2 Days at Sea, and the return Home

The next two days were sea days, which was a really nice way to end our trip. Plenty of time to relax and pack, with no need to feel rushed. On the first sea day, we did a pool day. Geoff swam in his inflatable pool, and I enjoyed the warmth of the Caribbean while reading on a lounger. Grant went to the auction with Bobby, and Gary stopped by for a while, but mostly it was Mom, Bobby, Grant and I just relaxing.

 

Dinner was nice. This was our 2nd formal night. Geoff looked super snazzy in his little sweater vest. The show tonight was awesome. It was called "Ticket to Ride" and it featured all Beatles music. It was so good that we decided to watch the 2nd showing of it. It had great music and cool effects. This was one of the best shows we've seen at sea.

 

The next day, we slept in and started packing. Packing turned out to be rather tedious - there was not a lot of room in the cabin with Geoff's crib. I personally think I would prefer to not even get a crib in the future and to just let him sleep with us all night. I think the added space would be really helpful. Plus, Geoffrey had a short period of pain with his teethign, but again, the tylenol seemed to help pretty quickly.

 

Dinner was delicious, again, but rather emotional as we had to say goodbye to Niar and Mudi - who were awesome. Luckily, we exchanged email addresses, so who knows - we may keep in touch!

 

We skipped the show tonight as it was just the Carnival Legends and wasn't until 10:30. That gave us time to finish packing. Geoff and I went to sleep to get ready for the early morning, but Mom, Bobby, and Grant went to the casino!

 

Bright and early the next morning we docked in Ft. Lauderdale. Grant got off the ship with Mom and Bobby and Gary. Geoff and I went up to the Lido and had some breakfast and chatted with Pedro.

 

(If I told this story already I am sorry - Pedro is a waiter from India. We met him in the Lido buffet. One afternoon I was there feeding Geoffrey. After we were done, he asked what nationality we were and I said American. He was impressed becasue he doesn't know many AMericans who breastfeed past a few months. It made me feel quite proud. After that, he always came over to talk to us and the "big strong American boy." Very nice man!)

 

Heather and Donna came up and we sat there until Grant called. Grant, meanwhile, had dropped Mom and Bobby off at the airport and picked up the rental car. We were off the ship at around 11. We headed to Sawgrass Mall. We had lunch at Grand Luxe... mmmm... Asian Nachos.... and then walked around the mall. We left at 3 and headed back to the airport. Grant dropped us off and returned the rental car and then we checked in.

 

Our flight home  was fine. Geoff had his own seat, and he napped quite a bit. We got home at 9 - home sweet home!

 

 

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(¸.·´ (¸.·´*Bobbi Jo*
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Panama

Our excursion today was awesome. We did "Two Oceans by Train." The highlight of this tour was taking the Panam Canal Railroad from the Caribbean Sea to the Pacific Ocean. It was very cool getting to actually see Panama - and what a difference from Costa Rica!  
You could really tell that America had poured some bucks into the place - the standard of living was much higher and the buildings looked as though they were part of a normal American town. Not all of Panama was like this - in fact the Caribbean side where we docked was much shabbier - but still, you can tell that Panama is a very nice place to live.

 

It rained most of the day. The train was very nice - the cars had been found and refurbished in the last 10 years, and the seats were comfortable. They were arranged in booths around a table. Also, our group was the last to leave so our bus - and train car - were only about 1/3 full. Awesome! 

 

In Panama, we went to the visitor center at the Mira Flores locks and then drove around town. Since we were the only ship in town and there was so much rain, we got to take the train back, as well, instead of the bus. The train spent a lot of time along Lake Guton but the trip was only 1 hour by train. It was very nice to see Panama from this angle!

 

Back on the ship, we showered and sat on the balcony, watching the ship sail away. Geoff had another teething episode, by a little tylenol seemed to help pretty quickly. Dinner was yummy, as usual. We watched the show - and then Geoff and I went to bed - I was pretty tired!

