Carnival Triumph 2014 -Installment #7 Last sea day and the end.

The part of the cruise I dislike the most is the last day. The last sea day. For us this means relaxing and packing. Packing is definitely not relaxing but it is something that must be done. I’m sad knowing that tomorrow I will be forced to leave the ship and drive home.

We did spend time in the smoking section today and said our goodbye’s to new friends, just in case we do not see them tomorrow as we are leaving.

We captured some pictures of our last sunset at sea for this cruise. I have high hopes for taking more sunset pictures at sea in the future.

Even the last dinner in the main dining room was sad. But we put on a happy face as best as we could. We said our goodbyes to our fantastic waitstaff and showed them our appreciation for the had work they had done for us the entire cruise.

After dinner, we walked around and had some final pictures taken by a couple of different photographers. I love that there are so many options for backdrops. These pictures will not be ready until tomorrow! Some day I will be on a ship and take more pictures, maybe like these!!!

We returned to our room and were greeted by our final towel animal. I wonder if he is as sad as I am. We put our luggage outside our door. Made one last trip to the smoking section. Then we went to bed.

The next morning, we woke up so the sight of Galveston. Although I love Galveston, it is always sad to see it on the horizon knowing that we will be leaving the Carnival Triumph. We had breakfast on the Lido deck before leaving the ship. And even though we are not home, it feels like vacation is over. At least until the next cruise.

Thanks for reading this blog. As you can tell I’m definitely not a professional writer. I am doing this as a reminder of our trip and to coincide with the scrapbook pages I am making for this trip. Now that all is left for me to do on this series is to make the scrapbook pages look more finished. Some of the pages are very bare and need a little something to really make them pop. So, I will take some time to try to finish them before putting them in page protectors and loading them into an album. If you have any suggestions, please feel free to let me know!

Carnival Triumph 2014 – Installment #6: Cozumel, Mexico

One of my favorite things about cruising is cruising into Cozumel. My heart always jumps for joy when we sail past our favorite hotel, The Melia Golf and Beach Resort! I always take pictures of the hotels on the North end as we make our way to Puerta Maya.

Today, we had another Carnival ship sailing into Cozumel right behind us! Plus, we were also able to get pictures of the pilot boat coming to our ship!!! This is definitely a first for us!!!!

We made our way to the buffet for some pre-breakfast appetizers and found the Lido deck had been invaded by towel animals. They were EVERYWHERE!!! Definitely the new generation of chair hogs!!!!

This really makes the day start off great!!!

Of course, on our way off the ship we had to stop for the KELLY NEEDS A PICTURE FOR THE SCRAPBOOK photo. Jim and Dawson should know this is a requirement of every port we stop at.

Our plan for today is to have breakfast at the museum then walk around the square to do some shopping and make our way to Tony Rome’s Embassy Restaurant to visit with Tony and his family. We made it to the museum in the rain!!! But even with the rain, the view was still fantastic. Jim and I usually enjoy breakfast at the museum but this time was different as Dawson started getting a headache. The food was great, but the rest of our plans had to be put aside so we could go back to the ship.

Once Dawson was appropriately medicated, Jim and I got off the ship and walked around the shops at Puerta Maya. You never know when I will find that one or two things I must have. It is also an opportunity to pick up souvenirs for our family at home.

It is always sad to leave Cozumel. But I know that I will return again. Fernando and his friend Rowdy hit up the their own personal happy hour in the smoking section. They really should sail together again sometime.

Sunsets on a cruise are always fantastic. I can’t get enough of their beauty. And then there is the dinner entertainment that we love. Especially when our waitstaff is spectacular.

And so the evening ends doing the normal walking around on deck and going to the smoking section. We really are very boring people. But at least we are relaxed!!!!

The next installment will be about our last sea day.

Carnival Triumph 2014 – Installment #5: Progreso, Mexico and the Dzibilchaltun Mayan Ruins

Welcome to Progreso!!! This is the third time we have been to this port and I can honestly say the port area has not changed. We did not go into town on this trip. Instead we book an excursion thru Carnival to go to the Dzibilchaltun Mayan Ruins. Since our excursion time was for 9:30 am, we woke up early to have a quick but filling breakfast at the buffet before heading out to catch our bus.

