Carnival Miracle Journal with Pics - VD at Sea: The Miracle Cure

[wentworth]

Great Review!! You people know how to have a good time.

 

Questions for the golf cart renters in Grand Turk. Was it worth the

money to do this tour on your own? Did you feel safe while driving

the cart? How long are how far did you go?

 

 

Thanks for any info

[WeBeCruisin']

Great Review!! You people know how to have a good time.

 

Questions for the golf cart renters in Grand Turk. Was it worth the

money to do this tour on your own? Did you feel safe while driving

the cart? How long are how far did you go?

 

 

Thanks for any info

 

On one of our trips a group of six rented golf carts to go around Key West and got a parking ticket! I'll be sailing with some of them next week and I'm going to try to look out for them. :)

[Bonds73]

Great Review!! You people know how to have a good time.

 

Questions for the golf cart renters in Grand Turk. Was it worth the

money to do this tour on your own? Did you feel safe while driving

the cart? How long are how far did you go?

 

 

Thanks for any info

 

Yes it was a great way to see the island. The carts were $80 I believe and you can go from one end of the island to the other in 2-3 hours easily. We stopped at a few bars to stay well hydrated while driving around and the town itself is very safe. Driving on the roads is very safe as well as the cars actually yield to the golf carts. You can put gas in yourself or just give them $10 when you return the carts. I only remember seeing one gas station so it's probably just easier to give them the 10 bucks. The carts are a little worn as you can imagine they get driven pretty hard but I never felt unsafe in them.

It's a great way to see Grand Turk and still have time for a stop at Jacks shack and Margaritaville before returning to the ship

[copper6606]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JIM - hope it is one to remember- cheers!!!!

Edited November 6, 2012 by copper6606

[laumicmah]

Great review...sucked me in last night! Thanks for posting. Love me some Grand Turk! Anxious to read the rest.

[lynyrd]

we got a cabana in grand turk, everyone is invited!

 

:d:d:d

[Bonds73]

More of the Golf Cart Tour

 

 

 

...and true to form Angie found a Shopping Center

 

 

WOW, those were some nice pictures.....almost like they were taken with a brand spankin' new camera :)

[vanislandcruisers]

Great Review!! You people know how to have a good time.

 

Thanks wentworth!!!...They are truly a GREAT Group of people

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JIM - hope it is one to remember- cheers!!!!

 

Thanks Jacqui :D

[vanislandcruisers]

Great review...sucked me in last night! Thanks for posting. Love me some Grand Turk! Anxious to read the rest.

 

Thanks laumicah...will have some more up in a minute

 

WOW, those were some nice pictures.....almost like they were taken with a brand spankin' new camera :)

 

Aren't they ????...I did qualify it in the post that I was 'borrowing' some pics from the Golf Cart'ers ;):D

[vanislandcruisers]

After the previous 5 nights and days it was nice to just kick back and enjoy a few hours of R&R. This was my 9th Cruise, our 8th together, and for the first time in 9 Cruises, with the exception of debarkation mornings on the first 8 Cruises, this was the first day that I did not have any beverages containing alcohol. Unfortunately it also gave me time to think - Conclusion #696: Not my favourite Pastime - and between Dee and myself we have mixed emotions about this particular Port of Call.

 

When we booked the Cruise our original destination for this day was La Romana, DR. When the notification was received that the Port of Call changed to Catalina Island the overall opinion on the Cruise Critic Roll Call was that it was a “Good Thing”. For us part of travelling is meeting the people, seeing the sights and taking in the Culture of the places we visit regardless of whether or not they are considered 3rd World Countries or the sights we see are not what we are used too. I guess if everywhere was the same as everywhere else we likely wouldn’t travel at all. Did we leave the Dominican Republic having truly seen what the Dominican Republic was all about? Nope, not a chance. And by no means am I saying this was a bad day. Between Dan, Coral, Dee and I we had a ton of laughs; can’t put the 4 of us together without the laughs happening. A few in our Group didn’t get off the Ship and I do know that those in our Group who did tender to the Island enjoyed themselves. But Dee and I keep asking ourselves if we missed an opportunity or an experience.

