September 6, 2010
Just got home from Aneheim, Ca. a short while ago. Great time meeting up with Bob & Tina, Jamie & Veronica, Miss Tess, Grandpa Cliff, and Tina’s brother & wife (I’m bad with names). Jody, Veronica, Cliff , Bob, Tina and her brother ran the DisneyLand half marathon, did great,and got their Coast to Coast Challenge medals. Jamie & Tess ran the 5k and also did a wonderful job. Me? I was cheerleader!
We just got back to Houston, and it’s late, so no more for now!
PRC
August 30, 2010 – I Love Packing
Packing always gets me in the mood for a getaway. It is my official “start” of any adventure.
This Friday we’ll be heading out to Aneheim for the DisneyLand Half Marathon. It will be a quick trip, so not much to pack (at least for me!). I’ll be checking no bags, but I think Jody will need to check one. I kind of wish we were packing more, and boarding the Mariner after the race, but that was not meant to be. This will be a long weekend of getting together with friends and having a good time on land!
I did officially book the Navigator out of FLL for February 7, 2011. This will be the day after jody runs the Melbourne, FL Half Marathon. A 5 nite going to Labadee and Falmouth, Jamaica (maybe) with 2 sea days. If not Falmouth I’m sure it will be Ocho or MoBay. Two relaxing days at sea, a relaxing beach day, and a Jamaican port that we will most likely head back to the ship very early. The only planned event might be Jody ziplining in Labadee.
I was thinking about my posting from last week: I wonder how those people fared on the Conquest???
Anyway, as we’ll be flying home from Aneheim next Monday, I’ll post a short recap of how everyone does at the race. Safe travels to all !
August 23, 2010 – Wishing I Was on Carnival This Week
That’s right, you heard me! Allow me to explain…
Since we are heading to the “Left Coast” in a couple weeks (sorry Bob!), I decided yesterday (Sunday) was a good time to get a haircut. I drove down to Kemah to my favorite cutting establishment and was the first in line when the doors opened. After a quick cut, I decided that it was the perfect chance to grab the Sunday paper and slip over to a little semi-fast-food Mexican place I like. I could get an early lunch and relax while reading the paper.
I order and set myself up at a table near the windows, as it’s a beautiful (but HOT…Sunday was 98/85%!) day and Kemah is a beautiful place. While waiting for my order, a group of six, three couples, pulled a couple of tables together next to me. They were all in their late 50’s I would guess. One of the ladies asked me if she could swap one of chairs at my table, as hers was wobbling, and I could tell from the accent that they were not locals (upper Midwest most likely).
That’s when I noticed that she had a Carnival luggage tag on her purse. Yes, I said purse. Of course I knew then they were either just off the Conquest this morning or were about to board. I know I shouldn’t eavesdrop, but I wondered which it was, and I was interested, after all, it was cruise related!
I quickly learned that they were boarding the Conquest today. I also learned a few things that made the luggage tag on the purse seem like no big deal!
First, they were discussing how long it would take to get to Galveston from where we were. They were guessing 45 minutes (actually 30), and they were planning their departure from where we were so that they would arrive promptly at 2pm, just like their documentation said they should. There was discussion back and forth about some of them had heard that some people were boarding as early as 11am and were having lunch on the ship. They were a little sad and a little frustrated that they “got stuck” with a 2pm boarding time and had to buy their own lunch. They were actually saving the receipts from where we were so that they could complain, and demand reimbursement because they were not getting lunch on the ship! There was also discussion as to where they should do this complaining: at the pier checkin or onboard the ship!
But wait…there’s more!
