Terry :

you are going to have lot of fun on cruise. In cruise they take care of you well. good food, entertainment & no cooking & no dishes what more you can ask for, enjoy the trip & family.

Asha

*******The song I posted in my previous blog. From can to can't. Listen to it. Cory taylor ( Slip Knot, Stone Sour) David Ghrol Nirvana, Foo Fighters. It is what i would consider a survivors song. Look at my previous blog or you tube it.

Me and Nancy went on our first cruise last fall, and I too was very worried about everything. Guess what, it was so great that we're going on another one in a couple of months. You will gamble your heart out, on board and on shore, and there will be no shortage of drinks (they are very reasonable even if you pay by the glass. I like my drinks but really it only came out to maybe $100 for the two of us on an 8 day cruise.) But there's tons of other stuff to do, never a dull moment. Food was out of this world. The guys held up unbelievably well, and guess what....we left during Hurricane Sandy and sailed through some really rough seas the first day or two and still, only good memories now. What ship are you taking? We went Norweigan and they were fantastic! Treated us like royalty. And it's lots of fun to go with a bunch of people you know, makes everything even more festive.

I am also in the beginning stages of planning a trip to Georgia in April to see my brother and his wife down by Albany, and also my husband's oldest friend who moved near Atlanta when her husband retired ten years ago. We will fly into Atlanta, stay with the friend a few days and then take Amtrak down south. Yes I am scared, especially the logistics of Ray in the wheelchair, but I am bound to make up for lost time in the traveling dept. So you're not the only one.

Bon voyage!

Good Luck and happy gaming, you should win a few bucks if you play your cards close to your thoughts and not say "That's what I was thinking?" By then it's too late to win that hand, you gotta scare the heck out of them and they will fold their hands!!

The ship is called Monarch of the Seas. Owned by Royal Caribbean.( it was built in 1991 and refurbished in 2003) RCI is selling it in April so we will be one one of the last to sail with her. We will be leaving out of Port Canaveral . Four night cruise to the Bahamas to Nassau. Ok for my first cruise My BIL planned it. It should be nice. And we never do anything on the wife's side of the family. I'll have to go on a little diet when I come back. : )

Terry

I was worried about gaining weight too, but they kept us so busy I actually lost a few pounds! Pushing the wheelchair helped a bit, I guess. Most of the food was delicious, but I was able to avoid the desserts and pastries, they were the weak link in the chain so not that hard to ignore. We mostly dined at the all you could eat cafe, and we especially loved the Asian and Indian/Pakistani selections, easy to fill up on meat and veggies without adding rice or Naan; also they had three fancy sit down restaurants which sent out some very nice meals too, with excellent waiter service. Just avoid the carbs and you'll be OK!!

Once the ship left port, I saw how much fun the big families were having. Some of the kids brought walkie talkies to check in with parents, since there's no cell service on board and that seemed like a wonderful idea. The ships are so big you can wander around all day and never see anyone else in your party!

Sounds wonderful Terry, a bit of R&R in the midst of life. Keep some time free for a nap though as you surely can get fatigued with so much fun and family time.

Have a wonderful time Terry. I have never been on a cruise, and that is on my list for me and my husband. We are leaving for England soon, and he has never been! so we are both looking forward to this trip. Enjoy, life is short, enjoy every day!

Yvonne