The bus ride to Dzibilchaltun was not a very long drive. At least not as long as the bus ride to Chichen Itza is (over 2 hours each way!!!). Once we arrived at the site, we walked up a path that leads to a museum. This would be the starting point and we would go thru the museum after we walked the site. The path leading to the museum had statues all around. All very unique and interesting.

Once we started the tour of the ruins, our first stop would be to the Temple of the Seven Dolls. I have always been fascinated with ruins. They are so majestic. I hope to visit more as the beauty of them is amazing.

We made our way along the path to see more ruins, each as beautiful as the one before.

At the end, we came to Cenote Xlacah. Jim and I dipped our feet into the water. So crystal clear and refreshing!.

I must say, these ruins are surrounded by very lush vegetation. My only regret is that I did not take enough pictures of it.

Once we decided we had our feel at the cenote, we walked to the museum. Oh the artifacts they had there. I was in total ah!

It is safe to say that this was an excursion that I will remember for a long time. And although it does not compare to the Mayan Ruins of Tulum, it was still well worth it and I would consider revisiting this site again sometime.

We were the first people to arrive to the bus that would return us to the port. Before long, we were on our way back. Of course, my husband TRIED to sleep! I swear that man can sleep anywhere!!! Once at the pier, we walked thru the shopping area and looked at things before getting back on board.

The remainder of the day and night was spent eating dinner in the main dining room with entertainment provided by the wait staff, taking pictures on deck, and welcoming our new towel animal.

I hope you will return for installment #6 where we are in Cozumel!!!

Carnival Triumph 2014 – Installment #4 Everyone loves a sea day!

For most people, sea day’s are for sleeping in. But I’m not like most people. I’m always up early on vacation. I want to be able to take in every minute of my cruise. Unfortunately for my husband, he usually wakes up not long after I do. Maybe because I make noise when I go out onto the balcony. But where else can I get a gorgeous view to start my morning? Besides, is there really anything better than morning coffee on the balcony on a beautiful morning?

Sea day’s also mean Sea Day Brunch! This is definitely another thing we truly enjoy to do on a cruise. The menu may be somewhat limited, but we tend to always order the same thing. I always have the steak and eggs and Jim always orders the Eggs Benedict. What can I say… sometimes we are not very adventurous when it comes to food.

When we went on this cruise, Jim and I both smoked. At this time, Carnival no longer allowed their guests to smoke on their balcony’s. Since out stateroom was on the Lido deck, we did not have far to go to get to a smoking area. We met some very nice people there. And Fernando made a friend!!!

In the distance, you could see rain. Luckily, on a cruise, rain typically does not last very long. At least it hasn’t on any of the cruises I have been on.

We decided to go hang out in our stateroom and try to figure out what we wanted to do with our day. One of my favorite things to do is to people watch. But in our stateroom, the only one to watch was my son.

Before long, it was time to get ready for cruise elegant night. This is the only time we ever get dressed up so I like to take advantage of it. But first, I had to enjoy the sunset from out balcony. Sunsets are always so beautiful as are the sunrises.

On our way to dinner, we stopped to have some pictures taken. Pictures were also taken in the dining room. Wine and waiter entertainment always makes for a great dinner experience.

After dinner, we returned to our stateroom to change clothes. And to try to decide how we want to spend the rest of the night.

We decided to play some mini golf which was so much fun. We truly enjoy spending our evenings on the open decks.

Installment #5 is our adventure in Progreso.

Carnival Triumph 2014 – Installment 3 I’m ready to get on the ship!

As with every cruise I have ever been on, sleep the night before was minimal at best. I was up early on September 22, 2014 and I felt that my family should be up too! We needed to eat something for breakfast… well, they needed to eat. I was too excited to eat much. I just wanted to leave the hotel and go to the port!!! I really so no problem having that attitude, LOL!

This is the first cruise that we purchased the Faster To The Fun just so we can get on the ship quick! But first, we have to check out of the hotel, drive to the port, drop off our check bags, drive across the street to Galveston Park N Cruise to park our car in the covered area, then walk across the street to get in line to check in for the cruise. Is it just me or does this one process of going on a cruise seem to take F O R E V E R??? As usual, we did have to wait for a while before we were able to board. But that was okay! We had the opportunity to meet and visit some fellow Anchor Clankers. That definitely helped pass the time away.

