at the palace our guide walked full speed ahead and it was difficult to keep up with him. I won't go into details of the palace because I really didn't understand a lot of what he said. We were told we would have earphones but for some reason didn't get any and there were lots that I couldn't hear what he was saying.
At the end of the tour they served us lunch. It was interesting. They seated us in a big room and brought the food to us. There were 7 of us at our table and we had 2 large bottles of water, 2 large bottles of red wine and 2 small bottles of something else. I think someone said it was sherry. The man next to me said it tasted like varnish but it was pretty good. I think it sounded like he had already had too much to drink. At first they brought out salad and served to us. Of course they had to put the anchovy on top which I pushed to the side. The next course they brought to us was a plate of rice with chicken and shrimp in it. The shrimp was not peeled so I just pushed it to the side. I think they call this Paella. We thought that we were ready for dessert at that time but then they brought out some type of meat, a mixture of carrots and peas and french fries. I was already full at this point so I just ate one piece of the meat and a few fries. Next they started bringing out glasses of champagne which I turned down and then they brought us all ice cream which was good.
While eating a group came out to sing to us. I think they said they were from the college there in Granada and they had a CD they wanted us to buy. Pat bought one. She said that was her souvenir from Granada.
After the long bus ride home we are back on the ship totally exhausted. We are skipping the show tonight. It is some kind of opera music and I am sure it would just put me to sleep. Round 2 of Noordam Superstars is at 9:00 pm so we will go see that. One of our bingo buddies made the finals so we have to go cheer him on. His name is Tony and he is so funny. He is appears to be fairly young and we heard him talking about all the different cruises he had gone on and which cruise lines he liked. That made us curious so we asked him what he did for a living. He said he was a flight attendant for United Airlines.
Nothing else much going on today so guess I will post what I have so far. I found FREE wi-fi here across from the ship! Martiniz wif-fi thank you
Our tour to Alhambra in Granada, Spain started at 9:30 am. Like I said yesterday, it was a 2.5 hour bus ride up there and back. It didn't seem to take too long getting there because our guide was narrating and showing us things. On the ride back she told us to take a siesta which was good because we were absolutely exhausted. The gardens at the palace were so pretty and smelled so good. Since we had such a short time at the palace our guide walked full speed ahead and it was difficult to keep up with him. I won't go into details of the palace because I really didn't understand a lot of what he said. We were told we would have earphones but for some reason didn't get any and there were lots that I couldn't hear what he was saying.
At the end of the tour they served us lunch. It was interesting. They seated us in a big room and brought the food to us. There were 7 of us at our table and we had 2 large bottles of water, 2 large bottles of red wine and 2 small bottles of something else. I think someone said it was sherry. The man next to me said it tasted like varnish but it was pretty good. I think it sounded like he had already had too much to drink. At first they brought out salad and served to us. Of course they had to put the anchovy on top which I pushed to the side. The next course they brought to us was a plate of rice with chicken and shrimp in it. The shrimp was not peeled so I just pushed it to the side. I think they call this Paella. We thought that we were ready for dessert at that time but then they brought out some type of meat, a mixture of carrots and peas and french fries. I was already full at this point so I just ate one piece of the meat and a few fries. Next they started bringing out glasses of champagne which I turned down and then they brought us all ice cream which was good.
While eating a group came out to sing to us. I think they said they were from the college there in Granada and they had a CD they wanted us to buy. Pat bought one. She said that was her souvenir from Granada.
After the long bus ride home we are back on the ship totally exhausted. We are skipping the show tonight. It is some kind of opera music and I am sure it would just put me to sleep. Round 2 of Noordam Superstars is at 9:00 pm so we will go see that. One of our bingo buddies made the finals so we have to go cheer him on. His name is Tony and he is so funny. He is appears to be fairly young and we heard him talking about all the different cruises he had gone on and which cruise lines he liked. That made us curious so we asked him what he did for a living. He said he was a flight attendant for United Airlines.
Nothing else much going on today so guess I will post what I have so far. I found FREE wi-fi here across from the ship! Martiniz wif-fi thank you
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Sunday, May 8, 2011 -- Happy Mother's Day
Room Service for breakfast. Actually on time today.
We arrived in Cadiz, Spain around 7:00 am this morning. We had an early morning tour today. We were to meet at 8:20 am for an 8:30 am tour. We were there on time and ready to go when they called our number for our tour. We were some of the first in line so got pretty good seats on the bus. There were actually 3 buses for this tour and we were on the 3rd bus. Our tour was "White Villages and Countryside". On the way to the first white village we passed through old town Cadiz. It was very pretty but we didn't have time to stop and look at anything.
Our first stop was a service station so we could all use the restroom. Of course with 3 buses the line was really long but it passed quickly. Of course Pat had to get a cup of coffee (not Starbucks). We then drove through the countryside where our guide narrated what we were seeing. She did speak English, but some of the things I had a hard time understanding. Pat took lots of notes so I told her she needed to type them up and print out copies for us. For those of you that don't know Pat, she takes a spiral notebook with her wherever she goes and takes notes on anything said. She is always prepared.
Our first town was the beautiful village of Vejer de la Frontera. The bus let us off at the bottom of the hill and we had a walking tour up to the top of the town. The whole village was white and the streets were very narrow. Several times, we had to stand up against the buildings so cars could pass through the streets. The walking tour lasted about an hour and then we boarded the bus to go to another village to visit. On the way, we stopped at a scenic point where we photographed the Trafalgar Cape Lighthouse. The weather is so pretty and clear today that we could see land across the ocean. The tour guide said that it was Africa.
Our next village that we stopped at was Conil de la Frontera. At this village, they just dropped us off and gave us a map of the town. We had less than an hour to explore so we walked down the main street and finally stopped at a little restaurant. Pat had a cup of coffee and the rest of us had a cup of ice cream. After we finished that, it was time to walk back to the bus. We took our time and took a few pictures of the beach. There were lots of people out enjoying the beautiful weather today.
It took us about 40 minutes to get back to the ship and once on board we -- you guessed it -- went to eat.
