Caribbean Cruise 2012

Heather and I had a really enjoyable time on our cruise this month and several people have been asking for pictures so here goes a picture laden blog post.  BTW thanks for asking to hear and see what we were up to.  I enjoy sharing what I do but don't want to bore the followers!

Our first day out on November 30 we drove all the way down to Baton Rouge LA and put up in a Court Yard hotel for the night and in retrospect had we looked at a map closer we probably would have just gone to New Orleans that night too.   In New Orleans we spent a fun day visiting the French Market, Bourbon Street, and I finally got to the Cafe Du Monde and had a cup of coffee and some beignets!

French Quarter with busy traffic on Dumain Street!

 We went in several shops in the Quarter but the Voodoo shops were fun.  Marie Laveau House of Voodoo a little schlocky and touristy...no I didn't expect different but I didn't plan on spending money either!  Here are a couple pics of Heather in front of some of the shops props!

 FINALLY!  Cafe Du Monde!  What's up with the Cafe Du Monde?  A lot of the historical, paranormal romance novels I read are set in New Orleans and the cafe is one of the stops.  It is also a special place where blues and jazz musicians used to hang out at night...   The coffee is a strong hickory blend and the beignets were wonderful.  Not gluten free but since I wasn't doing anything but getting on a boat the next day I ate them anyway. 

Heather laughing at me for taking pictures of my coffee and beignets!

Navy Jazz band!

A cruise ship pulling out of port heading for the Caribbean!  Did you know it is between a 4-6 hour ride down the Mississippi river from New Orleans to the Caribbean?  A lot water!! 

One of the train stops for the French Quarter and Market.

The French Market.

I am going to devote the rest of the post to pictures with short captions by the day.  Too much writing... ;-)  Our cruise was a 7 day eastern Caribbean cruise aboard the Carnival Conquest and while I had a so-so vacation due to some issues with service etc. I wouldn't recommend the Conquest as your first cruise on a Carnival ship because they aren't at all like the other ships I have been on.
Itinerary:
Day 1:  at sea
Day 2:  Key West, FL
Day 3:  at sea
Day 4:  Free Port Bahamas
Day 5:  Nassau, Bahamas
Day 6:  at sea
Day 7:  at sea

 Day One

Heather in the cabin

Pilot boat that took us down the Mississippi

life boat muster

Lido deck embark party

Good bye New Orleans see you in a week!

Heather and I goofin off in the cabin

 Second Day:  Formal dinner night and picture of our table mates.

Ray and Stephen

Me and Heather

Mark and Jeff

Bren and Susan...another mother/daughter

 Day 3:  Key West Florida

Coast Guard ship

Heather

Me

Sloppy Joe's bar a favorite haunt of Ernest Hemingway...another place I had to visit...not to mention they have awesome Margaritas!

Key West from the boat!

Day 4:  Free Port, Bahamas

Wynnward Resort.  There isn't a lot to see in this port and if you don't snorkle or dive then you hang out on a beach somewhere.  This is a protected resort and we had a blast.

Guess who?

see that little thatched umbrella to the right of the tree trunk?  That's where I sat and dozed away the morning!  It was a beautiful day but cool and then the rain came.

Beautiful pool...cool water!  Maybe 70 deg at most but the birds enjoyed their giant bird bath!

  Day 5:  Nassau, Bahamas.  There were 5 Carnival cruise ships and a Norwegian ship in port at the same time.  As you can see there isn't a lot of town and when you add about 10,000 more people to a smallish population it gets a bit crowded.  Besides the shopping is great if you have a lot of money to spend but for common travelers like us Gucci  and Prada didn't hold any alure!  So... Heather and I decided to no get off the boat today because it was raining and nasty out and neither one of us are shoppers!  Since I have problems walking the distances were a bit overwhelming too!

three Carnival ships here!

The building above and in the distance in the picture above is the resort called Atlantis...  very  posh I am told and about the best place on the island to go.   It has an amusement park, aquarium, many restaurants and shops...

The dock!

another cruise ship and more dock

and more dock!! 

This girl was feeding sea gulls french fries from the fish and chip shop on board and...

She soon had quite a following

Bridge spanning islands

 Day 6 and Day 7 were spent at sea heading back to New Orleans.  I didn't take a lot of pictures cause there was only so many water shots I wanted.  Heather and I had an after noon on day 6 at the spa having a massage and facials done because we had spent so little money on our journey and we felt we deserved it.  The rest of the time was spent seeing shows and musical events, finding desk space for reading or retreating to our room when it got too cold outside to sit out.  December in the eastern Caribbean can be a bit nippy I am told and now I have found that out for myself!

Heather reading book 3!  She is such a fast reader!

Every night the cabin steward would make animals up from towels often stealing bits of jewelry, sunglasses,  hats left laying about to adorn them with.  Tonight our towel creature was a monkey hanging from the light fixture!

View from our window the last night on board!  An oil well in the gulf way off in the distance!