Carnival Valor, the last two days, Grand Turk and at sea
Dec. 14 and 15, posted from home on Dec. 16.
We sailed into Grand Turk around 11 a.m. It was incredibly beautiful, with clear blue water. Grand Turk Cruise Center is a big area built by Carnival, sort of like some of the other ships’ private islands. It had a beautiful beach with complimentary lounge chairs and a huge pool with chairs for everyone to use. There were also many shops as well as a Margaritaville.
First we stayed on the ship for awhile to use the pool and hot tub when most people were off the ship. We also ate a light lunch before going to the beach.
Once we got out on the beach, it was heavenly. We found two loungers in the shade of the palm trees. I swam twice in the clear blue water, with the ship right in view. Amazing. Mark strolled up and down the beach a long way, which he likes to do, and then read and napped on the chaise lounge. Eventually I joined him. What a fantastic day! I would love to come back to Grand Turk some day.
Back on board, we got ready for Friday night services. My cold had started to feel worse as the day went on, but we went to services and the menorah lighting anyway. There was wine and challah in both places. That’s because one passenger arranged the services, but someone else arranged for wine and bread at the menorah lighting. The ship baked a beautiful challah upstairs for the service, but I’m not sure where the loaf of bread at the menorah came from. Neither place had kosher wine and neither time did someone remember to cover the challah while they said kiddush. Kind of weird, but whatever.
It was formal night, so we were definitely in the dining room with our table mates comparing our notes from the day. During dinner, my nose was so clogged I could not breathe, so even though it was Shabbat, I went to the store and got some Hall’s and some Dristan Cold pills. They helped, but made me sleepy.
I slept ok during the night, but took another dose of Dristan with breakfast. Again we ate in the Washington dining room. After breakfast, I was really sleepy. I dozed through the general trivia contest, and then we went to the towel animal demonstration. Mark made some cute animals, and then we went to lunch and the chocolate buffet. After lunch, we made the first pass at packing our suitcases before heading up for the Groove for St. Jude party. Mark had already made the donation and had the t-shirt for the party, but he did not dance. We watched the others. It was still kind of cold and gray; eventually it started to rain. When the party was over, we went to the spa to check out the steam room and sauna. Mark sat in there for about 10 minutes, but I just went back to the cabin and wrote this blog! At 3 p.m. they are running the movie “Tangled” on the big outdoor screen. It is our plan to go watch it, but I had to put long pants and a jacket on!
The whole time we watched the movie on deck, another ship was paralleling us. I can’t tell for sure, but it might be the Ruby Princess that was next to us in Grand Turk. It’s definitely not a Carnival ship, no whale tail funnel!
It’s usually sad to end a cruise, but this time we are both looking forward to it being over. It was not a lot of fun because we were both sick some of the time. There was hardly a day when one of us didn’t feel under the weather or down right sick. Also it was always a little bittersweet thinking what it might have been like if Rudy and George with us. Mark and I have both said that this is the first time we have been eager for a cruise to end and to go home.
I’m pretty sure the weight gain will be horrific. I ate, but I never walked the jogging track or went to the gym. Either Mark was sick or I was sick, which really curtailed our interest in exercise. Unfortunately, nothing ever curtails my appetite. We will go home tomorrow, so Monday morning I will be able to check my weight. Whatever it is, I’m sure I won’t like it. I will have the rest of the week to try to reverse it somewhat before our company comes on Friday.
The next blog that I write will be at home either Sunday night after we arrive or Monday morning. I’ll be sure to post that weight gain, too.
Sunday, December 16, 2012
Saturday, December 15, 2012
Cruise from Hell?
Carnival Valor day five, San Juan, 12/13/12 (posted 12/15/12)
Is it because we went without Rudy and Georganne?
Is it because Mark never got around to putting the mezuzah back on the front door after the painters took it down?
We may never know, but last night Mark did develop a fever again, extreme fatigue, and was sleeping soundly by 9 p.m.
While I was typing some additions to the last blog around 8:30 last night, I started to feel a little sore throat. By 9:30 I could not ignore the fact that the sore throat was getting worse. By 11:30 I could not swallow because my throat was ON FIRE.
Fortunately, when Mark felt he had the sore throat before we boarded, he bought Chloraseptic spray. He never used it because his sore throat never developed much, but I sprayed it every two hours all night. It says spray every two hours, and like clock work, I woke up from my sleep at almost exactly every two hours because my throat hurt so much. UGH.
Now it is 6 a.m. Mark is davening and I’m typing. Our ship is due to dock at San Juan at 7 a.m., and we are supposed to be on the dock looking for our bus at 7:30. Today’s tour is three and a half hours called “Fortresses of Old San Juan.” We are supposed to tour both of the big forts. I remember going in one of them when I was 18 on a small cruise ship called Izarra with my parents and Flyn. We had taken the ship out of Miami in the summer of 1968 and sailed to San Juan and St. Thomas. It was my first cruise on a ship other than a sailing vessel. We thought it was very big and luxurious By today’s cruise ship standards it was pretty luxurious, but it was TINY! Even the smallest cruise ships are gigantic by comparison. LOL!
Mark also has an aunt who comes from Puerto Rico. All of her children, Mark’s three cousins, have visited here. He really felt that he wanted to see it and make a connection with them. It will really SUCK if neither of us feels up to getting off the boat this morning. We are going to go up to breakfast in a few minutes and then see what happens.
I’ll get back to the blog later in the day to tell you what we did.
After a hot shower, some hot coffee, and some Advil, I felt good enough to go out. Mark did not have a fever this morning, so we went on our tour.
