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

[Margarita Mom]

We are trying to dry out before our cruise in January.

[Bonds73]

Tap Tap Tap.....Come on Jim, what's taking so long :)

[jimbug]

We miss you, Jim! Hope everything is okay up in Canadaland. :)

[AuntieBon]

We miss you, Jim! Hope everything is okay up in Canadaland. :)

 

Hey Jim!! Where did you go?

[Margarita Mom]

Hey Jim!! Where did you go?

 

I think he is really busy at work these days. I wish he'd come back though. I can't wait to see how this ends.

[Timmys_mom]

I think he is really busy at work these days. I wish he'd come back though. I can't wait to see how this ends.

When you have pictures of The Rental with his lily white butt out a bus window, I'm sure it doesn't end well.

[WeBeCruisin']

Jim hasn't given up on us. He will definitely be back soon to finish the review and pictures. He really is "gifted" in the way he can review a cruise with such attention to detail, amazing pictures, and humor. He's been extremely involved with "real world" stuff lately, including being the group leader for a cruise on the Carnival Conquest out of New Orleans on January 20. You guys should join us. :)

[Royalty X]

VD at Sea = Venereal Disease at Sea...? Teehee! :D

[AuntieBon]

VD at Sea = Venereal Disease at Sea...? Teehee! :D

 

Valentine's Day at Sea.

[WeBeCruisin']

Valentine's Day at Sea.

 

But out t-shirts did feature a Nurse Wretched giving us syringes full of shots..... jello shots. :)

[SoundDawg]

Was just looking through my subscribed threads and realized Jim never finished this awesome review. Thought I would bump it up and maybe Jim will get that guilt feeling and come back to finish! :):cool:

[vanislandcruisers]

Was just looking through my subscribed threads and realized Jim never finished this awesome review. Thought I would bump it up and maybe Jim will get that guilt feeling and come back to finish! :):cool:

 

Guilty as charged Chris!!!....Tomorrow I will have the rest of the Cruise posted....I promise!!!

[4hunters]

Yay! I remember wondering way back in January, Jim, what happened to you. ;)

[lynyrd]

Guilty as charged Chris!!!....Tomorrow I will have the rest of the Cruise posted....I promise!!!

 

Yes please do. I am dying to hear what happens next! :p:D:D

[vanislandcruisers]

Only 6 months later :o

 

By the time we hit the last Bar which may have been the 4th (or 3rd) the Specials had done their job and Pain was something we were not feeling.

 

Rick sporting the 'Special' eyes

 

 

We found a number of Tables towards the back of the Club and got down to drinking and admiring the Bar’s recycled interior design.

 

 

Another KuKoo Kunuku’ Bus pulled up and the Party was on. Pretty soon it was time for some dancing on the Bar and Jimmy, still experiencing the bliss of being a new Cruise Groom, found himself up on a Bar with a few other fellas and the Host from the other Bus.

 

 

The Host from the other Bus is the Lady in the Jammies

 

 

They proceeded to sing and perform a rousing rendition of YMCA however the guy on Jimmy’s right must have thought it was YMCI and it looked like Jimmy was going to make sure that ‘I’ was dotted.

 

[vanislandcruisers]

More Pics from the Pub Krawl

 

Dee and I

 

 

Sharona and Laurie M

 

 

 

 

[vanislandcruisers]

When we had received our FunTimes the night before the Port Times had changed a little and we were now scheduled to be back on board at 11:00pm (12midnight Aruba time) so we had taken full advantage of the extra time with the extra stop. After several more drinks and many more laughs we grabbed a couple of ‘Special’ Roadies as it was time to get back on the Bus for the trip down Main St. to the Cruise Terminal.

 

As we were about to get on the Bus Trevor motioned to Dee and I to come sit at the Back of the Bus with him, Angie, Jimmy and Shelly. Dee and I busted up laughing at Trevor’s ‘motion’ as he had 3 beers between the fingers on each of his hands. “What?” before adding “they are just tiny bottles.” Conclusion #710: Trevor Beerbottlehands is a distant cousin of Edward Scissorhands.

