Wednesday, Grand Cayman

 Wednesday we docked at Grand Cayman.  We got off the ship nice and early ready for a day of dolphins and stingrays.  The weather was actually kind of stormy and only two cruise ships got to dock that day.  We were very lucky because the Carnival Freedom was one of them.  Lots of excursions got canceled but fortunately, the dolphins and stingrays were still ready for some company.

 We had a bus ride from one side of the island to the other because our ship had to dock on the opposite side due to weather.  The

 The great thing about the bus ride was that we passed a cement truck.  Instantly, grandpa was determining its capacity, upkeep and general age.  Made him feel right at home.

 Here we are getting ready to go in with the dolphins.  We have lots of great dolphin pictures, but I am still waiting to get them from Jim.  Needless to say, we got to kiss the dolphin, hold its flippers and rub its tummy.  Grandpa still had a hard time with lifting his right arm, but other than that, it all went great.

 We had a moment to spare before getting on the next boat to the stingrays.  They had a few birds there to entertain us. So we each got a picture with a bird.

 We had a half hour ride across the bay to Stingray City.  Here the guide is telling us the ways to ensure that a stingray won't sting you.  Basically his message was...don't annoy it.  So we didn't.

 They basically took you to stingray city and told you to jump out of the boat.  Into the midst of the rays.  The water was really churning because it was stormy.  I survived it for about 15 minutes and then took the responsibility of getting back on the boat so that we would have some pictures. 

 Dale loved the sting  rays.  Well he loves fish in general, but he seemed to have a special connection with the rays.  They would just come to him.  He even got kisses.  Dale says in his next life he wants to be a dolphin and stingray trainer!

Tuesday, Boat Day

 Boat day means exactly that.  We spend the day on the boat traveling.  So it's pretty relaxing and a great time to hit the decks for some sun.  This guy photo bombed the picture and DeeAnne just didn't quite know how to react.

 There was always lots going on by the pool...like the hairy chest contests and the best new drinks.  We think Dale would have won the hairy chest contest and we would have had no idea what a good drink or a bad drink was.  The good thing about that is that it sure saves us a lot of money on these ships!  We are happy with lemonade.

 We had time to nap.

 We were very entertained by the lady in the red bikini on the deck below us.  Once again, not a picture we wanted to keep in our memories though!

 Grandpa got his first cruise injury....playing shuffleboard.  I guess he wanted to make his puck go far and really hit it hard.  We are pretty sure he tore out his shoulder but he certain that all injuries will heal within a year.  For the rest of the year, we assume he will go around and get through life NOT being able to raise his right arm.  The other injury he had was when he put glasses cleaner in his eyes!  OUCH.  He thought they were eye drops.  I gave him his very own bottle of Visine in hopes thta that injury would not happen again.

 It was forma night so we all got dressed up in our best and took family pictures.  The photographer asked Dale to take his glasses off and when he did, they broke in half.  I did not know he was completely blind without them, so he had someone guide him to his room and he had brought his old pair.  That was genius!

 We went to the family rated comedy club and that was enough on the edge for us.  We had no desire to go to the Adult version!  I guess we really are still just kids and happy to be so.

 Our nightly dinner was at 8:15 and by then were were READY!

 Alligator bites.

 Strawberry soup.

 Lobster.

 The nightly dancing and singing by the crew was so cute.  We really learned to love the PARTY atmosphere of Carnival.

 Chocolate molten lava cake!

 When we got back we saw our nightly towel folding.  Tonight's elephant was quite charming.

 Joyce forgot dress up shoes and had to wear my silver ones.  I had to give her a hard time because my silver shoes will never quite be the right size for me again.

Ready for the nightly show.  They ran late on this ship.  Beginning time was 10:30 p.m.

Monday, Key West

 This is the first cruise we've been on where you have a stop on the first day!  Monday we docked at Key West, Florida and since we hadn't planned any tours, we used the day to walk around the town.  It was a great choice because Key West is a charming town that is very accessible and I really don't think you could get lost.  In fact, it is only 4 miles long by 2 miles wide. 

 There was a lot of cute art and a pretty charming museum with some very interesting art around it.  There was one statue that we thought was pretty funny, but we just didn't dare take a picture of it.  DeeAnne did not want to have that image engrained in her brain. 

 Key West was one of our favorite shopping stops.  The five dollar stores were everywhere.

 We found the water although I am sure there must be better beaches somewhere.  We really didn't care...it was warm!

 We found an awesome hammock store as well.  Lucky Dani!  We convinced Brian to buy her one for her gift.  I'm sure he earned lots of bonus points for that one and she just may let him go again.

 I guess money walls and ceilings are kind of popular in Key West.

 Jim and Brian found a corvette and insisted on a picture.

Key West was very pretty and we could see islands around with houses and boat docks.  I'm sure they didn't even need cars.  We saw tons of sail boats and jet skis and we could definitely see why people would like this place.

Sunday, January 19th Getting On the Ship

 We had a long morning to kill before boarding our bus to the Carnival Freedom.  Lucky for us it was a gorgeous day to spend by the pool.

 Boarding the ship went pretty seamlessly and the first thing we sought out was the BUFFET!  True cruisers indeed.  Our pathetic hotel breakfast had simply not held us over until our 3:00 o'clock check in.  Thank goodness we survived!

 We instantly found that the food on this ship was going to be fabulous and we would NOT be hungry for an entire week.

 Waiting for our first supper in the fancy dining room.  We were table 427.

Getting There

 January 18th was the big day to leave for our cruise.  Everyone was happy and excited!  When we got to the airport, we found out that our flight had had mechanical problems and was not going to make it to our final destination on time.  They told us that our only option was to rebook new flights.  Fortunately, the kind lady at American Airlines worked with us for about an hour to get this done.  We ended up sending five on one set of flights and Joyce and I went on another with the goal that we would all end up at the right spot that night.  Dad and crew went on Delta through icy Detroit, Michigan and Joyce and I left many hours later on a later American flight going to Miami. 

 Since we had lots of extra time in the airport, Joyce and I made it to a bookstore and found some reading material that we thought would be helpful for our "cruising family book club!"  Although we didn't really buy them, we showed the pictures to the others and they thought we were "right on" with the reading material that our family needed.  Oh well, we bought, "Proof of Heaven" and "Gifted Hands" instead and everyone really like those as well.    We will keep these on the backburner for next year.  We only needed my book once during the trip and that was monumental for the Call Family!

When we got to Miami...late late late, we had to take a shuttle bus to Ft. Lauderdale.  We should have seen the signs that the driver was not very competent long before we buckled our seatbelts, but we were tired and I guess so was HE!  We suddenly started to go back and forth on the freeway and soon realized that HE had fallen asleep!  He kept saying he was going to lose his job...well, I'm pretty sure he will if he keeps doing that.  We're pretty sure mom was there to keep us alive and get us to our scrungy hotel room that night!  Thanks mom!

 

Call Family Cruise 2014