Cruise Spring 09
Day 1: Sunday
The dreaded day is over, and in retrospect it wasn’t so bad. Off to an early start (up at 5:30 and to the airport at 6) . Jet Blue was great with John in his wheelchair and cast. When we boarded the plane, I mentioned to the flight attendant that I wanted to use my little red suitcase as a foot rest for John (he needs to keep his foot elevated after his surgery 5 days ago for a ruptured Achilles tendon). I was amazed when, as the seatbelt sign went off, he came over (they had put us in the 1st row left side so his foot could be in the aisle if necessary), took down the suitcase and put it in the aisle for John to put his foot on. They did everything they could to make the flight go well for him. We got our luggage after a very short wait, and were able to get a taxi right away. The cruise line had a wheelchair waiting for us and a steward to take us on board (he pushed it up the ramp and all the way to our cabin). We got on and into our cabin before anyone else – others had to wait to board, and then wait again until the cabins were released. As a result we almost lost our store of candy – our room steward came to clean our room while we were at lunch – and thought they were left from the last people in the cabin. Fortunately they were easily recovered. We have a great pair of room stewards and enjoyed our dinner companions as well, though it looks as though one couple will be moving to be with their other friends tomorrow. The good news is that the couple that is staying is Scottish, and he will be coming to formal nights in his kilt. I can’t wait to see that! Our room is really nice, bigger than the others we have had, as is our veranda so it is much easier for John to get around. Even the shower is a nice size and we got a seat for John so he could sit as he showered. The bed is great and the luggage fits under it without a problem. The café is really set up nicely with multiple islands each featuring a different type of food. The only drawback so far is that there are only 2 banks of elevators, center ship and forward, and, of course, we are aft. It’s a long walk to the elevators, so I will be wheeling John there and then he can go on by himself or use crutches, depending on what he wants to do. It’s late, been a long day, and I am very tired. More tomorrow as we explore the ship.
Day 2: Monday
A quiet day, we slept in and totally missed breakfast, so we had an early lunch. We did lose one couple at dinner, but really enjoy the Scottish couple, Kenny and Judy. Tomorrow is formal night, so Kenny will be in full Kilt dress. I can’t wait to take pictures. John spent about 2 hours on deck this morning in a deck chair with his leg propped up on some towels, and then ventured out on his own this afternoon as he wanted to see how he would do. We also asked about a new cabin, but we want one with a big veranda again and closer to the elevators if it can be arranged. Though we are a fair ways from an elevator, the real problem is that the room stewards leave at least one cart in the hallway every day, and the wheel chair won’t fit around it, so I have to move the cart to an alcove (every pair of cabin doors is built into an alcove) push him into the alcove, move the cart back and push him out of the alcove. It is cumbersome, and something he cannot possibly do for himself. He likes that he can be independent, but knows how I worry, so he is very careful not to do anything stupid. We are working out ways to make things work. We have a small round table in the shower so he can sit, some trash bags from home with rubber bands so he can keep the cast dry, and extra pool towels for him to carry so he can keep his leg elevated when he is on deck. All is well. I am enjoying my time reading.
Day 3: Tuesday
Another good day, though a bit chilly. We met and talked to the hotel captain this morning. Made breakfast, it was really good. Spent some time on deck, and took a nap in the afternoon. I finished my first book, started my second one and started a new necklace. Dad is really good on his crutches, and makes himself spend time on them each day, more time than I think is necessary, but he is so stubborn. He can now fit his fingers all the way into the top of the cast so the swelling is going down. He is careful to keep it elevated when he is not walking, and that helps. Tonight was the first formal night, great food, the captain is the first we have had that is a good comedian as well, he put on a better show introducing his staff than the cast did with their first production. Kenny, our table mate was all dressed out in his Scottish kilt, and showed us all the interesting parts, the front of seal skin (very soft) and the knife in the hilt as well as the assortment of buttons all over the coat. It is the hunting kilt, he said the dress kilt is a little feminine for him to wear on board. He really looked good in it and you will see his picture in the album. Had roses in my room when I got back from dinner. They are so pretty.