 

One of the ladies who had joined our Group from the Cruise Critic Roll Call was having a little trouble getting up the steps to the Bus so Dan offered to help her by holding her drink and lending her a hand. She was having none of that and looked at Dan and said “Don’t you dare touch my drink!”

 

The trip down the main drag to the Terminal was hysterical as many of the Locals were already sitting on couches, lawn chairs and homemade bleachers in preparation for the Grand Parade which would begin 12 hours later. We were shaking our maracas and hooting and hollering with the crowd lining the street as we went along. The people of Aruba certainly live up to the Motto on their licence plates.

 

 

Once back on board we made our way up to our Cabin to drop off our stuff and take a picture of our 5th Towel Animal.

 

 

Next stop was the Casino where the first charge on our $&S Account was registered at 11:01pm. Once the Games were open the ‘usuals’ hit the Blackjack Tables while Dee and Coral and a few others hit the Slot Machines.

 

When Tammi and Allison had inserted their Cards into the Machine on the Gangway a notice came up for the 2 of them to go to Guest Services where they were told that “the Investigation had not turned anything up.” The 2 of them headed up to their Cabin and Tammi headed inside. Allison, who had stopped to take a few pictures looking down towards the Atrium Bar walked up to the Cabin and pushed the door open without using her Sail and Sign Card – the door had not closed completely after Tammi went in. Conclusion #711: Mystery solved well except for the drunk who had the wrong Cabin. A little red-faced they headed back down to Guest Services to tell them what had happened. Guest Services did arrange for a Maintenance Staff Member to come at look at their Cabin Door the next day to make an adjustment.

 

I ended up having a long conversation with the Casino Manager about my run-in with Security the night before as he was a little intrigued by what had happened. We both had a good laugh about it before he bought me a double for my troubles. I had a better night at the Table than Dee did at the Machines and after a couple of hours we headed up to the Lido Deck for some late night Pizza before heading to the Cabin and calling it a night.

[vanislandcruisers]

A Bar, a Walk and Shelly and Jimmy sitting uder a Tree R-E-S-T-I-N-G???

 

Curaçao is an island in the southern Caribbean Sea, off the Venezuelan coast. The Country of Curaçao which includes the main island plus the small, uninhabited island of Klein Curaçao ("Little Curaçao"), is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Its capital is Willemstad.

 

Prior to 10 October 2010, when the Netherlands Antilles was dissolved, Curaçao was administered as the Island Territory of Curaçao, one of five island territories of the former Netherlands Antilles.

 

The origin of the name Curaçao is debated. The explanation gathering more consensus among the Portuguese and the Spanish is that the word derives from the Portuguese word for the state of becoming cured (curação). The reason for this is that sailors traveling for months in the sea would often contract scurvy. It appears that in one of such long travels, a group of Portuguese sailors landed for the first time in Curação and were cured from scurvy, probably after eating fruit with vitamin C.The island was known from then on as Ilha da Curação (Island of Healing).

 

Another explanation is that it is derived from the Portuguese word for heart (coração), referring to the island as a centre in trade. Spanish traders took the name over as Curaçao, which was followed by the Dutch. Another explanation is that Curaçao was the name the indigenous peoples of Curaçao had used to label themselves.

 

This theory is supported by early Spanish accounts, which refer to the indigenous peoples as "Indios Curaçaos" which means "Healing Indians" as the aboriginals were likely already aware of the disease called scurvy and its cure from past experience as in North American natives.

 

After 1525, the island appeared on Spanish maps as "Curaçote", "Curasaote", and "Curasaore". By the 17th century, the island was known on maps as "Curaçao" or "Curazao".On a map created by Hieronymus Cock in 1562 in Antwerp, the island was referred to as Qúracao.

 

The name "Curaçao" has become associated with a shade of blue, because of the deep-blue version of the liqueur named Curaçao (also known as Blue Curaçao). Today, locally, the island is known as "Dushi Korsou" (Sweet Curaçao).

 

After our late night we were not moving very fast this morning. We headed out on the Balcony about 8:00am which was our scheduled arrival time in Willemstad.

 

Once showered and dressed we, along with Dan and Coral, headed up to the Lido for breakfast and some fluids….lots and lots of fluids. We managed to take a few pictures using some very shaky hands and were immediately taken by the colourful buildings in Willemstad.

