David Ellard's 50th Birthday Trip

February 2nd to March 9th, 1998
(35 days)

Saturday, February 21, 1998
Dan and Leslie went to the airport and we went to board GRANDEUR of the Seas. Sure had strange dreams last night. Must have been from the spices in the food. Our cabin is on deck 8 and is nice. The ship is much cleaner and newer than the last one. Our luggage arrived early and unpacked. After dinner, played slots and won this time. Noticing still too many young kids and babies. They should have been left at home instead of such a stress on the parents. Each ship is run a little different from the other ones.

Sunday, February 22, 1998
Let Pam sleep in. Went up to the pool deck before sunrise to get coffee. At sea all day enroute to Labadee, Haiti. Laid out in the sun with Pam at the pool to work on my tan. Did my 10 laps around the bridge deck. Received an invitation to dine with the Captain tomorrow. Someone on the last ship had notified this ship that we were coming onboard and to treat us special. Nice for them to do so. A funny thing happened. A woman was adjusting the top of her bikini top and the wind blew it overboard. Did some shopping in the shops onboard. During lunch at the Solarium Cafe, the wind blew Pam's hotdog off of her plate and spilled red wine on her top. Seas are getting bigger. Played slots and lost my $20 quickly. A bouncy night due to the waves causing the ship to have motion. This cabin has more outside noise than we have had in others.

Monday, February 23, 1998
Arrived at Labadee, Haiti, RCCL's private island. Hot and no wind. We set our clocks ahead 1 hour. Finished another book. Laid in the sun at the pool and then did my 10 laps. Trying to do this every day. Did not go ashore because we did not have enough time to get ready for dinner tonight. Met Jim and Millie who have done 79 cruises with RCCL and seem to know everyone onboard. Both of them seem familiar, probably from onboard another ship with us. Had dinner with the Captain. He seemed to be enjoying us more than the others at the table. Pam had too much variety of adult beverages. Went to bed at 7:30 pm. Think I am putting on weight or the waist size of my pants has shrunk. Sent my tux out for cleaning after getting back to the cabin. Was told that RCCL has 10 new ships arriving in the next 3 years and then will have 26 ships all over the world. Souvenirs of the trip are starting to get heavy and taking up to much space.

Tuesday, February 24, 1998
Arrived in San Juan, Puerto Rico to a hot and humid morning with little wind. Got off of the ship and went to a jewelry shop in downtown Old San Juan to get Pam's bracelet latch fixed. Called the ship's Head Pursor for advice on what shop to go to before leaving the ship. We had to leave the diamond bracelet and they said they would deliver it back to the ship later in the day. Had to trust them. It arrived on the ship late in the day and was fixed correctly. Met Jim and Millie at the pool (the ones who have done 79 cruises) and had a nice talk with them. Very interesting people. They are staying onboard for another week. While laying in the sun at the pool, the Captain came by and sat down next to me. Had a nice conversation that included his amazement of us doing so many back-to-back cruises. Did my 10 laps. Went up to the Viking Lounge. We used to go up here every day just before dinner in the past but for some reason, not enough time. We will be going to St. Thomas, so we got post cards to mail and made a list of things we want to do there. St. Thomas is only 74 miles from San Juan. Got a box of special labeled ship's wine to take home. Finished another book and started another one. Got my tux back from cleaning and pressing. Met some more passengers and exchanged experiences. Having to take several showers a day.

Wednesday, February 25, 1998
Arrived in St. Thomas to a beautiful and sunny morning. Took a cab to the downtown area to walk around and mail our post cards. Traffic was terrible due to the thousands of other passengers from the other 4 cruise ships here. It was hot and muggy with no wind. We went back to the ship to cool off. Trying to cut down on eating and taking less portions. Think I have read 7 or 8 books so far. Went to the pool area to read and people watch. Met the Captain again when at the pool and we sat together. It was too hot outside for Pam and she stayed in the cabin. Signed up for snorkeling at our next port of call, Cococay, Bahamas. Played slots and took back to our cabin $183 in winnings. Pam watching the Music Awards. Damn strange people that won awards.

Thursday, February 26, 1998
For some reason, was up many times during the night maybe due to the heavy seas on the bow causing the ship to move a lot. Had a solar eclipse today. During most of the day had seas on the bow raising it up and down about 30 feet. Did my laps in the early afternoon. Somewhere, I lost my Supercharge Card and had to get a replacement. The ship has been doing 22 knots all day. Played slots in the afternoon and won. Lost all of my winnings after dinner. Tonight is a formal night. Took photos of the ship. Did not drink enough water today and got dehydrated. Met a couple from England. Gave them info on our past cruising experiences. Met Jim and Millie and had nice talk. Some people are very seasick. Hoping the water is clear and warm for snorkeling tomorrow and better than the last time we were here.

Friday, February 27, 1998
Arrived at Cococay, Bahamas. Set clocks back 1 hour this morning. The seas were much calmer last night, so I slept much better. Finished reading a book. Took the tender to shore and went snorkeling. The water was much clearer and warmer this time. Did my laps and sat in the sun later. Filled out the US Customs form for tomorrow's return to Miami. Started packing our luggage to put outside the cabin door tonight. Have been curtailing eating as much. Will have 2 bags of gift bottles of wine to take off the ship. The weather forecast is good. Played slots again and broke even. A very beautiful night without much wind.

Saturday, February 28, 1998
Arrived back in Miami at 6:00 am. The ship wants everyone to leave their cabin as early as possible so they can get the cabins ready for the next group of passengers. Slept very good last night and woke up refreshed. Watched people while waiting to get off of the ship. Many look exhausted from staying up so late last night. With so many people congregated in the lounges and open areas, it was noisy. Got off of the ship and went to the taxi area. Had several taxis turn us down to take us to downtown Miami. They wanted the higher fee to go to the airport. Finally got the terminal Security Police to assist us in getting a taxi to the Intercontinental Hotel. Called Ryan twice. He thinks he has the flu. On a whim, called about a 61 Tollycraft I had seen at the Boat Show for sale. It was in very poor condition, but might be able to be bought cheap. The broker was a jerk thinking someone would pay 3 times what it was really worth. Both of us tired and took a 2-hour nap. Saw Joey at the pool bar restaurant. Watched Grandeur of the Seas leave port with a new group of passengers from our room window. Filled out the cruise form documents and tags for our next cruise. Hope my sneezing is just an allergy problem and not a cold or the flu.

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