Day Eight ~ St. Kitts

Last night before going to bed, we decided to sleep in and have a leisurely day in port shopping and hanging out on the ship.  We had planned to grab a taxi and head over to Carambola Beach Club.  And it would have been lovely.  The gang went there and LOVED it!  But I was so over sunned and really tired from yesterday, so a relaxing day it is.

I didn't wake up until 7:45.  We were already docked.  And people were already walking off by the time we were awake enough to go out on the balcony.  We watched Steve and Michaela running down the pier to not miss their excursion.  

We lazed around, got dressed and decided to have a leisurely breakfast in Portofinos.  I had heard the French toast was really good, so ordered that with bacon.  I had a slice of it, and it was really good.  And the bacon is always good.  And coffee.  Doug had an omelette and juice and milk.  

So after breakfast we headed over to the pier to do a bit of shopping.  First stop....pictures :)

I love this picture of Doug on the pier with St. Kitts behind him.

And sights from the pier :)

 We shopped a little bit and bought a few things and headed back to the ship.

The St. Kitts Harley shop.

We sat inside the little building after going through security and listened to the steel drum player.  I love steel drums.

We'd never been to the helipad, so we grabbed the camera and headed there next.

 I love this picture of the front of the ship.

 It was pretty windy, and I'm glad we went while the ship was docked and not moving.  The other times we tried to go up there, it was so windy.

 Then we changed into our swimsuits, I grabbed my book and we headed to the pool deck to find some comfy chairs and shade and quiet just hanging out together.  And of course we needed drinks!  I tried the drink of the day and found it too sweet, so I stuck with my favorite....frozen lemonade.  I'm sure Doug had a mango lava flow.  And at some point we headed into the Windjammer for lunch and brought it back to the pool deck.

Mike and Charlene were walking by and saw us, so sat and talked with us for a good while.  And then Bob and Joyce walked by and talked to us for a good while.  Steve and Michaela walked by and said hi and moved on to lunch and a swim in the Solarium.  I journaled and tried to read.  We sat at the pool for a while longer before I was just all peopled out, so we headed to the room for a nap.

I woke up a little after 3 and Doug was still sleeping.  I let him know I was going to the pool and to come up there for sail away if he wanted, grabbed my book and headed out.  I stopped at the WJ for a snack, then headed to the pool to listen to the band and sit in the sun and read for a while.

After a while Doug met me up there.  He went to the bar for sail away drinks; mudslide and mango lava flow, and we watched the line dancing class that was going on on deck.  The band played after that and we sipped drinks, listened to music and waited to leave St. Kitts and head back to NJ....not the happiest of sail aways, but it was the only one we were on the deck for.  It was fun.  And we had 3 fabulous sea days in front of us :)

We went to the room and got ready for dinner then went upstairs for drinks.  Long Island tonight.  Yeah baby.

I frequently asked Doug to hold my purse and sweater/wrap while I ran to the bathroom.  Mike and Charlene always walked by when he was doing that.  They gave him a HARD time!  So he posed with his bag and sweater.  He's a goof!

 Need a few drinks?

About 7:15 the four of us headed out for pictures before dinner.  We had a short wait for our table this night, but not too long.  I loved having the same table every night.

So tonight is a comedian at 9, so we let John know, and he made sure we were out in time.  Doug had fried mushrooms, strip steak and pear tart tonight.  I had the mushrooms, too.  They were yummy.  And a goat cheese and spinach pizza, which was awesome!  It was Bottom's Up worthy! But I couldn't eat all of that, and white chocolate cheesecake and coffee.  And the shooter didn't sound good to us, so Anil made us another of his own special recipes.  He called it an Hasta La Vista Baby, and it was YUM!  I don't know what all was in it, but I do know it had butterscotch schnapps and half and half. He brought us full glasses and refills and poured extra in my coffee.  

