First Stop - Grand Turk (Southern Caribbean - July 15, 2014)

Our first port on this cruise was Grand Turk.  We had been to this port before.  It is a small and flat island.  It has some nice beaches.  We had snorkeled down by the boat you can barely see in upper left-hand corner of the picture beyond the pier.  We had to take a taxi there, and this year we didn't really have a plan to go anywhere.  We decided to disembark and see if anything struck us.

The port is a very pretty.  There are many shops just down the pier.  There are always taxis and people trying to sell excursions.  Nothing really did strike anyone, but we noticed a huge pool right behind the shops.  It didn't look like it was associated with any particular business.  It wasn't enclosed at all.  So, we decided to just see if we could find a chair so we could hang out for a while.  Fortunately, we found a couple of chairs and just stayed at this pool for a while.  It was really nice and was just free.  There were bars around it and some events that could be done for a fee, but the pool area and chairs were free!  This area was just down the pier and behind the shops but close to the ships.  As you can see from the picture of the pool with Adri and me, there was another Carnival ship in port at the same time.

The panoramic picture show just how huge this pool was There was a pool just as big behind Alex who was taking the picture.  There was an island in the middle of all this with walking bridges all around.

After some time at the pool and walking though the shops, the girls decided to head back to the ship.  Alex and I wanted to at least cool off a little and get in the water from the beach.  There are beach areas on both sides of the pier.  Heading to the left, there is a better beach area, but that can get a little crowded.  Turning to the right was not as busy but it was a little rocky, which was fine for Alex and me.  We took the picture of the ships with the girls on the pier.  It is always amazing to see how huge these ships are.

1st Day At Sea (Southern Caribbean - July 14, 2014)

We didn't waste too much time before taking advantage of our first day at sea.  It is just so beautiful and relaxing to lay on the deck with the blue skies and the blue water.  Add to sights the sounds of the water, and you could stay there for a long time.  It can get a little hot though!

 We like to take advantage of as many of the on-board activities as we can.  If you haven't cruised much or have never taken advantage, I would recommend it.  Take every opportunity to do something you wouldn't otherwise do.  Adri and I hit the shuffle board area.  A short while later, Alex and I hit the trivia contests.  For those who have cruised, you will recognize the activity slip.  We always had this in our pocket so we could plan out what we wanted to do.  Some may recognize the Team Trivia Die.  In addition to the basic trivias, Alex and I also joined a team for Team Trivia.  We have several "Ships on a Stick" which are pure gold plastic trophies for winning on board contests.  The Team Trivia was four sessions of trivia that went on all week long.  We will get back to this later!

After laying out, hanging out, playing shuffle board, and doing some trivia, we got ready for the first formal night.  Like always,we wanted to get some pictures so we might find one that could be our family photos for the year.  If you haven't cruised or cruised much, I recommend taking advantage of this.  They take tons of pictures and there is no obligation to buy.  With all they take, there is a good chance there will be some you like.  But, a word of caution is that you have to be disciplined.  You may find there are several that you like.  When you consider sitting fees and all of that, the pictures are not that badly priced, but individual pictures are a little expensive so you could rack up a huge expense to your cruise by just buying pictures.  I recommend looking for that family set, etc.  After some quick pictures it was time for the great formal dinner.  

Me and my hot wife at dinner.  Not to be out done by our beautify and handsome children.  Alex and I did the nightly routine of heading to the show after dinner.

No Balcony! :( (Southern Caribbean - July 13, 2014)

Once on the ship, we did the normal "head to the buffet, wander about and grab some ice cream."  We had to go on the 10th deck above the Lido to see the ship off.  It was a lot nicer day than last year when there were storms.  It was just the four of us this time.  We were all in one interior room with no portholes.  We missed mom's balcony! But, it was all good.

 Nice legs, huh!?

Deciding to Take a Cruise in 2014 (Southern Caribbean - July 13, 2014)

Well, after searching several vacation options for the summer of 2014, we finally settled on a cruise.  It seems like cruising is always an option.  One of our family goals is to visit all of the 50 states.  We are doing really well.  Kristi has three and I had four to visit. One of our possible trips was a road trip that would take us to new states.  We always peruse the cruising options and thought we could hit Alaska if we did an Alaskan cruise.  We could cruise, which we always love to do and see a new state.  We found that the airfare out west was as much as the cruise fare so it was really expensive.  The cruise fare was actually pretty good, but the total would have been a lot.