 

Being a HUGE baseball fan and knowing how many Major League Ball Players have come out of the DR and also knowing what Destination Vacation spots Punta Cana and Santo Domingo have become I know we have been kicking ourselves for not booking an Excursion that took us to the ‘Mainland’. I can probably guarantee you this won’t be the last time we have the opportunity to go to the Dominican Republic but I can probably assure you we will probably not visit Catalina Island again. Conclusion #697: Steps down off Soap Box

 

Just after we started relaxing on our loungers a Carnival Waiter popped by and immediately recognized us from the dozens of times he had served us in the Casino. He started taking our Drink Orders and by the time he got to me he gave me a choice rather than asking me what I wanted “Beer or Crown? Mr. James” he asked. I thought he was going to faint when I answered ‘I’ll just have a Coke”. What’s wrong Mr. James?” When I told him “I think I got too much sun yesterday so just taking it easy today” he just laughed and said “Sun? You can call it what you want Mr. James right Miss Dee?” and off he went. Conclusion #698: Somehow I had created a reputation for myself.

 

We stayed there for about 3 hours enjoying the Sun, the Sand, the Scenery and the Heat before deciding it was time to head back to the Ship. Once at the Pier the line-up for the Tender moved quickly....

 

 

 

...and within 20 minutes we were back on-board and heading up to our Cabins to drop off our stuff with a Plan to then head up to the Lido for an afternoon snack.

 

As we were walking down the Hallway to our Cabin we met up with Tammi and Allison who ended up recounting the story of their late night intruder from the night before to us. Tammi was sure the door closed securely behind her and Allison said she was sure she heard ‘the sound of the man putting his S&S Card in the Card Reader and then the Door opening and him walking in and just standing there before she SCREAMED at him.’ To make sure there wasn’t something wrong with the Card Reader on their Door Lock Dee grabbed one of our Lanyards and slid the S&S Card in the slot and tried the Door. Her attempt was unsuccessful and we were happy about that. We asked what Guest Services and Security had said and they told us they had not reported it. We insisted they do so and they agreed they’d go down right away.

 

We dropped our stuff off and then made our way up to the Lido where I hit the Deli for a Hot Pastrami Sandwich while Dee hit the Asian Station for probably the 3rd or 4th time during the Cruise where she got the same thing she always got; an order of White Rice with Soy Sauce. One of the Staff Members behind the Station was starting to recognize her from her frequent visits and said “You eat just like Crew. Rice and Sauce. That all we eat.”

After eating we headed down to the Cabin, enjoyed Sail-Away, the Sunset...

 

 

 

...and had some laughs with the Neighbours on the Balcony for a couple of hours before it was time to start getting ready for Dinner. I was starting to feel much better but had decided not to fall off the wagon for the remainder of the day.

 

Soon enough it was time to head to the Dining Room for dinner and when we arrived at the Table I was a little confused as to where I was supposed to sit as there wasn’t a ‘Drink Placard’ anywhere to be seen. Dee said our Bar Waiter was a little different the night before even to the point of being a little rude to Dan because he had brought Dan’s drink with Coke in it instead of Ginger Ale and Dan pointed it out to him for the next night and to Dee when he realized that I was not there that night and he was concerned as to who was going to pay for the Drink. Dan told him ‘not to worry about it’ that ‘he would drink the one with the Coke and that he would drink mine too’ before Dee added that she would sign for my drink and ‘treat her brother’. Apparently our Head Waitress had overheard the Bar Waiter and straightened him out in a hurry and we wondered if he had been removed from our Section. Eventually a different Bar Waiter showed up which only served to make us wonder even more.

 

Not having a drink I chose to seek comfort from Carnival’s ‘Comfort Kitchen’ off the Menu and went with the Baked Meatloaf with Gravy as my Entrée and an Appetizer-sized Penne Mariscos as a Starter. Dee went with her favourite Carnival meal the Braised Style Short Ribs with a Fresh Fruit Cocktail for her Appetizer. Our dessert went as expected with a WCMC with 2 Scoops for me and a Cappuccino for Dee.

