Grandma and Wendy sail the Caribbean!!--Complete!
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Wendyismyname · 01-31-2005, 10:20 AM

Hi everyone!! I did not take notes while on my cruise, I forgot to take some paper!! Anyhow, I wouldn't have had too much time to write!! This will be fairly brief and probably all in one post! edited: i don't think it'll be all in one post

Friday Jan 21, 2005
We left my house at 3pm to drive to my uncle's house in Indianapolis. Had a wonderful time visiting with them and I tried something new at dinner: meatloaf made from venison! YUM!!
We went to bed at 9:30pm to see if we could sleep because of excitement!!

Saturday Jan 22, 2005. Gran's 80th birthday!!
We both woke very early, about 4am(an hour before the alarm!!) Guess we were really excited!!
The weather was supposed to be really snowing after midnight, but it had only sleeted a bit. The car was covered with ice, but the roads were fine. We left his house at around 6:30am and made good time. We checked in at the airport, had a smoke then went to get breakfast. Both Grandma and I were so excited and she's just a wonderful person--very appreciative of everything.

Finally the plane arrives and we can start boarding(the plane was only a couple minutes late, but when you're excited, it seems like forever!).

The flight to Ft. Lauderdale was uneventful and we touched down a little after 1pm. It was so great to see palm trees and the weather was really nice. We just wanted to get to the hotel(Best Western Marina Inn and Yacht Harbor)so that we could get in contact with the family that lives in Hollywood.

I was so excited because I hadn't seen my cousin for 6 years!! I was even more excited when I heard that my other cousin had just arrived that morning and would be joining us too!!

So I got the best of both worlds there!!

My cousin's mother and step father took us(8 of us!)to dinner. We cannot remember the name of the restaurant, but the food was wonderful!! I tried conch fritters(yum), california roll(so-so), and alligator(no thank you). I was proud of myself that I would go on the rest of the week and keep trying new stuff!!

After a lovely dinner, we went back to their house so we could keep visiting. Finally arrived back at our hotel at 10pm. It had been a long day. And we were so excited about embarking on our cruise on Sunday!!! That's when the REAL fun begins!!

p.s. we saw the QM2 leave port!! She's a big ship!!

Sunday Jan.23, 2005

As soon as my feet hit the floor, I was outside ready to go! Okay, not quite that quickly, but well before our 11am check out time!! But I did go and get coffee and muffins.

Gran sure does like having her coffee as soon as her eyes are open. Little did I know that it would be expected of me to do that the rest of the week!

We checked out at 10am and went to the side of the hotel where the vans would be waiting to take us to the ship. Soon enough, right at 11am, our van was there to take us to the Jewel.
We finally got there(I'm laughing because the port was right 'next door', but you had to cross a bridge and sit thru traffic)about 15 minutes later and were just in awe of the size of the ship!

We leave our bags and head inside where we sit for about 45 minutes. OMG we were excited!! Finally time to get on board!! I know that my smile was really cheesy(for the photo for your pass). As we headed up the gangway(?)I turned on the camera. Immediately I could tell this would be a vacation of my lifetime. The first crew member I see onboard was a beautiful lady smiling and waving and welcoming us onboard!!

We boarded on deck 5. The ship has a lovely Centrum from deck 4 to deck 11.
Our first thing we wanted to do was head to the Windjammer buffet because our room wouldn't be ready until 1pm. So, up we went the glass elevator!!!

OMG I loved those elevators!! Up to the buffet we head and immediately saw the display of fruits, vegetables and ice!! WOW!! But I couldn't take my eyes off the windows!! Windows EVERYWHERE!! We sat on the side with the ocean, although all the window tables were taken. The buffet was very good and I had a cheeseburger, fries and some pasta salad. Didn't want to over do it on the food as we had the early seating for dinner(6pm).
After eating, we went outside and up a flight of stairs to the 12th deck and found the mini golf course, but we didn't look much there because we were gawking at the ocean and all the ships that were in port!! We decided to head to our stateroom.

