long, long hallways to the staterooms
Puppy…our first towel animal from Housekeeping
looking down to the deck 7 lobby
Miami in the distance surrounded by rain
Light or Dark? Cheers!
Pool and another hot tub on the Lido Deck
one of the many cruise line photographers
Take a bow~ Break Dancers
Welcome Party on the Lido Deck
Top of the ship
Ultralight
Hot Tub and Lounges
leaving the Port of Miami
Port of Miami~ More cruise ships
waterslide
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.
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…..
I can’t believe its April 9 already. April Fool’s Day is behind us. Passover was Friday and Sunday was Easter and it’s still cold! After that mild winter I thought we’d be in a heat wave by now. At least it’s been sunny most days.
Still the problem with that is that now we’re having brush fires. The fire danger alerts are all at critical…in the red! And it’s only April! Some of the area is considered to be in a drought because there was no snow melt and, in stark contrast to the spring of 2010 when it rained so much we had flooding everywhere, each day now dawns nice and sunny. A few passing clouds may drop a few sprinkles but nothing near to what’s needed to wet down the soil and brushland. This is New England! Not Texas or Arizona which have been struggling with drought for the last few years. What is going on with the weather?
I feel like I’ve been neglecting this blog a bit since I came back from Florida. Trying to launch my little side business has been time-consuming. I have to laugh because I set up that little store at dustyroadsphotos.etsy.com and I am getting visitors to the site but so far no orders. What I’m finding is it’s all local folks that are checking it out to choose the cards they want and then they just tell me. That’s ok by me but I hope the word starts to spread beyond my “inner circle”.
I’m going to be adding custom decorator pillows and some prints to the line. I’m waiting to get my sewing machines back from the shop. I hadn’t done much sewing in the past few years so I wanted to have the machines cleaned and checked before I tried using them again. I am really excited about this idea so am quite anxious to get started.
When I was in Florida I was given a 4 day cruise for 2 from my time share. There were two hitches. 1) I have to pay the port fees (around $185.00 per person) and 2) The cruise has to be used within 18 months. I’ve been toying around with my schedule and vacation time and so on and I’m going to try to secure a date for next January. My friend Joe aka JR will be by cruise companion. We’ll be leaving from the Port of Miami and going to Cozumel. Once this is actually booked I’ll share more info on the itinerary.
I just got approved for some time off in July so I’m going to take a mini vacation in Maine. Just have to book the hotel. I’m looking at Portland as my “Base camp” for the 4 day get-away.
Late September is also in the works. I have approved vacation then to go to upstate New York to visit family and friends. There’s a hot air balloon festival in Glens Falls the weekend I’m going and my sister mentioned the Scenic Railroad trip through the Adirondacks. It’s still early in the planning stages.
And the Big Alaska Cruise is back in the works. Goal for that is now May/early June of 2013. We want to see baby animals so spring is the time for that.
So as you can see, there is some travel in the planning stages. My local jaunts have been curtailed a little by car issues and the demands of the new business but that was to be expected. Still I love my aroundustyroads.com blog and don’t want to neglect you either.
Thanks for hanging in with me during this slow posting period.
I been doing all this talking about our May trip to Arizona but there are other things to do on Vacation. I went on a cruise to the Bahamas once. It was nice. I had nothing to do with the planning so I am definitely not one to ask about cruising. I remember my favorite part was the day we spent at the private island. From talking with other vacationers who have gone on cruises, I think the “private island” is pretty standard. So I was chatting with a co-worker who also happens to be a dedicated cruise vacationer and I thought I’d ask her about her experiences.
Meet Julie, my friend and co-worker. Julie is in her 20’s and has a number of cruises under her belt. We’re hoping to meet her father in Scottsdale when we take the trolley. Her father is “Boston Jim” who I have mentioned a couple of times. But I am getting off track.
DR: Hey Julie. You like to cruise don’t you? How many times have you gone?
Julie: I love taking cruises. I’ve been 5 times so far.
DR: Do you always go the same time of year?
Julie: No but I like to go in February. I like to get away from the cold here in the Northeast.
DR: So you always go someplace warm?