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(¸.·´ (¸.·´*Bobbi Jo*
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Costa Rica

On Wednesday, we stopped in Costa Rica. We took a ship tour called "Costa Rica by bus, train, and boat." The tour was interesting. We did a bus tour through town and to a banana plantation where we got to see how bananas are grown, harvested and prepared for shipping. Then we took a short train ride where we were able to stop and see monkeys and sloths. Finally, we took a boat ride through a jugle where we were able to spot even more wildlife - birds, lizards, and another sloth. Our tour ended with a fruit buffet of pineapple, banana, coconut, and watermelon - all were delicious! Everyone did this tour except Donna, who relaxed on the ship.

 

The tour was ok - I love these kinds of tours to get a broad glimpse of the country (which you don't get when you, say, snorkel) but I would have preferred more time on the water and skipped the train.

 

We got back on board at 5:50 - It was really run upstairs, get changed, and run straight to dinner. The show tonight was a phyisical comedian - he was really good. He did this trick where he climbed a ladder without anyone holding it by rocking it back and forth. He also rode a unicycle with someone on his shoulders. Very funny!

 

We went right to bed after the show because we had an even EARLIER excursion the next day! 
 

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(¸.·´ (¸.·´*Bobbi Jo*
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Tuesday At Sea

Today was another relaxing day at sea. We spent some time wandering around the ship, and checking out some of the activites they had. We watched the Newlywed - Not-So-Newlywed Game and played Bingo, and just spent time together. This was one of the reasons that we chose this itinerary - because it had so many relaxing sea days!

 

We met in Donna, Gary, and Heather's room before dinner to chat for a while and then went up to see Niar and Mudi at dinner.

 

The show tonight was... eh. It was a singer, trained in opera. She started with Phantom and cracked badly on the last note - so it sort of started off badly. It did improve, but it wasn't great.

 

We made it an early night because we had an excursion planned for the next day.   

Cozumel

On Monday, we docked in Cozumel. Grant, Geoff, Mom, Bobby, and I took a taxi to Paradise beach, the same beach we went to last year. It was, again, lovely. The beach is so well kept, and the people were nice. We swam, napped, and ate delicious food.

 

At one point, though, poor Geoffrey started screaming, and took him quite some time to calm down. Poor guy - teething can be tough! I vowed from that point on to always carry tylenol just in case. He wouldn't eat, and just cried and cried. He finally fell asleep. When he woke up, he seemed to be feeling better. Poor guy!

 

We headed back to the ship at around 3, with plenty of time to take showers and relax before dinner. At dinner, we got to hear about Gary's adventures snorkeling and Donna and Heather's adventures in the submersible boat.

 

After dinner we watched the show - I think it was a sort of mini production show - dancing and singing but no sets - it was pretty good. Then Grant watched Geoffrey while Mom, Bobby, Donna, Heather and I went to the piano bar for the sing - a - long. The music was ok, but it was one of the bars that allows smoking, so I only lasted about an hour. It was still fun, though!

 

 

Sunday - Day at Sea!

Sunday was a Day at Sea. After breakfast at the buffet, we walked a bit around the ship. We found a great spot on the aft, port side of the ship, near camp carnival, that was in the shade. We went down to get our bathing suits and then came back up and settled in. We brought a small inflatable pool for Geoffrey since he can't use Carnival pools. The spot we picked turned out to be perfect because it was near the sink for Camp Carnival's water balloon games. It was really easy to fill up Geoff's pool. SO MANY people walked by and commented on how great an idea it was for us to bring the pool for him. Geoff - in fact - gets LOTS of attention! So many people have come by and said how cute and sweet he is, and have stopped to talk with him. The crew LOVES him. He is doing so well. Especially since…. Drum roll….. Geoffrey cut his first tooth! We sort of thought maybe one was coming up - he was particularly fussy in the car on the way to Ft. Lauderdale - not that crying on long car trips is particularly unusual for Mr. Geofferson, but we also thought that maybe we felt something… so this morning, (Sunday, Aug. 30th) I put my finger in and there it was - I could feel it and see it. Wow. My baby boy has a tooth. Back to the pool deck. So Geoffrey played in his pool, napped with Grandma Patty, and played some more. Gary, Donna, and Heather came by and hung out for a while. Grant and I did the waterslide a few times and played. It was a beautiful, relaxing afternoon. Tonight was our first elegant night. Geoffrey looked very snazzy in a collared shirt, pin striped pants and vest, and a cute blue tie. So handsome! Dinner was, of course, delicious. (Lobster night!) After dinner was the production show, "The Big Easy," and it was REALLY good - much better then I expected after the luke warm Welcome Aboard show. We also found a section we liked to sit in - towards the back of the main level of the theater. This has become our meeting place for shows - it is really nice because the seats are comfy, it is near the exit if Geoff decides to have a nice loud conversation, and it isn't super crowded so it is easy for me to nurse. That night, Mom, Bobby, and Grant went to the adult midnight comedy show while Geoff and I played and went to bed early. Tomorrow…. Cozumel!!!!