 

 

 

 

We would see this little area later in the day

 

 

 

 

Shortly before 11:00am we made our way down to the Gangway, where we bought a $4.49 Bottle of Carnival Water - Conclusion #712: Tasted the same as much cheaper water - and then headed off the Ship to have our ‘Welcome to Curacao…” Picture taken but they weren’t set up to do so any longer. When we headed to the Photo Gallery later that evening we were very lucky and able to arrange for them to ‘photoshop’ 1 of the 2 ‘Welcome to Aruba…’ pics to say ‘Welcome to Curacao…’

 

 

Our luck has continued as a wonderful lady from San Diego who read our Carnival Spirit Journal on Cruise Critic and has a Vacation Condo in Cabo San Lucas was nice enough to offer to pick up the Signature Bear we collect for my daughter and mail it up to us. THANKS Wendy!!! They say ‘things happen in 3’s’and in this case that’s true as another friend of ours who is well known on Cruise Critic and recently cruised on the Carnival Breeze made a special trip to the Hard Rock Café when they stopped in Aruba and picked up a Signature Bear for my daughter, a set of Drumsticks for each of Dee’s boys and the Hurricane Glass that we collect. THANKS Floatie!!! Conclusion #713:

 

We have met the nicest people through cruising.

[vanislandcruisers]

We wandered along the pathway adjacent to the water...

 

 

 

.....and met up with Ninja Dan and Donna and took some pictures with the Carnival Miracle in the background.

 

Dee and I

 

 

Dan and Coral

 

 

Donna and Dan had already been over to the shopping area and said that a lot of stores were closed or were closing early due to the Grand Parade which would be starting in a couple of hours.

 

We made our way past the Fort ...

 

 

[vanislandcruisers]

...to a Plaza area where Dee and Coral browsed in the few shops that were open...

 

 

...while Dan, Ninja Dan, Donna, and I made our way over to a Bar with a Patio where we ran into Lynne, Peewee, Laurie, Rick, Trevor and Angie.

 

 

Donna and Dan sat with Lynne and Peewee while Dan and I grabbed a Table for us and Dee and Coral. Not needing to see a Menu I asked the Waitress for the same drink that the four at the other Table were having. Conclusion #714: It was BIG and looked GOOD Conclusion #715: It was.

 

Dee and Coral arrived back empty handed but each of them soon filled one of their hands with a BIG and GOOD looking drink. Tammi and Allison came walking up and went the BIG and GOOD looking route as well. We ordered some appys and sat back and enjoyed the early afternoon.

 

This Bar had free Wi-Fi as evidenced by the number of Crew Members who were on their iPhones and Laptops and were chatting with Home. There was one female Crew Member who caught Dee’s eye as the young girl was balling her eyes out as she was chatting into her Computer Screen. Eventually Dee said she ‘was going to go over and give the girl a hug’ but I stopped her and said “No I’m sure she doesn’t want us to bring attention to her and besides she’s not the only one” A second look around the Patio showed about a dozen Crew Members all with tears in their eyes. It really hit home for us the sacrifice these Crew Members make in order to earn a living.

 

After a few more ‘BIG and GOOD lookings’ Dee and I made our way over to the Harbour area where we took in the sights and browsed the Tents at the Market

 

 

 

 

We had planned on walking across the Floating Bridge but it had already been retracted with no plans to extend it again that afternoon with the Parade about to begin. We made our way back towards the Roadside Market and found Jimmy and Shelly sitting on a wall under a tree with a “We’re just resting” explanation from the 2 of them. We told them we would meet them back by the Port area for a drink

 

On our first pass by the Market a Wood Carving caught our eye and we knew we had to act fast as many of the Proprietors were folding up their tents and putting away their goods in anticipation of the upcoming Parade. After a little back and forth negotiating with the Vendor it is now proudly displayed in our Rec Room along with our wooden Stingray, Dolphin and Rasta Man Carvings.

