*OFFICIAL* CC Group Cruise 02/15/2014 Cupid's IV Southern Caribbean - Carnival Breeze

[ed_k_tx]

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

It's just Dale and I this year. The first time since 1975.

Although we won't make the cruise we'll still be lurking around and one of these days we're going to meet up again.

Happy Sailings.

[Dspcentury]

[joymaker]

Merry Christmas and happy new year from the Mahoneys

[AKB10]

Merry Christmas Cupids!!!

 

I hope everyone's Christmas is all you wished for. We have had a good Christmas so far. Spent last Saturday evening with Frank's family, Last night with my family and today is a quiet day at home.

 

Frank and I have never really exchanged Christmas gifts. Things we get around this time of year we will say this is Christmas. I suppose the cruise will be Christmas / my birthday (which is in Feb) this year. However, Frank's fathers estate is finally coming to a close - 4 years later, and we plan to remodel both bathrooms and if we have enough we will paint and carpet the bed rooms. So the next few months we will be getting estimates and hopefully by this time next year we will have a new back of the house. :D

Heidi, I know we could save a lot of money by doing it our selves, but I do think about your story with your bathroom. :D I would have a similar story if we did it ourselves.

 

Again, Merry Christmas Cupids!!!

[HeidiHo]

Merry Christmas everyone!

 

Dave took me seriously when I told him the only thing I wanted from him was for him tho finish the bathroom. He didn't buy me anything at all but since he got a dividend check just recently he gave me and each of the kids $100.00. Actually, the check just came yesterday and the bank was closed so he couldn't cash it. He went on the internet and printed up fake $100.00 bills and put them in envelopes for us so they are really IOU's. LOL. He better make good on his promise to finish the bathroom now.

 

We will be heading to my sister's house in Wisconsin in just a little while. I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas day and if you don't celebrate Christmas, have a wonderful day just because life is good. :D

[Cruisin Dave]

[momofzeke]

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! We had a lovely time in Bend, and got home yesterday afternoon. Pretty much ate from the moment we hit town Christmas Eve until we left yesterday afternoon! It was a lot of fun, and our sweet little Lilli is such a cutie! She was six months old Christmas day.

 

Now I have to get my butt in gear and start working on year-end stuff. I've already got a head start on it, but I want to get it all done and send the stuff to our accountant as soon as possible. Get that out of the way so I can concentrate on the cruise.

Edited December 27, 2013 by momofzeke

[Cusp79]

I'm ready for a cruise!

[Cruisin Dave]

Good afternoon,

 

We are visiting Bettie's dad in Lubbock. Got to be the flattest place in the country. It's miles and miles of cotton and tumble weeds.:eek:

 

Wishing everyone a great week.

 

Ready for a cruise.

[Nazarushka]

Hi everyone!

 

I've been lax and am several months behind. Chris has been lurking a bit, though, and has kind of kept me up to date.

 

My back surgery seems to have been quite successful, I start physical therapy tomorrow to help build up the muscle tone in those poor muscles that were locked in place for so many months. Overall, I don't hurt any more, it just aches a bit if I do too much.

 

So, we're 6 weeks out and don't have any excursions booked! Ack! Any suggestions? We're not really beach people but do want to go snorkeling at least once. With 4 ports in 4 days, we'll have to pick at least one day to do nothing, I just can't do stuff that many days in a row.

 

We're flying into FLL on Thursday afternoon and staying at Springhill Suites by the Miami Airport, thanks to Heidi who suggested booking way back in March in order to get a room! We haven't decided yet if we want to rent a car or if we'll use taxis to get around.

 

The 2pm time on the first sea day for a meet and greet sounds good to us. We're also up for the cabin crawl with or without the poker game and you can add our cabin to the list, we have a cove balcony for this trip.

 

We're doing good here, Chris is still really tall and I'm still really short, compared to him anyway. :D Christmas was pretty low key and New Year's will be, too. We don't do presents, that's what cruises are for! We're also headed to Vegas next week to see Stephen Wright, so that's our present to ourselves, too.

