Friday, December 16

at sea

Today's the last day of the cruise and the last sea day.  Tomorrow we have to go back to reality.

It's Carolyn's birthday.

We had breakfast on the back deck as usual.  Discussed plans for the day.  I tried to burn up some internet minutes, but the internet was so slow you could take a nap waiting for a page to load.

Beth started packing.  We've learned that it's best if only one person at a time packs in those tight quarters.

I found Carlos in the dining room and got him to order a birthday cake for Carolyn.  Found the perfect present for her in the shops—a pink silk jewelry traveling bag.

We've decided not to tip our waiter and assistant waiter extra—a first ever for me.  The service has been lackluster and the waiter kept annoying us by reciting the menu for the next night as we were taking the first bite of our entrée each night—even after having been asked not to do that.  It was as if he were a Celebrity robot programmed only to talk about how good the food was.  So we had fun distributing the money we had set aside to tip those two to other more deserving staff members:  other favorite waiters, our sommelier, and our cabin attendant who has labored faithfully in the Celebrity vineyard for almost 20 years and will get no pension when he retires and has no benefits.  These people actually contributed to making it a great cruise for us.

Had lunch and then went to the officers vs. guests volleyball game in the pool.  Those are a hoot.  This one was particularly crazy because the pool had turned into a wave pool from the motion of the ship.  By the time I realized I should be shooting video instead of still pictures, it was all over.  I still can't get used to the fact that my camera shoots video as well as pictures.  Old habits die hard I guess.  I always need someone to remind me I should be shooting video!

Then I got a good seat for the ice carving demonstration.  The activities person running it promised a prize to the first person to guess what it would become.  I guessed an eagle, which is what it turned out to to be.  Since I was the first person to guess an eagle, I expected to get a prize.  She seemed to forget that she had promised a prize—she's somewhat ditzy.  Probably the same person who sent out the invitations to the Cruise Critic party for Sunday, December 15.  Instead of Thursday, December 15.

Visited with JR & Karen & Beth on the back deck and then it was my turn to pack.  Not fun.  That means the cruise is over.  Plus I have to figure out how to cram everything into the suitcases which were pretty full when I started the cruise and now I've acquired some souvenirs and gifts.

Finished packing and got ready for dinner.  As soon as we had finished dinner, Roger showed up to take our desert orders, which no doubt made our waiter apoplectic.  Roger efficiently took the orders, made suggestions to those who couldn't decide, disappeared, and returned almost immediately with the deserts.  Nothing like the long wait we endured every night with our waiter who shall mercifully remain nameless here.

After dinner took a last stroll completely around deck 11 which Celebrity plans to fill up with cabins in the near future, so that option will go away.  Put the last touches on the packing, put the checked luggage out, and went to bed.

Saturday, December 17

Ft. Lauderdale

Up at 6:00 a.m. as we were approaching Ft. Lauderdale.  Several ships were docked ahead of us.  We got terminal 25, a much better spot than terminal 29.

Had breakfast and visited with the gang on the back deck.  Told Barb & Bob we'd be showing up for Christmas dinner (!)  Decided to head off about 8:45 since Carolyn had an 11:00 flight to Dallas and we planned to share a cab to the airport.

Discovered on arrival at FLL that you can't check in for your flight prior to four hours before the flight leaves.  So much for my plan to retreat to the peace and quiet of the Sky Club—you can't get there without a boarding pass and going through security.  Was able to check in at 11:00 and then proceeded to the club which was much more peaceful than the main airport.

Uneventful flight home—even had a vacant middle seat—yeah!!!

Dominique picked me up at the airport and we went to her house for dinner.  Marge and Mary were there as well, so got a chance to visit with them.  Got home around 9:30—it had been a long day!

Sunday, December 18

Rude awakening.  Nobody to make my bed or cook my breakfast.  No room service.  No cabin attendant to whisk my dirty laundry away and deal with it.  Nobody replaced my towels and washcloths as I used them.  AARGH!!  Back to real life.  Spent the day dealing with all this myself.  Didn't have a pile of mail to go through since, once again, the carrier forgot to deliver the accumulated mail.  Will have to pick it up at the post office tomorrow.

