Tim Holtz Caribbean Cruise Day 1, September 25 2011 - Set Sail at 4 PM

Sunday we take a 10:45 shuttle from Hampton in to the port where we can board our ship, Freedom of the Seas (Royal Caribbean). We can't get into our staterooms until 1, but we can have lunch in the Windjammer first. Off we go, having Fun already! Marilyn & Bev. :-)

Ahhh, WAY too much luggage for me! Bev brought 1 suitcase and a backpack. I brought 2 Large suitcases which were Supposed to be 1/2 empty each so I could bring things back. Before I left, I managed to fill them both to 45 pounds, Plus I had a rolling carryon and a bag for my 2 carryons. Ahhhh, I'll Never learn to pack reasonably! :-( But Somehow, I made it home only checking 1 extra duffel bag. Even I still can't figure out how I did That! LOL

Bev's legs & knees hurt quite a bit from "the spill", so she opts for a wheel chair, getting on the ship. A Great idea! I think what Bev missed Most was running up & down the stairs which she Always does! We can't bemoan Too Much though about not getting to the workout room (which was Amazing!!!) though............this cruise was going to be the one where we actually Did that. Nope. Didn't happen.....LOL

The map of the ship by each elevator. Even on my 3rd cruise, All on Royal Caribbean which are all similar..........I Still end up at the wrong end of the ship at Least 1/2 of the time! And I need to refer to this map Often during the cruise!

We follow a Carnival ship out of Port Canaveral. There is a Disney ship that will follow us out. I took a picture from the ship below of Grills where we had lunch. And also, a picture of the Canaveral lighthouse which is not accessible by land. It was hardly visible from the ship............but I took this picture with my new Canon SX230 which has a 14x zoom and image stabilization. This was fully zoomed and I can't Believe how clear the image really is for that much magnification. I Love this camera!

Once on the ship, we have the buffet lunch in the Windjammer, then walk around the upper deck to the other end of the ship where our room is, 8th deck, room 8556. There is a kids water fun pool at one end, the middle section has 2 pools, several hot tubs, and at the other end, the adult pool which is much deeper.

Above are the pools around 1 when people were either still not boarded, or still in the Windjammer. Below is the Real feel of the pools! Crowded! I have met more interesting people in the pools however. It is intimidating at first, but once you go ahead & take a loung right next to someone and/or get into the pool, people are friendly & it's fun to meet new people. :-)

We have a 5 PM Welcome gathering with Tim & everyone to meet, swap & kick the week off. First picture is Jim when I pointed the camera at him below:

Mario, Monica, Richele, Joy, Tim & Jim. My pictures in Pharohs Lounge didn't come out well. I hope someone else posts some more clear ones.

Andrea, Got Ya!!!! ;-) I just snapped my camera when you walked by (like U Do!) and it came out ok! I'd Love to see some of your pictures! :-)

We had a new dinner table on this cruise. Bev & I knew Lonnie & Marilyn would be at our table, but we did not know the other 6 people. And What a FUN Table it turned out to Be!!! I was not going to go to many dinners in the dining room....I was going to watch sunsets and spend evening time in the pool. But our table was so much Fun I was drawn to dinner. And Then.........this cruise, the dinner did Not take an hour and a half with 1/2 hour in between courses! That was just Too Long to sit at a table for me on the past 2. Things moved at a reasonable pace and that was wonderful too! I missed only one dinner in the dining room. I enjoyed the dinners Very Much! :-) Pix of our table below:

Martine and Christina, both from Australia. They had Horrifically LONG flights to get here to take the cruise! But buffered them a bit with an early stay in San Francisco for a couple of days, then a couple of days in Los Angeles before flying home. I am posting on Tuesday after the cruise returned on Sunday. They won't be home until Next Monday! Whew!!! This is why I haven't travelled overseas at all. I don't know How they Do It!

Lorraine & Pat, from Vancouver & Scottland, were also Much Fun! They have known each other for Many Years but more recently found they are distantly related! How Fun is That!? :-) They disembarked from this cruise, and the same day, boarded the Carnival ship and took another 4 day cruise in the Eastern Caribbean. We did the Western. I can't wait to hear their review of the other ship & cruise! What fun to have spontaneously have decided to do that!

Lonnie & Marilyn who I have known since the 2nd cruise to Mexico and last years cruise to Nova Scotia. Very Nice people and I had Much Fun getting to spend more time with them on the cruise!

Donna, Terrence & Christy. Most of my pictures of Donna & Christy didn't come out well. But it just seemed Fun that the one with Terrence (our head waiter) in it as I think he was in Love with Christy! She put him through hoops, didn't you Ms. Christy!? ;-) They are both from Boca Raton (??? Darn, I remembered which city all along, now that I am typing, all I can think of is N'Orlanz. ;-) How Much Fun we had with them! All Unabridged and Impossible not to just Laugh & Laugh. Yep, we were the loud laughing table! And I was the Only one at our table who drank! I wanted my evening Wine! Noone else had a drink that I saw until the last night! A tribute I think to the wonderful melding we did of people and personalities from all Over the world..............and I'll have great memories always.

Here is a picture of Christy and Donna at the final night farewell party. This is more clear than the ones I took in the dining room.

This picture below was just too much fun to not take. Lorraine ordered two desserts. We all Wanted to order 2 of Everything! LOL The food was Wonderful on this cruise!

Ahh, Juliana. And her boyfriend. :-) She started out so stiff & we thought she wouldn't be much fun. Then she Blossomed! She was so much Fun. And when we left the last night........she was right there hugging us all as we hugged each other. She would be a great person to be part of our group. But off she went, the day we docked, on her next hard working tour. I am Amazed at what those people who work on the ship manage to accomplish! It is Hard Work! Some present themselves as "Wanting to do Everything for you" in a tone. Others, like Juliana, let her personality come out She participated, and didn't just read the requirements of RC. She was (is) a special person.

And although this sunset picture is out of order, since the sunsets were During dinner...................it seemed like the perfect picture to end a perfect day.