Last Day at Sea - Friday April 29, 2016 and back in port April 30th

After we left  Cozumel, we  sailed all night and day to reach the Port of Tampa on Saturday, the 30th.  We again explored some of the ship's decks and also took refuge in our cabin to  pass the time. We were ready to get back and start our journey home.

Friday morning on the uppermost deck.  Bob had to hold on to the rail to keep from blowing off.  Winds were probably in excess of 30 mph.

 

 

 

 

 I thought my pigtails were going to fly off.  There was a miniature golf course on this deck, but it was impossible to play with the wind.

 

A "foot selfie"...a photo shoot I invented 20 years ago before selfies were popular  (and when my feet were probably less wrinkled!).

Bob at the roulette wheel.  Lady Luck was not at his side.

Our final towel animal visitor was  a gorilla hanging from the air conditioner vent.

Sunset at sea

To our great delight, our long time friends from Bonita, Jack and Angie, met us at Tampa for a short visit.  Their son, Jeremy, lives there, and after visiting with us and later him, they met with their daughter and her family in Bradenton.  We have known Jack and Angie since 1997. They were the ones who encouraged us to do a travel blog back in 2010.  We can't thank them enough for that.  It was great to  see them, and a wonderful way to end our trip!  Hey, guys, there is life after insurance!  :-)

 

 

 

Next stop, Cozumel, Mexico - Thursday April 28, 2016

The ship took off from the Caymans around 4 pm and again sailed all night to land in Cozumel around 7 a.m. Thursday.  Since the ship was in port, we didn't need a tender to get to land.  We had decided to not take any excursions.  (Years ago, we had taken one to the Mayan ruins in Tulum on the mainland in  Playa del Carmen which was  absolutely magnificent.)  We embarked and strolled through the market place which was not the same area as we had been before.  Bob was hoping to find a leather vest, but none of the vendors had any, although they were over zealous in trying to sell us something...anything..."buy, buy, buy"... "spend, spend, spend".  After walking thru several streets and stopping at various stores, we did get some souvenirs,  then we returned to the cruise ship around 2 pm.  Most folks were still on shore, and not due back until 7:30, so we virtually had the boat to ourselves...which turned out to be one of the highlights of the trip.



Mayan "natives", a mermaid, and a pirate on stilts waited our arrival

Bob at  the port plaza before walking into town.

One of me at the plaza, too.  Reason nothing looked familiar to us is that we were further south on the island than we had been before. The folks behind me were trying to decide if the little turtle they saw in the pond was real or not.  Final verdict: real

 

Bob at the open market

This photo was taken outside a Carl's Jr.  How would you like to buy two of their biscuits for $35?  That was the cost in Mexican pesos, which would be about $2 American.  Carl's Junior in Mexico?  Where's Taco Bell???

Believe it or not, this is a hot spot for many female tourists...a  pedicure performed by fish nibbling at your feet.  Oh, I can just see cousin Adele or SIL Bev doing this (NOT!)  Although I love foot massages, even I was not tempted to try this.

The seat above the pedicure fish tank.  We had no idea what kind of fish were in there...hopefully not piranha!

We needed to take a break from the walk and the sun, and stopped at a little café where Bob could have a bit to eat, a margarita and me some bottled water.

Fortified, we made the mile trek back to the ship.

Back on board, I enjoyed being the only one in the hot tub...

 

..and braving the two story walk up to the water slide...

and the plunge...I was forewarned to hold my nose before entry.

 

All passengers were supposed to be back on ship by 7:30 pm, and we were scheduled to leave by 8.  We were delayed, but didn't know why until Bob heard a siren and said he thought a police car or ambulance was heading to the ship.  It was an ambulance that unloaded a female passenger.  No idea if she was drunk, had heat stroke, was bitten by a shark or what.  The mooring  ropes were finally untied  and we took off.  Earlier one of the crew had said the cruise line has to pay for time in port, and each minute they are delayed costs them big bucks. 

One of the land excursions offered was a swim with sting rays, plus the added attraction of having one put on your back.  Uh, no thank you.  But, Habibi, our room steward, thought we might like a sting ray to greet us when we returned.

