Glorious Pride Christmas/New Year's Cruise

[Martita B.]

Sailor's,

Pinkie's home~~~A brief review of our fabulous, magical 21 day Caribbean holiday Pride voyage.

As always the Pride service was outstanding.....Cheffy Markus food,

magnificent. From Dec. 16th to Jan. 6th, the ship was full of happy and great merrymaker Sailors! I met wonderful folks~~~from all over the world! Made several new life-long friends. Blessings abound!

On Dec. 23rd, in Ft. Laud, the White Pride Castle was decorated for Christmas......I have NEVER seen such lavish holiday, festive decorations in my life! Huge Christmas trees everywhere.....pine garlands, fabulous holiday flowers. Truly a floating Santa's work-ship~~~~even Santa Claus and his Elves were aboard!!

My favorite memory was being part of the Pride Crew in the American Cup racing Regatta~~our ship was "The Stars and Stripes"~~we WON the race against the Canadian ship. They wouldn't allow me to "grind"......said I wasn't big e'nuff, so I was the "tacker!" It was a thrilling race~~~my Kids said, "Mother, we didn't know you ever sailed????" (keep your children guessin'!)

Sooooo many other holiday happenings occurred~~~~Jan, David E. and Marla kept us all entertained thru-out the sailing. Such fun and special folks`~~~

Another fun event was when I caught two huge Maui Maui fish.....the

Tender boys and I took them back to Cheffy Markus in a beach towel~~~~'flopped those sucker's down in a very large steel pan in the kitchen........'lo and behold on the evening restautant menu there was a new entree: "Martha's Caught Maui Maui" Everyone teased me...saidz" I had been "fish shopping" for Cheffy!" The fish were quite delicious!

Captain Geir-Arne was in his glory......snapping pictures, right and left~~~we were soooo pleased to see TWO green flashes!!! One on New Year's Day~~~~also, Capt. G-A, along with most of the Pride guests had a blast on Prickly Pear Island......even Mike Douglas and his family joined us (they were on their private yacht anchored close to the Pride)

As I am still quite exhausted from all the merrymaking days and evenings I will write more later this week~~~~also, I have started planning our March 19th Pride Crossing. It will YET be another unforgettable voyage~~~~many 'ole seasoned Seabournites will be aboard! YEE-HAW! I know of about 40 joining us on March 19th.

Happy, Happy New Year to All of You

Martita B.

[blackbird71]

Welcome back Pinkie....

 

I emailed you a photo of the Pride in Ft. Lauderdale... :)

 

Sounds like you have a great cruise.....

[CruisinMatt]

Pinkie! So good to see you again! We missed you. :)

Did you get to try any of the new Sky Grill dinners?? If so please give us a review!

Congratulations to your fish being featured on the menu!

(too bad the pink beans didn't make it, wherever they are!) ;) :rolleyes:

[Martita B.]

Matt,

We enjoyed the Sky Grill dinners very much. The open-air dining is quite popular in the Caribbean......many evenings Andres had a full, sold-out house! I hosted a few fun tables of 10 several nights. We will, of course, miss these dinner's on our March Crossing.

As I am not fond of dining "2" we dined either in the restaurant or the Sky Bar.

I am still tearful your Crossing plans had to be cancelled. I have a list of the March Crosser's~~~I think we'll have about 4o regulars.

But, we'll all be together on March 18th at our pre-Crossing dinner party in ft. Lauderdale. I have a few surprise 'Guests" coming to the 18th party.

Have a great day!:p

Martita

[tennisbunny]

I was so thrilled to read that you had an opportunity to crew on this fabulous ship! This was an opportunity we also enjoyed several years ago. I was a "Primary Grinder" and boy was I ever sore that evening when we returned to our big ship :D. It was truly a highlight on a past Celebrity cruise. We bought polo shirts celebrating the experience and wear them to this day.

 

Welcome back and I'm looking forward to becoming a part of the SB family in December when we board the Pride for the first time!

 

We all we eagerly look forward to hearing more about your fabulous Christmas and New Years cruise.