Another wonderful cruise enters the history books.  It's always hard when they're over, but I have a busy week ahead.  Lots of Christmas parties and Christmas in a week.

at sea

Thursday, December 15
at sea

We're rocking and rolling a bit today and having intermittent showers. It was nice on the back deck for breakfast for breakfast, but a bit windy.

There was another Cruise Critic gathering this morning. Unfortunately, the activities director who sent out the invitations said to come on Sunday, December 15, so a lot of people didn't get it. Instead of socializing, it turned into a bitch and gripe session, so several of us left.

Spent the day enjoying the warmth and the sun outdoors and visiting with people. Figure I have to soak up enough sun to keep me going until I go to Arizona in January!

Last formal night. Had the whole baked alaska nonsense. Went and made another contribution to the casino. Beth is the only one who has won any money. I broke even at the Cruise Critic slot pull by sharing first prize and it's been all downhill since.

sea day today

Monday, December 12, 2011
St. John's, Antigua

Pulled in and the Enchantment of the Seas was right behind us. The plan was to meet Jackie & Sheila who were on that ship—Jackie sailed with us last year. Sheila had to cancel at the last minute, so that was a chance to meet her as well. I left about the time Beth and Carolyn were gathering for their excursion—they're sailing on a racing yacht and can be part of the crew if they want to. Well, there were Jackie & Sheila right there. But of course I didn't have the pins we were supposed to give them—Peggie had them.

Went into town and looked around a bit. Finally asked about a place to buy steel band music and was directed to a music store upstairs in the shopping center. Got a CD—this music is so great you just can't sit still while listening to it. Am hoping it will inspire me to get up and move around! It was hot in port and no breeze, so decided to bag it and come back to the ship. This is the port where we did the Segway excursion last year, so I've seen quite a bit of the island.

OK, noon rolled around, time we were scheduled to meet Jackie & Sheila. Had a voice mail from Peg saying to meet her at the security area on the ship where you check out before leaving the ship. Went down there. No Peg. Waited around for a while and then left the ship. Jackie and Sheila were sitting in Celebrity's lovely waiting area on the couches, enjoying the cold drinks and cold towels which RCI doesn't provide. We visited for a while—still no Peg. I went down to the security area where you leave the secured port area—no Peg. Came back and visited some more with Jackie & Sheila.

We finally gave up and came up with a Plan B. At 2:00 we would both appear on the lifeboat decks of our respective ships and I'd signal them if I'd been successful in obtaining the pins.

Came back, called Peg's stateroom and left her a message to meet me on the aft deck at 10 to 2 and went to lunch. Then I walked around looking for her. Couldn't find her, but ran into lots of other folks.

At 10 to 2 I was on the back deck. No Peg. Just as I was about to give up and go to signal that I didn't have the pins, Don appeared with them. So I went out and signaled madly, and we both exited our respective ships and met on the dock and made the delivery.

Life was a lot simpler in the days when you could visit other ships!

Had a great sailaway party on the back deck with a bunch from our group. We watched the Enchantment back out and turn around and head to sea and then it was our turn. The turning basin in this port is pretty tight—it was interesting to watch them swing around.

Only four of us showed up for dinner tonight, so service was very speedy and we were out of there shortly after 7. Had a visit from Roger, a waiter from the other floor of the dining room who has been serving out on the back deck in the mornings. He's a really great guy.

Tuesday, December 13

Phillipsburg, St. Maarten

Carolyn and I took a taxi to the French side of the island to see what Marigot was like. Got to see some of the island on the way over. Pretty much the same as the Dutch side, lots of vendors. And high end boutiques.

It was really tough to find a cab to go back—the taxi driver had told us to stand by the taxi stand. We were there for half an hour and no cabs. Finally inquired in the Bureau de Change across the street and they suggested going one street closer to the waterfront—found a cab right away.

