Monday, February 5, 2024

The Cruise Life

Hello my friends and happy Monday night! As I promised, here is a quick post about the actual cruise.  The Harbor House is where the four of us stayed the Friday night before we boarded. It's a nice hotel, but much more expensive than we would normally spend. However, the cost was for the convenience to the actual cruise terminal. We walked less than a block before entering the terminal. To save on the cost, the four of us shared a room with two queen size beds. Good thing we've been friends for over 30 years! I detest pictures of myself so I'm going to pretend I don't see myself. :-)

The front of our ship. The Carnival Jubilee. It is a gorgeous ship. We were the 4th cruise of it's life.

Here's a bit better photo of the entire ship, (almost). It is huge and can carry about 6400 passengers and 1800 crew. We had over 5800 passengers plus crew on our cruise. Look at that gorgeous sky. We didn't see much of that on our trip! The guys ran our luggage over to the ship around 9:00 am and then we drove to the other side of the island and did some sight-seeing and had lunch before boarding at about 1:00.  We ended up leaving port around 5:00 pm.

After boarding, we visited our muster station and learned how to use life vests and where to go for our lifeboat if necessary. By then it was announced that we could go to our cabins whenever we wanted so we went to see the cabin and drop off our carry-on bags. We never, ever check our medications, jewelry, important documents, money, etc. We always carry them with us onto a plane and now the ship too. There is a safe in each cabin and we were grateful to use it for our valuables. You put your own combination in and only three people on the ship can override it. The Captain, The Head of Resort Services and one other that I can't remember now, so we felt it was a safe place to put things.

Then we went exploring this huge ship. That took days to visit everything.

The theme on the Jubilee is the boardwalk and under the sea. This art fixure is so beautiful and three stories tall of fish swimming in circles. At night it's lit up and looks as though the fish are alive. Dennis looks pretty happy and relaxed. We had such a great time.

This was part of the under the sea portion. We spent several evenings here listening to Jeffrey Michaels,  a country music singer. You can see a few people dancing in the walkway. There was always someone out there dancing when music was being played. The screens up above are underwater scenes that change constantly. 

Closer view of Jeffrey Michaels. He sang the older country songs from when we were younger. George Strait, Conway Twitty, a little Elvis, etc. We really enjoyed him and another 6 person group called the "Backyard Band". They sang 50's. 60's, 70's music. There was also a violin trio that we saw several times. There were a lot of comedy clubs, bands, games, and shows that we never had the opportunity to see. Some, we didn’t want to see and some, we just ran out of time.

The bar was Dr. Inks PhD, or "Drinks". We're not drinkers but we could get soda or water there too.

Here's a small view of the back, or aft, part of the Lido deck. As you can see by the flag, it was really windy.  It was beginning to get stormy too. You would see people staggering all over the ship as we were tossed to and fro on the waves. There was quite a lot of movement for such a big ship! At one point the four of us were walking down a corridor, and we all took a step to the right at the same time as the ship tilted. A lady coming toward us did the same thing. She told us that they call that the cruise waltz! 

We had lots of storms and a rocky ship all week but it didn't bother us a bit.

Jenny snuck this photo of Dennis and I sitting outside on our cove balcony the only day we had a little bit of sunshine all week.

The next two photos are of our cabin. We didn't watch the TV very much. Usually we just checked the weather for the day and the ships itinerary to see if it had changed. We had a refrigerator and a sofa bed.

At this end of the room are the closests on the right with the safe. Lots of closets and drawer space. We unpacked all of our clothes and didn't use even a fourth of the space! On the left in the photo is the bathroom and the door to the hall. I should have taken a photo of the bathroom, but take my word for it, it's tiny. The room was great though and more than sufficient for our needs. We were only in there to sleep anyway. We were too busy roaming the ship to just sit in the room.

Every day our cabin steward made us a new towel animal and the last day he made us a heart with a thank you note. I kept them all lined up on the countertop by the mirror. This was one of my favorite things about the cruise. I loved coming in and being surprised by what he made every day. Aren't they so cute? And even the eyes!

Here's the sun getting ready to set the first day off our balcony.

This was a beautiful rendition of the Jubilee on one of the main walls. Neal and Jenny took a great photo in front of it.

This was also the Lido deck in the buffet area. Almost every afternoon we spent a few hours here playing dominoes with Neal and Jenny. We always played dominoes together in Spokane for date night. We would go out to dinner and then end up at our house to play dominoes. We have really missed it. Here we are with Jenny, her brother Matthias and his wife. The cruise was to celebrate Matt’s 50 birthday. They cruise a LOT.