I was sitting down writing this and looked up at the time and had to rush off. It was time for BiNGO. Good thing I noticed the time. We both won. Mary P won the 2nd game and had to split a pot of $131. I won the 3rd game and had to split a pot of $151. I actually should have had 2/3 of the $151 instead of just half. I had 2 cards that I bingoed on at the same time. They said they could only pay me for 1. In the real world I would have been paid for both of them.
After bingo it was time for the sail away. We stood out on our balcony and waved at those in sailboats going by. I think this is the first time we have been out on deck during sail away. Of course we have been at sea for 100 days I think! Once we sailed away we went to -- DINNER.
The after dinner show tonight was Barry John -- a juggler. He had been on the Letterman Show at some time. He was talented and funny but you can just juggle so much. I will say that he ended the show balancing a big TV on the end of a stick on the top of his head.
When the show was over we rushed up to the Hydrotherapy Pool. As we went in, I looked out the window and there was land on both sides of the ship. On the right side was Africa and the left side was Spain. This was pretty neat to see. We didn't stay in the spa long because we wanted to go out on deck and try and get some pictures. Of course it was getting dark at that point so you really can't tell much from the pictures. This was the
Straits of Gibraltar that we were going through entering into the Mediterranean Sea. It was too dark to get a good picture of the Rock of Gibraltar.
Tomorrow we have a very long day. We will be in Almeria, Spain. Our excursion is sponsored by the ship and we will be going to Granada and the Alhambra a spectacular UNESCO World Heritage Site. The tour is supposed to last about 9 hours. It is a 2.5 hour drive each way and Mary P was just looking at our tour tickets and it said there is approximately 2.5 miles of walking. I sure hope it isn't all uphill!
Well that's all for now. I hope everyone had a Happy Mother's Day today.
We arrived in Cadiz, Spain around 7:00 am this morning. We had an early morning tour today. We were to meet at 8:20 am for an 8:30 am tour. We were there on time and ready to go when they called our number for our tour. We were some of the first in line so got pretty good seats on the bus. There were actually 3 buses for this tour and we were on the 3rd bus. Our tour was "White Villages and Countryside". On the way to the first white village we passed through old town Cadiz. It was very pretty but we didn't have time to stop and look at anything.
Our first stop was a service station so we could all use the restroom. Of course with 3 buses the line was really long but it passed quickly. Of course Pat had to get a cup of coffee (not Starbucks). We then drove through the countryside where our guide narrated what we were seeing. She did speak English, but some of the things I had a hard time understanding. Pat took lots of notes so I told her she needed to type them up and print out copies for us. For those of you that don't know Pat, she takes a spiral notebook with her wherever she goes and takes notes on anything said. She is always prepared.
Our first town was the beautiful village of Vejer de la Frontera. The bus let us off at the bottom of the hill and we had a walking tour up to the top of the town. The whole village was white and the streets were very narrow. Several times, we had to stand up against the buildings so cars could pass through the streets. The walking tour lasted about an hour and then we boarded the bus to go to another village to visit. On the way, we stopped at a scenic point where we photographed the Trafalgar Cape Lighthouse. The weather is so pretty and clear today that we could see land across the ocean. The tour guide said that it was Africa.
Our next village that we stopped at was Conil de la Frontera. At this village, they just dropped us off and gave us a map of the town. We had less than an hour to explore so we walked down the main street and finally stopped at a little restaurant. Pat had a cup of coffee and the rest of us had a cup of ice cream. After we finished that, it was time to walk back to the bus. We took our time and took a few pictures of the beach. There were lots of people out enjoying the beautiful weather today.
It took us about 40 minutes to get back to the ship and once on board we -- you guessed it -- went to eat.
I was sitting down writing this and looked up at the time and had to rush off. It was time for BiNGO. Good thing I noticed the time. We both won. Mary P won the 2nd game and had to split a pot of $131. I won the 3rd game and had to split a pot of $151. I actually should have had 2/3 of the $151 instead of just half. I had 2 cards that I bingoed on at the same time. They said they could only pay me for 1. In the real world I would have been paid for both of them.
After bingo it was time for the sail away. We stood out on our balcony and waved at those in sailboats going by. I think this is the first time we have been out on deck during sail away. Of course we have been at sea for 100 days I think! Once we sailed away we went to -- DINNER.
The after dinner show tonight was Barry John -- a juggler. He had been on the Letterman Show at some time. He was talented and funny but you can just juggle so much. I will say that he ended the show balancing a big TV on the end of a stick on the top of his head.
When the show was over we rushed up to the Hydrotherapy Pool. As we went in, I looked out the window and there was land on both sides of the ship. On the right side was Africa and the left side was Spain. This was pretty neat to see. We didn't stay in the spa long because we wanted to go out on deck and try and get some pictures. Of course it was getting dark at that point so you really can't tell much from the pictures. This was the
Straits of Gibraltar that we were going through entering into the Mediterranean Sea. It was too dark to get a good picture of the Rock of Gibraltar.
Tomorrow we have a very long day. We will be in Almeria, Spain. Our excursion is sponsored by the ship and we will be going to Granada and the Alhambra a spectacular UNESCO World Heritage Site. The tour is supposed to last about 9 hours. It is a 2.5 hour drive each way and Mary P was just looking at our tour tickets and it said there is approximately 2.5 miles of walking. I sure hope it isn't all uphill!
Well that's all for now. I hope everyone had a Happy Mother's Day today.
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Saturday, May 7, 2011
This morning we had room service for breakfast (15 minutes early) and then went back to sleep.
There was a presentation at 10:00 am for those that are staying on for the next cruise after the first 16 days (that would be us). They told us a brief overview of all the ports on the last 7 days and told us of the process we would need to go through when the first part of the cruise ends in Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy on May 14. We will be allowed off the ship as early as 7:00 am. We have a tour scheduled to start at 7:30 am. They are picking us up in Civitavecchia and driving us to Rome (about 1 1/2 hours). A guide will meet us at the Vatican and take us on a tour there for 3 hours. We will then have a couple of hours in Rome after the tour for the driver to take us wherever we want to go and then after that he will drive us back to the ship. All aboard time is 4:30 pm and we sail away at 5:00 pm for the 2nd portion of our cruise. They said we don't have to do the life boat drill again (Yea!).