We didn't go to downtown Phillipsburg since I've been there before, just shopped at the shops on the pier on our return. Found Fresh Produce shirts for half price, so we were happy.

Perry Grant was performing in the theater tonight so Carolyn and I went to see what all the fuss was about. He's a good entertainer, but I don't much care for his voice. Cannot imaging just taking a cruise to go to two of his shows every night, but that's what his groupies do.

Wednesday, December 14

Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas

This was a new port for all of us. Carolyn and I were fortunate to get a taxi van tour of the island with only 4 people in the van. Interesting tour and the views from the top of the mountain were fantastic. We had our driver drop us off in Charlotte Amalie after the tour. Found another Fresh Produce t-shirt—alas, full price. Carolyn then decided that it was time to do some jewelry shopping. Went to Boolchands since that was the closest and I know they are a reputable store, but it's not like there's a shortage of jewelry stores in Charlotte Amalie! She found a ring she liked, but it was going to take them an hour to size it, so I decided to go back to the ship.

There were four ships in port today, so it was crowded, especially since two of them were the huge variety. We had a prime docking spot in Havensight, so it wasn't too bad. Poked around in some of the shops in Havensight, but decided I was shopped out and returned to the ship and had lunch with Karen and JR.

Upon walking in to the main dining room tonight, there was our former assistant waiter from the Millennium, Carlos, at the maitre d' station. Hadn't known he was on the ship. It was good to see him again—he's now a waiter. Roger came up to visit us at our table again and wanted to take us down to meet the folks at his tables, so we got escorted down the grand staircase. Carlos works the station next to his.

Our waiter is competent and a good waiter, but he has no personality and doesn't get jokes at all. It really makes a difference if you get a lively waiter who takes an interest in your group.

My stomach was rebelling against all the rich food, so I ate very little at dinner and came back to the room and went to bed.

I seem to have skipped a day

Saturday, December 10, 2011

Bridgetown, Barbados

Lots of ships in today. It's an industrial port and we're parked right next to a huge loading crane. Actually it was interesting watching the container activity. They have a motorized gantry which drives around moving containers. It drives to the semi hauling the container on its flatbed, drives right over the container (its platform fits outside the truck's profile), gloms on to the container, lifts it up, and off it goes to plunk it somewhere. Reverse applies to load a container on to a flatbed.

Biggest excitement this morning was hoping the captain of the Norwegian Dawn was a better driver than all those Carnival captains that are always running into things. He pulled in front of us at a 90 degree angle, I could have sworn he was only inches off our bow. He then had to reverse 90 degrees into the pier. Thought sure he was going to take our bow off, but I'm happy to report that we're still intact and seaworthy! Amazing how they can manouver these giant ships around!

We weren't planning anything exciting because you have to take a cab into Bridgetown and we did that last year. I took the shuttle to the cruise terminal because I wanted to mail a postcard to mother. Cost me a dollar, but she gets a wedding stamp! (Barbados is part of the British Commonwealth). Woo Hoo! Discovered they had free wi-fi in the terminal, so took the shuttle back to the ship, grabbed my laptop, and came back. Well the wi-fi was seriously slow—a person could fall asleep waiting for e-mail to load, so I finally gave up. The price was right but the service sucked. Had a downpour while sitting there waiting for my e-mail to boot. Fortunately I was inside. Looked in the shops, but didn't see anything which was shouting BUY ME!

Back to the ship, had lunch with Michelle & Fred from our Cruise Critic group. Did some delicates in the sink and the floor drain overflowed. Mopped it up with all the pool towels I had used to get the moisture out of the laundry and went in search of the cabin steward to deal with it. He came and dealt with it in his usual efficient manner. He was all concerned about the formal top I sent to be dry cleaned. He said that there was a diamond missing from the clasp. I told him that they weren't diamonds and that the “diamond” had been missing for some time, so not to worry.

Played 3-way Sequence with Peg and Beth (Carolyn decided she needed a nap). We each won a game and then Beth won the fourth game. She's been pretty lucky on this cruise!

