On the Good Ship “Imagination”

Posted on January 27, 2013January 27, 2013 by Dusty Roads

Welcome to Cabin Riviera 207. The cabin was set up as a double with one bed.

That was easily remedied. Joe and I unmade the bed and pushed the 2 sides apart. Unfortunately there was no bedding for a “twin” set up so we made our way to guest services on deck 7 where they filled out a request form for housekeeping.

From there it was time to explore the ship. The Lido deck, deck 10, (Sounds like the Love Boat?) seems to be where most of the action is.

Bars, swimming pools and hot tubs.

A stage for shows and contests. A buffet lunch was underway so we hopped in the line. The offerings ranged from Pizza to rotisserie to “off the grill”.

I opted for the rotisserie, sliced roast beef and chicken,. Joe got a salad from the salad bar but couldn’t find any salad dressing. The paparazzi were out in force. Everyone was fair game. Everyone on the fun ship is a celebrity. And every 2nd guest had a camera. At one point I started turning the tables. If someone wanted to point a camera at me I’ll point mine at them!

The rain showers continued to drift through but didn’t seem to dampen anyone’s spirits. Kids still slid down the giant water slide and adults sat in the hot tubs.

The revelry was briefly interrupted by the mandatory safety meeting. All guests had to report to designated locations to hear the evacuation plans incase of sinking. This included a demonstration of the life vests. We got to listen in English and then again in Spanish. Luckily we were spared French, German, Polish, Dutch etc. The last part of the safety meeting was to be led to the life boats and then we were dismissed. It’s kind of like listening to the airline attendants when they go through the safety speech on a plane. You listen but kind of not….of course history is filled with examples where the safety instructions were needed from the Titanic to the Concordia.

Around 4pm the ship cast off and we stood at the stern on deck 11 watching Miami shrink into the distance. We spotted some “ultra lights” as we left the harbor.

Heading back down to our room we bumped into “D” our room steward. We explained to him that we were friends not a “couple” and asked for the bedding to make up the room for twin beds. He was insistent that any requests like that go to him and he would make sure it was done. Thanking him we returned to the Lido deck for more pictures before dinner.

We enrolled in “anytime” dining so we didn’t have to be locked into a time frame. It was about 6:30 when we made out way to the assigned dining room…The “Pride” was on deck 8 also known as the Atlantic Deck.

Dinner was ok, nothing special. My shrimp cocktail was small but tasty. Joe’s Lettuce wedge was huge, crisp and fresh. I was disappointed in my “Southern Fried Chicken”. It was dry and all dark meat. Joe had a pumpkin, squash, yam casserole pie that was quite good. For dessert we both had the hot chocolate melting cake with vanilla ice cream. Rich, luscious, decadent, it made up for any shortfalls on the dinner.

The wait staff puts on a little performance midway though the dinner. It’s quite amusing. From there we tried several of the club activities wandering from the piano bar to the karaoke and finally to the Welcome Aboard Show.

This show is a variety style show designed to introduce you to the cruise director (Marcello) , the show dancers and singers and the comedians. Marcello pulled audience members up to the stage for silly skits between performances by the staff. Not a bad time but for me it was the end of a long day and time to call it a night.

Arriving back to R207 we were please to see our beds separated and crisply made up. Ready for a tired head to hit the pillows.

Tomorrow our port of call is Key West. It will be fun to be back after so many years away. Last time I was there was when Joe was driving the trolley in 2000.

We’re off to go a “Cruisin’

Posted on January 25, 2013January 25, 2013 by Dusty Roads

Monday morning rolled around quickly and Joe and I were soon packing to head to the Port of Miami. Joe’s neighbor’s cat , Simba, watch the proceedings with interest. All packed we made a short stop at I Hop for breakfast and then we were on the road. We took non turnpike roads through “Old Florida” since to take the Florida Turnpike would have racked up $37.00 in tolls without any major time-saving.
With an oldies station playing on the radio we were on our way.

The state seemed to be experiencing bands of rain. We’d go through a downpour one minute only be in bright sunshine with blue skies the next. On the way we saw skydivers drifting down under their bright-colored parachutes and the Goodyear blimp. The farther south we got the more birds we spotted. Egrets, herons and turkey vultures were just some we could identify.