Sidenote: Grandma cannot walk long periods and walks slow. Plus she gawks, so imagine me, trying to walk slow, talking to her only to turn around and she's not there because she stopped and was looking around!

We kept laughing about that all week!!

Finally into our room!!! But first we met our stateroom attendant, Hector!! Wonderful man!! You'll probably hear more about him later!!
So, the door is open and I allow grandma to go in first. Funny enough, she's looking straight towards the ocean!

Finally, she noticed that birthday decorations, cake and champagne!!! Happy Birthday I said!!!! There were a few tears at that time!!
We throw(okay, she placed, but I tossed)our carryon and purse down and headed to the balcony where we proceeded to gawk together!
After about an hour, I was ready to go exploring while she rested a bit. So, explore I did!! First purchase onboard was the soda package on deck 4 at the lobby bar(you'll be hearing about the lobby bar often

). OMG.......I fell in

with the bartender, Chico. He was the showman. Very polite, but more importantly, very good looking!!!!!

I was really glad that I purchased the soda package as it gave me a rather nice excuse to become a bar fly!!!
So, I head back to the stateroom to visit some more with the balcony. LOL. We had our drill and back to the room. The drill was easy enough and I think we all looked cute in our life jackets!
We were supposed to leave at 5pm but because of the storms in the midwest and northeast, they held the ship for a half hour. Didn't even know when we started moving because we were busy talking, but I finally noticed the skyline had changed!! Yay!! We're on our way!!!

It was time to get ready for dinner by then and find our way to the dining room. Goodness, it was a gorgeous place to be!! We were at a table for 10 and had wonderful table mates!! The couple next to us were from Indianapolis!! We have plans to meet up from now on!! Of course, I was the youngest at our table, but that didn't matter to the rest of them. We had excellent conversations all week!!

I cannot remember what we ate for the most part of the trip, but our servers were excellent!! Cosmin was our head waiter(the guy in the jacket), Alan was our waiter(loved how he pulled out the chair and placed the napkin!!) and Sara was our assistant. I especially loved how after the first night she knew that I drank iced tea with dinner and had a coffee afterward!!
Pleasantly full, we head back to the room where we sit on the balcony for a little while until time for the show. I loved our welcome aboard show. The Coral Theatre was a really beautiful place to be!!
When we returned, Hector had given us the turndown service, complete with chocolate mint on the pillows!!!

We knew we wanted to be rested up for our next day, so it was lights out shortly before 10pm. We slept with the balcony door open!!!

Next: Key West!

PhillyPooh · 01-31-2005, 12:47 PM

Thank you so much for sharing your cruise with us. My hubby and I were on Voyager of The Seas, August 2003 and absolutely loved it! We also had a balcony cabin which really spoils you. Cruising is without a doubt the best "bang for your buck" out there. Looking forward to the rest of your trip. You are such a sweetie for taking your grandmom to celebrate her birthday.

crystalloubear · 01-31-2005, 01:40 PM

I love cruises - we've done 7. I can't wait to hear more. I can picture it all in my head. Isn't the Jewel of the Seas the newest of all the RCCL ships?? They are all so gorgeous!!

GoofyMom · 01-31-2005, 02:06 PM

Wow! It sounds like this is going to be one fabulous cruise! Can't wait for more!

Wendyismyname · 01-31-2005, 02:14 PM

Yes, the Jewel is the newest. Her maiden voyage was in April of last year. We were on voyage #34. RCI will be debuting the Freedom of the Seas next year and she will be bigger than the QM2!

Tara O'Hara · 01-31-2005, 02:21 PM

Oh my gosh!!

I absolutely

RCCL!!! We went on the Voyager of the Seas last year and had one of the best vacations ever!!

I can't wait to hear how much fun you guys had Wendy!!