No land-based wi-fi

Sunday, December 11, 2011

Castries, St. Lucia

What a great day! Beautiful weather. We had booked a cruise to the Pitons on a catamaran which left at 8:30 a.m. Great steel band music playing the whole time and we had a very energetic woman who had us dancing the whole time we were on the cat. Lots of fun. Went swimming in one of the bays close to the Pitons. Getting down the ladder to the ocean wasn't too bad—getting up was a trick! I needed a boost. After I came up they decided they should lower the ladder more. Duh. So Carolyn got the easy way up. They hosed us off with fresh water and then we sailed back to the ship.

Did some shopping in the shops—I searched unsuccessfully for some good steel band music—and then got back on the ship around two and had lunch. Then I popped in the thalasotherapy pool and the hot tub to see if I could get the kinks out after all that dancing.

Beth didn't come to dinner, said she couldn't face chicken again and nothing on the menu looked interesting to her. I was getting tired of beef and had the vegetarian entrée which was good and didn't leave me feeling stuffed. We also had the fastest service we've had—out in an hour and a half. The night before it dragged on forever.

Carolyn and I browsed the shops and made our donation to the casino and then came back to the rooms. Beth reported she'd had a great room service quesadilla. I've never even looked at the room service dinner menu, but that sounds good.

Bridgetown, Barbados has free wi-fi in terminal

It's painfully slow, but the price is right!

Friday, December 9

St. Georges, Grenada

We started out the day with an interesting sight. We usually meet on the back deck for breakfast. This morning at 7:00 a.m. we were treated to the sight of a woman in her pajamas going to the bar to order a drink. (We didn't even know the bar was open that early!) She kept on drinking and was soon joined by some other women in their pajamas who were also drinking. Interesting.

Anyway, we had our breakfast and then went into town. I was still in search of some sort of garland for our mirror and found some in the local grocery store. Then we wandered around looking for a batik store, but we were going the wrong way. By this time Beth declared she had lost interest and was going back to the ship. Carolyn and I headed off in the other direction which involved climbing a very steep hill. After climbing the hill, it dropped back down at a precipitous rate. We checked with a local bank guard and we were indeed on the right track. So down we went and there was the batik store. They have very nice stuff, all made on the island. We both got a top.

Then we continued down the hill to the carenage and walked along looking at the scenery. I had read that there was a place called Dot's that sold spices. Found it and bought the spices and chocolate there. Dot recommended a place down the road a bit to have a refreshing drink. Carolyn had her usual Coke Zero and I had fresh-squeezed passion fruit juice. Yummy. Ran into Karen and JR.

The woman who ran the place gave us directions on how to walk back through the tunnel so as not to have to climb the hill again! It's a very narrow tunnel (over a hundred years old) and the cars and pedestrians share the roadway. Close quarters. When you're going back to town, you are not facing the traffic. She recommended that if we encountered a pedestrian coming the other way we should stand sideways to the wall and let them step out into the traffic since they were facing the oncoming traffic. Interesting experience! And we lived to tell the tale.

Once back in town, Carolyn wanted to acquire some spice necklaces, so we headed for the spice market. Just before we got there, we ran into a woman who was selling some very fresh ones at a good price, so we bought her entire stock and then did not have to endure the spice market where everyone is desperate to sell you something.

Then back to the ship to cool off in the AC—really hot and humid here today. After lunch I decided to go back into the terminal in search of free wi-fi since I had seen lots of folks hanging around with computers. It was fairly slow, but it's slow on the ship as well and frightfully expensive, although I get 90 free minutes.

Came back to the ship and we had another round of Sequence. This time it was a bit closer—Peg and I won 2 out of 3 games.

Formal night tonight—another good dinner. Beth won big time in the casino and came back to put her winnings in the safe and couldn't get it open. Had to call Guest Relations to come and open it.

Free Wi Fi in the terminal in Grenada!