[Rotterdam]

So happy to hear you had another wonderful voyage.....here, there everywhere on Seabourn...you should have a ship of your own...w/ Captain G-A steering..of course.....

 

A happy healthy Seabourn filled 2007 to you!!!!

[SantaAna,CA]

I wish I could have seen the beautiful Pride made even more beautiful with Christmas decorations. I'm thrilled you had such a wonderful cruise. You really did see green flashes! Nice to hear from you, and welcome back.

 

Jane :)

[Martita B.]

Rotty,

What a grand idea......my ship would be named; "The Scalawag's M/V Magic Ship"......painted pink, of course! For all to come and enjoy!

Yes Blackie, I did indeed receive the beautiful Pride photo! Thank you`~~~

Smooth seas and blue skies above~~~always!

MB

[PeaSea8ch]

Pinkie,

 

Glad to see that you have safely arrived home and had a grand time onboard the Pride White Castle! :) Thank you for providing your "quick look" review. I especially enjoyed your commentary about how the ship was decorated for Chrismas, as I have often wondered how "our" triplets are "decked out" for the holidays. In addition to the regulars, there will also be some pre-embarkation dinner and Pride March crossing "newbies" as I emailed you onboard whilst you were having fun in the sun and moonlight!

 

Get some rest Pinkie. Looking forward to any future reports you wish to share with us! March 18 is not that far away! :D

[CruisinMatt]

I would love to see some pictures of how the triplets are decorated during the holidays!

[Martita B.]

Peachy, Yes, the Pride was truly beautifully decorated......and of course, Tony ( pastry Chef) and his team did an outstanding array of fabulous Gingerbread houses all over the ship! True art!:p

We are all staying at The Embassy Suites on 17th St. the night of March 18th (JB and I will fly in on March 17th) The evening of the 18th, we'll all meet and greet for cocktails and dinner. I will visit with Matt as to the location. As we have always dined at "The Riverside Restaurant', on the lawn (overlooking the river) I think this would be a convenient and comfortable place for "The Gang" to get together. Looking forward to being with you, Peachy.;)

See 'ya soon!

Hugggzzz

Pinkie

[PeaSea8ch]

Matt: Captain G-A has a few pictures on his website of the Christmas decorations and those large gingerbread houses!

 

Pinkie: I too will be staying at the Embassy Suites on 17th Street on the 18th. I am sooo looking forward to actually meeting you face-to-face as well as your devoted gang. :) I can just feel it in my bones that this March will will be a grand crossing indeed!! :D

 

California Brown Bear Hugggzzz Sent To West Texas,

Peachy

[blackbird71]

Pinkie,

 

Did the Roswell Alien/Captain receive the hot peppers I dropped off with the Tour manager......:confused:

 

thanks

[CruisinMatt]

"The Riverside Restaurant', on the lawn (overlooking the river) I think this would be a convenient and comfortable place for "The Gang" to get together.

 

I strolled by there on New Years Eve - lovely place! Perfect idea. Mark's might be too cramped.

[Martita B.]

Sailor's,

First week, Dec. 16th-23rd, we enjoyed wonderful, fun sailor's! I met several newbies that were overwhelmed with the service and food.....and all the generous amenties provided by Seabourn.

Next two weeks were TOO much fun! Many were aboard for the entire 14 days, so it was like a Christmas family reunion. Only 40 disembarked on Dec. 30th--40 more came aboard. We had such a grand day in St. Barts on New Year's. Never in my life have I seen such huge/enormous private yachts! We laughed and said, "wellll, la 'de da, we're having a big party over here, on our floating White

Castle." The fireworks at midnight were fabulous.......a good time was had by all! Certainly a New Year's Eve I will always hold dear

and I will remember making such sweet memories.

Please meet me at "the water cooler" for chit-chat of our March pre-cocktail/dinner party in Ft. Laud

Martita B

[Martita B.]