Day 4: Wednesday
The day started out rainy, so we slept in until almost 10. Of course we also had the late show and didn’t get to the cabin until almost midnight. The ship isn’t quite as calm today, and Dad is noticing it on his crutches. I suspect I will be doing more wheelchair work today than some other days. They have a brunch today, and I am going down to take pictures of the ice sculptures that are supposed to be there, then I will go join Dad on the deck for a while. Windy and cool seems to be the way our days are going. It is usually difficult to get Dad a chair in the sun that is easy for him to escape from, but so far we have managed to find him a place to lay out for a while. I set him up and then go back to the room to take care of some things (picking up, washing, reading and sudoku) then go back and get him for lunch. After lunch (about 2pm) we usually go back to the room for a while before getting ready for dinner or the show. Tonight we saw Doug Cameron (violinist) and enjoyed the show very much. He worked with the string quartet on board and “played” with them as well as made music with them. Enjoyed dinner again, Judy and Kenny are a nice fit for John and I, we share much. Wore one of my own necklaces for the first time tonight.
Day 5: Thursday
It was cold today (low to mid 60’s and overcast), Dad didn’t even go out on deck, though he was out on our veranda for a while. It is a little rougher, so he isn’t as quick to want to use his crutches – a good thing. At least they have some good music available on the TV and he can listen while he watches the streaming news. I am working on a new necklace, doing a couple of sudoku puzzles and reading some, so am happy with my trip. I do want to get up to the glass blowing demonstration they have on board, but will probably do that tomorrow. We saw the show with singer Jamie Michael Stewart (sang Love Boat on the series). He looked a lot like Frank Sinatra and sang both Sinatra and Crosby songs as well as some others. It was another good show.
Day 6: Friday
Very cold and windy again today. Dad could only stay on the deck about 10 minutes before calling it quits, and he was one of the few that braved it at all. We went to a wine tasting party and really learned a lot about wine, though I didn’t enjoy the ones they gave us (Dad drank mine and his both), I did enjoy learning all about wine and wine tasting. We were offered a different room today (Dad requested one on Monday and sent a rather nasty note when they didn’t respond at all to his request). As an apology, they gave us a bottle of wine, but no way to open the bottle and no glasses to drink it from. Our TV continues to be a problem, getting it to do anything takes much patience and an overwhelming will to bring it under your control. I am not sure if it is the TV itself or the batteries in the remote, so tomorrow we will get new batteries. Tomorrow is our first port, and Dad and I may actually go off the boat if there is anywhere close to wheel him to. We won’t go far unless he can help our, which means he won’t be able to take his crutches. It ought to be an interesting adventure.
Day 7: Saturday
It was our first day on land after the ocean crossing, but neither John nor I got off the ship. Fortunately we have visited all the stops for this cruise on other cruises, so it is not as though we are missing anything, although Dad misses just going ashore. Hopefully I will be able to take him off on one or two of the other stops. We enjoyed the show more tonight than the last production one, and we both spent time outside today as it wasn’t nearly as cold or windy in port. I even got to do part of my walk (until my knee gave out), and hope to do more of that in the days ahead. As always, Dad is patient with me and tries to do much on his own, but it is really hard for him to roll the wheelchair on carpeting.