[vanislandcruisers]

After dinner we made our way up to the Cabin to change before heading down to the Casino to try our luck. We ended up having an entire Table to ourselves – and by this time ourselves included the lady who when she saw would colour up her chips on whatever table she was playing at and join us – and we got on a roll immediately with the Love Guru as our Dealer. I was in the 1st position with Dee to my immediate left and Allen was sitting at 3rd base or the last Position at the Table and for a while it really felt like we couldn’t lose.

 

About an hour into our streak a man wearing a Suit came up to the Velvet Rope on my right that separated the Table Area from the ‘Pit’, extended his hand and said “James? It is James right?” and I said “Yes” and shook his hand. He introduced himself as the “Casino Host” (Manager) and asked me if I ‘would come with him for a minute.’ I looked down at the pile of Chips in front of me and looked at Dee and then asked him if ‘Dee could save my spot? She’s my wife.’ “Of course” he said before adding “But please come with me.” Having not met him when I picked up my Cash Comp like the Cashier said he wanted to do on the first night I really thought what was about to happen to me was a good thing. My imagination got the better of me as thoughts ran through my head of what kind of AWESOME Benefit or Comp I was about to get as he walked me around our Table, around the next one, past the Roulette Table, the Craps Table towards what I thought would be a stop at the Casino’s Cashier’s Cage… Gimme a ‘W’…Gimme a ‘R’…Gimme an ‘O’…Gimme an ‘N’….Gimme a ‘G’….What do ya got??... WRONG Conclusion #699: And was I ever.

 

He escorted me past the Cage over to one of the Exits to the Casino where 2 guys in White Uniforms were waiting and then said “James these 2 gentlemen would like to speak to you.”

 

The 2 guys introduced themselves as “Carnival Security Staff” and said ‘they were conducting an investigation’ and that ‘they had some questions for me.’ Now my mind really started to race. My first thought was that “did they think I was cheating?” and then they asked me if ‘my Cabin Number was 6269?’ I answered “Yes” and then asked them “Why?” thinking “Oh Crap there’s a problem with the Cabin…we have been robbed.” That notion was quickly quashed when one of them said “we are investigating into why you were somewhere you did not have permission to be. Was it an accident?” Now my mind shot back to the Wedding Chapel and I was wondering “Why am I being singled out?” before thinking “I am not giving up any names” but luckily before I said anything one of them said “Do you know Miss Sonya-Lynn and Miss Allison?” It took me a minute before I put 2 and 2 together and remembered that Sonya-Lynn was Tammi’s real name first Name(s) with Tammi being her Middle (3rd???) Name. I said “Oh Tammi, I know her as Tammi and Allison …Yes they are our friends.” “Why did you try and go into their Cabin without permission? Was it a mistake?” “I never tried to go into their Cabin …they are our friends” We have records that show you used your Sail and Sign Card in their Cabin Door and tried to get into their Cabin.” as he held up a document of some sort of . “Sometimes friends you know… things happen…you know” as he put his hands together in a ‘funny’ way. He had let his last comment trail and I quickly responded that “You are ABSOLUTELY off base with that Comment” and then he asked me ‘Where I was last night?’ I told the both of them that “I was in bed at about 8:30pm and never left my Cabin afterwards” “Who were you with?” one of them asked. "No one til about 1:30am when my Wife came back to the Cabin. She had been out with Tammi…err…I mean Sonya-Lynn” I responded.

 

I was really starting to get freaked out to the point where I started to wonder “Was I sleep walking?” “Was it me?” I looked over towards our Table and yelled “DEEEEEEEEE” and motioned for her to come over. As she was making her way over I asked to ‘see their record’ and as soon as I looked at it I noticed the time and it clicked. Dee had both of our lanyards in her hand that afternoon and she must have used my S&S Card to try their door. Just before Dee arrived I pointed out the time and date out to the 2 of them and told them what we had done before adding “It was us that told them to go report this. We were trying to help them” As soon as Dee arrived I asked her ‘if she had used 1 of our keys in Tammi and Allison’s door to check their lock?’ to which she answered “Yes” and then I asked her “When did you do that” and she answered “This afternoon” Dee gave them the exact same story I had just told them and 3 of the 4 of us had a good laugh before I went to the Bathroom.

