Calamity Jane Went Breezing With The Maniacs 3/2-3/10/13

[Delta Dear]

The review is written in Word so I don't lose it, the photos are in Photobucket so let the review begin. Here's hoping my plan works.

Ah, it has been a week since my return to the real world, the one here on land. We heard that last ‘DING,’ as we exited the Carnival Breeze last Sunday on March 10, 2013.

Yes, Calamity Jane is back at the laptop once again. We are Jane (70) and Morgan (74,) from the state of Delaware, on our fifth cruise since discovering the joy of cruising in 2008. Seems we are trying to make up for lost time. Bonnie,( a few years younger than we are) the mother of our son’s best friend, decided to join us on the cruise. It was Bonnie’s first cruise and did she make the best of it. She did it all, including dancing with Ken Burns in the middle of his serenade, performing Karaoke, and going home to Raleigh, NC with a Ship on a Stick.

Back in 2010, I joined the Roll Call for a group called the Miracle Maniacs and have been a Maniac ever since. We cruised with the Maniacs on the Miracle in 2011 so when a Maniac Reunion Cruise on the Breeze for March 2 – March 10, 2013 was planned, we were right there, ready to sail once again.

Let the adventure begin. On February 27, we flew to Ft. Lauderdale so we could visit our son and daughter-in-law who live in Hollywood, FL for a few days before the cruise. It seemed that we were well on our way to a wonderful vacation.

Let me tell you, things aren’t always what they seem. This vacation would soon prove to be a small step down from wonderful, but good, never the less. For whatever reason, Morgan was suffering from terrible lower back pain by our second day in Hollywood. He was miserable just moving around. Our son suggested that he might benefit from getting a massage so that plan was put into place. Morgan had never had a massage and wasn’t sure if as a kidney transplant recipient if there would be any restrictions so we called his doctor first to get an ok. No problem. The massage did help a bit.

Our first Maniac reunion event was going back to the Bimini Boatyard in FLL for a pre-cruise dinner just as we had done in 2011 the night before the Maniacs sailed on the Miracle. Nineteen of us had a good time with old friends as well as meeting new Maniacs. So far, so good, things were proceeding as planned. We had good drinks, good food and a good time. Let the fun begin. Bring on the Breeze the M.O.B. group (Maniacs On Board) is ready for tomorrow.

[Delta Dear]

OH, NO ! Back to the drawing board. The size font is all wrong. Sorry, I'll have to work this out tomorrow. I thought I could just copy and paste. Not quite.

I have to be up and out at 5:00 AM tomorrow so I don't have time to figure this out. I was so hoping to at least post through the day of embarkation. Sorry, see you tomorrow.

 

Rest assured, the work will be paragraphed for easy reading. I'm really sorry. I spent the day writing the review from beginning to end. Once I figure out sizing, it will be posted.

Edited March 18, 2013 by Delta Dear

[alreadypacked]

I have really enjoyed your previous reviews and am looking forward to this one!! Thanks so much for posting!!! :):)

[gapearl]

Looking forward to it! :)

[boaterette]

I look forward to reading the rest of the story.

[Cupcrazy]

Looking forward to the rest of your review

[cuted126]

Can't wait to read more!!!!

[travlngrl1996]

Great start, looking forward to the rest.

[KirkNC]

Thanks for the report.

[Seago2]

It's fine!

 

Can't wait to read more.

[golfadj]

Glad you had a great time.

[Delta Dear]

I won't be home until late this afternoon but does anyone have tips abont font and size to switch my Word document into before copying any pasting?

[reerun25]

Looking forward to reading more!

[rhcpchika1]

I can read it the way it is :) Excited for the rest !

[crusinpsychRN]

I won't be home until late this afternoon but does anyone have tips abont font and size to switch my Word document into before copying any pasting?

 

This is Verdana and the size is good but I can't tell what size it is, above it says 2 but that doesn't seem right!

[lhuggi1]

Looking forward to the rest of your review.:)

[crewsweeper]

Oh I love <3<3 your reviews.:)

Re font adjustment. I think the font in the reply box defaults to Veranda 2. But you should see the little drop down boxes above. Once you paste into the reply box, highlight the entire reply by holding down the left mouse key and scrolling over the text. Then, with the text highlighted (and you may have to do this is sections) click on the little down arrow next to Verdana and scroll dow to the font style you want. Do the same thing with the number box and the color box (big A). Then click on the left mouse key. Should refont, resize and recolor your text.

But there was nothing wrong with the size of your original post. So, just copy paste from Word and it'll be okay.

[Delta Dear]

Thanks everyone, let's see how I do tonight !

 

The morning of the cruise, our son and wife had tickets for the Honda Classic Golf Tournament in which Tiger Woods was competing. They went to that for several hours before taking us to Port of Miami. That was fine with us because we have found that we prefer to go after the initial rush of people at the port. I must say, though, I was nervous about getting there TOO late. As it turned out, we arrived at the port at 2:15. For most people that would have been fine. For us, arriving that late presented a problem. This was the first glitch we experienced.

Morgan has some mobility issues. He cannot walk long distances so he uses a wheelchair for embarkation. The check in process was extremely fast and efficient. The terminal was empty, the service was wonderful, we were on our way…….well, almost on our way. It seems that the port people who push wheel chairs are not allowed to push them onto the ship; Carnival staff must come to the terminal to push once a passenger has checked in. Therein was the problem.

