Pepper reporting live from the Dawn!

[WaldosPepper]

I was delighted to once again be woken by the incredible sunshine, and am presently sitting on the balcony with a lovely cup of coffee as I await arrival of breakfast. Outside air temperature is 77 degrees, and the winds are down to force 7. Honestly the ship handles the rough seas so well, that I have not taken a Meclizine since yesterday morning and feel fine. I suffer with vertigo, and cannot ride in the back seat of a car, so motion sickness is a huge issue for me. I’m astounded that I do not need to take my meds! All the better!

South Beach Rave last night, followed by dinner at Teppanyaki. The show was simply fabulous. We also found the meal to be perfectly prepared, and thoroughly delicious. A good sized group of cc’ers were in attendance yesterday for the Margarita Clinic, and we all enjoyed each of the five selections. Afterwards I found it necessary to consume several cups of coffee in an effort to arrive at the Captain’s Reception and be able to speak without slurring my words.

Boston Banker and Juried introduced DS to their own DS who is aboard with several friends. They are in the GV and brought with them several guitars and small amplifiers. As DS is a guitar player, they invited him to jam with them, and he spent the evening having the time of his life. They’re a really nice group of kids, and he’s tickled pink to have made some friends who share his interest in guitar. My most sincere thanks to Boston Banker and Juried who are truly two of the nicest, and most gracious people you could ever hope to meet.

Well, we just enjoyed breakfast in the suite, complete with white tablecloth and linen napkins. I cannot even begin to tell you how cool this is. In my pajamas, no need to dress and go stand in line or wait in any way. This is nothing short of incredible.

Hope all of you are enjoying decent weather.

[WaldosPepper]

I promise to pass along all the hellos from each of you! ;) Shoreguy - Putu knows you by your "ship name".:D

 

Mimi - loved to hear it's snowing there. We all burst out laughing. Sorry about that! :rolleyes:

 

Having a fabulous time, as you can all tell. Can't thank you all enough for all your kind wishes, too!

 

Entering the Virgin Passage right now, so I'm gonna go watch from the shower. Yes indeed Susie - I just LOVE that bathroom, and the windows!!!!!!!!!

 

Gotta fly - chat more later. Have an awesome Day!

[seahorse]

Pepper,

 

So glad that you are enjoying your suite:) Having breakfast brought to you in your jammies in great style and then going out on the Bal. was one of my favorite thing to do next to going out at sunset with a "few" martinis with friends.:D

 

Enjoy every second.

[Tomct]

Pepper:

 

Great to hear from you; you certainly deserve your long awaited cruise on the Dawn, and happy all is going so well. Your comments on the food are refreshing. We are all jealous and "eating our hearts out". Also nice to hear the Martini Clinic is "slipping" you five samples! (Sorry RichNY - there I go again!)

 

Thanks for taking the time to make us feel so comfortable back here in New England, freezing our tails off, though we were fortunate to escape the "cutter" that went through yesterday, leaving a only a light dusting of snow.

 

Looking forward to more reports,

 

Tom

[NormanW]

Beautiful weather today at St Thomas! Live shot showing the turn around. Serenade of The Seas and Golden Princess (center to right) join you today.

 

Enjoy the stay and watch the sunburn. :)

 

Cheers,

 

Norman

[powersl]

Thanks for your post. Can't wait until its our turn. Read your post to DH and said in 207 days it will be us sitting there having coffee and breakfast. Thank you for bringing our dream alive and one day closer.

[lastingtouch]

Pepper,

Thanks for sharing. Can't wait for more. Helps the days past till it's our turn!:D

[Suesan Jean]

You sound SO HAPPY.....!!!!!:D

 

I am SO GLAD that you are having a FABULOUS TIME......!!!!

