Pam and Rex Our First Retirement Cruise 10-20-12 thru 10-31-12

[pamwinn]

Hello everyone. It's time for another adventure. This will be our first cruise as retired people. I turned in my keys on 05/31/12 and haven't missed them too much. I am starting this thread a little early as we fly to NYC tomorrow and I wanted to bookmark it so I can easily find it once on the ship. I have posted a precruise journal on Weebly. It's about getting ready for a cruise so I thought I would spare you the details...unless you want to look. I just started it and I haven't read the directions so keep that in mind.:p

 

http://pamwinn.weebly.com/

[caribill]

Happy Retirement!

 

Looking forward to your reports.

[Keith1010]

Have a great time and congratulations on your retirement cruise.

 

Looking forward to your reports.

 

Keith

[mollyanne]

I thought of you recently - noticing we hadn't had a great Pam and Rex adventure this year! Will be following along. Happy Retirement! :)

[Coolmama_1]

Happy Retirement! I am looking forward to tagging along!

[highheel girl]

Congrats and enjoy!

[Kattus]

Hi Pam! Did you get a room assignment yet? ;) Have a safe flight into NY, we're having some fabulous weather!

[PescadoAmarillo]

Congratulations! What an exciting new chapter in your lives. Enjoy!

 

Just read your cruise prep. You are a hoot. Wow, your days sounds so familiar (especially the salon tortures...er, treatments and the same food/ different day). At our house right now it's spaghetti sauce (the tomatoes in the garden did well this year) and Hebrew National 98% fat free hot dogs. Sick of them!

 

I hope you plans LOTS of cruises in your retirement- I can't wait to read about them!

[bobandalice]

Hello everyone. It's time for another adventure. This will be our first cruise as retired people. I turned in my keys on 05/31/12 and haven't missed them too much. I am starting this thread a little early as we fly to NYC tomorrow and I wanted to bookmark it so I can easily find it once on the ship. I have posted a precruise journal on Weebly. It's about getting ready for a cruise so I thought I would spare you the details...unless you want to look. I just started it and I haven't read the directions so keep that in mind.:p

 

http://pamwinn.weebly.com/

 

We're on the same cruise...at least the first 7 days...would have enjoyed the B2B, but sadly, they only let us have SOOOO much vacation time. Perhaps we'll see you on the ship. A few more years for us to retirement, but we plan to spend our time as you are! Have fun, and congrats!

[TracieABD]

Congratulations on your retirement!

 

I just love a live from...

I will be on the look-out!:)

[Times Prince]

Hello everyone. It's time for another adventure. This will be our first cruise as retired people. I turned in my keys on 05/31/12 and haven't missed them too much. I am starting this thread a little early as we fly to NYC tomorrow and I wanted to bookmark it so I can easily find it once on the ship.

http://pamwinn.weebly.com/

Congratulations on your retirement. :D I retired this year and our first retirement cruise is in January. I'm not missing work either ;)

[pamwinn]

There are a few pictures on the blog. We are having a great time.

 

Yesterday:

 

http://pamwinn.weebly.com/1/post/2012/10/the-big-day-october-20-2012-sail-away.html

 

The Big Day October 20, 2012

 

Finally! That was a long wait. We decided to leave the Hotel around 11:00 AM so we loaded up and made our way to the Shuttle Pick-up point outside. Off we went for the very short drive to the pier. The driver made everyone laugh, some nervously, when instead of slowing down for the delivery truck parked in the middle of the street, he dodged a utility pole and a vehicle parked near it and jumped the curb onto the sidewalk. Aunt Frankie thought he must be from Mississippi, as he drives like most of our relatives, but he didn’t talk like he was from around there.

