Ahoy all FReepers! Join the Fun!
FReeps Ahoy 4A fun-filled, Sun-Filled Caribbean Cruise!
May 13 - 20, 2006
Posted on 03/05/2006 8:33:11 AM PST by DoughtyOne
I'm assuming that you don't need to bring a birth certificate if you have a passport.
Folks who don't have a passport need an original birth certificate or a photo copy of same with a RAISED seal plus a photo drivers license.
Bahama Mama
Bahama Mama
Hi Leni. Sorry for the delay. Here are those photos you found. They're great.
I'll tell you folks, my body is here at the computer, but my mind is already on the ship. Just think, a few more weeks and.........wow!
Picture yourself at the rail of this ship as we leave Ft. Lauderdale on our merry way to the paradise islands of the Caribbean. Do you see the Outdoor Movie screen way up on top? Some balmy night at sea you'll be lounging on deck watching a movie or concert under the brilliant stars......munching popcorn or sipping a Rum Bahama Mama.
Later, challenge some of your fellow freepers to a fun contest on the unique putting green. A couple little side bets allowed.
The aft pool pictured is one of four on the ship. One of the four is a pool near the spas/gym area where you can swim against a current. The one pictured is adults only, is less crowded, has warmer water......and what a view!
Magen's Bay in St. Thomas (our first port-of-call) is considered by National Geographic as one of the most beautiful beach areas in the world. You can see why! The thin strip of white on the right is the beach which is actually very wide. Yes, the water IS that color.
There's a feeling you get upon seeing all this tranquil beauty that is overwhelmingly calming to the eyes and the soul. God is good. Life is good. Enjoy it!
Bahama Mama
Now's the time to prepare for any prescriptions you have to take with you. Make sure that every scrip that has to be filled will be filled in a timely fashion before you leave. Take a week's suppply with you plus some extra. Use one of those 7-sectioned "daily" plastic boxes or get a 14-day one and add your vitamins, aspirins etc. It's wise to have a little note in the box with the names and dosages of your pills written on it. Or keep the pills in the original pharmacy bottles and put them in a baggy. There's no problem bringing any prescribed medications on board.
Tuck some band aids into one of those mysterious slots in your wallet. You'd be surprised how quickly blisters can form when walking around in tropical climates.
If your ankles tend to swell in hot weather or from walking a lot on hard surfaces, ask your doctor to prescribe some water pills for you to take with. They'll pretty much do the trick and are harmless for most people.
Bring sun block and a broad-brimmed straw or summer hat. Take the sun gradually. Have good sunglasses.
Water bottle, water bottle, water bottle. Take it with you everywhere you can. Buy a cold bottle at a store to sip on while shopping in port. Drink lots and lots of water. There are filtered water stations here and there on the ship which is a nice touch.
Just about everywhere you go on ships now, there are stations and washrooms with aromatic hand-disinfectant dispensers you can spray or massage on. You may want to avail yourself of this innovation.
There's a sundry shop on board the ship stocked with commonly-requested items....i.e. aspirin, anti-acids, band-aids, suntan oil, etc., but it's much cheaper if you bring your own little cache. Keep your medications with you in your carry-ons.
Please.....the first one or two days on board, take it easy. Watch the overdrinking, overeating, oversmoking, oversunning, undersleeping or too much unaccustomed exertion. There's a reason people seem so laid-back in the tropical islands. It's called smarts. We don't want any of our group to have to visit the infirmary right off the bat for sunburn, tummy problems or anything else.
There are so many health benefits from a cruise it's hard to count the ways. You'll get plenty of exercise just walking around the huge ship. Since there's little or no pollution where we're going, your nose, sinuses, throat will benefit from the clean sea air. Your pod-confined body will finally be able to soak up beneficial natural vitamins from the sun. Just putzing around in the pool or beach water will loosen up those stiff joints in the limbs and back.
Stress will be gone. No phones, no mail. No cooking, making beds, cutting the lawn. You're already paid up except for what goodies you may want to indulge yourself with on board or in our ports-of-call. The only major decisions you have to make during the cruise is what fun activities to do that day and what to order from the dinner menu.
Your brain and your nerves get a rest. You get a psychological lift from enjoying the beautiful vistas in the Caribbean islands. You have the pleasure of being with like-minded freepers who are fun and interesting.....or you can do your own thing by yourself when the mood strikes.
Cruisers are very wise in giving their bodies and psyches a favor by getting out of life's hurly-burly and getting into the radiant, warm outdoors for an entire week.
Remember, a mango sprinkled with fresh lime juice a day keeps the doctor away.