 

Once back at the Table I was still a little shook up but at least with everyone cracking up at what I had just been through I could do nothing else but laugh along with them. My absence did change the ‘feel’ at the Table and our ‘Winning Vibe’ was gone – it was like someone called Security or something. Dee took off to the Piano Bar to tell Tammi and Allison what had happened and by the time she got back the I was ready to colour up and did just that and we, along with Lynne and Peewee went down to Sam's Piano Bar.

 

When we got there the Security guys were talking to Allison outside the Bar and she looked at me pointed and said “I told you the man had long hair. He is our friend and has NO HAIR” Conclusion #700: Have never been happier to NOT be a Member of the Hair Club For Men.

 

Me, Dee, Peewee, Lynne, Tammi AKA as Sonya-Lynn and Allison

 

 

Brennan ...the ladies were there because of his Voice:rolleyes:;)

 

 

Edited November 6, 2012 by vanislandcruisers

[vanislandcruisers]

We spent a couple of hours in the Piano Bar and although I thought I heard the Whistle blow a few times I never did get back onboard the Booze Train that night.

 

We thoroughly enjoy the Piano Bars and the Piano Bar Entertainers; some more than others, and Brennan was a genuinely nice kid who was just starting out on his 1st Contract with Carnival so he was definitely still getting his bearings as far as becoming a PBE on the Ships. He was very open to requests and suggestions and after Tammi told him that ‘this was the 8th Cruise for Dee and I since January of ’08’ he definitely made a point of asking for some advice from us which we gave him after qualifying the fact that we were by no means "Experts". He asked us if ‘we had heard of a Ron Pass?’ and we said “Ron had been the PBE on 2 of our Cruises and that we were in the PB every night the 2nd Cruise” and after hearing that he asked us ‘what he was like’. We enjoyed our time with him and since we were essentially the only ones in there with the exception of the 2 guys in the White Suits who kept coming in to talk to Allison and Tammi we were able to run the gammit on requests; if he knew it he sang it for us. He had learned a few songs that Tammi, Dee and Allison had requested the night before that he didn’t know and played them for them this night.

 

One reason I think the Piano Bar did not see a lot of traffic, and something we also noticed on our 2 Carnival Spirit Cruises, is the location of the Piano Bar on the ‘Spirit’ Class Ships; it is most definitely hidden with many Cruisers never even knowing its exact location.

 

Note: When I look at the current Piano Bar Entertainer Schedule I don’t see Brennan listed anywhere.

 

We headed back to the Casino after the Piano Bar closed , played for about a ½ hour before deciding to call it a night, heading up to the Cabin, ensuring it was our Cabin Door that we were putting our S&S Card into and once inside we were greeted by our 4th Towel Animal.

 

 

We had a busy and long day planned the next day in Aruba where as a Group “WE BROUGHT CRAZY BACK”

Edited November 6, 2012 by vanislandcruisers

[AuntieBon]

We spent a couple of hours in the Piano Bar and although I thought I heard the Whistle blow a few times I never did get back onboard the Booze Train that night.

 

We thoroughly enjoy the Piano Bars and the Piano Bar Entertainers; some more than others, and Brennan was a genuinely nice kid who was just starting out on his 1st Contract with Carnival so he was definitely still getting his bearings as far as becoming a PBE on the Ships. He was very open to requests and suggestions and after Tammi told him that ‘this was the 8th Cruise for Dee and I since January of ’08’ he definitely made a point of asking for some advice from us which we gave him after qualifying the fact that we were by no means "Experts". He asked us if ‘we had heard of a Ron Pass?’ and we said “Ron had been the PBE on 2 of our Cruises and that we were in the PB every night the 2nd Cruise” and after hearing that he asked us ‘what he was like’. We enjoyed our time with him and since we were essentially the only ones in there with the exception of the 2 guys in the White Suits who kept coming in to talk to Allison and Tammi we were able to run the gammit on requests; if he knew it he sang it for us. He had learned a few songs that Tammi, Dee and Allison had requested the night before that he didn’t know and played them for them this night.

