Our Cruise........

Thursday - Paul picked me up at work at 7am and we headed down to Galveston. We made pretty good time and were there to check in to the ship at 1pm. Of course, the first thing we did after boarding was to hit the buffet. I swear that is the only thing you do on a cruise is eat and sleep (at least me that is). The other family had already checked in and were checking out their staterooms. We all had ocean-view rooms and it was great!! After eating and getting settled in we took a tour of the ship. There is a ton of stuff to do on board, too bad I don't plan on doing anything!!

As we got closer to departing Galveston we had the dreaded "muster drill". In case you don't know, this is an emergency drill each ship is required to perform. Everyone has to put on their life vest and go to their appropriate muster station. In case of an emergency (think Titanic) this is where we would get on a lifeboat. Paul and I dread these things because basically it means a ton of people crowded into one spot in organized chaos that you know will not be so organized should an actual emergency occur.

Paul models his lifevest during the drill.

Since Paul's and my room was on a different part of the ship than Cliff, Sandra, Grammy and Daddy Sonny we were at a different muster station. As soon as the drill was over Paul and I were on our way to put up our life jackets when we ran into Sandra, her first words to us were "They took Daddy Sonny away!" Okay first of all who is "they" and where did they "take" him? Turns out that Daddy Sonny had nearly passed out during the muster drill and was taken to the infirmary on board. The ship medical staff did blood work, EKG's, gave him IV fluids, oxygen and then kept him in the infirmary for observation for a few hours. The final diagnosis was a combination of exhaustion, weakness (from not eating that day), an upper respiratory infection, and probably going down several flights of stairs too fast for the drill. Thankfully by the next morning he was feeling way better and was able to enjoy the rest of the trip.

After we made sure he was okay Cliff, Sandra, Paul and I went to the deck to see our ship head out to sea. The ship had musicians playing, waiters passing out drinks, and a festive atmosphere everywhere. The wind made it a little chilly but it was nice. We checked on Daddy Sonny again and then he insisted we got to dinner and let him rest. We enjoyed our first dinner in the formal dining room and were very adventurous ordering our meals.

Daddy Sonny was released from the infirmary shortly after we finished dinner and we made sure he was safely in his bed and then Paul and I crashed!!! I just love sleeping aboard the ship. The rocking motion really relaxes me.

Friday - Oh boy, this was a day of total rest and relaxation with some gluttony mixed in. My day literally consisted of napping, eating, and leisure reading, I did manage to work in a scrapbook class that they were having onboard.

This was our formal night aboard the ship. All six of us dressed up in our finest duds and met for dinner. We took a group picture that I think turned out AWESOME!!! We even ate fancy food, Paul had roasted duck, Grammy had some type of lime and herb salmon. I had the New York Strip and our assistant waiter was kind enough to bring me some ketchup to go on it. (gotta love my ketchup obsession). I had a souffle with white chocolate sauce for dessert and it was yummy!!

Cliff, Sandra, Grammy, and Daddy Sonny getting ready to enter the formal dining room.

Paul and I enjoying dinner.

After dinner we spent a little time in the ship's casino (didn't win anything) and then went to a Broadway-type show. The title was "Dancing through the Movies" and it was definitely a high energy, entertaining show.

Sandra did not win, even after banging the machine!


Sandra, Grammy, and I in the theatre before the show.

After the show we changed into some more casual duds and checked out the disco. It was 70's night and I could not resist getting out on the floor and doing the "YMCA". I love all the 70's music and Paul and I worked off some of that fancy dinner by shakin' our groove thangs!!!

YMCA!!!!!

After our disco workout we were just in time for the Midnight Chocolate Buffet. OH. MY. GOSH!!!!!! More chocolate than I have ever seen in one place. It was such a creative and fancy presentation, but that did not stop us from diggin in!!!! Right after our chocolate indulgence we retired for the evening. Nothing like trying to go to sleep while on a chocolate high!!

One of the displays at the chocolate buffet.

Grammy loved going back to her room every night and seeing which "towel animal" had been left this time.

Grammy poses with her towel lady!!

Saturday - When we awoke this morning we were docked in Cozumel. Paul and I went off the ship on our own and did just a small amount of shopping and walking around. We were able to find Avery a gorgeous embroidered Mexican dress. We soon headed back to the ship and enjoyed spending the afternoon on the ship virtually by ourselves. The entire afternoon Paul and I spent at the "adult" pool. The pool was indoors so the wind was blocked and had cushioned patio chairs. I layed on my lounge chair alternating between reading, napping, and getting up occasionally for a dip in the pool. What a great afternoon!!!! Sandra, Clifford, Grammy, and Daddy Sonny left the ship later that us and when they returned Sandra joined up at the pool and we later met up with everyone else for dinner.

In Cozumel at Senor Frogs!!

Paul chillin' out in the Solarium. This was the location of the adult only pool and hot tub.

We wound up eating dinner at the buffet tonight because we wanted to be able to see our ship leaving Cozumel heading back to Texas. We sat in the causal cafe until the skyline of Cozumel was barely visible. After dinner and a walk on the deck, Paul and I went back to our room and watched a movie on the laptop.

Sunday - we awoke thinking we were well on our way back to Texas but a little announcement by the captain around 9am quickly changed those thoughts. We found out a few hours after leaving Cozumel we had to turn around and go back to let off a critically ill passenger. We never found out any details except that the passenger was in stable condition in a Cozumel hospital. The detour put us 6 hours behind schedule.

Sunday was a pretty lazy day just doing more of the same resting and relaxing we had done the previous 2 days. We did dress up for dinner and went to the formal dining room one last time. Paul decided to be real adventurous tonight and ordered 2 entrees: Top Sirloin and Mahi Mahi. Believe it or not he ate both and still had room for strawberry cheesecake for dessert.

Monday - The cruiseline did an awesome job of lining up activities for us today since we had an extra half day on the ship. I went to another scrapbook class and then we all had to vacate our rooms and our little group made our way up to the disco at the top of the ship where we had a great view of our return to Galveston.

We wound up getting off the ship at 2:30, (a little over 5 hrs later than expected). As much as we enjoyed our extra time on the ship I am sure that the people waiting to depart after us were not very impressed with being so late to board and leave Galveston.

We wound up arriving home at 10:45 after several stops and literally came in dropped our bags and went to bed.

All in all it was a great 4 days. I accomplished exactly what I wanted to: nothing but reading, eating, and relaxing, with a little scrapbooking thrown in for good measure.

So that was our cruise!!

Now it is back to reality!!!