*OFFICIAL* CC Group Cruise 02/15/2014 Cupid's IV Southern Caribbean - Carnival Breeze

[Cruisin Dave]

Sue - Ya know, I didn't want to make an assumption on how the "Cupids" got their name but I figured that was why. I've been cruising since '03 around Valentines Day ... can that make me an honorary Cupid? ;):D

Sure, why not! After this cruise there will not be anymore "Official" CC cruises from what I can tell. I don't know how that will affect the future but we can use other media to for forming groups. After this cruise I will probalbly change the We are Cupids site from secret to closed.

Hope everyone has a great day.

Dave

[momofzeke]

Sue - Ya know, I didn't want to make an assumption on how the "Cupids" got their name but I figured that was why. I've been cruising since '03 around Valentines Day ... can that make me an honorary Cupid? ;):D

 

Absolutely!! You dont have to be "officially" a Cupid to be part of our gang! We have many honorary Cupids who we hang out with. The newbies are called Newpids (get it? new cupid = newpid) I hereby declare you a Newpid!! :p

 

Weaning calves today. Tonight we will be serenaded by very unhappy bovine. The "babies" are upwards of 500-600 pounds now, but they still love their moms! Some of the moms with the huge calves will be thanking us, but some will be very upset. The calves go in a huge lot behind the barn, and the cows are in the field beside it. They can go to the fence and "talk"to each other, and some of them do a lot of talking! The cows go out and graze and eat hay, and then come back to the fence and hang out with their calves. After a few days, we move the cows to a different field father away, but leave the gate open so they can come back if they want to. Less cows come back each day as the calves settle down and aren't bawling much. After a week or so, we shut the gate and lock the cows away in their field and by that time the calves are quiet and calm.

[Cusp79]

Heidi - I agree, this is my first cruise ever that I haven't cruised on Valentine's Day.

 

Dave - I think a group page is a great idea ... I hope you keep it going ... I didn't know there was a Cupid site!

 

Sue - I'M A NEWPID, YAH HOO! :D:cool:

[HeidiHo]

Only one month more!!!!!

[Cruisin Dave]

Only one month more!!!!!

 

Yahoo!! Can't wait for some pool time!

 

[Mousey82]

It was the one from Bounty Adventures. What happened was, I first tried to book it through Travelbound. Travelbound is just a shore excursion company that books shore excursions all over the world. They were the ones that told me that it was no longer offered on Wednesdays. Then I contacted Bounty Adventures directly and they confirmed my suspicion that they were the same tour operator that I had tried to book through Travelbound. They told me that they were still doing it but that we would have to book it through Carnival. It's still not listed among Carnival's excursions though and it's still listed on Bounty Adventures website as operating on Wednesdays. Maybe it's time to contact them again to see if maybe they never worked out a deal with Carnival and maybe it's available again. I'll try contacting them again.

 

Any luck finding out more about the sunset cruise, I'd love to be a part of a group tour if there is one in the works for Curacao!? It would be myself, DH and DD (infant). Hoping for some good news......:)

[HeidiHo]

Any luck finding out more about the sunset cruise, I'd love to be a part of a group tour if there is one in the works for Curacao!? It would be myself, DH and DD (infant). Hoping for some good news......:)

 

The Sunset Sail is available with Bounty Adventures at bountyadventures.com.

I don't know who's doing it though. I don't think we are going to do it. We found out that it's quite a long drive from the ship (maybe and hour?) and we weren't too keen on that. We might change our minds though if a lot of people form the group or roll call decide to do it. We haven't booked anything else.

[momofzeke]

From reading reviews, the reason the Bounty Adventures sunset cruise has such a long drive is because they take you from the pier to the Hyatt Hotel, which is a 45 minute to 1 hour drive according to reviewers. Then I'm not sure if you have to drive to get to the sail pier or if it's right there at the Hyatt. Either way, it just sounds like an awful lot of driving time to get to the launch point. My hubby just isn't that interested in a sunset cruise, and he thought driving 45 minutes to an hour each way was too much. I don't really care, so we are not going to do it.

 

When we started this Roll Call, we were almost 2 years out, and now we are finally under a month!! YAY! Can't wait to see everyone...old friends and new friends! :D

[GoBearsGo]

Welcome, Fritz & Susie!! Glad to have you onboard! Don't worry, you don't have to be an official Cupid to hang out with us. You just have to be fun and kind of cool! So the question is: are you fun & cool?? :p

 

Cupids are just a group of us that sail together around Valentine's Day. Get it? Valentine's Day - Cupid. We love meeting new people, and welcome everyone to join with us on the ship and off.

 

We already have The Five Daves, but since your wife is Susie and my name is Sue (but my dad calls me Susie), maybe we could start a "Susie Club" and give a little competition to all these Daves we have onboard! Fritz, if you change YOUR name to Susie, we'd have 3 members! Food for thought.....