When I embarked in Bridgetown about 1 pm, I strolled to my Suite........upon entering, I thought I was in the wrong room as there

were two huge gorgeous flower arrangements and severa notes and letters.......I looked closer and 'lo and behold they were addressed to me. AND to my surprise I had a lovely gift certificate from our own sweet CCer, thoughtful John Brinkley III!!! What a kind Southern gentleman........I almost cried! I certainly enjoyed my pedicure......John, my friend, a "thank you note" is on it's way. Hugggzzz's to you!

Seabourn friends and family are the best!

Martita B

[Archipelago]

Welcome back Miss M !! I know that you had a nice Christmas on the Pride !! I appreciated meeting you this past year and was hoping that Santa had paid you a visit :D . Our Vegas Christmas was a success and we loved the Venetian . I liked the Canyon Ranch Spa.. it was better than the Four Seasons ! We saw Don Arden's Jubilee at Bally's too !!!"Millions of sequins covering almost nothing!":p

[GrannyLorr]

Martha your cruise sounds just wonderful. I hope that ~one day~ we will be able to do the Christmas/New Year trip, what a lovely relaxing way to spend the holidays! No slaving over hot stoves! (in 100 degree heat) Have you any idea how long Chef Markus expects to be on the Pride? I just hope he will be there next January when we board!

 

Also been reading how some of you are meeting at the Embassy Suites....for our January cruise we are planning on being in Fort Lauderdale a few days early and have been "looking" at Embassy Suites and The Grande....any ideas which might be better for "first timers" in the area?

[CruisinMatt]

Embassy Suites and The Grande....

 

Either one would be perfect for first timers! :D The Embassy suites includes a free breakfast as well. Both have great pool areas. (If you are into that)

[GrannyLorr]

nah...old Granny isnt into the pool thing....dont want to scare the natives! I have read reviews on Trip Advisor...sometimes not really good ones on Embassy Suites.....which one is closer to the shops??? :D

[CruisinMatt]

Granny, what type of shops are you looking for? Both hotels are off the same street, 17th Street Causeway. There are some cafes, restaurants, grocery and drug stores as well as a few fast food places. If you are looking for a shopping mall, you'll need transport.

[xplrcrzn]

Granny-You may be interested in the Doubletree Gallery One-located next to the Galleria Mall, on the intercoastal waterway and a couple of blocks from the beach (not next to the cruise port, if that is a requirement---but no good shops near the port). Around US$230 high season (Jan.). Check it out on Expedia or one of the booking websites.

[johnnycruise]

Next two weeks were TOO much fun! Many were aboard for the entire 14 days, so it was like a Christmas family reunion.

 

Hi Martita,

 

I hope you had an uneventful trip home to TX. Did you ever get DavidE into the costume you took along?

 

johnny

[Martita B.]

Johnny,

Happy to hear from you! Hope to see you again soon~~~

Yes, all the Christmas costumes I took were worn and greatly appreciated~~~David E. wore the Cowboy Stetson Santa hat (finally he "lifted" it off Gavin's head) Nadia wore the lighted red boa with matching halo, Cheffy Markus was sent the red satin devil wings with horns (he was to wear the garb to the Christmas crew party) Nursey wore the white maribu floating halo.....Dr. Herra sported a Merry Christmas red baseball cap. I gave the sweet stewardress's halo's and tiara's. Even Chris Prelog's little daughter came and selected white felt raindeer horns with jingle bells......she was a doll (4 yrs old) frolicking a'round the Pride in Ft. Laud. on Dec. 23rd. I was fairly plain lookin', wearing my 'ole Longhorns with the diamond tiara and pink maribu trim.

It was quite a festive group of Sailor's going to the"Oh Come All Ye Thirsty" party~~~~~~~and a good time was had by all!

Happy Sailing

Martita B.

[Host Dan]

Thanks Martita for the reports and comments regarding your Pride Holiday Cruise! For those of you that have used this thread to post comments regarding pre and post cruise travel arrangements (Amtrack etc), these posts have been moved to the water cooler. Please stay on topic, as it is only fair to the OP. Thanks!

 

Host Dan