Roatan, the beautiful

Three cheers for Captain Carlo Querirolo! We made it to Roatan without a hitch, and it was a perfect day. We docked in Roatan around 9:30am. Since our scheduled departure for the beach day wasn't until 11:30am, we didn't rush. This port is entirely new since I was here last, and it is really beautiful.

Mahogany Beach is a man-made beach area that is right by the new port. They've built a ski-lift contraption called the "Magical Flying Beach Chair" to transport people to the beach.

We opted to go to Tabyana Beach. It was a 30 minute bus ride (because we went the long way around the island), but it was well worth the effort. All 9 of us spent the day here. There were plenty of chairs under the shade of the palm trees, island music being played nearby, shallow and clear water, and snorkleing right off the beach. It was so amazing to walk out to waist-deep water and have hundreds of beautiful fish swimming all around you. There were no waves here, so it was very easy to just sit in the sand at the edge of the water.

About mid-day, I arranged a water taxi to take Bib, Mom, and myself to the West End area to do some shopping for mahogany. Unfortunately, getting into the water taxi (little boat) proved to be a little difficult for mom, so she headed back to the others to catch the bus back to ship. I was disappointed for her because I wanted for her to see this area of Roatan, but it wasn't easy for me to get into the water taxi, either, so I completely understood her decision.

This is a restaurant in West End that I visited on my first trip. This area looked the same, and I was able to easily find the little mahogony shop. It looks like someone needs to mow the water. You'd never know the water is about 8 ft. deep here. This is the Norwegian Spirit. When we got closer, I realized it was docked at the "old" port I was expecting at Roatan. The Dream's baby brother, Valor, was also in Roatan with us.

I've just visited my favorite place in the world, so what could make it better?? My favorite Carnival dessert....bitter and blanc bread pudding. Unlike the warm chocolate melting cake (also a favorite), the bread pudding is offered only one night. It was totally worth the wait. Here is a picture taken before they added the warm white chocolate. Mmmm.....

Tiramisu was also on the menu tonight. I didn't try it, but it was a crowd favorite.

We were pretty pooped from a long day, but we soldiered on. There was no show tonight, so (almost) everyone went to bed early. Jason wanted us to meet one of his friends on the ship, Tanya, who is a bar waiter in the Rendevous Bar. The Rendevous is a small quiet bar designed for people who want to have an actual conversation. It was the size of my family room and had nice leather arm chairs and banquettes and one large TV. Besides Tanya, there was one other older couple there. We found out Tanya is also from Bulgaria and knows Tsvetan (our head waiter) and his wife. We chatted with Tanya for about an hour, and we asked her 20 questions about life on board a Fun Ship. She has been with Carnival for 14 years and is usually on board for 9 months at a time. Her boyfriend is Ante is the maitre'd in Scarlet (downstairs) and ends everynight's showtime peformance by saying "Let's have more fun....fun, fun, fun!" He came in as we were leaving, so it was fun, fun, fun meeting him.

Tonight at 11:30pm, there was laser light show with a Mexican buffet on the Lido deck. Of course, we had to check it out. We didn't eat anything, but it smelled pretty good. Here are a couple of (lousy) shots of the laser show.

Tomorrow, it's back to Mexico.

Belize

Gluttons for punishment, we got another early start today. We woke up in Belize this morning, but you wouldn't know it by looking out the window. Belize, as you may recall, is a tender port. Because Belize City is right above sea level, the waters are too shallow for a cruise ship to dock. It is necessary to take a smaller boat (a tender) from the ship to the shore. Although Carnival had recently renegotiated for larger and safer boats with the tender operators in Belize, the moms opted to stay on board the Dream today. Since we didn't have an excursion planned today (Bib's sisters were going cave tubing), we had to go to the Burgundy Lounge to get a tender sticker (get assigned to a boat). This is the lounge where the comedy shows were held, so we hadn't been here yet. The decor was really interesting with masquerade masks hanging all around.

Since we were docked about 5 miles from Belize City, I didn't think it was unusual that we couldn't see land, but I did notice it was really hazy and there was a faint smell of smoke in the air. As we got closer to Belize, the smell was stronger.

Our first look at Belize City.

You can barely see the lighthouse on the left side of this photo.


Here is a shot of the lighthouse from my previous trip to Belize. This give a little perspective on how hazy the day was. We found out later that there was a forest fire in nearby Guatemala that was impacting our weather. According to Mom, the smell of fire got stronger on board, so the captain and/or cruise director made several announcements throughout the day to make sure passengers weren't worried that the smell was coming from the engine room.