 

Excursions: the excursion Heidi is talking about in La Romana is called Altos de Chavon River Boat tour, and is booked through Carnival. It sounds fun (we are booked on this one also) - you can read about it on the Carnival website. We are going to Jack's Shack in Grand Turk and Eagle Beach in Aruba. My hubby doesn't really want to do a sunset cruise in Curacao, but if lots of our group are going to, we might join in.

 

Everyone is spread around this time, but we are staying at a Fairfield Inn about halfway between the airport and the port. Heidi and Dave are at the same hotel. There's a big boat show that weekend, so lots of the hotels near port were booked a long time ago.

 

ONE MONTH! Getting excited for this cruise!

Hi All!

 

Thanks to Ryan, Dave, Heidi and Sue for your replies to my questions - it helped a lot.

 

We just booked our air & hotel - prices are ridiculously HIGH - thanks a lot, Big Boat Show! We are staying near the airport at the Crowne Plaza (very close to the Fairfield Inn Airport South). I am thinking... that due to our later arrival & close proximity to the airport, we probably will be unable to join the group at Bayside for dinner on Friday. Anyone, staying near the airport, want to do a Pre-Cruise / Valentine's Day / Happy Hour(s) / Dinner Get Together??

 

Heidi - Please sign us up for the Meet & Greet, White Elephant Exchange & Cabin Crawl. Also, would you please give me more details about the excursion in the DR... (i.e. what is included, time, duration and price) I am unable to access shore excursions on the CCL website (probably a problem caused by being a Mac user)

 

Sue, I will consider changing MY name to Suzie so I can be part of the "Susie Club" - probably a lot more fun than being a part of the "5 Dave Sausagefest" lol (maybe Alise's Dave would let me borrow some of the clothes he used for his cross-dressing karaoke act?)

 

Starting to get excited!

[Cusp79]

Fritz and Susie - No prob, glad you were able to get the information you needed. :D

[HeidiHo]

 

Also, would you please give me more details about the excursion in the DR... (i.e. what is included, time, duration and price) I am unable to access shore excursions on the CCL website (probably a problem caused by being a Mac user)

 

 

I will go see if I can access the shore excursions. My PC crashed a couple of weeks ago and I am now using my daughter's Mac. I have never used a Mac before so it's been quite an experience. We are going computer shopping later today. I still can't decide if I want another PC or a Mac.

[HeidiHo]

I was able to access the shore excursions just fine on Staci's Mac. In fact, I'm pretty sure I bought our post cruise excursion on the Mac last week unless I did it just before my PC crashed. Anyway, I have copied the info. Let's see if it will work if I paste it here.

 

 

Altos De Chavon & River Boat Cruise

La Romana, Dominican RepublicBack to Excursion Results

 

No Minimum Age

Activity Level: Moderate

Duration 3.5 Hours

Sight-seeing Tours

Departure Times

4 / 5

Read all 12 reviews

Write a review

Price Starting From:

$84.99 per Adult

$64.99 per Child

 

 

 

Notes

Complimentary water, soda, and rum drinks are included during riverboat cruise.

Go back to a slower-moving era with a walking tour through a replica of a 16th century Mediterranean village, followed by a Mississippi-style river boat cruise.

Excursion Description

 

Go back to a slower-moving era with a walking tour through a replica of a 17th century Mediterranean village, followed by a riverboat cruise.

You’ll travel by air conditioned motor coach to Altos de Chavón, a unique village where artists live, work, and play.

Stroll through the cobblestone streets lined with lanterns, wrought-iron balconies, a few quaint shops and a panoramic view of the river.

Walk by the St. Stanislaus Church and the world-renown School of Design.

Visit the Regional Archaeological Museum, Woven Art Workshop, and the open-air amphitheatre.

You will be taken down to the riverbank by motorcoach where you will board a riverboat. Immerse yourself in the lovely views along the Chavón River, where the movie Apocalypse Now was filmed, while enjoying a complimentary drink and listening to Dominican music.

 

 

Benefits of Booking

Shore Excursions with Carnival

 

Our shore excursion providers are insured, reliable, and reputable.

Competitive prices and no hidden costs or fees.

Plan ahead and reserve your excursions online before you cruise.

A range of activities — something for everyone at any age or skill level!

Edited January 17, 2014 by HeidiHo

[HeidiHo]

It looks like it all copied over ok except for the pics and links. I'm sure you could call to book it if you can't do it on line.

[HeidiHo]

We just booked our air & hotel - prices are ridiculously HIGH - thanks a lot, Big Boat Show! We are staying near the airport at the Crowne Plaza (very close to the Fairfield Inn Airport South). I am thinking... that due to our later arrival & close proximity to the airport, we probably will be unable to join the group at Bayside for dinner on Friday. Anyone, staying near the airport, want to do a Pre-Cruise / Valentine's Day / Happy Hour(s) / Dinner Get Together??