**chezp** · 01-31-2005, 03:17 PM

What a great start Wendy - I'm so pleased you're doing a trip report for us and I can't wait to hear more. It already sounds like you're having an amazing time - and I love the way your gran took ages to notice the birthday celebrations!

Wendyismyname · 02-01-2005, 09:13 AM

Monday, Jan. 24, 2005

Port of call: Key West, FL.

We awake bright and early--very early!!! It was really really cold too!! I was up before 6am and filmed our docking. This was also the only day we actually saw a sunrise. It was so cold that I quickly came back in the room and added layers! Boy was I glad I took my Eeyore fleece jacket!!! I was even more glad when I saw the extra blanket in the closet!!
So, I was pretty well wrapped up when my Gran awoke and joined me. Fortunately, there was enough blanket to share and we stood there and giggled for the longest time!! She really liked it when I pointed out the Gorton's Fishermen!!!

Two guys in yellow slickers in a small boat!!

Soon we hear a knock on the door for our room service breakfast!! Okay, we were both more concerned about having our coffee

!
I know this morning we both had omelets, bacon, hash browns and pastries. Soon, it was time to get ready for the day. Another time I was glad I brought my fleece!!
We got off the boat and met for our tour. There were people there(from Indianapolis!)that were wearing shorts!

I could see the guy had rather large goosebumps on his legs!

Off to the Conch Trolley we went. Choose the open-air one. Brrrr!! But, it was rather nice, as long as we weren't near the water as that seemed to be where all the wind was!
We did see the southernmost point of the continental United States, so now it's official, I've seen that one and the southernmost point of Hawaii!!!

We saw Ernest Hemingway's house, Sloppy Joe's(the pub Hemingway made famous!), learned about the guy who built the railroad and for the life of me, cannot remember his name!!! I wish I could remember more, but really the only thing I do remember is how cold I was!!!!
After an hour, which really did seem longer, we were done and ready to shop. I bought gran and I some seashell windchimes. I was really looking for a sweatshirt, but she didn't want to walk much farther, so I didn't. She wasn't paying much attention when we arrived, so she was really turned around. Me being the person that I am, was more concerned about her than what I wanted. So, off we went back to the ship. We discussed going into the Shipwreck museum, which I really wanted to do, but neither of us wanted to spend the $10. I know it's not much, but she was pretty adamant about it!! LOL!

We finally get back to the ship and decided a nap was in order!! That wind was horrible!!! I laid down and the last thing I told her was, "I'm only going to sleep for 20 minutes"

TWO hours later

I woke up!!! Well, I did wake up a couple of times, I was snoring so loudly!! Then I couldn't apologize enough to grandma because I felt that I kept her awake!

When I woke up, it was nearly time for dinner!! The Captain's champagne reception was scheduled for 5pm and dinner at 6pm. We never did meet the Captain, nor have any free Champagne!! I was busy getting ready for formal night (yuck). The night before, I was assured that clothes really didn't matter and none of my table mates were planning on wearing a dress. Whew, I really did feel better after that, but I wore my dress anyway!

That night, we had Beef Tenderloin. YUM!! It really was great!! I was really impressed how Sara knew immediately which three of us took ice tea, the rest drinking water!!
After dinner, we went back to the room and changed clothes and headed to the show. Tonight's performer was Tony Tillman. He was a brilliant singer and very funny!! He ended the show singing some Sammy Davis Jr. songs and I believe that Sammy was in him that night!! He even looked like him!! Of course, we were sitting way up on Deck 6!!
Back to the room and we sat on the balcony briefly, the wind was still chilly. Then it was time for some reading!!

Next: Cozumel

Wendyismyname · 02-01-2005, 09:35 AM

Tuesday Jan 25, 2005
Port of Call: Cozumel

Today the weather was much warmer and I could wear shorts!! That's what I was really looking forward to was wearing shorts in January!!