Cruise ships stop here because of interesting and adventurous excursions (cave tubing, zip lining, Mayan ruin climbing, snorkeling, diving), but the port itself has less charm than the Milton Flea Market (sorry, Bib!). However, much like a flea market, you can find bargains here. We finished our shopping (i.e. - purses and luggage) and headed back to the Mother Ship.

We rounded up the moms, had lunch, and went to a mask making activity in preparation for a Mardi Gras party/parade later in the evening. Among the feathers, glitter, stickers, etc, we found photos of the cruise director, Butch, so we incorporated those into our masks. The parade was at 11:30 pm (complete with a dixieland band), and since Bib's mom was in bed, Flat Deana borrowed her mask for the festivities. We didn't win any prizes for our mask design, but it was fun.

I think we started a "Battle of the Bar Waiters" tonight. We ran into the Atlanta girls, and we finally got to meet 911. He and Jason were both working at Ocean Plaza tonight, and of course, when Jason brought our foo-foo drinks, he folded our straw papers into hearts. Little Louise was immediately fired up because 911 doesn't do that for her. Then, Jason whips out a napkin and a pen with a cap (like a bic pen) and manages to make us a rose, using a straw as the stem. It was really cute, and I thought Louise was going to come unglued. Poor 911! Louise was giving him down-the-road and insisting that Jason teach him how to make the flowers. Bib and I wore ours in our hair for the Mardi Gras parade.

Tomorrow is our big excursion to Roatan, my favorite place. I have daydreamed about my return for a long time. One possible hiccup...I am told that due to the size of the Carnival Dream and the location of the dock, the ship has to turn and back in to port. If it's very windy, the captain has to make the tough choice to drive right on by. Now that would be a cryin' shame. Keep your fingers crossed.

Bienvenido a Mexico!

That's Spanish for Welcome to Mexico, ya'll. In our dedication to squeeze every bit of fun out of this trip, our alarm went off at 7am this morning. (UGH!) We weren't very happy about it, but we know it is for the greater good. We met Bib for breakfast in the Scarlet at 8am and watched as we docked in Cozumel. Although it hasn't been THAT long since I've been here, the port looked totally different this time. I suspect they had to add on to the pier to allow for the larger ships, such as the Dream. Unfortunately, I don't have a photo from my previous trip that shows a "before" and "after." The row of shops on the left side of the photo is definitely new. Security now routes you through the shops to get to/from the ship.



This port was built specifically for Carnival. Other cruise lines dock further to the left of these photos near the "real" downtown Cozumel; however, many of the shops from the downtown area also have locations in this port. This area feels very commercial, but also very safe.

We headed off the ship at 9:45am. Bib had booked and excursion to swim with the dolphins today, so we decided to get some shopping done before she left. It was a very hot and humid, but we didn't let that distract us! We had some vanilla to buy. Although Vanilla is produced and grown in several regions on the world, it originated in Mexico. Vanilla is made from the seed pod of an orchid plant which grows organically in the southern coastal regions. Mexican vanilla is described as smooth and a little spicy. I brought some home from my previous cruise, but I gave it all away. This time, we've had several requests from people to bring some home, so we stocked up.

When we'd had all we could stand, we headed back. My plan was to hang out at the pool, and Mom's plan was to find a piece of shade. We spent the rest of the afternoon at Waves Pool and Seaside Theater. With many of our 4,200 friends exploring Cozumel, it was easy to find a good spot in the sun (or the shade). In the photo below, you can see a row of light blue chairs in the shade of the deck below the big screen. This is where Mom spent part of her afternoon. The blue chairs were molded plastic rocking chairs and were quite comfortable.

This is the view from the 11th deck. The hot tubs overhang the decks on the Promenade Deck (deck 5). This photo is untouched. The water really is that blue.

At dinner tonight, Jason (our favorite bar waiter) showed up to check on us. I think he missed us today. Ha! He arrived just in time for "Showtime." Each night, the dining staff entertains us, either with song or dance. The shows on the Dream aren't as interactive as they were on the Legend, but it's still fun. Tonight, we were invited to dance with the waiters. Of course, Bib and I popped right up and started dancing. Jason grabbed Pam and made her dance along, too. What was the name of the song?? No idea, but the words "shake it" were in the lyrics. Pam put in a good effort, but she had a little trouble "shaking it." We made total fools of ourselves, but it was hilarious anyway.

