TRANSITIONING FROM SHORE TO SEA ABOARD THE CARNIVAL DREAM/SEATTLE???

At Sea, Aboard Carnival Dream/Mississippi River to Gulf of Mexico

Sunday, February 1, 2015 to Monday, February 02, 2015

72 F, Cloudy

Excitement Alert: I plan on reporting the day, but it may not sound too exciting--I do this blog to make sure I remember as much as possible...

Sunday: First, one more thing about the Hyatt Regency—we were on the 18^th floor, with many floors above. Even though it is a beautiful upscale hotel overlooking the Superdome (which TK got a deal on), it is disappointing to discover that one has to pay $15 for one day of Internet. Parking was $27/per day (every hotel in New Orleans charges for parking). I went to the lounge to post the blog last night—free Wi-Fi.

This morning was warmer when we drove the truck to the parking garage where we are leaving the truck for two weeks. Their service provided a shuttle to the ship. At least four more Mardi Gras parades were taking place this day but by 11:30 a.m. we were in our stateroom #10261 aboard the Carnival Dream.

I did have one negative encounter at the pre-boarding screening. I took my two laptops out for examination just as the disgruntled man behind me complained to the screener that he had waited in lines “all day” (it was 11 a.m.) and did not want to wait anymore. For us, there had been no wait. He was not directing this rant at me, but the screener. Anyway, my laptops and purse went easily through the machine and before I had time to take my items off the conveyer, he grabbed his items and both my laptops crashed to the floor. He did not apologize, but his wife or mother did.  I was not happy. I think there was something wrong with him though, like an illness or something.  Thank goodness both laptops seem to be OK. Why did I take two laptops? I like my 15 inch Windows 7 laptop very much. My 10 inch Windows 8 laptop, not so much. However, if I have to carry a laptop around onshore, it is lighter! I just told TK that maybe I will take a lesson on Windows 8. He told me Windows 10 is coming out-----oh dear.

One more thing about email addresses. I cannot log into my gmail account because for whatever reason, my yahoo account must be the primary account. I do not want to try to solve this issue when paying $.49/minute. Please bear with me!

Our balcony stateroom is lovely, our cabin steward very accommodating.  We have a king-size bed, a couch, a 6 ½ foot counter with mirror and desk. Good lighting. Ample closets, albeit directly across from the bathroom so only one door at a time can be opened—not a big deal. Flat screen TV. Plenty of room!  We have a great location, just a few steps to the elevators, and a few more steps to the pool.

After the safety drill we watched New Orleans and Louisiana go by as we sailed down the Mississippi River. Believe it not, it takes a cruise ship about seven hours to make its way from New Orleans to the Gulf!

We hooked up with Brian, Nancy, Donna, and Lawrence for dinner in the Crimson dining room. For some reason we laugh more than we ever do at home when we are with these friends. Pure silliness.

We only watched the last four minutes of Super Bowl LXI, but those four minutes were quite dramatic. We played a football pool, but came up short there. TK was very disappointed in the Seahawks, his favorite team for the 30 years we have been married.  Final Score:  New England Patriots 28, Seattle Seahawks 24. At least one son favored the Patriots. We sure wondered what was on the menu and how excited anyone was on 27^th Street in Erie!

Monday: Groundhog Day. I doubt it matters who saw what shadow. From what we hear there is a fearsome storm along the Great Lakes.

Since it was raining we explored the ship indoors some more, then met up with Brian and Nancy for brunch in the Scarlet dining room—brunch in the dining room is a new concept. The ham and cheese omelet was super.

Tonight was Elegant Night and we all met for dinner---turned out to be an hour wait for a table. This is an unusual circumstance.  The dinner menu included lobster tail and large tiger shrimp and prime rib.  We ended up waiting almost an hour between each course (appetizer/soup--salad/entrée/dessert). That is really unacceptable –we arrived for dinner at 6:30 and did not finish until after 10 p.m. TK did enjoy the prime rib while I had the lobster and shrimp. It is a very good thing we enjoy being with our friends! 

TK’s Take:  “When I woke up this morning I thought it was a continuation of the last cruise we were on, rainy! But, the rain stopped and it is warmer with calm seas.”