We passed Fort Lauderdale without incident but just outside of Miami we began to hit the first city traffic of the drive. By now we were on route 95 south. The traffic jams were brief and before too long we spotted the exit for the Park & Cruise lot.

Premier Parking was substantially less expensive than parking at the Port of Miami. They offered a shuttle to and from the docks. It worked just like the shuttle to the airport only the drop off was at your cruise ship instead of your airline.

On the shuttle we met a Florida couple who seem to take advantage of the deep discounts Florida residents receive from the cruise lines. They seemed to cruise almost every month and they also seemed to have experienced every horror a cruise can offer. They did nothing but complain about their past cruises , especially the one on the Norwegian Line.

After they were dropped off at their ship those of us remaining concluded that they couldn’t have had such a bad time, after all, they came back again,

And now it was our turn. There was our ship and there were the porters right next to the shuttle. We hopped down, handed them the baggage tags and headed to the cruise terminal. First check point was right at the door. Boarding pass and passport.

Second check point with an attendant was to point us to the correct security line…passports or “other” ID.
Then it was the security check point…think airport screening. The attendant here scanned out passports, wrote a number on the boarding documents for each of us and sent us on to the screening apparatus. We got to keep our shoes on but bags, carry ons, etc all had to be sent through the scanner while we got to walk through the people machine.

Once through security it was more lines but everyone was in a fun mood and the line moved fast. Once again we presented out boarding passes and passport. This time we stood for an ID photo as our on board account was activated. Our room key which doubles as your money card was then handed over and once again we were off following the roped lanes. Almost there and we were stopped by the first, of what would turn out to be many , photographers.

Finally! We crossed the gang plank and set foot on the Carnival Fun Ship Imagination. It’s huge! Our room was on Riviera Deck (deck 4) # 207. Where we entered the ship was the wrong end so we walked and walked and walked. Finally we found # 208,210, but no 207. The decks are set up as odds and evens so we were on the wrong side. Luckily the width is much shorter than the length and it didn’t take us long to locate #207 .

Finally we got to see out home away from home for the next 4 days.

Always Something

Posted on January 20, 2013January 20, 2013 by Dusty Roads

It won’t be long now before I’ll be in the air and winging my was south to warm weather. My 2nd annual winter migration to escape the snow and cold of New England. Cat sitter has been secured. Extra cat food, treats and kitty litter brought in so at least the furry children will be well cared for in my absence.

My own preparations have been a teeny bit more challenging. My tripod wouldn’t fit in my suitcase. Why bother you ask? Because the 2nd half of my trip is the Florida Everglades and if I want to use my telephoto lenses I need a tripod for stability. I haven’t mastered the monopod yet but it makes a great walking stick. So it was off to the store to find a 27 inch suitcase instead of my 25 inch.

Next step was to log onto Carnival Cruise line’s web page to do my online check in and set up my “on board account”. Carnival is “cashless” while on board. That part actually went pretty smooth until I got to the part where I had to print the documents. The luggage tags printed , the cruise documents printed but not the boarding pass.

I thought it might be because my sailing partner had not set up his on board account yet so I sent an email off to him to get going on his docs. Good thing I did. Apparently the Carnival web site has issues. When he tried to access his booking it told him there was a problem and to book again. As he struggled with Carnival I went back into my account and could now print my boarding pass so I was all set. Not so my buddy. It was 2 full days before they told him the problem was corrected. I haven’t heard yet if it really was.

Tomorrow I’ll check my flight to see if that’s all set and finish packing…carefully…so I don’t get a furry stow away.

To be continued…..

The Becky Thatcher

Posted on August 6, 2012August 6, 2012 by Dusty Roads

Remember Becky Thatcher from Tom Sawyer? Well our riverboat was the Becky Thatcher and it was quite roomy. After the safety orientation to show us the life jackets we cast off and headed upstream. The river was beautiful.

We had a young man acting as a commentator to point out the sights like eagles nests, a ferry, the Goodspeed Opera house. It was his first time so he was nervously reading the script. If they let him do it again I’m sure he will get better.

The views of the Gillette Castle were extraordinary from the boat. The mansion is an amazing sight anyway any time of the year but with the green foliage and bright blue sky it was truly magnificent.