 

It was unfortunate that the day we were in Curacao was the last day of their annual Carnival with many of the businesses, shops and Restaurants closed or closing by the time we got to them and in hindsight we probably should have gotten of the Ship earlier however we did our best to make the best of it. On our way back to the Port area we saw 1 lone Carnival Staff Member out painting on the Bow of the Ship Conclusion #716: Lonely job.

 

[vanislandcruisers]

We arrived back at the Port area and met up with Lynne, Peewee, Shelly, Jimmy and Sharona and joined them at their Table for a beer which as often happens with us turned into beers.

 

 

 

Lynne’s friends were sitting on Stools at the Bar and after each of us finished a beer we would hand our empty to Jimmy who would deposit it in Lynne’s friend’s Duffel Bag. Much to the chagrin of many of the late arrivals we ended up drinking the little Port Bar out of all of their beers meaning it was time to stagger back on the Ship. When Lynne’s friend lifted her bag to head out we all busted up laughing at all the clanking of bottles coming from her bag.

 

We were back on the Ship about 2:30pm and headed up to the Cabin to drop off our stuff and then headed up to the Lido to grab a snack and met up with the rest of the Group. We grabbed a Bucket of Beer, some lunch and enjoyed the mid-afternoon Sunshine. About 3:30pm a Group of us decided to head down to our Cabin and have a Sail-Away, Shooter and Jell-O Shot Party on the 5-wide Balcony so we grabbed another Bucket of Beer and away we went.

 

Just LOVE how relaxed Dee gets on a Cruise

 

 

Saying Good-Bye to Curacao

 

 

 

 

It was a little sad knowing the Port part of the Cruise had come to an end but that emotion was quickly replaced by laughter and good times as we enjoyed Sail-Away and all the different Shooter concoctions that Lynne, Donna, Dee, Coral and Shelly mixed up and we were able to use all the Shooter Glasses we had amassed during our Dinner sittings.

 

There were enough of us out there that even with grabbing chairs from inside the Cabins a few were left without seats. Peewee who did not have a chair was squatting like a Baseball Catcher would behind Home Plate and as the Ship began to move we could see him swaying and wavering a little bit. Shelly looked over at him and yelled “PEEWEE…PUT YOUR KICKSTAND DOWN” and that pretty much set the tone for the rest of the afternoon.

 

We spent the next couple of hours chatting, laughing drinking, doing Shots and during this time Sharon who we all call Sharona taught us Canadians a lot of Southern Lingo. We now know that ‘Bless your heart’ may not be the best thing to hear from a Southerner.

 

The Balcony emptied out about 6:45pm so we decided to get ready for Dinner. Once ready Dee and I us headed down to the Photo Gallery to pick up and pay for our Welcome to Aruba…’ picture, make the ‘photoshop’ arrangements for the 2nd ‘Welcome to Aruba…’ picture before heading to the Jewelry Shop to ‘browse’. Dee fell in love with a Necklace with a Diamond Anchor as the Pendant so we got that for her and then headed over to the Gift Shop to get the Carnival Miracle Postcard, Postcard Booklet and Ship Christmas Tree Ornament that I collect.

 

Shopping done we made our way to Mr. Lucky’s Casino where I left Dee at a Slot Machine and then took our purchases up to our Cabin. Once back at the Casino I had a seat at a Blackjack Table and played up until it was time for Dinner.

 

We grabbed our seats and shortly after doing so we realized we were still being served by the ‘replacement’ Drink Waiter and we were all still wondering if his exchange with Dan had anything to do with it. His drinks tasted just as good as the 1st Waiter’s did. Dinner tonight had one of our favourite appetizers; Escargots and Dee and I both had an order. Dee had the Chateaubriand with Sauce Béarnaise while I had the Grilled Jumbo tiger shrimp. We had our usuals for Dessert; a Cappuccino for Dee and the WCMC for me.

 

After dinner we spent a couple hours in the Casino before hitting the Dr. Frankenstein’s Dance Club. Being a 2-level Club and with Dee in a dress it was this night she learned that it wasn’t a good idea to sit on the upper level by the Glass Railing on a stool. After a couple of drinks and a couple of dances we headed up to the Cabin where we were introduced to our 6th Towel Animal…

 

 

...had a few drinks out on the Balcony before calling it a night about 2:00am.

