I think your Jehovah’s Witness guest got her ideas about cruise ships from old books and movies, where there were no shows or casinos, and only champagne was served, in small glasses, and everyone wore dinner jackets. I suppose I should watch “Titanic” some day to find out what shipboard life was like there.

I just got off an 11 day cruise yesterday, on NCL (Carnival doesn’t have that itinerary). Happily, I didn’t get a cold until the last sea day, and now I can sit at home and cough all I want without missing anything. The crew on the ship did an amazing job, hard work for long hours with probably little thanks. I certainly couldn’t do it, especially not with the grace and humor they showed.

By the way, you were right about Russian guests.

I didn’t know that Grand Turk had been closed – so smack on hand because I obviously haven’t been concentrating on every word of your blog……

Glad to hear it’s open again – it’s one of my favourite ports – and I’ll be there in November on Crown Princess. I’ll be the one chilling at Margaritaville.

It’s a couple of years since I was last at Grand Turk – on a Holland America cruise – the DJ at Margaritaville shouted “Anyone out there from Holland America?” – there was a polite wave from a few passengers.

He then made the mistake of shouting “Anyone out there from Carnival?” without warning me to cover my ears. I’m sure that I’m still slightly deaf as a result….. even the windows were shaking.

That’s the difference between a Party ship – and a Pensionbook ship…..!

Thanks again for yet another super blog. I was just on the Imagination and the upgrades on her were terrific. I can hardly wait to see the Fantasy in Feb.
Please just bear with Heidi and her strange eating habits. It is temporary…lol
You talked about Cold Mountain. I grew up in North Carolina at the foot of Cold Mountain. It is visible from the back steps of my Mother’s home. The character Inman is a distant ancestor of my family. My father has written and published several CDs called Tales from the Foot of Cold Mountain. It is his memories of growing up there. He is now 81 years old and lived there his entire life. There is a lot of history in them. I take a lot of pride from all this….lol
Give my best to Heidi and I can hardly wait to see you in NOLA.

Gloria aka Sue

Speaking of where Cold Mountain was shot on location, there is a waiter on the Carnival Spirit who is fromTransylvania, Romania. He said that the movies about Count Dracula were based on true happenings. I forgot his name but he is widely known as “Mr. DVD” and he has lots of stories to tell. He is quite entertaining as all the waiters are.

Amor

I have been lurking but haven’t posted in some time. I am thrilled to hear of the pregnancy and will keep Heidi and you in my thoughts and prayers
for a problem free pregnancy and safe delivery. I have cancelled my Blogger’s cruise room as I’ve decided to schedule some major surgery I’ve been putting off for that month and would like to take a different, longer cruise later on (I’ve been on that cruise already). As always, I love the blog and the pictures.

Hugs to all,

Julie Gantt

Well today again you have two examples of people who have no idea what they booked. One who didn’t know a cruise ship has alcohol and a casino and another one that didn’t read his itinerary to find out about the overnight in Cicitavecchia. That reminds me of the lady on the first Splendor Baltic this year that thought she was going to Italy. How can someone spend that much money and not have a clue what’s going on?

Can’t wait to see your pictures of Ephesus. That was a very moving port for us last year. We went to Epcot at Disney today and wore our Istanbul t-shirts and received a few comments on that.

The Fantasy looks great. Too bad we’re not going on the Bloggers’ cruise in February. Have you given any thought to a 2/13/10 Valentine’s Day on the Dream bloggers’ cruise? That would really make our day.

Hello Heidi – hope you’re feeling well. In a few days you’ll be home and that should help your well being.

Linda

The Fantasy looks wonderful. Looking forward to our cruise on the Fantasy in March, 2009. I did notice that the Serenity deck had regular deck chairs instead of the ones with the cushions like on the Imagination. Any reason for the change?

The bloggers will love Big Tex. We sailed with him on the Fantasy in 2007.

I don’t know why people don’t do their homework and know what to expect on a cruise. Yes, I know that a cruise serves alcohol and there is a casino. I don’t drink alcohol and I usually don’t go in the casino. Does it bother me that there is alcohol and a casino on a ship? No. The ship is large enough that I can find my own space and enjoy just relaxing, listening to music and reading a good book or two. The serenity area is perfect for this. Yes, some people will be drinking alcohol but they don’t bother other people. Cigarette smoke bothers me more.

Enjoyed reading Bubba’s blogs about sailing to Hawaii. Also enjoyed Big Tex’s comments about the upgrades to the Fantasy. Everyone needs to do the slides. They are so much fun. Much better than the old one.

Have a good cruise. Take care of Heidi and Thingy.