The tour of the two big fortresses in San Juan was excellent. First we went to San Cristobal, the largest fort in the Americas, and then we went to El Morro. Both have long histories and saw many battles. The weather today was a little crazy, sunny, then pouring rain, then sunny, then rain, and back and forth. We got completely wet leaving San Cristobal, so it was cold in the bus and for the rest of the tour. The last half hour of the tour was supposed to be walking around the shopping in the old area, but as soon as we got off the bus it rained harder than it ever had. We just got back on the bus and waited for the thirty minutes to be up. There was the option to walk back to the ship, which most people apparently did despite the rain. Not many rode the bus back.
We had lunch on board and played with our phones! It turned out that AT&T works fine in San Juan just like at home. We read emails, got caught up with the news on Facebook, saw our text messages, and even made a phone call to my sister Flyn. I saw an email that her husband had a blood clot in his leg and will be having surgery to remove it. Hopefully, it all goes well. We are praying for his full and speedy recovery.
After lunch I got confused about the sail away time. We were scheduled to leave at 3:30, and I really wanted to stand on deck and watch because we would be sailing right past the big fortresses. Unfortunately, San Juan is an hour ahead of us, but we were told to stay on ship’s time, which was Eastern time. What I forgot was that my cell phone would automatically update to the local time! I looked at it instead of my watch and thought it was 2:50, only 40 minutes to sail away. I got my book and decided to read in a warm dry place until the sail away party and then watch it from the deck. At 3:30, or what I thought was 3:30 came and went, I looked at my watch and realized my mistake. It was only 2:45 at THAT time! LOL!
So I made the most of it. I got a pina colada, after all they were invented in San Juan, so I figured I’d better get it before we left. I did a few more emails on my phone and basically wandered around awhile until it was REALLY 3:30! Sailing out of the bay was as beautiful as I expected it to be, but just as we were rounding the point where El Morro was, the rains POURED again. Oh, well...I had seen enough. I came below to type the rest of the blog.
Tonight we will light the menorah in the main lobby again, have dinner in the dining hall, and watch a comedy show in the theater. At least my sore throat never got worse during the day.
Ha, I was so tired I couldn’t drag out to the dining room. Mark and I ate a low key dinner in the buffet, like we did when he was sick. Then we skipped the show, too, and I went to bed early. It sucks to be sick on a cruise.
Is it because we went without Rudy and Georganne?
Is it because Mark never got around to putting the mezuzah back on the front door after the painters took it down?
We may never know, but last night Mark did develop a fever again, extreme fatigue, and was sleeping soundly by 9 p.m.
While I was typing some additions to the last blog around 8:30 last night, I started to feel a little sore throat. By 9:30 I could not ignore the fact that the sore throat was getting worse. By 11:30 I could not swallow because my throat was ON FIRE.
Fortunately, when Mark felt he had the sore throat before we boarded, he bought Chloraseptic spray. He never used it because his sore throat never developed much, but I sprayed it every two hours all night. It says spray every two hours, and like clock work, I woke up from my sleep at almost exactly every two hours because my throat hurt so much. UGH.
Now it is 6 a.m. Mark is davening and I’m typing. Our ship is due to dock at San Juan at 7 a.m., and we are supposed to be on the dock looking for our bus at 7:30. Today’s tour is three and a half hours called “Fortresses of Old San Juan.” We are supposed to tour both of the big forts. I remember going in one of them when I was 18 on a small cruise ship called Izarra with my parents and Flyn. We had taken the ship out of Miami in the summer of 1968 and sailed to San Juan and St. Thomas. It was my first cruise on a ship other than a sailing vessel. We thought it was very big and luxurious By today’s cruise ship standards it was pretty luxurious, but it was TINY! Even the smallest cruise ships are gigantic by comparison. LOL!
Mark also has an aunt who comes from Puerto Rico. All of her children, Mark’s three cousins, have visited here. He really felt that he wanted to see it and make a connection with them. It will really SUCK if neither of us feels up to getting off the boat this morning. We are going to go up to breakfast in a few minutes and then see what happens.
I’ll get back to the blog later in the day to tell you what we did.
After a hot shower, some hot coffee, and some Advil, I felt good enough to go out. Mark did not have a fever this morning, so we went on our tour.
The tour of the two big fortresses in San Juan was excellent. First we went to San Cristobal, the largest fort in the Americas, and then we went to El Morro. Both have long histories and saw many battles. The weather today was a little crazy, sunny, then pouring rain, then sunny, then rain, and back and forth. We got completely wet leaving San Cristobal, so it was cold in the bus and for the rest of the tour. The last half hour of the tour was supposed to be walking around the shopping in the old area, but as soon as we got off the bus it rained harder than it ever had. We just got back on the bus and waited for the thirty minutes to be up. There was the option to walk back to the ship, which most people apparently did despite the rain. Not many rode the bus back.
We had lunch on board and played with our phones! It turned out that AT&T works fine in San Juan just like at home. We read emails, got caught up with the news on Facebook, saw our text messages, and even made a phone call to my sister Flyn. I saw an email that her husband had a blood clot in his leg and will be having surgery to remove it. Hopefully, it all goes well. We are praying for his full and speedy recovery.
After lunch I got confused about the sail away time. We were scheduled to leave at 3:30, and I really wanted to stand on deck and watch because we would be sailing right past the big fortresses. Unfortunately, San Juan is an hour ahead of us, but we were told to stay on ship’s time, which was Eastern time. What I forgot was that my cell phone would automatically update to the local time! I looked at it instead of my watch and thought it was 2:50, only 40 minutes to sail away. I got my book and decided to read in a warm dry place until the sail away party and then watch it from the deck. At 3:30, or what I thought was 3:30 came and went, I looked at my watch and realized my mistake. It was only 2:45 at THAT time! LOL!
