WASTIN' AWAY IN MARGARITAVILLE

This is our second port of call. We had to tender in since the pier can not handle large cruise ships.

We were scheduled to be on the Georgetown side of this Grand Cayman Island, but due to high winds, our Captain took us to Spot Bay which was on the opposite side of the island and dropped anchor there. As you can see, the sea was very calm there.

We didn't think I could manage the tenders, so I stayed on board while Frank went into town.

He said that the tender ride was uneventful and then he had to take a taxi into Georgetown. The taxi was really a mini-van so they could transport more people around the island than they could with regular taxis. His driver drove very fast, and on the wrong side of the road (the Brits would probably say that it was the right side ;-)

When they arrived in Georgetown you could see why they couldn't tender in on that side of the island. The waves were very high as well as rough.

This is where the tenders were originally scheduled to dock and you can certainly see why they didn't!

When they dropped him off in Georgetown it seemed that all the action there was at Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville. The high waves didn't bother the party people at all.

Frank found a new friend but felt dwarfed by his size.

After enjoying a little libation, he took a taxi back to the other side of the island and boarded another tender. He said that the young man who was driving the tender was very personable.

Our ship looked dwarfed in the distance but you could really see how big she when you viewed her from the tenders. She was over a mile away.

After a light lunch we decided to go to a movie in the Screening Room.

It was a tiny theater and only seated about 26 people. I was surprised about that since there were so many passengers on the ship, but most of them were more interested in the ports of call than they were going to the movie.
We saw "State of Play" which was a very good film.

State of Play is a 2009 American political thriller. It is a film adaptation of the critically acclaimed six-part British television serial of the same name, which first aired on BBC One in 2003. The plot of the six-hour serial was condensed to fit a two-hour movie format, with the location changed to Washington, D.C. The film tells of a journalist's probe into the suspicious death of a Congressman's mistress. Russell Crowe plays the journalist and Ben Affleck plays the Congressman.

The supporting cast included Rachel McAdams, Helen Mirren, Robin Wright Penn, and Jeff Daniels. If you didn't catch it the first time around, I would highly recommend that you see it. It's and excellent thriller and itnow available on DVD.
After the movie, we went up to the outside deck to play cards and met a lovely young couple, Mark and Beverly from Granbury, TX. As we visited, we discovered that he had heard of our Eldest son, Jim. Both he and Jim are musicians and went to North Texas and played in the One O'Clock Jazz Band. They were there at different times, however. The professional music world is not that large (Mark is a musician and also a music professor) and both he and Jim also worked with Jerry Hitt in Dallas at different times. Small world!

There was no show tonight, so we had dinner with our table mates and headed for bed. Even when there is no special show in the La Scala Showroom, there is always plenty of entertainment around the ship in the bars and lounges. there's music by the pool, Classical strings in the Aquarium Bar, dance music in Cleopatra's Needle, cocktail piano for listening at the Schooner Bar and the Disco every night, so you can always be entertained if you're not too tired. At our age, the best entertainment of all is a nice, cool bed with crisp, fresh sheets. Ahhh ... dreamland!
See you tomorrow in Montego Bay.
XOXO, Pcasso

COZUMEL .. OUR FIRST PORT OF CALL

Today was our first time ashore in Cozumel, Mexico.

I decided to stay on board since we had been there two other times. Frank left the ship mainly to see if he could purchase some nuts to have with our drinks. When he went to the check-out counter and started to pay for them. Two small bags of peanuts were $18.00. He asked, "Do you mean pesos" and they said "No - American dollars", so he quickly returned them to their place on the shelf. Mexico is no longer the bargain it used to be. They did have all the touristy stuff to buy, though, if you were interested. At our stage of life we are getting rid of things, not accumulating more.

You find out quickly when you are on a ship that has ports where the cruise lines control the facilities, things are even pricier than they are on board.
When we were there several years ago, we had our photograph taken with some parrots. If you remember, we used it on one of our Christmas cards.

He looked for the guy with the parrots again but he was long gone. He did see some divers taking a break however, so he took a photo of them. They were not necessarily candidates for Chippendale's.

Not far from there, they were setting up a beach volleyball game. It was not for us, but it should be fun for those who are young and interested in playing.

There were also carretas all over the town to transport you if you didn't want to walk. That would have been about my speed if someone would help me up in the buggy!

I had forgotten that Cozumel is where they make Dos Equis beer. They had water towers all over the place advertising it. Wonder if they were full of beer?

On the way back to the ship Frank took this shot from the ground. You can see from this perspective how big she really was and this is only a small portion of her.

They were washing the ship next to us. These vessels have to have constant care in order for thetm to be maintained in top condition.

Frank came back on board in time for lunch and we decided to go to Johnny Rocket's, which is a hamburger place. It looked a lot like a Denny's Diners on the outside.