Day 8: Sunday
The day started out with Mass. 4 of the 5 priests on board came and we found out they were celebrating their 50th year as priests (though it has only been 48) and thought the cruise would be a nice way to do that. They are all French Canadian, and the one praying the mass has the biggest accent, so it makes life interesting. We went to breakfast and then came back to the cabin and took about a 3 hour nap. I think the time changes are getting to us. Most of our days have only been 23 hours long so far! Going the other direction is better, the days then are 25 hours long! Another cold and windy day, but our veranda was nice, and as it was again a sea day I got some wash done. The top drawer in our cabin is getting a lot of heat from somewhere, so it makes a nice drying drawer for slightly damp, and with the sun and wind our veranda serves very nicely for the main drying. The cabin serves as our home away from home, and I have learned to use it as such. It was again a formal night, so we got to see Kenny in his kilt again. After dinner I noticed that he was posing for another couple (strangers) who asked him for a picture. The show was great. The singer was Linsey Hamilton (Evita and Les Miserables at West End in London). We have actually seen her 3 times before, once when she was newly wed, then pregnant, then with baby, and now with 2nd child. She is also very personable and we have talked with her on board on other cruises. Lisbon tomorrow.
Day 9: Monday
We got off the boat today in Lisbon, but I could not get the wheel chair beyond the dock area where the cobblestones, pavement and potholes worked together to frustrate us. We were only off the ship for about 20 minutes as I had to turn back. I think it really depressed John that he couldn’t get to town, and he refused to use either their bus or a taxi. He tried to help me when we hit the pot hole and ended up stepping with his hurt foot to keep himself from falling, so he was in a bad mood for the morning. I do hope we can get off tomorrow in Cadiz
Day 10: Tuesday
We had a great day today! Got off the ship, I was able to take him around in the wheel chair (and he did some on crutches as well) for an hour or an hour and a half today, then we got on a sight seeing bus, left the wheelchair down and he hopped up to the open top deck and we went the whole route on the bus. It wasn’t too cold and John got to take lots of pictures. It was really great for him to not only get off the ship, but to be able to get around so well. He went to dinner on crutches tonight – a really long trip for him – and did very well with it. I surely hope tomorrow we are able to get off again, though we will take a taxi to town, as it is quite a ways in. Got lots of great pictures today to add to the blog when we get home!
Day 11: Wednesday
We were in Malaga today. I actually walked the 2 miles into town, pushing Dad most of the way. When I got tired, he would get out and “walk” with his crutches for a ways, then sit down again, so it wasn’t so bad. He really enjoyed the walk and the tour of town, at least as far as I could walk with him. We got some corn nuts at the market and got some more Euros and a 2 liter bottle of coke. For the first time in my life (I think) I saw a lesbian couple being intimate in public. They were all over one another, in a manner that is usually not acceptable with any couple, whether straight or gay. I guess we were out about 4 hours, but fortunately got a ride back to the ship on a bus. Dad has used his crutches so much, he has worn through the rubber pieces on the end. That’s a lot of “walking”. His doctor will be proud.
Day 12: Thursday
At sea again today, our last sea day of the cruise, though Dad said we would probably stay on board tomorrow in Barcelona. It is very difficult to get to town in Barcelona. I got Dad a new set of crutches on board today. They are different, and I don’t know whether Dad likes them as much, but at least he can walk on slick surfaces again. The other pair had only hard plastic on the ends after the rubber was worn through, and they slipped on any surface that wasn’t carpeted (café, bathrooms, decks, etc). Tonight is the last formal night and production show. We expect filet mignon and lobster for dinner. Yum! Yum! Well dinner was good, I did order “surf and turf” though when it came, I could only eat the lobster, as I got 2, mine and Dad’s. He ate my steak for me. The lobster was a little different, as it was small, but served with shrimp and scallops. Fortunately, both Judy and Kenny love sea food, so the shrimp and scallops found good homes.
