Humphrey Blog: December 2010

Norwegian Dawn Cruise

Nov 28th to Dec 3rd, 2010

There were four friends (Burt & Marge, Bob & Cathy) who had left Wellton, Arizona on Nov 27th. We drove over to Phoenix in the wee hours of the morning to catch an American Airlines flight direct to Miami, Florida. We departed Phoenix at 8:30 am and landed in Miami at 2:30 pm local time. Good flight and the time passed quickly. At Miami airport we got on the shuttle bus that would take us to the Marriott Courtyard Coral Gables Hotel. This hotel was located in the older district, but still an upscale area of Miami. We had reservations at his hotel as our cruise did not leave till the next day. We had asked the desk personnel if there was a shuttle to the cruise line port and were told yes, so we made a reservation for pickup at noon the next day. We didn't do any exploring of the neighbourhood as we were all semi-exhausted from the early morning departure from Wellton. As the hotel had a dining room we chose to eat here. After dining we retired to our repective rooms and rested till the next morning. The next morning we again chose the dining room for breakfast. After breakfast we checked out of our rooms and at this time we found a slight mixup in the reservation. It seem that there were 5 Humphreys that had reservations in the hotel. After a few moment this was staightened out and we waited for the shuttle to arrive. When it didn't arrive we once again inquired at the desk. There was no record of this, so the hotel phoned a local cab company, had us transported to the cruise terminal, and they picked up the tab. So all worked out well, and you just can't get better service than that. We were treated well at the hotel, meals were good, rooms very comfortable, and would we book there again, you bet!!

The process for boarding the cruise ship went very quickly, and before you could turn around we were on board ship. As our rooms were ready yet, we chose to sit in the Atrium lounge and have a soda. Marge & I chose to buy the soda card, where you can drink all the soda you want for one price, which includes a cup. Our first lounge waitress was Julliet and she was one of the friendliest personnel we met, and waited on us several times whenever we were in the lounge. Our staterooms were soon available to us so we proceeded to our rooms. We had booked balcony staterooms, and had been upgraded from a lower deck to a higher deck. We were now on deck 10 with a very nice view. Bob & Cathy had a balcony just one stateroom over. We had asked for joining balconies, but apparently could not be accommodated. Still worked out okay.

We were under way and departed port shortly after 4PM. There were 4 other cruise ships also leaving around the same time, so we were the second in line. In front of us was Norwegian Pearl, next us the Norwegian Dawn, followed by the Carnival Valor, Royal Carribbean Liberty of the Seas, and lastly the Carnival Glory.

Norwegian Dawn

Miami Harbour & Skyline

Miami Skyline

Pilot boat coming out to pick up the harbour pilot

Sunset!

Marge, Burt, Rosy, Bob & Cathy
Rosy was half of the "Fire & Ice" duo that performed everynight

Rosy and Max, the "Fire & Ice" duo performed everynight while we were on the ship. She did a different venue each night, first night Motown music, second night a tribute to Michael Jackson, third night a night dedicated to Aretha Franklin, fourth night a tribute to Tina Turner and the last night was dedicated to soul music. We were at four of the venues, she was so good & entertaining. If you were not early to the lounge, you very likely ended up standing and watching. She made you tired just watching her dance & perform. You could tell she enjoyed what she did!

The ship had different pics throughout the vessel and this was just one of those I liked.

We have arrived at Grand Cayman Islands. Four other ships also lie in wait. We are tendered into the shore from the ship.

The view from our ship to the Cayman Islands

Kathleen, our tour guide

Kathleen our tour guide is a fourth generation Cayman Island resident. We chose to go local rather than pay for a trip that the ship sponsored. (Much cheaper too). She provided us with history, geography -island is 22 miles long & 8 miles wide with about 62000 residents. She also let us know that the only taxes are on cigarettes, alcohol & gasoline. No income tax, property tax or personal income tax. ( I like this) As there are approximately 600 banking institutions on the island, it is easy to figure out how the island is supported! She provided about a 2 & a half hour tour.

West Bay Beach, part of the Seven Mile Beach area

Another beach about 4 miles from West Beach.

Part of the seven mile beach area

We had our picture taken here on the pier here on the Cayman Islands
The ship in the background is the Carnival Legend

The entrance to the Govenors home here on the Island. The govenor is appointed by the Queen of England, as it is a British protectorate. He oversees a council. Kathleen said that you see him & his wife out quite a bit and they are very friendly and attend alot of local functions.

This is the Hell gift store. Hell is an actual place on the island

This is hell, as it is an old coral bed that has dried up from the ocean receeding many, many years ago. Trust me you would not want to fall here or even try to walk here!

This the Hell Post Office. Post a letter or postcard from here, & it is stamped Hell, Cayman Islands

Tortuga Rum Company. Many samples to be had along with rum cake. Very tasty cake!

This is a dolphin sanctuary. You can swim with them .

Many people swam with the dolphins and it is most interesting to see the dolphins perform

On our return back to the pier, an iguana is spotted. We are told they are very common.
The trip to the Cayman Islands is coming to a close and we must head back to the ship. Marge & I would like to return here for a stay longer that what we just experienced. We got just a taste and want more!

Our next port of call is Cozumel, Mexico.

It is pouring rain when we depart the ship here in Cozumel. But we are undaunted. We seek refuge first in the big mall there as it is now pouring. The rain lasted for about 2 hours. In the meantime we fine Carlos n Charlies as we would like a little something to eat. We have something to eat along with some marguaritas. From here it progressed to balloon hats, hena tattoos and picture taking. All in all a fun time had by all!

Marge with balloon man! If you look hard you will see the hena tattoo on her finger!

Cathy, Marge, Burt & Bob with our balloon hats!
The orange flask is the marguarita, need I say more!!

The last stop and we depart Cozumel, back for Miami. We enjoyed the trip and can't wait till the next time.

House Renovations

As soon as we had returned from our winter "vacation" we decided to renovate the upstairs of our home. the tenant had moved out and the place was vacant..... quiet too!

First we decided to replace all the windows on the exterior of the house. Seventeen in all, including sliding glass door in the living room, and replace the sliding glass door in the dining room to a proper exit door. Home Depot was having a sale on all exterior doors and windows so this was a good time to get started. We purchased all windows & doors needed and while they were on order we proceeded to remove walls on the interior, remove all the interior doors and frames as we would replace them too.

Once the windows arrived we went to work taking out the old and replace with new. Marge & I did all of them ourselves. Once they were in we trimmed them all. what a difference this made in the appearance. We even installed a couple of new windows in the side of the dining room wall. Cut out, made headers & installed. Not as hard to do as one would think. The last thing we installed was a new front door & window, painted it looks good.

All renovations came to a halt as I had to have a hip revision. So the upstairs inside needs to be done, and that will be done when we return home from the south from what some call a "vacation". We like to call it a change of location for the winter. Warm & sun is a lot more inviting than cold & snow at this time of our lives!

Two basement windows that have been changed out & trimmed