At 10:30 am they opened up the bow of the boat on deck 4 for us to have a land watching party. They were serving Pea Soup (free) and various beverages ($). The photographers were out there taking pictures. We had our picture taken with King Neptune. Pat & Terry had their picture taken ringing the ship's bell and doing the Traditional Titanic shot (well Pat did anyway). We never did see land……….
At 11:00 am there was a presentation by the travel guide telling us things to see and do in the upcoming ports of call (1st portion of cruise). We ha to leave before it was over, you guessed it, it was lunch time!
Lunch was at noon and Pat had to leave before dessert because she had signed up to do Walk for the Cure on deck at 1:00 pm.
At 2:00 pm they set the clocks forward to 3:00 pm -- time for the Cupcake Tea. We missed it the first time so we felt we needed to make it to this one. We were first in line. They had so many different things to try. As well as cupcakes, scones, sandwiches, and tea they also had glasses of COLD chocolate or strawberry milk. It was delicious.
At 4:00 pm it was time for Win A Cruise Bingo. NO LUCK. After that, time for donation to casino. NO LUCK
It was then 5:45 pm and time for dinner. It seems like all we have done today was eat. Mary P didn't get to stay for dessert because she had a 7:30 pm appointment at the spa to be pampered. After dinner Pat and I went to the hydrotherapy pool to relax after a stressful day.
It is 9:00 pm and I am back in the room trying to decide if I want to go to the show. It is the singers and dancers and I have seen the show before. I told Pat & Terry that it would be repeated on the 2nd part of the cruise and we could go then, but I think we may go tonight at 10:00 pm instead. We may be too tired to go the next time they have it.
We have a port day tomorrow. We will be in Cadiz, Spain and we have an excursion booked which leaves the ship at 8:30 am and lasts for 5 hours. I am sure we will be exhausted when it is over. This is a ship sponsored excursion where we get to ride on a bus with 40 or 50 of our closest cruise friends………..
There was a presentation at 10:00 am for those that are staying on for the next cruise after the first 16 days (that would be us). They told us a brief overview of all the ports on the last 7 days and told us of the process we would need to go through when the first part of the cruise ends in Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy on May 14. We will be allowed off the ship as early as 7:00 am. We have a tour scheduled to start at 7:30 am. They are picking us up in Civitavecchia and driving us to Rome (about 1 1/2 hours). A guide will meet us at the Vatican and take us on a tour there for 3 hours. We will then have a couple of hours in Rome after the tour for the driver to take us wherever we want to go and then after that he will drive us back to the ship. All aboard time is 4:30 pm and we sail away at 5:00 pm for the 2nd portion of our cruise. They said we don't have to do the life boat drill again (Yea!).
At 10:30 am they opened up the bow of the boat on deck 4 for us to have a land watching party. They were serving Pea Soup (free) and various beverages ($). The photographers were out there taking pictures. We had our picture taken with King Neptune. Pat & Terry had their picture taken ringing the ship's bell and doing the Traditional Titanic shot (well Pat did anyway). We never did see land……….
At 11:00 am there was a presentation by the travel guide telling us things to see and do in the upcoming ports of call (1st portion of cruise). We ha to leave before it was over, you guessed it, it was lunch time!
Lunch was at noon and Pat had to leave before dessert because she had signed up to do Walk for the Cure on deck at 1:00 pm.
At 2:00 pm they set the clocks forward to 3:00 pm -- time for the Cupcake Tea. We missed it the first time so we felt we needed to make it to this one. We were first in line. They had so many different things to try. As well as cupcakes, scones, sandwiches, and tea they also had glasses of COLD chocolate or strawberry milk. It was delicious.
At 4:00 pm it was time for Win A Cruise Bingo. NO LUCK. After that, time for donation to casino. NO LUCK
It was then 5:45 pm and time for dinner. It seems like all we have done today was eat. Mary P didn't get to stay for dessert because she had a 7:30 pm appointment at the spa to be pampered. After dinner Pat and I went to the hydrotherapy pool to relax after a stressful day.
It is 9:00 pm and I am back in the room trying to decide if I want to go to the show. It is the singers and dancers and I have seen the show before. I told Pat & Terry that it would be repeated on the 2nd part of the cruise and we could go then, but I think we may go tonight at 10:00 pm instead. We may be too tired to go the next time they have it.
We have a port day tomorrow. We will be in Cadiz, Spain and we have an excursion booked which leaves the ship at 8:30 am and lasts for 5 hours. I am sure we will be exhausted when it is over. This is a ship sponsored excursion where we get to ride on a bus with 40 or 50 of our closest cruise friends………..
Friday, May 6, 2011
Friday, May 6, 2011
After dinner last night we went for our donation to the casino and then to the hydrotherapy pool. We were the only ones in there so that was nice. We didn't stay long and went back to the room to collapse.
We have had several more time changes. I believe there is now a 6 hour difference from Dallas. Tomorrow we will have another time change at 2:00 pm and that will make it a 7 hour difference from Dallas. I don't think we will have any more time changes.
Today is my birthday. I already had gotten a card from my kids with a note about the additional shipboard credit they had given me for a spa service. This morning Mary P also gave me a card from Craig and my mother. These were both nice surprises. Today we are invited to a Suite Luncheon in the Pinnacle Grill. I am sure they planned it for my birthday! Tonight we are going to Canelleto -- an Italian restaurant. It is formal night tonight and you don't have to dress up as much to go there since it is located on the Lido Deck.
We had room service for breakfast again this morning. We decided to mark the order to receive it from 7:30-8:00 am. and you guessed it -- we got it at 7:20 am. We also order water with our breakfast each morning and today, we got water -- 2 pots of hot water. Not really sure what we were supposed to do with them since we hadn't ordered any tea to go with it and also no cups to put it in unless they thought we were going to add it to the pot of coffee that they gave us that was big enough to serve the whole ship.
