ASIWISH Posted December 1, 2012 #1 Share Posted December 1, 2012 Saturday, December 1, 2012 Chicago, Illinois As I write this, I am flying at 35,000 feet crossing the Illinois/Indian border… and delightfully relaxed with the knowledge that in a few hours, Nancy and I will arrive in Ft. Lauderdale and await the arrival of our beloved MS Nieuw Amsterdam… arriving to take us to sea! This trip will be a bit different for us, as we decided to invite my mother (Maureen) and her best friend (Joyce) to join us. We invited them last Saturday, and thankfully HAL had one more cabin available… it’s an inside cabin, but we were just thankful they had one! My Mother and Aunt Joyce have been best friends since the seventh grade, and haven’t been on a cruise ship in about 30-years. I am so excited to have them joining us! Thankfully, we had booked the Family Retreat Cabana a few months ago, like we always do, so there will be plenty of room for them to get pampered us! When I write these “Live Froms”, I am happy to answer questions, or find out any information I can from the ship or the crew… maybe even uncover another big story like the GRAND STATENDAM, again!!! So please feel free to ask questions… I am happy to help! As for the content: I just invite you to join us on the cruise!!!! I’ll share menus, show reviews, activities, weather reports, crew information, helpful tips, etc….anything that comes to mind. Basically it will be a tour rather than a review. I’ll even include pictures, as I understand people like occasional photos. Here we go!!!!! Welcome to our cruise…. Saturday Morning: We awoke to very cold temperatures in Chicago… approximately 31-degrees. It was not pleasant to rush outside to hang the “Maureen and Joyce’s High Seas Adventure” banner on the front porch to surpirse our guests! We’ll be hanging that banner on our verandah at sailaway, so be sure to watch us on the PortEverglades WebCam!!!! All of the nieces, nephews, and grandchildren will be!!! We’ll be on Deck Eight, Midship – about four verandahs from the glass elevators! (“Hello” to all my sailaway CC Friends – I trust you have everyone ready, Sheila and Chief!!!!). My son Charlie drove us to the airport, and we got through security without a problem, and our flight left about three minutes early! I’m taking that as a good sign of a great cruise to come! Once we land, we’ll rent a car, hit Total Wine, pop over to the inlet to watch the sailaway from the rocks… and then have dinner at the 15th Street Fisheries – and look across the waterway at Sail7seas favorite hotel!!! That hotel always makes me think of Judy, and smile. For now, I’ll just get some rest as American Airlines was kind enough to upgrade us to first class (which was awful nice of them!)… getting a couple old ladies through O’Hare International Airport was like leading a herd of turtles!!! I already need a nap… I’ll write more tonight, and look forward to a great week with all my friends on Cruise Critic… while cruising aboard the beautiful and elegant MS Nieuw Amsterdam. Have a great day, Friends…. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ASIWISH Posted December 1, 2012 Author #2 Share Posted December 1, 2012 My turtles... :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krazy Kruizers Posted December 1, 2012 #3 Share Posted December 1, 2012 Hope your flight is uneventful to Ft Lauderdale. Looking forward to your "Live" blog. Bon Voyage!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
solocanadian Posted December 1, 2012 #4 Share Posted December 1, 2012 Looking forward to your live blog. Love your term, "herd of turtles" - can just picture it. Bon Boyage! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KNOT2L82SAIL Posted December 1, 2012 #5 Share Posted December 1, 2012 Hey now.... a herd of turtles! Have a wonderful time. And keep those turtles under control. ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scopewest Posted December 1, 2012 #6 Share Posted December 1, 2012 The NA is our next ship so I'm looking forward to your cruise details! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
josie724 Posted December 1, 2012 #7 Share Posted December 1, 2012 Have a wonderful time, and those turtles look more "like foxes to me"(said ala Steve Martin and Dan Akroyd from SNL) .:D You know, while reading your post, I keep hearing "while cruising aboard the beautiful and elegant MS Nieuw Amsterdam" in the accent of our cruise director while we were on board. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamaofami Posted December 1, 2012 #8 Share Posted December 1, 2012 Kevin, have a wonderful cruise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Councillady Posted December 1, 2012 #9 Share Posted December 1, 2012 Can't wait to read your blogs Kevin! I'm usually herding the turtles!:D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vicocala Posted December 1, 2012 #10 Share Posted December 1, 2012 Enjoy your cruise, we will be watching! Bon Voyage! I am looking forward to what you produce for our enjoyment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Himself Posted December 1, 2012 #11 Share Posted December 1, 2012 Kevin: You did this and you did not take me with! If you are looking for something to do in San Juan, I recommend the Picardy Rum Factory tour, They give free samples. Have a great cruise on the ship I got off of two weeks ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KirkNC Posted December 1, 2012 #12 Share Posted December 1, 2012 Look forward to your live updates! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luvtwotrvl Posted December 1, 2012 #13 Share Posted December 1, 2012 Thank you Kevin for the Live updates. I will be very interested on your comments about the ship and the crew since I will be on her in a couple of weeks. David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marti2282 Posted December 1, 2012 #14 Share Posted December 1, 2012 We'll be joining you on board, Kevin. Hard to believe it has final here! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saphire Posted December 1, 2012 #15 Share Posted December 1, 2012 Have a wonderful week, and thanks for taking us along with you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cyntil8ing Posted December 1, 2012 #16 Share Posted December 1, 2012 We too will see you on board. We're not flying in until the morning. The car is all loaded and we're ready to go! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
startwin Posted December 1, 2012 #17 Share Posted December 1, 2012 I always enjoy your "Life From..." blogs, looking forward to every installment:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DWAliaschief Posted December 1, 2012 #18 Share Posted December 1, 2012 More power to you Kevin. My DH has sailed with turtles his last two cruises - once with me, DSL and friend and this last go around with me and TWO DSL!! In the NA if Jimmy Maddox is still on board in the piano bar, he'll call out, "Here comes Kevin and his harem!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rothbury Posted December 2, 2012 #19 Share Posted December 2, 2012 Looking forward to hearing your reviews of the MDR. The live blog a week or so ago has me worried about what to expect as we are sailing NA in March. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare erewhon Posted December 2, 2012 #20 Share Posted December 2, 2012 Wishing you all a fabulous cruise. Looking forward to your reports from the Nieuw Amsterdam. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dobiemom Posted December 2, 2012 #21 Share Posted December 2, 2012 Looking forward to the "tour." Bon Voyage! :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candy Posted December 2, 2012 #22 Share Posted December 2, 2012 Looking forward to your "Live from..." thread! BTW, what parts of chilly ChiTown did you leave in your dust? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Overtime4me2 Posted December 2, 2012 #23 Share Posted December 2, 2012 I always enjoy your "Live from" postings, and will be watching the webcam as you leave tomorrow! Enjoy! :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
innlady1 Posted December 2, 2012 #24 Share Posted December 2, 2012 My turtles... :) Hmmmm, Kevin...Nancy's going to be really happy being called a turtle....;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
innlady1 Posted December 2, 2012 #25 Share Posted December 2, 2012 Kevin, I know you and your herd of turtles will have a fabulous cruise...we'll be waving madly at your sail-away and looking for you on your verandah! Can't wait from your always interesting "live from"! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.