After dinner we hustled to the theater to find seats.  Mike and Charlene were going to save some for us, but it was crowded.  None of us sat together.  So we find a seat and the show starts, and about 15 minutes in, I was bored to tears and so we left.  

So we went to deck 3 and collected pictures, then we headed to the pool deck to check out the hot tubs.  They were closed.  So we went into the Solarium and one hot tub in there was open, but it was crowded.  We sat on the loungers by the pool and talked for a while, then decided maybe we'd swim.

So we went to the room to change into our suits, but by the time we got to the room, we had changed our minds and decided to stay in.  We found these sweet swans waiting for us on our bed.

 We ordered drinks and snacks and sat on the balcony for a long while talking and taking pictures of the moon.  It was a gorgeous, clear, calm, warm night.

It was a lovely day.  I enjoyed the slow pace of it.  I was starting to feel peopled out.  But we had 3 relaxing sea days to look forward to, and lots of time to rest and be together.  This really was a great day.  I really enjoy the walking on the deck at night with Doug and the night and nothing else.  And sitting on the balcony.  Mornings and evenings on the balcony, with Doug, are my favorite part of the cruise.

Day Nine ~ At Sea

Today Doug woke up before me and was sitting on the balcony taking pictures.  I missed the rainbow.  So glad he got a picture of it :)

Doug ran to the Concierge Lounge for coffee for me.  Thanks Babe!  We sat on the balcony...it's getting colder....time to bundle in the robe....and planned our day.  Next cruise planning, shopping, hanging at the pool, gathering pictures, dinner, Dizzy's, Maharajahs Lounge for big band night, maybe a nap.  Vacation is nearing an end, and we need to squeeze in as much as we can.....or at least it feels that way.  Definitely the pool because it could be the last hot day we have!

We headed down to the photo gallery to collect picture and buy the scrapbook kit.  We talked to the loyalty ambassador and then decided to hit the pool!  We were right, it's the last great day to be outside.  We spent the majority of the afternoon here.

Tonight is the 2nd formal night, so we left the pool to go get ready.  I took a long bath with a book and a glass of wine....another one of my favorite things about this cruise :)

So we headed for pictures and then dinner.  It's the lobster night...not my favorite.  Actually nothing was really great, and I left dinner hungry tonight.  

Mike and Charlene and us :)

And the photographers are also in the dining room!

We did pictures and then headed upstairs for drinks and appetizers.  I loved the upstairs!  Such a great perk!  Then on to dinner.

The main dining room was hopping tonight.  Lobster night and formal night and nearing the end of the cruise = busy dining room.

So like I said earlier, nothing on the menu appealed to me tonight.  I had poblano pepper soup, which tasted OK but the look of it reminded me of what I found in my baby's diaper.  I also had prime rib and baked Alaska for dessert.  I just wasn't feeling the beef.  The green beans were awesome!  And the baked Alaska was pretty much Neapolitan ice cream with browned meringue on it.  Ehh....not my favorite.

So after dinner Doug and I changed and headed to the Maharajas Lounge for big band night.  We were hoping to dance.  The band was awesome...but not stuff we like to dance to.  So we sat for about 30 minutes and watched other people and ordered drinks.

We then headed to Dizzy's and The Chamber and back up going back to the room to be alone.

Doug ran to the Cafe for pizza and cookies....because I was HUNGRY since I didn't really eat my dinner.  We sat on the balcony and had snacks and talked.  And like ya'll know.....it is one of my favorite parts of this trip....sitting alone with my sweetie.

Day Ten ~ At Sea

I slept until 8 this morning.  It was lovely.  Doug was already up and outta there.  He was going to a bridge tour with Steve, and they went to the Windjammer for breakfast before that.  He was sweet enough to get coffee for me from the Concierge Lounge before he left :)

I took my coffee out to the balcony to savor it, only it was raining.  It didn't last long though :)  And it's much cooler this morning :(  Very sad.  So I came in to have my coffee, and leftover pastries from yesterday, and watched the morning show, "Talking Turkey with Leigh and Erky".  These two were hilarious!

