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summercruisin'

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  1. The Sunshine must not have been too far ahead of us, since the beaches were still mostly empty as we docked, but they filled up quickly, as Sunshine passengers were ready to go as soon as we tied up.

     

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    Well, for the first time in many cruises (12 for DH, and 8 - I think - for DS), the boys decided they were just going to stay on the ship in Grand Turk. :( I just don't get why anyone would ever stay on the ship at any port in the Caribbean (or anywhere else for that matter!). I did convince DS to get off the ship long enough to walk down to the "Conch Graveyard," since we had never ventured in that direction before (once off the pier, go to the right and keep walking.....). You'll have to lumber over some slippery rocks if you want to go to the point and around it, where I hear most of the conch shells are found.

     

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    We didn't see many conch shells (although we did see lots of broken pieces and we saw some Sunshine people already coming back with whole ones in hand). But, it is pretty down at that end of the beach anyway. Too much seaweed and other washed up stuff, though.

     

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  2. Alas, our last port day came oh-so-quickly. :( We were scheduled to spend a day at Grand Turk, a spot that we have been to several times in recent years but I still really love it! Last year, we did a tour of Grand Turk, so I decided to (once again) NOT plan anything for this day, knowing that we could just as happily spend the day on the beach or in the pool at Margaritaville.

     

    The day before the Grand Turk stop, Matt told us that there would be a Carnival ship coming into port right behind us. He challenged passengers on the Breeze to get on the beach quickly and take up as much space as possible.....own the beach! :cool::p He said we should make sure the Sunshine passengers had to walk waaaaaayyyyyyy down the beach to get a spot.

     

    But, here is what we saw as we arrived......

     

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    Oh, well. That's what we get for thinking selfishness was amusing, I guess. :rolleyes:

     

    Here's our part of the beach! LOL

     

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    I like walking further down anyway, because the water is much clearer there.....not as much chopped up seaweed!

  3. You're a wonderful reviewer. My grandson is autistic and he's with me nearly every day so I totally 'get' your stories. Such an affectionate child disputed his meltdowns. We will be on the Breeze January 2nd. Thanks for a lovely review

     

    Awww, thanks! :) It is always good to find someone who understands, because so many people do not. I do love the moments of affection as well :). My DS has grown in so many ways, and it is getting a little easier. Then again, maybe I am the one who has grown and just know how to manage a little better. ;) You probably feel the same on that too!

     

    Hope y'all have a great time on the Breeze (I know you will!)

  4. Omg I so wanna ride that!!! I love rollercoasters, especially gigacoasters! Between cruising I have to get to Six flags over TX to ride the Bat Man 4D spin coaster. When they figure out how to put a rollercoaster on a cruise ship my name will be first on the roll.

     

    Ha! Funny! That is exactly what DS says.....put a gigacoaster on a cruise ship! It's so odd that he is overly cautious about many things, but once he started riding coasters, he has no fear with them. :D I'm hoping it will help him face other things he is afraid of.

  5. Come Back! I'm having review withdrawls! You left us with promises of more Matt!!! lol

     

    LOL! :p Okay, okay! I just had a crazy weekend....I was the matron of honor in a wedding and then I drove my teenager and his bff to an amusement park 5 hours away to ride "the best coaster in the world!"....so worth it! We went to Carowinds and rode their new Fury 325......a gigacoaster with a 325 foot drop (more than 2x the height of the Statue of Liberty!) at 81 degrees, reaching speeds of some 95 mph.....woot! Good times! Okay.....so Matt will show up in my Grand Turk pics! :D

  6. the triangular staircase was really cool!

     

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    After a fairly quick tour of San Cristobel, we knew we had to head back to the ship, all too soon. We thought about waiting for the free trolley, but after a few minutes of waiting, we decided to walk instead. I preferred that anyway, because I wanted to savor every last minute of our short day there. Off we went, back through the old city....

     

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    We got to see several parts of the old wall

     

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    And, how lucky are we? We got to catch a glimpse of the Attessa IV, a yacht owned by a billionaire! (Of course, not so lucky as those who get to see the inside or travel on her!). Impressive!

     

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    We got back onboard, and then DH and I decided to go try out the Italian restaurant (free for lunch, but dinner costs extra), located above the Lido buffet. We did not get to try it out last year on the Breeze, so we were really looking forward to trying it out on this trip. DD agreed to go to Camp Carnival for a little while after a quick lunch, so DH and I had a lunch date

     

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    We both decided to have the feature for the day, which was lasagna. But, it is not traditional lasagna. Carnival's lasagna in Cucina del Capitano includes yummy chunks of pumpkin and very little sauce. It was absolutely delicious!!

  7. After spending about an hour and a half at the first fort, we headed to the second. We decided to walk and got to see lots of pretty buildings and views.

     

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    When we got to the second fort, we went to the cemetery by the sea, Santa Maria Magdalena de Pazzis Cemetery.

     

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    Unfortunately, there are several tombs that have not been kept up as well as one might expect. DD was a little nervous that some spirits had escaped! :eek:

     

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    Nonetheless, there were lots of beautiful, intricate statues

     

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  8. Cool tunnels to explore

     

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    and then this.....oh my goodness! So cool! So, supposedly this is the dungeon where they kept prisoners. And supposedly, a captured sea captain was kept here, and he created these sketches that have been preserved! What an amazing opportunity to experience history and feel a connection with someone from the past!

     

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    For $5 per adult (and no charge for children 15 and under), you can get entrance to both forts (Castillo San Felipe del Morro and Castillo San Cristobal)....save your receipt as you travel from one to another. You can walk from one to another or catch the free trolley. We chose to walk.

     

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    Both forts are beautiful and worth seeing!

     

    a bathtub with an ocean view :p

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  10. Our next stop was in San Juan, for a short day (like 7-2). As I briefly mentioned before, DH and I had cruised out of San Juan before with our son (who was then not quite 4 - his first cruise!) and several members of my family. My mom had recently passed away after fighting cancer, and my dad took us all on a cruise. My little family flew in the day before, but DH accidentally left one of our bags in the taxi (the most important one.....the one with the cruise tickets - and back then they sent them via mail - and our passports, meds, plane tickets, and other documents :(), so we spent the entire evening trying to get those things back. By the time we did (thankfully!!), we were so exhausted we just turned in for the evening. The rest of the family joined us the next day, and we went on with the cruise without seeing much of San Juan. Soooooo, I was looking forward to making up for that a bit, even though we knew we would be rushed.

     

    There's the Sheraton....where we stayed last time we were here!

     

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    I remembered San Juan having these beautiful old buildings and cobblestone streets.

     

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    And I knew there were forts nearby. Since we didn't have very long in the old city, and I was in a funk and not eager to plan, I decided we would just wander around the city and perhaps visit a fort. I knew DS would be okay with a walking tour (although he was not very excited about my lack of a plan).

     

    We set off towards one of the forts...

     

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    It took about 10-15 minutes of easy walking with some pretty sights...

     

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    we found the old fort, surrounded by newer structures.

     

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  11. I'm not sure which menu you had on the Dream last year ...was it the one that has been around a few years....with "tomatoes our way" and Cornish hen and wagyu beef?. If so, there is a new one! :D I wrote about it in my review, "Feeling the Breeze again." If you want to check it out, here's the link: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2265512 and Chef's Table info starts on post 28.

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