After the wait, we were finally walking our way towards the gangway. But first, we had to stop for our traditional Welcome Aboard/Bon Voyage photo. It is one of the necessities I must have for our scrapbook and it should never be skipped!!!! Walking onto the ship means that the vacation has really begun. We will be totally removed from social media and cell phones for the next 5 nights.

We spent the day taking in the sights of the harbor and looking for dolphins. We also tried our very first Guys Burger. Oh. My. Goodness. They are absolutely delicious! I cannot wait to devour more while we are on the Triumph!

After the mandatory muster drill, we made our way to watch sail away from our balcony before going to dinner. We had selected Your Time dining which meant we could eat dinner anytime between 5:30 and 9 pm. We like to eat early so we were usually sitting at a table for dinner no later than 6 pm. Dinner the first night usually means the pirates would be invading the dining room!

We were tired after dinner so we did some more walking and exploring of the ship before turning in for the night.

Tomorrow will be a fun filled sea day which will begin with sea day brunch so please come back for installment #4.

Getting Carnival Vista Ready #10… Let the packing begin.

I have had plenty of time to choose my clothes, shoes, and accessories. Now it is time to start packing.

For this cruise, I decided to use packing cubes. This is something very new to me so I’m not sure exactly how it will work out, but I’m going to give try it. I started out by ordering some GONEX packing cubes from WalMart. It comes in 3 sizes and in a variety of colors. Since I would need to order some for my mother to try, I order 3 in different colors, Blue, Yellow, and a turquoise color. I received them very quickly and decided to give them a trial run. I tried rolling my clothes and I tried just folding my clothes. I have decided that these will not work for me for a 7-day cruise but can still be used for the smaller items. I next turned to Target and found some things I thought would work great for my husband and I so I ordered said items. I was able to use the extra large and large cubes to fit my clothes in.

I decided to use the large cube for what I consider daytime clothes… shorts and shirts to wear around the ship and at the various ports of call. I tried the rolling technique and the regular folding and found that regular folding works out best for me. Everything fit in the cube nicely and doesn’t feel like they clothes are shoved into the cube.

I used the extra-large cube for the evening clothes which are the outfits I will be wearing to dinner and around the ship afterwards. My cruise-elegant dresses will be packed in a regular garment bag. The evening clothes fit nicely into the extra large cube and I can probably add some more to it if I wanted to. But I don’t want to. I’m trying NOT to over-pack on this cruise. I guess time will tell if I have succeeded or not!!!

I purchased a bead container at Hobby Lobby along with some plastic bags to use for my jewelry as I have seen people on YouTube use them with great success. I was amazed with how easily everything fit into the container and now I do not have to worry about anything becoming tangled!!!

My travel first kit has been packed and is busting at the seams!!! But keep in mind, I’m packing for 9 and I feel the need to be prepared for any emergency that may come along. I am keeping everything in a cosmetic case I purchased at Tuesday Morning. Everything fits in nicely unless I think of some other items I might need.

I am using a ditty bag I found at Tuesday Morning for our suntan lotions and after sun lotion. Everything fits in nicely and will come in handy while hanging out on deck or on the beach. There is also enough room for the mosquito repellent wipes I purchased, but not for the Bugables. So it looks like I need to do some more shopping!!!

And last of this packing series, I have packed my hair care products into a cosmetic bag I purchased at Tuesday Morning. Everything fits well and will be easy to access for our pre-cruise stay.

In the next segment of Getting Carnival Vista Ready, I hope to be able to pack my cosmetic bag and also our overnight bag. Plus some other essentials I will be taking and how I hope to pack them.

Getting Carnival Vista ready #7 – what I will be packing for the daytime fun!

I have been planning on this cruise since we book it over 14 months ago. To say I’m excited would be an understatement. You would think it is my first cruise, but it isn’t. But this cruise will definitely be different as we are traveling as a 4-generation family. My grandchildren have never been on a cruise and I can hardly wait to see their faces when we first get on the ship. I hope they are filled with as much excitement as we will be!

Most of my days on a ship are usually spent on one of the upper decks catching some rays. I’m hoping this trip will be much like the others have been. As crazy as this may sound, I have selected 2 pairs of shorts and 4 tops that will be worn on the sea days and while we are at Mahogany Bay. I have also picked out a pair of shorts and top for our time in Belize and Cozumel. So that is a total of 4 pairs of shorts and 6 tops.