Bahama Mama
(A Tropical Sensation of Coconut and Juices)
1 oz. Coconut Liquor
1 oz. Light Rum
2 oz. Pineapple Juice
2 oz. Orange Joice
2 oz. Grapefruit Juice
Splash of Grenadine
Blend with ice in a blender. Give it a good mix and pour into a tall, ice filled glass.
Garnish with a slice of orange or wedge of fresh pineapple. Insert a brightly-colored straw. Add a paper umbrella or hang a toy monkey on the side.
CHEERS!
Bahama Mama
Bahama Mama
Leni, That recipe sounds so good. I am ready to sail and visit with all of the freepers.
Molly said for me to have a chocolate martini for her. Maybe we can have one for everyone that cannot go! Do you think that we would have that much time?
Oh well, it will be fun, fun, fun anyway.
CARIBBEAN SHAVE
Bahama Mama
I HAVE GOOD NEWS! I was able to finagle a group reduced rate at the Hampton Inn. Those of you early birds will notice on your hotel reservation (in the mailing along with your ticket) that the rate for each of us has been reduced to $109.00 plus tax, a nice savings from the original quoted price. Most of us were quoted $149 at the beginning because we didn't have an organized group ready to book right off the bat.
MORE GOOD NEWS! I got the word just today. We'll have a free cocktail party while on board! I was sweating this one out as we have a small group and I didn't know if we would qualify or not.
Right now, I don't have the date, time or which beautiful lounge we'll meet in, but have a PARTY we will! Bring on the chocolate martinis, James, stirred, not curdled.
I've requested the party to be on a sea-day prior to a non-formal dinner so we don't have to be stiff and gussied up and all that.
The FReeper Cocktail Party has always been one of the MOST FUN FReeps Ahoy events going way back in time. On this purposely laid-back voyage, it's the ONLY planned event.
The cocktail party is where we draw a name out of our FReebooter Booty bag to get a winner for the famous and always-hilarious "gag gift" prize.
It's another doozy this year, folks! Wait and see. You'll ROFLYAO!
Here's also where we can sit and schmooze with each other up close and personal in some gorgeous, dimly-lit lounge while the panorama of placid Caribbean rolls by through the picture windows.
AND ALL THE DRINKS AND SNACKY-POOHS ARE COMPLIMENTARY FOR ONE SOLID HOUR!
A special note to the three winners of our Early-Bird-Booking Incentive prizes (the Dalereeds, the JCParks and the Greybeards). On embarkation day, you'll find your on-board cash credits already in your ship accounts and you can start wild spending right away, LOL.
Back to more mundane things.......your ticket packet will contain stick-on luggage labels. Be sure to write your cabin number BIG, bold and black on each one (at home before you leave).
If you have more luggage than labels, the Red Cap at the curb in front of the terminal will have extras to give you.....just have a pen at the ready to fill them out.
In your ticket booklet (on coupon 7), you'll see some charges listed in a column. Pay no heed, you've already paid anything listed there....this is just how they break things out for their own records.
Your ticket booklet, your hotel reservation (if you're arriving on Friday), your photo drivers license, your original birth certificate (or a photo copy with ORIGINAL raised seal), or your up-to-date passport should be kept together and placed AT THE READY in one of your carry-ons. DON'T PACK THEM IN LUGGAGE THAT WILL BE TAKEN FROM YOU RIGHT AWAY BY THE RED CAP AT THE TERMINAL! Oh, man, I don't even want to think about that.
I think we're getting good to go, maties.
Be still my freeping heart!
Bahama Mama
Our tickets came today also, I guess it's time to think about getting ready.
Bahama Mama
Those will go up this evening. Thank you.
Hampton Inns don't have restaurants, although they'll have a nice hot breakfast for us Saturday AM before their van takes us to the port.
When I get to the Inn, I'm going to scout out a place really nearby for any of us who want a casual dinner.
I hear there's some fast-food joints and a modestly-priced restaurant or two right across the street or walking-distance close. I'll take a gander and see what looks good.
I should be in the Hampton lobby some of the time, meetin' and greetin'. And if I'm not, I'm leaving my FR card at the front desk with instructions to the clerk to give out my room phone number. Just ask for "Bahama Mama from FR" (mmmm, sounds like a great song title, right?)
If I'm not in my room, I'm in the lobby.
We'll see the rest of you travelling straight to the dock Saturday AM at the lunch buffet near the Lido deck.
Around the buffet area, it may be hard to find each other in this initial one-and-only mob scene we'll experience. Just look for someone with an intelligent face and a name tag hanging on a bright red cord around his/her neck......and you will have found a freeper.
Bahama Mama
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