We had room service again today, but it was only coffee. We headed up to the Windjammer for breakfast since we didn't arrive at Cozumel until 10am. After breakfast, we headed to the bow and watched as we docked. Those are some seriously big ropes!!

In Cozumel, we did the Cozumel Highlights and Shopping tour. Our guide was Alejandro, or Alex as he let us call him! Our first stop was el Cedral. At el Cedral, it is the only place you will see a Mayan temple next to a Catholic church. Of course they have some shops there. This is where I found Carlee a gorgeous handmade Mexican dress(which she constantly wants to wear

)and me a Black Coral necklace. Very nice, both of them. But the highlight of that stop was the little kitty cat that grandma and I befriended! Mishtal I think his name was. Looked more like a Chihuahua than a cat! LOL!
Back on the bus, we saw probably about half of the island. At the end, we stopped for shopping at the Forum Shops and lunch if anyone was hungry, which we were. We ate at Pancho's Backyard and fittingly enough for me, our server's name was Orlando!!! Great food and grandma really enjoyed her margarita!!
Before we knew it, we were back on the ship and knew that neither of us would be going to dinner. Instead, I donned my swimsuit and swam in the pool!!! Um, I must have had my mouth open(probably talking) and got a good taste of the water. Ick. They should add some Tequila so we could swim in a huge margarita!!

After my swim and soak in the hot tub, I went to the pool bar for a coke. I sat next to a guy and immediately noticed his Mickey watch!! Instant conversation!! Michael and I had great fun talking about Disney. He had just left WDW after 10 nights!! By the end of the cruise, we had exhanged emails and have plans to meet at WDW in a couple of weeks. I hope he can make it, he's very sick. The doctors give him about 2 years, he has Hodgkin's.
After my coke, I headed back to change. Then I went to the lobby bar for another coke!! Oh, that's when I met Jaime!!!! Chico was there of course(gosh he's good looking). Chico knew immediately that I wanted a coke and that I don't drink alcohol.
Sitting there listening to Rosario Strings, I got really really sad. They started playing Wind Beneath my Wings and I immediately had to leave. Last time I heard that song was at Kristy's(my niece's)funeral in November. So, being very

I headed out to explore the ship some more, but first stopped to email home. I ended up getting super lost somewhere on deck 12. Thought I was heading the direction I wanted to, only to have turned myself completely around! I have to say that even though the ship is big, it does not take long to get anywhere!!
Once I found myself, I went back to the bar for another coke. I really love that I bought the package as I imagine they would have added up!! I was really thirsty on the ship. Is that common??
Back out to deck 11 and I see they were setting up for a buffet of some sorts and dancing. But I was too depressed to stay. Sure was beautiful though!!
Now, I wish I would have stayed out there until 11:30pm just so I could have seen all the action!! Chico and some other bartenders were throwing bottles and putting on a great show I guess!! Oh well, I really was not in a partying mood. Note to self: always cruise with a buddy. They'll keep you out of a funk!!

Back in the room where Grandma was already half asleep!! Bless her heart! Lights out at 11pm I believe!!

Next: Costa Maya and the start of Wendy becoming a lush

loobyoxlip · 02-01-2005, 10:59 AM

[ QUOTE ]
They should add some Tequila so we could swim in a huge margarita!!

[/ QUOTE ]

Sounds very pampering, Wendy. I want to go on a cruise!!!

SarahJ · 02-01-2005, 12:17 PM

Wendy, this is a great trip report! Sounds like you and your Grandma had a great time. More please!

crystalloubear · 02-01-2005, 12:34 PM

Rule #1 to getting around a ship - there is almost always a pattern in the carpet that points towards the front of the ship.
One of the room attendants told me that on one of our RCCL cruises.

Sounds like a great time so far!! I

Cozumel - we always end up doing the excursion called "Passion Island Escape" it is awesome!! They take you to the beach where they film the corona beer commercials

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