First Ever TR, Anniversary and F&WF, October 2010

[dgbg100106]

A match made in

There is only one way to know for sure so we MUST meet up and see how it goes!

 

[dgbg100106]

Sooooo, does anyone want me to continue with pictures from the cruise part of my trip or stop with the end of the Disney trip?

 

[athenna]

Sooooo, does anyone want me to continue with pictures from the cruise part of my trip or stop with the end of the Disney trip?

Post whatever ya got

 

[John's Mom]

Keep those pictures coming!

 

[3Leafs]

You really had to ask???? Post away!!!!

 

[dgbg100106]

Post whatever ya got

Keep those pictures coming!

You really had to ask???? Post away!!!!

OK ok OKAY.... I will post some of the cruise stuff....

 

[franandaj]

Sooooo, does anyone want me to continue with pictures from the cruise part of my trip or stop with the end of the Disney trip?

Love to see them!

 

[dgbg100106]

Day Six of vacation October 17 - Sunday

We have some breakfast and check out of the resort and bring all 3 pieces of our luggage down to the lobby and David brings around the rental. We got a nice looking Chrysler Town and Country to drive down to Ft. Lauderdale.

Picking up the rental was super easy, they came to AKL and picked us up and took us to the rental facility on Disney and then we were on our way. We found a discount code on All Ears and saved 25%. It was very comfortable for the 4 of us, anyway we start on our way, and right off the bat we are going the wrong way on the toll road, which sucks and David can’t handle not being in control, so it was a rough start, but we got over it quickly.

We made it to the cruise terminal in no time

and we dropped off the luggage with Chris and Mechelle, and we filled the van up and dropped it at the rental care return at the airport. The car rental places have a shuttle bus that will take you to the cruise terminal for FREE so that was an added benefit for us.

So we make it back to the cruise ship and being the boarding process, it did not take maybe 15 minutes and we were on our way to eat lunch.

We meet up with Chris and Mechelle, and Pat and Ken for lunch out on the back deck of the ship.

After lunch we were all given the ok to head to our cabins and drop off all of our carryon luggage the rest should arrive later. The cabin was a nice surprise, they have made some nice improvements, the bathroom was the biggest change, and it was much more open and spacious. There was a ton of light and many many storage places.

We had our muster drill in the Michaels club and then headed to aft decks to watch us pull away from shore. We meet up with all of our Cruise Critic friends and had a blast until it was time for dinner.

We meet up with all of our Cruise Critic friends and had a blast until it was time for dinner.

 

[dgbg100106]

Now it was time for sail away, leaving Ft. Lauderdale....

We meet up at dinner and enjoyed the relaxing part of the day.

We started off with a nice Crab Salad, for David,

a Goat Cheese tart with Balsamic reduction for me,

then we both had the Cream of Mushroom soup, it was soooo good.

For the main course David had Prime Rib

and I had Encrusted Rack of Lamb

for dessert we had the Citrus Cheesecake.

So much food I am stuffed, back to the room to relax and it has been a long day, we need some rest.

 

[3Leafs]

The cruise pics look amazing... Man I hope Mike gets his vacation the week I want this summer so we can go on one... Can't wait to see more pics..

 

[franandaj]

I would have had a hard time deciding. I love both rack of lamb and prime rib and they both looked wonderful!

 

[dgbg100106]

Day Seven of vacation October 18 - Monday

Today started off with beautiful sunshine and working out in the gym on board! UGhhhhh too much food and wine the week before.

David plays on the grass trying to pretend he knows what Bocce Ball is, and then he moves on to horse shoes!

I am just sitting here in the sun enjoying just sitting here. Aunt Pat and Uncle Ken join us for a minute and then the hot glass show starts up so we HAVE to go see that….

The guy made this really cool bowl out of blue glass and some red decorative spirals. It was cool to watch.

After the show we headed for a snack out by the pool, while I was sitting there I saw this great t-shirt.

I guess Davis was done with gourmet food he wanted some chicken wings and onion rings.

 

[dgbg100106]

We sat out in the sun for a little while enjoying everything around us and then it was lunch time in the Main Dining Room, for starters I got the Fried Mozzarella Sticks,

and David got the Potato and Leek bisque with Pistachio Foam,

for the main course I had Orecchiette con Scampi,

and David got the Cane sugar caramelized Skirt Steak,

for dessert I had Dark Chocolate Ice Cream with Raspberry sauce and David was being good and passed on dessert…since he had chicken wings earlier....