Day 13: Friday
We landed in Barcelona early to pouring down rain. We decided shore was a no-go, and just as I got comfortable with my book, the sun came out and John wanted to go ashore. We got on the shuttle (one designed especially for handicapped) and off we went. We were looking for new crutch “covers” for the end of his crutches, but it seems that may have to wait until we get home. We tried a couple of pharmacies with no luck, and gave up to go look up a sightseeing bus to go around. We got to the stop, and were told we could get on and buy our tickets on board, but then the driver said since his machine wasn’t working well we couldn’t get our discount, so we got back off. I have to say, I wasn’t as upset as I might have been when he couldn’t get the ramp back up, so he couldn’t leave. Of course, that meant that no other bus could pull up, and when he finally quick kicking the ramp trying to get it to close, and realized he really had a problem, it would mean that the other passengers on his bus would have to get off and get on another bus. I told Dad, that it was foolish to wait, as he would never find a seat on the top of the bus, so we gave up and came back to the ship. He was really disappointed until this evening when he got some great pictures from our porch. Dinner was also interesting as when they brought our berries out, a worm was crawling our of them. It caused a really interesting interaction between the asst waiter, maitre’d and chef! We had great fun with it, laughing about the “wild animal” at dinner and naming it, etc. I think all were very relieved that we didn’t make a scene over it.
Day 14: Saturday
We didn’t get off today, the trip into Marseilles was too complicated and there was nothing in close. Daddy enjoyed laying out on deck in the sun and later on our veranda. I finally found where the glass demonstration was, I went to the museum, but didn’t know they also had a live show. We went up on 15 for a drink, and the bar was actually behind the stage for the show. I couldn’t believe on a ship that didn’t want you to even use irons in your room, had not one but 2 kilns that fired glass to over 2000 degrees F. It was fun to watch, however. I returned the ship crutches today, Dad found them very difficult to use.
Day 14: Sunday
We didn’t go into Livorno either, it was over a 25 minute ride into town, and on a Sunday there wasn’t much open. I think that Dad was also worried about my pushing him so much, and his crutches we really too dangerous to use without the rubber end. I did go up and catch the glass show, and used the Flip to record one whole presentation. I thought maybe the kids would like to see how it is done. It was get away eve, so there was also a lot of packing to do.
Day 15: Monday
We got off the ship shortly after 8AM and our 9AM ride was already there, but unfortunately one of the couples could not find one of their suitcases. They looked for it for over 30 minutes, and then had to go to all the trouble of filling out forms and gathering phone numbers to check whether it was found. Their frustration was that no one wanted to accept responsibility, the cruise line said it was the baggage company as they had off loaded it, and the baggage company said since they hadn’t received it, Celebrity actually was responsible. The suitcase that was lost was a small rollerboard that contained the clothes that the husband was going to need for the 4 days they are spending in Rome. I could sympathize!
We got to the hotel about 11:00 and they told us that our room was not yet ready and wouldn’t be ready for at least 2 hours. They had no wheelchair or crutches they could loan. John had a discussion about what he expected of a Marriott hotel, and they kept saying that they just became part of the chain, and weren’t yet up to standard. It ended with the GM promising a wheel chair and crutches today. Instead of waiting around the hotel, we took their shuttle into central Rome at the Vatican and we could get a tour bus just a couple of blocks from there. Dad decided he could do that on his “dangerous” crutches, and off we went. Instead of a couple blocks, it turned out to be almost a half mile from the Vatican and another ¼ mile from the tour buses. Needless to say, Dad made it but I was really worried, not only about his falling because of the crutches but also because of the distance. We did make it to the bus, and he got upstairs and was able to take lots of pictures again. He enjoyed that part and when we got back to the Vatican agreed to take a taxi back to the shuttle stop (15 euro!!). When we got back to the hotel (about 2:45) they told us our room was still not ready! Decided to give us another room, same floor, same view. Got to the room and the air conditioner didn’t work, so they gave us a different room, the phone shortcut buttons didn’t work and we couldn’t open the door to the patio. We did have use of the wheelchair and crutches then, so went out in the evening to find a restaurant, and ended up (after going up a couple of hills and down one, across a busy street with no crosswalk or cut outs for the wheelchair) at a grocery store. We got some swiss cheese (excellent), some pizza bread (excellent), some potatoe chips and a bottle of Sprite Zero, came back to the hotel and had “dinner” on our porch (after we called down for someone to come up and open it for us). Beautiful view. Got pictures. We decided to leave the door open as it is cooler than the using the air conditioner. I think we are more than ready to be home!
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