Doug took pictures at the bridge tour.

Mike and Charlene were there too.

While Doug was at the bridge tour I wandered around the ship.  It was wet and cool and I'm peopled out.

Doug met up with me and we headed to the Cafe.  Doug was talking to people, and I was peopled out, so I took my book and went to the Champagne Bar to be alone and read and not talk.  Eventually Mike, Charlene and Doug were ready for lunch, came by for me, and we headed to the dining room for the Tutti Salad :)  Yummy!

After lunch I left those three sitting there talking and went back to the room to nap.  Mid-afternoon the sun came out and even though it was cool, we headed to the pool for one last afternoon.  No Way it would be nice enough on the last sea day....in November.  And boy were we right!

We were getting ready for dinner when we realized we'd not taken one picture of the sunset.  So we ran out on the balcony to do that!

Then pictures....the last night they are doing pictures.  We were feeling pretty goofy.....Well, first it was sweet....kiss her cheek.....
Then give me a hug.  Only his arms were up too high, and the photographer told him to move his hands down.....I said, "You realize you're giving him permission to grab my rear, right?"Then back to being sweet.  They told me to kiss Doug's ear....only what is fun about that?

And one alone please?

And we went downstairs for the white pictures....where you are down on the floor.  Much easier in jeans and shorts!

And who doesn't want to have their picture taken with the fish?

We ate dinner in the Windjammer tonight.  Nothing on the menu looked appealing to me, and I didn't want to leave hungry from dinner two nights in a row.  Mike and Charlene had dinner with us, and Steve and Michaela showed up part-way through.

I was whooped and peopled out and it was going to be a long night ahead, so I went to the room to rest/have quiet for an hour or so before heading to the Quest!  

Do No Miss The Quest!

Waiting for the show to start!

Leigh.....our hilarious cruise director!

Erky from Turkey....his assistant

I'm not going to say much about the Quest, except that it is hilarious and not to be missed.  But I'll share a few pictures......

After the Quest was the Silent Party in The Chamber.  I loved this!  Everybody gets a pair of headphones.  Two channels are playing.....pick one or the other.  It's quiet in the room and you can talk.  It's hilarious to watch the people on the dance floor dancing to 2 different songs.  Doug and I did some dancing...thankfully we had on the same channel ;)

So we listened to music and had drinks.  And it's almost the end of the vacation, right, so we weren't holding back on the alcohol!

Mike and Charlene were having fun, too.

 Doug and DJ Savio really like each other!

I like him too :)

We also like Leigh!

About 1 or so hours into the silent party, they ran out of headphones.  So they had to just turn on the music.  And then it was loud.  And it was late.  Mike and Charlene had left by now.  Steve, Michaela, Doug and I weren't ready to end the party.  We decided it was a buttery nipple night.  Only The Chamber bar didn't have shot glasses.  Darnit all....they had to make our buttery nipples in champagne flutes.

We decided we needed some carbs to go with the alcohol, so we headed to the Cafe for pizza and cookies.  Joe and Sue were there, too.  And we all had a great time!  We were quite tipsy, and laughing and having a great time.  But all good things must come to an end, and we headed to our room.

Sue was telling us how she likes to ride in the elevator at midnight down to deck 1 and scare the people that change the day of the week in the elevator.  Which gave Doug the idea to turn the day of the week sign backwards in our elevator on the way to our room.  What a goof!  Somebody had fixed it by morning when I check.....

Back in the room we found our last towel animal.  A monkey.  Eleanore did the best face on this monkey!

It ended up being a great night!  The Quest was hilarious.  The Silent Party was Big Fun!  Hanging out with friends in the Cafe was a great time.

The captain let us know the next day would be rough, so we went to bed a little sad that tomorrow was the last day, and it wasn't going to be very nice.  So kind of melancholy after a fun, fun night.