Adri really likes to cruise and was fulling diggin' the road trip idea.  So, we continue to look.  A more expensive option than the road trip, but a less expensive option than the Alaskan cruise was taking a cruise out of New Orleans.  We would be able to hit a new state, Louisiana, and still get to cruise.  This was both a good option and a bad option.  We would see a new state and this would have been on the Carnival Dream - a new ship for us.  But, all of the ports were ones we have been to before.  The other advantage is that we could drive.

In the meantime, I got a new job!  Kristi found a cruise that would take us to three new ports and was eight day rather than a seven day.  And, it was only $408 per person!  The bad thing was that it was sailing out of Ft. Lauderdale and on the Carnival Freedom.  We had been on the Carnival Freedom the last two cruises.  We could get plan tickets that would make the overall cruise the same as the one out of New Orleans.  It was still right in the middle of the trip option costs.  So, take an eight day to three new islands but on the same ship or take a seven day cruise to the same ports but on a new ship.  We decided the new ports.

The following posts will highlight a few aspects of the trip, especially changes made to the Freedom and the new islands/ports.

I am getting the art of doing selfies.  These pictures are from the cruise terminal.  Most reading this will know that drill.

Another Relaxing Day of Pool, Putt-Putt and Logans

April 3, 2014

Our normal routine was to sleep in,  hit the pool and get around for some type of outing.  Today was no different.  We had a little pool and sun time and then we came back to relax a little and get showered up.  Adri Grandma and I went to Putt-Putt.  This is always a fun thing to do on vacation.

We ate in dinner the condo three nights and ate out on the others.  One thing we always like to do is go to a steak place.  We had a coupon for a free appetizer at Logan's so that is  where we went.  It wasn't up to our normal Logan's standard, but it was still a good meal. 

Adri and I made it back in time for some late-night racquetball!   

Finally, Parkesdale Farms Shortcake

April 2, 2014

Since we were not able to hit Parkesdale Farms for shortcake on our way to the condo Saturday, we had to pick another day to go.  The Shepherd baseball team had a scrimmage in Lakeland on Wednesday at 1:30, so we figured that would be a good day to do to Plant City.  That way we could stop by Lakeland on the the way back at hit some of the scrimmage.

We have gone to Parksdale Farms every year.  We have gotten pictures with the kids sitting in the strawberry with the bowl of shortcake and crowns on their heads.  This year we would have to do this without Alex.  The shortcake and shakes were as good as usual.  We took our pictures and bought a tiny bit of produce.

We were able to get to the scrimmage and see a few innings, but we had made arrangements to watch Christian and Anya so Kelly and Nate could have some adult time.  Once the kids arrived, we went to the pool, had dinner, and the kids played Monopoly.

 
Adri and I still had a little time to play racquetball before bed.






 

Pool, Wonder Works, and the Comedy Dinner Show

April 1, 2014

We started Tuesday with some pool time.  The sun was shining and it was warm by mid-morning.  The resort had two pools.  Though there was one a little closer to our building, we headed for the one with the hot tub and slides.  There weren't many chairs, but we were able to find a good spot and spend as much time as we wanted by the pool.

 We decided that our outing for the day would be a trip to Wonder Works.  This is a hands-on, three story building that has an earthquake simulator, hurricane simulator, 4-D roller coaster simulators, ropes course, laser tag, etc.  There are over 100 different things to do.

Connected to Wonder Works was the Outta Control Dinner Show. The dinner part of the dinner show was unlimited pizza, popcorn, salad, and pop.  I can't say it was the best tasting, but it was more about the show than the food.  The food was filling because we could eat a lot!  The show was very good.  It was really a magic/comedy show.  I don't know how the guy did some of what he did.  As it turned out I got to be a part of the act.  It was not like the cruises when I jumped up and acted crazy.  He just picked me this time.  It was a lot of fun and we had some great laughs.  It was a good outing.