Around 10:00 am I had a call from the Concierge. He said that he knew that I had the privacy sign on my door but could I please open it so he could bring me something from the Rosga's. I got up and opened the door and there were balloons on the door and the Concierge was holding a plate of truffles that the Rosga's had sent me for my birthday. The balloons were falling off the door so he brought them in the cabin and put them on our mirror. This was a very nice surprise!
We went to the casino to make our daily deposit and they must have know it was my birthday because I made money today. That was a nice change. After that it was time for the Suite Luncheon. It was very good. We had mustard soup with salmon for our appetizer. I had never seen this before and didn't know what to expect but it was really good. For the main course we had Beef Tenderloin with Sweetbread. It was good as well. We were commenting on the Sweetbread and it didn't have the consistency of bread and finally decided that it was probably goose liver. It wasn't bad. I would have never tried it if it had said goose liver!
The Future Cruise Consultant had a presentation of the Top 10 Cruises that people are booking on this cruise. A couple of them are mostly booked up for 2012. I always enjoy going to these talks so I can hear where the favorite cruises go.
We went to Canelleto -- an Italian restaurant for dinner. It was formal night tonight and you normally don't have to dress up as much going up there since it is located on the Lido Deck. We had a nice dinner and they even brought a cake out to me and sang Happy Birthday to me. As we got up from the table to rush off to the show, I heard a lady say to her husband "They aren't dressed up in formal wear" Mary P said she heard her say before that comment "What's wrong with these people". Well that didn't set very well with me. I thought we all looked fine. In fact if we hadn't been dressed properly, they would not have seated us for dinner.
For the entertainment tonight we got to enjoy the Unique Magic and Comedy of John Lenahan who has performed for audiences around the world, including Queen Elizabeth's Golden Jubilee. He was pretty funny. In fact he had someone to come up on the stage to help him who on formal night was dressed in shorts and a hoodie sweatshirt. I sure hope he didn't offend the woman from the restaurant!
At 10:30 pm they are having the Officer's Black & White Ball in the Vista Lounge. They are decorating everything in black and white and I am sure it will look nice. They said they will be taking out a lot of the seating and putting in a dance floor. I would like to have seen it but am too tired to wait up. I think these time changes are getting to me.
We have had several more time changes. I believe there is now a 6 hour difference from Dallas. Tomorrow we will have another time change at 2:00 pm and that will make it a 7 hour difference from Dallas. I don't think we will have any more time changes.
Today is my birthday. I already had gotten a card from my kids with a note about the additional shipboard credit they had given me for a spa service. This morning Mary P also gave me a card from Craig and my mother. These were both nice surprises. Today we are invited to a Suite Luncheon in the Pinnacle Grill. I am sure they planned it for my birthday! Tonight we are going to Canelleto -- an Italian restaurant. It is formal night tonight and you don't have to dress up as much to go there since it is located on the Lido Deck.
We had room service for breakfast again this morning. We decided to mark the order to receive it from 7:30-8:00 am. and you guessed it -- we got it at 7:20 am. We also order water with our breakfast each morning and today, we got water -- 2 pots of hot water. Not really sure what we were supposed to do with them since we hadn't ordered any tea to go with it and also no cups to put it in unless they thought we were going to add it to the pot of coffee that they gave us that was big enough to serve the whole ship.
Around 10:00 am I had a call from the Concierge. He said that he knew that I had the privacy sign on my door but could I please open it so he could bring me something from the Rosga's. I got up and opened the door and there were balloons on the door and the Concierge was holding a plate of truffles that the Rosga's had sent me for my birthday. The balloons were falling off the door so he brought them in the cabin and put them on our mirror. This was a very nice surprise!
We went to the casino to make our daily deposit and they must have know it was my birthday because I made money today. That was a nice change. After that it was time for the Suite Luncheon. It was very good. We had mustard soup with salmon for our appetizer. I had never seen this before and didn't know what to expect but it was really good. For the main course we had Beef Tenderloin with Sweetbread. It was good as well. We were commenting on the Sweetbread and it didn't have the consistency of bread and finally decided that it was probably goose liver. It wasn't bad. I would have never tried it if it had said goose liver!
The Future Cruise Consultant had a presentation of the Top 10 Cruises that people are booking on this cruise. A couple of them are mostly booked up for 2012. I always enjoy going to these talks so I can hear where the favorite cruises go.
We went to Canelleto -- an Italian restaurant for dinner. It was formal night tonight and you normally don't have to dress up as much going up there since it is located on the Lido Deck. We had a nice dinner and they even brought a cake out to me and sang Happy Birthday to me. As we got up from the table to rush off to the show, I heard a lady say to her husband "They aren't dressed up in formal wear" Mary P said she heard her say before that comment "What's wrong with these people". Well that didn't set very well with me. I thought we all looked fine. In fact if we hadn't been dressed properly, they would not have seated us for dinner.
For the entertainment tonight we got to enjoy the Unique Magic and Comedy of John Lenahan who has performed for audiences around the world, including Queen Elizabeth's Golden Jubilee. He was pretty funny. In fact he had someone to come up on the stage to help him who on formal night was dressed in shorts and a hoodie sweatshirt. I sure hope he didn't offend the woman from the restaurant!
At 10:30 pm they are having the Officer's Black & White Ball in the Vista Lounge. They are decorating everything in black and white and I am sure it will look nice. They said they will be taking out a lot of the seating and putting in a dance floor. I would like to have seen it but am too tired to wait up. I think these time changes are getting to me.
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Thursday, May 5, 2011
This morning we ordered breakfast from 6:30-7:00 am and received it at 6:10 am. For some reason they don't seem to be able to tell time! We docked in Ponta Delgada, Sao Miguel, Azores an island of Portugal a little before 8:00 am.