 

See you all soon!

[HeidiHo]

Good Evening!

 

Michelle, good to hear from you.

 

I have had a cold since Christmas. I stated coming down with it Christmas Day. i don't feel too bad however. I felt kind of crummy this morning but once I took a shower and got moving I felt a lot better. I am hoping that this means that I will be healthy for the cruise. I don't get sick very often. I got my flu shot a long time ago so I'm good there.

 

Last night we went out to dinner and went to the Longhorn Steak House where Eric works. Of course we sat in his section. Good thing we went because up until we got there Eric was having a lousy night. Not so much because of bad tips but because he hadn't had very many tables. right after we got there 2 ladies sat at another table in his section. we watched while the one lady told him her steak was to rare so he took it back. then the manager brought it out and it was STILL to rare so he took it back again. Finally after the manager brought it out a third time she said it was OK (it looked like shoe leather by this point). Eric was pretty bummed because even though it wasn't his fault he was sure he'd get a lousy tip. Surprisingly though, he got a very good tip from them so at least the end of the night wasn't so bad (we gave him a good tip too, of course). Those were his last 2 tables.

 

Enjoy the rest of the weekend. :D

[momofzeke]

Great to hear from you, Michelle! Glad your back surgery went well.

 

Well, I'm very envious of son Greg & daughter-in-law Mallory (and Baby Lilli) right now! They are flying to Texas as I type this, headed to San Antonio for tomorrow's Alamo Bowl for our Ducks vs. Texas. Then, they will drive to Dallas for the Heart of Dallas bowl game featuring Mallory's Alma Mater, UNLV. She attended U of O for part of her degree, but finished up and graduated from UNLV when they lived in Las Vegas for a couple of years.

 

I sure wish we were with them, and I know I'm going to be very sad tomorrow watching the game and knowing they are there without us, but with the cruise coming up, we just didn't feel we should go to the game. Brian and Staci didn't go either, with their wedding this summer and a honeymoon, they thought they should save their money and Staci will need time off from work for the wedding/honeymoon so didn't think she should try to get time off now too.

[Cruisin Dave]

Good evening Cupids,

 

We drove home today from Lubbock and it was a "trip". The temp started to drop about 7 this morning from 35 to 26 at 11am. We started home and about 50 miles south of Lubbock we ran into freezing drizzle. We drove in this for about 150 miles until we got on the far side of Abilene. Don't want to do that again.

 

Sue, so you have one team playing Texas and another playing UNT. Bettie use to work for UNT and of course there is Texas. Well, I hope Oregon stomps the pants off of Texas. But I like UNT and they don't win very often. So there's no worries there. Last time UNT had a winning season, Mean Joe Green played for them and that was a long time ago. Hope they have a safe trip. Be prepared for some varying weather.

 

Heidi, thanks for the call. Hope you feel well soon. The cruise will go great and you are doing a great job.

 

Michelle, great to hear from you. Glad all is going well. I've heard that Curacoa or Aruba is great places to snorkel. Check out the individual threads.

 

Need coffee. It's cold outside.

 

Dave

[HeidiHo]

Good Morning!

 

I am not feeling bad. My cold never got very bad and is going away now. Eric is sick now though and I think he's worse than I was. He said he woke up in the night feeling feverish. He took some meds though this morning and went to work anyway.

 

Dave is making good progress on the bathroom. :D He doesn't go back to work until after the New Year so he has lots of time. I think he should at least get the shower done before long. There's a couple of problems with it though. It looks like it's made for small people only. First of all, he put the shower head in too low. It's too late to fix it because the hole is drilled in the shower wall and everything. It will be OK for me and Staci and probably OK for Dave since he is only 5'8" but Eric is 6' and the shower head is right about at his nose. the other problem is with the sliding shower doors. They fit in the track and all but there is too much of an overlap which makes for only a 14" opening to get in and out. :eek: Dave and I will just barely fit. LOL. Dave is looking in to buying smaller doors but right now he can't find them. We need smaller door panels so that there's less of an overlap to make a bigger opening. I told him to just go ahead and finish the bathroom as is and maybe later we will replace the doors. Staci is going to be the only one that will really like that shower because she's very petite. Oh well, at least Dave is working on the bathroom again. :rolleyes:

 

I have to work at the OG kind of early today. I go in at 3:30 which is a little earlier than normal. These are not normal days though. They are treating every day like it's a weekend since all the kids are off of school and a lot of people are off of work. Plus, since we are right next to the mall we are getting a lot of shopping traffic. I'm looking forward to things getting back to normal next week.