The other topic of discussion was around their plans for Cozumel. They apparently have planned to get off the Conquest, take the ferry over to Playa Del Carmen (the vomit comet), then taxi up to Cancun to spend the day with some people who are there for a couple weeks. One of the women voiced “are you sure we have time to do this?”, and all of the men were “no problem, it will probably be close, but there is no way that Carnival can just leave US citizens in a foreign country. Once we leave Galveston, they are responsible for us, and if they just left someone behind, they would be open to all sorts of lawsuits and stuff”
I was amazed. It was obvious that they had zero experience with cruising, and one of the men in particular was of the type-A variety and could do no wrong/knew everything/will get his way no matter what. When I said “excuse me, I couldn’t help but overhear…” I was promptly cut off by type-A guy and told to mind my own business.
So that’s what I did. Finished my paper and enjoyed my lunch.
Like I said…I’d love to be on the Conquest this week just to watch!
August 16, 2010 – They’re Still Not coming
A few weeks ago I was lamenting about the really nice cruise terminal that the Port of Houston had built. The Sunday edition of the Houston Chronicle this week had an article on that very subject.
The article did a good job of staying focused and neutral (something not usually done in Houston’s ultra liberal newspaper), discussing how it has been empty all this time, how no cruise line is interested, how the area is “the middle of nowhere” as far as infrastructure is concerned. Of course, they didn’t explore how, in my opinion it was built only as a necessary evil to paint a rosy picture for most of the county to get them to vote for the container port expansion. I guess the paper couldn’t risk making THAT many big-wigs mad!
So it still sets empty, and will for the foreseeable future. Carnival will put an even bigger ship in Galveston for 7-night year round service, the current 7-night Conquest will step down to 5-5-4’s, and RCCL will replace Voyager with mariner (still only a seasonal thing ). I guess I could say it will be nice to have a second local choice (Voyager will go to NOLA, only 5 ½ hours away).
Speaking of choices, last week I was talking about what Jody & I would do next. We’ve made a few decisions, and I’ll try to talk her into some more 
We will go to Melbourne/Palm Bay for Christmas but no cruise (grand baby time!)
Jody will run the Melbourne, FL half marathon on Feb 6, and we will sail the 5 nite Navigator ots from FLL the next day, going to Labadee and Falmouth with 2 sea days.
Now, what else can I get away with…
August 9, 2010 – Where do we go from here?
January 2010…Freedom of the Seas…it seems so long ago. It’s been 7 months since our CrownCast group cruise onboard Freedom. Even worse, it will be another 10 ½ months until the next CrownCast group sailing at the end of June 2011.
18 months is too long. I’ll go crazy! If I had my way, Jody & I would have already been onboard by now. The spring was busy, and while we did make a run over to Florida at the end of April, that was for the birth of our first grandchild…one of the few things that could keep me on land!
Prices are so high in the summer, and we have been busy just as in the spring. The late summer (now) brings its own issues, as hurricane season starts to heat up. Remembering how we were stuck in Vancouver BC after our Alaska sailing on Radiance, while wondering if Hurricane Ike would destroy our home, was no fun. Not that there was anything I could have done to change the hurricane (we would have had to evacuate anyway!), but it makes me nervous to leave! Funny…We’ll be in Anaheim for the DL half marathon the same week that Ike hit two years ago…go figure.
It will be great to see everyone again, sort of a reunion from Freedom back in January after the DW half marathon. This time though…no cruise. Since this race is on Sunday, I just didn’t feel comfortable trying to get to the ship on time (Mariner). Besides, this trip is about Jody’s run, and I don’t want to take away from her enjoying it.
So…what’s next? I am considering making a Florida run in late October. See DD & SIL & little Bella-Boo, and then maybe a quickie on Monarch? Radiance will also be doing 5&4’s from Tampa and Navigator will be doing 5&4’s from Lauderdale. There is always Majesty as well from Miami.
We will also be heading to Florida in December for Bella’s first Christmas, but no cruise that time!
Of course Voyager will be here in our back yard from November to April, and I really want to fit one in on her.
Here’s the new twist: While Jody has planned her first full marathon for the middle of January, there is going to be a full/half marathon the first week of February right in our DD/SIL’s hometown in Florida (Melbourne/Palm Bay). Jody really wants to run that half. It’s on a Sunday, so I wouldn’t push for Freedom for the same reasons I didn’t try Mariner after the upcoming Anaheim run. But Monarch or Navigator are possible!