Saturday - Cruising

Onboard the Carnival Freedom, we went to the Lido deck for lunch in the buffet. We saw Donna and Heather on the way - they had just finished eating, and we found Gary in the buffet. After we ate, we went by our cabins to drop off our stuff - our cabin wasn't quite finished yet but Mom and Bobby's was. Mom and Bobby's cabin was right next door to ours - the cabin steward was able to unlock the divider between our balconies so we could go back and forth via the balcony as well as the hall. We could also open the divider and have one big balcony - but the divider has to cover one of our doors because of the way our cabins are configured. You'll also note that I haven't mentioned my cabin stewards name - that's because I don't know what it is. Although he does his job fine - anything we ask for (via notes) is taken care of, he never really introduced himself, and I don't think I would recognize him if I passed him in the hallway. First time for me to have that happen! We swung by our dining room to see where our table was - we were happy to see we had a table for 8 for just our group. Then we went up to see Donna, Gary, and Heather's suite on the 7th deck. There cabin was very nice - large, with a big bathroom. They had plenty of room for the three of them. Our muster drill was quick and easy - Geoff got a camp carnival muster bracelet on his ankle, and we set sail! We watched the sail away from our balconies and then unpacked as our suitcases were delivered. Our dinner was at 6:00 in the Chic dining room - the smaller of the two - on the 2nd floor. Our wait staff, Niar and Mudi, (both shortened versions of their longer names) are both awesome. They are from Indonesia. They think Geoffrey is awesome and they LOVE talking to him. Niar, especially. She was so happy when I let her hold Geoffrey. They have been super sweet. Once you order something, they have it ready to go each night - for example, our Arnold Palmers. Niar remembers are names. They are very welcoming. Whenever they see us on the ship they are so sweet - but if they see one of us without Geoffrey they always say, "Where's the baby? Where is Geoffrey?" Niar even asked if she could get a picture with Geoffrey. Heather is in heaven because she is getting the warm chocolate melting cake almost every night. The food is delicious here on Carnival. One night, I got all of the appetizers and no entrée. So good!. After dinner, we went back to our cabin to finish unpacking - there was only one "Welcome Aboard Show," which was ok but not great. Our cruise director is Wee Jimmy, the same director that we had on the Carnival Glory in 2007. When we got back to our cabin, Geoffrey's crib was delivered, which was good because I was tired… *´¨) ¸.·´¸.·*´¨) ¸.·*¨) (¸.·´ (¸.·´*Bobbi Jo* ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Friday - Ft. Lauderdale

We checked in to our hotel in Ft. Lauderdale on Thursday night. We had dinner at Hooters and then relaxed until Donna, Gary and Heather arrived at about 11:00 PM. Mom was getting a chest cold / infection. She got a prescription from her doctor and the pharmacist downstairs was super helpful. Mom took it easy and rested at the hotel while Bobby, Grant, Geoff, and I ran to Target to get some odds and ends. We had eaten lunch already - but imagine my surprise when we found a Skyline Chili! Man - I wish I would have known! Anyways - back at our hotel, we went down to the beach - literally right across the street - steps from our elevator. It was a really nice location. The water was nice and warm - probably 92 degrees, and very calm and clear. Geoff liked it. Gary came out and swam with us, and Mom and Bobby came out for a little bit, too. For dinner, we all went to Tom Jenkins BBQ place Grant had read about. It was delicious! Then we went back to the hotel to finish laundry and pack. Saturday morning, we woke up and checked out. Mom, Bobby, Grant, Geoff, and I swung by Target to get some shirts for Bobby (he had accidentally washed his with chap stick and it was not coming out!). Then we met Gary at the cruise terminal. Gary and Grant took back their rental cars and we were ready to check in! Carnival Freedom, here we come!