Wednesday, December 7 Wilemstad, Curaçao

Up early to see if we could watch the floating bridge open for us. Rats! We're not docked there. We're a bit farther away from the interesting stuff. When you're docked in the inner harbor, you can watch the bridge open and close and you have the world famous view across the way. Oh well, maybe we'll notice different things this time.

Walked into town (turns out we went the long way), checked out the shops—Carolyn was looking for hand lotion—sat and had a Coke on the plaza and saw several of our Cruise Critic friends. Despite my vow to buy no more magnets since I already have a Curaçao magnet, we found one with the famous view of the buildings, so just had to have that.

We were on the floating bridge when it opened up partially to let one of the tourist boats through. Think we were on the bridge last year when it opened as well. Luckily it did not open all the way, because that can take a while.

Found a faster way back to the ship through the old fort. Climbed a bunch of steps to get to the top of the wall of the fort to explore the scene and then found a tunnel through the wall to get us back to the shopping center and thus on the path to the ship where we were greeted by Celebrity's famous iced towels—which are VERY refreshing after a hot, sweaty day ashore.

Had a late lunch and then just relaxed for the rest of the afternoon. As we were getting ready for dinner, we heard a ship whistle—turns out Celebrity's old Horizon which has been transferred to RCI's subsidiary, Pulmantur, was leaving the harbor, so we got some good pictures. You can still see the X on the funnel. That old ship had no balconies, so of course is not popular with today's cruisers.

Another good dinner minus two of our tablemates who had gone to a specialty restaurant for dinner. I went for a walk to try to work off some of the dinner and then we had an early night.

Thursday, December 8

Up for breakfast with the usual suspects. Lots and lots of things going on today, will probably skip some that we are invited to. This is vacation, don't like to be running from one activity to another.

Some jewelry outfit was giving away lanyards with a key, one of which was supposed to unlock a treasure chest with some necklace. Carolyn had hers. I didn't care about the key or the necklace, but coveted the lanyard because it had a swivel clip on the end. Went down and managed to snag one. Gave my key to Carolyn.

Had the group slot pull at 11:00. I was tied for the jackpot with one of the other guys, so I ended up getting my $10 back. Not a bad return for some fun on the slot machines.

Went down to the stores to see how Carolyn was doing with our keys. No luck for her, but I snagged another lanyard!

Next up was a bridge tour. I've been before, but didn't take my camera because I thought photography wouldn't be allowed. This time I took my camera and got a picture of me driving the ship. We all agreed the second officer conducting the tour was a hunk. He wanted a Woo Hoo pin, so I told him I would leave one for him at guest relations since you can't just stroll on to the bridge uninvited.

Finally got to play some Sequence. Peggie & I beat Beth & Carolyn 2-0.

Actually made it to the Elite cocktail party tonight for the first time. Our tablemates have been bugging us because we don't come. Had a good time. They have their waiter trained and when they arrive, their drinks are already waiting for them.

Another good dinner and then we decided to go to the Gelato Happy Hour. Supposedly 2 for 1. He charged us all full price. Actually their pricing is strange: one scoop for $3 or two scoops for $3. Huh? While we were sitting there having our gelato, our new best friend, Jamie the hotel director stopped by to chat. We inquired as to the happy hour. He decided it was a marketing ploy to get us to try the gelato and we told him it worked! He had the guest relations director with him so they decided to stroll over to the gelato cafe and see what the deal was. We also gave them Woo Hoo pins. Jamie is always around and smiling and talking to everyone and it never hurts to have the guest relations director in your corner!

Went and listed to the guitar player at the aft bar for a while and then strolled the deck to admire the full moon. The weather has been very pleasant.

December 5 & 6, 2011

Monday, December 5

Sea day today. The ocean has calmed and the sun is shining. Hung out on deck and chatted with folks. Had a cabin crawl with the Cruise Critic group this afternoon—go to visit everyone's cabins so people can see what other types of cabins are available and which cabins might have better balconies. It was the first time I'd seen an inside cabin. Glad I saw it—I'd get claustrophobia in one!