[vanislandcruisers]

“One Pill?”, Caesar’s, Splitting 10’s and Elegance

 

The first of our final 2 Sea days started with most of the occupants of the 5-wide Balcony Cabins having their morning Coffee and Jell-O Shots and talking about the previous day’s and night’s events. Conclusion #717: A Daily Group Confessional. I say most because Dan was still sleeping in his Cabin and Dee was still sleeping in ours. When Peewee found out that Dan was still sleeping he got permission from Coral to sneak in and give Dan a surprise wake-up. Peewee, dressed in shorts and a tank top, took off his tank top and crawled into bed with Dan. This may not have been the wisest move Peewee made all week as Dan, after coming to his senses, quickly turned the tables on Peewee and threw him around a little bit. BROMANCE!!! Conclusion #718: Dan had his way with Peewee in bed this morning.

 

Somehow during the 5 Balcony Cabin ‘sit-around-and-fill-in-the-blanks-from the-night-before’ conversation the subject of ‘weight gain’ on a Cruise came up and one of the ladies ended up mentioning “that one time I was taking this one pill and it caused me to gain 15 pounds”. Ninja Dan struck with a “15 lbs from 1 pill. That must have been 1 big pill!!!” And we're off!!!

 

After showering we made our way up to the Lido Deck around 11:00am for some breakfast, Mimosas and Caesar’s and this became our Home Base for the next several hours with a few side trips here and there. Dee became the first 1 of the 2 of us to EVER go down a Waterslide on a Cruise Ship when she joined several of the ladies from the Group for that adventure. This morning and early afternoon also gave us an opportunity to spend some time in the Pools and wander a bit to take some pictures around the Ship.

 

 

 

 

 

 

A little after 2:00pm Dan, Allen, Trevor and I decided to take our Beers and wander down to Mr. Lucky’s to play some Blackjack while Dee, Angie and Coral decided to stay up on the Lido. This was the beginning of the luckiest 36 hours I have ever had in a Casino. The 4 of us had a Table to ourselves and we got on a roll, so much so, that I ended up with the encouragement of the other 3 at the Table and splitting a pair of 10’s against a Bust Card for our Dealer, the Love Guru. Normally this is an absolute “No No” in Blackjack and I most certainly would not have done it with strangers at the Table however we weren’t feeling any pain and were laughing loudly at what I was doing.

 

Small Boss came over to see what the commotion was all about and when the Love Guru said “Mr. Jim is splitting 10’s” he just shook his head and said “I want to see how this turns out”. I was in the first position and none of the other guys were going to take another card so the first card the Love Guru flipped for me was .....another 10. The other 3 started laughing and yelling “SPLIT, SPLIT”........so I did. Trevor seeing an opportunity to increase the tension asked Small Boss if ‘I could Double Down’. Small Boss said ‘I could not double down on the first 10 but I could on the other 2 because I had already played the first 10.’ I said “I’d rather have a double and turned around and did the ‘kiss, kiss’ sound to get the Waiter’s attention and ‘our guy’ waved and said he’d be right over. Caving to the peer pressure I split the last two 10’s, doubled down what I could and had more money out on the table then I have ever had before. By doubling down I could only take 1 card on each of the 10’s…the other 3 guys were holding so now it was up to the Love Guru and he.....BUSTED. There were High Fives all around as we had 4 Winners the Table and I collected my biggest win ever at the Tables.

 

All the Dealers in the Casino did VERY well off of our Group as we normally don’t tip them directly but do play ‘side bets’ for them You could even say there were 5 Winners at the Table on that hand as I was splitting and doubling down the Love Guru’s ‘tips’ and he made a tidy sum on that hand.

 

Donna and Ninja Dan joined us around 3:15pm and our luck continued. I looked at my watch about 4:00pm and then looked at Donna and said “Crap...we missed the Digital Scavenger Hunt” We felt horrible as Lynne had worked hard to organize this. Shortly after Lynne and Peewee showed up and it was obvious that we had indeed stood them up. We apologized profusely and after buying them each a drink they said “It was OK” but I know we let them down. Conclusion #719: So sorry Lynne.