We had such a great time. As I think I said before, I didn't leave the ship once all week. It was rainy at both Cozumel and Rhoatan and we had to skip Costa Maya because the seas were too rough to dock the ship. I didn't mind. I'd been there before and Dennis and I both enjoy the ship when it's not as crowded. Dennis and Neal did get off at Cozumel and went to one of the port shops to get vanilla for Jenny. They came back and found us in the Center Stage area. I was knitting and Jenny and I were visiting. They were soaked! I bought vanilla last time I was here and still have half a bottle. It's the BEST vanilla for not much money.

One night we ate in the dining room and one evening we ate at a specialty restaurant that served both asian and mexican cusine. We had Guy's Burgers outside on the Lido one day and pizza from the Summer Landing area. Now THAT was good pizza. Otherwise we found ourselves at the buffet most of the time so we could each get whatever we wanted. They made too order eggs and omelets every morning and so much other food every meal. And snacks. Everywhere there were snacks. No wonder we both gained 5 lbs.! I have to lose that before we cruise again!

The weather and rough seas definitely didn't deter either Dennis or I from wanting to cruise again. He wants to book something now! That's a surprise because I really didn't know if he would like it. 

I hope I didn't bore you too much. I really didn't take a lot of photos. I just didn't think about it. We were having too much fun playing on the ship. Even with so many people on it, it didn't seem crowded at all. 

I'll be back again with just a few photos of our trip home and then it's back to normal life. I don't know what's happening this last week! I've had to make my own bed, cook, wash dishes and do laundry. What happened!?

Blessings and love,
Betsy





Thursday, February 1, 2024

Home Again And It’s My Birthday!!

We’re home and I’m ready to go cruise again. We had the BEST time with Neal and Jenny! I boarded the ship on Saturday and didn't get off in any ports. I only left the ship when they made me leave the next Saturday to go home! It was wonderful. I'm happy to reposrt that neither of us had any sort of seasickness at all. And it was a very "rock and rolling" ship. Even with how big it is, there were lots of people seasick and we only had 1 and a half days of sunshine. Did that matter to us? Nope. Not at all. We met so many great people and just enjoyed the sea life and the rocking boat. We got very good at doing what is called the Cruise Waltze as we walked around. We were lurching every which way and grabbing each other to get our balance again.  :-) I'll have to tell the story of our trip in a couple of posts because otherwise there are way too many photos. 

We drove from Omaha, NE to Ennis, TX the first day. Ennis is just south of Dallas. It was a long day, but it meant we arrived in Galveston in the early afternoon on Friday. That gave us time to explore the island a bit. Lots of people had decorated for Mardi Gras already which is to begin tomorrow, Feb. 2. The decorations were so bright and festive with the purples, greens and gold.  Neal and Jenny had a really long day of traveling Friday. They left Spokane at 5:30 a.m. and didn't arrive in Galveston until after 10:00 that night. Their plane left Spokane late because of de-icing over and over, but it really didn't matter because their flight was delayed 5 hours in Salt Lake City. They were exhausted when they finally arrived. This is why you plan to arrive for the cruise the day before you sail.

This was our first glimpse of the Gulf of Mexico as we drove into Galveston. It may be cloudy, but it was a wonderful sight. When we left Omaha it was -20F with a -42F wind chill. I looked at the temperature when I took this photo and it was 61F. I cannot tell you how wonderful that felt. It did get chillier over the next few days before our cruise, down to the 40's F, but I wore a sweater and flip-flops the entire time. It was like summer to us after -40! People did look at me strangely though. Most had winter coats, hats, scarves and gloves on. 

The Pleasure Pier in Galveston. This was really neat. The rides stuck out into the Gulf on the pier. I think it might be a little scary on that Ferris Wheel out over the water, not to mention the roller coaster, don't you?

The Carousel is the first ride that you see when you walk onto the pier.

But Bubba Gump's is the first building on the pier. We ate there twice. Once the first night we arrived and had some very delicious clam chowder. Then we took Neal and Jenny there for Neals birthday lunch on Saturday just before we boarded the ship.

Bubba Gumps is named after the movie "Forrest Gump" and there is lots of memorabilia around from the movie. I like this sign that you put out for your server. If everything is okay it says this. If you need your server, you flip it over and it says, "Stop Forrest Stop".  It's really a fun restaurant. We ate at the one in Lahaina on Maui years ago. It's so sad that it was burned to the ground in the fire last year.
This was the view from our hotel the first night in Galveston. Palm trees and water. It can't be beat (unless the electric poles were hidden!)  :-) We were just happy to be in the warmth of the 40's and 50's.