By then, it will be Enchantment time! Yes, my mind is thinking of all kinds of things. I’m obsessed, I know it.
Anyone who is reading this (is anyone reading this?) feel free to join our little group for this CrownCast cruise #2. June 30, 2011, 9 nights from Baltimore. We’re going to have a great time, and the more the merrier!
August 2, 2010 – I’m Speechless
Literally. Between a birthday celebration for my Monster-in-Law (sorry, couldn’t resist!), and sweating myself almost to death with yard work for both myself and my neighbor on vacation (102f / 85% today), I have nothing to mouth off about. Now before everyone gets their hopes up, I’m sure I’ll have something next week!
July 26, 2010 – Everyone Deserves a Second Chance
The other night I was flipping through the TV’s on-screen guide, when I saw a show just starting that was about the 10 most extreme airports. Since the choices were limited for that hour, this is where I “landed”. The show was about airports that had some extreme feature that made them either unique or dangerous (well, at least more of a challenge for pilots).
One of the airports listed and discussed was Princess Julianne on St. Maarten. They discussed how landings were from the west, flying right over top of Maho Beach. They showed the people watching 747’s and the like flying overhead at sometimes less than 50 feet. They showed the little road between the runway end and the beach, and the bars on either side that even keep the landing schedules posted for the really big planes so you won’t miss one. They then showed the takeoff’s which are to the east, meaning that these jumbo jets are flying straight into a mountain. To do this, they must use all the runway they can get, meaning that the line up right at the fence, which is maybe 10 feet from that little road I mentioned. They then must use full power from the start. People will line up to “ride the fence”, and can be literally blown across the beach into the water from the jet blast!
The reason I’m writing all this is because this segment of the show brought back some memories for me. Jody & I were at this beach, where we grabbed a burger on one of those bars and watched some jets land and take off. It was a fun hour or so, but I wish it had been longer. You see, when we were in St. Maarten, part of our cruise on the Serenade OTS from San Juan, I really felt let down a little by St. Maarten. First off, we simply took a little ship’s sponsored “Island Tour”, which ended up being nothing more than a bus ride around the island while a lady talked the whole time. I didn’t expect much, as it was super cheap, but I felt a little bit like I had wasted our short time there. The only interesting thing was a stop at the market in Marigot (on the French side), but that was so short I was worried about missing the bus!
In the interest of full disclosure, we decided against Orient Beach. Odds were that neither one of us would see anything worth looking at!
After the tour, we grabbed a cab and headed to Maho to watch the planes land. We ended up in a traffic jam, and it took over an hour to travel the 7 miles! I was so worried about dealing with the same thing on the way back to the ship that we left after only an hour or so, just to be sure we didn’t miss the ship. As luck would have it, there was no traffic on the return, and we were at the pier in about 10 minutes! We spend the last hours we had just wandering around the shops at the pier before re-boarding.
A cruise is a great way to see many places, but having only a limited time at each port, you really need to make it count. This program, by showing the sights around the island, reminded me how I think the island deserves a second chance to impress me…and I deserve a second chance to not waste it again!
July 19, 2010 – A Kevlar Snorkel Vest
The world is an interesting place. It is different things to different people, and I don’t think anyone has a complete grasp of it.
Last week a fourteen year old girl was killed while on a cruise. She was with her parents and others on a shore excursion, riding along in an open air “bus”, when people started shooting at each other just as the bus passed by. In an instant, this young life was gone. The authorities surmised that it was drug/gang related, as the incidents of violence, while nothing new to the area, have been on the increase.
Given only the info that I stated above, most peoples first reaction would be “well what do you expect? Jamaica is a war zone and I would never set one foot there”. If this had been a RCCL sailing (it wasn’t, it was Carnival), maybe some would have said “they should sue the cruise line. It should not be stopping in a place like Haiti anyway”.