So I made the most of it. I got a pina colada, after all they were invented in San Juan, so I figured I’d better get it before we left. I did a few more emails on my phone and basically wandered around awhile until it was REALLY 3:30! Sailing out of the bay was as beautiful as I expected it to be, but just as we were rounding the point where El Morro was, the rains POURED again. Oh, well...I had seen enough. I came below to type the rest of the blog.
Tonight we will light the menorah in the main lobby again, have dinner in the dining hall, and watch a comedy show in the theater. At least my sore throat never got worse during the day.
Ha, I was so tired I couldn’t drag out to the dining room. Mark and I ate a low key dinner in the buffet, like we did when he was sick. Then we skipped the show, too, and I went to bed early. It sucks to be sick on a cruise.
Thursday, December 13, 2012
Dominican Republic
La Romana, Dominican Republic, Day Four, 12/12/12, posted the next day.
Mark is feeling almost back to normal today, although not 100%. Still, he felt up to going on our shore excursion. He had picked what turned out to be the most popular excursion here, Altos de Chavon and River Cruise. Several full busses took people off on this one.
Our tour guide, Ottavio, has been a guide since 1977. We felt that he was excellent and taught us a lot about the history, culture, government, and education of his country. It was fascinating. Our bus went on the river cruise first up the Chavon River. They gave us rum and rum, or Coke and Coke, or rum and Coke as choices for drinks on the cruise. LOL! Mark took nothing because he wasn’t sure it was a good idea to put any of that in his stomach at 11 a.m.! I took a rum and Coke and then just some plain Coke. Yummy.
The river cruise was calm and beautiful on a stern wheeler. We sat in the shade on the upper deck and were joined by a couple from our dinner table who live in the Toronto area. When we returned from the cruise, it was a short drive to the village of Altos de Chavon, a made up place in the rich touristy area called Casa de Campo. Mark joked that it was Epcot in the Dominican Republic. In 1982 some rich guy decided to make a replica of a European village from the middle ages. Weird. It was all stone and walls and a huge amphitheater that looked like it was from ancient Rome. They actually use it for concerts and shows today. The best part of this place was the scenic overlooks of the river that we had just cruised. The second best part was the shop called the Amber Museum. It had a lovely display of amber and how it is formed as well as the history of the discovery of Larimar, a mineral found only on the Dominican Republic. I first learned about Larimar on the Celebrity Century cruise in February of 2011 and bought a beautiful necklace and bracelet in St. Maarten. I was determined to buy a small piece here in the Dominican Republic.
One of my Hanukkah presents from Mark was $100 worth of jewelry of my choice, so he bought my larimar today. I picked out a small pendant, a pretty piece set in a silver turtle. I also got a lovely pendant of amber. The money is DR pesos, 40 to the US dollar. My purchases were 4000 pesos or $109. Not bad for two necklaces. I am quite happy with them, especially getting larimar mined and set right in the Dominican Republic. Lovely. There will be pictures eventually!!
We made it back on board around 2 p.m., so I had a little time to type this blog while Mark uses the “facilities” in our cabin. Then we will head up to lunch and spend the rest of the day relaxing on the ship before sailing away at 6:00. There is a special area on decks 12 and 13 called the Serenity area for adults only. The best, most padded, chaise lounges are there and two hot tubs, right at the bow of the ship. After lunch, Mark went to the gym, but I went to the Serenity deck, napped, read, and soaked in the hot tub until it was time to get ready for the menorah lighting. Lovely day.
Tomorrow, San Juan!!
Mark is feeling almost back to normal today, although not 100%. Still, he felt up to going on our shore excursion. He had picked what turned out to be the most popular excursion here, Altos de Chavon and River Cruise. Several full busses took people off on this one.
Our tour guide, Ottavio, has been a guide since 1977. We felt that he was excellent and taught us a lot about the history, culture, government, and education of his country. It was fascinating. Our bus went on the river cruise first up the Chavon River. They gave us rum and rum, or Coke and Coke, or rum and Coke as choices for drinks on the cruise. LOL! Mark took nothing because he wasn’t sure it was a good idea to put any of that in his stomach at 11 a.m.! I took a rum and Coke and then just some plain Coke. Yummy.
The river cruise was calm and beautiful on a stern wheeler. We sat in the shade on the upper deck and were joined by a couple from our dinner table who live in the Toronto area. When we returned from the cruise, it was a short drive to the village of Altos de Chavon, a made up place in the rich touristy area called Casa de Campo. Mark joked that it was Epcot in the Dominican Republic. In 1982 some rich guy decided to make a replica of a European village from the middle ages. Weird. It was all stone and walls and a huge amphitheater that looked like it was from ancient Rome. They actually use it for concerts and shows today. The best part of this place was the scenic overlooks of the river that we had just cruised. The second best part was the shop called the Amber Museum. It had a lovely display of amber and how it is formed as well as the history of the discovery of Larimar, a mineral found only on the Dominican Republic. I first learned about Larimar on the Celebrity Century cruise in February of 2011 and bought a beautiful necklace and bracelet in St. Maarten. I was determined to buy a small piece here in the Dominican Republic.
One of my Hanukkah presents from Mark was $100 worth of jewelry of my choice, so he bought my larimar today. I picked out a small pendant, a pretty piece set in a silver turtle. I also got a lovely pendant of amber. The money is DR pesos, 40 to the US dollar. My purchases were 4000 pesos or $109. Not bad for two necklaces. I am quite happy with them, especially getting larimar mined and set right in the Dominican Republic. Lovely. There will be pictures eventually!!
We made it back on board around 2 p.m., so I had a little time to type this blog while Mark uses the “facilities” in our cabin. Then we will head up to lunch and spend the rest of the day relaxing on the ship before sailing away at 6:00. There is a special area on decks 12 and 13 called the Serenity area for adults only. The best, most padded, chaise lounges are there and two hot tubs, right at the bow of the ship. After lunch, Mark went to the gym, but I went to the Serenity deck, napped, read, and soaked in the hot tub until it was time to get ready for the menorah lighting. Lovely day.