We were some of the first off the ship and quickly met up with our tour guide. He was the father of the owner of the tour company. The owner was already booked for the day so we got to go with his father. He was a good guide and showed us all over his island. We told him we wanted a 6 hour island tour and after we got back wished we had asked for a shorter tour. We saw lots of beautiful churches. We also saw several lakes. This is a volcanic island and there are hot spots around the island and you can smell the sulphur and see steam coming from the earth. There was one spot where they dug holes in the ground and buried food in there and it cooked for 6 hours in the ground and then they dug it up to sell to people at restaurants. We didn't get any to eat because you had to order it a day ahead of time. However, I did read about this before I left home and the food sounded gross so I wasn't too disappointed that a we didn't get any.
There was another place they took us where we had to walk a pretty good bit to get to a warm pool of water where people could go in and swim. It was supposed to make you feel better. We didn't bring our swimsuits along, so I had to skip that also.
The guide wanted to take us to another place but it would add an hour to our tour and we already felt like we had been beat, so we begged him to take us back to the ship and he did. We told him that the next time we came to his island we would let him take us.
We got back to the ship at 2:30 and were hungry so we went to the Lido Buffet to get something to eat. I decided to get a hamburger out by the pool since I hadn't had one on this trip yet. There was no line and it was really good. After eating, we went and played bingo but had no luck.
Tonight the only show is the Filipino Crew Show at 11:00 pm. I feel pretty sure I will be asleep at that time. I may try to go to the hydrotherapy pool after dinner.
They are having half price internet minutes between 4-6 pm so I am trying to get this posted quickly during this time period. I will also try and post some pictures. I am not sure if the pictures will work and may have to do later.
We were some of the first off the ship and quickly met up with our tour guide. He was the father of the owner of the tour company. The owner was already booked for the day so we got to go with his father. He was a good guide and showed us all over his island. We told him we wanted a 6 hour island tour and after we got back wished we had asked for a shorter tour. We saw lots of beautiful churches. We also saw several lakes. This is a volcanic island and there are hot spots around the island and you can smell the sulphur and see steam coming from the earth. There was one spot where they dug holes in the ground and buried food in there and it cooked for 6 hours in the ground and then they dug it up to sell to people at restaurants. We didn't get any to eat because you had to order it a day ahead of time. However, I did read about this before I left home and the food sounded gross so I wasn't too disappointed that a we didn't get any.
There was another place they took us where we had to walk a pretty good bit to get to a warm pool of water where people could go in and swim. It was supposed to make you feel better. We didn't bring our swimsuits along, so I had to skip that also.
The guide wanted to take us to another place but it would add an hour to our tour and we already felt like we had been beat, so we begged him to take us back to the ship and he did. We told him that the next time we came to his island we would let him take us.
We got back to the ship at 2:30 and were hungry so we went to the Lido Buffet to get something to eat. I decided to get a hamburger out by the pool since I hadn't had one on this trip yet. There was no line and it was really good. After eating, we went and played bingo but had no luck.
Tonight the only show is the Filipino Crew Show at 11:00 pm. I feel pretty sure I will be asleep at that time. I may try to go to the hydrotherapy pool after dinner.
They are having half price internet minutes between 4-6 pm so I am trying to get this posted quickly during this time period. I will also try and post some pictures. I am not sure if the pictures will work and may have to do later.
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Most of you probably already know our routine by now: room service for breakfast, hydrotherapy pool and back to the room to get ready to face the day.
There are so many things to choose from today: Learn Basic Spanish, Celebrity Chef Cookoff, Computer Classes, Aqua Aerobics, Bean Bag Toss, Dance Class (Country Line Dance), Team Trivia, Bingo, and Casino. This is just a sampling of what is going on today. There are many other things to do. I do know one things that we will do for sure -- lunch! When Pat and Terry left the hydrotherapy pool this morning, that is the one thing we made plans to do.
We will be in our first port tomorrow -- Ponta Delgada, Portugal. We have a private excursion booked to go to "Fogo" Fire Crater Lake & Furnas Crater Lake. Not really sure what it will be but it sounded good when we booked it. The tour is supposed to last 5-6 hours. We try to book the private tours when possible so we have a smaller group and are able to do and see what we want to and not have to wait around for a bus full of people. We have about half private tours and half cruise ship tours. Of course with what happened recently, our families are e-mailing us reminding us to be aware of our surroundings and to be careful.
We went to lunch and were the 2nd people in line at the Vista Dining Room. Usually there are lots of people waiting but for some reason they weren't there today. There is a couple of big groups on board. One of them is a group playing bridge. I am not sure how many there are, but everywhere you look they are playing bridge. Yesterday at lunch we saw a woman who didn't get a chance to finish her lunch so she took her plate with her back to her bridge game. Now that is dedication. The other group is one that I have mentioned previously "Travel With Alan". There are 352 in the group and they have different functions just for their group and take up a lot of the public rooms.
I took a look at the dinner menu and it looks like I will have Prime Rib tonight. For dessert I will have the Cappuccino Bomb -- Rich coffee ice cream encased in a decadent dark chocolate shell, garnished with chocolate sauce and fresh berries. Now doesn't that sound wonderful?
The show tonight will be the Noordam singers and dancers "If Walls Could Rock". I am pretty sure I have seen this show several times before. After the show they will be having Round 1 of Noordam Superstar. This is a continuation of the Karaoke they had the other night.
There are so many things to choose from today: Learn Basic Spanish, Celebrity Chef Cookoff, Computer Classes, Aqua Aerobics, Bean Bag Toss, Dance Class (Country Line Dance), Team Trivia, Bingo, and Casino. This is just a sampling of what is going on today. There are many other things to do. I do know one things that we will do for sure -- lunch! When Pat and Terry left the hydrotherapy pool this morning, that is the one thing we made plans to do.
We will be in our first port tomorrow -- Ponta Delgada, Portugal. We have a private excursion booked to go to "Fogo" Fire Crater Lake & Furnas Crater Lake. Not really sure what it will be but it sounded good when we booked it. The tour is supposed to last 5-6 hours. We try to book the private tours when possible so we have a smaller group and are able to do and see what we want to and not have to wait around for a bus full of people. We have about half private tours and half cruise ship tours. Of course with what happened recently, our families are e-mailing us reminding us to be aware of our surroundings and to be careful.