It's really a fun place to eat because the wait staff provides the entertainment. At any minute they might break into song and dance. Our waitress had a great voice and all the moves.

They started our meal off with onion rings and fries with ranch dressing to dip them in along with ketchup.

Even the ketchup they served was happy and fun as it came in the form of this familiar face.

We were already full by the time the burgers arrived, but we struggled and ate them anyway. How can you possibly pass up a burger when it is wrapped in paper like they used to serve them at the drive-ins plus were dripping with grease. Delicious!!!

I really enjoyed pigging out since I've been on Weight Watcher's for the past couple of months. It was a real treat!

As you were enjoying your meal, you could make selections from the juke box and listen to your favorite oldies. Just like the good old days.

While we were playing cards after lunch, we noticed that the ship docked next to us had nothing but women on board. When we took a closer look, we realized that the two flags that she was flying were a rainbow and the name Olivia. As it turned out, it was an all Lesbian cruise. What a shock. I had no idea that there were cruise ships that catered to all gay clientele!

We went to the show before dinner. It featured a comedian and vocal impressionist named Jonathan Clark.

He was very good and we thoroughly enjoyed the show. All the entertainment on board this ship has been very good so far.
After the show we went to the dining room where we dined alone tonight. Our table mates were having dinner in Portofino which is a specialty restaurant on board. Our waiters took very good care of us. One was named Robin and the other, our wine steward, called himself Errol Flynn.

Robin was from Mumbai and I'm not sure where Errol was from ... probably not Hollywood!
The meal was delicious. Here are photographs of some of the things we ate. We started with crab cakes, followed by a spinach salad, then tortellini and Osso Bucco for our entree. We finished off the meal with watermelon sorbet and a Lady Finger. It was the perfect end to a perfect day.

Tomorrow we will be in Georgetown in the Grand Caymans. I'll report about this in a day or two.
XOXO, Pcasso

TOUR OF OUR SHIP'S EXTERIOR

SEA DAYS ARE FUN

We are now under way and are ready for some much needed rest and relaxation. After we got settled in our suite, we decided to take a stroll down the Promenade and have a little drink. This place is huge. The ship is 14 stories high and this "passage" is as tall as the top floor of the ship. Shops and businesses as well as bars are all along the way.

I have just read on AOL in a special report that women who drink are less likely to gain weight. That's news that I've been awaiting for a very long time!

While we were sitting there a man came up to us and said to Frank, "You're the one I see on the big screen at Cowboy Stadium every time I go to a game". We were amazed that out of 3100 passengers he spotted Frank and came over to talk to us. Here are photos of the ad that he was talking about.

The first Cowboy game we attended in the new stadium, Frank stopped for a bottle of water and they filmed him. They have shown that film clip 3-4 times every game this season. It's so nice to be traveling with a celebrity!
Today is a sea day, so we plan on doing much of nothing. I started out with my favorite breakfast ... Lox, bagels and cream cheese with onions and capers. It was divine!

After breakfast, we played cards. Frank and I have had an on-going Gin game for years and the winner may never be determined. One game it's me, and then the next one he has the advantage. It's so much fun and we are so lucky to be able to enjoy each other's company playing cards. We fuss at each other a lot (we've been nicknamed the Bickersons) but it's all in good fun.

I neglected to mention that I had the use of a wheelchair this trip. I've been having a lot of trouble with my back (I won't go into details now), so it would have been impossible for me to have walked the length of this ship over and over again. If you've ever cruised, you know that the dining facilities are at one end of the ship and the entertainment is at the other, so there is a lot of walking involved. This ship is 1021 feet in length and you travel back and forth at least 3 times a day. I just couldn't do it this time.

This afternoon we attended an ice show on board the ship. It's a really neat little ice rink and when the show isn't on, the guests can skate. Since my family love to be on the ice, I had wished that they could have been there to enjoy this time with us.

I have included two slide shows following this post so you can see for yourself how great the show was. Be sure and scroll down.
After dinner, we went to the main showroom, La Scala, and were entertained by Earl Turner who is a Las Vegas entertainer. He's performed at many major hotel casinos across the country including the Luxor, Caesars Palace, The Showroom at the Rio All-Suites Hotel and Casino, The Showroom at Harrah's in Laughlin, Nevada.

Due to the fact that I was in my wheelchair, I had privileged seating and there was always a reserved seat for me. That made it nice for both of us since Frank was my "care giver". I wouldn't recommend it, but there are a few perks when you're handicapped!

They allowed us to take photographs at all of the shows as long as they were shot without a flash, so I got a few good shots of the entertainment.

Yesterday I promised you a tour of the ship, so it will be easier to put this tour in slide show form as well as the ice show. Tomorrow I will show you the exterior shots that I took.
So far it's been a great day and a great trip. Wonderful weather and calm seas. What more can you ask! We'll be in Cozumel, Mexico tomorrow, so I'll have more to report.
XOXO, Pcasso