Another good dinner with our crazy tablemates—tonight we all got rubber duckies which can actually squirt water—well you can see that was bound to and did lead to mischief! I think our waiter thinks we're all crazy. He has no sense of humor.

Carolyn and I went to the show. It was a comedian who was supposed to be good. He was funny, but he went on too long. About half an hour would have been enough.

Tuesday, December 6

Aruba today. Not much in this port. Beth didn't even bother to get off. I went in search of some Aruba Aloe products. Was also looking for some cheap Christmas décor. Carolyn had hung some miniature strings of garland from her mirror and it looked very festive. Found a supermercado, but no Christmas stuff. Maybe I'll find some in another port.

Came back to the ship and walked around and took pictures of all the Christmas decorations and the parts of the ship that will disappear when they next send her to drydock—we have a lost views thread going on Cruise Critic.

For those of you who sailed with us last year, Lurch, our assistant waiter, has been working the lido. He remembered us and always makes it a point to come over and talk a bit—he is pretty shy and seems to be glad of some people he knows to talk to.

The ship is quite peaceful when most people are in port—sat out by the pool and read for a while.

Had another delightful dinner with our tablemates—no surprise creatures tonight.

Saturday, December 3, 2011

Got up relatively late, got ready, and went down for breakfast. It was a rugby scrum in the breakfast area, so we went out by the pool. Got the message from the ship that the delayed boarding seemed to be off and that there were no lines outside the terminal. So back upstairs to pack and check out and went down to get a cab to the pier. First cab who showed up wouldn't take the three of us with luggage and told us we had to take two cabs, but another guy showed up and said he'd take us. Smart fellow. Knew he would get a good tip.

Got to the pier, dropped our big bags with the porters, and proceeded to checkin with our carryons. No snafus at security and we got checked in and went upstairs. Same guy who was directing boarding from last year was there. Really funny Irish guy who makes jokes and seems to like interacting with the passengers.

These people who help out at the pier are all senior citizens who get paid very little to do this but get fantastic deals on Celebrity cruises. Think that would be a good way to while away the retirement hours—think maybe I should move to Ft. Lauderdale?

Anyway, got on board to find out that the cabins weren't ready yet, so went to the lido to get some lunch. Spent some quality time out on the back deck with Beth's favorite bartender, Tiger, and other Cruise Critic friends. Andy and I were lamenting the fact that we hadn't been able to go to the Infinity reveal and still make this cruise. Celebrity had responded that for security reasons, they needed to keep all the people touring the ship in groups, as we had expected they would. Oh well.

They finally announced the cabins were ready at 2:30 so we were able to get rid of our carryons and get those unpacked and then it was time for muster drill. That's lifeboat drill for those who aren't cruisers, except we're no longer required to don our lifejackets and report to our lifeboat stations and stand in the hot sun. We just show up in a lounge where they take attendance as you enter and watch crew members demonstrate how to put on a lifejacket. They got a round of applause when they point out the whistle and the beacon designed to attract attention. I can just hear the beacon going, “Here, shark, here shark!” but I digress.

Following muster we resumed the sailaway party on the back deck until we actually sailed around 5:45. We passed the Infinity on the way out, so got a look at the changed exterior and the passengers on each ship waved madly at one another.

Then it was time for dinner. We had asked our friends who were already on board to set us up with our favorite waiter, Bonifacio. Turns out he was getting off in Ft. Lauderdale to go on vacation, so we'll miss him. The waiter we have is OK, but certainly won't turn out to be one of our all time favorites. But we have a great group at our table, all friends we met on Cruise Critic.

After dinner, back to the cabin to unpack since the rest of our luggage had arrived. Went to the computer center to get our laptops set up for the internet, but they weren't doing that, just arranging for the packages of internet time—said we'd have to come back tomorrow. Late to bed after finishing unpacking.

Sunday, December 4, 2011

Up late (for Beth, anyway) at 7:00. Up to breakfast with Don & Peggie and then off to get the laptops set up.

