Places
CV1 Day 1: Hop 1, Lehigh Acres FL to Tampa FL
We had to drive to Tampa to get on the Carnival Paradise for the first 6 days of this short vacation. We had to be on board by 3pm and we had to park the car and take a shuttle to the ship. But we couldn’t drive there directly from Lehigh Acres FL; we had … Continue reading
Four nights in Kissimmee
In case you don’t know Kissimmee is a town very close to Orlando. You might consider it a suburb of Orlando. And it is very close to Disney World and Universal Studios. We spent four nights there. Why? Because we got a “free” stay in a timeshare resort. Yes, we had to sit through a … Continue reading
Three festivals
There are two big annual festivals in south central Florida: the Swamp Cabbage Festival in Labelle in February and the Sugar Festival in Clewiston in March. They are similar in that they have a lot of food trucks and vendors of a variety of goods and trinkets and they both have some really fine live … Continue reading
Carnival Conquest Day 15 – Disembarkation in Miami
Getting off the Conquest was considerably easier than getting off the Vista. We rose at 6am, packed and took our luggage up to the Lido Deck to grab a bite. It was a very light breakfast as neither of us was very hungry. Marlene’s brother met us when we got off and we were on … Continue reading
Carnival Conquest Day 14 – At sea
Our last day of the cruise. We slept in. The big event was the “Platinum and Diamond Reunion”, an event only for Carnival’s most ardent cruisers. For the first time, I qualified to attend on my own merits. It isn’t much of a party – some music and a promo video from Carnival, then they … Continue reading
Carnival Conquest Day 13 – Grand Turk
Grand Turk was port #8 of 8. It is the only port that we also visited recently on the Carnival Vista cruise. Because we had been there recently we were not interested in hanging around the port area, so we decided to go into town – Cockburn Town. We inquired as to the availability of … Continue reading
Carnival Conquest Day 12 – At sea
I don’t know what is in the “Funship Special” drink that you can get on a Carnival cruise, but they are deadly. I had about two and a half and ended up with the worst hangover that I have had in years. I slept until noon. After a brief breakfast consisting mostly of coffee, Marlene … Continue reading
Carnival Conquest Day 11 – Aruba
It is always sunny in Aruba. Except on the day we were there. It was cloudy all day and even rained a bit. I felt sorry for those people who had booked one of those high-priced beach or snorkeling excursions. They couldn’t have been pleasant. As is our wont (or at least Marlene’s wont), we … Continue reading
Carnival Conquest Day 10 – Curacao
I like Curacao. It is beautiful and has interesting shops and restaurants. This is probably the port that I was most looking forward to seeing again. My last visit was about 10 years ago and a lot has changed. The port is more built up and there are more hotels, shops and casinos on the … Continue reading
Carnival Conquest Day 8 – Grenada
Grenada is “the spice island” – famous for the variety of spices grown there. I have visited the island before and have fond memories of it, particularly the harbor. But the island virtually shuts down on Sunday, so all the harbor was good for on this trip was a few photo opportunities. We got a … Continue reading