Tomorrow, San Juan!!
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Nassau Nightmares and Disney Dreams
Carnival Valor, days two and three
Day Two, written Monday, Dec.10, posted Dec. 12
Last night was a DISASTER! Poor Mark! He was up throwing up seven times from about 2 a.m. to 6:15 a.m. when things finally settled down. He had nothing left to vomit, and I was starting to get concerned about dehydration. And both of us were exhausted from lack of sleep.
Because he had had a mild sore throat for two days prior to boarding, we had a thermometer in the cabin with us. He took his temp around 7 a.m. and it was 99.2. I gave him a decaf cup of tea and a piece of dry toast, both of which he kept down, but at 8:30 his temp had gone up to 100.2 At that point, we were both concerned about strep throat, or Norovirus, or food poisoning. We decided to go to the medical office.
The nurse was just wonderful there, a real dynamo. The charge for seeing the nurse is $40 and to see the doctor is $90, plus charges for any procedure or test they actually do or medication they dispense, UNLESS you show up with gastrointestinal problems. Then the first 24 hours of treatment are FREE! Who knew?
Mark had to fill out a detailed form for the CDC. Then the nurse took his vitals, and his BP was fantastic, 112/72 thanks to keeping down the metropolol, and his temp was down to 99.3 again. Because he had kept down the tea and toast at 8:30, the nurse felt he was doing ok; however, she was required to put his info into the CDC website. She said there was a chance that he would get quarantined. Well, his symptoms weren’t so bad, I guess, because the CDC did not place him on quarantine. The nurse gave him a choice of an injection in his butt that would make him sleep all day but take away all nausea or a tablet to dissolve under his tongue that would take away all nausea for 8 hours with no other side effects. She felt he should do one or the other just in case because more vomiting would be very unhealthy. He chose the tablet and was released with the admonition to rest, eat light, keep taking in fluids, and come back tomorrow morning to report on his status and get released from their system.
By this time it was 10:30. Although I had gotten duplicate shore excursion tickets at the desk earlier in the morning, we had no intention of doing our Atlantis tour today. In fact, it left without us at 9:15. Instead we went up to the buffet area to get Mark more tea and water and maybe something else to eat. Then we had the best part of the day!
Docked next to us was the Disney Dream! That sure perked up Mark’s spirits. We sat and watched people shushing down the AquaDuck and walking around the decks. Mark also drank an entire glass of water and ate about a cup of plain oatmeal. He said it made him feel full, and although he felt tired and weak, he did not feel that it was going to come back up.
We took a cup of tea for him and a second cup of coffee for me and headed back to our stateroom. Mark is now sound asleep in the bed while I am writing this blog entry. Poor baby. He’s exhausted. We are hoping that by tomorrow, a sea day, he is back to normal.
Next month we will be sailing on the Disney Dream and riding the AquaDuck. Hopefully, we will leave all this illness behind.
Mark spent the whole day in bed, sleeping. I slept, too, from abut 11:30 to 1 and then went up for some lunch. We left Nassau at 2 p.m., so I stayed up to watch us slide by the Dream and the Allure. That was fun. Then I returned to the cabin and slept from 3 to 5:30. Mark woke up and took his temp again. It had gotten back up to 100.3, so he took some Tylenol and after forty-five minutes it was down to 99.3 again. Around 7 p.m., we went to the buffet to find something for dinner that he thought would be ok. He had half a baked potato, some broccoli, a little rice, and two small cubes of swiss cheese. Time will tell if he can keep it all down tonight. That tablet he took this morning is long done.
Our plan is to stay in the cabin again all night and hope that all is well. In the morning he has to report back to the medical center anyway to check in on his progress.
One other amusing note is that after we got back from dinner tonight our original set of shore excursion tickets were in the cabin, including the ones we would have needed this morning. A little too late folks.
I have taken a of pictures, but the ship’s wi fi is too slow to waste the minutes to upload any of them at sea. You can expect lots of pictures to show up next week!
Day Three, written on Wednesday, 12/12/12 about 12/11 and posted on 12/12/12
Even though Mark slept all day Monday, he also was able to sleep all night. He woke up without a fever and feeling pretty good. He ate some oatmeal and eggs for breakfast, and then we went to the medical center to be checked again. His temp was normal there as well, and his pulse, which had been 110 the day before, was only 88 this morning. He was dismissed from their system. Yay!
This was our first of two sea days and it was formal night. Since Mark felt well, he got the schedule out, checked off all the things he wanted to do, and proceeded to do them all. He was back to normal.
We did some lectures, walked around and explored the ship, sat in the sun awhile, dressed up for formal night, lit the menorah (I was asked to sing the songs again.), and went to the dining room for dinner. One exciting thing was the Broadway Trivia. I WON! I got 18/20, stupidly missing Mama Mia and 42nd street. I won the big prize they give out, called a ship on a stick and 24k plastic. It’s a plastic statue of the Carnival Valor on a trophy like thing. Fun! The big show was great in the main theater and then we sat outside watching Bourne Ultimatum on the giant screen.
In our travels around the ship, we discovered that there was a row of chairs in front of the screen that were rocking chairs. I was excited to sit there and watch the movie. The weather got a little crazy, though. All day we were traveling very fast, 18 knots and a little over. As the day progressed it was getting a little rocky. We have been in worse rocking, but some people we spoke to who were newer cruises were surprised. At the show, the cruise director announced that we had been having 59 knot winds to contend with, so the captain had all the stabilizers out and had slowed the speed a little. Still, as we sat in our rocking chairs to watch the movie, it was amusing to watch the water shoot up and out of the two hot tubs and the pool in front of us. We had NEVER seen water slosh out that high and far before. Pretty amusing. It was like watching a regular geyser go off. Eventually, it also started to rain, so we finished watching the movie at a table under the cover next to the pool, which meant we were even closer to the giant water geysers and spray. Pretty windy out there, but warm air.