 

Did we keep our/your cabin ship-shape for you.....?????:D

 

PLEASE say a BIG HELLO to Putu from us (Suesan, Thomas, Sara and Rachel). Tell him that Thomas misses his TWO :eek: orders of Eggs Benedict each morning, the girls miss their Strawberries dipped in Chocolate and I miss EVERYTHING.......!!!!!:(

 

Do you know, on Sunday morning when I was saying Good-bye to him, I actually started to cry..... He is such a nice man, a GREAT Butler and he was so VERY kind and wonderfull to us..... I really was not sure if Lanie's shoes could be filled, but, they were and EXCEPTIONALLY WELL.......!!!!!

 

And ISN'T Alex WONDERFULL....????!!!! What a GREAT GUY....!!!! He is just ALWAYS UP and ready and willing to help with ANYTHING.....!!!! For me, he truly makes up for the absence of Klaus, actually, he is very much like Klaus, he is EVERYWHERE.....!!!!

 

What are your Ports-of Call?

 

TTFN........

[awatt]

Norman W- Where did you find that shot of Charlotte Amalie hoarbor? We have a home on St Thomas and would love to check from time to time- especially when it's cold where we live most of the time. Would warm us up a litlle bit!

[NormanW]

Norman W- Where did you find that shot of Charlotte Amalie hoarbor? We have a home on St Thomas and would love to check from time to time- especially when it's cold where we live most of the time. Would warm us up a litlle bit!

Here is the public link:

 

http://www.earthcam.com/usa/virginislands/stthomas/

 

Here is the camera onsite:

 

 

Here is a frame from a few minutes ago. Serenade Of The Seas is leaving.

 

 

Cheers,

 

Norman aka "the tracker" ;)

[NormanW]

 

No chance of seeing Pepper that far out.

 

Let's try the zoom feature...

 

 

:D

 

Ok that's enough fun for a night. This ole bear's preparing for deep freeze hibernation! Already below the freezing mark. At least the gales have subsided.

 

Cheers,

 

Norman

[awatt]

Thanks NormanW. That's awesome!

[jeannep]

Pepper,

 

Thanks for the updates. I can almost taste your delicious breakfast.

 

Enjoy!

Jeanne

[SRUTKO1226]

Pepper,

 

I am wishing tonight that I could win the lottery. There was a couple on our cruise that were doing multiple back to backs. Basically spending winter on the Dawn! Did they introduce them to your group?

 

I am trying to compensate by teaching my friend and favorite bartender all the different martinis from the clinic. Tonight we tried a French martini...tomorrow we shall see:D

 

Have fun,

 

Susie

[NormanW]

Pepper,

 

There was a couple on our cruise that were doing multiple back to backs. Basically spending winter on the Dawn!

 

Susie

 

Are they on CC? I would be interested in trying this myself for six months or so before trying something more permanent. :)

 

Cheers,

 

Norman

[SRUTKO1226]

I don't believe they were CC members. There was another couple doing the same thing but not for so many voyages. They introduced them at the Latitudes party. They had many cruises under their belts with NCL.

 

A friend surmised that it was probably less expensive than renting property somewhere warm . And you would have to get help or cook and clean for yourself.

[wallygator]

Pep, what are they now getting for the soda card?

 

Thanks and enjoy your cruise.:D :rolleyes:

[NormanW]

That little sticker cost me $60. May have been a dollar south (less) than that but it was close to sixty green backs. Not sure if I broke even or not but my mug was always full. Perfect for mixing miniatures purchased at St Maarten too. ;)

 

Cheers,

 

Norman

[wallygator]

That little sticker cost me $60. May have been a dollar south (less) than that but it was close to sixty green backs. Not sure if I broke even or not but my mug was always full. Perfect for mixing miniatures purchased at St Maarten too. ;)

 

Cheers,

 

Norman

 

Thanks Jesse James used a GUN :eek:

[RichNY]

Pepper.....you just relax & enjoy......

 

TomCT she said MARGARITA clinc....wow ..what damage we could have done..:D ..OH THE HUMANITY !!!!!!!!!