 

When Dee and Coral arrived they were quite excited by everyone’s winnings and decided to see if the luck extended to the Slots. It sort of did for Coral as she reached the ‘Drinks On Us” Points Milestone but after 20 minutes of making ‘Deposits’ only they decided to join us at the Table as did the lady who always scouted us out. Ninja Dan headed up to the Cabin to grab some more smokes so Donna coloured up and Tammi took her place. Donna joined Lynne, Peewee, Rick, Laurie and Angie and stood and watched and I not waiting for my luck to change joined the watchers as did Dee and as it turned out we ended up doing more hydrating than watching.

 

The more ‘hydrating than watching’ plan-of-attack began to spread through the Group. We hung around the Bar at the Casino until about 7:15pm at which time Dan, Coral, Dee and I told the rest that we were going to go change as it was the 2nd Elegant Night and we had managed to make ourselves a little less than elegant by this time. Donna and Dan and Trevor and Angie had decided they were going to skip the Dining Room this evening and eat on the Lido. Apparently Angie didn’t want us to leave just yet and looked at her wrist and said “Don’t go yet!!! It’s not even 7 O’Clock”. The 4 of us laughed and looked at her as someone in the Group pointed out, “Angie that’s a Tennis Bracelet not a watch.” Everyone including Angie started laughing and the 4 of us laughed all the way to the Elevator. As we were waiting for the Elevator Doors to open we could still hear the rest of them laughing.

 

We got ready fairly quickly and made our way down towards the Casino to meet up with those who were going to the Dining Room and the 4 that weren’t. Being the 2nd Elegant Night we were very impressed with how good everyone looked after a long alcohol themed day.

 

After a pre-dinner Cocktail we made our way to the Dining Room and when we arrived at the Table our Drinks were waiting for us as was our original Drink Waiter. He began to tell us he “had been away sick for the previous 2 days”. He got fairly descriptive regarding his illness and his ability to paint a picture was very much on display when he finished up a description of one of his symptoms with “it was flowing out of me like a river”. Conclusion #720: Gonna skip the Au Jus on the Prime Rib this evening.

 

It was either our Drink Waiter’s picture painting skills or the 10 days of partying that caused Dee to go with some Comfort Food this evening to give her tummy a break…an appy sized Mac ‘n Cheese, some Steamed Rice and a Grilled Chicken Breast did the trick for her while I got adventurous and ordered the Frogs Legs with Provencale Herb Butter off of the ‘didya (as in did ya ever…) Menu, followed by a Caesar Salad and the Prime Rib Sans Jus. Conclusion #721: Me being a Leg Man does not extend past Chicken, Turkey….and Dee!!!…. Yours truly…Jim….P.S – Not necessarily in that order.

 

Minus the amphibian adventure Dinner was GREAT!!! Dee ended up dancing with our Assistant Waiter and a good time was had by all.

 

We made our way back to our Home (Mr. Lucky’s Casino) away from Home (Carnival Miracle) away from Home to see if our luck from earlier in the day was still there. It was!! We were in ‘Drink, Win and Cash’ mode tonight as we made drink orders at 10:07pm, 10:34pm, 10:55pm, 11:23pm and 12:08am and Cash Deposits at the Kiosk at 11:50pm and 12:43am. Conclusion #722: The preceding schedule sponsored by Jarrod’s – the Diamond Tennis Bracelet People and Carnival’s Official Sail and Sign Statement.

 

We made our way to Dr. Frankenstein’s Dance Club about 1:00am for some dancing and drinks and spent about an hour there before heading to the Lido Deck for some late night Pizza. After our snack we headed down to our Cabin, took a picture of our 7th Towel Animal....

 

 

...poured ourselves a Night Cap and sat on the Balcony for a while enjoying the warm air of the Caribbean.