We went to lunch and were the 2nd people in line at the Vista Dining Room. Usually there are lots of people waiting but for some reason they weren't there today. There is a couple of big groups on board. One of them is a group playing bridge. I am not sure how many there are, but everywhere you look they are playing bridge. Yesterday at lunch we saw a woman who didn't get a chance to finish her lunch so she took her plate with her back to her bridge game. Now that is dedication. The other group is one that I have mentioned previously "Travel With Alan". There are 352 in the group and they have different functions just for their group and take up a lot of the public rooms.
I took a look at the dinner menu and it looks like I will have Prime Rib tonight. For dessert I will have the Cappuccino Bomb -- Rich coffee ice cream encased in a decadent dark chocolate shell, garnished with chocolate sauce and fresh berries. Now doesn't that sound wonderful?
The show tonight will be the Noordam singers and dancers "If Walls Could Rock". I am pretty sure I have seen this show several times before. After the show they will be having Round 1 of Noordam Superstar. This is a continuation of the Karaoke they had the other night.
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
This morning we once again started with room service for breakfast. We received all of the food we ordered today but only 1 cereal spoon for the 2 of us so Mary P used her coffee spoon to eat her cereal.
We went to the spa Hydrotherapy pool again this morning. We found if we get there when they open -- 8:00 am -- there isn't anyone else there (except for the Rosga's). We get to watch Pat do her water aerobics. Pat is always on the go and unable to sit still for more than a few minutes.
My kids (Krista, Chase & Lauren) gave me some shipboard credit for my birthday so I made an appointment to have a facial this morning. It was so relaxing. In fact I fell asleep and woke myself up snoring while she was giving me the facial. At the end of the facial she had a whole line of products that would make my skin so much better if I would just use them. I think they only cost about $1,000 or something. I thanked her for sharing what products I needed, but politely told her I wouldn't be purchasing any products. In the past they usually told you that your skin would turn green or something trying to talk you into buying the products but she didn't push them which I really appreciated.
We went to watch "Cooking with the Cruise Director" in the Culinary Arts Center. These cooking shows are always so funny. They had the chef from the ship making a Black Forest Cake with the Cruise Director by his side making one also. I know I wouldn't eat anything the Cruise Director made! They did bring out samples at the end of the show and it was pretty good. After eating our cake, it was time for lunch so we went down to the Vista Dining Room and got in line and waited until they opened the doors. Service was really slow today but the food was good.
After lunch we made our daily donation to the casino and were going to go to the Cupcake Tea but decided we weren't really in the mood or hungry so we went up to the Crow's Nest to try and find seats for bingo which was to be held in another hour. People go up there and camp out in the recliners to read but usually once bingo starts they leave so we wanted to be there ready to grab our chairs when they were available. While waiting, they had a jewelry fashion show that we watched. This jewelry was worth thousands of dollars and I really didn't like any of it. I think they said one necklace was valued at $68,000. I wouldn't have given them $68 for it. However, they did say that everything was 50% off today.
No luck at bingo today.
Formal night tonight -- ugh! I didn't wear my formal wear like I did the first formal night but I noticed a lot of people didn't dress up as much. In fact there were some men in the show in shorts.
The show tonight was a variety show with the stand-up comedian and the harpist. The comedian did about 25 minutes and then the harpist did about 25 minutes. I really thought the comedian was better tonight than he was the other night. We got to the showroom early and got a seat in the front row of the box seats on the side.
After the show we went to "Battle of the Sexes". It was pretty funny and the women won!
We went to the spa Hydrotherapy pool again this morning. We found if we get there when they open -- 8:00 am -- there isn't anyone else there (except for the Rosga's). We get to watch Pat do her water aerobics. Pat is always on the go and unable to sit still for more than a few minutes.
My kids (Krista, Chase & Lauren) gave me some shipboard credit for my birthday so I made an appointment to have a facial this morning. It was so relaxing. In fact I fell asleep and woke myself up snoring while she was giving me the facial. At the end of the facial she had a whole line of products that would make my skin so much better if I would just use them. I think they only cost about $1,000 or something. I thanked her for sharing what products I needed, but politely told her I wouldn't be purchasing any products. In the past they usually told you that your skin would turn green or something trying to talk you into buying the products but she didn't push them which I really appreciated.
We went to watch "Cooking with the Cruise Director" in the Culinary Arts Center. These cooking shows are always so funny. They had the chef from the ship making a Black Forest Cake with the Cruise Director by his side making one also. I know I wouldn't eat anything the Cruise Director made! They did bring out samples at the end of the show and it was pretty good. After eating our cake, it was time for lunch so we went down to the Vista Dining Room and got in line and waited until they opened the doors. Service was really slow today but the food was good.
After lunch we made our daily donation to the casino and were going to go to the Cupcake Tea but decided we weren't really in the mood or hungry so we went up to the Crow's Nest to try and find seats for bingo which was to be held in another hour. People go up there and camp out in the recliners to read but usually once bingo starts they leave so we wanted to be there ready to grab our chairs when they were available. While waiting, they had a jewelry fashion show that we watched. This jewelry was worth thousands of dollars and I really didn't like any of it. I think they said one necklace was valued at $68,000. I wouldn't have given them $68 for it. However, they did say that everything was 50% off today.
No luck at bingo today.
Formal night tonight -- ugh! I didn't wear my formal wear like I did the first formal night but I noticed a lot of people didn't dress up as much. In fact there were some men in the show in shorts.
The show tonight was a variety show with the stand-up comedian and the harpist. The comedian did about 25 minutes and then the harpist did about 25 minutes. I really thought the comedian was better tonight than he was the other night. We got to the showroom early and got a seat in the front row of the box seats on the side.
After the show we went to "Battle of the Sexes". It was pretty funny and the women won!
