Family Cruise was wonderful, but many had some illnesses, sadly.

We got home yesterday at 5:15.  I had to stop and buy Hall's on the way back because my nose was so clogged that I could not breathe.  On the Cozumel day I had an attack of vertigo and felt dizzy for about an hour.  Fortunately, it went away and did not return. Jim got sea sick on the last day because it was very rough.  Kip had to go to the doctor the morning of the last day because he developed severe bronchitis with a fever and sweating.  Flyn had a stomach bug the night before embarkation and for a little while the day we boarded.  Mark W. and Denise had their asthma conditions aggravated by too much smoke through the casinos and perfumes on people everywhere. I think the rest were okay the whole time.

No matter the illnesses, we all had a wonderful time and enjoyed being together for the first time in two and a half years.

Mark and I are home for six nights.  On Sunday we are driving to Tampa to board the Carnival Pride for a nine day cruise with our friends for the Bare Necessities charter cruise.  Then we will stay on board for a five day cruise by ourselves as B2Bers.  Those 14 days will push us out of the Gold level and into the Platinum level the next time we sail Carnival. Currently, that will be next February on the Carnival Victory for another 14 days.

This morning I weighed 286, which means I gained 4.5 pounds between Wednesday morning and Tuesday morning.  That was much worse that my two weeks on the Magic.  It might have been that we drank more with the family and walked less.  Well, I now have until Sunday morning to drop some of that.

Today I feel pretty crappy still.  My head is so stuffed that it's giving me a sinus headache. I took my Advil with breakfast, but the congestion is still there.  I feel like doing nothing today, but instead I'm leading a rehearsal from 2:30 to about 6 tonight for the Cove Singers.  I'm teaching back up harmonies to four guys for some '50s Doo Wop style songs and rehearsing three choral pieces with the whole group as well as listening to lots of soloists.  Well, I'm sure I'll get through it.  What I'm NOT doing is singing my own two solos.  No voice for that today.  Actually, I have not been able to sing anything for two months now.  I'm not sure when this voice is going to return, but as long as I'm coughing and talking too much, it is not going to happen.

I now have spent three hours trying to get my pictures ready to use here.  Picasa has crapped out today and will not let me upload them to the web, so there are no cruise pictures on here today.

Sorry.  Maybe it will work another time.  I'm also looking in to some other types of programs to use instead of Picasa.

Heading to Miami. Carnival Sensation with the fam tomorrow!

I am starting the new cruise up a little bit over the weight I started the last cruise.  I left on January 6 at 279.  I came back a little over 280.  Today I'm driving off at 10 a.m. weighing 281.5.  So...not a great weight to go on a cruise, but at least it's only four days.  With all the extra walking on a cruise ship, I hope I can weigh in next Tuesday around the same.

Our itinerary is this:
Wednesday:  drive to Miami and meet up with six of my family members in the same hotel.
Thursday: drive to the port and meet up with the other two family members.  Board the Carnival Sensation.   Sail Away around 4 p.m.
Friday:  spend the morning and early afternoon in Key West, always a favorite port.
Saturday: spend the day at a fabulous beach in Cozumel with most of the family.
Sunday:  Glorious day at sea!
Monday: disembark and drive home and say good bye to everybody.

I hope the six rookie cruisers love it!

So here are the final pictures from the Carnival Magic.

What a beautiful morning for a book and a cup of coffee.

Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas

View of two ships as we motored off to St. John for a tour.

View of harbor of St. John as we drove up through the National Park.

Trunk Beach

Ruins of a sugar mill

Got my stamp in the National Park Passport!

Best towel animals ever from our room steward Felix.  The towel man scared me when I first walked in the room that night!

Docked in San Juan with view of El Morro in the background. We did not go off the ship that day.

First time we ever went in the basketball court on a ship.  Mark was 1 for 8.

I was 0 for 8!  LOL

We had the hot tubs to ourselves.  There are SEVEN hot tubs on this ship.

We played in the Water Works area also.

That water was COLD!

The morning of day sixL Towel Invasion!

Grand Turk, always a favorite.

My first Jello shot at the swim up bar at Margaritaville!

Drinking some whiskey in the pool.

Our fabulous wait staff team.

Balloon drop night is the last night of the cruise.  I got this one!  That will be us on the next cruise!

Busy day, but a good one

I have been so busy that it's only now at 10:17 p.m. that I have had time to sit and write a blog.

Mark had a dentist appointment and then he had a theater group meeting while i had a 2 1/2 hour rehearsal with the Cove Singers.  Afterward we went to dinner at the newly remodeled Grille.  Delicious.

We are now packed for the next cruise.  We will leave at 10 a.m. tomorrow to north Miami. Thursday we will board the ship for Key West and Cozumel with all my family.  So much fun is coming!

Meanwhile here are pictures from the first half of the second cruise, the NARFE cruise.

In the morning we waited to leave and then return for the second cruise. It went very smoothly.

After we were back on board, we called the kids.

Doing the Cuban Shuffle at the Sail Away party.  MUCH better weather  than last week.

Slipping past the coast.

Gorgeous.

Waiting to go to dinner the first night.

Second night we ate at Cecina del Capitano with NARFE friends.

Bill and Mark are talking about hat etiquette while waiting to be called out for our shore excursion in the Dominican Republic.

First stop was at this rum factory.

Didn't really love it.

Next stop was General Luperon's house/museum.  He led the DR to independence from Spain in the late 1800s.

In front of the Luperon museum.

There was a 175 year old piano in the museum, and they let me play it.

Next stop was the city center.  This was city hall.

Inside the church at the plaza in Puerto Plata.

We all got to drink a fresh coconut and then eat the meat.  Yum.

Mark bought me this new necklace, half Larimar and half Amber, both mined on the Dominican Republic.

Lunch was in a beautiful restaurant with lots of gardens.

Last stop was Fort San Felipe.

Close up of my necklace

View from the top of Fort San Felipe.