We went to bed after the movie, around 12:30 in the morning. Mark also slept pretty well all night. Day Three was a LOT better than day two!
Day Two, written Monday, Dec.10, posted Dec. 12
Last night was a DISASTER! Poor Mark! He was up throwing up seven times from about 2 a.m. to 6:15 a.m. when things finally settled down. He had nothing left to vomit, and I was starting to get concerned about dehydration. And both of us were exhausted from lack of sleep.
Because he had had a mild sore throat for two days prior to boarding, we had a thermometer in the cabin with us. He took his temp around 7 a.m. and it was 99.2. I gave him a decaf cup of tea and a piece of dry toast, both of which he kept down, but at 8:30 his temp had gone up to 100.2 At that point, we were both concerned about strep throat, or Norovirus, or food poisoning. We decided to go to the medical office.
The nurse was just wonderful there, a real dynamo. The charge for seeing the nurse is $40 and to see the doctor is $90, plus charges for any procedure or test they actually do or medication they dispense, UNLESS you show up with gastrointestinal problems. Then the first 24 hours of treatment are FREE! Who knew?
Mark had to fill out a detailed form for the CDC. Then the nurse took his vitals, and his BP was fantastic, 112/72 thanks to keeping down the metropolol, and his temp was down to 99.3 again. Because he had kept down the tea and toast at 8:30, the nurse felt he was doing ok; however, she was required to put his info into the CDC website. She said there was a chance that he would get quarantined. Well, his symptoms weren’t so bad, I guess, because the CDC did not place him on quarantine. The nurse gave him a choice of an injection in his butt that would make him sleep all day but take away all nausea or a tablet to dissolve under his tongue that would take away all nausea for 8 hours with no other side effects. She felt he should do one or the other just in case because more vomiting would be very unhealthy. He chose the tablet and was released with the admonition to rest, eat light, keep taking in fluids, and come back tomorrow morning to report on his status and get released from their system.
By this time it was 10:30. Although I had gotten duplicate shore excursion tickets at the desk earlier in the morning, we had no intention of doing our Atlantis tour today. In fact, it left without us at 9:15. Instead we went up to the buffet area to get Mark more tea and water and maybe something else to eat. Then we had the best part of the day!
Docked next to us was the Disney Dream! That sure perked up Mark’s spirits. We sat and watched people shushing down the AquaDuck and walking around the decks. Mark also drank an entire glass of water and ate about a cup of plain oatmeal. He said it made him feel full, and although he felt tired and weak, he did not feel that it was going to come back up.
We took a cup of tea for him and a second cup of coffee for me and headed back to our stateroom. Mark is now sound asleep in the bed while I am writing this blog entry. Poor baby. He’s exhausted. We are hoping that by tomorrow, a sea day, he is back to normal.
Next month we will be sailing on the Disney Dream and riding the AquaDuck. Hopefully, we will leave all this illness behind.
Mark spent the whole day in bed, sleeping. I slept, too, from abut 11:30 to 1 and then went up for some lunch. We left Nassau at 2 p.m., so I stayed up to watch us slide by the Dream and the Allure. That was fun. Then I returned to the cabin and slept from 3 to 5:30. Mark woke up and took his temp again. It had gotten back up to 100.3, so he took some Tylenol and after forty-five minutes it was down to 99.3 again. Around 7 p.m., we went to the buffet to find something for dinner that he thought would be ok. He had half a baked potato, some broccoli, a little rice, and two small cubes of swiss cheese. Time will tell if he can keep it all down tonight. That tablet he took this morning is long done.
Our plan is to stay in the cabin again all night and hope that all is well. In the morning he has to report back to the medical center anyway to check in on his progress.
One other amusing note is that after we got back from dinner tonight our original set of shore excursion tickets were in the cabin, including the ones we would have needed this morning. A little too late folks.
I have taken a of pictures, but the ship’s wi fi is too slow to waste the minutes to upload any of them at sea. You can expect lots of pictures to show up next week!
Day Three, written on Wednesday, 12/12/12 about 12/11 and posted on 12/12/12
Even though Mark slept all day Monday, he also was able to sleep all night. He woke up without a fever and feeling pretty good. He ate some oatmeal and eggs for breakfast, and then we went to the medical center to be checked again. His temp was normal there as well, and his pulse, which had been 110 the day before, was only 88 this morning. He was dismissed from their system. Yay!
This was our first of two sea days and it was formal night. Since Mark felt well, he got the schedule out, checked off all the things he wanted to do, and proceeded to do them all. He was back to normal.
We did some lectures, walked around and explored the ship, sat in the sun awhile, dressed up for formal night, lit the menorah (I was asked to sing the songs again.), and went to the dining room for dinner. One exciting thing was the Broadway Trivia. I WON! I got 18/20, stupidly missing Mama Mia and 42nd street. I won the big prize they give out, called a ship on a stick and 24k plastic. It’s a plastic statue of the Carnival Valor on a trophy like thing. Fun! The big show was great in the main theater and then we sat outside watching Bourne Ultimatum on the giant screen.
In our travels around the ship, we discovered that there was a row of chairs in front of the screen that were rocking chairs. I was excited to sit there and watch the movie. The weather got a little crazy, though. All day we were traveling very fast, 18 knots and a little over. As the day progressed it was getting a little rocky. We have been in worse rocking, but some people we spoke to who were newer cruises were surprised. At the show, the cruise director announced that we had been having 59 knot winds to contend with, so the captain had all the stabilizers out and had slowed the speed a little. Still, as we sat in our rocking chairs to watch the movie, it was amusing to watch the water shoot up and out of the two hot tubs and the pool in front of us. We had NEVER seen water slosh out that high and far before. Pretty amusing. It was like watching a regular geyser go off. Eventually, it also started to rain, so we finished watching the movie at a table under the cover next to the pool, which meant we were even closer to the giant water geysers and spray. Pretty windy out there, but warm air.