 

Have a good day. :D

[momofzeke]

DUCKS WON!!! :D Final game of the season, the Alamo Bowl was a big win for or Duckies last night. Greg, Mal & Lilli had a great time at the game. I was very blue because we weren't there with them. But a great way to end our season. Hooked them Horns!! (Texas Longhorns) :D

 

Heidi, I was telling my Dave about your shower problems. He said Dave should get a gooseneck shower head, it comes out from the wall and then curves up to make it taller. He wondered if you could take the shower doors to a glass cutter and have them cut to the correct size. It's great that he's making progress on the bathroom!

 

Michelle, this is what we have planned for ports: Grand Turk - probably just go to Jack's Shack for some beach time. La Romana - Altos de Chavon River Boat your through Carnival. Curacao - things to see within walking distance from the ship, Kura Hulanda Museum, Sta Anna Church. Might do a sunset cruise, we need to find one. The one we tried to book cancelled because they changed the day of the week they operate to a different day than when we are there. Aruba - taxi to Eagle Beach.

 

We have no New Year's Eve plans, but that's ok with me. I don't mind a quiet New Year's at home.

[HeidiHo]

 

Heidi, I was telling my Dave about your shower problems. He said Dave should get a gooseneck shower head, it comes out from the wall and then curves up to make it taller. He wondered if you could take the shower doors to a glass cutter and have them cut to the correct size. It's great that he's making progress on the bathroom!

 

 

We discussed having the glass cut down but Dave says the more he researches it he's finding out that tempered glass should not be cut. We might have to look into the goose neck shower head. Thanks for the suggestion.

 

I have to work tonight. We are normally pretty busy on New Years Eve but it has started snowing now and we are supposed to get a few inches. We don't have any other plans. New years Eve is no big deal to us. We never do anything anyway. I do have tomorrow off though. Wednesday is my regular day off so I didn't get scheduled. Dave forgot that I had to work tonight so he asked what we should do for dinner tonight. I just told him he could do whatever he wanted since I had to work. LOL. The kids won't be home either. Staci has already left for the city. She is going to a New Years event and Eric has to work too.

 

Have a safe and Happy New Year. :)

[Nazarushka]

Michelle, this is what we have planned for ports: Grand Turk - probably just go to Jack's Shack for some beach time. La Romana - Altos de Chavon River Boat your through Carnival. Curacao - things to see within walking distance from the ship, Kura Hulanda Museum, Sta Anna Church. Might do a sunset cruise, we need to find one. The one we tried to book cancelled because they changed the day of the week they operate to a different day than when we are there. Aruba - taxi to Eagle Beach.

 

We were looking at a sunset cruise in Curacao, also, mainly based on what you all were talking about last spring. I looked at the Facebook posts and such, but I also looked up the company that was talked about and it looks like they cruise on Wednesdays at sunset and that is the day we are in port. Am I missing something or does this look viable?

 

http://www.bountyadventures.com/Curacao_Sunset_Sail.html

[Nazarushka]

Another question, sorry!

 

Are we doing our regular get together dinner the night before the cruise? And, if so, where?

 

We're trying to decide between renting a car or just using taxis, so we're trying to figure out where all we're going to go. Including what on earth to do with our Friday in Miami. We're finding that if you don't like shopping, Miami's not a place to hang out! :D

[Cruisin Dave]

Hi Michelle, everyone is staying everywhere. There is a group that may get together near Bayside Marketplace. There is several restaurants there. I'll try to keep you informed.

