The Callmecrazy Cruise--- Part One...

To Recap:
A few months ago I got an incredible offer to go on a New Year's cruise by my BIL. The normal price for the trip was around $1400.00 but I only had to pay the taxes for the stateroom which came to about $320.00. I'm crazy, not stupid so I jumped at the offer. The ports of call were Cozumel, Mexico; George Town, Grand Cayman; Falmouth(?), Jamaica and the cruise lines private resort at Labadee, Haiti.

We set sail from Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, Fl. on Dec. 29th. The weather was kind of gray and breezy.
[URL=.html][IMG][/IMG][/URL]

It was still early and my stateroom wasn't ready yet so I decided to do a little exploring on the ship.

The pool area:
[URL=.html][IMG][/IMG][/URL]

The theater where they had several variety shows:
[URL=.html][IMG][/IMG][/URL]

The one unique feature of this ship:
[URL=.html][IMG][/IMG][/URL]

with real grass

[URL=.html][IMG][/IMG][/URL]
notice the HUGE lawn chairs. They had picnics and would have bocce ball tournaments here.


My BIL is basically a travel agent for wealthy gamblers and that's how I got the free stateroom.
Here is the Casino:
[URL=.html][IMG][/IMG][/URL]

The first hour out of port, they opened the Casino and, being from Las Vegas, I felt right at home there. I went down and sat at a video poker machine and ten minutes and $20.00 later I hit a Royal Flush for $1000.00! Cha-Ching! Trip just paid for itself! Woo-Hoo this was gonna be a great adventure.
Throughout the week I kept revisiting the casino and was able to hold my own. New Year's Eve I couldn't lose.

So I finally get to my stateroom and unpack.

[URL=.html][IMG][/IMG][/URL]

I go to a cocktail party for my BIL's clients and I'm chatting a few people up and more than a few take real shine to me. I make it a point to remember people's names because if you call someone by their name 10 minutes after you meet them they feel important and welcome. Plus they tend to ask your name again and remember it. We had a fantastic 5 course dinner, gambled a bit, and I went to sleep around 11:00.
Here's the pool lit up at night:

[URL=.html][IMG][/IMG][/URL]

No matter what. Vacation or not, I wake up at around 5:30 every day. I get up, shower, and go up on deck to see the sunrise:

[URL=.html][IMG][/IMG][/URL]

And I say to myself again, "This is gonna be a great week."
I have breakfast on the fantail:

[URL=.html][IMG][/IMG][/URL]
and go see what's going on.
The first day, we were at sea heading for Cozumel so I went to the pool deck and find a bunch of people, mostly women, doing Zumba (aerobics).
[URL=.html][IMG][/IMG][/URL]
and others enjoying the pool. It is now 8:00am... I grab a deck chair and order a cocktail.
The weather that day was mostly cloudy and there was rain nearby, but not on the ship. I spotted three waterspouts that day. The closest one about 500 yards from the ship. The Captain announced that we were traveling at 18 knots in three foot seas and the ocean depth was over 8000 feet. I made it a point to keep my phone/camera away from the rails so as not to drop it.
The rest of the day involved meeting new people around the pool, a 60 minute massage (wow) and laying around the pool drinkin' booze and taking the occasional walk down to the casino to try my luck.

I'll be telling Y'all more about the trip in future OP's of the Callmecrazy cruise. Stay tuned.