COVID-19 Crushed our Carnival Cruise

A new year, a new cruise countdown. Jim and I were looking forward to our cruise on the Carnival Freedom I booked on November 15, 2019. We were branching out from the typical 5 or 7 night cruise and would be going on an 8-night cruise to Key West, Freeport, Half Moon Cay, and Nassau. This would be the second cruise that did not go to Cozumel. And although it seemed strange to not going there, we were looking forward to a much different itinerary.

Everything was going along like normal. I was looking at possible excursions but not booking anything. Just looking to get an idea on things we might want to do in the different ports would be going to. And I may have been doing some Amazon shopping as well. But for some reason, I was not shopping as much as I normally would.

February came around. Jim tested positive for the Flu and I had recovered from it. Ryan Newman had an horrific crash at the end of the Daytona 500 which he survived and has returned to racing. If you saw the crash, you know that he definitely had an angel riding with him during that time.

But there had been news reports about COVID-19, the Corona Virus. At a routine check-up with my doctor, he told me not to go on any cruises. I told him that we had one booked for August 29th. So, after much discussion, we decided to keep our cruise and see how things worked out.

Then cruises started getting cancelled by ALL cruise lines when the CDC established a no-sail rule. I was starting to get concerned about the fate of our cruise, but I decided that whatever was to happen would happen. I stopped shopping for the cruise and started concentrating on other areas of our life. Particularly my mother who resides in an assisted living facility. The facility immediately blocked all visitors from the facility. At least I knew she would be safe from the virus. Or would she.

On April 13, 2020, Carnival extended the cruise pause to June 27th. I felt relieved but not convinced that we would cruise. I was still not shopping for the cruise and my level of scoping possible excursions dropped drastically. But I did start looking at options for a cruise for next year, just in case! I picked out three cruises for August 2021 that I felt would be comparable to the cruise we had booked, printed out the options, and left the options on the refrigerator for Jim and I to look at and consider.

Option #1 is a cruise on the Carnival Dream leaving Galveston on August 28, 2021. It is an 8-night cruise with the same itinerary we already have booked. The pros, it is an itinerary we have not gone on. The cons, we were on this ship last year. We like the idea of going on a ship we have not been on but we will consider it as an option.

Option #2 is a cruise on the Carnival Radiance leaving Galveston on August 20, 2021. It is a 9-night cruise going to Key West, Grand Turk, Half Moon Cay, and Nassau with four sea days!. The pros, it will be a ship we have not been on and has recently been thru a dry-dock. The cons, I’m not sure there are any. This cruise option is definitely high on our list!

Option #3 is also on the Carnival radiance leaving Galveston on August 6, 2021. It is also a 9-night cruise but will be going to Grand Cayman, Mahogany Bay, Belize, Costa Maya, and Cozumel with three sea days. The pros are the same as option #2. The cons, we have already been to all of the cruise ports with the exception of one, Costa Maya. Although we have no objections to going to ports we have already visited, we are really looking forward to something new and different for us.

Jim and I would periodically look at the cruise options but didn’t give it much thought. That is until around June 19th. Rumors had started making their way onto the group cruise page. I started looking at stateroom options for all 3 cruises so I could have an idea of what we might want. Since the cruise I booked for this year is in an interior with walkway view, I thought it would see what is available for the same category stateroom as well as balcony staterooms. Once Jim got home from work. I told him he had to make his decision then. No waiting. Once he told me his choice, we discussed staterooms. We could have the same category or we could go with our preferred choice of a balcony on Lido.

So Jim decided on Option 2!!! In looking at the stateroom options, I noticed that there were “L-shaped” balcony staterooms available on deck 7. I put one on hold knowing that it would expire in a couple of days. I started holding my breath until the pause extension was officially announced on Monday June 22nd. I immediately called my PVP and left a message on his voice mail and I also sent him an email asking him to call me ASAP as I already knew what I wanted to do.

Much to my surprise, he contacted me by email within a couple of hours and said he would call me shortly. And he did!!! We were able to transfer our booking to the Carnival Radiance leaving Galveston on August 20, 2021. We are booked in the L-shaped balcony I want. The money we paid for the original cruise transferred to our new booking, obviously without penalty, and we received a nice on-board credit.