Even with a full complement of guests the ride was relaxing. I find being on the water like that is very soothing.

When we reached the opera house and the East Haddam swing bridge we did a big , slow, sweeping turn that gave us plenty of time to take in the views of East Haddam.

We passed marinas and private docks and even a monestary! What a beautiful day for a riverboat ride!

Traveling back down the river we spotted the train on its last run of the day.

So that was how we would get back to the station.

The train stopped at Deep River Landing just as we pulled in. While I waited for my turn to leave the boat I watched two large birds swoop over the island across from the boat. Osprey! I was thrilled to actually see them fish, swooping down to brush the surface of the river and then climb back up with their fish. At first I thought they were eagles but closer scrutiny proved them to be osprey. They were too far away for photos but I did try..just a couple of spots came out.

Back at the station the office recommended Bill’s Seafood if I wanted to have a nice moderately priced dinner before I returned home. They gave me the address and directions and it wasn’t long before I spotted it. The weather was still wonderful so I took a seat at a picnic style table on the outdoor deck. I was glad for the umbrella, not for the sun but as protection from the birds. Sea Gulls were flying everywhere. Marshland spread out from the deck and I spotted white ibis, great blue herons and more Osprey. There were 2 osprey nests and they were both occupied. I watched the adults hunting and returning to the nest with their catch to feed the babies while I enjoyed a lovely meal of fish and chips.

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Children were feeding the ducks and gulls bits of their lunches and the birds were clearly enjoying the attention. This would be a wonderful place to come back to with a big telephoto lens. But even without the camera, it was a wonderful way to end the day.

Fog, a Lighthouse and Seals

Posted on July 11, 2012July 11, 2012 by Dusty Roads

The Captain raised the anchor and turned our little vessel into the wind for the last leg of our 3 hour tour. There wasn’t much to see except grey, choppy seas and fog. The naturalist said we were about an hour out from Egg Rock Island, our next destination.

Hmmmm an hour and heading into the wind with wet clothes??? Not a good idea. I could see hypothermia being a problem so even though I didn’t want to go into the cabin I didn’t have much choice. I took a seat way up front by the “snack bar” (I use that term loosely) which also happened to be where the heater was located. The sick folks were all huddled in the back. Oh I have been there and done that. I know how miserable they were feeling.

I was almost dried out and semi warm when one of the few children still mobile popped into the cabin too. He felt that heat and glued himself to the grate effectively blocking the heat for anyone else in the room but at least he was warm and he is a child…women and children first and all..I took the high road and kept my mouth shut. If someone else wanted to tell him to move they could but it wasn’t going to be me. 🙂

In spite of the situation, once I warmed up the hour passed fairly quickly. I chatted with the Naturalist about the type of seals and tried to avoid looking in the back. Eventually the Naturalist went outside. When he came back he announced that Egg Rock Island was in sight. Time to go back into the wind, spray, fog and cold.

Egg Rock Island is a big nesting site for many types of sea gulls. Its pretty flat and open without much cover. Consequently it is like an all you can eat buffet for passing eagles.

Our guide told me that last year there were so many eagles that not one sea-gull chick survived from that nesting season. They were all eaten by eagles. He said sometimes it was really hard to watch. Nature is beautiful but also cruel. Every creature is just struggling to survive. We didn’t see any eagles today but judging from the number of gulls soaring over and around the island losing one season of chicks didn’t put much strain on the population.

As we came closer to the island we could see what looked like grey boulders only they moved. These were the seals of Egg Rock. The Island is a major haul out for Northern Grey seals and harbor seals.

We didn’t stop here, just slowly motored past then it was back to the harbor.

As we entered the outer harbor the sea changed again. Here the fog rolled back and the sun was out.

We passed a beautiful island with a cliff face.

Our guide said that the Navy used it for target practice. The “subs” used to come into the harbor and shoot torpedos at the cliff face where it dropped into the water.

Looking back I could see the line of demarcation between the foggy sea and the sunny inner harbor.

Back at the dock I let the sufferers off first. I enjoyed the trip. I doubt if the weather is always this bad but if anyone else plans to take this tour I recommend taking extra sweatshirts and even oilskins or rain gear…and of course your medication of choice for seasickness. You may have blue skies and fair sailing but you never know and it’s better to be prepared.