 

One reason I think the Piano Bar did not see a lot of traffic, and something we also noticed on our 2 Carnival Spirit Cruises, is the location of the Piano Bar on the ‘Spirit’ Class Ships; it is most definitely hidden with many Cruisers never even knowing its exact location.

 

Note: When I look at the current Piano Bar Entertainer Schedule I don’t see Brennan listed anywhere.

 

We headed back to the Casino after the Piano Bar closed , played for about a ½ hour before deciding to call it a night, heading up to the Cabin, ensuring it was our Cabin Door that we were putting our S&S Card into and once inside we were greeted by our 4th Towel Animal.

 

 

We had a busy and long day planned the next day in Aruba where as a Group “WE BROUGHT CRAZY BACK”

 

I'm one of those that never found the piano bar. Crazy who you calling crazy?:p

[vanislandcruisers]

I'm one of those that never found the piano bar. Crazy who you calling crazy?:p

 

'Crazy' in the besy possible way Bonnie ;):D

[lynyrd]

Brennan ...the ladies were there because of his Voice:rolleyes:;)

 

 

 

Brennan sure did have one hell of a smile.

[4hunters]

Wow! Sorry about your run-in with security. I guess you can look at it like at least they were actually investigating. From other reports I've read it seems like they don't always do their job in that respect. Now if they could only have listened to Allison the first time about the hair... :D;)

 

MORE PLEASE! :)

[WeBeCruisin']

I'm one of those that never found the piano bar. Crazy who you calling crazy?:p

 

I never made it there, either. Part of the problem is that whereas most of the piano bars are nearly across from the disco, on this class of ship they are up a deck and at the other end. You almost have to know it's there.

[Timmys_mom]

Oddly enough, I never was in the piano bar either. Can't even tell you why. I must have been busy trying to keep Jimmy out of trouble.

[Timmys_mom]

WOW, those were some nice pictures.....almost like they were taken with a brand spankin' new camera :)

And obviously they weren't taken with a cheap camera that could be easily misplaced. It had to be one that cost at least as much as a nice pair of diamond earrings. :p

[rickb]

Having security want to speak to you sure is fun isn't it?:rolleyes:

[vanislandcruisers]

A Q-Tip, A Jeep, a Bus, a Krawl and ‘YMCI?’

 

Aruba is a 20 mile-long island of the Lesser Antilles in the southern Caribbean Sea, located 17 miles north of the coast of Venezuela and approximately 81 miles east of the Guajira Peninsula, Colombia. Together with Bonaire and Curaçao, it forms a group referred to as the ABC islands of the Leeward Antilles, the southern island chain of the Lesser Antilles. Collectively, Aruba and the other Dutch islands in the Antilles are commonly referred to as the Netherlands Antilles or the Dutch Antilles.

 

Along with the Netherlands, Curaçao and Saint Maarten, Aruba is one of the four constituent countries that form the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The citizens of all share a single nationality: Dutch. Aruba has no administrative subdivisions, but, for census purposes, is divided into eight regions. Its capital is Oranjestad.

 

Unlike much of the Caribbean region, Aruba has a dry climate and an arid, cactus-strewn landscape. This climate has helped tourism as visitors to the island can reliably expect warm, sunny weather. It has a land area of 69.1 sq miles and is densely populated with a total of 101,484 inhabitants at the 2010 Census. It lies outside the hurricane belt.

 

Our scheduled time in to arrive in Orenjestad, Aruba was 12noon with a scheduled Sail-Away for 10:00pm which were actually 1:00pm and 10:00pm respectively Aruba time. We had the morning to ourselves and then Dan, Coral, Rick, Laurie, Tammi Allison, Allen, Dee and I had booked the Natural Pool Off-Road Adventure which began at 1:00pm with a return time of 5:30pm and then the 7 of us along with Cindy and Laurie were scheduled to be picked up at the Cruise Terminal by the KuKoo Kunuku Party Bus to meet up with the rest of our Group for a 4-Bar Pub Krawl. The rest of the Group would start out on the KuKoo Kunuku Bus, do an Island Tour before having Dinner at the Mansion where we would meet up with them.