We went to bed after the movie, around 12:30 in the morning. Mark also slept pretty well all night. Day Three was a LOT better than day two!
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Carnival Valor, Embarkation in Miami
I wrote this on Sunday, Dec. 9, but I'm posting it up on Tuesday the 11th.
We are on board the Carnival Valor today. I must say that this was the longest embarkation procedure we ever experienced. We had received an email saying do NOT, under any circumstances, arrive before 1 p.m. That was surprising because usually we arrive around 11 or so and are eating lunch on board by noon. The cabin might not be ready, but at least we are enjoying the ship. So we got out of the van at 1 p.m on the dot. The line was about the length of a football field. It took us fifty, that’s 5-0, minutes just to go through security. It took another forty-five minutes to get checked-in and receive our room keys. The girl who checked us in did not seem happy to see us. She said, “Welcome to Carnival cruises” without looking at us or cracking a smile. Whatever. Once we had the room keys, we skipped the embarkation photo, finally got onboard, and went straight to our room, because since it was now 2:45, the room was ready.
We had overheard the girl checking in the people next to us saying that the safety drill was 3 p.m. We were starving, having had a small breakfast at the hotel at 8 a.m., so we dropped our stuff off in the cabin and ran to the buffet. We grabbed the first thing we saw that was ok to eat (fish) and found a table outside in the sun, wolfing it down in order to be ready to muster. We thought we had only fifteen minutes. Wrong. We finally noticed that the Fun Times paper said the drill was at 3:30. We relaxed a little, found the fish and chips spot, and ate a second lunch! LOL! The fish and chips were awesome and no one was up there. As it turned out, they didn’t call for the drill until 4:10.
Sail-away was at 4:30. I sat by the party on the LIdo Deck and drank a rum punch in a souvenir glass. I was so tired from standing in line for nearly two hours and running around the ship, that all I wanted to do for awhile was sit. It was lovely, but it was also the first sail-away that I did not stand on a railing watching the ship move out to sea. Oh well...I’ve already sailed out of the Miami port three times before. I’m pretty sure it still looks the same.
Mark noticed that the Fun Times called for a menorah lighting at 5:30, so we went to Deck 3 for that. It was AWESOME! They had a huge menorah set up in the main lobby. There were about a dozen other Jews there ready to go. The asst. cruise director asked for someone to lead the blessings, which were provided on a piece of paper. A lady volunteered, and we all sang with her. Then there was a piece of paper with three songs: “Oh Chanukah”, “S’vivon”, and “I Have a Little Dreidle”. The asst. cruise director asked for a volunteer to lead the songs on the mike, so I volunteered. It was fun. Then the best part....they gave us latkes! Every night at 5:30 they are going to do this, so we are looking forward to that.
We went back to the room, lit our own little menorah, exchanged presents, and dressed for dinner.
We are on board the Carnival Valor today. I must say that this was the longest embarkation procedure we ever experienced. We had received an email saying do NOT, under any circumstances, arrive before 1 p.m. That was surprising because usually we arrive around 11 or so and are eating lunch on board by noon. The cabin might not be ready, but at least we are enjoying the ship. So we got out of the van at 1 p.m on the dot. The line was about the length of a football field. It took us fifty, that’s 5-0, minutes just to go through security. It took another forty-five minutes to get checked-in and receive our room keys. The girl who checked us in did not seem happy to see us. She said, “Welcome to Carnival cruises” without looking at us or cracking a smile. Whatever. Once we had the room keys, we skipped the embarkation photo, finally got onboard, and went straight to our room, because since it was now 2:45, the room was ready.
We had overheard the girl checking in the people next to us saying that the safety drill was 3 p.m. We were starving, having had a small breakfast at the hotel at 8 a.m., so we dropped our stuff off in the cabin and ran to the buffet. We grabbed the first thing we saw that was ok to eat (fish) and found a table outside in the sun, wolfing it down in order to be ready to muster. We thought we had only fifteen minutes. Wrong. We finally noticed that the Fun Times paper said the drill was at 3:30. We relaxed a little, found the fish and chips spot, and ate a second lunch! LOL! The fish and chips were awesome and no one was up there. As it turned out, they didn’t call for the drill until 4:10.
Sail-away was at 4:30. I sat by the party on the LIdo Deck and drank a rum punch in a souvenir glass. I was so tired from standing in line for nearly two hours and running around the ship, that all I wanted to do for awhile was sit. It was lovely, but it was also the first sail-away that I did not stand on a railing watching the ship move out to sea. Oh well...I’ve already sailed out of the Miami port three times before. I’m pretty sure it still looks the same.
Mark noticed that the Fun Times called for a menorah lighting at 5:30, so we went to Deck 3 for that. It was AWESOME! They had a huge menorah set up in the main lobby. There were about a dozen other Jews there ready to go. The asst. cruise director asked for someone to lead the blessings, which were provided on a piece of paper. A lady volunteered, and we all sang with her. Then there was a piece of paper with three songs: “Oh Chanukah”, “S’vivon”, and “I Have a Little Dreidle”. The asst. cruise director asked for a volunteer to lead the songs on the mike, so I volunteered. It was fun. Then the best part....they gave us latkes! Every night at 5:30 they are going to do this, so we are looking forward to that.
We went back to the room, lit our own little menorah, exchanged presents, and dressed for dinner.