B79146BA-6C8A-42AC-8C6F-D7C1FADC98AD
Now we are back to a very long cruise countdown. And I’m okay with that!!! I have once again started looking at excursions but I’m going to wait until closer to the cruise to start my shopping. Well, I might book one excursion in a couple of weeks. I guess we will just have to wait and see!!!

8C1C363B-877F-44BC-9911-6E1777889422

Countdown to Carnival Freedom – Issue #2 We are parking somewhere different!

D623873C-1947-4BB4-9F7B-FA3DF1C37162
With 175 days until our cruise, I finally decided to start researching our parking options for this cruise. Now, this is not our first time to cruise out of Galveston. This will be our ninth cruise leaving from this port! So we are aware of all the options that our out there.

For this cruise, I initially was deciding between EZ Cruise Parking and Galveston Park N Cruise. EZ Cruise Parking has the option of parking with shuttle to the port or park and walk to the port while Galveston Park N Cruise is strictly park in walk. We have EZ Cruise Parking four times and Galveston Park N Cruise three times and, for the most part, have been happy with Both. But this time, after posting the weekly countdown to the Facebook group page for this cruise, I decided to look into a couple of different options. Port Parking and Port of Galveston parking.

The first cruise parking lot that has become our favorite due to its location is Galveston Park N Cruise, galvestonparkncruise.com. It is located at 2514 Strand Street and is a very easy walk across the street to Cruise Terminal #1. The street to the cruise terminal is protected with a light so there is no need to dodge cars while crossing! Galveston Park N Cruise offers two options: indoor parking or outdoor parking. For this cruise, the rates are:

Outdoor: $111.90

Indoor: $129.20

There is no shuttle to the port which is fine with us. We have no problem walking to the cruise terminal.

EZ Cruise parking was the next parking facility we considered, ezcruiseparking.com. It is located at 2727 Santa Fe Place and is also an easy walk to Terminal #1 but not easy from terminal #2 which we found out last year on our Carnival Dream cruise. EZ Cruise Parking offers two options: park and walk or park with shuttle. Both options are outdoors but the do offer an option of a car cover for an additional $10. The base rates before taxes and fees for this facility are:

Park and walk: $92.02 (prepaid booking)

Park and shuttle $97.43 (prepaid booking)

The routinely have a promo code you can use that is typically $5.00.

Since we are aware that this cruise will start at terminal 2, we know the walk will not be easy. We also know that the shuttle to and from the terminal has been slow. On one cruise, we were so tired and frustrated waiting on a shuttle that we walked to the port. This is one reason we tried the park and walk option on our last cruise. On this cruise, we decided that this would not be an option for us. At least not for this cruise.

Port Parking was the next to be considered, portparking.com. Located at 202 37th Street, at the corner of Harborside, we have driven past this parking facility several times, we never really took it into consideration mostly due to the location. It was highly recommended on our Facebook group cruise page so I decided to look into it a little more deeply. This facility offers three options: outdoor parking with shuttle, indoor parking with shuttle, or indoor park and walk. Personally, I would not use the park and walk option. I do not think my lungs could handle the walk but I did consider the shuttle options.

The rates for this cruise are:

Outdoor with shuttle: $108.25

Indoor with shuttle: $108.25

Indoor park and walk: $92.02.

I will say that I was surprised that the price for indoor and outdoor were the same. I did hear great things about this facility and the shuttle service so it was a contender.

Another facility I briefly looked at was Falstaff Cruise Parking located at 3402 Church Street, falstaffcruiseparking.com. I had seen this one used by frequent cruiser Life With Favor. Since it is one that she used I decided I would at least look at it. It is indoor parking, and is just a bit further to the port than Port Parking. So look I did but quickly decided against it…

Parking: $85.00

Shuttle to pier: $15.00

Total price after taxes and fees: $115.83

I probably would have given it more consideration if they did not have a separate charge for the shuttle. Definitely not close enough to walk in my opinion. I will definitely give it consideration on future cruise, but not this one and not with the payment structure. I would rather see the parking and shuttle be inclusive instead of separate.

The last option I looked at is Port of Galveston parking, portofgalveston.com We used this on our first cruise out of Galveston. Sense then, we have broaden our horizons and look at and use others. Port of Galveston has 2 options, parking lot and parking garage. I always thought there was only the one lot option so I was excited to see another option. The parking lot option offers a shuttle while the parking garage is directly across the street and an easy walk to Terminal 1 or 2. Although there is a walkway leading from the garage to the pier, I fully understand that it is not accessible. The rates for both seem competitive:

Parking Lot B: $92.00 (after fees and taxes with a $5.00 discount for prepaid online booking). Located at 224 23rd Street.