We had our Cruise Critic party at 10:00 and the Captain, the Hotel Director, the Food & Beverage Manager, and the Cruise Director turned up. They got honorary Woo Hoo buttons and the Captain & the Cruise Director promised to say Woo Hoo in their noon announcement, which they did. We do have lots of interesting interactions with the other passengers and crew because of the buttons.

Then everybody found notices in their staterooms that the credit cards hadn't swiped properly on check in and to please bring them to Guest Relations to be swiped again. Went off to check out what might be in the stores and saw a ring that had Carolyn's name all over it. Lo and behold, I ran into her about two minutes later! Took her back and showed it to her and she agreed she should probably have it, so she bought it.

It's exceedingly windy out today, so not a good day for walking laps or sitting by the pool. I decided to try a walk on the top deck and could hardly make any forward progress at all, so gave it up and came inside and walked laps in the corridors. Just going to sit on the balcony and read—it's pretty sheltered from the wind out there.

Tonight was the first formal night. Another delightful evening with our table companions. Carolyn brought us all nutcracker Christmas ornaments to get us in the mood.

The wi-fi is not working in our cabin, so I have to go out in search of a signal to post.

Good night!

14 Days in the Southern Caribbean on Celebrity's Constellation

Thursday, December 1, 2011

Pre-cruise craziness! Some of it's a good kind of crazy. Had asked my travel agent to see if she could get me approved to go on the tour of the Infinity which will be in Ft. Lauderdale with us and has just been Solsticized. For the non diehard Celebrity cruisers among you, this means they have added some of the features of the Solstice class of ships to this ship, which is a Millennium class ship like the Constellation that I'm cruising on.

Now normally I wouldn't be in Florida to get to take advantage of such a tour, so this seemed like a good coincidence that I should take advantage of. Then a few wrinkles crept in. The Connie is just returning from Europe and has announced delayed boarding because of customs inspections and various other issues. The Infinity is suffering from the same problem. Although they're both at the same port, they are a bit far apart.

The original plan (without seeing Celebrity's written plan for the tour) was to check in at the pier, divest myself of my carryon, and go to the Infinity. Host Andy of Cruise Critic was planning to do the same. The delayed boarding tossed that plan out. Time for Plan B. Except there wasn't a Plan B.

Published the dilemma on Cruise Critic and all sorts of alternative plans popped up—offers of a ride to the port, people to deal with my luggage, an invitation to lunch, etc. Cruise Critic members are a wonderfully helpful bunch! No wonder cruising is so much fun.

In the meantime, the written invitation finally arrived. Celebrity is talking boading of the Infinity between 12 and 1, a luncheon, a presentation, and FINALLY the tour. They mention getting off the ship between 3:30 and 4 with potential delays. Oops! I need to be on board the Connie an hour and a half before sailaway (at 4:30) or the Feds freak out and can deny me boarding and you know we don't want that.

So I sent a note to the helpful Celebrity rep who set it all up, told her I appreciated her efforts, but I'd either have to tour the ship on my own or I wouldn't be able to go. I suspect they won't want that, as embarcation days are crazy already without the added problem of extra people wandering around the ship.

Anyway, the whole experience has me feeling great about my fellow cruisers and I know we'll have a wonderful time together!

Now, I must repeat my mantra for the day: Step away from the computer and PACK! I leave early in the morning for Ft. Lauderdale, so I have to get the packing done today. Where's my butler when I need him? I do love traveling; packing, not so much.

Friday, December 2, 2011

Off to the airport early. I had originally booked a flight that left at a civilized hour but Delta changed it to 9:25 a.m.

No problems with the flight, arrived in sunny Ft. Lauderdale on schedule. Waited forever for the Marriott shuttle. Had to call them 3 times.

Got to the hotel and met up with other cruising buddies. We sat by the pool and chatted for a while and then went to The Field for dinner. It's an Irish pub fairly close to the hotel. Food and service were good and we had a great time.

Came back to the hotel, checked e-mail, and crashed. None of us got much sleep last night.