 

Once at the relatively empty cruise terminal, we made it though check in, all the way to security checkpoint #1 and that’s when the bottom dropped out. It would be very easy for me to make this hilariously funny but it wasn’t…not at all. Mom could not find her passport to make it through the checkpoint. She could not find her credit card or drivers license either. She had a small carry-on, a fanny pack, and her coat. Aunt Frankie and I were already on the other side of the checkpoint waiting. Mom was frantically going through everything over and over. Rex was waiting with her. All except mom remained very calm. I saw how worried and nervous she was becoming. Aunt Frankie went back to help but mom wouldn’t let her. I watched for several more minutes until I had to do something. I went back and grabbed the fanny pack, the carry-on, and the coat and took mom to a chair so she could calm down. I sat her down as I looked through her things and questioned her as to what her passport looked like. What color is your wallet? What items do you have together etc. She has always liked things with numerous (the more the better) pockets, sipped pouches, dividers, and hidden compartments. I looked through all of it and it wasn’t there. “Mom, you are going to have to look in your money-belt.” Mom said, “I can’t do that here.” I said, “Yes, you can. Rex, turn your back and shield mom.” We provided the crowd block (not many people were there anyway) and she removed her money belt. Everything was in it. We were so relieved. I could see mom’s fear and she was about to cry. That would make me cry. I told her that and it worked. She’s a very protective mother so needing to take care of me took care of her.

 

She’s concerned she may have Alzheimer’s disease. She has a very sharp memory… much sharper than mine. I lose my keys and hairbrush every single day because I can’t even remember to put them in the same place. I don’t cry when that happens as I tend more towards multiple expletive rhyming. That way I can giggle. Everything she did that morning was something unfamiliar and I don’t believe it indicates “she’s losing her mind” as she fears. I love my mother.

 

Once on the ship, we checked out our cabins, toured a little, and had lunch in the Horizon court. I don’t know where everyone was, maybe the dining room was packed, but we had free run of the buffet. This cruise has been sold out for sometime but doesn’t look it. I wonder where everyone is. I wanted mom to see the international café since it is opened 24 hours a day and has such interesting fare. She spotted the pastries. She’s been on the Crown Princess but mistakenly thought everything in the atrium was fee based. She had a coconut pie and AF had orange tapioca something. I can’t remember the name of the cartoon dog that would eat something and then make those noises like “yummmmm. Yummmmmmmmmm. Yum, yum, yummmm (at this point he floated in the air).Yummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.” Anyway, mom was making those noises while eating her coconut pie. At the same time she was eyeing AF’s pudding. So I asked if she would like for me to get pudding for her. She made the cartoon dog yum-sound so I fetched it for her. She ate it. That was one of my happy cruise moments. Mom is tiny, and always has been. She says she weighs 115, but I don’t really believe that. Ninety-nine pounds dripping wet is more like it. So to see her eat that much, right after lunch, and thoroughly enjoy it, does the heart good.

 

The rest of the day is already a blur. The first day really flies. Tomorrow is the cruise critic meet and greet.

[highheel girl]

Funny but not until she found them.

Whew!! glad they were not lost.

Now its time to relax! :D

[TracieABD]

There are a few pictures on the blog. We are having a great time.

 

Yesterday:

 

http://pamwinn.weebly.com/1/post/2012/10/the-big-day-october-20-2012-sail-away.html

 

The Big Day October 20, 2012

 

Finally! That was a long wait. We decided to leave the Hotel around 11:00 AM so we loaded up and made our way to the Shuttle Pick-up point outside. Off we went for the very short drive to the pier. The driver made everyone laugh, some nervously, when instead of slowing down for the delivery truck parked in the middle of the street, he dodged a utility pole and a vehicle parked near it and jumped the curb onto the sidewalk. Aunt Frankie thought he must be from Mississippi, as he drives like most of our relatives, but he didn’t talk like he was from around there.

 

Once at the relatively empty cruise terminal, we made it though check in, all the way to security checkpoint #1 and that’s when the bottom dropped out. It would be very easy for me to make this hilariously funny but it wasn’t…not at all. Mom could not find her passport to make it through the checkpoint. She could not find her credit card or drivers license either. She had a small carry-on, a fanny pack, and her coat. Aunt Frankie and I were already on the other side of the checkpoint waiting. Mom was frantically going through everything over and over. Rex was waiting with her. All except mom remained very calm. I saw how worried and nervous she was becoming. Aunt Frankie went back to help but mom wouldn’t let her. I watched for several more minutes until I had to do something. I went back and grabbed the fanny pack, the carry-on, and the coat and took mom to a chair so she could calm down. I sat her down as I looked through her things and questioned her as to what her passport looked like. What color is your wallet? What items do you have together etc. She has always liked things with numerous (the more the better) pockets, sipped pouches, dividers, and hidden compartments. I looked through all of it and it wasn’t there. “Mom, you are going to have to look in your money-belt.” Mom said, “I can’t do that here.” I said, “Yes, you can. Rex, turn your back and shield mom.” We provided the crowd block (not many people were there anyway) and she removed her money belt. Everything was in it. We were so relieved. I could see mom’s fear and she was about to cry. That would make me cry. I told her that and it worked. She’s a very protective mother so needing to take care of me took care of her.