 

We were catching Aruba and Curacao over the weekend, a Saturday and Sunday, which just happened to be the final 2 days of their Annual Carnival. The Grand Parades were set for the Sunday in both locales with the Monday being National Holidays in both places with the aptly named Burnout Monday in Aruba and National Day of Recovery in Curacao. Our day was not affected at all in Aruba; in fact with the locals even a little more excited by their Carnival it seemed to add to the festive feeling we brought along with us. We were impacted us little in Curacao.

 

I got up about 8:00am and after showering made my way out on the Balcony for what was now becoming our Morning Confessional, Jell-O and Discussion Session. My run-in with Security was the Topic of Discussion between Shots this particular morning until we heard Dan and then a few minutes later Dee both gag while brushing their teeth. Brother and Sister are sometimes too much alike. Both Coral and I get a kick out of what we call the ‘Henderson Gag’ when either one of the siblings are brushing their teeth. Once Dee and Dan were out on the Balcony Coral and I explained the ‘HG’ to Donna, Dan, Lynne, Peewee, Tammi and Allison. Lynne turned the conversation on its ear so-to-speak when she said “Ya know what makes me Gag? When I clean my ear with a Q-Tip.” There were at least 6 different colours of Jell-O spit all over our 5-Wide Balcony after that statement and 3 more colours when Ninja Dan suggested “a shorter Q-Tip perhaps.”

 

We took the stairs up to the Lido for some breakfast around 10:30am and after a couple of made to order omelets, some bacon, sausages, toast, milk and coffee we headed down to the Photo Gallery with our Coupon from the Ocean Player’s Club. We purchased our Welcome to Grand Turk and Catalina Island Photos as well as our Embarkation Photo that Dan and Coral had ‘put away’ and arranged arranged to have a Copy made for them. Once that was done we headed back up to our Balcony for some sun while we pulled in to Aruba.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[vanislandcruisers]

Aruba’s landscape looked beautiful from what we could see from the Ship ...

 

 

....however as the day went along we were all very surprised at how arid the terrain was. Soon enough we got all the “All-Clear” to go ashore and after a call to Allen to confirm he wouldn’t be joining us Dan, Coral, Dee and myself headed down to the Gangplank where Dee and I had our 1st of 2 ‘Welcome to Aruba...’ pictures taken for the day - Conclusion #701: This would come in handy - ....

 

 

and made our way into the Cruise Terminal ...

 

 

...where we met up with Tammi and Allison, wandered through the Shops, had a couple of Beers and then had our picture taken with one of the headdresses that a willing participant would wear in the Grand Parade the next day.

 

 

Rick and Laurie met up with us shortly after having walked down the Main Street to the little Hard Rock Store to get their Souvenirs as well as do some ‘looking’at the Market that is set up outside the Cruise Terminal. Dee and I debated going to the Hard Rock right then but decided we would go in between excursions after Laurie said that the Hard Rock ‘was just a Shop with T-Shirts and such and that we’d probably have to go the actual Cafe which was about 5 or 10 minutes away to get our Glass, Signature Bear and the Drumsticks.”

 

While Dee and I were outside having a smoke we saw the rest of the Gang getting ready to start their Island Tour on the KuKoo Kunuku Bus. They ahd signage on the side of the Bus ‘Welcoming the VD at C’ Group.

 

 

[vanislandcruisers]

Note: For the benefit of those of you who have not been to Aruba and may do so in the future I have borrowed some pictures from the ‘KuKoo Kunuku Bus’ers to give a quick idea of what they saw.

 

Their Host

 

 

Hard Rock Cafe

 

 

Some Landscapes

 

 

 

Thirst Aid Stations

 

 

and a Thirsty Bride

 

[vanislandcruisers]

Some more of what those on the Bus saw....

 

The Little Church

 

 

 

They had all now been in a Church and a Chapel this Cruise

 

 

and some more.....

 

 

 

[vanislandcruisers]

More from the Bus....

 

The Collapsed Natural Bridge...

 

 

They finished their Tour up with a Sunset Toast...

 

 

to a beautiful Sunset