Sunday, December 9, 2012
Happy Hanukkah everybody!
Last night we celebrated the first night of Hanukkah in the Miami Airport Comfort Inn and Suites.
We arrived much later than planned because there was a luncheon at shul, then a mincha service so one of the members could say kaddish again for his mother, and then a class we liked called "As the Torah Turns." We didn't get out of shul until 2 p.m. It was fun, but it was 3 by the time we got home because we also had to drive by Babies R Us to drop off another Toys for Tots contribution.
There was a luncheon because there were five IDF soldiers from Israel visiting. I knew the soldiers were coming and were being honored, but I DID NOT know they were part of an a cappella singing group. At the end of services they sang four songs! Amazing. It was so much fun to see and hear these young soldiers, two men and three women. It reminded me of listening to the JDS a cappella choir or Evey's group at Northeastern, Distilled Harmony. I spoke to them during the luncheon and learned that they had performances in Orlando, Miami, and Washington, DC. If anyone who reads this from the DC area is going to their concert, let me know!
Then we had to finish packing! Geez. It was 4:30 when we finally drove away.
We went to the nearby Denny's for dinner at 8:45 and finally made it into the hotel, tired but happy, around 10ish. That's when the fun began.
Mark had ordered a small, battery operated hanukkiah. It is sort of funky, but we sang all the traditional blessings and opened some presents. We only brought the two presents from our friends Rudy and Georganne because they were originally going on this cruise with us. We wanted to think about them while we were here. They really know what to get! Wow! Congratulations to them for their thoughtfulness. They gave us a Wild West Pop Up Book, which looks like a lot of fun, and a Star Trek USS Enterprise Pizza Cutter! We had actually seen one of them before because our friend Jon N. had one that he brought to show us back when I was having chemo in Baltimore. So awesome.
The presents from our kids we left at home to enjoy when we return. We will return on the eighth day of Hanukkah, so we will still be opening presents during the holiday! There should also be a box from Cindy waiting for us when we get home.
As for ourselves, we wrote our presents down on slips of paper to give each other. Last night, Mark gave me a reminder that he had contributed to this Mac Air that I love, and I gave him Epic Mickey 2 for his Wii.
This morning we are slowly getting ready to head to the ship. For some reason they do not want us to arrive before 1 p.m. Breakfast in the hotel runs until 10, so there's no hurry to get there. We also plan to find a CVS to pick up sunscreen, which we forgot, and an extra nine volt battery for the hanukkiah just in case. If we can find a BBT to get some cash out of the ATM without paying fees, that would be a bonus.
I am so excited to board the Carnival Valor today. It's by far the BIGGEST ship we will have ever been on, so that makes it very special. I only realized a few days ago how big it was. That will make this a unique cruise for us. It's also the first time we are staying on the lowest deck and forward of the mid-ship elevators. We are not too far forward, but this is also different for us. I'll let you know how we like that.
I am not sure if there will be any more blogs before we return. It will depend on how expensive it is to buy their wi-fi packages on board and whether or not I have time to write anything. Ships are so much fun and so full of activities that I can't guarantee I will sit around writing blogs. LOL!
Have a wonderful week, no matter what you are doing. Enjoy the Hanukkah holiday each of the final seven nights, if that is your tradition. Check back now and then to see if I'm writing on board, or check back when I'm home after December 16.
Bye Bye!
We arrived much later than planned because there was a luncheon at shul, then a mincha service so one of the members could say kaddish again for his mother, and then a class we liked called "As the Torah Turns." We didn't get out of shul until 2 p.m. It was fun, but it was 3 by the time we got home because we also had to drive by Babies R Us to drop off another Toys for Tots contribution.
There was a luncheon because there were five IDF soldiers from Israel visiting. I knew the soldiers were coming and were being honored, but I DID NOT know they were part of an a cappella singing group. At the end of services they sang four songs! Amazing. It was so much fun to see and hear these young soldiers, two men and three women. It reminded me of listening to the JDS a cappella choir or Evey's group at Northeastern, Distilled Harmony. I spoke to them during the luncheon and learned that they had performances in Orlando, Miami, and Washington, DC. If anyone who reads this from the DC area is going to their concert, let me know!
Then we had to finish packing! Geez. It was 4:30 when we finally drove away.
We went to the nearby Denny's for dinner at 8:45 and finally made it into the hotel, tired but happy, around 10ish. That's when the fun began.
Mark had ordered a small, battery operated hanukkiah. It is sort of funky, but we sang all the traditional blessings and opened some presents. We only brought the two presents from our friends Rudy and Georganne because they were originally going on this cruise with us. We wanted to think about them while we were here. They really know what to get! Wow! Congratulations to them for their thoughtfulness. They gave us a Wild West Pop Up Book, which looks like a lot of fun, and a Star Trek USS Enterprise Pizza Cutter! We had actually seen one of them before because our friend Jon N. had one that he brought to show us back when I was having chemo in Baltimore. So awesome.
The presents from our kids we left at home to enjoy when we return. We will return on the eighth day of Hanukkah, so we will still be opening presents during the holiday! There should also be a box from Cindy waiting for us when we get home.
This morning we are slowly getting ready to head to the ship. For some reason they do not want us to arrive before 1 p.m. Breakfast in the hotel runs until 10, so there's no hurry to get there. We also plan to find a CVS to pick up sunscreen, which we forgot, and an extra nine volt battery for the hanukkiah just in case. If we can find a BBT to get some cash out of the ATM without paying fees, that would be a bonus.
I am so excited to board the Carnival Valor today. It's by far the BIGGEST ship we will have ever been on, so that makes it very special. I only realized a few days ago how big it was. That will make this a unique cruise for us. It's also the first time we are staying on the lowest deck and forward of the mid-ship elevators. We are not too far forward, but this is also different for us. I'll let you know how we like that.