Parking Garage: $122.00 (after fees and taxes with a $5.00 discount for prepaid online booking). Located at 150 Rosenberg.

Since we like to be adventurous, we decided to try Port of Galveston garage parking!!! I will give a full review of the parking when we return from our cruise in September.

So the cruise is booked, hotel has been booked, and now parking has been reserved and paid for. What’s next???? Time to start my packing lists!

200-Day Countdown to Carnival Freedom, Patiently waiting for our 8-night cruise, issue #1

9DE523EE-5506-42AD-B3D6-4925648E586B

Although this cruise was actually booked months ago, I have been in a funk, so to speak. Typically at this stage, I would already have our hotel booked, parking reservation made, and started planning the clothes we will be taking. But for some reason, I just have not been able to get into it like I normally do. That is until today which is actually 198 days away!

What changed??? Well, I always look for good deals on hotel rooms and I have always been able to find good deals on Hotels.com. But for some reason, the prices have been more than I want to pay for one night stay. We prefer to stay at Quality Inn as we have always had a good experience there. We have also had pre-cruise stays at The Commodore and used bonus time at Silverleaf Seaside Resort (now Holiday Inn Vacation Club Seaside Resort… don’t get me started about this). Since prices are more than I care to pay, we started looking at possibly staying in Kemah for the night. I’m basically a creature of habit. I ALWAYS stay the night before a cruise in Galveston and have dinner at The Original Mexican Cafe. I just could not wrap my head around staying somewhere other than Galveston. Today, I decided to check Priceline.com to see if their prices were any different and I am so glad I did. I booked a room for one night at Scottish Inn. The room is prepaid for and there is no cancellation for this booking. We are locked in for our stay!!! The best part is the price difference between the two websites was $36.00. I try to save money anywhere I possibly can!!!!

We have friends that stay there often pre-cruise and have had no problems. I like that it is off the beaten path yet convenient for our needs. By that I mean that it is close to The Original Mexican Cafe and not far from the cruise terminal.

So now, all that is left is to book the parking. I’m 98% certain that I will be booking our parking with ezcruiseparking.com for this cruise. We used it on our Carnival Dream cruise last year and the only drawback for us was the walk to the car after the cruise. But, for the price, we are willing to make the walk again. We like being able to walk to the cruise terminal before and after the cruise and our preferred parking is approximately $40. more.

I also need to start making lists!!! One good thing is that I do not need any new clothes and we do not need any new luggage. I may have gone a little overboard last year, LOL!!!! Hopefully this year we will not leave our 12-packs of coke at home!!!!

Happy New Year! 2019 in review.

Happy New Year. I hope everyone had a wonderful time over the holidays.

I thought I would have my first blog of the year 2020 be a review of the highs and lows of 2019 that I encountered.

It seems that my life was rather boring during the first half of the year, but things really picked up when the countdown to our August Carnival Dream cruise got near. Of course, things were really busy leading up to the cruise and we truly enjoyed our time away. I plan on doing a more in depth review of our cruise including the scrapbook pages I will be making to coincide with this cruise.

Immediately following this cruise, sometime in late August, early September, my mother fell in her apartment while trying to reach something in the cabinet above the refrigerator. It is important to know that my mother has vascular dementia and she definitely does not think things through. By this I mean, she was using a dining room chair with rollers to try to reach whatever it was that she was looking for and fell. She finally told me about her fall several days later when her back was hurting her so bad, she could not stand the pain. I took her to the emergency room to be evaluated and she ended up there for several days then transferred to a rehab facility. Needless-to-say, she has now been moved to an assisted living facility less than a mile from the house. Definitely the first low point of the year.

At least the month of September ended with a celebration for my youngest granddaughter’s 3rd birthday! She is just so precious to us.

Then October rolled around and my husband had another birthday. So what did we do? We spent time cleaning out my mothers old apartment!!! It was a family affair and it took a lot of work. I can honestly say my house is busting at the seems. Well, at least my craffice is, LOL

Up next for October, my one and only grandson broke his arm. His right arm. The one he uses for everything. He was definitely a trooper during the entire experience and we are so grateful that he did not have to have surgery. Being the Mimi that I am, I immediately went to the store and got him one of the large pie size cookies for him to enjoy.