The Carnival pushers, for lack of a better word, had all gone back onboard to assume their other duties. We waited over an hour for someone from the ship to appear. They never did. Finally, a Carnival supervisor from the port came and took us aboard. By then, the embarkation photo op had been taken down so we missed the one photo I always buy on each cruise. Disappointment #1, BUMMER, but not major, we were finally on the Breeze. I bought a formal dinner photo instead.

[Delta Dear]

OK, now I'm set, I hope.

 

 

We had two gals in mind. First, drop the luggage in our cabin, then hit the Lido deck for a Guy’s burger ! I don’t recall my reaction to the Atrium design, but I do LOVE the corridors of the ship. It was a nice stroll to our cabin as we passed the tropical décor. Luggage dropped and BAM , you guessed it. The announcements were being made to report to your muster stations ! Guys would have to wait.

 

Our muster station was in the Sapphire Dining Room. What a beautiful space that is. I loved the soft lighting and décor. Later in the week, we came her for the Comedy Brunch and Morgan came back here for breakfast on day.

 

The muster was painless. They allowed the physically challenged to leave first (Morgan has started using a rolling walker with a seat when we cruise, so we were out of there heading for GUY’S.

 

Everything everyone has said about the burgers is true. They are GOOD. I suppose the basic burger is just fat enough to have flavor and the toppings bar really makes the burger special. The fries are good, too. Carnival really seemed to hit the jackpot with that addition. We each had several more burgers there during the week and I noticed lots of others enjoying them at all times of the day. Even though they are very popular, I never experienced having more than two or three people in line ahead of me. It’s a quick fix for a hungry body.

[Delta Dear]

Disappointment # 2 I wanted to get a Tervis Tumbler from the Red Frog Bar as a cruise souvenir. I had even stopped at Bed, Bath and Beyond in FLL to buy a handle and lid for it, but it was not to be. They were out of them. I stopped there even before Guy’s. The bar tender told me to check the next day, but alas, they never did have them. Oh, well, I now have a Blue Iguana Tervis Tumbler as a souvenir. So what if it has a red handle and a red lid. A Maniac who did a Back 2 Back cruise just posted that this week they had the Red Frog Tumblers on Day 2, but that they sold out within an HOUR. Come on, Carnival, order more !

 

From the quick burger, it was time for the Sail Away gathering of the Maniacs at the Aft Pool of the Lido Deck. Time for my Sailaway Mocha Chocolate Getaway. The ship cannot leave port until I have me MCG ! It was wonderful seeing the Maniacs who had not made it to dinner the night before. We’d had shirts made by one of the Maniacs who was not able to sail with us this time. What fun seeing and meeting others who were wearing a Maniac shirt. We had a VERY active roll call so there were lots of new Maniacs on the ship.

Here's Bonnie and I at the Sailaway. Morgan wasn't up the walk to the Aft pool.

 

[Delta Dear]

It was time to get ready for our Early Seating in the Blush Dining Room. There were two tables of Maniacs at that seating, 10 at our table, 8 at the other. As our main server, Senthill came around to introduce himself, Morgan had his usual fun. Senthill said to Morgan, “And what is your name, sir?” Morgan replied, but then said to Senthill, “And what is your name, sir ?” in Hindi. (Morgan was in India in the Peace Corps. Even though it has been 50 years since his return, he is still very fluent in the language.) Senthill had that priceless expression of ,”Did I just hear what I thought I heard?” LOL That shock then turned to pure joy to have someone address him in his native language. That established a special rapport right away. The two of them enjoyed each other the rest of the week. Senthill was wonderful.

 

As a side story about Morgan and his use of Hindi, one day we stopped at a gas station/convenience store for a bathroom break on our way to the airport in Baltimore since the state of Delaware has no airports. If we stop, we always support the store by purchasing something. As Morgan wandered the aisles looking for something to buy, he heard one of the Indian gentlemen employees say to the other one, “Watch him,” as if to imply that Morgan might be trying to ‘lift,’ something. When Morgan approached the counter to make his purchase, he broke into a long greeting and conversation with the two gentlemen in Hindi. Their expressions were of shock, but also a look of, “ Oh, _______, he heard and understood exactly what we said.” After all, who expects an older African American to be fluent in Hindi ! Whenever we’d stop there again, they always greeting Morgan like he was a long lost friend.

[Delta Dear]

Whew ! I know what to do. I have lots more to share but it's been a very long day.

When you get to the end of the review, you will learn that Morgan had some surgery schedule for after we returned from our cruise. (Unrelated to how he was feeling onboard.) That planned surgery was today. All is well, surgery went well, but it was a 13 hour day from the time we left this morning until I returned tonight. He is being kept overnight. I'll make the 50 mile drive in the morning to pick him up.

Doing this is relaxing but I need to get something to eat and probably need to just 'chill,' for the rest of the evening. This is just the beginning !!!! Be back tomorrow. Enjoy

[jbhcw]

Enjoying your review and pictures!! Glad your DH is doing well:)

[boaterette]

I am glad his surgery went well. Looking forward to more of your review.

[SexyK]

Wishing your husband a speedy recovery. You get yourself some food hot tub n good rest, we'll be here waiting for the rest. Have a Blessed Night.:D