Julie: I made the mistake once of taking a 5 day cruise out of New York on Carnival to some island in Canada. All I know is it was COLD!…and rainy. It rained , it poured and it was so rocky…I have never been so seasick in my life. We spent most days in the cabin!
DR: Do you have a favorite cruise experience?
Julie: I’d have to say my favorite cruise was my first one. We sailed on Princess Cruise Lines and it was a 7 day, 6 night cruise through the Caribbean. We went to St. Martaan and St. Thomas and made a stop at their private island, Princess Cay. It was so beautiful.
St Martaan was like the movies! The water was so clear. We snorkeled and swam. It was awesome. I was only 18 on that cruise and Princess Lines was the only cruise line that let you go without a parent or guardian if you were under 21. I don’t know if its still like that but it was then.
DR: You’ve mentioned Princess Cruises and Carnival. Have you been on any other cruise lines?
Julie: Yes one other. I went on a Royal Caribbean cruise. That one was more of an older crowd and everything pretty much shut down between 12 & 1 AM. The other cruises were more of a party time with something to do at all hours.
DR: Do you usually go with friends or your family.
Julie: I usually go with my friends. We like to do a girl’s trip. I’ve been on 2 of those. Then I went with my mom for one and the other 2 were with my boyfriend.
DR: Do you have another one coming up.
Julie: I hope so. I have to see if I can get the time off from work before I make it definite.
DR: What advise would you have for someone considering a cruise for the first time.
Julie: I’ve been on 3 day cruises and 7 day cruises and I like the 7 day cruises the best. The 3 day cruise is too short for me but with cruising you either love it or hate it so if its your first time, you might want to try the shorter 3 day cruise to get a taste of it.
If you like it then you could do a 5 day and work your way up to the longer cruises.
With the 3 day cruise they only stop at 1 port of call so you don’t get to see as much. There’s not enough time for excursions or a lot of shopping. We were only ashore for about 6 hours so it really limits your activities.
DR: Have you ever had a bad experience aside from the weather issues you mentioned.
Julie: Well, we went to the wrong port one time. My Mom and I flew into Fort Lauderdale because the plane fare was cheaper. When we went to meet the ship it wasn’t there and the Port Canaveral folks said there wasn’t any ship sailing out of Port Canaveral. We finally called the Cruise Line and they told us they were sailing out of Miami. We had an hour to get to the ship. I don’t know how the taxi driver did it but $100.00 later he got us there in time.
DR: Do you have a Dream Destination you’d like to cruise to?
Julie: Oh Yes! Hawaii! I would love to take a cruise to Hawaii. They only have 10 day cruises but you get to see all the islands. It would be awesome.
DR: I love Hawaii but I don’t think I’d want to cruise it. You wouldn’t get enough time on each island. There’s just so much to do and each island is so different.
Julie: I wouldn’t know what to do and I’m not one to do a lot of research. That’s what I like about cruising. You book your passage to where you want to go and let them worry about the rest. If you hate the planning part and figuring out what places to go and see, cruising is definitely the way to go. They have the shore excursions all planned out . You just sign up for what interests you.
DR: You hear a lot these days about cruises where everybody on board gets sick. Any experiences like that?
Julie: Other than that cruise where I was sea sick…no. The ships are spotless. They are cleaner than any land based hotel I’ve ever been in. They clean morning , noon and night. You come back to the room at night and a little towel animal and mint greets you. It’s just really nice.
DR: So do you have a favorite cruise line?
Julie: It’s hard. I would have to say it’s a toss up. Princess has awesome shows and the food is great. Carnival’s shows didn’t have the “wow” factor that the Princess shows did but there were more to choose from. The food wasn’t as good as the Princess food either.
DR: Was there open seating?
Julie: No every cruise I’ve been on has had assigned seats for dinner and I really don’t like that. I’ve only enjoyed my dinners partners on 1 cruise.
DR: Do you need a passport?
Julie: Yes it’s the law now.
DR: .Any last words for my readers?
Julie: Yes. Definitely try it.
DR: (Laughing) Try it you’ll like it?
Julie: Yes that’s it! Absolutely! I swear by it!
DR: Thank you Julie. I really appreciate you sharing your insights with me.