[Cinnamon Seahorse]

Envious greetings! :D

 

We're sailing the 10-day Dawn Eastern on March 16. I'm trying to figure out when to book dinners at alternate restaurants for our group. My cousin is a murder mystery fiend, and I want to make sure we're able to attend that--no alternate that night! I realize it may not yet have occurred, but if you could let me know what night it does, I'd be most appreciative.

 

Many thanks, and happy sailing, Carla

[Welove2cruise2]

 

No chance of seeing Pepper that far out.

 

Let's try the zoom feature...

 

 

:D

 

Ok that's enough fun for a night. This ole bear's preparing for deep freeze hibernation! Already below the freezing mark. At least the gales have subsided.

 

Cheers,

 

Norman

 

Okay, I'm sure I'm not the only one to ask this question -- how does he DO that??!!:D

 

Rich -- I'm right there with you with the margaritas!!!!! When are we leaving??!!

[Tomct]

Pepper.....you just relax & enjoy......

 

TomCT she said MARGARITA clinc....wow ..what damage we could have done..:D ..OH THE HUMANITY !!!!!!!!!

 

One of the first "Martini Clinics" I went to, before Homeland Security got involved, there was a young guy that showed up late, missed the first round, but wound up with about a dozen "samplers". I had 8, as the bartender always poured more drinks than he had customers, and we certainly did not want to see anything go to waste. Other than a little "slurring", I was in surprsingly good shape!!

[NormanW]

Early risers will be seeing the nautical twilight at practically its best this morning!

 

FYI this occurs at 0551 AM local time (0951GMT). At least get glimpse of the sunrise! :)

 

Cheers,

 

Norman

[WaldosPepper]

Tortola! We arrived here this morning as the sun was rising. Enjoying the early morning on our balcony we were serenaded by the sound of roosters crowing all over the island. A few of them must be late risers, as their crowing continues even now, an hour and half later.

St. Thomas yesterday – weather was lovely. DS enjoyed the Atlantis excursion with his Aunt and Uncle, while DH and I wandered the shops. Both of us are presently suffering with severely puffy feet and ankles – we’re not sure whether blame lies with the rich foods, or the booze. I did speak with a young woman yesterday who actually claims the Caribbean is to blame, and that it’s quite common. I dunno what causes it, but I sure hope it goes away soon!

Yesterday we enjoyed a very brief visit to Blackbeard’s Castle (they were closed) followed by a trip to Mountaintop. Met some locals and chatted, enjoyed the scenery, and experienced an exceptional cab ride back to the ship. Our driver was a retired Police Officer who knows every inch of the island, all of it’s history, and every variety of plant and wildlife. He performed a running narrative which we found to be not only informative, but delightfully fun and funny as well. I’ll post his name and contact information when we return.

Today we look forward to the natural beauty of Tortola, as opposed to the commercialism of St. Thomas. I’m delighted to see an abundance of birds here, and am excited to do some spotting! Yesterday I managed to see a mockingbird, and nothing else – how truly boring for me. Already this morning I spotted an enormous seabird with a very long tail and can’t wait to find out what it was and hopefully see it again.

Dinner last night at Aqua for Italian night. Meal was perfectly prepared, very nicely presented, and the service was excellent. The atmosphere in Aqua is unique, and we enjoyed it very much. Fellow CCer’s were a few tables away celebrating a birthday and engagement all at the same time. Turns out the birthday boy proposed to his fiancé yesterday morning, as a birthday gift to himself. How truly romantic! There were smiles all around that table.

Didn’t hit a single bar or the casino last night. We took advantage of the slow pace of travel and enjoyed a few hours on the balcony with a bottle of Grand Marnier. DS enjoyed a few games of basketball, and then stayed for the deck party. We all went to bed just after midnight, and woke early enough to enjoy sunrise and docking.

Hoping all is well with all of you!!!!!!!!!