Unfortunately, October didn’t end so well as my first granddaughter had to have an emergency appendectomy. And to make matters worse for her and her mother (my daughter) was very sick and not able to take her to the hospital. I was more than happy to take her and make sure she got the proper care she needed. The procedure was done as an outpatient so she was able to go home after she started to come out of the anesthesia.

99CD336E-15A4-465F-81F5-2FAFD73E93A2

On November 15th, I booked another cruise. This time we will be going on an 8-night cruise on the Carnival Freedom. I was so excited to book this cruise and I was able to keep it a secret until we had family birthdays with his family on November 17th. I asked his sister Sharon to give him a folder that had the cruise information in it. He had no idea. This will be the second cruise we have gone on that does not go to Cozumel. But it is also an itinerary we have never done.

2483BEF7-9B4C-47EE-8ABD-E7B80A0220FD

Thanksgiving was spent decorating my mothers apartment for Christmas while she was at her sister’s apartment. I am so happy she loved how everything turned out. I made the garlands that were on her front door and over her windows.

What is December without taking your fur babies to have a picture made with Santa???? Somehow I didn’t get very many pictures of Christmas, but I do know that we had a wonderful day spent with family.

1F4752E8-9EF5-4231-AF99-D9FA64BD938F

Which brings us to today. And the only thing I can say about today is that I have re-started Noom. And I had to work. But that’s ok. I love my job. My plans for the new year are to work on scrapbook pages, take more pictures, and enjoy every day.

Carnival Dream 2019 – Precruise#7: Evening Attire

First, let me apologize for this blog being late. Sunday we celebrated my mother’s birthday and I had my daughter take some pictures of my husband and I in our evening attire. While the pictures came out okay, I wasn’t happy with the way some of the clothes made me look so I had to re-think a couple of outfits. Which meant I had to retake photos. I will post the ones my daughter took but please be kind. It was hot, the clothes still need to be ironed, and there was a party going on inside my mothers very small apartment. Now, on with the post!!!!

We are 6 weeks away from sail-away!!!! The next 42 days will go by very fast and I feel like I still have a lot to do!!! Clothes need to be ironed. Others need to go to the cleaners. And of course, there is still the stop at Spec’s for our champagne and wine we will be carrying on board!!!!

There is something you should know about me before I continue. I love to get dressed for dinner. Not necessarily over-the-top dressed up, but something I would not consider wearing after dinner. So, after dinner I change into something more comfortable for any situation such as mini golf, movies under the stars, piano bar cocktails, or giving money to the casino. Most nights, with the exception of the first night, I will have 2 evening outfits. I’m old and set in my ways so please bear with me.

Dinner the first night usually means the photography staff will come to each table and take your picture with a pirate!!!! Since we are celebrating the 17th anniversary of our honeymoon cruise, we will not be wearing the clothes we wear when we take our embarkation photo. Instead, we will wearing something casual and comfy. This is our choice… okay, it’s my choice and it is what we WILL be doing, LOL! Tonight I will be wearing an asymmetrical top in shades of blue, turquoise, and white with a pair of white capris, white sandals, and a necklace and earrings in a shade of turquoise. Jim will be wearing khaki’s and a light green golf shirt. My top and capris are from Steinmart, sandals are from Amazon, and the necklace and earrings are from BaubleBar. Jims shirt is from Amazon. He’s had his pants for so long, I do not know where they are from. Could be Dillards, could be Ross, and it could be Burlington’s. I just do not know about any of his pants or shorts. I can only account for this golf shirts!!!!

Cruise Elegant Night!!!!! I love this night!!! I like to be able to get dressed up since I rarely do it at home and I definitely do not do it for work. Tonight I will be wearing a white one shoulder jumpsuit and a pair of black heels, both from Venus.com. The jewelry I will be wearing is a black and gold braided necklace I found on Amazon and some black earrings I picked up at Charming Charlie. Jim will be wearing a blue and white shirt and navy slacks or maybe his khaki slacks. We will be dressy but not formal by any stretch of the imagination.

After dinner I will be wearing a tan colored halter with some bling to it and black capris I purchased at Venus.com. The earrings I will be wearing were purchased at one of those jewelry home show things, but I do not remember which one. I will also be wearing black flip-flops. I will need some comfy shoes after wearing heals for a few hours!!!! Jim will be changing into a red golf shirt and shorts.