Tonight's show was a female impressionist named Karen Grainger. She was careful to point out that she is an impressionist, not an impersonator...ha! I wasn't sure what to expect from the performance, but she was really great. She had a table of wigs behind her, and she would introduce her next song, turn around, put on a wig, and instantly become that person. She had the mannerisms, the voice, everything down pat. She BECAME Celine Dion. It was so bizarre and very hard to describe. Jason, of course, was our waiter in the Encore theater. He was flirting with Bib's mom, Annette, tonight. Here was her quote from the night. "If I was a drinking woman, I'd show him the time of his life." HA! I've laughed and laughed about that.

After the show, we went to catch karaoke in The Song (one of the many clubs). Some of it was pretty good, but most of it was really bad. Bravo to anyone brave enough to get up and try. When we'd had our fill, the moms headed to bed, some of the gang headed to a comedy show, and Bib and I went exploring. We headed to the Lido deck for a late night snack of pizza, but we ran into the Atlanta girls (without Leslie) and visited with them for quite a while. (We never got our pizza.) They were hilarious. They now had adopted their own bar waiter, too. I'm pretty sure his name is Darwin, but he told them to call him 911, because if they needed him, they only had to call 911 and he'd be there. I don't know if they had scared him off or if his shift was over, but we didn't get to meet him tonight.

We moved on to Club Caliente! Caliente must be hispanic for "lame dance club where every song has it's own specific dance" or it might also mean "dance club that reminded Tami that she's old and probably should be in bed by now." So I went to bed.

Feliz cumpleanos, Deana! We missed you today.

Fun Day @ Sea

Let me start by saying Carnival has a very comfy bed, and even though the shower is very small, it packs a big punch. I know I mentioned this after my previous cruise, but I am amazed how small but functional the bathroom is. It really makes me laugh at how large my master bathroom is at home. What a waste of space!

If you know my mom, then you know that she prefers to go to restaurants where she can be served. I tend to be the same way, and really, who could blame us? The Lido deck (our deck) houses "The Gathering", which is the cafeteria-style eating area primarily used for breakfast and lunch. As I mentioned previously, I had booked our room on this deck for the convenience of The Gathering. However, we decided to have breakfast today in The Scarlet dining room (the main dining room) with Bib, her mom, and sisters. They offered a great menu of pastries, cold and hot cereals, omelets, scrambled eggs, eggs benedict, waffles, pancakes, etc. ** For those keeping track, this dining room is on the opposite end of the ship. Mom's getting lots of exercise!**

When we had toured the spa yesterday, Mom had expressed an interest in attending a seminar about treating arthritis through acupuncture. While she headed to this, Bib and I went to a talk called "On Board and On Shore" with our cruise director, Butch. (In case you are curious, it was a waste of time...not only because it was a bit long and boring but because they showed a replay of this presentation on our cabin TVs over and over all weeek long.)

Afterward, Mom and Bib went to an informational meeting about scrapbooking (another waste of time) and I entered the slot tournament (my new cruise tradition). I actually made the leader board and got knocked out of the final round at the last minute. Bummer. During this time, we knew the others were hanging out at the pool, but little did we know that Frankie had entered himself into the hairy chest contest...and won! Mom and I happened to be walking past the Waves Pool and the Seaside Theater and witnessed this contest. It was hilarious. There is no way to do the story justice in words, and unfortunately, I don't have a photo. He won a medal and a bottle of champagne for his efforts; not to mention it was like having a celebrity in our group!

Later in the afternoon, we decided to check out the photos we'd already had (professionally) taken. If you've cruised before, you know that you can pretty much have your photo taken every time you turn around. In a new twist, Carnival took individual pictures of us in front of a green screen when we boarded. Based on that photo, they use facial recognition technology to identify us in photos we'll have taken the rest of the week. In the photo gallery, there are large flat screens with a place to swipe your Sign-n-Sail card. When the card is swiped, the photos for everyone in your cabin are displayed and prints can be ordered. Pretty cool!

We ran into someone special! This may be a little bit corny (and I know the picture isn't flattering), but to me, this is like 5 yr old running into Mickey Mouse at Disney World.

While we were meandering in the photo gallery, we met a group of ladies from Atlanta. Actually, they were from Alabama, Tennessee, and Georgia, but their roots are in Atlanta. Leslie (also my age) was travelling with her mom (Agnes), her aunt (Louise), her cousin (also named Louise, but not Louise's daughter), and a friend of the family (Linda). Since tonight is the first elegant night, we agreed to meet before dinner to take group pictures for one another. Here is our official photo from Elegant Night.