This is my selection for Belize. Now, in all honesty, there is a possibility that I will just stay on the ship on this day. But then again, I might take the tender and check things out at the port area. It just depends on my mother and how she is able to navigate here and there.

This is my selection for Cozumel. I know we will be doing shopping in town and maybe some in port area when we return.

Sea days will definitely require a swimsuit and I have 2 that I will be taking along with 2 cover-ups.

Stay tuned for the next installment which will be my even attire selections. Over-packing is alive and well and living in my house!!!!

Modified Keto day 14… Family birthdays, and mom’s dementia.

Some days I feel like I’m in a rut. Doing the same things over and over and over. Like my morning coffee. Like deciding on continuing with the diet or try something else. In all honesty, today I didn’t eat anything until around 5 pm. And then it wasn’t much. But I’m just not feeling myself. I’m feeling bloated. And with that feeling comes the feeling of being defeated. Hopefully tomorrow, these feeling will be gone and I will have a much better day and week on my modified Keto journey. At least that is what I am hoping for.

Today was a fun and somewhat productive day. I managed to design our tumblers for our upcoming Carnival Vista cruise. It is the first time I have used my Cricut Explore Air to cut vinyl. I have completed one tumbler and even though it isn’t perfect, it will work perfectly for my needs.

My plan is to put things on the tumblers that are what my family wants on theirs. So the variety includes a cruise ship, a couple of dolphins, a whale, a flamingo, a ships wheel, and a 3 anchors. And each tumbler will also have everyone’s name on them. Everything has been cut but I have not had the chance to put them on the tumblers. Hopefully that will happen tomorrow.

This afternoon was fun. We had family birthday’s at my sister-in-law and brother-in-laws house. We celebrated birthdays for my brother-in-law, my daughter, and my granddaughter Victoria. This is always fun and there is always plenty of food.

On our way home, we had to stop at CVS to pick up a prescription for my mother. She wasn’t expecting us to come over, but when we got there she was happy to see us. She didn’t know she had a prescription ready but she told me she was out of a lot of her medications. My mother’s dementia seems to be getting worse. She hasn’t driven in over, no longer manages her medications, and does not manage her finances. But she thinks she can do anything and everything. Vascular Dementia is sad to witness. We know that one day we will have to make some decisions about where she will be living. But for right now, she is able to take care of her basic needs. She does not cook for herself but we make sure she has plenty to eat.

My mother is very excited about our upcoming cruise. Of course she thinks she needs new everything for the trip!!! While I was at her house, we did some online shopping and got her some casual things to wear in the evening. Now all she needs are some shorts and some dainty things and she should be good to go!!!

My hope for this cruise is that she makes some memories that will stay in her mind for a very long time. My mom, daughter, granddaughters, and I will be making scrapbook pages after our cruise. I hope that will help her with retaining the memories we make.

Getting Carnival Vista ready #4

Although I have been on 10 cruises (1 on Cunard, 1 on NCL, and 8 on Carnival), I am always looking for information. Not just for the ports we will be visiting but also for packing ideas, especially with things people usually do not think about. My information comes from blogs like Cruise Radio and some from YouTube videos like EECC travels, CruiseTipsTV and CruiseGear. They seem to have very concise information that really applies!!! (And I also follow them on Instagram!!!)

I recently made a shopping stop at our local Dollar Tree. When you see the pictures of what I purchased, please keep in mind, I’m shopping for 9 people!!!! My list started out looking like this…

This shopping spree is for items that can be used in all three stateroom. These are the items I was able to check off our list: Zip lock bags in various sizes (1 of each size for each room… it might be overkill but at least we will have enough to share with other cruisers), 6 mesh laundry bags, 3 night lights, clothespins, jumbo clips, and some generic type command strips with the hook, and 9 lint rollers because you can never have too many of those!!!

I also had to make a trip to Target and while I was in the check-out line, I noticed some travel size Advil so I picked up a couple of those! Just another thing to check off our long Dollar Tree shopping list!!!

At the end of the shopping spree, if you want to call it that, our list now looks like this:

I plan on going back to Dollar Tree on Friday to knock off some more things from the list.