Day 7 Last Day at Sea on Mardi Gras

This morning started with breakfast in the Palm Restaurant. Seas have been choppy this morning.during breakfast at the Palm Restaurant, there was an announcement made that there would be a stop at Princess Cay for a person on-board who needed medical care. The announcement said it was not COVID related. So we will make a brief stop for the person(s) to disembark and we will continue back on our way to Port Canaveral to arrive tomorrow morning. That is one of the reasons for travel insurance.  You will be able to cover a large part of the cost associated with any medical necessities during your cruise. 

After breakfast, we went to deck 19 so we could see the serenity adult-only deck below on 18 and to see the ultimate playground. While there, we played a fun game of miniature golf. It was so much fun. Vaughn even made a hole-in-one on hole 7! 

The ultimate playground included a water play area, water slides, zip-line, rope ladder, a jogging track, Bolt (the first roller coaster at sea, and a basketball court.

After that excitement, we went to choose our photos for our photo package. We also had professional photos done on the ship and we had to get some of them too. All I will say is, make sure you have money for photos because you will love most, if not all of them. If you can, get a photo package before the cruise to save money. We got the 10 pack and and managed to narrow it down to 11 photos. Our professional photos were very expensive (an expense we had not planned on). We were able to get a few of them too. They were all beautiful!

So, budget for photos and any alcohol you purchase on the ship.

Now it is time to eat and relax on this last day at sea. 

I had to go to my pizzeria one last time.

The weather outside was rainy and gloomy. That was how I felt knowing I would have to get off the ship first thing in the morning. 

But, after every rain storm, there is a reminder of a promise...

Rainbows at sea are beautiful because you see it in its entirety. It is just one reminder of Jehovah God's promises. The oceans boarders are another.

All in all, we enjoyed our cruise and anniversary celebration. It also gave me an opportunity to see how things work on the ship now. I am better prepared to assist clients so they will know what to expect. 

So when you are ready to cruise or vacation or just plan a weekend getaway,  I hope you will give me the opportunity to serve you.

Day 5 Amber Cove, Dominican Republic

After we had our breakfast at the Marketplace, it started raining. But, by the time we got to deck 3 to get off the ship, the rain had stopped, for the moment. We got off and explored the circular shops there.

We did get our passports stamped, which was an added treat. After some shopping, we went to Coco Cana to get a taste of how meals are prepared in the DR. 

We ordered a sample platter of coconut shrimp, calamari, chicken thighs and ham croquettes served with yucca sticks. 

They also gave us three dipping sauces to try. The staff was friendly and the food was good. I hadn't tried yucca or ham croquet so it was good to taste some new flavors.

While we were eating the "bottom fell out" again. For those who don't know, that means it started raining hard. So we ate more slowly to see if the rain would stop so we could head back to the boat. 

When we finished, the rain had stopped and we headed back to the ship. 

When we got back, we headed to the room to drop off purchases and regroup for what was next.

Vaughn went off to another trivia while I stayed in and rested my back. It was interesting that there was a pharmacy on the island that sold some items we need to have a prescription for as over the counter items (Tylenol 3 with codeine, flexoril, 800 MG Tylenol and other drugs). 

As I write this post, I am on the balcony and it is raining yet again. There are extended balconies below me that would get rained on if they were sitting out. So I am thankful to be located where we are. I am looking out at balconies of a Holland America ship. I spoke to a lady that was sailing and she said it was her absolute favorite line to sail on and she had tried them all! Since I haven't sailed on them, I will have to check them out and see if I like them.

There are some things I do not like about this ship. Making dinner reservations is one of them. But as Vaughn and I discussed, when you have 6,000 people on a ship, you have to do things differently. It's just different from other cruises I have taken. 

Another thing I do not like, and this is not the first time this has been a Carnival design, if you are on the deck near the casino and need to get to something on the other side, you have to walk thru the casino. For one who does not like cigarette smoke, I was not happy to have to do that. Maybe they should have the casino on the side, with its own door, so you won't have to go thru it or can walk around another way to get to your destination. 

So, here on the balcony, the rain has stopped, oh wait, it just started again! And harder this time. Hopefully it will be better weather tomorrow in Grand Turk. If not, I brought rain gear for just-in-case. Looks like that was a good call.