 

She’s concerned she may have Alzheimer’s disease. She has a very sharp memory… much sharper than mine. I lose my keys and hairbrush every single day because I can’t even remember to put them in the same place. I don’t cry when that happens as I tend more towards multiple expletive rhyming. That way I can giggle. Everything she did that morning was something unfamiliar and I don’t believe it indicates “she’s losing her mind” as she fears. I love my mother.

 

Once on the ship, we checked out our cabins, toured a little, and had lunch in the Horizon court. I don’t know where everyone was, maybe the dining room was packed, but we had free run of the buffet. This cruise has been sold out for sometime but doesn’t look it. I wonder where everyone is. I wanted mom to see the international café since it is opened 24 hours a day and has such interesting fare. She spotted the pastries. She’s been on the Crown Princess but mistakenly thought everything in the atrium was fee based. She had a coconut pie and AF had orange tapioca something. I can’t remember the name of the cartoon dog that would eat something and then make those noises like “yummmmm. Yummmmmmmmmm. Yum, yum, yummmm (at this point he floated in the air).Yummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.” Anyway, mom was making those noises while eating her coconut pie. At the same time she was eyeing AF’s pudding. So I asked if she would like for me to get pudding for her. She made the cartoon dog yum-sound so I fetched it for her. She ate it. That was one of my happy cruise moments. Mom is tiny, and always has been. She says she weighs 115, but I don’t really believe that. Ninety-nine pounds dripping wet is more like it. So to see her eat that much, right after lunch, and thoroughly enjoy it, does the heart good.

 

The rest of the day is already a blur. The first day really flies. Tomorrow is the cruise critic meet and greet.

 

Hey Pam,

This happened to me and my mom, too.

We were on our way to China from Charlotte. We were at SFO for our connecting flight and my mom discovered her passport was missing. Panic ensued. We went through everything to no avail. I called the Charlotte airport and they were not helpful. I sat my mom in a chair and told her to stay put.

I ran to the USAir counters and hysterically cut in line... I have never done anything like this as I was raised well. As I began to tell the counter agent my tail of woe, the whole line,no kidding, began to rally around me. I kept apologizing, but they were not upset... Just really helpful.

 

They called the supervisor who asked what flight I had been on. I told her the flight and my mom's seat number. She had the control tower call the plane which as on the Tarmac waiting to take off to return to Charlotte. They had a flight attendant check the plane and low and behold they found the passport! They sent a cart out to the Tarmac to retrieve the passport and drove it back in to me. When the supervisor handed me my mom's passport I hugged her. I hugged everybody in line. And I am not a hugger. But on that day, I would have hugged the air traffic controllers, all of US Air, and the whole plane load of people that we inconvenienced.

I ran back to my mom, and as I rounded the corner, I could see her sitting there so forlorn... It broke my heart. Really.

 

The upshot is we have never made this a funny story. We laugh about everything, but this one was just too hard.

 

Pam, I am glad you found your mom's passport and I found my mom's passport. I hope you have a wonderful cruise.

 

We had a magical time in China. I hope your cruise with your mom is equally as magical. Bon voyage!:)

[Coolmama_1]

Pam,

Your mom story sounds so much like my life! My mom is 85 and has dementia. She never puts anything back where she got it so every trip to the ER or a doctor's office involves dumping the purse. Now I put it back for her and we know where it is the next time . She also wieghs in at about 90 pounds so it does my heart good to see her eat up! GLad you found everything and are on your cruise. Have a wonderful time.