Back row: Sarah, Becky, Frankie, Pam, Pat
Front Row: Annette, Lola, Flat Deana*, Tami, Bib


Tami and Bib

* This might be a good time to introduce you to Flat Deana. Deana is Bib's daughter and one of my best friends. For various reasons, she was not able to come on this trip with us, and her birthday is tomorrow. Bib decided to put a cut-out of her face on an old-fashioned fan and make a "Flat Deana" (like Flat Stanley from elementary school). We hope to include Flat Deana in our adventures every day.

After dinner, we headed back to Ocean Plaza (or Ocean Drive, as I prefer to call it) to hear Blackjack play once again. Last night at Ocean Plaza, we met a bar waiter named Jason from South Africa. He is very personable and tolerant of our loud group. Jason showed up again tonight to make sure our drink orders were handled. Here are a couple of "foo-foo" (non-alcoholic) drinks he made for us.

Mango-Raspberry....mmmmm. Notice the cute heart-shaped straw paper. Is that fancy, or what?

This is Ocean Plaza (photo from the Carnival Website)

Jason told us he was scheduled to work in the Encore Lounge tonight during the shows, and since we were headed that way, too, he invited us to sit in his section. Jason is 25 yrs old and quite a flirt (particularly with Pam). Being from South Africa, his native language is English, but he has a heavy accent that, to me, sounds very British. Of course, with everyone in our group having Appalachian roots, he thinks we have accents, too. Needless to say, our conversations are hilarious, and he says he's going to learn to speak "hillbilly" this week. We're having a good time coming up with phrases for him to learn such as "kiss my crack, and don't come back" and "don't let the door hit you where the good Lord split you." Funny how we all speak English, but we have a language barrier.

Tomorrow is Cozumel. Last cruise, I wore myself out with excursions at every port, but this time around, I only have one planned for my favorite port, Roatan. Bib will be swimming with dolphins tomorrow, so my plan is to do some light shopping and then chillin' for the rest of the day. I can't wait.

Livin' the Dream

Whew! What a day. I'd barely put my head on the pillow last night when I realized I'd forgotten to pack my brown flip-flops. It may not seem like a matter of great importance to you, but I LOVE those flip-flops. I was trying to decide whether or not to get dressed and take a taxi to Ron Jon's when I remembered that Bib mentioned they would be taking A1A in the morning to get from Sarah's condo to the port. I sent her a text at 1:30am asking if she'd stop by in the morning to pick up a pair for me. Evidently, she wasn't sleeping either, because she texted back that she would. Crisis averted.

Bib (along with my new flip-flops) showed up at my hotel at 10:00am the next morning with her mom and sisters in tow. Bib was on her way to drop off their rental car, so she and the rest of the group (Sarah, Pam, Frankie) would meet us at Port Canaveral. We hopped on the shuttle at 10:45 am. By noon, we had our sign-and-sail cards, had boarded the ship as part of Zone 13, and were eating lunch on the Lido deck. **Note to future cruisers - try to minimize the amount of junk you carry onto the ship. You cannot get into your cabin until 1:30pm, so whatever you carry on, you have to lug around. It can make navigating the ship, and particularly the Lido deck, quite cumbersome. **

Our first view of the Dream.
Inside the port, waiting to board.


Our cabin happened to be on the Lido deck (Deck 10). Since breakfast and lunch are typically served on the Lido deck, I opted to go with an ocean view room that will (hopefully) be in a convenient location for Mom. The room is in the very front of the ship (our window faces front) on the starboard side. We're 10205 on the image below.



As you can see, our room was wider than the average room, so it felt really big inside. Here are a few pictures of the room before we moved in.

Bib, her mom, and sisters have two side-by-side balcony rooms on Deck 6 mid-ship. The divider between their balconies had been opened up so they could go between rooms without a key. Pam and Frankie had a balcony room almost right above them on Deck 7.

Here are a few stats about the Carnival Dream.

Length: 1004 feet (that's the length of 3.5 football fields)
Staterooms: 1,823
Guest capacity: 3,646 (double occupancy) although they told us we were sailing with about 4,200 new friends
Staff: 1,367

After we visited our room, Mom and I decided to go exploring. The spa is located on the 12, 14, and 15th decks (there's no deck 13), so we took a tour of the amenities. The spa is very posh and offers a lot of services, but it's too early to know how much time we will devote to pampering ourselves. What I do know is we will be doing a LOT of walking this week - even without leaving the ship. By this time, it was getting close to the Sail Away celebration (and raining), so we headed to the Promenade deck for the festivities. We ran into Bib and Sarah and took a few pictures of our Coast Guard escort out of the port basin. Since the space shuttle is scheduled to launch tomorrow, we were hoping to get a photo of the launch pad, but the weather wasn't cooperative.