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Monday, May 2, 2011
This morning we started out with room service for breakfast and they once again came 10 minutes before time but this time we were awake. I always order a bowl of apricots and for some reason, they didn't deliver it so I just had a bowl of cereal but we do have a fruit basket in the room so I ate a banana out of that.
We went to the hydrotherapy pool at the spa and enjoyed the pool and ceramic loungers for a little over an hour. After that we went back to the room to get ready for the day. I was still a little miffed that I didn't get my apricots so I stopped by the lido and got a bowl of them there. Then I was happy. There really wasn't much going on this morning. We went to the talk about shore excursions but we were late so didn't get to hear much of it so we went to make our donation to the casino. It was a very unfriendly place this morning.
We decided to go back to the room but stopped by the Neptune Lounge to get a snack and ask for a printout of our bill. We were walking back to our room looking at our bills trying to see if everything was correct. I really wasn't paying any attention to where I was going. When I got to the room my key wouldn't work and I thought well this is great. I told Mary P to try her key and she started laughing and said this isn't our room. We are on the wrong floor. I looked up and we were trying to get into the Rosga's room. They are on the 7th floor (same floor as the Neptune) and we are on the 5th floor. Ours is directly below theirs down 2 floors. They are both the aft wrap around balcony rooms. After we got back to the room Pat called and said they were in line at the dining room (30 minutes early) for lunch and asked if we were coming, so we went down there to get in line. After all we wouldn't want to miss a meal. I am trying to do better about what I eat on the cruise and I try not to clean my plate even if it is wonderful.
This afternoon they had a special show with Clint Holmes and we wanted to be sure to see him. We figured it would be crowded because he was so good so we went to the showroom to start a line right after we finished lunch. The showroom was closed for rehearsals. Finally Clint came out the door and we figured they were finished with rehearsals so Mary P opened the door and went in so we all followed her. There were others that followed as well but it was a long time before the opened the doors to all the others. I have to say I think this show was better than his other 2 shows that we saw the other night. He said that he would like to be on broadway. If he goes to broadway, I am going to be there to see him. That is how good he is!
Dinner was good tonight as usual. For my appetizer I had orange slices with watermelon salsa. I thought that was strange but actually pretty good.
The entertainer tonight was a harpist from Paraguay. He was talented but not really my thing.
The last thing we did tonight was go to Karaoke. There were some really good ones and also some really bad ones. I think we needed a gong to get rid of some of them sooner. There are quite a few young people on this cruise and they were the ones that were good. There was one man that went up there and he was just doing his own thing not even singing what was on the screen. Finally everyone started clapping so he shut up and went and sat down.
Tomorrow they have the cupcake tea where it says they will have 10 different kinds of cupcakes. I think I will have to go check that out.
We went to the hydrotherapy pool at the spa and enjoyed the pool and ceramic loungers for a little over an hour. After that we went back to the room to get ready for the day. I was still a little miffed that I didn't get my apricots so I stopped by the lido and got a bowl of them there. Then I was happy. There really wasn't much going on this morning. We went to the talk about shore excursions but we were late so didn't get to hear much of it so we went to make our donation to the casino. It was a very unfriendly place this morning.
We decided to go back to the room but stopped by the Neptune Lounge to get a snack and ask for a printout of our bill. We were walking back to our room looking at our bills trying to see if everything was correct. I really wasn't paying any attention to where I was going. When I got to the room my key wouldn't work and I thought well this is great. I told Mary P to try her key and she started laughing and said this isn't our room. We are on the wrong floor. I looked up and we were trying to get into the Rosga's room. They are on the 7th floor (same floor as the Neptune) and we are on the 5th floor. Ours is directly below theirs down 2 floors. They are both the aft wrap around balcony rooms. After we got back to the room Pat called and said they were in line at the dining room (30 minutes early) for lunch and asked if we were coming, so we went down there to get in line. After all we wouldn't want to miss a meal. I am trying to do better about what I eat on the cruise and I try not to clean my plate even if it is wonderful.
This afternoon they had a special show with Clint Holmes and we wanted to be sure to see him. We figured it would be crowded because he was so good so we went to the showroom to start a line right after we finished lunch. The showroom was closed for rehearsals. Finally Clint came out the door and we figured they were finished with rehearsals so Mary P opened the door and went in so we all followed her. There were others that followed as well but it was a long time before the opened the doors to all the others. I have to say I think this show was better than his other 2 shows that we saw the other night. He said that he would like to be on broadway. If he goes to broadway, I am going to be there to see him. That is how good he is!
Dinner was good tonight as usual. For my appetizer I had orange slices with watermelon salsa. I thought that was strange but actually pretty good.
The entertainer tonight was a harpist from Paraguay. He was talented but not really my thing.
The last thing we did tonight was go to Karaoke. There were some really good ones and also some really bad ones. I think we needed a gong to get rid of some of them sooner. There are quite a few young people on this cruise and they were the ones that were good. There was one man that went up there and he was just doing his own thing not even singing what was on the screen. Finally everyone started clapping so he shut up and went and sat down.
Tomorrow they have the cupcake tea where it says they will have 10 different kinds of cupcakes. I think I will have to go check that out.
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Sunday, May 1, 2011
This morning we decided to have room service for breakfast. We requested it to be delivered between 7:00 and 7:30 and even set a wake-up call for 6:55 so we would be ready. At 6:50 I was awoken by a tap on the door. I went to look out the peep hole because I really couldn't tell if it was at our door or next door. There was a room service guy out there. I saw him look at his watch and then knock on our door a little louder. I guess he needs a new watch. It didn't take us long to eat because we just ordered cereal and fruit. We ordered it early because we had plans to go to the Hydrotherapy Pool in the spa when it opened at 8:00 am. We had an invitation for an Indonesian Rijstaffel Brunch at 11:00 am so we needed time to get back from the spa and get ready to go eat once again. It seems like everything is planned around meals.
The Rosga's got to the spa shortly after we did and we were talking about the brunch at 11:00 am and they said theirs was for 1:00 pm. After I got back to the room, I called and changed ours to 1:00 pm also. Guess we didn't have to get up so early after all. We also have dinner reservations tonight at the Pinnacle Grill.