Judy

[KruzPrincess]

I'm so glad you found the passport. I don't know if your mother has a memory disorder, of course, but if you think it's a possibility you should go to the doctor. There are medications that may slow the progress of the disease if she has it. My mother had dementia for 13 years. I've seen all sides of it. It's wonderful that you're having this time with your mom.

[pamwinn]

We are having a great time. The ship is in great shape as far as I have seen. Mom has a caribe balcony with decent chairs, footstools, a table, and the blue mat. I'll post updates when the connection stabilizes. It keeps dropping and I lose everything. All is well.

[pamwinn]

Just noticed one of my long posts didn't make it...bummer. BBL:)

[sallybrown2012]

Pam - Thank you so much for sharing your trip - your posts are so much fun to read. Hope you are having a wonderful time!

[readytoembark]

Pam -

 

Sounds like your mom did a great job of raising her daughter.

 

Have a great cruise - well deserved.

[pris993]

Happy Retirement, Happy cruising!!!

 

Retired in 1999, cruised generally 2 times a year, sometimes 3 times ever since.

 

Cruising has been a wonderful way to enjoy our retirement. :D

 

Enjoy your cruise and your retirement!

[pamwinn]

A Lovely Day at Sea October 21, 2012

 

The day began with a knock at the door, “Room Serbiss.” It was 6:30, but 5:30 for us as we had to move the clocks ahead last night. I don’t know what we were thinking when we ordered all the tomato juice to be delivered so early. That did get us out and about early and the weather was gorgeous all day.

 

We met mom and AF at the international café for breakfast and then went through every shop in the atrium. Rex and I attended the cruise critic meet and greet. The Captain as well as several other officers attended. We always enjoy meeting other cruise critics and it’s always fun to put a face to a name. We met back up with Mom and AF for lunch…pizza. I only had one slice…veggie. It was so good! I wanted 4 more slices but I fought it. I am not sure what Rex and I have always been doing at 3:30 in the afternoon on a Princess cruise but I don’t recall it ever being attending tea service. Mom and AF like tea so we planned to attend on this our only sea day. Mom did the chocolate thing again and had 3 nice sized chunks of some sort of chocolate thing that she, being Catholic, described as sinfully delicious and meant it. She really felt guilty requesting and consuming two more on the second go around and of course I loved it. I had a cucumber finger sandwich and a tuna finger sandwich. They were good, but it was cucumber and tuna…certainly not sinful…unless you have three of each followed by a scone with preserves and clotted cream. I honestly forgot that I’m on a diet and trying to find some balance between completely blowing it and abstinence. How could I so completely forget that after months of counting points? We had a nice time with a couple from the San Francisco area. Well, AF had the best time while we watched. I think I have done a pretty good job thus far withholding that which I can no longer withhold. AF is loquacious. In fact, I need to try to get her into the Guinness Book of World Records. All it would take is a phone call. She loses her breath sometimes. Stop reading this and recite the national anthem without pausing…3 times. Did you lose your breath?

 

We met up in Crooners later in the evening. My mother had a lemon-tini! We listened to an excellent rendition of ‘Rolling in the Deep,” followed by some older tunes. Aunt Frankie started reminiscing about the good old days when she, at 58, and her sister Aunt Wimpie, at 60, won a jitterbug contest that they didn’t even know they were in. She is 76 now and said, “of course I can’t dance anymore.” She reminisced a bit more, repeated that she couldn’t dance anymore and I said, ‘why not?” She looked at me and did the Warhurst brow arch (only one brow), got up, moved the chair…and then she got down. It was amazing. She danced to Proud Mary. Tina Turner couldn’t keep up with AF. That was another happy cruise moment. She does not drink in case you may think this was some sort of alcohol induced temporary lapse of cognitive function. It was an expression of joy…pure and simple.

 

By the way, I forgot to mention one of the highlights of the tour of NYC. We walked up to Jerry and introduced ourselves. When I made the reservation I requested a guide who understands the importance of enunciation to a person with a hearing impairment (Rex). It’s not so much a matter of volume like most people think. I requested a hearing impaired guide, if available as they don’t tend to forget you can’t hear well after two minutes. Jerry wanted to make sure Rex would ride in the most ideal seat. As we walked to the car, he glanced back to make sure Rex wasn’t looking (he hears better when he’s looking) and said to me, “do you think your father would like to ride next to me?” Even though I wasn’t yet on the ship, that was another happy cruise moment. I have mentioned that to Rex a time or two since the tour. Rex says he taking out a contract on Jerry when we get back home.