Recovering from a day in Cozumel means light, comfy clothes that is something we would wear out to dinner if we were at home. I will be wearing a cream colored top from StitchFix that I am pairing with a tan and white very narrow stripe capris that I purchased at Steinmart. Tan sandals are from Amazon. Earrings from BaubleBar and necklace from Amazon. Jim will be wearing a gray golf shirt from Amazon with a pair of slacks.

After dinner I will be changing into my white capris and a blue and white stripe top with pink flamingos. Of course I will be wearing white flip flops I bought at DSW. And lets not forget the pink flamingo earrings from BaubleBar and the pink flamingo necklace from Charming Charlie. Jim will switch his slacks for a pair of shorts!

Since we have no plans for Progreso, I have chosen this night for a dinner in the steakhouse. This will be our first time to go to the steakhouse that Carnival Cruise Line has. I am beyond excited to do it on this cruise!!! I will be wearing a navy floral maxi dress from StitchFix, with pink wedges from Payless Shoe Source, a necklace with a pink drop that I think I purchased from Charming Charlie online, and pink earrings from BaubleBar. Jim will be wearing either a teal golf shirt from Amazon or a short sleeve button down shirt and slacks. Maybe you can help us decide which one he should wear.

After dinner I will be changing into a blue, black, and white halter and black capris along with black drop earrings and black flip flops. Jim will be changing into shorts and depending on which shirt he wears to dinner, he might be changing into a golf shirt as well.

Our last dinner on the ship is always so sad for me. But that doesn’t mean I will not dress comfortably. Tonight I am planning on wearing a white and blue stripe jumpsuit I purchased at Steinmart with white sandals from Amazon. The jewelry I will be wearing is also from Steinmart. Jim will be wearing a blue and white stripe golf shirt from Amazon and slacks.

No doubt, after dinner we will be changing one last time. I will be changing into a pair of blue capris from Steinmart and a tropical print halter from Venus.com, White flip flops and blue earrings will round out my after dinner outfit. Jim will obviously change into a pair of shorts.

For my own peace of mind, I am also taking a couple of dresses should I decide I do not want to wear the dinner outfits I have selected. Both dresses were purchased at Steinmart. At least I will have an option for the drive home after the cruise and the force us off the ship.

The first dress is a navy tank top dress with a gold anchor on it that come just below my knees. If you know me, you know I love anchors!!!! I will be wearing it with navy canvas shoes from Target, gold earrings, and white bracelet with an anchor on it and another bracelet with a blue and white anchor all from Charming Charlie.

The other dress is a bit over the knees and very flows beautifully. It is a precious tropical type print and I will be wearing it with gold earrings and my white sandals.

On the drive home, Jim will be wearing a blue golf shirt and shorts. Please note that this is the last golf shirt I have packed for him!!!

As you can see, I am definitely an over-packer. But this time, if I have planned everything correctly, I should only be coming home with one outfit that I did not wear.

Next week, precruise blog #8 will be what we have in our first aid kit.

Carnival Dream 2019 – Precruise #6: Daytime attire.

We are down to 7 weeks precruise!!! I have a very specific way to selecting my clothing for a cruise. This includes writing down every day and dividing it by day and evening. I do this in hopes of not over-packing, but I still do. So this blog post will concentrate on what I will be wearing during the day beginning with the first sea day.

On the first sea day, which is sometimes referred to the first full cruise day, I know my hubby and I will be going to the Sea Day Brunch so I will definitely be dressed casually knowing that after brunch, I will be running to our stateroom to change in to my swimsuit so I can soak up some sun. Today I will be wearing a white t-shirt with VACATION across the front. It is a v-neck with a criss-cross design, some pinkish shorts, a rose-gold with pink and crystals necklace and earring set and flip flops. The shirt was in a Stitch Fix box from last year, the shorts are a recent purchase from Steinmart, the jewelry is from Amazon, and the flip flops are from DSW I made last year.

On our second full cruise day, we will be docking in Cozumel. We have been there so many times and we know exactly what we want to do. Today I will be wearing a pink t-shirt that says FIESTA THEN SIESTA, some denim shorts, flamingo earrings and necklace, and black blingy flip flops. The shirt was purchased last year from Old Navy, denim shorts were in a Stitch Fix box from last year, flamingo earrings are from BaubleBar, flamingo necklace is from Charming Charlie, and flip flops were purchased years ago from Academy.