 

 

 

 

Grand Cayman Island - Wednesday April 27, 2016

The ship arrived at the Cayman Islands around 7 am Wednesday morning.  We had booked an excursion for the 7 mile tiki beach trip.  It was lucky that once again we were ahead of schedule.  The tender to the mainland took off an hour earlier than it was supposed to.  Unfortunately, we were disappointed with this stop.  This part of the island looked exactly like Naples or Marco Island in Florida with multitudes of high rise condos, and the 7 mile beach was almost exactly like what could be found at the Naples Beach Club or  Doc's Beach House.  We did enjoy the unlimited rum drinks and Cayman brewed beer, and an ample beach bar-b-que of jerkied chicken, hot dogs, burgers, salads and sides. 

Although we didn't know it until we arrived back to Tampa on Saturday, our family was blessed with another member...cousins Joe & Barbara's 4th youngest, John, and his wife Christie had a baby boy: Nicholas Paul weighed in at 9 pounds, 6 ounces and was 20 and 3/4 inches.  I'm sure he will have a good football career ahead of him like his dad, and maybe turn out to be a Clemson alumnus, too.

Me and a pirate of the Carribean

A cayman on the Cayman dock

The 7 mile beach.   This part was reserved for the Disney cruisers.

Our section of the beach

Something that was different than the beaches in Florida--the chickens and roosters that strutted around.

Yep, looks like the Gulf at Bonita.  Bob had gone in and got his legs sucked into the soft sand and hurt his knee trying to pull his foot out.  Another lady complained about the urchins on the bottom.  I was content to just look.

Bob just had to have some conch fritters.

A praying bunny was there for us when we got back to the ship.

 



Day at sea and 30th anniversary - April 26, 2016

We were at sea all day and night on Tuesday, the 26th.  We spent the day checking out the various decks and casino, and relaxing in our cabin and on the balcony away from the crowds.

 

Looking up at the 3 storied atrium

 Feeding the slots.  We didn't have any luck at all!

Daniel, one of the servers, mugging with Bob while the waiters sang, "That's Amore"

One of our dinner companions had told the waiters that this was our 30th anniversary, and we were surprised with a piece of cake with candles for us to blow out and make a wish.

Froggy was waiting for us when we got back to our room.

 





Setting Sail - April 25, 2016

Boarding the cruise was supposed to begin at 1 pm.  Being nervous nellies, we got to the port about 9:45...way ahead of schedule, but found that we could drop off our luggage.  We then went to the long term parking lot across the street, and by 11 we were able to board the ship.  Check in went smoothly, except for Bob being frisked when he set off the metal detector due to wearing his knee brace.  I couldn't get to my camera fast enough to capture that moment.  We were due to set sail at 4.

 



Enjoying a cold one on the Lido deck while waiting for our room to be ready.

 

 

Bob checking out a map of the ship's decks while waiting in port.

 

 

                                                       The mandatory life boat drill before casting off.  The guy

 with the red hat pretty much summed up how we felt.

Bob wanted to "wow" me by booking a stateroom with a private balcony, and that he did.

The room and balcony were our oasis for the entire trip.

The in-room tv had a few channels dedicated to information about the cruise, one of which was a live cam from the uppermost deck.  Data included ship speed, water depth, and distance travelled.

Relaxing with a pre-dinner cocktail

Each evening when we returned to our cabin after dinner, we were greeted by a towel animal created by our delightful room steward.

Sunset in the Gulf  four hours from port

 











Start of celebration of #30 - April 23 -25 2016

Back in November, we decided to book a cruise to celebrate our 30th anniversary on April 26, 2016.  Bob found one leaving from Port of Tampa on April 25th, sailing to the Grand Cayman Island and Cozumel.  I had always wanted to see the Caymans, so it was a perfect getaway.  We had been on 2 previous cruises 18 and 20 years ago, both of which docked at Cozumel.  It was touch and go for a long time due to Bob's continued poor health as to whether or not we would be able to go on the cruise, but a couple of weeks before we were to sail, he got the green light.

Since we were leaving from Tampa, which is about 600 miles from us, we decided to make the trip in two days and visit with Bob's son, David and his family in Groveland, FL, and also pay respects to Bob's brother Leonard at the National Veterans Cemetery in Bushnell before heading for the Port.

 



 

Amanda, David's better half, with two (and a leg) of their three dogs who love the open floor plan in their new home.

 

Bob's grand daughters, Emily age 15 on the left and Chelsea, soon to be 19, on the right.  Chelsea was gussied up for her final cheerleading banquet.  She has participated in competition gymnastic cheerleading since she was about 8, but with her turning 19, she is no longer eligible.

  

Bob locates Leon's stone.

You are dearly missed, Leon.