This trip began as an idea that Tim, Bev, Diane and I kicked around at Thanksgiving 2017. One of those conversations that ended like, "We need to do a cruise together!" "Yeah, let's do that!" And we went back home.
In January, I called Tim to get the ball rolling, and by March things had lined up to where it was all clear. Bev did the research and we picked the Carnival Dream, departing from New Orleans for the week of May 13-20.
The plan was for Tim and Bev to get to NOLA on Friday and celebrate Tim's birthday, we join them Saturday and try to do the town in the French Quarter, and get on the boat Sunday for a week together.
So now two more things are crossed off of my bucket list: Bourbon Street and boat cruise. We all had a great time together, but it took me about another week to unwind from the getaway!
Our first time on Bourbon Street! Actually, it's Frenchman Street, where we started out. We walked a couple of miles to get to Bourbon Street looking for a restaurant along the way.
Tim and Bev pose together on the same corner. Right now they look great, but by the time we walked to Bourbon Street and back it was a different story! Ouch! My aching feet!
Gone Gay. That pretty much says it all!
You gotta have a drink when in NOLA. Hand Grenades were everywhere. Pretty tasty, but we really needed some food!
We finally found a great place called Cafe Sbisa. Nice upscale and intimate with great food and service. This is one of those cool shots where the mirror plays an important role.
The previous day, Friday, was Tim's birthday, so this was also kind of a birthday celebration trip as well. So, it happened that our server's birthday was the following day and her name was... Timmie!
Our first cruise dinner together in the Scarlett Restaurant. Obviously, it was casual night! We both stayed on the vegetarian diet this night with an Indian style dish, but I was sure tempted by the seafood.
Our server, Derita, was delightful. Maybe we are biased, but we all thought we had the best server in the room. Occasionally all of the servers would leave the room, come back in costume, and dance for us. Click the picture for a video.
Our next door dinner mates were David and Gale Miller from Mississippi. We were sure we had ruined their cruise by our loud behavior the first night, but we all became good friends quickly.
The Alchemy Bar was the first stop before dinner every night. Best drinks on the ship.
Sinan was our mixologist. Here he has just made some kind of gin drink with melon and cucumber (A Cucumber Sunrise). On a hot day, this is just the ticket. Click the picture for a link to a video where he makes an extravagant smoky bourbon drink for Tim.
On the first day I went to a cooking demonstration in the fancy restaurant where they showed us how they made things like mushroom cappuccino and tiramisu. The only problem was that the restaurant is directly under the basketball court, so nearly every minute the walls shook from the collisions of the people upstairs.
Our first port was Montego Bay, Jamaica. None of the excursions interested us, so we got off the boat and headed over to the Hard Rock Cafe and just hung out for the afternoon. Here we are, taking it easy Jamaican style. Yeah mon.
There were two "elegant" dining nights during the cruise. This picture is of all of us just before the first one. Tim and his tux made us all look like we just got in from the golf course. Click the pic for a lesson on how to drink a chocolate martini.
Diane spiffed up for the next fine dining experience. Awesome outfit, no?
Tim and I pose like Siamese twins in front of the Scarlett Restaurant. This was after dinner so my jacket is definitely unbuttoned!
We made it to the whirlpool tub and let the jets massage our weary feet and legs.
The second port was Georgetown, Grand Cayman Island. We took the Captain Marvin excursion out to Stingray City. That was both exciting and scary. Cross that off the bucket list!
All of us got a chance to kiss a stingray. The one pictured here is a female - they're the larger ones that swim near the surface. The males are smaller and generally hug the bottom. Legend has it that kissing a female brings you 7 years of good luck. Kissing a male is 10.
The other neat trick is to let the stingray give your back a massage. We all got to experience the feeling of the fin flapping against our backs. Happy endings all around.
We brought our ping pong paddles and one of our 3-star balls from home onto the ship. They had one table, located in the corner of the smoking deck, along with super cheap paddles and basically a ping pong wiffle ball. I don't know how anyone every plays a real game here. While Diane and I were playing, Joe came up and asked to play. It was nice to have the company.
We're posing with Jimmy & Mel Hodge, aka Black Jack, the country music entertainers on the cruise. Small world. When we told them we were from Atlanta, Mel asked, "Do you know Tommy Dodd?" Turns out Jimmy is a steel guitarist and they both know Tommy and Donna (they did a double-take when they saw Diane).
Click the pic for a video of a little bit of the 80's glow stick party. We walked like Egyptians.
Our last port was Cozumel, Mexico, where we booked a bar-hop excursion. Our first stop was Tequileria Reyes, a Mexican tequila manufacturer. Of course, we got educated on how the liquor is made, how agave nectar is a by-product, and the difference between clear, reposado, anejo, extra anejo, and ridiculously extra anejo. Every time I go to Mexico, I get hooked by the sales pitch. This time I walked out with a bottle of 12-year old extra anejo, which we christened with a toast on our last night. Click the pic for a video of our takeoff in the jeep on the way to stop #1.
We made a stop at Coconuts, a place where Tim and Bev had been a few years back. It's a little walk up the jungle path to the top of the cliff overlooking the gulf, with cozy tables, shade, and great drinks.
This was actually our third stop, the second one being a little roadside bar where I spent all my cash on two huge 32-oz drinks - a Mojito and a Margarita. This left no money for any more drinks at bars that didn't accept credit cards (like this one). The is the Coconut Cabana, and it was charming.
Alex, the bartender, not only fixed some great margaritas for the cash customers, but he also freshened Diane's margarita as a favor to the senora. He looked at my half finished 32-oz drink and asked, "What is that? Soup?!!"
Last stop was Tortugas, where we ate lunch and had tequila shots along with our last cocktails. The food was delicious, the drinks were great, and the patio was a great place to hang out.
Ah, the Tortugas Farmacia! We ran out of time before we could take advantage of these no-prescription bargain drugs. We had a half hour to drive back to the cruise terminal on the other side of the island, walk the mile or so to the gangway, and get on board before the ship sailed. We made it back in time, thank goodness.
Click the pic for our toast to you! As they say in Mexico, "Arriba, abajo, acentro, y adentro."