We went to the luncheon with the Rosga's. It was all Indonesian food and was very good but spicy. They had the appetizer on the table when we were seated. We asked the waiter what it was and he said springrolls. They were tasty. We then noticed that people were walking up to the front of the dining room standing in line. We then figured out that it was a buffet. After moaning and groaning about having to stand in a line, it was finally our turn to go. I figured that since I had to go up there and get it I should make the best of it. I got one of everything and tasted it all. Some things were better than others. They also served champagne mixed with guava juice. I don' t really care for champagne so the guava made it easier to go down.
Just got back from bingo. I won $131 on the 3rd game and Mary P won $420 on the 4th game. We are getting ready to go to dinner at the Pinnacle Grill compliments of our travel agent.
We went to the Pinnacle Grill and it was good. I had the Veal Chop with mashed potatoes and asparagus. The dessert was raspberry cheesecake with coffee. We witnessed something really funny while we were there eating. The Pinnacle Grill is a speciality restaurant that you have to pay for. I think it is $20 per person and requires advance reservations. When we were seated, we saw Dan Scrivner and his wife eating nearby and we spoke as we passed by. They were seated in a nice romantic booth and I commented to our group that was where they tried to seat Mary P and I for breakfast the other morning and I asked them to move us by the window. It wasn't long until an they brought an older woman in to be seated. She was alone and they were seating her at a table for 2. She asked to be seated with someone and they told her that people were not seated together at the Pinnacle because they preferred to dine alone. She then promptly said that she would just ask someone if she could sit with them. You guessed it, she asked Dan and his wife if she could dine with them and they were very kind to her and told her to join them. The whole staff at the Pinnacle were standing around with their mouths wide open not believing what was going on. It looked like their dinner went well. I can't wait until I run into Dan to see what he thought about the whole thing.
After dinner we were invited to a cocktail reception with the Captain. We made a brief appearance just to check things out but didn't stay long because we wanted to get a good seat at the show.
Tonight the show was Brian Bradley -- a playful blend of stand-up & improvisation. We sat in the balcony because we didn't want to be part of the show. He put on a good show and was really quick on his feet coming up with things. They said he had been on the Seinfeld Show.
They said we may be losing the internet and TV signals over the next few days. I will try to post this now and hopefully it will work. There could be several days where I won't be posting, but I will catch it up when we get a signal again. I must say though, that the weakest signals we have gotten so far have been 100% better than the signals we had on Royal Caribbean in November. At least we can use our computers in the cabin and not have to carry it to a bar to get on the internet.
If anyone posts on this, let us know who was kicked off the Celebrity Apprentice and the Amazing Race. I just don't understand why they can't give us our reality shows on board.
They will be setting the clocks forward at 2:00 pm tomorrow. I think there is a 3 hour difference from Dallas now and tomorrow we will have a 4 hour time difference.
The Rosga's got to the spa shortly after we did and we were talking about the brunch at 11:00 am and they said theirs was for 1:00 pm. After I got back to the room, I called and changed ours to 1:00 pm also. Guess we didn't have to get up so early after all. We also have dinner reservations tonight at the Pinnacle Grill.
We went to the luncheon with the Rosga's. It was all Indonesian food and was very good but spicy. They had the appetizer on the table when we were seated. We asked the waiter what it was and he said springrolls. They were tasty. We then noticed that people were walking up to the front of the dining room standing in line. We then figured out that it was a buffet. After moaning and groaning about having to stand in a line, it was finally our turn to go. I figured that since I had to go up there and get it I should make the best of it. I got one of everything and tasted it all. Some things were better than others. They also served champagne mixed with guava juice. I don' t really care for champagne so the guava made it easier to go down.
Just got back from bingo. I won $131 on the 3rd game and Mary P won $420 on the 4th game. We are getting ready to go to dinner at the Pinnacle Grill compliments of our travel agent.
We went to the Pinnacle Grill and it was good. I had the Veal Chop with mashed potatoes and asparagus. The dessert was raspberry cheesecake with coffee. We witnessed something really funny while we were there eating. The Pinnacle Grill is a speciality restaurant that you have to pay for. I think it is $20 per person and requires advance reservations. When we were seated, we saw Dan Scrivner and his wife eating nearby and we spoke as we passed by. They were seated in a nice romantic booth and I commented to our group that was where they tried to seat Mary P and I for breakfast the other morning and I asked them to move us by the window. It wasn't long until an they brought an older woman in to be seated. She was alone and they were seating her at a table for 2. She asked to be seated with someone and they told her that people were not seated together at the Pinnacle because they preferred to dine alone. She then promptly said that she would just ask someone if she could sit with them. You guessed it, she asked Dan and his wife if she could dine with them and they were very kind to her and told her to join them. The whole staff at the Pinnacle were standing around with their mouths wide open not believing what was going on. It looked like their dinner went well. I can't wait until I run into Dan to see what he thought about the whole thing.
After dinner we were invited to a cocktail reception with the Captain. We made a brief appearance just to check things out but didn't stay long because we wanted to get a good seat at the show.
Tonight the show was Brian Bradley -- a playful blend of stand-up & improvisation. We sat in the balcony because we didn't want to be part of the show. He put on a good show and was really quick on his feet coming up with things. They said he had been on the Seinfeld Show.
They said we may be losing the internet and TV signals over the next few days. I will try to post this now and hopefully it will work. There could be several days where I won't be posting, but I will catch it up when we get a signal again. I must say though, that the weakest signals we have gotten so far have been 100% better than the signals we had on Royal Caribbean in November. At least we can use our computers in the cabin and not have to carry it to a bar to get on the internet.
If anyone posts on this, let us know who was kicked off the Celebrity Apprentice and the Amazing Race. I just don't understand why they can't give us our reality shows on board.
They will be setting the clocks forward at 2:00 pm tomorrow. I think there is a 3 hour difference from Dallas now and tomorrow we will have a 4 hour time difference.
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