[HeidiHo]

We were looking at a sunset cruise in Curacao, also, mainly based on what you all were talking about last spring. I looked at the Facebook posts and such, but I also looked up the company that was talked about and it looks like they cruise on Wednesdays at sunset and that is the day we are in port. Am I missing something or does this look viable?

 

http://www.bountyadventures.com/Curacao_Sunset_Sail.html

 

Michelle - We already tried booking it but it's no longer available. First I was told that they were no longer doing it on Wednesday's but then I was told that it is available on Wednesday's but only by booking through Carnival. It doesn't show up on Carnival's list of excursions though.

[momofzeke]

Michelle ~ we probably won't get to Miami in time for a group dinner, since our flight gets in to FLL at 6:30 and then we have to get to Miami and get checked in to our hotel. Heidi & Dave are flying into FLL around the same time and we will share a ride to Miami, where we are staying at the same hotel, the Fairfield Miami Airport South. We may be able to meet up with the group later for drinks, though.

 

Heidi ~ is Bounty Adventures the sunset cruise we tried to book? Their website is still showing a sunset cruise on Wednesday. After reading some reviews, it sounds like the Hyatt, where you leave from, is at least a 45 minute ride from the ship. (One reviewer said an hour and 15 minutes).

 

The Carnival website shows a Beach & Sunset tour, but it isn't the Bounty Adventures one. The Carnival one has mixed reviews also. They take you to a beach and depending on the time of year, you get to watch the sunset either from the beach or on the boat ride back to the ship.

[HeidiHo]

 

Heidi ~ is Bounty Adventures the sunset cruise we tried to book? Their website is still showing a sunset cruise on Wednesday. After reading some reviews, it sounds like the Hyatt, where you leave from, is at least a 45 minute ride from the ship. (One reviewer said an hour and 15 minutes).

 

The Carnival website shows a Beach & Sunset tour, but it isn't the Bounty Adventures one. The Carnival one has mixed reviews also. They take you to a beach and depending on the time of year, you get to watch the sunset either from the beach or on the boat ride back to the ship.

 

It was the one from Bounty Adventures. What happened was, I first tried to book it through Travelbound. Travelbound is just a shore excursion company that books shore excursions all over the world. They were the ones that told me that it was no longer offered on Wednesdays. Then I contacted Bounty Adventures directly and they confirmed my suspicion that they were the same tour operator that I had tried to book through Travelbound. They told me that they were still doing it but that we would have to book it through Carnival. It's still not listed among Carnival's excursions though and it's still listed on Bounty Adventures website as operating on Wednesdays. Maybe it's time to contact them again to see if maybe they never worked out a deal with Carnival and maybe it's available again. I'll try contacting them again.

Edited January 1, 2014 by HeidiHo

[HeidiHo]

I just sent another email to Bounty Adventures. I noticed that for $9.00 more they offer optional pick up at the ship. That would be the best way to go. I will report back once I hear from them. I'm hoping that whatever deal they were trying to work out through Carnival, it fell through.

[HeidiHo]

My bad, it wasn't Travelbound I tried to book the Sunset Sail through, it was Shoretrips. I'm getting my booking sites mixed up. Anyway, I just checked the Shoretrips website and they are still showing too. Fingers crossed that it's still available.

 

We had a few inches of snow last night so we sere not nearly as busy at the OG as we would normally be on New Years Eve. It stopped late last night but is coming down again today. We've probably had 5-6 inches so far. It's cold though so the snow is very dry and light. Dave isn't even using the snow blower. He said shoveling isn't taking much effort.

[Cruisin Dave]

Happy New Year,

 

No snow here. We will be in the lower 60s this afternoon then a cold front tonight with the temps dropping into the low 20s and a high tomorrow of 40.

 

We have an island tour booked for Aruba and Curacao. In DR we are also going to Altos de Chavon and in GT we are hanging out at the pool and cruise village with Frank and Kathy.

 

Hope everyone has a great NE.

 

Dave