The next day we changed our hotel to one right next to the dock. It is less than half a block from where we boarded the ship. It was so convenient. We were even able to leave our car there while we were gone and then just walk off the ship, get into our car and start driving. Next post I'll show you pictures of the cruise itself and tell you how wonderful it was. We are looking at maybe a trans-atlantic cruise in the next year or two because the port it ends up in is in Southhampton, England, just a little over an hour from Alex and our DIL's house. That is a 15 day cruise and I think we would love it. It only costs a little bit more than the 7 day one and I can only imagine how hard it would be to get off the ship after two weeks! Dennis had to pry me off this time. :-)

I did finish a pair of socks while driving and started a new pair. I've barely got the first cuff done though on the new pair. I didn't pick up my knitting once while on board. We were just too busy.

This is Opal yarn "Cat's and Dogs". It didn't have a color name. I bought the yarn last January when I was in London for a month with the kids. I ordered it from Germany and had it the next day! Maybe next time we go I'll do the same thing because the cost is very reasonable when I get it there.  As you can see, I made them fraternal twins instead of identical. 

I had almost all of the 48 squares done before we left. I think I made four or five after we got home late Tuesday. Then last night I began joining them. I tried to duplicate the new Red Heart continuous granny yarn colors with worsted weight yarn from my stash. Of course it's not continuous and I'm joining it with Hobby Lobby's "Ivory" yarn in worsted. It will be 6 squares by 48 squares and will be donated to a nearby nursing home for a wheelchair blanket.

Yesterday was spent getting things done at home like laundry, checking on Mom, picking up mail at the post office and all of the things you do when you get back from a trip.
Today, Mom woke up with a swollen leg and a rash around her ankle so that merited a couple of trips there to check on her. We also had to meet with our insurance agent because my medical insurance was messed up and I was scheduled to do a download on my pacemaker today. Thank goodness, our agent was able to call them while we were there and "hopefully" straighten the mess out. Although it still doesn't recognize my primary care doctor which is NOT a good thing. Then we had a Costco trip and finally, Dennis took me to the Texas Roadhouse for dinner. I had a GREAT steak and salad. 

We both managed to gain weight on the cruise so we're back to the basics with eating for awhile. Me, much, much more than Dennis. I "only" have "eight Zoey's or so" to lose! I sure hope I can do it because I know I'll feel better all over. 

I'll be back soon with another installment and some pictures of the actual cruise. If you aren't interested, just feel free to skip these posts. I missed you all and will be trying to catch up on your posts, although after missing two whole weeks, I may just start fresh from here!

Blessings and love,
Betsy

Tuesday, January 16, 2024

Over the snowdrifts and to the palm trees…

And off we go. We’re leaving tomorrow morning and the roads look “iffy” through Kansas and Oklahoma, but then again, I don’t know how often the map is updated. Once we get close to Wichita, it looks like the temps will be above freezing and I’m sure the roads will be fine.

I moved all of my plants close to the windows in the living room so it will be easier for Mandy to water them for me.

For some reason I noticed a few gnats flying around the plants yesterday. I looked up online how to get rid of them and made a concoction of apple cider vinegar, sugar, water and a couple drops of dish soap. Within an hour there were 8 gnats floating in it. It’s sitting on top of the fireplace. I haven’t seen any more gnats, but I’m going to leave the bowl there while we’re gone.

I’m waiting for my orchid to send up another flower stalk like it did last year at this time, but so far, there’s nothing. The violet is doing very well though, considering I got it out of the trash at Walmart, and it looked dead when I brought it home.

Dennis is modeling the shawl I finished last night. It’s the same pattern as the one I made last week. This is using Loops and Threads amethyst yarn, and a cream skein that I had without a label. Please excuse the bags in the kitchen on the counter. We’re getting things ready to put in the car and making dinner at the same time. Also watching cruise videos on YouTube to get in the cruise mood!🤣 Have any of you been watching the world cruise as it goes around the world? We’ve been watching the lovely couple you see on the TV screen and enjoying it very much. Their channel is “LivingPhase2”. They will be aboard the “Serenade of the Seas” for 280 days and go all the way around the world.

Last night I started these granny squares from stash yarn. I tried to match the colors as close as I could to the new Red Heart yarn that’s so popular right now. This is much less expensive.😂 Each one is 4 inches square and this will ultimately be a wheelchair blanket for a nursing home.

This photo was taken near Lincoln, NE, less than 40 miles from us. The road was cut from the drifts across the highway. Unbelievable. I did say we got a lots of blowing and drifting snow.🥶😂

We aren’t getting the Internet while we’re on the ship and I’m not taking my laptop with me anyway, so I won’t be able to comment on anyone’s blogs or even read them while we’re onboard. We just weren’t willing to pay $20.00/day for internet. This way there will be no pressure to be online for either of us and it will be a true vacation. If anyone wants to follow along, we’ll be on the Carnival Jubilee, sailing out of Galveston this Saturday, January 20. There is a camera on the bridge so that you can follow the ships progress.

I’ll be back in a couple of weeks. I’ll miss you all!

Blessings and love,
Betsy