I am not sure if there will be any more blogs before we return. It will depend on how expensive it is to buy their wi-fi packages on board and whether or not I have time to write anything. Ships are so much fun and so full of activities that I can't guarantee I will sit around writing blogs. LOL!
Have a wonderful week, no matter what you are doing. Enjoy the Hanukkah holiday each of the final seven nights, if that is your tradition. Check back now and then to see if I'm writing on board, or check back when I'm home after December 16.
Bye Bye!
Saturday, December 8, 2012
Vacation starts TONIGHT!
I wrote that on FB this morning, and then I immediately had to add a comment on my own status. I had to acknowledge that I really am on vacation all the time, so maybe those of you who are working are unsympathetic. I get it. It's ok. I would have been jealous reading about others' vacations when I had to get up and go to school. LOL! Don't hate me.
We are going to shul today, and some might say it's about time. We have missed the last five weeks due to company, shows, and sheer laziness. We are now up and dressed and WILL make it there today. When we return, we will finish packing and head out to Miami. We had to time it so that we get there after dark in order to check in and go to a restaurant for dinner since it's Shabbat. I got my car all gassed up tomorrow, so I think we can easily make the 230 miles to the hotel on one tank. We can take our own coffee from home. The maps say it's only about a four hour drive.
I will blog tomorrow from the hotel probably, but I don't expect to blog from the ship. It's just too expensive. All pictures and blogs will wait until we return the evening of Sunday, Dec. 16.
I am starting this cruise off at the highest weight I have gotten on a ship since I lost weight in 2009. This morning I weighed in at 261. That's more like the weight I usually disembark from a cruise. Yikes. I will just have to walk a lot and try to watch myself at the buffet. Maybe I can just stay the same. At this point, I'd take that.
Happy Hanukkah to all who celebrate. The first candle should be lit tonight. Mark and I have presents for each other, and we have already received presents from our kids and some of our friends, and more presents will be waiting when we return. (Thanks, Cindy!) Obviously, we are NOT taking all of those presents on the trip. Mark and I have written down the presents on eight slips of paper and folded them up. Each night (tonight in the hotel and the rest onboard the Carnival Valor) we will light our little electric menorah and open a slip of paper. The good news is that I didn't actually have to wrap any of Mark's presents!
Here is our itinerary on the ship:
Sunday we board between 1 and 3 p.m. Sailaway is at 4:30.
Monday we are at Nassau. This time we chose a tour of Atlantis.
Tuesday is a day at sea. YAY! We love sea days.
Wednesday we tour a town in the Dominican Republic. We have some historical tour planned.
Thursday we have our big tour of San Juan, Puerto Rico. We are going to the two big forts. Mark's Aunt Flor is from Puerto Rico and he is feeling an affinity for the place.
Friday we will swim at the beach right at the dock in Grand Turk. It looks beautiful.
Saturday we have our second and final sea day.
Sunday we disembark and drive home. We are kicking around the idea of spending most of the day in Miami going to a museum before we drive home. That will probably depend on how tired we are when we get off the ship.
Once again, let me wish all of my friends and family who celebrate Hanukkah a wonderful, warm holiday. Light the lights; sing the songs; spin the dreidles; eat some latkes and donuts; give presents if that's your tradition. It's a wonderful holiday! Go Maccabees!
We are going to shul today, and some might say it's about time. We have missed the last five weeks due to company, shows, and sheer laziness. We are now up and dressed and WILL make it there today. When we return, we will finish packing and head out to Miami. We had to time it so that we get there after dark in order to check in and go to a restaurant for dinner since it's Shabbat. I got my car all gassed up tomorrow, so I think we can easily make the 230 miles to the hotel on one tank. We can take our own coffee from home. The maps say it's only about a four hour drive.
I will blog tomorrow from the hotel probably, but I don't expect to blog from the ship. It's just too expensive. All pictures and blogs will wait until we return the evening of Sunday, Dec. 16.
I am starting this cruise off at the highest weight I have gotten on a ship since I lost weight in 2009. This morning I weighed in at 261. That's more like the weight I usually disembark from a cruise. Yikes. I will just have to walk a lot and try to watch myself at the buffet. Maybe I can just stay the same. At this point, I'd take that.
Happy Hanukkah to all who celebrate. The first candle should be lit tonight. Mark and I have presents for each other, and we have already received presents from our kids and some of our friends, and more presents will be waiting when we return. (Thanks, Cindy!) Obviously, we are NOT taking all of those presents on the trip. Mark and I have written down the presents on eight slips of paper and folded them up. Each night (tonight in the hotel and the rest onboard the Carnival Valor) we will light our little electric menorah and open a slip of paper. The good news is that I didn't actually have to wrap any of Mark's presents!
Here is our itinerary on the ship:
Sunday we board between 1 and 3 p.m. Sailaway is at 4:30.
Monday we are at Nassau. This time we chose a tour of Atlantis.
Tuesday is a day at sea. YAY! We love sea days.
Wednesday we tour a town in the Dominican Republic. We have some historical tour planned.
Thursday we have our big tour of San Juan, Puerto Rico. We are going to the two big forts. Mark's Aunt Flor is from Puerto Rico and he is feeling an affinity for the place.
Friday we will swim at the beach right at the dock in Grand Turk. It looks beautiful.
Saturday we have our second and final sea day.
Sunday we disembark and drive home. We are kicking around the idea of spending most of the day in Miami going to a museum before we drive home. That will probably depend on how tired we are when we get off the ship.
Once again, let me wish all of my friends and family who celebrate Hanukkah a wonderful, warm holiday. Light the lights; sing the songs; spin the dreidles; eat some latkes and donuts; give presents if that's your tradition. It's a wonderful holiday! Go Maccabees!
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