After lunch we head to the Captain’s Club Wine Tasting event at 3PM. The wines were ok but I could tell that they were not as good as they used to be, David did not like most of his. I am all for free wine, something in me will not let me turn it down.

I thought that the chandelier above us was really cool, very different

and the wine tower was very cool, I don’t remember how many bottles of wine were in there but it was a bunch!

We made it up to the Elite lounge for one drink and saw Joel and Colleen, then had to go back to the cabin to get ready for formal night!

Here we go to dinner….

For appetizer I had the Beef Carpaccio

and David had the Frog Legs,

for the second course David had a César salad with anchovies (That had way too much dressing on it)

and I had the chilled tangerine soup with granny smith apples and Grand Mariner Cream,

for our entrees, I had Roasted Colorado Rack of Lamb

and David has the Glazed Chilean Sea Bass,

While we were waiting for dessert David decided to hand a spoon on his nose!

for dessert we had Dark Chocolate Raspberry Truffle Cake and Cherries Jubilee.

 

[dgbg100106]

After dinner we took pictures outside the dining room together; while waiting for the show tonight it was “Solstice – The show” we had heard that it was a good show so we decided to go to this one.
David and my Aunt Pat

My Aunt Pat and Uncle Ken

David's Sister Mechelle and Brother in Law Chris

David and Mechelle

us

Captain Dimitris Kafetzis was there to give the welcome toast.

The show was very much like Cirque du Soleil, with a ton of acrobatics, balancing (while on a moving ship), aerials, dancing and singing. Since there is no flash photograph I had to make do without the flash so the pictures are not great.

After the show we were cabin bound, I was done for the day.

 

[dgbg100106]

The cruise pics look amazing... Man I hope Mike gets his vacation the week I want this summer so we can go on one... Can't wait to see more pics..

T,
I hope he does too, have you ever been on one before?

 

[dgbg100106]

I would have had a hard time deciding. I love both rack of lamb and prime rib and they both looked wonderful!

The lamb was amazing I had it two nights in a row!

 

[Piglets Mommy]

Glad I could help a little....

Just so you know I do a lot of myself so this might be a good match! or maybe it will lead to more , which could lead to

Sounds fun to me!!!!

A match made in

There is only one way to know for sure so we MUST meet up and see how it goes!

Sooooo, does anyone want me to continue with pictures from the cruise part of my trip or stop with the end of the Disney trip?

YES!!!

Looks like you are having an awesome time on the cruise. I love all the grassy areas....doesn't even seem like you are on a ship.

 

[dgbg100106]

Day Eight of vacation October 19 - Tuesday

This was a late morning getting started for us… We went up to the walking deck and enjoyed the sunshine and fresh air, we were meeting all of the cruise critic gang for brunch this morning. We meet up outside the main dining room and headed into brunch. There was so many amazing selections that I forgot to take pictures. But I did get one of my plate maybe the second trip I went up.

We arrived in San Juan, Puerto Rico today, the ship docked around 2PM, we meet up with Colleen and Joel in the card room getting ready for a day out to the fort.

Along the way we passed a pretty government building,

beautiful tree lined walk ways,

and some interesting statues and fountains.

We passed through the San Juan Gate, which was the main entrance to the city in the 1500’s to the 1800’s and on to the fort, it was a serious walk but so glad that we got out and about, and enjoyed the day.

 

[dgbg100106]

After visiting the fort and walking all over it… we went down into the city in search of a Pina Colada... So we found the place that claims to be the birth place of Pina Coladas and had a couple of drinks and some fried plantains with Chicken.

Then we made our way back to the ship. I was not feeling well and headed back to the cabin to lie down for a little while; my allergies were going crazy all day. We went up to the buffet for dinner and I was not impressed with anything so I did not take any pictures there either.

 

[dgbg100106]

Day Nine of vacation October 20 - Wednesday

We arrive at 8:00am today in Charlotte Amalie, St Thomas. We were just here in February so we were not doing much on the island today; we meet up with Pat and Ken and went shopping around the pier and in town. David was still looking for two lenses for my camera, but we were unable to find a place that could do better than Amazon so we passed.

We took a taxi over to the other side of the island and went shopping some more and stopped at the bar we found last year and introduced Pat and Ken to the famous Bushwacker! We had a lot of fun and enjoyed just sitting there relaxing.

We caught a taxi back to the ship and headed straight for the ice cream, I think we all had several scoops each!

WE went out on deck to enjoy the sunshine and let David play in the water fountain!

We had reservations for the specialty restaurant on board called the Tuscan Grille later than normal so we got to enjoy the sun going down.