[pamwinn]

Halifax NS Brrrrrr October 22, 2012

 

****I am not going to try to upload any pictures. If I have minutes leftover on turn around day, I’ll go back and add them to the weeble blog. Otherwise, I will wait until I get home.

 

 

Knock, knock, knock…room serbiss. The wakeup call came so early that it hurt. I am the designated wake-up person so after our call came in at 5:00 AM, I turn on the lights to wake-up Rex….hehe…then I call Mom and AF. The ship arrived in Halifax at 7:00 AM but the car rental place didn’t open until 8:00 AM so we had time a little extra time. We had no problem getting off the ship. The car rental is in the train station at the Marriot Nova Scotian and easily seen from the ship.

We drove to Peggy’s Cove and saw the lighthouse and the Fairview Lawn Cemetery. The Cemetery is the world’s largest burial ground for Titanic victims. It was blustery out on the rocks but the beauty more than made up for the horizontal ice dagger wind shear. We walked the path to the lighthouse, which is no longer open for touring, and passed the kilted bagpiper. I think there is something under there. I tried to find out for sure and with the gale force ice wind blowing I thought I might get lucky. The edge of the kilt must have those little shower curtain magnets in it or maybe some sort of little velco things that stick to leg hair because it didn’t blow-up. Dammit (giggle).

 

Inside the restaurant/gift shop we enjoyed hot tea while admiring the cove from a more cozy vantage point. I had a conversation with one of the ladies working in the gift shop about life there. She lives a couple of miles from the cove. She said she doesn’t see the big deal and wonders why people come from all over the world to look at it. Wow! It’s amazing what we take for granted. I guess I feel the same way about Stone Mountain in Georgia. If you have never heard of it, you might find it amazing and even want to come see it. Google it. I don’t even glance sideways when I pass it. Stupid me.

 

Upon returning to Halifax, we toured the Citadel and downtown area a little and enjoyed the amazing architecture. There are many beautiful buildings in the city. I see more each time we visit. Rex and I dropped Mom and AF at the pier and returned the car.

 

Approximately 100 yards from the ship is XXXXX brewery. I asked Rex if he wanted to stop and he said “No, not really.” So we continued on…about 10 steps. When I said, “We are in Halifax, Nova Scotia, standing in front of a brewery located right in front of the ship, with two hours to kill before sail-away.” The beer was ice cold and really, really, really, really fantastic!

 

We had dinner and called it an early night. My feet look like footballs. After all these years it came back. I tried elevating them as my concerned Mom and AF ordered . With elevated feet, a forgettable movie was droning on tv and the mother ship gently rocked me to sleep

[TrnrMom]

Halifax NS Brrrrrr October 22, 2012

 

We walked the path to the lighthouse, which is no longer open for touring, and passed the kilted bagpiper. I think there is something under there. I tried to find out for sure and with the gale force ice wind blowing I thought I might get lucky. The edge of the kilt must have those little shower curtain magnets in it or maybe some sort of little velco things that stick to leg hair because it didn’t blow-up. Dammit (giggle).

 

We had dinner and called it an early night. My feet look like footballs. After all these years it came back. I tried elevating them as my concerned Mom and AF ordered . With elevated feet, a forgettable movie was droning on tv and the mother ship gently rocked me to sleep

 

Aww....did the beer make up for the lack of luck with the kilt??

 

sorry about your feet - hope your body adjusts during the week, and you'll be a-ok by Saturday. Are you getting any news about TS Sandy which might hit Bermuda or at least give us a good downpour on Monday when we are scheduled to be there? Packing has just become....even more interesting. If we are diverted, we may be headed back to St. John, Halifax or somewhere you've been!! See you soon!

[pamwinn]

Please post what you have heard about the storm. I don't know anything about it. If I have to go back to Halifax, I'll spend more time in the brewery. :D