Jamman54

Glad you enjoyed the review. Luckily neither Patti or I have ever had Covid. 😎

Thanks Heather! Congrats on booking that B2B! 😎

Thanks for your kind words! We absolutely love Aruba! We'll be back there in October and April 2024.

Yes.

I'm hearing it from Patti now. I'll have to stop for gas there one time and let her have at it!

We’re passing this place once again. Patti tries so hard to get me to stop. We are really making good time on the way home. In Virginia we pass by Kings Dominion….. As we pass Andrews AFB in Maryland, what could be Air Force One passes overhead of us. I say could be Air Force One because the government has two of these aircraft and neither are designated Air Force One unless the President is aboard. I wonder if Joe is travelling today? A little while later we pass through Baltimore and the Cruise Terminal…. We cross the Delaware Memorial Bridge and back into New Jersey….. We head up the New Jersey Turnpike….. We make it home at 5:30pm, another trip, and another two cruises completed. The End! Coming up next: Our final thoughts and ramblings.

The breakfast was great and by 8am we were leaving the hotel. This is the back of the hotel and the pool area….. We’re pulling around to the front of the hotel….. This is the Subway Patti went to last night….. We are heading north once again….. The sun is rising over Lake Marion….. To be continued…..

Day # 20 - (January 23rd) – Heading back to New Jersey. We were up at 6am ready to get back on the road and head home. But first we had to have some free breakfast courtesy of the Hampton Inn….. To be continued…..

Patti takes us on a quick tour of the hotel. This is the 3rd floor elevator lobby. Soda and ice machines are in the back….. This is the Fitness Center….. This is the Business Center….. There’s a small store for snacks and stuff….. This is the seating for the Breakfast Area….. The Front Desk of the Hampton Inn….. Coffee and tea are available in the lobby 24/7….. We were too tired to go out and eat someplace, so Patti went to the Subway right next door and got us some subs. After we ate, we watched some TV and then crashed for the night. Coming up next: The final push home!

Around four and a half hours later we arrive at the Hampton Inn in Santee, South Carolina for our overnight stop. We are given Room # 304….. To be continued…..

We were only in the Empire Restaurant for a few minutes before we were given the okay to debark. What an easy debarkation. We barely stopped walking. Found our luggage easily, a porter was right there to grab them, went in the passport line and through the facial recognition, and to the car in the parking garage by 7:45am! We paid for our parking which was $22/day for a total of $176 and away we went, through the tunnel and out the other side. Patti got these quick shots of the ships in port today. We’ll be back here for the Celebration in April….. Soon we are headed north on I-95….. This is the exit for the Springhill Suites we stayed at pre-cruise….. A little north of West Palm Beach we stopped for breakfast at Cracker Barrel….. Once leaving Cracker Barrel our plan was to make it to the Daytona Beach Bucc-ee’s to gas up and for Patti to take bathroom pictures. When we got there, the traffic going into and out of the place was horrific, so we just went to another gas station to fuel up. That was just crazy! To be continued……

Day # 19 – (January 22nd) – Debarkation & Heading North. We were up at 5:30am just as the Carnival Spirit was docking in Miami at Terminal “D”. Here are the last views from our balcony…… That’s the Valiant Lady over there. Megan will be getting off her cruise today as well….. Here is the General Debarkation information….. Here is our Diamond Debarkation information…… We got ready and got our stuff together. We saw that the Diamond self-assist started a little after 7am which was a half hour early. We decided to head down to our meeting place in the Empire Restaurant early as well. As we left, we said goodbye to our room steward Jay and his assistant. They both did a wonderful job for us this cruise….. We’ve made it to our meeting place….. To be continued……

Oh, it could affect me. I talked to our PVP yesterday and he is not happy with this change but has to accept it. Not long ago we were on the verge of booking another cruise but was going to wait until after the weekend. Now I'm pretty good at keeping track of our offers, but late on a Sunday night I noticed an offer that would save me $800 but it expired in a matter of hours. Not wanting to bother our PVP at that late hour, I put a cabin on hold to secure that great rate. The next day our PVP completed the booking, and we were both happy. That scenario can't happen anymore. Of course, him being the friend that he is said that if you're ever backed into a corner to do what I needed to do, but I would still feel bad.

Just booked cabanas for Grand Turk and Amber Cove on future cruises and the prices were the same as last year. Also stopping at HMC next year but those aren't listed yet.😎

As long as you're still heading south you won. 😁

Have a safe trip! Boy, do we know that stretch of road! 😀

Yes, if you develop that kind of relationship with them. We've had our PVP for over 15 years and consider him a friend. We visit him and his wife at least once a year when we're in Florida. 😎

Patti loves the zoom on her camera. The pictures of the Scarlet Lady were also taken using the zoom. 😎

Hey neighbor! 😀

We decide that our last dinner of the cruise would be at Bonsai Sushi. Once again, we had a fantastic meal…… These three ladies were absolutely wonderful! Afterwards, Patti was going to take a final walk around the ship and then head back to the cabin. I went to the Skybox Sports Bar to watch the Giants / Eagles playoff game….. I only watched until halftime as my Giants were getting crushed. I went back to the cabin where I find our last towel creation of the cruise….. Nothing left to do but put our suitcases out with the others. Sigh……. Coming up next: Debarkation and our journey home to New Jersey.

I had another good session of blackjack and will leave the cruise a few hundred up. I met up with Patti and we went up to the Lido for lunch. She made herself a salad and got her favorite southwest wrap from the deli. I got my lunch from my favorite place, Chopsticks. Afterwards, I went over to the Red Frog Rum Bar for a few Thirsty Frog Wheats and then back to the cabin to relax. Patti made her way to the Coverall Jackpot bingo, stopping in the atrium to take a few shots. Here she’s looking down at the Lobby Bar….. She’s looking up at the glass staircase….. Patti returns to the cabin after bingo and informs me that she didn’t win again. We spent the rest of the afternoon finalizing our packing and just kicking back and relaxing. We spot Virgin’s Scarlet Lady passing us heading south….. Later on, off in the distance Patti spots another ship….. She zooms in to see that it is NCL’s Encore, which is also returning to Miami….. We are enjoying the last sunset of the cruise….. To be continued…..

Patti next checks out the Chocolate Extravaganza….. Back out by the Dome Pool Patti catches the very end of the ice carving demonstration….. To be continued…..

Day # 18 – (January 21st) – Final Fun Day at Sea. It’s our final day of the cruise. We awoke to a beautiful and warm day. The seas are fairly calm. Looking aft from our balcony we could almost see the sunrise….. We’ve decided not to eat breakfast today, but of course I’ve got to have my morning coffee so I head down to the Coffee Bar. My coffee is free today because I filled up my punch card! While I was there, I picked up today’s final edition of the “Fun Times”…… We spent most of the morning relaxing on the balcony, packing, and working on the pictures. At 10:30 I went to the Red Frog Pub to the bingo pre-sales to get the bingo packages that we won at Deal or No Deal and upgrade them for $23 to the top package and get some extra cards. Patti only goes to the Coverall Jackpot on the last day now because the prizes offered at the other sessions have become puny. I then head over to the casino to play blackjack for the final time on this cruise. Patti heads up to the Lido for Groove for St. Jude. Cruise Director Todd gets the crowd going….. DJ Lando is spinning the tunes….. People are lining up to support Groove for St. Jude….. To be continued……

Todd got off the Spirit the day we did. He was going home to New York for three weeks and then back to the Paradise which is where he is now.

What I like about the Steakhouse bars on the Excel Class is that they are out front.