 

!

 

We have a late arrival too. We land at FLL at 6:30 PM. Sue and Dave land at the same time and are staying at the same hotel so we will share transportation. By the time we get there it will be too late to meet the others who are meeting at the Bayside Market Place for dinner. We have considered going over there for drinks later but I'm afraid it might even get too late for that. There is a nice Cuban place near our hotel or there are also restaurants and a bar at the Marriott hotel complex that is right next door to the Fairfield that could be a good place to meet. I know about these because we stayed at the Marriott complex a couploe of years ago. There are 3 Marriott hotels in the complex and the Fairfield is right next door. Even though theFairfield is a Marriott brand, it's not a part of the other complex. The other 3 share a pool, parking etc., which we won't have access too but don't need it anyway. We could still go to their restaurants or bar though.

[AKB10]

Heidi, do you know the name of the Cuban restaurant? That is on my wish list, to go to an authenic Cuban restaurant and possibly get a Cuban sandwich, unless something else catches my eye.

 

Hope everyone has a good weekend. We will be in the 60's here. It is 48 and sunny right now, which isn't to bad for this time of year.

[Cruisin Dave]

Good afternoon Cupids and Newpids,:D

It's in the mid-50s here but will be in the 60s for the weekend and early next week. Our Anual Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo starts todsay. It's not as big as the one in San Antonio or Houston but it is the oldest. We went to the rodeo on the 100th anniversary and that was in the late 90s. Red Stegal sand and there was a magician that made a horse disappear 40 feet up in the air.

We may go the third weekend. We like to watch the miniature horse show.

Bettie has a MacPro lapton. She loves it but always compains about Charter email not working right. Not sure what's wrong because I've never used it. I have the PC desktop and my iPad.

Kathy, There are a lot of places to get a "Cuban" sandwich. You may be able to get one while doing the tour after the cruise. That's when I had a Cuban and a Mojito in SoBe.

Hope everyone has a great day.

Dave

[momofzeke]

Dave really wants to try the Cuban restaurant near our hotel. Fritz & Susie, Kathy & Frank, and anyone else are welcome to join us! As Heidi said, our flights get to FLL at 6:30. By the time we get luggage, get to our hotel & get checked in, it will probably be close to 8 pm before we get to the restaurant. That will be fine for us, because coming from the West coast, it's actually 5 pm our time! :D

 

I really dont think we'll make it to Bayside for pre-cruise activities. It's just going to be too late, and I dont think we want to take a taxi over there after travelling all day.

 

From reading reviews of the DR Altos de Chavon tour, it sounds like fun. They have music & dancing on the boat on the way back -- & rum! :D

 

Fritz & Susie, you sound like our kinda folk! That 5-Dave sausagefest can't hold a candle to The Susie Club! Just Another Dave has been holding out on us!! We had no idea he was a cross dresser! He needs to ditch The Daves and come join The Susies! But even though we are cowboys from The Wild West, we are NOT rednecks! We embrace all walks of life -- well, except for vegetarians. We dont have much use for peeps of that ilk. You're not vegetarians, are you????

Edited January 18, 2014 by momofzeke

[HeidiHo]

Dave really wants to try the Cuban restaurant near our hotel. Fritz & Susie, Kathy & Frank, and anyone else are welcome to join us! As Heidi said, our flights get to FLL at 6:30. By the time we get luggage, get to our hotel & get checked in, it will probably be close to 8 pm before we get to the restaurant. That will be fine for us, because coming from the West coast, it's actually 5 pm our time! :D

 

I really dont think we'll make it to Bayside for pre-cruise activities. It's just going to be too late, and I dont think we want to take a taxi over there after travelling all day.

 

From reading reviews of the DR Altos de Chavon tour, it sounds like fun. They have music & dancing on the boat on the way back -- & rum! :D

 

Fritz & Susie, you sound like our kinda folk! That 5-Dave sausagefest can't hold a candle to The Susie Club! Just Another Dave has been holding out on us!! We had no idea he was a cross dresser! He needs to ditch The Daves and come join The Susies! But even though we are cowboys from The Wild West, we are NOT rednecks! We embrace all walks of life -- well, except for vegetarians. We dont have much use for peeps of that ilk. You're not vegetarians, are you????

 

I will see if we can get a reservation for about 8 people at the cuban place. We should make it quite late though like at least 8:30, maybe 9:00. What do you think, Sue and Fritz & Susie? We will need to eat no matter what. We will probably be starving by the time we get to the hotel.

[momofzeke]

I will see if we can get a reservation for about 8 people at the cuban place. We should make it quite late though like at least 8:30, maybe 9:00. What do you think, Sue and Fritz & Susie? We will need to eat no matter what. We will probably be starving by the time we get to the hotel.