[WeBeCruisin']

VD at Sea = Venereal Disease at Sea...? Teehee! :D

 

Precisely. Our group logo featured a nurse with a huge penicillin syringe. The fact that we sailed on Valentine's Day (VD, too) was purely coincidental. :)

[vanislandcruisers]

Surprise!!!, “Ham and Chowda”, Hats and a Glowing Home Party

 

I must have been snoring pretty good this night because Dee woke me up a couple times to let me know I was. Conclusion #723: Dee’s elbows were very attracted to me tonight. Wanting to ensure she got the best sleep she could I put on a Robe and headed out onto the Balcony. The Balcony Chairs were everywhere but in front of our Cabin at this time and not wanting to disturb any of our neighbours I just laid down on the deck of the Balcony for a snooze. My ‘not wanting to disturb our neighbours’ plan went down the drain a few hours later when Ninja Dan came out of his Cabin to see me laying there and I don't think he wasn’t expecting that at all. Surprise!!! We took turns startling each other as the sound Dan made woke me up. Don’t really know if it was the view of me being there that surprised Dan or if my Robe had moved and he saw stuff he didn’t want to see. Nevertheless we were both WIDE AWAKE now.

 

As the early morning went along the various occupants of Cabins 6263 through to 6277 began to make their way out onto the 5-wide Balcony. We hadn’t seen Donna and Dan since before Dinner the night before so Donna began to tell us her rendition of what they had gotten up to the night before. Once Donna was done describing her rendition Ninja Dan would give us the ‘real version’ of what happened. Lynne told Donna her and Peewee had run into them the night before and Donna was going on about how good the “ham and Corn Chowder was on the Lido”. Donna in her best Massachusetts - Conclusion #724: Had to use Google to see how to spell that – accent said “I didn’t eat no ham last night. I was born in Massachusetts and I know my pork and I didn’t eat no ham or Corn Chowda last night” Ninja Dan grabbed his camera showed Donna pictures of her and Angie very much enjoying their ham and ‘Corn Chowda’ on the Lido Deck the previous night.

 

After a few Jell-O Shooters really got the conversation and laughs flying we all decided to head up to the Lido and have a late breakfast and drinks. The 10 of us brought any leftover Champagne we had to make Mimosas and Dee and I also grabbed a Rum Runner full of Kahlua to add to people’s coffees. Conclusion #725: It is very good on French Toast and Ice Cream too.

 

Everyone spoke of pacing themselves today because we all knew we had a 1-hour Cocktail Reception coming up at 3:00pm compliments of our TA, followed by what is now our traditional Stooopid Hat Poker and B-Double E Double R-U-N at 4:00pm, the Fun farewell party at 5:00pm that included FREE DRINKS, our Team Jersey Dinner at 8:15pm and our Glowing home Party beginning at 11:00pm. That ‘pacing' discussion started promptly at 11:00am and was quickly cut-off at 11:03 when we saw a fellow wearing a light blue Golf Shirt and dark blue Shorts who carrying a tray. We spent the next 3 hours soaking up the sun and any liquid that had a % other than 2

 

Around 2:00pm a bunch of us made a plan to go retrieve our hats for the Beer run and then meet in the Casino for an hour of Blackjack or Slots. Dee and I grabbed the 2 hats that we had ordered on-line – a mini Pink Top Hat for Dee and a Mini-Sombrero for myself and headed down to the Casino. It was a VERY successful hour at the Table as we made another stop at the Kiosk at 4:13pm during our Beer Run to apply the afternoon’s winnings to our S&$ Account.

 

Just before 3:00pm we made our way to Sam’s Piano Bar where we greeted by the same Bartender and Server we had earlier in the Cruise at our 2-hour Reception and apparently they knew the drill. That Stoooopid Hats provided some great picture opportunities and everyone had a GREAT time!!!

 

Dee biting Jimmy's Balls

 

 

Trevor

 

 

Rick and Laurie know how to stock up

 

 

Donna and Dan

 

 

Bonnie, Cindy, Laurie M, Sharona and Allison with some EXCELLENT Table Action

 

 

We were also able to get a Group Picture taken by a Carnival Photographer.

 

One AWESOME Group!!!

 

[vanislandcruisers]

More Pics from The Cocktail Reception

 

Laurie M and Allen

 

 

Cindy, Peewee and Lynne

 

 

Tammi and Lynne's Friends

 

 

Dan, Allen, Rick and Laurie - Whatcha looking at Allen?...and is that your thigh you are caressing???

 

 

Donna, Ninja Dan, Angie, Dee and Coral

 

 

Trevor, Jimmy and Shelly