The third full cruise day will find us in Progreso. This will be our fifth time here (I think). The only thing we are planning on doing is shopping around the pier then returning to the ship to explore and take pictures. And also to spend time in the sun and on the water slides. Today I will be wearing a green t-shirt, floral patterned shorts, a palm leaf necklace with gold earrings, and the blingy black flip flops. The shirts and shorts were purchased from Old Navy, the necklace and earrings are from Charming Charlie.

On our last day on the ship, a sea day, I will be wearing a navy shirt with criss cross v-neck, navy shorts with white anchors, a white beaded necklace with white earrings, and white flip flops. The shirt is from Amazon, the shorts are from Steinmart, the necklace was in a Stitch Fix box last year, and the earrings are from Charming Charlie.

As for my husband, he will be wearing a selection of shirts I have chosen for the daytime and shorts. I do not know where the shirts or shorts are from.

There is a good chance this could change as I am currently looking at options on Amazon!!! I guess I was giving myself false hope of having finished my Amazon shopping!

The next blog, precruise #8 will have our evening attire which includes what I will be wearing for dinner and what I may or may not change into after dinner. That all depends on our plans!!!

One More Time #8 and #9: Daily Food and Fitness

Day #8… I obviously lost my mind somewhere along the line and did not post this day’s adventure, if you will. Maybe I was ecstatic that I lost ONE POUND!!!! It’s the little things in life that make me happy!!!!

As always, my morning started with coffee then I switched to ice water.

Lunch consisted of chili cheese fries. The fries were actually frozen steak fries that were cooked in the air fryer. The chili was one spoonful of Wolf’s Brand chili. And cheese was just your average run of the mill grated cheddar cheese (that we grated ourselves).

I had a snack of some very basic nachos. You know the kind… the ones that induce heartburn as did the chili cheese fries.

Hubby made breakfast for dinner… frozen hash browns make in air fryer, scrambled eggs with chorizo, onions, roasted red peppers topped with cheese and salsa.

In all honesty, I totally flaked out on the fitness part of the day.

DAY #9

Started my day with the usual coffee.

Cream cheese danish (from walmart) for breakfast. I only did this because I went to Walmart to get a couple of things for my mom and this is something I picked up for her. I decided we needed these in our house as well. I can honestly say this is a decision I might regret. Not what I expected but I will reserve my judgement until tomorrow.

Ice water was the drink of choice for today.

I had a late lunch/early dinner of some homemade chicken soup I put together with stuff I could find on hand. So, the soup consisted of one chicken breast, onion, bell pepper, 1 can of Ro-Tel, 1 very small can of mixed veggies, and 1 cup of egg noodles (before cooking). It wasn’t bad but could definitely have other ingredients added to it to increase the flavor.

Today’s fitness included yesterday’s exercises I flaked out on.

60 crunches

60 of what my husband calls leg crunches (the man is really evil… I will get my revenge, LOL)

60 squats

60 side lunges

60 arm circles

I am so happy that tomorrow’s fitness will be back to normal. I was thrilled that I was able to complete the fitness for both days in one sitting. Definitely do not want to do that again, but I will if it is necessary.

Carnival Dream 2019 – Precruise #5… The sunny side of cruising!

We are down to 8 weeks until our ship sets sail! Time is really flying by!!!!

Working from home, there is very little time for me to spend in the sun. Often when I am outside, the heat and humidity does not play nice with my COPD. But that’s okay. One thing I truly enjoy about cruising is spending time in the sun and breathing in the warm salt air. I rarely have to use my rescue inhaler on a cruise unless I’m in an elevator with people who apply their perfume rather heavily. My mother was guilty of that on our Carnival Vista cruise. I survived by using the stairs which we typically do most of the time any way.

Part of being in the sun means using sunscreen. While I prefer the lower number SPF, my hubby like the higher number. I will be using Hawaiian Tropic Sheer Touch lotion sunscreen with an SPF of 15 and also Hawaiian Tropic Silk Hydration with an SPF of 30. I love the Hawaiian Tropic line of sunscreen products. I particularly love the lotion and the spray sunscreens. So easy to apply and goes on smoothly. Jim will be using NO-AD with an SPF of 60 and Coppertone Sport with an SPF of 100. When we have finished soaking of the sun for the day, we will be using Banana Boat Aloe After Sun lotion. I have been using this for several years. I love the way it feels on my skin and is not greasy like some can be.