Everyone was wrong. To the surprise of almost everyone, this happened on St. Thomas. Yes, that’s right, the USVI. The tour bus was on the way to the very popular Coki Beach. While most people still think that it had to have been a freak thing, it does give a small glimpse behind the curtain to see what it is like “backstage” on these islands we call paradise.
Jamaica, who is a key player in the tourism market, does a terrible job at public relations. Everyone knows about the drugs, crime, and poverty that virtually rule that island. It is all over the news constantly, and the government seems not to be able to at least protect their visitors from it. The safest way to visit Jamaica is at an All-Inclusive, behind a locked, guarded gate.
Most islands that are involved in the tourist trade, especially cruise ship visits, do a much better job of insulating their day-guests from the truth: most islands in the Caribbean have substancal crime and drug issues. These places look like paradise, but except for the few millionaires who have the big fancy houses in the choice locations, the people who live here in paradise are caught in continual poverty. By US standards, most live at or below poverty. Education, which is the key to breaking that grip, is scarce, and even with it the improvement in quality of life would take decades. Drugs mean instant wealth. Seeing tourists spending what to the locals is a fortune in a few short hours on land, is a temptation to crime that wears people down.
I love the islands. I love the experiences I have had on all the stops we have made. Most of the people who live in these places are warm, friendly, hard working “good people”. It is a sober reminder though, that even paradise has a dark side.
July 11, 2010 – A Painful Mouse Click
Yesterday I made our airline reservations for the DisneyLand Half Marathon that Jody will be running. It’s going to be a reunion of sorts of the gang from the Freedom of the Seas cruise last January, which was basically a celebration for the DisneyWorld Half Marathon. No cruise this time, although I was tempted. Very tempted. With the race being on the same day as the mariner would sail, It would have been too chaotic. Yes, logically i know we could have made it, but I don’t want to take away from the race. We would have not been able to celebrate and visit with friends afterwards, and i also know myself well enough to realize that I would have driven Jody crazy with all of my stressing!
While the “no cruise” part is a little sad, especially since RCCL is pulling the Mariner out of the west coast for the forseeable future, the most painful part will be the flying. Even making the ticket reservations I was already thinking of all the trouble and aggrivation we have to look forward to. I can’t describe how much I hate to fly anymore. I used to love it. Now I get to experience the joy of having to practically strip, pile everything on the conveyor belt, and try to get dressed again without holding up the line. I think my biggest fear anymore is saying something smart-a$$ed to the TSA and getting kicked off the flight. Let’s face it: the only reason they continue to persue more advanced technology for the security lines is they know the people they have placed in the front line of protecting the american public would probably be working at the grocery store stocking shelves. I guess I should be grateful. having these people in charge of protecting Billions of dollars of equipment and Millions of lives has freed up job openings for teenagers all over the country.
So I guess I will empty my pockets, take off my shoes, get wiped, swabbed, air-puffed, wanded, etc. only to collect the 3 ounces of shaving cream I am permitted to have, and board the plane. I will sit my 6’1″ frame into my 17″ wide seat, which i will recline the full 2″ that I can, and think happy thoughts. I will ponder the signifigance of the grandma in the row across from me, as she sits there knitting with her 12″ aliminum knitting needles, while my dangerous mustache sissors are tucked safelyaway in the cargo hold, deep inside the bag that cost me $25 to bring. As I sip my 4 ounces of complementary Diet Coke, and nibble on the 2 ounces of peanuts I just purchased with my $2 of appreciated correct change, I will close my eyes and and have thoughts of only one thing:
The terrorists have already won.
July 5, 2010
Nothing prepared for today. Jody & I have been in Galveston for the holiday weekend. We had a great time! It was a little frustrating to see people on Sunday morning with Carnival luggage tags…the weather was so nice, we both are dying to be back on the water!
I hope everyone had a great holiday!
PRC
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