FineArtsMama

Just wanted to “ditto” your comments, @KaiBlue and @delacruz! We so enjoyed meeting everyone from our little group and hope everyone had safe trips back home. We enjoyed two wonderful weeks of adventure, and it’s going to be difficult to jump back into working overtime this coming week, but we’ll think of it as working towards the next cruise! Hugs to all, and thanks for adding to this fun experience. 😘

On 4/4/2024 at 10:03 AM, delacruz said:

 

YAY!

 

Well, the only one who ever called me Judith was my mother when I did something wrong...lol!

 

2 weeks from now we'll be on our last sea day before our first port in St Thomas.

 

For those joining us for the Dominican Culture excursion and meeting up at the informal get together at the Atrium Bar on Tues 4/16 @ 3:30pm (or anyone who wants to come say hi!), do you want to share your room numbers in case anyone can't make it or wants to touch base before that? Or names, whether you're celebrating anything, etc? 

 

Paul and I are in cabin 7501. As we mentioned, we splurged on a Terrazza Premium Vista Balcony since we are celebrating so many milestones - Paul's retirement, his 70th bday, and our 18th anniversary. 

 

If you aren't comfortable posting it here but want to share info, if you'd like you can send me a message from my cruise website (I'm not selling or promoting anything on it, so I think it's OK to post it). contact delacruzzer

 

I’m catching up on social media as I sit in the Kansas City airport, waiting for our connecting flight to LaGuardia! And let me tell you, this past week nearly did me in, lol. I am so ready to relax for two weeks (once I finish up some remote work tonight at the hotel, that is - but I refuse to give it much effort 😂). Thinking of everyone and praying for safe travels this weekend!

I failed to reply to Judi’s note above. My husband Jim and I (I’m Cathy) are celebrating our 42nd anniversary on this trip. We’re staying in 7335 (first interior room in many years, but we got a great casino deal on it!). See you Tuesday if not before. ❤️

11 hours ago, delacruz said:

 

The next 2 weeks at work are going to be the hardest! Especially since we just had a 3 day weekend, and the last day of work for me will be crazy busy since I'll be covering for a co-worker who's off that day.

 

When you said maybe we'll meet in line I thought about doing something like wearing beads, but it will probably be a zoo in the terminal, so the chances of that might be slim. 

 

Although hubby is not a t-shirt wearing kind of guy, for his retirement I got him some t-shirts, and I think he'll wear the royal blue one with a white anchor saying 'Cruising through life one port at a time'. I decided that even though we also aren't 'matchy' kind of people that I needed the same. So that's what we'll be wearing, and if you can see our avatar pic, that's us 'old folks'...lol - so come say hi!

Oh, my goodness, Judi, I feel this so hard! 😂 I covered for a coworker all last week and for a different one today, and I have SO much work to accomplish before we leave. I’ll be thinking of you!

My husband and I wore matching t-shirts for the first time last spring! Not sure yet what we’ll be wearing on the 15th, but I’ll give you a heads up when we figure it out, haha!

Same arrival time, ladies! Maybe we won't have to wait until the first sea day to meet - we'll all be in the same line! 😊 For now, it's off to work I go. Have a wonderful day!

Hi everyone!

I know I haven’t been very active here, but I am so excited to explore this new-to-us ship with my sweet husband and meet some of you in just over three weeks! School has been CRAZY recently, and it will stay that way for the final nine weeks of the year. 😄 I am so ready to board that plane!

Is anyone planning to see a Broadway show while in NYC? We have tickets for Back to the Future, which I’m also looking forward to. We’re splurging a bit this anniversary. 😊

Have a great weekend!

Cathy

4 hours ago, delacruz said:

That works for us! Somewhere in my pile of cruise 'stuff' I have a little table placard that I made for a Royal Caribbean cruise pre-'Meet & Mingle' get together. It has the Cruise Critic logo on it, and I can edit it to 'Dominican Culture - Cooking, Coffee & Casa Typica' get together. As if I'm not already overpacking...lol! 

 

I'll post a pic of it when I get done so you all can look for it, and we can get a head count so whoever gets there first can try to set aside some space at the bar or tables. (oooh, we can join the ranks of chair hogs, although I figure mid-afternoon on the first sea day won't find the bar to be too crowded). Oh, and everyone else ( @tweety33, @KaiBlue, @FineArtsMama)

pipe in to make sure that day and time works for the majority.

 

I think our avatar makes it easy to see what Paul and I look like - except we won't be in our formal wear until later!

Works for us, too, @ETski and @delacruz! The Venezia is new to us as well, but I thought I’d mention that the atrium bar area on other Carnival ships hosts a lot of music and trivia events on sea days. Just fyi.

Hi everyone! My husband had surgery this week, so I missed the Thursday weigh-in but wanted to share that I’m now down 14 pounds since I started my weight loss efforts on January 29. I’m eating low carb and am doing my best to stay away from sugar. Our cruise is April 15 - 26 from NYC; we’ll fly in from Phoenix on April 13. I’ll set some boundaries for myself for cruise eating but am focusing right now on trying to to eat better and feel better before we leave. Congrats to everyone on your hard work this past week and enjoy to those currently cruising!

On 2/25/2024 at 5:06 PM, Jan_In_Maine said:

Welcome Cathy - we are always here and all are willing to be a cheerleader for others ... hope you lose some before your cruise.  When is your cruise?  Jan

Hi Jan! Our cruise begins April 15. We’re really looking forward to it. Thank you for the kind welcome.

Hi everyone. I’m Cathy, and I’m doing my typical dash to lose weight before a cruise. I need to do it year round, as my health is not the best these days, but I’m grateful for the extra motivation a cruise always provides. Thanks for letting me participate!

So much to celebrate! That’s wonderful. I purchased two of the last three tickets for the 9:30 excursion last night for the same reason. We’ll look forward to meeting you and your husband. My hubby is 71 and moving towards retirement; I’m 62 and have no plans to work a day longer than necessary, lol.

23 minutes ago, delacruz said:

Hi FineArtsMama (love the name, I guess I was a CommercialArtsMama till I mysteriously made a crazy career switch to ITMama...lol).

 

Paul and I are booked on the 9:30am excursion. I'm a late riser, but we figured with the earlier start we'd have time to check out Amber Cove since this is our first time at this port.

 

We've done similar type excursions, and yes, it's nice to start our with 'familiar faces'.

 

We're celebrating our 18th anniversary (2nd marriage), Paul's 70th birthday, and his retirement. 

Hello! My husband and I are celebrating our 42nd anniversary on this cruise (cruise #11). We already had the Amber Cove Coffee/Cooking/Casa excursion in our shopping cart when I decided to check the CC Roll Call, and I’m pleased to see that some of you are going. May I ask if you booked the 9:30 or 10:30 time slot? It would be nice to go with familiar faces. 😊