By the time we hit the ocean, it was getting time for us to head to dinner. We had opted for early seating (6pm) in the Scarlett Dining room. We found ourselves seated at a large round table for 9 on the second floor of the dining room (technically, the 4th floor of the ship). The entrance to the dining room on that level splits to the left and right, and we were the first large table on the right. It turned out to be a great location because our table was easy to get to, and we could watch everyone coming and going each night. On the flip side, we also got a lot of attention, mainly because we were at a table of 8 women and Frankie.

Dinner was very good. I had shrimp cocktail, gazpacho, sweet and sour shrimp, and creme brulee. Mom had Caesar salad, sweet and sour shrimp, and black forest cake. Most of the others tried the warm chocolate melting cake for dessert, and it was an instant hit. There was a lot of excitement and laughter around our table, so I think we're in for a great week.

Before the cruise, Bib and Sarah had spent some time on the forums on carnival.com and had discovered that one of the bands featured on the ship was from West Virginia, so after dinner, we headed to the Ocean Plaza on the 5th deck (Promenade Deck) to hear them play. They were really good, and we enjoyed their music. We also went to see the Welcome Aboard show in the Encore lounge. The show was hosted by our cruise director, Butch Begovich. Butch hails from Minnesota (yah!) and, according to Bib, looks like a young version of Henry Mitchell (Dennis the Menace's dad).

Finally, we went to the Lido Laser show on the Lido deck at 11:30pm. Unfortunately, the lasers conked out and the show was a bust, but we didn't care. It was a great day, and we're ready for more tomorrow.

P.S. - We shared the ship today with these fine critters known as the Florida Love Bugs. Having gone to college in Florida, they weren't an unusual site to me, but I'd sort of forgotten about them until they were EVERYWHERE. This happens to be a pile of them on the deck.

Cruise - Part Deux

After 18 months of blog silence, I'm back. It's not that I've intentionally ignored this blog; I just haven't travelled anywhere worth posting about...until now. I'm going on another cruise!!! Last July, my friend, Bib, said her mom wanted to plan a "girl's trip" with her 4 daughters, and they might be interested in taking a cruise. She and I exchanged several emails about the ins and outs of cruising, and before long, they had booked a 7-day Western Caribbean sailing on the Carnival Dream for May 2011. Since it was designed to be a mother/daughter trip, she asked if my mom and I would be interested in going, too. Um...well...of course we wanted to go. Where do I sign up? We booked the next day, and the waiting began. Of course, I would have never guessed that I would lose my job a month later and be unemployed for three months before getting rehired by GM, but it all worked out in the end. After all the phone calls, emails, planning, packing, and anticipation, the day is finally here.

Bib flew down earlier in the day with her sister, Sarah, and her cousin, Pam, and Pam's husband, Frankie, who are also going on the cruise. They flew into Sanford, FL, rented a car, and are spending the night at Sarah's condo in Satellite Beach. Bib's sisters, Becky and Pat, and her mom, Annette, all live in the Orlando area, so they are planning to drive over to Port Canaveral tomorrow morning. For those of you who are counting, there will be 8 women and 1 man in our party. Poor Frankie!

I'm not a superstitious person, but I'll admit I had a little anxiety about travelling on Friday the 13th. We flew from Huntington to the Melbourne, FL airport, and except for a little turbulence, and a little lightening, it was an easy trip. We did, however, travel with some characters on the flight from Charlotte to Melboure. Namely, there was a young Asian man seated in front of us who wore a fleece-lined, fur-trimmed jacket the whole flight. It might not have been such an unusual site except that it mid-May and very hot on the plane. There was also a man who took off his shoes and put them in the overhead bin. Seriously? It was a 1 hr and 30 min flight.

Bib and Sarah (and Flat Deana - more on that later) picked us up at the airport and took us to the Residence Inn Cocoa Beach, about 4 miles from Port Canaveral. (Thank you, Marriott Rewards!). For posterity, I will record that my luggage weighed 47 lbs (10 lbs less than the last cruise!), so I hope that means I've learned my lesson about over packing. Mom's luggage weighed 43 lbs, so we've left a little bit of room for souvenirs.

Our room at the Residence Inn is like a small 2-room apartment. It was very nice and spacious. The hotel has an outside company, TravelLynx, that offers a shuttle to the port for $6/PP RT. Becky, Pat, and Annette are going to park here at the hotel tomorrow morning and shuttle to the port with us at 10:45 am. Let the adventure begin!