Jim and I will be taking 3 swimsuits. I will also be taking 3 swimsuit cover-ups while Jim will be wearing t-shirts over his.

Of course, there are other necessities one should have while relaxing in the sun. You will need your camera or cell phone to take pictures of things going on around you. We have a water proof cases we purchased in the Cherry On Top while we were on the Carnival Vista. We will be using them again on this cruise!!! Make sure you have a Watching the water can be mesmerizing. We also make sure we have our Boca Clips so our beach towels will stay in place. We also have battery operated fans with us to keep the air flowing nicely. Don’t forget your flip flops or water shoes. The deck gets hot and your feet will not like it!!!! Protect the top of your head with a hat. I like to bring a book to read while I’m lounging on deck. I’m old school in that area and will be bring a paperback book on this cruise. This cruise I will be reading The Summer Sail by Wendy Francis. O will have my Tervis cup with me so I can stay hydrated while Jim will be using his bubba mug!! We take these with us on every cruise!!!

If we decide to go to The Melia Golf and Beach Resort for the day when we are in Cozumel, I will be using this beach bag to carry our stuff in. It should hold all of our things in it easily. If we go there, I’m sure we will be spending a majority of our time at the swim-up bar or the beach bar. It will just depend on where our favorite bartender is!

For now, this is all I can think of that we will be using while we are in the sun. There is a possibility that I might be bringing our own beach towels. I just have not decided for sure at this point.

If you have any suggestions on things I can add to the list of my haves while being in the sun, please let me know. I’m always looking for suggestions and to try other products.

One More Time #7: Daily Food and Fitness

You know your day is going to be strange when you have ZERO coffee. I started my day later than I normally do and went straight to sweet ice tea.

I didn’t eat anything until around 3 when I had 2 fun size Snickers. They hit the spot and it was all I could find while I was at my mothers… alone… taking pictures for my cruise blog. But being at my moms without her is an entirely different story. I’m hoping it was a one-time occurrence. I will definitely need to talk to her about it. I always spend Thursday with my mom, it’s our girl time. Sunday we have family lunch but have temporarily put them on hold. We are resuming the family lunches next Sunday.

By the time I got home, I had a pretty bad headache. So, I had 8 unsalted top crackers with peanut butter.

Dinner… oh my goodness. Hubby pulled out some “mystery meat” from the freezer to defrost. By “mystery meat”, I’m referring to meat that had previously been cooked and the leftovers were put in the freezer. He just forgot to label what it was. He told me it would either be pulled pork or bar-b-que. He was wrong. It was Italian Beef. I’m not a fan of Italian Beef. So I had some Mexican corn on the cob. Best. Thing. Ever.

I ended the evening with a small amount of guacamole and a handful of tortilla chips.

And now I’m full. At least until tomorrow!!!!

Fitness for today…

30 crunches in front of my hubby who then made me do what he called 30 leg crunches. These made my lower back hurt and I’m now thinking that maybe he doesn’t want to go on our upcoming 17th Anniversary of our Honeymoon Cruise cruise.

30 squats

30 side lunges

30 arm circles.

If anyone has suggestions on exercises I could try to change thins up, please let me know!!!

One More Time #6: Daily Food and Fitness.

Today was Donut day. But only because I needed to bribe my son to mow the lawn. Actually, I didn’t have to bribe him, but donuts make him happy and it was the least I could do considering the heat and humidity we are currently having.

I started my morning with my normal coffee. Then added 2 cake donuts to the mix. One with strawberry icing and one with chocolate icing. If I’m going to be bad, I’m going to make sure I do it right!!!

Of course, I had to have my sweet ice tea.

Late lunch consisted for a salad with the remainder of the Tuna I made plus some avocado, cheddar cheese, tomato, and topped with thousand island dressing.

My late evening snack was 8 unsalted top crackers with butter.

Today there was an increase in the number of exercises I am doing daily. I have gone from 25 to 30. So…

30 crunches

30 squats

30 side lunges

30 arm circles

I’m not having the issues with extreme stomach cramps like I did when I attempted 6 30-day challenges so I’m taking this as a good sign!