 

Sounds good to me! Lets make it for 8:30. That gives us 2 hours to get there after our planes land, so even if either of our planes are delayed, we should be able to make it.

[HeidiHo]

Sounds good to me! Lets make it for 8:30. That gives us 2 hours to get there after our planes land, so even if either of our planes are delayed, we should be able to make it.

 

I actually already sent in an email request for 9:00. According to their website they will cancel a reservation if you are 15 minutes late. I was thinking that it would be better to be early for a reservation and have to wait a bit than be more than 15 minutes late and have no reservation at all. I still haven't gotten a response from them though. I suppose I could make sure I have their phone number in my phone and if it looks like we are going to be there by about 8:30 I could call a let them know so they can try and have it ready. Or I could change it to 8:30 and call them only if it looks like we'll be late. That way they shouldn't cancel it all together. If I don't hear back from them by tomorrow I will call and then I'll explain that we are flying in and ask them what they recommend we do. BTW, the place is called La Rosa and their website is larosarestaurantmiami.com

[ooulio]

I would like to book the 4 of us for the Cabin Crawl. That is Esther (me) Chuck, Bev and her husband Richard. I have always wanted to see the Cove Cabin. I have seen all the rest. It will be fun. Bev and I want to sign up for the gift Exchange. We did it before and was fun. I just wanted to verify $10.00 for the gift.

Has anyone booked anything for Curacao. ? Just checking. The one we tried is already booked. Thanks OUr cold weather is back in a couple days back to zero. Can hardly wait. We are on 9th floor.

[HeidiHo]

I would like to book the 4 of us for the Cabin Crawl. That is Esther (me) Chuck, Bev and her husband Richard. I have always wanted to see the Cove Cabin. I have seen all the rest. It will be fun. Bev and I want to sign up for the gift Exchange. We did it before and was fun. I just wanted to verify $10.00 for the gift.

Has anyone booked anything for Curacao. ? Just checking. The one we tried is already booked. Thanks OUr cold weather is back in a couple days back to zero. Can hardly wait. We are on 9th floor.

 

That's great Esther. Are you volunteering your cabin your just participating in he crawl. I want to remind every one who is volunteering a cabin, I would just like to know what type of cabin you have so I know if we have enough variety to have it. It won't be very interesting if we only have a bunch of identical cabins. Also, yes, I am suggesting you spend no more than $10.00 for a white elephant gift. Bring whatever you want though. If you have something at home that you think would be a good gift, then by all means bring that.

[GoBearsGo]

Dave really wants to try the Cuban restaurant near our hotel. Fritz & Susie, Kathy & Frank, and anyone else are welcome to join us! As Heidi said, our flights get to FLL at 6:30. By the time we get luggage, get to our hotel & get checked in, it will probably be close to 8 pm before we get to the restaurant. That will be fine for us, because coming from the West coast, it's actually 5 pm our time! :D

 

I really dont think we'll make it to Bayside for pre-cruise activities. It's just going to be too late, and I dont think we want to take a taxi over there after travelling all day.

 

From reading reviews of the DR Altos de Chavon tour, it sounds like fun. They have music & dancing on the boat on the way back -- & rum! :D

 

Fritz & Susie, you sound like our kinda folk! That 5-Dave sausagefest can't hold a candle to The Susie Club! Just Another Dave has been holding out on us!! We had no idea he was a cross dresser! He needs to ditch The Daves and come join The Susies! But even though we are cowboys from The Wild West, we are NOT rednecks! We embrace all walks of life -- well, except for vegetarians. We dont have much use for peeps of that ilk. You're not vegetarians, are you????

 

A Cuban restaurant sounds great - please count us in. If we get too hungry before 8:30 we will probably check out the nearby Catch of The Day restaurant. Either way, we will meet up with you all at 8:30.

 

The Susie Club definitely sounds like more fun than the 5 Dave Sausagefest. Just want to set the record straight... Alise's Dave is NOT really a cross dresser! (at least, that's what he told me)

 

Definitely NOT vegetarians here! We will eat anything with, or without a face, that moos, oinks, chirps, quacks, bleats, honks, flies, swims, waddles, hangs from a tree or grows out of the ground.

[GoBearsGo]

I will see if we can get a reservation for about 8 people at the cuban place. We should make it quite late though like at least 8:30, maybe 9:00. What do you think, Sue and Fritz & Susie? We will need to eat no matter what. We will probably be starving by the time we get to the hotel.

 

Heidi; please count us in on your reservation. Thanks.

[Cruisin Dave]

Heidi, the White Elephant, is the gift per cabin or per person. Also, remember, Bettie and I will be glad to open our cabin up for the cabin crawl. We are in cabin 7350 just down the hall from you and Sue, your Dave's.

 

Hope everyone had a nice weekend.

 

Dave